The One Who Never Left (PrussianAina x Smallz)

[Smallz]

The wedding day was drawing closer for Cooper Lukas. He had been with his lovely soon to be wife for all of college. In many ways it felt like they were already married because they had been together so long. It was just the natural next step for them to get married...or so Cooper thought. He loved Carmen so deeply he never thought that there could be anyone else. It was just simple...right? It was what was suppose to happen...right? Date for awhile, get engaged, get married, have kids, and grow old. That was the narrative of the American dream and Cooper never had planned to stray from it. Until things started to go astray with his Best Woman...


It was the biggest night of his unmarried life his bachelor party. It would be hosted at Cooper favorite bar in the city. All his friends from college, work, and his groom party would be there. Cooper as always was already drinking heavily. It wasn't a party unless Cooper was 'double fisting' it many would say. He sat down at one of the packed tables and ran his hand through his strawberry colored hair. Cooper was one of those guys that rocked the pale skin, freckles, and ginger hair look. For him it worked especially with his 'baby face'. He stretched out his long legs which were sore from a long day of teaching at a local high school.


He watched all his friends joke and drink trying to play along but his favorite person hadn't arrived yet. His best woman who was also his best friend in the whole world. Yeah, it had caused some issues with Carmen in the past but he had reassured her it was nothing more. Despite his reassurance sometimes he questioned his feelings for her deep down. Every time they surfaced he pushed it back under hoping to drown it. He loved his fiance and would never do anything to hurt her...but something yearned inside for the other women. Maybe he wasn't with the right person after all. With that thought he took another drink trying to push it deep away.

 

[PrussianAina]

Aubrey couldn't stop the pounding in her chest. She sat in her car that was parked across the street from Cooper's favorite bar. While the radio played the latest top 40 hits, her crystal-blue eyes watched as people laughed, drank, and all-around have a good time. Why couldn't she just be like them? Why couldn't she just be happy for him? The closer the day of Cooper's wedding got, the more her anxiety grew. Lately, it was getting to the point that she couldn't even face him. Ignoring his calls, texts, canceling their plans to hang out--and before she even left for the party, she tried thinking up excuses for not going which caused her to be nearly an hour late.


Fighting back tears, she drew in a deep breath, "You can do this, Ms. Grant. You've been through worse, haven't you?" Before leaving her car, she made sure that she'd regained her composure and lost the shakiness in her voice. For yet another night, she had to pretend that her heart wasn't on the verge of shattering. "Tonight is all about him, not your pathetic crush," she muttered to herself coldly while she crossed the street. The young woman gently hugged herself as a cold breeze brushed against her fair skin and blew through her chocolate-brown hair. It was at that moment she wished she would've worn something warmer than a pair of leggings and a grey-and-white striped tunic.


Aubrey was warmly greeted by the friends she shared with Cooper and the bar's staff, some of whom commented that they hadn't seen her around lately. As she gave them one of her many-repeated, and well-rehearsed excuses, her eyes casually glanced around the room in search of her best friend.

 

[Smallz]

Cooper spotted Aubrey right when she walked in the door. With one of his signature grins he waved her over shouting her name with excitement. He decided her coming over would take much too long so he got up and ran over to her. "AUBREY!"he yelled as he brought her into a great bear hug. "Where have you been? I missed you! It's felt like forever!"Cooper said this all very quickly obviously excited and very near being drunk. "Let me buy you a drink!"he said after he caught his breath. He sauntered over to the bar and got Aubrey one of his favorites a rum an coke. "I got it with double shots!"he said as he thrusted it into her hand. He was still grinning happily at her his pale face flushed and his blue eyes alight.

 

[PrussianAina]

In spite of how torn she felt on the inside, Aubrey couldn't help but smile at the sight of Cooper running over to her. She blushed and her smile grew even wider when he hugged her as tight as he did. Although, she did wince a little at the strong smell of alcohol on his breath; "I know! It's been too long! I've just been caught up trying to balance my time at work and volunteering at the community center among other things." She added a chuckle and a wave along with her weak explanation. As weak as it was, Aubrey wasn't worried that her best friend would question it, he seemed a little too drunk to. Once Cooper had turned his back, Aubrey noticed that she felt rejuvenated in some way. It was as if his embrace had suddenly numbed her heartache; and in the wake of his warm greeting, she suddenly felt excited and ready to actually have some fun.


As soon as Cooper had shoved the drink into her hand, she downed it without a moment's hesitation. The brunette felt ecstatic as she quickly felt the drink warm up her insides. "So, how's the party been? It looks like I've got some catching up to do," she hopped atop a table and kicked her feet as she looked around the room.

 

[Smallz]

"You've missed a lot!"Cooper said with a laugh as he sipped on his drink a bit more. His pale face was flushed red from the booze. His smile was getting bigger and his eyes filled with his mischievous twinkle. "I'm getting married in like....two weeks! Can you believe that?! Me?! Married?!"He was almost shouting at this point. "You know I really wish you and Carmen would get along 'cause I love you and her,"Cooper said as he swung one of his long arms around Aubrey and pulled her close to him. He really did love them both just in different ways...or so he thought. Carmen was the girl he loved like a wife where Aubrey was like a sister. Though sometimes there was a twinge of something more for Aubrey that he chose to ignore. A twinge that was stronger now that he was about to commit himself to Carmen forever. Maybe it was cold feet? Or maybe it was something else completely.

