The Fallen King | ✓

Chapter 5

~Chapter 5~

"I think I'm gonna throw up," Winter announced, running from her seat towards the nearest toilet. Liam got up and rushed after her, looking concerned while Axel just shrugged as he watched his friend disappear, stealing his drink.

We had come out to celebrate the end of Winter's photo shoot. Now all that was left was the launch which was happening at her fashion show in a couple of months time. I couldn't be more excited for my friend and she definitely looked a lot more relaxed now but I didn't think she was back to her usual self just yet.

Maddie was with us too but she wasn't drinking tonight. After that terrible night, she'd been trying her best to swear off alcohol. I didn't know how long that'd last because drinks were her vice but so far she'd been doing really well. We all offered to not drink tonight to show our support but Maddie waved us off saying that she didn't want to spoil our fun and that mocktails were pretty good too.

"Do you guys want to dance?" I asked the two people still sitting with me in the lively club.

"You two go. There's a cute blonde sitting by herself at the bar so I'm going to try and get her digits," Maddie said, looking as bright and perky as ever as she slid out of our booth.

"How does she have so much stamina? Liam mentioned that she almost always leaves with someone when she goes out. I'd burn out so quickly if I were her," Axel commented, looking both impressed and astonished.

I gave him a lopsided smile. "That's just Maddie for you. I swear, she never runs out of energy."

Axel chuckled, swirling the last of the liquid in his glass. Taking a leaf out of his book, I took a sip from Maddison's mocktail that she had left behind. "You know, Maddie was right. These are actually pretty good," I said as I handed the glass over to Axel.

Using the same pink paper straw that I did, he had a sip, nodding in approval as he handed it back to me. "Who would've thought. Maybe I'll start having these from time to time. They cost way less than actual cocktails anyway."

I liked how Axel wasn't one of those guys who refused to have a cocktail because it was 'too girly'. From what I'd seen so far he was very open minded and always up for trying new things.

Speaking of new things, I had recently found out something new. "Axel," I started and he hummed in recognition, taking another sip from Maddison's mocktail. "I was on the phone with my brother, Zack, earlier and he mentioned that you guys are good friends. How come you never said anything?" I asked, not bothering to beat around the bush.

When you grow up in a predominantly male environment you tend to start acting a bit more like a guy and adopt their mindset in a sense. I'd never understood why girls were so cryptic and liked to speak in some sort of secret code where they always dodged around what they were asking.

My brothers had always been very blunt with me and were all too stupid — bless their souls — to understand hidden meanings in words so I learnt very early on to get straight to the point.

He shrugged, not looking at all flustered by my question. "I didn't think it was that important," he told me but the way he said it had me raising a questioning brow.

That was too slow, too calculated. For once, I was actually thanking my media training for helping me spot lies and insincerity easily. "You're a terrible liar," I commented smoothly, taking Maddison's mocktail from him to have a sip. I really needed to find the recipe for this; it was amazing.

He watched me for a moment, looking mildly impressed. "No, I'm telling the truth."

"But not the whole truth," I said, not missing a beat.