Chapter Two: Last Night's Drunken Antics, Part One
"Ana! Hey! Are you almost ready?" Hailey called out for her roommate, black high heels click-clacking against the hardwood floor in the hallway as she headed for the living room. It was a rare, rare thing for Ana to join the three girls on a night out and Hailey could hardly believe her friend had agreed to join them tonight. Hailey, Emily and Jenna had been best friends since grade school and had had some sort of a Friday night tradition for almost just as long. As of late, that tradition had been going out for drinks at the new club around the corner – tonight, it was to celebrate their reassignment to the Citadel. The four of them along with a handful of others from their graduating class were scheduled to board a spaceship bright and early Monday morning and head for the stars. The trip from Earth to the Citadel would only take a short two hours thanks to the mass relays.
Ana stepped out into the living room just as the doorbell rang. "Hey, lady, lookin' good," Hailey winked jokingly at Ana as she pulled the front door open to let the other two girls in. Ana smiled and nervously ran her hands through her long, red hair. She had never been the type to go out and party, and normally passed on Hailey's weekly invites to go to the new bar, D37, that had recently opened up around the corner from their apartment complex. This week, however, was different. It was their last week on Earth – and Ana was definitely ready to celebrate that. It meant the start of a new life, the chance to make something of herself – and the chance to get away from her ex-boyfriend, the former love of her life, Jacob Taylor.
Just the thought of his name brought the familiar sting of tears to her eyes and it was all she could do to choke them back. Quickly, before either of the girls had a chance to say hello to her, Ana made a break for the bathroom in the hallway, careful to shut the door behind her. Her long, slender fingers gripped the edge of the counter top firmly and she met her own green eyes in the reflection of the mirror. "Get your shit together, Ana." If I splash cold water on my face, I'll have to re-do my makeup and that will take forever. She sighed, opting instead for a drink of cold water until the sting behind her eyes began to subside.
Tap, tap, tap. "Ana?" Hailey was at the door, rapping gently on the other side. "Hey, are you ready to go? Emily and Jenna left to get us a table, so we should probably head out." With a deep breath, and another nervous smoothing of the hair, Ana pulled the bathroom door open and put on her brightest smile.
"Let's go get crunk!" The two girls stepped out into the living room headed for the front door, the click-clacking of their heels muffled by the thick cream colored carpet.
Hailey giggled, raising a perfectly manicured eyebrow in Ana's direction. "Crunk? Have you been hanging out with Traynor again?" Samantha Traynor, while a good friend of both Hailey and Ana, was a bit socially awkward and had a bad habit of saying really old and silly phrases. Ana laughed and nodded as they stepped out into the hallway.
"You know you love her."
"Apparently not as much as you do! Though I will admit she has her moments." Hailey elbowed her friend in the ribs, wiggling her eyebrows at Ana as they linked arms and traipsed down the white-walled hallway towards the elevator, all thoughts of Jacob gone from Ana's mind. Traynor and Ana shared the same kind of commitment to their jobs, and had many classes together in the Alliance Academy. They had spent a lot of time together over the years and had become really good friends – and recently, Traynor had shyly confessed to having a crush on Ana. That had put a bit of an awkward damper on their friendship – while the idea of dating another girl didn't bother her in the least, she just wasn't ready for another relationship after the way things with Jacob ended. Sometimes, Ana didn't think she ever would be.
"-so what do you think?" There was a pause. Hailey glanced over at Ana, and instantly knew her head was in the clouds. "Hello, Earth to Ana, come in, Ana!" The ebony-haired girl gently nudged her friend who jumped, gave a slight shake of her head and turned to meet Hailey's gaze.
"Sorry, spaced out, what were you saying?" Hailey sighed, waved her hand in dismissal and turned to head into D37. Ana hadn't even realized they had left the apartment building, much less were stopped on the sidewalk outside of the club. She instantly felt bad for tuning out what Hailey was saying. "Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… you know how I am, I just get so caught up in my thoughts." A sheepish smile graced her porcelain features as the two girls passed through the heavy wooden door. The pounding music inside enveloped them like a blanket, and Hailey had to lean in close to be heard.
"Don't worry about it, we will talk later. I'm going to grab us a round of shots to get started, you go sit with Emily and Jenna over there," she pointed through the throng of people to a booth where the two blondes were seated. Loud music pulsated throughout the club sending vibrations through Ana's slender figure, making her head feel fuzzy. Shots already? Ana, the lightweight of the group, groaned in protest but did as she was told after a "no-nonsense" glare from Hailey.
