Book of Love: Rini One Shots

Strangers in the Night

Summary: Two lonely strangers that come across one another on New Year's Eve end up going on one last adventure before the year comes to a close.

*Rini fluff*

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Ricky shivered as he walked down the cold streets of Salt Lake. This New Year's Eve had been excessively windy and icy, which is why he thought it was safer to walk the 3 miles it takes to get to the nearest pub instead of driving. It was for the best since he couldn't drive after getting hammered anyway.

When he opens the door to the bar, he's greeted with a gust of warm air conditioning, causing him to blissfully sigh. He looked around the premises, expecting a large crowd. Instead, he was met with an almost empty building, with the exception of the singular bartender and a person with their head hidden in their arms on the bar counter.

He sat down three seats away from the other customer and gave the bartender a smile.

The man grins at him. "Happy New Year, what can I get you?"

"Just a vodka tonic with extra lime for now, please."

"Coming right up." The bartender begins creating the drink before looking back up at Ricky. "So, any wild plans tonight? Apparently the whole city is going to some event this year."

"Well..." Ricky glances at the man's name tag. "Caleb, I'll have you know that this is my wild plan." Ricky played it off with a teasing smile, but he was hoping Caleb didn't notice his pretense. Luckily, he didn't, or he at least ignored it.

Caleb chuckles. "Nowhere to be, huh?"

Ricky sighs as he taps his foot. "Yeah, I didn't really want to spend another New Year's completely alone at home again."

Caleb places the drink in front of Ricky. "Do you usually spend it alone?"

"Well, yeah I guess I do. I don't really have anyone to celebrate it with."

"Well son, you're in the right place. Lonely people tend to end up here a lot, including myself. Stay as long as you like." The man abandons the conversation to go watch a football game airing on one of the TV's.

"Gee, thanks." Ricky says under his breath, sipping his liquor.

Suddenly, he heard snickering and realized it was coming from the person a few seats down from him. The laughing was eerie to him since he wasn't sure why they were giggling and because it sounded sinister.

He was reluctant to ask, but his curiosity got the best of him. "Um, excuse me?"

The person stopped laughing and waited for him to speak.

"What's so funny?"

The person slowly lifted their head from their arms and glanced over at him. He couldn't really see their face under the hoodie, but he could tell they were female.

"Your story."

He lifts a brow. "My story?"

The woman smirks. "Your story, it's hilarious to me." She continued to snicker, and it only made him upset.

"You think it's funny I'm lonely? That's pretty rude of you, especially since you don't know me."

Her smirk never falters as she reveals a little bit more of her face. "No, that's not what's funny." She removes the hood, disclosing her face to him.

His breath was taken away when he saw her. She couldn't be any older than 26, which was his age. She had loosely curled hair and side bangs, pink lip gloss, and winged eyeliner that made her stunning eyes pop even more. He didn't know what he was expecting under that hood, but it definitely wasn't a beautiful woman.