hated.
“Alright, mate? Who have we got here then?” They quickly did a blatant full body scan of us both. Lizzie shuddered.
“This is Poppy. I do English with her.” I didn’t offer my hand to shake. “And this is…” He gestured towards Lizzie.
I finished his sentence. “This is my friend Elizabeth.”
She didn’t offer her hand either. The boys just nodded.
Frank took a sip of his beer. “This is Simon and Jedd,” he said, clapping them on the back.
“Let me guess,” I said dryly. “You all play rugby together?”
Frank looked surprised. “How did you know?”
“Seriously. Why are you here?”
Simon and Jedd had already turned their backs on us. Obviously Lizzie and I didn’t have enough cleavage out to pass the full-body-scan test.
“Well,” Frank said. “You’re always going on about how I should experience
real music
. So I thought I may as well come along and prove to myself how crap it really is.”
I crossed my arms. “You honestly didn’t have anything better to do?”
“I’m thinking of it as an educational experience. Who knows? I might like it.”
I shook my head.
“Anyway,” he continued, “as I’ve made the effort, you should educate yourself too. Come to this rave Jedd is having, it’s going to be awesome. His parents are super-loaded and we’re setting up decks in his garden.”
I pushed him friendlily, spilling a bit of his beer. “Frank. I can honestly say I would rather die than go to a rave.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“I don’t need to know.”
“But how do you know you won’t like it?”
“I just know.”
“You’re stubborn.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Shh,” Lizzie interrupted, as the club was plunged into darkness. “The band’s starting.”
The stage was cast into a vibrant white light as the band walked on. Everyone in the room started cheering and immediately I felt my stomach flip and my vision go hazy.
Not here. Not again. Please.
I staggered a little and bumped into Frank.
“Woah, Poppy, you okay?” he asked, putting his hands on my shoulders to steady me. I embarrassingly found myself clutching at his shirt in an attempt to keep balanced.
“I’m fine. Just a bit dizzy.”
I felt a different, firmer grip on my shoulders. Lizzie was steering me towards her.
“She’s fine,” she barked at Frank. She turned and gave me a subtle but sharp slap across the face. “Snap out of it.”
I was about to get in a mood and slap Lizzie back, when I realized I could breathe again. Her tough love had worked. I was okay. I took another gulp of air to check. Still fine. Thank God.
Disaster narrowly averted, we turned our attention back to the band. Ryan, the lead singer I’d talked to in the Lock and Key, was yelling into the microphone and stirring up the crowd as the band tuned up. His offstage shyness had vanished. I took another deep breath and let myself look at Noah. And there he was, looking as ludicrously good as I’d remembered. He was ignoring the baying crowd and concentrating on tuning his electric guitar. His dark hair flopped into his eyes. He wore dark jeans and a light-green checked shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Yeah, okay, he looked amazing.
Lizzie interrupted my illicit thoughts. “I can’t see the others anywhere.”
“I think we’re going to have to wait until afterwards before we find them,” I replied, my eyes still on Noah.
“Well at least we’ve got
him
for company.” She pointed towards Frank, who was standing with us instead of his jock friends. Frank’s attitude had changed. His green eyes were narrowed. He was alternately staring at Noah, and then studying the hordes of screaming girls flinging themselves against the stage in a desperate bid to get his attention. Frank’s chest puffed out involuntarily and I saw him flex his large rugby biceps. I giggled. Frank obviously wasn’t used to such competition.
Without any introduction, the band launched into their
“Alright, mate? Who have we got here then?” They quickly did a blatant full body scan of us both. Lizzie shuddered.
“This is Poppy. I do English with her.” I didn’t offer my hand to shake. “And this is…” He gestured towards Lizzie.
I finished his sentence. “This is my friend Elizabeth.”
She didn’t offer her hand either. The boys just nodded.
Frank took a sip of his beer. “This is Simon and Jedd,” he said, clapping them on the back.
“Let me guess,” I said dryly. “You all play rugby together?”
Frank looked surprised. “How did you know?”
“Seriously. Why are you here?”
Simon and Jedd had already turned their backs on us. Obviously Lizzie and I didn’t have enough cleavage out to pass the full-body-scan test.
“Well,” Frank said. “You’re always going on about how I should experience
real music
. So I thought I may as well come along and prove to myself how crap it really is.”
I crossed my arms. “You honestly didn’t have anything better to do?”
“I’m thinking of it as an educational experience. Who knows? I might like it.”
I shook my head.
“Anyway,” he continued, “as I’ve made the effort, you should educate yourself too. Come to this rave Jedd is having, it’s going to be awesome. His parents are super-loaded and we’re setting up decks in his garden.”
I pushed him friendlily, spilling a bit of his beer. “Frank. I can honestly say I would rather die than go to a rave.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“I don’t need to know.”
“But how do you know you won’t like it?”
“I just know.”
“You’re stubborn.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Shh,” Lizzie interrupted, as the club was plunged into darkness. “The band’s starting.”
The stage was cast into a vibrant white light as the band walked on. Everyone in the room started cheering and immediately I felt my stomach flip and my vision go hazy.
Not here. Not again. Please.
I staggered a little and bumped into Frank.
“Woah, Poppy, you okay?” he asked, putting his hands on my shoulders to steady me. I embarrassingly found myself clutching at his shirt in an attempt to keep balanced.
“I’m fine. Just a bit dizzy.”
I felt a different, firmer grip on my shoulders. Lizzie was steering me towards her.
“She’s fine,” she barked at Frank. She turned and gave me a subtle but sharp slap across the face. “Snap out of it.”
I was about to get in a mood and slap Lizzie back, when I realized I could breathe again. Her tough love had worked. I was okay. I took another gulp of air to check. Still fine. Thank God.
Disaster narrowly averted, we turned our attention back to the band. Ryan, the lead singer I’d talked to in the Lock and Key, was yelling into the microphone and stirring up the crowd as the band tuned up. His offstage shyness had vanished. I took another deep breath and let myself look at Noah. And there he was, looking as ludicrously good as I’d remembered. He was ignoring the baying crowd and concentrating on tuning his electric guitar. His dark hair flopped into his eyes. He wore dark jeans and a light-green checked shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Yeah, okay, he looked amazing.
Lizzie interrupted my illicit thoughts. “I can’t see the others anywhere.”
“I think we’re going to have to wait until afterwards before we find them,” I replied, my eyes still on Noah.
“Well at least we’ve got
him
for company.” She pointed towards Frank, who was standing with us instead of his jock friends. Frank’s attitude had changed. His green eyes were narrowed. He was alternately staring at Noah, and then studying the hordes of screaming girls flinging themselves against the stage in a desperate bid to get his attention. Frank’s chest puffed out involuntarily and I saw him flex his large rugby biceps. I giggled. Frank obviously wasn’t used to such competition.
Without any introduction, the band launched into their
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