"Looking good," Bert compliments as soon as he sees me, a lazy smile on his face.
"I'm always looking good." I take the seat beside him and greet Quinn, Dan and Jepha sitting on the back seats. "I see privilege has fallen over me once again, Jepharee Howard," I tease with a playful glare; my words snatch chuckles from the other three, but Bert's scandalous laughter takes over like usual as he starts driving again.
"Keep your eyes open, (y/n), I am coming for you," Jepha glares back, lips pursed in an attempt of looking intimidating, but all I do is to roll my eyes and sarcastically agree.
Going out with them is nice, even if I don't do this so often. My main goal has always been continuing to spend as much time as possible with Ryan and Dallon, though the universe seems to not want to contribute to this with the way our schedules diverge so much. Jepha was the first one to approach me during my second semester in college and later on introduced me to the other three. They have always been so nice and welcoming with me. Ryan and Dallon being often busy leaded to me hanging out with them each time more, though the former ones haven't lost their posts.
"And... we're here," Bert's quiet voice cuts through the thick silence which had fallen between us once the vehicle comes to a stop and we share the same relief and excitement as leaving it.
Devil's Nest. It's a really nice bar, to be honest. Also, expensive. There, somehow, isn't this awful smell of sweat, alcohol and smoke as much as all of these are always present and it's thankfully not too crowded, being really well organized. These are some of the many points which make this place enjoyable.
"Hell, I'm killing for a drink," Bert groans. He makes sure the car is locked and shoves the keys inside the pocket of Jepha's jeans.
"You're always killing for a drink." Dan glares. "And so am I."
All of us chuckle and fall quiet once walking into the bar, greeted by the loud and incoherent talk that almost takes over the sound of glass clinking together now and then and the heavy sound of Type O Negative playing in the background. Dan and Quinn quickly disappear among the crowd, but we don't bother much as moving to the bar, where we ask a few drinks - while Bert and Jepha go straight for alcohol, I decide it's not exactly a good idea to do the same.
"Wanna dance?" Jepha catches my attention, smile disappearing behind his glass.
"Sure, why not?" I down my drink at once, letting the glass on the counter along with a few dollars, and it doesn't take long until Jepha does the same, taking a hold of my wrist and dragging me to an empty space in the middle of the crowd, both of us facing each other and standing about a foot apart as starting to dance.
I'm not exactly one to dance like this - or even to go to places like this -, but getting lost in the music here and just letting myself go is easy, even more with barely knowing anyone else here apart from the four. It's nice forgetting about the college's stress sometimes.
At some point, I take a hold of Jepha's hand and pull him to twirl, what gets both of us chuckling.
It's noticeable when Jepha's attention goes somewhere else and his movements get slower, so I automatically turn around in an attempt of following his gaze, wondering what's holding his attention to much. That's when, after a few people move, I catch a glimpse of Gerard and Frank standing by a table, with a few other people along with them, and I can't help but to grin, excited with seeing both of them here.
"Hey, Jeph," I turn back around, leaning to speak in his ear, "Imma talk with a few friends. Is that okay? Do you want to come along?"
Jepha shrugs, smiling a bit. "Yeah, of course it's okay, but I'd rather go back to the bar. Just text me or Bert if you need something, you already know what Quinn and Dan must be up to." He pulls away and makes a face; I nod in response, we chuckle. Dan and Quinn's terrible self-control isn't anything new to us.
"See you around!" I wave at him with a wink as starting to walk away, squeezing my way past people. "Hello!" My greeting snatches everyone's attention to me and, to say the least, they're all surprised.
"(Y/n)!" Gerard exclaims as pulling me for a quick hug, grinning, though his expression clearly holds something else. "It's so good seeing you here!"
"Same to you!" I grin, moving to also give Frank a hug. "I've been coming here for a time; I've never seen you guys here!" Frank shyly hugs me back, but doesn't say anything, observing me with furrowed eyebrows for a moment.
"Oh, you do?" Gerard sounds amused.
"Yeah, always coming here with my friends." I smile, vaguely motioning towards Bert and Jepha or at least where I've last seen them.
Gerard is thoughtful for a few seconds until realization seems to hit him and he hums with not so genuine interest. He shrugs. "Anyways, I believe I've mentioned Mikey and Ray!" His lips part into a grin as he extends a hand towards the two guys sitting on the table and I don't exactly need further explanation to know who is who. "Mikey is my annoying brother."
Mikey rolls his eyes at Gerard's words, glaring at him for a second, before he smiles at me with a nod. Ray, on the other hand, seems a bit happier.
"It's nice to meet you guys!" And despite all the excitement I show, I'm actually curious about those two because there's this same sensation I got when I met Gerard and Frank for the first time, like if they were familiar. The difference is that I had really seen them previously.
"Wanna sit with us?" Gerard offers, sitting down on the black cushioned seat that circles about half of the table. Mikey moves a bit towards the middle so Frank can take the spot beside him and the only free space is the one which Gerard offers me, right beside Frank. Gerard doesn't even wait for me to say anything before he pours a drink from a bottle in an empty glass and pushes it towards me after I sit down.
I raise my eyebrows lightly, slowly pushing it away. "No, thanks. No alcohol for me, not yet."
