I'm writing like a maniac today... I need new hobbies lol.

To be honest though, I love writing these stories and I hope y'all enjoy my works as much as I do writing them. I think I might toy with my boundaries with this story. Push my limits as well as my ideas on these characters cause I love each of them and as a psychology major, I kind of just want to place them in situations and see what kind of reactions I'll get out of them. Or at least out of my versions of them.

All in all, I hope you guys enjoy this and I hope y'all look forward to these updates. Much love, mates!

I was never a party-loving type of guy.

Douxie would have his concerts and I would go to them occasionally when I knew I would have at least one person to talk to, but I would never frequent the after parties or any of the "pre-game" shit they would do. It wasn't that I disagreed with what they were doing but it was more of the fact that it just wasn't my style. Drinking and smoking wasn't something that made the character of a person and I didn't mind it if my two best friends would drink occasionally while we were in high school, but it always just felt wrong to me.

Maybe it was the fact my mom was an ex-medical student that would always warn me about the repercussions of it. Maybe it was the fact I've seen too much shit go down at things like this. Maybe it was the fact that alcohol just didn't seem right to me. Honestly, out of the three, I couldn't tell you which one was the most powerful in my decision but they each had their voice heard.

One thing I did enjoy though of these parties was the fact that you could get lost within them.

The electricity in the air was only matched by jumping bodies and rhythmic motions that most of the time couldn't even be described as dance moves. It didn't matter where you came from or who you were just as long as you lost yourself to the music and didn't care to come back. It was nice to watch, at the very least. Yet, I still felt out of place within it all.

I was never really much of a dancer. I could keep a rhythm jumping around but not much more than that so I always just stuck to the sidelines. Usually with a simple water bottle in hand as I just listen to my childhood friend strum and sing his heart out on stage.

But it was different with her beside me.

She was keeping the beat of the song by patting her thigh with her right hand as she ran the other through her hair. I noted the fact that she never grabbed a drink or had anything to smoke, yet she seemed as if she belonged there. The sleeves of her jacket were bought up just the slightest so that pieces of her inked covered arm was on display as the tears in her jeans didn't seem to come by design but by age. Her hair didn't have the arrangement of color clips and hung loosely over her shoulders. The flashing lights from the stage graced her face within moments and it made the sight of her seem more like that of a dream instead of reality.

But her eyes were cold to the scenery.

They looked as if she was looking over a graveyard. Stone and cold with a distance within them that I wasn't sure I was supposed to see from her. I wasn't sure I was imagining it until she spoke for the first time since we all arrived at the gig.

"Not really your scene, huh?"

"Kind of obvious, isn't it?"

"I've met a few people like you before. You just get used to picking them out from a crowd." I gave her a confused look as she looked over the crowd with the same distant look in her eyes. It looked as if she was stuck within a memory that was playing within her head before she shook herself out of it with a simple roll of her shoulders. "You learn to keep an eye out for newbies. You never know what kind of shit they get pulled into."

"Trust me, I've been at enough of these to know."

"Rule number one, never have a drink without a cap." I gave Douxie a confused look as he took my red solo cup full of water away from me and placed on the table beside us. "Rule number two, never touch a drink you leave on a table. Once your eyes have left it, it stays there, alright?" I nodded my head as the punk continued. "Last but not least, rule number three. Always look out for shady figures. If a guy isn't taking no for an answer, grab a friend, and deal with him. If a girl is acting out of sorts, jump in and try to help. There are some fucked up people that come here. You never know if there's an asshole hiding in the shadows."

"Got it."

"Oh, and never leave alone." I gave him another confused look as he handed me a water bottle. "Always have a friend you come with and you leave with. People hold grudges and it's always good to have someone by your side if shit goes south."

I brought my eyes over toward Claire once more to see she was no longer keeping the beat on her thigh and was actually gripping tightly at the torn fabric there. With further investigation, I saw she was starring down a guy with daggers in her eyes before she suddenly looked toward the direction of the door. She looked as if she was battling herself to stay there. It was as if she would run at the opportunity to run away if she had the choice. I frowned as I realized that the reason she probably wasn't at this point was because of me.

Jesus. Douxie said she went through some shit at one of these, but I wasn't expecting this. She was looking at that guy as if looks could kill.

I brought my eyes back to the guy she was staring down and noted that he was one of the usuals at these things. The self-proclaimed Drug King with his blonde hair, dark clothes, and a very punchable face.

I heard stories of him toying around with people at these. Dropping things in their drinks and watching from a distance as havoc rang out. Maybe Claire was at one of those? Maybe that's why she didn't come to these anymore?

