Have a Good Time (Adam)

[Dr. Sean Neville]

If Sean were asked to name one aspect of life in Vermont to which he’d never adjust – had never adjusted after the years the first time around and the two decades since returning – he would have to answer “sports.” Nobody in Vermont rooted for the right sports teams. Instead of rooting for the Yankees and the Giants, or even for the Mets and the Jets, the people around him rooted for the Red Sox and the Patriots. On game days, he tried to stay home, lest he have to deal with anxious or excited fans.

But this Friday night wasn’t a game day, and he was tired of his house. Rather, he’d spent most of last weekend in his house and wanted a change of scenery, albeit only a slight one, as he had no intention of driving down to Boston when he’d have to return in two days. He didn’t feel like going out to Burlington, either, because he was exhausted from the day’s work, and if memory served, there was some concert in the city tonight that he had no interest in seeing, or dealing with the traffic.

So he’d settled for downtown, which was an easy trip, and because Pilot Ridge wasn’t exactly a busy city, there were only a handful of options available. He'd dressed himself in club clothing, which included his patched jeans from decades ago at college. He chose a bar he’d made a habit of visiting over the years, one that still served food in this day and age. Upon entering, he ordered a scotch and soda, and a cheeseburger, before settling in at the bar.

[Adam Collier]

It had been a long week, a good week but a long week. And Adam needed to relax. He had gone home and attempted to relax there, listen to some old school jazz, that didn't work. So he tried the old stand by watching The Blues brothers, even that didn't work. He was getting bored and fast. He needed to get out of the house.

Adam wasn't sure where he wanted to go, maybe to a coffee house, or a bistro get something to eat. No those wouldn't work too much possibility that he would run into a student. As much as he loved working Hammel there were times he really wanted to escape all the drama that seemed to swirl around the students.

He decided to head into the local bar. A beer and some chili fries sounded amazing. Perhaps even some company for the night.

He walked into the bar and smiled, bars all seemed to have the same smell. It was a smell that Adam loved, if he could bottle it he would. Looking around the bar he spotted a familiar face. Sean was older then Adam by a number of years but it didn't bother Adam. Sean was a good guy, fun to hang out with.

He walked over to the man and signaled the bar keep for a drink before turning to Sean. "Good evening Sean, mind if I join you?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean was nearly finished with his first drink, and had just started on his hamburger when he detected the familiar and distinct odor often possessed of by pheromone manipulators. That wasn’t an uncommon occurrence in this town, considering Hammel’s presence, and how several of the former students had settled nearby. However, it wasn’t the most common ability, and Sean only knew of a few who were in the area at present, even fewer who could be in a bar. Yet a moment later, the person in question made his identity apparent: between his arrival beside him and the sound of his voice.

Adam Collier worked at Hammel, and like most of the personnel, had been a student at one time, although the other man’s student years were essentially before, just barely before, Sean had taken on his position there. Thus, unlike most people at Hammel, Sean had no direct memories of Adam as a student (or in the rare case of Claude for example, there were no memories of Sean as a student) complicating their interactions. Their relationship was largely professional, and Sean liked him quite a bit. Adam was a character.

He gestured at the seat next to him, welcoming the other man to join him. “Fancy meeting you here, Adam. I don’t mind at all, please, sit down, make yourself comfortable.”

[Adam Collier]

Adam smiled politely at Sean and took a seat on the bar stool next to the man. As he sat down the bartender came up to take his order. Adam had to think for a minute, he might be here for a while and if he was here he would be drinking. Liqueur would not be a wise choice. Instead he ordered his favorite beer, a Shiner Bock. The bartender went to go get his drink and he turned back to Sean.

"Sorry 'bout that I just really need a drink. Anyways... yeah I just had to get out of my place. I spent all of last weekend cooped up and just could not handle doing it again."

As he finished his sentence the bar keep had brought him hi drink. Adam took a long swig and sighed. That, right there was heaven.

"What about you? What brings you to this dive on a fine Friday night?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

As the bartender came by, Sean took the opportunity to order a refill on his scotch; he might as well, since it was Friday night. Besides, considering his size, he could handle a few scotches without having to worry about alternative means of transportation home. He then waved off Adam’s apology, because the situation didn’t warrant one.

“If you think this is a dive, I need to take you to some of the places I used to go to, back in the day,” Sean said with a chuckle. After all, this place was clean, and the food and liquor was of a quality that wouldn’t leave one retching the next morning. It didn’t rate as a dive.

He then shook his head slightly, smiling, and took a sip of his scotch. “I was in the same boat as you: the house was a bit too confining, and I needed to get out. There’s no sense in me going to singles hangouts at this age, and Pilot Ridge isn’t exactly Boston when it comes to nightlife.”

[Adam Collier]

Adam had to laugh, he too had been to some real dives back in the day. This place was as close to as a dive as he had seen in Pilot Ridge.

"Boston, huh? I've never spent too much time there. But then I never have spent too much time in clubs in general. Not usually my scene. All it takes is for some idiot to realize why I smelled so nice and a fight would break out. Been in quite a few bar fights, not something I care to do any more."

Adam rubbed his jaw, he had it broken 3 times and only once was because of something he did, the other times some guy didn't take kindly to his girlfriend hanging all over some other guy.

"I find the rush of jumping out of an airplane a much better thrill and way of relaxing. Even that is becoming routine."

It may have sounded weird to others, but after years and years of jumping out of planes Adam was ready for a new thrill. Base jumping was the next on his list. He just needed to go out and find some one to teach him exactly how to do it.

"What about you? What gets your blood pumping?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“I wouldn’t usually recommend Boston, but it’s the closest major city that we have,” Sean said with a half-smile and a shake of his head. He didn’t count any of the cities in Vermont as “major,” considering that the tallest building in the state was only eleven stories, and Vermont prided itself on that fact. And as much of a New Yorker as he was at heart, Boston was a major city, even if it was one filled with rival sports fans. Vermont was the same way.

Then he shook his head again, the smile melting into a slight frown at the mention of fighting. He’d been in an argument over a pheromone manipulator, back when he’d been a student at Hammel, but it hadn’t turned physical, and it was just he and Maggie arguing over if it counted as cheating to flirt with a pheromone manipulator, which he’d argued at the time it didn’t. He’d won that argument. “Someday, the world is going to know better than to start a fight over your powers, and we’ll look back on those fights ashamed. That doesn’t make up for it now, of course.” Nor would it; Sean had never cared for violence. “Someone should open a bar, a safe zone for meta-humans.”

He took a sip of his drink, finishing it off, before setting it down on the bar and flagging the bartender for a refill. “I’m fifty-two-years-old, Adam; these days, waking up in the morning gets my blood pumping.”