give me no name

kane hoped to find her here. after all it was one of her favourite spots in LA. he remembered her mentioning that small fact from one of their many conversations they'd sparked up at the a list parties. which was still an environment kane had yet to fully acclimate to. but somehow seeing solana there always helped add a sense of familiarity. "as promised," holding out the tickets to solana with a bright smile on his features. "two tickets to the next lakers game at nexus arena."

any fan who cares enough to know can tell anyone who asks that 1. solana loves to thrift and 2. that she has several favorites scattered throughout the city. she's at her absolute favorite right now though, something the various photographers outside are well aware of as they wait for her to come back outside, and it's the flashing and clicking of their cameras that follows kane inside as he hands her tickets she'd hoped he'd actually follow through on giving her. "where are the seats?" she asks, before remembering the manners she hadn't actually forgotten. "thank you. am i meant to give the second to anyone in particular?"

Jayden shook his head as she said her name "Solana, I know who you are. My stylist is actually here but I actually came over here because I wanted to see you. I'm sorry for pretending like I don't know you. Plus I'm bad at all this and honestly, I didn't know how to get your attention. I will just uh... go. you look great by the way."

solana has the decency to not pretend it surprises her that he knows who she is, not that it particularly surprises her when people don't, either. both are simply part of life. "at all this? this being...?" she has an idea, considering he's complimenting her now and it finally dawns on her who exactly he is. "oh, i do know you, actually. did you have an end goal here or do you actually just really want my dressing room?"

Kelly was just about to apologize to the guy and leave again when someone in the back seemed to have changed his mind. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your break, I should've checked when you open and not just assume that you are." She said, slightly embarrassed she was getting any kind of special treatment now. The one thing she never wanted to be was anything like those celebrities expecting others to stop the world for them. "A table will be fine, thank you."

"oh, i'm not working, i'm actually killing time before i actually go work." nathan is sure that's confusing but he'll only elaborate if asked, usually. "the door was unlocked." that was probably his fault. either way, his mother has given permission, so now they're open. he leads the way, getting her settled at one of their best tables since she has early arrival privileges. "can i start you with anything? the wait staff will be here soon but i can help until then."

there was a soft laugh that escaped her as he motioned before the empty restaurant. finding his sense of sarcasm amusing whilst she followed him through to a booth. "thank you," immy smiled his way before sliding into the seat and flipping the menu open. distracted by the prospect of food, she gazed over the familiar menu with dark orbs before she turned back to him as he introduced himself. "hi nathan, i'm immy. your... family own this restaurant don't they?" she said almost apprehensively. "oh i've just seen you here quite a few times and i'm a chronic people watcher. but uhhh just a grape soju please."

nathan is both surprised and unsurprised that she knows his family owns this place, figuring in a city where it's easy to either be a head turner or someone eyes pass over, owning a popular restaurant is a good way to carve out a middle ground. "eomma owns it, unless you ask appa, in which case appa owns it," he says smoothly, not bothering to write her order down. "sure, i'll be right back. have your ID out? otherwise she'll have both our heads." he's only gone for a moment as he gets her drink, though he also has a plate of tofu salad per his mother's insistence. "for you, both the drink and the salad. sorry, she's doing this thing where she thinks you're in need of help because you accidentally forgot what time we opened."

    she  swirled  the  liquid  in  her  glass,  contemplating  his  question  about  a  rematch.  ❝ well,  you  know,  i  think  it's  only  fair  to  let  you  recover  from  the  trauma  of  defeat  before  subjecting  you  to  another  round, ❞  she  teased,  nudging  him  playfully.  the  word  'noraebang'  caught  beau's  attention,  and  she  arched  an  eyebrow  curiously.  ❝ noraebang?  what's  that?  if  it  involves  copious  amounts  of  grape  soju,  i  think  i'd  like  it.❞

"have you been told lately how generous you are?" nathan deadpans, no actual heat behind the sarcasm, and he's sure it shows. he's good natured to a fault sometimes, not that there's any reason to be angry over rightfully being teased for being trash at pool. "i suppose the amount of grape soju is up to you. it translates, roughly, to sing room. it's karaoke, but think rooms you rent, with food and drinks to buy as opposed to a stage in a dive bar."

