A/N: Thanks to the people who have reviewed and favorited this story, it means a lot! So keep doing that :) I try to publish one chapter a week but the next might take a little bit longer since I have a big exam next week. But keep letting me know if you like it or not!

Chapter 4

I wanna be young the rest of my life
never say no - try anything twice
til the angels come and ask me to fly
I'm gonna be 18 til I die

Bryan Adams - "18 'Til I Die"

"You're kidding right?"

"You're the one who knows where he lives and we can't take the bikes to the club anyway. Be a waste of gas if we all went to collect him" Joker did his best to look innocent even as Athena narrowed her eyes at him and put her hands on her hips.

"I've no idea what the hell you're trying to do Joker, but for fuck's sake, stop"

He grinned at her shamelessly.

"That's no way to speak to the one who got you a date. Now, scram. I told him he'd be picked up at eight"

Joker took another swig of his beer and smirked as she furiously picked up her leather jacket and put it on. She shot him a murderous glare before marching through the door and slamming it behind her. She heard him shout through the closed door.

"See ya soon!"

She was furious but she should have expected it. There was no reason for them all to go and pick up Kaidan, but really, this would look like a cheap romance vid with her coming to pick him up on her trusty steed. She let her hands travel the side of the bike as she mounted it. It, she, really was a beauty, black with blue ghost paint in the shapes of flames. Original, but pretty. She turned the engine on and hit the road, driving towards the fancier parts of the city, wondering if the night would be a disaster or if there was some way it would all work out.

She arrived at the Alenko house a few minutes past eight and turned the engine off. She didn't know if she should go and ring the doorbell or if he'd come out by himself but she hoped for the latter. Something about that house freaked her out and she didn't want to step inside. Maybe it was just the sense of not belonging there, being afraid of breaking something. Or maybe she just didn't feel comfortable knowing how a vase in that house was worth more then all her things together. Except, perhaps, the bike. She sighed and realised she would have to approach the house after all, when the front door opened and Kaidan stepped out. If he was surprised that only she was there to pick him up, he didn't show it. She let her eyes wander over him as he made his way towards her. He was wearing a regular pair of black jeans and a dark grey t-shirt, nothing like the fancy clothes he'd been wearing the other times she'd seen him, and she allowed herself to smile. He wasn't stupid, at least. But really cute.

"Good to see you decided to dress down"

Kaidan glanced at his choice of clothes and looked a bit uncertain.

"Should I wear something else?"

Apparently he didn't know if she'd been sarcastic and her smile widened. Yeah, definitely cute.

"No, that's fine. I wasn't kidding or anything" She was still straddling the bike and was about to tell him to get on when she realised something that might be a problem. "I have no helmet. Never really used one in my life. Didn't think of it, sorry"

She looked at him apologetically but he just shrugged and climbed up behind her. She felt a wave of heat as his chest was pressed to her back and forced herself to take a deep breath. It wouldn't do to pay too much attention to that when she needed to have her full focus on their front to get them there alive.

"I'll take it slow"

"Don't slow down for me, I can take it"

She wondered if he really could, but the desire to test him was overwhelming and as soon as they got out to an open road she pushed the bike into an even faster pace then she usually set. The wind was whistling through her ears and she could feel his hands digging into her waist. He said something in her ear but the sound of the wind was way too loud for her to hear his words, only the tone of his voice got through and he was excited. Not frightened or frantic but excited. Maybe she'd have to take back that statement about him not being an adrenaline junkie.

All too soon they arrived back at the apartments, and she suddenly felt shy about showing him hers. She and Joker had done pretty good for themselves as far as the others in the same place was concerned but compared to Alenko Manor it was probably grubbier then the lowliest basement. She neatly manoeuvred the bike to it's usual place and turned the engine off. She waited until he had gotten off clearly before she kicked the kickstand down and let go off the bike.

"That was awesome!"

She turned towards him with an incredulous look on her face. He looked flushed after the ride and his eyes that had seemed so calm before were gleaming. He was gorgeous. And ecstatic, she almost expected him to start bouncing. She'd really enjoyed the ride as well, the adrenaline gave her a kick like nothing else, but she'd never expected it from a guy like Kaidan. She really should stop judging the book by it's cover. She grinned at him and patted the bike. Maybe tonight wouldn't be bad after all.

"And here I thought you'd be scared"

He huffed at her, clearly affronted by her assumption.

"I don't scare that easily" His eyes travelled over the bike. "That's some bike"

She burst out laughing and he looked back at her, confused. He obviously hadn't realised that he'd used the exact phrase as the Crows did about his parents car back in the alley.

"I'm sorry, that just reminded me of something"

It took him a moment to catch on but then he laughed and rubbed his neck with one hand.

