She could tell it was a daydream. A daydream, or whatever the late night equivalent was, evident by the distant and somewhat dazed expression that had come over her friend's face. That Lucy could lose focus and withdraw into her inner world in the middle of a busy bar wasn't exactly a new development. They'd known each other for years and had been friends since the day they met on freshmen move-in day at college. By now, Rachel was well acquainted with all of her close friend's foibles; namely, how her eyes went starry when certain subjects became the focus of conversation or the way she'd look with longing at the timer on her left wrist.

Acquainted with her foibles, sure, but nonetheless, Rachel was becoming just a touch annoyed by them as of late. Dazes like this had become more frequent, and her focus on the rapidly approaching future had intensified. Lucy scarcely lived in the moment anymore, which Rachel regarded as understandable, even if she could not relate. With a gentle nudge of her elbow, she broke Lucy out of her latest reverie, and her friend blushed before she muttered, "Sorry, Rach."

"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?"

A dreamy sigh, and then Lucy nodded. "Always am, at least a little."

"How much time do you have left, anyway?"

At that, Lucy presented her left wrist, letting Rachel look at the screen.

"Less than a year," Rachel said after glancing at the numbers. Seven months, two weeks, and four days to be exact. "And what did Mr. Right look like this time?"

"Not sure," she replied, using her straw to stir a slow circle through her half-finished cocktail. "Tall and handsome, maybe?" She looked at her shyly. "I think he had blue eyes."

Rachel drowned a groan by taking a generous swig from her vodka soda. "You know, when you asked me to come out tonight, I'd stupidly hoped you'd let me wingman you."

"Wingman?"

"Wingwoman. Whatever." She turned in her seat, looking around the bar. It wasn't exactly the nicest bar they could've gone to, but not terrible. There weren't many prospects among the crowd, but at first scan, several caught Rachel's eye as having potential. She gestured to a gentleman in the corner, standing with a cluster of friends as they conversed enthusiastically. "What about him or his friends? Any of those guys interest you?"

Lucy only glanced their way once before rolling her eyes. "Ten to one they're talking about crypto."

"So?"

"So? I'd rather lick a movie theater floor than talk about crypto."

Rachel smirked. "Well, talking isn't the goal, Luce."

At that, Lucy huffed out a laugh of disbelief. "Okay, I think I'm out."

"What? No! We're just getting started!"

"I've got to train in the morning. I start the academy in a month." She chugged the last of her drink, dabbing at her lips with the back of her hand before standing. "Can you ask for our tabs? I need to hit the restroom."

Rachel did as she asked, flagging down one of the bartenders and asking for their checks. She riffled through her purse for her wallet, but as she pulled the palm-sized clutch free, her keys came with it, landing on the floor beside her stool just as a tall (and incredibly handsome) man passed by. He bent to retrieve her keys, rising with them in his hand a second later.

"Are these yours?" he asked, and Rachel stammered out a thank you as she looked into his very blue eyes. She was just about to ask whether he'd stick around to meet her friend when a woman with long black hair approached and stood by his side.

"Oh, never mind," Rachel said awkwardly. "I didn't realize you were with someone."

"Who, me?" The woman said, then guffawed. "He should be so lucky! Nah, we are not together."

"Oh? Well," she looked back at the man, "you wouldn't be interested in meeting my friend then, would you?"

"Yes." The woman spoke for him; simultaneously, the man declined.

"Lopez," he warned through gritted teeth. "I'm not interested."

"You don't even want to meet her, Bradford?" The woman name Lopez asked him. "What if she's hot?" She looked at Rachel. "Is your friend hot?"

"I mean, I think so," Rachel replied. "She should be back any second if you want to see for yourself."

"Then we should be going," the man (Bradford, apparently) declared, putting his arm on Lopez's shoulder and directing her towards the door.

"Wait! Is she into women?" Lopez asked.

"Lopez!" Bradford chided with a grimace before saying to Rachel, "I can't fucking take her anywhere. You have a good night, Miss…"

"Rachel," she replied, more to their retreating backs than to their faces. "I'm Rachel."

The pair were gone by the time Lucy returned looking somewhat worse for wear. Her shirt was rumpled, and was she missing an earring? "What the hell happened to you?" Rachel asked.

Lucy chuckled tiredly as she took her seat. "Had to break up a fight in the bathroom."

"You stopped a fight?"

"Eh, gravity helped. One of the girls fell and it kind of fizzled out after that."

"Well," Rachel said brightly just as their bar tabs arrived, "you just missed the most beautiful man."

"Rach, I told you I'm not interested," she moaned, but after a moment, asked, "How beautiful are we talking, here?"

"So beautiful," she said, then wrapped her hand around Lucy's wrist for emphasis; her thumb rubbed against the plastic face of the timer as she spoke. "He was tall and handsome, and oh my God, Luce, his eyes were so blue…"

A/N: Sorry if this seems random! Once the idea took root that Lucy and Tim could've passed on the street (so to speak) and just barely missed each other, I couldn't let it go and since tomorrow marks one year since I posted the epilogue for "Inevitable", I'm treating this as an anniversary gift to myself. :P
You might be wondering if/how this will affect the main fics. Don't worry! I have a plan!
I know it was a short little story, but I hope you enjoyed it! Please review!

You can find me on twitter: meadow_suz

Thank you for reading!