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Post by NELL DOE DALE on May 30, 2012 18:59:30 GMT -5
"What are you doing?"
Nell's father looked over as she swung open the door to his bedroom. She was lucky he hadn't still been getting dressed, he was simply standing in front of his floor-length mirror as he shrugged on a blazer. Compared to him, she was in a state of under dress, but that wasn't unusual for the suave man. Instead of a dress, she wore jeans and a t-shirt, party hat tilted to the side on her head. She also had some nifty glasses that proclaimed the new year. She kept her hands on her hips when he said in Spanish, "The door was closed for a reason, Nell." Her eyes narrowed. "I see." She pointed a finger at him dramatically as she proclaimed, "You are not going to this party, so I suggest you throw on some pajama pants." It was obvious that she was determined, but he only gave her a blank stare. "This is my house." Oh, that wounded, and she wondered if he understood.
Instead of focusing on how much that hurt her, she opted for another route. "You need to rest." She walked over to the bed, pulling down the sheets and taking the TV remote from the table and turning the thing on. "I brought a few movies. Or read a book. You're just not going downstairs." How much more control was she going to take in this house? At least it wasn't the same control as Rafael in throwing this party. "I'll be down in a few minutes," León said as he took the remote from her and turned off the television. Two ridiculously stubborn people wasn't good. As if reading her mind, he told her, "The doors don't lock from the outside." She stuck her tongue out at him, before doing up his tie for him as she spoke. "No drinking, okay? Even one glass of wine. Because I'll find out and you will pay." He didn't respond, as expected, and she wondered if she'd have to lock him in his room after all.
After dealing with that, she went back downstairs, scanning the crowd for a familiar face. She had texted Lark to invite her to the party, informing her that it would be a fun party even if they might not have known many people here. She wondered if she should inform her friend of the truth. Nell was hard on that, the lying thing. She knows about Jane. The Earth girl liked to keep her family a secret, but now that Lark knew she had relatives, why not add some more to the bunch? More horrible ones, as a matter of fact. Lark would be overjoyed to find out about Raf, she was sure.
There was a lot of people here already, filling up the downstairs rooms of the mansion. Valuables had been removed to other areas of the house, Nell had taken care to place one of the lion statuettes in the shower so whoever pulled back the curtains would be in for a pleasant surprise. The bass line vibrated under her feet, speakers having been set up in the front sitting room. She half-hopped downstairs, taking another party-popped from the bowl she'd placed in the kitchen next to the chips and food. Nell didn't do the decorating as this had been totally sprung on her out of the blue and she certainly didn't approve of it. Determined to keep an eye out for her brother, she spotted Rafael in the crowd, talking to a pretty redhead. So you beat on Angela and flirt with some other chick?
She started through the crowd, pushing Rafael's shoulder when she approached him. "How could you?" she said, her voice soft and wounded. She held up her left hand, showing off the ring to the girl as well as her brother. "You made a promise, jerk." Luckily she didn't have to go so far as to slapping him across the face because Ms. Pretty Redhead walked away with a shake of her head. Rafael's eyes flashed as he shoved her. "The fuck was that?" She lifted her eyebrows, taking the cup from his hand and taking a sip. Vodka. Oh dear. "A wonderful performance by Nell Shepherd." She lifted the cup to him before going out to the foyer, walking down the few steps to wait by the open door. People still filtered in, greeting others as they entered. She played with one of the streamers as she waited for Lark to enter so the party could truly start.
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Post by LARK MARIE HARPER on May 31, 2012 2:02:57 GMT -5
Lark stood stiffly at the window of the hospital room, eyes scanning the grounds below. Cars were coming in and out of the parking deck, people entering and exiting the main doors of the main building. From up here they looked so small. "Are you going soon?" A hoarse voice disturbed the silence. Lark turned her head to see Frank looking at her from his hospital bed. The one he had been in since the fire a couple of weeks prior. They managed to get him up and moving around the room on occasion but the burns on his legs were slowing him down greatly. His eyes were brighter than they normally were, but even so she could see the weariness in the bags that sunk below them. "Yeah, I am." No pang of guilt or remorse ached her insides like they should have; after all she had been through his pain was almost like retribution. Payback for the abuse, the foul words, the cutting remarks. The fire. She lost so much. If not for her friends, Lark was not even sure where she would be. Spending my days and nights in a hospital chair. But she had a comfortable air mattress at Ashton's and plenty of support from Josh. She would not accept anything unless absolutely necessary but knowing her friends were there meant more than anything. Speaking of friends, Lark would be leaving to go and spend time with Nell soon; she received a text message inviting her to a party. Frank did not nod or make an effort to move, but she could tell that he was unhappy she was leaving him by himself. Oh well. She wanted to care but it was difficult. It was a devastating blow to find out he had cancer but once the initial shock ebbed away it was replaced with neutrality.
"I'll be back later tonight or tomorrow." Was all she said as she made way to the door. She could have sworn she heard the man say 'have fun', but did not stop to check or have him repeat himself. The door clicked shut and she made her way out of the hospital and towards the car. One plus was Lark had a means of transportation and a job that gave her enough money to pay for the gas. Travelling around was so much easier; walking was not all bad but when you had wheels visiting friends and doing things was more fun. She took her time going to the house, enjoying the smell of the car and the warm air coming from the vents. After a while the lingering sterilized feel on her skin wore off. Just in time for her to arrive at the house. There were a lot of cars and that meant a lot of people. Lark did not do well in extremely large crowds but the distraction and Nell's request was enough to draw her in. New Years was meant to be celebrated, and Lark was going to try her best to go into the new year with a smile on her face. She parked the car in whatever empty space she could find and wandered up to the house. There were people all over the place! How was she even supposed to find Nell in all of this? Hands in her pockets she walked into the front door and looked around. Music was playing, people had their drinks, and it seemed that the night was just getting started. Turning her head Lark caught sight of Nell and smiled as she approached. "Having fun playing with the streamers?" She asked with a chuckle. "And...what do we have to eat? I am so hungry." After munching on hospital food all day she was ready for something a little bit better.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on May 31, 2012 13:22:52 GMT -5
Nell's ears quirked at the familiar voice like a dog's and she turned with a bright smile, lifting her cup in greeting. Raf's cup in greeting. Okay, so this could be much better than she predicted. Which is why she invited Lark in the first place. She figured that since Rafael was so much like their father, that she had the capacity to explode at him. It had almost happened many times before, but she'd managed to keep calm. Hopefully Lark would be able prevent that, but Nell's main goal was not to use her as a diversion, no. This party was actually pretty damn great. "As a matter of fact, I am," she said, speaking a little louder than usual to be heard over the music and the people. And she wasn't even drunk! She wondered if her normal speed was 'drunk off ass' and if there was any way to check her DNA to find out. "I can now see why it's so entertaining to cats!" She waked down the few steps, finishing off the rest of the vodka in the cup. Opening the closet door in the foyer, she tossed the cup into the black bag hanging from the handle. It was her own invention, and she pointed to Lark, then back to the bag. "Remember that. Trash bags on the inside of every door." The staff would take care of everything, but Nell didn't want them to be inconvenienced. And stumbling over trash was no way to go about a party. She went to plenty places like that, and thanks to her not always looking down at her feet, she more often than not ended up face-flat on the floor. She took the party popper from her back pocket, and pulled it, watching the confetti fly. "Happy New Year's...eve." She winked at Lark. And this New Year's, Nell could party it up. Nothing could stop her, only her own fear.
