In need of... something (Ana-Lucia)

[shannon]

Shannon knew she shouldn't be here. She was still a few months shy of her 21st birthday, and while once she would have enjoyed the challenge of underaged drinking in a bar, now she was just hoping she wouldn't get carded. Sure, she had a fake ID, and she could always use her charms to flirt with the bartender to distract him into giving her a drink without even looking at her ID. But this wasn't about the challenge or the fun of breaking the rules. The truth was, she was just... lost. She felt like she was adrift, and she didn't belong anywhere anymore.

What the hell was wrong with her, anyway? It wasn't Boone, she was sure of that. They'd had sex, and it was wrong, but somehow that didn't even seem to matter anymore. Nothing had changed between them, but she still somehow felt different. It was like she wanted something, but had forgotten what it was. The emptiness inside her was threatening to consume her from the inside out. What was she missing? Why was it that nothing seemed to satisfy her? Why did she feel so... alone?

Shannon sat at the bar, moodily tracing an old water stain on the countertop's smooth surface. She had wandered into this place, not knowing why or what she wanted. She could smell food cooking in the back, and the scent mingled with the stronger odor of alcohol. The smell made her feel vaguely ill. She couldn't remember when she'd last eaten, but she didn't care.

She glanced up and saw a woman behind the bar, giving her a suspicious look. Frowning, she stared back down at the bar and didn't speak. She hoped she wouldn't be forced to leave. If she had to go back home alone, she was sure she would go crazy. For some reason, she felt like she needed to be here.

[Ana-Lucia Cortez]

Hefting the container of fresh glasses straight from the dishwasher onto her hip, Ana nudged the swinging door to the back open, making her way towards the counter. A few people were gathered there, a few sitting at the tables and booths against the back wall, one of her waiters attending to them, while another few sat at the stools sitting at the counter. It wasn't an unfamiliar site, the lack of people, it was still way too early for the place to be so crowded that she couldn't even see past those crowding the counter. Not that she really minded. Lots of business was good, but having too much of it at one time was exhausting.

Grunting slightly as she set it on the bar next to all the liquor bottles, her eyes slipped over her shoulder where they caught the sight of a young woman's face. Well, not that young, but young enough that it made her want to question if she should be allowed to be sitting in a bar. Though, it wasn't an uncommon site, sure kids came in all the time trying to get beer and the what not, they were never successful, but some also came for the food. However, something irked her with the fact there was a strange feeling buzzing in the back of her skull as she looked her over, but yet she couldn't quite put her finger on it as she turned her face away again, forcing her attention to the unfinished task of placing the rack of glasses in the cabinet.

Almost, just almost, it was like that nagging whisper that she was missing something, a familiar feeling that seemed over taking her more and more as the days past. Like something wasn't quite right, but yet, there was nothing she was missing. Nothing that was being left out. She was content, and maybe for the most part actually 'happy', so there was no reason to feel that way. Yet, every so often it would creep up on her, from the edges of her reason. A soft caress of a taunt that didn't have a reason to be there. A haunting paranoia, one which she didn't want or need. But after her return to Sydney, she reminded herself, it wasn't like she didn't have grounds to feel a little antsy.

Shaking her head to clear her head, dismissing the feeling, she straightened up a moment later when she had it set in it's place. Placing a hand over her hip, she turned around, pushing the strand of hair that slipped and fell into into her eyes away and behind her ear, getting a better look at the woman, who looked a little worse for wear. "Can I get you something?" Ana queried, as she stopped right in front of her, most of her weight resting on her one leg as she slouched in her stance, her finger tips resting on the edge of the counter as she waited.

[shannon]

The water stain reminded her of an island. Just this strange, slightly roundish shape in the middle of the shiny lacquered bartop. She ran her finger along the edges, imagining herself on a beach, baking under the hot sun. She had a song in her head... she vaguely remembered it from her days in St. Tropez. She hummed it softly to herself, trying to figure out why that song, of all songs, would have popped in her head at that moment. She never really thought about St. Tropez or Laurent these days. It was just another piece of her past that was better off forgotten.

Just like Australia. When she'd headed there after that guy... Luke... she'd thought of it was an adventure. She knew full well that Luke wasn't the guy she was going to marry or anything like that. She'd just gone with him to get the hell out of L.A. She broke up with him just three months later, after she met Bryan. And what a great choice that had been! Bryan was a first class loser. He'd pretended to be in on her scheme to get money from Boone... then ran off with the cash. Bastard.

Shannon just wished she could figure out what to do next. Usually, she didn't care if she had a plan. She had always just floated from one thing to another; one guy to another. But now nothing seemed to interest her. She just didn't care anymore. She wanted something else... something she couldn't identify.

