Capo Bastone

"It's not personal. It's just business."

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

lisbethhjerpe:

Lisbeth thought about arguing that he could go to college if he was willing to go into some pretty serious debt or put in the elbow grease required to scrounge up grant and scholarship money. But that would be a lot of talking, and she really didn’t feel like it. She remembered similar sit downs with her parents explaining how little she wanted to go to college herself. She wanted to invest all of her time and energy into her music, which her parents insisted was a foolish decision and one they refused to support her on. Instead of lecturing or trying to tell him he was wrong in assuming college wasn’t an option for him she simply shrugged. “Sometime it is better not to go,” she finally said, pulling a few french fries off the tray that had just been delivered in front of them. She bit off of one and then side eyed the rest of it between her fingers as if it were the offending party. “No one can make you put off what you want to do because it is the safe thing. Better to go when you have enough control to do what you want with the education.” 

She slipped one of her fries into the hand she was letting rest in her lap, trying to be sneaky as she held it under the table for Oakley to lick the salt off of.  

Ray hadn’t ever thought of college as even a possibility for himself. Of course, Lisbeth didn’t need to know that, and he kept such comments to himself. He hadn’t needed to, but he could’ve gone for something as trivial as a business degree. Running the mafia and underground trading system was different than whatever could be taught in a university, “Maybe, but if I ever get the chance to, maybe I will. I hear it’s a whole lot of fun,” he gave a half smile, looking at the food when it was placed in front of them. He picked up a few fries, not noticing until Oakley basically jumped up to place her paws on Lisbeth’s lap and take the fry whole. “Oakley,” he sighed, giving the dog a look and a light tug on her leash to put her front paws back onto the floor.

[lisbethhjerpe-blog]

Lisbeth uttered something in a low tone to Ray as he opened the door, a quiet “thanks” that was just barely audible. She felt a little self conscious when she realized how careful she was being in line not to step on the dog’s paws. She didn’t know if that some something other people worried about or if she just looked odd. “Too grown up,” she decided, rubbing the velvety fur of the dog’s snout.  She peered back across the table at the boy across from her as she sat back up from giving Oakley a little more attention waiting for their food. “She probably had good reason,” Lisbeth said with a shrug. She considered making a joke that she might put kibble in any shirts of Ray’s she found ugly, but that would assume access to his home and closet, and she didn’t want to make things awkward in that way. Her eyes narrowed slightly as he bit his bottom lip, but she wouldn’t admit it later on. “My parents wanted me to live at home,” she told him, trying very hard to relate to him and keep up the conversation she had started herself. “I like it here better. I don’t like the dorms, but I like it here better.” She paused for a moment deciding whether or not to push him a little further in his answer and decided ultimately to take the leap. “Why don’t you go to school? You can still work bar and take classes during the day. Only time for homework or sleep, but I think that’s supposed to be part of the experience. Pass classes or go to hospital trying.”

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Ray didn’t want to talk about himself, finding getting his questions dodged and barely picked apart at by Lisbeth much more appealing then talking about why he had done the things he had. Like ending up in Colorado. He loved it here, really, and would’ve preferred to live out his life as a mountain guy up in Vail, but now he was stuck in the city by the college, hoping this was the last place his brother would look for him. “I can’t,” he said flatly, trying not to come across as rude. “I just can’t. I don’t have any money for it, and taking care of my apartment and Oakley and working...that’s all I can really afford right now,” he smiled a little at her to show there weren’t any hard feelings, however the lie felt as right as everything else Ray had done in his life. Even if he hadn’t gone by his actual name in months, this wasn’t that bad.

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

With Oakley comfortably by his side, Ray held open the door for Lisbeth, raising an eyebrow as she walked by and into the place. He nudged the dog in as well, glad he’d come here enough to where they’d allow Oakley in from time to time. He smiled a little at Lisbeth, “She doesn’t bite much, which is funny, considering how most dogs like to play like that.” He found it easier to talk about the dog than himself, as well as any other conversation with the woman. He wasn’t really sure if he was desperate for a friend or not, and it was hard to tell with how little of an effort he’d received in return. “She’s only torn up one of my shirts. Can’t remember why, but she did.” He followed Lisbeth to a table, sitting down, “A little,” he admitted, biting his bottom lip in thought, “I mean, I would’ve liked to go to school, but right now it’s just the perfect place to hold a job.”

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Annie, Get Your Gun || Para 02

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

Lisbeth stayed quiet, not that quiet was anything but normal for her, as Ray took the opportunity to explain a little more fully the reasoning behind the dog’s name. When he put it that way it seemed a lot more logical, unless of course Annie Oakley had been especially ugly. Lisbeth didn’t think the dog was ugly, but if it was supposed to be borne out of a likeness, well, poor woman. She kept this to herself, though. “It makes more sense when you put it that way,” Lisbeth agreed, surveying the rich color of the dog’s fur. She wished Ray had named her something a little easier for Lisbeth to say, not that he should have been considering her when he got the dog, but she was pretty sure if Ray was like 99.9% of the other people she had met he’d send a few little jabs about her inability to pronounce “Oakley” like a normal human being. Nobody ever meant to offend her, which was fine, but it annoyed her to some degree that they’d wonder why she was quiet after that.

“You could have just thrown it way and blamed it on the dog,” Lisbeth pointed out, “but I guess it might be helpful to know she has the same taste in clothes as you.”

It was the best she could do in terms of a joke under the given circumstances. She knew it took a lot for her to warm up to a person and grow comfortable around them, and that generally turned a certain type of person against her in turn. It was surprising to her that Ray was willing to put in the time, that or he was just too polite for his own good. She’d been more sociable at the bar over the weekend, but she’d slept in that day and geared up for potential conversation with strangers. On weekdays she ducked her head into class and then back out to minimalize potential for interaction, but here she was anyway. It didn’t feel like a chore, although probably it appeared as if she viewed it that way to her company.

“Oh, yeah, any time,” Lisbeth answered, fiddling awkwardly with the lengths of the straps of her backpack. She stared at her feet trying to think of something to follow it up with, but his question about her guitar beat her to it. “Not anymore,” she explained. She realized pretty quickly that if she left it at that she would have shut him down again, which she could have sworn she wasn’t doing intentionally, though that was hard to tell. “It got dropped on the way out of the bar the other night, I guess you just didn’t see,” she explained further. “Part of the neck ended up breaking, but they fixed it.” She was quiet for a moment, though it was clear she wasn’t done speaking. She was reorganizing her information. It was easier to be quiet for a few passing moments than to deal with feeling like she had spoken poorly in her non-native English. “Usually, it isn’t the one I play for people. It’s acoustic and it belonged to someone important to me before it was mine.”

Lisbeth didn’t respond to his offer quite as quickly as she had meant to. The phrase “my woman” played back in her head before she heard her voice agree to go with him. Before she really knew better she was walking alongside to wherever the Shack was. “I think I’ve heard of this place, but I’ve never actually been there,” Lisbeth offered up, giving him a chance to talk more about it. Her mind was still stuck on his woman. That was weird to her. Why was he inviting her if he was going there to meet up with his girlfriend? She looked down at Oakley leading the way in what seemed to be a determined trot. “Looks like the dog makes her way around town.”  

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

The way she said Oakley’s name hadn’t really bothered him, and in fact, his hard New Jersey accent was masked enough to where he never drew too much attention to himself. No one wanted an Italian New Jerseyian to cuss them out, and that wasn’t very inconspicuous for someone who was trying to hide out in the middle of Colorado. Forty nine other states for his brother to choose from besides New Jersey, and Ray was taking his chances. “Nah, my mother wouldn’t have taken my word for it. She needs solid proof. I used that joke one too many times growing up, and even as an adult I’m still paying for it,” Ray gave a half smile, since most of his words were true. His mother was indeed like that, but he didn’t have to explain himself anymore since most of the family had backed off to see what would happen between him and his brother. 

