Good Graces, Bad Influence //Azi//

[dean jackson starr]

Dean made a face of mock misery, even if he was a bit serious. He down a shot of scotch. It wasn't much later when Piper looked over with a mischievous smile.
"I want to call up my best friend and dear brother to help me out for a moment." The redhead batted her eyelashes at the crowd, "Dean Jackson Starr, come up here, grab, a guitar, it's time for "Chicken Fried!" She called.
Dean felt everyone's eyes search the room then land on him. "I can't say no now can I?" He laughed before going up to the stage to join one song. It was one of his favorites anyways. Dean sang, and he sang well too. He was about to leave the stage when Piper grabbed his shirt.
"Where do you think you're going, you've got one more song to sing!" She said, smiling brightly at the audience. "You've got a lovely lady sitting next to you over there, she deserves a song." Piper said, sending the crowd roaring.
Dean turned a shade of pink and tried to look away, catching Piper with a look of horror.
"Come on Dean, every girl deserves a serenade." Piper pushed. She looked back at the audience "See, I'm pushing for a rednecked version of a Backstreet Boys song, but I doubt I'll convince him to pop." She laughed. Saying something cute, that was how she worked the crowd, and Dean had no doubt she was good at what she did.
Now it was his turn to work the crowd, just as his family had trained him to do. "Now now, I couldn't pull off a song like that, I'm too country as they say. How about a little Thompson Square?" Dean said with a force chuckle. "And yes, this goes to out to the lovely Miss Azi over there." Dean looked right at Azi before launching into the song "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?"

[azrael murphy devlin]

If Azi could have died at any point, it was right then and there. She brought a hand up and covered her face, turning some shade of color out of embarrassment. She had enjoyed listening to them, but this was pushing her comfort zone into an early grave. She made a mental note to kill both siblings and hide the bodies before she left town, shrugging her shoulders and smiling some at a few people.

She wasn't exactly a country fan, but the words were pretty unmistakable and his point was too. She was at least able to read them and sighed, deciding that having a few more drinks would probably take the edge off. She sighed, ordering a few more drinks, mostly to get to a buzz in her head before she sighed, watching the performance, even if she was still attempting to hide behind her hand. Yeah, dense didn't even cover her somedays.

[dean jackson starr]

She was a bleach blonde of golden perfection, someone perfectly tanned without a hair out of place. The dress was short, lacy, and black, showing off long thin legs hung on hips that swayed when the girl walked. And of course, attached to her arm was a guy; tall, well built, and brimming with confidence. He was more leading her than anything else, just so he wouldn't be walking in alone.
The guy knew the voice of the redhead far more than most people and his eyes instantly flew to the stage. Yeah, it was her. "When did she get back in town?" He muttered to the blonde.
"Ughhh ignore her Tom," the blonde said before she let go of his arm and headed to the bar. "Skinny pomtini Brad." She addressed the bartender.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dean caught sight of her, Chloe Moon. He froze for a second, his blue eyes darting at Azi and back at the blonde. No, no, NO this couldn't be happening. Wait, who was that she was with? Oh no, do things get any worse? Tom, Piper's ex boyfriend, the one that tried to rip his sister's heart to pieces. Just like he was trained, he kept singing, rushing the song a bit though. He needed to get off that stage.
Piper glared at her brother for speeding up and stumbling on a few words as she strummed behind him. It was frustrating, but she had to keep a smile on.
Dean finished the song, barely. The second he hit that last note Piper's lips were at her mic. "Thanks Dean, now wasn't that sweet everyone?" She said with a bubbly laugh and a get-off-my-stage glance at Dean, who happily fled the stage and rushed back to Azi.
He sat down and spun around to see Piper continuing her set list and then took a gulp of his scotch. "Don't look now, things might get kinda icky at this rate." Dean muttered.

[azrael murphy devlin]

Unfortunately for Dean, Azi had already seen the duo that walked in. She was rather akin to a dog, and if she had fur, it would be bristling and she’d be growling with her ears back. As it was, she’d already drank a few beers and if there was anything that Azi knew how to do, it was take an ugly situation and shut it down right away. She had enough in her to lay pretty much anyone out flat on the ground after one hit, even if she was dressed up to look like a girl, there was one thing that she could do, fight and drink. Something that she had a suspicion was going to pop up sooner or later. Azi shrugged a shoulder, eying Dean sideways before she tiled her head, innocently looking at the newfound couple.

