We Don't Want to Ever Fall at All

"Does that belong to you?" Mari points in the direction of the car where you can see Jack, flat out on the back seats, clothes ruffled and a steady stream of blood coming from a cut on his eyebrow.

"Holy shit." Alex states, yelling back in the house for Matt to come outside before he makes his way to the car to get a closer look, "Did he get into a fight?"

"No, he fell on the sidewalk when I was trying to get him to his car and then he refused to let me help him up." She points to her own lip, slightly swollen and red.

"He hit you?"

"Swung out to stop me, but whatever. You might want to keep him on a tighter leash. Bill probably won't let him back in the bar after this."

Matt arrives, groaning at the sight of the guitarist, "How did you figure out where we live?"

"The GPS. He'd gotten directions from here to a Starbucks in the city." She shrugs, helping the boys pick up their friend as they struggle with his long limbs, "Look, I hate to be cheeky, but could I borrow a phone to call a cab? I left mine at the bar and I need to get back to work."

"Don't be stupid - we'll take you back. You've made sure Jack didn't end up in the gutter choking on his own vomit, it's the least we can do."

She nods an OK before remembering something, "He dropped his wallet at some point and we couldn't find it - he might want to cancel his cards and things."

"Fucking idiot."

------

"So I'm sorry about Jack, really. One of us was supposed to go with him, but I was recording and everyone else seemed to be busy so he took off."

"It's no big deal, it was nice to make sure someone got home safely for once, I usually fret for days until they show up again, alive."

"That shouldn't be your job though - helping alcoholics home."

"It's a perk of the job." She winks, "So what are you recording? TV show, movie? Low budget gay porn?"

Alex isn't ashamed of the guffaw jumps from his throat at the girl's words, that being the last thing he thought she'd say, "Yeah, totally the last one. That's why Jack's so hot for you."

She laughs where most girls would blush and stutter, "Judging by that house, I wouldn't be surprised, plus he isn't doing a very good job proving to me that he's down for hooking up."

Alex stares at her in disbelief - who was this girl and why hadn't they been friends for the whole of their lives? She didn't have a filter between her brain and mouth either.

"Am I being to forward?" She worries her lip, "Oh god, you're probably thinking-."

"Trust me, I'm wondering why I haven't already declared you my best friend."

She chuckles quietly, "Back on the subject, what are you recording?"

"An album. Another. Our fourth."

"So you must be pretty big then? What's the name of your band?" She looks genuinely interested, unlike most, who ask out of politeness rather than curiosity and Alex wonders for a moment if she's into any music he deems decent.

Alex doesn't particularly agree with her first statement, but he holds his tongue, "It's All Time Low."

"Yeah? You did that song, um, Weightless? I liked that."

"So you do know who we are!"

"I'm secretly a grown-ass fan girl who'd like to keep you hostage in my basement and do unthinkably sexy things to you."

"Hey, I don't have a problem with that!"

"I do - I don't actually have a basement."

"Well, shit!"

------

Alex is less than quiet when he enters Jack's room the next afternoon, violently pulling the blinds open before pulling the covers off of the sleeping boy and dumping them on the floor, looking at him with an unsympathetic glare.

"-the fuck, dude?"

"You need to get your ass up, sobered and down to that damn dive of a bar to apologise to Mari before I personally cut off your balls."

"Uh-."

"I mean it!" Alex hits him lightly around his head, which is probably pounding judging by his reaction, "That girl drove you home last night, you know? After she dragged your drunkard self out of the bar, to your car and even when you gave her a fat lip."

"I hit her?" Jack is suddenly listening, shuffling himself around so he's sat on the edge of the bed, elbows resting on knees, head in hands.

"You were trying to stop her helping you off the floor, idiot."

"Oh dear god."

"And you lost your wallet, so if your ID and credit cards are gone, it's your own fucking fault."

"I really fucked up."

"Dude, you know I'm getting what you're going through right now, hell, it's probably worse because Holly's everywhere right now, but you can't keep drinking until you pass out."

"Does she hate me?"

"Who, Ma-."

"Yes, Mari."

"When I drove her back home she was more worried about your health. She's seems like a damn decent lass, Jack, and you know, she totally doesn't bite her tongue when talking about sex, so your going to get along."

"Do I want to know why you were talking about sex with her?"

"She said you were doing a crappy job at trying to get laid."

Jack sputters, "Yeah, so I should probably go apologise."

-----

Turns out the bar doesn't open until 6pm, and unwilling to leave in case his balls suddenly shrivel up and die, meaning he couldn't possibly come back and face the music, he sits dutifully outside until he hears the gravel crunch at one end of the alley and the girl he'd been seeking is walking towards him, eyebrows raised.

"I am totally not serving you." She laughs, a harsh tone to her voice, "You wanna drink yourself to death, go pick someplace where the staff just care about tips."

"I'm sorry, about last night. I know it's no excuse, but there's some shit going on and it's kind of nice to block it out sometimes." He rubs a hand on the back of his neck, "And thank you, for not letting me die in this alley - it's not the way I want to go... And the lip, I'm sorry about that as well."

She looks him up and down for a few moments, before looking at him accusingly, "If you'd have brought flowers, you wouldn't have had to spill your heart out. Sunflowers are like, automatic apologies."

"Can we start again? So you don't know me as 'the drunken guy who gave me a fat lip'?"

"It was more 'that guy who spewed up on my jeans', but whatever, sure. I'm Mari, I work in this bar right here, and if I don't open up soon, people are going to try and lynch me."

"I'm Jack, and I'm still totally sorry for being a disaster last night."

"If you stick around without touching any liquor, I'll look into forgiving you." She disappears into the dingy bar without another word, or even a look over her shoulder to see if he's going to follow.

This girl was going to be the death of him.