2021-06-12 - Pourhouse Karaoke: Truth or Dare

It's 80s night, right? RIGHT?

Well if it's not, someone convinced Cassidy it /is/. Here she comes with outrageous hair. It's huge! A Bon Jovi t-shirt mostly covered under a black leather jacket and tight light blue jeans tapered and tucked into short black boots (with heels). Looots of lipstick. chewing gum.

It is not eighties night. It's Truth or Dare night. Jens is, as usual, already here long before the karaoke starts. He's got a plate of potato skins and a pitcher of beer and he's sitting in his usual table all the way in the back. He has a big ... something, with him. It looks like a cardboard cutout of something. Maybe he plans on doing a presentation while he's on stage. Who knows?

As for Lyric, she's wearing a local high school football jersey over a pair of jean shorts and cowboy boots on her feet. Stylin! (Notreallyno). On her head is a camo cap that's backwards and off center. She's already been in the bar for a bit, drinking. Cause that's what you do at things like this. You get a head start! She's seated at the bar on a stool, the place she usually sits when she is here. There's a bottle of beer and an empty shot glass. She's sort of nursing the beer... or maybe it's a chaser!

"Hey, everyone!!" Park has arrived. The Korean-American dressed like Madonna (True Blue period). A fifties style blue dress and her white-blonde hair tucked tight. She wasn't actually going to cut it, sheesh. Not with how long it takes to grow.

Does this mean she's going to be singing 'True Blue'? From past experience...unlikely.

She rushes over to hand in her song choice before glancing over at the bar to see... "Lyric!!" There is catching up to do as she dashes over to give the woman a hug. "Oh my gosh! So wonderful to see you!" A look over Lyric's outfit and it becomes clear what happened to her friend. "Oh no, have you gone over to the Dark Side? Do you do country and western now?"

Devlin happens to be wearing a vintage 95' Eagles' World Tour concert t shirt, black jeans sporting an Eagles skull buckle. He walks in as he starts looking for a place to settle at for the fun tonight. Seeing a few people he recognizes, "Evening Cassidy. ... Hey there Everett. .. Good to see you, Joe."

Is there a theme? Ash missed the memo, but she does turn up anyways. She's got her hair back in a ponytail and is dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt when she strolls through the door. There's a quick check, then she heads in Jens' direction to flop at his table, "Hi. Thanks for ordering me a beer."

Joe's not making any attempt to cleave to any particular decade. Not dressed up - he's just his usual self, in old dark jeans, a snowy white t-shirt that does nothing to hide the terrible scars on his arms, and battered boots. His hair's gotten fairly long, turned into a mane of loose curl, and that scruff is in its 'almost a beard' stage.

He's holding the door for the town's top cop, smiling back at the younger man with that conspiratorial grin. "No, I will," he protests to some comment of Ruiz's, who's looking dubious. "I can totally sing. Just watch me." Then he's letting the ex-Marine precede him to the bar. Apparently he doesn't intend to just jump right in.

Maybe he's a little eager to get started, or maybe, just for once he has nothing better to do but Everett arrives pretty much on time rather than fashionably late. As is his routine, the giant man stops in the parking lot to add to the miscellaneous cigarette buds an approximate ten feet from the front door while he casually smokes, watching those who enter after he's arrived, using his left hand while his other remains tucked inside his undecorated biker's black leather jacket.

When his cigarette is finished, Everett flicks the smoldering butt into the parking lot before heading inside. Pausing once indoors, after ducking under the door jam, Everett brushes the rain from his jacket then uses his left hand to comb through his hair, trying to settle it back into place after suffering from a smoker's curse: being made to suffer outside, the price of his dirty habit.
In order to help warm him up, he heads to the bar, tapping two thick fingers on the polished wood, and getting a beer. A light beer. A man has to watch his figure.

Jens shoves a glass at Ash and smiles at her. "You're welcome." He's already drank a whole quarter of the pitcher, but there's still plenty for her to pour. He nudges the plate of potato skins at her, too, smiling and kicking his legs up to put them on Ash's lap.

Dubious is right. Javier doesn't seem to buy this whole singing thing that Joe's touting, but, "Maybe get a Four Horsemen in you, and we'll see about that," he's conceding to as they head inside. The cop's in his usual getup: faded tee shirt, snug black jeans, battered leather jacket and baseball cap. He's headed, unsurprisingly, for the bar. Where the 'tender already knows what he wants. Who in this town doesn't?

Even if there was just a quarter of the beer left, Ash would still pour it into a glass. Or drink straight from the pitcher, really. But she pours it before she leans back in her seat, leaving plenty of room for Jens' feet in her lap. "So more singing?" She glances at the carboard thing, a brow raising.

At Outside Smoking:
"Let's do this..." Cassidy murmurs to herself - the words accompanied by the last billow of smoke. She puts out the cigarette and enters ... the Pourhousee. (Hopefully there's no hold up on the quesadillas this time.)

"You and me again tonight, Javier?" the 80's styled blond calls out to the only person she knows here.

Then her predator instincts go into effect as she surveys the landscape. Who's the 'lucky' person to be buying her drinks tonight?

"More singing." He glances at his cardboard cut-out and winks at Ash. "You'll see." Jens grabs a relatively small potato skin and holds it up, looking at her. He mimes throwing it at her so she can get ready, and then he lobs it gently at her mouth. Or, you know, in that direction.

"That sounds like an excellent idea, baby," Joe agrees. "I mean, what Irishman's singing isn't improved by whiskey? And while my family may've got here generations go, I feel the rule still applies. Yeah, I'll let the others warm the crowd up, so to speak." Then he's ending up at the bar, claiming a stool right by Javier, and ordering exactly that - a Four Horsemen.

Then Cassidy enters and calls out that greeting, and Joe's slanting a look at Ruiz, one brow raised questioningly. There's the beginning of a grin, as he waits on the cop's response. "Has she gotten you to sing before? What'd you sing?"

The warning of course is listened to, and Ash opens her mouth to try and catch the tossed potato skin. Then it's washed down with a swallow of beer before she shakes her head, "Not singing." Her, not him. Probably. But then there's a call going out for the first vic...err...singer of the night.

"No," is Javier's flat answer, seemingly all-encompassing of both a) Cassidy's request and b) Joe's inquiry. His dark eyes narrow as he fixes each blonde in turn with a look, and then digs out his cell phone as he waits for his drink order to be delivered. Surely if he stares hard enough at his screen, the ADA can't make him buy for her, right?

Devlin orders a double bourbon as Davis announces whom is to sing. Hearing Javier's answer, he looks over, "A night to chill, right Ruiz?"

"Park!" Lyric greets, returning the hug before the giggle follows. "No, I mean I like all music, but that means all music. Not just one kind." She heel toes her cowboy boot before grinning back at Park. "Didn't you know it's gonna rain? Boots are best so I don't get my shoes dirty if it does." Rain. Understatement probably. She's got her name in for a song, she also has a challenge. She glances around the room with a studying look.. eyeing everyone with speculation.

"Oh gosh! I'm on! I'll be back!" A quick kiss to Lyric's cheeks before she dashes to the stage, waving to everyone as she does so. And then a curler of a question. Brow furrows into thinking mode. "Oh...umm...well I like to bend over and...no...I've done that with some of my friends. And there's all the...no, they give me those. I don't really keep a lot of secrets from people, and I'm happy to involve my friends in anything they want. You know, throw it out there, see who wants to run with it. Not that there's been much running lately. These days I only go sprinting by myself, if you know what I'm saying." A smile to the auidence. "So, if anyone wants to go sprinting with me after the show...jogging even. Oh, I guess that's something. My friends probably don't expect that I've been celibate for months. Not in a sell a bit here, sell a bit there, way. More of a cobwebs situation." She narrows her eyes at Davis. "Did that answer the question? You can give me a dare instead if you like."

"As Davis said...and have you seen his Peppa Pig tattoo? How cute is that! I'll be doing 'Love, Truth, and Honesty' by Bananarama. Such a cool band. But first, a really old joke. Two people are talking. One says, 'When I get married, I'm going to marry a homely person because beautiful people run away'. The other person says, 'Homely people could run away too'. And the first person replies, 'Yeah, but who cares.'" She waits for the silence to subside. "Maestro, if you please."

And, yes, she will be doing the dance routine.

Never trust your own emotions
They'll always let you down
And the one that's closest to you
May not always be around

I never questioned
The promises you made
Every time I gave my heart
I was betrayed

What a fool
That I should ever believe
In love, truth and honesty
All the time
You just keep on hurting me

Though she is only one person up there, she sounds like three in harmony.

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

Target acquired. But how does she get Ruiz to buy her drinks? By making Joseph her BFF for the night. So Cassidy happily trots in that direction with a little wave. "Hey, Joseph right? Yeah! We sang Don't Stop Believing." Cassidy slides onto a stole next to Joseph and edges into 'dishing' position. She says quietly, "He sang very well. You should get him to dedicate one to you." This followed by a wink.

She turns in her stool to watch the stage and is impressed by the dance routine! And the overtone singing! Wow, Park is really good! Cassidy claps and puts her hands up to amplify her voice as she yells, "Wooooo!" More clapping.

Kailey arrives a little bit after Everett. Having had to run an errand and then park the car. She is dressed in a pretty purple dress that falls to just above her knees and a pair of galaxy leggings on underneath. The cigarette area being clear she heads straight inside, looking around for Everett. She spots Cassidy first and smiles, waving at the lawyer. "You -did- come," She says cheerfully as she pauses by her table. She nods to Joseph in a friendly manner.

At the bar, while he's waiting for Maggi to get to him, Everett leans back, once Park's name is called, to make it obvious he's looking at the manufacturer's tag on Lyric's cut-off jean shorts. Especially once Park leaves her friend, mostly, defenseless. A knowing smile creeps across the gorilla's lips while he exchanges cash for his beer and then places an additional order for two fingers of dark rum. Then fumble with his left hand for his wallet, putting it down on the bar to extract his cash, and then close the wallet and return it to his pocket makes the process of paying even longer. But it doesn't seem to get the big man down.

Once Park mounts the stage, Everett thumps his flat palm on the bar top, as close as he's getting to applause tonight, and then slides to occupy the space Park had been in, nudging Lyric with a broad shoulder before fixing her with a broader knowing smile, then nodding his head towards the stage with an unspoken question with the addition of an uplifted eyebrow.
When Park starts speaking. Or is that confessing? Everett's attention drifts that way. At first he's attentive, then riveted, then wide-eyed. That's a lot of sharing. Looking away, Everett takes a small drink from his bottle of beer.

Just hanging at his table alone, Devlin gets his drink while he watches Park perform. Of course, he doesn't notice the drink arrive at first as the performance has him drawn in.

That makes Joe's brows head for his hairline, and he elbows Ruiz gently. "She's givin' you the lie," he informs the cop, voice arch. "I'm not sure who to believe here." A theatrical glance back and forth between them. "No, I think I'll believe her."

Devlin gets a wave, as does Kailey, but Joe's still mostly focussed on the ADA....and how staunchly Javier's refusing to look that way. One can't exactly be the wingman when no one in the party is on the prowl, but he doesn't seem dismayed by knowing that he's the secondary target. "That's right," he affirms. "I'm Joe. Cassidy, wasn't it? And I suppose I'll have to dedicate mine to him?" Joe never sings at these things...but apparently tonight he intends to make an exception.

Maybe everyone's a stranger
I watch them come and go
But I think everyone's in danger
If they let their feelings show

There's a lesson
And a price you have to pay
If you give your heart
Don't let it be betrayed

What a fool
Every time I find I'm deceived
Where is the love, truth and honesty
If you see it
Won't you bring it on home to me

Park lets her dancing boots free to dance out the fade before bowing to the audience. "Thanks, Cleveland! Everyone have a good time tonight. And if you're too shy to talk tonight, I'll leave my number at the bar. Remember to bring something to take care of the spiders."

Bouncing off the stage she heads back to Lyric, only to find a Sasquatch in her seat. "Everett!!" Hugs for the big guy. "Why aren't you at home with your children" she mock-scowls. "Where's Kailey? Did you let Kailey out for the evening? It's going to rain tonight? Bummer. Oh well, who doesn't like walking in the rain? Are you going to sing, Lyric?"

"I'll buy you a fucking drink, Bennet," Ruiz informs the ADA, before she's even started speaking. This, as he downs a swallow of his tequila, and gestures with a set of heavily tattooed knuckles to the 'tender for a lemondrop for the girl, por favor. "But I'm not singing." He even favours her with a smile. Or whatever passes for one on his face. Kind of resembles an animal baring its teeth, more than anything else.

Lyric watches Park go but when Everett approaches, she simply listens to Park but looks at the big guy. The smile she gives comes easy, especially with the nudge, and she mock punches his big arm. Of course his smile is contagious and she laughs, sort of but not really surprised to see him there. "Yep, I am gonna sing. I hope you are too." Never has she denied liking his vocals. Of course what Park says has her peering towards her with a knowing smile before turning her eyes back to Everett, tilting her camo hat decorated head back a little. "How ya been?" Again, there is speculation in her eyes for the briefest of moments before she glances back at the stage just in time for the song to be over and Park to approach again.

All of the questions are handled one at a time, the ones addressed to her anyway. Lyric grins and nods, "I am gonna sing yeah. I dunno if it's gonna rain or not tonight, but in case it does I'm ready!" She can't speak for Everett or Kailey, but she does look around for her after she's mentioned.

Cassidy finishes whooping and wailing for Park. She turns back around and gives a finger waggle wave to Kailey, then rests her fingertips on Joseph's arm, "Oh I have /just/ the song you should do for him..." and then she giggles and leans in to whisper it.

Then is Ruiz's very generous offer. Cassidy touches her heart and leans forward so she can see past Joe to Javier, "Oh! Thaaank you!"

Kailey hears her name and turns from the table with Cassidy and Joeseph and crew. She smiles when she sees Park accosting Everett and slips quietly through the crowd up behind her. Like a ninja she stands there, real close, then leans in so her head is right by her shoulder and ear. "I'm right here," She says, pitching her voice low and spooky-like. All the while grinning from ear to ear as she trades a look with Everett.

The sailor's still got that air of incredulity firmly in place, as he looks at Ruiz. Like he's sure some sort of explanation will be forthcoming. But he does lean in to let Cassidy whisper in his ear, and he grins. "That's a good suggestion," he says, with a lazy chuckle. "But nah, I got one in mind for tonight already. It might not officially be 80s Night, but that's what folks seem to be pickin', and mine'll fit that theme..."

He's working on one of those awful whiskey concoctions he favors when he genuinely intends to end the evening drunk. Presumably Javier's the ride home, or else they'll both be snagging an Uber. The big black Russian bike isn't out front, for once.

