InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I'm feeling fat and sassy!"

akeller (akeller) wrote in nextxplayground,
@ 2009-04-12 02:01:00

Entry tags:

char: alexis keller, char: christian summers, char: julien starsmore, char: kyle guthrie, loc: nyc, stat: incomplete

night on the town

( who ) Alexis Keller, Christian Summers, Julien Starsmore, Kyle Guthrie (& Eli Worthington?)
( what ) Karaoke Night
( when ) Wednesday Night
( where ) sum bar
( rating ) tbd

When she told Kyle they were going out, she'd meant it. He said he karaoked and she wanted to see it. She wanted to know if he had a voice like his dad's too. She was brimming with all sorts of curiosity. She was also on her third glass of beer. She could feel the effects of the alcohol in her system, but it hadn't quite kicked in yet. She just felt warm all over, and possibly a little more amiable. Lex wasn't sure if that was the alcohol or her wanting to be that way. She was out with some really good looking guys; two of which she wouldn't mind getting to know a little better.

That seemed to be her dilemma.

There was Kyle who was nice and outgoing and really nice to look at, and then there was Julien who was cute and shy, but very passionate. When he started talking about the artwork, his enthusiasm was almost like a black hole sucking her in. They were both really nice guys, but they were related and they liked each other, so she'd probably have to go for one or the other. She didn't think too hard on this, mainly because everything would play out how it played out. She didn't even know if either was interested, and she wasn't as full of herself to believe that everyone wanted her.

They said that alcohol stripped the layers down, so she'd see just how these boys were after a few or a dozen, however long it took them. She was currently leaning back in her chair raising her hand for another round. It was a little no name place, really. She didn't want to attract the attention of the papparazzi. It was nice not having a bazillion cameras in her face or people trying to snap pictures left and right. The place was filled with normal, tired people. It wasn't just a break for her, but she was sure Christian could appreciate it as well. Nice and quaint; the only noise being that of the person who was trying to make her ears bleed.

It was all in the name of fun though. She wasn't going to complain about it.

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hypnotizes
2009-04-12 08:12 am UTC (link)

Nails on a chalkboard. That what most of the singers had been to Kyle's sensitive musical tastes. He tried to ignore the awkward person on the stage, reading the words and coming in either too soon or just after their miss opportunity at hitting the right string of notes.

But it wasn't about the singing. Not entirely. Kyle was out with his friends - Julien included in those ranks. The half-Guthrie had been acting a might strange during their time getting ready, but a little booze seemed to lubricate the rusty wheels and Kyle didn't feel like he had to watch him like a hawk to make sure he didn't dart away like a rabbit.

Dressed in a v-neck thin sweater and tan cargo pants, Kyle figured it was a good mix of proper and casual. He was comfortable but didn't look 'dumpy' as his mother state it. he popped an onion ring into his mouth, sucking the oil from the flat of his thumb as he looked at the people around the table. He saw Lexy raise her hand, and Kyle knew what that meant. He offered a little whistle - a high-pitched noise that was used to get someone's attention who was mowing the back five and out of eyeshot.

Once he swallowed, Kyle continued with his story. "So there we were, Julien over by the tap and me caught red-handed with the hose in my hand. I dunno who got off better. He and me for just gettin' a whoompin' or the fire ants that got t'keep their home." He shook his head and slapped Julien on the shoulder.

"He kept me up to my elbows in trouble, tell you that much. Lexy, want me to get this one?"

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cerebbro
2009-04-15 08:26 am UTC (link)

Chris found himself chuckling lightly at Kyle's story of childhood mischief. It reminded him a bit of the times few and far between when he'd get to spend time with other kids, get the chance to be a kid. He'd had less chances at that than some, something perhaps he was making up for lately. Chris wasn't one to go out on the town, but Lex had invited and Chris still felt a protective streak regarding her, wanting to make sure she wasn't out with the wrong sorts. And she wasn't at all. Chris hadn't seen the Guthries for years, but knew they were good peoples and good company.

