max yorke just wants to go home (capgrased) wrote in mnhttnprjct, @ 2010-06-01 21:40:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log, luke quinn, max yorke |
log.
WHO: Max Yorke and Luke Quinn.
WHAT: Some crazy random happenstance occurs on a crowded subway car. There is eventually food and Max possibly doing something against his better judgement.
WHERE: A subway car followed by some diner in District 2.
WHEN: Tuesday afternoon, June 1.
RATING: PG at the most for occasional swearing.
LUKE: He supposed things could have been worse after his sentencing and subsequent incarceration. Instead of the ten issued days and nasty fine, he could have found himself permanently at risk for playing shower buddies with large men he didn't know. Instead, he kept himself from getting shived or 'impaled,' then exited to start a payment plan to finish his debt to society. Which, by the way was bad enough to wonder how much he could get for one of his kidneys instead of cutting it out for himself. Nothing helped less than finding out he was unemployed just because he decided to want to punch an officer to trying to rip into the little flat he called temporary home. He refused to actually name it as such, keeping himself from having a place with a permanent fixture . Not that he had a home to go to. The reality of the situation was that he would be incarcerated permanently in America if they knew the truth, and he would have been ripped apart and slaughtered if he went back to Belfast. Life wasn't going to give him the possibility of choice. Instead he tried to make the best of the situation by applying and interviewing himself at other jobs. Mostly bartending and bouncer positions, but he didn't have the skills or the money to apply himself otherwise. Having just left an interview at some possible position in District Zero, Luke normally would have just forced the walk home. Instead, he was just so tired and cranky that he opted to spend what little money he had on taking the subway. Dressed a bit more professionally than normal, he was a tired man in an oxford shirt, undone blue tie and black slacks, holding onto his sharp black jacket while the subway car moved. MAX: One of the downsides of being a musician without a teaching degree or a large symphony position was the lack of a steady music job. As a result, Max was constantly on the look out for various auditions and such so he could do what he loved best. This would explain why he was in District 0, though it didn't exactly explain why he was still sans a new music job. Apparently some people didn't want to hire an English pianist even though the job would never actually entail him speaking. Well. It was there loss, or at least that's what Max's slightly inflated ego told himself. It didn't stop him from being rather bummed out as he made his way down to the subway and the crowded station didn't help his mood either. It also didn't help him as the mass of people all but forcibly shoved him onto the car, which was just filled with more people. Sighing, Max shoved his way through the crowd to an open space a few feet away as actually finding a seat was going to be impossible on this ride. He made it to the spot just as the car started up again, which caused him to lurched forward a bit into the person standing next to him. How embarrassing. "Sorry, mate," he started as he made sure to downplay his accent just a bit considering he was outside District 2. "Wasn't quite ready for that take-off." LUKE: Not that he minded a warm body crashing into him (which he did greatly), but what he minded more was the fact this skinny body was happened to be owned by one British slightly adorkable musician whom he was certain he'd never see again after the events that transpired the night before he was incarcerated. Had he been any more prepared, he would have made sure he was situated in another car to avoid seeing him again. Not that he didn't want to, oh god he wanted to see Max again, but life and everything between seemed to conspire to keep him from having stability in his life. "Yes, but I think I'm okay with that kind of abuse," he joked, trying to keep light of the situation, finding himself annoyingly way too close to Max thanks to the sheer number of people in the car with them, forcing all of them to sandwich in such a close knit space. "What are you doing on here?" he asked, too curious to simply let it go. MAX: He wasn't the only one who thought that one night at the bar would be the last time either of them bumped into each other. Then again, Max operated under the assumption that he would be going home at any moment, so he really didn't expect to be bumping into anyone again. And he really didn't expect to ever being seeing Luke again thanks to a combination of jail time and not actually knowing much about him, including where he lived. This was all perfectly fine to Max, but here he was sharing a very small amount of space with the other man on a crowded subway car. "Yeah." Oh God. They still had plenty more stops to go on this fun little adventure. "Oh. I was just at an audition. For