Henry was on his way to the table too quickly to really care for any of Moe’s excuses, much more focused on the young woman from the corner of the bar who he knew would be joining them. He sat down to lay a claim and set down his beer. In a relatively sober fashion, he shifted his gaze to match the person who was already the focus of his concentration as she approached them, flipped a chair around, sat down in it, and not-exactly-politely asked to join them. Feigning surprise, he turned to George with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. George just smirked back at him with a shrug and sipped his beer.

Henry turned to the girl and took a gulp of beer, half-listening to her question about the theremin. He almost wondered why she’d come over and sat at this table, but he already knew. There was an astoundingly weird vibe around this table: he perceived something frightening in both Mercer and Michelle, but for whatever reason it felt like where he was supposed to be. Like a moth to a flame, he thought to himself, and chuckled as he swallowed.

He let the question remain unanswered while he glanced at Mercer, who was sitting down and putting his phone away. He answered her question and sounded both a little absent and a little irritated.

And then that guy with the sparkling water spoke, who Henry hadn’t actually noticed actually follow them. He put it down to the alcohol and the two more interesting presences in front of him. He’d been putting a lot down to alcohol, he realized, and noted this should be his last drink.

He wasn’t really listening to what Moe said; instead, he was just a little astounded by how awkward the guy seemed to be. He seemed decidedly nervous, to the point that Henry was suspicious of some sort of social anxiety. Moreover, Henry didn’t give a damn about why he was here, but he was still sober enough not to just say that out loud. He decided to change the topic of conversation.

Henry set down his beer with an unintentionally but not unreasonably loud thump, but managed to play it off as if he’d wanted to attract attention. “Anyway, I’m Henry. Nice to meet you all.”