Was at a bar with my roommate, a half-Irish half-Serbian 6ft 240lb dude. He had called me up at 1am to join him at this bar as he'd found a pair of ladies who seemed down to come back to our appartment for a 'movie'. Anyways, after several more drinks and our best attempts, the ladies wisely decided to just head home without us.

I was a bit drunk and extremely exhausted at this point, and my Irish roomie was completely wasted and in an evil mood. We crossed the street into the hipster bar on the other side and continued drinking a bit more, and he began making shitty remarks to the bartender for no reason. Eventually he started lighting matches and flicking them behind the bar. All this time the bartender had been extremely patient, and now he took me aside and told me I needed to get this guy out of here. Looking back, that was a perfect example of how to be non-confrontational by talking to the more-sober compatriate (me) and avoiding escalation with a big drunk dude.

I agreed and was slightly embarrased. I hate hipsters, but my roommate's behavior was making the lot them look good by comparison. Anyways, I told my friend we had to leave. He wanted none of it, saying he was having fun and was going to stay. He told me to just shut up and watch and I'd get to see something interesting. I told him we should leave and go outside before they called cops on us.

"So you want to go outside?" he responds. I'm not an idiot, I see where this is going... But he repeats it it anyway "So you really wanna step outside."

I'm freaking inside at this point. He stands up and slowly we walk to the exit, him just in front of me. I'm 5-11 and 170lbs and terrified of violence, and I've got full-blown addrenaline dump rockin through my head.

He makes it outside, and I'm right behind him. I'm trying to stay calm, but to be honest between drinks and fatique and adrenaline I'm on the verge of freaking out. As soon as I step across the threshold, he takes a swing for my head, right hook I believe. I was expecting it, and I dodged backwards but my reaction time was shit from fatique and it grazed my foreheard with no ill effects.

I started stepping backwards, staying on my toes as I expect him to make another go, but actually he just started yelling and cussing me out, saying I was just an asshole and going on tthis tirade about how shitty of a roommate I was.

I didn't say anything this whole time, just keep stepping backwards leading us back to our street. Eventually he told me he was sick of me and ran off back to the room in a huff. After this we never spoke of the incident again.

Looking back its an example of how aclohol can alter people's actions and at the same time how even when you think a full-blown fight has broken out, there may still be a possibility to de-escalate. My roommate took a swing at me, but nobody got hurt and no cops were called.