Take a seat, take a drink, and then drown your life away

[5minutetheft]

Who: Nicoleta and anyone who wants a drink/party. So this is opeen~
When:  8PM, Nicoleta's last hour at work, November 24th
Where: Chueca
What: Have some fun at Chueca and meet the lovely bartender who might just decide to not serve you.

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[5minutetheft]

There was no music in her head. All the useless yapping and murmurs in the background became a slur along with the music as she entered her own bubble. But there was that fucking tick of the clock - seconds go by way too slow. What time was it? Eight fucking o' four.

Her mannequin pose only moved slightly when she heard tapping. She retained that posture and glanced at the person - probably a customer - who seated himself on the empty spot previously. Nicoleta stared at him for a second nonchalantly before slowly sitting up and removing the cigarette from her lips during the process. Naturally, if her mother was successful with teaching her the proper manners, she was supposed to say 'excuse me'. It was too bad her mother was never really around when she was younger.

"Oh, I didn't see you there."

Blond hair, blue eyes. He could lose the glasses but then again, he looked kind of cute in them. Cheuca is a gay bar, but then again her job specified that she isn't allowed to make hasty judgments. A small smirk graced her lips as she tapped the cig against the edge of the counter, "Well what do you want? You look like someone who can use a strong drink."

[waitforsuperman]

"Whatever's your favourite." Alfred said, smiling slightly at her, glad she was finally paying attention to him, "Just... nothing with vodka, please." He didn't know if he could handle that taste right now, it would just remind him of Ivan. His boyfriend. His annoying but, he had to admit, supportive boyfriend. Mmm... boyfriends weren't great things to have on nights like thing in a place like this.

Still, he would have to try and play nice or risk losing Ivan. And if he wasn't able to play nice, well, he'd just have to make sure no one found out about his activities.

Carefully, he shifted down one of the stools, bringing himself closer to the bartender, propping his head up on a hand, watching her. "I haven't seen you around here before," -not that he as an expert on Chueca's employees, but still- "Y'all from outta town?"

[5minutetheft]

"My favorite is strong Tuica and you probably don't know where it comes from." Nicoleta simpered softly before adding, "And you don't want to drink what you don't know." She raised an inquisitive brow when the customer asked her for drinks without vodka. "There's no fun in that. Adios Motherfucker is good too. Tch, but I'll spare ya and give you the first Bastard." The woman said with a wink before removing herself from the stool to grab an upside-down lowball glass that was on the tray.

Simultaneously, she disposed her cig and then grabbed the lime juice, poured in a shot's worth, and continued mixing liquor with much poise. Right before she put the cherry in, she turned her head back only slightly when the man spoke. "You must be a regular to be so keen."

Nicoleta walked back to the counter and then set the yellow liquor down in front of the customer. With arms folded underneath her chest, she smirked with a playful glint that can make a mockery out of the naive. "Yeah. Sorta new to this joint. The name is Nicoleta. Forgot to wear my name tag." Her black nails then tapped on the rim of the cup, "Here is a Suffering Bastard. Pretty strong but real sweet."

[waitforsuperman]

"Nico...leta?" Alfred fingers curled around the cool glass, lifting and sniffing it once before blinking in recognition, putting the drink back down, fishing out the cherry, "I remember now! Y'all commented on my blog. I'm Alfred, Alfred F. Jones." He offered a hand while the other carefully lifted the cherry to his mouth, pushing it by his lips with maybe just the hint of a wink.

Oh God he was flirting. Shit, what happened to Ivan? Had to focus... but she was purposely standing like that with her arms under her chest. Totally not his fault, she was purposely flirting back with him. This was her fault. Totally. Not his. At all.

Shit.

[5minutetheft]

"Oh? So you're the weird guy?" Nicoleta snorted before looking at the hand that was outstretched to her. Then she looked at Alfred's face to see a little of something she didn't expect. Oh, he's got game. Or does he? She laughed in a soft breath before baring teeth in this smile. Either way, this customer is quite the looker.

Her voice became smooth like velvet as she spoke "What a coincidence, Jones." She shook his hand with little energy and then slid away from his warm grip. Cute faces are always taken. Intuition gave her a vibe.

