Prologue

The air was thick and humid as bodies packed together in a small room. The windows were open to allow the fresh, cool air of the evening in, but it didn't make it very far before it too became a victim to the intense heat. Even those sitting next to the windows weren't feeling much comfort. Anyone with any sense would have left to go to their own domains where they could turn on their air-conditioners and escape the summer heat, but no one in the room made any attempts to get up and leave.

Voices filled the room, drowning out the television that hung in the corner, muffling the music playing until one could only feel the vibrations. Everyone was speaking loudly, trying to talk over the person sitting, in some cases standing, next to them. Since the place was packed, some had taken to sitting in the doorway, constantly in the way for anyone who wanted to enter the building, though they didn't move. The air was hot, musky, and full of the smoke as people lit up their cigarettes. There were certain places marked a smoke free zone, but no one paid any attention to that. Why bother when one could already hardly move as it was? One was lucky to find an empty seat after such a long day.

The man behind the counter tended to everyone as quickly as he could, though it was a little difficult to keep up since his help had left because of a family emergency. There were some people still wearing their business suits, sharing a table as they discussed how the day was, complaining about their bosses or other coworkers, others wearing barely anything at all as they tried to pick up a date. There were both men and women who were looking for a one-night stand, their wedding rings hidden deep within their pockets, their spouses far out of mind.

However, in a far corner of the room, through all the commotion, there was a girl sitting by herself. She was almost invisible, sitting in the dark corner away from the doorway. Her brown hair was pulled up in a clip, her bangs shielding her gray eyes. She wasn't dressed up, but she still looked attractive to anyone looking for a date, almost as if she had come to look for one herself. She was wearing a white shirt with a gray skull on the from. a black jacket pulled over, and a black skirt. The girl wore black and white striped tights and her favorite pair of converse; black and white with prints of other shoes on them. She knew they looked a little odd, but she loved them anyway.

With just a quick glance, one could assume her to be around the age of twenty while others could assume her to be in her early teens. It always depended on how she dressed, how she behaved when under the observation of a stranger. A few had tried to socialize with the girl, but she had turned them all down, declining any drink that had come her way. In America, she would have never been allowed in such a place, seeing as to how she was only eighteen, but now that she was in Germany, it was a different story. Though she was of the age to drink alcohol, she didn't have any intentions of getting drunk, especially when she was by herself.

She had come to the bar under the request of a friend she had made a few days after coming to Germany. They had talked often, spending almost all their free time together for a couple weeks before she had been asked to join them at the bar for a night. Though she had shown up a good fifteen minutes before scheduled, she had been sitting in the corner for almost an hour, but her friend hadn't shown. Feeling a bit agitated, she pulled out her phone and texted her friend, asking them where they were.

Normally, loud noises didn't bother the girl, but that was usually when regarding to music. Loud voices tended to give her a headache, as did the smell of alcohol after a period of time. The cigarette smoke had begun to annoy her, making her eyes water and her lungs burn. She regretted not sitting next to a window when she had arrived, but at the same time, she was still glad to be sitting in the corner where only a few strangers had momentarily bothered her. Sitting in the corner was better than sitting where more could see her, and see how awkward she could be sitting there by herself. At least, that's what she believed.

She checked her phone when she felt it vibrate, sliding it open as she read the text her friend had sent her. Her lips shifted into a frown as her friend informed her that they had come down with a virus. It would have been nice to know before she had walked the half hour to the bar and sat there for an hour looking like a fool. She sighed and texted her friend back, telling them it was alright and that they could hang out again some other time before putting her phone away. Letting out a sigh, she silently wished that her friend was simply running late. It would have looked better for them to come in apologizing to her rather than her getting up and leaving after sitting for an hour without having so much as a drink or a snack.

Despite her thoughts of everyone noticing her, hardly anyone was paying any attention to her, like always. She always made herself paranoid with thoughts that everyone was noticing the little things she did. Deep inside, she knew they never paid attention to her, but her mind still liked to play tricks on her. She bit the inside of her cheek as she grabbed her purse from her seat, checked the time on her phone as she got ready to leave. With her friend not coming, she didn't see any point in staying at the bar.

As she stood up to go, she stole a last glance around the bar to see who was still there from when she had arrived and who had come after. A lot of the ones who were looking for a date were still there, having no success. Others flirted away shamelessly. She went to take a step toward the door but stopped when her eyes landed on someone. Their back was currently to her, but they looked familiar. The way they moved, the hairstyle. She couldn't place where she had seen them before, and she blinked. The loud noises and her headache were finally getting to her.

She shook her head and went to make her way to the door again but froze when the person turned around. The face, the hair, the body movements, the choice of clothing. She knew the person had been familiar, but she couldn't believe it. It couldn't be him. Sure, she was in Germany, his country, but he couldn't be here. It wasn't like him. At least, that what she thought. Then again, he had kept his personal life out of the tabloids, so maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised.

The girl looked back at her seat to see that it was still empty. Looking back at the man at the bar, she stepped back and slid back into her seat, her eyes never leaving the man in her sights. He was alone, which surprised her again. As she studied his face, she frowned, her brow creased with confusion and worry. He wasn't smiling, wasn't laughing, his posture shadowing his mood. He didn't seem to be happy at all; he seemed to be as miserable as one could possibly be.

Reviews

[Manda]

Oh no, who could that possibly be?

Also, that's a bit flaky how her friend dipped on her while she was waiting so long in the bar. Bars are for dick monkeys, so making her friend stay in one when she had no interest is a s****y thing.

Good job, keep going.

[Sseoni]

Nice prologue! It was really descriptive and detailed! I'm off to read more! :D