Like I had mentioned before, I mean no distaste to any of you, however I do like to thank my reviewers on leaving their positive opinions on the first chapter.
It was hard at first putting together the story, but once I got the flow of it I found it hard to stop myself from adding too much.
Besides, this is meant to be only two chapters long.
I had so much fun writing this story out and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it for y'all.
So it is with my pleasure that I present to you:
The Empty Orchestra.
Act II:
Mr. Brightside and the Morning After
Words; 7,095
~Oh,
We're halfway there.
Ah-ah!
Livin' on a prayer~
That's it, everyone is cut off, Menian thinks while rubbing both hands over his temples as practically everyone in the group is huddled around the microphones, singing the last lines of Bon Jovi.
The room is filled with laughter as some of them fall over each other trying to get back to their seats. Rich is crawling to the sofa with a microphone stand leaning on his back from where Miranda had fallen and knocked it over, and she sits against the wall with her legs intermingled with his. Hal is trying to walk over the two to get back to his seat when Rich reaches up and holds one of his ankles, tripping the redhead onto the couch cushions face first.
Henry and Judy are leaning on each other in laughter as they try to help one another back to their own seats on the other couch. Brittney is the only one left standing at the front of the room with a mic in her hand, holding it out to Menian with a shake.
"Menian! Make me anotha'," she calls with an exaggerated posh accent, signaling to the screen behind her with her free hand by fluttering her fingers over her head as she looks down her nose at him.
He sighs into the couch cushions before getting up and helping Rich on the floor get to his seat and righting Hal to sit up correctly on his. He lifts Miranda by her waist and fights off Brittney's demands for another song with stern no's. Hoisting both women in each arm and fighting to get them in their seats, he says "I think we've all had enough. Let's call it a night guys, should start getting our things together and calling rides," with hands fisted on both sides of his hips, his head hanging low.
He hears a glass clatter onto the coffee table behind him and Wayne whine out "No. Why do we have to end it here, the night is still young-" "Wayne, it's two in the morning," Menian interrupts looking over his shoulder at Wayne as he keeps on going "-and I haven't even gotten to sing yet. At least one song, I want to sing a song."
Menian was in the middle of grumbling loudly to the floor when Miranda points towards him. "Yeah, Menian hasn't sung either. You two need to do a song before we leave, we can't go home without hearing you sing, Menny."
Rolling his eyes with his head, he runs his fingers over the tips of his hawk while gripping his forehead with one palm before bringing the open hand down, pulling both bottom eyelids in the process. "Okay. Okay, okay. If we sing a song will you all go home?"
The group agrees and cheers as Wayne stands up on the other side of the room, reaching over the sea of plates and empty glasses to hand a microphone to Menian as they both walk around the table towards the stands to prepare themselves.
"What did you have in mind?" Menian asks while Wayne struggles against the alcohol in his system to put the mic into the stand correctly, a few strands of his pompadour straying onto his forehead.
"Anything, any one, I just want to sing. Just.., ungh." Wayne grunts as he motions for Menian to go to the computer on the wall and choose from the list, still fighting the mic stand with intense concentration and his tongue sticking out between his teeth.
Menian sighs and helps the drunk adjust the stand before attempting to fix his own. He pauses with a thoughtful look and casually makes his way up to the keyboard, typing in "m, r, . , b, r," until finding his choice scroll down the monitor and clicking on it.
Wayne sobers himself up when seeing the cover flash on the little tv in between the stands, and turns to Menian when he reaches his microphone to get ready.
"Killers?" he asks, puzzled by the particular choice.
Menian gives a chill smile that shows off his snaggletooth. "What can I say. My brother and I like their songs. Guilty pleasure."
The beat comes in through the speakers as the little screen starts counting down the tempo for them to start.
They both reach for the mics and sing in the first chorus, Wayne blurting out the words being highlighted faster than he can keep up, and Menian keeping his voice low as a backup.
~Coming out of my cage,
and I've been doing just fine,
gotta gotta be down because I want it all.
It started out with a kiss,
how did it end up like this?
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss.~
For a split second Wayne looks over to Menian with a moment of suspicion, before bringing his attention back to the screen for the next lines. He sings along a little longer, slowing with each word until he's just barely mumbling them into the microphone.
