As the World Falls Down

by KittyoftheNight

Allegra's father left when she was 5. Now, her mother is practically nonexistent. When she walked the boardwalk that night, everything changed. As her world begins to fall apart in front of her, she left with only two options. She can either run or she can stand up and face the challenges that are pushed upon her. A little help from a few vampires wouldn't hurt either.

3. Ch 3: Taking Out the Trash

As the World Falls Down

Chapter 3

Taking Out the Trash

Thu-thump. Thu-thump. Thu-thump.

I could feel my heart beat pulsing dully in my ears.

Thu-thump. Thu-thump. Thu-thump.

It was normal, the rhythm calm yet strong. It pumped blood through my veins with ease. The thrum of the beat nearly dragging me back into sleep. The idea of being able to do just that was so tempting, light slowly ebbing through my lids. I'd have to invest in curtains.

As I laid there, my thought went back to the events of last night, the darkness swirling around me as I allowed my head to turn toward the wall. Tom. Mark's brother Tom had tried following me. Mark no doubt did nothing at all to dissuade his brother. The idiot felt that said brother could do no wrong. What a naïve misconception on his part.

Then there was David. David and his brothers had come to my aid without hesitation. Handsome blonde and blue eyed man. I'd never expected anyone like them to come to my aid. I knew that his gang was present in Santa Carla, but vaguely, the four of them going by the name Lost Boys, since no one knew exactly where they'd come from. Although, it didn't really matter where they came from, as that didn't make them who they were as individuals. Still though, they seemed like an unlikely group of individuals, the four of them seeming to go together so well.

I turned my head for a moment, groaning as my brows scrunched together in confusion. I could have sworn that I heard something, slowly pushing myself up into a sitting position and rubbing my eyes. The heel of my hand was buried in my eye when I heard it again, a low thump from downstairs.

"What the…?" I muttered, pushing myself out of bed.

A shiver went through me as my feet made contact with the cool panels of the polished oak floor, toes curling slightly. Slowly, I made my way downstairs, tying the string off for the ladder so I wouldn't have to pull it back down. Once I was close enough, I realized that it was the front door that I was hearing the noise.

"Great," I muttered, looking over at the clock on the wall and realizing that it was about quarter till nine.

"Allegra, you there?"

"Oh, son of a…!"

Quickly, I wrenched the door open, a glare set on my face as I found Mark standing in front of me. I would have laughed as he flinched away, but I was too pissed. Grabbing him by the front of his shirt I jerked him inside, watching as he nearly fell from the momentum.

"I have half a mind to throttle you!" I growled out, shoving a finger in his face.

Mark backed up a bit, hands held defensively in front of him.

"Hey, now, ease up!" he exclaimed.

"Ease up? Ease up!?" I cried, shoving him. "Are you stupid!?"

He flinched away slightly, lip held between his teeth.

"Do you have any idea what that moron of a brother of yours tried to do to me!?" I yelled, face burning red in anger.

"Come on, Allegra. Tom would never hurt you, you know that."

I nearly slapped him when he said that. How could he possibly be that stupid? I mean seriously. Did he have a mental disorder or something.

"Yeah, well he could have fooled me."

"Allegra…"

"Don't touch me!" I hissed, moving back when he tried to place a hand on my arm.

"But…"

"No!" I said firmly. "You lost that privilege when you let him go after me."

"But he didn't do anything!" he groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"You know what? Get out!"

The look on his face was one of shock, but I didn't care. If he was dumb enough to believe his brother was innocent, then he had another thing coming to him.

"But Allegra," he tried.

"No," I said shaking my head. "Because of you, someone else had to step in."

"Wait. What?" he asked. "Who?"

The tone of his voice irritated me even more. He was jealous, that much was obvious. Personally, I didn't feel he had the right to be jealous, since he didn't bother to stand up for me when it came to his brother.

"You know that little group of bikers that rolling in a while back?" I asked, trying to hide back a tiny smirk as I went to rub it into his face.

I watched as his eyes narrowed in apprehension. He was putting things together in that tiny little brain of his.

"You didn't," he narrowed.

"And one of them was even nice enough to give me a lift home after we went for a ride out to the bluff," I pushed, enjoying the way that I was able to rile him up.

Slowly, I watched as his face started to go red, causing me to hold in a laugh. I was enjoying this a little too much now. Thinking back on that, I opened the door, gesturing with my finger that it was time to leave. I had to eat, take a shower, and get dressed for work.

