#stardaancer

The bar was a dive, but it had to be or they'd never have let Drew in the door. He'd been sitting at the bar for maybe fifteen minutes, nursing the same drink and scribbling idly on a napkin with one of the many Sharpies always stuffed into his pockets. His hands tended to wander if he didn't keep them busy, and wandering hands got him in trouble. He couldn't afford the bail if he got caught pickpocketing again. Not that what he was doing was any more legal.

A voice pulled his attention around, and his gaze slid past her to the group of giggling girls at a nearby table and back, an amused smile quirking his lips. Did they know what he was? Did she? It wasn't like he had a neon sign reading hooker over his head, but the people who needed to know always seemed to know. He couldn't tell if it was part of the joke, a roundabout way of expressing interest, or genuine innocence. A black boot rested on the footrest of the adjacent bar stool, turning it toward her in a silent invitation. "I'm Drew. Now we're not strangers."

@stardaancer

The club was dark and loud, music pulsing through the floor and a rainbow of lights flashing from the dancefloor. It wasn't exactly Karolina's kind of scene. She was more of a yoga retreat, organizing a trash pickup party on Earth Day, vegan soy latte sort of person, but she'd been trying to do more things lately that encapsulated the "typical college experience." She was a college student, after all, and with her power-suppressing bracelet clasped securely around her wrist, there was nothing to set her apart from the rest of the humans in the room.

She'd even been bold in wearing the rainbow mini-dress she'd promised herself she would be brave enough to wear in public one day. (A little private joke with herself, since without her bracelet, Karolina lit up like a neon rainbow glowstick.) She'd danced for a while and now leaned on the bar, waiting on a water. Startled blue eyes turned on the girl who'd spoken. From most people, she would have assumed that was some sort of line, but there was a certain innocent anxiousness about her that made her think it was true. "Oh, um-- yeah, of course." She smiled, hesitantly wrapping an arm around her waist and hoping it didn't look as awkward as it felt. "Can I get you a drink?"