here's to growing up;

[noah]

Noah, who had been squabbling with Draco over something as Morgan crossed the room, ceased his conversation more or less immediately, at the approach of his very good looking friend. The Cavanite leaned against the counter top as Draco stepped to the side to make room for the girl. Smiling with his usual amusement, and a touch of something new, Noah tried very hard to keep his attention on Morgan's face.

"As gorgeous as always," because he always thought he was radiant, but his grin gave away how he thought she looked all sorts of fantastic and beautiful, and how her legs were practically out of this world, and suddenly he found himself envying Jon. "Careful or you're going to outshine the models." Winking, he jerked his head toward Mae, who was texting rapidly besides them, all while doing a dead-on job of looking disinterested.

"So," he smacked the top of the bar, causing a very jittery Draco to jump slightly, which was simply more cause for Noah to chuckle as he turned his attention to the beautiful girl that stood before him.

"What are you drinking?" Pausing for a moment, looking as if he was trying to decipher Morgan's drink order just by looks. Eventually he came to a conclusion, raising an eyebrow as he tipped his head to the side, looking rather pleased with himself. "Long Island Ice Tea?" Sweet and sugary, but with the sharp kick of Gin and enough alcohol that it would leave you giggling and holding on for dear life; he grinned, thinking it to be fitting enough.

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

--ugh, I can never keep up with party threads…

Kellan had absolutely no trouble picturing Eiji’s new place of residence. She was seeing high ceilings, Italian leather furniture, ridiculous balcony views, and of course, in typical Eiji Almasy fashion, a marble-topped bar that was fully stocked twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Just the thought brought a smirk to the girl’s face.

“I’m sure it’s perfect,” she laughed, knowing that Eiji agreed. He’d never settle for anything less. She was about to tell him that winter break was coming up, so he better have a pull-out couch reserved for her for a night, but then stopped because apparently Kellan and Eiji Time was over.

“Hey Elliot. Happy Birthday,” she greeted. And just like the other blonde, her greeting had been completely genuine, whether or not the words themselves could have been said the same exact way to anyone in the room. Seeing Elliot and Eiji together made her realize just how much she needed to get over that irrational intimidation of the other girl and really, honestly, truly be her friend. Because if Eiji liked her then she was obviously something special. Just like his houses and his cars, he’d never settle for anything but the best. Obviously, as if Kellan didn’t already know this, Elliot Davis was the best.

And then, as if Kellan wasn’t feeling dull enough standing with Elliot, Morgan showed up in her cute little green dress and everyone fussed over her. Even Morgan Cavan was outshining her. Now, Kellan wasn’t the kind of girl who needed to be the center of attention. That always made her uncomfortable and she didn’t want that at all. But tonight, Kellan, who was usually never this insecure about anything, was feeling like that weird, bumpy sucker fish you kept in your tank full of bright, vibrant tropical fish.

“I’ll be back in a little bit. I’ve got to make a phone call. Thanks for inviting me, Elliot. Happy Birthday, again,” she spoke, her smile a little less genuine than the one from before. She left the two of them with a wave before turning and making her way across the room to the door. On her way out, she deliberately brushed shoulders with Kenneth, simply to let the boy know that she knew he was there, but was obviously ignoring him. Her own stupid boyfriend hadn’t even noticed her.

She left the hotel suite and stepped into the hall, closing the door behind her. She had been in such a weird mood tonight, and she really just wanted to get away from everyone else for just a few minutes. The blonde leaned against the hallway’s wall and sighed. She hadn’t been there for more than twenty minutes and she already wanted to go home.

[҉ Kenneth Lorne]

After complimenting Elliot a little more and turning down the drink offer, Ken went about socializing, completely oblivious to his girlfriend's presence. This probably wasn't a good thing, because when Mae made her appearance, Ken was staring at those long long legs and definitely checking out her rack. He was still staring while he tried to decide if they were real or not...