"It's cool meeting you in person." Subtly, she glanced at the clock over Alfred's head, "Anyway, you gave me a bunch of names in your responses. So does that mean you got scoops of paranormal activities anywhere?"

[waitforsuperman]

Weird? He couldn't be that weird, or at least not detectably so. But the way she said 'Jones' definitely made his stomach give a little lurch. While his hand tapped against the counter, he threw back the rest of the drink, wincing a little at the bite but letting out a quiet sigh, the glass hitting the counter with a delicate clink.

"I'm not an expert or anything, I can't even watch scary movies without getting all worked up," he said, "But I know that... Moon? I think that's his name, Moon's got somethin' weird at his house and the Myrtle House always has ghosts, they're just really quiet."

He shifted on the stool, nudging the glass over to her. "Alright, y'all gotta answer some questions too. Where are you from? I like your accent."

[5minutetheft]

The edge of her lips was tugged up slightly after catching that short glimpse of Alfred's expression. "Nice." She commented nonchalantly before pulling the cup closer to her end of the counter. "Moon? Strange name. Well then I'll see I suppose."

Fluttering her eyes down at the glass, she boredly fingered the rim of the cup in quick circles. She stopped when the other man mentioned something about her accent. Nicoleta laughed before preparing switch over to a heavy accented voice, "Da? I am from Romania. Încântat." The name of her country rolled off her tongue so naturally with a zest of familiarity.

She gave him a half smile before reverting back to her normal English speech, "I said 'Nice to meet you' since you obviously didn't understand me. I'm guessing you're just American?"

[waitforsuperman]

He didn't like the way she said 'just American' but his irritation barely flickered across his face save for a slight narrowing of his eyes. "Well, Romania's pretty far from here. And yeah, American born and bred. Born in Washington DC and grew up in Napa Valley in California, spent a few month here and Liberty on and off and some time in Canada to visit family."

For a moment he watched her, then tapped a finger against the bar. "Can I get another drink bartender? The night ain't over yet," he said, voice once again smooth and light, "Romania, that must be near Hungary, right? You kinda sound like Elizaveta."

[5minutetheft]

"Impressive. I have never been to America but it must be a nice country." Nicoleta replied with mild interest as she tapped the glass of the cup with her fingernail.

"Mm? Yeah, was waitin' for you to say something. Upgrading it." She added with a snort and a smirk as she whisked the cup away from the counter. Well acquainted with the displacement of the ingredients in the bar, she mixed the shots together before adding a garnish of a lemon on the rim artistically. "Dying Bastard."

Nicoleta pushed the cup over to Alfred but gave him a hard stare. "That's correct. Romania and Hungary are neighbors but we are nothing alike. It didn't make sense that a Hungarian posed as Dracula in that 1931 film." She added a irked 'tch' before taking a seat on the stool. Her displeased disposition were more conspicuous in her eyes. She cleared her throat after realizing that a foul mood is no way to accompany a customer. Actually, she could already call him an acquaintance.

The teaser's smile etched on her face as she leaned on the back of her hand. "Drink up, now. I want to see if you can survive all of the Bastards without worshiping a chair goddess."

[waitforsuperman]

The fact that Alfred knew he was a lightweight was battling with the urge to prove himself to that teasing smile. "You're in America, how can you not know what it's like?" His fingers curled around the glass and, wishing with every inch of his soul that'd he'd had more to eat that night, and he threw back the drink, lips puckering from the lemon face, that causing his tastebuds to rebel more than the alcohol.

"Christ-" he said, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, "That's really fuckin' strong..." Shaking his head, trying to clear it of the heaviness starting to settle there, he slid the glass back over to her, tongue still running over his teeth, trying to scrape the taste away.

Leaning a little heavier on the bar, Alfred ran a hand through his hair. "Isn't... Dracula from Transylvania?" he asked, tapping a had against the bar, "And jeez, could you sound a little more bitter about living beside another country?"

