[Another Night at Another Bar - OTA]

[dj_esebel]

She's got a decent set tonight for Diwata. Easy, midtempo songs with a couple bursts of speed, good fun stuff for the people who came in for a beer and some fries off the highway just a few miles outside of Siren Cove proper. At this point, they know themselves well enough to follow a list but to also mix it up and improvise.

"So glad you all made it tonight," she says into the microphone, voice soft and maybe a little seductive without quite Compelling. "This next song was written for a man--" she pauses, letting the people who are listening get their giggles in. "A man who...changed my life completely." When she's vague, it almost sounds romantic instead of actually being a song about catharsis, about trying to figure out why she'd slept with her professor and how it had sent her running.

"One track mind like a goldfish, stuck inside my petri dish..." It's almost upbeat and if they aren't listening, an audience doesn't realize the lost numbness of a disastrous first year of college and the sense of being so very lost.

But that's what music is for. She writes songs to let her own past go and let herself live with the few secrets she does keep.

And it pays. She gets free dinner and free beer, plus some pretty solid cash. The audience isn't half-bad either. By the time they wrap up, people are actually hollering for an encore, which makes them all grin and rack their brains for an easy, quick song. Audrey quickly strums her guitar, going to a song that's been on her mind since she sang it for Ed on the phone. "Gray, quiet and tired and mean, picking at a worried seam, I try to make you mad at me over the phone..."

[[Catch her during a lull in the show or afterward, while she eats.]]

Comments

[bachjones]

It's Bach's once-a-month night for being allowed to go out and play (the work doesn't count, Isaac doesn't know he's gone, Alfie doesn't know he's gone). With the lack of sleep he's had recently, it might be no more than falling asleep over beer instead of over a salad.

So when a vaguely familiar woman sits down next to him for a meal, Bach doesn't murmur more than a short greeting. Her voice was ringing a bell with him, but his brain was still catching up.

[dj_esebel]

"Hey," she says, nodding at her new neighbor at the bar. "I hope you liked the set."

And even if he hadn't, it's no skin off her nose. She has seasoned fries.

[nomadic_cam]

Cam had been surprised when he'd seen the advertisement for one of Audrey's bands as he'd driven by the place and decided to swing in and have a beer. Once she was finished, he walked over and sat beside her at the bar.

"Am I allowed to buy the talent a beer?"

[bachjones]

"Your voice is thrilling enough when you're not hurting it." He nods at her plate. "Enjoy your meal."

[dj_esebel]

"Hurting it?" Audrey asks, genuinely perturbed and wondering if she should be a little insulted.

[dj_esebel]

"That depends. Does it come with your company?" she asks, patting the empty bar stool next to her invitingly. "How've you been?"

[bachjones]

"It didn't feel right during the last chorus. Maybe it was just the wrong emotion catching the lines of you story. If it didn't hurt you.."

He shrugs. "Who are you again?"

[nomadic_cam]

"Yeah, because I was going to just buy you a beer, pat you on the head, and go on my way," Cam laughed and took a seat. "I've been pretty good, found a job as a mechanic so I get my hands on engines all the time. Nothing to complain about there. You?"

[dj_esebel]

Audrey narrows her eyes at him, trying to read what exactly he means. "Which one? The encore song or another?"

If he's offering critique, that's fair. If he's trying to psychoanalyze her, she may well fight him on that.

[dj_esebel]

"I mean, as someone who loves going to the salon, I do like a nice head pat now and then," she says, sliding her plate over so he can steal a few fries if he wants. "You working at Hot-O-Zone then?"

[nomadic_cam]

"I'll keep that in mind," Cam nodded, as if making a mental note to pat her head often. Then his brow furrowed, just a little as he nicked a fry off the plate. "Hot-O-Zone? I think I'm lost."

[dj_esebel]

"Oh, the last issue of the Cove said the mechanic shop as like Auto-Zone, only hotter. Well, they called it Hottie-Zone, but I think Hot-O-Zone is a better pun," Audrey rambles, laughing a little at herself before shrugging.

"I think if you're gonna make shitty puns, you gotta commit."

[nomadic_cam]

Cam remembered the day that one came out, and his boss having a reaction of sorts to it, but he hadn't read the actual rag. To him, the only thing newsprint was good for was streak-free windshields.

"You've got a point on the shitty puns," he replied, raising his glass to her, "but I didn't read the article so even the non-pun was lost on me. To answer, yes, I did get hired on there. Not quite sure if that means I'm considered one of those raising the hot level."

[bachjones]

"Encore. Maybe you didn't feel it, made the lyrics clash with what you wanted to say. Wait a minute, you're Captain America Marvel girl, isn't it?"

He looks at her. "Woman. Definitely not a girl."

[dj_esebel]

"I don't usually do love songs," she admits. Her heart just usually isn't in them.

"And yeah, yeah I am. Did your son like the comics?"

[dj_esebel]

Probably for the best, then since it had mentioned their hookup too. Not that Audrey's terribly ashamed. They had fun, made friends, and had some delicious pancakes in the morning. All good things by her standards.

"Oh trust me, you so are. Like, through the roof."

[bachjones]

"I guess that was the thing, then."

"Loved them. His teacher or watcher or however you call it at kindie says he really wants to learn to read now so he can understand the story even better." It was hard not to be proud of that. "Which is a real good sign, because curiosity gets you places. Her words, not mine."

[dj_esebel]

Audrey tries not to think too deeply on that or why it bothers her. So she'd sung it for Ed and it had been on her mind. Doesn't mean it has to be all...emotional.

"That's great! It's good for them to start early. My parents started me on piano when I was four and look at me now."

Actually, she's a terrible example.

[bachjones]

He looks up at the stage. "There was piano?"

As long as she has a messy, scrunchy song, Bach doesn't want to view her as an example, especially because he sees too much of himself in her. But he can look, alright.

"Piano. What else?"

[dj_esebel]

"Pretty much any instrument, I'm proficient. Or I teach myself to be." She shrugs, "I was never super into academics, but I loved music. I got into music school, even."

[bachjones]

"Only like my snares, really. A shrink could probably say a lot about that, but I don't need another person in my life to tell me how fucked up I am."

"And now you're in front of drunks." He smirks. "Good thing you didn't went to school, they'd get a heart attack over it."

[nomadic_cam]

Cam snorted. "Yeah, well, you're biased, you know that, right? One night of shelter from some seriously bad winds and you almost have to say shit like that."

[dj_esebel]

There's not a lot that will offend Audrey, but here she is, going rigid in her seat and knuckles going white on the bartop. "Yeah, and now I'm in front of drunks," she agrees, cutting him a hard look. "How awful that I make a living doing the one thing I love. Dude, go fuck yourself."

[dj_esebel]

"Hon, you may not have known me for long, but here's the thing," Audrey says. She leans over and bumps her shoulder lightly against his. "I don't lie. I don't keep secrets. And I don't sleep with people I don't want to. And I really think you're wicked hot."

[nomadic_cam]

Cam looked down into his beer with a soft smile before cutting his eyes over to hers. "You're not exactly unpleasing to the eye, Audrey, but thanks for that. It's nice to know that people find you attractive. So," he said with a little throat clearing, "how's the trailer? You survive the rest of this fun, fun winter without a problem?"