[CP] Mark of Evil
Faint music played from an old jukebox in the back corner of the bar as Draven entered the building, the soft murmur of chatter blending together into an almost pleasant hum of noise. The place was fairly empty, as usual, with only a few people scattered around the tables and counter; it was something he honestly took comfort in, and the main trait about the small dive bar which kept him returning week after week. At the end of a long work day rounding out an even longer week, it felt nice to be somewhere he actually felt safe outside of his own home.
Making his way to the counter, Draven had a small dance to his step as he caught the quiet lyrics of one of his favorite bands playing from the jukebox, and a gentle smile graced his lips. He settled onto a stool and tapped the counter lightly as the bartender waltzed over, “Get me a cold one, Bruce,” he said, “For once I’m actually feeling good; I think that's a fair enough reason to celebrate.”
The bartender chuckled as he got to getting the drink and raised a brow as he asked, “Something good happened at the store today or what?”
Draven laughed and shook his head, “Oh gods no, today was absolute shit; had this guy come in asking for some obscure band from Finland, yeah? Turned out, the album he was looking for didn't even exist, nor the band, and he was just seeing how far I'd go to find it while secretly filming me to use as content on his dumb prank channel,” he huffed but continued smiling, “Look up ‘I trick an employee into searching for a band that doesn't exist’ when you get the chance. And that was just a fraction of the shit I went through today.”
Well then,” Bruce replied, rather shocked by Draven’s upbeat demeanor. Setting down a beer, he raised a brow as he slid it over to the other man, “If your day was bad enough to get you on WeVi, what’s got you in such a good mood?”
“Absolutely nothing!” Draven replied happily and let out another laugh, “I just feel good!” he laughed a bit more, pausing to take a drink, before adding, “I can't explain it, but honestly, I don't want to. Trying to find a reason might ruin it, and I'd much rather take advantage of feeling great, than chase it off with questions.”
Bruce laughed and shrugged, “Well,” he started, “I guess that's a fair place to stand on the matter, not to mention, a winning situation regardless,” he turned to leave then, waving to Draven as he went, “Welp, I hope you continue to enjoy yourself, Draven. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Will do,” Draven replied with a non-sarcastic finger gun and a wink before he raised his bottle for another drink.
The night went on from there, and Draven made his way from sitting at the counter to standing by the jukebox to listen to a few songs, to even trying his hand at a few rounds on a claw machine at the back. He didn't win anything, but he still felt good regardless. Eventually he settled at a table near the jukebox and just listened to the music as he nursed his third beer of the night; he had no worry of driving himself home since he didn't drive anyways.
As he sat there watching two guys who were undoubtedly drunk play a game of what could hardly be considered pool, he was immediately aware as a woman came up to his table and set a hand on one of the empty chairs.
“Hey,” she said in a friendly tone, “I noticed you’ve been alone all night and thought I'd offer you some company; mind if I join you?”
Draven smiled up as her and shook his head lightly, pushing up his glasses as he said, “Not at all; be my guest.”
“Alright,” she replied as she pulled the seat out and slid in, “but I'm not tying my napkin ‘round my neck.”
For a moment, Draven was taken off guard by the comment, and just stared at her in confusion, but then smiled and laughed, “Not bad,” he commented, “Would have been better if I had the accent though,” he chuckled.
The woman laughed and nodded, “Yeah, I get that a lot, actually; I just can't help it, every time I hear that phrase it's all I can think of.”
Draven shook his head, smiling, “No, I totally get it,” he told her, “I work in a music shop, and I'm a bit of a music enthusiast,” he explained, “I know quite a lot of song references, and make them every chance I get.”
“I see,” she smirked, leaning on the table, “So if I said something like...oh...Mama Mia-”
“Here I go again!” Draven interrupted and laughed.
She laughed too and covered her mouth as she did, “Well that was more aggressively enthusiastic than I expected, but I'm definitely not disappointed,” she smiled, “How about if I said ‘is this the real life?’”
Draven smirked and snorted, “Aw, c’mon, that one’s too easy,” he said, “It's gotta be something like...you're talking about thunderstorms and seemingly out of nowhere I just belt out, ‘thunderbolts and lightning; very, very frightening- me!’”
“Galileo,” she responded and laughed, “I guess I have a little to learn on reference making,” she smiled.
“Well if you're looking to learn, I’d be happy to give you some lessons,” Draven replied with a smirk.
“Do you offer home tutoring?” the woman asked with a smirk of her own as she shifted closer.
“Whoa!” Draven gawked a bit, “When did we move into innuendo?”
Blinking, the woman pulled back and looked at him, “Shit, sorry,” she said, “Am I being too forward?”
“N-no! No, no!” he replied quickly, “You're fine. I'm fine,” he laughed, “Just, I wasn't really expecting it is all.”
“Yeahhh,” she sighed and laughed a bit, “I tend to jump the gun a bit sometimes. I think it's nerves.”
