(4) Out of Control: An All Time Low FanFiction Romance

Chapter 31: Confirmation

        With five shots down, an open beer in my hand, and the familiar buzz rushing through my system, I pulled Stephen away from the bar with alcohol for both of us. We moved through the crowd of people on the dance floor, dancing and grinding with each other to the loud music from the DJ. I found a small table off to the side of the bar and lifted myself into the seat, leaning across the small circular table towards Stephen.

        My position gave me a clear view of Jack, his dark eyes on me from across the room as I brushed my foot against Stephen's calf, wedges moving against the fabric of his jeans, the same way I had done to Jack in Los Angeles.

        I gazed right past Stephen's head, a wicked smirk on my lips that I couldn't control, as Jack finally looked away, his attention caught by Holly pushing herself up on her toes, bringing her face closer to Jack's to whisper something in his ear.

        My eyes traveled back to Stephen's face, finding that his eyes had also been on Jack and Holly. His head turned back to me, his iris's looking almost black in the lighting.

        "I don't think you could drive that kid any crazier," Stephen said, leaning across the table as I was so he didn't have to raise his voice too much to be heard over the noise. I felt my lips turn into a bigger smile, a similar expression fixing itself on Stephen's face.

        "It's his fault for watching," I watched Stephen shrug, right arm lifting his bottle to his lips to take a quick gulp before setting it back on the table. I did the same as he held my gaze, speaking again.

        "I don't blame him, I'd look too," he said, eyes holding a similar gleam I always saw in Jack's eyes. I set my bottlt to my left, right arm stretching across the space, hand opening to his forearm, fingers tracing cirlces against his skin.

        "Luckily for you, you can look anytime you want."

        Stephen laughed lightly, his mouth turned up into a grin. I settled back into my chair, hand pulling away from his arm, reaching out to my bottle to bring it to my lips again. I crossed my right leg over my left, turning my head to scan the crowd as I set my bottle back on the table, spinning it slowly in my hands.

        I could see a few of the people we'd come with; Alex and Stella sitting at their own table like Stephen and I were, Maverick was hitting on some girl at the bar, and a couple others mixed in with the crowd on the dance floor. The two people I couldn't find were Holly and Jack, they had moved from their spot across the bar.

        Stephen's hand touched mine lightly, and his voice sounding in my ear made me turn my head, eyes meeting his.

        "You want another?" he asked, tipping his presumably empty bottle in my direction. I shook my head, fingers still twirling the not-yet empty bottle before me. Stephen nodded, picking himself up from the chair, leaving me to make his way across the bar.

        I lifted my bottle to my lips again, taking a long drag before setting it heavily on the table. I turned my head, looking around again. I caught the eyes of a group of me walking past, all of them older than me, a few with girls of their own on their arm, but it didn't stop their eyes from traveling to my face and then down the length of my body. I ignored it, however, eyes searching for one tall fram enad the perfect blonde hair.

        I noticed them finally, making their way through the bar, by the looks of it, heading to the exit. My first thought would have been that they were going back to wherever Holly lived, but watching their expressions told me that was probably the furthest thing from what was happening.

        Seeing that Stephen was still positioned at the bar, waiting for a new drink, I slipped from my seat, abandoning my drink as my wedges clicked against the floor, carring me towards the door. The bouncer nodded at me, the same knowing grin he'd given Holly when she walked in, my face one he obviously hadn't fogotten. I stepped past him and the still long line of people, veering to the right, away from the line of people.

        A few yards down brought me to the entrance of an alley. I stopped, leaning against the brick building, head tilted to listen.

        "See, Jack, you're not even listenign to me," Holly's voice sounded from the alley, close enough to be not even a few yards away. "You've been like this for weeks. What is it?"

        "It's nothing, Holly, there's nothing wrong." Even I knew that his voice had a distant tone.

        "It's that girl, isn't it? It's Natalia."

        "It has nothing to do with Nat," Jack answered quickly, and at that point, I'd heard enough. I was already eavesdropping on a private conversation, one I shouldn't be hearing. I was sure I could guess the rest anyway. I didn't want to hear the words for confirmation of what I thought was coming next.

        I turned, taking careful steps until I was far enough away for them to not hear my footsteps. I headed up to the bouncer, greeing him with a smooth smile. I gained a nod from him once again, groans erupting from the crowd of people by the door, and I stepped into the packed, warm atmosphere of the bar again.

        I moved straight foward to the bar, sliding myself onto a stool, ordering something random from the expensive alcohol list. Only a few moments later, a person slipped onto the stool next to me. I turned, expecting Stephen. I was only slightly surprised to see Jack's tall frame, his body leaned in my direction as he told the bartender to make it two before turning his body towards me, eyes meeting mine.

        "Don't you think you keep cutting it a little close? I don't think you want to give your girlfriend the wrong idea," I said to him, tilting my head slightly to the side.

        "I don't think you need to worry about that, love," he responded, smiling at the play on my last name he'd used before. I rolled my eyes quickly at him before shifting in my stool, watching him carefully.

        "And why would that be?" I wondered, my eyes shifting to the counter as the bartender set drinks in front of us. Jack threw him a few bills as payment, grabbing his drink before standing, moving close to me. I leaned away to be able to look into his eyes, my mouth turning up into the same smirk he was wearing.

        "I think you know," he said softly, eyes dancing as he moved away, smiling to himself as he backed away, moving into the crowd. I watched, amused, as he started to blend into the crowd, his actions as confirmation of what I already knew.