Carley Meddle is a creature of habit. Some may call her a perfectionist, while others considered her to be uptight. Neither description seemed an insult to the uptight perfectionist, of course. She graduated summa cum laude a year and a half early from Berkeley with a degree in psychology, but that was merely a formality.

Carley's roommate of one year, who quickly became her best friend, had a tendency to be quite the opposite. Alexa Hanson was spontaneous and loud and moved to Northern California for college but quickly decided education was not for her.

When the pair met, Alexa took it upon herself to try and stretch the padded walls that were Carley's comfort zone, with only occasional success.

That never stopped her from trying her luck, though.

"Car, seriously, you're going to cause me to die of secondhand boredom if I see you pick up The Great Gatsby again this week," Alexa let out an exasperated sigh and resting her head in the palms of her hands for emphasis. "Let's do something fun tonight. It's my birthday!"

Carley looked up from her book and scanned her friend who clearly already had a plan in mind, based on her choice of outfit. "By 'something fun', do you mean going out to listen to your boyfriend's band," she said flatly. "And your birthday isn't until next week."

Alexa frowned at Carley's lack of enthusiasm, but quickly waved it off. "Actually, they're going to check out one of the competitors they'll be going up against in two weeks. Winner gets a one year contract with some new up-and-coming record label." The words were accompanied by a wide grin. "Please, please come out with me. If you absolutely hate it, act sick and I'll take you home. Swear."

Seeing the enthusiasm in her eyes, Carley stifled a sigh. "Fine," she gave in. "But you're doing the dishes for the next week," she teased, knowing she'd end up doing them anyway.

Much to Alexa's dismay, Carley shot down every outfit option, settling on her own go-to outfit of leggings and a tank top. She had little intention of hanging out for long, anyway.

In the car, Alexa quickly turned the volume down on the CD she'd been blaring through the speakers earlier. "Sorry," she apologized.

Carley turned it back up to a happy medium, somewhat enjoying the beat, but she'd never admit that.

The bar Alexa drove to was a hole in the wall just on the edge of San Francisco. Despite the fact, there was still a good amount of traffic and the place managed to have a line out front with people waiting to get in.

"I guess the band playing is pretty good?" Carley mused, almost regretting her outfit. She stuck out like a sore thumb.

"They're alright," Alexa shrugged. "There's Austin!" She managed to spot the blonde boy and the rest of the group from what seemed like a mile away.

Carley took her inner cheek between her teeth. She didn't know any of them, really. She somewhat knew Austin from when he'd stay the night at their apartment, but she hadn't met any of the others, before. As far as she was concerned, she had nothing in common with any of them—aside from Alexa.

Austin and Alexa seemed like an unlikely pairing at first glance. He appeared more like the quiet type, but, much like when Alexa first saw him, his face lit up when she came into view.

She fought the urge to find her place next to him, not wanting to immediately leave Carley to the wolves, so Austin walked over to them, instead. "Carley, this is Danny," she pointed to the dark haired girl that was leaning against a black mustang, who offered a kind wave. She had a septum ring as well as an eyebrow ring above her left eye. "Nate," next to Danny stood a shaggy dirty blonde with a few tattoos here and there, who gave her a cool nod. "Tyler," he was leaned against a different car, with his arm draped lazily around the shoulders a shorter girl with bright pink hair, who was scaling Carley with narrowed eyes, while twisting a strand of hair. Tyler, while he shared a few similarities with Nate, he was far more covered in tattoos, and seemed much more brooding than the others. "And of course, you know Austin," she grinned, wrapping her arm around his waist. "Everyone, this is my best friend Carley!"

"I was beginning to think you didn't exist," Danny laughed. Carley grinned, knowing very well that it was a surprise to everyone that she was actually here. If Alexa's words held any truth to them, they would know very well that this wasn't her scene.

"A little underwhelming, though," the girl next to Tyler scoffed.

Carley started to open her mouth to respond, but Nate beat her to it. "Bloody hell," he huffed under his breath. "Why are you even still here, Natalie? Isn't there literally anywhere else that you can be bitchy?" His accent caught Carley by surprise, almost as much as his words.

Natalie's jaw slacked and she looked up at Tyler. "Are you going to let your brother talk to me like that?"

Tyler put his hands up innocently. "I'm not getting into that," he shrugged, letting his gaze rest on Carley. "Definitely not getting into that," he cleared his throat, looking towards his brother with a shrug.

Natalie let out a frustrated sigh and stormed off from the group, which made Nate throw up a celebratory fist bump.

"You really pick some nice girls, Tyler," Danny chuckled sarcastically, pushing off of the car.

"Fuck off," Tyler muttered, flicking the cigarette to the ground before stomping it with his black sneakers.

"You know he's got to anoint all the new groupies," Nate snickered, earning him a middle finger from his brother. "I guess Carley better watch out," he shot the blonde a wink.

Tyler caught her gaze again for a fraction of a second, before rolling his eyes. "Please," he scoffed.

His reaction made Carley's eyebrows bunch together. "What, hair not pink enough for you?" The recoil was unexpected, even by her, but she stood a little taller as laughs erupted from everyone but Tyler, who opened his mouth to fire back, but quickly clamped his jaw closed.

"Adorable and feisty, I like her," Danny declared, slow clapping her hands. "Alright, are we ready to watch this dumpster fire?" She emphasized her lack of excitement by whirling her fingers in the air with very little enthusiasm.

