[IC] CANCELLED.

[Bee]

_{A Collaboration Between: @Bee and @Kitty
Featuring: Josie and Olivia}

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Upon receiving the text, Olivia smiled to herself. She was glad that Josie was around and she’d finally be able to enjoy the party with someone else. Replying to the text, Olivia promptly turned right around and made her way back to the dance floor. The music was still going, the vibes were still strong, and the environment was still warm. It was just the way Olivia had liked it.

Stepping down the stairs, she snaked her way past a couple who were getting a little too frisky. Definitely not PG-13. Looking away and shielding her innocent eyes, she eventually made her way to the dance floor where her innocent eyes were definitely not innocent anymore. Glancing down at her phone, now began the hunt for Josie. Where could she be? Olivia was roaming the floor like a lost dog as she looked for her bestie.

Peering into the dance floor, she could see the unmistakable outline of her signature curls. Walking into the dance floor, she tapped Josie on the shoulder. ”Hey boo!” She smiled, hugging Josie.

“Hey girl! I feel like it has been forever since we saw each other. I mean a week is a while.” The dancer told her friend while hugging her back. She then grabbed her hand and pulled her to the side of the dance floor so they had more room and weren’t surrounded by people grinding and doing things that were not actual dancing in Josie’s mind.

Once to the side, Josie glanced quickly at the DJ subconsciously before refocusing on her friend. “So what have you been up to so far at the party? I’d pretend like I’m surprised I haven’t seen you but let’s be honest. I haven’t left the dance floor since getting here.” Josie laughed, the fact clear as she had just a bit of sweat glistening on her body. But on her it seemed to add an ethereal shine, especially since the scents of her lotion and perfume still were ever present leaving the girl smelling like a mix of vanilla, cinnamon, and fresh rainfall despite having been dancing for well over an hour.

”Ah, y’know, just having a couple drinks and taking in the sights!” Olivia held up her margarita, before taking another sip. Josie did look like she had been partying hard, just based on the sweat on her forehead. She didn’t blame her. Olivia knew that Josie loved to dance. No use holding back the dancer.

”You wanna have a dance together? Got nothing better to do right now besides spend some time with ya.”
“Is that even a question Liv? Come on back to the middle! And don’t worry if any boy bothers you I will just scare him away with my dance moves.” Josie joked, winking at Olivia as she pulled her back into the moving group of people, her body already beginning to move to the beat of the music again.

Following Josie to the middle of the dance floor, she bumped into a couple of other girls dancing like crazy just momentarily. She paid them no mind as they arrived at their spot. This was the spot where the girls would start enjoying themselves. Josie would enjoy herself sober, and Olivia was definitely going to enjoy herself with some alcohol in her system.

After a few minutes of dancing, Olivia gestured to Josie to take a break, since she was starting to get a little tired and she was starting to lose focus. She felt like just hanging out and relaxing just a bit after so much activity. ”Hey, let’s go take a break, dude! I’m kinda tired!” She said to Josie, gesturing to the side area with a bunch of chairs.

The dancer took notice of her friend tiring and was all for going with her to sit down when she suggested it. Even if she could keep going for hours, she knew her friend couldn’t. Besides, they could just talk and chill over to the side, something one could not do on the dance floor. Following her friend’s lead, Josie headed to the side area and plopped down on a chair. Running a hand through her hair, she looked around at the party until once again her eyes fell on the blonde DJ.

Turning to face forward with a sharp head turn, Josie brought her hands up to her face and slapped her cheeks, squishing her face in as she took a deep breath. Letting the breath out, she let her hands fall to her lap as she shook her head. Something was wrong with her tonight, it was weird and it all had to do with the DJ. Had she accidentally drank alcohol? No… she had barely even had any water since getting to the party. God, she was probably just going crazy.

Olivia was a fighter, not a dancer. Dancing tired her out faster than wrangling girls and guys or kicking them in the face. She didn’t even want to think about what she looked like to anyone else. Josie was the far better dancer and Olivia wasn’t ever going to challenge that. Hell, Josie would definitely dance circles around her. Potentially even literally.

Taking a seat next to her best friend, she couldn’t help but notice the look she gave the DJ earlier. Olivia knew that there was more to that look than it seemed. At least, that’s what Olivia thought. She was already acting a bit strange. Her vibe had definitely changed, but why? ”You good, Josie? Something on your mind?”

Josie had momentarily forgotten her friend was right there and when she spoke, the girl jumped ever so slightly turning to look at Olivia. Opening her mouth to tell her friend she was fine, she paused and decided to go with the truth. Josie wasn’t one to really lie or hide small things anyways so why start now. “Honestly, I don’t know. I think I’m going crazy Liv. My mind keeps wandering and my eyes keep finding the DJ. Like he’s really cute and all but I’m definitely probably giving off creeper vibes with how many times I keep looking at him. God what is wrong with me?” The dark-skinned beauty confided what she was feeling to her friend. Sounding desperate for an answer to what was wrong with her.

So, it seemed like Josie had caught boy fever. Olivia really should’ve known, but at the same time, it was really cute to see Josie caught up like this. It was very rare that she was like this, so she was going to cherish this moment. She looked at the DJ and then back at her friend. One more at the DJ, then back at her friend as if she was doing a double take. It was so cute. Infatuated Josie. ”Nothing’s wrong with you, Jo. It’s only natural that stuff like this happens,” Olivia laughed, before looking at the DJ once again, ”You should go up and talk to him! Yeah! That’s a great idea!” Olivia was kind of tipsy, so she wasn’t 100% clear if her idea was wise, but she had nothing but good intentions for her bestie.

Taking Josie’s wrist and getting up, Olivia was trying to pull Josie to the DJ, ”Dude, let’s go! Don’t be a pussy!”

Josie’s eyes widened at Olivia’s suggestion and immediately began to pull back the best she could against her strong friend. “No no no no no! That is a terrible idea! I am a female, I will be a pussy if I wish to be a pussy! Talking to him is the worst idea ever. How about instead I throw myself off the boat? That sounds like a better idea than talking to him.” Rambling on, Josie tried to reason with her friend. “Besides he’s doing the music stuff right now, we don’t want to interrupt that. So how about we go get you another drink and find you a guy to talk to. I like that idea better.” She laughed nervously and tried to begin walking in the direction of the bar despite knowing her friend was stronger than her. Josie was a dancer not a fighter, when she did spar with the JROTC she used speed to win, not strength. She could not beat her friend in the battle of strength but she could hope her persuasions would work.

Olivia wasn’t having Josie’s protests. She knew an infatuation when she saw one and Josie was clearly infatuated with DJ Music Man. ”Forget about me, this is about you right now!” Olivia pulled back harder, knowing that she was way stronger than Josie was and she would win the struggle very easily. ”I don’t want any man or woman here. Right now the focus is on you and DJ Music Man!” Olivia pulled and wrapped Josie around her arm, before pushing her to the DJ. ”Just go up and request a song and go from there. How hard could it be?”

“Impossible. Impractical. Unreasonable. Preposterous. Illogical. Ridiculous. Absolutely Outrageously Hard!” Josie reasoned with her friend. Getting more and more nervous with every step closer they got to he DJ. This was the worst idea in the history of ideas.

”You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take, Josie!” She replied as she pulled her bestie through the crowd. Eventually they had gotten to the DJ, where Olivia had put her arms up on the table, looking at said DJ. ”My friend here wants to request a song! Ain’t that right, friend?”

“Uh… Umm yeah… Sure… A song-” Josie looked to her friend then to the DJ then back at her friend, “A song- a song to dance to! Yes exactly request a song to dance to!” The dancer nervously smiled at the DJ for a moment, not saying anything as she took in his appearance closer up. When she finally snapped back to reality she glanced out at the dancing people. “Sorry Not Sorry please.” Josie then turned to rejoin the group of dancers pulling Olivia with her.

”Demi Lovato? Really?” Olivia laughed, as they returned back to the dance floor. Josie didn’t do so hot, but it was okay. Olivia knew just what to do to help her out. ”Listen here, once this song is over, I’m gonna drag your ass back up there and you’re gonna talk to the DJ! If you leave, I’m gonna push you back over there. You wanna fight me? Go ahead. But you’re gonna talk to that DJ and not be a pussy. I know you aren’t a pussy.”

“How about instead I don’t. You saw how that went… it was horrible. I just want to dance my embarrassment away so once that song comes on people will need to move. I’m going full out this time.” Josie wasn’t lying, the minute the song began she let the music take control of her. As more and more people around took notice a small circle formed around her giving her room to dance as people watched her dance, cheering her on drunkenly. She just let her embarrassment and anxiety wash away as she danced, reconnecting with her confident side that she lost when talking to the boy that was driving her crazy.

As Josie started to dance the night away, Olivia just stood there and watched her dance like she didn’t just botch her attempt at flirting. One way or another, Josie was going to talk to that DJ! The vibrations pounded through her feet and Olivia was trying her darndest to resist the urge to dance. But wait… Olivia suddenly had the best idea in the world.

She started to dance along with Josie, getting up close to her. She looked like an absolute spaz, but she was doing this to prove a point. If Olivia was ballsy enough to dance even though she totally couldn’t, then Josie could’ve grown a pair and talked to the DJ. ”Look at me go, Josie! She smiled, trying her best to flaunt her dancing skill (or lack of).

Josie glanced at her friend and laughed a grin spreading on her face. When the song came to an end she pulled her friend off the dance floor and ran to the bar grabbing them two waters, knowing her friend would probably need one after that. When she got back to her friend, Josie handed her the water while taking a sip of her own. “Damn Liv, do you have two left feet or something?” She giggled and glanced at the DJ, knowing exactly what her friend was trying to do. “I’ll talk to him, but I can’t do it while he is working Liv. When he takes a break then I will… maybe. Unless I turn into a mess again then I may just throw myself overboard.” Josie looked back to her friend as she spoke. “But remind me I need to teach you some actual dance moves.”

”If I could dance, you can talk to that guy.” She laughed, taking a seat as her feet started to hurt after all that “dancing” she did. She glanced at the DJ again, and just by looking at his body language she could tell that he was about ready for a break. ”Looks like your time is soon, She grinned, before looking down at her “two left feet”, ”There’s no saving my dancing ability, hon. There is saving you and that DJ, though.” She said, as she gestured toward the man who was getting ready to abandon his station for a bit. ”There’s your opportunity! Go!”

[Silver Carrot]

<sub>Collab between: @Bee and @Silver Carrot
Featuring: Panda and Camille

I got broads in Atlanta
Twistin' dope, lean, and the Fanta
Credit cards and the scammers
Hittin' off licks in the bando</sub>

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Camille was mere couple of steps before stepping onto the dance floor and activating Thot Mode. But, she was interrupted by Panda finally showing up out of nowhere. Good. Camille’s bestie had finally arrived, which meant nothing but good things for the legendary duo. Camille and Panda were a more iconic duo than peanut butter and jelly.

Walking over to her best friend, she smiled and pulled her in for a hug. She was actually surprised that Panda had come all this way to the dance floor. The effort definitely would not go unrewarded. Camille really did appreciate it. Panda chuckled as she was hugged, before placing her hands on her friend’s back and returning the embrace.

”Panda! Hey! What’s up?” She cheered, hugging her bestie, ”You wanna go dance? Or do you wanna go grab some drinks first?”

”I haven’t had a chance to get any alcohol in me, but I can dance sober. I have absolutely no sense of self-consciousness, as you well know,” Panda giggled.

”Y’know what? Why don’t we get some drinks in ya? Might as well get some more liquid confidence in ya.”

Camille took Panda’s hand and started to drag her to the bar. Hopefully she was open to the idea of having some alcohol in her. Maybe the two can enter Thot Mode together. Arriving at the bar, she flagged the barkeep.

”Hey. Can I get a cranberry vodka? My friend here will take a….” She didn’t know what Panda wanted. Honestly, she really hoped that Panda would finish the sentence for her, which the scene girl did.

”Mint julep, thanks” she answered, before grinning and stretching. ”I haven’t danced at a party in months. I hope I’ve still got it.” When the drinks arrived, Panda took the cocktail and finished the whole thing in ten seconds without taking a breath, placing the glass of ice cubes and mint leaves back on the bar.

Before Camille could even take a sip out of her own drink, Panda was already done with her own. So it was gonna be like that, eh? It was a challenge Camille was going to accept. Chuckling a little, she slammed her vodka cranberry back in one gulp.

”Ya feelin’ it yet? Or you wanna go back for one more round?”

”I could go for another ten. I shouldn’t and I won’t, but I could. Let’s have one more drink and then we dance.” Panda learned over the bar, to the barman. ”This time, I’ll have an amaretto. No ice. It won’t have a chance to get warm.”

Following Panda back to the bar, Camille followed up her order right after Panda’s, wanting to keep up with her as much as she could. ”Vodka Cranberry! No ice!” She interjected, before promptly receiving the drinks.

Slamming it down like a shot, she felt the burn go down her throat. No pain, no gain. Turning around to Panda, her face already a little red, she gestured to the dance floor. ”Shall we?”

Panda was still just finishing hers as Camille turned to her. Panda didn’t and couldn’t down shorts or cocktails as if they were shots. She merely enjoyed the taste of the sweet ones, and drank them normally albeit in one sitting. She faced Camille after finishing her second drink, and smiled, and grabbed Camille’s hand in preparation to be led away from the bar. ”Of course! Lead the way!”

Taking Panda’s hand, Camille pulled her toward the dance floor. She wasn’t gonna settle for the edge, because the edge was for pussies. Camille had the heart of the dance floor in mind for them. Their blood was running on liquid confidence, and Camille was feeling ballsy. Closing the distance between her and Panda, she started dancing with her, sticking her arms up and gyrating her hips. There wasn’t room for Jesus between the two of them, either. At first, it was slightly out of rhythm but then once she got it - it was on.

This took Panda by surprise. Ordinarily, she’d be down for a more goofy style of dancing, but this was fun too, and she definitely could have done it sober. She tried to match Camille, awkwardly at first, but as Camille found her groove, so too did Panda. She wasn’t even thinking about how suggestive they looked to onlookers, or about how bad this looked coming from a closeted daughter of an old money christian family. She was hooked by the sensation of feeling like a freak. The feeling of having their neighbors look at them and going ‘damn, learn some shame!’

Shame and Camille were oxymorons. She didn't have a single care in the world about being judged. People judged her for who she was already, she might as well have just rolled with the punches. Continuing to dance, saying that Camille was enjoying it was an understatement. She looked at her dancing partner and smiled, continuing to dance. ”You having fun? I'm having fun!”

”I am having so much fun!” Panda answered excitedly. There was nothing ulterior about her desire to dance and make a freak of herself. As she smiled, and laughed, it was a paradox how a dancer so dirty could also seem so pure.

Dancing for what seemed like an eternity, Camille had eventually lost her breath and was in desperate need of a break. Slowing down her dancing, she wrapped her arm around Panda’s arm. ”You wanna take a breather? I could use one.”

Panda nodded, and wordlessly gestured to the chairs at the edge of the room, panting heavily. Her face was flushed, and the skin around her face was sleek with sweat. Miraculously, there wasn’t much sweat on her face to ruin her makeup. The two made their way to the chairs and Panda sat down, wiping the sweat from her neck and nape. ”That was something else!” she chuckled. ”I had no idea you could dance like that! I had no idea I could, for that matter!We need to go to more parties, Camille!”

Camille followed Panda to the chairs and promptly took a seat. She was huffing and puffing. Dancing was fun, but boy was it tiring. Her chest inflated and deflated as she took deep breaths. It was totally worth it. ”Stick with me, Panda. You're gonna experience a lot better than that.

Camille looked at the bar. Drinks sounded good, cold drinks sounded even better, and cold drinks with her best friend sounded phenomenal. ”More drinks to cool us down? I could use another.”

”Yes, please. Anything sweet is fine.” Panda replied, smiling at her friend, as she sat back and actually began to think. Was dancing like that with another girl, a figure head of BHHS’s LGBT community no less, really the best way to stay in the closet?...probably not, but the damage was now done. Even so, the desire to go up and do the exact same thing had lessened considerable by the time Camille came back. She’d be able to tell Panda was deep in thought.

Camille nodded and went to go fetch drinks for Panda and herself. She figured Panda could use the extra break. Camille walked up and ordered the usual. A vodka cranberry for her, and an amaretto for her beloved Panda. The bartender, of course, served the drinks promptly.

Taking the drinks in both hands, she walked over and gave it to Panda. She looked like she was very concentrated. ”Whatcha thinking about? You look focused.”

Panda looked up and grinned again, as if to say ‘nothing to worry about!’ as she took her drink. ”Thank you! And oh, just that our dancing was pretty intense and that I hope I haven’t accidentally outed myself...” She took a sip of the drink this time. Just a sip.

Camille shook her head, laughing at the thought of accidentally outting herself. ”Relax. You're fine. Girls dance with other girls all the time.” Camille took a sip from her drink, before adding another point. ”You'll only out yourself if you straight up kiss me or something. Dancing is fine. We're drunk anyway.” She looked at Panda then back at the floor. ”You wanna dance some more or do you just wanna chill here for a bit?”

”I can’t spend all night sitting down overthinking shit. Let’s hit the floor again before I psych myself out of it and ruin the night for everybody!”

Quickly downing the rest of her drink, Panda then caught Camille’s wrist and pulled her back into the central throng of the dance floor, ready for round 2. As before, when she started dancing, she wasn’t yet in the rhythm. She wasn’t in freak mode. It took a minute or two of dancing with Camille, feeding off her vibes. The cross-pollination of Freak and Thot energies created some downright nasty shit if you mix them well enough.

Nasty was an understatement. Camille had gone from front-to-front dancing to just straight up grinding. Innocence was no longer in existence. They took turns switching off. Were they getting judgmental looks? Yeah, they were. Did they care? No, not at all.

Having switched off the voice in her head, which must have been present on some level before, telling her that she might out herself if she’s not careful, Panda was really going at it right now. The dancing that she and Camille were doing could qualify as ‘Not Safe For Work’! Camille was right. Straight girls do this shit all the time, and nobody really doubted their sexuality. With this knowledge, Panda was letting the vibes dictate her movements.

They danced like this for a while, and were given a wide berth by the other dancers as if they were all afraid the nastiness was contagious. Only a handful still danced. Others were just watching the two with a morbid fascination, and noting how different this was to the equally eye catching dancing (but for different reasons) that was going on at the other side of the central throng, between Trixie and Marshal. The Hottest Not-Couple had grace and poise, and you could describe their dirty dancing with long, fancy words like ‘tantalising’, which was not the correct word to describe the filth happening over on this side.

[Melissa]

_{The continuation of Savannah Matthews and Trevor Wells’ first date…
A @melissahart and @Silent Observer Collab
Location: Trevor’s Jeep ----> Helmsley Yacht
Mentions: Josie Erickson @Kitty}

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“And then she looks at me and my cowboy boots and goes- sweetie, this is Beverly Hills… the only Rodeo here is Rodeo Drive!”

Sav could get used to this.

With the windows of the Jeep rolled down, her red curly mane flowed freely in the breeze and her voice echoed out into the streets of Beverly Hills so clearly that everyone could hear how much fun she was having. Sitting on the passenger’s side next to Trevor and laughing until her stomach hurt felt right. Something about the moment felt incredibly authentic and real, and it wasn’t something she expected to get out of moving to a city where the homes were the size of castles, and the median income was higher than the average home mortgage.

The two gingers had a wonderful evening so far, filled with endless toppings and an ongoing conversation than never dulled once. In fact, they sat and talked at Creamistry for so long that if Josie hadn’t texted Sav to remind her the boat left at 8:45, they would have missed the party entirely. The female redhead looked over at her date and admired his profile as he focused on the road. Although she’d been looking at him all night, her eyes never got tired of memorizing the strong features on his face and gazing at his smile. “So yeah, you could say my first week here was definitely interesting.”

Trevor had one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the ledge of his open window. The sun had set a few moments ago and the temperature was dropping. He occasionally stole glances over at Savannah, when he wasn’t focused on maneuvering around traffic, and checked to make sure that she wasn’t getting too cold. The wind had pulled apart some of her perfectly coiffed curls, but Trev thought she looked even more beautiful this way. Windswept and naturally sexy. He grinned at her words, agreeing with the sentiment. Trevor might have been only seven when he moved here, but that first week was certainly an interesting one. “Absolutely. California might be a new state, but LA is like an entirely different world. Sometimes the things that happen here still surprise me.”

“Oh definitely, I mean, who throws a party on a yacht on a Tuesday night? Only in LA...” Savannah mused with another laugh escaping her lips. For some reason she felt all giggly and blushy, but she knew it was because she was on this date that she couldn’t wait to tell Josie about when they arrived at the party. “Speaking of the party, what’s it going to be like anyway? And who are these people throwing it?” She asked, giving Trev a quizzical look. Sav was a fish out of water, and was one of the few people who had no clue who the Helmsley’s were. All she knew was that they showed up today after disappearing for six months, and it was causing quite the commotion at school.

“Wait, really?” Trevor’s eyes widened at that question. Who were the Helmsley’s? They were practically a household name around the area. He could see how she might not have met them yet, but surely she’s at least heard of them. “The Helmsley’s? They’re one of the richest families around. Crazy wealthy, they own the Olympus Tower up in Mountain View. Oh man, if you thought your first week here was crazy, wait until you meet this family. Brian’s a good dude though, one of my best friends, and also one of the Helmsley three — they’re triplets: Becca, Bailey, and Brian. They have a heck of a lot more siblings too.”

Sav shrugged, “My dad has mentioned the name before, and maybe I’ve heard it in school a few times but I guess I just haven’t needed a reason to ask about them until now…” She explained a little bashfully. After hearing Trevor’s explanation, she felt slightly stupid for not knowing who they were beforehand. It seemed like they were the family that everyone knew about, well, except for her. “Sounds like tonight will be culture shock to the max.” Sav exhaled and looked at Trev with a smirk.

“A little bit, it certainly was for me when I first met ‘em.” Trevor smiled and laughed lightly. He turned the Jeep into the parking lot near the pier. There were a few other boats docked there, but the Helmsley’s yacht dwarfed them by a fair amount. Trev rolled up the windows and killed the engine before looking over to her, smiling wide. “You’ll be okay though, try to just enjoy all of the free luxury stuff, that’s what I do. If it gets to be too much, I know where some of the quieter spaces are on the boat and we can just chill in one of those spots if you need to.” It didn’t cross his mind that that could be taken as a very forward statement, as he did not mean for it to imply anything other than peaceful option if the party was too overwhelming. Trevor had nothing but good intentions for the evening.

Savannah tried to prevent her mouth from dropping as they arrived at the pier but it was kind of hard to — the yacht was massive! She turned back to face Trevor, but she did so at the same moment he looked over to her, so their faces were a mere few inches apart. A blush crept onto her cheeks, and her eyes darted down almost immediately. She reflected on his words, especially when he said that they didn’t have to stay in the party area if it was too much for her to handle. He was so sweet, strawberry ice cream kind of sweet, and incredibly thoughtful. “Alright, I’ll definitely let you know if I get overwhelmed.” The reality was, she was already a tad overwhelmed, but she didn’t tell him that. Stepping out of the car, she marveled at the yacht once more. She felt like an ant standing next to it!

Trevor hopped down from the driver’s side and made his way around to Savannah. They had been out together for hours at this point, and he was finally feeling more comfortable than he had been in the past with her. Savvy was soft, and sweeter than honey. The more time that he spent with her, the more he realized that his anxieties were foolish. Talking to girls might seem intimidating, but Savannah was the furthest thing from that word as possible. That said, he finally felt bold enough to take her hand as they walked up to the Helmsley’s boat. Fingers laced, even. Trev spotted the two men with some kind of electronic devices in their hands at the entrance to the yacht and thought it best to prep Savannah as they stood in line on the ramp to get in. “So, there are going to be security guards up there. Don’t be scared, that’s totally normal for the Helmsley’s. Even their family barbeques have security… I don’t know why. Must be because of their business?”

The moment he took her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers, Sav’s little southern heart skipped a beat. It took her a few seconds to come back down to earth after being skyrocketed to cloud nine, but once she regained her composure, she smiled at him and replied. “All good — a little strange, but all good.” Once they arrived at the front of the line, Sav reluctantly removed her hand from Trevor’s and took the tablet that was thrust at her and signed her life away. As she waited for Trevor to sign, she looked up at the menacing security guards and tried not to cower in their presence. The Helmsley’s knew how to intimidate people, that was for sure.

After scrawling out his initials, and greeting the security guards by name, he returned his hand to Savannah. His eyes scanned the crowd for familiar faces. He knew most of his classmates, of course, but he was looking to see if he could pick out his closest peers. Brian, Damian, Justin, or his brothers, Rye or JD. He didn’t see anyone, just a whole lot of dancing bodies in various states of dress and undress. Okay then, that was that. “Where to first, would you like to get a drink?”

The female redhead smirked as they walked away from the security guards. “Well aren’t you Mr. Popular, knowing them by name.” She teased, nudging him playfully. As she stood with Trevor and gazed at the crowd, she exhaled audibly. This was so much more than the New Year’s Party. A million times more. Taking it all in at her own pace, she looked up at Trev, realizing he asked her a question against the loud music. “Yeah, maybe a drink would be nice—” She started to say, but realized that she just assumed that Trevor would be drinking. What if he wasn’t? She didn’t want to be inconsiderate, so she quickly added to her statement. “—but if you’re not going to drink, I don’t want to.”

“Popular? Hah, a little bit, but I know them more because of family than for school stuff. My dads get invited to Helmsley’s events sometimes, they go way back with the triple B’s parents since before they even moved here.” The music was hard to talk over, but Trevor did his best to be heard without shouting his explanation. When Savvy agreed to drinks and then immediately offered to not drink, Trev chuckled. “Nah, a little something to loosen up might be nice. I’m not going to go as hard as New Years, though…” Trevor reflected on that monster of a hangover with a cringe. “Yikes…” He laughed again. “Plus it’s a school night, so I wouldn’t want to get too crazy.”

The pair made their way over to the bar, which was crowded. Trev checked his watch and realized it was about time for the boat to actually set off. Everyone was probably getting their drinks in anticipation. Or perhaps it was just that the boat was actually that packed. On a Tuesday night, no less. When they finally got the bartender’s attention, Trevor ordered his drink of choice for the night, a good Irish stout. “I’ll take a bottle of Murphy’s, thanks.” Trev looked over to Savvy with a light smile, “And what would you like?”

“Alright, drinks it is then.” Sav walked with him to the bar, thankful her hand was still grasped in his so she wouldn’t lose him in the crowd of people. She thought not as many people would be ballsy enough to go out on a school night, but then again, for a lot of her peers, this was their second semester of Senior year, Trevor included. All the hard work was out of the way — for them at least, not for her. She still somehow had to pass Calculus!

