Extending Invitations

Who: Alexis and Charlotte
When: First period
Where: MSHS, AP English

Though Charlotte had initially told people she might not be in school, talking to Kaysen had helped her decide to suck it up and go anyway. She couldn't avoid Kavin forever, though the urge to skip gym would still be strong. If she thought she could lie convincingly, she'd be tempted to fake cramps. Ultimately, she dismissed the idea, but she still arrived at school early. Her mom had loaned her the car out of sympathy, and with nothing else to do, Charlotte headed to her first class to wait at her desk.

While Alexis wasn't generally a morning person, she found this whole social thing to make school considerably more enjoyable. She got there early to chat with friends, then headed to first hour long before the bell rang, just to check over her assignments for the day. Even though she was a good student, she'd been busy enough lately that was wasn't completely sure she was getting everything done. Luckily, there was no issue, which left her sitting in English with nothing to do... though there was someone to talk to. "Charlie," she turned to the girl, smiling, hoping she remembered her. "How's it going?"

Charlotte did indeed remember. It was kind of hard to forget the one person she'd met that had the same, ah, book choices she did. "Hi Alexis," she greeted, putting her bag under her chair and sitting down. "I'm alright, how are you?" She hadn't had a chance to really talk with the blonde since they'd met, but she'd seemed cool. And aware, which was always good.

"Pretty good," Alexis grinned. "Making an attempt to fit in, which is this new, exciting thing on most days. So long as I don't say too much about vampires and shadow creatures, people seem pretty accepting," she laughed. She was trying not to run her mouth as much as she usually did, though it was a feat. The supernatural was so ingrained into her life that it felt natural and she had to remember that that wasn't the case for everyone else. "Hey, I was wondering, do you know if Nate mentioned to Kavin anything about the bonfire we're planning?"

Charlotte offered a small smile and chuckled lightly. "Well you're a braver woman than I." she replied initially, crossing her arms on her desk. At the question she shifted slightly. "I don't know." she answered, shaking her head. Apparently Alexis had known they had been together. Awesome. "Kavin and I broke up." she shrugged.

"Oh," Alexis said, her expression becoming apologetic as she cringed slightly. "I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't mean-- I just-- I knew through Kyle and-- Well, we're having a bonfire this weekend and you're welcome to join us," she said, trying to switch over to what she thought was a happier part of the discussion. She had never actually seen Kavin and Charlotte together, other than sometimes down the table at lunch, but she knew a break up had to suck.

"It's okay," Charlotte reassured her, offering another small smile. "We weren't together that long." Though her mom had tried to comfort her and tell her that losing your first boyfriend was always painful, and it was okay to feel a little crappy. Charlotte was really just trying to think positive and get back to her old life. The thought of bonfires made her think of the cats-that-weren't-cats, and that was quite unpleasant, but she told herself to shut up and nodded enthusiastically. "Sure, I'd go. Where?"

"We're thinking along the beach somewhere. Breezy was gonna talk to Gabe and see where they normally set up things like this, since we're both new and don't really know," Alexis said, glad that Charlotte didn't seem too upset. "We thought it'd be fun and a little more casual than those big parties are. Something where people can hang out and actually talk." Which made her think that she should invite Thia, so she could get to know more people. She'd have to let her know the date and time once they got everything all set. "You can bring friends, if you want. I'm sure they'll be room for everyone."

"Before school started there was one at Wetmore's Landing." Charlotte said. "It was a good place for it." If you ignored interruptions by cats-that-weren't-cats and possibly demons. "Well let me know when you have details, I'll borrow my mom's car. I could drive a few people if anyone needs a ride." She'd ask Kaysen, who would probably say no on principal, and maybe Ransom. And Eben, maybe - she hadn't talked to him in a while.

"That'd be great," Alexis grinned. "Thanks for the input! I'll let you know when I have more details. We just started brainstorming on it after school yesterday." Which reminded her she still needed to get with Breezy and find out what had been up prior to their conversation with Nate. She was pretty sure she'd missed out on something big.

Charlotte nodded, and tried to remind herself that the last bonfire had been fun before all heck broke loose. This wasn't like a party. She'd be okay. "Do you still have my number? Just let me know if you guys need anything. I'm happy to pitch in."

"I think so," Alexis said, fishing her phone out of her backpack. "Yep! I'll text you later this week. You might want to bring lawn chairs, if you have them. And maybe blankets, since it's getting cold, but that's also what the fire's for! Maybe we'll bring marshmallows and make smores." The more she talked about it, the more excited she got. It wasn't a party at her house, but it was better than that.

"I can do that," Charlotte said, nodding again. Her mom probably had a few folded away in the garage she could dig up, and blankets were easy. "Sounds good. I hope the weather clears up a bit for it." Though it wasn't as rainy today - yet. Maybe that was a good sign.

"Yeah, I hope we don't get rained out. That's the only thing we can't count on, the weather," Alexis shrugged. "We'll have to pick our day accordingly, then let everyone know. It can just spiderweb out-- I can text you, and you can tell your friends, and so forth! But if it's a go, I think it'll be fun. A nice way to get to know everyone." Well, not everyone, but the friends of her friends, which was a good start.

"You're lucky I don't have a lot of friends, you might need a bigger fire." Charlotte commented, lightly jokingly. Through after last night, she immediately reminded herself that she had a lot more than some people had. "It'll be fun, I like outdoorsy stuff."

"Me too," Alexis smiled. She was especially pleased that this would be held down by the water. The proximity always seemed to put her in a good mood. "And I don't have a ton of friends myself, but I've learned that they have friends that I've never even met. That's kind of what brought it about. Nate, Breezy, and I are all new, so we wanted to get people together, just not in the crazy house party atmosphere."

Charlotte nodded once more in agreement. "I don't really like parties, but the last bonfire was nice." she confessed, even if that was a bit of a stretch. At least she'd know more people there this time. She found herself immediately wondering if Kavin would be there. Stop that. You're going to have to face him every day in gym anyway.

"Good reason to do it again then!" Alexis said, looking up as people began to trail into class. "So I'll let you know what's up as soon as we figure it all out," she promised. "Which should either be today or tomorrow. Sound good?" It was amazing how quickly these things came together. Hopefully one of them actually knew how to build a bonfire.

"Yeah, great." Charlotte agreed. "Just let me know if anyone needs rides, I can fit a few in my car." She too looked up as people trailed in, the teacher with them. She looked back at Alexis and offered a small smile. "I'll talk to you then."

"Will do!" Alexis smiled back. If things kept up in this way, they were going to need to build one hell of a fire to accommodate all the people. It was all in good fun, though, and if the fire wasn't big enough, then there was always snuggling to keep people warm.