A Night In

[singingdrummer]

 It all started with Ben tugging Meredith onto his lap, lips pressed against hers in a heated kiss. His hands roamed on her figure while his desire for her grew. He had wanted her ever since their first encounter at the bar but Ben never imagined something would actually become of it.

"I want you to know you're not some groupie to me, Meredith. I really want this with you."

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[highfidelity]

"Did you want to go? I'm not going to be that girl who keeps you from your friends either."

Which made her pause as the words left her mouth. If his friends were the people she thought they were, that's exactly what they'd say to him if he told them he was there with her. They'd blame her and say she was taking him away from them or that she wasn't worth it. And she didn't want him to deal with that kind of teasing, especially if these were people he had to be in close quarters with for a month.

She exhaled tightly. He was trying to make this her decision when it really ought to be his.

"Look. If you want to go, then go. Long as you give me a ride home...but I guess we could always meet for dinner afterward. We never did get to it."

[singingdrummer]

"If I don't, they'll give me shit for it. I'll make it up to you with dinner, Meredith. We'll have the rest of the night to ourselves."

It would be best to shield her from some of the obnoxious people he knew would show up. He'd treat her to some good food and drinks.

"Of course I'll drive you home. But no rush, I don't feel like leaving just yet."

[highfidelity]

"All right."

She nodded slightly, eyes downcast for a moment as the reality of their relationship began to sink in. It would always be like this, trying to care about him while not wanting to be a part of the world in which he lived. She wondered then, for a brief moment, if eventually he'd forget her and find someone else.

But she couldn't help how she felt about him, and reached down and squeezed his hand with a small, tired smile.

"I'm glad we did this."

[singingdrummer]

Ben hoped this wouldn't make her doubt his feelings. He fancied her in some deeper way and he was yet to figure it out himself.

"I'm glad, too. This can be our special place from now on. The view's nice and the bed's comfy."

He kissed her while caressing her cheek.

[highfidelity]

"Maybe I'll bring some stuff next time. Help you decorate."

It was a mild joke before she kissed him back. The place could use a woman's touch, she'd decided, though she also didn't want to suddenly act like she was moving in with him. He probably would make a terrible roommate.

"Why don't we go out tomorrow? Plan a proper date before you leave."

Not knowing he'd never make it there.

[singingdrummer]

"Maybe."

Ben laughed softly, fingers tracing patterns on her skin. If only he knew that the next day would be far from pleasant. The only date they were having was at a hospital, with Ben sobering up from a near-fatal experience.

"That'd be great. We can go somewhere nice."

[highfidelity]

"Sounds like a plan then."

She traced her fingers down his chest before she shifted. She didn't want him to leave but she knew he had to, and may as well get it over with. It would take him time to drive her back to her apartment. And she still had to dress at least.

"Come on. As much as I don't want you to go, you did say you have someplace to be."

[singingdrummer]

"You're right. We should head off.. We'll meet again tonight anyway."

Ben got out of bed half-reluctantly and went to fetch his clothes, putting them on. Little did he know that this would be the last good moment they'd share in a while.

He gave her a kiss before grabbing his jacket and car keys.

"Let's go, baby."

[highfidelity]

Meredith gathered her clothes and dressed, fixing her hair. She hated to leave and hoped he didn't think she was trying to usher him out either, but she knew the longer they stayed the more it would hurt when he left.

When he dropped her off at her front door she leaned in and gave him a long, slow kiss. "I'll see you tonight," she said honestly, playfully fixing his hair just like she had the night they met. "Don't stay out too late."

[singingdrummer]

After the kiss he wrapped his arms around her, giving another long one in return. He flashed a charming smile.

"I'll see you."

With that, he stepped in to get ready for the eventful night ahead.

[highfidelity]

Meredith smiled to herself and walked inside to get a shower and a change of clothes for their date. She didn't want him to pick her up in the same clothes he'd left her in. And she wanted to pick out a decent restaurant they could go to, not too fancy because it would be late and they'd both be tired.

