Destined To Explode

The night before was definitely a jumble of memories and for once it wasn’t down to the amount of alcohol that I had drunk but just the sheer mass of things that had happened in the six hours that I had been in the main part of the celebration.

Rian had immediately shoved two bottles of champagne into my hands when I first arrived, telling me that they had bought it especially because they knew how it was my drink of choice and that under no circumstances was I to share it with anyone else because it was expensive shit.

A ton of people we had all known from High School pulled me into a conversation once I had managed to reassure Rian, asking what I had been doing since graduation, Jack flitting off to go get drunk instead of staying to talk, winking at me as he passed by again, just as I skip over the part about Rick. These people didn’t need to know about that, now or ever.

Alex was AWOL until about nine and even then I only bumped into him as he carried a broken glass in his hand towards the kitchen which I had just exited. He managed to throw me a quick smile and mouthed ‘hi’ over the music before he disappeared again and I let myself relax into the party.

“It feels like I haven’t seen you all night.” Alex smiles gently as I re-enter the kitchen again, him being the only other one in there leaning against the counter, Coors Light in hand. “But I suppose that’s because I have been hiding away in here all night.”

“Hiding away?” I question, leaning past him to fill a glass with water, trying to limit the effects of alcohol is having on me by watering it down. “It’s your God damn party, Lex.”

“I know, but Lisa has turned up and that is more than awkward.” He chuckles, shaking his head, ruffling a hand through his hair to settle the mess. “Either someone didn’t get the memo and brought her with them or she thinks that it’s fine to just turn up.”

“Maybe she doesn’t hate your guys anymore.” I smirk, sipping slowly on the water in my hand. “Or, she’s come to win you back while you’re weak.”

“Yeah because as soon as I drink alcohol, I become a man whore.” Alex jokes sarcastically, poking his tongue out before he takes a drink of the beer that he’s holding in his hand.

“You said it.” I wink, laughing as he glares, stepping forward, his arms on either side of me, pinning me against the island in the middle of the kitchen.

“Even when I’m drunk, I still have standards, Poppy.”

“Harsh words there, Alex.”

“Yet true.” He smiles, leaning forward to speak quietly into my ear. “I have my eyes set on someone else now.”

As he goes to straighten up again, I take the leap, managing to push all the doubt from my mind. I wait until his face is level with mine and gently captures his lips, going to pull away when he doesn’t respond, only for Alex to follow my movement, spare hand stroking down my arm to tangle his fingers with mine, humming in the back of his throat before he separates up, smirking as he leans his forehead against mine.

“And they apparently have their eyes on me too.”

The night only got better after that. Alex had followed me back to the main part of the party after demanding more kisses, seeming to forget the reason that he had been staying in the kitchen all together, interacting with everyone else, laughing and joking, yet still sticking to my side as I flitted around the room, trying to be the social butterfly that everyone here thinks that I am even though inside I dreaded the awkward start to every conversation and the moment in which the totally clueless people would ask what brought me back to Baltimore so suddenly.

“Poppy!” Jack’s voice somehow manages to boom above the music and the voices of the people that I’m talking too and then it’s even louder when he stands right by my side. “Poppy!”

“Fucking Hell, Jack; I think she heard you the first time.” One of our High School friends laughs, patting me on the shoulder, quickly gesturing to the other side of the room; I think to silently tell me that he’ll be over there when Jack’s done yelling.

“What’s up, Jackary?”

“It’s almost midnight!”

I laugh, shaking my head. “Have you found someone to kiss?”

“I was going for Alex but then he said that you had called him, so I guess not. I might go and find a mirror and make out with it. I am the most attractive person here after all.”

“Way to be a vain drunk, Jack.” Alex chuckles, handing me another red cup filled with God knows what but I drink it back anyway, the fruity drink having a sting that I can only place as Vodka. “I hope you don’t mind, I ‘dibbed’ you, love.”

“Of course not.”

Jack makes a sort of scoff noise in the back of his throat, I guess out of protest from the attention not being on him. “You guys are so sweet, it’s disgusting. I must leave.”

He skips away, bumping into Zack, immediately jumping on the poor boy’s back, demanding a piggyback ride around the block before Midnight and I guess that Zack takes the challenge because they’re racing past us and out of the door pretty quickly, Alex laughing and tugging me along by the hand so that we can follow.

Thanks to Zack being quite drunk, Jack was clearly in the worse state, the little group of us who follow the two boys around the streets don’t manage to make it back to the house for Midnight and instead, when we hear the cheers from the surrounding houses and the many fireworks that are being set free into the sky, everyone has their New Year kiss in the cold, snow filled street, Alex being incredibly ridiculous and dipping us over while he has his mouth attached to mine and I have to rip my lips from his because I can feel myself slipping in the heels that I’m wearing which in the end only causes Alex to pull me forward so that I’m resting against his chest, the kiss that follows being far more gentle than the previous.

