Lunch
Who: Louise and Jesse
When: Noonish
Where: Nighthawk's Diner
It had been quite a night for Louise. One More Round had been packed for New Year's, and even she had been pressed into service as a barmaid. She might not drink herself, but she knew enough to make most things. Plus it was highly entertaining watching people fall all over themselves as the evening progressed. The party had gone well into the night, and she'd found herself staying a bit later to clean up. But hey, she'd been promised a little extra for sticking around, so she didn't mind.
She'd finally finished around seven in the morning or so and headed back home for a bit. She'd promised Dutch she'd do some clean up around the garage this afternoon, but she had a little time to herself. She'd cleaned up, had a little "naked time" as she liked to call it, and worked on a couple of sketches before figuring it was time to actually do something. She hadn't slept yet- she didn't feel the need to yet so she didn't- but she needed something in her belly to get her through the day. Happily, she'd made enough in tips the night before to actually go out for a change, so she headed down to Nighthawk's for a little breakfast/lunch.
She liked Nighthawk's. They never made a big deal about her little outbursts, and even though she didn't go in much, they had a pretty good idea what she liked. Taking a seat near the end of the counter, she smiled and just kind of watched the people stumbling in, most of them still feeling the effects of the night before. Chirping and blinking, she rubbed her right hand with the left as she waited for her lunch, a cheeseburger and fries with a glass of milk. She'd pushed it too much again and it was really giving her problems today. She watched as the place filled up, leaving very few places to sit. Someone was going to be in for some fun when they ended up next to her, she thought.
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Jesse James was definitely one of the aforementioned folks who was still feeling the after effects of the night before. He'd had a long night out, his daughter had spent the night at his parent's house, so he'd not had to be home at a reasonable hour and that translated itself to Jesse not wandering back home until well after daylight hit. He'd tried to sleep, and crashed out for a little while, but his stomach woke him back up before he'd properly rested. So, he'd headed down to the diner, because the thought of even attempting to fix himself something vaguely food-like was a laughable one. He'd never been the best cook in the world even working at full capacity, so right now he definitely needed to leave that in someone else's hands.
Trudging in, he tipped his sunglasses up on top of his head as he made his way to the counter seats, dropping heavily down onto one as he curled his arms on the worktop and dropped his head down onto them. "C'ffee." he mumbled when the waitress wandered over, and he missed the amused sort of look the woman shot him.
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Louise looked at the man who'd collapsed into the seat next to her and suppressed a giggle, instead replacing it with a couple of whistles and a finger snap. She hadn't seen him come in, but she'd heard him sort of flump onto the seat and had turned to hear him mutter his order. She spun around to look at him and smiled with a couple of excess blinks. "Happy New Year?" she said, more of a question than a greeting. It always amused her, the things people did to themselves in the name of "having a good time".
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Jesse was more alerted by the snap and whistles than her statement, and was already glancing up in a confused manner when she spoke. He propped his cheek on one half curled hand, settling his gaze on the girl. She was...colorful, wasn't she? "Think the jury's still out on that one." he told her, rubbing at one eye. Really, his eyelids could stop feeling like they were lined with sandpaper any minute now. That'd make conversing much more enjoyable.
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Louise was really trying not to look too amused by this guy's misery. Schadenfreude had its place, but probably not in front of the person himself. At least, not out loud. "Looks like you at least- chirp -brought it in with a bang," she said as her glass of milk arrived. She put a straw in and took a sip. She took a closer look at him- he looked familiar, but then again most people did. Sooner or later, she ran into everyone on this side of town. "Haven't I seen you around the bar-bar before?" She let out a couple of chirps and whistles again and smiled. "At One More Round? I'm Louise." She extended her left hand to shake, keeping her right one on the counter.
