You gotta fight for your right to party.

[hostage]

Who: OPEN TO EVERYBODY!!! Even if you don't know who Jesse is. Word-of-mouth invitation.
When: Noon 'til evening sirens of Wednesday, July 4
Where: The beach!
Summary: An excuse to party and set off fireworks.
Warnings: Put 'em in your subject lines.
Notes: Meme-style! Tag in, tag around, have fun and whatever... yo.


The setup is probably more elaborate than anticipated. Jesse's paying for it all out-of-pocket, but as he has a drug dealer's income, he's splurged on all the best stuff.

The food includes everything that everyone suggested on his post. Hotdogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers, pizza, chips, cookies, cake... There's an open bar for all the alcoholic drinks and a table with coolers for all the rest.

The music is selected by your host, Jesse, who's also the main DJ for the event. That guarantees a selection of varying quality that focuses heavily on hip-hop, rap, and dubstep. It's not always kid-friendly, but it's good for dancing.

General entertainment comes in the form of swimming, beach volleyball, a bonfire as the sun begins to set (including s'mores!), and a huge fireworks display just before sirens.

Security is being handled by Jesse's goons. You didn't think he'd host a Newcomer party without them, right? They're armed and much stronger than he is, so don't mess. A few healers are also on hand for first-aid.

Transportation back to the Tower Apartments via shuttle is also provided at the end of the night. (He really splurged.)

Party hard!!!

Comments

[reassures]

[Nill pauses a little when he says that, and then just... smiles at him.]

I don't want you to.

[Better? She can deal with a few injuries, they aren't even that serious.]

[inthejunk]

'K.

[He smiles back at her, then closes his eyes and carefully takes her hand.]

Never let me drink again.

[reassures]

[...Oh. For a moment Nill doesn't try to tell him anything at all, just glancing down at their hands. A few seconds go by before she curls her fingers around his hand, cheeks only slightly red.]

I won't.

[But she means a million things that don't have anything to do with drinking.]

[inthejunk]

[Hiccough.]

Thanks.

...Sorry.

[reassures]

[Nill stills a little when he apologizes, and her expression becomes more somber. Apologetic, almost. She doesn't quite look at him, and instead looks down at their hands.]

I should be apologizing, not you.

FREAKIN GO KEY.

[inthejunk]

'Snot whaddai saw.

[He rubs his face with his free hand, and sighs. But he doesn't move the other hand from Nill's. It's comforting, like an anchor for his precarious perch of presence. Nill is some tiny, feathered alternative to gravity. Which is good, what with gravity failing him at the moment. She'll keep him from floating away. And just maybe, if he tries a little harder, someday he'll be there when she needs him too.]

/pats

[reassures]

You shouldn't have seen anything.

[She still doesn't really look at him, but her fingers tighten around his hand just a little.]

You shouldn't feel like you need to apologize for him, either.

Re: /pats

[inthejunk]

[Yosuke frowns at that a little. People have been telling him this whole time not to refer to Nill and Shika's Yosuke as someone else. This is the first time he's heard anyone else do it, in fact. And it would be so nice to pretend that none of that has anything to do with him at all.]

[Except, he's sitting on the beach with Nill, holding her hand. And if what that shadow said hadn't been true, Yosuke and Nill would be strangers, with a few bad memories in common.]

When you -hic- old...

Hold things like that inside, they get out anyway.

'N you don't hafta.

[Yosuke squeezes Nill's hand back gently, not able to put the rest of that thought into words for her, but hoping the sentiment carries over anyway.]

[reassures]

[Still, Nill doesn't really look at him. Thinking of him as her Yosuke - as her senpai - is a concept that Nill can't really understand, and she doesn't see why people would tell him not to think of them separately. She hadn't cried when this Yosuke came here because he came back wrong somehow; she'd cried because it meant that her senpai was dead, and she would never see him again.

Granted, she tells herself most days that it's better that he's dead. That his life had been terrible, and that he didn't love them in the first place, and at least now he wasn't hurting all the time like she and Shika were. Death isn't something to be afraid of, just loss.]

I know.

[But she doesn't say that they don't come out if you don't have a voice. That she's never had them get out except that one time (which wasn't under her control), and no one wants to see what's inside her, anyway.]

[inthejunk]

[Yosuke takes that as agreement, and relaxes a bit. Good, now Nill will talk to someone next time she's upset. With that out of the way, apology and all, he groans and props his chin on her shoulder. It's too bold, and probably still too personal, but his inhibitions are locked away screaming silently from some dusty, seldom used corner of his consciousness for the moment. He can barely hear himself objecting, so it's easy to ignore.]

I think that was too much to drink.

[reassures]

[It's exactly what Nill wants him to believe, so she doesn't try to make him think otherwise.

But at that gesture, which really is too bold, her cheeks go bright red and her feathers fluff up before she even realizes. She tries to ignore it.]

Just don't drink anymore. Do you feel sick?

[inthejunk]

Only 'f I move. 'R look around.

[But he doesn't sound as put out about it as he did a moment ago.]

