MISSION: 423*PROMETHEUS
TIMEFRAME: 2303 to 0005
PAGING: Agent Neo @codenameneo
It’s chaos, and not the good kind.
West still feels his heartbeat in his throat from the hissing static of lost comms and a single gunshot. The minutes that pass afterwards feel like days slipping away as they wait for updates of something, anything, to indicate just what the hell is going on. A heavy breath escapes his lips and West’s shoulder slump in obvious relief when people start talking again.
His eyes catch Briana across the room. Her fancy, bright dress catches his eyes immediately and West closes the distance between them as the Hercules make for a swift retreat. West’s fingers itch to grab the key fob out of his suit pants and go grab the car, but there is a strict voice in his head that sounds oddly like Hel barking a “not yet” at him.
“Fancy seein’ you here, huh?” West says with a laugh as bodyguards start pouring out of a side door. If it is a fight they want, West is sure as hell going to give them one.
Jogging up and down the sideline to warm up before the game, Gabriel was scanning the crowd in search of a specific person. She’d told him she’d be at the game tonight, but thanks to his phone dying and not sounding off the alarm like it was supposed to, his short twenty minute power nap had turned into a two hour long one, which made him late for the game. Unfortunately that meant he didn’t have time to go see Jasmine first, instead having to jump into his gear and getting warmed up for the first quarter. Despite it being his first year here, he’d already made starter, which he was more than a little proud over. College football was a lot harder than high school, but he loved the challenge, and he still managed to do well.
“Gabriel! Get your ass out on the field, now!” Coach Brown’s voice pulled him back to reality, and giving up his search for Jasmine, he sprinted out on the field for kickoff. It didn’t take long before he forgot all about her, and everything else. When he was playing football, that was all he could concentrate on, and he absolutely loved it. There was nothing quite like the adrenaline surging through his body as his hands locked around the ball, his body moving so fast down the field that none of the other players stood a chance at catching him, the crowd and his teammates screaming in joy as he scored a touchdown. Gabriel lived for it, loved it, and today was no different. It was a rough game, though, with more tackles and dirty words thrown around than usual. There was a tension in the air, and everyone knew something was bound to go wrong sooner or later. It finally happened with just a minute left of the second quarter, and unfortunately, Gabriel was the one getting the brunt of it. They were up by one point and the other team seemed determined not to let them score before halftime, so when the football came flying for Gabriel and he reached for it, at least four of the opposing team’s defence ganged up on him, tackling him hard to the ground. He barely had time to register the sharp pain in his head before everything went black for a few long seconds, and when the defence rolled off him and got up on their feet, he didn’t move.
Ever since he’d hooked up with Nova in the bar, he’d been feeling a little guilty whenever he was around Haley. He was paying more attention to her than usual, even insisting they spend some time together instead of just studying all the time. In a way, he supposed he was trying to convince himself of the fact that there was nothing between him and Nova, that it had just been an act due to the alcohol and missing the other extremely. Leo wanted to love Haley, he wanted wanting to spend the rest of his life with her like Nova did with Zachary, but he wasn’t sure he’d managed to convince himself just yet. Either way, he was really trying to make an effort, and Haley didn’t seem to be complaining, even if sometimes he went a little overboard.
When she called him about a week after he’d met up with Nova, crying about a hurt ankle, Leo didn’t waste any time before grabbing the keys and driving to pick her up. He insisted they go to the hospital to have it checked out; Leo was not good with broken bones or taking care of them, and he wanted to make sure she was alright. When they finally arrived at the ER, he suggested carrying her inside, but Haley wasn’t too fond of that idea. “I’m not completely helpless, Leo,” she claimed, though at least she let him wrap an arm around her and help her inside. With his attention solely focused on Haley, he didn’t look up at first as someone approached them. “My girlfriend fell and hurt her ankle, and I really think she needs to have it looked at,” he started explaining, his tone slightly worried.
Jake had been ecstatic that Zooey was able to fly out to New York with him, granted that first day there was spent mostly with him in meetings and a lot of reading so the first night had been spent inside with take out and whatever was playing on the television. Of which he stopped paying attention too at some point to go over some more of the book that needed the edits done. Though today he requested to be left alone he told them it was so he could focus on the book but really he wanted to take Zooey out and well, he had a surprise planned for her.
