Hot Disaster

“Yeah. Life has a funny way of doing that to people. But let’s not get all philosophical in past traumas.” He says and looks over her once again. He can tell she’s a tough girl. No one gets that sort of fiery attitude from having an easy life.

“That’s a bummer. Anyway I can get a last minute invite?” He asks with a bit of a cheeky grin. At her question, he shrugs a bit. “Honestly, I’ve had worst introductions to people and I probably deserved it. Anyway, it’s all in the past. What are you doing later? We should go out for drinks sometime.”

She paused for a moment when he mentioned traumas, not knowing if she was showing something that she pushed away. “Past traumas are in the past. No point in talking about them. Just holds you back.” Her eyes glanced up at him for a moment, moving away. 

“I don’t really know you’re worthy of one,” she gave a small smile with a shrug. “You really did deserve it. No one talks to me like that without getting some form of defense. You should thank MMA for that.” The redhead looked up at him, a smile forming. “Um, nothing. I don’t have a game tonight, so I’m just hanging out. I guess I could put up with you for a little. But don’t anger me or you’ll get hurt again.”

"Now, Red, I've been behaving for what? Ten minutes now? That has to be a record and deserves something sweet." He says with his own grin. "Great! I'm off tonight, too. I know this nice bar that has the best cheese fries and bourbon burgers. And that puts me at a bit of a conundrum. I don't wanna drive you off so soon, but I kinda like playing it rough. And you have a remarkable grip."

“Lucky for you, I’ve been told I don’t have a heart.” That’s mostly been said by a few exes that wanted more than he was emotionally capable of giving or those that thought him better than what he really is.

“Is that an invitation, because I’d love to see what else you can do.” He says and steps a bit closer, offering his hand out to her in a brief show of politeness. “I’m Erik. Nice to meet ya, Red.”

“Doesn’t shock me,” the redhead gave a shrug, her hands following suit. She was really known to be the person that dreams of someone that cared for her, but at this point in life, she started to see that wasn’t going to happen. 

“No. The cards have already been sent out and your name isn’t on them,” Athena’s green eyes watched him move closer to her, almost making her want t step back. “Nice to meet me? I literally almost dislocated your shoulder and you said it’s nice to meet me?”

"That's a bummer. Anyway I can get a last minute invite?" He asks with a bit of a cheeky grin. At her question, he shrugs a bit. "Honestly, I've had worst introductions to people and I probably deserved it. Anyway, it's all in the past. What are you doing later? We should go out for drinks sometime."

Erik wanted to snap back at her, until he saw the baby strapped to her chest, causing him to deflate a bit. He never could stay mad around kids. “Sorry.” He apologizes and shoves his phone in his pocket. “I didn’t hurt the kid, did I?” He asks, gesturing to the baby.

Once she heard him apologize, Maiah dropped her attitude completely and the frown on her face was immediately replaced with a small smile of reassurance. “You didn’t hurt her. It was just a shoulder bump to me. Besides, She’s pretty toughs. She tumbles around all the time, anyways. I’m sorry as well. I wasn’t paying much attention.”

“Ouch. You’re a little cold for someone so hot.” He says with a feigned hurt expression on his face. Erik hardly knows if he’s being serious or not but he’s definitely open to pushing as far as he can go.

When she twisted his arm, he does wince and step back a bit when she releases him, rubbing his now sore appendage. However, he wasn’t at all deterred from from his flirting. “I actually kinda liked that, Ginger Snap. What’s your name, by the way?”

“They say I have an ice heart,” the redhead raised her brow as she looked up at him, green eyes looking into his. “Don’t want to get too close or you’ll freeze.”

Athena wasn’t expecting that reaction from him, confused for a moment as she rubbed her shoulder. “If you like that, you should see what else I do.” Giving a sigh, she looked away for a moment, shaking her head. “Athena.”

"Is that an invitation, because I'd love to see what else you can do." He says and steps a bit closer, offering his hand out to her in a brief show of politeness. "I'm Erik. Nice to meet ya, Red."

It only took a moment for him to recognize the younger woman and he couldn’t help but frown even more. They didn’t exactly part ways on the best of terms, but him taking the blame for some of it? Very unlikely.

