Chapter fourteen
Grace, Phoebe and Julie are sitting on a counch in the corner of the club sipping mocktails and gossiping.
"Jules looked damn hot playing those drums," Phoebe states out of nowhere.
Julie and Grace laugh and nudge each other.
"O, shuddup. I'm allowed to like a musician, damn it," she huffs and takes a gulp of her drink.
"I gotta admit, Cooper also looked damn hot, too," Julie mentions nonchalantly.
Phoebe rolls her eyes and snorts.
"We might as well just become their groupies," Grace laughs.
"Yeah, yeah. We can create banners, tear our tops off at concerts and have all night orgies," Phoebe smirks.
"Now I like the sound of that," Julie says and snaps her fingers.
The girls crack up laughing together and don't notice the boys heading towards them. Eli sits down on the edge of the couch next to Grace and places his arm around her shoulders. Cooper and Jules stand awkwardly in front of them.
"What's so funny?" asks Eli.
The girls quieten down and act innocent.
"O, nothing…" Grace smirks.
Eli laughs and kisses her.
"Fine, leave us out," mutters Cooper half seriously.
"Don't mind if we do," Julie winks.
Julie gets up from the couch, stands next to Cooper and nudges him.
"So what'll it take for you to get me a drink?"
"O, I can think of a thing or two," winks Cooper.
They both walk off to the bar. Jules sits down next to Phoebe and drums his hands on the table. Phoebe looks at him and smiles.
"I loved the way you played tonight," she murmurs, "I've always wanted to learn how to play drums."
Cooper coughs a little and goes red.
"Well, I could teach ya if ya'd like," he suggests.
Phoebe goes red and looks down at her hands.
Eli gets up from the table and reaches out his hand to Grace.
"Common, we should go deal with the parentals."
Grace groans and places her hand in his.
"Alright, alright. See you guys later," she says to Cooper and Julie before she leaves with Eli.
Julie takes a gulp of her drink and Cooper goes back to drumming his fingers on the table.
(next part)
Rick and Lilly are standing by the bar, sipping glasses of wine. Zoe is sitting on a bar stool and spinning around, letting her legs go wild. Grace and Eli walk up to them and Grace takes a deep breath.
"Mum, Rick…I'm so sorry. We should have told you earlier. I was just so sc-," Grace starts to apologise but is interrupted by Rick.
"You don't have to apologise. Eli came to us the other day and told us."
"He wanted to make it easier for you and to prove how much he cares for you," Lilly finishes off the sentence for Rick.
Grace turns her head slightly and looks at Eli. He smiles at her and wraps his arm around her shoulders.
"We're proud of you both for coming to us on your own accord," Rick tells them.
"Well, I had a good teacher," Eli smirks.
"Rick as a teacher? Eew!" Zoe giggles and spins her chair again.
Everyone laughs and Lilly plays with Zoe's hair. Jessie walks up to the group and Grace nudges her.
"So, Tad came tonight…"
Jessie blushes a little and shrugs.
"He's so into you, Jess," Grace reassures her.
"He just better be careful," Eli warns Jessie and he smacks his fist into his other hand. The girls laugh and Grace slaps his shoulder.
Eli pretends to be hurt and smirks.
"Well, he hasn't made a move," Jessie murmurs and looks down at her feet.
Eli and Grace notice Tad walking towards them and they share a smirk.
"So, babe, I think it's time you and I had a dance," Eli suggests.
Grace winks at Tad as she and Eli walk off to the dance floor.
Tad walks past Eli and Grace and Eli pats him on the shoulder and Eli offers a small smile in response. Jessie sits down on a stool and Tad sits down next to her.
"So…thanks for inviting me. You're brother's pretty talented."
"Yeah. It seems that I lucked out in the talent department," jokes Jessie.
Tad laughs a little and then coughs. Jessie plays around with a napkin on the bench. Tad leans in a little closer and puts his hand next to hers.
"Are we still going to the movies tomorrow, or are you sick of me already?"
Jessie laughs and goes red.
"I'm not sick of you."
Tad places his hand on hers and Jessie goes red.
"I really like you, Jessie."
Jessie looks at Tad and smiles.
"I really like you too."
Tad smiles with relief and squeezes her hand a little.
(next part)
Eli and Grace are in the middle of the dance floor, dancing slowly. Grace's head is on his shoulder and Eli is looking into the distance, not focusing on anything in particular.
"You know you're my hero, right?" Grace murmurs.
Eli chuckles.
"Just because I sang you a song?"
"That and because you dealt with our parents on your own."
Eli sighs.
"I wanted to prove to you how much you mean to me."
"And you did, bub," she whispers and kisses him softly on the cheek.
Eli takes her by the hand and spins her. Grace's hair goes wild and she laughs loudly. He pulls her back in tightly and looks her in the eyes.
"You know you're my hero, too."
Grace laughs.
"Yeah, right, Eli," she smirks.
"You gave me the courage to talk to Lilly and Dad," he shrugs.
Grace looks into the distance for a moment.
"I guess we make a good team."
Eli smiles softly and strokes her face. Grace sighs contently and kisses him on the mouth.
The music continues to play in the background. Jessie and Tad are still sitting at the bar, holding hands. Julie and Cooper and sitting on the stage, laughing and Phoebe and Jules are still sitting together, talking about music. Eli and Grace continue to dance, oblivious to everyone else.