2019-12-11 - Game of Songs

It's evening. The weather is chilly and raining. The leaves have turned and the days have grown shorter and winter is definitely looming large on the horizon. This is the first such season Tyrone has experienced in the Pacific Northwest, so the rain and the leaves and the /weather/ is all pretty new to him. Growing up in the dense urban sprawl of Chicago, he's only been middling aware of what happens in nature as the seasons turn. So, he's been spending the evening watching it and thinking.

There is a plate of pancakes in front of him, mostly eaten, though he appears to have been neglecting them for a while- which would also appear odd to those who are familiar with the way the marine normally eats. There's also a cup of coffee at his table, along with the pot, which is still steaming and so probably recently refreshed. He's parked himself at the end of one of the booths at the perimeter of the shop so he can more easily watch out the window as the night comes on. He's wearing a black t-shirt with USMC stenciled across the front, with fatigue pants. His military fatigue jacket is also hanging over the back of his chair, as if he'd simply shrugged it off and let it fall backwards off his shoulders.

Waffles, waffles, Lyric's getting waffles! Her absolute favorite place to eat, she's walked over for waffles. Nothing like breakfast for dinner! She's got her gray and dark gray striped hoodie on over jeans and her football jersey with the number 00 on it. She smell the food from down the road so by the time she gets there, she's really good and hungry, stomach growling. It'd been awhile since her lunch of the club sandwich and coffee at Espresso Yourself. As the sun sinks further it gets chillier and slowly fading into view from the windows is Lyric herself. Her white blonde hair is pulled back and up and the scarf she has on is charcoal colored. She has it wrapped around half her face, keeping her ears and nose warm.

Getting to the door, she reaches for it and pushes inside, stomping her feet on the rug there in case she had mud or grass on her boots. Non of that ankle high stuff that seems all the rage, but the clunkier combat style that reaches her mid-calf. Another shiver as the warmer air starts to permeate her outer wear and she walks over towards a booth, cause those were her favorite. She notices Tyrone and offers him a cheerful smile. "Christmas is super soon. I hope we have snow for it." Yep, that's her greeting!

Whaa? Christmas? The greeting is enough to distract Tyrone, who blinks and shakes his head to clear the cobwebs away. He turns, then smirks and shrugs a little. "Yeah, you right. ... snow'll be new. Rain ain't bad, just soggy. And heat is totally fine. Snow, though .... That'll be new," he remarks. Then, the smirk grows a little and he adds, "Hello to you, too, Lyric." And, since she looks to be trying to find a seat, he'll unlock his breaks and back away from the table to clear a path for her. "You can sit with me, if you'd like?"

"You never saw snow before? I want a white Christmas a lot. Will you have a snowball fight with me? I'll win." Lyric grins and bounces over after he unlocks the brakes, and she slides into the booth, sliding all the way in so she can turn sideways with her legs extended across the bench seat, crossing her legs at her ankles. "Thanks for inviting me." Tilting her head, she looks at him then drops her eyes to his chair as if considering something. "Um.." A pucker of her brow. "How are you gonna get around if there's snow? Do ya need me to come by and shovel the drive or anything? Or bring ya food?" It's the only concession she offers for his situation, otherwise she waves a waitress over who holds up a finger for just a minute. "What are you doing for Christmas?"

Tyrone chuckles and shakes his head. "No, I've seen snow before. Just never had to get through it in a wheelchair. And nah, my apartment complex gotta shovel- ADA rules. So I should be good on that. Thanks for offering, though. If I need anything, I'll keep you in mind." Once Lyric is in and settled, he turns back into his spot and re-locks his breaks. Noticing, Tyrone appraises Lyrics boots and then nods approvingly. "Nice boots," he comments, smiling over to Lyric. "And I'm not doing anything, yet. My stepmom wrote about me being welcome to come back home, but ... Chicago ain't home for me no more. So I'll prolly just hang out around here. You doing anything special?"

