Your neck hurt. Working an eight hour job constantly curled over squinting at a computer screen had you feeling a lot older than what you were.

You rubbed your neck as you stepped into your empty apartment, turning on lights as you ambled over to your bedroom.

Once in, you glanced at the clock, 8:25. You had another two hours to kill before it was time.

You decide to take a warm bubble bath, sinking low into the water and clearing your mind. You tried to avoid thoughts about your parents constantly nagging about marriage, your friends begging for you to hang out, and your boss always chastising you in front of the other employees. Instead you thought of sharp dark catlike eyes, and small plump pink lips. You thought about dancing and alcohol.

You thought about freedom.

Once you were out, you started getting ready, putting on your favorite red dress and black kitten heels, and slowly put on your face, making sure to look your best. You combed your hair into a bun and clasped on the thin necklace you were given for Christmas, the one with the pink rose dangling from it.

Once you were completely ready, it was 10:15, and you grinned because you were now late.

You hurriedly rushed out of your house, once again hitting every light switch to the door, and stumbled down the steps to wave down the first taxi you saw. When asked where you were headed, you simply answered, “downtown,” and the driver grunted as he pulled onto late night Friday traffic to your destination.

The Catfish Grill. The nasty rundown bar claimed to be. You stared at the neon sign from across the street, wondering—as usual—if crossing the road was a mistake. If meeting him again was a mistake.

But then your neck started hurting again, so you carried yourself over to the place, slowly entering the somewhat dilapidated bar which was surprisingly crowded.

Glancing around quickly only to find no one there appeared familiar, you approached the counter with a sigh, gingerly sitting on a stool that had been taped together only for the fluff to sprang back out.

The bartender approached you and smirked knowingly. You meet his gaze and let out a sigh of relief, “Baekhyun.”

He nodded. “He’s not here yet,” he informed and chuckled once you slumped.

“But… I was late tonight.”

Baekhyun simply shrugged, “what can I get you while you wait?”

“Surprise me. Something strong, though.” He laughed a bit harder, his straight teeth flashing as he turned away from you.

You bit your lip, you could not believe you beat him here, that’s not how this night was supposed to go. You hated how he always did that, changed the rules without informing you. It made you dizzy.

It made you excited.

Baekhyun reappeared and sat two shot glasses in front of you. Without hesitating, you snatched one and dipped your head back, feeling the warm liquid trail fire down your throat. You winced, but slammed the glass down, picking the second one up and downing it as well.

“You couldn’t wait, could you?” The soft voice nearly made you choke as it hit your ears. You spun in your seat to see the man of the hour standing before you. He was cladded all in black, wearing chunky beat up boots, torn skinnies, a black V-neck, and his signature leather jacket.

His skin glowed under the dim lights, as he brushed some of his bangs to the side, his black hair falling onto his kohl covered eyes. Eyes that never left you.

You gulped as he checked you out, his gaze lingering on the necklace around your neck before meeting your eyes.

You tried not to sweat or appear as nervous as you felt.

Finally, he titled his head towards the door, and without another word, he spun around and left. You quickly followed, waving at Baekhyun when he bid you farewell, chuckling to himself while shaking his head.

“Tao,” you called once you were back in the cold air. Something heavy landed on your shoulders, and you peered down to see a leather jacket around you. You glanced up and spotted Tao, eyes somewhat unreadable as he grinned slightly.

“It’s getting cold,” he murmured around his unlit cigarette. You nodded, pulled the jacket closer to your body as he held out a hand for you to take. “Shall we?”

Once your hand was in his, he was in full control. The two of you began running down the sidewalk, feeling the crisp hair attempt to push you back, back to where you should be. But you fought against it, let all your doubts and troubles fall away as Tao scurried to god knows where. The streetlights glowed yellow and dim and whenever you fell underneath one, you peered at the man whose hand you clutched. You caught glimmers of his features. An uplifted cheek. A long neck. A shock of white.

Pieces that you attempted to put together, but still had not figured out the picture. But as of now, you weren’t too worried about that.

Tao stopped in front of a somewhat busy square. A man was there, playing his guitar and singing a slow song you had never heard before.

“Dance with me,” Tao breathed into your ear, and you shivered, nodding up at him and allowed him to take ahold of you. The two of you started swaying to the music, hands roaming the others body, as you began to feel the shots you had earlier.

“I missed you,” he murmured, and you tightened your hold on his neck.

“The nighttime is almost ours,” you answered, and you felt more then heard him chuckle, a brush of lips on your collarbone.

At around midnight, the two of you slowly walked down an empty sidewalk, fingers lazily intertwined.

It was silent, only the sounds of feet crunching leaves were heard, echoing back into the city.

Once a week. You only were able to see Tao once a week, because the two of you were busy living your own lives, back in the real world.

You were each other’s getaway, escape from the hustle and bustle. Escape from the stress.   

You knew very little about the man beside you, but you did know that he played guitar in a band, and he lived in the city. You knew he liked hotdogs and worried a lot about his appearance.

You also knew that you were falling for him.

“The stars are really bright tonight,” he mentioned, and you lifted your head to see that he was correct. The two of you were farther out then you had thought if this many stars were visible.

“Come over,” you said without thinking, and stiffened as soon as you realized what you just said. Tao stopped walking and looked at you, but you were too embarrassed to meet his gaze.

Fingers were then at your chin, yanking it up, and then lips caressed your own. Tao pulled away with a somewhat goofy smile on his face and you blinked up at him, wondering what that was for.

“Alright. Let’s go to your place. I’ve never seen you in the sunlight.”

You blushed and spun around, grinning victoriously once you realized that you were now the one that was in control.

A/N : Hello! im still alive!!! this is something i kinda just rammbled. beautiful song, thought it was fitting for the man. Not exactly where I wanted it to go but oh well. hope you liked it.