"I'll get it, Kyle", Chris offered, standing up and motioning the server his way. He was already pulling bills from the front pocket of his hoodie. Chris had tried to dress down and inconspicuous for the night, which meant he looked like a celebrity trying not to look like a celebrity. He still had the hood up on his hoodie, though he'd at least taken the sunglasses off a little while ago. They were more a hindrance than anything inside the bar.

"Another of everything", Chris said once the server was there, looking around the table for agreement. He gave her the money for the drinks and tip in advance, knowing she'd do right by him. Chris settled back down into his chair, starting to strum his fingers on the table along to the tune trying to be carried by the poor sap on the mic.

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psionicblast
2009-04-15 10:27 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, I'll.." Julien's attempt at offering to purchase the next round was drowned out by Chris'. His brow furrowed lightly, mildly annoyed that he hadn't spoken up quickly enough, but recovered easily. "I.. I'll get the next one, so.. uh.. save some room." He hadn't bought a round yet and he didn't want to be 'that guy' and not have a chance to pay his fair share.

Having moved to fish his wallet out of his pocket, but not needing it yet, Julien resettled down in his seat. His fingers encircled the lowball glass set before him and Julien drained it of any remaining whiskey still hugging the ice cubes. Eyes shifted towards his cousin over the rim of the glass and then rolled back, shaking his head already as he moved to set the emptied glass back down.

"Oh, no. No. No." His gaze flickered to Alexis then and with a surprising lack of a stammer or embarrassed flush, he cleared his throat lightly in preparation to defend himself. "Don't listen to him. Kyle tends to remember family history in a peculiar sort of way." Julien leaned away from his cousin slightly, prepared for the possible elbow to the shoulder or whathave you. "The sort of way that leaves him innocent and the trouble caused by anyone or anything else that was remotely in the same area. "Like the time he was sleeping over and decided it would be a good idea to sneak out of the house. And not just tiptoe past my parents' room —but tie my sheets together like in the movies and go out the window? Let's just say someone forgot that good knot-tying would be a required skill and said person landed, as you can imagine loudly, on the garbage cans below. Woke the whole house up in a panic." Julien smirked as his glass was taken away and replaced by the attentive server. "And this ended up being my fault, because they were my sheets."

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akeller
2009-04-16 04:28 pm UTC (link)

Beer had almost come out of Lex's nose. Literally. It took her a minute to painfully choke it down, considering the stories these boys were telling to humiliate each other were just so funny. She was bringing a napkin up to try and hide any alcohol that might have escaped. She'd been keeping her drinks pretty light, but it was more because she was delaying the inevitable. She was probably going to get totally sloshed and become very unbecoming, but it was a night out, just her and the boys. She wondered for a moment, as she took in a breath, if she should find some girls to hang out with?

"You should've been smart and not let him use your sheets." She nodded sagely while watching the boys take up the next round. She really didn't care who paid for what. She was kind of swimming in money and was used to high spending. She was very certain that whatever it was the tab would be at the end of the night, she'd be able to cover it. This place didn't charge an arm and a leg, and they didn't water down the drinks either. She was thinking of leaving a big tip, because the service was nice too.

"Would've never pegged you two as trouble makers." She said amused, while leaning on Chris as he sat back into his seat. "What do you think? I mean they look like such nice people, don't you agree?" She was actually starting to get a little mischievous wondering what sort of things she could talk them into doing and blackmail them for later after they've had enough to drink.

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cerebbro
2009-04-17 08:22 am UTC (link)

Chris gave Lex a sidelong glance. "I hope you're not always that bad a judge of character", he said to her, mainly to tease the boys. "I think I remember them hanging out with Luke as kids, I wouldn't put anything past them." He was totally joking, of course. Even though he hadn't known either one extremely well as kids, he'd never had a bad impression of either of them.

He took his new glass from the server when it was brought to him. He lifted it to his lips, getting just a hint of the taste of the rum and coke before setting it back onto the table. He sighed in relief when he saw the warbler had left the stage and looked at the others in interest. "So who's going to be the brave one to get up there first?"

