Once A Cheater...

Holy Water


At first glance, Holy Water looks like a proper upscale bar. Simple grey floors and walls, wine casks and shelves filled with several varieties of wine take up the majority of the room. A light oaken bar is surrounded by several matching chairs. The entire wall behind the bar is a lighted glass cooler of various whites and roses. Several large signs state 'NO VAMPIRES ALLOWED' and 'ANY VAMPIRE ON THE PREMISES WILL BE SHOT WITH SILVER ON SIGHT'. It is no wonder that Holy Water is a favored hangout for those the align themselves with the Fellowship of the Sun.
There is a hidden secret within Holy Water; a secondary lounge in the lower level which most refer to simply as 'The Cellar'. This area contains two billiards tables, a disc jockey booth, and another bar that sells everything except wine, as that can be found in abundance upstairs. Couches and booths line the walls, and a small dance floor is situated in front of the gaming tables.


Night is about to fall, which is a fairly common occurrence. What's /rare/ is that a certain Tyler twin is out after dark. No pink, no perky, just sitting at the wine bar with a few other women her age. Girls from school, presumably, dragged out here as it's the only place Hope would go - the non-vampire bar. There is a chill in the air, it's lingering, but it's not freezing. The cute little FotS'er is on her own for the evening, with no big-bad-boyfriend to protect her, so she seems a little on edge.

Still, she's happily sipping away at a glass of ginger-aled down white wine (making it an impromptu white wine spritzer) and chatting with the girl beside her.

Ivan ducks inside the bar with the practiced ease of a regular, not even gracing the establishment with a curious look before stepping inside and claiming a spot at the bar for himself, his sharply-dressed appearance, plus the wool coat and the red flush of his cheeks proving that the only reason this particular Fontane is out during the night is the call of duty. Or at least, that was why he was out. Now? He's merely stopped by the nearest bar for his customary post-work glass of whiskey. With a faint, pleasant smile, he greets the 'tender with a call for the usual. As it is, he doesn't notice the other Tyler twin.

But one of her friends do. "Oooh, what about him?" The college student gabs, pointing over to Ivan with an impish expression on his face. "Clean cut, well dressed…he seems kind of your type, doesn't he, Hope?"

Thus, Hope's attention is turned to Ivan. She whispers something to the student, and then shakes her head. Still she's supposed to have this week of freedom, so why not try to get Ivan in a bit of trouble and have fun with it at the same time?

Alcohol is /not/ Hope's friend.

The twin slips away from the group, then leans over Ivan's shoulder to place a kiss on his cheek. "Oops! I'm sorry, no PDA, right?" Bright, goofy smile that her sister is known for.

Poor Ivan. He doesn't want any trouble - all he wants to do is cap off a trying and difficult day with one single drink, and then go home to nest with his girlfriend. But…then his girlfriend is right over there. Now, normally, Ivan would immediately jump to the conclusion that the Tyler must be Hope (because Faith doesn't go out often, and she never goes to bars without him). But…Hope would never kiss him. Hope hates him with a burning passion. And a quick, but extremely surprised, look over of the attractive brunette proves that she's not wearing any pink. So…it's got to be Faith. Got to be.

"Oh - hey! What're you doing here, Pretty girl?" He greets with warm enthusiasm, practically glowing in her presence. But then, he sobers a tad bit, glancing around. "Are you here alone? It's not…safe."

"Ohhh, well I came with my sister, and some of her friends, but you know Hope. She's such a fuddy duddy. She left, but I was having fun meeting some girls in a no-vampire place, so I stuck around just a little bit. I was about to call you to see how your day went." Oh, when he says pretty girl she wants to punch him, but years of playing switch-the-twin with her sister have given her just a teensy bit of acting skill. Smiling, she sits down beside him. "I got rid of another ham-ham too, one of those girls said she'd take one."

"Well, alright then. Have you been drinking?" It's not a reprimand, just a query for information's sake. Ivan's trusting nature when it comes to 'Faith' is used against him, for he buys the story she gives. "If you haven't, how about having a glass of something with me? I'll get you one of those fruity drinks you like." Meanwhile, his own whiskey appears, and with a murmur of thanks he reaches for the glass and takes a sip of it.

Ivan leans towards her after she takes her seat beside him, allowing his hand to discreetly brush over her thigh in a sensitive, intimate fashion as he shoots her a particularly sly smile. But then, it dies. "Well…if anything, I'm glad you're socializing more. And I'm glad you're talking to your sister. She…" He pauses, taking in a deep breath. "She might need you soon. Really soon. I hope not, but…"

"I had one glass of wine? Well half a glass." It really doesn't take much to give Hope a buzz. "But it was mixed with gingerale, since Hope ordered what she was ordering. A fruity drink sounds good." Though the girl turns a discerning eye down to his hand, but then back at his face at the sly smile. "Why would my sister need me soon? She's like, all getting married and stuff."

