Halcyon Halls

Who: Ada and Jake
What: Adventures in piercing
Where: the shop, of course
When: Friday night, fairly late

Fridays were supposed to be exciting. At least, that was Ada's opinion. So why was it that yet again, she found herself scrambling for something to do in order to pass the time? After flipping channels, poking around online. avoiding phone calls from Douchebag Ian and having a low-key argument over whether or not the band needed a new album right away with her manager, Ada decided it was time to go do something. A club in town she'd never played at was advertising an open mic night, so she slung her gig back over her shoulder with her well-worn acoustic in it and made her way into town.

She played two songs for the small crowd of mostly musicians that had gathered, listened to some of the other local talent, had a beer or two, and then started toward the door. Another bust of a friday night. She was obviously spoiled with excitement by the two weeks on the road, and being stuck here was cramping her style again. She figured she'd just catch a cab home. Being in the city late like this almost guaranteed she'd run into temptation in the form of drugs, and damn it if she wasn't going to do her best to stay clean for good this time. She'd managed so far. It still wasn't easy, especially on the island where excitement was hard to come by unless you wanted to get a little too wild.

She sighed, readjusted the guitar case on her shoulder, and strolled down the street. She was about to walk right past Gunsmoke to hail a cab when she hesitated just a bit, suddenly feeling an impulse to do something at least a little crazy, but that wouldn't hurt... at least for long.

Her hair was down around her shoulders, the tank top she wore had a scoop back that bared the top of her newest ink, the jaguar spots that trailed their way up her spine. A bandana tied around her wrist partially obscured the words tattooed there, and the shoulder of the black tank covered the middle portion of the guitar inked just below her collarbone. As she walked into the shop, she certainly looked like a body art rookie compared to some of the others, but she wasn't interested tonight in expanding her still small collection of ink. She was currently satisfied as far as tattoos went. But, she thought as she scanned the body jewelry in a glass case, she'd never had anything pierced except her earlobes, just the one hole in each, at that. Boring? Why yes, maybe a little. But what to get... she shifted the guitar's weight again, brushing her long hair to the side and over one shoulder to keep it from being stuck beneath the strap of the case.

Who: Ada and Cassandra (Rhett later)
What: Sister time
Where: Outside, but beginning in Zephyr House
When: Thursday evening

Ada sat cross-legged on her bed looking at the pictures she'd found boxed away in her apartment in Nashville. That was the bad thing about subletting, anything you didn't want screwed all to hell had to be put in storage. These pictures were certainly on that list of things. The images she was looking at were copies of the originals she'd found. She couldn't just part with the only ones she had, after all. The new prints had better color quality than the others because of that 'touch up' service at the printing shop, but that was just a random thought that didn't really have any bearing on the situation.

She had put them together in a small photo album for Cassie. They were arranged as chronologically as best she could manage it since she'd never been one to date her photos very well. The first was one of Ada holding Cassandra as a newborn. She had one of those ubiquitous pink "I'm A Big Sister" shirts on and was grinning from ear to ear even if she wasn't quite holding her baby sister exactly right. There were several more like that when Cassandra was really little, most taken around Christmas time. Ada 'helping' her open presents under the tree (because really, what kid didn't want MORE paper to rip?), Ada holding a doll, mimicking the way her grandma was holding Cassandra. Time went on and Cassie was walking in the photos. Easter egg hunting--Ada holding a basket for both of them in one hand, and Cassie's hand in the other. Halloween--Cassie as a pumpkin and Ada as a fairy. Always smiling. There were family pictures as well, with the entire group of them, but Ada hadn't found as many of those. She hadn't held on to them.

The last pictures were just before Ada got sent off to boarding school and everything went bad. Ada would be singing on a karaoke machine, her favorite toy ever, while Cassandra looked on or joined in. Looking back, Ada thought that smiling as much as she had then might make her face hurt now. She wasn't used to it any more. That part of her childhood hadn't been all happy, not even close, but the moments captured on film made it seem that way. Finally, looking at her watch, she saw it was time to go meet up with her now grown-up little sister. She woke Emmylou up from where she'd curled on Ada's pillow, snapped the pink leash onto her collar, and carried the little pup down the stairs so that she wouldn't fall. Walking with a short-legged puppy made the trip to Zephir take a little longer than usual, but that was all right. She followed someone else inside and walked to the girls dorms, found Cassie's door, and knocked.

