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Isaac placed a hand over his heart when she returned his flirtatiousness. “Well, well, I didn’t know you had it in you to flirt back,” Isaac teased, but he did find himself at least a little bit glad that she had returned his flirting. “Really, though, Bentley. You’re a ton of fun to hang out with. I like spending any time with you that I can. It makes things more fun to be around you, because you actually are genuinely funny.” Isaac told her, trying to bring something genuine to the table. He cut flirt all day and all night, but it meant nothing in reality if he didn’t say what he was thinking truly and deeply once and a while.

“You know, I’m just as shocked as you are because I have honestly no idea what the hell to do when it comes to flirting. So at least I know I’m in somewhat the right directions here.” She told him, walking side by side as she gave a chuckle. At the compliment, Bentley looked at him and smiled with every word, taking it in and letting it settle for a moment before she reacted in her typical Bentley way. “Well, you know if you keep these compliments coming, you might never see a day without me. I’m secretly one of those girls that thrive off of compliments in order to be kept alive--kind of like that evil queen in Snow White.”

Jenna turned to face the voice, laughing softly. She looked around the room at the new walls, and laughed softly. “Well, if I ever get engaged, now I’ll know the perfect color to get.” She joked, as she took her attention away from the walls and placed it on the girl instead. “I enjoyed you humoring me, by the way, most people don’t.”

“Well, you can always lie like everyone else does now a days and still pick that perfect white dress. I think that whole thing is a myth anyways.” Bentley told the girl before tucking her mail into the purse she had with her. “Oh come on, you can’t be serious? I guess I should just follow you around and make up some lost humor then.”

“It’s not you. I’m not saying it’s odd that you are a comedian. You just don’t hear about comedy very often. Or at least I don’t. I’m not too great at keeping up with things, anyway. I need to get out more,” Kyle offered with a small smile. “Likewise.” He turned to face her more, bringing one knee up and resting it against the table. “So… do you do shows around here? I’d gladly come check you out.”

“No, I totally get what you mean now. It’s not a usual thing to hear someone say, but if someone didn’t take a job to make fun of themselves and everyone around them for a living, the world would probably implode. You’re not the only one who needs to get out more, trust me.” She told him, smiling. “Yeah, I do a few. Right now I ended up getting a spot on the cast for a musical--that’s kind of the back-up gig for me if comedy goes belly-up, but once this run is over, I’ll be jumping into stand-up shows and all that fun stuff. You should come out to one, I promise not to poke fun at you.”

“Yeah I am. I even liked the movie with Anna Kendrick. Those are all great choices. I think Still Hurting might be my personal favorite. I’m definitely gonna have to get tickets for the show.” She smiled. “I like the way you think. That’s a wonderful idea. I don’t think I introduced myself either, but I’m Simone.”

“You know, I haven’t really watched the movie since it’s came out. I saw the show performed live several times, but never had the time to sit down for the movie. I’ve been meaning to do so but I do listen to the soundtrack quite often when it pops up on my Spotify. You should come out though! We’re only performing for two weeks, so it’s a short little window.” Bentley said to the girl with a small chuckle. “I’m telling you, it’s a quick way to get yourself known around here and to get everyone jealous. It’s nice to meet you, I’m Bentley.”

“Are you kidding me? Of course I know it!” The theatre geek inside Eli came out, though it wasn’t her absolute favorite, but it sure is in his top 15 at least, number one being Wicked of course. “Are you going to be Cathy?” Eli asked the girl again, “Good, I’ll meet you at the lobby of our building this weekend, say… around 10?” Eli suggested.

“You just never struck me as the type of guy who’d be into musicals. Then again, you have that mysterious vibe to you, that works for you very well, so really anything can be a surprise.” Bentley said with a laugh. “Yeah, I’m going to be Cathy. If you want I can save a ticket at the door for you--I mean that is if you want to go. I’m not trying to push you into going to see my show.” She explained, getting a little flustered for a moment. “That uh--that sounds like a date.”