Holing the empty canister with one hand, she took Lark's in the other, feeling like this might not be too bad now. Not that she'd planned to spend the night in misery, she was just worried about what might be happening. She knew Rafael didn't always have something up his sleeve, but it felt like her responsibility to monitor the night. "We mostly have chips and stuff out. Some of the food is still cooking." It was a combination of the efforts of Nell and the staff. Rafael wasn't happy about how involved she had become in the preparations, but she figure he just let her have it. She guided the girl into the kitchen and showed her the island full of food. "Oh, the ziti's out. Made by yours truly." Nell bowed, going over to the sink to dispose of the canister in the bin underneath it before going back over to filch a chip from the bowl, dipping it in some onion dip. Her father had suggested some different fare when he found out about the party, but his children hadn't wanted caviar or stuff like that. It was mostly Rafael's friends, actually, or people who caught wind of the party. "Thank you so much for coming, Larkita," Nell said, clasping her hands together as if praying. "To tell you the truth, this party wasn't even supposed to happen. I'm kind of doing...damage control." She scratched the back of her head, nervous as always when talking about something personal. She scooted to the side to let a few people pass by. There were just so many people, it made her worry for her father.
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Post by LARK MARIE HARPER on Jun 1, 2012 12:46:40 GMT -5
Lark laughed and watched as a few party goers wandered by before fooling around with one of the other streamers nearby. It fluttered about in the wake of air formed by her hand movement. They were far too easily entertained. She stopped messing with it for fear of sprouting ears and a tail. "I do too! I think this makes us cheap dates, Nilla." Lark snickered with a smirk. No need to take them out anywhere fancy; just offer them a few streamers and a couple good friends and they could be set to go. She did not mind being simple like that though. Spending loads of money did not always constitute a good time. Lark eyed the cup in Nell's hand and became interested. Maybe she should find herself a cup or two of alcohol while she was here. She would wait; it was sort of early and with her alcohol tolerance level she would be making out with the carpet within the hour. Lark nodded, making note of where the garbage bag was. "Noted. I hope everyone else remembers that too." Especially those who were already gone (or nearly gone). Would they even be considerate enough to try and toss out their cups at that point? Maybe. Lark held out her hand to catch the confetti from the little party popper Nell took out of her pocket. She was smiling, content despite the large crowd. Nell's presence was enough to quell her anxiety. "Are we gonna do the countdown and shit too? We should!" She watched the ball drop on some years but until the past couple of years she did so by herself. Now she had more friends to spend holidays with. It was exciting.
"I can handle chips," Lark stated, keeping her voice an octave or two higher so she could be heard over the music. "Any food is good food at this point." Hospital food was not exactly the best tasting stuff out there and she was looking forward to something that did not smell like it had been sterilized. The taste was not horrible but it still wasn't the best. Upon entering the kitchen Lark was greeted by all sorts of good smelling things, one of them just so happened to be the ziti Nell pointed out. She smiled and leaned over the dish to take a whiff. Deeelicious. "Damn that smells awesome. I think I might dig into some of that soon. Then I can give my complements to the chef." For whatever reason Lark had always wanted to say that to someone, but never had the opportunity. At least now she could, and it wouldn't be some random chef at a restaurant. She sampled a few of the snacks on the island of the kitchen, grateful that there were so many options. "Oh, you're welcome! I don't mind." She was not a fan of the mass amount of people but her loyalty to her friends meant she would set that aside for the evening and be with Nell. Lark leaned back against the island and listened to the music in the background. It had a pretty decent beat and she subconsciously took to bobbing her head along. She stopped and glanced at her friend, furrowing her brows in confusion. "Damage control? Well, I guess I can try to be a little muscle if we need to take care of problems, eh?" Mostly kidding of course. Lark flexed her arm, though not much was there. Her only real strength was her anger and willingness to fight, but for Nell's sake hoped that she could avoid that this evening.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 1, 2012 20:21:37 GMT -5
Nell tilted her head. That was true, she believed. In her experience, she was a pretty cheap date. She didn't even know if Lark had ever gone on a date, though, but she was certain that the younger girl must have. She was too pretty and bright for someone not to ask her out. "Very easy to please." And again, that held true with Nell. She didn't need much in life. In essence, she was a very simple person, she didn't live off much. Of course, she was living in the lap of luxury now. Hell, she was at a party at her father's mansion. Without all that entailed, it was a pretty good deal. "Probably not," Nell said with a snort. She tried to pass the word around. Like how she was one to use her fedora as a key holder for when the party was over and people wanted to drive home. There would be no DUIs with her around. "Oh, totally. Gonna gather everyone over there--" she gestured over to the sitting area nearby, "And watch the ball drop on television. But you're gonna have to kiss me. So pucker up, baby." She made a smooching sound before spinning to head into her favorite part of the house--the kitchen! A grand place indeed.
As usual, Nell was worried about diet and what Lark was eating. "Didn't eat well today?" Why did so many people do that, miss meals? She couldn't imagine! Oh...well, she could, but that was different circumstance and certainly not by choice. Anywho, there was worry coiling in her stomach but that was nothing new at all. Still, she never got used to it. She giggled at Lark's words, taking a chip and eating it dry. "Haven't tried it yet. Better hurry, there's a lot of people." She winked when Lark mentioned a chef. "Yours truly. Most of it was the kitchen staff." She was always willing to give other people more credit than herself even if she did put a lot of work into something. Her smile was wide and genuine as Lark easily accepted her words. No, it wasn't hard to please Nell at all. Even small gestures like that lit her up like a disco ball. Lark seemed a little confused about damage control. "Uhm, yeah..." She looked over, wondering if she was going to catch sight of one particular person. "My father's place. He's been under the weather, so I don't want things to get out of control." It was a lot, talking about herself, but it was information Lark deserved. And as long as it wasn't taking about herself personally, it was easier than most things.
