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The Way Down

Chapter 11

“Where are we going?” Gabe shot me a concerned glance as I pulled him quickly down the sidewalk, passing by dinky gas stations and small car shops overgrown with weeds. It would seem we weren’t in the best part of town.

“...I’m not sure,” my face scrunched up in thought and I cocked my head to the side.

“What?! You don’t even know where we’re going?!” He pulled his hand away, grabbing me by the shoulders and turning me to face him. “Then why did we leave?!” He was exasperated, his face wrought with confusion. “Come on,” he sighed, shaking his head. It was his turn to grab my hand, and he began walking back in the direction we came from with me in tow.

“No! We can’t go back!” I said firmly, pulling my hand away from his. He gave me a bewildered look, but I continued on stubbornly. “Let’s just do something to get our minds off of things. Explore the city. Find something fun to do! Come on, Gabe!” I put on my most convincing voice, pleading with him. I stared at him for a long moment before he caved, groaning as he raised his hand to his face, nodding nonetheless. I grinned victoriously and we turned and continued walking, this time side by side so we could communicate better.

“So I know that I need to get my mind off of things, but what exactly is bothering you?” He asked as we fell into step with each other. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks and I shook my head from side to side, my hair gently brushing my face.

“Nothing. Just the stress of the tour,” I lied. There was definitely one specific person who had me on edge recently, but I didn’t talk well about these kinds of things. I didn’t even really want to tell Dan, and he’s the person I’m closest to in the world. There was just something about people knowing when you like someone. The smug grins they give you when the other person is around, and saying obvious cheesy things in front of them. It was a little too conspicuous for me.

Gabe nodded at my response. He didn’t seem convinced but didn’t prod regardless.

“I think the first thing we need to fix is how sober we are. Well, how sober I am. I don’t know where you’re at anymore,” I laughed, remembering how drunk Gabe had been not too long ago.

“I think I could definitely be less sober right now,” he agreed, nodding profusely. I grinned at him and we walked several more blocks until we came to a stretch of buildings, dimly lit with fluorescent lights that bathed everything in a yellow-green hue. One place among them was called “Jack’s Bar”. We soundlessly made our way over, a small crowd of people smoking outside. There was a blue bench that had seen better days, pushed against a white, paint chipped wall that everyone was leaning against.

“Hey, sweetheart, got a light?” a ragged looking man with oily blonde hair and overgrown stubble asked, an unlit cigarette dangling between his lips. I smiled politely, shaking my head.

‘No, sorry,” I answered as we walked past, and Gabe took two steps closer to me, eyeing the man up and down. He gave Gabe a wary look and continued past us, asking the others outside for a light. I looked up at Gabe once we were inside and out of sight.

“What are you, my guard dog?” I chuckled as we approached the bar.

“Yep. That’s exactly what I am,” his face was hard set and he seemed on edge.

“Are you okay?” a look of concern crossing my face.

“After what happened with Ramone I’m not letting you out of my sight, and I’m definitely not letting any creeps near you,” he said, finally meeting my gaze. I was silent for a moment, gathering my thoughts.

“Thanks, Gabe,” I smiled up at him and he softened. We stood quietly for a moment before the bartender approached.

“What can I get for you guys tonight?” he seemed laid back, brown hair slicked back and a navy blue tee shirt tucked into his jeans. He leaned against the bar with both hands, a grungy white rag dangling from his back pocket.

“Could we please have two tall Jack and coke’s and two shots? Doesn’t matter what, just something strong,” he nodded at my request and walked away to make our drinks. Gabe had both his eyebrows raised at me.

“Are you that stressed?” he grunted, running a hand through his thick brown hair.

“I’ve got some things I need to be distracted from,” I laughed, shoving my hands into my jacket pockets.

“Yeah, you and me both,” he muttered, mirroring my actions, putting his hands into his own heavy brown jacket. “Do you want to grab a table?” he asked as the bartender set our drinks in front of us on the wooden bar-top. I nodded, grabbing mine, and we made our way to the back of the establishment, to a small space in the corner.

“Nice and discreet,” I nodded in approval as we settled in and he gave me a look of agreement.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked as he raised the shot glass to his lips, but not drinking it quite yet. I sniffed mine and instantly recoiled.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I grimaced and at the same time we took the shots, the burning liquid running down my throat and constricting my chest. I stuck my tongue out and my face contorted at the disgusting taste. Gabe was coughing, hitting his chest roughly with the palm of his hand.

“Holy shit,” he breathed, laughing shortly after. I could already feel my body reacting to the alcohol, my stomach and face warming, the liquid searing in my belly. I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath.

