Somebody I Don't Know : Book 1 of the Teeth Series

6

The first night of a tour was always a cause for celebration and the first night of the Fight So Dirty Tour was no different. Calum stood by himself, holding up the wall in the private room of the club that they had rented out for the night's festivities. Normally this would be his ideal scene, members of their crew and a myriad of guests all moving together in a drunken, happy haze.

He was neither drunk nor particularly happy though, and so he resolved to stick to his role as a wallflower at least for the time being. The door to enter the room was directly across from the place he had picked to stand and though he tried not to make it obvious he was sure that anyone who bothered to watch would notice the way his eyes darted over any time the door swung open and the way his shoulders drooped when it wasn't Fallon or any of the other members of her band. This was their scene, they loved parties, for any reason, and he had an inkling of suspicion as to what was keeping them away that night.

Watching the people in front of him move to the music, their laughter and conversations loud, brought back memories of all the tour parties he had attended with Fallon. She was the kind of girl that when she walked in everyone noticed and he had the privilege of a front row pass to the Fallon Harding show for over a year. He'd always felt like the luckiest bastard in the room when she was with him and he supposed that was for good reason.

The sound of the door across the way clicking shut drew his attention up just in time to watch the girls of Revelry as they scanned the room. It was obvious that they'd pregamed for the party, each of them a little more wobbly on their feet than was normal for them when they were sober. It was an astute observation and one he probably wouldn't have been able to make were it not for the countless days he had spent with them all.

He tried not to look at Fallon, he had made such a fool of himself earlier when she had crashed into him that at this point even staring at her from across the room seemed a tad risky.

The way she had looked up at him when they collided had damn near broken his heart. She looked like she was seeing a monster and in a way perhaps that was true, the way he had treated her was malicious but he had been in self preservation mode and, though in hindsight he would do things differently, at the time they had seemed like the only logical moves at all.

Ashton came and joined him, standing a few feet away and leaning back against the wall himself, taking a drink, from his water bottle since he had decided to sober up prior to the tour, before turning slightly towards Calum. "She's here."

His words were soft and obviously meant to prevent the group of ladies who still stood just across the way from him from overhearing.

"I know mate. Still practically got a sixth fucking sense where Fallon Harding is concerned." He mumbled.

"You gonna be okay?"

"I have to be." He replied, swinging his head around to face his friend. "Right?"

Ash replied only with a sympathetic smile and Calum returned his attention to watching, but pretending not to watch, Fallon.

Whatever they had gotten into before joining the party had to have been strong. All the girls in Fallon's band could hold their alcohol and yet their shrill squeals and drunken giggles told him that they were at least tipsy, if not more. He wondered what they were drinking, unless things had changed Fallon's favorite drink was a blue motorcycle but he doubted she'd have taken the effort to make it herself. When they were drinking Calum had always served as her bartender and he was resisting the temptation to at least go order her one now. She only liked beer when it was being shotgunned or funneled and wine she reserved for unwinding after long hard days. If he had to bet he'd say she had done a few rounds of shots and, judging by the goofy grin on her face, he'd have bet his whole earnings from the tour that they had been shots of tequila. She and Luke had bonded over their mutual affection for the drink when he and Fallon had been together. Was it still her favorite? He figured so, he supposed that in reality not much had changed in her life apart from the fact that he was no longer in it.

"Get the bands together for a shot." Calum said to Ashton.

"Don't know that me asking to do that would be super believable since I don't drink now." Ash replied back and Cal groaned. He hadn't thought about that.

"Fine, whatever, fuck it." Calum approached his other band mates and convinced Michael to be the one to approach Fallon's band. The girls looked over, studying he, Ashton and Luke before hesitantly approaching. He hated how awkward this felt. It didn't used to be like this.

"Hey." Chayse offered timidly, her eyes darting around the group, settling for an extra beat on Calum before she looked back to Fallon. Like she needed to check on her, like even breathing the same air as Calum might make her fall apart. He wondered what she was feeling, because honestly being this close to her was making it difficult to breathe for him.

"You still got a thing for Tequila, Fal?" Luke asked as the shots were passed around and his head lifted, he wanted to know the same. Wanted to know how much about the woman he knew was still true.

"It hasn't been that long, Luke. My alcohol preferences haven't changed and neither have my abilities to drink you all under the table."

He fought off the urge to scoff, she was a good drinker sure, but he could hold his own against her and they'd proved it on multiple occasions.

"Wanna test that theory? Little game of beer pong, for old times sake?"

Fallon's face reddened but Luke was either oblivious or ignoring it as he called out behind himself while walking towards the table that had been set up for beer pong. "Old teams, Cal and Fal against me and Mike."

Everyone stopped chatting and looked as he yelled it out. Fallon stopped in her tracks and looked over to Calum, studying his reaction. He took a deep breath and looked up to her. "Fine with me, we're adults, I think we can manage one game."

"I'm not drinking that beer though. Let me get a new drink." Calum bit back his lip as he watched her move towards the makeshift bar they had assembled, the guy from their crew who had been pouring drinks had stepped away, something pushed him forward, his hand stopping her as she reached for the tequila.

"Blue motorcycle." He said quietly.

"What?" She asked, a perplexed look on her face.

"Is your favorite still a blue motorcycle?" Their eyes locked and he could feel the stares of all their friends on them as he waited for her answer. Finally she gave a small nod and he grabbed a cup, assembling the drink and handing it to her with a slightly shaking hand before pouring himself a Crown and sprite. He took a sip of it before returning to the table where Luke and Michael still stood and where Fallon had returned to, her expression still slightly confused.

He didn't really know why he had done it either, it was like some automatic reflex within him had kicked in and now he was worried he had made her uncomfortable. The whole damn situation was uncomfortable.

"Thanks." She said softly

He lifted his chin a little to acknowledge that he had heard her, he didn't trust his voice. Not when he was so close to her and already making an idiot of himself.

"Who goes first?" Luke asked.

"We'll let you have it. You two need all the help you can get." Fallon smirked.

Calum snickered, he missed her quick wit and he was glad to see she hadn't lost it.

Luke gave a snide remark before taking his first shot and airmailing it over their heads.

"You were saying?" Fallon said with a grin.

"Glad to see that modesty is still one of your best traits, Fal."

An: What do we think?

How will this go for them?

What happens next?

Ily,
Sav 🖤