Don't Fear the Dark (Aaron Summers)

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@pyre

Alice Black stared at each shadow intently, her muscles tense as she made her way down the dark street. A bright building at the distance being her destination, with a terrible fear of being in the dark alone, Alice had no intensions of lingering in the street, all she really wanted was a quick drink before she went home, but honestly when Alice stops by a small shop full of useless trickets from around the world, she'd lose track of time. A new small pyramid keychain having joined her collection of keychains in her small leather bag. 

Being prepared for the winter in warm comfortable grey boots, black skinny jeans, and a short grey coat. Rubbing her hands together as an excuse to pause she looked around for any shady figures before moving forward. Her nose a light pink as she approached the lights of the building and released a breathe of fresh air. Staring at the lights on the main street leading to the Impressio Nightclub she sighed, if she also happened to not lack a sense of direction today, she may have cut her journey in half by not getting lost in random alleys. 

Quietly walking into the nightclub she shifted to the side, being a stranger to this place she not necessarily  omfortable, and reconsidered her idea of just skipping a few drinks, surely she could make it home after a long tiring day? Unfortunately, Alice had no intension of walking back into the darkness without having gotten what she came here for in the first place. Alice had a tendency never to linger long anywhere, but seeing as that she was too tired to jump to a random bar she had already visited, she figured she could try to get a few shots here before heading back to her temporary home. Her light green eyes scanning the area as she made her way to the bar. 

Shy and quiet she approached the bartender, feeling terrible at socialization, but did she need such an ability if all she wanted was a drink. Unsure of how to tell him she sighed and took a seat, her light green eyes watching him calmly as others requesting their beverages. Though Alice was typically an impatient person, she had no interest in rushing into the darkness to go home, nor had enough energy to simply jump into her new home, who's apperance she barely had an interest in remembering. 

Looking around the bar she started taking it in more, realizing it wasnt even half bad. Brushing her loose brown hair back she turned back to the bar, blinking for a moment before deciding she should probably order her drink now. Um. Excuse me? sir? I'm sorry to trouble you... her words coming out in a awkward mumble as her attention went to the different colors in the room.

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It was just another one of those days for Aaron - long, boring, and tiresome. He'd been around far longer than most, and has spent his fair share of time suffering from boredom. Since then, he's learned to occupy himself, lest he be driven insane. Today, as with many days of similar character, Aaron Summers was at the bar. The difference between his version of relaxing compared to the next random stranger would be the side of the bar he chose to occupy. While most drank away their boredom with a few pints of this and that, he found it much more fulfilling on the other side, refilling shot glasses and socializing with anyone interesting who wandered through the door.

Today was a rather busy day, and the bartenders at The Impresio definitely needed the help, so his help was much appreciated. Even with his hand-lending, however, the crowd seemed to never end. Just as he thought a few people had cleared out and the place had calmed down to a manageable fashion, a group of college kids around their twenties came bellowing through the doors, and the pace of the bar quickened, once more.

"I'll be right there with your drink, sir," he said, smiling at one of the college kids, his blue eyes full of life. Spotting a girl who'd just walked in, Aaron eyed her for a moment before mixing the man his drink and moving onto the next customer.

After a while, the woman spoke up. She seemed rather shy. "No, it's okay," he said, reassuringly. "So, what'll you have?" Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the college kid from earlier gulp down the whiskey he'd ordered in a heartbeat, and was joining his friends as they left through the front doors. Finally, he thought, it's slowing down a little.

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Alice looked around the room, their was dancing, and laughter. Their was joy and amusement. Typical things in a bar. Studying each thing quietly she didn't even notice the bartender speaking to her until she registered his voice in the back of her mind. Feeling a bit fluttered for having not payed attention she turned her light green eyes to him im sorry what is it? she asked him.

