He's Insane (Dave Franco AU)

Changes

this chapter has been revised

"And that, my friend, is how you make a Cinnamon Toast Crunch shot." Aaron explains, topping the rim of the shot glass with cinnamon sugar mixture. He slides the shot over to me. "Try it. Edson's in the back."

I take the shot quickly, and am amazed at how it tastes exactly like my favorite, childhood cereal. But instead with Fireball whiskey, and Rumchata mixed.

"That's so good. Wow." I say to Aaron. I hand him the empty shot glass back to him. Every now and then, Aaron shows me how to make a new drink or cocktail, since he knows I eventually want to bartend one day. His tips and tricks will be very useful in the future.

Crystal comes hurrying through the front door, almost out of breath. "Sorry, I know. I'm late."

"What's new?" Aaron teases her.

She makes a face and flips him off. Now that Crystal was here, I could finally go on my lunch break.

Crystal sets her stuff down onto the bar and looks at me. "Someone's outside for you."

I hop off the bar stool that I had been sitting on and frowned. I automatically assumed it was James, though I haven't seen or spoken to him since our little tiff over the phone. But Crystal would have said it was him.

"Who?" I question her.

"Dave. As in Dave Franco, the one from high school." She puts her waist apron on and ties it from the back. "God, he's gotten so much hotter since then."

"Are you sure he's here for me?"

She nods and shrugs. "All he asked was for me to let you know he was out there."

I walked outside to the parking lot to find Dave sitting on top of his motorcycle, with a pair of classic, Ray Ban sunglasses on his face. Along with his plain, white T-shirt, dark, blue jeans, paired with combat boots, I had to say he looked cooler than ever.

My heart began to race as I walked over to him. Why was he here? Did James say something to him? Was he going to snap on me for mentioning anything to James?

"Hey..." I approach him, my hands beginning to sweat.

"'Sup?" He said nonchalantly. No sign of him being upset, which made me feel a little bit better. But it also made me even more curious to why he wanted to see me.

"I see that you got your bike back." I say, trying to make small talk. I eyed the fine machinery. It was a matte, black Triumph Rocket III and I couldn't lie. She was an absolute beauty. Not to mention, Dave looked like a total hotshot on top of it.

Dave took off his sunglasses, and revealed his black eye that James had told me about the other night. It was slightly purple, with a tint of yellow to it as it was healing itself.

"Dave..." I quietly say.

"I know." He folds the sunglasses up and sticks them on the neckline of his shirt. "She got me good."

I knew it was from Adrienne. It made me even more upset that James wouldn't listen to me.

"It'll be the last time though." He says, straightening himself out. "I decided to end things."

My eyes widened and I blinked. "Wow. Good for you."

He nodded. "You were right. No relationship is worth staying in when it's a living hell every day."

I crossed my arms and laughed. "Well, yeah. It's not rocket science to figure that one out."

He looks at his lap and lets out a chuckle. It was the first time I've seen him smile, genuinely, even the slightest bit.

"Our little talk or whatever really had me thinking, and I just really want there to a change in things. You know what I mean? I'm tired of dealing with all the bullshit and stress it comes with." He expresses. He looks at me and sighs. "I also owe you an apology."

I tilt my head a little to the side, indicating that I was listening.

"I shouldn't have flipped out on you like that, I know your intentions mean well. I'm just so used to being left alone, I didn't know how to react to you just walking in." He says.

I shake my head. "It's fine, really. I had no right to, I should've just walked away after knocking. I'm sorry." I tell him.

"No, don't be." His brows drew together.  "Who knows? Maybe it all happened for a reason."

Those few words made me feel better about myself, and not so guilty for barging into his personal space in the first place.

"And thank you. For taking the time to sit there and listen to my sob story." He joked.

I press my lips into a smile. "Anytime."

"Now it's time for you to end things here." He eyes at the entrance of Nola.

I sigh. "I wish it was that simple."

"Know your worth." He repeats from our talk. He revs his engine, which sounded loud and frightening, and positions himself on his bike. "So I guess I'll see you around?"

I take a few steps back from the bike and nod. "Yeah, sure. I'll see you around."

He puts his sunglasses back on, kicks the kickstand up, and rides his way out of the parking lot. I watch him as he drives off, and can't help but feel a fluttering feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was the most decent and calm I've ever seen Dave, and I surprisingly enjoyed his company.

The fact that he felt the need to come visit me and tell me that he'd finally stood up for himself and left his toxic relationship, followed with an apology was endearing. Maybe he was making progress? Maybe things were going to change after all.