farro; BYRON (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} byfar) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} reduxpitch,@ 2016-12-05 17:38:00 |
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when ? monday evening, 5th december
where ? muggle pub
what ? drinks with siblings
status ? complete
Andrew slammed down an empty shot glass, coughing as he swallowed the creamy liquid. “It just tastes like… sugar,” he announced. The three of them had been eyeing up the bar’s shot menu since they arrived, but Andrew had been the first to dare try the creme egg vodka. Which wasn’t very surprising, as the only Gryffindor among them. “And vodka,” he added. “Sugary vodka. Two stars.” They were seated at the bar, which Andrew considered perfect for shot-reviewing purposes. It would be a pain to have to get up and push their way to the front of the queue every time. “Now,” he said, looking at Elise and then Byron. “One of you has to try the blueberry glitter.” This had been the agreement. Or at least Andrew had agreed it, possibly in his head.
The evening had started pretty slow, with Byron saying nothing and Andrew not feeling much more talkative. A night with Evan had definitely cheered Andrew up, but there was a big difference between talking to Evan about his mum and talking to Elise and Byron. So, to liven things up, Andrew had ordered a round of (normal) shots. And then another. And now there was a list of ridiculous-sounding options to make their way through. “Did you drink at school?” he asked them. Either of them, both of them, it didn’t matter. “I did. Had a friend who used to sneak in alcopops. They’re horrible.”
--
Elise hadn’t realized how ready yet nervous she was for tonight. The weekend had been, well mentally draining was the best way to describe it. Sure, by normal people’s standards the meeting with her parents probably went fine, but she didn’t feel that way. Okay so she hadn’t killed anyone so that was a win but she didn’t feel better knowing the truth. In fact she felt slightly worse, but for Andrew, not really herself. Her father’s answers had been selfish in her mind and didn’t seem like good enough excuses. Doug claimed the reason he never told Elise about her brother was that he didn’t want her to think badly of him, which she certainly did now. Was it fair of him to keep this sibling from her all her life? No, absolutely not and she wasn’t going to turn her back on Andrew ever.
Andrew, he was the one who really lost out in the situation. Douglas’s reasoning for not staying in contact with his son probably made sense to him at the time but she couldn’t imagine abandoning a child like that. Leaving Andrew with only his mother who didn’t like magic just seemed cruel and she couldn’t imagine the childhood he had. Now however, Elise just wanted to drink and forget about any of her feelings.
She couldn’t help but chuckle and shake her head at Andrew’s statement about the shot he just finished. The few safe shots she had already consumed had her feeling somewhat back to her old self for which she was very grateful. Holding her hand up in defense she surrendered, “Alright, alright I’ll do it. Don’t want to have to make Byron try and order something with glitter in the title,” she teased before ordering the drink from the bartender. While she waited she answered Andrew’s question, “I did starting towards the end of sixth year? Someone got a hold of some and we tried it on a Hogsmeade trip. It was very cheap stuff so of course it tasted horrid but it was more the concept of everything that excited us. Breaking the rules and all that shit.”
When the drink arrived, Elise looked at the glitter in the glass with a questionable eye, “Why do they think of doing this honestly?” Raising the glass she raised it in cheers to her brothers before quickly downing the drink. “No bad surprisingly. The glitter doesn’t alter the flavor thankfully. Three stars.” Looking at Andrew she smirked, “What do we make Byron drink?”
--
Unlike Elise, Byron hadn’t really been in any way surprised to find the conversation with their mum and Elise’s dad underwhelming. The excuses Douglas had given were... well, excuses. But Byron wasn’t really sure what the point of blaming him now for it would be. He’d made some really awful choices and that was pretty much it. Byron had told them how Andrew did not currently seem to have any interest in meeting Douglas and he thought they’d better leave it that way. Mostly, Byron was glad that Andrew was getting around to getting to know Elise. And him, but as much as Byron did want Andrew to like him, he cared a great deal more that he got on with Elise. Byron knew his sister wasn’t having an easy time at accepting her dad was, well, a liar. But then, a lot of people were. Hopefully, they just tended to fuck up less people’s lives by making bad choices.
