Chapter 15: Girl Clubbing.

*

"The best medicine is going out with your girlfriends 

and just having fun with no care"

-2am-

*

| I N D A H |

Lectures had began and it was even more hectic. We were expected to train the freshers for the Track Meet, I had two papers coming up in three days, my physiotherapy was due this week since the schedule changed from twice a week to every second day since my arm was getting better and I had assignments over assignments to do.

In short, I was super busy.

Oh and add on two dates with Ace to that long list.

Yes, I had two dates with Ace. One I had already gone to yesterday which was the first day of school after Songran. And the other is coming up this weekend.

I checked the time on my watch and groaned. It was already 2pm and the students were late again. A few of them were here already, seated on the bleachers. We were at the basketball bleachers since the girls would be practicing basketball here anyway.

I turned to the students who were already here.

"Okay guys" I say, clapping my hands to get their attention. "-Lets just start. I don't think we will have any more coming in anytime soon"

Just then, a few groups of students came running towards the bleachers, furiously apologizing and bowing their heads.

"Okay okay guys. I think this is all we have?" I said, checking the list in my hands. I looked up to them and smiled.

"Come on down, form a circle and sit" I said, gesturing them to come down the bleachers. We set on the grass, a few meters away from the court.

"Okay. Lets start. I am Indah Gesang, third year Industrial Engineering" I said, looking at each one of them. There were a total of 21 of us, including me.

"Introduce yourselves!" I boosted them and they began. I got to know that most of them were freshers who hated sports. A few of them were cheerleaders back in high school so that's a plus.

We then worked on the cheer for engineering which was the same old one, except we added a few spices here and there.

The next hour flew by fast and soon I was heading back to the dorms.

***

It was a constant cycle, I went for my lectures, did my assignments, avoided Kirun, went out on dates with Ace and conducted cheer practice. It was over a week now and safe to say, I was beginning to live my life.

It was like I hardly had free time on my hands. If I didn't have classes, I would be out with the girls or Ace and in the afternoons, I had cheer practice. By 9pm, I was in bed, getting ready for the next day.

Somehow it had become boring. Exams were coming up and I was super not ready for it. I did study though. The last two papers that I did a week ago went well. This coming up, is a tsunami because its practical.

The cast on my hand was removed and I could finally do things freely, even if I am not allowed to put stress over it.

The girls and I had outings every now and then, like we do now. Each time, it is a new club. Today however, we were too lazy to go all out so we chose the club best for IUST, Nor's Pub.

"Are you guys ready?" yelled Kanak on the phone and I rolled my eyes. We were on conference call.

"Almost"

I put on my eye liner and blinked rapidly for it to dry. Nice.

"Done!" I yelled happily. It was the happiness of getting both the eye wings right.

I did a final checkup on my outfit and grinned. I had chosen to wear a black crop top that had these sexy spaghetti straps (I was feeling bold tonight) paired with black and gray patterned shorts that fell to my mid thighs. I had decided to put my hair in a bun with light makeup.

I took my room key card and my wallet before picking up my phone from the dresser and walking towards the door. I stood there, contemplating on my shoes.

Sighing when I couldn't find anything, I messaged the girls. And as usual, they had my back. So I wore a pair of flip flops and locked the door before rushing to Kanak's room to find myself a shoe. It was so good that we all were almost the same size, plus or minus a few numbers, so we simply share.

"Put these on" Kanak threw me black heels and I grinned, putting them on.

"Oh okayyyy. Lets leave!" she said, pulling me out of the room along with her. We walked towards the steps and waited for the other three. Kanak wore a peach skater dress paired with peach heels and her hair was open, no doubt there.

I checked the time on my watched and groaned. It was already 10!

"We will be late" I muttered and she chuckled beside me. I turned to her and she raised her eyebrows at me.

"Why are you so impatient for partying tonight? Unlike you" she commented and I chuckled, rolling my eyes.

"Unlike me, I know. But tonight, will be our night" I replied and she nodded, throwing her hair back.

I leaned on the wall, waiting for the three humans to show up.

"Lets take selfies while we wait"

And thus Kanak and I took a thousand selfies, just to realize only three of them looked good. Ugh.

"Lets go!"

I turned to see the other three grinning at us.

"Wait-" said Kanak and we turned to her. "-We need a bomb picture please"

I rolled my eyes turning to the girls.

Daw was wearing shorts and top much like me while Asteria wore a black dress with denim jacket on top. Both of them wore heels. I turned to Ayaka and chuckled.

"You didn't wear heels!" I said and she shrugged.

"It is too har-"

"No!" Kanak pushed her towards her room. "-We are going to get you a pair"

I sighed and leaned back on the wall. Guess we will wait again.

A few minutes later, Kanak walked out of her room with a grin followed by Ayaka with a frown.

