Chase Underwood (darkwanting) wrote in _fracture_, @ 2014-05-04 14:50:00 |
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Entry tags: | chapter 2, chase, justin, kennedy, lavel |
The Set Up
Who: Justin, Chase, then Kennedy
Where: the banquet
When: evening
As much as Chase really didn't want to push Justin's attention somewhere else, he'd promised Kyle and it was matter of love versus a crush that was clearly going nowhere and even less places considering Chase wasn't usually the type to act on a crush. So when Justin seemed to have a break in his banquet action he found a space next to him with a smile, refilling his wine glass. "You looked great out there today. And definitely caught the attention of more than one lady."
Justin took the refill with a nod of thanks, and laughed at the compliment. "Thanks, but I think that might be pushing it. I got as far as I did more as a result of luck than any kind of judgement or skill," he said, rolling his eyes.
"I didn't say you looked like you knew what you were doing," Chase countered with an easy smile, going with the high level flirting like he'd use at the bar. "Just that you looked good. And what kind of squire would I be if I didn't at least make you aware of any potential fans?" The kind that wanted to keep the sailor for himself that much was sure, but again, it was a crush by happenstance, not much else. Justin was different and here and Chase was caught up in him.
Justin looked mock-offended as Chase said he hadn't looked like he'd known what he was doing - a hand pressed against his chest and all. "Really - well then, just fine!" he shot, though the entire thing was spoiled by a smile. "I looked like an idiot, but attracted attention anyway." He rolled his eyes and took another sip of his drink. "Go on then - anyone worth notice?" he asked good naturedly. He hadn't done much in the way of hooking up last night, but he wasn't exactly against the idea. If the lady were willing. It would be a good distraction from his aches and pains, at least.
For a moment Chase was worried, but the smile put his concerns away and he grinned himself. There was something to be said about a man with a sense of humor that much was for sure. "I didn't say idiot, just inexperienced. But with a look like yours you attract attention no matter what." As Justin played on, Chase grinned more to himself. "Well there are a couple obviously staring right now, though they could be looking at me for all I know," Chase teased, though he knew that was a possibility. He scanned the crowd for Kennedy then nodded in her direction. "The brunette over there, kind of doll-like? She was definitely noticing with that piercing intense kind of gaze that really only means one thing."
Justin looked over to Kennedy when she was mentioned, looking her up and down. He hadn't noticed her looking his way at all, but in his experience, that didn't mean much. "Really?" he asked, with a tone of appreciation. She was a cute one, that was for sure. She also didn't quite seem to fit in here, and he wasn't too sure how to feel about that. Possibly it meant that she was a hotel person, which would mean having to deal with her longer term than he'd like. Yet, it also meant she might not have the... moral code of most of the local women.
It took everything in Chase not to roll his eyes when Justin used that approving tone. It made sense. Kennedy was pretty in her own way, Justin was straight, and so on, but it was still one of those moments where Chase wished it was slightly different. "Would I lie to you?" Yes. Totally. But that didn't mean that Kennedy hadn't noticed him really, Chase didn't know that for sure.
Justin looked over at him and said, "I don't know - would you?"
Well Justin had him there didn't he? Chase smiled though and shook his head. "Not about something like this. Maybe if you got a bad haircut I might fib and tell you it doesn't look as bad as you think, but not about this." There was no way Kennedy wouldn't find Justin attractive. He was too classically handsome. There was something there for almost anyone.
"Do you know her?" Justin asked, wondering why chase had picked her out, when he had suggested that there had been more than one set of eyes on him.
Chase shook his head. "No. She knows a friend of mine. He vouched for her as far as people go when we realized she was watching you." He really didn't like fibbing to Justin, but it was a matter of love. "Plus she's pretty and she'd look good with you. I don't think I got your type wrong did I?"
"I'm not sure I exactly have a 'type'," Justin admitted. "But she's definitely cute. And possibly someone your friend wants to see set up," he added, amused. The way Chase was talking, he had to wonder if he'd found himself in a high school-esque 'my friend likes your friend' scenario. If he ad, it hadn't exactly bothered him before.
"Possibly. He'd be more interested in me than her," Chase said with an innocent shrug. He still smiled though. "Don't have a type beyond what? Interested?"
"Well, if you want to put it like that..." Justin said drolly, rolling his eyes a little. "Make me sound like a total player, why don't you. I just... Judge a girl on who she is when I meet her. I'm not someone who's gonna write someone off, just because they don't conform to the right physical 'type'. I have slightly more depth than that," he said, light-heartedly. He wasn't offended by Chase's question, just felt the need to explain.
