Scouting {Chai/open!}

[jackson heath thatcher]

Jack was not an unusual sight at Lucky's. For one thing, his bestie Joss was a bartender there and he liked to come play and visit her. Jack was a social butterfly and liked to talk to nearly anyone in his path, and the bar was a perfect place for that. He would have preferred a gay bar some nights, but tragically Orange Island was devoid of these establishments.

Usually he had to boy scout on his own and bring his prospects to Joss, since she was working and couldn't peruse with him. However, now that he had his roommate Chai, he had the perfect opportunity for hunting and bringing Joss more suitable specimens to approve of.

Jack figured that throwing Chai into the dating scene immediately would be just downright cruel, especially since the poor boy was still trying to learn the language. Adjusting his fedora for optimal boy viewing, Jack leaned against the bar on one side, playing with the straw in his sex on the beach. "Okay, here's the plan," he told Chai, one eye watching the main floor. "Tonight we're just going to practice talking to boys, okay? We're not looking for dates to take home. We're just talking. You need help with your skills."

[willem van der holt]

Chai didn’t get the opportunity to go out very often, especially with his good friend and roommate Jack. Their schedules never seemed to be very compatible, so, on the rare occasion that they had free time that overlapped, Chai always enjoyed getting to spend time with him. Smiling a little, he slid his hands in to his pockets and looked over the bar. Being so tall, he didn’t have much trouble seeing over most people so he could properly scope out the dark, dingy landscape. Chai was not unfamiliar to the dating scene and dated frequently, perhaps more than he should have, while living in Europe, but America was a whole different ballgame and he felt a little out of his element, especially in a bar where all of the English slang was more extreme than his day to day experiences. Still, he didn’t turn down an opportunity when Jack had invited him out that afternoon.

The comment brought a charming giggle to the boy’s lips as he angled his head to look down to Jack with a blazing expression, “Practicing talking to boys,” he nodding, showing that he understood. For Chai, a bisexual, he always found talking to women so much easier. Afterall, he could charm them with his accent, faulty English, and the bashfulness he hosted when it came to speaking in English; however, men were entirely different animals. It was much harder for Chai to charm them and it was here that the magical darlingness that was Chai ended and awkward, mumbling Chai began. “What do I talk about?” he asked—he wasn’t quite sure. Yes, he had gone out in Europe, but in Europe, most conversation starters revolved around the weather.

Straightening his black collar, Chai shifted, he was wearing all black, as per usual, as it always made him look sharp. Glancing down to Jack he motioned his head towards the bar, “Zoetheid, I should get drink before, it makes English easier,” which was funny, but true. For Chai, alcohol relaxed him and when he was relaxed, his English got infinitely better because he wasn’t thinking so hard or worrying about making a mistake. If only he could relax on a day to day basis, his English would actually be fairly decent. Alas, he spent most of his time worrying whether he should use “an” or “a” and usually messed it up because he doubted his instincts.

Seeing as Jack already had a beverage, Chai didn’t bother with asking what and if he wanted anything, and made his way to the bar. He returned a minute later with a Jenever with vermouth, in true Dutch style, as he stood next to Jack and looked over the crowd, which was much more bustling than the young Dutch had anticipated. It was so busy, in fact, that he was having trouble focusing on anybody because everyone was moving so quickly.