A New Beginning- A Casino Cups Story {Under Editing}

An Unexpected Reunion [EDITED]

As soon as the waiter left the table, the REAL conversation began. And if Adrian had known that what he was about to say would land him in the doghouse, he would've kept his mouth shut.

"So...." He began. "What's the REAL reason that you're mad at me?"

Joan gave him a look that said, "What do you mean?" But in a very ticked off way. He flinched a little, but continued. (Stupid)

"Well, I mean, I've known you for my whole life and I know that I've done things that would tick you off. But not to the point where you're using your "Silent Fury" on me. And I know that bringing you here,without your consent, has you hopping mad, but I have the feeling that's not the only thing." He prodded.

Joan didn't say a thing and turned her head the other way so that she didn't have to look at him, and gave a silent "Hmph!"

He looked surprised, then he said, "Oh, c'mon Joan! You can tell me what's bothering you. I'll understand!"

He sighed, and said under his breath, "I thought you trusted me. I AM your friend... am I?" And that's when she snapped.

"It's BECAUSE you're my friend that I THOUGHT I could trust you! But you violated that trust when you brought me HERE of all places without even telling me beforehand! You knew how I felt about this place and yet here we are! Oooohhhh.... just because you have luck, doesn't mean that you'll win in any of these gambling games! This is THE Devil's casino! What makes you think that HE doesn't have a trick or two up his sleeve?! And what makes you think that HE or his employees won't plan to cheat while playing the game, hmmm?!" She seethed.

"I swear, Adrian, out of all the things that you've done to tick me off from all the years that we've known each other for, this is probably the most hurtful thing you've done to me!" She almost choked on her hurt and enraged voice.

She looked at his hurt and guilty expression on his face and saw that people were staring at them and whispering to each other.

She sighed, and said, "I'm going to the bar. You can eat then play your stupid games. Make sure you tell the waiter that I'm going to the bar to order and have my meal. And like I said before, you're paying for both of us. Oh and before I forget, whatever you do, don't bet on more than you have. Or else your soul will be taken." It wasn't a threat. It was a fact. They both knew it. The history of this place's walls could attest to it.

"I don't want to have to explain to your family that I let you die while on my watch. And the last thing I need is to have more guilt on my conscience. Stay safe, okay?" She replied bitterly but remorsefully.

She walked away from the table and headed over to the bar and ordered a water with a lemon wedge in it. The bartender was a tall and buff looking man with a square whiskey bottle for a head. Joan looked at his name tag on his uniform. It said that his name was Rumulus.

He raised a brow and asked if that was all she was having. She replied, "Yes, but I'm having a waiter come over here and serve me my food. Why do you ask?"

He said that he thought it was strange for an angry woman to come over to a bar and only ask for water instead of alcohol.

"I just need to stay away from a friend of mine that ticked me off. I don't really drink alcohol. Never have and probably never will. And would like to keep it that way. No offense." She said with sincerity in her tone.

He replied, "None taken. Even we get a few customers like you from time to time."

'We? What did he mean by that?' Then at that exact moment two more glasses for heads-like people showed up. One was a short Rum glass head that had thick eyebrows, a brown and thick mustache and a large red nose. His name was Ol' Ethan.

And the other was a tall woman with a Martini glass head with a giant olive in it. Her name was Ginette. Joan wondered if they were related to each other somehow. The two glasses told Whiskey that they were needed by the boss for some reason. He told them that he would be there in a minute or two. He just had to serve her water first.

Joan asked if that was okay making his boss wait. He said it was fine and that it wouldn't take him long to give her the water. He also said something that she was a bit unsure of, "The boss is in a good mood today. So he won't mind."

Soon enough he served her the beverage and left the counter. "By the way, the new guy will be over here in a minute. He'll serve you anything else you want to drink, besides water. Just take it easy on him. Like I said before, he's new." Joan smiled and nodded to say she understood. He smiled back and left with the other two.

"Strange..." She thought to herself. She never once thought that she would smile in a place like this in a million years. I guess it just depends on the type of people that you meet that can change your mood drastically.

As she continued to think to herself she was about to take a sip of her drink, when she realized that she almost forgot something. She put the drink down, and pulled out from her pocket a small bottle of Holy Water. Despite the bartender being friendly to her and all. She couldn't take a chance in this place. I mean, it's called the Devil's Casino for a reason. It not only had purifying qualities, but it also got rid of any poisons or drugs that might harm her.

Once she put a few drops of the water in her drink, she stirred it up, and took a long sip. She sighed in relief. The water was absolutely refreshing! Despite her sudden relief, she still felt bad at yelling at Adrian. But she was still mad at him for deceiving her. But she knew that she had to forgive him sooner or later.

So as she was thinking of a way to apologize to Adrian, she unknowingly drank all her water in one go. Then out of the blue, a familiar voice that she thought that she would never hear again cut through her deep thoughts like a sword cutting a piece of paper.

She raised her head and replied, "What?" And as she looked at the owner of the voice, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped slightly ajar. A short man with a mug for a head, a blue nose, a white and blue striped straight straw sticking out from the top, and wearing a blue themed casino work uniform with a blue spade patch sewn on the corner of his vest stood before her behind the counter.

He replied, "Do you need any more to drink, miss? I'm filling in for Rumulus for now, but I think he'll be back soon. Just have some patience with me. I'm new at this. I'm normally the waiter, but we're short on staff today. Please treat me well. Oh, and before I forget, my name is Mugman and my twin brother, Cuphead, will be replacing your previous waiter." He spoke with a chipper voice.

"He'll be over in a minute to take your order as soon as he's done with your friend over there. But either way, do you need anymore to drink, miss?"

She was so distraught, shocked, and nervous that she could hardly answer. She nervously glanced behind her to see if what she thought was HIM was just a mistake. But there was no mistake.

The person that would soon come over and take her order was the boy that she fell in love with years ago.... And the one before her was his brother who she considered as her brother as well.

She finally was able to ask him a question without stuttering.

"Mugman....?" She tried with a somewhat strong voice.

He replied, "Yes miss?"

She nervously swallowed whatever was preventing her from talking, took a deep breath, and asked, "Do you and your brother remember me?"

To be continued...