"Down on the west coast, they got a sayin', 'if you're not drinking, then you're not playing.'"

Song: West Coast

Artist: Lana Del Rey

Music throbbed through the small apartment as Maggie and I busied ourselves in the kitchen, attempting to make drinks out of the meager supplies we had present in our apartment.  We’d managed to find a few beers for the boys and were currently adding an alarming amount of alcohol to a mixture of juice, soda, and, most frighteningly, water from the sink.  We didn’t seem to have any full bottles of alcohol, so the liquor being added to our already scary mix was little bits of whatever we had: vodka, rum, and whiskey. 

“You go first,” I said with a grin, staring at the dark liquid in Maggie’s cup.  She frowned deeply before raising the glass to her nose to sniff it bravely.

“I don’t wanna,” she whined.  She appeared very uncertain about the liquid she was about to drink.  Rightfully so, I thought.

“Fine, same time,” I said, laughing.  She nodded before agreeing.

“Deal.  One, two, three!”

We raised our glasses to our lips, wincing already before we even tasted their contents.  I was surprised when I managed to swallow the ‘drink’ without much effort.  There were so many things poured into it that it was hard to pick out any one flavor.  Maggie looked surprised as she swallowed hers, her eyes widening happily.

“It’s not terrible,” she said, shrugging and taking another drink.

“It’s not good, either,” I laughed. 

“Guys, enjoy your beers while they last because soon you’ll have to resort to this,” Maggie said, raising her glass to Jay and Harry in the living room.  Jay wrinkled up his nose in distaste.

“I’d rather drink it straight,” he called.  He glanced at Harry in amusement before muttering quietly. “Don’t trust you women…”

“I’m sorry, what?” Maggie called loudly, making it clear she’d heard him.  She smirked at him while he grinned at her innocently.  I smiled at their exchange, still shocked but thrilled at the discovery that they were getting along nicely.  I didn’t know if there was more to them than just hooking up, but it was pretty obvious to me that they at least enjoyed each others’ company. 

We exited the kitchen, leaving our supplies out on the counter for the rounds of drinks that would surely come later.  Maggie settled on the couch next to Jay, sitting closer to him than before but not actually touching him.  Harry watched me draw nearer, reaching his hand out to snake around my thigh when I got close enough and pull me into his lap again.  He kissed my shoulder lightly before I settled back against his chest happily. 

“I’m so glad we’re staying in tonight,” I said.  I didn’t feel much like braving the raucous crowd tonight and was looking forward to letting loose with our small group.  Maggie and I used to spend random evenings drinking cheap wine and just hanging out.  It felt like years since we’d done that.  Tonight was much like that, only with the added bonus of having Harry with me. 

“I feel like an old man,” Jay complained.  “If you guys make me play some kind of board game I’m out of here.”

I grinned as I was reminded of the night Harry and I had just spent with his family, drinking and playing games just as Jay had mentioned.  I took a sip of my strange drink as I felt Harry’s hand land beside my thigh, the tips of his fingers tracing lazily back and forth across my leg. 

“I don’t think we even have board games so you’re safe,” I told Jay. 

“You’re telling me you don’t enjoy a rousing game of Candy Land?” Maggie teased, drawing Jay’s attention. 

Harry’s hand continued to tickle lightly over the outside of my thigh, and I could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest against my back.  I twisted a bit on his lap so I was nearly sideways, my legs draping off the side of the chair and my shoulder pressing into his chest. 

“Wanna try it?” I asked, raising my glass in front of him.  He looked at it as if it might burst into flames at any moment.

“No, I’d like to remain alive,” he said, grinning at me widely.  I pouted out my lower lip in mock offense.

“It’s not that bad.  I made it myself!”

“Even more reason not to try it,” he laughed, taking a long drink of his beer. 

“That’s just mean,” I chided, giggling in his lap.  His hand that had been on my thigh had curled to run lightly back and forth across the expanse of my shoulders now that I was sitting sideways.  His touch was light and it sent chills down my spine with every swipe of his hand. 

“Sorry Hal. I love you, but I don’t trust you in the kitchen,” he said, eyes glinting in amusement. 

“You’re one to talk,” I laughed. “If I recall correctly, you once put pancake batter in the microwave.”

“Heyyyy,” he said, drawing out the word.  “See if I ever make you breakfast again.”

“You never have in the first place,” I laughed.

