The Wrong Way

Akashi bit her lips as she watched Natasha slide out of the stall. When the door closed, her eyes widened and she quickly locked the door latch behind her, letting her pants drop around her ankles as she tried desperately to push up the toilet seat, pull down her panties and get to the toilet before she burst.

Akashi sighed and buried her face in her palms. She'd heard Natasha talk but barely understood what she had said. She sat in silence well past the point of finishing and tired to shake off whatever was in her head. What the hell was she doing dragging Natasha into the bathroom for a quickie? Especially when she already KNEW she wasn't going to be able to have the girl do anything to her. She KNEW that Natasha had a girlfriend too. But was it really Natasha? Anyone might have done at the moment.

Akashi got up, flushed and put herself in order. She tied up her loose clothes and then washed her hands and face thoroughly. She spent the next few minutes reapplying some light make up before finally heading back to the bar. She sheepishly looked around and then tried to be as inconspicuous as possible before she lowered her head and gave a weary look to the bartender. "Keep 'em coming." She said and motioned for another beer.

Talia had spent what felt like an hour at the same exact spot at the bar. She refused to turn away from it as well and just kept checking her phone as if she was waiting for someone. She was trying to muster the courage to seek out and find Taylor in this mess of people. At several points in the night, she had heard what sounded like Taylor's voice somewhere in the club. But she knew Cassie was about...and Johnny...and Akashi. She couldn't risk running into any of those three. She knew Cassie would want to kill her. And she knew she would want to kill Akashi and Johnny.

As long as Talia just stared forward, they shouldn't notice her. Her once orange hair that had become brown when she was Dark Angel...was not a crimson red. And it was down all around her in long waves instead of a ponytail. She was wearing a black dress and short skirt. Everything about her appearance wasn't her. Then, when she had drunk enough courage, she could try to find Taylor. So far her plan had worked just fine. She hadn't seen anybody yet. Nobody had seen her. And boy had she had some drinks. She didn't necessarily enjoy drinking that much, but mainly because there was never anyone to drink with.

But she was at that point in the night where drinking was its own reward. The really fruity drinks were tasting really good at this point. Any bystander would think she was weird to get all dressed up and go to a club just to get drunk. But she didn't care. Someone walked up to the bar beside her and asked for a beer just as she finished her mojito. "Hey, can you make me a manhattan or whatever?" she yelled loud enough for the bartender to hear. She wasn't sure what all the drinks were but she knew their names at least.

Akashi plopped down in her seat she hadn't realized she had not sat in the same seat. The bar was huge and she had just picked an empty one in her haze. When she heard the girl order a drink, she lifted up her head. "Man-hatti-nou?" She said in her Japanese accent. Akashi turned and looked at her red headed barfly. She then watched as the drink was set down. Akashi had been drinking hard all night long.

Akashi wrinkled her nose at the colorful drink but then decided that maybe it might not be such a bad idea. "One for me as well!" She said and tapped the bar. She than spun her finger in a quick circle. "I'll get the tab." She said and turned to smile at the red head. "It's not usually the style around here." She said, trying to get a good look at the girl. "Why aren't you out on the dance floor?' She asked. Akashi should probably have been the only one sitting around drinking.

Talia didn't notice the woman who asked for the same drink. She was far too concentrated on the drink that was placed in front of her. She reached out and grabbed it. With a satisfying sip, she placed it back on the bar just as the woman beside her seemed to wish to pay for everything. "Oh that's...not necessary..." she stated meekly. Talia looked to her right and for a moment was pleasantly surprised that someone had bought her a drink. Then, despite the dark room and flashing lights, she recognized the woman as Akashi Tanikaze.

Talia froze, unsure how to respond. The first thing she did was turn back to look forward at her drink. She took yet another generous sip and took a deep breath. "I'm not a good dancer." What could she say? She had always feared she'd have to talk to Akashi or one of the others. But she didn't plan on what she would do if it did happen. Talia kept her gaze forward, unsure really of what Akashi was getting at with her comment. Was that how you said hi to someone after so long?

Then it clicked in her head what had just happened. Akashi hadn't recognized her. It was exactly what she suspected Akashi would do. But just because she expected it, didn't mean she was happy with it. In fact, it made her extremely mad. It confirmed her suspicions that she meant nothing to Akashi despite what they had. Talia turned to face Akashi once more with a forced smile. "Why aren't you?" she asked bitterly. Maybe whatever awkwardness could be averted if Talia managed to keep the charade up.

Akahsi couldn't help but laugh a little bit when the girl said she wasn't a very good dancer. "I'm... staying here for my own good." She said, not really sure why she hadn't been out dancing. She didn't exactly have good moves wearing wooden sandals.

Akashi blushed and when the bartender set down her drink, she grabbed it and gulped down a few sips. She spent the next few moments deciding whether or not she liked it. It was certainly more flavorful than what she'd been drinking all night. She shrugged and tipped back another long sip. "And... I'm pretty drunk right now." She admitted. "It's just better for everyone if I stay here. The last time I got off the bar stool I ... fucked some girl int he bathroom... I think." Akashi turned and looked in the general direction of the bathroom and blinked.

Akashi lifted up her hand and grabbed Talia's shoulder, giving the girl a good shake. "You came to a club knowing you can't dance? If you just wanted drinks, wouldn't a different kind of bar be better?" She said grinning at the girl as she tilted her head to try and get a better look at her.