~Now I'm falling asleep,
And she's calling a cab,
While he's having a smoke,
And she's taking a drag,
Now they're going to bed,
And my stomach is sick,
And it's all in my head-~
When all of a sudden he takes a step back and lets go of the mic as Menian continues with the song, his eyes closed as he sings the song from heart,
~But she's touching his chest,
Now,
he takes off her dress,
Now,
let me go.
I just can't look,
its killing me~
He's not aware of what he's doing until after he does it, but both of them are on the floor faster than the rest of the group realize Wayne has thrown out a punch and Menian retaliated by dragging the drunkard down in a headlock.
~and taking con-trol.~ pours in through the speakers.
Both are rolling on the floor when Henry and Rich make a grab for their shoulders to separate the two hulking men from tearing each other apart, Wayne shouting out "What was that about?"
~Jealousy,
turning saints into the sea,~
The other three men look to him with worried confusion when Menian says "I should ask you the same thing!"
~swimming through sick lullabies,
choking on your alibis.~
"Oh don't give me that bullshit, you chose that song on purpose."
~But it's just the price I pay,~
"That's the whole point of karaoke, Wayne, to choose songs you like to sing along to," Menian replies, letting Henry help him get up to a stand.
~destiny is calling me.~
Rich was attempting to get Wayne up when the burly man shot himself up and threw an accusing finger towards Menian. "You know why you chose that one and it's not because you like it."
~Open up my eager eyes,~
His brown eyes turned into slits as he put two and two together. "Why would you be bothered at my choice unless.., wait a min-you think the song is about my brother and Roxanne?"
~'Cause I'm mr Brightside.~
All eyes turn towards Wayne as the group realizes what the punch was aimed towards, and the helping hands start to back off with a couple of steps. "That's ridiculous," he goes on, "My brother doesn't even smoke cigarettes.
Wayne makes another lunge when the other two step back in between to keep them apart.
"Why, Wayne? Why do you care? Afraid of a little non-existent competition, as you once put it?" Menian exclaims.
Henry comes in to interrupt "Well it's understandable for a man to get protective when his, paramour is with another man-" when Menian cuts in. "He and Roxanne aren't together. Never were to begin with."
Wayne feels all eyes go back to him as he struggles to find an excuse for his outburst, his protective demeanor torn down to pieces.
His eyes dart back and forth as his lips move wordlessly, trying to come up with a justified explanation. "It, well-uh, just that. Your brother isn't the best choice for her. He's a trouble maker, for starters, always starting fights with me and causing problems in the studio. I don't know why or even how he still has a job."
"Because unlike some people he's very good at it. And who are you to talk about trouble? Afraid the bad guy might get the girl?" Menian replies defensively, hands clenching and relaxing at his sides. "As for the fighting, I think it could come to debate on who started them in the first place."
Exchanging glares, Wayne cries out "I apologized!"
"But did you ever actually said you were sorry? Because there's a pretty damn big difference," Menian exclaims, pointing with all five fingers.
They stand in tense silence as both men shift on their feet. "You have no say in what Roxanne decides to do with her life," Menian warns.
"Or who." Brittney adds, receiving a giggle from Miranda and a scolding look from Judy.
Wayne is about to say something when he feels a sting in his knuckles. Looking down to his fist he realizes he cut himself somehow during the struggle, and turning back up to face Menian he can see the man's bottom lip is cut open when it got caught in his teeth.
He get's hit with a serious case of Dèjá-vècu. A wave of nausea comes crashing over him as he can envision laughing kids, grade school age, huddled around two small boys on the grassy ground. Green eyes look up to him with a coldness that he can't brush off to this day, a cut lip bruising his face as he holds on to his older but smaller brother.
As quickly the memory came into his field of vision it fades away, the nausea slowly subsiding when he brings himself back to the present.
He feels the blush of embarrassment and indignation spread through his face, and he looks around to his co-workers with the expression of a child being forced to apologize. "I, I'm sorry I ruined the party. I shouldn't have behaved like that." He excuses himself while preparing to leave, taking his few steps towards the table to gather what he brought with him.
"Where are you going?" asks Henry, to which Wayne replies as he walks out the room, "If I'm lucky, to find Roxanne."