“I tried,” he said, frowning deeply and pulling his brows together like a puppy.  He looked so cute that I couldn’t stop myself from leaning forward to press my lips to his quickly.  I pulled back to see him pouting even more, drawing a giggle from my lips.

“You did try and that’s what counts, right?” I said.  He was so endearing it was difficult to tear the smile from my lips. 

“Right,” he agreed, stopping his pouting to take another drink from his beer. 

I took the moment to take a long drink from my glass, ignoring the burn at the back of my throat as I finished it.  It appeared as thought the mixture of alcohol had sunk to the bottom, making for an unpleasant end to the drink.  My face scrunched up in repulsion as I fought off the quick wave of uneasiness rolling through my stomach. 

“I almost told you I loved you that day,” he mused aloud, dropping his voice a bit as Maggie and Jay carried on obliviously feet away from us.  My heart fluttered a bit at his words.

“You did?”

“Yeah.  I was trying to tell you when I burned the pancakes,” he said, chuckling to himself.

“I knew it!” I said excitedly, grinning widely at him. 

“Oh did you?” he laughed, cocking an eyebrow at me.   

“I did! I was disappointed you didn’t say it,” I admitted.  A flash of a frown crossed his face before I quickly continued. “But you said it soon after which was perfect.”

He looked reassured as he nodded, pleased. 

“Will it help if I say it now?” he asked lightly.

“Oh yes, I definitely think so,” I grinned.  He leaned closer, pinning his forehead to mine as his arm pushed lightly on my back to bring me closer.

“I love you,” he whispered.  “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

“Ahh, it sounds so pretty coming out of those lips of yours,” I said happily.  He chuckled before pushing lightly on my back again, pressing me forward until my lips landed on his.  I heard a small catcall from Maggie as they apparently noticed Harry and I very much lost in our own world, but I ignored it.  His lips melded slowly with mine, not really deepening the kiss but putting enough into it to really feel it seeping through my body. 

“Hey, sluts!” Jay shouted suddenly.  Our kiss broke as I burst into laughter, my lips parting into a wide smile against Harry’s while his did the same.  “Let’s keep the PDA to a minimum so I don’t have to throw up.”

My body shook with quiet laughter as I resigned from the kiss completely to glance over my shoulder at Jay and Maggie. 

“Wait, does fucking on the couch count as PDA? Because I hardly think you have room to talk,” Harry teased, a smirk written across his features.

“No, because you assholes weren’t supposed to barge in and interrupt,” Jay shot back, his features contorted with amusement. 

“Oh god, make it stop,” Maggie said, covering her face with her hand briefly before laughing good-naturedly.  She’d gotten over the incident fairly quickly, finding the amusement in it just as the boys did.  They were lucky she was such a good sport about it.

The laughter that drifted around the room was cut off sharply by a sudden knock at the front door.  I froze on Harry’s lap, uncertain as to whom it could be. 

“That’s probably our neighbors,” Maggie said, rolling her eyes.  “They like to complain about the music.”

I was about to get up to answer the door when Harry’s arm wound tightly around my waist, stilling me and preventing me from standing.

“No, let me get it,” he said, his voice slightly on edge.  I watched his features, any signs of a smile or laughter wiped away.  My stomach twisted anxiously when a second round of knocking echoed through the room, barely audible over the music before Maggie reached for the remote to turn it down. 

Harry squeezed my side lightly before pulling me to stand up with him, kissing the top of my head distractedly as he moved by me to answer the door.  I sucked in a nervous breath as he turned the handle and pulled it open.  His jaw tensed when he saw whoever was standing behind the door, and I could see the muscles in his arm physically contract anxiously.

“What are you doing here?” he spit, his face settling into a glare.  My heart seemed to drop in my chest as Harry confirmed it was not someone welcome in my apartment.  My feet started moving toward Harry, desperate to see who it was before he raised his hand to me, holding his palm out behind the door to signal me to stop even though he didn’t remove his gaze from the mystery guest. 

“I need to have a few words with you.  And you,” he called, his second sentence louder as if directing it at me even though he couldn’t see me.  My blood seemed to turn to ice in my veins as I recognized the voice.  I ignored Harry’s warning and walked stiffly toward the door, moving to stand behind Harry as he came into view. 

Ice blue eyes met mine, framed by dirty blonde hair that seemed a bit longer than the last time I’d seen him.  His skin was just as pale as I remembered, and it appeared taut around his potentially handsome face.  He watched me closely, peering at me over Harry’s shoulder with a curious expression on his features.

Damon.

