If I'm being completely honest, I was expecting one of those slow-motion kind of things to happen. Like in movies, where the girl saw a guy she liked or had been trying to avoid and all of a sudden their whole world went into slow motion. You know, all that dramatic stuff... this was nothing like that.
When I saw Connor - and I mean actually saw him, not like the time he'd popped up in a dream once and I'd woken up cussing him out even though he had nothing to do with it. This was different, a lot different. I'd expected myself to feel nervous or worried. I even expected to feel something for him again. And, unfortunately for me, my emotions had steered me towards the latter. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a mind-blowing emotional experience, I didn't feel infinite affections or anything. It was like running into a friend from High-school that you had good memory's with - it was good to see them and good to have a chat, but when they disappeared from view you just smiled at those memories and moved on.
I seriously hoped this'd be the same.
"Grace?"
I finally moved my gaze away from Connor and onto Kate, who stared at me in confusion and slight worry. I felt a little bad for her, one minute she was making out with a hot guy and the next she was invisible to him, while his sights were on another girl. I'd be a little confused too.
"Hmm?" I asked, finally able to find my voice.
Kate paused for a moment, quickly glancing sideways at Connor who hadn't moved or said anything yet.
"Do you two know each other?"
I sighed loudly and looked at Connor, who I realised was still looking at me. He looked both surprised, confused, and if I wasn't mistaken - happy. Though I immediately shook it off, there was such a mix of emotions on his face I couldn't tell what was what, plus the lighting in the hallway was quite bad.
"Yeah, we were friends once." I finally replied, crossing my arms.
It wasn't as though I was lying. We had been friends once. Kate didn't need to know all the facts about what had gone on with me and Connor - I'd only just met the girl, she didn't need to know how screwed up my love life just so happened to be. Besides, there wasn't enough time in one night to explain to a drunken twenty year-old the details of what had happened a year ago.
"Gracie," Connor started, finally finding his own voice. He sounded a little hurt.
"See you 'round Connor." I waved, turning back around and heading into the bar.
It was as I walked away that I realised how much I'd actually wanted to speak to him again. But I knew this was for the best. My life had drastically improved after I'd stopped seeing the twins and my family, everything had become easier. I didn't feel any pressure or obligation towards anyone, I did what I did for myself and no one else - except Jade and Belle of course. But they were my closest friends, even if Belle was my aunt. I worked now, had my own apartment, took care of myself. And, hopefully, I could save enough to get out of South Boston. I just wanted to get out. I couldn't very well do that if I had something holding me here... well, someone at least.
I immediately spotted Jade and the rest of the girls and hurried to join them, planting a convincing smile on my face as I sat down in my former seat.
"What did I miss?" I asked, taking a sip of my drink.
"Not much." Jade sighed, knocking back what looked like a vodka shot, grimacing as she shook her head and slammed the small glass back down onto the table. "Kate's disappeared."
"I think she's getting lucky with that guy." Alexa piped up, giggling into her glass.
My best friend smirked and shrugged. "I don't know, he seems like the type of guy who's into brunettes." She threw a wink my way and I glared slightly, leaning back in my seat.
"Funny."
"Oh shit." She muttered, face falling and eyes widening at something behind me. "Grace, hot Irish twin heading your way." She coughed.
Rolling my eyes at her attempt at subtlety, I refrained from turning in my seat, instead choosing to wait for him to get my attention. I didn't have to wait long.
"Gracie."
I knocked back the rest of my drink and sighed, looking up at Jade.
"I could use another drink." I stated before rising from my seat and heading towards the bar.
I wasn't trying to be a complete bitch to Connor but for some reason it's the only part of me that was coming out. Though I suppose being a bitch and making sure he never wanted to see me again was easier than being nice and having to lose my friend all over again. A little bitchiness would save me for the future - I knew it would. And I could only hope Connor would leave me alone.
I leaned against the bar with my empty glass, waiting patiently for Doc to finish with another customer.
"Christ, look who et is!"
"Murphy." I winced, looking to my right where the darker haired twin sat, looking rather smug.
"Well fuck me, I mus' be seein' tings." He smirked, taking a long drag of his cigarette.
I smiled and rolled my eyes. "Nope, I can promise you you're not, I've been saying the same thing to myself since you two came in."
Murphy chuckled and released the smoke from his mouth. "Ye wound me Gracie. But I have ta ask, have ye seen me dear brother?"
"Grace!"
Murphy laughed and I groaned as Connor's voice rang out.
"Dere's me answer."