Lisbeth’s joke made him smile a little, and he bent down to let Oakley give him a kiss on the cheek, “Of course she does. She’s my woman,” he grinned and straightened back up, wondering if it was obvious that Ray really only had Oakley as a friend. He didn’t have anyone else – and didn’t want anyone else. His life was lonely, but it was the one he’d chosen and now he had to live with it. 

“Someone important to you, huh?” Ray tugged idly on the sleeves of his jacket, since his conscience made the tattoo on his wrist burn. The “G” on his wrist was enough to remind him constantly, though usually a watch covered it up before anyone could see it. “Sorry ‘bout your guitar,” he said finally, furrowing his eyebrows since he didn’t remember her dropping it. “Next time, I’ll carry it for you so no idiot makes you drop it, yeah?” Ray pushed his free hand into his pocket, nodding a little, “She sure does. She’s far more popular than I am. And I think it’s just because she’s pretty and I’m not,” he smiled, looking at Oakley as she walked confidently ahead. Of course she knew where they were going. “It’s pretty good. Better than what I normally eat.” If he ate. The man spent far too much time sitting on his couch with Oakley simply waiting for someone to find him. His paranoia was killing him, but he was far too proud to admit that. 

When they got there, Ray held the door open for Lisbeth, following her inside as Oakley trotted along beside them. “It’s on me. Whatever you want.”

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Annie, Get Your Gun || Para 02

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

“Why is it so fitting?” Lisbeth asked in a flat tone of voice as she looked at the dog. Sure, he was right about the little mutt in front of her looking raggedy, charmingly so if such a thing was possible, but that was where all resemblances ended as far as the girl was able to tell. The peppy little pup seemed about as far away from the toughened Western gunslinger girl as Lisbeth could possibly dream up. “Are you hoping she lives up to her namesake?” she asked, looking at the dog which had craned its neck back as far as possible to look at Lisbeth, tongue flopped out and eyes full of warm doggy affection. “If you are, you should probably prepare yourself for some disappointment.”  

Lisbeth found that she was pouting at Ray’s reaction of laughing at her before she could reign in her own emotions. She dropped the pouty act quickly, though there was still a trace of a slight frown on her face. Being laughed at wasn’t something she particularly enjoyed, and she didn’t know Ray well enough to tell if she was truly being laughed at. “Oh…” Lisbeth muttered, blinking in response to Oakley’s reactionary little jig. A hint of a smile pulled at one corner of her mouth, but it wasn’t quite strong enough of an emotion to fully change her perpetually neutral expression. “I guess that’s kind of nice? Cute… or?” She glanced back up at Ray before standing straight again, this time not putting any attention or effort into distancing herself from Oakley. “Yes, she’s good.” The full, official appraisal.

When Ray stuffed his hands back into his pocket Lisbeth took it as a sign that the time to pet the dog had come to an end. She picked her backpack up, awkwardly sticking her arms back in the straps while listening to what he said. She expected the goodbye to be just moments away, but it didn’t end up coming. “One guy?” she asked. She racked her brains to try to come up with some sort of engaging follow up, to be sociable. “One guy still makes for a story.”

He asked about her weekend, too, and she doubted it was anything interesting compared to what sort of scenes a bar tender must be audience to. She lifted her shoulders in a noncommittal shrug as if warning him not to be disappointed with the boring account she was about to give. “Well I met you on Friday night,” she began with, figuring she’d just give him the highlight of each day. Or was it the highlight? Did she consider meeting him the highlight of her Friday? She made a mental note to overthink that later on. “Saturday I went home and cooked with my mom, got my guitar fixed at this little shop in the neighborhood. Sunday was just homework and coming back to school. Rehearsal, but, I don’t know. Nothing very exciting.”

Lisbeth looked over her shoulder as if he somehow knew someone behind her was waiting on her, like she had forgotten about plans she’d made earlier in the week. The sidewalk was busy with kids taking themselves from one class to the next, but no one was familiar. “No, my last class just let out,” she told him. “I have to meet some friends to practice for this thing tonight, but that’s later in the evening. I’m free for—”she lifted a hand to check the watch on her wrist—she always wore watches, believed there was something romantic about a clock face—“about five hours, then it gets to the point where I have to decide whether or not I’m subjecting myself to the dining hall food or a night of stomach growling. And practice after that.”

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

“Her fur color reminds me of Arizona and the wild Texas plains,” he said absently, running his fingers through Oakley’s fur once more. Ray gave a slight smile, “Like the old western setting Annie Oakley is from,” he explained after a second, wondering why that sounded a whole lot better in his head. He also didn’t care if people thought it was dumb, but he didn’t want to go looking for reasons to be made fun of either. “Disappointment? Nah, I think she’ll live right up to all my expectations. She’s already destroyed one of the ugliest shirts my mom gave me, so I think she’s on my side.” Ray joked, standing up straighter from where he’d been crouching by the dog. 

Ray was idly wondering if she had this pact not to find any joy in life. It was an actual thought that went through his head, especially with the way she looked at the dog. Dogs were naturally supposed to decrease stress levels and lower blood pressure – from all those online threads Ray had read after rescuing the mutt – so he assumed Lisbeth’s must be through the roof. He suddenly felt awkward, like the air had changed. He must’ve been thinking too much about it all, since Lisbeth seemed to answer him after all. 

He nodded slightly when she pointed out that she had met him on Friday, cracking a smile, “Thanks for reminding me. I’d almost forgotten,” he teased lightly, rocking back and forth on his heels for a second. Ray didn’t like feeling he was ruining someone’s existence just by talking to them, and it almost made him turn around and bail on the conversation so he did’t annoy Lisbeth by breathing the wrong way. He bit his bottom lip, “Something wrong with your guitar?” he asked after a second.

Ray checked the time on his watch, looking down at Oakley before back in the direction he’d come from, “Instead of fake cafeteria food, you could always come with me and my woman down to the Shack. It’s like a walk up food place. I promised the owner I’d bring Oakley by. They like giving her dog stuff and the occasional treat.” He wasn’t sure if it was an unusual request for an acquaintance, but it wasn’t like she had to say yes anyway. 

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Annie, Get Your Gun || Para 02

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

Lisbeth felt the full brunt of how underwhelming her greeting was when Ray sent it back at her. Then again, he had taken her by surprise, and he ought to have known she wasn’t exactly a top tier conversationist from their last interaction. “Sorry,” she sent back at him, a bit more brusquely than she had really intended. When the man redirected the dog’s attention a little bit of the tension eased away from Lisbeth’s frame, both because he and the dog’s attention were diverted away from her for the moment. Sure, their conversation at the bar had been fine, somewhat enjoyable even, but now she had to shoulder the burden of a second conversation. Her anxiety over it wasn’t meant to be a critique of her conversation partner, but more so her general lack of charisma. 

“Oakley?” Lisbeth repeated back. She’d taken painstaking care to make sure she said it in a perfect echo of Ray’s voice, but it still sounded wrong. She hated the attention her accent garnered, the expectation of long winded conversations and directions to say certain things just so other people could listen to it like it was some sort of party trick. She’d collected pretty quickly that Raylan either wasn’t like that, or hid it well if she was, but she still didn’t want to feel like she talked funny. “That’s a strange name.” 

“You’ve got nicer things to say about your dog than most people have to say about me.” Lisbeth replied, trying to keep the conversation afloat. The girl was pretty sure that she and Ray were still in the stage of acquaintanceship that would leave him thinking she was bitchy if she said very little, rather than the fact that she quite usually enjoyed company, but enjoyed conversation on a smaller scale. “I’m not used to them,” she argued, pressing her hands into her stomach when Ray held his out to her. She wasn’t really sure what he was going to do, pull her hand to the dog, help her pet it… “Dogs, I mean. I’m not used to them. We never had one, neither did neighbors or friends.” She realized half the reason she was saying it was to offer some sort of explanation to the dog, though she was fully aware little Oakley didn’t have a damn clue. 

