Wherein Karissa Makes a Spectacle of Herself Who: Karissa and Raph Where: Avarice When: Wednesday Night, June 23rd
Now... let's get one thing straight right away. Karissa Starr? Was not an attention-seeker. Seriously. She just... tended to not think before doing things. So when she was in Avarice, and a song came on that she liked? She couldn't help it. After noticing that whatever band was playing later that night had their equipment set up already, the curvy blonde bolted up to the drum kit with a spazzy grin, and started playing along to the song. The fact that especially being from the future, the fact that she even KNEW "Foul Taste of Freedom" by Pro-Pain showed that the girl had some STRANGE taste in music. Also? The sight of a sweet, beautiful, curvy blonde in a flowered dress up there going berserk on drums? Slightly odd, if not fascinating.
Raph hadn’t gone out much since Kayla had been hurt but tonight he felt he could use a little distraction, which was why he walked into Avarice, his hair a little dishevelled, like he’d just woke up, dressed in black jeans with a studded belt and a faded gray t-shirt, exposing his bare, tanned arms. He was also wearing a silver crucifix that his sister had given him for his birthday. He didn’t know why she chose to give him that of all things, but it was a nice gothic design, and... wearing it kept her close to him. It was... kind of sad, really. He’d asked her to take him to get his first tattoo, but obviously right now she couldn’t. When he walked in, he noticed the blonde spazzing out on the drums straight away (honestly, who wouldn’t notice her? Seriously?) and couldn’t help it but smile faintly. That was kind of adorable.
When the song ended, Karissa blushed furiously when she realized that, yes, she HAD made a bit of a spectacle of herself. Hey... if nothing else, maybe it'd make some of these people wanna see her band when they eventually played here. Right? RIGHT??? Anyway. She cleared her throat and just... kind of skittered shyly to the bar, fidgeting with her wristband as CJ handed her a HUGE glass of root beer.
Raph made his way over to the bar and looked at what Karissa had ordered, raising an eyebrow before ordering a simple coke. "You’re a good drummer," he said to her, looking to the stage with an impressed nod. He was raised in a musical family, so he’d know, alright?
"It sorta... runs in my family?" She said with a loud squeak, as, face it... Rissa wasn’t exactly the most smooth gal in the world when it came to flirting. "My Au...my cousins are both really good musicians..." She blurted out before gulping the entire glass down in one fell swoop. "I'm Karissa..." and you're GORGEOUS... she had to stop herself from saying.
Holy cow, where the hell did that drink just go? Raph blinked and then chuckled, before ruffling a hand through his already messy hair, "I’m Raph," he replied, giving her an all-too-sweet grin.
She would actually be sultry as hell... if it weren't for that incredibly adorable, innocent grin. Those bright blue eyes just looked at him like he was the only person in the entire club. "Nice to meetcha!" She chirped cutely, practically bouncing as she rocked on her heels. Clearly, she'd inherited her Aunt Chloe's hyperactiveness, in addition to her father's eyes and her mother's rambliness and smile.
Well, wasn’t she just a bundle of energy? Raph chuckled again, just taking it in stride. Honestly, her bubbly energy was what he needed right now. "Nice to meet you, too. Can’t say I’ve seen you around here before," he said, and trust me, he’d notice someone like her.
"I'm... REALLY new around here. Hee." Ok, so, little inside joke. Shh. "I'm still getting to know people here, which kinda sucks. All I really know is the couple people that moved with me, my family, and my bandmates." Sadly... This? Was Karissa shy and quiet. Think about that.
"Well, now you know me," Raph replied, giving her a grin that was both friendly and flirtatious. He couldn't help it, he had always had a thing for blonde's (was there any doubt that he was his sister's brother?). "Okay, so. I have to ask you something. It's kind of important." He paused for effect before adding: "Do you like card tricks?"
When he was asking his question, her eyes were saucer-like, rapt with attention as if he were asking her something the fate of the universe rested on. When he finished, she practically squealed. "I love magic tricks! Card tricks and bunnies in hats and all that stuff!"
