~~THE PERFORMANCE THREAD~~ **aside** ((action)) %%thought%%

[moremojo]

((Jimbo looks up, remembers, feels a jolt of excitement at Jack's approach.))

JIMBO:

Oh..howdy, friend. I got back here, jest like I said I would. Ah...but you know, I mean that's mighty friendly about the offer, but if I were to let every cowboy I worked with buy me a drink, I woulda been an alcoholic long ago.

((Jimbo misses the irony that he's already well on the way to becoming an alcoholic. Not much else to do in this one-horse town. Looks at Jack's warm, welcoming face.))

%%Goddam, this fella's got something about him. So nice, and special...almost pretty. But only girls sposed to be pretty!%%

((Feels self-conscious, and very aware of all the other people in the area...not least the bartender, whose shadowy features can't quite yet be fully discerned in the dim, smoky light.))

[Daniel]

YOUNG JACK:

((Jack looks over at the bartender anxiously, the air thick with an awkward silence. His money is still on the counter, and the bartender looks at them for a moment before rushing over to help the bizarrely dressed Michael Jackson.))

((Jack looks back to Jimbo, letting his eyes take in his lean frame and how strangely familiar his cream colored shirt and tan ten-gallon are.))

I hope I'm not like every cowboy you worked with. You don't have ta let everyone buy ya drinks either, just the special ones, like me. ((wink))
We can make a deal if ya like. I'll buy you this one, and you can buy me the next. That way we're even.

((Jack smiles hopefully up at Jimbo from his barstool.))

[alec716]

((  MICHAEL JACKSON quietly observes JACK and JIMBO at this Critical Career Juncture, and sees someone at the bar who captures his attention.  ))

MICHAEL JACKSON:

&&  Oh, so that's how you get someone's attention in here  ... offer to buy them a drink...  ))

Bartender, we'll take two cold cans of Jesus Juice beer!

((  MICHAEL JACKSON, though waxing eloquent, finds a snub where none was expected.  ))




MICHAEL JACKSON:  (all whispery and pouty, holding back The Tears of A Clown in this Smokey Rob-bar-son)

**  Gosh darn it, I guess he wasn't interested.  I'll just leave these drinks here on the bar... maybe those two fellas over there will want 'em.  I just can't believe I am going home alone after I bothered to come here in this place after the bouncers were so mean to me.  I'll Neverland in here again.  **

[moremojo]

((Jimbo's anxiety lessens somewhat. Jack seems such a friendly guy, and good friends can be hard to come by sometimes in these hardscrabble dusty Western towns. Still feels uncomfortable, but more and more because of that odd Mr. Jackson and his insistence on getting some decent Jesus juice. Bartender's got his hands full with that one.))

JIMBO:

Why, that's mighty neighborly of you, and fair, too.

((Winks, just barely, back at Jack, without consciously intending to do so.))

Ya know, they say that once you start workin with someone, you might as well start drinking with 'em! And I reckon we worked together tonight.

((Waits to see Jack's response, and is transfixed by this strange new feeling swelling in his breast.))

[Daniel]

YOUNG JACK:

((Jack smiles broadly now. He slides the money over to the bartender who just returned from dealing with Jackson.))

You reckon we can drink 'em away from these noisy characters over there?

((Jack nods his head towards Jackson, who is leaving the bar.))

[moremojo]

((Jimbo melts at the sight of Jack's smile. He feels a quiet interior joy that is new to him, which he finds fascinating, despite the glimmer of fear that accompanies it.))

JIMBO:

Oh...sure, you bet. Amazing the clowns that come into this place! Where do you reckon we should go? I see a table over by the corner there.

((Nods towards an empty table in a darkened corner...more quiet, and a bit more secluded, than the rest of the establishment.))

[DeeDee]

(( The bar door flies open and a bouncy voluptuous woman comes stomping into the bar.))

JIMBO! What in tha hell ya doin'? I been waitin' all night fer ya to come home, and here ya are sittin' with this pretty boy here.  Well, howdy do handsome.  I'm Bimbo, Jimbo's lady.

(( Bimbo strikes a pose, making Jack tense, thanking God he's gay.))

Mebbe ya wanna come home with us blue eyes?

(( Winks at Jack, and starts to go.))

JIMBO!! NOW!!

[nakymaton]

BULL:

((Rather depressed at once again getting dragged out of the arena before he had the chance to be on top, the BULL walks into the bar. But instead of being bought beers, this is what happens: ))

[alec716]

JIMBO:

((Waits to see Jack's response, and is transfixed by this strange new feeling swelling in his breast.))

((  A highly indignant MICHAEL JACKSON storms over to JIMBO and asserts in no uncertain terms   , while pointing at JACK... ))

MICHAEL JACKSON:

Look, Buddy, you may want to have this strange new fella feeling your breasts, but the swelling is all mine!


(( With that, MICHAEL JACKSON and his DEVOTED MINIONS leave the bar.  ))




(( And MICHAEL JACKSON is honored that MRS. TWIST, who just might'a been spying on her son, would leave the bar in a show of solidarity with him.  ))




MICHAEL JACKSON:

Why, yes, MRS. TWIST, cherry cake is my favorite!  Let's go!

[moremojo]

((Jimbo, alarmed, starts at the sight of Bimbo, his barely remembered cow-town gal-pal. Jack made him forget ALL about her!))

JIMBO:

Oh...hi, honey. Sorry bout that.

((Turns to Jack))

Sorry, friend, but Bimbo here don't know the meaning of the word 'wait'. Better hang onto your money so's to pay for your next entrance fee. And friendly offer though it was, pulling bulls off you buckaroos is jest my job, ya know. So sorry...mebbe next time?

((Jimbo awkwardly strides towards Bimbo and his fellow cowboy friends, who oddly resemble Bimbo in build and profile. Wants to talk about the most beautiful person he's ever seen, but starts fumblingly talking shop...until Bimbo starts dragging him toward the door.))