I accessed her outfit and I must say, Kanak did a great job at it. I mean, we can't expect any less from the fashion guru.

Her white top was tucked into her black jeans that were folded at the bottom and she had on a gray throw over cardigan on top. Kanak had managed to get her to wear black heels and lipstick. Honestly, I was so proud of the girl.

"Come on" said Asteria and we huddled together while she took a selfie. Just then, a student, probably a fresher was heading our way and Kanak being her, called him over to take our picture.

"Okay guys, get in a neat pose" she instructed, so we all stood leaning onto each other with grins on our faces.

The next one was the party mode one so Kanak and Daw went on the floor, kneeling down and doing a random thing with their hands while Ayaka, Asteria and I laughed our heads off at the two.

Finally it was done and we left for the parking lot. Huddling into Daw's Mercedes, we were off.

***

"This place looks lit" muttered Kanak and I shrugged looking over to see Daw making a beeline to the bar.

"Come on girls" called over Daw and we followed her.

Taking our seats at the bar, we ordered.

"5 Martini's" yelled out Kanak and I groaned.

Oh great.

I leaned on the bar and looked around the place. It was dark and in the center of the room was a large dance floor that had people dancing their heads off. The DJ was pretty awesome. My phone vibrated and I took it out of my shorts pocket.

Ace: You asleep yet?

I smiled at his message. Since our date a week ago, we have frequented in messaging.

Me: No. You?

Ace: Nope. Out at Nor's.

I looked around the place and turned to the girls.

"Ace is here" I grinned and they chuckled back. Kanak was definitely tipsy. I just blinked girl!

"Go" ushered Daw and I nodded, getting off the chair.

I made my way around the place, looking for Ace. My phone vibrated and it was him.

Ace: I see you. Stay there, I am coming.

I looked around but I could not see him. Finally I saw him and boy, did he look dashing.

"Hey" he smiled down at me.

"Hey" I replied, shifting on my feet.

You see, Ace and I didn't have a label yet. We weren't exactly in a relationship but we were dating. If that makes sense.

"Come on" he said, smiling at me and taking my hand. I let it be. We walked towards the dance floor and I grinned up at him.

"Dance with me" he yelled over the music and I yelled back a yes. He took the phone from my hands and I took it back.

"Safe keeping girl" he laughed and I nodded, giving it to him.

He took both my hands and walked with me to the dance floor. It was not much crowded. The song changed to Cheap Thrills by....I know this one!! Okay so I forgot. But I will remem- Sia. It is by Sia.

I put my hands around his neck and we danced to it, yelling and screaming the lyrics. The dance floor was becoming crowded as I felt people bumping into me. Ace saw this I guess because he pulled me to him and I was stuck to him. I looked up and grinned at him as he twirled me around and pulled me back to him.

The song ended and I pulled Ace out of the dance floor. We walked to the bar and took a seat, smiling at each other. His smile was perfect.

"What do you want?" he asked me, looking over to the bartender. I looked over to her and grinned.

"One martini please. Less gin though" I said and she nodded. She was a red head with tattoos.

"And you sir?" she asked Ace.

"Same"

"Ohhhkay" she turned to the other person and yelled the order before going back to doing what she was doing. Which I could not see and it would be rude to peep in.

"Hey, you wanna try out their karaoke?" he asked and I lit up. Literally.

"Sure!"

"We will come back for the drinks" he told the bartender and she shrugged still working.

He took my hand and we walked towards the other room.

The karaoke room was bright with people chanting to the songs being sung by random people.

I let out a chuckle when I saw a familiar red head on the stage with a mic.

"That's my girl!" I yelled, running towards the front of the stage. Sure enough Asteria, Kanak and Daw were on the stage, singing their hearts out. I grinned at them, the feeling of pride erupting within me.

They were jamming to Last Friday Night and holy crap, they were amazing.

"Pictures of last night" sang Daw.

"Ended up online" sang Kanak.

"I am screwed" that was Asteria.

"Oh well" said the other two.

"It's a blacked out blur, But I'm pretty sure it ruled" sang Asteria.

"DAAYYAMM" we all yelled.

"Last Friday night!"

"Yeah we danced on table tops"

"And we took too many shots"

"Think we kissed but I forgot?" questioned Daw and everyone yelled.

"Last Friday night!"

I danced to the tune of their song with Ace behind me, his hands resting on my waist. We jumped up and down to the beat and yelled over the music.

Finally it was done and everyone cheered for them.

I laughed as they got off the stage and hugged me.

"Where is Ayaka?" I asked them as we walked out of the Karaoke room.

"Oh she went outside. Something to do with a call"

I nodded.

The three looked at me and then behind me. I turned around to see Ace standing there smiling at me. I turned to the girls and they nodded, chuckling.

