Dave glanced at Pete out of the corner of his eye, watching as the young man pushed his still half full pint glass back and forth across the table, completely ignoring the conversation going on around him.
"I told you, I'm not loaning you any more fucking money," Ike was grumbling, rifling through his pockets for a lighter. "You already owe me £40 from last month,"
"Aw, come on you miserable bastard," Swill grinned. "It's only for tonight, innit? And then I'll pay you back,"
Dave jumped slightly when Pete's phone which had been resting on the table began ringing, picking it up, the blue eyes man stared at it for a long moment, looking almost ill before putting it right back down, letting it ring.
"You planning on answering that?" Bovver asked him, still slightly pissed that Pete had shown up with Matt again. They couldn't go out for a single night without the Yank showing up these days and it was starting to get beyond the joke.
"Nah," Pete shook his head dismissively. "It's just a call centre again, trying to get me to change contracts,"
Dave blinked in surprise, knowing full well that he had seen Allie's name flash up on the small screen; why was Pete lying about not wanting to talk to her? Suddenly realising that whatever the cause, it was probably the same reason Pete had been sat there with a face like a smacked arse all night, Dave slapped his hands against his knees and glanced around the table.
"Who's up for another, then?" he asked, getting a round of yes's from the boys.
"Oi," he winked at Pete, gesturing towards the bar. "Fancy giving me a hand?"
Glancing back at the rest of the boys who were far too busy eyeing up three girls who had just walked in, Pete nodded and stood up, following his mate to the bar and leaning against it heavily.
"No Allie tonight, then?" Dave asked, winking at Terry who nodded in return, signalling that he would serve them next.
"No," Pete shook his head. "We're not joined at the fucking hip, you know,"
"Didn't say you were," Dave shrugged. "It's just not often we see one without the other these days, you know?"
"Yeah, well it's a sight you might have to get used to," Pete mumbled, flipping one of the used bar mats over in his hand and grimacing when he realised it was saturated with spilt beer.
"What'd you mean?" Dave asked him, raising an eyebrow.
"I went over to hers after the match," he stared at the bar in front of him, the noise around him seeming to dim. "Just to see her, make sure she was ok after earlier,"
"Did you two have a barney or something?" Dave frowned. Pete and Allie hardly ever fought a feat that was mainly down to the fact that they were solid mates on top of all the other stuff. It was almost as though they knew each other too well to piss each other off.
"She didn't know I was there, Dave," he shook his head. "Lara was getting all excited about the wedding and Allie…" he sighed and rubbed his face. "All she could talk about was how scared she was about me; so then Lara says to her that she doesn't think she's happy,"
"What?" Dave frowned. "Of course she is, mate,"
"No, she's not," Pete snapped, slamming his hand down on the bar. "That's the thing; she's settling for pretending to be happy because I'm not giving her a shot at the real thing,"
"Pete," Dave turned to face him, staring at the young man as he tried to get his breathing under control. "I know Allie, alright, granted not as well as you, but I know her. And I know how much she loves you, mate,"
"It's not about that though, is it?" Pete laughed. "Loving her doen't mean fuck all if she's unhappy."
"You're gonna drive yourself up the pissing wall if you think about this too much," Dave shook his head. "Pete, it was a passing comment, Lara's her best mate, she's probably just worried about her." He grinned. "Besides, they're birds, blowing stuff out of proportion is in their job description."
Chucking quietly, Pete clapped Dave on the back and opened his mouth to say thanks when Dave instantly shook his head.
"Don't mention it, Dunham," he smiled back and then looked up at Terry. "The usual mate," he sighed, pulling out his wallet. "And throw in two sambuca's will you?"
Catching the look Pete gave him, Dave rolled his eyes and tossed £30 onto the bar.
"Let's just say you're not the only one in the dog house," he told him, jerking his head over to the other side of the bar where Lucy was glaring at him dangerously.
"Shit," Pete laughed. "What've you gone and done? And to think, you're supposed to be the fucking smart one of the group."
"Yeah, well smart don't mean shit when you forget to meet them for dinner, does it?" Dave shook his head as Pete winced and laughed at him.
"Oi, fuck off," he laughed. "If she doesn't get to me first, I've still got Ike to worry about."
"Nah," Pete shook his head, picking up his shot and handing the other one to Dave. "We'll be alright. Here's to fucking up royally,"
"Cheers," Dave clinked his shot glass against Pete's and downed it, wincing as the sickening taste of sambuca coated his tongue. Reaching for his pint immediately, he down a good fraction of it, noting Pete was doing the same.
"Right," he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and burped. "Let's gets these beers back to the table before Bovver gets ancy and breaks a nail."
Laughing, Pete grabbed a few beers and followed him over, narrowly missing bumping into a girl in a tight black dres who smiled flirtatiously at him. Smiling back, he caught the look of slight embarrassment and annoyance on her face when she realised that he wasn't interested in stopping to chat. Oh well, those days were long gone.
Thank Fuck, he thought with a laugh. If he had the choice between the old days of using his reputation and slight arrogance to get girls into bed or having Allie there every time he went home, he'd take the latter any day. Sliding back onto his stool, he noticed that he had a further four calls from her and felt instantly guilty.
"Who did you say keeps calling you?" Bovver asked taking a sip of his pint. "They're a bit fucking eager, aren't they?"
"Call her back, son," Dave told him quietly. "Or better yet go and see her, yeah? Get this sorted before it gets any worse."
