Kisses Beneath The Aurora

Beth's Brilliant Idea

There were many things Melanie had expected Beth to do. Taking her out for ice cream, dragging her to the cinema, or probably forcing her to have a girls' day out.

But taking her to a nightclub was definitely not one of them.

Melanie regretted not asking questions. Specifically, she should have asked Beth where they were going before agreeing to leave the dorm.

Because if she had known Beth's brilliant idea of "cheering her up" involved a nightclub, she would have happily stayed in her dorm room, eating chocolates and crying over Noah. At least there, she could suffer in peace.

Melanie stood frozen outside the entrance, staring at the flashing lights and the crowd of people pushing their way inside.

This wasn't a place to heal from heartbreak. This was a place where heartbreak probably got worse.

"Come on, Melanie!" Beth called over her shoulder with an excited grin as she headed toward the entrance.

Melanie let out a deep, defeated sigh before reluctantly following after her.

The moment they stepped inside, Melanie immediately regretted every life decision that had led her to this point.

The club was packed. Bodies pressed against bodies on the dance floor. Colored lights flashed across the room, making everything blur together in a dizzying mess of movement and noise. The smell of alcohol, perfume, and cigarette smoke hung heavily in the air.

People were everywhere. Some were dancing so closely that Melanie wasn't entirely sure if they were dancing at all. Others sat at tables laughing loudly with drinks in their hands. A couple in the corner were practically swallowing each other's faces.

Melanie's eyes widened when she spotted a group of strippers dancing around poles near the stage while a crowd cheered. She quickly looked away.

"This place is wild," she said, barely able to hear herself over the pounding hip-hop music.

"I know, right?!" Beth shouted back with a huge grin. "Best place ever to cheer up!"

This was not the best place to cheer up. This was the best place to develop a headache.

Groaning inwardly, Melanie followed Beth through the crowd, making sure not to lose sight of her. This place was crazy. Completely and utterly crazy. And getting lost here would probably be the worst thing that could happen to her tonight.

Eventually, Beth stopped at the bar.

"Hey, Peter!" she called brightly.

The bartender looked up while handing a customer their drink. He broke into a grin.

"Well, damn. Look who finally decided to show up." He laughed. "What's good, Beth? Thought you'd forgotten about us."

"I'm good," Beth replied. "And also not good."

Peter grinned. "Lemme guess. Man trouble?"

Beth frowned, though she still smiled. "Excuse you. Why do you automatically assume it's a man?"

"Because with you? It's usually a man,” Peter laughed.

Beth burst out laughing.

"Actually," she said, pointing at Melanie, "I'd like you to meet my new friend. Her name's Melanie."

Peter turned toward her with an easy smile.

“Hey, Melanie. How ya doin’?”

Melanie couldn't help but smile a little. “I'm good.”

Peter glanced back at Beth. “Oh, she's definitely one of the sweet ones.”

Beth nodded enthusiastically. "Yup. Very sweet. I brought her here because her boyfriend broke up with her, and she's been crying and stalking his Instagram."

Melanie felt her face heat up the moment Beth said that.

She stared at Beth in horror. Why on earth would Beth tell the bartender about her breakup? And worse, why did she have to mention the i********: stalking?

Did every stranger in this club need to know that Noah Grayson had shattered her heart?

Fantastic. Now the bartender probably thought she was some obsessed ex-girlfriend who spent her free time crying and stalking her ex's social media.

This wasn't just awful. This was humiliating.

Peter blinked. "Wow." He scratched the back of his neck. "See, this right here is why I stay single."

Beth gasped dramatically. "Oh, please."

"No, seriously." Peter laughed. "Relationships are dangerous. One day you're in love, next thing you know you're stalking somebody's i********: at three in the morning."

Melanie wished the ground would open up and swallow her. She quickly shot Beth a side-eye, but Beth was too caught up in her conversation with Peter to notice.

Beth folded her arms. "Men are the problem."

Peter pointed at her as he said, "See? Exhibit A."

“Whatever,” Beth said, rolling her eyes. “Get me two bottles of whiskey."

"You got it."

Melanie stared at her, surprised.

“You sure you're gonna finish that?” she whispered.

“Baby girl, I can finish five bottles of whiskey. Two is small, babe,” Beth smirked.

"Wow." That was genuinely all Melanie could say.

First, Beth had dragged her to a nightclub. Now, she was claiming she could finish five bottles of whiskey. Honestly, Beth kept finding new ways to surprise her.

“What do you want?” Beth asked.

"Oh, I'm good," Melanie said quickly, shaking her head. "I don't need anything."

"You sure? Whiskey fixes everything," Beth raised an eyebrow

“I don't think that's true.”

"Okay, then. Vodka? Tequila? Rum?"

Melanie offered a polite smile. “No. I'm really fine.”

