No, this is for the alcoholic me

[Addison Sloane]

Addison almost didn't go out to get herself a drink when she realised she had to dress up. Although by the time she left the house, one had to wonder what exactly she was so worried about in the first place as she dressed in a shapeless grey sweater and jeans with her hair haphazardly worn down.

She had opted to not wear any makeup even though the nearest pub to her house was a trendy one with pretty people who danced. Somehow, she didn't really care as she hung her oversized hoodie once she sat at the bar, ordering bottle service. The bartender looked at her funny, thinking she probably shouldn't be able to handle a big bottle so he poured a little into a shot glass and handed it to her.

"Scuse you, I asked for a bottle. Don't be stingy." She waggled a finger at him before he shrugged and placed the bottle in front her. "Judgy." She snarled before asking for a bigger glass.

[Brooklyn Fisher]

Brooke had experienced the 'nightlife' of the so called new and improved Kalispell, Montana and she had cone to one very simple conclusion. It didn't come close to the 24 hour a day scene that came with New York City. Few of the bars were worth even getting close to, let along entering and the clubs here felt as though they were cheap knock offs of betters clubs in more glamorous cities like the Big Apple or Los Angeles. Everything reeked of desperation from the knowledge that this city would never hold a candle to the more illustrious locales it so obviously wished it could be. After all, at the end of the day there was no way of avoiding the simple fact that this was Montana. Montana.

Still, limited nightlife was better than nothing and on this night in particular, Brooke found herself clubbing with much less enthusiasm than she did when at home in New York. Kalispell had a long way to go before it could be mentioned in the same breath as the major US city Brooke had called home for most of her life but she had to admit, at the very least the budding Montana community was trying its hardest.

The tall, dark haired journalist had been teetering on the edge of wanting to leave The Pulse but that scale tipped, at least temporarily, to staying when she had caught sight of the morose figure that was taking up one side of the bar. Brooke was hardly a saint out to help those in need but she had a way about reading people and it was obvious the woman, as tiny and obviously out of place as she seemed, would need some serious help with the entire bottle of whatever it was that the bartender was begrudgingly sending her way.

"Don't be mad because you have no chance even if she's drunk." Brooke said to the bartender with no shortage of sass and snark dripping from her voice. When he had moved away with a roll of his eyes, after leaving the bottle, of course, Brooke slipped into the seat next to Addie, setting her own drink on the bar and looking over to the younger woman with a studious eye. She'd seen this before and knew exactly how to handle it. "Alright." She said with just the faintest hint of compassion and empathy creeping into her voice. "What's his name and what'd he do? Cheat on you? My last boyfriend cheated on me." Brooke's eyes narrowed a little as she thought about this. "With my brother." She offered a sigh and a shrug of her shoulders as she brought the glass up to her lips. "They're still together. Suffice to say holidays at home are... weird."

[Addison Sloane]

The arrival of another brunette had Addison giving her a sideways glance, a smirk slipping through the cracks when she realised the other woman was defending her. The bartender's exit had Addison snarling at him again before pouring out the alcohol into her glass and snorted when the other woman made her assumptions about why she was there.

"Does there have to be a guy?" She asked. It wasn't about a guy, her being at a bar trying to finish a whole bottle of hundred proof something. There used to be a guy, she didn't remember who. She was still trying to remember why the tattoo on her wrist was even there.

The woman's story about her gay ex-boyfriend made Addison chuckle lightly. "Thank God I don't have family." Addison said without a hint of vitriol or resentment. She raised her glass to the other woman before drinking.

[Brooklyn Fisher]

Brooke's eyes narrowed again. She was rarely off about these things. Her ability to spot a man or woman pining over the loss of a significant other was usually uncanny. There was something going on and she would have staked her life (well, maybe someone else's life) on it having to do with a guy (or gal, Brooke didn't judge).

"Really?" She said, turning her attention fully to the woman, her green eyes gleaming in the dim, yet erratic light of the club. "I would've sworn this was a heartbreak bottle." Brooke said, reaching over and lightly poking at the glass bottle sitting on the bar. "Either way, you look like you could use a drinking partner for the night." A bright, red lipped smile spread across her face as her eyes gleamed. "I'm Brooke."

[Addison Sloane]

Addison turned to look at the woman, her blue eyes roaming from head to toe before settling back on the glass she had in her own hand. "Nope. Just the regular wanting to get drunk bottle." She nodded, unaware of the memories she had effectively erased at a mind wiper's expert hand.

Sharing her bottle hadn't been what she had set out to do when she came out but if she had to share it with anybody, why couldn't it be someone who looked like her?

Returning the smile with a half-cocked one, Addison nodded. "Addie." She scratched the side of her nose and tilted her head. "You new here?" She asked. Hell, everyone she met around here seemed to be new to her.

[Brooklyn Fisher]

Brooke considered it entirely possible the girl simply didn't want to talk about personal matters with a stranger before she would entertain the idea that she was wrong in her assumption. Though, Brooke did wonder why this woman would possibly have issues discussing such things with someone like her, of all people but she seemed friendly enough and probably, in spite of what she said, still needed someone who knew their way around a bottle for the night.

With a faint nod of her head, Brooke acknowledged the denial (though she didn't fully believe it). "Addie." Brooke repeated the name, rolling it around on her tongue for a moment before she offered another winning smile. "Yes. I am." She confirmed with another nod. "I've only been here a week and I think I'm already regretting leaving New York."