“You keep it’s head busy, I’ll pet it’s, um–” Lisbeth cut off awkwardly, not really sure if dog’s had butts or if that’s what she’d be petting. She waited until Oakley was well distracted by, somewhat literally, bathing Ray in affection. She reached out slowly, as if to alarm the dog of her intentions to pet her she would somehow sent it into a rampage. First contact was awkward, a couple gentle touches that were more like ginger pokes with her finger tips than petting, but she mustered enough courage to give the dog’s soft coat a few legitimate strokes. When Ray spoke up again, some natural instinct must have kicked in for Lisbeth, because she scratched between the dog’s hind legs like a pro while listening to what he was telling her. “Oh, well, she’s… a very nice dog,” Lisbeth returned, an awkward appraisal at best. 

Lisbeth let her backpack rest on the ground beside her rather than leaving it to weigh her down awkwardly with its heavy text books. Still a little nervous about interacting both with the dog and the bartender, she tried her best to carry on casually. “How was the rest of the weekend?” she asked. “Nobody tried to play Journey to a drunk crowd while I wasn’t there to protect you, did they?” A joke? She was proud of herself. 

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Ray wasn’t sure what the apology was for, but he suspected it had something to do with the fact that there hadn’t really been a greeting between the two of them. He hadn’t expected a big smile and a hug with open arms while Chariots of Fire played in the background, but it wasn’t anything he would’ve sat over and worried about in the slightest. He waved it off before crossing his arms over his chest, listening to her repeat the dogs name. He gave a half smile, “Yeah, Oakley. She’s named after a lady; Annie Oakley,” he explained after a moment, looking down at his mutt. “She was one of the best shooters in the Western World. So I thought it was fitting. Somehow. I just thought it fit her ‘cause she was a raggedy thing,” he ruffled Oakley’s flopping ears. 

He grinned a bit more, “I can say the same for myself, honestly,” he placed his hands into his pockets. Ray found it much easier to like his dog than any people. He was sure that’s how it went with pets anyway; they were much easier to get along with and they would never talk back, only listen. He was Oakley’s biggest fan, and that wouldn’t change for a long time. Ray shrugged a bit, “Understandable,” he said slowly, watching her reaction to his friendly monster. It made him wonder why some people were scared of dogs, especially friendly ones, and even more so because they were everywhere. So many people had dogs, and that was what made Ray run back home the first time he had taken Oakley to a dog park.

The laugh that escaped him came almost unexpectedly, and he rubbed his face to try and hide his smile when he held onto Oakley’s collar so she couldn’t turn around and attack Lisbeth with more kisses like she most likely wanted to do. “Okay, you pet right there and she’ll love you.” As if on cue, Oakley did a little “dance” when she felt Lisbeth rub her hind quarters, pushing back and wagging her tail a mile a minute. “Glad you think so,” Ray gave a half smile, “Just give it a bit; you’ll learn to love ‘em. They’re the only friends you can count on,” he added in, thinking about it for a moment.

Ray gave a small grin at the end of her joke, shrugging his shoulders as he placed his hands back into his pockets, “Nah. Only had to throw one guy out, so I’d call it a win for the weekend. Yours? I ain’t keeping you from class or anything, am I?” he glanced over her shoulder at people leaving from the dorms, giving her the option to run away if she so pleased. 

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Annie, Get Your Gun || Para 02

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

Lisbeth had to guess that her hair was probably a lot easier than that of most other’s to pick out from a crowd. Sometimes she was grateful for that, and sometimes she wasn’t. Today, as she was working her way back from her last class of the day–thank god Tuesday’s ended early–she wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when she heard her name called out from the crowd. It was a voice she knew, but not one she recognized instantly. She idly wondered in the moment before she turned around if she had forgotten her book back in the classroom. 

Instead, she turned to find a light, fluffy little animal too closer for comfort. It wasn’t that the dog was particularly large or frightening, but she hadn’t expected it to be there at all. She took a few, quick steps backward, cautious to keep several feet between herself and the tail-wagging little beast. It would have been embarrassing to admit to anyone she was slightly afraid of the dog in front of her, but she wasn’t used to animals and uncomfortable was definitely an appropriate word to describe her feelings about them.

Settled several paces away from Oakley, Lisbeth raised her eyes to find Ray at the other end of the leash. She pushed a mass of red hair back out of her face and adjusted the weight of her backpack again. “Oh,” was all she managed at first, clearly communicating with the single word that Ray wasn’t who she ever would have thought to expect. “Raylan, hi-I–” She fumbled for some sort of conversation starter, not sure if he intended to stop for a chat or just wanted to say hello in passing. She looked down at the dog–half cringed when it it looked back at her. “Who is this?” she asked, tilting her head at Ray just slightly, inching away from the dog a few more steps just to be safe. 

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Ray watched the way Lisbeth reacted, and he would’ve been lying if he wasn’t slightly amused at the way she looked at Oakley. He let her fumble for a few moments, wondering if he should just look at her expectantly or give her a break. He was feeling merciful, so his mouth tilted into another smile as he looked at Lisbeth, tugging lightly on the leash so Oakley stopped pulling towards the woman. “Oh yourself,” he grinned a bit, patting his leg so Oakley jumped onto him instead. He rubbed his dog’s head, pushing her floppy ears around before turning his attention back to Lisbeth.

“This is Oakley,” he wasn’t sure if Lisbeth had an irrational fear or if it was justified, so he didn’t test the waters too quickly. Instead, Ray pushed Oakley back to the ground, “Sit,” he ordered, and she grudgingly obeyed after only a moments hesitation. “She may be a mutt, but Miss Oakley here is a lady,” he drawled, which caused Oakley to tilt her head in that cute way only dogs could pull off. “She isn’t going to bite,” he held his hand out to Lisbeth before retracting it, feeling a bit too awkward to do that much towards the woman who hadn’t really looked too comfortable at the moment.

“You can pet her; promise the most she’ll do is kiss you to death,” Ray gave a half smile, crouching down to Oakley’s level, who of course took that as an offer to start licking his face. “I found her underneath the stairs leading up to my apartment,” he said after pushing Oakley away so he could speak without getting interrupted by one of Oakley’s many kisses, “She wasn’t chipped, and by then I’d already named her, so I kinda fell for her right away.”

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Annie, Get Your Gun || Para 02

Ray enjoyed Colorado, at least in the small amount of time he had been here, he had learned to take what was given to him. His apartment itself was comfy, yet definitely not big enough to hold house parties. No one had entered the place but him and the dog he had rescued not a week after moving in. It had snowed particularly heavy that night, and if he hadn’t of dropped his keys into the snow and started digging around for them, he probably wouldn’t have noticed the bundle of tawny fur that was already burrowed beneath the layer of snow. 

After that, Ray had found himself with an absolutely loyal to a fault mutt. She had been too skinny when he found her, and after one trip to the vet, he had canceled his plans to drive her down to the nearest shelter where someone would take care of her. Ray likes to think that if he hadn’t given the dog a name, she’d be in some other family’s home. The name “Oakley” was more for Ray’s amusement than anything else, but he couldn’t deny how much it fit her. 

He and Oakley were on some kind of schedule. He’d walk her when he got up in the morning, take her out once more before he left for work, walk her on his lunch, then take her out twice when he got home. When he didn’t have to work until the normal night crowd filed in, he and Oakley would take up residence on the couch all day instead. Ray had thought they had an agreement, but with the way Oakley was resting her head on his knee and wagging her tail – he couldn’t really deny her anyway. And that’s how Ray found himself on his third walk of the day, and it wasn’t even two in the afternoon yet.

Ray was paying more attention to Oakley, every now and then looking around and taking in the sights of the small college town Ray had already memorized. A certain redhead caught his eye for a moment, and he saw her not a few meters ahead of himself on the path he normally walked with the dog. He wouldn’t avoid her, though after talking her ear off the day before, he was sure she’d see him and promptly walk the other way. He walked forward anyway, Oakley pulling forward in her excitement to see a new person. Normally, the dog had a protective streak that would put Ray to shame if anyone knew he actually enjoyed it. “Lisbeth, hey.”

