It was later that same day. The sun had disappeared behind the horizon and the moon had taken its spot. Stars usually speckled the dark blue sky, but with the way the weather was, dark clouds loomed in their place, shedding their tears down onto the city below.

I wore a sweatshirt with my hood up, protecting my hair from the rain, and my hands were shoved into the pockets of my jeans. I was walking down the sidewalk towards the one place I knew I would find solace, an escape from the day that plagued me, playing over and over again in my head.

I pushed through the door and entered the crowded establishment. The lights were dimmed, music was blasting, and people were everywhere - sitting at tall tables, killing it on the dance floor, standing up against the wall, and of course, surrounding the bar and waiting for their drink. Standing behind the bar was the only person I cared about. Ruby. She had a cocktail shaker in her hands and a smile on her face as she talked to her customers. Her smile could make even the darkest days bright.

I remembered the first time I saw her working.

Prior to getting hired, she had been out of high school for a year, having taken "gap year". However, when that gap year was coming to an end, she was lost. Because unlike me, her future wasn't clear. I had the band and our first album. She, on the other hand, had nothing. I couldn't tell you how many nights I stayed up, talking to her over the phone and listening to her as she sobbed about how she didn't know what to do, how she didn't want to go back to school but didn't want to work as a waitress for the rest of eternity, and how she felt like a waste of life. It was horrible hearing those words coming out of her mouth.

But then it happened. A job opened up at this bar and she sent in an application. She doubted she was going to get hired, but sure enough, she did. And it turned out that she was really good at the job too. Bar-goers absolutely loved her, just like her customers had at the restaurant. Talking to people came easy for her, and more importantly, she knew how to make a good drink. It also didn't hurt that she was gorgeous, and I wasn't just saying that because she was my girlfriend.

She was just so happy at the bar. She found herself there. It was almost like her second home away from home, even though it was just down the street.

The corner of my lip perked upward and I wove my way through the hoard of inebriated men and women, squeezing in between two people and resting my arms on the bar. Ruby glanced over at me and the smile on her face grew even wider. "Excuse me," She apologized to the person she was talking with to walk over to me, "Brendon, hey!"

"Hey," I replied, matching her expression as I lowered my hood.

"What are you doing here? I thought you told me you were headed home for the night." She picked up an empty glass that was beside me, as well as a towel, and started to clean it.

"I know, but I got lonely and thought I might come and visit you."

Her coworker, Cherry, "aww"ed as she passed by. A smirk crawled onto Ruby's face as pulled the towel out of tall glass and playfully whipped her with it, causing a yelp to escape from her lips. She shot a glare back at my girlfriend who giggled, returning her attention to me.

"That is really sweet of you, though," Ruby remarked, her cheeks growing a faint shade of red that almost went unnoticeable in the darkness of the bar.

"Hey, do you think you can get me something?" I asked.

"The usual?"

"No, I was actually thinking of something stronger," I told her, the smile on my face faltering, eventually fading away completely.

Ruby raised her eyebrow in suspicion. "Is everything okay, Brendon?" She inquired concernedly, setting the glass down on the bar and looking directly into my eyes. A knot formed in the pit of my stomach.

I hated lying to Ruby, I really did. But how was I supposed to tell her that I needed to date someone else without it coming off the wrong way? There was no "right" way to come about it.

"Yeah, I just...long, rough day...usual's not going to cut it," I replied to her in choppy fragments, my mind failing to come up with a good, coherent excuse to tell her why I was deviating from the normal. She stared at me for a little before nodding her head and escaping down the bar to retrieve me my drink.

I knew this act wouldn't last for long. And besides, Ruby had learned that whenever I said I was "thinking of something stronger", something was up. The next few days or weeks or however long I could keep this up was going to consist of her trying to figure out why I was acting so weird. I had to get this under control before it got out of hand.

Ruby came back and set my drink down on the counter, sliding it across to me. I took it into my possession and brought the drink up to my lips, downing the alcohol in one swift sip. Slamming the glass back down, I bit my lip and tilted my head down. But it wasn't because the alcohol burned my throat, no. It was because the guilt that was still there.

"Give me another," I muttered, my voice low as I looked back up at my girlfriend who had been staring at me.

"Another?"

"Yeah."

"Brendon, what's going on?"

"Just get me another!" I snapped.

"Hey," The person next to me chimed in, placing a hand on my shoulder, "Don't talk to her like that." I glanced over and saw a taller guy sitting next to me. He had a kind face, with brown hair sweeping across his forehead and blue eyes.

The corner of Ruby's lip curled upward and she blushed a deep shade of red. "Thanks, Dallon, but he's just having a rough day," She explained to him, defending me.

"I don't care, no one should talk to you like that. Rough day or not."

"You know him?" I inquired, my eyebrows furrowing together.

"He comes here a lot," Ruby answered, meeting the guy's gaze and smiling.

"Yeah," Dallon agreed, returning the smile, "I don't know what I would've done if I never met her. She saved me from ruining my life." The look on his face was a look I recognized easily. It was the look I gave her no longer than ten minutes ago when I first walked into the bar tonight, the look I gave her the first time I saw how happy she was here. It was a look of love.

My girlfriend giggled. "Oh, stop. I didn't save your life. I just cut you off because of bar policy."

"Yeah, but if you didn't-"

"You know what?" I interrupted their conversation, jealously inevitably washing over me, "I think I'm gonna go home, Ruby. Have fun with Fallon over here."

"It's...It's Dallon," He corrected me somewhat sheepishly.

"I don't care," I told him with a grin on my face before stepping out of my place and pushing my way back out of the bar.

"Brendon!" I heard Ruby's voice over the loud music and chatter that filled warm ears. "BRENDON, WAIT!"