piano," he answered as he made a little finger-wiggle-piano-motions with his free hand. "You?" LUKE: "Oh of course, the piano, I wouldn't have understood without the gesture" he joked, mimicking the wiggle fingers in response. He held on tightly to one of the rails as the cars lurched forward, doing his best to keep from completely crashing into Max when they were too close already. He gave an awkward smile (probably one of the first of many today) and made sure wallet was still there before responding to Max. "Oh just the usual. Applied to a few places and was told I would 'hear back' which probably means 'never.' That's why I'm dressed up," he sighed, gesturing to his suit. "Did your audition go well?" MAX: Thanks to his efforts, it was a small crash and Max only made a small face as the body next to him briefly pushed against his. God. How he hated this subway. "Oh. You know. I play very well, but apparently I also play very English. Whatever that means. I mean, I only went to one of the top music schools in the world in <i>England</i>, but whatever." Max? Was only a tiny bit bitter. Just a very little bit. "Maybe you could try applying to places a bit closer to home?" By home, he meant District 2 because at least they were used to foreign nationals. LUKE: Chewing on his upper lip, Luke gave a wry smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yes, you're clearly too English for the Americans who were once colonists from England. They're idiots if they don't want your talent." He cut himself off at that point and coughed, remembering that the only reason he even knew about his music was because of his searching online, which he told himself was just background research. "Yes I suppose. I was just hoping for a better paying one so I could pay off my fine faster. Perhaps in another life I could," he mused, tilting his head against the railing. What he really needed was a fecking drink. And to dismantle and reassemble a gun, one of his prior methods of stress relief. "What are you going to do?" he asked at the end. MAX: "I'm sure a couple rewrites of some text books and they'll have kids believing they were the native inhabitants here," he said quietly while avoid a somewhat evil stare from an old man to his right. "And thank you for assuming I am good without every hearing me." It was a much needed minor ego boost despite the fact that as far as Max knew, Luke knew nothing about him beyond the fact he played the piano. Very kind of you! "Oh. I guess just keep going on auditions. Unless you meant now, in which case I was going back to my flat to ponder what to eat for dinner." In the end, he would probably chose to just go to a local place and get a veggie burger because Max rarely had any actual food in his kitchen. LUKE: "Yeah of course," he cheerfully responded, allowing Max to believe he was just being nice. He ran a hand through his hair while listening to his future plans, smiling and trying to resist doing something rash in response. Because see, Luke was doing fine, he didn't need anything stronger than pure friendship and even then he was prepared to leave them all behind if the borders ever opened up again. Once that happened, he intended on disappearing altogether. So what if he was somewhat intrigued by spectacles and shaggy brown hair? Maybe this was a sign he hadn't gotten laid in a long time and he should have just gotten his stress relief in the form of a random stranger. Exactly why he was considering doing something stupid. "Sounds like a fun night. You know, if you want to see an Irish man eating nothing but coffee and sawdust, in the next couple of stops I'm stopping at a diner." He left the rest of the sentence hanging, giving Max a chance to decline, to get out the situation before it was too late. MAX: He was right there with you, Luke. Max may or may not have had enough money (or at least two thousand dollars) for a plan ticket stashed away for the very day it was announced foreign nationals could return to their home countries. When that day came, he was buying the first ticket to Europe he could and would return home. On top of all that, he wasn't very into the whole casual stranger thing, so... well, you could only imagine right there. "Oh," was all he said initially as he tried to ponder what kind of invitation this was exactly. Casual? More than casual? Luke had been drunk the last time he saw him, so perhaps this was his way of proposing some sort of peace offering? Yes. That sounded perfectly logical to Max, though that wasn't saying very much. "Well. That certainly would be better than my frozen soy hotdogs. So sure." On a friendly level. LUKE: "Great," he half smiled, keeping the inner wince to himself. It wasn't that he thought it was a bad idea (though it was), it was more that it seemed to be two magnets trying to desperately avoid connecting when somehow they were still doing so against their own wishes. Godfliptardingdammit. About a half hour later found the two haggard magnets sitting across from each other in a dinghy diner back in District 2. The grizzled old waitress, clearly