Bri Blades P.O.V
I was having a bad day, a bad week to say the less. I was just fired from my waitressing job. I was only working there for 6 months, but it was the only thing that helped pay the bills. Now that I lost my job, I was going to lose my apartment too. I had no idea what I was going to do. I would probably have to go job searching soon, before I actually did lose my home.

For the meantime, I was just going to try to forget about everything else and let lose. I got out of the rain and opened the doors of the bar just down the street from my apartment building. I planned to drink the worry away for the night.

I sat down in front of a bartender and ordered a Heineken right away. The sooner I became drunk, the sooner I could forget about my troubles. He slid the cold bottle in front of me and I quickly reached for it, downing it as easily as I could.

I slammed the bottle down and asked for another. The bar tender gave me a crooked smile with his eyebrow raised as he continued to clean a mug.

“Bad day, I’m guessing?” He asked, setting the glass down and grabbed me another beer and opened it before handing it to me.

I shrugged and took a sip. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

He chuckled. “Well even if so, I don’t think it’s such a good idea to be downing that beer so fast.”

I gave him a look. “And why the hell not?”

He laughed and started to clean more glasses. “Well I’ve had my fair share of bad days. I’ve gotten plenty of experience with the massive hangovers I got all the time. Believe me, if you really want to relieve some stress, I would take it a little slower.” He winked.

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” I said, trying to refrain from rolling my eyes and took another long drink.

I heard him chuckle again. “I guess you don’t take too well to advice from strangers.”

I let out a fake laugh. “You’ve guessed right. Listen, thanks for your ‘advice’,” I said, using my hands to make quotation marks. “But I think I can handle myself.”

He smiled kindly. “Alright, I can see that. I apologize for bothering you.” He said, about to walk over to the other end of the bar.

I sighed. “No, wait. You don’t have to leave. I’m…sorry.” I struggled to apologize.

I was never good at apologies. I never made them if I didn’t mean it. I did this once, only because he was only trying to be nice and make conversation. I’m sure it was the only thing that he could do with this kind of job other than serving drunken bikers all day.

His smile turned into a grin. “Mmk, if you say so Miss.”

I was about to smile back, until he said that. I shook my finger at him. “Don’t even,” I began to glare. He gave me a confused look. “Do not call me that. I am not some proper English woman from the 19thcentury.”

He laughed again. “Sorry, I guess I just don’t see enough girls around here. This bar is usually filled with big, burly men who don’t seem to have any manners.”

“Are you flirting with me?” I asked bluntly. The alcohol was beginning to get to me.

He shook his head and blushed a little. “No, I’m just saying. It’s true, really. The only girl that ever shows up around here is Angela, who’s in the back right now. She’s another bartender.”

I nodded. “Oh, sorry.” Damn it, I caught myself apologizing again.

“Don’t worry about it. So, why has it been such a bad day? What happened?” He asked, leaning against the bar in front of me.

He was fairly cute, with medium brown hair pushed up into wisps at the front. He had hazel-green eyes that seemed very flirtatious but at the same time humorous. He was close to my age, which was 21.

I looked down at his name tag on his collar. “Well, David, I’ll ya if you really want to know.”

He chuckled. “Sure,”

I sighed. “Well, it all started when my rent bill came in and then today I lost my job to some hotter waitress. That and I kept showing up late for work every day, but that was only because my car broke down a week ago!” I began to raise my voice. He only continued to smile at me. “I even walked here in the rain!”

He glanced up at my wet hair. “I couldn’t tell.”

I smirked and took another sip. “Well anyway, now I don’t know how I’m going to pay my overdue bills.”

He shrugged. “I may have an idea.”

I gave him a confused look in return. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it turns out we’re hiring.” He gleamed.

I returned the smile, thinking it over. Was this guy really offering me a job, some girl that he had just met? I’ve never been a bartender before, but I was always up for trying new things.

“When do I start?” I asked.

“Tomorrow night, after six. For now you can finish your drink and I'll go get you another.” He said, before walking in the back for some reason, but I didn’t seem to care. I just got a new job.

I smiled to myself and continued to sip on my drink. I shook the bottle and realized it was only half empty. Why did he say he was going to get me another?

That’s when I heard someone sit down in the seat next to me. The scent of his cologne was strong enough for me to be positive it was a guy, most likely in his twenties. For this guy’s sake, he better not lay his damn hands on me.

Suddenly the door David had just entered burst back open and a dark-red haired girl came fuming to my part of the bar. At first I didn’t know how to react when she came up and slammed a beer bottle down in front of me.

“Is this what you asked for?” She glared at me.

I gave her a confused look but then glanced down at the Heineken. I looked back up to smile at her. “Yes, thank you very much.”

She returned with a smirk, but before she could say anything, David came back out. “Angela, stop it! Leave her alone and get back to work.”

