Stay With Me

Tonight’s show was amazing; maybe even one of the best on the tour so far. Being Dan’s 21st everyone was pretty hyped, even the fans were more crazy than usual. At the meet and greet he got given a stack of little presents and gifts from fans, and during their set Josh made the crowd sing happy birthday to him.

After the show Rob organised for us all to go to a nearby club to celebrate. The club we were going to was just around the corner from the hotel we were staying at so thankfully we were able to walk. I didn’t plan on drinking because I wanted to be able to look after the people that got a little too crazy. Because let’s face it, tonight was going to be messy.

“Just have one drink,” Dan slurred draping his arm around my shoulders, “please,” he pouted poking his bottom lip out and giving me the cutest puppy dog face I’d ever seen.

“No,” I sighed finding it harder and harder to say.

“You’ve earned it love,” Max grinned shoving a beer into my hand before stumbling off somewhere.

“If you keep pouting at me like that I’m going to bite your lip,” I said whilst taking a mouthful of the beer.

“Please do,” Dan grinned pushing it out further. I downed the rest of my beer for some liquid confidence before standing on my tip-toes and nipping at his bottom lip. His hands gripped my hips tightly and he pulled me forward so our bodies were flush against each other. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his lips crashed into mine. His tongue ran along my bottom lip and I parted my lips slightly to allow him entrance.

The world seemed to fall away; my mind went blank and I forgot we were standing in the middle of a club where everyone could see what we were doing. It wasn’t until I heard giggling beside us that my attention returned to the fact that I was making out with Dan in public. I wasn’t usually one for public displays of affection, and I was surprised at how easily Dan could make me forget everything. I pulled back to find Bobbi-Jo and Josh leaning on each other and laughing at us.

“Oh god,” I laughed burying my head in Dan’s chest.

“You’re cute when you blush,” he chuckled in my ear. His hot breath on my neck gave me shivers and made my skin prickle with goose bumps. Dan placed a finger under my chin and lifted my head up. His blue eyes connected with mine and all I wanted was to be kissing him again.

“Stop it,” I whined as he ran his thumb along my bottom lip.

“Stop what?”

“That.”

“What?” He breathed. My eyes closed voluntarily as he ran kisses up and down my neck lightly. My heart was beating so hard I thought it was going to smash through my ribcage.

“Making…me feel…like…this,” I was thankful for his hold on me, because without it my knees would have given out and I would have ended up on the floor.

I gasped, my arms tightening around his neck as his teeth grazed the sensitive spot at the base of my jaw. I could feel Dan grin against my neck as he continued to pay close attention to that spot. I knew if I didn’t stop him soon I’d be like putty in his hands.

“I need another drink,” I sighed, slowly releasing my hold on his neck.

“Hmm,” Dan sighed pulling back slightly to look down at me.

“Alcohol, I need some,” he nodded before kissing me quickly and walking over to the bar. I willed my legs to move so I could find Bobbi-Jo and sit down before I fainted. I found her and Josh sitting in a booth looking pretty cosy. I grinned and slid in opposite them.

“Hey man,” she grinned, slurring her words.

“You look like you’re having fun,” Josh grinned casually resting his arm across the back of the chair behind Bobbi-Jo’s head.

“Who’s having fun?” Dan asked sliding into the booth next to me, he handed me two beers and I took a long drink of the first one hoping to calm my racing heart.

“You two, obviously,” Bobbi-Jo laughed and I rolled my eyes in response.

“What about you two? You look pretty cosy,” I grinned nodding at Josh’s arm that had made its way around her shoulders. They both blushed as Josh tried to stutter a response.

I was starting to feel a buzz from the alcohol as Bobbi-Jo chatted excitedly about how her boss had asked her to stay with us on tour and get some more shots for the feature they had coming up in Kerrang. I could tell she was pretty much drunk, as were the rest of the band and crew. I couldn’t help but giggle when I spotted Matt and Max on the dance floor rapping to whatever song was playing, spilling their drinks everywhere.

“Hey, that’s mine,” Dan laughed when I picked up his drink and had a mouthful.

“But mine’s empty,” I pouted.

“You’ll pay for that.”

“Oh, really, how?” I grinned.

“I can think of a few things,” he winked and scooted closer to me.

“I have an idea,” Bobbi-Jo cried, “let’s dance,” she grabbed Josh and Dan and pulled them from the booth.

“Hey,” I laughed and grabbed Dan’s hand. He helped me up before we were dragged into the middle of the dance floor.

We danced and laughed for a while before I needed a break. I made my way to the bar for another beer and found Max, Rob, Ollie and Norris.

“Rhi!” Max yelled, picking me up and spinning me around. When he set me back down on my feet a wave of dizziness crashed over me. I stumbled a little and Norris grabbed me to keep me upright.

“Thanks,” I hiccupped.

Before I knew it four beers turned into eight and I was stumbling out the back door of the club for some fresh air. I leant against the wall and took a few deep breaths to try and clear my head a little. My vision was blurry and I knew I’d had too much to drink, which made me angry at myself for getting so drunk in the first place.

“Hey there,” someone said and I looked up to see a guy standing in front of me, with a smile playing his lips that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. He was maybe an inch or so taller than me, and everything about him made my skin crawl. The hungry gleam in his bloodshot eyes did nothing to quash the fear that surged through me. He moved forward, getting far too close for comfort.

My brain was telling me to move, to run away but the alcohol coursing through my system kept the control over my body under lock and key.

“I have to-” I stumbled backwards from him to try and go back inside but a cold, clammy hand shot out and gripped my arm in a painful squeeze.

“Stay,” he grinned and pulled me to him. My balance already shattered, I fell onto his chest and a second hand came to grip my waist, keeping me pressed against his body. He reeked of alcohol and cigarette smoke; all I wanted to do was run back inside and find Dan so he could keep me safe. My heart rate quickened and I could hear my pulse beating in my ears. But for all my desperation to escape, my body could not, and would not move. Fear began to override any coherent thoughts my intoxicated brain tried to create, and my legs started to shake.

“Let me go,” I whimpered, tears beginning to form in my eyes. I tried to pull away but his grip on my arm only tightened. “Please,” I sobbed. He twisted my dress in his hand and shoved me roughly against the wall of the club. My head snapped back and hit the bricks with a loud crack. I slumped against the wall, stunned, my ears ringing and my vision went black for a second.

The sound of the club door slamming shut registered in my mind and in a moment of fear-driven adrenaline I began screaming out for help. The man’s hand released my arm and clamped over my mouth as he slammed me into the wall again.

“Shut up,” he growled, pain shooting through me as the bricks bit into my back, and my muffled screams died behind his suffocating hand. I could feel the hand on my waist disappear and begin rubbing the inside of my thigh. I began to struggle pitifully, but the pain in the back of my head was too much to bear and I had to fight the urge to slip into unconsciousness. I couldn’t pass out, not with this guy touching me.

“Rhi!” a frantic voice suddenly yelled, breaking through the chilly night air. I was in so much pain and so far from awake that for a moment I was convinced I had imagined it.

“Rhi!” There it was again. Suddenly there was a blur and a loud thump and the man was torn away from me.

“Max,” I sobbed looking down at the two men wrestling on the ground. Max, despite his intoxicated state, had managed to tear the man away from me and was now throwing punches as though his life depended on it. “Max,” I whispered before I fell forward, my vision fading to black as the ground rushed up to meet me.