A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Dragging her hands down her face in a drained manner, (f/n) heard glass hit wood lightly. The smell of a lime daiquiri hit her nose, and she smiled a little bit. (F/n) glanced up. "Thanks ..."

"Scott." He had a friendly smile on his lips. His glasses rested on his nose, and kind, brown eyes were behind the lenses. Short brown hair rested atop his head, and he looked to be in his early thirties. Scott was wearing black pants, black belt, white button-up and black waistcoat. There was a calm air about him, but it also was an understanding one as though he had heard many stories from the bar's patrons and knew the endings to all of them.

"Thank you, Scott. Sorry I never asked before." She gave a small apologetic smile. Her thumbs ran over the rim of the glass, and she stared at the alcoholic drink inside.

"It's no trouble." He scanned over the establishment. "Your friend's not with you today?"

"... No. I ..." She sighed, and he didn't say anymore. He waited for her to tell him, and she appreciated that. Her eyes scanned down the rest of the bar. No one was waiting for another drink. (F/n) looked back to her own beverage. "Well ..." Probably, she shouldn't disclose such information to him, especially since Anita came to The Iron Clipper also.

"Does she know you're here?" At the question, she peered up and saw that his back was facing her now. He was standing by the sink and washing some of the glasses. Given how many stories he probably had heard over the course of him working at the bar, she suspected that he didn't even have to look at her to have some idea of what was going on.

Perhaps, that should've bothered her, but it didn't. It was just nice to have someone listen, who didn't seem to be judging her. He was a neutral party to what was going on, and it was as though he was there just to listen and offer advice if she wanted him to. Then again, maybe, she was wrong about all of that, and her worn out mind simply needed him to be that person at the present time. Such thoughts were giving her a headache, though, and she truthfully didn't want to deal with her head hurting anymore than it already did.

"No, she doesn't." She brought the drink to her lips and took a sip before she set it back down. The lime was refreshing, and the alcohol ran down her throat smoothly. "She thinks that I went back home."

From his lips came a quiet hum. He dried a glass and set it back on one of the shelves under the counter. Scott pushed his glasses up. "Have you talked to her?" Meeting his gaze, she had a feeling that he knew the whole story, but he was asking easy questions to remain respectful.

"... No, I can't." Her hands wrapped around the glass. "It'd make it even worse I think." She sighed roughly. "I don't know. Usually, not communicating makes things worse, but I just can't right now."

"She's lost your trust," he said with sympathy in his voice. "And, you don't want to bring up the issue because you fear losing her completely." Her lips parted to speak, but she found herself nodding. "You feel like a stranger around her." Again, she nodded.

Another sip of the drink ran down her throat, and she met his gaze once more. "What do I do?" she asked, the words slipping out before she could stop. Realistically, who else would she ask? She could call her parents, but she wasn't a hundred percent certain that the information wouldn't get back to Anita's parents and to Anita herself. Anita wasn't an option since she had no idea how she would react, and she truthfully didn't want to know either. Like Scott had said, Anita had lost her trust. Kaleb and Tristan certainly weren't options either for obvious reasons.

There was Lee, but he already had an opinion about the situation and had made it quite clear. She didn't want to hear, "I told you so," from him. In fact, he wouldn't have to write anything down; she'd just feel it radiating off of him. Eventually, she'd have to face him, and he'd be able to figure out what happened. Right now, she wanted a break from that, which left Scott as the only person who she felt she could talk to. Maybe, she shouldn't trust him so much, but he just had this air about him that made her feel like she could talk to him. Not to mention that the kindness and understanding in his expression reached his eyes; he genuinely looked like he cared.

"Relax. Take a break. Go watch a television series or a movie. Maybe, fall in love with a faun." He said it with such complete seriousness that she only could stare for a moment. It was so random and unexpected from him that she couldn't help but smile and eventually chuckle. A smile touched his lips. "I thought that might make you laugh."

Nodding lightly, she looked up to him while a smile was still on her lips. "Why a faun, though?"

"It's kind of a joke, and bringing it up does seem to work in making patrons smile."

Sitting up a little straighter, she rested her hands gently around her daiquiri. "Well, I don't mind hearing it. I need the distraction." He raised a brow and glanced down the bar. No one was signaling him over, and he focused back on her.

"An old coworker of mine had been the start of it. She doesn't work here anymore, but she stops by every now and then." He faced away from her, washed another glass and turned back around to her as he dried the glass. "We both watched sci-fi and fantasy shows. So one day, we got on the discussion of one. She was talking about an episode and brought up fauns." Scott placed the glass back on the shelf. "I decided to mess with her and tease her that she was in love with one. Needless to say, she got embarrassed, and I'd bring it up every now and again to get her mind off of some of the rude patrons we sometimes have here."

A chuckle left him, and he clearly saw a memory that she couldn't see. "It worked every time and would get her to laugh. So, I use it occasionally on some of the patrons to cheer them up." He smiled. "The randomness usually seems to pull them out of their thoughts for a moment."

Upon her lips, another smile grew. "Thanks. I needed something like that this evening." She took another sip of her drink, but her smile did slowly begin to fade.

"I won't mention anything to her. I tend to keep a lot of secrets, and if I let them slip, I'd either be fired or be receiving a lot of complaints." (F/n) met his eyes again. He signaled to others in the establishment. "And, they're too focused on their own problems to listen into yours."

"I ... Thanks," she finally answered, feeling a little bit more comfortable. "So, should I really go home and watch a movie or show?"

"If that'll help you. Whatever happened between her and you happened. You can't change that. So, give yourself a break and think of what you want to do when you've let your mind rest a little." He smiled and laughed a little. "And if that happens to include fantasy shows with fauns, then by all means watch that." A laugh parted from her too.

"What if it doesn't get better?" she asked when her laugh died down. A frown touched her lips again, and she moved her glass closer towards her. The drink moved back and forth a little bit in the glass, and she could see the reflection of the lights in it.

Now, a light sigh came from him. "If whatever happened causes your friendship with her to end, then remember that you tried to make things better. You gave it your best." Slightly, she looked up to him. "You're worrying about it now. You want to trust her again, but you don't know how. You don't know if you can even. But, you still tried."

"But ..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say exactly, but he was hitting the nail on the head.

"But, I think that you already have." Her eyes met his. "I've seen how you interact with her. You want her to be happy even at your own expense. But now, she's done something that has made you question your friendship." He faced away from her to wash another glass. "But, just remember that you did your best."

For a moment, she didn't know how to respond to that. His words made sense, yet she found the tears that had wanted to escape before desiring the same thing again. She held them back, but they wanted to come because she knew that she was losing her best friend. "... I ... Thank you, Scott." (F/n) finished her drink and paid, giving him a decent tip as well. "I think that I needed to be reminded of that." Truthfully, she did, and she was glad for the conversation. It opened her eyes even if it did hurt.

"Of course." He smiled to her, and she smiled back appreciatively before she left The Iron Clipper. She was headed back to the café, and it wasn't the best place to go, but she'd have to deal with Lee eventually. Not to mention that it was her home even if it did feel a lot colder now.