I rolled my eyes and turned around, leaning back against the bar and watching as Connor made his way towards me.
"Grace." He stopped right in front of me, apparently still not having recovered from the surprised of finding me here.
"That's my name, don't ware it out." I told him before turning around once again.
"What's wit' all dis hostility?"
I rolled my eyes and ignore him, continuing to wait patiently for Doc. Though I had a feeling if I didn't call him myself then I wouldn't ever get a drink.
"Doc!"
"What're ye doin' 'ere?"
"I'm here to get drunk Connor, same as you."
"I don' remember ye bein' a big drinker lass." Murphy piped up.
I looked at each twin before shrugging. "Yeah well you guys have that effect on my I guess."
"Why're ye here?"
"My best friend is Doc's Granddaughter, he invited her here and she dragged me along." I admitted, sighing in relief as Doc came over.
"Same lass?"
I smiled and nodded, watching as he refilled my glass.
"Eh Doc, ye didn' tell us little Gracie was comin' 'roun'." Murphy grinned.
"I thought I knew ye! Ye use ta come 'roun' 'ere wit' da boys - Fuck! Ass!"
"Aye, she's Connor's ex-girlfrien'."
"I'm not Connor's ex-girlfriend." I loudly objected, shaking my head at the darker-haired twin.
"What's so bad about dat?!" Connor exclaimed, sounding slightly offended at my quick objection.
I turned to face him. "Do you really want to get into that right now?!"
"Aye!"
Doc placed my now-full glass down on the counter and I nearly laughed with relief. I quickly picked it up and moved back, away from the counter.
"Well, I'm not here to talk, I'm here to drink. So," I shrugged and went to join the girls again. Again, I didn't get very far.
"How long's et been Gracie?"
I paused and sighed, turning around once again to face Connor.
"Nearly a year."
He nodded. "Exactly, nearly a year. Ye can have one drink wit us."
I looked back at Jade and the girls. They were all laughing and chatting away like they had been, but every few seconds Jade would glance over here, probably to make sure I was okay.
"Sure." I groaned, holding back my smile as the two cheered.
One drink couldn't hurt. Right?.
~...~...~...~...~...~...~
So, one drink couldn't hurt. Four or five though? That'd probably do some damage.
I wasn't sure what the time was. I didn't even know if Jade and the girls were still here, I assumed they were though since no one had told me otherwise. Jade wouldn't leave and not let me know.
The more I drank, the more my bitchy demeanour faded. And eventually it stopped all together. Instead of being a complete dick, I'd let my guard down and wound up being myself with the twins. Obviously I knew that this could only end badly, why wouldn't it? It was too easy to get back into my old ways. I found myself completely comfortable around the two, able to say whatever I wanted and not feel bad about it. I could be completely blunt with them and they'd just laugh it off. And I realised how much I missed this.
I was kicking myself on the inside for being so willing to this, but then I thought to myself; How bad could it be? One good night wasn't so bad, we'd just go right back to not seeing each other after this, right?.
"So, how's your love-life been boys?" I asked, resting my head in my palm.
"Ye really tink 'm gonna tell a devious little ting like yerself what I've been doin'?" Connor chuckled, shaking his head.
"Hey!" I whined, hitting his arm. Clearly he was referring to our incident nearly a year back. "That was one time. C'mon, I'm really interested."
He smirked and paused, placing a cigarette between his lips. Apparently he wanted to dramatically drag this out.
"No relationship's." He finally spoke.
"Just sex?" I asked, though it was more of a statement.
"Aye."
I nodded in understanding. Was I jealous? Not as much as I thought I'd be. But I knew what these boys were like, they must've had some kind of degree for flirting and sleeping with girls. That and drinking. I was pretty sure if I'd been drinking as much as they had I'd be knocked out under the table at this point.
"Murphy, what about you?" I asked, turning to the other brother. Though his smug look told me enough.
"What can I say lass?" Was his seemingly innocent response.
"That you two are willing to screw anything with a heartbeat." I retorted, taking another sip of my drink.
"Are ye jealous?"
I looked at Connor who'd leaned forward slightly, as though eager to know my answer. "No."
He nodded. "I don' believe ye."
I smiled and leaned in close, as though about to tell a really big secret. "I don't care." I whispered, tapping his nose with my index finger before leaning back.
Connor rolled his eyes but chuckled and nodded, thankfully leaving it at that.
"So Grace," Murphy started, throwing an arm around my shoulder. "What about ye?"
I narrowed my eyes curiously. "What about me?"
