Chapter 7: "Especially You"
Fucking hell. How had such a great show rolled off into Sebastian feeling so heinously awful? Why couldn't he just be a good friend and be happy for Sam? And why did Abigail have to be so hell-bent on trying to help him "feel better".
As he pulled his fly up in an empty hallway at a cheap bar, and Abi righted her skirt, he somehow felt worse. How on Earth someone could feel worse after something like what they'd just done was beyond him.
"All better?" Abi asked, as he crumbled the evidence of their endeavor into a loose piece of paper and tossed it into a waste bin. He was not planning on risking tying himself to the wily young drummer by way of crotch spawn.
"Yeah." He muttered. "It was great." He muttered, though his mood didn't match.
"Ya know, she really digs him, I think. Maybe you should just let it go?" Abi suggested, somehow always able to needle at the one thing that bugged Sebastian the most. "I'm always available…" She pointed out.
Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Would you please stop it?" He groaned, jamming his hands into his pockets. This had been the first time that Abi had been so upfront with her suggestions that they pair off, but she'd been angling at this since the night of her 18th birthday party, when they'd first messed around. Here they were now, two years later, and she was still playing the same game.
Abi huffed and stamped her foot. "Damnit, Sebastian. Why the hell not?" She ranted. "Your mom likes me. We have good times. And we've got the band in common…" She argued. "The sex is great. Why not?" She kept demanding.
He felt his calm starting to slip as she kept going and going until finally her grating voice got to him. "Enough!" He half roared as he slammed his hand against the wall behind your. "I don't want to be with you because you're a spoiled kid!" He snapped, glaring her down. "You whine, rant, and argue when you don't get your way. You're still the exact same girl you were the night if your 18th birthday, and I don't have the patience for it." He took a breath before saying cold and pointedly, "You fucking wear me out, Abigail."
He knew he was being too harsh and yet he just didn't care. He was tense, frustrated, and completely over her opportunistic crap. "I'm going out to join the after party. You should probably do so as well…" He muttered before stepping away and stuffing his hands into his pockets again.
He found the other two members of their party at the bar. People were buying Sam shots left and right because for at least the evening, he was a low-key rockstar. It seemed others were buying Lucia shots of her own, and yet they went ignored as she focused on Sam.
Sebastian strolled up on the other side of his blond rocker friend. "Hey Sam… Lucia." Her regarded with a weary sort of grin. Lucia simply ignored him. "Heeeey man!" Sam hooted giddily. "Bein' a star is great. Everyone's buying me drinks!" He mused before shoveling back another shot from the plethora that had been delivered to him. Then something seemed to occur to him as he reached into his bag. "Here's your cut." He said, handing Sebastian an envelope full of bills. "Three way split, just like we always promised."
Sebastian pocketed it. Knew Sam was being generous since about 90% of the songwriting credits were his, and he was the front man, as well as handling the management side of things. But Sebastian couldn't quite turn the extra away. "Thanks, Sam. I appreciate it." He said, glancing over at Lucia, who still seemed to ignore him.
"Heeey, where's Abi? Gotta give her her cut, too." Sam said, holding up the envelope. About that time, the aforementioned drummer popped over, snagging the envelope. "Thanks Sammy! You're a star." She said, wedging herself in between Sebastian and Sam. Now she was ignoring Sebastian as well. Which was kind of a silent blessing if you asked the moody male rocker.
Soon Sam and Abi were going shot for shot. Both Lucia and Sebastian had tried to advise against this, but neither was heeded. Sam was getting drunker and more affable by the minute, and Abi more flamboyant and suggestive. Though again, not towards Sebastian, thank Yoba.
This went on the better part of the night, Abi either drinking off of Lucia's untouched drinks, or ordering her own with a fake ID. Sebastian had a few just to break the monotony of being cold-shoulder by half of their party. But he didn't want to go to far and leave Lucia to babysit the three of them on her own.
At some point Sam found himself professing how wonderful Lucia was to anyone who'd hear it, especially Sebastian. Having pissed off enough people, he simply nodded and let his friend go on and on. "Sure is, Sam." He muttered absently.
Finally Lucia decided it was probably time to put this to a stop. Both Sam and Abi were just utterly blasted. And Sam kept trying to give her drunken kisses and missing. "C'mon Romeo. You need a bottle of water and a good night's sleep." She said with a dry chuckle. Sam's face lit up. "Wow, Lucia. You're like a built in wife! Taking care of me and stuff… It's adorable." He crooned haphazardly.
Once again Lucia looked mortified. Finally she regarded Sebastian, though still coldly at that. "I really think we should get these to lushes back to the rooms… Before someone-" And before she could finish that sentence, Abi made sick on the floor. "Before that happens…" Lucia groaned as she flagged over a barkeep to call a janitor. They were promptly told to leave, and neither Lucia nor Sebastian was complaining.
