Two chapters in one night because the prologue is a short one!


Sophie's breathing went jagged as she glanced at herself in the mirror. She quickly touched the corners of her eyes with the tips of her index fingers to stop the water gathering there before they fell and ruined her make-up. She brushed her palms down the front of her dress, smoothing out any creases. She braved a smile at her refection.

Sophie hadn't wore the dress since that night. The night of the fire. The night Kal, a loving father and fiancé, was killed in a gas explosion. The same explosion that knocked her girlfriend, Maddie, backwards, causing several head trauma. Sophie stayed in the hospital overnight. She couldn't bear the thought of Maddie in the hospital by herself or not knowing what was going on. She watched Maddie lay there, motionless for hours before sleep took over. She woke up to the nurses coming in to check on her girlfriend a while later. She never let go of her hand. She couldn't, she was holding onto the little faith she had left.

If she hadn't listened to her parents and gone home to change, would Maddie still be with her? She doubted an outfit change would have made a difference but it was leaving her side for those twenty minutes could have made all the difference.

Since then, the dress had sat in the wardrobe, hidden.

It was Steph suggesting they go out that made her dig it out. She loved it so much, it was a beautiful gown, she didn't want it going to waste.

Still, it was hard to wear. She made sure she paired it with a different jacket and shoes so she didn't get flashbacks to that night.


With Kevin round Rita's for the night, having a celebration dinner with Jack—they had got some news of Jenny and her mental state and Kevin wanted to let her know how the troubled woman was doing—and Tim round the Windass' to see his granddaughter, Sally thought it would be nice to pay a visit to Sophie to see what her plans for a Saturday night were.

It surprised her when Sinead opened the door and invited her in but nowhere near to the surprise had she got when she saw Sophie sat on the floor in her dress, surrounded by make-up products and Steph fixing her hair. It was a sight she was used to seeing Rosie in. Sophie getting dolled up—as Sally called it—and going out wasn't a regular occurrence for her youngest.

It looked like it was going to be a night in alone for Sally, with a glass of wine and the latest episode of X Factor. She watched it for two reasons: have a good sing-song to any material she recognised and pretend she was Simon Cowell. She enjoyed a good moan and feeling like she was the boss.

"Where is it you ladies are going again?" Sally asked, sat uncomfortably on the couch of No.13 with her bag held close to her lap.

"Just to this club on Canal Street," Sinead answered.

"Ah," Sally mused. She had heard of Canal Street in the Weatherfield Gazette. She knew what it was famous for, and it showed in her tone.

""Don't worry, Mrs Webster, it's safe," Steph said before curling a final section of Sophie's hair with a pair of tongs.

"Yeah, and we won't be out late, Mum. Honest," Sophie reassured her.

"Yeah, well," Sally breathed out. "You lot behave yourselves."

Steph gasped. "We're good girls, thank you, Sally!"

"And we're spoken for," Sinead said.

Sally cocked her head. So Sinead wasn't speaking for everyone. She had Chesney and Steph had Gavin—no Andy, not Gavin. Gavin didn't exist...anymore. Sophie was the only single one and it was Sophie that Sally was worried about.

Sophie caught her Mum's body language change and spoke up before she went into one of her lectures.

"Are we ready to go in a minute?"

"Yep," Steph said after checking she had curled Sophie's lock properly before standing up and helping Sophie to her feet in the process. "Just need to grab my purse."

Sophie walked up behind Sinead and put her hand on the blonde's back. Sinead was more than capable of walking but Sophie, having been in the same position as her a couple years ago, she felt the need to make sure her friend was okay incase she needed assistance. Sinead had made massive progress since her accident at the start of the year and was able to walk for a medium amount of time before feeling uncomfortable. Her confidence was back to its usual and she felt happy to be going out, even if ishe had to use crutches but she coping with people looking at her now and took it in her stride. Chesney was so proud of her and was thrilled when she told him she was going out to a club for the night.

She pushed her to the door and Steph opened it for them, Sally behind as well.

"Well, you girls enjoy yourself," Sally smiled before wondering off towards her house.

The girls smiled at each other then headed towards Streetcars to get a taxi to take them to the club.


Finally, the young women got into the club a little after nine. It was freezing outside but the heat from the neon lights projecting throughout the building soon rose their body temperature.

They made their way through the smoke and sweaty, dancing bodies to find a table. Sophie let Sinead and Steph take the lead as she trailed behind them, trying a dodge any body that come near her.

She hadn't forgotten how uncomfortable the club scene made her. They held bad memories for her. Although there was only three occasions she had been in one, they still haunted her.

Especially her second time with Amber. Her then-girlfriend, Sian, had gone on holiday with her Mum for two weeks, leaving Sophie by herself. She threw herself into work. But that was the problem, Amber was her boss' daughter and she hung out in the shop on more than unwanted occasions. Sophie, stupidly, agreed to go out with her. She was missing Sian, she knew being at home wouldn't be any better so she agreed to it. One spiked (vodka into her orange juice) drink and annoying man trying to chat her up later and Amber had kissed her to make him leave. It worked but lead Sophie into a downward spiral. She had made the biggest mistake of her life and grew feelings for Amber, ones she couldn't even understand.

Then there was Ryan. She was only looking out for her friend who had received bad news and started drinking because of it. Sophie made sure he didn't do anything stupid and followed him into a cab and towards the nearest club. She watched him as he picked up drugs from some dealer, a couple of sniffs later and he was angry and upset, and decided to take it out on passing traffic. Sophie saved him from being ran over but suffered the consequences herself. Like Sinead, she was left with a serve back injury. She was lucky to be walking again.