Who: Starbuck and Ada
When: Saturday afternoon
Where: outside the school

It was happening all over again. Starbuck might not have been the most gossip savvy dude in the world, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what the column was saying about Kat. She'd screwed that new werelion, Caibre. He'd been trying to keep his cool since returning from break, trying to be ok with the idea that Kat was gonna continue to see other people. He kept telling himself that she didn't care about anyone else, that she might even love him, even if she couldn't say it. But that didn't make him feel any better. He couldn't... share her. It just wasn't going to work like that. But how the hell did he walk away when he still loved her? It was all so fucking frustrating, and while he normally didn't care to take medicine, he'd swallowed three aspirin before heading out to meet Ada. His head was throbbing.

Starbuck hoped she wouldn't mind listening to him for a while. He clearly couldn't talk to Kat about this, and most of his other friends chastised him for being with Kat. It was strange, but Ada had always been understanding, even when he'd cheated on her to get back together with Kat. Ada was either as fucked up as he was when it came to caring for people who treated them like dirt, or she was truly an awesome friend... totally irreplaceable. He was glad they'd been able to mend their friendship, and still really regretful that he'd injured it previously.

Shuffling his feet into his flip flops and throwing on a baseball cap, Starbuck trod slowly from his room, clearly in a down in the dumps mood. It only took him minutes to get outside and find the weather matched his mood. It was cloudy, and he could feel the moisture in them waiting to break free. It would likely rain soon, but he didn't mind. Starbuck liked to sit in the grass sometimes and just let the rain fall on him. He saw Ada ahead of him, playing with her new puppy.

"Hey..." he said in a non-enthusiastic voice, somewhat dragging his feet as he walked over to join her and Emmylou. The dog instantly started licking Starbuck's bare toes, which got a smile out of the man. "Hello to you too."

Who: Ada, Rhett, NPC band members
Where: Nashville, TN; The Ryman Auditorium
What: A concert
When: Friday evening

The band had played a show in Oklahoma City the night before, and as usual, Ada hadn't been able to sleep until well into the morning. They were rolling on the tour bus toward Nashville for the "big one." The show at the Ryman. It had taken a LOT of coercing from Rhett and the guys to get some sleep so she wouldn't be completely wired for the performance. She also had a sneaking suspicion they were tired of her spazzing and asking them about the set list for the five-hundredth time.

Finally, she curled up on her bunk with her headphones in, an album by The Great Divide playing on her iPod, and her basset hound puppy Emmylou curled up next to her.

She slept all the way from Little Rock to just outside Nashville. The sun was getting lower when she sat up and looked out the window. Her watch said it was 6:00.

"Shit, y'all!" she said, gathering up Emmylou and hopping down off her bunk. "We're almost there." She set the puppy down on the floor of the bus, and the clumsy basset nearly tripped over its own ears on the way over to where Rhett was sitting. She plopped down next to him and pulled her guitar from the stand it was sitting on across from them. "I don't think I've been this nervous ever." She did have a bit of stage fright sometimes, but these butterflies were ENORMOUS. She tuned up the acoustic guitar and played a few chords. "I still don't know what song we should start with."

Who: Ada, Charlie
What: Late night soak
Where: The hot tub

The full moon had done nothing to make Ada feel better. It took away that extra edge of wanting to quite literally crawl out of her skin, but the sensations all pretty much remained. Exhausted, check. Fidgety, check. Wanting more than almost anything to get out of the school, head down to Hell, and score enough to make it all go away for awhile? Check. But that wasn't an option, at least she kept telling herself that. She deserved better than that, even if she felt worse at this moment than she had in months.

She looked like hell, from the dark circles under her eyes to the weight she'd lost, more noticeable in a bathing suit. Her hair was more of a mess than usual, even pulled back into a ponytail which was definitely out of the ordinary. She always had time to at least wash it to wear her hair down. Since she hadn't put a whole lot of effort into getting ready--threw on a bathing suit, pulled her messy hair back, put some jeans and an old concert tee on over the bikini, and then headed downstairs, flip-flops making slapping noises on the floor.

Within ten minutes from her last response to Charlie, she was headed up to the guys' floor to let Rhett know where she was going. She didn't want to bother him, but she also didn't want him to worry if he came knocking on her door. She assured him that Charlie knew what was up and that yes, she would keep her bathing suit on, and no, he wasn't bringing any drugs. At least she was pretty sure he wasn't, but she didn't think he'd do that after their conversation the other day.