She was shattered from her moody reverie by a voice just above her head. "Can I get you something?" Shannon looked up and saw the same woman she'd noticed earlier. She was standing right in front of her, slouching slightly. It took her an extra beat to realize that the woman was talking to her. For some reason, it seemed odd to her that someone would be talking to her. She had felt almost... invisible.

"Oh, um..." she said, stalling. She was very tempted to order a drink... something strong. But then she'd have to deal with being carded. She had a fake ID, of course... but something told her that this woman was not likely to be easily fooled. And Shannon didn't have it in her to fight over it right now.

"I'll have a Diet Coke, I guess," she said at last.

[Ana-Lucia Cortez]

As the woman looked up at her, there was something etched in them that struck a cord in Ana's chest, making her stomach clench in reflex. It was an odd reaction, one that she wasn't sure why it appeared. Or where it came from. It was just there like some sort of deja vu, like she should know but didn't. It was rather insisting too, a tug at the back of her brain, but as she tried to pull it back to figure it out, it was seeping away again behind what seemed like a brick wall.

I'll have a Diet Coke, I guess

Her words completely knocked out the sensation as she looked at her, giving her an order. Surprising really, figured with the way she was so lost in thought, most of the time those people wanted something strong. But then again, she did look like a bit of a kid too be drinking. However, with the expression in her face before she disturbed her, she was partially willing to forgo that little detail and pass her the strongest thing the girl wanted. But she wouldn't. Ana's morals, which she did indeed have, wouldn't let her.

"Alright," she told her with a nod, forcing her gaze away as she went to it. Grabbing a glass, she was moving towards the ice machine without pause, the ice finding its way into the glass shorty before the soda did too. However, her gaze floated back to her a moment before she headed back towards her again. Sending a coaster her way, she placed it in front her of with the glass on top. "One diet coke," she confirmed with a faint smile creasing her lips.

"You know, I don't think I've seen you here before," she couldn't help but comment after a moment past, trying to open up for some conversation, idle chitchat. The girl looked actually like she could use it. If not to open up to her, but at least trying to get her to stop looking so... well... lost.

[shannon]

Shannon couldn't quite understand it, but when she made eye contact with the woman, she felt a chill run down her spine. It reminded her of when she was little and Boone told her that feeling meant that someone had just walked over the spot where your grave was going to be. She remembered how she had started crying over that and told Boone not to be so creepy.

Still, she couldn't quite understand why she would have this reaction to this woman. She'd never seen her before; at least not as far as she could remember. And she seemed perfectly nice, albeit maybe a bit tougher than most of the people she was used to hanging out with.

Shannon watched the woman as she went over to get her drink. She moved with quick, deliberate movements that seemed oddly graceful. She knew her way around a bar, that much was certain. As she watched, Shannon was tempted to forget the rules and tell her to bring her a shot of tequila or vodka. Something strong to numb the strange, unsettled ache inside. But she didn't say a word. Maybe later she could pinch something from Sabrina's wet bar. Or course, to do that, she have to go over and see Sabrina, which was not likely to make her feel any better.

The woman pushed a coaster toward her, and Shannon stopped it lightly with a manicured fingertip. A second later, the woman placed the glass on top of it and smiled at her.

She was about to take a sip of her drink when the woman spoke. "You know, I don't think I've seen you here before."

Shannon managed a slight smile. "Yeah, I don't usually come to this part of town," she answered, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "I just needed to get out and walk... and I wound up here." She glanced around slightly. "It looks like a pretty cool place."

[Ana-Lucia Cortez]

A small chuckle seeped from Ana's mouth, soft and barely making a sound, but still there as a slow smirk formed on her lips. "Yeah, it's rather nice, I'll admit. Grant it, not so much when you got a bunch of drunks hanging around slobbering all over the bar, that's a bitch to clean up but otherwise... I can't complain," she joked a bit with a shrug of one of shoulders, glad to see that the woman actually smiled. Mission accomplished, she mused. Though, she wasn't going to push further for more conversation if the woman didn't want to talk, though she had a feeling she just might want someone to talk to.

"It's better when we've got one of the local bands playing here, though. I think in the next week or so we got the bassist from DriveShack or something or other coming here to play," she added, already knowing she was butchering the name. But it wasn't her that had booked the bands, she left that to Mario. He was the one with the bigger connections then her, and he knew music better then she did any day. Not that she minded. She liked handling everything else, when she was wasn't worrying about her other job that was.

