Love at First Heave

"Last call!" Jeff, the pub owner said into the microphone, projecting into the room w that wasn't nearly as full as it should have been for a Saturday night. Anais sighed, pouring the last few drinks for stragglers. One look at the clock above her made her smile. In an hour, she'd be home in bed curled up with a good book and her dog. She kept weird hours when she was working the bar and when she got home she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep until at least 7am.

"Anais, wanna call this guy a cab?" Jeff asked as he pointed to a sorry looking young man at the end of the bar. The 21 year old bartender nodded, knowing the drill. Plenty of people came in and ended up having a little too much. This guy had been on Tasha's end of the bar and Anais was glad that she wasn't going to be the one in trouble for not watching his intake.

The taller than average brunette with dark wavy brown hair and grey eyes walked over to the man, tapping him on the shoulder. He looked up, giving her the glassy stare that she'd gotten so used to.

"Wah?" he questioned. Anais rolled her eyes.

"Come on killer, let's get you home." Anais helped the man up, catching him as he began to fall sideways.

"Whoa there. Let's stay upright, okay?" Anais chuckled, walking him to the door and out into the crisp night air.

"You're pretty," he said. Anais laughed.

"Yes I am. So where am I getting you a cab to?" she asked. He stumbled over his words.

"My hotel?" he questioned.

"Which is where? You gotta give me something better to go on," she responded.

"I don't know," he said with slurred speech. She took him back inside and left him leaning against the wall.

"Jeff? What do I do? He doesn't know where to go," Anais shot to the pub owner.

"He's your problem now babe. See you next week," he said, waving as he walked to the back.

"Great," she mumbled to herself. She knew it was useless. Everyone had gone through this at least once.

"Can I call anyone to get you?" Anais asked, turning her attention back to the young man in her arms.

"What's your name?" he asked, dodging the question. Anais was too busy contemplating what to do next to comprehend what he was saying.

"Mine's Alex," he said when she didn't respond.

"Do you know where your hotel is?" she pressed. Alex shook his head.

"No, but Matt might," he stuttered.

"Where is Matt?" Anais asked.

"Tell me your name," he questioned again.

"If I tell you my name will you tell me how to get you home?" she reasoned.

"Yep," Alex said, popping the "p."

"Anais. Now, how do I get you home Alex?" she said, using his name for the first time. He looked up at her in bewilderment, liking the sound of her voice when she said his name.

"Cellphone. Pocket," he said, trying to pull it out himself.

"I got it," Anais said, trying very carefully to remove the device from the front pocket of his rather tight jeans.

"You're trying to feel me up aren't you?" he slurred.

"You keep thinking that kiddo," she said, setting him against the side of the building. The wall did a surprisingly good job keeping him upright. Anais scrolled through the contacts in his phone's address book. She got a few names down before laughing.

"You do the same thing I do," Anais snickered when she got to "Benji Madden."

"What?" he asked.

"Giving your friends celebrity names. I have Brad Pitt in mine," Anais said.

"No, I know him," Alex shouted, eliciting a giggle from Anais.

"Uh uh. Who am I calling? I'm thinking Mommy," she said, grinning when the contact was highlighted.

"Mommy!" he squealed, reaching for the phone. Anais kept him at arm's length.

"Alex why are you calling me at 3 in the morning?" a very tired female voice answered, obviously having caller id to identify her son by.

"Oh I'm so sorry. I forgot how late it was. But, are you the mother of a tall young man named Alex?" she asked the woman.

"Yes, that's my son. Is he alright?" her voice raised at the end.

"Oh he's fine ma'am. He was at the bar I work at and he's just a little intoxicated. I was wondering where he needed to go," Anais explained.

"Oh I'm in Baltimore darling. You should find Matt though. He'll be in Alex's cellphone too. He'll let you know where they're staying. Can you please look out for him dear?" the woman asked.

"I'll make sure he's safe. Thank you," Anais said before hanging up.

"Okay, now which Matt am I looking for?" she asked, scrolling again through his extensive address book. The statement was more for herself than Alex.

"Flyzik," the still drunk Alex answered. He was beginning to come back to reality. Shapes were becoming more visible and while he still needed the wall for support, it was more of a lean instead of hanging on for dear life.

"Alex where the fuck are you?" a man's voice rang out through the phone's speaker. Matt started rambling through the speaker with a mixture of anger, frustration and worry.

"Look dude, I don't know what you're going on about, but my name is Anais and I found your very drunk friend at my bar and I'm wondering where I need to get him." Anais was beginning to lose her patience. She wanted to be home already. She looked at her watch. 3:15.

"Where is he?" Matt asked, still a little apprehensive. She told him.

