Morning Coffee And Sweet Surprises (Closed to Poprockz)

[Drobabes]

Cora watched his face as it seemed to click for him, and then she broke out laughing with him. After a few seconds of this, she shook her head and then crossed her arms.

"Hey, well now you've already gone and teased me with a good time!"

She laughed a bit more, but got back up on her seat. It would have been interesting to see the back of the bar, but she meant it when she said she didn't have the flair for it. She would much rather leave it to the professionals.

"Alright, are you ready for this? It's going to be a little complicated and you want to start off with a big glass."

She held her hands up a bit innocently.

"I promise I'm not going to down it in one go. I plan on this probably being my only drink for the rest of the night. Just something nice to sip on all evening."

Vin was watching with amusement on the other side. He had a feeling she could hold her liquor, but he was curious of what her style was. So one strong drink for the whole night? That sounded like a pretty good game plan, although he was more of a beer man himself.

"Ok," Cora said as she leaned on the bar a bit.

"First, no ice. We'll do ice last as you want the room for the drinks. Next, I want two shots of sour apple pucker. Then we're going to do two shots of razzmatazz. Now you're going to do a shot of peach schnapps, and a shot of that sour watermelon pucker."

She pointed to the pretty pink bottle behind him next to the other schnapps. She was thinking about adding some blackberry, but it might ruin the tropical flavour she was going for.

"Ok, now I want you to do one shot of sour apple vodka, one shot regular vodka, and then just a small handful of ice. Now were going to finish it off with orange juice, cranberry juice, and pineapple juice."

She gave him a big grin when she was done and he was adding the last ingredients. It was a lot of alcohol, but she knew it wouldn't equal out to more than about seven regular vodka shots total, as the flavoured schnapps were only about half the proof. Given she knew her limits for one good night of partying was about ten shots, she wasn't too worried about it. It would be a few hours before nightfall, and she planned on getting some food inbetween then. Not to mention she would probably be sharing the drink with Damien or Sabastian.

"Now give that a try and tell me that doesn't taste like a Life Savers gummy."

Vin had been watching with a mixture of horror and curiosity as the little lady just kept making it stronger and stronger. He didn't think he would ever have the stomach to handle something so sweet, but he supposed all the sour flavours mixed in might help to balance it out.

He looked down at Damien and cocked an eyebrow.

"You brave enough to try that Frankenstein of a drink?"

 

[Poprockz]

"All is not lost, my dear. One of these days I'll take you back behind the bar and give you the grand tour. Provided you bring a hot guy along with you for me to flirt with." Dave grinned and moved back in front of them, watching Cora as she started to describe it.

His face became increasingly intrigued as she went along, seemingly excited to see what she would come up with. The man moved expertise and grace with a bit of flare thrown in there just to entertain. He grabbed a large, sturdy water bottle and emptied the concoction into it with the ice before screwing the lit on and popping the nozzle loose. Dave lifted the bottle and squirted a little of it into his open mouth before swishing it around and giving her a surprised look.

"Holy mother of God. That's pretty damn good. I'll have to keep that in my recipe book for when the next person says they want a dessert that can really fuck them up." The man handed the bottle to Cora and licked his lips.

Damien had also had an expression of apprehension, wondering whether it was something that would even be palatable. However, if it was something she liked, he was damn-well going to try it. He looked at Delvin and smiled, "I think if it kills me, she'll have to administer the kiss of life. So either way, it's a win-win." The steely-eyed man reached over and took the bottle, sucking a bit from the nozzle into his mouth.

His own eyes widened and he shuddered but also looked confused. "That was... an experience. I feel like candy is fighting a war in my mouth. I don't dislike it, though."

Sabastian looked over curiously before holding his hands out expectantly.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora was loving the reactions she was getting from everyone. She had come up with it during a particularly crazy night at the bar with Sarah when they had challenged each other to try and match drinks to foods. Within reason of course. Cora had given her strawberry milkshake, and in return, she had gotten jolly rancher. She got pretty close, and she was proud to show it off.

"I feel like candy is fighting a war in my mouth."

She gave him a big grin.

"Exactly. I was trying to make a jolly rancher flavoured drink, but didn't quite hit the mark."

She turned to Sabastian then and said, "it's sweet, get ready."

Vin watched everyone's faces but he had absolutely no interest in the sugary concoction. He was completely content with his beer, which he went ahead and finished off.

"You guys have fun with that" he said with a chuckle, then started making his way to the exit, intent on finding that band. Maybe the kid would know.

 

[Poprockz]

Sabastian took the bottle, glanced at Cora and sucked a bit out. His mouth puckered before he gave a drunk little smile and took another drink, suddenly sucking more of it down with seemingly no intention of stopping.

The bartender recognized the look in Sabastian's eyes and snatched the bottle from him before he could drink too much of it. He sighed and put the drink between Cora and Damien out of Sabastian's reach.