"Perfect, those are all things I’m good at," he told her before pulling out a deck of cards from his back pocket. It was more that he was good with numbers than a gambling thing. He cut the deck and set two separate piles down, spreading them along the length of the bar. "Pick a card from each pile. Memorize it. Don’t tell me what it is. Then set it in the opposite pile. I guarantee that after I shuffle the deck, I’ll be able to pick your cards based on your reaction alone." He grinned. He couldn’t help it. This was fun.
"...nuh-UH." She said with a giggle, although she did as he asked, memorizing the card before grinning again, with a raised eyebrow, before sticking it into the other pile like he'd said, crossing her arms over her ample bosom.
"Ya-huh," he replied intelligently, before shuffling each deck and then joining them. "Here's the fun part." He flipped the deck over and started shuffling through it slowly, "Now see, you're totally giving yourself away." He pulled one card out. Her first card, "It's all about facial expressions." As he was telling her this, his eyes went from the deck, up to meet her eyes (hesitating only briefly) before looking at the deck again. "Oooh, would you look at that. There's your second card. Tell me I'm wrong," he grinned.
"I'd SO rather tell you you're gorgeous..." She blurted out before squeaking and clapping both hands comically over her mouth, eyes wide. "That soooo wasn't meant to be said aloud. Ohgawwwd. You got it right, by the way." Oh. Great, epic fail there, Rissa.
He gave her a surprised little look, before smiling and shoving his cards back into his pocket. "I've been called a lot of things. ‘Gorgeous' was never one of them," he admitted before adding: "It's nice, though."
"Thanks..." Rissa mumbled, blushing furiously. "I have a tendency to talk when I *think* I'm just thinkin' and lots of embarrassing things tend to happen." Hell , speaking when she didn't mean to was what led to her sleeping with Brayden, for all the good THAT did to her self-esteem. "You are very handsome though..."
"Thanks," he replied, adjusting to the fact that she tended to speak her mind. It wasn't a bad quality, necessarily, it was just that not many people tended to do it. "I'm not very good at giving compliments," he told her. "...You look like you could be a good dancer, though. D'you wanna give it a go with me?"
"Ok!" She said with an adorable little hop. Yeah, really had to twist her arm, huh? "I should warn you though; all the skill *I* have is in my hands." She thought for a second and blushed. "And I swear that didn't sound as dirty in my head."
"That's... okay?" He replied with a brief laugh, before taking her hand and leading her to the dance floor. "I'm not a great dancer, either, but with you I'll try." He blinked and added: "That didn't sound weird, did it?"
"If nothing else, at least it'll be funny..." She replied, taking his hand and just... PRAYING for an ounce of the grace her mother could display while in battle. "So... That's a pretty unique name ya got there..." D'oh... Obviously, Karissa wasn't a great conversationalist when nervous.
He chuckled and, once they were situated on the dance floor, set his hands on her hips, despite the fact that it wasn't really a slow song. "Yeah... my sister named me. When she was a kid." There was more to it, but he left it at that. "Three guesses where she got it from... and the first two don't count."
"Nuh-uh. The Ninja Turtles?" Sadly enough, she DID think of that immediately. What a cultured young woman, huh? "At least she didn't name you Bebop or Rocksteady."
"Ooooh, believe me. They were top contenders," he replied, completely serious there. "Tell no one, though. Seriously," he added with a chuckle as they began to dance.
"It’s our little secret." She said sweetly, pulling him in closer, and whispering in his ear. "Personally you look more like a Krang to me anyway." A girl from eighteen years in the future, and she still knew her original TMNT cartoons. Clearly a keeper, this one.
He chuckled and blushed slightly, "A high compliment there." He smiled though, and joined his hands at the small of her back. He was taught to be a gentleman, though, so that’s where his hands would stay. He met her eyes and gave her a cockeyed look, clearly still trying to figure her out.
Now this? Was new to her. Being treated like a lady. Face it... Only guy she'd ever really been out or anything with was BRAYDEN. Much like her Aunt Chloe, guys tended to like Karissa until she opened her mouth. "This is nice..." She admitted with a blush.
"Yeah, even if I have the grace of a llama," he replied with a brief smile. Honestly, it was the first graceless thing he could think of. "So, what’re you going to do with your summer?" He asked, figuring she was still in high school. He’d just graduated, but beyond surfing, he’d made no plans, personally.