Bravo, Kailey. Your ninja skills result in Park letting out a shrill scream into the ears of anyone around her. Clutching at her chest, she tries to catch her breath as she turns to the sneaky one. "Sheesh, Kailey, you move like a ghost. And you almost made me one too." Hugs! "You're looking awesome. And so are you, Lyric. You've gone totally cowgirl tonight. Speaking of which."

Park scribbles down some numbers on a napkin before handing it to the barkeep. "In case anyone asks for it" she smiles hopefully. Everett's turn! "Oh, 'I'm On Fire'. What does that have to do with the theme?" She's confused. A nudge to Kailey. "I think this song is for you."

Getting assaulted by Asian, Everett makes a small sound of protest that sounds like beings being choked and ends with a grimace. "That's a good song, Park. I'd hate to be the sucker to follow that. It's no <i>Baby Shark</i>, but still..." he adds, lingering and giving Lyric a causal look. When the interrogation continues, Everett smirks softly, "The same reason I'm not with them every karaoke night. The babysitter's watching them. As for Kailey," he shrugs his left shoulder, "I dunno. She was supposed to meet me here. I expect she'll be around shortly."

The questioning goes one way. What's he going to do, ask her about her cobwebs? It looks like he's thinking about it before he leans towards Lyric to answer a prior question. "I'm doing MUCH better now," he murmurs above the din of the bar, rising his brows to the pale woman.

And just like that, he hears his name being mentioned over the sound system. Seems he is the sucker after all. Thanks, Karma.
"'Scuse me," he murmurs and slides from Park's stolen pre-warmed seat. Dropping off his beer, Everett picks up his rum instead on his way to make a spectacle of himself. Leaving the drink on mini-Hank's table, he accepts the bag of snacks, regards it and then Hank-totally-Hank for a second before putting the bag in his mouth. And biting. And then shaking his head. Violently. And vigorously. If the microphone's still on, his growls are emitted. His long black, moist hair obscures most of what's going on, but the man's determined.
Success is found with snacks begin to fly around the bar randomly and Everett doesn't stop until the bag feels significantly lighter.
"Pha-thew," he spits the bag on so-totally-Hank's table before picking up his drink and leaning forward to change his musical selection.

This really isn't Javier's scene. The people, the noise, the close quarters. He's doing it because Joe dragged him, and maybe he's doing it a little bit because it beats finishing off the paperwork he didn't get done last night at the station. But it's clear he's already itching for a smoke, and some fresh air; in between sets, there are those longing glances toward the door. Joe and Cassidy get a dubious look when they start comisserating, too. He downs some more tequila, grunts something like de nada at the blonde, and returns to scrolling through his Friendzone feed.

Kailey lets out a delighted laugh as she offers Park a hug after scaring her. "You look great too. It's good to see you," She says happily. As the big lug goes to the stage she goes on tiptoes to peck his cheek with a kiss. Then takes his seat, shooting Maggi a big grin. "Can I get mozzy sticks and a strawberry daquiri?" She asks before grabbing a karaoke book. It seems she hasn't come with a specific song in mind.

As Everett goes feral up on stage, she pauses and looks up before giggling. Pretzels fly and she calls out, "TEACH THOSE CARBS A LESSON, BABY!" Before going back to the book. What she winds up doing is just grabbing all the pages, closing her eyes, and starting to let the pages slip past her fingers. Stopping at a random chunk and opening her arms to skim the page. "OH! That'll work." And she slips away quick to put in her song and snag a 'Truth' slip.

Laughing as he takes a sip of his drink, "Giv'm hell Everett," Devlin gives the man a thumbs up.

Most of the time when Everett takes the stage, he also takes the microphone. This time he leaves it in its stand. With him he brings his dark rum and puts it down on the raised floor before looking at the microphone stand in thought before reaching out for it with his left hand, keeping his right tucked inside his leather jacket. Unscrewing the bolt to loosen the top portion of the stand sends it slowly descending before Everett steps on the stand's feet, then uses his left hand to pull up, until the microphone's mostly level with his face. Then it's a hurry to tighten it back before the microphone decends to much.
Fumble, fumble. Amplified by the microphone. Not embarrassing at all.

Clearing his throat, Everett bends back down to pick up his drink and takes a deep breath, holds it a second before he nods to Faux-Hank while exhaling. The music starts.

>Don't you know I'm no good for you?
>I've learned to lose you, can't afford to
>Tore my shirt to stop you bleedin'
>But nothin' ever stops you leavin'

The song isn't fast, by any means, so Everett has time to take a sip from his drink, then put it back down. This time he puts a finger into it and when he stands up-right, touches the finger to the corner of his right eye and then left. He's barely enough time to blink against the burning, causing the right eye to streak. It's not a black line, like in the video.

>Quiet when I'm comin' home and I'm on my own
>I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that
>I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that

>Don't you know too much already?
>I'll only hurt you if you let me
>Call me friend but keep me closer (call me back)
>And I'll call you when the party's over

Cassidy coos with big blue eyes and her tongue pressed to a canine tooth for the arrival of her lemondrop. She reaches out with gimme hands and brings the sugar coated rim of that rather full cocktail glass gently (like rocking a baby) to her lips. aaaahhh

"Lemondrop...." she whispers to herself, accentuating the plosive at the end.

The scream from Park is somewhat muted for Lyric as Kailey approaches. "Kailey!" Beam! "Here you are!" She turns a little so her back is leaning against the bar but she holds on to her shot of tequila, looking about ready to drink it. "My football jersey and cut off shorts?" Maybe it was the cowboy boots.. or the camo hat. With the greetings mostly done, she focuses on Everett and his performance, giving a grin to those nearby her. Kailey and Park mostly, before going back to where Everett is singing.

Jens looks ready to sing. He's sitting in a table at the back with a cardboard cut-out of something behind his chair and his feet up on Ash's lap. he's got potato skins and a pitcher of beer with a few glasses on the table, two of them with beer actually in them.

"So how did you get him to get up and sing?" Joe wonders, lazily. He's propped himself up against the bar, swigging that mess of whiskey like it's water....though his gaze has drifted to Cassidy. "I wish I still enjoyed any liquor as much as you clearly enjoy them things," he informs her, dryly. Only then does he add to Javier, "It won't be long, baby. I'mma get up there, do my thing, then you can go off and hide in the woods like you need."

Kailey grins at Lyric as she settles back into the seat Everett had abandoned. "How are you doing, Lyric?" The purple-haired woman asks as she watches Everett on the stage. She does raise a brow at the song that the big man has chosen to sing. "You know...sometimes I wonder about his song choices," She says with a smirk. But she seems pleased when the tab is cleared. Last time it was her, this time it is him. They're on a Tab Win streak at the Pourhouse. She isn't gonna complain.

"Who's Billy Everett? I thought it was Billie Eilish" Park muses, completely missing the joke. A look of alarm for Kailey. "Everett has crabs? Oh no, are you okay? I'm told they itch like nothing else. Except something that really itches I guess. I don't know where they sit on the itch scale."

Park politely listens to Everett doing his impersonation of a teenage girl. He's got the long hair and pouting miserable look down perfect. Applause for that. "Cowgirls always wear football jerseys" Park points out to Lyric before back to the barkeep. "Can I get a sarsaparilla please."

To the hoots and hollers, Everett rises his empty hand and gives the crowd the bird while he can't look, having trouble to keep his gaze forward towards the bar.
It probably seemed like a great idea in his head, the trickle. But now it's fighting off the pain long enough to finish the song, remembering the words and finish the song.

>Quiet when I'm comin' home and I'm on my own
>And I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that
>Yeah, I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that

>But nothin' is better sometimes
>Once we've both said our goodbyes
>Let's just let it go
>Let me let you go

>Quiet when I'm comin' home and I'm on my own
>I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that
>I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that

The end is spoken quickly so he can get out of there all the sooner. An attempt made at leaving the stage before he remembers he left a drink on the floor and goes back to pick it up. The two fingers are downed in as much of a hurry he is for the men's bathroom to borrow a splash of water to the face.

Altering the story just slightly, Cassidy leans in and tells Joseph all about it. "Well - I told him he was the best ever and that if he sang with me he would be the best ever." She giggles and ducks her head between her shoulders. "Yes. I love them!" Lemondrops. "And he did sooo good! The crowd was chanting 'Ruuuuiz! Ruuuiz!'"

"Wait wait...when did Ev get crabs?" Kailey's head whips around to look at Park in surprise. Both eyes wide and surprised. There is confusion and puzzlement in her face as she looks at the other woman. "He doesn't have crabs. Or anything else..." And she looks back towards the big man with a faint frown as he finishes and hurried to the bathroom. "His right arm is messed up right now, but that's it."

"I'm good, thanks!" Then it's down tequila and Lyric shudders a little before replacing the glass back on the bar and ordering another one. If she has a chance to get her tab cleared by the house, she's damn well going to have a tab to be cleared! Everett finishes and she also whistles and cheers for him. "That's awesome!" Watching him head for the restroom. Shrugging, she goes back to her drink, listening for the next name. "What happened to his arm?"

Devlin sets his drink down before he gets up and walks up onto the stage. The question from Davis gets a laugh from Devlin, "You know that is a dangerous question to ask of a paratrooper." He grins to Davis, "You asked for it.. guilty pleasure. As a hunter, I love that moment in time when I've released the arrow at the buck I have been stalking. Not knowing if I aimed true or not.. the Schrodinger's cat moment of not knowing whether or not that arrow will strike."

Devlin then adds, "Last time I brought my guitar and some drunk puked on the case, so sticking with the machine this time." He takes the mike off the stand and holds it close to his lips. He then starts the karaoke machine.. letting the opening chords play before starting to sing in a warm baratone.

>City girls just seem to find out early
>How to open doors with just a smile
>A rich old man
>And she won't have to worry
>She'll dress up all in lace and go in style

>Late at night a big old house gets lonely
>I guess every form of refuge has its price
>And it breaks her heart to think her love is only
>Given to a man with hands as cold as ice

>So she tells him she must go out for the evening
>To comfort an old friend who's feelin' down
>But he knows where she's goin' as she's leavin'
>She is headed for the cheatin' side of town

>You can't hide your lyin' eyes
>And your smile is a thin disguise
>I thought by now you'd realize
>There ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWxLd6kzNCc

Coming out of the men's room, Everett's still wiping his eyes with a wad of wet toilet paper, the area he's messing with red from either the irritation or the repeated touching. The wad's placed in his jacket pocket when he gets to the bar again and reaches over Kailey to accept the beer bottle he left there before up nodding to Lyric, "That stung."

He glances at Kailey to see what she's doing first before he nudges her with his elbow, "I heard you up there. Did I gave those filthy carbs enough?" He holds his attention on her to get his answer before looking on stage, and makes a sound of displeasure. "Country. Ouch," though watches Devlin all the same.

"You told him to teach those crabs a lesson" Park 'explains' to Kailey. "Different crabs? Do you have crabs at home? Pet crabs? Aww, how sweet would they be, with their little pincers." Her drink arrives and she takes a sip, one eyelid fluttering for a few moments. "Strong" she mutters before cheering Everett on. Not that it's really a cheering song. "Is that why sped up the song at the end. Needed to go to the bathroom" Park notes as she rushes off in that direction.

"Someone puked on his guitar case? That sucks. Oh, Lyric, you have to see this awesome keyboard I got out of a dream." Park listens to Devlin play as Everett returns, grinning up at the giant. "Aww, did that song make you cry? So sweet."

Desi walks into the joint rather lazily. She is carrying a a helmet that is black with pink hears polka-dotted on it. On her back is a small biker backpack that seems a bit too empty. She walks up to the bar and sits down plopping her helmet in her lap as well as her back pack. "Barkeep, gimme something dark and heavy." She looks around at the place and it's patrons waiting for her drink. "Hmm, it's pretty lively. Didn't know this town was karaoke friendly."

She was wearing a black black shirt under some well used denim overalls and pink converse.

"Like shit that's how it went," Javier snorts, slapping his phone back down on the bar. "She twisted my fucking arm, and I was three-quarters of the way to being drunk, and she made those fucking eyes at me and talked like it'd make the department look good. That's how I remember it." He narrows his eyes a little at Cassidy, then pauses to listen to Devlin sing. Which, he's not too bad. "What do you have in mind, anyway?" he enquires of Joe, nudging him with an elbow.

"He did something to it weight lifting," Kailey says after a brief second. She takes up her drink and sips from it as she glances towards the restrooms. In time to catch the black haired Everett appear. She smirks at his comment and says, "What did you expect? Alcohol in the eye, honestly." But she has a faint touch of sympathy before she looks at Park. "I...I thought I said Carbs, Did I say crabs?" She starts laughing at her own mis-speak. One she didn't even notice. "Whoops. But yes, you taught those mean ol' carbs a good lesson baby." She sips her daquiri as her eyes drift to the door as it opens.

The newcomer, Desi, is given a quick looking over. The woman continues to smile and nods if their eyes meet. "'Ello," She says in friendly fashion as she gets to the bar. "It's karaoke night. We don't have 'em nearly as often as I'd like. But it's a fun time. You new to town I take it?"

Devlin continues singing to the audience with a bit of feeling.

>My oh my, you sure know how to arrange things
>You set it up so well, so carefully
>Ain't it funny how your new life didn't change things?
>You're still the same old girl you used to be

>You can't hide your lyin' eyes
>And your smile is a thin disguise
>I thought by now you'd realize
>There ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes
>There ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes
>Honey, you can't hide your lyin' eyes

Perhaps not as dynamic as Park's performance, but clearly a talented amateur that enjoys music. He then gets off the stage and "Hey.. that's mine.." as another responder jacks his drink to slam it down. Devlin shakes his head and signals for another drink with a roll of his eyes.

Cassidy has a fingertip between her teeth and is smiling at Joseph as Ruiz tells /his/ side of things. Seriously? Who are you going to believe? She lifts her brow and shrugs when the grizzled old humbug is done speaking and takes another sip of her bright and light lemondrop.

"He had fun," she imparts to Joseph which - no matter how the story is told - is the important part!

Clapping for Devlin!

"Oh ouch." Lyric tells Kailey in response. The explanation of the crabs settled also, she laughs a little, leaving her drink on the bar. Maybe her turn was soon, maybe not! But she was ready just in case. "Can you watch my drink for me when it's my turn?" This asked of the trio, Park, Kailey and Everett. She watches Everett and peers up at his eyes, "Are ya ok?"

"You'll find this place is full of surprises," Joe says to Desi, as she sits down at the bar. The sailor's got a Georgia drawl that's about as out of place as it's possible to be here.