I looked back over toward her as I made up my mind on what I wanted to do.

Doesn't mean she has to.

"Hey," I spoke barely above the music but it was enough to get her attention. "Want to get some fresh air? I'm honestly already tired of this place." She gave me a relieved look as if I had saved her from whatever it was that was ragging within her mind.

"Totally." She smiled at me as I noted that her eyes had a warmer tone to them than before. "I actually might now a place we can chill outside." I smiled at her. She looked more like herself now. The confidence she always had came flooding back as she grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the bar with ease. I followed her without a second thought as she pulled me across the street to a small park that was across from the bar. She let go of my hand once we reached an old bench that was sitting under a streetlamp so she could sit down onto it with a soft sigh. She looked up toward me with a thankful smile before patting at the open seat beside her. "Take a load off, Lake. I don't bite." I chuckled at her as I took the spot beside her without a second thought. It wasn't until I noted the gentle look that appeared on her face as she looked up to the sky that I realized how much the change of scenery mattered to her. I felt a smile appear on my face as I saw her close her eyes and just take in the cool breeze as if it was a welcoming friend.

It was good to see her like this. To see her smile. I was just happy I noticed her discomfort before it got too far. It was nice to see her at peace.

"It's nice to see you smile." I about smacked myself as I realized that I spoke my final thought out loud.

"Huh?" She looked over toward me with a shocked look as I instantly went on an anxious defense.

"Oh, what I mean was that I saw that you looked uncomfortable in the bar so I thought getting you out of there would help and it seems it did because you look a lot more at ease here. Not that you couldn't handle yourself or anything if you were dealing with something but it just seemed like you needed out of there and I thought this would be the best option and I'm talking too much aren't I?" I chuckled at the end as I scratched the back of my neck with a nervous smile dancing across my face. Claire just giggled at my reaction as I felt as if my heart stopped within that moment.

Holy shit she giggles. Out of all things, I never thought a giggle would come from the tattooed punk. I guess that just shows you should never judge a book by its cover.

"It's okay. More than okay, actually. Thank you." She looked over toward me for a moment before looking back up to the sky. "It's just, I saw someone that gave me some bad memories. Specifically, the one that caused me to stop going to off the wall concerts like those. I thought he wouldn't be there, but he was."

"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, but if you ever need to talk, I'm here to listen." She brought her attention back toward me and I felt butterflies fill my stomach as she gave me a gentle smile.

"Thanks, Jim." I let a wide smile appear on my face as I nearly lost myself in her chocolate eyes.

"Anytime, Claire." I watched as her smile widened ever so slightly before looking back up toward the full moon that was high above us.

"Douxie always said it would be good to talk about it with someone." She glanced out of the corner of her eye toward me before bringing her attention back toward the sky. "I trust you, anyway. So here goes nothing." She took in a breath before letting it out slowly before looking down toward the concrete walking path beneath our feet. "It happened three years ago. I was seventeen at the time and thought that a year of going around to those kinds of things meant I knew how to take care of myself from them." She shook her head for a second as she let out an airy chuckle. "God was I wrong." She looked out before her she continued. "He slipped something into my drink. I don't how or when, but he did. One minute I was okay and then the next thing I know I'm being carried out by two bandmates of Douxie's while he was beating the fuck out of the guy. He said I just looked so vulnerable. That I looked nothing like myself and he just lost it. He said it was like watching his little sister being taken away from him before his own eyes, and honestly, I don't blame him for his reaction."

"That wouldn't have been the time that Douxie showed up the next day at the flower shop with his hands wrapped in gauze and looking for a marigold right?" Claire gave out a soft giggle as she brought her eyes back toward me.

"Yeah, it must have been. He made sure I went to the hospital and everything just in case I gave a bad reaction to whatever it was that was put in my system. Also to make sure nothing," She stopped for a second as she looked away from me. "Else had happened." It took me a second to let the pieces fall into place as I realized what she was talking about.

Oh fuck.

"Did-?"

"No. Luckily. Doesn't mean I didn't feel as if I needed to wash my skin raw once I was able to get a shower though."

"I'm sorry." She shot me a sweet smile as she placed a hand on my left shoulder.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." I gave her a sad smile as I gave her a small shrug.

"Doesn't mean it shouldn't have happened." Especially not to you.

Just the thought of it being able to change the strong and confident woman before me as if she was nothing more than a panicked victim was something I couldn't wish upon anyone and it caused my heart to clench itself in my heart as I realized the signs of PTSD that she was having in the bar.

