bringing that gif back again
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American crowds are different from British crowds. That's the observation that Rebecca has made since coming to the US.
They push, shove and she's sadly found out that they're not afraid to get handsy.
And they're so much bigger. They have to be when the band are selling out venues every night which means that when they chose to go out afterwards, the surrounding bars and clubs were always significantly more crowded than what she's used to.
"This is ridiculous," Alice mutters as she leads Rebecca through the sea of people as they come back from the bathroom. She leads her towards the back of the venue, where the largest crowd of people are because where there are people, you're sure to find the band.
And she's right; they're surrounded, mostly by women who are desperate for a bit of attention and like always, Roger seems to be the most popular and Alice glances at Rebecca when he shows one of his fans how to twirl a stick across her fingers.
"Does that not bother you?" she asks as Rebecca got them some drinks, "That they fawn over him like that?"
She shrugs, "Not really. I mean, it comes with being a rockstar's girlfriend; the fans, the women."
"Do you ever worry that he's going to...?"
"No," she says immediately, "I trust him. I know he won't do anything with them. They can flirt all they want but I'm the one who is going home with him. He might even play along but I know for a fact that if I went over there, he'd drop everything."
Alice knows that she isn't lying. She's seen the way Roger is around her; a completely different person.
"How about you?" Rebecca asks, "Anyone special in your life?"
"No," he mumbled, clearing her throat as she suddenly looks uncomfortable, "Never really had the time."
Rebecca had touched a nerve and so she quickly shut up about it, "Do you dance?"
Luckily, Alice laughs and downs the rest of her drink before nodding, "Once I've had a few, I like to think of myself as a dancing queen."
The two move to the middle of the designated dancefloor and drink as they dance, which is a terrible idea really because the more they dance, the warmer they get and the warmer they get, the more they drink.
When Alice mumbles something along the lines of getting more drinks in her ear, she gives her a nod but really, she's not too sure what she said. She's much too distracted about keeping in time with the music she's dancing to.
She's aware that people are starting as she twirls around, hands in the air without a care in the world.
Roger's watching her. Rebecca always knows when he's looking at her. There's something about his gaze that makes her skin tingle and when she looks to where she knows he's sat, she sees that she isn't wrong.
The other girls are forgotten and he leans against the back of the booth he's sat in, silently sipping at his beer as he watches.
But then Alice is back, handing Rebecca another drink and they move deeper into the dancing crowd with Freddie but Roger can still see her as he starts a conversation with John, who's significantly happier than he was the other night.
Hannah finally spoke to him, apologising for being so weird and making everyone worried. University had just gotten on top of her and she had just needed some time to finish and take care of everything she needed to do.
The next time Roger looks for Rebecca, for a moment, he can't see her but he does when she steps out from behind a large figure and immediately, he knows something is wrong.
The smile on her face is long gone, having been replaced by a glare that she's pinned on the man in front of her.
He slides out of the booth and monitors the situation closely but when he sees Brian making his way toward the centre of the dancefloor, he knows it's a big deal.
Because when Brian feels the need to get involved, something is definitely not right.
The man had been focused on Alice at first. It had all been innocent enough; he'd joined them and danced for a bit but after a while, he started getting handsy, ignoring the fact that every time he put he touched her, she'd be quick to remove his hands.
She told him to leave her alone when he copped a feel somewhere else and that's when Rebecca had stepped in.
Rebecca can defend herself, she's sadly had plenty of run-ins with men who don't take no for an answer but this guy, he's large and has a somewhat mean glint in his eye as he turns her attention to her.
"No need to be jealous, sweetheart," he gives her a smirk, reaching out to touch her cheek, "There'll be plenty of room for all of us."
Her hand catches his wrist before he can touch her and Alice, who looks terrified, steps forward to try and push him back, "Don't touch me."
"Don't be like that," his free hand closes around her waist as he steps closer.
Brian reaches them first, breaking the physical contact between the two by placing a firm hand on the man's chest to push him back, "I think it's time you left."
The man takes note of Alice hiding behind his tall figure and holds up his hands, "Sorry man. Didn't realise she was with you." He then grins at Rebecca and reaches out to wrap his hand around her wrist, pulling her closer, "Looks like it's just me and you."
Brian moves to step in again but before he can, Roger's there. Putting himself between Rebecca and the man.
"Back off," he says warningly and no one notices that he still has a grip on her wrist until he tightens his grip and she hisses in pain.
One scathing look from her boyfriend is enough to get the man to release his hand on her and he looks between Roger and Brian before scoffing and stepping back, "They're not worth it. Though her," he nods to Rebecca, "She's practically asking for it in that skirt."
Roger steps forward, hands clenched at his sides, "What did you say?"
"I said," the man grins, "She's asking for it."
Rebecca steps forward and places her hand on Roger's arm, "Rog, let's just go. Please, he's not worth it."
But of course, her boyfriend can't leave it like that and he gives the man a hard shove, sending him back into the other dancers, "Stay away from her." And then he's turning to Rebecca, "Come on, let's go."
Only, they don't make it very far; the man recovers quickly and stalks forward. He grips Roger's shoulder, spinning him around just as his fist collides with his jaw.
Brian tucks both Alice and Rebecca behind him as Roger stumbles back, his hands resting on the blonde's shoulders, "Roger, come on mate. Leave it."
The place descends into complete chaos after that as Roger rips himself out of Brian's grip and charges forward.
The two tackle against one another and Rebecca's desperate pleas for Roger to stop fall on deaf ears and it's not until Deaky, along with a few others push their way through the watching crowd that Brian is finally able to step in and break the two apart.
John's got his arms around Roger and when he practically drags him from the club, Rebecca follows, welcoming the cold air against her skin as she pushes the door open.
Roger's hands are shaking as he digs through his pockets for his cigarettes and lighter while Rebecca toys with her hand as John stares at him with his hands on his hips, "Care to explain?"
Roger ignores him and realising that he isn't going to get an answer, he tells Rebecca that he's going back in to find the others so they can call it a night and go back to the hotel.
She waits until they're alone before moving to stand beside him. He's got a bruise forming on his cheek and his lip is bleeding and she sighs, resting her forehead against his arm, "You should have walked away."
"He was an arsehole," he muttered, not looking up from the ground as he takes a drag from his cigarette, "Wasn't going to let him talk about you."
She puts a finger under his chin and makes him look at her, "But look at your face, Rog."
"I don't care," he says, hands resting on her cheeks, "I don't give a shit. No one gets to talk about you like that, Rebecca. No one."
She doesn't get to respond because John had returned with Freddie and the others.
"You alright, Becca?" Alice asks from where she's practically glued herself to Brian's side and she moves so she can give her a tight hug.
"Roger is the one who got punched and you're worried about me?" she asks.
"He had a pretty tight grip on you," Brian said, looking down at the angry red mark that the man had left on her arm.
She smiled and gave his hand a soft squeeze, "I'm fine. Thanks, Bri."
"We should get back," Alice then says, voice quiet, "I'm sure there's someone there who can look at that lip."
They all agree and start heading towards the taxi rank, which is just along the road from the club but before Roger can follow, Rebecca takes his hand and pulls him back so he's standing in front of her.
"Bex?" he questions, "You-"
Her lips press against the corner of his mouth, being mindful of the small laceration. "Thank you," she whispers, running a gentle hand across his cheek.
He doesn't know why she's thanking him. She knows he'd do anything for her.
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gotta have the classic club fight