Disguise

Mates, Not Couples

The bright lights were trippy and the music was groovy, I could feel the bass right to my bones. There was a large crowd present at the club, which in a way always spoke volumes about how successful a club was. However, this was not a problem for us as we had our own private section that overlooked the rest of the place. I guess I shouldn't be surprised- he was royalty after all.

I spotted Hank a little far away from me, talking to a bartender and pointing at our table. He still looked grim and stiff, not enjoying himself at all. I tried to corner him when we were entering inside but Reece held me back by the arm and simply shook his head. "Let him be," he said. "He needs to sort this out himself." I decided to ignore his advice and pursue him later regardless. And maybe finally get the details of this story out for myself. I needed to understand what exactly happened that night, maybe it would help me forgive Reece much more easily.

Or maybe I wasn't ready for it yet - I was an expert at procrastination anyway.

On the other end of the spectrum, Daniella and Grey had already hit the dance floor. It was refreshing to see them being so carefree, even if it was just for one night, not that those two were ever low for long. They decided to eat and drink at the bar downstairs rather than ordering at the table, while the rest of us were seated in a plush sofa setting that was an extravagant section in itself. We even had our own space to dance upstairs but then it was probably more fun to dance with a large crowd.

The bartender came back with a wide selection of alcohol and food, carrying multiple plates with the grace of a ballet dancer. He never looked up at us, which I found weird but didn't comment on.

"This is a lot of food.." Xena spoke up besides me and then blushed when everyone looked at her. "I-I just mean I don't want it to get wasted," She amended quickly but Sienna was already chuckling. "A girl's gotta eat." She said lightheartedly and then took a generous helping of some food. Reece leaned in next, turning to look at Xena, "Don't worry, we eat like a pack of animals." And saying so, he winked at me, making me blush instantly. I looked away from him before I could burst in flames and settled on my best friend, she seemed like she wanted to say something but then held her tongue, a challenge in her eyes. Well, she would surely be in for a surprise.

Two shots and a couple of starters later, Xena was itching to join the two of them at the main dance floor as well, so we both stood up to make our way down.

"We're going to join them." I spoke to Reece over the loud music and he frowned. "What's wrong with dancing up here?" His hand tightened slightly on my wrist, turning me to him.

I looked down towards the rest of the people and looked back at him awkwardly, "it's weird." I mumbled.

Xena was waiting for me impatiently, but didn't intervene in our conversation, not that she could hear anything above the loud music anyway.

"What's weird?" He pressed further and I began to squirm under his gaze. Why did he ask so many questions?

I tried my best to frame the sentence without offending him.

"It's too..extravagant, like we're royalty and get to dance above everyone else. They can look up at us, that's weird." I hoped that I didn't sound ungrateful. To my surprise Reece let out a small smile, shaking his head.

Xena had already begun to make her way down - the alcohol always made her restless - but I found my curiosity piqued.

"What's that smile?" I asked him, moving closer and slightly bending to match his sitting form.

(I didn't have too much - since he was almost my height even when he was sitting and I was standing).

"I should have known that it'd overwhelm you." He said, leaning into my ear so that he didn't have to shout and I moved back immediately.