Stand And Be Strong

Casey and I spent the rest of the day putting our clothes away and setting up shelves in the new apartment. It went pretty well. I had finished setting my CD collection up onto a set of shelves in my room and put all my clothes where they belonged before it was time to get ready to go out for drinks with Casey and the guys. Max had texted Casey and told her the pub we were going to so we would know how to dress. It was a pretty casual place not far from where we lived.

I had decided on a pair on skinny jeans with a nice sweater. I heard the doorbell ring just as I was about to go get my shoes. I opened the door for Max and invited him in. “hello!” he said walking into the apartment. “are you ready to go? The lads are waiting outside” I smiled to him and nodded.

“Yeah, just let me get my shoes. Casey!” I called. She gave out a few seconds later ready to go. Once I had finished with my shoes, the three of us got in the elevator and went down the small lobby where Dan, Chris, Matt, and Josh were waiting. They all smiled when we saw them and the seven of us started walking towards the pub, talking about how each of our days went. When we got there, Dan held the door open for everyone and Max picked out a table for us.

There was a bar along one wall and there was a small stage on the other side with a bunch of tables spread out everywhere. We sat a one of the bigger tables that was kind of close to the stage and Josh told us there was band playing tonight. Dan sat down next to me and Chris and Josh went to get us all some drinks.

I don’t remember their name, but they were actually pretty good. After their first few songs, Dan got up and offered to get us some drinks. Of course, everyone said yes. I followed him over to the bar, figuring he would need help carrying everything back to the table. I handed some cash to the bartender just as Dan was getting his wallet out. He turned to look at me. “oi! No you don’t!” he shouted over the music and handed the bartender some money of his own, then handing mine back to me. “I invited you out, remember? You’re not paying for shit” he smiled and I shook my head.

“I thought you could use some help carrying these” I told him. He smiled and thanked me before handing me a few bottles and grabbing up everything else. We walked back to the table laughing about something Josh did earlier. We passed out the drinks to everyone and I noticed Casey was all snuggled up into Max’s side, giggling.

“so, how are you ladies liking Surrey?” Matt asked us, but Casey was too caught up in a conversation with Max to answer.

“I think it’s great so far. I like how small it is and we’ve met some cool people since we got here” I smirked, referring to them. Honestly, they were awesome. We didn’t have to build up a friendship with them, they just kind of accepted us when we met. Josh smiled and held up his drink, “cheers”.

Once the show had ended and the majority of the guys were thoroughly drunk or buzzed, we started our walk home. Since Max, Casey, and I all lived in the same building, the guys had offered to walk the three of us home. Casey was still hanging onto Max and both of them seemed to enjoy it. I had to admit, they did make a cute couple, even if they only met a few days ago. I don’t know if they’d still feel like that in the morning when they were sober, though.

Dan and I stayed toward the back of the group on the way home. “so you like going to shows, yeah?”

“I love them. Casey and I used to go to a lot of them back in London” I told him and he smiled, “well, I guess I’ll have to take you out to another one soon then”. Was Dan hitting on me? No way. He probably just meant to hang out again soon. He definitely did... right? He had to.

“I’d like that” I told him as we arrived at the apartments. Josh, Dan, Chris, and Matt each gave Casey and me a hug before saying goodbye. Just as they turned to leave, Dan came back to us.

“can I get your number? You know, so we can hang out again?” he asked and I nodded. I put my number in his phone and sent myself a quick text so I had his before handing it back.

I opened the door and Max followed Casey and I inside. I guess he was staying the night. I knew she wasn’t drunk, just a little tipsy, so I didn’t have to stop her from doing anything. She was capable of making her own decision, so I left her to it. I changed into my pajamas and brushed my teeth before trying to sleep.