Realistic or Modern Summer Nights IC

[apolla]

Bella had a bunch of questions when she reached the group outside of the house, but it didn't take long for her attetion to be diverted elsewhere. While that wasn't uncommon for her ADD ass, this time, it wasn't even her fault. She'd been squinting at the two people in the car as she asked about them, but she turned her head back to the others just in time for them to shoot wide when Seth crashed to the ground. She hadn't even gotten a chance to pose for the picture he wanted to take. "Oh, shit." A gasp left her at the same time as she took a quick step backwards, one of her hands flying to cover her mouth. But about half a second later, she was giggling. What was that saying? It's only funny until someone gets hurt. And then it's fucking hilarious. Wasn't wrong.

Leaning a little closer, Bella lifted a brow down at Seth. "No broken bones or blood? Jeez, and here I thought we were starting the week off with a bang." Tsking, she shook her head and smirked as she straightened, turning her head towards the other two that had approached. "Sup?" She lifted her chin at both of them, PJ's question towards Seth making her bust out laughing. "Somebody's gotta fall for somebody around here. That's the way summer goes." Hearing Vee's screech though, Bella turned her head again, noticing the cat carrier that made her eyes go wide again. "Kitty cat?" Squeezing her face down by the carrier to try and see the little furball, she grinned when she caught sight of them. "Oh, my god. Please tell me she's cuddly. Or he? Is he cuddly?"

Behind her, Vee grabbed the key and ran to open the door. "Okay, okay, I hear hot tub. Hot tub and can't don't go together, but you can trust I'm coming back to introduce myself later." She grinned at the cat one more time, lifting her gaze to let it linger on Amy and PJ for a few seconds before she turned and ran inside as well. Vee had collapsed to the floor, but Bella just hopped over her to quickly explore the rest of the main area, missing a few other arrivals and people entering the house. "Jesus christ, I could fucking get used to this." She hummed to herself, getting lost in her explorations for a few minutes before she heard the clink of glass bottles. Stopping like a dog who'd heard a bag of chips being opened, she spun around on her heel and skipped back to the kitchen.

"I know that sound!" She sang, grinning widely as she dumped her bags down on the ground, planning on finding a room later. "Are we starting with shots? Mixed drinks? What's the deal here?" She grinned at Vee, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the counter and her chin in her hands. "And you can bet your ASS I'm smoking in the hot tub!" She called over her shoulder in response to Seth's yelling from the other room. "Get the weed ready!" Turning her attention back to the bottles Vee had in front of them, her hand shot out to grab a bottle of clear rum, lifting it to inspect the label. "Ohhh, you brought the good shit too. Have I told you today I fucking love you?" She giggled, straightening to bump shoulders with Vee before she twisted off the cap. Moving around to inspect the cabinets, looking for some cups or glasses, she made an a-ha sound when she found them. "If you want a shot of rum, line the fuck up!"

code by g o l d i e l o x x

 

[apolla]

Late wasn't something that Jamison was used to being, but to be honest, he wasn't that pressed about it. It was his stepfather that freaked out whenever they were late somewhere, and since the man wasn't currently around, Jamison didn't have that pressing anxiety in his chest. It was such a nice, freeing feeling, being away from that house for a week. Unfortunately, at the end of this vacation he would have to return, but not long after that he'd be going off to college and he could escape the man again. As far as Jamison was concerned, as soon as he left the house for college, he was done. He was on his own, and could make his own decisions, and wasn't going to go back on that. Hell, that's how he wanted to live his life now, this vacation included. Getting a flat wasn't the greatest start to this trip, but thank god for AAA.

After waiting for them to show up, he got a new tire and was off again. By the time he reached the house, it seemed he was far from the first to arrive, but he still grinned as he pulled up behind another car and parked. Humming under his breath, he gripped the steering wheel tighter and leaned forward, trying to see if there was anybody he recognized yet. Not that he saw, but that didn't mean anything. Reaching for his phone he'd tossed onto the passenger seat, he sent a quick message to Chloe, telling her he'd arrived and was excited to see her. Which wasn't exactly a lie; he did like his girlfriend... he just wasn't in love with her. Shoving aside the feelings of doubt that always arose when he thought about her, he got out of the car and headed for the house.

