Where everybody knows your name...(open)

[Rhys Bowen]

Another day, another shift. Rhys rolled out of bed at 2 PM and pulled aside the blinds of the window next to it. Sunny day. Kicking through the pile of clothes on the floor he picked out something more clean than less and slipped on some jeans and a black V neck before heading to the bathroom. He had another day of stubble left before his boss would give him the eye, so settled for washing his face and running his wet fingers through his hair.

"Hello, how are you today?" He asked the haggard man in the mirror. "Well, thank you for asking." He lied to himself.

Padding out to the kitchen he sniffed around til he found something he could wolf down while he sorted the mail he pulled out of the box the night before. Bills and trash, mostly. A postcard from a marine he'd been writing to back and forth in Iraq because the poor kid had no one else having gone from foster care straight into the military.

Quarter to five he brushed his teeth, found socks that matched and shuffled off to work around the corner. Vic's was open, but, not very crowded. Just a few regulars. The after work crowd would be in soon, so after clocking in he hauled beer up from the cellar and stocked the bar.

Then he stood, waiting, like a spider in a web for folks to come in and pay for the poison that numbed their pain.

"I hate when you have that look on your face." His boss said, coming in from the lobby door. "You'll scare the customers away. And get a shave, and a hair cut too." The man grumbled as he checked the till and made change from his baggy pants pocket turning twenties into fives and ten's into ones.

"Yes boss, do it tomorrow." Rhys acknowledged agreeably.

[Aiden "Rave" Hamilton]

Rave had been sulky all day for no real reason what so ever but he just didn't feel like being at home. Devon was most probably studying anyway and that didn't really give him a lot of company to begin with.

At the same time, the talk they had about a week and a half ago had been a heavy one and he felt like he had a heavy heart from that as well even though he hadn't told Devon about that.

Should probably meet Sissy one of these days too, he met her the day after they met the first time but that had been it. Rave had come to check on her and she seemed fine so they shared a dinner in her room.

He sighed deeply and ended up walking into the hotel and spotted a bar named "Vic's" which emedietly sparked his interest. He walked to it and entered it. Not too many people around but at the same time it was only around 7pm at the moment anyway.

His storm blue eyes glanced around the area and took it in before he walked towards the bar. As always he was clothed in black jeans, army boots, black belt and a black shirt with no sleeves on and to top it of, he wore his black leather coat along with the jewelry he usually had on. A necklace that looked like barbed wire and a thick silver chain around his left hand along with a wide black leather bracelet with swirling patterns on that matched his tattoos which were currently hidden by the coat.

Rave slid down on one of the bar stools and waved the bartender over.

"Gimme wha' evah yoah 'ave close by.. make it strong.."

He muttered and leaned on his lower arms on the bar table, looking down at the wooden counter and the veins in the polished surface, showing how the tree had once grown and where branches had been.

[Rhys Bowen]

Rhys nodded as the punker came in and settled himself at the bar. "Sure thing, ID?" He asked. He studied the thing and then handed it back. Fake, but a good fake, and who the hell cared? "Jack, vodka, rum?" He asked, flipping over a shot glass. He didn't offer tequila, it was way too early in the day.

He set a dish of nuts up by the boys elbow as well. "Seems kinda early to have such a glum outlook. Or are you just waiting for the club to open?" He asked as he poured the drink. Since he was in a glum mood himself he poured second one and shot it back with a wary eye towards the entrance between the hotel and the bar for his boss.

"First one's on the house." he said, whisking his own glass away. Older by more than a few years it was easy to read the lines of bitterness and disappointment on his face, but he wasn't unfriendly. More resigned to his fate of being a small town barkeep in a less than fabulous bar.

"Get you a burger or something to go with that? The special today is fish and chips."

[Aiden "Rave" Hamilton]

"Yoah pick.. I dunn care.."

He said and took the glass instantly when it was handed to him. He watched the liquid in the glass a moment before he rose it to his lips and knocked it back.

When he saw the barkeeper doing the same, he rose an eyebrow at him and studied him for a moment, glanced back at the door as the 'keep did the same then turned back to him again.

"are yoah even supposed to drink on the clock?"

He asked with his British accent rolling of his tongue. He sighed somewhat, was he even hungry? Rave thought about it for a moment then nodded.

"Just some fries... an hit me again.. if the fihst one is fo' free I can 'ave anotha one directleh.."

He said with a slight smirk and pushed the shot glass back to the bartender again. He seemed quite scruffy by the looks of him. Unshaved, baggy jeans.. kind of the style Rave liked. He wondered what style the guy had when he wasn't on the clock and if there were any differences at all.