"Well they didn't take a cab, either!" Menian shouts to the closing doors after running his tongue over the cut, and Rich laughs as he raises a closed hand towards him to give him a fist-bump. Menian shoots him a look before giving in with a sigh and meets his fist with unenthusiasm, walking past to take his seat next to him and sink himself into the cushions once more.
Both blondes pull out their cellphones from their pockets within seconds and start typing furiously into the screens with their thumbs. "Oh, she's so gonna get it," mutters Brittney, Miranda laughing as she says "Judging by the time I'd say she already has," causing the older adults to tut with distaste.
~I never.
I never.~
The song fades away and everyone shifts in their place uncomfortably. Judy has a pensive look when she asks "Did you choose that song on purpose?"
"No! I mean, not really. I just, had a feeling I needed to sing it, for some reason," Menian replies, looking lost.
With a jerk, Hal suddenly sits up from his seat and yawns, looking around to everyone with blinking eyes. "Hey, has anybody seen Roxanne?" he asks, to which they all turn to look at him with bewilderment.
~angel came down,
from heaven yesterday.
She stayed with me just long enough to rescue me~
floats in seemingly from another room to Roxanne's ears. She shifts for a stretch and buries herself into the warm comfort of pillows and blankets that engulf her.
nest. warm nest. soft, silky blankets. puffy pillows, ooh, this one's cold. stre-etch legs, oops, kicked his shin... his, shin? she thinks as she slowly opens her eyes and looks around the room she is in. There's a dim blue glow coming from overhead that helps her eyes adjust to the room as she scans the dark walls surrounding her.
Shelves upon shelves of books line along the wall she is facing, and she brings her eyes up to find a mural of the night sky painted on the ceiling that glows with enough light to brighten the windowless room. She looks at the alignment of it and finds she doesn't recognize any of the constellations stenciled on there, even with how they do seem to be intentionally drawn on with purposefulness.
She rolls her head over and feels Amlin's breathing closer to her neck, suddenly aware of his arm around her over the covers, and the rush of memories from last night come flooding in.
At first she stiffens, unsure of what to do when a panic sets through her.
oh god. ohgodohgodoh-damn-me-to-hell what was I THINKING, she berates herself, gritting her teeth and kicking herself mentally. Dread fills her at the thought of seeming needy and clingy from the alcohol and sensitive conversation they had the night before.
Her free fingers fidget with a lock of her hair for a while longer and only stops when she feels his arm tightening around her waist and the deep sigh he breathes in her hair. She rests for a little longer giving in to the feeling, almost falling back asleep with the faintest smile ghosting her lips until she snaps her eyes open and reaches an arm out from cover to the night stand, lifting his watch up to look at the time.
7:48.
Placing it down, she pushes the covers off and is thankful to be wearing one of his shirts as a nightgown, however tight it may be, because she can't find any of her own clothes right away.
She looks around and sees the familiar colors that are her clothing laying in a puddle next to his door, and vaguely remembers picking them up from the floor last night when they decided to get off the sofa and continue in the bedroom. His bedroom.
Dressing up near the foot of the bed, she hears him shift under the covers behind her and she turns to see him getting up and propping himself on one elbow, his eyes seeming to radiate in the light of the glow-paint after he rubs at them to wake himself up.
"Hey, sleepy. Thought I'd, get on out of here before Menian wakes up and finds me here. Might get kind of awkward," she whispers as she crosses the room, adjusting the sleeves on her shirt.
His shoulders hunch and she can see his lips pull tightly as his eyebrows draw together in a worried knot over the bridge of his nose. He seems to be thinking deeply when he looks away and nods his head in slow but quiet agreement. He doesn't look up to her but instead focuses his attention on his hand clutching a fist full of comforter.
"I... I'm, sorry. For taking advantage of you. You were in a vulnerable state, and I shouldn't have let it happen, get this far. I, you don't.., I'm pretty sure you didn't plan on waking up in bed next to me yesterday morning. And I won't tell anyone. So don't worry about regretting it later, I won't force you to relive-"
"Whoa, wai-wait wait. Regret?" she stops him on his tracks. "You think, I regret doing this?" she asks in bewilderment, taking a few steps forward. Her right hand floats over the center of her chest, seeming to be motioning to herself but in actuality is trying to make sure her heart won't rip through her shirt. It sure as hell does feel like it will to her.
