A/N: Enjoy this MEGACHAPTER!
There's a part in this chapter where Helga is on the phone with her friend Shannon, when you get to it, go to my profile and click the second link for the Shannon faceclaims (it says it's specifically for Chasing Destiny). It's a gif from a movie the actress (Saoirse Ronan) did and I think it's hilarious and exactly how I picture Shannon answering the phone XD
Fun At Ryan's Pub
The next day, Fabrizio and Jack slept in super late. By the time they woke up, it was already 3:00 p.m. Jack sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. He threw a pillow at Fabrizio and shouted, "Fabri, get up! It's 3:02 in the afternoon!"
Fabrizio shot up, startled. "Why do you always throw pillows at me?" he groaned sleepily, rolling over onto his side.
Jack laughed as he stood up and stretched his legs. "It worked, did it not?" He smirked at his friend's obvious displeasure.
Fabrizio scrambled out of bed. "Whatever, I call first dibs on the shower," he said, shuffling towards the bathroom.
Jack shrugged. "Fine. Go ahead." He waited until he heard the shower turn on, and then changed into his favorite t-shirt and a pair of black athletic shorts. He walked into the kitchen and started making grilled cheese sandwiches for their late lunch.
About twenty minutes later, Fabrizio came out in his bathrobe. "Aw dude, you made grilled cheese!" he yelled excitedly.
Jack grinned at his roommate's reaction. "Want one? I left the pan and bread out."
Fabrizio's eyes lit up. "Of course I do! Thanks, man!" he exclaimed. He buttered some bread, put a bunch of cheese on it, and then heated the stove.
"Yup." Jack took a swig of his cola.
"Here watch this for me, I'm gonna get dressed," Fabrizio said after he put his sandwich in the pan beside Jack's.
"Ok." Jack nodded, grabbing his own sandwich and putting it on a plate. He flipped Fabrizio's as he waited for his to cool.
Fabrizio came back into the kitchen in a plain white t-shirt and yellow athletic shorts just as his sandwich was ready. He put it on a plate and poured himself a glass of cola before joining Jack at the kitchen table. They ate in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the cheesy gooey goodness.
Jack finished his sandwich. "All right, now it's my turn for the shower," he said, getting up out of his chair. "And you can get the dishes since I had to get your breakfast dishes yesterday."
Fabrizio nodded. "Okay, whatever," he laughed. He picked up the dishes and washed them, and then sat on the sofa to watch TV.
Meanwhile, Helga sat in her bedroom on her computer as she waited for Fabrizio's phone call. She was about to pick up her flute, when an idea popped into her head. Her brother was going to a concert with his friends later, and her parents were going to bingo night at some Finnish cafe down the block, so she'd be on her own tonight. Smiling, she picked up her cell phone and dialed her best friend Shannon's number.
"Hello-?" Shannon answered the phone. Helga noted that she sounded slightly out of breath.
"Hey Shan, it's me," Helga said. "Are you okay...?" she asked.
"Oh, hey Helgs!" Shannon exclaimed. "Yeah...why?" She sounded a bit confused.
"No reason, you just sounded out of breath, were you running?" Helga giggled.
"No, not exactly," Shannon said with an airy laugh.
"Oh-em-gee! Did I interrupt you and Tommy...?" Helga covered her mouth with her hands, trying to contain her own laughter.
"Sort of...don't worry about it, we weren't really doing anything," Shannon explained.
"Oh, okay." Helga smiled awkwardly as she twiddled a pen on her desk between her fingers. "So anyways, are you guys working tonight?" she asked.
"Yeah, you should come hang out around seven-ish!" Shannon exclaimed.
"Awesome, yeah I was planning on it," Helga told her. "There's someone special I want you to meet, I met this guy at the mall yesterday and we went out to dinner," she added excitedly.
"You have a new boyfriend?!" Shannon yelled excitedly through the phone.
"Fangirl scream much?" Helga teased her.
Suddenly, there was a pause on the other end of the phone, and she could faintly hear arguing in the background. "Sorry...my dad just barged in and caught Tommy in here with me," Shannon explained, a slightly annoyed edge in her voice. "He's making me get off the phone, I'll see you later!" she said, hanging up.
Helga smiled to herself. "Bye!" she said, just as the call ended.
Fabrizio was in the middle of his show, when he suddenly remembered something. He'd promised to call Helga. He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed her number, and then waited as it rang.
"Hello?" Helga answered her phone.
"It's me." Fabrizio grinned.
"Oh, hey! What's up?" Helga asked happily.
"You busy tonight? Fabrizio wanted to know.
"Yeah, I'm actually going to see my friend Shannon at work around seven o'clock. She's a waitress at Ryan's Irish Pub, it's this huge black building in an Irish neighborhood a few blocks from my neighborhood, her boyfriend Tommy's grandpa owns it and Tommy's the bartender. He used to be a waiter but now he's twenty-one so his grandpa moved him up by the bar. They're having free game night and happy hour starts at six o'clock, and the entire staff Irish dances at certain intervals throughout the night. It's super fun, you should come meet them," Helga replied excitedly.
"Oh, really? That sounds awesome, yeah I'd love to go with you," Fabrizio told her.
"Cool," Helga giggled through the phone.
"So, where is this place again?" Fabrizio asked for clarification. She was talking really fast.
"Remember how I told you my friend Shannon's neighborhood is fairly close to mine? There's a few Irish neighborhoods not too far from my neighborhood, and hers is a few blocks away if you turn left, and then Tommy's family lives in a different one a few more blocks down from hers if you keep going straight, and the pub is like a block from his neighborhood after you turn right by this old cigar shop...does that make sense?"
"Sort of..."
"Here, if you want to pick me up at like six thirty five-ish, we can drive together. I'll navigate."
"Yeah, let's do that." Fabrizio laughed.
"Okay," Helga giggled. "I can't wait, bye!" she said.
"Me neither!" Fabrizio grinned. "See ya!" He hung up the phone.
Just then, Jack came out into the TV room. "Were you just talking to someone?" he asked.
Fabrizio grinned. "Yeah, Helga."
Jack nodded, "Oh, okay." He laughed.
"Yeah." Fabrizio rubbed his hands together excitedly as Jack plopped down next to him. "Hey, we're going to this Irish pub tonight, if you wanna bring that Rose chick and double date with us," he offered.
