"here!" Madison exclaimed as she shoved yet another round of shots in Farah and Madelyn's hands, causing them to look between each other wearily. Farrah looked down at her drink skeptically.

"is this another green tea shot, Maddie?" Madelyn asked, her eyebrows raised high. the brunette girl nodded eagerly in response, lifting her shot glass in the air to propose a cheers. this would be their fourth shot of the night combined with various mixed drinks; a recipe that they knew could only spell disaster, yet they continued to drink on.

"of course it is! bottoms up, bitches!" Madison squealed before clanking her glass against the other two and downing her shot. Farah looked to Madelyn before she mimicked Maddie, though hesitantly, and knocked the drink back. she shuddered and handed the glass back to Madison.

"fuuuuck. if you keep bringing us those, you might be holding my hair back later." Farah said jokingly, though she knew she would only be able to handle a few more shots before her prediction came to life. her two friends laughed, causing her to start laughing along with them. Madelyn handed Maddie the shot glasses and started dancing in her spot. she tried to get Farah to dance while they waited for Madison to return from the bar, but it was no use.  she seemed to be looking right through Madelyn. but the girl never stopped dancing, even when Madison returned from the bar empty handed. instead, she just beamed at her friends and began to slow her movements.

"come on, let's go dance! Farah looks so sad!"

Farah blinked herself back into reality just in time for the blonde girl to grab ahold of her hand tightly. Madelyn wiggled her eyebrows at Farah and began pulling her along like she was a doll. Madison followed closely behind, hooting and hollering as they made their way to the dance floor. once they got there, Madelyn stopped abruptly and forced Farah to twirl around a few times before letting go.

as she spun away from Madelyn, Farah's carefree laugh rang out over the music. Madelyn beamed in response to her laughter. seeing her friends happy made her elated, and she would do whatever it took to see them laugh like that. so for the rest of the night, Madelyn made sure that both Farah and Madison were having a good time. the girls continued to dance without a care in the world, tossing their hair every which way as they swayed to the beat of the music. a few minutes later, Madison began yelling an incoherent sentence which was followed by a burst of laughter from Madelyn.

"what?!" the blonde asked, completely amused by her friend.

"i said: Farah, that dude is totally staring you down! he's been doing it all night, it's kinda getting embarrassing that you haven't seen..." Madison discreetly nodded her head in the man's direction, but Farah whipping her head around to see who it was totally gave it away. however, he did not seemed to be deterred by her sudden return of gaze. instead he took it as his signal to approach them.

"ooh, he's cute, right?" Madison pushed covertly, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at Farah. the girl just shrugged haphazardly in response.

"um, i guess so." she replied with a bit of edge, trying to tell her friends that she wasn't exactly interested in dancing with him. Farah couldn't necessarily speak for her two friends, but they made tonight a 'girls night' for a reason, and no way was she letting a man get in their way.

"Fay, just go dance with him! look, he's coming over!" Madison squealed, her smile wide with content as the man continued to approach the girls. he smiled politely at each of them as he approached, but he made sure to keep his attention focused on Farah. she offered a polite smile before looking away. she didn't want him to think that she was interested in hopes that he would leave them alone.

he started to dance along side them, trying his best to weasel his way next to Farah. however, she kept her distance by turning her shoulder slightly so that she wasn't facing the man directly. as much as she wanted to explore her options, she wasn't too fond of inviting a man into their girls night out. the entire time she could feel Madison's eyes boring into the side of her head, telling her to jump on this opportunity with all of her might.

Farah sighed and eventually gave him a way in, allowing the man to join their small circle. once he was in he turned to Farah to try and get her attention back on him. she did her best to not look at him, but it became harder to do the longer they danced. it got to the point where the man was directly in front of her, making it impossible to look anywhere else. she offered a weak smile and her eyes darted away from his.

"hey, you wanna dance?" he asked as he inched closer to her  her.

Farah was about to look back at her friends when she was suddenly shoved forward and practically into his arms. she was stunned, but was quick to recover and awkwardly laughed it off.