He still doesn't look up because that's how the dreams usually end. He tells her he loves her, and she pours out her heart for him, the soul wrenching words that pull him out of the darkness inside himself into the warmth that is her, the sound of her voice filling his ears with ecstasy so close to him he can imagine feeling her breath on his skin.
That is, until he wakes up and is brought back into the dark hole that is his room, the muffled silence deafening his ears. After the first few months of having his own room when they moved into the warehouse, he couldn't take it anymore and painted the glowing mural overhead almost in an automatic state, seeming to know exactly where to place each star, just so he would never wake up to darkness again. He fears the dark more than being alone, because the darkness usually leaves him feeling alone.
He feels her hand on his head, and he lets go of the blankets, looking into her eyes that seem to be searching for something. "You," is all she says before laying a kiss on his left cheek.
"I can," as she turns to kiss his right.
"Never," and she tilts his head down to place her lips on his forehead.
"Regret," while she lowers her lips to his chin, her fingers clasping it to raise his head slightly.
"Being," as she rubs her nose on his, fluttering her eyes closed with a soft smile.
"With," is all she says as she stares into his eyes, the luster in them so strong she feels herself being pulled into his dilating pupils. She brings her lips in, her eyes closing slightly but still open enough to see him close his, feeling him sigh into her mouth.
She pulls her head back and waits for him to open his eyes again before speaking. She says for assurance, "Call me later. Maybe we can meet somewhere for lunch."
She bends down to give him another kiss on the lips, and adds quietly with a shrug "And we can let Menian know together. After, talking it out."
He gives her a warming smile that makes her want to throw all sense out the window and climb back under the covers just to hold him a little longer, but she restrains herself, standing up to walk back to the door.
"Roxanne," he calls out, holding one hand up to reach for her as his shoulders leave the headboard. She turns to him, her fingers wrapped around the door-knob, and he hesitates with his words, bringing his hand back down to fidget with his fingers. She gives a short breath of a laugh and smiles, saying "Not yet," before opening the door quietly and walking out to the main area, music pouring into the room for that brief moment before the silence surrounds him once more.
"I didn't wake up." he tells the empty room.
~I said: "I just came back, baby...
I just came back from the storm.
Yeah, from the storm.~
flows into the room as she walks out, seeing Menian in the kitchen with his back towards her. She stops momentarily but assumes the music will be able to cover her footsteps on the concrete.
She's halfway to the front door when she realizes she feels a little light. Patting herself she remembers it's the early morning hours of December and she doesn't have her coat on her. Stopping in front of the makeshift living room, she struggles to remember where was the last place she took it off. Eyeing it still draped across the sofa's back, she tip-toes over to grab it and drag it over one arm, quietly making her way up the stairs when Menian turns from the stove top with a pan in hand and calls out to her, "I was wondering when you two would get up, breakfast is just about done."
She freezes with her foot raised to climb the next step, and turns to look at Menian directly. His response took her by surprise; seeing as he's always protective of Amlin she expected nothing short from outrage and a cold shoulder.
She gives an embarrassed smile at being caught attempting to sneak out, and relaxes her shoulders when he smiles back with a snort and motions for her to sit at the half wall that closes in the kitchen slightly, converting it into a bar.
She watches his fluid motions through the kitchen, multitasking with ease as he starts a conversation with her after she asks "You're, not mad?"
"Mad? Why would I be mad? It's not like you were trying to-" then he goes quiet, slowing his movements and looking over his shoulder to her. "He's not awake, is he." he asks with a solemn look.
"What? NO, oh no I would never-, we just didn't want to run into you on my way out. Kinda, wanted to break it to you in a less awkward way," she laughs, tucking her bangs nervously behind her ear. "Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag. Um, how did you, exactly..." she trails off, her shoulders shrugging as she waves one hand palm faced up.
"Besides your phone ringing in your coat pocket throughout the night? You left your underwear on the couch."
Her eyes widen in shock and she turns to look at the sofa and sure enough, there they are, tucked into the divider cushions almost unseen. Her face immediately flushes in embarrassment as she darts off the stool to yank them out and fold them into the coat pocket, bringing out her phone in the same motion.
Sweet Jesus I knew I didn't leave the apartment without them on, she scolds herself as she scrolls through the countless notifications on her lock screen.
