Alright. This was it. Her first time buying alcohol ever. Yes, today was her birthday and she was going to get something with alcohol in it.

She took a sip from her apple juice bottle.

Yep. Alcohol.

...Ummm....

This was going to be a difficult decision for the girl. Just turned nineteen, Joellie Henderson, cellist extrordinaire was in the grocery store. In the wine section, to be more precise. They didn't have much, admittedly, but they had something and that was the entire point. Normally, she wouldn't even have been the one to get it but both of her parents were held up and work and as soon as they got home they'd all sit down to a celebratory dinner. You just had to have the wine with a celebratory dinner.

Her red and unruly curly hair was tamed by two tight braids that reached a little past her shoulders. They rested on a purple peasant top with little ruffles on the sleeves. Joellie wore her favorite pair of jeans--ones she'd worn so much that they were mostly patches now, anyway--and some squishy flip-flops. Her blue eyes were set in a heart-shaped face with full lips and white teeth that tugged and fiddled with the top of her apple juice bottle. The entire look of her, combined with her slightly less than average height really made her seem much younger than she was. Was she asking to get carded?

She looked up at the different selections. What the hell was the difference between a rose and a blush? Merlot? Dessert wines?! Oh gods...she was in way over her head. Help?

Searching through the alcohol further down the isle was a muscular man with spiked black hair and hazel eyes. Relaxed jeans had selective places where they had been torn or had holes in them. Yes he bought them that way from a designer shop. White button down shirt with rolled up sleeves had a more slightly feminine curve along the side, because it was part of one of his old skating outfits. It was laundry day so Reagan was working on doing that. She’d protested for quite some time, but he said he’d bring her back something special if she at least started it.

He had some designer brown leather sandals on his bare feet which flopped against the ground as he paced looking for the right brand of Irish Whiskey. He wasn’t going to be able to be at the pub for some time with a new training schedule in place so this was the alternative. Plus it was the only way that Reagan was going to get a sip of it. Back in Ireland the drinking age was lowered so she was able to and then she came here and then couldn’t have anything. But he was getting her something less strong and mixed it with something non alcoholic as well.

Doing a double take down the isle he noticed a girl that was messing with a bottle that looked too young to buy alcoholic drinks. He watched her for a little while with some amusement before calling out to her.

”Need help with something?” He spoke in a friendly tone and a smile was expressed.

Thank the Lord, thy savior has come!

Joellie lowered the apple juice from her mouth so she could speak properly, "Oh my gosh, yes. I have no idea what I'm doing. Who knew there could be so many different kinds of wine?"

She took in his appearance quickly--nice (what can I say? She likes guys with muscle...)--and looked back to the rack.

"Does the name of the wine tell you what it's supposed to go with?"

She picked up one bottle and examined the label, as though something was magically going to appear and help her out. Not so, I'm afraid, back to the shelf it went. She was just as confused as before and it definitely showed. Both hands were now on the apple juice and she repeatedly popped the top of the sports cap up and down, up and down. If she didn't have the bottle, she'd probably be pretending to play her cello on her right arm. This girl's fingers were always moving when she was uncertain.

Oh dear. He looked at the different wines and scratched the back of his head. Hm….Looking at the different labels you’d think he knew what he was doing until he spoke.

”Sorry lass. I don’t know much ‘bout wines.” He’d never had any before so wasn’t sure which one was which or what the labels were talking about. Turning back to her he rubbed his chin with a thumb and pointer finger.

”You don’t look like your old enough to drink yet anyway.” Perhaps she got that a lot. But he had to make sure. Sure he was buying something for his sister, but she’d had some before and she was family. This girl was not and wasn’t sure if she was allowed to have it or not.

"Well I wasn't yesterday. You can tell me happy birthday, though, if you want."

Gods, he had an accent, too...

"Would anything other than wine be appropriate with raspberry chicken? I'm tempted to just grab something."