Deciding not to go for any hard liquor, since that would probably cause her to get more tipsy then she would like, she settled on a hard cider. “Could I get an Angry Orchard, please? Thanks.” As she waited for the drink, she let her eyes drift over to the dance floor, where she saw a few familiar faces, Josie included. Man, she couldn’t wait to tell her how the date had been going so far! Turning back to Trevor she smiled. “There are so many people here! Way more than I thought.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of remarkable given that it was just planned this morning, I’m pretty sure. Word travels fast when it comes to the Helmsley’s, I guess.” Trevor mused and sipped at his beer. It was cold, refreshing, and all around delightful. He nervously flicked his eyes to the dancefloor a few times in his glances around the boat’s deck. Was she a dancer? Part of him hoped not, because he had two left feet. But… a part of him also would love to dance with her too. He was caught somewhere in between. That subject could be brought up later, maybe. His eyes caught sight of a little cushioned bench that would be nice to sit on and talk until they saw some familiar faces to chat with. “You think JoJo made it?” He asked, briefly recalling the embarrassing send-off Josephine had given them before their ice cream date, and wincing internally.

Sav sipped her drink and gazed around at all of the drunk people having a blast on the dance floor. Usually Josie would be dragging her out there with her, and they would have a great time, but the redhead much preferred chatting and enjoying the atmosphere rather than being at the center of it. That being said, she much preferred enjoying the party with the guy next to her. “Take a lucky guess where she is…” Sav laughed, as they both knew that Josie enjoyed having as much fun as possible. Also she never got embarrassed, hence her love of embarrassing others. She motioned to their friend breaking it down with Olivia. “Front and center, not surprising in the slightest.” Savvy laughed, taking another sip of her drink.

Trevor’s eyes followed her gaze towards the dancefloor and he chuckled. “Nope, not at all.” Trev grinned and took another swig from the amber bottle he held. “Do you think she’ll come grill us if she sees us?” He asked jokingly. Sort of… That was actually a legitimate concern as much as it was humorous.

Sav knew that Josie would grill them. “Unfortunately, yes. She’ll never pass up an opportunity to make me turn into a walking tomato.” It was a fact of life — the sky was blue, the grass was green, and Josie always needed to know what was going on. It wasn’t a bad thing, but it’s not what she needed at this moment. The solution? Prolong the conversation for as long as possible! And they would do that by... “We should probably hide while we still can. We don’t want another photo taking incident, do we?”

“Oh wow, no, probably not.” Trevor grimaced. Selfies were normal among teenagers. Selfies with other people, particularly significant others, were also normal. Helicopter friends trying to take pictures of you with your — could they be considered significant others yet? — either way, that was definitely not normal. People would stare, It’d be awkward. “How about we go sit over there?” Trev nodded his head towards the bench he noticed earlier. It was far enough away from the dancefloor that they might stay out of sight, but they could still enjoy the party atmosphere.

“Sounds perfect to me.” With no fear or hesitation, Sav lightly took Trev’s free hand in hers, interlacing their fingers the same way he did a few minutes ago. She looked back up at him with a gentle smile. “Let’s go.”

Trevor’s heart jumped in his chest when she took his hand. They’d already held hands, of course, which was monumental in Trevor’s world. But now it was Savannah that had initiated it, and that was… that was everything. Trev couldn’t help the stupid grin that broke out on his face as they walked, hand-in-hand, towards the bench where they could sit and look out towards the ocean. Maybe, if Trevor was feeling particularly brave, he’d put his arm around her while they sat.

[Bee]

_{A Collaboration Between: @Bee and @Universorum
Featuring: Damian “Just Do It” O’Connor and Justin “Do What?” Quentin}

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---

Joy had been gone five minutes and Damian was already up to something. He had a bit of a buzz going on from the keg stand he’d done, and was fucking around with some of his other jock friends. Ophelia had come and snatched his girlfriend from him — which was alright with Damian, Ophelia said they had to talk about girl stuff. What did that mean? He didn’t know! He didn’t care. If she needed him, Joy could text him.

So, Damian, had found his way downstairs to the gameroom. He’d sent Joy a quick text so she could find him if she wanted him. Would they dance tonight? Probably eventually, but Damian was here to party — not to fucking dance. If he wanted to dance, he’d go to the goddamn club. No, Damian was standing at a ping pong table, tossing balls into cups filled with different alcohols, when he heard his name called.

Damian spun on his heel to see who it was, and found himself staring at Justin, Justin whatever-the-fuck-his-last-name-is. The dude who was the backup quarterback, and was now the guy, so to speak. He was the QB now that Damian was forcibly retired, and he and Damian were buds. Lifting buddies to be precise, but hey. Damian would hang with him if he wanted to hang; Damian would hang with anyone.

“Hey, dude, what’s up?” Damian asked, grinning at the other boy. “Welcome to tha party, pal! Are you havin’ a good time? Enjoyin’ yourself?”

Justin had been internally relieved that Damian had noticed he had come around. It was a little gesture that went a long way, Justin had thought. The former starting quarterback taking his backup under his wing even now would be sending a message to the entire school. If Damian was cool with this guy then this guy must’ve been cool and good as well.

Thinking about his answer to Damian’s question, he thought he wasn’t really enjoying himself just yet. It wasn’t because he didn’t like the environment, but he just straight up didn’t know how to. He was like a fish out of water. The only things he knew how to do was stuff he stole from watching TV shows and movies. He didn’t really have the knowhow when it came to enjoying himself at his party.

”Yeah, yeah! I’m definitely having a good time. Just trying to figure out how to get by and enjoy myself further, if you know what I mean.”

Damian raised an eyebrow at the other guy’s suggestion of ‘if you know what I mean.’ “Well, I figure at our age, there are probably five things that could improve your level of enjoyment. In order: food, pretty girls, sex, drugs, and rockn’roll, alcohol, and lifting weights.” Damian paused after his spiel, letting one of the others surrounding them speak up to question the number of things he’d said, which was very obviously not four. Damian was quick to explain himself, though. “My mama says that sex, drugs, and rockn’roll are just one thing. Anyway, you can hang with us. You clearly got some alcohol already…”

Damian folded his arms over his chest, leaning back on his heel. “My girl walked off, and I’m not really in the market, so I can’t wingman for you… Yo, who’s got drugs? You want some drugs, dude?” Damian asked, looking at Justin curiously, leaning forward. Damian didn’t know him well enough to just get something going for him, quite yet.

The mention of drugs had taken the awkward quarterback by surprise. He was okay with having beer, but drugs? He had never touched a drug in his life. He’d never consumed a marijuana, a cocaine, or a meth. It was jarring, to say the least. He didn’t know how to respond. On one hand, he could just say yes and seem like a cool dude, but he was scared that drugs were gonna fuck him up. He didn’t want to end up like those burnouts you see on TV all the time. Guess he was just going to have to stand his ground. Damian was cool and everything, but he was much too scared to consume drugs.

”Nah, man. I don’t fuck with drugs. Too… uh… risky. Y’know what I’m saying?”

Damian stared at him for a few seconds, before nodding slowly. “Alright here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna get some weed in you, we’re gonna get some more alcohol in you, then me and you are gonna do somethin’ cool. I’m not sure what yet, but I promise you it’s gonna be lit. Trust me, partying and getting laid will be a lot easier if you’re just a wee bit more turnt up than you are now.” Damian looked around the group of their team members, “Alright, who’s got weed?”

After a few moments, one of their team members, named Mark, stepped up. He held out a dab pen and Damian snatched it, before holding it out to Justin. “Take it, hold the button, and inhale. It’s strawberry flavored, so it won’t punch you, like, that hard. Can we get this dude a real drink? All he’s got is a beer. Who’s got whiskey?” Another one of the frat-esque group of friends held out a bottle and Damian handed it over to Justin as well. “A drink and a smoke, real, old fashioned, red blooded British bullshit. Trust me, liquid courage and a little bit of weed will get you nice and crossfaded, and that’ll help you get laid, or at least make an impact. See, I don’t need no help because I… somewhere… have a lady friend.”

So much for no drugs. If this was going to give Justin a good time when at this party, then he might as well just go with the flow. Taking the pen, he held the button and started to taste some strawberry flavored… steam? It was oddly good. He stopped the pen from emitting the steam and handed the pen back to Damian. He started coughing as the smoke departed from his lungs. It didn’t hit him just yet, but when it did it was going to hit him hard.

After that, he took the bottle and took a swig out of it. It was hard for him to do this, but he’d done harder. But for the love of god, this tasted absolutely dreadful. It was burning. It was all burning, and the aftertaste was beyond awful. He couldn’t understand why people consumed this stuff like it was water. The burn hit him like a semi-truck. Boy did it not feel good. Sticking out his tongue, Justin made his feelings known.

”Agh! Holy shit that burns, man! How do you guys do this?”

Damian laughed as Justin suffered the double hitter, “It’s get easier, man. You gotta do it at like, every party, but it does get easier. Don’t worry, once you’ve been to like three or four more of these, you’ll be alright. You wanna play beer pong? I’d say we could go to the dance floor, but I really hate dancing, dude.” Damian explained, gesturing for Justin to stand on the other side of the table. Damian took the pen and the bottle away, and returned them to their respective owners.

“Thank you, lads. You know what? Forget the beer pong. I gotta better idea. Get another keg, let’s have bro do a kegstand. Nothin’ will hype you up more than a kegstand. And somebody find us a hoe. He needs a hoe.” Damian was barking orders now, and the team was responding.

O Captain, My Captain.

“Don’t worry dude. We’re gonna get you done up.”

Beer pong, now that was something Justin was somewhat familiar with. If watching movies and YouTube videos about it counted as getting familiar with it. ”Beer pong? Sur- oh.” He was just about to say, before Damian changed his mind to something even more bro-y.

A kegstand, out of all the things in the world. He honestly thought it was something that was only seen in movies, but as it turned out he was very, very wrong. Luckily, though, he had some experience doing handstands, so it couldn’t be that bad. The hardest part was probably drinking as much beer as possible and getting fucked up. He was swaying his arms back and forth, getting ready to do a handstand over a beer keg. This wasn’t so bad, was it?

After a few moments of waiting, two of the team came back, lugging a keg in between them. They sat it down in front of Justin and Damian put a hand on the other guy’s shoulder. “Alright, remember. Part of being cool is that you go hard, but not too hard. You don’t want any videos of you being sloppy drunk bouncing around the internet, or people will give you shit for the rest of your life. Just chill, know your limits. Don’t be one of those drunk white girls that gets super wasted and has it floating on facebook forever. Be the guy the drunk white girl is grindin’ on, y’know?”

Damian patted Justin on the back firmly and nodded. “Alright dude. Assume the position, we’ll hold you up.”

Justin nodded as Damian gave him a little pep talk. Just like old times, only less football and more partying. Taking a deep breath, he put his hands on the keg handles, putting his weight onto his arms as he assumed kegstand position. Internally, Take My Breath Away by Berlin was playing. He felt like a gymnast ready to do the beam thing. Here went nothing.

Damian grinned and held him up, before speaking aloud to his Assistant. Being on a different floor than the properly DJ’d one, Damian had setup a bluetooth’d speaker so he and his buddies could blare some tunes while they played beer pong and did whatever the fuck. “Some drinking music, if you please, maestro.”

“Okay.” Responded Snake, and a few seconds later, one of Damian’s ‘drinking music’ playlists began. Not the same Top Gun song as the one playing in the back of Justin’s head, but hey. Close enough, right?

“Alright, my guy. Chug, bro. When you can’t take no more, flail your legs so we can bring you down to the ground.”

Feeling his body turn over, he was immediately met with the scent of beer. Taking the hose in his mouth, all he could taste was cold, bitter beer. There was a lot of it, but that didn’t matter to Justin. He just had to prove that he wasn’t a bitch. What better way to prove that he wasn’t one than to drink his face off?

Hearing another Top Gun song play, he was beyond pumped. He hadn’t even noticed the sheer amount of beer he was consuming. There was no burn, mostly because there was no time to feel it. Just beer after beer after beer. Before long, though, he was feeling like he couldn’t take any more. Shaking his legs, he decided he had enough. Hopefully that was enough to prove he was legit.

Damian lowered Justin’s legs to the ground and helped him stand up. Once he had Justin steady, Damian grinned and held his hand up, gesturing at him in a ‘this guy won’ motion, and the rest of the people cheered and clapped. “Not bad, bro. First time, yeah?” Damian questioned, looking over at Justin, while the music played in the background. “Not bad for your first time. You’ll get better, yo.”

”Yeah… yeah…” He mumbled, trying to regain his footing as the alcohol coursed through his system. He didn’t feel so hot, but he was going to have to soldier on. There was still plenty of party to go, and plenty of Justin to go around. Justin wasn’t a bitch. ”So… what now? Any more drinking or weed to do?” He asked curiously, plopping down on a nearby couch.

“Nah, you ought to go take a seat and let all that stuff settle, then roll up to the dance floor and find yourself a girl to get the bump’n’grind on with, know wha I mean?” Damian asked, grinning at Justin, before he felt his phone buzz. Damian pulled it out and saw a text from Joy, looking up with a bit of a frown on his face, shrugging his shoulders as he looked at the crew. “Hey, I gotta bounce actually. Joy wants to talk, which, if my mother is anything to base it off of… is not a good thing! So, I’ll be back. Or I won’t be. See ya. Just take it easy, find a girl, have a good time. Remember, you only live once, carpe diem, veni vidi vici, and all that. High school doesn’t matter in the long run. Make awful decisions. Live your best life. Peace out!” With that, Damian turned and left the room without giving the others much of a chance to say a word.

Justin nodded and pretended to seem like he understood what Damian was saying. Grinding with a girl? The only grind he knew was the student-athlete grind. Waving him off, he also left the room and found his way back down to the dance floor. Dancing with a girl, eh? It can’t be that hard to find a girl that’d be willing to dance with him, right?

[Hey Im Jordan]

_{Collab with @Fabricant451
Featuring: Henry “She’s 12/10” Green and Min “Feels like the First Time” Seo
Location: An empty dining room —> The dance floor for couple’s song}

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Every guy, whether they tell people about it or not, has a scale he rates women (or men, or both) on. Henry Green’s scale went to ten, but... Twelve was Henry’s favorite number, so he liked to liken really attractive women to twelves on the scale of ten. Before tonight, only one girl had hit that number, and she’d later been downgraded after he really got to know her.

Henry didn’t know how they did it. Women were kind of like magicians. When one combined mastery of /r/makeupaddiction and good genes, then you could make a six look like a ten out of ten. That was as far as looks could take you, though.

It took more than just looks to be a twelve. Riding on just looks alone, you could be an eleven or an eleven point five after a heavy makeover and wearing just the right stuff (in most cases, short dresses). You could even be a physical seven and be a ten on the scale if you were a good person. The scale didn’t rate just looks, but took personality and character into account. A twelve was a girl worth marrying — or at least dating and not just hooking up once.

If Henry had been asked to rate Min-seo on his scale before seeing the commercial on Parker’s phone, he would have comfortably given her a six and a half. It hadn’t really registered in his head that Min-seo was a viable sexual or romantic partner, because he’d only ever looked at her as a friend. But, Min-seo was a good friend. A very good one, in Henry’s humble opinion.

She was kind and patient with Parker, and that meant a lot to Henry. On top of that, she was nice to him and had even been happy to sell her soul for a night to work behind a bar with him, where he knew she’d struggled to figure everything out. Min-seo was also one of the few people that Henry trusted to watch Benedict and Arnold when he wasn’t around. She had a certain air of ‘awwww, that’s cute’ to her, mostly stemming from the way she hadn’t yet grasped all of the intricacies of American society. Even before the events of the past twenty four hours, Henry was of the opinion that Min-seo’s infatuation with ducks was a very cute quality. Her reaction to the Donald Duck stuffie he’d gotten her had made him smile.

Min-seo wasn’t perfect, nobody was, but she tried. She tried really hard, and Henry could see that — honestly? she probably tried harder than he did — and he appreciated it and in a lot of ways admired it. It wasn’t easy to jump across an entire ocean, and try to find your way with nothing but a family that had agreed to host you. Especially a family like his, headed by a sociopathic woman and her slightly less sociopathic partner, who had raised on sociopathic child, one child that was likely to end up in prison before he turned twenty-two, and one child who had been traded for Min-seo…

It wasn’t easy, and Henry knew it wasn’t easy. He’d been there with Min since the first day she’d landed at the airport. He wouldn’t have stood a goddamn chance in the scenario she’d thrust herself into, and it was cool that she did it! So, because she was such a nice person, she got a six point five by default, without Henry taking her looks into account — why would he?

Today, through the power of the internet, Parker Ashford had either made a mistake or she had accidentally played matchmaker. Henry had learned today that Min-seo looked pretty damn fine when she was dressed and trying to be hot, rather than trying to be unassuming. This made her a nine. Henry had asked her to the night’s party there, and then he’d dropped her off with the twins, the magicians who would wave their magic wands and turn Min into Cinderella for the night.

Henry hadn’t seen her yet, but he was excited! He trusted Stella and Luna to do her up right, especially since they were his sisters, and knew what he liked. He knew that they’d have done something truly magical, and whatever he saw here was the absolute top of Min’s looks — at least until she got married and got to wear a flowing wedding dress and all that jazz.

Henry’s sisters had texted him where they’d left Min. Per Henry’s request to leave her someplace private, the two girls had abandoned her at the empty dining area near the boat’s ballroom (which was more of a rave room tonight), and Henry had decided to get himself and Min-seo food. He was walking now, with a plate full of finger foods. He strolled into the empty room (people didn’t want to sit and eat a party, who knew?) and held the plate up, “Min, I brought us some food…” Henry was now able to see the result of the twins’s handiwork, and it made him stop in place, and nearly drop the plate. His breath taken away, Heny spoke in a voice that was oddly soft coming from him, and barely audible over the loud noises emanating from where the actual party was. “Oh, wow.”

There was now a second woman who was, in Henry’s opinion, a twelve out of ten.

There was an older show that used to air its reruns on a regular, near daily basis; the idea of the show was similar to many reality dating programs in that a bachelor or bachelorette had a series of suitors carted off a bus one by one. The bachelor could move onto the next suitor at the snap of his finger and often this was done as soon as a suitor stepped off the bus. Physical appearance mattered tremendously in this case. It was a silly show but it was fun to watch if only to get a sense for what certain people really were looking for in a date: namely someone that had minor to no actual imperfections. It was not a coincidence that many of the bachelors went home without a date because of their desires. For some reason, Min-seo found herself reminded of that show, along with many other dating shows that she often watched in the two months she’d been here.

The day had been a whirlwind. Moreso than usual and it started with that car ride. There was a whiplash of emotion going from ecstatic over the Donald Duck stuffy right into fear when Parker accidentally stumbled onto Min-seo’s biggest secret. That fear gave way to a whole plethora of emotion that culminated in Min-seo agreeing to be a date to a party. Not just any date, of course, but Henry Green’s date. Even in her brief time in America she had heard stories about her host family’s ‘favorite son’ though given the language barrier many of it had been lost in translation.

Min-seo had gotten to know Henry over the two months though she didn’t really have a clear opinion of him until the second month. That first month was still so overwhelming, but sticking around had allowed her to see a side of him that she doubted many got to see. The side that acted very mature given that he was sometimes like a cool older brother to Parker - when he wasn’t being an enabler - the side that had a fondness for animals. The side that surprised Min-seo with a gift of a stuffed Donald Duck. That the biggest slight against him that Min-seo could think of was his questionable choice in girlfriend spoke volumes; of course learning that Parker wasn’t his girlfriend was as much a shock as American culture.

Now she was sitting at an empty table in an empty area of an unfamiliar room on a boat, having been deposited there by people who had done their hardest in dolling her up. They were efficient and worked faster than the makeup team that had been on set of the commercial work she had done back home. Min-seo didn’t even have to say much at all, they seemed to have the girl well enough in hand. There weren’t any mirrors in the dining area but she trusted them enough to believe that they did their job well.

And certainly they had.

It started at the top. Min-seo’s hair had been brushed and washed, styled to be sleek black and volumetric, it practically bounced at simply turning her head; this stood in contrast to Min-seo’s often unruly hair that had a bit of bedhead to it as well as hanging on her head loosely, like someone who was stressed beyond measure. Her eyes had a smokey contour to them, a marked difference from the confused sleepy gaze she had so often rocked; the makeup brought up the most of her brown eyes and the lashes helped. There was makeup and lipstick on her face, but it wasn’t caked on or layered on to where she looked like she was trying to stand out on the street corner. Pink lipstick to bring out their already thinly perky shape, and her face was blemish free and her cheeks were rounded in line with her chin, hiding the stress lines.

Then there came the outfit. It was as if someone put Min-seo in a short dress and chopped off the middle half. The dress, or half-dress, was a slinky red number that worked well with her makeup. Sleeveless, the top stopped just above her navel, exposing the fit midriff that all but started it all. Below that was the lower half of the dress, a skirt that was light but had an elegance to it and was hemmed perfectly to rest above her knees. If there was one asset she had, it was her legs and her outfit made that rather clear, down to the chic flats on her feet - wearing heels all night would have been absolute murder.

She was in the room for what seemed like hours before finally she heard footsteps and heard Henry just as he arrived. Min-seo stood up, standing in front of the table and the full breadth of her makeover was on full display. She smiled towards Henry and waved with a demure fashion. ”Henry...hello. It is...good to see you.” She was still quite nervous, but she was owning it as well as she could.

Henry’s face had an initial mask of happy surprise as he took in Min-seo’s entire ensemble. He brushed it off though and replaced it with a genuine smile before he spoke. “It’s good to see you too. You look… amazing, breathtaking even.” He smiled wider and held up the food again, “I brought us some food.” He said, before he danced around Min and sat the food down on the table. He took a seat at the table, and looked over his shoulder, gesturing for Min to sit across from him.

“I thought it would be better for you if we didn’t like… jump straight into the deep end, I guess? The whole party, I mean. Since it’s your first date in America, I thought it’d be more special if we were, alone for a bit. So that it didn’t seem like I just dragged you to a loud party just to… well, y’know what I mean.”

It was impossible for Min-seo not to blush and look away with a smile at the response from Henry; she might not have been fluent but somethings were universal and even she knew a genuine compliment when she heard one. She just wasn’t used to hearing them. As far as first time experiences went, this first time date was off to a good start. ”Kamsa-hamnida” Min-seo found her response coming out in her native tongue before she could even catch herself; it only added to her flushed tone with a mild embarrassed turn of expression. ”Ah...I mean...thank you.”

She took a moment to collect herself, to take a breath, and most importantly to try and stop trying so hard to be perfect. Min-seo had it in her mind that Americans liked things a certain way when it came to dates and the last thing she wanted was her own lack of experience on the subject matter to be a detriment. But, as she reminded herself, this wasn’t like those dating shows she watched on the side. This wasn’t a blind date sort of thing. They knew each other, now it was just a matter of getting to know each other on a different sort of playing field.

Min-seo sat across from Henry and exhaled a small breath, nodding at Henry’s reasoning even if she picked up only about eighty percent of it which was, by her estimation, an improvement. Being around quick talkers while in a salon booth for a few hours had a few benefits to it where listening was concerned. ”I like it. Party is...fun but...loud.” Min-seo gestured with her hand by her left ear. ”I want you...to have...good time. I am too.” Min gave a smiling bow of a nod before reaching for a small bit of food. ”Jal meokgesseumnida.” Some habits of Min’s were unlikely to pass.

Henry was happy to see she was enjoying herself. In a moment very unlike himself, Henry had earlier found himself idly wondering if he’d be able to make sure the night lived up to what he assumed may be unrealistic expectations from Min-seo. He wasn’t sure how much she’d played up her first date, like in her mind. In a different place, under a different light, Henry was confident that he could meet and exceed those expectations, but in this place, with this many people surrounding them and denying them intimacy?

It was questionable, at best. Henry figured he had a thirty three point three-three (repeating, of course) chance, at best, of beating those expectations.

He would try his best though. Underneath the table, he reached out and put a hand on Min’s knee, giving it a squeeze and nodding. “I know I’ll have a wonderful time. There’s only one way tonight can go for me, and that’s up.” He assured her, using his free hand to grab a bite to eat himself, while the hand on her knee rested comfortably. “Were the twins nice to you?”

There was a brief moment of confusion when Min felt something on her knee and for the initial seconds she assumed it was some kind of bug or, worse, a rodent. She had every intention of slapping the creature from her knee until cooler heads - and senses - prevailed and she understood that it was the furthest thing from a gross insect. It still made her twitch, but not unpleasantly so; she would just have to get accustomed to such direct gestures of affection. She came from a place where dates were full of awkwardly cute pauses and difficult eye contact. Score one for American bravado.

”The twins? They...they are good with their work.” Her language was still choppy but it was sounding less robotic and sluggish every day. There was no mistaking her for a native speaker but it was clear she was putting forth effort where she could. ”But...I think...I won’t go back...unless...serious. It is very...in-tents there.”

Henry nodded. He could understand that. The whole Sunset Castle could be a bit much, if you were rushed in by someone who decided you needed a makeover right then, and given to the twins. Henry decided to fight the good fight for his second mom. “I understand where you’re coming from. The twins were a little rushed, by me.” It’s important to note that Henry’s speech patterns were slowed down a little at this point, and he was enunciating more clearly. This was to make it easier on Min-seo. He wanted to be able to talk to her, not just ramble and hope that she caught everything he said. “I promise it can be a lot better than that. Next time, we’ll give them a notice and I’ll make sure you’re relaxed, rather than rushed.”

Henry squeezed her knee again, trying to reassure her. Realizing that he wasn’t sure the gesture would be accepted positively, or even wanted, Henry did a quick once over on Min, to see if there were any obvious signs of confusion or discomfort. Seeing none, he instead munched on another snack. “Sorry that’s it’s kind of all snack food… They didn’t have much else. It’s still a party.”

It was the little gestures that mattered most of all and while she didn’t say as much, Min did appreciate Henry’s slower manner of speaking. When she was around people that spoke rapidly it often felt like the teacher from Charlie Brown, which was part of the reason why she’d still had trouble with some of the more simple concepts like articles. But she knew that Henry wouldn’t get on her case for her pronunciation and she truly did try to improve for her sake as well as others. ”Food is...food.” Min offered with an appreciative nod and an accepting bite of a little hot dog wrapped in a pastry.

”The food is...second. What is first is...time together, yes?” Min-seo all but tilted her head in response, but it was a genuine response. It didn’t matter to her if they were having a five star meal or bags of corn chips from the vending machine. As if to drive the point home, Min gave the hand on her knee a gentle pat before she took another nibble of the plate of food.

At this, Henry’s face lit up in a bright smile. It was reassuring to hear it from Min-se like that, and he turned his hand upside down and interlaced his fingers with the Min’s before she could pull her hand away. Holding hands under the table, Henry ate in silence for a moment, before he leaned toward the wall the music was leaking from. Later into the night now, he could hear that the music being played had shifted from the more intense and loud music of a rave, to something slower. Something that seemed to encourage slow dancing, as opposed to the fast paced grinding and sleazy dancing that Henry knew was going on.

He tilted his head at Min-seo, and thought about it. Was he a very good dancer? He was okay. He and Evelyn had taken mother/son dance classes, as a birthday present to her, and he was alright. So he wasn’t worried about that… It was just embarrassing, and he was certain Min-seo wasn’t aware that he knew how to dance. Oh well, all good things must come to an end. In the name of love, and doing it all for the nookie, Henry smiled at Min-seo.