Then realizing that she was sitting in a bar and had called his attention first felt her face burn with embarrassment. oh sorry. i didn't mean to. i mean... feeling her tongue twist and her pride sink through the floor she frowned straightening herself up slightly, it was reasons like these she didnt make contact with other people. uh. i suppose i should just order and get out... she muttered looking darkly at the shadows outside. Being afraid of the dark she started to hesitate. Not really wanting to even walk outside in the dark when she was done getting what she wanted. 

But then realizing she was in fact wasting his time and he probably wanted to get paid she then shook her head, knowing what she wanted. Not being a fan of beers she liked settling for different mixes, but not knowing what they had here decided to just simplify it and ask for the drink she had straight every morning before she left the house. can i please have vodka? i don't care if its mixed or straight. she told him calmly. She came here to drink for the mere fact it was closer than her house, and she had heard about this place and figured she might as well check it out. Despite the fact she didn't seem to have been checking out the drink menu or really trying to find one. Thinking quietly to herself she questioned why she didn't just go home and continue drinking out of her bottle of Everclear, but then she sighed. Knowing very well that she didn't really want to go home to begin with, not only was it dark outside, but the quiet and empty apartment was vacant. All she really had there were art supplies, books, and a couple of simple pieces of furniture. Her real home being scattered around the world, and the probability of her actually sleeping in her apartment was low, her mind wandering to other countries that currently had sunlight. Couldn't there be a place where darkness didn't exist...a place other than the sun?

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Aaron smiled, kindly, at this shy girl. He didn't recognize her and figured she didn't come to Impresio too often. "It's okay, there's no rush," he said. Had he spoken those words just a few seconds earlier, they would have been quite the lie, but the rowdy group of college kids were gone, now. Shaking his head, he added, "Stay as long as you'd like." Many people walked into Impresio and saw how fast-paced it could be, at times. They ordered their drinks and left right away. Aaron always reminded people, though, that Impresio was never to become a place of pure business. He'd opened the club so others could find a way to get over their boredom and frustrations, and have a genuinely good time for as long as they liked.

Smile still showing on his kind expression, Aaron turned to the rack of various alcohols behind him. "One vodka, coming right up," he said with a lighthearted chuckle. Normally, he'd mix in some tonic, but figured this girl could use a bit of alcohol in her system - maybe then she'd loosen up and relax. "Here you go." Aaron set a glass down on the bar, a clear liquid inside - Sobieski vodka straight from Poland.

Looking around the bar, he saw no one new had entered that needed serving. Deciding he had some time to spare, at last, he pulled a stool out from under the bar on the server's side, and had a seat across from this new face. "First time here? I haven't seen you around, before," he asked, an inquisitive expression upon his face.

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She laughed at his calming voice. The human smiled shaking her head no I suppose not, I'm already too late. she shook her head glancing at the darkness outside. The amount of hidden dangers in it always created a uneasy feeling inside of her. The childish fear explained by the childhood horror of her mother being killed in the dark. The young jumper bit her lip lightly as she tilted her head. She couldn't just stay in a bar until the sun raises, although the bartender stated she could remain as long as she desired, she couldn't simply not sleep, or sleep in a bar. If she didnt get energy for tomorrow she wouldn't be able to jump around, and that would be tragic. Since she is yet to discover which bus takes her to her new job or really how to get there. And she couldn't be late in her first few days, she needed the money. Unlike others with her powers, she didnt steal from banks or anything. She actually worked for her money. During the weekdays in the bookstore here, her weekends in London as a tour guide. The information she absorbed from every place she's been to allowing her to be qualified for such a job. Alice in this sense was peculiar, she traveled around the world and somehow came to the conclusion she should get an apartment here. Out of all places and beautiful scenes she choose a random city with no spectacular beauty and some strange people lurking around.