It was about midday by the time they finally made their way to central park, the breeze was nice considering how hot it had been lately. They were stopped next to a rock when as he looked at her, the light hit her so perfect that he honestly thought his heart had stopped for real and that she was going to have to call an ambulance but that wasn’t what happened she had turned her head and gave him a smile that really only she could pull off and he felt his lips twitching up into a smile, he reached out and took her hand into his, even he was surprised by the act, “Zoe?”
Who: Max Souza @maxellissouza & Abel Hayward @hayabel & Dani Harper
When: Tuesday, 07/24/18 - After 9 pm
Where: The Pub
What: Max runs into Abel and Dani, they spend some time together before Abel decides to leave
Notes: alcohol & depression || also I’m terrible at names
Max nodded at the bartender when he was asked if he wanted a third drink, figuring there was no harm in it. He usually stuck to a two drink maximum, as he was a lightweight, but he had the time before work to sleep it off anyway, and he was in a pretty crappy mood. He'd finally gotten the chance to go out with that cute girl from the coffee shop that he'd been chasing for weeks, only for her to leave once he'd told her what he did for a living. Why was it such a big deal to people? So he danced around in his underwear for a living, there were worse professions a person could have! He sipped on his whiskey, grimacing a little as he did. He hated the stuff, but it was what men drank, and since he was nearing the age of twenty-two, it was probably time he started acting like one. That's what his parents said, anyway.
He was considering just leaving the bar and going home for an early night in, when he saw two slightly familiar faces walk in. He'd only had one brief conversation with Dani, and an even shorter one with Abel, but they'd both been really nice to him. And leaving without at least saying hi would be rude, he could almost hear his mother nagging him in the back of his head. So, before he could stop himself, he walked over in their direction, hoping that they would remember him and he wouldn't totally embarrass himself by saying hello.
Abel was looking forward to going out with Dani. Between everything, he was pretty relaxed ever since he got back to New York. Granted seeing Marley was pretty relaxing as well. He checked up on Isabella, hoping she was doing okay with his parents and being in Lima. "So, how many drinks are we going to be drinking tonight?" He asked as he looked at Dani and looked over to see a familiar face. If he remembered correctly, his name was Max and he waved. "Yo."
Dani was glad to have Abel back in New York. She was also glad to be going out for drinks, she needed it. Being back in New York was starting to feel like a terrible idea, but she knew it was what she needed for her career. It wasn't like she'd been expecting a warm welcome from anyone, much less old friends and her ex girlfriend and, in truth, she wasn't expecting anything from Santana. The messages she'd exchanged with Santana, posting Stone Cold, it all had her head spinning and the only way she knew to make it stop was alcohol. It was nice to be going out, doing stuff, it kept her mind off shit. "You want a number or will you accept I want to down as many as it takes to stop feeling like I want to run away?" She laughed a bit, following her gaze to the familiar face. Max. "Howdy."
Max let out a sigh of relief when they both seemed to recognize him, at least, if they were actually talking to him. A quick look over his shoulder made him realize that they were, so he smiled and came closer. "Hey, guys. Having a fun night?"
"Just enough so I can pay the tab later and make you stop feeling like you need to run away because its not healthy." Abel pointed out before he turned his attention towards the guy. "Yeah, just starting actually. What about you, having a fun night. Also want to have drinks with us? Since we haven't started drinking yet."
"I got some cash, you ain't gotta buy all my drinks. And I know, and yet that's what I've been doin' my entire life. Runnin from it all." She shrugged a bit and smiled at Max. The conversations he'd had with him had been interesting and he really seemed like a nice guy. "Ask me after a couple drinks, you'll get a better answer, but I'm sure we're in for a decent night."
Max shook his head, glancing at the door before turning back to them. "Nah, that's okay, I wouldn't want to intrude or anything. I was just going to head home, call it an early night." He shrugged, a little sadly, taking another look at the door in hopes that his date would suddenly walk back through it.
"Or you can pay me back." Abel replied with a knowing look. He raised an eyebrow when he heard Max, then looked towards the door and looked back at the guy. "C'mon, you won't be intruding. Besides, you're in for good company anyway. Unless you gotta work in the morning?"