“They’re playing slow songs. Do you want to go dance?”

[Bee]

_{A collaboration between: @melissahart and @Bee
Featuring: Wesley Bristow and Ariana Song}

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---

Wesley drummed his fingers alongside the bar as he waited patiently for his drink. Hoards of people were flocking to get liquor, which caused the wait time to be much longer than he wished. Wes didn’t usually arrive sober, hell, by now if this was a regular party he’d have been coked up by now- but this was an event and he wanted to remember it. However without a drink, he felt dull; too boring for a party full of his drunk and high classmates. So he stood at the bar, anxiously awaiting the sweet taste of bourbon.

He gazed around, admiring the lights and sounds coming to his eyes and ears. The Helmsley’s went all out for this shindig, but that wasn’t a surprise to Wes. In all his years in Beverly Hills, a Helmsley party never disappointed. Ever. He couldn’t wait to see what exciting adventure this party would hold for him. Would he get thrown overboard? Only time would tell.

Ariana, the girl bored beyond her mind, had walked up to the bar looking to get herself something to drink. She was still adamant about not having any alcohol after nearly dying from having too much of it, but that didn’t mean her mind couldn’t be changed. She walked up to the bar and ordered a virgin long island iced tea. No alcohol, for the love of god.

However, the barkeep seemed to be very preoccupied. There was a queue forming that she was at the bottom of. She wanted a drink pretty bad. At least she could have something to do. However, she glanced down the bar and saw another boy waiting patiently for his drink. Now that was something she would do.

She walked up to him curiously, trying to formulate a conversation starter in her head. ”Hey there. How long have you been waiting for your drink?”

Wes, who was leaning against the bar and minding his own business, didn’t realize someone was talking him until he looked over his shoulder to see a girl standing there looking directly at him. He stood up properly and got a good look at her before responding with a sigh, “Too long. You would think the Helmsley’s are ageing Maker’s Mark on site as we speak for how long this glass is taking.” Wes chuckled, glancing back over to the bar to see if there was any sign of his drink. Nothing. Looking back to the girl, he flashed a charming smile. “What’d you order? Hopefully you haven’t been waiting as long for it as I have for mine.”

Ariana blushed just a wee bit as he flashed his smile. Damn, it really was a good smile. She giggled a bit, being a little flustered for words before she finally remembered what she was going to say. ”Oh, uh, me? Virgin Long Island Iced Tea. I’m trying to stay off the booze for a bit.” She leaned on the counter, crossing her legs underneath her and showing some interest with this fella. He was cute. ”What about you? Wait- lemme guess… you ordered a… whi- no bourbon! You look like a bourbon guy to me.”

Wait wait wait… virgin drink? At a party like this? Wes knew that wouldn’t fly, especially with him- drinking was the key to fun, and he didn’t believe otherwise. And neither should she. “Oh come on, loosen up a little. I’d say I’d buy you a drink…. but it’s an open bar.” This girl must have been magic though, cause as soon as she said he was a bourbon kind of guy, Wes’ drink appeared in front of him. A relieved smile grew on his face as he picked it up, inspected it, and took a swig. “You would be right. I am definitely a bourbon kind of guy, but you are definitely not a sober kind of gal, not tonight.” He held out his glass, “Want a sip?”

”I don’t think you want to know what happens when I start drinking…” Ariana warned in a joking fashion, before eyeing the bourbon that had just arrived in front of them. Ariana’s eyes lit up as she saw an actual drink. Way better than what she was gonna get. Some pussy shit, honestly. It looked good, and it looked like it wasn’t just going to some cheap shit. It was a Helmsley party, so of course she wasn’t going to be facing any of the cheap shit. The man’s offer to her was very, very tempting to her. She looked at the glass then back at him. Fuck it. She was at a party, she had the rest of her days to be sober. Ariana shrugged and took the glass, ”Don’t mind if I do…” She took a sip out of it, and god damn it was some of the best bourbon she’d ever had (not like she had much bourbon anyway). She smiled and returned the glass back to the man. ”I’m Ariana…” She offered, reaching out a hand to the boy, ”Pleasure to meet you.”

Wes was a persuasive guy, so he wasn’t surprised when the girl took his advice. With a smirk, he took his glass back and listened as she introduced herself to him. Ariana. Pretty name for a pretty girl. Taking her hand in his, Wes shook it lightly. “Wesley.” He removed his hand and backed away a single step, leaning on the bar once more, “And trust me, the pleasure is all mine.”

Wesley… she hadn’t ever heard of anyone with that name. Sounded like an old person name, which she didn’t have a problem with anyway. It was a nice name, for a nicer looking boy. However, she didn’t really know what else to say. Her drink had finally arrived and she took a sip out of it, still trying to figure out what to say to Wesley. ”So uh… how are you liking the party so far? You enjoying yourself?”

“Yeah, I’d say it’s pretty lit. Would be better if I was a little more intoxicated though…” Wes began to say, but an idea popped into his head, which caused his sentence to hang in the air. He turned to the bartender and motioned, pointing to the bottle of tequila on the highest shelf and requesting two shots. Looking down at Ariana, he smirked, “So that’s why we’re gonna take a shot, you and me.” To say that Wesley was a bad influence was an understatement. The kid liked a good party, and would get you to like it to, even if it meant drowning you in alcohol. It was all in good spirit!

Alcohol on top of more alcohol. That was the best way to party, according to the high school kids anyway. She liked this guy’s idea of a party. Two shots of tequila with a girl he literally just met. The party had gone from being a snore to being somewhat lit! ”Shots? I’m down!” Ariana turned to the bartender who had poured them two shots of tequila. She took a shot and slid the other glass to her newfound friend. ”To our rich friends! Ariana raised her shot, before downing the Mexican alcoholic drink, feeling the burn down her throat as she swallowed.

The blonde boy threw back the shot with ease, as the saying went, “shots going down like water”. He exhaled loudly as he slammed the glass down on the bar and looked over to Ariana. “Going from virgin drinks to tequila shots in two seconds flat- I like the change in pace.” Wes replied, leaning back up against the countertop. “So what brings you to the party tonight? Any particular reason?” He asked, attempting some small talk. Admittedly, he could act like a casanova all he wanted, but he wasn’t the best at making conversation.

”Well I was gone for a week- and then the next thing I know I receive an invitation to this thing via text. I had to go, I couldn’t just deny it. That’s why I’m here. I don’t know where any of my friends are, but at least I have the greatest friend of all.” Ariana grabbed a nearby bottle and hugged it to provide clues as to what she actually meant, before putting it back. ”How about you? What brings you here? I’ve never seen you around school before, actually.”

Wes laughed, “I’m surprised you haven’t seen me- I’m everywhere,” He joked, “Actually I’m usually holed up in the shop or in the library, so not shocking. But if there’s ever a party, I’ll always be there.” He leaned a little closer to Ariana. “It’s a lifetime guarantee.” Wes spoke in a hushed tone, acting as though it was a secret. But it wasn’t, he was at every single party that was thrown, and will be at every single other party for the rest of his life.

Ariana raised an eyebrow, ”The library and the shop? Yeah, that explains why I’ve never seen you around.” The Korean girl avoided those places like the plague. She wasn’t trying to be that nerd who hung out in the library. The library was for squares. She turned back around to the bartender, before ordering three shots of tequila, each. ”Let’s see how well you can party, though. Ariana chuckled, before watching the bartender set up the shots. Pouring the liquid, she looked at it with a certain shine in her eyes.

Ariana handed a cup to Wesley, before taking one for herself. ”See ya on the other side.”

[Kitty]

_{Miriam Archer and Topher Jones
A @kitty and @melissahart Collab
Location: The Helmsley Yacht
Interacting with: Trent the Asshat}

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A hand rested on her hip, an arm across her back, both feelings foreign to Miriam. Especially with how close the hand was resting to her butt, such intimacy was something she had never experienced before. Yet here she was experiencing it with the last person she’d ever want it from.

Glancing out of the corner of her eyes she looked to Trent who was too busy chatting with his friends as they waited to sign in and board the boat. Turning her head to look around the pier she noticed people staring. They had been since she got out of the car with Trent. Miriam was well known due to her family and the way she looked tonight went against everything people had come to know about the Archer girl. Whispers of her being a closeted slut or her making a deal with the devil could be heard occasionally, causing Miriam to play with her cross necklace. The one thing she didn’t change of her appearance.

The tightening of the hand on her hip brought Miriam to glance up at Trent who was looking down at her with a smirk that sent chills through her spine, and not the pleasant kind. Looking away she focused on the sounds of the waves as a way to drown out Trent and his friends talking about their previous hookups.

When they finally got to sign in Miriam thought she’d be able to get some alone time but Trent had other ideas. He made sure she was with him as the party really got into motion, never once letting her leave his side as he drank and enjoyed his time with his friends. With each passing minute and additional drink, the more Trent got handsy. Well tried to.

His hand would move to her bottom and she would move it back to her hip. When they were sitting he placed his hand uncomfortably on her thigh, his fingers slowly moving towards her inner thigh until she excused herself to the bathroom. The worst part of the night began when he tried to kiss her but she moved her head so his lips hit her cheek. Trent took this as an invitation to start kissing down her cheek and to her neck. This caused Miriam to freeze for a moment before shoving him away.

“Trent Stop! I’m not comfortable with that.” Miriam yelled over the music, pulling her jacket closed and hugging herself as she stepped away. Trent’s face immediately twisted in anger as he grabbed her wrist and began to drag her to God knows where on the boat. The whole time Miriam was trying to break free of his grip while also wondering why no one was trying to help her, she just guessed people were too high or drunk to notice or care.

When they were somewhere secluded Trent trapped her between him and the wall of the area they were in, glaring down at her as she went bag to hugging herself and averted her eyes elsewhere. “Listen here and listen good blondie. You just sit there and do as I say and want or else I will tell the whole school and church your brother’s secret. Got it?”

Miriam nodded, fearing she would breakdown if she spoke. All Miriam wanted to do was run or breakdown, but she had to be strong for her brother. Even if it meant dealing with whatever Trent wanted. So that’s what she thought of as Trent once again began to kiss her and then her neck. His hand gripping her waist as he held her in place. Miriam could only hope that somehow they were interrupted so he’d have to stop, just someone or something to distract him.

Topher was already over this party. Sure, it was nice that he had come with his new friends from Burntown, as they liked to call it, but something was just off this evening. Yes, the party had fire music, tons of booze, and definitely an assortment of attractive women, but Toph was not exactly feeling it so far. Maybe within the next hour it’d get better, but if not, he’d be swimming to shore.

Currently, he stood against the railing of the ship overlooking the sea, smoking a cancer stick. Once again, he was kicking himself for taking one, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Gazing around the party, he watched as the drunk idiots made fools of themselves, his peers arguing with the bartender, Miriam making out with some kid in the corner, a couple of kids- wait what? He looked back over to where Miriam stood, practically pinned up against the wall by some kid he couldn’t see. She looked hot, but clearly not happy with the situation transpiring. Uncomfortable; scared, almost. That wouldn’t do. That wouldn’t do at all. With no hesitation he threw his cigarette carelessly in the ocean and quickly made his way over to the pair.

“Hey, kid, I think you’ve had a little too much to drink already. Should probably get out of here before the boat leaves.” Toph yelled over the loud music, his comment directed towards the guy essentially groping Miriam, but keeping his eyes locked on the blonde.

Miriam had closed her eyes to try and disconnect from the current situation but it was a voice that Miriam recognized but couldn’t place at first, that brought her to open them again. Her eyes locked with none other than Topher’s and a wave of relief washed over the blonde. Well, until she noticed how angry Trent looked.

Trent had only tensed up at the voice, anger beginning to build up as he stopped what he was doing and turned away from Miriam to look at whoever was interrupting them. Glaring at Toph he got up in his face. “I think you need to go back to whatever shit hole you crawled out of and leave us alone. The girl and I were enjoying ourselves until you butt in, so get out of here or I’ll make you.”

Toph couldn’t help but chuckle at Trent’s attempt to scare him away. Who did this guy think he was anyway? Topher, on the other hand, looked quite intimidating. A leather jacket, tough boots and his staggering height said it all- don’t mess with him. He let another laugh slip out of his mouth before pressing his hand against Trent’s chest to move him away. “If this is what you call enjoying yourself, I’d love to see what having a great time is like for you. Does it involve you forcing yourself onto more girls unwantedly or do you just drug them so they don’t squirm?” Toph’s face went grim. “She doesn’t want you to do that, so get the fuck out of here before I make you.”

Trent began to fume at Topher’s allegations and threat. More than anything, he just wanted to beat this cocky bad boy wannabees face in, but he knew better than to take this guy on alone. He’d get what was coming for him, just another time when Trent has his buddies there to help. Glancing at Miriam with a cold glare he thought about if he should out her brother tonight or not, but he decided that if he wanted to have another chance at having fun with her then he’d keep the secret so he could continue blackmailing them. Turning back on Topher he stared him down silently for a minute before walking past him, knocking his shoulder against his with a good amount of force behind it. “You better watch yourself, I’d hate to see that pretty little face of yours get fucked up.” Trent then disappeared back to the main party, looking to find some other chick to hook up with.

Still where Trent had left her, Miriam watched on as the two faced-off. A flutter in her stomach and a warmth in her chest developing when Topher stood up to Trent for her. The feelings quickly faded when Trent turned his glare on her, she pulled her jacket closed once more as she hugged her stomach and looked away. It was only when she heard Trent’s retreating steps that she looked back over to Toph. As the silence filled the air all she could do for a moment was look at him as the reality of what happened sank in.

Before Trent could walk away after shoving him, Toph grabbed his shoulder and whispered eerily in his ear. “Don’t try me. I’d sleep with one eye open if I were you.” Shaking his head once the offender vanished, Toph got a good look at Miriam, noticing how shaken up she was from the ordeal. He stuffed his hands back into the pockets of his jacket and moved a single step closer to her. “Are you alright?” He asked plainly, not wanting to pry as to who that grade A asshole was.

Taking a deep breath Miriam nodded as she shakily pushed herself away from the wall. Another deep breath, then another and it finally seemed her mind was clearing up. “I’m alright. Thank you for…” She trailed off, closing her eyes for a moment and taking another deep breath. “Thank you.” She gave him a small smile of thanks as she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Enjoying ourselves” his ass. It was clear that Miriam was not enjoying herself. Toph wasn’t exactly a softy, but it hurt him to see Miriam so shaken up. Toph should have punched that guy when he had the chance. “Here, let’s get you some water.” Gently, he placed his hand on the small of her back, not wanting to scare her, and guided her towards the bar, where he locked eyes with the bartender. “Two waters.” He spoke, and the bartender quickly rushed to grab them their drinks. Toph gratefully took the two cups and handed one to Miriam, “Here, drink this.”

Not only was she thankful for his suggestion of water, but she was also thankful for him placing his hand on her back. There was a part of her that still felt a little shaky and it was reassuring to feel a supportive hand on her back. Not only that but it helped to bring back a bit of her old self as a small blush painted her cheeks as the fluttering in her stomach returned from earlier. As they arrived at the bar Miriam turned to face him just as the waters arrived. Taking hers and bringing the cold drink to her lips she realized just how thirsty she was and began to drink a good amount of it before realizing what she was doing and bringing it away from her lips as her face burned red. “Sorry… um. Thank you again Toph. I-I think you basically saved me back there. Thank you.” Her brown eyes held nothing but thanks as she looked into his brown eyes, feeling nothing but safe in his presence.

Toph’s curiosity got the better of him as he stood there with Miriam. He was happy to play knight in shining armor any day, but something about the situation definitely seemed off to him. From what he knew of her Miriam would never hang out with a guy like that- It was a surprise that she even associated with Topher. “Of course, Miriam, I wasn’t about to let that asshole do anything to you- who even is he anyway?”

“Trent. He’s on the football team and unfortunately goes to the same church I go to.” Miriam bit her lip and began to fiddle with her necklace, oh how much she just wanted to tell someone else what was going on. Let anyone else know that she was being blackmailed, but if Trent found out then her brother would be outed and it would be her fault.

Toph nodded, sipping his water. “Unfortunately indeed; I’m not a big fan of him.” He remarked, looking down at the blonde. Hopefully this ‘Trent’ kid wouldn’t mess with her again, and if he did, he’d have Toph to answer to. The tall boy took in her new look- he definitely liked the new changes he saw, but it wasn’t too different from the Miriam he met yesterday, which he liked even more. Gazing around at the party he noticed his stupid peers taking pills from gumball machines, something he wouldn’t even dare doing. It was questionable, this party was questionable. “I didn’t know you came to parties like this.” He stated, turning back to her.

Miriam nodded in agreement to Topher’s statement about Trent. “Nor am I.” She took another sip of the water and looked around at the partygoers, popping pills and getting drunk. If only her mother saw her now. Toph’s comment brought her to face him again, “I didn’t use to. I just wanted to try something new, spice up my life a bit. Well spice it up by my own decision I guess.” A small smile played on her lips as she looked down at her cup, a small laugh escaping her lips. “If my parents saw me now I think they’d probably officially go mental.”

“Well, you need to spice things up every once in a while, and this party is definitely the place to do so.” Topher replied, looking down at Miriam. He then motioned around to the party “It’s a cool vibe though- haven’t been to a party on a yacht before, but I guess that's Beverly Hills for you.” Toph ran a hand through his hair, and laughed. “This isn’t usually my scene either. Thought I’d come check it out too.”

“Well I’m glad you came. Not just because of…” Miriam trailed off before licking her lips, “It’s just good to not be the only one that’s kind of out of their comfort zone.” She finished what she was saying and turned to once again just look at the party. She didn’t quite know what to do at one of these events, well other than smoking, drinking, dancing, and hooking up. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to do all those things, maybe try a drink and maybe dance. The other two were definitely further away. “We can always experience this party together.” Miriam said absentmindedly, when she finally realized what she said her face warmed, “I-I m-mean if you want.” She stuttered glancing at him.

“Yeah, definitely. Together.”

[Hey Im Jordan]

_{Written by @Universorum and @Fabricant451
A Minry post
Location: The dance floor —> A private place
Interacting with: No one else matters tonight}

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Henry wasn’t sure whose idea it was to play slow songs and shift the mood below deck of the boat. It could have been Brian’s call, or it could have been that of the DJ. No matter who had made the call, the mood shift in the room that had just minutes before been a classic blacklight party was abrupt and apparent. Henry thought it fit the night, though, and he was happy to be on the floor with Min-seo.

Below deck of the ship was all glass, so they could look out into the ocean. No longer an explosion of color and harsh, flashing lights, the dance floor was lit by a soft blue, and the shadows of the ocean danced on the few pairs of people who’d stayed after things had calmed down. The music was quieter and less hype now, instead of a trap-heavy club track, a softer, more romantic tune played.

Henry and Min had taken the center of the dance floor. Henry had dragged her there, and now he was holding her close to him and they slowly moved on the dance floor. Henry was leading her in the dance, and he’d been uncharacteristically quiet. He was focused on the music, and keeping his feet moving in the right direction… and her. She was definitely a big part of where his mind was.

Henry had very much been a bit of a hit it and quit it boy so far, bouncing between one night stand and one night stand, but this was different! He hadn’t expected it to be different, but here it was. Maybe it was because he knew her, which was something he typically avoided. They were friends, and now they were becoming… more than that, maybe. Henry was still intent on having sex with her, but this intimacy was, for him, a breath of fresh air.

And it was welcome.

In a word, Min-seo was surprised; in a modifier to that word she was pleasantly surprised. Given her track record with parties that were somewhat grand in scale, she had expected the date to be loud and exhausting. Fun, sure, but still loud and still exhausting, especially given the experience that was still so fresh in her mind. She didn’t know if strings were pulled or if fortune was smiling on the pair of them but she was happy that she was able to both hear herself think and talk, such as it was, like any other normal date. Min-seo had ideas as to what her ideal date would be like, but given her first kiss from earlier today she found that it helped not to get hung up on the ideals and fantasies. Sure, her first kiss was surprising and not what she pictured for so long, but the second had gone above and beyond even her wildest imagination and would likely occupy the space in her mind for what a great kiss could be.

It was seeming possible for this date to share a similar fate.

The quiet little feast of snacks was a good way for the awkwardly cute portion to bubble to the surface. Light conversation, light compliments, light snack, all of which added up to a satisfying whole. Much to Min’s continued surprise, she didn’t expect there to be a dancefloor that seemed like it would fit right at home within the castle in Beauty and the Beast. When it came to dancing, Min-seo assumed that it would be dark and close and somewhat vulgar but such were the things one did when wanting a date to go well. But a slow dance? Henry might not have spoken Korean but he was speaking Min-seo’s language.

Given her father and step-mother, Min-seo attended many a fundraiser or social gathering in her time, and even when she was a little girl she found herself dancing - often just a playful sort of twirl with her father (or, most often, her father’s personal assistant) - but dancing all the same. She could tell from the start that Henry seemed a bit unsure, maybe he wasn’t an experienced slow dancer, but Min-seo still just smiled and went along with the leading rhythm. He was trying, and he was doing better than someone who would only use a slow dance as a means of grabbing a bit below the waist, and that was what mattered most to Min-seo. The effort. The sincerity. The fact that Henry cared.

It didn’t matter how short or long the song was, while they were dancing Min-seo had felt like they were doing so forever.

As the moved together slowly on the dance floor, Henry took his hand and slid it up her back to the back of her head. Rather than pull her in for a kiss, though, Henry just let his fingers run down through her hair, slowly gliding through locks of her hair. As they moved across the dance floor, Henry stayed quiet. He moved his head, to rest it against hers. He normally never stopped talking, but he wasn’t sure what he could say without the risk of breaking their moment, which he wanted to avoid.

He stepped back the slightest bit, and took Min-seo’s hand in his, lifting her arm up over her head and twirling her round in a circle, before he dipped her down backward. Did the move go along perfectly with the music? No, maybe not, but he wasn’t doing it for anyone but the two of the them. As the song came to a close, Henry leaned down and kissed her on the lips, pulling her back up straight while he kept their lips together. Once they stood up straight, and the room was quiet before the next song began playing, Henry finally broke the silence.

Henry slowly leaned down and forward, toward her ear, “...how was that?“ He asked her, in an almost whisper, directly into her ear.

Min-seo had never really been too conscious about her hair, it was straight excepting the days she opted for a different style, and long enough to rest past her shoulders. Yet now she found herself hoping beyond hope that there weren’t any knots, that it was smooth, that Henry’s hand didn’t caught in some unseen wayward curl. Of course the twins took good care of her and she knew that any worry was just in her head; given the situation, though, she felt it was warranted. Happily, it was a smooth transition from back to hair and Min-seo let out a sigh that almost got in the way of the rhythm they had been dancing to, but she managed to stay upright.

A highlight of her outfit for the evening came with the twirl. As she spun, the hem of her skirt lifted upwards with the rotation, and sewn into the frills were little stones that caught the light, making it appear as if Min-seo was glowing. Truth be told she was, though moreso in her face than anything else; the accoutrements were just a bit of extra flair thrown into the mix. For a moment, Min-seo twirled and felt on top of the world.

And then came the kiss.

She hadn’t been expecting it, but where she had felt on top of the world she now felt as if she was at the center of the universe. It was the kind of kiss, and the setting of it helped rather tremendously, that would make a person believe in magic. Min-seo’s eyes closed and in that moment there were only two people on the boat where she was concerned; it was like a Jack and Rose affair. When she was stood upright again one of her hands was resting, pressing almost, on Henry’s shoulder while the other was pressed palm-first onto his chest, just shy of grabbing his lapel and holding tight.

“It was...perfect.“ Min-seo whispered in response, the truth in her words tangible in her delivery.

As he listened to her response, Henry could feel his pride swell up. He had been called a lot of things in his adventures, but never perfect. Henry could feel her tugging at him, and it made a smirk pull at the edge of his lips as he pulled back to gaze into her eyes. A much more natural reaction of Henry came next as he winked at her, and reached out with a hand to gently brush some of her hair out of her eyes. Not knowing how long the moment would last, or if there would ever be a better chance to ask, so Henry shot his shot. “Min-seo… do you wanna go upstairs with me? So we can have a little more privacy.“

To emphasize his question, and to try and convince her just a little bit more, Henry cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her head back, leaning down to kiss her again. Henry again let it linger, and he would have used his tongue — if he didn’t want to save that for when the door closed.

The question wasn’t as much of a surprise as Min-seo thought it might’ve been. Going upstairs was a term she knew and one she had incorrectly attributed just a few days ago but there was no mistaking it this time. Several different scenarios played out in her mind but none of them ended in a way that would turn her off the idea. Henry wanted to go upstairs. With her. Out of everyone. He had pulled out several stops and made Min-seo feel like a genuine princess in a night that she was bound to never forget. There was only a slight pause from the transfer student that was interrupted by another kiss. She was getting used to those, and that was not at all a bad thing from where she was standing.

“Ne.“ She responded almost as soon as their lips parted, though she had to laugh at herself after the realization set in. She had responded in Korean in a way that sounded like she was saying ‘nay’. “That...that means yes.“ Min-seo was blushing as she explained herself but whether it was from the little bit of lost in translation or because she had agreed was anyone’s guess.

Min-seo was all smiles either way.

Henry could feel heat rising to his cheeks after her initial response. She didn’t want to? Then he just looked like a jackass. Luckily for him, the misunderstanding was quickly explained away and he could feel the same heat leaving. He nodded happily, and took her hand once more. He led her out of the room where they had danced, and up the stairs. Henry paused in front of one of the personal rooms, where the tablet next to the door indicated that it was not taken.

He glanced at the tablet and read the message on it: ‘Please sign the name of you and your partner, and the door will unlock. Thank you and have a beautiful night!’ Henry looked at Min-seo, and furrowed his brow. “Really? That’s weird, Brian… Whatever.“ Rather than question it or wait, Henry instead signed his name with the provided stylus, handing it to Min. “Sign your name.“ He explained.

This was something that wasn’t covered in the extensive amount of research done. It must have been a new thing; Min-seo likened it to a hotel check in only without the necessary payment and credit card information. It was odd, sure, but not something that would cause her to rescind her agreement. She had said yes, and she meant it, and this was just a rather strange part of the experience. There was only one question, did she sign in English or with her name characters?

It probably didn’t matter but it gave Min-seo a little pause as she held the stylus in hand. “So...weird.“ She shook her head and took stylus to tablet, writing out the Hangul characters of her name as she would have done back home. “Is this...normal?“ She had to ask as the stylus went back into the tablet’s holder.

Henry shook his head as the door made a noise to signify that it was unlocked, he turned the knob to let them in, pulling her in behind himself. He clicked the lock shut, and then explained, “nah, it’s definitely not normal. Brian’s kinda weird, though. I wouldn’t be surprised if he set that up himself.“ Henry wrapped his arms around her waist, “don’t think about that. Just think about… me.“ He said, smiling at her as he kissed her again.

