Blind Date | Karaoke Night!

Inhale. Exhale.

Flick.

Golden smoke, mingled with white wafted, through the air as Damian curiously observed the location he was supposed to meet his blind date at. A karaoke bar, huh? Not his usual kind of hang out, but that was part of the fun. New'ish experiences with new buns and all that.

Speaking of new buns, though, the purple pride bun couldn't help but look around a bit in an attempt to see if he could spot this date of his. He had an idea of who he was looking for; appearance, name, etc. He just had to, y'know, locate them. Maybe they were already inside and waiting on him? Hmm, only one way to find out.

The inside was nice enough. There was no mistaking that it was a karaoke bar he'd walked into, what with the fact that there was singing going on. As one would probably expect. Besides being hella tempted to mosey on over to the bar and order himself a drink, it might be more polite to actually track his date down first.

Hopefully he hadn't missed them somewhere.

~~~

After a plethora of failed romantic dates, Chanel figured that she'd better set her expectations lower. Upon venting her grievances to the buns in charge of the blind date matchup, they seemed sympathetic to her plight and reassured her that this one would be much better. 

"Why not try something fun?" they had proposed, settling on a karaoke bar that boasted both a public stage and private booths as the chosen venue.

So, for the first time in a while, Chanel entered a bar with the intent to sing rather than drink. She adjusted the extensions in her hair and played with the bracelet that dangled from her wrist. She opted for a casual outfit, harboring the hope that her date wouldn't feel overwhelmed by her refined taste in jewelry —a taste that, contrary to appearances, certainly didn't align with her current financial situation.

She was given a description of her date prior, and her gaze eventually locked onto a strikingly handsome man with hair that looked almost mulberry coloured under the pink neon lights. 

She smiled as she approached, waving quickly. "Hey, hello!" she chirped, "I'm Chanel. You must be Damian, correct?" 

~~~

Damian curiously looked in the direction he heard someone call out to him. Oh, was this his date?

A question that was quickly answered upon her introduction to him. Yup, this was this date.

"Yeah, that'd be me." he replied with a smile. Or, well... It was more of a grin than a smile, but he tried. "Who's askin'?"

That was a tease. He was teasing. 

No matter what her reaction though, he'd quickly let out a soft, 'pff,' accompanied with a puff of golden smoke, before cocking his head and giving a more serious response of, "Chanel, yeah?" As much as he wanted to give her a proper once over, a quick one would have to do for now and, well, he certainly didn't hate what he saw. Quite the contrary, really. "S'nice to meet a cute bun such as yourself."

The compliment was followed by him cocking his head in the direction of the bar. "Can I get you a drink or anything? My treat~" Or, y'know, they could get properly situated and sing some first. That was also an option. High-key he mostly wanted to get the drink for himself, but he wasn't going to leave his date out of the equation.

~~~

Chanel couldn't help but grin at the playful banter, her smile becoming increasingly amused as Damian's wit rolled off of him. She found it incredibly hard to ignore the charm that this bun naturally exuded. He was clearly intelligent, as anyone worth spending time with was in her view. Her grin widened further when he complimented her, her ego instantly strengthening with pride. 

"A really pretty girl is askin'!" she replied warmly, that very pretty girl obviously being her. She always put effort into her appearance, regardless of where she was heading. "It's a pleasure to meet you too - ah, and sure, nothing too much, though... I haven't eaten today. And do you sing? I do! We could sing duets!"

She couldn't contain her rambly enthusiasm for such a place - the only thing on her mind other than having fun was showing off her vocals, preferably to a large crowd.

~~~

Oho! Cute, lively, and a sense of confidence! He liked that. Quite a bit.

Damian did hesitate a little when he heard that she hadn't eaten yet today, though not that that was all too noticeable on him.  Okay, yeah, that definitely meant he shouldn't be getting anything too strong for her. It also made him feel the need to buy more than just a drink, though, so hmmm...

