Strangers in the Night ▸ Javi Rivera

9

Their day had drawn to a close, and as night fell, the crew found themselves checking into the closest motel they could find near the gas station which they'd been using as their wating point. But after they'd managed to go after a good EF1 throughout the afternoon, the group decided to call it and find a place to settle in. Only to find one where the triple rooms they'd managed to snag barely held one person, much less three or more.

Something Luna suspected might've been an intentional choice considering the location of the motel. Or it was the location of the bar across the street that was an opportunistic choice made based on the motel's inability to hold more than two people in the same space. Even the parking lot was so small and crowded that, if Scott had brought up his worry about damages, she doubted anyone would have held it against him as much as they had when he did do it.

So that bar was where they now found themselves, the cowboy aesthetic littered all over the place as country music blasted around the space and entertained the mass of chasers that seemed to have crowded inside in search of some fun. With her glass of bourbon in hand, Luna let her eyes roam around the space as the conversation at their table went on, something drawing her to look to the door just as it opened and yet another group made their way inside. And Luna hated that she did it because she didn't even have a chance to look away before her eyes met a pair of familiar brown ones.

"Seems like even the bores find that place too borin'." Boone piped up as he noticed the StormPAR crew entering the bar. "Sour-puss looks like he's gonna burst into flames bein' here." He added on, the whole group laughing at the nickname he bestowed on Scott who really did look just as he'd described.

"Well, hopefully they stick to their side and don't bother us." Luna said with a disgruntled grumble to her voice, making multiple people raise their glasses in agreement with the sentiment while others let it fuel their very bad ideas.

The others being Lily. And Lily being one to never shy away from sharing her ideas. "Luna, I got a dare for ya." She announced, earning herself a questioning look from the brunette herself.

"What are we, in high school?"

"Considering you can never turn one down when it's issued no matter how old you are, might as well be." Tyler quipped back at Luna, making her spin around to fix him with a glare while her hand smacked his shoulder, making everyone laugh at the pair.

"Go for it, Lily." On her other side, her own brother betrayed her as he encouraged the woman issuing the challenge.

"I hate ya'll." Luna grumbled out. Because while she'd played offended, there was some truth to Tyler's words. Okay, there was a lot of truth... So she found herself growing curious about what it was that Lily had thought up.

"I dare you to go ask one of them stodgy StromPAR guys to dance." Lily announced, earning herself a highly unimpressed look from Luna while everyone else laughed as if it were the funniest shit ever.

"Seriously?" Yup, they were definitely back in high school.

"And I bet ya won't last more than a minute." Lily added on, making the challenge even harder just for the fun of it now that she knew it was very likely Luna wouldn't turn it down no matter how much she protested.

"Damn, that's bein' generous considerin' she seems to hate 'em even more than the rest of us now." Dani commented with a chuckle.

"Ohhh, watchin' Lu slap one of 'em would be the highlight of my night, gotta say." Boone announced, making his sister roll her eyes.

"I ain't gonna be slappin' anyone." She pointed out, doubting that would be necessary. She'd just tune out whoever it was if they ended up being an ass, last a minute to prove a point and then walk away.