here's to growing up;

[Eiji Almasy.]

He wasn't drunk, thank God, because he would have been horrified to have been that way around Kellan. Except he was maybe feeling a little affectionate, a little more talkative and a little more lively; plus, he was a closet cuddler, and Kellan was like that one squishy kid he not-so-secretly found adorable.
"No!" he agreed, an arm over her shoulder and general-feel-good grin aimed all over the room; thankfully, he hadn't yelled down at her.
"Christmas Eve is a terrible, lonely day. Nothing special, really."

If he was any more girly than he already was, considering all the hair and skin care products, the meticulousness of his wardrobe that even looking scruffy was intentional; he would have caved right then and started telling her how glad he was, for having met her almost a year ago, and for remaining friends despite all the ridiculous playground antics that had occurred throughout. Instead, he merely glanced down at her and thought it curious how that scathing look could be found on her face in the first place.

"Nah," he replied to her, glancing in the direction of her glare and spotting Kenneth and Elliot; he couldn't imagine anything horrible about Kellan.
"It means a lot, to the both of us, that you're here at all."
It wasn't something he was saying just for the sake of it, either. Elliot wasn't a fiend like that, and whatever ridiculous, unspoken tête-à-tête they had between them, he suspected that his girl didn't expect much from his friend, except for the most simple of things.

[Peyton Howard.]

"Thank you!" the girl gushed, and because she was certainly out of it, she thought that all the nasty things everyone had always mentioned about Nate, if they even remembered him, were all untrue. He was so nice and charming; Peyton would make sure to insist that he be invited to every party, afterward.

She noticed Kellan and only briefly thought about telling Ken before her attention jumped to Nate again, who was kinda cute, if she stared at him long enough.
"You know, Nathan," she began, "I have to admit, I honestly thought you were a leper, with what everybody told me."
She smiled at him radiantly and didn't bother to elaborate, primarily because she was trying to avoid confusing herself; Peyton didn't like thinking too deeply when under any influence, since it only served to make her wonder if she was hallucinating. Her grin was a little lopsided, and her eyes were glossed; truthfully, she was preparing for when Elliot's sister arrived.

"Are you having fun?" she asked the boy, a very redundant question she would have normally avoided while in the right state of mind.
"Do you want me to bring you anything?" Are you comfortable? And she almost laughed aloud when she heard the perfunctory voice of one of her doctor parents inside her head.
"Would you like me to bring you a service girl? I know one of them really wanted to attend to this party tonight. Or you could wait for Mae, I guess. She's like, super hot."

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

Even though Eiji assured Kellan that it was okay that she hadn’t brought Elliot a gift, she still felt a little bad. But if Eiji said it wasn’t a big deal, then it probably wasn’t a big deal. She could always make it up to Elliot if she really felt that it was necessary. The other girl had been nice enough to ask Kellan to come celebrate her birthday with her, so Kellan figured that it really wouldn’t hurt to make an effort to actually get to know the gorgeous blonde outside of the elaborate parties and passing through the halls at school.

But that could wait until later, because right now she was talking to Eiji, whose conversations Kellan enjoyed more than any of her other friends.

“Yeah, well I missed you,” she confessed with a shrug. “I wasn’t going to come tonight because, face it, Elliot and I aren’t like best friends or anything and I felt weird, but eventually a few things changed my mind and you were definitely one of them. I haven’t seen you in forever, Eiji. That’s depressing.”

Obviously she left out the part about how she hadn’t seen him in what had to have been a month because she had sort of, maybe, possibly, probably been avoiding him for a reason she couldn’t bare to tell him, but that was just a tiny detail that wasn’t really necessary to divulge, right? That was her logic, at least.

“Hey, so when am I going to be able to see whatever sick place you’re living in now?” she asked, knowing that Eiji did absolutely nothing small scale.

[Elliot is on the edge.]

Elliot had all but abandoned Kenneth's drink order and was mixing herself a Cosmopolitan, vowing that it would be her only one because she had drank her last two glasses of champagne awfully fast. The poisonous drink was as enticing as ever tonight, and fleetingly, she wondered why birthdays always sent her into such a mammoth determination to drown herself - in the end she decided that it must of had something to do with her mother and all the woman's ghastly habits; not because it was true, but because it was easier that way.

