Realistic or Modern Southern Boy and His Songbird

[AnimeGenork]

A 1x1 between AnimeGenork and izayoiix

 

[izayoiix]

tuesday, 7:13pm, june 28th. ; mentone, alabama. the pigeon hill bar.

It had been a long day, and all Caleb wanted to do was relax with a drink in his hand and music in his ears. Despite it only being Tuesday, he’d been working through the weekend, having gotten a fresh batch of horses at the farm that needed breaking in. Of course, Caleb wasn’t the only rancher on hand, but god forbid anyone else put in some effort to get the job done quicker.

Alright, that wasn’t entirely fair to some of his fellow farm hands, but damn if he wasn’t in a mood. All he’d been dreaming about since Saturday was stopping in the bar for a drink to help him forget his worries. Let the night fall around him and lull him into a nice relaxed state and get him ready for another day.

He shouldered open the front door to the small building, inhaling sharply at the strong scent of beer and smoke, a grin taking over his face.

Ah yes. He’d missed being able to stop in over the weekend.

“Ey, Caleb!”

“Jack! Buddy, how’s it been?”

he grinned, reaching out, clapping the other man on the shoulder as they shook hands.

“Been a minute, how’s the missus?”

“Ha! Hell yeah, talkin’ bout it’s been a minute! Lorraine’s good, the baby kept her home, she wasn’t feeling well.” Jack rambled on, causing Caleb to wince in sympathy for the woman. Poor thing hadn’t been having the best of time when it came to her morning sickness. “She’ll be mad to hear she missed you though! Where you been?”

Then again, a bar full of alcohol and smoke probably wasn’t the best place for a pregnant woman, and Lorraine was definitely smart enough to know all that. She probably wanted Jack out of the house for the night, give her a break.

Caleb hid his grin, not wanting to give up the woman’s game.

“Ah, I’ve been around. You know, the farm keeping me busy.”

he shrugged.

“Give her my best, yeah? Gonna grab a beer, be at the bar, yeah?”

he grinned, patting the man on the back before he squeezed on by.

He raised a hand in response to the whoop his friend let out, laughing as he made his way through the crowd. While this wasn’t the biggest town in the state of Alabama, there were plenty of people, and even more than a few bars, yet everyone seemed determined to frequent this one today. Not that he was complaining too much, larger the crowd, the easier it was to lose himself in the atmosphere. As long as he forgot his woes for night, Caleb would be a happy man.

It took a few minutes, getting stopped a couple more times by friends he hadn’t seen in a few days, but eventually he managed to make it to the bar.

Letting out a heavy sigh, he leaned forward, his arms dropping to rest on the counter. Good God above, he needed a drink. The loud music was a nice background hum to the multitude of voices around him. Looking down the length of the bar, he opened his mouth, ready to order a drink, only to pause at the sight of a blonde woman he’d never seen before.

Like he said, Mentone was a somewhat small town, and Caleb liked to think that he knew most everyone in town. Least he used to know everyone who frequented and worked at the Pigeon Hill.

Guess that wasn’t true any longer.

He waited a moment, not planning on interrupting her serving someone else. He’d been called an ass many times before, but he wasn’t a jerk. He could wait a little longer.

Thankfully though, it didn’t take her long to finish, turning and spotting him at the other end of the bar. Caleb smirked, lifting one hand, giving her a small two fingered wave in greeting.

“Now I know you must be new around here.”

he greeted the blonde bar tender as she approached him.

“I'd remember if someone as fine as you regularly graced this establishment.”

he grinned.

“I'll take a beer. Whatever's on tap is fine.”

he ordered.

“I'm Caleb,”

he introduced himself, grabbing his wallet and pulling out a few bucks. He wanted to relax, yeah, but he still had to work tomorrow.

“Am I allowed to know the name of the new angel that deigns to grace my presence?”

a southern boy

caleb.

• aaaaaaaaa
• aaaaaaaaa

• filler tab!
• 
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  mood

  
  
  
  

  tired, relaxed, in awe.

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  location

  
  
  
  

  the pigeon hill bar

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  outfit

  
  
  
  

  here

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  interactions

  
  
  
  

  willow

  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

♡coded by uxie♡

 

[AnimeGenork]

Lord above, Willow was tired. That was to be expected from a young woman with narcolepsy, but still. She couldn’t stop yawning (again, normal) and rubbing her eyes. The only thing keeping her awake was, oddly enough, the anxiety of being the new girl in a small town all by herself.