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Jesse was just kind of blinking at her, and giving her a vaguely confused sort of expression. He glanced around a moment, sort of half wondering if this was some kind of joke that he was just not in on. Then he shook the girl's hand, because it was rude not to. Plus, it wasn't like she was coming off as creepy or anything, just weird. "...so! This may be the dumb question, but why are you chirping at me?" he asked. "...and yeah I've been to the One More Round a few times more than 'many'." he added on the end, since she'd asked so he owed an answer.
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Louise shrugged. "I just do that. It's a little thing called Tourette's." She smiled as her head briefly twitched to the left. "I'm just wired wrong." That was the short answer, of course. The long answer, her mom drank and doped herself into insanity and couldn't lay off long enough to make sure her baby wasn't completely fucked up, was far too depressing for lunchtime conversation. At least she hadn't had one of her really fun outbursts yet.
She was glad that he'd ordered coffee. She didn't drink it herself, but she loved the smell of it. It smelled like an old radio program. She smiled. "Thought so. I'm usually working in the back, but I poke my head out now and then to see what's up." She absentmindedly fiddled with one of her earrings as she sipped her milk, trying to hold back a particularly loud outburst so she didn't scare the guy off yet. So instead she channelled it into a few more chirps and snaps, even her right hand making feeble attempts to play along. "So what's your story, Cowboy?" She always liked hearing other people's stories.
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"Wired wrong, huh?" Jesse asked. "Huh. And it makes you chirp." he said, grabbing his mug when it was set in front of him, and he sipped at it. He shut his eyes a moment with a look of appreciation on his face, and looked at the woman behind the counter. "You are a goddess." he told her, before looking back to Louise.
"And my story, as in once upon a time, Mr. and Mrs. James weren't Mr. and Mrs. James yet but they loved each other veeerrry much and one day had an oops?" Jesse asked, smirking at the girl faintly. "Or my story like, last night is a blur, I think I was hit on by a girl named 'Candy' who smelled like peaches, and I kind of want to shove an ice pick into my eye to get rid of the headache at the moment?"
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"Yep, yep," Louise said. "Chirp, twitch, bark, snap, swear... I got all the neurons misfiring-firing." To add emphasis, her brain decided she needed to twist her head and bark at her left shoulder. "See what I mean?" she said with a grin. She looked up at the waitress as she placed the burger and fries in front of her. Louise took a big whiff. It smelled like exciting jazz, if she had to give it a name, except not. Sometimes her senses defied description. "And please, whichever story you like. Although I'm wondering if I know which one was Candy." As her mind tried to place the name, she nibbled on a fry, pushing the plate towards him with her right hand. "Care for a French fry-Cock!" Louise blushed a little. She'd been doing so well, too.
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Okay that was just strange. But, not strange enough to actually make Jesse want to end the conversation or anything. After all, he'd met a lot of strange people in his time, so what was one more? Least she was interesting. "I'm fairly certain Candy wasn't really her name. Just a sneaking suspicion." Jesse said, then blinked as she just shouted 'cock' out there. Right in the middle of the diner. That was new. "So, for future reference, should I just ignore when you do that?" he asked. But he also reached out to snag a fry.
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"Pretty much, yeah," Louise said with a giggle as he stole one of her fries. "Trust me, if I don't want you to ignore it, you'll know." Chirp, snap. She pushed the plate back in front of her with her left hand, then contemplated her burger. Crap. Might be too much for one hand. She grabbed the knife and cut the burger in half as she held it in place with her right fist. "There, much easier." She whistled and looked back at her dining partner. "So,- chirp -got a first name or do you just go by Mr. James?" she asked as she took a bite of the burger.
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"So, you're basically fairly entertaining, just because you're quirky, and literally, you never know what's going to come out of your mouth?" he assessed, kind of lightly amused. He drank more coffee, and stole another fry, uninvited. When she asked his name, he flashed her a grin. "Jesse." he introduced herself, then waited for the recognition to hit.