The blonde man bitterly thought to himself that he could probably grow a tentacle and snatch it back, but he knew that wasn't something he could or ever wanted to do, no matter how much booze was in him. His blue eye watched as Vin left, feeling a bit sad and wondering to himself if this was how he was going to feel when he was gone.

Damien also watched him leave and pursed his lips. It almost felt like the man was itching to get away from them, and he honestly couldn't blame him. Between his own intimidation tactics and whatever was going on with Sabastian to put them at odds, Cora was really the only one in the man's good graces.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora giggled as the bartender snagged the drink away from Sabastian, then turned her gaze to him.

"So what do you guys have for food around here?"

Outside, Vin had to put his hand up to block the sun a bit. It was hot as hell and he wondered if he shouldn't have asked for some water before coming back out. He took a look around and almost immediately spotted the kid from earlier, coming over to him with a big grin that seemed a bit nervous.

"Dave probably didn't let you leave that door with even a drop, huh?"

Vin reached back into his guitar cover, and, keeping his expression unreadable, acted as if he was showing the kid his guitar. The boys eyes widened and his smile got bigger.

"Oh man, you're fucking awesome bro! I owe you one-"

He had started to reach out to snag it, but Vin zipped his bag back up and gave him his own smile.

"Speaking of owing me. I heard a rumour there was a band playing tonight. Want to show me where they're setting up?"

"Oh. Yea, sure, but-"

"You don't want this beer somewhere out of sight where your superior over there won't tell you to drop and give him fifty?"

The young man looked absolutely shocked as he looked around and saw the officer. He then quickly tried to make himself look busy, pointing in a seemingly random direction and saying a little too loudly, "right over here sir! I'll show you where it's at."

They started to walk across the compound, and once the boy seemingly didn't feel under watch anymore, he looked back over his shoulders.

"My name's Tommy, by the way."

"Delvin. Or just Vin for short."

"It's nice to meet you. Where did you get that guitar?"

The bigger man got a bit of a grin, and then started in on his own little story.

 

[Poprockz]

Dave smiled and shrugged, "well if you like garlic bread and potato wedges, this is the place. If you want some real food, you want to go to the cafeteria. It's not as terrible as it sounds, I swear. They've got some really good cooks in there who can make slop into fine dining, I tell you. It's in the- you guessed it- the C building. If you wander around enough, there are helpful maps that help you navigate. Kind of like a zoo, but if we were the animals." He laughed and looked down, noticing Damien's stamp for the first time.

A bit of worry flashed across his face for a second before he leaned in toward Cora with what almost seemed like his normal smile. "You know, I could give you some foundation. It won't match your skin-tone, unfortunately, but I think Sabastian could make use of it if he wants to doll himself up. I do love seeing a man with a bit of eyeliner. Speaking of, you guys should get some new clothes at the B building. I think Damien would look dashing with a long-sleeved button-up in grey."

Damien shrugged, not recognizing why the bartender seemed to be trying to give off signals. In any case, he would be glad to have a change of clothes.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora took a small sip from her drink as she listened, really enjoying the mans energy. She was tempted to take him up on those potato wedges, if for no other reason so that she could stay there at the bar and pretend, just for a while longer, that the world outside was normal.

She was just tipsy enough from the bloody mary to not feel as shy as she sometimes did when talking with new people, and for once she was keeping pretty steady eye contact. So when Dave looks down and his expression shifts to one of worry, Cora caught it.

Her own eyes travel down, thinking perhaps he had seen a spider or something on the bar, but all that was there was Damiens hand. His hand...with a mark on it. A mark that showed he had been, as far as the soldiers knew, bitten.

For a few brief seconds it confused her. Why would the bartender get a worried look from noticing that? But then, why was he trying to push her to take some make-up? Her own brows knit a bit, now a little confused and worried herself, though she tries not to show it. After all, she was the master of the deadpan expression, and with a simple sip of her drink, all at once, it was if she hadn't noticed a thing.

"If you're willing to part with it, I'm sure I could make use of it for when we go to sing later. If they want a concert atmosphere, then I'm sure with a little make-up magic, we could pull that off. Right Sabastian?"

She gave him a friendly nudge with her elbow. She hoped he wouldn't try to fight her too much on wearing make-up if putting on a performance was the excuse.

"Thank you, uh...Oh, I don't think we got your name actually."

___ ___

They had talked for a bit as they walked, and after Vin had shared his brief story of the guitar and how he had come to wind up there at the base, Tommy had told his own story. He had decided at sixteen that he wanted to be a soldier and help protect the people he loved, but his parents hadn't allowed him to join the army until he was eighteen. He had just finished getting fully recruited not a month prior, but had lost both his parents to the outbreak, along with his older sister.

"The army is my family now" he had said.