Watching Peyton and Draco, a smile soon bloomed on her features and she made no to attempt to curb it. The pretentious and gossamer best friend had yet to let his usual standards down, and as he lounged leisurely against the bar, stretching his long legs and sipping from his high-ball glass to try and hide the way his steely gaze was very nearly mauling Peyton, Elliot managed to giggle. The scrawny, blonde thug before her was no less amusing in all her doped up splendor and affability, bringing another melodic laugh to the birthday girl’s lips. Electric eyes flicking to Kenneth in case he decided to get with the program anytime soon, Elliot finally noticed Kellan, who had slipped in unnoticed by her at some point and was now chatting up Eiji. Her smile was graced with a bit of sincerity just then, and she only stayed in place, instead of crossing the room to thank the other girl for showing up, because she was too afraid of intruding on the conversation she was already in.

"Well, yes, she's super hot, but she bites, so keep your hands away from her mouth." Elliot bit her lip past the smile as she tuned in to the tail end of Peyton's last comment. Trying not to unravel her brain by attempting to figure out just what Nate and Peyton, of all people, were doing chatting, she threw in her own two cents, sipping on her cocktail just in time for the door to open and admit another guest.

[mae]

Mae was already spilling over with laughter as she entered the hotel suite, her attention lingering on the handsome boy, who was following her into the room. The model had pulled up just in time to catch Noah chatting up a cute brunette in the lobby, recognized him, and offered to share the elevator. Now, despite how frustrating she may have found it, the Lycan also found it incredibly endearing, and something nearly noble, how Noah refused to fall for her tricks, simply because of his loyalty to her little sister. It was encouraging to know that someone else was looking out for Elliot.

Somewhere behind her, the door shut and Mae hardly wasted time checking out the other guests. She had already made her assumptions about who would be attending her sisters little soiree, and had made ample back-up plans for when the boredom that she was sure would ensue, threatened to leave her comatose. Setting sights on her blonde counterpart, Mae crossed the room, a little more slink in her step than usual.

"Sweet potato," family pet names were without fail, terrifyingly embarrassing, and Elliot's was no different. Mae was sweet pea and her sister sweet potato, and they had been such since before they could walk, terms of endearment from their father, born out of the abscence of his sweetie pie; but in that moment, Mae knew the birthday girl had never resented her father more for the nickname. The model leaned against the bar, brushing past Draco who could only chuckle into his drink as the sisters greeted each other beside him.

She looked dazzling, head-spinning gorgeous, and even though her sister was sparkling in gold, Mae looked stunning enough in the cool silver dress that she didn’t need sequins to outshine. Her boots were the same deep purple as her eyes, and in them, Mae seemed to tower over her baby sister, surpassing the other girl in all fields now.

"Happy Birthday." As if she hadn't been here all weekend, hadn't congratulated the other girl on living seventeen whole years a hundred times by now. Smiling with all the qualities of a wolf, Mae reached over and took the cocktail from Elliot's hand, indulging in a long drink before setting it back on the bar between them and raising a shapely eyebrow at her sister, asking the birthday girl a question without bothering with words.

[noah]

Noah had mixed feelings when it came to Mae, and for the most part, he did what he could to avoid her, seeing it as the best way to prevent himself from doing something stupid. She was damn good looking, there was no denying that - she did make a living off of it - but Elliot was his friend and he knew the girl well enough to know how derelict the other girls mere presence always seemed to leave her; and because of this, there would be no groping, no matter how many of the desirable qualities on Noah's list Mae possessed.

Slipping into the hotel suite after the model and trying to keep his bright blue gaze off her backside, Noah ran a hand through his hair, looking around the room with a growing smile. Some of his favorite people were in attendance, which made an awful bit of sense considering, but nonetheless he was pleased. The only person that he had been hoping for that wasn't actually present, was Morgan.