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"Bingo," Louise said with a couple of blinks and a grin. "I'm utterly and completely fascinating as is. The extra color and shineys are just a bonus." She motioned to her tats and piercings as she watched him steal another fry. Not that she cared- she had offered, after all. She stifiled a laugh when he told her his name, although she had a feeling that it was a reaction he was used to. "Jesse James, huh?" she smirked and barked at her left shoulder. "That's rather unfortunate, isn't it?" Chirp, blink. "Still, guess it's better-better than Louise, eh?"
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The repeating words thing was a little jarring, not that he said anything about it. It just made listening to her kind of weird to follow. Like something got skipped, or...something. It was strange. He drank more coffee, and set the mug down as he looked at where she indicated. "Interesting work." he said. He flipped his wrist around and held it out, so she could see his tattoo. "And I don't know if it's unfortunate. Just seems to amuse people. I'm sure my parents thought they were really funny with that." he commented. "And Louise isn't a bad name."
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Louise chirped as she examined Jesse's tattoo. "Aww..." she cooed, tracing it a little with her finger. The name and date inside a heart told her that it had to be someone close to him, but whether the date was a birth date or an anniversary was the key. "So- cock -who is it? Daughter or wife?" She was feeling much more at ease now and the tic hadn't embarrased her like it had earlier. He seemed okay with them at least.
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Jesse didn't stop her from touching his wrist, mostly he was just amused enough with the girl to let her do what she liked, even if there she was shouting 'cock' again. He noted to himself that he really probably shouldn't ever introduce his kid to her. She had enough problems with language she shouldn't be spouting. Which he knew, she got from him. That wasn't the point!
"Daughter." Jesse answered. "I never married." He stole another fry, and drank some more coffee, letting her look all she wanted at his tattoo, holding his wrist still for her as she did. As she looked at it, he watched her. People generally had one of two reactions. One was kind of what she'd just done--the 'aww!' response. The other was the 'turn off' response. The one he got when girls were looking for a good time, and the reality of a kid--and apparently one that meant a hell of a lot to him--didn't really fit in.
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Louise's reaction was the former, rather than the latter. "Aww," she said with a chirp. "That's sweet." She wasn't looking for a good time, of course- not that Jesse wasn't a good looking guy or anything, she just wasn't looking for anyone right now. And even if she was, well, a kid wouldn't necessarily be a deal-breaker. Unless the kid was Satan's Offspring or something. "Hey, married or not, you must be pretty involved in your kid's life-life if you went to the trouble of getting that inked on ya," she said with a smile and a couple of excess blinks. She contemplated her burger as she thought about her "parentage". "I sometimes wish I knew who my dad was. chirp! At least then I'd have a parental figure besides the nutcase," she said with a grim smirk. She took a sip of milk and sighed and twitched a little.
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"I am. I raised her, more or less." Jesse said. He was the main parent, even if that was kind of a strange thing to a lot of people. Then he drank more coffee, watching her mannerisms. They earned a faint little smile on his lips. "The nutcase?" he asked. "And hey if you don't know who your dad was, you could just decide he was anyone. You could be the long lost heir to...y'know, I can't actually think of anything in this shithole of a town that would be good, but still. You cold be heiress to something." he said. "I say think positively, Beats the crushing disappointment of what reality spits at people most of the time. But you have a story, so tell me yours." he invited.
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Louise smiled as she nibbled a fry. "There's a thought. My dad's really Poppa DiGiovanni." She giggled, chirping and snapping as she did. Somehow she had a feeling that even they had better taste than the mess that was her mother. "Not much story to tell-tell really. My mom was addicted to pretty much everything- chirp -so I got the short end of the genetic lottery." She held up her mostly useless right hand briefly and twitched her head to the left. "She's over at Bedlam now. At least, assuming the drugs in her system finally haven't-haven't done-chirp! Cock! her in." She twitched a bit more and barked at her shoulder. Sometimes talking about her mom did that to her- stress in general tended to make her tics worse. And when they got too bad, people tended to freak.
