Summary:In which Skye meets Alexander Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Another day, another reason to get up at noon at go find the nearest open bar. Alexander starts his days off right. With beer. Because when you're a half-god in your 20s with no supervision and no reason not to drink, you drink. Not that it really does much for him; it takes several beers to even feel a slight buzz. But hey, that's why you start early, right? The bar in question is pretty tame, at least for now. Because it's noon, and it probably won't get really busy until the evening, when regular folks start their drinking at the proper, socially acceptable time. By the time the next person walks in, Alexander has downed three bottles, and is working on a fourth, and is playing pool by himself. There may be a few other people in the bar, but most of them don't seem to want much to do with him. There's something off-putting about the young man. It may also be the fact that he's carrying a sword and no-one has asked him to leave. Swords and beer are a good combination, right?
*
Essentially Daisy had no business being in a bar. It s a good thing she was only there for the Wifi, and the bartender was nice enough to let her sit there just to relax. Sodas however, didn't come cheap. Neither did the chips that hung off the coolers that housed domestic beers that the bartender didn't have to pour.
From her station (is what she called it), she saunters up towards the bartop, sliding over a dollar, pointing towards the Dr. Pepper that had a fine sheen of mist. "The pepper now. Can I get it in a glass of ice? In fact, open up a tab for me." Her words? They sounded cheery, it was clear that she was joking, made more evident by the honking/snorting noise that comes along with her laughter.
"I kid.. I kid.. thanks!" Soda apprehended, and it s back to her little booth/station/seating area/fortress of solitude.. to do more.. of whatever she was doing..
*
Alexander sinks a ball in the side pocket, and looks around for someone's approval. Nope. He lets out a bit of an annoyed sigh, and puts the pool cue down. Pretty sure no-one is going to sneak in and steal his table if he steps away from it to use the mens' room. Which he does. If Daisy is close enough, she'll hear the unmistakeable sounds of his use of the urinal, followed by the faucet, before he emerges. Hey, at least he washes his hands. On his way back to the pool table though, he pauses, noticing the young woman drinking soda of all things. "Do you want a beer?" He asks curiously of her.
*
Yeah, Daisy heard it. Everyone pees. All they do is pee, especially if they drink a lot. In fact, that's a perfect way of minding your own business. Drink. You'll be too busy peeing.
But as the young man comes out, Daisy cuts a quick glance, her nose wrinkling for a quick moment then back to the computer. It didn't seem like he was talking to her, so she ignored him. Until she took a second glance and realize that he was looking -right- at her.
"Me?" She nearly barfed out a chuckle. "Gross. No."
*
"I guess it's a bit of an acquired taste," he says with a shrug. Hey, she's not recoiling in disgust or fear. Progress! Alexander tries a smile, which may or may not just seem a bit out of place on his face, but it's the attempt that counts. "Just a thing against beer, or alcohol in general? I can probably convince the bartender to make you.. well, pretty much whatever you want, I imagine." There's no way to say things like that without sounding like a bit of a douchebag. Social interactions are hard to pull off.
*
"I wouldn't know." Daisy took the conversation as is. She wasn't a total asshole or a very mean person, she was just.. what she was. A drifter. For the lack of better wording.
The smile though, it made her laugh enough to the point to show teeth, her hand reaching out to lower the laptop lid just a little. "No. I never had a drink. I'm only 19. Hence the soda." She flicks her can. "And that's alright. I really don't have the desire to drink. I don't think any of what I seen looks fun." She even winces. "What if I have an addictive personality? I don't want to be an alcoholic." And why in the hell is she talking so much? Oh well! Lid back out, and she's back to typing.
*
"To each their own, I guess." He's not gonna force her, just.. not often you meet a nineteen year old who doesn't want to drink. Two years ago, Alex was drinking. Hell, four years ago he was drinking. It's easy when you never get carded. "Look.. if you want to be left alone, that's cool. No hard feelings. But if you want to hang out, or talk, or play some pool, I'll be right over there," he says, backing away a bit from her table as he motions toward the pool table he'd been occupying. "Name's Alex." He gives a bit of a short wave, and retreats back in the direction of his game.
