"Ethan Banks is here," Nicole repeated. Danny's eyes instantly widened. This was serious. "Ok, well let's try to keep a level head about this," he calmly stated.

"Level head? Do you not understand that this is basically DEFCON 5?" exclaimed Nicole. Kate paced back towards her friends. "He's right. Let's just think this through," Kate replied. Danny sighed in relief; he was glad to see someone was acting rationally. "The taxi wouldn't take long to arrive and I'm sure there's a plane leading to LA in a couple hours or so. We could just stay at the airport in the meantime. That wouldn't be so bad. They have wi-fi, right?" Kate asked. Danny frowned. Apparently rationality and insanity was synonymous in this case. After not receiving any response, Kate went back to pacing. There had to be a reasonable solution out of this.

Nicole looked out into the crowd. You would think she would've been relieved at the sight of the unfamiliar crowd, but that just worried her more. He's out there and it was only a matter of time before he tries to talk to her again. And that conversation is the last thing she wanted. She needed a way out. Fast.

Seeing this as a moment of opportunity, Ethan Harris walked towards his angel. He strode up with the confidence that he'd be able to seamlessly enter whatever conversation they were having. After his previous debacle, the guys had helped him figure out what ice breaker to use and where to go from there. It was definitely going to work this time. Ethan approached the stagnant two with a large smile. But before he could even get a word out, Nicole grabbed hold of his arm. "Hey! Do you wanna get out of here? Yes? Great! Bye guys!" Nicole cheerfully concluded. And just like that, they had vanished into the crowd and out of the conference room.

Danny and Kate stood there dumfounded. Well, that's one solution they hadn't thought of. Under normal circumstances, Kate would've been ecstatic to see Nicole walking off with a guy, but this was DEFCON 5 and she couldn't just stop and smell the roses. "Listen, Ethan only saw Nicole. I doubt he or Jordan even knows you're here. It's a big room. What are the odds you'll bump into each other?" Danny assured her. Kate nodded and took a deep breath. Danny was right. There were a lot of people at the party. And it's not like he was ever the partying type. Hell, he could even be gone by now!

Danny patted Kate on the back. "Let's go get you a drink," he proposed. Kate nodded and followed him to the refreshment table. She stood on the sidelines as Danny found an open space by the table to order some drinks. Deep breathing coupled with positive thought seemed to relax her a bit. All Kate had to do was keep repeating what Danny said. He probably wasn't here. And even if he was, he'd be too busy with his friends to find her. Plus, he doesn't even know she was here! So why would he go out of his way to look for her? It wouldn't make any sense. And it'd raise too many questions because Kate was pretty damn sure he never mentioned her to his friends. So what did she have to worry about? All she had to do was focus on having a good time. She was in Florida! She got to see Danny and she even made new friends. There was no point in worrying about someone she had little to no chance of seeing.

Kate could've laughed outloud, but that'd just earn her weird looks. As she leaned against the wall, trying to contain her laughter, a girl dressed in gold, sparkly shorts approached the table beside Danny. It was hard not to notice the girl beside him, and it wasn't because of her attire. Her entire face, including her blue eyes, were alive with joy. Her blonde hair was straight yet bouncy, but looked fresh out of the salon. Girls wished to wake up looking like her someday. The best part was that she looked genuine, not like she was trying too hard. This was her, take it or leave it. After getting her drinks in a few seconds, the blonde walked away behind him. Danny turned back around, waiting for his own drinks to arrive.

"Oh my gosh! Are you Kate?" exclaimed an accented voice from behind him. Kate looked up, both confused and surprised that this girl noticed her. "Kate? From thosetwoawkwardgirls?" continued the blonde. Kate nodded slowly, not really knowing where this was going. "Oh my gosh, I'm such a fan! Can I hug you?" she asked. But before Kate could reply, she was wrapped up in the other girl's arms. For someone who seemed petite, she had a damn good hold. "I love your videos. They're all so clever!" she complimented. Kate laughed. "Thanks," Kate replied, "I'm sorry I never got your name."

"Oh! It's Jo. Actually, it's Joanna Livingston. But all my friends call me Jo," the girl piped.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Jo," Kate greeted.

"Honestly, I'm such a big fan. I've watched all your videos. Is Nicole here?" Jo looked around.

"Actually no, she had to leave. But I'll tell her you asked for her."

"I just can't believe I'm meeting you! I had no idea you were going to be here."

"Yeah, it was sort of a surprise on us too. So do you make videos?"

"Oh no. I'm not that creative with a camera. But my boyfriend makes some! Would you like to meet him?" Jo eagerly asked.

