Indigo was working her shift the next night, wondering whether or not Gator would come in. She had started to feel a bit angry at him the night before for how he was talking to her but if she saw him she'd try to keep that hidden. She knew he wasn't actually mad at her and that he was just not used to people trying to help him. She had to try and be patient with him. She wasn't good at that though and she also didn't take any sort of disrespect well. She was making a martini for a customer when he finally walked in. He sat down at one of the tables instead of the bar like he usually did. He was being petty, great. She finished making the martini and walked over to where he was sitting. "Leave me alone." He said, not looking up at her.
"When have I ever left you alone?" She asks.
"Good point." He says, bitterly. She sits down across from him. "I'm serious, Indigo." He says.
"It's my fuckin' bar. If you didn't want to talk to me, you should've gone somewhere else." She says.
"Just get me a beer." He says.
"You know what? No. You're being a dick. And I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. Including you." She finally snaps.
"Well last time I checked, I'm the law." He retorts.
"Enough of this bullshit." She says, walking away but then she stops and walks back, remembering something from earlier in the day. "You want to know somethin'? Customers been talkin'. Ya hear about that lady, got her house burned down last night? Husband and kid with her? Husband's in the hospital now. Said some guys in Nightmare Before Christmas masks we're seeing leaving the premises. Weird, huh?" She says. He tenses up.
"What're you sayin'?" He asks.
"I'm just sayin', you're the police and you came in with a Nightmare Before Christmas mask that you found last night, so what if it's evidence? You want it back? You could go dig it out of the trashcan." She says.
"It happened in Minnesota, not my department. Plus, why would they throw the mask out there?" He asks. He was nervous she suspected him of what he did.
"I don't know, neighboring state and all, trying to scatter evidence?" She tells him. "Anyways, that was all you needed to know, you can go now." She says, suddenly changing her tone back to irritation.
"Fine." He says, getting up and walking out. She sighs, realizing she lost her temper when she shouldn't have. She dashes back outside.
"Gator, wait." She calls after him. He stops halfway to his truck.
"What?" He asks, coldly.
"I'm sorry, I lost my temper... You're just so..." She trails off.
"So.. what?" He asks, walking back towards her. She crosses her arms.
"You're hard to deal with sometimes, I mean I just want to help you and I understand you might not want it but you're bein' mean, ya know? Hurts my feelings." She confesses. He stays silent for a second before speaking.
"You know, you're not the easiest to deal with either, Indigo. For Christ's sake, you can't just drop anything, even when it's not your business." He says. "You don't need to walk around feeling sorry for me, it's not your shit to worry about."
"You're my best friend Gator." She says. He looks down. And takes a deep breath, clenching his fist.
"Look... I'm sorry I was mean to you, okay? Can we please just... Pretend the last couple of days didn't happen?" He asks.
"I don't know... Shit like this isn't exactly easy to forget, and if you're in danger... I'll try not to bother you about it but my offer still stands. Anything you need." She tells him.
"Alright, then." He says. They both stand there in silence for a moment.
"Just.. one more thing. You said... That night, you said something else. This might not be the right time but I really gotta get it off my chest." She tells him.
"Indigo-" He starts.
"You said I was pretty. That.. you wanted to take me out sometime. I might just be bein' stupid but... I mean the whole 'drunk words are sober thoughts' thing." She pauses. "I just thought I'd ask." She says, nervously waiting for his response. She honestly had no idea what she'd do if he didn't really like her. She was so in love with him and so, so scared of letting him know.
"I meant it." He blurts out suddenly. She looks up at him.
"Really? I... You really mean it?" She asks. He nods. "You really wanna go out with me?" She asks again, just to confirm this isn't all a dream or something.
"I really do." He says. "Does uh next Saturday work for you?" He asks. She can't help but smile wide.
"Yeah, yeah! Saturday works great for me." She replies.
"Great, I'll pick you up at 8." He says with a wink.
"Okay then... See you later... Alligator." She says as he walks away. He laughs and turns back for a second.
"You keep makin' those puns and the date's off." He laughs. She laughs too. She was overjoyed, she practically skipped back to the bar. Tonight was a very confusing night and she wasn't thrilled about having to keep her mouth shut about Gator's family but she was elated about their date. She was worried she was more in love with him than he was with her though... I mean, did he even love her? It was probably just a crush. She pushed these thoughts away and tried to focus on the fact that she was really going on a date with Gator fucking Tillman! 6 years of yearning was finally worth it. She walked back to the table where he was sitting and noticed he left his hat. She figured she'd give it to him if she saw him tomorrow. She closed up the bar and headed home, excited for her date in a few days.
