Don't Know Romance • •

[apollo jake westfield]

Apollo loved nights where the crowd in Font really got behind the music. And by that he meant they sang louder than the act and bought enough drinks to pay the staff for the rest of the week. It might have made for a messy bar and a busy night, but that was the whole reason Apollo was in the business! He flipped the bottles like an expert, putting to use the skills he had learnt over the years, impressing the women who were giggling and flirting their way through drink after drink. Not that he minded any. He flirted with most of the customers on the nights he wasn't locked away in his office or partying elsewhere in the city. He liked working alongside his staff, teasing them and sharing in the jokes and banter. He might have been the General Manager, but he had taken on that role mostly for the money, and because he had the experience. Beyond that he was happiest when he was behind a bar, tossing bottles and serving drinks.

A gang of women on a bachelorette party were in this evening and most of them were definitely hands on with the gents out having a good time. No one seemed to mind though. Apollo was keeping his eyes out just in case the mood suddenly changed, but while Valentine's was long gone, cupid seemed to be in the air tonight. Or it might have just been the double shots he was offering up. Still, they were stumbling over each other, dancing with men they barely knew and generally having a riot of a time. He almost wished he wasn't working until close up. At least he wasn't in it alone. Tonight he had put Thea on the rota to accompany him, which meant the flirting would be going until they parted ways on the street. Nothing had ever come of his attempts to charm Thea, but that didn't stop Apollo. He always had a quick quip, a flirty line, or an innuendo to say to her when she was working. It was a damn good job she took it well, too, or else there could be trouble!

He had no bother from his staff though. A few moodswings here and there, but even he was guilty of them from time to time. He served up another fancy cocktail, throwing in a wink as he was tipped handsomely by a woman fast approaching her cut off point. Glancing up from the bar, he spotted a loose button on the top and picked it up. "Looks like some guy got lucky tonight." He said with a grin before sidling up behind Thea and dropping the lost button down her top from a height. "What d'ya say, fancy ripping my clothes off, too, tonight, Thea?" He teased terribly, squeezing on by to serve customers waiting at the other end of the bar. If there was a line, Apollo didn't care to see it before he leapt over it.

• • •

TAGGED! Thea Jayne Ramone
WORDS! 506!
OUTFIT! Flirty Fella!
LYRICS! Shut Up And Kiss Me - - Marianas Trench
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Thea Jayne Ramone]

If the men in Thea’s family knew she was working behind a bar, slinging drinks and flirting drunk men out of tips, they would have been on a plane the second they could get a flight. Her father would have been making phone calls the entire wait for that flight to people they knew in the city, securing her a job where she didn’t necessarily have to wear the clothes that she did, but probably would because she liked them. Her mother would just laugh and cheer her on for using what genetics gave her. It was an odd family dynamic to say the least but she loved the crazy bunch all the same. And she knew her brother and father acted the way they did because she was the baby and a girl at that. If it were at all possible, she knew they would want her to live in a tower like Rapunzel. But she had too much of her father’s nature in her, not to mention her mother’s stubborn intelligence. She hadn’t lost an argument against her father since she’d been six.

And that wouldn’t change now that she was sporting some tops that had less material than a barbie doll and pants tighter than Mick Jagger or Keith Richards. And she would know, she had first hand knowledge on the matter, she’d met them both once upon a time. And it had been a sight she wished to forget but couldn’t. However, it was tidbits like that, that she kept to herself. She wanted her friends to be her friends because they liked her and not who she knew, had met or the legacy she’d left in New Zealand. No, she liked her life in New York. Thea knew it probably wouldn’t last all that long, eventually the band was either going to make it big or she would find herself back home, running the show she grew up around. She especially loved Font and the group she worked with. And didn’t want any of that to change because they figured out the truth she’d been keeping well hidden.

In fact, she spent far too much time at the bar, only half of the time being paid for it. And only three quarters of that actually doing what she was paid to do. Whenever she had an early shift, for deliveries or whatever, she spent most of it doing her assignments and coursework. Not that anyone seemed overly bothered by it, she did her job after all. And she gave Apollo someone to shameless flirt with. She would never say she was interested in him out loud, he was her boss. But she did fancy him; which was why she continued to flirt with him but also continued to deflect his advances every time he tried something. She liked her job and didn’t want to lose it because of some red hot romance that fizzled out quickly. “You mean you weren’t the first?” She returned, sounding as she shocked as she possibly could. She deliberately, spun around away from the man across the bar watching intently, looking at him over her shoulder with a smirk and a shake of her head as she fished the button out of her top. Sometimes she genuinely wondered what was the point in wearing tops at all if Apollo was just going to pull stunts like that one. “The night is young and this gentleman is awfully flirty.” She said, turning around again to smile at the man in front of her. He was about two drinks shy of being cut off, already had those rosy cheeks and sloppy look about him. But he also still thought he had a chance and Thea was obsessed with musical instruments; anything to add to her collection!

