i edge the crowd until i make it to another crowded room. a girl stops me and asks me what i do. i assume she wants to know if i have a large following, so instead of answering directly, i just tell her i'm here with the sturniolos. her eyes light up and she asks me where they are. before i can give anything more than a general wave in some random direction, she's gone. 
i meet some more people, but it's hard to hold a conversation with them. i have nothing to contribute in terms of content creation. it would be easier if i was actually successful as an actress, because at least then i could relate on the level of being recognized in public and being featured on the screen. i can't, though, so mostly i listen while they talk before excusing myself and wandering around some more. 
i check my phone a few times to see if anyone has texted, but they haven't. the boys probably know most of these people anyway, some of them personally, so i'm sure they're having a good time. and georgia is such a fan girl for people like these, so she's probably in ecstatic. i don't want to bother them with a message.
after about an hour of wandering around and superficial conversations, i finally sit in an empty spot on a sofa and open instagram. 
just a few minutes, i tell myself. just a break from all the small talk. maybe in a bit, i'll find the others and we'll all hang out in a group together. maybe they'll introduce me to some people who have more to say. 
suddenly, a hand is on my shoulder. i whip my head up to see if someone's trying to kidnap me, but it's only chris. i practically melt with relief upon seeing him. 
"i've been looking for you," chris shouts over the noise. 
"you have?" i shout back. i stand up from the couch so that he can hear me better. "why didn't you text?" 
he holds up his phone. "dead." 
i would make a sarcastic comment about him not charging his phone (because how hard is it to do?), but he probably wouldn't hear me anyway. instead, i shake my head. 
he only shrugs, looks around, then looks back at me again. then he grabs my hand for me to follow him. 
fireworks go off in my chest, but thankfully no one hears it over the party sounds. 
i practically float behind him, not even caring where he is leading me. to meet some of his friends? i don't mind. i'm just happy to be with him right now. 
except he doesn't lead me to anyone, to a big group of friends. instead, he leads me towards a staircase. 
it's much more quiet by the staircase, so he explains himself without needing to yell. "i found a room up here. there's a couch, snack bar, a tv. wanna go? it's empty." 
"if it's empty, don't you think that means it's off limits?" 
"we won't mess anything up." 
"okay then." 
we run up the stairs and he shows me to the room. the door is closed, so it probably (definitely) isn't meant for the general party guests, but it isn't locked, so i convince myself it's probably fine. chris holds the door open for me and i hurry in, collapsing on the couch in the middle of the room. 
"that's much better." i sigh, relishing in the feeling of not going deaf. i can still feel the booming from the music coming from downstairs, but it's still a hundred times better than being down there. 
the room is pretty small, likely intended for just a few people to be in at once. there's a couch in the middle, and a large tv a few feet away. to my right is the door we just walked in through, and to my left is a candy bar, like chris said. there's a large fridge, too, which i'm sure contains an endless supply of drinks.