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Post by Aaron Clarke on Mar 16, 2013 18:36:21 GMT -6
((ooc: Anyone and everyone welcome!))
To the tune of Roxanne, Aaron called across O'Connor's as he spotted his colleague, “Hann-ahhhhhh!” waving both arms in the air in what was meant to be to casually wave her over to where they were situated for now but really probably looked more like someone trying to direct an aeroplane to land. In his defence, Kyle had steadily plied him with beer since he’d burst into his (well Doug’s) flat and practically frogmarched him to the pub where Aaron had then shakily opened the envelope containing his results whilst his cousin celebrated by getting a round of shots in. “I got my results just now… well like 2 hours ago when I checked the post. Aaaand… looks like you lot will have to put up with me being around the office for the foreseeable future because... I passed!” he told her enthusiastically, “242 out of 250, this is how we dooooo it!” he happily added in a sing-song manner with a hearty high five with his seated cousin who suddenly raised his hand up for one from him.
“Oh hey, you know my cousin Kyle? Kyle, Hannah, Hannah, Kyle,” Aaron vaguely gestured his hand back and forth between the two of them, “I work with Hannah,” he added to Kyle as a manner of introduction, like he hadn’t mentioned Hannah to him at all before now. It’s not like she’d already come up in conversation twice in the last half hour, nope. He shot Kyle a quick ‘look’ to discourage him from saying something he shouldn’t, just in case he got any ridiculous ideas about his intentions towards Hannah which he didn’t even fully realise himself at that point. Picking up his drink from the table, he looked down at the dregs of it and suddenly his expression became baffled as he twisted his body round to look at his cousin, “Wait, hang on, hang on a minute. If I passed whyamIdrinking somuch?” he asked Kyle, shooting him a suspicious look. The fact he was standing up whilst Kyle was sitting in a booth helped the intimidating line of questioning where the alcohol hindered the effect somewhat. He’d wasn’t entirely sure, however, when ‘celebratory drinks’ turned into ‘getting pissed’. Good thing it was a Friday, really. And, as far as he was aware, there was no karaoke in sight. (That came out later in O’Connor’s, something Kyle had gleefully remembered with a dark cackle to himself. His cousin was something of a drunken microphone-hogger.)
“Hannah. Would y’like a drink? Imma go get a round in,” Aaron explained, nudging his head over to the bar and trying his very best not to smash his words together quite as much as he was aware he’d been doing for the last half an hour - curse you, alcohol!
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Post by Hannah Schwartz on Mar 16, 2013 19:31:36 GMT -6
Hannah walked into the pub with her jacket pulled tightly around her and purse held close, glancing around uncertainly before she heard her name called. She'd consumed a few glasses of wine in her flat while getting ready, and feeling emboldened by the alcohol, she'd decided to really do it up for the occasion: red dress, similarly red lipstick, black tights and seasonally inappropriate heels. It was the most she'd ever dressed up for an after-work outing. Also, the only time she'd made it past the door without being asked for ID.
She waved to Aaron and ran over to him. "Oh my God, congratulations! I knew you would!" she shouted over the music, hesitating for a second before throwing her arms around him. Hannah normally wasn't very touchy-feely, but when they were out at a bar it just felt... different somehow. "That's waaaay better than the scores of some people we know... I won't mention names..." She then winked to indicate that she would, in fact, mention some names when they were less likely to run into said co-workers.
Hannah shed her coat, hanging it off the back of a chair before sitting down next to Aaron's cousin Kyle. "Nice to meet you, Kyle! You're the... relatively sober companion here, right?" she whispered, shooting a jokingly concerned look over at Aaron. She then looked up as he asked for her drink, stealing a menu from the next table as she considered the bar's specialties. "Um, one of those big fruity things they do here? Surprise me." When you could have a million kinds of alcohol blended up with sugar, why drink anything else? She'd defend her 'girly' drinking habits to the death.
