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Recent Statuses

2 yrs ago
Current Happy new year. Yes I am still alive. Bleep you 2022.
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3 yrs ago
You need to chill, girl. ;P
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4 yrs ago
I still don't know why I'm awake.
4 likes
4 yrs ago
I have no idea why the hell I am still awake right now. I blame my brother.
3 likes
4 yrs ago
Today, I have added "people who don't wear masks" onto my shitlist. Oh wait, I did that months ago...
6 likes

Bio

I'm a 32 year old woman just looking to keep those writing muscles in whatever shape I can. I'm also Canadian, so fill the rest of this bio with every stereotype you can think of. I've also been single for over a year now, so clearly I'm a catch.

"She's horrible and stuff" - @BangoSkank

Most Recent Posts




So this is how the rich folk live when their money is literally coming out of their ass...

Granted, this shouldn't have come as such a shock to the Texan with the dip-dyed hair. Given her accommodations since she found herself plucked from her Lone Star State roots and dragged to the frozen wasteland of Ohio, she was just a couple levels below one of them thanks to Christopher's cash. However, bank managers didn't make this kind of Instagram flaunt-story lifestyle possible.

She wasn't sure she was invited, but she didn't care if she was or not. She heard from Spice that things were going down at the football player's house and that all manner of illicit drugs were going to be on offer, so it made sense to go to sample what the Liberty kids were able to get their hands on. Melissa didn't make any calls for anything at this party, not even for booze, so there had to be a lot of candy on hand for all the kids to partake of.

The young woman pulled a crumpled pack of cigarettes out of her jacket pocket and removed one, placing it gently on her lips while she dug for her lighter. The black Zippo with the big white star on it still had plenty of energy left to produce the necessary flame. As she took a long pull from the cancer stick, plans started forming in her mind. People to check in on, the possibility of romances, how likely she could get away with picking up a souvenir should one catch her eye.

The smoke exited her lips and she breathed again. There was no need to actually overthink this. It was the first social event of the school year. People at Rosefell knew what she was about at this point. It was time to educate the upper class on just who they were going to be dealing with, at least if they wanted the goods without having to go to Colin freaking Gallagher for them.

A brief thought of putting out the cigarette crossed her mind, before being instantly discarded. She wasn't changing who she was for them, so they better be fine with the smell of nicotine on the air. Those Liberty kids better be ready. Savannah Payton was officially entering the chat.


A @metanoia & @NeoAJ Collaboration
Featuring Tackle Dude & Heaven’s Missing Treasure





The first interaction she had with anyone at this giant rave party and it was akin to a bodycheck. An explosion of glass shards spread out over the deck as the bottle hit the ground. At least Alina had already finished most of the contents. So it wasn’t too much of a mess. Aside from the glass. Off to an absolute flying start…

”Sorry. I should have paid more attention.”

As her eyes met those of the boy responsible for letting her feel like she was back in a fight for the first time since middle school, she had a couple thoughts. Oh good. A jock with a heart. Definitely a jock from the muscles. Probably eying me up right now. Like I’m a piece of meat. Great.

”Let me get you another beer. It’s the least I could do.”

She was going to tell him it wasn’t necessary, but he was already off. Well at least he’s taking a few steps for me. Not even sure I like that beer.

The mystery man was quick to return with a pair of beers in hand.

”Here.”

”Um… thanks,” she offered in return as she grabbed the beverage from him. “You didn’t have to do that. I could have grabbed another drink. That one was almost done anyway.”

”And now you don’t have to - at least not until this one is done.” Hunter raised his beer to his lips and took a casual sip, though hazel eyes remained on the girl. When he swallowed and lowered the glass bottle from his mouth, he said, “I mean, I was the one who bumped into you and wasn’t looking where I was walking. So, really, it’s no trouble at all!”

“If you say so,” Alina replied as she took a sip. It definitely wasn’t the same beer she had before. It was lighter than the first one. “So, if this is your plan to talk up girls at this party, I don’t think it’s going to lead you to what you want in the end.”

“And what do you think it is I want, hmm?” Hunter asked curiously, his lips not forming anything but a neutral facial expression.

