After showering and changing into warm clothes, we made our way to the restaurant and as soon as we stepped foot inside, all four of us paused, struck by the beauty.

The restaurant was as large as a ballroom and as majestic as a palace. The tables were set for royalty and the staff were immaculately groomed. Different coloured crystals hung from the unreasonably high roof and reflections from the lights of the chandeliers created a beautiful and breathtaking aesthetic.

I suddenly felt out of place in my tights, sneakers and hoodie, but all four of us were dressed casually which made me feel slightly better about myself.

In the centre of the room was a white spiralling staircase that led to another level that I imagined was for VVIPs, but when I looked closer I spotted Elliot and Reed. Before I could question how they managed to get there, a tall and handsome waiter with a rich Italian accent approached us. He asked if we had made a reservation but before we could answer his eyes flickered down to our wristbands and he told us to follow him.

We obeyed and I was surprised to see him walking us up toward the spiralling staircase. All the people seated on the balcony looked pristine and filthy rich. All but us, even Elliot and Reed were dressed formally, and I had to tell myself not to stare at Elliot in a suit.

They were dining with someone else who had their back to us and for fear they were in some important meeting, we decided not to greet them, especially not when we looked as out of place as we did. We kept our eyes away from the many wealthy people who were no doubt shooting us judgemental glares and focused solely on the decor, which was still very intimidating.

"I will come back shortly for your orders," the waiter said after depositing us at a table near where Elliot and Reed sat.

I took a seat on the plush red seat and resisted the urge to slouch. "Okay," I began, "can someone explain to me why we're up here?"

Ally shrugged, "let's just enjoy it before they realise they have the wrong people."

The man dining with Elliot chuckled, "they don't. Trust me."

We looked up at them then and it took us a split second to realise he was responding to what Ally had said and looked back. A small high-pitched squeal escaped Ally's lips and before she could tackle him out of his seat he stood up and caught her in an embrace.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" he said, and Ally only responded by holding him tighter.

I recognised him as Jonah, the guy Ally was supposed 'not-dating.' She'd shown us enough pictures of him for us to recognise him. He had tanned skin, a booming deep voice and dark eyes. He was much larger than her, with bulging muscles and a height of at least six foot six. He made her look much more petite than she was.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, seemingly unable to let him go.

"How could I not come when I knew you were going to be here?" he said.

"Aw, Jonah."

Ally pulled back to look at him, and as soon as she did, Serena declared, "if we can't take part in what you're about to do, please don't do it in front of us."

Ally's attention was drawn by that declaration but Jonah stole it back when he placed his large hands on either side of her face. We took that as our cue to look away, not wanting to witness the smooch session that was no doubt going to take place.

****

We moved to sit at a larger table with Elliot, Reed and Jonah.

We soon learned that it was because of Jonah that we were in this VVIP section. The golden streaks on our yellow wristbands gave us a precedence in this hotel. He had made us VVIPs, though the excitement of that was quickly replaced by a strong discomfort, what with the way Jonah and Ally were all PDA right now. I felt like such a third wheel even though there were five of us here.

I kicked Ally under the table several times but she couldn't be distracted. It was gross. Everyone was uncomfortable, but they didn't seem to notice that at all. Or they just didn't care.

Finally, the food came, and I had no idea what it was that I was about to dig into. The name sounded fancy, and it was an Italian dish, which was why I had ordered it. Visually, it looked good. It also smelled good. And it was making me salivate so that was a good sign too. The only problem was that I didn't think I would be able to enjoy my food when Serena and Jonah were all over each other.

I glanced at Serena, who in turn glanced at Faizah. We nodded simultaneously.

Serena took a spoonful of her meal and moaned loudly. "This is good," she said. "So good."

Faizah and I then had a taste of our meals and the moans that followed were not forced. Ally looked back at us, aware of what we were about to do, and she shook her head, but it was too late.

"Hey Ally," I began once I swallowed. "You should taste yours, I can bet the food tastes better than Jonah."

Elliot and Reed both choked on their meals, and it was an effort not to burst out laughing. We had to remain serious for this to work.

"I mean, we wouldn't know," Serena said, "it's not like we've tasted Jonah."

Elliot grabbed a glass of water and drank to force his food to go down, while Reed hit his chest, still coughing.

"Or at least ask Jonah to have some food," Faizah added. "That way you can taste both him and the food as you kiss."

The water that Elliot had been drinking sprayed out of his nose, and we all broke at the sight of it, bursting out into uncontrollable laughter. Ally only sighed, but her lips threatened to curve into a grin. "I hate you guys so much."

Jonah only looked at us, "what was all of that?"

"If you make us uncomfortable," Ally began, reciting what we always say when she did this. "We will make you uncomfortable."

"Oh," Jonah understood. "But I was very comfortable."

"Okay," Faizah announced. "Please, let's focus on the meals on the plates."

"Yes please," Serena agreed before repeating her catchphrase: "if we can't take part in what you're doing, please don't do it in front of us."

"Plus," I commented. "You guys aren't even official."

"You don't have to be dating to kiss a guy," Ally said.

"Firstly, that was not kissing," I told her. "And secondly, it's the ideal."

"And that, Zara, is why you're still single," Ally smiled.

"Happily single," I corrected with a mocking smile of my own.

Ally rolled her eyes at that, amused, but fortunately, she untangled herself from Jonah and started eating the food. Finally.

"Shame, you guys traumatised Elliot and Reed," Ally laughed.

I grabbed a serviette and handed it to Elliot, who was still coughing slightly, before patting his back, "you okay there?"

"Please, just warn us next time," he said, his voice rough.

"I honestly hope there isn't a next time," Reed admitted, and we couldn't help our laughs.

Once we had all finished, Jonah invited us all to go to the bar. Faizah was on the verge of declining but Ally beat her and accepted the invitation. I glanced and Faizah and Serena and we reluctantly followed Jonah to the bar. We would much rather have gone back to the hotel room, but we couldn't leave Ally.

Right before we entered the bar, Faizah announced, "if you overdrink and faint, I will make sure you wake up in a dumpster, so I advise you not to get dead drunk."

That statement was directed toward Ally and Serena, as usual. Whenever we went drinking, Faizah and I were always the ones who ended up taking care of Ally and Serena. Faizah would be sober, I would be tipsy, but Ally and Serena would be as good as knocked out.

"No promises," Ally chirped before entering the bar after Jonah.

This was going to be a long night. I could feel it.