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

Just Shy of Legal || Para 01

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

“If that’s what you say,” Lisbeth said. She didn’t mean to be dismissive, but day drinking in public wasn’t really a topic she felt like she wanted to dedicate much time to discussing. She shrugged her shoulders when he said karaoke wasn’t for him. Convincing him to believe otherwise wasn’t something she wanted to spend much time on anyway either, but she figured he at least deserved a response. “Guts? I don’t know, that’s probably one of the last things I’d say about me. I used to get in a lot of trouble because I wouldn’t speak at all except to my parents when we first moved here from Sweden. That’s what lead to any of this music stuff.” The girl shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to say much more than that at the moment. “How do you know she isn’t singing with you?”

“It’s more of my actual work right now,” she told Ray. She tried to be patient. He was pretty much a stranger and had no way to know that Seamus was a glutton for giving her the exact same speech. “It would just be complicated and it’s not worth talking about right now.” She hoped she didn’t sound flip or angry, but it made her slightly uncomfortable to be life-coached by a bar tender she’d only known for a few hours.

“College is definitely,” Lisbeth began before trailing off. She stopped when there was a new path begun in the sidewalk leading to her building. “This is my place,” she said, nodding over her shoulder at the dorm. “If you see the guys at the bar when they play tomorrow tell them I said hello, okay?” She paused for a moment, a little light flickering behind her eyes when she remembered her manners. “Thank you for walking me home.”

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Ray wondered why he bothered to try and find some semblance of a friendship in the life he lived, and why he always seemed to pick the types that didn’t want to be chosen for his little antics. It was somewhat understandable, but he really couldn’t fit in without a couple of fake friends. Lisbeth just wasn’t going to be one of them, obviously, “I guess,” he glanced at her when she said she didn’t want to speak, attributing it to some kind of culture shock. “If she was singing with me, she wouldn’t be looking at me like she’s laughing at me. Trust me, I know when that dog is laughing at me.”

“Sure,” he shrugged, figuring that the whole “go get ‘em” speech was something Lisbeth had heard and definitely didn’t want to hear from her local bartender. Ray knew it wasn’t his job to motivate someone anyway, unless it was giving alcohol to patrons and helping them get the balls to ask a pretty girl to dance.

He followed her gaze to the dorms, before raising an eyebrow at her comment about the other guys in her band. Ray assumed after Seamus’ little Alpha Male show earlier that he wouldn’t exactly be invited into their little circle for a greeting, but he nodded in spite of himself. “Sure. I’ll let you know if they crash and burn without their woman’s touch,” he smiled a little, glancing over his shoulder at where his apartment building was a few more blocks down. “’Course. What’s it called these days? Oh yeah, chivalry. You can count on the local bartender for that. Later, Lisbeth.” Ray gave a half wave while she was still looking before he took off back towards his own place.

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

Just Shy of Legal || Para 01

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

“That’s depressing,” Lisbeth commented when he chronicled the sad reality of the squad of day drinkers. “Perhaps if they weren’t in a bar before noon they could remake something of themselves.” It was a harsh criticism considering none of these men were people she knew, but she didn’t really know what else to say to it. “Do you ever sing at karaoke Sundays?”

Lisbeth switched the guitar from one hand to the other again,  stuffing her now free hand into the pocket since she had never quite gotten used to the cold even if she had lived in the town for most of her life. She looked at him directly when he asked the question of her and shrugged. This was one of the hardest things to explain when people asked her about it. She didn’t know how to tell people it wasn’t about what she wanted, that the pressure of making her parents proud was solely on her now–and music wasn’t in their plan for her. 

“If we lived in some ideal world where that would pay the bills things might be different,” Lisbeth answered, using the obvious crutch of a bad economic climate. Sometimes people saw through it, other times they didn’t. She was interested to see what Ray would do it with. “Seamus is finishing a degree in classical guitar and another in composition, and a few others are doing minors or finding ways to apply it to their areas of study.” She tried not to say much, a jealous feeling making her stomach feel clenched. Her bandmates were from families with different backgrounds and difference sizes, that’s why their parents were fine with their choices. The topic always reminded her of that, and other bad memories she tried to keep below the surface. 

“Some of them might make it,” she agreed, shrugging as if it didn’t bother her. “The ones with more ambition, better charisma. It’s not really what I’m allowed to want, so… School first, and then a real job. None of this,” she explained, nodding toward her guitar case. 

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Ray couldn’t bring himself to worry about those who found it in them to start drinking before the afternoon hours had settled in. It wasn’t any of his business, but as a bartender, he heard everything from the man who had cheated on his wife to the girl who accidentally crashed her car. “I suppose so. But everyone has their own way of dealing with shit. Last thing they need is pity,” he pointed out, before smirking, “Nah. I haven’t gotten wasted enough to actually get up there. Unlike you, I don’t have the guts to do it. I sound like a wounded animal. My dog even howls when I sing to her, so an audience? I’d get kicked off the stage.”

He tried not to say anything as she began to speak, simply picking up on the different ways she held herself and the defining features as she talked. It was subtle emotional cues he always looked for, which came with the territory of forever reading the person he was speaking to out of plain habit. He recognized the crutch, but instead of commenting immediately, he held his tongue until she was finished. “There’s a thing called balance, which you already seem to be doing,” he pointed out with a shrug. “After all, just because you have to find a job to pay off bills, as you said, doesn’t mean you have to give up on everything else,” Ray didn’t want to overstep his boundary by judging the woman, but the words usually just came tumbling out anyway.

The bartender hummed his acknowledgement of what she said about her bandmates, though he really didn’t let his mind linger on them for more than a couple of seconds. Ray’s interest perked a bit at the fact that she used the word not, and he wrinkled his nose slightly in distaste.

“My Ma would tell me stuff like that every now and then. I can’t say anything for your parents, and it really ain’t any of my business, but you can make it into a real job. Just depends on if you let it happen or you resign yourself to being unhappy.” Ray wasn’t one to take his own advice, though running away had been one of the only options for him. “But you’re in College; it’s your time to shine, or whatever the hell they say.”

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

Just Shy of Legal || Para 01

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

Lisbeth didn’t quite understand the delay on the part of the man behind her walking at something comparable to a snail’s pace. Once she got away from the crowded sidewalk and realized he wasn’t about to put any effort into matching her pace, she stopped. The guitar case in her hand shifted toward him with her body as she watched him making his way behind her, one eyebrow slowly raising as if questioning whether or not he’d lost interest in or rescinded his offer. It wasn’t like she’d forcibly dragged him out of the crowd in front of the bar, she was just in a hurry to get away from it.

“So what does a bartender have to do at 11 in the morning?” she asked once he finally caught up to her. The walk would be short but she wasn’t about to try and intentionally make it unpleasant. She wasn’t sure if she could say the same for him, he may have read her as indifferent, a possibility which admittedly she was indifferent to. “Do you have a day crowd?” She was half amused at the joke, mostly the half that managed to ignore the sadness of what reality must be like for people desperate enough to show up at a bar before noon.

“Normally we play our parents’ garages,” Lisbeth answered, her voice null of any sort of joking tone. She didn’t sound like she was ashamed of it either. “We only started performing a year ago, for pay I mean. Sometimes we would play down town or in parks, but it becomes difficult when there isn’t room for anything.” She paused for a second, switching the guitar case from hand to the other. “They’re glad they’re coming back but I’m working on something else right now so… tonight was it for me.” She shrugged, eyeing the corner of her block about a ten minutes away.

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Ray’s confusion was just as noticeable on his own face, and he tried to brush it off just as easily as Lisbeth had. She hadn’t really given him any chance to respond, and if he was that much of a bother, she could’ve mentioned it and went on his way. Though now that he was walking with her, he was glad he hadn’t driven his motorcycle to the bar that day. Company was supposed to do a person good, but here he was unsure if he should’ve just let her go on her way. His mama probably would’ve smacked him over the head and told him something in harsh Italian about his manners, 

“You’d be surprised at how many day drinkers we get,” Ray smiled slightly, feeling the tension drain from his body. “Mainly older guys who do that sad, sob story thing. Where they rasp about how they’re only drinking to forget, and all that jazz,” he shrugged, taking a deep breath of the cold mountain air. “Other times it’s people who meet for lunch. There’s a pretty good menu, and the mozzarella sticks are actually to die for. Call it a guilty pleasure. They don’t get much better anywhere else. Since the age requirement only kicks in at about nine, we get a lot of the college crowd in there. Especially karaoke Sundays. Those are probably my favorite.”