Draven snorted and nodded, “Oh yeah, I get that entirely,” he told her, “I once proposed to a girl in high school,” he scoffed, “It was our first date.”
The woman burst into laughter at that and covered her mouth, “Oh my lord, you can't be serious!”
He laughed with her and shook his head, “I wish I was joking,” he said, “but unfortunately it's true.”
“Well I'm glad I've never jumped the gun that far,” she replied and took a breath to calm her laughing, “though I do hope she said no…”
“Oh thanks,” Draven scoffed, “That makes me feel good about being dissed and mocked for the remainder of the school year.”
Choking a bit on her own words, the woman fluttered a bit, “Ah, wait, no, I didn't- I mean- I- I worded that-”
Draven held up a hand to stop her and smirked, “I know what you meant,” he chuckled, “and I'm happy to say that yes, she did say no, and no, I don't have anyone else I might be with.”
At that, she smiled, and the two continued chatting for a good while as the two drunk men finished up their game, until finally the woman asked, “Would you like to come back to my place?”
“I'd love to,” Draven replied with a gentle smile, “Lemme just pay my tab and I'll meet you outside, yeah?”
“Sounds good,” she said, “I'll call a Jifty.”
Draven gave a nod and a thumbs up with a click of his tongue before heading to the counter.
Soon enough, he was stepping out of the bar into the cool night air. He glanced around and quickly spotted the woman, smiling as he made way over to her.
She looked up at him as he approached and smiled in return, “‘bout five minutes til’ they get here,” she told him.
“Good,” Draven replied and leaned in to kiss her, she didn't resist, but he stopped as something occurred to him. With a light laugh, he stayed close to her as he softly said, “I just realized we never exchanged names,” he chuckled as she snorted.
“Oops,” she uttered quietly, “Guess we should fix that...I’m Jenna.”
“Draven,” he told her softly, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jenna,” he chuckled, “I hope I’m not being too for-”
“Oh, just shut up and kiss me, you dork,” Jenna interrupted him and before he could respond, she shifted and popped up on her tiptoes as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in to press her lips to his.
He was frozen for a moment with shock, but quickly snapped out of it and responded to the kiss himself as he wrapped his arms around her. Soon enough they both pulled back for air, and Draven let out a light laugh, “I guess considering how tonight has gone, I’m not the one who should be apologizing for being forward,” he murmured.
Jenna chuckled in return and ducked her head to hide her face, “Sorry,” she said, “I’ve been trying to be more confident lately, but these damn nerves...I guess sometimes I just jump past confidence and go straight into assertiveness…”
Gently, Draven set his finger under her chin and lifted her gaze back up to meet his, “Nonsense,” he spoke softly, “you’re doing just fine. It’s actually really refreshing to meet a gal who doesn’t sink into the roll of being led by a man,” he smiled, “and honestly, you’re probably saving us both time because I’m terrible at getting to the punch in any situation.”
“I hope that doesn’t apply to the bedroom,” Jenna blurted then pulled back and slapped her hands over his mouth, “Oh my gods, I am so sorry! I didn’t mean for that to come out!”
Draven burst with laughter and doubled over, wrapping his arms around himself as his glasses slipped out of place, “Oh my fucking stars, Jenna!” he wheezed as he fought to pull himself back together, “How are you even real? That was fucking glorious; please, never change, good gods, you’re fucking great, the greatest even, oh my fucking gods,” he wheezed again and drew in a deep breath as he finally got a hold of himself and straightened up. Adjusting his glasses back in place, Draven was glad to see Jenna laughing as well, and wasn’t able to help the soft bursts of laughter still bubbling out of him.
Slowly, Jenna got a hold of herself as well and looked at him as she wiped a tear, “I gotta admit, Draven,” she said, “I’m really glad you’re not put off by my weirdness.”
Draven snorted and moved to pull her back into his arms, “Put off?” he questioned, “Puh-leeease,” he laughed, “I’d be a hypocrite if I was put off by a little quirky behavior. I’m the king of strange. Awkward, strange, and ridiculous run through my blood,” he let out another laugh, then a soft sigh as he gently tucked her hair behind her ear, “But in all seriousness, I honestly just don’t judge people on things like that,” he smiled, “Some bad jokes, obnoxious references, badly timed innuendo,” he shrugged, “It’s just personality, and it’s not hurting anyone.”
Jenna smiled at him and leaned into him a bit, “Well, that sure is comforting to hear,” she said, “Both for my personal self value, and for my impulsive judge of you,” she chuckled.
Draven chuckled along then looked over as a car pulled up and rolled down the window.
“Jenna?” the driver asked.
Jenna started to speak but Draven quickly said, “Yep, that’s me,” before she could, causing her to laugh and gently bump her elbow into his ribs.
“You dork,” she snorted, then gave a wave to the driver, who was looking very confused at that moment, and said, “Sorry about that.”
The driver just shrugged and settled back in their seat, “I ain’t judgin’,” they said and motioned to the back with a light cock of their head.
