Realistic or Modern ... 𝕭𝖑𝖆𝖈𝖐 𝕸𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝕬𝖈𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖒𝖞 ... 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐑𝐏 ( Closed )

[ailurophile]

Aston​

Precisely half an hour ago, Aston had had his keys in one hand and an unopened bottle of whiskey in the other, waiting at the front door to head off the the Windrifts'. Now, he had retreated to the kitchen table to nurse a glass or two of that aforementioned whiskey, after being told by his sister that she needed 'just a second' to finish getting ready. Which was reasonable, he supposed, or would be if she hadn't sat down at her dressing table four fucking hours before the pair were due to leave.

Naturally, before he himself had left, Aston's father had pleaded with him to cut Cece some slack; she always tended to get a little wired when she came home from filming. Just like her mother, he'd said. As insulting as it seemed, Aston did have to agree with his father on one thing: Cece was a coked-up attention whore, just like her mother. Though he doubted the man had meant that.

He'd have been right to, though, because when Cece finally entered the kitchen with a flourish, Aston almost choked on his drink.

"Jesus Christ, Cece. You know it's a party, right? Not a fuckin' orgy."

"Don't be a bitch, Tony; it's fashion. I had this imported. You know, from Milan?" Mercedes paused to check her reflection in the door of the microwave before casting a critical, glitter-encrusted eye over her brother's outfit. "Are you really wearing that?"

Without answering, Aston drained the last finger of whiskey from the glass and grabbed the bottle. "Let's just go, alright? We gotta pick up Electra en route-- if she hasn't died of boredom waiting for you to not put clothes on, that is."

-

"You look amazing."

One smug look from Cece's reflection in the rearview mirror told Aston all he needed to know: blurting a compliment at Electra the moment she opened the car door was a little much. Not that he was looking to impress her, or anything-- he'd been out of the dating game for a while, it wasn't at the forefront of his mind. Maybe he wasn't the dating type anymore.

Electra was cool, though. Similar to the people he already knew, and yet completely different at the same time. A breath of fresh air, if he was going to get all poetic about it. They'd gotten talking when she'd moved in and, without really thinking about the implications, he'd invited her to the Windrifts' party. Or at least, he'd offered her a ride.

There weren't any implications. He had to remind himself of that, not for the first time.

"Are you excited to meet everyone? They're alright, really. Or they will be on Monday. We have some obnoxious drunks among us." Aston cleared his throat awkwardly and started the engine to cover up the sound of Cece and the neat white lines she'd cut on the back of her purse. "I'll save the ramble."

And my dignity.

-

As expected, the moment Aston stopped the car, Cece fled the vehicle without another word and vanished amongst the crowd. Making a beeline for the disappearing forms of Black Mill's elite, if he had to take a guess-- Mercedes might've been hot in her line of work, but at school she was far from the top. Not that that ever stopped her trying to worm her way in. If Aston were a betting man, he'd say the odds that he'd find her with her arms around a Walsh or a Windrift within the hour were astronomically high.

He stood on the driveway looking up to the front door, bottle in one hand, and looked back to Electra as she emerged.

"Ready for a debut?"

TheFool

 

[Caoimhe_]

location: Windrift Estate
outfit: OOTD
❛ interaction Hypnos ❜

✦ Jasmine Mahalia ✦​

Jasmine flinched upon hearing the bottle fall to the floor. She looked down at the empty bottle – vodka. Augustus had chugged himself down an entire bottle of vodka. She gulped to herself as she looked towards him. Eyes dilated, yet still trying to look somewhat composed and sober. She blinked once, twice, before clearing her throat once again. Her eyes went from widened to turning softer, more delicate, less stone. She was finally seeing what she was supposed to see this entire time. He wasn’t a playboy, he wasn’t this machismo grand person. He seemed… distant?

She leaned down to pick up the bottle herself, it wasn’t much but it was the least she could do to help with the wreckage that was soon to entail. She picked it up before placing it on the nearest flat surface to them. She then returned her attention to him once again once she realised that he was speaking to her.

“Erm, no. I didn’t go to Alnwick. We were supposed to go to Manchester, which I know is in the north but I haven’t really heard of Alnwick. If you give me a second though…” she said before quickly pulling out her phone and googling the location he was speaking of. Just because she didn’t know didn’t mean she couldn’t find out. Upon seeing the first couple of pictures, she lightly squealed to herself before trying to contain herself and pursing her lips. “I haven’t been to Alnwick but your mom lives near Hogwarts!” she exclaimed as she gazed excitedly at the picture.

Yes, she was a Harry Potter nerd. Give her a break.

She felt the wind beneath her wings slowly die at his response. Maybe she should dial it back too. They were rich and got in with their wealth. Not their intelligence and their ability to make conversation. She needs to remember that. Remember that and remember that perhaps Augustus truly doesn’t care for her life story or her experiences.

“Yeah, it was cool…” She drifted off, her cheeks turning slightly red from embarrassment before she looked towards the floor and pursed her lips. Reminding herself to shut the fuck up. She shook herself before looking back up. Same plastered fake smile that she’s been using for years. A barbie doll who was able to be manipulated and turned at will for others pleasure and entertainment. “You should come next time.” She spoke with smirk, “It was nice: catching a tan and stripping back a couple of layers.” She then moved closer to him before whispering in his ear, “Skinny dipping when we wanted.”

“Well, if he decides to come down anytime tonight you can direct him my way. He may not be as welcoming as his sibling but if he’s as charming as his sibling then I’m sure we can have a good time.” She smiled before walking forward slowly. Even before the entire fire incident, Jasmine wasn’t really sure she’d ever heard of the other sibling. Not that it would have mattered, their lifestyles were incompatible. In the natural social circle that is life, the two wouldn’t have even so much batted an eyelash at each other.

It was a split second, but Jasmine was able to catch it. The change from smile to sour to smile. She recognised it because she was it. The hiding of expressions, suppression and oppression. That and he was probably pretty drunk by now so he wasn’t as fast at changing his expression as he thought he did. Maybe that was what they all that they did. Hide expressions and sorrow behind alcohol and cigarettes.

She found herself giggling loudly at Augustus’s account of Sarah. She was glad that he felt the same to some degree of how she felt. She recalls often experiencing awkward and embarrassing times where she would shit-talk someone, only to find out that the person she was talking to was actually really close friends with said person. Those kinds of moments were really fucking awkward. “But she’s an honest liar. You can see it in her eyes that she’s lying. I think there’s something so pure about that.” She stated.

“Well then, would you like to go the Valley of The Kings with me?” She asked jokingly. She wondered if he even got that reference or was he way too fucked out of his head to even understand the joke that she just made. There was also something strangely calming about wine cellars. Calming being the fact that no one is usually fucking there so she could sit and be by herself. She wouldn’t admit it though, she was truly and deeply an introvert in an extroverted world. So, she was going act like the biggest extroverted introvert she could.

"Don’t worry, I think I’ve seen the worst every time I go to my younger brother’s room and see the nuclear explosion he calls his ‘organised mess’” she giggled as they continued their way to his room. Did he even understand what she was talking about? Or was he just trying to avoid it to not seem like a complete dog before they had even gotten to his room? She gazed at the artwork and collage of paintings that Mr. Windrift seemed to acquire over the years.

In her mind all she could think was how shit Mr. Windrift’s eye for art was. He could do better. With his type of wealth, he could definitely do better and yet here she was walking past dull, dull and duller.

She cringed as she heard the noises leading up to Augustus’s room, the sound of couples doing… well what couples do.

Upon entering Augustus’s room her eyes widened. It truly was an explosion. But it was an explosion she could appreciate. Clothes strewn everywhere, an unmade bed. Empty water bottles, and pictures scattered. They say a bedroom reflects the mind, and if his bedroom reflected his mind then Jasmine wondered what was going on inside his head. This was the bedroom of a sober man, not one who was drunk. Or was he drunk too often? Too lazy to care?

She looked inside his wardrobe, her eyes softening for the second time whilst also feeling a sense of surprise. She walked towards the wardrobe and took a good look. Gucci, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent… He could have looked like a prince tonight if he so willed it. Did he not care for material goods? Not in the way Jasmine did anyway.

“An easy canvas with great paints.” She commented, pulling out one, two, three different tops and matching trousers. “Come on, off with your shirt. Let’s make you the Ken to this brown Barbie.”

code by @fudgecakez

 

[RayPurchase]

Lamar Reynolds
Location: Windrift Manor - Exterior
Interactions: Church418 DJ Dapper, Wildflower101 Mirabella Lombardo, FireMaiden Noya De Leon
Mentions: Hypnos Gus Windrift



18:30
​

"Right I'm out of here Mr Reynolds. Gene is on the hob and the counters are gleaming. Just has to clean up after himself,"

Lamar wiped his brown with the stained white cloth that was draped over his shoulder. It was hot, damn got in here. It wasn't exactly a cool evening to start with, but the combination of the heat of the kitchen and Reynold's obsession with keeping the heating cranked up all year round ended up turning the place into a sauna. He slapped Gene on his back, the wrong side of 40 in age and with a beer belly that probably weighed the same as Lamar, he probably wasn't going to do much in terms of getting the kitchen up to the level of cleanliness. But that was just the way it was. Gene had spent 20 odd years working his arse off, and now it was time for Lamar's to muck in and do the hardwork. Gene seemed to say it in such a way that Lamar didn't really seem to mind, even if it seemed like a bad gig when he said it to himself.

"Clocking off already are ya? Youth these days no work ethic at all,"

Lamar simply grinned and shook his head as he headed towards the fire exit door. Gene wouldn't be Gene if he was bemoaning the youth of today. Normally right after mounting some sort of praise on him for his hardwork. Gene may not have been the most consistent of people, but his praise always rang truer than his criticism, the latter was for keeping up appearances. His bike was propped up in the alley, sprayed black chrome against a sea of rust and refuse, chained to the hulking dumpster that dominated the alley. Unclipped it Lamar lazily pedalled his way out, racing a hand in the direction of Mr Reynolds and a couple of regulars within the restaurant as he went. This was all temporary he told himself. Whilst his peers had by and large enjoyed the break courtesy of mum and dad, there hadn't been that chance for him. Whilst outside of term cost of living was back on his dad, and he worked enough just to keep a roof over his own head and making sure Lamar got everything beyond what the Academy provided, which wasn't a lot in the scheme of things, but to a man working 2 jobs, it was everything.

The streets were getting busier now, Saturday night on Duke's Island. Give it another couple of hours and the bars would be rammed, the streets filled with drunken revelry and Latin music. Another perk of clocking off early, otherwise it would take him 3 times as long just to navigate the main road, and he'd probably encounter at least 2 drunk messes spoiling for a fight or worse.

Lamar pressed on, his surroundings becoming more residential and familiar to him, the streets of his childhood, still his streets even as he had entered young adulthood. They were a far cry from the grandiose pillared mansions whose denizens he would be rubbing elbows with tonight. Squat single floor houses crammed in along narrow streets and roads, the cars were getting older and increasingly battered. Duke’s Island always had and most likely always will be the home of those whose backs the Windrifts and Walshes made their fortunes. Not that Lamar was going to be the one to raise the flag of rebellion, he was going to rise out of this place with his family, not weigh himself down trying to take everyone out. It was just reality.

He skidded to a halt in front of one of the houses. The paint was peeling from its wooden frame and the whole thing was showing its age. In that regard it was pretty much indiscriminate from any of its neighbours. Lamar turned his key in the lock and walked his bike in, as his pride and joy as well as his main means of getting anywhere, he never risked leaving it outside.

“Yo Dad you home?”