"No, it's only a player if you're hooking up with all of them. And at once." Chase smiled and elbowed Justin lightly. "Good to know you have depth. I had hope that you did." He really should be giving Justin a proper push towards the girl, but this was kind of nice. "So what about a girl makes her pass judgement?"
Justin shrugged a shoulder as he considered that. "I'm not sure. Something about her - sense of humour, intelligence..." He was clearly thinking about it and trying to put his finger on what it was that attracted him to someone, but he had never really thought about it all that deeply. It was often just 'her - she's the one for tonight', and that was him decided. Attraction had no real formula. Or, if it did, he had never worked out the recipe.
Chase was amused by the way he couldn't put his finger on it though. He could see Justin winding up with something completely unplanned with that kind of direction. "Well if that's the case, you're not going to make a decision about her over here." Which stunk for him but it was a great opportunity to give Justin that little push.
Justin laughed at that, acknowledging the truth of that fact. He looked across at the girl. She was cute - there was something of a doll-like quality about her. He figured that he didn't exactly have a lot to lose, and he had never had a problem approaching women. He had an easy self-confidence about his looks and charm, and enough of a sense of humour to be able to take being turned down without offence. "Okay, okay - I'll go say hi," he told Chase with a smile.
"Go get 'um tiger," Chase said with a smile. He hated to see Justin go, but trying to get him to stick around just to flirt with was pointless when Chase could be helping Kyle out.
Kennedy was busy being bored. Boredom wasn't good for her. She got into trouble when she was bored. For instance, she had managed to get her hands on a bow, and was messing around with that. Not with an arrow, but more than one person jumped when she released the string. She had a red welt on her right cheek where she learned the hard way not to hold the thing too close to her face. When she saw some dude approaching, she aimed, and released the string.
“You know,” Justin said, stopping just out of reach and casually leaning his weight onto his back foot, holding his wine goblet in one hand. “They generally say it works better with an arrow. Then again… A room this crowded, probably better that it’s without. There was… some woman… that seemed to be very vocally complaining that you caught her.. wispy headdress thing or something. I have no idea, but she wasn’t best pleased,” he told her, clearly taking the whole situation lightly.
“I have a long standing dispute with wispy headdress things,” she deadpanned. “It's been a long standing feud between myself and them. Some childhood traumas just don't go away, no matter how much medieval French chicks want it to. So, she'll just have to suck it up.”
"Oh, so it was totally purposeful then," Justin quipped. "Then maybe I should compliment you on your aim." He gave her a smile and laughed lightly. "I'm Justin," he added, introducing himself.
“Yep. They're fuckers, those things. Death to them,” she told him. “Hi, Justin,” she said, nodding in his direction. “You're speaking English, and sound like you don't consider me a second class citizen, so I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you're from the hotel too,” she said. “Otherwise, I'd have to ask if you often think walking up to people like 'imaginary arrows girl' is a good plan.”
"Yes, I'm from the hotel," Justin said, noting that the girl had blatantly not told him her name. "As are you. At least, you don't really seems as if you belong here."
She glanced around, then back at him. “Yeaaah, I really don't. Though, there's a fair argument that I don't belong back at the hotel either. Or outside the hotel. Or anywhere, I guess. It's probably all just a matter of perspective. You having fun with this little trip to Camelot?”
"I would think that everyone belongs somewhere. Maybe you just haven't found your place yet," Justin suggested to her. He knew where he belonged, and it certainly wasn't here. 'Camelot' seemed apt though. "Let's put it this way, I'm no Lancelot," he told her, shaking his head a little. "I managed to get through a couple of rounds before getting my ass thoroughly handed to me."
"Everyone belonging somewhere is a nice idea, sure. And most people would totally agree with you. I just think it's bullshit. The world has a lot of wacky ass square pegs, Not Lancelot," she said. "A couple of rounds I would count as impressive considering you have likely never done this before," she added. "You don't look like the Ren Faire type."
Justin kept his thoughts to himself as he appeared to be pleasantly interested in what she was saying. What he was thinking, however, was that Chase's matchmaking skills left a lot to be desired, or the guy was just full of bull, because no way this woman had had her eye on him all day. Hell, it seemed that she had immediately forgotten his name even, to put together with the fact that she still hadn't told him hers. In Justin's opinion, that just came off as disinterested and rude and it didn't encourage him to want to stay around. "I'm not really the Ren Faire type," he agreed, on cue, keeping up his end of the conversation. He might think that she was rude, but he had no intention of being so. "I'm a sailor. Well, I guess maybe 'was' would be a more apt word to use for now."