[5minutetheft]

At first, she was silent. Then she stared at those lips that teased her. It was irresistible to the extent that she smiled herself. Honestly, it was the widest and the closest to a genuine smile in a while. Nicoleta laughed a loudly, almost musically before she slammed her fist on the desk. "Oh shit, I am in America, aren't I?" Still smiling, she continued, "With all the nicotine and dancers freaking out over there, I suppose I forget where I am."

The smile laced into a small, amused smirk at his twisted expression. Quite impressed, she tapped the cup with a finger, "You're pretty good, Jones."

With her spirits lifted a notch, she couldn't get herself to feel as irked as before. "Well yeah though Transylvania is Romanian territory. Was passed over to Hungary for a short while but we got it back. Dracula was influenced by Vladmir the third, the guy who impaled people with wooden sticks. Familiar, right? Ironic thing is that his last name is Drakulya." She exhaled and then grimaced to the side, "And hm. Hungarians aren't that popular in Romania. I'd say we hate each other as whole. The details are fucking crazy. You'd be surprised."

[waitforsuperman]

"You hate Hungarians?" Alfred was a little startled. Wasn't Liz Hungarian? And Liz was cool! Obviously Nico has just never met Elizaveta. But then again he wasn't an expert in European studies and just as he opened his mouth to suggest that Nico should at least try to meet Liz, he closed it. Getting the bartender angry at you when you wanted a drink was a bad idea. "That's too bad... Dracula is kind of scary though, I totally can't stand horror movies, they scare the shit out of me!"

He wavered slightly, feeling his tongue growing looser. He probably wasn't going to able to handle another drink without getting absolutely stupid. Though, wasn't that the point of coming here? To get totally wasted? "Well," he said, winking, "I am pretty awesome. Which bastard is next Nico~?"

[5minutetheft]

"Long story." Nicoleta said flatly, trying to end that bit of the conversation. Her childhood experience wasn't exactly hate-free, thanks to her parents who nurtured her and fed her a dash of Racism. She curled her hands into a fist and then pressed it to her lips as she simpered. "Seriously? No no. Boy you need to get over it. Where's the fun when you don't get scared? Getting the adrenaline pumpin', you know?" To top it off, an audacious smile plastered against her pale face.

After hearing his request, she folded his arms and then clicked her tongue, shaking her head. "It's the Dead bastard, Jones." She stood up and simultaneously lifted the mug from the counter to mix again. After pouring a shot of the required drinks, she finished it off by dropping five ice-cubes in. Looking extremely pleased, she walked back and then blatantly placed it in front of Alfred.

After sitting back down, she commented, "You look pretty okay right now. But," She smirked coyly and then leaned closer, "I don't do this to any customer, but how about we exchange numbers? Before you completely lose it, you know."

[waitforsuperman]

"Sooooooounds great." Alfred handed over his phone, watching her tap in the number before sliding in back into his pocket. Dead bastard just sounded intimidating and if his stomach and head was telling him anything, he'd stop there and call it a night. But the way she'd nearly-slammed that drink down in front of him... It was a challenge and he was going to take it.

Which was a terrible, terrible idea. The drink hit him within five minutes of consuming it and he was collapsed oh the bar, rolling around slightly, laughing words slurred and mind beyond gone. "Guhhh~~" he half sang, sliding his phone out, humming, "I neeeeeeed a ride~~"

Flipping open the phone and surfing through to Ivan's number, Alfred hummed, knowing that if anyone was going to come for him, it was the Russian. Bringing the phone to his ear, he waited for the other side to pick up before grinning widely. "Shweeeeetheart~~ I got drunk at Cheuca~ Can you come and get me~~~~~~?" He laughed weakly.

[amar_dulce_vin]

He'd barely picked up the phone before a wheedling voice came oozing out of the receiver, one he vaguely recognized (through the idiotic drunken slurring) as belonging to Alfred.

One that was asking for a ride home. He tsked and sighed in a fair imitation of Ivan in one of his more tolerant moods (one Ion mentally labeled as "You're A Complete Moron And I Am Going To Inform You Of This Opinion Through Various Subtle Social Cues That You Won't Pick Up On Because You're Drunk But It Validates My Existence To Do This Song And Dance") and gave the American a short affirmative. He mentally cursed the day because he'd be feeling sort of unnerved all day anyway and his cousin's irresponsible boyfriend was certainly bringing Ion's mood to a head.

