𝙴𝙽𝙸𝙶𝙼𝙰
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐏.𝐎.𝐕.
It is a chilly Friday summer night. That means no work for Drea tomorrow, that is until the latter part of the day. She is supposed to meet with Leif tomorrow afternoon. She decided to just chill for a bit, to relax and vent out stress from her jobs, though it is not really that stressful working at 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘬-𝘢-𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 because they usually have fewer customers, putting up with a few who think they know the bookshop better than Drea does, is really quite a handful. On the other hand, her modelling job is not something she hates, in fact, she loves it but modelling is just as tiring. She is relieving her stress tonight that is why she is now sitting on a stool in front of the bar counter.
She is wearing a black cropped hoodie over her sports bra and a pair of denim ripped mom jeans finished off with a pair of black sneakers. She did not really ponder on what she would be wearing for tonight, she was not even expecting to meet with anyone. She is not wearing any contact lenses too, allowing her literal pair of cat eyes to be seen. Instead of the usual circular shape of the pupil, hers were almond-shaped. Her silver eyes were glinting under the different colored lighting of the club. She had planned to have the night alone in the club that was why she went for a raw look which she usually just has in the privacy of her apartment.
The loud music is blasting to her ears, the smell of alcohol, smoke, and sweat invading her senses. It feels quite stuffy and humid despite the air conditioning of the club. People are getting wasted everywhere she darted her attention to. The dance floor is now filled with people wildly dancing while holding a glass or two of alcohol. Some people are even grinding on each other by the dance floor. She saw some people making out by the corner of her eyes, she cringes at the sight. Drea tried focusing on her drinks, deciding to do just that until she got bored of it.
Soon enough she got bored of staring at her drink and had sorted to look around the club. She found familiar faces as she looked around. Some of them probably from the university she used to go to while the others, she probably saw stopped by the book shop she is working at or the convenience store near her apartment she frequents. She is waiting for Driana and her friends.
𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢— Adrianna Vega is her co-worker at the book shop who was also a childhood friend only a year older than Drea. The older female called earlier, asking Drea for her plans for the night. She had told the younger one that she is going to go to the club since her shift is not up until tomorrow night. She told the older female that she is also going to the club and that she was already on the way. They had agreed to just meet there which explains why she is drinking to herself while waiting for her companions to arrive.
She watches as other people nearly puke on themselves because of too much alcohol and grimaces at the thought. She could not imagine herself in that kind of state. She never allowed herself to be that drunk whenever she went out to drink. She was about to finish her third glass when she saw Driana walking through the crowd. She stood up from the stool deciding to meet the older halfway as the other approached her. "𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮!" she exclaimed, hugging the younger. "𝗗𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗮." the younger greeted, she then nodded to her co-worker's friend.
"𝗢𝗵 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗵. 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗝𝗶-𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲." Driana introduced. "𝗝𝗶-𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸." she chuckled. "𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮. 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗝𝗶-𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗞𝗮𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘆, 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀." Ji-anne offers her hand. "𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼𝗼, 𝗝𝗶-𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱." Drea smiled, shaking the other female's hand.
"𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘂𝘀. 𝗪𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗱." Driana informed the youngest present. They are now inside a booth Ji-anne reserved for them. It is her birthday, they had told Drea on the way to the booth and the younger greeted her when they told her about it, which is why she insisted on paying for the night.
"𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗵. 𝗠𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱." Ji-anne added to her friend's statement. "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴. 𝗪𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿." Drea said. "𝗔𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆, 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗝𝗶-𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲'𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆." Drea cheerfully said, offering a toast to the other two. "𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀." the older two responded as they clink all of their glasses together.
Three of them stayed inside the booth while chatting with each other over the drinks they had ordered. The booth was not soundproofed but it lessened the volume of the booming music by the dance floor. It does not feel stuffy anymore and Drea can feel the air conditioning again. Just like any other conversation, they started from a light topic to a more serious one then back to a lighter subject again. In the middle of their conversation, Ji-anne suddenly gasped, making the two others focus their attention on her.
She pointed at Drea with wide eyes. "𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁." she uttered, earning a twin confused look from Drea and Driana. "𝗢𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝗚! 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗜 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿?" she muttered quite loudly to herself. It had dawned on Drea that the older had not realised who she just might be earlier. She smiled at the older woman. "𝗬𝗲𝘀. 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗮 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁." she said, confirming the other's late realisation. "𝗬𝗼𝘂... 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝘀. 𝗔𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁?" Ji-anne asked after a few seconds. "𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿." the younger replied. "𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗢𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝘀𝗵! 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿. 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗮 𝗵𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗚𝗼𝘀𝗵, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝘂𝗴𝗲!" she said quite quickly.
She turned to Driana slightly frowning. "𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗔𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲?" she said, sounding genuinely hurt. "𝗛𝗲𝘆. 𝗜 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄?" Driana replied. "𝗢𝗸𝗮𝘆. 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹." Ji-anne said while pouting. Drea chuckled, amused on how the older acts all because she now knows who Drea is. "𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗿." she offered, causing the sulking aura of the older to vanish into thin air replaced by a bright smile like a child's on Christmas morning. "𝗬𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲." the older replied, nodding almost aggressively.
Drea chuckled. It is not like she did not anticipate this since her sister's name got recognized, but meeting a fan of her sister is something she will always be amused and proud of. She takes pride in knowing her sister is getting known for something she loves and enjoys doing. They had always been supportive of each other. Her musing was interrupted by another statement from Ji-anne. "𝗦𝗼 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲'𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿... 𝗢𝗵 𝗺𝘆... 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿..." Ji-anne gasps. "𝗨𝗻𝗰𝗹𝗲. 𝗬𝗲𝘀, 𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗹𝗲." Drea finished the older's sentence for her.
Driana suddenly stood up. They both looked up to her, confused. "𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁?" she asked. "𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲." she said, pouting. They laughed at her pouting but stood up and had Driana led the way back to the dance floor. They dance the rest of the night away. They never got to meet the friends Ji-anne was talking about earlier.
She went back to their booth when she felt tired, deciding to just drink to herself until she decides to go home. It was about half an hour later that the older females went back to their booth. She continued the night without any idea what would happen soon.