A Night in West Egg

[professorlionface]

WHO: EVERYBODY OF ALL AGES
WHERE: The Xavier Institute
WHEN: The night of June 16th, all night!
WARNINGS: Who can really tell anymore? Probable language. Possible violence. Copious dancing.
SUMMARY: PROM PROM PROM PROM PROM PROM PROM
FORMAT: OPEN

The guests into an auditorium transformed. Through the magic of papier mache, the room has been decked out like a speakeasy, the refreshments laid out on a very makeshift bar that will not stock alcohol as long as they can prevent it. The whole room is cast with a cool blue light, and a jazz band's been hired to take the stage for an hour before leaving the rest of the evening to the DJ.

It was time to get this party started.

quick-links!
DANCE FLOOR
REFRESHMENTS
SIDELINES
OUTSIDE

Comments

OUTSIDE

[professorlionface]

[A little fresh air never did any harm.]

open;

[borntobewildcat]

[After so long, Tom finally needed a break from the flashing lights and pop music, so he stepped outside for some fresh air... Or about as fresh as one could get while smoking. And since he's alone, or so he thinks, he's pulling a flask out of his coat pocket and having a quick drink too.]

open;

[ridethetiger]

[After all the fuss Ggio made to bring Tom here, he sure was quick to scamper off once it was apparent that Tom didn't want to dance or have any fun, it seemed.

Though honestly, the setting had Ggio anxious in a strange way, having not been to a party or something like this since his first few months in the City (the fiasco at the bar a few days ago didn't count, ugh). He covered that up by letting himself get dragged off by his several admirers once they spotted him.

But before too long, he's seeking out Tom, going by the scent of cigarettes and... booze?]

Do you want to get in trouble?

[Said mostly in teasing; his suit jacket seems to have gone missing, and judging by the loosened tiger-striped tie, unbuttoned collar and rolled up sleeves, Ggio's likely busted a move or two.]

open;

[borntobewildcat]

[It wasn't that Tom was really against having any fun or anything, and if Ggio had really wanted him to, he would have danced... Maybe. There just wasn't much for Tom to do here, since he was feeling pretty out of place about the whole thing anyway.

And since Ggio had wandered off with all those girls that still fawned over him, something Tom wasn't that interested in watching ever, he figured now was as good a time as ever to get out and calm down.]

What makes you think I'm going to get in trouble, kitten?

[He takes another drag off the cigarette, exhaling slowly and leaning back against the wall of the auditorium. He glances over at the arrancar, smiling slightly.]

Looks like you've been having fun.

[ridethetiger]

There's no beer at school.

[Looks down at his disheveled state and shrugs. Tom's demeanor is distracting Ggio too much to talk about himself for once, wondering if Tom was agitated, and why.

He joins him at the wall, opting to lounge beside him and lean against his side, just a bit.]

It's no big deal.

[borntobewildcat]

There still isn't. [He holds up the flask and shakes it a little.] This isn't beer.

[Tom isn't really agitated that Ggio's having fun with his friends and the girls that want him, he just can't help but feel out of place in this kind of setting. He wasn't going to complain about it though, since he's taken Ggio to things that were out of his element all the time. He could handle being the college drop-out boyfriend at the high school prom... Though he never thought he actually would be.]

It's kind of a big deal, kitten. [He wraps his arm around Ggio's shoulders, pulling him a little closer.] You're having fun, right?

[ridethetiger]

Don't call me that.

[Said with a halfhearted sigh. Another shrug.]

It's okay. I think I'm done.

[borntobewildcat]

What's wrong, Ggio? [He hugs him a little tighter.]

[conflagrations]

Need a light?

[ johnny thinks he's clever, okay. ]

[borntobewildcat]

I'll share the booze if you do... And don't tell Hank.

[If lighters ever vanished from the City, Tom definitely knows who to call.]

[conflagrations]

My lips are totally sealed.

[ TAKING THIS SECRET TO THE GRAVE. ]

for Carol, then open!

[incywincyhero]

[After metabolizing all his punch away on the dance floor, Peter beats a hasty retreat outside to cool down, and possibly hide his face for the rest of the evening. A quick tour of the garden later and he's settled down by the side of the fountain, jacket and fedora in a pile next to him, tie loosened, and head titled back to admire the light pollution.]

