Meeting Someone New (Open)

[eden]

Life can really kick you when your down, when she lost her family she lost everything. She lost her future and her hope, at least she thought. When she moved away out of the city to some place smaller, it made her feel a little better. Though no matter what she can do, it will never end. Right now things were just hurting her, she had no one in her life. No friends, family or a boyfriend. Only thing she had in her life was a bartender job and her music, she played the piano, violin, flute and the guitar.

Her mother use to call her a musical savant because she learned by ear. No one ever taught her, she played moonlight sonata at the opera house a year before her parents were killed in the car accident. At times she still blamed herself for there death as well, but it wasn't something she could have controlled. Though in her head she thought other wise. But right now she was getting ready for work, she got dressed and got into her car and went to her job at the Nine High Oaks bar. She had been working there a couple of weeks.

She actually enjoyed it and hoped to meet some interesting people, but right now she was just quite. She could make drinks that were excellent. She had been told a few times that she was a natural, normally she doesn't drink unless really depressed. And lately she had been doing a lot of it, perhaps one day she would find something or someone to help her deal with everything, instead of finding answers on the bottom of a glass, answers that were the wrong ones. She smiled when someone came in, she was washing the glasses and smiled a bit.

"Hello"

[ilyas aylin]

A new place. New people. New vexations.

Of course new places had their positive sides; no one here knew who he was. Not yet. And usually, he wouldn’t stay in the same place long enough for anyone to get to know him. He could still visit the bars here, because they hadn’t a clue he’d leave without paying the bill.

A blonde man, 6’5” tall, his face ducked to the ground, strolled slowly through the narrow streets of the town. The places he’d visit usually contained a hotspot party scene. Not that he’d participate in that, but it would at least rule out the fact that youngsters would take a seat in the more quiet bars. That was what he tried to find tonight; a bar. So far, he hadn’t managed to even find a café here. But in the gathering dark of night, an illuminated sign caught his attention. ‘Nine High Oak’, it read. Interesting name, for a bar, but at least original. Glancing inside, he didn’t spot too many visitors. It seemed he'd found what he was looking for tonight; peace and quiet.

The door opened with a creak, but that still drew little attention to the man that entered. The other costumers, mostly elderly men, were concerned with their own businesses and deep in conversation. It mattered not. The longer he’d stay unnoticed, the better. But it seemed the barwoman did notice.

Her greeting went unanswered. Maybe he hadn’t heard it, or maybe he simply refused to reply. He took a seat in a stool by the quiet bar. His piercing blue eyes were lifted to gaze at the liquor collection and even though this place had much to offer, the man decided to stick with his usual recipe.

“Scotch, on the rocks.”

‘Be nice’; that’s what his sister would’ve said, had she been here. The fact that he could imagine hearing her voice in his head was both annoying and comforting, but he decided to go with it, be it a little reluctant. “Please.”

[eden]

Eden saw the guy that came in and looking very closely she could tell a few things about him. Eden could read people it was all in there body language or how they look at you. She tried not to stare since she didn't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Eden noticed everything, that was the kind of girl she was. Came from her life, but had a feeling this guys life was much harder. She offered him a nice smile and wondered what was on his mind. So she just continued to clean off the bar top happily.

But then she heard what he asked for, and she turned and grabbed the scotch and she got the ice putting it into the glass. Something was nagging at the back of her head, she had no clue what it was. And that really bothered her, she silently sighed a little pouring the scotch and turned. Placing it in front of him, something about his eyes told her he was having a rough time. She wondered if she was right so decided to do something about it, rather she was wrong or not. So she smiled at him, it looked like he could use a friend.

"Here the drink is on me"

She said with a rather friendly tone to her voice, her mother always taught her to be polite and to always seem happy. Sometimes if you leave yourself open it's actually easy to have people open up to you. At least that is what her mother said, she didn't exactly believe it but she always kept herself open. And thought she had seen him some place, but just didn't think about it. Since she was still rather new here. Her grey eyes looked into his blue ones, and sensed a lot of pain there.

[ilyas aylin]

Sunk deeply in thought, the blonde man stared down at the bar. He subconsciously tapped his fingertips against the wood, rhythmically, or maybe nervously, although he hardly noticed he was doing so himself. It had become such a habit. Patience wasn’t one of his strengths, and through the years, he’d come up with many things to kill time while he had to wait for clumsy and unfit personnel to perform the task he’d given them. But luckily, the girl proved differently. She was swift to serve him the drink and apparently, she was either very kind, or feeling sorry for him, because she offered the drink for free. Or she tried to hit on him; that was another possibility.