[Rhys Bowen]

Tall dark and broody smirked. "About as much as I'm supposed to accept fake ID's." He said as he poured, making it a double. "That'll be eight bucks." He pulled a Nextel phone off his belt and hit a button. After it chirped he said "Fries at the bar."

"Got it." Came a male voice as it chirped again.

"It'll be up directly." He told his customer, then looked over his shoulder to see someone waving a mug at him. "So, you're not from around here, exchange student maybe?" He asked as he pulled the tap for a new beer. "Or maybe a guest of the hotel? I saw you... oh, two days ago, passing by in the lobby."

The waitress, a skinny sleepy eyed girl, came by with her tray and took the beer with her. "Thanks, Meg." He said. He leaned back against the racks with his arms crossed over his chest. "God bless us with a slow night, since I don't feel like being here." He said reverently, as if he were actually praying.

A cook with a green apron slapped down a plate of fries and rang a bell further down the bar. Rhys pushed himself up and went to retrieve it. "That'll be six, need ketchup?" Steep for fries, but the plate was heaping with the thick cut taters.

[Aiden "Rave" Hamilton]

"tch.."

Was the only answer Rave gave him about the fake ID, not really wanting to comment on the matter at all but nothing on him revealed that he knew he had a fake ID, the role play of being unaffected by the remark, was perfect.

Rave shook his head at the ketchup and tossed up a fifty dollar bill on the counter as if it was nothing but a piece of paper, at the moment he didn't really feel like he cared how much money he drank up.

"Keep 'em comin' fo' as long as tha' reaches.. if thea's any change.. keep it"

He said and took a fry from the plate instantly and bit it off in half and chewed on it before he took the rest of it in, he ate them one by one and quite casual.

"An ale too while yoah at it"

He said, it would be better to drink that to the fries instead of drinking shots by each and other bite. He didn't want to crawl on all fours to get home when he did have to leave.

"Just 'elpin someone an' makin' suah they're okay"

He said, not really wanting to say if it was a man or a woman he had visited the other night. And, considering what Sissy did for a living, that was probably the best anyway.

"Slow night? .. tha'd be nice... less fights to ge' involved in..."

He muttered and took a drink from the beer he'd just gotten.

[Rhys Bowen]

Rhys popped a bottle of Guinness and set a mug on the counter with it as he took the shot glasses.

"Girl toss you out?... happens." Rhys nodded and wiped the bar down quickly. "Best fights are behind the dance club, in the alley, and... down by the river, where the punks hang out. Or there's a gym not far away if your a gloves kinda guy."

He put the shot glasses in the washer and started a cycle.

"If I'm bugging you, just say. I'm just bored titless and trying to stay in the here and now." His eyes flicked over the crowd coming in, six men in suits. The waitress covered them.

"Oh god...it's karaoke night." He groaned. "Kill me now." He reached under the bar and poured himself another shot and one for Rave too. "Drink this, your gonna need it if you're staying."

[Aiden "Rave" Hamilton]

"No' tha' lucky... I just go'... issues... I s'pose.."

He said and ate a few more strips one by one. Rave looked up at the bartender and arched a brow at him. His black eye was still very much visible and his knuckles were still healing but it showed he'd been in a fist fight and got a right hook right in the eye.

"... Does it look like I do gloves to you?"

He asked and shook his head before taking another drink of his beer then turned to look at the six men in suits. They surely didn't look like karaoke guys but you never knew. Rave didn't really look like he could sing either, at least not the kind of stuff he did sing.

"Nah.. yoah not buggin' me... Name's Rave by the way.."

He said and glanced up at the bartender and smirked at the comment about being bored titless. It was true, it wasn't too many women in here to ogle at.

"Karaoke?..."

Rave asked and looked up directly at the bartender that had yet to introduce himself. He glanced around, too few people to sing for here yet but later in the evening he might as well have some fun.

"Yoah 'ave instruments too or just playback?"

He asked and took the offered shot and knocked it back right away before finishing his plate of fries and pushed the plate towards his new friend.

[Rhys Bowen]

Rhys snorted. "You look unlucky, but who am I to judge?" When he smiled his face softened and his grey eyes warmed up. It made him a more approachable kind of attractive, but the ring on his finger said he was spoken for.

"I'm Rhys, weeknight bartender. Shitty tips and all." The hand he held out was large, square and had it's share of dings around the knuckles and scars on the fingers, mostly from cutting cocktail fruit in the near dark of a bar...

"And those are the Tuesday night irregulars...They work at the bank and looooove to sing to each other. Some of them may actually even be gay, though the one brought his wife once." He nodded thoughtfully as he stared at them. The waitress brought the order over, her sleepy eyes surveyed Rave from bleached hair to booted feet. She smiled tentatively, but Rhys smacked the glasses on the counter more firmly than needed, making her jump.

