<div class="floatleft">(https://i.ibb.co/VpwV62M/devon-daniels-5-crop.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Devon Daniels (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=308599.msg15007879#msg15007879)<br/><strong>Age:</strong>28<br/><strong>Sexuality:</strong>Heterosexual<br/><strong>Hometown:</strong>New York City<br/><strong>Date/Time:</strong>July 3rd, 2019 | After Midnight<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Villa Backyard, Grassy Edge of the Infinity Pool<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong>A pair of blue plaid boxer shorts<br/><strong>Coupled with:</strong><del>Cleo Balleta</del>Erm, no one, apparently<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Elsa<br/><br/><hr/><br/>The girl was most certainly charming. Just the manner in which her fingers had placed themselves upon an invisible keyboard, her eyes closed, envisioning the instrument in her head as she called the music to mind. He could only chuckle, as it was something he had done often. I mean, he was a metal head. They all pretended to air guitar when there was no actual physical instrument present. Yet Elsa's own self-deprecation hinted that she was not used to performing in front of others, though she already had plenty of the charisma for it.<br/><br/>"No laughing," he said, crossing over his heart as if to solemnly swear. A promise he'd break shortly, though not in a mocking manner. It took him a few bars, but once he recognized the melody he could not suppress the chuckle from his lips. It was one of those bands that Marshall had specifically banned from the Juke Box, and for a while he even actively turned anyone wearing their t-shirt away from the bar. It wasn't until the vocalist had recently passed on that Marshall had decided to let<em>that</em>particular attitude soften.<br/><br/>Devon's own background with the band was... mixed. He had discovered them not long after his brother had first bestowed upon Devon albums such as Ride the Lightning (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ride_the_Lightning), Youthanasia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youthanasia), Screaming for Vengeance (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screaming_for_Vengeance), Something Wicked This Way Comes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Something_Wicked_This_Way_Comes_(Iced_Earth_album)), and Holy Diver (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Diver). Other kids in his school listened to Linkin Park, and so he had downloaded the tune on his home computer. Next time his brother was over, he went into a rather lengthy lecture into why such metal was an affront to the genre and that Devon should never listen to it again. He didn't obey, at least immediately, but it didn't take too long before he began to discover bands that he preferred. The older he got, the more Devon had laid on the hate to the band, but sitting here, listening to her sing and reminisce about her own bedroom... it was nostalgic.<br/><br/><strong>"Sing along with me if you know it. You must, everyone does."</strong><br/><br/>Uh oh.<br/><br/>So Devon looked back, though he studied her lips as she sang. It was as if he was hoping to read the lyrics from her mouth before the sound soothed forth. Unfortunately, most of the words were long since forgotten, save for one particularly stand out line.<br/><br/><em>"...I want to do is be more like me and be less like you"</em><br/><br/>He nodded, singing that piece in key with her, his own foot tapping the timing. However, he could only hum the melody, adding snatches and bits here and there. It had been, what... eighteen? Twenty years? A tune that he heard on occasion, but hadn't really paid attention to in a long, long time. A surprising amount of it had stuck in his mind, but not enough for him to truly contribute in a meaningful way. He took note of how she nodded along to the line of failing, pocketing that action so that he might bring it out at an opportune moment to inquire. He tried to add in at the end, but the song took enough of a shift that he stumbled, tripping on his own tongue. He chuckled, and allowed herself to finish on her own, fingers tapping upon the blades of grass softly.<br/><br/><strong>"I just love their music. When I was young it got me through so much and... Well... Later when my papa passed it reminded me of how great he was. He always supported me through everything. Even putting up with my very overly emotional teen years."</strong>Elsa gave a chuckle here, almost as if there was a whole kaleidoscope of memories that flashed in her mind in that very instant.<strong>"Well I'm still emotional just not in the same way. Although, I got angry earlier today and it's very out of character for me. I didn't like it... So basically that's why I'm out here singing to myself. Why are you out here? It's late you should be sleeping. Surely the dulcet tones of one of your fellow islanders massacring a song didn't draw you out?"</strong><br/><br/>He shook his head at her self-assessment of her voice, a smile on his face. "Massacre nothing. You should hear my buddy Bumbles. Sounds like a dying cat in an alleyway and lacks any sense of rhythm." He studied her for a moment, considering her question and how to answer it. His teeth dug into the inside of his lip as he pondered, then his fingers brushed stray strands of his hair behind his ear.<br/><br/>"As for why I'm out here, well, turns out I adjusted to Cleo wrapping herself around me like the peel to a banana," he grinned. "Without her arms and thighs holding tight I just found myself rolling around, unable to get any rest." His eyes turned up to hers. "Which is when I noticed you were gone." He looked out towards the pool, the lights causing the blue lining of it to shine upwards through the rippling surface, bouncing and shifting the illumination in hypnotic ways across the surroundings. "At first I didn't think anything of it, but then I remembered when I first arrived. You were the one in the Jeep ahead of me, and I dunno if yours was running behind or mine early, but I was close enough to hear you shouting and hollering. You seemed really excited to be here." He faced back towards her again, though the smile was weaker. "And I suddenly realized that you'd been in my situation a whole day more. Only difference is, I'm here because I lost a bet. You seemed like you were genuinely excited to be here, and..." He bit his lower lip in thought, then readjusted himself, his right leg bent but laying on the ground while his left remained upright, foot planted on the ground, his left arm resting on his knee while he braced himself against his right palm. "Well, when I realized how much you must be disappointed and hurting, I just..." He shrugged. "I didn't think. I just felt like finding you, see if you might need..." He paused, then grinned, unable to hold back a soft shake of laughter, his shoulders bouncing as his head bowed forward, hair cascading down. "This is going to sound dumb, but I'm a bartender, so being an ear to listen or a shoulder for crying is something I've kind of developed over time. So, I guess I'm offering that to you, if you'd like."<br/><br/>He paused, eyes scanning around the quiet and calm yard once more. "Of course, I also understand the desire to just sing it out. Nothing captures emotion like song, right?" When he finished, he looked back to her, his eyes locked on her own.