T-shirts, cut-offs, and a pair of thongs

[sweetvalleygirl]

WHO: Beach Party People!
WHERE: The MAC, the party bus, a rest stop, and the Wildwood Beach!
WHEN: Friday 11am and onward into the afternoon and evening
WARNINGS: Possible make outs? Possible fights?
SUMMARY: Teens and young adults in an RV driving to NJ to have a drunken bonfire. What could possibly go wrong???
FORMAT: OPEN! There will be sections for different locations and times of day, so feel free to tag in and collect as much CR as you like!

Jessica was beyond excited. In the days leading up to the RV trip, she barely shut up about it. Even as she boarded the RV Laura had procured for their adventure and took the shotgun seat, she could barely stop talking. It was a beautiful day in the City, and the weather reports for their destination in Southern New Jersey called for blue skies and sunshine. It would be perfect beach-going weather, and it was bound to be the perfect summer night!

Comments

[girlverine]

I was planning on leaving.

...Before I was brought here. Cyclops asked me to do something, but after that.

[hellionated]

[Sudden...coldness, in his chest. He's quiet for a minute. His arms have tightened around her, though.]

...Why?

[And then, quickly] I don't want you to.

[girlverine]

[She shifts suddenly, uncomfortable in the grip now that the topic has shifted like this. Her frown is much more evident.]

I do not belong there.

[hellionated]

[He looks at her again. He's not letting go, but he loosens the hold a little.]

...Why not?

You've had a place there all along, Laura. I don't care what Surge says. You belong with us. [With me.]

[girlverine]

No, I don't.

[She manages to pull herself a bit more away, though she's a bit too uncoordinated to actually escape from his grip at the moment.]

Maybe I did. Before. And I might later on but right now, right then...I didn't.

[hellionated]

[He lets her move back to where she's comfortable, but looks...kinda sad]

But why don't you?

...Laura, what happened that you don't?

[girlverine]

I just...don't. Half of them believe I'm a monster...and they aren't wrong...and the other half want me to be some...child I am never going to be.

[She didn't move away from him completely, leaning against his side with her arms crossed.]

It doesn't matter.

[hellionated]

[She keeps saying it doesn't matter but it's made her want to leave. It does matter. It has to. It obviously matters to her. He keeps one arm around her and moves the other hand to touch her crossed arms, near one of her wrists]

They are wrong.

They're wrong to judge you, either way. They've got no right. For so many reasons, they've got no right. What matters is what you think. They never should've sent you away. I wanted to find you, Laura. I missed you. You'll always have a place with us, even if...you think you don't.

[girlverine]

[Laura doesn't know what to say to that. As the alcohol wears off more of her normal attitude is reasserting itself. She is quiet for a long time, listening to his heart beat and the sounds of the ocean. Eventually she shifts faintly.]

I don't want to talk about this. It does not matter here.

[hellionated]

[He watches her for a minute. She always wants to stop talking about it when she has no answer. He notices this and it makes him want to make things better in some way. He doesn't know if he can. And doesn't even really know why he wants to. It's something that's all to do with Laura and the affect she has on him. She makes him want to try harder than he does with other people.

Makes him better than he is with other people. Like Sofia did.

That comparison doesn't exactly make him comfortable.

After a minute he finds himself reaching up, brushing a strand of hair back from her face. He's not really aware of the way he's smiling at her, but it's...gentler, than usual. Gentler because it's a real smile, not intended or deliberate.]

It matters if it makes you want to go away. I don't want to upset you, Laura. I want the opposite. We don't have to talk about any of it. Just want you to know. You don't have to feel like...you aren't wanted. Because you are.

[girlverine]

[And more silence. Mooooore silence. She's just sitting there staring at the water. Even Laura doesn't really know what she's thinking. In a sense she knows he is right...The City has actually been good for her. Unfortunately, she knows none of it will matter if she's ever sent home, because she won't remember. Still...]

Thank you.

[hellionated]

You know you don't need to say that. It's just true.

[He shrugs a little, though he still has an arm around her. The shrug makes him more aware of it. Somehow or another, the alcohol effect seems to have dimmed, and he's still holding her. And he still kind of. Likes that. So he stays there, and lets his eyes drift out to watch the water.]

I'm glad we came out here. It's kinda nice.

[girlverine]

Yes.

[Laura is obviously grateful for the change of subject.]

Jessica's ideas about things like this always seem to work.

[hellionated]

Yeah, she seems like she knows what she's doing. Jessica's cool. [He liked her.]

You feeling better?

[girlverine]

She is my...Moirial.

[Laura was fairly certain she got that word wrong.]

My head is...clearing.

[hellionated]

Your...what?

[Whether she got it wrong or not, it's right over his head. He looks at her, at the arm still around her. His head is clearing too, and...the stuff he talked to Tom about is pushing hard on him now. But he's still not pulling away. If anything, he shifts a little closer.]

That's good, I guess. Whatever was in those drinks was seriously strong.

[girlverine]

I don't know. It is the word she used. She said she learned it from the Trolls.

[Laura nodded and reached up to press her hand into her forehead.]

Yes. It still has not worn off.

[hellionated]

From trolls? [Okay so this place really doesn't get less weird.] Wow. I keep thinking nothing's gonna surprise me anymore, but trolls. What next, elves?

[He looks down at her and tries to kind of...pull her closer again. Seeing her look like that isn't the funnest.]

Do you have a headache? ...I didn't think that could happen.

[girlverine]

I don't think there are elves here. The trolls are all children.

[She shifted as if to show him and then frowned, realizing her phone was on the bus.]

It doesn't matter. I didn't think I could get a headache either.

[hellionated]

Kid trolls. I'll have to see that.

[Looking at her again] ...Later.

Guess this counts as a hangover, huh? I can tell you they don't get nicer. Still healing faster than me, though.