Tag || apollo jake westfield
Words || 668
Clothes || Cute Kiwi
Music || (Let's Start) Tomorrow Night --Smash Cast
Notes || <3

[apollo jake westfield]

Apollo loved working the bar. If anyone had told him ten years ago that this was where he would be he probably would have told them to fuck off and took another swig of whatever bottle he had that night. He hadn’t intentionally been a trouble maker but he also hadn’t really known any better. His upbringing had been difficult and with very little guidance until he was too old to give much of a damn about it. He hadn’t wanted to hit thirty though and have nothing to show for his life, but now he had Font, and a few certificates of training and courses that he was proud to display in his office at the bar. They reminded him of just how far he had come from the hellish scamp he had been, surviving without a father when it was all he really ever wanted.

He was far from perfect, even now, but Apollo was doing his best. He wasn’t ever going to be as impressive as some Wall Street broker, but he didn’t want that lush lifestyle with more money than sense. He liked living his life, not splashing cash on things too nice to even look at let alone touch! He enjoyed scuffed up shoes and worn out jeans, things that were lived in and looked like they carried memories. That was why he adored bar work so much. They were places where memories were made; both good and bad. It was a part of life to have ups and downs and while Apollo didn’t like having to throw people out of Font because they were past their limit or causing trouble, he also wasn’t afraid to do it. Looking around tonight there might be a few who needed carrying out, but Apollo just hoped there wasn’t any sick to be cleaned up. Moments like that were horrible enough, and as manager he often delegated to whoever was annoying him the most, or to whoever he knew could handle it without heaving. Yeah, looking around there were plenty who were glassy eyed and reaching the point where they should slow it down or avoid the bar altogether for at least a little while.

“I have rules, you know. I don’t drag anyone to the back office while I’m on the clock.” He said, before cheekily adding. “Unless it’s you offering, of course.” He was awful, but only ever with Thea. She threw enough back to indicate that she was interested and Apollo wanted to see if anything ever came from the chemistry between them. He didn’t have hopes pinned on it, but he wanted to know if there was ever a chance there. He might have been her boss, but he didn’t see that as a problem, not really. There were already too many social constrictions in life that were entirely unnecessary. He liked to cut down the red tape where he could. Apollo grinned, looking over at the guy Thea was serving and supposedly flirting with. “He’s not your type.” He whispered to her, passing by again. “Not to mention that one will be face down on the sidewalk before we close.” He added, a little louder as he moved away again.

• • •

TAGGED! Thea Jayne Ramone
WORDS! 545!
OUTFIT! Flirty Fella!
LYRICS! Shut Up And Kiss Me - - Marianas Trench
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Thea Jayne Ramone]

Thea wasn't in New York to find herself or get away and explore like a lot of kids her age were. She was there because she was interested in The Forged. She wanted the band to take off and become the spectacular thing she knew it could be. Music had always been her life and that would never change. She took the job at Font because her input mattered when acts were being booked in and Apollo let them fill a slot once in a while. Plus, she was easy on the eyes, brought in enough tips to pay for the outrageous rent the landlords of this damn city demanded for shithole apartments. Thank god her apartment was paid for and fully belonged to her. She didn't think she would ever be able to continue living in a city where rent each month cost more than the most expensive of her instruments. And she had forked over more than she would ever admit to for some of the stuff in her little studio and even more than that for some of the things she left back home. But despite it all, she liked the city well enough. It had some great people, fantastic places to eat when she got lazy and didn't want to cook and it was where her friends were. Admittedly, Thea was pretty good at making friends everywhere she went but New York was where she'd chosen to lay her head at night; at least, for the time being anyway. 

Not to mention the city, especially the bar was the perfect place for a psych major to work. The place was all sorts of fucked up and perfect for any social experiment assignments that showed up in her various classes, not to mention her dissertation at the end of it all. If her brother and father knew she was working in a bar, they would probably freak out before they knew everything. They would see it was the best place for her eventually but it would take a few one-sided yelling matches to get to that point. Her mother, on the other hand, would fall to the floor laughing at the situation her only daughter found herself in. They were too much alike and everyone knew it. Once they got something in their heads, there was no way the Ramone women were stopping until they reached that goal. And Thea had the added bonus of having her father's argumentative personality on top of all that as well. If her high school would have had a debate team, she would have been the captain of it. And now she just used her skills to flirt with her boss and get drinks on her nights off; not that she couldn't afford her own drinks. It was always just more fun flirting her drinks out of silly men. 