Talia scowled at Akashi as she spoke. What a slut. It seemed Akashi hadn't changed at all since a year before. She was fucking girls then and she was fucking girls now without a care in the world. It was disgusting. She stared at the sumo, unsure what to say. Should she continue this charade? What was there to gain from it anyhow? Akashi clearly forgot who she was. The fact that she had dyed her hair passed over Talia's head. But in her mind, she now knew Akashi never really cared for her.

And Talia heard about that one time they were tag team partners. The stipulations of that match were horrific, and Akashi volunteered Talia to be her partner for it without telling her of it. What if their opponents hadn't been so lenient to her? What if she had to be raped by those two perverts? And then the woman didn't visit her after she was injured by Cassie during Taylor's match. And she only attacked Taylor because she had been rude to Akashi from the start. She loathed this woman. Once again she was torn between speaking her mind and trying to mend things. Things were very successful with Taylor when she apologized. What if she forgave Akashi? If Taylor could, maybe she could as well.

Talia pulled her shoulder free from Akashi's grasp and slapped her across the face. Or not. "Stay away from me you whore!" She grabbed her glass and threw the contents into Akashi's face. "You just...fuck girls wherever you can don't you? Without a single regard for how they feel about it." Talia got up from the bar and glared at Akashi. "You disgust me."

Akashi was not ready for what was about to happen at all. The slap came and she just ate it. Her neck turned a little bit but then her mouth was open as she stared at the red head. The drink came at her in slow motion and splashed into her face. It trickled off her chin and dripped into the valley of her breasts.

Akashi stared bewildered. She was so drunk and the moment was so fast that by the time that Talia was turning away, Akashi just slumped her back against the bar. "What... the hell?" She said. She looked around and blinked away some of the alcohol in her eyes. "Who in the fuck was that?" She said to know one. She stepped off the bar. Back to the bathroom. She tried to catch a view of the girl as she walked away from the bar. She couldn't find the girl, lost in the crowd. "She looked familiar though..." Akashi said. Was it a girl like Natasha? That she had slept with in the same crude manner? It's not like she made a career out of bathroom sex. Just the opposite. She didn't like it one bit. So... who was she?

Talia had stomped off angrily after yelling at Akashi. All those drinks hadn't drowned out her frustrations as much as she had hoped. Not even alcohol could solve all the things screwed up in her head. She hadn't gotten a good look of the club just yet. Now she was being forced into this mass of people almost all of whom she didn't want to bump into or talk to. She walked around, trying to keep her head down. Just because Akashi didn't recognize her didn't mean everyone else would make the same mistake. As she turned around the corner to escape the dance floor, she looked across it one last time to try and spot Taylor.

And then there it was. The orange hair. Talia immediately turned around and walked directly away from Cassie. She wasn't about to get into this again. In her rush to escape the room, Talia bumped into some guy in the hallway. Hard too. She caught herself with her hands to avoid hitting the floor full on but it still hurt. "E-Excuse me..." she muttered as she tried to push herself up to her feet.

Johnny had spent most of the night lingering around the bar. He had been watching Taylor's little meet and greets and keeping an eye on Akashi as well. Taylor seemed to be doing fine and Akashi? She'd taken some chick off to the bathroom. He couldn't exactly watch her there, not that he really NEEDED to see to know what was probably going to happen.

He decided to scope out the rest of the place. It was pretty big after all. He hadn't danced much and hadn't had a drop to drink so he was probably the most clearheaded one in the group.

During his little tour, he decided to hit up one of the DJ rooms and maybe get in a little dancing off where he wouldn't interrupt Taylor or make her too jealous if some hotties rolled up. He wasn't looking for anything but when you were dancing sometimes your body just ended up pressed against another person. Sometimes it wasn't your choice. Johnny then frowned. Sometimes it wasn't always a chick.

While he was contemplating the pros and cons of public dancing, he felt something run into him. He was jostled but didn't even lose his balance. He turned and saw a girl down on the ground. "S-Shit dude! I'm so sorry!" He said and reached out his hand to help her up. Then he noticed who it was.

"T-Talia-chan..." He said. Johnny wasn't going to forget her face anytime soon. She'd been the catalyst for a lot of things in his life. Some of them good some bad but even if they hadn't spoken in quite some time, even if they really only shared a brief moment. He wasn't going to forget. He almost abandoned his wife for this woman. No amount of make up or dye jobs was going to cover that up.

Johnny's eyes were wide for a moment but then he smiled. "Hey, man. Um... let me help you up... and junk." Johnny said holding out his strong hand for her and smiling pleasantly at her.

Talia initially reached out to accept the help but the moment she realized it was Johnny in front of her her hand dropped down to avoid it. Shit. Johnny? Really? She got to her feet on her own but didn't back away or anything. She felt a little guilty about bumping into him so hard. "S-Sorry..." she said. There wasn't as much tension in her head with him as there was with Akashi. Even though he led her on in the past, she had gotten the last word. Of course he didn't realize this, but she didn't really care. Dark Angel had done that for her.

It was Johnny's smile that suddenly sparked some resentment in Talia, however. Just as Akashi's first reaction was to be a slut, Johnny's first reaction was to be gentleman. It was exactly how she met him the first time. And it was exactly why she hated him. He always acted in the same...blunt way. There was a reason Shauna had also kissed him. "How have you been?" she asked forcefully and without a smile. She really wished he had been as oblivious as Akashi was. What were they suppose to talk about?

"Shouldn't you be sitting at the bar or something?" On the plus side, with Akashi and Johnny both not with Taylor it meant she could probably manage to meet her later just the two of them. If they were all there, it'd be impossible for her to be normal.