#notokayfanfic

[hoes4dylanobrien]

It’s Just A Cigarette | 3

WARNINGS: swearing, underage drinking, social pressure

wc. 1,982

tag list: @roxic93​

"Low-key hang out, huh?” You mused, eying the packed apartment booming with music audible from the first floor when you and Colin made your way up to the third floor of the five story walk up of the old tenement building. Booze was visible far as the eye could see, with folks chatting, making out, and dancing uninhibited, among other things. 

Colin shot you a cheeky grin, winking as he herded you through the door, his arms braced on your shoulders and hot breath at your ear:

“So I lied a lil’. I know you would’a argued with me otherwise.”

“So you do it anyway without giving me a heads up?” 

“What’s the expression? Better to beg for forgiveness...?”  His gaze lowered to your mouth, which felt hot all of a sudden, and suddenly you forgot what you were annoyed about. Instinctually you licked your bottom lip, which he fixated on, brown eyes turning to darkened amber. 

“Ay, man, ‘bout time you showed up. Beginnin’ to think you got mugged or somethin’-” a darker skinned man yelled out, red cup in hand as he took sight of you. “And this must be... Melodie?” 

“Marnie,” you corrected, reaching out to shake his hand hesitantly with a cautious smile. He surprised you by taking you into his arms in a hug. “Oh,” you mumbled. “My bad, I’m a hugger. And you bein’ tight with my boy here, well, just felt right. I’m Andjy, by the way.” 

“Nice to meet you,” you replied. He leaned back, you doing the same as you rubbed your elbows somewhat awkwardly. 

Colin stepped forward, hand light on your waist as he pointed to the others. “And that’s Petra, Aria, and DeShaun.”

“Hi,” you greeted.

Petra, a small artsy chick with an intimidating stare, looked you up and down, frowning. She was the only one who seemed unhappy to meet you. “I didn’t catch where you know Colin from?” She asked snottily.

You glanced up at Colin, who now was preoccupied with his phone. 

“Oh, Colin didn’t tell you?” 

"Nope.” She said, seeming somewhat amused by it. As if you weren’t significant enough to know, or to remember. You swallowed hard. “We lived together for a short while a bit ago.” 

“Why?” 

Nosy much, you thought.

“My parents took him in when he was about to age out of the foster system.” 

“Oh,” realization dawned on her face, now looking pleased. “He’s your brother?” 

“Well, not really-”

"Yo Colin,” a guy yelled, cutting short your explanation. “Got a bet goin’ here, need you to settle it.” 

Colin grinned, yelling over the cocaghany of noise. “Aight ima be right over.” He leaned in, mint breath and aftershave washing over me again: “You gonna be all right here?” 

You nodded enthusiastically, forcing a smile. “Sure. Take your time.” You didn’t want to make him feel obligated to stick by your side even if all you wanted to do was just that. Cooler, more mature and independent Marnie could handle herself.

“You sure sure?” He raised a thick brow, gaze searching yours for the truth. 

“I’ll be fine. Go on and have fun.” You smiled encouragingly. 

He brushed his knuckles against your upper arm, the one littered with all the rings. The cool press of the metal coupled with his presence had the hair on the back of your neck raising. “Back before you know it,” he promised, voice gravelly. 

 You kept rehearsing your new mantra about independence as you felt the immediate sense of loss (and slight panic) at seeing Colin walk away, also reminding yourself he would be back soon, and if not, you knew where to find him; it wasn’t as if the apartment was that large, although it was decently sized. 

You briefly wondered how he paid for it all. He had a large flat screen TV and accompanying video game sets, several pieces of nice-looking even if second-hand furniture, a tiki inspired half bar, a pool table with darts, and a slew of pieces of out-there, neon colored art and film mementos that was so quintessentially Colin littering the painted walls and exposed brick, Coupled with the awesome neighborhood, he was living a bachelor and indie college kid’s dream.  It had to cost a fortune, yet as far as you knew, Colin wasn’t working, and NYU was hardly cheap. 

I”ve never seen Colin like that,” one of the girl friends that Colin pointed out, said. You think you remember her name being Aria. She was much kinder, with a sweetheart face, and a really killer fashion sense. She looked like she knew a lot, but not the type to lord it over others. It endeared you to her. 

“I’m sorry?” You shook your head, trying to catch up. 

“Colin,” she said, glancing over where the blond was talking animatedly in a huddle of girls and guys, beer in one hand as he seemed to be regaling them with some story or other. 

“He’s kind of overbearing with you, isn’t he? Like an older brother, but not quite...” Her gaze fixed back on you, searchingly. Looking for something. You felt like a bug under a microscope. Being popular, intelligent, and intuitive on top of pretty just seemed unfair. 

“No, I don’t think so. He’s just looking out for me. This is my first party, and I’m sorta his responsibility for the weekend. He’d probably be less hands-on if we were back in Jersey.” 

Your mind flashed to distinct memories of him not acting dissimilar, however. Times where he’d hover when he invited his guy friends over to the house, or act just a little too interested in what you and Wyatt, your then boyfriend, were up to. 

“Right,” she said, taking a sip of her drink. 

“We’re not related, you know.” You blurted out, blushing at the sudden rise of her eyebrows. “Sorry, that was random. I was just wanting to clarify the conversation from earlier with Petra. Yeah, we lived together for a bit but we aren’t siblings and we aren’t related by blood. Just want to make that clear...” 

