Will made his way out of the bathroom and made his way back to the bar, feeling a little numb. The new weight had surprised him. He could feel it now when he walked, and how it'd changed his gait. He felt heavier, but strangely stronger. It made sense, he would need to be to carry his new beer gut. Maybe this getting older thing wasn't as great as he thought it was. It was fun when he was taller and stronger than the other students, but now he'd started getting... fat. He scratched his goatee and stubbly cheeks as he made his way back to the bar.
He stopped when he saw his seat next to Herman had been taken. Herman was passed out, or at least very nearly, and was sitting next to what appeared to be a woman. Will could only see her back, but he could make out her curvy shape underneath the tank top and she had a head of long, thick, curly strawberry blonde hair. As far as Will could tell, she appeared to be by herself. Unsure what else to do, Will approached the woman's back and coughed.
The woman turned. She had a pretty enough face, with her petite nose, bright blue eyes, and pouty lips set in a frown. She was holding a bottle of lager up to her lips and didn't look like she wanted any company. But Will was feeling buzzed and needed something to take his mind off his new girth that pushed out on his shirt, rounding his form.
"Something wrong?" the woman asked, her tone of voice displaying her lack of desire to talk with Will.
"Uh, no, nothing," said Will. He was used to bullying people about. Merely asking was not something he did often. "It's just, that's my seat."
The woman glowered again before turning her back to Will again, ignoring him.
Will would not be rejected, however. "You can keep it, though," said Will. He grabbed another bar stool from down the bar and placed it in between the woman and Herman, seating himself there, though the fit was a little uncomfortable, given his somewhat larger size.
"My name's Will," Will said, taking Herman's unfinished drink for himself.
The woman rolled her eyes. "Suzanne," she answered.
"That's a nice name," Will said, trying his hand at small talk. "So, what's a woman like you-"
"Doing in a bar like this?" Suzanne interrupted, finishing his sentence for him. "You aren't very good at this, are you," said Suzanne, looking a little exasperated. "If you have to know, Tony and I had a little fight earlier and I just needed to get away for a bit, okay? I've seen the way he looks at that slut Andrea. He didn't think I noticed, but I did. I decided enough was enough so I told Andrea to keep her hands off. She must've told Tony, because he was trying to tell me that I was imagining things and that I'm too paranoid. I told him that I wouldn't be paranoid if he didn't look like he was about to shove his salami into the nearest port hole that did so much as wink at him. And why am I telling this to some random dick face that I met in a hole-in-the-wall bar?" Suzanne's voice had gotten louder as she talked. By the time she'd gotten to the last sentence, all the patrons nearby were staring at the commotion that was Suzanne's breakdown. She reached a hand to her eyes, realizing she was crying.
Will merely stared. Though a twenty-seven year old on the outside, he was still the immature thirteen year old on the inside. He'd seen some girls at school with their drama and fights over fickle things, but this was a whole other scale to him. He'd yet to experience something of this level. Oddly, this reminded him of Sasha's outburst earlier that evening. The things she had said to him. Now here was a woman, not a girl, who was angry at her good-for-nothing boyfriend. Maybe...
Suzanne shook her head. "Listen, I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. I'm sure you're a nice guy. I'm just going through some stuff right now."
Will nodded, an idea forming. "Sure, I gotcha. Let's forget Troy, or whatever his name is."
"Tony," Suzanne corrected.
"Yeah, fuck Tony," Will said emphatically, the buzz giving him courage. "Let's just talk about ourselves."
In spite of herself, Suzanne smiled. "I think I'd like that."
_________________
The back door of the bar opened and Will and Suzanne all but tumbled out, their lips locked, the arms embraced, and their eyes more focused on one another than their surroundings. Will's hands ran themselves through Suzanne's curly hair as hers rubbed through Will's stubble and grabbed at his stomach.
The two had become quite drunk during the course of their conversation, most of which Will couldn't recall, nor did his want to. They had quickly progressed to hand touching, whispering, and now were making out while on the verge of the proverbial home base. Will had the mentality of a thirteen year old, but he had the hormones of an adult, as well as the instinct, but had none of the wisdom, sense, or experience to back them up.
As the make out session progressed in the dirty back lot outside Denim's Bar, so did Will's curse. Will progressed from twenty-seven to thirty. His facial stubble grew out, giving Will a full, even beard. He softened all over slightly, but didn't gain any weight. His body hair filled out slightly, maturing. Will's tattoos had faded slightly, the colors and lines becoming less vibrant than they had been previously. Other than that, there wasn't much in the way of obvious change. Though, Will did start to become more comfortable as he lip-locked with Suzanne.
Just as Will reached to undo his belt, the back door to the bar flew open again and a woman came out, looking around frantically.
"Suzanne!" she cried. "Suzanne come quick!"
"What?" Suzanne said impatiently. "I'm busy!"
"He's here! He's looking for you!"
Will reached down to kiss Suzanne again, but she held a hand up, holding him back. She was pale and wide-eyed. Though she already knew the answer, she asked anyway. "Who's here? Who's looking for me?"
"It's Tony," said the other woman. "Tony's here."