[IC] Contracted

[22ice22]

Amusement. That was the one word that described Søren's emotions, after witnessing the reaction of the other Harbingers when he announced he would begrudgingly pack parts of the drum set in to the studio. True, even he realized how odd this was, but today's practice was important to EP production, which once done meant Søren could spread their name easier. After all spreading anything's name is easier when you actually have product to move. Though mind you there was a small part of his mind that screamed complaints at him for volunteering his help, and there was another moderately larger section trying to convince in to telling the rest of the band that he had merely been joking, just so that he could watch them regain some form of comfort. For the most part they all appeared thrown by it, the least shocked looking member was Lucy, yet even she had a small initial reaction to it. However, the rest of his mind was still the majority, thus the ruling stood.

With Søren's assistance it took a little less time for them to set up. In fact if he had to bet Søren would probably say it was the fastest they have ever set up for practice. Though the chances of it being repeated or beaten were low, after all he now remembered why he refused in the first place. It sucked.

---

With everything packed in and everyone hooked up and ready to go practice started.
As Søren's fingers began to melodically meld with Nete he could fill the world's usual clamorous sounds die away, only to be replaced by the wondrous world created by The Harbingers. He couldn't tell where he stopped and the music began, on fact he couldn't pick out anyone. As individuals they were musicians, but together as a band they were more. What they were Søren didn't know how to describe, it would be like trying to describe a painting in full to a man who had never known sight; always lacking.

---

Practice was over, the kit was packed up again and Søren was still riding the euphoric high of playing as a band. The entire time that Parker had been securing all the pieces of set into the back of the van Søren had been bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet to an inaudible beat. He was waiting quite contently for what he knew would probably follow Parker's completion of strapping everything down, the almost inevitable questioning of everyone's plans. So, watching as Parker wrapped up Søren bounced patiently and.... Boom! There it was. Allowing the other two Harbingers to answer first Søren spent the time pretending to labor over his choices for evening activities. Eventually though he did reply, "Well Matt to answer your question and Parker's, I think that my ride ultimately controls my destination unless I felt like walking back to the apartment" shudders and then continues, " I have little say in the matter. However, though food, food sounds like an amazing idea." Spinning in a quick circle the ball of his foot he added in a bright cheery tone. "Also before anyone ask where, I am good with anything as long as I can eat it!"

[Orchestratic]

As they frequently did, Parker's eyes lingered on their vibrant guitarist. It worried him that she hadn't eaten all day, granted he hadn't eaten much either.. but that's what worried him. Parker's reasoning lied in keeping his stomach empty so as to not dilute the effects of pills. He trusted that Lucy had been staying clean, though, so he tried to relax... but he knew it wasn't his business so kept quiet about it. As the others spoke, Lucy climbed into the van and relaxed, following through with a sigh, though the sigh seemed to be caused by something else. Again, he worried, but he worried even more she wouldn't want him to inquire about it. Would it send the wrong message? Would it be intrusive? Both were best to avoid, and so he simply remained silent and continued to bask in the buzz left over from his high, idly and thoughtlessly settling in closer to Lucy by just a tad.

"Alrighty then," Parker chimed back in as he looked between the two guys. "Let's go get some Chinese; there is a buffet around the corner that's open pretty late." Parker yawned through his suggestion, realizing now that he shouldn't be driving in this state -- he wasn't going to endanger his friends. "Unless there are any objections, Matt why don't you just ride with us? It's just a block or so away so we can swing back by for your beastly ride," he teased the vocalist, referring to his moped. "In fact, can you drive us? The Matt-mobile can wait." Parker didn't often entertain the idea anyone else driving Jill, but he trusted these three with more than just his van. The drummer yawned again, shaking his head lightly but quickly rubbing his eyes to sell his 'sleepy' act. "At least someone else drive -- I'm beat, and would like to stay right here." As the words came out, he wondered what really fueled them: The desire stay near Lucy seemed like a pretty likely candidate. He eyed her out of the corner of his field of vision, selfishly hoping she wouldn't volunteer to drive them. It felt petty, wanting to sit next to her on the short ride to eat -- like they were children.Although sometimes their company made the two of them act more like children then he cared to admit, however amusing it seemed at times.