“So, your girlfriend decided to make an appearance?” she asked before finishing her beer and shrugging, sliding off the stool. Like hell she was planning on staying around. She figured if there was a fight, she’d hear it from outside and if they threw out whoever was fighting, she’d see it and get the general gist of it. Azi simply watched him with a blank look, tossing the tail of her ponytail over her shoulder to trail down her back like an ink stain as she looked up at Piper. She really didn’t wanna stick around for this, so better to just leave now and forget about everything. Or at least grab a cigarette.

“I’m walking out,” she muttered at Dean, turning on a heel and weaving through the crowd of people and chairs with a practiced motion, something more akin to a person who spent their lifetime running and jumping and doing everything to get dirty. She’d already fished out her ever present pack of cigarettes and had one tucked behind her ear by the time she hit the door, nodding at the bouncer with a faint smile before stepping out and around the corner of it, leaning against the wall of the small alcove between the buildings. It didn’t go back far enough to be considered an alleyway, but there was a dumpster there for the club and a couple other buildings. Azi flicked her lighter up and brought the coffin nail to her lips before she inhaled and leaned on the wall, rubbing her temples, feeling more stupid than she’d ever felt in her entire life.

[dean jackson starr]

Dean nearly choked on his scotch at the word "girlfriend" "Wha- No! Azi it was never like that!" Dean put down the glass and started to rush out after Azi, almost colliding into Tom who had a death glare on him.
"Dean Starr, didn't think I'd see you somewhere other than some little pub anymore." Tom's voice was liquidy and as cold as his eyes.
"Didn't think they'd let scum like you into places like this, and whatcha doing with Chloe anyways?" Dean retorted, returning the glare.
"She's just a friend, what's little miss redhead doing back in town? I thought she made a run for." Tom looked back at Piper who was on her last song.
"Nothing about my sister is your business and it never should've been, lay off her." Dean said, practically with a warning growl. No, he didn't have time for this guy, not tonight, and he was quiet on the tipsy side. He gave Tom one more glare and headed out the door to find Azi.
"You know, I never thought she'd get any hotter from running away to a small town, but I think I was wrong about that," Tom called after him.

"Azi?" Dean called when he was outside. Then he saw the faint glow of a cigarette butt. "Azi!" he called again as he ran over to her. "Az, it ain't like that! Chloe was never really my girlfriend and that was a long time ago! She's a psycho golddigger!" He said, desperation in his voice, almost to tears. He finally found a girl that was different from the rest, there was no way he'd let some blonde ditz ruin everything.

Back inside Piper was finishing up her set and charming the crowd. With her last song over she went to where she saw Dean and Azi had been sitting and looked around for where they might have gone. She didn't think much of it, maybe Azi had finally decided to kiss him or something. Brad the bartender had some icy little pink martini sitting next to Dean's scotch and Azi's beer, probably for her. She took a sip of it, not very strong at all, definitely for her.
"So the one that ran away is back?" a voice said behind her. Piper whipped around to look straight into the hazel eyes of Tom.

[azrael murphy devlin]

Azi blinked up at him, arching an eyebrow and smoothing features down into an indifferent look. She watched him, noting the desperation in his voice and leaning against the wall, feeling the rough surface of the brick catch on her hair. She was at least polite enough to hold her cigarette up and out of the way, one arm above her head and the other shoved in her pocket. It was a completely casual look for most people, but there was always something about the woman that just either attracted trouble and simply set off warning bells for most people.

“Chill the fuck out and take a joke. Besides, you should be inside with your sister unless you smoke,” Azi said, keeping her voice neutral. She’d been teased enough by her older brothers, bullied actually, so she shoved everything down and refused to let it come out. She’d learned never to cry or show what she was feeling, except content or contempt and in a fight, you always won, no matter what. It sucked that who she became was an abrasive, curt, brass, and downright tomboy. She was someone that no one wanted their kids to get involved with until the shit hit the fan.

“You don’t smoke, so why even come out? I do, so I have to come out on occasion and have one or I get grumpy,” she said with a shrug as dark eyes watched him, everything about her screaming that she was just too relaxed. She could feel the buzz forming, but it wasn’t enough to make her feel alright, but it was enough to make her react first, then rationale. She was a special one, the girl, and she shrugged, reaching forward and messing up Dean’s hair, a lazy grin on her lips. Azi had an itchy feeling between her shoulder blades, though. Something just didn’t sit right with her and had she thought Dean would get panicked and upset, she would have held off for a cigarette for a bit.

