Wedlock - Harry Styles A.U

one

Edora

Las Vegas. Party central. Home to addicts of all kinds; gambling, alcohol, drugs, adrenaline junkies. Everywhere you look is a new casino, a new party, a new source of life. You either fit in, in Vegas or you stick out like a sore thumb.

I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb but not because this place isn't necessarily my vibe or because I'm a little socially awkward; but because my friends are screaming and shouting as we make our way to the third casino of the night, this one having a club too. With a tiara with a big '21' on and a matching sashay draped over my shoulders, we're stumbling all over the place. The look has been one forced on by my friends. They're convinced that letting everyone in the streets of Las Vegas know it's my birthday will get us all free drinks so they're being sure to make a scene.

And to be honest, I can't fault them because it has worked. I just wish men could buy us drinks for the sake of being nice and not want anything in return. Because, yes I do want a double vodka and coke on the house, but no I don't want to go out the back and suck your dick; and yes, I would love a sex on the beach cocktail but no, I don't want to go home with you. And when I turn men down after being bought a drink, I'd rather not be accused of being a 'golddigger' and I'd rather the slut shaming terms be kept to themselves which is why, we're two hours into the night and I'm still yet to accept a drink from anyone. No drink is worth the hassle when I have a bank account  with my own money I have earnt from my hard work.

"Okay," Beatrix shouts in my ear as she holds me at my shoulders. "You have one hour left of your birthday which means you have one hour left to milk the fuck out of your first day as a twenty one year old."

"Trixie I-"

She is quickly spinning me around and gives me a gentle shake. "Stop thinking so much. Enjoy yourself! Accepting a few drinks from hot men isn't as deep as you think it is." She tells me, her words slurring slightly from all the alcohol she has consumed. When I'm sighing, she is pulling me off of the dance floor and towards the bar, not for a drink but for a place to sit. "Talk to me. Why are you holding back?"

"I'm not." I bitterly respond, frowning at her as I drum my fingertips against the bartop.

She raises an eyebrow at me, shaking her head.

"Before we left the hotel, you told me you want to do some stupid shit. What happened to 'You only live once' and 'If I die tonight, I want to know I've done everything that feels right to me'?" She says before her eyes go wide and she adds on more. "I also do remember you saying 'it hasn't been a successful twenty first in vegas if it doesn't end with me getting my stomach pumped.'" We both laugh at the statement before she's sipping her own drink with a raised eyebrow. "What changed?"

"Nothing has changed. I just..." I look around the club, seeing all the people dancing and having the time of their life. "Doesn't this feel a little unsafe? This is my first time in a club, there's a lot happening."

Trixie gives me a weak smile before she gives my forearm a firm squeeze. "Do you want to leave?"

"No, no, no." I quickly object whilst shaking my head. "God, no! I'm having fun, I just...I don't actually know what my point is." I laugh, my tipsy state making it hard for me to figure out exactly what it is that I want and what I'm feeling.

Trixie calls over the bartender and orders a plate of twelve tequila shots. Where I originally think it's for our whole friendship group, I'm proven wrong when she's got six in front of her and six in front of me.

"Loosen up a bit. You only celebrate your twenty-first birthday once, Edora." She tells me before she downs one of the shots. With a gasp, she's picking up another and continuing her little speech. "Do whatever makes you comfortable, you know I'm fine with whatever we do - just do what you want." She takes another shot before she's nudging my elbow. "If you're not gonna have them, I'll take them."