If Ever I Could Love. { Thunderstruck }

[• Echo]

Damien
The pub was old-fashioned and loud; school was out and teenagers had flocked to any sociable place they could find to hang out and drink. This year had been my last of highschool, and I couldn't wait to finally get out and take time off for myself. Inside, the air was more musty and dim, the lights not giving off much. A TV in the corner showed a football game, and people were chatting and laughing, drinking, eating, smoking, playing pool. I wandered over towards the pool tables where a couple of other guys were playing and girls were hanging over their shoulders.

[Guest]

Elice looked up from when she saw somebody walk over to the pool table. She was sitting at a small round table behind the pool, watching some of her friends play -- and most of the time, fail -- their pathetic game of pool. She sat with her two other friends, Chelsea and Anna, but neither of them talked very much. While the other girls laughed and joked carelessly with the guys, Elice leaned back on the chair she was sitting in and watched the newcomer. Her guy friends at the pool table merely shrugged him off, and Elice chuckled under her breath slightly and looked away at the TV screen, where her dad's team was losing, although she didn't mind very much.

[• Echo]

Damien
I watched the games for a moment, rolling my eyes and snorting quietly at some really lame moves some of the guys were making. At the sound, one of them looked up at me and scowled. "Okay, hotshot, if you know so much, then rack and break," he sneered, and I ignored his tone as one of the guys tossed me a pool stick, catching it easily. from the corner of my eye, I caught a girl watching from a round table with her two friends, though she looked away to the TV screen. Shrugging, I set up the game of pool on the table, chalking the end of my stick and finding the Q-ball. Setting it in place, I leaned low over the table, looking down the stick at the Q-ball and, past that, to the triangle of striped and solid pool balls. Drawing back, I made the first shot, breaking up the triangle nicely and sinking a striped ball. Looking up, I arched my eyebrows with an amused expression at the guy who had challenged me, smirking slightly, though he just folded his arms over his chest, rolling his eyes, and looked pointedly at the table.

[Guest]

Elice turned back to the pool table to listen to what her friends were talking about. Looked like the new guy had joined the game of pool, and by the looks of it, the game had just started. She looked over at her friend who had his arms crossed. She whispered something to her friends and the three girls laughed. She hopped off of her stool and walked over to her friend, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Maybe sometimes you should keep your big mouth shut." She smiled gently and flicked his ear before walking back to her friends, leaving him with his face turning red. She sat back down and crossed her legs, smiling. She loved teasing her friends -- especially the guys who thought they were all that.

[• Echo]

Damien
My eyes kept wandering over to the three girls at the round table, breaking up a cluster on my next shot before it was the other guy's turn. The trio giggled, and the pretty blonde was making her way over when I next looked up. The corners of my mouth tipped up into a small, crooked grin at her words, though the guy pulled his head up with a confident, cocky air. "Well, I mineaswell show this guy how the game works, right?" he asked with a joking yet hard tone, looking at me. I tapped the end of the stick on the ground slightly as I looked over at him. "If I win, you might seriously want to rethink your career choice if poolplayer is at the top," I say simply, and he looked at me for a moment, trying to decide which way I meant it. "You're alright, I'm Jake," he said, extending his free hand. I waited a moment before reaching over to shake it. "Damien," I said, and he nodded as he lined up his next shot.

[Guest]

Elice smiled as she leaned back in her chair once more, watching the pool game. Her eyes kept drifting over to the one guy, who she'd thought she'd heard him say he was Damien. Chelsea hit her shoulder and she looked over with a sheepish grin, then waved her friend off with her hand, continueing to watch the game of pool, which had suddenly become more interesting to her. She rolled her eyes at herself. She was so pathetic. This guy looked at least 2 years older than her, and probably had no interest whatsoever in her "type." She let out a deep breath through her mouth and stared at Damien for a few more seconds before averting her gaze so she wouldn't get caught by his own. Chelsea and Anna laughed at her, and her cheeks momentarily flushed a rosy pink, but to keep herself occupied she made conversation with her friends about their plans over the summer.
"You have to admit, he's good a pool," Chelsea said, purposely trying to bug Elice by changing the subject back.

[• Echo]

( I'm gonna go, it's nearly midnight here, night! )


Damien
For the next few minutes, I was bombarded with a series of never ending names that I was sure I would never remember while the rest of the guys introduced themselves; apparently Jake had been the little ring leader. He managed to sink a double and then one more before it was my turn, though I wasn't paying too much attention because the other guys kept pulling me into their conversations. I crossed around to the other side of the pool table, looking out across at the rest of the pub as the same blonde girl looked away, a moment later blushing as her friends apparently teased her for something Looking back down and making my next couple of shots, I straightened and hit Jake's shoulder lightly to get his attention, and he looked at me. "What's her name?" I asked, nodding to the round table, and he glanced over for a moment. "The blonde?". "Yeah.". He shrugged for a moment. "That's Elice. Why?". I shrugged back. "No reason," I lied, and he grinned, punching m shoulder lightly and shaking his head as he leaned back down over the pool table.

