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juno albright / 23 / dictator of taste.

[junoalbright]

kylisms​

“I was going for the frozen peas, but. the blood, overall pain and sobering experience of getting a punch to the face had Kyle right back to where he stood before. A defeatist sigh followed the gesture. of his hand right back to the back door of the bar. “Alright, in and out.  Just avoid anyone taller than me.” Words from the wise, or just from Kyle’s attempt to be wise, that was another matter entirely. “I think the guy in the back is named Lue, just ask him. Ice is preferred but frozen anything I’ll take.” But before she could even go back the way Kyle came he stopped her one again, to go on and on because the guy really didn’t shut up at times; usually the inconvenient ones. “Did you mean that?” Perfect time to be sentimental. “About you being a fan?”

Juno let out a soft laugh at Kyle’s indecision and finally his defeated go-ahead for her to get the ice. It was strange, she thought, seeing someone she’d admired in something of a celebrity capacity so out of sorts and, apparently, vulnerable, at least based on the question he posed before she could go inside. She frowned at him a moment, processing not only the question but the fact he’d asked it. “Yeah, of course,” she said, giving him a soft, amused grin. It was only with a great strength of will that she kept from asking why he needed to know. “I’ve seen you, like, three times since I moved here in January. I guess it must be a hard business to break into, but...I mean, at least in my opinion you’re really good at it, and not to be a snob but I’m pretty picky about comedians,” she joked. 

[junoalbright]

callanwithecstasy​

“C’mon.. the answer to that is piss easy, J..” Callan laughed in response, eyeing his friends features for a moment. “You should totally skip out on work.. Come n’grab coffee with me then maybe we can head to the lakes? I might go and grab Monty if we do that, actually..” He thought aloud, knowing how much his pup loved running around the lakes and greenery. “Choice is yours though, Juno. I’ll try not to think about the bar too much.. I’m trying to stay away.”

Juno lifted her brows at this revelation, that Callan was apparently trying to stay away from bars, which seemed to mean staying away from alcohol. And, hopefully, other things as well. “Wait, seriously?” she asked, looking up at his face and trying to determine whether he was being serious. “Callan, that’s...I’m really proud of you. That’s not easy. I mean that’s an understatement obviously, but I hope you know I realize how hard this must be for you.” She punched his arm softly, grinning, “Look at you, being responsible and shit. Not to set a bad example but I will totally skip out on work and go to the beach with you. Only if we can stop and get Bowie too, of course. Coffee’s my treat, what do you want?”

[junoalbright]

itsrigswinston​

Seeing her reaction, it seemed like she hadn’t recognised who she had been talking to at first either. Something that caused Rigs’ grin to grow even wider. “See?! Seems like getting punched isn’t all that bad!”, he teased with a grin even though he was actually glad that all the trouble around them wasn’t his fault for once, “Too bad though, I’m pretty sure they would have had some ice over here…” TIlting his head, he didn’t even know what exactly her problem right now was, apart from not being able to get out of here for a while of course. But before he even got the chance to ask, she already explained it herself. “They fire you because you’re late once, they’re idiots!”, he stated with a frown before finally smirking again, “Unless you already suck at your job anyway of course…”

“I don’t not suck at my job,” she joked, albeit a little half-heartedly. “It’s just stressful, I probably get frazzled too easily to work at a bar but I guess that’s life when you move halfway across the country and take whatever job comes your way first. You’re right, though -- they’re not gonna fire me for being late once.” Her boss was nice enough, and Juno was admittedly a very hard worker who often covered other people’s shifts, giving her a bit more leeway when it came to situations like this one. Still, it felt somehow irresponsible regardless of the fact that this was clearly not her fault. “Did you ever do anything before you were working on cars?” she asked, folding her arms over her chest and leaning resignedly back against a wall. “Like retail or anything? It’s pretty much the worst, customers are, like, the meanest people on the planet.”

[junoalbright]

eleanoratwood​

Nell hadn’t been paying attention to her surroundings, so when the rest of the patrons moved to the windows to get a better view of whatever event was unfolding outside, she finally managed to pull her eyes away from her phone. “Maybe you are. Have you desecrated any burial grounds recently?” She asked, tongue in cheek. “Here,” she offered up her already unlocked cell phone, as painful as it was to give it up for a few minutes. “You can borrow mine. Or I have my phone charger.” Some days she would spend in Intelligentsia for hours, whether it was working or drinking too many cups of coffee. So it was only natural that she always came prepared because god forbid she end up like the poor soul next to her with a dead phone. “Just don’t mess with anything,” she warned with a smile.