* * * *

“Poppy.” I hear the soft murmur of Alex’s voice bring me back into consciousness and I can’t help but smile softly as I feel his breath by my ear. “Poppy, it’s almost ten o’clock, are you going to get up?”

I nod into the pillow to show my understanding, shuffling around under the sheet to shake away the pins and needles in my left foot, which I can only think are from Alex’s leg being tangled in with mine during the night before I actually open my eyes.

“Morning.” I mumble, smiling as Alex brushes some hair behind my ear, seeing as he’s already sat up against the headboard.

“Nice for you to finally wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”

“I’ve only been asleep for seven hours, fat ass.”

“Well, try only getting four.” He smirks, nudging me lightly with his foot. “I had to fucking undress you again, you know?”

“I kind of realised that when I woke up in just my underwear.” I laugh. “It’s not my fault I passed out though, you just kept bringing me drink after drink. It’s like you planned it all.”

“Oh shit, I’ve been found out. My crime wave of getting women drunk just so I can undress them has been thwarted.“ Alex laughs, crawling out of the bed, smirking at me as he turns back to face me. “Are you getting up now, or…?”

“I’m going to need to shower; I’ll be with you in twenty.”

“You can use my en-suite.” He smiles softly, bending back over the bed to press a kiss to my cheek. “Feel honoured.”

I flip him off as he leaves the room, climbing out of the comfortable bed myself, gathering what I need from my overnight bag before I enter Alex’s private en-suite, my mind ticking over what sort of bet he won for him to get this room and not Rian. I dread to think.

It’s fucking cold in the house when I’m done showering and with only packing three-quarter length sweats and a tank top to go through the day with, I can only hope that Alex doesn’t mind me borrowing a hoodie and that they turn the heat up soon.

“Heart’s broken.” Alex mumbles as I step into the kitchen and I let my face drop at the statement. So much for spending my day here in comfort.

“Well, it looks as though I’m going home soon then.” I laugh, stepping in between Alex’s legs as he opens his arms, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips, now the morning breath has been gotten rid of, pulling him from the counter to lessen the height difference a little more.

“Well, aren’t you two just adorable.” Rian smiles as he stumbles in just as Alex is turning me around to face forwards, my back against his chest and his arms around my middle as he leans his chin on my shoulder.

“I would head back to bed if I were you, Ri. The heat’s down, the power’s out and they don’t know when they can get out to fix it. Apparently the roads are hazardous after the amount of snow we got last night.”

“We got more snow?! That means that everyone’s stuck here until the ploughs come out.”

“We can always walk back to somebody’s house that has heat and power, you know? Make everyone ring round, they can’t complain about you bunking down there for a few hours after they’ve wrecked your house.”

“Get your Mom on the phone then, Zicarelli and I’ll ring Joyce.”

* * * *

We all end up camped down in Jack’s basement, his parents’ house not having heat but at least power, so we all huddled together surrounded by electric heaters, smothered in blankets that we had stolen from bedrooms and couches, the linen closets and the extras which we had bundled around ourselves for the walk to Jack’s place, seeing as no one dare drive in the current conditions.

Jack had shoved The Hangover in the DVD player and pulled out a few bags of chips and we all waste the day down in the warm room, talking about our expectations for tour and reliving the funny times which most of us spent when All Time Low had just started touring.

“You remember the first time you toured with us, Poppy?” Alex whispers into my ear while everyone else is laughing, his arms tight across my chest as I sit between his legs at least three blankets covering us both. “When we made that den in the back of the van? Everyone else had gone out to celebrate the show and we just set up a load of blankets and pillows on the back bench and -”

“I remember.” I blush, feeling heat that I didn’t know that I had to spare rise to my cheeks, probably flushing them red because of what Alex was going to say next, wasn’t the best thing for someone to accidently overhear. “Can we not re-live that moment while everyone else is in the same room?”

“What moment? You wanna share with the class, kids?” Rian smirks. “Come on now, don’t be shy, we all wanna hear now.”

“See what you did now, Alex?” I bury my head into the blankets that are over my knees as I pull them to my chest to try and hide. “I hate you.”

Alex just buries his own head away in my neck, pulling a blanket completely over the top of us as he kisses down my neck, hopefully in some sort of apology, to the sound of the rest of the band and crew wolf-whistling and making crude remarks in our direction.

Tour was definitely going to be a nightmare.

Notes