Reaching down to undo a button on his suit, Noah finally entered the room in full, heading for the bar. He clapped Kenneth on the back as he passed, glad to see the boy. Standing on the opposite side as Draco so that he could use the boy as a bumper between his self and Mae, the Cavanite shot Elliot one of his usual million-watt smiles before letting out a low whistle as he pressed his palms to the bar and hoisted himself up to get a decent look at her.

"Well, happy birthday gorgeous!" Clicking his tongue, the boy winked at his friend, unable to resist chuckling before he hopped up on the counter and slid behind it. "Like your present?" Noah had left Elliot's gift - a box set of every Marilyn Monroe movie, a bottle of Cristal and a note promising that he would take her to see the lights in Time Square this summer - in her dorm the day before.

"What are you doing behind the bar, on your birthday?" He asked suddenly and more incredulously than he had ever appeared before, not even waiting for her answer to her first question. "Go, go go." Shooing the girl away from the bar, Noah grinned to himself before removing his jacket, leaving his dress shirt, vest and tie as he ducked down to rummage through the liquor, all ready feeling like Sam Malone.

[Eiji Almasy.]

The mini-bar was going to his head, and so his thoughts were intermingled with random, useless tidbits of pure crap. For example, he could have just wept with how adorable she was; her sentences amused the hell out of him, but hugging her forever was apparently not allowed. He stepped to the side but stayed close enough to bump shoulders with her, and because he'd recently watched Madagascar 2, she reminded him so much of the penguins and it took almost everything sane in him, not to laugh out loud or do anything out of character.

There was a hand in his pocket, and the other was curled against his mouth, a grin forming there and blatant amusement, and something warm too, swirling in his look. He had almost forgotten how much she liked to speak, and how fast she went, before he'd seen her again tonight.

"I'm glad you changed your mind," he said to her, words and tone perfect despite the literal circus inside his head, "I would've come to get you, you know, no joke. It's a big night, and somewhat of a good bunch, but it would have been lacking without you."
Because Eiji Almasy still had the least amount of friends amongst them all, and while there were two people he had to like, of the ones he chose to like, Kellan was second only to Elliot. It wasn't as terrible as it sounded though, because Elliot didn't really count, since he like liked her. In all technicality, he supposed it made her his favorite friend, beating Draco by just half a stretch, and everybody else by miles.

"I can take you there tomorrow," he replied, and was instantly impressed with how he managed not to brag straight away, "it's a penthouse, and it's hot-."
Mae waltzed in and there was an imperceptible pause. It was almost unnoticeable, except for the way his eyes flickered from Kellan to the walking catastrophe that was Elliot's sister. He didn't hate the older girl, he just often wanted to run her through with something blunt.
"- Kellan, I'm serious. It's like this, meets the Hamptons, times a million, but not as big as our London home. You'd like it, I reckon."

[nate]

Why did people insist on talking to him? Was he not projecting "leave me alone" hard enough?

Or they're just too dense to realize that their attentions are unwanted. Something seems odd about this Peyton girl, and I'm not just referring to the attention she's giving me. That alone is cause for suspicion, but something just seems... off about her.

"I am a leper," insisted Nate, taking a sip of his glance. "My leprosy is of the social kind."

He shifted slightly, as if he could close off the girl through body language. Yet he heard the entrance of Mae. Hard to miss that, really.

She cannot go anywhere without all eyes on her. Her profession certainly makes sense for her. And she would be so much more appealing if there weren't layers of verbal filth hanging about her.

Sighing, Nate rubbed the bridge of his nose, turning slightly to widen his field of vision. Far too many people for his liking, and none of them particularly cared for his presence, despite their false kindness.

"Keep 'em coming," murmured Nate, placing an empty glass forward on the bar. He didn't spare the tender a look, recognizing Noah from their few brief meetings.

Besides, knowing people is what I do.

[Elliot is on the edge.]

If anyone had been watching Elliot as Mae stepped into the hotel room - which they most certainly weren't - they would have seen the way she shrunk back, and how her knuckles whitened around the highball glass as she gripped it tighter, every part of her strained and anxious as her older sister was thrown haphazardly into the equation. Swallowing back that flicker of caution in her baby blues, Elliot stepped up the counter as her sister crossed the room, and she leaned forward, about to kiss her sibling on the cheek just as the family pet name came into play. Oh, if there hadn't been a counter between then, she would have jammed her stiletto heel straight through Mae's foot in the most merciless of fashions.

