It's Really Happening

Well, this was turning out to be an interesting night, and it aimed to get even more interesting! Even putting aside how Abby enlightened us about her fiancé and the few minutes we'd spent in the gay club, I hadn't ceased to be amused yet.

Of course, Abby and Couch usually had that effect on things.

I didn't spend as much time getting hotted up as the other ladies, but I knew I'd feel out of place at the club no matter how I looked, so I decided it didn't matter too much. As predicted though, I helped deflect unwanted males and their attention. Hooray for being intimidating!

After a couple rounds of drinks, it was revealed that I hadn't hallucinated a pair of Alex-and-Jack-look-alikes at the bar and that our beloved group of miscreants was out for a night on the town as well.

Small world. Or talkative roommate, either way.

I snorted at Tiffany's and Rian's comments. "Well, if you two are so awkward," I replied, arching an eyebrow at them, "Why don't you go make nice away from us boring coupley-types?"

She brightened. "Great idea!" She jumped up, pulling Rian (looking slightly confused) with her. "C'mon, sexy, let's dance!"

We all laughed as she dragged him off. "You're terrible," Zack commented.

"Like she needed the encouragement," I replied, smirking. Okay, so the booze had gotten to my head; it just made me a little more normal. Taking another sip of my drink, I eyed Abby and Josh, giggling with each other about something or other. "Don't you want a drink, love?"

Zack looked at me a moment before smiling. "That I do." He kissed me on the cheek and disappeared into the throng.

I immediately turned. "So you're as pure as the driven snow, I hear."

Abby choked, slapping a hand over her mouth to prevent a spit-take, and glared at me. Josh, on the other hand, laughed. "Oh yeah?" he inquired, giving her a sideways glance.

"Don't blame her; Tiffany would've weaseled it out eventually." I leaned forward conspiratorially. “So is it true?” He glanced around but before he could reply, Zack returned with Alex in tow and I hid behind my drink’s straw.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

“Where’s Jack?” Abby asked, happy to divert the conversation.

Alex shrugged. “Iunno.”

I smirked. “Helpful.” He stuck his tongue out at me. “And mature!”

Zack returned to his seat, put his arm around me, and planted a kiss on my ear. “Be nice.” I settled back into my chair and sipped my straw.

Alex rolled his eyes. “You guys are boring,” he declared. He polished off his drink and stood up. “I’m gonna go dance.” He smiled at me. “Wanna join me?”

I frowned at him a moment. Alex was funny when he drank, and while I was pretty easygoing, I was sick of being crushed against hot sweaty people for a while yet. “Later,” I avowed. He shrugged and wandered off.

It wasn’t too long before Abby and Josh got bored of sitting around and disappeared as well, which left Zack and I alone, and I had zero problem with that.

“I thought you didn’t like clubs,” he commented after a few minutes of listening to the booming music and watching people.

“I don’t, but Couch is a force to be reckoned with,” I explained in as loud a mutter as I could manage. “Once she decides she wants something, she will get it.”

“Like Rian?”

I smiled wryly at him. “Ten bucks says they hook up tonight.”

He shook his head. “Dinner says he’s not over Kara yet,” he countered.

“You’re on, kid.” We sealed our bet with a kiss and, pulling away, I licked my lips. “What’re you drinking? It’s delicious.”

Zack chuckled and offered me some. Correction: delicious and strong! “I thought I should loosen up if you were picking the location,” he laughed, making me pull a pout.

“We had fun at that goth club!” I protested.

A few months before, I had gotten a commission through the internet for a photo shoot in LA and had stayed with Zack in Huntington Beach. There had been the awkward question of whether we were ready to make that step—it was early in our relationship and before we started sleeping together— but it had turned out alright. His place needed thicker walls, though; I didn’t sleep at all the first night since one of his roommates brought a girl home.

But as we were wandering around the city in the afternoon, we passed a club that was getting ready for “Night of a Thousand Black Sparrows,” as its sign out front advertised. Zack saw the intrigued look that appeared on my face and immediately said, “No, Eris.”

“Pleeeeease?” I begged, tugging his hand and looking back as we continued down the sidewalk.

“What if someone recognizes me?”

“Tell them you lost a bet,” I said easily, hanging off his arm. “Any of your fans would believe that.” His lips twisted consideringly, knowing that I was right. I leaned my head onto his shoulder. “I’ll go when you get your next tattoo… Maybe get another one myself…”

Zack sighed and chuckled wearily. “Alright.”

“Hooray!” I exclaimed, kissing him on the cheek. Then I grinned evilly. “I’ll not make you wear eyeliner if you don’t want, even.”

“…You suck.”

“You wish.”

Zack laughed, taking his drink back. “I was with you and you were wearing a corset,” he reasoned. “We ended up on a velvet couch in the corner for most of the night. Why would I complain?”

I smirked. “You didn’t seem too enthused when I came back from the bathroom,” I pointed out, laughing to myself.

“I wasn’t sure whether that was a guy or chick hitting on me!” he said incredulously. “And he propositioned us for a threesome!”

I laughed, remembering, and he put on a sad, disgruntled expression. “Aww.” I planted a lingering kiss on his lips, and the arm around my shoulders wound around my neck to keep me there.

“Hey, no public sex!” Tiffany yelled over the music a few minutes later. Zack and I broke apart, blinking at her skeptically. “You know, except on the dance floor.”

“You exhaust Rian already?” I joked, smiling at her.

She beamed. “Nope, he’s getting drinks.” She tilted her head at us before sitting. “You two haven’t danced yet. Go dance!”

“You’re right,” Zack laughed as he stood, pulling me with him. “She is compelling.”

