Chapter Four: Damage Done
A/N: A huge thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Sean's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he drank in the sight of a clearly uncomfortable Tobi. She looked so different in the clothes she wore, and his gawking caused Darwin to clock him around the back of the head when Sean's eyes rested on Tobi's cleavage. Alex was leaning against the wall and trying to look badass with his arms folded and a thoughtful frown on his face. Hank was blinking rapidly as if he couldn't take in the sight of three girls looking so amazing.
"So are we going or what?" Tobi asked a little irritably, not understanding what the big deal was. Darwin nodded, jingling his car keys as they headed outside, Angel struggling to get down the stairs due to her high heels. The click-click-click on the pavement made Tobi very happy that she had worn flats. Beside Angel, Raven was chatting animatedly with Hank.
There were seven of them and by the looks of Darwin's car, it would only take five people. Angel seemed to realize the same thing and scooted around to the passenger seat as fast as her three-inch heels would allow.
"Shotgun!"
Tobi realized this meant she was stuck in the back with Alex, Raven, Hank and Sean – the latter of who offered her a sleazy little smile and patted his knee as he sat down, amidst the bickering and shoving of those cooped up in the back.
"You can sit on my lap if you want," he grinned at Tobi.
Tobi's green eyes narrowed. "Move."
She reached out and shoved Sean across, so hard that it was like a series of dominoes in the back seat as everyone toppled over. Across the far side, Raven looked quite cosy sidled up beside Hank, but he looked rather nervous. In the middle, Alex looked like he was very squashed and very annoyed. Tobi reasoned it was probably best for all of them if she didn't irritate him until they reached the nightclub Darwin had told them about.
In the passenger seat, Angel flicked between radio stations with a sparkling fingernail. In the back, the five teenagers wriggled uncomfortably in their restricted space and desperately hoped the nightclub wasn't too far away.
They were wrong. It was a very irritating half-hour before Darwin finally pulled up in carpark of the Konnect Nightclub. It was shady-looking place with bright lights that reminded Tobi of some of the local haunts in Las Vegas. The moody atmosphere quickly morphed into something bubbly and happy as the teenagers filed out the car, talking excitedly.
"Tobi." Darwin grabbed Tobi's arm as she stepped out of the car. He drew her aside and there was a troubled expression on his face. "I can't let you drink, okay? You're underage and I'm supposed to be in charge. So it's just a soft drink for you, alright?"
Tobi yanked her arm from Darwin's grasp, annoyed. They'd all come to have fun – except her, because she was just a kid in Darwin's opinion. Wow, the others would never let her live that down, especially Alex. The others wouldn't be allowed to drink either, being only eighteen, but it looked like Darwin would turn a blind eye because they were, legally, adults.
"I'm nearly eighteen," she reminded Darwin coolly, "I don't think one or two is going to hurt. Besides, even Angel and Raven agreed that I look old enough."
Darwin shook his head fervently. "It's not about how old you look. You're still seventeen. So just lay off the booze, right?"
Tobi just shrugged and stomped across the carpark, her flats slapping angrily against the ground as she caught up with Angel, who had been lingering around behind waiting for her. Seeing Tobi's pissed-off expression, she draped an arm around the younger girl's waist as they entered the club.
"What's the matter, hun?"
Tobi was blown away by the interior of the nightclub. It was dark with strobe lights and a glittering disco ball hanging overhead. The disco floor flashed different neon colours and dry smoke hissed out of a machine and created an atmosphere of mystery that got Tobi's adrenaline pumping. A devious thought entered her mind and she forced a smile and laughed.
"Oh, it's nothing. The others are already over at the bar. Let's go grab a drink and hit the dancefloor, yeah?"
Angel didn't know what Darwin had said to Tobi. What Angel didn't know wouldn't hurt her. The older girl shrugged and grinned as she reached the bar. The guy working there was cute in a boy-next-door way, perhaps a few years older than Angel. At her contagious smile, he found himself grinning rather idiotically back.
"A Bacardi coke for my friend and a Baileys for me," Angel winked, making the poor bartender nearly trip over his feet in his haste to fill up the glasses. Tobi was aware that Angel was flirting with the boy as he handed them their drinks and Angel paid for them.
