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“come onnnn! it’ll be fun, i promise!” your friend, diana, kept begging and begging for to tag along, to get you out of the house, away from your family for once. you were an adult now, they couldn’t control you anymore. with a sigh and a small “okay,” she squealed and let you get ready.

you settled on a tank top, random jeans that had been lying around for ages, a jacket, and boots. your hair covered the disaster your mascara made enough that no one would really notice, applied some lipstick, procrastinated about what jewelry to wear for so long that it was already time to go. your nails made it so hard to put on your necklace that it took the whole ride there to get the clasp hooked on.

the rest of the friend group was there—davina and starla—though they all rushed inside, leaving you behind them. not surprising.

soon enough, you couldn’t spot anyone except diana, who was getting tipsy and talking to a guy. it was miserable at first, slowly sipping on a beer, contemplating on ways you could leave.

but then, a drink is being passed to you, and the waitress smiles at you. “that gentleman over there in the cowboy hat ordered you this- i think he likes you!” she had this soft look in her eye, something that was telling you to talk to him. you slowly turned to look in the direction she looked, and you almost choked on your spit.

he was.. hot. really hot. the long hair is what got you- it looked so soft, and his hands looked way too good holding the beer he was drinking, and his eyes- he waved when he caught you staring, a smile stretching across his face. your brain short circuited. was this a dream? it had to be. there’s no way this very attractive man was buying you a drink, right?

you waved back, dragging your gaze away from him. it felt like you’d melted if you looked at him for too long. you took a long sip of the drink- it was fruity, it’s like he knew you’d like it. for a moment, you spaced out, staring at the counter and fiddling with your nails, trying to think of anything to get him out of your head. someone sitting next to you made your head snap up.

it was the cowboy.

your heartbeat sped up just a bit. sitting so close to him made your chest feel weird. when you finally met his eyes, it felt like you were gonna faint. he put his hand out to shake yours. “hi, i’m cliff.”

being completely dumbfounded and unable to form a coherent sentence, you just smiled and shook his hand. it practically engulfed your own completely, and he was so warm. before either of you could say anything else, your friend was stumbling towards you, giggling uncontrollably and clutching onto your arm so she wouldn’t fall over.

“heeeyyy!! we’re leavin’ in a few, are you okay to drive?” she slurred her words, hiccuped in between, she was wasted. cliff looked at the two of your curiously, though he was disappointed to see you go so soon. “yeah, um, i am,” your voice was quiet, brain still trying to catch up with everything happening. she stumbled away soon after, back into the crowd.

“sorry about that, um, i’m y/n,” he just smiled, took a sip of his beer, shifted closer to you. “suits you.” you about choked on your drink. everything about him was luring you in, desperately wanting to know more about him. “thanks,”

cliff managed to start a small conversation with you- asked where you’re from, what you like to do. he was really nice. and really pretty. the moment was short lived again as your friends started nagging at you about driving, starla looking like she’s about to pass out, davina and diana laughing at everything.

“sorry i have to go so soon, um-“ he looked at you when you paused. “see.. you around..?” cliff couldn’t help the way his mouth wanted to twitch into a smile. you sounded so unsure of your words, even though he bought you a drink and put in the effort to get to know you. every possible second guess and the possible rejection seemed to wipe that from your memory.

“i’d hope so,” he stood up, and only then did you realize how tall he was. he was definitely over six foot. it only made him more attractive. starla, even through her drunken state, could tell what was happening in your brain. about time you met a guy.

you managed a smile, having to practically crane your neck up for him to see it. goodbye’s were said, and you were off.

though he was still lingering in your mind.

even after dropping everyone off at their homes, after getting ready for bed, after eating dinner, he was still the only thing you could think about. it was driving you crazy. just cliff, cliff, cliff.

it took forever before you could fall asleep.

the next time you saw him was completely unexpected.

diana had successfully drug you to a small venue to see her favorite band. metallica. you’d heard a little bit of their stuff, you thought they were good, but you hadn’t ever looked into who the members are, let alone seen them play live- or seen any band live, for that matter.

you stopped breathing for a second when cliff strolled on the stage. it took him a second to notice you. his grin was immediate. you almost died.

it was like everything stopped. nothing but cliff was happening. the way his fingers plucked and slid over the strings, the way he was just so good at what he was doing, you’d never seen someone so attractive. and apparently watching him play bass unlocked something in you.

you didn’t notice, but diana snickered beside you, her eyes locking back onto james. she had a thing for him.

cliff’s eyes locked on yours at least 25 times, and when the show was over, you felt disappointed for some reason. was it because cliff wasn’t in front of you anymore? probably. you didn’t wanna admit that, though.

“giiirrrlll!!! did you see how cliff was staring at you?!? he’s so into you!!!” diana squealed, squeezing your hands in hers, practically buzzing from excitement. it’d been so long since she’d seen someone so interested in you.

you weren’t so sure about that though. your ex had torn up your self esteem, so of course you doubted his interest. “are you sure? i mean- he’s in metallica, he probably has tons of women already.” diana frowned.

“noooo! don’t think like that, dummy! c’mon- we’re gonna go find him-“

your head shook aggressively.

“diana, no!”

“diana, yes!”