|
|
Post by Hayden Ferrera on Aug 10, 2009 17:25:59 GMT -5
"Exactly. Those laundry days help everything." Hayden's eyes said amusement. If Roland had never dragged him out of his apartment, he doubted that he would have ever gone anywhere. Now, however, it seemed like Hayden was deciding to actually go out instead of staying in all the time, at least tonight.
His eyebrows shot up as she spoke about being a happy person. Hayden contained his laughter by finishing off his drink. "I suppose that does make you a happy person," he said with a light smile. "I'm glad that you like talking to people because I believe this is the most I've really talked to anyone in awhile and it has done a lot of good so far I think."
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Sept 1, 2009 2:18:31 GMT -5
Nathalia shrugged. "It's what I do. I'm glad it's helping you a little. I just have this belief that if we shut ourselves up every once in a while and listened to the people around us, we could learn so much. Like everyone one of us holds some knowledge of the world, and if we could all unite and stop fighting and everything, we'd know all there is to know. But then, maybe we're not supposed to ever solve that puzzle."
She laughed a moment later. "I'm sorry. I'm getting all philosophical on you. Asking me if I was a happy person was such a loaded question."
She rested her elbows on the bar and leaned forward. "So tell me, Hayden. What piece of all the world's knowledge do you carry? What do you know about life and the universe?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Hayden Ferrera on Sept 1, 2009 8:36:06 GMT -5
"No, it's fine really. After all, it is true." He smiled. "The world wouldn't be the same if everything was completely peaceful. There always has to be someone who has to cause some kind of trouble."
What piece of the world's knowledge did he carry? That was a pretty good question. He was quiet and observed people and things around him, so what did he know? "Well, I guess the knowledge I have is that there always has to be someone to be there to help pick up the pieces for someone. Even though the person may try and push you away as hard as they can, you should push back. If the person claims that they don't need anyone, eventually they'll realize that they more than likely need someone to help them, even if it is just a friend." Hayden gave a shrug.
"That's the only thing I can think of."
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Sept 5, 2009 16:26:29 GMT -5
Nathalia smiled at the simple fact that he even gave her an answer. Most people, she knew, would have shied away from the question. Like Hayden, she observed people, and understood them. Maybe that was what made her such a good barmaid. But she wasn't always quiet like Hayden... she was bold and outgoing and not afraid to draw attention to herself. But a large part of this was a defense mechanism, too, and she knew it.
Nodding slowly, she smiled more softly. "You seem like you'd be a good friend to someone who needed it, Hayden," she told him.
One of the few other patrons called out to her, obviously quite inebriated. "I'll be right back," she told Hayden, making up another drink quickly and taking it over to the man, who was trying to convince Nathalia that he wasn't nearly drunk enough to get up on stage.
In another few moments, he was singing his heart out, and Nathalia was laughing to herself as she joined Hayden again. "Think you'll be next up on stage?" she teased, honestly not able to ever see Roland's cousin doing karaoke.
|
|
|
|
Post by Hayden Ferrera on Sept 6, 2009 8:49:59 GMT -5
"Thanks," he said before she turned to another person several seats down. Hayden didn't have all that many friends. He probably had more acquaintances than anything but he would even help them if they needed it.
Hayden just nodded whenever she disappeared from in front of him. He slowly took a drink from his glass. For now, he was just going to drink it slow, but it wasn't because he didn't want to get drunk. For the moment that he thought about it, he wanted to talk to her longer. He felt sure that he could have probably finished drinking his drink and it would have still be alright for him to talk to her.
When he noticed the guy she went to had gone up on stage, Hayden just shook his head. "I don't think I will be singing at all," he said with a light smile. "I can't sing at all, so you don't want to hear it. Trust me." Hayden gave a small laugh.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Sept 6, 2009 10:45:20 GMT -5
"I trust you," Nathalia replied with a little laugh. "Believe me, I don't sing either." On nights when the guys hassled her to sing, she was kind of glad to have Vanessa around. She could send her up on stage and the patrons loved her. She didn't even give Vanessa a schedule, though she tried to convince the girl to work the same shifts Nat did. Some of the guys could be rough, and Vanessa didn't look like she could take much. But otherwise, she let the girl come and go as she pleased.
"You know, I get off in ten minutes. Would you mind if I had a drink with you?" Hayden still looked like he might need to talk, and if he wanted to talk about Roland, she felt like a table in the back would be a better choice... more comfortable for him, maybe.
|
|
|
|
Post by Hayden Ferrera on Sept 6, 2009 11:09:46 GMT -5
There was no way that Hayden would get up and sing. He never even sang in the shower. The only way he would have done it was if he was far too drunk and no one stopped him, but even then he wasn't sure if he would have.
