Work Text:
Zoey was startled by a sudden presence at her side. She looked up from her sketchbook to the stranger standing in the aisle next to her. It was that cool, alternative person with the tattoos who’d been at her bus stop. They had tan skin and short dark hair that curled around their pretty face. They were wearing a sleeveless grey shirt that put the tattoos on their right sleeve on full display. Zoey’s eye traced the patterns up their arm to their lean, well-muscled bicep.
“Uh, hi!” Zoey greeted, flustered by their sudden appearance.
“Hey, mind if I sit here?” They asked.
Zoey glanced at the empty window seat next to her where she’d placed her bag. “O-oh! Yes, of course. Sorry.” She usually sat on the aisle seat so she could have the row to herself, but the bus wasn’t usually this full. Now she felt like an asshole for taking up the whole space.
She scooted over to the window seat and the cool stranger took up the space next to her.
“Thanks.” They glanced over their shoulder to somewhere at the back of the bus, then turned back to Zoey. “Usually I’d sit at the back but one of the regulars at my bar is there and I don’t really wanna sit by him.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s fine.” Zoey agreed awkwardly. She fidgeted with the sleeve of her sweater, trying not to make it look like she was staring. She swore she’d been getting better at social interaction, but it was still hard to not convince herself that she was totally blowing this entire conversation already.
“I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s fine and all, but it just feels a bit awkward seeing regulars outside of work, y’know?”
“Yeah, definitely.”
Maybe it was just because this person seemed so confident and stylish. They were exactly the type of person Zoey wanted to be able to talk to, so of course now when she had the chance she suddenly felt awkward.
Zoey gazed at the person next to her as they swiped through screens on their phone. She thought about saying more, continuing the conversation. A part of her wanted to ask about their tattoos, their clothing, chat to them, become their friend, but then the bus started to move and the stranger put their earbuds in. It was a relief, really. As much as she wanted to be able to talk to this person, it was probably best that she just went back to her sketchbook and not bother them. The public bus wasn’t somewhere anyone really went to make new friends.
The bus was quiet for a few stops as Zoey focused on her drawing. She didn’t have a pencil sharpener on her and the only eraser she had was the small one on the other end of her pencil, so the drawings just got fuzzier as time went on. Oh well. This was just a concept page of silly doodles, anyway. Nothing important.
She tuned out the outside world and became lost in her sketchbook, forgetting about the bus and the conversation. She didn’t even notice the stranger next to her glancing over her shoulder to peek at what she was drawing.
“Did you draw that?” They asked in wonder. Zoey nearly jumped. She held the pages of her sketchbook closer together at the sudden shame of being seen, not fully closing it but obscuring it from the view of anyone but herself. Her face suddenly felt hot.
The person next to her had taken an earbud out and was looking at Zoey expectantly. Not judging, but curious.
“Oh, y-yeah. Yeah I did.” She forced herself to hold the page open wider so they could look at her work. None of the drawings on the page were any good. She hadn’t been expecting anyone else to see them so they’d been kind of shit.
“Nice, looks great.”
Zoey snorted. “You should see some of the other work.”
“Yeah?”
She turned away and started to flip back through her sketchbook, trying to find a page that she’d put real time and effort into, all while being hyperware that there were prying eyes watching her do so. Something something, the mortifying idea of being known. Well, there was nothing more mortifying than a stranger looking through your personal sketchbook.
“Here, I was pretty proud of this spread.” Zoey said shyly as she opened the book up towards the stranger to a full two page spread of brilliantly coloured and lined art.
Zoey waited anxiously for the response as their eyes scanned over the pages.
“That looks amazing.” They complimented in awe.
Zoey’s heart fluttered. “Heh, thanks. This is just my personal sketchbook.” She told them as she brought the book back down to her lap. “I work for a design firm so this is hardly my professional stuff, this is just for fun.”
“I like your art.” The person next to her crossed their arms and leaned back in their seat. “Man, I should get back into making art. I used to be a tattoo artist but I haven’t really drawn anything for myself in a good few years.”
“Really? That’s- that’s cooI. I was going to say, I like your tattoos.” Zoey said, pointing to their right arm.