Alina pursed her lips in thought for a second or two. ”Well, I’ve heard a few things, but which one of them would you be angling for in particular…” She gave him a quick glance up and down, as if trying to appraise him for auction. “I’m guessing you’re looking to get better acquainted with some of these Liberty girls running around. Although you’re better off trying Miki Park. All those things I’ve heard, I’ve heard she does all of them.”

He shrugged. ”Even if I was - as you put it - wanting to get better acquainted with the girls from Liberty, it sure as hell wouldn’t be Miki Park.” Hunter’s reply came off with a bit of bitterness attached to it as he took a rather aggressive sip from his bottle. “Not that I have had the ...experience of dealing with her, but I’ve heard things about her too and I can say she isn’t my type.”

”Oh?” Alina raised an eyebrow. She was pretty sure Miki wouldn’t be pleased to hear there was one less boy on the market for her to try and date. ”And what kind of girl is your type… or… guy? Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t assume anything.”

He raised up his free hand, gesturing to her that it was okay. “No apologies necessary. Truth be told, I don’t think I do have a type. Well..” He let his voice fade into a low chuckle, “I guess that’s not true.” Of course, it wasn’t true. Between Melissa and Minty, Hunter’s type was definitely in the aggressive ballpark, but then again, Niki was...different. And the thought lingered for a few seconds until he caught himself and continued. “I’m more of a personality kind of guy, ya know? If someone interesting catches my attention, they become my type.” He flashed her a small smirk. At least that wasn’t a lie.

Personality was something Alina wasn’t certain she had to offer to anyone anymore. How can you offer something if you don’t know what you have? She could fake it for the airwaves, but she was certain that if that was her tactic for survival at Rosefell, it would fall apart very quickly. “Well, I guess that takes me out of the running, doesn’t it? I don’t think there’s too much interesting about me. I mean, I wasn’t even eye-catching enough to keep you from knocking my bottle into a million little pieces on the deck.”

Hunter expelled a single laugh from his lips. “That’s not necessarily true. I mean, that had more to do with me being distracted by my phone than it did with whatever it is you think was the case,” he said, correcting on that matter. “What else isn’t true is that I’m still here, so clearly you’re wrong about not being interesting to me.” Even as he spoke, Hunter was failing to see why he was saying these things. For comfort? For distraction? Maybe a bit of both, but this girl was hot and it at least filled the void shame created. So why not indulge in a little harmless fun?

“Or you’re bored,” Alina shrugged. “That would lower the bar. But I’m bored too. You bodychecking me was the most interesting thing to happen to me so far at this thing.” Wish Raven was here. At least then I wouldn’t be going at this alone and I’d have some backup. Hope she gets here soon. It wasn’t like Alina to be this negative about something, and Niki certainly wouldn’t approve of the attitude, but it was hard to feel anything else.

“You caught that, huh?” Hunter found himself chuckling as he took a half-worried sip from his beer. “And here I thought I was being subtl--”

Before he could finish that though, which was spoken in a non-dominating tone, anyway, she interrupted him.

“--So… what do you think of all this mixing between schools then? Can’t imagine there are too many positives for you Rosefell types having everyone from Liberty invade. Aside from being able to have these parties at a place like Christian’s.”

He shrugged. If he was honest, there might be a mention about how his secret romance came from Rosefell and his two worlds collided in the worst way. But he wasn’t about to ruin a potentially-glorious distraction. “I don’t know. I mean, there are definitely some people who might not enjoy it and see it as an invasion -- as you phrased it, but not me,” he admitted with a chuckle. “I love Rosefell and if you asked me would I favor Liberty over my home, you’d know my answer, but, I don’t know, I’m not like a friend of mine who absolutely loathes the guys from Liberty.” He took a moderately slow sip and shook the bottle, frowning slightly as he realized its contents nearly gone. “And what about you? Are we as bad as some people said we are?”

Alina thought for a second. It definitely wasn’t as hopeless a situation as she thought it would be. DeShawn alone made that happen. If it wasn’t for him, she probably would be home alone, or just hanging out with Raven listening to her latest piano project. She hadn’t had much interaction with anyone else though. The nameless boy in front of her was already the Rosefell student she had the second-longest conversation with. “I don’t think I can say that, although I haven’t met all the Rosefell students yet. But there are definitely some diamonds in this rough. DeShawn seems like a nice guy. I don’t know if you know him. But he’s been very kind. It’s been really appreciated.”