This time, the kiss was different. It was passionate, yes, but it was less romantic and more… carnal. Henry lifted her up into his arms, keeping his lips pressed against hers. This time, Henry used his tongue, pressing it softly against her lips until she parted them to let him in. Henry pressed her back against a wall, and broke the kiss, instead finding her neck with soft, rapid, and feathery kisses.

Crossing the threshold of the door was like stepping out of the fantasy into reality. It marked a subtle change in demeanour that was picked up on by Min-seo who had expected a shift though was still surprised by its intensity. The feeling of being overwhelmed was a creeping threat, but this time she knew she’d be able to weather it out just fine given that she was with someone that cared and was making her feel special. There came a gasp of surprise when her feet left the ground but it highlighted the key difference in height and size; plus Min just found it to be another stroke in the plus column. Was it not within her rights to like a man that could sweep her off her feet and literally?

When the tongue came knocking at her lips she hesitated a moment out of uncertainty of what to do, but she figured it out well enough. When tongue was involved it was like an entirely different experience, one that lacked a bit of the romantic vibe of the dancefloor but contained a desire that made up for it in spades. Her back against a wall caused Min-seo to gasp again before she rolled her neck and exhaled a gentle breath as kisses were given like samples, a reaffirmation between parties that this was the desired outcome. Her lack of experience was showing as she didn’t quite know how to respond other than naturally, another exhale that came with her pressing her fingers onto Henry’s shoulder. The time for thinking and imagining the ideal was long past, Min-seo was just going to go with it.

It had been working so far.

The natural reaction was really all Henry needed. Hearing her little gasps, and feeling her move her neck was a good thing, and Henry was living for it. His hands finally went for the kill, slipping below the waist as he went underneath the skirt and squeezed at her thighs, going so far as to bite at her neck. Henry pulled away and looked directly at Min-seo, and he paused for a second, lifting her up and placing her bottom down on top of the dresser.

A sudden realization had washed over him. It was probably because he was stone cold fucking sober, but Henry was realizing that if they did this, it’d change their whole relationship. He wanted it, yes, but he had to be sure that she wanted it. This wasn’t like the rest of his one night stands, where he could chalk it up as a drunken mistake.

He wasn’t drunk, she wasn’t drunk, and most importantly, this was Min. He cared about her.

Damn feelings.

Henry was breathing heavily as he stared at her, leaning forward and resting their foreheads together. Henry put loving kisses on her lips, not the passionate, primal ones of moments before. “Min…“ Henry said in a breathless voice while he kissed her again and again, “You want this… right?“

Again Min-seo’s eyes closed to let the feelings wash over her, and they were strong feelings at that; with her closed eyes came Min-seo’s slightly increased breathing and fingers raking upwards before clutching down at Henry’s shirt as she braced herself following the teasing squeeze to her thighs. There was a brief moment of tension that worked itself out as quickly as a breath. And almost as soon as things had started, they came to a pause.

Min-seo opened her eyes, blinking once, then again as the kisses continued like droplets of dew. She had to give Henry a smile, a genuine curve of the corner of her lip as she instigated one of the kisses this time. It would have served as a reminder of itself, Min being the one to seek Henry’s lips out for a lingering lip lock, but she punctuated the gesture with a small, self assured nod. “Yes.“ Min-seo wasn’t fluent in the language, but it didn’t matter in the slightest.

“I want...this. Yes.“ A reiteration that was sealed, as many things had been that night already, with a kiss.

[LovelyComplex]

_{A @Lovely Complex and @Universorum collaborative project
Starring: Damian "Alpha Dog" O'Connor, Joy "It's Not that Simple" Darling, & Ophelia "Oh, But It Is" Brycen.
Location: Somewhere on the boat with rowdy boys → Somewhere else on the boat → Not the boat}

Damian was the life of the party. There was no getting around it, there was no other explanation for it. He was fun, he was hot, he was loud, he was rambunctious. He was rowdy, and! And he was a good drinker. Damian was not, however, a very good listener. Brian had said ‘don’t drink, and don’t party too hard.’ What was Damian doing?

Currently, he was upside down, supported by two football team members, with his mouth around the tap of a keg. Damian probably could have supported himself, but he didn’t mind the camaraderie that came with accepting the help of his team members. Joy, his girlfriend, who had been introduced as such to all of his friends, and basically everyone at the party — she was now a superstar, like it or not — was standing nearby with some kind of mixed drink in her hand.

Other couples were dancing, or kissing, or spending time together with some kind of dessert food. Damian, however, had brought Joy along to do what he did best: have a good time. As far as he could tell (he didn’t have a very good view of her from his current position), she was enjoying herself. And, hey, that was what mattered.

The alcoholic beverage Joy drank the most was wine, with her mother occasionally, during dinner, but ever since she started attending these massive parties, she’s been exploring unknown territory. In her glass was a full glass of Midori Pina punch. Strikingly green and kind of sweet. She bobbed her head to the music, taking sips every so often, and smiling at her boyfriend’s foolhardy spirit, as she quietly observed the revelry she was caught up in. As he went hard with the keg, a stranger approached her and gave her a smug grin, “You guys did it yet?”

What?

Dully, Joy looked up at the guy, who she knew nothing about, and replied, “Excuse me?”

“FUCKED! Did you guys bang yet? Y’know what I meant!” Wow, forward. After No Name replied, he cheered the Alpha on, “DAMIAN! DAMIAN! GO, GO, GO, GO.”

“I don’t think that’s any of your—”

Joy was unable to finish her retort because the drunkard rudely interrupted her. He seemed to only be half listening to her; completely in his own world. “I’d be surprised if Dam’s hadn’t. He’s got a way with girls.” The jock continued to watch the star football player in amazement and gave a nod of admiration and approval. “Consider yourself lucky, babe. I don’t remember the last time this guy has made one of his conquests into a commitment thing. The dude never commits!”

Babe.

His words lingered on in Joy’s mind and her eyes no longer were zoned in on her boyfriend. No, she started to notice the stares. Some girls smiled and waved at her like they’ve known her all their lives. Other girls ignored her and kept their focus on the boys, especially Damian and his unreal body. Tightening her grip on her cup, she looked past Damian, who was hanging upside down, and noticed a group of boys checking her out, like they actually found her attractive.

Before the random was able to talk more to Joy, someone came through the crowd to save her. Save of course, is a relative word — from Joy’s point of view, this was probably the second worst person who could possibly tap her on the shoulder. “Hey, Joy. What’s going on?” The voice, of course, belonged to Ophelia Brycen, Joy’s cousin (by adoption). As Ophelia spoke, Damian dropped his legs down and stood up on his own two feet, turning to look at the pair.

Damian smiled and high fived his friends, before he moved over to Joy and Ophelia. “Hey, Lia! Are you here to crash the party again? This one might be a bit tougher…” Damian laughed and winked at her, before wrapping an arm around Joy’s waist.

“Actually, I came to borrow Joy. We need to talk. Girl stuff.”

Unintentionally, and more of an action of her subconscious, Joy’s body turned rigid within Damian’s hold. She didn’t know what Lia wanted to talk about with her specifically. When did Ophelia ever want to talk to her? Never letting her smile leave her face, Joy calmly shrugged, “Sure, if that’s alright with you, Damian.” Something about Joy was off, as she glanced up and locked eyes with her boyfriend.

Damian looked at Joy and frowned, his boyfriend senses tingling. He knew that something was up with her, from the way she tensed up when he touched her — the rest of it was just sort of icing on the cake. “What do you mean if it’s okay with me? If you wanna talk with Lia, go for it.” He smiled at her, and Ophelia was quick to tug at Joy’s arm and pull her away, off into the crowd. Damian watched the pair of them go (for multiple reasons), and folded his arms over his chest. This night may end up poorly, for him at least.

“Dude, you’re like a robot.” Ophelia said, once she was sure they were out of earshot of everyone else.

“Good. I like robots.” Joy teased the blonde, not really caring how she appeared to her. As far as she was concerned, they were acquaintances, even if down the grape vine they were related, “Why does it matter?” Joy looked at the Candy Queen amused.

“Hey, I don’t judge. I like robots too. It’s just pretty clear that this totally isn’t your scene. I can smell the awkwardness on you. Or it’s just the fruity alcohol, it could go either way,” Ophelia responded with an eye roll. “If you don’t want to be here, why are you even here? And don’t give me that ‘Damian wanted to come’ crap, I know you don’t care about what any guy thinks except for maybe your Uncle and your father.”

This would be the first time Joy was exposed to this side of Ophelia, which honestly surprised her. If Joy was being honest, she saw Lia as one of Hailey’s pawns, therefore making her an evil bitch that was out to get her brother and everyone else that went against the Demon Queen. With a contemplative stare and a moment of silence, Joy took a sip of the drink she didn’t even like and examined Lia’s expression. Visibly concerned and a tad bit sassy, but far from fake. “Because.” She carefully thought of her words before continuing, “This is your guys’ world. I’m allowed to want to see how it feels. Turns out, I hate it. I came because it made sense at the time. The type of girl Damian needs is someone who fits in this scene. Not some future accountant or something like me.” Joy was human. Lia may have been right with saying that she doesn’t give a shit about what most people think, but Damian was different. She always cared about what he thought, even when they were little.

Ophelia scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Look, if you’re gonna date — and this is in general, not just if you’re going to date the man — then you have to learn this right now. Men are easy, dude. They’re chill. They’re usually relaxed, they rarely stress stuff like this. You don’t have to think you’re not the type of girl Damian needs because you don’t like partying.” Ophelia paused for a moment to shake her head, and brush some of her blonde hair out of her eyes, “besides, Damian could have had anyone he wanted, and he wanted you. Why don’t you compromise?”

“Compromise what? My virginity? Ophelia, I’m sorry, but you’re not Damian, and you can tell me all this — whatever this is — but it still doesn’t make sense. None of this makes sense. You’re right, he could have anyone, he probably has had everyone else, and yet now he wants the female version of Dexter, from Dexter’s Laboratory. All because I dyed my hair to look like my surrogate mother.” Kylie, who possessed everything she did not have. Charisma. Beauty. Exoticism. A welcoming presence. A body to die for. Don’t get her wrong, her actual mom, Jude, was absolutely gorgeous (and Asian), but there was something about Kylie that people couldn’t help but love. Joy didn’t know how to explain it, but it seemed like she would never possess that mystery factor that made her Mitty unbelievably attractive.

“No, idiot, that’s not what I meant… I like the Dexter comment, though, because I really liked that show when I was younger. Life was simple… But I’m straying from my point. I meant, you guys went to a party like a week ago. You don’t like parties. Why don’t you just say ‘hey, I don’t like parties. Let’s do something else this time, and we’ll go to the next party.’ Life is easy, dude. And no, you don’t have to give your virginity… I haven’t even done that yet.” Ophelia took Joy’s hand and gave it a squeeze, to try and reassure her that ‘Hey, you’re not wrong.’ “Also, I’d like to say that Damian knew you when you were younger, and you guys were like really tight, right? I bet he had a wicked crush on you back then — did you ever think that seeing you suddenly become immensely physically attractive to him reignited old flames? Because that makes sense to me… And it would explain why he’s still trying, even though you don’t want to put out.”

The last point, Joy couldn’t believe and she awkwardly laughed, “What? Damian DID NOT like me back then.” Complete denial, even if there may be some fond memories of him being affectionate and cuddly. That’s just what they did. As friends. Old memories slowly crept into Joy’s mind of the time before they went their separate ways. Before either of them had reps to live by, before he had a long list of ‘conquests’, before she closed herself off to others and built a secluded lifestyle… before everything. “We were basically brother and sister.”

“That’s what everyone says about people they crushed on when they were too young to know what a crush is. He was totally into you, and now he’s into you again, when he can act on it, and he is and all you’re doing is fighting it and trying to be the girl he wants you to be, instead of being the girl you know he wants, which is… you, Joy Darling. You have a chance to date the guy that girls drool over, like, even the younger teachers. And you’re scared of it because you think you’ll have to change, when you won’t, because he obviously, wants you. Ugh, let me try and put it into terms you’d understand: Damian is the legendary drop from the end game boss that dropped just for you and you’re not picking it up, you monkey!”

Huh. Lia was making perfect sense now. If her Uncle saw how she was acting, he’d shake his head because she was totally being a pussy, when she wasn’t one. When was Joy afraid of something, other than her mother, to the point that she felt inclined to change who she was? To the point that she felt the need to ask permission to talk to a girl obsessed with the concept of love? If what Ophelia was saying held any value, then the girl Damian liked was the girl he knew ten years ago and not the girl that he can easily get in bed with, only to grow tired of the next day. He was committed to her because she was a challenge, but also because she wasn’t just any other girl that drooled over him. She was the girl that he wanted to drool over him. “I got it.” Joy pushed her drink at Ophelia to take, before dismissing herself, “Thanks for the advice. You’re smarter than I thought you were. Now, I’d love to stay and chat but the boat’s about to leave and I need to get off.”

“Just stop being a whiny baby, geeze…” Ophelia shook her head, and took the drink before turning and walking off without another word.

Rolling her eyes, Joy turned her body and retraced her steps to find her boyfriend. She pulled out her phone, just in case she couldn’t find him. When she got to the spot where she left him, she noticed he wasn’t there. Finding the rando from earlier, she tapped his shoulder, “HEY!” He turned around, mildly shocked at the change in her voice. More abrasive than earlier. “Where’s Damian, dude?”

“Uh, he went somewhere with Justin, I think.” He leaned in, obviously drunk and having a hard time keeping his balance, “Oh! You never did answer my question.”

“He’s waiting until I’m ready!” And with that, she left the dumbass and took her phone out.

To: El Jefe
Meet me by the coat room.

Leaning against the coat closet door, Joy checked her phone for the time. It was three minutes before 8:45 PM. The boat would be leaving soon. Anxiety started building inside of her as she patiently, not so patiently, waited for her manly man.

Luckily for her, it was less than a minute, before Damian showed up, coming up to her at a slow jog, though he wasn’t smiling quite as much as he normally would be. “Hey, Joy. Are you alright?”

“No, actually. I just want to spend time with you. Can we leave?” She pocketed her phone and broke the distance between him and her, offering her hand.

Damian took her hand, but had to consider her words for a second. He’d told Brian he’d be around all night, and he’d look like a right fucker if he wasn’t. But, the thing about these kinds of get togethers was Damian always ended up looking like a right fucker. “Uhhh, yeah, that’s cool. I’ll just call Brian in the car.”

“Good.” She held his hand firmly and more assure of herself, then led the way out and off the boat.

[Hey Im Jordan]

_{@Universorum and @Lovely Complex
Location: The Lyon’s Den → Captain Cuddles
Featuring: Owen “No Notifications!” Lyon and Kylie “All I Own is Fuck Me Dresses” Lyon}

This was tragically hopeless! In her too big for words walk-in closet, Kylie Lyon was scrambling through a pile of shoes. The pile of shoes wasn’t originally there, but after a half hour, her once so neat closet turned into a junkyard. Cluttered and hardly anywhere to walk. Was she too dressed up for her date with her son? If she was, she didn’t care. She looked good and felt good (its been a while since her son took her out), plus she wasn’t in the mood for a maxi dress or something too conservative and boring. This dress spoke to her. Black, sophisticated, sexy. The only problem was she couldn’t decide which red shoe to wear. Such unfortunate circumstances. “Daddy! I can’t decide between this one or this one OR this one!” With all three left shoes in her arms, she displayed them for her husband, who was sitting on the lounge couch within her closet.

Troy often wondered if he’d know the difference between high heels and pumps if it weren’t for Kylie. He considered himself to be very masculine, and the fact that he not only knew the difference between different kinds of shoes, but knew the difference between different brands was just a testament to how fantastic of a husband he was. He had learned long ago that ‘just call Belle’ wasn’t the response Kylie was looking for when she asked for opinions on an outfit. In fact, that seemed to do nothing but make her cry and make him look like an asshole who didn’t care if she looked good or not. So, like any man would do, Troy had went (reluctantly) to Sofia, Belle, and a few of the other women within close reach to him, and had learned about fashion.

If any of his friends or family knew, they’d probably endlessly harass him for being gay, or worse, girly.

But, this was his life. Besides, Kylie often gave him not so subtle hints about what she actually wanted; she just wanted affirmation from Daddy that it was a good choice. “The Christian Louboutin's would look best with that dress, baby.” Troy said, smiling warmly at her.

“I couldn’t agree more, love!” After placing the unwanted expensive shoes ungracefully in the pile of other unwanted expensive shoes, Kylie took a seat beside Troy and started putting on her shoes. Their son was waiting for her downstairs. He had already sent three texts asking her what was taking so long.

BEAUTY TAKES TIME, OWEN.

“I’m so excited! It's been over a century since he’s asked me out. This means he’s getting better, which also means he’ll stay home and not leave me again.” Projecting her emotions at her husband, she slipped on her last shoe. Her gorgeous, red hair styled to perfection, ends with a little curl to them, draped down, curtaining her face from her lover.

“I hope so. I’m sick of my gym smelling like depression… I hope you guys have a good time, love. Really, I do. The kid’s gonna be alright… I think you made a good call by telling me not to punish him for getting suspended. I guess I can’t really punish him for his classmates being assholes. All of my friends were assholes, I did okay. Go on now, get outta here before Ty and JJ show up.” Troy said, leaning around to kiss her on the cheek.

Just when his face was near her, her shoe secure and on her foot, she turned her head and pressed her red coated lips on his. Lovingly. Passionately. With a tad bit of heat. She kissed her big man for a long, very long, second before releasing him and playfully grinning, “I know who you could punish later.” Winking at her husband, she stood up, brushed her dress for any noticeable wrinkles, her divine ass inches away from his face, before turning on her heel slowly. Troy smiled to himself and rolled his eyes, having a good idea of who he could punish later too. Reaching out a lazy hand, Troy smacked her on the rear, more of a love tap than anything — but a sign of what was to come later that night.

Pouting after his love tap, she was totally prepared to over exaggerate and do a cute ‘owie’, but instead she huffed, “It better be harder tonight or no lovin’ for you, mister!” Now facing him, she backed out of her closet and giggled, “Love you forever~”

“Love you always.” Came the ever present reply.

---

Owen was patiently waiting impatiently for his mother to come downstairs so that they could go about their night together. Honestly, he was excited for it. He hadn’t spent much time with his mom in a while, and he enjoyed it when they did. This would give them some time to catch up, and Owen would have a reason to not be at the night’s party, something he very much needed after the events of the last party. Owen shook his head and pulled out his phone, looking at the two or three texts he had from Damian and Henry, both asking where he was, or if he was coming. Owen, in a way just like his father, chose to ignore all of these.

“Hey, do me a favor and block all notifications for the night. I don’t want to be bothered tonight.” He said to his Assistant, who quickly replied.

“What, all of them? Even the high priority ones?”

“Yes all of them! I said it, didn’t I?” Owen demanded, while slipping his phone into his pocket.

“Alright dude,” the Assistant replied, blocking the first notification of the night: a Snapchat from Trixie; who was at the top of the priority list, as far as notifications go. But, hey, orders were orders.

Kylie’s heels could be heard from upstairs and soon enough, she was sauntering down with her sexy date night dress on, more appropriate for her husband than her son. “Pumpkin, I’m ready!!” Approaching him like she was on a runaway, when she neared her son she fiercely twirled, displaying her dress, “You like? Your father helped me pick it out!” All with intention. After the date, it was inevitable that Kylie would return to her husband.

Owen shook his head, but smiled. In normal families, it may have been strange behavior, but the reality was this was just the kind stuff he’d grown up with. Maybe that’s why he and his sister were so fucked in the head… “You look great, I’m sure dad loves it. So, I was thinking we’d go get dinner, and then watch a movie? Or… we can reverse those.” Owen said, walking over to his mother and offering her his arm.

Yeah, they were gonna be on the front page of tabloids tomorrow. Oh well.
“Knowing me I’d be a fatass and eat popcorn until I puke, so to prevent that… dinner sounds like a splendid idea. What did you have in mind?” She graciously and tenderly grabbed her son’s arm, allowing him to lead the way. Tonight she was finally having bonding time with her son. She missed this. She missed him.

Owen nodded and led her out of the house and toward his car, parked in front of their beautiful home and to his equally beautiful car. Rather than let go of her and get into his seat, Owen instead took her to the passenger’s side, opening the door for her and helping her into the car. Then, he got in on the driver’s side and started the beast. “I was thinking we’d just go to Captain Cuddles — they’re still open, and I know you like pizza. Don’t worry, I won’t tell Dad.” Owen teased, smiling over at her before he shifted the vehicle into gear and pulled away from the house.

Her heart was fluttering. Her boy was doing everything a gentleman was suppose to do and as a result, her pride skyrocketed. He opened her door, helped her into her seat, planned their date around what she liked. As a seasoned gamer girl back in the day, pizza was her life. Then she got in a committed relationship and Troy was concerned for her health, so she had to cut down on a lot. Like pizza and mountain dew and ice cream. For someone who ate like a pig, she was blessed with a fast metabolism, but now that was older, she had to be careful. If she lost her shape, the magazines would go crazy. For as long as they could remember, she was presented to the world as one of the hottest celebs known to date, aside from the models in her family. Tonight would be a cheat night. “Pizza sounds wonderful, Pumpky.” She glanced over at him as he drove, a soft smile appearing on her face. She had a motherly stare that spoke volumes. That said "You are my world." Her family, her son, was everything to her. “Your dad will find out, you know he will. He always does, but that’s okay. I can handle him just fine. If you know what I mean.” She gave her son a playful wink and ended her comment with a lighthearted giggle.

At that, Owen rolled his eyes. Yes, he knew exactly what she meant — but he wasn’t that interested in his parents’s sex life. “Yeah, I guess I do. You know, I still haven’t told him about the gym. Grandpa did a good job, I think he cleaned it up well enough that Dad wouldn’t even notice… But he kinda has a sixth sense about that place. So he probably already knows.” Owen said, shrugging as he turned onto the highway, “so anyway, how are you? Have you done anything cool since the last time we hung out?”

“I don’t know if this would be considered cool, but somehow your sister ended up in Las Vegas and needed me to come pick her up. This was... three weeks ago? I asked grandma if I could use her card so your father and grandpa would stay in the dark about this one.” Kylie nervously laughed, before thinking back of anything ‘cool’ that has happened these past months. The cold era. Her days have been filled with sorrow and gloom because Owen had been distant with her ever since the break up. If she was being honest with herself, it was hard to think of the good. She was downright miserable without her son, who use to tell her everything.

Plus, she was still on ‘meh’ terms with her father for giving her son that god awful tattoo. “Oh! Belle and I went to this huge black and white party recently. Big names and a lot of people judging each other behind fake smiles. The usual. That’s sorta cool!” She paused and shook her head, not agreeing with her recent comment at all, “Eh-hem. Not really. I’m getting too old to have exciting adventures...” Living it Up with the Lyons, woo!

“That’s actually like the antithesis of cool? Those kinds of party suck — I hope I don’t have to be famous… Like, actually be famous, because it seems exhausting. People are super judgey. Let’s see… I got dumped by Trixie because of a lie that I’m pretty sure my own cousin started, which led to a downward spiral of my only friend no longer being my friend. Then I was asked to be part of the Elite with Damian, and Trevor, and Henry. Henry isn’t part of it, though, he’s just a consultant and he made a big deal out of it. Anyway, we threw a big party to make Hailey, Trixie, and Ophelia look shitty, and like it kinda worked. But at the party they showed up and picked a fight with me and Lia called me autistic so I flipped out and then Marshall stepped up and I was gonna put him down, but I didn’t because some blonde guy got in my face, then kissed me like some kind of fucking faggot.” Owen paused, briefly, to take a quick breath. “Then after that it was all for not because Joy showed up with red hair and I guess that turns Damian into a carnal, primal, horny dude because he made me let everyone inside so he could hit on her. Last I saw, they were making out and heading upstairs. Then they hooked up again while she was babysitting the little dude — and by the way? Damian is probably balls deep inside of her right now, just so you know. Your daughter is getting the Alpha dick so that’s either good or bad, depending on your perspective — then Jamie showed up to the gym and I beat his lil gay ass, and if he shows up again I’ll stomp his fucking face in till he can’t get back up. Then, today, I got in a fight with three assholes who were beating Jamie up for being homo and I can’t let that stand, so I beat the shit out of them and then guess what? I got fucking suspended for it.”

Owen paused and ran a hand through his hair, thinking if there was anything else. “Oh, yeah. Then, Brian decided that he was gonna be on the morning show and said that he and his sisters are throwing a party on their boat, which I didn’t go to because I’m not going to anymore parties ever again. But they threw that party because I think Brian hates the Weekend Warrior now. Anyway, that’s my week. It wasn’t cool, but I guess it’s been exciting. Wow, it feels a lot better to get all of that off of my chest...”

So many words. So many happenings. Kylie’s head was spinning, trying to digest every detail as fast as she could. Scanning through all the new intel, she back tracked, raising an eyebrow, “Which cousin? We have a large, very large family.”

“That super cunt Ophelia.”

The concern and stress was visible on Kylie’s face now. “Why? What does she gain from destroying your relationship with Trixie?”

“Hailey’s call. Hailey doesn’t like me because I told her to stop bullying someone that she had no reason to bully, so she didn’t want me to be a part of their friend group anymore. Because I told her what’s what. So, she took Trixie away from me.”

“And Ophelia… went along with it?” Kylie was in disbelief. Was high school ever this bad for her and her friends? The only real problems any of them had was Jude getting constantly bullied for being transgender, but Troy dealt with her bullies accordingly. Well, there was also that period where Troy stopped protecting the school because he didn’t feel appreciated and everything went to shit. But still. BHHS sounds like it has turned for the worst.

“Turns out, Ophelia’s a bit of a psycho. Or, Hailey is just that scary and demanding. Could go either way, I’m not sure.”

“Crazy isn’t so far fetch from someone who looks up to Belle… but the latter could also be true, Hailey has a lot of all her parents in her.” Kylie pouted at the thought that Lia ruined a relationship. Ruined her son’s relationship. Wasn’t she the Queen of Candyland? Neither Belle or Molly would be pleased with the results of their legacy. She’d have to make sure to update her girls about the potential end of their organization. Shaking her head in disappointment, she replayed his words from earlier and went to the next subject, “No one died, right? At the party? You don’t know anything else about the blonde guy that kissed you? Why did he kiss you? Trixie didn’t get hurt did she?” So much to discuss, so little time.

“Trixie is fine, as far as I can tell. Hailey had her falling down drunk though, I was so heated. Everyone just lets her fall down, but no one but me helps her back up. He kissed me because he got in my face to stop me from hitting Marshall, and I spun around I got in his face and told him he’d better hit me or kiss me. He kissed me. He’s Selena’s brother, I think?”

“Sean’s back? That’s nice. I didn’t know that.” Kylie smiled to herself. Truth be told, she’s changed the Sterling twins diapers in the past, but that has long passed. Kids grow up and people become distant with one another. She hasn’t seen Cassie in awhile. “You know Trixie is related to him, right?”

“I mean, I do now. Jesus, is everyone related to everyone? I’m not related to Trixie, am I? Because if I am, then I’m sorry mom — but incest is the best, and I’ll keep puttin’ a cousin to the test.” Owen said, chuckling to himself.