"I wondered. I thought they had snow where you were from before." Lyric nods that his apartments had to shovel. "Where'd you finally decide to live? I don't live in the trailer park anymore, but on Elm Street. The band and I and even Cole all live there. It's pretty okay, it's cheap at least, sharing it with so many people. I get to save money and my mama's getting a new headstone soon. I never got to get her one when I was growing up." She bobs her head and grins as she models one of her boots, "Oh thanks! I got it at Goodwill." Crinkling her eyes, "I think." Then there's the waitress, she smiles at her, "I want waffles. I want pecan waffles. Two of them. With bacon. Crunchy bacon and orange juice. And some strawberries in a bowl." She doesn't bother with coffee this late. The waitress checks on Tyrone while she is there to see if he needs anything else. Lyric waits till things are settled then continues. "Yep, I am. I'm going to take a Poinsettia to my mama. Thewlis promised to take care of it for me. Then I'll have Christmas with my roommates that are hanging around and not going home. I know Cole will be there. Not sure about Park or Ico or Scott. You going to anyone's house? You can come over if you want. We'll have food and cookies and pie."

"Yup. Winters in the midwest usually have a ton of snow. And wind. And cold. But, we didn't have this many trees in Chicago. Especially not so close together and stuff. It's really pretty," Tyrone says, lifting his coffee cup and using it to gesture towards the window before he takes a drink. When the waitress checks on him, he's still good and no, he doesn't want a box for his waffles. He takes a bite just to prove he's not done with them. "Well that sounds like a really good plan," he agrees to Lyric's layout of holiday plans. He also tells her which apartment complex he's living in, adding, "It's right on the bus route, which makes it extra handy for me. And no, I hadn't planned on going anywhere. Maybe to Easton's? I dunno. But ... I wouldn't wanna impose on y'all. I don't know anybody else in your band and I'd feel weird, just coming over. I'll be fine on my own, either way. Made it through Thanksgiving just fine. Christmas should be a breeze." ... and sure, maybe his Thanksgiving wasn't 'just fine' by most people's standards. But! It sure beat spending it in a foxhole! So he counts it as an improvement.

"I like all the trees here, but I've never been in a place that didn't have them so heavy. I don't think I'd like it as much." Lyric smiles as he compliments the town. "It's so pretty with the leaves changed like they are now. But with snow all over everything? It just feels like Christmas." The waitress takes off but shows right back up with the orange juice and she takes it, placing it on the table. "I understand. The band people are nice and you could meet them before Christmas, but you'd probably have more fun with Easton anyway. He's super nice." Just bobbing her head, understanding his decline. "So you like music, right?" She unwraps the scarf that had fallen down to her neck and she unzips her hoodie, leaving her just in the football jersey and jeans. There's a method to her madness! Now she can reach her phone and tug it out. "Wanna play a game? A game that has no loser?"

... football jersey? Definitely gets Tyrone's attention. Chicks in jerseys are hot. Especially when Lyric wears it. But, he doesn't stare or anything, just notices. As her orange juice arrives, Tyrone stuffs another forkful of pancakes in his mouth and chews just enough to swallow it. "Oh yeah, love music. Speaking of, you should let me know when your band is playing. I'd love to check you guys out," he adds, before quirking an eyebrow at her mention of the game. "Well, yeah, if you want? What kinda game?"

Lyric already has her phone tugged out and she places it on the table. "Sure whenever we get a gig or something I'll let you know. We'll be playing at WinterFest. That'll be after the new year and Sparrows band will be playing too. With Jaime and Garrett. I bought Jaime." She shows him her phone, then nods towards him. "Get your phone, you can go first. She drops her boots to the floor and scoots over closer, "Just pick a song you like, any song, and look it up on youtube. We'll watch the video, then I can pick one. You can give messages with the video or just be a song you like. Doesn't matter, any song goes." She reaches for her juice and takes a sip, looking at him expectantly for him to choose a song.

"Oh, hey, that's cool. Well, I actually just saw this really awesome version of a Prince song by a band that does remakes of a lot of songs. I really dig 'em," Tyrone says as he reaches under his chair to secure his phone. He pulls it out, unlocks it with his fingerprint, then opens his youtube app and makes a few quick taps. The video is at the top of his history, so it only takes him a moment to find it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y63m5JqCziE

Lyric leans in to watch the video with him, seeming to like it since she pays attention to the whole thing, even dancing around to the beat a little in her seat. The beat was awesome and she lifts her eyes a moment to smile at him before going back to the video until it ends. The waitress brings her food about then, syrup and all in the little slide top canister. "Thanks!" The words are to the waitress but after she leaves, she grins at Tyrone. "I really like that. They are really good. Will you choose another one while I eat? I'm super hungry."