Still laughing lightly, Draven moved and opened the door for Jenna, sliding in after her with a smile. The driver started off as soon as they were both settled and talked just enough to confirm their destination before falling silent and focusing on the traffic. As Jenna pulled out her phone to check a few messages, Draven figured he might as well do the same, but as he finished checking all the new comments that had been posted on the video he was in─and replied to a few of the nastier ones─he noticed that Jenna was still staring at her own phone screen.
Keeping his smile, Draven gave a soft but somewhat dry laugh, “What’s so interesting?” he asked as he slid his phone away.
Jenna glanced at him, then back at her screen, then scooted closer to him to show him the page she was reading, “A new post was made on this blog I’ve been following for a while now,” she told him, “It’s sorta this new movement group or whatever, led by this guy who’s got all these amazing views on how to improve society and the world and everything really!” the excitement in her voice grew in intensity as she spoke, until she was practically gushing about the whole thing.
It was all a bit jarring for Draven, mostly because what she was saying sounded familiar, but he tried to give it─and her─the benefit of the doubt and push his irrational worries back down into the depths of his mind. Letting out another soft, dry laugh, he wrapped his arm around her and gently took her phone from her, “So what,” he started, “You’re in some internet based cult?” he laughed, but it did nothing to hide how anxious he actually was to hear her answer.
She laughed too, however and gave him another light bump to the chest with her elbow, “No,” she replied, “It’s not a cult. There’s no religion involved, it’s just a blog and some really good points and ideals.”
“Not every cult is about religion,” Draven murmured, receiving yet another bump to the ribs.
“It’s not a cult,” Jenna stated firmly, “Just read it and you’ll see,” she motioned, then, to the phone in his hands, “Trust me, you’ll probably love it!”
Draven gave a sigh and nodded as he adjusted his glasses again, “Alright, alright,” he said and shifted a bit before scrolling back up to the top of the blog post. That was all he needed, however as he saw the title of the blog she was on, and with that, all benefit drained out of him.
Really should have known it was too good to be true… Draven thought with a sigh and lowered the phone back to Jenna.
She gave him a curious look as she took her phone back, frowning lightly, “but you didn’t even read it…” she mumbled quietly.
“Don’t need to,” he sighed, shifting gently to pull away from her, “I'm already very familiar with my brother’s preaching,” he huffed.
Jenna gawked, looking from him to her phone screen and back, “Wait, but that means you’re-”
Draven stopped her as he pulled out his ID and showed it to her, “Draven Marosa,” he stated with a huff, “Figure of chaos and source of all evil, right?” he asked, looking at her only from the corner of his eyes.
She frowned as she lowered her phone into her lap and looked down at the text there. It was just silence for a while then, and Draven caught the driver looking at them both in the rearview mirror, their gaze catching with his for just a moment as they gave him a wary but almost pitying look before focusing back on the road.
He focused back on Jenna and waited for her to respond. As her phone screen dimmed, ready to auto-lock, she finally came out of her statue state, tapping the screen with her thumb and scrolling up and down a moment before mumbling, “But you’re so nice…”
A glimmer of hope flickered in Draven’s chest and he shifted, reaching out to set a gentle hand on Jenna’s arm, “You’re right,” he said, “I am nice, and I have no evil intentions. Just because I value chaos and the beauty of free thinking, doesn’t mean I’m some devil figure, I-” he stopped though as he saw the way Jenna was staring at his hand on her arm, as he noticed the tension in her posture and the fear deep in her eyes. Slowly, he pulled away and shifted back to look off to the side, “I’m not a bad guy, Jenna,” he told her, “No matter what the rest of that community says, no matter what my brother leads you to believe; I’m not evil. I’m just...free thinking…”
“But isn’t that just what a figure of evil would say?” the response was hollow; cold. Her voice no longer held the carefree excitement it once did, instead gaining a layer of venomous thorns and jagged ice, “Defend yourself to gain my trust and lead me to corruption?”
It actually hurt, to hear her words, and Draven was unable to speak in response as the driver pulled up to a small apartment building. All he managed to say as they all sat there was a quiet, “Please just give me a chance…”
There wasn’t even a moment of silence as Jenna opened the door and slid out of the car, “I‘m sorry, Draven,” she said, “but I really don’t think I should. It’s too great of a risk, and there’s no telling what damage has already been done. Regardless, I wish you the best, and I hope someday you manage to see the truth.”
With that, she shut the door and headed off into the building, leaving Draven defeated in his seat.
The driver watched him for a moment, then sighed and shifted gear to pull away from the curb, “Where ya headin’ buddy?” they asked.
“Maple Drive,” he responded somberly, “Twenty-six twenty-eight…”
“Gotcha,” the driver replied, “You just relax and I’ll get you there.”
“Thank you,” Draven replied.
“Don’t mention it; we all deserve one act of kindness, regardless of who we are; that’s the teaching I follow.”
A dry laugh escaped Draven and he managed an empty smile, “It’s a good one. If only more people supported it.”
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