Zoned: Waking Up

It's around midnight and the girls are still at Neverland
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"Only one more hour..." Richi muttered to herself as she rubbed her feet. She was sitting on a stool as she took a break.

"Whoo, you do not wanna go in there." I joked as I came out of the bathroom.

"Cute..." Richi looked depressed.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't stop thinking about how hurt Dylan looked. It's bothering me."

"You'll see him tonight, calm down. They'll all be drunk and most likely won't remember any of tonight."

"If only we got drunk, too." Richi mumbled. I smiled at her and went into Tammy's office. He had a mini-fridge by his desk and kept all of his booze in and on top of it. I poured Rich and I both a shot of vodka.
"One step closer." I said as we clinked our glasses together. Richi and I always made funny faces after doing shots. The bitter alcohol burned our throats but left a tingly sensation.

"Okay let's get this night over with." Richi said.

"Agreed." I said as I put my mask back on. "At least we're going home to the greatest people we know, right?"

Richi and I walked out onto the main floor once again. "Meet you in the back in an hour, kid." I mumbled to Richi, and she nodded. We went our separate ways, as usual, and began looking for people to dance for. I stood by the front entrance and waited. Gimme More was playing and the crowd seemed quiet. It was as if the music was playing loudly in a car and I was outside of the car. It was interestingly peaceful. Well, considering the fact that I was standing half naked, waiting for men to stare at my body for money, it was as peaceful as it was going to get. Every now and then I'd close my eyes and just sway to the beat of the music. I was snapped out of my comatose when I felt someone bump into me and I nearly fell.

"Oh I'm so sorry." I heard a voice say. I froze and didn't even want to look up at who was standing in front of me. I tried swallowing, but my mouth was so dry from shock. I looked up and saw Jake standing there with wide eyes. "Oh god..." he said. He wasn't sure what to say. He was frozen like I was. It was after only a few seconds of awkward staring that Victoria came running through the entrance. Once she saw Jake and me standing there, she ran up to us.

"A-Rad!"

"Shhh!!!! What the fuck are you guys doing here!?" I loudly whispered.

"The guys decided to go to Circles and since I'm not working, my replacement told us all about this place and Jake and I tried to get them to not come but they didn't listen! I am so sorry! We tried so hard."

I was speechless. So much fear and anger pulsated through me. I could hear my heartbeat ringing in my ears and I could feel my stomach in my throat. "I think I'm gonna throw up..." I said running my fingers through my hair.

"I made sure they drank a lot before we even left. Just in case this happened." Jake said.

"And they're not even suspecting anything! They think Richi is sick!" Victoria added, trying to make me feel better. They couldn't tell, but I was giving them a look that could make flowers wilt. Before I could say anything, a voice called for Jake.

"Yo, Jake! Come over here!" Matt called from across the room. Him and the others were sitting on a long couch by the main stage.

"Maria!" Someone loudly whispered. "Maria, get over here!" It was Tammy.

"Don't let them fucking get near us." I scolded and walked towards Tammy. Jake and Victoria shared a concerned look and slowly made their way to the rest of the group. I made my way to Tammy, who was by the bar.

"You and Lizzy take a break after Lizzy's done dancing. There's something I need you girls to do."

"And that would be?"

"A large group just walked in, and I hear they're a famous band or whatever. You and Liz are going to give them the private group dance, okay?"

"What? No no we can't do that."

"And why not? I'm the one paying you, right?"

"Well yes, but-" "Then don't complain. You're lucky I even allowed you girls to wear the fucking masks. People have complained about the masks, thinking you two were dudes or something. Anyway, it was bad for business. So unless you want me to ban the damn masks, I suggest you shut the hell up and give a group dance to the famous rock stars, okay?"

I didn't say anything for a moment, but then I finally spoke up and said, "Why us?"

"They're a band that wears masks. Like Slipknot. You and Lizzy wear masks and are our best dancers, surprisingly. Stop questioning me and dance for them when I tell you girls to do it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go do blow off of some girl's stomach." Tammy patted me on the shoulder and walked away. I waited at the bar and ordered a shot of whatever was closest to the bar tender. The song was about to end, so I turned around and motioned for Richi to come to me. I made sure to hide my face while taking the shot. As I waited for about 30 seconds for the song to end, I started to feel sick to my stomach. I was startled by someone tapping my shoulder. I turned to see Richi standing there.

"What do you need? I'm working so make this quick." she said.

Before I could say anything, Tammy came over, "Okay, Maria, get to the private room! The group's in there. Fuck, I thought. I didn't move and Tammy raised his voice. " GO! " Rich and I both jumped a little bit and then shared a quick look. I slowly made my way to the private room, and when I did, I stopped at the curtains before entering. I took a deep breath and counted to 3 before pulling the curtains back. When I walked in, it was like I was looking through wet glass. It was so bizarre to see them and know who they were but them see me and not have any idea who I was. Not everyone was in the room, though. Dylan was on the far left side next to Jordon. The order went Dylan, Jordon, Matt, Jorel, Scribs, and then Jake. George and Danny were on the main floor, I assumed. I stood in the doorway before Jorel said something, "I like your mask." I didn't say anything, as usual; I just nodded slowly. They all looked at me, still talking to each other, and I could tell they were waiting for me to start dancing. They were all drunk as hell. All but Jake. He was the most sober out of the group. It seemed as if Dylan, Jordon, and Jorel were the most intoxicated.

"So what's your name, baby?" Jordon chuckled with Dylan. I stared at them for a brief moment until Jake said, "Maria."

"Oh so do you come here often, Jake?" Dylan joked. Jake faked a smile as they all laughed. I shook my head to get myself focused and began dancing for them. I felt so tense. I wasn't able to do much on the pole from how nervous I was. I quickly transitioned into an off-pole dance. I seductively walked towards Jorel and got on his lap and danced. I felt less awkward when I pictured Jorel as someone else. It was like I was counting the seconds before getting the hell out.

In mid-dance, as I tried to get off of Jorel, he held me on him. As he kept me in his arms, he drunkenly said, "Do you guys wanna see the pretty face under the mask or what?"