no stranger to the usual eclecticness of the area didn't even bat an eyelash at the two men, instead just taking their drink orders and passing them the menus before lurching off, only to return creepily fast and drop off their drinks before disappearing yet again. Sipping his black coffee and making a face, he pushed his mug away and ordered a cup of black tea instead. The hardest part at the moment was trying to think of how to re break the ice. "So I never asked, what type of music do you play?" That was as good a start as any. MAX: He smiled back as he wondered whether or not he had just agreed to some sort of date activity. For the rest of the ride, the walk to the diner, and as he sat down, Max kept wondering the same thing, eventually settling on the fact if he didn't acknowledge it, it couldn't be so. Yes. That would work. Unlike some people, he had ordered tea right from the get go, complete with soy creamer and some nasty fake sugar. Not delicious, but certainly better than the coffee that was on the market these days. Once his drink was in front of him, he began fixing it just so and did not bother to look at the menu as he always tended to order the same thing when out to eat: veggie burger with fake bacon and cheese. Max began to mix the tea with his right hand and with his left, he began to lightly tap on the table as he played his imaginary piano, only looking up when Luke spoke. "Well, mostly classical. That's originally what I started playing and writing and went I went to school for. Most people don't care about that today, so I also write some more popular type of stuff. I can play jazz stuff too." LUKE: He was grateful for the table, for clearly that was the reason this wasn't a date. And the not acknowledging anything whatsoever. Luke needed more moments like that. At least it got him out of the apartment more often. Gulping his tea (which was admittedly slightly bitter but he decided to drink it regardless), he ordered himself a regular burger with a side of fries, wondering it was really okay after he surmised that Max was a vegetarian. Deciding that it would be okay as long as he didn't wave the burger in his face and made cow noises, there would probably be no conflict. Luke couldn't help a grin that came across his face, resisting mentioning what he knew about Max's music. "Jazz like the older genre, B.B. King and Robert Johnson?" Luke asked, showing he knew about some things than he let on. MAX: He wasn't really a vegetarian by ethical choice, but more because soy was cheaper than any of the meat on the market today. Sure, he could have afforded it on occasion, but after all these years Max had gotten used to not eating it at all. And veggie burgers actually tasted rather good, so. Beef burger waving would be fine by him! "Yeah," he answered as his tea was fixed, at which time he stopped playing imaginary piano and grabbed it with his left hand. "American's really love that stuff these days, so I taught myself how to play it. The piano bar types love it." But enough about him. "So what did you do before you came to this country and had the illustrious job of titty bar bouncer?" LUKE: Vegetarians are people too! Except in Ireland, but that was a meat vs. vegetables 'let's talk about the joys of colcannon' story for another day. Truth to be told, Luke could have gone for that option as well, but he tended to grit his teeth and make do with what animal protein he could come across. "What can ye do, other than just play and enjoy it I guess." At Max's question Luke didn't hold back and laughed, leaning his head against a propped up hand, elbow on the table. "Well before I became unemployed at my less than entertaining job of dancing teets, I was a bartender in Belfast, which is only slightly more interesting. At least all anyone ever asked for was Guinness or whiskey and then as long as I was cute, I'd be set for the month." He smirked at Max. "Don't suppose you heard anything in any of the locales you've played, regarding jobs that is?" It couldn't hurt to ask, could it? Maybe. MAX: Shaking his head, Max chose not to go any further with the whole music thing as he believe most people didn't give a crap about his beloved classical music. The moment he started talking about Bach, Beethoven, or Brahms, most people began to zone out and that wasn't very good for conversation. "Northern Ireland," he said with a nod that really meant nothing, but more for the purpose of tucking that little piece of information in the back of his mind. "So bartenders really make good tips? I mean, at some of the piano bars drunk people will pay stupid dollars just to hear a song. I guess they would do the same if they were just sitting there too." Or something. "There is this one place always looking for bartenders, which makes me wonder if it's a crappy place for bartenders." LUKE: He nodded in affirmation of Max's confirmation to his location. Even if he didn't say anything, anyone with two seconds access to the Internet could find out where he was from when he gave a little bit of information. "They make good enough