Werewolf problems and french fry love. Here's to new friends! Who: Lily & Lochlan When: Evening Where: O’Reilly’s Pub
Lochlan had gone with Aidan to the site of the werewolf project. And he’d worked his ass off. He’d thrown everything he had into it until he was sweating and exhausted which actually took a lot longer than it would have pre-wolf attack. He recovered fairly quickly too, in the space of a shower at Eily’s while she was out and a 10 minute catnap (wolfnap?) in his favorite booth, and he was back to one hundred percent.
He’d kept his distance from Eily all day, not sure what to say after this morning, and had tried his best not to even think about it even as he started his shift that evening. He wished he could take a drink and get a little buzzy to bolster his courage, but alcohol didn’t have the same effect as it used to. So he was doing his best to lose himself in conversations with the patrons.
Lily sat on her couch, arms crossed, foot tapping, and expression that of mild annoyance. Lance should have been here by now and she had received no message saying he was running late, or that he was on his way, or that he was bitching out on her. The only thing worse than a last minute plan cancel was a no show. She stood from her couch with a huff, grabbing the light jacket that was hanging over the arm of her couch and slipped it on then was out the door in a matter of minutes, not really sure where she was headed towards. She just knew she wasn’t going to wait around all night, and that she had to get out of her house or she might go crazy with her own thoughts and worries. The full moon only got closer and closer, and not knowing what exactly to expect for Jack was almost too much to bear.
Chewing at her nails, a habit she almost never succumbed to unless under intense stress, she blinked in a confused manner as she found herself within O’Reilly’s. How long had she been walking? She couldn’t even remember opening up the door to go inside. She decided in that moment that if her body was that determined to get itself a drink, she wasn’t going to stop it. Besides, being somewhere other than home by herself might be able to lift her out of the depression she could feel creeping up. She slipped out of her jacket, placing it on the back of her chosen chair and sat down. Her eyes settled on Lochlan, recognizing him from the previous times she’d been in the bar. “Hey you.” She did her best to muster up a friendly smile, though it came across as some type of half grin.
Lochlan usually prided himself on remembering the names of everyone he served, so long as they provided him with one. But today he wasn't exactly on his A-game with that. Though he was able to offer a charming smile and make his way to Lily as she sat down, even if he didn't remember her name right away. He might not have remembered his sister's name though given the stress he was under. He did remember her though and said, "Hey yourself, what'll it be?"
What will it be was a good question. Was she trying to just get a nice buzz going or did she want to have to crawl out of here? In her current state, being drunk was a pretty serious gamble; she might be so out of it that she wouldn’t be able to think about anything other than how fun it was when the room spun, or she could be sobbing into the bar counter about how scared she was for her younger brother. Fuck it, no point in overthinking. “Surprise me.” She shifted slightly in her seat, leaning into the counter. “The stronger, the better.”
He eyed her as she looked to make up her mind, his lips pressed together in a continued smile. He laughed lightly to hear her answer. His mind went to the bottle he'd concocted and labeled with a hazardous material sticker to keep anyone from drinking from it. It had been supposed to get him wasted within a couple shots but these days it did nothing for him. He couldn't give that to her though so he asked, "Here's the thing. You tell me if you're a beer girl or a liquor girl, and I'll set you up with the best we've got."
Without hesitation, Lily answered him wholeheartedly. “Liquor.” Beer was all well and good when she was drinking casually, but she had a feeling there would be nothing casual about this evening. “Definitely liquor.” She placed an elbow on the counter, holding her chin as her eyes scanned the rest of the bar. Who knew, these people could be her best friends by the end of the night. Her gaze wandered back over to Lochlan, observing him work behind the counter before she faked a pout. “You don’t remember my name, do you?” While she’d certainly seen him here in the past, she hadn’t gotten around to actually introducing herself yet. Now seemed like a hell of a time to have a little fun with him.
His brows raised, liking her decisiveness. He nodded and snapped a frozen shot glass on the counter top in front of her. He snagged a bottle of a clear liquid that was closer to vodka than gin but was of no known name brand from before the zombies. He twirled it with a flourish and there sat a cool, neat shot before her of something that would most likely burn her nose hair. He grinned. "Now how do you know I don't remember your name?" He racked his brain then, trying to remember it or at least remember having overheard someone else say it as she was coming in. "Do you remember mine?"
Lily lifted her head from resting in her hand, finger running along the rim of the shot glass. “Because. If you knew my name, you would have said it by now. People want to go where everybody knows their name.. and shit.” She lifted the shot, grinning at him. “I know your name, but I asked you first.” She tilted her head back to take the shot, the liquid immediately warming her throat and stomach once it settled there. She raised both her brows, nose crinkling. “Holy hell! Another one, please!” She let out a laugh, setting her shot glass down before him. “I’ll give you a hint. It starts with a L.”
Lochlan watched her down the shot and her reaction to it with a gleam of amusement in his eye. "Oh you're one of those people?" he asked, teasing her for her "I asked first" statement. She sounded like Avery - oh, he did remember his sister's name. But it was useless trying to remember this gal's name. It was entirely possible he'd never even heard it. So why not have some fun? He made her a second shot with even more flourish, spinning the filled shot glass down the counter toward her where, thanks to calculated condensation, it stopped beside her hand. "Let's see. You are Lenore, quoth the raven nevermore."
Lily looked down to the glass, impressed. It was obvious he’d been doing this for a while, and must have enjoyed it. You could always tell when a bartender was there just for money, and when a bartender was there because they actually liked their job, the people, and all the stories that come with the job. She lifted the glass to her lips, tipping her head back to aid the fire water quickly down her throat. The second felt stronger than the first, though it was most likely just in her mind. She put a hand to her mouth as she let out another laugh, thankful she had the shot down before he told his joke. “I definitely look like a Lenore, I know.. but that raven is a liar. I heard it even drives people crazy.” She could feel herself warming up, a good sign for what was to come. Offering her hand, she managed to give a genuine smile this time. “Lily.”