"Go with him. Be home soon though. We have an early day tomorrow"

I nodded and the three hugged me before walking away.

I turned to Ace and grinned. He walked over to me and put his arms around me.

"Do we have the night to ourselves?" he asked and I nodded, smiling up at him.

"Lets enjoy it then" he said, pulling me towards the bar.

We were back at the seats infront of the bar, casually talking. The bartender handed out our drinks and I turned to the dance floor.

"I love their music." I complimented, watching the people dance with each other. A particular couple caught my eye and I smiled at them. They were adorable with the way they were dancing. Her head was on his shoulder and his arms around her.

"Drink Indah" said Ace from beside me and I turned to him, nodding.

I took a sip of my martini and placed it back down. I was not an alcohol person. I turned to Ace as he took my hands in his, looking into my eyes.

"I kid you not, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever met" he whispered and I felt my face heating up. A smile made its way on my face and I sheepishly looked down. He tilted my face up to meet his eyes.

"I am being honest. I really like you Indah Gesang" he said and that was it, I couldn't hold back the large smile that made its way on my face.

I tried to tell him I liked him back but...... somehow I couldn't. Like something was telling me it is not the right time.

"Come on, lets drink to this" he said, turning to his seat and I nodded turning to the bar counter.

"Rule: Drink it down in one shot" he winked at the end and I grinned back.

"Bring it on"

We drank our Martini like shots and I felt light headed. Not that I had low alcohol tolerance, but because I took it in one shot. It burned its way down my system and I put lemon in my mouth to ease the taste.

I laughed when Ace bit down on the lemon with a bitter expression. He stayed still for a moment before he got off the seat.

"I'll be back"

Huh.

I turned to the bartender who was looking at me skeptically.

"What is it?" I asked her and she shrugged, mixing her alcohol.

"You two been dating long?" she asked me and I shrugged.

"Two weeks"

"Ah. No wonder" she replied and I raised an eyebrow.

The loud music was slowly making my head pound. I rubbed my temples and she chuckled at me.

"He tried to drug you"

"Excuse me what?"

| Snippet. |

Kirun set at the booth and stared at the gray and white haired girl dance with his cousin. It was not that his cousin mattered, it was her who mattered.

"Chill out. They will probably not last long" replied Kwan, sipping on his beer.

"Sure" replied Kirun, sipping his beer. It was Kirun and Kwan who were at the bar that night, for the other three boys had something to do.

They had aimlessly chatted the night long, Kirun keeping an eye out for Indah.

When he saw them at the bar, he prayed to anything divine out there to keep Indah safe. He knew she was not a naive girl but Ace was not an amateur player. He was experienced and may hurt Indah.

"I am out" said Kwan, getting up from his place. "-You coming?"

Kirun contemplated his choices. Leave now or make sure Indah is safe before leaving.

He turned to Kwan with a small smile and that was all that was needed for Kwan to understand.

"Call us if anything happens"

It was past 1am when Kirun saw Ace rushing towards the man's restroom. He stood up from his place and walked towards where the Indonesian girl was seated.

He gave the bartender, Harley, a smile and turned to Indah. He noticed that she looked confused. He flicked his fingers in front of her and Indah snapped out of her trance.

The fact was that the news that Harley had told her was all too much to take. Apparently, Ace had drugged her Martini.

"What's wrong?" Kirun asked her upon seeing her almost to tears look.

Indah stared at him before throwing herself in his arms. Kirun stood still, surprised by her outburst. He turned to Harley who shrugged at him.

"The guy she was here with tried to drug her. I swapped their drinks but she did take a sip. Probably because of that"

Kirun's fist clenched when he felt hot tears soaking his shirt.

"Indah" he whispered, pushing her away from his body and looking into her hazel eyes. She sniffed and wiped away her tears.

"Take her out now before someone calls the cops. You know the rules Kirun" Harley said and Kirun nodded. He turned to Indah and smiled.

"Lets head home okay?" he said and she shook her head.

"I want the girls" she whispered, sobbing quietly. Partly it was because of the drug but mostly it was because she felt vulnerable.

"Okay but we will call them when we are out. For now, we need to get out. Ace is drugged. We don't know what will happen" he explained to her and she nodded, getting off the high chairs by the bar. Kirun put his arms around her protectively as they walked out of the pub.

Harley smiled at the two. She knew that they liked each other. What had left her in confusion was how the other guy was able to sneak in a drug into the pub when the security is so high? She immediately dialed Nor's number.

"Your security is not so strong dearest"

***

The song attached is perfect for their night out. Haha. In case you didn't catch it yet, it is the same one the girls were singing.

P.S: anyone crying hysterically after MAMA2018?

| R C V |

-aalihha-