11 missed calls
16 new messages
5 e-mails
30+ social media alerts
"What the hell?" she mumbles, going through the texts first. "Did the world end last night?" she asks a little louder, Menian replying "Well, it almost did for Wayne."
She sighs as she goes through the list of people who messaged her the night before.
Miranda: Girl, I cant believe you. Why havnt you said n e thing bout you and the blue man gettin down with t-
Brittney: Ur SO dead wen we get back mon. Do U know how hard ive been holding back frm Wayne because of "boun-
Wayne: Where are you? need to talk
Hal: Hey, i know im like only supposed to use your number for work related emergencies n stuff but i not-
Wayne: Hey Rox, could you at least give me a call back? let me know you got home okay?
Wayne: Roxie I need to talk to you, its urgent, please call, or at least txt me
She scrolls through the rest of the message summaries, asking "So I assume I shouldn't call Wayne back?" without looking up from her phone.
"Not yet at least. Give him some time to cool off," he replies as she looks up just in time to see the right side of his face, not clearly visible before from her angle on the stairs.
"Oh my god MENIAN are you okay? What the hell happened to you?" she exclaims, dropping her phone onto the counter and rushing around the bar to hover her hands over his swollen cheek, wanting to help but not wanting to touch him at the same time.
He tries to wave her off with a scoff. "Just a little scratch. You should see the other guy. Actually, don't say anything to Amlin. He's gonna get enough shit tomorrow at work."
She gives a snort, lowering her hands and looking up to him helplessly. "Well, good luck hiding THAT from him."
She sighs and turns to the counter next to him, her fingers drumming on the granite. "Is there anything I can help with?"
"Well, while I finish off stirring the risotto, could you start setting up the table?" he asks, motioning towards the minute table she and Amlin ate off of the night before.
"Risotto for breakfast?" she says with surprise, peering over into the pot. "Sounds.., heavy."
"Sounds delicious, and it's cold outside and I'm cooking," Menian states with a playful attitude.
She lets out a "Ha" and moves through the cabinets with recalled memory of where the different items are placed throughout the kitchen; the bowls and glasses in the cabinets over head her, the silverware in the drawer in front of her hips, and the place-mats in the drawer underneath the bar counter top.
"So it was you in the kitchen last night," Menian calls out without turning around, and Roxanne leans her back on the counter next to him with a skeptical look. "Okay, how'd you guess that one?" she asks.
"The dishes in the wash. He always forgets to turn it on. Usually just leaves them in the sink, still dirty with bits of food. Plus there was still some tomato sauce stuck on one of the burners."
She lets out a breathy laugh, stepping along side him to pull down the dishes from the cabinets overhead. "And you seem to be a little too familiar with the layout," he adds, pointing at her with the rubber spatula.
~You got my pride,
hanging out of my bed~
Holding the bowls in her hand, she looks over to the living room area and turns back to Menian, her eyebrows furrowing into the familiar pattern of confusion.
"How did the record play the next side? Does it flip the turntable automatically?" she asks him.
"Eh, put it simply, he designed it to have a needle on both sides, and when it detects the arm has reached the end, it starts playing from the other side again."
"Did we leave it playing on a loop? I'm sorry, had I known I would've turned it off," she says apologetically.
Rolling his head from one side to the other, he gives a contemplative look when telling her "No, it's okay, usually he leaves it on overnight anyway. Used to fall asleep listening to records together when we were kids, kinda gives me nostalgia so I don't complain.
Placing the bowls next to the stove-top, she turns to his back and can see something on his skin sticking out of the top of his muscle shirt. She gives a squint as she slowly extends her arm up and quickly yanks the fabric down, to his surprise, and he drops his rubber spatula onto the floor.
"Hey, agck, miss, Ritchie?" he spits out with the shirt's neck digging into his skin, and gasps for air when she lets go of her grip but holds him in place by his shoulders.
"Menian, why do you have a green "M" tattooed on your neck?" she asks.
He coughs before being able to respond. "Because, Menian starts with the letter "M"?" he replies, more of a question than it was a statement.
"Uh-huh. And it's just a coincidence it looks exactly like Amlin's?" she asks sarcastically, finally letting go of the man who towers her by nearly a foot. He stops moving for a moment, at at first she thinks he doesn't want to talk about it, but when he finally speaks she's not so sure if she want's to hear it.
