Chapter Text
You didn’t know why you still bothered with bar crawls. In college, a bar crawl was an easy task. But as you reached your thirties, getting beer drunk and trekking between bars in the hot sun without twisting an ankle seemed like a Herculean task.
It was an unusually humid Halloween, the worst kind, but luckily you had chosen an unusually skimpy costume for the first time in your life. You had always felt a bit uncomfortable showing skin, but this was the first Halloween since you moved back to Philly and it felt like an opportunity to start anew. Of course, it wasn’t really starting anew. Moving back with your mom was quite the opposite, really, but Philly had changed a lot in the 9 years you’d been gone, and it almost felt like a whole new world.
So, you pushed yourself to act uncharacteristically. You created an online dating profile and went on a few dates with Danny, a bank teller who brought up his old college fraternity a few too many times during the first date. But, in the pursuit of a new beginning, you pushed yourself to look past it. And when he told you he really liked you but asked if you two could “keep things casual”, you said, what the hell, sure. You’d never been casual with relationships, the few you had were long-term, but you were going to give it a try. A good try.
The main benefit to being with Danny was that he had friends, which you did not. Being his casual girl friend (not girlfriend) meant that you got invited to social things with his friends, like the “9th annual Philly Crawl-O-Ween” bar crawl, and had an excuse to leave the house and interact with other people. It was a little sad to think that you were mostly having sex with him so that you could hang out with his friends, but people have had sex for a lot worse reasons than that.
So that’s how you found yourself dressed as Cher, in black wig, sparkly halter top and high heeled boots stomping up and down sidewalks aimlessly with Danny, his former frat brother friends, and their casual girl friends.
“Okay we hit Dominic’s, The Drafthouse, Tavern, The Seven… shit… where was the first place we went?” Danny was trying to count the bars you all had been to on his fingers but after six bars and countless drinks, failing miserably.
“That was… shit man… what was that place called?” Austin Powers replied. You should probably know all of these people’s names by now but you were nine beers and three shots in at this point and their costumes were an easier way to differentiate them in your head.
Danny gave up on the counting, throwing his hands up in frustration.
“Whatever man, let’s hit a few more then kick it at my place.”
Danny turned to you.
“Are you having a good time?”
You nodded and flashed him a smile. Danny wrapped his arm around you and gave your shoulder a squeeze.
You weren’t having a bad time, necessarily. Danny’s friends were admittedly hard to hold conversations with, unless you wanted to talk about the Phillies or fantasy football, and the addition of alcohol had made them all but incoherent at this point. The three girls in your crawl group were much easier to talk to, and kind enough to include you in their conversations. But they all knew each other quite well already, and you had just met them a couple months earlier. They had even coordinated their costumes. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup from the PowerPuff Girls. Danny convinced you to match with him as Sonny and Cher instead, mostly so he had an excuse to rock a mustache.
You couldn’t help but feel awkward in the group, but convinced yourself that if you could push past this awkward phase, you could turn some of Danny’s friends’ girl friends into your friends and then… have friends. The perfect, pathetic plan.
Danny removed his arm from you and opened the bar crawl map.
“Okay… well we’re right near Paddy’s so we might as well go there,” Danny pointed at the map.
“Paddy’s? That place sucks,” Superman said.
“Yeah, the bartenders are assholes,” Blossom, Superman’s girl friend, agreed.
“They have pool,” Austin Powers slurred. He had been drinking the heaviest, and Bubbles was helping guide him down the sidewalk as he stumbled in either direction.
“Yeah, they have pool, and we’re right next to them so let’s just stop by, grab a beer, and figure out our next move,” Danny said.
A few of his friends attempted to argue against it, but it was no use as you had already arrived outside of it and the opportunity to sit down and give your feet a break was too enticing for everyone.
You followed behind the group as they made their way by the bouncer. You fumbled through your purse looking for your ID until everyone else had already made their way inside.
You finally dug it out of your bag and handed it over to the bouncer, looking at his face while he examined it. He looked familiar, way too familiar. His eyes met yours as he went to hand you back your ID.
“Holy shit, (y/n)?”
You froze, trying to figure out where you knew him from. He was in a ninja costume, including a mask over his eyes that partially obscured his face, so it took you a second to recognise him. Finally, it dawned on you.
“Oh my god, Ronnie?”
“Yes! Well, I go by Mac now.”
Ronnie the Rat, from high school. He went to the all-boys prep school, St. Joseph’s in North Philly, and you attended its sister school, Notre Dame. He sold weed, not that you ever bought any. It was weird seeing him this many years later. He looked almost exactly the same, though he did put on some muscle and grew out his beard. His costume’s sleeves were cut off and his hair slicked back. He grew up, but you could still picture him, scrawny and baby faced, getting caught smoking under the bleachers at a football game in junior year.
