PARTY!
Who: All teens and others
Where: Random house
When: 9pm onwards
Thom had been late - but he'd expected to be and they'd been ready for it. And, as had been expected, the party hadn't been all that underway anyhow when he finally arrived at around eight. Promise Theory, the rest of the guys, they'd all been set up to go when he got there, so it had really just been a case of walking in, grabbing a drink, plugging in and setting off playing. Which had been a little disappointing, all things considered, because he'd hoped to at least be able to say a few words to Leija before they started, but he hadn't even seen her, the way he'd been practically dragged inside.
An hour in though, he decided that he'd had enough and announced that they'd be taking a short break. They connected up the CD player and shrugged off instruments - and by the looks of the room and the noise from outside, the party was very definitely now in full swing. the place was heaving.
It was crowded and hot and their "stage" was more like a cleared out section of David Blair's parents' living room, but it was better than nothing. And they were playing well. Isaac settled his bass where it would be safe and clapped Thom on the back before starting to weave his way through the crowd toward the kitchen. He armed some sweat off his forehead and upnodded a greeting to someone who called his name. He was thirsty.
Miriam had gotten a little turned around on her way, so she'd only caught a bit of the band's last song as she arrived. Making her way to the kitchen, she marveled at the crowd - she hadn't known there were this many kids in Marquette! She made it to the relative safety of the kitchen, finding a table on which to set the pan of brownies she'd baked. Turning to look for something to cut them, she spotted a familiar figure - which meant it could only be one person. "Isaac," she said, beaming. "Hi!"
Isaac's head swiveled around and he spotted a redhead that he'd only just met earlier that day. Miri. Right, it was Miri. He snagged a water bottle off of the countertop and headed over in her direction. "Hey," he greeted with a smile that came a lot easier than it had that morning. "Glad you made it." He eyed her brownies with obvious appreciation.
"I got a little lost, so I just got here," Miri explained, finding a knife and beginning to cut squares into the brownies and transfer them to a paper plate she'd brought. "I only caught the end of the last song you guys played, but you sounded great from what I could hear. Are you done for the evening or just on a break?"
"Thanks. Just on break for now," he filled in, cracking the bottle open and taking a long pull from it. He wouldn't start drinking -- if he decided to at all, it was still up in the air -- until they were done for the night. They had at least one more set in them. "Sorry about that, guess my directions kinda sucked, huh?"
"No, no," Miri said, shaking her head. "Your directions were just fine; I'm just not that familiar with the town yet and one of the street signs was kind of hidden as I drove past. It wasn't a big deal, though."
"Well, hope you stick around to see the rest of the show," he said with a genuine smile. "Second set's always better anyway." He snagged a brownie she'd cut and munched on it. "S'good," Isaac declared, stuffing the rest in true boy-fashion.
Leija had just caught a glimpse of Thom before he was ushered off by the band. She'd made her way to the front-ish of the crowd around where they were playing and stayed there, kind of off to one side with a can of coke in her hand, just watching and listening. She wasn't sure if he'd spotted her or not, but ... wow. She beamed her head off the entire set. They were good. Really really good, and Thom was just ... totally the best part. Not that she was biased or anything.
Once it was time for them to break, Leija pushed past a few chattering people and lunged over an amp to snag his sleeve. "Hey," she called over the din, flashing him a bright smile.
Thom turned as someone grabbed his sleeve, and then broke into a smile as he saw Leija standing there. "Hi," he said, skirting the amp to join her. He looked around and drew her off to one side of the room, to a quieter spot. "I was hoping to see you before we started, but I kinda got dragged. You made it then?" He wanted to ask her what she'd thought, but how arrogant would that sound, launching straight into that.
Leija gave him a quick up-on-her-toes hug around the neck, hoped that wasn't too lovey, and let go. "Yeah, I figured as much, it's okay," she assured him. Then launched into what she knew he wanted to know anyway. "You guys? Are fantastic. Really, Thom, that third song totally made me dance. And I know I'm a terrible dancer, so that should tell you something." She grinned.
He caught he round the waist as she hugged him, pulling her in and lowering his head. God, but she smelt good. He let her go though as she drew back, breaking into a grin as she gushed. "You liked us?" he asked her - because, yes, her opinion was really important to him. "And I'm not sure I believe you that you can't dance," he added, reaching out to take her hand, ignoring the glances from people nearby.
She felt herself flush happily as not only did he not shy away from the hug, he took her hand too. It was maybe a stupid thing to worry about, but she had been up until that point. Since levels of PDAs seemed to be a subjective thing anyway. Regardless, Leija was happy to link her fingers with his, also ignoring any looks they might've been getting. "Well I guess you'll just never know for sure, will you?" she teased. " ... about the dancing. I did like you guys, for sure."
"Good," he said, grinning. "Come on-" he started pulling her through the crowd, in the direction of the kitchen. "Don't know about you, but I need something to drink. It's thirsty work y'know," he added, looking back at her.
Leija didn't mind being pulled along in the least. Nor did she really care where they were going, she was just ... still gleefully trying to grasp the fact that he was holding her hand in public. A few girls gave her pretty obvious "wtf" looks, which just made it all better. She nodded to him and beamed.
Thom somewhat reluctantly dropped her hand as they entered the kitchen, but stayed close to her, nodding to a few people he knew and a couple of comments about their set - good ones, thankfully. He spotted Isaac and headed that way trying to catch the guy's eye as he stopped off to grab a beer and - the turned to Leija. "Whadda ya want?" he asked her, gesturing at the array of drinks. He looked at her - she looked really good tonight.
Unaware she was being eyed, Leija examined the array of drinks. She'd never had a taste of beer in her life. Even though it was tempting, she wasn't quite sure that she was keen on giving it a whirl just yet. The possibility of her being an utter lightweight and making an idiot out of herself was just too ... possible. She pointed at a bottle of coke instead and flashed Thom a quick smile.
Isaac had spotted Thom and headed in his direction, beer in hand, much less bouyantly than he probably would have any other night. He noted the redhead standing next to his best friend with what he hoped was optimism disguised in reluctance. "Fancy meetin' you here," he quipped at Thom, elbowing him in the arm.
Thom handed her a coke with a quirked smile and opened his mouth to say something to her when he was pushed very slightly and turned. "Well, what can I say - I get around," Thom returned without missing a beat. He looked from his friend to Leija and back. "This is Isaac," he told Leija. And for a moment, he wasn't sure where to stand, suddenly more aware of his positioning than ever before - should he step closer to her, further away so as not to rub things in, should he just stay the hell where he was? Ahh, dammit - he didn't move. "This is Leija," he told Isaac - that part was easy, since he'd wanted to introduce them.
