Madelynn Fisher was dressed to kill.

Which was fitting, as she had felt rather murderous all evening. Her hair, a two toned affair of pink and purple, floated in a cloud like wisp around her head, much like cotton candy on a stick. Strappy black heels encased her small feet, matching the open back, short, slinky black dress she had bought just for tonight. 

Not that she was at her party. The noise of the club around her was a stark reminder of how she had failed. Even the pulsing music could not distract Madelynn from the empty feeling in her gut. She felt positively defeated, her iridescent blue wings drooping into her back. 

Idly, one finger traced itself around the rim of her glass - half empty, with melting ice. Her head lulled against the worn bar top, cradled in her other arm while she examined the coffee toned wall before her.

She had taken the last stool in the row, as far from the other patrons that gathered around to see Selena and get their drinks. It was easy enough to ignore them all when she didn't have to look at them. Besides, the few guys who had tried to talk to her weren't exactly Casanovas. Following Diana's old advice to work out her issues horizontally was not paying off. 

The thought left an icky taste in her mouth, and she turned to down the rest of her drink. As the precious liquid that would sear her throat touched her lips, she felt someone bump into her back.

With a slosh, it came out over the rim onto her chin and the front of her dress. Immediately she felt her rage threaten to boil over as she slammed the cup down and turned to give the offender a piece of her mind.

“Hey, Buddy!” Madelynn snapped up at him. He glanced down at her through drunk-dulled eyes and his mouth curled into the poorest attempt at a seductive smirk she had ever seen. Frankly he looked like a fish fresh out of water as he leaned into the bar. His wide mouth was agape, even in his crooked smirk, and his eyes bulged unpleasantly. 

“My, my…who do we have here?” He purred the words at her, and Madelynn felt the hair on her arms rise. 

“Look here, asshole! You spilled my drink!” With one wide sweep of her arm, she gestured to her wet dress, and then to the cup the whiskey had come from.

“Ah, shit! I did! Let me buy you a new one, and you can give me your number as a thank you.” Clearly, he was hellbent on not giving up the flirtatious act.

“Look, I am not going to give you my-” Fish-Boy reached over, and put a finger right against her mouth.

“Shh, it’s alright sweetheart. I got you. I know what every woman needs.” He winked at her, with his stinky finger so close to her nose, and she saw red.

As he turned toward the bar again, motioning to Selena, Madelynn grabbed the front of his shirt. She yanked him down toward her height, ignoring the surprise then grin that spread across his face. It was short lived as her forehead cracked into his nose.

He stumbled back with a wail as she let go of his shirt, and his friend caught him, looking between him and Madelynn. Fish-boy clutched his nose, and pointed a waving, trembling finger in her direction.

“I think you broke my nose!” He managed to squeak out at her. People had jumped backwards, watching the scene unfold. Selena came over, a lovely siren woman, and leaned towards Madelynn.

“Maddie, what did you do this time?” Her brow knitted together as Madelynn glared across at the guy.

“He started it! Couldn’t even properly apologize. I was merely showing him how punchable his nose was.” Madelynn replied, her tone more icy than Arctic waters.

“With your face?” Madelynn knew Selena well, and while she did feel bad about starting a fight in her club, again, she was just so done with today. So she chose not to look into Selena’s sea-blue eyes, and instead focused on Fish-Boy.

“Better your nose than your sorry excuse for a cock.” It gave her a grim satisfaction that his own friend chuckled at that.

“I-What?! No, don’t listen to her!” Fish-Boy squawked out, as chuckles swept a bit through the crowd. Yanking away from his friend, he suddenly came toward Madelynn. 

The next bit happened as if in slow motion, his hand raising, as if to slap her. Madelynn would not blame him - she had hit him first. But a slap felt so…Anti-climatic. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Selena moved to get around the bar. She despised violence, afterall.

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“Are you seriously going to smack me? Here, I'll let you get one in. Right there.” She patted her check, then Madelynn closed her eyes to brace herself for the smack. As soon as he struck, she would gut punch him, and the brawl would be on! But it didn’t come. Cracking open one eye, she realized what had happened.

Some dandy had inserted himself in her fight. He had quite literally grabbed Fish-Boy’s wrist, and was holding him back from hitting her! His broad back was to her, long, deep red hair pulled into a high tail and Madelynn could easily spot his pointed ears. With no wings, he was definitely an elf. And he was probably hot too.