“No, you’re in the clear. I know. Family is everywhere. I actually met Cassie, Selena and Sean’s mother, because of Trixie’s mom. It’s hard to keep track of who’s related with who, but I would’ve let you know years ago if you were related to Trixie!” Honestly, she was proud she remembered some of these relations. As a celebrity, you meet A LOT of people. “I’m getting distracted.” Intentionally, Kylie went over all things Joy, because she was the enabler and the one that dyed her hair… she was the one at fault. Next subject! “Why do you hate Jamie so much?”

“He’s snakey and wants to use Trixie as a springboard to get what he wants. Also, he does whatever Hailey wants, and I don’t appreciate that. And he came to the gym and was digging in my personal business — dad taught me to never allow that or take it lying down. So naturally, I hate him. I can’t stand people who use others...” Owen explained, shrugging his shoulders in response.

“What about Trixie? Hasn’t she made you feel used? She didn’t hear you out. You can blame everyone else for her believing the lie, but she still believed the lie. She convinced herself you didn’t love her anymore and then tossed you to the side.” Kylie wasn’t completely for Trixie since she did hurt her boy to the point that he closed himself off to his mama. It would take some time for his first love to earn her forgiveness. Hmpf.

“She did, and she’s at fault too. Dad also taught me that you forgive, you just never forget. Trixie made a mistake, but she’s just scared. Of stupid shit, but still scared. Once I get to talk to her, and get to tell her my side, then I think things will be okay. I wasn’t ready to forgive her, in fact I was ready to abandon all hope, and I gave her all her stuff back, but then she left some stuff back in my locker… Mom, we’re kids. We’re not perfect, and everyone makes mistake. Trixie has years of my life and time to give me reason to give her a second chance — Jamie doesn’t. All I know about Jamie is he sucks and Scott hates his sister. And AJ, who I also kinda don’t like, fucked him.”

“Stuff? What stuff did she leave in your locker? And, so..." Kylie paused and asked the question she actually wanted to hear the answer to, “She still loves you?”

“A bunch of stuff. The ring I gave her, some of her… clothes, her chapstick… just, stuff. She’s keeping my stuff, too. She has my jacket and some of my other things too.”

“And the answer to the last question?” Kylie observed her son’s expression, contemplating his wisdom and how strong he was. She supposed she didn’t have much right to talk. The beginning of her and Troy’s relationship was rough. Loud and constant yelling, neither unyielding, but over time they grew out of that. They started to realize what actually mattered.

“Yes, I think she does.” Owen said with a smile and a nod, “I really do. I won’t know until we get to talk, but I think she does right now.”

Having not looked away from him this entire time, she brought her hand to his hair and gently ran her fingers through it, “I’m amazed you’re my son.” There was small hope for him that he could get back with his first love. That’s all he needed to know to persevere. She could see him learning from everything he’s been through. No more will he digress. No. Her baby was ready to handle his business and she couldn’t help but be proud of him. “Thank you. For sharing all this with me. We haven’t talked like this in what seems like forever.”

Owen nodded as he pulled into the parking lot of Captain Cuddles and threw up his door, “hey, so I noticed you chose not to address that stuff I said about Joy, and I’d really prefer it if you did.” He said, stepping out of the car and over to her side, opening the door for her. “I figured if I added in some of her, maybe you’d like… judge her a bit too.” Owen explained, holding out a hand to help her out of the vehicle.

What’s there to judge when she was the one that caused all those actions with Joy and Damian to transpire? “Let’s save it… talk about it over pizza?” Kylie gave her son a guilty grin. Ugh. She was going to get in trouble, especially if word got to Jude and Ender.

[Silver Carrot]

_{Featuring: Madison Weaver and Shauna Flynn
Location: Shauna's car, The Destiny
Time: Fashionably Late
Collab with: @Fabricant451}

---

---

There was a strange girl sitting in the passenger seat of a car, headed towards the location of the docks the currently birthed the ship called The Destiny. It definitely wasn’t Madison Weaver. Madison Weaver rarely wore her hair in anything other than a ponytail or a bun. Madison Weaver was rarely seen in any clothing that wasn’t a tracksuit, the BHHS cheerleading outfit, or gym gear. Madison Weaver wore minimal, utilitarian makeup.

Who the hell was this girl? She wore her hair loose and flowing, her makeup was not too garish or overdone but did wonders to highlight her natural features and triple her attractiveness. She was wearing a purple halter top which showed off her shoulders, and the lean muscle of her arms, dark blue mid-rise pants, and a pair of flat, black shoes with the perfect blend of practicality and visual appeal. She wouldn’t be hobbling home barefoot with these comfortable bad boys in her hand. She turned to the driver of the car.

”Man, I’m getting butterflies in my stomach already and we’re not even there yet!”

The car was rolling to a stoplight while the melodies of Absolutely (Story of a Girl) filled the space between the conversation between the driver and passenger. The driver in question would be the first to admit that it was difficult to keep her eyes from wandering over to the passenger seat, but Shauna had the art of glancing at girls down to a science. It was a different look with Madison, though. While Shauna was certainly admiring the sporty girl’s physical attributes, there was a look of pride in Shauna’s expression as well; it was plain to see why, given that however great Madison Weaver looked in this outfit was attributed to Shauna Flynn.

Of course, she couldn’t take full credit, Madison made it easy with her figure, but looking at Madison up close Shauna could certainly agree that she had outdone herself this time. If there was going to be a sleeper Belle of the Ball, Madison Weaver had the vote of Beverly Hills High’s resident shark. ”See? I told you to trust me and look where it led. Honestly if you don’t have at least ten numbers by the end of the first hour, everyone’s blind.” Shauna spoke with a confident sort of rhythm, well deserved in her eyes.

”If you feel half as great as you look, you’re going to have a fantastic night, Madi. Remember, though, if you intend on hooking up tonight don’t do it within the first hour. And if you don’t intend on hooking up, well, drinks are free. It’s very important to me, as your wingman, that tonight is all about your wants. Say the word, and I’ll drive you back.”

”Thank you, Shauna,” Madison replied earnestly. ”And I’m not even just talking about being my wingman. It’s everything. Getting me ready for this party. Being on hand in case I get too nervous. I honestly don’t know if I’ll be hooking up tonight. My goal’s really just to get out there and be a part of things for once.”

Even so, as they got closer and closer to the private docks, Madi’s hands were punched into tense fists,resting on her lap, and she was breathing in through the nose, out through the mouth, in heavy exhales. She felt Shauna looking at her and answered with a weak smile. ”I’ll be fine once I’m in. I guess it’s just the initial reaction everyone will have that’s psyching me out.”

Shauna reached out with her hand towards Madison’s fists, but relented and pulled back. That move might’ve worked on a nervous Freshman that Shauna was putting the moves on, but in this car Shauna was having to remember that Madison wasn’t some naive Freshman pulled in by promises that would never come to pass. Still, she wanted to offer genuine assurance to Madison and what good was a drama star if they couldn’t use their words well?

”You’re a cheerleader, right? Do you get nervous when performing a routine because of people looking? Take comfort in the fact that people will be glancing at you for good reason. Take it from me, Madi, you want people looking at you and thinking positive things. You’re gorgeous and everyone’s going to see that.”

Shauna made a left turn and on the horizon was the pier housing the docked boat, the destination for the evening. ”The outfit is just half of it. The other is confidence.Own it, Madison. Why do you think supermodels on runways have such strong facial expressions? It’s because they’re striding with confidence. You got this, Madi. I know you do.”

Madison started to relax, thinking about Cheerleading. ”That’s different. I focus solely on what my body’s doing. I’m not sure I could go out onto a catwalk and look confident in a way that seems natural. With any luck, there will only be a few people near the entrance and I can get used to them before I go further in.”

If Shauna had a flair for the dramatic outside of the context of the stage she might have slammed on the breaks following Madison’s comments; instead the Irish thespian simply stared in appaling gasp towards the athlete. ”Madison Weaver, if you went onto a catwalk you would own it like it was a….split-lift.” She had to reach into her bag of cheerleading terminology which was shockingly little despite her plucking from the team on a consistent basis over the years; talking about cheerleading moves was never exactly high on the priority list for Shauna. ”I understand your nervousness, but just...don’t think about the others tonight. Think about yourself. You look good. Great, even. Now you just have to feel as great as you look, and once you do...nothing will change that.”

”All the world’s a stage, Madison, and you’re the star tonight. When people see you tonight, all they’ll be thinking is how they can get your number.” Where Shauna was concerned, that had counted as an effective pep talk.

Madison nodded, taking another breath. ”You’re right. I’ve done cheerleading nationals. I’ve cheered during our biggest games. I can do this. I just need to forget about everyone else, like I do with cheerleading. Thanks, Shauna.” Madi smiled over at Shauna, who she was starting to earnestly think of as a friend now. She then looked ahead. They were approaching the dock car park entrance. This was it…

Shauna might have taken a bit of a roundabout way when it came to arriving, she had wanted Madison to have a decent enough time to let the pep talk sink in, but there was no delaying the inevitable - nor should there have been. Shauna rolled the car into the first empty space she found and turned the engine off. ”Remember, don’t look like you’re nervous. You’re beautiful, they know it, I know it, you know it. And it’s up to you to show it. This is your ‘slow motion walk down the stairs’ moment and the last thing you want to do is trip and fall.”

Shauna threw open her door and stepped out, closing it behind her as she threw an arm up to stretch out a brief moment. ”If you have any second thoughts, now’s the time to let them out.”

Madison shook her head as she got out the car, looking focused. ”Thank you, Shauna, but now the moment’s here, it’s just like Cheerleading. The worrying has stopped because there’s nothing else I can do to prepare. All that’s left is to just go and do it. Your encouragement has helped, though. I don’t think I could have done this confidently without you.”

For the first time in quite a while, Shauna didn’t have an immediate response to Madison following the word of thanks. Shauna wasn’t exactly used to getting genuine compliments outside the words of praise and optimism following her usual nightly escapades and in that situation it was easy to fire back with a little flirtation or a suggestion that they leave before anyone notices. But upon hearing Madison’s thanks, Shauna could do little other than smile to herself as she made sure her car was locked.

Shauna was sure that Madison wasn’t even aware of the significance of the moment, of Madison being the one that caused the constant flirtatious and innuendo slinging senior to have a moment of pause, but it was a powerful moment where Shauna was concerned. And it was just a moment as Shauna, after shifting her genuine smile to the more specific corner lipped smirk, returned to the matter at hand within seconds. ”Well, if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s being on stage. But if there’s another thing I’m good at it’s making girls like you feel as confident as they look. Go get ‘em, tiger.”

Madison made her way to the boat’s ramp, and signed in with little fuss, before making her way onto the deck. She didn’t exactly strut, but she carried herself with the air a senior cheerleader dressed to kill should carry herself.

Shauna followed along after Madison, making sure not to trail too closely so as to ruin what was someone else’s moment. Like a proud parent, so too was Shauna basking in the residual glow that was Madison’s confident aura. It felt good, having done what she did. For the briefest moment before stepping onto the deck and starting to glance around at the numerous potentials of the night, Shauna wondered why it was she didn’t help girls in the way she helped Madison tonight. It was, however, nothing more than a passing thought before she focused on more important matters.

Madison wasn’t eyeing up potential dates just yet. She was still focused on making an entrance, though she did see that a fair number of male eyes were on her, as well as a few groups of girls ‘eyes, who then immediately formed huddles and started whispering to one another. Madison was, to use a cliche, knockin’ em dead. Now she was on the boat. Surely that counts at the entrance over with. Now she could relax and enjoy herself. She didn’t have to play a character the whole night, at least she hoped not. With one last glance at Shauna, Madison then turned and headed down into the belly of the ship. They didn’t need to hand around each other. Madi knew that if she needed help she could find Shauna later, or indeed Lee, depending on the type of problem. For now, everything was going swimmingly.

The hard part was over and Madison knocked it out of the park, as Shauna knew she would. Shauna made distinct notice of the side-eyed glances, the whispers, and the people going back for second looks. Mission successful, with results far better than Shauna could have expected or anticipated. It really did bring a smile to her face as she stayed behind and simply watched as Madison headed further into the ship, no doubt to enjoy herself in a way she wouldn’t have been able to without the aid of a little Irish thespian.

When Shauna made her way to a pairing of whispering, glancing girls with every intention of familiarizing them with Shauna, the shocking thing about it all was when Shauna herself glanced back towards Madison until her attention was snapped back to the pair of party-goers suddenly; and with it her smile seemed to fade as she engaged in conversation with people whose names she wouldn’t even remember in an hour.

[Bee]

_{A Collaboration Between: @Bee and @Silver Carrot
Featuring: Kazue Suzuki, Charity Spencer, and Gary Reynolds}

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---

Kazue had arrived just a few days ago to Beverly Hills High School after months on months of incessantly begging her parents to finally let her go somewhere that wasn’t in Japan. Japan was cool and all, but being around the same people and the same places all day was just too much for Kaz to kandle. She wanted a different environment, and here she was on a boat in god-knows-where.

The dance floor was a little too touchy-feely for Kaz’s tastes, so she was somewhere toward the front of the boat where it was much more quiet and where Kaz was much more comfortable. Poor girl didn’t know what she was doing, nor did she really find anyone she knew (not like she knew anyone, anyway). Right now she was seated on a nearby bench, sipping on a glass of coke she somehow managed to order from the bartender.

She wasn’t alone on the open deck. Leaning on the railing nearby, there was a blonde girl in quite a showy dress, and a nicely done face of makeup, holding a glass of water and looking out over the ocean. Charity had given up on trying to talk to Trixie for now. Possibly even for the whole night. And she was too scared to go anywhere near the dancefloor lest she get dragged into it by a boy. Charity wasn’t here to get drunk, or do drugs, or have sex, or even dance. She was here to observe. They hadn’t set off yet, and the party hadn’t started yet. Until then, she felt like she was just wasting her time. This wasn’t her world, and she didn’t belong here. Right at that moment, she saw a fish jump, arc through the air, and re-submerge itself. Her mouth twitched a brief smile. ’A fish out of water, huh? Me too.’

She looked over and recognized another lost soul. Another sheep without a flock. Charity watched Kazue out the corner of her eye for a while, before mentally shrugging and starting to walk towards the bench, smiling. ”Hi, there. I’m not really big on dancing either. Mind if I sit there?”

Kaz looked like a deer caught in headlights the pretty blonde lady came up to her and asked to sit next to her. She only nodded and scooted over a bit. This girl did look a bit familiar. Like she was from some movie or whatever. But what movie was it? She was thinking for a bit, and guessing on how scrunched her face was, she was thinking hard about it. Eventually she finally came to the conclusion and determined who she was reminded of.

”Super Eight!” She blurted, ”You look like Super Eight!

Charity drew a complete blank, and look slightly nonplussed at the outburst. ”I don’t know who Super Eight is, I’m afraid, but I get mistaken for other people a lot. My name’s Charity. Charity Spencer. What’s yours?”

Feeling a little embarrassed and ashamed, Kazue turned a shade of red. ”Movie. You look like movie.” Kaz looked down before Charity had introduced herself. Charity? Why would someone be named after something like that? Charities weren’t really that hot in Japan, so it was bizarre that someone was named after one. Regardless, she still had to reply and introduce herself. ”Kazue. Call me Kaz. Very nice to meet you, Charity.

Charity sat down, taking a lack of refusal to be a sign of welcome. ”Alright, Kaz. So, what are you doing at this party, pardon my asking? You don’t seem like you want to dance, or drink.” Charity was genuinely curious why she was here. They were the only two girls Charity had seen so far who seemed like they didn’t want to be here. For Charity, it was work, but Charity doubted that was Kaz’s reason.

That was a good question. Why was Kaz here? She had only been here a week or so and she was already invited to a party. Looking at Charity, she shrugged. ”I got invited. Next thing you know, I walk here. But I don’t like alcohol. Too nasty.” Kaz shook her head before looking at Charity, ”How about you? Why are you here?”

Charity had to stifle a pitying laugh. This asian student with a beginner’s grasp on English, and West Coast culture, must have seen the flyers spread around the school, and deduced she had personally been invited to the party, and it would therefore be rude to refuse. And now she was here against her will, with no desire to partake in anything the party is offering. At least Charity felt she had a choice. She could have dug her heels in at the spa and refused to be part of this, demanding an explanation. But she still felt that this was God’s plan. She was supposed to be here to observe.

”Oh, I got dragged here by my Newspaper Club’s president. I thought it would be a good opportunity to see the party first hand so I could write about it for the paper, but I tried to watch things from below deck and got hit on by at least ten boys, so I’m just going to stay up here and listen out for rumors or commotion.”

”Newspaper? You have newspaper here? Kaz’s eyes widened in amazement, since newspapers were relics of the past where she was from, ”Really? That is so cool!” She had never seen a newspaper in person. Everyone had gotten their news on the television or the internet. It was a part of Japan’s increasing efforts to be environmentally healthy, and it was working.

”What else you have here? I want to know!” Kaz’s eyes were glowing like a star in the night sky. America was intriguing, and the key to unlocking whatever it contained was in this Charity lady.

That was a new one. Charity had never heard anybody describe the school newspaper as cool before. The Weekend Warrior got praise for biased, sensationalist gossip-mongering, but the Newspaper Club were taken for granted. It was nice for any kind of recognition in that area. As for Kaz’s question. What else they had in America? Well they had a lot of things. Too many to count, and much of that, they shared with Japan. Still, she wanted to know…

”What else do we have here in Beverly Hills? Well, we have Starbucks, tacos, hot dogs on a stick, tipping the waitresses, free refills, safe spaces and very small dogs.” Charity answered, using her very safe and inoffensive style of humor that she had cultivated and sharpened by writing her articles. ”If you want to ask about any field specifically, i’ll be happy to give you a better answer, though. America’s a big and complicated place.”

Well, they did have Starbucks in Japan so Kaz didn’t figure it was something that special. But tacos? Hot dogs on a stick? Tips? And most importantly, free refills? No wonder Americans were so fat. They had it so good. Back home tipping wasn’t even a thing, let alone getting your drink refilled for free. That was honestly some dope stuff that Kaz had just heard. ”Too much for me to know! She slapped her own forehead, trying to process the information that she had just taken in. ”It’s too much for me to tell!” Charity replied, laughing.

Gary Reynolds, or ‘pup’ as he had been titled during his dancing with Aces, made his way up to the deck and lit up a cigarette as he looked around. There weren’t many people up here at this stage of the party, as they were still docked, and all the dancers had energy to spare and were comparatively sober compared to how they were going to end up in a few hours time. He did, however, spot two pretty girls, dressed up to party yet sitting it out. This struck Gary as unusual behaviour, and he approached them, lit cigarette still in his mouth.

”Are you two okay? The party hasn’t even started yet and you’re up here with soft drinks. You’re not sick, are you?” he asked, slightly concerned. Though, now he was closer to them, he was really starting to notice how cute they both looked.

Cigarette? Kaz waved the smoke away from her nose as she breathed in the very toxic smoke. Guess cigarettes were still a thing here somehow. ”We’re not sick until you started smoking. She plugged her nose with her hand, showing her disdain for the smoke, ”Please no smoke.”

”Oh, shit, Sorry!” Gary flustered apologetically, putting the cigarette out under his boot, and facing away from them to clear his lungs of smoke, before turning back to the two. He noticed that Charity was also already done with him, and in his drunken state he resolved to change they minds. ”Sure you don’t want to go dance, or go to the game room. Or something? I don’t think this party would be much fun sitting up here.”

Game room had intrigued the Japanese girl. She’d never seen an American arcade before, even though they had nothing on Japanese arcades. Did this boat have one? It would’ve been really dope if they did have one. ”Game room? We have one here? Kaz asked curiously, leaning forward to hear what this guy had to say. Charity ordinarily wouldn’t have been interested in a game room, but she needed something to keep her entertained until something report-worthy happened at this damned party. This party of the damned. So she too listened interested as Gary started to talk.

”Yeah, dudes, It’s got a pool table, air hockey, table football, and there’s Rock Band hooked up to the plasma. I checked it out earlier, but I was gonna go back later on in the night when the dancing had died down. Want me to take you there?”

Kaz stood straight up like an arrow at the thought of video games. Finally, something to do here. ”Yes. Please take me! Gary happily led them both towards the game room.

On the way there, Charity stopped. ”Sorry, I need to go powder my nose. I’ll meet you both in there,” she said to the two, before heading to one of the girl’s bathrooms on this boat.

Kazue and Gary had finally arrived at the game room. For whatever reason, Gary was hesitating so Kaz had decided to take the initiative and open the door to the game room. However, what was inside was something that Kaz definitely had not expected to see, as shown by her eyes widening and her cheeks reddening. ”Uh…”

[Hey Im Jordan]

_{@Universorum and [@Fabricant]
A Minry post
Location: Their room —> A place to see the stars —> heading to see Brian}

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The deed was done.

Henry was laying on the bed now, resting on his back. He had fought a bit to pull himself from Min’s grasp, but she seemed satisfied after he got comfortable and pulled her back into her arms and into a tight hug. They laid there for awhile, together and in comfortable silence (if a bit weird for Henry, he wasn’t normally the snuggles afterward guy), before Henry kissed her, and insisted they take a shower, during which Henry expertly washed her, avoiding her hair and face so as to preserve her hair and makeup.

When they were done, Henry turned his back to her as he pulled his shirt on, bending forward and revealing the claw marks that Min had left on his back. From the hot water beating on his back in the shower, to the ferocious rubbing of the towel, the marks were now apparent: bright red against the pale skin of his back. They didn’t seem to be causing him much discomfort, but they were nonetheless there, right up until he tugged the shirt down and turned around.

“Hey, Min, after we get dressed, before we go out, there’s oneeee last thing I want to do.”

Min was certainly more content to cuddle after the fact and relished the opportunity to do so. She didn’t feel the need to say a word, they had said enough during their act and now was the time to relax and let the bliss carry them. Min-seo had been all smiles that night so far, which was a miracle given her initial apprehension towards a spa treatment, but as the pair lay in the comfort of one another Min’s smile was the widest - and brightest - it had been. Min-seo would just as soon agreed to staying like this until the sun came up if given the choice and opportunity to do so.

But a shower wasn’t the worst idea she’d heard. The water was cooling and it was nice to have someone there to wash her back which was always the hardest part. The shower signaled the end of their first cuddle session and though Min-seo was a little saddened she figured it wouldn’t be their only one and took comfort in that. Her good vibes wavered when she noticed the marks on Henry’s back; mild panic set in as she looked to her nails and back to Henry’s markings. Was that her doing? Should she say something? An apology? Did Henry even notice? Before she reached a decision, the shirt was on Henry and Min had missed the chance to point them out.

"One..thing?” She blinked and was just shy of tilting her head; her mind was still on the markings and the deep hope that he wouldn’t be mad when he found out about them. "What thing?”

Henry nodded, smiling at her. It seemed that for now, he wasn’t upset about the markings on his back, but instead had something else on his mind. Henry finished pulling his belt back on, then sat down on the bed. “Okay, so… I guess there’s no other way to say this: can I do cocaine off of your stomach?” Henry asked, reaching into his pants pocket and withdrawing a small baggie filled with white powder. “Like, off the midriff. See, I have a thing for midriff, like a real big thing. And then I have a smaller, but still pretty big thing for coke. Combine the two things together, and you have one happy Henry.”

There, it was worth a shot. Henry couldn’t remember a time when Min did drugs, or really even drank alcohol. He was hopeful that asking for something like this wouldn’t impact their relationship, but hey Henry had came inside like a hurricane warning and that didn’t seem to ruin things. Hopefully, all went well and he got his wish.

After asking what was on Henry’s mind, Min-seo used the opportunity to collect her clothes that were strewn about the ground. She was just finishing with the hooks and making sure everything was in place when the request was made. Her lower dress was in hand and it was as if she was paused in a moment in time, blinking both at Henry and at the baggie in his hand. Min-seo couldn’t claim to have done any illicit substances but she recognized the look of one; for a moment it seemed as if Min was going to say no. In the explanation of the request Min-seo only parsed about a third of it, but she focused on two particular words.

‘Happy Henry’.

Even though she was not someone who took things like cocaine, she was almost certain that he wasn’t asking her to do it and that putting it on her stomach didn’t count as taking it. Cocaine didn’t seep into the skin, right? Regardless, her mind was made up. "If you...happy...then...I say...okay.”

Success! It was a day of successes, as far as things with Min went, and Henry planned to keep it rolling for the foreseeable future. Once she was dressed again, he laid her down on her back again, and kneeled down by her stomach. He opened the baggie and carefully dumped some of it out. He pulled his wallet out and took out a credit car, moving the blow around to be more of a line. He smiled up at Min, “Thank you, Ducky.”

After speaking, Henry took a cut-in-half straw out of his pocket and press it against her stomach, snorting the line up quickly, and then blinking a bit as he leaned backwards and smiled. “That’s… good. Too bad Hana’s out of the game now, I dunno what I’m gonna do.” He said sadly, before standing up and holding his hand out to help her out of the bed.

She could safely say that this was nowhere on her list of expectations, the one she made on the long plane ride over two months ago. It was quite the unusual experience, but she was hard pressed to think of something that wasn’t the least bit unusual on a daily basis, especially compared to what she was used to at home. The weirdest part wasn’t when the white powder was placed on her stomach, but rather how...normal it all seemed for Henry. Min-seo could tell from the hand motions that Henry had done this before; not necessarily the ‘from a stomach’ part, but making lines and snorting them up.

The powder was kind of ticklish though Min-seo made sure not to laugh or move too much for fear of the powder falling and going everywhere. When it was over, she made sure to rub her hand over her stomach just to make sure she wasn’t going to be walking around with some white powdery stuff on her skin. "Hana?” Min-seo blinked as she was helped to her feet, adjusting her dress and getting out any unsightly lines. "Hana is...your...ex? Out of...game?” It wasn’t a question of jealousy but one of confusion. Americans had so many expressions and terms that all said the same thing.

Henry turned to look at her in surprise and shook his head. “Nah, not my ex. Hana is my drug dealer, but now she’s dating Hailey — or Hailey owns her, depends on who you ask — but anyway, Hailey told her not to deal drugs anymore. I can only assume, she was told that to spite me, because Hailey hates me and everything that brings joy to my life. So, I’ll have to go out of bounds to get drugs now. Which is shitty, but whatever…” Henry shook his head and looped his arm around Min’s waist, directing her toward the door and stepping outside, back into the hallway that led toward the main chunk of partygoers.

“Okay, Min. Where do you want to go next? Honestly, this party seems like it’s going way better than the one I threw… I guess that’s what happens when Hailey is distracted by someone, and doesn’t show up to ruin things.” Henry kept his arm around Min’s waist, and had her nearly glued to his side, as if he didn’t want to risk her getting taken by someone else. Henry couldn’t let that happen — after all, he planned to take Min back to one of the private rooms.