Then he looks between Cassidy and Ruiz again, expression judicious. "I'm sure he did. You get enough tequila in him, he is a barrel of laughs," he assures her, nodding along. "Even if he didn't remember it the next mornin'." Ruiz's question is greeted with a rather arch look. "Well, baby," he says, "I figured I'd do that song about my real name." Then he flashes a positively wicked grin at the cop, like he knows it's going to make Javier squirm.

She just nods as she takes a swig of her drink when it's plopped down in front of her. "Yea, been in about a month. I haven't been very social since I'm still adjusting. I'm not used to the weather or anything yet." Her strong accent was seeping through. "I'm usually elbow deep in some car or bike at work."

She nods to the woman. "Dee."

New person! Park gives Desi a hug of welcome. "Welcome to Gray Harbor. Love the helmet." A beat. "Oh! Do you ride a motorcycle? How cool. Like, a hog or something? I don't even have a car. The band had a van..." She looks to Lyric. "Do we still have that van? I should get a car. Oh, how rude of me! Park Mee, or Mee Park if you prefer." She giggles. "I should have said rude of Mee." It doesn't actually sound much different. "And you're Dee? So, Dee and Mee. How cute. Anyway, welcome, and you should totally sing."

To Park's gentle ribbing, Everett smirks with amusement, "I'm a sensitive fucker, half-pint," and winks. To keep himself from adding more, he puts the beer bottle to his lips, but doesn't yet drink. But when Kailey adds her two cents, Everett shrugs and smirks abashedly for a second, then takes the promised sip. When he swallows, he adds with his usual deep voice, "I didn't really think about it."
Story of his life there.
Should be on his tombstone.

The arm with the beer is slung over Kailey's shoulder while he keeps the other inside his jacket still. And when she addresses another person, Everett too looks in that direction after putting his beer bottle down, slapping the bar top as a means of showing his loud approval of Devlin and his horrible taste in music before picking up his beer bottle again. "Woo!"

Lyric couldn't have asked a more offensive question. Everett's head tilts back, his brows knotting with confusion. "Me? I'm fine. I'm great. Not as good as you, maybe, but, yeah." He nods, "mm. Yeah, just gravy. Why?"

When his name is called, Jens pops to his feet and pulls the carbdoard thing from behind his seat, leaning down to kiss the top of Ash's head. He puts a baseball cap on his head and jogs across the bar to get up on stage.

Jens hops up on stage. He looks at Davis and then looks down at the floor. After a sigh, he shrugs and drops down to his hands and knees, looking up at the audience and pressing his tongue to the floor, slowly licking it. He does it slow-like so people can't claim he didn't. That's the dare.

When he pops back up to his feet, he swings the cardboard guitar around and grabs it like he's playing it, pushing the tip of his baseball cap up a bit as the song starts.

How many people want to kick some ass?

He hits a chord on the cardboard guitar and starts to point, very intensely, around the bar as he sings.

I used to be a nerd; grew up in the suburbs. Nothing there ever went wrong, I made it up in this song. I talk about the hood; I say stuff like, 'It's all good.' Tell people I'm down with all the cool kids downtown -- when I've never even been there!

How many people want to kick some ass?

Jens tosses his head back, shaking the cardboard guitar as the karaoke track provides: (I do I do.)

And how many people are sick of holding it back?
(I am) (Fist in the air!)
Well I am too!

Jens clutches his guitar and informs everyone around the bar:

So don't lay another finger on her! (The guitar.)
She's mine and I still want her! (The guitar.)
You can put your hands up on her -- you're a goner! (You.)
And how many people are sick of holding it back?
(I am I am)
And how many people want to kick some ass?

Jens drops the guitar until it's hanging near his knees, his demeanor shifting to a very passive on, looking around and pretending to whisper:

... well, I would if I could but...
I'm really just a sensitive artist.
Perpetrating like I am the hardest.

Such perpe, much trating. Wow.

Getting his replacement drink, Devlin is still giving a bit of an evil eye to the coworker that jacked his drink. He takes a sip of the bourbon as he just keeps his attention to the stage for the next person. He flashes a smile to Davis with an evil grin.

The door to the kitchen area swings out, issuing the frame of a truly large, and quite familiar man. Salt of the earth, he was dressed in an open flannel shirt and ribbed tank, some jeans on and his traditional Red Wings clomping as he moves. Leon was wiping his hands dry off on a towel, sliding behind the bar and leaning to drop a kiss on the top of Maggi's wild hair, commenting quietly, "Got the drains all in working order again. Hopefully that'll work if it goes sideways." Not the best diagnosis, but what can you do as a business owner about to get walloped by a storm of the century? Leon was scanning the crowd, but greeting a few of the mill-working regulars.

"I don't think there is any way to get used to the weather here," Kailey says with a chuckle. "Wait 5 minutes and it will change. I'm Kailey, this is Everett. He's not as scary as he tries to appear," She ruins it for her partner with a wink at the man. Her attention goes to the kitchen doors as they open, looking hopeful, only for Leon and not her mozarella sticks to emerge. So back to the newcomer she focuses with her warm smile. "Well, you should check out the Boardwalk before the storm hits. You only have a day or two though. It'll be a disaster after I'll bet. We're gonna have to board the windows, just to be safe, at Sweet Retreat."

Ruiz squints at Joe. And then squints even more at Cassidy. Like he's half suspecting the two are concocting something together. Still eyeing the pair of them, he guzzles a little more tequila, like he's hoping any minute now the drink's going to hit him and all of this is going to be okay. And, since he's unwilling to put the glass down, Devlin's applause is delivered with a hand against his lap. "Hola," he belatedly greets Desi without quite making eye contact.

"Hi!" Lyric also greets the newly arrived person, curious sure, but anyway, questions! "I don't got a van I think it's Ico's or maybe Itzy." She doesn't even have a license! OMG. She walks everywhere. Everett's reaction gets her attention and she almost misses her name, "Just wonderin." And then she does realize it, then finds she's after Jens. Oh Jens, she remembers him kinda. A whistle give his way but she doesn't respond on it being her real name to Davis. Nope.

Such showmanship from Jens deserves a fan! And Cassidy is for it! She jumps off her stool and swings from side to side - hair coming just shy from flailing into Joseph's face - "I DO I DO!!!!"

Jumping a little and making a sound of surprise. "Shit fuck!" Dee says in Hebrew. Her eyes meet the perky hugger. "Um, yea it's cute I guess. I don't think anything I would sing would fly very well here. It's not what this place seems like it usually hears." said in English.

Taking another swig of the beer she looks around once again looking for the sign up area just in case she needs to escape for a moment. "Yes I do ride a bike. I've had it for a long time and I take care of the thing better than I take care of myself." She seems mildly uncomfortable with all the attention. "Where is the sign up sheet?"

When Jens gets up, of course, there is cheering. Ash even gets to her feet, lifting her fingers up to whistle for him so that he knows he's got at least one, maybe more fans in the audience.

The ending? Well, Ash is even louder about that. Hooting and hollaring.

Ruiz gets a very bland look from Joe. Such innocence....and it's utterly unconvincing. They know each other too well, and the sailor has no kind of pokerface at all. "No, don't blame her, sugar," he assures the cop. "Came up with it all on my own."

Then Cassidy's jumping in enthusiastically, and Joe's startled enough that he has to put out a hand to steady himself, lest he tip over right into the cop's lap. Leon's appearance is greeted with a lifted hand. "Hey, man," he says.

"Davis has it" Park points to the man for Desi's benefit. "The man with the Peppa Pig tattoo on his bicep. As opposed to the man with one on his buttock. I don't even remember his name but he streaked through Dental college one day. I guess he wanted to show us his cavity." She shrugs off the strange man in her past. "Trust me, they sing anything here."

A cheer for Jens and his antics with the cardboard guitar. "It might have been Itzy's" Park nods to Lyric. "Hey, I passed Dental school. I am totally a dentist now if I wanted to be. So, if you ever need your teeth looked at. Let me know."

Jens strikes another fake chord and tips, spinning around as he drops into the next verse:

So spin your cap around to the back. (Which he does.)
You think you rhyme but you can't rap. (Also true.)
Loosen that strap a little more till your axe hits the floor!

His cardboard guitar drops again, this time hitting the floor so he has to bend his knees and play it ridiculously uncomfortably.

Flip off your fans, make em cheer. (He flips everyone off. Hopefully someone cheers.)
Try to look sincere. Anger today's fashion,
So sing another song about bashing ... someone's ... head ... in.

How many people want to kick some ass?

And on! Jens finishes the song with a few hard strokes of his cardboard guitar, and then he pulls it off and smacks it around a bit, brreaking it on the stage and tossing it over his shoulder and he hops off stage.

Kailey gives Jens a proper round of applause, nodding to Lyric about protecting her drink. Taking a sip of her own she briefly leans against Everett. When Davis announces the dare she lets out a bark of laughter, before clapping hand over her mouth. "Oh...oh dear..." She is still giggling as she looks from Everett to Lyric and back.

Cassidy sits down between songs and reaches for her cocktail glass. She takes a dainty little sip. Pinky up. "I love that song," she informs Joe when she comes up for a breath.

"So! How'd you two meet?" Cassidy props up her chin and watches Joe with big eyes.

Okay, even Ruiz has to admit that this is a pretty convincing performance. Chortling, he throws in a wolf whistle for good measure when Jens gets to flip off your fans, make em cheer. Cassidy's question comes in the middle of a rather large swig of his tequila. Which promptly gets inhaled. Witness the police Chief choking and sputtering on his drink, and wiping at his face with the sleeve of his jacket. At least it precludes him from answering the question.

Dee gives a small giggle at the mention of the spanking. "I don't remember karaoke ever having anything to do with spanking anyone." looking at Park. Nodding to Kailey and Park as she get up to walk toward the peppa pig bicep man. "If you two will excuse me. I think I'll sign up for something."

Dee tries to be as little a target as possible as she weaves her way through the crowd.

Devlin laughs over his drink.. no snort but hey, could have been. He grins at Jenns as he takes a long sip.

Lyrics hat is already spun around to the back so she whistles again since she sorta fit the song now too, it made her part of it, gosh! As he finishes and trashes the guitar, she bounces on her feet and cheers him on, leaving her stool empty. Then she's announced again and the dare is given. Brows arch and she throws back her head and laughs, glancing around the bar again before heading up there..

The song is super upbeat and Lyric sort of bounces on the balls of her feet to it, her energy high. She's a performer after all, when she can find the time, and now is no different. Whether she's talented at it or not remains to be seen. As the words scroll the screen she mostly ignores them and after taking the mic in hand she exits the stage area place and heads out more into the crowd.

"Hey! Hey! You! You!
I don't like your girlfriend
No way! No way!
I think you need a new one
Hey! Hey! You! You!
I could be your girlfriend!"

"You're so fine, I want you mine, You're so delicious!
I think about you all the time, You're so addictive!
Don't you know what I can do to make you feel all right?
Don't pretend, I think you know I'm damn precious!
And hell yeah, I'm the mother fuckin' princess!
I can tell you like me too, and you know I'm right!"

As she bounces her way through the people, she comes to several different people, touching here and there. Nothing invasive.. maybe but there's touching. She grins at the Ruiz and Joseph and Cassidy before moving on, Jens and Ash get a wink, Park and Kailey get a kiss blown to them but it's Everett she approaches. Once there, she leans over and gets about nose to nose without touching him before she starts in to the next lyrics.

"I can see the way, I see the way you look at me.
And even when you look away, I know you think of me.
I know you talk about me all the time again and again (and again, and again, and again!)"

At that time she bends over his lap to reach for her drink she'd left at the bar so she can down the shot of tequila, even if she misses a few of the lyrics. Her butt wiggles a little, apparently she's made her decision, now to see if he plays along!

"You haven't been to a Gray Harbor karaoke night before" Park notes to Desi about the spanking before the latter is off to sign up. She rubs her hands together, getting them all limbered up in case she is asked to spank, but it seems Lyric has better ideas.

And they can sing among the crowd now? Oh, Park will definitely be more interactive at the next karaoke night. "Do eet, Everett!" she grins to the giant. "Kailey won't mind." It seems she has decided for the purple haired woman.

Cassidy looks aghast at who Lyric chooses (and low key jealous). "Doesn't that guy already have, like, six wives?" she comments to Joe before looking back to see the show.

Cassidy has apparently hit the million dollar question. Joe's eyes light up, and it's just as much sheer impish mischief as it is tender nostalgic sentiment. He all but tenses, like he was half-expecting Ruiz to clap a hand over his mouth before he can reply.

"Well," Joe says, with the air of a man winding up on a hell of a story. "He and I were both in the military. I was a naval aviator, and he was a young Marine, both of us on our first deployments. I found him in a bar on a military base in Bahrain in the middle of a drinking contest. He was chugging rum like it was cola. He was nineteen years old." A beat, and he goes on, "So I proceeded to pick a fight with him. He beat the hell out of me in an alley behind the bar....then he kissed me. I dragged him back to my room and that was that." He's left out the part where it was the nineties and that kind of thing between military men was highly illegal. A glance after Cassidy. "Man, I dunno. That the gossip you heard?"

Kailey turns around to watch Lyric. Smirking at the dare that Davis gives her. "Oh...oh dear," She says with a chuckle. Following Lyric as she dances and sings through the crowd, smiling wide and bobbing her head to the music. Even mouthing along with the words. Then she pauses as Lyric makes a wiggly offer to Everett. Her brows go up and she leans back with a smirk, arms crossing over her chest. And that is how she remains, giving Everett no clue as to how she feels about this beyond the smirk. But her green eyes are watching him intently.

Eventually making her way to the aforementioned signer upper she looks at the man and then down to the two jars. Looking puzzled Dee writes down her song and plucks something out of the truth jar.

As equally lipped, Everett offers a 'thank you,' when the cash is slid his way. Kailey can pick it up or it'll remain there for awhile, but Everett offers, this time using his words, "And can I get some mozzarella sticks and another beer?" with a nod of his head towards Kailey when he's announcing the sticks. Does he know her, like one serving is going to please her. Then he remembers the magic word he's supposed to use, "Please," adding it as an after thought.

His attention returns to the new person, and then back down to Kailey who gets a squeeze from his arm around her shoulders, "We already did. Aidan helped Lee, Ian and I. We got it bagged and boarded. I'm not taking chances. I've also got rid of some of the product so if the power goes we don't lose all the ice cream."

Everett's arm comes off from around Kailey so he can show it to Lyric and squeezes. Oh my, so many muscles beneath his leather jacket, "Fit as a fiddle, couldn't be better," and other male bravado.
His arm wraps around Kailey again when he's used as a leaning post, or more likely a wall. At her laughter, he looks up at her curiously then follows her attention towards the bar. A sly smile appears at his lips at Lyric's song choice and he begins to follow her.
When she gets nose-to-nose with him, Everett's head tilts softly, there's a look down to her lips as he subconsciously licks his own. He expected something else, not another line of singing, so when there's some extra lines, his smile widens as he pulls back.

