Daydreams (Be careful what you wish for)

Kiera and Lisa left the hallway and surveyed the room before them, where only a few people were milling about. Neither had seen the Abyss so empty, even on the days that they brought their various baked goods. Mike was onstage, making one final check on the equipment. He nodded at them and left the stage again. Probably to find something else to do so he can look busy for Frank.

“Dude, I’m getting thirsty. Do you want to come get a drink with me?” Kiera asked as she started for the bar.

“I’ll walk over with you, but I’m not thirsty just yet. Will you be getting your new favorite drink?”

“Haven’t decided yet. Though the Bloody Mary is a very good drink. And the history behind it is nifty.”

“Heh. Planning to be a tyrannical monarch someday, are we?

“Come on, now, you’re insulting me. You know as well as I do that I’ve always had the idea in my mind. Besides, don’t forget: you’re in on it too. Just so you can get that island in the Pacific with a castle that’s surrounded by a moat.”

“A moat?” asked a new voice. “Why the hell would you need a moat on an island?”

Kiera spun around, looking for a face to put with the voice. “Feizal. I didn’t know you were even in town yet. Feizal, this is Lisa; Lisa, Feizal.”

“So you’re the infamous Feizal. Pleasure to finally meet you.” With a significant look to Kiera, Lisa began to walk away. “I’ll let you two catch up. Meet you back over there.”

After she was gone, Kiera turned back to Feizal. “I thought you said that you were moving out here next month. What happened?”

“The apartment I was going to move into opened up early, but never mind that.” He narrowed his eyes a bit. “What was she talking about, me being ‘infamous’? What did you tell her?”

“You’re overreacting. She just did it to get a rise out of you; and it worked. ’Sides, there isn’t much to tell,” she finished with a wink

Feizal shook his head, and mumbled something that sounded like ‘birds of a feather..’ He handed her a Shirley Temple, and looked up with a grin. “You know, until today, I’d thought that only you drank these things after the age of ten.”

“Chef drinks them too.” She took a sip. “You knew that, though, so what makes today different?”

“Some guy just came in and ordered one. He even had the ‘21+’ stamp on his wrist. I mentioned that not too many people order them, and that I could count the regulars on one finger. He laughed and asked who.”

It was Kiera’s turn to narrow her eyes. “And what, pray tell, did you say to him?”

“Please. Now who’s overreacting? I told him your name and said that you’d probably be here tonight.” His grin widened. “Aside from that, there isn’t really much to tell.”

“Touché. You should get back to the other customers. All those fake IDs are just waiting to be turned down.”

“Too true. See you later.” He sighed and turned to help someone else.

Kiera watched him for a moment dealing with people she knew got on his nerves. Heh. He’s better than I am about faking emotions. She left to find Lisa, who was sitting by the wall watching the growing crowd. “Hey. You want to head up to the balcony? There won’t be as many ankle biters.”

“Sure. Lead on.” They headed over to the stairs that led upstairs. The bouncer waved them through. The balcony wrapped around two sides and the back of the room, giving a view of both the floor and the stage. The girls headed towards the left side and got settled. Lisa turned to Kiera, “So, I know you’ve told me about Feizal, but refresh my memory.”

“Oh. I worked in a restaurant with him a while back. We fooled around for a bit, but nothing came of it. Though, nothing was going to come of it.” Kiera paused briefly. Heh. More’s the pity. That one woulda been fun. “The place had to close for a while, and we went our separate ways, but kept in touch. I talked him into coming out to this part of the country, and he just moved out. I’d told him about—” she stopped short, looking across to the other side of the balcony.

Across the way was a young man, holding a Shirley Temple and talking to a girl. He had dirty blond hair that was spiked forward and up in almost an anime-ish style. The lights were too dim to see many details, though it was apparent that he was incredibly handsome. Probably charming as well, with how much that girl’s fawning over him… Just as the thought passed through her mind, he looked up, straight at her, as though he’d both known who and where she was as well as what she’d been thinking. He flashed her a predatory smile, and turned back to the girl.

“…to Kiera! Did Martians come and steal your brain or something?”

Kiera shook her head and turned back to Lisa. “Sorry. How long was I out to lunch?”

“Not too long.” Lisa grinned. “Someone over there catch your fancy?”

“Something like that.” Kiera went on to explain about what Feizal had told her. “It was weird. When he looked at me, it was like he already knew me. Not just, like, that we’ve hung out a couple of times, but like he knew me better than you do. Like he was looking into my soul or something.”

Lisa looked at her for a second, then started busting up, laughing. “That’s gotta be the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard!” She flicked Kiera’s glass. “I think someone slipped you something, darlin’, ‘cause you’re imagining things.” She paused, and a rather evil grin spread across her face. “Or, you’ve met your challenge for this evening. Don’t look at me like that. It’s been a while since some guy gave you a run for your money, and,” she continued, cutting off whatever Kiera was going to say, “we did come here trolling for a guy for you to toy around with for a while. Maybe with him, you can have what amounts to a face off. Find out who’s more manipulative, and who’s the bigger flirt.”

“But—” Kiera began.

“But nothing,” said Lisa, cutting her off again. “If you don’t have his name and at least his number by the end of the night, you’re on dish and garbage duty for the next month.”