Fallen

Chapter Nineteen

"It's bloody freezing out here," Ellie complained around the cigarette between her teeth, rubbing furiously at her bare arms.

"If you can feel the cold, you ain't drunk enough," Mark slurred, leaning heavily into Danielle and using his long arm around her shoulders to keep himself up.

"Here," Nick murmured, also clearly drunk from the countless shots he'd been subjected to in that game. Every other card seemed to describe Nick, from the person who's thrown up the most in taxis to who lost first at a staring contest. With a light groan in his struggle, he awkwardly shrugged off his khaki green bomber jacket and placed it over my sister's shoulders. She watched him and softly took the cigarette from her mouth to tap the ash away, waiting for him to meet her gaze, but he didn't. Instead, his arm reached back to grab the top of the metal fence separating us from the people in the street going about their night and took heaving breaths down to the ground like he was going to vomit any minute. So, without a word, she got back to her cigarette and turned her head away.

Danielle gripped Mark's chin in her hand and wiggled his head from side to side. "Baby, you need to sort yourself out before we get to the door or we're not gonna be let in."

"I told you I'm not that drunk," he insisted, pouting like he did as a child when his grandma refused to get him a PlayStation 2 for his 10th birthday, arguing that it would melt his brain until it was dripping out of his ears.

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Of course you're not, baby, just show the security men how sober you are and then you can drink some more."

That seemed to make him perk up, his eyes wide and a new, more excited grin on his lips. We very rarely ventured out into the nightlife of the city we lived in and it showed. Even the few vodka shots I had back home were already starting to swirl around and fizzle down my legs.

"I'll be sober, I swear," he murmured, pulling himself away in an attempt to stand up straight by himself which lasted mere seconds, if that. As Nick and Ellie approached the bouncer just ahead, Mark suddenly stumbled back, knocking against a taller man behind him and pushing him forward into his own group of friends who managed to catch him much quicker. Danielle huffed and grabbed her boyfriend's jacket to pull him away before he upset anyone else in the queue.

Once the man had recovered, his whole body swiftly turned to face us. With his thick eyebrows drawn together and a prominent jaw clearly tight with irritation, he stared down Mark who was apologising profusely.

"He's just had a bit too much to drink," Danielle explained calmly and with a sober tone.

The man had still not said anything, letting the deep-set frown on his face do all the talking. A dark curl of his hair fell into his eye, but it didn't seem to bother him. The rest of his unruly curls were stylishly messy, thrown over to one side and drifting down to brush against his wide shoulders. His dark exterior was only made clearer with his choice of clothing for the evening – a jet-black shirt with the word 'angel' stitched in a cursive font on the left breast and black denim jeans to match. As I admired his slim waist and long-stretching legs, I became overly aware that I was staring, but the stranger had already noticed. We shared a quick glance and, like a switch had been flicked inside of him, his frown melted away and a new calmness softened his features. His smile quickly enticed one of my own for a brief moment until Mark's hand landed heavily onto his shoulder. It tore the stranger's attention from mine, leaving me with a warm feeling in my gut and a magnetising desire to know more about him.

"Yeah, mate. I'm sorry," Mark said.

"It's fine," said the stranger. "No harm done."

"Next," a gruff voice called from behind. We all turned to see an impatient bouncer stood with his arms crossed, gesturing for us to step forward with a head nod. Danielle moved Mark on at a slow and steady pace, but I took a final glance back to the stranger watching me walk away. We shared a smile before I was swept into the cramped entrance of the building, surrounded by people moving in and out of the club. Ellie had handed Nick's jacket in to be put in the cloakroom and was waiting for us to join them. Mark insisted he could walk unattended and Danielle let him, turning to say something to me, but I could barely hear her over the mingling sounds of loud conversations around us and pulsating music coming from above.