steal my thunder ✷ owens

𐚁 𝟎𝟗. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞

.°˖⋆ ℧ 𓃗 .°˖⋆

7 years ago...

TIME FLIES BY in a blink of an eye when you're drunk. And Arizona Clark was drunk.

Her body swayed as she weaved her way through a sea of bodies. She danced as she walked, one hand holding onto her drink and the other up in the air, moving to the beat of the song.

Her vision blurred as she stumbled, a slurred laugh leaving her lips. Her brown leather boots clacked against the wood planks with every step.

Arizona could feel the music in her chest, the echo of the words lingering in her ears. She smiled, finding her balance and continuing her way to her friends in the back.

Kate, Javi, Praveen, Jeb, and Addy sat in a circular booth in the back corner of the bar, talking and bringing up memories of their past.

Javi, who had been dating Arizona at the time, looked around the bar worriedly, wondering where she was. He knew he should have gone with her when she said she wanted another drink, but Jeb had held him back.

Now, as he searched the crowd, he only hoped she was okay. He constantly looked for her blonde hair, and of course, her signature cowboy hat resting on top of her head.

He couldn't see either of them, which made him stand up, saying, "I'll be right back." He grabbed his empty beer bottle. "Gonna grab another."

His friends all replied with smiles and an "Okay!", which only left Javi to actually move.

His chest tightened as the possibility of something bad happening to Arizona crossed his mind. He felt his body rushing into the crowd, pressing a hand over his ear to lessen the volume of music.

"Ari!" Javi called out, his head constantly on a swivel. His eyes snapped in every direction of the bar, searching every corner he could reach.

And while Javi was freaking out, Arizona was having the time of her life. She stood in the middle of the crowd, jumping up and down. Her eyes were closed, trying to feel the song within her soul. She wanted to connect with the lyrics and feel each beat rumble through her bones.

She tilted her head back, trying to get another taste of the hard-hitting liquor. Looking down at her glass, Arizona pouted, stumbling her way out of the circle and towards the bar.

She slammed her glass down on the wood counter, saying, "Another please."

The bartender glanced her over, silently judging whether or not he should give this girl another. Not wanting to miss out on a couple more bucks, he tapped his computer and made Arizona another one of her favorite drinks.

He slid the glass her way, but before it reached her, another hand shot out, stopping it short.

"Hey!" Arizona exclaimed, looking at the culprit. He had green eyes and brown hair that was combed over. He wore a deep blue flannel and denim jeans with a pair of brown Tecovas sticking out underneath. His light colored Stetson hat tipped forward on his head, casting a shadow over the stubble on his face. "What's your problem?!"

The man laughed, bringing the glass up to his lips and taking a sip. He winced, the liquor sliding down his throat. "Man, you must be having a rough one to be drinkin' like this."

Arizona scoffed, trying to lean on the counter, but she ended up slipping. The man grabbed her arm, stabilizing her, but she just laughed and patted his chest slowly. Her face contorted into more of a curious one, her hand sliding to his bicep and squeezing it. "Wow, do you work out?" she slurred.

The man furrowed his brows at her, taking notice of what kind of state she was in. "Are you here with someone?" he asked, not wanting her to end up in the wrong hands.

"My boyfriend," Arizona said, waving him off and trying to stand by herself. She couldn't. "He's with my friends."

The man nodded, looking around the bar. "Okay, do you know where they are? I can help you get over there."

Arizona laughed again, grabbing for the ends of her hair and twirling it around her finger. "You're really pretty," she sighed dreamily, not answering his question. "What's your name, Cowboy?"

"Tyler."

She made a reach for his Cowboy hat, but Tyler quickly backed away. "Careful," he said, a small smirk on his face. "You know what the rule is."

The blonde looked up at Tyler through her eyelashes, a glint of knowledge dancing around her smile. She knew what she was doing.

"I know the rule, Cowboy. I'm just tryin' to save some horses," she said.

Stunned, Tyler was caught off-guard by Arizona's grab for his hat. She placed it on top of her head and fixed her hair, pulling some strands in front of her shoulders.

"How do I look, Cowboy?" she asked, trying to give a twirl, but ended up almost falling again.

Tyler wrapped his arms around Arizona's waist, keeping her from face-planting on the floor. He turned her around, placing his hands on her waist and having a firm grip.

He never got a chance to answer her though, because someone came pushing through the crowd, yelling Arizona's name.

"Ari! Jesus, girl! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Said person glanced down at Arizona's waist, then followed the arm all the way up to Tyler's face. "Who are you?"

"Tyler," he answered, giving a raised brow. "I'm guessing you're the boyfriend."

"Yeah, Javi."

Arizona, who was unaware of the situation, turned to Javi and gasped. "Javi! When did you get here?" she giggled.

She threw her arms around Javi's neck, though her feet were still in the same place, causing her boots to drag along the wood.

Tyler took the opportunity to let go of Arizona's waist, shoving his hands in his pockets. Part of him felt ticked off that Javi had showed up, but he knew it was for the better.

Javi stumbled back, wrapping his arms around Arizona's waist. He nodded over to the glass on the counter. "You know how many of those she's had?" he asked.

"No clue," Tyler shrugged with a small laugh. "Stopped her right before this one. I assume it's more than she can handle, though."

Javi mumbled to himself as he took Arizona's arms off of his neck. He had her stand by his side, but had a tight grip on her waist to make sure she wouldn't fall over.

Brushing hair off of her shoulder, Javi looked up at her head, furrowing his brows. He picked the Stetson hat off of her head in confusion.

"Ari, whose hat is this?" Javi asked.

Tyler chuckled awkwardly, taking the hat in his hands. "That would be mine. I tried to keep her away from it, but she's very persistent."

"Tell me about it," Javi sighed. He glanced at Arizona, who was giggling about something he saw. He smiled, placing a quick kiss to her temple. "Anyway, thanks man. I appreciate you not letting her get into any trouble."

Tyler waved him off, saying, "Ah, it's no big deal, man. I just didn't want her to end up in the wrong hands."

Javi nodded, looking over at Arizona. "You wanna go sit down for a little bit?"

"Sit down," Arizona muttered.

Almost as if she were hypnotized, her legs gave out on her, making both Tyler and Javi rush forward. They picked her up and Javi wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders.

"I should get her to a booth. Thanks for everything," Javi said. He gave a small smile in acknowledgement, then turned on his heel and led Arizona back to their friends.

"Bye, Cowboy!" Arizona yelled, putting a hand in the air and waving behind her.

Tyler sighed, laughing to himself as he put his hat back on his head. Even if Arizona didn't remember a single thing from that night, he would remember it all for the rest of his life.