|
Useless
Oct 14, 2010 11:21:15 GMT -5
Post by Avalanche on Oct 14, 2010 11:21:15 GMT -5
(( closed ))
Lance left his 'apartment' almost running. He was sharing a tiny old and trashed studio with a couple of junkies who'd let him pay a mere quarter of the rent so long as the landlord didn't cut off water or electricity. They'd have dry episodes every once in a while and the place would become a hell and a fighting arena, and Lance would stay away so as not to be dragged in, like a kid running away from home when his parents are drunk. So tonight was one of those episodes.
He needed a cup of coffee to keep his head clear until tomorrow. As rare as his job stints were, he still got to make a few bucks on a regular blue-collar basis every now and then, to maintain what little of standard of living he had left. However, he still managed to have clean clothes and even to shave most of the time, although his hair was a bit messy.
He stopped at the first bar he thought looked okay and not too busy. A cup of coffee was all he needed right now. He headed towards the corner of the bar counter to sit down.
|
|
|
Useless
Oct 22, 2010 17:32:18 GMT -5
Post by Sean Reynolds [Sonic] on Oct 22, 2010 17:32:18 GMT -5
(((Sorry for the wait...)))
[...from Sean's apartment]
In a surprising turn of events, at least for someone like Sean, he had decided to actually go for a walk, leaving behind his car across the street from his Manhattan apartment. He wasn't sure why, but it was a nice day out. And despite New York being the "city that never slept," he always felt more comfortable heading out after dark. For some reason the city just didn't seem all that crowded as it did in the daytime. Perhaps because of the darkness and shadows or perhaps because all the people not sleeping were all inside... not sleeping.
He had made it a few blocks away when the unthinkable happened, something that he could have avoided had he decided to actually drive. Why he had had to pick this night, of all nights, to go strolling through the streets was beyond him. But, no, there had been a small rain shower the night before, and a taxi in a hurry had just splashed said water all over his jeans. His nice, clean jeans, now all covered with nasty street-dirty rainwater. Sean groaned and looked behind him. If he could just make it home... No, it was too far. Best to try the alternative. It pained him to be wearing the wet and filthy jeans, but if he could just dry them a bit, he'd be comfortable enough to get back home and wash them.
Sean's pace quickened as he looked for some kind of establishment that would have restrooms. Restrooms with hand dryers. His eyes flashed around, back and forth, and he settled on a fairly unassuming bar. It looked decent enough to have afforded the dryers instead of just paper towel dispensers. But he stopped a moment outside the entrance, stealing himself for entering the small crowded space. With another deep breath, he hurried inside, trying to keep as normal a look on his face as possible as he bee-lined for the men's bathroom.
|
|
|
Useless
Oct 26, 2010 16:34:41 GMT -5
Post by Avalanche on Oct 26, 2010 16:34:41 GMT -5
(( It's quite okay. ))
Lance only gave a second's attention to a man, looking a bit too well-dressed for a modest place like this, dashing by towards the restrooms. He knew that one could meet all kinds of people in a bar, so he didn't give it much thought as he ordered his coffee. While the bartender was preparing the drink, Lance just looked around to see what people were there in the bar at the moment. Normally he'd read a newspaper but tonight he was a bit too tired for that.
|
|
|
Useless
Nov 2, 2010 16:31:42 GMT -5
Post by Sean Reynolds [Sonic] on Nov 2, 2010 16:31:42 GMT -5
Unfortunately, despite his best thoughts, the men's room in this particular bar did not have the hand dryers, but only disposable paper towels. And with the disgusting rainwater drying ever quickly on his jeans, Sean knew he had to act fast. So without another thought, he jacked the lever on the nearest dispenser and got out about a dozen of the towels. A glance around told him he was alone, and he began mopping up the water as best as he could.
He sighed as the brown towels came back almost dry after applying them all over his legs. No, this wouldn't do at all. How could be in public with dirty pants? Let alone even stand the feeling of them against his skin? Sean shuddered and attacked the stains even more ferociously but to no avail. His only bright spot was that they were a lighter wash jean, and so as the water stains dried, they would hopefully not show as much as if he had worn darker jeans. But he would still know they were dirty. And feel it. And not like it very much.