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Post by LARK MARIE HARPER on Jun 2, 2012 17:08:23 GMT -5
"Definitely not a bad thing," Lark said with a smile, rocking back on her heels. She was in a considerably good mood considering the long day at the hospital. Her friends always managed to brighten her spirits. Nell's positive attitude and personality was medicinal. She shrugged a little. "Well, if they don't I'll help clean up? I don't mind." Lark did not know much about Nell's life or family, so was unaware that they had people who could potentially do the clean up at the end of the night or tomorrow morning. The mansion should have been a dead giveaway but not everyone liked having people do things for them. Either way Lark extended the offer to help, assuming she did not become one of the drunks sloshing themselves about the house. It was possible. She was in need of a night away from everything else. Lark followed Nell's finger towards the livingroom and observed the other room. Right now there were a lot of people in there so she could not really see past them and into the room itself. Hopefully she could make it to midnight and actually remember the ball drop. It wouldn't make much sense to look forward to something and then forget the entire night. Lark laughed and made a kissy face right back at her. "Then you get to be my first kiss. I wonder how well that's gonna go?" She quirked an eyebrow, smirked and continued to laugh. Nell was considered a close friend and decided that sharing the information (no matter how big or little it may have been) was not going to harm anything. She actually did have her first kiss with Brett, but she did not want that to count. A drunk first kiss could be nixed, right?
Lark blinked a few times, a bit confused by the question before realizing what she had said before. Right. She doesn't know. Unless Joshua told her of the house fire and Frank being in the hospital then Nell was probably out of the loop. Instantly guilt raked at her insides; she knew she should have told her friend but it was not in her nature to walk around talking about her life and everything that happened. But now it was different. "Oh, I ate okay. Hospital food is not exactly gourmet meals, y'know?" Now that that was out in the open...Lark sighed a little bit. "I'll talk to you about that later on I suppose." She wanted to tell her friend but figured that a party for New Years was not the best place. Maybe on a down day where not much was going on and they could simply sit down and chat. Maybe go back to that Mexican restaurant they went to before. She really liked that place. The food was really enticing, and so took Nell's advice. "You're right. I wanna be the first person to dig in. If I don't I'll probably miss it." There were a bunch of people present and Lark had a feeling that if she put off trying some of the food it would be gone within the next hour or so. Most people who went to these parties loved the alcohol and the food. Lark was focused on the ziti, which she put on a plate and started to eat. "Holy shit, that's delicious. You have a talent!" She ate a little more but took her time enjoying it. Tomorrow when she went back to be with Frank she would probably be back to the hospital food. Maybe she could do lunch with Ashton or something before going. That was, assuming she didn't have a massive hangover.
It was easy to notice Nell shifting her glance past her, but Lark herself did not turn to look. "Ohh," The girl replied in understanding, nodding a little. "I hope your dad feels better soon." The word dad left a bitter taste on her tongue, but not because of Nell or her father. Frank always came to the forefront of her mind and that bothered her. Focus on Nell. And so Lark did. She shoved everything else out of her mind and passed her friend a soft smile. "I definitely don't mind helping you out. Maybe most of them will pass out and we won't have to worry much about them." She could only hope. That all depended on whether people were already starting to drink or not, and what their tolerance was. Lark also did not realize that Nell's half-brother Rafael existed, so she did not know he was present at the party. She was blissfully unaware. "Well, do we wanna make rounds and check on stuff to make sure shit didn't get broken or something?" She did not exactly know what to do for this damage control ordeal so was offering what she could. Happily, the girl placed a little more of the ziti on her plate and ate it quickly before setting the plate on the counter. She held up a finger to announce, "My complements to the chef." And chuckled shortly after. It really was the little things. It did not take much to amuse her.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 2, 2012 22:30:39 GMT -5
Sometimes she couldn't take how much she adored Lark. It was an intense kind of feeling, especially when she offered her help. Could anyone be so kind? It made her cheeks hurt from all the smiling she was doing. "If...you want. We have staff, but I'm going to be around to help." She wanted this mess to be a simply blip on the radar for her father. No more inconvenience than a stain on the carpet. "I know I'm going to crash here. You can, too, if you don't want to drive home." She had no idea that Lark didn't have a home anymore, that she'd be driving back to the hospital when she left. She didn't like to assume tragedy in anyone's life. All she could hope for was peace and serenity. The world proved to her that it didn't work like that many times, however. It just couldn't be happiness all the time. Nell laughed, wondering if Lark was serious about it being her first kiss. Someone wouldn't lie like that, would they? It was a tidbit of information that honestly surprised Nell. "Pfff, I am an awesome kisser. If my mirror could talk, it wouldn't have any complaints." She flipped her hair fabulously to punctuate that claim. Well, Josh didn't have any complaints. She hoped. It'd be a terrible thing to bring up two years late into a relationship.
She quirked her eyebrows. It was a word she hadn't expected to enter the conversation, it wasn't an explanation she had planned to receive from the Fire. Even though Nell did not know how to exactly react, she reacted anyway as was natural for her. "Hospital," she repeated softly. Josh was not in the business of revealing his friend's personal lives, so when she did hear something, it was from the horse's mouth. And this was news to her. Her mind instantly whirred, searching for explanation. "All right." Hospital meant something was wrong, but it wasn't Lark, right? If she was hurt, she'd still be in the hospital. But what if...what if she had been discharged recently? Too many thoughts. It would be better to have Lark explain than to ponder all these questions. She urged her heart to stop its fluttering. "Knock yourself out, baby. You get the best part before its all mushed up." Drunks handling spoons to dig out ziti wasn't the best thing in the world. She ducked her head at the compliment, scratching her cheek. "Thanks," she said to the ground. "Chefs kind of run in the family." Another piece of unwarranted information about family? Had vodka loosened her tongue so much? It felt a little easier with Lark, and her reaction to the ziti. It was one of the first things she'd learned, one of the easiest dishes.
