l e v i t a t i n g *

Ziggy snorted, the sound half muffled by his pillow. “Cute? That’s a new one…” He wasn’t about to complain though; the less he gave off murderous vibes the better, probably. “I’ll take it, anyway–” he cut himself off, hiding his face in the pillowcase for a second to stifle a yawn. “You know… if you’re not super serious about photography, cameras are pretty easy. When you’re not trying to take a perfect shot, you literally just…” Ziggy stretched out the arm he’d laid over Joey, miming the press of a shutter button. “Then again, the hassle of smashing it might not be worth it,” he relented, wearing a teasing smile as his arm dropped down again.

Did Joey not know what journalism was? Ziggy liked to think he was adept when it came to reading people, even strangers, but they were rarely as straightforward as Joey. It felt like he literally voiced every single thought that popped into his head, so long as it was vaguely relevant to the conversation. Something about that threw him off, made him second-guess everything - if only in his own mind. “Kind of? It’s mostly about… current events. You know, the news?” He didn’t want to be condescending, but it was hard to tell what Joey didn’t know. At the mention of glee club, Ziggy found himself fascinated. “Oh, yeah… my high school had one of those. I was at couple of their performances, but they never really got past…” what were those competitions called again? “…the second one.” Close enough. “Were you guys the real deal?”

.

Joey looked over at Ziggy when the other laughed, raising an eyebrow at the other’s reaction when he called him cute. “What? People haven’t called you cute before? Because… I think it’s pretty obvious.” He said with a small nod, as he looked over at the other as he stretched out his arm and kept talking about photography – Joey did like taking pictures, after all, his phone was always full because of all of the pictures he would usually take. “I just like taking pictures of everything I see… The other day, I saw a duck that looked funny and I took like ten pictures of it. It was pretty cool though.” He said with a small chuckle, as he listened to what Ziggy had to say.

“Oh, the news… I get that. So, like the weather and things like that, right? I don’t usually watch the news because I don’t understand what they’re doing and it’s a lot of things to read… But I’m glad that you like it.” He said with a smile, before looking over at Ziggy as they started talking about the glee club. Just talking about it made Joey miss it, but he knew that he couldn’t go back since he had somehow graduated from high school. “Regionals? That’s pretty sad… But I think we were pretty good, I mean, we won Nationals two years in a row. And the other clubs were pretty good too. I just don’t miss the drama of it all, honestly. But it was fun.” Joey said as he clicked on one of the videos from their performances and showed it to Ziggy, before pointing at the screen. “See, that’s me.” He said with a smile, before nodding his head as he kept watching the video. “Can you sing? Because you kind of look like you could sing, but I could be wrong about that.”

There it was again. It was starting to feel like a running joke, but Joey seemed to consider the idea a touch too genuinely for that to be the case. “Definitely not a murderer,” Ziggy reiterated, with a crooked grin. Coming from most people, he’d probably end up a little bothered by that word popping up over and over - but Joey just seemed harmless. He felt a little naive for assuming that, but they were already stuck sharing a bed for the night. Picking out things to second-guess wouldn’t do him any good.

Ziggy wasn’t sure what response he expected from Joey for the little information he gave, but it was nice to be met with earnest enthusiasm - if not a little surprising. “Yeah? I’m more of a camera guy,” he replied, relaxing against the pillow. “Nothing wrong with a phone though. You’ve got the option to carry around hundreds of pictures of whatever you want sitting right there in your pocket… might as well use it.” Hearing that Joey had friends in NYU was hardly a shock. Unlike Ziggy, he seemed like the type of person who could make himself at home in almost any social circle. Part of him had to wonder what that was like. “I’m studying journalism. It’s definitely not as exciting as dance, but I like it,” he answered, with a slight shrug that left him holding Joey closer to his chest. “And for fun? …I like music. I mean– everybody likes music, obviously. It’s all about hearing it live for me, though.”

.

“Okay, okay, I believe you... Sorry, I won’t bring it up again. Plus, I think you’re too cute to actually kill someone...” He said with a small chuckle, as he got comfortable in the other’s arms - it felt weird to be held by someone that wasn’t Angel, and it seemed like every time Joey was about to forget him, he popped right into his head and it was all he could think about for a few seconds, but either way, he decided to enjoy it while it lasted. Joey wasn’t sure if this were to happen ever again, maybe he wouldn’t even see Ziggy that often after this, but now that they knew each other, they probably would.