The Kiwi tilted her head to the side as if she were actually contemplating the idea of sneaking away to Apollo's office. "Mmm... Not tonight." She said brushing him off and mixing the drink that had just been ordered. She was by no means a saint. Thea was a force to be reckoned with when she wanted to be; a wild card that a few people thought they could tame. She wasn't an easy target, even when she pretended to be one. Thea looked at the guy she just finished serving and laughed out loud, shaking her head. "There's no need to be jealous Apollo. But I've got a tenner that says he passes out in a chair somewhere." She said as she listened to the next up yell their order in her face. The music wasn't that loud which only meant the one talking had spent too much time by the speakers and had absolutely no clue she was using her outdoor voice. She nodded her understanding signaling the cost for them before pulling the bottles from the fridge. "I'm calling dibs on tossing a pitcher of water on his head." She added, popping the tops of the long necks and exchanging them for the notes.

Tag || apollo jake westfield
Words || 685
Clothes || Cute Kiwi
Music || (Let's Start) Tomorrow Night --Smash Cast
Notes || <3

[apollo jake westfield]

New York for Apollo had been a fresh start, and a chance to turn his back on the temptations of trouble that he had definitely embraced during his youth. He had been a terror at times, but somehow the family held strong and he had played his own role in that. He had just also needed to blow off some steam and rebelling, technically breaking several laws, too, had been his way of coping back then. He didn’t want that to be his future, or to be the only thing people remembered him for when they thought about Apollo Westfield. He could hold his hands up and admit that his father walking out had royally fucked him up as a kid and paved the way to him being a real asshole of a teenage boy. He was better than that now, and would make a lame joke about small towns bringing out the worst in him to anyone who asked him about his earlier years now. No, New York was how he had found himself and picked himself up. He didn’t want to be rebellious and a troublemaker like Preston had been before he’d fathered four children and then vanished into the night. Apollo wanted to make Font great and have some fun making it that way.

He didn’t need college diplomas or doctorates on his wall; he wasn’t a Brainiac by any means. He just wanted to help people enjoy their lives. A bar might be a spot hit up by those having a rough day, and finding the bottom of the bottle never helped anyone, but Apollo liked to think that Font might offer up something more than good booze. The music they booked was good, and took at least two people to be impressed before a slot could be filled by that name. It wasn’t just for their own reputation; Apollo didn’t want someone going up there only to be booed off five minutes later and have their whole confidence shattered. New York was a tough gig, and you didn’t know what they’d want one night to the next. Some nights they could appreciate a slow, lovesick ballad in the middle of a set, and other nights people took that as their cue to refill their drinks, go outside to make a call to that one friend who hadn’t shown up, or join the bathroom queue. Still, he loved that about the city. It was so unpredictable and it kept him on his toes and stopped him getting bored with the entire world around him.

Apollo smirked, glancing sideways at Thea. “That’s a shame, but I’ll only ask next time.” He teased, throwing in a subtle wink for effect. Anyone else might have quit, accusing Apollo of all kinds of inappropriate behaviour, but Thea gave as good as she got and that only encouraged Apollo more. He didn’t know if she was only out to continue teasing him or if something might ever come from what they had, but he was going to push all the buttons and see if one of them was the right combination. Not only was he intrigued, he was attracted to her, and he wasn’t the type to shy away from that. “I don’t get jealous over guys like him. I’ll have you all to myself later anyway.” He whispered when he was close to her again, grabbing a bottle of rum from the bar for one of the cocktails he had moved onto making up. “You can also have dibs on mopping that puddle up if it comes to that.” Apollo grinned, knowing that there would be plenty of clean up to do tonight. The place was crowded already and there were still a good few hours left before they’d be chasing people out to let them find another hot spot to see the sun rise from.

• • •

TAGGED! Thea Jayne Ramone
WORDS! 652!
OUTFIT! Flirty Fella!
LYRICS! Shut Up And Kiss Me - - Marianas Trench
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Thea Jayne Ramone]

Thea hadn't needed a fresh start or to find herself when she'd decided to move halfway across the planet. She had done it all purely because she had wanted to. She had something to prove of course but it was to herself and no one else. Not a single person in her family by blood and extended had given a damn when she'd left university, nor had any of them been surprised. She gone on to study music in a school that was at least two years behind Thea's own house! How was she supposed to learn anything when they weren't teaching anything state of the art. They had all been impressed she'd stuck around for as long as she had in all honesty. She was making up for all that money wasted then by spending more on her education now. It was a funny way to think about it of course, but it was the truth. This time, she wasn't sitting in a classroom being bored to tears because she knew how to use the software ages before it had even been allowed in the classroom. This time she was getting the chance to use what she knew to bring her own personal twist to the course work she now had. She had three more years to go for that but she was hoping that by then, she wouldn't be needing that career option. Not that she had ever planned on using the degree she would receive. She had been born for music.

She loved working at Font for that very reason. The music that was played may not always please the crowd, they may not always want the ballad in the set but there were days when the ballads were the ones cheered more for. It was always tricky to gauge how a crowd would react from one night to the next, it was never the same but that was the best part of the nightlife in the city. Nothing, not even work was the same from one day to the next and Thea loved that unknown factor of it all. Expectation was boring, she had no idea how all those people out there who lived for their lists and plans lived like that. She liked the unexpected, the unknown, especially when it worked in her favour. Working at Font did all of that for her. She never had the same night in a row, though there were things that constantly happened. Apollo kept up his side of their flirtations, which Thea had to say she liked. She wasn't sure if it would ever go further than the heavy flirtations they sparred with but Thea wasn't sure if she would be all that bothered if it did.

