"I am so sorry about your boyfriend~" The persistent male slurs loudly, clearly the drink is kicking his ass by now. Lightweight.
Not that you're one to talk. "He said he'd look after me tonight! And here I am, NOT being looked after!" You bitch and whine over these horrid 'tunes', they have nothing on your fury right now.
"You deserve better, darl~" It seems he can't even be bothered to say darling wrongly now, he's sunk as low as to just half-ass the word entirely. What a gent, no really. "I can make you forget all about him, if you'd like~"
What? Was alcohol not enough for this guy?
"Hey babe~" You hear a familiar voice from behind you as an arm finds it's way around your waist. You're honestly just about ready to punch the guy until you recognize that scent and this warmth.
MARCO, THANK GOD!
"Who are you?" The male asks coldly, shooting a face-scolding frown to the blonde that is currently cuddling you from behind and unknowingly causing your heart to do backflips in your chest.
Of course, it only gets sent into turbo mode when;
"Her boyfriend, got a problem yoi?" You can't really see what look Marco's giving the guy but his voice is all of a sudden dark and crisp. Judging by how fast the male's frown drains away into complete shock and slight fear, you'd guess Marco just gave him a pretty harsh glare.
"N-No, I didn't know she had a b-boyfriend."
Bullshit! THIS GUY THOUGHT ACE WAS MY BOYFRIEND! And technically, I DON'T HAVE ONE.
"Sure you didn't yoi, piss off." The sentence is short and bitter but it sends the guy packing within seconds, the blonde deciding to spin your barstool so you're facing him, a cute but serious pout on his face. "Where have you been?"
How does one respond to such a question? I mean, surely shouldn't you be asking him that?! "Um! Here!" You slur, your attempted sarcasm sounding more like bitter sass. But you'd be lying if you said you weren't bitter right now, they abandoned you. "I could ask you the same thing, you all vanished! I was alone!"
And they say that drunk minds speak sober thoughts. In this case, they do.
You don't like being alone, really. Having some alone time every now and then is nice, sure. But you feel all the more comfortable around people you know. In large and strange crowds, you admittedly find yourself getting slightly nervous, slightly spooked.
You don't know the intentions of strangers, but you do with your friends.
"I took Sabo and Luffy to our table, turned around and you, Thatch and Ace were nowhere to be seen yoi." Marco explains loudly over the music, his working hand gently gripping onto your wrist as he carefully pulls you up from your barstool. "Come on yoi, Thatch made his way over to us but I have no idea where Ace has disappeared to."
"He was dancing over there with a girl~" You slur as you point to the crowd of people, your voice sounding merrier now that you've found Marco and learnt that he's been looking for you the entire time rather than dancing with other chicks like you had imagined. "He's shirtless for some mystery reason~"
"Really? Such a show off yoi." The blonde grumbles, a smirk gracing his lips as he wraps his arm around you, guiding you through the crowds. "Probably took his shirt off to pull attention from his smudged brow."
A sinister chuckle escapes your lips as you remember what a mess he had made of that pen and how he hadn't even noticed until he saw his reflection in a shop window on the way here. "Stuuuupid~ Ace~" You chime playfully, your body suddenly feeling sluggish and your legs giving way, having you lean against Marco for support.
I think I have had one too many...
The poor blonde even struggling to essentially carry you back with his hand being in a cast so he just sits you down at an empty table instead, having to sit right next to you to keep you upright.
"How much did that guy give you yoi? He didn't slip anything into your drink, did he?" All of a sudden, his voice sounds cold and bitter, he sounds just about ready to kill a man.
"No, I don't think so. I just knocked them back...and it has backfiiiired~" Your response causing Marco to sigh but the sigh sounds more like a relieved exhale, rather than an irritated one. His hold around you tightening slightly as he plants a peck on your forehead.
"Don't accept drinks from strangers yoi, people do some nasty shit to them sometimes." You want to acknowledge what he said, to agree with him or to at least murmur an 'okay' but you just can't seem to spit a single word.
He kissed my forehead!
And it's a nice feeling. A gentle and caring sensation, he's not expecting anything from it or trying to push any boundaries. You can vaguely feel a tingle where he kissed, as if his lips are still there and the feeling has your body warming up rapidly.
How does this man have such an effect on me? He's not even trying!
"Do you come to these clubs often?" You murmur as the song ends so that he can hear you properly without this horrendous club music interrupting you. A small and lazy shrug of Marco's shoulders would tell you he's not fond of these kind of places either.
"I prefer pubs myself yoi, they're more sociable." He thoughtfully hums, the music beginning to start again so that he has to raise his voice in order for you to hear what he's saying. "These places just don't appeal to me personally, but there's no way I'd let my little brothers come here without me."
As always, it boils down to Marco being the protective older brother. He's such a sweetheart really.
"Not to mention, you." The blonde adds, drawing in your attention but he doesn't elaborate on the comment which bothers you slightly. You're about to ask him what he means but a loud bang just about scares your soul from your body before you have the chance.
"There you are~!" A shirtless Ace chimes, his hands both laying palm-down on the table you're sat at, clearly he lost his balance and had to save himself from falling or something. "I was looking for y--Aw, this looks cozy~"
Finally found my lost ass and all Ace can do now is tease me?
"You were supposed to be taking care of her yoi!" Marco barks, rising to his feet and carefully pulling you up with him. His brows furrowing as he looks his younger brother up and down, for whatever reason Ace is also covered in alcohol, his hair messy and beads of sweat pouring from his forehead. Not to mention he has a very distant look in his eyes. "Have you been drugged?!"
The guilt is as clear as day on the younger brother's face, Marco instantly groaning in irritation as he ushers both you and Ace back to the selected table. And it's no wonder you couldn't find them, the table is on the far end of the club, away from the loud music and annoying dancers.
"Why do you always have to complicate things yoi?!"
You listen in amusement to the scolding big brother until you spot the rest of the guys. Finally, people you know other than Ace and Marco!
Thatch is having a few drinks with Sabo whilst Shanks teases Luffy about his non-existent eyebrows. And then there's that white-haired guy again, from the bar. You knew you've seen him somewhere before, he's Shanks' friend; Rayleigh!
"Ha, there you are~!" Shanks exclaims as the three of you approach the group, Ace all of a sudden losing all of his strength and collapsing onto Thatch, the poor brunette struggling to sit the freckled boy up in his lap like an over-sized baby.
"W-What the hell, Ace?! Where's your damn clothes, you exhibitionist?!" Of course Thatch's questions remain unanswered when Ace passes out against him, the brunette frowning at Marco instead. "What happened to this idiot?"
"Drugs." Marco grunts in annoyance, trying to assist you politely as you take a seat also. "Just keep an eye on him yoi, I got my hands full here." Thankfully you don't tumble straight into anybody like Ace did, but you do have difficulty to sit up straight, your body lazily slouching against poor Sabo.
Of course he doesn't complain, he's far too polite. However, you do notice the look he gives you, that slightly worried look as if he's wondering if you're drugged also. Luckily for you, you're not.
But you are tired. And everybody knows that tiredness mixed with alcohol is a bad combination.
"Pfft~! How the hell did he manage to get drugged~?" You hear Shanks laugh before your vision hazes completely, your body suddenly feeling light as if you're lying on clouds and the memory of Marco kissing your forehead blessing your mind once again.
He has called me his girlfriend twice tonight~