"That wasn't intentional"

Still grinning, she waved at him to follow her up the steps towards the apartment. The others were already in there when they entered and, if the loud voices was any indication, they had been downing a few beers each already.

"Hey! Dude! Beer?"

Dave was so worked up that he had apparently lost the ability to speak full sentences, and both Athena and Kaidan started laughing, there was no way not to laugh at him, bouncing up and down as he did. They accepted their beer and Kaidan turned around to discretely swallow a pill. No one but Athena seemed to have noticed, and she only did because she had been watching him to see if he felt uncomfortable in the apartment with all of them. And a little bit to check him out without him noticing. But she hadn't expected that. He turned towards her and she must still have looked shocked because he got an alarmed expression on his face and began to shake his head.

"Painkillers to prevent headache" When she didn't look calmer he quickly continued. "I get pretty nasty migraines, like in the alley. Sometimes from loud noises. Figured I better take one before the concert"

She still wasn't sure if he was lying or being serious. It sounded kinda weird.

"And it's okay to mix it with alcohol?"

"Yes, it's no problem"

She studied his face for a moment but decided to believe him. It was hard to say anything against those eyes. She slowly nodded and held out her own beer bottle to clink it against his in a toast and he smiled and looked relieved that she wasn't too freaked out. She'd dealt in drugs from time to time and of course she'd tested but she wasn't into babysitting someone that just wanted to live dangerously for a night. Luckily, that didn't seem to be the case.

Johnny chose that moment to turn the music up to the old speakers loudest capacity and twirled Jade around on the floor in a way that looked sure to end in a painful crash, but somehow they managed to keep themselves on their feet. Athena couldn't help but laugh at the way they tried to make completely different moves and thudded into each other. After a while of watching the show she caught Joker waving at her over the noise and pointing to the clock around his arm. She got his meaning and turned the music off, and they all started moving towards the club.

The band hadn't started to play when they arrived but the place was packed. Athena took Joker's arm in one hand to steady him before they all started squishing their way towards the stage. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that Kaidan was following. He was probably a few years older then herself, she guessed at two or maybe three years, but she still felt like she wanted to keep an eye on him. Considering the outcome the last time he'd been in this part of town, it wasn't that strange.

They managed to squeeze themselves to the front and stood right beneath the stage. Dave, Johnny and Jade went to get them all drinks while Athena, Joker and Kaidan guarded their places. Even though no band was playing yet the music was loud and they had to speak into each others ears if they wanted to make them hear. Joker leaned in towards her.

"Going good?"

She knew he meant with Kaidan but she chose to ignore it.

"Yeah, you?"

He rolled his eyes at her before he leaned in again.

"Come on, you know what I mean!"

She just shook her head at him with a smile on her lips and took a small step sway from him. He chuckled at her while accepting the beer from Johnny as the guys came back from the bar. Athena glanced at Kaidan and he looked a bit uncomfortable standing there, obviously not as drunk as the others in their company.

"You okay?"

She gestured towards his head to indicate what she meant and he nodded and took a swig of his beer before leaning close enough to answer her.

"It's no problem, but I think both of us are a little behind on drinks" He gestured towards the rest of the company standing around them and grinned. "Feel like getting something a little stronger?"

She grinned back.

"I like the way you think"

He lead the way towards the bar and she followed him closely. Perhaps a little closer then she had to, but what the hell. When they got to the bar he took a credit chit from his pocket and she thought about arguing about paying for her own drink, but he got there first.

"It's on me. For, you know, saving my ass"

She grinned at the comment and couldn't resist the obvious response.

"Well, it's a nice ass"

He chuckled and ordered two tequila shots which they threw back and they both grimaced at the taste.

"Another?"

He had leaned in close to be able to speak directly in her ear, and as she felt his breath against her skin she shivered. She shifted to be able to speak back and made sure to let her breath gust over his ear as she spoke.

"Hell yeah"

She couldn't tell if he'd reacted to her closeness the way she had to his, and the fact that she'd tried to make him told her she was more affected by the drinks they'd had so far then she'd thought. She had to tread more carefully the rest of the night or she might do something she'd regret. But she had just agreed to another round and she was not one to back down easily. And if she managed to embarrass herself, it would be easy to forget about it since they'd probably never bump into each other again by accident. Two more shots appeared at the bar before them and just as they picked them up a roar could be heard from behind them as the band entered the stage. They quickly swallowed the liquor and pushed their way back to the rest of the group.

The band was a well known rock band called Stain and the crowd all around them were getting wild, roaring and catcalling. Athena grinned at Kaidan at her side, ecstatic from anticipation and the buzz of the alcohol in her body. She realised they hadn't even told him what band was going to play tonight, not even the genre, but he didn't seem surprised. He only grinned back and held his beer up in a toast towards her.

Then the band began to play.