"Man, the way that shawty kills them vocals? Shoot. If Prince were still around, I know he'd be callin' in a /heartbeat/ tryin'a collab with them," Tyrone says as the song finishes. "Li'l girl gots /soul/," he adds. When the food arrives, Tyrone leans out of the way for the waitress' ease and then nods, pulling up another video. "Aight, here we go. The straight up funkiest funk band in history asking the ETERNAL question," Tyrone says, full on smirking.

https://youtu.be/IDksWTzZQ2c?t=580

Anything with a beat you could find Lyric listening to, and when he does find another she cuts a bite of her waffles and eats it while sort of making little moves with the fork or a shoulder or a hand or her head, just getting into it. "I like this one too. I've never heard any of these before but they're great." Several more bites are taken of the waffles before she finally gets to a bacon strip. She makes no moves to choose a song herself though, enjoying the tunes she'd never heard before. "Got another one?"

"Tower of Power is, and you can ask anybody on the whole cot dang planet, the tightest horns in all of funkingdom. My pops saw them on tour and they was pushing so much sound, they had to put warnin' labels on they tickets for folks with weak hearts and pregnant women, cuz it was dangerous for cats," Tyrone says, grinning. It's very clear that he really loves this music. And, since she asks, he thinks about it and then smirks a little. "Sure, hold up." And he gets to searching on his phone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmR4y4slhmo

Lyric watches him, all animated and everything. She could tell that he was really into the song and the music. "Warning labels. I like that, it's a cool idea. We should do something for our little band. It'd be cool. Do you know a lot about bands and music and mixing and promoting? Even song selections?" More bacon is munched on while she watches the next song and some more waffles too. All is chased by orange juice. Finally, she smiles. "I heard that song before. It's a good one."

This song has Tyrone watching Lyric way more than his phone for a change. Her reaction just makes him smirk again, though, and he shrugs. "I mean, Motown, funk, soul, hip hop or R'n'B, maybe? But I don't know nothin' bout promoting bands or anything. Just listen to all the old stuff, as well as some of the new stuff." Then, he grins and laughs a little, sitting back in his chair. "And I know you said there ain't no winners or losers in this game, but ... feel like I'm winning, anyway. Why don't you show me something?" he teases Lyric.

"Oh good, cause I am winning too. I just said no losers. See, we can both win." Lyric grins at him before reaching for her phone after lifting her napkin from her lap and wiping her mouth and hands, "I don't know there's one song but it's kinda sad. I mean, if I ever had a dad or knew who he was, I'd think about this song. I always wished one day after my mama died, that he would come rescue me from foster care growing up, like a hero or something. Or a knight in shining armor. But I don't even know who he is." Despite it being sad, she turns her phone around and offers it to him to hold and watch. She has it memorized. "Here you go."

Tyrone's eyes shoot up when Lyric plays the song and he immediately starts shaking his head. But, he's a marine, and he's not alone, so there ain't no way in the world his emotions are gonna show right now. So, like a good soldier, he buttons them up, takes a long drink of coffee, and nods. "Yeah, this song is awesome. You wanna cry instantly? Watch the video of his daughter singing it at his funeral. Kills me every cot dang time," Tyrone says. And then, he has to clear his throat and pound his chest a couple of times. And, if Lyric watches, she may notices that his eyes involuntarily get very wet, but through sheer force of will, not a single tear is shed. "Good choice. But, I think I got one that prolly gets it from a dad's perspective. At least, I know this is absolutely how I'd feel if I ever found out I had a kid comin'." And he sorts through his phone again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99j0zLuNhi8

After handing the phone over and telling her story, Lyric watches him and can just see the change in him when the song begins playing. "I never saw the video of her singing it." But she watches him a moment more, seeing his eyes, she looks down at her plate, suddenly remembering what he had told her before. "I'm sorry," she tells him softly before lifting her eyes to his again, "I shoulda thought about that one first." Though he does give another song so she lets the change of subject happen. As it starts playing she seems to know it, even singing along with it some. "I never really listened to all the words to know what it was about. It's a good song. Do you want kids someday?" Since he'd mentioned it.

"Nah, you're good. That song was awesome, why you apologizing?" Tyrone asks, continuing to deny having the feels. Because that's what young men do, especially after the marines. He has booze and tissues at home, no sense letting on in public. "And ... yeah, I'd love to have kids someday. Growin' up, I always thought I'd have like three or four rugrats. Silly me, though. Had ta go and get shot. Now I got like a billion hoops I gotta jump through, I ever wanna have some," he says, shrugging. This, however, doesn't seem /as/ touchy as his dad- he's way more flippant about the comment, more like most of his 'I can't stand up' comedy. "What about you? Wanna give some li'l tykes the family you didn't get?"