[reassures]

[Ah... She can tell, and it gets harder and harder to ignore how much he likes this. But she doesn't mind it for now at least; especially since he's too drunk to really worry about her. He'll wake up and think everything is fine, and that's the way it should be.]

Then don't move.

[inthejunk]

[He's halfway there now, blinking drowsing up at her and trying not to drool on her shirt. Nill's reply makes him smile, a little hazy but not concerned about it anymore. She's going to allow him to be too close for now, so he laps it up hungrily. He can see that she's not comfortable, but it soothes that ever present ache in his chest to have her curls tickling his neck that way. Like some potent numbing salve applied to a deep, old wound that's scabbed over. The damage may be done beneath the surface, but it's easy to forget about for now.]

[Yosuke sighs contently, wondering idly how Shika is coming along from things, and if Jesse is taking good care of Lisbeth-San and whether that little smart kid is alright...]

[reassures]

[Nill just sits quietly, trying to let herself relax a little bit while Yosuke half dozes against her. It's making him happy - happiness he deserves after what she did - so that's all that matters.

She knows exactly how Shika's taking it, and how the others probably are. Angry. They're all so, so angry.

Carefully, Nill lifts her cup and takes a sip from it, wishing it were stronger.]

[inthejunk]

Let's geddouda here. Y'know? Leave. You c'n come to Japan. My place is pretty big there, 'n my folks work a lot. They'll never know.

[reassures]

[Nill doesn't respond for a long moment. The idea makes her heart ache. And she shouldn't be surprised that he wants to go home, not at all, but--

It still hurts. Nill closes her eyes, and Yosuke is years older, a boy that never would love them and never did, and no matter how much she loved him he was leaving them. Did leave them.

This Yosuke was going to leave, too. But it hurt in a way that Nill couldn't understand that he actually wanted to take her with him.]

They'd notice me eventually.

[inthejunk]

Then we'll go s'm place else.

[He mumbles it against her neck, still not budging. Nill makes his chest ache too, and he can't even put his finger on why. He just knows that her pressed close is a good thing, and her far away would be unbearable. She's like family, now. Even if it's a lie on both of their ends. It's close enough.]

[reassures]

Couldn't we just stay here?

[Everyone wanted to leave, but the other worlds were almost just as bad. Why not stay here? It was better than the last place had been, a little better than her own world in some ways. Why wouldn't they just stay here?

Still, Nill tries not to be too uncomfortable, because she's fond of the lie. She likes ignoring Yosuke's not so subtle hints, because she doesn't really know what to do with the reality. So this is okay.]

[inthejunk]

'S monsters.

[Yosuke has never been good at knowing when to stop pushing his luck. So he sighs, hot breath tickling the back of Nill's neck, nose buried in her curls, lips grazing her chin tentatively. He just can't get close enough to her, right now. She's the only good thing in all of the world, and he wants to absorb her right through his skin.]

You'll like it, 'k? Theresh stars.

[reassures]

[It's a very rare day where something someone says overides what they think, but in this case, Nill hardly hears what Yosuke thinks at all. Maybe if she paid attention it would make it okay, it would make her able to put up with it, but she's been getting more and more uncomfortable with how close they are and that weird, not-quite-kiss pushed it just a little too far. She can feel him breathing against her neck, and the words--

"You'll like it."

And it isn't really Yosuke there anymore, but someone with red hair that doesn't look like a man or a woman, whispering things like that in her ear.

It lasts all of a second, but it's enough to make Nill jerk away, and to shove as hard at Yosuke's chest as she can.]

[inthejunk]

[Yosuke topples over easily, though he makes a surprised, uncertain grab for Nill on the way down. He's forgotten all about the bruises the girl is suffering from, and doesn't realize until after he's on the ground that she just pushed him.]

[The world turns over, and Yosuke has to close his eyes for a moment to make it stop. He groans, but struggles up to his hands and knees. Shit, is Nill mad at him? It wasn't a real kiss...still, it was probay more than most girls would put up with. More than any girl ever had without being paid.]

Sorry...hey, sorry. Okay? Don't...I sholdna donnat. Okay?

[reassures]

[Nill looks slightly panicked as she stares at Yosuke, and it takes her a few moments to get her breathing back to a normal rate.]

Sorry.

[The voice comes out quick and panicked, so much different from how she usually sounds. She's still leaning away from him, body rigid and tense. But she pulls her arms back to herself so they aren't hanging in the air between them.]

[inthejunk]

[Nill won't even come into focus for him, so he gives up. Rests his face against the damp sand. That's nice...cool. He's probably getting dirty again. Gilbert will be annoyed when he gets all these sandy clothes to wash.]

No. No, 'sme. Alright? You're good.

[He reaches out clumsily, meaning to give her knee a reassuring pat, but it sends him sprawling on his face instead. It's probably for the best. Something is tugging at old memories now, telling him he's not supposed to touch her at all. It's a little too hazy to process yet, though.]

'M not gonna hurtcha.

[reassures]

[It's more instinct than anything that makes Nill scramble a foot or so back when he reaches for her. She doesn't really mean to, it just happens.]

I know.

[She doesn't really look at him though, because she's afraid he'll have red hair again if she does.]

I'm sorry. I'm okay. I just-- maybe I should go home.