"Sweet pea," she replied, her tone sweet, but only sugary enough to disguise the acid edge. Mae came in several shades, and Elliot had been stupid to think that tonight she should receive the most generous. "Thanks." and her drink had disappeared, snatched out her hand by the devilish older sister and when she finally had the glass back in her possession, it came with baggage. Mae was already pushing her around and it hadn't even been five whole minutes; so much for a birthday.

Sighing a bit melodramatically, she was seriously considering slinking off toward the suite's massive bedroom with Nate's birthday present and sleeping away the rest of the evening. Elliot loved her sister to the depths of space and back, but for now, she was about two bottles behind to be playing games; but there was Noah at her rescue, as he always seemed to be, and a weight in the pit of her stomach lifted. His gift had been perfect and she wanted to tell him that, but he was already herding her away from the bar, which was a course of action probably wisest for everyone.

"Play nice," Elliot managed to scold Nate as she pointed her finger at him, clutching her drink to her chest and walking backwards, headed for Eiji and Kellan. Turning away from her other friends, Elliot made a mental note to buy Nate lunch someday, for putting up with her and all the ridiculous shit she dragged him through. Finally before her boy and the other blonde, Elliot leaned forward to set her head on Eiji's shoulder, sighing once more.

"Who invited her anyway?" Even though she had insisted on it, "I can't believe we're related." Trying to keep the whine out of her voice, Elliot found herself frowning, and her heart was already fluttering in her chest as if she had somehow captured a hummingbird inside her ribcage; it was going to be a long night. Rolling her head off Eiji's shoulder dramatically, the birthday girl reached up to adjust her tiara before focusing her full attention on Kellan.

"Hey," and for a second, she was at a lost as to what to say. "Thanks for coming," it all sounded so generic, like she had read it on the back of a Hallmark card. Taking a deep breath, Elliot poured all the honesty back into her voice, completely truthful and obvious now.

"It means a lot, really." And she smiled very sweetly just then, her blue eyes level and something very close to nervous, because she found herself terrified of the idea that Kellan could simply brush her off. Chewing on the inside of her lip, Elliot took a drink from her glass, casually dropping one hand into Eiji's; she needed an anchor.

[morg]

So Morgan hadn't wanted to go to Elliot's birthday party.

It wasn't because she didn't like Elliot. On the contrary, Morgan actually considered Elliot a friend of sorts. Hard not to do so with someone who bought you awesome jeans and agreed to form a super-villain duo with you, should it come to that. It had only taken one cup of coffee to fully change Morgan's mind about the Davis girl.

No, you see, Morgan knew full well that Elliot would be at her own birthday party. And Elliot was supposed to have a model for a sister. Two people that ridiculously attractive in one room. And they were bound to have friends.

Morgan would look like a raggedy ann doll.

She'd tried to explain this to some of her friends, but no one seemed to get it. So she'd turned to Holly, her favorite sibling out of the drove (most of the Cavans' favorite sibling, if they took a vote). Holly had smiled knowingly, and got Morgan the dress.

Morgan couldn't wear the thing and not feel slightly indecent. When Desmond had seen it, he'd "forbidden" Morgan to go to a party in what he classified as "lingerie parading as a dress." Of course, Holly had overwhelmed him, insisting that he needed to let his sister grow up, and didn't her legs look amazing in that dress?

So the day of the birthday, Holly had taken Morgan aside and given her the full treatment. Fortunately the party was in St. Louis, so there wasn't a shortage of beauty salons and spas. Morgan got pinched, poked, trimmed, highlighted, and curled for hours. By the time she was done, she didn't even recognize herself.

Then she'd put on the dress, and rode with Holly to the party. All the prep work had made her ridiculously late, though if she hadn't drug her feet the whole time, she might have gotten there only fashionable late. As it was, everyone was bound to have been at the party for nearly an hour before Morgan even appeared.

