A Recollection of Ideas: A Series of One Shots

I was at a bar, again. I always found myself here. It could be four in the morning, or eleven at night. No matter the time, I always seemed to come back to this one spot, exactly the third barstool to the right. I didn’t like being smashed against a wall or left out in the open, so I always took the third chair in this bar.

“Back again, Mad Dog?” The bartender asked. I shrugged. His tattooed arms raised a glass to clean it. I nodded sadly.

“You know it, Syko.” I kidded. Oliver Sykes was typically behind the counter when I came in. It was a rare day when he wasn’t. He was about the same age as I was, maybe a year old. I didn’t really care. He’s cute but I’m just here to get my fill and leave. Why should I pry into his personal stats?

“We should just dedicate that seat to you. You’re here so often, it’s weird if you’re not sitting there.” Oliver chuckled, passing me a glass. I sighed and nodded, starting to sip at the beer. He went to go rub down more glasses while I waited.

“That’s true. Drown out the thoughts, stumble a block back to my apartment, repeat. That’s the cycle.” I winked to him, sliding my glass back over. He grabbed it and set it down, refilling but not giving me the amber happiness. I frowned at him.

“What happened this time?”

“Gimme the drink.”

“Trade. Story for drink.” He bartered in his smooth British accent. I bit my lip and finally nodded, raising my eyes from the drink to his. He leaned against the counter. No one else was in here. The fan whirled overhead, sending gusts of cool air in my direction.

“I got fired from work.”

“Why?” He asked curiously. I worked at the local department store since I couldn’t get a job anywhere else and I needed money. One of my tattoos on my shoulder was showing and the manager saw it, so she got all uppity and screaming about how I was defiling my body. Basically, when she was done yelling, she told me to leave my badge and get out.

I recounted the story to Oli who just shook his head and sighed. He passed me the drink, which I guzzled quickly, as if I was a greed drinking liquid gold.

“Harsh, Madison.” Oli shook his head. I nodded and finished my second glass. He took the bottle away from me, setting it away from my grasp.

“No more for now.”

“But Syko….” I whined, setting my head on the bar and groaning. He walked around to take the chair next to me, rubbing my shoulder. I looked up at him and his tattoos.

“You have tattoos and no one hates you.” I grumbled through half lidded eyes. He tucked a piece of hair behind my ears, grinning down at me.

“That’s because I’ve found a place that doesn’t care. You’re just going to half to find yours.” He laughed. I groaned against and set my head against my arms. We sat quietly, listening to soft football plays in the background and the fan humming overhead. His hand found mine and I found myself yanked up, my eyes snapping open.

“What?” I asked him, disgruntled from the movement.

“I have to show you something!” He chuckled, pulling me around the bar towards a backdoor.

“It’s ten at night. I should be heading home.” I muttered. He refused to let go of my hand. After another minute of grumbling, he led me to a hallway and up a flight of stairs. I wasn’t super drunk yet so I was in okay shape to keep walking up stairs.

“Come on!” He chuckled and opened a door. I stepped out into the dark night. I had to blink to erase spots of light lingering in my vision. He pulled me out with him, leading me to some chairs. It was pitch black, the bright lights of town numbly dull.

“Woah, this is beautiful.” I looked up, facing west towards the rolling hills and mountains further out. No city lights marred this landscape. The Milky Way was clear against the abyss of space. Each star shone like a gem. Oli took my hand, making me sit with him on a blanket on the roof of the building.

“I come out here every chance I can, just so that I can watch the stars. I know I’m all alone up here because I’m supposed to close. In fact, the bar is closed now. I turned off the lights behind us.” Oliver chuckled. I stretched out as I lay back, just looking up and getting lost in the sky. I tried to make out constellations.

Oli pointed them out to me. He was a whiz with the patterns in the sky. I couldn’t help but be confused. We sat in silence for a little while, just enjoying the lightness between us.

His hand brushed mine, catching my fingers between his. I sighed, closing my eyes. He stroked the back of my hand with his thumb. I felt his eyes look at me, studying how I was looking. I turned to look back at him.

“Enjoying it, Mad?”

“I love it, Oli.” I whispered. He smiled, pulling me closer to his side. I snuggled into his warm embrace. We were friends, good friends. We knew each other from the bar. The closer I was to him, the more I had to laugh.

Was it cheesy to fall for the guy that served you alcohol? Were these my true feelings, or was this just the beer talking?

His lips found my cheek. I hummed happily, returning my gaze with the sky.

No, this was my real feelings.

“Why are you laughing?” He asked, his eyes furrowing in confusion. I stopped to smile at him.

“Because I’m thinking something and it might be the alcohol but it might be real.”

“A drunk man’s actions are a sober man’s thoughts.”

“Okay, calm your pants, Confucius. I was thinking that I really like you and that the stars are pretty.” I sighed, blushing instantly afterwards. He leaned up, poking my ribs.

“R-really?” He asked. I giggled from being poked and didn’t answer. He stuck his tongue out, his trademark look, and grinned.

“Stop! You’re making me laugh harder!” I choked out. He rolled over, basically on top of me. I tried pushing him off and he pinned my wrists over my head. Woah, this got intense. He stopped tickling to give me a serious look.

“Really, you mean it?”

“Yeah, I do. And I don’t think it’s the Pale Ale talking.” I smiled. He leaned down, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss. I opened my mouth a little as he straddled my waist. I was afraid he was going to try and poke me again and ruin the whole moment. No, he didn’t. His tongue slipped against mine, dominating easily. I hummed happily.

I’ve never felt this way before. He was just making my problems all disappear.

Oli released my hands to cup my face, stroking my cheek with his thumb. I looped my arms over his neck, bringing him closer to me. I felt one of his hands slide down my side, gripping low on my hip. I groaned a little bit at the light touch of his fingers. He released to pull at the hem of my shirt, sliding his hand to rest lightly on my ribs.

“I love you, Madison.” He broke away to whisper. I opened my eyes to stare at him.

“I think you had too much to drink.” I whispered sadly. It was all too good to be true.

“No, I didn’t have any. I really, really mean it.” He whispered, kissing my jaw. My eyes fluttered close, just feeling his light kisses fall down my neck to my collar bone, his hands roaming up and down my body.

“Oliver?”

“Hmm?” He murmured against my shoulder. I paused a moment, long enough to make him look up at me curiously.

“I love you to.” I smiled, my hands starting to play with the buttons on his shirt. I think he knew what was coming next.

“I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

Notes

This one shot is for secret-life! Sorry it's a little late! I was just waiting to do it on a Friday night! Anyways, i'm trying something new with a light almost smut taste. I hope it's satisfactory!

Don't forget to keep on requesting one shots! I can't wait to do more, but I can't promise i'll do a lot more smut. I'm really not a smut person.