Title: "Joe's Bar & Grill"
Setting: Chicago 2004
Author: Kristina AKA: spy41
A/N: Alright. Vaughn is a bartender/cook. He's got his own bar&grill that he runs with his friend Joe. Sydney is an international movie/television star. They meet by chance.
Chapter Guide:
Part 1 ~ "A Not So Normal Chicago Morning" Edited 05/07/07
Part 2 ~ "The Second Meeting" Edited 05/14/07
Part 3 ~ "Surreal, But Nice" Edited 05/17/07
Part 4 ~ "The Third Wheel"
Part 5 ~ "Reality"
Part 6 ~ "Truth"
Part 7 ~ "Learning"
Part 8 ~ "Everyone Needs Someone"
Part 9 ~ "One in a Million"
Part 10 ~ "Elevator Run-In"
Part 11 ~ "The Phone Call"
Part 12 ~ "Problems"
Part 13 ~ "Confrontation"
Part 14 ~ "Last Minute Shopping"
Part 15 ~ "A Past Loss"
Part 15 b. ~ "Revelations"
Part 16 ~ "Insomnia"
Part 17 ~ "Connecting Losse Ends"
Part 18 ~ "Meeting The Bristow's"
Part 19 ~ "Dinner Interrogation"
Part 20 ~ "Comfort Zone"
Part 21 ~ "Spider Problems"
Part 22 ~ "The Accident"
Part 23 ~ "The Proposal"
Part 24 ~ "The Answer"
Part 25 ~ "Christmas Alone"
Part 26 ~ "Flight 309 to LAX"
Part 27 ~ "Under the Stars"
Part 28 ~ "A Christmas Surprise"
Part 29 ~ "The Picture Frame"
Part 30 ~ "A Visit From the Past"
Part 31 ~ "Taking a Risk"
Part 32 ~ "Late Night Phone Call"
Part 33 ~ "The Mistake"
Part 34 ~ "Change of Heart"
Part 35 ~ "Waiting"
Part 36 ~ "Good-Bye's"
Part 37 ~ "Reconciliation"
Part 38 ~ "Figuring Things Out"
Part 39 ~ "Grocery Aisle Disturbance"
Part 40 ~ "Some Bad Seafood"
Part 41 ~ "The Rumors Begin"
Part 42 ~ "Making Our Own Assumptions"
Part 43 ~ "The Talk"
Part 44 ~ "Wrong Timing"
Part 45 ~ "False Alarm"
Part 46 ~ "Catching Up"
Part 47 ~ "Sold"
Part 48 ~ "Voice-Mail Prank"
Part 49 ~ "Joe's Bar & Grill 'California Style' "
Part 50 ~ "Another Good-Bye"
Part 51 ~ "The Beginning"
Part 52 ~ "Serious Talk"
Part 53 ~ "The Journal"
Part 54 ~ "Journal Entry #2"
Part 55 ~ "Journal Entry #3"
Part 56 ~ "The Set-up"
Part 57 ~ "Hiding Reality"
Part 58 ~ "Close Call"
Part 59 ~ "Meeting Gina"
Part 60 ~ "Life & Love"
Part 61 ~ "The Ring Incident"
Part 62 ~ "Back to Chitown"
Part 63 ~ "Our First Valentine's Day"
Part 64 ~ "Dynamic Duo"
Part 65 ~ "Bathtub Advice"
Part 66 ~ "In the Shadows"
Part 67 ~ "Reflections"
Part 68 ~ "A Harmless Bet"
Part 69 ~ "A Late Breakfast"
Part 70 ~ "Battle of the Sexes"
Part 71 ~ "A Hidden Pain"
Part 72 ~ "While Angels Sleep"
Part 73 ~ "Breaking the Iceman"
Part 74 ~ "Bad Moods and Bad Ratings"
Part 75 ~ "Disneyland Virgin"
Part 76 ~ "Misses What?"
