`a simple twist of fate \\ closed

[andy lockhart]

one minute i held the key
next the walls were closed on me
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It was a Tuesday night, so, naturally, Andy was bored. Twirling a cigarette in his hand, he walked mindlessly down the sidewalk in search or something to do. There were nightclubs open and such if you were into that thing, but he wasn't, at least not tonight. Andrew Lockhart was in more of a quiet mood. He could stand on the street corner and smoke this cigarette, but not only would that be creepy, he also didn't have a lighter. He could go "window shopping," but keeping in mind what that might lead to he refrained. You see, this man was a bit of Kleptomaniac, meaning he stole things...a lot. It was something he had been doing for years by now, and despite how wrong he knew it was he just couldn't stop. There was something about the thrill and the rush that got to him, he enjoyed it so much. Still the man tried to keep himself away from the urge, even if he knew it wouldn't last very long.

Seeing a woman passing by him lighting her own cigarette, Andy stop and put a sweet smile on his face. "Excuse me, do you mind?" The woman easily accepted his request and lit his cig for him, which he kindly thanked her for and continued on his way. Bringing it to his lips as he strode, the man silently inhaled and moved it away, then exhaled and watched the stream of smoke dissipate into the air. This was another habit he was trying to quit, smoking, because he knew that if he didn't he would die from it eventually. But, come on, one more wouldn't hurt, right? Maybe it would, but it was too late now, so he took another puff of it before he lifted his gaze from the cement to look around again. Still it didn't look like there was anything but stores and other things that didn't catch his attention, except for one place.

Andy stopped in his tracks, taking another drag of his cigarette while he eyed the restaurant across the street. The Gale Street Inn. It was quiet, had a good atmosphere, and in that instant he felt his stomach growl. That was good enough for him. The man put out his cigarette and threw it in the trashcan, then checked for oncoming traffic before crossing the street with his hands shoved in his pocket against the cold. December in Chicago always brought on bitter weather, which made him thankful for the heat when he entered the restaurant. Without even looking around Andrew could tell that it was a slow night, because the murmur of people talking that you usually heard on the weekend was absent. Taking off his coat, me made his way up to the seating hostess. "Table for one, please?"

He was seated in the larger of the two rooms, the one with the empty stage and the large windows to watch the world go by. There weren't many others there. There were two couples and a small group of friends, but the room was rather quiet. That was fine with him; in fact it was exactly what he wanted. Andy settled himself down in his seat as the hostess handed him his menu and asked if there were any drinks she could start him out with. "Umm, a soda? Thank you." The hostess nodded and wandered off, leaving him alone with his menu. He opened it in front of him while resting his elbows on the table, looking over large selection of food. Everything looked good, so it was very hard for him to choose. What was he in the mood for? He was leaning more toward a burger and fries. Granted, he could have gone to McDonald's or something for that, but Andy was almost positive that the burgers here would be healthier anyway.

After folding up the menu again, the man leaned back in his chair and let his eyes survey the room. The lighting was dimmed, no doubt to convey a more peaceful mood, the group of friends seemed to be made up of mostly teenage girls who were busy giggling with each other, and the couples were so engulfed in each other that they didn't care about the rest of the room. Good for them, he thought. Love was a great and special feeling. He had felt it once, but that was a long time ago. It had been years since he had seen his ex-wife and even though he still cared for her, the love had faded. She had probably long since moved on from him, maybe even gotten married and had kids. A small part of him hoped that she hadn't, but for the most part he only wished her happiness, even if it did make him feel a little jealous at the thought sometimes.

His waitress finally appeared, bringing him his drink and asking if he was ready to order. Andy asked for his burger and fries, then handed the woman his menu and watched as she walked off and disappeared behind the doors to the kitchen. The man leaned back in his chair again, once more allowing his eyes to wander around the room. This time, they landed on a lone piano just off to the side of the stage. His attention locked on it, suddenly realizing how long it had been since he had gotten to play a piano. Clenching his jaw, Andy glanced toward the opposite side of the room. Seeing no one coming, he looked back again. It was probably a piano that they used on the weekend when the live bands played. It wasn't for guests to play with. Would that stop him? He was still debating.

Looking over to the room's entrance one more time and still not seeing anyone, Andy slowly stood up out of his chair and made his way across the room to the piano. It wasn't a Grand Piano, but it still had that sleek, black look to it. One last time, he looked around the room. Everyone was very intent on their own little groups and paid no mind to him. He sort of doubted anyone would mind if he played, but if they did he would be polite and stop. Smiling a little to himself, Andy sat down on the piano bench and slid over to the middle, then lifted up the cover to reveal the white and black keys. At first, he just looked at them, admiring the instrument and debating what to play, then he just started with the first thing that came to mind. It was Clocks by Coldplay. He started off quietly, and then grew a little louder as his fingers danced over the keys. It had been a while since he had played any music, and the feeling of it brought back a warmth that he loved so much.