"Shit that's still in the city isn't it? We've already left. Can you put him up in a hotel? We'll get someone to get him tomorrow. Just put it on his Amex. What's your name again? We'll put you on the guest list for the show when we come back," Matt rattled off.

"What show? And any particular hotel? The hotels around here are pretty expensive," Anais explained. Matt let go a sigh of relief. He was afraid that this girl was a fan, ready to kidnap Alex.

"He's in a band. You don't recognize him?" he asked. Anais took another look at the young man now mumbling to himself.

"Can't say that I do. Sorry. I listen to music; I don't stalk the people in the bands though. Now about a hotel," she trailed off.

"Oh, yeah. Just pick one. He's got enough to keep him for just a night. Can you call me if anything serious happens? And stay with him too? I'd rather not have him die on me or something. I like my job," Matt said.

"Seriously? You can't be serious," Anais grumbled.

"Please?" the young man on the other end pleaded. Anais sighed.

"Fine. In the spirit of the holiday season, I'll take your drunk friend to a hotel and make sure he doesn't choke on his own stomach contents," Anais promised.

"Thanks so much. Just put it on one of his cards. Amex would be your best bet. I'll call you later to get details on your location," Matt explained.

"Alright Matt, not a problem." Anais closed the phone, sighing.

"Okay Mr. Rockstar. Let's get you to bed," she said, pulling Alex under her arm again and walking down the street.

"Where are we going?" Alex asked, still slightly delirious.

"To a hotel. Where you're gonna sleep and I'm going to make sure you don't die," Anais explained, stopping in front of a rather nice hotel.

"This is the closest. We're stopping here," she said, pulling Alex through the door held open by a bell hop in a ridiculous costume.

"Poor guy," she sympathized.

The woman at the front desk took one look at Alex and rolled her eyes.

"Lucky you. What can I do for you?" the woman, Sarah written on her name tag, asked.

"Huh?" Anais questioned."Oh yeah. Look, my fiance is a little intoxicated and we just need a room for the night."

"Perfect. We've got one on the third floor. That will be," Sarah said, "$799."

"Shit," Anais whispered. "Alright. Let me get his wallet. Trust me, he's paying."

Sarah nodded sympathetically.

"Alright Alex, where's your wallet?" she questioned, patting down the young man now standing upright on his own. She found it in his front pocket.

"Not until we get in the room," he whispered. Anais rolled her eyes.

"Here is it," she said.

"Alex Gaskarth? My daughter is in love with you," Sarah said, smiling. Anais tried to smile, but it wasn't working.

"Under different circumstances I'd ask for an autograph. My daughter loves his band," she said, handing Anais back Alex's card.

"Maybe in the morning, when he's feeling a little better. I'll make sure someone gets it to you," Anais promised, figuring she'd get something out of this situation.

"Thank you! My daughter's name is Annie," the woman gushed. Anais tried to put on another more sincere smile.

"Alright here's your keys, and the elevator is that way," Sarah said, pointing behind them.

"Thanks a lot. Have a good night," Anais replied, grabbing Alex's hand and pulling him towards the elevators.

"Mmm. Pillows," he murmured. Anais gave a small laugh. His drunk talk was beginning to amuse her rather than be annoying.

When Anais opened the door, she gasped slightly.

"Holy shit," she said. The room was large and well decorated. It was definitely worth the $799.

"This is nothing," Alex slurred. Anais pushed Alex on the king sized bed where he fell and immediately curled up at the top with the pillows. Anais was not pleased with the single bed and contemplated making him sleep on the couch. She figured it had to have a pull out bed.

"You can't sleep in shoes and that thick coat," Anais said pulling off her own articles of clothing and then starting on his.

"Thank you," he croaked.

"Are you going to throw up?" Anais responded, refusing to say the customary "no problem." This was a problem. However, she decided the lush suite was an acceptable place to spend the night. If she wasn't spending it at her own home, it better be a fantastic substitute.

"Maybe?" Alex said, his voice like that of a child. Anais pulled the trash can over to his side of the bed and walked over to the couch.

"Okay Mr. Couch, show me your secrets," she said, pulling off the cushions. No bed. Figures. It was a posh hotel and the figured everyone would be in the lap of luxury. Sighing in defeat, she placed herself on the other side of the bed.

"I swear if you puke on me Alex, I will murder you myself," she said to the now sleeping man. "That goes for if you try to pull anything too."

Anais layed down as well, realizing how tired she was. Putting her phone on loud, she set an alarm for 10. Check out was noon, but she figured Alex would want a shower. She would. She put Alex's phone next to hers before allowing sleep to take over.

The next thing Anais heard was Alex's dry heaves in the bathroom. She got up and walked in to Alex leaning over the toilet, dry heaving now. Anais could see the remnants of stomach bile in the bowl.