“Good to see you too, Daysia.” He says with a small scoff. It doesn’t take a much thought to see she’s hungover. He’s seen her this way before. Hell, he’s had enough hangovers to where he has to plan out where he collapses at. “You look like shit, by the way. Did you drink a whole liquor store?”

erik did not bring back good memories. in fact, just the sight of him started to make her blood boil. their time living together hadn’t done any good for either of them. there were nights she came home from work, went straight to her room and refused to come out so they wouldn’t argue, and those were on days she was sober. they were few and far between. she crossed her arms across her chest, before letting out a laugh at his comments. “god, you will never change, will you?”

she pulled her hood off of her head to get a better look at the man. “it is so like you to just kick people when they’re down. yeah, i drank too much, and you’re acting like you’re self righteous enough to say you’ve never done that. i’d rather drink myself dumb every fucking night then ever turn out like you. when you’re in your 30′s and still don’t have a single stable relationship in your life, i don’t want to hear from you. fuck off, dude. sorry for bumping your shoulder.”

"I never said I never drank. You know as well as I do how low I can get." He says with a roll of his eyes. Honestly, while they were roommates, she's never even seen him hit his lowest point. And he's a bit glad that she never had to. "Stable relationships aren't worth it. They never last. You should know, since you're clearly not in an ideal stable relationship, either. How you managed to walk this far without stumbling into traffic is dumb luck."

However, he's refraining, just for the sake that he has enough restraint to not go into work later in the evening drunk or hungover. Again.

Instead, he takes a walk, boredly flipping through some unread messages on his phone. A few from this one girl that couldn't take a hint that's he's not looking for commitment. At least, commitment with her of all people. One from his Nana, asking about his day. A few more flirty or angry messages from people he either blew off or is still messing around with. All of these messages went unreplied. He couldn't think of a single thing to say to them and didn't have any motivation to try to make any responses.

He kept walking and barely paying attention, his gaze either dryly on his phone or flickering anxiously around him as though he's only taking in enough to make sure he knows where he's going but barely registering the people at all. When he felt his shoulder bump into someone else's, he frowns and looks over at the person. "Can't you be more careful?" He asks, despite he own hypocrisy that he refuses to reflect on.

@itneverrainsstarters

As soon as as Erik woke up that morning, he knew it was gonna be one of those days. His energy feels low and so does his mood, this thoughts drifting over to the urge to spend his money on whatever alcoholic beverage he can get his hands on.

However, he’s refraining, just for the sake that he has enough restraint to not go into work later in the evening drunk or hungover. Again.

Instead, he takes a walk, boredly flipping through some unread messages on his phone. A few from this one girl that couldn’t take a hint that’s he’s not looking for commitment. At least, commitment with her of all people. One from his Nana, asking about his day. A few more flirty or angry messages from people he either blew off or is still messing around with. All of these messages went unreplied. He couldn’t think of a single thing to say to them and didn’t have any motivation to try to make any responses.

He kept walking and barely paying attention, his gaze either dryly on his phone or flickering anxiously around him as though he’s only taking in enough to make sure he knows where he’s going but barely registering the people at all. When he felt his shoulder bump into someone else’s, he frowns and looks over at the person. “Can’t you be more careful?” He asks, despite he own hypocrisy that he refuses to reflect on.

@itneverrainsstarters

Sure Maiah could have been paying more attention and it didn’t help that she was in a rush, but with a fussy baby strapped to her chest in a carrier, she was more concerned about getting to her destination. Typically, Maiah would not care or acknowledge a bump on the shoulder. Years of living in major cities had prepared her to get used to the occasional accidents, but the protective mother in her came out. “Well considering that you almost knocked us over, maybe you should be more careful.” Knocked over was a bit of an exaggeration but she was frustrated.

“Yet you’re still talking to me. If you already have a crush, no need to be so aggressive about it.” He says with a bit of a laugh, starting to have a bit of fun with arguing with this fiery Ginger Snap of a woman.

“I’m actually curious about it now, Red. What gets your fire engines going?” He can’t help but to ask. If anything, Erik lack tact, not that he tries to use it, in any case. At her next spiel, he gains a pondering frown on his face. “I never met my dad. Pity. He might be a bigger asshole than I am.” He adds but humorously pats the woman’s head. “That’s cute but I’d be careful if I was you. Some guys might like being pinned by pretty little Reds like you.”

“I like to think I have better taste than what you are,” she moved a hand as she spoke. “At least one that has more than a half a brain,” the redhead shrugged as she pushed her lips to the side.