“I wish I knew I could use a camera, but I don’t really get how it works... Plus, I’ pretty sure I would probably end up breaking it if I ever tried it, so I’ll stick with my phone.” Joey said with a small smile, nodding his head slowly at the thought of buying a camera just to break it. Joey usually wasn’t that clumsy, but he knew that he would probably forget it somewhere and sit on it, or even worse, he would end up washing it on the washing machine like he had done with his phone before. “Journalism... Do you write like, journals and things like that? I think that’s cool, but I don’t really like writing that much... So, yes, dance is definitely more exciting!” He said with a small chuckle. “Oh, I like music though... I used to be in glee club when I was in high school, it was pretty awesome. I think there’s some videos on Youtube if you ever want to watch it. But I think it was better live.” He said with a smile, before moving slightly to grab his phone from the other’s bedside table to show the other the videos.

It was a marvel that Joey could somehow forget that - but Ziggy was willing to take that as a compliment on everything that had gone down since they left the bar. Still, he supposed Joey had a point. “You mean, knowing I’m not a murderer isn’t enough for us to bond over?” he asked, deadpan, before he resigned with a sigh. It made sense. If Joey knew a lot of information about his life while Ziggy knew none in return, he knew he’d still have his back pressed up against the wall. “You make a fair point. Just– get comfortable. We’ll go over the basics.”

What were the basics, again? Ziggy didn’t really know, even when he did share tidbits about himself, it wasn’t because he’d been directly asked for them. He mulled it over, shifting closer, until he was in position to drape an arm over Joey. “So… about me,” he began, still stalling for a little more time. “I… take a lot of pictures,” he confessed, although the layout of his room basically said that for him. “I’m doing the college thing too, but at NYU. I’m a junior.” That was something, right? In fact, it was three things. At least it was a start, even if it was a stilted one.

“I mean, knowing that you’re not a murderer is a good thing but it’s not enough… Unless you really are a murderer and you don’t want to tell me because it would make things kind of awkward. Plus, you would have killed me by now…” Joey said as his mind wandered off as he thought about the fact that going to bed with a stranger that he knew nothing about could have been kind of dangerous, but at least he had gotten lucky this time – besides, Ziggy worked at a bar, so that had to be a good thing, at least that’s what Joey thought.

Listening to him talk, Joey nodded his head slowly as he listened what the other had to say – it wasn’t a lot, but at least it was something. “Oh, that’s cool! I like taking pictures too, but I just use my phone and take pictures my friends… I don’t know how to use a camera, it’s too confusing.” Joey said as he thought about all of the times he tried to use a camera to take pictures – there were just too many buttons and he had given up from it pretty easily, but his phone was more than enough. “Really? That sounds like a fun, I have a lot of friends at NYU! What are you studying there?” He asked, smiling as he got comfortable when the other draped his arm over him. “What else do you do for fun?”He asked.

Ziggy couldn’t help laughing at that. “I’m– I’m a bartender, Joey,” he replied, with an amused grin. “I was serving your drinks not too long ago.” Being a doctor sounded a nightmare, but it was flattering that a little improvised advice made Joey think he was capable of such a thing. He wasn’t usually quite as much of a pillow-talker, but Joey’s chatty energy was a little infectious.

But not quite that infectious. For a second, Ziggy got a little tense. What was he meant to say about himself? “Well– I don’t have any ex drama for us to get into,” he began, with a slightly awkward huff of laughter. “Nothing I’ve got to say is going to be half as interesting.” Joey seemed tired, at least. He could get away with a little vague rambling by the time he crashed, probably. With that in mind, Ziggy shifted a little closer, deciding to take Joey’s idea on board. He propped himself up on his side by his elbow. “We can do that. What are you– a little spoon guy? You kind of seem like a little spoon guy.”

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“Oh, you’re right… I kind of forgot about that, sorry. It would have been cooler if you were a doctor, but bartenders are cool too.” Joey said with a small chuckle, as he nodded his head slowly at the other. “But I don’t know that much about you other than that your name is Ziggy and that you’re a bartender.” He said with a small frown, as he thought about it a little – now that he thought about it, he really didn’t know anything about the other and they were about to cuddle, so that was definitely weird.

As Ziggy talked, Joey raised an eyebrow as the other started talking, not saying much about his life. Letting out a sigh, Joey just shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t mind if it’s not interesting, you can just talk about you… Like, what do you do for fun? And things like that.” He said with a small sigh, before nodding his head when Ziggy asked if he was a little spoon, getting himself comfortable in the other’s bed as he approached him even more. “Yeah, is it that obvious?” He asked, letting out a small chuckle. “C’mon, you have to talk about yourself a little. Then this will just be weird… Because we slept together and I don’t know anything about me and you know pretty much all of my life.”

