TITLE: Don't Forget The Ice
CHARACTERS: John Morrison, Eiris Hales, Melina Perez
PAIRINGS: John Morrison/OC (Eiris)
NOTES: FOR RAINBOWBLACK! This is AU. In this story, John Morrison is not a wrestler, nor are Eiris or Melina. Eiris works at Coyote Ugly, Melina is a singer, and John's job is a surprise.
DISCLAIMER: Eiris Hales belongs to Rainbowblack. The characters are not mine, nor do I claim they are.
Eiris POV
I hate driving to work. I hate this bar and I hate dancing on it. Yes, it's fun when you get really drunk, but I myself am not a fan of drinking on the job. The other girls are really sweet, though, and we get along well. There's a kick ass redhead named Taylor, but we call her Sparky. She's kind of the head bitch in the bar. Then there's a sweet little blonde named Lynn. We call her Sugar. Of course, I'm a brunette. My name's Eiris, but they call me Aqua. And, yes, I hate nicknames.
I park my little blue Beetle behind the bar and take my knapsack out of the passenger's seat. It has my clothes in it. As I slam the car door, I make a mental note to get my car fixed up, when I finally make enough money. The little Bug has definitely seen better days. I swipe my hand over my perspiring forehead and jog over to the bar's back entrance. My boss, Rilee, is waiting.
"Aqua, your shift starts in five minutes and you're not ready!" She doesn't sound angry, more like upset that I still have to get dressed and made up.
"I'm sorry, Ri. My car broke down and I needed a neighbor to help me start it up. I didn't think I would be so late. Sorry." I'm trying not to act cross, but it's hard to stay nice and sweet when Rilee is taking up my valuable changing time. I start pulling my cropped and torn football jersey out of my bag and hope she gets the hint.
Rilee crosses her arms. "Hurry up; Sparky and Sugar are already out there waiting for you."
I sigh and pull my green tee shirt over my head, replacing it with the jersey. My yoga pants soon follow, instead being replaced by a small pair of light blue jean shorts. I pull on my cowboy boots and pull out my compact. A light dusting of eye shadow and blush are all I have time for right now. I hurry from the back room, both Rilee's office and the keg storage area, and into the bar area.
Sparky's exchanging words with one of the regulars, an upright business man that tells us to call him Billy, and pouring him a Jack and Coke at the same time.
Sugar's bent over the bar, a lime clenched between her bubblegum pink lips and the tops of her breasts exposed through her white, furry vest. She drops the lime into another man's drink, a margarita on the rocks. The guy looks happy, shooting my blonde friend a flirtatious smile.
Sugar smiles back and then catches me out of the corner of her eye. "Aqua!" She squeals, hopping up and down before throwing herself at me. She wraps me in a bone-crunching hug. "I thought you were sick or something, girl!"
I laugh. "Hello to you, too, Sugar."
"Aqua!" Sparky joins the hug. "What happened, girly?!" She yells over the music. "We were worried about you!"
"Car troubles!" I push out of the hug. "Hey, girls, we've got thirsty customers looking for some booze! Let's stop this love-fest and get back to work!" Okay, maybe I don't hate this job. People here love me.
Sugar and Sparky head back to their respective places in front of the bar. Sugar stands on the left, Sparky in the middle, and I'm on the right.
I start my long night of making drinks and small talk among our generally-male fan base. Some females have packed themselves in here, too. Mostly girlfriends. I barely have time to rest before a song starts on the jukebox. Katy Perry's 'I Kissed a Girl' starts playing, and I sigh. Sugar, Sparky, and I hop up onto the bar.
I force a smile as I grind and shake along with the music until the bumping beat ends. As I climb down from the bar, a deep voice near me shouts "That was quite a performance!"
"Thank you!" I shout back and smirk. "What'll you have?!"
A man, the one I expect shouted, smiles, tipping down his blue sunglasses. His long, brown hair looks clean and shiny, tapering down onto his wide, muscular shoulders. It contrasts starkly with the white, button-down shirt he's wearing. "Just give me a Corona. Lime in it, too."
I smile, reaching under the bar for a bottle. This guy looks rich, and really hot, too. I slam the bottle on the bar top and grab a lime from the small container behind me. I stick it into the neck of the bottle and push it towards the customer. "First time here?"
"Yeah." The guy chuckles. "How could you tell?"
"Well, first off..." I smile, "I don't know your name."
The guy smiles brightly, extending his hand. He has a small bracelet of shells around his tanned wrist. "John. John Morrison. What's your name?"
I clasp his hand in mine and give him a firm shake. "Aqua."
John raises an eyebrow. "That's not your real name. What's the name you were born with?"
I quirk a brow of my own. "None of your business. Aqua's my name here."
John holds both hands in front of him to disarm me. "Okay, I was just asking. Sorry if I offended you." He smiles. "You've got beautiful dance moves."
I blush slightly, ducking my head. "Thanks."
"No problem." John leans up against the wood of the bar. "So, this is what you do for a living?"
I nod. "Not very glamorous, I know."