Part 77 ~ "Painting a Proposal"
Part 78 ~ "Nightmares to Reality"
Part 79 ~ "The Beginning of the End"
Part 80 ~ "Eight Years"
Part 81 ~ "The Hitman Returns"
Part 82 ~ "Fleeing Canada"
Part 83 ~ "Emotional Scars"
Part 84 ~ "Choices"
Part 85 ~ "When It's Over"
Part 86 ~ "Resurrected"
Part 87 ~ "Running in Circles with Nowhere to Go"
Part 88 ~ "Casablanca"
Part 89 ~ "Only Friends"
Part 90 ~ "Anxiety Attacks on Rainy Days"
Part 91 ~ "One Thing at a Time"
Part 92 ~ "Dream Training"
Part 93 ~ "Moving In"
Part 94 ~ "Thanksgiving in LA"
Part 95 ~ "A Good-Hearted Country Girl"
Part 96 ~ "Another Roadblock"
Part 97 ~ "Another Good-Bye"
Part 98 ~ "Dr. Judsworth"
Part 99 ~ "Back to Chitown"
Part 100 ~ "That Cold December Day, Way Back When"
Part 101 ~ "Not The Couch"
Part 102 ~ "Breakfast and Hawaii"
Part 103 ~ "A Dead-End Disease"
Part 104 ~ "Seperate Ways"
Part 105 ~ "A Late Present"
Part 106 ~ "New Year's"
Part 107 ~ "Paparazzi Get Clued In"
Part 108 ~ "Another Flashback"
Part 109 ~ "Babies and Jellyfish"
Part 110 ~ "The Letter"
Part 111 ~ "Midol & Pregnancy Tests"
Part 112 ~ "The Kitchen Incident"
Part 113 ~ "Arguments & Threats"
Part 114 ~ "Two Days"
Part 115 ~ "Drinking With A Stranger"
Part 116 ~ "The Wedding"
Part 117 ~ "Reunited"
Part 118 ~ "The Final Weekend"
Part 119 ~ "Back to the Doctors"
Part 120 ~ "Letting Go"
Part 121 ~ "Out of Area"
Part 122 ~ "Nightmares"
Part 123 ~ "Bad Cop"
Part 124 ~ "Three Days Behind"
Part 125 ~ "Moving"
Part 126 ~ "Breakdown"
Part 127 ~ "Season Tickets"
Part 128 ~ "Hospital Frenzy"
Part 129 ~ "D.M.V."
Part 130 ~ "Sins of the Father"
~Part I~
~A Not So Normal Chicago Morning~
Edited: 05/07/07
The rain pours slowly down from the morning Chicago sky. It falls to the ground in soft, cool drops – causing him to pull the collar of his brown suede jacket over the exposed skin on his neck. The zipper on his coat is broken due to how poorly it was made in the first place. So he settles by taking the two flaps of the jacket and overlapping them, he then crosses his arms to keep the material closed over his chest.
He walks in a quick manner down the sidewalk; dodging a few umbrellas before they could successfully smack him in the head as he weaves through the crowd. He finally gets to the front door of his establishment and takes out the ring of keys he keeps in his deep coat pocket.
Unlocking the door, he steps inside and tries to shake off the water that now soaks his jacket and the bottom of his slacks. He takes off his coat and walks into the back room of his small bar and grill and throws it on an empty box. He gropes the wall blindly and flips on the lights after a few seconds of searching. He then walks to his office and opens the door. Caught off guard, he jumps back at the sight of someone sitting at his private desk.
“Joe! What the hell are you doing here?” Michael Vaughn asks his business partner. Joe McDonald lifts his scruffy head off of the desk, a piece of white receipt sticking to the side of his face.
“What?” He asks tiredly. He smacks off the paper and squints as he looks up to the voice that has just interrupted his sleep.
“What are you doing here?” Vaughn asks again as he steps further into his office space.
“Oh – right, I stayed to add up all the profits from this month, I guess I fell asleep.” He says. He looks at the papers lying before him as Vaughn takes a seat in the chair across from his desk.
“And?” He asks. He is curious and anxious to know if they were making a profit yet. But he knows not to get his hopes up.
