The Stripper And The Anxiety-riddled Dork

No-One appreciates my clever chapter titles, so fuck it

Chapter 22
< 1 day left until the wedding/The Rehearsal >

Zen lightly spun herself around in a blue velvet swivel chair that were the primary seating for the hotel restaurant's bartop. The lone bartender watched the girl as he dried off a glass.

"You don't look old enough to be here, kiddo."

"Ease up, ya bronco. I'm just here for the spinny chairs."

"Bronco?" He questioned as he crouched down, opening one of the mini-fridges under the bartop and pulling out a can of sprite. Zen continued her spinning as he moved to stand opposite of her, placing the soda on the bartop and crossed his arms against his chest.

The silver ring that hung around his neck by a leather cord glinted from the restaurant's fluorescent lights as Zen stilled in her spinning in order to look at the soda can.

"It's a kinda horse. Brutes they are." She explained, 'Bronco' letting out an understanding hum.

"I don't have any coin."

"Don't worry about it. Damn things are overpriced anyway."

"Thanks." Zen murmured, dragging the can towards her. The condensation on the bottom of the can leaving a trail of water droplets on the glossy wood.

Bronco cleared his throat pointedly while Zen snapped the soda open, the brunette looking to him and then to where he was obviously looking at in return. Her eyes connecting with a small tower of throwaway coasters.

She leaned over dramatically; plucking a coaster off of the tower, lifting her soda off the bar and dropped the coaster onto the wood with a small 'thwap' before placing the soda can atop of it. Bronco gave her a thankful nod and swiped at the water droplets with his towel, leaving a wrapped straw for the kid as well before heading towards a customer who had arrived during their short talk.

Zen tore the straw out of it's wrapping, placing it in her soda and took a sip. The fizzy bubbles popped and sizzled in her mouth before she took another sip, and then another. She looked up at the TV that rested behind Bronco, a football game playing on the flat screen.

She watched the players kick the ball from each side of the field, the brunette letting out a bored sigh when nobody managed a goal in over two minutes.

"You know, Hockey's more fun to watch. Canadians can be quite brutal when they want to be." Codi murmured as she leaned against the bartop on the right side of Zen.

"Yeah? Thought you lived in butterland." Zen grumbled around her straw.

"I do. I do. What're you doin' here, girly?" Codi questioned as she took the seat to the right of Zen. Bronco eyeing the two of them as he chatted to a lonely customer.

"I'm irritated at Nel. And Parks and my parents are probably with her. I was gonna sulk at the pool but it's too cold out." The younger brunette pouted, Codi letting out a hum of understanding.

"And why were you going to sulk?"

"Because I'm mad at Nel and said the truth to her, but my parents are gonna make me apologize to her." She grumbled, pulling and pushing her straw in and out of her soda.

"Now that's a bit of rubbish. You can be mad all you like, Zen. Just don't go to bed angry." Codi offered, Zen looking to her.

"You ever went to bed angry?"

"...Once."

"My grandfather and I had an argument a couple of days before I moved to America."

" 'Bout what?"

'Me being a queer.' Codi thought and pushed it deep into the recess of her mind as she turned her head to lock her hazel eyes with Zen's bright blue.

They were a brighter blue than Nel's, Parks's or their mother Veronica's. They were the kind of blue that were so blue that they were nearly white.

'Pale blue' Nicky had called the color after they watched an episode of an early season of Cagney & Lacey. When Meg Foster had been Cagney before Sharon Gless had taken over the role.

It was a beautiful color.

"My life 'choices', per say. He didn't agree, we argued and then I left for America. Haven't talked to him since."

"Good riddance, I'd say. You don't need a old man telling you what you should do with life."

"I agree, Girly."

"However, he died about a year later." Codi continued, Zen's lips leaving her straw.

"Oh...Sorry." The girl finished lamely.

"It's fine, Zen. This is just a little story for you."

"My grandfather wasn't the best man. But he died thinking I hated him. And I regret it every hour. I loved that old geezer more than my father and he deserved to die knowing that."

"Nel may be irritating. Parks may be a bit too eccentric. But they're your family and you love them, don't you?"

"Yes..."

"All I'm saying is to just let them know that. That despite your arguments, despite them being annoying buggers, they're your family and that you love them."

"I understand." Zen murmured as she looked at her sprite can. Codi let out a soft sigh and ruffled Zen's hair.

"Come with me, girly. I wanna show you something. Well, two somethings."

"Will I like these somethings?"

"Oh, you'll absolutely adore them." Codi chuckled as they both slid off their chairs. Zen had grabbed her empty can and straw wrapper, stuffing the thin paper into the can and tossing it in a bin they passed.

They had just passed the threshold when the elevator doors pinged and opened slowly. The occupant of the elevator however had deemed it was opening too slowly and had all but squeezed themselves through the door. Their brown hair was disheveled as if they had ran their hand through it several times when their head finally picked up.

Furious brown met confused Hazel and wary pale-blue when Codi realized the angry man was her big brother.

Lucas didn't seem to resemble a human but more like an angry bull who'd just seen a waving red cape. Smoke might as well have steamed out of his nose after his nostrils flared and he stalked towards his sister.

Codi's back straightened slightly when she realized Lucas looked just like their mother that night Codi had told her she was gay.

"Lucas? What's going-!" Codi's question ended in a choked yelp when Lucas had clutched the front of her cream wool sweater and forced her onto her tiptoes.

"You son of a bitch! You slept with my fiance?!"

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What?