Til We're Not Strangers Anymore {closed}

[Simone Winchester]

ROAD TRIP.

There was just something about those two words that made any girl feel just a tad bit better, no matter how bad everything else seemed. How long had it been since she'd just let go from all of the real life crap, jumped into a vehicle with a girl friend and just made like carefree teenagers with nothing more to do that ogle good looking guys and blast rockin tunes while flying down the interstate? OK, so maybe Tessa was ogling but that was besides the point, right?

Way to long, that was for sure. Being a grown up really sucked. Actually, being a grown up wasn't that bad.. It was reality that sucked.

And of course..With Tessa Jordan.. There was always mischief to be had. Turned out that there had been this mini case in Tennessee with an impish pixie who'd taken to knocking over moonshine gins and causing no end of trouble for the local law enforcement. They'd caught the little bugger and then made a deal with it that ensured some domestic peace before getting back in the car and driving once more.

Only to find out that the little pixie had taken a liking to them and had secreted itself away in glove compartment of the car.

That had lead to some quick explaining when it had suddenly popped out and scared the living crap out of them both. Tessa had swerved all over the road when it had fluttered in the air around them and they'd attracted the attention of a local sheriff who felt it was his duty to make sure they weren't driving drunk. Try explaining a flying pixie to a man with absolutely NO sense of humor....

Shaking her head at the remembrance, Simone Chantelle James glanced sideways at the friend in question and hid a smirk. They were currently cleaned up and heading out to a local little bar so Tessa could have a drink to calm her "rattled nerves". Simi had agreed because, really, she didn't blame the poor woman. She'd had to bit her own tongue not to give the idiot sherrif a piece of her mind and show him the little imp that had decided to hid in her messy ponytail. Unfortunately, that would probably have just gotten them in more trouble than they'd have been able to cope with at the moment so... She'd settled for taking over driving until they'd gotten into Kentucky and found a one horse town to crash at.

Hence the first real wide grin she'd worn since her life had gone to hell in a hand basket.

Damn it, there was that thought of Ry again. And she couldn't even have a bloody freaking drink. Man.. Her life sucked at times.

As the warm air of the bar greeted them when they stepped inside, the little blond glanced around and grinned. It was just a small, quiet place with a pool table, a dart board, a few local "good ol boys" and two bartenders.

"Well, Tess... I don't think even YOU can get into trouble in a place like this!" she teased her friend, turning to look at her while heading to the back pool tables and a small empty table there.

i stand at ten feet tall but its only 877 words short. sometimes i feel like a goddess while wearing this pretty little outfit. of course i need to talk to who else is in this thread. this picture of perfection is totally complete/incomplete. in the end i just say this notes?. don't forget we made this REAL SLIM SHADY !? @ caution 2.0

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[tessa]

Tessa now sat in the passenger seat of the car with a bit of a grumpy frown on her face. It wasn't HER fault that the damn pixie had followed them and made her jerk the steering wheel around while fighting of the tricky little sucker. She was not happy at all that the Sheriff not only gave her a ticket, but also wouldn't let them go until Tessa gave up the driver's seat to Simi. She had quietly grumbled ever curse word she knew at the man's back as they drove away.

The frowning didn't last long though, when Simi turned to her with her own impish smirk, Tessa could help but start to laugh about the whole thing. She just imagined the cranky old law man with a pixie flying around his head. After giving Simi her best pouty puppy dog look, Simi agree to stop off at a bar so Tessa could get a drink.

Since she wasn't driving anymore anyway. She needed a little time to relax a bit. After the hunt and the long drive, she just needed to take a little time to chill out. Even though Simi couldn't drink, they could still have fun. Maybe run a little game of pool con on some unsuspecting local boys or something. With Simi and Tessa around, things would never be boring.

They pulled into the bar parking lot and Tessa followed Simi inside. Tessa took a look around. Pool tables, dart boards, unsuspecting, underestimating men folk. Perfect.
When Simi mentioned trouble, Tessa grinned a big grin at the girl.

"Pffft. Trouble is my middle name you know. I think we can find a little trouble, of the good kind, here."

Tessa headed over to the table with Simi and had a seat. In typical fashion, Tessa made a whistle to get a waitresses attention and waved her over so they could order.

"I'll take a beer and a shot of Jack Daniels and bring my friend whatever she wants as long as it's non-alcoholic."

[riley]

Riley Ran a hand through his shaggy hair, wondering if Astrid had been right and really could use a haircut. N’aaw well, he kinda liked the old shaggy look, and its wasn’t really a problem until it started falling in his eyes anyway. Glancing up at the waitress as she passed by, Riley smiled and rolled his shoulder, racking the limb in the process – yes it was a bad habbit, but it was one the Man had had for the entirety of his life and he was pretty sure he wasn’t about the brake his routine anytime soon.

Picking up his glass, he took a long drink, grinning as the waitress passed a second time and smiled at him. Well, how do you like that. The alcohol was giving the man a slight buzz – he did not often drink but he enjoyed the odd one every now and then, and as a result it didn’t take much to get him just leetle bit tipsy. Besides – after finishing up that trucks engine finally, Riley thought he deserved a drink or two, and possibly he thought as he moved towards the row of cues on the far wall, a celebratory game of pool.

