I Knew Babysitting Paid, But It Finally Paid Off

-Joe's POV-

About a week after I had gotten the email from Manda, we had recorded Pushing Me Away. It was one best songs, in my opinion. We were so excited about it, we had decided to release it immediately. It quickly climbed the charts and soon hit number one.

I felt guilty about it though. It wasn't our song. I wanted to thank who ever wrote it. But I was afraid to email Manda back. I didn't know if she would explode at me. I did hurt her best friend after all.

But I couldn't concentrate on that right now. Nick, Kevin, and I were just about to play a concert. We were standing in a circle, our heads bowed, my father saying a prayer. Bringing in our hands, we shouted "Living the dream, baby, living the dream!"

-My POV-

"Oh c'mon Kristen! We are not moping around tonight! I'm taking you out!" My older cousin, Audrey, said to me, tugging on my arm to get me off the couch.

"Ugh, fine. Where are we going?" I said, as I grabbed my purse and got up.

'You'll see. Go upstairs, you need a different outfit." She said, steering me towards her room.

I stood behind Audrey as she looked through her closet. What did she have planned for me?

"AHA!" She shouted, stopping at a silky royal blue mini dress with a leopard print bust. "Its perfect for you!"

I stared at the dress and then at her. What would I need a dress like that for? Where were we going?

"Where are we going that calls for that dress?" I asked, taking it from Audrey.

"You'll just have to wait and see. Now go put it on! Go go go!" She said, ushering me out the door. I sighed, looking down at the dress. What can it hurt right?

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at myself in the dress in disbelief. I looked good. I modeled for myself, posing, unable to believe I looked as amazing as I did. Maybe I would enjoy whatever Audrey had planned.

I walked back to her room, and was greeted by an Audrey in a black mini dress with a banded bottom and open back. Her mouth dropped.

"You look better than me in it!" She said, taking in my appearance. "You need shoes though. Here." She handed me a pair of black peep-toe Coach heels, with a satin bow on the toe.

"Okay, are you finally going to tell me where we're going?" I asked. I was getting frustrated here.

"You need a good night of partying and dancing. We're going to a club!" She said, clapping her hands and bobbing up and down. Going to clubs was her favorite past time. There was just one issue with this.

"Audrey! I'm only seventeen! I can't get into clubs!" I said, reminding her.

"Don't worry hun. I can get you in." I sighed. When Audrey put her mind to something, it happened. I might as well just go along with it. It'll be fun, I love dancing.

Audrey was right. She was able to get me into the club. I don't know what she whispered to the bouncer, but it worked. She acted like this was something she did often, sneaking people into clubs. I actually won't rule that out. She's a party girl, for sure. My mother doesn't approve of hanging out with her, says she's a bad influence. But I didn't care about that right now. I was here to have a good time and forget about stupid Joe. I smiled, if only he could see me now. Sneaking into clubs, ready to do anything to relieve my stress. Reckless, some would probably say.

I turned to Audrey, still smiling, and said "Let's dance."

****

I opened my eyes and immediately flinched. Ow, the light was too bright, it was hurting my eyes. Squinting, I looked around the room, realizing it was Audrey's. How did I get here? The last thing I remembered was entering the club with Audrey. I smelled breakfast and decided to get up.

My whole body was aching and as I stood up, my head began to throb. I stumbled over to the mirror. Wow, I looked like shit. My hair was a knotted mess and my makeup was smeared over my face. I looked like something from a nightmare.

As I entered the kitchen, Audrey turned to me.

"How're you feeling?" She said. Ow, why is she yelling at me?

"Stop yelling. Ahh, I want Advil." I muttered.

"I'm not yelling, Kristen. You're just hungover." She said, grabbing the Advil.

I'm sorry what? Did you just say hungover? That's not possi-, wait. That would explain why I can't remember last night. And the aches and sensitivity to light and why I look like shit. Fuck. I got drunk. Oh, I'm really not proud of that.

"What happened last night?" I asked, taking the Advil gratefully.

"Before or after you were making out and dancing with Chace on the table?"

I choked on my water. "I did what? Who's Chace?"

She laughed. "This guy you met. He was gorgeous. Blond though. Don't you usually go for dark haired guys?"

I nodded, but I shouldn't have. It was painful. Stupid Advil hadn't kicked in yet.

"You know Kristen, people said I couldn't turn you into a party girl. But they're wrong."

Oh great. I really wanted to turn into a miniature Audrey.