Mingle (apartment living)

Leo left the little coffee shop and got into his car, pulling out of the parking lot quickly narrowly missing a few other cars. He put his seatbelt on while driving and made his way very quickly to the bar where he bounced. He was almost late and the night shift was coming up. He had heard rumors of the Alaska band, Static Cycle, coming to play at the bar. A few minutes later he screeched around the back and parked his car, yanking off his seat belt and pulling the keys out quickly. When he got out of his car he popped his trunk and put on his "uniform", a black tshirt and blue jeans. He went in through the back door and checked in with his boss. As he made his way to his spot by the front door, he nodded and gave a small smile to the bartender he'd been working with for some time now. Her name was Nikita if he remembered correctly but he was horrible with names and faces so he never really relied on his memory when it came to people. He was ready for the night shift and awesome music, the caffeine from his coffee waking him up slightly and the slight adrenaline boost from his reckless driving also added to his overall demeanor. Tonight's gonna be fun he thought to himself.

Nikita looked at the bouncer and rolled her eyes, almost late again. He had never once acknowledged her prescence before, not even at the apartment buildig where she had waved at him several times. Oh well! Her boss walked over to her and asked for a shot of tequilla and Nikita couldnt help but laugh. "You can get one for yourself too, on me,yo deserve it." she said. "And this is why youre the best boss ever." Pouring two shots she gav one to her boss and downed one herself. She watched as her boss walked back towards her office and left her alone, waiting for a customer to come meandering in desiring a drank.

I finally got the mess cleaned up and in the trash after about a half an hour(took me ages to get the coffee out from under everything!), and was back managing the till. I noticed that the man I had talked to earlier had left and I realized I hadn't even gotten his name, I sighed and leaned on the counter, I'll see him around the building I guess.. I thought to myself as I watched people rush by outside the windows. I glanced at the clock hanging above the door and realized I only had a half an hour left till my shift ended, I sighed. I liked my job, and most of the time I didn't want to leave because all that was waiting for me at home was Whiskers, my couch, re-runs on tv, and last nights leftover spaghetti. I heard the chime of the door again and stood straight again, stretching my back a little and greeting the customer as they walked in and ordered. As I made coffee I thought that maybe I would so something different for a change, I had heard that a band from Alaska was playing at a bar near my building, but hadn't really put much thought into it. I remembered the guy from earlier saying he was a bouncer there, well he never said which bar, but who knows, maybe it's that one. I handed the lady her coffee and began to wipe down counters as I continued to decided whether to go tonight or not.

Nikita closed her eyes and danced behind the bar as she made a customer their drink. The lyrics wafted through her mind as they started their next song. "I know you've let me down before. It's just never hurt this way. I've seen your face, I've seen the scars behind your eyes. I'm gonna ask you for tonight." the lead singer sang.

Leo shrugged as the bar tender rolled her eyes at him. Oh well, was trying to be friendly he thought to himself as he waited for customers to start coming in. They came in one by one at first but he knew as the night progressed they would start coming in groups of four or more. He listened to the band start playing as he watched people come in and sit down with their drinks and start talking and laughing. He smiled to himself and continued doing his job in the one spot he hardly ever had to move from. Hey, it might be a slow night after all he thought to himself as he relaxed a little bit. Not something he got to do very often when on the night shift.

"Damn.. Its slow tonight." Nikita mumbled under her breath. The band had announced they were getting ready to play their final song or the night. Not too long till closing time she thought, well, at least until she left.

Leo heard the singer announce that the band was playing their final song and he looked at the bar tender for a moment and walked over to her. Leo approached the bar and leaned on his arms on it and said loud enough for Nikita to hear, "We should try to get the band to play another song or two. Give the people in here an encore." he smiled at her slightly. Her shift was over soon and he figured she'd want to go with music playing behind her.

She shrugged, "Well, have fun with that. Usually once a bands made up their mind, its made." She walked over to the customer waiting and grabbed them a beer.

Leo looked at her and said casually, "Well from what I hear they're willing to play a song or two for people if a pretty girl asks them to." He leaned up and walked back to his spot and sat down. He shook his head slightly and laughed a little at how stupid his attempt at being friendly turned out to be. I feel like an idiot now. he thought to himself.

"Then I guess we're screwed!" She shouted as he went back out. She groaned, and then began to wash used cups, throw away empty beer bottles, and wipe down the bar. "Fifteen minutes." she mumbled to herself, so close.

He heard her yell and called back inside towards her, "Why would you say that? You're pretty good lookin if I might say so myself. Wouldn't hurt to ask right?" he said as he ducked back outside.

Nikita rolled her eyes. Ten minutes she noted looking at the clock. The band had finished and begun to pick up. There was no way she'd ask them to play another song, she was thankful that they had even come out. Another beer, another shot, and a shirley temple later she was down to six minutes. "Come on, come on, come!" She muttered.

Leo saw two guys start to get into it and moved inside quickly and over the two men. "Hey guys, break it up and take it outside. No fighting in the bar." he told them with an authoritative voice. When the two men didn't listen he grabbed one by the back of the collar and the other by the back of the neck and led them outside, all the manual labor during the days outside working had helped keep Leo in shape and somewhat muscular thus making his job alot easier when it came to this sort of thing. When he got the guys outside he threw them in separate directions and yelled at them, "Go home and sober up! And while your at it cool down on the long walk home!" Leo hated it when fights broke out in the bar but he had to take care of them. Its what he was paid for after all.