"You done?" she asked. Her response was more stomach contents hitting the bowl. She waited a few moments before repeating her question.

"Maybe," Alex responded, grabbing a wad of toilet paper to wipe his mouth. "Gross."

"Yeah, you're a big ball of gross right now. Want a shower?" she asked, helping him up.

"Sure. What's your name?" he asked, not remembering much from the night before.

"Anais. You were in my bar. Matt and your mother told me to take care of your intoxicated ass," she responded. Alex laughed.

"So you were checking out my ass, eh?" Alex responded, his voice clear and no longer slurred.

"I see you're feeling better. Go shower. Do you have a headache or anything?" she asked. He shook his head.

"No hangover today. What time is it?" Anais checked her watch.

"9:30. I'm going to go call Matt and tell him where you are," she said.

"Wait, Matt's not here? Where the hell am I?" he asked, suddenly panicked.

"Chill out. You're still in the city. Matt already left, but said they would find a way to come get you." Alex's face relaxed.

"Okay. Tell him I'm sorry," Alex said sheepishly.

"Go shower. You smell," Anais teased and closed the door behind her. When she heard the shower running, she picked up Alex's phone. Matt answered on the 3rd ring.

"Alex you are in so much fucking trouble right now," Matt started and Anais laughed.

"Sorry Matt, still Anais. Alex is showering and seems sober and coherent. What should I do with him now?" Anais asked.

"I'm going to get a van and pick him up at around 1. You probably have to check out soon so do you want to meet us at a Starbucks?" Matt asked.

"Sure. There is one down the road from here. We're on the main drag," she explained.

"Alright. I'll call Alex's phone. Actually, give me your number too incase he wanders off," Matt said. Anais gave him the ten digits.

"I'll call when we're close. And make sure he's not attacked by hormone driven teenage girls?" Matt's question was met with Anais' laugh.

"The woman at the desk already asked for his autograph, but only after seeing the name on his card. I'll watch out for crazed girls though. See you soon Matt." The shower turned off right as Anais hung up and a few moments later a cleaner Alex walked out of the bathroom.

"I still smell like a bar, but I'm clean," he announced.

"Okay. My turn. Watch some television or something," she responded, taking over the bathroom for the next fifteen minutes.

"We're meeting Matt at the Starbucks down the street at one. And you owe the woman at the desk from last night an autograph for her daughter," Anais snickered.

"Shit," Alex said, smacking his head. "I forgot about that. Okay, grab me a piece of paper."

"Girl's name is Annie," Anais added. Alex scrawled a quick message and his signature on the hotel's pad of paper.

"We've got free breakfast. Want anything?" Anais asked when he was finished. He nodded his head.

"Pancakes," he responded, eyes lighting up.

At noon, with food in their stomachs and Annie's note delivered, Alex and Anais made it to Starbucks without any trouble.

"No one has recognized me," Alex said, voice kind of disappointed as they sipped their drinks in the corner of the popular coffee franchise.

"You sure you're the singer of a popular band?" she asked, more familiar with his background now.

"Yeah," he said. "And thanks for taking care of my shamefully drunk ass last night. We'll be back through here next week. You should come to our show."

"Matt already promised me a spot on your guest list," Anais responded, curious to see what he sounded like.

Not a minute later, the topic of conversation pulled up in a van and three other guys jumped out.

"Alex, you're an idiot," a taller dark haired man scolded. He then turned to Anais.

"I'm Matt. Thanks for taking care of him. I swear they're like children," he said, shaking Anais' hand. Anais blushed slightly at the sensations she felt when their skin touched.

"It wasn't the worst thing in the world. At least he didn't puke on me," Anais said. She suddenly remembered what she was wearing and could only imagine how she looked.

The other boys made their introductions, also expressing their gratitude.

"Here's a few tickets for next week's show. You should come," Matt said, handing her three pieces of the thick paper.

"I'll check my work schedule," she said.

"Sounds good. I've got your number. We'll keep in touch," Matt said, shaking her hand again in a very formal gesture. She nodded and waved as the five piled into the van and took off.

The week passed quickly. Matt had kept in touch with Anais, sending her text messages several times a day. Anais tried not to read into it too far, but the way her body jolted and the way she smiled everytime the sound of the "beep" alerting her to a new message was undeniable: Anais liked Matt.

"They're just mundane things. Nothing too noteworthy," she reasoned with herself. However, some of them were more personal and others very flirtatious. He had called once, but she was scared to answer. Matt didn't seem too phased by it, and didn't bring the call up. He also asked at least once a day if she was coming. Anais didn't want to promise him incase something came up. She knew it wouldn't but the more they conversed, the more nervous she became. She always said she would "have to see" or "maybe" or "probably."