He stood back a moment to take her in, properly look at her rather than simply let her face fade in and out with the rest of the patrons as he sometimes did. Unless they were regulars and then he had a running catalog of their stories, jokes, and favorite drinks. He had a feeling she'd be one of the ones with a catalog. He hadn't expected her to give up her name so easily but he as pleased when she did. He took her hand and rather than giving it a shake, he made as though to kiss it but at the last moment turned their hands so that he kissed his own. "Pleased to formally meet you, Lily," he said as he released her hand. "Should've known that raven was a liar. It had a telltale heart."
Lily smirked, “look at you, you smooth operator.” She glanced over her shoulder then leaned back in, hovering over the countertop as if she were about to reveal something mind blowing. “I have a confession..” She put on her best serious face, it actually coming across as somewhat convincing. “I don’t really know your name. I’m also a liar.” She sat back in her chair. “I hope you’ll forgive me, keeper of the holy fire water.”
Lochlan returned her smirk appreciatively. "That's me," he affirmed. He leaned in with her, prepared to hear some strange revelation or the most mundane secret. He'd heard everything working the bar over the years, though more so in Delphi than before the zombies. When she made her confession he chuckled. "Forgiven, of course." He pulled the bottle out again with a questioning quirk of his brow. "I think I prefer you call me that anyway - Keeper of the Holy Fire Water. Has a nice ring to it."
Lily hesitated as Lochlan held up the bottle, knowing she should probably take things slow.. but what fun was there to be had in being cautious, anyway? She grinned and slowly pushed the shot glass forward, glancing up to him with a thoughtful pause. “It does sound pretty amazing. I think you could get some serious street cred with it. And, those ravens would have to be honest with you after that. That’s always a plus.” Lochlan knew he was a terrible enabler where providing alcohol was concerned. He tipped her in a third shot, making mental tally of it. This one he set directly in front of her, leaning on the bar a bit. He could hear her heart slowing as the depressant nature of the alcohol started to kick into her system. It was a sound he'd been listening to for most of his shift as people at the bar slowly intoxicated. There was a smell about her that he liked too, though he wasn't entirely sure what it was but it was all hers. "Honest ravens, now there's a thought." He rubbed the scruff on his chin absently. "It's Lochlan, by the way. Can't imagine you'd have ever guessed it if I'd asked you to. What brings you out this evening?" he asked nosily.
Lily was certainly beginning to feel the warmth and tingle of her new favored drink spread to her outer limbs, the sensation one of her favorite parts of drinking. She leaned forward against the bar again after he did, wanting to be closer to him. He had somehow managed to keep her mind off of the worries she had brought into the bar and even pulled her out of her rut for a moment, something she truly appreciated. “Pleasure to meet you, Lochlan.” She raised her hand to tip an imaginary cap to him. “You know, I’ve always had a thing for Irish boys.” She gave him a wink, a devious smirk crossing her lips.
At the question of what brought her here, however, the smirk slowly vanished and her gaze shifted down to her glass. She certainly couldn’t go off on a tangent about Jack, his being a werewolf, and not really knowing what to expect. This whole concept was so brand new to her, she wasn’t sure if a transformation was really something someone came back from. “Ah.. both of my brothers dropped some pretty major news on me yesterday. One of them is alright, but the other.. I’m not so sure. I’m pretty worried about him.” Okay. Understatement of the year right there.
If he was keeping her mind off her worries, she was functioning in the same capacity for him. He hadn't once thought about anything to do with Eily or werewolves, other than the heightened senses, but he'd gotten so used to them by now that he didn't immediately equate them.
…a thing for Irish boys. Catalogued.
He tried not to grin at that and her wink but there was no stopping that because it was cute. She was a minx, this one. Fun for sure and, without thinking about it, he poured himself a shot. He as downing it when he realized that her mood had changed. Damn, he was two for two today with killing girls' moods. The image of Eily's disappointment settled firmly in his mind's eye and he pulled out the other bottle with the hazardous material label. Maybe if he drank the whole thing…
He nodded, understanding. "That's gotta weigh heavy on your mind and here you were trying not to think about it, weren't you? What can I do to make it up to you?" he asked, his mouth curved in a tentative half smile.
Lily’s gaze shifted back up towards Lochlan, glad to see he was going to have a drink or two along with her. It was always more fun to drink with someone, at least in her opinion. It’s where some of the best stories came from and could even be the start to some beautiful friendships and relationships. She gave another half grin, nodding her head. “It’s one of those things that I would think about at some point, it’s not your fault.” She was interested in being able to ask for him to cheer her up in some way, though. If this had happened after the alcohol had set into her senses more, she may have blurted out something a little more risqué. She couldn’t deny she found him attractive, but there was a hesitation in her at the thought of Mickey. “Tell me a story? What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to you while working behind the bar?”
He nodded, "I've got stuff like that too. But it's not fun seeing a pretty girl go from smiling to not smiling." He unscrewed the hazard bottle and poured himself a shot that threatened to turn his head inside out as it went down. He chuckled at what he must've looked like.
"The craziest thing?" He looked up and scratched his chin, thinking. And just like that he was off on another plane of thought and happy to be there. "Ahhh, let's see. That would have to be the time Old Mack McCracken was getting married. The man was at least 80 and he and his bride-to-be were regulars at the family pub since before I was born. They'd been adopted by some of the younger regulars and on one particularly slow Monday evening, apparently some of them got together and decided to throw Old Mack a bachelor party. So there was Mack a group of them at a round table, raucous and giddy, drinking. I was working the bar and actually quite pleased because there were several very pretty girls at the counter and they were tipping nicely on diet cokes. Didn't think a thing of that until suddenly the jukebox begins playing F32, which we all knew was the naughtiest, dirtiest song on the dial. A bunch of 'em start snickering and slapping each other on the back and I'm annoyed because it looks like the girls are going to leave. I figure they must be offended and normally I wouldn't care. It's a bar, don't come if you're easily offended, right?"