"Now, if you don't mind, Mark, I think you should leave."

"Fine," he ground out, turning, before fully leaving. "We'll talk about this later."

I nearly laughed when he said this, slamming the door in his face.

"Idiot," I muttered.

T

It'd been two days now since I'd heard anything form Mark and I was enjoying every minute of it. He really had pissed me off, making me wonder why I'd even tolerated him as long as I had. I mean, we really didn't even have that much in common. Hell, I think the only reason he even wanted me was so that he could try and get into my pants and use me as a trophy to show off to his brother. The thought itself made me cringe. His brother was the same way showing no respect for the opposite sex.

Shaking my head, I continued wiping down tables, trying to push the thoughts out of my mind as Hold Me Now by Thompson Twins played through the space. Deciding that the tables were clean enough, I moved to the trash, consolidating the cans and bringing it out back to where the dumpster was. The sun had already gone down at this point, the overhead lights shining down on me. I nearly groaned when I tossed the first bit in, the stench of rotten eggs hitting me. The idiots had left some stuff in the back of the fridge that they finally decided to pitch. Unfortunately, I was the one stuck getting rid of it, along with a round of spent onions.

I could feel my nose burn as I turned away, coughing a bit in disgust.

"God this stuff smells," I groaned, grabbing another load and tossing it.

They always had me doing the dirty stuff. Going back inside I grabbed another two bags, hauling them outside, the music following me as I went. I nearly jumped out of the skin when I felt hands wrap around me, the trash falling to the ground and scattering.

"Hey there, Chicka."

"Son of a…"

Whirling around, I sent my fist flying, my knuckles colliding with the side of his face. Paul was sent crashing to the ground, hand holding the side of his face.

"Damn, Chicka," he laughed. "You really do pack a punch."

"You moron!" I cried out. "You scared the shit out of me!"

I nearly kicked him, only to be picked up from behind by someone else, laughter echoing around me.

"Come on, Princess, he didn't mean any harm."

I kicked out, elbow flying back only to end up colliding with the side of their head. The laughter seemed to stop almost instantly, making me freeze.

"Shit," I breathed out, realizing that it was David that I'd hit.

Why did it have to be David? The one that had actually helped me? I almost didn't want to turn my head, afraid that he'd drop me on my ass.

"David?" I called out hesitantly, slowly glancing over my shoulder.

Behind me, David stood, head cocked to the side. His cheek was slightly red from impact, eyes betraying nothing. I swallowed the lump in my throat as he turned his head back, expecting him to be pissed. Shockingly, a smirk formed on his face, eyes gleaming with mischief. For a moment, I was almost afraid. My fear quickly diminished when I realized the hinting of a smile on his face, his somewhat laid back demeanor from the other day returning. I let out a sigh of relief, his fingers tightening slightly upon my waist as he gently lowered me to the ground.

"Remind me not to piss you off," he practically purred into my ear, a shiver running down my spine at the warmth of his breath against my skin.

After a moment, I pulled away, though a bit reluctantly. Turning, I looked back at him. He looked the same as he had the other night, the same black trench coat, black pants, leather boots, and shirt. His platinum looks were spiked as before and his cool ice blue eyes gleamed with a hint of wild unadulterated mystery. The only difference was the hint of pale stubble on his face.

"What are you guys doing here anyway?" I asked, looking around at the group.

"We thought we'd pay you a visit," came Marko's answer, a grin on his child like face as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Pay me a visit, huh?" I asked skeptically. "You mean cause trouble."

I then turned to Paul, grabbing him firmly by the ear.

"And you," I started, pulling him over. "You're going to clean up this mess," I said pointedly, giving his ear a harsh tug.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" he whined, back bent as he tried to stay level with my arm. "Marko! Dwayne! Help!?" he cried out, his plea being met with laughter. "Come on, guys?" he whined as I gave it another tug.

"You got yourself into the mess all on your own," Marko laughed, grinning like a fool.

"Seriously though, why are you guys here?" I asked again, finally letting go of Paul's ear, leaving him to cradle the appendage.

"Like we said, we wanted to pay you a visit," David said, not willing to change his answer.

I eyed the blonde critically for a moment, glancing at the others. They didn't seem as though they were willing to say anything outside of David's response.

"Alright, so we wanted to make sure that those Surfer shits weren't bothering you," he finally admitted, caving.