If Ziggy had been ditched for an internship in LA, he’d be pretty ‘smad’ too, he thought. Joey’s situation was a little more complicated than he’d anticipated, but it made sense. It all felt… recent. Raw. Losing people was never easy. Watching Joey reaffirmed that reality, and Ziggy’s lifestyle along with it. On top of it all, Joey looked almost… guilty. Perhaps that was the word - he couldn’t put his finger one it, but if it was all fresh, that wouldn’t be out of left-field.

“So… you’re still committed to a guy you’re not technically with anymore. That’s what I’m hearing,” Ziggy thought aloud. That had to suck, holding on to somebody who seemed to have let go. “You really don’t need to worry about saying that to me, okay? I don’t do… that part. But you’re allowed to have feelings about it,” he assured Joey, to the best of his wavering ability. “If you beat yourself up for being smad, you’re just going to hurt twice. And– I know it’s way easier for some guy to tell you to stop doing that,” he paused, pointing to himself, “than it is to actually stop– but I stand by that. This is your… emotional situation. You don’t have to be over it before you’ve processed it.”

.

For someone that Joey didn’t know that well, Ziggy seemed pretty smart – he seemed to know what he was talking about, so Joey was looking at him and nodding his head slowly as he took in every word he said – any advice would do Joey some good and hopefully it would help him move on from all of that was going on in his life. Joey wasn’t even sure if he would ever see Angel again or when he would see him again, but he knew that he needed to get over it, even if he still had feelings for him and probably would always have.

“Okay…” Joey said with a small sigh, as he looked at the ceiling again, before looking at Ziggy again with a small smile. “You’re like, really smart. Are you like, a doctor or something? Doctors are smart.” He said with a nod, before turning to his side as he got closer to the other – after all, the two were in bed and they were spending the night together, so Joey might as well make himself comfortable with the other. “I feel kind of bad that we’ve been talking about me all night… Do you want to talk about yourself? I can listen! I’m a good listener, I think, that’s what people usually tell me.” He said with a smile, as he let out a small yawn. “And maybe we can cuddle too… Just an idea.”

So, the ex-boyfriend seemed to be a more recent development than he’d anticipated. Ziggy didn’t know how that felt on a personal level, and he planned for that to always be the case, but he could imagine how it might sting. He gave a sympathetic wince - he knew he’d have to say something eventually, but he really didn’t know Joey all that well. A little apprehension set in as he wondered if he might come out with something that’d make it all worse.

Then again, it wasn’t about him. Ziggy tried to ignore those worries. “Well… I’ve had better reviews than ‘not bad,’ but I’ll take it,” he joked, hoping to lighten the mood a little. A pause followed, by a sigh. “Look– I’m not going to pretend I know much about… relationships, or exes, or whatever, but you’re in a pretty unique situation right now. You know why? Because I,” Ziggy rested a hand over his own chest, “don’t know a thing about your ex, or what that relationship was like. You can rant all you want, whether you’re sad, or just pissed off, and it’ll never get back to that guy. Just… yeah. The offer’s there, if you wanna take it.”

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Joey let out a small chuckle when Ziggy mentioned that he had gotten better reviews than ‘not bad’, shaking his head as he looked at the other. It was weird to think about that just a few hours ago, the two were talking at Callbacks and now Joey was laying on his bed – he didn’t expect for the night to turn out this way, but it wasn’t like he was complaining. Overall, the night had been fun, but yet again, the feeling that something was wrong didn’t leave his mind the more the two talked.

At least Ziggy had been nice enough to let him stay there and at least he was offering to talk about the situation. Joey hadn’t really talked about it to anyone else, except for Eli and Ivy, so it definitely felt nice to talk to someone who didn’t know Angel at all. Giving it some thought about how he felt, Joey just shrugged his shoulders. “Okay… I think I’m just sad. And I’m mad… I guess you can say I’m ‘smad’ or something like that.” He said with a nod, as he looked at Ziggy. “And I think I still love him, you know? And I know I probably shouldn’t say that to a guy I just slept with, but… I love him and he left me for some stupid internship in LA.” He said, before pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, before letting out a sigh. “I know I’m supposed to be happy with him, but I didn’t want him to leave.”

Once he shuffled a little closer to the wall and turned onto his side, facing his back to it, Ziggy felt a little more comfortable. “I don’t mind at all,” he answered, with a small, slightly sleepy smile. It meant he didn’t have to get up for the foreseeable future to see Joey out, too - there was a little bonus. He was perfectly fine like that, but just from looking at Joey, he could tell that something wasn’t quite right.

It clicked, with a little further thought. “…This isn’t really your scene, is it?” he asked, with a little tilt of his head. “Sleeping with people the same night you meet them, I mean.” If he was used to sharing the bed, it had to be something constant - Ziggy had to guess Joey was more of the long-term type. Usually, that thought would worry him a little, but he didn’t seem to be getting overly-emotional or clingy about the whole thing. Just… conflicted. 

