Chapter Text
Megan had never loved crowds.
Sure, she wasn't exactly introverted - but there was something about parties and clubs which made her feel as if she needed to hide the true version of herself away in order to appeal to the "normal" part of society.
Which meant when Lara decided she was staying home for the girls night out, Megan didn't take long to follow.
"i'm tired" she complained, making a sulky baby face to sophia
"plus, who will take care of Lara all by herself at home!" she added, acting as if lara wasn't 19 years old and perfectly capable of looking after herself for a couple of hours.
Lara tilted her head and put her hand on Megan's shoulder.
"C'mon Mei, i'll be fine for just a few hours" Lara said convincingly.
"Plus, after these long few weeks of rehearsals you deserve to unwind properly, it's good for you" she added.
There was always something reassuring about how Lara spoke to Megan, so calming, so convincing - after all, Lara had been Megan's support system since practically when she was introduced into their training programme.
"Fine." Megan Muttered, shooting Lara a dirty look as she headed towards their shared bedroom.
Lara knew she didn't mean it, and Megan knew that Lara knew her well enough to understand when she was really mad, and when she was just being playful.
——————
The drive to the bar was quiet, which was rare considering the loud nature of the members.
Megan chose to wear an elegant full length burgundy top, paired with some black denim shorts.
She shivered slightly in the back of the uber, both from being dressed poorly suited to the winter weather and from feeling slightly uneasy at the thought of being in such a public space without Lara there for comfort.
Daniela placed her right hand on megan's leg, gently moving her thumb across the top of Megan's thigh, as if to say "don't worry, we've got you."
Megan loved how Daniela always knew how to act. It was like she could tell what Megan was feeling, and for a moment Megan's mind wandered from a state of uneasiness to a world where only them two existed. Megan rested her head on Dani's shoulder and muttered a platonic "love you."
Although Megan longed for a world where that "love you" went deeper than friendship, for now, she was just grateful that Daniela was on her side.
—————
As they arrived at the bar, Manon and Daniela instantly ran off to the dance floor, screeching wildly as they began to dance like no one else was watching. Megan admired how they could instantly switch off their professional front; imagining a world where she herself wasn't so up tight about what people thought of her.
Yoonchae recognised a friend from Korea and excitedly went to greet them, leaving only Megan and Sophia standing at the Bar.
"Want me to stay with you?" Sophia asked Megan, a hint of concern in her voice, presumably since the younger girl was zoned out, subconsciously staring into the eyes of a middle aged man who seemed to be rather unsettled by her gaze.
Megan snapped back into reality. "Oh right, no i'm good! You go do your thing, i'll go get some drinks for us all"
Sophia nodded and walked away, and megan waived down a bartender and ordered a mix of alcoholic drinks for the girls, and some ice water for herself and daniela.
Megan wasn't against drinking, but she didn't want to leave daniela (who wasn't a big drinker) with the responsibility of 4 drunk girls, so she made the decision to stay sober for tonight.
Megan carried the drinks to a table in the corner and opens tiktok.
"Ranking Katseye's face cards" first pops up.
She scrolls.
"Has Katseye's Megan gained weight since debut?" comes up next.
Megan quickly shuts her phone off. Maybe she will drink tonight.
—————
An hour later, Megan finds herself searching for the girls in a crowd of drunk teenagers, hoping to convince them all to come home. She has no luck in finding them, and retreats to a small corner in the back of the bar.
Megan is too busy spam texting sophia "where are you!?" to notice that a middle aged man has approached her. He reaches out to get her attention and she jumps at the touch, unaware that she had company.
Megan, heart racing, laughs awkwardly and mutters a small "sorry" before attempting to squeeze past the man and out of the small corner she is leaning against.
The man intentionally gets in her way. Megan moves to the left. He blocks her again.
"you're not getting out of here that easy, beautiful."
Fuck. Megan repeats to herself, feeling the heat rising in her chest. The man mutters something else but Megan can't hear this time due to the state of panic she seems to have entered.
He begins reaching out to Megan's upper thigh and stroking his hand across her leg. A tear streams down Megan's face and she attempts to defend herself, but she seems frozen in place and no words are managing to escape from her lips.
The old man moves closer towards her, now practically pressed up against her body. She lets out a small whimper of fear, when suddenly the man is thrown backwards and knocked off balance onto the floor.