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Post by Aaron Clarke on Mar 17, 2013 4:33:31 GMT -6
A big grin as Hannah ran over to him, “Wow, you look...” Aaron floundered over the word, “… you look amazing! Now don’t I just feel lazy and under-dressed,” he added jokingly, looking down at his own outfit (that he’d quickly changed into whilst Kyle waited with no thoughts about common decency) of jeans, a white t-shirt and a plaid shirt half-buttoned-up over it and felt too casual now. He hoped this would cover up the fact that he’d kind of just checked her out without even realising this until after the words had come out of his mouth. She did look amazing though. That’s it; he was never letting Kyle ply him with alcohol again. “Thank you, that’s so sweet!” he enthused, leaning down to hear her over the music and then letting out a slight ‘oompfh’ of surprise as she threw her arms around him. Quite naturally though, his arms reacted by squeezing her slightly into a hug, though he made sure to release her after an appropriate amount of time. “I’m not gonna lie, I’m veeeeeery curious where I now stand in terms of bragging rights,” he replied with a wink back that was not in the least subtle but rather OTT and cheesy. Subtlety of facial expressions... not really his thing, especially not with the added presence of alcohol. Downing the last of his drink and collecting his and Kyle’s empties to take back to the bar, “Big and fruity, gotcha,” he assured her with a firm nod before turning to leave for the bar. It was a good job he frequently bought alcohol for his sister otherwise he would have zero clue what fruit was doing mixed with a load of alcohol, let alone what to order. He dumped the empty glasses back on the bar, “Can I get two pints of beer and one of those tropical sunshine… things, please,” he ordered when the barman got to him, leaning against the bar top and shooting a slightly concerned glance back at his cousin who was now engaging Hannah in conversation. He probably should have given Kyle more guidelines as to what was socially acceptable for him to reveal to Hannah. His cousin did so like to stir things. ((ooc: Not that it matters gave me an excuse to stare at photos of Aaron Tveit, but he looks like this, minus the jumping-in-the-air-shot... for now.))
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Post by Kyle Michalka on Mar 17, 2013 4:38:37 GMT -6
Kyle watched proceedings with a completely unsuppressed grin of amusement, from Aaron waving Hannah over to the hug from which his cousin emerged smiling way too much, though he did stay silent for the time being and merely was an observer. He silently held his hand up for a high-five as Aaron told her about his results, downing the rest of his drink quickly before introductions were made. “Hey Hannah, it’s nice to meet you too. It’s not like he’s mentioned you at all, ever. He never talks about work aaaaall the time,” he deadpanned, luxuriously rolling his eyes over-dramatically before dropping the act and smiling in a friendly way. “I think we have a mutual acquaintance anyhow. You’re Jules’ cousin, right? We share a place in Hogsmeade. If she’s ever moaned about a guy called ‘Kyle’, I don’t know drinking the last of the milk or hogging the shower or being insufferable to live with, I am the culprit,” he joked easily.
In response to her lightly whispered question he looked at Aaron and then back to her, assuming a look of seriousness for a moment as he considered it. “Well. I am the companion that had to frogmarch him to get us here… and then celebrated his irritating level of cleverness by getting in a round of tequila. So you do the math,” he joked, snorting softly to himself in amusement as Aaron left them to go to the bar. “He just doesn’t drink much normally,” he piped up after he’d left, turning to Hannah, “But I assure you, he’s harmless, really. He just turns into an overly-affectionate, grinning, huge teddy bear when he’s drunk. Well more so than he is usually anyway,” he shook his head. “So, here’s your chance, can I interest you in any embarrassing stories featuring my dearest cousin that you can store away for future ammunition against him at work?”
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Post by Douglas Pearson on Mar 17, 2013 13:26:08 GMT -6
Doug stumbled out of the bathroom, looking around in befuddlement before he found his table again. "FOOOoooor he's a jolly good fell-ow, for he's a jolly good-- oh, you're just Kyle," he said while dropping his arm. Not that Kyle Michalka was somehow unworthy of celebration, but he was specifically looking for Aaron. Doug hadn't really planned on going out tonight, but then Kyle showed up, and then they were all drinking, and somehow he ended up at the bar. He wasn't going to question it.
He grabbed his pint from the table and took a swig. "I'm trusting that you didn't drug me, Michalka... oh hey, Hannah's here!" he realized, a beat too late. "Ooh, are we telling embarrassing Clarke stories? Because I've got a few locked and loaded..."
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Post by Hannah Schwartz on Mar 17, 2013 13:43:05 GMT -6
"Oh! Thanks," Hannah said, unconsciously adjusting her hemline. "You're wearing nice shoes and aren't rocking pit stains; that's 'guy' for 'dressed up'," she noted, jokingly rolling her eyes. She patted him on the shoulder mid-hug to keep it 'casual', taking in a few physical attributes she hadn't previously noticed: their pleasant height difference. His lanky-but-strong arms. Nicely sized hands pressed against her back. Damn Juliet for putting those thoughts in her head.
