A Club, Jim's Universe, Friday FT

[whenshewasnice]

Envy didn't enjoy touring, not really. Not like this, anyway, when every day it was a different city, a different universe and her days were packed with interviews upon interviews to the point where it didn't even matter that she was hopping around the multiverse because it all got repetitive and disorienting and it was hard to keep track of where she was, anyway.

But the shows made it worth it. Every night, she remembered what the point of this whole endeavour was: on stage, she felt alive. She felt at home.

And in that respect, tonight was no different. The place was packed, as most stops on this weird tour were. Envy's crew had made good work on researching who the relevant hipster influencers of the area were, and invited them directly. They did the rest. And so the energy in the club was good. Easy to feed off of. Envy was practically glowing as she strutted about the stage, holding her audience's rapt attention with her every move. Every song.

Towards the end of her show, she dedicated a song to a "blue-eyed farm boy", and made a mental note to check the blogs tomorrow for any speculation about that. Just for fun. Let them gossip. She'd just sing.

"No more hot-headed Saturdays; they got it, they want it, they give it away. Tell me one thing you would never do; I was looking for a hooker when I found you."

Then, with a few more songs – one encore included – the show was over and Envy was backstage, changing into a different dress while her crew got to packing things away. Security at the backstage door had been given a printout of a cheesy, smiley photo of Jim for reference in case he came by, but Envy was also planning to head back out into the club once it cleared out some, if he didn't choose to come to her first.

She wasn't sure he'd made it. She was hoping he had. She wanted tonight to be a little different from all the other ones on this tour.

[ooc: NFB due to distance, for the mentioned boy with the bluest eyes!]

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[pursuedthestars]

Jim, amazingly, had made it. He'd come in a little late having been held up but he was there, sitting near the back with a drink in one hand and a smile on his face. Any other man might have blushed at the mention of a song but he just got smugger and smugger.

He waited till she was done, didn't leave the club and waited to see if she'd make her way out into the public or if he'd have to get up and find her.

[whenshewasnice]

Envy was taking her time. She hadn't meant to, but then some hopefuls showed up at the backstage entrance and were identified by her staff as relatively Big Deals and, well. Envy was at work, here.

So she had to exchange some pleasantries and pose for some photographs that were going to give her good press. So to speak, since it was all about bypassing the actual press.

[pursuedthestars]

Jim didn't have huge amounts of time but he had enough that he could sip his drink, order a new one and wait for her to do her thing. He didn't really get the whole celebrity thing, not after so long away from things like television and movies and big deals.

But, it was her thing and he was willing to wait it out.

[whenshewasnice]

It didn't take forever, anyway. Envy wasn't massive here, not yet. On the rise but still just building up the hype.

Which meant that eventually, she was able to make her way back into the club. And to the bar there.

[pursuedthestars]

"Done with your adoring public?" Jim asked her, glancing over and smirking. "How many autographs did you sign?"

[whenshewasnice]

"Several," Envy replied with a small smile. "But we're still more at the photo stage, here."

The avalanche of autographs would come later. She ordered a cocktail – something unnecessarily fancy without a whole lot of alcohol.

"I see you escaped Starfleet's clutches for the evening."

[pursuedthestars]

"Had to promise to do some extra duty later this week but I'm here," he said, toasting her and grinning. "So, I would have loved to get here without promising to work but the trade off seemed worth it."

[whenshewasnice]

"I'm always worth it." And so modest about it, too. "Did you enjoy the show?"

[pursuedthestars]

"It was all right," he said, tipping his drink back and hiding a smirk. "Getting better every time I see you."

[whenshewasnice]

Envy squinted at him for that first part. Only relented somewhat for the second.

"'All right' isn't really accurate," she informed him with a drawl. "But I am getting better all the time."

[pursuedthestars]

"That was a joke just in case you weren't aware," Jim reassured her. "You were great. Very good. Pretty sure I saw some adolescent boy crying."

[whenshewasnice]

"Yeah, they do that sometimes." She shrugged. "Mostly it's about knowing they'll never get in my pants."

A beat.

"Or my dress, whatever."

[pursuedthestars]

Jim snorted and couldn't help but ask, "Never actually slept with a fan of yours?"

[whenshewasnice]

"Oh, several," Envy replied easily without missing a beat. "Just not the adolescent ones."

Obviously.

[pursuedthestars]

"That would be creepy," Jim agreed, tilting his head to one side and adding, "Also, illegal."

[whenshewasnice]

"And that is why I don't do that," she said, before sipping her freshly-arrived drink. "And illegality and the creep factor aside, teenagers aren't that good at sex anyway, so that's not a loss."

[pursuedthestars]

"I was good at it when I was a teenager," Jim said, smirking. "I was very good at it."

[whenshewasnice]

"Yes," Envy agreed, because she wasn't in the mood to argue with such an obvious fact. "But we weren't average teenagers, Jim."

[pursuedthestars]

"Still counts," Jim said because he wasn't about to let her add a disclaimer to his prowess. "Anyway, probably just gotten better with age but I haven't had the time to really test the notion."