Leija watched as the guy who'd been playing the bass came up to them, and was introduced to her as Isaac. So this was The Best Friend. She gave him a small half-smile, fully keeping in mind what Thom had told her the day before. Recently screwed over and dumped, don't be overt. "Hey," she greeted, making herself loosen her grip on the coke bottle a little. "Nice to meet you."
Isaac nodded, as he'd already assumed this was Leija, who'd somehow managed to entice Thom into taking her out after the first meeting. A feat that hadn't really happened ... oh, ever. He tried not to look like he was looking her over, but he kind of was. Just to see. He wasn't really sure what to say, since Thom had told him zero about her, so he went with something neutral. "Liked the show?" he posed amiably enough.
"Apparently she did," Thom confirmed, answering for her before he could stop herself. "And since she'd said she was coming to be a critic..." he raised an eyebrow and shot Leija an amused look as he took a sip of his beer. He looked over at the redhead he'd seen Isaac talking to earlier, then gave his friend a questioning look.
This had been a horrible idea. Charlotte never should have come here by herself. She felt ridiculously out of place. She'd very nearly stayed home, but her mom had manage to nag her out the door. After which, she'd driven around the block until there were enough people where she could slip in quietly.
She was now tempted to slip out just as quietly. The music was great, but she was spending her time leaning against a far wall and just feeling stupid. She didn't know what to say to people, or who to say it to. It hadn't been so bad when the band was playing, she could just listen to the music and watch them. They were pretty good. But now that they were taking a break? Charlotte had no real excuse for her state as a wallflower. Crap.
Blake had heard about the party while out exploring the city. As soon as he had heard about it he had thought of Melrose but since she had his contact info and not the other way around he didn't know how to get a hold of her. He figured though that if he heard about it she would also.
He came prepared to be disappointed. After all a party in a small town was not like one in a big city. The band was good but he had yet to find a beer. He was seriously thinking of spiking the punch.
As Blake wondering around, scooping out the lay of the land so to say, okay so he was checking to see how busy it was at the refreshment table, he spotted a cute little brunette. Scooting that way he made himself comfortable against the wall next to her.
"Ya know, a gal as pretty as you shouldn't be hiding back here."
It took a moment for Charlotte to realize he was speaking to her. Initially she just looked around, trying not to eavesdrop, when she realized he was looking at her. She stared up at him for a moment, glad her ears were hidden by her hair. They were probably red. "I'm not hiding." It wasn't technically a lie, right? If she really wanted to hide, she'd go sit under a table or something. Or in her car. That would work. The noise level of the room was distracting her too much to be tongue-tied and shy. "I'm just... standing." So far.
"Ah. Well glad to see you aren't hiding. It would be a shame to deny this party your presence," Blake said as he watched her. He had to wonder what she was off by herself. A pretty thing like her at least had to have other female friends right? "So all the parties around here like this?"
"I don't really know." Charlotte said, having no idea how to respond to a compliment from a boy. Or flirting in general. She was going to deny flirting for now, it was safer for her head that way. "This is my first." And not just here. First ever. She gave a small smile, and wondered what she should do with her hands. Sticking them in her pockets was too easy, crossing her arms was supposedly off-putting. "Are you new here too?" That thought, at least, was encouraging. Herbert was new, and if this guy was too, then she wasn't going to be the only new kid in school. That would be wonderful.
Blake confirmed that with a nod. There was himself, then Melrose, and now this girl. This town was just overflowing with new people wasn't it? Which Blake had to wonder, wasn't that odd for a small town? "Just got here a couple days ago actually. Name's Blake."
Very, very comforting. That actually made her smile a little more genuine. "Me too. We moved here earlier this week. I'm Charlotte." Darn it! I just keep doing that! "I mean... Charlie. Whichever." Her smile took on a sheepish turn, but she tried to push past it. "Where did you move from?"
"New York. Bronx area," Blake offered up. It was nice to see her smiling. For a moment there he thought he was going to have to make a break for the bathroom and see if he had grown something unpleasent on his face. "Whichever huh? Well which do you feel like? A Charlotte or a Charlie?"
Wow. Why would someone move from New York to a little town in Michigan? Charlotte was pondering this when he asked her a question, and for a moment she stared blankly at him. Nothing like being put on the spot. She smiled awkwardly and thought it over. "Charlotte's... really old fashioned, and kind of weird?" So, pretty perfect for me, as it turns out. "I'm still getting used to Charlie. Most people like it more." Like her dad. Her mom called her Lottie, but no one needed to know that.
Well that didn't actually answer his question now did it. She talking more along the lines of what other people liked to call her, not what she liked. Blake flashed her a smile. "Charlotte's not weird. It's a pretty name. Charlie's a pretty bad ass name itself. Now let's forget about what other people think and focus on what you like. I'll call you Bob is you feel like being called Bob. If you ask really nicely I'll even call you Mistress," Blake said with a wink.
That time Charlotte's entire face went pink, and she had to look at the floor for a few seconds. He did not just say that. Please tell me he didn't just say that. Maybe I should hide under the table. At least until my face is its normal color again. She forced herself to look back up to meet his eyes, and tried to steady herself. "I guess I kind of like them both for different reasons. I can't figure out which one is better." And she'd been actively trying for several days now! "Though I don't think I'm a Bob. Or..." Oh jeez, she couldn't actually say that. "...ortheotherone." she managed to mumble. "Do you like your name?"
Blake couldn't help but grin. The blush was cute on her. Though he had the feeling that if he pointed it out to this one that he'd only make the blush worse and then she might run and hide from him. "Sure. Blake's a good solid name if I do say so myself. Otherwise I could have taken a name like K Dog when I was living in the hood." Which some of his buds back home had went by some pretty interesting names.
Charlotte stared at him for a moment with a baffled expression on her face. "K Dog?" she asked, not sure if it would be offensive if she laughed or not. It was a little hard not to, though. "...Blake is better." she confirmed, not that he'd asked her. "Much better."
"Well 50 Cent was taken," Blake said, a grin on his face. Yes, he listened to that type of music. It didn't mean that he couldn't find some of the names stupid though. "So I can live with being Blake Parrish."
Charlotte vaguely knew who 50 Cent was. Kids at her old school had liked him. Rap music tended to make her head hurt, and she didn't watch TV. "I can live with being Charlotte Angel. Charlie Angel too, but I'm still waiting for somebody to laugh at me for that." But neither Kaysen or Herbert had!
Now that Blake had to grin at. Not cause he found it funny but because it was pretty cool. "Charlie Angel huh? That's pretty kick ass. You know, you could totally be an Angel," Blake informed Charlotte. He had never watched the old show but he had seen the movies. Those ladies knew how to kick ass. Plus they were pretty hot.
Charlotte chuckled softly, and had to wonder if anyone would even be able to hear the sound over all the party noise. "I don't have the crazy 70s hair. I never actually saw the movies, though." Big surprise there. "I was worried people would make fun of me for it."
