Second Ave Offices: First Time for Everything (WLW)

Chapter Seven

Hayden sat in Debbie's Pub with Mika and Mark, listening to them go on and on about a new comic the Hiyama decided to publish. She'd been lost in her thoughts for the better part of three days and was fed up with feeling down, so she joined them when Mika offered a night out for some much needed escapism and clarity. Why should Hayden feel depressed? She wasn't the one who'd been so bitchy. She'd only been herself and now... Now she needed to get back to that self as quickly as possible.

Enough with chasing after someone who clearly didn't desire her. It was time to be with a butch that could make her feel so much in a single night. Hayden turned back toward the crowd and leaned against the bar just as she heard the exact name she was trying to forget.

"Yeah, Ju is a bit of an oddball, but she's my best bud." Mark chimed in, breaking through her thoughts and ceasing her perusal. "Always the person I go to with my problems."

As she played with his shaggy hair, Mika replied with a gentle smile, "It also helps that she lives with you."

"That too." Mark beamed down at her, then gave her a kiss, glancing toward Hayden. "What's up? You're being awfully quiet. And why are you frowning at me?"

Straightening her absentminded expression, she sent him a lopsided grin, then began scanning the crowd one more. "It's nothing. You both help me find someone."

"Are we talking male or female?" Both Mika and Hayden sent him a glare and he laughed. "Female then. Hey, I never assume anyone's sexuality unless they straight up tell me. Just sayin'." After shrugging his shoulders, he started surveying the crowd. "So, you're not trying to land Ju anymore?"

Again, both women glared at him. "I was never trying to land her."

One of Mark's eyebrows lifted as he narrowed his gaze. "Him."

"What?"

"Ju prefers he/him pronouns."

Hayden didn't need to know that. She didn't need to know anything more about Ju no matter the appeal to her. Or him, if Mark was being truthful about the pronouns. "Well, I prefer to not--"

"Care?" Mark shifted uneasily and shook his head. "No wonder you fizzled out so quickly."

"Excuse me, but I did not fizzle out!" Hayden stood and flagged down the bartender. Once she noticed her, she came over and waited expectantly. As she grabbed her wallet out of her back pocket and pulled a fiver from inside, she continued with, "Just another spiced rum and coke, please." As she handed the bartender her money, she peered over her shoulder toward Mark who was still awaiting her reply. She needed to choose her next words very carefully. "I just don't have any interest in going after him anymore."

"With an attitude like that, I'm surprised he even let you kiss him."

She whipped her head back to him and grew confused. "I'm sorry... Did you just say let me kiss him? I didn't kiss Ju. He kissed me."

"You know, for someone who claims not to care, you transitioned to he/him pronouns pretty quickly." Mark smirked and she glanced away, her face heating.

Being stuck with M&M -- the mental acronym she used to describe this new, budding relationship they bore -- may not have been the smartest choice for the night. These two were quite the pair. No wonder they hit it off and spent all their time off together. He was perfect for Mika and didn't strike Hayden as someone who was going anywhere else any time soon.

"I'm just screwing with you, by the way." Mark added and she sighed as she looked back over at him. Men were just so-- "The whole pronouns thing was a total lie. She's fine with she/her, but good to know you care enough to actually--"