[Fiction] On nights like this

[Looking4somename]

Note: the character telling this story is female

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Part 1

On nights like this I tend to wander.

Though it can’t be much past 7pm it’s already dark outside. The pouring rain makes the scene even gloomier and I settle for another night of wandering around the dark streets of the city.

I don’t consider myself a loner, but on nights like this I am always restless. Something in me is always searching for something... something exiting, something unique, something that isn’t as boring as the rest of my life.

Somewhere down the street I notice a neon sign. A few of the letters are turned off but I understand it’s a local pub. I don’t think I ever noticed it before, than again, it seems like the sort of places no one ever notices.

On a whim, I decide to take a look inside. The rain is picking up anyway and I wouldn’t want to get pneumonia. I let myself in and notice the place is as gloomy on the inside as the street is outside. Either way, the rain stopped pouring on me, so I might as well stay inside for a while.

Taking a look around I notice the place is relatively empy. There are a few guys sitting around the bar and two couples in the back, but that’s as much as I can see. I ask the bartender for a beer and choose a small table in a dark corner, sipping on it slowly and not drawing any attention to myself.

A few minutes have passed and I start feeling unease, I sense there’s someone close by but can’t really see anyone. Shrugging it off doesn’t help and I start looking around me, without much seccess. I was just going to admit to myself no one’s around when I hear someone calling out for me. “You’re looking for me” he says, and I notice he’s sitting not too far off, in another dark alcove. He’s in his late 20’s and wearing all black, which might be the reason I never noticed him before.

I decide to ignore him and return to my beer. The mystery is gone and things are boring yet again. It takes me a few minutes to finaly lift my look up again and I let out a little surprised scream. He’s sitting right infront of me, looking at me expectantly, and by the look of things, he’s been sitting here for a while.

“You were looking for me” he says again. I must admit it gets a little creepy, but creepy is interesting, and interesting isn’t as boring as what I had before.
“I guess” I say uncertainingly, noticing he is still staring right the my eyes. Trying to break eye contact, I return to my beer. “I’m not sure you understand”, he says. “You were looking for me when you went out this evening”.

Now this is just weird, mister, I think for my self, but find myself asking instead “Why would you think so?”

“You were looking for excitment”, he says, “and now you found it”. “You are desperate for excitement, for meaning, for pleasure. For someone to move your life ahead, give you purpose”.

I blush and stare at my drink again. ‘How could he tell’, I think to myself. I blush again. I’m sure the stranger notices me blushing. It’s not that difficult. My skin so pale you could notice me blushing before I even realized it, and the way it clashes with my auburn hair must make my entire face seem flushed. I lift my gaze again and notice he’s still staring at me. “You’re right”, I say, blushing again and returining my gaze to my drink.

“Of course I’m right”, he says. “The interesting question is what are we going to do about it?”

I’m confused and I don’t know what sort of answer he expects me to give, so I settle for silence. A few seconds pass and the silence is starting to get to me. I feel unease again.