A bunch of voices hit him at once when he entered, and he grinned at those he saw. He heard a female voice that he recognized as Bella yelling from the kitchen, something about smoking in a hot tub? "There's a hot tub?" He asked, mostly to himself but loud enough that those around him would hear. Clearly they were in a nice ass place, and Jamison chuckled to himself wondering just how long it'd be before something got broken or went to shit. He gave it an hour, if that. Shaking his head softly, he wandered through the rooms until he found himself in the kitchen, where Bella was walking around with a bottle of what looked like rum. Vee was in here as well, and Jamison grinned over at her. "It would be the two of you already pulling out the liquor bottles." He snorted, lifting a brow at them.

"Not that I mind." He shrugged. "I could use a shot myself." His stepdad had been on some extra shit before he left, which was another reason he was late. He'd left later than he wanted to because the man just kept going. Groaning under his breath, he shoved those thoughts aside as well. "We can't be the only ones drinking, are we?" He grinned before he pushed off from the counter, heading back towards the living room where a few others were gathered. "If I can make eye contact with you, get your ass into the kitchen for a shot. Last person there has to take a double." He grinned, winking at Mati and Seth, since Eugene had already disappeared up the stairs. "Counts for those of you who might be hiding up there, too! Last person to the kitchen is drinking a double shot!"

code by g o l d i e l o x x

 

[DreamRider1]

Mati caught the flying rice cooker purely on reflex, barely managing not to drop it. He looked down at the thing in his hands, then up at Eugene’s rapidly disappearing figure as he tore up the stairs, already half-stripping like he was in some kind of Olympic speed showering event.

“Yeah, yeah, I got you,” Mati called after him, flipping the rice cooker over in his hands, clearly not as invested in this task as Eugene was. He turned to Seth, holding it up. “I’ll start it. But I’m not watching it.”

Which, knowing him, meant it was a gamble whether the rice would be edible or a total tragedy.

Without another word, he walked into the kitchen, casually setting the rice cooker on the counter like that alone would magically complete the job. Someone would check it, right? They seemed like the type to not let Eugene suffer.

Mati, on the other hand? He had better things to do.

Turning back to Seth, he smirked, pushing his beanie up slightly as he stretched. “Alright, let’s go.”

Hot tub? Weed? A good night incoming?

Yeah, rice was officially not his problem anymore.

And honestly? That was on Eugene for trusting him with a cooking task in the first place. They had been best friends since childhood — long enough for Eugene to know damn well that Mati could barely be trusted to make instant ramen, let alone properly cook rice. If the dude came back to a pot of mush or a mysteriously burnt batch of rice, that was 100% on him.

 

[JustAlexandra]

Vee grinned at Bella as she joined her in the kitchen, reaching the end of her bag of bottles. She did a quick count - about 20 bottles of various sizes and colors, ranging from bottom-of-the-barrel to a relatively pricier variety. Don’t ask me how I got them, she joked to herself.

Vee laughed as Bella announced shots. “You can start with the rum, I’m going in with Tequila,” she said, plucking a bottle of Lunazul out of the lineup. She wasn’t picky when it came to alcohol - fancy or cheap was fine, but when it was the first night of vacation she wanted to feel like a fancy bitch and drink the good stuff. Or, well, her definition of the good stuff, anyway. “Oooooh, do you think they have limes here?” she asked before walking over to the fridge and flinging it open. It was mostly empty - one of the only things that the place didn’t provide was food, but she had figured a place so nice would at least have the essentials, and she was right! A garnish tray, tonic water, a few sodas - oh shit. “Heyyyy it looks like we got a little present!!” she said, bringing out a fruit, cheese, and meat tray with a little note on it that said “We hope you have a wonderful vacation!!” “God, I love rich people,” Vee said, placing it on the counter.

Vee gave another grin to Jamison, who was yelling about taking double shots. “Shit, I was thinking of just taking a double for the fun of it,” she said, laughing. She grabbed a glass from Bella’s pile, pouring about - eh - maybe a little more than a shot of Lunazul into it. She quickly cut a lime into wedges, and grabbed the salt off the counter, pouring some onto the outer part of her hand. Without waiting, she licked the salt, took the shot, and bit the lime. “Catch up Bitches!!!!” Vee yelled, swinging the glass in the air before giggling and slamming down the glass on the counter. The alcohol was already making her warm, and she was loving it.

