In This Starless City

Banner by Martyyy. Isn't that banner truly amazing? Well, she's just as amazing as the person in that banner, lemme tell ya..! Thank you sooo much!

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I walked into my hotel room and fell face flat on the bed. My phone was buzzing nonstop in my pocket with unread text messages and missed calls, but I wasn't intending on replying to any of them or even reading them that night, for that matter.

It's not that I was afraid of getting caught drinking underage because that wasn't it at all. If that were the case, I would've never gone out drinking before, but back in New York, I'd gone out with my boys several times.

I lied on my bed and stared at the head board of my bed. I, myself, was wondering why exactly I didn't want to go out that night and I realized that I didn't necessarily have a reason, only that I really didn't want to go.

It's probably just the fact that I'll be turning twenty-one in a month. Maybe I just don't feel like pushing my luck this close to becoming legal.

My phone buzzed again and I pulled it out of my pocket, looking at the screen to see Jack's face blinking on the screen. I couldn't help smiling at the picture and then, before I could realize what I was doing, I had pressed the 'talk' button and pressed the speaker to my ear.

"Hey Jack,"

"Charlotte, why?" he asks and the smile on my face disappeared when I heard his tone of voice.

I pursed my lips, quirking an eyebrow to myself. "Can you please repeat the question?"

Jack sighed and I wondered why if and why he was in a bad mood. "Why aren't you coming out tonight?"

I shrugged. "I just don't feel like drinking right now," I say and I supposed that it was true in some way.

He huffed and I could imagine him puckering his lips out and making a sulking expression. "But we're all down here at this club and we're not having fun because all of us want you here,"

I exhaled through my nose and swallowed a few times, running a hand over my eyes. "Jack, I just really don't want--…"

"Come on, Char," he cut me off and he seemed determined in highlighting the desperation in his voice. "Just come out for a few hours." I sighed, my will to stay in for the night waning. "I promise to bring you back to the hotel the moment you want to leave."

"You promise?" I ask uncertainly.

"Cross my heart and hope to die," he says not a second after I asked. There was a moment's pause before he added a small soft 'please' just for affect, and then, I groaned.

"Fine, give me five minutes."

"Done and done," he says brightly. "See you in five." And he hung up.

I snapped my phone shut and tossed in down on the mattress, pushing myself up and walking to the bathroom. I fixed my smeared makeup, changed into a dressier shirt, and walked out of the room, phone in hand, texting Jack to tell him that I was on my way. However, I was barely halfway through the text when I noticed Jack, himself, standing in front of the elevators, smiling wryly.

"Well, aren't you slick?" I say as I press the down arrow button.

He ran a hand through his hair and down his neck. "Well, I didn't want to keep you waiting here alone," he says.

I looked at him from the corner of my eye. "You're already way too sweet to me, Jack," I say.

His smile widened slightly but he didn't say anything more as we stepped into the elevator. The silence between us was one of those rare comfortable ones and it lasted until we were in the cab that Jack had held outside. I smiled when he opened the yellow door for me.

"Thanks," I murmur sheepishly, looking at my feet as I climbed into the back seat of the taxi and allowed Jack to slam the door behind me before running to the other side and climbing in beside me. "So, where exactly are we going?"

He smiled. "Well, it's a small town club not too far from here, and it just so happens that tonight there are going to be a bunch of famous and fabulous people there," I made a face and he laughed at me. "They've all met your friends by now, I'm sure, so I can only assume that they're pissing in their pants just waiting to meet you."

I tossed my hands in the air in sarcastic enthusiasm and Jack rolled his eyes at me. The cab drove about a mile before slowing to a halt outside of a club. I gazed out of Jack's window at the strong built man that was standing outside the front door.

I gulped and Jack looked at me. I knew that my uneasiness was written clearly on my features, but I couldn't help being a little paranoid. Nothing would put a damper on my night more quickly than my friends, or even my self, being arrested for underage drinking. Especially two days before the experience of my lifetime: going on tour. And that's when I realized that that was exactly the reason why I didn't want to go out that night.

In the time I had wasted freaking out inside my head, Jack had gotten out of the cab, walked to my door, opened it and was waiting for me. He tapped me on the arm. "Charlotte, c'mon," I looked at him despairingly and I noticed him give a small smile. Was this a joke to him? "We can get in through the back," he says as I cast yet another wary look at the bouncer. "Trust me."

And there it was; the two words that made my night just a little more precarious. I was, without a doubt, one of the most guarded persons you could ever meet. I had grown up learning not to trust anyone without a good enough reason. My friends had learned this when I turned them down time and time again on their offer to join the band a year ago when I first moved to the United States.

But when I was asked why I was so dubious, I could never answer. My parents loved me and were always there for me when I needed them. I had never had a broken heart all because of a stupid boyfriend. I hadn't been mistreated in my life by anyone at all unless you count teachers that don't find your attitude toward calculus appealing, but I supposed I'd had that coming. And that played no part in my nature anyway.