Tonight, though, was hopefully going to be fun. They were already having quite a nice time, even if Byron did worry a little about both Andrew and Elise attempting to drink their feelings away. Still, one night of drinking was doubtfully going to be the worst possible thing to do. With some amusement, Byron watched Andrew drink his shot and then rolled his eyes when Elise said she’d been drinking in her sixth year at school. Byron didn’t think he should be told about that.
At the question of what it was that Byron should be made to drink, he gave a small shake of his head, but didn’t actually bother to stop either Elise or Andrew from picking a drink for him. When one was presented to him, looking garishly pink, Byron shook his head before downing the show and then frowning. “Two stars,” he noted frowning at the glas, before turning to frown at Andrew. “How many stars are there overall?” Because Byron was pretty sure he was going to stick with two whether it was out of five or ten. If nothing else, at least the alcohol was making it easier for him to forget his anxiety about talking.
--
Andrew gasped when Elise asked why they thought of making the glittery blueberry shot. “Because it’s glitter,” he said, as if that should be reason enough. “I did a photoshoot with glitter once,” he added, making a drumming motion with his hands. “Went everywhere. I was finding glitter in my socks for days.” Ken had thought it was hilarious, and for that Andrew had pretty much considered it worth it. That and the fact Aisling still had the picture somewhere. “Do Unspoken Enlightenment do many photoshoots?” Andrew asked Byron, before getting distracted by the question of what shot he should order.
After Byron had downed his very pink shot, Andrew blinked at him. “Loads,” he said, as if that should be obvious. Evan would probably know how many stars there were. Andrew, on the other hand, really had no clue. “Oh!” He clued in to what Byron had actually meant a moment too late. “Ten?” He, too, would not have changed his ranking depending on whether or not their scale was out of five or ten. “Do you think they do Christmas shots?”
A word with the bartender showed that they did, indeed, do Christmas shots. Andrew ordered three, picking them largely at random from the smaller seasonal menu. While they waited for them to arrive, he turned his attention back to Elise. “Have you been to any of the advanced potions society parties yet? Evan says they’re the best.” It didn’t occur to him that as Elise’s older brother (half-brother) he perhaps shouldn’t be encouraging her to drink. She was Evan’s age, and Andrew wouldn’t think twice about encouraging Evan to drink.
--
Elise laughed thinking about a glitter photo shoot. “That surely had to be messy. Did you get sick of the glitter showing up after a while or was it entertaining, the fact that it was still there?” She figured that after a few days it probably would end up being entertaining at just thinking of all the places it probably showed up. The fact that both Byron and Andrew were in bands made her smile. Sure, it was a weird coincidence, but it gave them something to bond and talk about that wasn’t Elise and the weird situation between all of them. Plus that mean she got to go to so many more shows and that was amazing!
Giggling first at Byron’s drink and then his reaction to it, she was grateful to find herself not caring as much about the outside world as she was about having fun with the two of them. “Ten sounds good,” Elise agreed with Andrew’s ranking system before she went to the second topic and looked at the holiday shot listing. Muggles certainly were very creative with their alcoholic beverages weren’t they?
Elise had actually forgotten about the advanced potions society until Andrew brought it up just then. The day she had found out about them was the same day she found out about Andrew and her being related so naturally that had went to the back of her mind. Shaking her head she replied, “No I haven’t. He mentioned them to me, but I haven’t been to a party yet. It’s been a crazy first semester, maybe the next one though?” Between starting university and her internship, finding out she had a second half-brother, and starting to become friends with Oliver Wood she hadn’t gotten too involved in on campus clubs, perhaps she should start.
When the shots arrived she looked down at hers with intrigue. The three layers obviously meant several flavors but she wasn’t exactly sure what they were going to be, hopefully nothing too extreme. Looking back and forth she raised her glass, “Shall we boys?”