Harry shifted between us, cutting off Damon’s gaze from me.

“You can talk to me.  You don’t get to talk to her,” Harry said sharply.  I stepped forward until I was right behind Harry, placing my hand gently on his back to keep him calm.  His hand twitched involuntarily toward me at the touch before he refocused on Damon. 

“No, I’ll talk to both of you,” Damon said coolly, using the same oddly calm voice I’d heard him use before.  Memories of that terrifying night flashed back to me as imagines of white powder formed into lines, the dirty house, and the seemingly endless number of people snorting the drug into their nose flared through my mind.  Damon had been there, participating in all of it, but had been the only one to stop Ben from making me take part in the consumption of the drugs. 

“Harry, it’s okay,” I said, surprising myself.  I peeked over his shoulder to find Damon’s icy stare fixed on me again. 

“See?  Your girl’s reasonable,” Damon said lightly, shifting his gaze to Harry.

“Don’t,” Harry warned, his voice tense through gritted teeth.

“May I come in or must we do this in the hall?” Damon asked, ignoring Harry’s warning.  He was so oddly calm and formal that I seemed off balance with what I knew he did in his free time.  It appeared as though he and Ben handled their drugs in about as opposite a manner as possible.  Ben had become erratic, irrational, and violent, while Damon appeared calm, casual, and oddly polite.  Unnervingly polite.

Harry gritted his teeth and glared at him as if he hated the idea of him in my apartment, but I didn’t like how exposed the hallway was. 

“You have five minutes,” Harry growled, stepping back to let him in while keeping himself between Damon and I the entire time.  Damon nodded before stepping inside, his eyes landing on Jay and Maggie, who remained silent on the couch. 

“Oh, hello,” Damon said.  Neither of them responded.  “Didn’t mean to interrupt your company.”

“What do you want?” Harry spit, not about to put up with any nonsense. 

“Straight to it, then,” Damon muttered seemingly to himself.  “Well, Harry, we have a problem.”

“Do we?” Harry asked harshly.  My stomach twisted, worried Harry was being overly aggressive and would set off Damon to do something irrational.  I rubbed my hand along his back in an attempt to calm him down but he didn’t appear to notice at all. 

“We do,” Damon said coolly.  “You see, you shot a friend of mine.”

Harry didn’t say anything but I felt his muscles twitch beneath my touch at Damon’s statement.  I hated Damon for reminding Harry of this horrible fact, although it was the only reason I could think as to why he’d be here in the first place. 

“And another friend of mine is in jail,” Damon continued when it was clear Harry wasn’t going to acknowledge his first statement.  “This is my problem.”

“Quite the predicament,” Harry agreed flatly. 

“Harry…” I whispered, warning him to be careful.  My nerves were quickly frazzling from anxiety.

“What do we do about this problem?” Harry said, attempting to force his voice to be calm. 

“The way I see it, we have two options,” Damon said casually, picking at the back of his hand absentmindedly. 

“Which are?”

“Well… one, I could return the favor and shoot you myself,” Damon started, flicking his ice blue stare between Harry and I.  I sucked in a deep breath and felt my heart hammer in my chest as fear started to creep through me at an alarming rate.

“Or two, I could forget this whole thing in return for your promise that you’ll never breathe another word of what you saw to the police, or anyone else for that matter,” Damon finished.  He watched us placidly as he waited for our response.

“What exactly does that mean?” I asked, sure there was a catch somewhere.  Damon’s gaze turned to settle on me over Harry’s shoulder while Harry tried in vain to push me behind him completely. 

“It means that you keep your mouth shut about the drugs and anything else you saw, and I won’t ever have to see you again,” Damon explained.  “You see, backing Ben wasn’t really my decision.  I hardly knew him, so I don’t really feel like getting my hands dirty to avenge someone who meant nothing to me.  As for my boy Miles, he took the fall for the drugs and I don’t really have any desire to join him behind bars.”

“That’s it?” Harry asked skeptically. “We don’t turn you in and you leave us alone forever?”

“That’s it,” Damon repeated simply, shrugging again.  “I’m a selfish person, and selfish people don’t do things for others if it may mean spending time in jail.  I quite like my freedom and I’d like to guarantee that.”

“What about the rest of your people, huh?  They’ll stay away from us, too?” Harry asked sharply, his eyes narrowed suspiciously at Damon. 

“You have my word.  They’re even more selfish than I am,” Damon said, shaking his head slowly as if he found the whole situation amusing.  Harry was silent for a few moments, considering the offer and trying to spot some type of loophole or deception. 