Tossing the paper towels into the trash, he stood back against the stalls to check his jeans in the mirror. Mostly dry by now, but the stains were there, almost invisible, like he had thought. Sean had half a mind to just hurry back home and spend the rest of the night inside reading a good book. First, though, he knew it was better to calm his nerves. Walking like this through the city at night wouldn't be good for his health. Or his safety.
Reluctantly, Sean came out of the restroom and walked up to the bar, asking for a cup of coffee. He would prefer water or even tea, but he knew, after surveying the place as he headed for the bar, that his options looked pretty limited. Just one cup, a few deep breaths, and then he could head home. Coffee was harmless, right?
|
|
|
Useless
Nov 2, 2010 18:56:13 GMT -5
Post by Avalanche on Nov 2, 2010 18:56:13 GMT -5
By the time the man re-appeared from the restroom, Lance was already almost done with his coffee, although he had been sipping it slowly, dragging out his little recess time as much as he could. The bartender was giving him badly concealed sour looks for not taking anything else but one cup of coffee, but Lance was in his right.
He glanced at the well-dressed man. Lance was not much of a pro when it came to noticing these and those details in people's appearance, so he couldn't deduce anything from what he saw. A man dressed too well for a modest coffee bar, that was all. He was perhaps looking almost too long so that it was already becoming staring, but there was nothing else to look at in this place at the moment.
|
|
|
Useless
Nov 8, 2010 18:05:35 GMT -5
Post by Sean Reynolds [Sonic] on Nov 8, 2010 18:05:35 GMT -5
After his coffee came, he let it cool a few moments before taking a sip. And then he savored it. For a place a such as this, the coffee was actually not too bad. Nothing fancy, obviously, but it wasn't muddy dirt being disguised as coffee either. Sean turned to the coffee once more, the caffeine slowly surging through his system actually calming his nerves and making him feel better, instead of what it usually did to people. He had never figured out why; definitely not a mutation, perhaps he just didn't react as strongly to caffeine was his theory.
Sean was just beginning to feel better, almost forgetting the incident and subsequent minutes that had led him into this establishment when he began to feel odd. Like someone was watching him. No, staring at him. He sipped from his coffee again, the anger being pushed down his throat along with the hot liquid. It had been awhile before he had caught someone staring at him, and more particularly, at his ears where the faux black hearing aids, actual earplugs, lay mostly hidden but not entirely.
He sat there, deciding what to do. The most obvious choice would be to ignore whoever it was, finish his coffee, and leave. Sean wasn't really the type to go around making friends with anyone who looked his way, preferring the company of the few close friends and companions he already had, or the company of himself, alone. Or he could just uncharacteristically strike up a conversation with the person, trying to embarrass them in the process. Though his anger had mostly subsided, he wasn't above annoying people. So there it was--he would act his normal (mostly normal) self when encountering rude strangers.
Sipping once more from his coffee, he swallowed and then turned his head to the left to find out once and for all who was staring at it. It was a male, a young man by the looks of him. Sean didn't say anything, but just stared back, almost daring the other to break free from his gaze, say something, or react in any way. And then he would have won. Not the war but at least the battle.
|
|
|
Useless
Nov 8, 2010 19:07:04 GMT -5
Post by Avalanche on Nov 8, 2010 19:07:04 GMT -5
The cup of coffee and the unhurried, almost zen-like hour that Lance had spent in this café made him feel better compared to the stress and irritation with which he had left the apartment some time earlier that evening. So now he was in a jovial disposition towards the world, and the glare with which the other man met his accidental-if-too-prolonged glance didn't look too intimidating. Lance let out a confused chuckle.
