A Shot in the Dark

The girls had separated for dinner, each going to a different restaurant with their boyfriends and agreeing to meet up at a club around ten that night. The boys had picked out their outfits for the night. Matty had a bit of trouble, whereas Jona had styled Kelly flawlessly. She'd been giggling in the bathroom when Becca had left. Her and Matty had gotten a headstart on the other couple, though from the texts she was getting under the table all throughout dinner, Jona had completely blown Becca's best friend's expectations out of the water.

Becca herself was having an absolutely amazing time.

Matty had dressed her up slightly, leaving her usual style in place. She was wearing a long, gray and blue ombre dress shirt over black leggings. She'd put on dark eye makeup and winged eyeliner, as usual. She straightened her hair precisely so that it hung over the shirt and framed her face with an edgy look. Becca also accessorized with the few items Matty had actually packed, which was just silver bangles and a few rings. Her boyfriend had handed her strappy sandals that she had bought for Warped Tour with Liv as they were leaving the room for dinner.

They'd walked through Trafalgar Square as the sun set since their hotel was close by. Becca held Matty's arm as they walked. The couple didn't feel the need to speak, instead enjoying each other's company as they strolled along leisurely. Matty wasn't too dressed up either, skinny jeans adorned his legs as always and he wore a cardigan over a v-neck. Becca had cooed over him, harassing him lightly as they walked.

Matty hadn't brought Becca to too much of a fancy restaurant. If he knew anyone in the world, he knew Becca. She wouldn't want to be fussed over and pampered, not in that way. Kelly enjoyed that aspect more than Becca did, though both girls weren't high maintenance by any means. They'd lingered over dinner, talking and laughing and bonding for hours longer than any dinner normally took. In fact, other than the few amazed texts she'd received from Kelly, Becca wasn't convinced that anyone besides her and Matty existed--in the restaurant, in London, maybe even the world.

"I'm havin' such a good time with yeh," Matty admitted shyly over dessert. He glanced down at the slice of cake they were sharing and then back up at her with a grin. Becca's heart stuttered and then regained it's ability to beat, going into overdrive at the sight of his fluttering lashes. They'd been together for two months now and there was no need for shyness, though it was adorable all the same.

"I love you," she responded, smiling easily at the man across from her. He reached across the table and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, running his thumb over Becca's cheekbone before pulling his hand back over the table to settle in his lap. He cocked his head at her and grinned.

"I don't know how I got so lucky, findin' yeh in that puddle Becks but damn I've never loved anyone as much as I love yeh, and I never will again," he said smoothly. Becca couldn't have melted more if she wanted to. She almost cooed in absolute adoration.

"It's cute how you think you're the lucky one babe," she said. He rolled his eyes as the waiter popped up with the check. Becca made a valiant dash to grab the paper, though Matty got it in the end. He glared at her teasingly.

"Yeh really think I'm lettin' yeh pay for dinner?" he asked, eyebrows raised. Becca shrugged and grinned.

"It was worth a shot."

Matty paid the bill while Becca excused herself to the bathroom. She fixed her makeup a bit and played with her hair before quickly meeting up with her boyfriend. They'd spent a lot of time at dinner and Kelly was already telling her that her and Jona were heading to the club, window shopping along the way. Becca took Matty's arm as they walked out of the restaurant and into the cool London air.

They hadn't been walking long before Becca's phone started to ring, her best friend's name illuminating the screen along with the outrageous selfie the girl had taken to accompany her name.

"What's up Kell?" Becca answered, smiling lazily up at her boyfriend. She was immediately taken aback by Kelly's hushed, frantic tone.

"Becca, you're never gonna believe this but I think Jona's gone off the deep end," she said. Becca could imagine exactly how she looked. Her best friend was most likely all dolled up and her facial expression was probably classic.

"Oh god, why's he gone off the deep end?"

"Jona literally just spent 2,000 dollars on me!" she hissed, "Like American dollars, 2,000 of them!"

"Wait, what?" Becca spewed, stopping her walking and dropping Matty's arm in shock. He turned to look at her in absolute confusion. He mouthed a 'what?' to her, to which she responded with her pointer finger. She thought that much money was excessive, as did Kelly obviously.

"Well, we went to the most amazing restaurant and then we got some vegan ice cream, right? And we were walking along these shops and they were all really high end, like name brand stuff, the kinda shit we just look at and dream about yeah?"

"Yeah," Becca nodded along, phone pressed tight to her ear, "And...?"

"And we were looking in the windows of Alexander McQueen right? I saw this clutch, god it was amazing; it's got like, the British flag on it in the jewels right? I guess I was fawning over it and so he walks inside and goes right up to the girl working and tells her he'd like to buy the clutch in the window! I almost dropped dead; I begged him not to buy it but he wouldn't take no for an answer and he that's the story!" she ranted.

