Chapter Text
The blue ink is running low while she writes on the receipt, leaving heavy ink blotches. She can still make out the lyrics though singing them over in her head,
Feels like I’m…Feels like
No that doesn’t sound right. Drawing two lines to mark up the previous words she wrote.
I’ll never touch, she hums to herself trying to get the rhythm in her mind.
The blue side of the sky
I’ll never feel…no. Feels like I’ll never touch…
Reading over the words again in her head, she sighs. She looks out of the window of the pub, trying to come up with the next verse, when she hears from the bar, “Ava! Can you please come to help me cut up some limes if you want to stay in the tip pool?”
She looks over to her curly-haired best friend and smirks, “Come on, Cami. You love me too much to keep me out of it.”
“I do but that doesn’t change the fact that we open in ten minutes.” Camila wipes down the counters with a rag.
Ava sighs as she gathers her things and jogs behind the bar. With a quick adjustment of her uniform shirt, she says, “Fine, Fine, you are right. Don’t worry about this, alright? I’ll take care of all the prep for you. I am the best bartender here, right?”
Camila laughs as she shakes her head, “Heh, I'm not too sure about that, Avs. You're going to have to prove it to me. Now get to work.”
Ava does a little wiggle as Camila giggles at her antics. Then she starts cutting up the limes and lemons as she helps her with the rest of the bar prep.
The bar opens right on time, and the regular patrons walk in as normal. Ava waves and welcomes them as they walk by or sit down in their booths. It was a normal Friday night, for the most part, too busy to not be considered bored but not busy enough to look like this place was overflowing with people. It was normal for Bar LeVasseur, and Ava didn’t mind it.
Tonight, her mind was only on one thing, and it involved that microphone on the stage in the corner. Just thinking about it makes her smile. The adrenaline rush she gets from performing, from being in front of the crowd, is indescribable.
Hands clapping in her face, she jumps up a little, “Ava! Come on, fantasize later. Work now.”
Ava mimics Camila’s tone as she starts taking orders, and soon enough, the patrons are content with the drinks and the service. After thirty minutes or so, Ava squeals when she looks at the time on the old antique clock on the wall, then she turns to Camila, “Time to get ready?”
Camila looks at the time then she sighs with a smile, “Fine, go set up the speakers, I’ll be there in a second.”
Ava does a little fist pump to herself in celebration. She undoes the strings on her apron as she throws it up on the shelf before making her way to the stage. She plugs the speakers into the wall. J.C. already has everything else already set up for them.
“Look at you. You really care about the band, J.C.,” Ava jokes around with him as she laughs, “But really, I’m proud of you for setting everything up without my help.”
He rolls his eyes, “I never need your help, Silva. Besides, I think it’s time I start pulling my own weight in the group, being the most talented and all.”
Ava scoffs, “That’s ridiculous. You are not more talented than me.”
“Hey, I’m the one with the viral YouTube video. You only agreed to join the band after that.” He shrugs.
“Haha, that was one video that I’m pretty sure you made different accounts to like it multiple times.” Ava shakes her head as she adjusts the microphone stand.
“You have no proof!” J.C. points at her as she holds her hands up.
“I don’t, but I do have a lot of talent.”
“Oh, would you two give it a rest? We don’t have all night, and I’m pretty sure Billy wants to kick us out soon. So, we better get started fast,” Hans mumbles, spinning the drumsticks in between his fingers.
“Cam!” Ava cups her hands over her mouth to scream at her best friend. Camila gives her a thumbs-up as she shuts the register and makes her way to the stage to grab her guitar.
Ava looks at the rest of her bandmates as she sees them. J.C. gives her a smirk while holding the bass, and Hans flicks one of his drumsticks as he nods. Smiling, she steps toward the microphone and asks, “Hey! How are we doing tonight?”
The crowd is a little enthused. Some make their way closer to the stage. The microphone sends back a little feedback, but she’s not worried when she starts to sing,
♪
Where it began
I can’t begin to know when
But then, I know it’s growing strong
Was in the spring
And spring became summer
Who’d have believed you’d come along?
Hands touchin’ hands
Reachin’ out
Touchin’ me
Touchin’ you
Sweet Caroline (ba-ba-ba)
Good times never seemed so good
(so good, so good, so good)
I’ve been inclined
(ba-ba-ba)
♪
In her mind there is a pause, the adrenaline hits her at once, and she smiles. The crowd is so into the song that they sing along with her, making her get more energized. There’s nothing more real than connecting with the audience, really resonating with them as she lets loose and pours her heart into the next verse,
♪
To believe they never would
But now, I look at the night
And it don’t seem so lonely
We fill it up with only two
And when I hurt
Hurtin’ runs off my shoulders
How can I hurt when I’m holdin’ you?
