It was evening by the time Taryn finally dropped her friends off at their various houses and drove over to Juicy Java. They had spent the day shopping and then lounging at the beach, but she could admit that after a few hours, the constant chatter and giggling had started getting on her nerves. It made her miss Italy, and how quiet and peaceful it had been - for the most part. Maybe it was more that she missed the sun and the Italian men. The guys she'd seen at the beach had paled in comparison. Sad. Still, she wanted a drink and a part of her knew that Torin would probably be there with his laptop so being able to bug her older brother was a double bonus.
Parking, Taryn slipped her sunglasses off the top of her head and put them into her bag before she walked inside. At first she glanced around for the familiar mop of curly hair, and she grinned when she saw him sitting at one of the tables. Prancing over, she pulled out the empty chair across from him and slung herself into it. "You're all alone. Where's your harem?" She didn't mind the Delaneys at all, the way some girls did. They were pretty, popular and seemed to like her brother enough.
Torin was in a slightly less foul mood than he'd been earlier, but only just. He'd had to endure the ferry ride back to town all sticky and smelling of tea and lemon, his hair a plastered-down mess, and he'd had to go all the way home to shower again and clean up before he could do anything else. He thought his encounter with one of Cian Andersen's many hangers-on had been a draw, since he'd thrown his coffee on her, but that didn't stop him from being pissed off about it. It had actually made him almost wish he was the sort to hit girls, because it would've made him feel a lot better. When Taryn came in, he was staring at Ava's Facebook page, which he'd found by scrolling through Cian's enormous friends list; something else that pissed him off. The guy had about eighty more friends on it than he did. Well, quality was better than quantity any day, right?
He glanced up at his sister when she sat down, a vaguely petulant look on his face. "Evidently, they have other things to do tonight." He was feeling marginally neglected by the Delaneys, although he knew there were times when he had a lot going on and didn't see them for days, either. He turned his MacBook so Taryn could see the Facebook info page for Ava Connelly and the photo she had set as her default. "Do you know her?" he inquired.
Having grown up with Torin, Taryn knew how to read her brother's moods without him actually having to say a word. The look he gave her before he spoke spoke volumes, and she wanted to tease him about it, but decided against it. At least until she knew what had put his panties in a twist. "Usually their 'other things to do' rarely exclude you," she commented simply before her gaze dropped down to the laptop screen he was suddenly showing her. Arching a brow, she looked back up at Torin and began to dig around in her bag for her wallet to get a latte. "I don't know her, but I know her. Ava something. Cian Andersen's friend, right? Why?" Taryn shot him a bedeviled smile. "Do you think she's pretty, Tor?" She had no real opinion on Ava, although she had plenty of opinions on Cian Andersen. None of which were appropriate to share with her brother, who was friends with Jessica.
"Not like I was out of town for five months or anything," Torin sniffed. There were times when Torin's level of attention whoreness were way too high, high enough that even he was forced to acknowledge that fact. Everyone was still flying high on it's finally summer, and his girls were a bit extra-busy. He supposed he'd have to figure out a way to deal. Torin's face took on an expression of unmitigated disgust when his deluded sibling asked if he thought Ava was pretty. "Pretty gross, maybe," he said with an eyeroll. "When I saw her today, she had on a t-shirt with a picture of a Smurf on it. I think that says it all." He paused to pull the laptop back over where he could type on it and pull up his own page. "I had an altercation with her today," he explained.
Taryn couldn't really poke at her brother for wanting his friends to be hanging on his every movement twenty four seven, since Taryn generally felt the same way about her own friends. And she had the same mindset as he did. They had been gone for months! They were supposed to be center of attention right now. Who else in Darkwater had just vacationed in Italy, after all? Sweeping her hair out of her face, she leaned back against her chair and crossed her legs, swaying her foot to keep her sandal from flopping off onto the ground. "A Smurf?" Taryn twitched her lips and wrinkled her nose. "Okay, that might have been cute when you were five, but when you're a senior in high school?" Maybe Ava knew she'd never be able to live up to her older sister, so she decided not to even try. Jenny Connelly was someone Taryn knew, more by reputation than anything else. "What kind of altercation? Is that why you look like you've been sucking on a lemon?"
"I guess she just doesn't care that she looks ridiculous," Torin snarked. "Why should she? She might not have any friends, but she has Blockhead to beat other people up on her behalf if necessary." He slumped back in his seat and shook hair out of his eyes. "She thinks Eldritch is her personal property. I ran into her while I was over there having a coffee, and she questioned me about why I was there. She's so bizarre." It was possible that he'd been cranky anyway at the start of the day, and what had happened with Ava had made it worse, then Jessica, Jordan and Chrissy still being unavailable this evening had put the cap on his mood. "She threw her glass of tea at me," he added, hitting a few keys viciously to bring up his Twitter account. Boring, boring, boring. Evidently nobody was doing anything interesting today.
