Hey, Jude [9-1-1 fanfic]

Chapter Ten

In this chapter, Maddie Buckley makes her first appearance. Here she is for the ones who aren't watching 9-1-1 : 

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"Does it worry you to be alone?
[...] Are you sad because you're on your own?"

- With A Little Help From My Friends, The Beatles

 "Are you done pouting?" The man at my left, behind the steering wheel, asks.

I've decided to look straight at the scenery outside my window with my arms crossed on my chest. Exactly an hour ago, Howard came to my apartment and interrupted the night I planned to spend curled up in a blanket on my couch, possibly in front of an irrelevant tv-show, or with my nose in some medical journals. All this so I wouldn't think about the emptiness that is my life once again.

Reluctantly, I've agreed to put on some clean and decent clothes, meaning jeans and a beige shirt, and to brush my hair so Howard could literally drag me to his car while promising me that I'm gonna have a good time.

I still have no idea where we're going and my attempts on making him tell me failed. Since then, I've stayed silent.

I know he means well and it's just difficult for him to see me miserable. My current situation brings back bad memories for the both of us, but I'm not sure a night out is what's gonna fix all my problems. Because Howard has always been there for me, as he promised, I'll let him have his way for a few hours, for his sake if not for mine.

Howard finally finds a parking spot near the city center buzzing with life at this early hour of the night. College students from all over the city left campus to have fun in bars and, later, at the clubs. Even at college, I've never been one of those people, and it's possibly the only that didn't change about me since then.

When he opens his door, I ponder the idea of getting out of the car or spending the night in it. I'm not sure if I have enough energy to socialize with strangers. But I ultimately catch up with my best friend on the sidewalk. "I'm coming with you." I finally give in. "But you can't keep me from calling a cab to leave when I want to." I add and Howard only nods and raises his hands in acceptance. At least, he's gonna let me get home as soon as I'm done with this charade.

I follow him to a bar where I've never been, and I'm surprised when I recognize Buck waiting for us near the door. He's wearing a button-down shirt and has his hands in his pants pockets. He hasn't seen us yet. When we come closer, he looks up and warmly greets Howard before turning towards me. After what we shared on my best friend's couch, where he's supposedly still sleeping by the way, I feel a little shy with him now. I'm sure he can also see that I'm not doing much better than the last time we saw each other.