John sips delicately at the bottle in his hand. "I'm guessing this isn't your first job choice, right?"
I shrug, turning away for a moment to pour a round of shots for a group of young men. "Not really. Gotta get money somehow, though. You know?"
John nods. He looks over at the rowdy guys that I just served, wrinkling his nose in disdain. "Great crowd." He chuckles. "So, what did you want to do?"
What is this guy getting at? Why is he asking me so many questions? Most of the guys in here either tell me that I'm hot or just whine about their own lives, but John seems sweet. It's like he really wants to get to know me. "Well, I sorta...don't laugh but I sorta wanted to be a musician." I chuckle nervously. "Yeah, right, though. I'm never going to get picked up while I work here."
John doesn't laugh. He watches me seriously, his dark eyes trained on my face. "I don't think it's funny. Do you still do stuff with music?"
I shrug again. "Sometimes. Not as much as I'd like because I'm too busy with this stuff." I pour another drink for one of the regulars. "You know?"
John nods. "I know." He sighs softly. "Wish I could help you out..." He strokes his hair back from his handsome face. "Hey, wanna give me your number or your address? Maybe I can help hook you up with an old friend of mine in LA. She's on the music scene."
I quirk a brow, for a moment considering. But I don't know this guy too well. What if this is just a trick or something? What if he's really out to get me? I run by a few options and then give in, grabbing a cocktail napkin from the shelf under the bar. "Got a pen?"
"Uh..." John begins, searching his pockets. He tugs one out. "Yeah, here."
I smile at him, taking the pen. Our fingers graze against each other's and I blush. He turns away, his cheeks flushing red also. I quickly scribble down 657-887-9435, Eiris Hales. Only after I hand it over do I realize that I put my real name on the paper. My blush darkens.
John chuckles, taking the napkin. He winks and folds it up before sticking it in his shirt pocket. "So, Eiris. That's a much prettier name than Aqua. Why don't you just go by that?"
I bite my lip, trying to will my bright red cheeks to cool. "Rilee wants us all to use stage names."
"Eiris is still prettier than Aqua."
"Thank you." I smile. "So, you like music?"
"Yeah." John takes another swig of his Corona. "So does M."
"M?"
"My musician friend. She's a singer, and a hot one at that." His smile grows wider.
Oh, damn. So he has a girlfriend. "Cool." I think my voice may have gone slightly flat.
John glances up at me, looking concerned. "What?" I'm silent, turning away to serve a couple other customers. He grabs my elbow. "I think you got the wrong idea. She's just a friend, you know? I'm not ready to enter a relationship just yet. We used to date, and she was just too close to me. We grew up together and it didn't work, so now we're just friends." His smile lightens my mood. "Nothing else." He drains the bottle that's still clenched in his hand. "Thanks. See you later," He sets a crisp twenty on the bar's surface, "Eiris."
I can't help but be a little bit annoyed that he used my real name in my place of work. I watch him leave, the door swinging as he walks right past the bouncer.
XxXxXxXxXx
I didn't actually expect him to call me at all. I'm shopping for food to feed my growling stomach at my local grocery store, and all the sudden, my cell phone starts going off.
"No! You'll never be alone! When darkness comes, I'll light the night with stars! Hear my whispers in the dark!"
I blush, trying desperately to pull my phone from my purse. A number I don't recognize appears on the screen and I press the 'talk' button. "Hello?"
"Eiris? It's John."
"John?" I wrack my brain to figure out why I remember that name.
"Morrison. From the bar three nights ago. Remember?"
My eyes widen and I hold on tighter to my plastic basket filled with food. "Oh my God, yeah. Hi, what's going on?"
"Hi." I can hear the smile in his voice. "Listen, M's flying in tomorrow and she's bringing her producer. I wanted to know if we could meet up tonight and maybe you could play me a song. You working?"
I smile even more widely. "Actually, no, I'm not. It's my night off. Uh, so, yeah, we can hang out. Wanna come to my place?"
John pauses for a moment. "How about I take you out to dinner and we can go to your place afterwards? You know, so I can follow you."
"Uh, yeah, sure. When do you want to meet up?" I ask, getting into the cashier's line.
"How about in an hour at the Outback, the one on Dayton Road?"
"Yeah, sounds great!" I pay the person and pick up my bag. "Yeah, I'll see you there!" I hang up the phone and shove it back in my purse.
In the car, I pause for a moment. Aww, hell, what am I going to wear?
XxXxXxXxXx
I walk into the Outback Steakhouse, wiping a piece of lint from my short black skirt. I glance around the room and try to spot the all-too-familiar straight, brown hair of the man I'm supposed to meet.
I let out a quiet cry of shock when a large hand descends on my shoulder. I turn to glance over, only to see John, holding up both of his hands in defense. "Hey, whoa." He flashes a perfect smile. "Just trying to get your attention." He begins to lead me to an empty booth. Gently, he holds my hand as I sit down.
"You…you just surprised me." I giggle nervously. "I didn't mean to do that. I was on edge."