"Anyone who makes fun of you for that is an idiot. And who cares what an idiot thinks right? If anyone does, just think of K Dog and laugh right back at them. It'll confuse the hell out of them," Blake offered up the advice. Then he grinned again. "Besides, could be worse. I'm sure there's some guy out there named Seymor Butts."
Charlotte conceded in a small smile as she rolled her eyes. "Point taken." Even if the humor was a little immature for her tastes, there was a point. It could be a lot worse. "What grade are you going into?" she asked. Her placement test was the next morning, and she was more than a little eager (and nervous) to find out where she'd be.
Autumn had managed to get Blake's school records transfered for him. Which really sucked cause it meant he wasn't going to weasel out of going. Which meant there went most of his afternoons cause he'd probably be stuck in detention. "Junior. So close yet so far away from freedom. You?"
"I was going to be a junior in Auburn Hills, but I won't know until I take my placement test tomorrow. With the system here, I could end up a sophomore again." Charlotte answered, though she managed not to sound bothered by the idea. And she wasn't, not really. If she had to do her sophomore year again, she'd be with Lulu and Kaysen, at least. It was not knowing that was killing her.
"Test huh? That sucks. Good luck on it though," Blake told Charlotte and meant it. "Want me to grab you something to drink or anything?" He'd even promise not to spike it. Only problem was he didn't know that Melrose had all ready beaten him to that.
Charlotte smiled a bit again. "Thanks." She tried not to let her face drop at the mention of drinks, and she wondered how safe that was. Great way to give myself away. I am officially a dweeb, pretending to be a real teenager. "Sure... if it's... um..." OH! "Well, I have to drive home." Thank you, mom! I have an excuse!
After ensuring to her parents that everything would be fine and she'd try to be home by midnight, Amber was now located outside the house containing the party goers, as she wasn't sure how easy it would be to get her chair inside anyway.
But by the time she had arrived, the place looked pretty full anyway, so she was content sitting outside with the crowd there.
She'd smile and gab with people that knew her from school, but she hadn't gotten into any serious conversations...yet.
Truth be told, it hadn't been hard for somebody with Herbert's ears and nose to locate the party Charlie had mentioned to him earlier in the day. For a start, the music and the chatter was very audible even from a block away: but more than that - so many teenagers crammed into a house together meant there was one hell of a flood of hormones in the air.
Herbert was trying to hold back a sneeze as he made his way down the street. He'd put his backpack in a locker at the bus station for the night until he needed it, and he'd been hoping to just do something tonight. After all, winter was coming and he wouldn't be so active then but also this was his first night in a town in the United States, surely he should be doing something with it.
Tramping curiously up the sidewalk, he noticed a girl in a wheelchair just saying goodbye to a couple of other teenagers. She seemed to be eyeing the 'party house' in question, and Herbert was just about to ask her if there was some kind of protocol involved when he let out a sneeze with all the volume of a cannon blast.
"Rrr! Sorry!" he apologized, rubbing his nose again.
"Bless you!" Amber replied, giggling. "And it's alright, sneezing is perfectly natural, you can't help it."
She turned to look at him, and was slightly surprised at how tall he stood, and his build. But everyone was tall to her now. He had the demeanor about him that didn't send off alarm bells or butterflies in the stomach. And he was a new face. So Amber decided, that she would get to know him. As best as you can at a loud party that is.
"I don't think I've met you, I'm Amber." She smiled and bobbed her head to the music coming from inside.
Herbet dropped his hand from his twitchy nose and decided it was better not to extend it for the handshaking. He did sort of realize he was a bit tall for her to be talking to with all this volume, so he just did the expedient thing and dropped down to crouch next to her with an eager smile.
"Hello, Amber!" he replied. "I'm Herbert." Even lower down he was tall enough to talk to her like they were both sitting in chairs. "Sorry, it's loud. I meant to ask, is there any kind of local rule for these things? I've never been to an American-type party before."
"Uhmm, look like you belong, and have fun? That's what I do at least!"
She smiled, glad that they could hear each other now. Herbert seemed very pleasant, and she like that. People that were easy to talk to, like herself were her favorite type of people.
"American-type. Where you from?"
"North of the border. Alberta in Canada," Herbert replied. "I just got here, actually. This seems like a pretty cool town. Sure is big." By his standards anyway, after all, Herbert had come from a tiny place out on the prairie. The large boy glanced over to the house curiously, somewhat confused by where all these teenagers had come from. He had only seen and met Charlie after spending all day in town, but here they all were. Bit spooky.
He looked back to Amber. "How about you?"
"Born and raised here." Amber replied, she was rather calm despite wanting to bounce around for having found a Canadian friend. Which was cool enough in itself.
But he was a rather cuddly looking Canadian friend. That was hard to come by. At least in Marquette. "So what brought you to Marquette? Rather then say New York or something?"
Ah, a native! Very cool. Never underestimate local knowledge, that was something Herbert always remembered - especially here where the only other person he knew (sort of) was also new. "It's the first big settlement I've come to, I only crossed the border yesterday," he said. The mention of a big city like New York made him smile a little bit. "New York looks like it's got way too many buildings and not enough trees. I'm more outdoorsy than indoorsy, I guess. How about yourself?"
"Eh, I don't do a lot of traveling. Been to Disneyworld, and little things like that. My family likes to stick close to home mostly. Maybe I'll do some traveling when I get in or through with college."
She continued to bob her head to the music. "What do you think so far?"
"Of your country?" Herbert had to shrug his big shoulders and smile. "It's been kind to me so far, and the people I've met have been friendly. I don't know what else there is to ask for." He rocked back slightly on his heels, nose twitching a little as if he might sneeze again. So many people in a small place was probably going to drive his sense of smell insane if he spent too long inside straight off. He wasn't use to it, but still--
"Is there a reason you're outside instead of inside?" He asked, curiously. It wasn't very cold or anything, and you could hear the music clearly, but perhaps there was something he could help out with on that score.
"Not sure if my chair will fit through the door. And I don't have to worry about running over people out here as badly. And I like the fresh air." She shrugged as well, smiling again.
Those seemed like good reasons, but still - couldn't be as much fun. Herbert made a small growly sound of contemplation and then tipped his head at the house. "Me too," he said - and it was definitely true. "D'you want anything to drink or eat? I can go on an expedition and come back, it's probably too crowded to hear yourself think in there anyways."
"Hmmmm a soda sounds good, nothing diet though. Can't stand the stuff. Bring back munchies at your discretion!" Her smile got bigger and moved into her eyes. She giggled at his phrasing...expedition...she liked that.
He was relieved she liked the idea. Herbert didn't have much practice around girls, save for his ten year old cousin (and she mostly just liked riding around on his shoulders) so this was a bit of a good thing. "Alright, I'll be back in a minute, eh?"
