ARABELLA • Alex Turner

TEN

TW: This chapter contains sexual content.
Smut is towards the end but I'm more than happy to provide a chapter summary if anyone feels uncomfortable reading 🫶🏼

~

     By the time Arabella and Katie returned back to the booth, it was past 1AM.

   The boys were still laughing away in the corner with half-empty pints of lager in their hands when the girls reappeared, dischevelled and clearly worn out from all the dancing.

   Jamie removed himself from the booth at the sight of Katie stumbling over, clearly a lot more drunk than she had been when he last saw her, and wrapped a steady arm around her waist to prevent her from falling.

   Alex welcomed Arabella back into the booth beside himself and Nick, seeming relieved that she was visibly more sober than her new friend.

   "There you ladies are, we were beginning to think you'd left without us." He teased, studying Arabella carefully as if to reassure himself that she was still in one piece. The attention made her heart quicken, but she smiled at him nonetheless.

   She had stopped drinking after their third tequila shot, not wanting to go too far and embarass herself in front of Alex yet again. Katie, however, had continued necking vodka cranberries without a care in the world and was clearly paying the price for it now.

   "We would never leave you, Al!" The blonde exclaimed, pressing a sloppy kiss to Jamie's cheek and almost knocking him over in the process. "We were just 'aving fun, weren't we Bella? Showing those other twats how it's done."

   The band laughed, thoroughly amused by her antics.

   Arabella nodded and replied with a laugh of her own. "Yeah, we showed 'em all up."

   Jamie took Katie's bag from her and slung it over his own shoulder, rolling his eyes at Matt when the man failed to stifle another laugh, this time at his expense. "Right, I think we'd better get you home, aye?"

   Katie hummed her agreement, blinking slowly as if she was about to fall asleep standing up. "Can we go... kebab shop?"

   Jamie nodded, this time ignoring Matt's laughter altogether in favour of pressing a kiss to his girlfriend's temple. "Yeh, we'll stop at the kebab shop on the way back."

   "Okay." Katie seemed satisfied. "Bye everyone! Bye Bella!"

   "Bye Katie, thanks for dancing with me." Arabella waved at the blonde, who blew her a kiss and mouthed something that looked vaguely like an I love you.

   Matt threw Jamie the leather jacket he'd abandoned in the booth, for which he received a grateful nod in return. "I'm afraid we'll have to love you and leave you, lads."

   Everyone bid the adorable couple goodbye and watched Jamie walk Katie out of the back door, followed closely by the security guard responsible for seeing them off.

   Once they were gone, Alex's attention returned to Arabella. He spoke quietly so that only she could hear what he was asking, clearly not wanting her to feel uncomfortable.

   "We can go too, if you want?"

   His concern for her was sweet. Although she could feel the effects of the alcohol wearing off and her social battery waning, she didn't want to put a premature end to Alex's night.

   "I'll be fine if you want to stay." She replied, glancing behind him at Matt and Nick who were now engrossed in a new conversation. If Alex wanted to continue hanging out with his friends then she wasn't going to be the one to stop him, especially since he had included her in his plans and not the other way around.