Hunter’s mouth opened, with a surprised “oh” falling out when he heard Dee’s name. “So, you know Dee, huh? Why am I not surprised?” Hunter laughed. And then chuckled into another sip from his now empty beer bottle. “He’s always one to show around some new students. He’s pretty reliable like that,” he said, smiling at the girl, “Yeah, I guess you can say I know him. He’s one of my boys. Always looking out for me when I least expect it.”

Least I know it’s not just me then. He actually seems like a genuinely good guy. Alina took another long sip of her beer. It still wasn’t great, but it was giving her something to do with her hands and mouth while the mystery boy spoke. “I wasn’t expecting that level of hospitality, but like I said, I actually really appreciate him doing that. He’s the only reason I’m here right now. Couldn’t get any of my friends or my sibling to come to this. Cause I’m clearly about as persuasive as I am interesting.”

“Not the party type, are they?” Hunter mouthed out before he let out a chuckle. “I mean, I guess it’s to be expected. Whether it’s hosted by us or Liberty, these parties tend to get pretty crazy.” This made Hunter think about how he was one to let loose at any party. He wasn’t like Colin, who often avoided Liberty parties unless it benefitted him, so he didn’t outright hate any Lib. And especially not when Niki was one of them. And thinking about Niki, of course, brought a slight frown to his face. He tried to hide it, but didn’t have the excuse of taking another sip because it was empty.

A quick swirl of the bottle told Alina that the conversation with the unknown boy had been going on for longer than she would have bet on. Maybe that frown on his face was a sign that he finally was getting bored with her. Or maybe it was something else. “Something on your mind there, superchief? You look sadder than that empty bottle you’re holding onto.”

When Hunter looked up at her, he smiled, shaking his head. ”It’s not important.” He, of course, was lying his ass off. He had Niki on his mind and it was clear to this complete stranger that it was enough to break through the silk-like barrier that was his attempt to hide the pain. He wasn’t an old guy named Harold. “I guess I’m just sad I drank it so fast.” That statement was partially true and it was enough to convince him even if for the moment. “Might have to see about getting something stronger.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Starting to think I’m going to need more than beer to get through this night.” It was a bad idea. But Alina didn’t know that yet. Future Alina would probably be ticked, given she rarely dealt with any booze more potent than wine, but until Raven got here, or a more unlikely friend, there was no one to really tell her no. “If you still want to talk, even if you don’t want to talk about the whole depressing thing you got on your mind, I’ll take whatever you get. If not, I guess I’ll head over after awkwardly watching you walk away and grab something. Take your pick.”

As he mentally went over the choices, he knew he didn’t want to talk about Niki right now - not with this complete stranger.

Okay, she wasn’t exactly a stranger. For however long they’ve been talking, Hunter could honestly say that she had taken his mind off of...well, everything. And somewhere, he knew Dee was proud of him. Forgetting about one’s troubles was the whole point of a party. If you had shit going on in your life, whether home, relationship, or you’re one small step away from a nervous breakdowns, parties or, in general events with a lot of alcohol and good company could be the difference between getting admitted to a padded room and making it to your best friend’s place by night’s end.

And that’s what he had. Alcohol was a plenty here, especially since he heard Colin was involved in the supply run and this nameless girl was certainly enough for him to forget his troubles. His situation with Niki was complicated and Hunter could spend all night dwelling about how shitty he was and how he didn’t handle the surprise of seeing them at Rosefell, but he didn’t want to focus on that. No, he wanted to have some fun.

“Whatever choice gets me fucked up, I’ll take it.” He smiled at her.

“Right now, that sounds like the right choice…” Alina blanked for a second. Names had never come up in their whole conversation. They just didn’t seem important considering the interaction started with a collision. “...OK, I can’t just keep calling you tackle dude or something for the entire night. You have a name right?”

Hunter was caught off guard and let out a laugh that turned into a rough cough. “Tackle dude? Yeah, you can call me that. I mean, it’s accurate to my position on the team,” he stated, getting some of his composure back, “or you can just call me Hunter.” Even he had to admit that transition was so smooth one might think Suave Rico had his hand up Hunter’s ass and speaking for him. “And yours? Or should I just call you the treasure that heaven is missing?” Okay, now that was more of a Hunter Quinn line.

