Natalie knew him moments before he became Post Malone. She thought about him every day but knew they weren't meant to be...she just wanted to see him reach his goals and achieve the happiness he strived to find.
'Known to be crazy, known to be wild...
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I know by the time I turn 25 I'll be tired of going out every night. I'm 20 and already starting to get bored. Either I'm bored or my friends act like a pair of middle schoolers whenever we go out. I was even less than a year away from 21 and thought that I was more mature than them - both 22.
"Natalie - cheer the fuck up!" Rachel was my best friend and I couldn't deny that. 6th grade was a rough year and she didn't leave my side then or now. "I'll medicate myself," I smiled wide at her and grabbed my small purse. Her friend Myla was more of a buzzkill than Rachel - at least I was use to her.
When my feet hit the floor my buzz work up and I couldn't stop smiling out the door. Knowing my home town, I walked just a block of two away from the bar and slid in an alley way. It wasn't that sketchy - I did live in the city but people don't get robbed or stabbed...yet.
I blew a ring of my strongest strain of weed and closed my eyes while resting myself against the cool brick wall. It was almost the end of summer and I was ready for the fall air.
"I told you I smelt skunk." The voice startled me and I opened my eyes while clutching my chest. "Relax, I'm not going to jump you for it." He made me laugh as I got a good look at him. He was pretty cute - he had a good foot on me easily without my heels, I saw his curly hair pulled into a messy bun and I felt my face redden a bit. I adore hair, I went to beauty school and I still do it on the side.
"It won't kill you." I extended my arm and he smiled while gladly taking my blunt. His cheeks were so cute I could pinch them. "How do I know it's not laced?" He raised an eyebrow but still took an inhale. "Oh it is, you'll start to trip in about 10 minutes." For a minute I think he thought I was serious, but he handed the blunt back to me and extended his other hand after I took it.
"Austin," his smile was adorable - I felt my face flush full of color. "Natalie." After an awkward second I handed him the blunt back and he asked if I was local. "Born and raised, proudly." My answer was sarcastic but he looked down the street towards the bar.
"Is this place actually worth the house charge?" "Depends how good of a buzz you have going in," I replied. Austin laughed and offered me the blunt that was starting to end. "I appreciate you sharing. I'd be happy to buy you a drink."
I looked at him for just a second, taking him in. Now feeling the drinks and weed I giggled and linked my arm with his. "I'll be cheap I promise."
When we got inside I saw my friends in the floor dancing like fools so I let Austin introduce me to his friends. "Natalie these are my friends Jason and Max." They nodded at me and Austin offered me a seat at the bar. I gladly hopped up and took the seat next to him. We were so close our legs were basically untwined. I already felt my chest getting red from anxiety.
"Whatever you want," he said as quietly as he could without me not being able to hear. His lips looked so soft but I tried to keep my focus on what I wanted. "White Russian with salted caramel vodka." "Ouui girl that's my favorite." I laughed and got my drink in an extremely decent amount of time. Austin got a Natty and topped it towards me.
"Nattys always been my favorite." He winked at me and took a long drink. I figured he had cotton mouth and decided to ask him about his life. "You're not from here obviously." He shook his head and leaned close to me as the music got louder.
"I'm from Texas original but I've been in LA the past two years." His breath against my shoulder was making my heart pound and other parts to squirm. "I'm actually trying to promote myself and I'll be going on tour shortly."
Aren't they all.
"That's dope! I hope everything takes off." "Thank you." We finished our drinks as we fell silent. "Hey do you want to get out of here?" "And go...?" "I saw some kind of carnival when we where headed down here." "Summerfest. I haven't been since I was young." Austin stood up and held out his hand to me. I gladly took it but gave him a confused looked. "More the reason to go, beautiful."
First we thought stopping to get ice cream was a good idea. I ended up getting a minty fudge swirl and it was the best thing I ever had in my life. We walked the long way, slowly to the carnival talking about everything under the moon. He mentioned a few times that he had a SoundCloud account that was getting a lot of hits but a lot of men my age say the same thing.
"So you have a nice voice then?" I asked as I took my first crunch in the sugar cone. "I'm not shy I'll sing to you right here." I rolled my eyes and he stopped dead in his tracks before clearing his throat.
'I don't practice Santeria, I ain't got no crystal ball' His voice was gorgeous but the way he was singing it was to be entertaining and it was. I laughed and pleaded for him to stop but he continued on. I let him finish his moment before taking small steps to be closer to him, then grabbed his hand. "You have a lovely voice, Austin." I pulled at his hand and we restarted our journey. He kept me laughing and blushing the entire time.
First we decided to be corny on the Ferris wheel, then moved onto the bumper cars - we just antagonized each other not able to stop laughing. I knew I looked crazy with wedges and a dress but I was having more fun there I had in years. We stepped outside the carnival grounds to smoke a cigarette - something I only do when I'm stressed or drunk. It had been three hours since we ditched the club and came to the carnival. My friends called me 10 times but I sent a quick text saying I was okay.
We had an hour left of the carnival so we decided to get our last minute fixes in. He got us funnel cake and lemonade right before I dragged him into a photo booth. "So I can remember you when you're famous," I assured him. I sat close and made a number of poses - the last I kissed him on the cheek. "I'll remember this, famous or not." His smile was so big as he handed me and photo strip and put his own copy in his pocket. The lights started to shut down and part of me felt sad on the inside too.
"Natalie I've had a lot of fun tonight." Austin said he would gladly walk me to my apartment which wasn't that far from where we had originally met. "So did I! I didn't even have that much fun in high school. I've been going to that carnival my entire life and I had twice as much fun with you."
"Well I'm the shit so," Austin shrugged nonchalantly and I smacked his arm. We got to my building and he told me his hotel was four blocks away. We stood outside for a good 15 minutes before we decided it was time to say goodnight. "Thank you again, Austin." I pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek softly. He pulled away the slightly and stared at my lips. His blue eyes were radiant at that moment and he pressed his lips ever so softly against mine. "Anytime, Natty." He kissed my nose this time and we pulled away. "Goodnight."
I could not keep the smile off my face - even when I laid down and passed out - it was still there.