He paused here to give her room to respond to the story so far and so he could fill a couple glasses down the bar. When he came back he poured himself another shot from the hazard bottle and his eyes squeezed tightly shut as he knocked it back.
A smile found its way back to Lily's lips as she watched Lochlan do another shot, taking in his calling her pretty. She was impressed with how readily he had a story to share, resting her elbows on the counter as she leaned in further to listen. "Exactly. I hate when people get uptight, it ruins a good time."
She watched him wander a way for a moment to attend to some other patrons, taking the moment to appreciate the slight woosh she felt as she lightly kicked her feet. She had been sitting so the shots she had taken hadn't necessarily felt like they had begun working their magic, but apparently she had been wrong. Her smile grew as he returned, reaching over to playfully push his arm. "What happened next?"
"Right, well, I was looking at my tips on a slow night potentially leaving so I offered them a drink on the house but nothing doing. Then I see there were a few other pretty girls walking through the bar too, all seeming to be leaving. Until the bass dropped on the song. Then suddenly the bar was filled with girls pulling off their outfits - which apparently were only held on by who knows what - and dancing in these sparkly, barely-there outfits. The lights are lowering and the stupid disco ball starts going and the girls are parading around old Mack who's laughing his arse off. Flash mob bachelor party and nobody clued me in ahead of time." He shook his head and laughed, the first good laugh he'd had in awhile. Still not buzzing though. He took another shot and his eyes watered immediately like he was crying. He laughed again.
Lily's laugh joined Lochlan's, especially after his post-shot expression. She could recall the glory days of the flash mob scene, though she herself never got involved with it. Still, they were pretty entertaining and the idea of a group doing it for what sounded to be a pretty badass old guy made it that much more enjoyable. "Wish I was there." She have a shake of her head. "Damn. Keeper of the Holy Fire Water and the Teller of Stories. I'm truly honored!" She couldn't stop for even a second to let her mind wander to tomorrow night, she had to keep talking. Granted, her speaking wasn't necessarily as eloquent as she believed it to be by this point. "So.. what else do you do for fun?"
Lochlan wasn't used to people asking him questions. Usually they just poured out their own sad or exciting stories while he listened. It was rather refreshing to have someone interested in his life for a change other than family. And it was fun to talk about the good old days. He had a million stories, all of which he'd gladly tell her if she asked. "Maybe we'll have to do our own flash mob one day. Then you won't have to 'wish you were there' because you will be!" He chuckled and it rang a little in his ears which meant finally the alcohol was starting to take effect. Except it also meant that the noise in the pub was starting to hurt his ears.
"Hm, well, I do a lot of running in the park and a lot of wisecracking. I was supposed to learn how to knit at one point but that never did happen. What about you? Other than getting inked," he said with a grin. He liked her tats.
Lily gasped at the thought of a flash mob, here inside the dome. Wouldn't that be something. At the mention of running, she raised her brows with interest. "Literally running?" She loved her morning runs, but had yet to meet anyone else who enjoyed it enough to embark on an athletic adventure with her.
She hadn't been expecting to be asked a question, letting out another small laugh. "Besides this?" She lifted her arms for a moment, observing some of her own work for a moment."I love running, I kick box whenever I can.. sing and make music. Drinking." The rest of her favored activities probably weren't a conversation to have on a first meeting. "How have we never talked before? It's terrible we've waited this long!"
Lochlan grinned at her reaction to the flash mob, maybe they'd revisit that idea later when planning could possibly be a thing. Then he nodded. "Yeah, I love to run. Clears my head, gets the endorphins going. I'm out every morning just about." If she liked to run too, he wondered that they hadn't passed each other at some point. Though maybe she enjoyed running around one of the lakes or through the forest or something. He watched her display her ink and smiled appreciatively. One of these days he'd like to have something important enough to tattoo on himself.
"Ohh kick boxing. Always wanted to do regular boxing." He threw a few shadow punches, squaring his shoulders, and bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Almost got to learn but then the zombies ruined it all." He shook his head at her question. "I don't know. Guess the other bar tenders have all the luck!"
Lily nearly bounced in her seat with excitement. "Run with me sometime?" She understood finding solitude and peace with it, but sometimes it was also just fun to have someone to go out with. She supposed it was probably safer too than being out by herself, now that she was even more aware of the strange possibilities within these walls.
She grinned as she watched him punch and bounce around. "It's too bad there isn't a gym to go to.. maybe we'll just have to make our own fight club." She wiggled her brows. "Think of all the money in it!" Because anytime there were two people brawling, there were typically a least a few people betting amongst each other.
"Oh now there's a good idea," he said with a nod. "I'd really like to do that. Haven't had a running partner in ages. Would be great to have the challenge!" He loved the thought of having someone with him on a run sometimes. And there was nothing saying he couldn't run on his own ever if he wanted to just because he agreed to run with her sometimes too.
Lochlan's eyes lit up. "Yeah, but first rule of fight club…" He grinned, rubbing his hands together. Starting a fight club could be a lot of fun so long as it could be fairly exclusive. "I'll leave the money to you. I only want to throw some punches." Except now that he thought about it he realized that if he participated he'd have to pull some punches. His strength had at least doubled since being attacked by that wolf. It wouldn't be fair to whoever he went up against. Unless they were another wolf. Yeah, he'd have a great time taking down that mouthy Jack guy from the werewolf meeting.
