When I came to a gap in the sea of people I got a good look at the bar and stopped dead in my tracks. None other than Lance Bass was sitting at the end, surrounded by scantily clad women who were hanging on his every word, sipping from his glass. Lifting my chin and squaring my shoulders I decided not to let him nor the girls intimidate me and continued on my way to the bar.
I made my way towards the empty spot at one side of the small group, motioned the bartender and ordered my drink. I turned around and leaned back, surveying the people laughing and dancing out on the dance floor, but kept a close ear at the conversation next to me. It was your usual bar chitchat till I heard one girl speak up.
�Oh my god, I can�t believe someone like her came here.�
�I so agree,� came a high-pitched voice. �You�d think she�d be at home in front of her tv, eating and drooling over some guy she�d never have a chance in hell with.�
�What do you think, Lance?� chirped the first voice.
I�ve been used to that kind of talk ever since I was little. Shamu, fatty, you named it I was called it. Normally I�d let it roll right off my back because I could care less what the half brained nitwits called me but when I heard his reply I was completely shocked, and pissed off beyond belief.
�I�m surprised she could fit through the door,� he chuckled deeply. The girls giggled and shrieked with laughter. They laughed harder and even more obnoxiously when he said, �Doesn�t she know this is a club and not an all you can eat buffet?�
My heart dived into my stomach and my eyes narrowed. For years I had defended he and his friends against the remarks of them being assholes and snobs only to be proven wrong, by my own humiliation at that. My eyes narrowed and my shoulders tensed. Fuck that, I thought.
I pushed myself away from the bar and made my way over to Lance, who had turned around to order another drink. Gingerly I taped him on the shoulder. As soon as his face came in sight my fist shot out and I punched him square in the right side of his face. He dropped the new drink to the floor, the glass shattering and the alcohol splashing the floor, and grabbed his face.
�Fuck! You fucking psychotic bitch!� he cried out.
Before I could say anything remotely witty two bouncers grabbed me by my upper arms and lifted, carrying me out of the bar, the girls� sugarcoated concerns and Lance�s cries of pain fading in with the music.
~*~
There were two other women in the holding cell beside myself. Judging from their attire it looked like they had been picked up for solicitation but they were quiet and kept to themselves so I didn�t really care. I had called my friends cell phone to ask her to bail me out, but I got her voicemail. I just hope that she gets the message tonight so that I wont have to spend the night in here.
Footsteps came down the hall and a guard stopped in front of the stall. He unlocked it and motioned at me. �Miss Andrews, your bail has been put up and you�re free to go.�
Woo! Bless my friends, I rejoiced inwardly. I got up and followed the guard to where I would gather my things. He led me into the main office of the precinct and I stopped. There was Lance Bass, black and blue eye swollen shut, standing there.
�What the fuck are you doing here?� I spat out angrily.
Lance�s expression soured and he crossed his arms. �You ought to be grateful. I bailed your ass out of there!�
I groaned and turned back to the officer. �Put me back, please?�
The officer laughed softly and shook his head. �I�m sorry, miss, but no. Not unless you hit him again.�
I turned around quickly, my hair flying into my face and my eyes ablaze with disgust, and said, �Don�t tempt me.�
Lance glared back until the large black man beside him smacked him in the back of the head. �Lance, you apologize to her before I give her permission to kick your ass.�
�House, she hit me,� argued Lance, rubbing the back of his head.
�I don�t care if she hit you. You apologize to her before I hit you,� he replied gruffly. He winked at me and then added, �Again.�
I shrugged my coat on and grabbed my purse, nodding my thanks to the officer who was grinning bemusedly. Quickly I walked past Lance who stopped arguing with House and grabbed my arm. �Where do you think you�re going?�
�Back in jail for assault if you don�t take your hand off me, asshole.� His arm fell and I continued on my way out of the building, Lance close behind me.
I pushed open the doors and stepped outside. I wrapped my coat around my body and shivered, the cool night air coming as a shock after the heated cell, and began walking to the nearest bench.