Silence greeted his arrival. Propping his bike against the wall he wandered into the kitchen. Opening up the fridge he grabbed a half full bottle of OJ, taking a swig from it directly and without ceremony. It was as he closed the fridge door that he noticed the note pinned to the front of it. The messy scrawl on the front was easily identifiable as his father’s handwriting.

Called in to pick up a late shift. Enjoy your party, and I know you’re going to raid it regardless, so just leave the Hennessey, you can take a bottle of whatever else. A Bottle!

Lamar grinned as he dropped the note onto the table. For a guy growing up under a single father, he’d done pretty well with his role of the dice. Whilst Lamar’s father had always been one to push his son to greater things, he himself had been young once and knew that his boy had to live life a little. Besides he probably thought him hanging out with the Academy Crowd was a damn sight safer than anyone from Duke’s Island. He was right to an extent, but then again Lamar had yet to find anyone capable of knocking back as much alcohol as they did. Goddamn insane rich kids, all those pent up daddy issues, and not just the girls. Definitely not just the girls. Wandering into the dark living room he opened the drinks cabinet, for a second his eyes lingered on the half empty and quite dusty bottle of Hennessey. Damn it was stereotypical to say the least, even if it hadn’t been distinctly ruled out there would have been a fair bit of mocking. Black Mill’s face of student diversity for the last god knows how many months turning up with a bottle of Tupac’s favourite. Instead he pulled out a bottle towards the back, Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey, yeah it wasn’t whatever gold plated bottle Gus would have knocking about, but Lamar was going to get pissed it would be on something that tasted decent, like hell he was going to be pretending to enjoy some 100 year old whiskey that tastes like it had been brewed on the sidewalk. He pushed himself up setting the bottle down atop the cabinet. As he did he caught sight of himself in the mirror. The crumpled white t-shirt was still damp with sweat stains, stretched over his muscled torso. Nothing like Rook’s mind you, sometimes he wondered how that guy fitted through doorways. He was more lithe, long in the leg and arms, but still with strength behind it. And a stink to match. He wrinkled his nose.

“Damn Mr Reynolds, you have got to get some decent aircon in that kitchen…”

Lamar muttered to himself, shaking his head as he headed towards the bathroom. A shower was definitely the most pressing need, and time was short.

Present
​

The party was already in full swing. Even from round the corner he could hear, and these were long streets, the tree lined avenues filtering out both sound and noise. Lamar was pedalling gently now, despite the cool night air he now found himself in, turning up dripping in sweat wouldn't be the finest look. Besides Gus' all black dress code hardly helped keep him cool. I mean that was just in the sense of temperature. Hell he was looking tight tonight. The black leather jacket buttoned loosely, it had taken months of scraping together left over pay-cheques to buy it, what better place to take it for a test drive than at a party where people had probably spent the same amount of money on their lunch. Still money wasn't everything was it, the clothes just accentuated the man underneath them, and Lamar knew that in his case, that was a hell of a building block. As he cycled off the public road and down the driveway, he leaned back on his seat. Letting his right hand loose of the handlebars and swept it through his hair, the carefree grin sliding back into place. The social experiment, or the school's answer to its crippling diversity problem, he was none of those things now, imposed labels he had long since brushed aside. LR17 was here, the boy from nothing who was here to claim his rightful place atop the pyramid his family had long spent propping up. All hail the king eh?

He lept off his bike, grabbing the bottle that was strapped to the back. He left the bike propped up by a tree, this was Black Mills proper, if it wasn't safe here in the middle of Casa Windrift, then it wasn't going to be safe fully chained up anywhere else. Besides any thief would need to get their eyes tested given the amount of fancy foreign horsepower on display in the car park. There was a fair bit of spillover from the house itself, people already hitting the booze, but no one yet in too bad or embarrassing a state, in other words he hadn't strayed over the line of being fashionably late quite yet. Making his way through the smatterings of the crowd he began to let the showman take over. It was just like being on the pitch, give them a show, win their hearts, the rest follows rather easily after that. Backslaps, over the top handshakes, carefree smiles and a name to a face here and there. Didn't take much. With the closure these people had been starved off him, let them feast in his glow. Despite this they were but the hangers on, the peripheries, the royalty and nobility were to be found deeper inside. He jogged up towards the entrance, side stepping and near dancing around people. One of the pairs he dodged around were very much known to him. To be honest DJ Dapper was pretty much known to everyone, that man had a dress sense that put everyone else to shame. Well nearly everyone Lamar thought to himself. And about to go arm in arm with a Hen, Mira Lombardo at that. The Hen that some say wanted to rule the coop. He slapped a hand on Dapper's shoulder as he walked by, momentarily turning round to face the pair as he walked backwards through the freshold.

"Ain't a party if the musical maestro isn't here. You are looking tight as hell tonight my man,"

He then flashed a wink towards Mira. "And I don't really have to state the obvious to you do I. Always looking sharp Lombardo. Now you crazy cats keep it PG eh....?" He laughed as he swung back round. "Just kidding, time to go fucking wild,"

And with that Lamar was across the freshold and into the party. And with anything the Windrifts put on, visually it didn't disappoint. He glanced about, attempting to catch site of their host, but it soon became apparent that he was missing. Wasn't like Gus not to be in the centre of things in his own party. Hopefully he hadn't started too early and ended up passing out somewhere. Then again that would give Lamar enough ammunition to throw his way for at least the next 6 months. Cracking open the bottle of JD he poured himself a healthy measure in one of the multitude of red plastic cups that were available. The sweet honeyed flavour made it easy drinking, even if the heat added an element of stickiness to it. Leaving the bottle he made his way through the crowd, drink raised above the rather dangerous elbow level, and into the kitchen. Making his way towards a fridge that probably cost the same amount his father paid for their house. The room was more or less empty, whilst it offered a pretty good vantage point of a good deal of proceedings, the position of the table of alcohol appeared to have most people thoroughly occupied. There was one occupant though, leaning lazily against the counter as she surveyed the gathering, glass of wine in one hand and popping a snack in her mouth with the other. Noya wasn't it... yeah that was it, her parents were ambassadors or something. He wasn't even sure where he'd heard that to be honest, probably from Gus or River, they always seemed to have some sort of who's who on hand. He glanced towards her as he began to fill his cup with a liberal amount of ice.

"Just here to watch then Noya? Probably the right move, we've got another hour until everyone reaches that stage where everyone starts going past their limit, about the same time Gus will start breaking out the fancy stuff I reckon." Backing away from the fridge he leaned against the counter next to her, taking a slow sip from his cup as he joined her in looking over the growing sea of people. "To think this was all nearly gone... should make it an even wilder one,"

 

[FireMaiden]

Location: Windrift Manor : Kitchen
Interaction: RayPurchase (Lamar)
Mentioned: N/A
Outfit/Shoes: X1 X2
Noya was actually enjoying the solitude, watching as people drank and made fools of themselves. Slowly sipping on her wine, thoughtfully eating the few snacks she had picked out. Not many people seemed to be wandering her way, Noya of course didn't mind that too much, knowing he would eventually have to go an socialize. Maybe play one of their American party games or something. But that solitude was broken by a boy she recognized. American football was what came to mind when she say him, her eyes following him for a few moments as he filled his cup with ice. But she didn't look at him for too long, her gaze shifting back to party with another sip of wine.

Noya didn't know Lamar well, but knew of him. One of Principal Vale's "charity cases" as they called him. Noya didn't see the point in distinguishing between a student there on a scholarship vs students there normally. But she did know that if he hadn't had the success he had on the field, Lamar would not have been around for too long. So it was a safe bet to say she was mildly surprised when he spoke to her. Eyes once again leaving the party, she turned her focus to him. "Parties like this aren't my cup of milk," she spoke. Something about that phrase felt odd, but...well, English was her third language. Idioms were not her forte.

Anyway, parties like these she saw very little point in. She was more comfortable in actually refined gatherings, instead of seeing how much you could drink before your stomach needed to get pumped. As he moved to lean on the counter next to her, she shifted enough to make sure he had enough room. He was after all, much taller than her. "Are you just watching too then?" She asked with a slight smirk, watching his features for a second, before her gaze once again returned to the party.

"My parents almost didn't let me come back. Assassination attempts tend to do that, but...I am happy to be back. I missed ballet." She knew Lamar probably didn't fully understand that statement. Well, she was sure he did, but not at an...emotional level? Is that the word she was looking for? Regardless, it was a topic she quickly dropped. "What did everyone do while Black Mill was closed? I heard about the asbestos."

 

[Hypnos]

Gus Windrift
​

Near Hogwarts? Being that Gus’ mother was from the noble House of Percy, and a sibling to the current Duke of Northumberland, it was perhaps more accurate to say that she lived in Hogwarts, though the Windrift refrained from making such a distinction. Too braggy, perhaps, though it was hard to maintain any semblance of humility whilst climbing the stairway of your family’s three-story regency manor; passing by, as you did, countless testaments to ancient riches.

Gus wasn’t ashamed of his wealth: far from it in fact, and he was more than aware of how fortunate he was to have the vast resources of the Windrift family behind him. God only knows how someone like him would have managed to cope in the real world without it. However for him, such things were merely a fact of life. Trivial and ordinary. It was definitely not something he tried to hide, as everyone at the current gathering could attest to, nor would he stop himself from showing it off, often in a loud and grandiose fashion. Though only in the right company.

There would always be that little voice at the back of his head, that gentle nagging that screamed out for validation, and needed to be liked by everyone. Often times, that little voice was far more self-aware than the man in which it resided, and it was that same voice which didn’t want for Jasmine to see him now as a pompous rich fuck-up.

Even if that was exactly who he was.

It was a little fake, perhaps, but anyone that told you to be yourself at all times was merely too inept at the game of social hierarchy to care about what other people thought of you.

Which was pretty much all that Gus cared about.

‘It’s a really nice place if you like the countryside, though there’s not much else to do up there than sit in a field and look at the view. Haven’t been in a few years.’ Nor had he seen his mother at all, in that timespan, but that was a quagmire he wanted to get caught in even less than that of his father and brother.

Considering the extensive and storied nature of the Windrift family tree, the foliage was certainly more than a little off-kilter.

‘Inviting me on a trip to Europe? I guess I could use the tan.’ The Swiss Alps weren’t exactly known for their vibrant sun, and given that they were already firmly in the autumn months, it was unlikely that Gus would be anything but fairly pale for quite a while now. ‘And I’d have a hard time turning down such great company.’ His smile only widened further at her words, now at an almost dangerous girth. He was having a good time, and although he normally spent most of his time at these sorts of parties putting on a big show with Walshy, or some of the other boys from the Peacocks, this seemed like a nice change of pace, especially since she seemed at least somewhat interested in what he was saying.

Unlike a lot of people.

‘You could probably pick out Fitz in a crowd.’ He chuckled a little, his words clearly a little slurred, though he was still able to string together complete sentences, and he wasn’t so completely out of it, that he wasn’t aware of what was going on around him.

Well, at least he wasn’t completely unaware.

‘He’s the one that looks exactly like me, but without the clown make-up.’

He motioned to take another chug of vodka, before remembering the bottle had been long since discarded.

‘It’ll be a real archaeological adventure. You can be Indiana Jones, and I’ll be your Shortround.’

The most biting archaeological reference which Gus could make.

Once the pair of them were inside of Gus’ room, the Windrift couldn’t help himself but feel a little genuine glee as he watched Jasmine survey not only the garbage dump that he tried to pass off as a living space, but also the entire contents of his closet.

There was something refreshingly intimate about the whole affair, and it was certainly a relief that she hadn’t chewed him out for the mess like he had assumed that she would.

