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The speakers pounded the beat into my chest, vibrating my body and energizing me to keep playing. I swayed but kept my hands busy, my movements sure in everything I did. I knew what I wanted, how I wanted the sound to come out, and did exactly what I expected to happen. The songs washed over me, comforting me with every sound.
The night went on and I kept it up. The emcee didn’t lie when he said I had the power to influence the partiers. I did weave a spell to keep them moving and hopping. Dancers would get tired and still stay on the floor, refusing to stop dancing to my tunes. I kept mixing and adding, creating energy to feed into the crowd to help them keep going. The boys stayed in my eyesight, always dancing, changing partners, or enjoying themselves, only disappearing when they were getting a drink or making sure I stayed hydrated.
I was having the best night ever. I felt freer than ever, lighter than I had been since my parents’ divorce. Letting the boys know my secret was the biggest and best decision ever made.
Chapter Thirty-One
~Toby’s POV~
Candy was a fucking queen. She stood up on that stage, focused on the beautiful music she created as the crowd cheered and danced to the beat she weaved for them. Her body swayed to the thumping subconsciously as she spread what the emcee had called a spell. I definitely felt the magic in my body, keeping me moving. If only I had her as a dance partner. The way her body moved called to me. I wanted to dance with her and protect her from these assholes that had flocked to the front of the stage, eyeing her with their dirty gazes.
Protectiveness almost consumed me, but she was up there. Safe. No one dared to approach her. She was safe from their touches.
That calmed me. I needed to stay calm, stay peaceful. I still couldn’t wrap my head around what Justin told us only an hour ago. That her mother abused her. And then Seth filled us in how psychopathic that bitch really was, struggling with depression and mental illness, and taking it out on Candy when her meds weren’t working. Like that was a valid excuse to hurt someone. I was tempted to sneak out, go to that hospital, and smother that woman in her sleep.
How could she hurt someone so precious? Why? I never understood abuse, even knowing what Justin had gone through. I was lucky, I only had to face neglect and stress after my brother’s accident. Aunt Laura took me in when I started acting out, wanting at least a drop of my parents’ attention. She put me in my place quickly. I didn’t hate my parents, and I couldn’t hold anything against them. They had enough to deal with taking care of my quadriplegic younger brother. It just sucked falling into the cracks, often being overlooked.
But to physically hurt someone with intent. To lay their hands on someone else, wanting to cause them pain, to make them suffer, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. But maybe I could understand to a degree now because I wanted to wrap my hands around her mother’s fucking neck and squeeze until she stopped breathing.
Candy looked over at us and flashed us a smile, her cheeks flushed red, dimples showing. She looked so beautiful up there. Carefree. The beanie over her wavy chestnut brown hair added style to her already hot outfit. The way her eyes were lit up with a fervor of excitement made my skin turn hot. How her lips counted off to the beat was absolutely adorable. The way her hips swayed had me groaning.
Damn. I needed to get my thoughts under control.
When Candy dragged us here, we were shocked and confused. Candy wasn’t one to go to clubs. We knew that the first day we met her. At school, she was quiet and observant, always keeping an eye out on the actions around her. She would try to fold into herself sometimes, trying to hide and stay hidden. And the way she held herself, with poise and culture. Frankly, she probably fit better in Bryan’s world, more so than Bryan did.
But tonight was different.
Tonight, she was putting herself out there.
Not as a dancer letting loose, not as a singer, but as a DJ. A fucking amazing DJ.
Of all the things we expected, it was never this.
“She’s amazing!” I yelled at the girl I partnered up to dance with while jumping up and down to the music. My back was drenched in sweat but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to enjoy every second of this because Candy was enjoying herself. My partner smiled nicely, her face adorably flushed from moving around so much, her short black hair wild around her round face.
“Fuck off,” Bryan yelled at a woman, pushing her away. She glared at him before stalking away. He looked at me and rolled his eyes. I laughed as an idea came to me. I smiled at the girl I was with, it was an apologetic one as I nodded to Bryan.
She didn’t seem to care, hopping away from me to join some other girls as cute as she was. Everyone was bouncing around wildly. It took me a moment to reach Bryan.
“Best way to keep the women away is to dance with a man.” I laughed and grabbed his hips.
“Shit. No.” He backed away, horror written all over his face. I laughed harder and glanced at Cadence. She reached for her bottle of water but stopped, noticing that it was empty, and went back to playing music.
“I’m going to get her another drink,” I yelled at Bryan before jumping into the crowd and toward the bar.
It didn’t take long to get another bottle of water since the older man—Jose, I think—recognized our group and knew we were here with Candy. Without even asking, he handed me another unopened bottle. I danced my way back to the stage, before slipping by security and up onto the stage, quickly switching the bottles out.
“Thanks!” she yelled over the music.
I nodded to her in acknowledgement. Instead of moving offstage and joining the others, I stayed there. With her. Where I wanted to be.
She gave me a curious look. I responded with a smirk.
I danced up behind her and grabbed her hips. She froze for only a second, long enough to make sure it was just me before turning back to the complicated setup before her. I’d seen DJ sets before, even tried to use one once, but it wasn’t for me. That wasn’t the case for Candy. She was practically a natural. She was fluid in her movements, sure of exactly what she wanted to do.
I swayed with her, going at her pace, but keeping a respectful distance. “You’re fucking amazing,” I said into her ear.
She shivered, a nice pink tinting her pale skin.
