Hand of Blood

For the rest of the night, I had found myself attached to Kayla's side or simply wandering about on my own. I had been with Matt a couple of times, but I felt nervous around him. He wasn't mentioning it, or even acknowledging its existence, much like the night at Jay's.

I officially lost everyone about an hour ago, when we all went onto the dance floor that had soon turned into a mosh pit. It was nice for a while, but I quickly got bored of it and decided to sit down on my own in the bar area; a small room off to the left of the main club area. It was a lot quieter over there, considering most people had had their drinks by now, and were now reveling in the joy of intoxication.

I sighed as I leaned forward on the bar, my eyes watching the hardwood surface beneath me. It was tough being sober and drink-less. I swung my legs backwards and forwards, kicking the the bar lightly in the process as my thoughts wandered away with me. Would this just be another thing that Matt and I would brush under the carpet and never talk about again? I was starting to feel like everything was just to get us into the venue, as it had been to start with. Although, the bouncer said we could go in before that happened. Matt didn't strike me as the type to be dishonest, either, I knew that much. So what was it? Was it real? Was any of it?

I groaned in my frustration, crossing my arms over on the bar and resting my head down, lightly closing my eyes as the dull thud of music continued to sink into the room. If only I was a normal person who couldn't look into something too deeply. If only it didn't seem too good to be true. If only I hadn't felt anything. If only.

"Uhm, hey there."

My eyes instantly opened at the voice I didn't recognise, but knew was directed at me. I was the only person in the small room, unless someone had walked past without me noticing. My gaze was met by a young looking man, dirty blond hair in a messy style and falling into his face slightly, with a timid smile on his lips. I recognised a smile like that, causing my heart to revert back to it's original obsession. I quickly pushed the thoughts away and met my eyes with this stranger.

"Hey," I responded lightly, raising my head up from the bar as my eyes automatically examined him critically. Casual jeans, smart black shirt rolled up at the sleeves. The indication of colourful tattoos snaking down his upper arm, though just barely visible. A nervous composure with an unwavering smile.

"I just noticed you were alone," he started, taking a few steps closer to me, making me watch him more closely. "I, uhm," he mumbled, chuckling lightly in what seemed like nerves. "I just wondered if you wanted some company."

I paused as I studied him once more. I wasn't getting any alarm bells, so decided to take a chance. That was, after all, my latest target in life. "Sure," I replied with a light shrug, my eyes never leaving him. He gave me a warm smile and sat down next to me. That smile was strangely comforting to me.

"I'm Alex," he said lightly, turning his attention to me.

"Brianne," I responded simply in a dull tone, turning my attention away from him for a moment and returning it to the bar. I started picking at a splinter of wood absently. I heard Alex chuckle from beside me, leaning forward a bit to catch my gaze. I hadn't even realised I had spaced out so suddenly.

"Something on your mind?" He asked with a knowing look.

I shook my head, placing a light smile on my face and turning to him. "Not at all," I said easily, locking my gaze with his own chocolate brown eyes.

"Good to hear!" He said brightly, in a concluding tone. "So what are you drinking then?"

I turned my attention forward, my eyes travelling behind the bar and across the glass bottles lining the wall, as well as the list of drinks written up on a board. I sighed lightly to myself, setting a soft smile on my lips before glancing back at Alex. "Anything if you're paying," I admitted, with a light laugh in my tone.

He laughed softly along with me, as he started reaching into his pockets. "So it's like that, huh?" He asked in a low tone, his eyes focusing on his wallet before looking back at me and raising an eyebrow.

I nodded in confirmation. "It's like that," I agreed, my smile fading slightly as I again looked back to the wooden surface before me, as I heard Alex call the barman over. I quickly came to the decision that I should forget about Matt for the time being and just enjoy myself. I had never had problems like this in the past, so why should I start now? I did after all have a possible new friend to make, if he maintained his current attitude. He did appear to be a nice enough guy. Matt appeared a nice enough guy. Where was the difference?

