off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ eleven

Today was the day. Lilah had stressed herself about it for almost a week now, and yet no amount of fretting could save her from this. Many times, she'd contemplated canceling, chickening out, hiding in a hole so everyone would forget about her. But whenever Matthew talked about this evening, he seemed so excited that she was coming along that she hadn't had the heart to disappoint.

So there she was. In front of a bar, ready to attend Jaewook's band's show. And it wasn't exactly the most welcoming bar. Obviously, she hadn't been expecting Hello Kitty and pink frills and cupcakes. But the neon sign above the door was flickering menacingly, the trash cans were overflowing, and it stinked of cigarettes from a mile away. Not exactly somewhere she fancied herself spending time.

But she followed Matthew as he pushed the door open. The smell of booze and sweat was the first thing to hit her square in the face, quickly followed by the booming bass resonating through the building. Her senses overwhelmed, she grabbed onto Matthew's shirt as he made his way through the crowd and over to Gunwook.

"Oh, Matthew hyung," Gunwook greeted him as soon as he noticed him. "And Delilah, hello."

Lilah could only nod in response, as she kept herself almost entirely hidden behind Matthew's back. Gunwook seemed strangely comfortable in such an environment. From what Narae had told her, he was quite the courteous student council member. She could only imagine that meant he was often in places like these to support his older sister.

"Woah, this place is crazy," Matthew mused, and Lilah couldn't help but roll her eyes. It was crazy, sure. Not in that way, though. "So, when's the show starting?"

"They're still preparing backstage," Gunwook replied as he pointed to the stage with his thumb. "Here, you should sit down."

Lilah let go of Matthew's shirt to hurriedly sit down at the table Gunwook was pointing to. At least now, she wouldn't be tempted to run away. Resting her elbows on the table and her face in her hands, she did a quick scan of her surroundings. The crowd mostly consisted of twenty-somethings, drinking what looked like cheap beers as they joked around too loud for her taste. But a bit further apart, sitting on stools in front of the bar, were two familiar faces. Narae's brother Taerae, and Audrey. They were sitting next to each other, yet remained silent, as they both slowly sipped their colorful drinks. Lilah sighed, a pout on her lips. If only Narae had been able to come. She was the whole reason she agreed to be here in the first place.

Matthew pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. "You okay?"

"I wanna go home," she mumbled. "It's too crowded."

He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but it wasn't as effective as he'd hoped. "You'll be fine, I'm here, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Yet as soon as the lights dimmed down and the sound of footsteps on the stage were heard, Matthew wasn't quite there anymore. He leaned over the table, as if trying to get a better look at the band as they walked onto the stage, instruments in hand. Jaewook stood in the center, a guitar slung over her shoulder, and a microphone stand in front of her. Lilah gave a quick glance to her brother, and it was just as she'd expected: the music hadn't even started and he was already starstruck. Matthew liked cool girls too much for his own good.