Hey guys! Its Tuesday and that means a new chapter. I hope all of you guys are doing well. The next chapter will be posted on Tuesday so remember to keep that in mind. Enjoy :)

Chapter 23

It was around eight in the afternoon when Dani arrived at the party. It was located in a two-story house. The party was being held in the backyard of the house. There was a large white tent outside where music was playing. Dani sees her friends sitting at the front of the house porch. Her friends wave at her and she walks up to them.

"Hey, Dan," Camila said while giving her a hug. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Me too," Dani replied. She went to go hug Antonio and Jose, who were cleaning up their instruments.

"Where do we set up, Cam?" asked Antonio while polishing his wine red colored accordion.

"At the back. Follow me," Camila said. She led the way while the rest followed her. They went to the backyard where the party was being held. The bright flashing lights were all over the tent. A DJ was playing music at the back with two large speakers. Camila led them to an improvised stage at the opposite side where the DJ was. Jose and Antonio were setting up the drum. Dani and Camila were taking out their guitars from their case. They placed their guitars on a stand. After a while, they finished setting up.

"What time do we play?" asked Jose to Camila.

"We have about fifteen minutes," she replied. "We can use that time to practice."

"Sounds good," Dani said while grabbing her guitar. The rest of the group got settled with their instrument and started practicing. Camila received a sheet of paper that had a list of song requests written on it. The group of friends looked at the list and agreed on how to play them. Just like Camila said, after fifteen minutes the DJ announced them as the band who was going to play next. After a warm greeting, filled with applause, Camila announced the group.

"Buenas Noches mi gente!" Camila said in an energized tone. "On this wonderful night, the band and I will be bringing you the biggest hits this evening. Thank you all for inviting us tonight. Now without further ado, I present to you, LOS PUMAS!" The Pumas. Dani remembers the day she and her friends came up with that name for the group. Antonio was the one who came up with the name after seeing the puma carving on Dani's guitar. After they all agreed on the name, the rest of the friends placed a puma sticker on each of their instruments. Dani smiles at the memory.

Dani hears the tapping of Jose's drum sticks starting. Tap, tap, tap. That was the signal to start the show. The band started to play. Antonio was the lead singer for the male side while Dani was the lead singer for the female side. They always had a routine when choosing song genres to play. They started to play upbeat songs to get the crowd warmed up. After a few songs, they started to play more catchy songs in order to get the crowd dancing. As the night went on they played various music genres such as romantic love songs to duets. In the end, they were singing sad breakup songs. This was done on purpose due to them knowing that half of the crowd would be drunk by now. The people in the crowd who were drunk were singing along to the songs. They were holding a beer in one hand while singing in a heartbroken tone.

After they finished singing the last song for the night, the crowd filled them with cheers and applause. Dani loved the sensation of finishing a show. It gave her a sense of accomplishment which always warmed her heart. It's been a while since she has felt this. The group thanked the crowd and walked down the stage with a big smile on all of their faces.

After the group of friends finished playing, the host of the party invited them to eat. He led them to a table that was filled with different kinds of dishes. The table had burgers, hotdogs, and a variation of steak. The smell of the food made Dani's mouth drool. She served herself a burger and a steak. When all four friends finished serving themselves food, they sat at an empty table at the back of the yard.

"Oh, man. This food is so good," Jose said while taking a bite of his burger.

"You can say that again," Antonio said. "This steak is amazing."

"We really crushed it out there," Jose said while pointing at the stage. "Especially you, Dani. You haven't lost the magic touch."

"I will never lose the magic touch mi amigo," Dani said with a smile. "I really enjoyed this. It was really fun."

"And this is just the beginning my friend," Camila said. She stood up and went to a cooler that was next to the food table. She took out four beers and brought it back to the table. "The night is long my dear friends. We have to celebrate our successful concert."

Antonio takes out a bottle opener from his keychain and opens all four bottles. He hands a bottle to each friend at the table.

"We won't get in trouble because of this right?" Jose asked while pointing at the beer. "You know, the whole drinking underage shit."

"Relax, Jose. We are all under sanctuary here. Don't worry about it." Camila said while taking a sip. "You shouldn't be the one worrying about it. Dani should be the one who should be worried. She lives with a cop."