Pushing up to his feet he trotted over into the house and found that he could pretty much see clearly over everybody's heads. There was a huge mass of teens inside, but being as he was on a mission (and hungry, for sure) Herbert used his height to make sure he could find some food. He also kept an eye out for little Charlie Angel, but he couldn't be sure she'd come and it was impossible for him to pick out her new scent in all the ones mingling in the room.
Herbert gave a massive sneeze, only partially muffled by his arm, and shook his head. Maybe Amber really did have a good idea, for those with sensitive noses anyway. A few minutes and some careful stepping (to avoid stepping on anybody's toes) later saw him eeking his way back out to where Amber was with a tupperware box loaded with brownies and cookies and potato chips and all manner of non-meat-orientated snack foods. The box was in one hand, a soda for Amber in the other, and his own drink held by the edge of the plastic cup with his teeth.
"Rrrrwwr?" he offered, holding out the stuff for Amber.
Amber giggled as Herbert emerged from the crowded house. And she pulled the soda from his hand to free it up. "Thanks! You must be hungry." She added, motioning to the box he held as she took a drink of soda.
Holding his own glass, freeing himself up to talk, Herbert nodded and dropped down to sit beside her. "I'm pretty much always hungry," he admitted, nevertheless holding the box up to her and giving it an inviting shake. Manners, ladies first of course. "There's some good stuff in there, eh? The house is way too busy - I had to worry about squishing peoples toes, too."
Amber pulled a brownie from the box, and nibbled on it. "Mmm, chocolate!" She smiled. "But, it's easier to pick up your foot then it is to move a wheel off someone's toe."
She took another bite, and smiled down at him. "But out here is just as nice, I got a conversational buddy, soda, and munchies. And I can hear the music, I'm happy!"
Herbert had to beam at that and gave her a nod as he picked out his own snack and lifted his drink in a toast. "Me too, so let's drink to that, eh?"
Not a bad start to America, he had to think.
Amber lifted her drink in a toasting motion as well, and giggled. This would be a party to remember. She took a drink, and let her head bob again. Part of her wished she could jump up from her chair, grab Herbert's hands and dance with him. But she didn't voice that thought.
Melrose's party radar had been on full since arriving in Marquette, which meant she'd definitely heard about the gathering she was currently attending. After snitching a nearly-full bottle of vodka from her uncle's liquor cabinet (as if he thought that stupid little lock could stop her), Melrose dressed in her party clothes and got ready to leave. Her party clothes were a lot like her regular clothes, except brighter and more flamboyant. If such a thing was possible.
She waltzed right in, bright fuchsia tutu nearly indecently short, black tube top with skulls on it, panda hat and sparkly silver stilettos, synthetic rainbow-colored streaks braided into her bright pink hair. Instinct had her beelining for the liquor, where she plunked her offering down with the rest and turned to address anyone within hearing range. "Time for shots!" she announced, snagging some shot glasses. "Who's gonna step up?"
Finally! Someone that Chrissy thought she could get along with! Any girl who dressed like that and brought the more hardcore booze was going to be a friend of hers. Or she'd have to be drawn and quartered then eaten. And just so she didn't think she was going to out-cool her or the like, Chrissy walked up and smiled. "Hello," she said. "You have got to be new here. Welcome to Marquette. I'm Chrissy. You are?" she asked, holding out her glass for those shots Melrose had been going on about.
Melrose, however, had promptly forgotten about the shots in favor of bouncing over to the counter to check out the rest of the party offerings. It wasn't bad, as far as smalltown unsponsored parties went. So when some chick spoke to her, she straightened and turned. "Ja, I'm new," she answered. "Melrose. Ooh, there's brownies, awesome." It wasn't until she was three-quarters of the way through a brownie (which wasn't hard, the way she ate) that she remembered she'd wanted some alcohol. And that this chick was presumably holding out her glass for some as well. Stuffing the rest of the brownie in her mouth, Melrose poured two shots and handed one over.
Chrissy downed the shot immediately, feeling the warmth all the way to her toes. Awesome. Now it was a party. Bring on the booze! Her green eyes flickered to the pan of brownies (ew, calories) and back to her newest friend. Melrose. Interesting. "Well, Melrose, you have excellent taste in alcohol." She offered up a catty smile, holding out her glass for more. "Think I could get another shot?"
Melrose was on her second brownie, thanks to the metabolism that pretty much worked in overdrive nonstop, having downed her shot much like it was water. "Of course I do," she said with a laugh. "This is a high school party, right? I could've brought horse piss and it'd would've been better than the majority of the booze served here." A born and raised German, Melrose was something of a beer snob. All the same, she poured out another for each of them.
After downing the second shot, Chrissy felt pleasantly buzzed... which meant she still had a lot of drinking to do tonight. She wasn't going home unless she was plastered, and she would prefer going home wrapped around something tall, handsome, and equally drunk. Hm, speaking of, was Journey at the party yet?
Oh, right, she was talking to a potential new best friend here. "True. So far, this party's a complete bomb for booze. Just cheap beer. You've got the hardest stuff at the party..." Her eyes gleamed with sudden mischief. "Don't suppose you'd be interested in spiking the non-alcoholic punch, would you?" She would just love to see a few of these lightweights drunk off their ass. It'd be excellent blackmail material for when school started back.
"You mean it's not already?" Melrose asked, rolling her eyes. "I swear to God, you people have no idea how to do anything right." Spying the punchbowl, she poured a generous amount of the vodka into the juice. Enough to get people happy, but not so much that it overpowered the punch. Melrose tasted it just to be sure. "There," she said, pouring herself another shot and taking it, then snagging another brownie. "All better."
Kaysen wasn't in the party. She was sort of at the party, just not inside. She was more skulking around the edges, watching through the hedge and the slats in the wood fence the people just beyond. She had her camera, and was occasionally taking shots while no one could possibly notice her. She had high speed film, so night shots came out alright. And she could brighten things up when she developed them anyways. She was still debating what else she was going to do if anything, sorta half trying to catch sight of her brother. He'd better be having a good time tonight. He needed it.
Chance was walking up the street toward Whats-His-Name's house, following the sounds of music and loud, shrieking teenagers. Cars lined the streets and people were poured out from the house onto the lawn. He didn't know why he had come. But he had gotten a text invitation from a pseudo friend he hadn't talked to since the end of junior year and frankly, even spending an evening with a bunch of kids he either loathed or felt indifferent toward was better than sitting at home with his mother. He shoved his hands in his pockets, wishing he had brought his skateboard when he spotted Kaysen. She had her camera and was...well, it looked like she was hiding. She certainly looked like some kind of sleuth behind the hedge. Unable to resist, he turned toward her, walking up the lawn. Standing behind her, he followed her gaze, and waited until she had taken another shot before he spoke. "Have you gone into private investigation, or something?"
