(1) Talk Me Down: An All Time Low Fanfiction Romance

Chapter 30: Uneasy

        When Thursday came, I woke up feeling nervous. Maybe it was because I was digging myself deeper, lying to my best friends about where I would be. Maybe it was because I would be with Rian and his friends again, alone, somewhere I'd never been before. Either way, the thought of changing my plans crossed my mind more than once.

        Yet, at the end of the day, I found myself taking my time at my locker and then heading in the direction of the library. I told my friends I had to stay after to work on a paper, a lie that they easily believed. I told Rian I'd be waiting there when school was over, after everybody had gone home.

        I headed towards the bookshelves near the front, pretending to scan the shelves until I felt somebody's presence behind me. I turned around, an automatic smile as I met Rian's eyes.

        "You ready?" he asked, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. I nodded, stepping next to him as we left the library.

        We passed a few students, but they were younger, and didn't know me or Rian.

        As Rian led me towards his car, the nervous feeling washed over me again. While Rian was dropping his backpack into the back seat, I hesitated near the door, wishing I wasn't so uneasy about all of us. When Rian looked at me, he hesitated at the door, his eyebrows creasing slightly in concern. "You okay?" he asked, leaning his stomach against the car.

        "I just, I don't know," I muttered. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

        "Your friends won't find out, Kara," Rian assured me, but I shook my head, fixing my bag so it wasn't so uncomfortable on my shoulder.

        "I'm not worried about them," I said quickly, "Well, I am, but I mean your friends. I know how they feel about my friends." I rambled, but was cut off by Rian's laugh. I scowled at him, slightly annoyed that he found this so amusing.

        "You don't need to worry abou tmy friends, Kara," Rian chuckled. "They may not like your friends, but they'll like you. They might not be estatic about it at first, but they'll get over it."

        I raised an eyebrow, reaching for the door. "Promise?" I asked, watching Rian straigten up and pull open his door. He slid into the car without answering, making me lean down to meet his gaze.

        "You'll be fine. I promise." He said, leaning back into his seat with his hands on the steering wheel. Once I was in the car, he started the engine.

        "Besides, if they do decide to be dick heads, I can just punch them," Rian said over his shoulder as he looked out the back window to pull out of the parking spot. I stared at him, and he grinned at me as he turned back around.

        "You're not helping," I mumbled, glancing at the school in the mirror. I didn't want his friends to not like me.

        "I'm serious, Kara. Don't worry about them," Rian said, as we turned left out of the school. It was in the opposite direction of where my house was. He turned up the radio slightly, the same alterative station playing. I recognized the song immediately, the lyrics jumped into my head. Rian was drumming his index fingers against the steering wheel, matching the drums in the song. I tapped my finger against my leg to the beat, catching Rian's eye.

        "You know this song?" he asked, glancing at me. I nodded, my finger hesitatiing against my jeans. Rian turned it up slightly, singing softly to the lyrics while I stuck with drumming my fingers against my thigh.

        The car ride went much quick than I'd thought, and I looked out the window at the house, that I learned was Alex's. It was a plain white house, smaller than the one's in my neighborhood, but cozy looking. Through the white crtains, I could see the yellow-orange light from a lamp, and I wondered what it looked like inside.

        There was only one other car parked in the driveway, and I looked at Rian as I got out, shutting the door slowly.

        "Are they here?" I asked, walking to the front of the car.

        "Not yet, I usually get here a few minutes before them, so they should be here soon," he said. He walked up to the garage, pulling it open even if Alex wasn't here yet.

        The garage held a drum set, a number of guitars, a slightly beat up couch and a number of other random items. Rian headed to the drums, a set of drum sticks sticking out of his back pocket.

        "You can have a seat," he said, nodding towards the couch. I bit my lip, glancing down at it before I sat on the edge. I felt uncomfortable already.

        "Do you want anything to eat or drink?" He asked, bent over, half of his body hidden behind a refrigerator door.

        "I'm okay, thanks," I said. Rian straightened up, a bottle of water in his hand.

        "Good, they're here," he said softly, so I almost couldn't hear. I looked out of the garage door, watching as two cars parked in the street with Rian's and another pulled up towards the garage.

        "Man, how the hell do you always beat us here?" Alex was saying as he got out, walking up into the garage. I folded my hands together. He didn't seem to notice me, but when Rian glanced in my direction and our eyes met for a moment, Alex followed his gaze.

        He looked for a moment, and if he was surprised he didn't really show it. Instead, his eyes narrowed, and he turned to Rian, stepping closer. I wasn't sure if he wanted me to hear what he was saying because he was talking softer, but I could hear him clearly anyway.

        "What the hell is she doing here?" he asked Rian. Even if Rian had warned me that his friends woudn't be happy, I felt immediately that this was a terrible idea.

        "Calm down," Rian was saying to Alex a Jack and Zack ambled into the garage. They looked at Rian and Alex, and then at me. Zack smiled, somthing I was expecting since I knew him better than ALex or Jack. Jack also smiled, and strolled over to me, flipping onto the couch next to me. He draped an arm over my shoulder, his hand danging by my arm. He obviously didn't care that we didn't know each other.

        "It's about time Rian brought a girl to practice," he sighed, his arm brushing my back and neck. I crossed my arms over my chest, watching Rian and Alex argue. Zack was playing guitar softly, and if it weren't for Jack's voice in my ear, I would've been able to hear them.

        "Don't let him bother you," Jack said, taking his arm back and leaning forward and Alex snapped at him to get ready. "He's just pissed because he doesn't have the hot girl with him today."

        Jack winked at me and I both blushed and laughed. Alex looked at me, meeting my eyes with a blank expression. I held his gaze, challenging him to do something, but he looked away, adjusting the microphone stand in front of him.

        I crossed my legs in front of me, looking at Rian. He gave me a warm smile, flipping his drum sticks in his hand before they started playing. I listened intently to the song they were playing, feeling less and less uneasy as the night went on.