Juno’s mouth twitched with a smile. “You know, come to think of it--” she joked, reaching out to take the proffered phone. “Thank you so much, I’ll just be a sec.” Her boss was nice enough to tell her not to worry about it, to get there as soon as she could, and when Juno handed the woman her phone back she was feeling much less anxious. “Well that went better than expected. If you don’t mind giving up your charger for a few minutes that would honestly be so helpful,” she said, thumb helplessly tracing over the now-unclickable button of her iPhone. It always felt somehow so much heavier when it was like this, as if even phones were subject to the phenomenon of dead weight. “I feel, like, completely unhinged when it’s dead, you know what I mean? Anyway can I buy you a coffee or something? I was lowkey eyeing one of their blueberry muffins, I don’t suppose you’d wanna split one so I can only feel half-guilty?”

[junoalbright]

nathanbrcdley​

Nathan didn’t know what it was that interested people about watching accidents. He guessed it was like not being able to look away from a train crash. He cast a glance out the window as he brought his coffee cup to his lips, taking a sip. Well, shit. He’d have to walk back to work if he wanted to make it back in time, as he was on his lunch break and had driven to the coffee shop. Hearing that everything would be sorted out in twenty minutes and they were to stay inside, Nathan texted his boss and let them know he’d been held up. Finishing his coffee, he stood beside Juno, hands in his pockets, remaining relaxed. Looking over at her when she spoke, he shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe,” he murmured. “My boss is pretty cool so I think it’ll be fine if I’m late, but I think I might sneak out the back and walk back to work,” he admitted with a soft smirk. “You want to borrow my phone?” He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it over to her. 

“That’s not a bad idea,” Juno admitted with a smile, wondering suddenly what the chances were they’d even be able to get out the back without anyone noticing and stopping them. She made a little face when she offered his phone over, definitely not thrilled at the prospect of having no excuse not to contact her boss, but of course that was the only responsible thing to do. Besides, Intelligentsia likely would have let her use their phone anyway. “Thank you, yeah, I really appreciate it. One sec.” She took it and stepped away to call her boss, exaggerating the truth a little to make it out like she’d be in later than was probably necessary, but who was she to pass up the opportunity to miss out on a couple hours of drunk patrons? She’d regret it in her paycheck next week, but so be it. “Thanks again,” she said, handing it back to him, “you’re so lucky you’ve got a job you’re eager to get back to, that’s literally my dream.”

[junoalbright]

itsrigswinston​

Sitting in one of the chairs at the back of the coffee shot, Rigs probably was one of the few people in there who wasn’t interested in what was going on outside at all. He’d seen situations like that one more than often in the past, mostly because usually he had been the one on the other side of those glass windows, having to deal with the police himself. So he just stayed where he was, somehow even glad that with all the people being busy staring outside the window, nobody was bothering him. Or at least he had thought so. Glancing up, he quickly recognised the woman standing in front of him though and couldn’t help but smirk a little. “Looks like you’re the one in trouble this time hmm..?!”, he asked, taking another sip of his coffee.

As stressed and anxious as the whole thing was making her, realizing who she’d just spoken to made Juno laugh. It was a little poetic, in all honesty. “Yeah, looks like it,” she said, smiling in spite of herself. If Rigs of all people was finding humor in this situation then surely she could too. “Unfortunately there’s no metaphorical ice you can get me to cure my predicament. I suddenly see the beautiful simplicity of physical wounds.” Maybe a slightly ridiculous thing to say considering a physical fight like the one Rigs had been in when they’d first met would have made Juno about six hundred times more anxious than this, but there was still a point in there somewhere. “I dunno, maybe I should just, like...not go in. So what if I get fired, right? Tending bar is kind of a huge drag, even if it is weird and circus-themed and kinda fun sometimes.”

[junoalbright]

itsdavidmiller​

David was leaning against the window with his hands in his pockets, watching the scene in front of him. It was amusing to say the least, but he wished he was stuck somewhere more interesting than a coffee shop. 