Sliding her gaze towards the door, she took her attention off Dean, trying to see if Pie had come out. She couldn’t hear the music, and that cued her in that Pie was done singing for now. It made her curl her shoulders and tighten a fist in her pocket, just an uneasy feeling in her stomach that took her attention off Dean and forced her to try and check in with the younger sibling.

[dean jackson starr]

"Pie was on stage last I checked, she'll be fine for a bit." Dean said. He listened for the sound of her guitar or voice. Nothing. Maybe things might start going downhill at this point, Tom said something as he left, but Dean didn't quite catch it. "Dammit!" Dean spat as he glanced back at the building. With that he turned and headed back into the building, only to see the tall guy leaning against the counter with Piper standing opposite of him.

Piper glared at Tom. If there was someone she didn't want to see while back home, it was him. The ex that nearly cheated on her before she caught him. He was a musician too, maybe as successful as she was, especially since she moved away. "I wasn't running, I just wanted a change of scenery." Her voice held tension, it was too obvious, and she fought to keep it controlled.

"I'd say it was running with how fast you took off, don't say you didn't miss me sweetie." Tom's grin was a bit too friendly. "Look, I know things ended badly between us and all that, but it's in the past. You're back to stay aren't you? You've got to come back home eventually." He looked over to the bartender "Shot of Gray Goose please." He said. It was soon set in front of him and disappeared almost as soon as it had appeared. "Can I buy you a drink or something?" Tom asked, a bit too sugary sweet for Piper's taste.
"I'm driving tonight, can't have any more than this." Piper said, taking another sip from her martini.
"Come on Pie, just for old time's sake?" Tom leaned closer.
When suddenly another voice broke through, a furious female voice, "Back off Starr, you let him go and you won't be getting him back." The blonde had showed up and she didn't look happy at all.
"If you want a sleaze like him, you can take him." Piper retorted with a glare back at Tom. "Take the warning while it's there, this one's up to no good."
"You're only saying that because you lost your chance." Chloe retorted, an arm wrapping around Tom, who's eyes were still trying to take a peek down Piper's dress.
Piper rolled her eyes, "Last I checked, I left the lying cheater." That time her eyes were glaring at Tom.

A string of profanities left Dean's mouth when he saw Chloe approach the two. All he could do was tell himself that Piper could take care of herself. She could right? Dean wouldn't mind teaching the guy a lesson, but Chloe changed it to a whole new ballpark.

[azrael murphy devlin]

Azi sighed and straightened up, handing what was in her pockets to Dean. “Be a good boy and hold this, I’ll be back,” were the only words she said before she walked back inside, heading straight for Pie and the other two. She fairly towered above the other girl, in flats and she had muscle and knew how to be intimidating when she wanted. This was one of those times that she wanted. It was a few strides with people backing out of her way before she was standing in between Pie and the other two, purposefully ignoring them. If they wanted to start something, she’d be more than happy to end it.

“So, Piper, since you’re done, wanna hit up somewhere new? Far away from this mess?” she asked, her voice more than casual as she leaned on the bar, in the way. In order to get to the younger Starr, they’d have to physically move Azi out of the way. If there was something Azi learned in her years of being alone and being the baby of eight older brothers, it was how to hold her own. She had quickly put two and two together in this little soap opera and decided to screw it all to hell by stepping in. Eight older brothers and her being young only meant she had no exes and a helluva lot of enemies. It happened when you were on your own.

Black eyes flashed a warning as she gently grabbed Pie’s arm, turning her around and dropping her voice so that the other two couldn’t hear her. “Grab your shit and get out of here and go to your brother. I’ll deal with them, alright?” she said with a small smile. It was something she’d done after she’d introduced Pie to Paddy’s Irish Pub back home and it was more or less a code that she wanted Pie the hell out of the way if she had to swing. Better safe than sorry, no?

[dean jackson starr]

Despite the warning, Dean edged through the crowd, but keeping a safe distance knowing that Azi might turn around and kill him first.