I was the way I was purely by instinct, and when I told anyone that, they could only doubt me, expecting that there was something in my past that was dark, clandestinely, and painful to recall. I would never argue that point, however, because if I did, anyone and everyone would accuse me of being in denial, and how could I deny something that wasn't even there.

I couldn't. I would be backed into a corner and trapped with words and be forced to accept that there was something in my life that was keeping me from trusting other people. But I didn't want to live my life like that. I knew that I was living my life exactly how I wanted to and if I started to believe otherwise, everything could fall apart right before my eyes.

Jack held out a hand and I gazed at it vacantly. I wasn't about to agree that I trusted Jack Barakat because I didn't want to lie to him either. So instead, I placed my hand in his and allowed him to pull me out of the taxi and lead me across the street toward the club.

The bouncer saw us and straightened his pose and I stiffened nervously. Jack noticed my rigidness and slowly draped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him comfortingly.

We were almost ten feet from the bouncer now and I noticed him squinting at Jack and me. Could he really tell I was underage just by looking at me? Was I that obvious? Jack didn't seem fazed by the fact that he was staring us down. I wondered if Jack had an honest clue what he was doing.

Then, to my shock, the bouncer's face cracked in a hearty smile and he waved at Jack who waved back just as earnestly.

"Hey Kenny," Jack says with a smile, pounding the bouncer's fist when we were finally close enough. I stared up at the wall of a man, feeling smaller and more pathetic than normal. I imagined him stepping on me as if I were an insect.

"Hey Jack," Kenny says. His eyes flashed to me. "Who's this?"

Jack looked at me and smiled. "This is my dear friend Charlotte Connery," he says, giving my shoulders a squeeze, pulling me closer to him still. I could smell his cologne and my eyelids twitched slightly. "Charlotte, this is Kenny."

"Hey Kenny," I say in a voice that sounded sadly feeble.

Kenny smiled heartily at me. "Nice to meet you, Charlotte," he says and my anxiety quieted down slightly when his attention turned away from me and back to Jack. "So, I take it you two are wanting inside." He said it as a statement but before he could open the door for us, Jack stopped him.

"Actually, we were wanting to get in through the back door, if it's all the same to you," Kenny stopped and gave him an odd stare and my nervousness shot through the roof once more. "See, Charlotte has friends inside and they called and told her they were in the back with a private party, so I was thinking going in through the back would be easier on all of us."

Kenny was looking at me and Jack thoughtfully and for a second, I thought he was going to deny Jack his request. Then, he gave a nod and smile and gestured toward the ally. Jack smiled beside me and thanked Kenny before pulling me along by the hand toward the indicated alley. I bid Kenny adieu before trotting to keep up with Jack and once I was beside him once more, I glanced sideways at him.

"Quite the silver tongue you have, Jack." I muse as we turned down the side street and headed toward the door that was being propped open with a rusty red brick.

Jack frowned drastically. "Maybe that's why people are surprised to hear that I don't write all of the lyrics in the band," He says reflectively, snickering when I gave him arm a light shove.

He opened the door for me and allowed me to walk into the club before him and it took me no time at all to recognize half of the people in the room. Obviously, Jack had some friends that knew some friends that knew some friends that were all musicians and very famous. Then again, this was Las Angelas; I was surprised that I was as surprised as I was.

"Finally!" I heard someone holler over the collaborated conversations and music. "It's about time you got back here!" said the short, dark-haired Pete Wentz as he slithered his way toward the two of us. "And you must be Charlotte?" he asks, his tone curious.

"Yes," I answer before adding, "and you must be Pete Wentz?"

He smiled that characteristic smile of his. "How'd you know?"

I smirked. "I could smell your ego from outside,"

Pete rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha," he says sarcastically. "Always with the ego jokes. No wonder you and Jack get along so well." I gave a cheeky grin and he took a step close, a maniacal look in his eyes. "But I don't think you want to mess with me, missy," this time, my eyes narrowed at him, "because you strike me as the type of girl that doesn't like to be in the spot light and, well, I'm kind of the DJ tonight."

"What makes you think that I'm that kind of girl?" I challenge, trying to keep my outrage from being sighted.

"Well, for starters, you're a girl," he says and I glared at him. "And secondly, that response of yours just closed my case for me."

"Don't you dare," I say through my teeth but before I had even finished the statement, Pete was off and running toward the DJ's table and before I could find somewhere that he wouldn't be able to spot me, he was holding the microphone in his hand.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and Gabe Saporta," his voice flowed from the speakers and the room of people fell silent. "I would like you all to meet Miss Charlotte Connery, the guest of honor at tonight's party." I saw everyone's heads begin to turn and look around for me. I was thankful for being so small and easily missed, but of course, Wentz was already one step ahead of me because in the next moment, I was being blinded by a spotlight. "Everybody should go and introduce themselves to her tonight," Pete says and I glowered at him where he stood behind the turn tables. His laugh carried out of the speakers. "Don't worry, she's not as venomous as that look may lead you to believe."