"Holy shit Kell, I don't believe it. That's so much money!"

"I'm fuckin' dyin' over it but--oh here he is! I'll see ya in twenty!"

With that, Kelly hung up. Becca explained quickly to Matty the situation and they resumed walking, this time their hands linked together at their sides. Matty didn't seem to think the gesture was as surprising as the girls did.

"He's head over heels for her babe, yeh know that," he pressed when Becca insisted that it was too much money to spend. Even Kelly, who enjoyed being spoiled to a certain degree had thought it was excessive from her obvious distress on the phone. "I've never seen Jona like this over a bird before and I've known him a while now."

"I mean, that's a lot of money," Becca repeated for what had to be the fifth time. Matty chuckled. "It is! Especially since he hasn't even made it official with her yet. Poor Kelly, she's in a panic right now."

"I don't see why," Matty shrugged, "They're both fuckin' loons over each other. If she wanted her little purse thing so badly then she should be happy he bought it for her, end of."

That was literally the end of the conversation as they made it to the club the group had agreed upon meeting at. Kelly and Jona were standing at the corner, her arms around his neck lazily and a jewelled clutch glinting under the street lamp. As the couple approached their friends, Becca was delighted to see the pure look of joy on Jona's face mirrored on her best friend's face.

When Kelly turned to greet Becca, the Australian girl let out a low whistle. Jona had dressed her well. Kelly was wearing all black tonight. Her dress was collared with no sleeves and see through on her torso except for a small bralet that covered her chest, the skirt of the dress was loose around her thighs. She wore knee-high socks and black high heels, with a black bowler hat on her head.

"Damn girl, you're on fire," Becca said, giggling and pulling her friend into a hug. Her hair was straight, as always, and her makeup was dark, another usual. Kelly pulled away excitedly, offering the clutch up for inspection. Becca grasped the small item in her hands and marveled over it.

The clutch was essentially the Union Jack, except made out of jewels ("Swarovski fuckin' crystals Becca, I can't...") and the clasp was a golden skull ("the eyes are pearls, look at how pretty it is!"). Becca opened it and touched the inner lining. There wasn't much in it, just Kelly's phone, eyeliner, lipstick, her I.D., and some breath mints.

"This is gorgeous," Becca breathed, handing it back to her friend. Jona pulled Kelly into him from behind, pressing a kiss under her ear and smiling fondly at the girl. It was a thing of wonder that he was still taller than her in her sleek black heels but he was marginally taller than her still.

"Gorgeous things for my gorgeous girl," he mused, beaming at Kelly. She leaned her head on his shoulder and smiled easily at the blond Australian man, pressing a kiss to his neck.

"It really is nice though mate, cheers," Matty said, smirking at his friend. Becca wrapped her arm around Matty's waist and his arm immediately found its way over her shoulders. She leaned heavily into him, fatigue washing over her body suddenly. She was excited to be out in London though, and the group chatted outside for a bit more before heading inside.

The club was dark and full of drunk, dancing people. The music was loud and electronic, easy to feel like dancing along to. Kelly and Becca immediately set out to get drunk and let the boys pay for their endless rounds of shots. The girls left their boyfriends behind when they were at the height of their drunken state, pulling at each other's hand to dance.

The girls moved their bodies to the beat for a very short time before their boyfriends came to join them. Becca leaned into Matty heavily, watching through half-closed eyes as Jona's fingers tightly clenched into the skirt of Kelly's dress. Her hips moved against Jona's eagerly, reminiscent of the night she'd used him to make Lee jealous.

Becca moved her own hips to the fast pace of the music. She felt absolutely free in the darkness. The lights flashed across her vision and Matty's hands were tight against her hipbones as he held her close to him. His breath tickled her neck and she leaned her head back against his shoulder, her hands tracing down his arms and her fingers lacing over his as they danced. He pressed two quick kisses to her jaw before turning away, not wanting to get reprimanded for the public display.

Becca couldn't care less about her own dislike for PDA at the moment though. In the crowd of dancing, laughing people, she felt very free and liberated. She was thrilled to be alive and, for once, it wasn't just the alcohol talking. Becca was drunk, there was no doubt, but it wasn't just being drunk off whiskey, she was drunk off her friends and her lover as well.

"Becca..." Kelly said, her eyes fixed on the bar and her eyes cautious. Even though her friend was drunk and lost in Jona, she flickered a warning glance up at Becca's boyfriend. "Marek's here."

Becca was drunk and in a tight spot. On one hand, she didn't want to upset her boyfriend. On the other, Marek had been her friend for a very long time and pretending not to see him here would be like pretending not to see Kelly somewhere. She wasn't exactly sure what she should do in this situation. She remembered how angry Matty had been earlier and that wasn't something she wanted to deal with again.