A hand went to Alina’s lips, but she wasn’t sure if it was to stop the laughing from the cheesy pick-up line or from the fact that for the second time in a week, she had a random encounter via a collision with a Rosefell student who was tour guide for a Zabrecky. At least she had to think it was the same Hunter. It wasn’t exactly a popular name at Liberty. She decided not to mention Niki, just in case. There was the possibility this was Hunter Jones or Hunter Druckenmiller or something.

“I’m no treasure, Hunter,” she told him. “So that’s probably not going to work as a name long term. You can just call me Alina.”








In what felt like seconds, the party was in full swing. The rooms had filled up fast with teenagers filling themselves up even faster. It was like as soon as they had hit the floor they were drunk and or high. Not like it was a bad thing but drunk white people did make DeShawn a little nervous, he wasn’t going to lie. Once he had begun to feel a little more comfortable in his skin, the linebacker made his way over to a drinks table to pour himself a tasty beverage. He wasn’t a fancy man by any means and a cold beer from one of the coolers would suffice quite nicely.

As the rhythm of the music began to pulsate through his body, Dee began to let out a few shoulder shuffles and head bobs. He wasn’t no dancer unless he had a partner that wouldn’t stop him from enjoying himself. He watched around the room with his big dark eyes, soaking in the places and faces that his compatriots would hope to forget about in the morning. It was at this moment that he caught sight of his Queen, alone and without a throne.

Past experience at parties like this had taught DeShawn that trying to get Melissa’s attention when she was ruling her kingdom was a vain quest that no Knight should ever try to undertake. If the blonde bombshell wanted your attention she would take it, you didn’t really have a say in the matter. This was fine of course, most days there was always someone else to talk to, someone else to party with. Still it had been almost a week since they last “held court” and Dee was nothing if not intrigued about how the head of the table was dealing with the new Liberty conundrum.

He made his way by a few people to cross the room, most of whom immediately stepped out of his path mostly out of fear of him just awaiting them away like flies. Once he had reached the Queen of Thorns, he towered over like he did so many others but in a juxtaposition of his size, Dee placed a soft hand on her slim waist.

”Hey girl.”

Melissa recognized that voice from a mile away, and it had the helpful effect of knowing that the person who belonged to the hand on her body did not deserve a slap. Far from it. It was a welcome sight given how the party was shaking out so far.

Her attempts to attract the eyes of the host weren’t going well. It made sense given his duties, but it would still be fun to flirt with Christian a little more. Alycia had abandoned her to try and corner Payton again. Apparently they did more than just hit it off during the tour this week. More power to Miss Collins, but he definitely wasn’t her type. She would have to evaluate him too at some point if Alycia was going to be making a point to bring him to parties in the future. She had already churned through a few of the coolers on offer, and had switched to the stronger vodka cran mixture she held in her hand. It was preventing her from immediately returning the hand that Dee had placed on her body, but she knew her could tell when she was interested. Which she was.

She turned around, allowing Dee’s fingers to trace a path on her exposed midriff while she reoriented herself. ”Hey boy,” Melissa offered to the linebacker as took a sip of her beverage. “Don’t tell me you’re already bored of all the sweet treats Liberty had to offer us? I mean, I know they can’t possibly compare to me, but… well, they can’t. So I guess I don’t blame you! Anyway, how are you doing, Dee?”

The warmth of her golden skin permeated on his fingertips and the simple caress did well to remind him of all the things that he and Melissa had done in the past; a memory that brought a smile to his lips and a fire to his heart… he was but a teenage boy after all.

"I wouldn’t say bored, the night is still young after all and I only really just got here but...” DeShawn leaned down to get closer and caught a whiff of her unmistakable and irresistible scent. "I know how busy you are and I saw you here alone and I just couldn’t help but to just come for a quick taste, ya feel me Queen?” Number Forty Four dropped a gentle kiss on the nape of Melissa’s neck, just below her ear.

It was a simple world that the two of them shared; if they wanted to hook up they did. If they were bored and actually wanted to go on a date; they would. If they wanted to fuck around with someone else, they did. Something always drew them back together but DeShawn had his doubts that it was anything more than a kinship. They understood each other perfectly and that was enough.

"How goes it with your new subjects, Mama? They fallin’ in line yet?”