"I'm sure you noticed he's a smart guy. Stupid, sometimes, but generally smarter than anyone else out there. He ever tell you as a kid he made me a little robot with a remote control? Made it out of tin cans and parts left over from a cd player so it could make us popcorn for our movie nights. Of course the laser would overheat the popcorn, setting everything on fire but it's the thought that counts."
She smiled at the image of a little Amlin working on a bench with a soldering iron and goggles too big for his head.
Menian turns back to the counter and opens one of the drawers, staring blankly into the contents. "He was proud of his inventions and problems he could solve. Called himself Megamind, and even wrote it on the corner of his papers sometimes. But you know kids, they can be dumb. Or cruel," he goes on to say, stirring the pot after digging for a new spatula in the drawer.
Roxanne turns to busy herself with preparing everything needed for their breakfast, walking in between the rooms to set the place-mats and utensils on the wooden table as quietly as she could while listening intently.
"They'd make fun of him for the name, and even being able to solve complex problems and riddles, can you believe that, being made fun of for being smart?" he goes on, anger hinted in his words.
She finds herself painfully being able to relate to Amlin; She herself was at the end of taunting fingers as a kid for carrying around her fathers Backyard Astronomer's Guide until one day she threw it away during lunch hour in front of the filled cafeteria in a fit of rage. She never forgave herself for that.
"Well, it became worse one day when Wayne noticed his mark on the back of his neck. Did I mention we went to grade school with him?" he interrupts himself to ask, turning slightly to look at Roxanne as she shakes her head.
"No, but I already knew."
He gives a short nod and continues, "We already had problems with Wayne to begin with, always picking on us since we had transferred from the orphanage. Well, one thing led to another and the next thing you know, Wayne got in a nasty altercation with us after a dodge ball game had gone wrong, sending us home with school yard cuts and a bruised pride. Next day Amlin set off a paint bomb in the middle of class, turning everyone blue in the process. Both of us got suspended on the spot."
She stops the action of putting the silverware up and starts making a wheezing sort of sound that concerns Menian enough to draw him over to her. "Miss? Are you okay? Did you-" and he stops when she turns around with wet eyes, her cheeks drawn high on her face with a smile.
"Oh man, what I would do to have been able to see that," she says, wiping at the corners of her eyes. "Is that why they call him Blue?"
Breathing in with relief, he walks back into the kitchen and replies, "No, not really. People don't connect us to the misfits in grade school because they only remember him by the name Megamind and me.., well, some don't recognize me anymore, most didn't even bother remembering my name. Nah, Blue mostly comes from him being a sourpuss most of the time, known for being brutally honest about everything anyone else says, although he's generally an optimistic guy himself. Always looking forward to the day because he gets to see yo-" he freezes, his shoulders coming up, but shrugs when he realizes it's too late to retract what he said. "Gets to see you," he repeats. She gives a shy smile as she tilts her head down, trying to hide the pink coloration glowing on her cheeks.
"It's just that, when he tries to point out obvious flaws and mistakes, it comes out, eh-well," he makes a juggling motion with his hands as he tries to look for the right word.
"Blunt," she fills in, and he nods in agreement. "Yeah, kind of. But the nickname doesn't bother him like they think it does, he actually takes pride in it. Not as much as he used to with Megamind, but close."
She takes in his words in silence for a moment before saying "But that doesn't explain why you have an "M" on your neck."
He adjusts the bowls for serving and turns off the heat on the stove top, pulling the pots and pans to start plating the food. "Well, after a few years of homeschooling he still couldn't get over the fact that he had this big ugly birthmark on the back of his neck, kept trying to figure out ways to cover it up, or even remove it," he says quietly, the clinking of metal spoons on porcelain sounding louder than his words.
"Sometimes we would be out and about and some kids would notice it out in the crowd and point it out to others loudly. Couldn't believe after all these years he still had to face scrutiny from people of all ages, so on my sixteenth birthday I went into a parlor with my dad and told the tattoo artist to cover up my birthmark with an "M". Mine wasn't as noticeable or detailed as his because it looked like a staple and a number one, so they just traced over it in green ink. Course I didn't stop there, but what dad doesn't know wont kill me."