“And…we’re minus $2,521.” Joe tells his friend. Vaughn rubs his forehead and sighs. “Hey, it’s not that bad. Look at how busy we’ve been at night. More people are starting to flock over here everyday. It has potential.”
“Yeah, but the problem is we’re….” He pauses to correct himself, knowing he is the one that is pretty much betting his life on the success of the bar. “…I’m spending money before I even have it. If you add the deficit from September then I’ve lost over $5,000.” Vaughn says. He stands up from the chair. “How the hell am I supposed to tell that to the bank? Sorry, I can’t pay back the three loans you’ve already given us. My credit is already shot.”
“We’ll figure it out, and at least the numbers are getting smaller each month.” Joe says, trying to make light of the situation. Vaughn just lets the subject go. He doesn’t want it to ruin his day seeing as the rain outside has made him more depressed than he previously was.
“You need anything I’ll be in front.” He tells Joe before stepping out of his office. The ironic part was that Joe spent more time in Michael’s office than Michael did himself, he loved to help the customers, and he loved actually running the bar.
He proceeds with his morning routine of turning on the television that’s mounted on the wall in the corner of the room and turning on the lights. He then steps behind the bar and starts to clean the dirty glasses from the night before and put them away in their proper places underneath the counter. About twenty minutes later the front door opens and he looks up briefly to see someone wearing a red hooded sweatshirt sporting the University of Wisconsin across the front.
“Good-morning. Give me just a moment and I’ll be right with you.” He tells the young women who has just taken a seat in one of the corner booths furthest from the windows.
In response, he gets a small smile out of her as she takes off her sunglasses and then carefully pushes the red hood off of her head, careful not to mess her brown locks up underneath.
He looks down to put the final glass away under the counter and then looks up once again. He pauses; his eyes scan her face as she flips through the menu on the table slowly, trying to decide what meal will get her through the morning. It takes him a moment to final place her face. But he realizes that he is technically paying for the meal she is about to order from the last time he bought a ticket to see her film.
He wipes his hands on the nearest dishtowel and walks out from behind the bar and toward the table that she currently occupies.
“What can I get you to eat this morning?” He asks in a very warm voice. He stands there and waits as she looks through the menu.
“Hmmm…how are your eggs?” She asks as she looks up at him, her eyes meet his and he can finally see the deep shade of brown that surrounds her pupils.
“Well, If my partner were to make them for you then I’d seriously reconsider. But I’ve been told I can cook up some pretty wicked scrambled egg.” He grins slightly.
“I heard that!” Joe yells from the back office, after a moment he peaks his head out as well. “They are very good though. Best eggs in Chitown!” He says rubbing his stomach.
She smiles, puts the menu down and folds her hands in her lap.
“Well, then I’ll have two eggs scrambled. That comes with the hash browns right?” She asks. He takes the menu from her and smiles.
“Sure does.” He says. “Anything to drink?”
She blushes slightly and bites her bottom lip as she looks down at her hands. He’s seen it before, he is familiar with people not being comfortable with their orders, especially women.
“You want a beer?” He asks.
“No.” She laughs. “Um…do you guy’s have chocolate milk?” She can’t even look at him when she asks.
“Chocolate milk with eggs?” He asks. But he isn’t surprised.
“I know, it’s weird…”
“No, actually I’ve done it before.” He tells her. “I put ketchup on my eggs too, so compared to me you’re normal.” He smiles. “Your order will be ready shortly.” He turns around and walks away as she utters a thank you to his back. He quickly makes her the breakfast she requested and brings it out 10 minutes later, which marks his third visit to her table after he had served her the chocolate milk she had ordered as well.
“Thank you.” She says as she sets a napkin in her lap.
“You’re very welcome.” He tells her. He walks away once again, this time into the office. He closes the door softly. Joe looks up at him.
“What?” He asks curiously.
“Do you know who that is out there?” Vaughn asks.
“No, who? Is it someone famous? Donald Trump maybe? You know they’re building his tower on the river down here.” He says. Vaughn pauses a moment, he knows what will happen if he tells Joe that Sydney Bristow is sitting in the other room.