Even though he hadn’t planned to pay for it anyway, it was still a sweet gesture and he nodded his head slightly; his was of saying ‘thank you’, without using the actual words. He took the glass in his hand and stirred it slightly, making the liquid inside roll over the ice cubes. He liked his drinks cold; chilled to the extreme. If the eyes of the barmaid weren’t so fixed on him, he would’ve added to the cold with a trick of his own. His eyes shortly met with the young lady’s. She was smiling, her tone was kind; she seemed like a genuinely nice person. How unfortunate for her she ran into him tonight.

“You can just give me the bottle,” the man murmured, with his usual unfriendly, cold tone of voice. Was it awfully rude to ask her to simply give him the bottle? Not that he truly cared about being ‘awfully rude’. His philosophy was simple: he was an honest person, and some people couldn’t handle the truth. That was the reason not many people liked him, not because he had an attitude problem. But the truth of tonight was that he simply wanted to get his mind hazy enough to not have to think of anything. Anything at all.

“I’d offer you something to drink, but.. You’re working.” That, and she looked young. She probably wouldn’t appreciate the taste of a good liquor. Internally, he snorted softly. As if that was the reason he drank it; to appreciate the taste..

[eden]

She gave him the drink for free not because she felt sorry for him. But because she wanted to be nice, she was that kind of person. Which was rather hard for anyone to really see, since in this world no one was this kind of nice. She noticed several people leave since they had paid for there drinks and it was getting late. She leaned against the table and smiled a bit looking at him with great promise. She was rather unique that was easy to see. She may have been human, but there was a story to be told with her.

Having no friends was hard, and no family? harder. But right now he seemed to need a pick me up even if it came in the form of a bottle. She didn't want to seem like she was trying to get into his business. And actually didn't realize she was staring till his eyes met hers. She sighed a little bit and didn't know exactly how this was going to go. Taking a deep breath as she grabbed the bottles and glasses from those who left. Washing the glasses she was truly having a wonderful time.

Then he asked her for the bottle and knew it would cost her about thirty dollars. But then he told her he would offer her a drink but she was on her job. Was almost like a silent dare so she poured herself a shot and drank it down without making any kind of gross looks or sounds, grinning a bit as she lightly put the bottle down in front of him. She decided to talk to him and see what he would say if anything, so taking a deep breath trying to find the words.=. Which was rather hard to do.

"I don't mean to pry in your business. I wont even think of asking questions, but if you need an ear to talk into. I am a good listener. And just so you know I gave you the bottle for free. Not because I feel sorry for you because I don't, but you seem perhaps a bit down in the dumps" She said with a kind smile and then she put her own thirty dollars in the register and smiled at him. "Hope you enjoy it"

[ilyas aylin]

Strangely enough, she didn’t even argue with him a little. The bottle was placed on the bar in front of him, without another question or comment. That was enough to make the man cock one of his eyebrows. Usually when he requested that amount of an alcoholic beverage, he was asked to pay upfront, or there were at least comments on him being an alcoholic. In the worst case scenario, he was simply denied any more liquor for the remains of the night. This girl, this young lady, was perhaps too inexperienced to ask the right questions. When she left the bar to clean up some tables, his eyes gazed round. Part of him wondered whether she’d get in trouble for this. Of course, that wasn’t his business; she was an adult and responsible for her own actions.

Besides, she was more likely to get in trouble for drinking during her shift. As far as Ilyas knew, that wasn’t allowed, but perhaps, different rules applied in this place. She could hold her liquor, that much she’d proven. Slowly, the corners of his lips curled upwards into a faint smirk. Although he had no idea what she was trying to pull off, it was somehow amusing him.

The bottle standing so close was too tempting to resist, so he reached for it and filled up his glass again. There was no need for ice this time; the old cubes were still fully intact, having not even melted a tad bit. It was just a small detail, though, and no one would’ve noticed it was due to his ability. He gazed deep into his glass, the brown liquid nearly begging him to use it to drown his sorrows, but the female bartender’s voice disturbed those thoughts.

She was trying to be kind, or perhaps it was part of her job description, but the way she started the conversation was tedious. People who started saying they didn’t want to pry in his business usually did want to pry in his business. He was about to unleash a snappy comment, to cause her to back off, when she said something that made his brows furrow. “Geez, thanks,” he responded to her ‘down in the dumps’ comment. She was right, but didn’t need to know that. He already found it rather strange she seemed to know this much about a man who she’d only just met. It raised suspicion in Ilyas’ mind. Then again, nearly everything raised suspicion in the blonde’s mind.

