AN: Hey there, I've been away for a while so to make up for it, I'm bringing you this long ass story. I've been working on some stuff, but my writers' block is hella bad lately but I managed to kinda push this out.

I would have added this to my one-shots story but this is really long so I thought I'd just let it stand on its own.

Please let me know what you think.

"You look like you'd rather be anywhere else but here." A tiny blonde girl grinned up at me as she flagged down the bartender. Her hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail and she wore a black leather jacket over an emerald green shirt and black skinny jeans. I had to do a double take - she barely looked old enough to be in a bar. Something about her was familiar, but after twelve beers in a dark, dingy bar, I just couldn't bring myself to care.

I shrugged at her efforts to initiate a conversation. She was right that I'd rather be anywhere else so I wasn't sure what made her think I was up for a conversation with a complete stranger. Did she think I wanted to go home with her or something? I scoffed internally at the thought.

"It's okay," She piped up again, all too excited. "My friend Kari dragged me here so I know what it's like."

This time I actually scoffed.

"Not one for conversation, huh?" She asked as she slipped a ten dollar bill to the bartender.

"What do you want from me?" I snapped, growing tired of her attempts. I turned to her without realising how close she really was and my arm collided with hers. The next thing I knew, she was wearing my beer. Guilt struck and I quickly flagged down the bartender for some paper towels.

She suppressed a giggle. "You're lucky I'm tipsy, otherwise I would have chewed your head off about this." She chirped before skipping away into the crowd.

What a strange human, I thought to myself.

I ordered another beer before going to find Simon, taking extra care to not spill it on anybody this time. He was on the dance floor with a tall redhead, not even bothering to show public decency. I downed the rest of my drink and made my way to the mens' room. The thumping music penetrated through the doors even after they had closed and I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on. I finished up my business and my next stop was outside for some fresh air. The air inside the bar was thick, like smoke, and it reeked a fierce stench of perspiration mixed with copious amounts of perfume and cologne. The floors felt sticky with every step and I could only wonder what the bottom of my shoes had picked up in the last three hours. I tried not to think about it.

I leaned against the brick wall. The club was hot, sticky and smelly so the chill of the wall was welcome. A group of four women stumbled out of the doors, clinging to each other as if their lives depended on it. They hobbled into a taxi, screaming with joy as it zoomed off into the night. Two men were being escorted by bouncers from the premises, slurring their words and puffing their chests out trying to make themselves look more intimidating. Meanwhile another man sat at the bus stop across the street, devouring a kebab as if his life depended on it while a young woman cried on his shoulder.

Nightlife was strange.

I checked my watch - two forty three in the morning, and sighed. By the looks of things, Simon wasn't ready to go home quite yet. The last time he dragged me out to a club and was left to find his own way home, he woke up in a park with his pants off and his credit card missing.

Surely he'd be fine this time, right? Right?

A disgruntled, slurred voice broke my thoughts.

"Kari, I've called you five times and left five voice mails. Liz saw you leave with another girl. Where are you? You were supposed to be my ride home!"

It was coming from the alleyway next to the club. I peered my head around the corner to see a short blonde girl throwing her arms up in frustration as she glared down at her phone. Her head whipped towards me, ponytail swishing with her movements. A look of recognition flashed across her face. It was the same woman I had spilled my drink on earlier.

"You've caught me at a bad time. This time I might actually chew your head off." She glared at me. Nothing could make this five-foot-nothing beauty look menacing, but she was trying her hardest.

"Look, I'm sorry I-"

"Save it, I've got bigger things to worry about." She was the one who snapped this time as she furiously typed something into her phone.

"Do you need me to call you a cab?" I asked.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "My friend has my bank card. And my keys. Even if I find a way home I'm still screwed." The woman walked towards me, light from the streetlights finally casting over her face and then I realised, I didn't just recognise her from the bar.

