Kaleb Sol

After the other hung up with whatever the excuse they chose, Max waited outside the bar for a while, curious to know how it all went down and if the date believed him. Lighting a cigarette to smoke as they waited, as soon as he crossed the front door, they waved at him. "Did it work?" Max asked on an exhale. "I'm Max, by the way."

Kaleb stepped out of the bar, exhaling as the tension left his shoulders. Outside he spotted Max waving and he walked over to them. "It worked." He grinned. "Thank you so much, Max. I really appreciate all the help. I'm Kaleb."

"Bad date huh?" Max gave them a small understanding smile. They felt for the other. It was one of the worst awkward situations to be in. Giving it a bit of a thought, Max stopped investigating their drink and put it down to grab their phone and pass it to the other. "Put your number in it. I'll call you from outside with a pretend emergency." Max nodded, standing from the stool and as soon as they had the number, they grabbed his phone back and walked across the bar, heading outside, waiting a minute or so before calling. "Pretend it's something serious but not too serious that they'll want to join."

"Alright, I'll do that." Kaleb said, a sense of relief overcame him as the thought of leaving would be happening soon. He returned to his date, as a forced smile was plastered on his face. Kaleb apologized for taking long in the restroom, and his date happily accepted it. The conversation picked up again, just as it had before he excused himself. Kaleb's heart raced as he waited for the call.

Tracing their fingers along the brim of their beer glass, Evan was caught up in her thoughts when a voice suddenly interrupted the train she was trailing in her mind. "Hm?" She asked, eyes moving towards the individual before her head followed, a dead expression of exhaustion and boredom on her face. "I wish I were creative enough," she responded, bringing the cup to her lips for a large swig, clearly loosened up and trying to rid herself of something she was dealing with.

"That works." He said, finally as a wide grin spread across his lips. Anything to pull him away from his date was what he needed desperately.

"Tell me when you are ready and I'll set the scene." Kaleb chuckled. He glanced around the bar, checking to see if any of the patrons were his students parents. Thankfully after doing a quick scan of the room and noticing none of the patrons would know him he felt better about to stir the pot.

a few of his friends had managed to convince him to go out that night , despite the fact that he really wasn't interested in venturing outside of his home. he knew his daughter was safe and fine with mallory , but he couldn't help but want to be anywhere other than a bar. perhaps he'd been foolish to agree to going out. however , he didn't want to be the guy who flaked on his friends. felix had excused himself briefly , looking to get away from meaningless chatter. he'd isolated himself in a small , secluded area of the bar , just to give himself a little bit of breathing room.

"Let's think this through." The teacher in him was coming out. Although his thoughts weren't as coherent as he'd like, there weren't any wrong suggestions at this moment. "What if I go back to my date and tell them I have to leave because you need my help with your kid? That's if you are okay with that. If not we can come up with something else." Sober or not, Kaleb would feel guilty using Felix's child in a lie. Kaleb overall doesn't feel guilty lying to his date in order to leave.

When someone approached, Will turned, hearing their words and immediately jumped right into full protective mode. Instantly recognizing Kaleb, Will threw Magika's glammed up arm around his shoulders. "Baby, how big do you want? Because we can embarrass the poor sod, or I can just throw you over my shoulders and admit you're mine for the night."

For a moment Kaleb was silent, thinking deeply about the situation. "We go big, right?" The words left his lips as a question, rather than a statement. He then turned his attention to his date, who was busy on their phone.

He lingered at the bar while Sookie walked away waiting for his cue. Kaleb was nervous and excited for what was to come. Though he trusted Sookie in whatever was about to ensue.

he turned with a slight smile on his lips. “ worst date … ” he repeated with a hum. “ okay , like … how bad ? do they just stink or is this like … murder - y vibes ? ” gus' question was far from serious. he craned his neck to look around , as if he had any hopes to find the other half of this apparently horrible date. plenty of couples and groups occupied the bar ; it was likely an impossible feat. he exhaled a sigh , as if defeated.

“ okay , a distraction ? ” gus nodded he shifted his position slightly. “ what if … hear me out … ” he raised his hands cautiously. “ may sound crazy , but what if … you're just honest and say you want to go home … ? ” 

"No" Kaleb shouted, he could feel the patrons in the bar turn their attention on him. His face flushed, not wanting all eyes on him. This made him look around to see if he did gain the attention of his date, which he didn't. "Why can't I just do the immature thing and like leave without saying a word?" Kaleb groaned, wanting to take the easy way out.

and now she was drinking a bud light in a dive bar in a small town after her 9-5. caution had found her and locked her up.

and she couldn't even be mad at herself--it was a fair reaction to how her life had turned out. a dive bar felt safer than most places nowadays--she wasn't completely alone, like she would have been in her house. people surrounded her--and yet no one really knew her here. alone, together.

ainsley blinked, looking up from her bottle to see the look of desperation. she raised her eyebrow. "worst date of your life? wait, did they propose before the second beer. y'know, it's bad luck to propose before the second beer. brings some real weird mojo to the part." her eyes traveled to the seat where she thought he'd come from and then back to him. perhaps the bud light was making her soft--or she was really in the mood for some company and she just couldn't admit it to herself. "y'know what, sure--i'll help you get out. but you gotta promise you'll tell me all the details of this worst date. s'only fair, don't you think?" she smirked, before nodding toward the back door. "we've got two options: either we do the ol' irish goodbye and escape like you were never here or you stumble back to the table, tell them that you've been supoened and you've gotta leave right now. with your laywer" she shrugged. "unless you got a better idea?"

