kc + "yes, i know this is a bar but you're a rlly hot bartender and i panicked and said "cHOCOLATE MILK" when you asked me what i wanted to drink, now i just want to crawl away and hide forever"

She had seriously drawn the short straw, if this bar was anything to go by. It was always a hit and miss with some of the more popular nightspots around Whitmore and the surrounding towns, but the atmosphere of this bar was electric.

The makeshift dance floor was already jumping, the music loud and obnoxious. The bar was busy, but not so busy that there'd be time for creepy guys to hit on her or try to buy her drinks to get her to sleep with them.

Elena seems to share her thoughts.

"This bar is insane! Why haven't we ever been here before?" Elena yells over the pounding bass line of that random Fatman Scoop song from the noughties that was really popular.

"To be fair we didn't really know that it existed. Let's go get drinks!" Bonnie grips Elena's arm excitedly, pulling the brunette towards the bar area. "Sorry Caroline!" She yells over her shoulder.

She sighs, running a hand through her hair. After an intense round of scissors paper rock she'd been given the role of designated driver. That meant no alcohol for the rest of the evening, which sucked.

Elena and Bonnie have already been served, and have already made a beeline to the dance floor. She drifts towards the bar, trying not to show her annoyance at being left behind again.

It had been starting to happen a lot more lately. They always said that people changed once they hit college, no longer bound by the unwritten social codes of high school. And she honestly wasn't sure what it was, but she'd been starting to feel more out of touch with Bonnie and Elena than she ever had previously.

She could never condone Elena switching it up between the Salvatore brothers on the regular, and couldn't believe that her friend was completely blind to the damage she was doing to Stefan and Damon's sibling relationship.

She and Bonnie had never really seen eye to eye on a lot of things. Their personalities were far too different, and it was really Elena that was the glue that held their little trio together. And she should be sad about the fact that these have been her best friends since elementary school, but if she looks to her future she can't see them there.

She's seated herself at the bar without even realising it, and she drums her hands against the wood as she tries to find a bartender to flag down.

Her eyes land on one and her breath catches in her throat because he is fine. He's the only person not wearing a button up shirt, instead choosing to wear a Henley that clings wonderfully to his shoulders and chest.

His eyes land on hers and his lips curl into a sinful smile as he finishes up his order and approaches her.

He leans his elbows on the bar in front of him, giving her an appreciative once over. She tries to hide her blush at his attention.

"What can I get for you love?" He asks innocently, and she melts, because British accent.

"Chocolate milk!" She blurts out before she can stop herself. She really needs to work on the word vomit thing, it had gotten her into trouble too many times.

"Oh god." She groans, burying her face in her hands as he chuckles.

"We're all out of chocolate milk sweetheart. But if you're not drinking I can make you a mocktail?" He asks with an amused smile curling at his lips.

"Please." She requests gratefully, returning his smile wearily.

He moves quickly, using fresh fruit and god only knows what else to create a drink from scratch for her. The end result is a bright yellow drink. Like sunshine, he'd informed her.

"On the house." He waves away her offer of a tenner, waiting until she'd slipped it back into her purse.

"Why so down love? Your friends seem to be having a great time." He remarks smoothly, motioning towards Bonnie and Elena on the dance floor, shaking and shimmying their hips to a Beyoncé song.

She shrugs, taking a long pull of her drink through the crazy straw he'd also supplied. It's tangy and sweet at the same time, and she makes a mental note to get the recipe off this guy.

"I can't help but feel like it's a last ditch attempt to salvage our friendship. We've been friends since elementary, but lately it seems like I don't have all that much in common with them anymore."

"College does change people it's true. But that's what it's for. So you can find people that you can identify with. It doesn't mean that you're a horrible person for letting go of a friendship that isn't working for you anymore."

She frowns, admitting that there was a certain ring of truth to his words.

"Do you attend Whitmore?"

"Final year art history major." He replies promptly, quickly filling another order for the guy to the left of her. He turns back to her once he's completed the transaction. "And yourself?"

"Media and communications. I've never seen you around campus." She points out, suddenly realising it's true. She would notice him if she's seen him.

"I've seen you. You like to study at O'Horan's, the coffee shop. I've been trying to pluck up the courage to ask you out but I never knew if you had a boyfriend or not."

She stares at him open mouthed, because what?

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." He replies with a smile. "What do you say love? Want to take pity on the poor British guy and go out to dinner with him?"

She pretends to consider it for a moment, taking a long sip of her drink.

"Pick me up at seven on Friday?"

He grins at her, slinging his cloth over his shoulder.

"You've got yourself a deal sweetheart."