"Earlier than usual," he muttered, already in the process of pouring himself another drink. Pausing, he looked over toward Lucas, then back at the tiny shot glasses in front of him. Well, he did already claim the bottle, but thought quietly for a second. This was one the better drinks they stashed away, which lead him to believe that he was most likely wasting it. A good drink was there to enjoy; the bad stuff was there to drown out the issues and put 'em in a safe place for later. The latter was exactly what he need. He corked the bottle and slid it back into its cabinet before heading toward the mini-bar to grab a much needed bottle of vodka, half empty. Holden looked back at Lucas as he walked.

"Like that one Jimmy Buffet song—whatever the lyrics were," he said with grin that couldn't hide his previous scowl, "I guess now's a great time as any, right?"

Taking a quick swig of the bottle, he grabbed his coat and draped it on one of the hooks near the door, certain he'd remember to get it later. Then, he found his way onto the couch, and let his feet hang loosely against the coffee table's edge, surprised at the sudden body next to him. He'd totally blanked out at the greeting, uncertain of what to say now as Jason took to conversing with him. Well, he probably already made a bad impression to the recent newcomers and the bottle of vodka in his hands wasn't helping his situation any. Of course, he had a logical excuse to drown himself in alcohol, plus it wasn't like he wouldn't solve the problem later.

It was just that the problem itself was a little heftier than what he was used to and take a longer, more thought out process to fix. It practically took his whole life to find it hidden in his parent's euphemisms and innuendos.

"Mother's getting married again," he muttered into the bottle as he gave Jason a sidelong glance, "yet, she somehow brought all of this into the picture." Holden gestured in a general direction. Jason, Nick, and he all had a mutual understanding when it came to parents: don't talk about them too often or with great detail. They all understood that they had parental issues, but each were drastically different from the others' and it would be a pain just to try to understand what viewpoints lied where. It was an issue and that's where they left each left it.

Despite the evident issue, however, Jason always had a way of indirectly cheering him up. Or maybe it was directly; he wielded his charisma like a political monster. People were fortunate enough that Jason was a good guy and primarily did good things. Though, Holden knew a lot of ways he could put that silver tongue and quick wit of his to better use. The wealthy stage was filled with people who would pour money into anything just to get a good image. A well placed fundraiser for a good organization—cancer research, supporting rape victims, supporting anti-discrimination across the board (black, white, gay, straight, men, women), and [i]anything[/i] to deal with children—and they'd have billions of dollars stacked in the right place for the right people. There was just the task of convincing Jason to step back from his job for a good year or two, in order to help build the cause from the ground up. His father, being the opportunist he was, would have laid all the ground work, set up the foundation, and let the money flow, just for good publicity and the profit it would indirectly rake in for his company—of course, he would bring up a parent or two in this thought process.

That was food for thought later. Holden was currently engaged in conversation and Jason would soon question the hard, blank stare he was receiving. At least the thought had totally shoved back his lamentations prior, in no due part to Jason and his way with words.

"Sober or not," Holden chimed, grinning, "I'm probably going to lose, since I suck at pool and you know it. How 'bout we compare suits instead? Mine's Valentino and cost about 200,000 bucks; my ass looks great in them and they show off the muscles I paid a trainer to get me. Granted, I no longer have a trainer... 'cause apparently he wanted a relationship." Standing up now as he set the bottle down, Holden let his gaze fall onto Jason again, daring him to say anything with that shit-eating grin he had plastered onto his face. "Of course, now we're comparing sex and we both know who has the most sex in this relationship," Holden gave a wink as he spoke, "I can give you some advice, if you'd like. Then you'd probably be too broke to buy any condoms, by the end of it all. But hey, you'll have a lotta baby-daddy cases to solve, right?"

Snickering, Holden bounded off, but made sure to give a glance over his shoulder as he shouted from the stairs he was now climbing, "Me, you, ping-pong tonight. Prepare to get your ass thoroughly wooped, Jace." With that, he disappeared up the stairs with his coat over his shoulder and suddenly invigorated, barely missing Roberto on his way up. All of those nasty feelings were shoved down for later, when he took off the mask and finally got to work solving whatever it was his parents decided to cook up. Right now, though, he was ready to get comfortable and meet the rest of the crew.

A few moments later, Holden bounded down the stairs once more, dressed in a casual t-shirt and jeans. He, however, would never be able to wipe away the look of wealth that pervaded him, no matter how hard he wanted to. It was ingrained by years of subtle manipulation caused by none other than his parents. Levi would gladly have Holden model their pants, if only to say, 'Look, a Bishop is wearing our brand; give us some money.' And despite his air of high-class status, Holden never failed to immediately quash any thoughts of adoration and awe.

Being the klutz he was, Holden completely missed the last step and tumbled into the back of the couch. Cursing quietly to himself, he looked over to his immediate right to see the horde of people coming in, two of which he didn't recognize, but one stood out like a sore thumb. Forgetting completely about his misstep, Holden rushed over toward Nick, grabbing him by the waist and lifting him into a tight hug, not caring that the man was holding onto anything. The only people he'd ever be that intimate with were his two college buddies, Jason being one of them; anyone else he'd give the curt, sophisticated handshake. But, those two knew him for who he was and Holden was anything but curt and polite in private company. He was blunt, slightly goofier than usual, and in every sense a public figure trying his damn best to seem normal, despite his parents insisting that he was anything but.