Best Mistake

"Oh come on, Whit. Just a few drinks and we can go!" my best friend Megan pleaded.

I took the time to fan myself unnecessarily, since the cool Baltimore air already had chill bumps forming on my bare arms. We were surrounded by a sea of people pouring out of the venue where we'd just watched All Time Low perform. They'd been our favorite band for around eleven years and although we felt ancient around all of their younger fans, we never missed an opportunity to see them. I pulled on my ripped tshirt that was starting to cling to my back. "I don't know, dude. I'm really gross and sweaty and just want to shower," I groaned.

Megan stomped her foot. "But it's your birthday! Your 25th birthday at that. I refuse to let you go to bed sober on your 25th birthday."

I cringed. I'd never cared much about my birthday, but this one was different. I was 25 years old. A quarter of a century. I would soon be considered "elderly". I glanced around at all of the teenagers chatting near us and the thought that I was ten years or more older than all of them made me feel kind of shitty, then suddenly thirsty. I rolled my eyes and nodded, waving for Megan to follow me to the bar next door to the venue.

"Yay!" she squeaked and began pulling me behind her.

We walked through the open door of the bar and it was surprisingly empty. Megan slumped over a little bit. "Well this is a buzzkill," she muttered as she flashed her ID to the bouncer. I gave him a small smile when he approved my age and we walked to the bar to order our drinks.

"Shots?" Megan beamed, her big brown eyes beaming.

"Or just beer, thanks?" I mocked her and ordered us two Bud Lights. She rolled her eyes and placed a dollar in the tip jar.

"Pool tables are open," she smiled and looked at me. I nodded and we headed to the empty table.

After a few rounds of beer and games of pool, I noticed how tipsy I was getting. I wasn't much of a big drinker regularly, but once I got started I couldn't stop. I looked at Megan as she racked up the balls and made the decision to throw caution to the wind. She glanced at me and rose her eyebrows.

"We should do some shots, right?" I asked as I placed my stick on the table.

"Shots," Megan agreed, elongating the word. I laughed and sprinted back to the bar, sitting on one of the stools.

The bartender hurried over to me and I placed my order. "Can I get one shot of José and two Fireballs, please?" I instantly regretted that decision - tequila made me do things I wasn't proud of. But fuck it, it was my birthday. I grinned once my first shot was placed before me.

"Cheers," I heard from beside me. I looked to my left with my glass raised in the air to cheers the stranger beside me and froze. The site of Alex Gaskarth leaning against the bar with a shot of Jack Daniels in his hand sent a tingle down my spine. However, I was far too almost drunk to care and clinked glasses with him. "Cheers," I smiled and downed the liquor.

"Please forgive me, but you are so fucking beautiful. Just beautiful," he slurred, placing his glass on the counter. I detected his intoxication when he stood up straight from the counter, wobbling a little. I knew it didn't mean anything, but I couldn't stop the girlish giggle that escaped past my lips. "Thank you."

He offered me a lazy smile. "I come to this bar quite often and I've never seen you before. Why is that?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I dont think I meant that how it sounded. What brings you here tonight? What's the occasion?"

I grimaced. "Birthday."

"Yours?" he asked, perking up a bit. I nodded. "Well happy birthday!" he yelled, raising his arms over his head.

I giggled again, the tequila taking affect quickly. "Thanks." I held my hand out to him. "I'm Whitney."

He took my hand in his and leaned in a little closer. "Alex. It's very nice to meet you, Whitney."

The bartender came back with my shots of Fireball and placed them in front of me. "$6.50. You want to add it to your tab?"

I was about to tell him I did when Alex poked the bartenders cheek. "Put everything this little pistol orders on my tab, Mike," he said, winking at me while poking the bartenders cheek still.

Mike chuckled and swatted Alex's finger. "You bet, buddy. Hey, great show tonight!" he yelled over the music and poured Alex another shot of Jack.

Alex started to sway a little and grabbed the edge of the bar for stability. He looked at me flirtatiously and said, "I'm in a band, you know."

I nodded slowly, "I did know actually." He rose his eyebrows at me and stopped swaying. "Huge fan," I confessed.

Alex shrugged. "That's cool." He nodded toward the two shots that were still waiting on me. "So you here getting shitty all by yourself or is one of those for someone else?"

I pointed back to where Megan was waiting for me to return, scrolling through her phone, probably texting her boyfriend. "I'm here with my best friend. Do you want to hang out with us? If you're not meeting someone here, that is."

Alex smiled and shrugged again. "Sure, why not. I'll be over there in a sec."

I nodded and grabbed the two shots and hurridly walked back to Megan. I placed the shot in front of her and she groaned. "Took you long enough," she said, never looking up at me.

"Stay cool," I begged and she finally looked at me. Before she could ask what I was talking about, Alex was standing next to me, smiling big.

"Sup, I'm Alex," he slurred.

Megan looked like she might panic at first, but soon gained her composure. We'd made a deal with each other that no matter how excited we may be, if we ever got the chance to actually meet All Time Low, we would remain as normal as possible. We were doing pretty well.

"I'm Megan," she smiled sweetly. "It's an honor meeting you."

They shook hands and Alex lifted his glass. "Well? We partying tonight or what?"

The rest of the night faded into a blur. I kept taking shots with Alex. We played more pool. Alex seemed to keep trying to touch me, whether it was rubbing my back or constantly trying to give me a high five. I think Megan noticed, since her boyfriend randomly showed up and she suggested they move to a different pool table, leaving me and Alex alone.

He smiled and sat on one of the bar stools next to the table and pulled me close to him, wrapping his arms around my waist. Instinctively my arms fell around his neck as I stood between his legs.

We were making some serious eye contact until he laughed and looked away. His hands started rubbing up and down my sides. "You're really hot," he laughed.

My face turned bright red at his words and I looked down also. "So are you," I mumbled. God, we were so drunk.

Without a warning, Alex crashed his lips onto mine in what felt like a very passionate kiss. I wasn't sure if we were ever going to stop kissing when he pulled me even closer, pressing my body against his.

I was tingling everywhere when he stood from the stool and I followed him out to the cab that took us back to his hotel room.

Notes

I haven't written a fan fiction in YEARS. Trying to knock the dust off ;) please let me know what you think!