It's not five o'clock here - OPEN

[Derek Schädler]

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[attr="class","Derekner1"]

[attr="class","Derekback"]

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Derek missed his job at the police department but he knew he was doing the right thing by leaving it all behind him. His family had too much heartache and god only knew that Trent found enough trouble for the both of them anyway. Derek still needed to reach out to his half sisters but he was pretty sure that conversation was going to go over like a lead weight. Well he wasn’t quite sure how to start the conversation. The girls had just lost their brother and while he kept in touch with them, the bond they had with each other was deep.

He thought about picking up a telephone. Though that was too impersonal. He flipped a glass over at the bar and filled it with the order he had in front of him. Mixing the cocktail he tired to busy himself with things at the bar. It made things easier, but he could only think that he was keeping too much of a distance from them.

Setting the drink down at the bar he turned to go back to start all over again. Each drink mixing together felt like his toiling emotions inside. There was nothing he could do to make it all stop. Really he wanted a drink himself, but it would have to wait until after hours when the bar closed and he was at home. He knew what loss was like, his daughter was what got him through each day since Gwendolyn’s passing. Michael had left behind a daughter and two sisters. Derek knew he was going to have to step up and reach out.

∵ OPEN THREAD ∵

[attr="class","Derekner2"]

[attr="class","Dereknerlyric"]don't stand so close to me
sometimes it’s not so easy

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + ADOX 2.0

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[Deleted]

Feeling like you had a massive target on your back and a big hole in your heart was a feeling that Audrey was accustomed to but rarely chose to acknowledge. After her Mom had died her Dad had enrolled the girls in various therapies hoping to head off any of those self-destructive behaviors that you read about headlined in newspaper CHILD WITH UNRESOLVED ISSUES YOU FILL IN THE BLANK, were his worst nightmare. Thus far his girls had given him little reason to worry, other than the fact that they both loved traveling and it was becoming harder and harder to see either of them in person. One of the two always managed to drop in on him at least once a month, and they had recently double-teamed him and taught him how to video chat. He was a texting machine even if he did type with only one finger at a time. The best of herself was seen when she was in the presence of her family.

Basking in the glow of group text between her sister and Dad where he was delightfully showing off his screenshot skills, blowing up her phone with shots of his favorite album covers, and artwork, to photos lifted off of there social media accounts. Her phone dinged out again, lifting her sunglasses as she stepped into the dimmed lights of the bar. Another screenshot of what he was listening to at that exact moment and informing them that he was going to make a playlist for them. Margaret was typing as Audrey sent a set of musical emojis, and slid her phone back into her pocket.

This week had been a busy one between shoots, she was shuttling around Chicago looking for a new home office and storefront while insisting that jet lag was an imaginary thing. She had hoped to set a new pace and routine for herself, but so far she was traveling around at breakneck speed. Derek though seemed to slow her down somehow. Her phone played out again, this time it was a different tone which indicated an email. It was weird to live in a place where no one knew who you were versus living in New York or LA where you were approached several times in one day. At her new home, she could walk pretty much anywhere without too many strange looks, and no one following her around with a camera. LA had felt too much like she was chasing her mother’s ghost and New York had gotten too cramped and she felt like she would have to sell her soul to get much further, she was here for Chicago ready or not. Opening the link to check out the listings she had just been sent, setting at the bar with her back against the wall. Bubblegum tinted hair falling into her face as waited for Derek to finish. While Audrey’s look screamed notice me, as a person she was fairly unobtrusive.  

[Derek Schädler]

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[attr="class","Dereknert"]Derek didn’t fail to notice a familiar face over off to the side. He had just poured the last few drinks on the night and was starting to clean up. It took him a few minutes after the two had finished their drinks for him to finish cleaning up. He liked to be out of the bar at a decent hour. Then he finally decided to come over and say hi to a certain someone waiting for him.

“You could have sat at the bar, you don’t have to hang out in the corner.” He greeted her. “You look like you could use some company.” Derek was well, Derek. “You also look bored.” He took her phone from her hands and stuck it back in her pocket. Derek had taken a liking to Audrey. The first person he genuinely felt himself caring about since Gwen though he wasn’t exactly sure how to express himself most of the time.

”I think I owe you a walk?” Derek pointed out the door after grabbing his keys out of his pocket so that he could lock up. After all, sitting around in his bar after work hours wasn’t really his idea of a good time.

