Chapter Text
20:01
The club was already packed by the time they walked in—lights flashing like sirens, heat rising from the floor, music pumping straight through their bones. Olivia led everyone through the crowds, loudly speaking with Amara.
(y/n) followed the two, along with Rory and her guard dog, Sean.
Fuck I hate this dude.
“Drinks first,” Olivia declared, tossing a wink over her shoulder. “Then we dance till someone breaks a heel.”
Sean grinned at Rory, leaning down to tell her something. “Is she also gonna put me in heels?”
Rory giggled, pressing a kiss on his lips. This guy is so unfunny. Why are you even with him, for fucksake.
(y/n) clenched her jaw, trying her best to not say her thoughts out loud.
The bar was swamped—wall-to-wall bodies, glittery tops, and at least four separate guys trying to order tequila shots like they were saving lives.
“Amara,” Olivia called over the music, tapping her friend on the shoulder, “get us a spot. I’ll bribe the bartender.”
“Use your tits,” Amara replied instantly, disappearing into the crowd with a grin.
Olivia smirked. “I was gonna use my personality, but sure.”
(Y/n) slid into the tiny open space near the bar with Rory, who was still clinging to Sean like a damn barnacle.
“You want something?” Rory asked her, shouting over the music.
“Gin Martini,” (Y/n) said automatically.
“Sean, go with her,” Rory said, patting his arm. “Don’t let any creeps try anything.”
(Y/n) narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, Sean. Don’t let any creeps try anything.”
He flashed her a fake smile and followed Rory toward the edge of the bar, like he was her knight in rusty-ass armor. (Y/n) sighed, adjusting her dress again and looking anywhere but at his smug reflection in the mirror behind the bar.
A few minutes passed. Olivia and Amara were still joking with some strangers at a booth. Rory was trying to convince a very bored-looking Sean to take a selfie.
(Y/n) stood alone, sipping the drink Rory had bought her. She tried to get lost in the music. It didn’t work.
“Cute dress,” a voice said beside her.
Oh come on. She stiffly turned around, already knowing who the voice belonged to.
Sean.
Gosh.
“Didn’t you just go take a picture with your girlfriend?”
He shrugged. “Just making conversation.”
“No,” (Y/n) said flatly, “you’re making problems.”
Sean smirked like it was all some game. He stepped in closer, breath reeking of whiskey. Fucking hell. How much has he had? We literally just came.
“You always this uptight?” he said. “I mean—if you want me to stop, just say so. But don’t act like you don’t like a little attention.”
She stepped back. “Wow. That’s original. Did you get that line from a Reddit thread or did you come up with it all by yourself?”
He laughed, low and mocking. “Relax. I’m just being friendly.”
“Right. The same kind of friendly you’re being with Rory, I guess?”
Sean’s smile cracked for half a second. “You really think she’d believe you over me?”
Oh, this guy.
(y/n) glanced past him, trying to look for Rory, or pretty much anyone from their group. Where the fuck are everyone?
She chugged the rest of her drink and placed it on the counter before spinning around and beginning to get away. I'm not dealing with this twat.
As she walked through the crowd, the music got louder and louder to the point where her ears were ringing. Suddenly, she felt something, someone grab her wrist, pulling her out of the crowd.
“Hey!” she bit back a curse as her back hit the wall.
Sean pressed his body closer, trapping her between him and the wall.
“Thought you can just leave me there, huh?” He whispered in her ear, nipping slightly at the skin on her neck.
“Get off me you wanker!”
He leaned back for a moment, his disgusting smirk growing in size before he pressed his mouth against hers, biting on her bottom lip.
Her eyes widened as she struggled to push him off, her hands growing weaker. Memories flashed through her eyes. Noah.
Suddenly, Sean pulled away.
“What the fuck?” He groaned as he stumbled back. Someone pulled him off.
“What the fuck is your problem, mate,” Sean yelled, turning toward the guy behind him. Who is..
(y/n)’s eyes widened even more. No way.
“Leave her alone.” The man said. The same man she saw twice in a fucking roll. His gaze was cold and emotionless as he stared down at Sean. This man was a whole skyscraper compared to her.
“Leave her alone? Do you not see how she’s bloody dressed. She practically begging to be fucked like the good little slut she is—”
Before Sean could finish, the guy had already closed the distance.