[whenshewasnice]

Yes, it was such a disaparaging disclaimer to imply he was exceptional.

"Or you could be rusty," she retorted.

[pursuedthestars]

"Bite your tongue," Jim said, shaking his head. "You say that again, you'll never find out what I am."

[whenshewasnice]

"Who says I want to?" Envy replied, smirking at his cute new icon, even if he couldn't exactly tell that was what she was doing. "You're not exactly the center of my world anymore."

Not that he'd strictly speaking ever been.

[pursuedthestars]

"I'm the center of everyone's universe," Jim told her cockily. "But, I'm cool with that not happening. Other fish in the sea, other things to do, and I probably shouldn't be late when I go back later tonight."

[whenshewasnice]

Envy wrinkled her nose. "Oh, God, did you just refer to me as a fish?"

She was definitely joking.

"Offensive."

[pursuedthestars]

"You know, there are other things in the sea besides fish," Jim pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "You could be an eel."

[whenshewasnice]

Envy tsked at him, tilting her head. "Why would you catch an eel in the first place? You make no sense, Jim."

[pursuedthestars]

"Why wouldn't you catch an eel?" Jim asked, shrugging. "Because you can, because it's cool and because no one else does. Be unique."

[whenshewasnice]

"You're just dancing around the fact that the metaphor is a broken one," she informed him, teasing because she could.

Touring was a lonely thing to do.

[pursuedthestars]

"Nope," Jim said, shaking his head. "My metaphor is fine and you're just obsessed with being right."

[whenshewasnice]

"Those things aren't mutually exclusive," Envy pointed out, shrugging but just barely. "I can be obsessed with being right and your metaphor can still be a mess."

[pursuedthestars]

"Metaphor's fine," he singsonged at her, grinning over the rim of his glass. "You just won't admit it. It's fine and everyone in this place knows it's fine."

[whenshewasnice]

Envy rolled her eyes. "Whatever. At least you're pretty, otherwise I wouldn't keep your delusions around."

[pursuedthestars]

"You're gonna hurt my feelings if you're not careful and I won't ever come to your little concerts again," he said, sighing in a long suffering manner. "I don't see anyone else from school here. I'm special."

[whenshewasnice]

"Of course you're special," Envy scoffed, shaking her head before sipping her drink again. "Do you think my people chose this world as one of the ones to target on accident?"

[pursuedthestars]

"I don't know, I just assumed you were targeting everything," Jim said, shrugging, "and that I just happened to be lucky and special."

[whenshewasnice]

"It's not luck."

It was sentimentality, if anything. And very deliberate.

[pursuedthestars]

"So, what is it?" Jim asked, curious to see if she'd admit what it was or not.

[whenshewasnice]

"It's convenient," Envy said. "I have some understanding of the world, and coming here means I get to maybe see you sometimes without sacrificing work days for it."

She shrugged a shoulder.

"I like you. It's not a secret."

[pursuedthestars]

"You sound like such a teenage girl when you say that," Jim said, teasing lightly. "It's cute. You should keep it up and keep telling me you like me. Helps my ego."

[whenshewasnice]

"How late does your leave last?" Envy asked him. "Because I'm feelng charitable and could probably tell you that a few more times. In private."

She actually wanted to talk about other things in private, too. But saying that wouldn't have gone with her flirting.

[pursuedthestars]

"Just till midnight," Jim said regretfully. "Barely got this night off but I gotta be back before tomorrow and that means before the clock ticks over to the next day. So, a few hours."

[whenshewasnice]

It was a good thing that Envy had more or less regained the control she had over her emotions as a teenager. It meant the disappointment was only a quick flicker on her face: quite literally blink-and-you-miss-it.

Then she was already smiling again, even if it was faint. "Well, then I should probably make the most of those few hours," she said. And finished her drink.

[pursuedthestars]

"Sorry," he said, frowning. "I wish it could be longer but you know, responsibility and all that shit. I've still got some time and I should have a longer shore leave soon."

[whenshewasnice]

Envy rolled her eyes at him, but it was good-natured. Or at least as good-natured as Envy got in public, anyway.

"Shush. You're wasting precious time."

[pursuedthestars]

"You only get to tell me what to do behind closed doors," Jim said, getting to his feet and smirking. "So, better get there quick before I start misbehaving."

[whenshewasnice]

Envy got to her feet, too, and her phone was already in her hand. Only took a few quick taps to alert her driver that she was ready to leave.

"Yes, I guess I have to get you behind a closed door fast."

Good thing, then, that she was already nudging him in the direction of the exit.

[pursuedthestars]

"Yes, you should," Jim said, slipping his hand into hers and waiting to see if that would be allowed. "Help me fill these last few hours of freedom in a nice way."

[whenshewasnice]

It might not have been allowed if he'd asked about it. But he hadn't, so...

Envy's hand closed around his for an easy hold. Truth be told, she probably needed it, but she wouldn't have admitted it.

So she just smirked at him as she used the hold for leading him out of the club. Out the back – she'd already done enough socializing with fans for tonight. Besides, that was where the car was, with one back door already open and inviting.