delicate ~ L.W

Chapter 15: The Green-Eyed Monster

Ellie's outfit above ^^^

I step out of the taxi and look up at the pub I'm meeting the girls in and... Leah. The pub has a fairly simple yet detailed exterior, finite details found within the window frames, the windows themselves. The colours contrast each other, creating a fairly welcoming atmosphere. There is a fairly sheek, matte dark grey sign displaying the name of the pub: 'THE WRESTLERS.'

I step through the heavy black door of the pub and step inside, the interior being filled with tones of mahogany. I spot the group of girls at a large table in the corner of the large pub. The group contains Beth, Viv, Katie, Jen, and Leah. I walk over to them with a wide smile as they cheer watching me walk over. I take the spare seat next to Kati and opposite Leah. I laugh softly noticing the half empty glasses already on the table and one full glass on the table in front of me.

I state light-heartedly, looking around the girls with a lazy smirk, "start without me did you?"

I lock eyes with Leah, who proceeds to look down at the table with a small smile, a soft smile spreads across my lips at the adorable sight. I feel a slight nudge at my side from Katie's elbow, making me snap out of it.

Katie smirks up at me, clearly noticing the interaction between Leah and I, before stating with a soft laugh, "yeah, well we were early. Besides, you couldn't keep up with us if you tried EJ. I got you a jack and coke to start you off anyway." She nods at the full glass in front of me.

I gasp comically and chuckle, "you're underestimating me, McCabe. I can absolutely keep up with you lot."

"No one can beat the Irish when it comes to drinking, Wales." Katie states with a slight smirk, looking up at me.

I chuckle, "prove it McCabe."

She simply chuckles and shakes her head.

I grab the drink from Katie that's in front of me, and down it in one go.

"Thas the spirit, atta girl!" Katie cheers, the girls joining in.

I laugh softly and the rest of the girls finish their drinks as well. I let out a soft sigh and stand up, stating, "I'll get the next round, what does everyone want?"

The girls relay their orders to me and Leah offers to come up to the bar and help me wth them. We walk up to the bar side by side and the silence is fairly deafening, it's never been louder. There's a slight tension in the air, filled with uneasiness. It's as if we both want to say something but we can't bring ourselves to.

I quickly order the drinks with the bartender before turning and gazing down at Leah, "are we gonna talk about it, blue eyes?"

Leah sighs softly and looks down at the ground before speaking softly, "I don't know, Ellie. Fuck, I don't want it to be this awkward between us."

I sigh softly and nod in agreement, "Leah... I just... I don't... I don't know if I'm ready to start something new. I've just moved clubs, houses... I don't wanna label anything. I'm not sure if I have the capability to make a commitment to someone else right now."

Leah sighs, her shoulders sinking, she speaks with a tone of relief, "I don't think I'm ready either. I mean... I only broke up with my ex about 3 months ago..."

I nod and smile down at her softly "so... friends?"

She laughs softly and smiles up at me "friends." She states with a nod.

The bartender puts the drinks on the bar and we carry them over to the table, passing them to the girls.

________________________________________

It's been about 2 hours and everyone is at least on their 6th drink. Leah gets up to the bar and orders more drinks, stating that she didn't need any help because she was a "footballer" as if that would make her capable of carrying 6 sets of drinks herself. But, it manages to convince myself and the girls included and I let her walk up to the bar alone, which I never would have done. But, lately I've been doing a lot of things I never would have done.

I notice a man who looks to be a few inches shorter than me and a couple inches taller than Leah, approaches her at the bar. She's laughing with him and he's inching closer to her with each sentence. I clench my jaw slightly as I notice them flirting slightly back and forth. The more I watch, the angrier I get, the more fueled with jealousy I become. I want to look away, knowing I have no right to be jealous given the fact that I literally just told her that I didn't want to start anything, but I can't tear my gaze away.

Then, I notice that he places her hand on her waist and she pushes it off, laughing in what appears to be an uncomfortable and awkward manner. I clench the glass in my hand. But, instead of leaving it, he puts his hand back on her waist. I clench my glass harder. He corners her at the bar with both his arms either side of her, blocking her exit. I notice her trying to push him away and stand up immediately.

I walk up to him purposefully and tap his shoulder, looking don at him with a sharp glare and a smile. I speak sharply, "fancy backing off, mate?"

He laughs not even turning to look at me as he states, "what you gonna do about it, love?"

I chuckle darkly, "I asked you nicely, now get the hell away from her before I knock your teeth out... mate." I state in an aggressive manner.

He ignores me and I place my hand on his shoulder and rip him away from Leah. I glare down at him and cross my arms and nod to the door of the bar, "get the hell out before I drag you out."

He pushes me and hisses out, "why the fuck are you getting involved mate? She's a slag anyway, I've already dated her, I know what she's like."

His push doesn't affect me as I stand still. I chuckle darkly and bring my arm back, curling my hand into a fist and bringing my hand forward with force, putting my weight behind it and punching the side of his face. He falls to the ground and I simply lean down, grasping his shirt and pulling him back up to stand. I get closer to him and glare down at him, "If you ever go near her again or hurt her in any way, mentally or physically, I will do worse. Understand?"

I don't wait for him to understand and drag him out with my hand grasping his shirt as I chuck him out of the bar.

I walk up to Leah and place my hand onto her upper arm, gazing down into her eyes, I speak softly, "are you okay?"

She nods wordlessly.

I speak softly, "you wanna head home? It's late and we can share a taxi"

She sighs softly and takes my hand in hers, intertwining our fingers, "please."

I nod, "okay, let's get out of here."

AN: Short chapter again guys, just trying to get back into the groove of writing x