Snickering a touch at Torin's nickname for Cian, Taryn began to fold the five dollar bill in her hand absently, trying to think of the times she had paid any attention to Ava. The girl was pure human, as far as Taryn knew, and therefore she was more or less boring and not worth Taryn's attention. The only time she ever really saw Ava was when she was with Cian anyway. But that wasn't important now. What was important was that her brother was in a bad mood, and clearly part of that was Ava's fault. "Why would you go over there for coffee?" Taryn asked, pulling a face. As if the coffee was the important detail here, or something. "It's like sludge over there. Blech." She unfolded the bill again and finally gave Torin her complete attention. "She threw tea at you? What a bitch! Why did she do that? What did you say?" Unless Ava was just straight up crazy, Taryn was guessing Torin probably provoked, since he was good at doing that.
"I was bored," Torin said when Taryn asked why he'd gone to Eldritch. His tone implied that him being bored was the absolute end of the world. "I keep checking to see if there's anything at all interesting there and I keep getting disappointed." His sister's reaction to what Ava had done elevated his mood just a touch, and he smiled mysteriously at her. "I can't imagine," he said loftily, drawing out the suspense. He opened Facebook again and updated his status with @ Java with my awesome sister. I know you're jealous. Once he'd done that, he cut his eyes over to her again. "I might've suggested that her wretched appearance is to overcompensate for the fact that Cian won't throw her a fuck, and God knows he'll bang anything else that moves." Not technically true and even Torin knew that, but he hated Cian a lot for what he'd done to Jessica, and now to Jordan too after that whole stunt at Vapor.
The only reason Taryn ever went to the island was for shopping, or to visit a friend. Or if there was a party. She never went because she was just bored. But Torin was free to do as he pleased, and since his BFFs weren't available, he must have been pretty desperate to do something. She stared at him, waiting for his explanation, her foot swinging a bit more briskly as he typed on his keyboard, her impatience growing. Clearly, something had happened and she wanted to know what. As much as she hated being the center of gossip - unless it was flattering - Taryn loved knowing everyone else's business, especially before the entire school knew. When he mentioned Cian again, Taryn lifted both well sculpted brows in surprise. "Ouch, Tor. No wonder she doused you. But, didn't Cian and Jessica break up because Cian was fucking Ava? That's what everyone in school was saying anyway. Although," she continued thoughtfully, "if she tossed her drink at you, maybe you hit a nerve and that's not actually true?" She had heard about Cian's party this Saturday, and fully intended on dropping in with her friends. Now she was especially stoked about going, just to see if she'd be witness to anything interesting.
Torin reached for his mocha frap and drank from it, then put the cup down to smirk at her. "I don't believe that for a second," he scoffed when Taryn mentioned what everyone at school had been saying. "Seriously? Andersen might be a tool, but he has hot chicks lining up for him 24/7. And he had Jess, one of the hottest chicks anywhere in the world." He'd defend Jessica, Jordan and Chrissy to the death, no matter what, and he sang their praises anytime he had the chance. "There's no way he'd drop-kick that to fuck Ava Connelly. They've been hanging for years, she's not hot, and she's weird. But yeah, her reaction says to me that she'd like to be hitting that." He shrugged a shoulder, clearly not the sort to consider that there might be more to a relationship than two hot bodies being seen in all the cool places and banging their way to paradise in private. "I got her back, though," he told Taryn. "I threw the rest of my coffee right in her face. It was vile, anyway."
Having been to several places outside of Darkwater, including exotic countries, Taryn wasn't of the same mind as Torin that Jessica Delaney was one of the hottest girls anywhere, but she understood Jessica was one of his closest friends, so of course he would say that. But Torin had a point. It didn't make any sense for someone who looked like Cian to want to be screwing around with Ava Connelly, even if they were friends. Ava was probably still a virgin. Well, so was Taryn but that was completely different. "Who doesn't want to hit that?" Taryn asked with a smirk of her own and a shrug before she grabbed Torin's drink to take a sip for herself. Then she nearly choked on the liquid when Torin told her what he had done in retaliation. "Oh my god," she said, giggling as she grabbed a napkin to wipe her lips quickly. "You threw coffee at her? Don't tell me it was hot coffee." Because that would have been super mean. "I bet you guys put on a show for everyone watching. Maybe it'll end up on YouTube like everything else lately. Have you noticed that Sam's last two clips were Ava and Jessica, and then Cian and Jordan? Talk about psychotic." Ava and Cian, of course, not the Delaneys.