"Why are you going to an Irish pub?" Jack wanted to know.
"Helga's best friend Shannon is a waitress there, and I guess Shannon's boyfriend Tommy is the bartender. His grandpa owns the place. Helga was going there tonight to visit with them and she invited me to come along. She said there's happy hour and free games and Irish dancing...it sounds fun," Fabrizio explained.
"Oh, cool." Jack laughed. "Rose and I aren't dating, she's just a friend, but I can ask if her if she'd like to go," he said.
Fabrizio grinned at him. "Awesome." He flashed him a silly smirk as Jack took out his phone and called Rose.
Rose was currently out shopping while talking to Cal on the phone. "Yes, darling, I'm fine," she was saying.
"Your mother is driving me nuts!" Cal barked. "I wish it were you here with me." His voice softened.
"I know, but I just really didn't want to go, I told you I wasn't feeling well," Rose explained. Hang up before I'm f-ing 90 years old?
"Fine, whatever," Cal snapped irritably. He was clearly displeased with her lack of energy over the phone.
Just then, Rose got the incoming call alert. She sighed with relief. God is so good. "Look Cal, if you're going to be an ass, I'm getting another call. Goodbye." She hung up on him to answer the other call.
"Hello?"
"It's Jack."
"Oh, hey, Jack."
"So... my friend and his girlfriend are going to this Irish pub tonight, and I was wondering if you'd like to come and double date?"
"Oh, okay, sure! What time?"
"Like six twenty-ish. I'll pick you up. Just text me your address."
"Okay, thanks. See you tonight!"
"You bet, can't wait."
"Bye!"
"Bye!"
They both hung up, and Rose smiled to herself. Cal is such a jerk...but Jack is the complete opposite. If I weren't trapped in this effing marriage with obnoxious effing Cal, I would totally date him. Or...maybe I should just date him anyways...I shouldn't let Mother and Cal walk all over me... she mused. She quickly texted him her address.
Hearing his phone beep, Jack looked down to see that she'd sent her address. He glanced over at Fabrizio. "Rose is coming!" he said excitedly.
Fabrizio smiled. "Cool."
A few hours later, it was almost time to go, so Fabrizio and Jack were changing clothes. Jack put on a red polo shirt and jeans while Fabrizio put on a green and blue striped polo shirt with the same khakis he wore the night before. "Dude, why are you putting the same pants back on?" Jack gave him a funny look.
Fabrizio shrugged. "They're comfortable and a little dressier than jeans. I know we're just going to a pub, but I want to look good for Helga," he explained.
Jack cocked his eyebrows. "You're weird. If you're trying to impress the girl, make sure they don't smell or anything," he teased.
"Shut up, they don't. I checked." Fabrizio crossed his arms with a joking scowl.
"Whatever." Jack laughed. "Let's just take one car, you can drive since Helga thinks you're picking her up in your car."
Fabrizio shrugged. "Okay." He grabbed his keys and they walked out. He hopped in the driver's seat and Jack scrambled in beside him. They drove to Rose's first, since Helga's would be on the way to the pub.
Jack told Fabrizio to park on the street while he went in to get Rose. He went inside a luxurious lobby with creamy orange walls, golden light fixtures, and a large crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. "Could you buzz me into the Hockley penthouse?" he asked a young man with dark blue glasses behind the desk. "Rose DeWitt Bukater wanted to see me," he added.
The man nodded and pressed a button that lit up green. "You can go up when the light turns orange," he told him. Jack nodded. Not even a minute later, the light changed, and Jack took the elevator to the very top.
When the elevator doors opened, he could see that Rose was standing in the living room. "Hello, Jack." She smiled at him. She was wearing a flowy-skirted raspberry colored dress that just reached her ankles, and her vibrant ginger hair was down.
"Hey, Rose." Jack grinned. "Nice place you got here."
"Thanks...I guess," Rose responded. She managed a faint smile.
"So...are you ready to go?" Jack asked with an excited grin.
"Yeah," Rose replied softly. She pressed the elevator button and stepped inside with Jack right behind her.
Jack led her outside to where Fabrizio's car was parked on the street corner. He opened the backseat door for her and she slid inside the car, quickly fastening her seatbelt. "This is Fabrizio De Rossi, my best friend and roommate," Jack told her with a grin, nodding towards Fabrizio.
Fabrizio waved at her. "Hey there," he said with a silly smirk.
Rose smiled at him. "Hi," she replied somewhat shyly.
"Okay, now I'm gonna go get our navigator. I have no effing clue how to get there," Fabrizio told Jack, laughing as he started the engine. They sped off down several city blocks towards Helga's neighborhood.
Minutes later, they pulled up in the parking lot of her family's apartment complex. "Here, I'll be right back." Fabrizio hopped out of the car. He jogged up to her front door and knocked. "Yo, it's Fabrizio!" he yelled.
"Coming!" Helga shouted back as she ran and opened the door.
"Hello there." Fabrizio grinned.
"Hello yourself." Helga giggled.
Fabrizio flashed her a sly smile. "Once again, you look great," he said.
"Thanks, you look very handsome yourself," Helga giggled.
"Yeah, because I've got a very pretty lady standing next to me," Fabrizio insisted, making Helga blush. She was wearing a bright floral blouse and a sparkly turquoise skirt that flowed down just above her knees. Her hair was up in a ponytail.
"So are your parents home?" Fabrizio asked curiously. He didn't particularly want to say hello to her father.
"No, they went to bingo night at this Finnish cafe a few blocks from here and my brother went out with his friends," Helga replied. She sensed his uneasiness and flashed him a teasing smile.
"Oh, cool. Hey just so you know, I invited my buddy Jack and his friend Rose to come along. They're down there waiting for us." Fabrizio told her. "Do you mind?" he asked, hoping she wouldn't find it rude that he brought more people without telling her.
"Oh, okay." Helga smiled. "No, of course not," she said. "The more the merrier."
Fabrizio grinned excitedly. "So should we go?" He offered her his arm.
Helga let out an airy laugh. "Yeah, sure." She smiled and linked her arm with his.
Fabrizio grinned led her down to the car. He opened the backseat door for her and she hopped in next to Rose. "Oh, you must be Rose. I'm Helga, nice to meet you," she said, extending her hand to the ginger-haired girl beside her.