"uh..."

"yes, she would!" Madison encouraged from behind Farah, causing her girl to blush out of embarrassment.

"sure, why not?" Farah replied unconvincingly. the man grinned and took her by the hand, pulling her away from the Maddies. Farah looked back at her friends as the man dragged her on, but they quickly disappeared in the crowd. she frowned and turned her head back so that she could see where she was going.

the man stopped abruptly and wasted no time spinning Farah around. she laughed loudly, the sudden movement catching her off guard. "what's so funny?" he asked, his voice overpowering the music greatly. Farah shrugged as she continued to dance to the music, avoiding eye contact with the guy. he stepped closer and placed his hands on Farah's butt, using his grip to pull her forward.

her eyes widened in shock. fear froze her to her spot momentarily, but him adjusting his grip on her pulled Farah back down to earth. she yelped and pressed her hands against his chest, shoving him away. "wine me and dine me first, jesus!" she followed up with an awkward laugh hoping that he would laugh it off too. unfortunately for Farah, he didn't.

"oh, come on. don't be such a bitch." he reached out again, but was quickly met by a firm slap on the hand, something neither of them expected.

"dude, just dance!" Farah nearly shouted, suddenly bursting with confidence. she continued to sway to the music as she gently pushed the guy away with her hand, which she had placed firmly on his chest. when he was far enough away, she removed her hand and took a step back.

the man responded to her step back by taking a step forward himself, trying to close the gap between them. Farah furrowed her eyebrows as he took another step forward, this time closing in on her and wrapping his arms around the back of her neck. her eyes widened in shock as she crashed into his chest. she wasn't anticipating him to grab her like that.

their close proximity opened up a window for Farah to think about the situation logically. however, all logic was flung out the window when she began to feel like she was being trapped. Farah began to freak out internally, his sudden close proximity making her feel more claustrophobic by the second. she could feel the panic beginning to set in and knew that she needed to get away from him. she hesitantly lifted her hands and began to peel his heavy arms off of her.

"i'm sorry." she started, now panicked. "no offense, but i really don't want to dance with you." her heart was pounding in her chest now, which she took as her sign to walk away before the situation got worse. she held up her hands defensively and began to back away from him.  "m-my friends kinda forced me. i'm really so-"

"aw fuck you, bitch! you're just like the rest of 'em." he spat before mindlessly shoving her backwards. Farah stumbled back, bumping into the woman that had been dancing next to them for most of the time. she was miraculously able to keep Farah from falling onto the floor despite hardly being able to stand herself, and she helped Farah regain her balance moments later.

Farah rose with the help of the stranger, giving her a quick 'thank you' before turning her attention back to the man. she couldn't help but laugh, now amused by the dude who was practically seething. he took a step forward, his fist curling at his side threateningly as he approached her.

in the few seconds it took for the man to walk over to her, all she could think of was one thing: i am a flightless bird. it made complete sense to her in the moment and she took those words to heart. when the man stepped into her personal space again, she panicked and swung blindly, nailing him right in the nose. he grunted loudly, his hands flying up to cup his bloodied nose. the crowd around her began shouting, which she knew would catch the attention of security. great.

though she knew there would be consequences for what she had just done, Farah stood frozen, cradling her throbbing hand in her arm. the man slowly lifted his head and pulled his hands away from his face, revealing a gush of blood coming from his nose.

Farah's eyes widened instantly. "oh shit" she muttered to herself, only now realizing just what she had done. she began to back out as the crowd around her began to part. at least four security guards pushed through the group of people and immediately ran over to the man, who was hunched over and holding his nose.

"what's going on?!" the security guard shouted as he pushed through the row of people before Farah. the man lifted his head, the blood now dripping down his hand and onto his arm and shirt.

"she hit me for no reason! i just told her she was pretty, i think she got offended!" the guy sputtered out with no remorse, leaving Farah gobsmacked. the security guard looked over at Farah with a look of disbelief, then back to the man. he sighed before reaching down for his radio. he called in a few bouncers and a paramedic, which Farah immediately assumed were both for him and started to back away.

