The whole Vorerra Incident was done and over with. At least for Roz. Regina still had to deal with whatever was going to happen with the Sanctuary. Roz had received barely a scolding, though she hadn’t deserved any of it as far as she was concerned. How had she ended up in trouble when it was someone else who had attempted the theft? She had to force herself to not think about it or she ended up angry all over again.
So, mediation done, she had to dedicate more time to training, she had an afterschool internship to consider, she’d had a conversation with Sabrina, and now she was ready to fall over and now move for another week. But that wasn’t an option. Life went on, and now Roz found herself at Dorian’s. She could use a drink, and honestly, she probably needed to talk to Nick too, even if she was tired of talking at this point.
Roz made her way down one side of the dual staircase, slowly and quietly, looking around for Nick. She spotted him quickly enough, behind the bar and working. She almost made it to the bottom of the stairs when he looked up to spot her. She paused momentarily, “Hey.” she said with a half wave, before stepping off the last step and making her way over to the bar. “How’s things going?”
Nick was working, tending bar not because he had to, but because he enjoyed it. He put long hours in at Dorian's but the afternoons and early evenings were quieter, which made it easier on him. And it wasn't busy, so he spotted Roz almost immediately.
By the time she made it to the bar, he was halfway to her, stepping around the other side to give his friend a hug before she had a chance to sit down. And then because it was slow and he had another bartender there, when he finally let go, Nick took the seat next to her.
"I mean, I'm not the one who had the Vorerra on my case this time. So how are you?"
She hadn’t been expecting it, but she must have needed it. After a split second hesitation from surprise she hugged him back tight, some part of her brain finally letting her relax just a little bit. At least for the time being. When he let go, she sat down in one of the seats with a tentative smile on her face.
“Tired.” she said with a shrug. “Mentally, mostly. Just tired. But it’s over. At least my part. I don’t know what’s going to happen with the Sanctuary yet, that one will be more difficult.” Her case had been entirely petty, a way to try to cause a distraction and shake them up. Vorerra didn’t care about Roz, they cared about the Phoenix.
"Regina's working on that too?"
Nick didn't know much of what was going on, he'd heard bits and pieces, but this was the first time he'd talked to Roz. And he didn't need to put her through giving him a recap to get the gist of it.
"I'm sorry," he offered. "Especially if I came across as too busy or whatever to be a friend." There was no ill intent in his apology. Dorian's took up a lot of his time, and he hadn't been reaching out. With everyone living apart and outside of the Mortuary now, it took more effort to see each other, and he'd been lazy about it.
But he wasn't angry, or hurt though he understood why Sabrina had been. Mostly, he was just sorry he hadn't had a conversation like this when it had started.
Waving his bartender over, Nick wanted to make sure they had drinks if Roz wanted one.
Roz nodded once in confirmation. “Yeah. I don’t know if she’ll need me to be a witness or anything. But I won’t be the focus either way.” If she had to give a statement to keep that damn Phoenix safe, she would.
To his next statement, Roz shook her head, dismissing his statement with a wave of her hand. “No. You have nothing to say sorry for. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want any of us involved. Myself included.” she said, waving to herself. “You have Dorain’s, Sabrina was starting University, I was…” there were several reasons that she wasn’t ready to get involved in more drama, but the most obvious one was “getting ready to run for Head Girl.”
She could definitely use a drink, so she nodded when Nick brought over the bartender, “Owners choice.” she said with a smile. He knew more about drinks overall anyway.
"You were though, and I could have at least been there for this…" Nick said, giving orders for two of the same drink. "Drinks and commiseration over how awful the Vorerra can be. I hated them being here for the auction."
He shrugged. "It was great for business, though. And either way, I'm glad you're here now. Head Girl." He offered her a grin at that, impressed and proud of her for taking on that role.
Roz shrugged, “Only in the last week and a half. The whole thing was done fast, all things considered.” It was a little over a week of panic, and then it was done. It seemed to go on forever, but Regina had handled things swiftly. “For most of it I was advised to stay quiet anyway.” So it wasn’t like there was anything Nick could have done. The most annoying part had been going to school and dealing with the rumours she knew were starting to spread, likely by Vorerra kids.
She smiled at the Head Girl name though. It wasn’t that different from being co-president at Baxter High, she had just run alone this time. “Truly awful, but not surprising.” She knew that they weren't all absolutely assholes, but they did grow up with a level of entitlement that could be dangerous. “But hey, at least you got their money.” even if it meant having them in the bar.
“Hopefully we can both make it through the rest of the year without having to deal with them again.”
"I will drink to that," Nick said, waiting for the bartender to return with their drinks before lifting his toward Roz in a toast. "And to you being Head Girl and things otherwise looking up."
Picking up her drink, she toasted his glass in return before taking a sip. She set the glass on the countertop, one hand remaining wrapped around it as she leaned back in her chair, relaxing just a little. With the Equinox celebrations happening now right after the legal drama, moments to relax were rare. “May they continue looking up.”