"I don't have anywhere else to go."

After that, they had been a bit quiet, but not uncomfortable. Everyone had lost someone, and it seemed as if sharing the burden of grief made it just a bit easier to bear.

Soon enough Tommy was leading them to a large stage where the band would be performing. He took Vin around the back and knocked on a door to see if anyone was hanging out or getting ready yet.

"I think they said they were going to start early, with the performance, then move onto club music later in the night."

Vin nodded in agreement.

"Makes sense, by that time everyone will be pretty boozed up and ready to dance. Speaking of,"

He unzipped his carrier and pulled out the beer, tossing it to the kid.

"Still cold."

Tommy got a big grin and cracked it open on the spot. He then took out his pocket knife, gave a look around to make sure he wasn't being watched, and proceeded to shotgun it like a champ. When he was done, he let out a loud belch that made Delvin grin and clap him on the shoulder.

 

[Poprockz]

"Oh, my apologies. I introduced myself to your blonde friend, but I hadn't mentioned my name to you. I go by Dave, nice to meet you." He smiled and nodded his head at Cora.

Sabastian raised his eyebrow at Cora and thought about it for a moment, oblivious to the subtleties of the bartender's covert attempts to get them to take the make-up for reasons other than fashion. "I don't know... I've never worn make-up before. I'd probably look silly."

Dave held up a finger and went to the back room for a second and jogged back with a make-up bag. Taking out one of the foundations and screwing off the cap, he gestured at them as though he wanted them to pay attention. "But Sabastian... look at this, it's expensive shit. Here, Damien give me your arm."

Damien looked a bit confused but offered his arm anyway. Dipping a finger in the foundation, he started applying it to Damien's wrist, eventually covering up the entire tattoo seamlessly. Dave grinned and showed it to them. "See? Look how good that is! If it can cover up a stamp, it can cover up anything. Although... I used the stamp since there really wasn't anything else to use as an example. Be sure to wash that off later- the soldiers like to intermittently check people for the stamps."

He cleared his throat and looked at Sabastian who still didn't quite seem convinced. "Pluuus, I'm sure some eyeliner on top would make you look so sexy... whoever you have your eye on will have a hard time keeping their eyes off of you."

At this, Sabastian perked up a bit. It was irrational, he knew, but part of him wanted Vin only looking at him. They were leaving tomorrow, and he wanted Vin to remember him looking hot as fuck. He shrugged noncommittally. "I guess it would be fine to try."

-------------------------------------------

The door opened and man with long, shaggy blonde hair peeked out, sunglasses perched on his nose, "Tommy? Jesus, we could hear that burp from in here. We give it an 8 out of 10." He chuckled and looked up at Vin before his blue eyes went to the guitar and widened.

"Holy shit. That's fuckin' sweet! What can I do for you, stranger?" He looked at Vin with a welcoming and excited smile.

Behind him, two more people poked their heads out from behind him curiously. One was a younger, goth brunette lady who looked to be about 18 years old. She was holding a pair of drumsticks with her hair up in choppy pigtails. The other was an older guy in his 60's with a goatee and bald head.

 

[Drobabes]

"Dave, it's nice to meet you."

She watched carefully as he covered the mark on Damien's hand, keeping a pleasant smile on her face as she did so just incase they were being watched.

"Damn, you weren't kidding. That is good shit."

She made no attempt to wipe it off his hand when the man was done however. If they indeed were going to be checking them periodically, then she wanted the soldiers to get used to seeing him without that mark. If they went to leave and someone recognized him as having had one earlier, it might land them all in more trouble than was necessary. Although, she had to wonder why they were keeping people at all.

She took another small sip of her drink, but the it was bothering her. She would have thought there would have been plenty of volunteers if they wanted to run tests on people and figure out a cure, but Dave was making it seem as if they didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Well guys" she said, standing up.

"Let's go get some food."

She looked to Dave and gave him a very genuine smile.

"Thank you Dave. It means a lot to us, especially with how things are right now."

___ ___

Tommy looked hurt at the mans rating.

"Only and eight? Aw com'on! At least give me a nine!"

Vin watched with amusement. At the mention of his guitar, he became very excited and took it off his shoulder to hand to the man.

"It is pretty sweet, ain't it? Well, I heard from a little birdy that you fine folks were trying to boost some moral. I thought I would offer my and my companions services."

He stepped forward, making a gesture towards the room.

"Mind if I come in? It's hot as hell out here. Anyway, I got two friends that came here with me that have some pretty amazing singing talent, especially the young lady."

 

[Poprockz]

Dave smiled back at Cora warmly, "you guys should stop by tomorrow. There's nothing like some parmesan potato wedges after a night of drinking and dancing." He winked and gestured at the bottle. "Oh, and keep the bottle. It's great for temperature control."

