BREAK
I went to New York and paid lots of money to stay in the silence and not play for anyone. I picked up a bar tab and drank myself stupid. I flirted with strangers just to feel attractive… I've got to keep the momentum rolling along so no one can drag me home.
Maintain the Madness by The Jane Austen Argument
Her body felt pretty heavy by the time she landed on the bed that night, exhaustion starting to take over. On the way to taking Aizawa home, they had to make a mandatory visit to the police station for their interview regarding the attack; at the very least, Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi was a nice enough man who was patient enough to even withhold the interview until they had gotten discharged from the hospital. Aizawa did end up making it home safe afterwards, and considering her job done she was ready to just sleep it all off.
And she does - at least for a few hours. Her body is sore and tender, sleep wasn't coming as soundly as she was hoping and when she finally drags herself out of the bed, she makes her way to the phone. Nezu will be disappointed if he doesn't at least hear from her directly today. She's still gaining consciousness when she listens to the list of voicemails.
"... School will be off for the rest of the week," Nezu's voice finally comes into focus. "It will give everyone a much needed chance to recover from the incident while I go over the changes to security."
That is a relief. She knows the students will benefit from the break to recover from the trauma and spend time with their family. She makes a note to ask him to put Class 1-A under mandatory therapy sessions with Hounddog upon returning as well as notes to the parents heavily suggesting that they look into therapy in the meantime. She's sure that over said break, Nezu will no doubt release a very careful statement to the public over the incident.
"If this happens again, which I fear will, then we will take more drastic measures such as implementing the dorm system. For now, please take this as the chance to recover. Your quirk can only do so much. I also took the liberty of spreading your number among the trusted members of the staff to ensure communication in case of emergencies, but I urge you to still get a cell phone. I hope all is well, Florence-sama. Truly."
There's a beep before the next string of messages begin.
"~HEllllOOooo~ I hope that Nezu gave us the right number otherwise this will be bad. This is Mic, my number is XXX, call me anytime, beautiful!"
Present Mic's voice is as loud and boisterous over the phone as it is in person. The nickname is something she's overheard him calling everyone at some point, or at least some variation of, but him using it on her is new. She can't help but feel she passed some unknown test with the loudspeaker.
" Maybe when this winds down we'll go for some drinks, I think I can drag Shota along…."
Present Mic's voice trails off before going uncharacteristically soft, "...Thank you. Nezu kept us all occupied in the meeting, but me and Midnight know what he asked of you to do for Shota. Considering Shota actually listened and let you means a lot coming from him. But I - I am disappointed I wasn't there to make sure you both were okay so it's appreciated…"
He coughs uncomfortably before continuing on louder and more cheerful, though this time it comes off more forced as he lets out a cheerful goodbye before ending the message. The rest of the calls are more obligatory, with only three other staff members calling to also leave their numbers and give a standard message that they hope she's well; the messages fall a bit flat considering she's not particularly close to any of them. Midnight's message is the only other one that stands out, sounding more sincere with a simple message that mirrors Present Mic's in her concern for both Aizawa and Florence.
She makes a point to write down all of their numbers after replaying the messages, sticking them to a note that she tapes beside the landline. At this rate, if she can expect this many calls and this many emergencies to pop up unexpectedly, she just might have to take Nezu's advice in getting a cellular phone. She dreads just the mere idea of it and wonders if she can coerce Nezu into doing it for her to save her the headache of trying to understand the salesman at the store.
In the meantime, she has an entire week to herself - time that instead of being used to rest and heal, will likely be spent training and patrolling. Or maybe, on a day that she doesn't feel like her head is splitting open, she just might take up Present Mic's offer to go out drinking.
"You know that you call us Nemuri and Hizashi," Midnight looks at Florence in amusement, her eyes twinkling as she leans into Florence in the backseat of Hizashi's car. Said man is currently driving, blasting out music that she doesn't even know the names of. "I would say to go ahead and call Shota by his name, but you know how he is."
"Florence." She states simply with a nod, offering the same courtesy to them.
Nemuri waves her hand, an offhanded look on her face as she breezes by the comment. Florence has to admit that both she and Hizashi look vastly different out of costume. The lack of mask and skin-colored fabric make Nemuri look more casual, even if what she is wearing is still considered revealing and tight, while Hizashi looks less like a teacher and more like a rock band member with his hair down and piercings more on display.
She knew should have dressed up for the event, knowing now that she will stick out more than attended. Unlike Nemuri, she is still dressed modestly with a high neck and long sleeved green dress cut just at her mid thigh. The darker tights she wears may be out of season, but hide the tattoos on her legs effectively. As they start to pull into a well known, and busy, night club, she realizes that their version of going out for drinks is not, in fact, going out to a dive bar or simple hole in the wall.
It almost makes her regret taking them up on their offer, but when they called her, she had nothing better to do and it was the last night to be able to do so before the school opened again. If the two really are so close to Aizawa, who she considers a friend, the least she can do is try to extend the same courtesy to his own friends - who are actually reaching out to her. And she said she wasn't going to get attached. Figures that even a promise such as that, and a lifetime of losing so many people, wouldn't keep her from eventually forming attachments.
It didn't take long at all before Nemuri and Hizashi were both occupied and substantially more drunk than she was. Florence sits down at the bar, grateful that Nemuri traded her as a dance partner for another woman in a much shorter skirt. Despite wearing comfortable shoes, she wasn't sure how much longer she could stand being on the dance floor with the eccentric woman. She can spot Hizashi just as occupied, seemingly trying to flirt with a few ladies in a booth at the back (seemingly somewhat successfully).