She shakes with nervous laughter, not sure what to make of everything she's learned so far, being it's barely past eight in the morning. She's absentmindedly reaching for a fruit basket they have on the bar counter, and knocks over the oranges on accident when she pulls out a pear. Cursing, she bends down to pick up the fruit when she hears a door close loudly on the other side of the warehouse, and an all too familiar voice call out into the warehouse.
"Menian! You will not believe the dream I had last night!"
Overhead behind her, Menian starts waving both of his hands frantically at chest height, raising his right to make a slicing motion over his neck while mouthing out a sentence. "Menian it's too early for cha-rads, I don't know what you're saying-" she can hear Amlin say and he stops himself when she pops up from behind the counter, stopping him in his tracks.
She can see he had taken a shower and changed into science themed pajama bottoms along with fuzzy bat slippers that poke out from underneath a black robe that is a few sizes too big for him. The look on his face could tell her more than the stammering he was doing; not having expected her to stick around and catch him in his vulnerable state of casualness.
"I, uh, guess it's gonna be breakfast instead," she says with a small smile pulling at the edges of her lips, trying to shrug and maintain the bundle of oranges in her arms.
He grins and rushes around the counter to help her place the fruit back on the bowl and turns to Menian, who has his arms full himself with the bowls of risotto.
"My god, Menian what happened to your face?" he asks, the smile falling off his own.
Before Menian could say anything, Roxanne speaks up on his behalf.
"He got into a bar fight after the karaoke. Some guy started an argument over the Wolverines not getting into the divisional, and someone else said hell would freeze over if that ever happened and yadda yadda, then a chair was thrown and well..." Raising both eyebrows she points with her head towards Menian, who's placing the bowls down on the table by this point.
"Man, I always miss the good ones," Amlin pouts, pulling three cans of soda from the pantry and reaching into the freezer for the ice.
From the table Roxanne can see Minion mouth the words "Thank you" towards her, and she gives him a nod with a half smile before she and Amlin walk out of the kitchen area.
They're sitting around the quaint dining room table, the men on each end and Roxanne in the middle, their dishes barely separated by a few inches with elbows rubbing on each other as they eat in their comfortable silence. Its set up is originally meant for two but as it was built with an adjustable design they find they're able to break it in half and pull the ends apart, revealing a third piece in the center that can fold out and make just enough room for two more people.
Noticing the crampedness between the three of them, Menian tries to casually bring up the fact that they will be needing to change a few things around the warehouse.
"So.., going through the newspaper I saw we got the new catalog for IK's new year furniture line. Maybe sometime this week we can go down, and take a look around. Specifically, through the dining area..?"
"No, we don't need to go hunting out for another table since there's nothing wrong with this one. I think it suits our needs just right." Amlin points towards Menian with a fork while knocking on the wooden table.
"But I think now that we can be, you know, expecting more company, I think we should work on getting this place just a tad more, hospitable?"
"I don't think she minds the table, do you Roxanne?" asks Amlin.
"I find it perfectly acceptable. If we're eating a sandwich, that is," she quipped.
"She's just trying to use her intimidation skills to get us to buy a nicer table, Menian, don't listen to her."
"Hey, this place could use a nicer table," she retorts. "You have a record collection with a player that plays both sides of the vinyl and a massive fish tank in one of the bedrooms, it wouldn't hurt to add some flair to the dining room."
"You let her in my bedroom?" Menian asks with an incredulous look. Amlin glances from the corners of his eyes to him with guilt, giving a sideways smile that said "Oops."
"He said you'd be okay with it!" she points.
"Only because it was the only cool thing I had to offer!" Amlin counters.
"Right, because chicks don't dig guys who have Neil DeGrasse and Austen on the same shelf," she says.
Amlin stutters before being able to find his words. "You, wait, what? I was.., yeah the books.." he drones off when Menian cuts in, "He's afraid of people thinking he's a dork for having band posters up.
Roxanne has a blank look to her face as she tries to recollect seeing any posters hanging up, and finds it hard to place images to the black papers that had been tacked onto the wall opposite of the shelf. No matter how hard she thinks, her memory of last night doesn't expand past the four corners of the bed.
"You know what, I don't remember. Was too busy digging the books," she states, rolling her shoulders and giving into the food with a smug grin. Amlin isn't sure if she means what he thinks and widens his eyes before he could let the pink flush overtake his face again.
"Well," he says, clearing his throat. "Cosmo lied."