Oh, hey
Sweet Caroline (ba-ba-ba)
Good times never seemed so good
(so good, so good, so good)
So good, so good, so good
♪
The crowd cheers loudly as they finish the song. Ava runs her fingers through her hair as she says into the microphone, “My name is Ava, and we are The Halo.”
More cheers erupt, the bar gets louder with everyone's voices bouncing off the walls, and then the lights flicker off making everyone groan in unison. They turn their attention to the owner standing behind the bar.
“Come on, Billy? You wanted us to sing that song?!” J.C. yells out at him while taking off the bass and putting it back on the stand.
Ava laughs when she continues into the microphone, “Give it up for Billy, the owner who really meant it when he said he doesn’t want us to be up on this stage longer than ten minutes. Oh, also don’t forget to tip your servers because we are also your servers.”
The crowd laughs at the joke as Ava and Camila hop off the stage and make their way back to the bar. A few patrons compliment their performance as they settle back behind the bar.
“That was really great guys.” A woman smiles at them and waves as she walks by the bar.
Ava is still riding the high from the performance. She tries to calm herself down by wiping down the counters when she hears a lot of commotion coming from the doorway.
“Look, Ava. It’s your favs.” Camila teases as she opens a bottle of Modelo for one of the patrons as she hands it to him.
When she looks up, she sees a loud group congregating at one of the taller tables as they joke around with each other.
“Oh great. Marines.” Ava mutters under her breath, making Camila giggle. She grabs her apron from the shelf to adjust it and puts it back on while saying, “There will probably be mild to medium harassment by nine, then by ten, all hell will break loose.”
“Oh, always so dramatic, Ms. Silva.” Camila laughs as they look back at the Marines again when she sees a familiar guy walk towards her.
“Hey, stranger!” Hearing his voice once again saying, “Ava?”
In shock, she replies, “No way, Mikey?”
“Ava?” He opens his arms wide.
“No way, stop.” She runs into his embrace.
He wraps his arms around her as he says, “Surprise.”
When they pull apart, she is still all smiles, when he says, “I missed you, Silva.”
“I missed you too, kid!” She says as she takes in his appearance, mainly his buzzed haircut. “Oh my gosh, look at your hair, I’m not okay with this. Like you had good hair!”
Michael laughs as Camila walks up from behind to join in on the conversation.
“Ah, Camila, Mikey. Mikey, Camila.”
“Nice to meet you,” Camila nods towards the blonde-haired boy as he smiles in return.
Ava continues with, “Camila’s in the Halo with me and Mikey, well we grew up together, and I was his babysitter.”
The rest of the marines at the table laugh at that fact. One of the marines laughs when she says, “Aw it’s baby-faced Mikey!”
Michael laughs nervously, “Did you really have to bring that up here? See what you did, Ava.”
The laughs die down when Camila says, “Ava was just telling me how she loves marines.”
“Oh yeah, really. Well, these lovely people are in my platoon, we ship out to Iraq in two weeks.” Michael explains as he gestures to the marines at the table.
“Oh, we’re still in Iraq?” Ava asks.
“Not out yet, unfortunately.” He shrugs.
Ava sighs, “Well, it's another war that never ends. In that case, what do you guys want to drink? First one’s on the house.”
“Thank you.” One with a British accent, and a kind face says as she smiles at Ava.
For some reason, Ava can’t help but smile back. There’s something about her brown eyes and freckles that make her seem so open and welcoming.
“Uh, can I get tequila?” One of the marines asks. He looks a little on the younger side.
Ava glances back at Camila with a smirk, “Does he look old enough to drink tequila?”
“Absolutely not,” Camila responds.
“Double that order of tequila.” Another marine says she has an Irish accent.
“Copy that,” Ava responds with a smile.
The marine with kind eyes replies, “I’ll have a Coke.”
“Mmm. Okay, my kind of girl.” Ava smirks as she writes in her notepad.
“Good to know.” The marine chuckles when she says, “Could you throw in some lemon slices with that?”
Well, there goes the kind marine act, Ava thinks. The good mood of the night disappears as she realizes that she has to deal with these douchebags of marines. Why can’t they all be nice and respectful like Michael? With a scoff, she grips her pen in her hand resting it on the table slowly, then laughs when she says, “How about you pace yourself, baby?”