“What makes you think I want to talk to you?” he wondered. It wasn’t meant as harsh as it could come across, it was actually a genuine question. He wanted to know what she was up to; paying for his liquor, smiling at him the entire time since he’d stepped inside. Perhaps she was in need of some distraction herself? Fine, he’d start a conversation, but it wouldn’t be about himself.

“What does a girl like you do working in a sleazy bar like this?”

[eden]

She perhaps was to happy, though she had never really heard of that before. Since she tried not to be annoying about it, but it was hard really to deal with everything without it. She hadn't been truly happy for four years. She wanted to drown her own sorrows in a bottle. Everything was so unfair for people, but she knew she wasn't the only one that suffered. Every day someone else suffered, probably making her own problems look stupid. But she just didn't know how to handle some things, she hid her sorrow by a smile. Something she was good at.

But then she heard what he said and smiled at him, why did she work her? She was a talented bartender she had been told, thinking for a moment about what to tell him. She was honest with people that much she knew. She didn't worry about getting into trouble about the bottle since she paid for it, and as long as she wasn't drunk a drink was okay. Pressing her fingers against the table as her eyes looked up at his. Taking a deep breath she leaned on the table a bit and crossed her arms.

"Ive not been here very long, been here a little over four years. I moved to get away from New York City, both my parents died in a car accident on my eighteenth birthday, bartending came natural to me. No one taught me I just watched and listened. I know things are different here, but they seem happy to talk to someone who understands if they have something they want to get off there chest. I have always been able to read people, helps me know when to back off or not. It has helped me stay out of trouble as well, which is good.

But any way the money my parents had I used up moving here, and I had to make a life some how. So I took what I knew and started to work here, its not my ideal job but I don't mind it to much. It's not like anyone wants to listen to the music I wrote, something I have done on the side for years. My love was always music since I had no one else, I thought about many things while I have been here. Hoping to pick up a friend or two" She smiled.

[ilyas aylin]

Ilyas slowly averted his eyes away from the young lady’s form. He hadn’t thought a simple question like why she worked here would lead to her bring up all the sorrow in her life. She blurted it out so fast, he reasoned she’d told that story many times. There also was little emotion in her face and voice, but through the years, Ilyas had learned to look past such things. He was someone who knew best how to hide one’s true feelings; he nearly invented it. And he recognized it on someone else too. Now he understood why she could hold her liquor that well; she probably had some experience.

For someone who had the ability to read people, she was either misreading him, or she had enough guts to talk to him despite his harsh exterior. And quite honestly, it confused him a little. Mostly, his rude and absent attitude would keep people at bay, this girl only seemed to be more interested, the more he tried to make her back off.

The man lifted the glass to his lips again, sipping from it slowly, yet often. “Sounds like you’ve had a hard life,” he said, his voice still equally emotionless and monotone as before. Of course he felt for her, but he wasn’t one to hand out hugs, or emotional speeches, for that matter. He had nothing to offer her but a chance to spill whatever was on her chest, and she’d already started doing that.

Four years she’d been here, and yet, she referred to it as not being here very long yet. He’d only been here a couple of weeks. From the story she told, he could’ve picked a lot of subjects to continue their conversation. He could’ve asked about her parents, just to prove the fact she was trying to hide how much she was struggling with that still, but there wasn’t a point to that. He hadn’t come here tonight to make a young lady cry, so he chose a different topic. “What kind of music do you write then?” he questioned randomly. His glass was already dry to the bottom, and if he’d continue to drink at this rate, the bottle would be too, very soon. Then again, there wasn’t anyone who was going to stop him, and the bar was quiet. Even if he got wasted beyond belief, he’d be little trouble to anyone, ‘cept maybe the barmaid.

He shoved the bottle in her direction. It was quiet tonight, it wouldn’t really matter if she’d something to drink as well. And besides, she’d paid for it, so in a way, he figured she deserved her share. “I won’t tell on you,” he promised.

[eden]

She actually didn't mean to say all that she did, and when he said it sounded like she had a rough life. She nodded a bit and knew that other people had it worse, she had a job and a home of her own. Sighing a bit she looked down and watched as he slid the bottle over to her, and looked up at him and smiled. Pouring herself a drink, no one around so it didn't really matter really. If she kept feeling sorry for herself she knew she would have been an alcoholic and she didn't want that.

She drank it down in one shot and it warmed her a bit, filling the whole that she had felt for a rather long time. Sighing a little as she began to think of what to do. Looking up at him she probably had made him rather bored which was something she did not mean to do. Since really she wasn't the nosy kind of girl, it just appeared like it. But when he asked about what kind of music she smiled a bit and thought about the kinds she wrote and sang. And decided to tell him.