Then Kellan brushed shoulders with him, and that was when he first noticed his girlfriend at the party. But not right away. At first he thought that maybe it was Angela, or another blonde friend of Elliot's, but after finishing his automatic up-and-down scan, he recognized those smoking hips and creamy skin and kicked himself. How long had she been here for? Was she watching him debate whether or not to hit on Dorian's latest?

Unsure what to do as Kellan exited, the boy faltered. He knew what a good boyfriend would do. He'd go out and talk to her, figure out what was wrong.... okay, rewind. A good boyfriend wouldn't have been checking out another girl while his girlfriend was in the room. Er... well, he'd never be checking out another girl while claiming the title of 'boyfriend'. But it was too late to warn himself not to be an idiot, so he knew that the next step should be go and talk to her.

He started following after her, stopped, looked back at the bar, looked out to the doors, then over to Elliot and Eiji to figure out if that kid knew why Kellan was upset. But Eiji looked... preoccupied, and Kenneth didn't want to interrupt. So, running an aggitated hand through his painstakingly styled hair, he jogged out of the ballroom and nearly passed Kellan as he started down the hall.

"Kel?"

He didn't sound as confident as he normally was. Instead he sounded confused and uncertain.

Sidling over to the bar, where the boy casually texted and checked out Mae at the same time, he was hit by a crunched up ball of wrapping paper. Confused, he turned, finishing up his text message with a couple of misspelled words and sending it off. Then, looking down at his feet where the paper ball as, he stooped down and picked it up, juggling it. The super-strong boy couldn't help himself; he hurled it at Nate while he was talking with Peyton.

[Elliot is on the edge.]

"Oops," Elliot laughed, then forced herself to wear a look of great apology, pressing her hand over her mouth as her dazzling blue eyes went wide.

"Well, let's just hope they're good-looking superheroes." Grinning deviously, her gaze flickered over to Eiji as she slipped her hand around his arm, still amazed how things had worked out for them. Just being near him made her pulse race and it was hard enough to concentrate on everyone at once without his decidedly masculine scent clouding her senses.

Morgan had wandered off and Elliot didn't say anything for a long minute, amused enough to sit back and watch as Noah's smile lit up once Morgan had made it to the bar. They would make an awfully cute couple, she had to admit, but so did Morgan and Jon.

"Let's find Noah a girl," she leaned into Eiji, whispering into his ear with a grin evident in her words. That poor boy was probably the most charming on the planet, and a die-hard romantic, but he also seemed to have just plain bad luck.

"Thanks," she was speaking to Kellan now, her smile coming a bit more naturally now as she tried to push away the lingering anxiety that was weighing on her. She had finally worked things out with Morgan, and she desperately wanted to do the same with Kellan. She had been about to ask the other girl about school, or Kenneth, or the holidays or something to get the ice broken, but the Cavanite had excused herself and Elliot couldn't help but frown as soon as her back was turned.

Biting her lip hard enough to drain all the color, the birthday girl reached up to adjust her tiara one more time, though this was just for the sake of fidgeting, her mind racing and stopped dead at the same time. Sighing, the blonde eventually came to terms with the solution.

"I need a refill," and with that, she headed to the bar, giving Eiji a tug in case he felt like accompanying her. Slipping in between Morgan and Mae, Elliot tapped the bar with a bright, and mostly real, smile, before sliding her glass to Noah.

[morg]

"Flirt," Morgan accused, grinning up at Noah. Her hand had already started on her curls, and the other boy had only gotten a few sentences in.

She couldn't help but look over at Mae, wondering how on earth she, Morgan, could ever outshine someone who looked like that. Clearly Noah was all kinds of delusional, but as long as it worked in Morgan's favor, she was going to play along.

"I'm not drinking anything yet," she pointed out, "you haven't poured it."

Her smirked now. Long Island Ice Tea? Honestly she had no idea what that was, though she certainly wasn't going to admit it in front of Noah of all people. Definitely not with Draco sitting only a few feet away and a model nearby.

