Deadpan - Bennoda

Chapter Six

Mike and I were waiting outside of the bar for Sage, holding hands. I could tell he was having second thoughts on the whole situation, but he never said anything, just stood beside me, holding my hand in a tight, firm grip. It didn't take too long for him to finally turn up, but I could tell Mike was growing impatient.

I saw Sage coming up to us and I nudged Mike, gesturing in the direction of the lean, tall figure coming towards us. I heard Mike utter a curse word under his breath. I wasn't sure what to think, so I said nothing and watched my ex as he grew closer. I waved to catch his attention and when I saw his dark blue eyes, my heart felt torn between him and Mike, who squeezed my hand tighter in response to Sage approaching us. I couldn't help but wonder what they each thought of each other as they eyed one another down, silently judging - negative or positive, I couldn't tell. 

"You must be Mike," Sage was the first to speak and I watched his eyes dart down to Mike and I's intertwined hands, but only for a second as they peered back at Mike. 

"You must be Sage," Mike smirked to himself, he probably thought he was being clever. I felt the atmosphere tense up slightly and I let go of Mike's hand.

"Let's get some drinks," I said before Mike could say anything about me not holding his hand any more and I picked a table inside for us to sit at. Of course I sat in between the two as they faced each other, looking as though they were silently having it out, but they didn't say anything. Thankfully, it didn't take long for a waitress to come and ask what we wanted to drink.

"Two Jack and cokes," Sage smiled, glancing at Mike with a smug expression, mimicking the one Mike gave him earlier. 

"Just get me something that'll help me forget this guy exists by the end of the night," Mike shot back, gesturing towards Sage, scowling. I rolled my eyes at both of them for acting so childish. The waitress didn't seem to want to deal with the drama and took that as enough of an answer to get our drinks. 

"Be civil, both of you," I huffed in irritation and I felt a hand on my right knee, meaning it was Mike's. I left it and tried to just get through this awkward dilemma. I don't understand why either of them wanted to go through with this. 

"So, Mike, what do you do other than music?" Sage made an attempt at a normal conversation, but at this point, I wasn't sure if there was any bitterness behind the simple question. By Mike's face, I could tell he didn't want to tell him anything about himself, but he did anyway, continuing to pretend this situation isn't strange or unusual.

"Art and think a lot about a special little someone," He glanced at me and my face immediately was overwhelmed by an intense blush. "Do you do anything?"

"I write scripts to movies and sell my ideas, wrote a few books. I've been writing my autobiography and I read back to everything I'd written about and realized there was something huge missing from my life, something I didn't realize that I had until it was gone," Sage said, his eyes meeting mine, which made my heart hurt as they usually do. I felt a hand on my left knee and now both of them had their hands on my legs. Obviously, I was uncomfortable and overwhelmed by both of them. 

"Maybe you should fly half way across the world and write about that for a while?" Mike suggested and the hatred for one another was beginning to really show in both of them. 

"Maybe you should stop trying to get in your co-worker's pants because how could that not go wrong?" Sage shot back with and our drinks finally came, I almost cheered at the timing. The waitress said nothing as she must've heard both of them beginning to bicker and silently set the drinks down before leaving. I took a much needed drink, while Mike and Sage each downed theirs in one swift movement. 

"Why are you even here?" Mike groaned and I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take. There's nothing I could really say to make them stop hating one another. 

"The same reason you are, asshole," Sage laughed a bit and I decided I couldn't sit here any longer. I downed my drink and set the glass on the table, standing up, both of their hands falling off my knees. 

"I'm going to sit with the bartender for a bit while you guys hash this out because I know nothing I say is going to effect the way you feel towards each other. If you have any dignity for yourself, then stop being dicks or leave. I'm here to have a good time, not listen to people fight," I said and left before they could respond. 

I went up to the bar and sat down on one of the stools, ordering another Jack and coke - hopefully one I can actually enjoy. A man sat next to me and ordered a few rounds of vodka shots. I wish I was in the mood to do shots, but I typically wasn't unless I was partying. When I was depressed, I'd just curl up with the whole bottle of straight liquor - or, you know, my third one. He downs a few before turning to me and I dreaded the moment I knew he was going to talk to me. 

"What're you drinking?" He asked and I responded with my drink and telling him I already waiting for the bartender to make it. "Can I buy it for you?"

"Only if you want to deal with my 'dates' over there," I exaggerated the word and gestured towards Mike and Sage, who were clearly arguing about something. I tried not to care, but I didn't want it to get out of hand. The man before me chuckled, as if I was joking, and the bartender gave me my drink. I thanked her and was about to take a drink when the guy made a weird face at something behind me. "What?"

"Do you know what that is?" He asked, pointing behind me and I turned, looking at the wall beside me. I chose the last spot on the row of stools, near the exit in case things went south, but I saw nothing behind me and turned back to him. "Never mind, must've had too much to drink."

"I guess so," I said, taking a sip of my drink. It didn't quite taste the same, a sort of extra bitterness to it, but I didn't mind and took another drink. 

"Are you sure I can't cover for your drink? It's just a friendly gesture," He reassured me and I shrugged, wanting to get away from this drunk guy and go back to thinking about my situation with Sage and Mike. I decided I should probably check on the two and downed the rest of my drink, trying to figure out how to tell this guy goodbye without seeming like a total dick. 

"It's okay, thank you, though. I have to get back to..." I suddenly felt light headed and trailed off. I knew it wasn't from drinking, I only had two. 

"Are you okay?" He asked me and I shook my head. 

"I... don't think so," I breath and suddenly my eyes roll back and my body falls towards the stranger, darkness surrounding me.