"Stay away from that one, unless you have a full body condom." Rhys warned after she scooted away. "She's got some lesions on her legs she covers with makeup." He had a grim set to his lips when he said that.

"As for the music, it's all boxed. With lyrics on the screen. We have a catalogue..." He looked around. "Somewhere."

[Aiden "Rave" Hamilton]

"Depends on 'ow yoah interpret it I guess... just go' a lot on my mind.."

He said while letting his eyes fall back to the counter where he took another shot and knocked it back. It didn't take long before he started to feel the nice feeling of being a bit numb and calm, just the way he liked it.

"bank men... singin' ? Do they even know 'ow to?"

He smirked a bit and glanced back at them again then glanced at the waitress when she eyed him, he arched a brow at her as if asking what she was staring at but didn't say a word.

When Rhys had scooted her away he arched a brow at him instead while taking another drink from his beer before turning and looking at her again then back to his new friend.

"...leisons?"

He asked with a mine to go with it. And, the music was all boxed? How shitty was that? Rave shook his head at that.

"Yoah should 'ave live music too, man. That's wha' gives yoah people in 'ere if yoah wanna sell... gimme tha' catalog..."

Rave said, urging him to find it, he wanted to see what was playing on a place like this but seeing the bank men around it couldn't be too cool music but, who said you couldn't venture out in deep waters sometimes?

[Rhys Bowen]

"They know how to pretend to...and they come here to do it." Rhys said wryly. "Imagine my joy. Being robbed at gunpoint would be the highlight of my day, at this point."

Rhys nodded as he unloaded the glasses he'd just washed, giving them a quick wipe as he put them away. "Yeah, marks on her skin, sores. Pretty sure she's AIDS positive, but, can't say anything to the boss...just isn't done." He shrugged.

"Yoah should 'ave live music too, man. That's wha' gives yoah people in 'ere if yoah wanna sell... gimme tha' catalog..."

"We do," Rhys looked again under the bar, moved down a bit and looked again before finding a three inch thick binder. "On the weekends local bands come in, this week I think it's...um...Applecore? Down from Medford." He tossed the binder on the counter. "What would you call them... Rockabilly I guess. But I don't work weekends."

[Aiden "Rave" Hamilton]

"apparentleh so.."

He said and looked over at the bank men in suits again. This just didn't seem like a place for them but on the other hand it was close to the hotel part so why wouldn't they go here if they possibly had a room here?

"mh.. wouldn't touch 'er with pliers even.."

He said and shivered somewhat. No, HIV wasn't something he'd want to get but friend he could become but not more than that. Sure he was bold, but he wasn't that bold as to have sex with someone with HIV.

"Realleh? They always 'ere or do yoah 'ire bands too?"

He asked and started to look through the book to see what kind of music they had. Quite a mix to say the least and some of the songs he knew by heart too.

"Applecore?... nevah 'eard of 'em."

He said and browsed the different songs briefly, reading the names of them then moved to the next page. One or two he stopped by and read the notes and text to, might just be playable.

"So... yoah do 'ave instruments too or do they bring everythin' with 'em? ... yoah 'ave any sort of tallent night or somethin'?"

He asked and took another drink of his beer and flipped to the next page, interested in the songs that were offered to play for karaoke.

"Maybe yoah should change shift then? From these nights to saturday nights, yeah? ... bet theah's more tips on a saturday than a thursday.."

[Rhys Bowen]

"They hire local bands for cheap, like, five percent of the door and beer. They always bring their own gear, do their own lights, all that shit." Rhys didn't really know much about it. "The cafe has open mic nights, so, it'd be a hassle to try one too. We have the karaoke instead." He set a napkin and a pen next to Rave's elbow.

"You have to write down the song number, so she can program it into the machine." He said, waggling his finger at the pages.

"Applecore does all right, mostly at home boys, not really into making it big, just go up and down the coast playing small places to keep their hand in." He shrugged and took the empties from the waitress who leaned against the counter as if inviting Rave to speak to her. When he didn't, she pouted and moved away.

"I don't like crowds much, so the weekend might be bigger money, but I have other things to do." Rhys' tone suggested that what he did on the weekends wasn't something he was going to discuss.

"Ah, look, see the blonde at the counter? That's another woman to keep away from. Real ball buster." Rhys nodded out towards the lobby. When Rave turned he saw Sissy talking to the manager dressed in black boots, jean skirt and a halter top that left her back bare except for the blonde curtain of hair.

[Aiden "Rave" Hamilton]

"Realleh now? that's quite interesting.."

Rave said with a light grin over his beer. He skimmed the pages of various notes and songs that were available on the karaoke machine still while listening to what Rhys said.

He glanced up at his new friend when the napkin and pen came to the side of him. He glanced at it then back at the guy behind the bar.

