Where Do I Begin? All I Know Is Gone

"Do you mind helping me with these?" Jay asked after looking over his shoulder, I'm assuming looking for his friends, once Norman had arrived with the last of his pints. "They don't seem to be paying attention," he motioned towards a few guys with a nod of his head. "Bloody typical."

"Uh sure." I guess being helpful couldn't hurt too much. Grabbing a glass in each hand I waited for Jay to grab his three before following him over to the booth his group was situated in. There were two men talking animatedly, with accents just as thick as Jay's, but talking at a speed that made it impossible for me to catch anything, while a third sat quietly in the corner. This last guy looked like he'd rather be anywhere else in the world while he stared off into space.

"Moose, shove over," Jay instructed one of the talkers as he placed his glasses on the table before them. This caused the two to look up questioningly, before surprise took over their features as they noticed me standing awkwardly behind Jay, who chose to ignore their curious glances as he pushed me gently towards the one called Moose, who had slid his way farther towards the wall. "Ladies first."

It took me a second to comprehend his instruction, making me blush as I hesitated. "Uh, what?"

Rolling his eyes, Jay repeated his gentle action, this time succeeding in making me sit. "I just bought you a drink, it's only fair that you join us." It was only then that I realised the fifth drink was for me, previously assuming it was for another friend who hadn't shown up yet.

Taking in the nods from the men surrounding me I knew I didn't have much choice as Jay slid himself down next to me, successfully blocking my exit. "Uh, sure. So, Moose, huh?" I had to question the man on my right. Who wouldn't ask when confronted with a name like that? Though I do have to say it isn't the first time I've come across someone with that nickname.

"Yes, that'd be me," he grinned, making no attempt to explain. "And you are?"

Jay took the hint to make the introductions, pointing out each of his friends as he named them. "This is my new friend Justice," he grinned cheekily, "That's Matt, and the grumpy fucker spacing out over there is Padge."

It felt as if Moose was trying to kick Padge's legs under the table, but not getting much of a response, other than a rough grunt of annoyance until his eyes flicked across the table barely long enough to acknowledge my presence while he grabbed the drink that had been placed in front of him before heading back to his own world.

"Sorry about him," Matt apologised for his mate, charging his glass against Jay's then my own and Moose's before taking a sip. "He's... going through some shit, I guess you could say."

This earned the eruption of a low chuckle of recognition from my throat, along with a quiet, "Aren't we all."

I thought Jay would be the only one to pick up on that, but not so. Moose was bumping his shoulder into mine, asking me to explain myself. I was surprised that it didn't feel forced, or awkward even, though I could feel Norman's gaze on me from his place across the room. I guess it must have been a little shocking to him and the other regular patrons that I had accepted this invitation in the first place.

The men at the table still held their focus on me, even Padge although he hid his interest for some reason, preferring to play with the condensation that was forming from the cool liquid his glass held.

"I just haven't had the best time lately," I spoke slowly, shrugging with a hint of embarrassment, unsure of just how much detail I should divulge. I most certainly wasn't a fan of talking about myself, especially my troubles. It was hard enough for me to just keep up a regular conversation with the people I was comfortable with. As had been said many, many times before, I was a girl of few words.

Jay decided to step in then, taking some of the pressure off of my shoulders. "That's actually how we got talking. She was just sitting at the bar looking as miserable as Padge, then I came along and started annoying her."

"Now that's a true story," I added in with such seriousness, succeeding in making Matt chuckle, which meant he was almost chocking on the mouthful he'd just taken in. "You know why they're all looking at us?"

"You mean apart from us being pretty well known around here?" Moose shot back, a cheeky grin lighting up his face as shock took over mine.

"Really?" Taking another look around the pub it now became obvious that it wasn't just the locals I recognised that were paying attention to our little group. Mostly it was females who were shooting glances our way, not seeming to approve of my acceptance into the fold, but there was also the odd man looking over too. Shrugging my shoulders I looked back at the table in front of me, "Didn't know. I was more talking about Norman and the guys in the back." As I talked I indicated the people I meant, who coincidentally pretended to look away as Jay and Matt checked them out. Being in the back of the booth neither Moose nor Padge, if he had felt inclined, would've have been able to see them without leaning over the rest of us.

"Why would they care?" Padge finally spoke, his quiet voice gruff as he lifted his eyes to briefly look into mine. Ignoring the curious looks from us all he returned his vision to his glass, peeking over the top almost shyly while he waited for his answer.

"I don't know. They've kinda been looking out for me since I arrived. And you have the honour of being the only people I've said more than two sentences to in the last week. Rob's been trying to get me over to that leaner to talk about sports with them since my third night when I got a bit carried away yelling at the rugby game on the screen," I blushed, recalling the embarrassment I'd felt once my actions had sunk in that night. To be fair, I recognised one of the players from my local club team back at home, a guy I actually knew fairly well. He was having a shocker of a game and it was almost painful to watch.

The four men sharing my company didn't seem to know how to take my confession. It appeared that I'd succeeded in peaking Padge's interest, with him now looking freely at me though his features still held their grim expression. Matt looked impressed the instant I mentioned rugby, while Jay looked like there was something clicking together inside his head. Moose was playing around with his phone, having just received a text message, but had held a look of sympathy before being distracted.

"How long have you been coming here?" Jay asked with a hint of hesitation, seemingly worried it could be taken offensively, yet avoiding my lack of conversing.

Turning my face up towards his I could see in the brown depths that held my gaze that he was only curious. "I've been here every night for the past week." Shrugging seemed to be becoming a habit, as it once again accompanied my words. "I'm not an alcoholic," I felt the need to explain, though not due to the pressure of their opinions of me. "I guess I need to tell you the whole thing."