The two other men got up and followed Cora out of the bar, making their way toward the cafeteria. Sabastian sighed and looked at his feet, "it sucks that we have to leave. I would have liked to stay in a place where things seemed kinda normal."

Damien looked down at Sabastian and patted his shoulder. "I know. But it's because it has so many people that we can't stay. You know... You're an adult, Sabastian. I can't force you to go with us if you want to stay. I would prefer you come with us because... well because I consider you to be a friend." He looked away, unsure if that sounded normal or if he was being weird. "But I really can't make you leave."

The little blonde man looked up and knitted his eyebrows, a bit touched that Damien cared whether he went with them or not. "No... I mean I still want to go with you guys. I guess I'm just feeling a bit home-sick if that makes sense."

-----------------------------------------------------------

As Vin offered the guitar, the man seemed to be completely enraptured by the instrument, only being jarred out of his excited examination when Vin took a step forward. He looked up in surprise as though startled out of deep thought and he looked a bit sheepish.

"Oh shit, sorry man. Come in!"

The man grinned with a knowing look at the mention of the singers, "I bet you're sweet on the lady, aren't you?" He chuckled and shut the door.

In the room itself, there was a drumset, a couple of guitars, some microphones, speakers, and an electric piano. There were a couple chairs and a couch of course, with a little coffee table with a fruit basket on it.

 

[Drobabes]

"Oh we definitely will. I know I'll probably be hurting from all the dancing we're going to do."

She gave him one last grin, and then simply listened quietly as they walked. The conversation had turned a little more sad, but she didn't mind it. She was actually quite happy that Damien was finally opening up a little, and it made her feel a little more reassured that if anything ever happened to her, someone would be there with him. And on the flip side, if Sabastian ever did decide to go, well she was sure they would keep in touch.

For the first time in a while, she felt a little hope. The world wasn't completely fucked after all, and despite how many people had been lost, she felt like maybe things weren't so bad. Maybe things could come back to a sense of normalcy before too long.

Once they were a good bit away from the bar, Cora looked over her shoulder, then looked down at Sabastian and gave him a big grin. She took a somewhat bigger swig of her drink, then offered it to Sabastian.

"Don't chug it, or I'll take it back."

___ ___

"I bet you're sweet on the lady, aren't you?"

Vin laughed hardily, but shook his head.

"No, not the little lady. She's a good women, but she's not my type. Actually, the little pirate man who gave me that sweet guitar was the one I wanted, but, he shot me down cold."

He laughed again, although it wasn't quite as easy as the first time. The company of other people and the two beers now in his system were doing wonders for his nerves, but he still couldn't shake the nasty feeling of rejection. He wanted nothing more than to just be happy that he had met someone as sweet, albeit grumpy, as Sabastian, but his longing just wouldn't let him let it go. And, once again, it made him a little angry that he couldn't just let it go.

More and more he wanted to just get plastered. He knew once he did, though, he wouldn't be able to play. It would have to wait.

"So what kind of list you guys got going for the evening? I can show off a bit of that guitar and let you guys decide if you want me to join you up on stage or not."

"Oh! Vin, guess what!" Tommy said excitedly.

"We have some costumes saved for the party. Just some random stuff that we found in an Halloween shop. If you are going to be singing, you should totally look through them dude. There's even some make-up in there."

He started making his way over to some storage totes that were laid out behind the furniture and digging through them.

"Oh check this out man!"

He pulled out a black top-hat that had been wrapped in fake snakeskin and decorated with little bones and skulls, and some brown hawk feathers on each side.

"Let's dress you up like a voodoo king!"

 

[Poprockz]

Sabastian looked surprised before he grinned, "oh man, I feel like Dave's just going to pop out behind a building and smack it out of my hand in slow motion." He snickered, taking the bottle and taking one gulp of it before handing it back. "Shit that's good stuff."

At this point, Sabastian had about the equivalent of a little more than four shots and he was feeling majorly tipsy and borderline drunk. It felt good having the liquid melting away his inhibitions, and he decided that tonight he was going to tear shit up. Being sad over a man he would likely never see again and had only known for a day was stupid, and he knew that the best way to get over a guy was to drink oneself silly and party like crazy.

"Fuck sadness. This night is ours." He said, nodding resolutely. It sounded a lot cooler in his head, but he didn't care whether he sounded stupid or not at this point, the booze had made sure of that.

Damien raised an eyebrow and looked at Cora. He had been a little concerned about Sabastian, thinking maybe he was going to become a bit self-destructive, but this seemed to be a good turn of events. At the very least he seemed to be trying to be positive.

--------------------------------------------

The man chuckled softly, still laughing with Vin while trying to be respectful. "Damn, bro. That's harsh. Ah well, what you need is some music and dancing to cheer you up. If you want to give us a demo, I'd be happy to see what you can do with that sweet little instrument."

