Secrets

I knock on the door of Molly’s room, where all the girls are gathered to get ready for the club. “I can’t believe she wants to do this,” I express, stepping away from the door so I’m not crowding whoever answers. “Molly never struck me as the clubbing type.”

Louis shrugs his shoulders and slouches back against the wall, his hands in the pockets of his dark skinny jeans. “Maybe she’s not. You said she’d never been before, right?”

I nod and listen for a second to hear if the girls are coming to the door. When all I hear are giggles and chatter, it occurs to me that it’s quite possible they didn’t hear my knock. So I try again.

This time, Tori answers the door, pulling a piece of hair away from her lip gloss. “Hi!” she greets excitedly. “Come on in. We’re all dressed.”

“Don’t you look stunning?” I compliment her with a grin.

A flush of pink crosses her cheeks. “Thanks, Harry. But wait until you see Molly.”

Immediately, my palms start to sweat. “Where is she?” I question, thankful that my voice didn’t crack with my anxiousness to see her. I know she’s going to look better than I’d ever seen her.

And I’m not disappointed when she comes out of the bathroom. Her dark hair is curled to perfection, and the dress she’s wearing hugs her body in all the proper ways.

“Wow,” I breathe out, “you look so fit.”

She smiles, but I wish I had thought of something better to say. More romantic. “Thanks, Harry,” she grants, going up on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek. “Is everyone ready to go?”

Danielle comes out of the bathroom, fluffing up her corkscrew-curly hair and smacking her lips together to make sure her lipstick is distributed evenly. “Where’s Liam?” she questions, her dark eyes scanning the room.

“And everyone else,” Eleanor adds, nudging her friend in the side.

“Waiting in the lobby,” Louis answers easily, going over to his girlfriend and wrapping an arm around her waist, kissing the side of her face. “So we better get going.”

Soon enough, we’re in the car to go to the club. Since there are so many of us, space is a little tight, but no one really minds. It’s not like any of us dislikes anyone else.

I turn to Molly, who’s sitting on my left, as Zayn elbows me in the shoulder while talking to Tori, who’s on his other side.

“Ow,” I whine, trying to give him a hard time, but he doesn’t hear me.

“You okay?” Molly questions, her eyes concerned.

“Fine,” I assure her with a small smile. “Don’t worry about it.”

Just then, Eleanor taps her on the shoulder and reels her in to helping tell a story to Louis about what happened at the mall earlier today.

When we walk into the dark club, the floor is pulsating under our feet from how loud the music is, and the whole place reeks of smoke, even though smoking isn’t permitted inside the building. I'm almost afraid to try moving through the place, since it's so crowded, and the room is so dark.

“Drinks?” Zayn asks shortly, looking around at the group.

Most of us nod, though Danielle and Liam shake their heads. I know Liam just doesn’t drink, and Danielle’s careful about her drinking, since she has to keep in perfect dancing shape.

“Alright, I’ll go get them,” Zayn offers, starting to head through the crowd.

A minute later, Tori goes after him, knowing that he can’t carry all those beers by himself.

“Do you want to dance?” I ask Molly in her ear, wrapping my hand around hers.

After a short hesitation, she nods, and we head out to the dance floor, followed closely behind by Danielle and Liam.

Danielle looks like a pro while she dances, and Liam’s gotten good enough for a guy. They make a good couple on the dance floor.

On the other hand, I can’t dance in the least. Liam’s offered to help teach me, like he did with Zayn, but I always refuse, figuring that there’s nothing I can do about my lack of rhythm.

I’m kind of regretting it now, though, when I see Molly dancing freely, looking perfect, and I know I’m just going to look like a flailing maniac if I try to dance. Normally, it doesn’t matter much, since I don’t typically dance in a way that matters whether I’m good or not, but Molly doesn’t seem interested in dancing that way. So I’m on my own.

“Come on, Harry,” I hear Molly call, her voice barely audible over the music. “Don’t just stand there.”

“Yeah,” Eleanor agrees, coming up behind me and tapping me on the shoulder. “You look daft.”

I shoot her a look, but she doesn’t catch it, since she turns to face Louis, talking in his ear.

Just as I’m about to cave and dance, Zayn saves me by handing me a beer. There’s no way I can dance and drink at the same time.

“Thanks, mate,” I grant, lifting the bottle up toward him before taking a sip.

He nods as a response before winking, showing that he understands what I mean.

Molly smiles at Zayn to thank him for her beer, and she takes a small sip, still moving a little to the beat of the song.

“Hey,” Molly laughs, reaching forward to tap my arm to make sure she has my attention, “you’re the one who asked me to dance, and now you won’t even move?”

I grin and nod at her before taking another swig of my beer.

I know that once the alcohol starts sinking in, I’m not going to care how ridiculous I look dancing. But for right now, there’s no way I’m going to make a fool of myself in public.