“Well thank you, honestly. I do take a bit of pride in my coffee-brewing skills, but not just because I work in a cafe.” he said with a laugh. “Bentley, I don’t think I could ever stop worrying about you,” he said seriously. “It’s in my nature to worry. But I care about you and I want you to know that.” It was always easy for Davin to care for anyone and anything, he often found himself caring too much. But that was his thing; he cared and he was never afraid to admit it. It had been a long while since Davin found himself caring for someone as much as he started to find himself caring for Bentley. It didn’t help much either that she had a warm heart and a great sense of humor that followed with her smile that he already couldn’t get enough of. Even if there was a turn of events and they no longer spoke, he would still be right at her door if there was anything she ever needed. “I think I’m just going to shut up about this fuckin’ pipe shit ‘cause we’re both too stubborn to let it go,” he said with a laugh. “Do I not strike you as a chef? I hope I don’t because I honestly don’t think I’m quite that good.” he said with a laugh. His mother was never afraid to wash Davin with compliments of the meals he would make for the two of them. Sometimes he would make his own dishes or sometimes he would make simple dishes such as lasagna or some kind of stew. Other times he would make things his mother knew how to make and despite his mother not being able to physically help, she would verbally assist him on the recipes that she used to keep secret to herself. Davin now has those recipes memorized like his favorite book and he is forever grateful that his mother was sweet enough to share. He knew she only gave him the recipes consistently because she knew she wouldn’t be around later on in his life to teach him them. “Remember that second date I want to get you to go on with me? I had planned on being really cliche with a surprise dinner and I was going to whip up some sort of dish for us to eat. I know I’ve ruined the surprise,” he shrugged, “But that’s only half of what I had planned for us.”

Bentley was touched that Davin cared about her and how he wanted her to know that. Every time they were together, he would find a way to slip in a small reassurance of it and make sure she knew that he was there if she could never need anything. In a way he reminded her of her son’s late father who treated her the same way, always wanted her to be cared for knowing knowing that if she ever needed anything he was only a call away. Normally with someone reminding her of Caleb, she would shy away from them since she was still going through that grieving process she never got a chance to go through, but oddly enough she welcomed it. Oddly enough she wanted Davin to be around more and didn’t mind the excuses each other found in order to see the other. Taking the coffee mug in her hand and sitting back against the back rest to the bar stool he had, Bentley sipped her coffee for a moment before bringing it down and holding it in her lap. “You don’t strike me as a chef type--more of the type to order take out and pass it off as your own, like I tend to do all the time.” Bentley said with a laugh before looking up to him, remembering the second date they spoke about on their first date she had put together after she had won him at the auction.  “So was dinner before or after the ice skating or roller skating?” She asked with a smile before she placed her mug on the counter and leaned forward to him. “Is this your way of asking me out on a second date because I don’t think I could turn you down...”

Isaac threw his hands up in surrender, deciding not to fall into that web. “Well, alright then. You really do have some bite on you, Bent.” He told her, grinning from ear to ear and laughing. Isaac rolled his eyes a little bit. “Trust me, if spending the entire day with you didn’t sound like a wonderful time, I would not have offered my services.” He told her, knowing very well how hard he was flirting. He couldn’t say if it would go anywhere, but he was enjoying himself, and he enjoyed seeing Bentley smile and even more he enjoyed seeing her blush.

“I thought you’d see it my way eventually.” She told him with the corner of her lips turning her smile into a smirk while she glanced over her shoulder back to him. Walking side by side with Isaac through the lobby and out the front doors, Bentley nudged his arm and showed him the smile he kept putting on her face. Bentley knew he was flirting and she actually welcomed it which was a huge change for her given the years leading up to this all, but when it came to her flirting--that was something she needed work on. Big Time. “You’re such a gentleman, but I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t mind spending the rest of the day with you either. So I guess there’s that...”

Jenna had been hunting for a new apartment for weeks. Her old one’s lease was up, and she just wasn’t pleased with it anymore. Besides, with Julia being able to take Samantha to the hospital for her appointments, she had no reason to be so close to it anymore. She found Queens weeks back, drawing up the lease for after she got back from a business trip in a different area of the state. As she lugged the last of the boxes through the lobby, she finally actually realized the renovations the place had gotten since she had last been there. She saw a person out of the corner of her eye and spoke to them as she inspected the new paint job. “Do they repaint the lobby every time someone new moves in?” Jenna joked, still curiously inspecting the building.

