Fortuitous » h.s

Chapter 1 - Harry

I'd lost the rest of the guys a while ago. Ordering a beer from the bartender, I made my way through the club. I checked my phone - it was just past midnight. Finding a corner of the club that wasn't full of couples snogging proved to be difficult, however I found a place secluded enough for some personal space. I wasn't even that drunk, assuming that would change in the next hour or so. Since I wasn’t in the mood for dancing, I found an empty booth and sat down.

I sat my beer gently down on the table, and looked around. There was the usual dancing, musky air, and shouting. I noticed a redheaded girl talking to a man, a much older than myself. It was obvious the man was wasted, the way he swayed from side to side, but the girl seemed alert and alcohol-free. Fear flashed across her eyes and I watched them, now interested. The guy whispered something into the redhead's ear and she shivered. The person then shoved her into a wall, and I could see the girl trying to get away from him. It took me two seconds to realize what was going on, even though I knew it was wrong to get involved.

I stood up and walked briskly, moving bodies out of my way as I approached the two. The girl noticed me, and confusion set her features as I stepped up to the man. "Hey, it doesn't look like she likes that." I said firmly. The guy growled and turned towards me. The man swayed lightly, struggling to keep steady, keeping a firm grip on the girl. Something must have clicked in her head because recognition crossed her features when she looked at me again, but she remained silent.

"And it's your business because?" The man growled. His empty fist tightened and his muscles went rigid. He pulled his fingers through his greasy hair as his beady eyes stared into my own.

I turned to the redhead girl. "Do you know this man?" I asked. She weakly shook her head no, her ginger hair bobbing from side to side. I grabbed the man roughly and pulled him off of her. She immediately got off the wall and made an attempt to fix her disheveled dress.

The man managed to keep his balance using the wall. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" The man growled. He threw a punch at me, hitting me square in the jaw. It was pretty decent for a drunken punch and I knew if he was sober I couldn't take him on. I staggered back a few steps before regaining myself and throwing a punch at his nose, he fell to the ground. I gave him a firm kick in the groin before assessing him quickly. The idiot was unconscious... Or asleep, it was a hard to tell.

I turned to the girl again. "Are you alright?" I asked her.

"Yeah... I guess so." Her voice was soft, shy. "I need a drink," She muttered under her breath.

I extended my hand out, giving off my best flirty smile. "May I buy you one?" The redhead blinked before tentatively placing her hand in mine as I lead her through the club towards the bar, forgetting about my unfinished beer at the table.

We took a seat and made small talk. The whole time, I took in everything about her. Her long, wavy ginger hair that was pulled back into a loose bun, with her bangs falling over her delicate face. The way her blue eyes shone. How I was making her laugh without even trying, even if it was at me doing something stupid. She said she'd heard One Direction, and definitely recognized me, and I think what caught me the most about this girl was that she didn't treat me differently because I was who I was. As cliché as it sounds, those type of people (particularly girls) were hard to come by. Later I learned her name was Aubrey and she was in University studying law. I could definitely see her as a lawyer.

Before I knew it, we needed to part ways. It felt as if no time had passed, yet we'd talked for about an hour. I knew she'd probably only remember me as the guy she met at the bar, however I didn't want to remember her as that, I wanted to see her again.

"Hey, may I borrow your phone? I need to check the football scores and mine’s dead." I said, shrugging innocently.

She blinked, looking confused but handed her phone to me. I was at an angle so she couldn't see what I was doing, but I only needed a moment. I opened her contacts and added 'Harry', putting in my phone number and address. I had a feeling she wouldn’t sell it off on the internet. I smiled, and wordlessly handed back her phone. She looked confused, but brushed it off.