1 Being at a club tonight hadn't been Sereyin Ruyn's intention.

Simply being at all hadn't been her intention either. It was all just gray. There wasn't much distress, nor was there much comfort.

It was what it was.

Sereyin spent several weekends at the club with the music beating in tandem with her heart just to know it was still there. She made a friend or two. Drank a bunch. Got a few stares either because people thought her dark brown skin and frizzy hair was exotic, or they were merely curious about her because her type was uncommon. Or maybe she was genuinely attractive. Though probably not. She didn't have the preferred Handese skinniness. It didn't matter much to her. She took what she could get, and tonight on the menu was a lean, slope-shouldered young man with square glasses, pale skin, and dark brown hair.

It was difficult to see him clearly because the room was dark and the neon lights would never stay in place for long. She didn't know his name or if he was with anyone tonight. But he was cute enough, a couple of centimeters shorter, and most importantly, the smell of alcohol on his breath and the way he swayed around indicated he wasn't sober enough that he would remember her tomorrow. She may have had an uncommon complexion, but there were enough similar people in this city that at least she wouldn't necessarily be the first guess if he did remember. But that was just her overthinking.

The two of them ended up carrying each other to an adjacent, dimly lit hall leading to a restaurant next door. They made out for a while against the wall. By the way he kissed deeply with just the right amount of tongue but kept his body somewhat stiff, Glasses seemed to know what he was doing but was a bit out of practice. Sereyin took lead for the most part, running her hands under his semi-formal collared shirt and gradually loosening him up. The muted beats continued on in the background and their hot breaths became the most pervasive sound. They abruptly stopped as footsteps emerged, and they both awkwardly leaned against the wall beside each other. A group of oblivious drunks walked past them, laughing loudly.

Glasses spoke in a low voice, just barely decipherable from the beats and the disappearing laughter. "I should go."

"I can go wi—"

"It's alright." He waved and stumbled away.

It looked like he had a limp, or maybe it was just the way he drunk-stumbled. Sereyin didn't pay much mind. He soon disappeared back into the club, and that was that.