He almost went on a fruitless search for car keys before recalling that Ivan had no license. So he settled for surreptitiously sliding his cousin's wallet into his own pocket and calling for a taxi. (He then proceeded to tell the driver the wrong address in the most muddled English he could manage, not that it proved difficult. Once the meter had been sufficiently run up, he deigned to point the frustrated man in the right direction.)

He gave the man instructions to wait once they reached the flashy exterior of Chueca, convincing him by flashing Ivan's cash-thick wallet at him.

A large, overly-flamboyant motorcycle greeted him as he stepped out of the cab, haphazardly parked and with the kickstand sloppily bent to an insufficient angle. Clearly Alfred's handiwork. Ion (accidentally, of course) rammed his toe into the kickstand and if anything happened to the bicycle from that point on--the stray gust of wind, perhaps--he had no idea what had happened.

But in any case, his entrance into the bar proper was celebrated by the groan of tipping machinery succumbing to gravity and the heavy metallic shriek of a motorcycle hitting the pavement and scraping along the rough cement. The sound of Damage was palpable in the echo.

...shame. He'd given it at least thirty seconds more or so. Oh well.

Alfred was easily located at the bar, sitting exactly in the middle. Constantly needing to place himself where he would receive the most attention. It would be amusing if it wasn't so needy and pathetic.
And Ion was feeling rather needy of ibuprofen and therefore not very merciful for the pathetic. He arranged his expression into a shallow but pleasant smile and stood by Alfred's side unobtrusively, bending over the smaller man slightly to be heard over the din of terrible trance music and the distraction of flashing lights.

"Is time for go, prost. Have cab wait outside for us to take home. Get up, pay nice lady--"

He happened to catch a glimpse of the said lady in his peripheral vision.

...shit.

He knew he'd had a bad feeling about today.

[5minutetheft]

After returning the phone, Nicoleta became silent yet observant as she watched Alfred drink up the poison. A shrewd smile plastered on her face as the man's sleek expression drowned in the drink; a goofy laugh emerged from the limp body - a dead man indeed. Sad, though, because there was only one more Bastard left; however, it would have to be someone with twice the physical and, apparently, mental constitution to take it.

At that exact moment, she guffawed as she slammed her fist on the counter. Watching drunk people act stupid is an added bonus to he job.

"Ya poor fuckin' thing." She crooned between her chuckling. Nicoleta wasn't laughing in spite of him (not that he would know anyway) but it was just fucking funny to her. Her laughs ended in a fluttering sigh of content as she listened to Alfred call someone. Ah, her intuition was correct.

She prodded Alfred's shoulder, "Hey, do something stupid so I can record it---" Nicoleta paused when a tall figure entered the bar and approached the counter. Despite the bold, colored lights, she could still see the face. She stared for the longest time inconspicuously, head tilted with an eyebrow cocked up. It was until he stepped underneath the white light's range did she see with more clarity. A boy? A man---she couldn't tell, he had a baby face, though. When he spoke, she raised her head, relaxed her eyebrowed and waited a few milliseconds before the chemical reaction kicked in.

Nicoleta sprang up from her seat and simultaneously slapped her hands against the counter and leaned forward, arms pressing together her endowed breasts to form a fine cleavage. She then shifted both of her legs on the seat so that she was kneeling on it, looking ready to pounce over the wooden counter. Spontaneously, her demeanor became as bright as a Christmas tree, smiling ecstatically, eyes sparkling. Her intuition always seem to be correct. However, Nicoleta was sure about this.

Beaming, she exclaimed, "ION~!~" She gleefully added, "It's you, isn't it? No no, it is you! O Doamne, it has been ages, hasn't it?" Sparing no time, she glided onto the counter and then slid off it, her heels landing with a loud clack! Here, she clasped her hands together like an eager child and said in a sing-song voice, "You've gotten so big~"

At this point, the once-bored spectators stared with complete shock that the bartender was capable of looking happy instead of pissed off.