I scoffed as I shook my head, taking the last bag of trash and tossing it in the dumpster.

"Thanks for the concern, but I can handle myself," I told him, easily making my way around him and back inside.

I could sense them following me, all, but Paul as David told him to clean up the spilt trash.

"Hey, think we can get a drink?" Marko asked, hopping up onto one of the bar stools.

I looked at him skeptically, giving him a good once over.

"Are you even 18?" I asked, knowing that the only ones that might be 21 would be either David or Dwayne.

David seemed like he'd be the oldest in my opinion, but I'd been wrong about things before. It was still a toss up between him and Dwayne though. Honestly, I think that Marko was the oldest, leaving Paul just a bit older. David looked slightly more aged than Dwayne though, pushing me in my belief that he was in fact the oldest.

"Sure I am," Marko grinned.

"Yeah, no," I said, shaking my head. "You can stick to club soda bud."

I then turned to the rest of them eyeing them carefully.

"Anyone else wanna try?" I offered, daring them to make an attempt.

I looked to each of them as I wiped down some of the glasses on the counter, watching as they seemed to glance around from one to the other. It was like they were having a silent conversation among themselves, unwilling to let anyone else be privy to it. Turning my back, I left them to their "conversation", putting different glasses away where they belong. Marko as over by the sound system against the wall, pressing different buttons as he flipped through songs. The place closed a little early, but it didn't bother me any. It was normally when we had to take stock and restock that truly took time out of my day.

"We're closed," I called out over my shoulder as I heard someone come through the front entrance, the bell chiming after them.

When I didn't hear a reply, I turned back around. I was met with the unsightly pleasure of seeing Mark standing there, his brother in toe.

"I said, we're closed," I told them dismissively.

I didn't want to deal with them. The two were morons.

"Aw, come on," the two of them whined, both stumbling forward.

Great, they were both drunk. Morons! Did I mention morons? Oh, yeah, I did.

"I'm not going to tell you again you two. We are closed, which means you both need to leave."

"But why are they here?" Mark whined, pointing childishly over at David and the boys, Paul finally walking back in from cleaning up his mess.

"We're taking the trash out," Dwayne decided to pipe up, the Native looking from David to Paul in anticipation.

"That's right," David said, a pleasant looking smile on his face as he stepped forward, Dwayne and Paul following by example as Marko stayed by me. "In fact, I think we missed a round boys. What do you think?"

Before either Mark or Tom could say a word, David and Dwayne had stepped forward, grabbing them by the collar of their shirts. I watched in shock as they were dragged out back, Marko and I quickly moving outside. We watched as the two drunken idiots flailed around helplessly, Paul tossing open the lid to the dumpster. Once it was open, Mark and his brother were sent flying. I nearly stood dumbstruck, watching as the two disappeared with a crash.

"Well," Paul started, dropping the lid on their heads. "Looks like the trash has been taken out."

He had a goofy grin plastered on his face as he walked back over. Without even asking, he tossed his arm over my shoulders, my head being pulled tightly against him. Narrowing my eyes, I shoved him, only to be tossed into David, the latter of the two wrapping their arms loosely around me. The place exploded with laughter after everything kicked in, smiles on everyone's face. I doubled over as I thought about Mark. The look on his face when he realizes where he'd been thrown. Somehow, they really had made me smile, all four of them grinning like mad men. I was at a loose as I stood there, slowly leaning backwards. I could feel my shoulders pressed against David's chest and I drew in a breath of air, slowly allowing myself to relax as I was reminded they meant me no harm.

"So, who's hungry?" Paul asked.

T

I'm not really sure how it happened. Somehow, the boys had convinced me to leave with them after closing up, going and getting food from the local Chinese restaurant. Instead of the back of David's bike, I'd ended up with Dwayne this time, a faint blush on my face as I'd been able to feel practically every muscle on his abdominals. He really was a handsome guy. All of them were in their own way. Dwayne though had a special air about him, his quiet demeanor being quite endearing. Paul had found it funny though, picking at David for something or other as we rode. I was almost surprised though as they wove in and out of trees, snaking in front of one another and cutting each other off. It was like a street race with these bikes, but no rules as copious amounts of dirt was kicked up into our faces. I had to bury mu face into Dwayne's back to keep from getting sand in my eyes, a groan escaping my throat as I was once again aware of Dwayne's warmth.

"Hold on."