"But, she ain't at home," Dani said with a smug on her face. She knew very well that the agent was in another state. This gave her full freedom to enjoy the party without limits. "The only thing I am worried about tonight is not having a good time."

"And that won't happen under my watch," Camila said while lifting her beer. "With this and music, we will have a blast for the rest of the night."

"In that case," Dani said while taking a big gulp from her beer. "Let's party!"

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During the course of the night, the group of friends was having a blast at the party. The teens had a full bar of energy for the night. They danced to the rhythm of the music, hardly ever stopping for a break. They also had a few rounds of beer. One of the teens who drank the most was Dani. She lost count after the fourth beer. A normal teenager would probably be wasted with the amount she drank, but that wasn't Dani's case. She was pretty used to the amount by now. After all, she learned from one of the best while being inside the foster care system. The teen was always careful not to get too carried away. She didn't want to wake up in the middle of the street with a severe hangover.

The music was blasting and the teens kept on dancing. From reggaeton to bachata, they were always on their feet dancing.

After a while, the teens took a seat back at the table. All that dancing has finally caught up with them, leaving their feet sore and tired. They were at the table telling stories and crazy events that they remembered. They were all laughing and giggling like they never were before. It was around one in the morning when Jose checked his phone.

"This was the best party I've been to for a while," said Antonio while stretching his arms. "Unfortunately I have to go before my uncle kills me," he said while getting up.

"Me too. My parents would beat my ass if I don't arrive soon," Jose said. "You guys are still staying?"

"No, we will head out too," Camila said. "Dani, you are staying at my place tonight so you don't have to go all the way back to the city," she said while tapping Dani's shoulder.

"Sounds good," Dani replied. The friends gathered their instruments and said their goodbyes. Dani went with Camila to her house, which was only a five-minute walk from the party.

They arrive at Camila's house, which is a small, white house at the corner of the street. Camila unlocks the front door and both girls enter. Camila turns on the living room lights and heads towards the kitchen to get a bottle of water. Dani places her guitar down and sits down at the couch, her feet tired of dancing during the whole night.

"Your mom working the night shift?" Dani asked Camila, who was entering the living room with two bottles of water.

"Yep," she said while handing Dani a bottle. "She left around twelve so she won't be home until eleven," she said while taking a seat.

"So the house is all yours?" Dani asked.

"Si," Dani responded while nodding. "Don't worry about her. You can stay and sleep. Do you want to sleep in my bed or here on the couch?"

"The couch is fine," Dani said with a tired smile.

"You sure?"

"Yep. This will do," Dani said while stretching. She didn't want to bother her friend.

"Alright," Camila said while getting up. "I will bring you a pillow and blanket so you can get comfy," she said. Camila went to her room with a purple blanket and pillow. She gave it to Dani and told her if she needed anything else to just tell her. Dani thanked her and laid down on the couch. Her eyes were very heavy with exhaustion.

Everything ran well and smoothly. She thought to herself while rubbing her eyes. She was glad she decided to leave the house and party with her friends. If for some reason Emily were to find out that she snuck out, Dani knows she would pay a high price for her actions. The agent would scold her until she would run out of words in the English lexicon. Then she would transition to Spanish. Dani bit her lip knowing that she would be facing Agent Prentiss if she were to get caught.

"Worth it," she said with a rebellious smirk.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. A teenager rebelling, who would have thought? Anyways, I usually don't write here but I just wanted to address something. One thing I wanted to clarify is the origin of this Fanfic. I began writing this story roughly a year ago. It was mostly just a personal project for myself, something that I would do during my free time. I wrote a rough draft of the story arc, characters, relationships, etc. This is why I am able to upload at a faster pace than others. I took a pause for a while and then went back on writing again. That is when I decided I should post it on a platform so that others can enjoy it as well. Never did it for views or for favorites, just for fun and entertainment. I want to make one thing clear, I would never plagiarize or outright steal another person's work. That is not how I work. I know how damn hard it could be writing a story in order to be good and entertaining. Yes, there can be similarities between a few parts, but those similarities are vague. I have a settled story arc with twists and turns as the story progresses. A story arc I hope you all enjoy.

Alright, that's enough blabbering.

See ya.