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Description
“Hey there, beautiful, your place or mine?”
The brunette just rolled her eyes and walked away, leaving Bolt by himself at the bar. Again. He sighed and sat back in his seat, taking a swig of his beer. So far no luck, but that had to change eventually, right?
He was scanning the other women at the bar, trying to decide which one he thought was the prettiest, when he heard the microphone to the karaoke set turn on. Oh, this he had to see. The last guy who sang ended up walking right off the stage he was so drunk. Bolt turned around and saw a good looking man in his earlier twenties flipping through the song book. He was tall with black hair and a bit of stubble on his chin. A pair of reading glasses rested on his nose and he was dressed in a light blue button-down that was tucked neatly into his dark jeans. He was extremely pale, but in a strange way the look actually worked for him.
After a few minutes, the man spotted the song he was looking for and grinned. He got up on the stage and turned on the karaoke machine before turning to the crowd, his bright silver eyes gleaming in the light. He didn’t look drunk in the slightest, which was a little disappointing to say the least. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a good show after all.
And then the music started.
“I can dim the lights and sing you songs full of sad things, we can do the tango just for two. I can serenade and gentle play on your heart strings, be a Valentino just for you.”
Of course, Bolt recognized the song immediately, but that wasn’t what shocked him. No, it was the fact that the man sounded exactly like Queen’s lead singer, Freddie Mercury.
“Set my alarm, turn on my charm, that’s because I’m a good ol’ fashioned lover boy!”
The man’s voice immediately caught the attention of everyone at the bar, especially the girls.
That lucky bastard… Bolt thought, watching the man sing and dance along to the music. His movements were smooth and perfectly timed, and Bolt would be lying if he said he wasn’t just a little bit jealous.
“Dining at the Ritz we’ll meet at nine.” One two three four five six seven eight nine o’clock. “I will pay the bill you taste the wine. Driving back in style in my Saloon will do quite nicely just take me back to yours that will be fine, come on and get it…”
In just a few more seconds the song was over, and by the time the man stepped off the stage he had at least six different women walking up to him. With a charming grin he stopped to talk to a red head and her blonde friend, and he laughed at one of the little jokes they made.
Bolt sighed. This guy sings one song and he gets six girls, while he sits here all night and doesn’t get one. Talk about unfair. Bolt continued to watch the man and the girls, and after a few moments the man seemed to realize that he was being watched. He excused himself from the girls and started walking Bolt’s way.
Uh-oh, Bolt knew that walk. That’s the walk someone does when they’re going to try and start a fight. He quickly turned to face the bar, looking down at his drink. The last thing he needed to do was get into a fight. He wasn’t worried about losing or getting hurt, winning the fight would be easy. Explaining to Striker why there was a fight in the first place, however, was another story. Bolt kept his gaze on his drink, ignoring the sound of the man sitting in the seat next to him and leaning on the bar. There was a few moments of silence before anyone spoke.
“Something I can help you with?” Bolt asked, looking up at the man.
“Oh nothing really,” the man replied. His voice was oddly soothing and he had a thick British accent. “I just saw you sitting out here on your own, thought I’d come over and sit down for a bit. That is, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Bolt replied, relaxing a bit.
“Good,” the man said with a grin. “You look a bit on the down side. I take it none of these girls fancy you?”
“You could say that,” Bolt said, taking another drink from his bottle.
“Well, why don’t we fix that,” the man said with a wink. He then waved to one of the girls. “Oh miss Jessica, I found someone I’d like you to meet!”
A beautiful girl with strawberry blonde hair made her way over to them. She was fair skinned with bright green eyes and she was wearing a deep blue dress. She was easily the prettiest out of the group of girls he had seen the man talking to. The man stood up and smiled at Bolt.
“Jessica, this is, uh…” the man thought for a moment before frowning. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I caught your name.”
“It’s Bolt,” Bolt said with a smile, turning his gaze to Jessica. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Jessica said, returning his smile.
“Here, you can have my spot,” Seven said, guiding Jessica into his seat.
“So, come here often?” Bolt asked as Seven sat her down.
“No, actually, this is my first time here,” Jessica said with a nervous smile.
“Oh, well then, you probably don’t know the regulars,” Bolt said with an easy smile. He pointed to a guy across the bar, who was sound asleep. “That’s Jerry, he always takes a few shots and passes out. And that,” he pointed to one of the older bar tenders, “is Mike. You can normally talk him into giving you a free drink if he likes you.”
“I take if you come here a lot?” Jessica asked, relaxing a bit.
Bolt nodded. “Yeah, I live just down the street and I don’t really have anything better to do.”
“Well, since you’re not busy maybe we should get some dinner some time,” Jessica said, taking a sip from her drink.
Bolt grinned. “Yeah, maybe we should.”

