"So, what brings such a pretty girl like you out here?"
Coming from any other ordinary guy, the trite line would sound so repulsively cheesy.
But Andrew Hanbridge isn't an ordinary guy.
So to speak, even if he were to use one of the world's corniest lines, he'd still get the girl. Nine out of ten.
The woman had startled in her seat, seemingly snapping back to reality, from wherever her mind had wandered.
"Oh, I'm sorry if I scared you. I just saw that you were alone, and well…" he trailed off, gesturing his hand towards three men at the other end of the bar who had been staring at the girl all night. He was a little concerned of their intentions as they looked like they were planning on making a move on the lone woman. It may just well be his imagination but it's better to be safe, so he decided to approach her instead. Although a thought had occurred at the back of his mind that by doing so, he'd look like he was making a move on her.
It's still better to get embarrassed now, than have something potentially dangerous happen later. He thought as he shrugged off any lingering humiliation.
"Oh! Well, that's nice of you, but you don't need to worry about me." The woman gave him a kind smile "Even I could handle some sleazebags." she grinned, if not a little mischievously.
Andrew couldn't help but mirror her grin. This girl's got personality. He thought as he sat down on the stool beside her.
"If you don't mind, I could keep you company." He smiled charmingly at her.
The woman hesitated, squinting her eyes at him as she regarded him skeptically. He has to say, as odd as it sounds, it's refreshing to be regarded so suspiciously by the woman.
"I'm sorry if I came off being too forward. But rest assured, my intentions do not align with those three men. I'm merely in want of some company. You see, my friend ditched me at the last minute." He didn't mean to play the 'pity' card; it was true nonetheless.
The woman looked him up and down, as if judging whether he was worthy enough to stay. "Hm, I'm not sure if this is a new trick to pick up chicks, but you seem harmless enough… and lonely. So I guess you can stay." She finished before taking a sip of her drink.
Andrew couldn't help but bark out a laugh at her remark, a bit amazed at the woman's honesty. If there was one word to describe the brunette beside him so far, it would be: refreshing.
He called the bartender to order his drink. After having his drink placed in front of him, he daintily took a sip.
"Wait, have we met somewhere before? You seem so familiar…"
He almost choked on his drink.
"I-I'm quite certain this is the first time I've met you." He tried saying as smoothly as he can. He wasn't too keen on being recognized tonight after all. He was sure that from the woman's body language earlier, she had no idea who he was. It's one of the reasons why he was open to the idea of staying and being friendly with her.
Well, that and one other reason. He thought with a smirk.
She hummed, placing a finger on her lips. "You haven't been to that local ramen bar by the docks right?"
"I've never gone to any ramen bars, no." he shook his head.
"Oh well." She shrugged, thankfully letting the subject go.
"So, you said your friend ditched you." She started.
He sighed into his drink, placing it down on the coaster before leaning his head on a hand and facing the other girl. "Yes, we were supposed to watch a play tonight. But she called me an hour before it starts, saying she had something urgent come up. I couldn't find someone to watch with me at the last minute, and I didn't want to go alone, so here I am."
"I'm sorry your friend ditched you."
"It's alright, I'm sure her reasons are valid."
"So you decided to come drink alone at a bar instead after your girlfriend ditched you?" the woman said teasingly.
"Touché." He smirked, still reveling at the other woman's frankness "And, she's not my girlfriend."
"She's not?"
"Well," he started, weighing the extent of honesty in his reply. The girl just might recognize him if he's not too careful. In the end, he thought that it wouldn't be too bad to be recognized. This woman doesn't seem to be one of his fangirls anyway and so far, she's been interesting.
"Most people would see us as a couple. Although, some of the fault is ours as we pander on their fantasies. They want us to be together, you see." He explained.
The girl hummed. "You're pandering, huh. So you're saying that you're not really a couple, but you act like one for the public?"
He nodded, grinning into his drink. Any minute now and the girl will recognize him.
"Are you by any chance, royalty?" she asked innocently.
He couldn't stop himself from laughing.
"No, not at all. Although, most people do put us on a pedestal and treat us like royalty. How did you come up with such a conclusion though?"
"Well, you know, pandering for the masses. Most people love seeing a show, and other people's lives are much more interesting than their own. I just assumed that it was how your country keeps the people entertained, it was such a foreign concept to me because you call them 'royalty'. But in reality, they have no real power or authority. Now I understand that they're just glorified celebrities."
"That's quite an observation. I've never really given it much thought myself as I've gotten used to them being around since I was a child." He said, taking note of the girl's keen perception. It's hard to judge a book by its cover alone nowadays, as at first glance, the woman had looked like a total blockhead to him- what with her spacing out for a long while.