*
Daisy says nothing. In fact, she keeps her eyes pressed to the screen long after he backs off. Her teeth clench a little, then her soda taken and sipped. She considers it for practically half a second, then finally closes her laptop. "Alright, I'll bite." She didn't have anything pressing to do anyways!
She follows the same path he took out of habit, her hands stuffed into the back of her jeans, a light saunter created along with a smile. "Skye." She states. "My name, that is. Not like.. asking you to look up. But my name is Skye." She doesn't offer up her hands, they hurt from earlier, and the compression that her jeans create help ease it just enough.
*
"Grab a cue, Skye," Alex says, pretty pleased that she decided to join him. He motions to the rack of pool cues nearby, and starts to rack up the balls on the table. "What will we play for? I'm pretty much down for anything but money." He fancies himself a pretty good player, so it wouldn't be fair. In his mind, at least.
*
Skye walks to grab a cue, testing the weight of it within her hands as she approaches the table. "Uh… I don't know.." She honestly admits. "I really don't have much but.." She looks around, her nose wrinkling. "Okay. Maybe.." She studies him for a moment, then shrugs. "I don't know. Your pants?" Hell, first thing that came to mind. "Yeah, your pants if I win." They look to be about the same size…
*
Alexander smirks, and takes a moment to look at his pants, then at Skye's legs. "Yeah, okay. Same goes for you, then." Which probably makes it a bit steeper a wager for her, considering Alex really has no shame, but also boxers. He finishes racking the balls, and lifts the rack off the perfectly formed triangle. "Your break," he says, taking a few steps back from the table, and a moment to chalk the tip of his cue.
*
Uh.. Went Daisy's thoughts. She didn't think it would turn right back around on her, but okay. She'll bite. Thankfully she actually is wearing shorts underneath her pants. Safe bets, right? So, it was her break. She chalks up her own cue, then takes the white ball to put it in the center. From there on, it was simple strength and geometry. So, she angles the stick, moving a little bit to the left, attempting to calculate the power of the hit vs the angle vs where the other balls would go to. No, she wasn't angling for a single color or stripe, so she goes ahead and breaks, scattering the balls everywhere.
*
Alexander watches as the younger woman assesses the table, lines up her shot, and executes it. When the balls have come to a full stop, he moves around the table himself, and leans forward with the tip of the cue resting between the top knuckles of his index and middle finger. There's a few moments of adjustment to the angle of attack, but when he commits to it, the cue strikes hard, driving the cue ball against the "1", and directly into the corner pocket. A glance is given to Skye, perhaps to gauge her reaction. He lines up his next shot, and strikes, but the ball just barely misses its mark, setting up Daisy for an easy pocket on her turn. "Damn," Alexander whispers to himself, before moving across the table from his opponent, watching again. "So Skye, are you in school here?" The laptop, the fact that she's sitting in a bar drinking soda while working on something.. student seems a safe bet.
*
Daisy watches with interest, as much interest as one would when playing against an opponent. It wasn't for money, but apparently for dignity in which Daisy, had none. As he makes a shot, she easily lines up her own and pockets it. Which was good. Now it was her turn to figure out a difficult shot, even using the front end of the pool cue to do her guess work.
"Nope. Not in school. Kinda dropped out early on." It was said as casual, she really didn't care what anyone thought. "What about you? Unless you have a job already.."
*
Alexander isn't one to judge. Everyone has their own path to follow, and school certainly isn't for everybody. "I finished up at NYU last year. I do some freelancing to pay the bills now," he explains, leaving it fairly vague. Money isn't something he's ever really worried about, though doesn't tend to have a lot of it. "Full-time employment doesn't really work for me," he says with a bit of a shrug. "I think I scare people off." Ain't that the truth. He's making a conscious effort to keep his 'aura' from affecting Skye's perceptions too much, there's a reason the other patrons are keeping their distance.