"You good?" he asked, eying her glass as he filled his own. The slow buzz he was working on was actually sort of nice and this shot hardly made his face contort.
Lily looked around for a dry napkin, though finding one that was okay enough to write her number on without it being obliterated wasn't happening. "Can you give me a napkin and something to write with?" She grinned. "I'm giving you my digits." Not just for running. She genuinely was enjoying herself, and felt like they could have a really fun time when she wasn't half distracted by her own stress. "And who's to say I wouldn't want to get some punches in?.. but I'll totally handle the money too." Multitasking was a beautiful thing.
She looked down to her empty shot glass, an internal debate raging on if she'd like to drink more or not. After some hesitation, she nodded. "I'm good." She would definitely be in good shape to help Zania with the club tomorrow if she kept making responsible decisions tonight. "I do have to say.. I'm impressed with how well you're doing." She motioned to the bottle near him and his own glass.
She wanted to give him her number? He'd be using it. He reached under the lip of the bar and twirled a napkin toward her. He had a pen in his shirt pocket which he held out to her. "You're more than welcome to have as many punches as you like! Million Dollar Baby right here," he said in such a way as though she were a celebrity and several others at the counter tapped their glasses saying, "Here here!"
"On me," he told her with a smile that faded a bit. He hadn't been paying a whole lot of attention to how often he'd been taking shots. He was definitely buzzing now, a nice, steady hum through his muscles. "Yeah… I'm soft of alcohol intolerant these days for some reason. Which is no fun unless you're in the right company." He smiled at her but frowned inwardly at that thought, hoping it was just a temporary side effect of having been in the hospital recently. Some medication they gave him or something like that.
Lily laughed aloud, lifting her arms as if she were the champion within the ring. She had always enjoyed herself when she had come to O'Reilly's in the past, but tonight was winning her favor. She started to grin as he said the shot was on him, though stopped as she observed his smile fade. "Alright. One more, together." She couldn't be rude! She offered him a genuine smile, hoping to lend some good vibes to him to bring the real smile back. He had such a nice one.
She tilted her head at his alcohol problem, furrowing her brow. "That's terrible. What brought that about?"
He almost protested that she didn't have to. His smile fading had been because she'd noted how much he'd been drinking and how it hadn't affected him as much as it should have. Yet, up until now they hadn't actually had a drink together. That would be good, he thought and refilled her shot glass once more. Then filled his and clinked it against hers. "Sláinte mhaith," he said favoring her with a bright smile. "Good health." Didn't he wish.
He shrugged as he took the shot, this one hitting his system like a bullet on top of the rest of the alcohol he'd had. He suddenly didn't feel like anything could bother him. "Not really sure," he said, not too dishonestly. He wasn't one hundred percent sure it was the wolf attack or werewolf syndrome or whatever. He was feeling good now though, his tongue loosened some. "Not completely intolerant. But it takes longer. I think it might be some medication or something they gave me in the hospital recently."
Lily couldn't suppress her giggle as he offered up his Irish toast, tilting her head back to join him in the alcoholic burn. Each one just seemed to get easier and harder at the same, somehow. Nearly wincing, she focused on what he was saying, particularly his mention of recently being hospitalized. "Why were you in the hospital?" It could just be a coincidence, or maybe he had something similar to Jack or Mannix going on. Wouldn't that just be perfect.
Lochan knocked his shot glass on the counter and the sound was like a gunshot in his ears. He winced slightly himself, wondering just how she managed to hold her liquor so well. She must not have been kidding when she’d said one of the things she liked to do was drink. My kind of girl, he thought. Out loud he said, “Nasty bug bit me. Biggest thing I’ve ever seen and feisty too.” It was pretty obvious by his expression that he’d made that up. He really didn’t want to think about werewolves but it always seemed to come back to that, didn’t it?
If Lily hadn't been so serious about the question, she would have had a good laugh from that one. Instead, she gave a half hearted chuckle and decided she'd try to hint around. If it wasn't something he was aware of, no big deal.. if it was something he was aware of, however, maybe he'd be able to help Jack. Maybe he knew more about this whole mess than they did. "Did something bite you, though? Scratch you up a little bit?" She tried acting casual, but she knew it was a pretty extreme question to be taken lightly.
Lochlan's brows furrowed slightly but he smiled again quickly. What was she getting at with her questions? It felt too close to the topic he'd been trying to avoid but maybe he was paranoid. Though he supposed it was always possible she was a werewolf who just hadn't shown up to the meeting or something like that. "Is that a hobby of yours? Ambulance chasing?" he asked with a grin, evading her question. "Or are you from the insurance company, because I paid my premium."
Damn this alcohol, it made her thinking a tad bit slower. She shook her head, the room becoming blurry for a minute. "I..." She stared at him for a moment, unsure what to say. She was beginning to succumb to the beauty of shots.. fine one minute then on the floor the next. She bit her lip, shaking her head again. "My brother was in the hospital a few days ago. I was just wondering if something similar had happened to you." She pointed to herself. "Thus, why I'm here."
Lochlan made a mental note that even if she decided to ask for another shot, he wouldn't serve her. She didn't look as level as she had before. But his eyes were swimming a little now. He was going to have to end his shift early if that kept up. Another mental note not to test theories while working. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is he still there or … ?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to that question once it came out of his mouth. Because if the reason she was here was because her brother was dead he'd feel absolutely terrible for even bringing it up.
Lily shook her head slowly this time, falling quiet for a minute. "It's the weirdest fucking thing. He almost died a few days ago, but he's walking around like nothing happened now." She still didn't trust the whole thing. "Stuff is coming up that's going to fuck him up even more, I think.. and there's nothing I can do to stop it." Her lips were loose now, spilling out information she really didn't need to be sharing. At least she wasn't getting too detailed. "I just want to protect him." Her voice waivered and her eyes welled slightly with excess moisture, but she did her best to hold herself together. This was the downside to drinking when already distressed. The last thing she wanted to be was that crying girl in the bar.
