I had never been in a club before, only having heard and experienced them from TV and movies, as well as in passing from other people at school who had. So I was completely unprepared for the onslaught of lights, sound and smoke I faced after taking only a few mere steps inside. I did my best to follow the others to the bar, a tricky task due to my blurry eyes and the swarm of people all crammed together that made Sharkies seem almost barren in comparison.
When we finally got to the bar, we all ordered our drinks; the others with practised ease and myself just copying what most of the others got, a double vodka and lemonade. It was then, while I was expecting us to go find an open space to have our drinks like some of the others around us, to my shock, everyone in the group began to slowly splinter off.
Clark and Lewis were the first to go, heading towards a group of girls off to the side. Jamie and Cindy were quick to follow, travelling somewhere beyond the sea of bodies that were in front of me and disappearing out of sight. In response, I just stood there, completely lost and having no idea what to do. At least, I did until I was forcibly dragged by Alice further into the club. To a space filled with people crammed together, all dancing erratically and where the music was even louder.
"Oh no no no! I don't dance!" I shouted with as much strength as I could, still barely audible even to myself.
"Come on! Don't be a pussy!" She shouted back, still dragging my arm towards the dancefloor.
Not wanting to seem like a pussy, I followed her onto the dance floor, looking and feeling as stiff as a wooden puppet. The exact opposite of Alice, who the moment she stepped into the crowd of flailing bodies broke into dance. A relaxed smile was on her face as she swayed with the electro music blasting around us. Seeing how at ease she seemed, I did my best to follow, trying to copy the way everyone else around us moved. It must have been a funny sight, based on the way Alice burst into laughter while looking at me. Feeling my face go a deep red and not wanting to embarrass myself further, I went to leave, only stopping when I felt her hand grip mine and pull me back towards her.
"I'm sorry for laughing!" she said, while continuing to giggle slightly. Still seeing my disgruntled face, she brought me closer, close enough that there were only a few inches between us, and I could smell the hint of vodka resting on her breath.
"Just follow my lead." And with that, she began slowly dancing to the beat, our hands still clasped together and our bodies pressed tight against one other.
My mind was muddled; the sounds, the lights, the alcohol, the feel of our bodies drawn together, there was so much stimulus I was unable to even think. So I didn't. Allowing myself to simply get dragged along, losing myself in the music and no longer caring about the million different thoughts that popped into my head. After that, the rest of the night passed in an erratic blur of drinking, laughing and having a good time. At one point during the night, I found myself in the toilets, meeting back up with both Lewis and Jamie.
"Hey, what are you guys doing?" I asked, or at least attempted to, my words coming out closer to a muffled groan than coherent speech.
It was enough, however, for Lewis and Jamie to jump up in a panic from their leaning position over the sinks in the corner. Upon seeing it was me, they seemed to relax slightly before quickly ushering me forward, placing their arms behind my back and allowing me to see what they were doing. Resting on the sink was a small metal strip, no wider than two fingers and maybe around only four inches long. The interesting part however wasn't the metal strip, it was the white powder collected on top. White powder split into extremely thin lines.
"Is that cocaine?" I whispered harshly in surprise.
"Dude relax, it's only a bit of cocaine. You want some?" While Lewis tried to persuade me to take some cocaine, Jamie kept staring daggers behind us, looking warily at the other people in the restroom who got a little too close.
"No, I'm not going to fucking have any!"
"Fucking hell man stop being such a pussy." Jamie said before quickly ducking his head down, pressing his nose almost flat against the plate over one of the lines before snorting upwards.
"Woo! That's some good shit man." He exclaimed, eyes wide as he shook his head, looking suddenly energised.
"Fuck man let me have a go!" Lewis said suddenly before immediately dipping his head down and doing the same exact thing. The sound of his loud snort reverberated around the restroom, drowning out even the muffled club music that could still be heard.
"Fuck man you weren't kidding. Adam, you have to try this shit man!" With that, Lewis thrust the metal plate that still held a line of cocaine towards me.
Seeing the line of cocaine now only inches from my face, I was about to protest, to tell him to get it away from me and head out of the restroom and back into the club. I was about to. Yet as the seconds dragged on, those words never left my mouth, Instead, my gaze constantly shifted between the cocaine and the expectant look both Lewis and Jamie held. I'm not sure what it was. Whether it was the alcohol, the atmosphere, the peer pressure, the fact both Clark and Jamie did it and seemed fine or maybe all of them together. All I knew was that I was tempted, more than tempted, in fact.
As I waged war within myself, still locked in my thoughts, it seemed Jamie was sick and tired of my indecisiveness, turning back to Lewis, "Bro just give me the line, he's not going to do it. I knew he was too much of a pussy. Such a buzzkill"
In an instant, with a sense of indignation, I snatched the metal plate before Jamie could grab it and instantly went to snort the line. Trying to copy exactly what Lewis and Jamie did before squashing the last of my doubts as my nose hovered over the cocaine and I snorted the line.
The first thing I felt was the bizarre feeling of the cocaine moving up my nose and a bit down my throat, as well as the pain that followed, with my nose feeling slightly raw. However, that was soon forgotten when an intense feeling of energy and alertness coursed through me. Making me feel as if I had just taken a couple shots of espresso mixed with five-hour energy drinks. A feeling that I could only describe as pure euphoria washed over me, placing what must have looked like a moronic grin across my face. I looked up to Lewis and Jamie, seeing my reflection in their enlarged, dilated pupils and wondered if I looked the same.
"Woah." That was all I was able to say, still overcome with so many different sensations.
"Come on man let's fucking party!" And with that, Jamie wrapped his meaty arm around my neck before all but dragging me back into the club and out of the restroom with Lewis in tow.
My memory of what happened after that was spotty, to say the least, with each memory seeming entirely unconnected to the previous one and lasting only a couple of seconds. One moment, I was taking shots with everyone in front of the bar; the next, I found myself pressed tightly against the bodies of complete strangers as I danced with complete abandon. At one point, both Clark and I had to wrest Jamie away from another bloke who had been getting a little physical with Cindy. The fact we didn't get kicked out for that was a miracle, to say the least.
The only memory that was still quite clear to me after taking the cocaine was when I was somehow back with Alice on the dance floor. The two of us pressed so close together that I could feel the sweltering heat of her body against mine as well as the smell of her perfume. If any words were spoken, I couldn't remember them. It was then, as we were staring into one another's eyes, our bodies still swaying and grinding against each other, that our lips were suddenly locked in a passionate and messy kiss. My first ever kiss.
It could have lasted only seconds, maybe minutes or even hours. All the music, the lights, the people around us, all of it faded into the background and out of my mind. The only thing I could think of was Alice. How soft her lips felt, how her tongue constantly moved around, the feel of her skin as her arms wrapped around my neck and mine around her hips. It was amazing.
I don't know how or why it ended. Just that one moment we were kissing, and the next I was saying goodbye to Clark, Lewis and Alice as we stumbled out of the club. I wasn't sure what exactly had happened to Cindy or Jamie, but I doubted I wanted to find out based on how much they were groping each other the last time I had seen them. After I said goodbye, I staggered my way back home, the only memories of which were when I constantly fell into the buildings and street lights scattered in my way.
The last thing I remember of that night was finally getting home. Luckily, without being robbed as in the state I was in, I would have been easy pickings. I entered through the door as quietly as I could, seeing that the truck was parked outside, only banging into the wall a couple of times on the way to my room. The moment I stepped into my room, I instantly laid my head down on my pillow. My body sprawled haphazardly across the bed as I passed out, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.