Back in Black

"Well that sucked," I groaned, stretching after my flight. I extended my hand out to wave down a passing taxi. The driver stopped and waited for me to put my suitcase into the trunk.

"Where you off to?" He asked, meeting my eyes in the reflection of the interior mirror.

"City Centre," I replied, rummaging through my bag for my phone. The driver nodded and began driving. I looked through my phone at the texts I had received.

[Stay safe over there <3] – Mum

[Your room is floor 5, room 13] – Praehead Student Apartments

[Let's meet when ur here. Need 2 catch up over a drink.] – Ryan

"I haven't been here since I was in middle school," I said to the driver, trying to clear the ominous silence that had fallen over the cab. "Has it changed much?"

"There's a lot more punks running around now. So much assaults i'm surprised they haven't opened up a second police station," he admitted, laughing slightly at his own assessment of the situation. "What brings you back?"

"I'm starting studying at the university here," I smiled slightly. "Fresh out of high school."

"Ahh," the driver nodded as though he was proud about something. "You looked too young to be moving for a job. What are you doing there?" He asked, and I couldn't gauge if it was genuine curiosity or his job's requirement that spurred him to ask.

"Art and design," I informed him.

"I could tell it would be something artsy," he laughed, which made me blush slightly as I tried to cover my ears. "You don't get many guys with long hair and ear piercings around here. Most of them just have shaved heads and an ugly face." He laughed again, as did I.

A buzz from my phone made me peak a glance at it.

[Heard you were back in Praehead! Let's catch up! Ryan gave me your new number! It's Sadie!] – Unknown Number

I ignored the message and continued my idle chat with the taxi driver. The drive was over after another five minutes as he pulled up in front of the university's main campus. I thanked him and slipped him the payment as I got my stuff.

He zoomed off and left me standing in front of the main campus at 10pm. The building was- of course- shut, so I couldn't get my keys until the next morning. I opened the Maps app on my phone and typed Ryan's address into it.

'Fucking forty minute walk,' I huffed mentally, setting off on my arduous trip. I hadn't expected the taxi to drop me off at the college, but I guess the sentiment was in good faith. I entertained myself with music as I walked, listening to the latest electronic releases in an attempt to keep myself motivated enough to walk for so long whilst hauling my suitcase.

I had my music turned down rather low out of habit, which I was thankful for as I heard a male voice shouting something just behind me. I plucked one of the earphones out and listened in to what he was saying.

"And you fucking cheated! You fucking lousy whore!" He bawled over another person who was sobbing. "You slept with him, didn't you?!"

"I didn't!" A female pleaded with the man as I made my way to the alley's entrance. "Why would I have cheated on you?! You're so paranoid!"

"Oh, this is my fault?!" The man chuckled, looking away from the woman as he laughed before slapping her across the face.

'Fuck.'

"How is it my fault that you're a slut?!" He degraded her loudly. I sighed as I walked towards them. Always having to play the hero. Why do I do this to myself? It's just a couple's argument. Getting involved will just make them both hate me.

"Is everything alright here?" I asked, interjecting the man's comments.

"Who the fuck are you? Ozzy Osbourne? Get the fuck out of here," he threatened, pointing at me. He could barely keep himself steady on his feet, and the beige stains on his shirt and jacket were further proof of his drinking. "I'm just having a talk with my girlfriend, is that alright with you?!"

"I'm not your fucking girlfriend! We broke up three fucking months ago!" The girl argued back, still nursing her cheek where he had struck her. "Get the fuck off of me!" She pushed him back, causing him to stumble into the wall behind him as she made her way towards me. "We should get out of here. He gets violent when he's drunk."

"You're not going anywhere, and neither are you freak face," he ordered, slugging his way towards us. The girl hid behind me as he approached. His eyes were firmly planted on me, though, and he wound his fist back in preparation for a punch.

Before he could throw his jab, though, I stepped closer to him and closed the gap. I grabbed his hair with my left hand and hit him in his side with my right hand. As he bent over from the blow, I rammed his face into my knee twice. Blood seeped from his nostrils, and he seemed unconscious. I let go of his hair and he fell onto his back.

I heard the girl who was cowering behind me gasp in shock, and realised I had been a little too rough on a drunk guy. I turned to look at her and realised that she wasn't afraid, she was… glad? She was crying, and covering her mouth, but I could see from her cheeks that there was a smile under there somewhere.

"Are you alright?" I asked her, grabbing the handle of my suitcase again. "I can walk you home if you want," I offered. She nodded feverishly, and began to walk by my side. I followed her through every turn she made, and every shortcut she took.

"What's your n-name?" She asked, wiping the marks her tears had left from her cheeks.

"I'm Caleb, but people call me CC" I replied, only now realising that she was… gorgeous. "What about you?"

"I'm Florence, but people just call me Flo," she giggled.

'That's a cute name,' I thought as I looked at where we were.

"Isn't this the university's accommodation?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Yeah, i'm starting the art course in a few days," Florence said, and she must have noticed a look of amusement on my face. "I know art is a weird course or whatever but I just love drawing and painting and-"

"I'm doing art too," I butted in, noticing that she seemed flustered. "I can't get into my room, though. My flight had a five hour delay so I can't pick up my keys until tomorrow," I sighed just thinking about the trip to Ryan's house once more. "I need to walk to my friend's house and pick them up tomorrow."

"O-Or you could sleep on my couch," Florence offered, staring holes into the ground due to the awkwardness of the situation. "I don't even know what i'm saying, i'm sorry. I just, it's dangerous and you know my ex and more people like him are out there but I know you can handle yourself, but if you get ganged up on then-"

"I'll sleep on your couch, Flo," I replied with a large smile. "I'd even sleep in your bathtub."