Nell smiled softly. It was in moments like this when she wondered about her lying. Was it really necessary? Here was Lark, wishing the man well. But she doesn't know the half of it. "Yeah, me too. Stubborn as a burro, that man, refuses to see a doctor." And it was like a normal conversation that normal people had. About her father, the man who'd abandoned her twice, who cheated on her mother and had a child no one ever knew about. She was wishing he got better? Yes, she sincerely hoped he convalesced. Nell snorted. "Probably. They're not driving home, I'm making sure of that." It was either designated or cab. And she would be smelling breath, you better believe it. "Yeah, that would be good. I also want to make sure no one's going upstairs. But you can." She was Nell's guest, after all. And she had to smile at the chef comment. She just wouldn't stop smiling. She wondered if it was weird, the fact that the expression never left her face. "Want some booze first?" Oh, she remembered the last time she got smashed with Lark. Well, remembered the fact that she had gotten smashed, because that explained the headache. "I could mix something up, or we have..." She walked over to the counter and tapped the top of bottles. "Schnapps, Jager, Vodka, Gin, and Whiskey." All of the good stuff, too. She wasn't going to deal with Rafael sober.
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Post by LARK MARIE HARPER on Jun 3, 2012 10:15:39 GMT -5
Lark shrugged, clearly not interested in a taking back her offer. If she hadn't wanted to help out her friend she would not have said anything in the first place. Lark normally went to the ends of the earth and back for those she cared about, even if it involved cleaning up after drunk people. "Ah, I have a feeling I'll wind up crashing here then." She chuckled, knowing that there would be alcohol involved tonight. There was just the matter of when. "I'll find me a nice, cozy spot on the floor and snuggle up there." Although she was smiling there was that twinge of guilt again; the urge to tell Nell about what happened with Frank continued to flare up but she suppressed it. Not tonight. Bad timing. A playful smirk crossed Lark's lips. "I didn't know that Josh was a mirror. I'm sure he would be so incredibly flattered." She teased. What a weird image. Mirror Josh. At least it was a distraction from the memories of Brett and their...whatever it was. She did not even know if there was a name for it. A fling? No, because weren't those normally what you wanted? She did not know. That night was such a blur it felt as though the incident never happened. That was probably what bothered her the most. Oh well, no sense in letting that cause any upset. What was past was past, right? Time to look forward to the future and let go of the bullshit. Too bad I can't completely ignore it.
"Yeah, hospital." Lark nodded but still smiled to try and reassure her friend that everything was okay. Not entirely, but close enough for it not to be a huge lie. Had she been closer to Frank it might have been different. A constricted sigh passed through her nose when Nell did not push the matter; she could greatly appreciate the fact that her friend was willing to wait. It would be easier to talk about that way. With so many people around Lark was not sure she could manage tossing the story out into the open. It would be meant for Nell's ears and hers alone. "I'm sure it will taste just as good mushed up Nill. Although...I guess that's assuming the drunks don't go sticking their hands in it." She wrinkled her nose and looked disgusted. That was disgusting. She could only imagine some drunk waddling up to the counter, attempting to use a spoon, and after a thousand tries they finally give up and just scoop the food onto a plate by just grabbing a chunk of it instead. "Yeah, definitely glad I'm getting to it first." Lark looked up from her plate and smiled at Nell. "You're welcome! And it's not just flattery because I love you. It's really that good." Out of her friends, Lark had to place Josh, Nell, and Ashton on the highest pedestal. She had Gale, Matt, and a few others but she had her top three. The girl tilted her head a little bit. "Oh? So the talent runs in the family, huh?" Lark was not aware that sharing this information bothered Nell. It seemed they both had a lot of things in their lives that they hid from one another.
Like their fathers. Neither was aware of the relationship status they held with the father figures in their lives. Nell had dealt with so much in regards to her own, and Lark did too. "Do you know what he has? Hopefully it's not something all too serious." She was genuinely concerned for the man, but only because of the relation he had to Nell. Lark was not always the most sympathetic of people (even if she did care, she did not always display it) but hoped that it was conveyed well enough this time. Lark nodded. "We definitely don't need any drunk drivers wandering around on the road. I'm sure they'll have enough of those without this group adding to the problem." New Years was a night full of Breathalyzers, straight line tests, and DUI arrests, not to mention car accidents too. She did not want the latter to happen but it was going to. Someone was going to be drunk and driving and run a red light. "Okay. We'll watch out for anyone trying to go upstairs too." There were probably quite a few reasons for that but Lark was not going to ask. Lark eyed the alcohol as Nell tapped each bottle. They all looked so incredibly enticing but she wanted to hang back for now. "I want some but with my tolerance I'm not sure if I should start my drinking now or later." She chuckled, remembering the last time she had a few drinks with Nell. She remembered a few things from the beginning of that night but not much else afterward. It was probably for the best; flashing passing drivers was incredibly embarrassing. "Are you gonna start now?"
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 3, 2012 14:22:08 GMT -5
The first response she had to Lark's words was swelling in her chest, the happiness. But then she remembered that Rafael was around. She wasn't even worried about her father anymore and his behavior. He was nothing compared to his son. Though she was still a little worried about the man. He could get along with people well enough, he was just...rough around the edges. Emotionally incompetent, as Nell liked to say. "There's plenty of rooms. Unless you prefer the floor. I can give you a blanket and you can buddy up with someone." It would be a wise idea for Nell to sleep on the floor herself. She didn't have the best relationship with beds. It usually so happened that she ended up on the floor in the morning, anyway. The girl tapped a finger to her lips. "Shh, don't tell him. It'll break his heart." Was it a thing to practice kissing on mirrors? It was funny to think about, because Nell certainly hadn't done it. Josh was her first kiss, including any inanimate objects. But she had certainly not been his first kiss, and it was kind of weird to think about so she avoided it. They had long since gotten past the whole experience issue, though her naivete was still ever-present. Maybe she should have been using mirrors to smooch on.
Nell laughed at the thought of people squeezing her dish between their fingers. "Could you imagine?" she said with that laugh lacing her words, pantomiming grabbing the ziti and crushing it in her fingers. "I freaking love ziti." She even slurred her words together for effect, but couldn't hold it long before she laughed. Hopefully no one would think that was a good idea, but it wasn't like you could predict people. The worse to happen at a party to her food was someone thinking it was her birthday and sticking a candle in her casserole. It would have been better if--well, if it had been her birthday, and if it didn't melt down into the broccoli. It took quite a bit of effort to restrain a blush from covering her face with Lark's complimenting. "You are too much," she said with the gusto of a silver screen starlet, waving her hand. "You wanna know the secret ingredient? It's love, Larkita." Then in a lower voice, "It's love." Not completely untrue. She did love her cooking, she loved making food, and she loved when people enjoyed it. "Yep. What you don't know is it was born with a poofy white hat and a kiss the cook apron." She'd been told multiple times that she'd been born with a smile, and that she hadn't cried, but it was one of those things about her past that she wasn't sure about, an urban legend.