[Briza]

Lucy raised her eye brows at the sound of Chinese food. God, she was hungry. It wasn't like she purposely had not eaten, she had just carelessly slept the day away after coming home from work. Sleep seemed so much more important. .

"At least someone else drive -- I'm beat, and would like to stay right here."

There was no way Lucy was driving. She couldn't remember the last time she drove. She never was really good at it. . She opted for women's rights all the time, but she rarely used them unless it came to sex, but that was a whole other road she wasn't going to let her mind venture down tonight. She did ever so often alone in her motel room -- why suffer through the failed orgasm, now?

"Chinese sounds great!" She said, lifting her head and giving a thumbs-up sign. She ignored Parker's questions, because there was no way she was going to drive, and making an objection that she didn't want to drive would just sound whiny especially coming from a girl. Lucy never wanted herself to become the whiny female that nagged at her bandmates' ears. "And Matt should come with us, no questions asked." She made a small laugh, nothing big, hardly noticeable. It just made more sense for the four of them to ride together after such an amazing practice.

[22ice22]

At the mention of Chinese food Søren could feel his stomach rumble, oh delicious, delicious Asian cuisine. In all honesty he wasn't really hungry, but hey hanging with the others was almost always worth it, and as he had told Matt he had no intentions of walking back to the apartment. Upon Parker inviting Matt to ride along in the van, Søren clambered into the back of Jill to remove Nete from her previous resting place so as to make room for the fourth party member. As he arranged his beautiful bass into the most safe and secure position, strapped to a wall with as many free straps he could get to fit around the guitar case, he heard Parker trying to requisition one of the three other Harbingers as the driver.

Normally Søren didn't mind being escorted about by others, but as he had never been given the opportunity to drive Jill before he decided now was a good a chance as any."I'll drive," Søren voiced loudly from the back of the van. "After all Matt is only going to be with us on the way there and then back to here to pick his ride." Continuing to speak he climbed out the back of Jill and walked around to where Parker sat, "Which means either Lucy or I would have to drive to her apartment, and then if you still didn't wish to drive I'd have to drive the apartment. Soooo...? Logic, right?" Having finished his what appeared to be logical at argument, or at least as logical as he had ever been by normal standards, Søren stretched his hand out towards Parker, ready to receive the keys to Jill.

[RawrEspada4]

Taking another swig of water to ease the soreness of his tired throat Matt replied "Chinese sounds good to me, and I'll ride along but I need to pick my ride up afterwards," Standing back up from where he had been leaning against the van he looked at Parker and Luce and continued "Although if Søren's driving I'm calling shotgun." With that being said Matt walked around to the passenger door and hopped in. Immediately his attention went back to his phone, missed emails along with facebook and twitter notifications beckoned his attention. The majority of the time it wasn't anything that he cared about but he did email subscriptions to most of the venues around town and his facebook and twitter were loaded with other people from the local scene and it was these that he most look forward to. Going through the email there wasn't much there that caught his attention except for a reminder that Atreyu had a show at Chain Reaction, Matt again made himself a mental reminder to look into tickets. After all Atreyu were legends fresh off a 5 year hiatus. Other than the Atreyu reminder nothing in the email interested him, most of it were digital flyers for local shows, some of which he thought he may go to others he had no interest in. Looking through his emails and notifications he failed to notice Søren get in and start the van or to notice any awkwardness that may or may not have existed between Lucey or Parker.

[Briza]

Lucy was relieved when Søren spoke up about driving.

"Thanks for drivin', Søren," she gave him a grin, "I really did not want to drive," she patted her guitar case, as if it was a dog, obediently staying in her lap. It was a slightly nervous pat, as she was trying to distract herself from the obvious -- Parker.