“Whoa!” The marines erupt into cheers as they bang on the table teasing their friend. Ava smiles as she walks towards the bar to put their orders in.
She can feel the gaze of the marine girl on her back. It doesn’t bother her, but she can’t help but want her attention on her all the time. Despite the fact that she’s a jerk doesn’t mean she’s not good-looking. There's just something about her though, her inviting brown eyes, her freckles, the accent, that damn accent. Ava can barely think as she loses herself in her thoughts. Looking back only slightly to see her again she overhears the conversation she's having with Michael, though it is muffled by the noise in the bar.
“Okay, no. Just let it go, cheekbones.” Michael says as he slaps his friend on the arm.
“Ouch, what was that for?” She asks while rubbing her arm to soothe it.
“You know. You two?” He gestures towards Ava and her. “Are never going to happen. She’s like an older sister to me.”
Beatrice looks at him with a raised eyebrow when Camila cuts in, “Uh, sorry to burst your bubbles. Ava has a ‘no soldiers’ policy.”
“What but we’re marines.” Another British marine says as another one says, “What’s that about?”
The other British marine smirks at Camila, “Well that means more of us for you then?”
“Heh, tempting. Let me check with my girlfriend.” She smirks as the group laughs again.
Ava walks back over to the table, holding a tray of drinks, careful to place them down, when she says, “Alright three tequilas, and a coke.”
The Irish marine takes the shot glasses but she's quick to ask, “So we’re good enough to fight for your ass, but not good enough to touch it?”
“Excuse me?” Ava tries to not get so upset, but it’s hard. If there's one thing, she can't stand are entitled idiots. Especially when she's working, it makes the night a little harder to get through.
“Okay, I’ll excuse you, this time.” The marine retorts as she takes the shot of tequila in a quick motion.
“I can’t with this.” Ava scoffs as she puts down the tray on the table to walk back to the bar.
“Nice going, Crimson.” The marine standing next to Michael says, “Let me see what I can do.”
“Good luck,” Crimson replies as she knocks back her second tequila shot. “Mary, you think she can do it?”
“Please, she’s got a perfect track record.” Mary laughs.
Michael adds, "Don't do what she did, please!"
Ava stops wiping the table when she sees the marine approach her. She smiles as she rubs the back of her neck, “Hey, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for my friend. She’s a bit…unpredictable.”
“Okay,” Ava says as she walks behind the bar.
“Uh, my name is Beatrice. What’s yours?” Her smile is inviting. She makes it so easy for her to think she’s so nice underneath that bravado exterior. Ava won’t fall for it. Not this time.
“I’m your waitress/bartender. Have a fun night, Beatrice.” Ava winks as she grabs some Coors Light bottles and opens them.
“Look, we're not all alike.” Beatrice steps closer.
“Oh really.” Ava crosses her arms in front of her chest, “Because your friend is talking about her right to touch my ass. Which apparently you also feel entitled to.”
Beatrice sighs as she tries to recover, “Look we’re just trying to have a good time tonight and let loose. It’s a pretty big night since it is our last night on leave. Then we ship off in a few week-”
Ava cuts her off, “I get it, but uh not an excuse for behaving like fuck boys. You’re cute and everything but that doesn't mean that it’s okay. Don't you know how to treat a lady?”
Beatrice laughs, “Oh, alright. Now I uh- I get this.”
“What do you get?” Ava asks.
“You.”
“Me?”
“Yes, yes. You’re kind of predictable. I’ve met girls like you before.” Beatrice smirks as she gestures towards Ava.
“Oh, really? Please do tell me what kind of girl I am, Miss Know-it-all.”
“You probably drink a lot when you're not working, go out and party and you never take anything seriously. Everything's probably one big joke to you. You wouldn't pay attention to any real-world problems like the war or politics. You don't care about anything like that unless it concerns you, right? The world probably revolves around you.”
“Is that all?” Ava smiles wider with her arms crossed.
“I bet this is just an act of yours, you playing hard to get.” Beatrice leans in closer to her, just inches away as Ava exhales.
She shakes her head when she says, “Actually you are right. It is all an act and I'm going to keep it up. So, Beatrice, why don't I walk away now so you can go cry to your friends about it afterward? It'll save you the heartache later on.” She blows her a kiss as she walks away from her to stand next to Camila. Ava watches as Beatrice saunters back over to her friends as they laugh at her and tease her while she takes her seat again at the table.
