an untitled short story by Draven Rainrix

as the hour of midnight fast approached i sat weery eyed in a small booth in the corner. the bar was bustling even at that time. i heard laughter from my right and deep drunken conversations to my left. i sat with half a glass of warm beer that i'd craddled for almost an hour. as i sat and listened to the noises around me i heard a familiar voice. i leant forward and looked over toward the pool table. gathered around it were six or so teenagers enthralled in being allowed in pubs like this now. through the group i could just make out Natalie. i waved to her and ccaught her attention. as she walked over i thought back to when i'd known her. all those years ago.
i was a young bright eyed boy of eighteen. i'd finished college that day and was out on the town looking to find trouble. the september air was chilled and my shirt was hardly protection against it. as i walked alone toward where i was due to meet my friends i heard a shrill scream from an alley behind the Lamb And Flag. it was a womans voice screaming for help. being the person i was back then i didn't think twice and ran down the alley. as the woman came into focus i could see a man grasping her. his face twisted with violence,
"what are you doing?" I asked in as manly a voice as i could.
he looked up at me and thrust his arm forward. i could see the glimmering blade in his hand,
"you wanna back off son" he said menacingly.
i knew i couldn't defeat this man. he was twice my size and mch older. i also knew i couldn't flee. the womans eyes pleaded with me. i stood there for what felt like an age. the image seered into my mind for the rest of my days. the woman, who must have been only my age, grasped by this animals arm. i can still recall the outfit she wore. the short black skirt, the tight fitting cream top without sleeves, the high heeled boots offering her thin pale legs protection from the cold. she mouthed the words 'help me' and begged me with her eyes. i stepped forward being as brave as i could,
"let her go" i said lowdly hoping someone else would hear.
noone came to aid me. the man threw the woman aside and walked slowly toward me closing the ten foot gap between us,
"what you gonna do about it?" he asked,
I stood frozen in fear unable to answer as he drew ever closer. soon he was upon me and i saw his arm draw back. the knife would soon pierce my skin. i thought briefly of my mother as i awaited his strike. he slumped to the floor. my eyes blurred and i couldn't think what had happened. Stood behind where the man fell the woman stood holding half of a brick,
"we better go" she said with an eerie calm,
i followed her out of the alley and we mingled in with the other revellers of the night. as we walked directionless we spoke very little,
"you saved my life" she muttered,
i stayed silent unable to understand what had happened. my feet led to my flayt eventually and she was still with me. i asked her in and she followed me. now sat on my sofa warm cups of tea in our grasp we both starred emptily at the television screen as if we expected it to turn itself on.
the night went without memory but from that night for the next six years me and Natalie barely parted. together as lovers and the bestest of friends. but as with most relationships it failed bitterly and we parted ways. ten years passed without a word from each other. now she was in this pub walking toward me. My mind casts back to the night we met. the man and the knife, her and a brick, wandering aimlessly through the streets. she smiles as she nears, i smile in return. she sits beside me without saying a word. i drink my warm beer to loosen me throat as i ask,
"how have you been Natalie?",

she turns to me and looks into my eyes. i notice her face has aged. she's still as beautiful as i had always found her but now the years were showing. she smiles at me and replies,
"not bad. it's been a long time."
"what are you doing here?"
"i stopped in with some friends just to have a drink"
"small world"
"it is. it is." she says looking down.
the two of us sit and catch up until the barman decides it's time for us to leave. we head out into the dark night. it turns out she's single again after a few failed relationship. she'd even been married though she'd never had kids. i too have lived my life. half a dozen or so relationships ending in heartbreak. we walk on through the night discussing one thing or another until she paused and in mournful tone,
"the trouble is i've never trusted anyone as much as i trust you",
i looked at her ad saw a tear welling in her eye as she continued,
"remember how we met? in the alley behind the Lamb?"
"how could i ever forget?"
that's when it hit me. a realisation hit me that for the last ten years every woman i'd been with i had compared to her. I looked at her closely. aged as she was she still had a certain spark of fire in her eye. her stick thin figure of ten years passed had filled out but not so much to call her fat. the hair i used to sit a play with that was once bright blonde had now dulled into a darker more grown up colour. she saw me looking,
"what are you looking at?"
i blushed and a feeling like a young boy embarrassed before a woman washed over me,
"nothing" i stuttered,
she smiled and pushed her hair behind her ear. as we walked on toward nowhere we exchanged numbers and promised to meet the following night for our first date of this our second chance. I don't know what's going to happen the second time round but i'm grateful for the cahnce. this woman was once so perfect for me and no amount of age can break the beauty i see inside of her. so the moral of this story, if there is one, is to take a hold of any chance at love that you may get. no matter from what situation that chance is bourne.

the end.

though it's not too bad it's not too good either.
but for a "bored at work" story it's ok.

lol

[shazzababie]

omg u cant end it there... i need to know what happens ffs !!!

