Rae nodded and chuckled. “Like a school on the day after prom night.” Her school had been like that. Especially her senior year. The day after prom night, she'd been one of only three seniors to show up. “It should be a good day for you guys, hm? Security? No one will be up to causing any trouble because they'll all be sleeping off the world's worst hangovers, or sugar hangovers.” She gave him a pursed-lipped smile.
Mardi Gras. Rae nodded. “Yeah, still a bit chilly. Unless we have a weirdly unseasonably warm winter.” She could hope, right? “Cinco de Mayo, maybe. Or just a random masquerade. I've never needed a reason to throw a party before, so I don't see the need to search for one now.” Of course, this was all just vague planning for now, because by then, she'd be completely swallowed up in learning baby care things.
“Oh, I totally agree. But I think the point of hipsterism is like...” she paused, searching for the right words, “being better than everyone else. Or thinking you are. You know? Liking stuff before it's cool,” she shook her head. “It's all dumb to me. Oh god Mike would probably go for it just to be a jerk. Just for the laughs!” Rae beamed, and couldn't hold back a laugh. “I'm 99.9% sure Brandon would mutiny. Still, I'd pay to see you get him in hipster pants. He'd look so awkward!” It would give her a reason to laugh at him for once, instead of the other way around.
The question took her off-guard, and she couldn't keep it from her face, but she recovered quickly. “No, it's okay. Just a surprising question.” She paused, then turned to look at him. “At first it was? But now it's kind of...” she paused, trying to think of the right wording, “telling? It's how I know he needs something, or does or doesn't like something I'm doing, you know? And there's a subtlety to it that I can't explain... the differences between when he does and doesn't like stuff...” she chuckled. “This probably sounds crazy to you.”
“Much,” Rae's tone went somber. “They were going to take me captive. Try and turn me into one of them back then.” Her dad and Elliot had saved her life. “She was like... the leader's right hand man and she's seriously unbalanced.” Shaking off the memories, she latched onto the second question. “Lexi. They used someone we trusted against us.” It was a simple sentence. “Well, a combination between that and the fact that they were dressed up and in masks when they were doing their thing.” Rae had never understood it then, but now she did.
He had a nice smile, and her smirk turned more genuine in response. She chuckled and shrugged. “True enough. Trouble and I need to stay on opposite sides of the fence, at least for another couple months.” She chuckled. “Where would you be? If you weren't here?” If he minded her asking, he'd probably say so, she figured. “I'd, uh... no. I'd be at home. Can't really be around too many drunk people right now, or too much stress, and this party seemed tame enough, you know? The safest place for me, especially with that woman running around.”