rockstar // post malone

chapter four: first words

(Caroline's POV)

Through the flashing lights and high pitched squeals that surrounded me, I somehow stayed on my feet. Haley had her phone out next to me as she tried to snap a picture of Post Malone and what seemed to be his friend that she told me about, 21 Savage, as they entered the club. 

We managed to find a secluded spot in a booth next to the bar counter not too long after that. Nate and his friends joined us and as soon as everyone was seated, the group was talking of everything there was to know about Post Malone. I stayed with my arms folded in my lap as I observed instead of engaged, watching Haley make conversation with Nate's friends.

I felt a body scoot a little closer to my right side a few moments later. I looked up to meet the kind eyes of Nate as he gazed down at me.

"You alright there?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. 

My face went red with embarrassment, my shoulders raising in discomfort as I tried as hard as I could to hide my expression. He could tell I was in an awkward situation, not knowing what to do with myself. 

"I-I'm fine, I promise. Just a little overwhelmed with the chaos right now." I openly admitted. He chuckled, putting a hand on my shoulder in a way that seemed far from flirtatious. Nothing like the guy who tried his moves on me at the campfire a few nights ago. 

"You'll get used to it. Haley's told me all about you - you go to NYU with her?" He asks as he waves a server over and orders us drinks. He ordered something fancy for himself and for me, a simple soda with a touch of vodka mixed in. He assured me I would barely taste it. I guess Haley really did tell Nate all about me. 

"Yeah, I'm studying business and music." I conversed back to him. Our conversation continued back and forth, questions being thrown about our general lives. I felt very comfortable around Nate, which was strange since usually Haley's friends freaked me out in one way or another. 

Suddenly, the entire booth's attention is brought to a man who had approached the table. He seemed young, around my age with kind brown eyes and dirty blond hair. But what was really surprising was the fact that he was looking directly at me. And when everyone else realized this, the gaze of everyone was set onto me as well. 

"Hey there, my name's Thomas," the boy starts. "I know this may sound weird, but I saw you and just really wanted to ask you if you wanted to dance, maybe?" His hand rubs the back of his neck as he sheepishly waits for an answer. 

I gulped. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Haley's devilish grin slowly creep up onto her face.

"She'd love to!" She answers for me. My eyes burn a hole into her skull as I turn to her in disbelief. 

"What? I-" Before I know it, jeers and laughs are thrown my way as I'm practically forced out of the booth and into the space of Thomas. Haley slaps my butt with a giggle as I stand, causing me to yelp. "Haley! I'm gonna kill you for this," I grit before my hand is softly taken into Thomas' as he leads me towards the center of the club. 

"Are you a dancer?" He asks, looking back at me as we finally reach the enormous mass of people who are moving provocatively. 

"Not really!" I answer in a shout, trying to raise my volume over the music and conversations surrounding us. The more I look at Thomas, the more attractive he gets in my eyes. He's adorning a black leather jacket and jeans to match, with pointed leather shoes. He looked like a classic bad boy, but not the kind I was nervous around. A weird feeling told me that Thomas was a good guy and that I could feel safe around him. 

Our conversation continues back and forth similarly as it did with Nate. I learned a lot about him - he grew up in Colorado, he has two siblings, and he hates pop music. The more I found out about him, the more intrigued I was.

"So where do you work?" I asked. In the short time we had been dancing, our bodies had become really close and my hands were resting around his neck. I didn't mind though.

"Funny you should ask," he replies. "I'm actually here with Post Malone. I'm one of his security guards." He finishes with a wink. My mouth instantly falls open in shock, not expecting that at all. 

"What! Aren't you supposed to be guarding him then?" I ask. "And if you're a body guard, does that mean you own a gun?" 

"I'm off duty at the moment. And don't be silly, I don't own a gun. I own two!" He takes a step back and reveals the inner lining of his leather jacket, where two pistols are strapped into. My eyes bulge open in awe and a hint of fear; guns have always made me nervous. You never know what could happen. 

"What the hell Thomas! I took you for a normal kinda guy! Not some body guard that-"

"-that seems to have brought up the fact that he has a gun on him way too early into the conversation, I see!" A voice finishes for me. A hand is clapped down onto the shoulder of Thomas before a body appears from behind him. It takes me a moment to realize who it is. The hair braids, the tattoos, jewelry, clothes, it hits me after a second.

"Holy crap, you're Post Malone." I state as the rapper himself turns to me.

"That I am, babe." He replies with a wink. "But you can call me Austin." He sticks a hand out to me, which I kindly take as we make eye contact. His hand is almost twice as large as mine - It probably feels like he's holding a toddler's hand right now. My 5'4 body is shadowed by his six foot mass, which kind of intimidates me as well. But his eyes were what really grabbed my attention. They were a vibrant blue, sticking out in his dark attire and hair. My mouth runs dry in nerve as I realize I am utterly speechless in the presence of someone so famous. "What's your name, beautiful?" He asks with a charming smile that lights his face up.

"I'm Caroli-" Before I can finish my introduction, I am interrupted by a squeal as a brunette girl comes bouncing up to the rapper before practically jumping onto him in a koala hug.

"Babe!" The girl cries as Austin's arms wrap around her in delight, as if they hadn't seen each other in a long time.

"Hello, beautiful." He repeats the exact words he had greeted me with to her, but this time accompanied with a longing kiss to her plump lips. I feel even more awkward in this moment as I watch them reunite. I look to Thomas, who feels the same way. He slowly grabs my hand and smiles down at me with a playful roll of his eyes. We seem to telepathically communicate how we both agree that what we are witnessing is very much cringe-worthy.

Thomas then turns to me. "Do you want to get out of here?" He asks. My brain takes me back to the night at the campfire again, when the boy who sat next to me asked the same thing. But this time, with Thomas, I felt like I wanted to say yes for once. To just let loose and have fun and see where this adventure takes me. It's been a crazy night, so why not get even crazier?

So I did. I grabbed Thomas's hand, and left the flirtatious rapper and my friends behind as we left the club and ran off into the city together. 

(A/N uh oh! Did you expect there to be a conflict so soon? Well prepare yourself for even more trouble ahead and again, please vote and comment, it helps a lot! x)