Whilst Jasmine’s head was stuck in his closet, Gus made a conscious effort to at least tidy up a tad, gathering some of the clothes from the floor and piling them up into a not-so-neat lump next to the bed. At least the floor was moderately more traversable now. He didn’t want her to think that he was an animal, even if he did mostly live like one.

As she turned back around to face him, clutching a few various articles of clothing in hand, Gus didn’t do much to resist the suggestion that he should start to change in front of her. His current shirt was already wet and sticky, and it was growing increasingly uncomfortable to wear with every few minutes, and besides that, he was a mostly complacent drunk.

Peeling the polo of his chest and over his head, Gus discarded it onto the floor, undermining his previous efforts to make things a little cleaner, and perhaps showing how the room had managed to get to such a state in first place.

He was in pretty good shape, nothing spectacular, but he did play for both the Barebacks and the Peacocks, which kept him pretty active most of the time, even if he was not completely jacked like some of his teammates.

In truth, if one were to attempt to find the weakest link in the Black Mill football team, they would have to look little further than the youngest of the Windrifts. He enjoyed the sport mostly for the social aspect, having only signed up because his best buddy River was the Captain, and he wanted to spend more time with him. Gus was okay at football, but he was far from spectacular, which he was more than aware of, not that he would ever admit to such a failing aloud. Especially not in front of Lamar.

The Barebacks too, was not exactly a passion of his, and more an obligation, given that his father had donated the funds that had built the Black Mill stables, and even his photography gig at the Blackford Bulletin was only something he pursued because his buddy Kim used to be the editor-in-chief, and she couldn’t find anyone else to fill the role.

It was this mostly aimless, follower attitude that shone through the Windrift right now, as he allowed Jasmine to start looking through his stuff, and dictating his wardrobe, far from a natural born leader, as he allowed the girl to take charge.

‘Paint on me like one of your French girls.’ Gus undercut the seriousness of the situation somewhat with a little joke, the slight twang of a faux-accent escaping from his lips.

Keep it light.

Caoimhe_

 

[Keggee311]

James Rook

The so-called swag in James's step was all too obvious as he came raising the box of liquor above his head. "Now it's party time bitches!" The collection of liquor he brought was...extensive to say the least. Jagermeister, Captain Morgan, four different whiskeys((Beam, Daniels, Jameson, and Walker)), Jose Cuervo well for obvious reasons in his current state of mind. The cherry topper though was a mason jar of backwoods moonshine.

"The man himself returns." James reached his hand out towards River. It had been too long since he saw him.

"Now a serious question." James was faking being serious. "Are you ready to get shitfaced?" After he spoke he couldn't be serious no more a willy grin spread across his lips. "It's good to have you back man." Patting River's back. Perhaps harder than he anticipated. James had obviously packed on even more muscle during the summer.

Setting down the box of liquor on the most adjacent table but had pulled out the moonshine. He was going to get River and everyone else obliterated, hence the lining up of Solo cups. Starting with the moonshine first, pouring shot sized portions in each cup. Rook sized shots to be exact though which equaled almost a fifth of the cup.

"Cass, you're talking crazy. If I start blue balling the world would be ending. College ladies are very generous. Besides two is better than one." Raising his brow with a shit-eating grin form on his face as he mentioned his so-called threesome. He added a couple of wiggles of the tongue just to enhance the shit-talking. During the summer he had bounced between home and various colleges for recruitment.

"Zia looking fabulous as always." He didn't stare but he did notice as he finished pouring the shots that her chest had gotten rather large because of the baby. Zia was River's girl and he would pay her the due respect needed. "Every day is wild in my world. Just enjoying the ride."

"Mira, sweet cake how have you been?" The flirt was obvious but half-hearted at the moment. Man he wanted Mira but that deal wasn't even closeable.

"Dj man, after shots you gotta get some jams up in here man."

"Get your sorry ass over here Lamar, I know you're here." Between Lamar and River, there were no better friends to be had. A kinship of brothers on the football field.

James proceeded to hand out the solo cups to everyone, regardless if you already had something drink already. "Oh yeah, you aren't drinking prez. My bad Ellie." pouring what would've been her shot into his cup.

Lastly had been Norah. "Don't go overboard on this." He was a bit leery giving Norah the drink but he already said he would over twitter.

After he had finished passing out drinks James climbed on top of the adjacent table. Obviously he had been drinking some before the party because of his wild and reckless behavior. How much though?

"Now everyone shut your mouths I got something to say." Holding his cup up for a makeshift toast. "For some of us, it's our last year. But! Until we all leave, I say we party harder and longer this year. We are going out with a damn bang!!" Chugging down nearly half a cup of moonshine and flipping it over his shoulder. "Let's turn it up!" He said jumping down from the table.

​

 

[BELIAL.]

