Recognized Already

While Elric was pulling the car around to find an open parking space in the small parking lot to the side of the bar, Ember made her way inside.

Despite it being evening time, the bar was relatively empty. A few younger men milled about, having already drunk a few glasses of liquor. In total, there were only five people in the bar, including the person serving the drinks.

As Ember walked in, she could already overhear their conversation by the entrance.

"Aye, I wish I had the money to attend it. Nulstaya has such an incredible voice, and she looks like an angel! Instead of watching her live right now, we've gotta listen to this old barkeep's friend sing instead."

The young man who was speaking slammed his glass down onto the wooden bartop.

"Oi! Old man! Fill me up, I'll probably need to be drunk to enjoy whoever's singing next!"

Just as the young man finished speaking, Ember stepped into the main room of the bar, and the wooden floor creaked, announcing her presence.

"Eh, This chick is pretty hot! Honey, want to come over here and have a seat?"

The inebriated man spun on his bar stool, motioning toward his lap. Ember's lips curled in disgust, and she continued heading for the bar's stage.

Seeing where she was headed, the barkeep called out to her.

"Wait, are you SecretlyKind? How… He was definitely a guy in the pictures he sent before."

Hearing his words, Ember nodded her head.

"We were in a rush, so he dropped me off before parking the car. He should be here in a minute or two."

"Hmmm???"

The barkeep looked Ember up and down, then nodded to himself.

"That kid has good taste! Who knew he was hiding such a cute girlfriend from us this whole time?"

Ember's face reddened, and she stuttered a few times before getting her words out.

"N- No, we aren't dating yet! I only just met him today…"

"Yet! Hah, our boy has a chance!"

"Oi, old man! I asked for another glass a minute ago! What's takin ya so long?"

The barkeep let out an annoyed sigh but still made his way over to where the customers were sitting. One of them had his phone out and was sending a picture to someone.

"Dude? Did you just take a picture of her?"

Peering over the countertop, Grassless, the barkeep, saw the customer sending the picture he'd taken of Ember to a texting group.

"Not in my bar, dude. That's not cool. Ask first."

After reading a few replies that appeared beneath the picture, the young man gave a small grin, but also bowed his head slightly.

"Ah, my bad. I thought I recognized her, and I wanted to ask my friends. I can delete it right away."

Grassless frowned as he saw the young man leaning over and whispering into his buddies' ears.

Ember hadn't noticed the small commotion and was setting up on the stage. After pulling out her guitar and plucking a few strings to check the tuning, she hooked up the TS connector.

After connecting her guitar with the amplifier, she adjusted the microphone.

"Hey girl, have you done setup with similar stuff before? I have to help most newer folks with the setup, so I was a bit surprised."

Having dealt with the drunkards at the bar counter, Grassless walked over to chat with Ember.

Ember gave a proud smile.

"Yep! I used to perform all of the time back at a small bar in my hometown, but this is my second time singing here in the big city. I did think there would be a lot more people here… but this is ok! I've got to get my start somewhere!"

The barkeep scratched his chin, thinking of something.

"Here, let me take a picture with you real quick. I should be able to call over some more music lovers to listen in."

"Sure!"

Just as they were taking a picture together, Elric finally entered the bar.

"Oi, Old man Grassless! What are you doing over there?"

Elric walked over to where the barkeep was tucking his phone back into his pocket.

"Eh? You recognized me right away?"

Elric scoffed at the barkeep's words.

"Obviously, you've sent plenty of pictures to the group in the past. Sometimes, I even thought you might secretly be a teenage girl, with all those selfies!"

Elric reached out his clenched fist, and Grassless met it with his own.

"Well met, brother. Glory to The Boys."

"Mm. Glory to The Boys."

Finishing their greeting, Elric headed over to the bar to take a seat.

"I've gotta say, Grassless, I expected better than this. Four customers, other than me? No wonder you had an opening for a singer."

The barkeep frowned as he placed ice water in front of Elric.

"Kind, isn't this girl your only connection? Heck, I doubt you even get paid. I don't think you should be the one to shit talk!"

~Tap

~Tap

~EEEeeeeEEeE!!

An ear-piercing screech rang through the air as Ember tapped on the microphone.

"Oops."

Adjusting the microphone again, Ember took a seat on a stool up on the stage. She sat with her guitar resting against her lap, her hands ready and posed to start off her first song.

"Um, thank you all for coming today… Elric, barkeeper dude, and those four customers… ah, anyways… I'm going to sing for you today."

Edol rubbed at his forehead as he heard Ember's introduction.

'Yep, we're definitely going to need to work on that.'

On the other side of the bar counter, Grassless was chuckling evilly.

"Hehe, she said she's only really performed in her hometown before! The crowds here won't be so forgiving!"

"What crowds?"

"Bro, even if she sucks at singing, she's still a catch for you, right? Pretty, nice, seems to have some interest in you. I'm amazed anyone sporting the 'Villainous' tag on there managed to actually find a potential girlfriend."

"We'll rule the world some day."

"Sure, bud."

The duo's conversation was cut off as Ember began strumming her guitar, and a clear, homely sound resonated through the bar.