tom pushed open the glass door, the previous dull pounding of intense electronic music clearer now that he was inside the dark building.

strobe lights flashed different colors, nearly blinding the male as he glanced around.

a stage and pole was off to one side, a group of men chanting and gathering around it as they watched a ginger male with short shorts rub his body against it.

yeah, tom was at a gay bar. where else was he supposed to go when his ex boyfriend had just dumped him for some hotter, wealthier dude?

tom walked through the crowd, quickly refusing as some random guy offered to give him a mouth shot. he made his way to the bar and sat himself down at an empty stool at the very end.

he noticed a male sitting on the stool beside him, sipping what he assumed to be whiskey from a glass.

the man looked to be about twenty two, tom's age. he had golden-brown hair that naturally formed up into two horns and pale blue eyes. freckles littered his cheeks like a galaxy. he was wearing a simple red hoodie and some ripped black jeans.

tom blinked in surprise when the man turned to look at him.

"hello."

"oh- hi." tom hunched his shoulders. "sorry for staring, i just zoned out."

"you were staring?"

"uhhhh-"

"i'm tord," the man chuckled, eyes sparking with amusement. a norwegian accent coated his voice.

"i'm tom." tom replied, embarrassed now.

"what brings you here?" tord asked curiously, setting down the glass on the chipping wooden counter.

"what do you mean?" tom furrowed his eyebrows.

"everyone has a story on why they come to a bar. a gay bar, more specifically," tord explained with a shrug.

"oh. right," he nodded, gently kicking his feet back and forth in the air. "i just got dumped."

tord winced. "harsh."

"i know, right?" tom scoffed while shaking his head. "you?"

"i'm just lonely."

"yikes."

tord cracked a smile. "story of my life," he laughed softly.

tom's heart melted. do that again.

"how 'bout i buy you a drink?" the norwegian offered.

"what? no, no- that's okay. i can pay for myself." tom declined.

"nah."

"no, really-"

tord looked up to face the bartender. "some vodka for the gent," he said, motioning to tom before paying.

ass. tom rolled his dark orbs and huffed.

"you're welcome." tord grinned teasingly.

"thanks. even though i literally told you not to." he mumbled after taking a small sip from the cup.

"mhm. i'm stubborn."

"i can tell."

the two sat in silence for a while, tom occasionally taking sips from his glass. he finally finished and stretched out his arms.

"you seem like a pretty chill dude." tom complimented.

tord looked at him. a light blush dusted his cheeks but he smiled. "you're not too bad yourself."

smiling back, tom shrugged and ran a hand through his hazelnut colored hair. "maybe."

tord quickly took out a gum wrapper and pen, jotting down a phone number on it and sliding it over to tom. "hey, uh.. call me sometime, kay?"

tom's eyes widened. he took the wrapper in his hand, shocked that he'd actually gotten someone's number without having to ask. "uh, yeah!" he nodded eagerly. "thanks!" a fiery red blush rose to his pale cheeks.

"any time." tord winked and got to his feet. "see ya." he waved and pushed his way through the crowd to the exit.

tom watched him go, chin resting in his palm, a lovestruck look on his face. "damn..."