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 Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:13 pm
Victoria smiled when Dante reassured her and made her feel better. "Thank you." Her eyes gleamed with anticipation as Dante got up and went after her, making both of his tries go into the gutter. Her hands flew up to her mouth to hide a laugh. "Well, I might just win after all," She teased him, her excited grin apparent. She got up and didn't notice him get up at first, because she had already gone up to get her ball for the next try. She got her eight pound ball, going up to the lane. She narrowed her eyes, trying to move to where she couldn't miss. When she was sure, and moved the ball back and forth, letting it out of her hands as it again sailed down towards the bowling pins. She clapped her hands as she saw the ball, which had knocked down nine of the pins, leaving one standing on the very right. She turned around to get her next ball, hoping for a spare, but saw Dante's seat empty. She bit her lip, not seeing him up at the bar. She figured he had gone for a bathroom break, and finished up her turn quickly. The ball went towards the remaining pin, but came up short and too much too the right, where it fell into the gutter and disappeared. Disappointed she hadn't made it, she again turned around, but this time saw Dante where he was before. She glanced down and her eyes filled with tears as she saw the alcohol in his hands. She walked up to him slowly, meeting his gaze as she quietly said, "It's your turn." She didn't want to talk about it, knowing he had made the wrong choice, even if it was only one drink. That one drink could kill him, or at least make his condition worse. She didn't say any of these things, but made up an excuse fast. She didn't want to have to see it. "I have to use the restroom. I'll be right back." She was a bad liar, but what did it matter? Before he could say anything, she disappeared around the corner, and made her way outside. She sat down on a bench, which was cold on her bare skin. She shivered and glanced up at the night sky, seeing the stars had already come out. She thought about Dante, knowing he had a problem staying away from it. But it was not a hard decision: life or death? If he wasn't careful, it could easily be..she cut off her thoughts, not wanting to think about it. She sighed and put her head in her hands. Everything was so complicated! Daren laughed when she protested that he was going to lose. He started the game after they picked their characters and song, and he grew even more excited as it began. "Yeah! Sucker. Dude! That's crap." He was shouting out different things as he missed one, and then hit another one. He didn't dare glance over at how Aria was doing, afraid that it would lose the game for him.
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 5:54 am
Dante watched Victoria walk off in a hurry. To Dante it seemed as if something was bothering her, but it didn't take any thinking to know what it was. He pounded down the drink and put the glass on the bench. He didn't even bother going up for his turn before he went back up to the bar. He handed the guy the glass.
"Seems like she was pretty mad at you." the man said grabbing the glass and cleaned it.
"Apparently people want the best for me. Let me get another. This time with more Jack." Dante said.
The bartender started to make it but stopped. He turned back to Dante. "I'm sorry. I can't. I think you should go talk to the girl first." the bartender went back to serving other customers.
"Dammit." was the only thing that could come out of Dante's mouth as he went looking for Victoria. He started walking towards the woman's restroom but the guy at the counter stopped him. "You're not going to find her there. She went outside." he said as he cleaned shoes. Dante gave the guy a nod and he turned around to go outside. He peeked out the glass doors and saw Victoria staring up at the sky. He slowly opened the door and walked out. He took a couple of steps towards Victoria but there still was some distance between them. "Come back inside." Dante said as he shivered a little from the gust of wind that grazed his skin.
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Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 3:04 pm
Aria pressed the buttons wildly as the colors popped up on the screen. She could hear Daren, but even that didn't sway her concentration. Could he tell that she was kind of competetive? When the song finally ended she smiled at Daren and then laughed. "Best two out of three?" she asked as their scores appeared. She glanced over her shoulder to look at Dante and Victoria, but they had vanished.
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 1:17 pm
Victoria continued to think about everything, including Dante, but her peace was interrupted once she heard someone's voice. She turned, and her eyes took in Dante. She sighed, a bit irritated but more hurt than anything that he didn't care as much for his health condition then he should have. She took a deep breath, but frowned as she said stubbornly, "I'm only coming in if you're done." She knew that he knew what she meant by being done with the alcohol, and just to prove her point, she continued quietly, "If you want to continue, that's fine. I'll be right out here waiting for you." She gave him a small, worried smile, and turned back forward, tilting her head to look up at the sky once more. It was beautiful, but she didn't want to admit she was freezing. She was only in a small sundress, the only one she had, and it didn't protect from the wind at all. She shivered openly and cursed her stupid decision for wearing it in the first place. She didn't say anything more to him, and waited for him to answer her. Daren saw the scores at the end of the song and laughed with Aria when she asked for another game. "You sure you don't want to spend the tokens on another game? I don't want to spend them all here, but if you want to that bad, we can." He shrugged, indicating that it didn't matter to him what they did. He glanced back when she did, not knowing what she was looking at, but having a feeling it was to see where Victoria and Dante were. He didn't see them, and frowned, hoping they hadn't left them here. They didn't have a way to get back but walking, and it would just give Daren more of a reason to hate Dante more than he already did.
