Blackout (Stella)

[blueeyeddevil]

Wes Harlow

Wes was an absolute idiot. He could tell when he got up that morning that it was going to rain. He'd still gone out to play his guitar in the park after rehearsal like his did most every Sunday evening. But it was the fact that he hadn't sought shelter when the rain had started that made him an idiot. He had actually waited until the skies had completely opened up in a torrential downpour before scrambling to the nearest dry area which happened to be the Metro Station.

He was completely soaked from head to toe as he made his way down the steps, guitar in hand. He sighed and shook the water from his hair best he could, wiping it from his face. This was not good at all. He was fairly certain that the song he'd been working on was completely destroyed by now. What he really needed was a cigarette. He pulled out his pack, only to find it was soaked as well.

"Great...just great," he muttered to himself. He paused briefly when the lights of the station gave a sudden flicker before returning to normal. Thunder rumbled loudly outside. This day was just getting better and better. He turned to the pretty young woman his own age standing next to him. "Would you happen to have a spare cigarette? Mine got washed out..." he asked. No harm in trying.

[Stella Witherspoon]

OCC: Outfit: Link

Estella Witherspoon*[/url]

Stella had sitting at a coffee shop all day, trying her damnedest to work on her novel. Of course, she hadn't had any luck. She had gone through three cups of coffee before looking up from her laptop, only to see the skies turning an angry grey, thunder rumbling menacingly. Stella furrowed her brows. They said there was a good chance it was going to rain today, which is why she brought her umbrella. But from the looks of it, it was going to be God awful. 

When the second roll of thunder hit, she quickly put her laptop into it's carry case and headed for the Metro Station. It was just her luck that she would step outside and the rain would begin in downpour. "Ugh." She grunted and opened her umbrella, protecting her stuff. The Metro Station was only a block or two away, luckily.

Upon entering, she closed her umbrella and waited, hoping the storm would pass quickly. But as she waited, more people came past her. 'Looks like it's not passing as quickly as one would hope.' She sighed, crossed her arms, and began tapping her foot. A young man, soaking wet and carrying a guitar came in and stood next to her, shaking water everywhere. Her exasperated sigh was hopefully not unheard. When he turned and asked her if she had a smoke, she pulled one out of her pocket and lit it. "Yes. Are you asking if you can have one?"

[blueeyeddevil]

Wes Harlow

The clearly annoyed expression on this woman's face, he made a pretty big mistake in asking her for a cigarette. He realized belatedly that he must have accidentally gotten her wet when shaking the water from his hair. Suddenly he was back to being a complete idiot. He really should have been more careful about who was around before he did something like that. He was about to apologize for his actions when he watched the woman clearly pull out and light it up in front of him.

"Yes. Are you asking if you can have one?" she asked.

Wes raised an eyebrow and amusement flickered to his gaze. So that's how she wanted to play? A wry smile turned up the corners of his mouth as he folded his arms over his chest. He looked at her purposefully now.

"Yes. I am," he assured her. "Are you willing to give me one or can you just not bear to part with them?" He shook his head and sighed. "I swear, I usually carry my own, but they got ruined in the rain. I'd really appreciate it it you'd let me have one."

[Stella Witherspoon]

OCC: Outfit

Estella Witherspoon*

Stella watched his expression as she fired up her cigarette and took a drag. He seemed amused at the prospect of being teased. A coy smile played at his lips as he folded his arms over his chest. She always enjoyed it when people took her antics into good heart. Of course, with this young man, she had purposefully been quite rude. He had, after all, gotten her wet. Stella was the one smart enough to come prepared. 

"Yes. I am," he told her "Are you willing to give me one or can you just not bear to part with them?" He shook his head and sighed, continuing on with his reply. 'He's quite the chatter box.' She thought coolly. "I swear, I usually carry my own, but they got ruined in the rain. I'd really appreciate it it you'd let me have one."   Stella arched one perfectly trimmed brow at him and gave a dry laugh. "If you had brought an umbrella like everyone else," she gestured to all of their fellow man "then you wouldn't have had that problem."


Stella pulled out the pack again and a cigarette out. "How badly do you want it?" She asked, teasing some more. Rain always put her in a funny mood. She tended to be more sarcastic, but it was usually in good fun. Hopefully this young man wasn't a firecracker. Even more so, hopefully he wasn't a hot head with a short temper.

