All Again For You
For The Nights I Can't Remember
It was finally Friday, and I decided that I would go down to San Diego and see everyone. I was at Double Shots sitting at the bar. Justin was telling me some funny story about this one customer he had last night and how fucked up he was. I laughed, then looked over at Cristian who was walking to the back of the bar to help Justin out. This place was always packed whenever I came here. I really liked this bar; it wasn't too dark and gloomy, but it wasn't bright in here either, it was a nice relaxed feel, making everyone who stepped in feel comfortable the instant their first foot walked inside.
I had been here for about an hour and had downed a Jack and Coke or two, loosening up. I smiled as I looked at all the people in attendance tonight and how they were enjoying themselves. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around seeing Brandon's smiling. I got up and hugged him as tight as I could, him doing the same. Life wasn't complete without my best friend around all the time. Yeah, I had Tal, Austin, and Katelynne, but nothing beats the person who gets me 100 percent. He kissed my head, "Why hello there!" He shouted sitting beside me on the bar stool. "Where's Shannon?" He asked.
"She is dancing," I pointed over to the dance floor and there stood little blonde Shannon, dancing with some dude to a shitty Pitbull song. "She said she's trying to get it in tonight." I laughed, making a face, Brandon mimicking me as we both stuck our tongue's out.
Brandon, Justin, Cristian, and I chatted for a little bit, then Shannon ran over to us, taking a gulp of her vodka and cranberry juice. "I need to pee, Luce come with me." She said practically bouncing up and down. I got up and walked over to the restroom with her. She peed, while I fixed my outfit of the night, making sure my teal shirt was tucked in perfectly, and that my hair and makeup was good to go. She came out of the stall and washed her hands, "I missed you so much, dude. SD ain't the same without you, little bitch. And, now Brandon is gonna be leaving soon! Fuck you guys." She shouted, rubbing her hands together as they were under the hand-dryer.
"I know, I'm sorry dude. But, we gotta do what we gotta do." I shrugged, thinking that I always seem to have this conversation with her whenever I come back here.
"You are sucky. Let's go get fucked up." She said, walking out. I looked down at my phone to a picture that Tal sent me of a design for his clothing line and asked if I liked it. I was caught up in my text, going into detail about what I did / didn't like about it, and I bumped into someone. "Oh fuck, I'm sorry." The voice said, and I had answered that it was okay before I looked up and met the eyes of none other than, you guessed it, Mike.
You've got to be fucking kidding me. That makes three. I thought, quickly smiling at him. "Hey Luce! What are you doing here?" He questioned, stopping us right in between the men and women's restrooms.
"I'm in town-" I was about to tell him everyone was here but Shannon stopped walking and looked back eyeing Mike.
"No fucking way, Fuentes?" She shouted and they gave each other a huge hug.
"It's nice to see you, Shan!" His smile was genuine and then his eyes went back to me. "How long are you in town for?"
"Until Sunday morning. I'm going back home, then coming back for the interview." I explained, moving out of people's way as they tried weaving in between Mike, Shannon, and I. "Do you wanna see everyone? They're all here. Except Lynda."
"No way! Yeah, I miss them." He walked next to me as Shannon led the way back to the bar. As soon as we got near them, Brandon had a smirk on his face. He knew this was the third time I had run into him. When I told him about seeing him at Starbucks, he wouldn't shut the fuck up. I wanted to drive two hours back here to just smack him.
"Well Fuentes, it's good to see you man!" He shouted, giving Mike a hug, patting his back. I sat back down and down the rest of my drink, eyeing Justin to make me another. He did and placed in front of me. Mike ended up sitting on my right, Brandon still on my left. Mike started talking to us about the interview I was gonna be doing with him and the guys in a few days. As he spoke, Brandon whispered in my ear, "Third time's the charm, fucker."
I looked at him and rolled my eyes, chewing on my lip. I wasn't going to pursue Mike for the sole fact that this was the third time I've ran into him since him and the guys showed up to my office. That meant nothing. Mike and I always went with the flow, and if we were both still interested, than we would if we wanted to.