“We need more of those,” I giggled as I took a sip of my other drink, still tasting of alcohol, but not burning nearly as much. It wasn’t long before we were giggling messes with a table full of empty glasses.

“Gaaabe,” I drawled, leaning into the wooden tabletop, my arms limp at my sides.

‘What is it, buttercup?” he asked, popping the ‘p’ at the end of his sentence and laughing to himself afterwards.

“We have to go,” I muttered, shaking my head limply.

“Whyyy?” he whined, slumping over the table as well.

“It’s… The time is…” I dug around in my pockets and finally managed to find my phone after several seconds, despite the fact that there was nothing else in them. “One… Twenty three…” I squinted at the bright screen, trying to concentrate on the blurring numbers. “Oh no!... Shae called,” I giggled, “fifteen times.”

“Come on!” Gabe shouted suddenly, getting looks from the people on the other side of the bar, especially as he continued to stand and wobble around, bumping into chairs. “I’m taking you home! I’ll have you know,” he craned his head towards me, “I am a gentleman,” he raised his pinky in the air, trying to be fancy. I began giggling like crazy, leaning back into the wall to support myself. My head and arms felt heavy.

“Don’t laugh!” he narrowed his eyes at me. I instantly stopped, making a zipping motion over my lips, but began to cackle again shortly after. After several moments of both of us just trying to stand up we wobbled over to the bartender, paid our tab, and left.

“...Howww do we get back?” I slurred, stumbling into Gabe’s side.

“Not to worry! You might not know this about me,” he paused and swallowed, “but I am excellent with directions,”

“Yeaahh!” I cheered, raising my arms above my head as I hopped up and down, my hair bouncing with me.

“Hop on!” he squatted in front of me with his arms extended backwards.

“Oh, fuck yeah,” I mumbled, clambering onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck. We both cheered and whooped as he straightened up and began jogging down the dark street, deserted except for us and a few street lights. I felt myself bouncing up and down with each fast stride, and after a few minutes I saw the tour buses come into view. Wrapping my legs tightly around him, I released his neck, throwing my arms into the air, cheering in unison.

“You did it!” I shouted drunkenly, swaying slightly, wrapping one arm back around his shoulders. He had a tight grip on my legs.

We did it!” he shouted back, jumping up and down. I screeched as I flew around, giggling wildly.

“Casey?!” an angry voice shouted beside us. Both of us yelped, Gabe jumping up and releasing me momentarily, but that was all it took. I screeched in fear as I fell backwards, but surprised as I didn't hit the floor. Gabe had grabbed my leg, and someone else had caught my upper body. I craned my neck back.

“Jeremy…” I said dumbly, staring for a moment before I started giggling, reaching up towards his face. “I love your beard,” I murmured as I traced my finger along his jawline. His face was hard set, and if I couldn't read him sober then I sure as hell couldn't read him now.

“Casey! Look at me!” the source of the original voice that startled us was closer now, and I looked over to see Shae storming over. “Where the hell were you?!” she shouted. Gabe slowly let go of my legs and they dropped to the ground while Jeremy helped me stand up straight. “Do you know how worried I was?! You just disappeared without a word! I called you a thousand times! What the hell!” she was steadily getting louder and eventually all I could do was just stare at my feet guiltily.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, scuffing my shoe against the gravel beneath me.

“Sorry? Sorry?! You could have been out there getting killed somewhere!” she shrieked, throwing her hands up in frustration.

“Shae, it's my fault. I was feeling down and Casey was trying to cheer me up,” Gabe seemed to be coming from a good place, but it didn't really help that he was swaying as he spoke and slurring his words. Shae raised her hand to her temple, massaging it, looking possibly even more irritated.

“So you guys ran off… and got completely shit faced…by yourselves, in the middle of the night...” she said slowly. Against my better judgement, which I didn’t have at the the moment, I began giggling.

“Yeah, we did,” I laughed, raising my hands to my mouth. Gabe couldn’t help but join in.

“Guys!!” Shae was clearly getting more angry by the second. I gave Gabe a look, my eyes narrowing, and nodding at him. He stared back confused, slack jawed.

“Scatter!” I shouted, taking off towards the buses, running past them. Gabe was slow to realize but began running as well, in the opposite direction. Shae groaned and I heard everyone shouting, but it quickly faded into the background as I sprinted away. I ran hard, my chest quickly becoming raw in the cool, dry air, my nose a rosy pink. I finally began slowing down as I came to the other side of the lot, encased by the chain-link fence. There were white rocks piled into the corners and along the fence, chalky dust everywhere on top of a few patches of grass and even more gravel. I glanced behind me and saw a figure jogging after me. Yelping, I searched around for a means of escape.I drunkenly began scrambling on top of the rocks, scaling the chain-link fence, poorly.