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that, Tar," Torin said, putting on an expression of complete disgust. "Why is everybody so into slumming?" Maybe he knew, but having his fingernails pulled wouldn't have dragged it out of him. Everyone had somebody who wasn't nearly good enough for them in any respect but was hot to the point that they fantasized secretly about getting with them. He had someone like that, himself. He chuckled when she nearly spewed out coffee. "No, not even I'm that mean." Not quite, anyway. "The coffee was shitty and it was lukewarm by the time I threw it at her. Hope she'll recover from me nearly drowning Papa Smurf." He snorted, finding that extremely funny. Taryn was always good at bringing out his sense of humor when they weren't fighting like rabid wildebeests. "No, no, there wasn't anyone around with a video camera. I don't think Sam gets out that early in the day, anyway," he added, rolling his eyes. "He's like, part vampire." His tone was dry, and he knew it would never betray his unseemly interest in the boy, who was trashy but so fucking hot. Torin would never, ever admit that to a soul, not even his beloved sister. "Yes, I've seen them," he replied. "It's completely ridiculous how psycho they are." He, too, meant Cian and Ava, obviously.
"Whatever," she said flippantly, waving her hand. "Cian Andersen might be a boring, vanilla loser, but he's hot, and he's popular. Besides, Jessica clearly thought he was a good enough lay to date him for as long as she did. If she was slumming, I doubt they would have been together for more than a couple of days." To Taryn, that meant Cian was worthy of slumming. It made Taryn wonder if she could get with Cian if she tried. Not that she held a ton of interest in Cian past his body, since boys her age, or around her age, didn't really hold her interest very long. If at all. Getting up from the table, she left her bag there and walked up to the counter to order a latte. Once she paid and got her drink, she returned to Torin and sat, sipping her drink cautiously to keep from burning her lips. "Sam is like everywhere. Maybe he can turn invisible too, because seriously, I never see him and then all of the sudden he's got video online of like, everything around town." Setting her cup down, she eyed her brother. "So... you and Ava exchanged beverages. I'm guessing that means you won't be crashing Cian's party this weekend? Everyone is going."
"I can't imagine why else she would've dated him," Torin grumbled. Honestly. Human, brainless jock... he couldn't see anything else the guy could have going for him beyond certain sexual skills. "Hopefully, she'll have better taste the next time she dates someone." While Taryn was getting her latte, Torin spent a couple minutes commenting on people's Facebook walls; everybody had to know he was back in action. When he was overseas, he spent very little time on online stuff. When his sister sat back down and mentioned Sam again, Torin searched for the guy's YouTube account to see if he'd posted anything new. "Power of invisibility," he said, his lips quirking in a smile. "Maybe he's watching us right now. Nothing new's gone up on his account, though." Too bad. He could have used a good scandal to further elevate his mood. He rolled his eyes at the mention of Cian's party. "Absolutely not. I have no interest in going to that loser's house. Maybe I'll do something with Jordan and Jess... you know they're not going to Cian's." Chrissy he wasn't so sure about, but she'd been so scarce the past couple of days that he figured she'd found another escort if she was going. Fine with him, considering that it was Andersen's party they were talking about.
"I have no idea what he would be watching us for," Taryn commented, though she did glance around Java, just in case. "Recording two people at a table and talking isn't exactly going to get you a bunch of hits." Even if it was them. Maybe if Sam witnessed one of Taryn and Torin's infamous sibling fights, then she could see him being interested. Sipping her latte again, she watched her brother, wondering what on earth he would get up to with Jessica and Jordan while everyone else was at a party. It would have been much more fun if the three of them did go to Cian's, but that was just Taryn hoping for some drama. "I'm going," she announced with a smile. "I'm not going to miss out on one of the first parties of the summer just because it's Cian's. If something exciting happens, I don't want to miss it. But don't worry," she added, her smile shifting into a smug smirk, "if you miss out, then you can always catch up on YouTube."
"Why wouldn't he be watching us?" Torin said in his usual arrogant fashion. He considered the Spencers the elite family in Darkwater, followed closely by the Delaneys. Everyone wanted to know what they were up to as a matter of course. "I guess you have a point, though." He shrugged, thinking that it didn't matter much, and reached for his cup again. Java, at least, had incredible coffee drinks, unlike that place on the island. 'You have fun with that," he told Taryn when she said she was going to Cian's party. "You can give me the scoop later, and yes, I'm sure Sam will be there with his camera." It didn't matter to him what intriguing and dramatic things might happen there; he absolutely wasn't going to a place where there'd be so many people he disliked and felt superior to. Especially when it was at the ass-end of Eldritch.