That was a good question, a matter of what he had. In her mind, she couldn't help but be reminded of Tilly, of the fact that no one knew what she'd had. "I don't have much of a clue, honestly. I'm thinking a parasite, though. He's lost a lot of weight." Which was frightening in itself considering the man was of intimidating size and stature. To see him whittled down was like watching a sheep walk on its hind legs. "You know how we do, keeping the streets safe from DUIs." Nell believed she was doing some food for the community, at least. Tonight would be the night when people will be all standing up in the drunk tank, squished together like sardines. Right now there was merely potential drunk tank occupants, and Nell was hoping to keep it at the potential status. And she was also hoping she could keep an eye out with Lark for any wanderers. Nell tapped a fingernail against the Schnapps. "I do want you to remember some of tonight," she said as if pondering the effectiveness of this. "I've already had some vodka, might as well..." she said, uncapping the bottle. "Let's do this straight..." she said as she filled it up halfway. Then she lifted the cup, and boomed, "PARTY TIME!" Instead of walking out to the next room, she danced on out, and she was dancing when she led Lark up the main staircase. On the second floor, music could still be here. "Better not be anyone up in this hizzy," she called out as she walked down the hallways and tapped her knuckles against the doors.
She stopped when Rafael turned a corner. Uh oh, she spied a problem already. She still moved her hips to the music as he approached. "Nobody's supposed to be up here," he said, pitching his voice so he could imitate the words she'd told him earlier. She grimaced. "Suck it, bro. Larkita's my guest, and she's helping to make sure that you..." She pointed her finger at him with finesse. "Don't break anything. And if you have a girl up here, I am telling Angela." Rafael looked at Lark with the same brown eyes as Nell, as if inspecting every inch to see if he was worthy of her gaze. She would very much enjoy clawing his eyes out. How dare he even look at her, goddammit? He overstepped way too many boundaries to even tolerate him half the time. "Nice to meet you, Larkita," he greeted, almost friendly. "Hey." Nell snapped her fingers at him. "You call her Lark. No, you don't even talk to her. Move along. Go back down to your party, vato." He flipped her off as he brushed past them and she stuck her tongue out at his back. Shaking her head, she returned her gaze to the Fire girl. "He is our person of interest. Rafael Fuentes. You keep an eye out for him." Nell hated when her relatives found out about her family. That made them fair game.
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Post by LARK MARIE HARPER on Jun 3, 2012 20:14:44 GMT -5
Lark laughed and passed Nell a mischievous smirk, one that played up her approaching words but did not mean anything at the same time. "You could buddy up with me," She suggested. "I know I could trust you to be my blanket partner." Lark did not know anyone else here at the party and was not quite sure if any of them were safe bets to crash with on the floor. Drunk people were so unpredictable, and she did not want to get caught up with the wrong person. The wrong people. She could trust Nell but everyone else? Nuh. "We'll keep it our secret then." She chuckled. Not that this situation really called for it, but Lark was excellent at keeping secrets. Well, unless for whatever reason the friendship goes sour and bonds are severed. Then anything is fair game. She was not all vengeance all of the time but occasionally it did rear its ugly head. A 'you stab me, I stab you back' ordeal. The smile was still there, ever present when she was around her friends. Nell helped her paint an image of a drunk slob trying to get their grubby hands on ziti and could not help but bursting into a fit of laughter. Lark swayed a little to imitate being drunk as well. "Duuuude. It's like play-doh!" Ew. Play-doh food. That was one thing she did have at the house when she was younger, and remembered the bitterness she felt towards the doughy substance when she took a bite and it tasted nothing like the spaghetti she had turned it into. Why did they even allow you the chance to make it look like food, and then be unable to eat it?
Complementing people was not exactly something Lark did on a daily basis; she offered up complements when she saw they were worth giving, and if the person was deserving of them. Nell was deserving of all uplifting words because she admired the girl that fucking much. A sister that was only separated by blood. She would do anything to protect her. Lark lifted her eyebrows at the secret ingredient, slightly inclining her head to hear Nell's next words. "Love makes the world go 'round. And...apparently makes ziti taste amazing." Love was such a strong emotion, she realized. A random thought process she strayed onto before her friend spoke up again. "You were?" Lark feigned shock. "Well, where is it now? Or are you in your average civilian outfit?" She reached out and poked at the sleeve of Nell's shirt for a second before smiling. She was enjoying her time with the Earth girl and was glad she could accompany her at the party. It would be a good way to break in the new year! What better way than with friends? The smile faded into a frown; although Frank was not eligible to receive the 'Father of the Year' award, that did not mean Nell's father was incapable. Lark did not know the half of it though. "Oh wow, that can't be good. He really should get over himself and go to see the doctor." Who was she to give advice anyway? If she could avoid going to the doctor then she would too. Pride could be such a terrible curse. Lark definitely understood where her father might be coming from if he was anything like that. "You abduct everyone's car keys already?" Lark asked, pretending to jingle keys on her finger. "We'll hide them all in a closet until morning."
The alcohol looked so incredibly enticing; had Lark been unaware of her shitty tolerance she would already have a cup in her hand. She knew what happened when she was drunk. Apparently she slept with her friends and got herself put in the back of police cars. Maybe tonight would be okay? Just one couldn't hurt... "Ah, what the hell? Party time!" Feeling pressure from herself, she got herself a cup of Vodka and followed Nell out of the kitchen and up the stairs in epic boss dance mode. They blended in quite well with the rest of the drunks downstairs, at least. While knocking on the doors she heard an unfamiliar voice and turned to get a look at who it was. He did not look the least bit familiar. As Rafael assessed Lark, so she did the same to him with an unwavering stare. Nell called him 'bro'. She blinked. Brother? Unless he was just a friend, but Lark had not witnessed Nell act like this before aside from discussing Jane. She stiffened up considerably at the realization. Her upper lip twitched when the guy called her Larkita, but did not have a chance to say anything before Nell spoke up. She flicked him off as he retreated. "Okay," Lark agreed, still feeling the prickling on the back of her neck from the encounter. Rafael did not settle well with her. Not at all. "I'll keep my eyes peeled. I hope you don't mind me asking but..." She hesitated and worried at her lower lip. Was it okay to ask? "Who is he, exactly? Is he really your brother?" Being from Hawaii, it was not uncommon to call people 'brah' or some form of familial association, so she was not sure if Nell's association was real or not.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 3, 2012 21:46:46 GMT -5
She nudged Lark with her elbow, grinning like a maniac. What expressions didn’t make her look like a maniac, though? ”I’d share my blanket with you any day. And I promise not to throw up on you or anything. And even if I do, it’ll be peppermint flavored.” Well, she wasn’t planning on getting that hammered. She didn’t think she ever gotten to the point where she actually threw up. She did get to the point where she jumped off a building…and got arrested by the police…and ended up at a random crack house. For a moment she wondered why she didn’t quit altogether. She guessed it’s the same for everyone—overestimation. And she overestimated herself a lot. At least she’d have Lark around. Even though, considering Corrosion, they tended to enjoy drinking together too much for it to be safe. She pretended to rub the invisible food over her fae. ”I just love the feeling of Play-Doh ziti on my skin,” she said. ”Feels like a mud mask.” Which it did not, but things changed when you were drunk. Like people with special skills. She had one, and it was baking. She figured she had a superpower that way, kind of like The Hulk. Only you’d really love her cookies when she’s hammered. It was probably the only useful thing that came out of slovenly intoxication. Because other than that, it was roofs and cop cars. Not so great as brownies.