--
Byron snorted when Andrew told him there were loads of stars. Then, when the correction came once Andrew realised what Byron had asked, he nodded. Out of ten seemed reasonable. Byron also gave somewhat of a shrug at the question of photoshoots. They had a few but nowhere near what Quake had, since Unspoken Enlightenment was hardly as famous as Quake. They were slowly getting there, though, so perhaps in a few years, Byron, too, would end up having glitter based photoshoots. Though, he hoped not.
Letting Andrew and Elise chat, Byron read over the Christmas shot menu. The speed at which they were currently drinking, Byron was a little concerned they’d have to get their designated apparators to come and pick them up before nine pm. That would be somewhat embarrassing. The one Byron chose was called Flaming Jesus and appeared to actually be on fire. Muggles really were quite odd. “Yeah,” Byron muttered at Elise’s question, not actually all that sure he was ready.
The shot, surprisingly, didn’t actually taste all that bad. The fire burned against Byron’s lips for the shortest of moments, warm as the liquid settled in his belly. “Seven out of ten, would again,” he announced, before turning to look at Elise and Andrew. “We should probably have a break,” he told them feeling somewhat responsible to be the voice of reason since he was the oldest.
--
“Oh, it was funny,” Andrew said. “It was before we all moved in together, but I think Ken and Axel might have been conjuring glitter whenever they saw me. There’s no way it was all from the shoot.” Ken and Axel had, of course, insisted that they’d been doing no such thing, and had pointed out that glitter got everywhere, which Andrew hadn’t really been able to deny. “Don’t pour glitter on a keyboard,” Andrew suggested to Byron. Glitter on drums was one thing, but a keyboard or piano were rather more delicate. “The -” He stopped. ‘The sex shop lady’ was probably not something he should talk about right now. “Someone got me rainbow body glitter for my birthday,” he substituted, grinning. It had been an excellent surprise of a present.
Andrew frowned slightly when Elise said she hadn’t been to a party yet. If Andrew had been at university, he would have gone to all the parties, and joined all the clubs. Probably he wouldn’t have done any actual work, and would have failed and had to leave. Which was exactly why Andrew hadn’t gone to university. “Your way is probably better,” he said, not quite realising he hadn’t actually spoken any of his thought process aloud. “But you should go to a party next term. I’m sure Evan’ll take you.”
“Ooh,” Andrew exclaimed as Byron’s flaming shot arrived. He’d done flaming sambuca before, so it didn’t seem as odd to him as it did to Byron and Elise. His own shot - a Naughty Reindeer - had a glace cherry floating at the top, and Andrew laughed before throwing the whole shot down in one. He hummed, considering what score to give it. “Christmas shots should taste like Christmas,” he decreed. And since his shot had mostly tasted of chocolate and cream, that meant it couldn’t score highly. “Four. Fine, but on the wrong menu.”
He nodded when Byron suggested they take a break. He was already feeling warm, and like his joints weren’t quite as tightly attached as they ought to be. But, if they had no shots to review, then they had to actually talk. “I think my mum knew about you,” Andrew said, indicating Elise with his empty shot glass. He frowned at Byron. “Maybe not you, though.” Either way, she hadn’t seemed to have much opinion one way or another.
--
Elise downed her shot and slammed her glass back down. “Six, very fun and yummy!” Elise decided. Sure fun and yummy weren’t the most professional of the descriptors but it fit for the situation and she was going to stick by her decisions. “I now love drinks that have layers in them, all shots should.” She probably was going to regret it but that didn’t matter right now, she was getting drunk and having fun. At Andrew’s statement of Evan taking her to parties she nodded, “I’ll have to talk to him about that next semester, I can’t imagine it being busier than this one. It will be good to meet some people there.”
When Byron suggested them taking a break she sent him a fake glare, he had this big brother role down very well. She was going to argue but then Andrew agreed and she let out a dramatic sigh, “Fineeee, we can take a break.” Then, like Andrew, she realized what that meant and she frowned. Could she really talk about this yet?
