To The Untrained Eye | {leah}

[Rylan Avery]

Work. Never on a beautiful night like this did he ever believe he'd be inside, and even worse, working. Normally, Rylan prefered working during the day, but the Studio 59 job offer was way too generous to pass up. So, here he was, leaning against the window overlooking the city, awaiting for the bouncers to begin letting more people inside. The window was surprisingly cold to his touch, and with each breath a new fog seemed to line the glass. Sighing, he pushed himself upright, beginning to move down the flight of stairs to the first floor. As usual, the club packed in to a high capacity, and people were already knocking down several shots at a time. His attention wasn't on the club however, it was on the people. Noticing the bartender shuffle about, he decided to take his boredom in that direction, and lowered himself onto a bar stool located behind the bar. Orders came, and he put them out, never once did he think of how old anyone he was serving actually was. All about fun, right?

The music was louder than ever, and to his surprise the song wasn't familiar. He'd forgotten how the club had recieved a demo disc on a band's new album, and now they were playing a song people weren't so familiar with. Now, that was what people came to Studio 59 for, the new and fantastic music. In reality, it was like actually being an actor, meaning you got the sneak preview of the movie before it was released. He found himself moving along with the beat, weaving around people who were making their way to the dance floor. Everything seemed to be quite under control, and by one check of his watch he confirmed that his shift was due to end pretty soon. Actually, it was more like a minute over when he could have escaped the mass and chaos of the club.

After punching out, he realized he didn't want to leave, as he was too caught up in the scene of everything. Soon enough, he made his way to the bar, and ordered himself a beer. Leaning against the granite counter top, he surveyed the club, attempting to pick out someone he might know. Rylan was never one to go or stay in a club alone, because he thought it up to be quite uncomfortable, even though he was generally a very social person. Finding no one of intrest, he settled himself on a stool, his index finger tracing the rim of the bottle. With his luck, he'd have someone to talk or catch up with by the time the night was over.

ooc;; muse died for a minute there. My spell checker isn't working, so sorry for any spelling mistakes.

[Leah Wayside]

(( ooc; nah, i should be sorry for replying later than late and my post is probably going to waaay worse than yours. sorry ! ))

Leah had been wandering around Hampton Heights all night long. It was pretty late, and yet another day went wasted. She despised that of course, but she couldn't help it. Lately, Leah had strange nightmares and different thoughts, plus none other than a lot of doubts just spurring across her mind.

Nightmares. It was rather funny, because Leah never really got them before. She mostly slept with not just no nightmares, but no dreams either. So basically, she just blacked out. Instead, she had a flashback of her childhood the night before and that still haunted her. Leah only saw her dad's new family once, and yet their faces were all glued permanently in her memory. They just came back to haunt her a lot, and these days - more than ever.

Leah bit her lip as she sped through another yellow traffic light. Why was it so unfair for her mother ? That red traffic light changed Leah's life. She lost her mother then lost her father because of her resemblance. She started to doubt what he said of course, maybe he just couldn't take her. He couldn't take how she was just so bland and boring. Maybe her father just needed an excuse to get away from her and leave the mess she was, because Leah wasn't .. good enough for him.

Sighing, Leah reverted herself back to reality and hoped it would stay that way. Somehow, she brought herself to studio 59. Leah opened her car door without hestitation and passed through the bouncers without question as well. Sure, she wasn't one who really loved the nightclub scene but sometimes wouldn't hurt, right ? It was way better than getting back to those nightmares anyway. And could you really think of any better way to get your thoughts out ?

"Vodka," Leah nodded to the bartender as she headed towards the bar. She placed herself onto the stool as she waited for her drink. Leah was about to feel really better, but then her eyes started scanning around and she saw .. Rylan. Rylan Avery. She wanted to back out, but she couldn't. There wasn't much distance between them and it might have made it obvious. They could always just pretend they were strangers to each other, right ? [/size]

[Rylan Avery]

Never once had Rylan second guessed himself, but he was beginning to think better about being here. He suddenly felt so out of place, like he didn't quite fit into the scene melting around him. His gaze shifted back to the dance floor, hoping to spot someone he knew that might have entered without him noticing. Bodies mingled, and for a moment the colorful atmosphere seemed to give off the impression that the entire mass was one person, one body, moving in the same rhythm. Adjusting his body to face the bar again, his eyes settled on the bottle in front of him. Drinking alone was certainly depressing, but why was it so? For a moment he though about it, and the idea came to him. It was when you watched others have fun, have someone else to relate to at that moment. That person you didn't necessarily care for, or know very much, but you shared something in common; alcohol and music.

As he came to that conclusion, he spotted a familiar figure, but not exactly the person one might want to see. He tore his eyes from her, shifting in his chair for a bit, deciding it was only best to ignore her, though he was pretty sure she knew he knew she was there. Fingers curled around the bottle, lifting it to his lips, letting the contents slide down his throat. This was a regular, this way of dealing with things, walking away, and pretending something wasn't there, or something didn't matter. Truthfully, Leah did matter, to him at least. It bothered him to have to ignore her, but in actuality he didn't have to, he simply chose to. The way things had ended between the two wasn't what one would call pretty, which was most likely the reason for their avoidance.