Danny led them inside the back entrance of the building, where they all filed into a booth. Carley found herself sandwiched between Tyler and Alexa, who had Austin on her other side, whispering quietly in her ear.

Across from them was Nate, with his arm draped around the back of the seat, with a random girl he had found on the way in between him and Danny.

The music from the DJ was blaring through the speakers that were only feet apart in every direction, leaving little room for conversation, or so Carley thought. "Hey, wanna go grab a drink?" Danny yelled across the table to her.

"Uh, s-sure," she stammered.

"Do you want me to come with?" Alexa asked in her ear when she was scooting through the booth.

"I'm okay," she assured her friend. She followed after Danny, focusing more on her feet than anything in front of her. Clumsiness was on the ever-growing list of flaws that Carley had acquired over the years.

Without a hitch, the pair made it to the bar. "Hey, don't worry about Tyler, he's a bit of an asshole to everyone," Danny sneered, waving the bartender over. "What are you drinking tonight?" Carley's eyes widened at the question, as her eyes scanned the shelves of liquor that was behind the bar. "Not much of a drinker, hmm?" She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Let's go simple. Two shots of Fireball," she requested.

"Shots are simple?" Carley laughed breathlessly.

Danny looked down at the small glasses that were placed in front of them with a grin. "You're gonna love it." She scooted one closer to Carley and picked up the other. "To new friends?" She offered.

Carley gave a thin-lipped smile, as she lifted her glass and tapped it to Danny's. "To new friends." She followed Danny's lead of tapping the glass on the bar and opted to drink the liquid in one sip, to get it over quicker. The cinnamon flavor burned her throat on the way down, making her scrunch her face up, but the flavor wasn't as terrible as she's expected.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, making Danny's grin widen. "See! Not bad." She turned back to the bartender. "One more of those and two Crown and Cokes."

The alcohol in the shots was just enough to calm Carley's nerves, making her feel far less uptight. She was giggling, even, by the time they turned away from the bar. Unfortunately, the liquor enhanced her clumsiness, and no sooner than she turned around with her drink gripped tightly in her hand she ran right into the back of a man quite larger than her, spilling her drink down his back.

Carley slowly backed away with eyes wide, as the giant turned around and glared down at her. "What the fuck is your problem?"

He took a step towards her, but Danny was quick to step in. "Easy there, big guy."

Her words seemed to piss off the man more than Carley spilling her drink on him. "Nobody was talking to you, bitch."

"Don't talk to her like that," Carley shoved him back a few steps, silently thanking her trainer for her strength.

The man started to lunge for Carley, but was intercepted by Nate, who shoved him back, before Tyler punched him in the nose. The blow caused him to stagger backwards a bit, but he was quickly able to rebound and start towards Tyler. Austin slid behind the stranger and restricted his arms, allowing enough time for Tyler to land a few blows.

It didn't take long for attention to begin circulating the group, inevitably drawing the bouncer to the the altercation. He grabbed Tyler's arm as he was about to land a knockout blow, and almost earned himself a punch. "Tyler, chill!" Danny yelled. Tyler relaxed slightly, glaring back at the man that was hunched over in Austin's grasp. He let the guy fall to his knees, before scrambling back onto his feet, while walking over to Tyler.

"You guys are gonna have to-,"

"We know, Mike, we gotta go," Nate sighed theatrically.

The six of them started for the exit, just as the MC attempted to bring the attention back to the music. "Alright, alright, good vibes only tonight, right San Fran? Welcome to the stage, Crash and Burn!"

The band's instruments started blaring behind them as they passed through the door, making Austin fake gag. "Fuck, thanks for saving us from that wreck in there," he groaned.

"Are you okay?" Alexa scanned her, frowning. "If you're ready to go-,"

"I'm fine," Carley insisted. She glanced over to Tyler, who was angrily pacing back and forth, off to the side of the group. "I'll be right back."

She left the chattering and laughing over the fight and walked over to Tyler with her arms crossed over her chest. "Hey, you okay?"

His jaw clenched at the question. "Did that piece of shit touch either of you? I'll go back in right now and-," he cut off and the rage in his eyes extinguished as he saw was he thought was fear in her eyes. Truthfully, she was perplexed. It almost seemed like wanted a reason to go back inside and finish the job.

"We're fine." Carley's voice maintained steady, despite the adrenaline and the alcohol fighting for control. "How are your hands?" Her eyes fell down to the bloodied mess that was smeared against the tattooed skin.

Tyler shrugged, wiping them on his black shirt. "Probably mostly his blood," he said casually, calming down a bit. He brought them up a bit to inspect them, so Carley took the chance to as well. Over the ink was several scars, but there didn't seem to be any new wounds seeping with blood.

"Well, thanks. I shouldn't be so clumsy," a smile broke through her reserved features.

"Dickhead had it coming," he muttered, shrugging yet again.

Carley was about to voice her agreement, when Nate interrupted. "Hey, bad asses, have enough excitement for the night, or are you ready to have some real fun?"

Carley turned on her heels to see the group staring at them expectantly. She propped her hands on her hips and looked thoughtful for a moment, before a grin slowly took over her face. She wasn't sure if the little bit of alcohol she'd consumed or the adrenaline still pulsing through her veins was to thank for her lapse in judgement, but when she said, "hell yeah," she immediately felt her stomach sink.