Harry's - Reconnecting
Oct. 30th, 2008 11:17 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsDoug and Marie-Ange make it to Harry's for Johnny's third set of the night. Doug is suffering from information overload, but manages to feel a little better.
Doug had to admit that, despite his balking at the price tag, the pre-distressed jeans were probably worth what Marie-Ange had paid for them, because he could actually sit and walk and move around with only the slightest bit of irritation, which was ignorable. If he and Marie-Ange had tried to make the twenty-minute walk to Harry's in regular clothing, he'd probably have been miserable and turned back by now. Jubilee had brought a spare set of his glasses with the Converse sneakers he had on, but they had caused a headache when he'd put them on. Apparently getting eaten by a meat computer and regrowing some or all of your body had a beneficial effect on eyesight, though it probably was related to the lack of scarring.
It had taken quite a while for him to work up to dealing with any sort of crowd, even what would be a small and friendly one at Harry's. So when they finally came to the lights of the Hideaway, it sounded like things were already in full swing. Even from outside, the band could be heard, with the now-slightly-infamous Johnny Devil announcing the end of the set and that they'd be back soon.
Doug hesitated at the door, and so Marie-Ange opened it for him, making a "go on" gesture, and watching for any sign that he was struggling - or that he was going to turn around and leave without even going in. She had thought he would have to steel himself - set his shoulders, grit his teeth, something, but as Doug walked past her, it was almost as though he had only needed a moment of pause.
So Marie-Ange let the the door fall closed behind her as she followed Doug in, and to a small table towards the back, where it wasn't so much quieter as the cacophony was muffled slightly. She slid into one of the seats, making a point to wave to Amanda and Angelo, with a thumbs-up "Look, we came!" and then returned her attention to Doug. "Do you want anything? I have both of our ID's." She lifted the strap of her purse off her shoulder, as if to indicate "and they're in here. Somewhere."
"Not sure." On the one hand, alcohol might help with the information overload he was feeling, even sitting at the edge of the group. On the other hand, a mug of Marie-Ange's tea had given him a heavy case of the jitters, so he was pretty sure that his alcohol tolerance had gone away in similar fashion. At least nearly everyone in the pub was a familiar face, which helped. Amanda, Angelo, Forge, Wanda, they were all comforting points in the chaotic swirl of social interaction. He fidgeted slightly, struggling not to play with Marie-Ange's phone and duck his head to tune everything else out.
His eyes flicked around the room, observing and moving on, never really stopping in one place, always taking in more information. Garrison chatting with Adrienne Frost at the bar. Jubilee carefully stacking shot glasses in a pyramid. Nate doing his best to keep up with Jubilee in another corner with a bottle of tequila. It was like he couldn't stop analyzing. He rubbed his temples and frowned. "On second thought, maybe a drink would help."
Marie-Ange was only gone for a few minutes, returning with two glasses, sipping from one and setting the other on the table. "Vodka and cranberry." She announced, pushing Doug's glass towards him. "We are on a tab - do not let me forget to get my credit card back before we leave?" Sitting down, she turned her chair slightly to face the small stage where the band usually played, without taking her eyes off Doug. "Is that that band that Garrison knows?"
Doug nodded as he took a long sip of his drink, which seemed to let him relax ever so slightly from squinting in tension. "Johnny Devil and the Screaming Demons," he identified them as the band came back from their break and the aforementioned Johnny took a long pull from his pint glass and did some tuning before launching into one of their original songs.
Marie-Ange had never been the kind to sit and play wallflower and just watch the band from the back of the bar. Which is why she was almost twitching with the effort of staying with Doug, but there was no way she was going to leave him alone to get up and dance all by herself. She finished her drink, and swirled the ice around in her glass, and twice had to stop herself from taking Doug's hand to try to drag him out onto the dance floor. It didn't help when Johnny and the band started into Brick House, in an effort to try to get -everyone- out and dancing.