"Saunders?" Her name was Chloe. We had a literature class together in freshman year of college and sat next to each other. That was quite a few years ago now, but I remember her being a nice girl, hell, I'd go as far to call her a friend back then. Very involved in the arts, but useless at math. After freshman year came to an end, we didn't see much of each other except around campus every now and again.

"Souza." Chloe replied. "So now I know who to come after for a new shirt." She gestured to her beer stained torso.

"Like I said, I'm sorry-"

"Don't stress about it." She sighed and pulled her hair out of her ponytail. She ran her fingers through her hair a few times before shivering and pulling her jacket closer to her body.

"I've got a couch you can sleep on." I offered. "Until you can get in touch with your friend."

The blonde glanced at her phone one last time and pursed her lips. She looked up at me with her baby blue eyes and in that moment I remembered why I liked her so much in college. It wasn't purely physical, of course, but those eyes of hers could pull me out of a coma.

"Are you sure?" She asked, unsure. Her voice was still slurred and her breath still reeked of sickly sweet alcohol.

"It's the least I can do after... you know-" I gestured to her shirt.

Chloe gave me a shy smile as she shuffled closer. I noticed she was still shivering and I shrugged off my own jacket, draping it over her shoulders.

"T-thanks." She said with chattering teeth.

We began the walk to my apartment. It wasn't far, only four blocks away, but with the petite blonde girl next to me being tipsy made the walk feel like a lifetime. Every time Chloe stumbled over her own feet, I had to set her upright. She made little comments here and there about how difficult it was to walk in heels and all I could think about was why in the world women would wear them if they were so uncomfortable.

"Look, Krispy Kreme!" She exclaimed gleefully as she pointed towards the twenty four hour diner.

"Chloe it's three in the morning." I pinched the bridge of my nose.

She frowned - well she tried to frown. She looked like a cute, grumpy child more than adult woman. "I need to sober up."

I sighed and gripped her arm lightly, escorting her through the doors of the building. The smell of baked goods hit my nose and I inhaled deeply, which only made me realise how much I wanted a donut too.

"Stay here." I left her in a booth closest to the counter where I could still keep an eye on her. "Two original glazed." I handed some cash to the young teenage boy behind the counter. He promptly collected two donuts from the display and handed them to me in two paper bags. I gave him a thankful nod and turned back to Chloe, but she wasn't alone.

A tall, thin man with long, greasy blonde hair leaned against the booth - and over Chloe - with his back towards me. The young woman I was escorting before wore an expression of both disinterest and concern and I quickly raced over to her. "Is everything okay here?" I asked.

The blonde man spun around, bearing cigarette stained teeth at me. His facial hair told me that he wasn't well groomed and he reeked as if he hadn't showered in four days. I turned my attention to Chloe. "Come on, we should go."

"Aw nah, we're just gettin' to know each other aren't we, cutie? Name's Liam. Liam Malloy." He spoke with a southern drawl that made even my skin crawl. The man towered over Chloe, his body language menacing. She remained silent and looked down at her hands that rested on her lap.

"Yeah well it's getting late." I reached around him to Chloe and she flinched at my touch, only relaxing once she realised it was me. My slightly drunken gut reaction was to take this guy down right in the middle of a donut shop at one o'clock in the morning, but the part of my brain that was sobering up screamed at me to de-escalate the situation. "She needs to be home in bed."

"'Naw, a cute girl all dressed up for a night out on the town going home so early? The party is just gettin' started." He moved to block me from Chloe and chuckled, whiskey laced in his breath. It was then I realised that we weren't getting out of here easily.

I stood tall. "I'm taking my friend, and we're leaving."

"I don't think so, mutt." Liam puffed his chest out. If we weren't in the situation that we were in, it would have been comical.

A click of a telephone being hung up sounded."I-I've called the cops. They're o-o-on their way, you better get out of here." Called the squeaky voiced teen from behind the counter.

The blonde man simply smirked and looked down at Chloe. "If you're ever interested," he whispered in her ear, "here ya go." He slid a piece of paper across the table and spun around once more to look at me. "Have your fun with her." With one last smirk he shouldered past and I resisted to turn around then and there and just punch him in the jaw.