Nodding at the two women sat near the back table as he passed, Riley smiled and arched his brows, selecting one of the longer cues to suit his tall frame

TAGS: TELLIE//SIMMI
WORD COUNT: ?
LYRICS: hello seattle - owl city.
CREDIT: julieanne @ caution 2.0[/size]

[Simone Winchester]

Rolling her eyes at Tessa's comment to the waitress, Simi smiled at the woman before ordering. "A Spirit please.. and you might as well bring a bottle of Jack for my friend here... She'll probably drink it all anyways and its cheaper in the long run!"

Then turning back to the other woman, she arched one slender brow as if daring her to argue with her logic before looking around. It seemed to be a decent sort of place and none of the customers seemed like a rowdy lot. Probably a disappointment in Tessa's book but a bit of a relief to Simi. After growing up in nightclubs, Simi wasn't all that keen on bar fights and she wasn't in the mood to have to bash a few heads with a beer bottle.

Then again... that might actually have been fun. She could have used an excuse to get rid of some of this seething emotion inside.

Just then, the waitress brought their drinks back and Simi settled back to take a sip while sighing. Her eyes were haunted by the pain she carried deep inside but she tried to paste on a happy face for Tessa. She knew the other woman was doing her best to keep her distracted and she truly appreciated it, no matter how impossible the job truly was. All she REALLY wanted to do was pick up the phone, call Ryder and then hurry back home to snuggle into their warm, cozy bed.

Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be happening any time soon so she had to at least PRETEND to be getting her act together. No matter how shattered her heart really was. She was a James, after all.

Not while "THAT WOMAN" was anywhere on the face of the earth. Yes, that was what she'd taken to calling the female who'd turned up just when Simi had gotten used to the idea of Ryder Winchester being hers. Hey, it was better than other names she could call her right? RIGHT!!!!!!!!

As she sat there, her eyes were drawn to a passing young man and she caught the nod that he sent in their direction. Beaming a bright, sunny smile at him, Simi nudged Tessa and gave her a eyebrow wiggle.

"I give him an... eight?? He is cute but.. he reminds me of .. well, Sebastian to much I think... Besides, I'm partial to blue eyes and blond hair ...."

i stand at ten feet tall but its only 877 words short. sometimes i feel like a goddess while wearing this pretty little outfit. of course i need to talk to who else is in this thread. this picture of perfection is totally complete/incomplete. in the end i just say this notes?. don't forget we made this REAL SLIM SHADY !? @ caution 2.0

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[tessa]

Tessa shook her head when Simi made her comment about the bottle of Jack. How much did Simi think she was going to drink anyways? Though, it did make sense. She did figure she'd drink a few, so having the bottle would be OK. She'd just sneak the undrunk portion out with her and have it for later.

Drinking down one shot, Tessa poured another one. Catching the look on Simi's face. She got a little worried. She could tell that Simi was thinking about what they had left behind back home. Tessa didn't know what else to do. Her friend was in so much pain. It wasn't hard to see that on her face if you knew her.

Before Tessa could do anything else, make a suggestion to distract Simi, a man walked by and nodded at them as he went over to the pool tables. Tess felt a little nudge and turned to look at the blonde seated next to her. She chuckled when Simi gave the guy a rating of eight.

"Hmmmm... an eight? Bastian? Really? I dunno, maybe a little, but... Bastian is a bit of a hottie, I must admit."

Tessa snickered as she talked about Simi's brother. Of course, Simi wouldn't think of her own brother as a hottie. Though, that didn't stop Tessa from seeing that in the man who was also her childhood friend.

"I'd give the man... at least a 9. Yeah, a solid 9."

Giving Simi a little wink. She drank down another shot and picked up her beer. An idea struck her then. She glanced over at the dark haired man at the pool table and then back at Simi. She gave Simi a mischievous little smirk.

"Come on, let's go have some fun."

On that note, Tessa got up and went over to the pool table. Looking over her shoulder to see if Simi was following her. With her beer bottle in hand she walked up to the man.

"Hi, I'm Tessa and my blonde friend here is Simi. Do you mind if I play a game with you? I've never really played before. I think it would be fun to learn."

Tessa grinned, turning to give Simi a knowing smile.

[riley]

Rather oblivious to the conversation going on behind him, Riley laid the cue on the velvet top of the table and rummaged through is pockets, looking for the magic quarters that would make the balls magically appear. Pah, he smirked a little to himself. Magic was one of those things that... well. He wasn’t exactly all comfortable with the idea given some of the wierd shit that seemed to happen round him, mostly when he got angry. It was a big reason why the man was mostly pretty laid back these days.

Pulling his hand from his pocket, Riley Examined the coins in his palm and counted them up, the math taking him a few seconds longer that it would most people as the numbers in his head liked to jump around a lot. He slipped a quarter into his fingers and closes his hand around the rest of the silver, slipping the coin in the machine and waiting for the tinkling off the balls.