“Dude, let go! She started it!” Fish-Boy squirmed in his grasp, and the elf glanced over his shoulder at her. He had turned his head just enough that she knew he eyed her, and she caught a glimpse of gold.

“Oh, if that’s the case, then by all means.” His hand released Fish-Boy’s wrist, and he stepped out of the way. “Hit her.”

By now, Selena had made it from behind the bar, and she was shoving her way through the crowd. Fish-Boy hesitated, glancing at Madelynn, then at the dandy-handy elf. His lips pulled back into a sneer that showed off some surprisingly straight teeth.

“Not worth it.” He scoffed, and turned to walk away. His buddy followed, reassuring him that he would have hit the elf if he needed to. Fish-Boy told him to shut up.

Madelynn felt a bit dumbstruck. She was not used to a stranger standing up for her, and certainly not when she had started it. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the elf, willing daggers to manifest in his back.

“Damn. Thank you for stepping in.” Selena nodded to the elf, then promptly turned back to the crowd. “Hey, nothing to see here folks! Let’s get back to partyiiiiing~!”

“My pleasure.” Turning, the elf sat down in the stool next to her. He didn’t even look her way. Which was somehow worse.

“Hey, you. What’s the big idea?” Madelynn propped herself up against the bar, leaning forward enough to get a good look at him.

Oh no, he is hot. 

Madelynn could not help the thought. It popped so forcefully into her brain that she almost turned a brilliant crimson, and frankly, that would contrast too much with her cotton-candy colored hair.

The man before her had to have been blessed, though everyone knew that Elves were  generally attractive. Still, he had cat-like eyes, the color of molten gold, that seemed to shimmer in the dim light. His wide jaw was square, a perfect contrast with his sweeping cheekbones and straight nose. It was his lips that she couldn’t help glancing at. Broad, with a full bottom lip and a rich, deep color. They moved as he spoke, and it took her so long to register what he had said that he had to repeat himself.

“Is that anyway to say thank you?” The man arched an elegant brow at her, and for a moment, she wondered how she had found him hot. 

“No. But I wasn’t planning on thanking you.” Nodding her head, she propped her chin up on her hand. 

“Ah, so you wanted to get smacked?” He drummed his fingers on the bar, tilting his head to one side.

“It certainly livens the evening.” Madelynn shrugged, then turned to her glass, eyeing the last remains of her drink.

“I’ll remember that for next time.” He offered her a half smirk, and then raised a  hand to flag down Selena. “Shot of whiskey for me. What do you want, Miss?”

Madelynn stared at him rather blankly for a minute, then looked at Selena. Selena flashed her a grin while the elf was looking at Madelynn and mouthed go for it! To top it off, she made a motion to her own well-endowed chest, and a lewd gesture with her hips.

Of course, Madelynn was not impressed. 

“Same as him.” She kept her tone dry. As Selena went to get their drinks, she pointed to the elf and mouthed, again, to just do it.

No! Madelynn mouthed back so dramatically that even her new companion had turned to look at the owner. Selena blew him a kiss before busying herself with her task.

“I did not peg you as a whiskey girl.” He casually leaned into the bar, glancing down at her. 

“I’m not. Tonight just sucked.” Madelynn shrugged one thin shoulder. Honestly, she did not want to talk about it. 

He seemed to get the hint, as he nodded his head to her. They sat in relative silence for a moment, and Madelynn began to worry she had killed the mood. She took this moment to glance at his attire, noting how expensive even his blue jeans looked. They molded perfectly to his body, as if tailored just for him. They probably were, though. 

When Selena brought the drinks, he picked both up and handed Madelynn hers with a grin. 

“To shitty nights!” He raised his glass high and downed it in one go. Madelynn felt herself blink, then she grinned at him, and raised her own.That is three times he has surprised her, and she wondered if it was because she was drunk.

“To shitty nights!” She echoed, and tossed back the whiskey. It seared down her throat, warming her to her very core. Which was good, as her body rejected drinking it that fast by coughing violently. 

“I-I’m Madelynn, by the way.” She barely managed to choke the words out.

“Damien.” Setting his glass down, he thumped her back with a deep chuckle.

“Want to get out of here?” Madelynn had said the words before her brain had caught up to her. The question hung between them for what felt like eternity, and then he nodded.

“Let’s go.”