Awfully Big Adventure || Erik & Lily
Tiger lily had not planned to waste her Friday night sitting at a dive bar, sipping at sickeningly warm stale beer all the while watching a couple of boys running around and bouncing on stage as her best friend cheered and danced around in the crowd. Lily wore a look on her face that spoke volumes, uninterested in holding conversation with any of the patrons or customers at the bar, giving anyone who attempted to speak to her a dark look that caused them to wander away. It wasn’t as if this wasn’t Tiger lily’s scene, it was. She usually loved dive bars and drinking but the beer at the Hook was less than satisfactory and she had not gotten dressed thinking she was going to a dive bar. Tink had conned the girl into going by telling her they were clubbing instead. If she’d known she’d end up at The Hook she wouldn’t have put on her new light blue Doc Martens to get beer splashed on them from multiple idiots dropping their glasses.
She had given up halfway through the set, and walked out for some fresh air to pass the time, letting the cool breeze chill her body, watch people walking to and from on the street or in and out of The Hook. She was content to spend the rest of the night standing outside waiting for her friend to want to leave, but Tink had ran outside to drag her back to the bar, taking her seat once more at the bar, elbows resting against the hardwood, dark eyes flickering to Tink as she gushed about the Band that had just walked off stage. “Why did I have to be dragged here? I’m sure one of us actively supporting local music is enough.” Lily muttered, taking a sip of her beer, reminded of it’s horrible taste the moment the warm liquid touched her tongue and set it down. Tink scolded Lily for her lack of energy and unwillingness to have fun.
The band finished their set and Tiger Lily swiveled in her seat, arms now crossed in front of her, watching as the crowd of dancing bodies slowly scattered away to different parts of the bar, a few ordering beers and others sipping their friends who were saving seats at tables. Her eyes flickering over everyone and everything, including a male walking away from the stage. Eyes lingering on him a split moment longer before they looked away once more.
Lily turned her head to look at the man she’d seen walking from the stage, well she couldn’t really call him a man, more like a young man, even a boy. She reached over for a cigarette, nodding her thanks as Tink took one as well, nodding at him before whirling around to continue chatting up the man next to her. “They aren’t that bad.” Tiger lily answered, eyes observing the man next to her. She placed the cigarette gingerly between her lips, fishing for her lighter out of her short shorts to light the end, inhaling the smoke deeply before exhaling slowly. “I’ve seen better assholes on that stage, but none that put their all into the music.” she answered truthfully, tapping the end of her cigarette, ashes falling from it and landing on the floor.
“What about you? What do you think of them?” she asked, attempting to make conversation. She hadn’t been interested in speaking to anyone but finally she thought why the hell not? Might as well talk to someone while her best friend was running off with the cigarette the man offered to a bunch of friends she’d just met. “Cut out for the big league or always gonna be a fish in a small pond?” she smiled to show she was kidding, meant no harm.
Erik let out a laugh that was filled with nothing but mirth and childish charm, meaning that the answer was a good one. He was satisfied and that was something Erik Stiles was not used to being. “Not bad,” he agreed, as he watching her lighting her own cigarette, his eyes lighting upon her short shorts for a moment too long. She was interesting, more interesting than the other girls that sat around this bar waiting for him to nod at them. Maybe it was because she wasn’t waiting for it. She was almost above it all and that made him even more interested.
The male turned to Tink again, pulling up his shirt as he spoke, showing off bony ribs and a skinny body. He was the embodiment of grunge, New Orlean’s own Kurt Cobain. Dirty, always a little too amped up, constantly sporting bruises and dark circles under blue eyes. He tossed the dirty, sweaty t-shirt onto one of the bar stools, figuring he’d just finish the set without a shirt. He was too hot and too tipsy to care if anyone cared about it or not. Besides, what was alternative without that constant need to do exactly what you wanted when you wanted and fuck the rules.
Tattoos littered that landscape that was his skin, a guitar neck was tattooed up his right arm and a quote that read “Never grow up” was across his chest where the shirt had just been. “Personally I think they’re gonna do big things,” he admitted, “But maybe I have a little bias in action for that one.” He shrugged and turned to Lily, taking another chug of his drink as he looked her up and down.
“So let me guess. Tinkerbell talked you into coming.”
He looked at Tink, who looked guilty, then back at the new girl. The girl with the big brown eyes.
“She said she knew the band and they were pretty good.”
He looked back at Tink, “You better have told her we were pretty good,” he said, putting on an attempt at a stern face that only melted away into a laugh a moment later. Then his face turned back toward Lily.
“So what I want to know is simple,” Erik said then, taking a puff off of his smoke and then letting the smoke blow out of his nose into the dismal dark of the bar. “Are we good enough that you’re still going to be around after our next set?”
He seemed to think for a moment, then looked at Tink, “I mean, unless you two are together.”
He seemed a bit taken aback when he realized he might be reading everything wrong. He was pretty badly hitting on this new girl and while it was all in good fun, he didn’t want to piss off Tink. “Hell, even if you are. Drinks with the band after the last set. You in?”
He put out a hand toward Tigerlily, as if to shake on a deal. As if there was some compulsion to have her skin touch his. As if for a moment she was the only one in the room besides him. As if something was off. Odd. Something.
The whole room disappeared and it was just a boy. A boy and a girl. It was just what the world intended.