"Maybe I'm just waiting for you to take action, hmm?" She countered, looking up at Apollo through her lashes. Thea wasn't exactly the type to flirt with everyone, not seriously. When she kept it up as she did with Apollo, it generally meant that she was very interested in the person she was hitting on. She flirted with whoever was on the other side of the bar but the second she turned away from them, they became just another face in the crowd and she wouldn't have been able to pick them out of a lineup. Thea rolled her eyes and shook her head at her boss. He made it seem like they were going to have some wild romp right there on the bar when it would probably be more accurate that she'd be standing on it. Thea made a face at Apollo when she turned around to grab the bottle of gin. "I think that falls under the manager's duties. But nice try." She said, grinning up at him with the most innocent smile on her face.

Tag || apollo jake westfield
Words || 638
Clothes || Cute Kiwi
Music || (Let's Start) Tomorrow Night --Smash Cast
Notes || <3

[apollo jake westfield]

Apollo hadn’t lived the worst of lives. Yes, it had been tough growing up with very little after his dad left, and Apollo could never forgive him after discovering the truth of what that man had truly done, but his life had been far from the worst it could be. He had made some bad choices, neglected people when he ought to have reached out for them, but there had been a roof over his head and people who loved him. He was an ass at times, but the sky never came in completely. Still, had Apollo stayed in Jackson his anger would have festered and he would not have been a better man for it. No, he had needed to walk away from that place. Even the holidays could be tough when he went back, remembering all the things that had happened, that could have happened. It was a minefield of memories for the young man, but New York was a city of possibilities and he had turned his life around with barely anything at all, but the determination to do so. Apollo wasn’t the preaching type – thank god – so he didn’t harp on about it, or even mention it to anyone, but it was the truth. He’d been a monster of a teenager, a reckless youth, but he’d fixed himself up and now Font was what he had to show for it.

He still had that boyish charm and his laidback attitude, but should anyone try to slander his bar they’d see how quickly a man like Apollo could turn. That temper of his was a rarely seen thing now, but it still existed beneath the surface. Occasionally he tossed people out using it whenever they pushed too many buttons, or targeted his staff. No one poked at those who worked for him. They didn’t get paid to take abuse and Apollo wouldn’t sit back and let it happen. Thankfully, most of their customers were good people, and even with a few drinks in them they didn’t get violently out of hand. Apollo didn’t get a kick out of barring someone, even if he joked about it from time to time.

A smirk tugged at his lips when she spoke, and in passing Apollo bent over to lean in close. “In that case, wait until this place is empty and I’ll have you on this bar.” He made sure Thea would be the only one to hear his words. They flirted often enough, toeing a line that most managers probably wouldn’t cross. Apollo, however, didn’t think of himself as a suited and booted superior. He just signed papers and did the boring stuff before hopping behind the bar and putting his skills to good use. Apollo grinned, working his way down the bar to the next customer. “And as manager, I delegate.” He pointed out, throwing in a boyish wink before deliberately leaning across Thea to grab a bottle, his arm brushing against her. They would be alone later for lock up, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious to see if she’d let him take their flirting further.

• • •

TAGGED! Thea Jayne Ramone
WORDS! 528!
OUTFIT! Flirty Fella!
LYRICS! Shut Up And Kiss Me - - Marianas Trench
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Thea Jayne Ramone]

Thea had lived an exceptionally lucky childhood and she had known it. There wasn’t just anybody who woke up in the morning and wondered who would be sitting around the breakfast nook and have the table covered in breakfast foods and sheet music. Not everybody got to call the biggest names in music auntie and uncle but Thea and her siblings did. So she knew not to take it all for granted. But it also hadn't stopped her from asking for concert tickets and backstage passes to impress a boy she fancied. Her family chuckled at her and told her the same song and dance they always did; if they really liked her, they would be happy with a few games of ten pin. When she got older she saw their wisdom and stopped saying she could get tickets and passes to things for other people, that she could only get them for herself because the concerts were sold out. It was bullshit of course, she could get a half dozen tickets to anything at all if she wanted them but since then and especially now, she didn't gloat. She surprised her friends with tickets every once in a while, gave them something to be shocked over and she could laugh at.