Rose smiled shyly and shook her hand. "Yeah, I am. It's nice to meet you too, Helga," she replied.
"Helga this is my buddy Jack, he's also my roommate," Fabrizio said, peering into the backseat and then nodding towards Jack.
"Hi Helga." Jack waved.
Helga smiled at him. "Hello!"
Jack grinned. "So can you navigate from back there?" he asked her. "I'll switch if you want to sit with Fabrizio up here," he offered.
"No, you're fine. I can still navigate from the backseat," Helga replied with a dismissive wave. She clicked her seatbelt in place.
"Okay, cool." Jack nodded.
"You guys ready?" Fabrizio asked, turning his key in the ignition.
"Yep! Let's go." Jack nodded again.
"Okay!" Fabrizio sped off down the block.
Helga navigated the way down several city blocks, and then suddenly had him make a sharp right turn past an old cigar shop. They pulled into the parking lot of a large old-looking black building. The sign read Ryan's Irish Pub in elegant gold lettering with two shamrocks intertwined into a heart. The glass in the windows were different colors with various Irish symbols painted on them.
They all got out of the car and made their way up the front three steps. Fabrizio held the large creaky door open as they all walked into a spacious bar room filled with old pub style tables and chairs. The bar was located on the far wall and was stacked with every type of Irish alcohol in existance. On the walls hung pictures of different Irish alcohol brands as well as a giant Irish flag. This was the bar room where most of the patrons hung out, and it was packed. Several drunk people sat at the bar while waiters and waitresses scurried around to the various tables. Lively Irish music was blasting over the loudspeaker, and there was a strong scent of whiskey in the air mixed with a very faint cigar smoke smell that likely emitted from people's clothing.
The place was huge. Rose, Jack, and Fabrizio looked around in awe. They had never been anywhere like it before. Helga nodded towards a staircase on the opposite end of the room. "That's the arcade area, they've got pool tables and stuff," she said.
"This place is awesome!" Fabrizio yelled over the ear-splitting music.
"Yeah! I'm psyched!" Jack chimed in.
"The music is way too loud, but it's catchy," Rose commented.
"Come on, I want you guys to meet Shannon and Tommy," Helga said, waving for them to follow her.
She glanced over in the direction of the bar, but the owner's grandson was nowhere to be seen, nor was her best friend. That's weird, Shan told me to come around seven, so where are they...? Suddenly, a thought popped into her head, and her gaze gravitated towards the kitchen doors.
Sure enough, through the steam wafting from the different foods that were being cooked, she could see two very-familiar looking people. It appeared as if they had taken a break from working to get frisky in the kitchen, as Tommy was currently groping Shannon's backside while they made out with each other.
Helga rolled her eyes. "Um..." She shifted awkwardly on her feet. Jack and Fabrizio stifled a laugh, but Rose was too preoccupied with looking around the pub to notice what was so funny.
Just then, Tommy's 83-year-old grandfather and owner of the pub, Eugene J. Ryan, barged into the kitchen. He appeared to be scolding them to get back to work, and sure enough, they scrambled out the doors and back to their posts. Tommy behind the bar and Shannon standing near the bar as she waited for a carry-out order.
"SHAN SHAN!" Helga screamed, waving her arms wildly in the air to catch her friend's attention.
"WEEGIE!" Shannon screamed back, sprinting across the room and nearly tackling her in a tight hug.
"You guys, this is Shannon O'Neal, my sister from a different mister," Helga explained, glancing at Fabrizio, Jack, and Rose.
Shannon was a girl of average height with long strawberry blonde hair pulled back in a bun and piercing blue eyes. She wore a green t-shirt with the words Ryan's Irish Pub inside of a white shamrock and a black knee-length Irish dancing skirt with a sparkly green and pink pattern.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Fabrizio De Rossi," Fabrizio introduced himself, shaking her hand.
"I'm Jack Dawson, Fabrizio's the one your friend Helga likes, I was just invited to tag along," Jack said, also shaking her hand.
"And I'm Rose DeWitt Bukater, Jack invited me," Rose told her with a shy smile.
"Cool beans, glad you're here!" Shannon exclaimed, smiling at each of them in turn. "Have you guys been here before?" she asked.
"Fabrizio and I haven't," Jack replied.
"I've never been here either," Rose chimed in.
"Well then, welcome! Come on, I'll be your server." Shannon smiled excitedly as she grabbed some menus and motioned for them to follow her. "Meg, can you handle carry out so I can wait another table?" she asked as she passed one of the other waitresses, who nodded.
"Thanks!"
"No problem."
"Here we are," Shannon said, placing the menus on one of the tables near the bar. "Just so you know, if your entire table spends at least fifty bucks, you can play three games of pool for free downstairs. If your table wins two out of three matches, you get a tray of free drinks of your choice. Also, the entire staff Irish dances every hour," she told them.
"Sweet!" Fabrizio slapped his hands down on the table in excitement.
"I'm having a blast already." Jack grinned.
"Good, I'm glad!" Shannon laughed.
"So what are tonight's specials?" Rose asked curiously.
"Well our soup of the day is clam chowder and the salad of the day is garden salad with a dressing of your choice. There's more information on the menu. I'll also tell you that we have a lot of deals over the weekend. Tonight any seafood item is half off, and your first alcoholic beverage is free," Shannon explained. "But that last part wouldn't pertain to any of us under twenty one," she laughed.
"So what's good here?" Fabrizio wanted to know as he scanned the menu. "What would you recommend?"
"Ryan's Potato Chip Porridge is delicious. Grandpa Euge, as we all call boss, has been making it for years. His father invented the original recipe when he first opened this place in 1927, but he tweaked it a little. It's just potato porridge with crushed potato chips in it but he also adds just a pinch of pepper for taste," Shannon replied. "I also really like Eugene's Seafood Medley Bisque, it's this thick and creamy soup with like crab, lobster, and shellfish," she said.
"It sounds like you have a lot of good soups here," Jack said.
"Yeah, we do! But if you aren't into that, all the pub burgers are really good and there's always the classic fish and chips," Shannon told them. "I'll let you look over the menu for a minute," she added, smiling.
Just then, Tommy walked over to their table, gently pinching Shannon's backside as he planted a soft kiss behind her left ear. "How's it going over here?" he asked. "I'm Tommy Ryan, Eugene's grandson and the bartender," he introduced himself, briskly shaking hands with Fabrizio, Jack, and Rose in turn, and then high fiving Helga.
