It was the last set of this horrible band in this overly crowded club. I could have killed my friend Jess for dragging me out to this place to begin with. However, she was my BFF, even if she did have terrible taste in music. Not even the overpriced drink in my hand was making this experience any better.

I knew what she was trying to accomplish through this and I was trying not to hate her for it. It wasn't her fault that I was twenty-two and still single. It wasn't like I hadn't tried to meet someone. I just wasn't into one-night stands and random hook-ups. I needed a more stable relationship in my life before I could sleep with a stranger. Although, I could never get her to understand that. She thought that I was like any other guy and that was definitely not the case. Besides, the notion that I was going to magically meet the love of my life in a club was just a fairytale to me.

After finishing the last of my Captain and Coke, I sat the empty mug back down on the bar in front of me. The bartenders looked pretty busy, so I waited patiently for a refill. When the bartender finally made her way to me, I laid my money on the bar and she took my mug. Glancing around the dimly lit bar, I watched the other people interact with each other. Watching the guys make out with their girlfriends or potential hook-ups for the night did make me a little sad. Maybe someday I would find someone to be mine, but that wasn't happening tonight.

The sound of the full mug being placed back on the bar in front of me jolted me back to reality. The bartender laid my change down beside my drink. I slid the tip out, which she accepted and smiled at me while putting the money in her apron. Just as I picked the mug up and was about to sip from the straw, someone grabbed my arm. Startled, I turned and looked at the person. Thankfully, it was Jess standing beside me giving me a look that could kill.

"Hey," she almost screamed at me trying to talk over the music. "The band is almost done for the night. You should come dance with me."

Turning my head so my mouth was facing her ear I replied, "I'm not really feeling it."

We switched the positions of our heads, so her mouth was by my ear. She replied, "Come on Tyler, you can pretend to shake your skinny ass for a song or two."

I sighed and took another sip of my drink. I knew that she wasn't going to let this go regardless of what I said. Arguing with this girl was always a losing battle. As much as I didn't want to, I guess I could suffer for a little bit longer.

We reversed the positions of our heads once again and I spoke in her ear, "Fine. Just let me finish my drink quick. I don't want somebody dropping a Mickey."

After we switched again, this was getting annoying, she replied, "Okay, just hurry up."

I sucked the full mug through my straw as fast as I could handle. Drinking wasn't something that I had an issue with. However, sucking a drink down this fast was going to hit me harder. When the mug was empty once again, I sat it back down on the bar and covered it with my napkin. If this was going to happen, it was going to be now or never. Walking away from the bar, I followed Jess through the crowd to the dance floor.

As we squeezed our way in through the mass of people, I was getting bumped and touched in excess of my comfort level. However, since I told her that I would dance, I had to stay true to my word. She would never let it go if I backed out now. We stopped somewhere in the middle of the packed dancing area in front of the stage.

Unfortunately, dancing wasn't something that came fluently to me either. The best that I could do was shake my hips back and forth. Jess was behind me having a field day, throwing her arms around in the air and bumping into me. I was entirely too introverted to have fun in this situation. Although, I was trying to make the best of this. I shifted us around, so I was standing behind her. Trying to mimic the moves that she was making, I threw my arms in the air right after she did. I wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, but I was starting to loosen up and almost enjoy myself.

Since I was about 5'11" and Jess was a good six inches shorter than I was, I still had a pretty good view of the stage. Even with the crowd in front of us, I could still see the band. It was kind of hard to make out their faces in the dimly lit club. Although, every couple of seconds the stage lights flashed across their faces. The lead singer was hanging onto the microphone stand, leaning in different directions as he screamed into the mic. The guitar and bass players were bouncing around on the stage as they plucked away on their instruments. As for the drummer, he seemed to be the only decent musician on the stage. The beat to the song was great, it was the rest of the band that was ruining it. I couldn't seem to understand how Jess and the crowd in here enjoyed this band. Either way, I was just trying to make Jess happy and get through the rest of this long ass night.

After the band finished the song, the crowd cheered, clapped, and whistled. I clapped as well, although for a different reason. I was just thankful that abuse on my ears was over for a few seconds. Jess backed into me and I nonchalantly wrapped my arm around her stomach. She really was my best friend and perhaps in a different life, I could think of her of more than a friend. Unfortunately, the cards that we were dealt with made that almost impossible. Still, I was grateful to have her as a close friend. Especially since my family life was non-existent.