Already in love with this girl, Kate agreed. How could she resist someone so sweet? Jo nearly jumped up in excitement. She told Kate to stay right where she was and went scampering off to get her boyfriend. Danny arrived with the drinks in hand. "How does it feel being a big celebrity?" he teased. Kate nudged him. "Don't even. This is, like, the first fan I've ever met," Kate replied.

"Really? Well that's one hell of a first fan," Danny commented as he took a sip. Kate laughed. "I like her," she stated, "She seemed really nice!" Danny rolled his eyes. Figures. Kate liked everyone. "Well where'd she go?" Danny asked.

"To get her boyfriend. Apparently he's some sort of YouTuber," Kate answered.

The sparkly shorts returned with a dark-haired man in tow. Danny nearly choked on his drink at the sight. As the man and Kate locked eyes, the air inside Kate's lungs instantly dissipated. Nicole was so wrong. This was DEFCON 5. "Kate, this is Jordan. Jordan, this is Kate!" Jo introduced. Both Kate and Jordan stood there, frozen, as they tried to process the chain of events that led to this unwanted encounter. They thought about all the things they could've done to deserve this. Perhaps it was that one time they didn't let an old lady take their seat on the bus. Or maybe it was when they accidently hit a dog on the head while trying to throw trash into the trash can. Or maybe it was because they threw their vegetables out the window instead of eating it like their mother told them to when they were seven. But no matter what the cause was, it wasn't going to change the situation; that of which, was growing more awkward by the minute.

In an attempt to kick things back into gear, Jo scooched over to her motionless boyfriend. "Say hello," she mumbled while knocking into him slightly. Jordan shook himself out of his own thoughts. "Hello," he spat out. Kate opened her mouth to reply, but was met with nothing. After a few "uh" and "um's" from Kate, Danny intervened. "Hi," greeted Danny.

"Jordan makes videos with his brother," informed Jo.

"Really? That's interesting," replied Danny.

"It's so cool to see so much talent in one room," Jo began.

As Danny and Jo continued their small talk, the other two remained silent. Jordan looked Kate over, trying to understand what was going on in her brain, but even if he could read her mind, he would've just found it empty. It seemed that the moment Jordan entered the conversation, Kate's brain bolted out of there. So she just stood there, her hands gripping the cup in front of her, her mouth slightly agape with a blank stare. "Well, we better go find our friends," Danny excused as he grabbed Kate by the shoulders.

"Oh, ok! It was really nice meeting you! I hope to see you again!" Jo said to Kate. After a few seconds of no response, Danny lightly shook her to knock her back to Earth. "Huh? Oh, yeah," Kate nodded mechanically. Jo grabbed Jordan's hand causing Kate's eyes to shoot right at it. "We better be going too. See you soon!" Jo exclaimed. Danny smiled politely and began to lead Kate as far away from the happy couple as possible.

Once they got far enough away, Danny focused in on the traumatized victim. Danny whipped Kate around and firmly placed his hands on her shoulders. "Kate," Danny called out, "Hello? Kate!" Kate shook her head. "I just… I just can't believe...," she stammered. He patiently waited for her to finish her thought. He knew that if she were to ever see Jordan again her reaction would be pure shock, but this was a lot worse than he thought.

A voice called out Danny's name from the crowd. Shit. It was probably one of his other Youtuber friends. He couldn't let them meet Kate like this, plus he didn't know if she could handle socializing with another person right now. As a matter of fact, he was surprised she was still standing. He needed to get her out of there. Fast.

"This place is amazing! They've got this giant pool outside and I just bought about 10 boxes of gelatin mix and-" Harry asked as he arrived on the scene. Danny grabbed Harry by the lapels. "Harry! You need to help me," Danny pounced.

"Not working out so hot with Summer, huh, mate? Well don't worry about it, I'm sure she'll come around," Harry began as Danny turned him around to face the still frozen Kate, "Oh haaay there, Kate! Just ignore anything I may have said. I was just rambling on, you know, it's a British thing. Us Brits tend to do that." Danny rolled his eyes. Normally, he would've been more worried about what Kate might have just heard, but in her current condition, he doubted it was much, if any.

Harry waved his hand in front of Kate's face. Nothing. "What happened to her? You didn't drug her did you? Cause that's just not cool, mate. I know she may not be completely into you, but this isn't the way to go about it. She's not an object, bro," Harry scolded.

"What?! No! Listen, I need you to take her upstairs," Danny explained.

"But the party's just started-" Harry pouted.

"You need to get her out of here now," Danny stated, "It's urgent."