Shannon let out an airy giggle as she slapped his hand off of her butt. "Later!" she whispered harshly. Tommy just smirked and wrapped his arms around her waist as he planted another kiss on her neck, making her giggle again.
Tommy was a fairly tall guy with light brown hair and warm hazel eyes. He, like Shannon and the rest of the staff, wore a green Ryan's Irish Pub t-shirt along with his black pants.
"I'm Jack, Jack Dawson. Nice to meet you," Jack said.
"Fabrizio De Rossi," Fabrizio added. He grinned.
"I'm Rose DeWitt Bukater," Rose told him.
"Awesome! So have you guys decided what you're ordering?" Tommy asked curiously.
"I'm definitely getting the mixed seafood soup, it's amazing," Helga decided, closing her menu.
"I think I'll try that too, my throat's kind of dry and I've been in a soup mood for a few days now," Rose said with a smile.
"I'm gonna do the fish and chips. Keeping it simple." Jack handed his menu to Shannon.
"I'll try the classic pub burger," Fabrizio said.
"So we've got two for Eugene's Seafood Medley Bisque, one fish and chips, and one pub burger," Shannon mumbled to herself as she jotted it down. "Drinks?" she asked, looking back up from her notepad.
"Cola no ice," Fabrizio replied.
"What he said," Jack agreed.
"Sweet tea," Rose said, smiling politely.
"I want Tommy to suprise me," Helga laughed. She always asked him to make special non-alcoholic drinks for her up at the bar.
"You got it, Weegie," Tommy chuckled, smacking Shannon's butt again, before walking back over to the bar.
Shannon rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I'll go put your order in," she told them. "I'll be back," she added, sprinting towards the kitchen.
Fabrizio glanced sideways at Helga. "So why do they keep calling you Weegie?" he wanted to know.
"Oh, it's their nickname for me. It refers to my Norwegian lineage... like NorWEEGian...get it?" Helga explained with a giggle.
"Ohhh, I get it, that's funny." Fabrizio laughed.
"Hey so after we eat, do you guys wanna play pool?" Jack suggested.
"Yeah, that could be fun," Fabrizio agreed.
"Sure." Helga smiled at them. "I want Tommy and Shannon to play so we can do boys versus girls," she added.
"I like that idea," Rose laughed. She'd never gotten to just hang out, eat, and play games before. This entire experience was so foreign to her, and she was loving every second of it.
"I've never actually played pool before," she said.
"It's not that hard, I'll show you!" Jack grinned.
"Yeah. Don't worry about it, I suck at pool, but it's still fun," Helga told her, smiling.
"Oh, okay. Can't wait!" Rose smiled also.
"Jack and I are beasts at pool, so don't be too sad if we whoop you girls right off the table," Fabrizio teased.
"Whatever," Helga giggled.
Just then, Shannon walked back over to their table. "I just put your orders in, the food should be out in like twenty minutes," she explained.
Helga flashed her an excited smile. "Do you think Eugene will let you and Tommy take a break for a bit?" she asked.
Shannon shrugged. "I mean yeah...probably. We do have to be back up here in an hour to Irish dance, though," she replied. "Why?"
"You guys should come play pool with us. We're going to have boys versus girls," Helga told her.
"Oh, cool. I'll ask Grandpa Euge if we can hang with you guys," Shannon agreed with a smile.
"So are you guys really good at pool?" Jack asked her.
"Tommy is, but I always manage to sink the cue ball," Shannon laughed. "Pool is fun. It's just not my cup of tea," she said.
Fabrizio chuckled at this. "So what I'm hearing is the guys team is definitely going to win?" he asked with a sly smirk.
Helga rolled her eyes. "Oh it's on De Rossi," she challenged.
Shannon giggled. "You guys are funny, I'll go ask Grandpa Euge if Tommy and I can take our break now," she said, sprinting off again.
Helga craned her neck to watch as Shannon ran into the back area behind the bar. "I hope he says yes," she commented, crossing her fingers.
"Same, your friends are fun," Fabrizio agreed.
"I can't wait to scarf my food down so we can play," Jack chuckled.
"I seriously never get to hang out like this... I feel like such a badass right now," Rose whispered to him across the table. He grinned and flashed her a thumbs up.
About twenty minutes later, they saw Shannon re-emerge from the back room. She went behind the bar and bent down to grab some beers out of the cooler for a table of regulars, Eugene's buddies. Tommy smirked and took it as yet another opportunity to smack her butt.
Shannon jumped up and glared at him as some of the other guys at the bar did catcalls. "Do it again, Shan!" one of them shouted. Tommy laughed.
"You ass!" Shannon exclaimed, playfully slapping his arm.
"Hey, it's not my fault you stuck it up in the air like that," Tommy teased his girlfriend.
Jack and Fabrizio stifled a laugh. "The perks of being seated close to the bar," Jack commented.
Helga giggled. "They're always like that, it's effing hilarious," she said.
Fabrizio smirked. "I can see that," he chuckled.
Shannon appeared to still be telling him something as she went over and placed the beers on the table for Eugene's friends. Then she went and stood by the kitchen to wait for the food to be ready.
Rose's stomach growled. "Pardon me, I'm starving," she said. The scents of warm Irish cuisine wafting into her nostrils was starting to get to her.
"She's coming, the cook just handed her the tray, and Tommy's bringing my special drink!" Helga pointed out excitedly.
"Food's here!" Shannon announced, coming back over and setting her heavy trays down on the table. "I've got Seafood Medley Bisque for the lovely ladies, fish and chips for Mister Jack, and a nice hot pub burger for Weegie's man," she said, placing everyone's food in front of them. She handed Rose her sweet tea and Jack and Fabrizio their colas.
"Here's your special drink, Weegie. I'll tell you what it is when you taste it," Tommy said, walking over and placing a colorful margarita glass filled with a bright greenish-blue drink and assorted fruit around the brim on the table in front of her.
"It's not gross is it?" Helga asked nervously. Sometimes Tommy mixed the weirdest things he could find just to mess with her.
"Not telling." Tommy flashed her a wily smirk.
"Oh God..." Helga slowly took a sip, and then sighed in relief. "This is delicious, what is it?"