When presented with the wiggle, Everett's brows raise. He takes his functioning arm from around Kailey and points to himself while looking at Lyric. A look to Kailey, then an expression of 'what the hell,' to go with his shrug. Unabashedly gawking at the wiggling target, Everett doesn't wind up, so much as connect his cupped hand to the clothed target and keep it there for a squeeze before he lifts his hand up into the rafters, "WOO!"

"That was lame..." Cassidy rolls her eyes. Joe's story did manage to float to her ears throughout that massive distraction and she turns her attention back to him and smiles brightly. But she looks to Ruiz when she says:

"That. Is. So. CUTE!"

Devlin settles his tab and includes a nice tip for the waitress. Though as he leaves.. oops.. he bumps into a certain coworker causing the man to not only spill a fresh drink but discover the floor at the same time. He just says, "Excuse me.. my bad." as he heads out.

Jens claps for Lyric, landing in his chair next to ash again and kicking his feet out. Sure, he left debris in his wake, but whatever! Karaoke night, right?

Leon does a fair bit of looking back and forth as soon as he'd heard the dare, from Davis, then to Maggi, then back between them again. He was incredulous until finally issuing a chuckle to himself and grabs some food off the window to deliver, able to deliver Kailey's mozzarella sticks just in time to see what could clearly be the starting of a marital spat. He drops the basket on the table like he was abandoning a grenade and gracefully withdraws as much as a man his size could.

Ash leans over towards Jens when he sits down, stage whispering, "That was awesome. Remind me to get an autograph later on."

Astrid appears out of nowhere, flopping down into a seat beside Ash and smothering her with a hug. "Oh my god, I thought I'd never escape the bathroom."

Oh yes, Lyric had noticed that look from Everett and there's something there in her eyes just before she breaks that eye contact. Then she's there leaning over and his hand connects, openly accepting the invitation to complete the dare. "Ohhhh baby!" Wait was that part of the dare? Oh, maybe not, so she turns it into part of the song.

"In a second you'll be wrapped around my finger
'Cause I can, 'cause I can do it better
There's no other, so when's it gonna sink in
Oh baby, what the hell were you thinking?"

The lyrics are shifted around some to suit herself and she gives one last wiggle before straightening just a little, just enough, to lean in and plant a kiss on Kailey... It's brief, sure, just a brush of her lips, but there it is. Then she goes back to singing, winking at Kailey and Everett as she does.

"Hey! Hey! You! You!
I don't like your boyfriend
No way! No way!
I think you need a new love
Hey! Hey! You! You!
I could be your girlfriend!"

"Hey! Hey! You! You!
I know that you like me
No way! No way!
You know it's not a secret
Hey! Hey! You! You!
I want to be your girlfriend!

Hey Hey, Hey Hey!"

Then the song ends and she hugs Kailey and Everett, careful of his arm before going back to return the microphone, laughing when she hears Davis and blows him a kiss too. CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE!?

The remainder of Javier's drink is suddenly infinitely more interesting than anything else going on, while Joe gives Cassidy the abridged version of their scandalous little history. He sniffs once to try to clear the remnants of inhaled tequila from his nose, and swipes at it with inked knuckles. A brief glance Lyric's way in time to spot her across some guy's lap getting her ass grabbed. Then back to the pair he'd been conversing with, and a taut smile for the blonde ADA. "Glad you think so." He polishes off his tequila, asks for another. "What's keeping you, anyway? Figured you'd be in Seattle by now."

"Astriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid," Jens says with a smile, leaning over and wrapping his long arms around both Ash and Astrid and then squeezing them both, before he lets go and shoves a glass at Astrid with the beer pitcher. "Did you see my performance?"

Dee makes her way back to her stool and slugs the rest of her drink down. "This is a good night to get drunk. Work was boring and another beer will give me a reason to actually sing" She orders another beer and turns around to watch the stage while looking at Park. "So you are a dentist then?"

Cute. That that might be a term applied to their illicit beginning makes Joe look thoughtful. "You shoulda seen him at nineteen," Joe assures her, nodding solemnly. Another pause, and he adds, "Hell, you shoulda seen me at twenty three," before nudging Ruiz with an elbow. Ruiz's question just gets a prompting arch of his brows. "I imagine this place seems pretty small and parochial after Seattle," he hazards, before taking a swig of his drink.

"HOPEFULLY by next Friday!" Cassidy tells Ruiz. "Just a little bit more to wrap up, then I have to give an interview to that reporter chick, then I'm out.of.here!" She raises her lemondrop toward him and smiles big. She drinks the rest of it then looks at the empty glass - then back to Ruiz, expectantly.

"Oh yes. Seattle is..." better in every possible way! "...a good career move. You know? Next rung up the ladder."

Park giggles delightedly at Lyrics antics, applauding and jumping up and down. Though there is a momentary pout and being kept out of the kissing. Oh well, she did just complain about that on stage. At length.

"I have qualified as a dentist" Park clarified for Desi, "But I actually work at the Platinum Cabaret strip club. Not as a stripper! Gosh, no, I don't have the...infrastructure. I DJ there. Though there is an uptick in people asking me to strip when I wear a school uniform. Not sure why. I'm DJ Dental. And I also sing and perform when I can. Lyric and I are in a band...that may or may not still exist. Life keeps getting in the way. Do you need your teeth looked at, Dee?"

Smushed into an Ashtrid sandwich, the Astrid half grins broadly at Jens. "I did. Snapped it to Ree. He's asked that you let him be your agent for the cardboard band tryouts." She takes up her abandoned drink, taking a sip from it.

Kailey keeps watching Everett and lifts her drink for another long sip. Leon's appearance is the only thing that breaks the stare and she smiles warmly at him, "Thanks, Leon," And she pulls the basket towards her. They are too hot yet to eat, but that's okay. Looking up from her basket she suddenly gets a kiss. From Lyric? Her eyes go wide and her lips are parted faintly when the singer leans back. Blink. Blink.

Then she is grinning in a lopsided manner at the blond. With a shake of her head and chuckle she slides to her feet, returning the wink. It is clear she's amused and not really upset over the dare. Likely just trying to make Everett sweat for a few seconds. But she couldn't hold it. And then her name is being called. "Oh! My turn," And she pops up and walks to the stage. As she picks up the mic she peers at Davis at the question. "Oh...uhhhhh..." She purses her lips and turns to look at Everett, opening her mouth, then closes it. Looking back to Davis she says, "Afraid it isn't too scandalous. But...my daughter's forehead. My ice cream dribbled. She was in my lap. I didn't have a napkin...and yes, I have ice cream for breakfast."

Now to the song...

"A drink," Javier points out gruffly. "I said I'd buy you a drink. Not drinks. One drink. One." He holds up a finger, right in front of Cassidy's face, so there can be no mistake. "And you." He gives Joe a stern look. "Were pretty fucking hot at twenty-three." He allows a quick smile, then raps his knuckles on the bar to summon the 'tender. "Interview, huh? What kind of interview's that?"

Cassidy 's look tells Ruiz he knows the price he must pay for the answer to the question. Blue eyes slide to her empty glass.

Not judging, when Lyric bestows the kiss he totally didn't try to steal from Lyric first onto Kailey, Everett grins lopsidedly and waits long enough for Kailey to turn his way. His brows lift, a questioning sort of expression before he points down at Park, "She told me to do it. What's your excuse?" he asks, and then winks, turning his attention back to watching Lyric walking away. When the song returns, Everett fishes his wallet out, and from it extracts a fifty before putting the wallet-on-a-chain back in his pocket.
His march is quick, putting the cash on Davis' desk.
This might be the only time I use Davis' name.
"Thank you," Everett doesn't bother to mouth before the gorilla returns to the bar intercepting Kailey on the way here, adding a kiss to the one she'd already gotten only moments before and takes his seat next to Kailey. Martial spat, what martial spat?

When he hears wannabe-Hank's question, Everett lifts his arm over his head even before hearing Kailey's answer. He'd have lifted two, but. Hearing the answer he puts his hand down and frowns at the stage. He looks like he's about to object and then wisely decides not to, clearing his throat instead and taking a sip.
"Yeah, dentistry," he murmurs. See, totally paying attention to Park and Dee, while waiting for Lyric to come back or Kailey to start. Or one of his other sixteen wives.

"It's all right. I'll buy you a drink," Joe assures her. Though Cassidy must make more than either of them - a small town cop's salary or a retired sailor's pension surely don't compare to what a lawyer makes. Ruiz's comment makes him blush with pleasure, on top of the flush the whiskey's conjured up. "So were you," he assures Javier. "I mean, hell, you still are, honey. Just gotten sexier with age."

"Hey!" Ash exclaims, making sure the beer is not at risk of getting knocked over by any of the hugging, then she leans over to plant a kiss on Astrid's cheek, "Hi. You getting up and singing?"

Kailey pauses on her way to kiss Everett in turn. Then reaches up and pinches his nose playfully, before scooting off to the stage. And just in time as the soft music begins. The odd mechanized voice saying, "Wecome to the...welcome to the...welcome to the..." The low tones grow a bit louder as Kailey leans in and begins to sing softly, "Hell raising, hair raising...I'm ready for the worst." She licks her lips. "So frightening, face whitening. Fear that you can't reverse..."

My phone has no signal
It's making my skin crawl
The silence is so loud
The lights spark and flicker
With monsters much bigger
Than I can control now

Kailey leans in and puts emotional emphasis into this part of the lyrics. It almost looks like she is wanting to make out with the microphone. But her green eyes look up from the floor to scan the crowd. Intense and feeling the words of the song.

Welcome to the panic room!
Where all your darkest fears are gonna
Come for you, come for you
Welcome to the panic room
You'll know I wasn't joking
When you see them too, see them too

The mechanized voice returns, 'Welcome to the..." And Kailey's lips move soundlessly, saying the words, before the next verse.

Still waiting, hands shaking
Maybe the coast will clear
But these voices, these strange noises
They followed me in here...
( https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=K0yDvd0V9wA&feature=share )

Shaking her head Desi giggles at the peppiness of Park. "I had my teeth looked at prior to moving here. If I need anything further teeth related things I will ask your advice." She sticks her tongue at Mee. "May or may not exist?"

The grin gets her another in return and Lyric can't help but to laugh a little. Her drink, and the others she'd got were paid for?! Whoa! A thumbs up is offered over towards the emcee and why not? He was pretty awesome. Finally, she smiles at Park, continuing as if all that just hadn't happened. "I'm so happy you are a dentist now!" Agreeing about the band thing and all. Whether they were all still a thing was up in the air, even housing was dubious! She settles down with her drink and listens to the confession from Kailey. Awww, licking her kid! There's a look to Everett finally and it's filled with so much mischief she might as well be doing an evil laugh. Or a maniacal giggle. There's no words for him.. yet. She's listening to Kailey. Or reminiscing. Or both!

Oh she makes boat loads more money. But this isn't about income. It's about principle. Cassidy is single. Cassidy is blond. Cassidy is hot. She doesn't buy her own drinks.

"He's a keeper, Javier..." Cassidy says of Joe after his offer to buy her next drink.

"It's an interview I promised about our internal investigation. Nothing to worry about." And Ruiz knows what she's talking about. And that there's nothing to worry about - except how she might embarrass him with salutory descriptions of his fine police work.

"I don't know," Astrid says slowly, deliberately drawing out the syllables. She looks between Jens and Ash. She peeks up toward the stage and then down to the pair. "What hasn't been sung yet that needs to be?"

Javier's had enough to drink, to be inclined to favour that little remark with a kiss. It's nothing terribly cringeworthy; just a peck on the sailor's mouth, a scruff of his fingers through Joe's hair, and he'll even allow him to pay for Cassidy's drink. Isn't he magnanimous? The little blonde is given a look like, don't push your luck, though, as he goes to dig his phone back out again. "Won't be the same, doing those press conferences without you," he remarks without looking up. He might even be serious about that; she deflects a lot of the heat from him, the way those tend to go.

Jens shrugs. "I dunno. You're supposed to sing something with intense emotion so, like, I dunno." Explains why Jens picked what he did. He takes a long drink of his beer and then folds his arms over the table. "Ash doesn't wanna sing tonight. She did last time tho."

Lyric isn't the only one with intention. When she joins the bar again, Everett finishes his beer then orders two shots of whiskey, before he turns his attention to Lyric, rolling his torso to face her direction as well. As silent as she is he looks her down, before reaching slowly across the space between them and hooking a meaty middle finger into the hem of her shorts. All the better to pull her closer gently as he flicks his head back to cause his long hair to fly over his shoulders and cants his head.

He'd licked his lips before, but it doesn't stop him from doing it again while leaning down, picking up where they'd been before she sang extra lines.

It starts out as a peck. Joe, being the greedy bastard that he is, doesn't miss the chance to turn it into something a few beats longer by the expedient of snagging the cop by the back of the neck. A resounding smack, and then he says, "You really should hire a press secretary, baby. Or just appoint some up-and-comer to do that for you."

"Awww, such a sweet story" Park sighs about Kailey and child. "I love ice cream" she adds. "People think you only eat it when it's hot, but you eat ice cream because it tastes good. Nothing to do with the weather." A beat. "Not really good for your teeth though. Just make sure you brush afterwards. I still live in the group house, Lyric." A grin for Desi. "The band got this group house where we could all live and record and practice and things like that. It was just like the Monkees! I think I was Peter Tork. Anyway, people kept drifting away. Lyric needed her own place because of all the people in love with her. I mean, she's gorgeous, right? So that would make her Davy Jones?" A curious look at Everett getting all handsy with her possible bandmate.

"Be careful of Everett" she asides to Desi, "He gets everyone pregnant and has a harem. Even pregnant guys in there I heard."

"I'm out tonight." Ash agrees with the assessment, making zero moves to actually change her mind about not singing tonight. Or singing. Whatever. Instead she picks up her beer, taking a swallow of it.

Kailey isn't doing a lot of dancing this go. She is doing a serpentine slither in place as she sings intimately to her microphone.

My phone has no signal
It's making my skin crawl
The silence is so loud
The lights spark and flicker
With monsters much bigger
Than I can control now

Her eyes flick from the monitor with the lyrics, that she knows well, to Everett. It's a little thing, he may not even notice it. There's a Park and Lyric to distract after all.

Welcome to the panic room
Where all your darkest fears are gonna
Come for you, come for you
Welcome to the panic room
You'll know I wasn't joking
When you see them too, see them too

For a brief moment she bites her plump lower lip, eyes once again lowered. She pauses with the music in her movements. Then whips her head around so her hair is a bit wild, falling into her eyes. She looks out at the audience with a smoldering look, though she was aiming for crazy and dangerous.