NORAH WALSH
~~~~~~

location: windrift manor (inside) mention: Caoimhe_ (Cassiel) TheFool (Ellie) Keggee311 (James)

She bobbed her head to Cass, letting a lingering smile slip from her lips. "But you, you’re still a junior – this is your standard.” She opened her mouth to contradict, but she flopped it shut instead. He wasn't wrong, as she hated to admit, but she was determined not to end up the picture of failure-- Robert Walsh already made that line very clear, in case his children dared to cross it.

“It’s also going to be funny to see Gus get his arse whooped for the 100th time this year. Want to make a bet on which lass he gets with by the end of the night?" Cass whispered to her, and she let a snarky giggle slip past her posed hand. She rolled her eyes at him, tapping her chin.

"It's always a joy to see Tweedle-dum spill over ass first, especially at the receiving end of alcohol-- or a girl. It'd be hard to bet, my sweet Cass, because I doubt he will," Norah replied with another cutting smirk to her friend. The group began to slowly make their way in, splintering off a bit, Riona somewhere in the shadows or having made her way in already. Her heels clicked on the cement walkway, arms swinging as she relished in the late summer breeze of the night. As all things went, soon the warmth would be replaced by that bitter New England cold. You grew used to it, living here, but you never could forget how it felt.

A couple more joined them from behind, and Norah flicked her head around to see not only James, but President Ellie herself. Norah sized the two up and down, a bit of flame at the back of her throat that they'd show up together (but nonetheless apathetic). She scoffed to herself at Ellie's shoes, completing the attire in some strange, Avril Lavigne way. Wow, amazing, is that a feminist thing? Is that what feminists do now? Wear sneakers with dresses? She kept the comment to herself though, feeling a twinge in her stomach when James acknowledged her in the group.

He asked about her summer, she nodded (he knew, but it wasn't like she wanted anyone else to know), and she crossed her arms to keep that facade nice and tight. Of course they'd spent some... time together, in the summer, but it wasn't anything serious. Not to Norah anyway, who knew better. No one simply made the list for her; no one was that special brand of perfect human that'd look good smacked next to her in the yearbook photos.

But a girl has needs, and a girl had trauma to cope with as well.

Ellie spoke to her next, eliciting a soft gasp from Norah.

"You look really nice," she had said and given an agreeing followup to Zia. Norah preferred not to let the shark smell blood in the water, however, but wasn't against playing fair with Madame President herself.

"Wow, thanks Ellie! You look," she said with that heavy breath; a glance up and down once again-- obvious, a bit weighted. "Cute."

Someone like Ellie was probably the radical liberal version of Norah, but that's not to say Norah was anything close to a gun-toting, rights-denying conservative (Robert Walsh could be, if he tried). Norah simply valued her privilege, valued her wealth, and valued her beauty. She wasn't going to put that aside for anything, not even to be an uptight ass like Ellie.

Eventually the group finally made their way in, music already swelling. The air was a tad stifled, and she shrugged her jacket off to tie it around her waist. Eventually she'd throw it at someone, or maybe if Gus was capable enough he had set up some kind of coat-check. This wasn't a bum kickback. This was a Windrift extravaganza.

James completed it by slamming down his pack of alcohol, and pouring everyone cups of... moonshine. Atrocious, heavy, and a staple for the beast of a man. Norah let a flirty smile curl off her lips, a momentary linger in her memory. She dropped it, gratefully snatching the cup from his hand.

"Don't go overboard on this," he said and she very visibly rolled her eyes.

"Thanks Dad, I sure won't!" Her fake chipper voice was from annoyance than any kind of legitimate anger at being told that. She looked around to her siblings, hoping they weren't going to throw a piss about it; or question his logic. At the end of the day, they probably wouldn't.

The considerate Walshes, as always.

James made a toast at the top of the table, and Norah couldn't help but giggle a little. Party boys man, they were something else.

She joined the cheer from the surrounding partygoers, and shot down the cup. It burned, burned like hell, but she swallowed her tongue and squeezed her eyes shut. He jumped down just as she audibly fake-gagged a little. Hard liquor was hard; spirits moreso. Nevertheless, Norah wasn't a fucking loser.

A trait she and her shitty siblings had in common.

Already feeling a spin to her head from the one cup, she quickly slid next to James and discretely locked a finger in his shirt fabric. On her tip-toes for a brief moment, she smiled warmly at him. "Find me later," she whispered. "Summer isn't over quite yet."

Then she moved away, just as fast, winking and skimming the crowd for someone else to chatter with. Someone who wasn't a killjoy like Ellie. Maybe she'd talk to Cassiel a bit more. ​

 

[Wildflower101]

Mirabella Lombardo

​

Mira turned when she heard him call after her. Mira loved confidence. Not even that she respected confidence and she was also the type of person to go after what she wanta. Mira smiled not one of those fake smiles she did for cameras or people when she was fishing for information. No it was one of the rare smiles that really reached her eyes"You're right, Will". For a moment Mira felt as though he saw more than her pretty face that most people are initially attracted to or as the daughter of Stefan Lombardo. That there were complex layers of Mira that was under wraps for most of the world. The one that loved art and played the violin. Or the Mira that felt she had something to prove to her father and strived for that success so one day he may look at Mira the same way he looked at Luca her brother.

She looped her arm through his feeling his suit jacket,"We shall. I'm Mirabella. But you can call me Mira." She let Will lead her inside. it was already quite busy inside. Mira loved the party atmosphere. She moved a bit closer to Will as someone pushed by her.

Mira rolled her eyes at Lamar's comment. "I didn't know I needed permission from you Reynolds to go wild. Don't have more fun than me!"She shouted after him as he disappeared in the crowd. Lamar had always made cheering at football games gun.

She moved her hand down to Will's. "C'mon let's get you something to drink. You look too stressed for someone at a party." She led him in further when James clumsily handed her a drink. She smirked, "My summer could have been better James." Harmless flirting with James wouldn't hurt anyone. James was always like that with her. She spotted Zia and waved to her she'd have to catch up with her later.

She downed her shot and made a face. Ugh she hated the taste of moonshine. She smiled up at Will. She was hypnotized by his blue eyes . She sat on her hands to stop herself from taking off his glasses to get a better look. They reminded her of the beaches in Italy. "So why the change of scenery from LA? You yearned for Massachusetts suburbs. Or maybe...you're looking for something else? Looking for someone? Even yourself perhaps?" Mira sometimes wondered if she should be looking for herself and what more she wanted past this past Black Mill. She wondered if Will had the answers to these questions as a viral DJ.

Mira perched herself on the edge of one of the tables. She played with Will's bowtie while he answered. "Personally Black Mill is a nice break from my family and the world I live in Italy." Break wasn't even the word to describe it. Her family had her go to school Italy and she hated it. Not when everything she had worked so hard for at Black Mill went up in flames literally. All her work in Hens, Swim Team and even debate gone instantly. She had built a name for herself as Mirabella Lombardo.

She leaned over whispering in Will's ear, "I for one can't wait to hear your tunes. Especially the ones that mean something to you."

Keggee311 Church418 RayPurchase ailurophile

 

[Rusty of Shackleford]

Jacob Hughes

The reasoning behind why Jacob was going to this party was a mystery even to him. His disdain for these people who he'd never met was clear to see, and he wasn't exactly a social person anyways. Mainly, he was doing it because his mother told him to. Well, over texts, that is. He was staying in the dorms, while his parents were down South. It was...unnerving being so far away from them, but it was at least a chance to have some independence. At least he didn't have to deal with his old man breathing down his neck anymore, though Jacob had a feeling he'd start to miss that during his time at Black Mill...

Jacob, compared to the rest of the partygoers, was dressed incredibly causally. The dress code said to wear black, so he did, the new kid wearing a plain zip up hoodie over his T-Shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers. He screamed low income. He hadn't even stepped inside the home of the...Windrift's(?), and he already felt intimidated. As he stood outside, he took in a long, nervous breath as he prepared himself. He didn't know a single person here, they probably saw him as some country bumpkin, and that's if they even realized he was there, or cared enough to know he was a new student. This was a complete and utter nightmare for Jacob, and this was all before he even stepped inside.

Finally, he worked up the courage to enter the party, Jacob about to knock on the door when he realized it was practically wide open. "Damn..." he thought. "Would have thought they'd be pretty strict at the door..." With a noncommittal shrug, Jacob let himself in, the smell of booze hitting him like a freight train. He almost stumbled from the pungent aroma, steadying himself as he looked across the sea of nearly drunk white people. Wow...looks like his mental image of these people was pretty much spot on. Rich, pretty...oddly missing any and all racial diversity...yep. Thai was definitely a party for the 1%. He suddenly felt...vulnerable, a small fish in a big pond. He had no idea what to do, besides just kind of stand there awkwardly. He was starting to regret coming here, and was contemplating just going back to his dorm...then he remembered what his mother asked of him, and he was far more afraid of her than talking to people he didn't know. So he just kind of...stood there, absolutely frozen in social awkwardness.

ailurophile
​

 

[ailurophile]

Jocelyn​

Time away from school had treated Jocelyn well. For the most part, she’d spent her days working with her father: it felt good to be productive, and she’d always been passionate about baking. Plus, she’d mastered several new frosting techniques, and was beginning to fancy herself as quite the budding chocolatier. Then there was her cycling, and volunteering at the animal shelter, and brushing up on her Italian...

Jocelyn was growing.
But as she stood on the Windrifts’ driveway, alone, feeling out of place, clutching a stack of containers filled with confectionery, she realised something.
Old habits died hard.

She wasn’t going to let that stop her. In fact, plunging back into life at Black Mill had been all she could think about for days; she’d missed it so badly, no matter how hard she tried to focus on anything else. Her friends, her studies, cheerleading — Zia had even promised her a uniform that wasn’t a hand-me-down this year — were her life. As trivial as they could seem to some people.

The thought was like a new burst of wind under her sails, bringing her brightest smile to her face and propelling her through the door. Once inside the house, she became overwhelmed in the best way. So many familiar faces, how could she ever decide who to greet first? She felt a newfound empathy for the litter of puppies the shelter had acquired, who tripped over themselves in excitement anytime they were given a scrap of attention.

Luckily, her blue eyes locked onto the one face she didn’t recognise, though she pieced the puzzle together surprisingly quickly. Still barely able to peer over the tower of boxes cradled in her arms, she rushed forward and struggled to offer a hand in greeting.

“Hi! Oh my gosh, hello! You’re Jacob, right? You’re new? I’m Jocelyn, it’s so fab to meet you. I didn’t even know you’d be here tonight, that’s so great. Welcome! Welcome, welcome.”

A deep breath, after what seemed like an eternity of babbling.

“Do you like cake, Jacob? I’ve got food. I didn’t bring any alcohol, though. Well, there’s coffee liqueur in some of the frosting—“

Rusty of Shackleford

 

[Wildflower101]

Jax Williams
​

Jax jolted out of his bed after trying to sleep. That was a mistake. Jax should have known better than to try to sleep. Sweat was dripping off his forehead like he had just done a workout. He could still feel it on his skin. He heaard his own screams begging for someone to come find him. It had been more than thirteen years since his uncle kidnapped him and Jax still couldn't escape it.

Jax headed to his keyboard and started playing Claire de Lune in his dorm room. His mom loved this song. He tapped on his phone to stop the video and saved it. Even though both Jax and his dad loved technology. His mom refused to get anything other than her flip phone stating that it does it's job perfectly fine at calling people. Jax saved the videos on his phone so he could show his mom the next time he visited. She had days that were better than others. She had changed from the mother that Jax knew when he was a younger but he still loved her all the same.

He knew that the party would be soon and he hated all the extra socialization not to mention half the goers don't remember what happens in the morning. Basically the entire football team was going. If he didn't go he knew that Lamar would call him asking where he was. That was from experience that Jax knew this. He eventually found the motivation in himself to get dressed. He got into his car and drove over to the Windrifts. It wasn't too far from the dorms. Jax handed his keys to the valet and headed in. His head was already starting to hurt from the noise.

Jax saw James jump down from the table after Norah passed by him he gripped James shoulder, "Take it easy James. The night is still young. You have all night to go wild." Jax figured he might not be seeing James for the rest of the night.

His eyes met Norah's "Always a pleasure to run into our VP at outside events." Jax didn't mind Norah's presence. She probably enjoyed getting on Ellie's nerves as much as he did. Speaking of Ellie he hadn't had the pleasure of running into her yet. Probably for the better.

He headed into the kitchen to try to get away from all the noise when he saw Noya and Lamar. He high fived Lamar,"It's been a while. "He give Noya a nod, "De Leon. I can't say I'm surprised to see you in the kitchen but definetly surprised to see Lamar away from the main scene."

FireMaiden RayPurchase BELIAL.

 

[Church418]

William Eugene Porter​

Inside Windrift Manor Wildflower101​

​

The dull thud of the bass within the house transformed from muffled to clear as Will stepped through the front doors with Mira and took in his surroundings. Dozens of faces around his age mingling, drinking, and dancing. The latest fashions covered the young, upper-class crowd as though they were breathing mannequins working for the designers themselves. Though he certainly wasn't one to criticize. First impressions were very important and your appearance is typically the first thing people notice about you. His split-second decision to move on Mira was partially strategic in this regard as having a girl like her beside him would likely send a strong message to those who would be meeting him for the first time. It was a typical society party, though somewhat tamer than what he was accustomed to.

His decision to enter with Mira was already paying off as a larger guy made his way past them while turning to briefly address the pair. Will was used to being recognized and had the same genuine smile and a curt nod ready for everyone, though to Will's surprise he actually recognized the man. He was about to look over and ask Mira for confirmation but when she responded with his name Will knew he was right. Lamar Reynolds. Will had made it a point to become familiar with the important names in Black Mill and the academy itself. He had read up on and was familiar with the Windrifts, but during his research, he had also stumbled upon the story of Lamar Reynolds. An extremely talented wide receiver for the Peacock football team that basically came from nothing and no one. Will knew how hostile the rich and privileged could be to the lower class. Hell, he was an offender on some occasions. But as Lamar turned and made his way into the party Will couldn't help but feel a tinge of admiration for the gentleman. He would want to get to know Lamar if he got the opportunity. RayPurchase

Unlike Lamar, Will's next encounter was with a burly, sandy-haired guy who was unknown to Will raising his voice and drawing in everyone's attention as he passed out shots of a liquor Will couldn't immediately recognize. He was loud and somewhat annoying, but also friendly and lively. Something this party was desperately going to need if it wanted to keep his attention. Will had a love-hate relationship with people like this guy. He found them obnoxious and classless, though he relied on people like him to make his own parties more entertaining. It was called the "Confidence Effect" and people like him helped others come out of their shells and more openly express themselves. Will raised his glass to the toast he made and knocked the shot back. Will winced slightly as it went down. It was fairly crude moonshine. Will was surprised to have ingested it here at this party and briefly wondered if the moonshine was homemade. Keggee311