Lochlan's face flushed as he listened to what had happened to her brother. That story sounded way too familiar to not be the same as his. And for some reason he felt relieved to know she was fishing for information for her brother and not her. She wasn't a werewolf. That meant if they hung out again, something he was already hoping for, he wouldn't have to worry about ending up in some weird alpha fight with her. Nothing killed the fun like that, he wad sure. He was about to answer her when he realized two things. The first was that he was very done with his shift and in need of a seat. The second was that she looked about to cry. "Hey, you want to go sit with me in the office a bit?" He pointed with a thumb over his shoulder to where the office door stood open. "I'd like to continue this conversation with fewer ears."
Lily looked down to the bar as he asked if she wanted to join him in the office, realizing she must not have been covering up her emotions as well as she had thought. She nodded, holding onto the counter as she slid out of her chair; taking just a moment to steady herself, she grabbed the blank napkin and pen she had meant to write her number on previously before getting distracted. She didn’t wait for another invitation to go behind the bar to the office, assuming his asking her was enough. Once inside, she turned to look back at him and bit her lip. “Thanks.” She nearly missed the chair as she went to sit, but was able to catch herself just in time.
Lochlan made sure someone covered his tabs and then tossed his bar towel onto the laundry pile. He wasn't 100% steady as he was walked back with her but he wasn't too bad. He landed his seat across from her carefully and laughed briefly at how ridiculous it was to be half drunk right then. But it felt nice. Even talking about the werewolf stuff didn't seem so terrible anymore. He looked at Lily with concern though. "Hey, you want to talk about whatever it is has you so blue?" he asked quietly. Having grown up with and around so many girls, emotional moments like crying didn't make him uncomfortable. In fact, he had it in his head he should probably hug her but that might not sit as well with Lily as it did with Eily or Avery.
Lily hesitated, not sure what else she could really say. While she didn’t take Lochlan as the type to judge, how could her sanity not be in question if they began talking about how her brother might be a werewolf? Especially, if she was to also come out with her other brother being a vampire. And then there was always the possibility that if he did put any credit into what she was saying, that information could put Jack in danger and that was the absolute last thing she wanted to do. Even if talking things out might make her feel at least a little bit better, she decided she had to put her own feelings aside for the safety of her baby brother. “I don’t think there’s anything else I can really say. Family stuff.” She looked to the floor, tapping her feet lightly against it.
Lochlan nodded, understanding where she was coming from. It sounded like they were in exactly the same position though he was on the inside of it and she was on the outside looking in. Maybe the most kindness he could show her would be to give her a little support without really getting into anything. "Yeah, I have some family stuff myself. And it sucks because it's not like anyone can do anything about it. We just have to wait it out and hope for the best, you know?" He sighed quietly and rubbed his eyes which then brightened a bit. "Oh but hey, we are young and we're good looking," he glanced down at himself and amended, "at least moderately so for me, and we are just drunk enough to get up to some kind of shenanigans."
“Exactly.” Lily agreed, glad he wasn’t pulling for any further information. She was curious as to what his deal was, but decided to show him the same respect in not prodding.. at least for now. While she wasn’t always the best at waiting for anything, she could appreciate the sentiment and made mental note to keep his words close as a bit of advice. She was here stressing herself out, probably shortening her life with all the worry, and in the end, there really was nothing she could do about the situation. Sometimes life was just like that, and you had to learn to deal with it or you wouldn’t last. It helped to ease some of her stress, the tears that she had been fighting had begun to disappear. While she knew she wouldn’t stop worrying about it any time soon, this was at least an improvement for her.
Then, there was a laugh again. She wasn’t sure how he managed to do it, but the man was some kind of miracle worker. “No, we’re both ridiculously good looking. It would probably hurt for people to see us together.” She leaned forward in her chair. “What kind of shenanigans did you have in mind?”
Lochlan, for all his silliness on a regular basis, had learned through the years how to at least be a shoulder in some capacity. Whether for his family or the bar patrons. It sort of came naturally to try to find the right thing to say to make others feel at least understood. Though in this case, he really did understand. He was sure of it. He wondered if she also understood. If she'd put the pieces together the way he had. If she did, she didn't push on the subject and he was grateful for that.
When she said "ridiculously good looking" Lochlan grinned. "We are, aren't we?" He laughed, "It would hurt?" He looked at her thoughtfully and then nodded. "Yes, I think it would do that. Maybe we ought to go dance. Blow some minds. Do you dance?"
Lily was out of her chair, staggering for just a moment before she was able to balance herself. “Do I dance? Do I dance?” She was attempting to come up with a clever way of saying yes, but was falling short of anything that would make sense. “Yeah.” She rubbed at the back of her neck with a grin. “The question is, can you handle it?” She spun around and moved towards the door, blinking with confusion as she suddenly remembered they were in the office behind the bar. She scooted her way back towards she had originally been before her near mental breakdown, looking back to Lochlan. “Where do you want to dance?”
Lochlan got to his feet and he wavered just a bit, laughing a bit. They were a pair weren't they? "You look like you're already dancing," he pointed out as she managed to keep her feet. "Can I handle it? Can you handle it?" He gave her a challenging look and did a surprisingly good dance move that almost had him on his ass on the floor thanks to the alcohol in his system. He laughed again at himself and leaned against the desk to steady himself. "Well hm… we could always dance out there," he said, pointing to the pub. "It's not unheard of. Damn, we need some kind of night club in Delphi. The bar scene is one thing but a club would be a lot more fun."