“Oh, yeah. They want to keep everyone on their toes around this place and with every new arrival they want to make it a little personal so they decide to give them their own color. Though if someone else moves in the same day as you, you kind of have to share wit with them--so that’s a bummer.” Bentley told the girl as she waited at the front desk for a package she needed to sign for. Looking up and around before she turned to the girl she chuckle.d “I guess, your color is off white--the color of sin in the wedding world.”

How could you loose everything in one day? Your wife, your best friend, your soulmate? Your marriage is on the blink of ending and all your left to do is go out and get so drunk so you can forget the events of that day. Reginald Ansel had been drinking non-stop since three in the afternoon. It was now reaching midnight so it was safe to say that he was so much more then drunk. He was in a real state, so much so, that he was almost beating a man to death in the middle of a busy pub. No-one know’s what really happened, but there was a sudden loud scream and Reggie was stood over a man who was unrecognisable due to his facial wounds. His body lay lifeless, though he still continued kicking the male’s head over and over. “You bastard!” The Ansel yelled, breathless..  

Why Bentley told her friend she’d stop in for a drink after her opening night was beyond her, but still reeling from the high of the amazing sold out show she had, she couldn’t say no--especially since her parents were in and hanging out with her son so she could take her time getting home. Of course one drink turned into four as Bentley and her friend, the bartender, were catching up but as she was getting ready to wrap things up for the night, things took a turn for the worse. The air became heavy and suddenly someone at the corner of the bar snapped, resulting in Bentley jumping from her bar stool. “Bentley, stay back.” Her friend said to her as he tried to hop over the bar to rush and stop before things gotten worse. Though in true Bentley fashion, she didn’t listen and figured she could stop it or maybe the adrenaline that was kicking in could at least do something rather then cowering in fear and watching from a distance.

“Knock it off!” She screamed as she ran down to the corner of the bar, her heels clicking against the hardwood of the floor with each step she took. When she arrived to the corner, she saw the male kicking the other in the head and the blood just slowly beginning the puddle in the floor. “I said, knock it off!” She screamed once again. Raising her hands and placing them on the male’s chest, the brunette pushed with all her might to get him to stop before she stepped in front of the man laying on the floor. She figured that if she stood there maybe he wouldn’t be inclined to hit a woman, but the feeling in her stomach was saying other wise as she was faced with the danger. Bentley could hear her friend screaming for her to get back, but still she wasn’t listening. “I don’t know what your deal is, but you’re going to fucking kill the man!”

“Hey! It’s not my fault you’re asking the wrong guy for critique. Besides, it’s your own fault. You’re too cute to judge, and you make me laugh too often for me to lie to you and say you suck. So it’s literally impossible for me to give you any sort of critique.” Isaac just grinned, nodding softly. He really enjoyed theatre more than he tended to let on. It wasn’t something he exactly shared– not even with Sutton. Besides, he only really got into it when he was nineteen anyway, working as a stage hand and technician just to make ends meet. “Hey, since you helped me pull a regular Mary Poppins, we can just do it later tonight. My apartment’s clean, and work is slow.” Isaac offered, placing his arm in front of the elevator door to let her out into the lobby first. “We’ll see. I’m sure I can work my magic charm on some girl.”

“Me being cute has nothing to be about me being judged and I refuse to have you use that as a point to use against me. Just face it, Isaac--you’re going to have to judge me one way or another.” Bentley told him, playfully sticking her tongue out at him. At this point she didn’t care about really being critiqued by him or anyone, she was trying to play off the compliment so she didn’t make a fool of herself and blush at the fact he called her cute. It was simple, and it was probably nothing but as a lonely mother who rarely got out like her, she took everything she could get and made herself not look like a fool when any compliment was given her way. “Well, that sounds like a plan then, my dear. We can have our coffee and then I can bug you for a little bit with it.” She said, stepping out of the elevator and waiting for him to join her. “God, it must be your lucky day--though I do feel a bit sorry you’re stuck with me for pretty much the rest of the day.” She teased.

