Are you down?

[Tanner Larson]

The House was a flurry of activity that evening, as dancers, waitstaff, and technical crew workers alike flew about the backstage area, putting on makeup, checking their props, and cleaning tables in preparation for the start of the show. It was a Thursday, and that meant Ladies' Night - and that meant Tanner would be performing that evening. The blonde had been performing on Thursdays for several months now, and he had more or less fallen into a groove with it.

Tonight would be fairly different, however, for tonight he would be meeting with the girl who had won him at Kiara's auction a few weeks back. That entire experience had just been one long string of strange circumstances, but he was happy to help out a friend, however reluctantly. The pyrokinetic had been a bit shellshocked to hear this girl - who had bid mere cents on a previous boy - give him a serious bid not once, but twice, and before he had even had time to process what was going on, he had been, well, sold to her.

He had gotten her number from Kiara after the auction, who had wished him luck and offered the advice that he "keep an open mind."

"Hey, I'm going to go wait for..." Tanner trailed off, eyes hitting the floor. He was standing in the doorway into Cynthia's office, where she was looking over some things before heading out to help everyone get ready for curtain.

"Your date?" the older woman offered. A single eyebrow was quirked; she thought this whole thing was very silly, but had relented when Tanner had begged her to let someone join him onstage if they desired. Tanner was essentially the only living person who could so easily get what they wanted out of the Pilot Ridge Madame.

The boy nodded. "Yeah. We'll be at the bar, probably. I'll be backstage in time for my number." Or their number, depending on how things went. She seemed like a pretty lively girl, so anything was possible.

The late November wind hit Tanner immediately as he stepped out into the cold night. The front of the building was well-lit, but that didn't stop him from shivering. This was around the time they had agreed to via text message. Noticing that he could see his breath in front of his face, he decided he really hoped Lucy would show up soon.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy walked up to the place. She'd never been there before and fuck no, she never planned to go back. Not unless someone bound her hands and feet and dragged her ass there.

Dom probably would.

She dressed in layers because the cold wasn't something she was okay with. After years she was still trying to come to terms with how often the temperature went below zero in Vermont. That was just stupid. She stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets, breathing heavily into her scarf and trying to dodge the wind with the beanie on her head, but it was still pretty damn cold. She saw the guy standing out the front and for a second or so she was contemplating what she was supposed to do. She went up to him, pulling out a note from her pocket and handing it to him.

I'm not going on your shitty date.

And then she walked away.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner's hands were buried in the pockets of the coat he had grabbed while walking out the front entrance; it was colder than he had anticipated, though he supposed Vermont in late November was meant to be cold. A second shiver had him quaking temporarily in his place, and it was only after getting over it that he saw Lucy coming down the sidewalk. He knew it was her, for he recognized her from the crowd at the auction. This was, however, their first time meeting in person, for the scene in the auditorium immediately following the auction had been quite chaotic, and the blonde had contented himself with simply getting the girl's number from the auctioneer.

Putting on as genuine a smile as he could muster given the temperature and the delicacy of the situation, the young man extended a hand towards the girl. "Hi, I'm Tanner," he said by way of greeting as the girl approached. "You must be Lu-"

An eyebrow quirked up as the girl handed him a note and instantly made an about-face.

"...cy."

Unfolding the note, the boy read the words; his jaw nearly dropped.

"What the-" He mumbled to himself, absolutely perplexed by this development. He looked up from the paper to see that Lucy was already several feet away.

"Hey, where are you going?" He asked, racing to catch up with her. "What about our date?" Well, now that sounded pathetic out of context.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy started walking away. With her hands deep in her pockets, she cursed the cold wind and made her way with her usual quick pace back to where she needed to be. She didn't expect to hear him call out after her; Lucy had more or less been thinking that he would be so stunned that she'd have a lot more time to get away before he came after her.

She turned around, realising that he was also running after her. Lucy tilted her head to the side, her lips twitching and threatening a frown. Her eyebrows knitted together to offer a perplexed expression, as if she were confused about what he was talking about and what he wanted from her. "I don't wanna go on it." Lucy replied, more or less repeating her note in a nicer kind of way. Nicer meaning she didn't swear, of course.

"Wanted to see your face though." She shrugged, turning on a heel and heading off again.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner was certainly stunned, but he had long since learned that if you wanted something, you had to work for it. And while saying that he wanted this date was a bit of a stretch, he certainly didn't want to be stood up, especially without receiving for it good enough justification. That was why he had ran after her at all.

