A New Balance

A Bar and a Man Named Dave

"Woah. This place is sketchy as hell. I get why you want to leave now," Blake said, walking down the hallway of Ruth's apartment with her. Ruth chuckled and nodded. "Yeah... it's pretty bad," she agreed. When they got to her apartment, Ruth unlocked the door and they both entered. Her apartment was already packed and ready to go.
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About a week or so after the interview, the guys finally agreed to let Ruth move in. Though Anders wasn't a huge fan of the idea, he agreed in hopes that his friends would quickly realize that inviting Ruth into their home was a mistake and he could say "I told you so." On the other hand, Adam and Blake were excited to have a new roommate that they both liked. Blake, though, was probably the happiest. He wasn't quite sure why yet though. All he knew was that she made him happy and comfortable and that they understood each other.
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"As you can see, everything is packed and ready to go," Ruth told Blake. He nodded and smiled. "Noice," he said. Ruth got a text and checked her phone. "Crap," she said, "Karl's still gonna be picking the boxes up, but he's gonna be late... apparently he had a problem with some cats." She sighed and looked back up at Blake. "Well... I guess we'll have to wait a bit before I can move in," she said, then had a thought. "Wanna get a drink?", she asked. Blake smiled. "Hell yeah!", he replied.

The two got into Ruth's car and went to a nearby bar. Blake knew before even entering that the bar was pretty small and divey. "Dude, this place is so cool!", he said with a big smile. Ruth smiled back, loving his enthusiasm. "I'm glad you think so. I actually come here a lot with Karl," she explained. For some reason, that made Blake a bit upset, but he pushed past it and forced himself to keep smiling as they walked over to the bar and sat down on stools. "So... you are Karl are pretty close, aren't you?", Blake asked. Ruth nodded. "Yeah," she said, "well, we went to the same high school, so we've known each other for awhile. Plus, he was held back a couple years, so we were in the same graduating class." Blake nodded, taking in the information.

"Hey," Ruth said, catching the attention of the bartender, then ordered the two of them drinks. She took a sip from her beer. "Karl and I were probably the biggest losers at our school, but we always stuck together," Ruth said with a chuckle. Blake smiled. "That's really cool," he said, then paused to take a sip of his beer. "But... uh... you two aren't like a thing or whatever, right?", he asked with an awkward chuckle. Ruth raised an eyebrow. "Huh?", she said. Blake chuckled again. "You two aren't like banging or dating or whatever... right?", he said, trying to seem casual, but he clearly cared. Ruth paused, unsure why he was suddenly so awkward, then realized that her silence was just making things weird. "Uh... no. Never any of that stuff. He's a good friend, but I'd never... y'know? He's just... not my type, I guess," she explained with a nervous chuckle before taking a sip from her beer.

Blake tilted his head. "Then what is your type?", he asked, now more curious than nervous. Ruth, however, became more nervous. 'How am I supposed to have this conversation without embarrassing myself?', she thought. "Uh... I guess... I don't know," she said, biting her lip nervously, but trying to maintain some semblance of a smile. "Well, what type of men have you dated?", Blake asked, making her even more nervous. She hesitated for a second, before deciding to just tell him the truth. "I've never dated anyone, okay?!", she shouted, catching the attention of the people around them.

Blake looked around uncomfortably and mouthed "sorry" to everyone before turning back to Ruth, who now had her face buried in her hands. Blake smiled softly at Ruth and leaned in closer to her so that no one else could listen in. "Hey... I've never dated many people, either," he admitted. Ruth looked up at him. "Really?", she asked timidly. Blake nodded. "Yeah," he said, slightly embarrassed to be telling her. He took a sip of his beer to calm his nerves.

Ruth studied his face to make sure he wasn't lying. She felt a sense of comfort rush over her when she realized that he was telling the truth. Ruth warmly smiled at Blake. "Thank you," she said. Blake looked at her. "Yeah... no problem," he said with an anxious smile and a shrug.

Blake and Ruth ended up getting pretty drunk after that.

Ruth laughed drunkenly. "I can't believe I'm going to be, like, living with you," she said. Blake nodded, just as drunk. "Yeah... it's crazy... but you know what's even crazier?", he asked. Ruth shook her head. "No. What is it?", she replied, almost falling out of her chair. "That you've never dated anyone!", Blake said, throwing up his arms. "Why is that crazy?", Ruth slurred. Blake took another sip from his drink before answering. "Because you're, like, so awesome," he said. "Awww! Really?!", Ruth asked as though incredibly touched by Blake's compliment. Blake nodded. "Of course! You're like the most awesome-est person I've ever met!", he exclaimed.

Ruth shook her head and pointed to Blake. "No, you are the awesome-est person ever!", she told him. They both took a big sip from their drinks, then Ruth turned back to Blake. "And I love your hair!", she exclaimed. Blake put his hand over his heart as though touched. "Awww! Really?! Thank you!", he took another sip, then continued, "I really love my hair too! I feel like it's, like, the best part of me!"

Just then, a tall, bald man walked up behind Ruth and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey," he said with a smirk, "Can I buy you a drink?" Ruth and Blake both looked at him. "Uh... I can't see why not!", Ruth said with a drunken smile. The man bought her a drink and then turned back to her, leaning on the bar. "So... what's your name, honey?", he asked flirtatiously. Blake began to feel upset the way he felt before again, but this time he was too drunk to keep from showing it. He didn't realize it, but he was scowling at the man talking to Ruth.

Ruth, though, was still smiling. "My name's Ruth," she said, "What's yours?" The man smirked cockily. "I'm Dave," he said, then leaned closer, "How 'bout we get out of here?", he asked. That's what set Blake off. He stood up, knocking over his stool. "Hey, bro! Leave her alone!", he shouted. Ruth turned to Blake and continued to smile. "It's okay, Blakey! He's just trying to be my friend," she said, then turned back to Dave. "Right?!", she asked, looking for him to back her up. He looked confused. "Uh... no... I'm trying to bang you," he told her. Ruth's eyes widened in surprise and Blake's face became red.

"You can't say that!", Blake shouted at the man before swinging at him and missing (he was very drunk). The man then became angry too and punched Blake. He, however, didn't miss and knocked Blake out cold.