After that little talk with the best friend, she was a couple minutes late getting down to the pool room. Her jeans hung a little looser than usual, but all in all she just looked... exhausted. It was about how she felt, too. A little relaxation in the hot tub might do her some good.

Who: Ada and Cassandra
What: Confessions
Where: Walking outside the school
When: Thursday afternoon

Ada didn't want to do this. At the moment, she didn't really want to do anything. She was exhausted, an emotional wreck, and just felt... numb. It was hard to get up for class, but Rhett came and made sure she was awake, and she struggled through the day. Creative writing? Like she was in the mood to write a short story. The rest of the day just dragged on, but she didn't want to get to the afternoon. Didn't want to face Cassandra and the disappointment she knew was coming.

But eventually, Inner Beast Control did end. She had tried to pay attention because it was important and all, but focus was evasive, especially today. Right after class, she dumped her bag back in her room and headed to the main entrance to meet her sister.

That was still strange to her, even after six months. She had family here, family she had a chance to have a real relationship with, and what was she doing? Throwing it all away. At first she hadn't made the effort because it was awkward, and then she'd won the sister of the year award by avoiding her because of drugs. Yeah, Ada felt like a wonderful person right about now. She was guilty as hell, and the only thing to do was fess up and deal with it.

Really, she wouldn't have been surprised if Cassie decided to peace out. Other people had done it, and she didn't blame them. Shit like this was too much to deal with. She was glad she had Rhett to count on. Still, the nagging worry that he would leave, too, managed to plant itself firmly in her head. Doubts were easier to come by right now than confidence.

Finally she made it to the doors and stepped outside. At least the weather was nice, warm and sunny. Being outside of the building also did a little to soothe her, appealing to her inner beast or something. She drew in a deep breath and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. When she opened her eyes again it was still sunny, and she still felt like shit. Wasn't that just a lovely contradiction.

Who: Ada and Rex
What: A date!
Where: Briefly, House of Fire common room. Continuing to the Garage Tavern
Why: Because he bought her at the auction and Ada likes karaoke!
When: Monday evening

Ada was actually excited to be going out on a date. It wasn't like she never got asked out, and being bought at an auction would normally not be the best way for that particular thing to happen, but he obviously wanted to go on a date with her if he'd bid. Besides, he seemed nice enough, even though they'd never really talked in person. Besides, she had gotten to decide on the terms of the date and drinks and karaoke were always a recipe for fun.

She dressed nicely, forgoing her usual uniform of worn out jeans and a tank top for new dark-washed denim, red floral top with an army green vest. A large belt buckle was her only concession to her southern heritage. She was even wearing heels. Her hair was up for once, giving glimpses of her jaguar marking tattoos when her ponytail went to the side, and her makeup was done up more than usual. He was a good looking guy, she'd seen that much from class. Might as well make an effort to look nice. She actually hadn't even really talked to Rhett about this one, other than the obligatory "I'm going on a date. Yeah, with that Rex guy. Yeah, I'll be careful." He was so protective, but she didn't mind. Besides, she often needed his meddling.

Once she was ready, she picked up her purse and went down to the common room to wait on Rex. Hopefully it would go well. She wasn't looking for a relationship, not right now, but a decent date would definitely be an improvement on how things had been going lately. Besides, she needed to get out of this school for more than just her Tuesday night gigs. She was early, so she sat down in one of the common room chairs and picked up a Rolling Stone magazine someone had left sitting on the table. It was a back issue, but it had a feature on Lucinda Williams in it, and she didn't have her subscription at the school anyway. She flipped to the article in question and started perusing, biting her thumbnail idly as she did so.

(teh outfit http://www.flickr.com/photos/jackiebutler/506691295/ )

Who: Everyone who received an invite, and their guest (Check Wes' page, if you're not sure about an invite.)
Where: Gun Smoke Tattoo
When: Thursday Night
What: Shop Warming party, and small gig

There was a goal here. After living in Vegas, having been to so many bitchin' parties, your standards for them rose. The normal, punch, and cookies, with a shit ass dj, lurking in some corner, wouldn't cut it here. Hell no. The goal, was to make this party, just as fucking killer, as any party he'd been to in Vegas. To make those parties jealous even. With the help of his friends, and brothers, it seemed as if that was going to happen. All the elements were in place, now it would be down to those in attendance, to make the most of it. Wes was sure of one thing, he was going to have an amazing time, there would be no stopping that.