Everyone's attention was momentarily diverted to Tommy and his rifling through the Halloween costumes. The young woman grinned when she saw the hat, taking it from Tommy and jogging over to Vin to place it on his head. "How's that, voodoo man? I'd say you're looking sharp. With that and some eyeliner, the pirate dude is going to be sorry he passed you up." She grinned at him, seemingly trying to cheer him up as well.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora shut the lid on the bottle then raised her hands in the air and let out a little "woo!" before letting them back down and laughing. She was starting to feel pretty good herself, but she took that as her cue to back off her drink until she had some food in her stomach.

As Damien looked down at her, she just returned it with a big toothy grin and a shrug of her shoulders. Then she offered her drink to him.

"Want some more?"

A small part of her was hoping he would let loose with them, but she didn't want to be pushy and annoying. She was also trying really hard not to look too long into those steel eyes lest she get that fluttering feeling in her chest again and make Sabastian spend the rest of the day with a minimum of twenty feet between them at all times.

The thought of it made her laugh again, and she wondered if he would be able to handle a large crowd of people, all drunk and grinding up on one another.

When they had walked for a bit longer, the smell of food was what she noticed first before they even found the building. When they did finally spot the cafe, Cora picked up the pace a little. She wasn't sure, but she thought she smelled pizza.

___ ___

"Eye liner?" Vin asked, smiling as he took the hat off for a moment to inspect it before putting it back on.

"Naw. How about we do one of those half painted skulls on my face? With the white and black paint? I think that would fit a bit better with the theme of Voodoo."

He gave her a little wink before reaching out for his guitar. He already had a song in mind to show off a bit, and while it wouldn't sound as good without more instruments playing, he could still show off what he could do.

https://youtu.be/_ICJ8E9znrk

"Living La Vida Loca, anyone?"

He chose to stand as he played, his fingers plucking the strings with expertise and adding a bit of that free spirited flair as he gave them a big grin midway through the song. He didn't sing to it, knowing the song just wouldn't quite match his voice, but if they just wanted to see his instrument skills at the moment, then it should have more than shown it off.

 

[Poprockz]

Damien smirked at her little "whoo!" and shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm good. I already have a good buzz going." By a 'good buzz' he meant that he could feel his stomach being slightly warm and fuzzy. He had only consumed half of his martini, so he was currently riding on one shot. He didn't intend to drink anymore than another drink later in the night. After all, he wanted Cora to be able to drink and enjoy herself while still having someone to look out for her. It was obvious that Sabastian wasn't going to be any help, and Vin was likely going to do his own thing tonight, so it was up to him to stay sharp and aware.

He fully intended to dance and have a good time anyway- he didn't necessarily need booze to do that if he had his beautiful woman on his arm. "Besides..." Damien leaned down and whispered into her ear so Sabastian couldn't hear, "I don't want to drop you when I carry you into bed with me later." A smug little smile on his face as he stole a quick kiss from her and straightened up.

When they neared the cafeteria, Sabastian's mouth watered and he muttered "pizza... thank god." Damien also smelled in and had to admit he would love some pizza right now.

When they got to the counter of the cafeteria, there were a couple chefs serving food. There was pizza, salad, and apples one could have. Sabastian grabbed a tray and went for it, getting two slices of pizza and all the rest of the available items before grabbing one of the bottles of water they had laid out. Damien grabbed two trays and handed one to Cora, letting her go first.

------------------------------------------------------------

The young woman clapped and laughed, "Fuck yeah! A skull? That'd be sick!"

The man with the goatee said, "hey! Jess, language!"

Jess rolled her eyes, "sorry dad."

When he mentioned playing "Livin' La Vida Loca" they sat down in the chairs and watched him. As he played, they looked very pleased at his musical talent. The shaggy-haired man moved his shoulders to the music, clearly enjoying it very much. When he was done, they all clapped and he got up.

"Holy shit, man! That guitar sings like a champ, and you play like they handed you a guitar in the delivery room. You should totally join us tonight! I have a play list saved that I could show you. You could even add a couple songs if you're really jonesing to sing something. When do you think your buddies will show up? I'd think they'd wanna pick a couple songs too if they're going to sing. They can always sing when the club karaoke starts, too though.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora wanted to pile her plate high with nothing but pizza, but she remembered what the guards had said when they asked that they hand over their food if they had any. Not wanting to be selfish, she simply grabbed one of each item, and a water, and waited for Damien to finish before looking around for a place to sit with them. The pizza smelled delicious though, and her stomach was already growling loudly.

___ ___

Vin was super pleased by the compliment about his skills, and it showed on his face.

"It does play beautifully, doesn't it? I think they went to get some grub. I could go find them and invite them over here to check it out, now that I know guys wouldn't mind some extras. I wouldn't mind getting some food myself."