“No.” Vaughn says. He walks back to the door.
“Damn, well why did you get me all excited?” He asks.
“Sorry.” Vaughn comments as he walks out of the room. He walks back behind the bar and finds that another man has since shown up at his bar. But this man strikes him as curious. He is staring at the famous girl sitting across the room.
“Can I get you something man?” Vaughn asks.
“No, I’m okay. Just chillin’.” The man replies. Vaughn looks over at Sydney Bristow to see her eating with her hood back on. Her right hand is also covering the side of her face as she tries to block the man from staring at her.
“Well, you’ll have to chill outside if you’re not going to order anything.” Vaughn tells the man.
“You can’t make me buy anything.”
”No, but I can make you leave.” Vaughn says.
“F**k you, buddy!” The man gets up and seems to be heading out the door, but before he does he pulls something out of his coat and walks toward Sydney.
“Hey!” Vaughn immediately runs over to him, thinking he has some sort of weapon, seeing as his trench coat is hiding whatever is underneath. When he realizes it’s a camera he relaxes slightly, but Sydney tenses up and covers her face.
“You thought you could hide here, huh, b**ch? Trying to lose me outside?”
“Get out…NOW!” Vaughn says sternly as he pushes the man away from the table that Sydney is sitting at.
“You can’t touch me!”
“I can when you’re harassing one of my customers. You want me to call the cops? You’re on private property, you know that?”
“Pssh! Whatever you asshole. Why don’t you take a few pictures then, they’ll be worth thousands.” The paparazzo leaves while shaking his head. Vaughn looks out the window to see a few people waiting with cameras out front. He locks the door and closes the blinds much to the dismay of the paparazzi.
“I’m sorry about that.” Michael says as he turns around to see Sydney taking off her hood again. “I really didn’t think anything of him at first.”
“You having nothing to apologize for, I draw them everywhere I go. I can’t ever seem to get away.” She scuffs slightly. “I guess this means you know who I am, huh?”
He gives her a small smile, “How could I not? I don’t understand why these people follow you so closely though. Are they waiting for you to screw up or something so they can ruin your life?”
“You pretty much hit it right on the head. That’s how they make their living. Sick isn’t it?” She asks as she finishes her chocolate milk.
“Yeah.” He says, feeling slightly sympathy for the invasion of her privacy. “How was your breakfast? Besides the interruption.”
“It was really great, thank you. However, I think your friend was wrong.” She says.
“How so?” He asks with a wrinkled forehead.
“I think these are the best eggs in the country.” She says. She smiles a full dimpled smile and Michael soon finds himself staring at her. Her smile is curiously intoxicating to him, and as much as he wants too, he cant seem to look away. A small smile creeps onto his face and she looks down at the table. He can see her make-up free cheeks turn a slight shade of red.
“Thank you.” He tells her softly.
“You’re very welcome.” She says. She pulls out her wallet from her purse and opens it up, revealing more money than he makes in a month. “How much?” She asks.
He waves her off.
“It’s on the house, don’t worry about it.” He says. She smiles and takes out a $100 bill then stands up and places it in the front pocket of his shirt.
“Thank you for breakfast.” She says. She puts her wallet back in her purse and puts her hood back up ready to dodge the men outside once again. She is about to walk out the front door when his soothing voice stops her.
“It’s getting worse out there. You may want one of these.” He tells her as he holds up an umbrella.
“You’re probably right. I’ll make sure to return it.” She says as she takes it from him with a thankful smile. She walks to the door and turns back to him for a moment. She gives him one more smile that causes his heart to flutter, and then she leaves.
He stands there for a few moments, unable to believe that he had just talked to Sydney Bristow, one of the fastest rising movie stars in the business. She was much different than he had expected. She was much more down-to-earth than most actresses and possibly more than most regular people as well. Something about her left him utterly captivated, he felt different after she left than he had before she had entered his bar.
Was it just a stupid celebrity crush, or was it more complicated than that?
