like the cool kids

It was her first night back in town, and besides going home, Emerson had made the decision to go and get a drink. Possibly dance on some random stranger. She had finished her second novel so she had time in between to do whatever she wanted before the book tours started. Last thing she wanted to do was leave town again right away but she currently didn’t want to think about that. So she decided not to, right now she just wanted to get a drink and maybe take some photos tonight even if it was with her cell phone. Heading over to the bar, she was trying to get the bartenders attention but was failing. “What does a girl have to do to get some service around here? Flash someone?” She mumbled that last sentence.

A bar was basically Liam’s second home. Whether he was celebrating a good job done or drowning his sorrows, it was his to go place even when he was bored. That night it wasn’t any different. He picked his favorite place in the house ─ the stool closer to the back wall where he could see the whole place ─ and he order a gin’n’tonic that he was sipping slowly. A girl arrived and tried to get the attention of the bartenders, who were basically looking to the opposite side. He couldn’t help but laugh when she threatened to flash someone. “Well, you could flash me, but I don’t think that would solve your bartending problem,” he chuckled before he wolf whistled to the server. “It is a cool trick to learn, because he could not see you flashing if he was not facing you.” Liam explained as the bartender approached.

“Well don’t you look handsome.” She gave them a wink as she slurred the end. She was a bit drunk. She had been bored and alcohol seemed like a good way to go on this cold day.

“I always do,” he replied, “but it is always nice to hear that from pretty people.” Was she drunk? Totally. Did Liam care? Not really. “You know what two handsome people should do together?”

“Well, you can better ask me when I’m not excited about something,“ Ray chuckled, “Today’s just a good day for me, I guess. I only have a short shift at work, I have a nice evening of relaxing planned and I found this cool show on Netflix to watch.“

Genesis cracked a smile. “That explains the survival or your charm,” she said before sipping from her water once again. “If that’s what we’re calling it these days, anyway. Need an aspirin? Or is that,” Genesis gestures around his meal, “gonna do the trick for you?”

“So you do thin I am charming,” he smirked, obviously lingering on the least important part of the conversation. “Bacon” he pointed to her with a piece of the greasy meat, “works in mysterious ways, my friend.” Liam chewed on half of it. “You’ve never cured a hangover with food? You missed a lot before going into that adulthood thing.”

First he yells at her for being to loud and now he’s telling her to shut her mouth. This guy was more of pain in the ass than he was worth. “Yes, we are. Since you seem to be a natural born whiner,” she snapped back. “Here I was minding my own business talking to my doctor’s office when you come out of nowhere yelling at me. I might sound like a bitch or whatever name you’re calling me in your head but remember you started this.”

“Yelling? Are you freaking nuts? Did you hit your head as a child?” He had a confused look behind the shades. “I cannot speak louder than a whisper because everything sounds so freaking loud. Why would I be yelling?” He hissed under his breath, incredible annoyed at the girl for being incredibly dishonest ─ and that was from someone who was a professional liar. “God, you are not worthy of the headache.” He lifted one of his hand at her face before he walked away.

“It turns out you’re not just a frat boy, you’re also living that salt life,” Genesis said sarcastically in regards to his comment. While it held some truth, it was still something a salty person would say - or so Genesis told herself. “Aren’t you a little older to be hungover on a Tuesday, anyway?” She asked, mostly joking.

He ignored her sarcastic comment, looking over his shades to the waitress that was bringing his breakfast as if she had gold. Liam bit a piece of the bacon. “There are days to get drunk and be hungover?” He asked in fake surprised. “Gosh, I must have missed that adulthood memo.” He teased, in a equally joking manner.

“I can’t say my voice was that loud. I’ve got a cold so I sort of have to strain to talk,” She explained. “That would explain why my voice sounds off-key,” Ariana told the taller man. “I could just leave if it’s annoying you that much? I’m not really in the mood for a major disagreement about something as trivial as my speaking voice.”

“I am not trying to pick up a fight── geez,” he murmured, “I just asked you to lower your voice, if you can’t do that, fine. Fuck it. I just go.”