"It's non-alcoholic blue raspberry lemonade. I would've slipped you some vodka, but I don't want Gramps to lose his liquor license," Tommy chuckled.
"Ha-ha." Helga smiled. "So can you guys hang out?" she wanted to know.
"Yeah," Shannon giggled.
"Here pull up some chairs so we can talk while we're eating our food!" Helga suggested.
"Okay," Tommy laughed, grabbing two chairs for himself and Shannon. They sat down next to the table. "So Weegie, did you tell Fabrizio here about yours and Shan's little Chinatown adventure last weekend?"
Fabrizio's eyes widened. "She did, actually!" He bust out laughing, nearly choking on his cola.
Tommy shook his head. "So I'm in my room watching the Bears game, right?" he started, looking up for effect. Fabrizio nodded for him to continue. "All of the sudden Shan calls me crying. I'm like really worried and I ask her what's wrong. So she's like sniffling and I can hear Helga yelling at her in the background as she explains how they got lost in Chinatown after accidentally getting on the wrong bus. Even though it's after 1AM, I hop in my car and I drive down there to pick 'em up, because I'd do anything for my girl, and Weegie too...but I couldn't resist giving them shit the entire way back to Weegie's place," he explained, laughing.
"My dad legit got so pissed off at me for going out without my cell phone," Helga giggled.
"Yeah, I heard that. I can't believe her dad got mad about her not having a cell phone, yet he didn't seem to mind that two eighteen year old girls, one being his daughter, were wandering around the streets of Chicago that late at night..." Tommy mused, shaking his head again.
"My dad got mad about that part... he kept texting me asking why we were staying out so late," Shannon laughed.
"Wait, so you guys stayed out until like 2AM, right?" Fabrizio asked, remembering Helga's story from the previous night on their dinner date.
"Yeah, we would've gone home at like midnight except for our little Chinatown escapade..." Helga replied, shooting her best friend a joking glare.
"Hey Weegie, don't even give me that look. You have to agree that from where we were standing it looked like the right address," Shannon teased. She held up her arms defensively.
Jack and Rose weren't really listening to the conversation. They were too busy enjoying their food and had started their own conversation. "This mixed seafood bisque is delicious," Rose commented.
Jack smiled at her across the table. "So are these fish and chips," he said. "You want a fry?" he offered, extending a french fry towards her.
"No thank you," Rose replied with a smile.
"Man I was hungry, look, I'm almost done already," Jack chortled, looking down at his plate. He only had a few fries left and less than half of a piece of fish.
"Wow," Rose giggled, wide-eyed.
"Hey, you wanna go down and I'll teach you how to play pool quick?" Jack suggested, figuring he could give her a few pointers so when everyone else came down they would be ready to start the game.
"Sure!" Rose exclaimed happily, blowing on her last spoonful of soup.
"...so my dad's like 'Helga Johanne Dahl, what in the world were you thinking?!' and I'm just standing there like..." Helga was saying.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt, I'm gonna take Rose down by the pool tables," Jack interjected suddenly, putting his hand on Fabrizio's shoulder.
"Yeah, that's cool. We'll come down in a few minutes," Fabrizio said with a nod.
"Awesome! Let's go, Rose." Jack grinned and offered Rose his arm.
He led her down the stairs into a brightly lit game room area. It had bright yellow walls with more Irish alcohol brand pictures and posters hanging on them. There were three large pool tables in the center of the room, two of which were currently occupied, and also some classic arcade game machines.
Jack grabbed a pool stick and handed it to Rose. He gently picked up the ball rack and motioned for her to come stand in front of him.
"All right, so the objective of the game is to get all of your team's balls in the holes. We're going to play eight ball so once all of each team's balls are pocketed, the team that pockets the eight ball is the winner. So, we'll be playing boys versus girls and someone will have to be the breaker, the person who scatters all the balls. If they pocket a ball, that will determine if that team is solids or stripes. So for example if Tommy breaks and pocket a solid, he, Fabrizio, and I will aim for solids on our team's turn. Meaning you, Helga, and Shannon will go for the stripe balls. Got it so far?"
"I think so... then what?" Rose asked curiously.
"So we'll be taking turns. On the first boys team's turn let's say Tommy goes first. Then on the girls team's turn Shannon goes first. That means we keep alternating teams and players. So like after that it would be Fabrizio versus Helga and me versus you...ya know?"
"Yeah."
"Now if Tommy doesn't sink a ball, then it's Shannon's turn. However, if he does pocket a ball, our team can keep shooting until one of us misses. Make sense?"
"Yeah, I think I've got it."
"Okay so repeat it back to me."
"So someone breaks and scatters the balls. Whatever they sink will be the type of ball for their team. If a player pockets a ball their team can keep shooting until they miss and then it's the other team's turn. One boy versus one girl will face off each round. At the end when all of the balls are pocketed, the team that gets the eight ball is the winner."
"Awesome, good job!" Jack exclaimed, clapping. "Now I'll teach you how to aim and shoot," he said with a grin. He proceeded to aim and scatter all the balls on the table.
"Okay," Rose giggled.
Jack gently held Rose's arm and positioned the pool stick in her hands. Her heart fluttered at his touch and she blushed a deep shade of red. "Now you can get as close as you want to the ball you're aiming for. On the first shot, place the cue ball...the white one, in front of a ball of your choice. Go for an easy shot. Then you line it up and try to get the cue ball to hit the ball you want and sink it into one of the pockets," he explained. "Give it a go."
Rose nodded and put the cue ball in front of the orange striped ball that was near one of the pockets. She aimed her stick like Jack had shown her and let go, pocketing the orange striped ball. "I did it!" she exclaimed, her bright green eyes twinkling with glee.
"Nice shot!" Jack grinned, softly clapping her on the shoulder. "You're a pro, Rose!"
"Thanks!" Rose giggled again.
Jack put all the balls back in the center and put the rack around them again. Suddenly, they could hear footsteps coming down the stairs, and the rest of their group joined them around the pool table. "So who's breaking?" Tommy asked, grabbing a pool stick.
Jack shrugged. "Whoever wants to," he said, picking up the ball rack.
"I guess I'll do it," Tommy offered, stepping back and positioning his stick directly behind the cue ball. He shot the cue ball across the table, scattering the balls all over the table and pocketing the orange solid ball. "Guess we're solids," he said, handing his stick to Jack.
