Charlie, Augustus and two of Mike's friends were sitting backstage, listening to Veruca do her encore. Charlie had never really listened to her before, but he liked what he heard. Not only did she have a gorgeous voice, but he could relate to everything she said. He knew that everyone else probably could as well.
"Wow, that woman has a set of pipes on her." Augustus commented, swaying to the music on his chair.
"Are you drunk again?" Charlie asked him.
"No, I'm fine. I think I'm just exhausted because I've been playing drinking games all afternoon." Augustus told him. "The bachelor party are all going clubbing. You have to come man. You just have to. Veruca agreed and I'm guessing Violet will come too. So I won't take no for an answer."
Charlie thought about it. He hadn't been clubbing in awhile. "Okay sure. Pick somewhere good."
"Oh it's all good. It's always good." Augustus replied. "See here in Vagas they encourage the girls to dance on the bar and stuff. You and Veruca should get us front of the line. Don't think I'm using you though, because you and me, we're like this." He crossed his fingers to imply how close he thought they were.
Violet and Mike watched from one side of the stage. They hadn't really spoken to each other, just the simple small talk. Finally Mike decided that now that they were both sober it was time for him to speak up. He grabbed Violet's hand and lead her away to a quieter area.
"You've been pretty quiet tonight." Mike started.
"Speak for yourself." Violet said bluntly.
"I'm sorry about what happened last night. Guess I had to think about some stuff to think about in the morning." He explained. "You weren't offended were you?"
"I've had worse. So why did you bring me over here, Veruca's nearly finished." Violet asked in order to get to the point. "We're all going clubbing remember?"
"Do you want to go clubbing? Or do you want to come back to the penthouse with me?" Mike whispered, making sure no-one overheard.
"So you make sure you don't offend me, then invite me back to your place for a one night stand?" Violet asked, letting out a sarcastic laugh and rolling her eyes. "Fat chance"
"Look, I don't know how to explain this, so I'll just say it. The moment I saw you last night, you fucked with my head. I have to have you." Mike replied. "I don't know whether your testing me or whether you just don't like me. So we'll go clubbing for a little while. Then I'll take you home with me."
She had to interupt. "What do you mean not like you? I think I made it clear last night." She jumped into his arms and kissed him wildly. "I'll give you points for being persistant. We'll go clubbing for a little while. Not too long okay"
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"Well they said I had to leave straight away. So sorry, I can't go clubbing with you. Which is just as well, I'm beat." Veruca looked around. "Where are Violet and Mike?"
"Probably fucking." Augustus replied. "Needs one last fling before he gets married right?"
"What are you talking about? Mike and the chick from last night? No way!" Chris, the only one of Mike's friends not staring at Veruca.
"What? How could he do that to Belinda?" A.J asked, looking away from the singer. "He's blown us off for that chick. Well he better not do that tomorrow. You know what's coming tomorrow."
"No way he'd miss that. Besides, it's Mike. He's a natural player and Belinda knew that when she met him." Jim said. "I'm surprised he hasn't cheated earlier. Probably popped the question because she was his first relationship that lasted longer than taking a piss. I think he did well for himself."
"I feel my ears burning? You talking about me Jimbo? Great concert by the way." Mike appeared, Violet walking over to Veruca's side.
"Well, now you're here, let's go clubbing! I need a drink." Augustus said. "Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing that hot bartender again. I'm going back to where you guys are staying. See you later." Without even waiting for an answer, he left.
"I'm worried about that guy. Get him to an AA right now!" A.J said when Augustus was clearly out of earshot.
"Well, look I have to go now. Where's Bradley?" Veruca looked around.
"Bradley had to go. Phone rang and he said to tell you it was a business emergency." Charlie answered, walking over to her.
"Of course. What else is new? Screw this, I'm going clubbing I don't care what they say. What kind of publicity could possibly generate from me having a good time with friends?" Veruca said with a hint of anger.
"We're going clubbing with Veronica Salt. Awesome!" Chris exclaimed.
"Not just clubbing. VIP. Give me five minutes to change." Veruca ran to her dressing room.
Charlie, who had been pretty quiet through the excitment, walked after Veruca and into her dressing room. She didn't seem the least bit freaked out that he was there. He turned around slightly, so he wasn't watching her change, which was pointless as he could see through a mirror. He turned back to her. "Great concert."