When he started and brought up his mother, Elise bit her lip. She knew about Elise this whole time and never told Andrew? Why was that? Maybe she just felt it wasn’t her place, but Elise wondered if she would have acted different if she was in the situation. “You think? Dad didn’t say much about her, really. Just that she didn’t like magic at all. I’m so sorry you had to deal with that Andrew, you can’t help that you were born magical.” Elise looked over at Byron, suddenly very thankful for being raised the way they were. She leaned over and squeezed Byron’s hand, looking for some sort of comfort.
--
Byron shook his head at both of them when his suggestion of break was met by a whine from Elise. Then, when Andrew started their break by saying how he thought his mum might’ve already now about Elise, even if she hadn’t know about Byron, he gave a small sigh, that was mostly drawn out by the noise around them. This hadn’t quite been what Byron had in mind for a break. The whole point of drinks tonight had been so they wouldn’t have to think and talk about their parents. Or well, so Byron had presumed. The speed at which that topic had come up, perhaps meant that both Andrew and Elise needed to talk about it.
When Elise reached out to squeeze Byron’s hand, he offered her a small smile, giving Elise’s hand a squeeze back. Byron wasn’t sure what to say about the whole thing. He was currently the one whose parents were just fine. Sure, his mum had known about Douglas having a son and hadn’t told them, but truthfully, it hadn’t exactly been her place to anyway. As for what Andrew’s mum’s reasons might’ve been, Byron didn’t particularly care to guess at.
“You’re both so miserable,” he commented instead, somewhat teasingly, but also partially hoping that perhaps pointing it out would snap them out of it. Byron didn’t want either Elise or Andrew to feel bad over choices they had not been involved in. At least they’d met now, were getting on, as far as Byron could tell, so it’d do them good to concentrate on that instead.
--
“Oh.” Somehow, it had never occurred to Andrew that Elise talking to her dad might mean the two of them talking about Fiona, about things Andrew had mostly not told anyone. Evan had guessed, and Andrew was sure Aisling had too, and probably most of the rest of the band (except Mary-Anne, who was too new). None of them had directly addressed it, as Elise had done, and Andrew felt as if someone had just splashed freezing water in his face. “It’s fine,” he said quickly. He didn’t need Elise’s apologies for what he’d had to deal with. “We just didn’t know, until I was 11,” he continued. “Like any muggleborn.” If Douglas had worried about Andrew being brought up ignorant of magic, he could have done something about it. He hadn’t.
Unlike Byron, Andrew had assumed that the point of the evening had been to talk about it, to commiserate. Perhaps he’d been too influenced by Evan, expecting open communication. He’d assumed they’d need a few drinks to get there, but he didn’t even want to talk about it anymore. “That’s because you made us stop drinking,” he said, pointing at Byron. “Come on, give me that, they must have virgin cocktails.” Andrew reached for the full cocktail menu, leaving through it until he found the non-alcoholic section. They could review drinks that wouldn’t get them drunk until they were ready to dive back into the world of shots.
He scanned the menu until, with an ‘aha’, he found something. “Perfect. A non-alcoholic Blue Merlin for you,” he indicated Elise. “For Merlin College.”
--
Elise wanted to keep talking about it, to apologize on behalf of his rough upbringing but with the quick way he replied, she had a feeling he didn’t want to talk about his mother anymore. While she had no relation to this woman, Elise still wanted to get to know more about her. After all Fiona was the woman who solely raised Andrew and she figured she should know more about her than she was anti-magic. Just because they didn’t know he was 11 didn’t make it any better in her eyes, there was still the years after that. “Still, I wish I would have met you earlier,” she said with a shrug. When it came down to it, that was the big thing. Elise wished she would have known Andrew her whole life. It wasn’t by any means a discredit to Byron, he was a wonderful brother.
Speaking of Byron she quickly took the drink menu away from Andrew once he decided on a drink for her. Laughing at his logic she nodded, “I can get on board with that, that means I get to pick for Byron and Byron can pick for you.” She looked through the different drinks and treated this decision as if it was the most important decision she would make in her life. When she saw the perfect drink she covered her mouth and giggled as she pointed. “A Cuddles on the Beach! For the reason of solely because I think the name is very funny and I want to see you order it.” In the end she knew that she would probably be the one who ended up ordering it but she still wanted to see his reaction.
