awake and unafraid.

𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: babylon

spirits were high and chaotic at babylon during the entirety of june. it was their busiest month of the year for a good reason and that night was no exception with no one but two drag shows and an obvious and colorful theme cocktail night joey had grown to despise.

after the seventh cocktail of the night, joey walked towards the newest patron waiting for their attention, flashing their usual teasing grin at their direction. "hey, what can i get ya?" then they paused, looking around for a brief second before leaning in closer to the person in front of them, eyes still focused on the crowd. "tell you what. three rounds of two truths one lie and if you win whatever you order for the rest of the night is on me. just don't put me into debt and don't get kicked out for being a bad drunk. deal?"

It had been one of those days. From the moment Len had woken up - late, due to his charger not being plugged in right and his phone having gone flat overnight - things had been going wrong. There was nothing major, thankfully, only a stubbed toe, a minor cut on his hand, a breakfast stolen out of his hands by a gull, and now this. He had tripped on the sidewalk, his shirt had caught on the fence he walked next to, and it now had an enormous rip right through the side, all the way up to the armpit. Sure, most people might have called it a day on a shirt of that condition, but it was a shirt that Len loved, and it had actually ripped in a pretty convenient place. So there he sat, right on the ground, cross legged, shirt off, stitching it back up. Len didn't go anywhere without his trusty backpack, which was full of many things, a small sewing kit included.

the crimson & clover had been one of the first places she visited when she first came to mirabella all those years ago. to this day, it remained a popular spot with both visitors and locals. since moving here though, divya found she frequented this place less. she supposed it was because she knew it would always be here, but after several clockwork visits to on the rocks, she wanted to switch things up. she has to admit — she hates when a bar is empty. it makes her feel like she shouldn’t be here on a random wednesday. 

divya’s half-convinced she should leave, until the bartender calls her attention. her face sours, and then, she laughs. “i have a feeling you and i have startlingly different tastes in music,” she comments, wringing her hands together. “but i do love a challenge,” rising to her feet, she saunters towards the jukebox, flash cards of suggestions popping in her head. a hand rests at her hip, another at the side of the machine, flipping through the options. “aha!” her voice sounding in victory; she queues up the song, and turns back to the blonde behind the bar. within moments, the opening percussion of ‘cherry pie’ sounds through the speakers as she settles back onto the stool. “i watched bring it on today. sue me.”

she’d only just set her teeming purse on the bar when savannah’s wager reached her ears. vivian failed to bite back a wry smile, equal parts amused and just a little rattled by the wide berth between queuing a decent song and playing straight garbage on aux. “alright, alright. at least start me off with a glass of water. i’m nervous.” nevertheless, she drew her phone out of the depths of the purse and opened touch tunes’ dashboard. as she began to scroll through titles and track times, she asked of the familiar bartender, “what are you in the mood for? what kind of vibe are you wanting to curate for …” she picked her head up and took a cursory glance around the bar. save for the two of them, there were maybe two other bodies in the corner - that or shadows playing tricks. vivian looked back up toward savannah, tickled. “i guess for you and me.” 

it didn’t take long to pull up the app, and she swiped through a few options. too cliche. too loud. why was that one even an option? finally, her finger hovered over the perfect choice, and she tapped it without hesitation. perhaps a bit eclectic, she couldn’t help that grin that spread across her lips when the opening riff of i wanna be sedated came through the speakers. “too on the nose?”

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