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Nodding his head when Ziggy said that it was okay for him to spend the night, Joey turned his head as he looked up to the ceiling again, taking a deep sigh. For some reason, Joey wished he fell asleep way faster, but as Ziggy kept talking, he turned his head to look at him. The other had noticed that something was wrong with him, that much was obvious, but Joey wasn’t even sure if he wanted to talk about it – it was all still so recent that he didn’t even know what to think.

At Ziggy’s question, Joey shook his head slowly. “It wasn’t for a long time… It was different during high school. But then I started dating and I dated the same guy for two years. But we broke up recently so I don’t even know what to do anymore… This just feels weird.” Joey said with a small sigh, before looking over at the man on the bed with him. “Not because it was bad or anything like that… You’re totally hot and all of that, but you know. It just feels weird that it isn’t with him.” He said, before looking up at the ceiling again – maybe it wasn’t for the best to talk about his ex-boyfriend to a guy that he just had slept with, but he didn’t know what else to say.

Considering how off-the-cuff taking Joey home was, Ziggy found things went rather smoothly. Nobody stuck around long enough to delay closing, Dallas seemed to be out somewhere, and his room was in a decent state. He’d even remembered to store his tripod properly; that tended to weird people out when he kept it near his bed. Then again, there was plenty of context for it scattered around. His cameras here and there, polaroids and prints lining the walls, all making it rather obvious what that equipment was really for. And then there was the bed, with its sheets now tousled and occupied by more than its usual party of one.

Ziggy wasn’t really sure what to do about that. Usually, he tended to favour his partners’ places, but dorm rooms were always riskier. The assurance that nobody was about to walk in won out, and now he was a host. It wasn’t his call to walk out. “So…” he began, propping himself up on his elbow. “Are you a stay-the-night kind of guy? Because that’s totally fine, but I usually sleep next to the wall, so if we could just… switch sides?” He found himself running on the assumption that Joey was as accustomed to the casual lifestyle as he was.

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Joey found himself staring at the ceiling, lying down on the bed of a guy that he had just met – he wasn’t sure if he was starting to regret his decision, but the truth is that it had been fun while it lasted. However, his mind was racing with too many thoughts – part of him was thinking that he shouldn’t have done this; after all, he hadn’t broken up with Angel that long ago, so what did this mean? And the other part of him didn’t care – maybe Joey wasn’t even going to see Ziggy again after this.

Turning his head to the side as he looked over at the other, covering himself with the sheets, he let out a sigh. “Oh, um…” He said as he thought about it for a while – it was probably for the best if he ended up leaving, but it didn’t seem like that was happening this time. “Do you mind if I stay? Because I’m not really used to sleeping anymore. I know that’s kind of weird, but I prefer sleeping with someone by my side.” He admitted with a small nod; he knew how weird that probably sounded, but after dating with Angel for more than two years, it was weird that he had to go back to his room and sleep on his own bed, probably all by himself because Julien was busy with Ivy. “But we can switch sides, I don’t mind.” Joey said as he sat up on the bed and made his way to the other side of the bed, before lying back down and looking up at the ceiling.

Passion was a universal language - or at the very least, Ziggy didn’t tend to talk much to people who didn’t get it. Dance wasn’t his thing, but he understood nonetheless. “I get it,” he said, with a short nod. “Why am I not surprised to hear you were a cheerleader? Is that where all the pep comes from?” he asked, with a lopsided grin. Again, all the little pieces he was putting together about who Joey was made perfect sense.

And then, out of nowhere, he hit Ziggy with that curveball. It wasn’t unwelcome - it took some of the guesswork out of where his night was going. “Well, I don’t know about that… but I can tell you that the bar closes in–” he paused, checking his watch, “around half an hour. Last call is in twenty, and I figure I can get the bar in order by then.” He glanced around his station; he’d pretty much started the closing process early, minus the blender and a few glasses. With those doubts eased, he reached over, his fingers brushing briefly over Joey’s as he took the glass. “Coming right up,” he said, gathering the ingredients together once more. “And if all else fails… my apartment’s always open.”

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Letting out a chuckle when Ziggy commented about not being surprised that Joey had been a cheerleader during high school, he shrugged his shoulders at the comment. “I guess so. I don’t know, I just liked doing flips and it was pretty easy, so of course I was one. But my coach was kind of mean…” He said, as he thought about Coach Tanaka and all of those times she had yelled at him for talking during practice or for being late, which was something that happened way too often.

