Safarikid & Owlflight IC

[Owlflight]

Abigail closed her laptop with a satisfied smile; she'd just finished her essay on the evolution of journalism in the last fifty years. It wasn't due until next week, but she liked to get things out of the way as quickly as possible. Besides, this meant that she could go to that party she'd heard about without feeling guilty for having unfinished work. She jumped up from her desk and rushed to get ready, donning a pair of skinny jeans, a cute, vintage blouse that accentuated her slim waist in just the right way, and some neutral-colored heels that were just high enough to make her look mature and low enough that they weren't slutty. Abigail was no slut, that was for sure. She left her hair down, long and tousled, and applied a small amount of makeup in natural tones. Perfect, she though with a smile, looking at herself in the mirror a final time. Grabbing her purse, she was out the door.

The party was at someone's relative's house not far from the college campus (or something; no one really cared, as long as there was a party). Abigail arrived with one of her closest friends, Rachel, and they stuck together for the first hour or so. Abigail was the designated driver; she refused numerous offers of booze, but Rachel accepted them all. The latter was scanning the room for someone who looked interesting as the former downed yet another red plastic cup of alcohol. Finally, Abigail's gaze fell upon a vaguely familiar face across the room. Where do I know him from. . . .? she wondered. Oh, I remember! He's in my poli sci class. . . What was his name again? Abigail couldn't remember this guy's name, but she did remember that he was attractive. Her friends had said he wasn't her "type," what with the tattoos and "bad guy" image all, but she figured that was her decision, not theirs. I've never talked to him before. Should I go over there? Feeling guilty at the idea of leaving her friend, the aspiring journalist glanced at Rachel beside her, who was having a bit of trouble staying upright at this point. Abigail's gaze had returned to this mystery guy across the room. She suddenly realized she'd been staring, which usually would've embarrassed her--it was rude, after all--but she was okay with it this time. In fact, she half-hoped that he would turn his head and catch her looking.

[Safarikid]

College was an obstacle course for Jay. Each day filled with a new challenge as he kept up his not so decent reputation, whilst somehow managing to scrape his way through each course. But nonetheless, he somehow managed to mingle his way through the college system without getting thrown out, although they had threatened so many times. It didn't bother him. His reputation didn't bother him too much either. Rumors about the tattooed, green eyed boy spread across the campus frequently, some true, others rather questionable. The one thing that did seem to get him through college though, was parties. After a long hot shower, a fitted pair of dark jeans found their way onto the boy, paired with a loose white vest. The tattoos which covered his arms and chest were very much on view, but he didn't care much. A pack of cigarettes were shoved into his one pocket, whilst another bunch of cash found its way into his other pocket. With the friends that he hung out with, this night could go anyway. The excitement and adventure fueled him.

He felt at home at partied like these. The music not only filled the home, but seemed to pump through his veins, giving him an all new boost of energy. After downing the rest of his beer, Jay crushed the red cup in his hands and threw it across the floor to a friend. His friend, Josh, laughed as he kicked the cup back. The two boys entertained themselves for awhile by initiating a bit of a soccer game in the middle of the lounge with the crumpled up cup. Many rumors would describe Jay as spending most parties in different rooms with different girls, or using narcotics in the garden and even getting arrested a couple times. But the boy kicking the cup around and having a good time, seemed somewhat harmless to onlookers. After the mini soccer game got rather boring, Jay's stood up straight and allowed his green eyes to finally scan his surroundings, a soft sigh escaping his lips. It was then when his eyes met hers. He knew her, from where? His eyes quickly darted away as he attempted to remember where the familiar face was from. She had to have been in one of his classes, and that, topped with the fact that she was absolutely beautiful, was enough. Jay's eyes found hers again before a slight smile appeared on his lips and he took a few steps towards her. "I know you right?" his deep voice spoke over the loud music which dominated the room.

[Owlflight]

Abigail's breath caught in her throat. He was looking her way. Well, Abs, she thought, you got what you wished for. Maintaining eye contact and putting on what she really hoped was a flirtatious little smile, she reminded herself to breathe like a normal person. Quit being so weird. He's just another guy at another party. No big deal. By then, he was close enough to speak to her over the music, which was quite loud and included a whole lot of bass. Abigail could feel the beat in her bones; it was one of her favourite feelings. The atmosphere that music like this created was nearly as intoxicating as the alcohol that was being passed around the large room packed with party-goers.

"I know you, right?" he asked.

Abigail smiled again and raised her voice so she could be heard over the music. "I think we may have a class or two together. I'm Abigail, by the way." She was about to offer her hand to shake (Is that weird? she just had time to wonder) when Rachel staggered drunkenly into her, causing Abigail to stumble a couple steps closer to her new acquaintance--which put her much closer to him than was considered polite. Another couple of inches, and they would've been touching. In that moment of closeness, two things crossed Abigail's mind: first of all, he wasn't wearing a whole lot in the way of a shirt, and secondly, she did not mind that at all. These thoughts were interrupted when Rachel giggled, and Abigail shot her a look before quickly shuffling backwards again. "Sorry," she said to her classmate, her sweet smile back in place. "Were you saying something?"

[Safarikid]

His smile widened just a little as she spoke back to him. From the steadiness in her voice to the sweet smell that seemed to surround her, he could very quickly tell that she was sober. A sober girl at a party was normally the very last thing any guy wanted anything to do with, any guy looking for something at least. As bad as it was, Jay was often one of those guys, but for some reason unbeknownst to him, it didn't bother him at all. He quickly snapped back to reality as she posed a question.