She felt her heart flutter at the thought of Parker sitting next to her. How old was she, again? She felt like an elementary school girl. Maybe it was true -- a part of her stopped aging the moment she received her first guitar. Her face did not tighten or change expressions, but she was feeling a little low from realizing how touchy she had been this evening. It was only Parker. She joined the band for her love of music, not for Parker. And that was the truth. There was nothing more to it. Or maybe, it was close to her time of the month. She should not so hormonal.

[Orchestratic]

Eying his best friend critically, Parker didn't respond or move when prompted for the keys. He couldn't remember if Søren had ever driven his beloved van, but Parker knew his best friend was competent enough to be a good driver and he wanted to trust him; besides, no matter how bad of a driver he was, there was still a very good chance he would be a safer bet than Parker in his current state, and that was enough. After about twenty seconds, Parker relented and dug the keys from his pocket and placed them in Søren's extended and open hand, but didn't let go right away. "Alright, fine. But you know how much she means to me, so understand that if you wreck her, I wreck you; dead or alive." He laughed through the threat and let go, leaning back in seat again next to Lucy. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath, settling in his buzz before opening them again and looking over to Lucy. His instincts told him to smile but he was too slow in listening to his brain at the moment, so he moved his gaze away before she looked back, quickly closing his eyes again and attempting to relax, and cursing himself for his idiocy.

---

"How many?" the tall, thin man behind the counter asked the group when they came in, his words heavily laced with his foreign identity. The restaurant was a small place tucked behind a strip mall, and called 'The Great Wall'. Parker had eaten here many times, often with Søren, and he was excited to dive back into the heaven that was their black pepper chicken. "Four," Parker responded, and they were lead to a small booth in the far back of the eatery. Parker instantly claimed a seat against the wall, knowing he'd probably need to rest his head against it soon. When asked about their drink preference, Parker eagerly requested the root beer he'd been craving all day and waited for everyone else to finish ordering before turning toward the food, now willing to eat. Before moving toward the buffet, he turned to his best friend and patted him on the shoulder. "Good job not killing us. I appreciate it, since I'm hungry and all." Parker figured he'd be ready to drive by the end of the meal, and be able to take Matt back to the Matt Mobile.

[Briza]

As they walked into the restraunt, Lucy felt a small cramp around her stomach. She knew she was hungry, but this was unpleasant. . And, Oh, God.[/I ] She looked at Søren, Matt, and Parker. [i]Fuck, she knew she had been lethargic all day, and surprisingly the lack of appetite she had experienced earlier in the day was starting to point toward none other than menstruation.

"Four," Parker stated firmly. Lucy squinted her eyes. Why was he being so manly? She looked at the other two guys, running her hand through her pink hair. She looked around the restaurant, locating the restrooms before they were seated.

Before claiming a seat, she spoke, "I 'll have a water. . . . " then quickly added," I need to use the powder room," emphasizing powder like some cocaine joke, not that she was about snort any candy. But the joke seemed to fit well with the bandmates.

She casually walked to the restroom and fiddled through her back pocket, where her wallet was squeezed. She dug out some quarters from her wallet and attempted to buy a feminine napkin of some sort from the dispenser, but nothing came out. In fact, the machine took no--stole her fifty cents. She stared at the silver contraption for several seconds, trying not to scream, turned to the stalls and walked in the first one. I guess I will have to use toilet paper. This is so ghetto. She sighed, staring at a red blotch on her panties. At least, she didn't bleed through. . AND stain Jill. Parker would have flipped.

She toured some toilet paper and lined her panties, praying to some false entity that the blood flow would not destructively become thicker within the next hour or so.

She flushed the toilet and pulled her pants back up before exiting the stall and washing her hands for a solid fifteen seconds.

---

Lucy returned to the table. "Their restrooms smell good, " Lucy commented as she sat down. Not thinking anything too unusual about her comment. As she sat, she felt the wetness press against her, it was uncomfortable. There was nothing sexy about how she was feeling. First the bad mirror image and now this? She had avoided the restroom mirror for a reason. Then she remembered it was a buffet and was not going to be asked to order food. She sighed, again, her brain was melting on hormones.