Dani rolled her eyes at Abel, but smiled. However, it faltered as she heard Max talk. "Now, I ain't gonna stop ya if you've got work, but other than that I'm gonna insist you stay. At least for one drink. I don't like the idea of anyone goin home sad." She put a hand on her hip, eyeing Max.
"I uh..." He sighed and scratched the top of his head. "I have work tomorrow night starting at midnight? So... should probably... you know. Rest up for that." It wasn't that he didn't want to hang out with Dani and Abel, he was sure they'd be a lot of fun, but he didn't want to feel like a third wheel. Especially not when he was in a sour mood, and at risk for ruining their fun. "I guess maybe one drink couldn't hurt though."
"She has a point and if I was you, I wouldnt argue with her. Or she'll slap you upside the head." Abel nodded as he put his hand up just in case she would. "Awesome, feel free to take a set and enjoy. Is everyone cool with shots?"
Dani smirked at Abel, laughing a bit. "That I will, and beside, midnight tomorrow is a long way from now, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to rest up." She hated seeing people upset at the bar, but especially when she herself wasn't in the best mood. She wanted to help people feel better, cause somewhere along the line she'd feel better. "I'm always good with shots."
Max nodded and sat down at the bar, giving them a small, only slightly foced smile. "Okay, but just one. It doesn't take too many of those before I'm at the point where trying to order an Uber is like solving a Rubex cube." He was starting to feel grateful that Dani and Abel had walked in. This at least beat sitting at home and moping, that was for sure.
"I have never heard someone compared solving a Rubex cube to ordering an Uber. I like it." Abel said as he looked at Max with a smile. "Alright, I'll go and get us a round of shots and I'll be back." He pulled out his wallet as he headed towards the bar. "Can I get a round of shots?" He ordered with his voice slightly loud, before he saw a beautiful lady at the bar and grabbed the tray after a while. "Thanks, put it on my tab alright?" He slowly made his way back to the table, hoping he wouldnt be wearing the liquor.
Dani laughed a bit, at Max's comparison. "Rubix Cube, eh? Guess I could see it." She watched Abel walk away and turned to Max. "You land that tinder date you were lookin for?" She raised an eyebrow, hands stuffed into the pocket of her jeans. "Or even just someone to talk to?" Her attention wandered towards the bar, smirking a bit as Abel slowly made his way back.
Max smiled at Abel, watching him as he walked away, but his smile fell again at Dani's question. "Oh, well, sort of. You just missed her, actually. She wasn't cool with the whole... stripper thing." He shrugged and turned to her, acting like it stung less than it had. "You win some, you lose some, what are you going to do?"
Abel said excuse me as he walked towards the table and carefully put the tray onto the table. "Lose what? If you don't mind me askin'." He said as he put the tray in the middle of the table and walked back around where he was standing.
Dani sighed, nodding a bit as Max spoke. "Well, if she has an issue with it she doesn't deserve you. Cause there ain't no shame in what you do, and anybody whose got an issue with it ain't worth your time." She nodded her head a bit. Looking over at Abel she smiled. "Tinder dates not worth his time. Or somethin'."
Max nodded, grimacing a little as he picked up the shot. "Yeah. Or something. But it's cool. I'll get over it. With a little help from my friend Mr. Tequila Shot." He tapped the shot glass against the other two and quickly downed it. "Starting to forget her already."
"Oh, yeah no. Tinder's pretty basic for hookups and threesomes, sometimes and there are some people who are on there to make friends." Abel replied as he took a shot and downed it after they tapped shot glasses. He swallowed the tequila, placed it onto the table. "Good."
Dani nodded a bit. She picked up the shot, tapped the glass and downed it, making sure to not slam it back down on the table too hard. "You deserve better anyway." Chuckling a bit, she looked over at whoever was working the bar. "How weird of a look y'all think I'd get from the bartender if I ordered a Tie Me To The Bedpost?" She asked, turning back to the guys.
"I mean, is that an actual drink? Or did you just make that up? Because I think that it would probably seem a little weird if it wasn't one." Max chuckled and shrugged. "But no judgments from me, I mean, if that's what you're into..."
Abel had to hold back from laughing and swallowed his chuckles. He took a minute to breath and let out a breath when he knew he could. "Its an actual drink, don't worry." He replied with a smile and looked over at Dani. "Go and get it. Also no judgement here."