He nodded a little to show that he was listening, giving her a sideways glance as he took in the red hair and the smooth features of the girl he had met earlier. It sounded like any other band Ray had heard the backstories for; starting out in a garage, no money to go anywhere, and then finally catching their “big break” somewhere. “Sorry if I’ve already asked, but you don’t want to do anything in a musical career?” he asked. “You guys are good enough if you keep at it. And you’re a damn good singer by yourself as well. Everyone kinda glorifies the whole traveling band thing, but you have to be really dedicated if you wanted to get into something like that.” Ray’s confusion was just amplified when she said that was it for her, “School first, then? You’re out?”

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

Just Shy of Legal || Para 01

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

Lisbeth idly wondered what it would be like in a few short months when she could join the rest of their little ensemble at the bar. At house parties she rarely shied away from drinking, though she wasn’t one of the underaged kids getting hammered either, but she knew better than to try anything like that in an actual establishment–and especially not while they played for money. Her mind had wondered for a few minutes whether or not she would have been carded by Raylan the half-hearted bartender. She doubted he cared about his job enough to have checked. He had that sort of air about him, languid and fluid, like he didn’t really care about anything. She tried not to judge him too harshly, he’d been interesting conversation after all. 

The girl was shocked to realize that Ray was opening the door for her, but didn’t feel much like turning him down and struggling to wrestle her guitar case and herself out of the building. She glanced back over her shoulder, checking with muted interest whether or not he was following her out of the establishment as well. “I didn’t hear them announce last call,” Lisbeth observed, standing still on the sidewalk, the guitar held in front of her to maintain distance between their bodies. “Are they letting you go early?” The band hadn’t finished particularly late into the night, certainly the bar would be open an hour or more longer. 

She stared across the small span of concrete between them at his smile. He had seemed no less than friendly since she’d met him, but she wasn’t sure how to read it now. He wasn’t behind the bar top this time, not being paid for it. She found people as hard to read as she probably was herself, passive about most things until someone had got to know her well. Her gaze only altered when the door opened behind Ray and Seamus came out, almost immediately barking at the two of them with his somehow shameless Irish accent. Lisbeth always felt a little burdened by her own manner of speech.

“Nobody out here is bothering one another, are they?” he asked, crossing one thick arm over the other and raising an eyebrow making it clear his question was actually this guy isn’t bothering your is he Lisbeth. He stared down Ray, matching him inch for inch, though possibly bettering him by a few pounds. The mix of alcohol and masculinity was something Lisbeth had seen before, something that made his Irish blood want to fight, something she knew how to shut down in him with a single look. Seamus almost looked disappointed, but backed down and retreated back into the bar.

Lisbeth thought about apologizing on Seamus’ behalf, but ultimately decided against it. She just glanced back at Ray and shrugged. “Glad it was more enjoyable than some of the others for you,” she told him, in tune with how she lacked communication skills but not sure how to make up for it. “It’s a better place to play than we’re used to, they’re glad they’re coming back for a few nights.” She turned to begin to leave, too awkward to think of a way to say goodbye, but was stopped by Ray’s voice again. She lifted a hand and pointed to a taller building, undoubtedly a dormitory, only a few blocks away. “It’s not far, but you can if you like.” She turned and began walking again before he had a chance to respond. 

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Ray followed Lisbeth out once she exited, putting his hands in the pockets of his jacket and looking at her once she began to speak. “Early? Not really,” he shrugged, taking a glance over his shoulder at the bar, “I’ve been here since eleven this morning. I’m finally at the end of my shift and no one could’ve persuaded me to stay longer,” he gave a half smile, looking at Lisbeth’s guitar case, though his smile fell flat once he heard someone exiting the bar after them.

He wasn’t sure what to expect, but the Irish guy that had been singing earlier wasn’t one of them. Ray almost, almost, made a joke, but he kept it to himself. A Swedish woman, an Italian guy, and an Irish guy walk out of a bar. They were the start of an extremely bad joke, and Ray couldn’t help himself as he smirked in spite of it. He didn’t bother to give Seamus an answer, because if he was going to be getting into the middle of a lover’s quarrel he’d tap out in a heartbeat and walk himself home. It didn’t seem to be the case, and Ray chose to hold his tongue so he wouldn’t have to purposefully lose a fight to the man in order to maintain his sorry ass bartender persona. 

Once the man was shut down by Lisbeth, Ray didn’t comment on it, only raising an eyebrow at his retreating figure before he was pulled from his thoughts by Lisbeth talking again like that hadn’t happened. Ray placed the situation in the back of his mind, crossing his arms over his chest now, “Where do you normally play? Other bars? Can’t say there’s a lack of them in college towns,” he commented. 

Ray followed Lisbeth’s gesture towards the dorm, though he had already known where it was. His apartment was in the same direction, hence that being one of the only reasons he thought it would at least be polite to walk her back. Not even college towns were safe from the weirdos, and even though Ray’s mama wasn’t the easiest to get along with, she tried to raise a gentleman, not a fool. He nearly considered letting her walk herself back, seeing as how she started walking off, and since she wasn’t exactly interested in talking, he didn’t say anything in response. Ray swallowed his own pride since she couldn’t, walking after her but not speeding up his pace to walk beside her. She had a head start on walking back, so he kept it that way. There weren’t many questions he was dying to ask, figuring this would be the last time she bothered to hold a conversation with him anyway unless she sought him out at the bar he would be standing behind every night they played.

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

Just Shy of Legal || Para 01

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

“One was my limit,” Lisbeth reminded him without turning back to him, the bar still quiet enough for her to be heard. She wondered vaguely what it might be like to be on the opposite side of the bar during a busy night, or even present as a customer, but before she had much time to consider anything she was stepping up on the makeshift platform with her bandmates. The girl took her place further back on the stage, never having been one who got much out of hogging attention even when she did take the lead, and pulled the strap of her guitar overhead waiting to begin the routine set for Seamus.

A number of songs were played, some newer and some older, and certainly more drinks and shots were poured before the band called it off only for a brief intermission. Although there was a slight lull in the musical activity at the bar there seemed to be little down time in the way of service. Most of the members of the band pushed up toward the front of the bar and hastily placed orders before heading back up onstage, where Lisbeth had waited for lack of anything better to do. While Seamus nursed an ale, Lisbeth conferred with him quietly, her hand around the mic to keep it from picking anything up. Once she got a nod in response from him she was back to her position toward the back corner of the stage, a little closer to the mic set up for her that she’d mostly ignored for the evening.

“We don’t usually do this but it seems like we’ve gotten a special request tonight,” Seamus said into the mic with a thick Irish accent, not really bothering to wait for the buzz in the bar to go down once he caught the attention of the patron again. “Our little Lisbeth is going to get us started, don’t worry ladies, before you know it-“

Seamus was cut off by the first few guitar notes to Under The Bridge, Lisbeth staring squarely at him as she interrupted him. He waved her off before she dismissed her attention to focus back on the song by the time the music demanded the first words. Her voice carried well, no longer accented as she sang along with it. There was a sweetness to her voice too, with a gravelly, gritty roughness in the tone. Unlike some singers, or perhaps at least for the RHCP track in particular, Lisbeth wasn’t much of a powerhouse, but the words that were held longer than the others definitely built in pitch and volume. She tried to ignore the fact that she was singing specifically for someone, which she wasn’t used to even if she was comfortable with an audience. She stepped back from the mic after finishing up, not letting herself glance at the bartender for any cues of approval or otherwise, instead focusing on her bandmates for the intro to the next cover.

The band didn’t play quite until last call, something all members but Lisbeth seemed highly pleased with. The majority of them either waited to have drinks bought for them or rushed the bar themselves. Lisbeth stuck around on the stage taking care of unhooking and putting the instruments back in their cases. The guitar it seemed would be the only item to go back with her that evening, as evidenced by her pulling the case along with her as she said her goodbyes to her bandmates, waiting to try and call the attention of and dismiss herself from those at the bar last of all.