But she worried when it got to ten and he hadn't come back. It was verging on too late now to go out anywhere. She tried calling him, hoping that he'd just forgot and not the alternative...her fear that everything he'd just said to her was bullshit, a move to get into the bed of the one woman he knew didn't want him. Was he bragging to his friends now about sleeping with her?

She kept calling, hoping eventually he'd pick up.

[singingdrummer]

Ben didn't know what the 'friend' had given him, but it wasn't good. The hours passed and the spinning feeling got worse. He barely felt the buzz of his phone, but he finally managed to pull it out of his pocket while sitting with his back against the couch. His legs wouldn't let him stand up anymore.

"Babe, that you? I feel weird.."

[highfidelity]

"Ben? Where are you?"

Meredith was on her fifth call and she was terrified. She could hear something was wrong.

[singingdrummer]

"At my mate's. Tim gave me something dodgy.. Can't fucking stand up anymore."

Her voice was the only thing keeping him conscious. He wanted her there, so he gave her the address.

[highfidelity]

"I'll come to get you."

Meredith grabbed her keys and ran for her car, trying to talk to him while she drove. He would hear her arrival by how she pushed her way to him, literally fighting off his drunk friends who wanted to hit on her or wonder why she was killing their buzz.

"Don't fucking touch me... Come on, Ben, I'm getting you out of here."

[singingdrummer]

"There she is.. The most beautiful girl in town," Ben grinned. He was really out of it by then, eyes barely staying open as he held out his arm for her to take.

"How come you're spinning like that, baby?"

[highfidelity]

She took him by the arm and helped him to her car, driving straight for the nearest hospital. She was in a panic. "What did you take? What happened?"

[singingdrummer]

Ben tried his hardest to remember but it was getting difficult to focus. The figure next to him turned blurry.

"Tim had something.. Bastard never takes no for an answer. Pill or something."

He placed his hand lazily on top of hers before everything went black.

[highfidelity]

She rushed him to the emergency room, though utterly useless because she didn't know what he had taken or who he had gotten it from. Not that he could tell them either. It would be a while before she saw him again, and when he came to in a hospital bed she didn't know whether to be thankful or upset with him. Or both.

[singingdrummer]

He came to a long while later, not feeling good at all. To be honest he didn't expect her to be there after witnessing him all messed up, like some typical rock star. But he was happy to see her face.

"Hey.."

[highfidelity]

"Hi." She was sitting by his bedside just sad and disappointed more than anything else. "You overdosed on something. You could have died," she told him. Unable to resist the dig: "I guess getting back to me wasn't that important."

[singingdrummer]

He deserved that.

"Meredith.. I should've stayed with you. Going there was clearly a bad idea."

This hadn't happened before. Ben was becoming one of those rock stars he always read about, and it was a scary thought.

"I'm sorry. I ruined our night.. I did a messed up thing to you."

[highfidelity]

"Don't apologize," she said softly. "It doesn't matter. I can't see you again."

She stood then, heartbroken but determined. She didn't want to be part of this world, and she couldn't afford to have his reputation pull her down. She could lose her job if anyone thought she was mixed up in something.

"I'm just sorry I wasn't enough for you," she replied as she grabbed her coat. "You just turned out to be one of those same idiots I hoped you weren't."

[singingdrummer]

"Wha..? Babe, it's not that. You're more than enough."

He watched helplessly as she walked out, realising that she was right about one thing; he was an idiot. An idiot who needed to do something, to fix this before it's too late.

"Fuck. That's the last time I'm going near that twat and his 'good stuff'.. I can't lose her like this."

[highfidelity]

If only he knew how much it hurt Meredith to leave him there. But all she thought was that she had been right about him all along. She had taken a huge risk by asking him to be her first, the person she wanted to fall in love with. And then he'd gone and blown it like this. In her eyes if he had really cared about her, he wouldn't have gotten messed up. He would have remembered she was waiting for him.

But she just went home and cried, feeling like a fool for wasting herself on a man who had sweet-talked her and she'd fallen for it.