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hypnotizes
2009-04-17 06:03 pm UTC (link)

To his credit, Kyle hadn't growled, become physical, or even say anything with Mr. Rich Kid whipped out his wallet. He hated when people didn't allow him to pay for things, especially when it was his turn. Even if said turn only existed in his head. He exchanged a look with his cousin and rolled his eyes just a tiny bit. Thankfully, Kyle hoped that it could just be played off as part of the story.

"Better than what you wanted," he said, shifting out of his sudden funk and giving his cousin a wide grin. "I thought your momma had shedded into a cherry she was so mad." Kyle took his drink and shook his head. He pulled some hair behind his ear, taking a sip and setting it back down. Picking up a piece of the fried onion thing in the middle of the table, Kyle popped it into his mouth and tried to chew with a smile on his lips.

Swallowing quickly, Kyle shook his finger at Alexis, cocking his head to the side. "Oh, I wouldn't call us troublemakers. Just curious to see what we could get away with. They weren't all failures." He winked at Julien and took another sip. "I bet, floods aside, our names would still be down in the holler, under that bridge. We wrote our names in mud on the walls. Stuff like that. No harm, no foul."

Kyle rolled his shoulders and glanced at Christian. They weren't so far apart in age, and as much as he could remember, there hadn't been much playing around Emma Frost. Looking at the mic stand, Kyle raised his hands, palm out. Only three fingers on his right hand could participate, since he was still holding his drink. "Nowhere near there yet," he informed the crowd. "'Sides, innit ladies first? It'd only be proper." Another wink.

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psionicblast
2009-04-18 08:25 pm UTC (link)

"It's not like I offered up my sheets and window as an escape route." He offered in his defense, casting his gaze briefly aside towards Kyle before returning to the two at the table lacking that troublemaking, Guthrie blood.

"No harm, no foul and with names written in mud..." He lifted his glass for a brief sip before completing his thought,"...no sort of long term commitment to our shenanigans whatsoever in that case." There was an uncharacteristic ease to Julien's conversational skills among a mostly unfamiliar group. Still, when the emptied stage was motioned to, Julien just craned his neck to see for himself and as he turned back he had expected to see Kyle jumping at the opportunity and not benching himself with a drink. There was a lull, an awkward pause in the previous flow of conversation and that started to tweak his usually nervous nature and before he completely realized what he was doing, the words escaped with a glance towards Alexis. "I-I'll go if you go."

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akeller
2009-04-18 08:51 pm UTC (link)

"Look at them." She said flashing a smile at the Guthries. Kyle was sweet and Julien was pretty quiet, though the alcohol was definitely helping to loosen him up. "They're practically harmless." She couldn't help but dissolve into a fit of giggles. It wasn't uncommon, but it was just a sign of how much she'd had to drink. She probably should've eaten something, because the alcohol had already started to go to her head.

All in all the tales of their childhood mischief was enjoyable.

The earbleeding voice had died out and Chris decided to point out that it was someone's turn. Kyle had tried to toss the responsibility on her. She was going to say something about how he needs to show her how it was done because she'd not done it before, but Kyle had decided to volunteer himself with her company? She blinked and looked at him with a bit of surprise before laughing and shrugging her shoulders a little. "Sure, why not?" Finishing off her drink, she grabbed onto Julien's hand. "Let's go then, partner."

She pulled him up out of his seat and they'd made it halfway up to the stage before she realized they were missing something very important. "What are we singing?" She wasn't sure she remembered songs well enough to pull this off, but everyone around here was drunk, right? Right? They totally wouldn't remember this.

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psionicblast
2009-04-21 05:05 pm UTC (link)

He was halfway out of his seat when Julien truly realized that this was actually happening. The words had come out of his mouth, he'd offered to sing with her and now he was being led to the karaoke stage hand-in-hand by Alexis. In that pause and blink before she'd given an answer, Julien had already resigned himself to prepare for a rejection, and he would have done so gracefully, letting it roll off with a shrug at most. Now that it was happening, his brain was scrambling to figure out just what he was supposed to do now? Trailing along in her tow, Julien wove between patrons and empty seats, looking back occasionally towards his cousin in mixed expressions of shock and a sort of punchdrunk happiness that warmed his face with a growing grin. A grin that nearly faded when Lexi pointed out they'd forgotten a key part of this little adventure.