‘I know those people out there probably believe in bad luck.’ He nodded to the cars and the police, and checked his watch for the time. David had nowhere to be; they could take as long as they want. 

‘You want to use my phone?’ He offered, taking his phone from his pocket and handed it over to the stranger. ‘Put your number in there too, you can buy me a drink to say thanks for letting you use my phone.’

About to thank the man who’d offered his phone for her to use, Juno stopped short when he requested she put her number in there and buy him a drink in exchange for it. An anxious person at the worst of times, the prospect of being given this caveat for the favor tripped her up and made her freeze for a second, completely unsure how to respond. He was a little older and it was hard to tell if it was meant to be a joke or if he was truly asking her out for drinks. “Oh, I -- I guess I could do that, yeah,” she said finally, a little awkwardly. “Um...thanks.” Taking the phone, she stepped away for a moment to call Carousel (because she definitely didn’t have her boss’s number memorized) and let someone know she’d be in pretty late, then put her number in his contacts when she went back before handing it over. “Thank you,” she said again, “for letting me using the phone. Uh, my name’s Juno. You are?”

[junoalbright]

callanwithecstasy​

There seemed to be no amount of coffee or joints filled with marijuana to make Callan feel better after the party that had taken place only days ago. He didn’t remember what happened but, this hangover sucked. He was on his way to pick up more coffee when he was stopped exiting Oasis Apartments - Some kind of road traffic accident that was in the process of being cleared up. Great. He muttered a few harsh words to whoever it was that had stopped him, before he turned and was met with Juno. “Bad luck?” He laughed in response, shaking his head. “Nah, you make your luck, Juno. Why? What’s up?” 

It struck Juno as satisfyingly ironic that the same boy who’d been asking around for ten thousand dollars because of a situation he’d put himself in seemed to be perfectly aware of the dynamic between actions and consequences, but she didn’t say that. She was proud he seemed to be sober enough, though. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” she said dully. “Just this whole thing, I was supposed to be at work in ten minutes. Not that I wanted to go -- what do you think, should I call off? Or wait this out and explain what happened? Keep in mind, I’m really not in the mood for dealing with drunk people tonight.”

[junoalbright]

Finding a roommate online had really been Juno’s only choice when she’d come to LA, and while it had turned out pretty much okay, it was more often than she’d have liked that there was a living room full of people hanging out and hotboxing the whole apartment. Those were the times she peaced out and went to visit someone -- usually Chester. He was around in the evenings and he always had something good cooking, so it certainly could have been worse, at least.

“Can I ask you some...fatherly advice?” she joked, ripping off a piece of brownie from a small plate in her lap, “Is it, like, rude to tell my roommate to quit having so many people over all the time? I don’t wanna be a drag, but, like, I work evenings all the time and when I don’t I just wanna chill in a quiet apartment, y’know?” @chesterbarnsley​

[junoalbright]

Every time the idea occurred to her, Juno always tried to tell herself it was ridiculous to think that she could have bad luck; luck wasn’t a real thing, sometimes things worked out and sometimes they didn’t, but this. It was harder than usual to say this was just one of those things, although she supposed it was also happening to everyone else at Intelligentsia. Something had happened outside apparently -- a really bad car accident that turned into a really bad fight she’d heard a few people say, but it was hard to tell. All she knew for sure was that there were police at the door telling everyone to stay inside while they sorted it out, not to be alarmed, everything was fine, shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes. The problem was that she was supposed to have been at work in ten minutes. “Aaaand my phone died,” she said out loud when she lifted it to text her boss, turning to face whoever it was standing next to her. “Do you believe in bad luck? Because I’m genuinely starting to think I’m cursed.” @slchat​

[junoalbright]

you look like you smell good

“Oh wow, thank you. That’s so nice. I make my own perfumes mixing essential oils, you can find some of them on my Etsy if you’re interested!”

[junoalbright]

top 3 video games

“I mostly just play casual video games, but having said that my top three are Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, and Little Big Planet. Also maybe the Lord of the Rings LEGO games.”

[junoalbright]

did it hurt when you fell from costco

“It hurt when I fell in Costco tripping over a stereo cord.”

[junoalbright]

top 3 bugs go

“Oh shit! Okay, Animal Crossing coming in clutch. Queen Alexandra’s birdwing, totally obsessed. The Atlas moth. Aaaaand I’m gonna go with the orchid mantis, it’s so weird looking and cute.”