I barely had enough time to grab a hold of him as we went soaring over a hill, squealing when the bike landed, skidding slightly. I felt my nose slam against the place between his shoulders from the force, wincing painfully at the cartilage. It was like running into a rock.

"Sorry," he called over his shoulder, his grip tightening on the handles slightly, deciding to lower the speed a bit.

I was silently grateful as we slowed down, not having to worry as much about having the wind knocked out of me. Dwayne seemed to understand then, hanging back a bit. When the others realized our absence, they finally slowed down. Their bikes joined us as we road down the rest of the strip to the rocks, a look of mild shock on my face. Where we had stopped was off limits due to safety reasons, but I found that it didn't surprise me as much.

"This is it," David exclaimed, hands out as he gestured to the edge of the walkway.

I was hesitant as I watched Marko and Paul jump down onto the rocks, sliding a bit as they went.

"I don't know about this," I said hesitantly, eyeing the remaining two as the others called out for us to join them.

As if sensing my dilemma, David turned toward me, a smug look upon his face.

"Problem?" he asked, causing my eyes to narrow slightly.

No shit there was a problem. The problem was my sense of self preservation with this place. Looking back down, I stared at the jagged rocks below me, the scene staring back with a discernable amount of malicious glee. I found myself staring back at David in irritation, a grin on his face as he stepped toward the edge.

"All you have to do is jump," he told me, before stepping off the edge.

Dwayne joined him after, sending me a wink before he jumped.

"You guys are morons!" I yelled out, hands on my hips as I looked down at them.

"Come on, jump!" Paul called out.

Glancing around, I tried to see if there was another way down. It wasn't that I was chicken per say, but more along the lines that I didn't want to hurt myself. Biting my lip, I looked down at them again, David and Dwayne standing there. They watched as I paced back and forth for a moment, looks of humor on their faces.

"Join us, Allegra!" David called out, a spark in his eyes. "Jump!"

The suggestion was strong, the look on his face drawing me toward the edge. I stood there, our eyes locking with one another as I drew in a breath. Then, slowly, I let it out and jumped.

"I knew you could do it," David's voice breathed into my ear, my arms around his neck.

When I'd jumped, I'd closed my eyes and hoped for the best, praying that he'd be nice enough to catch me. Luckily, I'd been right when I felt his arms wrap around me. If it weren't for these arms, I was almost curtain that I might have broken my ankle or something.

"Awesome, Chicka!" Paul exclaimed, laughing as he pulled me away from David and tossed me over his shoulder. The others laughed as a scowl formed on my face, smacking him in the back.

"Put me down you lunatic!" I yelled, pounding on his back.

It only seemed to make him laugh further as he jumped around, making his way down the path of rocks. The others were doing the same, their expressions carefree as they went. Seeing this, I rolled my eyes.

"Do you ever listen?" I asked, trying to push myself up a bit.

"Nope," he said, popping the 'p', much to my irritation. "Besides, where's the fun in that?"

"Would you put me down, you moron!?" I yelled, continuing my assault on his back. "I can walk you know!"

Paul continued to laugh, ignoring my little outburst as he gave me a firm smack on the ass, my face going red in indignation. I swear, if he kept it up, he was going to get a swift kick in the gonads.

As we got further, I realized where they were taking me. Among the rocks and waves of the sea was an opening. I realized that it led into an actual cave instead of what I would have assumed to be a mere alcove among the rocks. Strangely enough, it seemed like parts of the walls were actually cement and drywall-what was left of it-leaving areas of dirt covering the ground. Sensing my curiosity, David turned toward us as Paul put me down, my eyes wandering from the walls to the floor.

T

David felt his lips twitch as he watched her pace back and forth. He could tell she was trying to come up with a different way to get down to them without having to jump. After all, the rocks down at the bottom were sharp, so he couldn't blame her for being a bit apprehensive. Besides, she was human. He almost laughed as he was reminded of that fact. For a human woman, she had spunk. It was that very trait that had grabbed his attention when he'd seen her just a few days ago, something sparking inside of him.

"Join us, Allegra!" he called out, locking eyes with her. "Jump!"

He took the time to try and reach out with his mind, trying to push her closer into jumping. He wanted her to trust him enough to take that leap of faith. He wanted her to have the courage to join them and not regret it.

You can do it. Jump.

The air from the sea whipped around her as she fell, her hair flowing freely around her. Her eyes were closed when they finally met and David found himself smiling with pride as the warmth of her human body clung to his usually cool one.