Kaysen had been totally wrapped up in skulking around, practicing the art of not being seen and hadn't caught Chance's approach. Like, at all. So when there was suddenly a voice directly behind her, she squeaked, whirled, and dropped her camera. Thankfully it was on a strap around her neck, so it didn't smash on the sidewalk or anything, but she also half fell into the hedge, and generally flailed like a creature with the least amount of grace in the known universe.
On instinct, Chance reached out and took her elbow, pulling her out of the hedge and back onto her feet, steadying her. He released her immediately and took a step back, remembering her past reaction to his touching her. He rolled back on his heels, slipping his hands back into his pockets to tame the urge to touch her again. Cocking an eyebrow, he grinned. "So I think I'm curious as to what you do with these sordid pictures you take of teenage debauchery."
She stared at him wide eyed for a minute, then punched him. It wasn't the hardest punch in the world, but then Kaysen wasn't really a very big girl, and known for being a bad ass she was decidedly not. It also wasn't like, in the eye or anything, it was on the shoulder. "You asshole!" she hissed, mindful that she didn't want to say anything too loud, because then she might be overheard. Being overheard was bad, because that blew her cover and people took notice of her. Then the whispers and laughing would start, and she put up with that enough in school, she didn't need more of it when she wasn't even there yet.
Chance tried to pretend it hurt...but it didn't, though he had to give her credit for trying. In fact, all it did was make him smile wider, though he grabbed his shoulder and fell back a step. "Damn. Come on now, Kaysen, I catch you stalking a party, snapping away with that camera, and then you assault me, and I'm the asshole?" He was grinning as he said this, enjoying the way her cheeks were flushed, even in the dark.
"Will you quiet down?!" Kaysen hissed, glaring at him. "You're going to attract attention! Go away!" she added, trying to shoo him off. What the hell was this? She was too shocked at current to really have the full effect of paranoia, not to mention she was embarrassed as hell.
"Oh, you want me to quiet down?" Chance asked, rocking back on his heels again and glancing around the hedge toward the house. He recognized a few of the people on the lawn, all holding cups, completely oblivious to anything but themselves. Considering, he snapped his gaze back to hers. "Tell you what, I'm going to go inside and get a drink and come back. If you're gone, I'm going to tell everyone inside what I caught you doing. If you stay put, I'll keep quiet. Deal?" Chance turned and began to walk toward the house before she could answer.
Kaysen's jaw dropped, and she glared at his back as if she could set him on fire with the power of her mind. She gave it a shot, though no flames rose up to help her. So she did the next best thing and threw an acorn at the back of his head, which she actually managed to peg him with. This surprised the hell out of her and she attempted to melt back into the hedges again just in case he decided to come back and kill her or something. What she didn't do was leave. Yet.
Chance lifted his hand to the back of his head and shot a look over his shoulder, but she had disappeared behind the hedge again. With a chuckle, he entered the house, greeted by a couple familiar faces, none important enough for him to stick around and chat with. A few girls paused in their conversation as he passed by before he heard the whispers. Ignoring them as well, he got two cups of soda. With a quick sweep of the crowd, he spotted Kaysen's brother, Isaac and wondered if he knew what his sister was up too. Not wanting to give her enough time to logic herself into running, Chance left the house again, and found her still standing where he'd left her. He offered her one of the blue plastic cups. "Your punches suck, but you got a great arm. The acorn is probably going to leave a welt."
She took the cup without thinking about it, sort of an automatic reaction to something being held out to her as opposed to thinking 'hey, he got me something'. It was almost as if she expected to just be holding it for him. "Well, you deserved it." she said. "Why are you talking to me? Can I go now or are you planning to blackmail me more?" she asked, eying him warily.
He took a sip from his own cup and rolled his eyes. "Are you going to ask me why I'm talking to you every time I talk to you?" he asked. "I knew blackmail would be the only way to get you to stay. If I hadn't blackmailed you, you would have run off. So yeah, I guess I'm going to have to stick to that for awhile. You can keep taking pictures if you want. You can never have too many pictures of underage kids chugging beer, right?"
She made a face at him, unamused. "Yes, I'm going to ask you that every time until you come up with a reason that I'll buy." she snapped, absently taking a drink of the soda he'd given her. It didn't taste spiked. So he probably just spit in it. Unless there were worms in the bottom of it or something. That had happened more than once. Then she rolled her eyes at him again. "It's not pictures of kids chugging beer." she added indignantly.
He ignored the attitude, deciding he'd have to get used to it until she started to trust him a bit. Glancing around the hedge, he studied the kids he went to school with, not finding anything about them remotely interesting. "Okay, no beer chugging, so what's the appeal?" he asked, genuinely curious. "I mean, you hate these people...why take pictures of them?"
She looked defensive and displeased, looking away from him. "It's not of them." she said. "It's light and shadow." she mumbled, feeling stupid. She was also blushing because she knew she sounded like a dumbass. Or worse, like some artsy poser. Really though, that had been what she'd been taking pictures of. The people who were throwing the party had paper lanterns strung up around, and she had been getting shadows in front of the colored lights. For once, she was actually using color film.
Chance lifted an eyebrow, wishing he could see what she did. All he saw were a bunch of morons trying to get drunk or laid. "So you decided to hang outside of someone's house for the lighting?" he asked, knowing he sounded like a dumbass himself. He didn't get photography, though he suddenly found it incredibly interesting. Especially if it were something Kaysen was interested in herself.
"Can you think of somewhere else I'd be able to get shots like this without inviting an apocalyptic event on my head?" she asked sarcastically. "Yeah. For the lighting." And for her brother, to make sure he was okay, but she didn't know how to say that without sounding pathetic or weird or something. And hey, wait a second! It wasn't any of his business anyways and why was he talking to her again?!
"I don't know, the park? Under lamp posts? A lot of houses have different sources of light." He rattled off a few suggestions, deciding to not only ignore her attitude, but her sarcasm as well. Defense mechanisms...he knew them well. "I don't know...the closest I've ever come to a camera was having to get my picture taken for the yearbooks." And he only appeared in the yearbook his freshman year.
"Liar." Kaysen shot immediately. "I took your picture today." she pointed out. "So there. You have too." Because calling him on inane things was a good way to spend her evening. Really. She'd developed the pictures she'd taken earlier too, though she'd had to bring them in to do it. She hated that, but she didn't have a dark room. Until school started, she wasn't allowed in the lab there. So it was one hour photo for her as much as she despised letting anyone else develop her film.
"Yeah, you did. I don't mind that, to be honest. As long as you don't do anything with photoshop that would embarrass me," he added quickly with a small smile. "It's hard to have your actions immortalized in pictures, especially if said actions are less than honorable, which mine usually are. Is this just a hobby? Or something you're looking to do after school is over?"
"What do you care?" Kaysen asked, drinking a little more soda. It didn't feel like anything was rattling around the bottom of the cup. "I don't do anything with photoshop. That's for lamers who don't know how to take a decent shot." Have you got your quota in of talking to me yet? Jeeze.