Taryn rolled her eyes and shook her head. Granted, she was of the same mind as Torin that their family was superior to most families in Darkwater, but she didn't think it was completely fascinating to be watching the two of them talk. Unless they were talking about something juicy... then that was a totally different story. "I will have fun," Taryn said matter of factly. "I think it's the perfect time to try and make something exciting happen. It might be a lame party, but if I'm there, it should have some credibility." It was a rare occurrence for Taryn's own arrogance to shine through, but she was with her brother, so she didn't really care. Her lips twitched and she tapped her fingernail against her coffee cup. "Maybe I'll do some slumming of my own. See what all the fuss is about."
If there was one thing Torin was all about, it was making excitement happen. He was totally with his sister on that count. "Maybe you could stir up a little trouble," he suggested. "With that many people, there's bound to be a way." If there was one thing he and Taryn were both good at, it was making trouble. Entertainment at its best. He snickered and gave her a half-smile when she said maybe she'd do some slumming. "If you do, better be sure nobody's videoing it," he warned her. "It's one thing to slum, but it's quite another to be the star of a homemade porn flick." That was absolutely not okay for a Spencer. He had no idea, of course, that Taryn hadn't ever slept with anyone. She was nineteen; he figured she'd been banging away-- discreetly, of course-- for at least a couple of years.
She lifted a shoulder, grinning as she considered the possibilities. Taryn had no intentions of sleeping with a high school boy, but it was fun to flirt, and maybe do more occasionally. Especially if Cian's party was super boring. Maybe she'd see what Cian was up to, or one of his friends. They were all hot, but there was a lot lacking in between their ears. "No worries, big brother, I have no intentions of allowing my naughty bits to end up on some pervert's video camera." Her parents would murder her if she ever did something that stupid. Besides, she liked to talk up a big game. It was kind of humiliating to admit she hadn't had sex yet, especially to her brother. Sighing, Taryn slipped her bag off the back of her chair. "Are you going to stay here for awhile? I'm getting bored, as much fun as you are to be around." Sometimes. When he wasn't annoying the crap out of her - which happened often.
"Good," Torin said loftily, nodding. He'd expect no less from his sister; he wasn't about to allow her to behave like some common cyberslut with her bits on display. She was a Spencer. He finished off his coffee and sighed when she asked if he was staying here. "I think I'm bored, too," he said, putting down the empty cup and beginning to log his computer off and shut it down. He'd hoped that maybe Jordan or one of his other friends might show up at some point, but it didn't look as if that was going to be happening, and Torin didn't wait for people. He'd spent enough time here catching up with online stuff. "I'm going to go home and swim, or watch a movie." The Spencers had set up a home theater just before they'd left for Italy, and it had barely been used yet.
Taryn had just spent the majority of the day at the beach, although the water had been too cold to actually swim in. Their heated pool at home was another story. "Maybe I'll swim too," she decided, standing up and shouldering her bag before grabbing her latte. "We can be bored together, if you want. At least until one of your fangirls decides to throw you a bone and give you a call." Taryn rarely had trouble finding someone to hang out with, but she wasn't as selective about her friendships as Torin was.
Torin had made short work of packing his laptop into its case, and he was fishing out his car keys, completely ready to go. He smiled at his sister when she said they could be bored together and leaned over to give her a smacky kiss on the forehead. "Sounds good. Maybe I'll just ignore the phone. If they don't have time for me, I won't have time for them." That was a bit petulant, maybe, but then Torin could be that way. He was very conscious of any slight administered to him, and he didn't quickly forget it. "Let's go, cara," he said, striding toward the door to push it open for her once he reached it.
"Uh huh." Her response was dry, since Taryn knew Torin loved to be adored by his friends. He might be acting a bit childish about the whole thing, but Taryn was positive that all Jessica or Jordan would have to do is sweet talk Torin for a few moments and maybe all would be forgiven. "Good, then you'll only have time for your incredibly gorgeous, exciting sister. Do you know how many people would love to be in your shoes right now, occupying my time?" She walked outside and pulled out her keys on her way to her car. "Beat you home!" she announced, flashing him a grin before unlocking her doors and opening her own to toss her bag in to the other seat. She should have said drive carefully, or be safe, but that wasn't as much fun.
"I do," Torin told her, his smile one hundred percent confidence now. "About as many people as would love to be in yours and hanging out with me." Well, it was only the truth. Many had the desire, few were chosen. That was just how it was. "You wish," he called back to her when she said she'd beat him home, picking up his pace to get to his car and toss the laptop in so he could gun the engine. He and Taryn were both competitive, although he wouldn't kick up a fuss if she beat him. He'd gotten back into a good mood, and just the race would be fun enough.