There was a lot going on with the people at this school and hearing news that Henry’s sister owned another person made Min somewhat glad she mostly kept out of the affairs of others. On the plus side it meant she wasn’t wrapped up in drama which might well have been too much to handle; on the other it meant that it took her a bit longer than most to find her first friend. Min-seo blinked as she reminded herself to thank Kit when she saw her next, if it wasn’t for the text message guidance it was likely Min would’ve had a vastly different night tonight.

Back out into the hallway, to the party, Min enjoyed how close they were walking and she had her head resting against him, her face locked in a seemingly permanent smile. "Go next?” She considered a moment, letting her eyes take in the wondrous sight of hallway and flooring. "Anywhere. It will be...good. We can...walk...together.”

Henry followed her eyes to the glowing floor, and he nodded in agreement. They could just walk together, and nothing could ruin their night. Henry was working hard to meet her expectations, and as far as he could tell, he was doing a fantastic job of it. He led her across the glowing floor, and again directed her away from the large masses of people, instead taking her to the stern of the boat. While not completely alone here, they were mostly secluded, and Henry was certain Min preferred that.

He took her to the very end of the boat, and looked out at the Los Angeles skyline, with the still lit up skyscrapers dotting the horizon. “It’s a nice view here, so I thought you might like it.” While they stood and stared, Henry wondered if he should have done more blow than what he did; he didn’t feel that high, but he figured the thrill really came from doing it off of your girlfriend’s body. Like when you eat sushi off of a naked woman.

Never done that before, maybe he’d have to see if she’d let him do that one.

The order was a little out of whack, but walking together through a boat and taking in what sights there were was definitely within the lines of a good date activity. In her head, Min-seo always imagined her first date being a bit more out of a fairy tale with the night ending in conversation while being escorted home, but the reality had been surprisingly like a fairy tale of her own making. She had the makeover, got to wear a dress, and even got to dance in the center of the floor. And now here she was, enjoying the comfortable silence of ambiance and being led to a rather scenic overlook.

She’d never had the chance to see the city at night like this, but as she looked at the skyline she could almost see home. The night sky, the buildings lit up, some faintly glowing neon. Back in Korea she could overlook the skyline from the penthouse her family often lived in; but it was different here on the boat. Here when she looked out at the city she didn’t feel isolated and alone or overwhelmed. Likely because of who she was watching it with, Min-seo just felt comfortable. The night may have gone differently than she had built up in her head, but that hadn’t mattered. Because as she looked out at the buildings with her arm around Henry’s back, she could only have one thought in mind.

"It is...perfect.”

The night was silent, and it was theirs.

That is, until a whirring noise came from Henry’s pocket, and Henry froze for a second as the music ramped up. He looked at Min and kissed her lips softly, “Uh, one second.” He said, before pulling the phone out and putting it to his ear, “this is Henry. ...Uh-huh. ...Yeah, I guess we could. ...Damian did what now? Sighhh. I’ll be right there. ...Yes I’m bringing Min! She’s my date, idiot. ...Well, it’s a thing that’s happening now. ...Nah, don’t trip. This is right up my alley.” He hung up and pocketed the phone, looking at Min.

“Hey, lover. We gotta go see Brian, okay? He wants my help, and I usually try to be a good friend, so I gotta go…”

At first Min-seo didn’t know what that music was or where it was coming from. It wasn’t loud and muted enough to be the music on the dance floor and it sounded closer; up until Henry pulled out the phone Min-seo was ready to assume it was someone that was playing a game or something. There was surprise when it turned out to be Henry’s phone, mostly because of the choice in ringtone. It...it wasn’t what she expected Henry to have for his phone but the surprises never stopped today.

Min-seo took a step back as Henry spoke. The last thing she wanted to be was one of those girls who tried to listen in on conversations with their dates and boyfriends. Had Henry not told her to trust him? When the call ended and Henry explained the situation Min-seo was understandably a little disappointed, but understanding. She had been taking up a lot of his time and she knew full well that his friends were important too. "I understand. It is okay. We can...go see...your friend. Okay.” Min-seo didn’t sound the most enthused but she did give a thumbs up and a smile just to ensure that it was clear she was on board.

"You are...good friend…Oppa.”

[Kitty]

_{Jax & Josie
Collab with @Lovely Complex
Dance floor → Bar → Towards the Dining Hall}

One day, he’d be more than a request-based party DJ. But here? For the night, Jax Dalton would settle with enhancing ‘the experience’. Get his classmates to indulge in the pleasures of the night with tantalizing bass and good vibes. Neon lights flashed everywhere and dry-ice smoke swirled on the ground with a collection of colors. Specifically: acid green, gold, hot pink, and ice blue. He wanted them to get lost in the moment. It was his job to get them to dance until the night dies. He’d be a bad DJ if the results were otherwise.

If they didn’t want to be on the dance floor as bad as they needed to breathe, he would be better off saying fuck it and let some high tech ‘Assistant’ autoplay music, without no true connection to the music besides: this is a good dance song.

Jax, at least for the start of the party, would make the dance floor hardly visible. Bodies against other bodies. Eyes on strangers. Everyone under loud, thunderous music — all caught in a storm. Like a musical conductor, Jax directed the emotions, the heat, and the speed of the dance floor. He didn’t need to say words to heighten the easiest emotions at this boat party. Freedom, conquest, and lust.

Get people in the scene and feel themselves.

Freedom. Why did they come here in the first place? On a Tuesday night? It’s not like they had homework or a curfew or parents that care. No, not tonight. None of that mattered because for one night they could and would be limitless. Well, for as long as their non-sober selves allowed them to be.

Conquest. No matter who you are, the feeling like you’ve conquered something or that you’re straight up the shit among familiar faces, strokes the ego. People, in this particular scenario, teenagers, need validation. Parties give them confidence, whether it’s faux or not doesn’t matter because for one night they can be whoever they want to be and do things they wouldn’t normally do when the sun is out.

Lust. Does this even need an explanation? Teens are horny bastards and its been proven no matter the decade, music can ignite a fire that might lead to an unplanned pregnancy or falling in love at a hopeless place. Who knows. He wasn’t responsible for what happened during or after the party. He’s simply here to make his colleagues feel good, in the way he knew how to make them feel good. Music.

Lust leads to sex. Sex feels good. Playing songs that might make ‘em explode was easy and he’d gladly bring out the freaks.

His eyes did catch sight of a certain someone who ran with anything he threw at her, transformed by his music. Her legs, her hips, her stomach, her chest, her facial expressions... flowed, bringing a wordless language with his beats. Her most honest form of communication. This girl was her own type of conductor and he could appreciate a pretty sight when he sees one. Sleek, slim, and smoking everyone else that attempted to dance as good as her.

He dug it.

Not too far from when he started taking occasional glances to see what she was up to (when he noticed her), the girl in flesh, along with her friend, approached him wanting to request a song. As the timeless creature scrambled with her request, Jax carefully eyed her and took in her features, but this time up close. His headphones rested around his neck and because he was on a platform, he seemed a lot bigger than he was. Don’t get him wrong, he’s a tall dude. The platform just made him more intimidating than he actually was. Perks of being on a platform was everyone knew where he was. The DJ.

As she gave her request, a more cool than she probably thought she did, his lips, with a noticeable ring on it, curled into a smirk.

After her requested song played, which in his opinion had some meaning behind it, yet he’d keep that to himself, the charming blonde decided he needed a break, a drink, and a good conversation.

In addition to his needs, he couldn't get one lingering thought out of his mind. The whereabouts of his little sister. This would be a rare night he wasn’t helicoptering her. Baby steps. He needed to trust that Honey would be okay and that Shi would not lead her astray. Even with ten million things on his mind, including his worry for his sister, he continued to do his thing, looking unburdened and completely nonchalant. He switched the Assistant playlist on manually and made sure his rig, which included a mixer and pad controller, was off so no drunk kid tried to be funny and play with his gear. To finalize that he was on break, for an undetermined amount of time, Jax took off his headphones and dropped down the platform to the dance floor, not bothering with the stairs. He started walking away from the stage and heading toward the bar. The party was lively, for sure.

The nerves toyed with her, her stomach twisting and leg bouncing as she sat upon her chair, glancing to the DJ every few moments to see if he was taking a break yet. Josie knew she’d need to hold true to her word and go talk to him, she just hoped she wouldn’t completely fumble over her words. That would be very un-Josie like, well, except for when she requested the song earlier.

It seemed that this boy had an effect on Josie, one she wasn’t used to. One that confused her, scared her, and intrigued her all at the same time. One that really had her tempted to throw herself off the boat if she embarrassed herself one more time in front of him. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to worry about that though, the girl was hoping to find her inner confidence, the one she normally has, when she went to talk to him.

Looking once again to the DJ, Josie saw him on the move. The music now seemingly automated and the cute blonde with the lip ring was on the move towards the bar. It meant it was now or never to talk to him. Pushing herself out of her chair Josie began to walk in the same direction as he was, taking a deep breath as she saw him arrive to the bar. With each step she let the music sink into her, hoping her natural state will be brought back and fueled by the same fuel that keeps her moving on the floor.

When Josie got to the bar area she walked up besides him trying to act casual, “You play music really well.” Internally Josie began to think of the quickest way off the ship, she could not believe she had just said that. It was too late to take the words back though and she didn’t want to just run away awkwardly. Thus she stayed still and kept herself facing the bar as she stood beside him, all the while casting quick glances out the sides of her eyes to see if he heard her.

Waiting for his Manhattan patiently, since the bartender was swamp with thirsty teens, Jax took in the hundreds of conversations happening, loudly, around him. The night was young. The crowd was younger. It was nice to know some people were hitting it off like they knew each other yesterday. He wasn’t going to lie, but internally, Jax was tired. Real tired. Crowds made him tired. Really, the only downside of being a DJ was the amount of people he was surrounded by. People, especially the energy filled kind, made him tired. Even so, the boy wasn’t dumb. What he has as DJ Limitless was and is a good thing. There’s no chance in hell he’d lose that. Plus, he likes moving people. Both music and film did exactly that. ‘Moved’ people.

Along with listening to the atmosphere, Jax was gently running his right hand fingers on the smooth, rich wood of the bar. The colour palate reminded him of the beach. His mind was brought back to the current time and place with a hesitant, yet fierce voice. The voice belonged to the starlet from earlier. He couldn’t forget a face like her’s even if he tried. This was the girl that requested that Demi Lovato song and made his music better by her dancing. Beyond better.

Before he replied to the girl who looked familiar yet he couldn’t think of a name to go with the strikingly attractive face, Jax caught his drink that slid down the bar into his hand. Raising his glass to the bartender, he gave the busy guy a thankful nod. Placing his drink down, still not having any yet, Jax pulled out his wallet and placed a generous tip in the tip jar. He knew how to treat a bartender. If you wanted them to give you special treatment, you treat them good, tip them well, and maybe eventually strike a conversation with them. Bartenders will remember and who knows? Maybe you just added a friend to your social list.

Finally, turning his head, seemingly full of carefree confidence, Jax looked at the mystery girl that wasn’t making eye contact with him, whatsoever, “You’re not so bad yourself.” He took a sip of his drink and then gave a kiddish grin, “...You move your body pretty well.” There was a brief pause due to the fact of how forward he was being, even if that wasn’t his intention at all.

Absentmindedly, he licked the bottom of his lip and then cleared his throat. Placing his drink back down, his hand still holding onto it, helping him feel like he had some secure handle of the situation, Jax played it off like he wasn’t being a creep or whatever. Played it like he knew what he was doing. “Your dancing… you sure know how to play with the rhythm.” He probably was burying himself alive with his words, but he’d act like everything he says, he meant it, fully. Conviction. No mistakes. It’s go time! “Jax, by the way.”

Yeah, that was important. Names.

On a side note, the girls Jax has spent the most time with were (are) Honey and Shi. Rose and Quincy sorta, since they’re burners (and Rose gets him with the whole creative genius thing), but if he had to think back to his friends, he knew for sure he probably had more guy friends than girls.

Attractive, amazing with music, and generous. Where were the cameras because Josie was definitely being punked right now. How’d she manage to completely overlook this guy for the past 3 years? Somehow she had and well, there was no changing that. Luckily some higher power had shined on her today and here she was meeting someone pretty dang close to the guy of her dreams. Minus the fact in her dreams they drove off in a flying carriage and lived happily ever after.

This guy, who introduced himself as Jax. Attractive and unique name for an attractive and unique guy. Jax, was not a dream and was standing next to her, a kiddish grin on his face and an air of carefree confidence surrounding him and every word he spoke. Now if only Josie could match his confidence with her own, but here she was lacking confidence and thoroughly embarrassing herself.

Luckily, Jax complimenting her dancing and bringing up her passion seemed to spark a bit of her confidence back into her as she turned and met his eyes. “Thank you. It helps to have some decent music.” A playful smile crept onto her lips as she looked at him, a bit of a playful and mischievous sparkle shining in her eyes for a brief second before she turned her attention to the bartender who came to get her order. After ordering she turned back to the blonde, “Josephine, but everyone calls me Josie.”

“Josie.” He repeated after her. “I like that. It suits you.” Not like he knew enough about her to know what suited her, but based on her appearance… she definitely gave him a Josie feel. His cloudless, sky blue eyes never faltered from her rich like whiskey stare. Her eyes that glinted with mischievousness that intrigued him. She looked familiar. Where have I seen her before? He thought to himself.

Snapping his fingers of his left hand, remembering who she was, her reputation preceding her, he nodded to himself, happy that it dawned on him, “You’re the dancing queen my sister raves about. All the time.” Anyone his sister idolized because of their talent or looks or whatever, she’d find reasons to bring them up in every conversation for days. Even if all she knew about them was what she saw.

If he remembered correctly, Josie was one year under him. “Your halftime performance last year — I think it was for the final b-ball game — was tight. I couldn’t move my body like that, even if I tried.” Nah man, he was more of a parkour and freerunning kind of dude.

Her head tilted to the side as he snapped his fingers, mildly amused and confused at why he had done so. When she found out why Josie couldn’t help but let a small giggle out, covering her mouth as the sound escaped her lips. Of course, her reputation seemed to make her known to a good portion of the school’s population and it seemed Jax was no different. The fact that he learned of her from his sister was mildly amusing though. “I may need to meet this sister of yours then.”

His denial of being able to dance the way she did seemed to spark a bit of her flirty side as a slight playful smirk graced her lips. “Now don’t say you can’t until you try. Besides I think with the best teacher around you may be able to get pretty close. Of course, you’d never be on my level but you’d have a few new moves in your repertoire.” Josie winked at him playfully, the last statement very obviously a sassy joke on her part.

An idea sparked in Jax’s head, since she so kindly offered. There was an equal rise in the corner of his mouth, but not because he was aiming to get under her dress. His flirting was hardly intentional. No, Jax was treating Josie like he would treat all his friends that were the opposite sex of him — with joviality and kindness. Like a kid treats another kid at a playground. “Let’s do it then.”

He rose from his seat and gestured the direction they should go with his head, “You, me, take it slow in the, uh, dining room — yeah that’s usually empty — with this baby here.” In his free hand, he revealed that he had pulled out his Ipod and earbuds from his pant’s pocket in a matter of seconds. “I’ve been surrounded by people for what feels like hours. I don’t mind a little lesson elsewhere, Miss Teacher.” His smirk turned into a cheshire grin, and where he stood, the lighting made his teeth glow. Oblivious to how intimate his request was, he waited for his new found friend to respond.

A blush crept onto her cheeks at how forward he was being, making Josie thankful for the lighting and her skin tone at that very moment. Despite his forwardness, the dancer could not seem to find any hint of any other intentions besides dancing. Part of her was very iffy about the whole idea due to how forward he was, it was throwing her off a bit, but the rest of her - the part of her full of curiosity and intrigue in this boy - the rest of her was all for it and getting closer with him.

Standing up and smiling at the DJ, her dark stare never leaving his light one, Josie took a chance. Holding her hand out to him, she took a step backwards. “Shall we then, Mr. Student” Mentally once again wanting to throw herself off the boat for such a stupid move as her blush only deepened, but what was done was done. Now she just had to see if he’d go along with her cheesy move.

Enjoying her adorable gesture, he upped the ante, not thinking much of it besides two people enjoying one another’s company, by grabbing her offered hand, pulling her in, and giving her twirl, “Woah, I’m learning already.” He joked, ending his move with a charming chuckle and a mischievous wink, “Take the lead, Josie.” Did he make a bluff about his knowledge on dancing? The world may never know.

Eyes wide and completely thrown off by the sudden twirl, Josie would have been as red as a tomato at that point if her blush was easy to see. She found herself once again thankful that it wasn’t for that reason exactly, she would probably rival her favorite redhead’s hair if she was being honest. Taking a shaky breath that mixed with a shaky laugh, Josie pulled herself back together and back to what she needed to do. “To the dining room we go then.” She let out a slightly awkward giggle as she turned on her heel and pulled him behind her to the dining room.

[Grimoire Gaming]

^{A collaboration of two Candies falling overboard with @Universorum.}

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Water. He needed water. A whole ocean’s worth of it. Except not the actual ocean, because the ocean was salty, and that would only make him thirstier. Marshall Radley was far from a boy scout survivalist, but he at least knew that much. What he did not know, however, was what exactly was wrong with him. Obviously he was high… but high on what? Cherry Lego candy? It was stupid of him to have taken that, Ophie recommendation or not, it was obvious that it was a drug. Especially coming from Kit’s hands, if last night’s misadventures were anything to learn form. Marshall clearly didn’t learn, because now he was floating up in the clouds instead of being focused on his mission. He had made a deal with both Trixie and himself that he would talk to Jamie tonight. How was he supposed to profess his feelings of admiration when he couldn’t even follow his own train of thought anymore?

Oh, wow, pretty… And just like that, he was distracted from both his main mission, and his side quest for water. His sandpapery dry throat was easily forgotten with the sight of the breathtaking scene before him. Sparkling. Dark. Mysterious. Marshall peered over the edge of the railing, gasping slightly at the deep pacific blue below. Rays of moonlight danced along the shimmering waves, enrapturing the inebriated boy in a spellbound state. It was the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen, he was sure of it.

Fortunately for Marshall, there would soon be something to snap him out his trance on the ocean. The very same Kit that had supplied him with the drug, had found him once more. And she had a story to tell! Marshall was pretty much her third best friend, and the most accessible at this very moment! Kit came barreling toward him at mach speed, fueled by excitement, fruity drinks, and whatever it was that Ophelia had fed her. “Marshhhhh!” She called out, and then came the bad idea.

Kit launched herself off of the flooring. She planned to hug him, like a flying ninja hug. Her plan, as Kit’s plans often did, would instead go south. Literally, as she sent both herself and Marshall tumbling over the edge and down, down toward the glistening beautiful water that Marshall had been distracted by.

Huh? Was someone calling his name? Briefly shaken from his enamored stupor, Marshall turned around slowly. Too slowly. He couldn’t help his sluggish movements though, if he spun around too fast, he felt like he might get sick. This was unfortunate, given that a quick reaction would probably have been the only way to prevent what happened next. Marshall only managed to yelp “Kit, wait!” before holding his hands out in front of himself defensively. His defenses were weak, and the tiny blonde crashed into him, sending them both over the railing with the momentum.

Oh god, he was going to die! He was high and he was gonna die that way. Him and this freshman girl he barely knew would be the stars of tomorrow’s tragic headline. The scream that escaped his lips did not sound human, let alone sound like a noise that a man should make. He was going to die anyway, so shame was out the window. Or overboard, in this case. In those final moments before they met their inevitable end, Marshall did the only thing that was instinctive. He wrapped his arms around Kit and hugged her as they fell. Maybe he could keep her safe in doing so, and if not, at least they would both have a final embrace before they met their doom.

It wasn’t long before they hit the water, and despite Marshall’s internal feelings, they were alive when they splashed into the chilly seas of the Pacific. Alive, but very, very cold. Underneath the water, Kit squirmed out of Marshall’s grasp, and propelled herself back up to the surface. Though the water around them was stone cold, it was illuminated by the boat, and Kit had to admit it was… gorgeous.

Unfortunately for her, the effects of the water were almost immediate. She was sobering up, and fast! She reached under the water and grabbed for Marshall’s form, hauling him back up to face her, “Marsh!” She giggled at him, smiling widely, her pearly white teeth glowing in the blue lights radiating from the boat. “I kissed Selena!”

The frigid waters bit into his skin, chilling him instantly. Marshall was alive, but he wouldn’t stay that way if he kept sinking under the waves. With Kit’s assistance and his own panic propelling him, Marsh breached the surface and gasped for breath. “Holy shit! Holy shit, it’s freezing!” Marshall exclaimed through chattering teeth. He struggled to keep himself afloat as the water weighed down his clothing. Kit seemed totally unfazed by this turn of events. She was practically beaming and, wait, what did she just say? “You what?”

Kit was beginning to feel the chilliness of the water seeping through her bones, and she looked over her shoulder back at the boat. The boat that had human drying machines. The boat that had hot food. She yearned to be on the boat… But Marshall had asked her a question, and she was a good friend! Press on, she must. “I kissed Selena. See, I was talking to Brynn and I drank alcohol and I got all hyped up cuz I saw her talking to Jamie… So I just walked over and grabbed her and kissed her! I’m glad I did it, but… It kinda sucked, I don’t think she’s really for me.”

Marshall was focused mostly on not drowning, but he managed to listen to most of Kit’s response. He perked up at the mention of Jamie, no doubt beaming much in the same way that Kit had just been. “Oh, well. That’s… uhm… good? So you aren’t upset about it?” Marsh asked in a concerned tone. His mood was quickly shifted when a wave knocked into them, punching as if it were solid ice. This snapped Marshall back to reality. He was in the ocean! And you know what else is in the ocean? Jellyfish. Marsh’s face paled to a stark white shade of terror as he looked over to Kit. “We need to leave. Oh my god, we need to leave. There are jellies in here, Kit! Sharks! And jellies!” He declared before turning to paddle towards the nearest ladder up the boat. Oh god, he hoped there was a ladder!

Kit swam after Marshall, wondering what he was going on about. Jellies? Like Jellos? Man, Kit really liked Jello… Green Jello, red Jello, blue Jello, sometimes but not very often because it’s kinda foul but it’s still Jello yellow Jello… Kit swam up to Marshall as he approached the opening of the boat, and nudged him toward the ladder that was, luckily for them, lit up by additional LEDs. “Come on, let’s go. I want Jello!” Kit said excitedly, shaking her head and watching the water spray from the blonde locks. Kit was apparently very comfortable in the cold water, as it seemed to be having less of an effect on her than Marshall. Of course, Kit wasn’t afraid of jellyfish.

The petrified boy didn’t need to be told twice to ‘go’. Marshall scampered up the ladder with haste. He lost his footing a few times and almost sent them both careening back into the deep. It wasn’t for lack of grace, but because he was soaking wet. That, and his drenched clothing made him feel twice as heavy as normal. And… despite the sobering effect of the chilled waters, he still wasn’t very sober. Once they were safely back aboard the ship, Marshall held on to the nearest surface for dear life and panted. He could honestly kiss the ground right now. After a few moments of letting his brain catch up with everything, he looked back over to Kit. “Wait… so you kissed Selena. You kissed… how? What did she do after that? Did she kiss back?” Could the silver princess be gay? Marshall had a pretty decent gaydar, but he’s been wrong before. If she was a closeted lesbian, that might explain how grumpy she could be sometimes… and why no man ever seemed good enough for her.

Kit was up to the boat shortly after Marshall was, sitting on the warm, heated floors of the lower deck of the ship. After she was asked another question, Kit shook her head, and tapped her chin thoughtfully, “I mean, she did kiss me, but I didn’t really give her much of a choice… I went hard. Like, real hard. Anyway, afterward, she and Jamie kinda stared at me like I was gross? I told her that she isn’t really good ‘nuff for me, then ran away and found you so I could tell you!” She grabbed a handful of her hair and twisted it, squeezing some of the water out, “she’s not for me, I guess. I’m not upset, I’m more relieved than anything. I got to do it! And that’s been my goal for like… months now…”

“You told her… you told her she wasn’t good enough for you?” Marshall stared at the little one with wide eyes and then laughed. Oh wow, he was pretty sure that Selena had likely never heard those words before in her life. It was cruel… but it was also a little amusing. “Yikesss, you’re lucky to be alive, kid. You aren’t gross, though. Probably shouldn’t have just… ran up and kissed her and then ran away, but, you know. Nobody’s perfect. I’m glad you realized that she wasn’t for you though. If she looked at you like you were gross, it’s probably because she’s very straight. Not meant to be.” Marshall ran a hand through his hopelessly wet locks, shaking some of the water out. “So… who’s next on your radar then? Any other suitors for Candyland to help you with?”

“Nope! I’m a strong, independent, blonde Kit, who doesn’t need no man or woman. ‘Sides, I gotta help my friend with her boyfriend… Also, I don’t think I’m going to sit with you guys tomorrow… I’m pretty sure that Jamie and Selena — and maybe Hailey or Trixie — are gonna be mean to me. Luckily, I have a plan to deal with that! So don’t worry about me, I’ll be okay… I’m not sure if I should… be in Candyland, neither? Since, I just kinda showed up and wiggled my way in! If I’m not in love with Selena, Ophelia and Cassie aren’t gonna want me around are they? I’ll probably quit the cheerleading squad too, I don’t even like cheerleading…” Kit blew a raspberry and shook her head in disappointment. All that, for a little kiss. It didn’t seem worth it now that she looked back at it.

“Oh…” Marshall looked saddened by her words. Perhaps the kiss had more of an impact on Kit than she was letting on. “Well, if you don’t like cheer you should probably quit that. It’s a ton of work and it takes up a lot of time, which probably isn’t worth it if you aren’t enjoying yourself. As for sitting with us, and Candyland, you don’t have to ditch. I know a lot of people think we’re a mean bunch, but we aren’t like that. I like you, and Ophelia must if she invited you over, and even Hailey seemed to like you this morning. If Hailey is on your side, no one else will say shit. But… it’s your choice if you don’t want to hang. I hope you’ll still talk to me?” He asked hopefully. Perhaps not all was lost with this new unlikely friend he’d gained. Kit was fun, and in need of guidance, and Marshall thought he was the perfect friend to help. Hopefully. He could try.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I think I heard Selena say the words ‘end her’ as I made my dashing, daring, sneaky escape. I’m a lil scared to sit at the table, and I’ll feel a bit safer with my plan in action, but I’ll still go to Candyland if you think they’ll let me! She has a soft serve machine in her home. How cool is that?” Kit asked, smiling widely at Marshall. Kit liked the group of those people! Plus, they’d ran and got her pizza and cheesy bread without so much as a word of complaint. If she was going to survive high school, then these were the people she needed to stick by.

Marsh grinned in response. “I’m sure they will. Ophie is my bestie, she’s good people, definitely not the type to drop you just because you didn’t hit it off with Selena. We didn’t really expect you to, not that you aren’t cute, it’s definitely a “it’s not you, it’s her” situation.” He watched as she wrang her blonde locks out, dripping icy water all over the floor. “Do you think they have towels or something?” Marsh looked around with a shiver, hugging his arms around his torso in an attempt to retain what little body heat he had left.