Her best friend Julie, Julie's boyfriend Aaron,who also happened to be Anais' cousin, were coming with her to the concert. Julie of course wanted to know how she got the tickets, but all Anais said was she knew someone. Julie surprisingly didn't push. Anais thought about telling her about her crush on Matt, but figured it was better that she didn't know incase Julie wanted to embarrass her. She could do that on her own.

are you coming? the most recent message read. Same question as usual.

probably. Aaron is late she responded.

Aaron? He your boyfriend was the reply. They hadn't mentioned significant others.

nope. Cousin

There was no response after that.

By the time six rolled around, Anais' and her friends had arrived at the venue. The doors didn't open until seven. The line was long and the air was chilly, but Aaron entertained him with stories from work.

"This dude had amazing hair," he started. Aaron worked at some business that required you to wear a suit everyday. Julie and Anais really had no idea what exactly Aaron did, but apparently it was important. Anais' pocket vibrated.

are you here? Matt's message asked.

yep. in line. Aaron is telling stories she replied.

fuck that shit. go to the front of the line and tell them your name. They'll let you in ;)

With that, Anais did as Matt instructed and they found themselves at the venue's bar ordering drinks.

"Anais?" a voice from the stage rang out. She looked up and spotted Alex messing around with some cords.

"Hey Alex!" she shouted back. Her friends looked at her oddly.

"I apparently know the band?" she offered. Julie punched her in the shoulder.

"Could have told me that. Well, it's not like I would have known who they were anyway." Julie shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah, I didn't know who they were either," Anais responded.

"You bought our CD though, right?" Jack said, running up to her.

"No. Limewire provided me with the necessary mp3's," Anais teased.

"That's illegal you know," Rian said, coming up to her now too.

"A lot of things are illegal. Pretty sure I went above the speed limit on the way here too. Maybe you should report me to the cops," Anais sassed.

The next ten minutes found the band, Anais' and her friends chatting about random things.

"Where's Matt?" Anais threw in during a pause.

"Getting shit done," Alex said, pointing up to the stage where the tour manager was instructing several people to move stuff around on stage.

"Shouldn't you guys be getting ready?" Julie pointed out, looking at the time.

"Yeah. Guess we should leave before the crowd gets in," Zack said.

"Alright, have a good show. Good seeing you guys again. And Alex, stay sober when you're in my city; I really don't wanna babysit you again," Anais said.

"Yeah, that's usually Matt's job. He's a bad babysitter," Rian said.

"Hey now! You're all over the age of 18; you should be in charge of yourselves," Matt said, coming towards them.

"Now go to your room." He pointed back stage and the band faked sadness before someone punched someone else and they all took off running.

"Hey, I'm Matt," the newcomer said, greeting Julie and Aaron.

After a few minutes, Matt had to leave to do his job but told Anais he would let her know where to go after the show.

"Oh hey, we thought this was it. You don't have to hang out with us," Anais said.

"Nonsense. We owe you for not killing Alex," Matt laughed.

The first two bands were good in Anais' opinion. She hadn't heard of any of these bands before, but had done a little research before she came. Her pocket vibrated during the third band's set.

wanna come backstage?-A a different number, she assumed A for Alex, asked.

sure Anais typed back.

He gave her directions to the side stage and before long Anais, Julie and Aaron were watching the third band end their set.

All Time Low wasn't bad. Anais was entertained and it was worth the drive out, even if she hadn't known who they were.

In the middle, Anais felt someone's rough hand slip into hers. She looked up into Matt's smiling face.

"I'm glad you came," he said, squeezing her hand lightly. She blushed.

"You owed me," she responded, meeting his eyes. Their faces inched closer until Anais heard her name.

"So I got piss ass drunk last time we were here, and a nice young lady name Anais made sure I didn't die. Everyone give it up for Anais!" Alex said into the microphone and gesturing for her to come out of her spot. Matt groaned, stepping back and letting her slide past him and the curtain onto the stage.

"Now, Anais here is pretty awesome. I mean, she wasn't phase by my intense puking. Gotta give the girl props," Alex said, giving her a side hug.

"Now, is there a song you would like to hear?" he asked her. Anais froze.

"I don't know any of your songs!" she hissed.

"How about something that isn't ours. Matt says you like Something Corporate," he said and Anais looked over at the tour manager. He shook his head.

"He would be correct," she said slowly.

"Well, he insisted we play this for you," Alex said, walking her off stage.

"Punk Rock Princess, eh?" Anais said to Matt when she returned to his side, eyebrow raised as they started to play. He shrugged again. While the lights were low, Anais could still tell color was flooding his cheeks.

"It was one they already knew," he mumbled. Anais laughed.

"Awesome," was all she offered before he pulled her back out of the lighting and pressed his lips to hers.

Anais never heard the end of the concert; she was a little preoccupied.