Hey everyone, it's Mina here with a one-shot for you featuring the lovely Kiara! Just a little tidbit of news for you today before I let you get to reading. Nick has stepped away from the collab, and as such, I am now in charge of current and future Grifball projects. Regarding Running Rampant, the fic WILL be finished, we're just going to get the remaining chapters in first before actually uploading them :) You can expect that around December. A long wait, I know, but I promise it will be totally worth it! With all that out of the way, here for your reading enjoyment is "Just a Drink!"

Just a Drink

Kiara Thomas

Written by Minaethiel

Sometimes, a truce can create dangers that outweigh any peace. -Charles Shift

Being a pro Grifball player was proving not to be so bad. Especially not when Rampancy was at the top of its game. With Jackson finally cooled off, we'd become more in sync than we'd ever been. Our last victory against Fusion had just cemented that the new Rampancy, the one that worked together, was a force to be reckoned with. We're shaking the Grifball world with each win. I cant say I mind that too much. As it was, all of us were still riding the high of another win on our records. We'd celebrated the day afterwards, and despite practice being in session tomorrow, I'd opted to go out dancing. Taking a cab to the club Arika and Ellen had introduced me too in the beginning of the season, I looked idly out of the window. The city lights were flashing neon in the late evening, creating a kaleidoscope of color that was almost hypnotizing. When he pulled up to the building, I thanked him and paid the fare, exiting the vehicle. I'd elected to be a bit adventurous with my clothing today; a flowing sky blue skirt that fell to just above my knees, and an off the shoulder white top. Light and breathable. Music thumped loudly as I walked in, the white heels I had on clicking against the ground.

Inside the patrons were in full party mode, alcohol flowing freely and the dance floor packed with bodies. I got my hand stamped at the door before fully moving inside. Idly I took a look at the bar, wondering if I should grab a drink first, but ultimately decided against it. I didn't need a hangover during practice. Sleep deprivation would be enough for me, and no doubt Coach wasn't going to make any allowances for me. I molded my way into the ground, feeling the rhythm pulsing through me as I began to move. Dancing was one of the things I loved to do to keep in shape besides running. It was something that worked all of your muscles, and it felt freeing to boot. There was nothing quite like the feeling of dancing without caring of being judged. Only downside to dancing alone was the lack of company. Dancing with the other girls was always a treat; they had flairs all their own. The minutes ticked by as I moved to the beat, occasionally with the odd guy that decided to come share a bit of the dance with me. After a while I decided to indulge myself just one drink. I couldn't risk a hangover with just one.

At the bar I got myself my favorite kind of margarita and spun around in my chair to observe the room while I waited for the drink to be made.. Despite the hour (it had to have been at least one), the club was just as busy as it had been when I'd first arrived. Two guys sat down next to me, engrossed in some conversation about prospects in the bar, and I tuned them out. Surprise lit my face as I caught sight of Jackson. The Rampancy captain seemed bored at his table, a single bottle of beer signaling that he had no intent on drinking himself under the table. I had never really given it much thought as to where Jackson went to hang out after practices or games. Just from his recent behavior he seemed like a pretty social guy when he wanted to be, though he clearly had no love for the press. I didn't realize I'd been staring at him the entire time until he happened to look up and catch sight of me, surprise lighting his own face.

The bartender announced my drink to me and it took me an extra second to turn around, mostly because Jackson's face fell into a look of anger that I knew all too well. Oh shit, what did I do, what did I do?! I spun around quickly, hoping he'd just ignore me and go back to his own solitude, but of course that didn't happen. I'd only taken one sip of my drink when his hand covered the top of it and shoved it onto the counter. I looked up, caught between fury and shock, when I realized the look of anger I'd seen on Jackson's face wasn't directed at me.

It was directed towards the two men that had taken seats next to me.

What's more, it appeared there were two types of angry Jackson. The first I was very familiar with. He reared his head enough for most of us to recognize it. But the anger Jackson was currently displaying? The kind of still anger that seemed borderline murderous.

"I'm actually in a good mood tonight," the captain began, violence dancing in his words, "so I'm going to give you one chance to get the Hell out of here. One. Chance."

I was absolutely baffled why he was threatening the pair, but it was obvious that they were seriously contemplating starting a fight with Jackson. I pitied them immediately if they actually thought they could take Rampancy's captain on. Even without a weapon in his hands Jackson made a formidable figure, intimidating plenty of people. Finally it seemed like that intimidation won out as the two slipped off their seats and, casting back looks of equal malice, made for the front door. The fury on his face disappeared into a grimace of concern.