"I can handle it, just talking," Piper protested as she tried looking past Azi.
"So Dean finally went overboard and got a bodyguard or something for you Pie? I always knew you were a bit of a feminist, but really now?" Tom said with a mocking chuckle.
"Tom... don't do this, not now." Piper hissed.
"I just wanted to catch up sweetie, if I'm allowed to of course, since when could you not talk to who you wanted to? That whole moving away thing is changing you, but you're looking better than ever."

That was it, Dean wasn't watching anymore. Southern gentleman upbringing meant no one messed with women that were with him. Yeah, it was old fashioned, but it's what he always knew to be right. He put the stuff Azi handed him into his pockets and pushed through the crowd.
"Now now Tom, that's no way to talk to ladies is it." He said smoothly, but with a furious glare at the other man.
"Dean Starr, since when did you ever let sweet little Piper out of your sight? Let's not get hasty now, we were just talking and getting along quite civilly until your new girl stepped in." Tom glanced over to Azi, "Good fit you know, just like you, overly paranoid about trouble starting and always trying to be the hero." His voice was calm and elegant, but held challenge in it.
"Tom, leave them be, he's not worth it." Chloe said, mostly wanting to get him away from the Starrs before trouble started. As much as distaste as she had for Piper, she knew very well to not get in Dean's way. "
That was enough for Dean to throw a punch. He knew Azi could hold her own, but that was a personal insult.

[azrael murphy devlin]

Azi could handle insults at her, she was pretty much used to it. She ignored him, knowing that pissed people off more than anything. It was little things, and even if her jaw clenched some, Pie was the only one that could see it. She knew she wasn’t a pretty thing or a delicate flower or hell, even remotely confident in herself, but she knew enough that she was a force to be reckoned with. Dean’s voice made her look over her shoulder, ignoring the other two and she was moving fast before shit hit the fan. She shifted some so that Pie was behind her and moved the other girl out of the way, rather abruptly. She saw the hit before it even manifested, not moving once and making damned sure that Pie stayed out of the way, sending the girl to grab her things and get the hell out of the bar before she went after Dean.

Luckily enough for her, Dean wasn’t the same size as her brothers nor did he have the body mass they did, so grabbing him was relatively easy. It was a smooth motion, one that grabbed his other arm and spun him so he was facing her. “Drop it and go with your sister, now,” she said, her voice flat and cold. “Fuck them and fuck this. You do not want something like this hanging over your head, so get out and get lost.”

She shoved Dean none too nicely in the direction of his sister before turning back to the newly named ‘Tom’. There was something about her that changed, that sent people moving away from her and it was something that promised a certain painful death. She’d landed bigger guys in the hospital before and her next movements weren’t something that a novice bar fighter would be able to pull off. She moved closer to him, her voice low. “And for your information, motherfucker, I’m not a hero. I’m the last goddamned thing you will see before you’re in the hospital with stitches. So, if I were you and I had a brain, I’d back the fuck up, take the corner whore and rent a cheap motel room and take it out on her.”

There was enough venom and coldness behind her words that Azi was already walking away from him and herding the two Starr siblings out the door, a firm grip on Dean’s arm to keep him from going after Tom again. To say she was annoyed was probably true, but she knew for a fact that she wasn’t Dean’s girlfriend and let the comment slide for now. Unless someone stepped in and decided that she was going to open her mouth too.

Azi had already taken the keys from Piper and helped her put her guitars in the back before loading Dean into the backseat of the truck. She’d been more than happy to do something nicely and was instead smoking outside of the bed while the other two were inside, doing whatever it was that the siblings needed to do. She figured they might want some privacy since they were still in the parking garage, but for right now all she could do was rub her temples with her free hand, hiding her eyes as the other dangled by her side.

[dean jackson starr]

Dean was in a bit of a daze, it all happened so fast. One minute he thought he was trying to teach a guy a lesson, the next he was being thrown into the back of his truck. Now his sister was freaking out at him.
"Dean how could you? He wasn't going to hurt anything! Maybe the fake blonde bitch, but did you really have to start a bar brawl!?!?!" Piper was going at it.
"Oh shut the hell up Pie, you ain't got a clue about guys like him." Dean muttered. He looked out the window, wondering where Azi had gone.
"Hell I do! I wasn't about to give him a second chance or anything. I was telling him he couldn't buy me a drink!" Piper retorted, "You could've gotten hurt!"
"I would've been fine, nothin' ain't gonna hurt me." Dean slurred with an eye roll.
"You're drunk you idiot." Piper told him.
"Where'd Azi go? She's so purdy..."
Piper sighed and stepped out of the truck. "Where to?" She asked, hand out for the keys. She said she would drive, not to mention she barely got two sips of her martini down before that interruption.