Turning to Andrew she bit her lip, “Are you going to be in town for the holidays at all? I saw you guys weren’t playing, but Byron is playing at that BIL party on New Year’s Eve and I thought maybe it could be fun if we’re all together for that? I know I’m very excited for it. I’ve heard they go all out with the Quidditch parties.”
--
Well, Byron did have to admit that he had been the one to make them stop drinking. A choice he still stood by. Having a non-alcoholic cocktail was a good idea. It was probably much more appreciated than him making Elise and Andrew have pints of water. He shook his head at Elise’s announcement that he’d be drinking Cuddles on the Beach just so Elise could see him order it. They were both well aware that she’d have to order it for him. Nonetheless, Byron did take the menu from her to pick a cocktail for Andrew. With a smirk, Byron tapped his finger against ‘Shirley Temple’, so Elise would order it for Andrew.
When the conversation turned to the BIL New Year’s Eve party, Byron was about to ask whether Andrew knew if the decision to book a Quake tribute band had been intentional or accidental, but then Elise went on to say how excited she was and Byron laughed. “What are you going to do?” He asked his sister with amusement. “See if you can snatch Oliver Wood’s glass slipper?”
--
At no point had Andrew considered what it would have been like to meet Elise earlier. Meeting her was connected to Evan, who’d accidentally brought them together, and he’d only met Evan that year. If Andrew had found out about Elise while they were both in school, Andrew thought it would have been more awkward, not less. Gossip at Hogwarts would have meant everyone knew and everyone was talking about it. At least now, everyone that did know was more or less mature enough not to spread it about. Uncertain whether or not he was supposed to say any of that, Andrew glanced at Byron. “I think I’m coping better now,” he said with a shrug.
He was happy to move on to the topic of Christmas, shaking his head at Elise’s question. “I’m usually in Lerwick,” he offered. “But Evan and I are renting a holiday cottage this year.” Andrew couldn’t remember the exact dates, but he knew they were away for Christmas Eve and until after New Year. “Sorry,” he offered to Byron. “We’re going to apparate back for Hogmanay but we’ve already got plans.” In fact, they had multiple offers of parties to go to.
Watching Byron tease Elise was probably the first time Andrew had seen him speak without obvious nerves. He still didn’t know what about Elise’s crush on Oliver Wood was supposed to be so funny. He’d asked Evan, but Evan had just mocked him. So Andrew mostly left Byron and Elise to it. “I’ve heard good things,” he agreed, when Elise said the league went all out. “Evan’s brother will probably be there.”
--
When the bartender made his way back over, Elise quickly ordered the three drinks, easily ignoring the look the bartender threw her way. Yes, they were all fruity non-alcoholic drinks and no she didn’t care. She was having bonding time with her brothers and this worker was getting paid either way so what did it matter what they ordered. When he walked away she couldn't help but roll her eyes a bit before getting back to the conversation at hand.
Elise frowned a bit when Andrew said he was going to be out of town. While she was glad that him and Evan were going to be able to spend some time together on a holiday she had been hoping that they could spend some of it together as a family. “Maybe when you get back we can do something to celebrate the holidays?” she suggested. It hadn’t even crossed her mind that maybe Andrew thought celebrating the holidays with his new found half-sister and step-brother might be moving too fast. When that finally hit her she sobered up quickly, “Unless that’s too much, which I would completely understand.”
At the mention of Oliver Wood, Elise turned to Byron and rolled her eyes, “No he’s supposed come upon my glass slipper and find me. Honestly Byron if you are going to tease me, get the fairytales right!” Although the thought of Oliver Wood kissing her at midnight did seem like a perfect ending to her night and now that was all she wanted. Turning to Andrew she shook her head, “Don’t mind him. He just thinks it is hilarious that I’m obsessed with one of his closest friends’ brother. Which I’ll have you know Byron we are on friendly terms so I fail to see how this is a bad thing.”