[bests]

[ carol hadn't really been sure what to do once peter started dancing. for the most part she just stood there in horrified amusement, some small (and very guilty) part of her idly hoping that someone was filming it. when he makes a run for it, she follows, pushing her way through the people until she ends up outside. a little hesitantly, she makes her way over to where he is so she can sit beside him.

everything she can think of to say is either terrible small talk or relates to dance attempt. so instead of trying to work with that, she carefully reaches across peter and snags his fedora, situating it on her own head. though it doesn't quite fit since her hair is up. ]

How's it look?

[incywincyhero]

[Peter stiffens up a little as she sits down next to him, afraid she's going to offer comfort. He's not all that broken up over it, just feeling a little sheepish, and the sooner he can forget about it the sooner he'll be able to make fun of himself with the best of them. When it's obvious she's not going to touch on the subject, he lets himself relax and gives her a small, sideways smile in return.]

Well, you'd need to let your hair down. But I think you could rock the gun moll look.

[bests]

[ she chuckles and takes the hat off her head. instead of putting it down she starts spinning it on her finger. ]

It's a shame skirts and heels are such a bitch to fight in. I could dig that.

[ she stops twirling the hat and gently tosses it back onto peter's jacket. ]

You know, I'm beginning to think I should bring you to nice places more often if it means you get dressed up like this. [ a beat. ] Not that a high school prom is really a nice place, but you get the idea.

[incywincyhero]

Pfft, don't worry about that. You could always go with the Marlene Dietrich look. [Giving her a onceover, with an oh-so-arch raise of the eyebrow.] That you could pull off, too.

[He reclaims the fedora and sets it in his own lap, fiddling with the hatband.] Well, you're right that this is still pretty classy compared to some of our other dates. I know our first go at being all fancy-fancy ended badly, but if you want to try again -- I'd be up for that.

Just don't expect me to buy a new outfit every time, okay? I have a lot of mouths to feed, and they're all teenagers in that "bottomless pit" stage.

[bests]

I do like wearing suits... Maybe if there's not too much trouble on Halloween I'll come back to the idea.

[ with a small smile, she shifts and leans into peters side a little. ]

'Course not. I know better than that. And anyways, the urge to get all dressed up doesn't hit me that often, so you probably don't have much to worry about.

[incywincyhero]

[He bumps shoulders back.] Maybe I don't mind so much when there's someone to dress up with.

Or maybe it's just the fedora. [He sets it back on at a rakish angle, and grins.] Probably the fedora.

open.

[symmachy]

[Even though she had promised herself that she would stick it out, Scatty eventually had to leave the gym, if only for a few moments. The emotions in the room were definitely high, and not in a way that made her particularly comfortable. The evening was a welcome respite, and she took the time to start circling the Institute. While she was out, she might as well make sure nobody was getting into trouble outside the school. She twisted her ring around her finger idly as she went, almost lost in thought.]

[batmantled]

[ It's a pretty cursory outside check; the kind of thing chaperones have been around for as long as proms have existed. When nobody's necking in the bushes or holed up in any other too painfully obvious spots he heads around the back, fully intending to go back in the other way when that tell-tale flash of red catches his eye.

She looks busy. Maybe too busy to really want company from that crazy guy who'd wandered into her dojo unannounced and then vanished for two weeks. Still, he'll never know for sure if he doesn't say something. ]

Hey, Scathach?

[symmachy]

[The voice is familiar, and welcome. But her brows rise all the same, and she pauses to turn to him, smiling.]

Dick, hello. I was wondering where you had gone off to.

[Her tone wasn't accusing, merely conversational. She didn't want him to think that she'd been upset that he hadn't come back--because she wasn't. People came and went all the time, she understood that.]

[batmantled]

Actually I never left. Just laid up with the flu for a couple weeks. [ the lie comes so easily it's out before it occurs to him that she might actually see right through it. you never know, with an unknown quantity. ]

I'm, uh. Not contagious anymore.

[symmachy]

[She inclines her head slightly. Scatty knows it's a lie, but she isn't about to call him on it. Not right now, at least. So she smiles, and it's actually sincere.]

I'm glad. I might have begun to miss you. [Try to see if that's a lie. Spoiler: it isn't.]

[batmantled]

Didn't realize I made that much of an impression. [ His cheeks are heating up, just a bit. ]

I think round two with some variations would have been preferable to how I ended up spending the time.

[symmachy]

[Oh man now she's on a roll.]

Oh? What would you prefer for round two?