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He noticed. Jesse was an observant sort, and yeah, that was a whole lot of chirping and barking and such to get out in one bit. It could be that he just didn't know her well enough yet, but at the same time, it might not. He noted it, either way. "Sorry to hear." he said. "I'm one of those people who's got a shit ton of family." he said. Which was true. But he also put it in to give her a way to back out of the initial subject, to see if she was less twitchy.
And then he internally rolled his eyes at himself, because he realized he was treating her like someone he was either going to work with or work against at some point, and that was ridiculous. He didn't need to know her habits. he didn't need to know what did and did not make her twitch. And yet--it was just ingrained.
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Louise was rather oblivious to any outward signs of Jesse's over-analysis, obviously, as she was too busy pulling herself together. "Oh, cool," she said, picking at her burger. "Shit ton of family," chirp, snap, "a little one... damn, son, you got it all, don't you!" She laughed a little, calming down, although she still found herself blinking more than was necessary. "I might just- chirp -have to scoop you up and marry you so I can live the high life instead of washing dishes and sweeping garages." She twitched her head to the left and giggled before taking a sip of her milk, then smiled at him. He did say he'd never married, after all. She winked though, just to let him know she wasn't serious and hitting on him or anything. Although part of her wondered if he'd realize what she meant or just think it was another tic.
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He chuckled a little, smirking faintly. "You know you're not the first woman to propose to me, though I'd make a crappy husband." he told her. He'd been engaged a few times, but yeah. It never happened. "Also, I'm not actually sitting that pretty, even if you did marry me you'd still have to wash dishes and seep garages. I've only got a one bedroom place. It's about all I can afford." he said honestly, though he didn't sound self-pitying about it. More that it was just a fact, something that happened. In this city, it wasn't exactly an unusual story.
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She laughed as she relaxed a bit more. "Well, then, it's a good thing I- chirp -don't mind washing and sweeping." She took another bite of her burger and blinked a few times. "And there's nothing wrong with one-one bedroom places. They're easier to keep organized." She absent-mindedly rearranged the salt and pepper shakers at her and the adjoining seats as they talked. Pepper went on the right. It just did. She looked down at the still untouched half-burger on her plate. She was getting full, but she didn't want it to go to waste. "Want a burger?" she asked, pushing the plate towards Jesse. "I'm not gonna finish this," she said, adding a bark at her shoulder for emphasis.
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Never one to pass up a free meal, Jesse took it. "Thanks." he said, digging in. "And yeah, guess so, if you plan on being Mrs. James." he said good naturedly. "Though my daughter occasionally suggests we need a bigger place. I think having her dad crashing on the couch on a permanent basis might eventually clash with her social agenda." Which he still was glad hadn't officially started yet. When it did, he was going to be answering the door with a shotgun.
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Louise smiled as Jesse mentioned his daughter again. She always liked hearing people talk about their families. It made her think about what her life would've been like if she'd had a family herself. "Nah, it's just-just extra security," she said as she finished the last few dregs of her milk. She chirped a couple of times as she looked up at the clock. "Dang it," she said as she gathered her things. "I promised Dutch I'd be- chirp - at the garage in 15 minutes." Although admittedly, Dutch probably wasn't there, and even if he was, he probably didn't realize what time it was anyways. Nice guy, but a little too far into the bottle at times. "It was really nice meeting you, Jesse." She pulled out her money for her lunch and Jesse's coffee. Never hurt to do something nice for someone when you could. She put out her left hand to shake. "Look me up sometime- cock! -when you're in the bar, kay? We'll talk about that new apartment." She chuckled, chirped and snapped as she smiled at him.
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"It was nice meeting you too, Louise." he told her. "Thanks for the food." he added, since she'd given him half her lunch and he was an appreciative sort. He shook her hand, then winked and gave the back of it a smooch for good measure. "Don't work too hard. I'll catch you around sometime soon." he promised.