 

[PrussianAina]

Aubrey hopped up on a stool at the bar and picked through the remains of an appetizer platter. "I know! I mean, I always pictured you becoming one of those creepy Cotton-Tops who try to pick up younger girls at birthday parties and barbecues and stuff," Aubrey joked. She listened to her best friend voice his concern and pull her close to him while she ate, nearly choking when he mentioned the words, "I love you." For a split second, she considered asking him in what way did he love her, but the thought alone merely made her blush out of embarrassment. Aubrey took a moment to cough and clear her throat before responding, "Well, be that as it may, I don't think that'll ever happen as long as she thinks there's something going on between us." She raised her arm and caught the attention of the bartender and ordered a White Russian before continuing to speak. "Besides, even if that wasn't an issue, I don't think I want to get chummy with her anytime soon after seeing how upset she got when you told her I was going to be your 'Best Woman'."

 

[Smallz]

"Girls! I swear to god you're all so damn sensitive!See, if I was your fiance and you asked a guy to be your man of honor or whatever I'd just punch him in the face till he understood you are mine,"Cooper said in his typical laughing tone. He called the bartender over for another drink and quickly downed the booze. The bar was getting louder as the night got later. More people were dancing the more intoxicated they got. Soon enough Cooper's 'jam' was playing. "COME ON LETS DANCE,"Cooper yelled as he got to his feet and motioned Aubrey to come with him.

 

[PrussianAina]

"Maybe, but is beating someone into submission really any better?" Aubrey took a sip of her drink after asking her question with a raised brow. As Cooper made his way to the makeshift dance floor that was made in the middle of the bar, Aubrey couldn't help but let out a giggle. "Y'know, you're lucky you have a friend like me who's down to embarrass herself with you when she's still sober!" she shouted after him. Standing up from the bar, she made her way through the small crowd that separated them and occasionally paused to exchange greetings with a few people who greeted her. "Now that I think about it, it's been a long time since I last heard this song!" She semi-shouted over the music while she began gyrating to the song.

 

[Smallz]

Cooper pulled Aubrey into him spinning her around while he laughed. "It's been a long time since I've heard you so happy!"Cooper commented as kept her close to his thin frame. He loved the feeling of her near him next to him. Her warm curves, her small smile, just everything about her mad his heart pound. "God I missed you,"he said into her ear. He did. He really did. It was like he had a huge hole in his heart when she was gone. He didn't realize it was missing up until now.

 

[PrussianAina]

Aubrey's wide smile faltered and fell to a bitter-sweet one; if only he knew just how much her heart ached when he did things like this. The scent of his cologne and the warm look in his eyes made her melt, and as much as she wanted to grab onto him and simply hold him close to her, she instead did the opposite. She gently pressed her palms into Cooper's shoulders to put some distance between them while they danced. "I missed you too, but I think you might wanna back up there. People might get the wrong idea, y'know?" Even though it pained her to say it, she was sure to make it look and sound like she was teasing him.


*(OOC: Sorry for the wait! Been super busy the past few days.)

 

[Smallz]

"The wrong idea?! He laughed as he pulled her in again. "It's just because I miss you I have to get all my Aubrey in at once,"he demanded not wanting her to pull away. He missed her scent, her hair, her smile, he missed her everything. He knew it was wrong but he wanted to be near her. In his druken mind nothing about this was wrong. He craved her so it was okay. His diseres were all that mattered at the moment. Not that he was about to get married. No, he desired to be close to hsi bestfriend and that was what he was going to get. Nothing else at that moment would do.


ooc: Don't worry it's all cool

 

[PrussianAina]

"I-Is that so?" Aubrey felt her face go bright red as he pulled her closer to him than before. As much as Aubrey felt the need to continue her protests, she instead gently nuzzled her face into the hollow of Cooper's neck. His scent mixed with the smell of sweat and alcohol was intoxicating as she drew in shallow breaths. Aubrey felt her entire body begin to vibrate and grow warm as she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck. As wrong as it was, it felt so right being in his arms. Pulling back a little and looking into his warm eyes, she spoke, "Y'know I... I missed you too, Coop..." She almost added the part about not answering his calls or purposefully avoiding him, but she didn't want to ruin the moment between them. Instead she found her lips trembling lightly as she continued to gaze into his eyes.

 

[Smallz]

ooc: Sorry it took me so long to respond!


bbc:


"Let's take a walk I need fresh air!"He shouted over the music. Cooper took her hand and lead her out of the bar. He was stumbling a bit and giggling at his own terrible balance. He sat down on an outside bench and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket. He had stopped smoking his senior year of college...though ever since the wedding he started up again. He claimed he only did it when he was drunk though he had been caught more than a few times with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Maybe he had started again because of the stress...or maybe he started again because he just wasn't sure this was the right choice. He took a long drag from it and blew smoke rings.