She decided to distract herself by talking to Kyle, nodding with her chin in her hand. She was a little relieved that Aaron had invited Kyle and Doug, which made things slightly less awkward than if they were spending time together one-on-one. "Oh, right. Assassin's Creed?" she asked while pointing at him, shouting out the first thing she could remember about Juliet's flatmates. Kyle and Justin sort of blended together in her brain, but she was fairly certain they both played video games, so she was safe. She then shook her head. "I don't want to use anything against him!" she insisted, but feeling curious, she leaned forward. "But... I mean... if you have any funny stories..."
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Post by Kyle Michalka on Mar 17, 2013 15:29:19 GMT -6
Kyle looked up with a laugh as Doug started singing, only to realise Aaron wasn’t there anymore, “It’s so nice to know I’m just me and don’t warrant songs to be sang at me, thanks for that confidence boost, Pearson, I’m just gonna sit here and cry now,” he replied dryly but couldn’t keep it up for long and grinned at his cousin’s friend. He merely raised an eyebrow critically as the other guy joked about drugging his drink, “If I told you that it would take all the fun out of tonight, same deal goes for when I come back from the bar with shots, you’re better off not knowing what’s in them.”
He turned back to Hannah then as she identified him by Assassin’s Creed, “Yeah that’s me! Or could be Justin. To be honest, we both play videogames, we both work at the same coffee shop, we both bartend. I’m pretty sure we’ve joked we’re AU versions of each other,” he laughed. “Nah, Jules is cool. Girl sure can play Call of Duty, though I think that’s mostly pent-up aggression directed towards beating the shit out of my characters on it. She mentioned something about a gig here tonight?” the blond asked quizzically. He didn’t really know much about where Juliet’s music career was going at the moment, all he knew was she hadn’t burst into his room apropos of nothing and aggressively demanded he play Tekken against her lately so he assumed it was going better than it had been before Christmas.
He shook his head slightly, “Oh, Hannah, Hannah. We’re not saying you ought to use it against him… just that… it’s an option, you know, if he gets insufferable you can just whip out one of these bad boys to shut him up for a second,” Kyle suggested reasonably, “Oooh hang on, Doug knows him from his protest days, yeah? There’s bound to be hilarious stories from that.” He drummed his fingers against the table while he thought, “What have I got? Right well… your basic entry-level stuff. You know he sings, like all the time, especially loudly if you give him booze? Well it’s because he used to be in musicals and shows and stuff when he was a kid. I’m pretty sure him and his sister Cathy still know the full dance routine they made up to You Can’t Stop The Beat from ‘Hairspray’, though if I remember correctly their finale of it has a lift a la ‘Dirty Dancing’. All I’m saying is, if he ever needs cutting down to size, just hum the opening bars of it, it’s amazing how red one person’s face can go.”
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Post by Juliet Tancredi on Mar 17, 2013 18:07:20 GMT -6
The blonde stood by the bar arguing – no, having a heated discussion – with Bradley O’Connor which essentially consisted of her freaking out over the fact he said he ‘didn’t really listen to music a whole lot’. “How can you not listen to music?! Ugh, you’re the same as Biermann, hopeless,” she dismissed him offhand with a (mostly joking) roll of her eyes at him. It probably wasn’t the best thing to do considering this was his bar after all and she probably should make nice with the guy since he seemed enthusiastic about having live acts, including her, playing there. She enjoyed riling Bradley a little bit though, it was fun, plus she figured her and Justin tended to bond over who could get the vein in his forehead to throb first. She sipped her drink, her gaze aimlessly wandering sideways to the other people at the bar, before her ears picked up a Manchester twang that wasn’t aforementioned housemate.
“Heeeey, suppp Clarky!” Juliet greeted Aaron enthusiastically, probably a little loudly (but hey it was hard to talk over the music), and then made a show of stepping back and eying him suspiciously, “Hang on… I thought you said you didn’t drink in bars often? Don’t tell me you lied to me during 20 Questions, I learnt sooooo much about you and it’ll be a shame if it’s all bullshit. Shame on you, shaaaame,” she chastised him without really giving him chance to confirm or deny her accusation. “So what brings you here then? Ohhh wait, are you with the office gang? Hannah about?” she asked, peering about their vicinity but not really putting much effort into locating her friend because instead she kept her eye on his reaction to Hannah’s name.
