Across the room, sitting at the bar, Ben was watching their every move.
His heart couldn't help but grow enraged just from their movements. Although it was beautiful to watch, for him it felt like watching his girl getting snatched from his hands.
He kept staring, taking glass upon glass, swallowing them at once with his gaze fixed on them.
The music being played further annoyed him, as though it had been composed by an enemy. A familiar song that once brought joy and smiles to his face now brought anger.
"Why is she smiling like that?" he questioned as his chest tightened.
He took another shot.
His fingers tightened slightly around the rim.
"Since when does she smile like that without me?" Ben's eyes slowly shifted, growing more enraged as time went by.
They turned slowly on the dance floor as Anna's dress shifted like flowing wine. Francis smiled, then spoke into her ear, making her giggle.
Ben's chest tightened once more. Glass after glass couldn't explain why he felt so bothered, nor why he felt so annoyed seeing her happy just because she was with another man.
His heart raced like something inside him was changing, trying to warn him. At this point, his usual smile couldn't hide his enraged expression.
At some point, he couldn't take it anymore, walking aggressively towards Anna. His emotions spiked from the alcohol to the point his movements were no longer controlled.
The music was loud enough to silence thoughts.
Lights pulsed across the room in waves of pink, blue, and gold, laughter rising and falling like a tide.
At the center of it all was Anna, who stood with Francis, slowly dancing to the slow song with her hand loosely wrapped around his and his other hand pulling her closer from her waist.
Her cheeks were warm and slightly red, not from alcohol but from subtle blushes here and there and the quiet thrill blooming in her heart.
At that moment, all she could think about was the dance and the dance alone. She didn't even think about Ben's whereabouts or if people were staring at her. She was lost in her own world.
Francis leaned closer, whispering something soft she barely caught over the music, his breath brushing her ear. She laughed, her shoulders relaxing, the world narrowing to just this moment, just this feeling.
And then, across the room, a collision among two men who were tipsy from alcohol.
A sharp voice cut through the noise.
"Watch where you're going, idiot!"
Ben froze in shock.
The man who bumped into him shoved his shoulder, with clear signs of irritation, already half leaving.
He could have let it end there, with no drama at all, but something in Ben snapped.
Maybe it was the influence of alcohol burning in his veins, or the sight of Anna's romantic moments with someone else, or maybe the emotions he had been holding onto all these years. But at this stage, the spring released.
His fist moved faster than he could even reason.
Thud!
The man hit the floor hard, his hands pressed to the side of his face that had met Ben's fist, breathing heavily.
Gasps burst from the small circle around them.
"What the hell, man?!" someone shouted.
Another guy grabbed Ben's arm. "Yo, chill, bro."
Ben swung again, this time stronger than last, hitting someone else right in the nose.
And just like that, chaos ignited.
Different hands grabbed him, with different people ganging up on him. It was almost like they were fighting a wild bull, but Ben fought like a storm, with zero predictable movement. His movements were wild and reckless, using whatever his hands could grab as a weapon—from chairs to bottles to even people.
The music kept blasting like nothing was happening in the background, as most people didn't even notice what was happening, just dancing, laughing, and vibing.
At least until the scale grew larger and more and more people began to gather.
"What's going on over there?" Anna frowned, her eyes narrowing toward the commotion.
Francis followed her gaze. "Looks like a fight. Probably some drunk people out of control. It's better to keep away."
Her stomach dropped. Her mind finally reset, and the first thought that came to mind was where Ben was. Her eyes scanned the room, looking for Ben, almost like a mother looking for her missing child, but all paths led to a dead end.
"What happened?" Francis questioned, seeing the worried look on Anna's face. "Is everything fine?"
"It's nothing, I'm just looking for Ben," Anna said, her eyes still scanning the room as her worry grew further.
"Excuse me, sorry, I will be right back." She quickly left before Francis could say a word. Panic started to set in.
She pushed through the crowd.
"Excuse me—sorry—move please—"
Then she saw him, at the center of it all.
"Ben?!"
Her voice cracked.
At first he didn't hear a hint of what she said. He was still busy swinging his fist like a running truck, his breath ragged and shirt wrinkled, his eyes clouded with alcohol and rage.
"Ben!"
This time he froze, almost as though someone pressed the pause button on his body.
He slowly turned his head toward the voice. As their eyes met, the rage drained from his face in an instant. The once wild beast none could tame was now calm.
"…Anna?"
It was almost as though time stopped and all sounds ceased to exist, even though the music still blasted and the voices of people were loud as ever.
She stared at him, her face shocked with complete disbelief and a mixture of embarrassment.
"What the hell are you doing?!" she said, her voice filled with anger, grabbing his arm. "Are you crazy?!"
Ben blinked, the adrenaline leaking out of him like air from a punctured balloon. "I… I…"
His knees wobbled.
Anna sighed sharply and hooked his arm around her shoulders before he could fall. "Great. Just great. You're drunk out of your mind, and now you decide to fall."
She looked up quickly. "I'm so sorry, everyone, I'm really sorry," she said, bowing slightly to the stunned onlookers before moving out with Ben.
Francis stood a few steps back, watching silently. At first he wanted to go lend a hand, but Stephanie pulled him back, drawing his attention toward something else.
She didn't notice her phone was still in his hand as she raced out with Ben on her shoulders, nor did Francis notice either.
She rushed outside to the cold night air, completely quiet from the place they once stood.
Ben leaned heavily against her, his weight half on her shoulder, half dragging behind her steps. She struggled to steady him.
"Why the hell did you have to get drunk now?" she muttered under her breath.
"…Anna…"
His voice was soft.
She exhaled softly. "Yeah, I'm here. Obviously. If not for me, what could you do?" she said with a small but annoyed smile on her face.
They walked slowly toward the road, her arm wrapped around his waist.
"I'm sorry," he murmured.
"For what, stupid?"
He swallowed. "I just… didn't like seeing you with him."
Her steps slowed.
"…You're drunk," she said lightly, without putting much thought into it. "You say stupid things when you're drunk."
"...I love you..."
The words came out raw, without holding back, but at the same time very honest.
She let out a small laugh. "Yeah, yeah. I love you too, idiot. But you embarrassed me today, you know that?"
He didn't answer, his head resting even heavier against her shoulder than before.
Although it was practically almost impossible to get a cab at that time of night, she somehow pulled it off.
By the time the cab dropped them off at his apartment, he was barely conscious.
She unlocked his door with the spare key she'd had for years but never really got to use.
The familiar click echoed softly as the door opened.
Dragging him inside took more effort than she expected as he stumbled twice, nearly pulling them both down, but she managed to guide him to his room and drop him onto the bed.
He bounced slightly on the mattress as she dropped him heavily. She groaned, stretching her aching body as though she were the one who had been in a fight.
"You weigh a ton, you know that? Seriously, you really owe me one this time around. You should be kissing my foot every day for the rest of your life. How does that sound as a fitting punishment?"
No response from the almost completely unconscious man lying helpless on the bed.
She turned to leave—
"…Anna."
Her hand paused on the doorframe at his voice, faint and soft as always.
She glanced back slowly, almost dramatically. His eyes weren't fully open, just slightly, looking like someone drifting between sleep and wakefulness.
"Don't leave me…" his voice was rough from the alcohol but calm as ever.
She paused, then slowly turned toward the door.
"I love you…"
Silence.
She stood still, frozen by his words, her fingers resting lightly on the doorframe.
The room suddenly felt warm and different, almost like the perfect atmosphere.
TBC~