Instinct

KEVIN

I scoffed.

'That's all you need to know'.

Who does she think she was? I wanted to be mad with her suddenly leaving. We have yet to settle on what will happen and so as the conditions regarding the winner of the rematch.

She didn't even confirm if there was to be one. I wanted to stop her and call her out on it.

However, there seemed to be something urgent that had come up, the serious look on her and her friend's face was enough to tell me that they had some personal matters to attend to.

I watched the two of them get lost in the sea of people, heading towards the exit. I don't know why I can't seem to shake off the feeling in my gut to follow them.

Ignoring the gentle tug, I made myself comfortable by settling on the stool they had vacated, smiling at the glass of untouched drinks sitting idly on the counter.

"They were quite good looking, boss. It also seemed that they have high standards too," I sighed.

"It is rare to find those kinds of women, Timmy."

"You're right, boss. These days, you'll be lucky to stumble upon people who are not easily swayed, people who know how to stand their ground."

I can't help but chuckle at Timothy's logic. He had been the bartender for Rhythm ever since I could remember. Nico was the one who recruited him. The first time I saw him, I liked him right away.

There was a light of innocence around him, but at the same time, he seemed wise despite his age. He was a year or so younger than I was and from what I had learned, he got orphaned at a young age and went to live with some relatives who fed and clothed him and sent him to school. However, those relatives became abusive and manipulative and Timothy did not want to keep living that way.

So, learning his way around life, Timothy found a hidden passion for mixing drinks when he stumbled upon some open bar and from there, he found a way to know the art of bartending and began applying for bartending jobs.

I salute Timothy. He was a good kid.

"Cheers to that Timmy," I said, selecting one of the abandoned drinks, raising a toast towards Timothy. I downed it in a few gulps.

'Dang, it.' I mentally cursed. The nagging in the pit of my stomach had gone stronger. Restless, I got out of my seat and began scanning the crowd.

Where were they? Have they gone already?

"Do you want me to make your usual, boss?" I shook my head and smiled at Timothy.

"I'm good, thanks, Timmy. Keep doing a great job." I said, gesturing a brief goodbye at him.

I don't understand why I had the sudden urge to go and find Rose. It was not like I owe her or anything. There was a strange pull that I cannot fathom where it was coming from.

Unable to fight it any longer, I got out of the stool, still searching through the multitude of people crowding Rhythm, fishing my phone out of my pants pockets.

Dialing Nico, I find it weird to be feeling this way. I find it strange and the fact that I can't seem to ignore it was a little bothersome.

Was it because she and her friend had suddenly seemed wary? It did not show so much on their faces but I somehow felt the instant shift in the atmosphere when her friend had pulled her aside and whispered something in her ears.

Was that why I was restless? But, why the heck should I care about her personal business? We barely knew each other.

"Yo," Nico's voice abruptly brought me back to the present. I mentally shook off the thoughts about Rose and her friend and their mysterious personal business to take care of.

"Where are you?" I heard Nico scoff. I could imagine him rolling his eyes at my question. It took me a minute to hear the commotion and cheers from the background.

Of course.

"Ah, heck. Right. Meet me upstairs, now." I said, squinting my eyes upon spotting Rose and her friend. I scratched the back of my head wondering why they seemed to be going in the opposite direction of the exit which only earlier they had been adamant to go to.

"Alright, I'm coming right up."

"Come and find me," I said, trying not to take my eyes off of Rose, pushing my way around people, tucking back the phone in my pants pocket

I had a sudden bad feeling about what I was seeing. She and her friend appeared to be in a hurry and running away from someone. Their pace was quite giving that away. Now, I'm way more curious about her identity and what was going on right now.

Are they in some sort of danger?

Still keeping tabs on them, I carefully dodged people left and right, blindly following the direction they were going. Though I knew every inch and corner of Rhythm, my mind was focused on something else as of the moment, making me lose track of my sense of direction..

The chase went on for a while until finally, I caught up to them. Gently, I grabbed Rose's arm, halting her and her friend, briefly catching my breath.

When our gazes met, I found a strange expression plastered on her face, her eyes imploring mine. It was not until a little later that she finally pulled herself free from my hold, glaring my way.

"What do you want?" I raised my hands up in surrender, there was a certain fire in her eyes that kind of scared me. Her act of snapping right at me had confirmed my suspicions. There was definitely something going on.

"Whoa, calm down will you?" Rose only deepened her glare.

"I don't have the luxury for this, Kevin. So please," I stared at her.

"Look, I don't mean to be nosy or anything but I just want to… help," I stated, changing the last part of my sentence at the last minute. I was going to say that I had wanted to understand, however, my gut told me that she would only glare at me further if I had said that. So, offering some help seemed more logical. Besides, it was what she was trying to get from me, us, wasn't it?

Rose seemed to think about what I had just said, the fire in her eyes from earlier slowly fading. However, before she could utter her response, a sudden commotion broke from behind me. I turned in time to avoid a flying knife thrown my way.

"Crap," Rose muttered, catching back my attention and finding that she had expertly caught the knife that was supposed to hit me with her hand, had not the noise from behind came as a warning.

With that, panic erupted all around us. In an instant, a number of people wearing black came in, causing the crowd to disperse and run for their lives. Frantic cries could be heard from our surroundings while the people in black started shoving and attacking random people coming along their way.

"You want to help?" Rose said, letting her friend go, pulling the blade I had seen from the sheath on her right thigh.

"Show me what you got, Kevin. Unless what I heard about you were only mere rumors," I smirked.

"I smell a challenge," I said, narrowing my eyes at her. "Watch and learn, Rose."