[Guest]

Elice watched as Damien apparently became friends with her own friends. She smiled when she saw Damien and Jake talking, although she couldn't hear their convnersation. Chelsea kept poking Elice's shoulder and Elice swatted her hand at her friend, laughing a little bit, then turning to face her friend, propping her chin up on her hand, her elbow on the table,
"Seriously," she said, trying not to giggle at her extremely pathetic friends, "Just let it go, will you?" She tapped her friend on the nose as if she was a dog, but a big, silly grin appeared on the redhead's face. Elice rolled her eyes and slumped back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling and saying, "Why, God? Why?" Her friends just laughed. Elice rolled her eyes again as Anna yawned and said goodnight, kissing some of the guys on the cheek as she left. Conversation between Chelsea and Elice cooled down after that, as they watched the boys play pool. Chelsea decided to go pester Jake and threw her arms around his neck, resting her chin on his shoulder. Elice just shook her head.

[Guest]

[ Am I all alone? o.O ]

[• Echo]

Damien
Lifting my eyes up from the table on my next turn to check the lineup, I see one of the two girls with the blonde, Elice, walk past, getting quite a bit of attention from the other guys, whom she bunkers by kissing on the cheeks as she left. I chuckled slightly and shook my head, making the shot and sinking another. There were only a handful of pool balls left over all together, including the 8-ball and an almost even amount between Jake and I. After a few more minutes, the other girl sitting at Elice's table also stood and came over, hanging over Jake's shoulder. I glanced up, lookin back again at them, before looking over at the table where Elice sat alone.
"Your turn," Jake reminded me, and I nodded slightly as I leaned back over the table to line up a shot for the last striped ball.
"Hey, are you new around here or something? I've never seen you around," Jake suddenly said, as though the thought had just crosses his mind, and I glanced up at him.
"Yeah, just this year, went to school on the far side of town," I say, sinking the ball. He nodded.
"What year?" he asked as I crossed around the pool table looking for a good shot against the 8-ball.
"I was a senior," I say, and he just nodded again as I paused, lining up a shot. The ball ricocheted off a side and came back at a different angle to hit the black 8, knocking it towards a corner hole, where it fell in after a moment or two. Jake shrugged.
"Guess I'll owe you a beer or something, eventually," he said, but I shook my head.
"I don't drink," I explained, and he shrugged again.
"Your choice. Rack 'em up!" he called to one of the other guys, who took my pool stick and obliged, going two on two with some others.

[• Echo]

( No, I was just thinking up a good enough post. Don't think it was much good, anyway, should've just quit -shrug- )

[Guest]

[ -gasp- don't quit D: ]

Elice watched as they finished their pool game and she sat back in her seat. She better be going soon. Elice looked to her friend Chelsea who had suddenly decided to hang on Jake, as she walked back to the table. Chelsea shrugged and looked around at the guys again.
"He's just a bit older than you," She smiled sheepishly at Elice.
"Shut up, Chelse," she swatted her friend's shoulder. Chelsea pretended to act hurt as she walked over to Damien. She tapped him on the shoulder and lookd at him with her big brown eyes.
"Hey, there," she said with a bit of a country accent, "You interested in Elice over there?" Chelsea's voice was a bit lower so Elice wouldn't hear them. Elice cupped her face in her hands and looked away. What on earth was Chelsea doing? Chelsea glanced over to Elice and grinned. "Because if you are, she's not gonna make the first move. She's not the kind'a girl." She poked Damien hard on the shoulder, "So do something!" She gave a rather cheesy grin before walking over to Elice again.

[• Echo]

( No no, I don't mean like actually quit, I meant more like just go to bed instead of keep writing, its really late/early morning here. I'd actually probably should go to sleep, since I'm getting up early tomorrow to leave, sorry. I'll try to come up with a good post on my computer and post it in a few, or early in the morning when I get up in about four hours -rolls eyes- )

[Guest]

[ okay :\ ]

[• Echo]

Damien
I joked around for a bit with the other guys about the school I had gone to and other stupid things, putting on a little show for all of them, watching the next few games of pool before the other girl who had been with Elice and who had been with Jake a bit ago came over. I arched my eyebrows slightly as I turned to her.
"And what if I am?" I counter, leaning my weight slightly to the left as she responded. She poked my shoulder and I shrugged it off slightly, though not in a rude way. Before I could respond, she was walking away, back to Elice, and I watched her go before looking past her at the blonde sitting alone at the table, who seemed to be looking pointedly away.



( Bleh, sorry, not very good )

[Guest]

[ don't worry about it! you're still better than me! ]

Chelsea smiled at Elice, who only sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "You're insane," Elice said simply, hitting Chelsea on the shoulder as she took her seat beside her again. Chelsea rested one elbow on the table and whispered over to Elice,
"I think he's interested, if only a little bit." A large grin spread across her face.
"What'd you tell him?!" Elice whispered, jabbing her friend in the ribs with her finger. Chelsea just laughed and pulled back, saying,
"Nothing." Elice sighed and glanced over at Damien again, her eyes scanning him intently. She caughter herself staring and dropped her gaze to the floor, hearing Chelsea's faint chuckles from beside her.

