Say you'll remember me

2. Started with a stare

Everyone needs a break at some point and for Natalia that point happened to be late one Saturday night in a bar in Tomck, Russia.

The year was 1947, she had been hiding from red room for two years and she was now twenty three years old. Despite the fact that Natalia was no longer in red rooms custody, she was tired. She was tired of running, tired of fighting and tired of being alone.

Natalia was sat by herself slowly sipping her drink when she happened to catch the eye of a man across the bar.

He was staring at her.

Natalia was used to guys staring at her by now, it was normal, however there was something different about this one.

His stare wasn't filled with want or lust, it was just...friendly.

Natalia knew she should turn away but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

They both continued staring at each other from across the room and it soon became a silent battle; who would turn away first.

After about thirty seconds Natalia saw the mysterious man raise an eyebrow, challenging her?

Natalia smirked slightly at the thought and the staring continued.

After around forty seconds of eye contact the mysterious man finally raised his hands in surrender. Natalia saw him mouth the words "you win" across the room before he finally turned back to his drink.

Natalia smiled and did the same.

The night moved on and Natalia kept herself to herself as she quietly finished her drink.

Once her glass was empty she continued to sit in her seat, mainly because she wasn't ready to go out into the freezing cold yet.

She was looking down at her empty glass when she saw a figure sit opposite her, she looked up at him and bit back a smile.

It was the same guy from earlier.

"Hi", he spoke calmly.

"Hi", Natalia replied.

They looked at each other for a few seconds before the man spoke again.

"I was going to come over here earlier, you know, after our intense stare-off, which you won amazingly by the way, but I saw you already had a drink. I decided to wait until now so I could  offer you another", he explained.

This was new to Natalia.

She didn't normally talk to people, she kept to herself in order to stay hidden from the Red Room. But what harm could one drink do?

"Okay", she replied eventually.

"Alright then", the man smirked. He walked to go and get two more drinks.

Natalia watched as he left.

He seemed safe enough. He looked around her age or a little older.

He had a cleanly shaven face with medium-short brown hair. He was wearing simple clothes, just as she was. The only odd thing she could find about him was he fact that he was wearing a glove on one hand, only one hand.

After a few minutes the man retuned and handed Natalia her drink. She thanked him as he sat down opposite her.

"So can I know your name?" He asked.

Natalia smiled but knew she couldn't tell him her real name, it would put her at risk.

"Isabella", she answered. "What about you?"

The man sat opposite her was silent for a few seconds before he replied.

"Aaron."

Natalia nodded.

"So what do you do Aaron?" She asked, using his name for the first time.

"Well...I'm a bartender", he said confidently.

Natalia frowned.

"If you are a bartender then why are you the wrong side of the bar?" Natalia smirked.

Aaron smiled.

"I'm allowed a night off, aren't I? Anyway, Isabella, what do you do?"

Natalia thought for a second.

"I'm a secretary."

Aaron lent back in his chair.

"You are out very late for a person who should be at work."

Natalia smiled and looked Aaron in the eye.

"I'm allowed a night off, aren't I?"

They both laughed a little before taking a sip of their drinks and returning to their conversation.
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A/N
I hope this was okay, let me know if you liked it or if you have any other comments. 😊