"No, no nickname. That be me real name, luv" Pete replied with a smile. He took a calming draught from his cigarette, which most certainly was nothing like those minty affairs he found revolting, and let the dupes' chatter wash over them for a moment. Yep. Still hilarious, even when they were trying to make fun of the way he spoke. Of course, it could always be more fun if he fanned the flames.
"Oi!" he protested, putting on an act like he was offended, when in reality he couldn't care less. That, and himself and Jamie Prime were forever taking the piss out of each other, which meant any excuse was a good excuse to make fun of the other. He winked at Lila with a smirk in the middle of his diatribe, to let her know he was just playing along. He held up his cigarette as he spoke, puffing out smoke like a regular chimney. "This here is a fag. It's not my fault you're unable to properly learn the Queen's English, you bloody slavering savages."
"So, where were we, luv?" he went on as if nothing had just happened, leaning a little bit closer to the pretty girl. A lot could happen in twenty minutes. At the very least he should be able to get a phone number out of her, he figured, cocky to the end. Not that he actually needed it. He was, after all, the self-appointed Head of Intelligence for the mutant community. All non-residents attending tonight's event had been secretly cleared by his team, and those who hadn't been were being closely monitored by security. After all the attempts on the Haven in the last year alone, it paid to be paranoid. Most of the residents had no idea just how often they had come close to being infiltrated, or worse.
"I understand you're quite the underground celebrity around Mutant Town," he finally added conversationally. If there was something he knew most artists loved, it was to talk about themselves. It would work for him if that was the case with Lila. Pete was a very good listener.