Welcome to the panic room
There's no crying wolves now
'Cause the truth has settled in
Hiding under goose down
For your nightmare to begin

Kailey's eyes sweep the bar and sure enough, Everett is distracted. She is just a pinch off on timing to sing the next Verse. Her eyes turning back to the microphone before closing completely.

There's no crying wolves now
'Cause the truth has settled in
Hiding under goose down
For your nightmare to begin
Welcome to the panic room
Where all your darkest fears are gonna
Come for you, come for you
Welcome to the panic room
You'll know I wasn't joking
When you see them too, see them too
Hell raising, hair raising
I'm ready for the worst...

She smiles to the room and sets the microphone back in place. She steps off the stage and heads outside to the smoking area, still smiling faintly. From her jacket pocket she is already pulling a vape pen.

Cassidy is touched by Ruiz's kind-ish words and the PDA between him and Joe. Her new lemondrop arrives - to much rejoicing! Little claps of her hands. She turns her attention, then, to Kailey's performance.

"Everything I sing is with intense emotion," Astrid objects, as if yesterday when she belted that one song from George of the Jungle. She rocks slightly on her seat, and then sighs heavily. "Fine." She pushes her feet up so she can go check in with the person she's supposed to check in with to get in the queue.

Dee watches the display of the larger man. Her face was didn't give away what she thought of the display though. downing the rest of her second beer. "Group house? Sounds pretty lonely if it's just you. I'm still looking for a more permanent place. I'm renting a motel by the week til I can find something here in Grayharb."

"I don't got my own place," Lyric says to Park, "Just the second bedroom instead of the group bedroom is all." Except she's just talking now because Everett is distracting her damn him! There's no immediate resistance when he tugs her closer but her eyes narrow ever so slightly, studying him beneath her lashes and hooded lids. Eyes drop to his lips, because she kinda gets that was his intention by licking them in the first place. There's no making it easy on him or anything. No closing any distances, no encouragement, making him do all the work if he is going to. But it doesn't stop her from watching him, doesn't stop her from lifting her eyes to his again. Truth or dare? Yes it was. Exactly that. But what next? (to be continued...)

Cassidy is mid sip of a delicious mixture of lemon juice, vodka and triple sec. So girly. So sweet. So gooo- What!?!?

The cocktail glass goes down and her mouth hangs agape. Disgusted. Her?!?! Eat 5 TABLESPOONS of condiments?! Ughhhhh.

"Fine! I'll take the hot sauce..." because she needs to replenish her hell fury anyway.

The first tablespoon is a deep downturn of her mouth and a heavy frown. The second? A whimper that it would end. The third is resignation to fate and a loss of trust in God. The fourth is a near gag. And the fifth is shutting her eyes very tight and hoping to the lord she doesn't vomit.

But soon it's over and she raises both fists in the air victorious! Even if she looks absolutely disgusted and unhappy.

As busy as the Pourhouse is, another addition to the mix doesn't garner much attention. Caed McCullen makes an entrance with his head tucked down and immediate regret across his features. Is that karaoke? Is that the blonde from the Two If By Sea who dislikes being called ma'am on stage? Well, far be it for him not to bear witness. With a hand ruefully rubbing the back of his neck he makes his way to the bar in search of something palatable.

Marius catches the door as it closes in Caed's wake, looking a bit hurried. He glances around, craning his head above the crowd, and then spots the Oak Ave crew and heads over toward Jens and Ash, just as Astrid is headed toward the stage. "I made it?"

Someone in the crowd hollers something loud and inappropriate in Spanish as Cassidy gets to spoonful number four. Three guesses who it is, and the first two don't count.

"You made it to see Astrid. YOU MISSED MINE," Jens says, flailing a little at his brother and then rolling his eyes back. He doesn't care; he's just trolling. He grabs a potato skin and lobs it at his brother before kicking his feet back up on Ash again.

Leon was watching in abject awe at Cassidy down the hot sauce, but the Spanish jibe has the locksmith spitting out a guffaw and leaning on the bar.

The thug nods his head, as though attempting to encourage Lyric to finish the link, to work her part in it and when she doesn't, Everett's head moves a little more a short, concentric circle to stroke her hose with his honker. Flirting with the idea of completing the lip lock without actually doing so. Getting close each time before pulling a little back only to gaze at her though his his black eyelashes with an amused expression.

His working hand begins to toy with the button of Lyric's cut-offs, thumbing the metal as if attempting to tease them to open. The private action causing his lips to tug into a smile, the same knowing smile they'd shared previously as he takes another look at her cupid's bow and leans forward, his head tilting to his right, to stroke her nose with his if only to be flirtatious and get their lips closer together.

Cassidy quickly downs the rest of what she was drinking at the bar and then -- the music is playing already?! She trots up to the stage and takes the microphone.

She starts moving a hip to the lick and counting the beats with tapping her heel - the way real rockers do it - none of that toe tapping stuff!

The first verse of the song? Well she might nail the attitude but not the words. Who knows that part anyway? Who cares? Something about working on a dock. Gina works at a diner (the 80s were prophetic).

But then there's the pre-chorus! This she knows well: "She says we gotta HOLD ON TO WHAT WE GOT! IT DOESN'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE IF WE MAKE IT OR NOT! We got each other and that's a lot for looooovewe'llgiveitashot!"

"Ooooooh we're halfway there!!!"

She bent forward now shoving the microphone in the audience's direction and pointing her finger to the bar! They know what to do....

"Okay, Lyric took the separate room but she may as well have moved out" Park pouts. "So, I was left in the room with the stinky boys. Oh my gosh. How can people fart so much? If you want to have a look around, Dee, come on over. I'm never sure if the boys still live there or not." And next is Cassidy. Park can't help admire the way she puts hot stuff in her mouth like that. Very admirable.

"She's so pretty" Park notes about Cassidy to anyone that listens. "And a good yeller too" she adds with an approving smile. Park will sing back when required, grinning along and dancing.

"Damn, girl," Joe calls, with what is clearly a grudging respect. "I'd'a gone for just about anything but that one. You clearly got guts." Javier's comment makes him choke on the mouthful of whiskey and end up pounding himself on the chest - trying not to aspirate liquor while he laughs. "You better hope she doesn't speak Spanish, or she's gonna come over and slap the hell out of you."

There is something Caed finds markedly amusing about his surroundings, a sliver of a smile softening the angles of his jaw as he glances back to the stage. With a slight shake of his head, he turns back to the bar and raises a finger politely for someone's attention, "I'd care your cheapest whiskey, if you'd be so kind." The lilt of his voice pitched just barely above the surrounding crowd.

Dee grimaces at the idea of living with multiple men. "My mother would have a conniption fit if she heard you suggest her baby girl live with men she ain't married to." followed by a drunken giggle. "I may come over to hang out, but I would be down if you wanted to find something together that's not a group house. I can do all the fixing." She grins at Park. "I might just expect you to cook occasionally!" She merely giggles at the display of Lyric and Evvy. "Man, Evvy seems into her."

The door opens and Kailey returns. Moving through the crowd like a homing missile, her eyes on Everett and Lyric. As she comes up to them she shoves Everett's right arm and shoulder back in order to step in between the two of them. She smiles and says simply, "I didn't get to return the favor, your surprise me." Then her arms slip around Lyric shoulders before gently spinning her, letting the woman show any reluctance before being dipped.

Lyric gets a glimpse of a devious smile and green eyes before the other woman kisses her. In the ways of those intense heroine rescuing heroine romance novel moment. Carefully she cradles the blond head so as not to strain her neck. The other around her waist, lips parted and, well, putting on a show. One that stretches out over the seconds, Lyric allowing.

Thank the Starwars Maggi is the one to field Caed's order, because Leon surely felt a disturbance in the force. Having been running around the bar like a marathon participant, this tough mudder was giving it her all. Blonde tangles had been mounted atop her head, lopsided. Her shaven side visible. Maggi arches a brow. Tonight they were shorthanded so someone's attention, meant hers.

Icy eyes narrow at the man as she grabs a bottle of Old Crow Kentucky from the bottom shelf and sloshes some of the contents into a glass. "You're new." She says in a factual manner. It is not a question.

Ruiz chortles at the comment from Joe, but doesn't look too terribly worried. To be fair, the ADA is what, half his size? What's the worst she could do to him, pull his hair? Then Caed's arrival at the bar gains a sidelong glance, as someone he doesn't recognise. Which, for the town's top cop, happens not terribly often. The guy gets a little upnod with his chin before he goes for a sip of his tequila.

Cassidy lights up and points to Park! The one kindred spirit to sing along with her!

The rest of the song goes in much the same fashion but then there's that skipped beat and key change at the end of the song that Cassidy.....

ABSOLUTELY CRUSHES!

"LIVING ON A PRAYER!!!!!!" The little blond takes her bow, drops the mic and trots back to the bar. Where Ruiz gets slugged on her way back to sitting next to Joe.

From down on the other end of the bar, Leon hears 'cheapest whiskey' and his head cranes like a hunting raptor. He looks positively stricken. But hey, he runs a bar, and some people have more monetary concerns than taste. He sighs and focuses on more beer refills and passing across food.

"Ow," and a scowl from Ruiz as Cassidy slugs him in the shoulder. "The fuck was that for?"

"Uhuhuh," Joe scolds. "No beatin' on my boyfriend." Then he grins. "I bet she speaks Spanish, novio," He leans over enough to bump shoulders, before looking around and observing, "Busy night. Well, couldn't've picked a better one for gettin' up there and makin' a fool of myself."

"Evvy is into everyone he can be. Literally" Park giggles to Desi. "I guess if the boys have moved out, and Lyric has her own room now, I suppose I can help you get a place" she shrugs happily. "I can try to cook. Though, I warn you, once I was cooking canned foods and it said 'stand in boiling water'. I was in hospital for days." Is she kidding? Who can tell?

And then Kailey is snogging Lyric and Park sighs wistfully. "Your mom might not like this town then, Dee. People here are quite...free...in many ways. But, hey, let me give you my number." When Cassidy cruises on over, she gets a hug from Park. "You were so awesome! I'm Mee, or Park if you prefer. You should come to these more often. And this is Dee, who is new to town, and may even stay longer than one night. Even after all this." A gesture to the world around them.

Park may think a successful hug was executed but Cassidy's hands were up and her head pulled back like 'wtfwhoareyou?' She stares blankly as Park explains who she is and who Dee is. Cassidy even looks at Dee when the new comer is motioned to.

"Oh. Well...It's nice to meet...you know what you fucking said la Verga!" the blond directing the last bit over her shoulder to Ruiz. Then she remembers Maggi made her ANOTHER LEMONDROP and it's ON THE HOUSE! So then it's a bright smile for Park and Dee, "Sorry about that! Hi! Thank you and nice to meet you!" as she goes to collect /that/

Uh-uh. Lyric stubbornly refuses to make it easy and close the distance. Perhaps that's a challenge to some, but she doesn't back down on it. Instead, she continues to silently watch him, even if her breath hitches a little as he gets closer. Or about the time his hand finds the button on her shorts. It's just a soft inhale of breath but rather telling. As he leans forward, her lip quivers slightly and just about when she may give in to lean in, there's a quick reversal of situation. She's there in Kailey's arms, being dipsmooched! Whoa! There's not resistance, she's stunned but not in a bad way! The seconds stretch on and she finds herself responding before gradually separating her lips and curving them upwards to smile at her. "I kissed a girl and I liked it.." Instead of singing the lyrics to the popular song though, she sounds a little breathless.

There's a tightness around Caed's eyes with his smile at Maggi, though it may have to do more with the label he has to settle on, then the address itself. "That obvious is it then? Just in time for a super storm, so I'm told. Seems the town's primed for a bit of God's wrath." He slides a bill over to the tender, sufficient enough for well whiskey and tip. "Slaintè." This to incorporate the woman and the polite nod from Ruiz. His head tilts to look a bit past Ruiz to greet someone else, "Caomhanach."

Astrid is waiting to be called to on-deck. She turns slightly toward her table, and there she spots Marius with the group. She blows him a kiss before she waves to her table. She's been given her slip of paper which has her more than a little pumped because she will get to subject others to her singing.

So close and yet, so far.

With a sudden pressure on the rooster's injured wing, Everett pulls free from the intoxicating siren with a hiss of inhaled air between teeth and a grimace, his left hand already coming up, clenched and pulling bac--

-- until he spies who it is and confusion settles in. More so when Kailey isn't facing him, but she's facing that hussy, Lyric. "He--," he starts only to stop when Lyric gets full on smooched. He gives his head a little shake, but not hard enough for his small brain to be heard rattling around inside.

When the confusion subsides Everett smirks softly as he picks up where his speech was interrupted while his fist uncoils, "--hey. I wasn't done kissing that," he objects to Kailey while they fully kiss.

He glances over his shoulder momentarily before looking back at the women embracing, only to add to Park, "Not. Everyone." His head cants, watching Kailey kissing. He then pantomimes looking at a wrist watch he isn't wearing.

Leon was looking on through all this PDA and showing off and... Well, he doesn't look like he's minding it. In fact, he even looks down the bar to his wife and angles his head, a nonverbal 'would you get a load of this?' Sure beat the usual mill-worker crowd they were renowned for. Hearing the announcement of Joseph, the big locksmith brings his fingers into a curl between his lips, letting rip a whistle of appreciation for the Squid.

Caomhanach? The unfamiliar pronunciation of Joe's last name has Javier slanting the Georgian a quizzical look-- right as he's called up to perform. And what a choice of song that is. The cop's drink was halfway to his mouth, and it remains there a moment, stalled, as he processes this. Then smiles slow, a feral little thing. Like everyone else in the room's faded away, and it's just he and Cavanaugh seated there across an empty bar.

He eases forward in his seat then, brings his mouth close to Joe's ear, and murmurs something low before the man departs for the stage.

"Oh my gosh! I love this song!" Park yells in excitement at Joe's choice. "It's like 'Space Oddity 3', since 'Ashes to Ashes' was like 'Space Oddity 2'. It's like a fanfic song. You know, how Twilight was fanfic for something else, just more porny. Though, isn't all fanfic porny? Hey, Lyric, do you think any of our band's fans have written porno fanfic about us? Oh my gosh. That's both creepy and hot."

Park is dancing to Joe's song. And quite happy to charge up to the front of the stage to do so.

"You going to sing?" Ash wonders, glancing upwards at Marius when he makes an appearance, "I'm not. Astrid is singing, Jens sang. You should also sing." The addition of Jens' feet to her lap cause her to lift her arms briefly, then drop them back onto his feet.