-xxx-

Bolt smiled to himself and looked back down at the crumpled napkin in his hand, Jessica’s number written in neat cursive numbers in the middle, along with a “call me!”. That was by far the easiest he had ever gotten a number, and he was pretty proud of himself.
“So, how’d it go?”
Bolt turned and saw the man from earlier standing behind his stool, grinning from ear to ear.
“Got her number,” Bolt said, holding up the napkin with a matching grin. “We’re going out for dinner this Friday.”
“Good,” the man said, sitting in the seat next to Bolt. He paused for a moment, as if he just realized something. “You know, I don’t believe I ever introduced myself.”
“You didn’t,” Bolt said taking a sip of his beer.
“Oh how rude of me,” the man said with a light sigh. He then held out his hand, and his charming smile returned. “I’m Seven.”
“Bolt,” Bolt said, shaking his hand. “Wasn’t aware that “Seven” was a name.”
“It isn’t,” Seven said with a shrug.
“Do I even want to know?”
“Probably not.”
They sat in silence for a little while, watching the bar television. Bolt took the opportunity to get another look at the unusual man sitting beside him. There was just something… off about him. He was almost unnaturally good looking, as if he didn’t have a single physical flaw. If Bolt didn’t know any better, he’d say the man wasn’t even human. Of course, that wasn’t possible. What else could he possibly be?
“Why did you do it?” Bolt found himself asking the question he had been wondering ever since Seven had introduced him to Jessica before he could stop himself.
“Hm? Do what?” Seven asked, turning his attention from the television to Bolt.
“Introduce me to Jessica,” Bolt said. “You could have asked her out yourself, she probably would have gone with you. But instead you brought her over here.”
Seven just shrugged and turned back to the TV. “You just looked like you needed someone more than I did.”
Bolt thought about that for a moment, then shrugged and took a drink. As much as that could have been seen as an insult, it was also very true. And, hey, if it meant he got a date, he wasn’t going to complain.
“Well, I ought to be going,” Seven said, looking down at his watch. “Unfortunately I have an early day tomorrow, work and all.”
Bolt nodded in understanding. “I should probably get going myself or my boss will pitch a fit when I come in tired tomorrow.”
Seven chuckled, then wrote something on a napkin and slid it to Bolt. “Here’s my mobile, you’ll have to tell me how Jessica is.” He then smiled and walked out the door to the bar. Bolt lost sight of him almost immediately. Odd, it looked almost like a shadow swallowed him. But, of course that was impossible.
Bolt ignored the nagging feeling in the back of his mind telling him that something wasn’t right with that man. Instead, he stuffed the two numbers into his pocket and turned to leave. He was sure that feeling was nothing anyway, what could Seven possibly be other than human?

Description
“Hey there, beautiful, your place or mine?”
The brunette just rolled her eyes and walked away, leaving Bolt by himself at the bar. Again. He sighed and sat back in his seat, taking a swig of his beer. So far no luck, but that had to change eventually, right?
He was scanning the other women at the bar, trying to decide which one he thought was the prettiest, when he heard the microphone to the karaoke set turn on. Oh, this he had to see. The last guy who sang ended up walking right off the stage he was so drunk. Bolt turned around and saw a good looking man in his earlier twenties flipping through the song book. He was tall with black hair and a bit of stubble on his chin. A pair of reading glasses rested on his nose and he was dressed in a light blue button-down that was tucked neatly into his dark jeans. He was extremely pale, but in a strange way the look actually worked for him.
After a few minutes, the man spotted the song he was looking for and grinned. He got up on the stage and turned on the karaoke machine before turning to the crowd, his bright silver eyes gleaming in the light. He didn’t look drunk in the slightest, which was a little disappointing to say the least. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a good show after all.
And then the music started.
“I can dim the lights and sing you songs full of sad things, we can do the tango just for two. I can serenade and gentle play on your heart strings, be a Valentino just for you.”
Of course, Bolt recognized the song immediately, but that wasn’t what shocked him. No, it was the fact that the man sounded exactly like Queen’s lead singer, Freddie Mercury.
“Set my alarm, turn on my charm, that’s because I’m a good ol’ fashioned lover boy!”
The man’s voice immediately caught the attention of everyone at the bar, especially the girls.
That lucky bastard… Bolt thought, watching the man sing and dance along to the music. His movements were smooth and perfectly timed, and Bolt would be lying if he said he wasn’t just a little bit jealous.
“Dining at the Ritz we’ll meet at nine.” One two three four five six seven eight nine o’clock. “I will pay the bill you taste the wine. Driving back in style in my Saloon will do quite nicely just take me back to yours that will be fine, come on and get it…”
In just a few more seconds the song was over, and by the time the man stepped off the stage he had at least six different women walking up to him. With a charming grin he stopped to talk to a red head and her blonde friend, and he laughed at one of the little jokes they made.
Bolt sighed. This guy sings one song and he gets six girls, while he sits here all night and doesn’t get one. Talk about unfair. Bolt continued to watch the man and the girls, and after a few moments the man seemed to realize that he was being watched. He excused himself from the girls and started walking Bolt’s way.
Uh-oh, Bolt knew that walk. That’s the walk someone does when they’re going to try and start a fight. He quickly turned to face the bar, looking down at his drink. The last thing he needed to do was get into a fight. He wasn’t worried about losing or getting hurt, winning the fight would be easy. Explaining to Striker why there was a fight in the first place, however, was another story. Bolt kept his gaze on his drink, ignoring the sound of the man sitting in the seat next to him and leaning on the bar. There was a few moments of silence before anyone spoke.
“Something I can help you with?” Bolt asked, looking up at the man.
“Oh nothing really,” the man replied. His voice was oddly soothing and he had a thick British accent. “I just saw you sitting out here on your own, thought I’d come over and sit down for a bit. That is, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Bolt replied, relaxing a bit.
“Good,” the man said with a grin. “You look a bit on the down side. I take it none of these girls fancy you?”
“You could say that,” Bolt said, taking another drink from his bottle.
“Well, why don’t we fix that,” the man said with a wink. He then waved to one of the girls. “Oh miss Jessica, I found someone I’d like you to meet!”
A beautiful girl with strawberry blonde hair made her way over to them. She was fair skinned with bright green eyes and she was wearing a deep blue dress. She was easily the prettiest out of the group of girls he had seen the man talking to. The man stood up and smiled at Bolt.
“Jessica, this is, uh…” the man thought for a moment before frowning. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I caught your name.”
“It’s Bolt,” Bolt said with a smile, turning his gaze to Jessica. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Jessica said, returning his smile.
“Here, you can have my spot,” Seven said, guiding Jessica into his seat.
“So, come here often?” Bolt asked as Seven sat her down.
“No, actually, this is my first time here,” Jessica said with a nervous smile.
“Oh, well then, you probably don’t know the regulars,” Bolt said with an easy smile. He pointed to a guy across the bar, who was sound asleep. “That’s Jerry, he always takes a few shots and passes out. And that,” he pointed to one of the older bar tenders, “is Mike. You can normally talk him into giving you a free drink if he likes you.”
“I take if you come here a lot?” Jessica asked, relaxing a bit.
Bolt nodded. “Yeah, I live just down the street and I don’t really have anything better to do.”
“Well, since you’re not busy maybe we should get some dinner some time,” Jessica said, taking a sip from her drink.
Bolt grinned. “Yeah, maybe we should.”