"Well I know my life may have been hard but I am sure out there someone has it much harder then I do. And as for the music I write, I write all kinds since it depends on my mood. Since there is a karaoke system here Ive sang here many times, since Ive made a lot of demo's of my music and always keep it with me. Don't know why honestly, but just do it from habit." she said simply trying to keep it short and to the point. But it was kinda hard to do it really, to not talk peoples heads off.

[ilyas aylin]

“Just because other people have tough lives doesn’t mean yours isn’t tough as well,” he stated monotone, sipping from the dark liquid again. Surprisingly, she didn’t instantly whine about everything that was wrong in her life, like most humans did. And in fact, she had many reasons to whine, while other often didn’t. So you lost your job; find a new one. Don’t like your mother-in-law? Shoot her. ‘My baby keep me awake all night’; should’ve thought of that before you made one. Humans had the habit to make a problem out of things that were really unimportant. Humans didn’t realize how lucky they were; how lucky they were to have a mother-in-law, because that meant they were living the married life. And how lucky they were to be blessed enough with the joy of young life. The downside of visiting many bars was overhearing all the crap other people spilled. As a bartender, this girl had to deal with that too. Perhaps she was more sensitive than he was. Perhaps? Of course, she was. It sounded as if she took other people’s issues more serious than her own. But that could’ve just been her façade.

Karaoke? “Oh, please tell me that isn’t tonight?” he asked, in a nearly begging kind of way. All those happy, bubbly people coming to celebrate their carefree lives; he hated it. Some people should be banned from singing, ever; how dare they bother others with the sound of their off-key voices for the sake of ‘fun’? But this girl sounded like she had bigger dreams than working in a bar for the rest of her life. Good for her, because she might’ve been good at doing this, she surely had more up her sleeve than washing glasses and filling them up. It might’ve been quick to judge, but from what she’d told him so far, he figured her ambition was different than this.

The blonde man decided to take a break from drinking; after his third glass, he’d grown a bit tired of the taste. But of course the bottle would be empty at the end of the night, it wouldn’t be a problem. “What’s your name?” He wasn’t sure whether he was asking that because he truly wanted to know, or because of the fact he wanted to keep the conversation going, for the girl’s sake. A group of youngsters wandered in, busily chatting, yelling at each other; loud as young people were. Ilyas rubbed his temples; if there was a God, these people weren’t coming for the karaoke night.

[eden]

She smiled at him listing to him, she decided to never whine about her life. Always remembering people didn't care to hear people whine, unless they were open like her. Perhaps she was rather naive but she just wanted to feel like she was making a difference. Which in this world was rather difficult and she didn't know exactly what to expect. But when he commented on the Karaoke she smiled. She enjoyed it but she was also a good singer not that anyone would care. He was funny though she didn't laugh she was able to hide the laughing.

But then noticed some people coming and and watching the man she was talking to. She could tell they were annoying him, so she looked up and told them to please keep it down. They looked at her and just nodded, and there volume seemed to relax a bit. She was some what respected here because of the drinks she could make. She was having an interesting time right now and knew not to expect much but she guessed she would see. Her grey eyes looked at him as he asked her name. So taking a deep breath for a moment she decided to tell him.

"My name is Eden and don't worry there is no Karaoke tonight. I normally enjoy it but when people are way off key kinda gives me a head ache but don't tell people that" She chuckled a little bit and thought for a second and just relaxed a little bit. Since he finished drinking she put the top on the bottle and smiled a bit at him. "What's yours?" She asked hoping they could at least be on a first name bases but she just didn't know right now. Since she perhaps was a bit more curious.

[ilyas aylin]

It wasn’t that he didn’t like music. No, actually, it was one of the little things he managed to still enjoy from time to time. And he even played some guitar himself. The difference was that he never forced himself onto other people, nor did he claim he was a musical genius. Modesty was also very rare these days, in this world.

The group of youngster didn’t cause too much trouble; they hushed son after they’d entered, due to the tactic request of the barwoman. Ilyas raised an eyebrow. He wondered whether she did that for herself, or if she had another reason. Maybe, just maybe, it was policy to keep it down in this place, but the blonde highly doubted that. He showed a smile, faint, but genuine. “Headache?” he questioned, trying to sneaky elicit the answer to why she’d told the youths to be quiet. Whatever the reason was, he appreciated it. And he even more appreciated her stating it wasn’t karaoke night. Thank God, if he were real.