Thirty minutes later and on round number three thanks to a group of gorgeous Asari by the bar, the four girls grabbed their third set of shot glasses.
"Bottoms up, girls!" Jenna exclaimed, quickly throwing back the drink.
"Oh, YUCK!" Emily made a face as she set the shot glass down on the table with a metallic clink, wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand. "What was that?"
Hailey, Ana and Jenna were too busy coughing and sputtering to answer; whatever it was, it was strong and it was bitter. The girls continued to yell at each other over the music – Ana, however, could not concentrate on their voices as she was beginning to feel more like a spinning top than a person. Hailey, taking note of Ana's sudden lack of interest in the conversation, stole a quick glance at her friend. It was evident that Ana was a goner. Lightweight, she laughed to herself.
Eventually, the group of Asari came to join the human girls. Emily was the first to head for the dance floor with a certain blue beauty in tow; Jenna excused herself to the bar where she engaged in her weekly merciless flirting with the bartender; Hailey and an Asari who introduced herself as Biella got quite cozy in the booth opposite Ana and an Asari named Kasha, who happened to be part of the Illian Stars exotic dance troupe.
At first, Ana was unsure of how to respond to the Asari cozying up to her, but sooner than she would have liked to admit, liquid courage got the best of her. Ana had always been curious about the blue-skinned race and Kasha was charming, funny, sweet, and most of all, absolutely mesmerizing.
Kasha's cool hand stroked Shepard's as they talked, running lightly over each individual finger, swirling around and around in her palm and then back to the woman's fingers. The sensation sent goose bumps repeatedly up and down Shepard's arms as she talked about what life was like growing up as an army brat. Both of her parents had been part of the Alliance military, so they moved around from station to station never really staying in one place for more than a few years. Just as Shepard was beginning to explain why she followed in her parent's footsteps and enlisted at the age of eighteen, Kasha began to edge closer and closer, her fingertips trailing farther and farther up the woman's pale-skinned arm.
Ana, whose perception was heavily muddled by alcohol, took no notice of the Asari's slight but deliberate advances until they were sitting hip to hip with Kasha's hand resting just below the hem of her black skirt. Hailey and Biella, still sitting opposite Ana and Kasha were far too enthralled by one another to take any notice.
"I juss wanna do m'part for the world, y'know?" Shepard slurred, looking to Kasha – who was a lot closer than she was a few minutes ago. Out of surprise and nervousness, her heart began to race. Kasha's ocean blue gaze was intense – Ana felt her cheeks begin to heat, but did not dare turn away from the beautiful Asari. There are worse things in life…
A small smile graced Kasha's lips, the miniscule movement drawing Ana's attention away from her intense gaze. Before her muddled brain had a chance to register what was happening, the Asari's lips were just centimeters from her own. "Stop me now if you do not want this." Kasha's voice was smooth as honey, her breath warm and smelling faintly of strawberries. Ana hesitated for a brief second, taking the chance to meet Kasha's ocean gaze once more before shutting her eyes and closing the whisper of distance between their lips in response.
The kiss was gentle at first, new and unsure of itself. Kasha's hand reached up and began to caress the redhead's face. A small sigh escaped Ana's lips in response; the kiss deepened, sending burning fires of desire through her core. It was a strange feeling, the sensation of another mouth on her own after so long.
Jacob. A sharp, emotional pain shot through her heart, and all in an instant, the want that had been building inside her dissipated. Ana jerked back, her eyes shooting open. Kasha looked worried and disappointed, but made no move to stop her. Drunk, I am so drunk, the redheaded girl thought, the world spinning as she stood. I have to get out of here. Heartache quickly made her feel sick to her stomach; she took off for the door, shouldering past Jenna still flirting to no avail with the bartender on her way out.
"Ana, where are you going?!" Jenna's voice came after her, but Ana ignored it, drunken tears making her vision blurry. She stumbled through people, pushing them out of her way with nothing more than a mumbled "sorry," and tripped out the front door of the club. Home, though it was only around the corner and one elevator ride up, was way too far away.
A worried Jenna abandoned her hopeless flirting, and returned to the table where Hailey and Biella were still wrapped around each other. The other Asari was nowhere in sight. She reached out a manicured finger and tapped Hailey on the shoulder, leaning in as she yelled, "Grab Emily and meet me at your apartment, Ana just took off." With that, the girl jumped into action, giving her newly found "friend" a quick peck before heading towards the dance floor.
Christ, what happened? Jenna thought to herself, pushing her way through the crowd of people to the door.