That was when, apparently, one of the girls whom he had passed decided to talk to him. Turning, Riley shoved the rest of the silver back into his pocket and grinned. “Eh... sure? I mean, it’s a free country and its more fun when your not playing by yourself.” For Riley, this constituted as rambling and he grinned to disguise the sudden unease. Yeh, he was fine generally with the people in this bar, he’d practically grown up in it after all, but that didn’t mean he was easy going with strangers. If it hadn’t been for the alcohol lining his gullet, the girl would have been lucky to get anything more than a word out of him. “Names Riley... Grab a cue, i’ll rack them up.” Cracking his knuckles, he dipped around the side of the table to remove the balls, lining them up on the table.

TAGS: TELLIE//SIMMI
WORD COUNT: ?
LYRICS: hello seattle - owl city.
CREDIT: julieanne @ caution 2.0[/size]

[Simone Winchester]

Shaking her head at her friends words, Simi opened her mouth to reply but didn't get a chance as the other woman suddenly bounced out of her seat and started heading towards the pool table.

Oh dear lord... Here we go again, she thought silently to herself.

Inwardly groaning, Simi gave a resigned sigh, picked up her spirit and followed after her with the intent of at least easing the situation if Tessa overwhelmed the guy to much. However, it turned out that she need not have worried because the gentleman took her approach in stride.

Biting her bottom lip, the little blond shook her head at her friend and then rolled her eyes when he wasn't looking. What on earth was Tessa playing at? They'd all grown up learning tricky shots from their parents and each other and Simi knew very well that they both could out shoot most males they knew.

However, deciding to let the other girl have her fun, Simi simply slid on to a stool and prepared to watch. As she did so, she became aware of a rustle in her hair and felt her eye widen as she realized that her little "guest" from earlier was STILL IN THERE.

Hoping against hope that the little creature stayed put and didn't decide to cause mischief, the young woman held her breath and waited.

i stand at ten feet tall but its only 877 words short. sometimes i feel like a goddess while wearing this pretty little outfit. of course i need to talk to who else is in this thread. this picture of perfection is totally complete/incomplete. in the end i just say this notes?. don't forget we made this REAL SLIM SHADY !? @ caution 2.0

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[tessa]

Tessa took a little sip from her beer and watched as the man who had introduced himself as Riley rack up the balls on the table. While he was doing that she went over to the rack of pool sticks on the wall and plucked one from it's slot.

She kept her eyes on Simi as she made her way over and sat on a nearby stool. Tessa went over and stood by her friend. Leaning against the little counter that was built into the wall. Pool cue in one hand, beer bottle in the other. She bent down and whispered to Simi.

"I revise my original rating. Up close he's even better looking. I give him a an 11, off the charts, baby."

Taking a sip of her beer she turned back to the man as he finished racking up the balls.

"Would you like to go first? Or Shall I? I might need a demonstration."

Not to mention, she wouldn't mind seeing what he looked like when he bent over the table.

[riley]

Riley rubbed the back of his neck and thought about it. Well, it would probably be easier if he broke, then at least she might have some balls to hit around the table. Still, glancing at her, Riley found it very hard to believe that she had never played before, her or the blonde – who by the way, he still hadn’t said hi too. Smiling across at them, Riley nodded. “Ye sure, I’ll break. Then next game, s’all yours.” He grinned with the accent to proclaim this was the land of his origin. Well. At leas as far as he the man knew this was the land of his Origin. For all he knew he could have been born in Dc, Seattle, LA – he could be secretly Swedish and never know. But then, that wasn’t something to go into right then.

Grabbing his cue from the table top, Riley, completely oblivious to the fact he was currently not only being checked out but scored, bent over the table and broke, grinning to himself as one of the balls disappeared into the corner pocket. Hey – he was good at this. Pool and sports, one of the few things that could hold the man’s attention for a long period of time... well. That and anything that could generally keep his hands busy. Standing again, his cracked his shoulder and switched round, hitting another ball that bounced just a little too far too left. “let’s see what you’ve got” He smiled, relaxing into the conversation a little now he had something to distract his mind.

TAGS: TELLIE//SIMMI
WORD COUNT: ?
LYRICS: hello seattle - owl city.
CREDIT: julieanne @ caution 2.0[/size]

[tessa]

Tessa stood next to Simi and watched as Riley went ahead and took the lead. He sunk a striped ball in on the break and Tessa waited while he took his next shoot. Just missing another ball in the corner pocket. He advised her it was her turn and she set her beer bottle down on the counter next to Simi. Walking over to the table she sized it up. A thoughtful look on her face.

"OK, so... You got one of the stripey ones in right? So, I got for the one's like that."

Tessa said as she pointed at one of the solid colored balls.

"But, I don't want to hit that black one in. I think I remember that part. That one goes in last."

Tess leaned over and made a show of lining up her shot. Fidgeting a bit as if she was nervous. She took the shot and the ball went bouncing off the side bank and landed harmlessly in the middle of the table.

"Oh, shoot. That was a crappy shot now wasn't it? I guess it's your turn again."

She couldn't help but smile and gave a little wave over to Simi who was sipping her soda.