The Spooks had been a huge help, in their time on the island. While Wes tended to his classes, they took care of setting up for the party. Doing little things here, and there. Anyone who came into the shop after that Monday, would notice that certain things were off. It was all in preparation. Now, it was ready, everything was good. A bar had been constructed against on the walls. Bottles, upon bottles were either stacked beneath it, or on the packing crate shelves they had built last Monday. Wes had been told that there was more than enough liquor... he was starting to question whether it was enough. Also available at the bar, one would find certain goodies upon request. That was one good thing, about knowing drug dealers. They made excellent party guest. Aside from the bar, another sofa had been added to the sitting area, similar to the one all ready occupying the space, but not nearly as detailed.
( Let the fun begin. )

Who: Nat, Ada and Kim
When: Afternoon – After the last class
Where: House of Fire common room and then the city!

Natalia had been looking forward to her little shopping excursion all week and as a result, ended up having a difficult time paying attention during her last class. It also didn’t help that she had found herself making eyes at Rhett more than once during the lecture. That man was going to get her into trouble one of these days, she just knew it. Ugh, she really needed to stop acting like some love struck teenager! It also didn’t hurt that whenever she caught Noah’s eye that he made a face or rolled his eyes at her. Jerk. Good thing she loved him.

When class finally reached its conclusion, Natalia practically ran for the door. She needed to get back to her room, change her shoes, grab a coat and her purse, and dump her school stuff. Once all of that was taken care of, she hurried down to the common room and waited for the other girls to show so that they could take off. How long had it been since she had spent the day shopping with some other females? Too long, that was for sure. Yeah, Noah was good for carrying bags and what not, but it wasn’t like he actually enjoyed watching her try on outfit after outfit.

As soon as the other girls were good to go, they headed outside to meet a cab and off they went! Random chatter was exchanged during the ride over and Natalia bounced a bit when they filed out of the car. “I hope you girls are ready for some serious shopping because I have heard that there are some awesome sales going on and I plan on putting a large dent in their inventory.” A wicked smile was flashed along with a wink as she linked an arm through each of the girls’ and pulled them toward the first store.

“What do we think? Shoes or swimsuits first?”

Who: Ada, Rhett, and Wes
What: Getting inked
Where: Gun Smoke Tattoo Parlor (begins in the dorms)
When: Around 7:00

Oh, it had been a hell of a weekend. Ada was almost glad it was Monday and time to start class again. Almost, but not quite. She did, however, manage to drag her ass to creative writing. A little help from Rhett was required in the form of banging on her door until she came, disheveled and grumpy looking. She'd been up till just a few hours before then, and class was the last thing on her mind. Still, she got dressed, pulled her hair into a ponytail, and insisted on a LOT of coffee before they went to the classroom. It wasn't what her body was craving, but it was something.

The entire time she was around Rhett, it was a constant struggle to make sure that he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. She would catch her foot tapping, have to stop from biting her fingernails, from chewing on her bottom lip, from drumming her fingertips on the desk. She tried to keep herself occupied instead by writing, putting words on paper as fast as she could. By the end of class, she wasn't sure if she'd written anything that made sense. But she had written plenty, pages of words, lyrics with meter and some just lyric ideas.

The rest of the day was long as well, and as soon as class let out she headed to town. She was running low and she needed to pick up some more before she hit empty. It didn't take long, and she was back in her room, playing her guitar low through time for dinner, singing a little as well. It was almost seven when she set the instrument down and stood up, changing clothes quickly as an idea struck her. She wanted a new tattoo. That art teacher was offering discounts or some shit, or he had been last week. If he wasn't still, she figured she could afford it. Wasn't like she was broke. Besides, if all else failed she could just screw the guy like she had fucked Charlie to "score some free blow," right? She laughed a little thinking about that. Even though she was still pissed as hell at that vampire douchebag, his arrogance was pretty damn hilarious.

Now it was her turn to bang on Rhett's door. Dressed in low-cut denim, beat-up brown cowboy boots, and a blue western style button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up past her elbows, she hurried up the stairs to his room and knocked incessantly on the door. "Hey old man!" she yelled, "let's go out!"