Mike, Brandon, and I talked all night with Shannon, Justin, and Cristian. This was like a little family reunion, it made me so happy. I missed having this crew together. I must admit, after a couple of hours, I was more than buzzing. We had all taken shots, and I had a drink in my hand all night. Before I knew it, it was 3 AM and I decided it was time for me to go ahead and leave.
"Alright guys, it's been fun. But, I'm gonna head out." I announced, sliding off of the bar stool and fixing my skirt.
Brandon nodded giving me a hug, "Alright dude, let's go out to eat or something tomorrow. I need to get my Lucy fix in before you leave."
Everyone nodded at the idea except Mike, whose eyes were fixed on me. "Yeah, that sounds good. Just call me okay? I'll see you guys, tomorrow." I began to walk away and then felt someone's arm brush against my back, following me. I turned around and it was Mike, who had quickly moved his hand and rubbed the back of his neck.
"You're not driving, right?" He asked, following me out of the bar.
I shook my head, "Nope, my grandma lives a block from here, I was gonna walk to her place."
"I can take you there, you know, only if you want?" He offered as we stopped in front of doors, outside.
"Are you okay to drive?" I questioned, knowing that he was the one person who could hold his liquor more than anyone I knew.
"Of course. C'mon, let me take you home. Only freaks and weirdos are out at this hour." He winked, leading me to his black Cadillac. He opened the door for me, waiting for me to get in, then closed it, walking to the driver's side and starting up the engine. "Are you hungry or something?" He asked before driving off.
"Um, kinda. Are you?"
"Starving. You wanna get In-N-Out?"
I smiled, "I'm always down for In-N-Out, you know that."
He smirked and looked ahead to drive to the nearest burger joint. We got it in the drive-thru and decided to go back to my grandma's to eat there, since it was closer than his place.
"So, where's your grandma at?" He asked, taking a bite out of his burger, then dipping his fries in ketchup and plopping that into his mouth.
"She's actually in San Francisco with my aunt and little shit of a cousin, Ryan. That's kind of the reason I'm here, so I can watch the place, and feed her stupid cat." I pointed at her black and white cat, Sophie. Sophie looked at me blankly then walked away. "I hate that dumb cat."
Mike laughed, "You're so not a cat person, obviously. But, San Fran is cool. You know, I used to see Celina every now and then, but not too much now."
"Oh yeah? You know that her and Joseph are married, right? They have been for like three years already. She's actually about to pop, homegirl is pregnant."
His brown eyes widened and his big smile that he already had, grew even wider, "No fucking way! Damn, well if you see or talk to her, tell her I said congrats."
"I will. So, how're you?" I asked taking a sip of my cold beverage. The coldness made me get goosebumps on my arms, sending chills up my spine.
"I've been okay." He took the last piece of cheeseburger he had and ate it, then speaking. "Just been touring a lot. But, it's been incredible."
A wave of happiness hit me in the face, "I'm really proud of you guys, you know? I remember when I heard that you guys were going Warped Tour for the first time. You always told me how that was a dream of yours."
"A lot has happened in a few years."
"You're telling me." I agreed, crumpling up my trash and getting Mike's throwing it away.
"How about you? Any big things happen?"
"Mmm, I live by myself. I have an amazing job doing what I love, I get to go to shows for free and interview cute fellas such as yourself, and I get to travel. I'd say a lot of big, wonderful things."
"You live alone? You should get a pet!" He suggested following me to the living room as I got up and walked to the couch, sitting down, covering myself with the blanket.
"That's a good idea, actually. I need some company, sometimes." I admitted softly. Yeah, things were great in my life, maybe even close to perfect, but it got lonely sometimes.
His eyes met mine and he gave me a look of reassurance, that everything was gonna be okay. I believed him, because he always had a promising look in his eyes. He could tell me the biggest fib of them all and I would probably believe him if he gave me even the slightest look of certainty. That was a good and bad thing, I suppose.