"I knew you could do it," he murmured, his breath brushing the flesh of her ear as she held onto him.

Good grief was she warm, the heat sending a wave of electricity through his body. As a vampire, he was unaccustomed to this, having been dead for so many years. The simple pleasure of her touch nearly made him yearn for the life that he'd left behind. Not that he'd had a choice in it by any means, but that fact didn't really matter anymore as there was nothing that he could do about it. He could on the other hand still enjoy the feel of her hands on his neck as she held onto him, her eyes slowly sliding open as she realized that she was still in one piece. Her eyes told him thank you, no words being spoken. They didn't need to be.

"Awesome, Chicka!" came the sound of Paul's voice pulling him from his thoughts just long enough for her to be ripped from his arms.

David narrowed his gaze slightly as Paul tossed her over his shoulder, a scowl forming as Marko and Dwayne laughed. He didn't find it was funny as they did, but after a moment, he felt his mouth twitch up slightly. She really was a spit fire and very vocal about her likes and dislikes. Apparently, being picked up by Paul in the manner of what he'd done wasn't exactly one of her favorites. In return, she began beating against his back, yelling for him to put her down.

David and the other watched as Allegra's eye went wide, face red in mortification as Paul slapped her ass for hitting him so many times. When David saw this, he felt a small tug inside of him, a small wave of irritation rolling over him. He tried to ignore it though as they made their way to the cave, Paul finally deciding to put her down once they'd made it inside.

Once inside, they all separated, going to their separate areas while Allegra's eyes wandered around her. What was left of the hotel had peaked her interest. Seeing this, David felt that it was his duty to introduce her to the history of their home.

T

I was at a loss for words as I drank in the room around me. There were a few trash cans around that Dwayne had lit on fire so that we wouldn't be fully covered in the dark, the light from the flame bouncing off the walls. It was like the flames were dancing among the shadows, strands of light flickering in and out around me. It was almost ethereal in nature and made me smile.

Feeling some one behind me, it turned around, finding David's awaiting form. His face was somewhat relaxed now that we were here.

"Not too bad, huh?" he asked, looking around for a moment as I followed his gaze.

There was a fountain in the center of the room, an old chandelier resting inside the space. It was somewhat broken but still made useful by the candles sitting in their holders and lit. it provided an odd sense of comfort, along with a certain measure of normalcy.

"About 85 years ago, this was the hottest resort around," David told me, placing a hand on the small of my back as he led me around. "Too bad, they build the place on a fault."

It clicked in my mind then to what he was getting at. The area had likely slide right into place when the earthquake hit and had been lost to the public.

"In 1906, when the big one hit San Francisco, the ground opened up," he said, making gestures with his hand. "Place took a header."

Paul clasped his hands roughly together by my ear and I jumped, clinging to David momentarily as the latter of the two chuckled.

"Right into the crack it went," he grinned, looking down where my hands were wrapped around his arm. "Now the place is ours."

Honestly, I was surprised by his knowledge of this place, making me wonder how much of the area was still intact. It was obvious though that they'd been living here for a while making me wonder how long they'd actually been around. Could it be that they'd been here all along and just now started making trouble with the other gangs? Or had they just been quick about moving in? David seemed just a little too familiar with the area to be anywhere near recent though. He must have been here for a while.

"Obviously, this isn't your first rodeo through here," I said, letting go of his arm as I walked around.

"That's right," he nodded, following me with his eyes.

I had folded my hands behind my back as I took in some of the posters of the walls. I could see where Paul took his hair style form. There was also a rather large red tool cabinet against the wall, something that you'd normally see in an auto body shop. This led me to believe that they did all of their own repairs, giving them a rather decent knowledge of mechanics. From what I could remember, my father had worked on bikes and cars, but that was a long time ago.

"How long have you guys been here then?" I asked, turning around so that I could face David properly.

He merely shrugged his shoulders, brushing the question off for the most part.

"We come and go as we please," he said, slowly striding toward me. "We get bored, we move on," was his simple reply. "What about you?"

"What about me?" I asked, quirking a brow in question.

"Ever get bored?" he asked, stepping in front of me.

"Ever feel like runnin' off somewhere?" Paul asked, taking a place behind me.

"Maybe do something crazy?" Marko added.

"Change of pace," Dwayne spoke up.

