Chapter 6 - Have we met before?

NOTE:

- Italics = thoughts the POV thinks for the story

- Oddity (Noun): Magic or power possessed by 0.5% of the world's human population, making them rare and extremely valuable. (They work similarly to quirks in BNHA). The world knows about them (it's not a secret) so society functions around them as well as normal humans

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6 MONTHS LATER...

POV: Nerovsky

"I'm hammered. I am totally smashed. Not to the point of blacking out but enough to know that I'm probably going to forget a lot of what might happen tonight. Or am I just exaggerating? I don't know why I agreed to come here. I hate him. He is the bane of my existence. Why is he making me socialise? Help me."

The other interlocutor looked at me with a smug smirk and looked back down into the drink that was placed in front of him. He didn't look as smashed as I did and that kind of annoyed me since it was his idea to come here in the first place.

"You know... You shouldn't be telling your bane of existence this stuff. Most people usually talk smack about them behind their back to other people, not to them."

I stared at him with focused eyes and then blinked once, very slowly. Everything was still out of focus but it was slowly getting better

"You're not my best friend named Aiden Hendrix who I currently hate for dragging me out to a bar."

He gave a short, hearty laugh before replying with,

"Uh yeah. I am the best friend Aiden Hendrix who you currently hate for dragging you out to a bar."

I continued to stare and used all my energy into focusing on the imposter sitting next to me in the booth. Once my visions cleared up, I saw that the imposter wasn't actually an imposter but was in fact Aiden. With that in mind, I gave him a scowl and made clear of the current situation I was in. That situation being at a table with 7 others, 6 of which that were strangers to me. I looked around the table to see all of them being at least tipsy and therefore rowdy and loud. It was not just them, however. The entire bar was loud, with the noise created by people yelling at the game presented on the TV or by people cheering at the dart peoples. Even the girls and guys hitting on single patrons (sitting by the bar) were being deafening.

I looked back at Aiden with my previous glare and began complaining for the 5th time tonight or was it 7th? Did I even ask before?

"Why are you such an asshole Aiden? Assden. Like you know I'm introverted as fuck and can't do well in crowds, especially in new crowds. I haven't spoken with them other than greeting them and couple of words here and there."

He gave a huge sigh of exhaustion but proceeded to answer my complaint anyway.

"Nero, I already told you like a billion times. These people, who surprisingly cannot hear your loud complaints, are my co-workers that invited both you and me out to this bar. They invited you as well because I talk about you so much so it'd be rude to ignore their invitation."

I simply rebutted back with a hint of disbelief.

"Yeah it would be rude except I have a genuine reason to be here, not that I'm saying my introverted nature and reluctance to interact with the human population isn't valid. Anyway, I have work from tomorrow morning. IT'S MY FIRST FUCKING DAY ON THE JOB AS WELL!"

Aiden just waved his hand in dismissal in front of my face (rude asshole) and continued on.

"Yeah but it wasn't me who told you to get hammered was it? Plus, we got invited to an exclusive bar! You know, the ones that require like invitations and shit or like knowing the bartender. You know how exciting that is."

I was about to interrupt him but he doesn't let me, instead he just covered my mouth.

"FURTHERMORE, we have the chance to see some big shots around here. Celebrities and shit. Maybe even make friends with them."

I quietly mumbled, "you're a big shot yourself and I needed to get drunk if I were to get through tonight..." in which I got a confused "what?" out of the other man. I exhaled and simply said,

"Nothing. Look I couldn't care less about celebrities. Also, you're like a social butterfly. You have one friend in like every building in the entire city area. How many more do you need? Don't answer that. Right now I'm just pissed because I know I'm going to have one hell of a hangover on the first day of work and we all know that's not going to go down well. I just want to go home and crash on my very soft bed but I can't even do that because you're my ride. And I know you did that intentionally so I couldn't leave ten minutes in."

After finishing, I looked away from him, crossed my arms across my chest and pouted. It was probably in an exaggerated fashion to emulate a child for a larger effect. I heard very heavy breathing out before Aiden said what I wanted to hear all night... well semi of what I wanted to hear.

"Look go to the bar and have one last drink. After you finish, we'll go and I'll drop you home. Sound good?"

I looked back at him with a dubiously and asked, "Shouldn't you be telling me to sober up or have a cup of water, not telling me to make my hangover worse?"

He plainly replied with, "No, because I'm a bad friend and your selfish ass is making me leave my friends early. I'm also losing the opportunity to meet some celebrities and maybe even losing the chance of getting laid."

"You knew this was going to happen if you brought me here. Also the latter sounds like a you problem."

I get a pissed look in return. He gestured me to shoo by waving his hands towards the direction of the bar.

"Yeah yeah now shut up and go."

