leo moore | neville longbottom. (longbottomed) wrote in dunhavenic, @ 2018-07-06 14:03:00 |
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Entry tags: | !narrative, * kit, c: leo moore |
WHO: Leo Moore with appearances from NPCs
WHEN: Friday, July 6, 2018; Late Evening
WHERE: Pourhouse? (TBD if there's no karaoke there tonight LOL)
SUMMARY: Leo runs into some old bullies of his and it doesn't go well.
WARNINGS: Bullies being gross bullies :|
Since returning to Dunhaven, Leo had been trying to discreetly avoid spending time out and about in Dunhaven. If he had to go grocery shopping, he tended to drive into the city. When he wanted takeout for lunch, he'd have it delivered to the theatre where he spent his days working on the latest production. After work, he'd go straight home and, if his fiancee or her sisters wanted to go out, he tried to steer their interests toward some sort of nightlife in DC. This was less effective when what they wanted to do was something here in Dunhaven. The three of them were so easily acclimating to life in the small town that Leo had to wonder if it was just him who found it difficult to be himself here. The first time they'd gone to karaoke night, Leo had managed to get out of going on stage and performing like Abby wanted him to by feigning a sore throat. It wasn't a durable excuse, though, and now he found himself unable to say no to her when she asked him to get up and sing. Leo was good at being on stage. Whether he was singing, or dancing, or acting, he felt securely in his element in a way he'd never felt in Dunhaven. It seemed counterintuitive that the spotlight was his safe space but he thought it probably had something to do with the fact that acting meant being someone else for a little while. In the beginning, being someone else for even a moment had appealed to him on a fundamental level. The moment he'd gotten up in front of the audience, he'd forgotten where he was and his karaoke had turned into a performance, just as he assumed Abby had expected it would. He stopped worrying about who would see him or recognize him and, for the few minutes the song played, it was just him and Abby and her sisters and it was nice and fun. He found himself laughing at the end of the song, taking an overexaggerated bow and a well-earned drink of his cocktail. As he stepped off the stage, Leo wordlessly told Abby he'd be going to grab a refill at the bar. It was there that his happiness was short-lived. "Lenny Morehead!" a gruff voice guffawed as Leo leaned forward with his arms on the bar, waiting for the bartender. He cringed at the sound of the voice, recognizing from her peripheral the sight of Nate Cantrell, one of Jack's former teammates and one of the guys who'd made Leo's life in Dunhaven a living hell. He sighed. "Is that you, Lenny?" Leo turned toward the man and frowned. "Leo, actually, if you're asking." Nate laughed again at a joke that Leo didn't quite get. "Nah, you'll always be good ol' Lenny to me," he replied, slapping Leo on the shoulder as though they were old pals. "I didn't know you could sing, man! Remember that time you choked at the talent show and started lip-syncing to Celine Dion? Classic, man. Classic." Why did everyone seem to be refilling their drinks at the same time Leo was? If he could just get his drink and escape... "How long's it been, Lenny, huh? Man, last time I saw you, you were a chunker, weren't you? Good for you, man, good for you. You can't even tell you had plastic surgery." Don't look at him. Don't acknowledge him. The guys with Nate all chuckled and Leo couldn't help himself. He recognized most of them from school. Pete Harris, Matt Gorski, Trevor Eubanks. All jocks. All on the list of Leo's least favorite people. "Hey, you here with Jack? Jack here?" Leo rolled his eyes and sighed. "No. Jack's busy. I'm here with my fiancée," he replied and, before he could think better of it, looked over at Abby who was already casting him worried looks though he doubted she could hear the conversation. She probably knew something was wrong just because she knew him. Unfortunately, Nate followed his gaze and his eyes widened as he let out another round of bawdy laughter before diving into his next dig at Leo. "How much you pay for that one, Lenny? Do you have to pay by the hour, or was it just one lump sum for marriage? You pay extra for the other two? How much I gotta pay for one night with them two, Lenny?" His bros were clapping him on the back as though he'd said something really clever, but Leo was done. Somewhere inside of him, a kid named Neville Longbottom defiantly screamed I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy and, with that as his driving force, Leo pulled back his arm and drove his fist straight into Nate's jaw. He didn't stick around for the boys to recover. He made a beeline for Abby, Dottie, and Tessa and nodded to the door. "Let's get out of here," he said, ignoring the growing ache in his hand. Leo didn't turn back to see if anyone was following him. |