FicWad

The instant Pete and I arrived to the club he pulled a vanishing act. I was now sitting at a table for two, albeit alone with my clutch on the plate in front of me and the silver spoon in my hands, the head being bent back with my grip. It was, as of right now, the only way of relieving my pent up anger. After all, in all honesty, I was being used by Pete. He was on a quest for gaining acceptance among his group of guy friends which obviously meant he needed something brag worthy. I guess that in the mind of Pete that meant having a girlfriend and an attractive one nonetheless. Beverly would have been flattered by the proposition of faking a relationship just to be the center of attention. I, on the other hand, found it degrading to who I was. I felt the metal bend back further and in the same second, the chair across from me scoot out and a body land in it. From my peripherals it looked like a stranger, but when I turned I noticed a self-satisfied looking Joe with a cigar clenched in-between his teeth, a huge and arrogant grin on his face. The boy was a farce.

“You look ridiculous,” I let the blunt statement roll of my tongue and watched as Joe laughed to himself, taking the cigar from his mouth and placing down on the table.

“Kind of the point, huh?” he asked aloud, to nobody in particular. His eyes landed on me again and he offered a more gentle, more Joe like smile. “You look really pretty, Ev,”

“Thanks for giving me my first compliment of the night, Joe,” I felt a small amount of heat rush up to my cheeks. I was never that good with taking praise. Joe let his jaw go slack in slight shock. “What?” I questioned.

“Nothing, it’s just…” Joe scooted his chair closer to the table and leaned over his own plate towards me. I leaned in as well, eager to hear what he was going to say. Joe licked his lips nervously. “I thought Pete had a crush on you,”

Immediately I snapped my body back, my back pressed hard against the back of the chair. My mouth was now ajar with distress and I couldn’t help myself as a disturbing shiver racked my body.

“What?” I breathed, my eyes holding a very worried glaze. Joe simply smiled.

“You don’t have cancer Evie, you just have an admirer,” he joked. I frowned.

“This isn’t funny Joe,” I mumbled. Joe leaned back as well but left his arm extended to where he had placed his cigar on the table. His eyes glanced up at me before he sighed.

“Well I don’t think he has a crush on you-,” I cut him off.

“Then why did you say it?!” I practically yelled, bringing my hands up for emphasis. Joe sighed, smacking a hand to his face.

“I’m just saying that because it sounds better than telling you he is infatuated with you,” he explained. I raised an eyebrow, still confused.

“Isn’t ‘infatuated’ the same as ‘crush’?” I inquired.

“Not in his book,” Joe shrugged slightly. “I think Pete is just confused why you let us in so quickly and wants to take advantage of it while he can,” I noted the small sheepish look that embraced Joe’s expression. “I mean, Ev, your pretty damn amazing,”

I couldn’t help but smile and laugh slightly as he looked up to see my reaction. Taking what he had just said into perspective however, I realized that Joe knew quite a lot and that I should listen to him more often.

“Thanks,” I whispered. “Is it something to worry about, Pete that is?” I laughed momentarily while Joe raised an eyebrow. “He’s not going to rape me is he?”

Joe let out his own chuckle and shook his head, picking up his cigar again. “No, but he might try and kiss you again,” I widened my eyes at this and Joe smirked. “He thinks he can gather more information about somebody by playing tonsil hockey,”

About the time I was going to respond to Joe’s remark, a hand landed over my eyes and warm breath around my ear.

“Hey there sexy lady,”

Quickly, I grabbed whipped my head around to see Pete grinning rather cynically with two just as dressed up guys standing next to him. Because I was a polite person, I stood up, and a moment later, Joe did as well. Turning to stand next to Pete, I offered a meek smile to the two strangers as Pete slithered an arm around my waist.

“Guys, this is my girlfriend Evie,” I forced back the sarcastic laugh I so desperately wanted to share with the world and let his lips crash into my cheek, awkwardly, if I must say so. He looked down at me nervously before pushing me towards them a little. “Evie, this is Chris and Paul,”

While Pete pointed to the two, I took the time to observe. Chris automatically gave me the arrogant vibe while Pete talked to him next to me. It was obvious they were just as much friends as he and Joe were. If anything, Chris seemed to have a guy-crush on Pete, wanting attention from him. Paul on the other hand seemed to be more interested in my assets and the way Pete’s hand was curled around my hip. In all honesty, I was nervous about him and what connection he had to Pete.