I gave a light shrug and got out of the booth, not bothering bidding Aiden's friends goodbye. Thank fuck I sat on the edge or else I had to do the awkward climbing over strangers performance. As I headed towards the bar, I began reappreciating the interior of the bar (I checked it out when entering but forgot what I said about it). It kind of had a mature vibe to it which was surprising because they had neon signs of different designs such as flowers and quotes. Neon signs aren't usually a sign of maturity. The bar and tables, including booth tables, were lined underneath with LED strip lights which gave a scifi-like glow and softened the environment a bit. The place itself was relatively dark in comparison to other places but there was still enough light to see. Majority of the place was lit up by modern, hanging chandeliers which was probably what contributed to the mature vibe the most. The bar area and the game area where the pool tables and arcade machines were located are the only places where they had bright LED ceiling lights. I wanna play games now... but at home... where there is no people. If it was any other day and it was just Aiden plus me, I would've appreciated the bar a lot more.

As I approached the bar, I spotted an empty seat and targeted it immediately. I practically ran to the seat and fortunately claim it. Mission accomplished. It put a smile on my face and I called out to the bartender in the cheeriest voice tonight had ever seen. He came to tend to me with the customer-only smile of his. How off-putting. You should be smile more genuinely when serving me because... I'm me. Wait since when did getting drunk feed my ego?

"Hello sir. What can I get you?"

Oh shit I didn't think of that before coming here. I don't want to make him wait. I don't want to be hated. He's so judging me. Oh no I'm being all insecure again. Wait did he call me sir? I'M NOT THAT OLD YOU OLD MAN. Pretentious ass place.

I blurted the first thing that came to mind. "Canadian Club... please."

His attitude didn't change and simply told me the price. I paid and he went to do his job. This is why... YOU DON'T MAKE ME GO OUT UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY ASSDEN! Why don't drop him as a friend again? I feel like there is more cons than pros sticking by the fucker.

By the time my internal conflict was over, the drink was put in front me and the bartender had gone to deal with other customers. Well the sooner I drink this, the sooner I can get home. With that in mind, I took the glass in my hand and took one big gulp of it. Ok I'm not going to chug it down. I paid for it so I might as well enjoy it. I'll just enjoy it in a faster pace. I continued to do so, enjoying it and it's aftertaste whilst looking around bar. I had the sudden desire to do some people-seeing (I'm not a creep). However, something immediately caught my attention to my right.

In fact, it was literally next to me (A/N I think I made an unintentional pun). Basically, a man was standing next to the stool next to me just chilling on his phone in one hand and a drink in the other. He had faced away from the bartender and towards the other customers. But that wasn't what really caught my attention (initially). It was the huge crowd that was about 6 metres away from him and this crowd was blatantly just staring at him and taking photos. You can clearly tell the girls (and guys) were trying to be subtle about their get together but wasn't really working out. Their obnoxious giggles and comments were loud and obviously about my neighbour. The best part though was the fact the guy just does not give a shit and was pretending they don't exist. I'll give him credz for that.

I glanced between him and the crowd a couple of times before my eyes landed on him and I just stared. Not (only) because he was as attractive as some sort of hot anime antagonist but because this guy looked familiar. So damn familiar to the point that it's bothering me. And it's not like this guy had some generic face either. He had golden-brown hair and golden eyes, at least it looked golden on the side but golden none the less. That ain't normal and it's hard to forget unique people like that. He felt definitely felt the extra pair of eyes on him because he glanced at me for a second and then went back to his phone. Then again Nero, you are kind of drunk so maybe that may add to your inability to recall this beautiful face. Clearly the rational thought wasn't rational enough to satisfy my curiosity because my dumbass thought it was ok to OPEN MY MOUTH AND ASK HIM WHAT WAS ON MY MIND (while leaning towards him a bit).

"Have we met before? You look familiar..."

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, the crowd in front immediately shut up and basically fucking studied the interaction between us. They looked shocked for some reason. Can't really point out why. Is it because I actually got the balls to say hi to the bastard? Regardless, the recipient of the question looked at me with a blank face initially but then lifted his right eyebrow, following up with a small smirk.

"Was that meant to be the starting of a pick-up line? Surely, you can do better."

See, since I was kind of hammered, the words didn't initially register. By the time I do process it, the small crowd near us were attempting to hide their sniggering and laughter. I felt my ears and cheeks gathering heat from embarrassment and fucking RAGE. The bitch was trying to humour in the most condescending way possible. Furthermore, my eyes began lightly pulsing, meaning they were on the verge of changing colour. Not a good sign. I basically shrilled my response,

"Ex-CUSE me?"

The asshole for a split second looked surprised before taming his face into a smug, entertained look. EVEN THAT LOOKS FAMILIAR WTF. He put the drink in his right hand and rested his elbow on the bar, chin in hand.

"What? Am I wrong?"

Is he wrong he asks... is he wrong... don't lose your shit. 1... 2... 3... Once I calmed down, I looked back at him with a fake seductive look, flirty smile and all. My next words don't really match my expression though.

