The pub was literally bouncing.

People were packed into the Foundry bar like sardines in a shaking can, yet they were not going to turn anyone away at the door. Not tonight.

This particular bar was well known for allowing people inside to proudly display their football tops and jackets, whereas most others didn't, citing the violence or trouble it often led to. But today, even the angriest football fan would have been hard pressed to cause any problems.

Earlier in the afternoon, Aberdeen had beaten Inverness 4-2 on penalties in the league cup final to win their first trophy for nineteen years.

Now, despite it being a Sunday night, the whole city was in a celebratory mood. Even those who weren't particularly interested in football had likely watched the game and were thrilled that the weeks of anticipation around the town had not been in vain.

As an advert for Scottish football, it wasn't a great example for a newcomer. Aberdeen's star player had gotten injured just five minutes into the match and there wasn't any further excitement for the entire ninety minutes. Or in the thirty minutes extra time that had been played. This led to the penalty shoot out and when Aberdeen's final spot kick went into the net, everyone immediately forgot about the disappointing quality of the match.

Over forty-three-thousand Aberdeen fans had flocked to Glasgow for the game, including Michael Ashford and Joe McDonald. After getting a train back to Aberdeen, they were now jammed into the bar, just like everyone else.

"There's Evie!" Joe cried, pointing over the hundreds of heads in front of them.

Mike looked over to see their friend slowly edging towards them, carrying three pints between her clenched hands. He couldn't help but smile as he noticed she was wearing the white Aberdeen top he'd let her borrow for the day. Though the team's primary colour was red, their away kit was often either white or black.

"You made it!" Mike cried excitedly when she finally arrived at the corner where they were standing.

"Yes, and I feel like a minority. Everyone is wearing red. Why did you give me this one?" She moaned, handing them the beers. "There must only be like two teams that we'd need to change for right?"

"Hey, they've got to make money somehow right?" joked Joe. "Why are you drinking beer? We've been on the vodka for ages now!"

"Well not all of us have been drinking all day!" she snapped back. "And besides, the barman looked like he wasn't really listening to anyone so I gave him an easy order. Are you really complaining about alcohol of any kind?"

"No we are not," Mike answered for his friend. "The top looks good on you though! It's almost as tight as those jeans!"

"Thanks. I think."

"Did you watch the game?" Joe asked, louder this time as the music around them suddenly felt more piercing.

"Yeah with my dad! He loved it, though he screamed at the TV a lot. I bet the atmosphere was insane! Was it at Hampden?" she asked, referring to the country's national stadium that often held the biggest events.

"No, this was at Celtic Park. Hampden is closed while they fix it up for the Commonwealth Games. Arseholes," Michael answered.

Mike, Joe and every other Aberdeen fan hated Celtic, one of their rival teams. But they couldn't deny that it felt good to have a decent experience at their stadium for once.

"Did you cry when they won?" Evelyn teased.

"Mike did. I was fine," Joe quickly chimed in.

"Real men show their emotions, ok!" Michael laughed, though he had to admit he was a little embarrassed.

"I couldn't agree more," Evie smiled, grabbing his arm in support as well.

Looking at her, Michael noticed something for the first time.

Evie was actually pretty hot.

Not in the traditional sense of the word, but she had those indescribable features that just makes someone attractive. Maybe it was because he was hammered, the fact that she'd cut her hair a little bit shorter or maybe it was because he always found girls in football shirts attractive. Either way, he was sure she wouldn't stay single for long.

"Speaking of dudes showing emotion, that guy over there is definitely checking you out!" Joe said, pointing to a man standing by the bar.

The three of them watched as, sure enough, this tall, dark and handsome guy was staring straight at her, lust undeniably filling up his eyes.

"He . . . is . . . wanting . . . some," Mike commented, each word coming out slowly as he digested them.

"You should go over there," Joe prodded.

"Yeah . . . I think I'll pass."

"What! Why? Look at that guy. He looks like he could show you everything you could think of. All the good, freaky shit. Look at his fucking arms. He could lift you for hours and just keep going," Joe carried on talking until he was finally interrupted by Michael.

"Well that's enough of that. Evie is too cute for that kinda talk."

"Again, thank you, I think," she said suspiciously. "But no, I'm sure he'd give me the kind of night most girls would dream of but seriously, he looks like he'd love himself more than me. Look at those perfect features. I'd be too paranoid that I'd permanently damage something."

