Work Text:
Couple cover charge stamps got her hand looking like a rainbow
In and out of every bar on a whim just like the wind blows
She’s either a bachelorette or coming off a breakup
Take a drunk girl home
She’s bouncing like a pinball
Singing every word she never knew
Dancing with her eyes closed like she’s the only one in the room
Her hair’s a perfect mess, falling out of that dress
Take a drunk girl home
Take a drunk girl home
Let her sleep all alone
Leave her keys on the counter, your number by the phone
Pick up her life she threw on the floor
Leave the hall lights on walk out and lock the door
That’s how she knows the difference between a boy and man
Take a drunk girl home
AJ walks into the bar he’d agreed to meet up with some of his buddies. He looks around the large room, managing to spot them standing to the side of the small dance floor. He gets himself a beer before he walks over to join them.
“Hey,” Bobby says with a smile. “Glad you could make it.”
AJ shakes the other man’s hand. “Told you I’d be here,” he says. He takes a sip of his beer as he looks out toward the small group dancing nearby.
Two of the women actually look familiar to him, but he can’t place it. His attention is drawn toward the redhead. As she spins around, AJ notices the marks on her hand. This definitely isn’t the first place she’s been. She’s definitely enjoyed herself. But there’s also something else there. It’s more than just having a good time. He can see it in the way she smiles at her friends.
“How long are you actually going to stay?” Finn asks with a laugh.
AJ isn’t surprised at the question. It’s the first time in a while he actually agreed to come out with them. The last time he’d only stayed for a couple of drinks before heading back home. “We’ll see,” he answers with a smile. He watches as the redhead dances her way behind one of the blondes as they make their way through the small crowd.
“You promised you would dance,” the blonde says as she points at Bobby.
“I promised no such thing.” Bobby slides his arm around her waist as he looks over at AJ. “This is Charlotte. Char, this is AJ.”
AJ nods at her. “The famous girlfriend.” He smiles. “It’s nice to meet you, Charlotte.”
“You too, AJ.” Charlotte gestures to the redhead who is still dancing. “This is my best friend, Becky.” She swats at Becky’s arm. “She’s a little drunk.”
“I think you are too,” Bobby says.
“It’s possible.” Charlotte beams. “You gonna make sure I get home okay?”
“I’ll think about it.”
AJ’s about to take another drink when Becky spins right into him. He slides an arm around her to keep her from falling back. “Whoa, easy there.” He can’t help but smile at the sound of her laughter. “You all right?”
“I am,” she answers. “I could use another drink, though. Who are you?”
“I’m AJ.”
“AJ… what’s your real name?”
“Becky!” Charlotte giggles.
“It’s okay,” AJ says with a laugh. “It’s Allen.”
Becky nods. “Allen… I’m Becky. I’m going to go get another drink.”
AJ looks at Bobby after the girls walk away. “She okay?”
Bobby nods. “She’s going through a bit of a rough patch right now.”
AJ frowns a little as he glances behind him to where Becky is dancing in place as she waits for her drink. “How many places have you been to tonight?”
“Finn and I met up with them at the last bar. They started earlier though. I think this is their fourth stop.”
Before AJ can say anything else, the women are returning. He smiles when Charlotte pulls Bobby out to the dance floor. Finn follows suit when the dark-haired woman waves him out. Becky smiles up at AJ.
“Wanna dance?” she asks.
AJ nods. “Sure,” he answers. He follows her out to the floor. “I’ll apologize now if I step on your feet.” He has to smile at the way she giggles at his comment. Her smile is contagious and he finds himself smiling more than he has in a while.
After spending some time dancing, AJ excuses himself to run to the bathroom. He isn’t gone long, but it’s long enough for another man to find himself dancing with Becky. AJ watches them closely. It’s obvious as to what the other man… no, kid… is looking for. He can also tell that Becky isn’t able to fully see that right now. It doesn’t take long before AJ knows he has to step in. The moment he sees the boy lean in to whisper something into Becky’s ear, AJ knows it has to be now. He steps back over.
