5

                                    

                                          
We met up with the guys at the bar.
We hadn't planned to go out tonight and instead, Tori and Rose had come to my dorm and we'd had a pizza and movie night with Kels. It had been amazing. I'd worn my oldest, rattiest pair of joggers and a baggy t-shirt and the girls had done the same, dressing in their comfiest clothes and heading over to my dorm with snacks.
We'd all crammed on the bed for the first movie, but halfway through, Kelsey got bored and restless and wanted to crawl around so we'd all migrated to the floor. We'd dragged the covers off the bed and the cushions from the couch to make it comfortable and paused the movie only to head outside to meet the delivery guy with the pizzas. 
Then, we returned to our cosy little corner and watched the rest of the cheesiest rom-com I'd ever seen. We laughed and spent most of the time making fun of the main characters for the crap they said to each other. Or Tori and I teased Rose for being just as gross and gooey and in love as the girl in the movie. 
It was the first time I'd had girlfriends, really. When I was younger, I was in the same friend group as Troy and while I was close to some of the girls, he was always my best friend. And when we got together officially, I admittedly did distance myself even further from the girls. I became one of those people who were so infatuated with a man that the rest of the world kind of fell away. It was one of my biggest regrets, since it meant that when I lost him, I lost everything. I was left totally alone, estranged from my family and without any friends because I'd cut them all out of my life when I thought Troy was the only person I'd ever need.
It was so easily done. He'd done the exact same too. We saw his mom occasionally, since she lived nearby, but other than that, we only lived for each other. We planned out our whole lives together and those plans had never included anyone else. I was so blissfully happy with him that I didn't expect to ever need anyone else. 
But this was different. Things were different now. I didn't need anyone anymore; I'd learned to be alone. I learned to be a single mom, with no support whatsoever. I always did everything by myself and had taught myself independence. I didn't need friends. And that's what made it even nicer. I didn't need them, but they were there anyway, just because.
It was such a simple thing. A movie night with the girls. But it healed a part of me I never even realised was broken.
And then Rose told me what Matt and the guys were up to and she told me all about weird Steve. And I had to go and check this guy out for myself. I had to hear weird Steve play the drums. I didn't want to miss the band's debut, given how confident Steve was in their abilities. 
So, I called the sitter to put Kelsey to bed and the three of us went to the bar, still in our comfies, no makeup and hair thrown up in a messy bun. We laughed the whole walk there about the state of us as we passed groups of girls in skimpy dresses and strappy heels. Tori flirted with one of the bouncers to skip the queue and we linked arms once we were inside and shoved through the crowds, holding onto each other tightly while we searched for the boys.
Matt had texted Rose to tell her that they'd managed to get a booth at some point during the night and also asked if we wanted fries, which we did. Matt found us before we found them, carrying a platter of fries through the crowds on the dancefloor towards a booth in the far corner, right next to the stage where a group of guys were setting up their equipment. 
"Hey!" he kissed his girlfriend's cheek and then ushered us over to the table.
"Which one is Steve?" I asked him, watching the four guys. One of them had a guitar slung over his shoulder and he was strumming softly, but the rest were helping set up the drums. The one in the middle was tall, probably Matt's height, and a big guy with broad shoulders. He looked like he could play football. He had shoulder-length curly hair and a handlebar moustache that made him look like he was straight out of the seventies. And then he stripped off his t-shirt to reveal his painted stomach, the word 'Steve' painted in neon pink, with the 'e' on the end sloping downwards because he must've run out of room. I looked to Matt with a wide grin. "Never mind."