I was confused by their words, becoming slightly uncomfortable. Of course I got bored. Of course I wanted to do something out of the ordinary every now and then. What did that have to do with anything though? I mean seriously.

"Your point?" I asked, ducking around Paul and passed Dwayne.

I paused at a couch, taking a seat. Leaning back, I let out a sigh, allowing my body to sink into the material. I close my eyes, only to peel one open again as I felt the space beside me sink down due to a change in weight. I was a little surprised when I found it to be Dwayne, the Native giving me a small smile. It was one that I returned, closing my eyes again as I listened to the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks outside.

I could hear the sound of the other three moving around, Dwayne reclining beside me as he let his muscles relax. I was trying to do the same, the soreness in my feet finally starting to set in from my long day of work. Even though I'd agreed to hang out with them, I still wanted to curl up and fall asleep. Oddly enough, I'd slept decently, Tiny no longer barking at all hours of the night. It made me wonder if something had happened to him. Perhaps a vulture had come around and grabbed the little guy or something.

"I think its time for food," David finally said. "Marko?"

With that, Marko went and fetched the food that had been picked up earlier. At the mere mention of food, I could feel my stomach growl. My face went slightly red when I found Dwayne grinning at me.

"Heads up!"

I barely had time to react as a box was tossed my way, almost hitting me in the face, my fingers being jammed against the box upon catching it.

"Thanks for the warning!" I said irritably, rolling my eyes when a set of chopsticks was tossed onto my lap after.

Now, if only the box of food could have been delivered in the same manner.

"Marko, manners," David chided, taking a seat in a wheel chair.

I gave David a nod in thanks, carefully opening my box of food. I grimaced when I saw what it was.

"Something wrong?" David asked, taking a bit of thick Chow Mein noodles and swallowing.

"I don't do Sesame Chicken," I said quietly, closing the box back up with a sigh.

Looking around, I realized that the rest of the guys had stopped eating.

"What?" I asked. "I can't stand Sesame,"

I heard Paul and Marko laugh, while David gave me a curious look. Obviously, they thought that I'd eat anything they gave me. Dwayne on the other hand merely reached over and took the box from my hands, before replacing it with his own. Looking down, I found that it was a container of Mei Fun rice noodles with some Mongolian Beef mixed into it. Slowly, I felt myself smile, stomach growling again.

"Thanks."

Dwayne gave a nod of his head, before digging into the Sesame Chicken without a second thought, the others following suit and stuffing their faces with food. It was odd though as I began to eat, slowly chewing on my food. I found them staring at me, a feeling of awkwardness rolling over me. Did I have something on my face? My shirt perhaps?

Clearing my throat, I managed to disrupt their attention, causing them to look away. David still kept glancing over at me in the silence, ever the watchful individual. It made me wonder how attentive he really was. How all of them were actually.

David gestured Marko over, whispering something to him that I couldn't quite hear. It was a little off putting if I had to be honest, but I ignored it, continuing to eat my food and fill the hunger inside of me.

Descreetly, I watched as Marko walked away, disappearing into a different room. It took a couple of minutes until he reappeared. He held in his hands what looked to be a bottle of sorts. A wine bottle maybe? The bottle was covered in the light of the fire. Once he was close enough, Marko handed the bottle over to David, the former returning to his seat to eat his food. David on the other hand popped the cork, inhaling the would be aroma, before bringing it to his lips. I watched as he took a deep pull from it, a shudder running through him while he had his eyes closed. Was it the taste that caused it? Maybe it was just strong. I was caught off guard when he held it out toward me though with what seemed like baited breath.

"Wine?" he offered.

I hesitated, biting the inside edge of my lip. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to drink right now. After all, I still didn't really know them very well. For all I knew, it could have been spiked with something. Then again, David had drank from it.

"It's just wine," David assured me, skaking the bottle lightly by the neck and causing the reddish liquid inside to swish around.

"I don't know," I breathed out, scratching the back of my neck.

"Come on, Allegra, join us," Paul called, a grin on his face as he sat on the tips of his toes.

"No, I can't," I said, finally making up my mind. "I have to work in the morning."

T

David had to grit his teeth when Paul opened his mouth. He could tell that she was debating on accepting the offered "wine". She'd backed out though completely when Paul decided to open his mouth though, making David want to his him over the head with the very bottle that he held in his hand.

"Maybe just a sip?" David offered, giving her what she would take to be a friendly smile.

