asset [h.s.]

forty six // night off

Harry

"What happened to the whole idea of not drinking your problems away?" Alicia asks me as we make our way into the bar.

"You're not drinking them away, you're just taking a break, forgetting about it for a while," I tell her, pushing open one of the doors for her to walk through, following her afterwards. "Are you saying you don't deserve a drink or two after everything you've been through?"

"No, of course not," she replies with a small laugh. "I deserve a bloody bucketful."

"Exactly," I say, placing my hand on the small of her back as we walk through the bar. She just lets out a small sigh, clearly giving in, which I'm pleased about. The reason I brought her here is because she deserves it, she deserves to let loose and actually have some fun for once. God knows her life lately has been anything but.

"I just need to go to the toilet, order me a drink?" she asks and I nod, pulling my hand away from her back so she can push her way over to the toilets.

I head over to the bar, finding a free stool and climbing onto it. I tap my fingers against the bar as I wait for the bartender to finish serving someone else before I order Alicia and I a round of shots. While I wait, I turn around to rest my back against the bar, my eyes curiously scanning the rest of the room. It's quite busy in here, not packed so much you can't move, but it's still loud enough to barely be able to hear someone talking next to you, which just makes it even louder as most people have to shout over one another.

I'm in the middle of watching two people do just that when my attention is brought over to some commotion in the corner, right outside the toilets. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion as I watch, noticing some guy who's clearly drunk trying to chat up some girl, his friend next to him seeming to be trying to pull him out of the bar to stop his boisterous behaviour. I'm about to look away again, disinterested, when the guy moves slightly, and I finally see the girl he's trying to chat up. My girl.

I'm out of my seat like a shot, my fists already clenched as I make my way over, although seeing the situation more closely doesn't do anything to help my anger. My eyes find Alicia first, finding her pressed up against the wall, which at first glance, I think she's doing to keep distance between them, however I soon discover this guy actually has his hands on her waist, holding her there. Anger floods through me and I quicken my pace, carelessly pushing people out of my way.

"Oh, sweetheart, I promise you I'm pretty fun," I hear the guy leer at her as I move closer, his comment causing Alicia's face to screw up in disgust.

"I said get off me," she snaps, trying to push him back, but seeing as he's a big grown man, he manages to overpower her.

"Come on, man, leave her and let's get out of here," his friend beside him says, trying to pull him away too but to no avail.

"Fuck off, Nathan, stop being such a cockblock," the guy says and Alicia's eyes widen in shock, clearly realising just what this man's intentions really are.

"You're really drunk," the other guy, Nathan, continues, obviously hoping to persuade him. "Let's just go, and you can go home and go to sleep. That's what you really want."

"No, what I really want is to give this pretty little girl the night of her life," the guy chuckles darkly and I physically feel my stomach churn.