    beau  felt  a  flush  of  embarrassment  flood  her  cheeks  as  solana  explained  the  situation  with  a  laugh.  she  immediately  regretted  her  snap  judgment  and  felt  disappointed  for  jumping  to  conclusions  so  quickly. ❝ fuck,  oh,  uh,  sorry  about  that, ❞  she  stammered,  feeling  sheepish  as  she  turned  slightly  to  see  the  jeans  solana  was  referring  to.  ❝ ...  i  shouldn't have  jumped  to  conclusions.❞  feeling  awkward  and  slightly  mortified  by  her  behaviour,  beau  quickly  stepped  aside  to  allow  solana  access  to  her  clothes.  ❝i'll  find  another  spot  to  change...  fuckin'  la,  huh? place  makes  you  expect  to  see  the  worst  in  people.❞

oh, too far, solana realizes as the other is now clearly on the opposite end of the comfortability spectrum. geez, and she thought she'd been quite nice. "and you're right to do it," solana says in a matter of fact manner, stepping in to grab her clothes, happy to let this girl have the dressing room. they're all the same. "so many people here think the world of themselves, and while i absolutely do too, i'm definitely not trying to kick you out." solana has a collection of fun tops in her arms to try on, well beyond the requested six item element, and after giving the other a onceover, she pulls one from the precarious pile, holding it out to her. "this color. a dream on you. you should try it on."

Jayden had been looking for his best friend as they had gone shopping on a place off rodeo drive. The male had grabbed for a door near a dressing room as a Latina women had asked him all these questions then he said "Thank you. Trying to get some outfits for tour and stuff like that but I didn't mean to try to take your dressing room. I was just looking for my best friend who's my stylist. She was trying on outfits for herself. I apologize for bothering you. I'm Jayden by the way."

solana bites back all her instinctual sarcastic replies because, well, she's speaking to a man, and it can't always be helped. but surely he could just try texting instead of hoping said stylist would be hiding behind door number one. "not a problem, luckily for you there's plenty of other open ones." solana knows who he is because she makes it a point to know who people are in the industry, but if he's going to pretend not to know her (because surely he has to be pretending), she'll do the same. "solana."

    humming  in  thought,  beau  took  the  long  island  iced  tea  from  nathan  with  a  grateful  nod.  she  took  a  sip  from  the  straw,  savouring  the  familiar  mix  of  flavours  before  responding  to  his  question.  ❝ they  worsen. ❞  she  admitted  with  a  chuckle,  taking  another  sip  of  the  cold  beverage.  ❝ it's  all  fun  and  games  until  i  try  a  trick  shot  and  end  up  knocking  over  someone's  drink...  or  hitting them  in  the  face  with  the  stick.  it  can  get  real  embarrassing  quite  quickly. ❞  yeah,  it's  happened  a  lot  of  times  before.  ❝ what's your  embarrassing  drunk thing? ❞

"so i should wait until you finish that before i ask for a rematch?" nathan actually has no intention on asking for a rematch because his pride is perfectly fine, but he's also not opposed to one either. the very definition of neutrality and just going with the flow. "oh, good question," he says brightly, leaning against the bar counter as he thinks, taking a sip of his drink. "karaoke, maybe? especially if they serve drinks and food. i have very fuzzy memories of it, but i've been told a noraebang in korea is never quite the same after i leave."

Kaden had walked up to the closed buiness as he said "Oh, I'm sorry. I can come back." As he heard the voices saying let him in "No no. You guys open in an hour and I can come back. Hell, I will even wait in the parking lot." The male felt back for causing a fuss as that was not what he wanted as he had just got here.

"the woman in charge has already decided you can come on in, so may as well accept," nathan insists as he stands, stretching, before grabbing a menu and glancing around to decide the best spot to stick a solo diner before the restaurant is even open. he picks a table with a smaller grill, considering they don't only offer kbbq here, but an array of korean dishes. "this okay?"

Oh yeah this was smooth. Very smooth. "Deepest apologies if I kept you waiting long, Ms. Flores. I know your schedule is very full, and we're lucky you made the time for this interview. This is for the October issue of Sonic, we're focusing on Hispanic artists for National Hispanic Heritage Month?"