"So what made you come to this part of town?" she questioned curiously. "I mean, not to sound nosy or anything, but you looked like someone kicked your puppy when you walked in." She kept her tone light, but also curious in a friendly way. She didn't want to come off in a suspious way, her cop way which tended to rub people the wrong way. It was a hard habit to break, but practice in this place helped her curve her edge.

But it was also up to her to spill the beans, it wasn't her place to pry, instead mediate like bartenders had a habit of doing, and Ana wasn't any different. If she wanted to divulge her life-story, she listen, if she didn't, she'd back off. Though, she didn't seem like a blabber really, even if she did look like a valley-girl to Ana, the nice clothes and all, the demeanor she was reading off her said that much. At the least she'd provide idle-chat if she so wanted it.

[shannon]

She couldn't explain why, but something about the way the woman was looking at Shannon gave her a strange feeling. She seemed perfectly nice, but for some reason, she felt strangely uneasy. To try and shake the feeling, Shannon stared down at her drink, stirring the fizzing liquid with her straw. She didn't really even want the drink, now that she thought about it. Or rather, she wanted a drink, but not this one. Maybe I could ask her to make it a rum and diet Coke instead, Shannon thought to herself.

As the woman mentioned that the bass player for DriveShaft was coming next week, Shannon glanced up and smiled slightly. "DriveShaft, huh?" she said. "I used to be a fan of theirs. I had a crush on the lead singer. I don't really remember the bass player, but maybe I'll have to check that out."

Taking a sip from the Diet Coke and finding it decidedly lacking from what she really wanted, she glanced up at the woman, who had just asked her another question. "I don't actually know what I'm doing here," she replied. "I know my step-brother sometimes hangs around this area, though. I guess I was hoping I'd run into him. I think he might be the only person who understands the way I've been feeling lately." She gave a hopeful half-smile. "I don't suppose you could add a little rum to this?"

[Ana-Lucia Cortez]

"Is that what they're called? I actually never heard of them..." Ana trailed off, looking a bit perplexed. Though, it couldn't have been her cup of tea. She knew of bands but none of the ones that kids today seemed to be interested in. Not that she was totally in the past, but few groups that were played in the stations really caught her attention anymore.

Though, tilting her head slightly to the side she listened to the young woman as she spoke, trying to get an understanding about her. It wasn't anything unusual, but most of the baggage that people brought to the bar wasn't anything she hadn't heard or seen before. People who were lost often came to the place looking for some solace, god knows she always did. But she never found the solutions to her problems at the bottom of the bottle, as much as she wished.

Biting on the inside of her mouth, Ana was tempted to protest in some way at the idea of giving her some rum in her soda. There was a possibility that she would get in trouble for doing it, but it wasn't like anyone on the force would actually go and fine her for such a thing, or even bother with asking her about it. Exhaling a bit, she nodded her head once. "Should I bother asking for ID?" Ana questioned, because she knew that the girl probably didn't have one saying she was over twenty-one. And if she did, it wouldn't have been valid.

But she didn't press or hesitate further, as she grabbed the nearest bottle. Takng the glass back, she poured a good amount of it in, watching as started bubbling more inside the glass before calming down again. Once she was done, she promptly returned it as she mixed. "Just don't tell anyone a'right?" she told her, raising her brows. The last thing she needed was some punk, underaged, kids coming barging in demanding drinks.

[shannon]

Shannon almost laughed at the thought of her fake ID. If she took that out, there was no way the woman would be fooled by it. Back in the days when she used if often, she had usually gotten into clubs by flirting with the bouncers, and not by using the ID. She wasn't even sure if she still carried it anymore. Giving the woman a sheepish grin, she confessed, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure my ID says I'm a 32-year old woman named Ramona... something." She laughed at the ridiculousness of it. "But look, I'm only a few months away from 21. And I only want the one drink. Last thing I need to do is get smashed in this neighborhood... I don't even know how I'd get home."

As the woman got out the bottle of rum and poured a small amount into her soda, Shannon gave a genuine smile. "Thanks. I promise I won't say a word."

And who would she tell, anyway? Most of her old friends from high school had long since moved on. Most of them were in college, and a few were already living their dreams of becoming desperate housewives. The only one she talked to anymore was her old friend Norah, and that was only because she had chosen to go to UCLA. Shannon wondered whether she had missed out on something by not going to college.

Taking a sip of her drink, she closed her eyes to the soothing warmth of the rum as it ran down her throat. Then she looked back up at the woman. "Thanks. Really, I owe you one." She hesitated a moment, then added, "I'm Shannon, by the way."