"i-i have to go find my friends!" she said out loud, though it went unheard by many. when she thought the coast was clear, she turned on her heel and began to weave her way through the crowd. she tried to keep her head down, but it was difficult to do that and walk through the people at the same time. she thought her evasion was going to be successful, but she was soon bumped into and grabbed by her arms.

"woah, slow it down lady." the man spoke gruffly. Farah lifted her head, her eyes wide with fear as she stared down the person who was holding onto her so tightly. "you're comin' with me."

she recognized him as the bouncer that was checking IDs at the door and sighed. at least it wasn't the dude from earlier, she thought. but the bouncer still being there, still holding onto her as he guided her away, could only mean one thing. she was getting tossed. "c'mon. let's go. call a ride."

he lifted her arm and began to pull her through the crowd. she looked up at him, not wanting to believe this situation at all. "what?!" she challenged, trying to stop her legs from moving with him on autopilot.  "you can't kick me out! i didn't do anything!"

"yeah, that's what they all say" the man muttered under his breath. they approached the entrance to the club. Farah was able to get her I.D. back, but as soon as she was handed it, the security guard practically dragged her out the front door.

when they got outside, he let Farah go and stood there for a second before speaking. "you got someone to pick you up?" his voice was gentle and definitely not expected. Farah squinted at him suspiciously. what kind of mind games is this guy trying to play on me?!

"yep, i got it." she muttered bitterly before crossing her arms over her chest.

the bouncer sighed. "look, i'm just doing my job-"

"yeah, i get that, but can you just leave me alone? christ, you kicked me out, the least you could do is give me some damn privacy." Farah muttered. she usually wouldn't be rude to people the way she was now, but she was completely over the night at this point and couldn't tolerate anyone else besides herself.

"okay...well, i'm just giving you the heads up that you won't be able to use the phone inside. so...like...if you needed to call someone on a phone that isn't yours, now would be the time to do so." he started rocking back and forth on his feet. Farah rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"'kay, got it. you can go back to that douchebag now." she replied, snapping at him once she could no longer take him standing there. he raised his eyebrows in response.

"douchebag, huh?" the bouncer chortled. "last time i checked, you're the one that punched him in the face."

Farah finally turned around to face him. she squinted at him and scowled deeply. "don't you have a fucking job to do? oh, never mind. you're just a rent-a-cop." she couldn't help but giggle at her own remark. the bouncer, however, did not take too kindly to her joke.

he gave a quick nod before grabbing her by the arms once again and dragging her down the sidewalk. her legs barely had enough time to catch up with the rest of her body, but he didn't seem to care. he dragged her further before letting her go in front of a different store.

"what-" Farah cut herself off, confusion now taking over her features. 

"you're officially banned from The Trio. means you can't step foot on our property anymore." he explained rudely, to which Farah just nodded her head. "hope you learned your lesson, bitch. you better hope that douchebag doesn't wanna press charges against you."

the bouncer walked off without saying another word to Farah. as he walked off, she turned quickly and called out to him, but he ignored her and continued to walk on. Farah's shoulders slumped. she knew she wouldn't be able to get ahold of the Maddies until later, so she decided that her best plan of action would be to call her roommates. but as she thought about who to call, she couldn't help but think about the embarrassment she felt while being dragged out of the club, and started to cry. 

a shaky sob escaped Farah's lips as she began to scroll through her phone to find someone, literally anyone that she could call. she knew that everyone was either asleep, had been drinking, or is busy doing something else. she really wanted to call Drew, but she figured that it would be best to not bother him. so she decided that her next call was going to be to Austin: the second least trustworthy person she's ever known. before she was able to press call, a notification popped up on her phone saying that she only had 5% battery left.

"just my fucking luck" she muttered to herself and pressed close. she then pressed the button to call Austin. it went three rings, then straight to voicemail. Farah groaned and ended the call, then decided to call again. the same thing happened: three rings, then straight to voicemail.