"Cheers, Angel," Tobi said enthusiastically as she and Angel found a booth.
Tobi glanced around the nightclub. Darwin had reached the bar and was ordering a drink. Sean and Alex sat at another booth with their beers. Raven had managed to coax Hank into accompanying her to the dancefloor, where she'd twined her arms around his neck and was now smiling seductively.
Two hours later, Angel and Tobi were laughing raucously as Tobi helped Angel up onto the counter – not that the awestruck bartender attempted to prevent them – and ended up gaining the attention of most of the other patrons.
"Check this out!" Tobi shouted loudly as Angel started to sway her body and swing her hips in the sensual motions of the stripper she'd once been. Tobi took a few steps back on the counter, clapping and cheering along with everyone else.
Over the other side of the bar, Sean and Alex stopped talking to glance across at the girls. Alex just rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat, taking another sip of his beer, but Sean noticed that his eyes didn't leave the scene. Sean watched in fascination as Tobi tossed back her bronze hair and started to dance. How could she ever have posed as a boy?
The bar patrons were cheering enthusiastically as Angel and Tobi pressed their backs together and tossed their hair wildly, looking like they did this all the time for kicks. Angel tripped and nearly stacked it off the counter, but Tobi caught her by the arm and yanked her back up. The two of them looked so alive, so energetic, that they captivated everyone…well, apart from one person.
Darwin was clearly disgruntled as he elbowed his way through the throng of half-drunk watchers and grabbed Angel's wrist, pulling her down from the counter so that she swayed on her stiletto heels. Darwin then turned his attention upon Tobi, who was still gyrating to the music like nothing was wrong.
"What the hell is the matter with you? Get down now!"
Tobi giggled and clapped her hands clumsily as if Darwin himself was a circus act. Her green eyes sparkled with glee and Alex, sensing that the show was over, nudged Sean with his foot and jerked his head towards Darwin.
"Come on. We'd better go and sort this out."
Darwin had pulled Angel outside, accompanied by a flirtatious Raven and somewhat relaxed Hank. Tobi, very drunk, staggered along behind them, laughing loudly as if the whole thing was a joke. She pouted and reached out to grab Angel's other arm.
"Oh, don't be such a killjoy. We're having fun. Now we need to party more!"
Darwin turned to glance at her with clear disdain. "I told you, no drinking. You obviously didn't listen to me. So that's enough already, Tobi."
"I've been a bad girl," Tobi giggled and then hiccupped, her eyelids fluttering like manic butterflies. She swayed to and fro like a tree in a breeze."Naughty Tobi. Shouldn't drink. Oh well. Drinking only means we par-tay!"
Darwin rolled his eyes in disgust. He had dealt with enough drunken teenagers in his time, rolling around like mints in a box in the back seat, throwing up and leaving messes to be cleaned. Admittedly, Tobi wasn't the worse, but it still prickled at the old irritation he had reserved for those stupid enough to get themselves so intoxicated. Angel had wobbled off towards the car, but Tobi remained stubbornly insistent. She was so like herself even when off her face.
"I'm going back in," Tobi nodded fervently and decisively, "Yep. I'm going to have some more fun…"
Darwin quickly reached out and grabbed her by the arm, stopping her from returning to the club. By this time, most of the others had recognized the fact that their night out had ended. There was the click of a car door opening and the muffled sound of music as Sean turned the radio on. Tobi bared her teeth and her eyes flashed with an animalistic light, her mouth forming a snarl as she ripped her arm from Darwin's grasp.
"Back off," she spat at him, and as Tobi took a step forward, Darwin, overawed and intimidated by her aura of power, took one back.
A fist swung out of nowhere, colliding with Tobi's face. Her head reeled back, bronze hair spinning in all directions. Darwin watched incredulously as Alex caught Tobi as she slumped into his grasp, as casually as if he made a habit of knocking out and catching girls every day. He shrugged at Darwin's stunned expression and hefted Tobi up and over his shoulder.
"She was getting on my nerves."
Darwin just heaved a sigh and waved a hand towards the car, not trusting himself to speak. What was it with these volatile teenagers? To be honest, he thought Alex had knocked Tobi out because she was fast becoming a danger, a danger in the form of possibly exposing her powers while drunk.