His hand shot out and fisted the front of Sean’s shirt, dragging him forward before slamming him against the wall. The impact was loud—sharp enough to draw a few glances from the crowd, but not enough to stop the music.
(y/n) gasped, taking a step back.
“Don’t call her that.” He warned, his tone low.
“That’s enough.”
(y/n) walked over to the two. “People are staring. Yous are causing a scene.”
He glanced at her, dropping Sean the moment she spoke. For a moment, it seemed like his gaze softened when he looked at her before hardening again. He took a step back, his eyes not leaving Sean.
“Yeah, enough dude.” Sean mumbled, his stupid smirk returning to his face. I wanted to kill that bastard for even laying his eyes on her.
(y/n) slapped him, the sound so loud it made some people glance at them. She gripped his hair, pulling him down to her eye level, her eyes full of hatred as she glared at him. She was furious.
“If i see you anywhere near me or Rory again, I'm gonna cut your dick off and feed it to you, you disgusting cunt.” she said, her voice dropped to a threatening, low tone, and fuck, it made Leon so proud.
Sean let out a pained groan, his breathing getting heavier. “Don’t forget who my dad is.” she whispered quietly, catching Leon’s attention. Her dad.
Sean’s eyes widened.
“Piss off now. I don't wanna see you again.” She let go off him and he immediately disappeared.
“Pussy.” she mumbled, a smirk beginning to form on her lips. She crossed her arms, her attention switching back to Leon.
“Are you stalking me?” That question caught him off guard.
He raised an eyebrow, shoving his hand in the pockets of his leather jacket.
He didn’t answer right away. Not because he didn’t have one, but because something about the way she said it made him pause. Like she wanted him to say yes.
He tilted his head slightly, watching her. “Would it matter if I was?”
She scoffed, narrowing her eyes at him.
She was still shocked from what happened earlier.
He took a step forward.
“I wasn’t stalking,” he said finally. “You just keep showing up in all the wrong places.”
Her eyebrow arched. “And you just happen to be in the same ones?”
“Coincidence,” Leon said with a smirk. “Or fate, if you’re into that kind of shit.”
“I’m into normal people who don’t body slam my friend’s glorified pet rat into walls.”
Leon’s smirk faded. He glanced past her, into the crowd where Sean had slithered off, tail between his legs.
“He’s a problem.”
“And you’re what?” she asked, stepping in close. real close. Enough to make his chest feel too small for his lungs. “The solution?”
He didn’t blink.
“If I am, you’re welcome.”
(y/n) laughed once, sharp and sarcastic. “You think I needed saving?”
Leon’s eyes flicked to her lips, then back to her eyes. She was trying to get a rise out of him. Test him. That was fine. He liked fire. Knew how to control it. mostly.
He leaned down, lowering his voice. “No. I think you were two seconds away from knocking his teeth out yourself. I just saved you the dental bill.”
That caught her off guard. just a flicker, but he saw it. She looked away first.
And then, softer:
“Why are you even here?”
Leon shrugged his shoulders. “Can’t a man go out by himself sometimes?”
It wasn’t a lie. Not exactly.
This was the first time they ever spoke. Like, genuinely spoke together.
Her gaze dropped down to his lips, then to his body. slow, deliberate, like she wasn’t even trying to hide it.
Shameless.
Leon noticed. Of course he did.
He wasn’t blind.
And yeah. he looked back. Just once. Just long enough to see the way her dress clung to her hips, how her jaw tightened like she was mad at herself for even glancing.
Good.
Let her be mad.
“You done eye-fucking me?” he asked, voice low.
She rolled her eyes, but there was the ghost of a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. “You wish.”
“Maybe.”
That shut her up.
She looked at him like she already knew how this ended. Like she was waiting for him to say something. cross a line, close the gap, crack first.
And the worst part? He almost wanted to.
The space between them felt smaller by the second, like the air itself was holding its breath. He noticed the way her eyes kept flicking to his mouth, the way her posture shifted. defensive, but not distant.
They both felt it.
Too much tension in not enough space.
And Leon wasn’t built for this kind of heat. Not when he didn’t know what she was thinking. Not when it mattered more than he wanted it to.
He dropped his gaze for a second, jaw tense. A single breath. In, then out.
“I need to go.” He said, noticing the way her smile began disappearing and the disappointment in her eyes.
He took a step back, then another before turning around and starting to walk away.
“Wait!” He stopped, looking over his shoulder.
“Thank you, Leon.”