[Addison Sloane]

Knowing Brooke was new did nothing to enrich Addison's life and she wondered briefly why she even asked. But she nodded all the same, just to be polite. Although hearing she had come from New York did make Addison turn to the other brunette with a raised eyebrow.

"Why would you leave?" She didn't hold back the snort that escaped. "I hope you didn't come for the alcohol. Or the people. If you came here for the entertainment, I have to tell you Brooke, you're looking at the extent of it." Addison gestured to the whole place.

[Brooklyn Fisher]

Brooke laughed, leaning back in her seat some in emphasis of the amusement she found in the whole thing. Yes, she never really wanted to leave New York and was driven here to Kalispell by the machinations of a world she'd no control over. Yes, she looked at the relatively small, Montana city as a new start of sorts. No, she hadn't thought for a second that Kalispell would ever come close to her former home city. And yet, here she was. Stuck in Kalispell for reasons she didn't like for an undetermined length of time.

"You know how life sometimes takes you places you never thought you'd go." She said whimsically as she polished off the drink that was still in her glass. "What about you?" Brooke asked, glancing to Addie curiously. "Born and raised here? Relocated for the stirring nightlife? Mutant here because of the Academy?"

[Addison Sloane]

Making a non-committal noise of acknowledgement, Addison poured another glass for herself, downing that in a single shot. With how her body worked, it would take at least half the bottle before she could get a good buzz going.

The question that came had Addison shrugging. "The stirring nightlife obviously." She responded before chuckling. "It's home." Finally, an answer she felt strongly about. "And the mutant thing, but sshh. Nobody's supposed to know." Addison said in a stage whisper.

"Are you actually going to stay here in Nowhere, USA?"

[Brooklyn Fisher]

A slow, almost mischievous grin spread across Brooke's face as Addie spoke. She'd only been in Kalispell for a few days and she'd already happened upon a meta-human. This was certain to be interesting, to say the least. "Your secret's safe with me." She said, offering Addie a knowing nod and a wink.

"Probably." Brooke didn't know how long she'd end up staying in Kalispell, or whether or not she'd even be able to make it with her newest business venture. Sure, the city had seen a major boost in recent years, booming from a sleepy city to a bustling metropolitan area seemingly overnight but that was no guarantee Brooke would be able to continue her almost decadent lifestyle of excess here. "New York had run its course." She said, before gesturing toward the bottle sitting on the bar. "May I?" She asked idly. "It was time to move on and what better place to start over than the fastest growing city in the US?"

[Addison Sloane]

That Brooke played along with her little ruse made Addison smile before she poured herself another glass. The idea that Brooke said New York of all places had run its course had Addison furrowing her eyebrows in the middle. "Surely you don't mean that." She said before waving to the bottle at Brooke's request.

Addison felt that there was something else Brooke wasn't telling her about this move. Whatever it was, the singer wasn't going to attempt to dig out. It wasn't her business.

"And what exactly are you moving on to?"

[Brooklyn Fisher]

Brooke normally had no problem talking about herself at any length but it seemed this conversation had jumped far too personal far too quickly. She cast a glance to her new found drinking partner and poured herself a glass full of whatever was contained in the bottle before answering Addie's question. "Bigger and better things." She said with a bit of flourish to the words. She lifted the newly filled glass to her lips and took an exploratory sip.

"You went to Bellefonte then?" Brooke asked, shifting the conversation back a few seconds. "That's for... gifted kids, right?" A single brow quirked curiously as she glanced in Addie's direction. "What was that like?"

[Addison Sloane]

The vague answer Brooke provided made Addison smirk. The hemokinetic didn't blame the brunette for not wanting to spilling, although she hadn't realised it had encroached the personal boundaries of a first meeting. She let it slide and downed her glass before refilling it.

When the questioning went back to her stint at the Academy, Addison frowned slightly before shrugging. "You're awfully curious but not entirely forthcoming, are you?" She grinned at Brooke. She didn't see why she couldn't answer a question someone who clearly knows about Bellefonte was asking.

"It was school. There were bullies, there were trials, and there were people you swore to protect." She chuckled. "And on occasion someone disappears through walls or cries for no reason." She paused before shrugging. "Yeah, it was school."

[Brooklyn Fisher]

"I'm not the one with the comic book superhero powers." Brooke pointed out a-matter-of-factly. She smirked a little, turning her green eyes to Addie yet again. She studied the young woman for a moment and couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity or the inkling of doubt that Addie was a common presence among the club/bar scene of Kalispell. While Addie didn't look wholly out of place like some people, Brooke couldn't shake the suspicion that this wasn't a normal night for Addie.

"You know, I'm sorry but I can't shake the feeling that we've met or I know you from somewhere." Brooke finally said with a bit of a shrug. She lifted the glass and took a good shot of the alcohol down before her attention returned to Addie. "You must have one of those faces, maybe?"

[Addison Sloane]

"You're not?" Addison raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Well if you do come across a superhero with the ability to manipulate someone's blood pressure, let me know."

Chuckling when Brooke said the words she often heard from people nowadays, Addison nodded when Brooke answered her own question. Addison still didn't like to mention her popularity status, despite the fact that she had proclaimed, at least to herself, that she was a certified superstar on more than one occasion. Oh she wasn't about to deny that she had talent. But hell be damned if she would ever let someone else tell her that.

"Must be." She nodded. As luck would have it though, by some miracle, the club started playing a remix of one of her more recent songs and she snorted. "Of course."