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`Status: Finished!
`Tag: Elizabeth Lee
`Word Count: 1170
`Lyrics By: Coldplay - Viva La Vida
`Notes:

[/font] pic by me
Click Here to hear the song he is playing
sorry about how long is it xD you don't have
to feel obligated to match it or anything, i was
just excited to post with him LoL[/blockquote][/size]

[elizabeth lee]

things will be great when you're

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DOWNTOWN, DON'T WAIT A MINUTE MORE[/font][/color]

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Normally if you were shy and lived in a big city, you would tend to stick close to your group of friends and if they were busy, you most likely would no do anything. That was the approach Elizabeth Lee had begun to develop in her time in Chicago, but she knew that she would have to kick the habit to escape the risk of becoming a hermit. So, on a night when only one friend had been available for dinner and then that one was surprised by a romantic week in Paris earlier in the day, Liz found herself going out to dinner at the Gale Street Inn Han style... Solo. In fact, the blonde would have canceled her reservation if she had not been giving the booth in the corner.

The weather tonight was dry, but still cold enough to require a coat. Unfortunately Elizabeth had not brought one with her, so the walk that she would have to take from her car to the Inn would not be pleasant, but then the car park was around the back of joint so it wouldn't be too far of a walk. That was one of Elizabeth's favorite things about the Gale; you could always park on the premises. However like many things that had gone wrong in the woman's day, the guarantee of a parking space was one of them, for when her headlights shone on a sign which said that there was no parking on premises due to building work, she swore. Her quick dash from the car to the restaurant was not going to be so quick, and with a heavy head the twenty-three year performed a J-turn and drove away from the pub to find a parking spot.

The light from Elizabeth's headlamps reflected off of the shop windows as she took each corner, and occasionally the light would land on somebody, though with the bitter weather there really wasn't that many people outside. Eventually Elizabeth did find a side street which didn't have double yellow lines and had parking spaces, so she pulled over and parked between a motorbike and a Golf. The blonde took a few moments to take in the heat of her car, before turning the key to cut the engine. Next, She picked her bag up from the front passenger seat and slid out of the car, and in a swift movement took the keys out of the ignition, shut the door, and pressed the lock button. A cool gust of wind hit her as she started to stride down the street, and the student-teacher crossed her arms to try and keep herself warm.

It took Elizabeth another ten minutes to reach the Gale Street Inn from where she had parked, and those ten minutes had not been pleasurable. Yes, it was cold, but that wasn't the only reason why it hadn't been the best of walks. At one point in her walk a gang of teenagers on bikes had been coming in her direction, and despite how she knew that it was wrong to assume, when you're alone at night you're always more cautious and worried as to what may happen to you, especially if you're a women. Anyway, the group on bikes just rode past her without so much as looking up, which allowed the woman to make the rest of her walk in peace and as she entered the restaurant, she relaxed as the warmth hit her. "Lee, I have a reservation." She told the seating hostess, who checked her name off of the list, nodded, and led her to her seat.

The hostess led Elizabeth thought the first room and into the larger one with the stage. At the weekends the room was full of people and a band played, tonight however was a Tuesday and it was very quiet. She had a pair of couples and a group of friends as she came in, however it was not until she had started browsing thought she noticed the lone man. She watched him as he read his menu, looked around, and ordered, and she lent forward slightly in her seat when he began to walk over to the piano by the stage. It was not too long before he began to play a song... Clocks by Coldplay if she remembered correctly. She wasn't that big a fan of Coldplay, or the song, but she would admit that what he was playing sounded good. Maybe she would go over and- "can I take your order please?"

For a few moments Elizabeth was stunned, but she did come around and regain her composure. "Uh, I'll have the..." she quickly scanned the menu once more before deciding to have she always had, "Rump Steak with fries, salad and peppercorn sauce." The waitress nodded, before asking Elizabeth how she would like her steak. "Medium-rare please," Elizabeth replied, which caused the waitress to give her a rather odd look before writing it down. "And to drink?" "Uh, a glass of your house red." Yes, Elizabeth was driving, however she could handle one glass of wine. Once the waitress had walked off, Elizabeth stood up, patted herself down, and began to walk over to the man at the piano. Once she was by him, she stood behind his shoulder and simply watched as his hands gracefully moved over the keys. He obviously practiced, and the music would be an easier way for her to start a conversation which wouldn't make them feel as left out for being the only people in the room alone.

It was not until the man had finished playing his song that the blonde spoke, and when she did speak it was quick. "That was nice." She said, biting her lip at the word nice, which honestly didn't give it justice. Hey! She didn't even like the song and she thought it had been amazing. "How often do you play?"

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Tag: Andy
Count: 991
Lyrics: Downtown by Petula Clark
Notes: That wasn't that great. . .
Status: Complete!
Outfit: clickie.
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