"I'm gonna try and get the blue one," Jack said, eyeing his target carefully as he shot the cue ball across the table, and pocketed the blue solid ball. "Look at that, Bears colors," he pointed out. "Make us proud, Fabri," he said, handing the stick to Fabrizio.
"Hmm...lemme see here..." Fabrizio stepped back and shot the cue ball. Unfortunately, he missed. "Shit, sorry guys," he said, looking at the floor in shame.
"Weren't you just boasting about how beast you guys were at pool...?" Helga teased him, giggling.
"Whatever dude, I've got this," Fabrizio said. He flashed her a joking scowl.
"Yeah, okay," Helga giggled. "Go Shan," she said as Rose handed Shannon the pool stick.
"I think I'll go for the purple stripe..." Shannon decided, stepping back and shooting the cue ball across the table. She missed the purple stripe ball but managed to sink the yellow striped one. "That works too," she said with a shrug, handing the pool stick back to Rose.
"It may not have been the one you aimed for, but at least it wasn't the cue ball this time," Tommy joked, causing his girlfriend to glare at him.
"You can do it, Rose!" Helga urged as Rose stepped up to the table.
Rose carefully lined up the tip of the stick with the cue ball's surface, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes as she let go. She peeked her eyes open just in time to see the red stripe ball going into one of the pockets.
Shannon clapped excitedly. "Good shot!" she exclaimed. "Come on, Weegie!" she said as Rose handed the stick to Helga.
Helga squinted as she eyed the purple stripe ball. She shot the cue ball across the table, pocketing the blue stripe ball instead. "Yay got one in!" she announced happily. "Go again Shan." She handed the stick over to Shannon again.
Tommy, Fabrizio, and Jack all looked at each other as Shannon shot the cue ball again. This time, however, she did indeed pocket the cue ball itself. "She shoots...and she sinks the cue ball!" Tommy yelled in a faux announcer's voice.
"Shut up!" Shannon elbowed him in the gut.
"My turn," Tommy said, smirking as he took the pool stick from Fabrizio. He shot the cue ball into the green solid ball, which hit the yellow solid ball, and pocketed both of them. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" He grinned and handed the stick to Jack.
"I'm going to get that maroon one," Jack told them. He shot the cue ball towards the 7 ball but it missed. "Oops sorry Fabri, I guess you don't get a turn," he chuckled. Fabrizio scowled at him.
Next it was Rose's turn. "Try and get the purple 12 ball," Shannon whispered in her ear, handing over their stick.
Rose nodded. She eyed her target and released the tip of the stick against the cue ball, shooting it across the table and pocketing the purple stripe ball. "Yes!" she exclaimed.
"Nice shot!" Helga patted her on the back as she took the stick from her. "I'm aiming for the maroon 15 ball," she said, hitting the cue ball across the table. She didn't manage to pocket any balls that time.
"Don't feel too bad, Weegie, at least you didn't pocket the cue ball like I did," Shannon giggled.
"Finally it's my turn!" Fabrizio shouted, grabbing their stick from Jack. "Watch this," he said, carefully shooting the cue ball into the maroon solid ball and pocketing it. "Piece a cake." He handed the stick over to Tommy.
Tommy eyed the purple solid ball and leaned across the table at an angle as he took his shot. He pocketed it but nearly got one of the striped balls in the process. "Whoa that was close," he breathed, handing the stick to Jack again.
Jack positioned his stick directly behind the cue ball and shot it into the red solid ball, pocketing it. He, Fabrizio, and Tommy let out a triumphant shout as they high fived each other. "Now it's just down to the eight ball and we could win this," Fabrizio said with a sly smirk.
He took the stick from Jack and shot the cue ball towards the solid black 8 ball, unfortunately missing again. "Oh shit that was a bad shot," he groaned. "Okay, it's the girls' turn," he said, nodding for Shannon to go ahead and take her shot.
Shannon sucked in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and slammed her stick against the back of the cue ball. She actually managed to pocket not only the green stripe 14 ball, but also the orange stripe 13 ball. "BOO YAH!" she screamed, all but throwing their stick at Rose.
Rose aimed her stick at the maroon stripe ball and let go. The cue ball slammed into it and knocked it into one of the pockets. "Yay!" she yelled excitedly, handing the stick to Helga. "Now we have a shot at the eight ball!"
Helga flashed Fabrizio a teasing smirk as she carefully eyed the solid black 8 ball. "Oh man I'm so scared..." she said in a whispery breath as she let go of her stick against the cue ball's surface.
Their entire group watched in anticipation as the cue ball hurdled into the 8 ball. It knocked it to the edge of one of the pockets but then the ball stopped moving. "Ergh that was soooo close!" Helga groaned. "I guess it's up to you, Tommy," she said.
Tommy rubbed his hands together excitedly. "It's right there...I've got this," he said, releasing the stick against the cue ball and pocketing the 8 ball. "YEAH!" he yelled, high fiving Jack and Fabrizio.
Shannon smiled at him. "Okay, I admit it, you're a pro..." she giggled.
Tommy flashed her a silly smirk. "You wanna congratulate me?" he asked, pulling her against him.
"Good job." Shannon softly rubbed her nose against his and pecked him softly on the lips.
"Thanks babes." Tommy grinned.
Fabrizio looked over at Helga. "I know I boasted a lot, but it was a good game, I think you played better than I did!" he told her, laughing.
Helga giggled. "Yeah, it was fun!" she agreed. Fabrizio grinned and pulled her into a bear hug, softly kissing the top of her head.
"Thanks for teaching me how to play pool, Jack. This was so awesome!" Rose exclaimed, happily throwing her arms around Jack's neck. She was so happy that she'd been fortunate enough to meet Jack the other day. She knew that he could very well be her ticket out of the whole mess with Cal, and she couldn't deny that she was starting to fall in love with him. Those dreamy seafoam pools could make any girl melt I bet...
"Of course, don't mention it!" Jack grinned.
Just then, Tommy swore loudly, and they could hear the music getting louder upstairs. "Shit, we gotta get up there!" he yelled, checking his watch. They only had about fifteen seconds until the big hourly Irish dancing spectacle.
Shannon's eyes widened. "Go!" she hissed, sprinting up the stairs after him. They both knew that Tommy's grandfather would be incredibly pissed off if they were late.