Mati came into the kitchen then - with a rice cooker? “Why the hell do you have a rice cooker?” she asked, unwrapping the charcuterie she had found in the fridge. She rummaged through the cabinets quickly, finding a box of assorted crackers - surely an ungodly price, she imagined, and more or less dumping it out on the counter. “We have rich people food right here,” she joked, grabbing a strawberry and eating it messily, the juice running down her chin. “Holy shit, I think this is the best strawberry I’ve ever had.”


(Interactions: apolla DreamRider1 )

 

[taliaangeni]

As people started rolling in and Seth let them in the house, Beck grabbed his shit from the back of his bike and took a tour around the house. From the second floor, he could hear the girls screaming in joy, their excitement carrying through the walls. With his bag slung over a shoulder, he slowly meandered through the rooms until he came across one with the perfect view. He threw his bag on the bed and sauntered over to the window. The room was on the back of the house. Right now, the sun's yellow-orange glowed over the blue water. His fingers itched for his sketchbook.

When he heard another squeal, Beck took it to mean the party was starting and he turned from the window and started his way back down. Dodging people he didn’t know with a nod he finally found his girls again. In the kitchen. With drinks. He hadn’t seen Bella on the way in. Beck walked over to her, giving her hip a light squeeze as another guy came in. He decided he liked him as the guy was trying to get everyone a shot or double. Deciding to pour his own, Beck grabbed a bottle and poured a line before downing it. “Fuck.” It burned its way down his throat. He hadn’t drunk in a few days because of needing to be on point at the job.

Beck glanced at Vee as she practically orgasmed over a strawberry. “I could use a strawberry right about now too,” he watched the juices run down her chin. Out of nowhere he started sneezing. The fuck?

 

[2amSnow]

"Oooh, yeah, this is perfect for us." Upstairs in the room that Amy picked out for them, PJ took the bed closest to the door. They set the carrier on the bed and unlatched the little door. "There ya go, boy. Sweet freedom at last!" The orange cat slowly emerged from the carrier in a slow, long stretch. Peanut immediately flopped onto the purple duvet with a bout of content purrs. PJ smiled and leaned down to pet the furball's stomach, causing excited flops and rolls to come from the little lad. "Get ready girls, he's a beach boy now."

Seemingly loud enough for the whole city of San Diego to hear, Seth's voice was heard by all, hollering through the walls of the massive house. "Time to get high! Let's go! C'mon! Ding ding ding!"

PJ's and Amy's eyes met at the same time after hearing the announcement. "Aaand so it begins." The blonde girl said, the tiniest hint of anxiety laced in her voice.

PJ shrugged and narrowed their eyes at their best friend in a playful curiousity before pushing their glasses up further on the bridge of their nose. "We should join them." Knowing Amy has never smoked before, it's always been a mission to get her to try it at least once. Though, PJ has never pressed it in respect of her boundaries. "C'mon let's go! I'm so ready to just chill and have fun. I think I also heard them hollering down there about shots too. Are we gonna get to see Wild Amy on this trip?!"

Before heading out of the room, PJ pointed to their bed for the next five days and then pointed their finger toward the bedroom door, "I always gotta sleep by the door in case any burglars bust in here. 'Cause then I'll whoop their ass with these killer boxing skills. I've been practicing. Watch this." PJ put both their hands up in a 'fighting pose'. They balled their fists up and bent their legs slightly. Bouncing at the knees in a cheesy boxer impersonation, PJ kicked their leg up "Ha!" Then they punched the air a few times in a left-right-left sequence. PJ didn't need substances to have a good time---those things just elevated their already existing high on life.

After earning the nerve-settling laugh from Amy that they hoped for, PJ looked to the lazy orange cat already happily loafed up on the bed. "I gotta go get Peanut's stuff from the trunk real quick so I can get him fully comfy and settled in. Then I can take my Cat Dad cap off for a bit. I'll meet you in the kitchen? I think I'll need a shot or two in my system if I'm going to smoke around Seth." PJ suggested a plan before slipping out of the room down the hallway. Then the image of a shirtless dude they've never met before came into view, the darker-haired boy coming down the hall in their direction.

PJ gave him a slightly confused, but friendly wave. "Oh, hey man! I didn't see you down there. But I basically sprinted up here right when we got here, I had to pee so freakin' bad. I don't know if we've met in school but I'm PJ. I see you're not wasting any time getting the party started, huh?" They said with a smirk, gesturing to their being shirtless. "Anyway, good to meet you! I gotta grab the last of my shit. I'll see you down there?" And with that PJ hurried down the stairs and out into the Summer air, keys in hand.