"Nevah said I'd sing... just said I wanted to check wha' yoah 'ad.."

He said with a smirk before Rhys spoke about applecore, really weird name on a band but for doing quite good with the singing. If a band named "applecore" could make it in a place like this, then Rave had every opportunity to start his own thing here too, get discovered then go on world tour and prove his parents wrong -- that you indeed could sing and play for life.

Rave didn't even look up at the woman when she tried to get in contact to talk to him, the waitress didn't really interest him in the first place, nice eyes but that was about it. She wasn't really his type but from what Rhys said about her probably being HIV positive, the lack of interest just turned to not interested at all.

"Crowds is wheah I usually feel good. Makes me able to just sit an' watch 'em go by.. unless I'm on stage when I rock their socks off."

He said with another smirk that basically told Rhys that he should listen to him go someday. When he started to talk about the blond at the counter, he turned to look where his new friend had set his eyes. Sissy.

"Just my kinda gal."

Rave said and chuckled somewhat, took his last shot he had before him and just looked at her. If she'd look at him, he'd wave to her with two fingers from his forehead out like a salute.

"Alreadeh been there anehway.. she's a wild one tha' one"

He remarked and took another drink of his beer which was still half full. Beer should always be drunk slowly to taste the flavor of it, and especially when you were paying for it at a bar.

He turned to look at Sissy again. She'd managed to hide that bruice pretty well, it wasn't even visible from here at all. Rave on the other hand hadn't even bothered in trying to hide the blue-black ring around his eye. He already had a scar there from his father anyway which proved to others that he probably was a used fighter unless they knew his past; which no one did of course.

No, the only one that knew anything about him here, was Sissy, but he knew some stuff about her as well and he wasn't willing to share. Somehow it felt like they were two of a kind in a world of strangers in a way. No one here really understood how it was to go through life with scars both mental and physical. Sissy of course had come farther than him, She loved her scars, Rave hated his and simply couldn't help it. He'd need quite a bit more before that was even an option.

To him, he needed to confront his father, talk to him and ask him why the hell he did what he did. A child couldn't protect himself against an adult and they didn't even know if it was okay or not to be molested or if everybody did it in all families. But in their hearts they knew that something was wrong.

Why? Because the constant "don't tell anyone about this or you'll feel pain you never thought was possible" or "Don't tell anyone, this is our little secret. If you tell, they're taking your sister away and you'll never see her again" or what not. Anything that sounded like a threat was a threat for a six year old and even to someone in their teens.

You were used to hold a straight face, used to smile when you broke inside, used to walk down the hall as if nothing was wrong even though you were bleeding and the skin was so sore you just didn't want to move. You were used to struggle to survive when in reality all you wanted was to lay down and die, but that was not an option. If you did that' you'd leave your few loved ones in danger of the same thing. No, it was better to keep them safe and let the bad things happen to you, at least then you had some form of control of what was going on.

Rave was looking into his beer which he was holding in his right hand again, just staring at the slight foam around the edges of it while his face was completely expressionless if even a little troubled which showed by the slight furrowed eyebrows.

What in life had chosen him to suffer like this? What had given him this shitty past and this heavy fate to carry? Could he really change what was written? And, was it written in stone or in sand? The questions were many but what Devon had said about a week and a half ago had somehow gotten to him in a way he couldn't explain. Confusion, that's what it was but exactly on what subject he wasn't sure...

Life. was. confusing.

[Rhys Bowen]

"No shit." Rhys said with a raised brow and a quick look out into the lobby as Sissy left. "You know her story then? No?"

He leaned on the counter to speak quietly.

"Two years ago, about, raining like no body's business, and she comes in all beat to shit. Her arm is hanging and you can tell just by looking at her that it's totally out of joint. And she wants a room." Rhys shook his head disbelievingly.

"And the manager says he can't, but he calls the cops for her. She tells them how she was at a party and someone must of slipped her something because the party was in California and when she woke up she was in Oregon in the car with this really creepy guy. She jumps from the car while it's moving and was going to get the license plate but landed wrong on her shoulder and barely gets away from him. Walks for she doesn't know how long and then finds the hotel."

He straightened up. "Cops took her down, fixed her up, brought her back a few hours later and she still wants a room. Got cash for it in her purse that she managed to keep with her somehow. Doesn't take long to figure out her profession after she healed up, and she's banned from the bar, but she's been busting balls around here ever since. Sometimes they bust back."

A light dawned behind Rhys eyes. "Your the guy that pulled her ass from the fire a few days ago, I recognize you now from the description the bellhop gave me." He's eyes narrowed. "You didn't do that to her, did you? I mean, she's a bitch at times but... I'd have a problem with that." The corner of his lip twitched. "After all, she's one of ours."