Fluorescents

22

" Scar tissue that I wish you saw. Sarcastic mister know it all."

The music plays in the somewhat dirty and rusty bar as all of us waltz in. We were transported here in one of the large vans and Im glad that we arrived quickly. The drive was somewhat uncomfortable due to the fact that I had to sit beside Alex once again on our way here. Yet it would have been much worse if I was forced to sit in the very back with Derek and Lauren. They spent the ride conversing while I spent my time trying to ignore Alex's constant arm around my shoulder.

Once we're inside Alex almost instantly launches towards the bar, urgently trying to flood his system with alcohol. The rest of the band laughs at his behavior before continuing on with their conversation by my side while Derek and Lauren trail behind us, in their very own conversation.

" What are you going to want darling?" Jamie asks me once we reach Alex at the bar. I question my options but before I can answer a rude voice interrupts me.

" She'll have one of those lil girly drinks you offer with the lil umbrellas on the top." Alex says, leaning on the bar while making motions of someone dipping an umbrella on the top of a glass. I roll my eyes as him and Nick laugh at his sexist remark.

" I'll have a shot of whiskey please." I tell the female bartender and she gives me a shocked expression before it turns into what seems like a proud one. Alex snickers ahead of me and I gaze at him before rolling my eyes. If he's going to play games with me tonight I might as well play my own.

" We'll all have the same." Matt intervenes and informs the bartender once he notices the tension in the atmosphere. I mentally thank him before me and Alex finally both look away from one another. Soon enough the lady returns and we all reach for our glasses. They begin to bring them towards their lips but I stop them before they can. I raise my glass in the air and all of them, except the grumpy man who wants to get completely drunk already, give me a small nod and smile while Alex rolls his eyes.

" For your guys amazing show & for the amazing ones to come." I tell them before we all clank our glasses together and take the liquor into our mouths. The burn glides down my mouth and I make a sour expression before setting the glass back down.

" We couldn't have done it without you." Jamie says landing his arm on my shoulder and bringing my body closer towards his. His lips brush over my cheek and I instantly feel a blush creep onto my cheeks as I try my best to stay composed during the situation. I'm barely ok with people that are friendly with me but the small amount of space that Jamie has placed in between our bodies is over whelming.

" thanks." I turn to tell him and he gives me a sly smile that almost seems like a smirk.

" You're welcome." He tells me his lips finally turning into a smirk before he gazes at my eyes then down at my lips. My heart stops and I turn away, trying my best to kill the atmosphere surrounding us. I'm not very good at flirting or reacting to people flirting with me. I've never really had to deal with anything remotely romantic. I'm too awkward. So I've I always pushed the mushy side of interactions between me and men to the side. 

Alex calls for another round of shots and Jamie sways us to the sound of the music while his arm is still lightly laying on my shoulder. We take our drinks and swallow the liquor several times before we're all tipsy and floating. The rest of the group except me, Jamie and Alex delve deeply into their conversations while the rest of us continue drinking or simply humming along to the music playing in the background of the bar.

"Soft spoken with a broken jaw."  he sings and I look up at him with a childish grin. He looks down at me with what seems like an embarrassed expression and tries his best to hide the blush creeping into his cheeks.
" What?" He asks in a light British tone before laughingly lightly. I'm taken off guard by the light tone of his voice but I quickly recover. I've been getting use to the hoarse tone connected to Alex's accent and I naively believed that all British men would have the similar hoarse tone.