“You really don’t want to know,” green eyes moved up to look at him, shaking her head. As soon as he spoke, she quickly went to twist his arm behind his back, her other hand pushing against his neck. “Wanna try again?” Pushing him as she let go, the redhead stared back at him. 

When she twisted his arm, he does wince and step back a bit when she releases him, rubbing his now sore appendage. However, he wasn't at all deterred from from his flirting. "I actually kinda liked that, Ginger Snap. What's your name, by the way?"

As soon as as Erik woke up that morning, he knew it was gonna be one of those days. His energy feels low and so does his mood, this thoughts drifting over to the urge to spend his money on whatever alcoholic beverage he can get his hands on.

However, he’s refraining, just for the sake that he has enough restraint to not go into work later in the evening drunk or hungover. Again.

Instead, he takes a walk, boredly flipping through some unread messages on his phone. A few from this one girl that couldn’t take a hint that’s he’s not looking for commitment. At least, commitment with her of all people. One from his Nana, asking about his day. A few more flirty or angry messages from people he either blew off or is still messing around with. All of these messages went unreplied. He couldn’t think of a single thing to say to them and didn’t have any motivation to try to make any responses.

He kept walking and barely paying attention, his gaze either dryly on his phone or flickering anxiously around him as though he’s only taking in enough to make sure he knows where he’s going but barely registering the people at all. When he felt his shoulder bump into someone else’s, he frowns and looks over at the person. “Can’t you be more careful?” He asks, despite he own hypocrisy that he refuses to reflect on.

@itneverrainsstarters

she was absolutely, undeniably hung over.

her pace was fast. daysia was trying to make it back to her apartment to shower, medicate, and get to work without being late – all while fighting waves of nausea and a pounding headache. the purpose behind drinking was to stop feeling, but currently, she felt everything intensely. she wasn’t sure if she’d ever learn, but that wasn’t what she was focusing on. she was staring straight ahead in an attempt to calm the nausea.

in her effort to avoid contact with anything but what was directly in front of her, she bumped shoulders with someone who was immediately coming at her with hostility. daysia had opened her mouth to apologize and be on her way, but when she locked eyes with who she’d bumped into, a scowl crossed her face.

“no, probably not,” she responded, rolling her eyes. “look, i don’t have the energy to entertain your narcissistic shit today. i’m just tryin’ to get home. i’m willing to take the blame for our slight shoulder bump if you’re willing to look up from that fuckin’ screen when you’re walking.” 

"Good to see you too, Daysia." He says with a small scoff. It doesn't take a much thought to see she's hungover. He's seen her this way before. Hell, he's had enough hangovers to where he has to plan out where he collapses at. "You look like shit, by the way. Did you drink a whole liquor store?"

“I was going through my messages, Ginger Snap. Just because no one tries to message you, doesn’t mean we’re all in the same lonely ass boat.” Slightly hypocritical of him, not that he’s self aware enough to contemplate that. He’s used to being alone and only having temporary connections.

“Didn’t know you had a spider kink. Wasn’t asking about that either.” He says and can’t help but to smirk a bit. “Or what? Gonna cry and make a scene? Call your daddy to sue me for hurting your feelings?”

“I kind of like that. I’m gonna use it,” she smiled, tilting her head in thought. “I rather be lonely than talk to people like you. Plus, I deal with enough people for work that silence is a virtue.”

“You wouldn’t want to know my kinks, babe,” she shrugged in thought. “I know MMA. And how to box. I can whip your ass in shape to where you call your daddy. I may have a bum shoulder, but I have another one. And I know how to use it.”

"I'm actually curious about it now, Red. What gets your fire engines going?" He can't help but to ask. If anything, Erik lack tact, not that he tries to use it, in any case. At her next spiel, he gains a pondering frown on his face. "I never met my dad. Pity. He might be a bigger asshole than I am." He adds but humorously pats the woman's head. "That's cute but I'd be careful if I was you. Some guys might like being pinned by pretty little Reds like you."

“I’m aware enough to know where I’m going. The people are insignificant. You’re a prime example.” Honestly, when he gets in mood like this, he pays little to no attention to the people around around him. Background chatter and even their presence is enough to make him ignore them too the point where he doesn’t notice them unless there’s direct contact or conversation, like now.