 

[EnviousWorm]

SETH LENSET
[interactions/mentions: he a lonely boi for this one]

On a side mission of his own, Seth tracked down the fancy office space on the vacation house's first floor. Tucked away in the corner of the house across the hall from the kitchen, he could hear the clinking of bottles and cacophony of voices as more people filed in to get the party started. The office itself was as fancy as any other part of the house: a massive oak desk sat under a window facing out toward the driveway; the desk was occupied by 3 unplugged monitors; two rows of drawers flanked the monitor, rising up to connect to a bookcase over top of the desk's surface; underneath the bookcase section was a light to illuminate the desk directly at night.

Besides the fancy desk, the office had a sectional couch with an old record player next to it, as well as a small collection of old jazz and big band albums. A larger bookshelf stood at the room's far end, thoroughly organized alphabetically by author name. A pair of deep obsidian blackout curtains were pulled to the window's side, ready to block out the sun at any moment.

Seth took time first to power up his laptop, hooking up the hdmi cables of the unused monitors just because he could. He wished he had such an insane set up back home, but this was enough for now. While the old laptop powered up, Seth got his drugs and drug paraphernalia in place like a worker assembling his station. He watched his laptop come to life as he dumped a pile of ground up weed onto the desk, lining it up just so. Grabbing onto a thin rolling paper with his left hand, Seth used his right to open up Adobe Audition. His computer took a few seconds to comply before "DontTryCantHang12.mp3" booted up into view.

"Fuck me." Seth grumbled to himself, clicking onto the first song before scooping up a fistful of bud to lay in place in the rolling paper. He set that down, grabbing a filter from the pack of papers and crimping that to place on one end of the joint in progress.

The first song on the album, "Booze Aggregate" starts off with a blaring drum fill before the guitar, bass, and a keyboard all join in after the briefest of pauses. Seth lets the track blare into his ears as he rolls one perfect joint and begins to roll a second. The song itself is the "most complete" as the album intro, and Seth simply enjoys the music as it rolls over into the seconds song, "Keanu Reeves Kung Fu".

Immediately, the song's opening guitar riff and bass line annoy Seth, whose brow furrows as he stares in frustration at the track on Audition. He finishes the second joint, but it's nowhere near perfect like his first one was. Sighing, Seth starts on a third joint, this time mixing in some tobacco from one of his cigarettes to make it a spliff.

Still working on the spliff, his eyes squinting in scrutiny over his music, Seth calls out to the house, nobody in particular:

"Someone better be starting up that hot tub! I just need another five and I'm ready!"

 

[2amSnow]

Cody cut the engine to his 2003 Dodge minivan outside the beach house, massively out of his, and his parents' tax bracket. But even if they could afford a house like this, his parents never would have picked out a home of this nature. They would have picked out some small ecclectic cottage by the beach, but close enough to the mountains. His mom putting up the clothes-line to let the salty air dry their laundry, and his dad would be smoking on his sticker-littered bong by the fire pit. Cody could see it, their tight-knit family enjoying the serenity of the low ocean tide pulling the shore in deeper into its abyss. Now looking at this modern mansion, he shrugged, opening the door and letting himself out of the van.

Popping open and sliding the door to retrieve his suitcase from the roomy back seat, Cody grabbed his backpack sitting next to it and slung it over his shoulder. Then he pulled the clearly well-traveled suitcase out and slid the door shut. He could already hear the sound of party hoots from the open and close of the front door, the short androgynous-looking fella coming out from within. They jogged down the driveway wearing a roomy tie-dye sweatshirt and jeans, and they were moving towards the yellow bug that was unshockingly theirs.

"Cody! Hey! You made it!" PJ diverted from their original path and ran over to give the much taller boy a greeting hug. Then they stepped back and observed Cody's green unbuttoned shirt, a white tee underneath displayed with multicolored crystals and their names. "Which one's your favorite?" PJ asked, gesturing to his shirt before the two walked back over to the bug. They popped the trunk and pulled out the duffle of Peanut's items along with their own suitcase.

"Probably Moss Agate," Cody answered, watching as PJ struggled with the luggage, "It's good for grounding."