I snapped out of my thoughts when the lead singer started speaking like a normal person on the mic. "Thank you, everybody, for coming out to see us. This will be our last song of the night. Please follow us on Facebook to see where we'll be playing next. And of course, take care of the bartenders that have been pouring your booze all night."

The drummer clicked his drumsticks together three times and the band started playing their last song. I hated to admit it, but this had to be the best song that they played all night. It still wasn't what I would call good music; however, I could suffer through one last song. On the other hand, I still would have been miserable even if the music was good. This just wasn't my regular cup of tea. Anyway, at this point, I was looking forward to some quality time on my couch watching Netflix.

Strangely, I found my body shaking to the beat that the drummer was laying down. I just ignored the sounds coming from the rest of the band and focused on the rhythm of the drums. As my eyes closed, my arms started to move in rhythm with the rest of my body. Jess was still bumping her backside into me every couple of seconds, but luckily nobody else was. We continued like this until the song ended and the rest of the crowd started clapping.

I opened my eyes to find and an object flying in the air towards us. It was hard to make out in the dark room, but it was definitely heading right towards us. Not knowing exactly what it was, I put my hand up in front of me to protect my head. It could have been a beer bottle for all I knew. As the object got closer, I could start to make out the shape of it through the gaps in my fingers. The object was long, thin, and toppling end over end directly towards my head. Mentally bracing myself the impact, I stuck my other hand up to try to intercept the object.

The object was just about to me when I moved the hand in the air to stop it from hitting me in the face. All of this seemed like it was an eternity, but I knew that it was only a matter of seconds. After tumbling its last few feet in the air, the object hit square in my hand. Without thinking about it, I grasped my hand around it and brought it closer to my face. As I moved my other hand away from my eyes, I found one of the drummer's drumsticks in my hand.

Some of the patrons around me were patting me on the shoulders and congratulating me. Jess turned around and looked at me before screaming. She latched her arms around my back and squeezed as she jumped in front of me. All of this attention was starting to make me feel really uncomfortable. As if I didn't want to get out of this place already, now I was more than ready. I could feel my chest start to tighten up and it wasn't Jess causing it.

I bent my head down until my mouth was almost touching Jess's ear. "Can we get out of here now? I think that I've had enough for the night."

She nodded back at me and unwrapped her arms before backing away. Jess grabbed onto my free hand and led me through the crowd to the main entrance. I followed closely behind her while still holding the drumstick in my hand. The last minute or so seemed like an eternity, even though it all happened in the blink of an eye. I didn't even have time to think about any of it until we were standing on the sidewalk off to the side of the entrance.

The red velvet rope that contained the line going inside was now gone. A few people were standing off to the sides smoking. The warm summer wind blew through my hair and cooled my sweaty skin. As we stood there, the crowd started slowly emerging beside us.

Jess looked at me and asked, "I wonder who caught the other one?"

"The other what?

She replied, "The other drumstick, you goof. They're used as a pair you know."

I really hadn't thought about it until she mentioned it. Of course, it wasn't like I had tried to catch this one. It just magically seemed to land in my hand. Part of me did kind of wonder who caught the other stick. Some things were meant to be together and the drumstick in my hand was one of them. Right now though, I was way too tired to put any real thought into it.

"Oh yeah, I really didn't think about it. It was kind of a fluke that I caught it anyway."

She said, "Everything happens for a reason Tyler. Speaking of things happening, how does after bar breakfast sound?"

"Ugh, I just want to watch some tv and pass out."

Jess begged, "Pleasseee? We can go to the diner a few blocks away. They're usually pretty quick. I promise that I won't keep you out long."

I took a deep breath before replying, "Fine, but no more than an hour. I need my beauty sleep."

Jess hugged me before responding, "Thank you, Tyler. You shouldn't need that much time to sleep then."

I glared at her before we started walking down the street toward the diner. Jess always said that I was good-looking, but I didn't see it. To me, I just looked like an average guy. I stood at 5'11", with messy brown hair, and brown eyes. My frame was slender, but my muscles were defined enough that I wasn't necessarily weak. If she thought that I was attractive, then someday someone else would too. As we walked down the sidewalk, I twirled the drumstick in my hand.