Chapter 3

Jill nervously followed Claire to the Blue Bar. She was scared what people would think of her outfit, and her herself.

"Quit being such a pansy, you won't meet new people if you don't go out once in awhile." Claire said slapping Jill in the back of the head. Jill jumped like a foot, and stumbled till Claire casually caught her. For a moment, Claire was just standing there holding her up. She was staring into Jill's eyes contently.

Jill began to blush, and she looked like she had been sitting in the sun for awhile with sun block on everything but her face.

"Uh-um…" Jill tried to speak up, but come on, this was her boss she hadn't even fully gotten the job yet. Claire blushed realizing how it looked she quickly brought Jill to her feet, and gained pace moving in front of Jill instead of walking side by side.

Was she…embarrassed?

Jill didn't see Claire to be one to get embarrassed, she saw Claire as this invincible woman capable doing anything, just cause she could. They kept walking for awhile till Claire broke the silence.

"Your eyes are…purple?" Claire said confused and embarrassed.

"Oh!- uh…yeah they are…that's pretty strange right?" Jill laughed trying to sooth the conversation; it didn't work.

They kept walking, passing only three small cottages, two of which had a second floor. Claire stopped and pointed at the one story house.

"In case you get hurt or feel ill, that's the doctor's house." Jill took a double take at the one room home. "Don't worry if it's serious there's a small clinic in Mineral Town, you can go there if you need, but for the basic check-up you can see Dr. Hardy here." Jill felt stupid, even though there was no was no way possible that she could have known of the clinic.

They stopped at a pub-like place with a sign that read "BAR" on the side of the building. It smelled like a mixture of liquor, perfume, and wood. Jill loved and hated the scent at the same time. She loved it because it was a warm inviting smell all together warm like wood, sweet like perfume, and with just a hint of adventure from the liquor. She hated it because it was the smell that was in her father's den, the place he used to ditch the family after playing "make believe man of the house" at dinner, that inviting aroma always lingered on him deceiving Jill into thinking that he himself was warm and inviting.

Claire opened the door and cheers mixed with sarcastic groans filled the pub. "Look who showed up! These guys have been boring me to hell without you here Claire." Complained a girl about Jill's age with blond hair and green eyes leaning back in her chair in the corner.

"Shclaire chew wanna shelp me shout? Patshtrick ish out sold, an-" The short old dude sitting next to his passed out clone couldn't finish for he had as well went "out sold".

"Great, hey Gray could you take these two outside for me?" Asked the gruff man behind the counter cleaning a mug. "Sure." Gray said getting up off his stool, an lifting the small men up one in each arm. As Gray brushed passed them he smirked seeing the look on Jill's dumb ol' face as to say "You drink? Bwahahahah!" Then he left.

The next voice she heard made her want to scream of excitement. "Jill you made it!" It was Kai stand up out of his bar stool. Unexpectedly Jill was then given a ridiculous bear hug. "I knew Claire'd drag the poor new kid to the bar!" Kai said giving Claire a playful punch in the shoulder. She sat down in a barstool, and Jill copied sitting on the one next to her "Shut-up, I'm not that much of an alcoholic!" That made everyone in the bar laugh hysterically.

"So, who's this sweet thing?" Asked a blonde in a red cocktail dress with ridiculous breasts in a sweet southern twang from behind Jill serving drinks to the other blonde in the purple vest. "This is Jill, She's the poor sucker who fell for Claire's want ad." Laughed Kai who was no sitting next to Claire, who had after that comment punched him in the arm making him stumble. "Jill, tell me you haven't said a word since you walked in, I'm guessing you're here for your first drink?" Asked Kai across Claire. "She sure is!" Claire started lifting a mug that had recently been placed full of her usual(Booz). "Give her a Valley Nature, something sweet!"

Jill stared at the fancy cup filled with the slightly tinted pink liquid. It smelled good. "…Are you sure the drinking age is 18..." Jill asked nervously. "She speaks!" Kai exclaimed sarcastically. "Yes its is, don't worry your fine." Smiled the man from behind the counter. "Name's Griffen, and this is my bar, it's home to everyone." He smiled at her encouraged her. Jill gulped then drank. It was a sweet musical taste, but with a small pinch at the end that made Jill scrunch up her face.

That night Jill met people, and crawled a little out of that shell of hers. She met Karen, the "rad" supermarket owners daughter who was the only girl in the area who could get close to Claire's drinking record. She met Griffen and his waitress Muffy, who had a tendency of being in a different dead end relationship week. And she met Jack the farmer in Mineral Town, who was really klutzy, no as much a Jill though, which was kinda funny.

But what freaked Jill out was that Gray never came back inside, it as though when his sister "the fun" arrived he wanted to leave.