It is Lyric who breaks it first and Kailey grins down at her before slowly returning them both to the vertical. She reaches up to curl a finger against Lyric's cheek and winks with a smirk. "Was it my strawberry lip gloss that did it?" She asks coyly before a giggle finally makes it's way out. She reaches for her dacquiri and takes a sip of the slightly melted and fruity drink. And then she finally snags a cheese stick, dipping it in the ranch. "Want one of my sticks?" She offers the basket to Lyric with an eyebrow wiggle.

A quick kiss for Javier, a grin for Caed, and Joe hops up on stage. Without an iota of shyness, he snags the mic and tests it with a tap of a fingernail. The sailor's grinning out at those in the bar, eyes as bright as sparks. No awkwardness at all, but then, he's been trained to address audiences far more inclined to be critical than a crowd of drinkers in a neighborhood bar....and there's an infectious enthusiasm in his face.

Davis's question has him pausing for a moment of broadly exaggerated consideration. "Well, yes," he says, finally. "But in my defense, that mailbox had it comin'....and it did live to fight another day." A beat, and he turns that blue gaze on Ruiz. "Well, it was suggested that I dedicate this to you....so you'll have to forgive me for it."

Then the song clicks on, and he's singing, in a voice that's raw, untrained, but not wholly untuneful.

Standing there alone
The ship is waiting
All systems are go
"Are you sure?"
Control is not convinced
But the computer
Has the evidence
No need to abort
The countdown starts

Watching in a trance
The crew is certain
Nothing left to chance
All is working
Trying to relax
Up in the capsule
"Send me up a drink."
Jokes Major Tom
The count goes on...

4, 3, 2, 1
Earth below us
Drifting, falling
Floating weightless
Calling, calling home...

Second stage is cut
We're now in orbit
Stabilizers up
Runnning perfect
Starting to collect
Requested data
"What will it affect
When all is done?"
Thinks Major Tom

Marius leans away from Jens's flailing, lifting up one arm to absorb the joking blows. Straightening up again, he beams at his brother, "Perfe -- " flying potato skin! He bobbles it, almost drops it, and then catches it, "Augh! You got grease on my shirt!" It's... probably not going to hurt anything in the grand scheme of things. "Now I'm glad I missed yours, asshole." He's laughing when he says it, and then gives a sharp two-tone whistle when he spots Astrid, beaming up at her by the stage and waving his hand with the potato skin in it. And then he takes a bite of the appetizer, because there's no way that's going to waste. Looking back to Ash, he grins brightly, "Noooope. I do not need to strangle a cat here. I will join you in the 'Not singing at all ever no thanks nope' club."

"You pair'a pansies," Jens informs Marius and Ash with a shake of his head and a tsk. He pops a potato skin into his mouth and then takes another few drinks of his beer. "Karaoke isn't about singing well, if it was, I sure as shit wouldn't do it."

Taking Park's number and stuffing it into her back pack. "Maybe I'll take you for a ride on my bike sometime. I like your peppiness. You'll have to find your own helmet though. Only got mine." She giggles and pokes her helmet seemingly entertained by thumpy sound. Looking to Kailey and Lyric "Free is putting it mildly."

There is a glance - and then a second one taken - to the two women kissing, and when Joseph takes the stage and dedicates his song to Ruiz, there is a bit of color ruddying up the apples of Caed's cheeks as if they've gone ripe. The first bit of whiskey isn't savored, but shot, a finger tapping the rim in a subtle gesture. "Perhaps something that has a 'Mc' in the name this time." Splurging, this one.

"I sang last time." Ash points out to Jens, sniffing at him just a little, "I am not a pansy." She slouches further down in her chair, turning on the full pout. It's fake. She's not upset, but this is a chance to be dramatic.

With no more hugs jumping at her, Cassidy has found her way back to her stool. And Joe's not there. He's on stage. And so it goes. Cassidy and Ruiz at the bar. Alone.

...

"Go Joe! WooooOOOOOOO!" the blond claps loudly and cheers raucously.

When the two women come up for air, Everett continues to smirk with amusement, his undamaged hand reaching out to stroke the back of Kailey with a couple of passes as the woman makes one of her own. His attention drifts, only now concerned with the attention they may have drawn, then to the stage. The song doesn't seem to draw any recognition, so Everett's army green eyes continue on.

Having won his bar tab getting paid for, he still hasn't taken advantage of it, noticing the two shots of whiskey. Downing one, Everett notices the helmet and up nods his head to Desi before flicking his gaze to the helmet, "What are you riding?"

"I'm a pansy," Marius agrees readily, "But that's not an insult. It's a pretty flower." He reaches out to take another skin, and then he reaches out to snag Astrid's beer and take a sip, "And you really don't remember the last time Astrid did karaoke, do you, Jens? She's always about singing well." Looking over to the pouting Ash, he laughs, "Come on, Ash, don't let him call you that."

Wow. Lyric blinks, not even realizing she had closed her eyes and she laughs softly, "Maybe. I like strawberries." It was a concession at least. When she straightens, she looks between Kailey and Everett, a slightly sheepish smile given them both. "No thank you," she answers finally about the cheese stick, shaking her head. Sucking in a breath, she manages to compose herself better and grins, mostly to herself. "I think I won." More than free drinks for sure. Joe's song is given and she lets it wash over her, calming heightened nerves and stuff. A glance to Park and she shakes her head, "You don't gotta move out, you can let her move in." A nod towards Dee. Looks like she may have vaguely heard parts of conversations.

Kailey beams at Lyric as she quickly decimates 3 of the cheese sticks. Dipping them into ranch dressing so they're thoroughly coated. The first one, coated with white stuff on the end, is given a lick slowly where Everett can see as she waits an answer. Then she glances at her partner and bites the white-covered tip off. Chewing that stick aggressively. Her attention, though goes to Joe's rendition of Major Tom. Though her mouth is full she does bring her hands together in enthusiastic clapping.

Park has got her 1980s dancing in full effect. Newer than a New Romantic. More beat than Eurobeat. She's getting down tonight enough to last for a week. Though, after punching an unamused man at one of the tables with a dance move...and dislodging his wig...she scampers back to the bar and safety. "I love dancing" she grins to the others. "And I would love to go riding with you, Dee. Can you get helmets with Pokemon on them? I should get one of those. Oh, I could borrow one from Evvy Metal here." A jerk of her thumb at Everett before looking at Kailey and Lyric. "I should get some strawberry lip gloss" she mumbles to herself.

Joe, it has to be noted, is cheerfully hamming it up on stage. He's apparently of the same mind as Jens - that it's not about demonstrating skill but about being willing to have a good time making a fool of one's self. He's got the unselfconscious peacock strut of a snake-handling preacher. Like he's about to start handing down the word of hellfire and brimstone and calling them all to be saved, rather than wading through a classic from the Eighties.

"Back at ground control
There is a problem
"Go to rockets full."
Not responding
"Hello Major Tom
Are you receiving?
Turn the thrusters on
We're standing by."
There's no reply..."

He's gesturing with his free hand, as if illustrating the CAPCOM's distress at losing contact, even as he's unable to keep a knee from bouncing to the beat.

"4, 3, 2, 1
Earth below us
Drifting, falling
Floating weightless
Calling, calling home...

Across the stratosphere
A final message:
"Give my wife my love."
Then nothing more

Far beneath the ship
The world is mourning
They don't realize
He's alive
No one understands
But Major Tom sees
"Now the light commands
This is my home
I'm coming home."

Earth below us
Drifting, falling
Floating weightless
Coming home...
Earth below us
Drifting, falling
Floating weightless
Coming, coming
Home
Home..."

All of it delivered in that hint of a twang, rather than Schilling's original whispery intonation. The last chords fade, and Joe notes, with a certain wry twist to his lips, "My first name actually is Tom." Then he's bowing theatrically, setting the mic back down in the stand, and hopping down to head back to Javier's side, flushed with pleasure.

"I'm just saying, you sang last time but you're not singing this time which means there's something different. Are you scared of having to do something weird or having to tell some deep, intimate truth?" Jens hairy-eyes Ash and then sticks his tongue out at her. He shrugs at Marius. "At least she's gonna get up there and sing. Entertain." Jens has been here a while and that means he's probably been drinking beforehand. He's already a little, ya know, tipsy.

Javier slouches a little in his seat, and runs an inked thumb around the rim of his glass as he watches Joe perform up on stage. That's an awfully pleased smile he's got on his face, in spite of himself. Takes a few years off him, even. He reaches up to adjust his ballcap when he gets to the part about earth below us, drifting, falling, and goes to douse himself with more tequila. Cassidy gets a wince when she bellows pretty much right in his ear.

And then Joe's coming back, thankfully, to save them from being alone together. Thank god. "Cariño, eras jodidamente increíble," he murmurs to the blond, flashing him a grin as he settles back in.

Cassidy had some time since turned her attentions to a foldout make-up mirror and replenishing the lipstick she's lost to lucky cocktail glasses. "That was fantastic," she says in a perfunctory fashion when Joe (Tom!) arrives back to claim the seat between her and Ruiz. She gives the air between herself and the reflection of herself a kiss and then vanishes all the equipment back into her clutch.

Astrid skids in out of nowhere, because she has at least one person ahead of her. "Hi. I'm next after next," she announces in case her friends need to know where she is in the list. She grabs a potato skin and smothers Ash with a hug before she kisses first Jens and then Marius on the cheek, though the latter gets a second kiss on the lips before she scurries back to the karaoke stage.

There is an instinctual, polite clap for Joe as he finishes his song, but Caed's drifted off into his own orbit for a moment. It's only Leon there, pouring a shot of Jameson that brings him back to Earth. "That's a mite better, good on you, then." Thankfully Jameson is still on of the lower brands, so moths don't fly out of his wallet when he pays for his drink.

Dee looks around when she hears her name and makes her way to the stage. Before singing she looks to the MC "Ugh, can you ask that question again? Didn't catch it." She sets her helmet on the stage next to her feet and taps the mic checking to see if it is working. It is fairly clear she is tipsy.

With the white tip of the stick bit off aggressively, Everett leans back and laughs, his chortle deep and booming. A little out of breath he looks back down at Kailey and nods twice, "Ok, I get it," he says to her while she watches the stage. Leaning over, Everett nuzzles the back of Kailey's head, closing his eyes briefly only to open them to look intently at Lyric.

The gorilla leans to the side and murmurs something to Kailey in her ear before he sits upright again, his amused smile returning. She could have just peed on her territory, it would have been quicker.
Gross. But quicker.

When the song ends, and Davis starts it, Everett offers, "It was a blast," applauding both the end of one song and the beginning of another, thumping one hand on the bar top.

"Thanks," says Joe, beaming at the both of them. Another kiss for Javier, though he confines it to a relatively chaste peck on the lips. "And it only took me one drink to get up to it, too," he adds, a little wryly. "I must be gettin' told." Then he adds to Cassidy, "You did a really great job, yourself." Caed gets a lift of his glass, and he adds to the bartender, "Give him a glass of decent whiskey on me. I hate to see a man have to sacrifice good taste to budget."

"Yup!" Marius agrees cheerfully at Jens's description of what Astrid is going to do, "And she's going to do it really well. And I'm going to sit here and be entertained." He reaches over for another potato skin, "And eat your apps." But Astrid has eaten the one he was going to snag, but at least he gets two kisses out of it. Even though he's holding Astrid's beer. "Well, go kick the guy in front of you in the nuts, so you can go." He doesn't really mean that. He clearly doesn't mean that. Leaning forward to try and swat Astrid's backside -- and coming up short -- he shakes his head, laughs, and calls, "Break a leg, Ast!"

She just kind of looks at Davis with a puzzled look, her face was clearly befuddled. Her accent is thicker. "Umm... Probably when I was ass deep in an engine and wasn't paying attention." She swallows. "Who the hell comes up with these questions?"

She shakes her head as the music starts up.

"Yo VIP let's kick it
Ice ice baby
Ice Ice baby
All right stop collaborate and listen
Ice is back with my brand new invention
Something grabs a hold of me tightly
Flow like a harpoon daily and nightly
Will it ever stop yo I don't know
Turn off the lights and I'll glow
To the extreme I rock a mic like a vandal
Light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle
Dance go rush to the speaker that booms
I'm killing your brain like a poisonous mushroom
Deadly when I play a dope melody
Anything less than the best is a felony
Love it or leave it you better gang way
You better hit bull's eye the kid don't play
If there was a problem yo I'll solve it
Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it
Ice ice baby vanilla
Ice ice baby vanilla
Ice ice baby vanilla
Ice ice baby vanilla"

She takes a breath as the music as a break.

The song selection is quite upbeat for a karaoke night this time...even if Park can't figure out what half of them have to do with 'Truth or Dare'. Whatever, if she can dance to it, she will. If she can't dance to it, she will find a way. And who can't dance to 'Ice Ice Baby'? Okay, she may not have the butt for a rap song, but she'll give it a go.

Desi's question has Leon's finger curling up, then pointing directly downward at his much shorter wife. But then he gets to look absolutely delighted to reach for another bottle on Joseph's command, "You got it, Kosmonaut." he intones, the title just slightly (and strangely correctly) accented. This time, he was pouring out two fingers of Green Spot for Caed and setting it beside the unfinished Jameson. Maybe for comparison. Maybe for intimidation. Could lesser whiskeys feel fear? Leon hoped so.

"Bless you, my child." Caed says to Joseph's kind offer, "'Tis grace beyond measure, and thankfully I'm not a prideful man." Accepting said offer. "Nor a wasteful one, lest I be wanting." Which means that Jameson is going to go straight down his gullet too, but there will be plenty of room for 'something decent' because he's an Irishman. "Interesting music choices tonight, is there a theme?" He wonders aloud to those nearish.

"I'll show you." Ash points out to Jens, shoving his feet off her lap before she gets to her feet with enough force to knock her chair down. Then she picks up her glass of beer before she drains it, slamming the glass down. There's a point, a point of warning, then she's heading up to throw her name down on the list of singers.

"Do engines make you fart?" Cassidy wonders out loud as she scrolls through Friendzone, brow furrowed, and only taking an ocassional break for a sip of her drink.

Applause for Joe when he finishes, the song was good, the singing was good, Lyric was impressed! Now it's time to sort of try and finish her drinks! The beer and the shot are taken in hand, she looks between each and tilts back the tequila, swallowing it down before following with the beer. Chugginggggg it, cause why not? At last, she puts both empties down on the bar and leans heavily against it, looking between Kailey and Everett with a lopsided smile. "I think.. home. I should go home, but I want to listen to everyone sing. They listened to me." Or so she likes to tell herself. On second thought, she gets two more shots of tequila, some sort of hella good stuff, and holds up a finger to the couple.