Will scanned the crowd looking for Gus Windrift. It was considered bad form to mingle without addressing the host upon arrival. He couldn't immediately find Gus but his sister, Zia, did catch his eye. They briefly made eye contact and Will offered her a warm smile and a wave to let her know he was here and appreciated the invite. He would have to speak with Gus later. Hypnos ailurophile

With that, Will was able to return his full attention to Mira. A server walked past them balancing a plate of glasses filled with champagne. Will plucked two glasses from the plate and offered one to Mira, smiling at her. "Something with a bit more class to wash down that moonshine," he said jokingly. Mira perched herself up on a table in front of him and the two were able to engage in their first conversation. Why was he in Massachusetts? She asked. Will briefly considered telling her about the real reason he was here. His father threatening his life and his mother sending him here for his own safety. He decided against bringing it up, not only because it would ruin the vibe but also because......well......fuck his dad. Will was here now because he wanted to be. "You ever feel claustrophobic?" he asked rhetorically. "Not in the literal sense, but just with your life in general? Like you're being held back?" Will's gaze momentarily drifted away. "The west coast was smothering me." he shrugged. "So I came to the east coast." Will warmly smiled at Mira and dropped the serious tone. "And here I thought Massachusetts would be stale and boring," he said, checking her out another time. When Will looked at her he felt this......electricity. It was hard to describe. He raised his glass as a toast between the two of them. "To chance encounters." After their glasses met, Will took a deep drink of the champagne.

He leaned against the table where she sat, close enough for the fabric on their clothes to touch, as she told him a little about her other life in Italy. Will was drawn in, fiercely interested. He wanted to know more. That was when she leaned in and said she couldn't wait to hear his music, especially the ones that meant something to him. Will smiled and studied her for a split second, considering what she was saying. Many people liked his music but few truly understood what it was he did, could Mira be one of them? For some, his music was a gateway deeper into the mind and a journey few dared to explore. With lights and music, Will could help navigate people through their own unique experiences. Acid helped with this of course. Some fans would send him long, detailed accounts of their acid trip while listening to his music and it made Will excited to have been able to provide them that experience.

Will leaned in close and replied, whispering in her ear. "The meaning in my music runs deeper than you know. It's a wild and crazy ride, and I plan to take you on it." Will leaned back, took another drink of champagne, and smiled at her. "One day," he said.

 

[Caoimhe_]

location: Windrift Estate
outfit: OOTD
❛ interaction Hypnos ❜

✦ Jasmine Mahalia ✦​

“I don’t think I could hack the countryside.” She spoke, her nose scrunching up slightly in distaste as if she was thinking about it. She wasn’t. Then again, she probably wasn’t thinking about the same country side that he was recanting in his story. To Jasmine the country side was... well it was what she remembered from her childhood. It was the country side in the Philippines. It was Ifugao: luscious green grass, tribes and culture. It was endless fields of lush scenery that she tucked away in the pockets of her heart. A safe space for her memories and her memories only. It was those memories that sustained her, and every once in a while - her only real happy times. “Though I suppose if it’s a countryside in England then it can’t be that bad, can it?” She spoke before continuing, “Especially when the great Windrift family hails from there.” She giggled, her eyes scrunching from the corners. Was the alcohol kicking in?

“It’s okay, not everyone can be blessed with my level of melanin.” She said whilst pressing both hands on either side of her face to emphasise her point. Truly, she was blessed getting as much melanin as she did. Sure, the kids back in the Philippines knew she was a half-breed bastard but no one here needed to know that. Being adopted was a charity case within itself. “You’d have a hard time turning down my company. Don’t get it twisted. My parents will make you want to dig yourself into an early grave.” She sighed whilst rolling her eyes. Half true, they weren’t with her during majority of said trip but every time Jasmine did so much as breath she would be reinforced proper etiquette when around her parents. She would rather gouge out her ear drums with a spork than be sat during another one of those conversations.

She let out a light giggle at what he said before raising an eyebrow towards him. “Why so serious Mr. Joker?” She replied with jest lacing her voice. As she continued walking, seeing another unopened bottle of rosé which she was quick to pick up, filling her glass slowly one again to the brim. This time however, she kept the bottle in hand. She felt like she was going to need it the longer the long night went on.

“Wouldn’t I be short round?” She questioned, “You know... being Asian and all.” She questioned as she pointed towards her eyes with an amused smile. She was used to it at this point, people being extra careful around her because of her ethnicity and trying to not to offend her. Those people also needed to shut the fuck up because they wouldn’t survive a day in Black Mill.

After pulling out a variety of tops from his closet, and telling him to take his shirt off - she couldn’t help the heat that slowly crawled onto her cheeks. Eyes widening before looking down slightly - almost shamefully. She didn’t expect him to... you know? Just go in and take the whole thing off. What the hell was she? A virgin about to sleep with someone for the first time? She was Jasmine fucking Mahalia. Boys trying to be men got shy when her clothes came off, not the other way around.

To be fair to him, he really was the perfect canvas - an ideal for the catwalks of Milan and Paris. Muscular, but not too muscular. Boyish but not in a way that felt to childish. But his attitude and body were oxymorons to each other. When he would talk he would have a child-like twinkle in eyes. A midnight summer sky full of star light like a million diamonds dashed and broken into different pieces. Broken. Was Augustus just ask dashes and divided as Jasmine was?

His eyes looked like Jasmine’s in a sense - sailor who downed warm whiskey to drown out the noise. In some way he was even puppy like. Jasmine felt like even if she told him his forehead was wide enough to be a helicopter landing pad, he would probably believe her.

Jasmine slowly came towards the other, her hands reaching for the different tops she’d just picked out. She picked each and and placed them against his body. Her hands plucking the tops gently from the hem of their shoulders and her fingernails gently touching Augustus’s shoulders. It was no direct skin on skin contact but it made her feel weird, strange almost. Like she was doing something she shouldn’t have been. But why did she care? She was never a conformist. Had never been one. So why was society’s expectations on how she should be behaving in this situation affecting her so much now?

She let the shirt go. Giving him a stare once and then twice. She allowed herself to run her hands across his face. His cheekbones, his jaw, across his lips. She wondered if he truly knew how pretty he was. Not beautiful - he seemed so real not ethereal. Not handsome - he didn’t give off a certain machismo like most boys in her school did. He was pretty, it was the only word she could use to describe the delicacy of his appearance. Like Michelangelo to David, she too was envisioning what perhaps in her mind might the ideal man be like. Her gaze, loving, almost knowing before turning stone cold.

“You’re pathetic, you know?” She sighed before sitting next to Augustus on his bed and collapsing on her back. Her face then began to morph back into a neutral expression. She could hear music thumping from the downstairs and the increased cheers amongst the party goers. The Walsh family must have arrived - and their clique along with them.

She was going to go for it. But the moment she looked into those stupid puppy dog eyes she knew neither of them were up for what Jasmine thought he was implying. Not in the slightest. It was nice though, if she wasn’t lying to herself. Having one night where she could kind of talk freely without regret. It wasn’t like he was going to be sober enough to remember the events of tonight anyway.

“But so am I.” She whispered.

She sat up slowly before pivoting herself on her knee so that she could straddle Augustus. She stared at him in his lost eyes as she pushed his hair away from his face. Some of it dry, some of it a bit sticky but it didn’t matter to her anyway. She leaned in slowly to leave him a slow and chaste peck on his lips before leaning away.

“Happiness tastes better when you’re sober, my sweet summer.” She whispered before getting up.

She avoided piles of junk on his floor as she made her way to the front of his bedroom door, hearing the music and cheers slowly getting louder. She paused at his bedroom door before turning towards him.

“And wear the Versace, Gucci’s been falling off for years.” She commented before she opened the door and left. Making her way downstairs slowly but surely to meet the other guests.

code by @fudgecakez

 

[Lizy]

camilla.

Camilla glanced up at herself in the mirror as she put on her heels. She'd be lying if she said she didn't think she looked damn good right now. She knew it wouldn't last though, counting on getting absolutely shitfaced at this party. God knows she needed it. Sure she'd done some... interesting things in the past month or so, but she missed her typical party scene. Putting on a coat of lip gloss, she checked the time. Already running a bit late. She went downstairs only to find her mother passed out on a couch. Good. Camilla didn't want to deal with her shit tonight. She quickly grabbed two large bottles of vodka, it wasn't like her mother was going to miss them, and left the house.
On my way, she texted Imani. Camilla had convinced Imani to come to the party, she knew her friend needed to have some fun. At least she thought she did. Ok I'm here, she notified Imani once she pulled up to the residence.

location: imani's home • outfit: x • interactions: imani ( enigma2 )

 

[Caoimhe_]

code by @fudgecakez

MINA EL HAMMANI

Location: Windrift Estate
Interaction: TheFool BELIAL. ailurophile Keggee311
Outfit:OOTD

Cassiel Ó Cinnéide​

Cassiel rolled his eyes upon seeing his childhood friend being snatched away by Zia. Zia, there was so much someone could say about her but if Cassiel had to describe her in one word it would be toxic. Zia was the snake beneath the beguiling flower, and she was poisoning River. Of course, the relationship went two ways. They were both toxic for each other, yet here they were. Clinging to each other as if a baby wasn’t the saviour of their relationship. What a fucking farce. If River had wanted Cassiel’s full and honest advice, it would have been to abort the baby. And he would say it proudly. Abortion was seen as a no in Ireland. A deep shame, but here they were in a country willing for the procedure yet here the cockroach survived the nuclear fall out.

Did he just reference a child as a cockroach? Yes, he did. Maybe if River settled with a girl that was good for him, then Cassiel would have an easier time playing uncle. But as long as that child was 50% Zia, Cassiel wasn’t going to go anywhere fucking near it. River wasn’t ready to be a parent. Cassiel heard the countless arguments and complaints from River: “Be a good grandad to your kid”, “Can’t you take care of your grandkid for once”. It shouldn’t have been on River’s dad to take care of their baby, it should be on himself. And Cassiel would have explained this, should River be willing to listen. But River mostly listens to River. Until he’s gone too overboard, then he comes back to Cassiel - crying for advice.

Still, he walked in with them. He too needed the short temporary bliss that a full night of alcohol brought after a long winter. Along the way he laughed at James’s quips on his summer experiences, no matter how crass it may be. Better that James spend his entire summer fucking around than dwelling on days past. Cassiel did, for quite a while actually. Call it survivors guilt or whatever but he just couldn’t make sense of what had happened that fateful day. He buried it though, far back to the depths of his mind as he went to another private school in Ireland for the time being. Not much different from Black Mill, just a whole different breed of people.

“You’re so charming James, next time add me to the mix. Just remove the girls.” He laughed and winked before shaking his head.

He then went ahead and got himself a bottle of whatever the fuck Guss he decided to serve before finding himself a wall to lean on. Cassiel was fine not being the centre of attention. It was a shame that he couldn’t say that for his counterpart friends. All of them, noisy and extroverted to their own right. Cassiel tried and he tried hard to be the extroverted introvert that everyone wanted. But sometimes he just wanted everyone to piss off. Maybe if he drank enough of the watered down crap he was drinking then he would soon be able to get into the mood.

Cassiel looked up, smiling at the sight of Norah walking around. He loved Norah, or at least the idea of Norah. Really, he did. The idea that this was his bonded-brother’s younger sister invoked at least somewhat of a protective instinct in him. Even if it was one which had slightly torn down after seeing what Norah was slowly turning into. She was turning into someone Cassiel didn’t remember. Someone Cassiel didn’t like. So he always kept it light between them. Light hearted banter and smiles to beguile the time.

“Still haven’t found your victim for tonight, have you?” He asked jokingly. He raised the red cup in his hand filled with god knows what dog shite alcohol that the Americans were sure would get him fucked. News flash, it didn’t. He viewed Norah as he leaned against the wall, running his hand through his hair to push it away from his forehead.

“ It’s okay, I’ll willingly be your prisoner of war, my sweet.” He jested as he wrapped an arm around her and brought her closer to him. A sign of affection but also a hint of protectiveness. It was true what Cassiel said, this was going to become the new normal for Norah. She was a junior now and this was the time to find herself. She had also blossomed into a beautiful woman under Cassiel’s nose. One who, of course knew how beautiful she was, but also would draw a lot of male attention. He placed his chin on top of her head as he turned her around so that her back was against his chest.

“What do we think we’re doing tonight Norah? We can either socialise, judge people, act like we care about drinking games or get fucked together.” He whispered to her as his chin had moved from her head to the crevice between her neck and her shoulders. He surveyed the room as he did this. There were a lot of people he remembered meeting from his years of the Academy but there were also surprisingly quite a lot of unfamiliar faces which was strange because Cassiel prided himself of being able to recognise a face or two.

 

[Hypnos]

Gus Windrift
​

‘I guess we’ll have to pull out the shovels and dig our graves side by side. I’m gonna have to hold you to that invite.’ Some more gentle teasing. In truth, whilst the offer seemed sweet enough, Gus knew that the chance that he’d even remember the details of this conversation come the morning, was very slim. The night was still young, and already he’d found himself having gone far too quick with his alcohol consumption, knowing himself well enough to realise that this fact wouldn’t stop him from drowning himself in more booze either, when he returned to the party proper. He never did have a great sense of self-preservation.

‘I know what it’s like to have a family like that. God. Half the paintings in this place are of long dead Windrifts. You can barely escape their scathing glares, and smug faces. I’m sure your folks can’t be as bad as that.’ Gus gestured a single hand to the portrait of an austere looking gentleman, garbed in the dress-uniform of a civil war general. A military man, like most of his paternal bloodline. Like he was supposed to be.

A whole wall of unattainable standards.

His comment had been meant as a complement, but in truth, neither of them knew much about the complicated relationships that the other shared with their family. Gus somewhat regretted saying anything at all, watching Jasmine’s face as the words came out of his mouth, not wanting to be too presumptive, though his tongue always had been much faster than his brain.

The alcohol didn’t exactly help either.

Gus let out a snorting laugh.

‘You? Short Round? Are you kidding? And leave me with all of the pressures of being Indy? No dice. I’m definitely more the Short Round sort of guy.’ It was a peculiar thing to be insistent upon, but Gus wasn’t exactly thinking of the meaning behind his words at the moment. It was just a surface level conversation. A bit of fun. A good time.

Alone as they were now Gus had a bit of time to think as Jasmine looked him over, scrunching up his eyes almost in an attempt to sober up, as he sat shirtless on his own bed, not that it did much to help the spinning inside of his head. He was on display now, like a prize turkey, though he didn’t mind overly so. It was flattering, in a way, that she was giving so much attention to him, even if at the moment, he served as little more than merely a living mannequin.

He couldn’t read her face.

Gus had never been good at judging what people were feeling from only their expressions. Subtlety was something that did not come easy to him, as was evidenced by his mostly loud and bombastic outward persona, though in times like this, he cursed himself for not being smart enough to pick up on social cues.