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Once Lisbeth had walked away, Ray easily slipped back into his own nonchalant attitude. The night was far from over, and though he had basically brought this upon himself anyway, he always hated how he could be reduced to someone who had to give others alcohol and watch even the biggest of idiots get drunk. As the night began, it wasn’t difficult for him to become increasingly irritated with the people who entered the bar. Many were older college students, but a couple he could recognize as older yet desperate kids who didn’t have anything going for them in college, but had reduced themselves to visiting the local bar just to get some kind of action.

His gaze would linger on Lisbeth every now and then, watching her stage presence with interest, as well as the other members of the band. He wasn’t exactly an expert in music, but he easily decided that they were better than ninety percent of the other bands that the bar had hired over the past couple of weeks. 

All in all, the night seemed like a general waste of Ray’s time. One patron had to be escorted out after harassing one of the waitresses, and three other people had been caught trying to skip out on their bill. The only relief he had gotten was the couple of shots he had been given over the course of the night. The strong burn that bourbon offered him was always welcome, and he had just finished downing one when Lisbeth’s name was mentioned by the guy that had been singing for most of the night. Ray had simply ignored whatever was being said, too busy dealing with everyone else. He had paused, however, when the bar’s attention turned to the band as a girl took the spot at the microphone. 

Ray leaned against the bar, crossing his arms over his chest and watching as the RHCP song was played. He smirked a bit to himself, enjoying the way it sounded coming from the woman he had conversed with just a couple hours earlier. He had quickly realized, once Lisbeth had finished, that he would have much rather heard Lisbeth sing instead of the other guy. The rest of the night dragged on, but Ray was more inclined to finish up with his shift now more than ever. Once he was finished collecting what was his, he shrugged on his jacket, watching as the band broke up to stop performing. He checked his watch, making sure it remained tight on his wrist as he moved towards the exit. 

His gaze drifted to the woman that was standing beside the door, seemingly focused on the people at the bar. Ray took in her appearance once more, the flash of red hair being the only clue he needed to know who it was. He held open the door, waiting until she finally caught sight of him as he motioned for her to exit first, “After you,” his gaze followed her as she walked out into the cool, Colorado night air. “That was pretty damn good, if I do say so myself,” Ray said finally, glancing at the guitar case she was dragging along with her. “Definitely one of the better ones, though it was probably because of the song,” his grin only got a bit wider, “Color me impressed.” He placed his hands in his pockets, glancing around at the night crowd that had gathered outside the bar, “Can I walk you back?” he found himself asking the question before thinking, biting his bottom lip to make sure he recognized that impressing Lisbeth shouldn’t have been on his list of things to do.

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

Just Shy of Legal || Para 01

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

“Yes, I sing too,” Lisbeth answered, vaguely wondering if he would be disappointed that she wouldn’t be singing much at all during the several nights the bar was hosting their rag-tag little ensemble. The girl shrugged her shoulders, since it was really the best answer she could give. Generally, on a night she wasn’t set to sing she did little more than back up vocals, but there were the occasional nights where a lead wouldn’t be feeling it and step down, but Lisbeth knew with the volume of bar patrons, particularly those female and single, it was highly unlikely that any of the boys set to take lead vocals would shy away from the opportunity. “I might, it just depends on if someone else wants a break. I’ve been focusing on a little side thing anyway, so most of my energy has gone into that. I haven’t really worked on anything with the group except playing for their set lists.”

Lisbeth felt a little pressure to come up with something clever to say when the barkeep smiled at her. Perhaps it was that she found him charming and good looking, or perhaps it was the social conditioning she’d gotten used to in the United States—if someone smiles at you, reciprocate their politeness—but she felt the need to return the kindness, or whatever it was. “Maybe we’ll pull you up on stage to conduct the drunk wailing since you seem to have so much experience with it,” she attempted.

“Yes, I’m a sophomore,” she told him, not entirely sure whether or not sharing her progress in school was really necessary, but she had to do her part to carry to conversation. “Business Communication right now, but… I don’t know.” Lisbeth lifted a shoulder in a half shrug, not wanting to bore him much wit the details of her studies. They disinterested her enough as it was. “What about you?” she asked, fully expecting him to rattle a major off straight back to her.

Lisbeth spared a passing glance at the menus Ray was distributing, already hungry but knowing she would have to wait until after their show to really have anything substantial. Before she really had much more of an opportunity to think about it she heard her name called from the other side of the room. She got up from the stool and looked back at Ray trapped behind the bar at the mercy of all the drunks who would assuredly accumulate in the next few hours. She stuffed her hands in her pocket, walking backwards from the bar with a shrug. “Sure, see you around,” she told him, turning on her heel and heading directly back to her crew and guitar.

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Ray sincerely hoped that someone decided that singing wasn’t for them one of the nights, simply just to hear the woman in front of him sing. It wasn’t often that he took interest in anyone when it came to their hobbies or their band, but he was trapped in the aura that was Lisbeth, and he wasn’t sure if he could get out of it as easily as he hoped. “Well, y’never know. Go out there and sing a Chili Pepper song and your next five cokes are on me,” he teased, wiping his hands with a towel as she explained how their little ensemble worked when it came to the vocals. He could understand how most of the men most likely wouldn’t give up their chance to sing, the unspoken knowledge was easy for Ray to catch onto. 

“Really? You spoil me, Lisbeth,” Ray grinned a little bit, feeling quite entertained with the idea. “Though I might steal the show, can’t take the spotlight away from the band of course.” The bartender nodded slightly in response to her answer about the college, and he racked his brain for the generic answer he usually gave others when it came to his own college experience or plans. “Well – I’m not in college. At least not yet. I don’t really have enough money for that. That’s why I’ve been working odd jobs and whatnot, trying to keep my apartment and saving up a ton of money so I can eventually go. Maybe get my AA at the community college first, but it’s expensive for the state schools. I’m workin’ my way up, though.”

The bartender didn’t say anything more when Lisbeth got off the stool, also glancing at her bandmates when she was called upon. He felt the urge to ask if he could talk to her after, but he dismissed the thought and blamed it on the fact that his shift was going to turn into a drunken shit show sooner rather than later. Ray gave a nod in return to her “see ya” and resumed his duties of cleaning up the bar and getting ready for the night crowd.

Not too soon after, the night crowd began filling into the bar. It was the usual audience, college kids who had one plan only: to get completely wasted so they could stumble back to their apartments and have good stories to tell their friends the next day. In a way, Ray was glad that he never adapted into that life. Sure, he drank, but most of the time he couldn’t understand the want to get shitfaced and black out. He idly kept an eye on Lisbeth throughout the evening before the band began to play. He was interested in how well the band played, and needless to say, he’d rather watch her then pay attention to any of his patrons that would demand more shots as soon as the music started, naturally.

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

Just Shy of Legal || Para 01

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

“There’s a little more rumor than truth to that statement than people would like to believe,” Lisbeth returned. “Or at least that’s how I remember it. I haven’t been back to Sweden for any extended period of time since we moved, but it depends on where you go. It’s mostly true for the places Americans usually travel, never much of a challenge to find someone with at least conversational English skills in the cities. Rural places, it can be a challenge. No one thinks to go to those places when they’re vacationing, but they’re some of the best.”

Lisbeth sat back in the chair at the bar, slightly amused, clearly warming up to the conversation. There had been a suspicion during her early middle and high school years on her parents behalf that her supposed lack of English proficiency was really rooted in the fact that Lisbeth took four or five times as long to warm up to people than anyone else, and was generally quite quiet until she got there. “I can’t say anyone’s accused me of being a badass before, but change is good,” she nodded a little. “I know a lot of people who took it from early on, primary school, and are signing up for it again here in college having lost just about all of it without using it for a few years. Language is a tricky thing, and I guess unless you’re just passionate about a language it’s almost reverse productive to try and learn one you never have opportunity to use.”