"Sorry, pal," he said, half-raising his palm in a peaceful gesture, "didn't mean to stare, sorry."
|
|
|
Useless
Nov 16, 2010 18:20:34 GMT -5
Post by Sean Reynolds [Sonic] on Nov 16, 2010 18:20:34 GMT -5
Sean responded to the rude stare by just grunting and turning back to his coffee. Perhaps it was just all innocent, the other man just getting lost in his thoughts and not meaning to look at him so long. But for some reason Sean couldn't put the disease out of his mind. Something had him on edge, and he didn't think it was just the earlier debacle with the water and his pants. Maybe it was undiagnosed paranoia to go along with his undiagnosed OCD, but there was something... off about the guy. Or maybe Sean was just not quite feeling himself while wearing dirty clothes.
But that didn't matter. He had apologized for staring, and physically Sean was no worse for wear. His truth sense had noticed that the words spoke were true, and Sean had no other reason not to believe him that it was just an accident. Feeling that he should try to mend things a bit and do more than just grunt at the other guy, he nodded to him. "Sorry. I was... not feeling myself just then." Just because he was a human (well, mutant) lie detector, didn't mean Sean always spoke 100% truth. But he assumed the response would be satisfactory. With a shrug he turned back to his cup, figuring their 'conversation' was now over.
Perhaps now he could just finish his coffee in peace and then go home. The thought of it brought a small smile to his face as he sat at the bar and sipped his coffee. The warm liquid was slowly soothing him, almost, almost erasing his frantic feelings of earlier which had brought him to this establishment in the first place.
|
|
|
Useless
Jan 30, 2011 9:07:24 GMT -5
Post by Avalanche on Jan 30, 2011 9:07:24 GMT -5
Lance was always sociable, an extrovert even in his hardest times, and sometimes it would impede his understanding of how some people could want to be left alone. "Hey, it's understandable," he replied immediately to the other man's remark. "I come here to pull my senses back together when I'm not myself. Though it sucks that I gotta go out to some bar to do it." He stared down his now almost empty cup and took a tiny sip from it, trying to prolong his coffee for a moment more.
|
|
|
Useless
Feb 11, 2011 18:14:11 GMT -5
Post by Sean Reynolds [Sonic] on Feb 11, 2011 18:14:11 GMT -5
He was just beginning to feel sufficiently normal, as normal as he could feel in his current situation, even thinking of returning home now that he had finished his coffee, when the man sitting near him spoke again. Sean closed his eyes briefly, taking a calming breath. Earlier he had thought the conversation was over. Why couldn't he enjoy his cup in peace and as much quiet could be gained in this establishment?
But that wasn't to be. Apparently this other man wanted to make a friend out of Sean. Something that he really didn't need right now. Politeness could go a long way, though, more so than being rude. Maybe a little small talk, just a little, would cohesively wrap things up between them. And then he could go home.
Taking the time to finish up his coffee with one last swallow, he pondered the man's words. Thinking it was odd that this guy would also go for coffee, not something stronger, with the description of how he was feeling. Perhaps they weren't so different after all. Well... except for genetics. Sean glanced over at him. "I feel myself best when I'm at home. Not... " He stopped, and made a small gesture at his surroundings. Why he was revealing such to a complete stranger was beyond him. He knew he was a hard guy to crack and get to know; very few people ever did so, and they were all in the Brotherhood.
|
|
|
Useless
Feb 11, 2011 20:30:47 GMT -5
Post by Avalanche on Feb 11, 2011 20:30:47 GMT -5
"Well, you probably have a nice home, then," Lance supposed and then added, feeling he was being too intrusive even by his standards, "or at least something that feels like it. For me, it's been a while," he sighed. His cup of coffee was now finished beyond any doubt. Just how long he'd be able to sit at the bar counter with an empty cup and continue this conversation, he wondered.
Indeed it's been a while. The last time he'd had anything resembling home and giving a hint of comfort was when St. John had found that old house and the entire Brotherhood bunch had made it their headquarters. He'd been floating and hopping from place to place ever since, one shabbier than the next one, at what little money he had been able to afford from his random jobs.