I slid into the booth next to Chloe as she unfolded the piece of paper. All that was scrawled down were a few digits - a phone number. She fake retched as she tore up the paper and balled it in her hands.

"I'd rather cut my own legs off than ever dial that number."

"Chloe are you oka-" I began, only to be cut off.

"I'm fine."

"Did he-"

"Derek-"

"Damn it, Chloe! Did he touch you?" I growled. I couldn't believe that I left her alone for what? Thirty seconds? And she just seemed to attract trouble.

"J-just my arm." She shrugged. "But I'm okay."

I didn't believe her, she looked like she wanted to cry and all I could do was think of killing that bastard with my bare hands. It all just happened so fast. In the time it took me to buy two donuts, a predator was hovering over the girl I was supposed to be protecting!

I failed.

"Derek-" I felt a warm hand enclose my balled up fist. "Look at me." Chloe said softly. I pried my eyes away from the door, just in case that ass hole came back, and looked at her. She peered up at me with those big, blue eyes. "I'm okay." She reassured and gave my hand a small squeeze.

I sighed and closed my eyes. "You're okay," I repeated.

"Should we get going?"

She shuffled out of the booth after me and threw the balled up piece of paper in the trash. On my way out a fished a twenty dollar bill from my wallet and handed it to the kid behind the counter for his troubles. We left after an apology and I made sure to be on high alert for Liam.

We walked in silence for a few minutes. I was hyper aware of every movement in the bushes, every sound coming from every angle. To say that the streetlights were dim would be an understatement. I squinted my eyes, willing myself to have perfect night vision. Sometimes I wished I was a werewolf - in every book I'd read and movie I'd seen, they had the perfect eye sight. But here I was, a mere human, walking in the dark with a small blonde woman who I only kinda-sorta knew, trying to keep her safe and out of trouble. Try as I might, I was also in the long process of sobering up so every sound I heard, every movement I saw out of the corner of my eye, I was second guessing.

You can never be too careful, I suppose.

A rustle in a bush nearby interrupted my thoughts and I whipped my head around to investigate.

"I thought I was jumpy." Chloe giggled. "You're as skittish as a kitten."

"I just don't want Liam to-"

"Liam's not going to pop out of the bushes, Derek, trust me on that. He doesn't work that way."

"You mean you've dealt with him before?!" I asked, not believing what I was hearing.

"No, no. But I've been told a lot about him." She fiddled with the sleeve of my coat that was still wrapped around her shoulders. "He's known for this kind of thing."

"Unbelievable." I said through grit teeth.

"Anyways, you've been clinging onto those donuts for the past five minutes. When am I going to eat?" She jokingly huffed.

I handed Chloe one of the paper bags and she accepted. We continued towards my apartment, catching up on how our lives turned out after college. She was currently an intern at a production company, hoping to advance to writing and directing.

"Most people just choose one or the other," She said as she picked at her donut. "But the writing is where everything starts, and directing is where it comes to life, you know? I want to have a say in both."

My life wasn't as nearly as interesting as Chloe's. I currently worked in medical research. It wasn't awful, of course, but damn it was monotonous.

"I'm in this building here." I guided Chloe to the door when I punched in the pass code. It unlocked with a click and I led her through the door, into the elevator and into my apartment.

Chloe looked around the living room in awe. "Medical research must be paying pretty good, huh."

The apartment was in the upper middle class area of buffalo. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't anything special. If I had known I'd be bringing somebody back I would have tidied the place. The coffee table was stacked up with various books, and the dining table had papers strewn everywhere, some even landing on the floor. There were dirty dishes in the sink and I was pretty sure I saw a pair of my boxers peeking out from under the couch. I'd have to throw those in the washing while Chloe wasn't looking.

"So you live alone?" She asked and I nodded. She bit her lip in thought as she approached my bookshelf to look at my collection and I took the opportunity to snatch up that pair of boxers and throw them in the hamper.

