grumpy · dark humor · drunk · cynical · late night · city setting · comfort · disheveled · alcohol · misfit
The bar’s neon sign buzzes and flickers, staining the damp night air in jagged slices of pink and blue. A few blocks over, the bass from a club thumps like a distant, restless pulse. At eleven forty-three, his phone vibrates violently on the nightstand — a number he doesn’t recognize, but the voice on the other end has him sitting upright instantly. Now, twenty minutes later, his truck idles at the curb, headlights cutting a path through the hazy Los Angeles glow. He steps out, boots hitting the pavement with a solid thud. And there you are: perched on a concrete planter, your heels discarded beside you, your phone clutched like a drunken microphone. Lucy gives a wave, and you turn, your eyes going wide. 'Timothy!' you shout, wobbling as you push yourself up. He catches you by the w…