Nell pursed her lips. Love was a good ingredient for food. ”Yeah, I figured it out after realizing hate made the sauce a little bland.” She loved when she was allowed to talk about cooking and the such so easily and not have someone shut her up. It happened often enough, but she didn’t mind. She nodded emphatically. ”Oh, you see, they’re invisible until I’m needed. The commissioner will flash a signal in the sky and I turn into Super Chef.” That would be pretty damn awesome, actually. She would love to be a superhero. Nell laughed softly when she said that he should get over himself and see the doctor. Talking to Lark like this really made her wish that she didn’t have all this mental blockage, psychological barriers set up ever since…well, ever since she was little preventing her from opening her mouth about her family. Because then she could talk about how stupid her father was, and how much of a douche bag Rafael was, and how scared of Jane she has come to be. It had always been taught to her that family things were to be kept private. That was her father’s lesson. Her mother? Don’t trust a single person because they will all hurt you. ”You know, pride. Men and the fact that they never want to admit there’s something wrong.” It was a special brand of pride, Fuentes pride. Nell had it too, in a less severe form when it came to anything with money. She grinned cheekily, but her shrug was innocent. ”Of course, right away. And then I shake them down when they tell me they don’t have a car or something.” Which would clearly be a flat out lie if you came to a party.
Even though she understood that Lark’s tolerance wasn’t the best, she was happy to see her get some vodka. She wanted her to let loose and have some fun. That’s what it was all about, after all. Rafael was going to prevent any of that however. She waved her hand to show that she didn’t mind the girl asking, letting her continue. Who is he? Well, she wasn’t stupid and Nell wasn’t going to lie to her. Especially since ‘it’s complicated’ wouldn’t be a very good explanation in explaining who someone was. She was almost tempted not to admit relation to him. She wanted to say to Lark, “Oh no, he’s just this guy who wandered into the house one day and has been here since.” That would be a better scenario than what was actually going on. ”Yeaahhh,” she breathed out, swirling the liquid around in her cup. ”Half-brother. He’s not a good guy. At all.” But hey, Lark knew her family. Eventually she’d come to the realization that Nell came from bad blood. Because if she thought about it, she’d know that Lark had more information on her family than most anyone. And she had a reason for that. ”I’m sorry for not giving you a better list of relatives,” she said as if to alleviate the situation. Joking was how she made everything better. ”I guess you can see why I don’t uh…talk about them much.” Her smile was wry before she held her palm up and shrugged. ” I can find my father and introduce you. Another person of interest. Don’t want him drinking whatsoever.” It was like they were policewomen or something.
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Post by LARK MARIE HARPER on Jun 5, 2012 2:10:01 GMT -5
Even though it was all in teasing, Lark still felt happy at Nell's words. She loved her friends and wanted nothing more than to have them be content in her presence. Sometimes she lashed out--she did have a temper and certain things did set her off--but so far it had not caused too many problems with the people she wanted to associate with. The other people who met her anger issues were probably deserving of it and she could care less about how they felt. "Well at least it will be peppermint? I mean, could be worse. It could be like...bogey flavored." Ah, Harry Potter. She could only hope Nell would catch the reference. Lark did not read all of the books, but she read enough of them and saw the movies. The urge to have a movie and sleepover night with Nell appeared and she quickly added, "We should have a movie night. Stay up until the sun rises watching all sorts of good movies." It would be a good time to relax and have fun and stuff their faces with popcorn and whatever else they could get their hands on. Since Nell was an exceptional chef (at least, Lark thought so) she could whip up something too right? That would be amazing. Lark patted her cheeks a little bit. "Oh I'm sure! It will be great for our complexions and maybe it will help us live forever." She laughed and glanced over as someone walked into the kitchen to grab themselves something to drink. "Hate probably tastes really bitter. Bleh. At least love spices things up." She wiggled her fingers as though sprinkling love over the ziti.
The image of a giant chef's hat lighting up the night sky was amusing and made Lark laugh again. She really enjoyed her time with Nell. "And do you have a cape? And do you wield a spatula or a whisk?" She smiled and made a superhero pose, pointing her finger up towards the ceiling. Really, who needed to be drunk? They could entertain one another well enough without alcohol. She had to admit that alcohol was not a bad thing to toss into the mix. She just hoped that they did not do anything incredibly stupid. "Yeah," Lark agreed with a nod. It was not just men who had a pride streak though; Lark was stubborn and did not like to admit defeat or when she was in the wrong, and especially when she needed help. She tried to be as independent as she could possibly be. Not every attempt was a success but it was an attempt none the less. A smirk played on her lips. "And if they don't give up their keys we'll put them in a closet until morning." It was cruel but Lark gained great enjoyment out of the thought of hearing some random party guest trying to escape the closet. Everyone else was shit faced and having fun and completely ignoring their presence. It would not end well if they actually forgot they were in there. Would serve them right for not handing over the keys. They would know better next time. Lark decided that joining in the drunkenness of the atmosphere was better off starting now than later, especially if Nell was already on her way. She wanted to follow Nell's lead. Dangerous? Perhaps.
Although the alcohol could loosen her up, Lark did not like this tensed knot in her gut as she watched Rafael walk away. The way he looked at her was unnerving and wished for it never to happen again. And if it does... Then the night might not end as well as she might have planned. Lark did not do well with people like Rafael. She did not even have to say a word to the man for her to feel agitated by his mere presence in the house. "So why do you put up with him then?" Lark asked with a hint of frustration in her voice, not aware of what Nell's family was truly like. She knew of Jane and what that woman was capable of, which scared her beyond reason, but outside of that Lark was clueless. Ignorance could be bliss but not all of the time. She waved her hands in front of her with a frown. "No, don't apologize for that. I don't expect people to spew out their life story and family members to everyone." Both of them seemed to hide their lives away from other people, so Lark had no room to be offended by Nell's omitting of certain family members. Well, all of them. "We all have our psycho family members. I'm not all that proud of some of mine myself." No need to mention Frank yet, for that would mean discussing the fire. Not tonight. The girl nodded and offered Nell an arm to link with her own as they went off in search for her dad. Even through all of this Lark was growing more anxious about these people. One was a mob boss, one was apparently 'not a good guy', and she had yet to discuss much about her old man. Is he going to be like one of them too?