"ohhhh, yes that sounds familiar now." anything before july she leaves up to her manager to remember for her, october is so far away. but she's done this interview before, and is happy to do it again. "forgive me, clearly i'm not all there today." solana has successfully turned it back around on her, hopefully putting them more at ease even if tardiness is one of her pet peeves. "unfortunately i can't offer an extension of time as i have a fitting after this, so we'd better fit in what we can."

"no, all my friends are employed," nathan says in a matter of fact tone, no heat or judgment to the statement. though now that he's said it he's actually not entirely sure that's true. it sounds true, at least. "i work in a restaurant, actually. well. kind of. depends on what sort of mood my mother is in if you ask her if i actually have a job there." none of this helps the person who'd just passed him food. "have you asked on your socials?"

    beau  blinked  in  surprise  as  she  found  herself  face-to-face  with  solana,  the  musician  she  admired  to  a  degree.  she  couldn't  help  but  chuckle  at  the  unexpected  encounter,  though  she  was  taken  aback  by  solana's  attempt  to  kick  her  out.  was  she  being  punk'd?  ❝ didn't  realise  i  was  stepping  into  celebrity  territory  here. ❞  she  raised  an  eyebrow,  ❝ but  hey,  last  time  i  checked,  this  dressing  room  didn't  have  your  name  on  it. ❞  despite  the  compliment  on  her  outfit,  beau  couldn't  help  but  think:  was  she  being  regina  george'd?  ignoring  the  comment,  she  simply  replied,  ❝ i'm  sure  someone  here  can  help  you  find  another  room. ❞

solana isn't phased, and she's certainly not rude, either, so she simply smiles at the celebrity comment. this place isn't even particularly high end, which is why she'd liked it in the first place. she loves a good vintage piece if she can find something fun and unique to style. "no, nothing like that," she says with a laugh that's perfectly self deprecating. "i just mean that the clothes i came in here wearing are quite literally still in there." she gestures vaguely behind the other girl, to the pair of jeans on the small seat inside that were currently replaced with a different pair she'd been testing out in the vanity mirror outside the dressing rooms. she knows better than to push an issue and create a negative encounter. "i'm happy to move, but i'd really like those back if you don't mind?"

"oh shit i'm sorry," softly rubbing her forehead before the embarrassment set in of showing up to one of her favourite restaurants when they weren't even open.... brain fog was really getting to her. there wasn't a single thing in this world immy wouldn't do for food, though and right now she was starving. just as she was about to turn away from seoul sizzle, she hear the distant voice and a hopeful smile returned to her lips. "um i was kinda hoping i could get a booth, if that's okay?"

"we're a little busy right now, but i think i can make that work," nathan says, gesturing at the entirely empty restaurant. he doesn't even have any formal shift on his schedule today, his personal trainer had just cancelled and now he's entertaining himself by giving his parents free labor. "this way." nathan thinks she looks familiar, but he'd never be able to place a name. "here you go." he starts turning on the hot plates for her, setting a menu down. he's not dressed to work, no nametag, so introductions are necessary. "i'm nathan, i doubt i'll be here the whole time you are but i can help until the others start showing up. something to drink?"

    she  watched  nathan's  unaffected  expression,  shaking  her  head  in  amusement.  ❝ oh,  definitely  not, ❞ she  replied  with  a  grin,  ❝ so,  don't  go  blaming  me  when  someone  asks  why  you're  so  bad  at  pool. ❞ she  reached  for  her  empty  drink,  tipping the  ice  in the glass from  side  to  side.  ❝ another  long  island  iced  tea,  please.  it's  a  pass  out  by  three  drinks  kinda  night,  you  know?  ❞

"i'm not sure what that would do for me, anyway. i say, oh, yeah, the girl at the bar did a terrible job at teaching and i'm still the one standing there as the loser." nathan doesn't really have any strong feelings towards losing anyway, especially not at a spontaneous game of pool at a bar he'd only ended up in because he simply didn't feel like going home yet. "do your pool skills improve or worsen as you get drunker?" he asks, passing her the long island iced tea once it's ready, accepting the whiskey sour he'd ordered for himself.