On a normal night, Doug would have been eager to dance with his girlfriend, especially to a band as infectiously entertaining as Johnny Devil and the Screaming Demons. But it had been difficult enough to come to the bar, much less join the throng waving their hands in the air at Johnny's urging. As the set went on, the music began to help, though, giving Doug something to concentrate on, and lending a strange sort of order to the chaos on the dance floor. That, plus the alcohol, helped dull the intensity of the information that Doug's brain was supplying to him, and his toes began tapping to the music. Music hadn't been one of the things he and Emma had specifically closed the door away on in his brain, but it still felt like one of those doors was beginning to creak open inside his head.
In the brief pause between songs, Marie-Ange had gone to get herself and Doug another drink, and returned to find him actually smiling, and tapping his fingers on their table, and she chanced a look down, to see his sneaker-clad foot also tapping. She set the drinks down and pulled her chair to Doug's side of the table, there was room now that most of the partygoers were up and dancing. She said nothing, just sat and watched for the rest of the song, until Johnny began explaining about spending the night in a high school gym.
He managed to stay for the whole set, including Johnny calling Jay and Garrison up to play the final song with him. The words were powerful. "And I'm feeling much better, just for today, feeling much better this way..." Doug stayed very still, his fingers and toes not tapping anymore. On the one hand, the words and their message of hope resonated very powerfully with him. But on the other hand, it was almost -too- powerful, too much input to his still raw senses. He stood. "I...I need to go," he told Marie-Ange apologetically.
That was a tone Marie-Ange recognized all too well, even with Doug's voice still coming out somewhat flat. She nodded, and stood. "I have to pay our tab, do you think you can wait for me outside?" She wasn't going to make him walk back alone, but if he needed to get away from the crowd now, she wouldn't argue it. There was no reason to.
Doug walked briskly for the door, and stood outside breathing the crisp fall air. Away from everyone else, he was able to relax from the tension that had crept into his muscles. He looked up at the moon and stars, and waited for Marie-Ange to come out. "Thank you," he said quietly to her, trying to convey everything in those two words. Thank you for understanding. For being patient. For supporting him. For being who she was. He reached out tentatively and took her hand in his as they turned to walk back to the mansion.
He didn't feel -much- better, like the song said. But in the face of the nightmares, the physical recovery issues, and everything else, maybe he felt a -little- better.
Doug had to admit that, despite his balking at the price tag, the pre-distressed jeans were probably worth what Marie-Ange had paid for them, because he could actually sit and walk and move around with only the slightest bit of irritation, which was ignorable. If he and Marie-Ange had tried to make the twenty-minute walk to Harry's in regular clothing, he'd probably have been miserable and turned back by now. Jubilee had brought a spare set of his glasses with the Converse sneakers he had on, but they had caused a headache when he'd put them on. Apparently getting eaten by a meat computer and regrowing some or all of your body had a beneficial effect on eyesight, though it probably was related to the lack of scarring.
It had taken quite a while for him to work up to dealing with any sort of crowd, even what would be a small and friendly one at Harry's. So when they finally came to the lights of the Hideaway, it sounded like things were already in full swing. Even from outside, the band could be heard, with the now-slightly-infamous Johnny Devil announcing the end of the set and that they'd be back soon.
Doug hesitated at the door, and so Marie-Ange opened it for him, making a "go on" gesture, and watching for any sign that he was struggling - or that he was going to turn around and leave without even going in. She had thought he would have to steel himself - set his shoulders, grit his teeth, something, but as Doug walked past her, it was almost as though he had only needed a moment of pause.
So Marie-Ange let the the door fall closed behind her as she followed Doug in, and to a small table towards the back, where it wasn't so much quieter as the cacophony was muffled slightly. She slid into one of the seats, making a point to wave to Amanda and Angelo, with a thumbs-up "Look, we came!" and then returned her attention to Doug. "Do you want anything? I have both of our ID's." She lifted the strap of her purse off her shoulder, as if to indicate "and they're in here. Somewhere."
"Not sure." On the one hand, alcohol might help with the information overload he was feeling, even sitting at the edge of the group. On the other hand, a mug of Marie-Ange's tea had given him a heavy case of the jitters, so he was pretty sure that his alcohol tolerance had gone away in similar fashion. At least nearly everyone in the pub was a familiar face, which helped. Amanda, Angelo, Forge, Wanda, they were all comforting points in the chaotic swirl of social interaction. He fidgeted slightly, struggling not to play with Marie-Ange's phone and duck his head to tune everything else out.