"I am not going to show up an hour late to a party full of models," she'd whined in the car.
Holly, ex-Miss USA, had glared at her younger sister, then literally shoved the girl out of the car, insisting that Morgan would be fine. She'd then shoved the perfectly wrapped box into Morgan's now manicured hands, and wished her sister luck.

Morgan then somehow managed to find the right room, and hesitantly entered the room. One look at Elliot and Mae and Morgan wanted to melt into the floor. Everyone was bound to look at the late entree, and no way in hell would they be pleased with what they saw. Not with those two here.

Gulping, Morgan put on a brave face, and prepared to bluster her way through this horribly awkward social event. She'd just get buzzed, find Jon, and force him to kiss her until she felt better. That sounded like a good plan to her.

"Happy Birthday, Elliot," greeted Cavan Jr., holding out the box. Inside was a mask, and a certificate for a day treatment at one of the spas Morgan had suffered through earlier that day. It was meant to indicate that Morgan would tag along, if Elliot wanted a girlfriend to accompany. But the Cavan girl was too nervous to state that.

Everyone was looking at her, she just knew it,

[Eiji Almasy.]

His stomach felt funny, and it wasn't because he'd drank too much of the bubbly stuff the hotel had provided, with flowers inside. There was an unsaid acknowledgment that he was allowed to mildly beat on Mae, now that she'd done, gone and already upset Elliot. There was something else too, like how the girl was breathing so close to him and it was maybe that and how she was standing, pressed into him like she wanted him to want them to be alone - which she didn't, he was just absolutely heinous - that had his stomach fluttering like mad, hovering outside of his usual constraints and into his general chest area. He wanted to do something unacceptable, like fall over himself exclaiming how much it meant to him that Elliot was trying, and that Kellan was there at all.

His fingers threaded themselves with hers and his hand warmed as every other part of him felt seared; her smile should be illegal, he decided, and the combination of two of his favorite girls too.
"I can't stand her," he murmured into her hair, which was the nicest thing he could say about Mae, and then pressed a very chaste kiss against her temple, mindful of the makeup and all the other shit Elliot insisted on wearing.

He'd missed Morgan's arrival by turning to semi-yell his order for a drink to Noah, and then by having to semi-yell to make it right now and not after Wakeman's or bloody Draco's, because he was thirsty and couldn't Noah see he was entertaining guests? Succinct and subtle as always, he returned his attention back to the girls and then did a double take.
"You look nice, Morgan," he said to her, his expression, nod of approval and small grin all polite. She looked arresting, like, literally; the oaf that he was, he wanted to remove his tailcoat and offer it to her, and he would have, of it weren't for the fact that it wouldn't have done her legs any good.

[noah]

Noah realized quite suddenly that he only disliked Mae for the things she did to Elliot, without even trying. His friend retreated from her usual radiant self into a nervous, quiet and if you looked just right, very broken, girl. If he hadn't loved her sister so dearly, then Noah was quite sure he would be laying the usual charm on Mae because those legs were not something easily ignored.

Besides him, Draco was positively whining about his drink, his 7&7, and in front of him, he thought Peyton looked awful pretty in her dress but he suspected she would dislike him even more if he tried to tell her so he didn't, and across the room Eiji was barking, looking reminiscent of a temper tantrum as he all but demanded Noah put together his drink right away. The Cavanite gave his friend the finger before turning to Nate and his empty glass, looking curious, but amused nonetheless.

"If you're that miserable, you can totally sneak off and I won't tell El," he set about mixing the boy a drink, the usual silent laugh lingering in his eyes, "though she would probably just kill us both later." Noah knew that Nate was aware of how much he meant to the birthday girl, and the volumes his attendance had spoke. Besides, he figured that Elliot was desperate to have someone around to save her from the wicked sister that wasn't Eiji or Draco, considering how both boys were more likely to attack Mae, than just comfort Elliot, should things go really awry.

Sliding Nate's drink across the counter, Noah had been about to say something else, but then Morgan walked in and he lost all ability for thought because she looked out of this world gorgeous and he found himself caught somewhere between smiles and a dropped jaw as she headed for Elliot and company. Noah resigned not to say anything yet, but he would be hard pressed to quit the compliments once the brunette was in earshot.