"Come on, you guys HAVE to see this. It's AWESOME!" Helga exclaimed, grabbing Fabrizio and running towards the stairs. Jack and Rose followed suit.
"Wait for us!" Jack shouted, scrambling up the steps behind them.
They re-emerged into the pub room. It was dark and green and blue lights flew across the floor as lively riverdancing music began to play. They scrambled back into their seats at their table as the entire staff danced into the center of the room from all directions.
Tommy and Shannon stepped out of line and skipped to opposite ends of the line as Eugene himself danced out in front of the crowd, tipping his bowler hat. For an 83-year-old man, he sure had a lot of energy left in him. Tommy and Shannon skipped into the center on either side of him, and Eugene ducked under them. He began to dance between the tables as Tommy pulled Shannon close to him, kissed her lightly, and then dipped her.
Rose watched in awe at how their feet seemed to just fly up in the air and gracefully come back down. She'd never seen anything quite like it before. Jack, Fabrizio, and Helga were all clapping and cheering along with the rest of the pub crowd. Rose noticed that a table of older gentlemen were whooping loudly, and assumed they were regulars.
The entire show lasted about ten minutes before the lights came back on and the staff members scattered back to their various jobs. The music switched back to some band singing an Irish folk song. "It's supposed to have sort of a flash mob effect, unless you're counting that is... if you're expecting it every hour then it's not a surprise," Helga explained.
"That was f*cking LEGIT!" Fabrizio yelled over the loud music, slamming his hands down on the table.
"I've never seen anything like it," Rose commented with a fascinated grin.
"Pretty cool," Jack agreed.
"I know, right?" Helga clapped her hands excitedly. "Ahh, it's my favorite part."
Suddenly, Shannon came skipping back to their table. She tucked a loose strand of long strawberry blonde hair behind her ear and wiped a little bit of sweat off her forehead. She let out an airy giggle. "Sooo... how was it? What did you think?" she wanted to know.
Helga grinned at her. "AMAZING!" she shouted over the blasting music. Fabrizio, Jack, and Rose all nodded their heads in agreement.
"Thanks!" Shannon exclaimed. "Here's some baked potato chips fresh out of the oven, compliments of Grandpa Euge. Tommy's bringing you guys more drinks," she added with a happy smile, placing a plate of chips in the center of the table.
"Sweet!" Fabrizio grinned.
Tommy jogged over to the table with a tray of colorful drinks. "I was experimenting again...there's two blue raspberry lemonades like I made for Helga before, and two tropical punch lemonades, both are non-alcoholic," he explained with a light chuckle.
Fabrizio and Helga both took a blue raspberry one while Jack and Rose opted for the tropical punch flavor. "Whoa this is delicious, thanks man!" Fabrizio said, taking a swig of his drink.
Jack nodded as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Yeah dude, this is awesome," he commented.
"What fruits are in the tropical punch one?" Rose asked curiously.
"Lemon, lime, orange, strawberry, and believe it or not...mango," Tommy replied with a wink.
"Cool, it's really good," Rose told him, smiling.
"Glad you like it." Tommy grinned.
Just then, a few of the regular drunks stumbled over to the door and yelled goodbye to Eugene. Just as a man with dark gray hair and glasses opened the door into the chilly Chicago night air, a little puppy with ginger colored fur came scrambling inside.
It slid across the honey colored wooden floors and crashed straight into Shannon's legs. "What the...oh my gosh that's so f*cking cute!" Shannon squeaked, bending down and scooping the little puppy into her arms. "Aww it's an Irish Setter," she said happily as it started licking her face.
"Where did it come from?" Jack wondered aloud.
"No clue, but apparently it's ten bucks," Tommy chuckled, referring to the price tag around its neck.
"Hey it ran up to me, screw that," Shannon giggled, sliding the price tag off over its head.
"So you're just going to keep him?" Rose asked.
"Yeah, I already thought of a name!" Shannon replied excitedly.
"Oooh what is it?" Helga asked eagerly, standing beside her best friend and petting the puppy's soft ginger coat.
"Derek," Shannon stated matter-of-factly.
"Derek?" Fabrizio looked confused.
"Seriously, Shan? Why would you call a puppy Derek?" Helga asked, giggling. "That's a human name," she pointed out.
"Yeah I know that," Shannon giggled. "It's funny because then everyone will react like that, I'm trying to screw with people, get it?"
Helga's face lit up in realization. "Ohhh I see, that's funny!" she agreed.
Tommy bust out laughing. "You guys are insane," he commented, shaking his head.
"Derek, give Daddy a lick," Shannon told the puppy as she held it up to her boyfriend's face. Sure enough, the puppy stuck out his little pink tongue and began to lick Tommy, too.
"Shit he's got bad breath though," Tommy chuckled, gently patting the puppy's back."I should probably get back to the bar soon, Grandpa's all by himself and it's about to get really busy again," he mused, looking towards the bar.
"Let's go show your grandpa the puppy," Helga suggested, standing up. "Come on guys, we'll go hang out by the bar," she said.
"Cool, I can dig that," Fabrizio said, following her. Jack and Rose also followed them over to the bar.
Eugene J. Ryan was an amiable old man with dark gray hair and warm amber colored eyes. He wore a pair of dark blue and silver rimmed spectacles. He was the only staff member not in regular uniform, as he wore navy blue pants with a caramel and white argyle sweater, and an old-timey looking brown bowler hat atop his head.
Tommy hopped over the bar counter. "I guess Shan's keeping the puppy," he told him.
Eugene shook his head and laughed. "Yeah, ran straight to her," he commented with a shrug.
"She named it Derek to weird people out," Helga told him with an airy giggle.
"Looks like a Derek to me!" Eugene chuckled, wiping down a glass and putting it up on the shelf. "And you all are friends with Helga here, eh?" he asked, directing his question at Fabrizio, Jack, and Rose.
"Yeah, it's nice to meet you, Sir. I'm Fabrizio De Rossi," Fabrizio said with a grin, shaking the old man's hand over the bar counter.
"Doesn't your grandpa own the pizza palace?" Eugene asked, curiously raising en eyebrow.
"Yeah he does. Do you know him?" Fabrizio wanted to know.
"Nah, but I've heard of him," Eugene explained. He smiled warmly at Jack and Rose.