Mike and I had been laying on the guest bed for what seemed like hours, just talking. We were catching each other up on what we've missed the last six years of out lives. He told me about the whole thing with his ex-girlfriend, Frenchi, and how he cheated on her and how he hated that he did that because she didn't deserve that. He felt really bad he says, but he said that he learned from it, and he moved on, and he could never do such a thing to a girl again.
"What about you? What about your relationships?" He asked me, looking to me for an answer.
"I had two. Both lasted kind of long, but ended. It wasn't anything, both breakups were mutual. One guy, I met him when I was working at SPIN. We were together for about a year and a half, and it was a great year and a half, but then we broke up because he got moved to the Miami location for SPIN and we both decided that there was no way I was moving out of California, and that long distance wasn't going to work." I explained my ex-boyfriend, Andy. He was cool, he favorites my tweets every now and then. That's where that is now. "Then, my second boyfriend, we were together for almost two years, I believe. He was a teeny bit older than I was, and he was super into the whole getting married and having a family thing. It wasn't for me at the time, I was like, 'Uh, no. I am only 24, I wanna party all night, still.' So, we broke up, which is cool. Plus, I never could have seen myself marrying him anyway, not ever. I've been single for like two years now. I like it a lot actually." I admitted. I was never a girl who needed to be in a relationship. If it happened, it happened. I didn't see the need to hurry and find the love of my life now, I mean, I had all my life to do that. "My grandma always said that your twenties are for being selfish, and after realizing that, I decided it was okay to be selfish."
He smiled, "I respect that. Hey, can I ask you something? Promise not to laugh or whatever?" He asked, his voice getting quieter.
"Sure."
"Cross your heart?" He asked revealing soft smile, just like we used to.
A small smirk crept on my lips as I turned to my side to look at him, then I made an X formation with my index finger over my heart, "Cross my heart."
I could sense his nervousness as he was about to ask a question. All I wanted to do was make the nervousness go away, because the anxiety in him, was transferring to me. "Remember when you told me that quote? You said that you'd deserve me when you were 'older, smarter, and just plain better.' Do you think you're all those things, now?"
I had been here for about an hour and had downed a Jack and Coke or two, loosening up. I smiled as I looked at all the people in attendance tonight and how they were enjoying themselves. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around seeing Brandon's smiling. I got up and hugged him as tight as I could, him doing the same. Life wasn't complete without my best friend around all the time. Yeah, I had Tal, Austin, and Katelynne, but nothing beats the person who gets me 100 percent. He kissed my head, "Why hello there!" He shouted sitting beside me on the bar stool. "Where's Shannon?" He asked.
"She is dancing," I pointed over to the dance floor and there stood little blonde Shannon, dancing with some dude to a shitty Pitbull song. "She said she's trying to get it in tonight." I laughed, making a face, Brandon mimicking me as we both stuck our tongue's out.
Brandon, Justin, Cristian, and I chatted for a little bit, then Shannon ran over to us, taking a gulp of her vodka and cranberry juice. "I need to pee, Luce come with me." She said practically bouncing up and down. I got up and walked over to the restroom with her. She peed, while I fixed my outfit of the night, making sure my teal shirt was tucked in perfectly, and that my hair and makeup was good to go. She came out of the stall and washed her hands, "I missed you so much, dude. SD ain't the same without you, little bitch. And, now Brandon is gonna be leaving soon! Fuck you guys." She shouted, rubbing her hands together as they were under the hand-dryer.
"I know, I'm sorry dude. But, we gotta do what we gotta do." I shrugged, thinking that I always seem to have this conversation with her whenever I come back here.
"You are sucky. Let's go get fucked up." She said, walking out. I looked down at my phone to a picture that Tal sent me of a design for his clothing line and asked if I liked it. I was caught up in my text, going into detail about what I did / didn't like about it, and I bumped into someone. "Oh fuck, I'm sorry." The voice said, and I had answered that it was okay before I looked up and met the eyes of none other than, you guessed it, Mike.
