Chapter Two

She held her breath, silently praying to whoever was listening that everything worked out smoothly. When she had said Bill's name, he had frozen, but only for a second before going to take another sip of his drink. Her heart was racing as she kept her smile plastered on her face. It wasn't an obnoxious one, but a small, sweet smile with slight concern. Bill licked his lips when he had finished his cup and lifted it to get the bartenders attention.

"Bill, I really don't mean to intrude, but I really need a huge favor," she whispered, not bothering to look back at the man who was surely sitting in her seat. Her conversation with Bill was probably amusing him. He was probably waiting for Bill to yell at her for bothering him, something she hoped didn't happen. "I was meeting up with a friend, but they weren't able to come last minute. This guy came over and won't leave me alone, so I kind of fibbed and said that you were my friend. Can you play along? Please?"

The bartender had gotten Bill another glass as she quietly explained why she had come over to him, and she was almost certain that he hadn't listened to a word she had said as he swirled the cup in his hand, taking a few sips. She took a moment to look back at the man who had been trying to hit on her. He was sitting in her seat, a smile on his face. He was waiting for her attempt to fail; he didn't believe that she really knew this man at the bar. The girl glared at him before she looked back to Bill, her gaze softening instantly as she looked him over.

"It's only until he leaves... Please, Bill?"

"You want me to pretend to be your friend?" Bill slowly murmured more to himself than to her, as if he was trying to process what she was requesting. She nodded and smiled hopefully at him. "I don't really see why I should, since I don't know you...but everyone is always asking me of something, so I don't see why not."

The girl frowned. That wasn't something she had thought he would say.

"Um, thank you, Bill..." she said, her gaze shifting to the counter. The bartender stopped in front of her, asking if she wanted anything, but she shook her head before looking over at Bill.

"Since I'm pretending to be your friend, you might as well tell me your name."

"Oh, right. That would be helpful..." the girl sighed, looking back up at Bill. He wasn't looking at her. The entire time she had been sitting there, he hadn't even glanced in her direction. "I'm Samantha, but you can call me Sam."

Bill simply nodded, bringing his glass to his lips again. Samantha smiled slightly, but she wanted to frown as she watched Bill. Up close, he seemed to be more upset than she had originally thought. What had happened to make him want to drink his worries away? Where was the happy Bill that always smiled and skipped around, joking around with his friends and band-mates? Something was definitely wrong, and she didn't like how he was handling it.

"Bill, is everything alright?" she asked, lightly resting a hand on his shoulder. She had leaned forward some, turning her head slightly to look up at him. Bill hadn't given any signs of hearing her question, but his eyes shifted to meet hers when she touched him. She blinked, shocked at how empty his eyes were, how numb he seemed to be to the world. "What happened?"

She found herself asking before she could stop the words from tumbling out of her mouth. After asking Bill to play along in this charade, she had no right to stick her nose in his business. She could worry and wish to help him all she wanted, but she still didn't have any right to be asking him questions. Samantha watched Bill frown slightly as he looked at her before he tore his gaze away. He reached his hand into a single pocket on the inside of his jacket, pulling out some money. The bartender came over as he set it on the counter.

"Strongest thing you got," Bill muttered. "And keep 'em coming."

"Wait, what? No, definitely not," Samantha said, grabbing the money from the counter before the bartender could. "I think you're done for the night." She turned to look at the bartender. "How much does he owe for his drinks?"

"I'm not done," Bill said, looking at Samantha. It looked like he was attempting to glare at her, clearly annoyed with her, but his eyes were too glazed, too unfocused to hold a steady glare. "I'll take the strongest thing you got."

Samantha sighed and shook her head before looking at the bartender.

"He'll have one glass," she said, making it clear that he was only to have one. She looked at Bill and saw him pouting slightly. She wanted to hug him then and there, to chase all his pain and worries away, but she knew she couldn't do that. "This should cover what he's already had, plus some." She took half of what Bill had taken out of his pocket and set it on the counter, folding the rest and sliding it back into Bill's pocket. He didn't make any attempts to stop her. "Oh, and give a few rounds to the guy sitting in the corner back there. Maybe it'll get him off my back."

The bartender simply nodded and took the money, going off to get Bill's drink. Samantha had no idea how drunk Bill was going to be, and she was worried about that.

"Bill, do you have your phone on you?" she quietly asked; Bill didn't say anything, he just shook his head. "Where are you staying tonight?" Once again, Bill didn't say anything as he shrugged. Samantha didn't know if that meant he couldn't remember or he just didn't care.

Samantha sighed and rubbed her neck for a moment as she thought. She wasn't about to leave Bill alone at the bar. Not when it was clear he needed to be somewhere quiet, somewhere safe. Biting at her bottom lip, she watched as the bartender brought some drinks to the man in the corner. After they had exchanged a few words, the man smiled his thanks to her, glad to have a few free drinks. She frowned in disgust and turned her attention to Bill once more.

"Bill, if you want, you can stay with me tonight," she said, looking at the tall glass that was placed on the counter for him. "The hotel I'm staying at is big enough for the both of us."

"Hotel?" he echoed, sounding a bit confused.

Samantha nodded and smiled slightly.

"I'm from America," she explained. "I'm staying in Germany for a couple months. You can stay at the hotel with me tonight. If you want to, of course..."

Bill didn't say anything as he picked up the glass, taking a small sip. He looked at Samantha for a moment before holding the glass out to her.

"Try," was all he said.

"Oh, I don't really drink..." Samantha said, frowning slightly.

"Just try," Bill said, letting out a sigh. Samantha couldn't tell if it was because he was bored or tired, or even both. "One small sip."

Samantha looked up at him before looking back at the cup. She didn't know what kind of alcohol it was, and she had a feeling that Bill didn't know either at this point. Holding her breath, she gently took the glass from Bill. He was watching her every move as she put the glass to her lips, tilting it slightly until she felt the liquids against her lips. The small sip was more than enough for her, the burning feeling in her throat as she swallowed. Her eyes stung slightly, as did her nose. If the smell of he alcohol wouldn't finish her, actually having some would. Samantha licked her lips as she handed the glass back to Bill.

"It's not bad," Bill said, taking the glass again. "I've had better, though."

Samantha simply nodded, running her tongue over her lips again before she leaned on the counter.

"Bill, can we go?" she asked, looking around before looking at him again. He wasn't looking at her as he observed his drink between each sip he took. "We can bring your drink with."

Bill pulled the glass away from his lips and looked down at it. The side of his mouth twitched slightly, his brow creasing a little.

"Where would we be going?" he asked, blinking before taking another sip.

"To the hotel I'm staying at," Samantha answered. She shifted in her seat slightly, holding onto her purse with on hand. She was more than ready to run out the bar then and there, but she didn't want to leave Bill there. "I really don't want to be here, but I really don't want to leave you here like this..."

Bill finally looked up at her, setting the glass on the counter though his hand never left it. She didn't blink as their eyes met, and time seemed to drag on as she waited for Bill to say something, anything.

Reviews

[Sseoni]

I loved how the whole chapter seemed so realistic and everything! You put a lot of suspence and drama into the chapter and it was awesome! :D

[Manda]

Oh no! Cliff hanger! I wonder what he will say/do. He may think she wants to get it in.

Bill was being kind of a dick head. :/ I think he needs a Joe slap. ;) Lol.

Post the next chapter soon!