So in conclusion, Sophie Webster plus nightclubs equalled bad experiences.

Sophie's body language hadn't gone unnoticed by Steph when she came back with drinks in her hands. Sinead hadn't even noticed the brunette's discomfort, she was too busy watching the groups of people dancing the night away to R'n'B classics, not resisting a head bobble herself and clapping along to the beat.

They thanked Steph for their drinks and Sophie was first to drink from hers. After, she removed the straw from her glass and chewed on it, glancing round at the scene in front of her. She wasn't comfortable at all but she was relying on the drink to loosen her up a bit.


A round of shots later, and Sophie was well and truly feeling the effects of alcohol. She had enough train of thought but she was loose enough to get up on the dance floor with Steph and Sinead. She focused on them and didn't think about anyone else round her. She had already caught a creepy man standing in the corner staring her down and made sure she didn't give him a second look. She told Steph and Sinead about him and they were sure to keep an eye on him.

Sophie agreed to get in the next round of drinks—dancing was thirsty work!

She made her way over the bar. A woman asked her where she got her dress from and she was confident and honoured to tell them before making it to talk to the bartender to get refreshments.

"Coming up!" he said, twirling around on his heel to fill three glasses.

Sophie leaned forward on her arms, waiting patiently. She turned around to check on Steph and Sinead who were happily moving to the beat of another classic. Sophie couldn't resist mouthing along to the lyrics as she turned back round to the counter.

On approach, she bashed shoulders with a stranger.

"Oops, sorry!" she quickly apologised.

"Don't worry about it," the stranger smiled at her. "This place is crowded. Hey, waiter, Strawberry Daiquiri when you're ready, I'm in a cocktail kind of mood."

"Will do, babe," he winked playfully before serving Sophie her drinks.

Sophie hadn't taken her eyes off the female next to her. She wasn't any taller than the Sophie, but the brunette was wearing heels. Stranger wasn't, she had a pair of beige suede ankle boots on, along with a blue skinny jeans and thin black formal shirt with a collar. It was untucked but all the buttons were done up to the top. She had the same haircut Frankie from The Saturdays supported at the hype of their career, that was the best way to describe it.

She had an almost flawless face. Sophie knew there was no such thing. Pump, pink lips and deep brown eyes, Sophie was in awe.

She hadn't noticed her staring until the bartender spoke. She thanked him nervously and took her order and walking away as discreetly as she could without stealing a glance back to the stranger along the way.

"You okay, Sophie? That hit looked pretty painful from over here," Sinead asked.

"Yeah," Sophie waited for her friends to take their glasses before rolling her shoulder. "It's okay."

"Is she okay?" Steph pointed over to the girl still sat at the bar.

Sophie looked over her shoulder. The stranger gave them a small smile. Sophie blushed, looking back forward.

"Oh," Steph smirked, giving Sinead a look, the blonde took the hint and nodded back. It didn't go unnoticed by Sophie but she didn't comment on it.


"You've been stealing glances all night, Soph, you'll break your neck if you keep it up," Steph mused.

"Why don't you go talk to her?" Sinead wondered, nodding, encouraging her.

"What, no!" Sophie quickly turned around.

"You're obviously invested," Steph smirked.

Sophie shook her head. "She's probably not even…"

"Gay? Pfft, please! She so is," Steph huffed a laugh. "Look at her! I have good gaydar."

As if that's even a thing, Sophie thought. She knew she didn't stand a chance. She had watched the girl talk confidently to the bar staff all night, Sophie couldn't even pluck up the courage to excuse herself a toilet break twenty minutes ago, how on earth was she going to approach a girl who oozed confidence from a distance?

Sophie had never been in the position before. Her previous relationships just happened. She had never met someone in a club, she didn't know how to 'chat up' someone.

On the other side, Louise was waiting for Sophie to make a move. She wasn't one to try it with anyone with a group of friends, not ones her target had sat and danced with all night. If there was moment when the brunette was alone, she may have approached her, but not while she was in a group. She didn't want to deal with rejection with an audience.

"What have you got to lose? You won't know if you don't try," Steph tried her best Dear Deirdre impression. When the Bistro was quiet, she read the odd article.

"Yeah," Sinead nodded in agreement.

Sophie looked over at her once more and bit her lip. "But it's too soon after Ma—"

"Soph, you're overthinking this too much. Don't think that far ahead and just go," Steph pushed her drink towards her. "Drink that down in one and do it."

Sophie thought about it for another second. She pressured her lips before wrapping her fingers around the glass and downing it in one. She stood up and started walking without looking at her friends.

"Yes," Steph and Sinead whispered, high-five-ing each other.


I walked with my head down, pushing my way through the crowds once again. It was probably for the best, anyway, I could where I was going, sure not to step in a puddle of split booze, no awkward eye contact with drunken messes, and no chance of breaking my heel. I had read the stories of the women who don't look where they're going a walk home with a limp of embarrassment.

I also kept my head down so the girl I was headed towards didn't notice, or at least I hope I wasn't being obvious. Stealing glances all night was so awkward. I was always terrible at hiding my feelings, I always let my mouth carry me at the worst of times but each of them worked out well, so it's not all bad. But this girl really was a stranger, I usually have a friendship or common ground with any woman I go for before pursuing it but not this one. It's almost like an instant attraction to this short-haired brunette. An attraction that was pulling me towards her.

And before I knew it I was face-to-face with her.

Turning round on the bar stool, she smiled at me. "Hi…"

"Hey," I mumbled, looking at her through my eyelashes. I picked at my thumbnail before sucking in a breath, ready to bite the bullet. "Would you like to dance?"

What had I just done?