Setting: Chicago 2004
Author: Kristina AKA: spy41
A/N: Alright. Vaughn is a bartender/cook. He's got his own bar&grill that he runs with his friend Joe. Sydney is an international movie/television star. They meet by chance.
Chapter Guide:
Part 1 ~ "A Not So Normal Chicago Morning" Edited 05/07/07
Part 2 ~ "The Second Meeting" Edited 05/14/07
Part 3 ~ "Surreal, But Nice" Edited 05/17/07
Part 4 ~ "The Third Wheel"
Part 5 ~ "Reality"
Part 6 ~ "Truth"
Part 7 ~ "Learning"
Part 8 ~ "Everyone Needs Someone"
Part 9 ~ "One in a Million"
Part 10 ~ "Elevator Run-In"
Part 11 ~ "The Phone Call"
Part 12 ~ "Problems"
Part 13 ~ "Confrontation"
Part 14 ~ "Last Minute Shopping"
Part 15 ~ "A Past Loss"
Part 15 b. ~ "Revelations"
Part 16 ~ "Insomnia"
Part 17 ~ "Connecting Losse Ends"
Part 18 ~ "Meeting The Bristow's"
Part 19 ~ "Dinner Interrogation"
Part 20 ~ "Comfort Zone"
Part 21 ~ "Spider Problems"
Part 22 ~ "The Accident"
Part 23 ~ "The Proposal"
Part 24 ~ "The Answer"
Part 25 ~ "Christmas Alone"
Part 26 ~ "Flight 309 to LAX"
Part 27 ~ "Under the Stars"
Part 28 ~ "A Christmas Surprise"
Part 29 ~ "The Picture Frame"
Part 30 ~ "A Visit From the Past"
Part 31 ~ "Taking a Risk"
Part 32 ~ "Late Night Phone Call"
Part 33 ~ "The Mistake"
Part 34 ~ "Change of Heart"
Part 35 ~ "Waiting"
Part 36 ~ "Good-Bye's"
Part 37 ~ "Reconciliation"
Part 38 ~ "Figuring Things Out"
Part 39 ~ "Grocery Aisle Disturbance"
Part 40 ~ "Some Bad Seafood"
Part 41 ~ "The Rumors Begin"
Part 42 ~ "Making Our Own Assumptions"
Part 43 ~ "The Talk"
Part 44 ~ "Wrong Timing"
Part 45 ~ "False Alarm"
Part 46 ~ "Catching Up"
Part 47 ~ "Sold"
Part 48 ~ "Voice-Mail Prank"
Part 49 ~ "Joe's Bar & Grill 'California Style' "
Part 50 ~ "Another Good-Bye"
Part 51 ~ "The Beginning"
Part 52 ~ "Serious Talk"
Part 53 ~ "The Journal"
Part 54 ~ "Journal Entry #2"
Part 55 ~ "Journal Entry #3"
Part 56 ~ "The Set-up"
Part 57 ~ "Hiding Reality"
Part 58 ~ "Close Call"
Part 59 ~ "Meeting Gina"
Part 60 ~ "Life & Love"
Part 61 ~ "The Ring Incident"
Part 62 ~ "Back to Chitown"
Part 63 ~ "Our First Valentine's Day"
Part 64 ~ "Dynamic Duo"
Part 65 ~ "Bathtub Advice"
Part 66 ~ "In the Shadows"
Part 67 ~ "Reflections"
Part 68 ~ "A Harmless Bet"
Part 69 ~ "A Late Breakfast"
Part 70 ~ "Battle of the Sexes"
Part 71 ~ "A Hidden Pain"
Part 72 ~ "While Angels Sleep"
Part 73 ~ "Breaking the Iceman"
Part 74 ~ "Bad Moods and Bad Ratings"
Part 75 ~ "Disneyland Virgin"
Part 76 ~ "Misses What?"