"Ok, how much did you drink?" He questioned, lightly tugging the glass away. I obliged and released my grip, feeling like I'd done something wrong.

"Just a sip, Jackson. Why?"

"Because," he said as he motioned over the bartender, "the guy closest to you spiked it with something while your back was turned."

I felt my already pale face go sheet white as my eyes darted to the drink.

"Shit," I breathed simply, feeling my heart rate spike in shock. Jackson took the liberty of explaining the situation to the bartender while I sat and processed all of the nightmare scenarios that could have happened. After a few minutes, the captain was leading me off the stool and towards the door.

"Where's the rest of the team?" He asked, leading me to his car.

"Not with me. I just wanted to go out alone tonight. Get some dancing in before practice, have some fun," I explained, my thoughts jumbled in the aftermath of the evening. "Never again, after tonight," I added with a weak chuckle. "At least one other person at all times."

Jackson nodded in response and opened the car doors to let the two of us in, and I slid in, unsure how to feel about catching a ride with him. He'd been admittedly pretty nice the past few weeks, but we weren't really friends. Not yet, at least. It wasn't something I'd mind if he kept up with the good attitude, but for the moment it just felt awkward. Still, I wasn't sure if I had any drugs in my system. Walking home or taking a cab would have been a stupid idea. When it came down to it, I trusted Jackson more than my usual methods of getting home. If the situation wasn't so scary I would have called Will.

"Address?" He inquired simply. I rattled it off and fell back into the passenger seat, wringing my hands nervously. I was usually exceedingly careful in bars and the like when I went out alone. College had given out rules for drinking around strangers. Like, 'never take an eye off of your drink' and 'never accept a drink from somebody else.' Just went to show that one slip up could have cost a lot. The car ride was passing in relative silence before I found my voice again.

"Thank you, Jackson," I said quietly, feeling secure enough to calm down a bit.

He turned to look at me briefly, nodding as he turned back to the road.

"No matter how much of an asshole I can be... seeing shit like that pisses me off. And before you ask, I would have interfered whether we were on good terms or not, no matter who you were."

I had actually been wondering whether or not he would have cared had our current relations been different, but I wasn't going to fess up to the thought being on my brain. We arrived at my place very quickly, and I fished my keys out of my purse as I exited the vehicle, Jackson on my heels. I gave him a confused look and pushed open my door, sighing in relief. Home sweet home, safe and sound. I stepped inside and shrugged off my bag, tossing my keys onto a table next to my door. Jackson was still standing there, and a kernel of amusement likened him to a vampire with the way he was waiting for an invitation to come in.

"It's ok, I don't care if you come in for a bit," I assured him, still wondering why he wasn't leaving. "Didn't you want to go home and get some sleep? We have practice tomorrow."

The captain snorted, stepping into my house and shutting the door behind him. He had a hesitant look before settling on the couch and responding.

"Yeah, a bit of sleep does sound good, but since you seem to have forgotten, you drank a spiked drink. Neither of us knows if anything got in your system, so we're going to wait an hour or whatever and see, and then I'll leave if nothing happens. And practice is your biggest worry?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Priorities. Pretty sure Coach would even give you a pass if you didn't want to show up tomorrow."

I frowned, but could see the sense of his reasoning.

"I'm not skipping out on practice because of a sip of a drink that might have adverse effects. But ok, we can watch TV or something to pass the time."

The sports channel seemed like the safest bet, and as luck would have it, there was a rerun of Castle's game against the Sirens playing. I leaned forward in anticipation. The score was at three to one, favoring Castle, though that didn't surprise me. The Sirens were still a pretty new team; expecting them to win against Castle was just a fool's gambit. Not that it was a complete slaughter either. The game ended a respectable forty five minutes later with Castle winning five to three. By the end of it I was struggling to keep my eyes open, the events of the night crushing my desire to remain awake. Jackson stretched and gave a yawn, looking over at me.

"So? You feeling ok?"

I nodded, relieved I didn't feel weird at all. A close call I wasn't keen on repeating.

"Yeah, just tired. You should be good to go home now. If you're super tired you can have the couch if you want," I offered. "It's only fair since you made sure to get me home and make sure I wasn't going to die or something."

Rolling his eyes in disbelief at the last part, the captain shook his head, making his way for the door.

"I'll be good to drive home, but thanks anyway. See you tomorrow, Kiara."

"Night, Jackson. And thanks again," I found myself repeating.

He gave me a wave over his shoulder and a few final words that actually had me smiling.

"What are teammates for?"