A Goodtime Charlie?

"Its not a line per-se but there's a lot of people who deserve a shot before I get a rematch so..." Alaina began to answer as Charlie came in. "Heya big guy, whats up?" Alaina said giving Charlie a pat on the shoulder. She stayed silent after that, she wanted Carmen to get a good chance to observe Charlie to make her own judgement.

"I'm good, just been sorta busy lately." Charlie said with a shrug. That was a bit of a lie, but not a total lie. LC was sick and Charlie did spend a lot of time trying to cater to him... but other than that he'd be staying in and enjoying whiskey. In the past few weeks he'd barely trained. "I should stop by so you can keep kicking my ass into shape huh?" Charlie said with a laugh and sip of his drink. "So, how's everything going with you and that crazy brother of yours? I heard that you and Reira sorta got into it... are you ok?" Charlie asked, genuinely concerned. He did still worry about these two, he just was a bit more lax on staying on top of his own personal affairs.

The Entropy Title was something Carmen had an interest in - not because she wanted to compete for it any time, but since the main title was so stagnant these days, it was the closest she could get to watching some real title action in Friction. She would've loved to see Alaina in action alongside Ace, maybe even in a four way or something like that - sadly, it didn't seem to be in the cards.

"Everything's fine on my end, I guess. If you don't consider all the bills, anyway." She ran her finger along the edge of the glass, making sure to stay as close to the topic as she could without making it seemed like a planned thing. Didn't want Charlie to look at this like an intervention, even if it essentially was.

"Army is, well...Army." She rolled her eyes. "And that was just a stupid thing over a videogame. We were called in to do some footage, they asked us to have a fakey sort of match for it, and Reira didn't seem to get the meaning of the word 'fake'."

"You ain't kidding! Reira just sounds like trouble, and when ya do see Army tell him I said hello." Charlie said as he took another sip. "Bills really do suck. I gotta pay double now since Talia moved out and all that." Charlie was silent for a moment, pounding the rest of his glass and ordering a second.

Charlie shrugged before giggling a little bit. "Carmen whaddya say to teaming up with a little speedy guy? Tag belts mean more money which means better ability to pay bills." Charlie asked before turning to Alaina. "Or if Carmen says no you could leave Friction and be a cool kid over in Tension..."

The awkwardness was rising. It was almost to a palpable, physical level, at this point, and Carmen was looking for some way, anyway, to pull the cornerstone of this out without causing everything to fall down with it. Deception never was her thing, even on a small, innocent scale.

"The tag division is a thought, but I don't know about taking the belts. That's a long way to climb. Have to give it some thought." Carmen raised an eyebrow and turned Charlie's way in full, looking on with concern all over her face. "Talia moved out, though? Did something happen?"

Charlie fake smiled and shrugged as Carmen asked her question. "Yeah. She just left me for some dumb shit reason but its whatever." Charlie said as he took a swig from his whiskey, nearly downing it in one gulp. Charlie looked at his company with clearly glassy eyes. "What can ya do? Sometimes you female people do crazy stuff.... and us guys do too." Charlie didn't really get the fact that his female company might have been offended until after he opened his mouth spilling out the slightly slurred speech.

Alaina sighed looking at him with a stern, but forlorn look. All she could do was shake her head, raising an eyebrow at Carmen.

"Girls," Carmen took a quick sip."Can't live with them..."

Said the woman who had been in apporiximately no real relationships, ever.

She leaned forward and planted her elbows on the table, taking a moment to consider the minefield she was about to willingly step into. Her foot was already in the air and she was moving forward, no sense in holding back, now.

"So...what was the 'dumb shit reason'? Just curious."

Charlie took a deep breath. "Long story...." Charlie said as he shifted in his seat. "Talia found out her sister had a baby with, and got married to Mamouru Higurashi. Talia and him hate each other. She had a nasty falling out with her family and came back, pa king up everything. She wanted me to just drop everything and leave Japan on a whim. She didn't understand that this..." Charlie said spining his hands around, trying to signify his job and its location, "is all I have on life. I know her family pissed her off but its not like her mom OD'ed and dads a jailbird.."

Charlie slumped back and looked up at the ceiling. He kept talking, but he essentially was talking to himself at this point as he continued to look up. "She said I wasn't committed to her, that I was more than willing to come here with Al bht not willing to go back to the USA with her. She just didn't get it.... I loved her more than anything ya know? I really wanted to marry her."

Alaina heard an ever so slight crack in his voice. He already told her the part where her ex-boyfriend married an old friend of hers from school because he knocked her up right about the time Alaina began to date him. Whatever, her feelings of strong dislike vor them were on hold. She simply ran her hand down Charlies back, gently sctratching it.

Carmen slimped and sighed - that was rough. It was times like this she had to appreciate the way her life had been mostly sterile up to this point. No complications. No massive fallouts with her lovers. Nice and simple and certainly easy.

Of course, that meant she had next to no experience to help Charlie with, but she'd try all the same.

"Maybe she'll be back." Carmen leaned his way and put her hands on his back, joining Alaina for the rub down. "Her family is here. You're here. Her life is here, whether she wants to admit that or not. She can't stay away forever."

Charlie finished his drink, ordering a third. "She hates them and I get the feeling its mutual. She'll never come back." Charlie said with a shrug. "Ya win some, and lose more, or however that saying goes. But enough about me, I don't want to drag my favorite ladies down! You totally gotta kick the shit out of Reira in an actual match, she is a chump. I mean she'd probably beat me but whatever."

Charlie spun to look over at Alaina next. "N' you got that rematch with Ace! You will win this one I bet!" Charlie said before pounding down the third whiskey, getting off the stool to go towards the bathroom. "Gotta go make peepee, be right back."

As Charlie rounded the corner Alaina looked over at Carmen with a worried look in her eyes. "He sounds like that every time I call him..."

Carmen watched Charlie go off to 'make peepee', waiitng until he was out of earshot before she spoke up. She had to agree with Alaina - it wasn't the same Charlie they both knew. He seemed like a shell of his usual self. None of the mirth. None of the joy. Just fake versions of the way it was supposed to be.

Watching that wasn't the hardest part, it was watching it and not being able to do anything about it.

"Have you tried getting him some professional help?" She sat her drink to the side for the moment, not feeling it anymore. "The AFW had a program for this sort of thing, a wellness thing - he can get a free therapist. Might help him get through some things."