“You or anyone else don’t go near her,” Harry demanded slowly, watching him closely.  “If I even see one of you within a hundred feet of her, I’ll go straight to the police and tell them everything.”

“Or him,” I added quickly. “Stay away from Harry, too.”

Harry reached behind his back to grip my wrist lightly, as if trying to silence me and let him handle it. 

“Fair enough,” Damon said, nodding. “Do we have a deal?”

Harry regarded him silently, his face twisted into a frown like he was being forced to make a deal with the devil.  Damon extended a hand in front of him, waiting patiently for Harry to either accept his handshake or deny it.

Harry stepped forward and extended his arm, locking hands with Damon momentarily to shake on it. 

“You have a deal.”

They stared at each other for a second before the handshake broke.  A smile stretched across Damon’s face, looking out of place next to his hollow cheekbones and hauntingly bright eyes.

“Excellent. Now that that’s settled, I’ll let you get back to your evening,” he said casually as he rubbed his hands together in front of him.  He moved toward the door and Harry shifted to keep himself between he and I constantly.  Damon pulled the door open and started to exit before pausing, glancing back at Harry and I.

“I’d say see you later, but that won’t be the case.  Have a good evening,” he said calmly before flashing us another strange grin and exiting, closing the door gently behind him.

A whoosh of air rushed from my lungs as I exhaled for what felt like the first time since he’d arrived.  My body sagged forward as I collided with Harry’s back, wrapping my arms around his waist to hug him from behind.  My forehead rested against the wide expanse of his back while his hands settled over mine that covered his stomach. 

“Oh my god,” I muttered, my words stifled slightly.  Harry squeezed my hands before spinning in my grip, taking my face between his hands and tilting my face so I was looking at him.

“Are you okay?” he asked intently, peering down at me.  I nodded slowly and blew a deep breath out. 

“I’m fine,” I answered honestly.  I was just relieved that Damon was gone and oddly surprised by his offer.  As far as I knew, Harry and I had no plans as it was to turn him in in the first place, so the deal was an added bonus to our already existing plan.  If we dared to trust him, we had just been promised safety from any potential retaliation.  “Are you?”

“I’m just fine,” he reassured me, tugging me forward into his chest.  He wrapped his arms around my shoulders to hug me tightly.

“What the hell was that?” Maggie said, reminding me that she and Jay were still in the room. 

“Damon,” Jay muttered.  It didn’t surprise me that Jay knew who he was since I knew that Miles had history with him, and Miles and Jay used to be friends.  “He’s gone downhill even more since I last saw him, holy shit.”

I felt Harry nod as he held me to his chest.  “He’s seen better days.”

“Do you believe him? That he’ll really leave us alone for good as long as we don’t turn him in?” I asked Harry, tilting my head back to look up at him.

“I think so, oddly enough.  Do you?”

“Yeah,” I agreed, surprising myself.  “He didn’t really know Ben so I can’t see him risking jail to do anything about it.  And I think Miles getting put away for the drugs probably scared him away from going after us in case he got caught.”

Harry nodded, agreeing with me.  “I think you’re right.”

“Me too,” Jay added. “That guy wouldn’t risk going to jail for anyone other than himself.”

“So… is that settled then?  You guys are all in the clear?” Maggie asked, struggling to put the pieces together.

“I think so,” I said, a sudden happiness bubbling up inside me.  It hadn’t really hit me until that moment, but the lingering fear of retaliation had just been lifted thanks to Damon’s abrupt arrival and strange proposal.  My grin widened as I looked up at Harry, relieved to see him looking happy once again after the stress of Damon’s visit had pulled him down briefly.

“I think so, too,” he agreed lightly, kissing my forehead and hugging me tighter momentarily. 

“Excellent,” Maggie cheered.  Now can we get back to drinking, please?”

I laughed, impressed by her ability to bounce back from literally anything in order to have a good time. 

“Yes Maggie.  We can,” I said, disentangling myself from Harry’s arms to head back toward where she and Jay were sitting.  “But first, I think we need another round of drinks.”

"But something keeps me real quiet, I'm alive, I'm a-lush: your love, your love, your love."  

Thank you for being so patient with the update! Resolution is coming to an end soon so I'm very reluctant to rush the updates. I have quite a bit more of the next chapter already written and was debating between making this update really long or updating again tomorrow, so I chose the second option! Hope you enjoyed it and please remember to vote and comment :)