Noah finally made Eiji a drink and semi-yelled at the boy to announce such, as well that he wasn't dressed like a cocktail waitress, so he obviously wasn't going to walk over and deliver it; fucking rich boys. And he broke into a chuckle then, because he liked Eiji a great deal, and even more now that he had come to his senses regarding Elliot because the way that he saw it, she was happy, and therefore so was he.

[Elliot is on the edge.]

"I can't stand her either," Elliot admitted, sounding slightly dejected as her stunning blues landed on her sister, who was giggling at something Noah had said. "It should be illegal to be that pretty." Her sigh spoke volumes and she then tried her best to wash away all the darkness clouding her vision, a task made much easier by Morgan's appearance.

"You look fantastic," as she all but squee'd, looking her friend over with a smile. Elliot took the gift out of Morgan's hands before reaching out and enveloping the girl in the hug, infinitely glad to see her. Now that they had evened some things out, Elliot felt less self-conscious around the other girl, and had grown to more or less adore the littlest Cavan.

"Eiji, what's with all our friends being so attractive?" Turning to the boy at her side, the blonde smiled, already feeling better and finding it easier to ignore all the things that her sister did to make her crazy. Looking down at the neatly wrapped present in her hands, Elliot unwrapped it carefully, balling up the paper in one hand so that she could throw it across the room and hit Kenneth, even though she had been aiming for Nate. Turning back to her gift, she finished opening it, extracting first the mask, which produced a laugh, and then the spa certificate, which brought forth a wide, generous sort of grin.

"I think we're going to officially be the hottest super villains ever." The birthday girl laughed, setting both the gifts aside, though she knew that with a few more glasses of champagne she would definitely be wearing the mask before the night was through. "Thanks," and she smiled at Morgan once more, looking grateful.

[nate]

"If I were truly desperate to get out of here, I'd already be gone," murmured Nate. He warily watched the scene unfold around him, fervently wishing he didn't feel as if he had a part to play. The qualities of a hero were sorely lacking in Nathan Wakeman, and even watching the person he, perhaps, cared about the best suffer wasn't enough to make him want to throw on a cape and dash to the rescue. Still, he shifted uncomfortably.

Social leprosy. You certainly called that one, Wakeman. The question becomes, is it a chosen disease? Am I here because I want to be? Certainly seems so. Then who can I really blame?

Myself?

Preposterous.

Nate couldn't help but eye the girl who'd walked in. Seconds ticked by before he realized that she was, in fact, Morgan Cavan.

D**m! Didn't know the tomboy had it in her! Wonder if her boyfriend's around...

Nate casually swept the room, but didn't immediate locate Empris. Then again, Jon was usually overshadowed by his best friend.

The plot thickens, I suppose.

His eyes found themselves drawn to Mae, and again he scanned her. Took his sweet time doing so.

What parts are we all supposed to play? And does anyone have their lines memorized?

[morg]

Breathe! D**mit!

Yes, the eyes had apparently gone to Morgan, and they looked with approval. Even if they all hadn't, simply hearing Eiji's and Elliot's complements were enough to ease the tension out of their younger friend. Somewhere deep inside, Morgan still craved approval from Eiji, and she trusted Elliot far more than she'd ever care to admit.

Noticing Noah out of the corner of her eyes didn't hurt.

"Maybe a bit," Morgan replied, tilting her head. Hell with maybes, she looked d**m good, and the smirk that just surfaced only helped. "I knew if I were going to a party with my partner in crime, I'd have to look nice. For once I might actually be competing with you. I gotta admit, I'm missing my jeans already."

Morgan shifted feet, watching as Elliot opened her gift. She didn't bother to hold back her loud laugh as the wrapping connected with Kenneth. Better him than the mopey guy sitting near him. What was his name? Didn't matter.

"Shh," she lightly pushed against Elliot, "you'll give away our secret identities, and then the superheros will be all over us."

She giggled a bit.

"I think I need a drink. Besides," she winked at Elliot, "your bartender's hot."

She sauntered over to Noah, and simply smiled at him. Let's see how well he could guess...