Chance Encounter || Willow & Catherine
Catherine didn’t usually frequent bars - in fact, this was the first one she’d been to since moving. It wasn’t that she disliked them, it was just that her home had always seemed a far more appealing option after a day at work. Home was warmer and it was far easier to relax there than anywhere else. It didn’t help that she had yet to make any real friends in the area, leaving her with nobody in particular to talk to.
Still, here she was. Truthfully, Cathy wasn’t entirely sure why she had come; it hadn’t been a particularly long day at work, she didn’t really want to get drunk and she hadn’t planned to stop anywhere on her way home. But she had stopped, and stared for a while at the small crowd gathering inside, before deciding to join them. Her life was becoming so painfully dull and routine that any break from her ordinary day now seemed surprisingly tempting, and hopefully the bar could provide a change of scenery, at the very least.
There were a few seats remaining as she entered and she sat down, ordering a little hesitantly and realising how out-of-place she felt. It seemed daft, now, to have headed into a bar with nobody to talk to and no real plans to keep drinking, but she supposed leaving immediately would only look more strange. Instead, Cathy swivelled a little on her stool, gazing curiously at those around her. She enjoyed people watching, and was fairly good at avoiding being caught staring - although there was no risk that this woman would notice her, really, she was so intent on whatever she was saying. Cathy watched as her arms flew about her head, narrowly missing passers by, and tried not to laugh.
She was so caught up in this that the lady moving to sit next to her went completely unnoticed, until her near-empty glass toppled over and she felt an elbow dig into her side. Murmuring an apology and shifting sideways to make room, Cathy turned to glance at the lady just in time to hear her offering to pay for a drink.
"Oh, you didn’t - I mean, it was almost empty anyway." She felt a little flustered, and it seemed dishonest to pretend that a significant amount had been wasted. "You don’t have to. But thank you."
Fingers tapped on the table as she waited for the bartenderto hand her the drinks she ordered. She hadn’t expected the other girl to talk back to her because this was a bar – it seemed whenever Willow had offered to buy drinks as condolences for her clumsiness (which actually seemed to be quite a long when intoxicated) the other person just nodded and looked away. It was the way of The Bar it seemed (Also, The Bar? What kind of quirky name was that…). So, her instinct was to stare at this woman before her, but her senses knew better and she just turned her head to the side with a slight smile.
Willow hardly smiled.
Partly because humans were so engrained to do the thing that others did. Follow the crowd. In this case, order a drink, turn to the person you came with, talk it out. The only ‘single’ people at bars were those drowning in their sorrows or lurking for quite a bit of fun for the night. Willow quickly glanced behind the girl, leaning over the bar a bit before resting her arm on the counter. “It’s quite alright, really.” Licking her lips, she turns her body away from the girl and nods her head as the bartender sets down their drinks. Turning her body once again, she slowly slid the drink towards the woman. “In a mad world where people are constantly bumping into you – especially if I’m around, quite clumsy when intoxicated – you take your free beer when you can.”
Leaning towards the bar, she rests her elbow on the bar and pulls the drink towards her lip. What was this? Her third drink? She had a beer, and this would be her second whiskey. It was hard to not indulge in the cool burn of her favorite liquor, however, and the drinks here were much cheaper than those from where she lived before. “You alone?” she asked after a few moments spent in silence. Willow had forgotten for a moment that the girl was there because she wrapped up in her thoughts. It was strange, though, how nice she was being towards the girl. Well, nice wasn’t quite the right words… social.
Willow Cohen was not a social woman.
Most of the time, she just pandered about on her own and silently watched the people go by. She’d watch desperate women hook up with equally if not more desperate men. It was quite a fun thing to do, sit in the corner by yourself and judge the people that roam around, as if there was nothing wrong with judging at first glance. To Willow, there wasn’t. “I just noticed there isn’t someone next to you. Most women here come to gossip about what’s happening in their workplace, or come here to meet a date. You’re sweet, though. Can tell by you actually claiming your drink was almost empty. Most people would nod and look away.” Willow liked puzzles, challenges. As much as she disliked being around people, she also loved to unravel the mysteries within them. Even the smallest ones… “I’m Willow.”