"Alright! Alright!" Harry conceded, throwing his hands up in the air. Harry straightened out his dress shirt. "Relax. I'm on it," he reassured his friend.

Now Harry wasn't exactly the first person you'd call for in an emergency. ("Hey!" Harry exclaimed. John shushed him in response and continued.) But in this case, he was all Danny had. Miraculously enough, it seemed that Harry was the perfect person for the job. Distractions were this man's specialty. "Uh," Harry looked around for an opening, "Why don't we awkwardly stand over here, Kate?" Harry proposed as he steered her towards the door.

Danny watched as he saw his friend make his way towards him. He looked back at Harry anxiously. "Hurry," he whispered under his breath. Kate was still in a deep thought, but Harry's firm grip kept her moving. He shot a wink over to Danny. Danny exhaled just as he felt a hand hit his shoulder. "It's great to see you, mate!" his friend greeted. Danny smiled worriedly. "You too!" he greeted.

"So basically, it was all thanks to me," Harry declared as he pulled on his shirt. John rolled his eyes. "It's not like it would've been that big of a deal if someone did see Kate," John replied. Harry gasped, placing his hand on his chest. "Are you kidding me? It would've been horrible! Think about her reputation if that was her first impression! It's hard to make a name for yourself in the YouTube world, you know!" Harry retorted. This earned him another eyeroll from John. "Oh please," John muttered.

"Anyways," Harry continued, "So I escorted the poor, paralyzed girl to her room. Which was difficult since she wasn't exactly cohesive during her walk. She just kept mumbling certain phrases like "can't believe it" or "worst day", you know, hardly relevant. But throughout it all, one man stayed true. One man kept going no matter what happened. One man refused to give up!" Harry's foot was propped up on a chair as he pointed towards the sky in one of those victorious poses. "One man needs to hurry the hell up," added John.

"Me. Harrison Reid. I had a mission and by God, I was going to finish it. No matter what it took!" Harry exclaimed.

The crowd quickly applauded in response. John placed his fingers on the sides of his head and held in a groan. How Harry manages to manipulate crowds into believing his idiotic declarations was beyond him. "So what did you do?" asked a girl in the crowd. Harry hopped off the chair and moved towards the audience. "Well, we finally got onto the elevator, careful to avoid all attention from anyone else in the lobby, and we flew up to the sixth floor, where her room was," Harry informed.

"How did you know where it was?" asked another member of the audience.

"When I first met Kate, I saw that she was holding her room key in her hands. While we were talking, I managed to take a peek at the key and saw the shadow of the number through the paper. After realizing that it was a mirror-image, I was able to deduce that they were staying in room 605," Harry explained. The crowd gasped at Harry's observational abilities. "Or….Danny told him what room it was," John corrected.

"Hush, mere mortal!" Harry interrupted, "Even if that was true, I could've easily figured it out the way I said I did. Now back to the story, even I, the great and powerful Harrison Reid, was not prepared for what we saw when we got to that hotel room…"

After her run-in, Nicole was more than eager to get away from the party. She had a tight grip on Ethan's wrist through the lobby, loosened the hold into the elevators, and had completely let go of the poor sap in the hall. Ethan frantically tried to keep up the entire way, following her like a lost puppy. There were beads of sweat on his forehead by the time they arrived at her door. "Ok, you can go now," she dismissed, after the keypad lit up. Ethan panicked. This was his chance! They were finally alone! If he didn't make a move now, he might never get this close again. "Wait, hold on, is that it?" Ethan asked, "You sure you don't need me for anything?" Nicole mulled it over. "Nope," she stated as she opened the door.

Ethan stumbled his way forward, blocking Nicole from entering the room. "Well, what about some company? You wouldn't want to be alone at a time like this, right?" he stammered.

"At a time like what?" Nicole asked, giving him a confused look.

"A time of need! You should have someone by your side to help you get through it!"

"Get through what?"

"Uh, whatever it is that's bothering you! A friendly face and open ear are great companions. Plus, it'd be more fun getting drunk if you weren't alone," Ethan continued.

Nicole pursed her lips. While this guy was completely off about that whole friendly face and open ear part, he did have a point about the alcohol. She was used to drinking by herself, but it wouldn't hurt to have another person to drink with. It'd also be a better excuse when Kate came back and saw all of the countless bottles on the floor. "Ok," Nicole conceded. She pushed him aside to enter the room. "Ok?" Ethan asked, surprised that his argument worked. He quickly followed Nicole into the room, carefully closing the door behind him.

Walking into a room has never given Ethan more panic than it did right at that moment. Sure, he's performed at conventions and shows in front of crowds of people, but this was a completely different experience. He only had one shot at this, so he had to put on his best performance. Plus, it usually helped when those audience members actually wanted to see him.

