His turn was coming up soon, and Flood was getting a bit antsy. Right now, someone was singing Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama," and while they were decent, he could hardly wait for his own turn. Flood had his own song all picked out: Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." He had once sung the song to Tila Davies when the two had been dating, and it was one he absolutely loved. Now all he had to do was wait for two more people after this one before he could go.

Maybe I should branch out and pick new songs, Flood thought absently. He had only chosen songs from a few different artists whenever he had come here to sing, but there weren't too many bands that he liked. He liked to sing, but he didn't listen to much music anymore. He just couldn't afford to go out and buy random CDs, and he had no computer with which to steal music off the internet. But that was alright; he knew enough songs to make karaoke fun.

"Sweet Home Alabama" ended and the person stepped off the small stage, making way for the next in line.

((OOC: I couldn't help myself.))

Karaoke bars... what was there to be said about them? Well, one could be sure to find quite a few drunken people who think they are the next Mariah Carrey, and try to be just that. Those ones tended to just get boo-ed off the stage, all in good fun of course. This was part of where Tila's amusement came from. She had to admit, one of her favourite things about American Idol were the horrible auditions. While she had always been able to sing, and loved it, she wouldn't do it in front of an audience. This didn't stop her from watching others though.

Tila flashed her still fairly new over 21 ID at the bartender and ordered an apple martini. He still looked skeptical because with all honesty, and james had told her this many times before, she liiked like she was about fifteen. He served her anyway and she stared at all the liquer bottles, listening to "Sweet Home Alabama". The guy wasn't horrible, but she happened to love the song so nothing but the original would be the best.

The elemental had sang once, and once only at an establishment like this before, and while the company was nice, as well as the experience, the memories before it, she'd love to be able to forget. She'd seen matt a while ago, months, maybe a year, she couldn't remember honestly, but figured he'd moved on again. She smiled at the thought of him a little, he was the first friend she'd made after becoming a mutant.

The small brunette kicked at the bar lightly with the toe of her boot to the tune before it died and someone else came up to sing.

((Yay, at least someone responded. I thought the site was dead.))

After the song ended, Flood decided to get a drink from the bar in anticipation of his own song. The next person in line got up on the stage and started singing the worst cover of Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box" that he had ever heard. Not to mention it was a girl singing it, so it just plain would not have the same effect right off the bat. Somewhere in the afterlife, Matt thought, Kurt Cobain would be crying if he heard this.

At the bar, Flood got the bartender's attention and handed him some money. "Give me whatever I can get for this, on the rocks." The bartender nodded and went about his business. Flood really needed to lighten up on the alcohol, but thanks to his power he could simply keep himself from getting drunk. He only really liked the taste, after all.

Turning back to watch the horrible performance, someone caught Flood's eye, another person at the bar.

"Tila, is that you?" he asked tentatively, wondering if he was just mistaking someone for his ex because of the lighting.

As the next person started, Tila went from content to a little bit sour. She didn't care for Nirvana much to begin with, but she'd listen to them if she had to but this was just brutal...

The young woman finished off her martini and ordered a coffee with baily's. The bartender looked at her funny after finishing so quickly. a lot of people did really, like when she went out with James on her birthday, she held her liquer was well if not better then him. She wondered if it had to do with part of the healing factor or metabolism or something with her mutation. Whatever it was, Tila liked to baffle guys with her ability to hold her own.

A minute later, someone, a male said her name, and she looked over, her blue-green eyes locking with the hazel eyes of someone, who even after all this time, was very near and dear to her heart. Matt Braxton. A grin spread across her delicate features. "The one and only." She said turning on the bar stool to face him, tucking her, straightened for once, long dark hair behind her ear.

If she'd been really thinking about it, it should have crossed her mind that she'd run into Matt here, him and his karaoke. "I should have known you'd be here." she said with a giggle. It was good to see him, if she was being honest with herself, she did miss Matt.

Flood grinned back at Tila; it really was her. After all this time, he still cared very much for her. After all, what he told himself was the biggest mistake of his life was abdnoning her without a word. And all because he had wanted to face his demons alone. He was really a stupid fool about all that.

"Should have known? Why?" he asked as the bartender brought him his drink. At that, Flood frowned a little. Hopefully she had not planned on his being here because of his drinking. Then again, he had not started drinking until after he'd stopped seeing her.

He moved into the empty seat between them so that they could hear each other better over the horrid singing, all the while trying to think of what to say. It had been so long, and now she found him at a bar and waiting to sing in front of other people again. If he had a choice, this was not where he would have wanted them to run into each other after so long.