The Queen of Thorns offered a sly smile as she ran her hand over DeShawn’s scalp, allowing her fingers to mingle in between his dreads while they were on offer to her. As he stood back up following the tribute paid to her neck, she let her hand fall back down to her side. She always had time for Dee, a lot more so than Colin, and a quick taste was a vast understatement when it came to some of their hangouts. But, it was the understanding of their respective wants that kept the relationship between the two in such a comfortable place. Melissa was more Baskin Robbins than Dairy Queen. She wanted to sample all the flavors available. However, Dee was definitely her Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

“They are doing well so far. It’s amazing what a little sample of what the queen provides can do for compliance,” she confirmed. “Of course, it’s a lot easier if they provide the opportunity. I swear, these kids have all the money in the world to burn, and I’m more than happy to provide the ways and means. Along with other things if some of them play their cards right. But for now, all is good in the queendom, Dee. I have heard whispers of someone who thinks they can come at the crown, but they haven’t shown up, so I guess it’s true that money talks, but power walks.”

"Come at the Queen, you best not miss.”

Dee allowed a smile to cross his lips as Melissa talked of her Queendom. From what he could gather, Rosefell had always been hers and her peers had likely been her subjects since kindergarten, the girl had the sway and the swag and it would take her quite far in life no doubt.

He had heard rumblings of potential challengers for Missy’s crown. Liberty seemed much more a tank of sharks thanks to the inherent wealth and privilege that they held. Melissa was a badass and she had put in the work but he couldn’t help but wonder if there was a possibility that this Game of Thrones would end with her buried under a palace of her own making. Yet this was Missy, DeShawn had not met anyone with the drive to succeed like her. He had not come across anyone with the exact path laid out as to where they wanted to go. It was an admirable quality, an assuredness that drew people towards her, she was easily the sun and the students of Rosefell were simply the planets in her system. All Dee knew was that he shouldn’t fly too close and that he should just keep his head down and do the work. Missy knew where she was going, DeShawn just wanted to survive.

"Well you know, if there’s anything I can do, anything at all, you know where I’m at.” He traced a finger down her back slowly as he spoke in a tone that was as smooth as chocolate: an almost whisper "It ain’t no thing.”

Melissa arched her back slightly under DeShawn’s touch. It was still electric, even after all the times shared since the football player moved here. Of all of last year’s imports, he was clearly head and shoulders above anyone else. Of course, second place was probably that pink-haired girl was essentially a less-reliable Colin. A lot more sarcastic too. Still, a smirk appeared on her face as a soft chuckle could be heard only by the two of them. “I know I can always count on you, Dee,” she confirmed. “You’re good like that. A perfect Knight in shining armor.”

Yeah, she was laying it on thick. Maybe there was more to those coolers than she thought.

“And you know that’s a two-way street. Anything I can do to help you out, you let me know. I’m sure I can make it happen.”

"I’m sure I can think of a few things...”

The boy mountain threw whatever caution he had to the wind and pressed a deep kiss to Melissa’s mouth. Taking in her taste and scent, it was as close to madness; the one true escape as he possibly could. It was chemicals reacting; it was that simple. Every deep set fibre of DeShawn’s being was on fire around Melissa as it often was and in that moment all he wanted was to take her somewhere private and tear off her clothes. It took a great amount of pure self control to not take her there and then. He broke the kiss, reluctantly and grinned with a hint of self satisfaction.

”...But I ain’t your game tonight” Dee took a large swill from his drink to wash down the fire he had just taken from the Queen’s lips and more so to stop him from doing it again.

There weren’t many people in the world who could seize control of Melissa Elliott like that and bend her to their will. DeShawn was definitely the closest among her peer group. Maybe it was that left of self-assuredness that had kept them coming back to each other when others had failed to do so.

Or maybe he was just a damn fine kisser. But the linebacker broke away from the cheerleader’s lips first. She let out a soft whimper as if to will him back, but then again, they were in wide open spaces here, and Melissa had no idea where the best spot in Christian’s place was for some privacy. Not to say that they couldn’t find something later on in the evening. It seemed as though DeShawn felt the same way.

"You do your thing, shawty but come see me round the way if them dice aren’t in your favour, feel me?”

