A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps by Kit Bryan
Rule 74- Remember, it's not about how much you can drink, but how gracefully you can handle the aftermath. Also, hydration is key.

I was actually excited for Fin to meet Marcus, now I'm starting to think I shouldn't have agreed to this. Marcus might be curious about the fae, but above all he enjoys messing with Lucy and I. No amount of curiosity would stop him from using Ashton and Fin in some kind of prank. Not to mention he got here first so he's had time to scheme. I reluctantly introduce Fin.

"Marcus, this is Finvara. Fin, this is Marcus. He works with Lucy and I." I say unenthusiastically.

"Technically I'm their boss." Marcus says with far too much enthusiasm. I roll my eyes.

"You get paid like a dollar an hour more and you have tons more responsibility. If that's what it means to be in charge I'll pass thanks." Lucy reminds him. Ashton slides into the booth next to me so I'm sandwiched between him and Marcus. Lucy is on Marcus' other side and Fin takes the place next to her. Marcus is essentially sitting at the head of the table and he is entirely too happy about it.

"Actually, I believe that currently Kat is working for me, not you." Ashton points out. I laugh.

"Oooh, good point. I am fairly sure that means that I don't have to listen to a word you say Marcus!" I elbow him in the ribs and Marcus swings an arm over my shoulder.

"Ah, but you're still technically employed at the store, just on leave. Besides, it's not like you've ever done what you're told anyway." He argues. I pout at him.

"That's not true, I do as I'm told, as long as what I'm told isn't stupid. Right Ashton?" I turn to him but he seems distracted and his eyes seem fixed on my shoulder. Or rather on where Marcus' arm is slung over it. "Ashton?" I prompt him again.

"Hmm?" I'm pretty sure he has no idea what I said to him.

"I can do what I'm told as long as it isn't stupid, right?" I repeat. He frowns and is silent. I narrow my eyes and Ashton gives me a half grin.

"It is not fair to ask questions like that when you know that I cannot lie." He responds and I gasp in mock outrage. Marcus laughs loudly and lets go of my shoulder to hold up a hand for Ashton to high five. Ashton stares at it a moment until I sigh and take the high five for him which feels a little unfair since I'm the butt of this joke. Lucy starts to giggle and even Fin looks amused. He isn't even trying to hide it for once. He's sitting slightly angled in the booth so that his wings are sort of hanging out the edge and aren't being crushed. He's going to have to be careful of people walking past bumping into them though since they can't actually see them. The way he's sitting has left a gap between him and Lucy which she fills as she slides closer to him, pulling out her phone.

"Shall I show you how to use the emojis now?" She offers, shuffling in even closer. Smooth Luce, Now there's a gap between Lucy and Marcus while I am still sandwiched between Ashton and Marcus. Neither of the guys seems like they have any intention of moving and giving any extra space. Actually, Marcus puts his arm back over my shoulder and I frown. Sure, he's a touchy feely person but he is't usually quite like this, unless... He's trying to see if Ashton will get jealous. He would probably be pulling the same trick with Lucy if it weren't for the fact that she's clearly already proven she would rather sit by Fin.

I might not approve of Marcus' meddling, but part of me does want to know if it will work. Will Ashton get jealous over me? I know he considers me a friend, probably a fairly close one since he gets along with Lucy but isn't willing to hold her hand or accept hugs from her. But none of that necessarily equates to him being romantically interested in me. I'm not even sure I want him to be. I mean sure I can't lie to myself and say that I don't have at least a bit of a crush on him, but he's going home eventually and I'll be left behind. It's going to suck either way, but I think it would be worse staying behind if I knew for sure that he wanted me. I decide not to play his game and I make an excuse to move. "I should grab some menus, we might know what we want already but Ashton and Fin will want to check it out. Ashton, can you let me out?" I wait for Ashton to move and then I slide out from under Marcus' arm. Ashton offers me a hand to help me out of my seat which I gratefully accept. I head up to the counter to grab a couple menus and Ashton follows me.

"You don't need to come, I'm just grabbing these." I wave them in the air. Ashton shrugs and follows me back to the seat where Marcus is already on his feet by the booth.

"I'll order drinks for the table." He says too cheerfully for someone who is volunteering to pay for other people's drinks. Ashton gestures for me to sit down first so I end up in Marcus' vacated spot and Ashton is where I was sitting. I guess that solves the issue of Marcus trying to make Ashton jealous, but I'm not sure Ashton is going to enjoy sitting next to someone as touchy feely as Marcus is. When Marcus returns with two very large jugs of some kind of mixed drink I become even more concerned. Just who does he think is going to drink all that alcohol? Lucy and I both drove here and will probably only have one drink each. Is he TRYING to get Ashton and Fin drunk?

Marcus is definitely trying to get Ashton and Fin drunk. We ordered our food and at this point we have almost completely finished the meal but both jugs are finished as well as three rounds of shots. Marcus' words are slurring and his voice is twice as loud as it was when we got here. Fin and Ashton who have probably had even more alcohol than Marcus has both seem almost completely unaffected. If anything they maybe seem a little more relaxed. Ashton did say that he's used to stronger drinks, but HOW much stronger because if i hadn't watched them consume the drinks I would never have thought that they had been drinking at all. Remind me never to try fae drinks because they must be killer. Fin and Lucy look incredibly cosy next to each other as Lucy explains more of the functions on his phone. Apparently the weather app is a revelation. Ashton is doing his best to keep track of Marcus' drunken conversation, something that is difficult even for me. "An' then this cust'mer who was a total Karen says 'I wanna speak t' your manager' an' Kat jus' smiled all nicely an' told her 'thas great but my manager doesn' wanna speak t' you.' Then she walk'd the Karen out th' store and said she hoped her day wasas lovely as her attitude." Marcus rambles. Ah, he's trying to tell Ashton about the day we became friends. Marcus was busy and this woman was being totally unreasonable. He did miss out several steps in the story like when I refunded the snotty woman's purchase and threatened to call security on her, but either way Marcus heard me sending her on her way and apparently immediately decided that he needed to be friends. Regardless of what's been left out, I'm not sure Ashton is following the story if his furrowed brow is anything to judge by.

"An' that's why I like Kat. What about you? Why d'you like her? No wait I havea better question. Why should she like you? You migh' be hot an' rich, but that doesn' mean you're good enough for my Kat!" Marcus says grumpily, poking Ashton in the chest repeatedly. Oh damn, I really should have warned Marcus not to try to out drink the fae.