She had been in New York for a while and still she didn't think she'd mentioned her extended family to anyone. And no one had ever gotten hold of her phone and scrolled through her contacts. Then again, most people would probably have thought she named them all after musicians for the hell of it. The anonymity of New York had held so much appeal for Thea who had graced music magazines the world over with her father and in quite a few with various uncles and aunts. In New Zealand, she was fairly well known but in the big apple, she was just another blonde transplant. No one took real notice of her unless she was on stage and these days when she grabbed lunch or dinner with someone, her picture was rarely taken. At least, not that she was aware of. And none of her friends have jumped her about it so she wasn’t concerned too much. Font was her escape to all that though. No one there seemed to care that she had too much musical knowledge, that she could tell you with one song if a local band looking for a slot in open mic night or a full night would ever make it to anything more than what they were. They just nodded their heads and usually went with her ideas.

Aside from Apollo who always had something to say about everything, always seemed to need to have the last word. Thea fought him on it constantly. She was always toeing the line between what was appropriate and what wasn’t. "If you get that close to me again, you'd best be pulling my hair and shouting my name." She said with a devil of a grin on her red painted lips. The bar was busy so it was get your quips in when you could and Thea got them in. She was something of a devil she knew and didn’t pretend to be anything else. People generally knew what they were getting into after five minutes of talking to her. With as open a family as she had, it was a wonder she wasn’t even more blunt. Apollo seemed to thrive on trying to get under her skin. Every shift she worked, he had some things to say and though it had yet to go beyond that, the tension was there. "Be a man, pick up a mop." She said, her own arm grazing Apollo's stomach to grab a clean glass she needed for a cocktail. She would put money on Apollo getting as close as he could to see what Thea would do. They would be alone soon enough and it would them that she would have a decision to make.

Tag || apollo jake westfield
Words || 679
Clothes || Cute Kiwi
Music || (Let's Start) Tomorrow Night --Smash Cast
Notes || <3

[apollo jake westfield]

Apollo didn’t care for fancy things. They were shiny and nice, of course, but he had never had them so he never missed them. He had struggled through alongside his mother and siblings, scowling and moaning about the cards they had been dealt. Yes, he had been bitter, but he had discovered a damn good reason to be. In the end, walking away and starting anew had been best for him. Even now though he was happiest behind a bar spinning bottles and getting people drunk, or helping them celebrate a promotion, birthday, or whatever else people came to his bar to drink. He only managed Font for the owners, but he still considered the place his. If anything went wrong people would look to him, so he was responsible for it. Thus, it was his baby to look after and nurture. If he did a bad job no one would come in, but as it was most weekends he was told they had a modest queue at the door. Apollo was happy with that. He didn’t need riches or fancy things to go along with it. A bar and the people in it gave him a reason to get out of bed each morning. It was honestly more than he thought he would have, ten years ago.

He was still an angry teenager back then, a troublemaker who needed to go out, act reckless and come home bitter about picking up the pieces his father had left behind. Apollo couldn’t stand the man. He didn’t want to be anything like him. Hell, even seeing the familiar bone structure in the mirror pissed him off sometimes. All he could find solace in was the fact that he was loyal to his family. Even when he hadn’t wanted to he had still gone out to work and come home to them – and he had still been a kid. He was supposed to have been able to hate them one minute and then run out the door with his friends the next. No, Apollo had shared responsibilities of helping his mother and sister keep a damn roof over their heads, resenting every moment of his lost childhood and the irresponsible man who was to blame for it all.

It was only something he had to think about now on anniversaries, and if his dreams took him down memory lane. Thankfully, Apollo could rarely remember them come the morning. Thea’s words sent a wicked shiver through him, and Apollo’s grin matched. “I hope that’s an invitation.” He replied, spinning the bottle of rum between his trained hands before pouring it into the glass. “Empty promises like that would break my heart.” He added with a smirk, sliding the drink across the bar and ‘accidentally’ backing into Thea as he moved to put the cash in the till. He laughed heartily. “I clean up after you all enough! Besides, it’s like ‘you break it, you bought it’. You spill it, you swill it.” He brushed by her again, pausing and pressing his body flush against hers as he stretched up to reach the top shelf stock over the bar. He could have done it from the left or the right of her with his height, but he liked this game of theirs.

• • •

TAGGED! Thea Jayne Ramone
WORDS! 554!
OUTFIT! Flirty Fella!
LYRICS! Shut Up And Kiss Me - - Marianas Trench
NOTES! These two need to get to close up before they start putting on a show >.>

[Thea Jayne Ramone]

Thea's upbringing had been a different one filled with music and celebrities that weren't famous when they walked through the front door of her house. When they walked through her door they were just aunts and uncles there to visit, to play music or to celebrate some occasion or another. It hadn't even been until Thea was much older really that she figured anything out about her mass amounts of aunts and uncles and the jam sessions they all took part in. She knew they played music and they were good, hell, they'd taught her everything they knew and that other people knew and adored them. But she hadn't realised just how famous they all were. At the same time that she had all this fame surrounding her and she was wanting for nothing, she hadn't been spoiled or one of those rotten children. She'd had her chores that she absolutely had to do if she wanted to do anything else, she had to keep up with her grades, which wasn't that big of a deal since she got top marks anyway. She had grown up with a sense of the real world. She had a part time job on top of school and the music festival they were in charge of. So while some people saw her designer jeans and her collection of instruments and just assumed she was some spoiled rich brat, her friends knew the truth, she knew who she really was so the looks she got washed right off her.

