It was cold.

And he was bloody late.

She gave an irritable sigh, stamping her feet in vain hope. Her sister had wrongly dressed her in a leather jacket and floaty blue dress, when really she should have been wearing multiple layers and a handgun because he was late.

She should leave.

She was-

"Hi! Sorry. I brought flowers if that makes up for it."

The date was a little older (23 according to her sister), with reddish hair curling around his ears and a squarish figure. Broad shoulders, chiseled jaw, muscled...everything. One hand was clumsily thrust into a pocket of his newly washed jeans, while the other held out a bouquet of tulips. She smiled despite herself.

"It's fine, though I think right now I'd rather a strong drink."

He leaned back, taking her in with a grin. "You must be freezing! Come on."

She couldn't help but notice the way his eyes didn't match his tone, glinting with appreciation and desire rather than worry.

Maybe her sister had dressed her right after all.

She was pretty, and she could hold her alcohol.

He laughed at the story she was telling, mentally listing more things he found nice about her.

Pale skin, dark hair, brown eyes. Shorter than he expected, and flaunted her riches, but that couldn't be helped. At first she'd seemed unsure about the pub he'd chosen, but a couple of drinks in and it looked like she barely noticed anymore.

"Need anything else?" the waitress asked as she grabbed the empty bottles from their table. She was young and blonde and tall, and he couldn't help but cast a look down across the rest of her.

"No, that's all for us," his date answered sharply, bringing his attention back. The waitress nodded, hurrying away uncomfortably. "Did you enjoy the view?"

He opened his mouth, and then shut it again. Everything about this woman said that she wouldn't fall for any line he had ready, so for once he fell back speechless, watching helplessly as she scowled and rose.

"Merlin. You're just like all the others," she muttered, pulling her jacket on as she left. Finally his brain kicked in and he stumbled after her, the room twirling beneath his feet.

"Wait! Hold up! Stupid, why are girls so observant, why couldn't she be into that sort of-WAIT!"

He'd gone back home the next day. The keys were where he'd dropped them. Inside, no one was home. The TV was unplugged and nothing was moving, albeit for the cluster of flies hanging around the sink in the kitchen. Everything was where it should have been, except for in his room. She'd thrown everything haphazardly into boxes, and there were abandoned matches scattered across the floor. He didn't want to know what she'd gone out to get. More matches? Fuel? Maybe she'd just needed to escape for a bit.

Quietly he packed what he needed into a duffel bag, filling the empty spaces with tinned food and scattered utensils. A knife was strapped comfortingly to his hip.

When she came home, he knew what she'd find. A clean kitchen, with all the dishes put away. A spare box of matches placed on top of the leftover boxes. A sticky note on the coffee table held down be a scratched set of keys, stating the only words she'd refused to hear.

I'm sorry.

Maybe she was home now. Maybe she was calling people up, trying to find him, trying to forgive him. Maybe she'd ignored it all, plugged in the TV and relaxed.

"Another?" the waitress asked, pointing towards his drained bottle. He nodded, looking up at her. She was a year or two younger than him, with blonde hair and a straight figure. For the past few hours she'd swapped his drinks with a smile, even igniting some spouts of small talk. Now, however, she seemed shaken, and he followed her line of vision just in time to see a drunken red-head stumble after his furious date.

"What happened?" he asked the waitress, draining half his bottle in a few gulps.

"He's drunk, started checking me out while I was over there. She got pissed, but I think she was sort of expecting it. Makes it worse, really. Total first date fail."

He raised an eyebrow at her answer, causing her to blush.

"You work in a bar for so long, you tend to pick up on the different types of people around."

"Oh really?" he smirked. "So what kind of person am I?"

Unfortunately neither got the chance tell or find out as a scream of 'let go of me' came from outside, and he sprinted out of the pub.

"A total idiot," the waitress replied to his back as she followed him out, ignoring the curious looks from their customers.

The idiot was a bit ahead of her, already grabbing the shoulder of the other guy and turning him around. She instantly recognised him as the guy who'd checked her out before, and behind him was the seething girl, hurling abuse at the pair of them.

"Total idiots! Why can't you just BUTT OUT AND LEAVE ME ALONE?" she was screaming, but it went unnoticed as the red-head threw the first punch, obviously expecting his less-bulky opponent to back down. Instead the idiot grabbed the redhead's neck and pushed him down, kicking him in the stomach three times before releasing him and cracking his fist across his face.

"STOP IT! JUST FUCKING STOP IT!" the brunette shrieked. "If I needed saving, I could have done it myself! JUST STOP IT!"

The idiot listened, taking a few steps back from his opponent. Quickly she (the waitress) rushed into action, offering him a napkin for his nose and asking if anyone needed to go to A&E while commenting on the surprising lack of audience they had. The previous offer was promptly refused by the redhead, who charged at the idiot with something clutched in his hand.

"Shit. Weapon!" she shrieked.

"Shit. Asshat." the brunette beside her groaned, withdrawing a stick from her bag and sending a torrent of red sparks towards the charging man, knocking him back and out of speed. The object that had been in his hand flew through the air, and the brunette deftly caught it.

Everything went quiet.

The redhead was gaping at her, the adrenaline from the alcohol and testosterone obviously running out.

The idiot had lost all colour in his face, staring at the sticks the brunette was holding like they were dancing aliens.

The brunette was scowling at the pair of them, looking like she was about to explode into a torrent of insults at any second.

As for herself, she was doing okay. A little shaken up, but that was to be expected- it's not every day you meet a magical individual such as yourself, let alone two.

"Are you sure neither of you need to go to A&E?"

Author's Note

Haha! You know when you start writing a story and you just have that inspiration? It's like State/Out of Mind all over again! Except a completely different plot. Anyway, read and review please? :)