"I.uh.. you know, I didn't think that far ahead." When you thought you were going to be shot down, you weren't exactly trying to steal a peek at the song catalogue. "I'll try just about anything... I mean, the words are on the screen, right? We can't go too wrong."

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	cerebbro 2009-04-22 07:41 am UTC (link)
	Chris sat back and watched, amused. He was just glad that it wasn't him! At least not yet. He'd probably get his turn, he had a feeling that Lex wouldn't be letting any of them off the hook. As Alexis dragged Julien over toward the stage, Chris looked over at Kyle. "Can he sing?", he asked. It probably wasn't a given that all Guthries could sing like Jay. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

hypnotizes
2009-04-22 08:21 am UTC (link)

Kyle waved them farewell, grinning at his cousin as he was practically pulled from the table and up toward the stage. He was sure to catch the expressions Julien threw back his way, but there wasn't anything that Kyle could do about it. Not now, anyway. It had been what he'd wanted. Julien took a chance and it paid off for him.

Kyle was just glad that his cousin had found his misplaced pair and took a gamble. Another sip of his drink and Kyle turned toward Christian. "Uncle Jono was no slouch musically when it came to this sort of thing. Before his power," Kyle added. "Or so the stories go. He'll do just fine. With back up like Lexi, I doubt it'll be too awful terrible." Kyle's attention turned back to the stage, wondering what song the duo was going to pick.

He called the waitress over and asked for six shots of tequila. One was for him now, and the other would be shared when Julien and Alexis got back from their duet. Like Kyle could let something like Julien singing go unmarked. It definitely was a celebration in need of shots.

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akeller
2009-04-23 01:33 am UTC (link)

Oh, poor Julien. He shouldn't have said that, because that left her free to her own devices. She was currently looking over the book, flipping through it until she came across the right number and pointed it out to the guy who plugged it in.

Dragging Julien up on the stage with her, she handed him a mic. The music started, the words started scrolling, and she swallowed all sense of pride--as she was about to make an ass out of herself--and started...reading?

"If you see a faded sign by the side of the road that says
15 miles to the...

LOOOOOOOOOOOVE SHAAAAAAAAAACK! Love Shack yeah yeah... "

It was a really old song, but she'd actually heard it enough times. Her grandfather loved it. Kept it a secret from the rest of the family, but she caught him listening to it....and it was the only song she knew on this outdated list of music. That she recognized anyway. She looked over at Julien wondering if he knew the song.

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psionicblast
2009-04-23 06:42 pm UTC (link)

When Julien froze upon the music starting, it was surprisingly not out of utter terror of doing karaoke not only with Alexis.. but in front of people. No, it was the kind of stasis that came with recognizing a song, but not being able to place a name to a poppy beat. It wasn't something in his regular musical rotation, but something that his memory was straining to pull from recollections of the kind of music his mother used to listen to when Jono was well out of earshot. His father's tolerance for American pop music was... short, at best.

The words started to scroll, white characters wiped to yellow as a cue for what to say and for how long and the best Julien could remember at the moment was bits of the ever-repeating chorus. Well, that was sure to help at some point, right?

Lexi, however, seemed to have no problem recalling the ebb and flow of the song. Julien cast his gaze aside as she belted the first few lines of the lyrics right out into the microphone. An eyebrow arched, if she was at all nervous about singing in front of crowds, she wasn't showing it. If Alexis, who actually had some reputation, some renown to be concerned about and she wasn't holding back —why should some D-list nobody X-baby like Julien get wound up over this?

His gaze upon Alexis didn't break in time to catch the next line, so the bar was treated to a musical interlude before Julien realized there were still words on the screen. Eyes widened in embarrassment and he quickly turned to the lyrics in hopes of catching up.