Joey nodded his head as Ziggy explained how the bar closed in about thirty minutes and that he should be able to get the bar all cleaned up by then. Joey definitely didn’t know if this was the right decision, plus he didn’t know if it was the alcohol from the single drink speaking, but he was going to do this – he was tired of moping around because of ex-boyfriend that had left him behind in New York, so the least he could do was have some fun. Plus, Joey considered himself to be an attractive guy and Ziggy was hot too, so it didn’t take him that long. Looking over at his glass as the other took the glass away, Joey nodded his head with a smile. “I’m guessing your apartment is probably the safest option. I don’t want Julien to walk in… Just in case we’re doing something.” He said with a smile.

Most of the NYADA students that stopped by Callbacks to drink shared Joey’s sentiments at one point or another. It was a league of its own, and even if musical theatre was a far shot from his own talents, he could recognise the stress of that competitive environment. “People come to New York when they think they’ve reached their ceiling. Dancers, singers,  all kinds of artists– you’re surrounded by them now, and they’ll make you better,” Ziggy replied. His smile was sympathetic, but he knew that hurdle well. “You must love it by now, right? I mean, you’re still here…”

Ziggy took the go-ahead in stride. He was half-expecting it - even if Joey wasn’t necessarily interested in him, he’d made it clear he liked guys and was single. There was no harm in it; it was kind of nice to think he was flattering somebody. “So, what you’re telling me there is to just… keep being a bartender?” he teased, with a soft huff of laughter. “I can do that… but if I’m going to be a good one I’m going to need you to tell me what you like, Joey.” There was a layer of suggesting to Ziggy’s voice there, and a gleam in his eye - whether Joey would pick up on it or not was anybody’s guess.

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“Yes, I just really love dancing, you know? I’ve always done it ever since I was a kid after my dads put me in a ballet class. And I was a cheerleader during high school, so that only helped. So, it’s definitely one of my favorite things.” Joey said with a smile, and of course he meant every word he said – and Ziggy of course was right when he mentioned that he loved it by now, especially since he hadn’t left. The truth was that he was just going to keep getting better and one day he’d be on the stage dancing and he would be considered one of the greatest dancers – it was a long shot, but there was nothing wrong with thinking like that.

But Joey was mostly interested in where this conversation was going, especially since there was a lot of back and forth flirting between the two. It felt nice to flirt with someone like this, although Joey could hear the voice on the back of his mind telling him that it probably wasn’t a good idea – but as usual, Joey would ignore it and nod his head slowly. “I mean, you can keep getting me drinks until your shift is over. What time do you get off?” He asked, raising an eyebrow – it was now obvious that he was interested and he wanted to go forward with whatever was going on between them. “I was going to suggest we went to my room, I’m pretty sure my roommate is with his girlfriend, so… You know, it’s free.” He said with a smile, before finishing off his drink and sliding the glass towards Ziggy. “How about you get me another of these?” He asked.

NYADA was a word you couldn’t help hearing if you spent so much as an hour at Callbacks. At some point, the two places had become tied to one another, and while not everybody who stopped by Callbacks went there, it was never a surprise when Ziggy found out that they did. Hell, his dad tried to go there. Knowing that he hadn’t gotten in had always made it seem that much more intimidating to Ziggy. “It’s an impressive thing,” he assured Joey, with a lopsided smile. “You can’t work here and not know about how cut-throat NYADA is. I can’t figure out how you people find the spare time to drink…”

A football player. A football player. David Bowie, starting quarterback– the thought alone made Ziggy burst out laughing. He wasn’t a sport guy, but if all the players dressed like outlandish androgynous aliens, he’d give it a shot. “David Bowie’s not a football player, I’m not a serial killer… gotta get those bases covered,” Ziggy said, his laughter dwindling as he let his elbows rest against the bar. And then, there was the golden question. Ziggy let a hand run through his hair as he gave Joey another contemplative look. He was cute. Friendly, personable - why did he seem so surprised by the idea? “Yeah, Joey, I think I am,” he stated, his expression turning a little more playful with his nod. He’d never been shy about those sorts of things. He was never hugely overt about it, but plenty of people stopped by the bar caught his eye. Sometimes, they caught a little more than that - but it all depended on mutual interest. “Is that a problem?” he asked, earnestly - it wasn’t his goal to creep anybody out.

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Joey had always wondered if he hadn’t been born in the Hummel-Anderson family, if he would even had heard of NYADA – both of his dads had gone there and now his brother and him were always taught that they should go there too. Not because their dads had made them do it, but because they were actually interested in performing. Nodding his head slowly at Ziggy, Joey smiled at the other as he shrugged his shoulders. “I think it was easier to get in than it is to get out… I just thought I was the best dancer to exist when I was back in Lima, but then I got to NYADA and quickly realized that it wasn’t true. I even cried after my first day, it was kind of awful.” Joey said, shaking his head as he thought back of his first day at NYADA – it hadn’t been as fun as he thought it would be, but he still didn’t regret anything about it.