It bothered him. How he was acting bothered him. He stood, prepared to disappear like he always had, but for the second time that night, he thought better of it. Gaze shifted back to Leah, his body now blocked by a mass of people that normally came down from a high school in the outskirts of Roanoke. Motioning for the bartender, he handed him money to pay for Leah's drink. There was one step in the right direction, and maybe once he got up enough courage, he'd head over and possibly talk to her... If it lasted that long. The way things had gone in the past couple of years, something told him it wouldn't.

[Leah Wayside]

Leah started tapping her fingers to the beat. She watched everyone dancing and having a great time. She used to never understand how people could just let go of themselves so easily. So, it really took just a lot of alcohol to make Leah feel better. It wasn’t just her family problems that frustrated her at the moment, but also .. Rylan. He might’ve just forgotten who she was already, but still he just couldn’t get out of her mind.

Suddenly, Leah realized that she shouldn’t be here. She could have got drunk and forgot about everything, but then what ? She’ll wake up in some stranger’s bedroom and regret it ? Get hung over ? She just wasn’t the type to just club sometimes, and today was just one of those sometimes. Leah was about to hand over her bill to the bartender, before he mentioned it was already paid.

.. by the man sitting right there that was Rylan.

”What !?” Leah exclaimed, but thankfully due to the loud music – it sounded as if she was speaking in her normal tone. So, he did see her and realized she was there. Now what did she need to do ? Leah really was preparing to walk off, but the fact that Rylan was there made her tempted to stay instead. Pondering for a while, Leah decided to walk toward Rylan without much hestitation. ”Thanks, but you really didn’t have to do that,” She said. But he was just going to ignore her, wasn’t he ? She was going to just stand in the crowd like a fool.

Maybe she really did need much more alcohol than she thought.

[Rylan Avery]

Feeling out of place as he stood there, idle with his body, he leaned back against the bar, hidden with the crowd. His gaze shifted out to the dance floor, watching the people, and studying their movements. For a moment he found himself envying them, wanting to be lost in the music for a change, and getting into the beat. Sighing, he shifted himself back around to face the bartender, sliding his empty bottle onto the bar. The bartender quickly handed him another, making change with Rylan's money. Tipping the bottle back, he let the liquid soothe him, but soon regretted it. He'd spent one too many nights with a bottle in hand, drinking down what ever pain he happened to be feeling that day.

His thoughts soon returned to where he was, and what he was doing. Immediately he began for the door, but was held back by several people, who were bumping drunkenly into him. He growled angrily, deciding against himself and returning to his seat at the bar. Rylan didn't exactly belong here, though he seemed to fit in perfectly fine. When your friends were made up of nothing but party goers and those who enjoyed the clubbing scene. Sure, he went along, but never had more than a couple beers, then began his way home. Tonight he'd expected to have gone straight home after work, and hadn't thought that he'd of stayed, it just wasn't him.

"Thanks, but you really didn't have to do that," A glance was taken over his shoulder at the voice, not really comprehending who it was, though his mind clearly knew. He adjusted himself to face her, smiling gently toward Leah before looking away. He was done avoiding, playing like it didn't bother him, when it did. "I wanted to," He replied lamely, not daring to look her in the eyes. He was glad she'd come over, actually, he was hoping she would. His gaze drifted to the empty seat beside him, making a plain gesture toward it. "You're welcome to sit," He offered politely, unsure of what to say exactly. This would be one long night by the looks of it.

[Leah Wayside]

Leah shrugged and bit her lip as she just sat down right next to him. Its not like she would have anything else better to do. She was planning to go home, but well she still could stay as long as she wanted to. Though she might have regretted it, especially when the tension built in the air. "Nah, I owe you," She said. "I'm sure you'd have better things to spend that money on than for vodka I'm probably going to get drunk on," She added and grinned at him.

Leah really felt that she suddenly had a crave for alcohol. The stress and pressure she had just kept on coming back, and it got frustrating how she had to act like it was nothing. "So how have you been ?" She asked, and having no idea what made her attempt to start the conversation. He probably would think she was silly on how she would want to talk to him, but she suddenly just felt as if she could care less. Nodding at the bartender for another shot of vodka, maybe this night wouldn't be so bad anymore. Well, unless Rylan decided to ignore her and walk off like he always did. [/size]

[Rylan Avery]

Rylan was what you might call glad when Leah sat beside him. He no longer felt alone, but the out of place feeling still seemed to linger. He could have gone home, but he dreaded the thought of having to avoid Leah again. To put it simply, Rylan wasn't that kind of guy. He didn't have a problem with Leah, therefore didn't feel the need to avoid her. In his opinion, it was showing that he wasn't very committed to the people he cared about. Yes, he still cared about Leah, and actually wanted to become friends again. He shook his head lightly at her comments that followed, a small smile deciding to appear. "Even more the reason," He said absentmindedly, his gaze shifting for a moment before focusing on Leah.

Rylan hated the thought of drowning his troubles in alcohol, but really, what better did he have to do? So many things were going on at the moment, and it was nice to just have a chance to relax. As she spoke, he paused to think for a second, not really knowing the answer to the question. How exactly had he been? He didn't want to lie to her and tell her everything was great, but the truth was even more of a load to carry. He shrugged his shoulders, deciding to tell at least part of the truth. "All right I guess," He paused, thinking that his blunt answer wouldn't fly with Leah. "The usual problems with family, friends... Just about everything," He added, a hand running through his hair. "What about you? How have you been?"