“I don’t think I can handle it.” Lily placed her hands over her mouth, laughter echoing out. She didn’t know how she was going to handle herself around a man who danced well, drunk off his ass or not. She backed her way towards the door again, her eyes dancing with excitement at the mention of a club. “There will be soon!” She held onto the door’s frame, “my friend Zania is opening one. Yours truly will be behind the bar there.” She pointed to herself as if it wasn’t obvious who she had been talking about. “It’s hopefully going to be open by the weekend. And then we can dance the night away anytime we want!”
He figured she was saying she couldn't handle it because he'd almost ended up on his ass which made him laugh. This is exactly what he'd needed after the day he'd had. He'd had a bright spot with Chiri that had tided him over mostly until the evening. And now laughing with Lily was going to be the bright spot that tided him over for a while too. "Really? You're kidding. That's great news! And then I'll come bend your ear when I'm not on shift here." He grinned and brushed off his shirt importantly and attempted to stand up fully but wobbled. "I will definitely be asking you out dancing if that's the case."
Lily continued hanging onto the door like if she let go, she would immediately fall. It made her feel stable enough to not completely embarrass herself like she probably would do while dancing. “I’ll even bring you out back if you look like you’re about to cry.” She nodded to him, beginning to see the humor in her previous emotions, at least for the moment. The alcohol seemed to be working in the most positive way again, thankfully. She smirked when he said he’d be asking her out dancing, really hoping that was a true statement. After a rollercoaster of emotions, she was still managing to have a great time with Lochlan, and couldn’t even guess how much fun they’d have together on a good day.
She finally let go of the door, proud that she remained decently steady on her feet, and held out her hands for him. “C’mon, dancing queen. Wait. King.” She let out a laugh. “Dancing king.”
Lochlan grinned at her, rubbed the back of his hair, and looked away, shaking is head. "I really appreciate that because I do tend to do that quite often. I'm very emotional." He sniffled playfully. Not making fun of her but taking the focus off her previous near emotional display. He almost didn't know how to let someone be unhappy. He always wanted the people around him to be laughing, happy.
He gave her a prissy look and posed femininely. "Oh no, dancing queen," he said but shook out of the position to take her waiting hands. "Where we going?" he asked, though he was quite willing to follow her wherever she wanted to go at this point.
Lily’s laughter continued as Lochlan struck his dancing queen pose, lightly squeezing his hands as his joined hers. Something about it felt really right, the way her hands fit perfectly with his. “We can start here and then go wherever our hearts desire.” She took cautious steps backward out the office, trusting he wouldn’t let her trip over anything. She glanced over her shoulder to see where exactly she was going within the pub, only needing his assistance to steady herself once on the trip.
Lochlan was glad for the counterbalance though it sort of worked against them a couple times as they made their way through the pub. He bumped his hip against the bar but he didn't let her trip over anything. And, because he knew it would get back to Eily and Pat if he wasn't careful, he made sure to behave as sober as he could while still having fun. But he was practically giggling after a few minutes. "My heart sometimes desires french fries at odd moments. What about yours?" Whatever they did tonight was bound to be fun. He was beyond thinking about anything negative at this point, focused on Lily and having fun.
Lily nearly moaned at the word “French fries”. She hadn’t really been thinking about food until that very moment, but had decided a trip to Eatzy’s was probably somewhere in their future. It would work out perfectly, anyhow! She told Zania she might be stopping in with Lance, the only change of plan there would be her company consisting of Lochlan instead. “Anyone who answers no to that shouldn’t be trusted in any situation. Ever.” She grinned, hips swiveling as she settled on what would be their dance spot. She couldn’t remember the last time she had danced, so she was a little rusty, but could feel herself falling right back into her days of dancing her ass off in bars and clubs pre-werewolves, pre-vampires, pre-Delphi, pre-zombies, pre-anything that would bring her down right now. As long as she didn’t get too carried away, she was pretty confident she could remain on her feet even in her current state.
Lochlan hadn't been thinking of food really until that random thought had occurred to him and now he realized he was almost famished. Hadn't eaten much and had done a lot of work today. Now he was dancing, keeping up with her without making too much of an ass of himself. He wasn't falling over so that was probably a good thing. And he was close to starving. His tummy growled and he looked proud of himself. "I take it you're to be trusted then?" he asked, though he figured she probably was. At least, that's how he felt at the moment. Alcohol was great for making you love and trust everybody. "This place doesn't do the best fries. I think they may just be greasier and yummier elsewhere. But nothing beats the memory of McDonald's…" He sighed a bit sadly.
Lily laughed and nodded, "I'm probably the most trustworthy person in this place." She joined in on his sad sentiment for a moment, giving McDonald's their moment of due silence. "Their fries were always perfectly salted, soft and firm at the same time. They probably put crack in those things, they were just too addicting.. Eatzy’s has some pretty good ones. I recommend them." Literally. She worked there in the meantime while waiting for the club to open, and would continue to a few days a week since the club would really only be open closer to the weekend for now. With a smirk, she brought Lochlan's arms around her waist, bridging the gap that had been between them before and continued to dance.
It was a solemn moment they both gave McDonald's. Much deserved. "You might be entirely right about that. No wonder I've been in withdrawal the past 4 or 5 years!" He chuckled. Several other couples had started dancing with them and it was a little crowded now in the space they'd found. But that was fine with him. He could imagine he really was in a nightclub with her. He smiled when she re-maneuvered him closer and this close, even though he could have before, he could really see her eyes. Brown and deep. He could feel his own pupils dilate a bit and he glanced away with a grin.
Lily caught his grin as he glanced away, chewing lightly on her lip in attempts to tame her own that was fighting to make itself known. Finally, she gave in and let a smile show as she wrapped an arm around his neck. Partially, she needed to steady herself for a minute, but also because she just wanted to. She was enjoying the feeling of him so close and wanted to able to be against him, dancing was just an innocently great excuse to do that. "It looks like we can handle each other's dancing!"