"I'm Jack, Jack Dawson, nice to meet you." Jack shook his hand next.
"Hi."
"Rose DeWitt Bukater," Rose chimed in with a polite smile.
"I'll have to get you to write that one down, lass!"
Rose giggled. "I get that a lot."
The pub doors opened again and a young man with light blonde hair walked over to the bar. "Yo, Tommy!" he yelled, sitting down at one of the stools.
Tommy looked over his shoulder and grinned. "Björn, where the hell have you been dude?!" He hopped over the counter and embraced the other man in a bear hug.
"North Dakota helping my grandparents move out of their house, they found a place in this really nice retirement community in Florida," the man named Björn explained.
"Hey guys, this is my friend Björn Gunderson," Tommy said, looking at the rest of the group, except for Helga and Shannon who already knew him.
"Hi," Björn said with a grin.
"This is Fabrizio De Rossi, Helga's new boyfriend, his best friend Jack Dawson, and Jack's friend Rose DeWitt Bukater," Shannon introduced them all.
"Cool, nice meeting you," Björn told them, shaking each of their hands in turn.
"You too," Jack agreed wth a smile.
"So have you done any snowboarding lately while you were up in ND?" Tommy asked him curiously.
"Yeah, I did!" Björn replied with a grin. His dark blue eyes were gleaming in the bar light.
"I've never snowboarded, is it awesome?" Fabrizio wanted to know.
"Dude it's the best," Björn told him.
"Cool, literally," Fabrizio laughed.
"Nice pun!" Björn grinned and slapped the bar counter. "Hey Grandpa Euge, can I get a beer?"
"Of course you can, BJ!" Eugene chortled, sliding a beer can across the counter.
"Thanks." Björn popped open the can and took a swig.
Tommy put his arm around Shannon and kissed her softly. "So have you found a special lady yet?" he asked with a wily smirk.
Björn casually shrugged his shoulders. "There's this one chick, Hanna Gustafson, that works with me. We're not official yet though," he explained.
Helga suddenly slapped the bar counter. "Oh I know who that is, does she have light blonde hair and turquoise highlights?"
Björn nodded. "Yeah."
Helga smiled at him. "She went to music camp with me last summer, she plays the bass clarinet!" she exclaimed.
Shannon giggled. "I always thought bass clarinets were funny looking instruments, they're like clarinet-saxophone hybrids... like if a clarinet and a saxophone had a baby, that's what it would look like," she said.
"Oh my gosh Shan Shan, I love how random that was!" Helga bust out laughing.
"I repeat, you guys are insane." Tommy shook his head.
"I play the saxophone but I suck at it," Fabrizio told them.
"Ohh yeah, you told me that when we had lunch in the foodcourt!" Helga recalled, smiling.
"Saxes are badass man, I wish I could play one," Björn said. "I mean I can rock drums and a keyboard, but so can a ton of other people," he added.
Tommy looked over at Jack. "Do you play any instruments?" he asked curiously. "I play guitar."
Jack shook his head. "I like music but I've never gotten into any instruments, I'm more into art... drawing, painting, photography, stuff like that," he replied with a shrug.
Shannon smiled at him. "That's so cool, Jack!" she said.
Rose nodded in agreement. "I've seen some of his work, it's fantastic," she told them happily.
Fabrizio laughed. "Jack's always loved his art," he commented with a goofy smirk as he pulled Helga closer into his side.
"What can I say?" Jack shrugged. "Art is my passion," he chuckled.
"That's awesome!" Björn grinned at him, taking another swig of his beer.
"I'd love to see your portfolio sometime," Helga said, resting her head against Fabrizio's chest.
They all talked for a while up near the bar counter. About an hour and a half later, Jack glanced down at his watch because he figured it was probably getting pretty late. Sure enough, it was already ten o'clock at night.
By this time, Tommy and Björn were locked in an intense arm wrestling match while Fabrizio and some of the other men at the bar watched intently. Shannon was off the clock early with special permission from Eugene, and she and Helga were both drinking Shirley Temples that Tommy had mixed for them.
Jack glanced over at Rose. He noticed that she looked tired, and he was starting to feel a bit sleepy himself. "Hey, do you want me to take you home?" he offered.
Rose looked at him. "But didn't you take Fabrizio's car?" she asked, confused.
"Yeah, we can get a cab," Jack clarified with shrug.
"Oh, okay, sure," Rose replied with a smile.
Jack yelled over to Fabrizio that they were leaving, and he nodded, saying that he and Helga were going to stay a while longer. Jack and Rose both waved googbye to everyone, before stepping out into the chilly night air.
As they walked down to the curb, they looked around at all the tall skyscrapers illuminating the night. There was a faint cigarette smoke smell outside the restaurant from a man smoking near the doors. "I love this city, Chicago is beautiful at night," Rose mused dreamily.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Jack agreed, grinning.
"Look, there's a taxi," Rose pointed out.
"Yo, taxi!" Jack yelled, waving his arms wildly. The taxi pulled over to the curb and they hopped in. Jack handed the cab driver, a young man with light brown hair, some money and told him to go to the Hockley Penthouse first.
"Take us to the Hockley Penthouse."
"You got it."
It was a fairly short cab ride before they pulled up outside of the tall condo building where the Hockley Penthouse was located. Rose smiled at Jack. "I had so much fun tonight, Helga's friends are pretty cool, and I like her and Fabrizio, too. Thanks for bringing me along," she said, softly pecking him on the cheek.
Jack's face reddened a bit and her grinned nervously. "I'm glad you came with," he told her sincerely, gently kissing her hand. "Goodnight, Rose."
"Goodnight, Jack."
"I hope I can see you again real soon."
"Me too." With that, Rose hopped out of the cab and ran into the brightly lit lobby of her building.
Jack sighed as he handed the cab driver more money and gave him directions to his own apartment. She really is beautiful...inside and out...I'm glad I was able to let her have some fun for a change, now what am I gonna do about that miserable engagement...? he mused thoughtfully. He sat back against the leather seat of the cab as it sped off towards his apartment.
He was determined to find some way to help Rose be happy again, and when he asked himself why he cared so much, he had to admit that he was starting to have stronger feelings than friendship developing for her.
I REALLY hope you guys liked this chapter! It literally took me like 6 days to write this and now it's almost 1AM on a school night XD XD