𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓: 𝘕𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘹 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

𝐒𝟏:𝐄𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝟏𝟎

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The soft, golden glow of lights above cast a warm ambience over the bar, creating a comforting retreat from the world outside. The air was filled with the soothing hum of chatter, clinking glasses, and the distant murmur of laughter. You're sitting on a worn leather stool, his hands slowly moving round and around repeatedly with the straw in your hand, eyes fixed on the door. Your eyes dart to your phone every two seconds, wondering if Annalise and Darios just forgot. You shiver slightly as another chilling breeze crawls up your bare legs, your denim skirt riding up your legs yet again. Annalise saw an opportunity for the three of you to get to know each other better. So here you were, a late Thursday night patiently waiting for them to arrive.

"Hey girl sorry we're late." You hear a familiar voice approaching you. The two friends had made it, 20 minutes late. Annalise pulls you in for a warm hug, her scent, a blend of warmth and freshness, mixing with the bar's fragrance of aged oak and various cocktails enters your nose. Not far behind, Darios saunters in, a leather jacket loosely sitting on his shoulders, his hair dishevelled from the wind. He pulls you in for a welcoming hug as well, the three of you now properly introduced.

"I don't know about you guys but I am in desperate need for a drink." Annalise states before leading the way and walking towards a booth which we all follow. The low, sultry notes of jazz or blues music drift from hidden speakers, providing the perfect soundtrack to the late-night meeting. "Ugh, I'm freezing." She groans once we're all seated at the wooden table, the cold wind more evident in this part of the bar with the windows wide open to air out the filled bar.

"Remember that time we got stuck at that cabin." Darios chuckles and his eyes meet Annalise's as they share a knowing look.

"Oh my God! So basically what happened was I found a discounted weekend hiking trip. We kind of had to hike up to our cabin then go back after. It was so long." She explains to you, rapt up in the story.

Darios let out a knowing laugh. "I still can't believe you agreed to go."

"I know, right? Anyways, we got up to our cabin, and there was like a snowstorm, so we were trapped."

Her face crinckles into a mock frown as Darius chimes in, "Annalise was crying because of how stressed she was."

"It didn't help when you kept talking about how we were gonna eat each other to stay alive," Annalise retorts.

Darios continues the story, "But anyways, it was really bad because we had no signal, so we kinda had to wait for the people who were in charge of the trip to count and realize that we were missing before they came to rescue us. Ever since then, Annalise has sworn to never hike again."

"So if you don't really like hiking why did you go in the first place?" You ask her, intrigued by their story.

"Because it was discounted." she replies seriously, with no trace of sarcasm or satire in her voice, it is probably the fact that she is so serious that makes you crack a smile. The atmosphere is lively, and the warm ambience of the bar seems to make you want to tell them your deepest dark secret.

"That reminds me of the time that me and my best firned waited after school to prank a teacher and it turns out we got locked int he school and I had to beg my mum into letting us out. Sh waas furious and I was grounded but looking back now it was so worth it." You laugh lightly at the fond memory, slightly missing your best friend, she's like your glue.

"Everytime you tells us a story it's always somethig really crazy, how mny lives have you lived?" Darios asks a little intruiged by your persona.

"RIght? I'm wondering what else has happened to you thta we should know about." Annalise asks, resting her head in her hands as she leans forward,

"Well-" You start off only to suddenly get cut off completely by a loud, collective gasp as all the people in the bar move out of one area. A clamour is created as glass shatters and chairs overturn.

"What's going on?" You ask them, stretching your neck further up in hopes of getting a better view.

"A fight." Darios answers trying to observe what is going on. The grim sound of punches being thrown and landing on jaws, faces, and stomachs seem to amplify over the music still being played in the background, which now sounds like an incoherent jumble of words. The two men wiggle off the staff members who attempted to break off their fight, instead the two wrestled each other deeper into the pub, people moving out of the way. Now that they're closer you can see the whole thing up close, it was a swirl of clenched fists, shuffling feet and crashing bottles as they swung each other around.

"This is totally so crazy." Annalise grins, sneaking a couple photos and videos on her phone, " What for memories?" she shrugs as you and Darios look at her dumbfounded. Another loud punch reverbs throughout the bar as the other holds his face in agony, blood spewing out and dripping all over the floor. Soon enough security arrives and guides the bloody and bruised men outside, breaking the fight. The chaos subsides and you blink yourself back into reality after being so immersed in the fight.

Darios eyes are still glued to the spot the men once were, reliving the moment in his head, "Wasn't expecting this to happen tonight.