John laughs and waves it off. "It's fine." He grins again. "I love your shirt, by the way. Very cool."
I glance down with a blush. I had adorned my body in a glittery, golden, sleeveless tee shirt. It had a shining lion on it. "Thanks. Yours is nice. Very mature."
John chuckles quietly, one tanned hand sweeping over his navy colored, button down, long sleeved shirt. "Well yours is cool." He sighs good-naturedly. "You make me feel way too dressed up and old."
This time I laugh. "You're not old." I lightly shove his forearm. "You're just more grown-up than me."
John laughs again. "Eiris, I think we're going to get along just fine."
The rest of our dinner date goes along normally. We found that we had more in common than just Coyote Ugly, like that we both love steak salad and comedy movies. By the time we reach my house, we're chatting like old friends.
"Oh my God!" I squeal, dragging him into the living room of the townhouse I currently occupy. "I love 'Liar Liar.' Jim Carrey is so funny!"
John smiles as he takes a seat on my sofa. "Yeah, he's so great." He pats the spot next to him. "Sit with me. Better yet, grab your guitar and play me something."
I nod, pulling my prized possession, my father's old acid green Les Paul, from its stand. "Want something original or just a cover?"
John waves a hand. "A cover would be fine. I just need to hear something."
I smile and fix my guitar strap over my head. "Okay. Do you know 'Broken Wing' by Martina McBride?"
John cocked his head in thought and nodded. "Yeah. That girl can sing." His eyes widen. "You can sing that?"
I nod, my grin widening. "Learned to like country from my mom. She always asked me to do this song at family parties."
"Well, damn, girl!" John smiles warmly. "Go for it. Give me the chorus."
I tune my guitar with a giggle and strum out a few practice chords. "Well, I only have the electric, and most country is acoustic, so you have to forgive me if the sound is a bit off." And, with that, I start my song.
"With a broken wing, she still sings. She keeps an eye on the sky. With a broken wing, she carries her dreams. Oh man, you outta see her fly!" I hold out the last note of the song as long as I can. I know I was a bit shaky in the beginning, and I hope he still liked my song anyway. At first, I didn't register it, but after a moment, I realize that John is standing and applauding. I blush when he whistles.
"So, not only can you dance, but you can sing and play guitar!" He embraces me fondly. "Perfect, you're perfect." A pointed grin crosses his face as he reaches into his briefcase. He extracts a piece of paper and hands it to me.
I take it, confused. There's a small business card paper clipped to the corner. It reads 'Morrison Records' and underneath that writing is the name 'John Morrison, owner.' "Wh-what is this?"
John smiles fondly and wraps an arm around me. "You've heard of Melina Perez, the singer and dancer, right?"
I nod blankly. Melina's pretty big right now. "Why?"
"She's been looking for someone, a woman, to make a compilation album with. I'm her producer. I own Morrison Records. She asked me to search for the next big thing. And…" He squeezes me to his side. "I think that's you."
My eyes widen even more as I carefully lift the card to glance at the contract. "So…you're saying you want…you want to sign me to a record deal?"
John nods. "If that's okay, of course. I really see you making it big. I mean, you're an amazing singer, a great musician, by your job choice, an awesome dancer, not to mention that you're beautiful." He smiles again and lays a kiss on the top of my head. "Do you accept?"
I can hardly speak. I turn and jump into his arms with a wild giggle. "Of course I accept!" And then, unexpectedly to both of us, I kiss him on the mouth.
At first, John looks shocked, as do I. And then his brown eyes soften and he gently kisses me back. We stand like that for a long time before he pulls away.
"Spend the night." I offer. "I can play for you all night if you want me to."
XxXxXxXxXx
Over a year later, I return from LA with both John and Melina, who has become one of my closest friends, to my hometown. I needed to see the girls again. We walk into Coyote Ugly together to a large crowd of men.
Hiding under my blue hoodie, I push my way to the bar in front of one of the girls. I remember Sugar all too well. Her hair has been cropped to a pixie-ish length. "Sugar?"
The petite blonde looks up boredly from the margarita she's making. "Hmm?" Her crystalline blue eyes widen. "Oh my God! Aqua!" She practically leaps across the bar to give me a hug. Soon, Sparky has joined our hug, too.
Melina and John are next to me before I know it; John's arm around my waist is a warm reminder of my new life. I introduce them both to the girls, who have been following my career since it took off. They are big fans of Melina, too.
Rilee is out from the back with a microphone in her hand. "Hey, looks like we've got two big stars in the house tonight. Can we give a nice, big, warm welcome to Melina Perez and Eiris Hales, everybody?!"
I blush as John turns me around to face the cheering crowd. Suddenly, I find myself standing on the bar, Melina on one side and Sugar on the other. Sugar smiles and wraps an arm around me and we do one final dance together as a group.
When I end up off the bar again, I'm caught up in the arms of my boyfriend. John lifts his sunglasses up and smiles. "I love you, Eiris." He kisses me.
"I love you, too." I kiss back.