Nicole jumped onto her bed. She kicked off her shoes and began scrolling through her phone. "There should be drinks in the fridge," Nicole informed, not even looking up. Ethan cautiously approached the fridge; he really did have his work cut out for him. "The fridges come with beers here?" Ethan asked. There were a few already opened, name-brand beers in the fridge. He doubted his room was as well-stocked. "Nah, I just smuggled some from the bar downstairs. I'm not about to pay $20 for a tic-tac sized vodka," Nicole replied.

Ethan shrugged, she did have a point. He took a swig of one while handing her hers; after all, he was going to need all the help he could get here. Nicole sat up, taking the bottle from his hands, and took a drink herself. They just stayed there, drinking silently, for a few moments until the voice in Ethan's head went off. "Don't be a moron! Say something!" it yelled.

"Nice party, huh?" Ethan coughed out.

"It's ok," Nicole shrugged, still fixated on her phone. Well, at least he got an answer. He told himself to just build off of it naturally. That's how normal conversations start, right? "Yeah, psh, I mean, who'd want to stay in a room of crowded people anyways?" Ethan scoffed. Nicole took another gulp of her beer and nodded. "Yup," she replied.

This conversation was going nowhere. Ethan could feel the alarm beginning to sink in. "Ok, ok, relax. Just...pick another topic," his brain advised. Ethan looked around the room for some sort of talking point. There wasn't much to see. There were two suitcases, one unpacked and one untouched. There were a couple shoes on the floor, but judging from the organized formation they were in, he assumed they weren't hers. And finally, at the little table in the corner, there was a large jug of water, an extra bag, and a Canon 70D. Oh, that should do it!

"Hey, are you a photographer or something?" Ethan gestured towards the camera. He instantly winced. Of course she would have a camera, she was a YouTuber for crying out loud. Of all the stupid, idiotic things to point out- "Just some stuff on the side. I've done a couple photo shoots, but I don't have a career over it or anything," Nicole explained.

Ethan's ears perked up. Did she just use more than one word in a sentence? Oxytocin and adrenaline pumped into Ethan's bloodstream. Alright! Now he was getting somewhere! Wait...best not get too excited. Let's just try to keep this going. Ethan raised the drink to his lips. "Photoshoots, huh? Those take a lot of time and energy," Ethan continued.

"Yeah, but I like doing it," Nicole replied.

"What's your favorite part?" he asked.

Nicole put down her phone to think about her response for a little while. She went through her photography agenda from getting inspired/getting a gig to printing out the photos. "Probably finding the perfect location. And then shooting at golden hour is great too, whether it's sunrise or sunset. I love how it looks when the subjects are backlit, like they're glowing from within in this picturesque field or beach," Nicole explained.

Ethan could've drooled right then and there. Listening to the way Nicole described these photo shoots made Ethan want to get on a plane and go to wherever Nicole was thinking about at that instant. "Wow," Ethan breathed out. He picked his jaw off the floor and shook himself out of his daydream. Even Nicole got caught up in her own words and had to shake herself out of her own mental picture. "Yeah, well," she shrugged and went back to her cell.

He needed to know more. "Do you ever film at those places?" Ethan asked. Nicole put her phone down again. "No, not really. When I film it's usually on-the-go or vlogging. So the locations are either indoors or an event," she answered.

"That's too bad. Cause I'm always trying to find good filming spots and the way you describe yours it makes it seem perfect," Ethan complimented.

"It's all about time of day, you know. What kind of lighting are you looking for?," she explained, sitting cross-legged on the bed. Ethan turned to her, bending one leg onto the bed. "Depends on the scene and what kind of film I'm making. I do like backlighting though." Nicole's eyes lit up. "Same! I love lens flares; well, not as much as J.J. Abrams but you get the idea," she quipped.

Did this girl just make a film joke? Ethan was going to have to grab his heart to stop it from palpitating cause this girl just got better; which he already thought was impossible. Poor guy was really in a pickle now. Not only was Nicole was gorgeous beyond belief, a passionate photographer, and a growing YouTuber, but now she was a film buff too? Which, yes, sounds like he just met his dream girl, but that also meant he had a lot more pressure. And what better way to alleviate such pressure than with alcohol, right? So Ethan had no choice but to chug down his beer like a divorced, overweight ex-cheerleader at her ten year high school reunion.