"Have ye got a lad?" Connor clarified for me.
I smirked and picked up my glass, taking a long sip.
There was a lot of ways I could make this go. I could tell the boys I was seeing someone, that I had been for a while and it was amazing - all that soppy crap. Or, I could let them know the truth; That there was no one and had been no one since Connor. I was a little stuck on which to choose, though eventually I found myself wanting to have a little fun with the two. Plus, I didn't want to admit to being single for nearly a year, especially not when I knew Connor had been screwing different girls since our incident. I had to make it seem like I had some sort of life.
"I..." I trailed off and looked at each twin, finding them both completely curious to know if I did have a boyfriend. "I do. Sort of."
Each twin had a different set of reactions to my reply. Murphy seemed fine, he merely nodded and took a puff of his cigarette, content with my answer. Connor, however, had something a little different. He didn't look pissed off or openly jealous about it, like Murphy he seemed fine, but even I could tell that there was a hint of disappointment in his eyes. Though it was gone in a second.
"Grace."
All three of us turned in our seats and I found myself face to face with Jade. She looked tired and ill - obviously an effect from her continuous drinking. The other three girls all stood behind her, looking more or less the same but less sickly.
"You okay?" I asked worriedly.
Jade nodded, swaying slightly on the spot. She was not okay. "We're gonna head home, you coming?" She slurred.
"Sure." I told her, jumping down from the stool I'd been perched on. "Does your Grandpa know?"
"Mhmm, he said I was stupid for drinking more than I could - hiccup - handle."
I smiled and pulled on my black jacket. "Your Grandpa's smart."
"Grace." I looked back at Murphy. "It was good ta see ye lass."
I returned the small hug he gave me. "You too."
When I pulled back I immediately turned my gaze onto Connor.
It was strange and disappointing, knowing that I wouldn't see him again after tonight. I had no reason to come back here again and I didn't want to. If anything started up with us again then my life would become a lot more difficult. So I'd only had at least two relationships, they'd both gone sour and I didn't feel like a repeat performance. Besides, if I ever wanted to get out of South Boston, then I'd have to make sure there was nothing keeping me here. Jade and Belle encouraged me to go as long as I let them know how I was at least once a month once I'd actually gone, they encouraged me to go. But leaving friends behind was a lot easier than leaving... well, whatever relationship I found myself in.
"So, I'm gonna head out." I sighed, crossing my arms.
"Aye, let me walk ye out lass." He nodded, putting out his cigarette.
Kate, Alexa and Trix walked out first, if not a little clumsily in their heels. Meanwhile, Connor and I helped Jade make it out of the bar in one piece. She'd attempted walking solo but had swayed and crashed into a table in her attempts, so now she needed assistance. I actually felt a little bad about it. If I'd been with her instead of chatting to the twins I could've kept her from drinking so much, because I knew she'd have a pounding headache in the morning.
There were two cabs waiting for us outside the bar. Doc must've called them when he found out Jade was leaving. Kate, Alex and Trix hopped into one after saying their goodbye's to us. They were roommates so it only made sense that they went home together. And I'd made the decision of taking Jade home with me, since she'd probably wind up in a ditch somewhere if I let her go home alone.
Connor and I managed to place her into the backseat without any injuries, though she immediately clonked out once we'd gotten her in.
"So," I dragged out, feeling a little awkward.
After getting Jade into the cab, we'd both stood straight and just looked at each other. I'd never realised how awkward saying 'Bye' to someone could be.
"I guess I'll see you round." I shrugged, about to climb into the cab with a drunken Jade.
"Gracie," Connor called. I paused in my actions, waiting patiently for him to continue. "Et was good seein' ye lass."
I nodded, knowing how he felt. "Yeah, it was."
"Will ye come back 'ere?"
"I don't know, maybe, you never know."
Connor nodded and took my hand, raising it to press a kiss to my knuckles. "Et was really good ta see ye."
I gulped, unable to respond as he released my hand. "Mhmm."
"No, I don't wanna go to school momma!"
We both laughed as Jade cried out from inside the cab. I really had to get her home.
"Goodbye Connor." I smiled at him, climbing into the cab.
"Bye Gracie." He said before shutting the cab door for me.
After telling the cab driver where to go we took off, but I found myself looking through the back window, not turning around until the bar had gone from view. It'd been a good night. But I knew that's how it would stay, just another good night in my memories.
Author's Note:
Hi guys! I really hope you liked this chapter and I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with the reunion. Thanks so much for the reviews and everything so far, they mean a lot!
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