*
"Freelancing? Freelancing doing what?" He opened the door, so why not ask? "Are you one of those people who do what you want when you want and can get by on pennies or are you some sort of rich guy?" Not that it was something that she admired. "Besides, you don't look that scary. You seem like a puppy." *CRACK* The balls fly..
*
"This and that," Alexander says noncommittally. "IT work, web development, mostly." As far as the legal stuff. Hustling pool doesn't really count as legal income, but it contributes. "Not one of 'those rich guys', but I pretty much do what I want when I want," he says with a smirk as he lines up his shot. "Glad to hear you're not intimidated. Hope you're wearing shorts under those, though," he jokes.
*
"Oh, you do IT stuff? Me too." Though, hers isn't legal. She would be the Harold Finch of the IT world, hacking her way through free food and free living, even for a few jobs here and there. Wrap a brain around that one with no HS diploma. "It's the life, isn't it?" She grins, waiting for his shot, her gaze falling to her own legs as she shrugs her shoulders. "Wouldn't you like to know."
*
"I would, and I will," Alex says, giving Skye a grin, looking at her legs again for a moment. Of course, she probably wouldn't have accepted the terms if she weren't, but a man can dream. He takes his shot. Balls move around the table. Could be anyone's game at this point, but Alex seems pretty confident. "It's nice not being tied down to one job. Keeps my options open."
*
"That's true.." Daisy hated work. But she liked good, lucrative part time stuff. "You'd make a horrible boyfriend." She comments, then smacks the balls around the table. Now she's just dicking around. "Alright, new bet. I'm not taking my pants off. If you win, you get me a drink. Fair?"
*
Alex laughs at that, and lines up his next shot, leaning pretty far over the table to reach. "How is that fair? Shouldn't you be buying me a drink?" He strikes the cue ball, which sails ineffectively around the table, only connecting lightly with a couple other balls. Could be, now that she's changed the terms of the game, he has no incentive to win. "I like Dr. Pepper as much as the next guy." There's a moment as he watches Skye to see what she's going to do as far as her next shot. "You're right though, I make terrible boyfriend material. Selfish, insensitive, and a little on the jealous side. Still, I make a good Shrimp Scampi, and I keep a cleaner house than any other 21 year old guy you'll ever meet. So it's a mixed bag."
*
"Well, I m not of age to buy you a drink, so you should buy me a drink." She watches as he makes the shot, then shakes her head. This game was going on too long, but it was actually pretty fun. And she doesn t even like people that much!
"Okay, so what makes you think I m looking for a boyfriend? In fact, where in the world did -that- come from? I didn't say anything about dating -anyone-." Clearly, she was kidding, he was a bit attractive to her though.
*
"Oh, I wasn't really making any assumptions," Alex says, moving around the table to figure out his next shot. "Just, you accused me of being a horrible boyfriend, so I figured I'd give you an alternate perspective on it," he grins, and leans over the table again. "If you win I'll buy you whatever you want, and if I win you share a soda with me." He doesn't give her time to argue though, and takes his shot, but misses by a hair.
*
"Sure. Smooth." Daisy says, watching him take his shot with a huge wince, her teeth grinding together as she lets out a breath. "Alright, I like that deal." Maybe she can get a whole.. "I want new clothes. Think you can swing that buddy?" She did smell like she lives outdoors, but at least she's clean. She leans over to take her shot, but she does 'cheat' just a little. The ball doesn't miss, but -SOMEHOW-, others connect and sink themselves into the hole. Leaving her with at least four balls left. Maybe.
*
Alexander blinks. New clothes? He meant a drink! But then, looking back, his choice of words left much to interpretation, and so, swallowing his pride, he lets out a bit of a sigh. "… fine, new clothes it is." And then he blinks again when the balls seem to move independently. He's perceptive enough to put two and two together, or failing that, for the thought to cross his mind. "That's not really how physics is supposed to work, is it?" He's not mad, and there's a bit of a grin growing on his face at the revelation.
