So we meet again... (CLOSED)

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Betsy showered and changed into an outfit she considered appropriate for Hellfire. It was hot outside, so this consisted of a short, black halter dress and sandals. She wore her long, purple hair loose. The cab ride into the city found her restless. On the one hand, she felt bad about being dishonest with Alec, but on the other hand, she was excited to see him again. Her fingers brushed across the bruise on her arm from the fight at the bar. Betsy liked that kind of excitement, but wished the others hadn't had to get involved. Then again, she probably wouldn't have met Alec at all if he hadn't gotten involved.

Outside the coffee shop, she paid the cab driver and stepped out into the steady flow of New York pedestrians. She pushed her way through the crowd and into the coffee shop. It was hot outside, and the air conditioning felt good on her skin. She briefly wondered how many mutants met here before their first trip to Hellfire. It was pretty convenient.

She scanned the group of customers inside, looking for Alec.

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Alec spotted her purple hair from down the street and watched as she entered the building. He quickly ran his hand through his hair and straightened the black sport jacket he was wearing over his dark green dress shirt and jeans. As he walked up the street and towards the coffee shop he wondered why she had seemed so nervous when he had seen her get out of the cab. He shrugged it off, to tell the truth he was a little nervous too...and she didn't seem like the type that got too jittery when things got rough. He liked that.

As he neared the shop he carefully looked around to make sure no one was following them. While he did enjoy a goo fight he much preferred to be able to sit down and get to know Betsy a little better this go round. It looked clear but he walked past the shop and doubled back using a nearby alley just to be sure.

When he had made sure that the outside of the coffee shop was safe he headed inside only to come face to face with Betsy.

"Miss me?" He threw her a lopsided grin.

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Mirroring his grin, Betsy answered, "Don't flatter yourself." She hooked her arm through his and started to walk back toward the door. "Are you ready for a club full of mutants?" she asked.

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He was momentarily caught off guard as her arm linked through his. He let her pull him toward the door and took a deep breath as the headed outside.

"I was born ready. So...how did you find this place anyway?" As their arms had linked together he let her fingers link with his as well. This was going to be interesting.

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Betsy felt a slight thrill as their fingers touched, but made no outward sign of it. "It's kind of a mutant secret, it's a word-of-mouth type situation, which seems to be enough, since the place is always packed." As she spoke, she led them out of the coffee shop and back into the pedestrian rip tide. She maneuvered them through the masses and ducked into the alley. This was always her favorite part. She stood next to the unmarked door, almost hidden in the dark shadows, and announced, "Here we are." The reactions she'd gotten in her past experiences had been pretty priceless, and she waited for yet another from Alec.

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As Betsy pulled him into what, on the outside, looked like a simple broom closet Alec's mind quickly wandered to all of the various things to be done with a female of the species in a broom closet...and then he realized this was actually an entrance into the club that Betsy had been telling him about.

He looked over at her, still trying to recover from his momentary mental lapse, and grinned again. "Wow...its definitely not what I expected. So many people here...just wow." His hand softly clasped hers and he looked around the room.

"So who told you about this place?"

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((OOC: There's a layout and pic of the club here: godsandinsects3.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=hellfire&action=display&thread=904 ... A lot of people don't know it's there.))

Betsy thought back to her first visit here, with Jinx. "A friend," she answered coyly, then turned and started toward the bar, very aware that his hand was still holding hers. At the bar, she let go of his hand casually and sat on an empty stool. She ordered a drink and turned to Alec. "So, what do you think?"

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(((OOC: Thanks!)))

Alec raised an eyebrow at her answer and let his hand slip back down by his side as they took seats at the bar. He slowly looked around the room then, recognizing no one, he turned back to Betsy beside him.

"I think its fantastic. To be honest, I've never seen anything like it. Other than at the Institute I've never seen this many mutants gathered in one place." When he had caught the bartenders attention he ordered a drink as well and slowly sipped on it as he occasionally glanced around the room to see if he recognized any of the mutants.