What was she even thinking about?

What was this?

Feeling his own breathing slow slightly, Jasmine’s fingernails pressed gently into his shoulders, holding up a few shirts against his chest to compare what they looked like. They were incredibly close now, intimate, in a physical sense, though at no point did her flesh graze against his own.

A wall between the pair of them, until…

Her hand caressed his face, fingers running carefully over his smooth skin.

It was strange. Not strange in a bad way, but strange nonetheless. It felt nice.

Gus felt that he ought to say something, though he didn’t know exactly what. Should he ruin the moment with a stupid joke? That seemed to be his go to move with most of these forms of interaction, but that didn’t seem appropriate at this time. He merely sat in silence, his own eyes watching hers.

He wasn’t in the right state of mind for this.

She pulled away, sitting next to him on the bed, as she made a comment about just how useless he really was. A little harsh, but certainly not unwarranted.

‘I know.’ Was what he wanted to reply, but the words never managed to make their way to his lips, before Jasmine whispered something else, and Gus felt himself falter.

Then she kissed him.

It wasn’t the sort of normally, sloppy and chaotic kiss that one might expect from two drunk teenagers at a party, nor was it little more than just a peck on the lips, but Gus felt himself smile nonetheless, unable to suppress his genuine glee and surprise.

He looked like a fucking idiot, but that was nothing new.

After that, she walked out on him, leaving a few parting comments that went straight over his drunk-head, and offering some words of advice on what best to wear in order to look his best. She really was an expert.

‘Aye, aye, Captain!’ He muttered under his breath as he watched her depart, collapsing backwards onto his bed as soon as he heard the door close behind her.

What was that?

He’d had a hot girl sitting right next to him on his bed, his shirt already off, and all he’d managed to do was talk about his family, and fucking Short Round of all things.

Maybe Gus was more stupid than he’d given himself credit for.

Letting out a loud and exasperated sigh, the Windrift lay in place for a few minutes, just thinking about what had happened, and why he was such a fuck-up. Hindsight was one hell of a drug, but in the moment, he’d just been so focused on the conversation at hand, that he hadn’t really thought about much of anything else.

Not thinking was certainly a trademark of his.

Whilst it might have been the smart decision to merely stay in here, and allow the party to manage itself whilst he was still nursing this massive hangover-in-the-making, that was not Gus’ style, and the Windrift would rather die before allowing himself to be seen as a poor host.

After a short time of moping, he pulled himself back into action, moving slowly off of the bed, and dressing himself in the shirt that Jasmine had recommended.

She was right, it did look good.

The intermission was now over, and it was time to return to the show, Gus recollecting himself so that he might get back into character as he stepped back towards the door, allowing the alcohol to serve much as a guiding force as he pressed it open, glancing down at the stairs to see what had transpired since he’d left the fold.

More people had arrived now, and not just the useless rabble of before, but now people of actual importance.

Gus bounded down the stairs at an impressive speed considering how much he had had to drink, though after many years of similar antics in this house, he had become an expert at managing to navigate the place with only a few of his senses intact.

One of the few skills which he possessed.

At the centre of the room, he could see a flurry of familiar faces, though one stood out above all the others, not least because the man in question was particularly bulky, and built like a brick wall.

‘River fucking Walsh! This was supposed to be a respectable party. Who let you in here?’ His shit-eating grin was barely contained upon his face at this point, as he shot a pair of finger-guns in the direction of his oldest friend, his sister clinging to River’s arm, so he shot her a glance as well. ‘This summer has been far too long.’

There were more than a few other people gathered, so Gus took the time to greet them all individually, back into the groove now after a previous setback. ‘Jimbo! Billyboy! Cassie! Walshette!’ Those last two seemed particularly close at the moment, to which Gus raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk hanging on his lips.

‘You should watch out for her, Cassie. She’s a little heartbreaker. I’m still not fully recovered.’ A slight chuckle for a joke he was certain that Norah wouldn’t appreciate.

‘And who do we have here? Madame President.’ He made an exaggerated and mock bow in front of Ellie. ‘I’m glad you could make time in your busy schedule to walk amongst the people.’ Another laugh. He liked her well enough. Gus liked most people.

‘So I heard people are doing shots?’

This was really where Gus was in his element now: the theatre of the party, nothing more important than just getting hammered, and doing something stupid that people would talk about for months to come.

It was good to be back.

Caoimhe_ TheFool BELIAL. ailurophile Church418 Keggee311

 

[Keggee311]

Sean
To say Sean missed homesick was a drastic understatement. He wasn't crazy about the U.S. but at the age, his mother whisked him away to live with 'new' father, he had no choice. If he could've, Sean would be back in Ireland. Yea he and his dad were dirt poor but life was so much fun than dealing with all these rich assholes that littered the stretch of land he now had to call home

The only good thing about living in Massachusetts though was the larger influx of Irish-Americans. The cab driver was one such individual, a man in his fifties roughly. Sean had always asked for this particular man just for a feeling of comfort and chit chat about back home.

"Don't drink too much now lad. I don't want you blowing chunks on the back seat.' The aged man let out with a slightly hoarse chuckle.

"Nah... I'll let them get drunk and steal their clothes or something. Knock them down a peg or two." Handing the man a hundred. "Keep the change, I know this place is out of the way." With a tip of the hat, Harold his driver was leaving. Dressed simply in a black sleeveless shirt and jeans, Sean approached the party that was well underway.

Grabbing a coke when walked in, he wasn't gonna start drinking immediately. For the time being, he was going to be the literal fly on the wall. People watching, get a feel for who was who. Sipping once as he watched the chaos slowly start unraveling.

He did notice one girl, a blonde, in particular, doing her own thing. Perhaps she would want company watching these jackasses making a fool of themselves. He didn't know her, hell he hardly knew anyone to be honest.

" I take it your here to watch everyone make a fool of themselves too?" Speaking as he stood on her right side, watching everyone. His thick Irish accent all too obvious. It wasn't the best ice breaker but it was something at least.

"I'm Sean by the way."
Hypnos ((Cassie))

 

[enigma2]

Imani Prince​

"Love you too, mom" Imani mumbled, rolling her eyes while her mom held her in a tight embrace. She watched her mother wipe faux tears from her eyes and Imani almost barfed at the dramatics. Her parents had already been talking the night before and Imani overhead them agreeing that they'd rather she not be home, and the disgust in their voice when talking about how it didn't seem like her sexuality was a phase. The only thing that really annoyed her was the fact that they still pretend they care, she's not a little child anymore and she can see it in their eyes that they'll never love her the same since she was an "abomination". Instead of waiting for her dad who took her coming out way worse than her mom, Imani sat herself in the black limo her parents had provided her and directed him to her aunt's house.

Her father's 25 year old sister, Skylar Prince, was the only family who remained in contact with her and didn't turn their backs on her due to who she liked. With that being said, Skylar lived in Black Mill, her home being a large manor due to her owning a large branch of her father's business, so she was always hauled off from her hometown Boston to Black Mill for school. Imani didn't really mind, she was still living in the same state and Skylar wouldn't force her to do anything she didn't like, unlike her so called parents. Speaking of her parents, Imani appreciated the fact that at least her father didn't try to hide his dislike towards her the same way her mother did. It hurt that the people who were meant to love her unconditionally didn't, due to something as trivial as her sexuality but that wasn't what really shook Imani's summer.

When Imani got back to Boston at the end of the school year, she was met with two kids and their mother in a screaming match with her father. After introducing herself as Jeremy's daughter, Imani asked the woman what she was doing here and who the kids were. It was at her doorstep that the woman revealed that her father apparently had two illegitimate children that he refuses to claim or care for. Imani was of course stuck in shock when looking at the two kids who couldn't be a day over six at most, and her father who seemed unfazed by the accusation. Her father pulled her in for a meeting and the woman left the house with a wide grin on her face, ushering her children away from the Prince manor. Imani already knew her father had paid her off to leave their lives and never come back, and that just opened her eyes to how fucked up her dad was as a person. His two supposed children he wants nothing to do with, and the daughter he claims can't even get the time of day from him. It was safe to say that going back to Black Mill for school, and staying with her aunt was the only thing she looked forward to.

****​

Imani was awoken by her driver lightly tapping her and stating he had already helped her luggage into her home. She thanked him and slipped him three hundred dollar bills, and although he tried to deny it she wouldn't take no for an answer. When she entered the large manor she was met with her aunt who was singing happy birthday to her, but the cake and banner read "Welcome home, Mani!". She just rolled her eyes at her aunts antics, and once Skylar dropped the cake Imani tackled her into a tight hug. After a lot of catching up, well Skylar talking shit about every date she had went on during the summer and some cake, Imani trudged upstairs to her room. She took a deep breath and an even larger smile made its way on her face as she looked over her room that she hadn't seen in two months.

****​

It had only been a day since Imani settled back down in Black Mill, and she had planned on sleeping in the whole day but Camilla had already convinced her to come to the Windrift Bash before the school year started. Imani had only laughed at the suggestion and refused quickly, but after bribing Imani with food and a lot of coercion, here Imani is getting ready for the party. She was temped to throw on a sports bra, compression shorts and just wear a sweater on top but she knew she couldn't so she stalked into her walk in closet to find something suitable to wear.

"Too bright, too dark, too fucking ugly" Imani mumbled, before finally letting out a loud groan and sitting in the sea of discarded clothes on the floor. It was when her eyes landed on a pair of her neon off white air forces that a smile made it's way on her face. "I love you babies so much" she said to the shoes the she probably had never worn, and dug through her clothes until she found a neon long sleeved shirt as well. Instead of doing the most, Imani just paired the two with a grey Nike leggings, and quickly changed. She stood infront of her full body mirror while looking over her outfit once more, until she heard her a pang go off from her phone. After quickly checking the message and verifying that it was Camilla telling her she was on her way, Imani went to her bathroom that was littered with hair products all over. Her hair was in a wavy weave at the moment so she just fluffed it a little and made sure it wasn't in her face before deeming it acceptable enough.

Her fingers were littered with rings, and every piercing she had gotten had an earring inside. A rose gold watch was carefully placed on her right wrist, and Imani made sure her phone was fully charged before rushing down the stairs. When Camilla texted her that she was at her house, she replied quickly replied that she'd be out soon. She made sure to tell Skylar where she was going and even Skylar was surprised, but she just told her to be safe. After kissing Skylar on the cheek and waving goodbye, she finally settled in Camilla's car. The first thing Imani could focus on was the two bottles in the car, and a shocked look made it's way on her face. "Camiiii, I missed you" she finally said, after directing her eyes from the bottles of alcohol.

Imani strayed away from conversing and was rather panicking about this party, so many kids in one house that she'd have to deal with. The introvert in her was screaming go back home, but she willed the voice to quiet down since she did never go to parties often. When they actually arrived at the Windrift manor Imani could hear the rowdiness and visibly see how crowded the party was, but it wasn't until the two of them exited the car that her worries bubbled up again. Clutching tightly onto Camilla's hand, Imani looked straight ahead without moving a further step. "You won't like abandon me in there, right? Because this party is...pretty fucking crazy" Imani said quietly, her voice drifting off at the end. She turned her gaze to Camilla with her big puppy eyes, and a small pout playing on her lips.

Interactions: Camilla ( Lizy )​

 

[Hypnos]

Josie Longstaff
​

A few sips into whatever fruity concoction she had picked up from the drink’s table, and Josie still couldn’t tell exactly what it was supposed to be, nor what flavour it was trying to emulate. At first she’d thought that it was some kind of citrus-based beverage, but it wasn’t sour enough for that, and her current running-theory was that the drink was imbued with some kind of watermelon(?) flavouring, though she had never tasted anything similar enough to compare it to. Whatever it was, she could only assume that it had cost the Windrifts an arm and a leg, and it tasted nice enough that it shouldn’t really matter what was in the bottle.

She still hated not knowing.

It was eating away at her from the inside.

Josie raised the bottle up to her eyeline, holding it close to her face so that she might better examine the label a little further. The foreign text was no more decipherable closer up, but it at least gave her a better view of whatever language the words were written in: European, she assumed, though it couldn’t be either English or French, since otherwise it would have been easy to decode. Italian maybe? But Josie thought that she knew the romance languages well enough to pick one out from a crowd.

German. It was probably in German.

She thought that she could start to recognise a few of the words now. Some real old fashioned detective work.

These were the sorts of games that Josie liked to play at parties, or rather, games that she was forced to play for lack of anything better to do.

It was strange, she came to all of these events, forced herself to get dressed up and come along, but she was never really good at parties; never knew how to hold herself, or what to do with her hands. It was an obligation. ‘Come or don’t’ but if she didn’t come then suddenly she’d become known as the stick in the mud girl who didn’t know how to have fun, and hated parties. She didn’t want that. It wasn’t like her public reputation needed any more shit to bring it down.

Finding ways to entertain herself seemed like the best way forwards. She did talk to people, she wasn’t a complete outcast with no social skills, but she rarely ever sought people out, usually falling into a nice little niche of people at the back, where she could do a little drinking, maybe a little dancing if she was feeling particularly daring, and then go home with the ability to say that she hadn’t had a completely abhorrent time.

Tonight was going to be no exception, or at least so she hoped.

Whilst she was still cradling the bottle up to her eye, Josie heard a voice start to talk in her general direction. At first she assumed that he was talking to someone else, which would make sense, since the Walsh party had seemingly monopolised most of the conversation since they’d arrived, however as she looked up, she could see him looking directly at her, so it was hard to think that he might be addressing anyone else.

He was Irish, that much was obvious from the accent, and she smiled politely at him with an expression that did not quite meet her eyes.

He seemed nice.

‘I wouldn’t say that exactly.’ Josie flustered a little, raising the bottle back to her lips, just so she wasn’t just standing there awkwardly, like some kind of fleshy statue. ‘Just hanging around, seeing what happens. Not really sure what else there is to do at this sort of party except drink.’ Glancing over to his own hands, she could see that he’d opted for something non-alcoholic.

She wouldn’t have thought the Windrifts would have even offered that option, from the look of them.

‘But I guess you must be even more lost than me, if you’re not gonna go for the second part.’

As he introduced himself, she almost reached out her hand for a shake, though she pulled it back at the last second: far too formal a greeting for a place like this. What was she, a forty-five year old businessman?

‘Josie.’ She responded at last, another brief smile. ‘It’s nice to meet you.’

Keggee311

 

[BELIAL.]

NORAH WALSH
~~~~~~