She stood up and walked over to the buffet line, grabbing a plate and scouting out any good food with lots of iron. Meat. Yes, meat. Lots of meat. But then she might explode. . So she settled on steamed broccoli and mushrooms and ironically things that didn't look Asian when compiled on her plate. She frowned at her plate and shrugged it off in her mind before going to sit down, for the second time.

[22ice22]

The wait it was agonizing. Standing with hand outstretched waiting for the keys, that seemed as though they would never be placed in his hand, Søren stared at Parker with a mask of determination and seriousness on his face. No matter what Søren was determined to break his best friend's reluctance. The matter of driving was no longer a novelty idea to him, it was a quest that he would overcome, an overwhelming journey that he would finish, a duel of wills, a battle of supremacy, and... he had the keys. Gazing down at his hand Søren was ignorant of Parker's warning. He had won. In the moment that Parker leaned back in the van Søren let loose a cheer and raced to the driver's seat.

There was no hesitation as the overeager bassist slid the key into the ignition. This was the first time he would get to drive Jill. He had been insisting on being allowed to drive the van for so long that what may have been seen as a small victory to the rest of the band was an astonishing achievement to Søren. Pulling out of the record studio he couldn't fight a grin. Looking at Parker as he pulled out on to the road, ignoring the oncoming traffic, he spoke with a curious tone, "I Wonder how quick we can to the Chinese place? Don't you?"

---

The answer to the question was this, not long, not long at all. On the way over Søren had managed to navigate through the streets whilst paying little to no attention to the other vehicles on the road. Pulling into the parking lot only a few minutes later was proof of this.

Once inside Søren gazed about the small oriental setup. The place was rather familiar, as was the man behind the counter, even if Søren failed to place a name to his face. After Parker divulged the number of people in their party, the small group was escorted to a small booth. On the trek to their seats Søren found his gaze locked on the delicious delicacies upon the buffet. As he saw the fresh noodles placed out his mouth began to water. He hadn't realized how hungry he was earlier, but now back in this familiar land of superb food, he was starving.

Once they got to their table Søren politely waited his turn to order his drink. After letting Parker and Lucy go first, then he spoke addressing the waiter, "I, my good friend, do believe I will have some nice refreshing water." Then he was gone off towards the food, filling his plate to the brim, before heading back to their booth. Waiting until the rest of the band got back to the booth Søren happily ate away at his food. Once everyone was back though he inquired, "So, guys when do you think we'll have the EP completely wrapped up? I managed to convince Drew, you know the owner of the shop where I work, to let me sell some there, which you know means kind of need the EP."

[RawrEspada4]

Lost in his world own little world Matt failed to notice the van start and only became aware once they were moving down the road. It was in an instance of bad decision making when Matt looked up to notice that they were about to hit another car and that Søren wasn’t paying the slightest attention to the road but rather looking at and talking to Parker. Bracing himself for impact he dropped his phone in cup holder to his left as he grabbed the handle above his head, closed his eyes and braced himself…… but there was never any impact as Søren deftly moved to the other lane just before he would have crashed into a bright yellow taxi. Spending the rest of the ride with a death-grip on the handle above him he only relinquished the handle once the car was safely parked outside The Great Wall. Letting his hand drop back to his lap he turned to Søren ”What the hell was that? There is no way in hell you are driving back!” he punctuated his exclamation by punching Søren in the shoulder.
____________________________________________

Safely inside the Chinese restaurant Matt felt his body releasing the tension from the car ride, as they were seated he slid into the booth next to Søren and ordered his drinks. ”I’ll have a coke and a water,” he said, the coke being for the flavor and the water to help his aching throat. After ordering his drinks he stood up almost immediately looking at Søren and Parker he dawned a serious look ”I will be back, but currently there are egg rolls that need my assistance” as he said this he imitated Søren’s voice that he used for his theatrics. Finishing the statement Matt stood up turned on the ball of his foot and marched over to the egg rolls where he proceeded to pile five into a pyramid on his plate, next to that he layed a bed of fried rice which he proceeded to cover with a mixture of General Tso’s Chicken and peanut-butter chicken, topping his dish off with four crab rangoons. He set back down in time to hear Lucy say something about the bathrooms smelling nice. A smile on his face as he set there with his friends he replied with a tint of mirth ”One can only hope the men’s restroom smells as nice,”