“Well I’m sorry about you boo-boo shoulder, but I’m not in the mood to kiss it better.” He rolls his eyes again at the girl. “I pay attention to what’s important. Clearly, you’re not worth noticing.”

“Being aware doesn’t mean playing Candy Crush on your phone, boo. But needless to say men like you only care about themselves. God forbid there are other people in the world,” she fired back, slowly losing the cool and calm head she tried to keep.

“I would rather have a tarantula kiss me than you,” a brow rose as he spoke once more. “You really don’t want to mess with me.”

"Didn't know you had a spider kink. Wasn't asking about that either." He says and can't help but to smirk a bit. "Or what? Gonna cry and make a scene? Call your daddy to sue me for hurting your feelings?"

“If you moved and I still bumped into you, you clearly didn’t move far enough.” He rolled his own eyes and shoves his phone into his pocket. No need to waste more time looking at messages he may or may not reply to. Well, he’ll call Nana later, but everyone else can fuck off.

He looks at the smaller woman with a raised eyebrow. “You’re obviously still standing, so you’re not hurt too badly. You’re a big girl, you can handle a small bump, unless you think you need to go to the hospital over something so stupid.”

“Or you just can’t walk straight while you were playing on your phone. I’m very aware of my surroundings. Maybe you need to learn how to do that,” the redhead spoke up, a rare moment in time. She wasn’t gonna let him just walk away and act like he won the small battle at hand. 

“You hit my still healing broken shoulder. Of course I’m going to be standing, but that doesn’t mean I’m not in pain,” the frustration was starting to show, holding back on what she really wanted to say. “Yeah? Well, you’re a big boy, you should be able to pay attention to what you’re doing. It’s not hard.”

"Well I'm sorry about you boo-boo shoulder, but I'm not in the mood to kiss it better." He rolls his eyes again at the girl. "I pay attention to what's important. Clearly, you're not worth noticing."

As soon as as Erik woke up that morning, he knew it was gonna be one of those days. His energy feels low and so does his mood, this thoughts drifting over to the urge to spend his money on whatever alcoholic beverage he can get his hands on.

However, he’s refraining, just for the sake that he has enough restraint to not go into work later in the evening drunk or hungover. Again.

Instead, he takes a walk, boredly flipping through some unread messages on his phone. A few from this one girl that couldn’t take a hint that’s he’s not looking for commitment. At least, commitment with her of all people. One from his Nana, asking about his day. A few more flirty or angry messages from people he either blew off or is still messing around with. All of these messages went unreplied. He couldn’t think of a single thing to say to them and didn’t have any motivation to try to make any responses.

He kept walking and barely paying attention, his gaze either dryly on his phone or flickering anxiously around him as though he’s only taking in enough to make sure he knows where he’s going but barely registering the people at all. When he felt his shoulder bump into someone else’s, he frowns and looks over at the person. “Can’t you be more careful?” He asks, despite he own hypocrisy that he refuses to reflect on.

@itneverrainsstarters

It wasn’t fun to work a late night for a hockey game and then having to go to work in the morning to be there at the team’s practice. Which led to her being exhausted and wanting a nap. With her earbuds in, Athena was humming as she was walking back to her apartment, paying attention to what was around her. After her ex hurting her a few months back, her radar was on at all times and it was hard to distract herself from it. 

As she saw someone walking towards her, she moved slightly away, but him not paying attention led to him running into her, Athena giving a small ow in response. “Me? You were the one on your phone. I moved so you wouldn’t run into me and you still did. I would say that you need to be more careful,” Athena raised a brow, giving a small roll of her eyes. “And thanks for hurting my shoulder.”

He looks at the smaller woman with a raised eyebrow. "You're obviously still standing, so you're not hurt too badly. You're a big girl, you can handle a small bump, unless you think you need to go to the hospital over something so stupid."

Erik did flinch a bit from the feeling of the drink spilling on his shoes. Not that the shoes were new or anything. Just a old pair that somehow managed to stay in pretty decent condition for the two years he’s had them. But still, he looks at the girl and glares a little.

“So you saw me coming and still didn’t move? Are you stupid or something?” He asked and shook his foot a bit, some small droplets flying off his shoe. “I wouldn’t bother worrying about them. They’re just sneakers.”