[azrael murphy devlin]

Azi arched an eyebrow at the girl and handed over the keys, flicking the butt of her cigarette away. “Wherever you wanna go, Piper. Sorry about everything,” she said with a shrug as she shoved her hands in her pockets and looked down at the clothing she was wearing. Azrael didn’t even recognize herself, and despite being somewhat proud that she hadn’t thrown the first punch, she was still not feeling so great. She wanted her clothes back, her things, and probably to just go home. That was starting to seem like the best solution to her, Dean could bring Piper back to Alpine Falls.

Sighing, she shrugged and ran a hand through her hair before heading around to the side of the truck and opening the door near Dean’s head. She wasn’t surprised when he almost fell out as she’d pretty much unceremoniously dumped him into the truck, probably half picking him up as well. Arching an eyebrow at him, she shook her head, tsking before putting an arm under his shoulders and shoving him upright. “You know that saying, where if you’re asking who’s the most drunk person there is, then it’s you? Yeah, that’s your brother, Piper. And Dean, if you puke on me, I will lay you flat out on the ground,” she muttered before she got in, pushing Dean into a sitting position.

She could already tell this was going to be a long ride and from what she knew, things were about to get interesting. She also seemed to remember that Dean had the remainder of her stuff in some pocket of his. Money, ID, and her phone. Three items to which she wanted to have back, just for safety’s sake. “Dean, be a dear and hand me my things from the various pockets you have before I decide to search you.”

[dean jackson starr]

"I'll have to agree that home sounds pretty safe right now." Piper said as she climbed into the driver's seat and turned the key. The car roared to life and Piper was soon backing out of the parking lot.

Dean didn't seem to hear most of what Azi said, he was just dazed and kinda gazing at her. "Heyyyy beautiful, Azi you look so purdy tonight." he said with that dumb goofy grin of his. He put his head on her shoulder and snuggled. "It's okay, I'm not that drunk yet, promise... what happened to my scotch?" he asked. "It's okay though, I gots me some whiskey at home, sorry to ruin the night..." He wrapped his arms around Azi at that point.

Piper couldn't help but giggle as she glanced back with the rear view mirror. "Awww, ya'll are cute." She said with a mischievous wink.

[azrael murphy devlin]

She froze almost instantly, sighing and shaking her head. They were going to do this the hard way then, were they? The dark haired woman gave Pie a glare in the mirror that promised to leave her in Georgia with her family if she so much as made one more comment. Looking at Dean, her expression was something akin to her looking down and realizing a deadly animal had decided to curl up with her. She froze, face blanking out as he talked before sighing and shaking her head.

“That’s the scotch talking, you’ll change your mind in the morning,” she said as she awkwardly patted his head with her free hand. No, the affection was better than her having to hold him down and keep him from fighting. As awkward as it was for her, she much preferred this. Sighing to herself, she shifted her gaze to looking out the window, running her fingers through Dean’s hair in an absentminded gesture. She could feel the buzz going at the back of her brain, especially now that the adrenaline had worn off and it turned out she was a bit more drunk than she’d thought. This was going to be fun.

Closing her eyes briefly, she looked down at Dean and sighed before reaching a hand out to gently poke at his pockets til she found her things, fishing it out carefully so he wouldn’t start freaking out on her in some way. Or at least hoping she managed to get it out without him noticing.

[dean jackson starr]

"Nooo, you're beautiful and you have sexy legs." Dean said, the goofy grin not leaving his face. "Am I ever going to get that kiss Azi?" Alcohol pretty much got rid of any filter that Dean might have.
"Feel free to knock him out completely," Piper said from the driver's seat. It wasn't long before she pulled into the driveway.
She hopped out and grabbed the door for Azi since she wasn't exactly sure what range of movement Dean left her with. "I figure if anyone can drag him inside it would be you, 'night ya'll." Piper said before grabbing her guitars and whisking herself away to somewhere in the house.

"Whiskey's on top of the fridge... want some?" Dean murmured as he felt the car stop.

As soon as Piper opened the front door, the four dogs spilled out onto the lawn, running to greet their master with their happy barks and sniffing noses.