☂ 𝑳𝑶𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑺𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻 || 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚂 𝚡 𝙾𝙲 || 𝑩𝑲. 𝟑 ☂

13. TRUCE?

"There you are,"

A groan escaped Elaina's lips as her head dropped. She was only seconds away from enjoying her third glass of scotch before he popped up.

"God, I thought I lost you on the seventh floor," she grumbled before taking a sip from the brown liquor in her glass while Tony took up the unoccupied seat beside her.

After Lila and Five blinked away with the briefcase, Elaina endured Tony trailing her like a lost puppy until they made it to the elevator. Once the door opened she turned invisible and walked out. She remained invisible for the better half of an hour to avoid him until she got bored and headed downstairs to the bar.

"If you wanted to hide from me, maybe the bar wasn't the smartest idea," said Tony with a half-smile. "Or you could've stayed invisible, that could've worked too,"

Elaina chugged the rest of her glass. "As tempting as the thought was, the bartender can't see me if I'm invisible," she mumbled. "Speaking of," she said, glancing over to the bartender and waving her empty glass at him in a silent request.

The bartender stood at the opposing side of the bar, bottle ready in his grasp as he anticipated her wanting yet another pour. He pushed himself off of the counter and sauntered over, pouring a clean stream of scotch into her glass.

"Thanks, Melvin," she nodded with a small grateful smile. 

The man didn't say much (if anything) but he was cool peoples.

"Amigo, can I get two shots of tequila, por favor?" questioned Tony, to which Melvin nodded and walked away.

Elaina grunted at his request. "How long do you intend on following me? I thought I made it clear that I want you far away from me,"

"Why? I figured with the current situation things might be different," he said, nudging her arm lightly, earning a glare in his direction. "And I want to spend some time with you,"

The girl scoffed. "Well, I don't want to spend any time with you," she remarked, taking a sip from her drink. 

Tony sighed, his elbow planted on the bar counter as his chin rested in his palm. "Come on, Els. I don't see why we can't return to how we used to be. We were such great friends,"

"Exactly, were. Past tense," declared the girl curtly. "Now, leave. I want to be alone," she murmured.

Melvin then came over with two shot glasses and set them in front of Tony. Besides the shots, he set two pieces of sliced lime on a small plate with a salt shaker.

"Ah, good man," beamed Tony, flashing Melvin a charming smile. "Gracias," he thanked the brooding bartender with a wink, surprising Elaina slightly when a light coat of pink flushed the man's face before he quickly departed. 

"Flirting with men now?" questioned Elaina with a raised brow, watching Tony shrug his shoulders nonchalantly with a humored smile. 

"With my ability, remaining neutral and open helps a lot. Besides, you never know who could be useful later," explained the teen. "It also helps that I'm a Hispanic man with an unquestioned cultural custom of greeting people with kisses,"

"How insightful," Elaina noted dryly, despite actually finding the information valuable. "Now go,"

"I can't leave now, Estrellita. I have drinks to finish," he said, picking up a shot glass and holding it toward her. "But maybe if I had some help, I could finish faster," he cooed, nudging the tequila shot toward her and accidentally spilling some at the motion.