Who: Ada and Rhett
Where: The Garage Tavern
When: Tuesday Night

Tuesday nights at the Garage Tavern had become somewhat of a routine in Ada's life on the island. She came on a weekly basis and it was her usual night to headline. Sometimes she played on weekends, and she usually played multiple other nights as well, but she could always count on tuesdays as being nice, laid back, and hers. Now that Rhett was there, she could actually have a little fun with someone she knew backstage. It was going to be a blast.

Dressed in a pair of her normal distressed (AKA torn to hell) jeans, black boots, and a black wifebeater with a logo for Robert Earl Keen's "The Road Goes On Forever" on it. Their opening band, an alt rock group (thankfully not emo or screamo) was sitting around the green room with them. The session player Ada had hired as a drummer was, as usual, not talking, drumming in the corner like the genius he was.

"Guy's kinda crazy," Ada whispered to Rhett as she played a few chords. "But damn, can he play. I mean, serious skills." The other band was chugging cheap beer, Ada was sipping a Dos Equis and quietly wishing she had something else that she could never ever tell Rhett about, as she tried to get the set list in order.

One of the guys in the other band threw a guitar pick at her head and she laughed before she threw it back at him. "Cut it out, David," she yelled. "Trying to kill me with your picks won't get you the opening spot!"

Who: Nyobe and Ada
Where: The club at which Ada plays whose name I have forgotten
When: Thursday, early evening
What: Nyobe cards herself, gets unwanted attention

Despite the island's laws, Nyobe often forced her ID on the bartenders. She was actually a regular Thursday night visitor since she arrived, usually listening to Ada play. Tortured female artists were Nyobe's unintentional preference. Mary J, Shareefa, Loretta Lynn, Keyshia, Big Mama Thornton, etc etc. Ada was a little more country and rock than usual, but Nyobe was okay with branching out a little, musically at least.

Men didn't tend to approach her. She sat on the bar stool directly facing the bar, actually eating one of the sandwiches they served and drinking beer from a bottle. Her jeans fit nicely. Old Navy, Sweetheart fit, although luckily her height and long legs made the hems fall just at her ankle over her half-length camel-colored boots with the inch heel and pointed toe. Shit-kicker boots they got called. They matched her camel sweater with the high neckline. Her chocolate brown jacket hung off the small back of her stool.

Her intense stare, hair straightened to single brown sheets, and general attitude ironically made her stick out like a sore thumb. Nyobe didn't visibly take notice to people taking notice, but she could feel their eyes on her back. Yeah, she knew she was kind of uptight, but she felt like a woman against the world half the time. She really hated attention, too. Nyobe was never comfortable being the center of it.

The bartender, a bald, tall man, three visible tattoos, plain black t-shirt, minimum of facial hair on his chin. Genuine smile. "I heard it's somebody's birthday!" He announced, three people down from her. They'd spoken a few niceties on occassion when it had happened to be slow. Nyobe wasn't rowdy and tipped acceptably. "One on the house, my lady." He slid her a second, full bottle still frosty with cold and took away her old one, nearly empty. She searched his face for some sort of sarcasm, her features hardening just the slightest bit.

He was good. Nyobe immediately thought the gesture was nice and he chose his words carefully. Probably knew how to read his customers extremely well, or even beyond. With the smallest hint of a smile, she raised the new drink to him gratefully, pushing her empty basket with bread crumbs away from her. Anything was better than staying in and sulking.

Who: Ada and Blake
Where: Wandering the hallways, somewhere
When: Wednesday evening

After the bitch-fest between Ada and Kat on the journals (which Kat had obviously won since Ada didn't have that much bitch in her unless she was dealing with idiotic record execs), Ada was obviously livid. After immediately storming to Rhett's room for the obligatory spill session in which she explained the events of the past couple of weeks and might have even thrown a couple of things while she went off. It still wasn't satisfying enough to let her head back to her room and have a peaceful rest of the night, so she went wandering instead.

She didn't stomp through the halls, she was too mature for that, but the quick steps and the way she carried herself simply screamed that she was fuming. And Starbuck hadn't even stood up for her. Well wasn't that just wonderful.

She didn't even know where she was going, but keeping moving seemed like the best action plan at the time. Unfortunately, her progress was fast and pretty much blind. She was about six inches from smacking into a much shorter person before she realized it and slammed on the breaks, taking a few startled steps back. "Sorry," she said, shaking her head. "I should really watch where I'm going."