"Bathroom?"

I pointed her towards the bathroom and hoped there weren't any more stray pairs of underwear laying about. While she was freshening up I took out a spare blanket from the linen closet and my comfiest sweater from my closet.

"Here's a blanket and a sweater. Help yourself to whatever's in the kitchen." I scratched the back of my neck. "If you need anything else, just tell me."

"Thanks, Derek." She looked down at her hands as she fiddled with my sweater before finally looking up at me. "Sorry I didn't keep in touch. You were a really good friend."

I plopped down on the couch beside her, hypnotised by her big, baby blue eyes. "It's okay," I shrugged, "It happens, y'know?"

"I know," she shook her head, "I'm just being silly. I should get some sleep." Chloe grabbed a cushion and set it behind her.

I took it as my cue to leave and retreated to my bedroom. Tonight had taken a wild turn. From being dragged to a stupid, smelly, noisy club by my equally stupid, smelly, noisy brother, to spilling a whole pint of beer on a stranger, to realising that stranger wasn't such a stranger after all, to protecting that same girl I had a major crush on in college from some creep in Krispy Kreme at three in the morning, to having the most beautiful woman I had ever met sleeping on my couch. I shook my head of the thought. Seeing Chloe again had brought up a lot of feelings and memories. I laid in bed for what felt like way too long when I remembered my brother.

I reached for my cell phone to text Simon, but I found it missing. Of course, I had left it in the kitchen. Pulling a sweatshirt over my head, I ventured out into the living room in search for my device. It was still dark, and again I wished for some of that werewolf vision I was drunkenly thinking of earlier.

I found it on the kitchen counter and claimed my prize, along with a glass of cold water. Trying not to disturb Chloe on the couch, I went to sneak back into my bedroom when I felt a small hand grab my bicep. I spun around, squinting, to see the young blonde that had stopped me.

"Derek-"

"Chloe, what are you-"

She gently tugged onto the collar of my sweatshirt, pulling me down to her level and I allowed it. I felt her go up on her toes, trying to get some more height. Her free hand caressed my cheek and I heard her inhale before bringing her face to mine, closing the space between us in a kiss. It was short and sweet, as if she was testing the waters. As if she wasn't sure about it - about us.

It ended too quickly. I had a split second of it and I wanted - no, needed - more.

The young woman released my collar. Not even the darkness of my apartment could hide the look on her face. Her cheeks flushed bright red and her eyes darted around my apartment, glancing everywhere except for my direction.

"I-I-" She stammered before taking a deep breath and finally peering up at me. "I've wanted to do that since the first day I sat next to you in class." She chewed on her bottom lip. "S-sorry if I crossed a line."

I blinked at her, stunned, as she waited for my response.

"Oh God, I totally got the wrong idea, didn't I? I'm so embarra-"

"No!" I exclaimed. "Not at all, I... you just took me by surprise."

"You don't have to let me down easy, Derek. It's okay." She turned away and headed back towards the couch.

No, I wasn't going to let her slip away again. I couldn't.

My hand shot out, gently gripping her shoulder. "Chloe, I promise you, this isn't a rejection." I gently spun her around to face me and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear with my free hand. It was my turn to close the space between us. My lips connected with hers and all of my troubles seemed to melt away.

The second kiss, like the first, was short and sweet. Chloe pulled away shyly and gave me a small smile.

"I've wanted to do that for a long time too." I admitted, giving her a crooked smile.

"I hope we remember this in the morning." Chloe giggled. "Goodnight, Souza." She shuffled back over to the couch where she pulled the blanket up to her chin.

"Night, Saunders." For the second time that night I retreated to my bedroom and collapsed on my bed.

"What a night." I muttered to myself, still not believing everything that had happened. My head was spinning and I wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, or the fact that after five long years of waiting, I had finally got the girl.

All I can tell you is that I went to sleep with the biggest smile plastered on my face.

Hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review. Hopefully I'll publish something else soon :)