Kaleb groaned, thinking about walking back over to his date. "I'm thinking an Irish goodbye would work." This plan seemed to fit Kaleb better as he normally ghosted people. Having to walk over and fake some legal emergency just didn't feel true to Kaleb. If he became the villain in his dates life, Kaleb would manage just fine.

smooth talk was one of his job qualifications, but doing it with higher ups was just so ... boring. banter was one of oliver's stronger suits and when someone missed all of his jokes and didn't even bother to make any themselves, it didn't take long for him to lose interest. surely he understood serious talks were important to be had sometimes, but was it normal to have them over some booze and bar snacks ? he doubted it. so, as soon as he could sneak away for a moment, hoping for a hard reset, he did. maybe if he threw some cold water on his face he could keep himself awake a bit longer, not wanting to fall asleep in the bar. before he even got to the restroom he was put to a stop by a familiar face. his eyebrows raised in pure entertainment, considering whether or not he should help him. " you ? on a date !? someone should call the newspaper ! " he was unable to stop himself from laughing, though he quickly quieted down so they wouldn't draw attention. " you're in luck, though - getting out of here sounds delightful. " but how could they escape when the bar was filled with people both of them were trying to get away from ? according to him, there was only one way. " i say we should run. on the count of three. if we go fast enough they'll never be able to tell it was us. " it was a genius plan, he decided. never mind his limp, his tipsy self couldn't care less.

"Alright, let me close out the tab." He made his way to the bartender to close out his tab. Kaleb again scanned the room to notice his date still on their phone. He was in the clear yet again and an exit in sight.

When he finished he returned to Oliver. "I'm ready when you are." Kaleb grinned.

Having just dropped off the child at her school to practice for an upcoming Christmas show, and needing any and every excuse to leave the premises and not be stuck there like the other parents or guardians, Z found himself waiting for two slices of pizza to devour. A win win, if he said so himself. She’d be entertained and would hopefully return drained of energy and he got a mouth full of cheese and garlic flavored crust. “  Thanks.  ” he uttered to the person behind the counter and turned to find a seat immediately making eye contact with a ghost of his past. He paused for a hesitant moment, staring blankly at the other before strutting straight over and sitting across the male. Z didn’t speak, merely stared, unsure of why he’d even bothered approaching but having been too impulsive to retrieve now.

The neon sign outside Cal’s Diner buzzed faintly as Mimi pushed through the door, immediately greeted by the familiar mix of coffee, frying butter, and old jukebox tunes humming from the back. She tugged off her gloves, cheeks still pink from the weather, and scanned the room for an empty booth.

The lunchtime crowd had mostly thinned, leaving the diner in that sweet spot between busy and quiet. Choosing a booth by the window, Mimi slid into the vinyl seat, letting out a soft sigh as she settled in. The laminated menu was already waiting for her, tucked against the napkin holder.

She flipped it open but didn’t really look at it, tapping her fingers against the table in an idle rhythm. After a moment she raised her head, realizing someone was nearby.

With an easy smile, Mimi gestured slightly with the menu.

“Hey, do you know if the milkshakes here are actually as good as everyone says?” She asked, a hint of playful skepticism in her tone. “I’m trying to decide if I should commit… or play it safe with coffee.”

She closed the menu halfway, eyes bright with curiosity.

“What’s your usual here?”

As lunch time rolled around and Kaleb realized he forgot lunch, and not wanting to return home, Cal's was his place of choice.

He found himself tucked away in the back of the diner, not in a booth but sitting at the counter. Kaleb did this just in case his students found him.

Kaleb turned the stool around as he heard someone ask him a question. One that Kaleb felt he was unable to give a fair answer to. A milkshake was something he had once. Due to his severe allergies he was scared to tempt fate and have ice cream. Coffee on the other hand he drank regularly.

"From what I've heard the milkshakes are amazing." He replied honestly. "I've never had them, so I'm going off what others have raved about." Kaleb shrugged. "I'd say, get the coffee. You can't go wrong with that."

"Hey hey, how are you at bowling? And more importantly, you feel like beating some college kids and walking out of here with a shit ton of pride and fifty bucks?" When all else failed, grab a random. The older man he was teaming up with had a questionable flare up and the shoes hurt. One smoke break later and Mac was actually on the verge of winning, a forfeit just wouldn't do. "You got a group you're going in with or meeting up, I promise this'll only take another thirty minutes, games almost over."

Since Kaleb was hogging the lane, he knew it was time to grab his things and return the painful shoes. As he was heading up to the counter, a voice got his attention. How was Kaleb at bowling, a small chuckle escaped his lips. Bad was probably the correct term for it. Would the ever so competitive Kaleb admit that, no. He wouldn't. "I'm amazing." He lied.

Instead of returning his stuff, he held onto them. "Don't worry about it. I was only meeting up with my brother." He replied casually. Kaleb scanned the bowling alley in case his brother managed to show, but deep down he knew he wasn't. "And I don't think he's coming."