Pretty Kind of Dirty Face {Matty Healy}

03 // She Way Out

{moving but she just can't move}

It was a week before I'd run into a drunken Matty -- or any Matty -- again. But of course, it didn't take much to get Cecily to attempt to drag me out of the house with her and soon Matty was crashing his way into my life once again.

Cecily showed up at my front door Thursday night without calling ahead of time, but I wasn't too surprised. "Come on, Ellie, we're going out," she said. She had her usual determined look on her face. I wanted to deny her the pleasure of trying to lure me out of the house, but once I saw the look in her eyes, I knew I wouldn't stand a chance.

Instead I bought myself some time to reason with her. "I don't have anything to wear."

She pushed past me, making her way down the hallway to my bedroom while I trailed behind her.

"Where are we even going?" I asked as she began going through my closet, pulling out a tight black dress she bought me for my birthday last year. I hadn't worn it once, but I pulled the tags off so she wouldn't know.

"Spotlight."

Of course. I should've guessed by her skimpy outfit and dark lipstick. Spotlight was a sketchy nightclub in the next town over that Cecily absolutely adored. I, on the other hand, was not much of a fan. It was always too loud and filled with the sweaty and sleazy guys, which I preferred to avoid.

"It's a Thursday night, Cec. I have to work tomorrow."

"Calm down, mum. We'll be back before midnight."

Before I knew it, Cecily had thrown my least favorite little black dress at me and even coaxed me to put it on.

"You look gorgeous," she said, taking both of my hands in hers. Her green eyes met mine and the way they sparkled told me she was ecstatic that I was coming with her, ecstatic that I allowed her to dress me up like a Barbie doll. But her eyes also seemed to tell me that she had something up her sleeve -- which she usually did. "Let's go."

Spotlight was surprisingly crowded for a Thursday night. I had expected a small group of people there, but instead it was almost as packed as it was on a Saturday night. When we entered, Cecily immediately led me to the bar, where a couple she apparently knew sat. Tapping the girl on the shoulder, she squealed something incoherent and introduced me over the roar of the music. The girl was a friend from Cecily's job at a local pizza place. Her name was Autumn, and when she was introduced to me, she smiled and waved. She was pretty, with bright blue eyes and light brown hair with purple ends. Next to her sat a guy who I recognized as Ross, one of Matty's friends. He was drinking a light colored beer and he smiled brightly at me. Cecily told me she had recently set them up. They seemed to be getting along well, Autumn giggling and blushing, Ross gently resting his arm on the back of her chair. I sat down next to her but only ordered a glass of red wine.

Sipping on my wine, I started a conversation with Autumn. "So do you come here often?"

She laughed. "Definitely not. But you known how Cecily is, I'm sure."

"Oh of course. She's very . . . convincing." I rolled my eyes. I certainly knew how convincing my friend could be. And with Ross here, it meant she was either excited to get me and Matty in the same room again or she was excited to see George again. I wasn't quite sure which, but both were equally possible.

As if on cue, Cecily turned her attention from the guy that was hitting on her and gave me a pointed puppy dog pout. "Come dance with me," she whined, using a hand to pull me off my bar stool.

I shook my head. "No, I'm not nearly drunk enough to pretend I can dance!"

"Well I'll buy you a drink after you dance with me for a song or two, okay? Then you can drink it and come dance with me more!"

I rolled my eyes. Dancing was not my forte, so I preferred to avoid it if at all possible. "I can't dance," I made sure to tell her as I was dragged off onto the dance floor. Music thrummed in my ears, blocking out just about everything, even my own thoughts. Lights flashed in all different colors, highlighting the bodies packed together. Before I knew it I was crammed in against sweaty people I didn't even know. An arm snaked around my waist, and I turned around, determined to give whoever touched me a piece of my mind.

And there he was. I should've known. Matty. I pushed his arm off of me, slapping him. "Get off of me," I yelled over the music.

"Come on, El," he yelled back, coming close. His breath tickled my ear and sent an involuntary shiver down my spine. "Dance with me."

I didn't bother to correct his use of my name. Instead, I pushed past where Cecily danced with someone I didn't recognize. It didn't take long for me to lose Matty in the throng of people and I made it out into the open air of the bar and found my seat back next to Autumn. I grumbled to myself as I sat down, asking why I bothered to follow Cecily out here in the first place. I could tell she had some scheme in mind, and I could've guessed it involved Matty.

"Are you okay?" Autumn asked, turning her attention away from Ross for a moment.

I rolled my eyes. "I suppose so." I took a long sip of my wine, which was waiting for me like an old friend.

She looked me over and assessing my physical and mental state in one simple glance. "What did Cecily do this time?"

"You don't want to know," I said with a shake of my head.

"I know it sounds terrible but just trust her, okay?" Autumn smiled at me. "She's smarter than she lets on."

I turned on my stool, rotating to find Cecily in the crowd of people. She was looking over at me from where she was dancing with the same person from before -- if you could call grinding "dancing" -- with her hands tangled up in his hair. She seemed to not have a care in the world, but I could tell underneath her veneer of sexy and ditzy, there was something else there, a part of her that was looking out for me.

My thoughts were interrupted, as I should have expected, by Matty. He attempted to take the stool next to me, but he half missed and drunkenly fell toward me. I gasped as the cold beverage he was carrying fell onto me and instantly went through the dress I was wearing, soaking me from my ribs down, the empty glass landing in my lap.

Matty sat back and positioned himself on the stool, then stared at me for a second, trying to grasp what just happened. "Fuck," he said, making the connection. "I'm sorry." He reached forward suddenly, picking up the empty glass and successfully making me feel incredibly violated. I stood up, not even trying to smile at him. He didn't deserve it from me.

"It's okay," I said, pulling my purse onto my shoulder, "I was looking for an excuse to leave anyway." I grabbed Cecily's keys from where she threw them in my purse, requesting that either Matty or Autumn -- whoever was listening -- that they tell my friend to call me if she needed a ride later on.

A/N: Hey you! Thanks sooooo much for reading my story. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Do me a favor and if you love it, make sure to comment and vote! I'll be trying to update on Mondays or Tuesdays each week, but I can't guarantee anything. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and thanks again! xx Sadie