“It’s… crazy seeing you here,” you took your ID back and slipped it into your purse.
“Well, I’m kind of like the security guard here… and I own kinda own the place, so…” Mac shrugs, playing it humble.
“You own Paddy’s?”
“Yep, and you’re never gonna believe it. Dennis owns it too,” Mac grins as he tells you.
“Dennis Reynolds?”
“Yep!”
You remembered Dennis, too. Though your paths also occasionally crossed paths at school dances and events, he didn’t pay much attention to you.
“Wow… that’s wild, you and Dennis owning a bar.”
“He’s in there right now, bartending, it’s not usually this busy. Go in there, it’s packed,” Mac opens the door for you and motions you in.
You thanked him and entered the bar. It was a dive, as expected, with uneven wooden tile floors and bar stools that looked like they’d been there for decades. It is pretty crowded, people in costumes sitting all along the counter, in the booths, and packed onto the makeshift dance floor in the middle of the bar. It’s loud, and your boots stick to the floor with each step you take. You scanned the floor for your group and spotted them, already downing drinks and playing pool across the room. Danny spots you and motions you over, but you wave back and point to the bar instead. If you’re going to spend more time in this grimy place, you’re going to need a beer.
You squeeze yourself between two people at the bar and spot none other than Dennis Reynolds mixing drinks across from you. He passes two cocktails to the patrons next to you and finally notices you in front of him. He looks you up and down, and you instinctively cross your arms to cover your exposed stomach.
“I know you…” he puts his finger on his chin, trying to recall your face.
“(Y/n)… Notre Dame Class of ‘91”
“No fucking way… you look good. Almost didn’t recognize you with the wig,” Dennis looks you up and down again and smiles. He hasn’t changed much either, huh.
“Thanks, I can’t believe I’m running into you and Ronnie-er-Mac like this.”
“It’s crazy, and you look really good,” he reiterated, biting his lip. If you were sober, you might’ve been weirded out, but instead you blushed and looked down. It felt like you were back in high school, getting flustered and tongue tied around boys.
“Thanks, Dennis,” you uncrossed your arms, finally, and hoisted yourself onto the barstool next to you. You were suddenly hyper aware of your exposed body and the way Dennis was looking at you. It felt gross, being ogled, and you weren’t used to it. But it also felt good to be desired.
“What are you drinking?” Dennis casually wiped down a glass as he spoke to you. “It’s on the house cuz, yknow, I own the bar so…”
“Which is very cool,” you obliged his flirting, “I’ll have a Coors.”
Dennis smiles and uncapped a bottle, handing it to you. There were other customers waiting to order at the bar, but Dennis ignored them, leaning over the counter to talk to you.
“You here with your boyfriend?”
“No-not really. Just a group of friends-“ you turned around to point to Danny and the group but couldn’t spot them in the crowd. “They’re somewhere, here.”
“You know, you gotta be careful, pretty girl like you all alone at the bar like this…”
The way he said it gave you goosebumps. You couldn’t tell if you were disgusted or turned on by his boldness. You shifted in your chair and finally made eye contact with him.
“I think I can fend for myself.”
Dennis grinned deviously and scoffed.
“You’d be su-“
“(Y/n)? Is that you?”
He was interrupted by a tall, slender blonde woman sliding next to him behind the bar.
“Dee?” you squealed in delight.
You two were never that close in high school, but you both happened to be ruthlessly bullied and had bonded over that. When you two were in the same play freshman year, you’d talk about the boys you liked, the girls who were mean to you, and the things you’d buy when you were both rich and famous. Clearly neither of your acting careers panned out, but you could still remember the lines from The Crucible you two had practiced over and over again with each other.
“Dee, we were in the middle of a conversation,” Dennis said, annoyed.
“It is so lovely to see you again,” you reached out and pulled Dee into a hug over the bar. You weren’t really the hugging type, but the mixture of high school nostalgia and beer made you feel oddly sentimental. Dee reciprocated your hug and pulled back, still holding onto your shoulders.
“What have you been doing since high school?” She asked enthusiastically. She was dressed as an angel, the fluff from her halo headband floating through the air between you two.
“Oh I went to nursing school up in Boston and worked at Mass General for a while,” you sighed, thinking about the life you just left behind, “and now… I’m back I guess!”
“Why’d you come back? Just missed Philly too much?” Dennis asked.
You chuckled.
“Something like that…”
Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a man stumbling out of the bathroom behind you, and you turned to look. A short man with scruffy brown hair and a scraggly beard caught himself from tripping over his own broom. He immediately returned to sweeping up broken glass, muttering to himself. You gasped when you realized who it was.
