Shaken, Rattled and Rolled. Open log

[curious_copycat]

Who: Polly (curious_copycat)
What: Polly trying to drown her sorrows in a chocolate malt. Come help her cheer up? (and possibly find out what happened... maybe.)
When: Tonight
Where: Daddy'O's Burger Joint
Warnings: PTSD and poodle skirts.

Comments

[yellow_snakeyes]

Crowley was in one of his rare periods of sobriety between bouts of crippling inebriation. He'd quickly decided this was going to be one of the shorter ones he'd allowed himself over the past month, as he'd sobered up just enough to realize the station had gone back in time to an era Crowley liked to pretend had never happened: The 1950s

[curious_copycat]

The girl, who had seated herself in a corner booth, the better to watch the people and aliens in their retro garb, looked up from the frozen chocolate drink. She blinked as if mildly surprised at being spoken to. Focusing on Crowley, her smile took a moment too long to light up her face, a little less bright than usual.

"Hi, Mr. Crowley," she said, trying to sound cheerful. He was one of her favorite friends, after all.

She held up the tall glass a little.

"Have you tried one of these before? They taste funny..."

[yellow_snakeyes]

If he'd been less preoccupied with his own miserable little problems, he might have noticed Polly's smile was not up to its usual brightness. As it was, he just seated himself across from her - uninvited - and settled right in.

"Yeah, I have. They're pretty good, though I like plain milkshakes better." He paused for a moment, almost at a loss for something else to say. Spending so much of the past month pissed out of his mind seemed to have affected his capacity for conversation. "Do you like it?"

[curious_copycat]

The weary smile widens a little as he sits down, a little grateful for the company. She settled back in her seat, as well, turning the glass absently on the table, leaving a little trail of condensation as it scooted across the surface.

"I think it's okay... But I think you're right."

She glanced up, noticing that he looked a little weary himself. She'd known Aziraphale's disappearance was hard on him, but for the first time she really realized how hard. This wasn't a place for the kind of imbibment he'd offered her, when she'd been feeling down, but at least she could try to return the favor a bit...

"Would you like something too?"

[steelalchemy]

For once, Ed's clothes hadn't been touched. It was a small but welcome surprise, though if questioned, he would likely admit that the clothes he was seeing around the ship weren't too bad. The hairstyles though, now those were ridiculous looking.

The fact that a lot of establishments had turned into burger and shake joints overnight was something Ed was enjoying quite a bit. He'd taken to stopping at a different place after work each day, just to look around (and see which had the best burger).

Today, it was Daddy'O's Burger Joint. It was a little out of the way, but the sign had caught his attention and so he went inside. About to go grab a stool at the counter, he spotted a familiar shock of red hair.

"Hi, Polly!"

[curious_copycat]

She looked up from her drink and gave a smile, though it didn't altogether reach her eyes. The normally-bright blue of them seemed a little duller, today. Even if she wasn't feeling as exuberant as usual, her mood couldn't help lightening a bit, on seeing him.

"Hi, Ed!"

She scooted over a bit, in case he wanted to share her booth, as a matter of course, finding a little solace from her problems by focusing on him.

"How are you today?"

[steelalchemy]

As clueless as Ed tended to be about certain aspects of human emotion, he was nevertheless very observant of the little details, like body language, like smiles that weren't quite right.

Sliding into the booth next to Polly, he smiles warmly at her.

"I'm doing all right. Have you eaten here before?"

[curious_copycat]

She shook her head, stirring the thick frozen drink absently with her straw.

"No, it wasn't here, last time I was. I think this used to be a smoothie place."

She slouches down in her seat a little, pulling the beverage close.

"I hadn't had a malt, before today... It tastes different..."

She isn't quite as enthusiastic about this discovery as she might otherwise have been.

[withoutnobody]

[ the keybearer's clothing and talking hadn't been affected by the Drive this this time (lucky stars to thank, maybe), but he's in a deep rut of confusion when his precious smoothie shop has been miraculously transformed into some stupid... big-hair-and-teenagers store ]

[ he's mumbling irritation under his breath as he storms out, the drink in his hand decidedly not a smoothie. ]

[curious_copycat]

[Riku comes out of the burger joint so suddenly that she brushes against him in her hurry to get out of the way. Grouchy silver-haired people have not been high on her list of people to bump into, lately.]

I-I'm sorry.

[withoutnobody]

[ there's a pause as he catches a familiar scent, but it's spiked with darkness broken glass (punched through a car window) ]

[ his expression is candid in surprise and his mind is an open circuit of frenzied stress uncertainty ]

Polly.

[curious_copycat]

[She takes a step back, picking up on his uncertainty, mirroring her own. Ducking her head, she hides behind a curtain of red curls to avoid his gaze.]

Hi, Riku.

[ocean_lightning]

Ukitake had never been to the Living World during the 1950's.

When one reached the Captain-class status in the Gotei 13, field patrols were hardly ever required of you unless the need was dire or dangerous, after all - which reduced the frequency of visit to about every forty years or so. The little decade-long fads that those among the living got into were terribly easy to miss, in that respect...and all that besides, Ukitake had never been to America before anyhow.

It had taken him a few hours to realize something was amiss, actually - the varieties of aliens and cultures already aboard made one a bit prone to glossing over unusual things after awhile - but the pattern of strange slang and greasy hair had eventually caught Ukitake attention

[curious_copycat]

The girl looked up as soon as Jushiro entered, sensing his presence even as he'd pulled open the door. He stood out, pale and stately among the colorful and rambunctious crowd, even as she did, quiet and somber in her corner booth.

She waved to him, mustering a smile that was genuine if not bright. His soothing presence seemed like something she needed much more than the poodle skirts and rock'n'roll presently surrounding them.

[ocean_lightning]

The wave does suffice in catching Ukitake's eye, even in the crowd of people and aliens milling through the restaurant - and Ukitake turns to look over in surprise, not quite expecting to spot a familiar face already, in here.

However, as soon as he figures out who it is, Ukitake is quick to return Polly's smile with an equally genuine and somewhat brighter one of his own - though he does note that said lack of brightness in hers. Just that detail alone is enough to speed his step a bit as he changes directions and approaches Polly's little booth instead

[curious_copycat]

The somewhat-wan smile brightened a little as he arrived, and she invited him into the seat immediately.

"H'lo, Mr. Jushiro! I wasn't expecting to see you either--anyone, really."

There were even a few people she was avoiding--another silver-haired man in particular. The thought dimmed her smile again, and her eyes slid downward before she caught herself and forced herself to cheer up... or at least tried to.

She looked down at the dress when Ukitake mentioned it, then back up at him with a wry little grin.

"Yes, all of my clothes got changed. They're all poofy and..."

She trailed off, about to say "bright" but that would mean she didn't feel bright, wouldn't it? She knew Jushiro well enough to know he'd want an explanation and she wasn't sure she could give one without breaking down...