Re: David, Allie, eventually Brandon
Seeing his reaction to the surroundings, Allie felt a bit of smugness fill her smile. I told you you'd enjoy yourself. And here he'd had doubts about the party? Allie held off her desire to give him an Allie-patented 'I told you so'. It could wait until the party really got up and running.
She followed his gaze, spotting Rae and Elliot on the dance floor. They looked so happy together. Rae was beaming. Allie had known the stripper for a short time before the outbreak; had shared a few drinks with her. What started out as lust on Allie's part, had grown into a friendship she'd honestly be lost without. In all the time she had known Rae, she'd never seen the woman smile as much as she did when she was with Elliot. They just... fit perfectly.
Her smile dimmed. As much effort as she put into trying to remain positive, keep her spirits up so that those close to her could cling to some semblance of hope, Allie couldn't ignore the fact that, at her very core, she was desperately lonely. Ollie was her constant; there was no denying that bond. And she had friends. A friend, at least. But there had always been something missing.
No. No, she wasn't going to dwell on any of that. Not tonight. Not at the party. Exhaling, Allie lifted her smile back into place, turning her head to look at David when he responded.
"That's true. Almost everyone seems to be enjoying themselves tonight." Though perhaps that had more to do with the booze than the actual festivities. Didn't matter. They were participating. She could only be thankful that no one was angrily tearing down the decorations and declaring the party a complete and total waste of time.
"You're blushing and it's cute, which means Rae obviously did a brilliant job at making you look nice," Allie said sweetly. "Though, honestly, it probably didn't take that much effort." Parties weren't his thing. That's what he'd told her, wasn't it? Had to be a self-esteem thing, at least partially. Well, that was an easy enough thing to remedy. And she didn't even have to embellish or lie. He did look handsome, even if the shirt wasn't to her usual taste.
Poking playfully at David's shoulder, the woman bit her lip and grinned. "And remember, you promised me a dance. That needs to happen before all the other girls start lining up. I don't like having to wait my turn," she added, giving him a look of mock warning.