[Orchestratic]

Parker, already absent in thought and leaning against his hand with his eyes closed, almost entirely forgetting that he needed to get up and eat until he was alone at the table. Looking around with a slightly red complexion building up, he stood up quickly and put together a small plate at the buffet, returning just in time to join Søren in taking his seat. The two ate in silence, as they normally did for at least the first plate they attacked in primal hunger, until everyone returned to the table. It wasn't long before he found himself, as he often did, wondering why these gatherings were more rare than they should be. Though even if they visited everyday, he's sure he would still think it not enough. It was very difficult to feel lonely or bored around his favorite people.

As they exchanged lines, Parker idly moved his eyes between his friends before raising an eyebrow in confusion, gulping down his most recent bite. "This is truly a surreal moment," he spoke dramatically. "Søren was the first to say something productive." After a short laugh and a sip of his drink, he picked the topic back up with a shrug. "As new as it is to me to say this, he's kinda right. Today I was actually just thinking that we should be able to knock the rest out by the weekend." Parker had always heard that you should take an hour or two per minute of track time in the studio to record it, and seeing as they had most of two remaining songs to record and track Matt's vocals over, the timing added up. "Wouldn't you guys say so? Or is that too optimistic?" With a very real questioning look, he scanned over his friend's faces for their responses, continuing to fill his stomach up with pork fried rice completely covered in an unhealthy amount of soy sauce.

[22ice22]

Eyeing his compatriots as he waited for an answer, Søren couldn't help but feel at ease. With these three around he never doubted their ability to become what he dreamed. Together they could become a band that would do more than just make music, they would be able to be themselves, and create something that would only benefit others. As he thought about it for what seemed like the thousandth time he realized how idealistic it was, yet he knew it could be done, and their EP would be the first major step for them.

Intently listening to his slightly befuddled looking friend, Søren chuckled as Parker stated his astonishment at Søren's productive inquiry. Then, Parker proceeded to answer his question. The end of the weekend that was great that meant when Søren would probably be able to spend Monday, his day off, burning a stack of EPs to take to work.

Letting Parker finish up, Søren responded. "By the end of the weekend, you said? That's cool." Now taking his chopsticks from his empty plate he pointed at his best friend and kept talking, "And, as far as your comment about my productiveness goes, I am hurt. I'll have you know that everything I do serves a purpose and is therefore productive, it just isn't always beneficial to you guys." Placing his chopsticks back down Søren leaned back in the booth, before speaking up again this time in a rather upbeat and excited tone, "Also guys on a bit lese but still kind of productive note, I thought of an idea for a band shirt. We use a picture from one of Marvel's Apocalypse arcs and replace the four horsemen with us in like comic book form and have Apocalypse's shadow in the background. Cool right?"

[Briza]

Lucy forced a smile. How could she not? Menstruation or not, it was possible to finish the record. She could pull on her man pants for the next several days. It'd be better than moaning in bed about some petty girl problem.

"I think by this weekend should work," she paused, "Besides I don't have work this weekend, either," her smile widened into showing her teeth, "I like the shirt idea," she felt almost drunk off of Soren's words. Everything he mustered up to say seemed so. . dreamy in context for the band. All their hard work was beginning to pay off -- as she knew it would, but for some reason all of it was just slamming her in the face. Her previous dilemma, her stomach cramps were seemingly bearable, now.

She stuck a mushroom in her mouth, munching it to the right side of her mouth; it bulged her cheek as she chewed. "Seriously, Søren," she said with her mouth full, "Just keep on talking, I love everything you're saying," she finished munching on the sautéed mushroom and took a sip of water to wash it down. A smile was still set on her face.