It might have been the beer that he had shotgunned, or it might have just been the fact that he thought Vin was about the most bad ass dude he had ever met, but Tommy found that he really wanted to stick around the guy. At the mention of food, he was the first one to jump up and volunteer.

"I can show you where the cafeteria is at. You're probably pretty hungry too, and it's about time I traded off shifts anyway."

Vin gave him a nod.

"Sounds good, let's check it out."

He took the hat off and placed it on Jesse's head and gave her a little grin.

"Take care of this for me while I'm out, will ya?"

He gave them all a little wave and let Tommy lead him to the cafeteria. Once they were there and had both grabbed a tray of food and some water, the kid pointed at a table and asked:

"Is that the pirate?"

Vin gave him a grin and nodded, and before he could say anything, Tommy quickly made his way over to the table with his tray of food and sat down next to Sabastian.

"Dude, I heard you went solo into a ghost town and fought like, a horde of zombies just to get that sweet guitar" he pointed at Vin as he was coming over to the table.

"And that you carried Vin out of a burning building that was about to explode. You are one cool motherfucker, and it's an honor to meet you sir."

He then adjusted his gun to his side a bit and held his hand out for him to shake. Vin took a seat opposite the kid and started digging into his salad like it was way more interesting than anything else going on at that moment.

Cora slowed her chewing just long enough to give Vin a look, which he tried to ignore.

 

[Poprockz]

"Yeah, man. Get some food in your system and let them know that we're happy to take them if they want to help get the crowd going. I'm pretty sure they're doing pizza today." The shaggy-haired man smiled and popped a piece of gum in his mouth, chewing as though he had been a smoker before, but had to quit recently.

Jesse giggled when he put the hat on her head, holding it for a moment before letting the hat simply sit. "I'll keep it nice and safe, Voodoo Vin."

--------------------------------------------------------

The steely-eyed man trailing behind her grabbed one of each item as well before walking to one of the tables in the corner of the cafeteria with them. He sat next to Cora of course, and took a bite of his pizza, sighing at the familiar taste. It wasn't as good as his own pizza, but he loved the taste of pizza nonetheless. He gave Cora a little smile and said, "glad you decided to grab a slice of pizza. I would hate to have to encourage you like I did last time." His eyes looked playfully into hers, recounting the way she had refused his pizza and somehow ended up seducing him into another session of hot, unbridled sex.

When the little soldier came over, Damien and Sabastian looked confused for a moment, wondering who he was and where he came from until he pointed to Vin.

Damien had been taking a drink of water, but when he heard the part about carrying him out of a burning building that exploded afterward made him snort and cough, choking on his water for a minute. It was a good thing too, otherwise he might have died of laughter.

Sabastian simply stared at the kid and blinked for a moment before grinning and shaking his hand. "I see Vin has told you a lot about me. Of course, I caught him as he fell from exhaustion and carried him out single-handedly. As for the guitar, I definitely went into the town alone with nothing but my wits, two empty cans of gas, and my zombie sense. My eye tingles when they're around. It was tough, but I made it back in one piece." Sabastian pointed to the eye-patched eye. The most hilarious thing about all of this to him was that most of that was true, and yet only Cora and Damien would know that it truly was. Vin probably just thought he was building upon the overexaggeration. He was basically passed out in the gas station, so there was no way he would remember being caught in the blonde's arms.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora had gotten a little blush at Damien's comment, then grinned with the pizza still in her mouth. As much as she wanted to correct him about who exactly had encouraged who on, she was much too busy enjoying the cheesy goodness.

Luckily though, she hadn't been chewing when Damien started choking on his water because the look he got on his face as that water seemed to go up his nose made her crack up. She has to sit her fork down, having devoured the pizza and moved onto the salad, and hold her face in her hands as she laughed.

Tommy seems to be completely entranced by the little man confirming Vin's story, and as he watches him point to the eye patch, a look of excitement crosses his features.

"So like, is it in the shape of a heart to lower your enemies guard? And make them think you're cute and innocent when you can secretly kick their asses like a ninja or something?"

Cora's hand shot down and slapped the table hard as she burst out with the hardest laugh she had had in a long time, and her head all but goes down to lay on it. Her eyes are squinted closed and her other hand is down on her stomach, holding her side.

Even Vin, having been completely stoic up until that point, has to cover his mouth and turn away before he spits his half chewed salad out. Once he has a chance to recover though, he finally brings up the point of why he came over.

"So, Tommy introduced me to the band that's hosting the music tonight. They said they would love to meet you two and let us pick out some songs after we're done eating, if you're still up for that."

Cora, whether from the booze, the good company, or a combination of both, just can't seem to pull herself together enough to answer. All she can manage to do is give him a little thumbs up while she tries not to look at Sabastians eyepatch.

