Beer, Spaghetti, and Pharmaceuticals ||COMPLETED||

Nineteen

"Alice, this is the worst idea you've ever had," Emily said as her stiletto heels angrily clicked against the sidewalk. "Why are you making me do this?"

"For the millionth time, this is not a bad idea!" Alice argued. "This is the best way to relieve some of the tension between everyone. Trust me, it'll be great."

"Forcing six people who don't want to see each other in the same room is never a good idea," she said. "I can't believe you're making me see Blaise after I said I was avoiding him forever."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," Alice said, sending her friend a sympathetic look. "But it was the only way Blaise would agree to it, and there's no way Isaac would come without Blaise...and Mark probably wouldn't have agreed to it if you weren't coming either."

"Great," she said. "So, I'm the key to making this god-awful atrocity happen. I'm so thrilled."

"I'll make it up to you, I promise," Alice said, widening her eyes, silently begging for Emily's forgiveness.

Emily looked down at Alice's puppy-dog eyes and huffed. "Whatever. At least I'll get to meet Fiona Banks. God, I admire her work so much."

"Please don't say that," Alice groaned.

"What?" Emily said, throwing her arms in the air. "I'm sorry, but if you're dragging me to this, I'm allowed to get a little star-struck by one of my favorite models."

"Fine," Alice sighed. "I'm sure she's a lovely person..."

They paused in front of the wooden doors of the grungy pub Isaac once again insisted on. It made Alice feel a little better that, even for Fiona, he made no effort in upgrading to a fancier establishment.

Both girls stared at the looming doors as the snow gently fell on their hair. Alice felt her mock-confidence falter as her palms grew colder from the increasing sweat against the chilly December air. It wasn't too late to turn back now...

"Should we wait for Mark?" Emily asked, looking down the street anticipating Mark's truck to pull up any moment.

"Nah, he said he's gonna be pretty late," Alice said. "I assume he's aimlessly driving around the city hoping he gets in an accident so he can avoid all this..."

"Yeah, how the hell did you manage to get him to agree to this, anyway?" Emily said before nudging Alice's ribs and winking. "Do you have a magical mouth or something?"

Alice giggled and swatted Emily away.

"No. Well...maybe." Alice winked back. "But seriously, I just explained to him how important this is to me and how much happier I would be I we could all bury the hatchet."

"Yeah, I don't buy it," Emily said flatly. "I'm going with the magical mouth."

Alice rolled her eyes and grabbed the doorknob, taking a huge, deep breath. "Are you ready?"

"No."

"I'll take that as a yes," Alice said and pulled the doors open, bracing herself for what was about to come.

The pub was busier than usual, and not filled with the usual old, drunk, patrons struggling to keep their eyes open. It was a surprisingly younger crowd, everyone bustling around, forcing Emily and Alice to squeeze through the groups of drunk young adults, hollering obnoxiously to Paradise City.

Alice stepped on her tippy-toes, attempting to spot Isaac and Blaise through the crowds, but had no success until –

"Woah," she heard Emily say, and as she turned her neck to face the same direction, it became immediately apparent why she said it.