How To Stay Afloat (BxB)

Chapter 4: DUIs and bus rides

There's gonna be mentions of driving while high which I don't support. And that will also be a topic in other future chapters. Don't drive while under the influence of any drugs! Thanks.

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"Sam, wake up." Someone says, shaking me.

I must have fallen asleep outside the bar. I open my eyes to find out who's talking to me. Austin. Why is he here? And why does he disrupt my slumber?

"Good morning." I croak out.

He called me by my name. Was that the first time he said my name? It feels special.

"Are you alright?" He asks concerned.

"I guess." I look around, trying to wake up fully. Austin is wearing black jeans and a light grey button up like the servers in the bar.

"You should get inside, it's not that warm." He states.

Going inside now sounds like a terrible idea. The music is gonna be loud, it's gonna be full and the air will be thick.

I shake my head stubbornly.

Austin grins. "No?" He asks amused.

"It's gonna be too loud inside." I explain.

"It's a bar. What did you expect?" He asks me, slightly annoyed, but also slightly amused.

I expected to just stay as long as I need and drive home after that. I didn't expect to get high. The weed is already slightly wearing off. It's only been a few minutes, weird. I almost feel completely normal again.

"It's not loud, the bar is getting empty, we're closing soon." He assures me.

He works here. That's why he's here. Has he been here all evening? Why are they closing already?

"Why are you closing so early?"

Austin looks confused by my question. "We always close at 1. Now come on I wanna leave in twenty minutes and need to clean up."

I shoot up instantly. "What?" I ask and feel around for my phone.

Low and behold. It is ten minutes to 1 o'clock. There are at least ten messages and three missed calls from Carla.

"Where is Carla?" I ask him. Why would he know? Maybe he knows.

"She's inside." He answers. "I think she is pretty drunk, too." He says and then pulls me up. "Someone told me that a guy is sleeping outside. That's why I came to check on you. I didn't know you were here." He explains.

"Uhm thanks. Sorry for the trouble." I say.

We both walk back inside. The music is loud. But not as loud as I expected. It's bearable. Carla is sitting at our table almost asleep.

I sit down on the chair next to her and poke her. "Hey, I wanna go home." I tell her.

She instantly hugs me. "Where were you? I searched for you. The others went to some club, but I wanted to wait for you."

A club? Oh no. "Sorry, Carla. I don't want to go to another club, can we please just go home?" I beg her.

"Yes! Of course. I threw up two times. I just want my bed." She says. "Screw the others, they can take a cab home, Noah lives like two minutes away."

"Are you sure they won't mind?" I ask her and she nods, confident in her opinion.

Apart from the two of us there are only five other guests here anymore, the dancefloor already closed.