What strangers thought of her had never been something she'd put much thought into because she didn't try to be nice to people, to be kind, she just was and people flocked to such kindness. It was enough for her to know she was doing good things in the world and it wouldn't have mattered much to her if she never became famous. She already had so much good in her life. There were people she worried about of course. The opinions of her friends at the club and her bandmates and her family meant the world to her. She never wanted to do something that would disappoint them. She was where she was because of them. But at the same time, she wasnt sure if she could do something to upset them. She was just too... Good. At the core of it, she was a good person. Even if she was sarcastic as hell and didnt appear to have a good thing to say about some of the patrons of the bar.

Thea smirked, looking up at Apollo. "I guess you'll have to wait and see." She said before moving a step closer to the bar to hear what the girl on the other side was shouting at her. She didnt need to move closer, nor did the other woman need to shout but it was obvious when they did, they'd been standing near the speakers at the stage before moving to the bar. At one point or another the line between sexual harassment and accident blurred and Thea and Apollo ran full speed to the other side without a single care. Flirting with that line was almost as fun as flirting with the man himself. That probably said a lot about the tiny blonde but she was going to ignore it all until she couldn't any longer. There wasn't much time to really think about it between filling one drink order and the next. The comments never stopped, they just became few and far between while the brushes and the touching never let up at all.

Tag || apollo jake westfield
Words || 602
Clothes || Cute Kiwi
Music || (Let's Start) Tomorrow Night --Smash Cast
Notes || <3

[apollo jake westfield]

Apollo had a way of avoiding serious conversations. He didn’t ask questions about people’s lives, and he chose not to talk about his own. He didn’t want to share stories of times he didn’t even enjoy, and hearing other people remind him how different it ought to have been wasn’t exactly fun either. Besides, there was no point in living in the past when it was all about living for today and looking to the future. There was no point in wasting time, being bitter over the things that couldn’t be changed and a life he didn’t even live anymore. All of that was a long way away, in a place Apollo barely thought about unless it was someone’s birthday or he was being nagged by his sister to make the trip out for a visit because they were all starting to forget what he looked like. He loved his family, but he disliked their story because it pressed buttons that made him angry and brought out a side of himself he didn’t like to see. Thankfully, in New York, it didn’t come out too often, and Apollo was able to embrace the man he wanted to be rather than the angry kid he had been.

It was almost an entirely different life but Apollo had worked hard to make it here. Some people might be doctors or lawyers, but he was more than happy making drinks and mixing up cocktails at the bar most nights of the week. He liked fixing up the menu and working on the offers, making Font bigger and better than it had been when he first walked through its scuffed up doors. Maybe one day he would move on and there would be some other place that called his name, but right now he was going to thrive at the popular bar and make sure he did his best to keep people coming through the doors. In a city like New York there was a bar on every block, and the competition was fierce. Apollo couldn’t let some other dive get the upper hand against their little corner of the city. It was why he kept the menus fresh and appealing with what was currently trendy, kept the prices affordable for the drinks, and made sure that the acts who performed weren’t going to be booed off the stage two songs in.

The rest of the night passed in a blur of bottles and glasses. When it was busy the minutes flew by, and Apollo was quickly shooing the last of the customers out of the door. They would spend all night slumped at one of the tables if they let them, so eventually he had to start chasing them towards the exit, reminding them to get home safe and check their pockets for wallets and keys before he shut and locked the heavy door to the bar. It was still strange to hear the quiet after a loud, crazy night. He secured the heavy bolts and then leaned his back against it for a moment, eyeing the pretty blonde he was left alone with now. A small smirk tugged at his lips and he slowly moved across the stained, sticky floor back to behind the bar. Apollo grabbed two glasses and poured them each a drink; something strong, mixed well, and topped with enough juice to make it bright. “An Apollo original.” He slid one over to Thea and raised his own to his lips. “Tastes almost as good as I do.” He said with a cheeky wink as he leaned on the bar top, smirking dangerously. The shift might be nearly over, but their little game was not.

• • •

TAGGED! Thea Jayne Ramone
WORDS! 620!
OUTFIT! Flirty Fella!
LYRICS! Shut Up And Kiss Me - - Marianas Trench
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Thea Jayne Ramone]

Thea wasn't such a brilliant scholar that she had the answers to the universe or even the answers to some of her coursework questions but she knew enough to ask more questions, get more details and bring about a suggestion for the answer from that; though she would answer with a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy response if asked certain questions. The world wasn't so black and white and answers to psychological questions couldn't be either. If she took nothing from her classes, it would be that. She was, however, brilliant enough to keep her eyes open and watch the people around her. She wasn't about to use her friends as subjects in her work, at least not without permission. But she had already seen that there was so much more beneath the masks they all wore. She herself, had things about her that she hadn't shared with the lot she called family in New York. She had learnt the hard way back in Greymouth that not everyone was as innocent as she was; or nearly as cool. Thea had decided when she moved from her hometown, her home country that she would keep her extended family to herself unless spotted with one of them.