It took all but an act of the gods, but with the combined efforts of the farmer and the techy, they managed to get their drunken companions back to the hotel with minimal damage. Lucia still wasn't really speaking to Sebastian, but they had at least corralled Sam and Abi. Sebastian herded Sam into one room and Lucia did the same for Abi, to the other.
Getting Sam dressed down and into bed was one thing. Sebastian managed to make quick work of it, and soon the blond was snoring away. Which got old fast. Soon Sebastian found himself outside, taking a breather.
Sometime later, Lucia strolled out, looking a bit disheveled, but still intent on shutting him out. She made towards the vending machine on the side of the building, and after searching her person, scraped up enough to buy a cheap bag of generic brand chips. Chips that promptly, and absolutely mercilessly lodged themselves in the machine and would not come out.
The groan from Lucia was audible as she stocked back and sat on the curb not to far from where Sebastian stood against the brick wall of the hotel. "Rough night?" He said, trying to make conversation.
She sighed. "I'm mad at you."
"I know. I'm an ass." Sebastian admitted with a wry smirk
"Well, so long as you know…" She retorted trying to hide the makings of a grin pulling at her lips.
"I'm sorry… That didn't come out right." He conceded as he pulled a cigarette from a battered pack and lit it up.
"No kidding." She muttered back, scuffing her toe in the loose gravel by the curb. "I forgive you for being a jackass… Gimme that." She said, holding her fingers out. He blinked and watched her take his cigarette. She took a drag off of it, then had handed it back.
"You smoke?" He asked.
"Not anymore." She muttered. "I quit years ago, but… Well tonight has been a weird night… Can't say I've ever been puked on before." She said flatly, gesturing down to the fact that she was indeed wearing different clothes.
He winced. "Oh no. That's… Terrible. And maybe a little funny because it didn't happen to me." He said, handing back the cigarette. She took one more drag before passing it back. "Eh, that's enough of that… Last thing I need is a bad habit I can't afford." She chuckled. "Not to mention the whole 'it'll kill your lungs' thing. I need my lungs for farm work."
Sebastian nodded. "You're not wrong. It's a dumb habit. But, well… Shit's hard to stop. I have no willpower. At all." He mused with a self-deprecating laugh. "And like you said, it's been kind of a weird, awful night."
Lucia sighed. "Sebastian. Level with me, okay?" She said. "I really, really want to be your friend. But I know that night at the bar just really made things kind of awkward… Can we… Can we manage to be friends? I would really like to. It was a lot of fun sitting on my porch and talking to you…"
He was sort of taken aback. And it was a hard choice to make, because it meant ruling out his wants on this one. But she wasn't wrong. They would make good friends. "Ahhhh, yeah. We'll just forget about that night. We were both sloppy drunk anyway. Especially you." He teased with a smirk, nudging her arm with his shoe.
She laughed and swatted at him. "Puh-lease. I was a sexy beast that night. You're just jealous because I've got the moves and you don't." She shot back, which had them both laughing.
Though inwardly, he couldn't argue that she did in fact 'have the move', her commentary was still funny.
Ultimately even though Lucia said no more, they did end up splitting that cigarette. Once the were done, she stood. "Definitely not making that a habit again." She promised herself.
Sebastian nodded. "I'll be a good friend. I won't do it when you're around. Promise." He said, holding out his pinky all jokey. She twisted hers around his. "Deal."
Then, Lucia's stomach rumbled and she was reminded how hungry she was. She looked embarrassed. "Hungry?" Sebastian questioned. She nodded. "Yeah… The machine kept my last bit of money and didn't give me my chips… So there goes dinner."
Sebastian thought. "Well… We could go get food?" He suggested. "I did just get paid. And chips aren't exactly a decent meal."
Lucia looked off to the side. "I shouldn't… It's pathetic not even being able to afford my own food." She muttered as she stood. He sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "People need food. And if you're gonna be friends with me, I require that you accept help sometimes." He warned.
"You are eating three meals a day, right?" He added, suspicious of how bad it really was. "Yes… Well… Mostly… Well, like one week out of the month…" She admitted. "Usually it's three meals for a week. Two meals for another week. And then the last two meals it's one a day." She looked embarrassed to admit things were that tight.
He groaned. "That's terrible for you… Just… Why don't you come have a meal with me right now. I'm starving and if nothing else it'd be good company." This girl just had a way of making him want to move the earth to help. Being just a friend was going to be very, very difficult. "C'mon, you." He muttered, grabbing her wrist.
Lucia sighed and relented. "Fine, fine… I'll pay you back as soon as I can…"
And off they went into the night. They located a diner, and split a large pizza. All and all, it was a but better way to end the night than it had started.
