Hidden Lives ~ Winn Schott [1]

Chapter 9 - Fallout And Painful Memories

Winn Schott sighed as he finished typing the system diagnostic report. One more idiot who had managed to break his computer because he clicked on some 'get rich quick' email. If he had a dollar for every time he'd had to deal with one of these, he'd be richer than Cat Grant.

He stood, stretching slightly and grabbed his bag off of the ground beside him, it was later than he usually left work and he couldn't wait to get home. His phone rang as he moved towards the elevator and he groaned. It was probably Kara asking to do another super friends adventure, he loved doing those with her but right now he just wanted to sleep. Who knew being best friends with a superhero could be so much work?

"Hello?" Winn answered without bothering to check the caller ID.

"Who are you?" The voice on the other end of the line is male and mildly annoyed.

"You're the one calling me." Winn really isn't in the mood for whatever telemarketer/phone scam this is.

"Look man, all I know is some girl tried to call you, but she's way too drunk to get her phone to work."

Suddenly, all of the pieces fall into place and Winn finally looks at the caller ID. Lily Larken. "Where are you?"

"Five by Six."

Winn took a breath, gathering himself, "ok. I'll be there in a few minutes."

———

The bar was about half-full as Winn entered, most people didn't have a reason to drink at 7:30 on a weekday. The lights were low and flickering in that way that bar lights always seemed to be, but Winn spotted Lily immediately. She sat at the bar, chin resting on the wood counter as she traced a tired finger around the rim of her cup.

The bartender next to her spotted his gaze and waved him over, "you must be the boyfriend."

"Are you the one who called me?" Winn asked as he moved over, making sure he wasn't misreading the situation.

"Yup." He slid Lily's phone across the counter to Winn, "I'd keep an eye on that. She tried to throw it a few minutes ago."

Winn nodded as he moved closer to his girlfriend. She hadn't seemed to notice him yet, too consumed with her cup to pay much attention to her surroundings.

"Lily?" He said cautiously, trying to gauge how drunk she was.

"Winn." She exclaimed in delight, standing up and throwing her arms around his shoulders. "I wanted to call you, but the button kept moving." She giggled.

Winn breathed a sigh of relief that she was clearly a bubbly drunk. He removed her arms from around his shoulders carefully, the smell of alcohol on her breath reminding him of times he'd rather forget. "Are you ok?"

She nodded, giggling again, and now that she'd looked at him head-on Winn could see that she'd been crying.

"What happened?" He asked softly, terrified of sparking a drunken rage. He brushed a hand against her cheek softly and he could see her eyes start to glisten.

She just shook her head and turned back to the bartender. "More beer," she exclaimed gleefully.

The bartender glanced at Winn over Lily's shoulder and he shook his head and mouthed 'water'. The bartender nodded and moved away.

Winn reached out to Lily, gently placing an arm on her shoulder. "What happened?"

Then she broke down, falling against him in a mess of uncontrollable sobs and hysterical laughter. "She's gone and its all my fault."