Her lips came together again in the smirk that usually adorned her face. “Even if they aren’t in my favour, you know I have my ways to make sure the snake eyes are staring at my opponents, Dee. But I don’t need any games of chance to know you’re always in my plans. Just save some of those jumped routes for later, OK?”

"Oh mos def.”

Dee knew he had to make a quick exit from Melissa’s atmosphere, sans being trapped within it for the rest of the night. He allowed his eyes to take in her form one last time, unknowingly allowing his tongue to lick his lips in antici…pation. He broke contact to scan the room for someone to save him from himself and spotted Enrique emerging from a crowd causing all kinds of havoc; not an ideal choice but if he was anything, Suave was a good distraction.

”Be seeing you girl.”

Melissa gave a curt little wave as DeShawn made his way towards one of his bros. Not where she would be looking to go to right now, but that was fine by her. She had the option to go anywhere. This was her domain. This was her queendom. And it would not be challenged. Not by any of these Liberty fools who think they can step in with their cash and run things. Not anyone. She didn't need to cling to DeShawn like some lovelorn puppy. She was the ruler of this particular jungle. Nothing will change that.








What the hell am I doing here?

Alina wasn't the party type. She was the solitary type. At least, she was the keep things to a close group of friends sort of person. So what was she doing at the home of Christian Barker with triple-digit numbers of people milling around and enough booze to drown an army?

Maybe this week was tougher than she thought. Granted adjusting to everything was never going to be easy, but it seemed to be so much easier for Niki. Even if they didn't really want to talk about what happened on the first day of school. And Cas? Cas had his own plans. He seemed determined to enact them.

So where did that leave her?

Maybe that's why DeShawn's text made so much sense. Even if Christian knew her well enough to know how she felt about parties, Dee didn't know that. So when the football player sent that text, asking if she knew about the bash and that she was welcome to come along with him vouching for her, is that why she was willing to accept it so easily?

She didn't know. There were still no answers.

So here she was, grabbing a beer off the table, standing in back amidst a random mishmash of Liberty and Rosefell students, trying to figure out what she wanted to do. Again, she didn't know.

Maybe the bottom of the bottle will know.







This. This was the element. This is where Melissa Elliott established her power. This is where she ruled as queen. This was her domain.

So nice of one of the new boys to set things up like this on their first weekend as a Knight. It boded well for their future.

Granted, she was surprised when Christian introduced himself to her during the week. Not only as one of the star imports from *spit* Liberty, but as someone who wanted to start the year off right. That was a sentiment she could get behind. Especially when he laid out his "party budget." Melissa couldn't remember the last time she had seen that much money in one wad of cash, all geared towards her own hedonistic desires. Word had already spread among the Liberty kids that Melissa was the girl to talk to in order to get things done. This was pleasing.

Of course, she wasn't doing it alone, that was her secret. Sure, she had the necessary ID, but she couldn't stash $1000 worth of booze by herself. So Alycia was brought in to begin filling up the minivan with the legally yet illegally purchased booze that Melissa had bought from about a 20 mile radius around the greater Columbus area to avoid suspicion. Christian had given her access to the place prior to the party in order to get the libations where they needed to be, so the two main Thorns ditched last-period English in order to get everything transported. Then it was back to Rosefell to properly contribute to another Knights victory to start the season. Of course, the Stars were always a lovely homecoming opponent. So Melissa knew this was going to be a perfect celebration on multiple fronts.

Upon arriving at Christian's castle though, that's when she fully realized what bringing all this money into the equation was going to do for the social life at Rosefell. This was no rinky-dink party by the lake. Good thing too, because the minivan would have probably been sunk at that point. No, this was all out. Melissa had only seen things during the day, so the full scope of the neon blast that would be greeting guests was just hitting her now. She almost regretted turning up in casual clothing, because there were so many more options she had to shine under such lights. It was like some sort of crazy rave.

Not her forte, but hey, a party's a party.

Upon her entry, she of course had to stop by to thank the host for graciously arranging such a shindig. Christian was being a proper curator welcoming the early guests and Melissa smiled as she arrived, grazing his upper thigh with the edges of her fingernails, pressing enough to make sure the point was made. After which she immediately headed back to where she assumed the regular drinks were being hidden. A few choice bottles were being kept for any... private parties she may have planned in the future, but she would be happy to enjoy some of her second-tier selections at this part. Rico and Colin were there, so she took the opportunity to make sure her usual fixer was still good.