"yo, it's Austin! leave a message."

"fuck," Farah huffed as she pulled the phone away from her ear, her thumb smashing down on the end call button just moments after. she sighed and bit down hard on the inside of her lip. she winced.

although she didn't want to, she knew that she would have to call Drew. it was either that, or walk. Farah refused to take Ubers or anything else of the lot when she wasn't sober, so any form of public transportation was immediately out of the question. letting out one more deep sigh, Farah scrolled through her call log searching for one name in particular. her thumb hovered over the name for a few seconds, debating on whether it was a good idea to call.

she rationalized the situation almost immediately, which is shocking given her drunk state. after all, it wouldn't hurt anything, and the worst that could be said was no. Farah was willing to take that risk if that meant she could get home warm and safe. with her phone on 3%, Farah pressed 'call' on Drew's contact.

three rings pass before he picks up, answering with a raspy "hello?"

"Drew" Farah choked out, feeling a mix of relief and anguish.

the boy immediately sat upright in his bed when he heard the embarrassment and pain that was evident in her voice. "hey, you okay?"

Farah sniffled. "are you busy?"

Drew hesitated. "what's up?" he asked, intentionally not answering her question.

"are you busy?" Farah repeated while looking up. she just wanted to hear him say that he wasn't busy, that she wasn't being a burden, but thats all it felt like. but she knew in her heart that if he was with Amanda he would avoid answering that question, and he did.

fuck my life. of course.

when he didn't respond again, she stifled an animal-like grunt. "never mind. fuckin' forget it." she grumbled out a few more incoherent words before being overpowered by Drew's voice.

"no, don't! don't hang up, i'm sorry. where are you?" he sounded concerned, and even panicked. it made Farah's stomach flip a million times over, though she wouldn't say it out loud nor even acknowledge it.

Farah forced herself to make some sort of noise, but it just ended up coming out as a pathetic mix of a sob and a laugh. "um, i'm at 'The Trio' but something bad happened. i'm alone in front of the place next door and i didn't know who to call." she squeaked, crying harder as she pushed out her sentence. Drew was now beyond worried; his immediate thought was that something happened that ended the friendship between Madison, Madelyn, and Farah. he exhaled sharply. fuck.

"what?! wait..." Drew's end became muffled as he started to walk through the apartment. "okay, hold on. i'm on my way, just stay put. explain everything to me later."

Farah sniffled. "okay. i'm on the curb outside, but my phone is about to die." she heard Drew's muffled sigh, followed by the sound of shuffling and thudding.

"damn, okay. try to share your location if you ca-"

Farah pulled her phone away from her ear and looked at the black loading screen despairingly. "son of a bitch" she groaned and sat down on the curb, crossing her arms over her chest to keep warm. the air in Charleston had been brisk as of late, but Farah paid no mind to it until now. she purposefully left the house without a coat and now she was paying the price.

waiting for Drew to show up felt like an eternity. and with her phone dead, there wasn't much for the girl to do besides sit there and twiddle her thumbs. the paramedics arrived a few moments later and rushed into the club, not giving Farah a second glance. she rolled her eyes at the dramatization of the incident. surely he might have a broken nose, but nothing to call the paramedics for, right?

doubt and fear started to set in when the cops showed up to the scene moments after the ambulance came. shit. shit. shit. shit. she prayed that Drew would arrive before the cops were able to track her down. running from the law would be a huge mistake, but then again, what was there to be concerned about? she learned a thing or two about the code of violence among barfighters-- was that not the same thing?

when Drew finally arrived, Farah was up on her feet. she watched him, almost expectantly, as he parked his car right in front of where she was standing. he made sure to deploy his hazards before unlocking his doors.

Farah flung the door open and slid into the car, refusing to look at Drew because she knew that she looked a mess. they sat in silence for moments, even minutes, before Farah let out a loud sigh.

"Drew, i'm drunk right now." she muttered before sniffling. her eyes were puffy and soaked from crying,

"what happened, Fay?" Drew spoke gently.

