Gregory & Henry Bennett (thewitchyduo) wrote in btvsal, @ 2011-01-09 21:28:00 |
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Avarice, Where Lots of Stuff Happened
Who: Everyone & Their Monkey's Uncle
Where: Avarice
When: Pick a day last week.
Status: Completed
Note: I apologize if some of the editing is f-ed up. Sometimes it's hard to catch the line breaks among a sea of text.
Avarice was having a typical Monday night. Plenty of teenagers wandering around in there, dancing their butts off and trying to forget the fact that they were starting another week of school, especially after coming off of the Christmas holidays. Plenty of people in their twenties were wandering around as well, trying to pretend they were cooler than the teenagers. There seemed to be a lot of commotion outside, with people taking LOTS of pictures of someone or another.
As we've established, Abbi REALLY isn't a rock/metal type. But hey: a gathering is a gathering, right? So, in a gold and white miniskirt, black stilettos, and a black cami, the blonde sat at the bar watching her peers dancing and talking.
Janie was dragged into the club by Lynn, and both seemed to ignore anything that was going on around them. The older of the two was dressed in a very short and tight black dresss, and the younger woman was dressed in a very similar red dress. There was discussion between the two of them about something, when finally, Janie, in black stormed off to the dance floor. It was amazing that she could move like that while wearing 5 inch heels.
Jayden Van Houten was sitting in the bar's VIP section for the time being, although she was certainly thinking of jumping down on the dance floor and shaking her ass in her lime green outfit.
Abbi snickered to herself when she saw Jayden. Sorry... but to her? Psuedo-celebs like that, especially dressing like that? Were just starved for attention. She took a sip of her drink and looked back to the dance floor again.
Henry was hardly one to be in this sort of place, but it beat staring up at the ceiling back in the flat/hotel room of the Hyperion he'd moved his stuff into. Dressed in a simple forest green t-shirt, jeans, and black lowtop Converse sneakers, he made his way to the bar and ordered a soda.
Jim Diaz walked into Avarice and, as soon as he saw Abbi, made a beeline over to her. "Helloooo beautiful," he said, sitting down right beside her.
Lynn flopped over to the bar, and ordered a bottle of water, sipping it while visually scanning the crowd. She looked Henry up and down, then decided to speak. "Hi."
"Oh God. You again? What, do you have 'out-of-your-league-radar' or something?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him, crossing those long legs and trying not to sigh.
Nica glanced at Lynn and started sketching her and the guy she was talking to.
That just made his grin bigger. "You know you adore me," Jim said playfully to her. "Besides, you'd be bored here without me and you know it."
Meanwhile, as several cameras started going off (as if it were some kind of calling card or something), Haylee James made her triumphant return to LA, wearing... sigh... a dress that appeared to be made of little stuffed bunnies, stitched together in a way that still managed to leave a lot of flesh exposed. Christ. Only her...
Blue eyes flicked in the direction of the greeting just as he lifted the glass of soda to his lips. Taking a sip, Henry responded as he set the glass back on the bar, "Er...hi."
Abbi sighed, almost facepalming there. "...I've heard of STD's that are easier to get rid of than you, Jim..." She looked out at the dancefloor, and tried to hold back a grin as she said her next words "What, the girls your own age too mature for you?"
Janie, who was a very good dancer, made an annoyed noise when her random dance partner decided to stare at Haylee. "Why are you staring! Come dance with me! No- don't-" she sighed as the person joined a small crowd that was staring. Good dance partners were hard to come by.
The pop diva's companion, however, was much more conservatively dressed, his attire Salvation Army Chic - scuffed jeans, faded t-shirt of some obscure indie rock band, rumpled sport coat, hair carefully askew, the outfit completed by a pair of thick-rimmed sunglasses, nevermind that the sun had long since set. Samuel James stepped out of the limosine and reached for Haylee's hand, shielding his eyes from the flashbulbs. "And you were worried they'd forget all about you," he teased her.
Jim just laughed. "Hey, I know I'm clean," he told her. "No problems there." He looked out at the dance floor. "And most LA girls are boring, no matter what their age is. You're different. And that makes you interesting."
Haylee looked at Sam and smirked, trying to remain serious-looking. "Well, I *am* rather plain and forgettable, dearest Samuel."
Abbi looked at Jim and groaned. "Bullcrap. You just wanna have sex with a cheerleader. Admit it."
"Got a name?" asked Lynn "I'm Lynn."
"Could I get you to wear your cheerleading uniform to bed?" he asked, grinning. "OK, not a bad reason, but you ARE different than girls I usually talk to, which actually means a lot."