 

[Poprockz]

"What? I mean..." Sabastian blushed and struggled for a response. "I'm not either of those things," he grumbled. His hand twitched, wanting to grab the eyepatch and rip it off. His cheeks went a bit deeper red as he realized everyone was essentially laughing at him and that stupid fucking eyepatch.

Having recovered from choking from laughter, Damien looked up. "Oh, he's just being modest. Many a person has fallen for that adorable little face only to be sucker-punched in the gut," he said, trying with all his might to keep a straight face.

Sabastian glared at him for a moment before taking his pizza in hand. It was a bit floppy, so his first couple attempts to get the edge into his mouth failed, even as he extended his tongue a bit. Finally, he had to fold the pizza sideways to get it straight enough to go into his mouth for a bite. He chewed grumpily, but damn was it good pizza.

When Vin explained what he was there for, Damien also nodded, grinning widely and rubbing Cora's back. While he found what Tommy had said to be hilarious, he was more amused by the way Cora was laughing her ass off. It put him in such a good mood to see her laugh so hard.

Swallowing the bite, Sabastian shrugged with a grumpy look still on his face. "Fine. Once we're done eating, I guess we could go over there," he muttered. He wondered to himself what other embellishments Vin had made about him to the kid. Now that Vin had washed himself up with the soap, it was harder to smell him, but his clothes still bore his old scent. The blonde man tried not to look at Vin, not wanting to dredge up any feelings of sadness or regret.

 

[Drobabes]

Tommy looked a bit confused, wondering what he had said that had made the women laugh so hard. Was it calling Sabastian a secret ninja? He thought ninjas were cool as hell, why would that be so funny?

Well, whatever had been so funny, he didn't mind so much. The women was really beautiful and he found that he really liked her laugh. When he picked up his own slice of pizza, he had a little smile on his face.

While Cora got herself together enough to finish her meal, Vin started digging into his own, now a bit eager to finish so they could go get ready. He felt more relaxed now, and ready to just enjoy the evening with them all before they left. While it was a little hard not to look at Sabastian without getting that stirring of something a little more than just casual interest, he found himself not as bothered by it. This was possibly the last time he would see him, so he wanted to just enjoy it and say goodbye on friendly terms.

A comfortable silence settled over the air as everyone ate, and when they were done and ready to move on, Vin wiped his hands on a napkin and deposited his tray on a set rack. Tommy had finished rather quickly and promised to meet them over there before walking off to meet up with his commanding officer to be relieved of his shift.

 

[Poprockz]

The rest of them put their trays on the rack and followed Vin back to the music room, Damien walking with his hand around Cora's waist. Sabastian followed behind them, pouting a bit about having been called "cute and innocent." He wasn't innocent, he know what sex was, watched porn and all that. He had sexual conversations with another person online. Just because he hadn't actually done anything with a guy didn't mean he was innocent. Did people typically think that about him when they looked at him? God he hoped not.

When they arrived back at the music-room, Jesse answered the door, grinning and beckoning them in. She crossed her arms and looked Sabastian up and down. "So you're the pirate, huh?" All she knew about him was that he had shot down Vin, so she was expecting him to be a piece of shit.

Sabastian looked a bit exasperated, "I'm not a pirate! Jesus. Cora, help me out!" He looked at her, hoping that she might at least give him a hand.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora gave a small grin and was about to use the opportunity to teaze him a bit more, but to her surprise Vin was actually the one that stepped up to save the day. With a big toothy grin, Vin walked over to Sabastian and gave him a few pats on his shoulder as he talked to Jesse.

"Don't let the the eyepatch fool you Jesse, this little man could probably out drink Black Beard himself, and if Tommy didn't already tell you, he feels no fear-he stared a horde of zombies down and walked through fire and flame to get me this sweet guitar. It's because of him that we're going to have the best fucking concert you've ever seen."

He let him go then, and walked up to the girl.

"So where's that hat? And who's doing the make-up?"

While Delvin was adding some details to the legend of Captain Sabastian, a small part of it was true. He really felt like if Sabastian hadn't found him in that gas station and decided to take him with them, he might very we'll have died. He hadn't had much of a want to keep going, and while he could have probably carried his weight in water, the summer heat might have gotten to him long before he ever found the next town or military base.

 

[Poprockz]

Sabastian was just as surprised to see Vin coming to his defense, seeing as they had been a bit awkward around one another since their little chat. His hand on the little man's shoulder made him almost shiver, the touch making his heart beat a little more quickly. He was a bit annoyed that every time Vin touched him or looked at him a certain way, he felt like butter on a hot stove.

As for the new "fun facts" about Sabastian's badassery, he actually felt a little bit guilty about the guitar. He hadn't really had to fight tooth and nail for it. It was true that he had been thinking of Vin the whole time, but seeing as he was basically a free-minded zombie, the zombies hadn't even paid him any mind. He hardly thought he was deserving of such praise; as such, he didn't really know what to say.

