Always You - Sebastian Stan x Female!Reader

Chapter 4 - The Game

New Brunswick, New Jersey - May 2002

Y/n's shift at the book store was about to end. She rechecked the money in the till and compared it to the receipts from sales that day. After she was sure that the amount was correct, she put all of the money in a safe, locked it and put it back to a safe place in the back room only she and the book store's owner knows. As she came out of the back room the door to the book store opened. Michael came in right on time to pick her up.

"Hey babe, you ready to go?" Michael called out to her.

"Yeah. Let's go." Y/n replied. She put on her cardigan and grabbed her bag. Then she went out of the book store and locked the door behind her.

"Where are we going tonight?" Y/n asked Michael.

"Scarlet Pub, the usual, where else?" Michael answered.

It was a Friday night. Michael and his friends usually went to Scarlet Pub to hang out. Y/n usually just tagged along. She was actually kind of tired. She had two final exams that day and was kind of sleep deprived due to all the last minute studying she had to do the night before. But Michael had asked her to come along and she didn't have the heart to say no. Besides, it was the last day of the semester. She would have plenty of time to sleep for the next couple of months until the new semester started.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at Scarlet Pub. She could see many people entering the pub under the bright red neon light of the pub.

Michael opened the door for her and they were greeted by the sight of many college students in the pub. Apparently they all had the same idea on how to spend the last day of the semester.

Michael grabbed y/n's hand and guided her towards one of the booths in the pub. His friends were already there. She could see Chad and his girlfriend Maya. Charlie, Edward and his girlfriend Mary, as well as Sebastian. She also saw Shannon her roommate and Rose, another one of Michael's classmates. Since she dated Michael, she ended up hanging out a lot with his classmates, the Theater Acting kids. Not to mention her roommate herself was also a Theater Acting major. So it was inevitable that she ended up hanging out with them. She did have friends from her major, but she rarely hung out with them.

"Hey guys. What's up." Michael greeted his friends as he sat on an empty seat in the booth. Y/n took the seat next to him. As it happened, Sebastian was sitting on a seat next to her.

"Hey y/n. Just finished your shift at Hidden Gems?" Sebastian greeted her.

"Yeah." She answered, smiling at him.

She and Sebastian had grown close. He sometimes came over to Hidden Gems and accompany her during her shift. He and y/n shared a love of books she could never share with Michael. Despite their closeness they were just that, friends. She could sometimes sense Michael was jealous. Just like that night. But he really didn't have anything to be jealous about. She did have a crush on Sebastian when they first met. But after knowing him for almost a full year, she just saw him as a great friend. One she could share her love of books with. That was all. Sebastian was also still seeing his girlfriend that he had started dating when he was still in high school. He sometimes brought her to New Brunswick to meet with his friends, including her. And it seemed they were still going strong despite her going to NYU. So she really didn't understand why Michael would be jealous of him.

"Hey babe, could you get me a beer and fries please? Kind of thirsty and hungry here." Michael said to y/n when he saw Sebastian started talking to her.

"Oh yeah, of course." Y/n replied.

"Do you guys want anything?" She asked the group.

"No, we're fine. Thanks y/n." Charlie said.