"Evie, seriously. You need this! How long has it been since you and Richard broke up? Two years? Come on!" Joe continued to argue the man's case.

"I'm with Evie. This guy looks like an asshole," Mike said.

"You always say that! Don't judge a book by its cover! I look like an asshole yet Angie can't help but love me!"

"Yeah but you are an asshole."

"Sometimes the cover is right," Joe shrugged with a smirk.

"Guys!" Evie yelled for the first time that night. "Can we please stop discussing my love life!? It's freaking me out!"

"Just looking out for you. I'd do the same for Michael," Joe's tone was defensive but it also told her that he would in fact back off a little. "Oh what a tune!" he then suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs as the song "Don't You Want me" by the Human League came across the booming speaker system.

Mike and Joe had heard this song about fifteen times that day already after it had become popular with Aberdeen fans after someone came up with a version that replaced some of the words with the name of one of their players. It made both the song and the band, which hadn't really been that famous since the Eighties, a staple amongst the fans.

Though Evie didn't really want to listen to her two best friends singing, it was definitely better than listening to them talk about her getting laid. They may have been a close group but some things were off limits no matter what.

"You were working as a waitress in a cocktail baaar, when I met youuuu!" They both sang the opening lyrics in drunken unison.

Despite the fact that she was nowhere near as drunk as the boys, Evelyn couldn't help but get sucked up in all the joy that swept the city like a welcome plague. And while everyone around her sang their reinvented version, she was more than happy to sing the proper song.

"Don't you want me baby? Don't you want Me, ooooohhhh!"

Once the song finished and awaited its inevitable next request, and the crowd managed to calm down ever so slightly, Joe decided it was time for him to go and meet Angie. She'd been watching the game with friends and their afternoon drinks had turned into evening and night ones and now she was texting him, asking to take him home for "special cuddles".

"Who am I to say no?" he'd laughed before bidding her farewell.

"Wait, have you seen Mike?" Evie asked, but not before Joe had disappeared into the abyss of loud music and chatter. Michael was supposed to be getting drinks but hadn't come back yet. "Great," she sighed, feeling ignored. She scanned the room looking for any sign of her friend.

Finally, she spotted him on the dance floor, wrapped in the arms of a strange woman she hadn't seen before. They were definitely kissing but the darkness of the bar made it hard to see anything else. Not that she'd want to.

"Great," she emphasised this time.

She instantly regretted finishing the beer, which she didn't even like, so quickly. Now she had two choices; she could either go home now, despite just arriving not long ago, or she could go over and buy another drink and risk being spoken to by the tall muscle head that was still mulling around the bar.

But then a thought struck her, stronger than any Aberdeen penalty.

What was the worst that could happen if she did speak to him? Besides any obvious answers, that is.

Maybe she did deserve one night of simple fun. Joe was right, it had been two years since she and Richard had called it quits and she hadn't been with anyone else since. As usual she'd been hoping that a certain someone would step further into her life but clearly she was just fantasising again.

When would she learn that it was never going to happen? Would she ever learn?

In that moment, Evelyn made her mind up.

"Fuck it."

She strolled confidently to the bar and ordered a vodka with lemonade. It took only a few seconds for her to find the deep, dark eyes of her admirer, almost directly opposite her on the other side of the bar. Her stomach flipped. She didn't normally do this kind of thing. What do you do in this situation? Do you stare back? Do you wink? Do you shrink into a ball on the floor and wait for death of embarrassment?

In the end, she decided on just a smile. It seemed to do the trick, as just a couple of minutes later, he came over and leaned on the bar next to her.

"Hey," he huffed.

"Hey," she spoke back softly.

"I'm Gary."

"Evelyn," she smiled again as she shook his massive, outstretched hand.

This was painful. Truly painful. She knew that whatever ended up happening tonight, it would never happen again.

But hey, you only live once, right?

____________________________________________________________________________

Come on guys, I couldn't have a story with flashbacks, set in Aberdeen and not mention this epic day! All of the football references are all true! I was at the game and it really was as boring as it sounds! But still! It was our first cup win since 1995 and we haven't had one since (as of October 2019 for readers in the future).

Anyway, I hope you guys like the chapter. Its a little short on things actually happening but I wanted to fill it with some subtle and some not so subtle lines about where we're headed. 

One last thing! People might not like Evie's attitude in this chapter, or Mike's for that matter, but I hope people are able to understand their motives and feelings that lead to what they are doing!

Anyway, Thanks for reading!