“Speaking, not so hard,” Lisbeth agreed. “I think it’s different because I’m obviously European, and no one doubts that I know what I’m saying. I have a good friend from South Africa though. Her accent is thicker, but she speaks better than I do, and she is actually in a bit of a mess with the school right now. Her advisor decided she wouldn’t understand the English in some of her pre-medical courses and wouldn’t let her sign up.” She sighed, annoyed herself by the situation that wasn’t her own and wasn’t even happening on the same campus as the little bar the pair of them sat in chatting. “Writing is very hard for me. People say to write like you think and talk, but in Swedish the function of language is different, and it doesn’t work that way.”

“That is the same to me,” Lisbeth told him flatly, shaking her head when he insisted that his name wasn’t the same as Raelyn. Her face screwed up a little when he said it sounded like a Western name, but she didn’t have it in her to shut him down. She didn’t have much frame of reference for that sort of thing anyway. She glanced away and sipped at her coke to get out of having to comment further on what he called herself, figuring she would just call him Ray to further sideline the issue.

“We have a few songs in our set that we rely on drunk wailing to carry, so I apologize on behalf of all of us for that, but not Journey,” Lisbeth assured him, twisting at the waist to check and see if her bandmates had made any progress in setting up. Mostly, they’d just made progress with their drinks, but it wouldn’t be too much longer before they were ready to get started. “We know a little RHCP. We have them in our set sometimes.  Snow, The Zephyr Song, Scar Tissue,  but not much too old or too new of theirs. I’ll make sure we play at least one tonight though. We do a lot of covers for the most part.”  

“Uh, well, really it depends,” Lisbeth answered. “So, I told you we all switch instruments, yes? What we play depends on who is at the mic that night. When it’s me I like to do a lot of Florence and the Machine, a couple other less popular bands from Europe, some older stuff from here, too. Tonight though, I’d say more of a um…” She paused, trying to find the proper phrase. “Mixed bag? Some old things, some new, some Red Hot Chili Peppers for you.”

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Ray followed Lisbeth’s gaze over to her bandmates, smiling slightly in amusement at how they weren’t doing much but mingling and drinking what they had ordered earlier. He expected to be meeting the rest of them over the course of the week, and if he was lucky, he’d remember names to faces instead of how much of a ruckus they made. He was quite good at remembering faces, having to always watch his back to make sure he memorized the faces of his family’s enemies. Now and days, Ray didn’t really look as much as he examined, completely paranoid that someone he recognized was going to appear in the middle of Colorado. “All good songs. I’ll see them in concert one day, if they’re still playing. I’m never caught up with bands unless they put something on the radio announcing it.”

The bartender nodded in agreement when she reminded him about the instrument switching, envious that he never really got to learn any kind of instrument. Cleaning a gun was always like playing a fiddle, at least, that’s what his grandfather would always say. “I know them. So you do sing, too, then? Plan on singing this week?” he asked, curious to know how good she was behind the microphone. “I mean, my shower singing is kind of badass, but I usually just put myself in the ‘drunk wailing’ group,” he joked, offering a slight smile. 

“You go to the college then, yeah? I saw your college ID earlier. What are you studying?” Ray asked, meeting her gaze after a couple moments. He pulled the nozzle for the coke out and refilled her drink yet again, simply to top it off before he started to switch out the soda for the beers that were on tap. He took his time in doing so, looking at Lisbeth as she answered him. He didn’t need college, and he was lucky that he had to work behind a bar back home in order for this whole “bartending” gig to actually pay off. Ray wasn’t used to working for an honest kind of living, but to say that he was a criminal might’ve been too much. Sure, he’d killed a couple people, but he was determined to say that was self defense, not so much a cold blooded execution. Though to some, it might not’ve been any different.

Once he finished with the different taps, he started to set out (more like toss) menu’s across the bar and slide them down a couple of ways away. Ray thought about the dog he had left at home, wondering if he should’ve locked her in the kitchen for the first few nights instead of letting her wander around. He had no idea if she was a dog that chewed up everything or not, but his thoughts drifted away from the dog once he looked back at Lisbeth. “Thanks for talkin’ with me. It’s hard to find a nice conversationist around here,” he gave a half smile, debating on whether or not he should’ve been an ass the entire way through the conversation to ensure that Lisbeth never talked to him again. Becoming a hermit wasn’t really easy, but it was definitely easier if he didn’t have anyone he enjoyed talking to. 

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

Just Shy of Legal || Para 01

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

“I hang around with people with taste in music,” she replied, a slight smile playing at her lips. She shrugged her shoulders, her smile widening and giving the joke away. “They’re not bad. My father actually likes them a lot. It’s weird to hear someone my age say they’re fans, I guess.” She watched him restock various items around the bar, wondering what she ought to say to keep the conversation going. For the past number of years, aside from functional conversations and collaborative efforts in academics, Lisbeth didn’t have a particularly large number of conversations outside of her social circle. She was the sort of person who did as well alone as she did with company, and even with her usual company she was the least vocal of the group.

“Most schools a lot of places teach English now really,” Lisbeth nodded. “I guess it’s a useful skill. English is a pretty widely used language. I always found it interesting when I got to high school that only a few languages are offered in most schools here. I took Spanish, because it was supposed to be similar to English. The rules and stuff always got mixed up in my head though. My English is fluent and Swedish as well, obviously. And I think I know enough Spanish not to get myself into any fights, but I never did quite figure it out beyond self preservation.” Lisbeth shrugged when he said he might call his friend, not entirely sure how to respond since she didn’t know either guy really.

Dutch wasn’t a new guess to Lisbeth, and she had to at least acknowledge that geographically he was pretty dance close. She nodded her head, somewhat impressed he actually knew where Sweden and Denmark were in relation to one another. “Not a bad guess,” she said approvingly. “I’ve gotten some very strange ones over the years. Most people don’t really pay as much attention to what I speak but what I can’t. Most people don’t expect me to have very good English proficiency, which was fair when I was younger. I never used English outside of school, and my parents never really encouraged me to make much of an extra effort with it. Probably got comfortable with the assumption I’d never use it.”

“No, not how to convince my parents,” Lisbeth protested, sitting back in the tall bar chair. Her soda was almost gone now, and she wished the caffeine had given her more of a kick. “That part I like to think I accomplished all on my own. The basics, how to stop, slow down, stay upright. I was an awful learner though. It’s probably better that I broke my leg on the front step rather than my neck out on Vail.” She shook her head when he asked if she’d ever made it to the resort, and then looked at her elbow again when he looked at it. A ghosting of pain reminded her just how awful it had been, but she tried to shrug it off to allow it to swiftly leave her mind. “Snowboarding? I’d rather be stuck limping than hardly being able to breathe.”

“Well, you’ve got a name and you’re stuck with it—or usually some sort of variation of it via a nickname,” she explained, “but no. In those cases it doesn’t say much about a person. It says more about someone’s parents than it does them. People don’t name themselves.” She took another sip of her drink while he talked about different reactions he got to his name. “Sounds like a girls name to me,” she told him, though she was careful not to let it sound like an insult.

“It’s Hebrew actually,” she pointed out, her eyes following the path of the bowl when he pushed it away from the two of them. “But it’s just a different version of the name Elizabeth, so it’s not really anything that special. Like, you have Alexander and Alejandro?” She nodded, confirming that people got it wrong—or at least the ones who didn’t have to good sense to ask her how to say it like he had. She pushed her empty glass toward Ray, silently asking for another. “So, for the sake of saving you from sitting here all night serving drinks and listening to people tell you about their names—aside from Journey—what music do you like? I can see if we know anything and we can add it to the set.”

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

“Fair enough. My friend was a big fan too.” The thought of his older brother made Ray hesitate slightly in his work, though he managed to mask it. He glanced at her, nodding in agreement, “English is supposed to be the universal language. Wherever you go, you’re supposed to be able to use it in order to communicate. Only certain cultures don’t seem to understand that,” he gave a half smile, “Being bilingual is badass. I took Spanish in high school as well, though I didn’t pick it up that well.” He wasn’t sure what was a lie or not now and days, and he honestly couldn’t remember enough Spanish to get by. He was fluent in Italian, but what better way to give himself away by speaking that in Colorado?