Lochlan liked that smile. He liked having her close too. It was nice to have some physical closeness with someone. It was a comfort of sorts. Not that she could have been just anyone. She was one of a kind, he was sure of it. He liked that about her. Later it would occur to him that having seen her at the edge of crying and on through several other emotions had been like fast forwarding somehow through the first bits of friendship. Which would explain why he felt connected with her so quickly. That and their similar circumstances. He'd have to talk to her frankly about that at some point. Let her know she wasn't alone in it or something sage like that. "You know? I had an inkling that you'd be able to do it. Me? I knew the whole time I could do it." He chuckled.
Lily raised her brows with her laugh, "I guess I need to steal some of your confidence then." She shifted her positioning slightly as she could feel heat radiating from Lochlan, enough to raise her own body temperature just a little bit. "You're so hot, are you okay?" She had slowed the pace of her dancing some, but hadn't stopped.
"You can have as much as you like. Apparently it's in great supply - where dancing is concerned." He was feeling a bit hotter than usual. And usual was hotter than he'd ever been before the wolf attack but he'd slowly been getting used to it. It didn't keep him from sleeping anymore. The extra heat was probably the alcohol which felt like it was winding its way down out of his system faster than he had expected. "Am I? It's just the alcohol," he assured her, hoping it wasn't making her uncomfortable. "I tend to be a warm body anyway."
Lily smiled and nodded, glad he at least seemed to be okay. "Nothing wrong with that. Warm bodies are always the most fun to cuddle with." She winked to him, finding the comment to sound less creepy since she knew the possibility of very cold bodies were out there, drinking blood and being all awesome and shit. "Do you have family here?" The thought of her older brother had popped up at the internal mention of vampires, and she was always curious to if people had their loved ones here with them or not.
Lily was pretty astute. He'd have to be more careful around her if he was going to keep his secrets. If. He laughed pleasantly at her wink, appreciating her moxie with that cuddling comment. "You think so? Might be something worth experimenting. I'll have to let you know what I find." He winked back at her. "Definitely have family here," he affirmed. "We own this pub. Well, my cousin Eily and her brother Patrick. My sister Avery's around here somewhere probably or getting into a fight with her cousin Darcy. And there's Aidan -" Who was probably still working on the werewolf enclosure… "And all the rest of the O'Reillys running around the dome."
Lily cleared her throat, putting on her best poker face. "When I'm not busy being ridiculously good looking, I'm a scientist. Not many people know that, so don't ask around.. but I'd be happy to experiment with you." She felt a small spike of color flood her cheeks as a laugh slipped out, mind wandering to what it'd be like to really cuddle with Lochlan and activities that the act usually led to. "Oh!" She wasn't aware his family owned the pub, but she gained a new appreciation for the spot because of it. "That's really great to have so many here." She smiled, wondering just how many times she had bumped into an O'Reilly, then.
Lochlan looked very seriously at her as she spoke about her secret identity and nodded. "Mum's the word on that, I promise. Now I'll tell you a secret. When I'm not being ridiculously good looking, I have a reputation for being a champion cuddler. I might be the ideal lab partner for that experiment." He really had no idea what he was talking about, he was just going with it because it was fun. He'd definitely cuddle with her if the situation presented itself but he was a fairly slow mover past that. He was the marrying kind which meant he was careful beyond casual fun. So his mind stuck to the niceness of curling up together with her. And it was a very nice place to leave his thoughts awhile. "Well, the O'Reilly family never backs down from a challenge. We simply band together and nothing gets past. We're really good at Red Rover."
"I think we have ourselves a partnership here. You know, for science." Aside from a laugh here and there, Lily had done decently well with keeping a somewhat serious air about her. After Lochlan's comment on how strong his family was, however, she lost it and couldn't stop her giggling fit. "Must be nice. I'm pretty sure my family would only win a round of Red Rover by shooting or stabbing anyone trying to get through." She almost immediately regretted the thought as it came out, realizing how crazy it sounded. "I come from a line of terrible people." She was trying to save herself, but may have been digging a deeper hole. Aside from Jack and Mannix, she couldn't stand anyone else she was related to.
Still seriously, he responded with an arched brow, his expression conspiratorial. "To partners," he said and dipped her back gently in celebration. Being from an Irish family and having seen that survival of the fittest (or maybe nastiest) had become very much a thing after the zombies, he was predisposed to be understanding about reprehensible family members. "So, you're a mobster moll?" he asked, teasing, though he wondered whether or not her shooting and stabbing family would like him cuddling with her. He decided he didn't care right now.
Lily hadn't been expecting the dip, so she let out a small yelp as she thought she had fallen for just a minute. Realizing the real cause of the swift sensation, however, she laughed as she threw her other arm around Lochlan's neck to join the other upon being set back on her feet. The thought crossed her mind in that moment that she was going to have to be careful around him; she felt such a strong pull to him that she didn't want to scare him away, especially not with comments like the one she had just made. She was quite impressed with how he seemed to handle it, though. "It sounds pretty damn glamorous, doesn't it?" If only the reality of it all was as fantastical as the fantasy.
Lochlan laughed at her yelp, he had her firmly in his arms. He half expected to get slapped but she laughed too and was suddenly closer which he liked. "I'll have to do that more often!" Had he been soberer, he might have been a little less accepting of her statement about her family. But not by much. He did file away the information in his mind so as to keep his mouth very closed about being a werewolf. If her family was a shooting and stabbing family, they'd likely be first in line with the pitchforks and torches. Still, that didn't stop him from enjoying spending time with her as he so clearly already did. "Did they own a speakeasy and launder money through it? You know, before?"