With the invention of hats and sunglasses though, she was usually safe from people realising who she was on the streets when she was with someone she considered an auntie or uncle. It was neither here nor there and so Thea chose to keep her family like her coursework, away from her job at Font. Sure everyone at the club knew she was a psychology major and her family knew she worked as a bartender but she'd never mixed the two for fear something would happen. With the conversations they tended to have behind the bar, Thea really didn't need any of her family, extended or otherwise walking through those doors; she liked her job and wanted to keep it. The banter, the jokes and the playful jabs kept things interesting, even when they came precariously close to crossing lines; maybe especially then. It also filled the gaps when the bar got a bit slow and they were all caught up on things that needed to be done.

Everything seemed to blur together until they were shooing people out the door and into the streets. The door was quickly locked behind them and anything found as they cleaned up would be put in the office until the next day; if anyone cared enough to return for it. She stuck to the bar, cleaning off the top as Apollo locked up and returned to her as she hopped up onto a clean, dry spot on the bar top. She watched with a small smirk as he mixed up a couple very strong drinks and passed her one. "Know that from personal experience? Tell me, how does that work exactly?" She asked with a dramatic eye roll as she brought her drink to her lips. She let the tastes play across her tongue, picking out the different liquors he'd tossed into the shaker. "Not bad at all." She admitted, taking another sip.

Tag || apollo jake westfield
Words || 526
Clothes || Cute Kiwi
Music || (Let's Start) Tomorrow Night --Smash Cast
Notes || <3

[apollo jake westfield]

Apollo didn’t work at a bar to hold pity parties for lovelorn loners who sat at the bar feeling sorry for themselves. If he saw anyone fitting that description he picked them up with a cocktail strong enough to put hairs on their chest (regardless of their gender) and then set about finding them a group of buddies for the night. They didn’t have to become best friends forever, but he knew he would rather see someone go from awkward to having fun than looking for their happiness in the bottom of one of his liquor bottles. Besides, nothing would get better by drowning your sorrows. He considered himself a fairy godmother with alcohol; the kind who encouraged bad decisions and told Cinderella to stay out well past midnight. He’d seen enough shit in his life to know that there were times when letting go and forgetting about the world just made everything seem a little less terrifying once the hangover wore off. Some people might meditate or go to the gym, but every once in a while Apollo believed that everyone needed to blow off some steam in an outrageous kind of way just to reset the body clock.

Apollo had outgrown the years of bad choices, but that wasn’t to say he wouldn’t still make them. He was always going to be prone to impulsive decisions and following his heart, but he did it now because he wanted to, and not to make someone else mad. The anger he had at the world had calmed to that of a rushing rapids ride at every theme park; smooth in many places with a few moments of risk of getting wet. The world was never going to be a perfect place, and people like Apollo were always going to be kicked to the dirt every now and then. What mattered was that he had learnt how to dust himself off without causing too much of a fuss. He was by no means a saint, and Apollo would never aspire to be one. He considered himself something akin to Loki; a mischievous creature who could cause more trouble and mayhem wherever he went. He had a good heart though, it was just buried beneath a twisted sense of humour and a need to take care of himself before others at times. A damaged selfishness that came from the broken remains of his unspoken past.

Grinning wickedly, Apollo was unfazed by Thea’s retort. He was used to her quick wit by now and enjoyed seeing what she would come up with next. “Great skill and many secrets.” He threw in a wink for good measure before tapping the side of his nose conspiratorially. Who knows, maybe there was some secret organisation out there that held all the answers she was alluding to. Apollo didn’t know about it if it existed and, honestly, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. “Now all you have to do is taste the original and compare.” He leaned closer, bringing his own drink to his lips, but never breaking eye contact with Thea. There was a daring twinkle in his eye. He was deliberately putting the ball in her court because of the delicate nature of the boss/employee situation that their little game danced around in. If it was just a harmless game then she could make it quite clear now. Apollo was a flirt, a terrible, shameless flirt, but he knew when to step down. He could be an ass at times, but there was a distinctive difference in his mind between an ass and a complete asshole.

• • •

TAGGED! Thea Jayne Ramone
WORDS! 605!
OUTFIT! Flirty Fella!
LYRICS! Shut Up And Kiss Me - - Marianas Trench
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Thea Jayne Ramone]

Thea often wondered where she would be if she'd finished out school back in New Zealand. Without a single doubt, she would be helping her family with the festival they put on every year but what else she would have been up to was something else entirely. She could have been teaching music lessons, playing in a studio band, being the whole studio band one instrument at a time, or sat around doing nothing at all, twirling her thumbs until something caught her interest. That last one would never be her, she had too much energy to sit around and do nothing, couldn't sit down for longer than an hour with her coursework before she was up and picking at something else. It was the whole reason she'd settled on a job as a bartender to get her through school. Each and every night she worked was different and something interesting always happened, even if it wasn't life-altering or even remotely memorable after a week. It was amusing at the time and that's what mattered.