“Got it. To be honest, I wasn’t really listening, but since you brought it up,” she tilted her head to the side, “you don’t really look alike at all. I know Colin’s not a natural blond much as he tries to protest otherwise, but I’m fairly sure he doesn’t have curly hair hidden under that bleach blond Eminem look,” she giggled. 

You laughed with her, feeling more at ease in her presence. “Yeah, can verify that’s not the case.” 

As the night went on, you stuck close with Aria, who fortunately seemed content in your company, and even had a chance to get to know Luca and DeShaun more. Andjy, who had left to start the pool game, seemed to be killing it, taking people’s cash left and right, while Colin had yet to come back, now drinking and dancing with his shirt off which showed off all his tattoos, and a little dark happy trail that led into his sweats that you were definitely not looking at. 

“So ‘first party’ girl, you wanna drink?” Asked Aria. “I’m assuming this is also your first taste of alcohol, although the two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

You bit your lip. “Actually, I’ve had some wine at home with dinner.” 

“That doesn’t count,” she smirked. 

“I don’t know...” 

“Come on, try some. I promise to hold your hair back if you puke.” She laughed. 

“Okay,” you caved. “Not a lot, though. What’s that?” You pointed to hers. “Tequila. You’re not ready for that, though. Here, lemme get you some vodka and a chaser. That’s what my mom started me on, haven’t looked back since,” she winked, pouring and mixing the drinks. 

You watched her, wondering whether you were making a mistake. Then you remembered you were alone, probably for the first time in your 17 years, not including a short stint at camp several summers in a row in your tween years. You were supervised then. This time was completely different, and you were older. 

“Bottoms up,” she says, holding out the red cup to you. You take it, reluctantly, seeing her watchful gaze on you. You smile, tossing it back slowly at first, then quickly, as the awful acidic taste overwhelmed your taste buds. You coughed a little as you swallowed, earning some laughs around you. 

“Damn, Ari, you are a bad influence,” DeShaun teased, not disapprovingly. 

“What is this again?” You asked when you were more coherent. “It tastes like nail polish remover.” 

“Well la de da,” piped up Petra. 

Aria laughed. “Shut your mouth, it’s vodka and cranberry, top notch vodka at that.” 

“Girl’s got taste, don’t hate,” DeShaun retorted. 

They kept on talking, but as you listened it became less and less clear to you what they were saying. 

“Girl, you okay?” Aria rested her hand on your knee, trying to grab your attention.  “I'm good,” you mumbled, rising. You suddenly had to go to the bathroom. “Where’s the bathroom?” 

“Down the hall to the left,” she said, eying you. “You sure you’re good? Want me to come?” 

“She doesn’t need a damn babysitter,” snapped Petra. “Let her be. She’ll find her way.” 

You drifted off in the direction mentioned, which was easier said than done between navigating through the crowd, and your increasingly dizzy, forgetful state of mind. It had only been one drink, and yet you knew without a question you were definitely drunk. 

“Hey, you mind?” Said the guy inside the bathroom, whom you’d accidentally walked in on without knocking. “Sorry,” you said, quickly shutting the door. There was a woman inside with him on her knees; you may have been inexperienced, but even you understood what was clearly happening between the two. 

“Bathroom taken?” Said someone beside you. You hadn’t noticed him walk up behind you and you took a step back. “Yeah. Don’t think they’re coming out anytime soon, though...” 

He laughed, a sort of hoarse sound. “Shit, that’s rude as fuck.” 

“Mhm.” 

“I wouldn’t normally do this, but I live next door and you’re welcome to use mine.” 

You looked at him skeptically. In your inebriated state, you were feeling abnormally distrustful. 

“Yeah, I get it. Strange guy inviting you into his apartment, I know how it looks but I promise I don’t mean anything by it, apart from wanting to help.”

“It’s just... I don’t even know who you are.” 

“Dominic,” he says, offering an outstretched hand. It felt calloused in yours. “And you are?” 

“Marnie,” you reply. 

“Well, Marnie, now we know each other,” he grinned ear to ear; it was dark, but you could just make it out. “Okay,” you said.

“Okay.” 

You flushed the toilet, washing your hands in the sink. For some stranger’s bathroom, it was pleasantly clean, which you appreciated. 

“Thanks for letting me use your bathroom,” you said shyly. 

“’Course. Couldn’t let a pretty girl suffer like that,” he winked. You blushed. He was fairly attractive, now that you could see him in decent lighting. He was clearly older, however, maybe even older than Colin by a few years. 

“So I haven’t seen you around before. How do you know Colin?” 

“I’m his...” You tried to think of a good descriptor. “Friend,” you settled on. You were, you supposed, weren’t you? It was less messy than the reality. 

“Interesting,” he responded, watching you curiously. 

“What?” 

He shook his head. “Just, from what I’ve seen of the guy, he doesn’t exactly do female friends, if you catch my drift.” 

“He’s got a few. I met them today,” you defended. 

“Just an observation.” 

A knock sounded at the door. It was pretty loud. With raised eyebrows, Dominic approached the door. “Coming.” He said.

The door opened to reveal Colin, looking pissed. “Oh, Colin! Hi, how are you-”

“You son of a bitch,” he growled, lunging at Dominic.