"Colin darling!" she exclaimed as she claimed a choice cooler for herself. "How's my favorite Gallagher boy doing?"

Colin turned away from Rico, holding the bottle of tequila in his hand, and took a sip from it, his blue eyes keeping a fixated connection with the Queen of Thorns. "That depends," he said, flashing her a smirk, "you gonna let me get your time of day later or you gonna blow me off as usual?"

A look of mock offense crossed Melissa's face. "I'm hurt! How could you think I could ever forget the man who has been there every time I needed him?"

Colin mocked her attempt at mocking him. "Who is to say really? We live in a mysterious world, your highness."

All the Queen could do was smirk. "Well at least you got the title right."

He laughed and took a quick sip of the bottle of tequila. "That's not the only thing I can do right," he said, winking.

"Don't have to prove that to me, Colin," she confirmed. "Maybe if you can make to the end of the night, I'll have a bit more than the time of day for you, hmmm?"

"It won't be a maybe, that much you can take to the bank." He confidently stated. Colin knew he could hold his own when it came to alcohol. Unlike most of the lightweights at their school, he knew how to pace himself. "Just be sure you're ready for me when I do."

"Always am, Colin," Melissa said with a wink. "That goes double for you too, Tiger," she added for Rico. "Anyway, you know where to find me."

Melissa confidently walked away, booze in hand. This was her domain, and she reigned supreme. It was time to enjoy the spoils of her rise. There was no one who could wreck this night in her mind.






Jet lag sucks.

That was the big lesson of the day. Not that the groggy woman in the Seattle Airport Marriott had anything to compare the experience to, but it was clear that being pent up in a metal tube for what amounted to an entire day was not good for her body. Previously, the longest flight she had ever take just took her from Sydney to Queenstown via Auckland for amateur competitions at Cardrona. Even then, there were enough distractions at the Auckland airport to keep her placated in between the short hops. But 14 hours over the Pacific just to get to Los Angeles. And not even the good part of Los Angeles. All she could see from the terminal was concrete and hucksters selling fake maps to stars' homes. She had exhausted her iPod and her laptop movies somewhere over Easter Island and couldn't sleep over the roar of the engines. By the time she made it to Seattle, she was so bushed, she had her flight into Bellingham pushed back a day just so she could try and get some level of sleep at the nearby hotel.

It worked a little bit, but it still didn't blunt the effects of traveling back in time a day and trying to behave completely as normal.

So Jessika Fuller managed to sleepwalk her way onto the plane that would take her up to as close to the Canadian border as the Americans would dare go. If nothing else, it was an easy run up to British Columbia should things go pear-shaped and she had to get out of the country. But that would mean leaving her boards behind, which she wasn't exactly keen on doing. She wasn't sure what this Second Horizons would have on hand for equipment, but she wasn't about to be using the stuff they reserved for the bunnies just hitting the hills for the first time. That would be no test of what she could do against the Americans who were surely up to some level of skill here.

And that was the point of the excursion. To test her mettle in a controlled environment before she had any dreams of going against the big guns around the world.

Although that would mean Jess really had to get used to this whole jet lag thing in a hurry.

Once her flight touched down in Bellingham, she was able to spot what she assumed was the ferryperson taking everyone to the camp. The logos on the shirt made things pretty easy to figure out. Plus the buses. But Jess was in no state for talking at the moment. Someone said her name and she nodded softly in an effort to expedite things. Anything that would get her to a place where more sleep would be on offer. Thankfully, the ride was relatively quiet. Not quiet enough to allow for some quick z's on the way, but enough that her head wasn't totally out of sorts. She was pointed in the direction of the blue cabin by the person who grabbed her name at the airport. She wasn't learning names at the moment. Names could come later when she might have a wallaby's chance in the outback of remembering them. Instead, she ambled her way towards her home for the next couple of weeks. There was talk of a bonfire to celebrate the first night, which sounded like it offered a much better chance to get used to things in the Pacific Northwest.

For now though, there was only one thing on Jessika's mind. Maybe if i just pass out fawr long enough, i won't feel liyyke a zombie. Solid plan. I'mmah do that.

Tonight. Tonight she would show the Americans what's what.
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