Then it hit him. "Oh, you mean 'cause of the singing. Right." Flood laughed a little, relieved that it was not the alternative. "Yeah, I never really stopped doing it. In fact, one more guy after this girl and then I'll be up there. I hope you stick around for the show." He grinned at her. "How have you been, Tila? I haven't seen you in ages."

Tila took a quick sip of her warm drink, thinking perhaps she should have gotten it iced. She crossed one leg over the other, looking very pale against her black skirt and boots.

"Why would I expect to see you here?" she repeated with a small laugh. Then she saw the lightbulb go on in his head. The young woman nodded at his guess about the singing. She nodded at him, planning to stay to hear him.

If nothing else durring their time together, however breif it seems now, she felt like they got very close. Now whether or not all that she knew still applied was a different story. Herself, for example, was a lot the same, but also a lot different, she was much more mature, and much less naive then she had once been. The walking lightning bolt had been through trauma, and heartache and all of it. But Tila thought of herself as a better person now.

So how has she been? Well, good now... She thought with an inner smirk. "I have been good. I'm a teacher now, at the Academy." She told him. Tila's hand reached up to the dangling circle with a lightning bolt in the middle that hung at her neck, perfect placement with her pale pink v-neck tee. "I swear i dont remember being such a pain in the ass to my teachers." She joked, which he would get, because Tila had always been the good girl.

"What about you, huh? How are you, what have you been up to?" the texas-native asked.

"You're a teacher now? That's great. I'm sure the students like you even if they act up." It was good to know that Tila was making something of herself.

The Nirvana song finally ended after what seemed like an eternity and the cheery yet horrible singer stepped down from the small stage. If Flood was religious, he would have thanked a god for the end of that horrid performance. But then again, he was being a bit tough on the young woman; she had had fun, and that was what karaoke was about. The next person stepped onto the stage and started singing a song Flood did not recognize. He paid half attention to the performance, knowing he would be up next.

"But yeah, I've been alright," he told Tila in response to her question. "I'm not doing anything but working right now, but I come here every now and then for some fun. I actually have an apartment not far from here." He put back some of his drink, relishing the taste of whatever he had been given -- he liked to drink, but he did not know many drinks by taste alone. "So what do you do for fun nowadays?"

Tila smiled again. "Better reaction then my friend Dante, when I told him I was a teacher." She laughed. "I believe his exact words were 'Dear god why do they want to torture the kids' " she remembered meeting him on the roof with his little girl and 'girlfriend', that whole situation still confused her...

The next singer was doing some Cher song that she despised, and she hoped to God that matt would sing something better.

"I hear ya on the working." she said with a smile. Tila still worked at the coffee shop when she wasn't teaching or training or on a mission. She took another sip and set the glass down, but still in her line of sight of course. She hadn't realized her hands were a bit hot. Tila was still getting used to not wearing gloves sometimes. With her absorption accessories, as she called them, she could go normal for a few hours, and it was nice.

"Fun? what is this word you speak of?" she teased. "I dunno, I guess missions and training are fun, babysitting my niece." To be honest, Tila didn't go out much anymore, and she realized it just then. 'What about you, Mr. Karaoke?" she smiled, her blue-green orbs darting over to the stage, then back to Matt's face.

Flood spread his arm out before them, indicating the bar. "This is about all the fun I have anymore. I don't keep in touch with anyone at the academy anymore." He paused. "Man, I could use a mission or some training. It'd be nice to break out of the routine I've fallen into."

While that was true, Flood felt like he could not keep ties to the academy. He had left it and all his friends behind for selfish means, and even if he went back he would probably have to enlist as a student again, not having finished his schooling the last time around. It sucked, but it was not something he was intent on fixinf anytime soon. There were other things he could be doing with his time now.

He took another drink. "So, you have a niece? Since when?" He had never heard of her brother having a kid before, but then again, he had never met her brother.

It must be nice to keep ties with family, Flood thought with a smile. The only person he kept in touch with was his older sister, and she was too far away to visit. His parents, they weren't worth contacting anymore, and he had no idea what the situation was with his supposed twin sister, whoever and wherever she was.

"Yeah, I understand that. not much to do here. I miss New York."She said a hint of sadness there. she did miss it, not that there was anything wrong with California, but there were only two places she had thought of as home, Dallas and New York. "If you ever feel the need to come back, Vlad and I would welcome another half on the sucurity staff." She knew it was futile to offer, but at least he could know if he ever wanted to, they would welcome him back.

"And if you want somebody to spar with, gimmie a call, Matt. Not that it'd be a fair fight." she said with a giggle. Tila remembered the irony while they were dating, why she had to be careful, so she didn't shock him even a little. their powers just did not mix

Tila smiled, thinking of her beautiful neice. She still never liked the means by which she came, but she loved Zoe to death and spoiled her rotten. "Um, about four months I think." She tried to rememebr, the day of the birht was not a good one, she'd gotten jumped and a mild concussion that day... "I'd rather not go into the lengthy story, mainly here," her eyes scanned the room, telling him, because of all the humans, "But long story short, Zoe, that's her name, is James and Suki's child."

