Chaos In a Nutshell: Fresh-ish Start

20. Bar of Old

"Ace of spades, 7 of hearts, and 5 of hearts...I'm gonna fold" Carry shakes her head

"20" Putty pushes chips into the middle of the table

"Raise" Troy shoves chips into the middle

"...Yeah, alright" Putty pushes chips into the center

"Didn't think you'd actually go for it" Troy raises an eyebrow

"Maybe I've got a good hand, maybe I'm a good liar" Putty smiles

"Say that again" Troy stares at Putty

"Maybe I'm a good liar?" Putty asks

"Before that" Troy puts his cards face down

"I've got a good hand" Putty repeats

"...Sure you do" Troy pushes all his chips in the middle

"HOLY F#CK" Carry yells

Putty's eyes spring to life

"You-YOU'RE F#CKING CRAZY" Carry laughs

"Put your left hand in, take your left hand out, put your right leg in, then you shake it all about" Troy sings, propping up his legs

Putty looks down at his cards

"I'll fold" Putty slowly puts his cards down

"You had a flush?" Carry asks

"Yeah" Putty sighs

"You've gotta have more confidence in yourself" Troy shakes his head

"What?" Putty asks

"Two, Seven, King, eight" Troy shows his cards

Putty stares in shock and awe

"Hey, what time is it?" Troy asks

"It's uh-OH SH!T, IT'S 4:55" Carry yells

"Cool, keep the chips, you need them more than me" Troy walks out, putting a coat on

"...Huh?" Putty stares at the door

"If he doesn't hurry his a$$ up, he'll be late" Carry sighs

Troy starts running

"Yay, all the anxiety's coming back, f#ck me" Troy groans

He stands outside Heaven 'N Hell, trying to will his way in

"You've gotta open up to people more..." Troy inhales deeply

He opens the door and starts looking around

"Hey, Hey, Hey, it's my favorite customer, how's it been?" A man confronts Troy at the entrance

"Rickie, hey, man, been a bit" Troy hugs him

"A few months, yeah" Rickie chuckles

"Did you see a woman come in here with purple armor, by chance?" Troy asks

'Purple arm-you mean Hydra? Nah, nah, I haven't seen 'em, sorry" Rickie shakes his head

"Oh, it's cool, sorry" Troy shakes his head

"Buuut-there was a strong looking chick who came in here with pink hair and purple highlights, kinda purplish eyes with that, wearin' a...I think a black tank top-don't say you got the info from me though" Rickie puts his hands up

"Thanks for the help" Troy puts his fist out

"Anytime man, anytime" Rickie fistbumps him

"Pink and purple..." Troy looks around

"TROY, OVER HERE" A woman with pink hair and purple highlights waves at him

"THERE YOU ARE" Troy walks over to her

"I started to think you weren't coming" She sits upright

"You said 5, usually I get here earlier than the person I'm meeting, streak had to be broken eventually" Troy smiles

"I guess it did" She puts her hands together

"People around here call you Hydra, is that a nickname or your real name?" Troy asks

"Of course it isn't, my name's Lexia" She explains

"Something about that name just rolls off the tongue, but how'd you get the name Hydra?" Troy asks

"It's a very long and complicated story" Lexia shakes her head

"I've got some time to kill" Troy looks at his watchless wrist

"Maybe another time" Lexia explains

"Alright, where'd you grow up, Lexia?" Troy asks, relaxing

"Canada" Lexia answers

"Couldn't tell, you haven't mentioned anything about syrup" Troy smiles

"Even funnier I grew up in Quebec" Lexia takes a shot

"Really? You speak any French?" Troy asks

"My parents really tried to teach me, I just never cared to listen, I regret it" Lexia looks away

"...That got dark fast" Troy blinks rapidly

"Where did you grow up?" Lexia asks

"Baltimore" Troy replies

"Really?" Lexia asks

"Yeah, can't you tell?" Troy asks

"If anything I would've thought you'd grow up in Tennessee or here, California" Lexia's eyebrows raise

"Probably" Troy nods

"Probably?" Lexia asks

"Hard to explain" Troy shakes his head

"I can understand that" Lexia agrees

"I would ask what you do for a living, but I can take a guess" Troy chuckles

"Then I'll ask you, what do you do for a living?" Lexia questions

"Mainly I'm a retired Merc, trying to turn my life around, don't know if I've been doing a good job of it" Troy sighs

"Sensitive topic, sorry" Lexia apologizes

"It's cool" Troy shakes his head

Lexia stares at the table

"What's the worst pickup line you've heard?" Troy asks

"What?" Lexia asks

"You know what a pickup line is, right?" Troy asks

"I do, I was just...caught off guard" Lexia stares

"I'll start, hey baby, can you be the c*ck to my dock?" Troy quotes

"Someone came up with that? No way" Lexia watches him

"Yeah, someone actually came up to me in this bar and said that" Troy laughs

"My god" Lexia leans back

"OH YEAH, THAT ONE, I'll smash you like a coconut until the white stuff comes out" Troy starts laughing harder

"Let me guess, did a hooker in Baltimore tell you that one?" Lexia asks

"HOW'D YOU GUESS?" Troy wheezes

Lexia cracks a grin

"I got one more I can think of and it was bad because it hardly made sense" Troy explains

"Let me hear it" Lexia leans in

"Ooh, you're a little worker bee, ain't ya? Let me be your queen bee" Troy giggles

"Mmmm, noooo" Lexia shivers

"I'm not joking when I say I checked out of my mind after that" Troy smiles

"Guys aren't that good either" Lexia shakes her head

"I agree" Troy grins

"One guy walked up to me and told me "Ohh, mama, I'd eat your-" How did he phrase it?...Baspudy?" Lexia asks

"...Badussy?" Troy repeats

"Yes, that, he said that he would "eat my badussy full of Jello"" Lexia quotes

"Ughhh" Troy cringes

"Did I mention that was minutes before you came in here?" Lexia asks

"Really? God, I'm sorry I made you wait that long" Troy sighs

"I don't see how it was your fault" Lexia tilts her head

"I could've told the guy to back off" Troy explains

"You could have told him, but it probably wouldn't be effective" Lexia states

Troy gets up, stretching

"Are you leaving?" Lexia asks

"Of course not, we're gonna go dance" Troy puts his hand out

"I don't do stuff like that" Lexia shakes her head

"Then what do you do?" Troy asks

"I'm trying to find hobbies other than helping people and staying by my brother, he said I need to do something for myself, and...here we are" Lexia answers

"Hm...then you can find a new hobby, singing" Troy puts his hands on his hips

"I don't listen to music with verbal words, mostly just electronic music" Lexia explains

"Alright, how about we dance to something you like?" Troy asks

"I don't know how to da-" Lexia starts to say

"Do you just not have fun?" Troy asks

"I have fun around my brother" Lexia stands up

"At least you're not from Alabama" Troy chuckles

"Maybe it was a mistake to leave him, goodbye" Lexia starts walking to the door

"LEXIA, WAIT" Troy yells

Lexia stops at the door

"You forgot something" Troy gives her a hairclip

"Oh...thank you" Lexia stares at the hairclip

"Can I ask you a favor?" Troy asks

"...Maybe" Lexia stares at him

"Tomorrow meet me at the bridge connecting this town to Motley town, am I asking too much?" Troy asks

"...Why?" Lexia asks

"I need you to trust me, bring your armor, like you've got on right now, I'll see you then, Hydra" Troy salutes her off

"...Don't count on it" Lexia walks out

"I hope she doesn't think I'm gonna kill her" Troy sighs