Only the Lonely (OPEN)

[Kit Cunningham]

Kit grinned. "The Beatles, huh? Good choice. I'm a big John Lennon fan. Especially when he was younger... he was cheeky, I guess is the word for it."

She took another sip, thinking for a moment. It was obvious that she was weighing her options. And then, she broke into a wider grin, and drained the rest of her glass. "All right, here goes nothing," she said, winking at Nathalia as she headed toward the stage.

After a minute, the karaoke machine started up and the opening strains of "Twist and Shout" began to play. Then Kit began to sing in her best John Lennon impression....

"Well, shake it up, baby, now,
Twist and shout.
Cmon cmon, cmon, cmon, baby, now,
Come on and work it on out.

Well, work it on out, honey.
You know you look so good.
You know you got me goin, now,
Just like I knew you would.

Well, shake it up, baby, now,
Twist and shout.
Cmon, cmon, cmon, cmon, baby, now,
Come on and work it all out.

You know you’re a twisty little girl,
You know you twist so fine.
Come on and twist a little closer, now,
And let me know that you're mine.

Ahhhhhhhhhh.... Ahhhhhhhhhh.... Ahhhhhhhhhh... Ahhhhhhhhhhh.... Ahhhhh... Ahhhhh

Well, shake it up, baby, now,
Twist and shout.
Cmon, cmon, cmon, cmon, baby, now,
Come on and work it on out.

You know you’re a twisty little girl,
You know you twist so fine.
Come on and twist a little closer, now,
And let me know that you're mine.

Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now.
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now.
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now.
Ahhhhhhhhhh.... Ahhhhhhhhhh..... Ahhhhhhhhhh.... Ahhhhhhhhhhh..."

As she sang, she danced as well, jumping off the stage and getting in the faces of some of the other patrons. By the end, she had most of the other customers singing the background parts. She finished the song on stage, slumping over in an exaggerated act of exhaustion.

Then she looked up at Nathalia and grinned while the rest of the bar's patrons burst into applause.

[Nathalia Webb]

"No way. George Harrison is easily the most talented man in that group. He writes music that no one else in his band can play. That, and I've had a crush on Ringo Starr for as long as I can remember," Nathalia said, disagreeing with Kit on her choice of which Beatle was the best.

When Kit was on stage, Nathalia laughed, unable to help herself as she sang along with the other patrons. She loved when the performances were this fun... and Kit was completely sober. It impressed Nathalia, to be quite honest.

She applauded with the rest of the crowd, and nodded her head in a gesture to get Kit back to the bar. When the girl joined her again, she already had a drink waiting for her. "That's on the house... Merlin knows a performance like that deserves it."

[Kit Cunningham]

Kit grinned and raised her glass to Nathalia in a silent toast. "Thanks," she said, grinning. "That was fun. And yeah... I know, it was cheating a little... not an original Beatles composition. But they made it their own, wouldn't you say? And by the way, I agree about George. I just like John for his personality, mostly. And how can you not love Ringo? He's like the perennial underdog, you know?"

She set her glass down and leaned across the bar. "You know, I just realized I don't know your name. It's not often I sing for someone without even knowing their name. I'm Kit, by the way."

[Nathalia Webb]

"Well, I think you made it your own, too," Nathalia told the pretty blonde as she raised her glass in a toast as well. "And we're forgetting poor Paul. But I've always felt like he was trying to take the spotlight from the others."

In the few moments she'd had with Kit, she didn;t realize that they hadn't introduced each other, and since Kit gave such a short name, Nathalia was tempted to just say 'Nat,' but changed her mind.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kit, and a pleasure to hear you sing. I'm Nathalia, but you can feel free to shorten that up however you like. I pretty much respond to anything."

[Kit Cunningham]

Kit grinned. "I didn't forget Paul, and I have nothing against him. But I always felt that he was the Cute One, and he always got all the attention... He didn't need it from me, you know?"

She took another sip from her drink, then when Nathalia introduced herself, she held out her hand to shake it. "Nice to meet you, Nat." She winked at her, and leaned a little closer.

It was sometimes a risky business, flirting with other girls. You could never be sure how some people were going to react. Guys were easy to pick up, and she usually had no trouble with them. But not everyone was as open-minded about sex as Kit was. She was getting a pretty good vibe from Nathalia, and they were both flirting, so she felt comfortable enough to make a move.

"So, since I'm new in town, I really could use someone to show me around a little. Would you be interested?"

[Nathalia Webb]

"I didn't think he was all that cute," Nathalia replied. "George was always my favorite... him and Ringo. I identified with Ringo," she laughed as she said that last part.

She blinked slowly, returning the 'nice to meet you' sentiment from Kit, and she just watched the girl for a moment. She was having similar thoughts about flirting with girls. Even when it seemed like they were flirting with you, sometimes they weren't. Kit was being pretty obvious though, and she didn't see where she could go wrong upping her game.

"I never thought you were going to ask... I almost offered myself," she told the blonde girl. "When are you free?"

[Kit Cunningham]

Kit smiled. She genuinely liked Nathalia.... there was something just undeniably likeable about her. And whatever happened here, she could see them being very good friends. One great thing about Kit was that, as a friend, she was fiercely loyal. For all her brashness and bluster, she had a big, open heart, and she loved easily and often. She understood that love could take many forms, sometimes friendship, and sometimes more, and that it didn't always have to stay the same. It grew and changed, just like people.

"That depends," she said. "When do you get off duty?"

[Nathalia Webb]

"You make it sound like I'm in the military or something," Nathalia replied, though there was a small, slow smile to her lips.

Her eyes darted to clock, but she didn't even need to look at it. "I was off when you walked in," she replied, and it was true. Stu was going to take over for her as soon as she went back to get him, but she hadn't wanted to end her conversation with Kit so quickly. "Which, obviously, means I'm off now."

[Kit Cunningham]

Kit's smile widenened and she nodded, understanding exactly what this meant. It meant that Nathalia had stayed on, just to keep talking to her. And, if she was honest, Kit was pretty sure she wouldn't have stayed here as long as she had if not for her conversation with Nathalia. She almost definitely wouldn't have got up to sing. Nathalia was fun and easy to talk to, and possibly almost as wild as she herself was. Yes, they could definitely be good friends.

"Great," she said, taking out a few coins and leaving them on the bar for Nathalia's replacement. "Let's go, then."