Jesse raised her eyebrow and shrugged. "Alright then." She still didn't like the rejection of their new favorite band-member, but at least the dude didn't seem like total shit. "I can do your make-up if you want. I've never done a skull before, but I think I could do a good job." She walked over to one of the chairs and picked up the hat, bringing it over before placing it on his head and grinning.

 

[Drobabes]

"I'll trust you to make me look absolutely terrifying. Oh Cora," he said, turning to her before going with Jesse.

"There's a pile of boxes over there with all kinds of Halloween outfits and costumes, you guys should check it out."

Cora looked to where he had pointed, and then she looked up at Damien with a grin.

"Come on you guys!"

She took Damien by the hand and wrapped her free arm around Sabastians shoulder,then led them both to the boxes. Immediately she started digging through them pulling out accessories and clothing as she went. When she found some light purple clip-on hair extensions, she seemed to get really excited. Once she had her outfit together, she gathered the supplies up in her arms and looked over to Jesse.

"Is there a bathroom I could use to change in? I need to go too, not just change."

Around that time, Tommy came walking through the door dressed in some more casual clothes. He was wearing a bright red T-shirt with blue jeans, and held some black sunglasses in his hands.

 

[Poprockz]

Jesse led him over to one of the chairs and had him sit down, scooting another chair close to him so she could start in on the make-up.

When Cora looked at him with such excitement, Damien couldn't help but grin in response, happy for the chance to see her find something she liked. He wasn't sure he was going to grab something new. After all, he hadn't worn a costume since he was 8, and felt like he might look a bit childish. Therefore, while he did follow her over to the box, he simply watched her pick something out for herself.

It occurred to him that his clothes might be a bit stinky though, which definitely wasn't super sexy. He wondered if they had any place they could go so he could pick up some bland casual clothes for himself.

Sabastian looked pretty interested in the costumes himself, looking through the box with Cora and grabbing items that she discarded if he liked them. He was going for a singer/stage performer vibe while also keeping it as something that could almost seem dressy but casual. Once the perfect items were chosen (including some eyeliner), he gathered his stuff up and stood by Cora and nodded to indicate that he also would like to be led to the bathroom.

The punk girl looked up from the make-up she was applying to Vin and then spotted Tommy. "Hey, Tommy tour guide. The newest members of our little show need to be shown to the bathroom. Mind taking them?"

Damien walked over to the chairs near Vin and sat down. He really wanted to go with Cora, but he didn't really have a reason to do so. He wasn't changing and didn't need to go to the restroom.

 

[Drobabes]

Tommy looked up at Jesse, having walked over to the boxes himself, and gave her a nod.

"Yea no problem, let me just..."

He dug through one box, pulling out a couple of red silk strips of fabric, then pulled out some black fingerless leather gloves. After digging through another box for a moment, he found a black jacket, also leather, and a fake police badge. After he had the pieces in a bundle in his arms, he turned to Sabastian and Cora.

"Right this way honoured guests!"

He led them out the door, then shut it behind them.

While Jesse was painting his face, Vin looked over her shoulder at Damien and gave him a curious smile.

"You're not going to get dressed up?"

He had noticed he had been somewhat reserved and putting himself in the background a lot. It didn't seem shy, so much as the man didn't seem to be able to relax around the rest of them. He seemed to only really let loose around Cora; and it was with that thought that Vin realized he might be able to goad the tall man into having a little fun.

"I bet Cora would really like to see you in something. Women love Halloween outfits."

He didn't quite drop his casual smile, but he gave Jesse a conspiratorial wink. He was half hoping she would take the hint and pipe up to confirm his claim and back him up.
___ ___

"And, here we are. Unfortunately we couldn't get the women's rest rooms in working order, so we just basically taped off the urinals and left just the stalls running so we can have a unisex bathroom. Honestly? I'm just happy the water is still on."

Once Tommy had shown them where the bathrooms were, he waited outside for them to finish up. While he was waiting, he slipped on the leather gloves and tied the red silk around his forehead in a ninja style. He then placed the fake police badge pin on the jacket and slipped it on. It was still pretty hot outside, but he didn't care-the costume was worth it.

Cora did her business and washed her hands before grabbing the clothes she had left sitting on the sink. She slipped back into the stall and started slipping everything on, and by the time she came out to check it out in the mirror, she was feeling absolutely giddy again.

She reached over to grab her drink...only to realize she didn't have it.

"Aaw!" she whined.

"I left my drink in the cafeteria! Damnit."

She sighed and picked the hair extensions up, trying to comb her hair out with her fingers again.

"Oh well, guess this means we'll just have to go back and ask for more drinks, huh Sabastian?"

Did she sound a little too pleased with that line of reasoning? Was she, perhaps, trying to get Sabastian wasted with her? Nah!