"I got me a car, it's as big as a whale and we're headin' on down to the Love Shack..." His voice was meek and unsure at the start, but not warbling or out of tune. But as the yellow overtook the white type again, a little more confidence flowed into his tone. "I got me a Chrysler, it seats about 20. So hurry up and bring your jukebox money!" A furrowed brow and slight frown of concentration faded as a grin warmed his expression in their place.

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hypnotizes
2009-04-23 07:17 pm UTC (link)

"C'mon, c'mon," Kyle said softly, under his breath. He wanted Julien to succeed. He wanted his cousin to have fun, and to loosen up. He was on stage. Granted, no Guthrie besides Kyle's father seemed to be all that comfortable in front of a mic, but when Julien started singing, Kyle raised his hand. In that hand was his first shot of tequila. He raised it in honor of his cousin, flashing the duo a smile and keeping his hand up there for a few seconds extra.

He looked at Julien, willing him to believe in himself, despite the irony that Kyle himself needed a good buzz before he could get up there and sing. When it sounded like Julien had his footing, Kyle took the shot and slammed the glass down on the table in exclamation. His face pinched and he shook his head. He had a bad habit of keeping the actual shot in his mouth before finally swallowing. His eyes were glassy for a second, Alexis and Julien becoming slightly blurred until he could swallow and get back his vision.

The booze was hot going down his throat, but as it seeped into the fullness of his belly, Kyle started nodding to the beat. His hands reached up and pulled his hair back, over his ears. Leaning in toward Christian, his words carried a little pride. "They make a good lookin' couple, don't they?"

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cerebbro
2009-04-24 08:24 am UTC (link)

When the song started, it was something that Chris didn't recognize at all, but it was obvious that it was a very silly song. He couldn't help chuckling a little as he watched them up there, Lex appearing to have fun and Julien looking terrified at first but slowly starting to get into the performance.

Chris was enjoying it. This was what karakoe was supposed to be about. Not about trying to be the next big singing sensation, not to show off, but to have fun with it.

He was suprised by Kyle's question to him. So that was what this was about after all? Chris figured that Lex might have an interest in one, or both, of the men who were with them, but Chris wasn't really sure. Now, at least, he knew the men's intentions, that Kyle seemed to be rooting for Julien and Alexis to be a couple. "They're sure having a good time with it", Chris answered neutrally. Chris trusted Lex to be mature and wise enough to make good decisions about such things and from what he knew of Kyle and Julien, they seemed to be good people, but he couldn't help still feeling a tiny bit of that overprotective wariness. Somebody had to look out for her, right? But Chris wasn't too worried from what he was seeing and observing tonight.

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akeller
2009-04-27 11:09 pm UTC (link)

She wasn't much paying attention to Julien in the sense of trying to watch him and make sure he was singing with her. Instead, she just kept going and kept an ear out to hear if he started, making sure to go along with him. She would've been a little playful and just stopped singing to make him feel a little awkward, but she didn't feel comfortable to allow him to do the same. A lot of people were all about equality when it came to teasing, weren't they? Had to get you back. That would turn ugly. She knew herself that well at least.

There had only been on problem with this song.

She hadn't expected it to go on so long. Not that she wasn't having fun. The more they got into it, the more she started to even dance around a little, especially when the words started repeating themselves. Her cheeks flushed with color as she still felt half-embarrassed, but hell, she was already up here so why not have a little fun?

"Bang bang bang on the door baby!"

Knock a little louder baby!

"Bang bang bang on the door baby!"

I can't hear you!

"Bang bang bang on the door baby!"

It was cool to have the little interplay. They did well together. She was having...far too much fun with this. Then the music stop!

You're what?...

"TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN ROOF! Rusted!" The music cued up again, the chorus repeating itself. By now, she was practically electric. The alcohol mixed with the giddy feeling, and the surge of confidence she got that people either liked it or didn't care was just causing her to let go.

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