Tila watched for his reation, she, herself still wondered about it. She had a slightly dysfuntional family now, but she loved them anyway, Suki too, no matter how much she disapproved, She'd trusted the academy in her hands while her and Bek were indisposed, and that took some major trust.

"James and Suki? But isn't she supposed to be married to someone else?" Not to mention the fact that she weirded Flood out. She was one of those people he had never really cared to get to know, and he still did not. Still, he waved off the question even after he asked it. Tila's brother and his personal life were none of his business.

Instead, Flood decided to turn the conversation back to the training. "I might have to take you up on your offer to spar, though," he said, taking another drink. "Fair fight or not, I don't want to get rusty. Besides," he added with a grin, "I think I could take you." That was probably untrue. If powers were involved, Tila had him entirely beat; if they were not, he still was not a very good fighter anymore.

Flood spared some attention for the current singer and their disappointing song. Since he had never heard it before, he had no idea how close it was to finishing, but he was ready for his turn, so he figured it was time to get ready. "So, are you ready to see a halfway decent performance?" Flood asked Tila with a smile. He finished off his drink.

"Yeeeeeah..." she drawled, with a troubled look on her face. "Be glad you don’t have to deal with that..." she added, with an uncomfortable chuckle. Tila was actually mad at James and worried currently because she hadn't seen him in months, he just disappeared, and she'd electrocute him the next time she saw him.

Tila let a smile spread over her face the next moment, training always made her happy, it was the tomboy in her, the loved to hang out with the boys when she was little, and that never changed, she liked even more, however, to kick their butts.

"Any time, anywhere" She replied, letting go of her necklace and finishing her drink, but not ordering another just now. "Bring it Matt, I've been training with Vlad, which, when he wants, can be a very scary guy." she added. This was very true, her dear friend kicked her butt many times, but he was also older and quicker, due to his mutation. Tila always thought that was unfair, but hey, what are you going to do? Even before that, with Dante and, much as she hated to even think his name now, Adrian, they were fairly equally matched.

At his next question, Tila mimed looking around a bit. "Really? where is this person?" she teased, her blue green eyes meeting his again. The last singer finished and now it was Matt's turn. "And it's Flood up at bat." she said, with his alias only loud enough for him to hear.

Flood took notice that it was his turn to sing finally. He laughed a little at Tila's jokes, but in actuality, he was a bit nervous. Normally, he was perfectly fine singing in front of strangers, but now that Tila was here it changed things. Besides, the song was the same one he had sung to her when they were going out, so it would surely bring back memories of both the good and bad sort. Or at least it would for him, but that was a risk he was aware of when he chose the song.

"Alright," he said, taking a breath. "Here goes nothing."

Once the last singer stepped off the stage, Flood took their place. The music started and he took another breath. This was his time to shine; when he sang, he was the center of attention. Sometimes. Flood started singing at the same moment Steven Tyler would have, letting the music pulse through him. He loved this song.

As he sang, he found his eyes returning time and time again to Tila. All the memories of her were coming back to him, and the only bad one was when she moved on after he left her. Together, they had had no bad moments he could remember. He tried to take his eyes off her and found it was difficult.

As Matt got up from his stool, Tila vaguely wondered what song he would sing, he hadn't told her. Oh well, she liked some surprises. A second later, some big guy asked if Matt's seat was taken and she said yes and shoo'ed him off. 'Guys...' she thought rolling her eyes, she had to remember she was in a bar though.

From the first note in the song, her head and eyes snapped directly to the stage, where her friend and Ex were on the stage, in the spot;light. "oh my god..." she breathed. 'I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing' It was like there were barriers on her tear ducts and brain, everything came back, and she couldn't help it. A tear broke over her lid and rolled down her cheek.

How was it, that after so long of not seeing one another, and running into each other, that he would sing the very song that he sang to her? Tila locked eyes with Matt for an instant and she wiped away the second tear to fall, and then got herself under control, before the song could end and he would walk over. maybe he couldn't tell from up there.

Near the end of the song, Flood decided to stop fighting it and just let himself look in Tila's direction. Another guy had tried sitting next to her and she had sent him on his way, for which Flood was relieved. The song ended and he stepped off the stage, taking yet another deep breath. Some people clapped despite his not being that great of a singer, but at least he hoped it was better than the last two people who had been up there.

Retaking his seat next to Tila, Flood gave her a somewhat nervous smile. "You, uh...you picked one hell of a night to run into me here." He laughed a little to try and keep the mood light between them. "Are you okay? I saw you wipe your eye when I was up there."