"I can't not say hello," she whisper-yelled into Kelly's ear. She wasn't sure if their talking would be weird to Jona and Matty, but neither man seemed to notice or care. Kelly pulled a face and then shrugged, glancing at Matty again.

"Is he too drunk to give a fuck?" she asked. Becca shrugged. "I could just go over and say hi, tell him you just left, and then we could go back to the hotel," Kelly suggested, "I'm tired and wasted as fuck anyway."

Becca nodded, turning to Matty as Kelly pulled Jona away decisively. She explained that they were going to the bathroom and that they'd meet the couple outside. He shrugged, unsure of the last time he'd left a club before they'd been kicking people out and followed his girlfriend into the crisp London air.

It was marginally cooler outside than it had been during the day and Matty wrapped his arms around his girlfriend protectively. Becca tucked herself into his cardigan and snuggled against his chest. His body heat warmed her arms and she smiled into his chest. The buzz of conversation was low outside. Most people had either left or were too drunk for security to let them linger outside.

"I could stand here all night with you," she said. He wrapped his arms around her tightly in response. Becca was drunk. Usually she drank steadily throughout the night; tonight she'd taken Kelly's approach, slamming as many drinks as possible and then dealing with the aftermath. The aftermath wasn't proving too tedious though. She couldn't walk properly on her own and her speech was slurred, but otherwise she was feeling great.

"Can someone please tell Jona he has the nicest butt ever to come out of Australia?" came the sound of Kelly's voice. She was giggling, cluing Becca in to the fact that Jona was touching her. Becca moved away from Matty to roll her eyes at her friend.

"Excuse me, I have the nicest butt ever to come out of Australia," she protested, turning around and bending over slightly. Kelly took this opportunity to slap her friend's ass. Becca squealed, jumping away and then chasing her friend playfully. Kelly hid behind Jona as he began to walk. They all walked then, the girls tucked into their boyfriend's sides warmly, in the direction of the hotel.

"Becca," Kelly started, "We have such awesome lives."

"I know."

"Like, we used to live on opposite sides of the planet from each other and now we live together on a completely unrelated continent."

"And there are cute boys involved."

"They brought us to London."

"They're bringing us on Warped Tour."

"Becca," Kelly repeated, "We have such awesome lives."

"I know."

The hotel wasn't far from the club and soon enough, the group stumbled upon it. The girls played with water from a small fountain in the lobby while they waited for the elevator and proceeded to race down the hallway (Jona holding Kelly's heels) to see who could reach the door first. The girls, however, forgot which door was theirs and ended up confused and bewildered at the end of the hall.

As soon as they found the correct door leading to the correct room, Kelly was half stripped behind it. Within moments she was wearing only her bra, panties, and knee high socks. Jona wasn't complaining, though Kelly led only Becca into the bathroom. The Australian girl struggled to take off her shirt, whirling in circles as Kelly wiped her makeup off.

"Becca, you drunk fuckin' hog," Kelly commented, pulling the shirt off her dazed friend. Becca giggled when Kelly began removing her makeup, wiping her eyes gently. They were quiet for a moment while Kelly helped her slightly drunker best friend. "Can you believe Jona bought me that clutch?"

"No, oh my god, I can't."

"I almost died of disbelief," Kelly admitted, allowing Becca to move out from under her arms so both girls could brush their teeth. They amused themselves by trying to carry on their conversation with mouths full of toothpaste. Each girl took their turn on the toilet while Kelly continued speaking. "I mean, I'm so glad he bought it but holy shit that's a crazy amount of money."

"It sure is," Becca agreed. She was drunk and tired now though, and not making much sense. "But it'll be okay."

She opened the door then, releasing the girls into the room. Matty was sitting on the edge of the bed him and Becca would be sharing while Jona entered the bathroom. Kelly and Becca cleared some of their stuff from the floor in a drunken attempt to be neat. When Jona was done in the bathroom, Matty entered.

Becca sat on the bed and watched as Jona gently kissed Kelly's forehead, nose, and then lips. She smiled at him before climbing into the soft, giant bed behind her. Becca looked away. She couldn't contain the grin on her own face as she untucked the blankets on her bed. She let herself sink into the bed, her drunk thoughts working a mile a minute. She heard the bedside light turn off before she felt Matty crawl into bed next to her.

"I love you," he whispered into her hair. She sighed in contentment and molded her body into his. Her skin felt amazing on his and his hand caressed her side gently, leaving her feeling more in love than ever. She settled deeper into the bed and relaxed when he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her as close to him as she could physically be.

"I love you too."