Ray smiled, “I’m sure you’ve gotten some weird ones. Though it’s not like it’s a difficult thing to guess. Some people just lack common sense, since it’s not really that common at all. Though I’m not sure why people would think that you wouldn’t be able to be fluent in it. English is only hard to learn when you’re older, not so much when you’re young.” He had used English at school all the time, and Italian mainly at home since that was easier to make sure no one could eavesdrop and know what they were saying. Not many people knew Italian in New Jersey, and even more so when he had moved over to Philadelphia at eighteen. 

“Snowboarding isn’t that bad,” he joked, using a rag to clean the counter now. He would scrub for a few moments in one spot every now and then, having to clean the condensation rings off of the wood since most drunk people didn’t appreciate the napkins that were set underneath their drinks for a reason. “Once you get used to it, at least. I was pretty damn good for a while here, but I haven’t been in a few years. I’d probably break my neck with ya.” Ray shrugged, “True. A limp is better than that.”

The bartender put a hand over his heart, “Ouch. A girl’s name? Raylan? I think you’re thinking of Raelyn or something. I like to think it’s more of a badass cowboy name, like the TV show,” he just gave a wide smile before continuing his polishing of the wood. He looked over at her drink when she pushed it towards him, and he took the glass, dumping out the contents and refilling it with ice and coke, putting another cherry on top as he slid it towards her once more. Ray looked at her curiously when she asked what kind of music he liked, and he went silent for a moment, trying to think of what kind of music he liked that would work well enough to be played. 

“I don’t really know. I listen to Journey, but it wasn’t really my favorite. They’re good, but not something I’d be dying to hear. Besides, listening to drunk people wail Don’t Stop Believing isn’t something I plan on doing tonight,” he teased, washing his hands in the sink once he finished with the rag. “But let’s see..I suppose I like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, ever heard of them? They’re the only ones I really listen to most of the time. If not, I’m sure whatever playlist you have is gonna be great. What kind of songs do you guys normally play?”

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

Just Shy of Legal || Para 01

[lisbeth-hjerpe-blog]

“No, even the back wouldn’t be safe from his voice,” Lisbeth answered, twirling the straw in her drink. She didn’t meant to be cruel, but it wasn’t exactly a lie either. Her eyes lifted from the fizzy surface of her drink back to the bartender and she shrugged her shoulders. “I guess it depends on your taste in music, but the rest of us can’t be too bad. Otherwise your manager wouldn’t book us.” She turned halfway around in the seat and craned her neck before pointing out a tall, somewhat scruffy looking man who was part of her squad. “Seamus is taking vocals tonight,” she explained, pointing to him as she added, “So your ears should be safe for the evening.”  Lisbeth turned back to the barkeep and shrugged her shoulders to display she was still listening. “I don’t know many people who particularly like Journey, so I imagine that must have been a very upsetting night for that ensemble.” She smiled slightly, an automated response when she noticed the change in his features.

Lisbeth nodded at the glass in her hand, though it was a response to his little recap of the places she had lived before. “I grew up speaking Swedish, and it’s what we speak at home most of the time,” Lisbeth answered. “In Sweden, you grow up learning English in school, too, but I still prefer our language.” She glanced at him, listening about his pal from the East Coast. “Some people are more careful to try and get rid of the accent. My parents asked if I wanted to go to a speech pathologist to train myself out of it. Reminds me of home. Maybe that’s why his shows back up.” She set a glass in front of him, polished and dried to perfection. “In case you’re wondering, because I get asked this a lot, unless I’m speaking to someone in English, I think in Swedish.”

“What was your guess?” she asked, curious enough since they’d already breached the forbidden conversation topic. She nodded, a silent way of letting him know she was aware of Vail’s location. “I was supposed to go there once. I used to date a boy in high school, and his family had other family there. I begged and begged, let me go, let me go. And my parents kept saying no, no, you’re too young, you have to stay home. But I kept asking, and he would teach me basic tricks when we had free time after school hoping they’d say yes, and finally they did. Then the day before the trip I was putting the salt on the front porch, too worried about the trip than what I was doing and down I went. Broke a leg and fractured my elbow. We broke up before the next winter, but I’m sure I’ll bake it up there at some point.”

Lisbeth accepted the glass of water he offered her out of politeness. She wasn’t sure she’d drink it, since it would be a long night if the guitarist was running off stage to use the lady’s room every other song. “A name is an awfully big thing not to care about,” she thought out loud. “It’s just one of the first things you tell somebody about yourself. And people think names tell you a lot about themselves, but I don’t really think that’s true.” She considered telling him that he’d just read her name off her debit card, and to try saying it right, but she’d given him enough of a hard time already. “Lisbeth,” she told him. “Just the T at the end. It’s said different than your English name Elizabeth. Just Lis - bet.”

[instantlyfamousrunaway-blog]

Ray glanced in the direction of the scruffy man she had pointed to, only giving a slight tilt of his head to acknowledge who she was speaking about. He idly thought about how the man looked like a Seamus, since he had more of a Back to the Future part III-esque look about him. The thought made him smirk slightly before he brought his attention back to Lisbeth, “Don’t know many people who like Journey? Not too sure who you hang around, then; they’re quite the all American band,” he drawled, giving Lisbeth a look before he restocked some of the little things around the bar. He knew the manager wouldn’t give a shit if he just stood around talking. Ray was a bit of a perfectionist, and since this was kind of his first real job, he couldn’t risk getting into any kind of trouble, or having them question his falsified bartending credentials. 

“Makes sense. I know most schools out there in Europe and whatnot do the whole English thing.” He waved his hand in an all encompassing gesture, “Though there isn’t anything wrong with accents. Some people can get embarrassed by them. After all, kids are mean,” he snickered, eating a handful of cashews that he had sitting by the bar. It was something to busy himself with, and he was hungry. “Maybe he does miss home; I’ll have to call him sometime and see if it’s changed. You made me curious.” Ray just simply smiled, putting more of the cashews into his mouth as she spoke, “I wasn’t wondering, but thanks for the information.” Whatever game they were playing at this point, if a game at all, was the most entertainment Ray had gotten in the few weeks he had been there. He realized that was slightly concerning to others, but it wasn’t like he had people to talk to, or anyone who paid attention to his life. Except the damn dog he had picked up off the side of the road. That was one more thing he had decided to add to his already full baggage.

“I figured it was something like Dutch. I knew someone from the Netherlands, but it’s been a while since I’ve heard them talk. But you’re further north,” he smiled, crossing his arms over his chest and studying her features as she spoke. “Teach you basic tricks? Tricks as in what? How to convince your parents?” Ray had spent a grand total of two hours in the small, resort town of Vail, “I was more near the main resort. Snowboarding, skiing, all that fun stuff. Done any of that?” He rose an eyebrow, taking a glance at her elbow, “Must’ve been painful. I’ve broken a few ribs before, but nothing else. I couldn’t imagine limping around on crutches.”

He took one last glance at the band and all the instruments lying around the stage, hoping they were at least decent enough to be asked back instead of the few nights in a row they’d be playing here. Ray figured they were looking to still span out, but he wasn’t entirely sure about those in the music industry. He knew bands usually struggled to get started, and a very small percentage even made it big time. Though for a college town, the bar and band seemed to give them more popularity than the other bands that were more well known. “So, you say it’s an awfully big thing, but that you think names don’t tell you anything about the person? So it can’t really be that big of a deal, can it? I agree, names really don’t tell you much about a person. It has more meaning to a family, not so much a stranger or a friend. Raylan makes me sound like that guy from that Justified show. I’ve also gotten Ray Charles, which has got fuckin’ old, let me tell ya. But I deal with it.” 

“Lisbeth,” he tested the name out, humming a little, “I like it. Does it mean something specific in Swedish?” Ray put another handful of cashews into his mouth before pushing the bowl away, slightly addicted to the salted things. “I’m sure people get that one wrong quite a bit, too, if not all the time.”