If only I spoke up sooner. If only I knew I would have never thought this was a good idea at all when Douxie presented it to me. It was obvious he was trying his best to aid her, but it was now obvious to me that she wasn't ready for that step yet. Especially if the one that did it will be there.

I brought myself back into reality as I watched the moon shine within her eyes as if they were gracing her in her darkest moment. It caused her dark hair to shimmer and her tan skin to look as if it glowed within the cold air and darkness around us.

She's beautiful.

I felt a dopey lopsided grin appear on my face as I noted the soft smile on her lips as the air pushed by us with ease. Her hands were placed firmly onto the seat of the bench as she leaned forward just the lightest to look up toward the sky as if she wouldn't want to be anywhere else. The silence between us was welcoming since I already knew I didn't have much in common to speak about with the tattoo artist, but it didn't seem to matter as we just enjoyed each other's company. It was nice not having to talk or keep a conversation as I looked up toward the sky like she was. But I had to say, I heavily preferred looking toward the artist.

Suddenly, I felt a weight add itself to my shoulder as a content sigh tickled the side of my neck from the tattoo artist.

"Thank you." I smiled as felt her hair tickle the side of my face just as much as her breath did to my neck not even minutes before.

"Anyone would lend a hand, Claire."

"No, no they wouldn't." I felt my smile widen just the slightest as I felt her hand slip into mine as it was the easiest thing in the world. As our fingers interlocked, I realized just how right it felt having her hand in mine. It was like lost pieces to a forgotten puzzle. Like it was just meant to be that way.

Jesus, Lake. You act like your star-crossed lovers or some shit.

Well, it does feel like I've known her forever when I only really met her a few months ago. Maybe we are. Maybe I'm it's just the fact she has a Romeo and Juliet quote on her chest that I'm thinking we're anything like that.

I tilted my head just the slightest so that my head was leaning gently against the top of hers as a large smile made its way to my lips.

I don't think I care though.

"There you two are! We were looking all over for you." We brought our heads up to look over toward where Douxie and Toby were. "Why didn't you tell us you guys were heading out?" Before I could stutter out a reply, Claire was the one to save me from embarrassment.

"We just needed a breather. I'm not used to all the smoke like I used to be." She flashed them a toothy grin as I saw a pleasant smile appear on her face. It was obvious to me that she didn't want to worry the man I knew treated her like the sister he never had.

"Well the shows over and personally, I don't want to stick around as Ashes to New gets the crowd to act like idiots. How about we all head home, huh?"

"I second that." I looked over toward Claire to see she gave a simple nod toward the other two before they started making their way to where we left our vehicles. We followed suit after them side by side as her hand kept itself in mine the whole walk there. As the cool air caressed my forearms and found its way under my unzipped jacket, I felt warm knowing that she leaned herself just the slightest into my side. All while the moment we shared was unknown to our friend ahead of us.

I knew I shouldn't have gone. I should have known that asshole would show his face the one time I would go to one of Douxie's shows.

But as I rubbed my thumb gently against the calloused hand in mine, I didn't regret it.

The fact I was able to tell him so easily what has been haunting me for three years was something I thought would never happen. I couldn't even tell my best friends it happened until I wrote it down on paper, but somehow a blue-eyed flower boy with an army motorcycle comes riding into my life and I'm able to talk about my trauma as if it happened decades ago. I couldn't explain why, but there was just something about him that told me he wasn't going to harm me. That he wasn't looking for anything more than what I was giving him and it felt nice. The way he looks at me and how he acts only proves the kindness that his soul carried. Especially since he was caring enough to notice I was out of it.

Did I find the nervous stuttering biker attractive before? Sure. Was he even more attractive now than before? Oh heavens, yes.

I felt a blush appear on my face as I squeezed his hand just the slightest as we neared his bike.

But that will be something I'll keep to myself. Until I'm certain of how he feels about me, at least.

I shook my head a little before glancing over toward the taller man to see he had a lopsided smile on his face as he looked up to the full moon that graced him with it's gentle light.

Look at yourself, Claire. Hopelessly into a guy you've barely known for, like, what? Three months? You really need to stop thinking like you're in a star-crossed lovers play. You know they only end in tragedy.

But it feels as if I've known him for lifetimes and he wouldn't dare lay an unwanted finger on me.

As if knowing I was looking at him, he turned his head toward me and graced me with his adorable little half-smile as his blue eyes shined like a glistening ocean.

And honestly? I wouldn't change a thing.