location: windrift manor (inside) mention: Caoimhe_ (Cassiel) Hypnos (Gus)

"Still haven’t found your victim for tonight, have you?" As if he'd read her mind, Cass appeared with his own drink. She rolled her eyes, raising her second new cup of something strong to the sentiment. She was a venomous viper, of her own, but the ruse was often exhausting. Alcohol was a nice refresh, a way to mix the different realities together, but always being on edge made her shoulders knot by the end of the day. Still, it was enjoyable to watch people squirm beneath her lackadaisical smile and analyzing gaze.

“It’s okay, I’ll willingly be your prisoner of war, my sweet," he said as his arm found her shoulder. Cass was very much the older brother, or some kind of protective figure, that River wasn't. He was a god damned fool, as much as Norah wished that he would give her the time of day sometimes. Especially with the baby now, and having to redo senior year, at least she understood his priorities were scattered this time. But in the past, for all the years before, it was wishy-washy. Show up in times of crisis, push around any other time. She still remembered last year for the anniversary of their mother's death, that he went off to get drunk in New York rather than visit the grave. No sympathy from the fucker, either, just submerging all his issues.

Hopefully things would change, but she wasn't hopeful. For now, and for the gaps in the past, Cass was a figure. He was one of first she'd had a crush on, years ago, when she was much younger. Who wouldn't? She couldn't help but lean back into him, at this moment, purely because the warmth of another body was worth more than the liquor making its way through her system.

“What do we think we’re doing tonight Norah? We can either socialise, judge people, act like we care about drinking games or get fucked together.” She scanned the crowd as he talked, having lost sight of her brother in the mass of people. Good, he wouldn't see her if she snuck away to get drunk and hopefully make out with a few people before the night ended. It wasn't his business anyway, and he could care less anymore. She almost missed his assertive protectiveness, as violent as it could get.

"Hmmm," she mused, tilting her head onto Cassiel's. The liquor, she thought it was some rum mix, was purring through her system. Already the world was looking like it had a motion blur on it. A flush rose to her cheeks, from the tipsiness, and from the company. "All titillating ideas, and I do love seeing the many ways the night could turn out." The music was blasting, and Norah ended up just shutting her eyes and letting the heavy bass, a new song, swell over her. The end of her sentence disappeared into her throat, and she giggled acknowledging that it was completely gone.

"You should watch out for her, Cassie. She’s a little heartbreaker. I’m still not fully recovered." Unwelcome, but anticipated, her eyes fluttered open to see a grinning Gus whisk by. She rolled her eyes, sticking her tongue out and flipping the bird to the Windrift.

"I'd step on your toes just like first grade all over again Augustus," Norah said, nursing her drink once more. She let the memory jump in her eyes, and she laughed at the thought of it. A boozy sway to her body, her train of thought was jolted once again to the music. Whatever song it was, it was crazy catchy.

Gus asked about shots, ever the party man, and Norah shouted, "Do a keg stand!" Smiling brightly, she once again leaned back into Cass.

"I bet he'll vomit," she whispered.
​

 

[Keggee311]

Sean
Sean returned the smile back, it was slight but obvious and cordial. He was watching the other toasts some nonsense from that the big ape had said. All he knew was something was said, what it was about he didn't give a piss about. His attention turned back to the blonde, admitting to himself that she was cute. Probably way out of his league though and left that thought in the past.

"I'm not lost. If I do something stupid I would like to remember it, I take the credit for my stupidity." Sean finished the rest of the soda, crushing it in his fist, tossing it into a nearby trash can

"I can out drink all these wankers in one sitting." Now he was getting hungry though, his stomach let out a gurgle. "Last time I drank like that though, I woke up with no clothes on apparently. Seems like the drunk version of me is a nudist." While he did make small talk Sean inserted his drunken antics to try and get a large smile out of the blonde

The elusive Josie he thought when she introduced herself. He knew her mom, hell everyone did. Sean had punched ol' one eye to her mom's films a couple of times but he wouldn't admit that her.

"It is nice to meet you too Josie." Offering a larger smile in return. Trying to be a 'gentleman' according to his stepfather. "Do I have to worry about a boyfriend coming in to pummel me for talking to you." Christ, he didn't even think about but he just flirted with the blonde. The words left his mouth before he could retract them.

"Getting a bit loud. Wanna see what they got as far as food." Perhaps there is something better to drink in the fridge, the stuff laid out was piss in his opinion. He mentioned food though to hide what he just did.

Sean was fearless in the most literal sense but women it came to romance and the other gender he was a lost little puppy. He had no clue what he was doing or if he had been flirting or hitting on women.

Hypnos (Josie)

 

[fin]

code by yousmelldead

Curse music reverberated through the walls of the Gallagher Estate. The heavy beats behind the rap music echoed into his chest, and if he wasn't careful with the sound's moderation, likely could've shattered glass and cracked walls with the music. Joey laid down on the California-king bed, smoke billowing from his nostrils and ears. In one hand sat a blunt that was quickly coming down burned, and in another he held up his mother's medical entries, eyes scanning the sophisticated cursive writing he'd grown accustomed to reading since he'd came in possession of the book. While the majority of Remayah Gallagher's work had either been donated to medical centres, or museums, as her offspring Joey had first dibs on any of her belongings he wished to claim. All those years ago he'd chosen her old leather journal, and even now had yet to grow bored of her wisdom. "The only person that gets me." Joey whispered while exhaling a thick puff of white smoke. He was well aware his time spent reading, smoking, and rocking out would be coming to and end soon enough... the Windrift bash was just another reminder of it. His precious alone time quickly disappearing.

He could almost hear the voice of his father shouting on him, telling him to get ready for the party. There were future bachelors and bachelorettes to impress.

"Tell me if smoking, and doing dope is going to help you run my fucking company."

Joey scoffed at the voice in his head, and let out a dry laugh. His father was somewhere across the country, probably with a second family and too ashamed to let him know. And if not, it wouldn't be his fault for assuming the worst. When he'd needed him the most, he vanished. Still, Joey wasn't one to miss a good party for anybody. Alcohol, drugs, and bright lights were his scene, and was one of few things that got the sloth out of bed.

Joey pushed the book shut above him, and groaned as he sat up. His mother's journal landed on the nightstand with a soft thud, while soft sizzles sounded as he put out the blunt on an ash tray. He kicked his legs off of the bed, and though highly unmotivated Joey managed to use the momentum to haul the rest of his body off of the bed. Like any other teen he thumbed the centre of his forehead, and stared into nothingness for several minutes without actually doing anything, satisfied with the fact that he'd even sat up in the first place. Eventually though, he called out to Alexa to dismiss the music, freshened himself up and dressed for the party.

****
​

Anything other than his set of Polo pajamas was uncomfortable for Joey. Staring out the window, he reminisced the variety of sets he'd amassed over the years, the dark green pair he'd just had on that afternoon. He currently had on a pure black outfit, and a style far more urban than the majority of the other pimp rich kids at Black Mill Academy. While the latter likely would've had on a vest, dress shoes and trousers with ironed down slacks, Joey opted for a pair of jeans, t-shirt, a dark jean jacket and some runners. Accessorized with stud earrings, and a silver necklace at the collar. He liked the style, one he'd adopted from back home in Miami. He hoped to enjoy even this last level of comfortability before being strapped down into the obnoxious Black Mill uniform in another school year.

His body radiated of Dior Homme cologne, hair smelling of coconut and berry conditioners. For the staple sloth of the school, dressing up had never been too difficult for him.

Getting to the Windrift manor wasn't a long ride due to how close his home, and the location of the party had been. Even still, virtually everybody at Black Mill came from wealthy parents and were limo-driven to bigger events like such. Joey wasn't any different, especially with hounding from his father. He smiled over at the black screen before him, the one that separated himself from the driver and brought two thumbs up to his cheek. He hardly ever utilized the cook, cleaner, or chauffeur had put at his disposal, and so the lack of work made them cheerier than most. Joey just enjoyed playing with their gratitude. The limo came to a slow at the front of the Windrift manor.

"Fashionably late." He said to himself. "Thanks for the lift, D."

"Always, master Joseph. Care for me to open the door?"

"I'll take it from here. Have a good night though." With a final wink at the screen, Joey pushed out the door of the limousine, and slapped it shut behind him. He adjusted his jacket, and made way into his good friend Gus' humble abode.

****
​

Upon entering the door, a grin found its way onto Joey's person, brown eyes flickering from glass to glass, and blond to brunette. The party scene was one he adored, and though he'd never admit it to Gus, his parties were definitely an uber kickstart to the year. The party of all parties. He wasn't too sure how the tradition had fell into the hands of the Windrifts, perhaps it'd been something his older siblings had accustomed in their own time, but all he knew was that as always, Gus was receiving at a rate of 100% (sucks he failed to to the same on the football pitch).

