[ G R A C E ]

This was way out of my comfort zone. Hanging out at nightclubs wasn't something I was used to. Hell, hanging out around people wasn't something I was used to.

I should've argued with Griffin and convinced him to come out here without me. But I knew that if I hadn't decided to tag along, he wouldn't have come either because there was no way he was leaving me alone for the second time today. And there was no way I was letting myself get in the way of things he'd usually do. I was enough of a burden already.

So, I'd swallowed my annoyance and nodded my head when Bryce asked me if I wanted to go to the "hottest place to be at Carson Falls".

Hottest place to be, my ass.

I checked my phone, for what felt like the millionth time tonight, to see that was just past 10 o'clock. It had been a little over an hour since I'd arrived at Crystal X. I let out a short sigh and leaned back, letting my head rest on the comfortable leather of the booth. My eyes wandered over to my brother, who was dancing with Ade under the blue and purple lights shining over the dance floor. He had his arms wrapped around her waist and they were leaning into each other, laughing about something.

She made him promise earlier to dance with her during her scheduled break. And like the prince charming Griffin was, he was now keeping that promise. Something told me she meant a lot more to him than he let on. It was as if he had an entirely different life here at Carson that I didn't have a clue about. That bothered me quite a bit.

As I played with the straw in my soda, Dustin, the fourth and final roommate of Griffin's who I'd met after the guys came home after practice, entered my line of vision. Dustin was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. His eyes and hair were both the colour of coal and his complexion was a deep tan. He also towered over the rest of his roommates, which was crazy because they were all huge. He was currently busy chatting up a brunnette at the bar.

These jocks sure did attract their fair share of women. It was pathetic.

I turned my attention back to our booth, which was now only occupied by Scott, Bryce and I. Scott was, without a doubt, completely plastered. Bryce on the other hand, was utterly sober since he was too busy trying to limit Scott's alcohol intake by prying the shot glasses out of his hands. Although, all it did was earn him a scowl. I wanted to groan at the sight of two grown men fighting over a stupid shot glass.

When Scott reached for another shot, I spoke up. "You're going to die from alcohol poisoning if you keep gulping down vodka like that."

"Oh, yeah? And what's it to you?" Was his slightly slurred reply.

Two can play at this game, asshole.

"Not a fucking thing. It's just that, I've had a tiring day and I really don't want to have to help your roommates drag your body back to the house."

"I doubt they'd need help from such a tiny little thing such as yourself, Gracie." He said it in such a sarcastic, almost mocking way that I couldn't help but feel offended.

"Excuse you. I can kick ass of whoever such as even looks at me the wrong way. And stop fucking calling me Gracie." I gave him a look that dared him to say otherwise. He gave me an equally jarring look back.

"Well, I'm going to go order us some non-alcoholic drinks." Bryce interrupted, putting an end to the staring contest going on between Scott and I.

I broke my stare and turned to him to see that an uncomfortable, almost cautious, look was etched all over his face.

Dammit. I was making a scene.

"Um, how about I get the drinks this time?" I offered.

"Sure, it'll be a vanilla coke for me and water for Scott."

"Actually I'd like two more shots of vodka." Scott interjected.

Did this guy have a death wish or something? I shook my head.

"Vanilla coke and water, got it." I made sure to emphasize the word "water" so Scott knew I wasn't about to serve him more alcohol. Not that I could, since I was still underage. Although, that didn't seem to be a problem at this place. 

I stood up and walked over to the bar, which was very conveniently located only a few steps from where we were sitting. I was waiting to get the attention of the bartender when a hand rested itself on the small of my back.

I froze.

My first instinct was to jerk away. I absolutely hated any kind of physical contact and usually reacted very angrily when someone initiated it with me. But since I didn't want to cause another scene, I opted for slowly turning around. A pair of glazed hazel eyes stare back at me. The eyes belonged to a boy with curly blond hair and an eyebrow piercing.

"Hi there. I'm Brad." he said, leaning so close to my face that I could smell the stink of cheap beer on his breath.

I squirmed out of his reach. "Um, I'm Grace." I replied and distanced myself, making it clear I didn't want anything to do with him. He didn't take the hint.

He walked over to me, smiling. "Didn't know Emerson had such a pretty little thing for a sister."

Oh hell.

"Okay..." I said, not knowing how else to respond.

"How about I buy you a drink?"

"No thanks, I'm good."

Itching to get away from this guy, I leaned in towards the bar and waved my hand, finally catching the bartender's attention.

"Aw, don't be so hostile. Let me get you a drink." Brad's scratchy voice came into my ear from behind and I felt his hand on my back again. But it didn't stay there, it slid right down to my ass.

That was it. This was where I drew the line.

