look at what you did to me

Teddy tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she zipped up her thigh high boots, deciding to herself that tonight was going to be a good night. The club had inclined in popularity recently, and with whispers from one dancer to another that there were special guests in the crowd, Teddy couldn't deny that she was curious. Knocking the door of Louella's dressing room, the brunette smiled. "Hey." She spoke softly, a huge contrast to her outword persona. "You ready?"

Luke grinned as he took a seat in the VIP booth, taking a shot of whatever the Hell Ashton had purchased. "Happy Birthday, Calum!" He shouted over the music. Luke had never really been inside a strip club before, he didn't know what to expect, but Ashton had told his three, younger, counterparts to just let loose and enjoy themselves, and that's exactly what Luke planned to do. Pushing his hair back, Luke looked over to the stage, before looking to his bandmates and best friends. "It's gonna be a good night."

Louella looked over to her friend, blinking, though she offered a weak smile and nodded. “Ready,” she confirmed before she stood up. While she seemed completely comfortable and confident on stage, she honestly hated this job - but it helped to pay for college in a way other jobs couldn't, so she dealt with it. “Are you?”

Michael chuckled quietly as he sat down, holding up his own glass. “To Calum - happy birthday, you loser!” he called to his friend, grinning broadly as he took the shot, making a face in the process. He wasn't exactly sure what to expect for the night, but he was looking forward to enjoying himself and he set the glass down, leaning back in his seat. “Let's enjoy it, yeah?”

Teddy smiled back at Louella sympathetically, understanding her turmoil. "As I'll ever be. I'll be happy once we get this done and I can dress into something warmer." She told her honestly, knowing she could trust Louella to do so. Teddy hated stripping, but it was the only job that seemed to pay well enough and although it was a career choice that was so last resort, Teddy was employed within 48 hours. "But apparently the VIP booth is booked, so that'll be interesting."

Luke laughed as Michael called Calum a loser, smirking at the brunette boy beside him, messing up his hair playfully. Looking to Michael, Luke took another shot as they were presented to them by Ashton, not wanting to admit to his friends that he was nervous to be inside such an establishment - although he was amused at how Ashton seemed to be more than at home here. "Ashton's done this before." He decided to Michael quietly, grinning.

Louella nodded her agreement. “And something way more modest,” she admitted, making a slight face, though she’d made sure to keep her voice quiet in case anybody was listening. Regardless, she blinked. “Oh, I heard about that. I wonder who would book the VIP booth, though.” She shrugged slightly, not wanting to think too much into it, figuring it didn’t matter much.

Michael laughed slightly to Luke’s comment about Ashton and he nodded slightly in understanding as he leaned to grab another shot for himself. “Oh, he definitely has,” he agreed, motioning to Ashton, “Look how focused and excited he is. It’s like he knows exactly what to expect and what to do.” He laughed with the thought, shaking his head with slight amusement despite himself.

Teddy nodded in agreement. "We're up next, so we should just... get this done." She sighed, almost defeated. All the strip club ever brought to her was misery, the same old faces almost every night, men hiding from their wives, or wanting kicks while working away from home, Teddy had encountered it all. Squeezing Louella's shoulder, Teddy led the way to the stage, waiting on the sidelines.

Luke laughed along with Michael's words, shaking his head with a grin, settling back in his seat once more as the lights dimmed, almost completely. Luke was anxious with what to expect for his first time at a place like this, and Luke had never really considered this a decent place to go for a party, his mother having raised him to respect women, but still, Ashton had hyped up the idea so much that he was curious.

Louella nodded slightly with the mention of it. “Game faces,” she said quietly, offering a small, weak smile to her friend as she followed her to the stage. Seeing the current dancer finishing, though, she gave Teddy’s hand a squeeze before heading up with her when it was their turn.

Michael leaned back in his seat after taking a shot, shifting a bit, curious to what exactly had Ashton hyping this place up so much. As his eyes scanned the stage, though, his gaze went to a pair walking up and his heart raced as his eyes landed on one girl in particular, amazed by her immediately.

Teddy smiled when she got onto the stage, her smile broadening with the whistles of various men in the crowd. Teddy hated this job, with a passion, but the more smiles she gave, the more flirtatious she acted, the more money that often came. Letting her hands trail down her form as she studied the place, Teddy paused as her eyes met someone's gaze from the VIP booth. Biting her lip, Teddy smirked, throwing him a wink as she danced - why the hell not, she had his attention and the longer she kept it, the more he was likely to pay.