Alice smiled at the glass. The friendly clear liquid being her friend since she was fifteen and drinking with a couple kids slightly older than her in Europe. Vodka wasn't uncommon, in fact even in bars in Asia you could find it, so really she could consider it her friend. It was always with her when she jumped. As for the reasoning of why she drank it could be as a developed minor alcoholism, starting with her need to feel something after so long with a numb emotionless life in which everyone who cared to her was dead or pushed away. The touched the cup with the Polish vodka flashing a brilliant smile that managed not to touch the light green eyes she had, her lack of emotions at moments masked by her beautiful smile and light laughs. thank you... her voice trailing as she tried to remember if he said his name sighing she rubbed her eye blinking a bit and wondering if this was the outcome of not sleeping for four days and jumping so much. A small yawn being suppressed to the point you could barely notice it. Blinking she looked back up at her company. Her face not reflecting the weariness she felt, taking the cup in her hand she lightly drank some. The liquid warming her stomach and bringing her a small degree of comfort. The kind she needed every morning wether she did of didn't actually sleep in her nearly empty apartment. The lack of furniture in it due to the fact she barely spent time in it.

Setting down the glass when he began speaking she blinked feeling more alert now and smiling yes, to both the bar and city... I don't exactly stay anywhere long and I figured I can try actually having a place to crash. she shrugged remembering the days the closest thing she had to a home since she began living alone was a cupboard like room covered with pictures and her nights were spent in vacant random hotel rooms she jumped into when their were no guests staying in it. but I suppose you probably worked here long enough to know a majority of the people in this place, or at least know their faces. It seems like a popular place. she said calmly. Pointing out the evident amount of both money spent on this place to hold up with the splendor it does and the amount of older wealthier customers who sat around conversing or out clubbing. Both of which Alice didnt do much, she was more under the 'loner' grouping although she could be quite extroverted once she decides to stick around. Her amount of friends around the world being proof of that, although no one could get her to stay.

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Aaron arced an eyebrow. "Is there somewhere you're supposed to be?" he asked, genuinely curious. He smiled with pleasure as this woman seemed to take comfort in the alcohol she drank, which generally meant she enjoyed it and Aaron had helped someone feel more at home. She had muttered a thank you, but her voice trailed away, indicating she was searching her memory to see if he'd introduced himself. He had plenty of customers who have wanted to thank him by name, but couldn't, as they had no idea who he was. He had a bad habit, it seemed, of not introducing himself, instead getting caught up in the conversation. "I'm Aaron - Aaron Summers," he said. For a moment, he was about to add the fact he owned the nightclub, but decided against it, feeling it would make him appear slightly too proud of that fact.

Out of the corner of his eye, Aaron noticed a young couple step into the nightclub, and head toward the bar. It seemed they would like to drink a little before joining the party. Two customers who would need drinks. "You could say that," he laughed, in reply to the woman's second comment. "Well, I hope you decide to stay for at least a little while. The city could use some nicer people like you, he said, a warm smile shone on his face. "Now, if you'll excuse me for a moment, I've got two drinks to make," he added, indicating the couple who had by this time taken a seat at the bar.

Aaron loved to serve drinks and just make people feel welcome and safe in his nightclub, but he had to admit that it sometimes got in the way of his conversation. Mixing a Dackery for the lady and a simple Gin and Tonic for the man, he served the two with a warm smile and told them to just give a shout if they needed anything else. Returning to the brown-haired girl he was talking to before, Aaron retained his smile. "Sorry, just comes with the job," he said, in regards to his temporary departure to serve other customers. He figured the girl didn't mind, much, but he always felt the need to apologize when bartending called him away from a conversation.

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Alice looked back at Aaron her eyes narrowing slightly in thought i should probably be heading home to get some rest. I foolishly wasted my energy the past couple days and didnt get enough rest... but this was common for Alice, the only difference is this time she didnt make it to the safety of her home or didnt sleep midday in order to jump to the other side of the world and sleep under the sun. its nice to meet you Aaron Summers, I'm Alice Black. her voice calm and controlled. Her light green eyes wandering from the bartender to the lights then the night, the slowly disappearing alcohol taking away her reason to stay. Running a finger over the rim she stared at the nearly empty glass then glanced at the darkness. Fear is but a thought, if you don't believe in it... It won't exist. She told herself this every time she thought of walking into the dark shadows, but regardless shed jump with the slightest sound, anything brushing past her made her squeak. She feared not the darkness but what it hid. She feared the unknown.

