"I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her"
~~~
Based on Dancing On My Own by Calum Scott
Phil thought that going to a nightclub to forget all about his ex was a good idea...until he saw his ex boyfriend there...with his new girlfriend.
~~~
"Come to a club Phil, you said, it'll be fun, you said...well guess what? I'm not having fun!" I spat. I'd been in this club for an hour and I was ready to go home and curl up in my bed on my laptop. My friend Louise just laughed and slapped my arm playfully. She'd had a few drinks and was teetering on the edge of sobriety.
"Lighten up! Have a few drinks!" She said and then she downed the rest of hers. I rolled my eyes and rested my elbow on the bar. I put my head in my hands and sighed.
A few moments later a drink, which I didn't know the name of, was placed in front of me by Louise.
"Drink!" She pressed. I picked up the drink and pointedly took a sip. After realising it didn't taste too bad I decided to carry on drinking it until I had emptied the glass.
"That wasn't too bad actually, what drink was it?" I asked. She giggled and tapped her nose.
"It's a secret," she slurred.
"Louise did you put something in my drink?" I asked concernedly.
"Nonono, I just bought it for you. I'm not that drunk," she laughed. I sighed again. The only reason I'd come to this club in the first place was to distract myself from my ex-boyfriend Dan, but so far it didn't seem to be working. Every song that played reminded me of him in some way and I just wanted to go home and cry. It had only been a couple of weeks since we ended it, and I had regretted it every day since, but he hadn't contacted me at all so I assumed that he was just fine.
"Can we just go home? I'm tired and I just want to hide under my duvet and cry," I groaned. At that comment Louise stopped dancing and looked at me.
"Phil...I know you miss him, but the whole point of coming here tonight was to get over him! You were the one that suggested it," she said. She wasn't wrong, I did want to get over him but it was her that had thought a nightclub was the best way to do that. Personally, I disagreed.
"I know I did, but clubs aren't really my thing," I pleaded with her. She just grabbed my hand and yanked me off the bar stool.
"Just come and dance! It'll take your mind off things," she said gleefully. I rolled my eyes but let her drag me into the crowd anyway.
Although I was on the dance floor, dancing was the last thing on my mind. I was thinking about Dan. Meanwhile Louise was holding on to my wrists and attempting to coax some movements out of me. But then her movements slowed, and her face paled.
"What's wrong?" I asked. I presumed that she'd had one too many drinks and was on the brink of emptying her stomach.
"If you're going to throw up can you not do so on me?" I said jokingly, but she remained silent. As I went to turn around to see what had captured her attention, she grabbed my shoulders and kept me facing her.
"Nothing's wrong!" She said. Her voice was a higher pitch than usual, it was the voice she used when she was lying.
"I know you're lying, I can tell." I moved her hands off my shoulders and turned around. But then I wished that I hadn't.
"Phil," Louise said softly, tentatively, as if she feared that I would do something that I would regret. But I couldn't do anything. I couldn't speak, I couldn't move. My eyes were fixed on the two dancing figures a few steps ahead of us.
It was Dan. My ex-boyfriend Dan. With his arms around a skinny blonde girls waist.
"Phil, lets just leave," Louise said with more urgency this time. She knew me well. She knew that seeing this would be tearing me up inside. But I couldn't look away.
"I..." I tried to speak but my mouth wouldn't form words. Everything I tried to say got caught in my throat, which now felt incredibly dry. Although my throat felt dry, my eyes were becoming increasingly wetter. Had he really moved on that quickly? I felt Louise put a comforting arm around my shoulders.
The tears that were threatening to fall from my eyes started to roll rapidly down my cheeks when I saw Dan lean down and kiss her softly. When he pulled away he was looking at her the way he used to look at me. My shoulders began to shake as sobs wracked my body. Louise pulled me off the dance floor and led me to a corner filled with far fewer people.
"I can't believe he's moved on so quickly," I sobbed into her shoulder. From where we were stood I could still see them dancing.
"I know, I know...oh Phil I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought you here. If I'd have know he was going to be here I-"
"It's okay, it's not your fault. Let's just go back to mine and eat some ice cream or something," I said shakily.
As much as I tried, I just couldn't get the image of him kissing her out of my head. The more I thought about it, the less sad I became. The sadness was replaced by anger. Anger at Dan, anger at the blonde girl he was here with, and anger at myself for being so stupid and hoping that maybe one day he'd call me and tell me he still loved me. Something I'd planned to do to him the very next day. Looks like that plan was out of the question now.
"I think that would be a good idea. You wait here and I'll go outside and call a taxi. Don't do anything stupid," she said pointedly. I sat down at an empty table and sighed. I looked back over at Dan and his new girlfriend and tears filled my eyes again. Suddenly Dan took his eyes off the girl and looked in my direction. I hoped he hadn't seen me, but the way his body froze and his eyes widened confirmed that he had. The blonde girl had also stopped dancing, and was instead touching his arm concernedly.
I shook my head and averted my eyes. I assumed that that would be our last, and only, interaction at the club. But I was wrong.
"Phil..." I knew it was him. Even without looking. The familiar voice caused a shiver to travel down my spine and I looked up.
"Two weeks Dan," I said. I said nothing other than this, but he knew exactly what I meant.
"I'm sorry-" he started. But I didn't let him finish his sentence. My anger and embarrassment had blinded me and I snapped.
"Sorry? You're sorry? We only broke up two weeks ago, and you're already making out with some random blonde girl!" I spat.
"Calm down! It's not as if I knew you were here, I didn't do it on purpose," he defended himself.
"But you still did it. Do you realise how much that hurts Dan? Do you? To watch your ex, who you're still in love with, and who you only broke up with two weeks ago, making out with someone else? Looking at her the way you used to look at me? Because that fucking hurts Dan," I shouted. I had tears rolling steadily down my face and I probably looked like a mess but I didn't care at that point. All I wanted at that moment was for Louise to come back and tell me the taxi was here.
Dan looked taken aback. My outburst probably shocked him.
"I...I didn't know you felt that way," he muttered. I scoffed and looked towards the exit of the club. I saw Louise waving at me to go over to her, so I stood up.
"Well it doesn't matter now. You've clearly moved on and I won't stand in the way of that. Have fun with your girlfriend," I spat. I walked from behind the table and started to leave the club.
"Phil wait! She's not my girlfriend. I don't love her. I love you," he yelled desperately. I turned around and sighed.
"Goodbye Dan," I said. Then I walked out of his life.