“Dude, what? This is a Helmsley joint. Top of the line! Spared no expense. They just have like big ass air dryers for humans. It’s pretty wicked, but my hair is gonna be fucked. Oh well, at least I’m still in this way too short dress.” Kit smiled and stood up, “I’m gonna go get dry, then see if I can find Shauna! The dryers are up the stairs and to the left. I’ll be okay, once I find her we’re gonna get in the hot tub! Thanks Marshie, I love you, you’re too kind! And excellent at making me not upset.” Kit paused, and tapped her chin.

“Wait, one last thing…”

“Shauna? Hot tub?” Marshall asked incredulously. His features were colored with worry. “Be careful, she’ll probably try to sleep with you. You’re kind of… her type.” The apples of his cheeks rose in a smile when she said that she loved him. What a little sweetheart! “What is it?”

“Do you wanna go to the Valentine’s Dance with me? I can’t ask Selena obviously, and going LITERALLY BY MYSELF sounds lame. You’re cool, and you’re gay, so you can’t just ask another boy along with you. So I figured you and me could go!”

That was unexpected. He briefly considered correcting her, and saying that he could actually ask another boy to the dance. He had already vehemently argued against the sexist, homophobic undertones of having the Valentine’s Dance be “Sadie Hawkins” style (and he obviously lost that argument). But… Kit just said that she loved him. Obviously not love love, but it was still a very nice thing to say, and he wasn’t about to go and break her heart, so… “Of course I’ll go with you. Brush up on your dancing skills though, I expect the best.”

Kit stood up and straightened her body, saluting Marshall, “aye, Captain. Thanks! I’ll see you tomorrow, and if I don’t, I’m either dead because I overdosed, or I’m late! Byeeeee.” With that, Kit rushed up the stairs, onto the next part of her night long journey.

[smarty0114]

---

---

_{A @smarty0114 & @Universorum collab
Featuring: Victoria “Trowen 5Ever” Helmsley, Ivy “Ship Sinker” Nichols & Elliot “I’m Not A Slave” Nichols
Location: Victoria’s Room}

“A party on a boat? They must be upset that the stupid New Year’s Party went so south. I don’t know why you’d trap yourself on a boat with the student body of Beverly Hills High. They’re all awful people, and I don’t know why my family would subject themselves to such torment. Idiots.” Victoria Helmsley was sitting cross legged in the center of the four poster bed in her massive bedroom, with her friend Ivy Nichols and her sometimes friend Elliot Nichols close by. As was the norm, Victoria was throwing handfuls of popcorn in her mouth. In this case, she was eating it from a bowl, rather than Moose Munch from a container. Buttery, freshly popped in the popcorn maker beside her bed, and lightly seasoned with Himalayan pink rock salt and a dash of black pepper.

“Almost everyone we go to school with is near… dweebish. I can’t imagine a party with them going very well… I like partying in exotic locations, meeting new people and new playmates… Not boats in the pacific bay.” Victoria twirled some of her hair around her finger, and leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “Tomorrow, we’ll go to school, and hear nothing about anything except for how much people hated this party and how dramatic it was and how everyone hates everyone. Nothing positive. Guaranteed.” She reached a hand out and grabbed a piece of popcorn, flinging it into the air and catching it in her mouth as it came down, before turning her attentions to Ivy, “In fact, we could check Snapchat stories now and I’m sure it’d be terrible.”

She shook her head and rolled her body to look at Elliot, “Ellie, honey, do you think you could help me with my math? Of course, by help, I mean do it for me.”

Ivy smirked as her best friend ragged on the yacht party that was currently going down, her venom a familiar experience. Ivy was well aware that Victoria didn’t care much for her cousins, or their petty politics, despite Ivy and Becca’s friendship. “Well, you aren’t wrong,” she said, handing her phone over to Victoria, a video of Katie Callaghan and Scott Lyon engaged in a heated argument playing on the screen. A typical Tuesday for them. Towards the end, Ivy could see Noah pushing through the crowd that was gathered around Katie and her mortal enemy. “Ellie, come check this out, Noah’s at a party!” Ivy shouted to her brother, despite him being only a few feet away.

Elliot looked up from his worn copy of The Great Gatsby, a look of doubt on his face. Standing up from his spot on a bean bag chair in the corner of Victoria’s room, he walked over to the girls, looking over Victoria’s shoulder at the video. “Good to see you’re rubbing off on the baby, Ivy,” Elliot said, the sarcasm thick as he rolled his eyes at his sister. “Victoria, I’m not a slave, do your own homework,” he countered, going back to his perch in the corner, and taking up his book again. This argument was a familiar one, one that often ended with Elliot losing, and Victoria getting an A.

Victoria stared down at the phone, smiling to herself. She loved when those two fought; it was always loud, and obnoxious. It often drew crowd and they never made any sense, they were just yelling simply to yell. It was either pure, unfiltered hatred, or it was confused love. It didn’t matter to her, she just enjoyed the ride watching them. Verbal tussles that didn’t break out into physical violence were her vibe, especially when she could just watch them.

“Watching them fight is fun. One day, I’d love to tell Katie thanks for making Scott so angry all the time. Truly admirable. But, that’s for another time…” She turned her attention to Elliot again, throwing a piece of popcorn at him. “You’re not a slave. I’ve just paid you with popcorn, so really you’re more of a serf, or an indentured servant. If you don’t help me I’ll fail and my mommy would cry. Do you want to make my mommy cry?”

Ivy chuckled. Watching Katie and Scott fight was one of her and Victoria’s favorite past times. The two were quite the entertainment, and getting front row as they hurled insults at each other was always a treat. Ivy had even tried to get Scott to join Drama Club, just so she could see more of the Dynamite Duo. Unfortunately, that one hadn’t worked. Scott wasn’t as susceptible to her… usual methods of persuasion, as most boys were. If you asked Ivy, he was too preoccupied by one little blonde drama queen, but that was none of her business.

Elliot looked up at Victoria and Ivy, a few strands of dark hair falling out from under his beanie and over his forehead. “California state labor laws mandate a minimum wage of eighteen dollars an hour,” Elliot quipped.

“Elliot, stop being a prick and do Vivi’s homework,” Ivy said as she fell backwards onto the bed, looking up at her phone, the epitome of what the media thought it meant to be a teenage girl in this day and age.

Elliot sighed, rolled his eyes and went over to Victoria’s desk, snatching a binder off of the surface and bringing it back to his seat. Scanning the paper he let out a groan. “Good lord, Victoria, this is child's play,” he complained, pulling out a pencil and scratching down answers on the worksheet.

“You know what else is child’s play? Getting you to do my homework so I don’t have to.” Victoria retorted, eating more popcorn with a roll of her eyes. Boys… So easy, yet so annoying sometimes. “If I were as efficient as you at doing it, I would happily do it. But I’m not. This is the best way, trust me.”

She moved closer to Ivy, now ignoring Elliot as punishment for being so snippy with her. “Do you think this is the party where someone comes back home in a body bag? I wouldn’t be surprised if it were. Tensions are running high! Although, Owen isn’t there, and he should win most likely to kill someone. If that were an award high schoolers could win. Maybe Scott or AJ can make something happen, though, those two are the rowdiest boys I’ve ever met… Pity I’m related to them. It’s a curse on both fronts — I can’t take advantage of it in the bedroom, and I’m embarrassed by it in public.”

“Maybe Katie will get Scott to calm down, soon.”

Ivy laughed, rolling her eyes. “I think Katie would do the exact opposite of calm Scott down,” Ivy said. “But, speaking of people calming down, did you hear about Damian and Joy Darling? Of all the girls at this school, she was not the one I saw him committing to. Truth be told, I was rooting for Hailey or maybe Trixie, but whatever,” Ivy said, as Elliot scoffed, but kept his comments to himself.

Victoria stared up at the ceiling as Ivy spoke. Geeze, Damian and Joy Darling? Who the fuck even was Joy Darling? Victoria had to think for a moment, before it clicked in her head. Joy was Katie’s friend; Victoria had seen her around before. Speaking technically, Joy was family, but she slipped under the radar and for all intents and purposes, she seemed completely comfortable there. As a result, Victoria had to think about who she was: nerdy, quiet, looked up to Jericho Snyder.

That was who Damian chose? Damian O’Connor, the god among men. The one who could have whoever he wanted. He picked her? “Are you kidding me? Hailey was never the play, I don’t think. Hailey likes girls more than she likes boys — I have that on excellent authority. Trixie… Trixie should still be with Owen, in my opinion. But anyway… didn’t Hailey get a Korean or something?”

“Trixie can do so much better than Owen! Have you seen her? And have you seen him? Not to mention, once a cheater always a cheater. I should know,” Ivy said, smirking at the end as she recalled the many relationships that had ended because someone’s boyfriend couldn’t keep it in their pants. Oh memories. “The Korean thing is true. Becca told me about it the other day. Apparently she was Henry’s drug dealer, and now she’s Hailey’s sex slave or something. Good for her, we could all use a Korean in our lives,” Ivy said, hopping off the bed and strutting over to the popper, and scooping herself up a bag of popcorn. “Elliot, when are you gonna get yourself laid so me and Vi can talk about that?”

Elliot looked up from Victoria’s homework, arching an eyebrow, as if he was waiting for Ivy to answer her own question. “Unlike you Ivy, some of us don’t need to be constantly seeking the attention of others,” he said, going back to Victoria’s worksheet.

Ivy rolled her eyes and returned to the bed. “Oh what the hell!” Ivy exclaimed, after looking at her phone for a moment. “Vic they have a fucking liquor fountain! Like a soda fountain, for liquor! Remind me to never skip a Helmsley party again, no matter the dweebishness of those attending.”

“We probably have one of those on the estate… I’ll find it later. I want to talk about Owen and Trixie more.” Victoria straightened herself up, and — in a shocking display of seriousness — sat aside her bowl of popcorn. This slight against a Lyon was a slight against herself, and Victoria would not stand for it. “Owen is a very handsome young man who comes from a very nice family. He made a big mistake cheating on Trixie, yes, but come on. Trixie’s attractive, but I don’t think she could do better than him. He spoiled her.”

“So you’re telling me, that if a boy who was, of average attractiveness, with serious anger issues, treated you well, and by well I mean he did what is expected of any boyfriend, but cheated on you with some floozy, you’d take him back? Trixie could have any boy she wanted. Breaking up with Owen was probably great for her. Who wants to be tied down to the same person for that long anyway,” Ivy argued. Plenty of people would shy away from confrontation with someone as powerful as Victoria, but Ivy had long ago decided that she didn’t give nearly enough fucks to hold her tongue.

“I don’t think Owen is of average attractiveness, and I don’t think he had serious anger issues before all this stuff happened, but let’s talk about Trixie for a moment. She could have any boy she wanted, sure, for a night. She was lucky to have Owen stay by her side as long as he did, but Trixie grew from a wide-eyed girl-next-door to a demon queen bitch over the course of their relationship. Not to mention, she’s always been a wild ball of emotions. If Owen’s got anger problems, then so does she. She can flip from happy to sad to ballistic at the drop of a coin. Nobody would date her for very long, not with the state she’s in.” Victoria paused, leaning forward as she wagged her finger at Ivy, “but no, you’re right. Based on her looks alone — because if you ask me, as far as relationship viability goes — yes. She could have any guy she wants.”

“I like Trixie as a person, but with how wrapped up she is with Hailey, and how often she flips her script, I don’t think she’s worth dating. I’m not even remotely surprised she scared Owen off. But I think, if she split off from Hailey, fixed herself, and talked to him… yes. Maybe they could get back together. I don’t know. By the way, on your last point, not everyone is like us. Some people enjoy having a relationship and a significant other to depend on.”

“Everyone’s wrapped up in Hailey, whether they like it or not,” Ivy said matter of factly. “There’s no maybe, they’ll be back together by prom, guaranteed, unfortunately. Boring if you ask me, but then again, no one ever does,” Ivy said with an exaggerated sigh. “Y’know what’s bullshit? Joy Darling probably isn’t even putting out! And Damian is a damn good lay! That’s a damn good lay, being wasted on someone who doesn’t even appreciate it! That’s like, buying up every Vera Wang and burning them. It’s just wrong!”

At this, Victoria clicked her tongue. She gave it a thought, before nodding her agreement. “Yeah, it’s kinda awful. Maybe Damian got bored of all of us DTF preppy, cheerleader-y, top of the ladder girls, and decided he wanted a girl he could mold and groom into what he wanted? I can’t think of any other reason. Maybe he threw a dart at a board with every girl in school on it. It’s mind blowing. Do you think it’ll last? If she doesn’t put out, maybe he’ll text you.”

“Oh I hope so, it’s been too long since me and Damian got together,” Ivy said wistfully. “It’s bound to fail. Poor girl isn’t cut out for this world. I bet you Cassie or Becca get a smidge too close and she snaps,” Ivy predicted, chuckling at the thought.

“I don’t think it’s gonna be Cassie, but I could see it being Becca. Cassie… Well, I have a feeling that Ophelia might have a little crush, so that’s kinda shot. We’ll see what happens though, maybe she can make it. She best put out, though, before it’s too late.” Victoria rolled her eyes, wondering how long Damian would be able to hold out before his primal urges got the best of him. If personal experience was anything to go off of, males could not last very long.

“Poor girl, she’s barely even gonna know what hit her. Hey, did you hear about Quincy and A Double? The cutest, if you ask me. That whole fiasco last year with her and Hailey was so uncalled for. I’m glad she’s got someone to sleep with now. Plus, A Double’s cute, in a fun skater way,” Ivy said, continuing the gossip train that seemed to constantly run when she and Victoria began talking.

“Yeah, I’m glad she found her own. Trying to be Hailey? That was never her thing, I hope she learned that. Now she’s in like… the softest group in the school, it’s gotta be comfy. And… yeah, I’d kiss him. And her. Both of them together, if I could. She found a home, and hopefully she like… doesn’t leave it. Dating the skating king sounds comfy. Can you think of anyone that just dislikes him?”

Ivy shrugged. “Not anyone that I know,” Ivy said. A Double and his crew were a unique bunch. They were practically untouchable, at least for now. Everyone knew that A Double gave away weed, plus Hailey liked him, which still meant something to most of the school. “Hey, Ellie, you know Jamie right? What’s up with him and AJ?”

“No idea,” Elliot said, not even bothering to look up from his task.

Ivy rolled her eyes and turned back to ViVi. “Rumor has it that Jamie and Riley were fooling around, which is beyond wild because I was under the impression that Riley didn’t like boys, but then I saw him and Marshall talking today at school, and not just talking but talking, y’know? And then AJ walks up and macks on him. So the question I have here is, who the hell is Jamie Callaghan screwing?”

“Jamie Callaghan? Whatever guy he can get his hands on, duh du jour.” Victoria replied, shaking her head. “Jamie’s obviously just a slut for dick. And Riley? Definitely likes boys — did you see the way he was stealing glances at Brian during the morning show? There was more miring there than I’ve ever seen in my life… Riley likes boys. Loves them even. He’s just not telling anyone. Also, Marshall deserves better than Jamie, so I hope he realizes that before he makes a huge, emotionally turbulent mistake that ends in him crying.”

Victoria paused, remembering another thing that had happened recently. “Hey, did you see that video of Owen beating up those guys who were punching Jamie out?”

“Yeah, unfortunately. Let the record state, I still don’t like Owen, but that was cool of him,” Ivy said, grimacing. Owen Lyon didn’t mesh well with Ivy, she’d always been clear about that much. “I like Jamie. He wrote a glowing review of my performance last year, and as we all know, I live for that kind of praise.” Ivy grinned. “Rumor has it Trevor Wells is talking to that Savannah girl. A shame. I would’ve given anything to take that boy’s V Card.”

“Oh, really? That's bummer, I was hoping you'd get it! Those muscle bound boys are so your style. Not mine really, but hey. Everyone has their type, and yours is definitely the kind of boy that can throw you against the wall! Just pointing out that Jamie's slimey, before we her get too far, glowing reviews or none.” Victoria had issue with the way Jamie sometimes meddled in other people's business, using the newspaper to cause breakups and other turmoil. It was pointlessly adding fuel to a bonfire — the students of BHHS create enough drama and havoc without the help of others. “What about Brynnie? Didn't she get leashed?”

Ivy laughed. “Yeah, and you won’t guess who did the leashing. Y’know the guy who macked on Owen at the Elite’s party? That’s Selena’s twin brother, and apparently he has a thing for everyone’s favorite little Candy,” Ivy explained, grinning at the absurdity of it all. BHHS was easy to mistake for a soap opera at times.

“Seriously? That's Sean Sterling? He didn't look like that last time I saw him… Well, good for him. Brynn knows what she's doing, so he'll never thirst again. I can't believe he kissed Owen though. You gotta admit, that takes balls.” Victoria let out a whistle, thinking back to the edition of the Weekend Warrior that had the Owen situation in it. Explosive.

Ivy paused for a moment, squinting at her phone. “Hey, do you know who…Min-Seo is? Apparently she and Henry checked into a room on the yacht together,” Ivy said, showing a picture to Victoria that showcased a sign in sheet, tweeted out by one of the many BHHS students.

Victoria tapped her chin, and had to think about it, before a light bulb went off in her head and she scrambled for her phone. She pulled up Henry's Instagram, and scrolled until she found a picture of Henry, Min-seo, and Parker. “This girl!” She said pointing at Min for Ivy’s benefit.

“Oh wow. Looks like Hailey and Henry aren’t so different after all.”

[LovelyComplex]

^{Shiloh, Honey, & Riley
Collab with @Silent Observer
Outside the boat → Bar → By a wall by the bar}

“Thanks, Uncle Coop!” Shiloh chirped from the backseat, giving the man one-armed half hug from behind the driver’s seat before hopping out of the vehicle. Cooper wasn’t actually her uncle by blood, but he was pretty darned close! Jax and Honey’s father is in the same band as her own dad, and Uncle Lenny. Mutiny of the Groove, ya dig? If you don’t dig, you should. Shi grew up idolizing her “uncles”, and when Jax and Honey moved to LA, she found in them the brother and sister that she had always wished she could have. Uncles, cousins, siblings, whatever you want to call them, Shi considered the Dalton’s family.

Now that she was out of the confines of the car, Shiloh spun around. The neon green and orange mesh tutu that she was wearing over a pair of equally neon blue fishnets fluffed out as she spun. Having already pregamed the party by dropping a little acid in the backseat of the car, Shi giggled at the pleasant bout of dizziness that overcame her from spinning. With specks and swirls of yellow glow paint on her cheeks and arms, and a purple glow stick necklace on, in addition to her wild outfit and bright pink hair, Shiloh looked like an entire neon rainbow. Hella gay and ready to partay!’

While Shiloh looked like herself, Honey was a new Honey for one night only! A masterpiece of her cousin. She still couldn’t get a read of how her dad felt about her looks — it didn’t help that he was wearing those stupid sunglasses. Dad, I know you’re high. Either way, everything she wore belonged to the rambunctious pink-haired girl that hopped out the car moments ago. Well, besides her black sports bra and her matching high ankle boots, but everything else: the holographic hoodie, the face paint, and the skirt with a train at the end and the universe throughout it, all belonged to Miss Shiloh Clay. “Daddyyyyyyyyy, I promise to be good! But you have to promise you’ll marathon musicals with me. I want a movie night!” Honey was not going to exit the passenger seat until her father complied.

“Don’t be good, you’ll still have your movie night.” Cooper widely yawned, having woken up from a nap just to take his girls to this Tuesday night boat party. Weird that it was on a Tuesday, but hey, maybe it had rock n’ roll vibes. Everyday's a party. He could get behind that. Turning his head to face his daughter, he gave a lazy smile, “I want you to have fun. Follow Shiloh’s lead and if J gives you hell, tell him I gave you permission. Let loose BUT, and this is a big but, don’t get pregnant.”

“Ha. Ha. You’re funny. I’M A VIRGIN!” Honey was happy with her father’s response. She had such a cool daddy. It sucked he missed her younger years, but he’s been doing an awesome job! He ate cereal with her before she went to school, even if he didn’t need to get up, and that’s all that truly mattered.

“...Try not to scream that at the party either. Now get going. I got to meet the boys and jam. We’re workin’ on our newest album. This old man's still kickin.” He shooed his ray of sunshine away.

“Fiiiiine. I love, love, love you!” Before Coop could reply with affection, his daughter was already out of the car. She had a party to go to! Huzzah!

“Are you ready to rave, sis? We’re going to have so much fun!!!” Shi said excitedly as she ran around the car and practically tackle-hugged Honey once she stepped out of the passenger’s side door. “Your paint looks good. We look great. Let’s show all these stuffy rich dumbfucks how to really party, yeah?”

“I look good because you made me look good! I’m an average Sally. But not tonight. Tonight I’m the UNIVERSE!” Honey Girl hooked her arm around her cousin.

“Never average! But yesss, you’re totally stardust, babes.” Shi replied with a grin as they made their way towards the dock.

This was beyond exciting. Honey couldn’t attend the New Years party, but lucky for her, a party was being thrown soon, super soon, after by the infamous triplets of BHHS. “Maybe, MAYBE, we’ll meet the Tony to our Maria, or our Sky to our Sophia or, or, or our Nicky to our Rod!” Her words came to a sudden halt, as she blinked slowly, coming to an abrupt realization. “Avenue Q was the first musical I could think of with gay themes... “ The first couple was from West Side Story, the second was from Mamma Mia! The last? Avenue Q, where Nicky and Rod are the roommates that don’t even end up together. Nicky just finds a guy named Ricky for Rod, that looks similar to him ‘I know your type’. “Bah-humbug! Let’s party.” Do note, Honey is not on acid, and was completely sober.

“Yes, let’s! What should we do first? Are you gonna drink?” A mischievous look flashed in Shiloh’s eyes and she nudged her elbow into Honey’s ribs playfully. “Or get high? I’ve got some extra tabs for yah, if you’re interested. Plus there’s bound to be more stuff at the party.”

“I get a contact high just by walking in the house, I’ll pass on that. But drinking. Drinking I’ll do. What you got, Shi-Shi?” The girl that reminded people of a summer day gave her bestie that oh-so-cute dimpled grin. It’s too bad they considered each other sisters. From a glance, they could totally pass as a lesbian couple.

“Ohhh, if you don’t wanna get spacey, you don’t want what I have.” Shi replied with a laugh. At least Honey was willing to loosen up enough to get crunk. Knowing the wealthiness of students throwing this bash, there were bound to be some fine spirits available. Shiloh might not like the majority of the rich pricks, but she was more than willing to mooch some of their bougie booze for a night of fun. “Okay then, first stop is the bar then! And after that… dancing! Or a game!” Shiloh only stopped talking long enough to sign her name at the entrance of the party.

You know who wasn’t drinking, or dancing, or playing a game? A boy that went by Riley Wells, who was dressed in god awful preppy clothes. He leaned against a wall by the bar ‘overseeing’ the party. He was like Ramona Flowers when Scott Pilgrim talked about Pac Man, just so he could pick her up. The only difference was there was no Pilgrim trying to pick him up — not like he cared, anyways. And not like he would want a boy to pick him up… a girl was fine too. Preferable!

Nothing about this place was peaceful. In all honesty, he was here to score brownie points with Brian but where the fuck was Brian? Maybe to look less out of place he should get a coke. Unfortunately for the coke, he was comfortable right here, by this wall, hidden by a mass of people. Perks of being a wallflower, no one cared to notice him. At least, that’s what he thought…

Now at the bar, Honey leaned against it, “Give me something yummy and dangerous. Shi, any recommendations?”

“Two zombies, please and thank you!” Shiloh ordered from the bartender when Honey asked for a recommendations. It was a dangerously sweet and heavy cocktail to order for someone that didn’t drink all that much, but Shi wasn’t one to be a responsible partygoer. Mommy and Daddy raised her wrong, blame them! “It’s got absinthe in it. You’ll like it. It’s sweet and pretty and tastes like summer.” Shiloh turned around and leaned her back against the bar as she scanned the crowd. An unexpected pair boarded the boat together, one that Shiloh paid particularly keen attention to. Shauna and Madison? That was a new development, one that she would have to ponder on further. “See anything you like out there?” Shi asked, turning her attention back to Honey with a smirk. Perhaps she’d make it a goal to get her sweet pea cousin some drunken lovins’ tonight. Wingwoman Shi, at your service!

“Sweet! Pretty! Summer! All things that I loveeeeee.” As they waited for their drinks, Honey turned her glowy body to face the crowd. However, as she turned, her eyes immediately caught sight of a lone wolf. “Aw, sad panda face… Let’s make him a happy banana!” Her blinding smile turned to a frown in an instant. “Riley is all by himself. Where is Trevor when he needs him?” Her original intention was to search for Roz, but seeing how… lonely… Riley looked broke her tender heart.

Shiloh followed Honey’s gaze to the lonely wallflower boy. “Riley? That’s your choice?” Shi parted her lips in a slight cringe and looked between Rye and Honey nervously. “You realize he… uh… I’m pretty sure he’s gay, babes. I don’t think there is much you could manage to do to reel that particular catch in. Given your parts, you know…”

“I don’t want to like marry him, Shiloh! I want to save the day and DUH. I can tell he’s into guys by the way he’s checking that butt over there.” Honey puffed her cheeks in defense and pointed to the rando with the nice rump. “I like happiness and if giving Riley a push makes him happy, I’m happy. OooOOoooh!” Hearing a ‘clank!’ behind them, Honey quickly turned around and grabbed her drink. Immediately afterwards, she held her zombie to her beloved friend, “Cheers to… glowin’ like there’s no tomorrow and being Riley’s super girls!!”

Shiloh gasped in realization. She was glad that she wouldn’t have to talk Honey out of trying to hit on a gay boy, but she was absolutely elated with the proposition Honey did have in mind. Shi didn’t necessarily have to be Honey’s wingwoman — she could be Riley’s! With Honey! What an idea! “Oh my god, yes. I love it! We should go over there and be like his neon fairy godmothers that help him find some super hot boy love!” Shiloh excitedly grabbed her drink and took a fast, hard gulp of it as she hooked elbows with Honey and began to stride over to Mr. Mopeypants.

Two unlikely girls approached him and without saying a word, Riley watched them expectantly. Not making the first move. His face obviously read: what do you want and leave me alone. The more time passed, the more he regretted coming here. This party was a drag. Nothing good came from a Tuesday night boat party. All he was doing to kill time was scrolling through Instagram and liking a few pictures from ModelModule’s page. Whoever this kid was built cool kits. He digged it. Rye was sober and had a long wait ahead of him.

Honey guzzled down half of her juicy-juice drink by the time she reached the great host of the morning show! With her dimple grin, immediately feeling the effects of the alcohol since she rarely drank, she broke all space between her and her friend-to-be. Popping (Pop!) all personal space. “RILEYYYYY! Rileyyyy Wells.” The social atmosphere, this Zombehhh, and her glowy shit made her giddy. Honey was slowly but surely allowing her primitive brain to take over.

There was obvious discomfort in his face, but the boy chose not to move. No, he was here first. Honey’s tumble of blonde curls tickled his nose, though. Too close for comfort. He hardly knew these girls. What did they even want? Don’t they have anything better to do like kiss each other or something? “What? He could hardly recognize the girl leaning on him, but he did know the other one. The girl with the pink hair. Shiloh Clay.