A smile curved his lips, making his rather serious expression soften and boyishly younger, "Henry." He stuck his hand out to shake, "A pleasure, Lynn."
"Says the woman clad in stuffed bunnies and not much else," Sam replied, lifting his hand in the direction of the cameras. "You know the roof is going to come off this place when you walk inside, right?" he asked, grinning all the while as they moved toward the club's entrance.
"Oh. My. GOD." Abbi blurted out, getting rather exasperated by this point. "I'm really NOT going to get rid of you, am I?" She asked, trying not to laugh, for fear of encouraging him.
At the outburst not too far from them, Henry had to look over Lynn's shoulder and quirk a brow at the gold and white skirted girl wearing a black tanktop. She seemed to be talking to an older gentleman, but it looked like she could take of herself, so Henry paid little more attention to them, focusing his attention back to Lynn.
"Nope. That's what you get for being hot and interesting," Jim pointed out. "You attract hot Latin lovers like me who just can't take 'I have a restraining order' for an answer."
As Haylee and Sam finally walked in, sure enough, lots of people pointed and snapped pictures, but mercifully, she'd become anough of a 'regular' there that it wasn't nearly as bad as most places. "Let's get a drink, my dear." She said with a grin, looking at Sam.
Lynn turned around, and looked at the conversation behind her, then back at Henry "I really hate when people who I'm not interested in me keep talking. It's creepy." she spoke very loudly.
Nica rolled her eyes and kept drawing.
When Jayden saw Haylee and Sam walk inside, she ran off the dance floor, actually abandoning a dancing partner, and all but leaped on a stool so that she could sit next to Haylee when she got there. "Long time, no see!"
"S-Sorry?" Henry replied, quiet clearly confused by Lynn's statement.
Janie looked REALLY annoyed, and stomped over to the bar, and beside Nica. "Heyyy, what are you drawing pretty lady?"
"Jim." Abbi said, looking him RIGHT in the eyes. "I'm in HIGH SCHOOL. I'm a virgin. I'm so far beyond the type of girl that's going to hop into bed with you... you don't even KNOW."
Nica grinned. "Those two," she pointed. "How're you tonight? You look like you're having fun."
"And you have NO idea how hot that is," Jim said with a smirk. "And you're still like, seventeen to my twenty-two. That's not that far apart at all. It's not like I could be one of your teachers." He paused. "You know, if I went to college or anything."
The pair arrived at the bar, drawing a cheers and excited screeches from the club's patrons. Fortunately, his brother-in-law's people were used to the pop star's presence in the club, and the couple were provided with enough space to move around freely despite the crowds. No sooner had Sam ordered Haylee and himself two double Jameson's on the rocks than he caught sight of another famous face alighting on a nearby stool. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the idle riche," he teased Jayden, grinning as he slid onto a bar stool.
Oh NO. Right then? Paige Bennett strode in, and... grumbled, making a beeline for Jim. Wearing shorts that, frankly barely covered her ass, with a red, skintight tank, the brunette beauty set a hand on her bassist's shoulder and groaned. "Jim. Seriously? Jesus CHRIST."
"Oooh, drama." Janie giggled, obviously a little drunk. "Nica, I want a drama."
Jayden smirked at him. "You know you're right there with me being idle rich and all," she said with a giggle. "So, how was the tour?"
"You want what? A llama?" Nica was probably messing with Janie. She drew a llama.
"What?" Jim asked, turning around and looking at Paige. "I'm not humping her leg or anything!" he protested. "Just conversation. It's not like she's jumping in my pants, anyway. Now let go and play nice."
Abbi blinked when she saw Paige. The woman was too involved in the drama with Abbi's mother to make her comfortable. "Um... Jim? I'm... I'm gonna go. Try not to let your friend there kill ya or anything."
"Don't go. It's just Paige. She's always this socially outcast like in some way or another," Jim tried to explain. Even if Paige was a demon, he was about ready to hit her with a damn stool at this point.
"JIM." Paige said again, this time in a tone that said she wasn't afraid to break him in half. "Let her go for now, ok? Girl's got a lot going on." Paige had a soft spot for people with mama-drama, ok?
"Abbi, don't leave!" Lynn said, turning around, getting involved with something she had no business in "Please. I- um. Look, Henry, he's a nice guy and you can talk to him!"