I whipped back to face him so fast that he had to take a step back to keep from falling over.

"I'm going to give you ten seconds, Brad. If you don't get at least 100 feet away from me by then, trust me, you will regret it." I spat, my voice taking on the harshest tone I could muster.

Brad looked taken aback. Even in his buzzed state, I could tell he knew I was being serious. He raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. I get it."

"Good, now get the fuck out of my face." Without giving him another chance to speak, I turned back around to find the bartender staring at me with wide eyes.

"Can I have a vanilla coke and a water, please?"

He just blinked at me."Holy shit, you just told off Brad Stratford."

"So?"

"His dad is the mathematics faculty head at Carson U. Everyone usually falls at his feet."

"Well, they need to get their heads checked. The guy's a sleaze."

The bartender cracked a smile. "Yeah, he is. I'm Nate, by the way." Thankfully, he didn't extend his hand.

"I'm Grace."

"Grace. It suits you."

"Thanks... I guess."

"I'll be right back with your vanilla coke and water." Nate said as he walked towards the other end of the bar.

After a minute or so, he returned with the two drinks in each hand. He rested them on the bar table but made no move to slide them over to me.

"Um, I was just wondering," he started hesitantly. "Are you by any chance looking for a job at this moment?"

So not what I was expecting him to say.

"Why?" I inquired, feeling a little bit dumbfounded.

"We're short staffed right now. We could really use an extra pair of hands."

"Um, okay. But why are you asking me?"

"Because it's clear you can handle yourself around sleazy drunks."

I was sort of speechless. Sure, the money would be nice. But I'd have to spend a lot more time around these people than I'd ever want to. 

"I'm only eighteen. I'm not even old enough to serve alcohol."

"Don't worry about that, neither are half the employees here. Carson Falls is a small town. Everyone around here bends the rules a little to find proper staff. Listen, you don't have to make your decision yet. Just think about it. Here's my number. Give me a call when you've made up your mind." He took out a business card from his shirt pocket and handed it over to me, along with the drinks.

I took the drinks and the piece of paper from him and nodded. "Thanks." I gave him a 10 dollar bill. "Keep the change."

With that, I walked back to our booth, only to find Scott hunched over and Bryce patting him on the back.

So much for the drinks.

"Fuck, I don't feel well." Scott mumbled, clutching his stomach.

"I don't think anyone would feel well if they scarfed down as much vodka as you did tonight. Let me inform the others. It's time to go home." Bryce said as he slid off the booth and walked towards the dance floor.

I stood there awkwardly looking at Scott. He really didn't seem like the type to drink himself sick like this. A lot of people had acted almost surprised to see him out here tonight, so this couldn't have been a normal occurrence. I had a feeling that there was more to his alcohol escapade than just a fun time.

Bryce came back with Griffin within minutes. "Well, Double D's decided to stick around. Thank goodness we have Hendrix's car here too."

Double D was Dustin's nickname. Since his full name was Dustin Delgado.

When Bryce busied himself pulling Scott out of the booth, Griffin pulled me aside. "Um, would you mind if I stuck around for a bit?" he asked, his eyes flicking over to Ade at the bar, who was apparently done with her break and was now back to waitressing.

At this point, I couldn't help but voice my concern. "Griffin... do you know what you're doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, with her." I quickly jerked my head to where Ade was.

"We're just friends, Grace."

I sighed and decided to grill him about her later.

"If you say so. And of course, stay. I'll be fine." I gave him a reassuring smile, which he returned.

Bryce came up to me just as Griffin walked away. He had a firm grip on Scott's upper left arm. I suspected that without Bryce's hold, Scott wouldn't be standing up straight right now.

"You ready to get going?" He asked me.

"Yup."

"What about Emerson?"

"Uh... He's going to stick around for a while."

Bryce gave me an understanding nod. "Alright, let's go then."

The cool air chilled my skin when we stepped out of the club. The colder temperature was a welcome change from the humidity inside.

We walked over to a beautiful black Ford Focus, which I assumed was Scott's car.

"Hendrix, you're gonna have to give me the keys." Bryce told his friend, who looked like he barely had any idea what was going on. Scott fidgeted for a few seconds but finally got his keys out of the front pocket of his jeans.

"Alright, Grace. I'll drive. Let's get Scott into the back with you so you can keep an eye on him."

What? I gave him a look of dismay. I was not in the mood to play bodyguard for a drunk jock. Bryce just chuckled in return. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he cooperates."

Bryce opened the backdoor and placed Scott behind the passenger seat before clicking his seat belt into place. I got in beside him just as Bryce closed the door and got into the driver's seat. 

The ride back home was only ten minutes, but it felt so much longer. I just trained my eyes at the dark scenery outside and counted down the seconds till I could be back in the safety of Griffin's room.