Taking both in hand, she moseys over to the Police Chief and winks at him as she offers him one of the shots. "For the good times we've had and the good times to come." Wait, what? Offering his over, she waits to bump hers to his to drink on it, not entirely certain he's going to take the shot.

Jens drops his feet to the floor and then picks up his beer, smiling at his brother and looking at Ash's backside as she heads off. "I swear, man, I get her to do the craziest shit. She's like Marty McFly, you call her a chicken and she gets all grrrrrrrrrr!" He shakes his head, amazed.

Marius blinks as Desi starts in on Vanilla Ice, covering his mouth and guffawing. He manages to sing along with the last couple of words of a couple of the lines, and then Ash is shoving Jens's feet off her lap and declaring her intent, and he laughs, "Damn, bro. Nicely needled." He nods at his brother's description of Ash, "But I'm preeeeetty sure you're going to regret it." He pauses, "Or I am."

"Now that the party is jumping
With the bass kicked in and the vegas are pumpin'
Quick to the point to the point no faking
I'm cooking MC's like a pound of bacon
Burning them if you ain't quick and nimble
I go crazy when I hear a cymbal
And a hi-hat with a souped up tempo
I'm on a roll and it's time to go solo
Rollin' in my 5.0
With my rag-top down so my hair can blow
The girlies on standby waving just to say hi
Did you stop no I just drove by
Kept on pursuing to the next stop
I busted a left and I'm heading to the next block
The block was dead
Yo so I continued to A1A Beachfront Avenue
Girls were hot wearing less than bikinis
Rockman lovers driving Lamborghinis
Jealous 'cause I'm out getting mine
Shay with a guage and Vanilla with a nine
Ready for the chumps on the wall
The chumps acting ill because they're so full of eight balls
Gunshots rang out like a bell
I grabbed my nine all I heard were shells
Falling on the concrete real fast
Jumped in my car slammed on the gas
Bumper to bumper the avenue's packed
I'm trying to get away before the jackers jack
Police on the scene you know what I mean
They passed me up confronted all the dope fiends
If there was a problem yo I'll solve it
Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it
Ice ice baby vanilla
Ice ice baby vanilla
Ice ice baby vanilla
Ice ice baby vanilla
Take heed 'cause I'm a lyrical poet
Miami's on the scene just in case you didn't know it
My town that created all the bass sound
Enough to shake and kick holes in the ground
'Cause my style's like a chemical spill
Feasible rhymes that you can invision and feel
Conducted and formed
It's a hell of a concept
We make it hype and you want to step with this
Shay plays on the fade, slice like a ninja
Cut like a razor blade so fast other DJs say damn
If my rhyme was a drug I'd sell it by the gram
Keep my composure when it's time to get loose
Magnetized by the mic while I kick my juice
If there was a problem yo I'll solve it
Check out the hook while D-Jay revolves it
Ice ice baby vanilla
Ice ice baby (oh-oh) vanilla
Ice ice baby vanilla
Ice ice baby vanilla ice
Yo man let's get out of here
Word to your mother"

When the song is over Dee looks a bit winded. The farther she got into the song the harder it was to understand her. The accent turned into Hebrew at one point until she realized and switched it back to English. She would have been embarrassed if she wasn't this tipsy. She gives a small bow and finishes her little performance with a loud "Mozal tov! Enjoy getting drunk people" Then she walks off stage with her helmet in hand back to her bar seat.

A lift of his glass for Leon, too. "You got it right. Well done," Joe congratulates the barkeep. To Caed himself, "You're more'n welcome. I just ....I've been told that Irishmen wither up and die if they don't get proper whiskey now and again, and I don't want your death on my conscience."

Cassidy's question has him setting the glass down again. "Not that I know of," he says to her. Then back to Caed, "Not a formal one tonight, though sometimes there are."

Dee's valedictory gets polite applause and an aside to Javier, "Sounds like someone that Itz needs to meet. He can't be the only Jew in this town forever."

"I dunno, man, last time I got her up there singing I woke up in her room. I mean I'm pretty sure we didn't do anything because I was way too wasted, there was some serious whiskey dick going on, but still, she cuddled me, I'm like, 82 per cent sure," Jens says with a nod.

Wait a second.... Cassidy slaps her phone down face first onto the bar counter and looks at Maggi. "So my tab isn't covered for five helpings of hot sauce but all the ape over there had to do was open a bag of chips with his mouth or something?!" The nerve of this place. Who made up these 'dare' rules?!

"Hmmm? Get what?" Kailey asks Everett with a bare glance over her shoulder at him. Her brows go up and she has a vapid smile firmly in place. Then turns away to pluck up another stick and nibble on it. Completely ignoring the large gorilla nuzzling at her. Instead her attention is all for Lyric. "Oh dear...do you want us to call you an uber, honey?" She asks with a chuckle. But she watches her head off to the Sheriff and crew. Finishing stick still in hands she says, around a mouthful, "Bathroom. Be right back," And slips away from Everett towards the ladies', hips swaying in their tight leggings and short dress.

Cassidy's question gets a bit of a double-take from Ruiz. Do engines.. what? He's clearly not drunk enough for this. But he will take the kiss from Joe, and give his hair another scruff with his fingers. He's about to comment on something; maybe the guy Joe's buying drinks for, or maybe the choice of song, when Lyric wanders on over with shots of something. And what's the only reasonable thing to do when someone offers to give him tequila?

Well, accept, of course. He tips his dark eyes up to find hers, and chuckles, fingertips rapping the bar. Then he reaches for one of the little glasses, and taps it against hers with a low murmur of, "Arriba, abajo, al centro y adentro," before knocking his back quickly.

Astrid looks around from where she's standing on-deck, and the sight of Ash has her almost squealing as she claps her hands together. "Yes! Totally Ash-tastic." She grins broadly before she joins in the clapping for the ending of that really, really, really old song. Really old.

Joseph's suspicions of Irish dosage instructions is confirmed by a simple chin-lowered look and finger point from Leon. He looks over in time for one fiery blonde to try to engage... another fiery blond. His lips purse in anticipation and he sets a hip against the bar, trying not to smirk as he quietly makes a show of drying some glasses and setting them away.

"I'm going to show him." Ash points out to Astrid as she slides up next to her to wait her turn, arms crossed over her chest. She looks grumpy. Very Marty McFly. She even forgets to clap, until she notices that Ast is as well, and then she blinks, starting to applaud.

Caed turns a bit so he can look at the stage and the vignettes of occupants of the bar, his blue-eyed gaze skimming over faces and vignettes of interaction. "It's true, my liver was staging a full on revolution if it didn't remain pickled proper."

Giving a glance towards Lyric, Everett glances back to Kailey and nods Lyric's way. "She walks," he uses his left fingers to show how he means, "everywhere. Should we get an Uber or something and drop her off at home?"

He smiles softly then before adding, "And then we can go home and I can show you how much I appreciate you. We can wake up Mew and dip her little head in the rocky road."
As though this suggesting is scandalous, the giant wiggles his brows at Kailey thrice.

When Kailey excuses herself, Everett makes a throaty noise and murmurs to himself, "This has to be how Park feels," eying Kailey's mozzarella sticks in his momentary loneliness.

Park gives Desi another hug on her return. "That was so good! I was getting down with my bad self and everything" she grins. "I have to go to my other job now, but give me a call, okay? We'll organise something."

Hugs for everyone she knows and many she doesn't as Park heads off to unleash DJ Dental in the strip club.

Dee turns back to park. It isn't hard to catch that she has warmed up to her hug assaulter. "SO yea, I'll still come by and check out the place. I might move in if there ain't no guys living there"

Astrid snags Ash in a full cheek kiss, and then she waves over toward Marius and Jens, blowing them both a kiss. She is so ready for this by how she rubs her hands together. She's ready to commit herself to this beautiful spectacle. She then grabs the microphone, and she gives a little spinning gesture with her fingers. Her head starts to bob along with that opening— the weird chattering and that piano beat that includes a little rattling instrument in the background of Panic! At the Disco's Say Amen.

The opening verse has her holding onto the microphone with both hands, her head tilting with the words, like she's telling a story as she sings,

"Been traveling in packs that I can't carry anymore,
Been waiting for somebody else to carry me."

Astrid presses her hand against her chest, despaired.

"There's nothing else there for me at my door,
All the people I know aren't who they used to be.

"And if I try to change my life one more day,
There would be nobody else to save.
And I can't change into a person I don't wanna be, so—"

Astrid tosses up a pair of horns before she belts out, "Ohh! It's Saturday night!"

She unseats the microphone, grabbing it with both hands. "I pray for the wicked on the weekend!" She throws up one hand, before making a fist and drawing it down to her chest. "Mama, can I get another AMEN?" She offers the microphone to the crowd expectantly, letting the karaoke back-up vocals fill in the oh, oh-oh, it's Saturday night. "Swear to God, I ain't ever gonna repent! Mama, can I get another AMEN?" Again, an offering for the crowd to participate!

Maggi looks at Cassidy and shrugs, not letting her own bitchiness get the best of her. "It was based on numbers, not difficulty. Two truths, and two dares from a list of twenty got out scotch free. Usually it's a mystery artist. Chance, not favorites. That shit is the Two'fers territory." She shrugs again, decently civil for someone who was wearing a tank that said 'Do I look like a Fucking People Person'. "I did feel bad about the hot sauce, which is why you got one free."

Jens gets up on his chair like he did last time and goes, "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO," when Astrid is singing. Jens is a very vocal supporter of his friends.

Understanding about a third of what Javier says, Lyric tries to puzzle through the rest. After drinking the shot of course. Up down and inside.. That's the limits of her Spanish understanding. She shakes her head and laughs a little. "Yeahhh," cause that's the best answer she can give. In case it was a question. An observation. A reminiscence. An.. offer. Another shake of her head. "I better go home," she says in a conspiratorial manner with a lopsided grin. "See ya later." Her tab is covered, she's grateful. She blows a kiss to Davis, Maggi and Leon to thank them. Time for her to go while she can. And while she's still vertical! And she hasn't made any terrible decisions!

Cassidy shrugs after Maggi explains it and looks to Ruiz, "Well, I tried. Thanks for the drinks."

Kailey paused to listen to Everett's suggestions. And she seems to take a long time thinking about it, lips pursed, eyes on the ceiling. "Mmmmm...Maybe. I'm kinda tired," And then it is into the bathroom with her. Where she spends about five minutes doing whatever it is she needed to do. When she comes out she's pulled her hair up and back into the usual two pigtails. Returning to snag her basket before heading outside to smoke again. Sadly it means she misses Astrid's song.

"Go Astrid!" Ash calls, lifting her hands up to cup her mouth so that she can yell that encouragement even louder. Which doesn't mean she's not still going to show Jens' who is chicken.

Astrid wasn't just having to depend on the Karaoke backup. Leon shows he had just a bit of a soft spot for the song and singing 'Ohhh, it's Saturday night.' in the prescribed places. He catches a look and a two-fingered salute is sent Lyric's way on exit, confirmation she was truly well and good by the Pourhouse. He might take a bit of the bite off Maggi's flat delivery as he moves past her and places another kiss on the top of her head like she were an adorable pet.

Caed's left eye gives a little wince not unlike a twitch. "Well, I think that would be my cue to go out for a f-- cigarette." He made that mistake of using that colloquialism once in the States, not likely to repeat it. There is the barest rest of his hand on Joseph's shoulder in parting before the Irishman heads to the door for a smoke.

Giving a glance to the woman's washroom, Everett turns his attention back, and down the bar. Did the ape comment escape him? No, but he's been called worse by better people, but all the same. The thug up nods to get Maggi's attention, "Hey. If it'll make everybody happy, I'll cover my tab, give her my free thing. It's no skin off my nose."

And he hasn't been paying attention, it might even be worth it monetarily for Maggi too. Maybe. Everett's tab was mozzarella sticks, two shots of whiskey, two fingers of rum and a beer. You do the math. His attention drifts towards Lyric leaving. And each step she takes, his head cants a little more, brightening when Kailey comes back with her hair in ponytails. He slides from his stool and looks back at Maggi to see what the answer is, while he looks like he wants to follow one or two people out.

Marius gives that two-tone whistle again as Astrid blows him (and Jens) a kiss, and returns the blown kiss. Both of his hands are up, waving the horns back at her when he too calls out, "Ooooh! It's Saturday night!" Leon's not the only one providing impromptu backup. He bellows out, "AMEN!" as prompted each time.

Javier's smile for the younger woman departing his company is brief, though seems sincere enough. Even if it does somewhat resemble a baring of teeth. "See you later," he returns in kind, scratching at his beard with an inked thumb, and then going for what's left of his drink. Right as Caed turns to go. He sees the touch to Joe's shoulder, and it gains a curious look; nothing more. For now. "De nada," mumbled to Cassidy. "You taking off too, then?"

When Kailey comes back to the bar Desi giver her a tipsy grin. "You seem pretty popular with mister mountain. That normal?"

Astrid's hand grips at the microphone stand as she replaces it through the bridge, returning to that more crooning second verse. "And every morning when I wake up,
I wanna be who I couldn't say I'd ever been."

As she gets closer to the chorus, she's starting to bounce a bit on the balls of her feet. "But it's so much more than I ever was,
If every night I go to sleep knowing
That I gave everything that I had to give,
Then it's all I could've asked for.
I've been standing up beside everything I've ever said, but..."

And now Astrid's hands lift high in the air like she's before the pews with her chin tilted back, "Oh! It's Saturday night!" She points at her Viking Fam, offering them her praises as, "I pray for the wicked on the weekend! Mama, can I get another AMEN?"

That energy carries all the way through her song, all the way until the powerful belt, Mariah Carey-style, "It's Sat-urrday!"

The song comes to an end, and Astrid is half-giggling as she almost tips the microphone over, managing not to actually make it fall over. She scampers off the stage amidst the applause. A kiss is smothered against Ash's temple—"Make him pay," she murmurs against her friend's hair—before she heads back for the dudes.

"Not yet..." Cassidy says to Ruiz while looking at her phone. She seems to be composing a text message to some unfortunate soul.

A little wave for Caed's departing back, and then Joe looks back at Ruiz. Not even really tipsy, but he blinks owlishly at the cop....and then there's a leer. "Well, sugar, you sat through my singing. Wanna go home now? Or we can go out for a smoke, have a little more. Whatever you want."

Kailey laughs at Desi's comment and grins at her. "Yeah, well, that's cause he's my big, dumb, gorilla," She says, casting a sideways glance at the man in question. It is a very fond look though there's that hint of mischief still in her eyes. She catches him watching Lyric leave and it makes her chuckle. "I didn't catch your name. I'm Kailey," And she holds out her hand for a friendly shake.

