Glory and Gore

Dive Bar

It started with a girl's night.

Lucy had been far too focused on work lately; it had been weeks since she'd last seen Levy. And as Lucy's best friend, Levy couldn't simply stand by idly as her friend worked herself to death. No—Lucy needed a night off, one single night to let off all of the steam from work over a couple fruity drinks and pub food. Levy had arranged this night with Lucy nearly two months in advance—it was the first night Lucy had free from work—determined to get her best friend to lighten up, if only for a few hours.

It was a good idea, Lucy had thought. She had been overworked lately. She did need a break. But it wasn't easy for her to stop working; she absolutely adored her job. It was the job of her dreams, what she'd thought about as a child when she was bored. Journalism.

It was a rough industry to crack. You had to work hard, know the right people, make connections....all while constantly writing stories and blurbs at a consistently high quality output. It wasn't an easy job, but it was the perfect job for Lucy. She spent her mornings, afternoons, and evenings putting her entire heart and soul into her work. It kept her up at night, woke her up early. It was her entire world.

But one night off...it sounded nice. She could take one break and dive right into it. Hell, maybe she'd encounter something worthy of a story.

A girl's night.

A great idea. But Levy's execution was terrible.

Levy forgot. That's the trouble of booking one night two months in advance—you don't remember. She'd completely lapsed the memory that tonight was the night of their get together, and accidentally agreed to take the night shift at work.

She remembered eventually, but what was done was done.

Lucy let out a disappointed sigh, reading the apologetic text on her phone from Levy. "Working, huh?" Lucy murmured to herself, shaking her head. She glanced to her mirror, her eyes tracing over the outfit she'd chosen. Short, tight skirt and sky-high heels—she'd been planning to let loose tonight. Oh well. "Ironic."

She sighed again, thinking over her two options: take her dress and heels off, change into her pajamas and read a book in bed or go out anyways, have a good time, and let off some steam.

As much as she adored her job, Lucy had to admit that the constant work was taking a toll on her. She was getting stressed—too stressed—and eventually, something would have to break. Really, she needed this night out. For her health.

She grinned to herself as she walked to her door, high heels clicking on the wood floors.

A night out alone wasn't as fun as Lucy had initially thought.

She'd gone to the most popular club in the city; the line was long but the bouncer saw her walking by and allowed her to cut in. She'd gone inside, expecting to have an amazing night, but instead found herself rather uncomfortable.

The music was loud, the lights would range from blinding her to being practically nonexistent. People were dancing too close to her, crowding her, making her claustrophobic. Not quite finding the release she'd been searching for, she made her way to the bar; it took fifteen minutes for the bartender to notice her amongst the extremely large crowd, and the drink made for her tasted awful.

She left rather quickly.

Maybe this would be a good article, Lucy thought to herself as she made her way down the dark street, away from the club, Fiore's most overrated night out.

Lucy walked for god knows how long, putting off the task of going home. Because going home now meant admitting defeat—having a lame night off, putting on pyjamas, reading some cheesy book Levy had leant her. She pressed on, craving something more from tonight—although, she wasn't sure what it was she was after.