At least he kept his appearance more or less decent and clean. If girls began to avoid him, he'd be in a real sad place.
|
|
|
Useless
Feb 22, 2011 17:41:25 GMT -5
Post by Sean Reynolds [Sonic] on Feb 22, 2011 17:41:25 GMT -5
Sean had to stop himself from laughing out loud at the man's response. Though not generally a very jolly person, the remark was really that much out there. Yes, his apartment was nice, and he enjoyed it, and everything inside was organized and neat. But it wasn't exactly a mansion or anything. Just a little 1-bedroom deal in Manhattan. Nice, perhaps to Sean, but to someone else? Boring, most definitely.
He had opened his mouth to reply, but the other spoke again, rephrasing his statement a bit. And that addition was something Sean could agree with. Yes, it was nice, but only to him. And it was home. If home was a place to store one's things and sleep at night. He felt it was more house, than home, really. But he really couldn't complain. What he could do, if he wanted, was sympathize with this guy who apparently didn't have much of a home to go to... something Sean hadn't had since his childhood.
Instead he just nodded in polite agreement, saying, "I'm sorry," unwilling to go into much detail with this almost complete stranger. They could have some companionable conversation, but Sean wasn't about to start giving away his life story just to make the guy feel better. Even if it would make him shut up and give him an opportunity to leave. Sometimes one just had to weigh the risks.
|
|
|
Useless
Feb 22, 2011 17:54:22 GMT -5
Post by Avalanche on Feb 22, 2011 17:54:22 GMT -5
"Ah, it's nothing. All right then," Lance sighed and stood up, leaving the money for his coffee next to his empty cup. "Thanks for the talk. Appreciate it."
He headed for the door.
|
|
|
Useless
Mar 8, 2011 18:23:28 GMT -5
Post by Sean Reynolds [Sonic] on Mar 8, 2011 18:23:28 GMT -5
"No problem," he answered, nodding at the other man, not really knowing what else to say.What was there, really? This whole idea of taking a walk in the evening was turning into a much bigger ordeal than he had planned it would be. Try as he might to keep his life organized, things always had a way of changing those plans. A simple hour spent outside had turned into a nightmare, which turned into... what? A conversation with a stranger? A conversation that still tugged at Sean somewhat.
But no matter. His coffee was finished, and he had no more use for staying any longer. He pulled some bills out of his wallet, making sure the rest stayed folded nicely, setting them on the counter before standing up himself. It was time to get back home and changed into some clean clothes. Find some order in the chaos.
Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) he headed out the door just a few moments after the man he had been talking to. Standing there, deciding whether to just walk home or hail a cab, even though the thought of such made his skin crawl, his mind wandered back to the young man he saw walking away. And finally he pinpointed what had been bothering him; the other hadn't made any comment about his ear plugs disguised as hearing aids. Either he hadn't noticed or hadn't cared, and the latter made Sean uneasy. Did this guy know something more about him than he let on?
Throwing away the idea of the taxi--they were basically just petri dishes anyway--he decided to walk back home. It was the way he had gotten to this area anyway, and he was only a few blocks from his apartment. Perhaps he would just discreetly follow the young man for a while, just to make sure about him. He hadn't been back in New York long, and if he already had a tail... that was not good. Sean would be able to sleep better at night if he knew for sure whether this man was a threat to him.
Waiting for a count of 50, he also turned the same way down the sidewalk, letting a hand-holding couple get in between them, not making any notice that he was following the other. He walked casually, as if he were going home in coincidentally the same direction. Which he was, unless the young man took a cross street.
|
|
|
Useless
Mar 8, 2011 18:31:33 GMT -5
Post by Avalanche on Mar 8, 2011 18:31:33 GMT -5
Feeling pretty down now, once again faced with the prospect of returning to his apartment, Lance walked down the street, mostly looking down at the ground. He didn't notice two men closing in and bumped his shoulders into them. Falling through, he barely managed to regain his footing.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" one of the men shouted back at him, with more belligerence than Lance would have wished for at the moment. He groaned in aggravation. Could he just have his peaceful evening to himself, for once?
"f**k off," he muttered back, not stopping.
"What you said, jerk?" the other man replied, and Lance could tell from experience that they stopped to have a word with him, rather than he actually heard them stop.
"I said 'f**k off,' no need to bother," he said in a louder voice, rolling his eyes. There went his peaceful evening, right out of the window.
|
|