Waiting for Never - Post Malone

Nothing

As they pull up to a stop the Jaxton Brothers walk by and Austin calls out to them. They fling their arms out happily as Austin scurries out of the limo and joins them heading towards the house with the three skanks hot on their heels.
Marli sighs and then climbs out of the limo. What was the point of Austin insisting she come with? "Hello, Marli," someone says from behind her. She turns around and sees Noah. "Oh, Noah! I am so glad you are here. I was dreading this party," she says pleased to see him. He comes up and pulls her in for a hug and ok, personal space. She was not ready for that.
"You lied to me. You said you were going to phone me when you were in LA again," he says his voice a little angry. Marli takes a step back unsure of why he would be upset with her. "Oh sorry, I just got in like an hour ago. My trip was up expected," she explains. Noah shrugs and stares at her for a bit. "An hour is a long time. You could send a text in that time," he says. OK, he needs to let this go. "Sorry, Noah I had a lot on my plate," she tries to defend herself. Then suddenly Noah's demeanor changes and his face breaks into a smile. "I am only joking. I know what it's like being a PA to the stars. Let's go inside and have a drink," he says happily. Marli still feels a little bit uneasy but ignores the gut feeling. It's just Austin's words getting to her. There is nothing wrong with Noah. She follows him inside, he gets them a drink each, and then they find a quiet dark spot outside and start chatting. They have so much in common and Noah is not only sweet but funny too. She likes him. They are lost in conversation when Austin falls onto the lounger she is sitting on nearly knocking her off. Idiot.

She stands up as soon as one of the skanks joins him. Nope, no thank you. She is not cuddling up with Austin and his skanks. "Aww, where are you going lil mama?" Austin says and Marli wants to punch him. "That is a plastic lounger. It will break with all of us on it," she points to the lounger. Austin shakes his head laughing, Marli can see from where she is standing that his pupils are dilated. He is as high as a kite. "What are you doing all alone in the dark lil mama?" he asks, but before she can answer the skank screams out, "oh look!! She is not alone Baby. Look, hello cutie pie. What's your name?" Noah shifts out of the dark a bit. "Noah," he says shyly. "Oh, how cute are you, so sweet and shy," she purrs. Noah gives a little giggle and rubs the back of his neck. Skank stands up and pinches his cheeks like one would a toddler and he goes crimson. Marli does not like that. Not the skank acting like some cheap stepmother trying to win the rich man's kids over and she certainly does not like Noah's little submissive game. It's off-putting. He is a grown man, not a teenage boy.  "I told you not to see him again," Austin's words snap her back to reality. Excuse me?
"You did not just say that!" Marli challenges him. Austin stands up and crowds into Marli's space. "Why do you insist on pushing my buttons? We will talk about this at home. Come," he says wrapping his hand around her wrist and starts walking, but Marli digs her heels in and yanks her arm back. "No! I am not going anywhere with you. You don't own me. You can't tell me what to do," she says. Austin looks mad and Marli's blood boils. Who is he to be mad at her for talking to Noah? He is her friend.  "I have no problem with throwing you over my shoulder, woman," he growls. Marli squares up to him. "I will scream so loud. I will kick and I will bite if you so much as try!" she challenges him. Austin sighs. "Let's go. Now! Stop making a scene and walk," he says not backing down. She looks around and notices that people are starting to look at them. They are drawing attention and it's embarrassing. So she turns on her heel and marches out of the party, she can hear Austin walking behind her.

As they reach the front door she is about to phone a cab but then sees a line of cabs lined up down the road so she beelines for them and climbs into the first cab she sees. "Can you take me to the Brentwood area please?" she asks. The cab driver nods and starts his engine just as Austin climbs in next to her giving the cab driver the rest of the address. "Lil mama," he starts but Marli shakes her head. "No. Nope. I don't wanna talk about it. Please Austin," she says. They sit in silence all the way home. One of his songs is on over the radio and she focuses on the song and not his searing stare. At home, Marli hops out of the cab and practically runs up the stairs and towards her room. Halfway down the passage, she runs into Jonas nearly knocking him over. She is just so angry and tired that she can't be blamed for throwing her arms around him and bursting into tears. Jonas rubs her back and tries to soothe her. But she just cries harder when his sweet words and attempts at soothing don't work because they don't belong to Austin and he should be the last person she seeks. She hates Austin. He is the reason she is crying like this. What is wrong with her? But then she can feel Austin's presents behind her and she can sense he feels unsure of what to do. "You got her Jonas? I...um I will just head to bed," he says softly. Jonas nods and she can hear Austin walk away. She feels heavy and off-kilter. "Austin," she says softly between her sniffles "Austin stop, she's asking for you man," Jonas calls. Austin is back in her space quickly, pulling her arms from Jonas and lacing them around his own neck. She buries her head in the crook of his neck hunting for the oakwood and leather scent to ground her and calm her, it works. Austin lifts her and she wraps her legs around his waist. Marli is well aware that this is not normal boss/PA behavior but she can't bring herself to care right now. He carries her to her room and lays with her on her bed. "I am sorry I made you cry," he says, Marli shakes her head.