As we drove up the driveway, a wave of relief washed over me.

Getting out of the car, I held open the front door, which I'd opened with the spare keys Griffin had given me, until Scott and Bryce caught up.

"C'mon Hendrix, just a few more steps." I heard Bryce murmur while going up the stairs, sounding a little out of breath.

Just as I was about to turn into Griffin's room, he called out.

"Hey Grace? There's some aspirin in the right cupboard in the kitchen. I hate to ask, but do you mind getting it along with some water for Scott, please?"

Really?

Before I snapped, I quickly nodded my head and trotted downstairs. I grabbed the aspirin and filled a glass with water before making my way upstairs again just as Bryce came out of the room that was two doors from Griffin's.

"Thanks, G. You can just give those to him." He hooked his thumb at the door he'd just come out from.

I nodded as I passed him in the hallway when something occurred to me.

"Did you just call me G?"

Bryce looked surprised with himself and colour flooded his cheeks. "Um, yeah, I guess. I'm just so used to calling everyone by anything but their first names."

"I've noticed."

"Wait, you don't mind, do you?"

"No... You can call me that if you want."

"Great. Well, thanks again for helping me get Hedrix's drunk ass home."

I just gave him a tight lipped smile in reply.

"Goodnight." Bryce said just before stepping into the room in between Griffin's and Scott's.

I placed myself in front of Scott's door and contemplated whether or not I should knock.

Hell, I was never polite and wasn't about to start now. I pushed the door wide open.

Scott's room was a mirror image of Griffin's furniture-wise. It was clean and the bed sheets where gray and blue. I noticed a huge Maroon 5 poster on the wall his desk was pushed up against.

Scott was lying on his bed with eyes closed. I started to make my way towards him when I bumped into something on the floor. It was a book. Seriously? Why the fuck did he have books on the floor?

The noise caused Scott to open his eyes, seemingly startled. "What are you doing in my room?"

I rolled my eyes at the accusation in his voice. "Calm the fuck down. Bryce asked me to bring you these." I wiggled the aspirin and water at him.

"Oh. You can set them down on the night table."

I let out a breath and walked to his bedside. Just as I set the items down, Scott gently wrapped his fingers around my wrist. I froze for the second time tonight. He tugged me until I took a step near him.

"Thanks." He whispered. His green eyes looked almost black in the dim light of his room.

I just nodded, ready to yank my arm back. I tried to ignore how soft his touch was. I wasn't used to people touching me gently, with the exception of Griffin, of course.

"I saw what happened with Brad Stratford tonight." Scott continued.

I didn't say anything.

"You put that bastard in his place."

I still had no idea where he was going with this.

"It was incredible."

I felt as if I had been kicked in the gut. It was incredible? What the fuck?

Before I had the chance to react outwardly, Scott let go of my wrist and closed his eyes again.

I didn't waste any time letting myself out of his room. My mind was spinning. I made my way to Griffin's room, changed into my pyjamas as fast as I could and plopped down onto the futon.

Scott had just called me incredible. What did that even mean? Did he think I was incredible because I seemed to share his opinion about what a sleaze Brad was? Or did he actually like the way I had reacted?

I was still lost in my thoughts when Griffin's door opened. Alarmed, I sat up straight.

Thankfully, I was greeted my Griffin's sympathetic voice. "It's just me."

"Griffin? What time is it?"

"Just past 1 a.m."

"Wow, that's late." I mumbled

"I just finished dropping Ade home." he said as he sat down on his bed.

I turned to face him. "I hate to pry, Griff. But I have to ask, what's going on with you and her?"

"Nothing, Grace. I told you, we're just friends."

"Oh yeah? Friends don't look at each other the way you guys were tonight,"

Griffin let out a frustrated sigh. "She's the coach's daughter. I can't go there with her."

"But you want to." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Can we please not talk about this anymore?"

Holy fuck. He was really into her. Hating to see my brother feeling torn, I dropped the subject.

After a few moments of silence, I addressed another question that had been at the back of my mind all night. "Hey Griff?"

"Yeah?"

"Does Scott always drink like that?"

"Actually... no. He pretty much never goes out. Let alone drink to the point of intoxication. It was weird seeing him wasted tonight."

"Oh. I see."

Griffin yawned and laid down. "Anyways, you should go to sleep. It's been one hell of a night."

I mimicked his movements. "It sure has."

_____

Hey guys! HAPPY NEW YEAR! I can't believe it's 2016. Crazy.

Anyways, I've been working really hard on my descriptions. Hopefully this chapter gave you all a better image of the surroundings. 

Again, feel free to point out any grammar flaws!

Till chapter 5.