"Photoshop for lamers, got it," Chance said with a nod, extremely thankful that she hadn't tossed that drink in his face and made a run for it yet. Yeah, he did have that whole blackmail thing going for him, but it was nicer to pretend she was still standing here because she wanted too. "Why don't you come inside with me?" he asked, already knowing the answer to the question, but deciding to try it anyway. "I saw your brother inside."
"Yeah I know where he is, thank you." Kaysen said. "And no. I'd rather not go wandering into the land of rabid hyenas where they can swarm in a pack and eat me alive." she added dryly.
He figured as much. "What if I told you they wouldn't try to eat you if I was with you?" he asked. "If you don't want to go inside, I won't make you, but I can guarantee you no one would bug you if you came inside with me."
"Did you forget your brain at home today or something? Or like, have a head wound recently...a lobotomy perhaps? What makes you think for like, two seconds that they wouldn't because I was with you?" she asked. This is where the trick is. He tries to get me inside, everyone sees me with him, and I get made fun of for thinking anyone would want to give me the time of day. By tomorrow, I'll have been 'hanging all over him panting like a dog for scraps while he tried to fend me off while still being nice'.
Chance's smile faded slightly at her comment. He reached out to scratch his head, his fingers brushing over the scarred flesh under his hair by his ear. Head wound? Check. He gave a small shrug and finished off the soda in his cup. "Because if anyone said anything, I'd probably kick their ass, and they know it. Most people don't like to mess with the 'creepy' kid, remember? If you don't want to go inside, that's fine. You can keep skulking around behind the hedges." He didn't mind it so much, being out here. There was really no one inside he wanted to talk too. He motioned toward her cup. "Did you want more? I can get you something to eat, or a beer, if you wanted it."
She was staring at him again. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked. Because she couldn't read his mind no matter how hard she tried, and he just wasn't making any sense. She couldn't figure it out for the life of her. For now, she was totally ignoring the comment about kicking people's asses over her. Because for serious, that totally wasn't going to happen. The only person who'd ever got into altercations over her was her brother, and that hadn't happened in a few years.
"You already asked me that earlier," Chance pointed out. "And I already answered you." He paused as two guys from his class walked by them, shooting them both odd looks. He ignored them and turned back to Kaysen. "As much as I like your sarcastic wit, I'm kind of hoping if I'm nice to you, you'll return the gesture."
Kaysen's eyes were following the other two, and while Chance had turned his attention back on her, she saw that they were snickering and started talking and pointing back over at her. Making gestures that of course equated to something involving blow jobs. Excellent. Just awesome. She tried to shrink back into the hedges more and hoped for rabid attack squirrels to show up and possibly eat her flesh like little furry land pirahnas, but she had no such luck. Messy death just didn't show up and take you when you wanted it to. She hadn't realized she hadn't answered him, but she did see that the gusy were circling around back towards the party. Sweet! Maybe in about three minutes, they'd have a whole crowd!
He followed her gaze toward the guys who had walked by. Chance didn't pay them any attention, but he could see Kaysen was not squirming, a bit of paranoid terror flashing in her eyes. "They won't bother you," Chance told her, hoping she'd believe him. "They're probably more interested in the booze around back."
Her eyes finally slid to him and she frowned. "Are you just delusional, or do you know nothing about me? You keep blowing off what pretty much amounts to my entire life, and it's bullshit. People don't leave me alone. They find ways to come at me and make me miserable any chance they fucking get, and just because you say that the world is a shiny place doesn't make it so." she snapped. His flippancy towards what she went through on a daily basis, making it out to be like it wasn't really that bad was really starting to get to her. Badly.
"Hey, I never said the world was a shiny place," he corrected. If anyone knew just how fucked up the world was, it was Chance. "And no, I don't know you, that's the whole point of you know, talking to you now. To get to know you. Maybe I'm not too concerned about it right now, because I know the first people who walk over here and say anything to you, I'll tell them to fuck off, and if they don't, I'll make them. I'm not trying to be some kind of savior, it's just how it is."
"Well, you keep talking like I'm just being paranoid, and I'm not." Kaysen said, frowning hard at him. "Like it's all just in my head. It's not. Imagine a world where everyone around you hates you for no reason, and they take great pleasure in making sure that you know that every day. Just so you don't forget. And the best thing you can ever hope for is being ignored because then they might not make your day total hell, it'll just be mostly miserable." The boys were back, not too close by, but they had as a matter of fact brought a couple of other people to look over at Chance and Kaysen. They were laughing, and not being terribly quiet about it.
"I never said you were paranoid." Chance wasn't sure why it seemed every time he thought he was making headway with her, he seemed to say something wrong. "I know how assholes can be. If you want to be invisible and ignored, that's your business. That's why I'm out here with you rather than dragging you inside." His eyes shifted from Kaysen to the guys around the hedge, making their presence known. He looked back at her, not wanting to be the reason for her discomfort. "Do you want to go? I can walk you home."
She stared at him, wide eyed, and she looked quite a bit like a rabbit in the headlights there. Walk her home?! Walk her home?! What the hell? First Thom the other week, big stupid weirdo jerk that he was, and now Chance? Did she have a glowing neon sign above her head that said 'My brain isn't scarred enough, please make it explode as often as possible'? She didn't think so! But people seemed to keep insisting on doing it! It was less anything Chance did that broke her out of her internal screaming mental flailing and more the derisive laughter from the people watching.
"Awww...little baby needs to be walked home. How much you wanna bet she sucks him off for ten bucks?" one of the guys says.
"I heard she goes for five." another commented.
Chance smiled tightly, thankful he had taken his medication that morning. Scratching the back of his neck, he turned away from Kaysen and rounded the hedge. He didn't care whether or not Kaysen saw at this point, if anything, he hoped she was long gone by now. Approaching the two fuckers, Chance smiled. "Hey, I'll give you about three seconds to say you're sorry to Kaysen," he explained, deciding three seconds was too long when fucker #1 began to laugh. He knew he shouldn't. He knew it was exactly the opposite of what he wanted to do tonight, but damnit...he threw his fist into fucker's jaw, watching him land on the ground with some satisfaction, curses muffled beneath the blood pouring out of his nose. Fucker # 2 had rammed into Chance then, taking him to the ground as the girls shrieked.
Pain exploded around his jaw as the beefy fingers made contact, and he rolled over, wincing again as the fists began to beat into his stomach. Fuck, he could survive death and he was going to get his ass kicked by some fat fuck? Temper fraying quickly now, Chance managed a shot in, rolling over the guy and pounding his fist into his face. "Next time...just say you're sorry..." Chance managed through gritted teeth, ignoring the blood dripping into his mouth from his own nose. He climbed off of the kid, blindsided by fucker #1's fist to the other side of his jaw. Chance rounded on him and punched him square in the nose again, pleased to see him crumple to the ground.