"Speaking of the Institute you should really stop by sometime. I'm actually just moving in, but from everyone I've met so far I really think you'd like it. Though considering the most fun we have had as of yet has been in the middle of bar fights a relaxing educational environment might not be the exact kind of place that you're into." He smiled and payed the bartender for their drinks.

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Betsy's heart sank a little. For all her mischief, she was an honest person, and she was starting to like Alec. She decided to just be done with it, once and for all. She took a deep breath and smiled sheepishly. "Actually," she started, "I live at the institute. I'm a student there." As she finished the sentence, the bartender brought their beverages and Betsy took a long, embarrassed drink from hers.

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"Oh." That caught him off guard.

"Well...I guess maybe you are kind of in to that sort of stuff then." He grinned again, trying to buy himself a little time and collect his thoughts.

"I mean, well, I guess we could have carpooled or something." He gave a small chuckle. And took a sip from his drink as well.

He wasn't sure why she'd felt like she had to keep this from him, but for now he decided to let it go. She'd tell him if and when she felt comfortable discussing it. For now it just meant that they'd be able to see a lot more of each other, which certainly wasn't a bad thing to him. He placed his drink back on the counter, stopped occasionally glancing around the room, and focused his piercing blue eyes solely on the woman before him.

"So...how long have you been here then?" He didn't want to appear threatening, just friendly, and hopefully his demeanor was showing it. Betsy was a breath of fresh air to him, especially after the hell that he'd been through back home. He was determined not to scare her away like he had everyone else.

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Betsy was relieved that her revelation, however minor it may have been, didn't seem to bother him. She smiled at the carpooling comment. She furrowed her brow in thought before answering his question. "Well, I first arrived about two years ago, I guess. I got hurt in the Danger Room, though, and went back to England to recover. I came back last fall." She watched him carefully, still unsure.

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Alec grinned, a common occurrence these days, as he carefully watched Betsy go through her thought process but became immediately concerned when she spoke of her injury. However, she seemed to brush the injury aside without much thought so he quickly tried to mask the shock and slight concern that he was sure had been showing on his face when she told him of the injury. She could take care of herself, he liked that about her, but that didn't mean he was totally opposed to the idea of trying to protest her. One of those stupid male instinct things.

"Well, whatever this Danger Room thing is, I'm very glad you are back." He gave her hand a quick squeeze and took another sip of his drink. He'd been out of practice with this whole talking to girls thing for far too long...it was good to have somebody else, especially Betsy, to keep him company.

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Betsy did, indeed, see the look of concern flash across his face, and then the attempt to conceal it. It made her smile again. "The Danger Room is this kind of training tool at the institute," she explained, "I'm fine now, though, I swear." She sipped her drink again before adding, "The reason I didn't tell you I lived at the school is because I didn't want you to think I was some silly kid. I mean, I wasn't exactly adhering to the law in that bar," in one breath. The tone of her voice momentarily betrayed her normal sense of confidence.

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Alec nodded. "Understandable." He paused for a moment. "But I imagine if you tried hard enough you'd find that we've all strayed from the law at one point or another in our lives." He paused for a little bit longer this time. "And anyway, I'm glad, because if you hadn't we never would have had such an interesting introduction." With that he finished off the rest of his drink and briefly wondered whether or not it would be advisable to have another. He quickly decided that it might be best to wait for a bit before taking on anything else.

He looked down at his empty glass and back up to Betsy wondering where this was going. Hopefully he hadn't said the wrong thing. He fretfully bit his lip in thought as the pair sat for a moment in silence at the bar. He looked back up at the young woman who clearly seemed to be opening up to him and he wasn't quite sure how to react. He hesitated and then gave her a slight smirk, hoping to lighten the mood a bit.

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Betsy also finished her drink, and promptly ordered another. Not being one to over-think things, she took Alec's smirk as a sign that things were cool and she smiled back at him. Her doubts and worries were quickly forgotten and her confidence returned. "How long have you been staying at the school?" she asked.