[blueeyeddevil]

Wes Harlow

Clearly this girl knew what he wanted but was being stubborn about giving up her cigarette. Again, he figured his must have accidentally gotten her wet earlier. Still he couldn't help but find the way she teased him to be quite amusing. He certainly hadn't been expecting a response like this, thinking she'd just give him a polite yes or no about the cigarette and they'd be on their way. But still, for whatever reason, he didn't want her to think he was some loser who constantly bummed cigarettes off of strangers and explained that the rain had ruin his pack.

"If you had brought an umbrella like everyone else," she told him gesturing to everyone around them and indeed there were a vast number of umbrellas around. Most people must have heard the weather report the night before. "then you wouldn't have had that problem."

He smirked at the girl. "Yes, but then I wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to make your cheerful acquaintance," he told her sarcastically.

"Smart Wes...badger the girl holding the cigarettes."

He watched as she pulled out another cigarette from her pack. She looked at him now. "How badly do you want it?" she asked, obviously teasing him more.

"That depends...what are you asking for it," he replied, teasing her right back.

The lights gave a flicker again as thunder boomed outside. Wes swore softly to himself. Getting rained on, still no cigarette at the moment, and now the lights looked ready to give out at any second. The list of crappy things about this day was growing steadily.

[Stella Witherspoon]

OCC:Outfit

Estella Witherspoon*

Stella was a mess and she knew it. Why on earth was she messing with a stranger? 'Who cares. You've gotta have some fun while waiting out this storm.' His tone was sarcastic when he said "Yes, but then I wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to make your cheerful acquaintance." It made her let out a short, carefree laugh before she reigned it in. "Now that is a adjective that no one has ever used to describe me." She responded with a smirk, cigarette hanging out of her mouth.

"That depends...what are you asking for it." He replied, teasing her the same was she had teased him moments ago. Stella twirled her unlit cigarette in between her index and thumb fingers, contemplating his answer. She looked him over, pondering what it is she would ask for in return for a simple smoke. The guitar caught her attention more than once.

"First, tell me your name. Second, I'll need you to play me a song." She was teasing. She didn't care for his name, nor his guitar. But, she figured it would be amusing. What if he couldn't sing? That thought made her stifle a giggle. He'd be humiliated in front of all these people. That would be more than enough to get him back for drenching her when he came in.

[blueeyeddevil]

Wes Harlow

Ms. No-So-Cheerful seemed to contemplate what her request should be for a moment as she twirled that taunting little cigarette between her fingers. He knew that she could ask him for quite a lot before he'd feel ready to say no. It was the curse of an addictive personality. His fingers were steady for the moment but he knew that in a short while they would start to shake as nicotine withdraw set in. In any case, this girl had the upper hand here and he waited to hear what she'd ask for.

"First, tell me your name. Second, I'll need you to play me a song." she said as her eyes landed on the guitar at his side.

He was briefly surprised. That was really...easy. He'd considered she might ask him for a wad of cash or to subject himself to public humiliation of some sort. But his name a song, he could most certainly handle.

"In that case, I'm Wes Harlow..." he said with a small smile as he turned to take the case over to a bench, motioning for her to follow him. He pulled out the guitar. There was one song he particularly enjoyed for moments like this. Not that they came up often. "Your song..." he said he began to play.

He sang gently but a few people nearby started to listen. There was a tiny bit of scattered applause here and there when the song came to a finish. Wes's green eyes glanced back a the girl, smiling again. "And I believe you owe me a cigarette," he told her.

[Stella Witherspoon]

OOC: Outfit

Estella Witherspoon*

Stella followed the young man who introduced himself as Wes Harlow to a bench where he pulled out his guitar. She was surprised at the song he played. It was sad. It was deep, meaningful. These were a couple of things she didn’t think this young man would be a fan of. He seemed a bit, goofy. She supposes that’s a better term than most others she could come up with.

He played a few cords, and sang a song of a girl who sold her body for her fix. It really spoke to her. Stella could relate as she thought of her deceased husband, Tyler. He died from a heroine overdose, which she had been a fan of up until the day he died. His death tore her apart inside and out. She’s been clean ever since.

As Wes sang the closing line of his song, Stella felt her eyes sting as though she might cry. A few scattered applause came from the surrounding people. He seemed rather pleased with himself. It made Stella a bit jealous. Being a writer, she wouldn't get recognized for her work unless she became big time, New York Best Seller. 

Instead of allowing herself to succumb to emotions in public, she said “Well, Mr. Harlow. I must say that was very good. I assume you’re trying to make it big?” A tight smile played at her lips as she handed him his cigarette that he had earned. ‘I won’t think about Tyler again. At least not until I'm home.’ She told herself.