[22ice22]

His eyes were fixed upon his bandmates as they all went through similar reactions to his shirt idea. In all honesty Søren hadn't expected such great reactions, not to say he didn't expect positive reactions, just not such amusing ones. It was probably one of the few times Lucy had told him to keep speaking, then again he was usually teasing her and Parker, then there was Matt's rather violent coughing fit during his reaction and finally their was Parker's, and despite how close they were Søren was fine without the kiss. To all of this he nodded with a very placated look on his face, just waiting for the rest of the table's occupants to finish their words. Once the others finished Søren slowly caught all their eyes one by one. Clearing his throat and adjusting an invisible and incorporeal, or imaginary if you prefer, tie at his neck the bassist began his replies in a rather sophisticated and genial voice, "Firstly, I must thank you all for your generous comments on my idea, your positive responses are very good news. Now then, Autumn Illness. I must say I personally would love for it to have more 'oomph' as you say." Going to continue Søren let the voice die and reverted back to his normal voice. "Fuck speaking like that it is really, really awkward. How do fancy people survive a single one of their galas or whatever they're called." Sighing. "Whatever. Anyways Luce I do believe you asked how I came up with this beautifully wonderful, kickass, fantastically delightful idea." Leaning in towards the table Søren began in a whisper. "Twas a day just like any other, of my days, with just one exception, this day twas the day that the Fates decided to change my entire life." Leaning back he held out his hands in the shape of a cup. " Twas the day that I would be allowed to drink from the cup of the Muses themselves. It was after a day's work and I found myself in a weary state upon the couch in mine and Parker's dwelling. My mind was weak from the day and my fingers were worn from the playing of Nete who sat beside me in all her splendor. It was as I was reaching for Nete to place her back in her most luxurious case that I was struck by this, a most wonderful idea... Immediately I fumbled to make it a reality and thusly the television was turned on. Upon this screen was a message from the gods. It was a commercial for razors, which made me think of straight razors. This of course made me think of Sweeney Todd, a musical, that in turn reminded of the news Les Mis."Søren was now standing his hands flat upon the table. "This my dear compatriots was the point that the Fates wanted me to reach, a point from where I would no longer need their guidance. The new Les Mis has Hugh Jackman in it does it not?" Pausing for a breath before continuing with a louder voice and much renewed vigor. "It is quite apparent that from there I thought of Wolverine, from which I thought of the 99th Wolverine comic, which has crazed bone-claw Wolverine. Oh such a lovely thing that. Anyways in the comic the entire reason Wolverine is like that is because this one guy tried to make him one of the Horsemen for Apocalypse. And it was thus that I got to the point of the shirt. The Harbingers. The Horsemen. The Age of Apocalypse arc all of it was perfect, so it was than that I thought 'Hey t-shirts! Why not?'. Now my dear Lucy do you understand?" Søren concluded now standing atop the booth which the band occupied. Casting his gaze about from his new perch he observed several rather irritated workers. Quickly dropping back down to his seat Søren looked at the others. "Also if I'm not mistaken that, just there," signaling to his previous standing area, "is how you get thrown from a Chinese restaurant, if my instincts are to believed as well as the angry glare coming from that man bringing us our bill. Sorry." With that he began to scarf down what was left on his plate in hurry, hoping that the very angry looking Asian man, just looked angry because of the way his eyes were shaped. Søren was begging internally for racism to be beneficial this time, pleading softly in his mind that he just looked angry.

[RawrEspada4]

By this time use to the theatrics of Søren, Matt was hardly surprised when Søren turned their both into a perch. Watching the bassist though Matt couldn't help but get excited by the idea of performing with him. Søren was obviously born for the stage, he always seemed in the middle of a performance. And it was this performance oriented nature of Søren's that was so contagious to Matt. Enjoying the reenactment of how the t-shirt idea Matt chuckled inwardly, never would he or the band need to pay for dinner and a show as long as they brought Søren with them. But like many unsanctioned performances this one was to be short lived as one of the restaurant's proprietor's marched his way to the the table. Yet this was still another thing about Søren that no longer surprised him, the bassist had on at least a few occasions prior made it painfully obvious that he could be thrown out of anywhere, never though did it seem purposeful.