"But I'm getting warmer, right? You're an entertainer? A celebrity, perhaps?"
Andrew nodded, he's at the edge of his seat at this point.
"An actor? A movie star?"
"Yes, and yes. I am an actor." He nodded as he confirmed her guesses. He chuckled as she victoriously pumped her fist.
"It did intrigue me that you hadn't recognized me when I came over." He said as he swirled his drink.
"Oh, I hadn't really gotten the chance to catch up on movies lately. Sorry if I offended you." She smiled kindly at him.
"No, no! On the contrary, I find it refreshing. It's nice to be regarded as a normal person for once." He offered his glass to the woman "Here." She cocked her head in question, before seeing him gesture to her drink in understanding.
"Cheers to that, I guess." They clinked their glasses as she chuckled before knocking back her drink.
"To tell you the truth," she started after having called the bartender for another order "I'm also an actor." She scratched her cheek shyly.
"Oh? Do tell." He urged, intrigued.
She nodded "Although, I'm not something big like a movie star. I'm a stage actor."
"Oh, really? That's fascinating. Perhaps you know some of the actors in the play my friend and I were going to see. It's called 'Night Fall: The Musical'."
The girl's eyes grew wide as she gasped "My friend's the scriptwriter of that play!"
"You know Lotte Yanson?" he asked, almost incredulously.
"Yep!" she jumped enthusiastically in her seat "She's one of my best friends!" she then paused in thought "Now that I think about it, you look like one of the main characters of the play- "
She suddenly gasped, a hand half covering her mouth in shock "Don't tell me you're the actor who plays Edgar in the movie?!"
Andrew bumped his fist gently on the counter "Ha, you finally found out!"
"Oh man, this is such a great coincidence!" the girl commented as he joined her in laughter.
"It's pretty obvious why my friend and I would go and watch it together, but we also wanted to personally commend the cast and crew, of course."
"That's so nice! It's sad you had to miss tonight's show, though. Oh, I know! Why don't we go see it together then? I haven't gone to see it myself since I've been busy with work." The girl offered with a smile.
Andrew wouldn't normally accept such an invitation from a stranger he just met at a bar. But the girl had been so charming and friendly- not to mention she knows Lotte Yanson personally.
"I think we could work on that." He agreed almost too easily "I'll have to check with my friend though."
The girl then handed him her business card.
Now that he thinks about it, they've yet to introduce themselves to each other.
"Akko Kagari." He read. The girl seemed to have come to the same conclusion.
"Oh, my bad." She giggled as she offered her hand "I'm Akko, pleasure to meet you." She said in all smiles.
He took it amicably "Andrew Hanbridge, and the pleasure's all mine." He returned with a flash of his teeth. He was certain he'll be fast friends with Miss Akko Kagari in no-
The name sounded familiar.
"Hold on, if you're Akko Kagari, then that means you play the leading role in 'Shiny Chariot's Astronomically Astounding Adventures?!" he exclaimed, eyes wide at his realization.
"Oh my God! No way! You've actually seen it?" she was equally shocked, a hand on her mouth.
"Of course! But wait, you don't look anything like her."
Akko chuckled "Of course not! What with the wig and costume, I'm a totally different person on stage!"
"That's fascinating. I really wanted to give stage plays a try, but to be honest, I'm somehow intimidated as I've heard that it's entirely too different from screenplays." He admitted.
"Really?" Akko scrunched up her nose in thought "I think the main difference would be: Improvisation. On stage, everything is live. If something goes wrong, well," she put her hands up in gesture "The Show Must Go On!" she said in a deeper voice, as if imitating someone.
"One time," she continued "My shoe flew off to the audience during a dance number. I did some quick thinking and threw my other shoe off-stage and continued dancing! It almost gave me a heart attack, thinking I might've hit someone!"
Andrew laughed along at her story.
"This is such a small world." He remarked. "You should really meet my friend, she's been a fan of Shiny Chariot since she was a child. When she learned that a musical adaptation was being made, she all but dragged me along to watch it on the opening night." He shook his head fondly at the memory.
"I have to say though," he continued "You've done a wonderful job at capturing 'Shiny Chariot's Believing Heart'." He imitated the narrator's theatrical voice as he emphasized each word of the slogan with a motion of his hand.
Akko scratched her cheek lightly, seemingly abashed by the praise "Thanks," she giggled modestly "to tell you the truth, most times, I don't consider it to be a job. You see, I've also been a fan ever since I've seen her show as a kid. So to say, right now, I'm living the dream!" she said good-naturedly.
Andrew shook his head, half impressed, and half in disbelief. If he were to parrot the average sleazeball in this bar, he'd say he's hit the jackpot today. A fascinating person like Miss Kagari is relatively hard to come by.