"It's not alcohol," Ray says with a chuckle. "It just... It tastes sweet; we can't explain you what it tastes like, but we promise it is good. If you prefer, we can grab you something from the bar." He smiles while the others agree with nods and maybe I'm receiving a bit too much of attention.
"Don't worry." I wave a hand in dismiss and pull the glass closer again. The smell matches Ray's description and I observe the drink for a moment; it is clear, but has an oil color, reminding me of oil on the pavement in a sunny day. I give it a try. Impressively good and, just like Ray said, it's not something you can describe, but still holds an incredible taste. "Hell, this tastes good."
By the time I come to reality after processing the drink, Frank is the only one who's not in a talk, all the other three talking with each other already, words muffled under what sounds like Slipknot, so he laughs quietly at my reaction and I can't help but to smile at what his chuckle sounds like.
"Man, do you believe I haven't even started that assignment yet?" I breathe, glancing at him.
Frank weirdly enough takes a moment to notice I'm talking with him and eventually hums, smiling with certain awkwardness. "Aw, I'm sure you'll find the right inspiration soon."
"I hope so," I reply quietly and observe him for a moment, taking a long sip of my drink. The long gaze gradually makes him start shifting on his spot and the red tone dusting his cheeks is evident even under the oscillating lights of the place. Okay, he is cute. And looks really really cute. Also, it's been long since I've last kissed someone. My lips curl up into a smile as I let my arm over the backrest, almost around his shoulders, putting the glass away. "Tell me, Frank," I ask as leaning closer so he can hear me clearly, "are you dating someone? Do you have a significant other?"
He noticeably tenses up and pulls away a bit so he is able to look at me in the eyes, spending a long moment looking like he is still digesting the situation. That makes me start to back away, thinking I've probably exceeded any limit, just to be stopped by a hand around the lapel of my jacket and words being whispered into my ear.
"Meet me outside."
Outdoors is cold, but there's still a trace of the warm air of the place trapped in my jacket that makes it pleasing. I stand there for almost a couple of minutes, watching the cars passing by and it's quite beautiful, to be honest.
"Hey," the quiet greeting brings me back to reality and Frank now stands there. He seems pale under the lights of the side of the bar's building, cheeks still red, but he genuinely attempts to be more confident - or at least apparent to. His eyes drift away from mine as soon as I start smiling. "Um, I..." And he looks from me to the floor repeatedly, in a way I quickly conclude I'll need to take the first step again.
Frank always holds this specific nervousness around me and I wonder what's the reason for that. The option he likes me is something I haven't even considered because it doesn't match - I mean, it is not a simple nervousness, it is like if he was afraid of something, standing near an extremely delicate object. Damn, that's a doubt I'll be leaving aside for now.
"Just come here," I mutter with a hand on Frank's waist and another on the side of his neck, what makes our gazes immediately lock together.
His lips are soft against mine, hesitant at first, but he ends up melting under my touches, hands resting on my hips. At the same time the kiss feels new, there's also this feeling it has happened before, somehow reminding me of when I'm hanging out with the others and it feels like there's something missing - yet, it's a completely different thing.
I pull away for a moment so we can breathe and our lips are pressed together again as soon as I push Frank back against the wall, deepening the kiss with it and trying to erase all the weird thoughts from my mind.
We get lost into it, with a lot of kissing and more breaks, until a real pause to breathe is needed and we just continue close to each other, him still standing back against the wall while I have my forearm supporting me against it, right beside him. Frank continues placing kisses to my lips and jaw, gentle pecks teasing the skin for not even a second at a time. He sighs, wrapping an arm around my neck, and rests his forehead against my shoulder - his calmness suggests he's as immersed in the moment as I am. I press a kiss to the side of his face, snatching a lazy groan from him.
"Want to go back inside?" I ask against the skin, a quiet whisper lost in the quietness of the night around us.
"It's fine here," he replies quietly. I hum in response, moving my hand from his waist to wrap my arm around him instead and bring him closer, what helps keeping the warmth between us.
Boredom hits me after some point. I nuzzle a spot under Frank's jaw, tracing it with my nose until behind his ear to start pressing kisses to his neck. It earns me a pleased sigh from Frank while he tilts his head to the side, giving me better access, so I don't hesitate in starting to nibble softly on the skin, also sucking lightly on it. I love the way he clenches onto my clothes and holds back a few sounds, but, unfortunately, our moment doesn't last much longer.
"(Y/n)!" Bert's unmistakable voice calls loudly from the front of the place.
Both of us tense up at hearing Bert, though Frank actually pulls away, seeming worried. "I... I'll text you later," Frank mutters rushed, running to go probably walk around the place to not meet Bert.
"Okay," I reply, watching him go, with this weird melancholy taking place in my chest.
"(Y/n)!" Bert screaming doesn't let me get immersed in my thoughts. "You're out here? Please tell me you're out here, I'll feel bad if I have lost you."
I roll my eyes. "I'm over here, dumbass." I make sure I speak loud enough and can hear him gasping while making my way over to the male, who grins once he sees me.
"What are you doing out here?" He raises an eyebrow and looks around. Behind him, I can see Frank already walking back into the bar.
"Taking a fresh air," I breathe, averting my attention to the road.
A silence falls between us, a comfortable one, in which both of us are most likely thinking about nothing as watching the cars going down the road, with the muffled sound of music in the background. Bert slowly nods.
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