"Dear kind asshole. Do me a fucking favour and get off that high horse of yours. The weight of your ego will crush the poor guy. The horse has done nothing wrong except for carry your sorry ass for so long." Ok so maybe I wasn't as calm as I thought. I honestly can't be blamed here. I'm sorry my pride is my first priority.

My response clearly wasn't expected and caught other the fan group and the jerk off guard. His face has morphed into open surprise, mouth slightly gaping, eyes wide open, making his iris shine more. The golden hue is enchanting and I cannot seem to look away. It kind of took my breath away but I managed to look at the crowd instead (before I become completely breathless). Now don't get me started with the group six metres away from us. They all gasped, mouths opened, giving the green lights for the flies so they could go in. I'm pretty sure one of them also said that they didn't regret recording the entire conversation.

When I looked back jerk-face again (wow I have so many names for the guy and it's only been like 5 minutes), it's my turn to be shocked. His face displayed no traces of smugness and a lot of entertained...ness but it wasn't that, that surprised me. He was showing me a goofy smile. A childlike smile. You know the pure ones with no hidden meanings or intentions. And it suited him really well. So well that I got flustered and my ears heated up again. He should not look this good with a simple smile.

I wasn't the only one who noticed, it seems everyone in the surrounding area noticed and now the crowd in front were squealing and taking photos to keep forever. We're still staring each other and I think Mr. Mysteriously-familiar was about to say something but stopped. Might be due to the presence behind me who put a hand on my shoulder.

A familiar voice spoke in a semi disappointed and semi entertained tone. "I leave you alone for 5 minutes and you're already picking fights with random strangers. You want to go home that bad?"

I turned around to face Aiden with a frustrated look and rebutted back,

"What? I'm not picking fights. The asshole next to me thought I was hitting on him after I asked whether I've seen him before. I just got him back down to earth."

Aiden simply shook his head in disappointment and looked at my neighbour properly and continued on.

"I'm extremely sorry on his behalf. He just didn't want- OH MY GOD!"

That got me startled as well as the crowd. Aiden's face all of a suddenly executed a face of utter shock, eyes bulging out, eyebrows hidden his fringe and mouth hanging open. I'm fucking lost and I glanced back for a bit towards the not-really-stranger to see he was just as puzzled as me. When I resumed staring at my now-crazy best friend, he let out a small laugh (which seemed accidental) and then tried to control his face. He, for some fucking reason was trying to hold back hysterical laughter.

Getting pissed by the minute, I asked in my very pissed tone, "What the fuck is so amusing?"

He simply looked back at me, eyes filled with glee and enjoyment?

"Ok now it's really our cue to leave. Up we go."

"Wait wha- you didn't answer-"

"Nero. Trust me when I say this. I'm being a very good friend and when I say we really need to leave now, it's for your own sake. Explanations can come later."

With that being said, Aiden grabbed my wrist and dragged me across the establishment. I sputtered in disbelief and utter confusion and when I looked back at where my half-finished drink was left, I see the handsome jerk to be even more bemused than before.

By the time I looked forward again, we're already underneath the chilled, night sky and the only thing running through my head as I was continuously being dragged is What the fuck... is going on?

♤♧♡♢

As Whatever by Jiwoo was playing through my AirPods, I appreciated the building that I currently stopped in front of. This was going to be my new workplace and the first thing that went through my head is, Holy shit this place is tall. The second was, it's designed well and real pretty. The 51-story building (that number really bothers me) was surrounded by tinted windows which had a royal blue hue to it. Very classy. Now it's not like it was my first time here but the situation and time 6 months ago didn't give me much of a chance to appreciate it properly. Can't really blame me though.

The song finished and that was my cue to put my AirPods away and to actually enter the building. I would've arrived to the building with some hyped-up music like some Blackpink except my asshole of a best friend decided to give me a hangover and I don't think thumping music would help the cause. But before I could go in, my phone went off with the ringtone dedicated to said asshole. Speak of the asshole.

"Assden. Call me to make fun of the fact that I have to go into my first day in pain?"

"*Gasp* you'd think that low of me? Of course not. I'm here to wish you luck and give you my blessings. Because they're priceless and they should be worshipped as a separate religion."

"... right."

"Anyway, how's that hangover of yours anyway? Did the meds and soup help?"

"It's still there no thanks to you but the meds and soup did help it a bit. Speaking of which, you still haven't told me if anything weird happened last night or if I did anything embarrassing? You know I forgot some of the events when I'm drunk. Like all I remember is sitting at the booth, complaining, getting another drink and getting dragged out of the bar."

You could just hear the smugness in Assden's reply.

"And I told you not to worry about it. You'll find out in due time. It's not a big deal anyway. Look I've reached my own destination so I need to go. Have fun on your first day newbie!"

I grumbled, "Thanks bastard" and end the call.

I put my phone away and focused on the revolving doors. Well here goes nothing. With that in mind, I entered.