The spotlight clicked off and I groaned, causing Jack to chuckle beside me. My eyes slid closed as I breathed, "Is it okay if I kill someone tonight?"

Jack laughed again as he placed a hand on my back and nudged me forward. "Not tonight, darling."

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After having been at the club for a little over half an hour, I was finished with introducing myself, as well as people introducing themselves to me. I knew almost everyone in the room to begin with and now, thanks to Pete, everyone knew me. Introductions seemed a little redundant at this point.

I had moseyed from the back door and was now sitting on a barstool and leaning back on the edge of the bar. Oliver and Nathan sat beside me on one side and Brandon was on the other. All three of them were fairly drunk already and just listening to them talk was enough to keep me entertained and wanting to stay.

"Excuse me," a voice says and I looked to see William Beckett standing in front of me, a confident yet soft smile his face. "I was wondering if I could buy you a drink."

I pushed off the bar and leaned on my knees, looking at William apologetically. "Sorry, Bill," I ran a hand across my jaw and down my neck. "I'm underage."

He made a comprehensive sound and stepped closer to me, dodging Nathan and Oliver as they stumbled toward the dance floor. He placed a hand on the edge of the bar and leaned on it, looking down at me. He was really tall too. "So, can I buy you a drink or not?" I looked at him, bewildered that he had apparently just completely disregarded the fact that I was a minor, but before I could voice my thoughts, Bill smiled at me. "I never said I wanted to buy you an alcoholic beverage." He says.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, in that case, yes, you may buy me a cherry Pepsi."

He smiled and waved down the bar tender, ordering my beverage along with a beer. I met his gaze when he looked at me again. "So, meet a lot of people tonight?" he took a seat next to me after Brandon skipped away as well.

I exhaled heavily and picked at the hole in the knee of my jeans. "Yeah," I say. "Enough for the rest of the year, I think."

Bill laughed and handed me my drink and I sipped it slowly. "Just wait until meet and greets," he says with an air of knowing. "You'll be wishing it was like tonight."

The reminder of going on tour caused butterflies to take flight inside of me and I had the sudden urge to get up and move around. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind," I say to Bill and he nodded, raising his beer toward me before taking a swig of it.

I turned my attention to the dance floor. The song playing was a face paced one and most of the bodies on the dance floor were in pairs. Every few beats, I would see a drunken friend of mine pop in and out of view, causing me to laugh.

Hours passed, songs changed, and after my third or fourth soda, I was beginning to get a little bored with this scene. So, I jumped off my barstool and headed into the throng of dancing people in search of my dear friend Jack.

I had expected it to be difficult to find him what with all the flashing lights, loud music, moving people, but to my pleasant surprise, I ran into him after only a few minutes of searching.

"Jack--…" I begin but he cut me off.

"Charlotte, I've been looking all over for you!" he exclaims, beaming at me. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You have?" I asked, shocked and puzzled.

"Yes!" he sings, holding the 's' for a moment too long before taking my hand in his and pulling me toward the middle of the dance floor. "I want you to dance with me!"

I sighed as I planted my heels, trying to stop him from pulling me any farther through the crowd of people. "Jack, I was just coming to find you so you could take me back to the hotel,"

Jack's smile disappeared and was replaced with a frown. "But…I wanted to dance." He says sadly and that's when I noticed that his eyes were slightly glassed over.

He was drunk. Well, now there was just no way in getting him to leave.

I wrenched my hand out of his and glared at him. "Way to keep your fucking promise, Barakat." I hiss at him before turning and plowing through the crowd of people, completely ignoring the obscenities and insults that were flying my way and instead focusing on finding the exit.

I had finally freed myself from the sea of moving bodies but before I could so much as spot the exit from where I stood, a hand grasped my wrist and I felt my entire body tense in preparation to verbally berate whoever was keeping me from leaving. I had a feeling in my gut that it was Jack. But then, when I turned around, I was shocked to see Alex Marshall standing there, smiling innocently.

"Hey stranger," he says pleasantly. "Are you heading somewhere?"

I had completely forgotten that I had invited him and Brendon to the club tonight to hang out and my frustration with Jack immediately evaporated and was replaced with slight guilt.

"Well, I was actually getting ready to head back to my hotel," I answer honestly and Alex made an 'o' with his mouth.

"Well, would you mind if I escort you?" I looked at him curiously. "It's late and who knows what kind of creepers are out there just waiting to prey upon a pretty girl like you?"

"I've got Mace in my pocket," I say generically and Alex laughed and I noticed his eyes were crystal clear and sparkling with sobriety. It came as a relief to me that he hadn't been drinking.

"Just let me walk you back," he insists in a gentlemanly tone and without having to ask again, I nodded and began walking toward the first exit I saw. "You're not much of an arguer, are you?" he questions as he holds the door open for me and I laughed slightly before catching sight of Jack, standing there staring at me, confused, and then glaring daggers into Alex's back.

The smile slid off of my face. "You'd be surprised," I say and I walked out of the building and into the cool city night air.