In the end, it didn't matter what she might have been up to, it never happened and Thea was quite pleased with how her life was going in New York City. It was a little surreal sometimes, knowing she was able to live in a city most people only dreamt of visiting, that she was able to walk the streets every day, go to work and school and hang out with friends in such an iconic place. New York might not be where she calls home forever but it was her, for now, home and she knew she was just getting started with life. There was still so much ahead of her before she finally decided she needed to settle down and pick a place to call home for the rest of her days. For now, her luxury condo with its soundproof music room and the fully loaded recording space would just have to do; and do her quite nicely. Thea raised a brow at Apollo's immediate response. They were both quick-witted and Thea always looked forward to whatever he could toss back at her after a particularly sarcastic remark. "Some kind of skill alright." She remarked dryly.

She knew this game they were playing was a slippery one and there was a fine line that really shouldn't be crossed. Shame that Thea had never really enjoyed playing by anyone's rules but her own. She had her own lines that she never crossed, had her own ideas of right and wrong, different grey areas but they didn't always match with those of society. She didn't care. Thea lifted her own drink to her lips. "I'm on the clock." She teased, finally taking that sip she'd been about to take. Apollo might have been quite the flirt, Thea had witnessed many a night where he pulled his level of charm up a few notches to bring smiles to the women at the bar but it all seemed harmless. Whenever he set those mischievous eyes and wicked smile her way, it seemed a little different. It could have just been her perception of it all or it could have been something more. Either way, she'd made her move, proved her intentions so now the ball was once again, back in Apollo's court.

Tag || apollo jake westfield
Words || 555
Clothes || Cute Kiwi
Music || (Let's Start) Tomorrow Night --Smash Cast
Notes || <3

[apollo jake westfield]

Apollo had seen his reckless years off with a flick of his wrist and a headache to reflect upon. He was by no definition of the word sensible now, but he was more aware of his actions and how they could influence other’s lives. He had never been a bad person, just a confused kid who needed a little guidance that no one cared to offer him. He had found his way in the end, discovered something he was pretty good at, and managed to put his mischievous ways to use in a place like Font Bar. He had known what it was like to struggle, to be a complete asshole to everyone around him; it wasn’t a life he ever wanted to return to. Apollo was the first to hold his hands up and admit that he was far from perfect. He still made mistakes, and said the wrong thing to the wrong people, but he couldn’t ever say that he didn’t try these days. He woke up every morning grateful for the life he had built himself. He could have very easily ended up walking a different path, letting the hurt and anger of his negligent father’s absence become a real chip on his shoulder. Instead, Apollo had confronted that ghost of his past and then washed it all away with a scalding hot motel shower and a bottle of cheap whiskey. It had worked. The next morning he had woken up with a hangover and the decision to be someone better than his lying, runaway dad.

Font was one of his proudest achievements. Other kids in his graduating class might be lawyers or wealthy businessmen now, but Apollo had never wanted anything like that. For starters, he could think of nothing worse than wearing a suit and sitting through long meetings. He was a people person. He liked to shoot the breeze with strangers and basically chill when he was working. He liked playing music in the cramped manager’s office while he went over the supply orders and made any appointments for maintenance that were required. He could kick back, bring in a Subway lunch and sing along with his favourite songs while he did the “responsible” part of his job. He suspected there were a few people who were surprised to learn that he was in charge of keeping the bar running smoothly, given his attitude when he was serving drinks. Apollo was often the guy who started the demands for an encore, and sang as though he was on the stage performing.

He definitely was not the stereotypical “build” for management, but he had been told he had a spark of life that impressed when he was given the job. Apollo wasn’t going to question a comment like that, and he took it as a compliment before treating himself to a bottle of expensive liquor to celebrate. He didn’t drink it all in one go. It was a bottle he had been after to try and mix into some of his signature cocktails for an extra kick. Now, they lived on the menu and he was like a little boy at Christmas when someone ordered one. This was everything he had wanted for a career. One day he might consider himself mature enough for his own bar, but he figured there would be a great deal of settling down before he even contemplated that seriously. “You know I can always change the rota so you’re off the clock. You could have finished five minute ago, in fact.” Apollo shrugged like it was no big deal, which to him it wasn’t. If the staff pulled their weight and did what they were paid to do he had no problem tweaking the shifts and letting someone finish early every now and then. “It does have its perks being the boss.”

• • •

TAGGED! Thea Jayne Ramone
WORDS! 647!
OUTFIT! Flirty Fella!
LYRICS! Shut Up And Kiss Me - - Marianas Trench
NOTES! <3 <3 <3