“We can head around to the bathroom,” the boy says.
AJ isn’t sure what the rest of the conversation had been, but he can certainly guess. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” he says as he stops behind Becky.
“Who the hell are you, old man?”
AJ rests a hand on Becky’s lower back when she sways a little. “Whoa, you okay?”
“She’s fine. I got her. Come on…”
“I think I want to go home,” Becky says.
The boy smiles. “My kinda woman.”
AJ shoves him back when he steps toward Becky. “You stay away.” He slides an arm around Becky’s waist. “Come on.” He leads her away to where Charlotte and Bobby are dancing. “Hey, I’m gonna take Becky home.”
Charlotte frowns. “What? No, I’ll take her.”
“You aren’t driving,” Bobby says. He looks at AJ. “I’ll text you her address.”
AJ nods. “Thanks.”
AJ looks over at Becky after he pulls out of the small parking lot a few minutes later. She’s been quiet since announcing that she wanted to go home. He isn’t sure if he should say something or not. But the silence is killing him. What’s he supposed to say?
“He didn’t want to just dance, did he?” Becky asks. She rests her head on the cool glass of the window and closes her eyes. “That’s why he wanted to take me to the bathroom. I’m so stupid.”
“No, Becky, you aren’t.”
“It’s all I’m good for.”
AJ frowns at that. He’s not entirely sure what she means by that. Or is it simply the alcohol talking?
“He found someone who could give him more.” Becky looks at AJ. “I’m a good person. I gave him so much and then he just leaves. For her…” She looks away when the tears start. “So what if I’m not a perfect ten? Neither is she. I’m loud and I can be obnoxious, but that doesn’t make me a bad person. I…” She shakes her head. “I’m never gonna be good enough for anyone.”
“Becky…” AJ glances over at her. “If he left you for someone else, then it’s his loss.”
“I’m not pretty. My hair is too wild. My accent turns people away.” She drops her head to the window once again. “I’m too loud and talk too much. They want someone who won’t argue with them. Too opinionated.”
AJ is about to respond but quickly realizes that Becky is practically asleep. He lets out a soft laugh as he continues his drive to her house. He doesn’t know what she went through with her ex, but it’s obvious it still hurts her.
It’s another twenty minutes before AJ is pulling into the driveway of Becky’s small single-story house. He shuts his truck off as he looks over at the woman.
“Where are we?” Becky asks.
“Home,” AJ answers. “Stay there.” He climbs out from the driver’s seat, walking around quickly so she doesn’t attempt to climb out herself. He opens the passenger door and helps her down to the ground.
“You need a shorter car. How did I get in there?”
AJ grins. “You had a lot of help.” He holds onto her arm as they walk to the front door. He takes the keys from her hand. “I got it.”
“Thank you.”
AJ unlocks the door and lets her walk in ahead of him. He keeps his hand on her lower back as he follows her down the hall. He’ll make sure to pick up everything she drops on their way. The room they walk into is exactly what he would have pictured for Becky. Despite only knowing her for a short time, he can tell this is Becky. He isn’t surprised when Becky simply crawls into bed without bothering to change. He sits down on the edge of the bed, reaching over to take her shoes off.
“Soft hands,” Becky mutters.
AJ smiles as he stands up. He carefully pulls the covers over Becky. “Goodnight, Becky.” He walks over to turn the light of the bathroom on before he walks to the bedroom door. He takes another look at the bed, smiling once again when he sees that Becky is already asleep. “Sweet dreams.”
AJ turns off the bedroom light before stepping out into the hall. He picks up each item that Becky had dropped on his way down the hall. He stops in the kitchen, setting everything on the counter. He grabs a sheet of paper from the pad on the fridge. He writes down his name and number. He makes sure that her keys and phone are on the counter before he walks out the front door. He grabs the key that Bobby had told him about so he’s able to lock the door. He checks it once again before replacing the key and heading back to his truck.
