fandomtownies | Spike's Pub is Open 12/26

Mood not any better than it was that morning, Angela hesitates before entering Spike's. She remembers what the Tick had told her; a tougher crowd, she muses, sounds just about right.

She sits at the corner of the bar and signals the blond bartender for a drink.

Yazoo strolled over and leaned on the bar in front of the new person. He hadn't seen her in here before. "Hey. What are you drinking?"

Only having arrived back in town a short time ago, Geoff is slowly nursing a beer and chatting with the brothers at the far end of the bar. Seeing Angela, though, he bounces up out of his seat and strides over.

"Lady Angela!" Geoff plants an enthusiastic on her cheek. "Back from your trip home I see. How was your family?"

He slides onto the stool next to her and motions for Yazoo that he'll pay for her drink.

"Boilermaker," Angela says, cupping her head in one palm and barely looking up. "Beer's a Budweiser. House whiskey is fine for the shot."

"Shot with chaser, mixed or a depth charge?" Yazoo asked, pulling down the glasses and the whiskey.

Angela pulls away from the kiss and starts to glare before she realizes this greeting probably was appropriate for her younger self.

She's still grumpy, though.

"I'm not your Angela," she says flatly. "But as far as I know, her family is fine."

Angela tucks her hair behind one ear, considering her options. "Depth charge, I guess."

Pulling the beer, Yazoo set the glass aside and filled the shot glass with the whiskey. He droppped the into the beer and slid it over to her. "Drink up."

Geoff's eyebrows go up as he leans back a little to look at her.

"My sincerest apologies, my lady. You look exactly like a friend of mine. Although now that I'm paying attention, I can see that you're a couple of years older. Do you have a younger sister? And please, allow me to get your drink to make it up to you."

He gives her a charming grin.

"Thanks," Angela mutters, taking a long pull of her drink before turning to Geoff.

Angela lets out a breath. Here we go again.... But the guy does have a nice smile. She can be polite.

"I do have a sister, but I'm not her, either," she says, taking a gulp of beer. "Don't ask me to explain this, but somehow I got switched with the Angela who belongs here in Special Collections at the library a couple days back. In my world, I left this island more than ten years ago. Didn't plan on coming back, but here I am."

She squints. "You look vaguely familiar, but I'm not coming up with a name. I'm sorry."

"And thank you for the drink. I'll get the next round."

"Geoff Chaucer." He holds out his hand. "And I haven't been into Special Collections myself, but I've heard stories. Also about one of the lockers, and what happens when you get bitten by a gremlin....I could go on, but the list is endless." Geoff grins again. "So, all right, you're not the Angela I know, but you are Angela. Maybe I look familiar because the other Angela and I are friends...through Paige first, if I remember correctly, and then through Marty."

Angela returns Geoff's smile and shakes his hand. "That's right, Geoff. I kind of remember Paige talking about you, and I think I met you once or twice."

"And I think the weirdest thing about this town is that nobody's that surprised by what happened to me. Apparently I'm basically lucky I'm still a person."

She takes another swig of her drink. "So what's happened here between September and now? Are you and Paige still together?"

Turning Angela's hand over, Geoff kisses the back. "I believe we met at the shop, not too long after I arrived. And in this town, my lady, I promise you -- yours is not the strangest story around."

He frowns momentarily at the question, but the grins comes back pretty quickly. "No, Paige and I have gone our separate ways. It wasn't...an advisable relationship, I don't think. And she's actually a student of mine now, which makes it all the more a very bad idea for us to see each other. As for what's happened since September..."

Geoff settles a little more comfortably on his stool and leans an elbow on the bar. "Do you want the long version or the short version?"

"You started teaching? That's pretty cool," Angela says. "I did that a little last year. It's really hard work."

She grins wickedly. "As for what's happened here ... let's start with the short version, and I'll ask for the long if I need it."

"I am your servant," Geoff answers with a little bow. "The short version it is."

He launches into a colorful story of the events of the past several months, including his adventures in teaching high school, and ending with meeting Angela herself at the pub.

"And so, my lady -- does the tale meet your approval, or shall I elaborate?"

Angela is grinning as much as Geoff now. "I think I get the idea," she says. "And I'm completely impressed you got a whole class to write sestinas. I'm sure the one younger me turned in was very angsty."

"Also, Geoff? Has anybody ever told you you're a flirt?"

"Well, it did lean a little toward the side of teen angst, but it wasn't at all a bad attempt. I'm actually very proud of all my students -- they really worked hard."

Leaning a little bit toward Angela and giving her his most roguish grin, he adds, "I have been accused once or twice, my lady. As of yet, however, I've had very few complaints."

"I can't imagine why," Angela says, reaching out to touch his arm, then quickly drawing her hand back. In spite of herself, she's enjoying the attention. You're taken, remember?
Sadly, she glances down at the finger where the engagement ring she expected for Christmas should have been.

Covering her confusion with a laugh, she signals to Yazoo. "Are you ready for another round, Geoff?"

Geoff's eyes are drawn to her hand as well, and he cocks an eyebrow curiously.

"I am indeed ready for another round, especially as you're buying," he replies, pushing his glass toward Yazoo for a refill. "So, do you know how long you'll be staying, then? Or are you settling in? I only ask," he adds with a mock-serious expression, taking a swig of his beer, "Because I'm hiring at the shop."

"I was supposed to get an engagement ring for Christmas," Angela explains quickly, flexing her fingers. "Though I'm not sure if I'm still engaged, since I'm here and have no idea how to get there. And if were switched and my younger self ran into James, she probably scared him off anyhow."

"I guess I'm here until somebody figures out how to get us back. I hope we can get home before the new year, because I'm sure people are worried about both of us, but I don't think there's much hope."

She takes a swig of her fresh drink, idly swinging her legs and tucking them under the barstool. "So I wouldn't put myself on your payroll. If I have any luck, I won't be such a reliable employee."

Nodding, Geoff backs off the charm a bit. "I'll wish you congratulations then, with hopes that you'll be rejoining your fiance soon. And I think you're being hard on your younger self. She's a fine young woman whom I'm proud to call my friend."

With a more serious look, he asks, "You do have a place to stay, right? I mean, you're not just wandering around being taken in by people who are to kind to leave you out in the cold."

"I didn't mean to be hard on myself -- I just meant that if the younger me showed up talking about gremlins and vampires and Special Collections, it would probably throw James. He's a very practical type of person. But," she adds with a smile, "Thanks for the compliment anyhow."

"And I'm staying in the apartment over Luke's diner. Rory Gilmore set it up for me."

"That's good to hear then," Geoff answers, nodding his approval. "Rory's a friend of mine as well."

He smiles back. "I suppose if someone had told me about those things before I actually arrived here, I'd have been fairly worried as well. But if this James of yours is good enough for you to consider marrying, then I imagine he'll understand."

"He should understand," Angela says, almost sadly. "I mean, it's the truth. So."

It seems like lightening the mood would be a good idea. "Um. Complete change of topic, what did you do for the holidays?"

Spike's Pub is Open 12/26

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