�Hey, wait,� called Lance, but I kept on walking. I heard the soft thud of sneakers hitting the pavement and soon he was right next to me, slightly out of breath. �You�re pretty fast for a��
�For a what?� I shot back at him. �A fat girl?�
�Erm,� he murmured, his eyes lowering in shame. He ran a hand shakily through his hair, nervous, and I had to yell at myself to stop the less than homicidal thoughts flashing in my brain. �Sorry, I didn�t mean it like that.�
�Yeah, just like you didn�t mean the other comments either,� I replied softly. I sat down and began rummaging through my purse for my cell phone amidst the abyss of notebooks, make up, pens, and the other shit I carried.
Lance stood there for a second, fidgeting, before finally sitting down. My hands paused and I peered at him sideways. �First you insult me and now you�re stalking me?�
Lance shook his head and bit his lip. �I�m really sorry. I don�t want you walking away thinking I�m an asshole.�
�No, you don�t want me walking away and telling everyone and their brother that you�re an asshole,� I retorted. �I wouldn�t worry about that, though. I bet there are plenty of girls out there who received your less than charming and witty repertoire but didn�t have the guts to knock you out.�
�You didn�t knock me out,� he grumbled.
I laughed tightly. �No, but I sure did bruise up that Mr. Hollywood look you�ve got goin� on.�
He let out a frustrated sound and pulled at the material of his jeans, frustrated and angry. �Look, arguing wont get us anywhere. All we�re doing is throwing insults back at one another.�
�What�s that matter, pretty boy?� I sneered. �You can dish it out but you can�t take it, huh? I didn�t know you were so soft.�
�I said I was sorry, what more do you want?�
�What do I want?� I repeated hotly. �What I want is for people like you to stop stereotyping people like me. Yes, I�m a big person but that does not mean that I sit on my ass all day, eating, and never moving. Never once do you stop to think that I actually exercise and not binge on food.�
His covered his eyes, careful of the black eye, and rubbed his forehead warily.
�I bet you didn�t know that I went to the gym six days a week for two hours a day and that I walk to work rather than drive,� I said angrily, tears prickled at the corners of my eye and I knuckled them away quickly, hoping that he wouldn�t catch that I was crying.
�God, don�t cry. Please,� he pleaded.
He made a move to rub my shoulder and I jerked away. �Don�t you dare fucking touch me, asshole!� He pulled his hand away and looked down at his feet, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to control my anger, and went back to searching for my cell phone. �Y�know, I�ve always wanted to meet you.�
Lance laughed softly. �Really? You�re a fan?�
�Yep,� I said, nodding. �I wanted to meet you to tell you how much I admired you for staying such a sweet person and to thank you for just being who you were. How ironic, huh?�
�Ironic, indeed,� he mumbled, ashamed. �Hey, I don�t know your name.�
I stared at him suspiciously, eyes narrowing a bit, and asked, �Why do you wanna know my name? So you can press charges?�
�No! I deserved to get hit,� he answered. �The guys will probably want to know who gave me the black eye.�
I laughed softly. �Marie. My name�s Marie.�
�Well, it would be nice to meet you, Marie, if you hadn�t tried to take my eye out.�
�Yeah, well, you�re lucky the bouncers dragged me away,� I shot back, grinning. Finally my fingers wrapped around my cell phone and I pulled it out only to see the screen black. �Fuck.�
�What�s the matter?�
�My cell�s dead. Fuck,� I muttered. I stood up and slung my purse over my shoulder and looked around. �I need to find a pay phone to call my friends so they can come pick me up.�
�I can give you a ride,� offered Lance. He motioned towards a large, black SUV that I hadn�t seen when I had come out of the police station, and looked at me hopefully.
�You trying to play knight in shining armor now?� I asked suspiciously.
Lance rolled his eyes and shook his head. �More like knight with a shiner,� he deadpanned. �But seriously, I can give you a ride anywhere, it�s the least I owe you.�
I crossed my arms and bit my lip, pondering over the situation. I wasn�t really mad anymore, yelling at him had calmed me down considerably, and a ride with him sounded extremely appealing. �Sure, why not. After all you do owe me.�
�Good, great!�
We made our way to the vehicle and he opened the door for me. Lance put his hand on the small of my back to help me into the vehicle and I let out a small squeal. He looked at me with wide eyes and that snarky grin on his face. I grinned guiltily at him. �You�re touching me.�
Lance let out a deep laugh and shook his head. �You�re weird, you know that?�
I lifted my chin up proudly and exclaimed, �So I�ve been told.