She watches them both in amusement over the edge of a whiskey glass. Keeping an eye on them is the least she can do to make sure that they don't do something they'll regret or do something incredibly (drunkenly) stupid. The whole scene, while drastically different from the club scene she used to know, gives her a sense of nolgastic melancholy - or maybe the whiskey is starting to hit her.
A long time ago, this would've been her scene. After the death of her last husband and their son shortly after, she did spend quite a bit of time in this type of environment. City environments with too many people that no one could place her and wasted away quite a bit of the money she had piled up just because she couldn't see the point in holding onto it anymore. She drank more expensive liquor during that time than she has in her entire life. She closes her eyes for a moment and she can almost feel it. That sense of strong grief with no sense of home.
"Can I buy you a drink?"
For a moment, she thinks she imagines it. She can remember how many strangers used to proposition her in the bars, how many she flirted with, how many she turned away. Always going home alone. But when she opens her eyes, it's a familiar face.
She offers him a soft smile as he takes the open seat beside her, "You're looking pretty good, but are you sure you can handle a few drinks? I'm surprised Hizashi finally convinced you to join us."
Aizawa snorts as he motions the bartender over, ordering something simple and not strong and replacing her empty glass that she doesn't remember finishing. There are still bags under his tired eyes, but the bandages on his head are barely visible in the low light, with many of them having been removed.
"My concussion is already gone and if I'm suited to go back to teaching, I can handle this…" He gives her a look from the corner of his eyes as he sips at his drink, his expression unreadable. "...Hizashi?"
Florence blames the flush on her cheeks from the drink as she glances back toward the area she last spotted the blonde - only to find him, and the ladies he was flirting with, gone, along with Nemuri.
"Well hopefully he didn't drive. Pity that they never said goodbye though." Florence offers. "But both him and Nemuri insisted on a first name basis. One I extend to you as well."
She offers her glass up as a peace offering, one he takes as he clicks his own glass against hers.
"Shota." He downs the rest of his glass easily in one go, a flush already spreading to his cheeks. She never pegged him for such a light drinker, but she doesn't comment on it. "And it was actually Nemuri that texted me. Figures that they would tell me they're leaving, but not tell you."
Aizawa knows exactly what those two are doing - setting him up. He should have expected something like this after Hizashi had called him, having figured out from Recovery Girl that 'Florence was so nice helping him into his clothes and everything'. The call had only gone downhill from there. He knows that they couldn't have left too long ago, despite the trap, they wouldn't have left her in the bar by herself for too long. He sighs deeply, feeling a headache coming from his friends' actions, his face feeling warm.
She does the honors of paying for the second round, ordering a stronger drink for him and something lighter for herself. She gives him a wink in the process with a small comment about how she has to even out the odds.
"Mmm, nothing new to drink alone I suppose," Florence's expression is unreadable, but when she continues, the smile on her face becomes more genuine, "But I should thank you, my knight in shining armor. Your company is always appreciated."
He blames the unintentionally flirtatious comment on the drinks she consumed before his arrival. It doesn't stop the flush spreading down to his neck; her second comment admittedly affects him more as he curses Hizashi for putting him in this spot in the first place. He knew he should have never justified Hizashi's calls and comments, his own replies damning him in the process. He never meant to sound so flustered over the blonde's taunts, but -
He glances at Florence, whose flushed and still nursing the last of her drink, knees crossed over each other. If he squints, he can barely see the faint tattoos underneath the fabric of her leggings; the apparent vines he had glanced before apparently stretching further than he thought. She's rolled up her sleeves to just before her elbow, revealing the tattoos in plain sight. Dark lines swirling across her skin in a series of intricate leaves connected by vines. A simple tattoo, he admits, but one that she must have liked enough to expand pretty far.
"Just how much of your body is tattooed like that?"
The question is out of Aizawa's mouth before he processes it, but blames it on the drink being stronger than he expected; with a small note to never enter a drinking contest with Florence (granted, to see Hizashi in said drinking contest would be something else entirely). He hates to admit it, but he knows that part of it is just because Florence herself manages to somehow get past the walls he's spent careful time building - something that so far, only two other people have managed. Even Nemuri can't quite get him to relax enough like this.
He's about to apologize for the rude comment, but Florence just smiles slyly, her expression unreadable.
"Wouldn't you like to find out?"
Aizawa falters at the response, not quite expecting it as Florence laughs the comment off. He's taken back by the sincerity in her laughter and the way it makes her eyes look ten years younger. Something about that moment gets seared in the back of his mind as he realizes that he's not the only one whose walls have been broken down.
"I'm just teasing you, Shota." Her voice sounds pretty even for someone who must have been drinking quite a bit. Her eyes are twinkling in the club lights as she lightly nudges him. While she's good at hiding it, he can tell the liquor is starting to reach her. "I suppose it's getting pretty late. It's up to you if you want to move this to somewhere less crowded or we can head our separate ways. I know there's a hole in the wall right around the corner that offers darts or that restaurant across the street is twenty four hours."
Food does sound pretty tempting, after coming here directly after a patrol.
Aizawa offers her his arm as she gets off the bar stool, "Food sounds pretty appetizing. I'll pay."
Florence's smile is more dazzling than it should be, as she beams at him in a way that definitely confirms that she has indeed been drinking longer than he has.