Chapter 6
He was happy for them, he thought. Or… he was happy for her.
But if she had chosen to be with him, then he had to be a great guy, and wasn't he happy for both, then?
He could have been happy for her in another way, had things been different. But they weren't, so there was no point going around being all grumpy about it.
He entered the bar-named bar although it looked like a small, primitive club than anything else- in which she had told them to meet, and he knew that he was early; like he always was. But he knew that Sparks would be there, Sparks loved flirting with all the women in the bar and usually got there half an hour earlier than all the others, so that he could just sit there and stake out all the women he would try to court.
But he also knew that she had asked him for a quiet evening… but knowing Sparks there were no chance in hell that was going to happen.
" Hey buddy! What's up with the sour grapes? Bad wine, lately?" Thinking that Sparks so called witty comments never ceased to dry, Ghost patted his friends back, forgetting his own misery for the evening. He could brood when he was alone, not when he was with friends. He would force mirth upon himself instead.
" Ship lag, my friend, ship lag. How about you order my regular, and I get us our booth? Who's coming, anyways?" Ghost followed him over to the bar, awaiting his answer. There were many people tonight, and the chat of them was loud. But then Ghost remembered that it was Friday, and all the people were most likely getting their groove on.
" Oh, it's just you and me, Niobe… maybe some guys from Soren's ship would come as well… and oh, of course; the King and Queen of the Matrix!" Ghost frowned at their nickname titles, but thankfully enough, Sparks didn't catch up on it.
Ghost nodded, patted his crew member on the back again and began searching the walls for an empty booth. As he slumped down, he felt pain shoot through his right side, the side he had injured a few days ago. Deciding to dismiss it and not to think about that physical pain for the rest of the evening, he wished that could have included emotional pain as well…
His eye caught a couple leaving a booth to his right, and he quickly headed over for it. It stood on a piece of the ramp, causing it to be a bit higher than the rest of the floor, giving them a great view of the small dance floor in the bar.
As Ghost sat there his thoughts wandered down to how funny it was that the otherwise very much primitive Zion had a bar like this. Sure, it was as primitive as the rest of their city, and the drinks they served weren't that much in complex variety, but still it reminded him of a club within the Matrix- it even had music.
He still remembered when the Vigilant's Operator and the Nebuchadnezzar's former Operator Tank had downloaded the drawings to build a proper music player, and actually succeeding in building it as well. After succeeding, they had downloaded and converted many music files, that they were now using in all places were gathering dances were held. It could be a small bar like this…
… or when they had the giant gatherings in the temple. But bands playing primitive instruments were usually favoured in the temple gatherings.
Suddenly he saw them enter, and his eyes were fixed.
He saw their hands being entwined, he saw him whispering something in her ear, and how she leaned onto his body, letting him supporting her. And he saw how she laughed at what he had said and how she kissed him in the cheek, and his appreciative smile as he looked at her as soon as her lips left his cheek.
He turned his gaze away, feeling a revolting urge in his stomach, knowing that he would have to strain it for the ëntire evening. Damn it, he had just thought that he was happy for them?
Well, if he couldn't be happy for them, then at least he would be happy for her… no matter how much it hurt. Andthat it did.
When he looked up again they had disappeared from their spot, and as he gazed over to the bar he saw them standing there, having met Sparks. They took the drinks he had ordered from the barkeeper, and placed them in his hands, obviously standing behind and ordering their own drinks. To be on the safe side, Ghost could imagine, fully knowing what Sparks usually ordered to his friends if he got to choose, and it brought a smile to his lips.
" What are you smiling about?" Sparks asked as he sat down the drinks on the table before him. Ghost grabbed his at once, and just shook his head at Sparks, who was lost looking at a brunette dancing alone in the corner. " Just life, " Ghost said, knowing that Sparks most likely was not hearing a word he said, his eyes too fixed on the brunette.
Instead, he looked over to the bar and saw them standing there again, still smiling. They obviously awaited whatever they had just ordered, and they stood very close. Ghost saw Trinity letting her hand slide down from Neo's back onto his end, and Ghost quickly brought the drink to his mouth, gulping down large sips of it, wanting to take his minds off things.
He had met them before, when they were together, why was this so hard?
This evening would be a long one…