Two

2

"Another round over here!" Owen shouted towards the bartender. The bartender nodded and grabbed two more beers. Owen and Jay were drunk off their asses and we all watched as Jay struck out with a girl at the bar table. I couldn't help but feel kind of bad for him;  But in her defense, I'd watched as he drunkenly muttered the same cliché pick up line to three other girls within the last twenty minutes.

A song came on that I didn't know and I walked towards the bar table to sit down to catch my breath from so much dancing. I felt my phone buzz and managed to push it out of the front pocket of my tight pants.

Where are you?! Was that you that everyone was freaking out about?-M

I guess word travels fast at a concert.

Yes, that was me. But don't worry, I'm fine now. More than fine, in fact, I'm at Jimmy's Bar with all the guys! -L

The guys took you to a bar? Oh man. Just be careful, okay? I don't want you getting your heart broken by a player like Shane Hyde. -M

Relax, I know you called dibs on him so I won't touch him. -L

You're a good friend. Text me in the morning, I wanna know every dirty detail!-M

I gestured to the bartender and he approached me.

"What'll it be?" he asked.

"Rum and Coke please." I replied. He nodded and fixed my drink as I sat separate from everyone else sitting at the bar table. The song changed and I just sat, listening and absorbing the music. A smooth, melodic voice broke me out of my zone.

"Can I buy your drink...?" The voice asked shyly. I turned around and it was Victor. His dazzling green eyes stared at me with apprehension. I smiled and answered,

"Of course you can." The bartender gave me my drink and Victor took out his wallet and put five dollars on the table. He ordered a beer for himself and we clinked our drinks together.

"Cheers. To the fact that no one has asked for either of our IDs, to obliviousness!" Victor whispered with a small laugh.

"Cheers!" I responded as we clinked our glasses together. After that there was a silence. What was I supposed to say to him?

"You guys had a really good show tonight. Believe it or not, I’m glad I came." I managed to say.

"I'm glad you came too. Otherwise we never would've met. Well, met again." He replied shyly, smiling and looking at his feet. He was so nervous; I couldn't imagine why.

Pantera's "Walk" began playing in the background.

"I love this song!" I shouted, trying to keep in my inner fangirl. Victor laughed.

"Me too! Pantera rocks! So tell me about yourself. What brought you to Cali after high school?"

"Me and my best friend have been fantasizing about ditching that dumb town since we were ten. She has all these crazy dreams and ambitions, and the latest is to become a famous novelist, and I gotta say, California is pretty inspiring. But I’m kind of just following her along for the ride. I want excitement, dude. But despite my craving for adventure, I'm still pretty unextraordinary." I admitted, looking away and taking a big gulp of my drink. He scoffed and replied,

"I reject that argument and counter it with this one: everyone is extraordinary. There is no "ordinary." You are who you are and you're different from everyone else. Whether it's you, taking this crazy risk and coming to Cali with nothing, or it's me, who for some reason thinks I could be a famous guitarist, you're extraordinary. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." My heart leapt from his passionate words and I smiled.

"Beauty and brains, you're quite the package, Mr. Evans." He laughed and offered me his hand as a slow song comes on,

"Would you like to dance?" He asked nervously.

"I'd love to." I answered happily. His face lit up and he took me out to the center of the dance floor. He held me tight all throughout the entire song, and halfway through the next before we realized it was over. When he held me, I could feel his heart beating fast against my own chest. It was like we were entering a world of our own. So what if dancing in the middle of a bar isn't the most romantic thing in the world? I’d never wanted it to end.  He looked deep into my eyes, smiled and said,

"You're really pretty, you know that?" I blushed and looked away.

"Thank you." I replied, "But I don't "know that" because I'm not. You on the other hand, you're absolutely gorgeous. Look at that smile." I added, poking at his bow tie. He smiled and his lip ring shone in the reflection of the light. I couldn't believe it. Victor Evans and I had just danced together, he was still holding me, and he'd bought me a drink. I just hoped it wasn't the booze impairing his judgement and causing him to hit on me. He was only eighteen after all, and what do all eighteen year old boys, let alone growing rock stars want? A stupid girl to let them have sex with her. Hump and dump. Thrash and trash. Please don't let me be that stupid girl.

The clock struck two and Owen and Jay were still going totally insane. They sure didn’t want to, but we knew it was time to call it a night. I stepped into Shane's BMW and joined Victor in the backseat. He drowsily draped his arm around my shoulder as I rested my head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.