good writing hun ... now finish it plz

[pete8242]

it shows a repressed fear of *** toys

you might wanna talk to someone about it

Noooooooo!!!!!!!!! you cant finish it there! !!! I wanna know if it works out for them,
*sits and waits for the next chapter *

the next night came all too quickly for me. Here i was a man in my thirties as nervous as a five year old getting sent to the headmasters office for the first time. i sat on my bed looking into the mirror at the man looking back. my hair was thinning from crash helmets, my stomach protruding after far too many fried breakfasts., my face was wrinkled after too many years of living. i thought to myself,
"what could a woman like her see in a man like me?"
for better or worse i was nothing more than a low paid office worker and biker. even now as i sat in my empty house bike parts littered teh downstairs. all through the kitchen different bits of machinery sat on old sheets of newspaper on the floor. i smiled as i remembered tripping on a part this morning. the blur of the nights sleep still in my eyes and coffee cravings running through my body. i caught my toe on the top of a greased up shaft and nearly ended up having my morning wash in the stale washing up water of the night before. still here i sit in front of my mirror. the shirt i have on hasn't seen an iron since i bought it last summer. the jeans, though the cleanest i have, are covered in grained in grease and dirt. not that i was too worried about this particular pair of jeans. all my jeans have a permanent air of dirty to them. no matter how much i wash them. as i glance at my watch i realise that time had moved since i'd looked last. i had to be going. our date was set to begin at eight in the Lamb and Flag. it was behind this very pub sixteen years ago i had first met her. i'm hoping that because this first date of our second chance will be in a more pleasant atmosphere that our relationship will grow stronger. did i just say relationship? is that really what i want? though it's true i've never felt anything for anyone as strong as i feel it for her i'm not syre a relationship is what either of us want. still i stand up and take one last look in the mirror. no time to change now. i grab my coat and leave the house heading for the Lamb and Flag.

as i enter the room i har laughter and talking as you find in any bar up and down the country at eight in the evening. i look at my watch and realise i have a few minutes to wait. scanning around the room i see no sign of Natalie. obviously not here yet. i head to the bar and order myself a beer. the bar man obliges and i lean my right arm on the bar and look toward the door. taking occasional sips from my drink my mind wanders to her. will she come? will she stand me up? is she as nervous as i am? as my eyes blur and i drift to somewhere far from the pub i'm standing in i hear her voice. so soft and calm. sweet but with a hint of lifes tough experience,
"hey i'm glad you came" she says to me,
"i'm glad you came Natalie" i say as my eyes clear and i reenter the real world. i turn to look at her and see the effort she has made. i feel bad that i made very little in comparison. it's almost like she hears my thoughts as she compliments me on my outfit. here i stand in a creased shirt, dirty jeans and biker boots and she is complimenting me! i smile and reply with flattering words of my own. her out fit is perfectly chosen. the jeans fit tightly around her shapely legs, her shoes match her bag and necklace, her top accentuates every curve that life has blessed her with. she even has her hair down so that the light natural curves fall over her face framing her beautifully,
"do you still like my hair down?" she asks with a smile,
"you look more beautiful now as i've ever seen you" i reply cringing that it may have been a little over the top,
"thank you" she says coyly looking at the ground.
i ask her what she would like to drink and she replies with coke. i order and the barman, so kind he is, obliges and i hand her a cold glass of dark liquid. we look around and find a table to sit at. relaxong back into the much used pub chair we talk of little, unimportanmt things as we often did. i learnt much of her life since i knew her. each story she told, wether it was of heart break or of something she had accomplished, made my heart melt for her. though her stories were probably comprable to any other persons i still had an overwhelming urge to take hold of her and never let her go. she told me of her job and that it was as meaningless as mine. working in a small office at a computer all day. though it had paid for her house and kept her fed. i told her many details of my life, all of which sounded dull in comparison with hers. though thinking about it now our lives had been almost similar. failed relationships, no children, meaningless jobs in small companies etc etc. the only difference is i had lived my life, i knew the storied inside and out. her life was new to me and i wanted to know every detail. every thing that had made her who she was now was important to me. we had thought about going to a restaurant and getting food. but we didn't. we just sat in the war cosy atmosphere and spoke. there were silences, but silences of comfort and happiness. by the end of this night i knew her all over again. i knew she was the woman for me. but alas the evening ended. she got into a taxi and i stood and watched it disapear into the night. i turned and headed home. as i did i felt a vibration in my pocket. my phone had recieved a text message. i quickly took it out and read it. it was from her. i couldn't believe my eyes as the words filled my mind.

the sun shone through the window the birds sang and my alarm chirrped away. i sat upright and grabbed my phone from the table beside me. was it real? the text i recieved last night? i tap frantically at the buttons until i find her text,
"i luv u" is all it said. my reply had been,
"i luv u 2"
after a few more texts between us before i fell asleep i knew i would be seeing her tonight after work. she had offered to come over to my work and pick me up in her car and we would go for a meal or a drive or something. i jumped from my bed and dressed as quickly as i could. today i'll get a taxi and she can collect me after work. i pulled my jacket on and headed for the door as the taxi pulled up. i knew today would be a long day.
four thirty came very slowly and i left work. out side in the early evening air i stoodf on the corner awaiting her arrival. i knew when we made the arrangements i would have to wait half an hour or so but i didn't mind. the half an hour vanished thanks to day dreams of her. as she pulled up beside me she smiled through the window. i got into the car and looked at her. before i could say a word her lips were on mine. we kissed eeply and pasionately for what seemed like a long time. in reality only a few seconds passed. though it felt like eternity the kiss was over all too quickly as she pulled away and spoke in that most beautiful voice,
"so where do we go from here?"
"i don't know. all i know is i love you and want to spend every second of the rest of my life with you" i said and cringed like i had last night,
"me too" she said "but i meant which direction shall i drive in?"

and i think that should be a good ending right there.

again not fantastic but seeing i wrote it as it came to me its not bad.

hope you liked it though.