Who: Charlie and Ada (and anyone else who wants to join!)
When: Saturday night
Where: Heaven

Charlie was a bit disappointed that he and Ada were sent upstairs to perform. Their shit apparently wasn't 'hard' enough to earn them a billing in the basement (which was where the better party was clearly located). Eh, he still planned to head downstairs later. Hell was a far better venue, and he'd take it over Heaven any day (unless we're talking about the REAL heaven and hell, because then he would much rather ascend). Regardless, he, Ada and Suoh would rock out and give the kids a good show.

He was excited and a little nervous about performing tonight. It hadn't been that long since his last gig, but that last performance with Torque was the night he met Val and became a vampire. He couldn't get the bitey bitch out of his thoughts as he and and the others did a mini sound check just before the show. They'd not had much practice, but Charlie was confident they'd play great. He'd learned all of Ada's songs, and she'd learned his. And Suoh, a crazy ass Japanese man who didn't seem to speak much English, was some sort of musical savant. That fucker picked up all the songs in a matter of hours!

They were going to play a set of six tonight. Three of Ada's songs (Gunpowder and Lead, Kerosene, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), and three of Charlie's (Stay Another Night, Vice, and In The City). It hadn't been hard at all to pick the songs. Clearly, Ada was still bitter about the douche she was rebounding from, because her song choices were filled with all sorts of just-got-dumped anger. Charlie felt they would get the audience geared up. Ada's songs had that country flavor, but they had a hardness and rawness that got his attention, and he was sure others would enjoy as well. Charlie's music was straight rock, and he planned to actually sing lead on them. Back home, he left most of the singing to Lewis, but Charlie had a good voice, and the songs were more geared to a man's sound. Besides, he wrote the fucking songs, he should be singing them! Hopefully, it would help him score some quality tail after the performance.

Just before going on stage, Charlie did two quick lines of blow. He wanted a bit more, but he couldn't afford to lose his head. He was worried Val was in the audience, and if he saw her, he planned to give her a piece of his mind. Fuck the whole 'not hitting women' thing. That really only applied to ladies, and Val was no lady! The Bitey Bitch needed to get her ass handed to her, and Charlie felt up to the task.

But, he tried to put thoughts of her aside as he looked to Ada and Suoh. With a nod, Suoh counted them in, and soon enough, Charlie and Ada joined in on guitar and bass. The sound was good, really good. Amazing that three people with such limited experience playing together could rock out like that, but they did, and Charlie felt all his problems melt away. As the three played their intros... Ada addressed the crowd, giving credit where credit was due, to the man who done her wrong, "This song's for any of you girls out there who've ever been mistreated by a man..." And so it began. The girl had serious chops, and she owned the stage when she was on it. She wasn't the most stunning woman upon first glance, but it was hard to take your eyes off her when she performed. Charlie joined in as backup, and it wasn't long until the crowd started to get into it.

Who: Ada and Grey
Where: Hell
When: Saturday night, after Ada's set

The set had been awesome. The energy of having a band with her, even if it was a makeshift set-up with a brand new bassist and a session-player drummer who had a very tenuous grasp on the songs, had felt amazing while she was up there. She'd put more effort into her performance than she had in a long time, really pouring her soul into it. During the up-tempo numbers, her hair had been flying as she moved, her voice revealing the true emotion of the songs she sang--at least the ones they played of hers. She sang of fucked up relationships, of heartbreak, of getting even and getting out. Things she knew all too well.

After the set she'd said sayonara to the band, paid the drummer who had done a kick-ass job, considering, and made her way to the bar. Performing usually gave her more energy, but tonight she just felt drained and wanted nothing more than to just sit at the bar and down a few strong drinks while she listened to the rest of the music. Hell, she thought she might even slip out early and call it a night. Not like she had anyone to meet up with. She pushed her way to the bar and slid onto an empty stool. Most of them were vacant since the crowd was standing and cheering for the next musician, and a bartender in black leather came up to take her order. "Jack and coke, light on the coke," she said, setting down a few bills when the woman came back with her order, still a little darker than she'd wanted but it would do.