“…you have a light?” I jumped slightly and turned my head to see Joe leaned towards my ear as the music started up and it became impossible to hear. I nodded wordlessly and dug around in my clutch before lighting his cigar and watching as he took a puff and blew out an ‘o’ shape. While a giggle escaped me, Pete moved his arm to around my neck instead.

“Hey,” he called. I looked back up at him and simply blinked. “Paul’s gonna get us drinks on the house, he’s the bartender here,” I nodded and Pete shifted his eyes over my face. “You want something, or are you not talking to me all of a sudden?” he whispered as loudly as he could over the racket.

“Get me a beer,” I said bluntly. Pete’s eyebrows perked up and instantly he moved and pulled an amused look.

“The girl wants a beer!” he yelled. Paul nodded once and winked in my direction before jetting off, making me gulp quickly. Pete turned back to me and made sure Chris was watching before he kissed me, longer than he honestly needed too. I guess Joe was right.

“Learn anything?” I joked. Pete raised a quizzical eyebrow before shaking his head and disappearing again with Chris hot on his tail to wherever they were off to.

Joe moved to stand in front of me and offered the cigar to me, and innocently I took a puff, missing the taste of tobacco, as I had given it up when I came out here. He laughed.

“So I think you are safe for the rest of the night,” he stole the cigar back and took a drag. “At least with Pete,”

I shrugged and let my eyes drift to where Paul was handing people drinks as he ventured back over to us. Joe moved closer to me as if he had read my mind and knew I was nervous of him. Paul glared at him suspiciously and handed him a closed beer bottle and me a glass, the foam still thick on the top.

“Why is mine different?” I pondered aloud. Joe eyed Paul and creased his eyebrows together in mistrust. Paul flashed an overconfident grin.

“Top shelf girls get top shelf drinks,”

I felt a twitch rattle my ribs and my eyebrows jumped up in amazement at how blunt the guy could be. Joe’s expression flattened into a mix of insult and annoyance.

“Uh, thanks,” I shifted my eyes around, uncomfortably. Under close eyes, I took my first sip and watched as the most eerie smile appeared on Paul’s face. Feeling relatively uneasy, I shifted my feet away from the two. I jabbed a thumb behind me. “I think I’m gonna go find Pete,” I mumbled.

Paul nodded and Joe simply stuck the cigar back in his mouth and waited for me to walk away before following.

“Hey,” he caught me and I looked up to see him in somewhat deep thought. “Can I leave you to find Pete so I can go put this out?” he asked. I nodded and in that second he hugged me and left.

Taking a deep breath, I found my footing and ventured through the crowd, taking occasional sips of my drink. Maneuvering through the tables turned into a difficult feat about half way through my drink which confused me; I was the furthest thing from a lightweight. Looking at the gold liquid, I swallowed anxiously, suddenly feeling like I needed to find Pete, or something bad was going to happen. I glanced down at my feet and found four pairs of shoes, making me even more uneasily. Stupidly, I raised the drink to my lips one last time and took a gulp to calm the sweat I had developed. Finding a random place to dump the glass, I left it behind and stumbled as gracefully as I could until I found a spot on the wall I could lean against, the side of head hitting it and the sound echoing in my skull in the form of a headache. I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath, my breathing slowing as if I was sleeping, but fully aware of my surroundings. My legs buckled at that moment and like a guardian angel, familiar arms caught me and I felt my face collide with a soft material and I moved my eyes to look up and found Pete with the first concerned look of the night, pulling me back up onto my unstable feet.

“Are you drunk?” he asked, his voice laced with emotion. I shook my head and strained to respond to him.

“I…” I gulped and raised a hand to my forehead. “He gave me one drink…” I managed out. Pete lowered his head so that he could lock eyes with me.

“Who?” he whispered as the music died down momentarily. I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly dry and in need of water.

“Paul,” I paused and opened my eyes finally to see Pete’s eyes flicker in anger. “One drink,” I repeated. “It tasted…” he didn’t let me finish before he moved me along side him, taking me back to a familiar room backstage where he placed me on a couch and the figure I remembered as Chris was sat down on the coffee table across from me. Without saying anything, Pete dashed out of the room, leaving his tux jacket slung over my shoulders. Feeling comfortable at last, I smiled kindly at Chris and closed my eyes, letting the feeling of infinite tiredness devour me.