"Mostly play with my band. I don't really have many friends here yet." She admitted. Hell, other than Kim and Buffy, she had pretty much nobody. "We're still lookin' for a bass player, but other than that we're good to go."
H-uh. That was kind of funny, really. "I’m not bad at bass," he was being modest, really. He was damn good, in all honesty. He chalked that up to being told that he could do anything. "What kind of music do you all play?"
"Um... I guess you could call us thrash metal?" She squeaked, not really aware of how comical the image was of this hyper, sweet girl rocking out like a madwoman. "Maybe we could jam or something sometime..." Good thinking, Rissa. Invite a guy you're interested in to basically meet the guy who treated you like a cheap tramp. SMART.
He pictured it, alright, but... since he saw her little performance earlier? He didn’t doubt it for a second. Still dancing, he nodded slowly, "That would be awesome. Really... What guy would complain if they got to spend more time with you?" He was being part-flirtatious, but mostly honest there.
"Wait until I talk more before ya say that..." She giggled with a blush. "I've been told in so many words that I'm sexy until I talk. Then it allllllll goes downhill." She *was* a talkative thing, but she didn't TRY to be obnoxious! Really!
"Well, I like what I’ve heard so far. Especially the compliments, I could use more of those," he teased, before giving her an all-too-brief nuzzle. He was a fan of affection, honestly. He just wasn’t used to receiving it. ... Or giving it. But he’d had the odd urge to give her a nuzzle, so he just went with it.
"Ohmigod. You're like the sweetest boy EVER." She let out a cutely embarrassed little giggle, but certainly didn't push him away. Hell... It felt NICE to have someone being affectionate who WASN'T seemingly just out to screw her.
"Nono, I'm evil. Grr," he replied, putting on a cute little 'grr' face. He couldn't help it. She seemed to bring out a goofy side in him.
"Totally. I look at you? And I see PURE EVIL. Ooo. I even got CHILLS." The blonde said with a cheeky lil' smirk, her hands resting on his hips.
"See? Not to be trusted," he replied with a chuckle. Was it opposite day, or something? If anything, Karissa had met possibly the kindest guy in her age group. Heck, he was as likely to be cruel as much as Elmo was to do a porno (unless there's a strange fetish that his mun isn't aware of, but let's pretend there isn't and leave it at that).
"Clearly." She said, trying not to giggle. Absently, she went to nibble at her lip ring, as she usually did when nervous, only to remember that she'd taken it out, along with her nose ring. Hey, she was planning on going to 'meet' the woman who was technically her Grandma soon. Had to make a good impression after all! "So am I being a goofball if I ask you if maybe ya wanna do something sometime?"
He blinked, honestly surprised there. Although in a good way. He smiled brilliantly and nodded, before realising what he was nodding to, and then quickly changed it to shaking his head. "No no, no. Not a goofball at all. You just beat me to the asking," he admitted. Awr, would you look at that? She made him a little flustered. How sweet.
"Really?" She squeaked cutely, hopping up and down like a busty little bunny. "Yay!" She grinned as she twirled once. Yes. TWIRLED. "So what kinda stuff do ya like to do?"
Raph just watched her bounce and twirl with a bemused expression, followed by a huge grin. He thought of a few things, but they weren't exactly social activities, so: "I'm a surfer, so... I spend a lot of time at the beach. Movies... Normal things, really," he admitted with a faint blush. Call him unremarkable, hm? "What about you?"
"I'm pretty lame. I mostly like to play drums, listen to music, and watch things that make me laugh. I *looooove* to laugh." She said with a ridiculously cheery grin. Was this girl for real? Was anyone THIS cheery?
"I’ll have to show you my Silly Walk sometime, then," he replied with an all-too-serious nod, which didn’t last, since he couldn’t keep a straight face. He laughed and rolled his eyes, "Those are all things that I fully endorse, though."
"Heeeee." She nibbled her lip and visibly forced herself NOT to twirl again. The big dork. "This is AWESOME."
He could see that she was trying to restrain herself there, so he took a step back and raised one of her hands to twirl her. "There. Now it is."