"What the fuck am I supposed to say?" Pete asked him. "She doesn't even know I was listening and she'll fucking ape-shit when I tell her,"
"Well its either that or ignore her until she eventually hunts you down," Dave shrugged. "And I've seen that girl when she's pissed; she might look all sweet and innocent but fuck me is she scary when she's mad."
Nodding in agreement, Pete smirked slightly recalling the first argument they'd ever had when she had hunted him down in the Abbey after he's taken Bov's advice and tried to end things with her. Not only was she more than a little scary, but the woman was sexy as hell when she was pissed.
"'Ere," Ned nodded at them. "What have you do ladies been chatting about all night?"
"We were comparing notes on your mum," Pete shot back, the rest of the table laughing along with him.
"Bastards," Ned muttered, shaking his head. "Why is it always my mum you rip the piss out of?"
"Because she loves it," Swill smirked. "Well that and my-"
"Alright," Pete laughed, shaking his head. "This could get pretty fucking dark if we don't stop now,"
"What's so funny?"
All the boys turned at the sound of the slightly familiar voice and stared, Dave fighting the urge to groan aloud when he met Sophie's eyes. But then he, along with the rest of them seemed to notice the state she was in and quickly shut up. Gone was the OTT make up and perfume, in its place bruises and a sore looking lip, her face devoid of any make up or emotion for that matter as she stared at them all evenly.
"You alright, love?" Pete asked her, standing up. "'Ere, d'you wanna sit down?"
"No," She shook her head and glanced around quickly, nervously.
"What happened to you?" Dave asked her, shaking his head lightly.
"Nothing," she answered quickly. "I just...I'm off," she gestured to her bag on the floor. "I was staying with my gran for a few days but she leant me some money so I'm off to California in the morning."
"Great," Dave told her. "That's great,"
The blonde looked down at her feet and then back up at them, catching all of them off guard as tears poured down her cheeks.
"I couldn't go without..." she shook her head. "God, I'm so sorry, I should have told you sooner,"
"Oi," Pete moved over to her and gently placed a hand on her arm. "Its alright," he told her. "Whatever it is it can't be that bad, can it?"
"You have no idea," she snorted, wiping her eyes with her trembling fingers. "Has Allie talked to you?"
"Allie?" Pete frowned, casting a worried look at the boys. "How do you..."
"You need to start watching your back," she told him. "And I'm mean that,"
"What're you on about?" Pete shook his head. "Watch my back for what?"
"Not what," she met his eyes dead on. "Try who."
"The amatuer dramatics are getting a little bit old, sweetheart," Bov told her inpatiently. "D'you fancy spitting it out any time before next Thursday?"
"I..." Sophie sighed loudly; she didn't have the time or the energy to get into this with him. "He knows a lot more than you think he does and he'll use it against you to get what he wants." she turned to look at Pete. "You know exactly who I'm talking about,"
"Hatcher?" He frowned. "How the fuck do you know Hatcher?"
"I know Hatcher alright," she rolled her eyes and laughed bitterly. "Although in my house he goes by the name Uncle Tommy,"
The temperature around the table seemed to drop and Bovver looked up at Pete with pure fear in his eyes; if Tommy knew everything this bird knew then that meant...
"Fuck!" Pete shouted, turning away and lacing his hands behing his head.
"What did you think you were doing?" Dave demanded, getting in her face. "Get everything you needed, did you?"
"It wasn't like that," she protested. "I liked you lot, I just..." she shook her head, cursing when another tear fell down. "You don't know what he's like,"
"Oh we do though, love," Swill stared at her wide eyed. "That's the fucking scary part,"
"I should go," She mumbled, turning to leave, stopping only when Pete grabbed her wrist a little harder than he should have.
"What did you say to Allie?" he hissed, his eyes wild as they bored into hers. He got his answer when she looked down at the floor and sobbed silently.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Sorry?" Pete mimicked and then tightened his grip on her. "If anything and I mean anything happens to her because of this, I swear to God..."
"I didn't come here to start anything," she told him honestly. "I just wanted you to know that you need to be careful."
"Oh well, thanks for your consideration," he sneered. "I didn't realise it was custom to come back and visit the people you've just royally fucked over." he shook his head in disgust and let go of her. "Now get out."
"I'm so sorry," she whispered to them once more before picking up her bag and practically running towards the door.
"Fucking hell," Ike shook his head after a long moment of silence passed between them. "That was pretty heavy,"
"Pretty heavy?" Ned cried, rubbing his face. "If that bird is anything to go by, we're fucked."
"Nah," Bovver stubbed out his cigarette and shook his head vehemently. "We're not fucked. If Hatcher wants to start something, he's on. We're not backing away from this, right Pete?"
Meeting his best mates eyes and trying to push down the fear which was bubbling in his stomach, Pete nodded slowly, forcing a smile onto his face.
"Yeah," he told them firmly. "We stand our ground, same as always." Picking up his pint, he took a long, soothing sip, hoping it would serve as some kind of antidote to his nerves. "Tommy Hatcher won't know what hit him. Trust me."
The next chapter is pretty much done, but I have two different endings for it and want to see what you lot make of this one before deciding which one to use! So yes, that is my uber subtle way of saying 'REVIEW!' :D... part 20 is pretty heavy, there's a fair amount of violence in it not to mention a huge fight...between who I can't say, but you can probably guess...give it maybe 2 days and I'll have it up. But for now, I hope this didn't suck too much! cheers for reading guys! xxxx