--
Byron bit his lip when Elise said they could do something together to celebrate the holiday and then almost in the same breath said that they didn’t have to if it was too much. He had no idea what they were actually going to do for holidays. It was nice that Andrew was going to spend it with Evan, at least he’d bypass the awkwardness of a family holiday. Which Byron and Elise wouldn’t, because they did have to go home for Christmas. Probably. Maybe Byron could see if his paternal grandparents would have them over instead. Italy would be nice for Christmas. Nicer than Elise spending the whole fucking Christmas pouting at her dad, at least.
When Elise informed him that she was on friendly terms with Oliver Wood, Byron snorted. “All the easier to stalk him,” he commented. Byron didn’t really think Elise would stalk Oliver Wood. He was 97% sure she wasn’t an actual psychopath when it came to her love of Oliver. Though, Byron was a little surprised to find that despite having gone for drinks together, Elise’s opinion hadn’t actually seemed to change. On the very few occasions that Byron had met Arran’s brother, he’d always struck Byron as a bit... dumb, really. Perhaps Elise enjoyed that. That was probably a thing.
--
“Sure,” Andrew agreed, because although the idea of Christmas with his new-found family was a little daunting, sometimes he headed into things with Gryffindor bravery. Sometimes. And it did also sound… nice. Elise wanted to do something with him, and she wouldn’t even mind if he invited Evan. “Quake usually does things,” he offered. “You know, decorate a tree, try to find the weirdest ornaments, see who can make the biggest mince pie that doesn’t fall apart in the oven.” The things Quake did were often competitive in some respect, but Andrew had always found the real point was to be ridiculous and make one another laugh. “Or I could ask Evan if you two can apparate down to the cottage for a day. Neither of us is there actually on Christmas, but sometime before or after might be alright.” He shrugged. “Or we can do something just the three of us. But then I recommend your house, because mine always has people in.”
The information that Byron was friends with Oliver’s brother (one of Oliver’s brothers? Andrew wasn’t sure how many the man had) made the teasing a little more understandable. Having a crush on a famous quidditch player was pretty common. Having a crush on your best friend’s brother was much more entertaining. It would be a bit like Andrew discovering Ginny had a huge crush on Axel. Which, frankly, was ridiculous on many levels. “Panquake are pretty good,” Andrew informed them both. He had, of course, been to see them before. Who discovers they had a tribute band and didn’t go see them? “They don’t take themselves too seriously, but they’re all decent musicians.”
--
Elise was very impressed at all the things Quake did together. Obviously they were in a band and friends but she hadn’t realized how much time they all actually spend with each other. It made her happy to know that while his actually family life hadn't been the best, he still had these people who seemed to really care about him. “That sounds like a lot of fun, I think it is really cool that you all are so close. It’s probably why you all are such a great band, you enjoy being with each other and are also very talented,” she smiled. At his thought of them coming to the cottage she shook her head, “It’s your and Evan’s holiday. We can do something when you get back and that’s totally fine. Our place is always open to you.” Elise looked over at Byron for confirmation. She really hoped she hadn’t overstepped her bounds. Byron seemed he wanted to be close with Andrew as well and didn’t think he would mind her inviting him over.
Shaking her head at her oldest brother she sighed, “It’s not stalking I’ve never shown up at his house at night and looked into his windows. That is stalking. I’m just a very big fan.” Elise then realized that Andrew probably was most familiar with superfans and maybe this part of the conversation was uncomfortable for him. Instead she switched to the tribute band. “Is it weird for you? Having a band there that are basically singing your songs as a tribute to you? I’ve heard them before once I think and they weren’t bad, but then again I’ve never been in your situation.”
At that moment the drinks arrived and she passed them out, “To the non-boozed filled fun drinks!”
