chapter twenty
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Why had she done this?

     It seemed that as of late Maeve was asking herself this question more and more.

     Her behavior was out of ordinary, and she really didn't know what could've compelled her to tag along with the group to Columbia.

     She sighed as she drove with one hand on the wheel, the other keeping her head up as she kept up with Nicky's instructions coming at her from the back seat. Kevin was beside her in the passenger seat while the twins, Nicky, and Neil crammed in the back together.

It was mostly silent until Andrew abruptly demanded for her to pull over, she rolled her eyes as he wretched on the side of the highway.

     "You're pathetic." She scoffed at him.

     "Shut up and drive." He said back just as she turned on her blinker and prepared to get back on the road. It was looking to be one long night, and it was confirmed it would be when she was told to pull into Sweetie's.

The game was all too familiar and she didn't bother hiding her annoyance as she pulled up beside the entrance and said,"It's packed, go deal with your shit, I'll find a spot."

No one said a word as they climbed out, though Kevin glanced briefly at her before Andrew grabbed him and made him walk ahead of him. She instantly pulled away from the curb and began making circles around the parking lot, she reached underneath her seat while doing so and ripped open a bag of sour candy with her teeth just as she found a spot.

     She debated driving off and leaving them all as she ate strips of sugary goodness, but she knew she wouldn't and it was too late anyway when Nicky texted her that they were ready to leave.

     They were at Eden's in no time, where again, it was packed and she dropped them at the door before leaving to find a spot for the car. It took her a couple minutes and it only made her miss her bike more, in it she could park anywhere and she didn't have to maneuver into the perfect spot where she'd worry about getting hit by someone opening their door. This time, she removed the keys from the ignition and took a deep breath. She couldn't even pretend she was gonna leave now, or wait for them here.

She'd come to Eden's with a purpose.

And so she finished her small bag of candy and took herself inside, slowly allowing herself to be pulled in by the lavender haze of the club. It was slightly dizzying at first, and she could feel her history creeping back up, but she did her best to push it aside as she scanned the area.

It was easier for her to spot Andrew and Neil by the bar than it was for her to find the boys at their table, instead of interrupting them she went up to another bartender and smiled. Head in her hands as she leaned forward to speak, she requested,"Something nonalcoholic, please, and make it sweet."

The woman across from her was your stereotypical bartender as much as it hurt to say, she was pierced pretty much everywhere and had not a bare spot on her skin for another tattoo, she nodded at the request, a smirk lighting her up,"Comin' right up, sugar."

Maeve watched her like a hawk, eyeing everything she threw into her mixer and making sure Andrew hadn't reached this one. When she said nonalcoholic, she meant it.

She hated a lot of things, but drinking? God, she truly hated it, it honestly really disgusted her. She'd done a lot and seen a lot, but she could never look at drinking as a hobby like a lot of her peers could.

When the woman slid her drink her way, Maeve took it immediately with glee and pointed down at the other side of the bar,"You see that short blond man there?"

"Mhm."

"He's got a tab, be a doll and put it on his?" She flashed her pearly whites, briefly noticing how close to her the woman was getting even with the counter separating them. She took a small sip of her drink and was pleased with the concoction, sliding a set of bills over,"I'll be back later for another."

"Ask for Saydee and I'm all yours." She grinned back,"It would be a shame for you to have an empty cup."

Maeve gave her a nod and stepped away, she knew it was wrong for her to flirt shamelessly to get her way, but sometimes it was too easy. Too easy to do and too hard for her to resist.

She took another sip as she spotted Andrew again and followed his head of hair to the table everyone was sharing.

She knew she wouldn't be able to interfere with whatever it was he had planned tonight, and she feared she might've been a pawn all along with how easy it'd been to wrangle herself into their group for the night. At the very least she'd make sure no one wound up dead.

Her stare was judging as she turned it over to Neil and said,"Hope you're not a lightweight."

     "I'm not drinking!" He spoke loudly over the music, seemingly not used to the atmosphere and definitely uncomfortable by it.

     She chuckled,"Then I hope you're lucky."

Kevin pulled a chair out next to him and she couldn't stop herself as she perched herself on it, their knees bumping as she adjusted her skirt to make sure her ass didn't actually touch the seat. She could feel his gaze on her as she brought her cup to her lips once more.

Nicky made sure everyone had something in hand before shouting,"Cheers!"

Andrew soon left to retrieve their second round, Neil following closely behind. Maeve nursed her drink and made sure to keep it close as she counted down the moments.

One round.

That was how long it took for the cracker dust to make its appearance and she gulped down the rest of her sugary blend before standing up and saying to no one in particular, knowing they wouldn't care regardless,"Must pee."

She left the table and moved slowly amongst the throng of people drinking, dancing, and smoking. She didn't actually need to use the restroom, but she found it anyway and ran her hands under the faucet, as if she could wash off everything she was trying so hard not to feel in that very moment.

Another deep breath later and she was back out, she bypassed the group and stepped onto the dance floor. EDM wasn't exactly her favorite, but soon Saydee found her with another drink and she swapped her for a fiver. This drink lasted her even less time and the rush of sugar was much needed, after the third drink she found herself very agreeable to the music, letting it flow through her.

She could only imagine what she'd do if she was actually consuming alcohol that night.

When Aaron found her a little while later to hand her a glass of water while telling her she would need it, he might as well have told her that her fun was over. He wasn't being nice and bringing her water because all she'd been consuming was pure sugar and she'd been dancing while wrapped in leather, leather, and more leather, but throwing her a hint.

Shit was about to hit the fan.

Maeve downed it in one go and handed it back before scanning the crowd in order to look for Neil. She'd underestimated how quickly Andrew worked once more, and found Neil only because he was tearing himself away from Nicky.

She followed him to the bar, just in time to overhear him ask how much for one of the workers to knock him unconscious.

     While Maeve didn't have any siblings, she was beginning to associate Neil with the annoyance one might have for a younger one. She grabbed a handful of hair and tugged him backward,"Seems you don't have luck after all, cub, gonna tell me what's going on now?"

"You and Andrew are deranged, that's what." Neil practically spit in her face and she sighed.

"Tell me something new, in case you hadn't noticed before this whole team's got major issues, so do you, it's why you got the invite."

     "Yeah? Let's compare, I'll win and then you'll see why I won't make it the semester." He was clearly intoxicated, and being a smartass.

     Maeve rolled her eyes and saw they were out of time when Andrew began walking over.

     "Look left." She said as she let his hair go.

     "What—"

     That was how Maeve ended their night by putting Neil out of his misery with a left sided uppercut, the punch enough to cause his body to slump over and Andrew glared at her as he was too late to the next round with the boy.

     She ignored him as she grabbed one of Neil's arms,"Grab his other arm, he's heavy as fuck and text Aaron, someone's gonna need to haul Kevin if you were stupid with him tonight too."

     "Because you care about Kevin." He challenged with a roll of his eyes.

     "Like you care about anyone." She scoffed.

She was right, it was one long fucking night. And it wasn't even half over yet.