Now that she had to explain, Jasmine felt pretty dumb. Usually, it’d be a pretty fun experiment to test out. Men were, generally speaking, a lot more entitled than their counterparts of other genders. Of course they’d be less likely to move over. But this angry man hadn’t even been paying attention, and it got them both with caramel frappuccino spilled all over them. Embarrassing and senseless, but it was her decision that she now had to justify.

“It’s just - I just read this post on Twitter about, um, women not moving out of the way when men are walking right at them? To see if they’d be the submissive ones for a change and get out of the way instead of women being forced to do it. I don’t know, I just wanted to see what would happen, I don’t know why I did it. It was stupid, I’m really sorry.” Jasmine, still clutching the now empty plastic cup in her hand, stepped back a tiny bit to avoid the coffee splatter flying from his shoe. Sheepishly, she bit her lip. “Can I - um, get you coffee or something sometime to apologize? I just, I feel really bad. And dumb. Or I can totally just buzz off and get out of your hair. Sorry.”

Honestly, he doesn't really care anymore. He's pretty tired in an odd way and maybe something hot to drink would perk him up, even if it's just a bit. At least enough to where he can get home without causing trouble for once.

Erik scowls down at the younger woman before rolling his eyes. She has the face of a friggin toddler and has so much attitude. “I doubt you have a dick big enough to impress a tick. And where are your parents? Shouldn’t you be in daycare or something?”

All Lights could think about was how annoying and frustrating this man was. His insults aren’t even original either. “Good one, Damon Salvatore wannabe. Where’d you get that one from? First page of Google?” She crossed her arms and took a step closer to him, looking him straight into his eyes and giving her best scowl. “And don’t kid yourself. If I had a dick, we both know it’d exceed the size of your micro-penis by a mile.” Lights finished off her angry exchange with a snarky smile.

As soon as as Erik woke up that morning, he knew it was gonna be one of those days. His energy feels low and so does his mood, this thoughts drifting over to the urge to spend his money on whatever alcoholic beverage he can get his hands on.

However, he’s refraining, just for the sake that he has enough restraint to not go into work later in the evening drunk or hungover. Again.

Instead, he takes a walk, boredly flipping through some unread messages on his phone. A few from this one girl that couldn’t take a hint that’s he’s not looking for commitment. At least, commitment with her of all people. One from his Nana, asking about his day. A few more flirty or angry messages from people he either blew off or is still messing around with. All of these messages went unreplied. He couldn’t think of a single thing to say to them and didn’t have any motivation to try to make any responses.

He kept walking and barely paying attention, his gaze either dryly on his phone or flickering anxiously around him as though he’s only taking in enough to make sure he knows where he’s going but barely registering the people at all. When he felt his shoulder bump into someone else’s, he frowns and looks over at the person. “Can’t you be more careful?” He asks, despite he own hypocrisy that he refuses to reflect on.

@itneverrainsstarters

Jasmine loved being out and about on her own. It wasn’t always fun to not have company, but going at her own pace with her headphones in her ears, blasting her music loudly, was always a good time. She liked feeling independent, even if in reality she couldn’t make a big decision to save her life. This was the one little taste of that feeling she got without it being coupled with self-doubt.

So she strolled down the sidewalk, dark sunglasses covering her eyes, headphones blaring in her ears, and a frappuccino from Starbucks in her hand. Feeling like an independent woman. So much so that she wanted to test something she’d seen on Twitter. ‘My sister is doing an experiment: Whenever men walk towards her, she doesn’t move out of the way first. So far she has collided with 28 men.’ Seeing a man not paying attention, walking opposite her, seemed like the perfect way to test this little sign of protest out. So she didn’t move… and he didn’t move… he didn’t even look, for God’s sake. Jasmine didn’t think it might be a bad idea until their shoulders fully collided together. It was probably an inconvenience for him, but for tiny 5′3″ Jasmine, it was ouch.

The hand that was holding her coffee clutched onto it too tightly in surprise, so the lip popped off and some whipped, frothy frappe spilled both onto her pants and onto his shoes. Jasmine gasped a little in surprise. “Sorry! Oh, sorry, I thought - I just assumed you’d move out of the way, I’m so sorry. Oh, gosh. Did I… um, are those… those shoes washable? Maybe?”

"So you saw me coming and still didn't move? Are you stupid or something?" He asked and shook his foot a bit, some small droplets flying off his shoe. "I wouldn't bother worrying about them. They're just sneakers."