"You read cosmopolitan?" Roxanne asks with surprise.
"You saw the Austen books on his shelf, and you're surprised he reads a woman's magazine?" Menian in turn asks back.
They both turn to Amlin, expecting an answer. "What can I say? I was curious on what are the eleven traits women find irresistible in a man," he indulges, pulling into himself and drawing out choffs and snorts from the other two as they turn their attention back to the food.
The three of them can't help but smile through each bite they take, Roxanne and Amlin finding themselves kicking their feet at each other underneath the small table and Menian just watching in shared content, being absorbed by the contagious giggling the other two started.
The music flows in from the main area, words that spoke volumes to Roxanne not seeming to be as intimidating now as they were the night before when they had settled down in each others arms, falling asleep on the sofa momentarily.
~So all we got, baby, is one precious night.
All we got, is one precious night.
Throw your blues and shoes and things
and lay it down under the bed.
Just wrap me up in your beautiful wings,
better hear what I say, yeah.~
"Hey, you guys mind if I change the record? Kinda want to listen to something else for a change. No offence," Roxanne asks, her hands raising in the air.
"No, go on ahead. Actually, do you mind if it's The Killers?" Amlin asks back, Menian giving him a raised eyebrow as his squinted eyes dart back and forth.
Amlin notices and mouthes a "what" with one shrugging shoulder. They turn to Roxanne when she asks "Killers?" questioningly, her hand stopping the fork in the bowl and her head giving a slight tilt to one side.
They both lower their heads as Menian replies, "Guilty pleasure?"
She stares at her dish in deep thought, moving the food around before raising her brow in surprise and taking a bite. Shrugging, she clears her mouth to explain. "Well, I just thought of you two as more of "purists" when it came to your music. But now that I think about it, I did see a couple of Smiths and Cure in your collection, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that if you have some neo-gothic and alternative that you actually listen to and not just own, Killers would be on there too since they seem to be heavily influenced by the post-punk of back then. I mean it's labeled as new wave and revival, although some would argue it to be borderline emo, but you can clearly hear the homage to the 80's heavily laced into their songs."
She finishes the last bites of the risotto and let's out a hum through the food as she wipes her full mouth from debris, struggling to swallow fast enough to make room to speak.
"Oh! Do you guys have Hot Fuss on an LP?" she asks excitedly with her eyes opening wide, pushing herself from the table and hopping across the room towards the record player.
Both Amlin and Menian stare slack-jawed at the brunette squatting in front of the records, looking through the alphabetized albums when the bigger of the two leans to the smaller man and whispers through the side of his mouth "Can we keep her?"
Amlin can't help the smile that grows on his face, his elbows propping up on the table as he brings his hands to clasp over his mouth, supporting his nose.
"I guess I am awake" he laughs into his fingers.
It is done, I am done
I sit here on the computer buffing out the scratches and hoping I caught everything that needed fixing.
Of course I can only do so much while running on a whack sleep schedule.
I absolutely loved writing this. If I ever get down to making anything else under this AU I don't think I will add it to this story, the whole premise of this was the group singing karaoke, right?
Speaking of which,
SONG NOTES!
1) "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet
2)"Mr Brightside" by The Killers, Hot Fuss
3)"Angel" by Jimi Hendrix, TCOL (The Cry of Love)
4)"Freedom" by Jimi Hendrix, TCOL
5)"In From the Storm" by Jimi Hendrix, TCOL
6)"Night Bird Flying" by Jimi Hendrix, TCOL
.
.
I absolutely LOVE Jimi's TCOL album, I mean the only song I have is Angel and that's on his greatest hits album, but if I was to come across this baby, oh you bet your bottom dollar I'd pay for it.
I find it funny that I was able to find a flow through the story, easily connecting the scenes with specific songs in the album (and in the correct order too, by god).
So far it's the only album I've listened to in it's entirety, that and Citizen Cope which I might end up doing on the One Shots list.
And as a last note, "Wolverines" is brought in from the fabulous Setepenre-Set's, of whom is a big inspiration for me.
Well, going back into my dark corner now, with much love to my lovelies. I'll be here typing away in the glow of your reviews, even if i'm miserably hacking up my lungs because this is the longest I've been sick.
Hugs and kisses (with plenty of hand sanitizer),
P.C.