Overwhelming - Florence Pugh (ON HOLD)

F It Up

A/N: holy hell I've been so busy, I'm getting back into writing my stories again, it's just gonna take me a second. I don't have everything written, I'm doing it as I go and I just moved to a completely different state than I thought I was to nanny my nephew. busy as all get out

Scarlett and I maneuvered our way through the large crowd in the center of the dance floor. I had tried to spot Florence as well as Lyric, but I didn't have any luck. At that point, I just assumed Florence didn't actually like me that much and had just been polite.

The DJ stopped the music and handed his microphone to the party organizer.

"Alright party people! We have a special activity that will end up with a prize at the end of the night. This was a surprise that no one knew about, so no one could prepare. Now, let. Get. TO IT!"

He handed the mic back to the DJ and he started mixing up some beats. It was quiet at first, but as the event started getting described, it slowly got louder.

"Now, we have some good dancers out here and you're about to have to show your skills. This is the first and only random duo dance battle! Get your partners and move to the circle that's cleared at the center of the floor. No dance moves are off limits, except stripping, just have fun. Let's go!"

I looked at Scarlett with a smirk and she looked right back at me. I held my hand out.

"Shall we?"

She grabbed it and held her chin high.

"We shall."

'F it Up' by Jason Derulo started up and multiple people got into the middle of the floor. The room separated into thirds, some on the outer edges and the rest in couples in the center. Scarlett pressed her back to my front and we started dancing.

First you gon' turn me on
Then you gon' piss me off
Love how you be actin' up
Girl as soon as we get home
You know we gon' fuck it up, fuck it up

I had my hands on her waist and my face on her shoulder, tilted towards her neck. Her arms were around the back of my neck and her head was leaned back against my shoulder. We were completely and totally in a zone. There was only us and the beat, moving in sync. Our hearts pumping in tune to the bass. Bodies pressed against each other, heat of the moment. The feeling of complete and total freedom in that moment is something that I'll never forget.

Suddenly though, the song changed. 'Pon De Replay'.

Fuck. Yes.

I flipped Scarlett around, hands still on her waist. She grinned at me and we started singing the lyrics, along with practically everyone else in the club. We had a sort of half-salsa, half-step type dance happening and we were going off.

I twirled her outwards and pulled her back in. She started laughing and I took her in. Scarlett was glowing. I could tell she was having just as much fun as me, if not more. Her hair was all in her face and she was out of breath, but she still looked beautiful. I couldn't help but think about just how lucky of a guy Colin Jost is. He really has one of the most gorgeous women in the entire world on his arm.

If only.

The song changed one last time and I knew I had to pull put all my stops for this. We were one of only five pairs left, and it turned into a pentagonal dance-off. My song was put on though.

Fucking hips don't lie.

I gave Scarlett a grin, like I knew something she didn't. This was true. One of my favorite hidden talents is being able to dance how Shakira did in this music video. I beckoned for her to move behind me. She gave me a questioning look, but obliged. I looked at the other pairs who were just doing random dances. I laughed a bit and looked down, before getting in the headspace.

It only took a second and once I was in it, my smile disappeared for a moment and my head snapped up. I looked over my shoulder and sent my dance partner a knowing look. Scarlett stepped to my front, put her hands up in the air, and danced with me. Everyone stopped and looked at us. We held eye contact the whole time. It was intense, keeping eye contact while doing such hard hip movements. Either one of us could've lost focus. Not that it would've been bad, but we were having fun and it was a sort of final stand-off between the last two people. Scarlett and I.

The DJ said something I didn't hear, but Scarlett looked away for one second. She lost focus. I grinned and took this as my own personal win. The song cut off, so I reached over and pulled her into a hug. We were both breathing hard and laughing and clapping with everyone.

"Damn, did y'all see that chemistry?!"

The crowd roared with approval and I ducked my head, never doing well with attention.

"I think that means you guys won. Right?"

The crowd cheered again.

"Your prize is 12 shots, on the house!"

This time I cheered, along with Scarlett and the rest of the crowd. We started to walk back to our booth to grab Lyric and Florence to get our shots when my memory of earlier that day hit me like a freight train.

My smile slowly started to fade, as did the adrenaline from dancing. Everything went out of focus and I couldn't breathe. Scarlett turned around and started to say something, but it was muffled. Everything was muffled. My sight was fuzzy and all I could see were the flashing lights. All I could feel were the foreign limbs on me.

I had to go. I had to get out. I had to leave.

And just like that, a light in the darkness, pulling me back from the edge. A hand reached out to me. A hand I knew. A hand I had come to appreciate more than I could ever put into words.

Florence.

She brought me to the back door and sat me down on the curb. Despite her being my saving grace, I couldn't breathe. Everything was too much.

It's just too much.

Florence started to sit next me and attempted to put her coat over me. It was snowing. It was too much.

Too much.

I flinched as soon as she made contact and stood up abruptly. My eyes shot around, trying to find something familiar. Something of comfort. Something.

Too much.

I felt her hands on my face, trying to bring my focus back to her. Trying to bring me back. Trying.

Too much.

Then, I ran.