The "I" In Lie

IV. People Never Done A Good Thing

"Hey, man... Are you okay?" A voice reaches at me from behind the bar. I turn around to see a man, no more than a three years young than me, with large dark hair flipped to his right. He's got an interesting name. Kellin.

"Oh, yeah, um..." I sigh. No point in lying to a stranger. "No. No I'm not okay." He rests his head on his shoulders, leaning over the table.

"What's up? I'm all ears." I look at him a bit before speaking. Pale skin, inked with a few tattoos. His got a ring on him, so married. He's got big, light green eyes. His posture is a little crooked, I can tell even though he's leaning over. He's dressed in a short sleeved button up dress shirt, covered partially by a dark grey vest, since this bar has no specific uniform. Don't ask me how I can tell, but he's wearing skinny jeans, most likely dark. I feel as though I've been observing for too long, and am weirding him out, so I respond.

"It's just... A lot of things." He signals me to continue with a head nod. "I'm being a jerk to my friends, a TOTAL jerk has gotten in my way again, and worse of all, I'm heavily considering cheating on my wife with that girl." I discreetly point to the girl I had walked past before, with the short blonde hair and violent lime green eyes. He looks over at her, not all incognito. She's glancing around the bar, sweetly and innocent. God, she's gorgeous.

"Oh, her?" He stands up straight, and I break my gaze from her.

"Wait, do you know her?"

"Yeah! That's Ashlee. She's a regular of mine." I fold my arms over the table and move in more.

"Tell me about her." I am very aware that saying what I just did was very creepy on my part, but I've got to know more.

"Um... Alright. She's about... 28, last time I checked." She's only one year younger than I am. "She started coming around here frequently when her and her husband divorced. It really sucks, cause he got custody of their kid. God, I forgot his name..."

"Whoa, slow the fuck down."

Okay. Divorced? Husband? Kid?! That's a little more than I expected. A lot more.

"I know, it's a lot. Gah, I can't remember either of there names? Was she married to Dallon and their kid was Knox? No, no, that's Breezy... But the kid's name is clo--"

"How long ago was this?" Damn, I feel like a sexual predator. I have almost forgotten about Elisa tonight. As much as I loved her, she's turning out to be someone else. Not the woman I fell in love with. It's a cliché saying, but sadly true. Ever since she's got that ring to brag about, she's changed. And I've had enough.

"Um... Like, a few years ago. The kid is like, four now."

"Okay, thanks." I start to stand up,

"Hey, wait!" He pulls my shirt.and takes me down, making quite some noise, accidentally grabbing her attention. She watches the scene take place, and stifles a small giggle. Seeing this makes me blush. I haven't blushed in ages. Not even on my wedding day. "I'm pretty sure you mentioned something about cheating on your wife?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah? And?" I say like it's nothing. Oh my God, I am the worst person on the planet, I swear.

"... Are you serious?" I slam my head on the counter.

"I'm an awful human being. I don't deserve to exist." I mumble from my mess of hair.

"Hey, don't say that..." He awkwardly pats a hand on my shoulder.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Cause... Temptation is the worse motive. It creates twisting mazes in your mind and expects you to find the right way out. Your mind will also make chemical romances that will release fumes of faux affection and reject real love. Just because your brain controls you, doesn't mean you should listen to it."

... Damn.

"Whoa, there, metaphors, calm down. I'm coming to you for advice from now on. Jeez. You should write songs." Kellin grins as I raise my head to stare at him in shock.

"Thanks! Love to help. And you really think so? Because I do. Sometimes."

"So, what side were you on? I could tell. To cheat or not to cheat?" Kellin stares at his wedding ring and twists it, but not in the nervous way. From the looks of it, he was just married. The ring looks brand new.

"... I want you to do what you feel is right. I don't think cheating is necessarily the right thing to do, and if you're that unhappy, just end it. But if that is what you want, and you feel is right, then..." His voices slows with that last line. "I don't know. Whatever. I'm sorry." His face falls.

"Hey, don't apologize. This is my fault, not yours." I offer a smile, which he returns lightly. I sigh, and glance at Ashlee. Every time I see her, she's more beautiful. It's like I forget how gorgeous she is, then I see her again, and remember those flawless features. "I think I'm gonna go for it." Kellin is silent. "Kellin?"

"Good luck." His focus is still on turning his ring. He speaks like he's choking back tears. I can't tell if he is or not, his hair has taken over half his face.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? Same time?" I attempt to make him feel better. He's simply nods before I walk off. I'm trying to comprehend why this upsets him so much. It's my personal life, he doesn't even know my name. He doesn't understand my situation. Why does he care so much? I don't have much time for my thoughts before I walk to Ashlee. She sits a few seats away, and I slip in the seat next to her. She offers me a gentle smile, I return it. I've only felt this nervous around a girl before, and that was Elisa. I don't know what to say. I don't want a serious relationship. I just want to take our clothes off to have a good time. I can just be that guy. Like Gabe.

... I got an idea.

I should just be douche like Gabe. It's worked for him before.

I am never doing this ever again. I hate him enough on his own, none the less impersonating him.

"Hey... My name's Patrick. What do they call you?"

I want to die.

But she grins and brushes the hair out of her face.

Heyyyyy.

"I'm... I'm Ashlee. Nice to meet you."

"I don't know about you, but I'm not looking for anything serious..."

Shit.

Shit.

Patrick, you fucked up,

You fucked up.

You--

"Well, I wasn't looking for anything until this man approached me."

-- Fucked up?

I can't believe she's actually falling for this. For me.

"You know, I live really close from here..." She touches my cheek with the tips of her black fake nails. I try to hold back blushing with a smirk.

"I've got the time. Why don't we get going now?" When we speak, it's slow and seductive. It's like an unspoken policy everyone will obey. She slides down from her seat, kissing my ear as she does so. Before I have time to react, she's grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the bar. I don't turn around, but I can feel the two sad eyes of Kellin staring at us as we go.