((ooc: Thought I'd throw Jules in here too for the hell of it. The more the merrier? ;) ))
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Post by Douglas Pearson on Mar 17, 2013 22:14:26 GMT -6
"There there Goldy, I think you're a jolly good fellow. It's just that the song implies a consensus opinion which I can neither confirm nor deny at this time. For a two-line song it's very complicated," Doug rambled while raising his leg high, scrambling over a few chairs to get to his seat... spilling a bit of his beer and causing some coats to fall on the floor in the process. He pretended to consider Kyle's words before shrugging. "Eh, I'll take anything in my shots before Jager. Jager is the worst. Hey, hang on," he squinted, then blinked a few times at his surroundings. "Shit, is this the bar where I got accosted by my date's crazy ex? You see a skinny guitarist coming towards me, you hide me," he implored jokingly before settling into his chair.
Doug tried to remember some of his better protest stories, but was thankfully distracted by the revelation of Aaron Clarke, Musical Theatre Star. "Aww, Clarky! How adorable. Now, why would someone give up all of that talent to become a lawyer?" he asked sarcastically, sure that Aaron would never live this down.
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Post by Hannah Schwartz on Mar 18, 2013 0:12:48 GMT -6
Hannah squinted and pointed to two guys behind the bar, one of whom was having an impassioned argument with Jules. "Is Justin the tall disgruntled-looking one, or the short also-kind-of-disgruntled looking one?" she shouted a little too loudly before turning back to Kyle. "Wow, why are there so many of you? Was there one chiseled blond guy running around in the late-eighties-early-nineties impregnating everyone?" she demanded as if it were a serious question. Hannah then nodded enthusiastically at the mention of Juliet's gig. "Yeah, isn't that exciting?! I knew things would start looking up for her if she just kept at it! She's amazing. You guys are going to love it." There were other reasons Hannah was glad to have Juliet around tonight... mainly, reconvening in the bathroom every hour or so for advice and status updates.
Hannah swatted Doug lightly on the shoulder and shook her head at the boys. "C'mon, that's totally cute! Dirty Dancing is probably my favorite film ever, okay, deal with it." She glanced at the small stage area and then gasped at Kyle with widened eyes. "You brought him here on karaoke night on purpose, didn't you?! You crafty little..." she trailed off before grinning in spite of herself.
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Post by Kyle Michalka on Mar 18, 2013 5:10:02 GMT -6
Craning his neck to look over to the bar, “Huh? Oh, right, uh- Justin’s the shorter disgruntled looking one, the other guy is Bradley, he owns this place,” Kyle explained to her and then laughed at her indignation. “I think that was almost a compliment…? But yeah, I can blame my dad for me but… meh… I’m pretty sure he didn’t get it on with Biermann’s mum. Or Aaron’s. Or Bradley’s. God, my dad is such a manwhore,” he joked easily. “I’m sure I’ll enjoy Jules’ gig, I’ve heard snippets, she’s got a lot of raw emotion and energy.”
Then it was the time for Kyle to laugh good-naturedly at Doug, “I didn’t realise how much potential there was for politics in one two-line song. Still, I demand an appropriate song belted at me before the end of the night so get thinking,” he demanded, merely watching as the other guy scrambled awkwardly over chairs to resume his. He could have helped him out but it was more fun to watch him tipsily struggle. “This is O’Connor’s, in Hogsmeade,” he informed him, shooting Hannah a look as if to say ‘and you were worried about Aaron drinking too much?’, before snorting in amusement, “If anywhere the skinny guitarist is going to be on stage, right? How did the date go anyhow? Before the crazy ex came on the scene I mean.”
“I know, right?” he chuckled with Doug after he’d revealed Aaron’s childhood promise in the world of musical theatre before his face dropped and he frowned at Hannah’s reaction, “Damn. I’ve inadvertently just made him more attractive by revealing an adorable connection to his sister, haven’t I? Not my intention, I was shooting for the opposite,” he groaned in mock-despair, "Quick, Doug break out the funny almost-arrest protest story because we're going to need it!" He soon perked up though as the girl clocked the stage and then his true intentions but his face remained inscrutable, “Ahem. I can neither confirm nor deny that accusation. See, I’d have made a half-decent lawyer,” he argued reasonably. “No, but seriously? Kind of. But hey, I’m not gonna leave him swinging out there on his own, I’m not despicable; we do a mean duet of Bohemian Rhapsody, my mum’s wedding reception loved it. Alright, it’s mainly me standing next to him pretending to sing too but when he’s had enough beer he doesn’t notice a thing.”