[• Echo]

Damien
I watched Chelsea tease her friend for a minute or two before Jake punched my shoulder lightly and I turned my head to look at him.
"So?"
"So what?" I ask with a bored tone, causing him to roll his eyes slightly.
"So are you actually interested in her? 'Cause she isn't exactly the easiest one to get some of," he said, tuning back to the pool game.
"Get some of what?" I ask, already knowing the answer but wanting to make sure it was what I thought it was.
"Ass, to get some ass. Just stick with me, you'll learn the ropes around here soon enough," he said reassuringly, and I shrugged slightly to humor him.

[Guest]

Elice sighed and looked over to her friend, Chelsea, watching Damien and Jake talk.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Elice asked quietly.
"I dunno," Chelsea said, "Jake's probably trying to get Damien to come talk to you or something." Elice sighed and leaned back in her chair again, looking over to Damien, who seemed to be rather bored by Jake's incessant attitude. A small smile spread across her lips.
"Don't you think they'll ever got bored of pool?" Elice asked.
"You just want him to stop playing pool and come talk to you," Chelsea said. Elice's cheeks flushed a rosy pink.
"I never said that," She countered.

[• Echo]

Damien
I all but tuned out the rest of the guys, laughing at whatever they did without paying all that much attention, giving short answers that ended conversations quickly whenever I was talked to. From the corner of my eye, I kept glancing over at Elice and her friend Chelsea, until finally Jake nudged me hard and I was forced to look away from them and over to him.
“Just go talk to her,” he said, and I arched my eyebrows slightly, about to open my mouth to object, but he gave me a small shove in their direction.
“Honestly, no one’s really gonna care,” he said, and I shook my head slightly.
“Ain’t someone a bit persistent,” I say, joking back with him for another minute or so before finally I turned and started heading over towards the girls’ table.

[Guest]

Chelsea grinned and turned to Elice when she saw Damien coming. "Look who's comin' over, girly." She teased. Elice batted her friend on the shoulder angrily and gave her a deadly glare. But then she shrugged and smiled, turning to Damien who was making his way over to their table.
"You think Jake set him up to it?" Elice asked Cheslea quietly, but her friend only shrugged. Elice rolled her eyes, rather annoyed at her friend, but then waved to Damien in a friendly manner and said a quick "Hey." She wanted to asked what brought him over here, but she didn't really know what would be appropriate to ask or not, so she kept her mouth shut. Chelsea poked her shoulder and Elice hit her friend's hand and sighed, wondering if Damien thought she was totally insane.

[• Echo]

Damien
I lifted my chin slightly in a sort of nod, smiling slightly as I came to a stop by the table, pausing slightly as I pulled out a free chair and sat down, extending my legs and crossing them at the ankles, folding my arms across my chest and leaning back.
“So, how’s it going?” I say calmly as though we were old friends, then leaned forward again, smiling easily.
“I’m just kidding, I’m Damien,” I say, pronouncing it like ‘Day-me-en’.

[Guest]

Elice smiled and watched him sit down. Chelsea winked and left the table, going over to Jake. Elice listened to him talk as if they had known eah other for years, which made her chuckle slightly.
"Nice to meet ya," she said, rather shyly. "I'm Elice. But I'm sure Jake has already told you that." Elice rolled her eyes and shook her head, looking over at Jake. "Because Jake can't keep his mouth shut to save his life." She frowned momentarily then turned her attention back to him, thinking to herself, Oh my god, you are SUCH an idiot!! She leaned back in her chair, hiding how foolish she felt inside.

[• Echo]

Damien
I just smiled kindly at her, leaning back again.
“Nice to meet you, too, and what makes you say that?” I ask, rolling my shoulders back slightly.


( My brain exploded. Sorry. )

[Guest]

[ it's okay ]

"That Jake can't keep his mouth shut? Surely you don't think that's a lie." She leaned forward in her chair, pointing a finger at Damien, "You've been hanging out with him this whole time and he hasn't told you a single bit of gossip? I don't believe that." She leaned back again, folding her arms, although she wasn't angry. She sighed and looked back at Jake and Chelsea. "They should get together." She mumbled to herself, momentarily forgetting Damien was there.

[ yeah.. mine's short too ]

[• Echo]

( It's fine, I'm about to go, anyway. This time difference thing still has me all messed up, which is why I'm up so early. )



Damien
I chuckled softly.
"Honestly, I wasn't paying all that much attention to what any of them were saying, because I really didn't care all that much," I say, shrugging my shoulders and studying her. I followed her gaze back to Chelsea and Jake.
"You think they'd make a good pair?" I ask curiously.

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