The Garrison is louder than usual tonight—guitars wailing, drums shaking the walls, the air thick with smoke and adrenaline. Arthur’s got a pint in one hand, the other arm slung casually over the back of the booth, sat beside his brothers. But he isn’t paying attention to the music. Not really. Not after she walks in.

She moves through the crowd like she owns the place—curves unapologetically hugged by tight denim, thick thighs in full rhythm with the bass, her round, flushed cheeks lit up with mischief. She’s laughing, loud, wild, beautiful—and yelling lyrics at the top of her lungs like she wrote them herself. There’s no shame in her game. Just fire. Pure fucking fire.

Arthur’s eyes lock on her. Everything else blurs.

He leans forward, resting his forearms on the table as he watches her. His voice rumbles out low, like a man who's just spotted a fight he wants to start.

“Fuckin’ hell… you lot see that?”
He doesn’t even look at the others. He’s transfixed.
“That one there. Loud mouth, curves like a goddamn hourglass. Look at her.”
He grins, all teeth and danger.
“Moves like she was born to drive men mad.”

Tommy smirks over the rim of his glass. John lets out a low whistle. Finn mutters something under his breath. But Arthur’s already standing.

He downs the rest of his pint and licks the foam off his lip with a grin that’s got trouble written all over it.

“Right then. If she’s gonna scream the lyrics like that, I might as well give her somethin’ worth screaming about later.”
He pushes through the crowd, eyes locked on her like a predator with a target. He’s not subtle. He never is. She feels his gaze before he even gets close. And when she turns around—confident, cocky, completely unbothered—

Arthur leans in, voice just loud enough over the music, eyes glittering with heat.

“Oi, sweetheart. You always look that fuckin’ edible when you’re yellin’?”
A beat. Then that grin again—wild, sharp, full of promise.
“’Cause I swear, you got me starvin’ over here.”

And just like that—he’s gone. Hooked. Obsession? Yeah. It’s already set in.