“Thanks.” They held it out to give her a better look. They had a sleeve of geometric blackwork going down to just past their elbow. The style reminded Zoey of Memphis Design patterns. “A friend of mine at my old studio did it.” They looked at Zoey. “You got any tattoos?”
Zoey blushed as she realised she’d been staring. “Oh, no. Uh, but I do want some! I’ve got a few ideas in here, actually.” She opened her sketchbook again and began to flip through, trying to find the page that held concept sketches of the few tattoo designs she’d come up with. “Just a couple of smaller ones, I don’t know where I’d get them though.”
The person next to her looked over the page and nodded. “I used to work with someone who did a lot of anime style pieces, you could go to them for something like that one.” They said, pointing at one of Zoey’s designs. “And I used to do stuff like this all the time.” They added, pointing to another. “I’m not professional anymore, but I’ve still got some of the equipment at home if you ever wanted to get that one done.”
Zoey looked at them. “Wh- Really?”
“I mean, yeah, if you wanted.” They shrugged. “Hold on, let me show you some of my old stuff.” They reached into their back pocket and pulled out their phone. They leaned in closer to Zoey as they scrolled through their photo album to find some examples of their work. “I mostly did more abstract geometric stuff.”
“Why’d you stop?” The work they’d done looked so unique and impressive, Zoey was surprised they hadn’t continued with it.
They shrugged and tucked their phone away again. “I guess I just realised that it wasn’t for me. It was fun but I just ended up feeling kind of… stuck. I missed my old job making drinks, so I left the studio and opened a bar instead.”
“And you enjoy that more?” Zoey asked.
“Hell yeah. Getting to make up cocktails and hang out with drunk people is great.”
Zoey had worked at a restaurant for a number of years. She shuddered to think about having to work in hospitality again, but was glad to see someone else seem so passionate about a job she would dread. She supposed running a small bar was probably a lot more rewarding than being shift manager at a fast food chain, though.
“You should come by sometime. Triangle Bar on the corner of 5th and 7th. I’ll make you a drink.”
“Oh!” Zoey wasn’t really a bar-goer. Her Friday evenings usually consisted of eating ice cream at home while watching anime, but on the occasion she did go out she did enjoy a nice cocktail.
“We have trivia night on a Saturday. It’s a bit fun if you’ve got a few friends to make up a team, or you can just come hang out with me.”
“I wouldn’t want to bother you while you’re working.”
They waved their hand in dismissal. “It’s not a bother at all, especially not when I’m the one inviting you. I already know all the trivia answers anyway.” They glanced at Zoey. “Besides, I like talking to you.”
Zoey’s stomach fluttered and she felt a smile stretch across her face. The idea of going out to a bar to drink and hang out with this person made her giddy. “Y-yeah. Maybe I will.”
“Great. Bring your art, too. I like seeing what you draw.” They said, gesturing to Zoey’s sketchbook.
Zoey held the book a little closer to her heart. “Okay!”
The bus slowed and Zoey glanced out the window to realise that they’d reached her stop. “Oh!” She’d been so distracted with their chat that she’d almost missed it. “S-sorry, this is my stop.” She stood up suddenly and almost fell over her companion.
“Oh! Yeah, okay.” They pulled their legs in to make room for Zoey as she grabbed her things and pushed past them to the aisle.
“Oh, um.” She turned back to the kind stranger before leaving. “I’m Zoey by the way.”
They smiled at her. A kind, friendly smile that made Zoey feel like she was talking to an old friend. “Riley.”
“Nice meeting you Riley.”
“I’ll see you at the bar sometime?”
“Yeah!” Zoey agreed.
"Great."
And with that, Zoey waved a little goodbye and made her way to the front of the bus, thanking the driver before stepping off onto the pavement.
As the bus pulled slowly away from the sidewalk, Zoey stood for a moment, processing the meeting she’d just had.
Riley…
Excited butterflies started to well in her stomach, threatening to burst out of her. She pumped her fists and jumped around in a silly, maybe slightly embarrassing little celebration.
She sighed longingly and held her sketchbook to her chest. She wasn’t really a bar-goer, a drinker, an extrovert. She didn’t go out with people much. It wouldn’t really make any difference to either of them if Zoey just decided not to go to the bar, or get that tattoo, or see Riley again at all. She could just go home and forget about them entirely.
But…
Well, it's not like she had anything else planned Saturday night.