It was difficult to miss the fight when she'd taken a few steps after Chance, not sure what the hell was going to happen, and then of course people were falling down and there was punching happening. She blinked at it, utterly confused for the first few seconds. When she did finally react with more than brainless shock, a flash of heat went through her, anger spiking up sharp and bright. She had her board with her, and she grabbed that.
She was up to the fight in no time, and saw one of the other guys who'd been around starting to go for Chance. She acted before she thought about it, swinging her board at the back of his knees. It was a cheap shot, but it worked, completely dropping him as suddenly his knees were buckling. Which sort of woke her up to what she was doing. "Oh shit." she squeaked. Flee! Fleeing was good! Her not being here when he got back up was a very very good idea! Grand, even! In fact, if she could hop hemispheres, that would be peachy freaking keen.
Chance turned as Kaysen swung her skateboard into someone's legs, her squeak striking a realization inside of him at what he was doing. He didn't mind kicking someone's ass, or having his own kicked...but he didn't want to be responsible for getting Kaysen involved, or hurt. The kid on the ground was cursing, rolling around in pain as he held his knee. Chance wiped his nose, smearing the blood there before he stepped back from it all. He walked quickly toward Kaysen and grabbed her hand, tugging her down the street before the two guys gathered themselves enough to come after them. "I'll take you home," he said again, his words a bit more forced now because of the pain in his rib.
Annnd then she was being pulled along by the hand. She looked back at the party again, then back to Chance, sort of mentally flailing since she didn't know what to do. She started to see people coming out of the party to see what the hell was going on, and she wondered if her brother or Thom was one of them. It was hard to see in the dark. Half tripping over an uneven crack in the sidewalk, she was sort of pulled out of her daze. "Wait--" she started, though for the life of her she had no idea where that sentence ended.
"Wait?" Chance asked, releasing her hand and rubbing his rib where a fairly solid tennis shoe and plowed into him. He could still taste blood in his mouth, and his jaw was sore. Kaysen seemed to be struggling internally over her decision to go with him, or not and he was too angry at those fuckers for saying what they did, and himself for reacting the way he did, to care. "Okay, stay if you want," he finally told her, walking backward away from her, unable to keep from wincing with every step. "Take your pictures. I'm leaving."
Kaysen looked back at Chance, and was going to give him a retort, but she saw he was wincing. "Are you hurt?" she asked, following him. Mostly she was just mentally flailing really really badly which was the reason for the hesitation. It really for once didn't have anything to do with him. She realized as more people milled out onto the street that they should really probably get out of there like, nowish. "Come on." she said, pushing ahead of him to cut through some yards and get him away from the party faster. Last thing she wanted was for people to follow, so she'd just...make that harder.
Nervous was a understatement. Harper was terrified. But she had said she'd come, and so she came. She'd gone home and gotten dressed in a simple light blue dress and loose flowing black slacks. She walked into the party, immediatly regretting the choice, maybe if she tried she'd get more comfotable. She did find herself drifting to the wall. Yes, that was Harper, a wallflower. And ya know what? She was proud of it- at least she'd gotten out of the house to go anywhere but work.
Harper had been there a little while before Isaac really noticed. Not that he wasn't looking, just that sometimes he got really into playing. Really into it. But the next time he scanned the crowd, he spotted her and grinned a little. Good, she'd shown up. The next time Thom called a short break, Isaac set his bass down and wormed through the crowd up to her. "Hey," he greeted with a smile. "Havin' fun?"
Harper'd been watching them play, she had to admit that she was impressed by Isaac's playing. When he approached her she nervously brushed some hair behind her head and shrugged. "You guys are good." She told him, with a small smile.
"Thanks," he said with the ease of somebody who heard that a lot. Not that Harper seemed at all the type to just pass out compliments that she didn't mean. He looked around to where the 'stage' was, and pointed out the rest of the guys. "That's Thom, my best friend, Tyler's on drums, and Jason plays rhythm," he told her. In case she cared. "Y'want something to drink?"
She nodded. "Just a soda would be nice." Harper said, making a note of his bandmates, who's names she'd probably forget after tonight. "Suprise me." She didn't care what flavor, she was pretty much good with most foods and drinks. One thing that made her versitile, could eat anywhere.
Since they were relatively near the kitchen, Isaac nodded and ducked away. He answered a few catcalls, said hey to a few people, and returned after a moment with a regular Coke for her. Always a staple. He himself had gotten some water, not yet to the drinking part of the evening. There was still rocking out to do. He handed it off and cracked his own open. "Glad you made it," he told her genuinely. This was a really good turnout.
Harper tilted her head slightly. "Still debating that. I mean you guys are great but..." She glanced around at all the people and bit her lip. "Not my normal crowd... them being... people and all."
He chuckled. "Ah, most of 'em aren't so bad," he said, shooting for making her a bit more comfortable. Which would probably be hard. He glanced around, then nodded toward the back door. "The yard's a little less crowded, and I've got like ... fifteen minutes, wanna step out?"
She nodded. "Fresh air might be just what I need." She smiled and opened her soda as she followed him out. The air was nice, and he was right, less people. "You'd never guess that I was a social butterfly in highschool." Harper said under her breath as they found a place to stand.
Isaac, familiar with this yard, kind of led her off to the side. But not too off, lest she be uncomfy with that too. He took a long pull of water and quirked an eyebrow at her. "You were?" he asked. "What happened?" He blinked and chuckled a little. "I'm a nosy bastard, you totally don't have to answer that."
Harper shook her head. "It's a long story, and not a happy one. Maybe I'll tell you another time... one that won't ruin such a wonderful night for you." She told him. Taking a sip of her soda she rubbed the back of her neck slightly. "So how long have you been playing?"
"A couple of hours," he said. Then realized she probably meant for his whole life, and laughed a little. He let her first comment slide completely, not wanting to dwell on it for her sake. But he filed it away, as something else to be curious about. "Ahhh, about eight years. I think I got my first guitar when I was ten. I switched to bass a few years ago, 'cause Thom's way better at regular guitar than I am." Which wasn't completely true, but hey.
"Modesty, nice." She giggled slightly. "Not many guys have it. I'd love to hear you play the guitar sometime too." Harper blushed slightly. God she was so bad at this whole talking thing.
Isaac grinned crookedly at her. He never thought of himself as terribly modest, but he guessed he was. Sometimes. "Sure, whenever you want," he said, taking another swallow of water. She was cute. God he wished he could just shove Jamie out of his mind. Then everything would rock.
