DON'T COME BACK AND PRETEND YOU'RE SORRY--*

[JENNA VALERIE DAWSON]

"I-if you don't mind..could you just stop here please?" Jenna leaned forward so that the driver would be able to hear her over his radio; but she tried to not get too close to him as she was having a hard enough time trying to keep the contents of her stomach down sitting in the back seat of his taxi and the stale sweat that was drifting from him was not too pleasant either. That would teach her for getting a taxi; you'd think that someone who'd spent their whole life growing up in New York would know that sometimes you were likely to get a foul smelling cab and a moody driver who was not in the mood to be ferrying Manhattan princesses up and down the city. She'd walked to the restaraunt she was meeting her father and his wife at, as it was only a block away from her brother's apartment where she was staying until she could afford rent on her own place. But ten minutes in and the insults had started; he wasn't quite over Jenna leaving the internship he'd gotten her at his production company when she was sixteen and thought she was a fool for choosing her career. Despite the fact that her new step-mother was a glamour model before she became an actress, he chose to ignore that vital little fact.

She only moved out of the family home last year, but he was adamant that he would be checking up on her at every given point. He was trying to persuade her to attend some upcoming charity event with one of, what her step-mother called, New York's most eligible bachelors. At first she had been confused, while she wasn't exactly one to keep up with the socialites and their inner circles, she was pretty sure she'd never even heard of the boy. Not that she cared about status, it was just that she hadn't wanted to be part of any of her father's dodgy deals in a bid to secure partners and whatnot. She didn't say no, but she didn't say yes either and Jenna knew fine well that he would try and bully her into it, so making an excuse to visit the restroom she...well, she escaped. Probably not her smartest move, but what else was she supposed to do? So she'd hailed a taxi and asked him to take her to the nearest club, but with traffic and the unusual heat of the evening, she couldn't stand the stench and was afraid it would cling to her clothing.

So as he mumbled something unintelligable at her, she thrust the twenty dollar bill in his waiting hand after he'd pulled over in a small side street. Telling him to keep the change, she finally got the door open and a blast of clean air hit her; as she inhaled happily and slammed his door behind her. Free at last. She was sure he was a nice man..he could just do with getting his taxi cleaned out and maybe investing in some deoderant. It might improve his business. She had a vague idea of where she was as she cast her eyes around the street, taking in the steady flow of people traipsing along the sidewalk. Still a good walk away from her favourite club, Jenna decided that maybe a quiet drink would calm her down. She'd call Damien, her brother, later and tell him what had happened. And the fact that now, if and when their father callled..she wasn't in. Jenna didn't do well with confrontations and she wasn't about to start dealing with them now, especially from her own father.

By the time she'd found somewhere that wasn't brimming with people and pumping out loud garage music, she was just desperate for a drink. Jenna found a quiet little bar, with no paparazzi outside waiting for the socialites and celebrities, no scary men in black looming by the door to judge whether or not you were worthy enough and best of all, no music that made your brain melt through your ears. Since she'd signed her contract a year ago, Jenna had been more and more noticed throughout the city with certain people so lately, she'd had no trouble getting into clubs and making reservations. She just..didn't want to do have wild parties every weekend; this was one Saturday where she wanted a good, quiet, drink. Inside the bar, it was modern with a black and silver interior; the lights being a dull pink so the entire bar was set in a peaceful ambience. The music was nothing more than background, yet it could still be heard over the noise of conversation as there were several people inside; all talking about whatever so that it was almost like a coffee place with alcohol. She smiled to herself as she took up one of the few empty seats that lined the bar, ordering herself a cosmopolitan. Her purse was resting next to her glass, and when it starting to shrill a loud rendition of "Made Up Stories" she jumped slightly, blushing as a few people turned to glare at her while she scrambled to answer it. Though when she saw the caller ID, she simple dismissed the call, groaning softly and muttering to herself, "Bugger off Damien, I am not in the mood," before taking a large and much needed drink from her cocktail.

MUSE !?;; family guy, russel howard, michael mcintyre and a wee bit of go:audio <33 !?
NOTES !?;; it's a week late but ily xD !?
STATUS !?;; finished !?
TAGGED !?;; colleeeen !?
WORDS !?;; nine three six without the credits!?
OUTFIT !?;; click !?
CREDIT !?;; JADE !? @ caution 2.0 for the template and KAYLA @ caution for the image.