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Post by Aaron Clarke on Mar 18, 2013 5:26:49 GMT -6
“Hi Jules,” Aaron replied with a laugh at her overly loud and enthusiastic greeting, “Believe me, I wouldn’t dare try to bullshit you, I value my life, ta,” he joked easily. “I got my exam results, my cousin dragged me out to celebrate, and that’s how I’m here! Plus I did mention it to you know some people from work so…” he trailed off vaguely, leaning his elbows against the bar as he waited for his order. He looked sideways at Juliet, “Yep, Hannah’s just came actually. She’s over there if y’wanna grab a seat?” he offered, pointing out their table to her and then meeting her odd look, “What? What have I done?” he asked, always on the defensive with Juliet it seemed, but he blanched at her next insinuation regarding her cousin. He may also have entirely regressed in tone to a teenager being accused of fancying a classmate and being teased by his mates.
“No! Shut upppp, s’not like that!” he exclaimed in a show of affront, “Fine. Look, so I think Hannah’s really cool and clever and funny and sweet and… y'know not at all… unattractive,” he hedged the last adjective worriedly, acutely aware that he was talking to her cousin of all people, before he gave up and frowned in despair. “Oh crap. Is it really obvious?” he asked, dropping his head into his hand for a moment.
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Post by Justin Biermann on Mar 18, 2013 20:39:54 GMT -6
Justin quickly returned to the counter with two O'Connors original beers in tow, before mixing a tall, colorful concoction which he brandished with a slice of pineapple (he enjoyed coming up with those sorts of mixed drinks a little more than he'd like to admit). He pushed them forward, feigning uncertainty as he asked, "Hey-- Aaron, right?" as if he hadn't had an in-depth and rather uncomfortable conversation with Kyle about his potential sexuality. "I didn't take you for a Tropical Sunshine man," he joked, fairly certain it was going to the brunette girl in the red dress, Juliet's cousin apparently.
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Post by Douglas Pearson on Mar 18, 2013 22:41:28 GMT -6
Doug decided to dedicate a heartfelt ballad to Kyle later in the night, though there was almost no chance that he'd actually remember, so he made a note to himself on a bar napkin accompanied by a nearly inscrutable cartoon drawing. "Whoa. We're in Hogsmeade right now? How the hell did we get here?!" he demanded while jabbing his finger against the table. He then nodded. "Right. Right. I dunno, it's going well, we've been out a few times. Keeping it casual. She's my friend and we work together so I don't want to rush into anything y'know?" he explained while waving his arms around madly.
"Almost arrest? Dude... you got a very different version of that story..." he muttered under his breath. As Doug was still living his 'protest days', he didn't exactly have the kind of discretion surrounding those stories that Aaron probably did. "Anyway. I know for a fact that Hannah does a mean Alanis," he said while pointing excitedly at her. And by 'a mean Alanis', he meant that it was about as good as screaming cats simultaneously clawing a chalkboard. But that's what made karaoke fun, right?
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Post by Aaron Clarke on Mar 19, 2013 6:34:22 GMT -6
Aaron straightened from his slumped over position, head in hands, as he heard Justin coming back to the counter. “Heeeey, yeah, it is. It’s Justin, yeah? Well, you’re actually mostly referred to as ‘Biermann’ by my cousin, and by Jules. Nice to see your calling fits your surname. How’s it going?” he commented good-naturedly as the bloke in question prepared his order. Then, Aaron laughed lightly and shook his head, “Believe it or not, this tropical thing is not for me,” he told Justin, “I have no idea what that much fruit is doing fraternising with sugar and alcohol; I’m a straight-up beer kinda guy when I do drink,” he pointed out, glancing back at the table to find Doug had returned, if a little clumsily, from the bathroom.
Sliding the money over the counter, “Hey, can you give me another beer too?” he asked, he probably should get his mate another even though he was beginning to suspect he, like Aaron himself, would regret it in the morning. Damn it, Kyle! (It was easy to just blame everything on the guy who had started them drinking that day.) His gaze drifted back to the group and his brow furrowed deeply. He turned back to Justin and Jules, “So hey, quick question as flatmates of his, how evil do you think Kyle has the potential to be? Like… do you think he would break out the really embarrassing crap he knows about me because he suspects I kind of sort of might like someone he has the chance to talk to without my presence?” he asked, though suspected he already knew the answer. Damn it, Kyle!
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