You've got to be fucking kidding me. That makes three. I thought, quickly smiling at him. "Hey Luce! What are you doing here?" He questioned, stopping us right in between the men and women's restrooms.
"I'm in town-" I was about to tell him everyone was here but Shannon stopped walking and looked back eyeing Mike.
"No fucking way, Fuentes?" She shouted and they gave each other a huge hug.
"It's nice to see you, Shan!" His smile was genuine and then his eyes went back to me. "How long are you in town for?"
"Until Sunday morning. I'm going back home, then coming back for the interview." I explained, moving out of people's way as they tried weaving in between Mike, Shannon, and I. "Do you wanna see everyone? They're all here. Except Lynda."
"No way! Yeah, I miss them." He walked next to me as Shannon led the way back to the bar. As soon as we got near them, Brandon had a smirk on his face. He knew this was the third time I had run into him. When I told him about seeing him at Starbucks, he wouldn't shut the fuck up. I wanted to drive two hours back here to just smack him.
"Well Fuentes, it's good to see you man!" He shouted, giving Mike a hug, patting his back. I sat back down and down the rest of my drink, eyeing Justin to make me another. He did and placed in front of me. Mike ended up sitting on my right, Brandon still on my left. Mike started talking to us about the interview I was gonna be doing with him and the guys in a few days. As he spoke, Brandon whispered in my ear, "Third time's the charm, fucker."
I looked at him and rolled my eyes, chewing on my lip. I wasn't going to pursue Mike for the sole fact that this was the third time I've ran into him since him and the guys showed up to my office. That meant nothing. Mike and I always went with the flow, and if we were both still interested, than we would if we wanted to.
Mike, Brandon, and I talked all night with Shannon, Justin, and Cristian. This was like a little family reunion, it made me so happy. I missed having this crew together. I must admit, after a couple of hours, I was more than buzzing. We had all taken shots, and I had a drink in my hand all night. Before I knew it, it was 3 AM and I decided it was time for me to go ahead and leave.
"Alright guys, it's been fun. But, I'm gonna head out." I announced, sliding off of the bar stool and fixing my skirt.
Brandon nodded giving me a hug, "Alright dude, let's go out to eat or something tomorrow. I need to get my Lucy fix in before you leave."
Everyone nodded at the idea except Mike, whose eyes were fixed on me. "Yeah, that sounds good. Just call me okay? I'll see you guys, tomorrow." I began to walk away and then felt someone's arm brush against my back, following me. I turned around and it was Mike, who had quickly moved his hand and rubbed the back of his neck.
"You're not driving, right?" He asked, following me out of the bar.
I shook my head, "Nope, my grandma lives a block from here, I was gonna walk to her place."
"I can take you there, you know, only if you want?" He offered as we stopped in front of doors, outside.
"Are you okay to drive?" I questioned, knowing that he was the one person who could hold his liquor more than anyone I knew.
"Of course. C'mon, let me take you home. Only freaks and weirdos are out at this hour." He winked, leading me to his black Cadillac. He opened the door for me, waiting for me to get in, then closed it, walking to the driver's side and starting up the engine. "Are you hungry or something?" He asked before driving off.
"Um, kinda. Are you?"
"Starving. You wanna get In-N-Out?"
I smiled, "I'm always down for In-N-Out, you know that."
He smirked and looked ahead to drive to the nearest burger joint. We got it in the drive-thru and decided to go back to my grandma's to eat there, since it was closer than his place.
"So, where's your grandma at?" He asked, taking a bite out of his burger, then dipping his fries in ketchup and plopping that into his mouth.
"She's actually in San Francisco with my aunt and little shit of a cousin, Ryan. That's kind of the reason I'm here, so I can watch the place, and feed her stupid cat." I pointed at her black and white cat, Sophie. Sophie looked at me blankly then walked away. "I hate that dumb cat."
Mike laughed, "You're so not a cat person, obviously. But, San Fran is cool. You know, I used to see Celina every now and then, but not too much now."
"Oh yeah? You know that her and Joseph are married, right? They have been for like three years already. She's actually about to pop, homegirl is pregnant."
