For a good amount of time, my eyes were locked with the alluring blonde across the room, who continued to smile at me until I tore my attention away from him. He couldn't have been much older than myself, although his youthful complexion meant it was difficult to tell. Not that I cared in the slightest, of course. I was too distraught and overwhelmed by everything else to give a shit.

So I dismissed him, and slipped back into my thoughts as I gulped down another mouthful of vodka. Now, I had a high alcohol tolerance, but by this point I was starting to feel pretty tanked up and I seriously considered leaving, but before I had the chance, the presence of someone standing next to me at the counter stopped me in my tracks.

'Anyone sitting here?' the blonde lad asked, referring to the stool beside mine.

I shrugged, uninterested, 'Nope.'

As he placed his drink down and sat next to me, I was able to analyse his appearance better closer up. He was of average height, although definitely taller than myself. His short, slightly wavy hair, was tousled, and his neatly trimmed sideburns accentuated his prominent jawline all the more.

His nose and mouth matched the rest of his facial features, and not a single imperfection adorned his skin. His dress sense was casual but smart, with his shirt opened at the top, revealing his tanned chest and his velvet jacket which he made look so good. But his eyes. His eyes were something else. If I dared look into them for longer than a second, I feared being hypnotised. In simple terms, this man was 'perfect', as I think most people would agree. But I wasn't about to fall for his devilish good looks anytime soon.

'So,' he spoke up again, 'What's a gorgeous woman like yourself doing in a dive like this all on your own?'

I scoffed at his attempt at being flirtatious, 'I could ask you the same thing, pretty boy. What's it to ya?'

He shrugged dismissively, although I could tell he was highly entertained by my remark, 'Just trying to make conversation. It's called being polite.'

'Yeah, well, I'm not really in the mood for talking right now. So, you might as well find some other girl to chat up because I am not interested.' I put bluntly.

'That'll be a challenge in a pub full of men,' he smirked, whilst I rolled my eyes. He then suddenly thrust his hand out towards me, 'My name's Roger. Might I have the pleasure of knowing yours?'

Hesitating for a moment, I just looked down at his hand blankly, then to him, then back to his hand again. Knowing I was going to be stuck here talking to this stranger for a while whether I liked it or not, eventually I reached my hand out and placed it firmly around his, 'Charis.'

'Charis,' he repeated as he raised an eyebrow at me and smiled, 'Very sophisticated.'

Rolling my eyes again, I finished my drink and slammed the empty glass down on the counter, maybe a little too forcefully. Roger jumped slightly at the sound.

'Shit day?'

I shrugged, 'That's one way of putting it.'

'And you're hoping that drinking away your problems will help you solve them, yes?' he asked.

'No. But but it helps to forget about them for a while, at least.' I replied, crossing my arms and leaning on the counter.

'You can't be this miserable all of the time,' he noted, 'What's got you down?'

I gave him a suspicious side-glance, 'Again - what's it to ya?'

He shrugged, 'I hate seeing people so depressed. And I couldn't help but notice your distressed demeanour from across the bar. Thought my boyish charm might cheer you up.' he observed whilst I beckoned the bar man and ordered yet another drink. He was quick to refer to that, 'Must be something serious, by the looks of it.'

Taken rather aback by his impudence, I glared at him and snarled through gritted teeth:

'Yeah, well, you'd be feeling pretty shit if you found your partner having sex with some slag in your bed too, wouldn't you?'

A look of surprise and then pity appeared on Roger's face whilst I stared down at the counter, biting hard on my lip as angry tears that I'd been holding back for a while threatened to fall.

It didn't feel real yet - what I'd come across in my boyfriend Stephen's house just hours beforehand. To put a long story short, I went to his place after work, as I finished a bit earlier than usual. Having been with him for 3 years, when I arrived I just let myself in, completely unaware of what was going on up in his bedroom.

After searching endlessly for him, I eventually heard mysterious noises coming from upstairs, only then going to investigate his room, and what I stumbled upon when I opened the door was something I would never want to stumble upon again. Let's just say, I wasted no time in getting out of that house as fast as I could, despite Stephen's pleas to let him explain himself (not that there was anything to explain). And after spending a good hour sitting on a park bench sobbing my heart out, I hit the town, finding no other solution than to find the nearest bar and drink until I forgot his name. It was pathetic, really.

But as soon as I'd finished my outburst, I instantly felt guilty about snapping at Roger so I turned my head towards him, but struggled to bring myself to look him in the eye.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-'

'No. No, forget about it,' Roger waved his hand dismissively, 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry into your business, or wind you up. That was totally uncalled for. God, you must think I'm a right knob.'

'It's alright,' I said quietly, 'And no, I don't. It's not really what you said which pissed me off as such, it's...just...'

Before I could continue or think of words to complete my sentence, Roger nodded and replied understandingly, 'I know.'

There was a long, awkward pause between the two of us for at least a couple of minutes as we sat there unsure of what to say next. Thank god for the commotion in the rest of the pub, because if there wasn't, I think the silence would have been unbearably painful.

I was surprised he didn't leave at that point, but luckily, Roger spoke up again, breaking the silence and reigniting the conversation.

'Allow me to buy you a drink. To say sorry for my arrogance.'

I shook my head, 'You don't have to do that.'

'No, no. I insist.' he said, as he beckoned over the bar man, 'It's the least I can do. What are you drinkin', Charis?'

I thought carefully about Roger's offer for a moment, not entirely sure if I should accept. The right decision would be to decline, and to leave before I ended up in a worst state than I already was. But then again, did I really want to go home to a cold, empty flat, with just my agonising thoughts for company? I soon decided against that, and for the first time tonight, a small smile appearead on my lips whilst the blonde waited patiently for my reply.

'Whatever you're drinking, Roger.'

-

Hello again, hope you're all well!

Writing short chapters is so much easier omg, I'm enjoying this way more than my usual 10-20 pages long ones. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and if you did a vote/comment would be brilliant.

Oh, and a little side note: the name 'Charis' is pronounced 'KA-RISS' as far as I'm aware, so if weren't sure hopefully this clears things up for you.

Thanks again and Happy Halloween! 🎃

- Anna :-)