"What did you do?" Raven gasped as Alex propped open the door with his foot and clambered into the back seat along with the others, placing Tobi's limp form between Raven and Angel. Raven's eyes narrowed and she glared daggers at Alex. "Oh my God, you gave her the date rape drug, didn't you?"
Alex snorted. "Don't be stupid. It was Sean. You know he has the hots for her and this was the only way he could get her. Have some respect for the man."
"I did not!" Sean cried hotly from the front seat as Darwin crunched the keys into the ignition and started the car, his freckled face contorted with indignation, "I didn't touch her…"
Alex chuckled as Darwin backed out of the car park. "Yeah, true. That's a kind of 'only in your wildest dreams' situation, huh."
"Shut up, Alex," Raven countered, her eyes flashing their natural amber for just a moment, "Okay. So what really happened?"
Alex just shrugged casually. "I knocked her out."
"What?" Raven exclaimed, as Angel pressed her hands over her mouth and gasped. Raven knew that Alex didn't like Tobi, but that was no excuse for him to hit her. There was a brief struggle in the back seat as Raven attempted to lunge for Alex, across both Angel and the unconscious Tobi. "You bloody…"
"Relax!" Alex barked, his eyes widening as he leaned back against the door to stop Raven from clawing at him, "She was going to get us into trouble, okay? I did what I had to. She started on Darwin and might have used her powers…she's out of control."
Alex was on the defensive, but Raven wasn't buying it. Tobi had been off her face, probably for the first time ever. The experience was new to her and controlling her power had really been out of the question. However, she really wasn't looking for an argument, not when she was tired and just wanted some sleep. Instead, she settled for a murderous glower in Alex's direction. If only looks could kill.
Tobi woke up, her head pounding as though an army of elephants had marched through it. She groaned and buried her face in the pillow. She couldn't remember anything from last night. It was just a fuzzy blur. As well as her aching head, the left side of Tobi's face was throbbing with pain. She wondered if she'd smacked into something. She cringed inwardly.
"You're awake."
Tobi flipped over to see Raven sitting beside her bed with a mug of something steaming. Tobi sat up slowly and Raven pressed the mug into her hands. Tobi stared down as the scent overpowered her. It was herbal tea or something of the like. Tobi sipped at it tentatively and nearly scalded her tongue.
"So what happened last night?" Tobi choked, spluttering on the hot tea. She wasn't in her green dress and wondered who had undressed her and put her in her pajamas. She found her cheeks growing hot and desperately hoped it had been Angel or Raven and not one of the guys.
"A lot of things," Raven admitted, looking slightly amused, "You were…wow, you were out of it. Haven't you ever drunk before?"
Tobi shook her head slowly, feeling embarrassed. Jeez, she hoped she hadn't made a fool of herself.
"Umm…what did I do? More to the point, please tell me Sean wasn't the one who got me changed."
Raven laughed. "No way! What sort of friend would I be if I'd let that happen? Nope. You got changed yourself, but you probably just don't remember it. Oh and by the way…about your face…"
Raven grabbed Tobi by the wrist and propelled her across the room to the mirror. Tobi stared back at her ruffled reflection, her bronze hair sticking up at all angles, her face smeared with last night's make-up, her green eyes unusually bright…the purple-black bruise on the left side of her face.
"Shit, did I get into a fight?"
"Umm," Raven gnawed at her lip, "Not exactly. Actually, it was more that Alex just sort of smacked you one…"
"Fuck," Tobi seethed, her hands clenching into fists. She was so going to kill that boy. Why the hell had Alex hit her? Probably for any reason he could, counting on the fact that she was drunk and couldn't remember…she only hoped she hadn't done anything stupid like flirted with Sean or something that would have mortified her normally. "I'm going to kill him."
Tobi didn't care that she was in her pajamas, that she looked a mess as she stormed down the hallway. All that mattered was giving Alex hell to pay…or at least finding out why the fuck he'd punched her in the face. She sincerely prayed she hadn't been hitting on him.
Raven grinned as she followed her enraged friend down the corridor.
"This I've gotta see."