-xxx-

Bolt smiled to himself and looked back down at the crumpled napkin in his hand, Jessica’s number written in neat cursive numbers in the middle, along with a “call me!”. That was by far the easiest he had ever gotten a number, and he was pretty proud of himself.
“So, how’d it go?”
Bolt turned and saw the man from earlier standing behind his stool, grinning from ear to ear.
“Got her number,” Bolt said, holding up the napkin with a matching grin. “We’re going out for dinner this Friday.”
“Good,” the man said, sitting in the seat next to Bolt. He paused for a moment, as if he just realized something. “You know, I don’t believe I ever introduced myself.”
“You didn’t,” Bolt said taking a sip of his beer.
“Oh how rude of me,” the man said with a light sigh. He then held out his hand, and his charming smile returned. “I’m Seven.”
“Bolt,” Bolt said, shaking his hand. “Wasn’t aware that “Seven” was a name.”
“It isn’t,” Seven said with a shrug.
“Do I even want to know?”
“Probably not.”
They sat in silence for a little while, watching the bar television. Bolt took the opportunity to get another look at the unusual man sitting beside him. There was just something… off about him. He was almost unnaturally good looking, as if he didn’t have a single physical flaw. If Bolt didn’t know any better, he’d say the man wasn’t even human. Of course, that wasn’t possible. What else could he possibly be?
“Why did you do it?” Bolt found himself asking the question he had been wondering ever since Seven had introduced him to Jessica before he could stop himself.
“Hm? Do what?” Seven asked, turning his attention from the television to Bolt.
“Introduce me to Jessica,” Bolt said. “You could have asked her out yourself, she probably would have gone with you. But instead you brought her over here.”
Seven just shrugged and turned back to the TV. “You just looked like you needed someone more than I did.”
Bolt thought about that for a moment, then shrugged and took a drink. As much as that could have been seen as an insult, it was also very true. And, hey, if it meant he got a date, he wasn’t going to complain.
“Well, I ought to be going,” Seven said, looking down at his watch. “Unfortunately I have an early day tomorrow, work and all.”
Bolt nodded in understanding. “I should probably get going myself or my boss will pitch a fit when I come in tired tomorrow.”
Seven chuckled, then wrote something on a napkin and slid it to Bolt. “Here’s my mobile, you’ll have to tell me how Jessica is.” He then smiled and walked out the door to the bar. Bolt lost sight of him almost immediately. Odd, it looked almost like a shadow swallowed him. But, of course that was impossible.
Bolt ignored the nagging feeling in the back of his mind telling him that something wasn’t right with that man. Instead, he stuffed the two numbers into his pocket and turned to leave. He was sure that feeling was nothing anyway, what could Seven possibly be other than human?