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:40 pm
A sudden urge of cockiness came to Dante after he heard Victoria's comment. He couldn't stand the fact that she gave him this option. Dante began to remember the girls in the past and how they played the same games; It's either me or her, me or the parties, me or your friends and everything else in the book. Dante couldn't stand that it was always about them. He thought for a moment and something over came him. He wasn't sure it was the withdraws from not drinking like he used to, or what it was for that manner, but Dante got rude. "Well if you want to freeze your a** off then be my guest." Dante said as he walked back inside. Dante knew he had to stop drinking but this was not way he was going down. After walking back inside he went to the arcade since that was the only place Aria could be. "Aria!" Dante semi-yelled across the room. "Can you see if you can talk some sense into Victoria? Apparently she thinks that sitting outside is going to control my decisions." Dante walked out of the brightly lit up room and over to the bar.
"The bottle of jack and a glass of ice please." Dante said as he slid the money across the table.
"Settle the differences with the woman?" the bartender asked.
"Sure. IF that's what you call it." Dante said.
The bartender shrugged his shoulders and slid the cup to him. He grabbed the bottle of whiskey and placed it in front of Dante.
"Thanks." Dante said as he poured himself a glass.
Dante sat at the bar and drank glass after glass. He didn't take a break in between either. After a short period of time, he had drank almost half the bottle, and feeling every drop of it. There's what I'm looking for. he thought slamming down another glass of it. "Whoa now. There's no need to chug it." the bartender said laughing a little. "Eh." Dante replied back shrugging his shoulders.
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 6:58 pm
Aria laughed when she heard Daren's comment. "Well, we can play whatever, as long as it's not bowling. I'm really very coordinated. I mean, I'd gladly watch you play though." She smiled but then heard Dante half yelling at her. "Ugh...be right back. Pick a new game." She set the controller down and began walking towards where she thought Vic was. She stopped shortly to glance at Dante. "You a**." she said noticing the drink and then continuing on. She walked outside and saw Victoria standing there. "I'm sorry he's such an a**." she sighed.
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:00 pm
Victoria gasped when he said this, and tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't believe that he had said that to her. She bit her lip, trying to play it off as not a big deal, but she knew it had hurt her. She took a deep breath, not moving from her spot. If he wanted to be like that, so be it. But she could feel tear after tear slide down her cheeks, and suddenly she couldn't breathe. Dante could die if he continued to drink, and somehow, he didn't even care. She shook her head. She hated what he had done to himself. How could a fun night like bowling with friends, come down to a drama and tear filled one so fast? When she heard someone coming outside, and she automatically assumed it was Dante. She quickly said, "Don't talk to me." But when she heard Aria's apolgetic voice, she smiled through her tears. "Hey. It's okay. I don't like it when he drinks, and I've only known him a week. How can you put up with this?" She said quietly, glancing up at her. "Is he still drinking?" It wasn't any of her business, but she already knew the answer to the question by the way he had acted. She had a sudden thought that she was glad Daren was driving them home. Daren grinned when she said this, but frowned back at Dante when he heard him yell. "What the hell, man?" He mumbled, wondering what was up. He wanted to go out with Aria, but figured Victoria wouldn't talk to her then. He shrugged and set his own guitar down. He didn't want to pick a new game for a while; girls usually took a while to talk about their problems. He could tell the real source of the problem was Dante, and he put the tokens back in his pocket as he glanced around, walking back up to the bowling counter. He saw Dante at the bar, drinking heavily. He was downing glass after glass. It came clear to him why he wasn't getting along with Victoria now. He went over and quietly sat in the seat beside Dante, knowing it was dangerous to talk to him while he was drinking, but hoped it would turn out alright. "Hey man, what did you do to Vic?" He asked, nodding at the bartender. He didn't want a drink, and he was underage anyway. It never stopped him if he wanted to though, he thought with a low chuckle.