You leave her drive for a dive and you get something bad to eat
They’re singing “Closing Time” at that bar across the street
In two by twos, strangers and lovers headed for the covers, hooking up
That TV in your two bedroom, sound’s turned off
And through the paper thin walls, you can hear the neighbor’s cigarette cough
There’s a million things you could be doing but there’s one thing you sure damn glad you did
Take a drunk girl home
Let her sleep all alone
Leave her keys on the counter, your number by the phone
Pick up her life she threw on the floor
Leave the hall lights on walk out and lock the door
That’s how you know the difference between a boy and man
You take a drunk girl home
AJ sends a quick message to Bobby to let him know that Becky is home safe and sound before he pulls out of the driveway. As he starts his drive across town, he realizes he isn’t quite ready to go home yet. It’s how he finds himself at a rundown diner. It may be rundown, but AJ has always loved the food. He found himself here on numerous occasions back in his partying days.
He takes a seat at the corner table. It’s definitely a different feeling than all those years ago. He looks around the dining area to see the groups that he had once been a part of. In the far corner is the group of college students. Midterms are over and they’d been out celebrating making it through the first part of the semester. The bachelors are just now stumbling in and taking the closest table to the door. Couples are scattered throughout the room. It’s easy to figure out which couples have been together for a while and which just met tonight.
It’s nearly an hour later when AJ walks into his small, two bedroom apartment. It’s not his ideal place, but it’s home for now. He wants to build a new house, but that takes money. It’s something he’s working on. Lucky for him, the divorce hadn’t killed him. He and his ex-wife agreed to simply go their separate ways. They sold their shared house and split the cost. He’s lived with Bobby for a short time before he found this place.
AJ turns the TV on, keeping the volume off so he doesn’t disturb his neighbors. That’s the worst part about this place. The walls are so thin. Anything too loud in the middle of the night causes the couple next door to bang on the walls telling him to quiet down. Of course, it didn’t matter that they argued at all hours of the day.
However, he can’t be upset that he’s here tonight. He did exactly as he should have. Becky had been far too gone to know what she was even talking about. He’s not even sure she’ll remember saying anything about her ex to him. It’s likely she won’t remember much about the entire night. He just hopes that Bobby will let him know how she’s doing. Sure, he left his number, but he doubts that she’ll actually use it.
You took a drunk girl home
In the sober light of dawn
She left you a message, she thanked you on the phone
‘Cause you picked up her life she threw on the floor
You left the hall lights on walked out and locked the door
That’s how she knows the difference between a boy and man
Take a drunk girl home
You take a drunk girl home
Take a girl home
AJ pulls his phone out of his desk at work at lunch and heads down toward the teacher’s lounge. He’s not surprised to find Bobby and Finn already sitting at one of the tables. He joins them, finally looking at his phone. He frowns a little when he sees a missed call and a voicemail from a number.
“You okay?” Bobby asks.
“Yeah,” AJ answers, “I have a voicemail from a number I don’t recognize.” He pulls the voicemail up to listen.
“Hi, AJ… Allen… I don’t even remember you go by. I’m sorry. This is Becky. The drunk Irish girl from Saturday. I just wanted to thank you for getting me home and into bed. And picking up everything I dropped. I can only imagine what I said during the drive to my house. I tend to let my mouth get the best of me when I’m drunk. Anyways… just… thank you. I don’t know many men around here that would have done what you did. They would have definitely tried to take advantage of me in that state. So… thank you. You’re a good man, AJ… Allen. I’ll have to remember to ask Bobby what you go by. I’m babbling now and I promise I’m very sober. I’ll go now. Just… thank you.”
AJ smiles as he saves the message. He’ll have to listen to it again later, if for no other reason than to hear the way she says his name; both AJ and Allen. He sends out a quick text message to her.
You can call me whatever you’d like, Darlin. Like the way you say both AJ and Allen.