The bar was, as usual, crowded, and the thoughts would have been almost deafening. But Ben's telepathic friend had provided Sam with some techniques to help him quiet the noise. It was still there, a dull roar in the background, but he could at least focus on Jayden and Haylee even while surrounded by hundreds of 'voices.' "Ask the Little Princess," Sam replied, handing Haylee her drink and grinning at her. "I spent most of the tour hiding out in a hotel room." Which was, of course, a lie - he'd been backstage for every performance.
Haylee hugged Jayden and then, sweetly, snuggled into Sam. Somehow, they HAD become almost a single entity. "I've missed you, too, dear."
Like Jim thought that straight. Still, it was the other part that made him relent. "See you around, Abbi," he said with a slight wave. He looked back at Paige. "You are a buzz kill of the worst sort, you know that?"
Abbi was on her way out when she heard Lynn cry out for her. So maybe Abbi wasn't always terribly sharp.. she still thought her friend just... REALLY admired her. "Lynn? What's wrong, hun?"
"Wha-uh..." Henry started to say, his gaze widened just a bit as it slid away from Lynn and flicked back to Lynn and now this Abbi girl. Talk about awkward for the boy.
Jayden hugged the both of them. "I've missed the both of you," she said to them. "And I BET you stayed in the hotel. Really."
"I- um." Lynn blushed, and looked down. "I really need a friend right now? Please?" which wasn't a flimsy excuse to spend time with her, and possibly get a hug.
Nica nodded to Janie. "It's a drama llama," she said without cracking a smile. "Want a drink?"
The witch cleared his throat and picked up his drink, indicating to apparently no one, "I'm just gonna go...this way." Henry was suddenly in need of a cigarette and started heading for the door.
"Come on, babe." Abbi grinned, draping an arm around her BFFs waist. "Let's go get some cocoa at the Sugar Shack..." At least then Jim wouldn't be hitting on her. She didnt LIKE guys like him! Really! REALLY!
"Well... I mean, we left every now and then - y'know, for food or cigarettes or whatever," Sam replied, pulling back from the hug and taking a sip from his glass, his arm going around Haylee's waist. "The tour was a blast. I think Stockholm may have been my favorite place to visit. Haylee's was - " he paused, glancing at the plushie-clad blonde, knowing she'd want to answer this.
"I can't. I'm Mom sitting." she pointed to her drunk parent, putiing her other arm around her friend. "I wish we would go. I just want to be somewhere quiet with you."
"How very subtle," Nica said, waving at the bartender.
"I rather loved Puerto Rico. Such a wonderful atmosphere." Haylee grinned, obviously far less stressed than she HAD been. Funny enough, Paige was across the way kind of... glaring at her, before she looked back to Jim. "Just keep an eye on me, Jim. Because if I flip out or anything, you might need to call that girl I told you about, Stephanie, to come wrangle me in." Yeah, she'd heard about Patience being back. And she worried about her mindframe.
"FINE. I'll call the vampire light chick and make sure you don't go psycho on someone," Jim said, all but pouting at this point. Now he had to baby sit a demon? Shit. He should have stayed home. Throwing peanuts at Dave was more fun than this.
"Ooh, both sound like lovely places," Jayden said to them. "Sounds like Puerto Rico was very good to you, Haylee." She sounded so much better than when the two of them had left for the tour, after all.
Paige glared cutely at Jim and crossed her arms over her breasts. "Look, shithead... do I say anything when I catch you and Dave constantly staring at my ass? No. Do I say anything when I hear you two talking about how 'hot' it would be if me and Lilly made a sex tape? No. So now that I want something from you? You don't get to bitch. Got it?"
"I wanna dance." Janie said, to Nica, looking at the dance floor again "After another drink. Scoth, neat."
Pout still there, but Jim nodded just the same. He knew when someone had a true point, even if it had to be beaten into his bloody skull.
"I could get behind that," Nica said. "Same."
Haylee looked at Jayden, slipping an arm around Sam's waist. "It was fantastic. Great weather, friendly people, and a lot of fans that actually treat you respectfully."
"I'm not going to lie," Sam said, his smile warming as Haylee hugged herself closer to him. "We got snowed in for like a day in Stockholm. It was the first time we'd gotten to spend more than a day together since we'd left." There was no doubting the devilish gleam in his eye as he glanced at Haylee before shifting his gaze back to Jayden.
"And I think my brain just exploded a little," Jayden said with a laugh. "ANYWAYS! LA's been so boring without the two of you. I am so relieved to have you back in town. Also, Haylee? LOVE the outfit."