“You’re a comedian? Well, it is a bit odd to hear. But jokes and sketches… They can kinda only mean one thing together. I don’t know. It seems like comedy’s kinda dead other than what you might hear on the radio or see on Netflix.” Mostly Netflix, if Kyle was being honest. He didn’t listen to the radio much, if at all. Then again… He wasn’t too familiar with the comedy world in general. “You’re welcome. And for future reference, it’s Kyle.” 

“Now why is that a bit odd to hear that I’m a comedian?” Bentley asked the boy in front of her, wondering curiously as to what he meant. Sure comedy did seem a little dated, but there wasn’t a lot of shows out there like there was 20 years ago. Now a days all people have to deal with is Saturday Night live and whatever Comedy Central ends up putting out that Netflix steals. Though stand up and comedy clubs are still going strong, it still shouldn’t be odd news that females were trying to make a stand in the comedy world. “It’s nice to meet you, Kyle. I’m Bentley.”

Eli laughed again, he really enjoyed her company mostly because she was quite funny with the things she said and he always appreciate funny girl. “What’s the show?” Eli asked curiously, he’s a fan of musical and broadway, so the fact that the girl was in a play intrigued him more, “Maybe I will check it out, I enjoy musicals quite a bit,” he said, though maybe quite a bit was an understatement, he once dreamed to become a broadway performance before he ended up becoming an art forger. “Sorry about that, I guess with everything that happened after that, I forgot that I never actually gave you the time and date. Hmm, how about this weekend say around noon?” he asked her.

“I’m in a short two week run of The Last Five Years. Do you know of it?” She asked him, tiling her head a little and amused by the fact he seemed to be interested in the whole musical theater world. She would have never expected him out of all people, but everyone had their secret interests no one would expect them of having. “Don’t be, I’m sure we’ve both been pretty busy these past few weeks so I didn’t mind a rain check. This weekend sounds lovely though.”

Simone’s whole face lit up as she listened to the girl list off all the musicals she had performed in. Especially the last one. She loved The Last Five Years. “Shut up! That is quite the resume. Please tell me you’re playing Cathy and if you are, what is your favorite song to sing?” She asked, very happy with where their conversation had went. She could talk about theater forever and never get tired of it. “I should take a picture to commemorate this moment.” She joked, chuckling.

“Why thank you and yeah, I get to play Cathy for a short two week run. I take it you’re a fan of the musical? I would have to say it’s a toss-up between three of them bring  The Next Ten Minutes, Goodbye Until Tomorrow and Still Hurting.” She said, answering the question with a smile. “You should and be sure to frame it and post it all over the place just to rub it in everyone’s face.”

“Hey, remember how I said that I’m always going to explain myself, even if it’s over a joke?” He said with a dramatic shake of his head. Carefully, Davin pushed himself from the counter once he heard the coffee pot beep behind him. He quickly poured himself a cup of coffee before taking his place back up on the counter top. “If you don’t like it, don’t be afraid to dump it down the drain. I promise it’ll only break my heart a tiny bit.” He said as he poured a splash of the vanilla creamer into his cup. Davin added mocha coffee creamer to his mental grocery list as if he were expecting Bentley to frequently stop by his room. But with the way things were going between the two of them, he didn’t think this would be their last time seeing one another. If it happened to be their last interaction, he already planned on bringing her the coffee creamer as an excuse to see her. Davin didn’t bother fighting the shy smile that tugged at his lips as she explained how he deserved to be rewarded. He was still so baffled that someone would take time out of their day to do something as simple as baking a few cookies and brownies for him. Despite being baffled, he found the gesture to be quite adorable. Now if it had been anyone else he knew, the act would have just been simply sweet. But she was sweet as well and he hoped that she was aware of it. “Thank you, seriously.” he smiled bashfully. “I hope you made these brownies and cookies with yourself in mind as well; I wouldn’t have been able to fix them if you hadn’t assisted me. I honestly had no idea what the hell I was even doin’, as did you, so we learned together. I’m always down to learn another new thing with you s’long as you are as well.” Davin reached for both a brownie and a cookie and helped himself to a bite of the brownie and immediately took another bite while giving Bentley a thumbs up. “Shit,” he said as she washed down the treat with a sip of his coffee. “Look, I’m not gassin’ up these brownies just ‘case you made them, but they’re honestly incredible. Were you born with some incredible food and drink making gene? If you’re tryin’ to get me to fall in love with you, you’ve just succeeded.” he teased with another bite of his brownie. “So what you’re saying is that whenever I make you some shitty food in the future, it should be gluten free?”