As Ziggy explained that David Bowie wasn’t a football player and that he wasn’t a serial killer, he couldn’t help but to forget that entire conversation – he was very much distracted by the fact that the other was actually flirting with him. He would be lying if he didn’t think the other was cute, but of course his mind went immediately to his ex-boyfriend and the fact that they had broken up not that long ago. But the more that he thought about it, the more he thought of the possibility of Angel not returning – he had been the one to leave either way, so what was stopping him. At Ziggy’s question, Joey took a few moments to think before he was shaking his head as he smiled. “Nope, it’s not a problem at all. You can keep doing it, it’s flattering actually.” He said with a small nod, before grabbing his drink and taking a sip. “How about this? You keep making me drinks and we’ll see where the night takes us?” Joey wasn’t used to flirting anymore, not after dating Angel for so long – but the attention did feel nice.

Ziggy couldn’t help but match Joey’s smile. He had an infectious kind of energy, enough that Ziggy found himself wiping down the bar just to expel some of it. If he didn’t have as much to say, he could find something to do. “I’ve never been. I keep hearing about it lately… it’s weird,” he murmured, working on a particularly tough sticky spot. “I should’ve figured you’re a NYADA guy. It just makes too much sense,” he joked - only a student from that gauntlet of a theatre school could radiate that much excitement.

And then, all of a sudden, he felt like the world had stopped turning. “You’ve never heard of David Bowie?” he blurted out, completely gobsmacked by the thought. Not being a fan? Fine. He could accept that begrudgingly, but it just seemed bizarre that somebody might have completely avoided the name their whole lives. He faltered for a moment, as though it was his job to personally fix that. “You should look him up some time,” he said simply. As far as he was concerned, that suggestion alone was doing Joey a favour. “And– no, I’m not a serial killer. I am… quiet, sure, and apparently brooding - but I’m not violent. So there’s… one redeeming quality,” he answered, with a quick shrug. It felt like a strange thing to have to qualify. “You know, you could tell me your life story,” he offered, glancing up at Joey with a thoughtful gaze. “I’m interested in you. You’re interesting.” Listening to people ramble was, weirdly, a perk of the job.

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Raising an eyebrow when Ziggy mentioned that he had been hearing about Lima lately, he couldn’t help but to wonder who had been talking about that place to him. “Really? That’s kind of weird, I thought no one knew that it actually existed… If you showed me a map, I probably wouldn’t be able to point it out.” He said, before frowning once the other mentioned NYADA. “Wait, what is that supposed to mean? Is that a bad thing?” He asked, not sure how people would usually feel about NYADA – he hadn’t heard much from other people about how they felt about the school, but he also had never heard anything about it, especially not from people he knew.

Joey definitely didn’t expect for Ziggy to have that reaction, but he let out a laugh either way. Shaking his head slowly, he shrugged his shoulders. “Is that the football player from all of those years ago? Because I don’t think I know who that is, but you got it, I will look it up.” He said, before getting out his phone and writing the name down so he could search it up later – he was probably going to forget about it the next day, but at least it looked good to point it down. As he heard Ziggy talk, Joey nodded his head as he followed along to what he was saying. “That’s good, at least… I didn’t think you were a serial killer either or I probably wouldn’t be talking to you.” He chuckled, before he was blushing as the other told him that he was interesting – now that was something that he didn’t expect coming from a guy that he had just met. “You think I’m interesting? Why? I mean, I’ve heard that before but you know… Wait, are you flirting with me?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at Ziggy.

Ziggy considered himself decently smart. He wasn’t a mastermind by any means, but he felt like he was at least average in all the spheres of intelligence life held. That being said… it was a task to keep up with Joey’s ramblings. A fun task, but not an easy one. “Lima… Ohio?” he questioned, with a skeptical look as he finally let go of Joey’s hand. What was it with mid-western Ohioans flocking to New York? Why did it feel like he bumped into ten people from there every day? Still, Ziggy let out a short burst of laughter, ducking his head with it. “You know what? She seems like she’d have a good time performing in a mall,” he

“Never? Not a Bowie fan, huh…?” Ziggy wondered - not everybody was, but he couldn’t help putting it out there. He was a man of his passions, after all. “None taken, anyway.” Zig loved dogs - but why share more than he had to? “You haven’t met me, but I’ve seen you. That’s kind of how it is behind a bar– you end up recognising people, but they don’t recognise you,” he answered, with a shrug. “Mostly because they don’t ask questions like that,” Zig pointed out, largely as a tactic to avoid answering it. Joey clearly had good intentions, and yet Zig was sure he didn’t really want to know. “Are you always this friendly?”