Alice didnt respond. If the city had nothing to offer she would pack up and move. She never had a reason to stay, she wasn't really living in a sense. She was drifting. She didnt know who assassinated her mother, nor tried to find him. Sure she was revenge full but she believed everything happens for a reason. She had no family to keep her anywhere, her father was a mystery man who left her, so to her he was nothing, he left her and wasn't worth her time. Her friends could never keep her, people were temporary, emotions were unstable. She didnt believe in love. She didnt believe in destiny. She didnt believe in religion, and she didnt believe that the world was condemned. She saw the same good in the world as bad, an equal number that didnt worry her. So in a sense, Alice didnt really have anything to do with her life, no known purpose. Alice was just another who wished for something amazing to happen, she was waiting to fall down the rabbit hole like in the book Alice in Wonderland and be swept away into an adventure. She nodded as he got up to serve a new couple drinks. Now finishing the rest of her beverage as he handed the newcomers their drinks then returned.

Alice looked back up at him quietly and thoughtfully having been staring out the window in thought. Then when he spoke. She shook her head clear and flashed a smile its fine. I shouldn't be taking you away from your job, we wouldn't want you fired, her voice calm as spoke. Her light green eyes then wandering from Aaron to the other bartenders then around the room slightly curious to who the owner or manager was. But such a curiosity drifted away as she turned her attention back to the person in front of her.

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Aaron frowned, hoping this girl wouldn't leave so soon. She seemed like a fun person, once you would get to know her, and he loved being around fun people. He didn't like the party animals - a bit ironic for a nightclub owner - but he still liked to have fun. He just didn't enjoy the idea of getting so drunk you pass out. It's a waste of life in Aaron's eyes. "Well I hope you stay at least a little longer," he said, unaware of just how tired this woman was. All he wanted to do was have someone to talk to and he'd already started a conversation with her - he didn't want it to end so abruptly.

Some of his workers watched him, however, and every time Aaron asks someone to stay, the workers always take it as him simply trying to squeeze more money from the customer's pockets. In reality, though, he honestly enjoyed talking to people. He couldn't care less about the money made and in fact if he liked a person enough, he'd even give em a discount. The Impresio was popular enough to support itself, so a discount here and there really doesn't hurt Aaron, financially. "Nice to meet you, Alice," he smiled, finally learning her name.

After returning from the couple, Aaron let out a small laugh. "The day someone tries to fire me is the day I get up on this table and dance like a drunk," he said in a quiet but obviously joking tone. Again, however, he held back the information regarding his true position as owner of the club. He's given it away, before, and it's had different effects on different people, most of these effects being of a poor variety. Some customers began acting overly kind to Aaron, trying too hard to get a discount on their bill; some simply laughed off the statement in disbelief for some reason or another; others would quickly make some excuse to leave, feeling either intimidated by his position or would simply assume he was only speaking to them for their money. After a few years of disappointment, Aaron rarely mentioned his ownership of the establishment. Instead, he kept the conversation going with other topics of interest. "So where are you from, originally?" he asked, his head tilted ever-so-slightly to one side, and his eyes shining with curiosity and kindness. His goal, for now, was to keep the conversation going fast enough to distract Alice from her weariness, but not so fast she struggled to keep up.

He knew exactly how to talk to people, as over the years he's become a master communicator, able to word his sentences just right to imply upon someone a state of comfort and trust, or to flip things around and cause suspicion and edge within a person. He could make a fearsome criminal if he were to ever take interest, but his kind and generous heart would always get in the way. He loved making people happy and loved to just sit down and talk, with no true intentions to work toward in the conversation. Aaron, at his core, was a social butterfly who wanted nothing more than happiness for both him and those around him.