While waiting for her response, Flood ordered another drink, the same as he had had before. He felt like he could use another drink right now.

Tila turned and ordered another drink, Long Island Iced Tea, wishing the liquer could affect her even a little. The small brunette toon a few deep breaths, she needed to get normal again, not vulnerable, before Matt came back.

Tila laughed uneasily at his returning statement. "I see that" she said her voice just the slightest bit shakey. Damnit... Tila hated being such a girl sometimes, she really did. She hated crying, she hated looking weak, all of it, she always had, and always would. Tila took one last breath and looked back at him, he seemed a bit flushed from singing, she thought.

"I... yeah... I had an eyelash in my eye..." she stammered out the lie chewing on her lower lip.

She took a sip of her drink once the bartender brought it over and he looked her over to see how intoxicated she looked, which she didn't. After he walked off she shook her head. "You know, just because I'm small does not mean that I can't hold my liquer..." she stated with a huff, willing the situation to not get akward as well as being genuinely miffed.

He smiled at Tila to try and help keeing this from becoming awkward. "Just cause you can hold your alcohol doesn't mean you should try," Flood told her, even as his drink was brought over and he put some of it down. "Trust me, this isn't something you want to turn into a habit. I need to break the habit myself."

In his case, it was not a matter of being able to hold his liquor so much as just not being able to get drunk if he used his powers on himself. If he filtered the alcohol and kept it out of his system, he could drink as much as he wanted and not get drunk. All it took was storing it someplace safe before removing it later, as odd an experience as that was every time.

"But hey," he added after a moment, "I guess it's not so bad if you can keep it all separate from your work. Or maybe it'd be fun to teach a class after a few rounds." He smiled to show that he was joking, even though that was only half so.

Tila smiled. "Definately not trying, I've seen enough drunken men making idiots of themselves and girls making sluts of themselves." "I'm the good one remember?" she said with another knowing smile. "And not that I'm really in any position to be telling you, but if it's become a habit, you should break it." she said kindly.

Tila didn't like the idea of Matt becoming an alcoholic or anything like that, social drinks or after a hard day at work, sure, but not all the time. all things in moderation she thought was the saying.

The small woman laughed out loud at the image of herself teaching while intoxicated. "Oh god that would be funny to watch. But knowing how clumsy i am normally, that SO wouldn't be a good idea." Knowing her luck she'd end up messing up her shoulder or something again. She took another sip and ran a hand through her hair, the next moment she was fiddling with her necklace again.

Tila looked around for a clock and spotted one behind her, she had an hour and a half before the gloves needed to come back on. "So what do you usually do when you finish singing?" she asked.

Flood shrugged at her concern of his drinking. He was not an alcoholic yet, but he still drank more than he should have. When there was nothing else to do, it was a decent way to pass the time, at least.

"When I'm done singing," he said, taking another drink, "I usually have another something to drink before going home." He paused before adding, "But as long as you're here, I won't be so quick to part ways. Is there anything you'd like to do? I'd be up for breaking out of the routine."

Hmm... Sounded like a good plan when you were alone, little boring, but okay nonetheless.

Tila thought for a moment, about what else they could do. They could sit here and make fun of really bad singers, but that idea didn't appeal to her right now. They could go to another bar or something, but she didn't like that idea either. Tila breifly thought about dancing somewhere, but then wondered if Matt danced or not... They hadn't really ever done that, but then again when they were together they were a little young to really do that sort of thing. That was four years ago that they were together, seems like a long time... a lot happens over four years.

"Hmm I have an idea." Tila said slowly. "I have to get back to the Academy in like, an hour and a half to unload, what do you think about going somewhere else?" she said, not realizing that first, he wouldn't know what she meant by unloading, her jewelery; and second, remembering that it was some sort of October Fest and there would be fireworks over the Golden Gate bridge.

Unload? Did she mean something about her electricity? Now that Flood thought about it, he did not feel that same small bit of discomfort around electricity that he usually did. That was odd, but then again, it had never bothered him very much while he and Tila were dating. To be around her, he had learned to accept and even ignore it. It just meant that he was at risk around her, but he was willing to take that risk.

"Yeah," Flood said, "this place isn't that great of a hangout when the singing's over and done with." After him, though, someone had stepped up and was singing very well to a song he had never heard. "Where should we go, then? I haven't done enough sightseeing yet to know any good places to go."

He put back the rest of his drink and set the glass back on the counter. Whatever it was, it was worth ordering again if he could ever figure out the name. Looking around, however, he found the bartender busy with a group of people who had just shown up.

Flood turned back to Tila and smiled. "Come on, let's get out of here."