Something is…off here. Her speech patterns. Her recent bout of friendliness. How…open and chatty she's being, when Faith is usually much more the silent, cuddly type. But, then again, she has been drinking. So he writes the slight oddness off as her being drunk. Ivan lets out a faint laugh, weary but pleased, before he speaks. "Yeah, baby. Maybe just one more drink - you sound like you're doing pretty okay on the alcohol front already. How about… a pina colada. You'll like it, trust me." And after waving over the bartender and placing the order, another sip of his whiskey is taken.

"Well…hopefully, she wont. But honestly? I don't feel very confident about that. I don't think she's getting married." He sounds solemn, concerned. His brows furrow thoughtfully. "And if she does? Well, her douche of a boyfriend wont remain faithful. Don't…don't tell her anything, because he hasn't done anything just yet, and I'm praying that he wakes up and sees what a good thing he has before he fucks it all up. But…he was behaving inappropriately with my sister. And I'm sure about this - I heard it from her own lips."

"I /do/ trust you." Hope nudges his leg with her own. "I'm just trying my best not to lean on you right now, since we're in public." As Ivan speaks, she gets a much more serious look on her face. Very serious. Hope actually looks momentarily upset. "I won't… tell her anything." She waits for her ordered drink, just playing listener at the moment. "He better see what a good thing he has. I know you don't like her, but she's not a bad person."

The brilliance of Ivan's endearing smile is considerable. And his tone is lower, quite intimate and plain adoring. "I know you do, Faith. I…yeah, you know." With a soft laugh, he casts his green eyes to the floor, lifting a hand to run through his hair idly. "You know, you're right. Jesus, this public thing is such a pain in the ass. I don't suppose you'll agree to running away with me, hm? We'll take Bora Bora by storm." His jesting is topped off by the arrival of the pina colada, and he motions towards it. "Go on, have a sip and tell me how you like it."

But then, the other topic of conversation. He inhales deeply before exhaling in a slower, controlled fashion. "Good. I don't…know if anything more's going to come from it. Scarlett told me that there were several near-kisses, and that a psychic confirmed that it wasn't just her feeling…you know. That way. But…Scar's a good girl. If anything can be said for her, it's that. I think she's going to try and keep away from him - she made me deliver her package for her. I talked to him then too. Told him to stay the fuck away from my sister. Because he's either severely leading her on, or he intends to cheat - and either path leads to me pummeling his ugly face in." Ivan speaks to Hope quite freely and openly under the impression that she is her sister, and his comfort ought to hint at his sincerity. "Mhmm? No, of course not." He rolls his eyes here, though his smile becomes more wry and bitter. "I'm the bad person, of course. But, whatever. There's no use beating a dead horse. She's got it in her mind that I'm some sort of serial rapist puppy kicker, and she's proven that she can't put her judgments aside to behave civilly, so I just want to avoid her. At all costs."

A small sip is taken of to coconutty drink, all the while Hope watches him. "It's flavorful." Even if it's too much coconut for Hope. "Bora Bora? That one of those beachy places?" Hope grins. "I'd like that, though I'd miss my sister."

With each one of his words about Bobby, her hand tightens on the glass. Each sentence causes her to take another sip of the drink. The mention of near-kisses? Well if there weren't a straw in the drink, she'd up-end it. "Poor Hope. She's just not as lucky as me, I guess." Nudging him with her leg, she chuckles. "No kicking puppies in my presence. I like puppies."

"Yeah, it's an island somewhere tropical and nice." Ivan continues on, leaning closer to Hope in a natural fashion, the body language practically screaming the fact that he's fairly smitten with her. Or at least, with the person he thinks she is. "Yeah…well, we can fly Hope in every once in a while, mhmm? You guys can tour the island while I hide out in a bomb shelter or something. Heh."

"You really like it, don't you?" Ivan comments, amused at the frequency of the sips she is taking, misreading the cause of this. But then, addressing Hope's situation. A grin appears on his face, charmingly boyish and enthusiastic. "Well, Pretty girl, I could've told you that ages ago. After all, who'd take that wimp if they could have the ruggedly god that is Ivan?" It's one of his self-depreciating teases, because Robert is, without a doubt, much more buff and in shape than Ivan is. Once again, his hand travels from her knee to her upper thigh in an intimate fashion - the touch fleeting, but palpable. "Ahh, alright. No puppy kicking. But just because you asked so nicely, baby."

The touch makes her whine, "Ivaaaaan." Because the /are/ in public, right? "Tropical would be nice, but what about…" Crap, she forgot the hamster's names. "Tripp and the other one?" It'll have to work. Another long sip is taken from the drink. "Oh, it's good. Very good." Thankfully, she can ignore the touch and finish off the drink, just like that. "No one is as handsome as you!" Gag.

The whine. That throws Ivan off, considerably, and he furrows his brows, looking over to the young woman with careful consideration. He's never heard her whine before. He's never heard her complain about the fact that he often times forgets the whole 'but we're in public' ploy and gives into his desires to simply be in contact with her. And…she never primps his ego in such a…fake fashion. She usually just giggles and teases him back. This sets him off, and immediately so, he leans away from Hope, watching her carefully and with confusion and, abstractly, shutting off his positive body language. "Don't you want to give Bobby to…er…Bobby? Tripp can come along, I guess." And here, he takes a deeper, more considerate sip of his alcohol.