"Don't wanna go?!" He repeated, voice raised a bit but certainly not meaning to be threatening. "You sure seemed like you did when you paid forty bucks for it." That might have sounded harsh, but he was simply voicing his perplexity. Why would she have bid on him at all - let alone twice - if she wasn't interested? And why come all this way to tell him so when she had his number?

The girl clearly had no signs of stopping, so he simply kept pace with her. He let the remark about seeing his face slide right off; Kiara had warned him that she would be a bit difficult, and he didn't let it dissuade him. "Come on, just a drink or something? You don't have to stay if you don't want." He hated how desperate he was sounding, but he was too confused to maintain an air of composure.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy shrugged. "Wasn't my money, dude." And that was true. Dom paid her in their cooking class to go get the ingredients for their cake. Two hundred dollars for a ten step walk. And she had nothing else to use it on.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucy asked suddenly, turning on a heel to stop walking and face him. She raised her hand, her finger extended to poke him in the chest. "What's your deal? Can't take no for an answer?" Hmm, she wondered if he was like that other guy. How many guys from Hammel were intent on being creepy as hell? "I already said I ain't staying."

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner rolled his eyes nearly to the back of his head; this girl certainly seemed to have an answer for everything, and it was starting to get on his nerves. He found himself wondering what exactly her problem was that she wasn't interested in going on this date, yet came all the way here to tell him so when she already had his number.

He took a moment to remind himself that there was no sense in getting angry before responding. "Yeah, I guess not," he agreed firmly to the girl's sarcastic remark, shrugging his shoulders huffily. "I just find it hard to believe you would really come all the way here just to hand me a freakin' note. If you had the time for that, it seems like you don't really have anywhere else to be." He quit his rambling for a moment, shrugging his shoulders once more. "God knows I don't have anything going on, either. So why not just join me for a drink? They make strong martinis here..." He practically grimaced at his own words; maybe he should have just let her walk off after all. "Is there nothing I can do to change your mind?" He asked finally, eyebrows in the air. He wouldn't keep bothering her if she was intent on leaving, but... a tiny part of him just didn't believe she was that stubborn.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

"I can see that." Lucy retorted, folding her arms in front of her chest and looking him up and down. This was interesting. Not what she expected. Given how deer-in-headlights he looked on stage at the auction, she wasn't expecting this kind of... Well, fire from him (Nice pun, Lucy). "That's just the kinda girl I am." She shot back.

And really, what a great start to the date. "A drink? And then what? Don't you work here or something?" She asked. Had she heard that right? Hey, at least she wasn't outright walking away. He was on the verge of something. "What are you, like a proz or some shit?"

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner thought perhaps he was making a bit of progress. The girl's forward motion had been stopped, as it were, and now they were standing together about fifty feet away from the entrance to the House, a light dusting of snow having coated the street and sidewalk from a snowfall earlier that day. The boy nodded in response to the girl's question about whether he worked at the House: hadn't she been paying attention during the auction? "Yeah, I work here," he replied. This girl was very odd.

He then shook his head, though he didn't have the slightest idea what the hell a 'proz' was. "No, I'm a singer," he said, with as much confidence he could muster given the fact that he rarely said this out loud. "I have to perform once tonight, in like a half hour." He couldn't help but allow his lips to spread into a bit of a grin. "Why do you ask? Plan on staying after all?" Perhaps he was getting a bit cocky now, but he was still unconvinced that leaving had been her intention all the while. It just didn't make sense to him.

Tanner decided it was time for his closing argument. "I'll bet you'll have fun if you try it," he offered, shrugging his shoulders as he allowed his hands to sink into his pockets. "Sooo, whaddaya say?"

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

"Sounds pretty gay to me." Lucy replied. The lack of recognition in his eyes made it clear that he didn't know what she was talking about. She was used to that by now, so she just shrugged it off. "Maybe." She said shortly. Who knew? Maybe he'd fail royally and it would be something else she could put on youtube.

She snerked, which rolled into an overly amused laugh. "Fun? Are you fucking kidding me?" She highly doubted it would be fun unless something stupid happened. Being sung at wasn't entertaining for her. It was also a stupid idea for a date. She was quiet for a while, looking around as if something was going to keep her distracted a lot better than he could.

"You buying?" She asked again, not looking him in the eye.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner rolled his blue eyes yet again as Lucy remarked on his occupation, choosing not to respond to it directly; it wasn't as though he had anything to say to that, anyway. Lucy seemed to be fairly good at whipping out the witty ripostes, but that just wasn't how he was. He was content to let her have the last word as often as she liked. "Okay, I can't promise it'll be fun, but I'll try," he replied. And he would; that had been his intention all along.

