STHENO: THE FORCEFUL

Libby couldn’t say she’d ever seen the girl before, and was slightly taken aback by the pure confidence she seemed to exude. Taken back, or slightly jealous - she wasn’t sure which. She’d noticed her earlier, hovering by the wall a little fruther down from her, but hadn’t attempted to try and coax her inside the event they were holding. Hell, she’d been afraid to approach randomers on the street passing by, who would probably never see her again, or forget who she was in the next step they took. A smile broke out as the other spoke, purely from what she was saying, and the nerves. She paused as she watched the woman saunter off, and coughed slightly from embarrassment. “I, uh– I am one of the folks on the inside.” The librarian told her with a small smile.

“I figured as much, but hey, at least I got her in the door right? Maybe after she’s done bitching about me she’ll take part in whatever it is you’ve got going here.” Eva took another long drag from her cigarette, hoping the nicotine would soften the edge of the after-effects from the long list of antics she had gotten into the night before. “What is it you’re trying to tempt people into anyway?” Eva was an avid reader, a quality she was sure didn’t really show with her present slovenly appearance, dark circles lining her eyes as she sucked on a cancer stick which she knew people perceived as a bad habit that signaled naiveté and a lack of self-discipline. She had been meaning to check out the local library but a splitting headache had stopped her in her tracks before she could actually make it through the door, choosing to abandon her mission and laze in the sun. 

Magnus let out a singular loud laugh at the woman’s comment. “Do I appear tragic to you?” He questioned, raising his eyebrows at the blonde. “If you believe me to be tragic, then you are clearly perceiving me wrong.” He added with a smirk. “I’m alone tonight because I choose to be alone.” Magnus reasoned simply. “I’m sorry if I interrupted your reading, by the way.”

“Hey now, special emphasis on the words ‘could be.’ Kid drinking alone on his birthday, meet girl reading in a bar. Circumstances would suggest we are either the most tragic or perhaps the most interesting.” Eva flagged down the bartender, asking him to surprise her with his personal favorite glass of red. The corner of her mouth lifted as she couldn’t help but be amused by the man’s blatant confidence. “Color me curious, you either are quite fond of yourself and have no need for company on your special day, or the folk of Lanford must really disappoint. Am I close on either count?”  It was unusual to find someone so willing to be unashamedly by themselves, most people at least pretended to be important or wanted by constantly fiddling with their phone or desperately looking around the bar for the first person to fill the silence. But not him, he sat with an air of assuredness that drew Eva’s interest, immediately making her want to know more. “No need to apologize, I stopped reading because I chose to stop reading.” She replied, mocking him in what she hoped came off as light-hearted.

                “So this might come across as weird, and promise, there isn’t a hidden camera, nor am I a loon looking to disturb the peace, but… Would you happen to be an Alex? It’s just–– I’m supposed to be meeting an ‘Alex’ here, so I thought I’d go around and ask.”

Eva had been halfway out the door after finishing her bartending shift at the Cellar when the man approached her. Still feeling a burst of energy from the rush of a busy shift,  she decided to have a little fun. Scooting into the seat in the booth across from him, she extended her hand with conviction. “Alex, right, that’s me. I was looking for you everywhere! Where have you been hiding all night?” 

“Well.” Magnus started with a hollow laugh. “I suppose today, I turn 27.” He commented quietly. “Is it odd that I have nothing planned? Just to go about my day as if it is any other day?” He questioned the person nearest to him at the moment. “I’ve never been much of a celebrator of things that are so…. Common. I mean, if someone gets married or something, that is a – hopefully – one time occasion. A reason to celebrate. Birthdays… They come every year, and pass a day later. Any excitement developed by them is immediately swept away by the business of the following day. Perhaps I’m over thinking it, and I should have made plans?”

Eva had grown accustomed to people approaching her without invite whenever she chose to participate in one of her favorite hobbies – sitting at a bar by her lonesome, exploring the cocktail list with her latest book of choice in hand. This choice of activity always baffled those around her, assuming she was using her lone wolf status to be inviting and her choice of reading at a bar to be some sort of virtue signaling. Her eyes continued to scan the page as she half-listened to the man speaking next to her. Focus glued to the text, she reached for her tumbler glass and brought it to her lips, only to be disappointed to find it was empty. Only willing to break her attention from the book once she realized she was on E in the liquor department, she tagged the corner and waited for the bartender to come her way. She had only been half-listening to the man beside her but had picked up on the word birthday. “All by your lonesome at a bar on your birthday huh? You might be the only person in this bar who could be perceived as more tragic than me.”