Dani chuckled but stuck her hand on her hip. "Now, that ain't what I asked. I asked how weird a look I'm gettin from him. I was already gonna order it whether y'all were judging me or not." She smiled, but headed off to the bar anyway, leaning up against it to flag down the bartender in question. "Can I get a tie me to the bedpost, hun?" Dani smiled at the way the bartender went red, her bottom lip between her teeth. She paid out of pocket for it and winked at the still flustered bartender before walking back over to the guys.
Max watched the interaction with a laugh, taking a second to check out the bartender. "The poor guy. He's too cute to be teased like that. Not that he seems to mind, anyway. Though I hope he doesn't think he actually has a shot with you, because that'd just be cruel."
Abel grabbed another shot, downed it and placed it onto the table. "Eh, let the guy dream until she pops his bubble." He murmured as he placed his empty shot glass and grabbed another one.
"Oh but that's the fun part. But don't worry, I'll order a sweet tight pussy at some point and settle it." She grinned, taking a sip of her drink. It was a little weird to be drinking fruity stuff, after so much Jack, but that was precisely why she was doing it. Dani knew Jack would get her drunk, he was her old faithful, but she wasn't just looking to get drunk. She was looking to have a good time and forget for a bit, find reasons to not run, find friends, people to tease, people to flirt with. Just have fun.
Max eyebrows went up a little at that, and he nearly choked on his drink. "You know, I should probably be used to hearing those words by now, but I guess this is one time I wasn't expecting them. Jesus, yeah, I think that might do the trick."
Abel licked his lips before he placed his other shot glass next to his other two. "While you two bond over nasty shit, Ima get myself rum and coke." He walked away from the table and stood at the counter. Don't get him wrong, he would chime in but lately he hadnt been feeling himself. "Can I get a rum and coke and I'll just pay the tab right now if I can." He said as he pulled out his wallet and paid for it all. He told them thank you, grabbed it and took it back to the table.
"Sorry, not sorry?" Dani said, but turned to watch Abel, her face scrunching up. Something was off. She knew Abel well enough to know when he wasn't okay. She sighed, sipping her drink, trying to figure out what was wrong, as if she stared at him long enough the answer would just become obvious. As he came back she turned back towards Max. "What're you drinkin'?"
Max shrugged and took another sip of his whiskey with a grimace. "Whiskey. I hate it. It tastes like death and misery." He looked over at her fruity drink with envy. "Wanna trade?"
Abel took a drink of his rum and coke, ignored the conversation and took another shot. He placed the empty shot glass next to the others, wiped his mouth and focused on his drink.
"Death and misery, eh? Never thought I'd hear one of my favorite drinks called such, but sure, ain't nobody need to be tasting misery right now." She set the drink down and slid it towards him. Whatever was going on with Abel really throwing her off. "I can't carry your ass home, slow it down." Her words were almost too gentle for what she was saying.
Max gratefully took a long sip of the fruity drink, happy to get the taste out of his mouth. He finally noticed Abel's sour mood, and looked closely at him with concern. "Hey, I know it's not really my place, but are you okay, man?"
"Yeah, Im fine. Just, having a moment. That's all." Abel replied as he held back his tears and pocketed his pants. "I'm gonna go ahead and leave, don't wanna ruin the mood that's going on here." He looked at Dani. "So I will see you back at the apartment and." He looked back at Max. "I'll see you around, aight? Thanks for the drinks and see you guys around." He gave them a small smile and headed towards the door.
Dani narrowed her eyes at Abel, held up a finger to let Max know to hold on, and immediately followed him, fist curling into the back of his shirt. "Not so fast. If you think I'm lettin you walk outta here for the exact same reason I wasn't lettin him leave, you've lost your damn mind and forgot who you're out with. I know you've been goin through shit, but I ain't about to let my best friend go home and mope." She let go of his shirt and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting to see what Abel would do.
Max sunk back into his seat a little, focusing on finishing off Dani's drink and ordering another, instead of their conversation, figuring it'd be better to get drunk than to eavesdrop. Plus, Dani had good taste, the drinks were delicious.
