ya got napped by the knot

xiii. keep you on a leash

"Hey," Mick announces his entrance to the living room, startling you and making you jump a bit. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya."

"Don't worry about it," you shrug and pause the show you're watching. "What's up?"

"You've been good lately, so we thought we'd take you out for some errands."

"'We'?"

"Me, Paul, Jim, and Joey."

"Really? Thank you," you smile. "When are we leaving?"

"Bout 10 minutes," Mick replies. "We're in my car."

"I'm not sure which one that is," you mutter. 

"It's gonna be the one with people in it."

"You're funny."

"Get  ready before I change my mind."

You obey, husting upstairs to pull some shoes and a jacket on before meeting the men in Mick's car. 

Oh, right. It's a sedan meant for 4 people. 

"C'mon," Paul pats his lap. He's your best bet for not having anything gross done to you, but it still makes you uncomfortable to climb into a Nissan Altima to sit on his lap. Once you're as comfortable as you can be, Paul clasps his arms around you. That part's actually really endearing. 

"Where to first?" Jim asks from the front seat. 

"Starbucks," you can hear a smirk in Mick's voice.

"Hell no," Jim vetoes.

"Hell yes. Get over yourself, Root. I need a coffee. And don't smoke in my car, that's disgusting."

That you can agree with. You usually don't mind Jim's smoking because he always smokes outside or by an open window, but in the car isn't classy. (Not like any other part of him is very classy, but still. Come on, man. Don't smoke up the car.)

The Starbucks that Mick drives to is in front of the huge shitty mall you used to work at in high school. You have a lot of memories there and at the Starbucks you're walking into, so this is sure to be an experience. 

As you walk in the Starbucks, Joey keeps a grip on your hand and instructs you never to go out of eyeshot of anyone in the group. They wouldn't mind going to whatever store you wanted to go to, but you were never to be left alone. You choose not to ask about how a dressing room situation would be navigated since you're pretty sure you already know the answer. At least you're going with the more chilled out people of your kidnapping group. 

Mick, Paul, and Joey wait in line while Jim stalks over to a table. You follow him, not really wanting anything.

"We gotta keep you on a leash, y'know," Jim ruffles your hair as he sits down next to you at a table. "You sure you don't want anything? I haven't seen you eat in a while."

"I'm good. I'm not a fan of Starbucks either, anyway," you shrug. 

"Attagirl," the guitarist smiles and pulls you closer to him, rubbing your arm a bit. He doesn't let go of you until the group leaves the coffee shop to walk up to the mall. 

"God, it still smells weird in here," you cringe as you walk in. 

"Hm?" Joey asks.

"I used to work at a few places here," you tell him. "In another life, I was a total mall rat. We used to smoke at the dumpsters by the Cheesecake Factory after all the stores closed and before the good movie showtimes."

"Sounds fun?"

"It actually kind of was. Me and the other retail workers used to try to one up each other about who had the worst customer experiences that day and whoever had the worst one got a free slice of cheesecake because we used to supply the Cheesecake Factory manager with cigarettes."