"Look, it's not that I wouldn't enjoy a good drink, but I'd rather try it when I actually have time to enjoy it," Allegra managed to speak up, drawing David's attention back toward her. "Maybe one of these times when I don't' have to worry about work?" she offered, giving him a smile.

Not having much else to use to convince her, David nodded his head, giving her a look of understanding.

"Of course," he said, giving a bow of the head out of courtesy.

He was still irritated with Paul, but at least she wasn't completely turning the drink away. The annoying part was that he'd have to bide his time even further now and he didn't always like waiting. In fact, there was something about her that made him want to wait even less. He didn't know why, but he felt that it was likely due to the fact that he was tired of being alone. After all, he could only deal with this brothers so much. A female presence might make a difference.

T

The rest of the night had gone by rather uneventfully. It'd mainly been talk about random things, the boys asking me questions every now and then. David had pretty much let them have free reign, allowing them to ask whatever they wanted. Luckily, they mainly stuck to questions about music and my work. The incident with Mark and his brother was even brought up and we all laughed. In the end though, I ended up on the back of David's bike with him giving me a ride home. This time though, I didn't fall asleep, enjoying the journey home as he took his time. It allowed me to rest my head on his shoulder, a smile on my face as the wind whipped around, sending the wisps of hair at the back of his neck against my forehead.

I hadn't noticed how soft his hair was until it managed to brush my cheek. It made me want to laugh. I would have thought it to be rougher, courser, but it wasn't. It was soft and silky, almost making me want to run my hands through it. Instead, I traded it for wedging my hands against the inside of his coat, the material and his shirt caressing my skin.

This was how we rode for a while, his muscles relaxed against me with the occasional twitch of his abdomen. It was nice. It was really nice actually and as we finally pulled up to the house I once again found myself disappointed.

"Home, sweet home," David announced, placing the stand on his bike down.

For a moment, I didn't move. I didn't want to be pulled away and I didn't want to go inside. When I didn't let go, he seemed to notice, raising a hand and placing it on my own. I tensed slightly, afraid that he'd pry my hands off, but he didn't. Instead, he let out a breath of air and leaned back slightly.

To say that I was relieved was an understatement. I never felt that I was truly wanted around other guys or most people in general actually. Normally, my mother didn't even want to be around me, too busy getting her next fix. At least David, he didn't push me away. Neither did his brothers. In fact, they seemed to welcome me which was a nice change of pace.

Closing my eyes I lowered my head back against him, enjoying the male contact.

"Eventually, you're going to have to let go," he chuckled quietly, chest vibrating.

"I don't wanna," I said childishly.

He snorted slightly in jest, laughing again as he thought I was joking. Slowly, I pulled away though, my hands retreating from the inside of his coat. Once I was off, I looked toward the house, rubbing my arms despite my jacket.

"David?"

He turned toward me as I called his name.

"I wanted to thank you for earlier," I told him, watching as a look of confusion formed on his face. "I had a nice time with you guys."

He nodded his head in response, standing against his bike. He'd crossed his arms over his chest lightly as I continued.

"I didn't want you to think that I didn't after the offer for a drink."

He tensed slightly when I brought it up, just as I thought he would.

"I know that you were just trying to get me to relax and unwind, but I don't drink very often," I explained. "I normally have enough to worry about between work and my mom."

"I understand."

"No, you don't," I said firmly, stepping back toward him until we were about a foot apart, placing a hand on his arm. "I really did have a good time though."

With that, I leaned forward, pressing my lips to his cheek. He went stock still at the contact, but didn't push ne away. When I pulled back, I realized the somber look on his face. It left me confused, making me wonder if I had done something wrong with my actions. The look on his face disappeared after a moment though and his eyes softened slightly. I felt his hand on the back of my neck, his thumb running over my pulse.

"You should get some sleep," he told me quietly. "It's late."

Nodding my head, I turned to leave, but found his hand gripping my arm. I turned back in confusion, scanning his blue eyes with my own.

"Good night, Allegra," he said softly.

"Good night, David," I replied with a smile. "I'll see you later."

With that, I headed inside, the sound of his bike riding away finding me moments later.

"Thank you, David."

Alright everyone, that was chapter 3. I hope all of you liked it? Please, let me know what you think or any ideas that you may have. I need help keeping this story on track as its a little different than most. Anyway, don't forget to message and review! Happy readings everyone!