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Diana felt her shoulders getting increasingly more tense, the longer the conversation went on. If you could even call it that, as a conversation typically refers to something at least two people partakes in. Diana was mostly quiet, with an occasional hum or fake chuckle, to fill in the silences the guy left open for her. Billy, as he had introduced himself, didn’t seem to mind too much, as he babbled on about himself, his college major, friends and family. He even went as far as to talk about his ex-girlfriends, and how “bitchy” they all were, as if that would make Diana think better of him. Talk about a real charmer.
It had been an amazingly fun evening, up until this point, which only made the situation suck even more, as she now would never be able to think back on it without also thinking about this guy, his drunkenly loud and obnoxious laugh, and his breath that stunk of beer. Anne, Gilbert, Ruby, Cole and Diana, had been hanging at the bar for a couple hours, drinking just enough to feel light and carefree, but not nearly enough to be wasted, not like Billy.
When Anne and Gilbert had announced their relationship, Diana had been beaming with joy for her two friends, she always knew it was supposed to go that way. They were what she believed to be the closest thing to soulmates possible. Ruby had also seen it coming and had given up her crush on Gilbert years before that, to go date other guys instead. And date she had.
Ruby had introduced a new boyfriend every couple of weeks or so, to the little friend group. Diana couldn’t possibly comprehend how Ruby had the energy to change up the important people in her life so often, but she was glad that her friend was having fun in the dating department. This evening she had brought a boy called Troy. He was possibly the most objectively handsome guy Diana had ever seen, with his olive skin and dark brown hair and dazzling white smile. He seemed like someone who would belong in Hollywood, hanging out with some A-list celebrities, rather than in an old dusty bar in Canada. Still, he was pretty nice, and he treated Ruby well, so Diana was happy as long as her friend was.
Diana herself, had only been in a relationship once in her life. Not necessarily because boys didn’t like her, but because before moving to college, her very conservative parents had set some very strict rules for her relations with the male species. She only got to hang out with Gilbert because her parents knew his dad and respected him greatly (respected means that he was even more wealthy than themselves). When Cole moved to town, a year before they left for college, he was already out as openly gay, so her parents didn’t mind their friendship. All Diana’s life, she had looked forward to getting away from the strict household, that was the Barry’s.
Now, that she was finally here, on campus, many kilometres from her home, safely tucked away from her parents stares and rules, she had only met one guy she had been even remotely interested in.
Diana had first met Charlie Sloane in her chemistry class. She saw him struggle with the even most basic exercises, and eventually built up the courage to ask him if he needed help. She tutored him at least a couple of times a week after that, and they began dating.
Diana really did genuinely like Charlie. He was thoughtful, proper, generally quite smart (just not with science) and from a wealthy family.
He was basically everything her parents hoped for in a partner of Diana’s. And maybe that was the problem. She had spent so much time waiting for the day she could finally leave her parents and their rules behind, and now she found herself dating a guy from her parents’ world. After she realized this, she quickly broke it off with Charlie.
Now she was single, which she didn’t mind too much. She was a smart independent woman, and when single she had tie to focus on other things like her academics and her friends. Until recently, Cole had been single too, so they could always jokingly bond over how lonely they were. Now he was with Alex, a cute british guy, who always smiled.
Him and Cole had met in art class, and things had escalated from there. Cole adored him, which was understandable, he was pretty much perfect in every single way. He had charmed the entire friend group, one bad pun at a time.
Diana was happy for her friends, she really was. Sometimes it was just kind of annoying being the only one without a significant other. Also, because it sometimes led to her being in situations like these, where she suddenly found herself in next to a very drunk guy, who obviously couldn’t take a hint. When the clock struck eleven, Cole had rushed out of the bar to meet with Alex back in his dorm. Ruby had received a text from Troy about a party, so she was quickly on her way too.
For a while it was just Anne, Gilbert and Diana, like the old days. Before they met Ruby, it was just them. A powerful little trio. It was the reason Diana never felt like she was third-wheeling while with them, they were simply used to being a friend group. Now two of the people in the trio were dating, sure, but that didn’t change their whole dynamic. Plus, it wasn’t like Anne and Gilbert were a super PDA heavy couple. Occasionally they held hands under the table, but that was really how far it went.
When Gilbert began yawning repeatedly, Anne said that it might be time to go home. They insisted that Diana went with them, since it was so late, and they didn’t want to leave her sitting in the bar alone. She refused several times, before practically pushing them out the door. She just wasn’t ready to go yet, maybe because she had a particularly long and boring day tomorrow, so she didn’t want to go to sleep, because then she would have to wake up and face it, but it also might have been because (which was probably more likely) she wanted to prove, not only to her friends, but also to herself that she could easily manage on her own.
And thus, she ended here, in a tiny booth, across from Billy who was telling a story, he himself seemed to think was very interesting, as the arm gestures he made, seemed like something straight out of an overly dramatic opera. Spit flew out all over the table as he talked. His words getting increasingly harder to understand with each sentence, as his beer quickly disappeared.
Diana didn’t know how to get out of the situation. She had met a few guys like Billy before, she knew what they looked like: loud, unaware of their setting and so full of themselves. They seemed to think that they owned the world, and thereby all the creatures on it, including Diana. She wasn’t dumb, she saw how he looked at her. Like she was something he wanted to eat.