"Thanks." Veruca answered bluntly.
"Is something wrong?" Charlie asked, seeing her reaction.
"What could possibly be wrong? I'm going out clubbing." Veruca replied, slipping into a top that left little to the imagination. "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious, that's all. If you wanted to talk about it I'm here." Charlie reminded her. "None of us have mentioned it so far."
"Why do you have to be so nice all the time? Better yet where were you when I needed someone to pull me away from all the fuck ups in my life?" Veruca turned around and faced him. "I could have run out on my wedding, I could have refused this image change and everything else. I didn't though. Question is, why didn't I?"
"Simple, you were scared. Being rich is what you know and you knew what would happen if you took those risks." Charlie told her.
"It's not much better. Either way it all came crashing down on me. My husband can't even sit through one of my fucking concerts without a phone call. Well, I'm not going to take it anymore. I'm going to go out and I'm going to be reckless. Starting now." She grabbed Charlie, placing something in his hand. "Maybe you should follow my lead and take that advice. Take it now so you'll be good when you get there"
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In the limo, Charlie looked around at everyone surrounding him. Mike and Violet sharing a secret. A.J, Chris and Jim all excited. Veruca, smiling and unable to wait. When they were all absorbed in conversation, Charlie looked at the tablet, debating whether or not to take it. Then he mentally slapped himself. What could go wrong, he thought. He watched to see they were all absorbed in conversation, then quickley took the tablet.
Charlie looked around at the people surrounding him in the club. He was sitting down with A.J and Chris watching Veruca, dancing with some random guy. He thought about what she had told him earlier about letting loose and waited for the tablet to take effect. He looked around at all the girls dancing around the club. Instead of thinking they were all fake, they all looked extremely beautiful.
"So, what's up with Mike and that girl Violet?" A.J asked. "How do you all know each other? All I know is you go way back. High school? Did they used to date?"
Charlie felt himself slipping into a state of not caring. He turned to him and said. "Don't worry about him, okay? Let loose and live a little." With that he went over to where Veruca was dancing.
"Charlie!" She cried out hugging him. "I'm having the best time! I bet you are too! I can see it in your eyes!" She proceeded in dancing around him, which attracted some attention from the girls nearby. When a group came up to him, Veruca waved and walked off, blowing him a kiss.
"You're the guy from the posters! How cool!" A good looking red head said to him. "I'll be back, I'll get us some drinks." Before Charlie could answer, she was gone and he was sandwiched between her two friends.
"You know, I think you're really hot! The moment I saw you on TV I was like WOW!" The blonde in front laughed.
"Back off Kat, I saw him first!" The brunette behind shouted, while sliding her hands around his waist. She pulled him around to face him. Charlie felt an extreme happiness. He grabbed the brunettes bum, pulling her into a wild open mouthed kiss. He didn't fear her reaction like he had with Paige, he felt that this girl liked him.
The rest of the night just kept repeating that same scene. Girl after girl, Charlie was letting loose the moment they came up to him and plenty were coming up to him. He thought about the joy of seeing everyone, then paused remembering what Mike had said to him the night before, then thought about what Veruca said. He didn't know whether it was the ecstacy, or the promise he made to himself but looking at the attractive blonde he was now dancing with and seeing that his friends were nowhere in sight he decided to prove them both wrong.
"Do you want to get out of here?" Charlie asked her, feeling her grind into him. "I'm staying not to far from here and I think you'll like it."
"Sure, I'll just tell my friends. Meet you out front." She kissed him before running off toward a group sitting down.
Charlie looked around for his friends. Violet was nowhere to be seen. Mike and his bachelor party friends were going absolutely nuts, which was not surprising. Veruca was hopping over to him.
"I see you found something you liked. So did I! See you tomorrow Charlie." They both cheered and hugged each other. Turning around they bumped into Mike. "Oh Mike, you leaving aswell? Oh well, your buddies are so drunk they'll be good for awhile. Bye sweetie." With that, her and the guy she was with walked out of the club. Mike followed.
"I can't believe you know Veronica Salt! That's so cool. So, you ready to go." She looked down, leaning on him. "By the looks of things you are." Charlie smiled to himself, walking out of the club with the girl on his arm.