Jens claps for Astrid, slumping back down in his seat and tossing back the rest of his glass of beer. Now it's time for Ash to sing and he watches her with a smile, waving like HI.

One foot in front of the other. Lyric does make her way outta there finally and once outside sucks in a lot of air that tastes of cigarette smoke. Doesn't bother her even if she's a non-smoker. She tugs in a few more breaths, leaning against the outside wall, checking out the sky. Oh how pretty the whirling, twirling, dancing stars were. Those peeking out from any clouds still gathering ferociously in the distance. A hand goes to the camo cap on her head and she smiles to herself before turning herself in the direction of Elm and meandering her way home.

She shakes her hand continuing to rhythmically thump her helmet. "Dee. Nice to meet ya. What is the story behind him? Is he the town's playboy?"

(TXT to Ravn) Cassidy : 😛 u missed it. loser.

(TXT to Cassidy) Ravn : I told you I would. Some of us work for a living. 😉

(TXT to Ravn) Kailey : YOU MISSED A WICKED KARAOKE!

(TXT to Kailey) Ravn : Still not a crowd person. 😆

"Whatever happens next, is your fault," Astrid announces as she claims the lap of one of the Andersson boys. It's Marius's, but she does tumble through Jens's lap to get there. She encircles her arms around Marius's shoulders and smothers a kiss to his cheek that includes a little bite to his beard and then she's beaming at the stage, starting to clap ahead of Ash's taking the stage.

(TXT to Ravn) Kailey : I totally got to kiss my girl crush and make Ev wilt...or...welll, that's prob the wrong word. LOL

(TXT to Ravn) Cassidy : u suck

(TXT to Cassidy) Ravn : Only if someone asks me very nicely.

(TXT to Ravn) Everett : dude i won free drinks. i'da gotten you so wasted.

(TXT to Ravn) Cassidy : gross

"My phone?" Ash looks like she might protest this, but she doesn't. Instead she pulls out her phone, moving to toss it onto the table with Astrid and the boys. "Don't text any dick pics to anyone." Can she even make that rule?

Then Ash heads up onto stage, one hand reaching up to tug her ponytail down. Why? Because clearly she means business. Then she slides her hand through her hair, flicking it back from her face before she points out into the crowd towards the table she was just at, "This one is for you."

Jens? Marius? Astrid? Some random person near that table? Who the hell actually knows.

Either way, she grabs the microphone and waits until the music starts, she waits until the right beat, then starts to sing, making sure that she's hitting the right beats. Hopefully.

"Desperado
Sitting in a old Monte Carlo
A man whose heart is hollow, uh
Take it easy
I'm not tryna go against you
Actually, I'm going withcha

Gotta get up out of here and
You ain't leaving me behind
I know you won't, 'cause we share common interests
You need me, there ain't no leaving me behind
Never, no, no, just want outta here, yeah
Once I'm gone, ain't no going back."

Ash isn't the world's greatest of singers, but she's been drinking, and she is enthusiastic, and she sings right along with her singing. Which she's better at than the dancing. It's a lot of ass shimmying, and moving around in hopes this is enough to distract from the fact she's not as good a singer as others.

"If you want
We could be, yeah, runaways
Running from any sight of love
Yeah, yeah, there ain't nothing
There ain't nothing here for me
There ain't nothing here for me anymore
But I don't wanna be alone
Desperado
Sitting in an old Monte Carlo
We've both had our hearts broken, uh
Take it easy
I'm not tryna go against you
I can be a lone wolf witch...."

(TXT to Everett Kailey) Ravn : Tell me about Ev wilting over some of those free drinks some other time. 😆

Jens already manipulated her into actually performing, he's not going to take advantage of her phone. Plus, Astrid probably knows better stuff to do with Ash's phone than Jens ever will. He just stays on his chair, cheering Ash on with a big ol' grin.

Javier, on the other hand, is plenty fucking tipsy. He might be seeing two or three Joseph Cavanaughs by now, truth be told. "Mm," he rumbles, managing to get the last of his tequila down the hatch, and make it onto his feet without taking anyone out in his path. "Maybe a smoke. Before we head home." Or they might not make it.

Marius salutes Astrid with her beer as she finishes up her song, calling out long and loud, "Woooooooooooooooo!" He sounds like a foghorn. The order for Ash to hand off her phone has him pointing at Jens wildly -- only to get a lap full of Astrid. He laughs and wraps one arm around her shoulder, bonking his temple lightly against hers and then offering her up her own beer. "All yours, Jens. The phone that is. None of my dick pics." Digging out his own phone, he flips open a Zippo app, 'lights' it, and turns it around to wave for Ash.

(TXT to Ravn) Cassidy : Video of Ash singing Desperado by Rihanna with Cassidy off camera singing along at the top of her lungs

"A'right, then," Joe says, gently. He's slipping down from his stool more carefully, taking care of their bills and the usual generous tip....and after a little salute in farewell to Cassidy, lacing his fingers with Javier's so he can lead him out the front door and into the summer night.

(TXT to Cassidy) Ravn : ... I just looked into the Abyss and it was singing.

With her phone pointed at the stage in one hand, and lemondrop in the other, Cassidy yell-sings right back at Ash as the song goes on, "THERE AIN'T NOTHING HERE FOR ME, THERE AIN'T NOTHING HERE FOR ME ANYMORE!!!!!!!"

"Oh Byeee!!! Joe!" and Cassidy even finger waggles to Ruiz.

It's Astrid. She knows that's who Ash is singing to. <3 The brunette grabs her friend's phone and, because she knows the passcode, gets to her friend's TikTok so she can record the performance. Look, it's for the greater good. She holds up the phone, sitting taller in Marius's lap as she does.

Kailey had pulled out her phone while finishing off her second basket of mozzarella sticks. Texting to someone one-handedly. Between talking to Desi of course. The girl has ADHD, okay, she does all these things at once and does it better than focusing on one of them. The phone makes a foghorn alert sound and suddenly she starts laughing with a mouthful of cheese. Then coughing as she tries to inhale it. But she is coughing and not looking upset or worried. Quickly swallowing and reaching for Everett's beer to wash down the crumbly stuck bits. Then quickly types something into her phone.

(TXT to Ravn, Everett) Kailey : Oooo, that sounds like a fun party. 😉

The town's playboy, that title won't get old anytime fast, takes out his phone after Lyric's behind leaves his eye-line. Head down, phone is balanced on his thigh while he hunt and pecks with his left index finger to mock someone for one reason or other. There's a vague awareness that Cassidy isn't getting what she wants, but he tried.

His attention lifts to the stage again to gently 'huh' and nod, then turns back to his phone and grin before he picks it up and slips it back inside the right side of his leather jacket. Looking around, he spies Kailey and stands from his stool, to approach her and rests his chin on the top of her head, looking down at Desi through partially open eyelids.

Being called big, dumb, and gorilla, Everett adds a small, "Ook," to the other motorcyclist.

Ash continues to dance, making certain that she's making the absolute most of her time on stage, singing at the top of her lungs, and putting as much raw emotion into the song as she possibly can.

"Gotta get up out of here
And you ain't leaving me behind
I know you won't, 'cause we share common interests
You need me, there ain't no leaving me behind
Never, no, no, both want outta here. yeah
Once we're gone, ain't no going back
If you want
We could be runaways
Running from any sight of love
Yeah, yeah, there ain't nothing
There ain't nothing here for me
There ain't nothing here for me anymore
I don't wanna be alone...."

As the song goes on she takes a step forward, lowering her voice so that by the time she gets to the last refrain she's crooning into the microphone, pitching her voice lower, rougher than her usual voice.

"But I don't wanna be alone......

Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah...."

Then, because they said she was the last one....she micdrops before jumping down from the stage, lifting her hands up to wave to everyone on her way back to the table.

Astrid puts her fingers to her lips, whistling for Ash before she applauds eagerly.

"Playboy?" Kailey starts laughing again as she passes Ev back his beer. It's almost empty after her drink. But this laughter dies quickly and she shakes her head. "You've seen him in good spirits tonight. Usually he's a sulking gloom-beast," And she tilts her head back to sort of look up at him as he appears. His chin resting on her head makes it a little more awkward. "Isn't that right, my love?" She asks, reaching down with a free hand to squeeze that ticklish spot right above the knee, along the inner thigh, of the large man's leg.

By the time Ash is done singing, Jens's night of drinking starts to hit him pretty hard. This is pretty typical. The boy has the drinking capacity of a large tanker truck but eventually he just... drops. By the time Ash comes back to the table, Jens' forehead is on the surface and he's hiccupping a little, very quietly, in his semi-sleep.

Old habits die hard, it seems. Ruiz isn't quite to the point where he'll hold hands with his boyfriend while drunk as balls, about to walk out into a darkened parking lot behind a rowdy bar. He shoves both hands into his jacket pockets, mutters something in the taller blond's ear.. and stops to rap his knuckles on the bar near where Cassidy's sitting. "You take care of yourself, if I don't see you at the station tomorrow, yeah?"

Astrid isn't drunk at all, and so she smiles at Jens and then over to Marius. "He's so cute." She bubbles at the older Andersson boy. Then she reaches for Ash with grabby hands, because Marius is about to end up with a lap full of Ashtrid.

Cassidy finger-guns at one of three possible Ruizes "You got it captain!" and she salutes him with a mock-serious stiffening of her posture and pouted lips.

Accepting his bottle back, Everett lifts it up to look through the amber glass held up against the building's lights so he can tell where the level is left. "Especially gloomy when all my drinks are drunk," he murmurs before taking his pointy chin from Kailey's head and finishing it off. Putting the drink back on the bar, Everett returns his head to Kailey's.

He's about to answer, opening his mouth and everything, when he feels the attack coming to his delicious tickle spots. "Eee!" he exclaims while taking several steps away to protect his French knees.

Marius applauds around Astrid and whistles sharply. The mic-drop causes him to laugh aloud, and he whoops. Looking over to Jens, because it's quiet over there, he laughs and pats the back of his brother's head. "I can only carry two of you back asleep, so you two have to pick which of you is also going to pass out." The grabby-hands causes him to laugh, and he mimics the gesture.

"Aww...he's drooling." Ash observes when she gets back to the table, then moves to the grabby hands, throwing her arms around Astrid before she gives her a big, loud, smacking kiss. Then she pushes Jens upright enough she can steal a spot on his knee, "Don't worry, Ast and I got this...we're old pros at carrying drunk vikings."

She looks mildly confused. "Um... I'm totally lost. It could be because I am tipsy though."

Kailey chuckles and smiles at Desi. "That's fine. Everett's my partner. He has another partner. We both have kids with him and all live together. We were the talk and caused a stir for a bit. Open poly family with kids and all that," She says with a shrug and wave of her hand. "That's the story. And the scandal. Do you need a ride home or you gonna grab an uber?"

There's that kiss, and Astrid's beaming. Then she laughs at poor Jens before she offers a dramatic sigh. "We have done it... many times," Astrid points out to Marius. "Or do you not wonder how you both got back to the tent at ScanFest two years ago? Seriously, it was not a magic transportation device... it was Ashtrid." OTP.

She listens intently the confusion going away slightly. "I see. I am just from a conservative background and all this is just pretty out of left field new." She looks around debating the time. "I stopped after beer two. I should be good by the end of the night. I am staying at that sea side motel place. I think it's call Murder Motel by some of the locals?"

"Yes, but then who's going to carry Ash?" Marius laughs, "Because if you think I'm not buying each of you drink after those performances, you've got another thing coming." He beams from Ash to Astrid, "So that's why I had such good dreams that night. I should drink some more so you have to carry me too -- I like good dreams like that. It'd be way better than what I've been having."

Cassidy finishes her drink and slurs to Kailey, "That's gross." hiccup! Just to secure Kailey's point about how scandalous their family is.

The diminutive blond stands and paws at her clutch for her cigarettes. There they are! And she's going outside to have a smoke. Leave cash for the drinks? Nope. Hers were already paid for.

On her way out she stops and level a long stare at Everett. Right in his eyes.

"Stay away from plates."

Then she's on her way out to smoke the cigarette.

Once Kailey returns her attention back to Desi, Everett senses an opening and steps back in behind Kailey, slipping his useable arm around the woman's waist while he tucks his head into the side of her neck, with her hair in ponytails now, making the neck so much more accessable. A series of light kisses are placed there before the thug makes a rumbling noise in his throat. The hand around her waist slips back and begins to casually pull her purple skirt up, fractions of an inch at a time, he's not in a rush to have the skirt around her waist in the bar and them arrested.

But even one handed, he's able to turn Kailey from Desi while he bends at the knees. All the better to hoist Kailey over his working shoulder. "OOK!" He shouts, then asks, "Where's the nearest Empire State building?," he adds. Without waiting for an answer, Everett marches for the exit, ambling slowly.

"I got your plates right here."

"Well, yeah it is I think. But a nice place. There was a serial killer I think and that's how it got the name? Or like, it is the motel with the most murder ever reported? I dunno," Neither is the best review of the place from Kailey. "I've stayed there, though, and uh...changed my life?" She glances at Everett before giggling again. Then she lets out a shriek of laughter as he hoists her up.

"EEEEEV!" Kailey wails as she braces her hands against his back, trying to glance back over her shoulder. She isn't tipsy so much as stoned which only leaves her giggling almost continuously. Looking at Desi as she is carried away she waves and calls, ""Anyway, don't worry about it. Be prepared for lots crazier shit here than a guy and his two girls and kids. My friend Grant once had to give a moose directions back to the forest. If ya like ice cream, come visit us at Sweet Retreat!"

"Mums the word...but I've only had one beer." Ash is usually drinking way more than that on a good night. "One drink won't get me too drunk. I can carry myself home."

Astrid rolls her eyes, but there's a smile broadening and rounding out her cheeks. "One drink, but then we need to go home so I can sleep before my lunch shift at Twofer." She then props her chin on her palm. "You usually do have good dreams, don't you?"

All dee does is nods. "I'll try and remember that!" She giggles as she watches the show unfold.

Marius lifts up a hand to order drinks for the table -- except the passed-out Jens -- even as he chuckles at Ashtrid, "One drink, and then we'll go home. I've got work anyhow." Construction, of course. "And I usually have good dreams because I'm inspired to have good dreams. But yeah, I usually have good dreams and they've been weird instead. It's a thing."

Ruiz ambles off at some point to collect Joe, and grab that cigarette. They're sure as hell not going to be driving themselves home tonight.

Seeing the crowd thin out Dee decides it time to head back. She does have work in the morning after all. Hopping onto her bike she zooms off to her bed.

After a drink, Marius lets Ashtrid carry Jens out, because they said they could do it, and because it's funny watching them do it, even if they're both tall and stronger than they look. And it's funny watching them do it, did he mention it was funny watching them do it?