The Darkness Between Us || [C.L.]

// t w o

Five cocktails and, now, two and a half glasses of wine in, and things had begun slowly spinning now. Not in a bad way, but in a way that seemed to make sense. It was giggly and fun and unpredictable, unlike the bar, which was a little too crowded and far too predictable. So Nina had excused herself to the back smoking area to catch some air and spark a cigarette.

She stood against the brick wall, a single leg leaning against it. In one hand, a half smoked cigarette, and in the other, an almost full glass of red wine. That was her favourite way to stand. There was something about it that made her feel like some sleazy detective in a 70s film; like she was right there, on the brink of existing and engaging, but never actually having to do it. Instead, she could observe. 'Wallflower', Marco had called her when they first met. She had told him to put down the Stephen Chbosky book and get back to doing his job.

"Do you have a lighter?" Asked a voice to the side of her. Without even so much of a glance, Nina put her cigarette to her mouth and reached into her trouser pocket, pulling out a black clipper and passing it over. After a few moments of consistent clicking, she turned to face the stranger. What she was met with was a head full of messy hair, leaning over a table. He glanced up, his green eyes meeting her stormy glare. Nina had expected to see a cigarette hanging from his lips. Instead, he had picked up an extinguished candle that had been sitting, abandoned, on the table between them and held it upside down, using Nina's clipper to try and light it.

"What the hell are you doing?" Nina blurted, wondering whether to laugh or genuinely question this boy's sanity. It was 1am on a Saturday night, or rather, Sunday morning. Why the fuck was he lighting a candle? A candle that wasn't even his? With a lighter.... that wasn't his?

"I thought some candlelight would be nice." He smiled. It was a nice smile, like, a really fucking nice smile. It lit up his whole face. In fact, it lit up the entire room, and before she knew it, Nina was smiling too.

"Right." She paused, reaching out and taking the candle from his struggling hand, lighting it, and setting it back down. "Any reason? Are you not allowed candles at home, or....?" He laughed this time, and that was even better than the smile. It was a hearty laugh, the kind that really sang. And yet again, Nina could do nothing but fall prey to his actions, and began giggling as well.

"Thank you." He beamed once the laughter had settled. "Don't worry, I'm allowed as many candles as I want. It's just I don't often find myself in the outside of a bar with a beautiful girl and a candle between us."

Usually, Nina would roll her eyes and walk away without a single word. She had had a lifetime of cheesy comments, especially with a best friend like Rosalie. She knew when to walk away, and this was certainly one of the times. But yet, her feet stayed planted, as if her body begged for one more moment alone with his smile.

"You were with that group earlier, yeah?" The question had spilled freely from her mouth. Why was she even entertaining this? Most likely the wine, it seemed to open her up a bit more. The messy haired boy nodded.

"You noticed me, then." Another smirk. Was he sweet? Or just cocky? Alcohol was making it hard to distinguish and blurring the lines that always seemed so solid. Nonetheless, Nina breezed right past the quip.

"You guys seemed popular." She teased. She wanted him to smile again, and he did, though not as wide as last time. It was now his turn to breeze past her comment.

"I'm Charles." He held out a hand. Very formal, she thought. Some people had noticed him in the smoking area now and had begun to whisper amongst themselves, slyly pointing over. He had noticed it too, and sunk back toward the wall, but his earnest gaze stayed focused on the girl in the suit that stood just behind the table.