What the hell was her problem? I guess this was the Angela David was talking about. Was she not happy that there would be another girl working here?

She exhaled for a minute and turned to the guy next to me. “Can I get you anything?” She asked, clenching her teeth to keep herself from snapping.

I looked at him through a side glance. All I could see was long black hair at his shoulders and that he was wearing a hat. “Uh, yeah, I’ll take what she’s having.” He said without looking away from the fiery redhead.

“Coming right up,” She flashed a fake smile and went to the back to get him his drink.

“Damn, what’s her problem?” The guy mumbled, but I was sure that he was still asking me.

I shrugged and avoided looking at him. I didn’t want to make eye contact, because if I did then I knew he would keep trying to speak to me, and I was in no mood to talk to some stranger, unless he was offering me a job, like David.

Though of course my big mouth couldn’t stay shut. I really did want to know what Angela’s problem was. It seemed as though she didn’t like that fact that tomorrow we would become coworkers.

“I don’t know, maybe she has her thong on too tight or something.” I muttered, keeping my voice down.

He snickered and also tried to keep from being too loud. Neither one of us wanted her to hear.

“Nice,” He laughed. “Who knows, you’re probably right. She doesn’t seem like the type to where granny panties underneath a tight skirt like that.”

I scoffed at his snide comment. “Ugh, of course you would notice.” I began to turn around. “You’re a pig just like every other man on this damn-”

My words caught in my throat when I looked into the brown eyes of a handsome man, who was smiling at me, waiting for me to continue calling him out. He was expecting it, especially after taking the effort to make such a comment to get my attention.

“Please,” He smiled, seeming amused. “Continue. I would love to hear your theory about me.”

I huffed and quickly looked away, not wanting to be caught in his beautiful gaze again. Seeing his eyes gave me the feeling that I’ve seen him from somewhere before, but I tried to ignore it. “Fuck off,” I told him and took another long drink.

“No, please.” He scooted a little closer. “Tell me, why do you think that every man on this earth is the exact same? Do we all act the same? Or is it that you have been so badly burnt in the past that you compare those who have ever hurt you to every other man?”

His words made me glance back up at him in shock. How would he know that? Was this just an effort to sway me into falling for his pathetic charm? Did he do this often and prey on women who sit alone in bars like this one?

“Didn’t I tell you to fuck off?” I threatened.

He only gave me a crooked smile and raised his hands. “No need to become hostile. I was only curious.”

“Yeah, well your curiosity is going to cost you a left nut if you don’t leave me the hell alone.” I made the threat even more clear.

His eyes widened and he backed off a little as Angela came back out with his drink. “Here ya go.” She sat it down in front of him, and then looked at me. Oh great, what was she going to say to me now? “Listen, I don’t know you, so I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

I looked up at her. “Is that supposed to be an apology?”

She sucked in a sharp breath and looked past her shoulder. That’s when I noticed David standing in the doorway and nodded for her to continue. Apparently he was making her do this.

“Yes. I’m…sorry.” She mumbled.

I smiled. “See, that wasn’t too hard. Apology accepted.”

She held herself back from smirking. “Good,” With that she pushed past David and went into the back room again.

“Well someone has got it out for you.” The guy remarked.

I snickered. “I can see that.”

He turned around to face me again and I rolled my eyes with a sigh. Now what was he going to try to sway me with? A verse from a poem, some famous movie line that he doesn’t think I’ve ever seen, or one of the classic, cheesy pick up lines that all men try to pull off as their own? Believe me, I’ve heard them all, and turned them all down with some sort of act of violence to keep it in their heads when I tell them to leave me alone.

“Don’t worry,” He said after he heard me sigh. “I am not going to try to flirt with you. I can see that you don’t want to be messed with right now-”

“Damn right,” I threw him a look, meaning he better hurry up and make his point.

He chuckled and continued. “But I would at least like to know your name.” When I gave him another look, he shrugged. “Come on, it can’t hurt to at least tell me your name.”

“If I tell you does that mean you’re going to start stalking me and eventually follow me into a dark alley and kill me?” I said sarcastically, but once I did say it, I realized that it could possibly be true.

He tried not to laugh as he took it as a joke and shook his head. “No, I promise. I’m not a killer, nor some sort of psycho path who preys on young women in bars.”

My eyes widened and he smirked. “Fine, if you must know. My name is Bri Blade.”

He gave me a questioning raise of his eyebrow. “Now is that even your real name, Miss Blade?”

It was my turn to smirk. “Is that even your real hair?” I asked, looking at his silky black hair.

He scoffed. “Yes, if you must know.” He mocked me and took a drink of his beer.

“What about you?” I asked, watching as his lips touched the rim of the bottle and began to lick my own mouth.

He set his drink back down. “My name you mean?”

