Chapter 11 "Getting To Know Her Better"

"Interesting? Why is that so?" William asked this to keep the conversation engaging. He felt a little bit of confidence that he could get close to this girl tonight.

"I don't know… "She paused for a while, "Because you don't seem like anyone in here."

"I'm not sure that I understand it, but thank you." He took another sip of a drink.

He knew that this girl was not the social type as well like him, maybe even socially awkward, and she was put in a place that was out of her comfort zone. From what they just talked about before, he could already guess what kind of girl she was.

"Why are you here? Like, what brought you to going to this nightclub?" He asked.

She was a bit hesitant for a while but still answered, "Just because why not."

He laughed, "Just because why not? That doesn't seem like it."

"Why are you here?" She asked back the same question.

William pretended to ponder for a while and replied, "Eh, someone asked me to come here and enjoy something that is out of my comfort zone. Because I always spend my time in my own apartment playing games and all that. So I'd give it a try."

"Then how was it?"

"I guess the same is kind of like your situation. I'm not pretty interested in anyone in here nor to my liking at all. Hence why I'm here, just taking a moment for myself the last time here and never coming back."

"It's not your thing as well, huh," Aria looked at her glass and replied, "I prefer to be alone. Being surrounded by others who are not close to you is pretty much uncomfortable. So, I guess I can understand your feeling."

He replied, "True that. I'm all better alone with myself. Like I got everything that I needed, like enjoying myself and all, and I was told, 'Oh, you had to go out more and socialize'. I'm like, no, thank you, I'm good, but then again, they forced me, so, fuck it, I guess only for tonight."

She chuckled, "Understandable. For me, I don't know. My friend is kind of the same. She's the complete opposite of mine and always thought I should go out more. I'm here just because of that, and I might never come back here."

"I guess we're not the kind of people that would go to the bar or the club on a night and enjoy our lives?"

"I don't think so," she replied.

He grabbed his glass and moved it to her side, "Cheers for that."

She smiled, "Yeah."

Both of them drank their glasses empty and placed them down at the counter.

"So what's your plan after this?" He asked again and tried to keep on engaging with her.

She thought for a while and said, "I don't know. Maybe I just went straight home by myself and just gonna play video games like I usually do."

He smirked, "Really? What games do you play?"

"A lot, but lately, I've been addicted to playing RPG games and all."

He smiled after hearing this, "Is it a singleplayer or multiplayer RPG we're talking here?"

"Singleplayer is good, but multiplayer is more fun. I find it more fun when playing with the others that I know in the game."

"Okay, that's cool. So let me guess, you're an MMORPG kind of player?"

She nodded, "Yes, an FFXIV player, to be exact."

"No shit? I play that game too."

While in fact, he only played it for a month and never continued ever again as he already finished all the story quests and had nothing to do again in the game.

"You play it too? That's amazing! It's such a good game, and I love it." The tone of her voice changed, and she seemed enthusiastic.

He knew that he had hit a strike with her. It's a topic that she is most interested in.

"I know, right? Look, I know it's weird and all, but we can trade Discord contacts if you like, and maybe you're down for doing dungeons and raids together in that game." He shot his chance to get her contact as a way to communicate further later.

"Oh, we definitely can do that." She nodded and smiled

He smiled with victory in his eyes. He can feel that he is close to making his move on her. Now, he has to keep the conversation going and see if she is open to him and make her think that she has made the best choice for him. Finally, both of them opened their phones and added each other on Discord.

"AriaZen?" He asked as he looked at her Discord profile.

"Yeah, that's my name, and the word "Zen" sounds cool, so I put them together," She replied and looked at his profile as well, "WZ? Only two letters?"

"It's just both initials of my name. I like to keep it simple, cool, and mysterious, you know. Oh yeah, my name is William. I completely forgot about that."

"That's a cool initial."

They both put their phones back on the table and continued to enjoy their drink.

"Alright, this is cool. I guess going here and spending time just drinking sodas turns out to be a good thing, eh? At least each of us had a good talk." He took another sip of his drink.

"Yeah, it's not bad."

They continued talking for a few minutes about games and consoles. It was the only topic that William could bring to gain her interest and a way for him to get to know her better. She looked like she was having fun because she was having company in the midst of the nightclub crowd.

As they were talking together and enjoying their conversation, both of them heard a shout coming from behind. Both of them turned their heads, only to find that Caitlyn was already drunk and was talking nonsense on her way to the bar where they were sitting.

"Oooh? Who is this cutie I'm looking at? You finally hit on someone?" said Caitlyn as she was a bit drunk and couldn't even stand properly.

Aria blushed a little, "N-no. Are you drunk right now?"

"I'm fine! I just drank a little tonight!" Caitlyn replied.

"No, you're not. You can't even walk straight." said Aria with a concerned look.

"I think I should get her home. We should probably leave now." Aria said while walking away from the bar.

"Wait." He stopped her.

"Are you down to play later? I mean, if you're up and willing for it later." William asked.

She looked at him for a moment and smiled, "Sure, but I need to get her home first. I don't know if I'm able for tonight, but I'm always down for a game. I'll message you about it later."

William was a bit surprised at her reply. He was glad that he had made a score with someone in the nightclub.

She walked away from him after giving him a smile. She was helping her friend up the stairs, leaving him all alone at the bar. He took a sip of his drink as he watched her disappear into the crowd.

(Damn, you really hitting on her to the point you got her contact already. Although I have to say she was a little bit shy and awkward by the way she speaks, but that'll do for you.)

He was startled again, {I swear you keep on shocking me every time I'm not talking to anyone.}

(What was I supposed to do then? Knock the door first before anything? As if there is, either way, you're fucking amazing that you managed a socially awkward and inept kind of girl. I thought you were going to scare her right away.)

{Okay, first of all, that sounded rude. Second, I'm not a creepy drunkard in a nightclub who's just going to hit her randomly. Third, I never thought I would meet that kind of girl in this nightclub}

(So, what's your next course of action? Since you already got her socials and everything.)

He thought for a while, finished his drink, and said, {Don't worry, I know how to get her on my side real quick}