"Class? Oh yeah, that's probably it," Jay answered with a nod. He'd seen her in one of his classes. The fact that Jay had even been attending classes was a miracle in itself, a miracle that seemed to be paying off. "I'm Jay -" he managed to answer before she was suddenly that much closer to him as his eyes diverted to her not so sober friend who had caused the sudden closeness. He would need to thank that friend one day. "No problem. Is your friend okay?" He asked her as his eyes stayed on Rachel for a few more moments before finding their way back to her.

[Owlflight]

Jay. Abigail bit her bottom lip to suppress the giggle that was building in her throat. God, even his name is hot. Could names be hot? It didn't matter, because as far as this girl was concerned, Jay was definitely a hot name that perfectly suited its owner. When he asked about Rachel, Abigail glanced back to find her tipsy friend was dancing with some guy. "Oh, yeah, she'll be fine," Abigail replied, turning back to Jay. "Rachel's really into the whole. . ." She gestured vaguely at the room in general. "Party scene." This was true; Rachel loved to go out, meet guys, get drunk, and come home around sunrise. Abigail usually came along, though she was more of a supervisor of Rachel than a fellow participant. The journalism major wasn't nearly as wild as her friend, but, she had to admit, the parties were fun. Especially ones like this, where she got to meet new people. That was always fun.

"So, what brings you to this lovely little get together?" Abigail went on to ask as someone knocked a vase onto the floor, where it promptly shattered, inspiring cheers all around the room. "The cozy atmosphere, the beautiful women, the fancy drinks, or the elegant music?" she added with an ironic grin.

[Safarikid]

Jay held a laugh in, his smile somewhat close to bursting as he heard her. "Yeah, I think I have seen her around too," he commented as he slipped his hands into the front pockets of his dark jeans, his eyes gazing down to the floor for a brief moment. Although he was extremely loud and confident, he had a shy streak to him. "Well, you know what really draws me to these parties are just the decent people," he continued her joke with a shrug of his shoulders, "Just so tasteful and elegant."

He attempted to tear his eyes off of her, but they very quickly found their way down her body, tracing every inch of her within seconds. There seemed to be something very different about her, something he couldn't seem to put his finger on, not yet at least.

"So i'm guessing you're not really the party animal?" he asked.

[Owlflight]

"Truth be told, parties like this one are full of very intelligent, mild-mannered people! Take the poor boy throwing up his alcohol over there, or that cute couple sucking face in the corner. It doesn't get much classier than this." Abigail's grin became rather sheepish at Jay's next question. "That obvious, huh?" It wasn't like she was trying to look cooler than she was; Abigail didn't really mind that people new she was the nice, practical, studious girl who always took notes and refused drugs and gave her friends relationship advice without ever having a serious boyfriend herself. She'd realized a long time ago that she wouldn't be able to act like something else even if she wanted to, so she just went with the flow. It wasn't like she wasn't enjoying her life, despite the fact that others would describe it as "boring," "too perfect" or (if they were being particularly blunt) "the tale of a goodie-two-shoes." Abigail had never really walked on the wild side, so it was possible she just didn't know what she was missing out on. Parties--just like the one she was currently at--were the craziest it ever got for her.

"And I'm going to guess, if you don't mind me judging by your appearance a bit--" Here Abigail paused for a moment to slowly look Jay up and down, dragging her gaze over his form, before establishing eye contact once more. "That you are something of a party animal." She grinned again; this wasn't her being mean. It was a simple counter-observation.

[Safarikid]

The music very quickly seemed to become louder, their words becoming lost in the smokey atmosphere around them. This caused Jay to take a step closer to her, making sure he heard each word that escaped her lips. Most conversations, he wouldn't care to really hear. Her conversation seemed to grip him though. A soft laugh eventually escaped his being as he shook his head just a little, running a hand through his dark hair.

"So just because I have tattoos, I am a party animal?" he questioned her playfully as he looked down to the tattoos which crept up his chest and arms. Most people would probably coin the word 'party animal' in reference to him. Jay didn't mind it much, their were much harsher words being used to describe him in the gossip and rumor circles across campus.

"I like the odd party - yeah. But not for the reasons most people would presume. I like people." he spoke with a gentle shrug.

[Owlflight]

Abigail laughed. "No!" she exclaimed. "It's not just the body art. It's like an aura, y'know? Like, like--" She couldn't even keep a straight face as she said that. "Okay, yeah, that assumption was mostly based upon the tattoos. They're really neat, actually. . . ." She had trailed off to inspect one or two of the pictures inked onto Jay's skin more closely. Did I just say "neat"? God, I am lame! she realized abruptly. Abigail very quickly returned her gaze to Jay's face with a quiet, slightly nervous laugh before she regained her composure. "I know what you mean. People are fun things to be around." Then she shrugged, smiling. "You can always be around them without all of this, too, though." Abigail made a vague gesture to indicate the room and its generally wild senselessness. "Sometimes that's even better!" she finished with an optimistic grin.

[Safarikid]

"Oh, so now i'm getting life coaching?" Jay couldn't help but tease her, enjoying seeing her quickly try to cover up for herself frantically after his last question. It was probably a little evil, but he was sure she knew that he too was joking. "So you're not drinking tonight?" Jay questioned her purely from his observations. He hadn't noticed her drinking and certainly couldn't pick up any influences of alcohol in her speech or the way she presented herself.