“Yes, don’t be rude. I told you my name, now it’s your turn.” I struggled to look away, not just from his mouth, but those beautiful, captivating eyes. I just really hope he didn’t notice my infatuation.

“Brian,” He smiled and reached out to shake my hand.

I hesitated and questioned whether or not I should take it. Why was I letting him talk to me? Was he working his way to sway me? Was this a part of his plan?

He chuckled. “Oh come on. I don’t bite,”

I rolled my eyes and shook his hand. He unexpectedly pulled me in closer into him so he could whisper, taking my breath away. “Not hard.”

For the first time in my life, I was silent, speechless. I really didn’t know what to say. I’ve never had a guy make this kind of move on me before. Was I actually beginning to fall for it? His hand slowly reached up and he gently began to trace my jaw line with his thumb. He held my gaze the entire time with those beautiful eyes, and I honestly felt like I couldn’t breathe. Yep, I think he was definitely beginning to sway me. His eyes dropped down to my mouth, and as he was looking, I bite down on my bottom lip, the only trick I knew well. He took the hint and slowly leaned in to kiss me.

I was under complete shock, and I wasn’t even sure if I wanted this to happen or not. I didn’t know whether to kiss him back or punch him square in the face for making such a quick move on me. Though it was stupid of me, I began to kiss him back.

I have never kissed a random stranger like this before, nor have I ever planned to, but there was justsomething about him that pulled me in and made me want him all for myself.

As soon as I found myself lost beneath his warm, subtle kiss, ringing from a cell phone had sounded from somewhere in front of me. He quickly pulled away and groaned with annoyance as he pulled it out of his pocket.

He flipped it open to see who was calling and rolled his eyes before answering it. “What?” He snapped into the receiver.

I gave him an annoyed look but he didn’t notice as he turned and reached to take another drink. Seriously, was he really doing this right now, chatting on his phone when I wasn’t even ready for the kiss to end?

“I can’t right now Jimmy. I told you I left to get a drink and that’s exactly what I’m doing damn it.” He rolled his eyes as he continued to listen. “I’ll be back in the studio as I-”

With that, I couldn’t take it anymore and stood up to leave. It was so rude of him to just take a call like that when we were- Oh god, I couldn’t believe that I had just kissed him. I didn’t even know him! How could I have been so stupid, to let my guard down like that?!

“No, wait, Bri!” He called after me as I began to walk away. It took most of my strength to keep my feet moving and not turn around and actually wait for this man.

I heard him trailing behind me and caught my arm before I could make it to the door, where I could see that it was still raining through the glass. I definitely didn’t want to have to walk home in this, but I was willing to do anything to get away from him right now.

I sighed as he spun me around to face him. “What do you want from me?” I said through gritted teeth. I really just wanted to leave.

“Why are you leaving? Where are you going?” When I gave him a look, asking ‘Really, you don’t know why?’ he sighed and slipped his phone back into his jacket pocket. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m actually supposed to be somewhere else right now, but I really needed a break.” My expression didn’t change. “And now my friend Jimmy won't stop calling to check up on me. I left without saying anything, so now he and the others are kind of worried.” He shrugged, as if what he has said wasn’t a big deal to him.

I shrugged back and crossed my arms. “Well then maybe you should go back to them. I know I have somewhere more important to be.” I lied and opened the door.

The cold air shot straight through the door way and chilled me to the bone. I tried not to let him see me shiver as he tried to stop me again.

“No, please don’t go.” He pleaded. “I really am sorry. That was like his tenth call and was the first one that I answered. I knew if I didn’t this time, they were going to come searching for me.”

I sighed and turned back around. “It’s fine, but still, I need to head home. It’s getting late.”

“Well then when can I see you again?” He smiled softly, looking at me with those hopeful, beautiful brown eyes.

I smiled back. “Tomorrow,” I told him. “I’ll be here all day after six.” He nodded and promised that he would.

With that, I left and walked home in the rain. I couldn’t believe what I had done. I had never kissed someone I didn’t even know like that, but there was just something about him, something that had me thinking about him all night as I tried to sleep. I spent all night tossing and turning, but all I could do was picture his eyes, the touch of his soft lips against mine, the way my skin tingled as his hand touched my cheek. All I knew was that I couldn’t wait to see him again tomorrow.


“Bri, the guy at the end of the bar needs a drink!” David told me as he hustled to fill the orders that were quickly coming in.

It was my first day on the job as a bartender, and I’ll admit, I wasn’t very good at it yet. I rushed over and asked what the bearded man wanted and then fetched him a beer. The guy next to him ordered a plate of nachos as I was about to walk away to keep filling shots.

I didn’t even know they served food here until today. I nodded and pulled out the notepad from the pocket of my shirt that was a part of the uniform and quickly wrote it down. I handed the ticket to the cook in the back and as I was coming out of the door, I almost ran right into Angela as she was coming in, carrying a tray of dirty dishes.