His eyes flicked around the room, observing and moving on, never really stopping in one place, always taking in more information. Garrison chatting with Adrienne Frost at the bar. Jubilee carefully stacking shot glasses in a pyramid. Nate doing his best to keep up with Jubilee in another corner with a bottle of tequila. It was like he couldn't stop analyzing. He rubbed his temples and frowned. "On second thought, maybe a drink would help."
Marie-Ange was only gone for a few minutes, returning with two glasses, sipping from one and setting the other on the table. "Vodka and cranberry." She announced, pushing Doug's glass towards him. "We are on a tab - do not let me forget to get my credit card back before we leave?" Sitting down, she turned her chair slightly to face the small stage where the band usually played, without taking her eyes off Doug. "Is that that band that Garrison knows?"
Doug nodded as he took a long sip of his drink, which seemed to let him relax ever so slightly from squinting in tension. "Johnny Devil and the Screaming Demons," he identified them as the band came back from their break and the aforementioned Johnny took a long pull from his pint glass and did some tuning before launching into one of their original songs.
Marie-Ange had never been the kind to sit and play wallflower and just watch the band from the back of the bar. Which is why she was almost twitching with the effort of staying with Doug, but there was no way she was going to leave him alone to get up and dance all by herself. She finished her drink, and swirled the ice around in her glass, and twice had to stop herself from taking Doug's hand to try to drag him out onto the dance floor. It didn't help when Johnny and the band started into Brick House, in an effort to try to get -everyone- out and dancing.
On a normal night, Doug would have been eager to dance with his girlfriend, especially to a band as infectiously entertaining as Johnny Devil and the Screaming Demons. But it had been difficult enough to come to the bar, much less join the throng waving their hands in the air at Johnny's urging. As the set went on, the music began to help, though, giving Doug something to concentrate on, and lending a strange sort of order to the chaos on the dance floor. That, plus the alcohol, helped dull the intensity of the information that Doug's brain was supplying to him, and his toes began tapping to the music. Music hadn't been one of the things he and Emma had specifically closed the door away on in his brain, but it still felt like one of those doors was beginning to creak open inside his head.
In the brief pause between songs, Marie-Ange had gone to get herself and Doug another drink, and returned to find him actually smiling, and tapping his fingers on their table, and she chanced a look down, to see his sneaker-clad foot also tapping. She set the drinks down and pulled her chair to Doug's side of the table, there was room now that most of the partygoers were up and dancing. She said nothing, just sat and watched for the rest of the song, until Johnny began explaining about spending the night in a high school gym.
He managed to stay for the whole set, including Johnny calling Jay and Garrison up to play the final song with him. The words were powerful. "And I'm feeling much better, just for today, feeling much better this way..." Doug stayed very still, his fingers and toes not tapping anymore. On the one hand, the words and their message of hope resonated very powerfully with him. But on the other hand, it was almost -too- powerful, too much input to his still raw senses. He stood. "I...I need to go," he told Marie-Ange apologetically.
That was a tone Marie-Ange recognized all too well, even with Doug's voice still coming out somewhat flat. She nodded, and stood. "I have to pay our tab, do you think you can wait for me outside?" She wasn't going to make him walk back alone, but if he needed to get away from the crowd now, she wouldn't argue it. There was no reason to.
Doug walked briskly for the door, and stood outside breathing the crisp fall air. Away from everyone else, he was able to relax from the tension that had crept into his muscles. He looked up at the moon and stars, and waited for Marie-Ange to come out. "Thank you," he said quietly to her, trying to convey everything in those two words. Thank you for understanding. For being patient. For supporting him. For being who she was. He reached out tentatively and took her hand in his as they turned to walk back to the mansion.
He didn't feel -much- better, like the song said. But in the face of the nightmares, the physical recovery issues, and everything else, maybe he felt a -little- better.
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