.

At Ziggy’s question, Joey nodded his head slowly with a smile. “Yes! Have you ever been there? Not that there’s too much to see, but I lived there all of my life and then I moved here… You know, to study at NYADA and all of that. Sometimes I miss it, but then I remember how much I actually like being here.” Joey said with a small smile, before letting out a chuckle when Ziggy mentioned that Dua Lipa would probably have a good time in a mall – he wasn’t so sure about that, mostly because she would probably never set her foot in a mall in Lima, Ohio, but he guessed he could dream about it even for a few moments.

“Bowie? I have no idea who that is…” Joey said, before his eyes were drifting to the side as he thought about if he had ever heard of Bowie, but he couldn’t remember it at the time – maybe if he asked his dads they would know, but it wasn’t ringing a bell. “Oh, you’ve seen me? That’s just a little creepy, but don’t worry. At least now we know each other and you don’t look like a serial killer, so I think you should be fine. You would tell me if you were one, right?” Joey asked, raising an eyebrow – he didn’t know if a serial killer would do such a thing, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask. At Ziggy’s question, Joey shrugged his shoulders with a smile. “I think so! All of my friends say that I’m pretty friendly, so I believe them. Are you always this quiet? Because I feel like I’m doing most of the talking and I’m running out of things to say. I mean, I could go on about telling the story of my life for the past 19 years, but I don’t think you’re that interested.” He said with a chuckle, reaching for his glass as he took another sip from his drink.

“The drink. The drink is on me– I’m buying it for you,” Ziggy clarified, trying not to chuckle with it. All at once, he suddenly knew a lot more about Joey. His name, for one thing - and a note or two about his personality. Namely, that he was a little tactless. It was far from malicious; honest felt like a better word for it, and he was willing to wager that most of Joey’s words were the first thoughts that popped into his head. Zig couldn’t imagine living that way, but it was an interesting energy to be around. “Don’t tell me you thought I was going to serve you something that tastes like pee?” he asked, with a playful scoff. A part of him wanted to ask who was going around spreading those rumours, but he knew some people found the place tacky. All he could do was watch his own reputation.

“I’ll call you Joey,” Zig decided aloud, fixing him with a curious stare as he reached over, shaking his hand. “And you can call me Ziggy,” he added, using his free hand to tap his nametag. In truth he felt weird about showing his name to everybody who strolled in, but it was staff policy. Most people ignored it - or so he liked to think - but if Joey was going to go out of his way to introduce himself he might as well return the favour. Besides, he seemed pretty harmless.

.

Joey felt his ears turning red once he realized that Ziggy actually meant – he probably would have figured it out what the other meant if he had put some thought into it. “Oh. That’s nice of you.” He said with a small nod, before pulling the drink closer to him, looking down at it with a smile and taking another sip, before he was looking up at Ziggy as he kept talking. “Oh, I didn’t think that… Well, maybe I did believe it for a little bit, but I also believe everything people tell me. One time, one of my friends told me that Dua Lipa was going to be at the mall back in Lima, so I skipped classes for the entire day and it turns out that she wasn’t even there.” He said with a small chuckle, before shaking the other’s hand – now that the two knew each other’s names, the conversation would probably go smoother – at least that’s what Joey thought either way.

“Ziggy? That’s a cool name, I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before. I feel like I would name a dog Ziggy… No offense, though.” He said with a nod, looking over at the nametag – Joey hadn’t even noticed until the other pointed it out “But it’s nice to meet you! If we haven’t met before… Right? We haven’t, right?” Joey asked, not sure if he had talked to the other before, but it felt like he talked to so many people during the day that it was likely that he would forget that he had even talked to them. “Sorry, I know I talk too much sometimes and it doesn’t even make sense most of the times. I think my doctor told me that my brain is the size of a toddler’s fist one time, but my dads told me that it wasn’t possible... Right, it’s not?” Joey asked, before shaking his head at that thought and taking another sip of his drink. “What do you do for fun?”

A fancy frozen drink it was. Ziggy had options, too - the surprise me was just an invitation for him to whip up something easy. Or something fun. The pizza comment brought a lopsided smile to his features, and he knew he had to make one. As Ziggy listened to him talk he pulled out tequila, triple sec, and lime juice, a slight shake in his shoulders giving away the occasional quiet huff of laughter. “That’s a generous idea of ‘not bad,’” he mused, with a side-eyed glance towards the stage. Thank goodness, it was finally empty. That wasn’t a thought he had often.