"As much as you want," He replied quickly as the girl asked whether he would be buying the drinks. And he would, too: Cynthia had offered not to charge him since this date had been arranged as part of a charity auction, but he had insisted on footing the bill. She could drink all she wanted for all he cared.

The tone with which she had asked clued Tanner into the possibility that she was relenting. Excellent. He put on what he hoped was a warm, handsome smile, nodding towards the club as his hands were still in his pockets. "So... shall we?" He asked gently.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy rolled her eyes. She wasn't an idiot; she knew when to stop being such a total bitch and accept offers that were clearly weighed in her favour. She could get drunk, find her way back to Hammel and berate the hell out of Dom for an hour or so. That sounded like a fun enough evening. Hell, maybe she's mess around with her roommates stuff just for shits and giggles. She was clearly weighing the options.

"Yeah, okay. Whatever." She replied, unfurling her arms and putting them firmly in the pockets of her jacket. She wasn't about to touch him or anything like that. But the walk back was awkward and silent, so she did her best to think of a decent topic of conversation. "So..." She began, looking away, "You're a mo. That's... Interesting."

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner resisted the urge to pump his fists as Lucy finally conceded. There, now that hadn't been so hard, had it? Obviously she was going to be a tougher customer than most, but he was determined to show her a good time, since she had spent forty of somebody's money on securing an evening with him. It also didn't hurt that, underneath that scowl, there was actually a fairly attractive woman there.

Tanner kept his hands in his pockets as they walked back to the club; obviously he wasn't going to try to touch her, as she would probably sock him, and that just wasn't his style. He would make sure she had a good drink and didn't leave five minutes after entering thinking he was a retard; that was basically all he could hope for at this point.

It wasn't until they had walked halfway towards the door in silence that the blonde remembered how awful he was at making small talk. And given the fact that he was walking on eggshells as it was, he was desperate to find something to talk about. He was just about to mention the weather when Lucy spoke up first. "A what?" He asked, confused. It took him only a second longer to realize what she had meant, and when he did, he practically chocked on his own saliva. "Uh, no, I am not," he replied, giving her a strange look. What was it about him that made her think that? "If I was, I don't think I would've been standing out in the cold for ten minutes trying to get some girl to go to a bar with me," he added. The fact that he was interested in both genders didn't merit mention, in his view.

Saying a quick hello to the bouncer as he led Lucy through the doors - he'd told the guy earlier not to check their ID's, since he wasn't really sure how old she was - he brought her right away to the bar. The band was playing a lively tune, but he knew what she was most interested in. "What'll ya have?" He asked her, taking a seat on one of the stools. It was a pretty sizeable crowd, but there was plenty of room at said bar for the two of them to sit down. He figured she probably wouldn't want to sit any closer to the stage.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy gave him a confused look when he asked what she meant. Wasn't it obvious she was trying not to be a jerk? It bloody well should have been, because small talk wasn't her forte and she thought she was doing it right. Her face changed to one of wonderment when he said he wasn't, and she shrugged. "Huh. You totally look like one." She pointed out, "You should do something about that."

She couldn't help but eye the bouncer at the door; she knew she didn't look eighteen but she was willing to prove it. It carried a smug sense of satisfaction when people were wrong. Nevertheless, they went right to the bar anyway. Lucy's eyes wandered the whole place. She sat down beside him and still didn't say anything.

Where the hell was she?

"What?" Lucy asked, looking back at him again. She shook her head, laughing. "Sorry dude, they just don't make places like this where I'm from." Again, it was her attempt at saying something nice, but it wasn't that hard to take it the wrong way. She knew that. "Just whatever."

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner had figured she thought he looked gay given that she had assumed he was, but it still felt a bit painful to hear her say so out loud. "What, is it the hair?" He asked, referring to his spiky blonde locks. He decided after saying this that he should have just kept quiet; he had a feeling he would never quite understand this chick, so there was no point in coming down to her level on that matter.

He noticed her taking a long look around the main room; he assumed she was impressed, not that there was much to be impressed by. It was certainly a large room, and the stage was always well-lit which made it look nice, but it was clear that the club had seen better days, perhaps as much as a decade ago. It was still pretty full, though, so Tanner was hopeful that she would enjoy herself.

Tanner took her observation as neutral, since what she was saying was probably true. "It's pretty old," he said by way of explanation, shrugging his shoulders. "And where are you from?" He asked, hoping that perhaps that would launch them into some sort of conversation. He had noted her accent when they'd first spoken but wasn't worldly enough to place it. "Two vodka martinis," he stated to the bartender, who produced the drinks fairly quickly, recognizing Tanner as one of the performers. Tanner wasn't much of a drinker, but he had a feeling it might be useful on this particular night.