Fight, fight gets broken up, Leo throws them out, one minute left. So close, come on, come on, come on. Thirty seconds, twenty nine. "Can I have a shot of whiskey?" a customer asked, "Okay." Nikita said pouring them a shot. Time up, shift over! "Its all yours Zalia, have fun!" Nikita took off her apron and hung it up in the back, she grabbed her sweatshirt and put it on then grabbed her bag. She walked out the front door and yelled "Bye!" to Leo as she walked by. Walking home wasnt necessairlyfun, but it was close so it was fine she guessed.

Leo waved back and said, "What shift is over already????" he chuckled slightly and called after her, "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Nikita smiled, "See ya then." She walked down the road towards the apartment. She was abouta mile and a half away so she knew itd be a twenty-twenty five minute walk. Pulling out her iPod she shuffled through songs till she found one she liked and then put her headphones in.

Leo watched her go and smiled to himself and shook his head slightly. "She's a nice girl." he said to himself and to nobody in particular. And pretty too he thought to himself. He shivered a little as a small breeze started up and he laughed to himself. "Great, it's getting a little cold and I'm out here in a tshirt. Just my luck" he smiled. He felt a little bit of heat rush through his body as he breathed in the night air deeply. He always loved the night, he could never seem to fall asleep and he felt more awake at night than any other time of day. He liked the way the stars and moon looked on a clear night, his family had called him a night owl growing up. I wonder if that one girl will show up tonight. he thought to himself as he looked as his watch. It was almost ten thirty and the bar was really slow.

Suddenly the scnery around Nikita became very bright. She turned around to see a car that probably contained a drunk driver since they werent paying any attention at all. She jumped to the side and baely avoided being hit but ended up rolling down a hill, and just to her luck at the bottom was the river. Standing up she began to shiver it was suddenly ten times colder. She looked around her, the bar was only an eighth of a mile back, she might as well go back and call a cab home at this point.

Leo saw a car fly by and he shook his head and said, "Crazy people driving like maniacs." Leo hoped that nobody would get hit by that guy or anything. He remembered Nikita walked home and thought to himself, I hope she'll be ok. Would really suck if she got hit or hurt.

Nikita shivered and shook as she walked back into the bar and to the pay phone hanging on the wall. Digging through her bag she tried to find some change. "Dammit!" She yelled when she discovered her wallet had fallen out. Walking back here had been a stupid idea to begin with. "Fric*** a." She put her bag back over her shoulder and walked back out the door and waved to Leo. "Have a good night." she mumbled and began walking back down the street. "Officially worst night ever."

Leo watched Nikita walk in and said, "Hey Nikita you-" he stopped as she walked straight past him. He heard her cuss inside and when she started walking away he grabbed her hand and hailed the cab again for her, "Here. You don't have to walk. How'd you get wet?" he asked as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out enough money for her to get back to the apartment complex. "Take her wherever she needs to go," he told the cab driver and opened the door for her. "Don't want you catching a cold now, you wouldn't be able to come to work and then I wouldn't be able to see ya." he said a little flirtatiously and winked at her.

Nikita rolled her eyes, "Frickin drunk drivers." She was beyond pissed, but the irony of this accident was hilarious. "Thanks, I'll pay you back tomorrow when I see you." Stupid people she thought, but she couldnt help but wonder why Leo would be so kind as to pay for her cab. Probably expects to get paid back soon, or he has a favor he can use against me in the favor.

Leo asked, "You alright?" He was genuinely concerned about his coworker and wanted to make sure she hadn't been hurt at all. "You don't have to pay me back. Just get home and come back tomorrow." he told her with a slight smile, "You did say you'd see me then after all." He shut the door behind her as she got in the cab and he waved goodbye to her as the cab pulled away.

Time had gone by relatively fast and I was walking out of the shop before no time. I pulled down the shades over the windows, and turned off the lights and turned the 'open' sign around to 'closed' on the door before I pulled the door locked behind me. I shivered once when the cold air hit me and I pulled my jacket closer around me. I walked briskly down the side walk making my way towards the bar. I had finally deciding on going and checking it out, it was about a 15 minute walk from where I was, and I really hoped the band was still there.
-15 minutes later-
I finally came up to the brightly lit up door and looked in the window, it was still full of people, and music was playing, but it looked like the band was packing up. I frowned and pushed the door open, immediately engulfed by the warmth of the place and the smell of alcohol and sweat.. kinda gross. I ignored the smell and looked around wondering if anyone I knew was here. I stepped further in as people tried to get around me and I let out a small sigh, maybe this wasn't the best idea after all.

Leo walked back inside once the cab drove off with Nikita and he looked around making sure no trouble was brewing. His shift lasted till about 2am, that was about the time everyone was gone, so he had quite a bit of time to kill. He saw a flash of red over by the bar but he saw a few red heads pass through the bar and so he didn't make too big of a deal out of it. He saw everything was relatively quiet so he went by the door, folded his arms and leaned against the wall the caffeine had finally wore off and he was on the downhill slope. He felt his eyes getting slightly heavy and his mind started to wander as he thought about random stuff and his eyes glazed over as he thought, blacking out the entire bar scene, but still able to hear everything. Random memories and images flashed before his eyes as his subconcious took over his thinking processes.