‘Don’t tell people that’, she requested. Funny, as if she assumed he spoke to other people. The fact that they’d been having a conversation that lasted longer than a single sentence was already a small miracle. So, he could pretty much guarantee he wouldn’t tell a living soul her deep, dark secret. But, as he could’ve expected, she did wonder about his name and now, he found himself thinking how to blow her off, without her feelings getting hurt too much; for some reason, he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “I.. don’t really share my name with anyone,” he said honestly and he tried to make it sound soft, perhaps even somewhat nice. “But people refer to me as ‘prick’. You may do the same.”

Now that he’d denied her his name, he wasn’t in the position to ask her anymore questions. Questions would only be countered with more questions, and he wasn’t planning on enlightening this young lady about himself. So far, she knew he was surly and an alcoholic; what more did she need to know? If she’d want to share some more with him, he’d listen. He could comment on what she’d said, however. “Eden is a lovely name,” he said, and he meant it. It wasn’t a name he’d often heard before; most likely because he didn’t usually ask people about their names.

[eden]

She smiled at him when he refused to give her his name, and it was understandable since they didn't know each other but calling him Prick was one thing she wouldn't do. When he asked about if she had a head ache she shook her head, she just didn't like the yelling. This wasn't a field where you can scream back and forth. And she wouldn't admit she could tell there screaming annoyed him so she just kept that quite. Grabbing a glass she filled it with water and drank some of it. The young couple ordered beers, so she grabbed them.

Quickly getting what she needed and gave it to them, walking back over to be behind the bar she turned her back for a moment to clean up the bottles since they were out of sorts and didn't like it. She didn't have OCD but just liked to have order in what she could control. Humming a tune that she wrote lowly so it wouldn't annoy anyone, she didn't know what anyone thought of her since she was kinda alone now. But didn't worry about it to much, she was just open to the possibility of things.

"I just don't like people who yell inside, you want to yell fine do it outside where there is a wide open area not in a bar. Or it will cause me to get a head ache" She chuckled happily and looked back at him. "Don't know why anyone would call you a Prick course this is my first encounter with you. Some people call me EDI yet to figure that one out, course when people fined out my last name is wolf, guys mostly howl at me. Idiots" She sighed. But laughed at the thought of it and decided to leave him be in case he didn't want to talk.

[ilyas aylin]

Oh, she’d most likely learn why people referred to him in certain ways. He was in a gentle mood tonight, it seemed, but she hadn’t yet seen him at his worst, and he hoped for her she never would; he knew he was even worse company when in a bad mood. She wasn’t shy, though, because within less than an hour, he knew most about her past, and her first and last name. She was either easy to trust a person, or terribly naïve. “Let me confide in you, one thing.” He leaned a little closer, as if he was about to share one of his deepest, darkest secrets with her. There was a twinkle in his light blue eyes; they sparkled in the little light provided in the building. His voice was now softened to a whisper as he started to speak. “Guys.. are morons.”

The booze started to have some effect. His mind started to get somewhat hazy and his judgement, perhaps, more cloudy. He started to smile again while he opened the bottle once more and poured liquor into his glass, more than last time, nearly to the edge. Miraculously, the ice cubes were still intact, as if all the rules and logic of the world didn’t apply tonight. He lifted the full glass up in the air.

“Cheers, Edi. To..” He paused his sentence there and gave it some thought. What would they drink to tonight? The past wasn’t an option for either one of them, and the blonde man refused to mention the future, because how could it be better than the past had been? But slowly, he decided on something, based on the attitude of the barwoman in front of him. Even though she had many reasons to act the way he did, she didn’t. She refused to, and she still showed people her most beautiful smile. “To masks. Because they work on nearly anyone.” He spoke from experience. He knew how well masks worked; he wore a mask too. The mask of a cold-hearted, distant person. His comment was slightly suggestive; meaning he was trying to see through the mask she’d decided to put on.

[eden]

Eden smiled at him and could tell he was getting drunk, though if he needed she would help him. But right now she would make sure he didn't do something to get him into trouble, and then when he wanted to make a toast he seemed to stop and think for a moment. She lifted her glass up and then heard what he said, she nodded to him. "I'll drink to that" She said and sipped her drink silently. She could drink a lot of people under the table but didn't like the feeling of getting drunk.

"Though some people don't have on masks, perhaps you think that I have one. Just think I am a unique person, I see things the way not many can. I am not close minded but I like to think that perhaps I make a difference, I can sit here and feel sorry for myself, tell you that I am the best thing since sliced bread. But I know I'm not, I am just a person in our world. Perhaps I talk to much, but there really isn't a game play for anything I do or say" She said looking at him with the smile and thought about a lot of things.