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 5, 2012 17:28:30 GMT -5
She nodded and smiled as if they were discussing the weather, normal things, not how vomit can be peppermint flavored. "Or toe nails." Nell could remember quite a few sickening flavors. Wasn't there mustard flavor? Though that didn't sound all too bad. She enjoyed her mustard, she just didn't think she'd much like it anywhere near candy. She thought of Sandra and how that girl could eat hot sauce on anything. It was kind of terrifying. Nell practically melted at Lark's feet, her hands cupping her cheeks. "Movie marathon! Oh my god, yes. We need popcorn and junk, too." And by junk, she meant literally junk food. No matter how health conscious she was, everyone enjoyed pigging out. A laugh escaped her lips as she watched the Fire girl pat her cheeks. "Like chocolate?" Nell said in a choked and raspy voice. She was pretty good at impressions, and she hoped she sounded like a shriveled up old...underwater...thing. What the hell had that even been? Don't want to think about it. She watched as Lark sprinkled on some of her proverbial love. "If ya know what I mean," she said after, nodding slowly. Nell wasn't the most intelligent with those kinds of jokes, but she was at least pretty decent at telling them. However, more often than not, 'that's what she said' came from her mouth at the completely wrong moments.
Nell almost lost it at the words, and then completely did when Lark stroke a pose. So much so she had to cover her mouth and lean down a bit, trying not to let the Schnapps she'd been drinking spurt out of her mouth as she laughed. Sometimes she could joke with a completely serious face, but she wasn't made of stone. "No, man, I gotsa rolling pin," she said in a tight, recovering voice. Her stomach hurt, and she felt a burning in her nose. Why did she drink around Lark? Anything at all, actually? It wasn't a good thing. But of course she started drinking from her cup again, not learning her lesson. Had this been a while ago, Nell might have taken Lark's words about locking people up in the closet seriously and have been rather horrified. Two years ago had given her a lot of time to cope with the world and how unnatural the one she had come from had been. "Should put some bats in there, too. Freak them out." Her thoughts dived into the fact that they were fuzzy and kind of adorable because of that. She glanced at the red cup. Had she really gotten buzzed off that much? She wouldn't be surprised, but she was good at coping with alcohol. To a point. There was only so much her blood system could handle.
Nell studied the other girl, still very much sober enough to sense the tenseness. Spending time around other people clued one in to that kind of thing. Friendship had its benefits. Her chest tightened when the question met her ears, and she bit her lip. The response that came was one she hated, but she had to fall back on it. "It's complicated." Her features contorted into an apologetic look, wrinkling creasing her broad forehead. It's called blackmail and it's driving me up the wall, Lark. Every time Angela told her that she was hanging out with Rafael, that she saw the two together, her hairs prickled. She was powerless, and she couldn't tell Lark. That would mean letting the cat out of the bag, that would be giving Rafael what he wanted. And Lark had enough on her plate. She thought back to the word hospital. "I have to admire people that do," she said with a wry smile after the Fire girl waved her hands and told her that she didn't expect a life story from Nell. They didn't talk, and that was fine. She didn't know about Lark's family or history, and it didn't mean that she cared for her or trusted her any less. Nell exhaled. Psycho relatives? "Yeah. Yeah, you're right." She didn't want to say that her entire family was that one member. Legitimately so. The list of 'Sinclair' names in the New York State Psychiatric Institute was impressive. She never allowed herself to think of how her life might have been different were her mother's name on that list.
Her tenseness unraveled even more when she slipped her arm in Lark's, giggling a little as she led the way back downstairs. The mansion was wider than it was tall, so it only had three stories and Nell didn't think anyone would have wandered up to the third floor. There was nothing interesting up there anyway. She slid back the porch door at the back of the house, saying, "Excuse me, excuse me..." to anyone who was standing in the way. People came out for the fresh air or for a smoke, and the brick porch had quite a few people. But she found the man easily enough. León stood off to the side, a cup in his hand, the other in his pocket. She took the cup from him. "Better not be booze." He shook his head as if in disapproval as she sniffed it. "It's Pepsi One. Who is this?" Nell handed the cup back and put her arm around Lark's shoulders. "Lark. Good friend of mine. I invited her." She felt a little bad about that one. But it was for the best that she came right. The Earth girl was surprised that he held out his hand for the girl to shake. But still didn't smile, of course. "Nice to meet you. Are you enjoying yourself?" His voice sounded raspy, probably from the cold and the fact that he had developed a cough in the wintertime. She tried not to let it freak her out all the time.
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Post by LARK MARIE HARPER on Jun 7, 2012 0:04:26 GMT -5
Lark wrinkled her nose and pretended to have tasted something absolutely disgusting. "I'd rather the bogey flavor, I think. Toe nails are just..." She shuddered a bit at the thought. She was not exactly a fan of other people's feet in general so the thought of eating their toenails was not something she really wanted to think about. Their conversations always ended up so random! But she thoroughly enjoyed them. It made her laugh and smile and after all she had been through in the past several weeks it was much needed. She had needed it for a while. Nell probably had no idea how medicinal this actually was. Her eyes lit up with excitement at seeing her friend grow excited about the suggestion. "Sweet! We can get stomach aches from eating too much junk food and watch awesome movies. We'll have to decide when this happens, and what movies we're gonna watch. And if we don't have said movies we'll go and rent them." They both had jobs so renting a movie or two could not hurt. And then they could sprawl out on the livingroom floor and just hang out all night long. That sounded like a fun night to her. "Yes, like chocolate," She also replied in a husky tone similar to that of Nell. Oh, the glories of Spongebob. Lark did not watch the show religiously but whenever she flipped channels and it was on she did take time to stop and get a few episodes in. Better than watching MTV or those real life dramas that some people fawn over. That was not her cup of tea. Lark smirked and wiggled her eyebrows. She really did enjoy spending time with Nell.