Part 77 ~ "Painting a Proposal"
Part 78 ~ "Nightmares to Reality"
Part 79 ~ "The Beginning of the End"
Part 80 ~ "Eight Years"
Part 81 ~ "The Hitman Returns"
Part 82 ~ "Fleeing Canada"
Part 83 ~ "Emotional Scars"
Part 84 ~ "Choices"
Part 85 ~ "When It's Over"
Part 86 ~ "Resurrected"
Part 87 ~ "Running in Circles with Nowhere to Go"
Part 88 ~ "Casablanca"
Part 89 ~ "Only Friends"
Part 90 ~ "Anxiety Attacks on Rainy Days"
Part 91 ~ "One Thing at a Time"
Part 92 ~ "Dream Training"
Part 93 ~ "Moving In"
Part 94 ~ "Thanksgiving in LA"
Part 95 ~ "A Good-Hearted Country Girl"
Part 96 ~ "Another Roadblock"
Part 97 ~ "Another Good-Bye"
Part 98 ~ "Dr. Judsworth"
Part 99 ~ "Back to Chitown"
Part 100 ~ "That Cold December Day, Way Back When"
Part 101 ~ "Not The Couch"
Part 102 ~ "Breakfast and Hawaii"
Part 103 ~ "A Dead-End Disease"
Part 104 ~ "Seperate Ways"
Part 105 ~ "A Late Present"
Part 106 ~ "New Year's"
Part 107 ~ "Paparazzi Get Clued In"
Part 108 ~ "Another Flashback"
Part 109 ~ "Babies and Jellyfish"
Part 110 ~ "The Letter"
Part 111 ~ "Midol & Pregnancy Tests"
Part 112 ~ "The Kitchen Incident"
Part 113 ~ "Arguments & Threats"
Part 114 ~ "Two Days"
Part 115 ~ "Drinking With A Stranger"
Part 116 ~ "The Wedding"
Part 117 ~ "Reunited"
Part 118 ~ "The Final Weekend"
Part 119 ~ "Back to the Doctors"
Part 120 ~ "Letting Go"
Part 121 ~ "Out of Area"
Part 122 ~ "Nightmares"
Part 123 ~ "Bad Cop"
Part 124 ~ "Three Days Behind"
Part 125 ~ "Moving"
Part 126 ~ "Breakdown"
Part 127 ~ "Season Tickets"
Part 128 ~ "Hospital Frenzy"
Part 129 ~ "D.M.V."
Part 130 ~ "Sins of the Father"
~Part I~
~A Not So Normal Chicago Morning~
Edited: 05/07/07
The rain pours slowly down from the morning Chicago sky. It falls to the ground in soft, cool drops – causing him to pull the collar of his brown suede jacket over the exposed skin on his neck. The zipper on his coat is broken due to how poorly it was made in the first place. So he settles by taking the two flaps of the jacket and overlapping them, he then crosses his arms to keep the material closed over his chest.
He walks in a quick manner down the sidewalk; dodging a few umbrellas before they could successfully smack him in the head as he weaves through the crowd. He finally gets to the front door of his establishment and takes out the ring of keys he keeps in his deep coat pocket.
Unlocking the door, he steps inside and tries to shake off the water that now soaks his jacket and the bottom of his slacks. He takes off his coat and walks into the back room of his small bar and grill and throws it on an empty box. He gropes the wall blindly and flips on the lights after a few seconds of searching. He then walks to his office and opens the door. Caught off guard, he jumps back at the sight of someone sitting at his private desk.
“Joe! What the hell are you doing here?” Michael Vaughn asks his business partner. Joe McDonald lifts his scruffy head off of the desk, a piece of white receipt sticking to the side of his face.
“What?” He asks tiredly. He smacks off the paper and squints as he looks up to the voice that has just interrupted his sleep.
“What are you doing here?” Vaughn asks again as he steps further into his office space.
“Oh – right, I stayed to add up all the profits from this month, I guess I fell asleep.” He says. He looks at the papers lying before him as Vaughn takes a seat in the chair across from his desk.
“And?” He asks. He is curious and anxious to know if they were making a profit yet. But he knows not to get his hopes up.