[Ana-Lucia Cortez]

The good ol' days of fake IDs, Ana thought wistfully. It seemed like only yesterday to her that she was doing the exact same thing, no thanks to her friends not that she cared anyway. It was the alternative to sneaking in the back doors at a club, or having someone over the age of twenty-one buy drinks and then hand them over, or rather use her power of persuasion to get a guy to buy her a drink. Always fun and always easy.

Pleased, however, that she wouldn't insist on another drink after and that she wouldn't tell about her slipping some rum, the slight bit of worry departed from her. Not it would have been a big deal anyway. Kids came in all the time, though she always weeded them out, and she was far from getting any fine from the police for one exception, the perks of knowing everyone that worked on the force. There was no way to get in trouble if no one wanted to write out the paperwork, they covered the asses of one of their own, or who they still considered one of their own.

"Don't worry about it," she quickly amended, grabbing herself a water bottle as she dismissed it. "Everyone has their shit days. And when they do what's a little alcohol right?" Unable to help it, she smirked, twisting the cap off and taking a swig, feeling rather parched.

I'm Shannon, by the way

Shannon, huh? Somehow that seemed to fit her perfectly. Swallowing, she looked at the woman as she put down the bottle on the counter top, smacking he lips she wiped her slightly damp hand on the leg of her jeans before holding out her hand. "Ana-Lucia, but everyone around here calls me Ana."

[shannon]

Shannon took the woman's hand. As expected, she had a firm, confident handshake. Boone had always claimed that was a way to tell if the person had a strong character, or good integrity, or something like that. She had never really paid a lot of attention to Boone's silly ideas.

"Nice to meet you, Ana," she said. Normally, this woman wasn't the kind of person Shannon would ever talk to or be friends with, but, despite her initial feelings of uncertainty and discomfort, she found herself feeling somewhat at ease. For reasons she couldn't understand, she felt as if Ana was something of a kindred spirit... maybe she was also feeling slightly lost.

"I really don't make a habit of wandering into random bars and asking for drinks, just so you know," she assured her. "Usually, I spend most of my time in spas or shopping. But lately, I've been feeling kind of empty, you know what I mean? Like I'm missing something. I've felt it ever since I got back to L.A, but it's been worse lately."

Shannon paused and took a sip from her drink, feeling the warm burning sensation as the rum-tinted coke slid down her throat. Looking back up at Ana, she asked, "Ever been to Australia?"

She couldn't explain what had possessed her to ask the question. Ana would probably think she was nuts. And maybe she was. But suddenly she found that she needed the answer desperately.

[Ana-Lucia Cortez]

The woman was definitely not what Ana exactly.... expected. There was some odd relief at her presence, even though at first look she'd peg her for more of a well... Blonde. Someone more air-headed, smaller IQ, and bigger wallet. Like most of the chicks she had the 'pleasure' of going to high school with. She didn't seem to fit that mold fully, at least in the typical stereotypical way she originally thought of.

"Likewise," came the simple reply from her lips, before she released the young woman's hand and shoved it into her jean's pocket, shifting on her feet as they started to hurt some from standing so long. Though, after a moment, Ana grabbed a stool that sat on her side of the counter, pulling it right in front of Shannon, all the while as she listened to the other woman talk. She could afford to sit down and talk more with her, it wasn't like it was likely a horde of people would be running in that would need her dire attention.

However, her mind did catch on to her tone. Mostly on the part of the missing something bit. She could resignate with that much, a little to much. It seemed that as far as she could remember in the last few months, while everything was fine and dandy, things were finally put behind her, like something wasn't. She tried to brush past it, but every so often it would sneak up after her. Like the kind of thing where she felt the need to look over her shoulder and make sure that she wasn't being followed. Almost like paranoia. "Kind of like a nagging feeling in the back of your head that you're supposed to remember something, but you don't know what, right?" she found herself throwing out, the words slipping from her lips before she could clamp it closed.

However, she didn't get a chance to cover her admittance as the strange question was asked towards her. Frowning in confusion, not aimed towards the girl, but rather more towards herself. Mostly because it was random question, yet she had been there. "Actually... I have. A few months ago..." A few months ago when she had been there with a guy named Tom, 'body guarding' him when she needed a break from everything around her. And then right before a narrowly-escaped death aboard then, she would have died on that flight, like that nice guy that she met before at the bar before she went and canceled. "Believe it or not, but I was supposed to be on that Oceanic Flight that crashed flying here. Though I changed it to take one that was leaving earlier," she told her with a casual shrug. Though it wasn't all that casual talk. Part of her still wondered what made her be so lucky as to change it right before, making her cheat death yet again.