“Well, not all of us had the luxury of drinking ourselves to sleep last night,” Genesis responded with an even louder voice - if just to be a dick. Either way, her words were assumptions for she really didn’t even know this guy. “No need to be so hostile,” she added ironically. “Water?” Genesis offered the unopened bottle of water she had saved for herself. 

He cringe at the sound of her voice. If he wasn’t expecting his coffee and the muffin, and the bacon and eggs, and everything that would stop his headache, he would have get up and walked away. Since he couldn’t, he would just have to take back on her another time. “I actually drank to party... Not my fault that you can’t.” He shook her hand, “mine is coming.” Or so he hoped.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was talking so loud. I guess it’s excitement, you know.“

“No problem──” he rested his head on his hands, “I just have a raging hangover. The kind that you say you will never drink again, but it is actually the reason you drink again, to stop it. Anyway. why are you excited? At least one of us have something good happening.”

Ayden’s eyes widened, her head shook lightly as she took a step back from the man. “I’m sorry what? The only one talking laud is you. Maybe you should pay attention to yourself before whining at someone else,” she snapped back. “That’s what you get for getting drunk. Pay backs a bitch. I suggest you go home.”

“Fine, be out here and keep your misery to yourself. None of us asked you to get wasted last night.” Kel usually kept his temper in check. But this man was rubbing him the wrong way, and Abigail was hiding behind his legs now. “Actually, most kids don’t start getting headaches until a little later in life, if they don’t have too much stress. I’d like to keep it that way.” If he made many more comments about his daughter, Kel would be half-tempted to shut the man’s mouth for him.

“God──” Liam hissed, his annoyance making the headache worse, “the only thing you needed to do is take your kid away. You’ve done, now go away since you are so bothered by my misery. I am going to stay here as I was before and wallow in my misery. ” He was about to flip that man off and give him a headache if he didn’t let it go. He wasn’t even going to go on the details of physiology with the asshole, because it would definitely be too hard for his little head. He just wanted to enjoy his coffee in peace.

“I’m talking at a perfectly normal level.” Sophia rebuked, lowering her cell from her ear to frown at the stranger. He was hungover, if his mussed appearance and sunglasses in cloudy weather were any kind of indication. “Maybe you should get some earplugs if your hearing’s so sensitive.”

Liam sighed in annoyance as he lowered the sunglasses to look at the stranger. “Maybe I should just keep on prying on your conversation then,” he quipped back, annoyed by the unsolicited advice.

“I’m not even talking loudly.” She said rather dully, her gaze meeting his as she raised an eyebrow up at him. “Don’t take your wrath out on me just because it seems like you’ve had a bad night, pretty boy.” 

He rolled his eyes, but she couldn’t see behind his sunglasses. “If you think that’s warth, your life must be rather dull,” he murmured, deadpan, as he pressed two fingers against his temple. What was wrong with people of that fucking town? Couldn’t they tone down a freaking decibel? Or they thought it was cute?

Abigail’s look turned more concerned and unsure, falling quiet as she often did in the presence of strangers. Kel sighed and put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her against him to reassure her that she hadn’t done anything wrong. “I think you might want to go home and sleep that off. And she’s only seven years old.”

“If I wanted to go home, I would be home.” He quipped back. Liam hated to be told what to do, especially when it was disguised into an friendly advice. “So seven year old girls don’t have headaches? Truly, I am shocked. I thought it happened to anyone who had a brain.” The sarcasm was heavy on his tone. He didn’t usually use that tone, considering it wasn’t exactly how he could get the things he wanted, but there was little patience in him when the man’s voice was ringing so loudly.

“Abigail.” Kel flicked his head and called his oldest daughter back to him. She was oblivious to the stranger’s annoyance, but she came back to his side with a frown on her face. “She doesn’t know what a hangover is yet.” 

He pressed two fingers against his temple. “She seems tall enough to know that is like a very very bad headache──” Liam felt his stomach complained (probably still regretting the last couple of shots. Why did he think it was a good idea to buy everyone’s round? “Although, she may look taller because I am seeing two of her.”

“I love the idea of reincarnation, so just in case it doesn't exist, I decided to be different people in the same lifetime.” ― Nuno Roque