Baby, This Is Teenage Wildlife

"Katie, do I have to go?" I groaned.

"Yes!" Katie said, shocked. "You already said you would, and Nick is really looking forward to meeting you! Please don't make me tell him my other best friend won't be coming to his birthday party." She turned to face me as she put in her earrings.

"What ever." I rolled my eyes. I really didn't want to go, but I had already promised Katie I would. I thought she would understand! I just broke up with my boyfriend three days ago. I didn't want to go out! It was a very emotional break-up!

"I know that you caught Andrew cheating, Kelsi, but you've not left this house in three days. I just want you to go out and have some fun. I don't want you to sit in here the rest of your life and rot into nothing." Katie sat down next to me on my bed. "Today was your first shower since. Don't you feel a little better?" She asked and moved some hair out of my face.

"Yeah, I guess." I shrugged and tucked my hair behind my ear.

"You need to go. You know I wouldn't make you unless you really needed it."

"I know." I sighed and walked over to my closet. "Would this be okay to wear?" I asked as I brought out a short black cocktail dress.

"Perfect!" Katie smiled and grabbed my hand. "Now, hair and make-up before you get into that dress." She sat me down in front of her mirror and began to brush my hair out.

~*~

Katie and I pulled up to the venue where Nick was having his party and I could hear the music from inside the car. With all the windows up. And the doors closed. "Isn't he kind of old to have a birthday party?" I asked.

"Quit being sour." Katie rolled her eyes as she parked her car. "Come on, Nick's waiting by the door." She smiled. I could tell it was obvious she was in love with Nick, but she swore up and down it would never happen. And by that, I mean she was dating his younger brother, Aaron. Sick, I know. "Happy birthday!" Katie yelled and hugged Nick when he opened the door. "This is Kelsi." She introduced me as she saw Aaron. "I'll be back! You two have fun getting to know each other!" Katie ran over to Aaron and gave him a kiss and they walked over to say hello to other friends.

"Hey, it's nice to finally meet you, Nick." I smiled and shook his hand.

"Same to you! Katie says you're really awesome, so I thought it would be cool to invite you to my party." Nick shrugged. "Here, I'll introduce you to some people." He offered his arm and I took it. Nick introduced me to all his close friends and his band mates. "A.J.! Come here, I have someone I want to introduce you to!" I looked up to see a man walking towards us with a cigarette in his hand. He had tattoos all over his arms and was wearing eye liner and a baseball cap. I smiled as he walked up to me.

"Hi, I'm A.J." He smiled and grabbed my hand. His voice had a roughness to it, yet it was still soft.

"I'm Kelsi, Katie's friend." I shook his hand.

"Ah, it's nice to finally meet you." He smiled at me and my heart skipped a beat. I shrugged it off. It's probably just because I missed Andrew and there was a cute guy in front of me. "I'll be right back, man. I've gotta find someone." A.J. said to Nick. "Pleasure to meet you, Kelsi." He smiled and kissed my hand like a gentleman. I tried to hold in my giggles, and almost failed.

"I'm going to get a drink." I told Nick. He nodded and gave me a hug and went over to talk to his friend Howie. I walked up to the bar and ordered a margarita. I scanned the room for Katie and saw her talking to A.J. She looked over to me and smiled. I waved and she gestured me over to them. I grabbed my margarita and weaved my way through the crowd over to Katie and A.J. "Hey!" I smiled as I greeted them.

"Have you two met yet?" Katie asked.

"Actually, we just did." A.J. smiled at me. I looked at Katie and she gave me her creeper wink. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I'm going to get a plate of grapes... you two have fun!" Katie looked back at me and mouthed 'you're welcome' as she linked arms with Aaron and walked over to the food table.

"There are no grapes up there." A.J. said from beside me.

"Katie hates grapes, anyway." I laughed and looked up at him. For the rest of the night, A.J. and I were practically inseparable. We sat at the bar all night and talked about anything and everything. The best part? It came so naturally. Like we've known each other our whole lives! This was the most fun I've had in a long time.