That caught her attention, and she arched a brow. "Yeah?" She asked. "That's interesting. I have never met a sailor before. What kind are you? Navy? Competitive? You look like a rich pleasure cruiser. Oceans? Lakes? Have you sailed around the world in one epic trip?"
Oh, so now you're interested Justin thought, wryly. Why was it that the idea of large yachts and money always did it for the girls? At least it could be relied upon to get him consistently laid. He felt more on solid ground again, though he had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Not navy, but pretty much all of the rest at one time or another. I started out as a competitive sailor and have crewed for more than one major race in my time. I never had a solid team, but sometimes people need stand ins. Mostly I crew for larger yachts and cruisers. Oceans, not lakes unless times are really hard - I tend to stick to the coasts. And yes, I have, in fact, sailed around the world in one epic trip."
Kennedy set the bow down, and focused on him fully. "Where is your favorite place? Where are people the coolest and where are they miserable bitches? Is there someplace you want to go that you haven't?" She rattled off. "Cruisers or yachts - rate them by their dumbest traits! Go!"
Justin stared back at her, a little shocked about the sudden - and fairly intense - focus. "Er - Sandhamn, Sweden. Auckland for coolest. The dicks are in Monaco during the Grand Prix - too many people who are just there to show off their money. Antarctica. Yachts: the space. Cruisers: owning one is like fucking throwing suitcases full of hundred dollar bills off the back, every time you go anywhere. Dan waste," he rattled off. Surprised he may have been, but the answers came like breathing.
Taking that in, she nodded, even if she didn't know where some of those places were. The point was to get him talking about it, not to ensure she knew everything he was saying. "Money shower-offers. They are a special breed of lame," she offered with a nod. She smiled when he mentioned the suitcase throwing. "Interesting," she said, managing to sound genuinely interested. "So what else do you do? Besides deal with people with too much money and not enough sense?"
Justin flashed her a white-toothed smile. “That is pretty much my job description for ninety-nine point nine percent of the time. It’s kind of an all encompassing thing. When you’re on the size of craft I tend to work on, you have to be rich to own, or even charter one. The zero point one percent have the money and the sense. Sometimes you luck out with a decent boss, who either knows what they’re doing - usually the yachtsmen - or they have the sense to just get out of the way and let you do their job. That job would be to do… everything. From making sure that you actually get where you’re going, to cooking, cleaning and tending bar.” He had never felt so far away from his old life as he did right now.
"Huh," Kennedy said. "...what made you pick that life? Do you enjoy it?" she asked, slightly mystified when he put together that description. It sounded like he was a maid-butler-slave. Or something. "Sounds like a flight attendant only way more work," she added.
"I get to sail some of the most magnificent yachts ever built and see the world. Go to places I would never otherwise have seen. So, sure, the job can be a weird mix of with flight attendant and pilot, but in my opinion, it's still the best job in the world," Justin told her with all sincerity.
Kennedy nodded. "Alright," she said. "I can accept that. To each their own and all that shit, so, yay for you that you found something that you think is awesome. Enjoying your work I'm told is pretty important. Though, I guess, that said, this sorta blows, huh?" she asked, glancing around. "Trips to maybe the past, a weird hotel, shit like that. It's got to throw a wrench in your works, right?"
She was really offputting, Justin decided. He couldn't figure out if she was doing it on purpose as a kind of 'don't hit on me' technique, or whether she just naturally had the ability to sound entirely disinterested in everything, even when what she was actually saying suggested that she should be interested. It was like one long line of backhand compliments. Either way, it made him want to edge his way out of the conversation. He recognised that he was already starting to do that, with the way he wasn't asking her questions in return, merely talking about himself when prompted. He wondered if it made him come across as a self-involved dick, but right now he didn't care enough to try and correct that. "I'd prefer not to be here, yeah," he agreed, finishing off the last of his drink.
She nodded. "Well, you aren't alone in that, I don't think," she said. She wasn't sure she cared, but she figured other people did. She saw he finished his drink, and gave him a bit of a smile. "Well, you need another drink, and I need to find someplace to crash out," she told him. "Nice to meet you, though," she added. "I'm sure I'll see you around at some point," she told him.
"You too, no name girl," Justin said, since she'd still not told him her name, and he figured she'd clearly already forgotten hers. God, he was gonna have to have a long talk with his 'squire' about what the man thought he saw.