Then they entered the house, and Cody took in his surroundings, the sound of chatter coming from the other side of the house. PJ immediately took off up the stairs with the same grunts of exhaustion from earlier. "There's some empty rooms up here!"

Cody, wanting to see where his roomie was first, left his suitcase by the stairs and headed into the kitchen where the noise was. "Hey beautiful people!" He sung out, smiling at the group standing around the kitchen, shot glasses and liquor bottles already lining the island.

 

[apolla]

Wrinkling her nose when Vee mentioned starting the party off with tequila, but laughter followed from the purple haired girl. "You would wanna start off with tequila, you ho." Not that Vee wanting tequila made her a ho, but she wasn't the first one Bella used the nickname for and certainly wouldn't be the last. Hell, it was pretty much a term of endearment from the wild child. If she didn't talk shit to you, just meant she didn't like you. She'd make it obvious if she didn't. If you were confused about it, she probably liked you. Was the system a little confusing? Probably, but she didn't make the rules. Nevermind the fact that it was her own system, okay? Just roll with it. That's what she did most of the time.

Pouring herself a shot, Bella lifted a hand to wave at Jamison as he entered the room, turning to Vee and downing said shot at the same time. Realizing what Vee was so excited about, Bella tried to exclaim her own excitement, forgetting that she was in the middle of a shot, though she was quickly reminded when she inhaled rum. "Fuck!" She forced out, coughing a few times to clear her throat, just as Mati entered with something that Bella didn't recognize. "The fuck is that?" She asked, her voice still a little rough from inhaling the rum. It was Vee who answered, calling the thing a rice cooker before chomping down on a strawberry.

Having leaned into Beck's touch when he'd entered the room, she smirked at his statement about how he could use a strawberry. "You're not the only one." Bella wiggled her eyebrows before she poured herself another shot, and Beck one as well, sliding it closer to him. "Come on, bitch. Pour the tequila and let's go." She snickered, nodding towards the bottle Vee had started drinking from. She'd pour a shot for anybody else who wanted one, though she'd be damned if she was gonna play bartender all night. At some point she'd be lucky if she remembered where she put the damn bottle.

After taking her second shot and managing not to inhale it, Bella pulled herself up onto the counter, making a face when Beck let out a sneeze. And then another. "The fuck is wrong with you?" She lifted a brow at him, rolling her eyes afterwards when Seth yelled about the hot tub. "Make me!" She shot back to him, cringing when Beck sneezed again. "Alright, alright, Sneezy. Chill out." She smacked him on the arm before she slid off the counter, just as Cody entered the room. "Cody!" She grinned, rounding the counter and throwing her arms around him, resting her chin on his chest. "Wanna help me start the hot tub before Seth had a heart attack?"

code by g o l d i e l o x x

 

[Wormy]

Amy set about unpacking some of her things to procrastinate going back downstairs alone. The others had wasted no time launching into party mode - most of them hadn't even bothered to explore the rest of the house! Honestly, she envied them. These were the kind of situations where she found it hard to gauge how to be. It seemed to come so intuitively to the everyone else. Matching their energy would be the easy option, but she hadn't planned to be doing shots right off the back. Although maybe that liquid courage was what she needed.

The whisky lying in her suitcase was taunting her. She tentatively picked it up, looked at it for a long moment, and… put it back before redirecting her attention to the orange ball of fluff of PJ’s bed. “You know, Peanut,” she signed, perching herself next to him. “I want to have fun this week. I really do.” She absentmindedly scratched him behind the ear, her anxiety easing when he leant into her touch and began to purr. “It's just- I just feel kinda lost. Like the part of me that's supposed to know how is missing, I guess. I'm lucky to be here so I don't want to spend the whole time being scared to make the most of it, you know?”

Her heart-to-heart with the cat was interrupted by PJ's grunts of effort from down the hallway. Amy went to see if she could help with the load. “Here, lemme get that.” She alleviated them from the duffle bag before pausing to listen to the bustle downstairs. Excited chatter, Seth yelling again, the clinking of glasses, more yelling. Someone seemed to be sneezing up a storm, too. She didn't think much of it until she realised that the bag, decorated with many little orange hairs, must have been Peanut's things.

Ohhh.

She set the bag at the foot of the bed and turned back to PJ. “You don't think anyone's allergic to cats, do you?”

2amSnow