“Well look who’s finally awake!” One of them said. I stood up face and burned red. “Holy fucking-“was all I could muster. I was never a GIGANTIC fan of theirs but a lot of their songs are actually really good. One of them giggled. “Are you…feeling okay?” The one with black spiky hair asked. “Fine…Thanks.” I smiled. “So….I’m gonna just come out and say this: Why the fuck was a girl like you in a dark ass alley, covered in puke and some cheap ass beer?” came from the one in the back with a really curly white guy ‘fro. “Loooong story…” I said, slumping back down into the blue chair. They all inched closer and took seats. “We’ve got some time…” The one with a neck tattoo stated. “Yeah…And we DID save your ass so I’d like a little more words, missy.” The one with glasses and a shirt similar to mine that I got from the suitcase smiled at me. I was a little hesitant. “How about this: We tell you about ourselves, you tell us about you. And then when we’re all comfortable and la-di-da with each other, you tell us why you were sprawled across an alley in Downtown Chicago. Deal?” The spiky black haired one spoke up again. “Sounds fine with me…but you guys start...” I looked down. “Alright, well I’m Pete, that’s Patrick, ‘Fro over there’s name is Joe, and that’s Andy…” ‘Pete’ said, motioning to all of them. “Well hello….I’m Vanessa.” I smiled, trying to muster a better attitude out of me. “Okay…First names are gone… What else?” Pete asked everyone. “Well I serve coffee for a living… And I know that you guys do far from that.” I said. Patrick laughed and looked up at me. “Of course, but coffee is always great! And we weren’t always like this, you know.” I looked away and said “I suppose, but unless you haul around shit-loads of coffee to rude ass people all day, serving coffee isn’t such a walk in the park.” I said. God, why am I being so rude?! They found me in an alley, took me to their 5 star hotel, and bandaged me up. I could be a little nicer… I looked up at them and they didn’t seem to be phased by my jerk behavior. “Alright….So…Are we cool enough to know why you were in that alley last night?”
I finally decided to give in and tell them. I mean, they seemed like pretty nice guys. And let’s face it, they’re hot. “Well I was out with my best friend, Zoe, and I was trying to…y’know…get my mind off a total douche. I got shitty drunk, refused to leave with her, left alone, threw up all over myself, and passed out. I guess that’s when you guys came in…” I finished and looked up at them. Of course, Joe just HAD to ask “So….this douche…? Why is he a douche?” I figured it wasn’t as bad as I thought and they had the right to know. “I walked into his house without asking him, and I found him…with another girl.” I said, quietly. Their faces softened. “Oh and I also found out that I was only one if the four other girls he was fucking….” I laughed and how stupid I was and looked down at my lap. “He hit me in the face, I stormed out, and met Zoe at the bar.” The guys looked genuinely sad and Patrick said “Oh my god, I’m so sorry…” “It’s okay, it’s all over now…” I said and tried a weak smile. I knew it was a sucky smile and none of them bought it. Of course, I wasn’t telling the truth. Jacob hit me a numerous amount of times but I wasn’t going to just tell complete strangers what happens at my house. I knew better than that. “Aaaand…that’s why I was in the alley and now here!” I grinned. “Well…I’m sure you don’t want to dwell on this topic…So who wants to get some food?” Patrick spoke up. I was grateful for that. I hate talking about last night or Jacob in general. “I’m fucking starving!!” Pete said. “How about we go get breakfast downstairs and then go to Starbucks?” He suggested. I nodded. “I’d love that… The last thing in my mouth was…vomit. So a change of taste would be fantastic!” I smiled. They all got up and led me to the door. “Oh! By the way, you guys still need to tell me about yourselves. We can talk at breakfast.” I looked over and Patrick was staring at me. He looked away, right when my eyes met his, his cheeks tinting a slight pink. I think I like him the most… I thought to myself.
We arrived downstairs at the hotel restaurant right when it was closing. “Oh shit!” Pete said, walking up the waiter, setting up one of the last chairs. “When’d you close?” Patrick asked, looking completely concerned. The waiter could barely speak English and that was extremely obvious. He spoke with a very think accent, from god know where. Somewhere Hispanic, I suppose. He’d roll his R’s. “Sorrrrry, we hab juust clossed at eelevan.” He said with a kind smile. “Okay, since that idea crash and burned, TO STARBUCKS!!” Pete said loud enough for everyone in the lobby to turn toward us five and stare until we were out the door. With that, we walked on and made started the trek to Starbucks, which was only a block away. I was a little relieved that I didn’t have to eat in front of them. I would be a complete mess, considering I’m so hungry that I can almost hear my stomach eating itself. We walked on talking about this and that. Of course, “this and that” is just me sugar coating “Hey! Let’s ask Vanessa all these questions because she loves answering them!” I don’t guys, I don’t… But of course, I answered them all. Having four pairs of ears listening to your every word is actually really cool. I’m pretty much completely outspoken any other time, so the extra attention is quite reassuring.
Finally, when I thought the questions would never end, the small brown and green building came into view. “Oh look, we’re here!” I said, smiling. “Aw…I wanted you to answer more questions.” Patrick said, grinning. “Me too!” I said, sarcasm dripping from both of the words. We walked in and a cool blast of AC and the stench of coffee brewing made me feel so relieved. I breathed deeply. All the guys walked ahead but Patrick. He stayed beside me, while the other ones talked and joked and drew even more attention to us. “So…That douche you were talking about earlier….?” Patrick started. “Yes…?” I asked. Oh god, I don’t want to talk about Jacob at all anymore. I’m completely over him and all of his shit. “I just wanted to say that he really didn’t deserve you or any of the other girls he was sleeping with. People like that are the reason why the world is like this. So…So… sinister…” The way he said sinister made goose bumps pop up on the back of my neck. Don’t ask me why, it was just so…dark and ominous. It screamed creepy like a leaky oil can; oozing out opaque, pure black liquid. I nodded and said “I guess…but I’m planning on never, ever, EVER seeing him again so I guess I don’t have to worry about him anymore.” He blinked and said “I honestly don’t know why anyone would do that to you. You seem so cool and... I don’t know… just so awesome. I know we just met, but no one like you deserves that. Guys can be complete jerks, Vanessa, and I really hope you’re okay.” He finished. It made me feel so much better. It was just the way he said it, so delicate and sweet. “Thanks Patrick...” I smiled at him. Man, I love this guy…