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:06 am
Dante poured himself another glass and glanced to his side. For some reason Daren had decided to talk to him and began to get into his business, which Dante didn't go for at all, but he didn't feel like starting anything or going to jail. "I got a drink. She went outside. She gave me the option of either her coming inside or I continuing to drink." Dante said as he swallowed the bitter alcohol without noticing the taste. He poured himself another and sipped it. "If she wants to sit outside and freeze that's her problem." Dante slammed back another drink, this time not pouring himself a new one, but drinking straight from the bottle. He sat in silence as he drank a little more. "Ill be damned if I let a woman control what I do." the effects of the alcohol were starting to have a greater effect on Dante. His speech started to become slurred and things started to spin. He shook his head and the room became still again. "So why'd ya come up here?" Dante asked him as he offered the bottle to him. He saw the look on Daren's face and took it back. "I figured you want to spend time with Aria. You two seem to be hitting it off." Dante said as he turned his head to look at the television.
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:37 am
Aria was immediately puzzled by the question. How do I put up with it...? She walked over to stand beside Victoria. "Well...I guess everything happened so fast...it just became normal for me to see him drink like that. It's not like I encouraged it or anything, I just didn't stop him. Half the time, I wasn't there to stop him..." She stopped and looked at the girl standing beside her. She was visibly upset and hurt. "I also don't see him how you do. We're friends, well more like family, but you like him in a different way. I think that has an affect on your feelings too." Aria stopped talking and they stood in silence for a moment. "Want me to punch him in the throat?" she added, laughing casually and trying to break the girl's mood.
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:57 am
Daren listened to the brief version of Dante's story and frowned at him. He watched him drink with disgust. It wasn't like Daren liked how he was before, but drinking made him lose his cool and make him even a bigger jerk, if that was possible. He took a deep breath before responding quickly. "You know she is only looking out for you. She cares about you more than anybody else. And you're being stupid not to see that." He backed a little way off his seat, and leaned against the counter just in case. He made sure not to show nervousness, but was careful by the way he spoke to Dante. He could see him not stopping to even taste the alcohol, and his words were becoming harder to understand. Daren had only drank a few times, and nothing like this. He ran a hand through his hair slowly, and shook his head at Dante when he offered him the bottle. "I came up here to talk some sense into you, so you can go apologize to Vic. You probably hurt her real bad. But..I don't think that's going to happen. You seem to be catching a buzz bad." He hid a laugh and just grinned at him instead. When he is sober again I'll make sure to make fun of him for this.
Victoria glanced up at her so she could see her better, and listened. She winced when Aria mentioned that she wasn't there to stop him. She blushed when Aria mentioned that Victoria liked him in a different way. She couldn't help but laugh a bit when she mentioned punching him. "No, that's okay. I think it's just the alcohol that was getting to him. I'll just wait and talk to him about this later. It's..not any of my business anyhow." Her eyes showed pain, and she quickly got up. "I..I don't really want to go inside, but we'll have to some time. And I think Daren will be waiting for you." She forced a smile at Aria, glad that she was someone to lean on also.
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 10:09 am
Dante finished off the rest of the bottle. It wasn't that big, but it was big enough to allow Dante to feel some sort of pleasure, and he turned his attention to Daren. "I don't need anyone looking out for me." Dante told him as he stared into his eyes. He could see Daren back off a little and prepared himself. Dante stood up and leaned against the bar. "I realize people wants whats best for me, but I don't need them throwing it in my face." Dante started to walk away from the bar after leaving a tip to the bartender. His steps were crossing over one another but he kept himself upright. Get it together Dante. You gotta drive home. Dante rustled himself a little and walked towards the door to go outside. He needed some air because alcohol was overcoming him. He stepped outside the doors and saw Aria and Victoria standing there. He could see the wet spots on Victoria's face from tears that he had caused. Good job. Now you ruined that chance. he told himself as he stood there and looked at them. He looked over at Aria who seemed to be mad. "I'm sorry." was at that he could say as he took his keys out of his pockets. He grabbed a couple of bills from his wallet and handed them to Aria. "Here. You guys take a cab home." Dante pressed them into Aria's hand and barely walked away. He managed his way over to his car and opened the door. He got inside and made sure to lock the door. Dante was drunk but he wasn't stupid. He knew they would try to get him out. He rolled down the window a little and just sat inside and waited to be lectured by either one of them before he left.
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 10:24 am
Aria sighed. "It's totally your business. I mean, you're there for him when really no one else is. That makes it your business." As she said she this noticed Dante come stumbling out of the building. He handed them a few crumpled bills and said that they could take a cab before going to his own car and sitting in it. "Oh hell no you're not!" She handed the money to Victoria. "Don't worry, I'll drive us home. Hey, could you get Daren?" A sly grin crossed Aria's face as she ran over to the car. She stuck her arm through the cracked window and unlocked the door. She then pulled Dante upright and punched him square in the face before unlocking the back door and shoving him inside. She closed the door, brushed her hands on her pants, and hopped in the front seat. "Are seriously that retarded?" she asked as she honked the horn, signalling Victoria and Daren.