[shannon]

Shannon stared into her drink, watching as the bubbles rose to the surface, then sat there for a while until they popped. Thoughts of Australia were, as always, on the very tip of her mind. It wasn't that anything that had happened there had been particularly great , and some of it, including everything that had happened with Boone, ranked among the things she'd most prefer to forget. But there was something about the place, something she couldn't name, that was haunting her.

So, when Ana mentioned that she, too, had been in Australia, and that she had almost been on the crashed plane, Flight 815, Shannon's heart nearly stopped. She looked away from her drink and straight into Ana's eyes. "You... you were almost on Flight 815, too?" she repeated. "I... my brother and I, actually, were both supposed to be on that same flight. But we couldn't get into First Class, so I made him change to a later flight." She gave a nervous laugh. "There was just no damn way I was flying from Australia to LA in coach." She shuddered in disgust. "Turns out, it saved our lives. We would have been dead, like all those people. I guess... knowing that I survived by sheer luck... it's been bugging me for a while. I can't seem to get past it."

She sighed and took a long swallow from her drink. The burning of the alcohol and the fizzing sensation of the liquid combined to fill her with a warm, fuzzy feeling, and she smiled. "Maybe it was fate that brought me in here to talk to you. Just like it was fate that let us both survive, instead of getting on that plane."

[Ana-Lucia Cortez]

Ana's head perked up a bit more as Shannon looked up at her suddenly. Did she say something wrong? However, that thought was quickly out of her head as the woman before her nearly spluttered to get words out of her mouth. Probably if she wasn't sitting stool her legs might have lost her balance at that fact that Shannon mention that she was also supposed to be on Flight 815 as well. It really and truly was something. Something strange... weird even. Not towards the girl, but just that whole ordeal. It still hit her funny too, what if she had been on that plane. What would have happened. How would her mother have reacted, after all she had gone missing.

But with the whole mention of fate, she couldn't help but think back to the man, Tom. Fate had brought them to a bar where they first met and gave her a job to Austrailia, and then where they went their separate ways. "Fate's a funny thing..." Ana mumbled, taking another sip of her water. But it was rather, well.. strange. What were the odds two complete strangers would miss the same flight and end up at the same place three months after. One in a million probably. Yet, they apparently they had beaten the odds.

"I went there to escape for a bit... Things just got heavy here for me and when a guy offered me a job that I really could refuse... dropped everything and I spent a week down there. Didn't do much of the job really, just spent the entire week getting drunk off my ass with him before I couldn't take it anymore..." Ana shared, unsure why it came out so easily to a complete stranger, but it didn't seem to bother her. "Booked a flight, and I was set to go on the 815, tail section, but I decided after to change it to earlier, just wanted to get home, you know?"

"Though I talked to a guy beforehand, Jack or something, same flight... Really, really nice guy. He was going home to bury his dad who passed away... I'm sure he wasn't so lucky." So lucky to change his flight and change his fate or something. But there was nothing she could do now. "But you can't change the past... Just gotta keep living I guess...."

"You want another drink?" she suddenly asked Shannon after a minute, the water suddenly not satisfying her at that moment as she stood up to grab herself something. She wasn't sure first what, but maybe she should start small and then work her way up. A wine cooler might do, and she snatched it from the fridge under the counter, pulling the cap off before she shut it closed it with her foot.

[shannon]

Shannon listened quietly as Ana talked about her time in Australia and the flight back. She found herself thinking back to the airport, trying to remember the people she might have passed. How many of those people were dead now? At the time she had barely noticed most of them. She'd been too full of herself to care about those people and what might happen to them. But then, wasn't that how life was sometimes? The person you passed on the street in the morning could get flattened by a car later that night, and you'd probably never even know about it.

Shannon gave a faint smile at the offer of another drink. There was still a small amount left in her glass, and she was already dreading the moment when the drink was gone. "Well, if you're pouring, I wouldn't mind a little more," she said. "But I shouldn't have more than that. I usually get pretty buzzed after two drinks. I used to get pretty drunk when I was in Australia," she admitted. "I went there for a guy, and I stayed long after I'd dumped him. And I'd go out to bars and just get trashed."

She was surprised to realize that her behavior, which had seemed pretty normal to her then, now seemed so... trashy. Immature. "But since I came back, I haven't even wanted to do any of that. I guess I got my fill of it. I don't know why... maybe the fact that I almost died with the people on that plane had something to do with it." She paused as a memory floated into her mind. "I don't remember most of the people that were there that day... if I saw you, I don't remember. But there was this one guy... An Arab or something. Kinda hot, actually. He asked me to watch his bag for him. And then I reported him to the security guard." She shrugged. She wasn't proud of the way she had acted that day. "But you know, maybe I delayed him enough to save his life."