Neither of us would ever be on Dancing With The Stars, but we had fun. The fact that we were dancing with each other mostly made it worthwhile. Eventually the floor migrated around and we found ourselves beside Abby and Josh.

“Hey, strangers!” she greeted, looking quite happy. And she’d wanted to stay away from the boys tonight.

“I don’t think I’ve bought you a congratulatory shot yet,” I observed to Josh. “Or really congratulated you at all.”

He chuckled. “I won’t turn down a free drink in honour of getting married.”

“You won’t turn down a free drink,” Abby corrected ironically.

Josh shushed her with a kiss and we split off in search of more alcohol. I ordered two shots of whiskey and toasted him. “To you and Abby,” I said with a smile. We drank and put the glasses back on the bar. “So back to what I asked before.”

He laughed. “You don’t give up, do you?” I shook my head, grinning, and he sighed dramatically. “Yes, I am a virgin.” Josh grinned. “Maybe not pure as driven snow though…”

I chuckled. “Of course not.” I studied him for a moment—to counter his habit of staring—and smiled. “It’s venerable.” He looked confused. “I mean, think about how easily you could have folded to the social norm and broken your morality. But you didn’t.” I shrugged, turning away from his stare to look over the crowd again. “I know Abby thinks so, as well.”

“I was kind of surprised she was so cool with it, to be honest,” Josh admitted.

“Did you assume she was too?”

“No, but I never asked.”

It took a few seconds for it to register what he said, but then I turned back to him, blinking. Then I laughed. “You were never curious?” I asked in disbelief.

“It’s not something you can just… ask!” he objected, visibly getting flustered by my amusement.

My face went blank suddenly. “…It isn’t?”

After a second, Josh cracked a grin and laughed, and I smiled blithely. Alex appeared out of the madness of bodies and, spotting us, sauntered over. “You’re going to dance with me now,” he declared.

I raised an eyebrow. “Am I now?” I retorted.

“Yep.” He grinned. “And I’m buying you a drink.”

“Why?” Josh asked out of curiosity.

“Because she’s beautiful!”

I snorted. “You’re such a charmer, Gaskarth,” I said sarcastically, but didn’t stop him from hailing down the bartender.

People change when they drink alcohol. Abby gets giggly, Zack and Alex become prone to amusing stupidity (the former with a tendency to get in fights), and I turn into everyone’s friend and or mum. I also talk a lot more. If I’m with Zack, I’ll be attached to him. If I’m not, he’s generally what’s on my mind.

Alex knew this and apparently wanted all my attention for himself. So he bought me a drink and kept the conversation jumping from topic to topic. Then he bought me a shot and pulled me onto the dance floor. And after a while of that, he bought more shots and held me to him as we danced.

“So how’re you?” he asked in my ear.

I closed one eye as I thought about it. Soon I smiled brightly. “Drunk!” I declared happily.

He grinned. “Sweet, me too!” We both laughed, and it must have been pretty damn funny because he loosened his grip and I slipped out of it.

“Ow,” I decided after a moment of sitting on the floor, and then laughed again. A pair of hands appeared under my arms and easily lifted me onto my feet, which refused to go along with this proposed plan of standing. But the hands caught me as I felt into a solid chest, and I looked up to find it belonged to my boyfriend. “You’re strong…”

Zack smiled and shifted me in his arms. “Abby told me to tell you that she’s staying with Josh tonight,” he explained as we started moving, “And by the looks of Tiffany and Rian, I owe you dinner.”

I chuckled, putting my arm around his neck. “I’m just that good.” I frowned slightly, seeing that we were heading outside. “Where’re we going?”

“Home. You’re drunk.”

“So are you.”

“But I didn’t fall down.”

I scoffed, blowing hair out of my face. “Alexander let go of me.” As we walked back to my apartment, the night air sobered me up enough that I wasn’t tripping over everything. The stairs up to my apartment and finding the right key to my front door proved more annoying than surmised, however.

Zack deposited me on the couch and went into the kitchen to get water. I hummed to myself and reviewed some happy thoughts. When he returned, I gulped down the glass of water and abandoned it.

“You,” I said, pointing at him. “Bed. Now.” Zack grinned, literally swept me off my feet, and carried me down the hall.

The next morning, I woke up groggy and very thirsty, but I couldn’t help smiling since I also woke up next to Zack. It didn’t matter that I’d probably overslept and everyone would be grumpy when they woke up.

After a few minutes, I was awake enough to realize that I was waaaay too thirsty to continue admiring his adorableness and questioning his sanity in being here, so I carefully eased out of bed and got dressed.

I shut the door quietly and headed out to the kitchen, ruffling and straightening up my hair. Somehow, I never suffered from hangovers. Just pretty much every other ailment known to man. After three glasses of water, I filled up another glass for Zack and set it on the dresser with a bottle of extra-strength Excedrin, kissing him gently on the forehead.

When I came back in the living room, I noticed the television was on and Jack was sitting on the couch. “Were you here a minute ago?” I asked.

He turned around, smiled, and turned back to the TV. “Yep. Your roommate let me in.” I flopped down beside him and frowned at the screen. Jack was watching some really terrible reality show. “The not French one.”

“Oh.” I gave up trying to understand what was happening after a few minutes and rolled my head around. “I have some sugary cereal. You want some?”

Jack turned his head, mildly surprised. “Can we also watch cartoons?” he asked seriously.

I nodded grimly. “I do believe it’s necessary,” I replied.

Half an hour later, Jack and I were on second bowls of Reese’s cereal and a second episode of the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. We both looked up as Zack shuffled out, looking somewhat worse for the wear.

He stared at us, glared at the noise and blaring lights of the TV, and returned to us. “Neither of you gets hangovers?” We both shook our heads, chewing, and he grunted. “Fuck this, I'm going back to bed.”