[junoalbright]

itsrigswinston​

Rigs was pretty sure that she had hoped to hear something else but when she still needed to laugh a little, he couldn’t help but smirk as well. Especially when she tried to convince him that his ’costume’ wasn’t that fitting for the 90’s. Not that he bothered thinking about whether she was really right with that, he still couldn’t care less. “Oh noo, seriously?! And I’ve put so much time and energy to put this outfit together…”, he replied, his voice full of sarcasm and not even bothering to pretend like he actually meant it. Even though she clearly wouldn’t have believed him anyway. “So you mean I don’t stand a chance at that contest..?! You really know how to break a mans heart darlin’…”

“Yeah, I’m so sorry, I really don’t think you stand a chance,” Juno told him, wrinkling her nose as if she was breaking some difficult news to a particularly emotional person. In spite of his smirk, though, she got the distinct feeling he wasn’t thrilled to be talking about it so she let it drop. “Alright, so if you’re not here for the nostalgia and the bad costumes you must be here for some reason. Did someone with a weird sense of humor drag you here? Or were you hoping to get yourself punched in the face again? Just so we’re clear, I’m not getting you ice this time--the line at that bar is way too long.”

[junoalbright]

callanwithecstasy​

“Mmmm…” Callan hummed in thought as Juno started to list off a few Sum41 songs, though neither of them seemed to match with the tune he now had stuck in his drunken mind. “Nope.. Still not it.” Fuck, it felt so frustrating. Callan’s thoughts were soon distracted with more alcohol as Juno started to guide them towards the bar, a smirk forming against his lips as he caught her order. The Jurassic Park shots tasted amazing, although he wasn’t so impressed with her deal. “What? Why? Fuck.. Does everyone just worry here? I’m fine, J.” He obviously wasn’t. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” Callan exhaled with a sigh, his eyes trying his best to plead with her though it wasn’t working. Callan needed to accept the help, really. Picking up his first alcoholic shot, he nodded. “I tell you what.. right.. I’ll down these then chug the glass of water. deal?”

“No, no, no, no, no,” Juno said with a little laugh, because as worrying as it was the deal he’d tried to cut was unavoidably funny. Deals made by non-sober people generally were, though. “You’re already wasted, dude, I would really feel better if you got some water in you first. You don’t exactly have a stellar track record.” She took the shot glass from his hand (gently, as if she was trying to take something back from a wild animal) and set it down on the bar, grabbing the water and sliding that over instead. “Chug it and then you can go wild.” Taking one of the weird little test tubes herself, she downed it with a grimace and a small shake of her head. “Wow, that’s vile, no wonder you’re shitfaced. I’d be passed out cold after five, I dunno how you do it.”

[junoalbright]

callanwithecstasy​

“Eh, Sum 41 aren’t bad though? Ugh, what’s that song they do?” Callan paused for a moment in thought, his brows knitting together as his drunk mind blanked. “Nope, forget it.. I don’t fucking know.” He shrugged, before reaching to pull at Juno’s pants - He liked them, to be honest. “We should totally switch like.. half way through the night.. see if anyone notices. I’d totally rock these.” He laughed, having no concept of time whatsoever. Was shots a good idea? Callan was incredibly wasted at this point, it was a surprise he was still standing. “Yes! Shots! I also found a guy here doing MDMA too! It’s fucking awesome, man. Everything looks so fucking lit right now.”

“Fat Lip?” Juno ventured to guess, trying to remember which songs had been the popular ones back when people had actually been listening to them. “Or maybe Still Waiting? Probably one of the two.” Not that it mattered, since Callan was too drunk to know one Sum 41 song from another. Shots, she realized quickly, had probably been a poor choice of suggestion--still, she thought maybe she’d be able to at least convince him to drink some water while they were there, especially considering the drugs he’d admitted to having in system right now, and she highly doubted ecstasy was the whole story. “Come on,” she said, gently taking his arm and steering him towards the crowded bar, where she managed to flag down a bartender and order a round of Jurassic Park shots plus a glass of water. “Alright, the deal is you take a shot of water for every shot of alcohol, do we have an agreement? I’m not really mentally prepared for you to die of dehydration before noon tomorrow.”