SAM's POV

~After the broadway show~

It's late at night, barely 8 o'clock, and the city lights glow in the dark. By this time, several cars are parked in the parking deck. Most people will probably walk down to Times Square when it gets near midnight. We decided to get some grub for the night so started walking to the first restaurant that we find. The nearest place is called Gotham's Place, kinda weird, but we walk inside and instantly get hit with a cloud of cigarette smoke. We all cough and plug our noses. Where's the stupid waiter? There's nobody at the front to greet us, but we hear a whole bunch of noise coming from the doorway full of smoke to the right.

"Maybe this is a bad idea," Becca says while holding onto Khalil's arm.

"There's music coming from that room..." We were standing in like a little reception area, the walls were made of dark blue velvet. It was empty, and the only activity was coming from this doorway to our right. So being my curious self, I lead my friends through the curtain of door beads that hang above the doorway and into an enormous, loud, smokey room. 

We see people dancing on the floor below with glow sticks and party favors. I spot a bar and a few people sitting at tables eating their meals, away from the dance floor. "Aw, sookey-sookey now! This is what I'm talking about!" I yell.

"This isn't even a restaurant. It's a club," Jake says with worry in his voice.

"So? They have food. Look, there's a whole bunch of people eating at the tables," I reply.

"Maybe we can ask someone if they have a menu?" Khalil suggests.

"Are you condoning this?" Becca yells at him.

"It looks pretty fun. And if they have food, I'm eating," he replies with a shrug.

"So that's two against two. Come on, let's just check it out," I confidently say.

I walk down the long ramp toward the main floor with Khalil and the rest of them behind me. We have to wiggle around the couple that decided to make out on the wall, but we eventually make it to the bar. There's a really hairy guy with a big belly at the cash register behind the bar. I walk up to him with my head held high and act suave.

"Good evening, sir."

"Hello, ma'am," the bartender replies.

"Do you serve food here?"

"Yes, we do. How many people are in your party?"

I turn around and pretend to count my three friends. "Four total."

"Alright, I can show you to your table." The man walks from behind the bar and leads us to a round wooden table which is only about three feet away. He places two menus on the table while we sit down. "When you're ready to order, just signal for me." He walks back to the bar.

"This is not what I was picturing for a nice restaurant. It's so dark in here -- how do they expect us to see our food?!" Becca is complaining too much right now. I ignore her before I "accidentally" sock her in the face.

"Chicken wings, hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches... they got a decent menu. I think imma try some barbecue ribs and fries with...  a beer." Khalil smirks while checking out the menu.

"You're not old enough to drink," Becca glares at him.

"They don't know that. I'm only two years off, baby."

"It's illegal."

"My grandpa gave me beer when I was 12... it's not that bad. It's only one drink," Khalil assures her.

"I guess I'll get a double cheese thickburger with onion rings and..." Jake looks up at Khalil with a smirk then adds, "...a beer."

I was surprised to hear that Jake didn't mind drinking even though he told me he's drunk before, but he was totally against the idea to even come here a few minutes ago. Now he's ready to turn up too. Aye, there's nothing wrong with that!

"If you two wanna drink, then whatever. I'm staying out of it," Becca retorts while taking Khalil's menu and scoping it out.

"That's the smartest thing you've said all day," I say.

"Whatever, Sam." I chuckle at her attitude.

We finally decide what we want and I signal the waiter dude over. Khalil orders his BBQ ribs and fries and gets no flack when ordering a beer. Jake orders his cheeseburger, onion rings, and a beer, and the waiter doesn't ask him any questions either. Becca orders a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich with water; the waiter makes a comment about her being on a diet and then moves on to me. I order some spicy chicken wings and spinach dip with chips, then ask for a margarita on the rocks. The waiter raises an eyebrow.

"Are you sure you can handle an alcoholic beverage? How about a nice water like your girlfriend over here?"