The draw away, the look, well it makes Hope try to recall her /new/ sister. Playing the old one obviously isn't working all that well. "Well, /duh/. He got Tripp pregnant. We should get rid of him." She toys with what's left of her drink, then brushes Ivan's leg with her own. "Maybe he's douchey just like his namesake. He'd probably walk out on hamster-Tripp just like that." No anger, no ire, just blandness. "Tripp would love a tropical island. She could have one of those little grass hula skirts!"

"Yeah. I don't think hamsters deal with monogamy, so at least Bobby the Hamster would have an excuse for being a cheating dick." Ivan smiles in a wry, humorless fashion, his green eyes flashing over towards the fake Faith as he almost finishes off the last of his alcohol. Though the brush of her leg does put some of his suspicion at ease, he's no where near as open and willingly adoring as he was before. He's still rather closed off, guarded. "Mhmm? Heh. Yeah, sure. I figure the hula skirts can't be that difficult to make."

"Only they'd be really tiny to make," Hope points out, playing with the ice in her glass. "Do you /really/ think he'll cheat on her though? I don't want my sister getting hurt. I want her to be happy, so that she'll be nicer to you."

"Do I really…?" Ivan stops to think about the situation at hand, his eyes sliding shut as his lips purse in thought. "…Yeah." He grunts, low in tone. "I do. If not this time, then another time. If not with Scarlett, then someone else." He shrugs his shoulders slightly, slumping a little, his eyes opening slightly and going off in a thoughtful, world-wearied fashion. "It means that he's receptive to those sorts of feelings and desires, despite him being supposedly 'committed'. It means that he's not completely satisfied with the relationship he's in, for some reason or another, and so he's looking for satisfaction elsewhere. Even if Scarlett keeps him at bay, the next pretty girl that gives him the kind of attention he's looking for, and he'll move on to her. He's the problem, and frankly? Cheaters don't change." Beat. "Not in the relationship, at least. Once you cross that line, the relationship is over. There's no real fixin' it."

Hope looks down at her drink, in a rather disturbed manner. Then she hops off her stool, and moves to give him a hug. "Thanks for letting me know. At least now I'll be prepared to deal with her when it happens. You know how hot-headed emotional she gets, I figure this will hit her pretty hard." All things considered, drunk-Hope is keeping her cool, even if she can't keep up the Ivan-flirtation. She leans in to give him another kiss on the cheek, garnering a few cheers from the college girls at the end of the wine bar.

Ivan is surprised, at first, by the tentative hug. Gingerly, he wraps one arm around her, returning the favor and even smiling in a warm fashion at the kiss, when he turns to stare at her point-blank in the eyes. "No problem, Fa-…" But, wait a second. He cuts himself off, looking her over a bit more thoroughly, his smile disappearing as he sobers.

"No problem," he repeats, low and careful. "Hope. I'm…I'm sorry."

Hope is most decidedly drunk now. She wobbles a little even as she's leaning against him. Not drunk enough to slur her words, but likely drunker than she's ever been. "Don't. Just /don't/. For once your big mouthed honesty is refreshing." Even if it's not wholly true, at least as wholly true as she knows it to be. "I'm going to…" She hiccups. "… go now. Thanks for the drink."

"It's not you, you know." Ivan comments, solemnly as his eyes fix themselves on the Tyler. "You're not the problem. Don't think it's your fault, because you're not good enough. Don't let yourself go there, because it's not true. Some…well. Some people are just shit. Some relationships just aren't meant to work." There is a thoughtful pause, during which he weighs the merits of offering a bit of himself or not. "My ex did. Cheat on me, that is. She was fucking her boss, and…" Feeling as though he might've given his enemy too much ammunition on him, he lets out a sigh. "It's cool. Get home safe."

"Meant to work or not…" Hope shakes her head. "At least she's happy. You hurt her, and I'll hurt you." She's not making idle threats either, from the sounds of it. "For the…" HICCUP! "For the record, I don't lust after you. I just hate you for taking my best friend away from me." Hey, he was nice enough to be honest about what he felt was happening, she can be honest about that. "Sorry 'bout your ex. I want to believe that Bobby's not like that but… I should go." She starts to wander back to her friends to get one of them to call her a cab. Less embarrassing than letting Ivan take her back to his place to spend the night with her sister.

Ivan purses his lips slightly, and he leans forward onto the counter, watching the tipsy woman with an unreadable look on his features. He's unsure of what to do, exactly, at a sort of mental crossroads. "…I didn't take your best friend away from you. She's still there, and she's always going to be there. I'm just some guy she likes, who happens to like her back. I've not…I'm not trying to replace you or whatever." This is all he says. All he can offer, before he fumbles with his phone, looking to the screen as he contemplates the merits of calling his actual significant other.

Motioning to one of the girls to call a cab, Hope stumbles back toward them. "Y'did, but s'okay. Just don't hurt'er." He took away Faith, just like Tripp wanted to; only Tripp got killed for his troubles, and Ivan's still here. Probably a little more why she hates him. But the group of women is leaving, taking Hope with them before she can reply any more than that, or do anything she'll regret.

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