tips when you're fit and smile at the right people before they're sober enough to realize you're only doing your job," he shrugged. Sure it seemed dirty and underhanded, but between being honest and being able to to afford rent for the month, he'd take what he could get. "At this point I will take whatever offer you have. It would beat having to work the streets," he joked. The chance of him doing anything remotely related to that were not likely at all. He'd rather deliver a painful attack to a man's groin than pay to get someone to grope him. MAX: Sadly, when Max went home he would probably look up the Wikipedia article on the city. Just for his own knowledge in general, not because Luke happened to be from there and he thought it would be worth while to learn a little bit about the city. Not at all. "Well that makes sense, I guess. Never underestimate the stupidity of a drunken person," he answered before making a slight face since the last time the two of them talked face-to-face, Like had been the drunken person. Hmm. Yes. Moving right along... "I'll see what I can find out next time I'm there. And I think the place we were at had a help wanted, though I might just be remembering that one wrong." LUKE: Belfast is full of Catholic and white people, and that's about the sum of it. Everything else is on a severe need to know basis. While Max felt accidental over mentioning drunkedness, Luke was less phased and more amused. "It paid my rent," he confessed, mentally ensuring Max was at a safe distance before he continued to lean against the back off the stool that made up one end of the booth of the diner. "Really, anything would be helpful. I would owe you so much if ye could find me a way to start paying off me fine." Luke was being honest. If Max could get him any job that was willing to take on a foreign national from a high alert zone, then he'd owe him big time. MAX: Without saying a word, he reached over and started digging through the rather ratty looking messenger bag he had been toting with him all afternoon. He produced a tablet of sheet music followed by his wallet and after tearing out a piece, Max took a couple business cards out from his wallet so he could start jotting down a few numbers. One was for a piano bar, another was for a cafe, and the last was actually for the bar across the street from him where they first met. Part of him thought this was the right thing to do, though another part of him had this nagging feeling that it would have been better if he hadn't offered. Oh well. No turning back now. "Here you go," he said as he held out the scrap piece of music tablet that now had the phone numbers on it. "Just say Max gave you the numbers." LUKE: The little bit of torn off sheet music seemed uniquely Max though why that was, he didn't know. The guy was still a stranger to him and the fact Luke hadn't ended up getting screwed over by way of stabbing or getting scammed was a blessing in itself. So clearly, pushing his luck was key here. Gratefully taking the music sheet, Luke ran a quick eye over the list of numbers, noticing one wasn't labeled which he had an inkling was Max's own number. He would wait to see if that was the case. No trying to get out of things now. He would call those numbers and see where it got him as it was only fair; Max was putting his reputation on the line. He had no intention of letting him down for that at least. So he told himself. The conversation for the rest of the time was uncomfortably comfortable, the two of them making the kind of small talk Luke once only had enjoyed with his mates from back home. Eventually the tea and food ran out, and he was forced to concede it was time to leave. He probably was keeping Max from doing anything interesting with his other friends anyway. Placing down his part of the check along with tip (he was certain the waitress would have beaten him to a pulp if he didn't) he stood up and held out his hand, meaning to shake hands as a parting gesture. "Alright, I"m off. I will let you know how things go, okay?" he promised, adding a smile at the end to be sure. MAX: Yes, that may or may not have been Max's own number. If Luke was going to go around using him as a reference at these places, it was good to have a telephone number to write down next to his name. Provided the other man actually remembered his last name and all. So maybe there was a slight flaw in his plan, but that was his story and he was going to stick to it. Also, Max didn't really do many interesting things and his other friends was basically Noah, plus the various people he worked with. At the moment, he wasn't being kept from much more than plopping his ass down on the couch to watch various reruns of American television shows. However, when Luke stood up he did the same along with dropping his own half of the money on the table before hesitantly reaching out to shake Luke's hand. "I'd like that. I mean, it will be good to know someone is still able to get a real job in this city. A steady job at least." And then he finally let go of Luke's hand and offered a half smile. |