*
Now the game was worth winning. Even if Daisy had to cheat. "Sweeeeet.." She drawls out, leaning over to stare at the balls before she takes the chalk to scrub down the edge of her stick. Or.. whatever you call it! "Physics? What's that?" Daisy says almost innocently, even ignoring the grin that obviously makes her blush. Sort of. A bit anyways. As she leans, she eyes the placement of everything, then prepares the shot. "So. I win, new wardrobe.. right?"
*
"Man, the stakes keep getting steeper. Remember the old days, when you were going to end up in -less- clothes? Me too. Good times," Alex says, leaning on the table as he watches Skye take her shot. "Yeah. Sure. New wardrobe. I'm a man of my word." He's probably screwed now, at least financially, especially if she keeps making the balls move without being hit. But a deal's a deal. "Clean it up and let's go," he says, with just a hint of playful mocking.
*
"Why would anyone wanna end up in less clothes?" Daisy looks boggled. It was clear that she's never done this before. But, she takes the shot, smacking the balls against each other recklessly, obviously cheating.. but.. instead, the table shakes and rattles to the point it nearly cracks down the middle, causing a huge ruckus enough for people to look their way. Almost embarrassed, Daisy drops the pool stick, her hands lifting as she slowly backs away. And for a moment, she almost wanted to cry. "I'm done."
No.. I won, no.. I did that.. nothing. She was ready to go. Turning upon her heels she rushes towards her table, immediately snatching her laptop cord out of the wall, bundling everything up as fast as she can so that she could get the hell out of dodge.
*
Somewhere in the bar, someone with some stake in the physical integrity of the pool table might start coming out to see what the ruckus was about, but a look from Alexander has this person retreating back from whence they came, and another glance around the room at those who would be looking on puts them back in line as well. When Skye takes off, Alex follows in quick step, abandoning his cue without a thought. "So, where do we shop? Admittedly, I know nothing about buying womens clothing, so you'll have to take point," he says to her, decidedly not mentioning the nearly broken table or the mini-earthquake inside it. He throws a few bills on the table from his pocket, which should cover whatever they'd had on their tabs, but probably not a replacement pool table.
*
Skye was already on the move, even as he follows her to the table, she hoists her bag upon her shoulder. She wasn't aware that Alex was putting his own powers to use, everything currently was self involved. In fact, she spent those few seconds in attempt to keep herself calm, taking in deep breaths and trying her best to not freak out. "No where. Just go away." She snaps. Though her tone? Apologetic. It was for his safety after all.
She moves aside of him and heads towards the door, stopping as the building itself begins to shake and rumble. With a slight gasp, she closes her eyes and presses her lips together, then blows out a spittle of air with a slight run and burst through the door.
*
Alex frowns at her dismissal, but doesn't let up. He's stubborn that way. "Skye, stop," he calls up to her. He's still actively excluding her from his 'fear aura', so she won't feel compelled to actually listen to him unless she wants to; given all the shaking going on, making her -afraid- seems like a bad idea. "I know what you're going through. And I know you're afraid of hurting someone. But you're not going to hurt me." Does he? Kind of maybe? He doesn't make walls shake off their foundations, but he makes people shake in their boots, and sometimes he can't control it.
*
She stops briefly, keeping her hands tucked into little balls of fists, already feeling the bones cracking as she turns herself inwards. She looks back towards him from the corner of her eye, her lips trembling as she presses them together shut. "I.." She sniffles slightly, then shakes her head. "..you can buy me clothes.." It was squeaked out. Like she was giving HIM permission to spoil her. And.. it was rather.. odd. But it was the first thing she thought to say to deflect. "C..come on. My van is over here." She was calm.. the world wasn't shaking but she was definitely sad. Sad enough to quickly turn away to wipe the tears from her cheeks with the sleeve of her jacket.
*
Alex catches up, and walks along beside her toward the van. "Let's go terrorize some salespeople," he says, attempting a joke. It's not really a joke, since, you know, fear, but Skye doesn't know that yet. He's pretty quiet now that she's acquiesced to not bolting on him, but he sticks close as they walk. "I think I over-tipped for our drinks," he comments after a moment, as if -that- were the important thing to be thinking about. Hey look, a van!
*