“C’MON, LET’S GO! LET’S GOOOOOO! HURRY—I ONLY KNOW THE BOUNCER FOR THIS SHIFT, NOT THE NEXT ONE!” my best friend Cleo yells.
During high school cleo and I hadn’t really seen eachother as much because of my ex so it felt nice to be this close with her again. Tonight she insisted we have to go out because I “don’t get out much”
“What does knowing the bouncer have to do with anything” I say sarcastically rolling my eyes before letting out a light chuckle
Cleo steps in front of me, lowering her voice to a whisper. “We get to skip the line,” she says, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.
"are you serious" I say bursting into laughter before she joins in.
This club was popular amongst a lot of artists and well known internet personalities so it was nearly impossible to get into on a Saturday night.
Sweat droplets racing on people’s forheads, people making out against any surface they could possibly find, and the bass thumping so hard I could feel it in my chest was the usual scene,
What I didn’t expect, however, was a brown-haired boy across the room from me sitting alone, looking like he’d rather be anywhere but here.
So, as anyone would with alcohol running through their system, I walked over to him.
“HEY” I shouted unable to hear myself over the music.
“HEY!” he shouted back, patting the empty spot beside him in invitation.
“FINE, BUT AFTER I TALK TO YOU, YOU HAVE TO PROMISE TO DANCE WITH ME. DEAL?” I held out my pinky like a child making a promise, giggling at how easily he complied to a complete stranger’s request.
I sit down crossing one leg over the other and then lean closer to his ear as I use my hand as a shield to trap the words I was about to spit out
“Why are you sitting here alone?” I asked
“Dunno” he says before shrugging and finishing his answer by saying “people are boring”
I put my hand over my heart dramatically "ouch"
He looked at me and smiled
“not you tho” he says whilst keeping the charming grin on his face
“not me tho” I repeat raising an eyebrow
“Yes not you, your fun” he says reiterating his words
“For all you know, I could be a serial killer,” I teased, tuning out the music, almost as if I could only hear him.
“Like Dahmer?” he asked, furrowing his brows but still smiling.
“Dahmer wasn’t what I was going for, but close enough,” I said, giggling, surprised he was still interested in this conversation.
“Well… are you?” he asked, tilting his head slightly.
“No,” I said, studying his face.
Everything about this boy was so perfect
Everything about this boy was perfect—the way the flashing lights reflected in his eyes, making it hard to tell their color (though I was pretty sure they were blue), the way certain strands of his hair were longer than others, falling effortlessly in place like a well-put-together mess, the way his plump lips moved when he spoke, and the inhumanly straight teeth that made me suspect he had braces at some point—
“HELLOOOO?” he called, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah—sorry, what did you say?” I asked, shaken up.
How long had I been staring.
“I said, ‘good,’” he repeated before standing up and extending his hands toward me, palms up.
I couldn’t believe how trusting he was with a stranger.
“I’m gonna grab us some drinks. What do you want?” I asked, looking up at him, only now realizing how much taller he was. If I looked straight ahead, I’d be staring directly at his chest—not that I’d complain.
“Whatever you get is fine with me,” he said, still smirking down at me.
“But can we dance first… please?” he added a playfully pleading tone in his voice.
I nod and he wasted no time to snake his hand around my hips before using his other to turn my body around so my back was to his chest keeping his grip on me firm as we swayed our hips back and fourth in unison before I turn myself back around to face him and take both of my hands in his still swaying with the music before he raises my hand spinning me around whilst smiling as his fingers intertwined with mine
“What was that for?” I laughed
Suddenly, Cleo stumbled toward us, barely able to stay on her feet.
“Cleo..CLEO” I say as she nods clearly conscious enough to hear me
“What happened? What did you take?” I asked my voice laced with concern. The brown-haired boy stood beside me observing quietly
“N-n-nothing” she stammered struggling to get her words out
“Did someone put something in your drink” I ask her as she shrugs not knowing the answer
I turn to look back up at the boy next to me before speaking
“There’s no way I can stay here. I’m sorry to cut this short, bu—”
“How far is your apartment” he cuts me off
“About 6 blocks why” I asked adjusting Cleo as she leaned her head onto my shoulder
“I’m not letting you walk 6 blocks in heels, carrying your friend, in the freezing cold, at 2 a.m. in New York,” he stated before motioning for me to follow him out of the club.
Squeezing through a crowded club while supporting an unconscious friend was not for the weak Literally
We finally made it outside, the brisk air sending shivers down my arms and legs
The boy flagged down a taxi, helping me get Cleo into the backseat before sliding into the front.
“Uh 6010 NE street please” I told the driver grateful that late-night traffic wasn’t as bad as usual.
When we arrived, the boy paid for the cab, then effortlessly lifted the unresponsive Cleo into his arms, carrying her bridal style up the stairs to my apartment.
As we approach the apartment he carries her in and sets her on the couch while I start to run her a warm bath
"I’m so sorry I ruined your night,” I said, feeling guilty for pulling this sweet boy away from his evening.
“Like I said most people are boring but you aren’t” he called from the other room
I look in the reflection of the bathroom mirror to see what he was doing and he was just standing there looking out of place.
“Make yourself at home it’s small but it works for us” I say still looking at the reflection of him in the mirror
“‘Us’ as in you and Cleo, right?” he asked, sounding slightly nervous, like he was somewhere he shouldn’t be.
“Yes me and Cleo” I confirmed laughing
“And before you ask no I don’t have a boyfriend” I say knowing it was gonna be brought up in conversation
I realized I’d never asked the boy what his name was, I’ve just been speaking to him all night without calling him by name so there wasn’t really a need for it.
“Hey… what’s your name? I just realized I never asked,” I say chuckling lightly before looking up in the mirror to see him behind me.
“Ian,” he said, smiling while looking at me through the mirror.————————————
hi lovelys im gonna try to get back to posting more consistently (once or twice a week) love u all mwah!!