"And this, my good pal Carl, is The Nice Guy. Publicity corner. All of the paparazzi park here. If you want social media to know it, here's your place."

He put out his hands, presenting the club in all its dingy glory. A long line stood outside. The starlets walked straight to the front, talking to the bouncer.

The group walked inside the club, lights flashing and bass pumping. The floor was sticky, and Carl's shoes kept getting stuck on the floor. He felt dirty just being in the place.

He held on tight to Mariana, who wore a red velvet dress. He thought she looked stunning in it, but he also didn't want any other guys seeing her in it and trying to get at her.

The group followed Joe to their usual table, which was guarded by a rope. The security guard let them in, and they sat down. Carl tapped his hands on his jeans. He wore a plain shirt and a maroon bomber.

Carl was nervous, he'd been to clubs before, just not with a date. And that date was his best friend. Although they were a couple, it was still his responsibility to look after her as he did when they were younger.

"Shots!" Pia slurred, somehow already drunk. She held a bottle of grey goose, and Michael had two more bottles in his hands.

Mariana took a swig of vodka, having to use a chaser to prevent the bitter taste. Carl drank some fireball, although he didn't necessarily like the overwhelming taste of cinnamon.

"Do you wanna dance?" Mariana spoke directly in his ear. Carl nodded, and took her hand as she led him down to the dance floor.

The two danced vulgarly, blame it on the liquor. Carl had his hands on her hips, his head down in the crook of her neck. Mariana's arms were wrapped around his neck.

They swayed to the music, Mariana starting to leave kisses on Carl's neck. In their own little world, it was just them. No Pia, no Michael, no Joe. And to Carl, most definitely no Luke. Nobody else existed. Just the two lovers.

The alcohol was starting to wear off on Carl, and he excused himself to get more. Mariana stayed, dancing to the song blaring through the speakers. She minded to herself, staying in her own little bubble.

"Mariana?" She turned around to see who had said her name.

"Oh, hey Luke." She smiled. Although their relationship ended wonky, she still thought of Luke as a good friend of hers.

"What're you doing here?" Luke knew exactly why Mariana was there. The only point he had came was to get her back.

"Just hanging with Mikey and them." She pointed to the table, which had Pia seated with some guy. Joe was on his phone, and Michael was doing shots.

"That's cool."

"And What is the guy that's too cool to hang out with Mikey anymore doing here?" Mariana was upset when Michael had told her that Luke hadn't been speaking to him. The two boys were best friends, and always did everything together.

"If i'm going to be completely honest, Ashton told me you guys were here. And I was kind of hoping I'd bump into you."

"And how did Ashton find out?" She raised her eyebrow a bit.

"Mikey told Calum, and Calum told Ashton. And Ashton told me."

"I saw Calum a few weeks ago. He was working at a restaurant I was at."

"That's how he likes to pick up girls." Luke softly chuckled. All he wanted was her. He was infatuated with the underage girl and her maturity. How she thought and spoke.

He'd do whatever he had to do to get her back. Nothing was going to stand in his way. Not even Carl. Luke was the type of man to get whatever he wanted. And what he wanted was Mariana.

All the while Mariana spoke to Luke, Carl had been taking shot after shot. He turned back around, not being able to tolerate another shot. He saw Mariana talking, unsure of who it was.

Soon enough, mystery dude turned around—Luke. Carl walked as fast as he could, bumping into people and mumbling apologies.

"That's really–oh hey Carl." Mariana smiled. Carl's breathes were long and loud. He huffed, the intoxicating alcohol adding to the flame.

The next thing that happened was Carl's fist had made contact with Luke's face. Luke fell to the floor, and other dancers had stopped to watch the ongoing commotion.

Carl got on top of Luke, punching him over and over. Mariana felt helpless, she knew she couldn't pull Carl off of him. All she could do was yell, but Carl was too busy beating the shit out of her ex.

Soon enough a security guard had seen, and escorted Carl and Mariana out of the club. Joe, Pia, and Michael were still in there. The group had been separated. Carl and Mariana stood outside, Mariana infuriated.

"Jesus Christ Carl! Why the hell would you do that?!" She shouted, kicking an empty can

"He's your ex. I knew what he was doing." Carl wasn't thinking straight, the alcohol had fogged up his thinking.

"We were just talking!"

"You know what talking could lead to."

"Are you fucking serious? I honestly can't believe you'd even assume that. I asked him why he hasn't been hanging out with his best friend. I'm allowed to talk to other people Carl, you're not my keeper." It hurt Mariana when he said that. How dare Carl think that she'd cheat on him?

"Mariana." He softly spoke.

"Save it Carl. I'm done talking to you." Mariana took off her heels and started to walk to Pia's house. Her arms were wrapped around her, Los Angeles was warm, but occasionally there would be gusts of wind that cooled down the streets.

"Where are you going?" He called to her.

"Pia's. And I think you should go to the hotel."