+

More than a few fiery JD shots and a couple of vodka and cokes later, I was starting to feel a little tipsy. My mouth was beginning to ask questions and state facts that it wouldn't usually, but I was still in the majority of control. I wouldn't get so drunk that I would forget what was happening or start to lose control. I wasn't quite there yet; not with this Alex anyway.

In the hour or so that had past, I had found that this man was a surprisingly nice guy, and incredibly easy to talk to. My slightly intoxicated side of my brain was telling me to present my issues with Matt to him, to get information on what could be going through my friends head from a guys perspective. My sober side was keeping those questions at bay. Although I did wonder...

I caught Alex pausing suddenly, his smile dropping lightly as he placed his drink on the bar. "Hey, Brianne," he started, quickly rising his smile again as his eyes fixed with mine. "You're not 21, are you?" He asked knowingly.

I was instantly startled by his question, my eyebrows knitting together for a split second before I quickly masked my confusion. I had noticed Alex had started tapping the neck of the bottle still in his grasp ever so lightly. I had noticed he done that a lot.

"Erm, what?" I asked lightly, tilting my head and placing a light smile on my lips, playing the innocent card.

"You can tell me," Alex added, his smile growing as his finger kept on tapping, the movement so minimal I doubted he even knew he was doing it.

I raised an eyebrow at him, attempting to laugh off his question. "Tell you what exactly?" I inquired, finding myself becoming a little more flirtatious as I was being backed into a corner. If I was to go on a solid defensive, he would know for sure.

He smiled at me again, just as warm and comfortingly as he had when he first introduced himself. Somehow my thoughts found themselves briefly back on Matt, breaking my concentration. I had felt my smile drop and quickly placed it back upon my lips, hoping this curious man in front of me hadn't noticed.

After a moment Alex leaned forward a little, his eyes shifting over the bar before settling in my gaze. "I'm only 19, myself," he whispered in a low tone, catching my attention no mistake. He was being brutally honest with me, considering we had just met. Maybe he was just the trusting type. Maybe I was looking into this too much, as usual. Maybe I wasn't.

"So... What? You blagged past the bouncers?" I asked lightly, my eyebrows knitting together again as I became interested in his story. Did it compare to mine, I wondered?

"Just as you did," he replied simply, his voice still quiet as a mischievous grin crossed his face. I found my alcohol induced side chuckling lightly at his comment and expression, apparently impressed.

"How could you tell," I whispered back, covering my mouth the moment I had said it. My eyes grew wide as I mentally slapped myself harder than I had before. God damn, alcohol.

Alex chuckled softly as he moved back, apparently not at all phased by my confession, yet amused by my reaction. "Just the way you talk," he said lightly. "I wouldn't have known from looking at you," he added, picking up his bottle and finishing the last of it's contents. I nodded lightly to myself and allowed my gaze to fall to my lap, suddenly feeling concerned. The more I thought about it, I wondered what harm could possible come of telling some guy my real age. It was just a number after all. But if that was true, then why did I suddenly feel so terrible? Why did something feel wrong?

"So," Alex started, catching my attention back in his gaze, before my eyes fell back onto his empty bottle for a moment. He hadn't stopped that tapping for the last 5 minutes now. "How old are you?" He asked outright, causing my gaze to move back up into his.

I paused as I tilted my head. "18," I stated simply, not seeing a point in lying. If you're underage, you're underage. Being one year or three years under wouldn't make a single bit of difference.

Alex smiled lightly and nodded, his hand suddenly releasing his empty bottle as he got to his feet. "Hey, let's go listen to the music some more," he said, his gaze wandering to the flashing lights entering the room through the doorway. "It looks like more fun out there," he added, returning to look at me with a wide smile.

I was slightly startled again by his sudden change of subject, and watched with interest as he started walking off. I glanced around the empty bar, before timidly getting to my feet and following him none the less. It was probably time to find my friends anyway, I figured, as I entered the smokey room, music pounding against my eardrums in wild comparison to the quiet bar.