He rested his elbows against the bar. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who refuses to get up there. I'm sorry you have to listen to stuff like that all night long," he said with an amused smile. As Nathalia said she got off in ten minutes, Hayden's eyebrows rose lightly. "Yeah, that'll be fine." He thought that it had to be perfect timing.
He finished off his drink and then pushed the glass toward her. "But before you get off, do you think that you could make me another?" There was another trace of a smile on his face. Maybe he would end up talking about Roland. There was a few things that he needed to just say rather than keep it all in and at the moment, it seemed like Nathalia was his best choice to talk to.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Sept 6, 2009 21:09:06 GMT -5
Nathalia shrugged when he expressed how sorry he was that she went through this every night. "It's not a big deal. It's pretty fun, actually. I was just telling a friend of mine that on Friday nights, Stu actually comes out and works the bar with me, and he refuses to give anyone a drink until they swear to sing on stage. It's funny, because Stu's not much of a singer, either. He's one of those guys that I'm pretty sure has a sad past no one knows about."
She shrugged again. "That's the thing about bartenders... it's really hard to get them to talk about their own personal lives."
She smiled and took his glass, rinsing it out before she made another drink for him. "Sweetheart, you can have drinks even when I do get off the clock," she told him. She could tell he needed to talk still, which was why she asked if she could share a drink with him instead of leaving him when her shift ended, but she was also patient and would wait until he was ready.
|
|
|
|
Post by Hayden Ferrera on Sept 6, 2009 21:27:01 GMT -5
"I'll make sure not to come in here on Friday nights then," Hayden said with laughter. For one of the first times, Hayden was actually out on his own. Usually it was Roland that was dragging him out of his apartment, wanting him to get out. He could understand why. Hayden didn't really need to stay in his apartment all the time but sometimes he felt that he could be socially awkward. It could sometimes get awkward but then again he could adapt to his situations pretty well if he put his mind to it. Right now, it seemed to be one of those situations where he had adapted. Maybe he would get out more.
"Thanks," he said with a smile. "I should probably stop after this one though." It was a first for Hayden to just open up to just anyone but then again Nathalia wasn't just anyone. She was the one that most of his family went to in order to talk. Maybe it was just natural to open up to her.
"I'll go ahead and claim a table, alright?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Sept 6, 2009 23:07:01 GMT -5
"They always say that. You'll ask me for another one," Nathalia teased.
She nodded when he said he'd claim a table, and promised to join her in a few minutes when her shift was over. When he was gone, Stu seemed to come out of nowhere, taking her apron from her and telling her to go sit with the boy. Her shift was practically over anyway.
Nathalia laughed, assuring him that Hayden was just a friend, but she left the bar anyway, and joined the Ferrera boy. She had her own "angry Frenchman" in her hand.
"All right, I'm off the clock and I'm all yours."
|
|
|
|
Post by Hayden Ferrera on Sept 7, 2009 8:10:31 GMT -5
Finding a table near the back, where it was somewhat empty, Hayden pulled out a chair and sat down facing the direction of the bar. He rested both arms on the table with his glass in between his hands.
He could have come up with some kind of comment that would have twisted Nathalia's words around when she appeared at the table, but Hayden figured that it would be best if he kept it to himself. Instead, he smiled to himself and looked over at her.
"Take a seat," he said motioning to one of the empty chairs. "Do you sit and talk with your customers often?" There was a hint of teasing in his voice.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Sept 7, 2009 11:05:51 GMT -5
Nathalia sat across from him, crossing her legs in the seat as she unpinned her hair. She collected the bobby pins next to her glass and gave him a wide, unreserved smile. "Nah," she replied. "Only with the ones I like." She didn't realize that the comment was a little flirty. Nathalia was naturally a very flirty person, and she didn't always know when she was doing it. At any rate, she wasn't intentionally flirting with Hayden.
"Besides... maybe I'm too bold, but I don't really consider you a customer. You're more a friend by now, wouldn't you say?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Hayden Ferrera on Sept 7, 2009 12:34:05 GMT -5
"Well, I suppose I should feel honored," Hayden replied in a joking manner. He didn't really pay that much attention to any flirty sounds. Maybe that was just something that he didn't pay attention to that kind of thing that dealt with himself. He could see it with everyone else.
"I guess you could consider us friends. After all, you know my father, my uncle, and cousin. I suppose you could almost be practically family." He gave a laugh.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Sept 29, 2009 14:14:48 GMT -5
Nathalia's smile widened. "Damn straight you should feel honored," she said. "I like very few people in all actuality."
His next words made her smile slip just slightly, though she couldn't really say why. She just thought most people had a skewed perspective on family, and it left a bitter taste in her mouth. But the Ferreras... well, they knew the importance of family, and it wasn't such a bad thing to be considered a part of that, was it?