It was getting so incredibly difficult not to bust up laughing at their antics; Lark felt like she could be stupid and goofy around Nell because she responded to it. They could go back and forth and enjoy the jokes. With some people that was such a chore because they did not really know how to respond, but with Nell it was effortless. "Ohhh, you like to live on the edge Nill. You should have little smoke bombs and sleeping gas bombs that look like chocolate truffles. Just...make sure that you don't leave them where people might mistake them for real chocolate." Because that would not go over well. Not at all. The image of someone popping one into their mouth and expelling smoke from their nostrils and ears was fucking hilarious but at the same time incredibly dangerous. Still, Lark smiled none the less and chuckled none the less. At least it had not happened to anyone yet. "Better be careful with that," Lark warned with a pointed finger. "You might create a second Batman." She smiled and laughed some more, another image of one of the guests stepping out of the closets the next morning dressed in Batman's outfit. Lark's sides were beginning to hurt and her cheeks ached from laughing and smiling so much. Nell had managed to take her mind off of things without even trying to. Just being there with her and talking and laughing was doing the job. Even so, Lark still wished to talk about what happened at some point. If they were going to be friends she might as well give a little. That was only fair. Staying secretive with her friends was beginning to bother her. As though it were creating an unnecessary gap.
'It's complicated' was never the most promising answer. Those words automatically hinted that something was wrong. Lark was not going to pry; if Nell wanted to talk, then she could. Until that point there would be no further inquiries. "I have a few relationships like that myself so I understand." Common ground. She wanted Nell to know that she was not alone. It still kept them both from spilling out their family issues but at the same time they could come to a silent understanding. "I have to admire them too," Lark admitted, messing with the hem of her shirt a little. She was so grateful for the warmth of the house. Even though there were a lot of people, their body heat made the temperature comfortable. It was hard to discuss family when you never felt the need to before. She smiled brightly as Nell took her arm and allowed this time to relax her mind as they wandered back downstairs and through the drunks in the room. Lark managed to push a few out of the way when they reached the porch, not particularly caring if they were offended. They were drunk. She had a bit of an advantage. Lark came face to face with who she assumed to be her father. A small twitch of a smile formed on her lips as Nell fussed about whether or not the man had alcohol. It was rather sweet, she thought, even if she felt anxious meeting her father. Lark dipped her head a bit when Nell mentioned who she was. He sounded like he did not feel well. She glanced down at his hand for a split moment before giving it a firm, confident shake. She was confident, just wary. "It's nice to meet you too sir. And yes I am. Just spending some quality time with Nell." She smiled. They were doing damage control but it was still time spent with one another.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 7, 2012 16:01:57 GMT -5
Nell found people with feet issues hilarious. Probably because she didn't understand it herself, but she was torn between empathy and amusement when Lark shuddered at the mention of toe nails. The Earth girl wondered if she could resist messing around with Lark and sticking her toes in her face. She was nice to her friends, but when she reached a level of closeness with someone--the kind of closeness where she'd be fine changing in front of them or talking about bowel movements--she understand that they would know when she was joking around. "I've got the Tums," she said with a thumbs up. And hey, she wasn't lying if they did end up with killer stomachaches. 'That means finding some free time..." She rolled her head around. "Next Saturday looks pretty good. I have a pretty expansive collection of movies, but there are a few that just came out I want..." And she didn't know exactly what kind of movies Lark liked. The girl didn't strike her as the chick flick type, which suited Nell fine. She enjoyed everything, but had a special place in her heart for black and white, action, superheroes, and comedies. She laughed, loving it when people understood references. It was just plain awkward when they flew over someone's head, and you had to explain the punchline. Nell felt like she was often the recipient of that. Oops, naivete.
Nell held up her hands as if trying to calm herself less she burst out laughing again. Serious face time, she needed to gather herself together. Usually a calm person, it wasn't that difficult for her to do. "I am learning how to make truffles," she said gravely. Baking didn't come as easily to her as cooking on the stove top, unless it was real food. When she was drinking, though, she was boss at baked goods. "And I'll have croissant boomerangs." Batman had batarangs, so what would hers be caled? Croissarangs? "The most delicious superhero ever." Packing baked heat, may the world tremble in fear and the bad guys head for cover. As if she could be intimidating in any way. Especially in tights. She'd be more comical than anything. She lifted her finger off of the cup to point at Lark as if she had just made a very good point. "I was just thinking the other day that Maple Hollow needs a masked protector." It would be amazing if the city had its very own superhero. Hell, it'd be amazing if superheroes could be real. She was just fine with regular old heroes, though, the ones that didn't dress up in tights and masks. It was still fun to read about them however.
The kinship she felt with Lark was reassuring. Kinship. Was it ironic to feel such a thing for a Fire student? Natural enemies, and here they were, at a party laughing and drinking together. Funny how the world spun and worked. How she could feel a familial connection with a girl who did not share her blood. Nell had learned that blood did not matter much unless you made it matter. Her family didn't care, and so she chose the people who would. Her father...he was a different story. Even she did not understand her relationship with him. Nell noticed the hesitation, that Lark looked at the hand before taking it, and wondered if she simply thought too deeply into things or if she wasn't necessarily trusting. She wouldn't blame Lark for the latter. Her relatives obviously had not left the best impression. She didn't think of Jane, because she knew that would just ruin her mood. "Good, good," the man said, and she wished that for once he could show some kind of emotion. Just a little smile, something that didn't make him look like a statue. "I hope you aren't too bothered by the amount of people who came. It's a bit...crowded." By the fact that he mentioned it, it was obvious that he was bothered by it. A solitary man by nature, he didn't much appreciate people flooding into the house. However, the fact that he told Lark about this meant he didn't consider her one of the people he thought to be crowding the place. The pride of the fact that he preferred her friends over Rafael's almost stifled the guilt.
Nell decided she might as well steer his mind away from the drunks who would probably end up wearing his lampshades as hats by the end of the night. She tried to remember that it wasn't her fault, but she had indirectly caused all this. "I have a surprise for midnight, Papa, just so you don't have a heart attack." He looked at her, and she knew that look. Anyone with parents knew that look. "Nothing bad, don't worry." She turned to her friend then, nudging the Fire with her elbow. "You trust me, don't you, Larkita?" It wouldn't be anything terrible, why would she want something bad to happen? The man nodded in a small movement, and said, "I hope you do, Miss Lark, because I do not." With his usual straight face it was hard to tell whether he was joking or not, but the laugh that came from Nell showed she didn't mind. "Do you wanna know the surprise or should I just keep it secret?" Her eyes sparkled even though she knew her father really did not trust her to do something completely stupid. Depending on how much she drank, who knew? Thinking of, she looked into her cup and said, "Refill time! You need a refill?" She blinked at Lark, feeling the buzz in her veins. It wouldn't take long, unfortunately.
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