She bounced on her toes, aiming to see the higher shelves and labels. Everything looked the same, geez. And she didn't have her cell phone with her so she couldn't call her parents for help, either.

Oh, she thought, remember to pick up some olive oil, too.

”Happy Birthday.” He said chuckling. ”Hm…” He looked through the wines and various other parts of the alcohol section rubbing his chin all the while.

”You probably do best to try yer luck. I might end up suggestin’ something nasty.” He probably would do. The only thing he knew about was beer and Irish whiskey. That was the extent of his alcoholic knowledge.

Oh, that was nice! She hadn't expected him to actually say it. That was nice and she didn't have school that day, either. Everything was working out nicely, nicer than she'd expected them to.

She chuckled at him. "That's kind of funny, neither of us knows anything."

Joellie sort of trailed off. She just remembered that she was talking to someone she knew nothing about. In the alcohol aisle. Joellie was a naturally cautious person, if that says enough for you. She didn't think any harm would come to her but she also didn't know what else to say to the man.

”Yeah. You would have thought that perhaps with both of us here we might have figured somethin’ out.” He chuckled and then strolled back down the isle to finally grab the bottle of Irish whiskey he had been eyeing earlier before spotting the girl. After getting it he strolled back up the isle to the girl.

”Now this.” He said holding up the bottle.”I know ‘bout.” Grin spread across his face. The idea of putting whiskey on chicken though wasn’t a very good idea.

Please be patient with her. At times she can be very naive. That and she didn't see the label.

"What's that?"

”Just a bit of some tasty Irish Whiskey.” He exclaimed rubbing his belly while he spoke. ”Best drink there is.”

A joke always lightens the mood, which was evidenced by the way Joellie laughed. Oh, it wasn't a special laugh or anything, just hers. It was really more like an expellation of air in a couple vocalized puffs. Come on, it wasn't hillariously funny.

"You must not enjoy the wonders of apple juice, then," she held up her trusty white bottle to demonstrate.

He laughed as well when she spoke of the apple juice. ”Apparently not.”

"Works well for me," she shrugged with a small smile and when she spoke her voice was quiet. Though it wasn't for any reason other than she didn't know what else to say to him. She wasn't too good when meeting new people. Most new people, anyway.

Joellie looked down at her bottle and fiddled with it some, lapsing into silence. She hated the awkward feeling of not knowing what to do.

Conner didn’t know what to say either as he hadn’t even planned on having a conversation; just going out for some whiskey and coming home. No doubt Reagan was having a tantrum that he had not returned yet to finish the laundry, making her finish it instead.

”So I take it you drink a lot of apple juice then?” He said pointing to her bottle that she had been messing with earlier.

She grinned in response, "Gallons. I bet my parents are so used to buying it that they automatically grab some every time they're at a store." Yes, she still lived with her parents. Her philosophy: it was free.

”That must get expensive after a while.” He said teasingly. ”But I guess if you drink it then it’s not like it’s going to waste now.” Conner walks over to the counter hoping the girl might follow, but if she didn’t that was fine as well. The man asked for his I.D. and he forked it over so he could get his delicious beverage and then handed over the money after putting his I.D. in his pocket.

She did. In a split decision, she grabbed a bottle of some sort of red wine. After he had paid for his drink, she paid for hers. The cashier was understandibly skeptical, checking her I.D. for any and all signs of fraud but he found none.

"So'd you drive here? Take the bus? Walk?" She had walked. It wasn't too far from her home.

”I walked. Need to stay in shape now don’t I? What about you?” He asked after she had paid and they were now outside standing on the sidewalk as people passed around the still forms.

"Walked. It's not too far to my house, anyway," she shrugged. For a brief moment, Joellie remembered walking home with Alice. A fleeting thought wondered how he was doing but her attention returned to the current conversation without any apparant hesitation.

"Which direction you headed?"

”That way.” He pointed down the sidewalk towards the north part of town. ”Me sister and I have an apartment up there. Made sure it was close the skating rink and me job.”

((sorry it’s so short))