“Watch it!” She seethed as she zoomed past, barely missing my head with that tray.

I had ducked just in time. “Sorry,” I mumbled, though I really wasn’t. I was actually wishing she would drop that whole thing on top of her head. Maybe the glasses would knock her unconscious…

“Bri!” David shouted as I walked back into the main room. “We need more drinks!”

We were having a really busy Friday night, and of course it had to be my first day on the job. I quickly came to his side and filled more shots and handed out more beers to the group of bikers that had strolled in 20 minutes ago.

As soon as it was time for my break, I made my way into the back room and sat down in the employee lounge, though it was nothing but a cheap leather sofa and a soda machine in a small, cramped room. I plopped down on and sighed as I slipped off my unbearable heals. I never realized how hard it was to be a bartender, especially on a busy night like this one.

The door opened and Angela came waltzing in. Oh great. I held back and refrained from rolling my eyes at her and tried not to look in her direction. She walked up to the machine and was getting herself something to drink. I slowly stretched out and took up all of the room on the small loveseat so she couldn’t sit next to me.

She turned around as soon as she got the can from the bottom and faced me, giving me a weird look as I had my legs strapped over the arm rest.

She let out a small smile, even chuckled, which wasn’t something I thought witches were even capable of doing. “Well, it sure looks like you can easily make yourself comfortable.”

I quickly sat up. “What is that supposed to mean?”

She gave me a look. “I didn’t mean it in any way. I guess you’re not having such an easy first day.”

I played her off with a shrug. “I’m fine,”

“Mhmm, I get it. Give me a little credit. I remember when I was that pathetic.”

“Excuse me?” I gawked.

She snickered. “Relax. I just mean, I remember my first day here too. It was hell. I looked like hell, kind of how you do at this moment.” I gave her a smirk. “And also, I just want to apologize for yesterday.”

I rested my head against my fist as I leaned into the couch, waiting for an explanation. “Go on,”

She gazed down at the pop can and played with the tab. “I couldn’t help but get angry. I thought you were flirting with my boyfriend.”

“What are you talking about?” I got defensive. “The only person I was talking to before you stormed in and yelled at me was David.”

She looked up and gave me a pointed look. That’s when it hit me. At first I was afraid to think that she was talking about Brian, but then I reminded myself that she was angry with me even before I spoke a word to him.

“Oh,” I said, coming to realize that she and David were a thing, a couple. It was almost hard to imagine. I couldn’t picture them together, cuddling up on the couch or even kissing. This girl didn’t look like she had a compassionate bone in her body.

“Yeah,” She nodded. “But that’s fine. David explained everything to me. Like I said, I get it. It’s hard, making it out on your own, jobless. I’ve been there, done that.” She waved the thought off.

I could have snapped at her again, told her that she had no idea what I have been through. She didn’t know me, but I held myself back and told myself that this was her way of apologizing.

I shrugged. “It’s fine. I understand. I would have probably kicked any girl’s ass for even talking to my boyfriend.” I gave her a crooked smile.

She let out a laugh and shook her head. “Yeah, I guess I can just be a little…territorial, as David calls it.” She rolled her eyes. “So we’re cool?”

I gave her a real smile and nodded. “Yeah, sure. Why don’t we just start over?”

“That’d be nice.” She said and came to sit down next to me. I gladly scooted over and before I knew it, we were talking for our entire break time while David and another bartender took over. It didn’t take long for Angela to become one of my best friends.

I waited all night for Brian, but he never showed. The whole time I worked the bar, I kept my eyes locked on the front door, hoping that every time someone walked in, it would be him, but it never was.

Did he just completely forget about me? Maybe he didn’t show because I meant nothing to him, and because he got what he wanted yesterday, he didn’t have any other reason for coming. Why would he lie and promise me that he would show up? To hurt me?

I felt so stupid for letting my guard down like that yesterday, for kissing him! I hated myself so much for that. Why did he have to be so good looking? I couldn’t stop thinking about him! Every time I even looked at another guy, I could only see his face.

I couldn’t let this happen again. I was never going to let a guy in like that ever again. Since then, I had built up a wall that no one was going to be able to tear down. The only people I could ever trust were my new friends Angela and David. Ever since I met them, life has been a little better for me, but even in my short moments of happiness, sorrow and anger took over when once again, I thought of him.

Would I ever get over Brian? I didn’t believe in love at first sight, not until I had first seen him sitting next to me that night. I believe in it now, and I believe that the one person who was supposed to be my true love had truly broken my heart.

Notes

Okay, sorry this one is a little longer than my first published one shot parts. This story isn't finished yet but soon I will post the next part in Brian/Syn's P.O.V. I hope you guys like it so far :)