The cotton candy-haired girl sipped from the fruity cocktail in her hands. The buzz of everything was starting to catch up to her. Good. All according to plan. Content to let Honey do the introductions, she kept uncharacteristically quiet whilst she enjoyed her drink. Swallowing the nectar down, she finished it with a satisfied and audible ‘Ahh!’ “You look bored. We came to change that. Want a party favor?” She was, of course, referring to the acid tabs with winking cat faces on them stashed away in her purse, though she did not take them out just yet. “Unless of course you’re content to just look at butts all night, instead of possibly touching some.” Shi said with a knowing smirk.

“...even if I was looking at ass, that’s none of your business.” Lately, Riley couldn’t help but have his guard up and be extremely defensive. Although his expression was unreadable, he contemplated her words while the other girl excitedly chirped, “We’re not trying to be r-rudee!” Her bright smile turned to a frown in a matter of seconds. “We just want to see you smile. Smiless make errrrbody happeh.”

Behind all the drunk, Riley could see that they meant. Taking a deep sigh, deciding ‘fine’ he’ll try to enjoy himself, he glanced over to Shi and narrowed his eyes, ”Define party favor.”

“You were,” Shiloh said matter-of-factly to Riley, and then looked at her blonde companion. “And I’m kind of always rude, but the honest variety. Honesty is the best policy, and I think you should touch all the ass you want, I don’t judge.” Shi turned her attention back to Riley as she spoke, smiling bright. Rude she might be, but she had a good heart. A rebel with a cause — and that cause was to have a good time. For everyone to have a good time! Speaking of, she reached for her bag and went to fish out the plastic baggie full of little papery tabs. “Wait, before I truly offer… very important question! Do you like kitties?”

“Cats are okay. Bro is allergic to them... so I lean more towards dogs. My dog, specifically.” Rye shrugged, not really grasping why his interest in cats mattered. Honey released him and turned her attention to the party as Shi did her fairy dust magic to save Riley’s day. She was distracted.

Shiloh pursed her lips, as if she was deep in thought. Pondering it for a moment, she shrugged. “Good enough, I guess.” Shi produced the baggie and pinched it open. Plucking out a tab, she proudly displayed the deceptively adorable drug. This particular piece had a winking kitty face with its tongue sticking out, like a phone emoji. “Cute, huh? Say ahhhh!” Shi asked before sticking her own long tongue out in demonstration.

Hesitantly, Riley opened his mouth. He was probably an odd teenager. Most teens would just say fuck it. YOLO. And yet, here he was with a stick up his ass. Neither of them realized during this exchange a Honey Girl disappeared. “I’m not going to die, am I?” Okay, he wasn’t dumb (sorta) in the realms of drugs. His pops was exposed to drugs for most of his music career, but his dad made sure that him and Trev stayed pure and innocent. For as long as he could keep it that way. Man, this moment would probably be the biggest mistake of his life. But honestly? He did have a stick up his ass and he did want the confidence to touch an ass. The only drug he ever tried was weed and that sure as hell wouldn’t boost him up enough to flirt some random… person. Never in his life did he touch kitty drugs before. What could go wrong?

Shiloh giggled when Riley joined her in opening his mouth. She poked the tab onto his tongue with a slender finger and grinned. “You’re more fun than I expected, wallflower. Hope you’re ready to taste colors and see sounds. Such fun!” Shi returned the plastic bag to her purse after wiping her hand off on her tutu. There might be boy spit on her finger. Totally gross. It was then that she noticed that her partner in crime was no longer at her side. “Oh no! I appear to have lost my fellow fairy!”

“I can be okay, sometimes…” Riley contemplated the substance in his mouth while it dissolved. “Shouldn’t you go find her? Hopefully your candy does the trick.” He paused and started shifting to the right, away from the girl. “I think your work here is done? Unless you actually want me to smile like the other fairy wanted me to. I’ll make sure to, uh, take a picture or something.” Shoo, Shi.

“No!” She said quickly. Shiloh’s eyes widened suddenly. She turned to Riley, grabbed his arms just below the shoulder on both sides, and looked deep into his eyes. So deep. Like she was about to admit to him an intimate, dark secret. Or explain the meaning of life. Or… or give him some sound, reasonable advice (probably not). Shi dropped her voice to a low, eerie whisper. “Go touch the butt!” She said and then turned on her heel to go find Honey-girl in the crowds, leaving Riley in the dust.

[smarty0114]

^{Rose, Wyatt, & True
Collab with @Lovely Complex
Dining area → On the deck somewhere}

Originally, Ilyana Powers, not dressed to impress, but dressed comfortably and still appealing enough for a boat party, was going to get snacks in the dining area. She stopped in her tracks when she saw two faces, one extremely familiar one and the other not so much. Both eating alone, together. With Wyatt close behind, she turned around and stopped him while he was ahead, “I lost my appetite, actually. Want to… check out the water?” Not giving him enough time to deny or accept, she led the charge to the deck. Far away from the lovebirds eating. Pulling out of her jean pocket her mother’s pendant, with swarovski crystals, a hand painted dream drop, and a clock suited for fantasy regality, Rose absentmindely circlued her right thumb on the emerald.

Unbeknownst to the two platonically close friends, which could be easily misunderstood for lovers, Truly Bliss was keeping a close eye on them and following their tracks, a few steps behind. When they ended up not going into the dining room, True poked her head to see Henry and his Asian girl stand up to go to the dance floor, since there was a shift in music due to the DJ going on break. There was a girl that stalked his trail too, like she was stalking Wyatt! That meant what she was doing was completely normal. For a moment, she thought about her and Wyatt dancing slowly on the dance floor and she leaned against the arch of the dining area with stars in her eyes. He was so dreamy even in her fantasies.

What are you doing?!

Shaking her head, snapping back to reality, she hurriedly turned around and scurried to follow the distant couple. All the while hoping that the sight was a lie. That the eye-catching blonde, who wasn’t afraid to beat to her own drum, be herself, which made her strikingly charismatic, was her fiance’s girlfriend! When they came to a sudden stop, True dived under the beer pong table — unnoticed, like a ninja. Their shoes were still in sight. Crawling under the table, she noticed a girl’s purse was placed close to her feet, by the leg of the table. Curious, True rummaged through the girl’s purse to find liquid eyeliner and napkins. A metaphorical light bulb appeared over head. Claiming these items for her own use, she crawled out from under the table, stood up, surprising the drunk people playing the game, and gave a quick reminder, “Chickadee, remember your purse is under that table,” before skipping off.

THEY WERE OUTSIDE NOW.

Wyatt had been to his fair share of parties in the last few years. Parties in houses, in warehouses, on the beach, in clubs, but this was his first party, on a yacht. The music, the colors, the drugs, everything was insane. Wyatt was already high, but he was already down to try more. Led away from the snack table by Rose, he followed her to the railing, where they stood and looked out over the ocean, a mesmerizing view for Wyatt. “Y’know, say what you will about the Helmsleys, but they know how to party,” Wyatt said, looking over at Rose.

“Yeah, you right.” Rose looked down the railing to watch the water's current. Her mind was distant, still harboring over a topic that should’ve left her mind a long time ago. She felt the urge to take action, but she didn’t know in what way. All she knew was she needed to do something or this would eat her alive. “My fam throws better bangs, though.” The Powers’ & The Bishops’ party extravaganza was in simple terms: a bunch of daredevils being reckless and stupid, getting high off thrills.

And, well, actually being high.

Tiptoeing her way to the couple, True glanced at her letter that she made with the mascara and a single napkin: You are heavenly. Go out with me? Your not-so-secret admirer. XOXO The not-so-secret part made sense to her since they were destined to be together and he did know her. Her love for him was NOT a secret. Using people as hiding places, she continued to get closer and closer, until finally, she was behind them as they enjoyed the scenery. Biting her bottom lip, the freshman slowly, very slowly, slipped the note in Wyatt’s butt pocket.

Oh my god, she touched the butt! Her heart raced when she noticed Rose’s head turn. DOOM. Quick, escape. Like a bat out of hell, she turned around booking it, having not secured her note in Wyatt’s pocket. ANOTHER DOOM.

Rose caught a glimpse of red hair bouncing off, but did not think much of it. What did intrigue her was the note falling, like a feather, from her friend’s ass to the floor. “Wyatt?” She kneeled down and picked up the napkin. Being noisy, she quickly scanned the note, which looked creepy, as if it was written by a murderer, due to the smudge of the mascara, “You pooped out a note.”

Wyatt looked over at Rose and the note she was holding, a look of confusion on his face. That couldn’t be his, right? He took the note from Rose and scanned it, a few times before he finally comprehended it. He had a secret admirer? Or as she had put it, a “not-so-secret” admirer. Who the hell could that be? Wyatt looked up at Rose, his mouth hanging open in confusion. “Yo, this is wild! I have a secret admirer!” Wyatt exclaimed.

“Who would’ve thunk?” Rose teased her oblivious friend. Tapping her finger on her chin, her eyes glinted with curiosity, “Do you have any ideas of who it might be? She, or he, said ‘not-so-secret’ so you must know them." Rose was drawing a blank. The people she could immediately think of were their immediate friend group, but no one was available besides.... “Oh! What about that girl? Gabby? Though, I could’ve sworn she was into Riff-Raff.”

Wyatt stood for a moment, face scrunched up in thought. “I didn’t think Gabby was into me, and plus she went with Raf to Dreamland tonight. Nah, it’s gotta be someone else.” Wyatt said, racking his brain for a clue to the possible identity of this mysterious somebody. “Hey who’s that freshman, with like the red hair? Really chipper?” Wyatt asked, recalling a certain incident from earlier that day. Could that freshman be the secret somebody?

“Uhhh.” Brain fart. Who was the freshman with short red hair? Rose had the face but not the name. “I couldn’t tell you, man. For some reason I feel like she knows Damian, but I could be making shit up.” Problems with being… not sober. “Maybe she’s at this party? Maybe you can ask?”

OH MY GOD, NO! They were onto her. True was not ready to face her one and only love! She had to retreat. Save a better confession for another day. Nope, nope, nope. Turning on her heel, she scurried back into the party. RUN AWAY!

“I think I just saw her.” Rose rubbed her eyes and watched a lone girl prance into the boat. “Or I’m seeing shit. Could be both. Wait a tic.” Rose narrowed her eyes, turned her head toward her friend, and locked her gaze with his, “Why was she the one you thought of???? Out of all the people you could’ve talked to, you thought of a tiny freshman you just met, like today? Don’t even know her name. Dude, this school is BIG. I doubt it’s her.”

“She said I had a pretty face earlier. And I mean, I guess I do have a pretty face, I mean I haven’t thought about it much but like it’s a good face, and so maybe she was just stating a fact, OR, she wants to like, I don’t know, make out and shit,” Wyatt said, barely even pausing to breathe. He was excited, and he had a habit of speaking far too fast when he was excited. He pulled a pre-rolled joint from his jacket pocket and lit the end, inhaling deeply before blowing out a large cloud of smoke. “The problem is, I can’t remember her name! She had a friend, though, one who was like deaf or mute or something. Bambi? Fuck, I can’t remember her name either,” Wyatt said, letting out a frustrated groan before taking another hit from the joint.

“Oh man, I think I know who you’re talking about. Freckle-faced, looks like she hasn’t eaten for days. What was her name?” After he had his hit, Rose took it upon herself to take his joint from his hand and huff in the smoke. Slowly releasing it, her mind sidetracked to a different topic, “Speaking of making out, I think I’m gonna’ try it. Tonight. See if it’s actually fun like you said. I’ve only done it one time and that’s not enough to really know how I feel about it. You dig?” She offered his joint back.

Wyatt nodded in agreement. “I recommend it. Making out is one of the few true pleasures on this earth. Right next to cinnamon waffles,” Wyatt mused, taking another puff from the joint and passing it back to Rose. Suddenly, Wyatt’s eyes went wide, the look of a sudden and important realization. “TRULY BLISS! That’s the name of the girl! The one that said the thing about my face!”

Dumbly blinking, Rose’s lips went agap before she let out a chuckle, “What a hippie name.” Makes sense why she couldn’t think of her. She only knew that girl in the form of ‘Damian’s kid sister’. “I mean, she has a point. You do have a good looking face. Wait, why were we trying to think about her again?” The creepy note was no longer on the blonde’s mind.

Wyatt held the note up, waving it around. “The note, Rose! Who wrote the note?! I’ll tell you who! Truly Bliss! I do not know how to feel!” Wyatt said, his excitement palpable. He wasn’t quite sure how to handle most of this, but damn it he’d do it like he always did. Recklessly and without a plan.

Snatching the note from him, Rose turned it around and put it inches away from his face, “YOU HAVE NO PROOF.” He did not! How did he know this freshman wrote a creepy love note?! “It looks like a serial killer wrote it!” Rose was NOT convinced. Not because she didn’t think anyone liked Wyatt, someone did, but it didn’t add up that this random girl, who, sure, yeah, complimented him earlier, gained the courage to scribble a hardly readable note, professing her love. “Prove it.”

“Okay then, I will!” Wyatt shouted, taking one, long hit from the joint before handing it to Rose for good. It was okay, he had more in his pockets. “I’m gonna find her, I’m gonna show her the note, and then we’re probably gonna like make out or something. I don’t know what you do after that part, but it’ll be cool! Probably! I’m still a bit confused!” Wyatt exclaimed, before running off into the crowd of people, hell bent on finding one particular redhead.

Rose too needed to find someone. As she watched Wyatt run off, she took another hit before flicking the joint on the ground and killing the burn with her shoe.

“DON'T SCARE THE LITTLE THING!" Rose quickly called out before he went into the depths of the party. Alone now, she tapped her pant's pocket which held the pendent.

Uh, what was it she wanted to do?

[Hey Im Jordan]

_{@Silent Observer @smarty0114 @Universorum
Featuring: Noah “Distillery” Nichols, Cassandra “Your Hair is Better in Person!” Clark, JD “Why Yes It Is” Piccoli, Scott “GET OFF MY DICK” Lyon, and Katie “I WOULD NEVER GET ON IT” Callaghan
Location: Just… follow the screams.}

---

---

By this point in the night, Noah and Cassie were far past drunk. They were sloshed. The bottle of Smirnoff had given it’s last drop to the duo only moments before, who’d spent the last hour or so drinking, crying, and laughing. Typical drunk person activities. For Noah, though, this was all new. His head felt heavy, and his stomach was churning, but that didn’t stop him from climbing on top of the railing, which was the only thing protecting him from the cold ocean below. “I’m the king of the world!” he shouted, his words slurred, as Cassie giggled and cheered behind him, her face flushed red from all of the liquor.

Scott’s luck had seemed to run out. First, he’d ran into Katie. That, of course, had went brilliantly. Then, he’d went to the food table, and found that his favorite kind of pie was either not there, or completely eaten. Both were equally sinful. And then, he ran into Cassie and Noah. Holding his massive plates of food in either hand, he stared at the pair of them, both obviously very drunk, and Scott Lyon put his foot down.

“You guys can’t drink no more tonight! Ya’all need to get away from the edge of the boat before your drunk asses tumble into the ocean and die a shitty death! Go on, ya rat bastards, get! I gotta eat.” Scott hissed, waving around the plate of pie.

Cassie looked over at Scott, and rolled her eyes. “We were here first, Scotty! Find somewhere else to be mopey,” she teased, as Noah laughed from his perch on the railing, teetering slightly, and laughing even harder. “Me and my new friend were having a lovely conversation. Didn’t your mom teach you not to interrupt?”

“First off, don’t call me Scotty, that’s for special people. Secondly, I’m not here to mope, I’m here to eat my pie and enjoy my night for the first time. Noah, get down from there!” Scott barked, stepping forward and setting down one of his plates before he wrapped an arm around Noah’s waist and pulled him off of the railing, sitting him down on the floor. “You gotta be careful, dude, Katie would bitch at me for like 18 hours, that harpy, goddammit.”

Noah, having been relocated to the floor, was now pouting, his arms crossed and his head down. Cassie on the other hand was glaring at Scott. “Scott! I can’t believe you just assaulted my friend!” she screamed, her tone rife with disgust.

“Or she could bitch at me anyway.”

Before the situation escalated past a point of no return, one blonde actress and her green-haired friend rounded the corner. Katie’s face screwed up in confusion for a moment, and turned to anger the moment she processed that Scott was there. “Of course you’re here!” she complained, shoving past him and over to Noah, who was still pouting on the floor.

“Well… that was easier than expected.” Dixon said quietly from beside Katie. Finding Bible Dude didn’t turn out to be that hard of a task. Before him, he recognized Noah who, for whatever reason, was sitting on the ground. There was also some random drunk chick with Noah. Scott was here too, which was probably going to go swimmingly now that he and Katie were within ten feet of each other again. JD took in a preparatory breath and waited for the explosions.

“Jesus, Noah, how much did you drink? You smell like a fucking distillery!” Katie said, crouching beside him and wrinkling her nose at the aggressive scent of vodka

“Don’t woooooory! It was only a lot!” Noah said, giggling like a middle schooler, much to Katie’s chagrin. She stood back up and glared at Scott and Cassie. “I’m guessing you assholes got him trashed? This is so fucking like you, Scott! Immature, and reckless!”

“ME!? Why the fuck you THINK I did it? I don’t even care about him! Besides, I wouldn’t assault him either, he’s a PUSSY! I don’t beat up people who can’t fight for themselves, goddammit. I’ll have you know that I pulled him down from the ledge before he fell into the ocean and died! What is your problem, bitch?” Scott yelled, shooting a look at Katie. This fucking bitch, no matter what he did, she went ballistic on him!

“Dude, don’t call him a pussy. It’s not his fault that you hate Katie.” Dixon said to Scott, squinting at him disapprovingly. He briefly glanced down at the rather pathetic looking boy. Maybe he was a pussy, but he didn’t deserve to be called that just because Scott was riled up. “You two should just hate fuck and give the rest of us a break.” He said grumpily, looking from Scott to Katie.

Katie could feel her heart beating faster and faster, her stomach doing flips. Why did Scott make her feel so...unhinged? It didn’t matter. This wasn’t the time for deep personal insights. “First off, don’t call me a bitch and second off, Dixon, I would never fuck Scott,” Katie said, shooting a glare over at her friend. “I don’t believe in beastiality,” Katie said, her eyebrows raising as she dared Scott to continue their verbal duel, then turning to pick Noah up off the ground.

“Whatever you say…” Dixon said under his breath. He put his hands in the pockets of his hoodie uncomfortable. Maybe he should get Bible Dude out of the crossfire and leave the lovebirds to do their thing.

“Listen up, you fucker. Just because you don’t like me doesn’t make me a goddamn animal! I’ll have you know I have friends that actually like me and aren’t just bullied into submission like Noah over there is. Yeah, that was fucked up the way you treated him earlier, dude! You turned the fire straight onto him, because you can’t control yourself!” Scott snapped, half ready to throw something at her, already. Why did this always happen? And why couldn’t he just walk away from her?

Katie turned to face Scott again, falling right back into the familiar rhythm of their constant back and forth. “Yeah? And where are those friends right now Scott? Cause I don’t see any!”

“They’re off living their own lives because I can handle not being the center of attention for most of my life, you goddamn spotlight whore! I can’t even eat my fuckin’ pie in peace because you heatseeker’d toward me, and blew a goddamn gasket, so now we’re just BACK AT IT AGAIN! I hate you more than I hate ANYTHING.”

As their screaming escalated, Cassie sidled over to Dixon. Leaning over, she whispered in the boy’s ear, a simple question. “_{Are they always like this?}”

“Yes.” He responded equally as simply to her. JD did a double take and realized who the drunken girl was. She was one of the populars. The hot girls plus Marshall that called themselves something stupid. Sweeties? He couldn’t exactly remember it. “Uhh, Cassie, right? I’m JD.”

Cassie grinned. “Yep, that’s me! I like your hair! Noah did not do it justice,” she said with a giggle.

Meanwhile, Katie and Scott were still going at it, their voices tearing through the muffled music and the sea below. “I am so not an attention whore! It’s not my fault people think I’m better than you at everything!”

“Like fuck you ain’t! All you ever do is try to get people to pay attention to you, since they can’t differentiate you from Shauna, or separate you from your older brother in their heads. You’re replaceable! Interchangeable! You’re IRRELEVANT!”

Dixon looked surprised, he even made eye contact with Cassie for confirmation. Noah didn’t do it justice? As in, Noah was talking about him? JD chewed at his lip ring nervously. “Do it justice? ...uhh, thanks.” He said and looked away from her quickly, his eyes flicking back to the drunk boy who Katie had gotten distracted from helping up. Dixon walked over and offered Noah a hand. “C’mon, we should probably… go. Or watch from afar. Do something that’s not standing here, at least.” JD said quietly.

Cassie looked over at the two boys, and smiled, before tapping JD on the shoulder and gesturing for him to follow, quietly removing herself from the volatility of Katie and Scott.

“Go to hell, Scott!” Katie shouted, not even noticing the others vacating the premises. “You’re an arrogant brat, no more, no less!”

“Oh, shut up, you dumb cunt!”

Oof, mom told him never to say that.

That was it. The metaphorical straw that broke the metaphorical camel’s back. Katie ran at Scott, like a bat outta hell, only for Scott to step out of the way, and for Katie to take a trip. A trip into the cold waters that waited below.

“...son of a bitch.”

Without even a second of hesitation, Scott ripped his jacket off and dove after her before she even hit the water.

[LovelyComplex]

In a seedy place not suited for her stature, Pleasant Holiday Inn, Cecily Helmsley-Lovelace sat up from the creaky bed in nothing but a sheet to cover her body. Beside her was a sleeping beauty, a sexy piece of chocolate, that she had wooed the past couple of hours and taken on a magic carpet ride. Her name was unimportant, there was no need for attachment. How she obtained her didn't matter either, because here she was, lying sound asleep on this godforsaken bed.

Their time together would truly be forgettable.

She adored this game. The game where she tallied up her lovers to show how much of a boss she was. Honestly, boys and girls alike were not a challenge at all. Offer them a good time, flaunting what you have — money, looks, talent — and it was easy as 1, 2, 3. Quietly, she grabbed her phone and went to the Snapchat app. With agile movement, she got as close as she could with her most recent lover and took a selfie. Her face looked absolutely flawless, even after sex. Without a doubt, she was the true goddess of the night. She stared at the picture, pleasantly sighing with pretentious relief. Her expression was on point and mmmm, she looked hot when she bit her finger. Why was she so blessed at being amazing?

In a matter of seconds, she sent it to her dear friend. Glancing over to the 'innocent' thing next to her, her lips curved into a mischievous, lady-like smile. It was time for her to leave.

Do know world. She was back in America, but she chose to hold off on her 'debut'. Keep her friends, especially her lovely Ophelia, on the edge of her seat. Jacob, that foolish, naive boy, a hot-headed bully she's known for years, had freaked out during New Years. He left countless voicemails. She purposely ignored him because it was fun and she knew how bad he wanted her. Simple man, just like his father. Her mother never did like the Farweights. The one thing she could appreciate was how well he kept her updated. Such a puppy. Oh how she loved puppies.

After he told her all the happenings, everything falling apart, the kingdom of Candyland at stake, she absolutely had to come back. Unfortunately, the day she decided it was time to strut down the halls, Mina, that doll of a girl, sent her a link to Becca's newest Instagram post. Ugh. Her cousins were insufferable, making such a dramatic entrance and returning from their busy schedules just when she was going to do the same — how annoying.

"I wonder."

---

---

^{AJ & Bailee @melissahart}

Keeping a close eye on Bailee, who was getting them more drinks, he should seriously cut her off, AJ felt his phone vibrate. Quickly, not wanting to lose sight of his friend, he took his phone out to see a snap from... oh god. Cece. Your tit is hanging out. Before he could respond 'lewd' or something stupid, she called him. Was it worth picking up?

Well, if he didn't, it would be his head. Something about Helmsley women. They were the worst. Nothing he did ever satisfied them. In other news, it was fucking loud in this piece, but Cece would have to make due with that because he was NOT going to lose Bails. "What do you want?!"

"I can see you're enjoying yourself. I won't take too much of your 'fun' time. Do you hear me well enough or is the music making you death?"

"Barely, but I'll manage. So, what's up?" AJ furrowed his eyebrows. Cece wanted something. She always wanted something.

"I'm sure you saw that absolutely scrumptious piece of cake I snapped you. It definitely fed my appetite."

"Yeah and seeing your tit was gross. Why do your pictures got to be so vulgar?" AJ tapped his foot, impatiently.

"The more detailed I am, the more you'll believe I'm winning. What's this I hear about you kissing Jamie in the halls? Y'know he doesn't count in our little game of... charades. You've already fucked him plenty. You're not losing your touch, are you? The last person you showed me was that band dweeb from New Years, who had a crush on you since sixth grade. Really, A? And before that, you hadn't had sex with anyone new since like the Mallory scandal." The Mallory scandal involved a girl named Mallory, who was having an affair with one of the math teachers, for extra credit. You can say neither the girl or the teacher go to BHHS anymore.

"I'm not losing my touch, Cee. I've just been preoccupied. Fixing up a new car. Not everything is about sex." Okay, yeah. He was losing his touch, but who could blame him? He actually loved Jamie. That fucker. And then he agreed to this stupid game because he was depressed and sex gave him a temporary high.

"It is when your favorite car becomes mine." That little bitch. "Call it quits? Or are you going to sleep with someone soon? Let's say, by tomorrow." What the fuck!? "You are at a party. I'm sure you can get Brynn to play around with your dick." About that...

"For your information, I do have someone!" Oh fuck, AJ what are you doing?!

"Oh, you do? Who? Do I know her?" Cecily's intrigued voice irked the shit out of him.

"Actually, yes. You do. It's your cousin. Bailee. Yeah, she's going to be my next one. Just you watch."

A giggle slipped out of the other line. A giggle of disbelief, "You know the rules. Prove it."

"I WILL! Here check your snap." Quickly, he took out his phone and went to Bailee, who was walking toward him with this giant ass scorpion drink, meant for five people. Was she bat shit? Going next to her, he put his arms around her and directed her to his phone's camera, "Smile, Bails. Cece doesn't believe you can party."

Bailee giggled, oblivious to the conversation that AJ just had, and took a sip of the incredibly large drink she was holding courtesy of the bartender. Mmm yummy! Leaning into AJ for support, she directed her eyes to the phone... well, as much as she could in her inebriated state. Another laugh escaped her lips, "Oh yeah, Cece? Well AJ and I have been going shot for shot, so you better believe I can party!" Looking over at the brown haired boy, she motioned to the drink. "Half of this is for you, you know. Unless you don't drink it, and in that case, it means I win!" Bailee stated, referring to his earlier comment of keeping up with him.

Snap! "Okay, Cee. I'm done with you. Bye."

"Have fun, you two~" That horrid, devious laugh of her's came out again, as he hung up. She didn't believe he'd succeed...

Fuckin' bets. He was dumb.