Scooping his last egg rolls off his plate and onto a napkin Matt swiftly stood and pocketed the food. Intercepting the man bringing the check Matt offered a slight apology with a promise of quick exit as he took the bill to the counter to pay. Once settling the check Matt found himself outside waiting to decide who would be driving. As he had stated on arrival, he'd be damned if it were Søren again.

[Briza]

Lucy shoveled the rest of her mushrooms into her mouth. Despite being the person with the least amount of food on her plate, she was still the slowest one to eat. She blamed her ovaries, or whatever . . The whole menstruation process. But truth be told, she was a rather slow eater. Parker may have commented on it once or twice while they were dating. Or maybe he didn't ever notice. It made a better story if he had, a reason to distance herself from him. She didn't like being picked on for being the slowest eater. . She was by far a better guitarist than eater. And for some reason, the comment of her being a slow eater usually implied in her mind that she was just a slow person. Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't. But by fuckers, she wasn't going to believe that she was a slow person. Besides, slow people couldn't possibly play the guitar as gorgeously, thunderously as she could. . Or well, probably, in any case or at least, on average. . Lucy took in a deep breath after gulping her water down. Cramps. "God, I need a cigarette," she stated flatly, getting up from the table, secretly insulted by Parker's 'may having called her a slow eater at some point in time.' God, she was feeling bitchy bringing up nonexistent arguments into play like lying to herself about Parker was the only way we could relentlessly keep up with her feelings. Fake it 'til you make it. Lucy walked outside, "Cigarette time," she told Matt, as if her coming outside needed some excuse. Maybe it did. she dug out a cigarettes for the pack in her front pocket. She lit it, excited from the after dinner smoke effect. It wasn't as good as she had expected. But then again, that was the day -- except for the t-shirt design. That was wicked awesome. "That t-shirt design, though," she spoke, again to Matt, as if he could read her mind. Maybe her body language was just more talkative today. Menstruation had that side-effect on her. Whether or not Matt noticed or not, Lucy was expecting him to catch her drift.

[Orchestratic]

Before Søren had even mounted the table, Parker was nearly in hysterics. Even after being friends with him for years, living with him, and joining a dream-chasing band with him, watching his best friend make an entire room of people uncomfortable and/or annoyed would seemingly never get old. Watching between Søren and Lucy as she took in the dramatic story that was being played out in front of her, Parker couldn't help but let his eyes linger on the guitarist and her enchanting smile for just a few moments too long... before the entire group simultaneously noticed the angry working storming his way toward Søren's improvised stage. Parker knew that if it had just been himself and his best friend, they would continue the charade further, attempting to amuse (or further agitate) even the staff before taking their leave; this was the usual protocol for when the pair got themselves booted from places. To be fair, though, not all of those could be blamed on Søren; occasionally a worker disapproved of Parker's pill habits and they were 'escorted' from places for that reason instead. Watching as the others shoveled their remaining food into their mouths, Parker smiled as he attempted to stealthily sneak a few Roxy's from his sleeve into his mouth as he downed the rest of his drink at the approach of the angry Asian man, trying very hard not to laugh and choke while doing so. After Matt's discussion with the angry proprietor, Parker waited for Lucy to clear the way of the booth, shamefully keeping his eyes on her as she did. It only made him want to hit himself, but instead he ground his teeth slightly, stopping only at the word of 'cigarette'. As hypocritical as it was to challenge her on her vice, he never could help but to bring it up when it game to Lucy. Letting out a large sigh, he followed close to her until the group all stood outside near their mobile mascot. "You know," he spoke to Lucy as he passed her by to lean on his usual spot on Jill's hood, crossing his arms. "You promised you'd quit smoking those back when I did. I don't think it counts if you start up again." Parker smirked, this being one of the few things he'd said directly to Lucy in awhile that didn't include the entire band. A short chuckle later, he was rounding his lovely van to the driver's seat, feeling sober enough to drive for at least another 30 minutes or so. "It's kinda late, guys, and in solidarity with Matt here I'm not planning to let Søren behind this wheel again anytime soon. Y'all alright with crashing at our place? Sit around and chat, watch movies 'til we crash maybe..."