Just as he hit the door, Henry pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and stuck it between his lips. Once he was fully outside he leaned against the wall and concentrated a moment, lighting the end of the cigarette. Henry watched the crowd pass by, noting a few of the cute boys in the crowd as he sipped from his glass.
Alert the presses... a huge jolt of energy just entered the building, as the perky, black and silver-clad form of Stephanie Whitmore bounded into the club, all smiles (as usual), looking around as if trying to see who she could glomp.
"No one actually dances anymore" Janie complained "I want a good tango or salsa, but all they do is jump around. Why? Dance is an art."
Lucy Van Warren actually wasn't far behind her, wearing a pair of black tights over a black leather mini skirt with a black lace shirt over it, her eyes rimmed black. Apparently she was taking this 'rocker' look seriously. She wanted to get out on the floor and dance her butt off right now and have fun.
"A lost art," Nica agreed with Janie, tapping the rim of her glass against the other woman's. "But the jumping around part can be fun, too."
"You look AWESOME, Lucy..." Steph said, as the two classmates were clearly starting to bond, especially with Lucy's older sister in a band with Steph now. "I still think we gotta get together soem night, you and Ash and me and Lexi. We could have a GREAT time. Lexi misses you, I think."
Janie nodded, sipping her drink solemnly. "Youth is wasted on the young."
"Thanks! And I miss Lexi, too," Lucy said. "We should *totally hang out more often as like, a dating group thing." Well, some things never change. You can make her look goth, but Lucy's still a bubble of sunshine. Or something.
"I heard someone say you and I shouldnt be allowed to hang out together..." Stephanie grinned as she looked at Lucy. "Something about too much perkiness in one place. I say too much AWESOME."
Lexi ducked her head a little as she entered the club, a little shocked at the crowd. She had an unlit clove between her lips, and she scanned the crowd quickly, then made a beeline for Steph.
"She's been trying to tell me that stuffed bunnies are very 'in' this season," Sam smirked, leaning over to give Haylee a quick smooch on the cheek. "We had a blast, but I for one am glad to be back. How've you been keeping, Jayden? You look great."
"Hey, perkiness IS awesome," Lucy pointed out simply. When she saw Lexi coming in, she gave the other girl a giant wave.
"Thanks," Jayden said. "I always look great. Other than being bored, I haven't been up to much. Trying to make an album, actually. I wanna be a musician now." Because the world needed a shitty pop star. Really.
Janie listened to the conversations around her, and shook her head like an old lady, muttering things under her breath about young people.
"LEXI!" Steph squealed, hopping (yes, like a bunny) over to Lexi, and literally hopping into the guitarist's arms.
Haylee tried, TRIED, not to laugh there. "Jayden. Sweetie. You... ARE aware that you can't sing a single note properly, yes?"
Lexi caugh Steph, laughing. "Hey, babe, I'm going to need a Red Bull and a backbrace to keep up with you ... "
"That's what they have autotuner for, right?" Jayden asked. "And it was either that or try writing a book, and that's really hard." UGH.
Lucy laughed as she watched the two of them together. "Wow...talk about bunny hopping," she said with a giggle. "Hi, Lexi."
"Auto tune! Sacrilige!" exclaimed Janie "In MY day we didn't need that for good music."
"Heya, Lucy!" Lexi said cheerfully. "It's mad busy in here tonight!"
"Ah, but that's why they have ghostwriters, Jayden," Sam replied, covering his own laugh with a sip from his glass. He lifted his eyes in Janie's direction, his eyes alight with amusement. He always did take a measure of pride in the fact that Haylee, unlike most other pop stars, sang every note of her live performances. "I'll drink to that," he said, lifting his glass to the dark-haired woman.
Haylee looked at Janie, as if agreeing with her, and gave an apologetic shrug. "Why not write the book? I'm sure the toddlers of the world could use a new activity book..." Oh BURRRRRN.
Nica shuddered. "Autotune is like the McDonald's' of music. Everyone can have a hamburger, but the hamburgers all kind of suck. But they all suck in exactly the same way, so you just get used to it ... " Nica said.
"Lexi..." Steph said with a BIG grin, "Doesn't Lucy look AWESOME? She's trying to finally embrace the whole rock star thing. I said Ash is gonna blow a GASKET when he sees her."
Oh Jayden just laughed. Either she was too stupid to get the insult, or she just didn't care. Probably the latter, but you never knew. "Besides, no one READS anymore, am I right?"
"Because kids dont read" she grumbled. "We weren't allowed to read when I was coming up." which must have been in the 90's, because Janie didn't look very old.
"No shoes, walking to school in the snow ... uphill ... both ways ... " Nica mused.
