And Along Came You

Lights flashed in my eyes and all I could see now as I stumbled my way through the club were blobs of pink, blue, and just about every other color of the rainbow. I was alone and I was wasted. Another thing to cross off the list, I thought happily to myself. I didn’t know what time it was or how long I’d been out. The only thing I did know was that I felt invincible. The world was at my fingertips and I could get away with murder tonight.

“Hey little lady, you lookin’ for someone?” a gruff voice came from behind me. I whipped around, my reflexes surprisingly quick, and saw a tall older guy standing a little too close to me. He had a creepy smile attached to his face and his eyes were clouded from whatever he’d indulged in tonight. It clearly wasn’t just alcohol.

“Actually yes!” I shouted stupidly over the pounding bass. I took a few steps away, trying to create some space between myself and the creepy man, but he just took a few steps forward.

“Well how ‘bout I help you find them?” he reached out and grabbed my arm, gripping it tightly. I was too drunk to be afraid, but I was getting really annoyed. I just wanted to find my friends, not get hit on by some loser.

“No thank you! I’ll do just fine by myself!” I said and tried to break free from his grasp, but he only tightened his hold on me, pulling me closer to him. “All right, seriously let go!” I yelled, trying to pull away again but to no avail.

“Hey!” a familiar voice called out from the mob of people surrounding us. My body immediately relaxed as Andrew appeared, stepping in between us. “Do we have a problem here?”

The creepy guy mumbled something I couldn’t understand and with another threatening glare from Andrew, he hurried off in the opposite direction. Andrew turned back to me and grabbed my hand, inspecting the red mark the man had left on my arm. “Are you okay?” he asked. I nodded. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Andrew led me out of the crowd and into a more secluded area by the bar. There, I saw Angela and Matt drinking and laughing with Rian and Alex. “Hey, where have you been?” Angela asked as Andrew and I approached.

“I kinda got a little lost,” I grinned sheepishly, looking back to Andrew. Thankfully, he kept quiet about the whole creepy guy encounter. “Where’s Jack?” I wondered aloud, looking around for the lanky, dark haired boy. I imagined he was off somewhere shitfaced and dancing like a lunatic. If there was one thing I learned over the course of this tour so far, it was that the boy loved his liquor.

“I think he went back to the hotel,” Rian said. “Zack and Vinny went back a little while ago too.”

“Is it that late already?” Matt’s eyes widened. Rian and Alex shrugged uncaringly and went to order another round of drinks for themselves. I could feel my high crashing now and I was suddenly hit with a heavy feeling of drowsiness.

“Andy, will you take me back to my room please?” I turned to him and pouted. A small smile turned up the corners of his mouth and he nodded, taking my hand again. We said goodnight to Matt and Angela, who were clearly the night owls of the band, and headed back to the hotel.

***
“My feet are killing me,” I moaned, stepping out of the elevator and onto the fifth floor where our rooms were. Andrew chuckled softly at my expense. I shot him a mean glare and continued walking on my aching feet, swaying from side to side as I made my way down the hall.

“All right, all right come here,” he said and scooped me up in his arms, bridal style. I never realized how strong he really was. Then again, I wasn’t exactly a sumo wrestler. He carried me all the way to my door and pulled out his copy of mine and Angela’s room key and slid it into the card reader. The light flashed from red to green so he turned the knob and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

“What would I do without you Andy-roo?” I giggled, nuzzling my head into his chest. He smiled, despite his hatred for his nickname and carried me over to my bed.

“Get some sleep, tomorrow’s going to be an important day for all of us and I don’t think you being super hung-over is really going to win your mom over.”

“I’m not the only drunk one here!” I argued. He laughed again and set me down on the mattress, pulling the sheets over me.

“Just go to sleep,” he whispered, kissing my forehead before leaving to go to his own room.
“Goodnight,” I whispered back, sounding like a five year old version of myself. He turned back to me, now standing at the door, and smiled.

“Goodnight,” he said and turned off the light before slipping out into the hall.

***
Knock. Knock.

I stirred slightly in my bed, cracking my eyes open just a tiny bit. The room was dark, but I could make out a lump under the covers in the other bed. I assumed it was Angela.

Knock. Knock.

The soft rapping at the door sounded again. I reached out to the bedside table for my phone and slid my finger across the screen. The screen lit up, shining brightly in my face and stinging my eyes. It was four in the morning. Who the hell was at our door? Going against my better judgment, I forced myself out of bed and staggered over to the door, rising on my tippy toes to look through the peep hole. I saw Jack pacing back and forth in the hall in his t-shirt and sweats. Quickly, I opened the door, catching him off guard.

“Oh hey,” he jumped, almost as if he were surprised to see me. “I didn’t think you were up…”

“I wasn’t,” I replied, stifling a yawn. “What are you doing up?”

“Can’t sleep.”

I knew I should have sent Jack back to his room and gone right back to bed. I had so much on the line tomorrow and I couldn’t afford to do anything that might screw it all up. I should have sent him on his way, but I didn’t. I couldn’t and I really truly didn’t want to. Instead, I glanced back to Angela making sure she was still soundly asleep and then closed my door. “Want to go for a walk?”

His eyes lit up and we started walking down towards the elevator. “Where to?” he turned to me as we walked in and looked to the panel of floor numbers. A devious smile found its way to my lips as a thought crossed my mind. Without a word, I pressed one of the buttons. Turning back to a curious Jack, my smile grew wider with delight.

“I think I know something fun we could do.”