"I guess I'm the one who should feel honored," she said, smiling warmly.
|
|
|
|
Post by Hayden Ferrera on Sept 30, 2009 6:11:53 GMT -5
"Damn straight you should feel honored," he said, copying her words with a smile, "We don't just let anyone in." Hayden looked at her teasingly, but what he said was true. Ferreras didn't just let anyone get close to them. Once they trusted someone, they trusted them for life, unless of course they broke that trust and it was awfully hard to get that trust back.
Hayden took a small drink from his glass. He wanted his drink to last. For the first time since Roland's so-called death, Hayden was not forcing any smiles upon his face. "I appreciate you doing this," he said. He figured that he didn't need to explain what this meant. "I should pay you back somehow."
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Sept 30, 2009 15:24:10 GMT -5
The laugh his words caused was easy and natural. Nathalia had one of those laughs that pretty, confident girls had; loud, honest, pretty. She didn't really hold back. Why was she even bothering to live if she couldn't enjoy life while she was at it?
"Please, don't even mention it. It's what I do," she told him, honestly wondering why he would even thank her anyway. All she was doing was providing easy conversation, and someone to talk to when he needed it. She liked Hayden like she liked all the Ferreras.
"You know, I've just decided, anyone with the Ferrera name gets free drinks from me, no matter what. I have an open door policy for you, Hayden."
|
|
|
|
Post by Hayden Ferrera on Sept 30, 2009 15:59:49 GMT -5
It was nice to hear the ring of laughter that Nathalia's laughter left in his ears. Her laugh caused him to laugh along with her, even though his laugh was much more quiet.
"Some bartenders just pretend to listen, some just listen, give advice, and move on to the next person. You, are not like any of them. You do listen, give advice, and actually care. Now that makes some of the best bartenders, and it also helps that you make great drinks." Hayden winked before he took a drink from his glass.
"Now that, I'm not sure you should have told me," he said jokingly. "I might be in here a lot more, and then you'd get sick of seeing me, or you would be excited to see my handsome face every time I come in." That was one of the first times that Hayden had ever made some kind of comment that sounded egotistical. It just slipped out, and he couldn't help but laugh again. He knew that if he had ever said anything like that around Liam, he would have gotten a certain look from him.
"I appreciate that though, really. I'm not sure what I have to offer exactly, but if you ever need anything, just let me know. I'd be more than happy to help you."
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Sept 30, 2009 23:40:50 GMT -5
"It'd be the highlight of my day, seeing your handsome face," Nathalia replied, and mix of being flirty because that was just how she talked to people, and a slight bit of honesty that even she didn't fully recognize.
"Please stop talking like you owe me anything," she told him at length. "You really don't. Yes, I genuinely care about you and your family... I have a soft spot for you guys. That doesn't mean you have to repay me in any way."
She took a breath, holding it for a moment before she released it as a slow sigh. She didn't know what else to say to him, but she didn't want to let him go, either. There was that gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her she thought he was cute, and sweet, and Nathalia had a bad habit of falling for guys.
|
|
|
|
Post by Hayden Ferrera on Oct 1, 2009 10:53:17 GMT -5
"Well, what if I said that we had a soft spot for you too? That would mean that we want to help you out if you ever need it. All you ever have to do is ask and whatever it is will be taken care of." Hayden gave her a smile and took a drink from his glass. He didn't realize that he was almost finished with his drink. One more sip and it would be empty.
"You know what Nathalia? Only you, Roland, Sheena, and sometimes Liam, are the ones that have made me talk the most. But, only you are the one that I have been able to just tell whatever. Liam, he knows what is going on. He can just tell, however, he doesn't always make me tell him. He just knows. In a way, I guess that is sort of eerie, but its just a level of understanding we have." He gave a small smile. "And I know that I have already said this, and you have said that it's your job, but thank you, really."
Sighing, Hayden leaned back in his chair again. "I guess I probably should be going. I have work to go do tomorrow."
|
|
|
|
Post by Nathalia Webb on Oct 11, 2009 22:56:44 GMT -5
Nathalia gazed back at him, unsure how to respond to being told that he- or his family, rather- had a soft spot for her. Yes, her mother had always been there for her, but Nathalia was very independent, and she wasn't used to someone offering anything like that to her. She wasn't sure how to handle it.
"I like talking with you, Hayden," Nathalia replied, shrugging as he thanked her. "You're a sweet guy."
Before she could get anything else out, he told her he should go, and she almost deflated. "Oh. Right, it is late. Well, you know where to find me if you ever want to talk again. I'm always here to listen."
|
|
