Bully

Chapter 21: The Aggressive....husband?!

**ABRIELLE'S POV**

Someone had played a slow song on the jukebox so he asked me if I wanted to dance. I blushed and shook my head no. There was no way I was going to show my slutty self to this bar by being out on the dance floor! He scooted all around the booth then held out his hand for me to take. I looked away but he wasn't moving. Damn stubborn man! A minute or so later, after realizing he wasn't really giving me a choice, I cautiously reached out and took his hand. He led me out onto what could loosely be called the dance floor. He took my right hand in his left and slid his right arm protectively around my waist. Pulling me closer to him, I got nervous about what people thought of us.

"You look incredible." He quietly told me in my ear

I blushed and mumbled 'no I'm not'. He had to be blind!

"You don't see how the men in this bar are staring at you." He told me as he looked around

"You're just being nice." I retorted

"Sweetheart, look around this bar. These people are staring at YOU. They are ogling YOU. Abrielle you are simply stunning. I wish you could see what we see in you." He said

The song ended and I took the opportunity to bolt back to our table. Or I tried to. There was some creepy guy who stopped me. He was hitting on me but it seemed kind of pervy like. I was definitely uncomfortable with this man! I was thankful that Eric quickly made his way over to me. Walking up behind me, he slid his right arm around my waist and pulled me back into him aggressively.

"Baby, what's wrong? I thought we were gonna dance!" Eric stated before kissing my cheek

I think he just set my skin on fire! Unfortunately, I'd gotten really good at coming up with lies on the spot.

"Oh, I needed to get something to drink." I stated, going along with the charade

"Who's this?" This creep asked

"I'm Eric, her husband. It's nice to meet you!" He stated, moving his arm so he could shake the guy's hand

Did Eric just pose as my husband?! Why not my boyfriend? We're not wearing wedding rings. He just looked between Eric's outstretched hand and back up to Eric. The creep winked at me before turning and walking away. With a sigh, I let Eric navigated us back to our table. Thankfully no one was there yet.

"Thanks! He was... being kinda creepy." I chuckled nervously

"As I said, you just don't know how these people are looking at you!" He chuckled before taking a swig of his beer

"Well, thanks for helping me with that guy." I quietly stated

"It's what friends are for, Darlin'!" Eric grinned at me

We slipped into silence as he kept a close eye on me and our surroundings. Brent returned to the table wanting to quench his thirst. Sweet Tea was his drink of choice. The vocalist asked if I played pool. Shaking my head no, he just nodded at me. We chatted for a while about pool and darts before one of their road crew guys, Chris, came up and challenged him to a game of pool. Eric and I were left alone once again.

**BARRY'S POV**

I ordered her Dr. Pepper as she looked over the menu. She ordered a Bacon cheeseburger and fries and apparently that sounded great so that's what Eric ordered too. We had decided to wait for her to arrive before ordering. When our waitress came by to deliver her Dr. Pepper, we gave our food orders. She obviously felt slutty & out of place because she refused to look anyone in the eyes. Brent started talking about what to do with our few days off. Even Zach and I got in the discussion with attractions in the city we were in while Jake had to answer some text messages.

She glanced up to see Eric just staring at her. The tall bassist was sitting on her right and Zach was on her left. Brent was on Eric's right, I was on Brent's right, and Jake was at the end on my right. She remained quiet as we chatted. About twenty minutes later our dinner arrived. Eric handed her the ketchup bottle so she squirted some onto her plate before passing it off to Zach. When he was done, Jake took it. Eric couldn't quit staring at her. She was obviously uncomfortable around us and I was sure it was because of all the bullying that she had been through.

Jake asked Brent if he wanted to go play some pool. Zach and I went to go play darts. It was just Abrielle and Eric sitting in the booth. I couldn't help but keep an eye on them. It was more to gauge her reactions to him and how she responded to the bassist. We were all livid at what Jake had told us and there was nothing more we wanted to do than show her, her true worth and beauty. I think Eric had started falling for her before the "accident". After that, his natural protective instincts kicked into high gear. Even Zach was feeling something for her but I don't think any of that was romantic.

There was a slow song that had been played. I watched as he scooted all around the booth then held out his hand for her to take. A minute or so later, after realizing he wasn't really giving her a choice, she cautiously reached out and took his hand. He led her out onto what could loosely be called the dance floor. He took her right hand in his left and slid his right arm protectively around her waist. Pulling her closer to him, I couldn't help but watch her body language. The act certainly made her nervous but she wasn't fighting him or trying to wiggle out of his grasp.

The song ended and I watched as she took the opportunity to bolt back to our table. Or I tried to. There was some creepy guy who stopped her. He had been watching her since she walked through the bar looking for our table. I wondered how this was going to go down! He was obviously hitting on her but she definitely wasn't into it. She was definitely uncomfortable with this man! I watched as Eric quickly made his way over to her. The look on his face said he was about to punch this guy in the face! Walking up behind her, he slid his right arm around her waist and pulled her back into him aggressively. Eric was never aggressive like this.

Eric leaned around and kissed her cheek. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear a look of relief washed over her! Eric suddenly held his hand out like he was introducing himself to this little pervert. The guy just looked between Eric's outstretched hand and back up to Eric. With a grin, Eric navigated them back to our table. I watched as they sat there together talking quietly for a few minutes. Zach got my attention again since it was my turn again. I took my turn before sipping on my beer. Jake was laughing with some of our crew and seemed to either be blatantly ignoring the two male students or trying to keep a close eye on them.

"What should we do? About the two male students?" Zach asked me

"I don't know. We have to be diplomatic about things. We have to be fair. If she doesn't complain about what they're doing and if we don't see it, what can we do?" I retorted with a sigh

"How can we sit back and just let that shit happen?" Zach angrily stated

"I don't have an answer for that." I shrugged

"We can't let this go on! We have to do something!" Zach hissed

"Calm down, Zach. Something will happen and we'll catch it and then we'll have enough to boot them off the tour." I stated

What I didn't know was how soon that was actually going to occur! The night went on and we eventually all made it back to the table. Eric explained he had a massive plate of nachos coming. Zach grinned at him. Another slow song came on and Brent was quick to ask her to dance. She was reluctant but didn't fight him as hard as she did Eric. Did that mean she had feelings for Eric or she just didn't want to fight Brent with all of us sitting there? We all watched as they began slow dancing. Eric sighed heavily making me cock my eyebrow at him. She was still uncomfortable and I wasn't sure if it was the costume or us. Hopefully one day she'll have the confidence and self-esteem she really deserves.