His brown eyes widened and his big smile that he already had, grew even wider, "No fucking way! Damn, well if you see or talk to her, tell her I said congrats."
"I will. So, how're you?" I asked taking a sip of my cold beverage. The coldness made me get goosebumps on my arms, sending chills up my spine.
"I've been okay." He took the last piece of cheeseburger he had and ate it, then speaking. "Just been touring a lot. But, it's been incredible."
A wave of happiness hit me in the face, "I'm really proud of you guys, you know? I remember when I heard that you guys were going Warped Tour for the first time. You always told me how that was a dream of yours."
"A lot has happened in a few years."
"You're telling me." I agreed, crumpling up my trash and getting Mike's throwing it away.
"How about you? Any big things happen?"
"Mmm, I live by myself. I have an amazing job doing what I love, I get to go to shows for free and interview cute fellas such as yourself, and I get to travel. I'd say a lot of big, wonderful things."
"You live alone? You should get a pet!" He suggested following me to the living room as I got up and walked to the couch, sitting down, covering myself with the blanket.
"That's a good idea, actually. I need some company, sometimes." I admitted softly. Yeah, things were great in my life, maybe even close to perfect, but it got lonely sometimes.
His eyes met mine and he gave me a look of reassurance, that everything was gonna be okay. I believed him, because he always had a promising look in his eyes. He could tell me the biggest fib of them all and I would probably believe him if he gave me even the slightest look of certainty. That was a good and bad thing, I suppose.
Mike and I had been laying on the guest bed for what seemed like hours, just talking. We were catching each other up on what we've missed the last six years of out lives. He told me about the whole thing with his ex-girlfriend, Frenchi, and how he cheated on her and how he hated that he did that because she didn't deserve that. He felt really bad he says, but he said that he learned from it, and he moved on, and he could never do such a thing to a girl again.
"What about you? What about your relationships?" He asked me, looking to me for an answer.
"I had two. Both lasted kind of long, but ended. It wasn't anything, both breakups were mutual. One guy, I met him when I was working at SPIN. We were together for about a year and a half, and it was a great year and a half, but then we broke up because he got moved to the Miami location for SPIN and we both decided that there was no way I was moving out of California, and that long distance wasn't going to work." I explained my ex-boyfriend, Andy. He was cool, he favorites my tweets every now and then. That's where that is now. "Then, my second boyfriend, we were together for almost two years, I believe. He was a teeny bit older than I was, and he was super into the whole getting married and having a family thing. It wasn't for me at the time, I was like, 'Uh, no. I am only 24, I wanna party all night, still.' So, we broke up, which is cool. Plus, I never could have seen myself marrying him anyway, not ever. I've been single for like two years now. I like it a lot actually." I admitted. I was never a girl who needed to be in a relationship. If it happened, it happened. I didn't see the need to hurry and find the love of my life now, I mean, I had all my life to do that. "My grandma always said that your twenties are for being selfish, and after realizing that, I decided it was okay to be selfish."
He smiled, "I respect that. Hey, can I ask you something? Promise not to laugh or whatever?" He asked, his voice getting quieter.
"Sure."
"Cross your heart?" He asked revealing soft smile, just like we used to.
A small smirk crept on my lips as I turned to my side to look at him, then I made an X formation with my index finger over my heart, "Cross my heart."
I could sense his nervousness as he was about to ask a question. All I wanted to do was make the nervousness go away, because the anxiety in him, was transferring to me. "Remember when you told me that quote? You said that you'd deserve me when you were 'older, smarter, and just plain better.' Do you think you're all those things, now?"
Notes
Well, what are your thoughts on this chapter? What about what Mike just said?THANK YOU ALL FOR THE FEEDBACK, YOU ALL DESERVE KISSES ♥
AAAAAND, I've decided that my next story will involve Tony :) Most of you asked for a Tony fic, so I decided to give the audience what they want.
Love you guys!
xoxo
@kelseyyy_lee: You're welcome! Thank you for reading xx
12/5/14