It was easy for him to slip past the inattentive teens, snaking around them like a spy out of a movie. "Hmph, s'cuse me. Pardon me." Obviously his own rendition of the spy persona was all too sub-par, and he caught himself nudging unsuspecting dancers in the side, and his dreads taking a deep in various glasses as people groaned, and shouted on him. He just rolled his eyes, gaze set on the singular prize he ventured towards every year. Sure, the drinks laid out were amazing, the finest brewed since the 1800's, he gave Gus that. But the true good stuff was held in the fridge to be brought out later on in the party, but Joey hardly did later on. In his mind he thanked the senior that'd introduced him to that little secret in his first Windrift bash, a lesson he'd permanently etched into his brain.

At the kitchen door, Joey could make out that shiny gelled hair, and tall, broad stature from anywhere else. His lips widened at Jax before him. Joey brought his hand down firmly on Jax's shoulder, and squeezed it tight for good measure. "Aye, aye, treasurer, sir!" Joey called out, and chuckled at his own words. He picked up the last several words of Jax's sentence, and though laughing, piqued a brow. Lamar? Somewhere besides the dance floor with his hands wrapped around the waist of a pretty girl? That was out of the ordinary.

"Somebody's done some growing up, I reckon." Joey teased Lamar while he entered the kitchen. He brought his hand out for their usual bro-shake, a series of slaps, claps, fist bumping, and a final hug to top it off. "Easy on the cake though, brothers. Feels a baby's coming." He added, before turning his sights on the last person in the kitchen.

His heart skipped a beat at the sight of the woman, and he rubbed his eyes for a second to make sure he hadn't been hallucinating. "Speak of the devil..." Joey muttered under his breath at the sight of Noya. The stinging pain returned to his chest, memories of worry returning to his psyche. Noya had ghosted him for damn near a year-- and sure, with the asbestos he wouldn't have seen much of her in sophomore year anyways, Joey couldn't help but be upset at seeing someone that'd blatantly ignored him for months. There ought to be some sort of explanation for it, yeah, but his usual understanding nature evaporated when they set their sights on Noya.

They weren't the only two in the room though, nor was this his party. Joey shook away the thought, and turned to the fridge behind him, taking a moment to just stare and enjoy the cool breeze. What the fuck had just happened...

Outfit: xoxo minus chains. Location: Windrift Manor, kitchen Mentions: Lamar, RayPurchase Noya, FireMaiden Jax Wildflower101 Gus Hypnos​

JOEY GALLAGHER

 

[Hypnos]

Josie Longstaff
​

Not fully maintaining eye contact with Sean as the Irishman continued to speak to her, Josie found herself just nodding through most of his attempt at an introduction, not entirely sure where any of this was going, though not opposed to having a little company either.

It was marginally better than standing around alone at least, even if that margin was ever so slight.

As the conversation progressed, she found herself taking larger sips of her drink, though judging from what she had already consumed, it didn’t seem strong enough to get her anything more than buzzed, even if she managed to make her way through the entire bottle. She felt that she might need it though, especially if some of what Sean had said here was any indication of where he was going to take this little talk.

Less liquid courage, and more a liquid liferaft.

She didn’t know what to say.

‘Well, I guess if that’s what works for you, I won't be the one to judge, but I’m not sure I would be able to take all of these parties fully sober. If anything, forgetting really helps.’ Watching him finish his soda, and toss it aside, Josie was already starting to make a few judgements about the character of the man in front of her.

Sean didn’t seem like a bad guy, he was friendly enough, and he had come over just to talk to her, which was sweet, but there was something about the flow of conversation that just seemed a little off, awkward in a sense. His tone sounded pretty secure, as confident in himself as any of those football players huddled together only a few meters away, and his words suggested the same, but there was something about the way he spoke that made her think there was something hiding just under the surface. He seemed too defensive: eager to differentiate himself from those others, whilst comparing himself to them at the same time.

It was a puzzle.

The next strange bottle with a foreign label for Josie to try to decipher.

Whilst Sean spoke about his previous drunk experiences, Josie gave him a little grimace, though it was a little more lighthearted than entirely judgemental. It had to be a weird joke, right? Otherwise it was just such a strange thing to admit to someone that you’d just met. Maybe he was just oddly proud of his own naked tendencies, but Josie was certainly glad he was just on cola now, if that was a sight that awaited her later in the evening.

‘That’s interesting I guess. Everyone gets drunk differently.’ A half-hearted attempt to relate to the experience, Josie might have gotten a little ditzy on occasion when she’d had too much to drink, but she’d certainly never done anything as extreme as started streaking, thank god.

The boyfriend question did manage to get a smile out of her, just because of how brash, and unsubtle it was. Charming in a brutish, but persistent sort of way. ‘Unless one materialises in the next few seconds, I think you’ll be fine.’

Taking another sip of her drink, Josie lamented the fact that she didn’t have anything a little stronger. It might be needed in a second.

Sean’s offer to move the conversation into the kitchen caused her to hesitate for a second, though she wasn’t entirely resistant. A second location just meant that rather than just a little chat, the two of them were actually talking, which wasn’t something she wasn't entirely prepared for.

‘I can’t see any reason why not.’ It was true. She couldn’t think of any reason, even if she did try for a couple of seconds.

Keggee311

 

[RayPurchase]

Lamar Reynolds
Location: Windrift Manor, Kitchen - With FireMaiden Noya De Leon
Interactions: FireMaiden Noya De Leon Wildflower101 Jax Williams, fin Joey Callister
Mentions:


​

Cup of Milk. That was cute, not that Lamar was exactly sure she was trying to be. Still she was a foreign student after all, hell to some extent so was he, maybe only a few miles away but sometimes it felt like an entirely different world.

"Just a quick assessment really. Can't go diving in headlong, necking drinks and causing a scene." He glanced down at his watch. "I mean it isn't even 9 yet, got to pace not race yourself,"

Hell Lamar didn't even have to come up with any further examples, Rook did that for him. He hadn't even been here for 5 minutes and already a scene was being made. God the guy was a blockhead. However at the end of the day he was Lamar's blockhead, the meathead the team needed. So he'd stuck his head through a few too many pads, the guy was solid, it just meant that sometimes, like now, he just ramped it up to 50 whilst everyone else was chugging along at 20. He grinned at Noya and shrugged his shoulders.

"Exhibit A right there. I give it 30 minutes till Rook starts streaking or sticking his fist through a dry wall. I mean I ain't goin' to stop him, that's his kind of fun. But like I said, I'm pacing not racing. I've made a fool of myself enough times to know my rhythm."

Assassinations. Fuck that shit was heavy. Lamar knew her parents were ambassadors, but assassinations? Most of the people here lived in the Black Mills bubble, the sort of bubble that resulted in them thinking that the worst thing that could possibly happen was Daddy not giving them access to the Family trust fund till after they had finished university. That wasn't to say he thought Noya was exactly... well normal, but it sounded like there was a whole lot more danger and tension than most of the other partygoers here encountered. It still wasn't exactly a real world problem, more some action film problem, but hey at least it was a proper one. He raised his cup and chinked it against hers, as much as you can with a plastic cup.

"Sounds like you need this party more than most then. Get yourself out of the kitchen and help yourself to some of Rook's stash he so nicely shared. Just pick a closed bottle, I wouldn't put it past him mixing the whole lot with Vodka or Moonshine,"

Ah yeah the closing. When it seemed like everything he had been working so hard to achieve was going to be wiped out by the fact that the place was riddled with asbestos. The long nights spend lying in bed staring at a paint flecked ceiling that didn't contain any answers to his problems, only providing a glimpse of what his potentially failed future could entail. That time. "Yeah well we all did what we could and..."

Thankfully a distraction arrived in the shape of a very special guy. Letting out a loud laugh straight from the belly that echoed around the room he met Jax's hand with his own, gripping it tightly as he high fived him and slapping him on the shoulder.

"Jax my favourite special teamer. I swear to god man I've been missing you. Nearly doubted you were going to come tonight, should have known you wouldn't have let me down," He raised his cup, giving it a shake as the ice rattled against the side. "I'm a classy guy man, got to have my drink properly. But you're right. I've been failing in my duties as the man everyone's come to see. If you make sure that Noya gets out and enjoys herself, I will catch up with you and make sure you're doing the same. Special players make Special Teams, and I want you that showing that off tonight, hear me?"

It wasn't really a question to be honest. Jax was a great guy, smart, funny, kind to boot. He just lacked that confidence in himself. If he had an ego just a fraction of the size of Lamar's he'd be unstoppable. For a while Lamar had been trying to awaken that fire within him. Would tonight be the night? Maybe, just maybe. Just as quickly as the duo had become a trio, it increased into a quartet. He leaned into the hug with Joey.

"Well one of us had to, take a bit of responsibility you know. We'll see how long it lasts, but for now Rook is holding up the hard partying. I'm just chilling nicely,"

Unfortunately the friendly atmosphere dissipated as Joey set his eyes on Noya. He'd been out of the loop with the closure, hell they all had, but Lamar knew something had gone on with her and Joey before going tits up. He offered a slightly uneasy smile towards Noya as Joey stalked his way towards the fridge and began to give it more attention than should really be warranted towards it. He winked at Jax. "Look after Noya for me will you she needs to start having some fun, hell you two would look great on the dance floor I reckon..."

He made his way over to the fridge joining Joey in staring at its contents, placing his arm around Joey's shoulder, lowering his voice so that only he could hear.

"Hey man, I know its a nice fridge, but I don't know if it's that nice to stare at it for this long. You alright? Looks like you've seen a ghost,"

 

[FireMaiden]

Location: Windrift Manor : Kitchen
Interaction: RayPurchase (Lamar) Wildflower101 (Jax)
Mentioned: fin (Joey) Keggee311 (James plus everyone near him)
Outfit/Shoes: X1 X2
"If only everyone else took your example," Noya teased, a soft smile curling her lips as she looked between Lamar and then the party. James was an easy man to use as an example of what not to do. From what she knew about him, he was loud, obnoxious, pretty much a stereotypical fray boy in the making. And she of course had heard the rumors of the steroid use. Noya wouldn't be surprised if it was true.

"I don't see how you put up with him. He's so...annoying." Her eyes turned back to Lamar when he mentioned she should have fun. Noya was having fun. It at least, she was enjoying the vibe in the kitchen. The music was still loud and pounding at her temples, but the kitchen wasn't crowded. She hated crowds. "Maybe I like the kitchen," She giggled, raising her cup to her lips to take another sip of wine. Turns out that was the last sip, so she pushed off the counter and turned around fo grab the bottle of wine. "I'll leave at some point. I strongly dislike vodka and that moon drink, I'm just waiting for them to drink it all."

Once she had poured herself some more wine, Noya turned so she was once again leaning against the counter. And suddenly, another boy had joined them. Jax. Noya wouldn't call them friends, but there was certainly some sort of respect there. "Williams," Noya replied, taking a sip of her fresh cup of wine. "He's just keeping me company." Jax and her had an odd understanding. There was something about him she understood more than their classmates might, but still they weren't close. Him and Lamar seemed to be, so her attention turned back to the party. Not even a few minutes later did someone else join them.

And goddamn, Noya wished it was anyone else but him.

At first Joey didn't notice her. Which she could have used to sneak away into the party, but Noya found herself stuck in place as he greeted Jax and Lamar. And then those eyes fell on her. She wanted to smile at him. To say something, to immediately explain herself but he turned away to quickly. Noya couldn'blame him. It had been over a year since she last talk to him, and that...that normally but a damper on friendships. Her cup come up to her lips again, chugging her wine before she turned to pour what was left in the bottle into her cup. She heard Lamar tell Jax to look after her, maybe getting her on the dance floor. In all honesty, that didn't sound like a terrible idea...but Noya would leave that invitation up to Jax.