“Nailed it,” Crimson yells at the table while banging on it. “She’s a pistol, I knew it.”
Ava sighs, “Or they’ll just bring you straight to hell.”
Camila giggles, “You see the marine who looks like he’s twelve?”
Ava looks over and nods in response, Camila continues, “Well just he told me I should reconsider my stance on men because if I marry him, I will get incredible health insurance.”
“Wow, health insurance. He’s got some good pick-up lines.” Ava jokes as she takes the rag from the bucket and starts wiping the tables again.
There’s some confusion when there’s a quacking ringtone that’s radiating in the general area. Ava looks around as she tries to figure out where it’s coming from. She looks up at Camila and asks, “Where is that coming from?”
“Oh, it’s mine, ha.” Camila laughs, “I made it annoying so it’s impossible to ignore it.”
Then Ava feels it, the dizziness. It’s slight at first but it’s there. Shit, she almost forgot.
“Hey, can you cover me, for like five?” Ava offers her a small smile when she asks.
“Yeah, sure. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Ava unties her apron and takes it off and leaves it on the counter. She reaches down and picks up her purse as she says hi to a few people on the way out of the bar to make her way to the parking lot. The cold brisk air hits her face as she wipes away a few strands of hair. When she reaches in her purse for her keys to unlock the door.
She opens it with the handle and slides inside and closes the door to start rummaging through her purse. No, no, where is it? She sighs as she takes her glucose monitor from her bag and she cleans her hands with hand sanitizer before she pricks her finger. Pressing it to the strip she sighs as the reading comes up on the screen after a few minutes. It’s low. Shit.
Feeling around in her purse she finds the small vial but when she holds it up to the light, she sees the liquid barely rimming around the bottom of it.
Just great.
“Oh, it looks like I can’t refill your prescription for another four days.” The pharmacist clicks on the computer keyboard.
The cool light of the store makes her feel uneasy. Plus, the sounds seem louder than they actually are as Ava attempts to focus on the conversation, “Uh, okay, but I really can’t wait for another four days. Um...”
She looks around to see the long line of customers waiting behind her as she sighs when she leans into whisper, “Look I am out of my long-acting and my short-acting insulin, and my reserve vial is basically gone. It- It’s really dangerous for me not to have this.”
The pharmacist sighs as she says, “I mean I can give you a refill of your prescription if you want to do it out of pocket.”
Ava shakes her head, “No I don’t think you understand-”
“Well, I'm sorry miss I can’t refill it if your insurance card is not renewed. It isn’t so I can’t do it. So again, if you want to do it out of pocket then we can do that.”
Ava sighs, the numbing feeling creeping up, as she starts to pull her wallet from her purse, “How much would that be?”
The pharmacist clicks and types in some information on the computer before saying, “Three hundred for the long-acting, two hundred and twenty for the short-acting. So a little over five hundred, what would you like to do?”
Ava looks in her wallet and sighs, she knows that she doesn’t have that amount of cash on her. And there’s barely enough for her to afford rent on her bank account.
“Come on!” A man in line screams. Ava turns quickly to glare at him as the pharmacist calls out to say, “I’m so sorry I’ll be right with you.”
That’s when she sees her mother walk over and put her purse down in front of her on the countertop, “Que pasa?”
“Nada, mama. Can you please go check out in another line? This one already doesn’t like me.”
The pharmacist cuts in, “Do you want to step aside while you-”
“No, can you give me a second?” Ava pleads.
“¿Necesitas que pague?” Her mother asks, as Ava shakes her head, “No.”
“¿Quieres pagar en efectivo o con tarjeta?” The pharmacist makes eye contact with her mother.
“She speaks English also. Thank you.” Ava glares at her as she looks at her mother already trying to hand her some money.
“Ava!”
“Why don’t you want to ask for my help? Here take my cash, I’ll use my credit.” She says as she places the wad of cash in her hand.
“No mama, It's okay, really.” Ava tries to argue.
"La salud primero. Always health first, Ava." Her mother says as she walks away to get to the back of the line.
Ava lets out a frustrated sigh as she sees the pharmacist smiling, “Well that worked out, so do you want to fill this? Oh.”
The pharmacist stops talking when she sees the amount of cash she has, only a few twenty-dollar bills, not enough to cover it. “Guess I’ll try to get to Friday without it. Thanks for your help.” Ava smiles weakly as she walks by all of the customers grateful to move up in line. This should be fun, she thinks.