Charlotte sat alone at the dimly lit bar, her fingers tracing the rim of her glass absently. Charlotte noticed that it was starting to get late, but she wasn't aware of the exact time.
Charlotte usually didn't find herself sitting alone in bars. She would have the company of at least her friends, if not boys. However, today was different. Not just in the sitting alone at a bar different, but the day had Charlottte facing a challenge she had never faced before.
She attended a fashion school in Nice, France, and next week she would be having one of her biggest projects ever. Her school had a cooperation event with all the biggest designer brands. This allowed the students to have a huge opportunity to show off their skills.
The tasks was somewhat different to what the students were used to. As most of the students would choose creating beautiful dresses as their projects, this time the task was to create something fashionable in the men's clothing industry.
The idea was that women would always attend events in such beautiful pieces, the men however, would show in plain, black, suits. Therefore the task was to create different pieces that the designer brands could possibly develop and langue.
The idea was brilliant Charlotte thought. It was new thinking, inclusive and opportunistic. After receiving the project details all the students set to work. Including Charlotte, and with her creativity and love for making clothes, the finished results came sooner than she expected.
Charlotte was confident in her outfits. She knew she had created art. But unlike her classmates who came from wealthy families with great connections, Charlotte had come to Nice all the way from North of Europe. She had no such wealth as her classmates, and definitely not any connections.
So she didn't have a male model who could walk for her. All the male models in the industry were way to expensive for her to hire, so she had approximately zero idea what to do.
As she stared into the depths of her drink, Charlotte felt the sting of tears behind her eyes. She had held back the flood of emotions for as long as she could, but now her emotions threatened to burst.
The noise of the bar faded into the background as she allowed herself to let out a few tears. She didn't want to cry in public, to expose her vulnerability to the strangers around her, but the pain was too raw, too consuming to keep hidden any longer.
This had been her first major opportunity to show off her talent. The opportunity was huge. Why did wealth have to be the only option, on such an important occasion.
After a while of letting the soft sobs out, she got a notification on her phone. She read it, however, it wasn't important. When the phone went black she was startled by her reflection. What she saw in the reflection was a mess. She decided a trip to the bathroom, to do some touch ups on her face, would be necessary.
She got up and made her way to the restroom. She didn't want anyone to see the state she was in, so her gaze was shifted towards the floor. Charlotte hadn't quite reached her destination before she felt a body on hers. Charlotte and a stranger had collided. She looked up to say sorry, and he did the same.
"Looking for the bathroom", he asked.
"Yeah that's where I'm headed" she nodded.
"You'll have to find another solution, because I just came back from there. It's under construction" he explained.
A big sigh came out of Charlottes mouth. Great, just great. Now she had to head back home looking like this. Her roommates would probably ask her millions of questions, which she wasn't in the mood to answer. And plus, who would want to roam the streets with ruined makeup?
The guy must've picked up on her situation. As there was no hiding the proof of her having cried earlier, especially not with running mascara all over her face.
He was still standing beside her, his smile unsure. He was tan, Charlotte couldn't tell if he was naturally like this, by ethnicity, or the summer sun had something to do with it. He had brown curly hair and was dressed well. He didn't do anything, he just stood before her. It looked like he really wanted to say something.
"Rough night?" he asked, as worry suddenly washed over his face.
"Not like that. Not like in the way you look like you've had a rough night. I barely could tell. Not that there is anything with your face. Your makeup is amazing. Maybe just something black under your eyes. Wait I didn't mean, forget I said anything. I'm so sorry I just talked before thinking", he said with shyness, probably embarrassed over the words flowing out of his mouth. He was afraid she had taken offence in his words and taken them as a way of him telling her she looked bad, and he was worried he upset her even more. Charlotte who had just had one of her worst nights, couldn't help but let out a giggle.
Now, for the first time in the last hours, she smiled. Then let out a few words, her voice barely above a whisper. "Don't worry I understand what you meant. And you could say that."
The man nodded understandingly, his gaze softening with empathy.
"Well, lucky for you, I happen to be a fun guy, maybe I could give an attempt of making your bad night better?," he asked, his grin widening into a playful smirk.
Charlotte couldn't help but laugh.
"Is that so?" she asked, the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
"Absolutely" he replied, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "So let's get you another drink. It's on me."
"I don't know if I should be drinking anymore", she said sceptically.
"You don't have to drink anything strong, and you could order a small beverage. Come on I promised to make your night into a better one". Charlotte thought for a moment. She could use a break from all the stress, and he looked like he could cheer her up for a while.
"Fine, if you insist".
"Perfect! Mrs?"
"Oh you don't have to be that formal, it's Charlotte".
"Okay Charlotte, I'm Theo, let's go enjoy the rest of the evening. Lead the way to your table". With that Charlotte started heading towards where she had been sipping her drinks earlier, but then she felt a hand in hers. The hand slightly pulling her back, making her stop in her tracks.
"Wait hold on". She turned around, now facing Theo again. She was about to speak, ask him why, but she came to a halt. His hand travelled to his pocket, taking out a handkerchief and bringing it up to her face. He then gently wiped away the mascara that was lying underneath her eyes.
Charlotte froze for a few seconds. The gesture made her cheek a turn a rosy pink shade. Which made Theo smile when he noticed it. Charlotte couldn't help but return the smile. The whole scene was adorable.
When the last bits of mascara were gone, Theo folded his handkerchief, and gave it to Charotte.
"Keep it".
"I couldn't possibly, it looks expensive", Charlotte said, becoming somewhat shy.
"I insist" he said, almost like a command.
"If you insist I guess there's not much more I can do", Charlotte sighted in defeat.
"Amazing. Now show me the way to your table", and with that, the Charlotte who had earlier been a crying mess, got a distraction from her worries. A handsome distraction not to mention.