Lily immediately pictured herself dressed as a flapper at Lochlan's question, and an image of Jack and Manny in suits with Tommy guns followed shortly after. She couldn't help but laugh at the thought and gave a small shoulder shrug. "I had always refused to get involved, so I couldn't tell you what all they were getting themselves into. I'm sure my brothers have all kinds of stories, though." It had always bothered her that they had less of a choice in getting involved with the family business, but there wasn't much she could have done t stop it.. maybe things would've been different if Miranda was still alive. Of all the times for her sister to pop into her mind, why did it have to happen right now? She had been having so much fun. She grew a little pale, holding onto Lochlan now like her life depended on it, and rested her head on his shoulder.
She seemed to change as she talked about her family. Lochlan wasn't sure how or why it had happened, she wasn't talking about anything particularly unpleasant. But he knew well enough that underneath the surface there were always old wounds and scars that people didn't always talk about. They all seemed to have them here in the dome. When she put her head on his shoulder, he simply held her quietly, listening to her heart beat for a long moment. Then he asked lightly, "Are we starting that experiment now?"
Lily managed to find a small smile as she kept her head on Lochlan's shoulder. "Phase one, yeah. So far, I am believing your reputation to be true." She hadn't loosened herself from him just yet, hoping he didn't mind. There was just something comforting about him and being here in the moment like they were. If she had been alone right then, she surely would've slipped into the dark place she hated going to. "I keep forgetting to write down my number for you. You're so distracting. "
Lochlan grinned to himself at her compliment. "You might get your own reputation. You're pretty good at this yourself." He didn't mind that she was still holding as tightly as she was. He was getting his own comfort from her closeness. She felt soft and small though now against him. He both wished there was a way to stay close but have her revitalized and upbeat as when he'd first met her. "Mm, sure, I'm the distracting one. I would like your number though. How else will we share scientific notes?"
Lily finally lifted her head from Lochlan's shoulder, though didn't distance herself in any other aspect. Faking a small gasp, she looked up to him. "Are you accusing me of being distracting? I only once told everyone to stop what they were doing and come see how good I look. Once." She was doing her best to bring herself back up, and with his help, it actually seemed to kind of be working. Damn, his eyes were the nicest shade of blue. She was tempted to bury her face back into his shoulder to hide the stupid grin coming up from her observation.
This close it was hard to look anywhere other than directly into her eyes. Or down at her mouth, which he did when she spoke. "It was already difficult to stay focused on not looking at you. Why'd you have to go and make that announcement?" He breathed a laugh and shook his head. "You're something else, you know that?" he asked though his voice trailed off at that look she had going on. "What? Do I have something on my face?" He brushed his hand over both sides of his face before returning it to her once more.
Lily's grin grew bigger at Lochlan's comment, wondering if he meant it or if he was just teasing. She knew herself that she had immediately honed in in him when she first arrived, and not because he was the man with alcohol at his fingers. As Lochlan asked if he had anything on his face, that red blush flooded her cheeks again. She didn't realize she had been staring hard enough for him to take notice. "Not anything you need to wipe off." She shook her head to reassure him her gaze hadn't been due to anything out of place. "How's your heart doing? Desiring a change of scenery?"
There were a lot of great aspects to Lily that he'd already learned. Good company, great laugh, beautiful eyes, and the most exquisite ink he'd ever seen. She could dance and she kept up with him in conversation. She was so fun to be around that he was beginning to wonder if she hadn't been sent simply to soothe his mind this evening. She was exactly what he'd needed to take his mind off of worries and make him feel like his old self for the first time since he'd been attacked by the wolf. He could see them being at least good friends. He was going to have a difficult time saying goodnight. His eyes took on mischievous light at her question and he glanced around at the pub. "Yes," he said, then looked back at her. "And no. What did you have in mind? French fries?" His expression slid into one of hopefulness at the prospect of food.
Lily nodded her head to Lochlan’s question of if it was time to embark on an adventure to dine on the deliciousness that was french fries. “I think you’re a mind reader.” She very hesitantly released him from their close embrace as she slowed her dancing, though she didn’t take a step back from him. Really, she hadn’t wanted to stop at all, but her hunger was beginning to reach a distractible level. Besides, she was hopeful that with the fun they had had thus far, that there would be many more nights of drinking, dancing, and laughing for them, as well as being close like this. “And who knows, maybe we’ll stumble on a random ass flash mob on our way to the diner.”
His brows lifted. Sometimes he thought it might be nice to read minds. He'd love to peek into hers a bit. He felt a little disappointed when she let him go but they had all the time in the world for further phases of that particular science experiment. He felt relaxed and contented somehow. The alcohol was still continuing to seep out of his system but he felt good. Hungrier than ever though so he was glad she wanted to go get those fries they'd been talking about earlier. "I think it's worth venturing out to find. We might find a backer for our underground fight club too. Probably anything could happen to a pair of ridiculously attractive people like us."
“The possibilities are absolutely endless.” Lily answered with a laugh, leaning over to peek around Lochlan towards the bar. She remembered she had left her jacket on the back of a chair, hoping no one had moved it to some random location.. or took it. Thankfully, her gaze settled on it and she looked back to him. “I’ll meet you by the door? I just have to get my coat.” Before he could answer, she broke away from him to go back towards the bar. Instead of stopping at the chair to get her coat, however, she instead continued on towards the office. She only received one strange look from whoever had taken over after Lochlan, but she gave a quick explanation that she had forgotten something back there from earlier. She imagined she wasn’t turned right around since the person recognized her from earlier.
Retrieving the napkin and pen yet again, she returned to actually grab her coat this time. She slipped it on and leaned onto the counter, writing down her number and signing her name to the napkin with “ridiculously good looking, scientist, and dance extraordinaire” following in parenthesis. She left the pen on the bar and held tight to the napkin, making her way towards the door where she assumed Lochlan would be waiting.