The Fire Within (wlw)

Bar Lights and Butterflies

I put my black leather bomber jacket on and looked in the mirror. I smiled as I looked myself up and down from head to toe: the jacket, a white tee shirt visible through the unzipped front, black ripped  (somewhat tight but not too much) jeans, and white air forces. I then turned to look at the worn down apartment I had rented and sighed. 

"I'll be someplace nicer soon.." I mumbled. I grabbed my keys and left, following the directions Gabby had given me to get to Molly's. I finally pulled up to the bar and parked, drawing in a deep breath before getting out and walking in. 

Ding! The bell above the door rang and everyone's mixed voices turned to murmurs as they looked at the door. When they saw me, they all cheered and welcomed me in. I saw Shay and Gabby make their way through the crowd who were now focusing back on their conversations. 

"Matchstick!" Gabby yelled as she pulled me in for a hug. I smiled and hugged her back. We let go of each other when Shay got to us. I assessed her outfit, taking in the sight. She was wearing a black and white plaid button up shirt and some black skinny jeans with white tennis shoes. 

"So, you finally arrive." she said, stressing the word "finally". I smiled as I replied. "Well, you know what they say. Royalty comes later to get their well deserved welcome by everyone who came first."

"Oh they don't say that, you just made that up!" she lightly punched my shoulder. I shrugged and laughed, walking with her and Gabby to get some drinks. "Oh and what'll it be for Lil Super Firefighter here?" Hermann teased. I turned to look at Shay and Gabby, my jaw dropped in a playful manner. "You guys told him?" I asked. They looked at each other and laughed. "Of course! We wanted to spread the cheer." Gabby replied. "Hey, it's a wonderful honor to have a kid who nearly died give you a card, you should cherish that and be proud of it." Hermann said, smiling. "Oh believe me, I will. I love my card." I replied, grabbing one of the drinks set on the table and pouring it into a glass for myself. 

I put the glass to my lips and threw my head back, tasting the drink. "Tequila?" I asked, looking at the bottle to confirm my guess. Hermann whistled. "Oh she's good.." he said. I poured another glass and took a second shot, setting the glass on the table. I turned to look at Shay and Gabby who were standing there seemingly shocked. "What's wrong ladies, you gonna sit there and stare at me like I just killed someone or you gonna join me and drink?" I taunted. 

Shay shrugged and grabbed a glass Hermann had poured for her, throwing her head back and letting the drink slide down her throat. She set the glass down and made a noise of satisfaction, as if her thirst had been quenched. Gabby joined in and we sat down, drinking and laughing together. 

There was a clanking noise and everyone got quiet and looked at Severide who was standing in the middle of the room. "Let's all give a nice Firehouse 51 congratulations to Quill for her amazing first day saving an otherwise doomed life." he said, making my face flush with embarrassment at the attention. Everyone cheered loudly and clanked their drinks together, taking a shot for me. Gabby rested her hand on my shoulder and smiled as her and Shay made a toast to me and drank. 

~Timespeed a bit~

I took a swig from the bottle and lowered it, meeting eyes with Shay. I choked a bit on my drink and set the bottle down, coughing a little. "Are you alright?" she asked, not making any movements to help me, instead keeping eye contact. "Yeah no I'm fine, I just wasn't expecting to put my drink down and find a pair icey blue eyes staring into my soul." I teased once my coughing ceased. I hoped she didn't notice that I was slightly blushing but even I wasn't sure if it was from choking or something else. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was just thinking about some stuff." she said, getting up and coming to my side of the table. "Anyways, you want to go out and get some fresh air?" she asked, standing over me.