He couldn't help but ask after all.
"Tell me Akko, are you single at the moment?"
In the next second, he silently cursed himself for committing such a simple social blunder. Once again, he's been too forward to the other girl. He was used to being so sure of himself around women that he's forgotten how this is a different matter altogether.
Akko's form visibly became frigid "Uh, I don't-"
"Wait, I apologize, let me rephrase that." He ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to shift any attention from his reddening cheeks.
"My friend, who I had mentioned earlier, is the same friend who loves Shiny Chariot. And well, it may seem out of place for me to say this, but I'm quite certain that you are very much her type." He finished, trying not to sound too hopeful for the other girl's positive reply.
Akko drew her brows together in momentary confusion. But after understanding the implication of what he was proposing, she huffed through her upturned lips.
"Andrew Hanbridge," she smirked cheekily "how are you so sure that I'm into women?"
"Well, Akko Kagari," he returned, "When I approached you earlier, I couldn't trace a single drop of attraction in your face at all. And I," he paused, smoothly perching an elbow by the counter. "am very confident that this," he gestured at his body, "and this pretty face, can bring any straight woman to her knees." He smiled with all the cocksureness of a man.
Akko stared at him silently. Her countenance, to say the least, wasn't short of bewilderment.
Andrew held her gaze, unapologetically flashing her his toothy grin. She broke into a full-bellied laugh in seconds.
"That," she wiped her tears of laughter "is the most narcissistic gaydar I've ever heard of."
Andrew just shrugged, still basking in how his certainty on such matters are near absolute.
Akko shattered it in the next moment.
"You're wrong though, I'm not gay." The girl smiled coyly.
"You're lying." It was kind of an offense to him as he had never been wrong about his judgements before. This was how he found out about Diana after all.
"I'm bisexual." Akko grinned triumphantly.
Andrew's brow raised at the confession, albeit he released the breath he hadn't realized that he'd been holding.
"I'm still right. I said I bring straight women to their knees." He shrugged.
"Geez," Akko rolled her eyes "you sound like someone I know with your 'specifics'." she shook her head "Although, I must say that it won't be possible for me to see your friend that way, 'cause I have- well, she's still not my girlfriend, but I'm seeing someone." She said apologetically.
"I'd be open to meet her as a friend, though. She sounds like a nice person." She followed with a kind smile.
"I can't say I'm not disappointed but thank you. I'm sure that she'd love to know you all the same."
"I have to say," Akko hummed after taking a sip from her glass "I'm admire that you're looking out for her even after she's ditched you like this."
"Ha! Well, we go way back. She was a childhood acquaintance. We weren't really close back then- as we barely spoke two sentences to each other when we'd meet. We've only come to an understanding, and later a close friendship only when we started working together. I've always noticed that she's been repressing herself, just to find out the reason behind it recently. So in a way, I want to look out for her." He's a little embarrassed at having to recount his relationship with Diana.
"I can see that you really care for her."
"I do, she's my best friend. I won't admit that to her face, though." He shook his head, chuckling.
"So you're 'childhood acquaintances' huh. It's funny how you're so careful with these specifics. I mean, don't we all call them childhood friends instead?" she said, not unkindly "But I understand that's one way to say that you've known each other a long time."
"Yes, it is. Somehow, people interpret it as us having a long-winded and complicated history. I guess this way, it's easier for them to fantasize about our relationship. You couldn't even imagine the fanart and fanfiction they're able to produce. I've even heard that one fanfiction was in the works of being published as an original book. I dare say, it's fame is in par with the series that it was inspired from."
"Whoa, really? What's it called? I might give it a read."
"I'd prefer not to say. It's rather graphic…sexually." He shuddered.
Akko cracked up at his discomfort "Man, I never imagined how large the fanbase of 'Night Fall' actually is. I mean, Lotte talks about it all the time, but what you said is like, a whole new 'nother level."
"Sex sells, I guess." He quipped, making her laugh once more.
"Cheers to that, I guess." He quoted her as he offered his glass.
"Bottoms up." The other girl grinned in reply.
At the clink, he knocked his drink back.
When he placed his empty glass back down, a familiar voice called out to the girl beside him.
"Akko, I'm so sorry, I had to deal with-"
He turned in his seat, frigid. Diana Cavendish stood frozen, stopped dead in her tracks as their eyes met.
A/N:
Up next: Diana's time to shine
I ought to update 'Not My Girlfriend' as I've wrestled some free time from work. But impulsiveness is a human trait. And you know what they say about erring.
This story is one relatively short fantasy of mine, so the next chap will be up in no time. I would've merged this into a oneshot, but I thought it would look neater this way as it has differing perspectives.
Thanks for reading, I'd appreciate your thoughts.