Guys like him didn’t try being smart or charming to achieve what they wanted, they simply didn’t care, which made them a little terrifying.
He had apparently finished his story, as he sat staring at Diana, as if he was waiting for something. She let out a polite laugh, hoping it was enough to satisfy him. She hated acting this way, as if she was some helpless creature, just playing along, but she figured that it was the smartest thing to do in that moment, at least until she figured out how to escape. Her parents had always taught her not to make a scene.
Diana let out a small shriek, as she felt a warm sweaty hand being firmly placed on her knee underneath the table. She didn’t know what to do, so she just froze. The music seemed to fade out, and the light was suddenly too sharp in her eyes. His hand slowly made its way up her leg. She was going to throw up. Her entire being screamed at her to do something, anything. He smirked at her: “Listen, I won’t lie- I think you’re really hot, and I imagine that you feel the same way about me so how about we just ditch this place and- “.
Someone slid down next to Diana. She flinched a little from the surprise. Billy, seemed as startled as herself, as he quickly took drew his hand back to where it belonged. Diana still felt like she was going to be sick but managed to turn her head to see a boy, she was sure she had seen somewhere before, sitting next to her. He had big beaming smile painted across his face: “Sorry it took so long, the line to the men’s room was insane! You ready to go?”. When he spoke she instantly recognized him. They both took a-level French. He had a really cute accent and was from France apparently. She had never caught his name, though.
Billy looked at him, then at Diana and the back at him again: “And you are?”, he sounded irritated. French guy dimmed his smile a little: “The boyfriend of this lovely lady.”
Billy’s face turned sour, he mumbled something Diana chose to overhear under his breath and left the booth.
Diana instantly felt a flood of relief hit her. French guy’s eyes went soft: “Hey, are you okay? I saw you looking extremely uncomfortable with that guy. He didn’t hurt you, did he?”.
She shook her head, still slightly shaken. “Well, good. I’ve seen him around, he’s disgusting, to say it frankly. You sure you’re all right? Your face is kind of green.”
Diana couldn’t quite find the words, so he continued helplessly: “I mean, not like green - green, I just uhm yeah…”
Diana let out an uncomfortably high-pitched laugh, startling both herself and French guy. “Sorry.” He gave her a genuine smile, that reached his eyes.
“I can walk you home, if you want?”, he asked. Any other day, Diana would have said no. The bar was only a couple of blocks away from her dorm, and it was a really safe neighbourhood, but after the events that had just taken place, she nodded and said: “That would be nice.”
A cool breeze hit her face as soon as they left the bar. It was so nice leaving the sweaty bodies and alcohol smell behind. She instantly felt like her head getting less heavy, and her adrenalin slowly settling down.
They walked in silence for some time, before Diana spoke up: “Thank you, for saving me in there. I think I just kind of froze.”
He was a little taller than her, so he glanced down, sending her a wink: “Hey, it’s what I’m here for.” She let out a laugh. “What?”, he asked, while also laughing.
“Nothing! Nothing. It’s just- that might have been the most awkward use of a wink I’ve ever seen.”, that lost bit got choked out, trying to hold back a giggle, that disintegrated into a full-on hiccup laughing fit. Diana was pretty sure it was just the wine and utter relief that she had made it out, but for some reason the wink seemed like it was the funniest thing in the entire world, and Diana had to stop for a moment, clutching her stomach, while shaking with inaudible hiccups. She tried leaning up against a lamp-post before almost falling over. French guy only just caught her, before she would’ve tumbled to the ground.
Diana spent a moment collecting herself, as she noticed tears were rolling down her eyes, from what she didn’t know.
French guy noticed it, and gently padded her shoulder. “I’m Jerry, by the way, at your service. I believe we have French together?”, he extended a hand carefully, almost as if he was afraid, he’d accidentally make it worse by sudden movements. She gave it a firm shake, to signal that she was fine: “Diana Barry, nice to properly meet you. And yes we do. Your family is from France, right?”, she was still crying, but her heart felt lighter than it had for hours.
“Yes, they are. A little town in the Alsace region to be specific. I have heard your French, you’re really good!”, the last sentence was said, while enthusiastically nodding.
“Thanks. I have some family from France as well, so my mom insisted that I was taught from when I was very young.”
And then Diana noticed that he had really pretty eyes. As in really really pretty. They were brown, but in the dark they looked almost black. She realised that she had been staring, got incredibly embarrassed, while she hoped he hadn’t noticed.
They reached Diana’s dorm, almost a little too soon for her liking. “Thank you again, for helping me. And also, for walking me home. Oh, and for not letting me fall over.” The tears had mostly stopped rolling and were now drying on her cheeks.
“Pleasure, milady!”, he jokingly kissed her hand. He looked as if he was about to leave before saying: “Hey, you know what? I think, that it would be really clever of us, if you had my number. That way, you can let me know if you ever need any help again.”
“Aha, do you now?”, she replied, giving him a teasing smile. “Absolutely! She pressed her phone in his hand. He quickly made a new contact, putting in his number, before returning it.
“Goodnight”, she said, about to close the door: “Goodnight, Diana Barry. Oh, and for the record, I think your eyes are really pretty too.”