Before I knew it, arms wrapped around my waist and tugged me down. I whined, reaching for the cold metal, feeling my feet dangling in the air.

“Let me go,” I whimpered, pushing limply at the strong arms holding me. My feet touched the ground again, but my legs gave out and I teetered for a moment before I folded into the rocks. They prodded into my sides and legs and I looked up helplessly at the figure looming above me. Soon enough my eyes focused and I recognized Jeremy’s face, closer to mine than I had realized, his breath coming out in white plumes. I shivered, either from the cold or because of how little distance was between us.

“Are you okay?” he grunted as he pulled me up, holding me against his chest as he stood with the both of us, supporting me to make sure I didn’t fall again. I nodded weakly into his chest, and without thinking I wrapped my arms around him. He froze, looking down at me as I snuggled in.

“You’re so warm,” I murmured, standing on my tip toes to nuzzle his neck. I felt him flinch under me, goosebumps rising on his skin. I smirked, running my lips over the expanse and I heard his breath catch in his throat. He wrapped his hands around my upper arms and moved me away from him.

“What are you doing?” his voice was gravelly and low. Sexy. I shrugged, biting my lip and staring at him, not breaking eye contact. We stood in a tense silence for a moment before he cleared his throat, looking around awkwardly, dropping his hands away from my arms. “Let’s get you back,” he said as he turned to walk away. I went to take a step, but my legs felt like jelly. I wobbled, reaching out and grabbing on to Jeremy’s jacket, almost pulling him down with me. He sucked in a sharp breath and steadied himself, sighing as he turned and looked at me, pitifully crouching as I clung to him. I moaned, feeling waves of nausea wash over me. He sighed softly at my feeble attempts to stand, seeing my legs shaking like a baby deer.

He threw one arm under my knees, the other around my back, and stood, carrying me as my head rolled limply into his collar bone. I began to feel safe and warm, but my stomach was also not reacting well to the events of the night. I moaned into his jacket, my hand clinging to the sweater underneath, just below his neck.

“Jeremy,” I whined, my stomach getting more queasy with each passing second.

“Shh, shh, I know. It’s okay,” he cooed softly into my hair and sped up his pace, his grip tightening. We arrived at his bus, and he maneuvered so he could open the door without putting me down. He scaled the stairs and took a few long strides into the kitchen. I gave him a confused look as he set me gently on the counter top.

“Lean back. Don’t fall,” he said quietly and I did as instructed, leaning into the gray cabinets behind me. He walked away for a short second to the fridge, retrieving a cold bottle of water. He took the cap off and held it up to my lips, his other hand on the back of my neck to help me sit up straight. I gulped it down gratefully, feeling the cold liquid running down the back of my throat. The world was spinning and I was swaying on top of the counter.

“Are you gonna be sick?” he asked, his hand on my cheek now, angling my face to look at his. I shook my head.

“I think I’m okay,” I felt my stomach settling as I relaxed, the nausea very slowly dissipating. I realized our position and the blood rushed to my cheeks. My legs were on either side of his waist, his hands beside my thighs on the counter, pushed up quite close in these closed quarters. Jeremy reached behind me, brushing my arm as he did so, making my stomach flip. I groaned.

“It doesn’t help that you make me so nervous,” I muttered, wrapping my arm around my abdomen. His eyes flashed up at me, pausing what he was doing.

“I… make you nervous?” he looked surprised. I cocked my head at him.

“You can’t tell?” everything seemed hazy, my vision blurring slightly. “You make me the most nervous,” My voice was distant, and I was slumping over now. He shook his head, grabbing a paper towel from behind me and wetting it in the sink with cold water. I jumped a bit as he gently pressed it to my face, wiping the cold sweat from my cheeks and forehead.

“You make me nervous, too,” he almost whispered as he lifted my hair away from my face, softly dabbing my neck. I shivered at his touch, and then everything faded to black.

Notes

Comments

@Pikaponn
I literally just started reading it last night. I'm also building up the courage to post my own. And thank you!!!

@Miss Hathor
Ask and you shall recieve! Haha I'm sorry I haven't been keeping it as updated on this site, I didn't know I had anyone who was really into it! It's up to chapter 13, so I'll keep it updated here, too ^ ^ Thank you for the comment :)

Pikaponn Pikaponn
2/19/16

I absolutely love it!!! We need a chapter 10.

.

Pikaponn Pikaponn
1/17/16