Harper blushed a little again and moved some hair from her face, god she felt like she was a kid again, trying to talk to a cute guy on teh playground. She took a sip of her soda and looked to the door of the house. "You should go back... Thom's ready for you." She told him looking back just as the sound of the guitar and a brief mic check was heard. Time had flown kinda fast between them, she was kind of dissapointed by this- wishing she had said more. Of course if she had been actually focused on things and not caught off balance by Isaac, she would have realized that she'd told him about the Thom before they'd heard him.
He was too busy looking at her blush to even notice that she'd pre-empted Thom. It didn't even occur to him, so he just grinned. "Yeah, probably. You gonna stick around, maybe? Sorry I can't really hang out much."
"It's ok... I'll stick around for a few more songs... but I have to work tomorrow so I might turn in early. You can call though... if you want." Harper told him. "You better hurry before they start without you."
"Nah, not possible," Isaac said with a chuckle. He was half tempted to give her that standard one-armed hug thing that so many chicks he knew were cool with, but ... didn't. Her cheeks were really red already, he didn't want to give her a heart attack or anything. "I'll do that. Good to see you, though. Have fun."
Harper let him go in and waited a few moments before following. She did as she said, listened to a few songs before taking off, giving Isaac a wave when she did. Even though she'd been a wallflower and a doofus when it came to conversation, she did have a nice time. Good music can trump anything else.
One of the amps gave a little feedback as the band finished up another song. Leija was right there at the side of the crowd, bouncing a bit with the rhythm that had just ended. She glanced at her watch, a smile plastered on her face. She was having a great time, everything had pretty much been awesome. Even without her bringing bras to throw. She'd heard something vague about a fight, But nobody seemed too concerned, and there hadn't been an ambulance or anything, so ... She looked up again and tried to catch Thom's eye. Just because she could, and she wanted to wink at him and see what he'd do.
He knew where she was during this set - though he'd been trying to be professional and ignore the hell out of her. He hadn't been totally successful though, and he'd glanced her way more than once. He added once more to that number as they finished up, his eyes darting in her direction as he held onto his final note, even as he played the last cord.
True to her impulse, Leija grinned and winked at him. She briefly considered blowing kisses, but figured they'd already probably given a lot of fuel to the rumor mill. Let 'em wonder. So she just wrinkled her nose a bit and waited for either the next one to start or them to be done. The continued promise of Alone Time Afterwards had built up a pleasant curl in her stomach all night.
Thom's lips curled up slightly and he finished his note in a smile, deciding that that? Was a great place to end the set. He looked back at the other guys to check they agreed and when he got a couple of nods, announced to the room they were taking a break and unslung his guitar. He looked over to catch Leija's eye and nodded towards the back door - it'd be easier if she just met him there.
She gave him a slight nod and meandered her way in that direction, skirting around a couch that had a couple of sets of people making out on it. It was amusing, in a way. Leija got to the back door, slipped just outside, and waited, wondering if they were finished for the night or not. She wouldn't mind either way, she thought, they were good. She looked up at the moon, still smiling slightly.
Thom stepped out a few minutes after she did, having detoured to pick up a couple of drinks - just two cokes this time. He'd never been a big drinker - he didn't like the out of control feeling that came with being drunk and really didn't see the point. For a moment it was tempting just to walk up behind her and put his arms round her, but he wasn't sure how she'd react to that. he wasn't sure how he'd react to that. Still, it was tempting. But he didn't, instead heading to stand by her side, but about as close as he could get. "You having a good time?" he asked her, handing her a drink.
She felt him come up and turned -- her arm brushing him as she did so -- to beam at him. Leija accepted the coke and nodded. She didn't have any reason at all to drink tonight; everything was too perfect as it was. "Great time," she answered, taking a sip. "You?" He loved performing, she could tell just by watching him play up there with the rest of them. It was interesting, as he didn't seem to have the attention-hogging ego a lot of musicians did. Sure, he was still young, yet, but he seemed just to enjoy watching people enjoy his music.
"Yeah, damn good time," Thom told her. He always did though, when they were playing well. They could have an audience of four and he'd still love it, still find it a rush - there was nothing like it on earth, not as far as he'd experienced, anyway. "I kinda feel I'm neglecting you though..." he added, giving half a look towards the open doorway, to the other few people who were standing just in the garden.
"Pft, no worries," she said with a teasing roll of her eyes. "You've got a show to do, it's cool." She elbowed him gently in the side, and was about to open her mouth to say something else when her stomach suddenly went slightly queasy. The scars on her back started to itch and her eyes ticked off into a middle distance for a second. Oh no, oh God please not now, please not now. She paled even in the low light and looked at him. Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit. How was she going to get out of this?
He'd been just about to suggest they go for a walk, just further into the garden, where it was darker, fewer people around - looking at it, it would the closest they'd get to alone time here. Except then he caught sight of her face - which suddenly looked, well, ill. "You okay? he asked her, taking her drink off her and putting bottles down on the floor before turning quickly back to her, a hand resting on her elbow. "Do you need to sit down?" he asked, looking her over.
Leija felt that undeniable pull at her insides. This was why she didn't do this sort of thing, didn't get involved, didn't go to shit like this, and ... he just looked so concerned all of the sudden. "No," she said, heart rate picking up. "I have to go." And she had to go. The pull was strong, she didn't have much time. She started to pull away from him, toward the door. She had to get out of sight.
He stared at her for a moment, not moving. And then his brain kicked back in after the initial shutdown that accompanied 'she's going... huh? "Leija!" he called, following her back inside, pushing through people to try and catch up with her. Where the hell was she going all of a sudden?
She was headed toward the front, because the Blair house had a fenced in backyard, and unless she wanted to show her hand to a whole fuckton of people, she had to get down the street a ways. She looked over her shoulder at him and shook her head, still dodging through people as best she could. It hurt like hell to see that look on his face, but she couldn't help it.
He saw the look on her face - not that he understood it at all. That sad-seeming 'don't' look that he saw, but that did absolutely nothing to dissuade him. And he would have continued to follow her if David Blair hadn't grabbed him by the arm and spun him round into a conversation with Brad Wilson wanting to know some shit about a question he'd only half heard. "Not now," Thom told them, tersely, turning to go.
"Aww, come on man - we were just saying, what is..." Brad said, moaning.
"Look I have no idea - ask Isaac or something," Thom told them, testily, pulling away and darting off into the crowd, pushing his way to the front door. He emerged outside, running down the driveway and onto the street, but there was no sign of her anyway. He gave a 'wtf' look to the empty night and headed back inside - still looking for her.
Upon hitting the sidewalk, Leija had picked a direction and bolted, tearing down the empty street before she veered off into an empty sideyard. Sheilded from the Blair house by a huge privacy fence, and dumbly grateful for the late hour, Leija crouched. A few red tears forced themselves out of her eyes and tracked down her pale cheeks as her wings burst out of her back and she pushed off from the earth. She rocketed up into the sky with a couple of powerful pumps of fire, letting the call of death pull her in the right direction and feeling as though she'd just lost everything.
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