“And…we’re minus $2,521.” Joe tells his friend. Vaughn rubs his forehead and sighs. “Hey, it’s not that bad. Look at how busy we’ve been at night. More people are starting to flock over here everyday. It has potential.”
“Yeah, but the problem is we’re….” He pauses to correct himself, knowing he is the one that is pretty much betting his life on the success of the bar. “…I’m spending money before I even have it. If you add the deficit from September then I’ve lost over $5,000.” Vaughn says. He stands up from the chair. “How the hell am I supposed to tell that to the bank? Sorry, I can’t pay back the three loans you’ve already given us. My credit is already shot.”
“We’ll figure it out, and at least the numbers are getting smaller each month.” Joe says, trying to make light of the situation. Vaughn just lets the subject go. He doesn’t want it to ruin his day seeing as the rain outside has made him more depressed than he previously was.
“You need anything I’ll be in front.” He tells Joe before stepping out of his office. The ironic part was that Joe spent more time in Michael’s office than Michael did himself, he loved to help the customers, and he loved actually running the bar.
He proceeds with his morning routine of turning on the television that’s mounted on the wall in the corner of the room and turning on the lights. He then steps behind the bar and starts to clean the dirty glasses from the night before and put them away in their proper places underneath the counter. About twenty minutes later the front door opens and he looks up briefly to see someone wearing a red hooded sweatshirt sporting the University of Wisconsin across the front.
“Good-morning. Give me just a moment and I’ll be right with you.” He tells the young women who has just taken a seat in one of the corner booths furthest from the windows.
In response, he gets a small smile out of her as she takes off her sunglasses and then carefully pushes the red hood off of her head, careful not to mess her brown locks up underneath.
He looks down to put the final glass away under the counter and then looks up once again. He pauses; his eyes scan her face as she flips through the menu on the table slowly, trying to decide what meal will get her through the morning. It takes him a moment to final place her face. But he realizes that he is technically paying for the meal she is about to order from the last time he bought a ticket to see her film.
He wipes his hands on the nearest dishtowel and walks out from behind the bar and toward the table that she currently occupies.
“What can I get you to eat this morning?” He asks in a very warm voice. He stands there and waits as she looks through the menu.
“Hmmm…how are your eggs?” She asks as she looks up at him, her eyes meet his and he can finally see the deep shade of brown that surrounds her pupils.
“Well, If my partner were to make them for you then I’d seriously reconsider. But I’ve been told I can cook up some pretty wicked scrambled egg.” He grins slightly.
“I heard that!” Joe yells from the back office, after a moment he peaks his head out as well. “They are very good though. Best eggs in Chitown!” He says rubbing his stomach.
She smiles, puts the menu down and folds her hands in her lap.
“Well, then I’ll have two eggs scrambled. That comes with the hash browns right?” She asks. He takes the menu from her and smiles.
“Sure does.” He says. “Anything to drink?”
She blushes slightly and bites her bottom lip as she looks down at her hands. He’s seen it before, he is familiar with people not being comfortable with their orders, especially women.
“You want a beer?” He asks.
“No.” She laughs. “Um…do you guy’s have chocolate milk?” She can’t even look at him when she asks.
“Chocolate milk with eggs?” He asks. But he isn’t surprised.
“I know, it’s weird…”
“No, actually I’ve done it before.” He tells her. “I put ketchup on my eggs too, so compared to me you’re normal.” He smiles. “Your order will be ready shortly.” He turns around and walks away as she utters a thank you to his back. He quickly makes her the breakfast she requested and brings it out 10 minutes later, which marks his third visit to her table after he had served her the chocolate milk she had ordered as well.
“Thank you.” She says as she sets a napkin in her lap.
“You’re very welcome.” He tells her. He walks away once again, this time into the office. He closes the door softly. Joe looks up at him.
“What?” He asks curiously.
“Do you know who that is out there?” Vaughn asks.
“No, who? Is it someone famous? Donald Trump maybe? You know they’re building his tower on the river down here.” He says. Vaughn pauses a moment, he knows what will happen if he tells Joe that Sydney Bristow is sitting in the other room.