∵ @audrey ∵

[attr="class","Derekner2"]

[attr="class","Dereknerlyric"]don't stand so close to me
sometimes it’s not so easy

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + ADOX 2.0

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[Deleted]

To the untrained eye, Audrey was patiently waiting for the man behind the bar, but she was a multitasker. The candy-coated model was flicking through storefront options in between answering her family and conducting business securing materials for a storefront she had yet lay eyes on. Many moons ago after a particularly distasteful night of binge drinking Audrey had sworn off the booze but didn’t stop her from slipping into the bar scene from time to time, and at this point, she couldn’t more pleased that she hadn’t cut them out of her social appearances. “I like hiding in the corner though.” Scrolling through her last listing which was some pre-fab strip mall bullshit, surely that place didn’t have forty photos? How could it possibly have forty different angles it was all open floor plan, concrete, white-walled and completely boring.

Looking up from her phone before it vibrated in her hand, signaling another text from Pops this time it was a dark, grainy, and a blurred photo of something that she couldn’t decipher before Derek wretched the phone from her grasp. “You can keep it. Dad is trying to take pictures of something…” She closed her eyes and shook her head, suppressing a shudder there was no stopping him now.  “Ohhhh, nope.” She popped her ‘p’ as untangling herself from the booth. When Audrey had decided to conquer the modeling world she had been told no some many times without even a second glance because of her height alone until she found her current agency who decided to take a chance on the short girl with the fire in her eyes.

Casting an eye to the door as the walk was mentioned, her head bobbed. The jetlag of the past few days was starting to creep up. Audrey’s internal clock was in crisis and while it was not time for drinking a deluxe sized coffee that was all she really wanted, and decaf had a weird taste nothing but the real stuff would curb this craving. Audrey was known for her odd taste in clothing which had come naturally, she supposed it was a side effect of having a Father allow her to dress herself and assumed as long as the patterns matched or the colors and it was clean, everyone was winning. From time to time her sister refused to go out with her unless she had a wardrobe change or insisted that Audrey walk either ahead or behind her. Today was a what her family would recognize as a toned down day, with a pair distressed overalls paired with some bright mustard-orange turtlenecked crop top, and metallic loafers with a nondescript oversized oatmeal cardigan. Her hair hanging pulled into a low bun allowing for a few natural waves to escape the grasp of her hair elastic.

Following after Derek she could think of a few things she would like to do in the empty bar, but he hadn’t quite asked so she would store that suggestion for a future day and time. Instinct kicked in and her head went down as they exited, New York had trained her to keep her eyes low, it sucked to look directly into a camera flash, however, she wasn’t in New York and no one was posted outside the bar. “Does this walk have a destination?”

[Derek Schädler]

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[attr="class","Dereknert"]Derek chuckled at her commenting about liking to hide. “It’s not hard for you shortstack.” He was of course teasing her a little but in a very light hearted manner. Derek for all of his shortcomings could be a rather fun person when he wanted to be. When he placed the phone back in her pocket he listened as much as he felt concern. He was usually good with body language. Something had her nervous maybe? She’d stopped mid sentence and was trying to backtrack. Derek hated when people in general tried that. What was she hiding? Who was she afraid of? Questions running through his mind. Maybe he’d missed something about her.

When she asked about a destination he quirked a brow. “I usually wander over to one of the coffee places before going home. Unless you want to linger around an empty bar all night.” Coffee wasn’t really his thing but tea was amazing. Derek kept note of her body language. Her head to him looked more submissive in pose, he’d not taken into consideration the New York lights and camera flashes that followed her everywhere. Again, Derek held his tongue but his concern grew.

“You still haven’t told me about your day today.” The sentence she had cut him off on had mentioned something about her dad. Maybe he could get her to talk about what she’d been doing and shed some light for him a little. Derek wrapped an arm around Audrey, he had a thing for shorter women. He decided to wait to see where she wanted to go. Maybe he should have asked that inside before he locked up. Then again, he was more worried about her than he was where they were going. Multitasking was part of his job; but when he wasn’t working he hated it, so some things got his attention more than others.

∵ @audrey ∵

[attr="class","Derekner2"]

[attr="class","Dereknerlyric"]don't stand so close to me
sometimes it’s not so easy

[attr="class","cred"]MADE BY VEL OF WW + ADOX 2.0

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