Souls' Collision | ✔

D R I N K E R

~ Chapter Nine ~

The bar they went to was called The Drinker.

Despite not having gone to a whole lotta bars in her life, Liz could tell it was a typical UNI hangout. The tables were scattered randomly on the wooden floor, shushed to the side to make way for a make-shift dance floor, as crooked as the wall decorations. The music pouring from the speakers were just five songs on repeat, and the staff was loud and drunk, merrily drinking along with the customers. They might have been mistaken for students themselves if it weren't for the uniforms (mariachi outfits).

But somehow it all worked.

"No way!" Chris cackled, falling back in his chair. "You did not do that!"

Liz grinned, took a sip of her drink and another cheese covered chip from the nachos sitting between them. "The dog was pink for five months. I don't think my sister has forgiven me yet." Not for the first time did she marvel at how comfortable she had been throughout the night. She felt light and charming and like herself back in NYC. Somewhere at the back of her mind a word made itself known over and over again, sounding suspiciously a lot like werewolf. But it was hidden underneath three margaritas and loud guitars.

"Tell me something about you," her date suddenly said, his voice now slithering underneath the noise — a smooth, slightly boozed snake on the cinder wood — instead of raising above it. His cloudy eyes glowed with interest and something else Liz could tell from miles away.

"I've been telling you things about myself all night."

Chris shook his head, leant forward a little. "No, something real. Something personal... Why don't you want a relationship?"

"Wow," Liz laughed, a little taken aback. "You're not much for light conversation."

"Ah, screw light conversation." His fingers had snuck close to hers during the last song and now he was apprehensively brushing his fingertips across the top of her hand. "I wanna get to know you and tell me if I'm completely off but... I have a feeling you don't consider me entirely awful either."

On a whim, Liz flipped her hand and enveloped his fingers in hers. "Good gut."

He smiled, clearly relieved. "So, tell me."

"No, I don't know." Her eyes pinned his underneath the dimmed lighting, tinted red but holding a spark telling him she wasn't completely drunk. Little did he know that she was assessing him, wondering just how much she would be able to share about what she'd found in the forest of Bern. Perhaps it was the alcohol but she felt like it couldn't be that bad of an idea. "I just feel like there's so much I know now, and so much new. And a relationship... Why would I need a relationship when there's an entire world just waiting, sitting there, under my nose? Why would I bother with humans when there's a thousand more interesting things out there?"

"Like what?"

Liz quieted, realized she was bordering on telling him something she guessed she would regret later on. She swallowed the boldness burning along with the alcohol in her throat. "Do you ever feel like... like you've been let out? Not on an activity or anything, but on—"

"Life."

Chris suddenly looked different. His lips were more parted, his eyelids as well. He looked at her, seeming surprised with them both. He didn't seem as cocky as before, instead as if he just realized who he was talking to. His expression was almost admiring when he swallowed some emotion and fixed his position on the chair.

"You..." He blinked a few times. "Exactly. Exactly like that. I can't believe you... you understand."

Liz squeezed his hand. "Hey? Wanna get outta here?"