--
Byron did nod in agreement when Elise told Andrew that their place was always open to him. He did agree, whether it be for the holiday or otherwise. In a way, Byron supposed it was a bit weird. They didn’t really know Andrew but both Elise and Byron wanted to. The whole situation was weird, and truthfully, despite some awkwardness, Byron felt they were all managing rather well. Perhaps if they had made this discovery when they’d been younger, it would’ve been different. Elise, bless her, barely managed to act like an adult as it was, so Byron didn’t particularly want to imagine what she would’ve been like with this information aged fifteen.
Elise’s announcement that she wasn’t a stalker because she didn’t show up at Oliver Wood’s house made Byron laugh. He would’ve pointed out that he was sure it was more lack of knowledge than trying, but then their drinks arrived, and instead he was left to be amused at Elise’s excitement for the virgin cocktails. Pulling his towards him, he grinned at his siblings, new and old. “Halfway in, you can put some shots in them,” he told them both, feeling like a really shit parent.
--
There had been some talk of inviting more people to be involved in Quake’s Christmas activities. Nina, in particular, was being great about making sure Mary-Anne felt welcome, and seemed to have extended that to Elise as well. Andrew thought it could be fun to share those things with Evan and Elise and Byron, as well as with Quake. “I don’t think Evan would mind,” he said, a little uncertain. Elise had declined, and last time Andrew had tried to push for something, she’d just declined even harder. Byron had said to leave it, because Andrew being with Evan was hard for her. So, he shrugged. “Or when we get back,” he agreed, reaching for his drink. Maybe he’d been wrong to think Elise would be happy for him to invite Evan to things.
He took his drink when it was passed to him, regarding it curiously. He’d heard of a Shirley Temple, but had no idea what was supposed to be in one. More cherries, evidently. “To sugary non-vodka,” Andrew agreed as he raised his glass to take a sip. “Not bad. Five.” He shrugged again at Elise’s question. “It’s a bit weird,” he said. “But mostly flattering and funny. They’re not really lookalikes, so it’s not as creepy.” Andrew knew there were tribute bands to other acts who used magic to really look as much like the originals as possible. He thought that would be strange, but Panquake had really only the barest resemblance.
--
Elise just simply shrugged at Andrew’s comment about Evan not minding. “Well you can talk to him and let us know then? I wouldn’t want to be a bother really.” Smiling she ran a hand through her hair, “If you guys come over after then you can tell us all about your holiday?” She figured that either way it would be a good time. They could always do both! The other day Elise really hadn’t meant to be rude to Andrew about Evan. She liked Evan, really she did, and she was happy that Andrew was happy. It was just hard for her to go from having just a single brother to having two brothers and both of them dating someone. They didn’t flaunt it in her face, it just bummed her out some.
When her drink came she smiled but then the smiled turned even bigger when Byron said they could alcohol soon! She knew he would give in eventually. He tried to act like a third parent but he was so much better. “Thanks Byron.” Taking a drink she listened to Andrew talk about the tribute band. “You should have a drum-off with their drummer, just to show them who's boss,” she joked. She didn’t doubt that either of them weren’t aware of who was boss but she thought it would be a fun idea! Taking another sip of her drink she looked down at it and sighed, “Five, let’s get some shots to make it ten!”
--
Byron didn’t really mind either way, whether they were to go and see Andrew and Evan at some point during the holiday, or have a little get together after they got back. Somewhat like Elise, Byron also didn’t want to intrude on their holiday, but if Andrew was happy to have them over for an afternoon, Byron also wasn’t going to object. It struck Byron that to him planning Christmas visits with different family members wasn’t very strange, his parents hadn’t been together for most of his life so it was just a thing that Byron had always done. Elise, though, hadn’t really had a great deal of experience in that. At least they definitely didn’t need to consider inviting Andrew over to their parents house for Christmas. That would be most spectacularly awkward, Byron had no doubt.
“Such a little alcoholic,” Byron muttered with a shake of his head at the excitement with which Elise approached the potential of adding alcohol to her soon-not-to-be virgin cocktail. Byron didn’t however, stop Elise from ordering more alcohol. If they were going to get drunk, he supposed they might as well do it properly. Even if Byron did suspect that the rate at which they were going, it was unlikely they’d make it even to midnight before someone was going to have to be carried out.