"nothing. it's really not serious." Farah said dismissively, waving her hand at him and looking away. Drew narrowed his eyes accordingly. the tears on her face were still fresh,

"what?" he sputtered out. "what do you mean it's nothing? dude, you're literally alone, drunk, and crying outside of a club with none of the people you showed up with. the-the fucking cops are here! you mean to tell me that's nothing?"

"well, let's just say...hypothetically, i fucked around and i found out. but-- and this part is important-- that is only in theory."

"Farah," Drew paused, letting out a deep sigh as he did so. "what? you're making no sense right now."

"i got fucking kicked out, okay?! that's what happened. some dude Madison made me dance with grabbed my ass then shoved me, so i decked him in the face. they let the bastard stay too." the girl threw her hands up in defeat.

now disappointed, Drew sucked his teeth and shook his head. "those dudes are some misogynistic motherfuckers, i'll tell you that. i'll kill him for you if we just wait here and stake him out. i'll kill all those dudes in there, actually. with my bare hands."

Farah finally looked over at Drew, her watery eyes boring into the side of his head. he glanced over, his eyes skipping around her face to try and read her expression. the tears in her eyes contradicted the wide smile that she now had on her face. she began to laugh; it frightened Drew more than he would like to say.

Drew furrowed his eyebrows. "Farah, what's wrong?"

there were so many things that Farah wanted to say to him, but the lump in her throat kept her from doing so. in a way, she was incredibly thankful for it; she was drunk, probably beyond her limit, and who knows what she would've let slip...

throwing herself forward, Farah instinctively wrapped her arms around Drew's upper body tightly. Drew chuckled before wrapping his arms around Farah's shoulders, pulling her into his side as much as he could.

"thank you for coming." she whispered into his shirt. he smiled softly and gave her shoulders a squeeze.

"you want me to go in and get M-squared for you?" Drew asked before pulling away from her. Farah shook her head in response before looking down at her shoes.

"no no, i don't know where they are. just text them for me, please? let them know that i'm okay but i can't go back into that bar for a bit." Farah crossed her arms over her chest before adding, "and that my phone is dead."

Drew glanced over at her and noticed the deep scowl that formed on her face. he chuckled, though half-heartedly, and reached over to pat her knee. "you got it, babe."

Drew leaned back in his seat and reached for his phone that was in the cup holder. he quickly began typing out a message before pressing send and tossing his phone back where it was. Farah offered him a smile before telling him to drive. "i don't need the cops coming up to the car, thank you very much."

Drew didn't respond, instead he put the car in drive, turned his hazards off, and pulled out onto the road. Farah turned her head and looked out the window longingly. she twiddled her thumbs in her lap, unsure of what to do with herself now that her phone was completely dead.

"so, what were you up to when i called? you never told me." Farah mentioned while continuing to look out the window. Drew raised his eyebrows and chuckled.

"Amanda and i were-" Drew cut himself off and shook his head dismissively. "never mind, that doesn't matter."

Farah wanted to roll her eyes so badly, but she refrained. instead, she forced herself to frown. "oh, i'm sorry. i ruined your night." she stated glumly, but perking up instantly as she thought of an insult to hurl at Austin. "but Austin wouldn't even pick up his damn phone. lazy bastard. i know that son of a bitch is up, he's just ignoring me."

Drew chuckled and shook his head. "nah, you couldn't ruin my night if you tried. and that's crazy, because i know that Austin was sitting on the couch watching TV when i left. he said he saw your call but his phone was 'too far away'." Drew mimicked Austin's whiny voice, which made Farah giggle.

now swaying side to side in her seat, she pressed her lips shut tightly and pointed to them. Drew furrowed his eyebrows. he saw her arms move out of the corner of his eye, but his driving prevented him from looking properly.

"what-- what is it you're doing? i don't get it." Drew questioned sounding genuinely confused.