“Holy fucking shit, is that Charlie Kelly?”
“Yep, that’s Charlie,” Dennis laughed, “Same as ever.”
“Oh my god, he works here too?” you couldn’t take your eyes off him.
“Our trusty janitor,” Dee said.
“Wow… blast from the past. I-I forgot about him,” you took another swig of beer and wiped your mouth.
The alcohol from the past couple of bars was really catching up to you now and you realized that you’d been smiling like an idiot. Seeing Charlie caught you off guard. You weren’t expecting so many high school memories to resurface tonight and for a moment you forgot the fact that you should have been looking for the guy who took you there.
Instead, your mind filled with memories of Charlie Kelly. He was weird, to be frank, in a way you found incredibly endearing. Kids would pick on him for his naivety and willingness to do anything to seem cool. You had always been shy, you were bullied for that, and Charlie seemed to be the polar opposite of you in that way. He would talk to anyone to try to make them laugh. He never seemed to catch on to the fact that the popular students were using him as a laughing stock, but it didn’t seem to bother him either way.
He, Dennis, and Ronnie were the friend group who managed to become infamous for doing insane things. At one point, they stole and proceeded to crash a classmate’s car into a tree. Another time, Charlie and Ronnie huffed so much glue in the school bathroom that a hall monitor thought they were dead when he found them. Your interactions with the group were limited, but you had grown a real fondness for Charlie from the little time you had spent together.
“Yeah… as I was saying, you’d be surprised by some of the creeps who come to these bars. You oughta be careful,” Dennis resumed his lustful pursuit of you. You turned back to him and Dee.
“Stop being creepy, Dennis,” Dee snapped.
“Stop interrupting us, idiot,” Dennis retorted.
“I think I’m gonna go find my friends,” you interjected. The initial charm of Dennis’ audacity had worn off and you were starting to wish you were back home in bed. Your social battery was really beginning to run dry.
“Well bring some of your girlfriends over here and we can all… party together,” Dennis smirked.
“Ignore him. But seriously, friend me on FaceBook. We should totally hang out,” Dee smiled and waved you off as you turned to leave.
You began to make your way through the crowd, pushing past sweaty partygoers and batting off plastic props and accessories from their various costumes. You finally made it to Danny and the group, all still crowded around the pool table, taking turns drunkenly making horrible shots and dragging their pool cues on the ground.
“Hey,” you wrapped your arms around Danny from behind and nuzzled into his neck. Clearly, you were still feeling drunkenly affectionate as you typically didn’t engage in much PDA.
“Hey, there you are!” Danny turned to face you and smiled, “I thought we lost you.”
“Nope, just catching up with some people I know here.”
“Cool, cool,” Danny said, resting his hands on your hips.
“What do you say we get outta here?” You raised your eyebrows.
“You wanna go back to my place?” Danny drew circles on your stomach with his thumbs.
“Well, we could go back to mine but… yknow… my mom,” you sighed.
“I know… I kinda wanted to go to a few more bars and then party at my place,” Danny bit his lip. Part of you was hoping he’d say that, you would have much rather gone home without him anyway. It wasn’t that you didn’t like Danny’s company, but there was only so much social interaction you could take in one day without wanting to be alone for a while afterwards.
“Oh, okay. I’m pretty tired, and my feet hurt so…”
“Yeah, I mean I guess I could take you home if you want,” Danny shrugged. It was clear he didn’t want to leave the bar and you had no intention of making him.
“No, no. You don’t have to leave. I can get home on my own, it’s a short walk,” you reassured him.
“You sure?” Danny said in a tone that didn’t seem quite genuine.
“Yeah, I’ve sobered up pretty much,” you lied. But it wasn’t like anyone else in the group was sober enough to tell you were drunk. You glanced over at them, their game of pool now completely hopeless as they could barely stand straight. They must have ordered shots while you were gone, and some type of blue cocktail was clearly spilled across the table as well.
“If you’re sure you’ll be okay…” Danny put his hands on your shoulders and pulled you in for a goodbye kiss. You obliged, giving him a quick peck before pulling back.
“I’ll be fine,” you smiled at him and gave him a pat on the shoulder before you turned to the rest of his friends. “Bye guys!”
You didn’t wait for their response before you quickly turned to head out. It was only 7PM but you were exhausted from day drinking in the hot sun all day, and the uncomfortable shoes weren’t helping. You could feel a headache forming and had to get out of there as soon as possible.
You managed to maneuver back across the bar and made a beeline for the door. Just as you were about to make your exit, a voice stopped you.