Lullaby

"Scar!" Josh's voice rang through the crowd of people in the pub when Scarlett came through the door. She spotted him right away and he squeezed his way through the sea of drunken people towards her. Looking down at her phone, she pretended to be engrossed in something on the screen so she didn't look like a complete loser standing alone. Eventually, Josh successfully pushed through the crowd and wrapped his arms around her slender waist. "My Scar!"

She patted him on the back as she gave him a half hug. "Why hello there, Sir Drunkenness." Josh was always extra loving when he had had a few drinks in his system. When they pulled away from each other, Scarlett greeted him with a curtsy.

"I am not…" He tried to argue with her, then stopped himself. "Well, maybe a tiny bit." His pointer finger and thumb showed a small amount as he scrunched his face at her. "Come on, we have to catch you up." He curled his arm around her shoulder and led her to the bar. Drinking wasn't on her list of activities for the night. It wasn't that she was a prude or against drinking. Matter of fact, she had her fair share of drunken nights in that very bar. Tomorrow was the first lazy day she had in a while, there was no way she was going to have a dreadful hang over on her day off.

They survived walking through the crowds of people and reached the bar where a bunch of Josh's friends were gathered around, including Max, Dan, Matt, and Chris.

"Scarlett!" She heard Matt call out, followed by arms pulling her into a hug.

"Hey, Max!" She replied, hugging him back.

The rest of the guys either high fived her or ruffled her hair as she passed by them. Josh introduced her to a few more of his friends. Then, she joined Max and Josh near the end of the bar, away from most of the crowd.

"Drink up!" Josh slammed down a shot of tequila in front of Scarlett. She raised her eyebrows at him and shook her head. If anything was going to give her a hangover tomorrow, it would be tequila. A frown appeared on Josh's face. "Pleeeaasee." He sang out.

"You know you want to," Max whispered into her ear and nudged the shot glass closer to her. Scarlett rolled her eyes, something she was obviously quite talented at. She knew that if she didn't oblige, the two idiots would bug her about it all night long, and probably make everyone join in on the bugging, until she joined the drinking brigade.

Scarlett surrendered and raised her hands up. "Fine! Fine!" The two guys cheered and clapped annoyingly. "If it would make you two unruly gentlemen happy, I shall indulge myself in this shot. Just for you." She lifted the shot glass into the air, which caused more obnoxious cheering from the guys, then took one large swig of the drink, feeling the bitter liquid seep down her throat.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only drink she had, no matter how much she fought against them. Drinks kept being pushed in front of her until she drank them. Luckily, Scarlett was a heavyweight and it took a long time for the drinks to have any effect on her. As the night ticked away, she mingled among the crowd with Josh always by her side. Once in a while, he would whisper a compliment or a joke in her ear to make her laugh or hold her hand. Scarlett thought nothing of his gestures, he usually acted this way towards her when he had a few drinks.

One by one, people started to go home and the bar was clearing up. The alcohol finally made itself known in Scarlett's system and she was feeling a little woozy. Josh's hand was still attached to her's as they left. In case she lost her balance and went flying, she had someone to bring with her to soften her fall.

"It's fucking cold out here," Scarlett commented as they waited outside of the bar for the others to join them. A cool breeze whooshed right through her, making her shiver.

Josh let go of her hand and stepped behind her. "Someone wasn't very bright when she wore a shirt with no sleeves." He rubbed the sides of her bare arms in an attempted to keep her warm. She wasn't sure if it was the act of his hands moving up and down her arms or the fact that he wanted to keep her warm, but it made her feel much better. Instead of dishing out a sarcastic comment in return, she looked over her shoulder and smiled sweetly at him. He scrunched his nose at her and added a smile back.

The door to the bar opened and Max and Dan, the only remaining people from their group, walked out.

"It's a little warm out here, isn't it, Scarlett?" Dan teased.

Scarlett glared at him. "I hear it's a little warm in the depths of hell as well."

The guys laughed, then proceed to converse about their plans the next day. Scarlett had no interest in listening to their conversation, so she went into her own little world. Her brain's trip to space was interrupted by Josh inching closer to her from behind and his hands running down her arms. She watched them travel down until they reached her hands, at which point he laced their fingers together. Her heart felt like it skipped a few beats. What the hell was going on?

"Do you guys need a lift?" Dan, the official, but unlucky designated driver for the night, asked. He took his keys out of his coat pocket, then pointed down the road to his car.

Josh let go of Scarlett's hands and moved to the side of her once again, leaving her to feel cold and oddly sad. "Nah, we're okay to walk. Yeah?" He glimpsed at Scarlett to make sure she was alright with his decision. All she could muster up was a nod. "Then we shall walk down the grey brick road and see the wizard!" He chimed. The four of them exchanged goodbyes, then went their separate ways. Scarlett swore she caught Max give her a wink and a nod, as if he knew about something she wasn't aware of.