He hesitated in place for a moment as he picked up the bottles, before finally turning towards the back of the bar. The ice went in first, then careful measures of each liquid, followed by a handful of strawberries. Anybody who forgot to introduce their boyfriend as an ex right off the bat was probably fresh out of a break-up - which most likely sucked. As he let the blender pulse the ingredients, he revelled in how much better it sounded. He danced along to its beat, although it was more of an awkward hip-wiggle. He pulled a glass from one shelf with his free hand, and once the drink was done he ran a lime wedge around its rim before lining it with sugar. Finally, with a careful pour, the drink was done. “Here we are,” he said, setting the glass in front of Joey with a little flourish. “It’s no pizza, and it probably won’t get you on a spaceship… but if you promise not to bring cutlery anywhere near my blender, it’s on me.”

.

Joey watched carefully as the other prepared the drink, letting out a small chuckle once he saw the other dance to the sound of the blender – he had no idea how to make those type of drinks and it looked hard enough to do it. He knew that if he were to try, he would probably make a huge mess and somehow he would end up breaking the blender like he did with the one at the diner, but he had to admit that it was pretty cool that the man behind the counter knew how to do it so well. As he waited for his drink to be ready, Joey’s mind wandered off to somewhere, looking around the bar for a couple of seconds before the drink was being placed in front of him.

“What’s on you?” Joey asked, raising an eyebrow as he grabbed the glass and took a small sip, before looking over at Ziggy and nodding his head. “You know what? I have to say that’s pretty good! My best friend always told me that this bar sucks because the drinks taste like pee and the singers are pretty bad, but I don’t think it’s that bad!” Joey said before taking another sip and looking over at Ziggy. “Too bad that it won’t get me on a spaceship, that would be pretty cool. Although it was pretty scary now that I think about it.” He said with a shrug, before extending out his hand so he could introduce himself – the two had been talking for a while now and Joey wasn’t even sure if he knew the other’s name. “I’m Joey, by the way. But you can call me Jo or Jojo, that’s what most people call me… Well, except my dads, they call me Joseph. You can call me Joseph too.” He said with a nod, as he waited for the other to shake his hand.

in  some  essence,  callbacks  was  the  most  unlikely  location  for  phoenix  to  work.  sure,  performing  was  her  thing.  but  demanding  customers  were  not.  besides,  it  wasn’t  as  if  she  was  the  one  performing  on  the  stage  every  night.  nonetheless,  it  was  some  sort  of  an  income.  and  despite  many  empty  threats  of  quitting  in  the  amount  of  time  she  had  worked  there,  somehow  she  was  still  here.  currently  phoenix  had  taken  to  wandering  around  the  place  collecting  empty  glasses  from  tables,  bringing  them  back  to  the  bar  to  be  cleaned  for  the  next  use.  taking  her  sweet  time,  at  that.  however  soon  approaching  the  recognisable  face  sat  at  the  bar,  after  placing  the  glasses  in  to  the  dishwasher.

❝  phoenix.  ❞  she  corrected  shortly,  followed  by  a  sigh.  had  they  not  repeated  this  conversation  a  good  few  times  before  ?  ❝  i  don’t  work  here,  they’re  holding  me  captive.  ❞  it  was  fun,  teasing  joey  when  the  opportunity  arose.  the  whole  current  spiel  was  a  joke  of  course,  yet  the  thought  that  the  other  would  potentially  take  it  quite  literally  made  her  stifle  a  laugh.  ❝  sure.  i’ll  get  that  for  you,  jo.  ❞  a  pause,  raising  an  eyebrow  at  his  straw  request.  ❝  …and  see  if  i  can  dig  out  a  silly  straw.  no  promises,  though.  ❞

.

Joey’s smile quickly faded once Phoenix mentioned that she was being kept captive there – he knew that working at Callbacks wasn’t the best place to work at, but he didn’t know that it was that bad enough to the point of keeping people captive in there. “Do you need help? I can totally help you escape! I was held captive in a spaceship before but I made it out alive… I don’t remember how I did it, but it worked the first time.” Joey said with a small sigh, not sure what else to do to help the other – seeing the other laugh made Joey realize that she was probably joking around, so he was quick to smile at the other and nod his head slowly, as he waited for the other to prepare his drink – although he should probably be getting drunk, the thought of going to class hangover the next day made Joey think again about that.

“What kind of bar doesn’t have a silly straw? Those are the best type of straws… Although one time I did poke my eye with one and it was pretty painful…” Joey said with a small nod of his head, as he rested his arms on the counter, looking over at Phoenix as he waited patiently. “How are you, Phoebe?” Joey asked, not even realizing that the other had corrected her name earlier – he just thought that she was saying random words, but that usually happened to Joey so he didn’t even say anything about it.