She had polished off two of the drinks and was half-turned toward the stage, hands wrapped around the empty glass as she gazed with less interest than usual at the performers. It wasn't that they were bad; they were actually pretty good. She was just too busy brooding. She'd seen Starbuck there while she'd played, and it had almost caused her to miss the beginning of a song. She'd been looking to see if Kat was with him, and after she saw that he wasn't accompanied by the younger blonde, she had just looked at him for a moment until a cymbal crash brought her back to reality. She made it a point not to look at him again during the show. And now she was thinking about him again, how badly she had fucked up on Thursday with Charlie and the drugs, also thinking about how much she had wanted a line backstage before she went out. But she hadn't wanted Starbuck to see her high. Did he have to creep into everything? Usually a great show meant a good time, but that didn't seem to be the case tonight. She sighed and tried to focus on the music.

Who: Ada and Nate
What: Coffee
Where: cafeteria
When: After class

This day was shaping up to be all kinds of wonderful. Ada had been like a drone through all her classes, barely concentrating at all on anything around her. She'd even managed to do poorly in music, messing up a simple chord progression that she damn well knew how to play. If she screwed up on the guitar, things were seriously off. The good news was, she hadn't cried since that morning before class. She also didn't look much better. Her hair was still pulled back, and she always wore the long blonde locks down, no matter how much like shit she felt. Today though, she just couldn't find the energy.

For the first time, when a guy had promised he wouldn't screw her over, she had believed him. And look where it got her. Trusting someone was always a recipe for trouble, she knew that by now. She'd just decided to give him a chance. Smart move, apparently.

Yeah, she was angry. It was something that couldn't really be helped in this situation. Over the day the shock of it subsided into something a little more comfortable, a hurt feeling with an edge of resentment. No, she didn't hate him. Far from it. In fact, she knew she would take him back right now if he said he was over Kat. But he wasn't over her, and he was right. It wasn't fair to string her along when he still had feelings for someone else, no matter how much of a bitch she seemed to be.

Classes were finally over with, and while all Ada really wanted to do was go curl up in her bed until she had to leave to play another set at the tavern, she had promised Nate she'd have coffee with him. Normally she'd look forward to it, but unless that coffee was spiked with something, she really wasn't too incredibly interested right now, especially not in discussing the situation at hand. Forgetting it seemed much better, but unfortunately was impossible. After taking a quick stop in her room to throw her books down on her bed, Ada made her way down to the cafeteria and grabbed a hot cup of coffee, moving to a table off in the corner so she wouldn't have to deal with people eavesdropping.

Who: Starbuck and Ada
When: 6:30AM, Wednesday, April 3rd
Where: Outside on school grounds
What: Starbuck has to fess up about his dickish behavior.

Starbuck looked like hell. It wasn't just from the worry, but also from the lack of sleep. He'd only managed to nod off for minutes at a time at a few points throughout the night, before he would wake up from a bad dream. He was dreading meeting with Ada to tell her about what he'd done, but knew he had to come clean. Some guys might have kept something like kissing another woman a secret, hell, some guys might not have even felt guilty about something like that! But, Starbuck wasn't one of those guys, he was too honest, and, while his behavior the night before didn't reflect it, he was also quite honorable. He had to tell Ada, and the sooner the better.

Once he dragged his tired, depressed ass out of bed, Starbuck headed to the showers. He cleaned up quickly, throwing on some jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. Before heading off to meet with Ada, he had a long, hard look in the mirror. Starbuck wasn't sure he recognized the man he saw reflected. What sort of asshole kissed his ex when he had a wonderful girlfriend who gave him absolutely no reason to be tempted to cheat? Ada was perfect, and he was a dick for behaving the way he had. He had turned into one of the men from Ada's past.

He sighed and felt tempted in his frustration to slam his fist into the mirror, but he resisted. After talking to Ada, he'd likely write his teachers and tell them he wasn't feeling well enough for class. He was sure he'd feel much worse about himself and what he'd done after his conversation, and that would make it impossible to concentrate on learning. Plus, he really didn't want to see Kat in their water use class.

As he walked toward the front doors of the school, he tried to figure out how he would break this news. There really was no good way to go about telling a woman you'd cheated on her, and he didn't exactly have experience with it. He had never done something like this before! What the hell had prompted him to break his clean record? He shook his head and scratched the back of it. Idiot.

Soon enough (far too soon, actually) he had reached his destination. Ada wasn't there yet, so he paced by the doors, worrying.