Luke took another shot in between acts, and as he leaned back in his seat, his attention focused purely on the stage as two new dancers came out - but his attention was only on one, a beautiful woman who carried herself so confidently, he almost couldn't believe that someone that beautiful could exist outside of Heaven. "God damn," he murmured to himself, his gaze fixed firmly upon her as he watched her carefully, not even caring if Ashton noticed his behaviour.

Michael chewed on his lip when his attention caught sight of one of the new dancers, immediately drawn to her. Something about her was far more intoxicating than any alcohol he could ever drink. Leaning forward, he tried his best not to show his interest, but he felt his heart race when he caught her wink at him - or, at least, he hoped it was at him, anyways. “Holy shit,” he muttered quietly, barely managing the words out in how amazed he was by her.

Ashton watched the pair for a few moments, blinking before realizing. “Oh, you can't be serious,” he teased his friends with a laugh.

Louella offered an encouraging smile to her friend but she followed her onto the stage, beginning the dance, her movements as teasing as always, confident despite how much she hated this job. Her gaze caught a pair of gorgeous blue eyes and, for a moment, she was sure his attention was focused on her, but she knew better than to let it get to her head. In hopes of ensuring a good night's pay, though, she grinned, continuing the dance.

"God damn," Luke breathed. Luke focused on Louella with a large sense of curiosity, leaning forward as if it would help him get a better understanding of how she moved, how flawless she was, dancing under strobelights. Still, Luke watched her, unable to tear his gaze from her, because she was so captivating in everything that she did - a presence that demanded attention, and Luke loved every inch of that smile she wore. Although her body, the way she carried herself, was incredible, he couldn't tear his gaze from her smile, her eyes, the way she alone could light up the place. Hearing Ashton's words though, Luke looked over his shoulder briefly. "What?" He asked.

Calum smirked, downing another shot as he watched his friends. "You're in love with a stripper?"

Teddy danced confidently as the music pounded through the speaker system, but still, she found herself looking in the direction of the boy that was still focused on her, and she couldn't lie, he was beginning to earn her focus in return. It was very rarely Teddy saw a face in the crowd that she wanted to focus on, most of the time the crowd was full of balding men, stained yellow teeth from smoking since their teenage years, breath reeking of heavy alcohol that made Teddy's stomach turn, but there was something incredibly pure about this boy, and she wondered, what the hell drew her in so much, and whether it was his expressive gaze or the way he leaned forward to get a better view, Teddy wasn't sure.

Ashton stared at the pair in shock, shaking his head. “Never thought this would happen,” he teased them.

Michael found it hard to focus on his friends, too overwhelmed with the sight of Teddy, with watching her move, admiring every single thing about her, swearing she was perfect. He could feel himself wanting to go to her, wanting to talk to her, wanting to get to know her. “What?” he asked, blinking as he looked to the others, “What are you talking about?”

Louella grinned as she danced, loving the attention, but especially enjoying the attention that was coming from one particular customer, finding herself wanting his attention, always, her gaze focused on him as she danced. When the dance ended, she grabbed her clothes and went backstage to get dressed.

Teddy couldn't help but smile as she watched Michael, and as the lights dimmed and the routine ended, she grabbed her clothes and headed backstage with Louella, although she couldn't get Michael's face out of her mind, surprised that a customer had managed to gain her interest. "Okay, so." Teddy looked to Louella. "I'd call that a success, right?"

Luke scratched as his neck with his friends' teasing, and his cheeks tinted pink as he felt his skin burn with embarrassment for being caught out at admiring the girl. "You and Calum are so weird." Luke returned smoothly, watching as Louella's routine ended; the disappointment seeping through his existence that she was out of his line of sight. "Besides, what's wrong with her being a stripper?" Luke asked defensively then.

Louella grinned as she followed Teddy backstage, heading to their dressing room as she grabbed a robe to tug it on. “Oh, it was definitely a success,” she said easily, nodding as she thought about the guy who’d caught her attention the whole time.

Michael shook his head as he listened to Luke and the others, leaning forward as he watched Teddy leave the stage, though he was already desperately missing the sight of her. “Ignore them, Luke,” he said easily before he shifted, standing up, “How about we go get some air? Or at least get away from these buzz kills?”