"Just cause." Lyric just goes along with his toughness for him, because that's what she does. Pretty blunt and to the point usually, she's just assuming if he wanted to talk about it, he would. Her last bacon had been saved. Waffles gone, strawberries nibbled, all that's left are the green stems in the bowl, the orange juice almost gone, she's got her crunchy piece of bacon. "Nope. I don't think I'd be a good mom. I don't know how to be one. My mama was busy always bringin' people over when she thought I was asleep. Then I had foster an' I had to babysit all the time there cause the moms were busy. I don't think I'd be a good one so I better not. I'll play with your kids though and teach them music, if you still live around here."

"Really? But see, I think having crappy or no parents makes for better parents, cuz you know what NOT to do." Tyrone empties his cup and then pours himself some more coffee. "Maybe you just gotta meet the right guy that makes you wanna have his kids," he offers, off the cuff. "Who knows. But I think it's your go, ain't it?"

"I dunno." Lyric shrugs it off, not really something she's thought about beyond what she's already mentioned. So, she goes back to her phone and snickers. "Three choices. Number one. The song I sang at the first karaoke. Number two. The song I sang at the second karaoke. Number three. The song I am singing at the next karaoke?" Leaving it to him before crunch! She finally bites into her last bacon and nibbles it all the way down till its gone and ending with a satisfied smile. "Mm, good dinner." The last drink of her juice is the chaser and her meal is done.

Tyrone blinks and then strokes his chin as he ponders. "Hmm. Well, if you promise to sing for me, I'ma choose number one. Otherwise, if you ain't fittin'a sing for me, you can't play a song you sang for other folks or I ain't gettin' ta hear it right," he decides, folding his arms across his chest and smirking.

Checkmate. Lyric laughs, "I don't have a guitar and you ain't no karaoke machine, buddy." Still laughing, she tilts her chin up, eyes sparkling as she accepts the challenge. She finds it on her phone so she has the music and soon? The music starts playing and she sings along with the almost monotone girl on the video, but she puts a little more spark and fluctuation in it. As well as a few dance moves while seated. She gives not a care in the world the lyrics she's singing can be heard by the others in the place, she just sings.

"Hey, I ain't the one doing karaoke, that was your choice, shawty," Tyrone counters, still smugly leaning back in his chair. Until the song starts. And then his eyebrows raise. And, as he listens, the absurdity just makes him laugh and he shakes his head, the hilarity ramping up when Lyric tries to 'dance' to the song in her seat. By the end of the first chorus, he's almost crying with laughter, but trying his best to not to laugh out loud so he doesn't drown out Lyric's singing. As the song moves into the second verse and the bridge, he'll have to slap his knee, start rocking, and eventually put his head down on his forearm on the table, simply unable to contain himself. As she finishes, he just grins at her and shakes his head. "Oh my god, that was amazing," he says. "I don't even know how you found that song, but you definitely need to upload your version because it's SO much better than the original." And then, his grin turning back into an impish smirk, he adds, "And, if it was me? You wouldn't need to do any of that stuff. I'd just be happy it was you."

"I like karaoke. Lots of us do it." Though as she sings, Lyric watches him and he almost makes her laugh now and again. Definitely she's super amused as the other few patrons look at them with interest when she gets to the chorus. Proooobably some think one or both of them were going to get lucky tonight. Content is everything right? When it's over, she pretend bows almost getting her hair in her syrup which does make her laugh. She grins at the whole upload your version part, then asks guilelessly at the remainder of it, "I wouldn't need to upload it?" Though it turns a little tongue-in-cheek, because she kinda catches the drift of what he means. "I'm glad you liked it. But it's your turn now." Curious about his choice.