“I’m not going to dump it down the drain, everything tastes perfect. I’m not even just saying that to please you either, I really do mean it. No,stop worrying about me, will you?” Bentley told the boy with a kind smile as she looked over to him as he filled his own mug up with coffee from the new pot he had brewed for them. To Bentley, it was weird having someone worry about her and over her because she had gone for so long not really having someone worry about her. Of course she had her friends and her family pop up here and there, but Bentley always pushed them off to the side because she always told herself that she could take care of herself perfectly fine. She was doing just that, too--maybe not so perfectly, but she took care of herself and Cope.  While Bentley sipped her coffee and anxiously awaited Davin’s opinion on just how good the baked goods were, she waved him off as he tried thanking her for them again and telling her that he had no idea what he was doing when her pipes blew up and he happened to be right there. “Davin, it’s not about knowing what you knew and what you didn’t. I’m just happy that you so happened to be there when it happened and you didn’t just move along. Though to answer your question, no I wasn't born with some magical sense on how to bake. I just followed the directions to the one recipe I have.” At the joke of her getting him to fall in love with her, the brunette blushed and laughed as she reached over to grab a cookie. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying--though I never expected you to cook for me, mister.”

Simone just looked at the girl as she watched her try to explain exactly what she meant by her words. “So you’ve performed in musicals then? Which ones? I’m a bit of a theater nerd myself.” She was genuinely curious as to this woman’s experiences with performing. “I know. It’s so perfectly made. I think I’m the first one to play it so I’ll always have that in my heart I guess.” She grinned, laughing.

“Well, I’ve been in Once: A New Musical, Heathers and Next To Normal. We did Once and Next To Normal when I was in college but once I graduated I landed the gigs in Heathers. The one I’m in now is The Last Five Years, we open on Sunday.” Bentley said, listening off her accomplished musicals to the new residents, a little happy that she had another person in this apartment who was a theater nerd as much as she was, even if musical theater was just a back-up plan to her. “Yeah, that’s something to take pride in. Being the first one to break in that new piano--beautifully of course. “

“I’m going to be perfectly honest with you, it may be hard to criticize something I know nothing about,” He joked, acting as if he was serious. Isaac laughed, and shook his head at her. “Don’t be ridiculous. They wouldn’t let you on funny shows if you were untalented. And as for the children, well, they’re going to forget everything you taught them within three months, so that really doesn’t matter.” Isaac nodded, realizing how excited she was at the prospect of someone helping her rehearse. “I am totally serious. I will happily watch you. I’m sure you’re doing great, though.” He wasn’t that knowledgeable about theatre, but he knew bits and pieces about what was good and what wasn’t. He also had common sense, which went into a good majority of it. “Thanks, Bentley, that’s really awesome of you. I’ll see if I can’t get someone to come along with me.” He sighed, dropping his head in shame. “You have discovered the truth. I am not as smooth as I like to pretend. I’m actually a giant loser.”

“Wow, this might be the first; The first time I want criticism, someone won’t give me it. I guess that just tells you I should stick through not asking for anything and get a bunch opinions that mean shit.” Bentley joked back to him, chuckling. In a world like the one we live in today, you had to be able to laugh off the views of others and that what they have to say and make yourself better if they were actual critics and not bullshit words used to hurt another. With Isaac saying he would help her, a weight lighted off her shoulder and for a second she wanted to skip the coffee he owed her and just go right to her apartment but even she knew she needed the coffee right now and it was something she shouldn’t push away. “Awesome, just let me know when you’re free and I can show you a few things.” Waving him off, she smiled as the elevator came to a stop on the lobby floor. “It’s alright, you’re not the only giant loser here, but I have faith in you for just one night you can get someone to come with you to watch a little musical.”