My jaw drops because I can't believe he doesn't think I can handle a drink. "No partna', I want a margarita. Please."

He laughs, "I'm just joking. Aye, I remember those college days... gotta get it when you can, am I right? Haha. Hey, those drinks will be right up and so will your food. Enjoy yourself for crying out loud." He takes the menus and leaves.

"Wow. Looks like he thinks we're in college... guess we'll fly under the radar," Jake comments.

"Told you wouldn't be nothin' to worry about," Khalil chimes in.

"That butthole. Why didn't he ask you guys if you could handle your drinks?" I ask.

"'Cause he's a sexist pig," Becca blurts out with a pout. 

Soon enough, the waiter brings our drinks.

"TURN UP!!!" I yell, holding up my glass.

"Let's make a toast," Jake begins, "Let's toast to friendship and new memories for the New Year!"

We clank our glasses together and drink. I lick the salt on the rim of my glass. The boys burp in unison and give each other high fives. I check out the people on the dance floor; most of them look like college kids. That makes me so much more excited for college next year. I'll be away from my mama and closer to the parties! It's still too bad Jake won't be at UCLA... I'm gonna miss him.

"You wanna dance?" Khalil asks Becca. She shakes her head 'no'.

"Pon de Reply" by Rihanna blasts through the speakers. A small grin creeps onto my face as I look at Becca. I know she's thinking the same thing, but she's still acting mad.

"You know that's your favorite song," I say to no one in particular, but I know Becca knows I'm speaking to her.

Becca bites her bottom lip and tries to restrain herself, but she fails. She hops up and grabs Khalil by the arm. They start dancing on the dance floor. Me and Jake watch on in amusement. I gulp down the rest of my margarita, squeeze my eyes closed at the aftertaste, and get up from the table.

"Wanna dance?" I ask with a smile.

"No, I'll watch the drinks. Go have fun." Jake smiles back.

I shrug and run to the dance floor. I find my friends and start dancing near them, but I spot Jake in the corner of my eye and wink at him. I roll my body, feeling my inner Beyonce trying to shine, and roll my hips like Rihanna in her music video. Jake watches me from the table. If he came out on the floor he could get the whole package instead of only watching me... Sh*t...

~Two hours later~

It was getting hot in the club and we already finished our food, so we were about to head out since it was a little after 10. I'm feeling a major headache coming on and my eyes hurt from the people that were smoking around us. I feel like I took some really bad drugs. We all slowly walk out of the bar and head towards Times Square. It's probably not too safe to be walking the streets in our hungover-esque condition, but at least we got each other.

In Times Square, the crowd is unbelievable! People are everywhere. There were barely two inches between people; we had to squeeze through the crowd to get to the main part of Times Square. People were yelling at us and giving us nasty glares. Up ahead, we saw Meghan Trainor performing onstage with lots of lights and the crowd was singing along with her! Man, we actually here! With people surrounding us shoulder to shoulder, and music bumping through the speakers, I'm excited to ring in the New Year with my friends.

(Check out Meghan's performance at Times Square New Years Eve in the media section)

We managed to move a little closer to the stage but we were still a few dozen feet away. It was like an outdoor house party as artist after artist came out and performed. Talk about a free concert! Khalil and Becca were cuddled together and dancing to each song. I saw nothing but teeth when I looked over at them; they were smiling for days. But they cute, I guess.

 I caught Jake smiling at me from the corner of my eye and I squinted my eyes at him because he looked like he was scheming. "What?"

"Nothing." He keeps looking at me. Now I feel uncomfortable.

"Stop staring at me, freak."

"Wanna do something fun?"

"This is fun!" 

 "Come on. I wanna show you something." He walks out of the crowd to the sidewalk. I follow him feeling kind of nervous... what does he wanna show me?

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once again SORRY for taking soooooo long! It's been busy and I wanted to write alot more but I figured something is better than nothing. Hope you enjoy this chapter and keep reading and commenting. I love to see what you guys think of this story! :)