He couldn't help but laugh a little in response at her clear enthusiasm about singing. It gave the impression that it was something she was quite fond of doing, which made him pretty curious about how she sounded while singing. Her normal speaking voice was pretty cute as is, after all. 

"S'not really something I do very often, but I'd like to think 'm not too bad at it." He shrugged casually. "A duet sounds like it'd be fun. So then... How's about you get us a situated with that, 'nd I'll go get us some...refreshments, yeah?" Of course they didn't have to partake in them immediately, but he had offered, and he was going to get some.

~~~

"That sounds splendid," Chanel said, excited for the night of fun that would unfold, but managing to stay classy and composed with her posture.

The more that she mulled it over, a couple of drinks wouldn't do her any harm, right? What's the worst that could happen, aside from a mild hangover? 

"But yes, of course! I'll have whatever you're having; I'm not terribly picky," she continued with a smile, not wanting to pressure him with any expensive tastes. 

~~~

Damian shot Chanel...oddly classy finger guns before making his way to the bar. Her not being terribly picky made things a little easier on what to get, but at the same time a part of him did also feel the need to spoil her a little. What to get, though...

And, okay, so... He might have gotten a little carried away with his order. What was meant to be a snack or two and a drink for each of them wound up two rather pricey looking drinks for each of them. And two small snacks. What? They looked and sounded good and, after having snuck a sip from each of them, he could confirm that they were good. To him, anyway. Hopefully Chanel would think the same.

But this wasn't really about eating and drinking.

With tray in hand he went to look for wherever Chanel and him would be doing their karaoke. Curious to see if they'd be showing their singing skills off, or just doing something a little more intimate.

~~~

As Damian headed to procure drinks, Chanel took charge of the check-in process. The church, in its generosity, had thoughtfully secured a private room for them; but the tables were always open to the public, of course. When Damian arrived again, she stopped in front of the door to their room before drawing attention to him.

Chanel noticed the other bun had brought back two drinks and two snacks, which she appreciated. She eyed the tray curiously, noting the drinks being... a little more on the pricey side. Should she have offered to transfer half the cash? She considered grabbing food then and there, but figured she should hold back until they got situated.

"Thank you for grabbing these! They look really good," she said with the same cheerful energy. "We had a booth checked out... but if you're very confident, perhaps you can woo me on stage."

~~~~

“Pleasure’s all mine~” Though his response to her thanks had been perfectly gentlemanly, or well, as gentlemanly as Damian could manage… A glint filled Damian’s eyes as Chanel continued to speak. A spark of something. Was that…a challenge?

Probably not and, more than likely, he was looking too deeply into things, but if Damian didn’t have a need to show off before, he definitely had one now. Like, sure; a private room was great. It had even been reserved for them! However…

…it took more restraint than Damian would ever openly admit to not just excitedly growl out a, ‘You’re on!’ Instead he managed to keep his composure, grinning in an as politely cheeky way as possible. “The stage it is, then~”

Was he confident? Oh yeah, when wasn’t he, honestly? Would he successfully manage to woo her? Well…

~~~~

Chanel's sweet smile transformed into a mischievous gleam as she perceived the same spark of mischief mirrored in the other bun's expression. He possessed a competitive edge, but can it measure up against a seasoned social media star? 

"I'd advise you watch out, because I'm about to stun you with this," Chanel replied, flexing her hands. "However, I'll give you the advantage for this round. You can choose the song!" 

Suddenly feeling awkward about her declaration, she took a quick swig from one of the drinks. She hoped that the one she grabbed was for her - perhaps she should have asked, but she was feeling bold.

With that, she sauntered forwards, pleased with her announcement.

Although Chanel had previously been apprehensive about the dating service, maybe this date was the first in a string of fun and new experiences. This new bun was a mixture of chill, cool, and interesting - everything she liked in terms of date! 

Perhaps she was lonely enough to seek companionship just to hang out; just to feel like she had a friend willing to listen to her. It had been so long since she felt as though she had a proper hang out where someone was receptive to her silly ideas and interests. However, the honesty of this new relationship isn't her concern during this revelrous night. 

It's time to sing!