“No.” Vaughn says. He walks back to the door.
“Damn, well why did you get me all excited?” He asks.
“Sorry.” Vaughn comments as he walks out of the room. He walks back behind the bar and finds that another man has since shown up at his bar. But this man strikes him as curious. He is staring at the famous girl sitting across the room.
“Can I get you something man?” Vaughn asks.
“No, I’m okay. Just chillin’.” The man replies. Vaughn looks over at Sydney Bristow to see her eating with her hood back on. Her right hand is also covering the side of her face as she tries to block the man from staring at her.
“Well, you’ll have to chill outside if you’re not going to order anything.” Vaughn tells the man.
“You can’t make me buy anything.”
”No, but I can make you leave.” Vaughn says.
“F**k you, buddy!” The man gets up and seems to be heading out the door, but before he does he pulls something out of his coat and walks toward Sydney.
“Hey!” Vaughn immediately runs over to him, thinking he has some sort of weapon, seeing as his trench coat is hiding whatever is underneath. When he realizes it’s a camera he relaxes slightly, but Sydney tenses up and covers her face.
“You thought you could hide here, huh, b**ch? Trying to lose me outside?”
“Get out…NOW!” Vaughn says sternly as he pushes the man away from the table that Sydney is sitting at.
“You can’t touch me!”
“I can when you’re harassing one of my customers. You want me to call the cops? You’re on private property, you know that?”
“Pssh! Whatever you asshole. Why don’t you take a few pictures then, they’ll be worth thousands.” The paparazzo leaves while shaking his head. Vaughn looks out the window to see a few people waiting with cameras out front. He locks the door and closes the blinds much to the dismay of the paparazzi.
“I’m sorry about that.” Michael says as he turns around to see Sydney taking off her hood again. “I really didn’t think anything of him at first.”
“You having nothing to apologize for, I draw them everywhere I go. I can’t ever seem to get away.” She scuffs slightly. “I guess this means you know who I am, huh?”
He gives her a small smile, “How could I not? I don’t understand why these people follow you so closely though. Are they waiting for you to screw up or something so they can ruin your life?”
“You pretty much hit it right on the head. That’s how they make their living. Sick isn’t it?” She asks as she finishes her chocolate milk.
“Yeah.” He says, feeling slightly sympathy for the invasion of her privacy. “How was your breakfast? Besides the interruption.”
“It was really great, thank you. However, I think your friend was wrong.” She says.
“How so?” He asks with a wrinkled forehead.
“I think these are the best eggs in the country.” She says. She smiles a full dimpled smile and Michael soon finds himself staring at her. Her smile is curiously intoxicating to him, and as much as he wants too, he cant seem to look away. A small smile creeps onto his face and she looks down at the table. He can see her make-up free cheeks turn a slight shade of red.
“Thank you.” He tells her softly.
“You’re very welcome.” She says. She pulls out her wallet from her purse and opens it up, revealing more money than he makes in a month. “How much?” She asks.
He waves her off.
“It’s on the house, don’t worry about it.” He says. She smiles and takes out a $100 bill then stands up and places it in the front pocket of his shirt.
“Thank you for breakfast.” She says. She puts her wallet back in her purse and puts her hood back up ready to dodge the men outside once again. She is about to walk out the front door when his soothing voice stops her.
“It’s getting worse out there. You may want one of these.” He tells her as he holds up an umbrella.
“You’re probably right. I’ll make sure to return it.” She says as she takes it from him with a thankful smile. She walks to the door and turns back to him for a moment. She gives him one more smile that causes his heart to flutter, and then she leaves.
He stands there for a few moments, unable to believe that he had just talked to Sydney Bristow, one of the fastest rising movie stars in the business. She was much different than he had expected. She was much more down-to-earth than most actresses and possibly more than most regular people as well. Something about her left him utterly captivated, he felt different after she left than he had before she had entered his bar.
Was it just a stupid celebrity crush, or was it more complicated than that?
. 