"Oh, no, you /definitely/ need to uploard your version, shawty. That's gotta be a thing. I was saying, you wouldn't have to do any of the stuff you sang about in the song if you wanted to get in bed with me," Tyrone explains. Then, he chuckles and shakes his head a little as he picks up his phone and starts thinking. Then, the perfect follow up dawns on him and he laughs again as he types it in and sets his phone down in front of Lyric. And, if she's inclined once the song gets going, he will definitely hold his hand out as an offer to help her get up and dance with him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6QZn9xiuOE

Lyric grins at him, tilting her head and holding up a finger to waggle it back and forth playfully, in that shame on you manner while laughing softly. Which suddenly turns to even more laughter. "Ahahaha!" Completely amused he had found a song to top hers. She gives him her hand and slides to the edge of her seat before rising, letting him lead her in dancing to his song. "I love to dance, this is awesome."

Now, since this is a family establishment and Tyrone has definitely not established anything even remotely close to a romantic relationship with Lyric, he fights his first impulse to pat his lap and offer to slow dance with her /that/ way. Because then he'd probably definitely have to try and keep her there until she realized she felt something for him to, which he's estimating could take more lifetimes than he's got left. So, instead, he just holds both her hands and kinda moves back and forth with her, though all the footwork is defintely left up to her, for very obvious reasons. And, while he definitely doesn't actually sing, he does lip-sync the song to her in very convincing fashion, because that he can do. But, holding her hands like that, listening to a song like that and feeling how he feels? If he had a little glow before, he's probably warning ships off the coast right now. And even as the song comes to an end, he seems rather reluctant to let go of her hands.

Lyric lets him lead and she dances with him, even twirling once or twice. It may require letting go, but she spins back to take his hand again, not being awkward about it at all. She's light on her feet, graceful, and she seems to certainly be enjoying herself. It makes her smile when he lip-syncs the words, because she doesn't know them, and finally, when the song ends, she offers a curtsy. "Thank you very much for the dance, it was an honor." She straightens and takes her seat again with a grin. "You're shining," she says softly.

"... and here I thought that was you," Tyrone says, giving Lyric the googly eyes, definitely all up in his feels at the moment. So much so that he can't stop himself from saying, "Gosh, Lyric, you're so incredible. I just thought ...," he trails off. But then his eyebrows raise as another song strikes him. "Here, this one's perfect. This is exactly how I felt the first time I met you." And then he goes back to his phone. And he actually does beatbox the beginning, maybe even outdoing Musiq a little.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7zsG3XFUd8

"I'm shiny too," Lyric tells him with a grin, because she does shine with the glimmer, pretty sure he could see it in her. She shifts in the seat just a little, looking down at her empty food places and stuff, piling the bacon plate on the waffle plate, then the strawberry bowl on the bacon plate, her napkin all folded beside it. The orange juice glass there. She pushes it all across the table to the empty spot there before she looks at him again, biting her lip. He done turned all date-y on her again and she studies him a moment until he finds a song and she smiles again, leaning in to look at it and watch it with him. His beatboxing was amazing and she grins her approval, the lyrics of the song seeming to bring her back around. "I really like that song. I like the words to it. I never heard it before." Then she searches a song on hers, "This is really cool, watch them all! It's so amazing."

"Yeah, you definitely do," Tyrone agrees, nodding and smiling like a doofus. But, then it's on to other songs and he's got himself back together a little more. He raises an eyebrow at the video Lyric offers and watches, as she requests, nodding and seemingly impressed. "That takes a lot of coordination. I think they do a bunch of stuff like that. Here, you should check out this girl, too, maybe get you some inspiration?" he offers, showing this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl9GtO_vQxw

"You're funny Tyrone. I'm really glad we're friends." Lyric looks at his phone and watches the video. "Oh yeah I like this, I really like medleys and mashups. I have one I want to show you. I get inspiration from her too, she sings pretty. I like her a lot." She finds the song and lets him start it. "I gotta go soon. It's getting super late."

Tyrone nods at Lyric's statement of the hour. "Yeah, I do gotta catch the bus, good call," he agrees. And then he looks and listens to the video she offers. He smirks and then chuckles a little and nods. "Yeah, that's cool. I think it's probably one of the easier forms of medleys, but she does have a pretty voice and stuff." As the song finishes, he turns Lyric's phone back to her and unlocks his breaks, scooting back. "I'm glad, too. I really felt like maybe we could be more, too, but ... I'm at least glad to be around you when I do get the chance," he says, offering her a smile as he moves to let her out of the booth. But where did Lyric's bill go? Tyrone must have grabbed it when she wasn't looking! That rascally rabbit! "I still gotta pay or I'd offer to see you out. Have a good night, Lyric. Hope to see you again, soon."