[blueeyeddevil]

Wes Harlow

There was a reason that Wes liked this song in particular. There was a reason he could sing this song with as much emotion as he did. He'd been there; was struggling not to be there anymore. He sincerely hoped that by having his best friend in town now it would convince him to stay on the sober path. He didn't want to let Logan down at all but it was getting progressively harder to refrain from his old habits. He liked to think that he hadn't fallen as far as the woman in the song, but it was still falling any way he looked at it.

He opened his eyes and thought he caught the glassy sheen of unshed tears in the girl's eyes but she blinked and it was gone. He tried to his own emotions by giving a smile and commenting in a triumphant voice that she owed him a cigarette. He'd completed her request now. Though he still hadn't caught her name.

“Well, Mr. Harlow. I must say that was very good. I assume you’re trying to make it big?” she said as she handed him his prize.

He laughed softly as he took the cigarette and put it between his lips, taking out his lighter and lighting it. "

"Actually you could argue that I already did," he said a bit sheepishly, taking a drag of the cigarette. "I use to be a band but it didn't quite work out but we were fairly well known for a while." He rubbed the back of his head lightly before moving to put the guitar back in the case. 'Didn't quite work out' was sort of the understatement of the century.

He'd just gotten the locks on the case done when there was another boom from outside. The lights flickered again but this time instead of steadying themselves, they died out completely. The entire station went dark. People were shouting and screaming all around them. A minute later the emergency lights kicked on. They were very faint but at least he could see in front him now. He looked at the girl and sighed.

"Looks like we could be here a while," he muttered. "Tell me about you. What do you do? ...and I never did get your name."

[Stella Witherspoon]

OOC: Outfit
OOC2: Sorry about the delay! I've been busy!

Estella Witherspoon*

Stella was lost in thought, gazing past Wes as he lit the cigarette she had just handed over to him. The song reached down into her past and pulled up the darkest part of her past. She had really struggled with heroine. Her mother had introduced her to the lifestyle. When she found out her mom had died, she tried to get clean then and there. But, with a heroine addict for a boyfriend, it had been hard. Really hard. In fact, all of the nights that she had classified as “greatest nights of her life” with Tyler, then had done heroine together. The night they got together, they snorted dope together. When Tyler proposed to her, they shot up after making love. Their honeymoon, it was the same, except they murmured “I love you’s” all night long.

Shaking her head slightly side to side, in an attempt to shake the thoughts, she listened to Wes explain. “Actually, you could argue that I already did,” he was sheepish with his answer. “I use to be in a band but it didn’t quite work out, but we were fairly well known for awhile.” Stella’s eyebrows raised upward in surprise. ‘I guess I can see that.’ She of course, never would admit that to him.

Stella let out a small gasp, and then a little, nervous giggle as the lights flickered. She wasn’t too terribly fond of the dark. Out of the darkness she heard Wes’s voice. “Looks like we’ll be here a while. Tell me about you. What do you do? … And I never did get your name.” The young woman cocked her head to the side, knowing he couldn’t see her actions in the darkness. “Stella. My name is Stella.” A devious smile spread across her lips. “I will only answer one question at a time. Each time I answer one, you have to tell me something about yourself. What was the name of your band?” She didn’t care in the slightest. But, she was curious.

[blueeyeddevil]

OOC: Apologies for taking so long. I went out of town for a couple weeks. I'm back now though and I will reply promptly! I promise!

Wes Harlow

It didn't look like he was going to be going anywhere for a while. The power had gone out, effectively stopping the metro train and as crowded and dark as it was, he doubted he could find his way back out now even if he really wanted to. It seemed like he was going to be stuck here with Little Miss Snarky for the time being. The least he could was try and start a conversation with her. It would pass the time, if nothing else. He gave a shrug that he didn't think she could see in the dark, asking her name and what did for a living. Polite conversation.

“Stella. My name is Stella.” she told him. “I will only answer one question at a time. Each time I answer one, you have to tell me something about yourself. What was the name of your band?”

He nodded in the shadows of the emergency lights that had kicked on. It was a fair enough trade. And it was an even better way to pass the time. A question for a question. Who knew, maybe they could best friends by the time the trains were running again. He smiled wryly at the idea.

"Fair is fair," he agreed. "You answer my questions and I'll answer yours. Take turns." He sighed and shook his head as he thought for a moment, not really wanting to admit his involvement with the boy band. There was always a chance she'd never heard of them. He remained hopeful about that. "My band was Radio Remedy...for the record, i didn't choose the name," he told her. "My turn...What do you do for a living?"