“You can't come to a club and order absolutely nothing. At least let me get you a Coke,” Peter laughed.

Melanie shook her head again and said, "No thanks. I'm fine. Really."

"Okay," Peter said with a shrug before heading off to get Beth's order.

Melanie leaned against the counter while Beth waited. It didn't take long for Peter to return with the two bottles of whiskey.

The moment Beth grabbed one, she popped it open and took a long sip.

"Beth! You came?!"

Someone called out over the music. Beth immediately turned toward the voice and broke into a grin.

"Jake!"

She hurried over and threw her arms around the guy walking toward them.

"I'm surprised you actually showed up," Jake laughed as they pulled apart.

"Yeah, well, I didn't come alone." Beth winked and gestured toward Melanie. "I brought someone."

Jake turned to Melanie and stretched out a hand.

"Hey. I'm Jake."

Melanie shook it and offered a small smile. "Hey."

She studied him for a second. He had tattoos and piercings. Somehow, she wasn't even surprised anymore. After only a few days at Crestmoor Academy, she'd already started getting used to tattoos, piercings, and people who looked like they belonged in rock bands.

Suddenly, a familiar song blasted through the speakers.

Beth gasped dramatically. "Oh my gosh! This is my song! Jake, come on!"

Before Jake could protest, Beth grabbed his wrist and dragged him toward the dance floor.

Melanie watched them disappear into the crowd.

"Those two?" Peter said as he wiped a glass. "Yeah, they got a thing for each other. They just too stubborn to admit it."

Melanie smiled. Before she could respond, another customer called Peter's name. He excused himself and hurried off, leaving her standing alone.

She glanced around the club. There wasn't much to see besides the usual chaos that came with a nightclub.

Strangely enough, though, she found herself relaxing, just a little. For the first time all day, she hadn't thought about Noah.

Melanie was beginning to relax when someone bumped into her shoulder.

"Oh! Sorry! Sorry!" a male voice said immediately.

She turned around, ready to snap, only to find herself staring at a ridiculously handsome guy with dark blond hair and a sheepish smile.

"I swear I wasn't trying to attack you," he said quickly. "The guy behind me stepped on my shoe, which made me lose my balance, which made me bump into you. So technically, this whole situation is his fault."

Melanie blinked.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Good." He let out a relieved breath. "Because for a second there, I thought you were about to murder me."

"I was considering it."

"Fair enough," he grinned.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then he glanced around the crowded club before looking back at her.

"Okay, serious question. Is it just me, or is there, like, absolutely no oxygen in here?"

"There isn't," Melanie smiled

"I knew it." He nodded. “I thought I was dying.”

Melanie actually laughed a little.

“Want to step outside for some fresh air?” he smiled.

Melanie looked around the club again. Honestly, fresh air sounded amazing.

"Yeah," she said. "Okay."

Together, they made their way through the crowd and out of the club.

The cool night air hit Melanie immediately. She hadn't realized how hot and suffocating the club had been until now.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke. The silence wasn't uncomfortable exactly, just... awkward.

The guy shoved his hands into his pockets.

"So..." he said. "I was right."

Melanie looked at him and said, “About what?”

"There actually wasn't any oxygen in there."

She stared at him for a second before letting out another laugh.

“See? I knew it,” he said, grinning widely.

Another brief silence followed.

"I'm Jonathan, by the way," he said.

Melanie turned to study him properly.

"And you are?" Jonathan asked, arching a brow.

"Melanie Chambers."

Jonathan froze. "Wait. Hold on." His eyes widened. "You're Melanie Chambers?"

She suddenly felt cautious. “Yeah.”

"You're Tiffany Chambers' twin sister?"

"Yeah."

"And Laura Chambers' daughter?"

Melanie nodded again.

"The Laura Chambers? The fashion icon? The CEO of Chambers Couture?"

"Yep." She forced a smile. "That's... her."

For a second, Jonathan simply stared at her.

"Wow," he breathed. "I honestly never thought I'd meet someone from the Chambers family."

Melanie didn't know what to say to that.

Then Jonathan added, “It's just... I've heard of Tiffany and your mom plenty of times. But I've never heard of you.”

The words hit harder than they should have. Of course he hadn't.

Everybody knew Tiffany and Laura. Tiffany was beautiful, famous, and perfect. Laura was powerful, successful, and admired. And Melanie was just... Melanie.

She wasn't a model. She wasn't an influencer. She wasn't the daughter Laura proudly showed off to the world.

She only appeared in family photos and at important events, usually standing beside people everyone seemed to notice before they noticed her.

It had hurt once, maybe it still did. She'd simply gotten used to pretending it didn't.

“I'm guessing you're not really into social media?” Jonathan's voice pulled Melanie out of her thoughts.

She quickly nodded.

"Yeah," she said with a small smile. "I'm not.”