Nicole didn't understand what brought on this sudden drinking, but on the other hand, she was not about to go and judge someone on their drinking issues when she had her own. Besides, out of the two people in the room, she was the one who needed alcohol the most. After all, she'd just finished seeing, ugh, Ethan Banks downstairs. He was probably down there now mackin' on a poor hoe's neck with his little fancy accent. Gross. Nicole looked down at the beer in her hands. "Bottoms up," she thought as she downed the bottle. Nicole exhaled as she tore the empty bottle away from her mouth. The alcohol hit her stomach and began eroding all thoughts of Ethan Banks from her mind; just like she wanted.

Nicole let out a belch, chuckling at its volume. "Pass me another one, would you?" she asked. Ethan passed her another bottle while taking another one for himself. "So...do you watch a lot of movies?" Ethan casually asked. Nicole mumbled out a "yeah" as she took another gulp from the bottle. "Any particular genre?" Ethan asked, taking a drink himself. Their bodies were already beginning to get that warm, cozy feeling as their thoughts got less and less cohesive. "Action movies, mostly. I like a lotta thriller and horror ones," Nicole replied. Ethan's eyebrows raised up at the new information. This woman was getting better by the second.

After a few more sentences on movies (and a couple bottles later), there came a natural lull in the conversation as their bodies began adjusting to the alcohol. "Hey, Imma put on some music," Nicole informed. She maneuvered her way to the large bag on her bed and pulled out her iPod and speakers. Taking careful consideration of her steps, Nicole got to the table, set up the mini-stereo system, and scrolled through to find a song. Now normally, this would be a difficult decision, but for some reason, there was one playlist in particular that really felt right.

The voice of Jhene Aiko serenaded the room, "When you said it was over, you shot right through my heart." A smile grew on Nicole's face as the music took effect. "Why you let these hoes tear what we had right apart, ooh i'm so mad" she sang along, pausing to only take another sip, "I should've seen this coming right from the start"

"You should beware, beware, beware" Ethan continued. Nicole opened her eyes and grinned. "Ayy!" she called out, pointing to her co-singer. "Of a woman with a broken heart," they sang in unison. They continued to take turns with lines, pointing to the other whenever it was their turn to take over. It wasn't long until these carefree emotions escalated. But the song eventually did come to an end and their highs began their descent. Luckily, the playlist blasted another Big Sean song and it was like the party never stopped.

"Ah, room 405. This is it right?" Harry asked the still-stunned Kate. Kate should've questioned how he knew her room, but she's seen that this guy has some tricks up his sleeves so she let it slide. Kate simply nodded in response and said, "Thanks for getting me out of there."

"No problem! Just promise me you won't let whatever happened in there ruin your night," Harry added. A small smile appeared on Kate's face as she unlocked the room door. Even though Harry seemed like a socially unept third grader at times, he could be quite sweet otherwise. Harry continued, "We're thousands of miles away from our homes with free booze at our fingertips! Things couldn't get better than this." Kate smiled again. Granted Harry might've been right, but she had a lot of things weighing on her and partying was the last thing on her mind. Right now, all she wanted to do was take a shower, lay down, and attempt to forget all about it.

And forget about it she would; because when Kate opened the door, she was greeted with the sight of her roommate and her newly acquainted friend twerking their hearts out to "Dance by Big Sean". Neither of them noticing the opened door with their two, very confused friends standing there. Kate's first instinct was to just close the door and pretend like it never happened, but then it finally clicked in her head. Here was her dear friend, Nicole, bonding with a male friend, who by the way, could potentially become more than a friend if given the appropriate amount of time. It'd been two years since Kate's last seen Nicole even hanging out with a guy. Kate couldn't just ruin this precious, potentially life-changing moment! That's not what a good friend would do; and she was an amazing friend.

So Kate slyly tiptoed into the room, shoved a few necessities into a bag, and closed the door quietly behind her. Not so surprisingly, neither Nicole or Ethan noticed as they were far too busy trying to gyrate properly to the beat. Even after the door was closed, Harry stood completely still with his mouth opened. "Harry, would it be alright if I could take a shower in your room?" Kate asked, ignoring his expression. But all Harry could say was, "How can she move those body parts like that?"

"She's half black. Are you really that surprised?" she informed.

"I just didn't know your hips could move that way," he thought aloud.

"I'm just going to take that as a 'yes'. Are you guys on this floor?" she asked.

Kate held her bag in front of her as she patiently waited for Harry to collect himself. You'd think that he'd never seen a girl twerk before. Harry handed her his room key, still unable to peel his eyes away from the door. "You lead," he told her in a zombie-like manner. Kate let out an exasperated sigh. She grabbed onto his shoulder and dragged him towards the elevator. "So I guess clubbing is definitely out of the question," Kate thought aloud.