Sure, her mother had helped her move into her new apartment and find a job at the Pigeon Hill Bar, but she wasn’t used to being on her own. Moving away from her mother and Agnes had been so difficult; as her support system, they knew how to help her when her narcolepsy got in the way of daily life. Now she was essentially starting over from scratch.

At least she had a job. The manager had even assured her that she could sing some nights at the Pigeon Hill if she worked enough bartending shifts, so that was a plus. Music was the reason she’d moved down here, right? She hadn’t expected to get her feet wet so soon, but at least she was following her dream. Or, what she thought was her dream, at least.

She was thinking too much again.

Bartending, at least, came easy. Sort of. She’d only messed up one drink so far tonight, and considering she’d messed up two last night, that was only three out of at least fifty! Or something like that. Math had never been her strong suit; she’d tended to fall asleep during those classes. The people of Mentone were very sweet to her so far, if a little loud and overbearing at times. Willow tended to be a bit quieter and relaxed, which made it weird that she’d work as a bartender in the first place, but the hours were flexible and allowed for her much-needed naptimes. The smoke was a bit much, but she’d probably get used to it. If she didn’t need an inhaler first.

Really, the best part of this job was being able to watch how friendly people were, with or without alcohol in their systems. A small smile came to her face as she watched old friends greet each other and knock back drinks like it wasn’t a weekday night. But hey, if you were old enough to be in a bar, you were probably at the age where you didn’t have to worry about school the next day, right? Work, on the other hand… Eh, it was amusing to think about either way.

“Keep an eye on the ranchers, they can get pretty rowdy,” her coworker, Elaine, warned. “Always knockin’ back as many beers as they can stomach. Good money, bad if they start fighting over who’s better at breaking in the horses.” She snorted. “And they’ll flirt with you like nobody’s business.”

“Don’t have to worry about me on that front,” Willow muttered, collecting some empty shot glasses left behind by long-gone patrons. As if anyone would flirt with her. She probably looked like a raccoon with her permanent dark circles and hooded eyes.

Letting out a sigh, she brushed her hair back behind her ear, trying to shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She poured some shots of bourbon for a young couple clearly celebrating something—maybe an anniversary—and the silly grins on their faces made her smile, too. Maybe she’d have to sketch the scene later. It helped to sketch out scenes from her day before bed; it got her used to life in Mentone. At least for now.

Turning, she spotted a man at the other end of the bar, and she put down her rag to go over and tend to him. A smirk crossed his face as she approached, and something inside her twinged. Gah, social interaction was hard when it was one-on-one.

And she was right to think so, because the moment he opened his mouth, she was blushing a brilliant shade of red. Willow stared hard at her hands, trying not to look up and see his reaction to her reaction. God, why hadn’t she taken Elaine seriously? She hadn’t expected to be called “fine” tonight.

Her hands shook the tiniest as she nodded and reached for the tap to get the man a glass of Hitchhiker. She’d always been more of a wine person (it helped her sleep), but beer sure was popular down here. Toto, she wasn’t in Ohio anymore. Did every patron with nice eyes flirt with the bartender and introduce themselves down here?

Setting the glass in front of him, she shyly moved her eyes up to meet his. “I’m Willow. I, um, moved here a few days ago.”

She didn’t want to appear rude, so she attempted humor. “My coworker warned me about this type of thing. I don’t suppose you’re a rancher around here?” Willow tilted her head, which probably appeared flirtatious, especially seeing as she had her hands widely set apart on the edge of the counter. Unfortunately for her, she had no idea how to flirt, nor did she know when she was coming across in such a way. She was hopeless when it came to this sort of thing. Absolutely hopeless.

Somebody save her now before she made a fool of herself.

Northern Girl

Willow.

• aaaaaaaaa
• aaaaaaaaa

• filler tab!
• 
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  Mood

  
  
  
  

  Anxious & Flustered

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  Location

  
  
  
  

  Pigeon Hill Bar

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  Outfit

  
  
  
  

  Here

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  Interactions

  
  
  
  

  Caleb

  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

♡coded by uxie♡