"Ash blows a gasket every time he sees me, no matter what I'm wearing," Lucy said matter of factly with a smirk. "And SO busy in here tonight for sure!"
"Lookin' hot, though," Lexi said. "Maybe not as hot at Steph, but I'm a little biased. Maybe."
"We had to walk a mile." Janie sighed "A MILE."
"TWO miles." Janie said, spinning a tall tale. "And we didn't have socks. AND we had to sing for our lessons, in, um. Llamas. Can I order another drink, please?"
"You sure you need one?" Nica asked.
"Yes!" Janie exclaimed "Don't you try cutting me off too!"
"Fine, fine. One more drink," she said, and ordered for both of them.
"Totally understand the bias," Lucy said with a smile.
"See, Lexi?" Steph pointed to all the people acting, well... strange, that had been drinking. "Doesn't that make you glad to be sober? Along with the fact that you can more appreciate the AWESOME that is me?"
Janie saw nothing wrong with her extreme state of drunkeness. At least she wasn't trying to jitterbug with someone on the dance floor- oh wait, yes, she was, and her partner looking very confused.
"Well, if I was drunk enough, I could see several of you," Lexi said, "but hey, I'm not greedy."
"Almost couldn't blame you if you wanted to see several of us...but it's probably for the best that you don't," Lucy said.
Stephanie laughed and hopped a few times. "Seriously. If we LET you drink? Chloe would hex us." Then, after a beat, "Ok, she'd try and probably end up annihilating a small village in Botswana, but still. THINK OF THE CHILDREN!" Oh no... think Steph was a BIT hyper?
"Like she wouldn't take out several villages," Lucy pointed out. "Seriously, she's a BAD witch, and I don't mean evil."
The crowd wasn't too dense tonight, but even so, with all of the travelling that they'd been doing, Sam's mental reserves were drained. He would make it through the night and stay out as late as Haylee wanted, but... He leaned over to Haylee and murmured in her ear, "Would you mind terribly if we went up to the VIP lounge, Honey Bee?"
"She'd take out the village adjacent to the village she was aiming at," Lexi said with a nod.
Haylee looked back to Sam, and thought back to him "I think that sounds wonderful, love."
"Probably a good idea," Jayden said. "Get away from the loud people doing what I'm pretty sure is the Jitterbug."
Nica piped up: "I think that might be the Charleston, actually."
"You're a peach," Sam thought back to Haylee, downing the rest of his drink. Turning back to the bar, he gestured at his glass. "Two more of these, and whatever she's drinking," he said, thumbing toward Jayden. Receiving the drinks and leaving a handsome tip, Sam handed Jayden and Haylee their drinks, then gestured in the direction of Avarice's VIP Lounge. "After you, ladies."
Janie seemed to be having fun, no matter what anyone else was saying, and the dance was fast turning into something a little more modern. Probably a little too racy for her, but she was drunk enough not to notice or care.
Jayden got her drink and headed up to the VIP room.
"Uh ... Janie?" Nica grabbed her arm and started towing her back towards the bar. "Sweetie? Don't you have a boyfriend somewhere?"
"Mmm hmm, but I lost the handcuffs." Janie said, resisting getting dragged away "Good dance parnters are hard to find."
"I'll loan you mine," Nica muttered.
"I don't know if he'll be into that" she said, putting her head on the bar once seated.
"Lexiiiiiiiiiiii..." Steph whined cutely, wanting more attention from the older girl. "I need attention. Don't make me whine and cry in front of Lucy..."
Lexi raised her eyebrows. "Uh huh. I could just tickle you for the next ten minutes straight ... "
"Can you do that in public?" Lucy asked. "Tickle, I mean. Totally meant tickle."
"...this last week before I turn 18 is gonna be TORTURE, Lex." Stephanie whined, bouncing up and down in frustration. "Do we HAVE to wait?"
"Well, we're waited this long," Lexi said. "The rest of it is a piece of cake."
"And I'm just gonna pretend I SO didn't hear this conversation," Lucy said simply.
Lexi grinned.
"Oh hush, LSD!" Steph laughed, "Like we haven't ALLLLL heard about you and your little Emo-Man!" And the rumors about Mere Delany, but... since she had never gotten CONFIRMATION about that...
"Doesn't mean I want to hear about YOUR sex life," Lucy pointed out. "And PLEASE don't call me that. It reminds me of when my parents had a life and is way icky."
"You were named after a Beatles song, Luce! Revel in it!" Steph giggled, having a GREAT time now that she was actually getting some friends.