"head spinny, need silence!" she demanded in her best John Mulaney voice. Drew nodded curtly, understanding the feeling like it was second nature. Farah shut her eyes and leaned back in her seat, pressing her head into the headrest behind her to try and stop her brain from spinning. Drew drove carefully, making sure to avoid any potholes that would shake the car and took turns slower than normal.

"was Amanda at least asleep when you left?" Farah questioned almost out of the blue, her eyes now wide open and alert. Drew pressed his lips into a thin line and shook his head dismissively. Farah stared at the boy with wide eyes, causing him to side-eye her.

"what?!"

"you left your girlfriend to come pick me up? duuuude, no wonder why she's always so angry." Farah slurred with a ridiculous British accent, causing Drew to laugh.

"what? why?"

"duuude! she's gonna be so fucking pissed. so pissed! not just at me, but at you too!" Farah rambled, trying to get Drew to see the seriousness of the situation, but her drunken state was making it hard for him to take her seriously.

"bud, it's good. promise. i told her i was goin' out to get a friend who needed help. i just didn't specify which friend..." Drew let his voice trail off and put his index finger to his lips.

Farah looked at Drew and squinted her eyes at him. "she's gonna know it was me when we come back in together. you dug yourself in a hole here, Joseph."

Drew's car came to a stop at the red light and he turned to look at his friend. "i don't care about that. if i cared, i wouldn't have come. it's what friends do for each other." he shrugged, now looking back to the traffic light above.

Farah deflated slightly. "right" she cleared her throat. "well, thank you, i really appreciate it."

the boy flashed a grin at Farah before turning his head back to face the road. the light turned green and Drew gently pressed his foot on the gas. Farah lifted her arm up to rest on her door, leaning her head onto the heel of her hand. a silence filled the car, a silence that neither of them were used to. this silence was awkward.

sighing, Farah shut her eyes and tried to keep the world from spinning out. Drew glanced over at her but didn't say anything. he wasn't too sure what to say, for that matter, so he just let her be. as a substitute, Drew reached over and turned the volume to the radio up slightly.

"you know you can't keep doing this if you're serious about her, right?" Farah muttered, keeping her eyes shut. Drew furrowed his eyebrows in response.

"what?"

Farah forced her eyes open so that she could look at Drew. at this point, most of her body was turned so that she was facing him. she gave him a look, one which didn't translate in the glance that he took of her face, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"sneakin' away from her to come hang out with me. i know i was the one who called, and you-" Farah pointed at Drew. "you didn't have to come," she sighed and ran her hands through her sweat-soaked hair. "but you did."

Drew bit his upper lip gently. "who said i picked you up to hang out with you?"

an uncomfortable silence fell over them. Farah, now looking down at her hands with a slight frown, nodded her head understandingly. he exhaled sharply and shut his eyes.

"fuck" Drew swore. "i'm sorry. i didn't mean it like that. you know how...she...is..." he couldn't find the words to say so he just started to say whatever came to mind first. his go to? you know how she is. i mean, there wasn't really much for him to say in the first place other than sorry. he knew it was harsh, but he hated when Farah tried to talk to him about his relationship.

he knew she meant well, but god some days he just wishes that she would shut up for once and let him figure out this train wreck himself. he knew his relationship wasn't good, but he didn't need Farah to constantly tell him that either.

"right. i'm sorry. i shouldn't have said anything," Farah cleared her throat after pondering for a moment. "you know what? just drop me off a few blocks out. i'll walk back home, no big deal." she turned her head back to look out the window, engulfing herself in the world passing around her.

"no" Drew stated firmly. "we're going back together, Farah. you're drunk as fuck, and sorry, but i'm not leaving your ass alone. especially not at this hour." he glanced down at the clock on his radio and sighed.

Farah looked at the clock, then thought for a moment before laughing to herself. "that's right, it's the witching hour, ooooh." she laughed harder at herself, which made it nearly impossible for Drew to stay mad at her. he smiled at his delusional friend, hoping that she would be able to explain herself, in a more cohesive manner, in the morning.