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 1:08 pm
Daren backed up a little when Dante looked him in the eyes after saying he didn't need anyone looking out for him. His words were brought back in his face once he got down off the stool and had to lean up against the counter. He rolled his eyes after seeing Dante try to walk. The guy was a total fool the way he was acting. Daren decided to follow him, and ran after him quickly in case he tried to do something even more idiotic. He went out the doors just as soon as Dante did, and saw him staring at Victoria before turning to Aria and throwing money at her. He frowned and shook his head. They were not taking a cab, and he knew Aria was not allowing Dante to drive himself home. He could see that she didn't accept the apology at all, and it didn't seem to make Victoria happier either. They all watched as Dante barely made his way over to his car, and got in. He knew they were going home, no doubt about it, and went inside, glanced around and made sure they had everything, and came back out just in time to see Aria punch Dante in the face and shove him in the back seat. Daren didn't lose his proud smile and went over to Victoria, nodding at her. He heard the horn and said, "Let's go." He went over to the car, and leaned on the car window. He saw Dante in the back seat, not looking happy at all. Well, he couldn't blame him, but Dante was being an idiot even if he didn't want to admit it. First hurting Victoria, and then trying to drive home when he drank a whole bottle? Daren shook his head at him before getting in the passenger seat, but then thinking better of it for Victoria's sake. She wouldn't want to sit by Dante at all now. He reluctantly got in the back seat beside Dante after getting a look from Aria. He sighed and closed the door, staying quiet. He didn't want the fight to escalate more than it already was. It seemed he was the only one not bad at somebody there.
Victoria smiled at the attempt Aria was making to help her feel better. "Thank you," She whispered, meaning everything that Aria had said to her just now. She stepped away from the bench just in time to see Dante come out of the building, almost tripping over his own feet. Tears again blinded her vision, but she forced them down before turning away from him. She could feel Dante's gaze on her before he turned to Aria and said they take a cab home. She glanced up, wondering what he was planning on doing. Her eyes widened when he took his keys out of his pockets. No, Dante! Her head was screaming over and over. She could see the way his green eyes were bloodshot from having too much to drink, and he was having trouble standing. She couldn't imagine him driving safely home. She took a step forward, but he was already making his way over to the car. She nodded at Aria's question to get Daren, but she saw that he had already come outside and was watching with the rest of them as Dante got in his car and closed the door. Victoria gasped as Aria screamed at him and followed him over, punching him in the face. She held the money in her hand, glancing down at it. She didn't want to see anything more. But she could hear the car doors slamming once more and Aria asking if Dante was that retarded. She flinched, and her mind finished, he is when he drinks. But she stayed silent, and finally looked up after the car horn went off. She went after Daren, and felt dread fill her when he got in the passenger seat. She couldn't possibly sit next to Dante at that moment. She was relieved when he got out and came back around the car, indicating her to sit in the front seat instead. She mouthed a thank you before getting in and closing the door behind her, not daring a glance back at Dante. She focused on the road in front of them, waiting for the car to start. She was happy that Aria was driving them home.
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Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 1:19 pm
Aria smiled as everyone got into the car. She was grateful Daren moved himself to the backseat. If she was Victoria, she wouldn't want to sit by that b*****d either. She put the car in reverse and backed up, and then put it in drive, taking off from the parking lot. She glanced at Victoria. "Well, it wasn't in the throat, but he got punched." she snickered.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2012 12:45 pm
Dante sat in the back seat and rubbed his face a little. Rage began to fill his blood like every other time he drank. His mother had always been the one to calm him down when he was drunk. The only reason she knew how was because of the fact that his father got the same way when he was drunk. They were both angry men when they were sober, but once the alcohol got into their blood stream, it escalated into something ten times worse. Dante began to have drunken ideas to escape and get out. He was being controlled and every moment of it was making his anger worse. He watched the street lights go by in a blur. Everything was a giant haze from the speed. Once they stopped at a red light Dante began to fumble with the door. He tried to unlock it, but each time was a miserable attempt. "Let me out of this damn car." he said before finally getting the lock up. He opened the door and got out of the car. The light turned green and cars began to honk. "Go screw yourself." Dante yelled at one of them before crossing the street and aimlessly walking.
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