Abel clenched his jaw when she grabbed his shirt. "Let go of my shirt, Dani." He swallowed hard as he looked at her. "No, I didn't forget who I was with, but Im not going to be bringing down the mood when I just want to get drink and get lost in my sorrows when you guys are having fun. Besides, Im sure I've made a bad impression on the guy already, and another person who hates me." He felt her let go of his shirt. "So, go back and have fun. I will see you back at the apartment." He looked at Max. "It was nice seeing you man, sorry for all of this." He looked back at Dani. "Don't drink too much." He opened up the door and headed back to the apartment.
Reagan clasped her hands together and counted to ten as she leaned her head against the door to her sister’s apartment. These last few days have been hell. It was like Reagan was going through the minor stages of withdrawal all over again. It was like her staying away from Orion triggered something in her and it became insanely difficult to not toss back a handful of benzos every fucking day. She had already been struggling with wanting to use again, but with the issues with her sister, it had just gotten a hundred times harder to resist.
Taking a deep breath, Reagan pushed her spare key in the lock (Orion had given it to her when they both ended up in the same area) and pushed the door open. Her hazy eyes scanned the living room before her feet carried her to the door to her sister’s bedroom. Her hands were trembling and she couldn’t imagine what she probably looked like to a passerby -- skin a bit pale, sweating, looking just a bit out of it. She probably looked like she should definitely be at the doctor’s or something. Reagan stuffed her hand in her jacket pocket, breathing a sigh of relief when she felt the plastic baggy that held a couple of pills she had gotten from her friend on New Year’s Eve. She hadn’t used them, but it was a weird feeling of calmness knowing that she could, if she wanted to.
“Ri?” Reagan knocked lightly but entered the room anyway, pushing the door open. She saw Orion on her bed, and the younger girl left the light off as she made her way to her sister. “I just came to check on you,” she told her quietly as she sat on the bed. “How have you been doing? Really.”
Hunter and Freya spent a few more quiet moments together until the baby finally woke up with his whines and cries as a baby does. There weren’t any complaints though. They knew what they were getting into and Hunter was too much on a cloud nine at the moment to even care. The two did what they needed to do to make him content again before deciding that it was time to get him welcomed and settled into his new home. Dressing the boy, Hunter dressed herself and soon enough they were piling into the car. Hunter made sure he was all safe and buckled, as well as his car seat being completely hooked in. She got into the front seat and immediately grabbed her girlfriend’s hand. She was still on a high. As terrifying as it was to have a baby just thrown at them, she couldn’t imagine being as okay as she was if she wasn’t with Freya.
Arriving to Target, Hunter got out and unhooked the car seat, making sure the opening was covered to block him from any chill and wind that would come from that moment until they made it inside. Once Freya had exited the car, Hunter walked alongside her, almost pressed into her, just wanting any kind of physical contact from her love. Entering the store, she hooked his car seat to a cart and took in a deep breath, turning to her girlfriend as she started to push the cart into the direction. “We’re gonna have to get so many things, we might need two carts to push. Diapers, bottles, clothes, bibs, pacifiers, a crib.” There was no need to stress just yet. They had it settled, they could do this. Taking in a deep breath, she looked over with a smile. “Let’s just go up and down and get things on the way, rather than stressing out about what we need, yeah? We’ll just check in the end and go for the things we’ve missed.”
Rapunzel woke up at about 7:30 in the morning. This time she wasn't panicked. It was going to be an easy day. She'd try to unpack. As she became more awake her mind started picking up speed. She started to feel agitated, like there was something she was supposed to be doing. She got up and headed to her desk. Drawing usually helped. As she go out her pencil and her paper, something still nagged at her. She couldn't figure out what she was forgetting. Ariel had said that classes started on Wednesday. And Rapunzel trusted Ariel. Slowly it started to sink in. Rapunzel trusted Ariel alright, but with her life, not with being on time for anything. She glanced at a sheet of paper shoved underneath an art book. Her school schedule. It included the days of the week she'd be going to class and also had on it the start date. Rapunzel pulled it out slowly from beneath the book and stared at it. Her eyes grew wide. This was it. This was the answer. "Ariel!" She shrieked as she glanced at the time once more. 7:45. She had an 8am class and was fairly certain Ariel did too. "Ariel!" She yelled again as she jumped in the other girl's bed. "Wake up, wake up, wake up! We're gonna be late! Classes DO start today!" She held out the school schedule, practically shoving it in Ariel's face so she could see it. They were gonna be in so much trouble.