Since Morgan had been so wrapped up in pretty boys and flirting, she hadn't noticed Kellan's departure. In fact, she didn't even notice her friend missing until Kenneth got up and followed. A quick look confirmed the worst, and a frown crept over Morgan's features.

"He'd better not f**k up," she muttered darkly. Unfortunately, the timing coincided with the arrival of the guest of honor. Morgan quickly put on a happy face, looking to her friend, the empty glass, then up at Noah.

"C'mon, you can't keep the birthday girl waiting. I might be forced to like you a little less then, and that would just be horrible."

[Eiji Almasy.]

He watched the exchange between Elliot and Kellan with half-dread; it wasn't always painful, but it did lack the familiarity they each had with other people. Or so he thought anyway, but Kellan was genuine enough and he couldn't really place where the awkwardness stemmed from. Eiji eyed his friend curiously, surprisingly a little intently for someone in his particular state, and tried to gauge what was bothering her. While Elliot was looking elsewhere, maybe at Noah, his attention followed Kellan, seeing clearly her brush with Kenneth. Kenneth; he hadn't heard of any trouble, not personally or second-hand, but if Kellan was upset because of him, Eiji couldn't imagine what he would feel like on her behalf.

Not forgotten but distracted at least, he turned back to the girl, without a drink and wound up as all hell. Elliot was teasing him, torturing him; if she wasn't being so fleeting and coy, he would have kissed her already. But then, he wasn't that big of a fan of distasteful displays of affection, although he didn't care overmuch when it came to Elliot.

He would have taken her away if he could, but there was that small matter of how he was half the hosting party and how it had been thrown for her, it being her birthday and all. She was just so brilliant though, glowing in her dress and completely breathtaking. He was moved by just the thought of her, and them, but standing beside her, her arm in his, was almost overwhelming. He glanced at her slightly, hopefully subtly, and his expression shone of something derailing and momentous. He blinked, and then it was gone, averted when she looked at him and he became a step behind her as she headed to the bar. She was a lush and he loved it, not quite knowing what else to do.

Not caring much for Mae and knowing, or assuming anyway, that Morgan wouldn't care much for him, he came up behind her and trailed his fingers around her waist to splay them on her stomach. He leaned in and pressed the barest of kisses on the curve of her neck, then another before moving up until he was just beneath her ear and a fraction away from marking her there too.
"Don't bite your lip," he murmured a reminder, recognizing her habit for what it was and hating how there wasn't much he could do that didn't involve physical distraction, or at least not the audience of her sister.

"I'm going to get some air?" he told her questioningly, nodding toward the balcony. He took small steps away from her but his hands drifted and remained grazed against her, movements halting, not because theirs was a dependent or submissive relationship, but more because Elliot hadn't quite yet managed to shake the bad from her. Which was what Mae was; bad in just about every way except the good kind.

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

Kellan was actually surprised when Ken came out and followed her. She may have been dropping a hint that she was mad at him when she bumped into him, but her intentions weren’t for him to chase after her.

“Oh wow, you know my name,” she observed, the words dripping with sarcasm. Her plan was to let him sweat it out for a while and make him try to figure out why she had been ignoring him, but the more she thought about it, the more frustrated she got, so she decided to just let him have it.

“You know, a girl from one of my classes came up to me yesterday and asked me when you and I broke up,” she began. “I told her that we didn’t, and you know what she said? She said ‘oh’ because she thought that you were with that stupid Rey girl now because she saw her with her hands all over you strolling through the halls the other day, and then later on in the training center. And then who knows what else.”

Kenneth had annoyed Kellan before, but it had always been for stupid things like when he had woken her up late at night to come to Raelena St. John’s birthday party or when he claimed that he planned dates because he “wore the pants” in their relationship, but this was different. All those times, all Ken really had to do was flash that boyish grin of his and say something to make her laugh and Kellan would forget all about it. This was different though.

“Ken, I don’t care if you talk to other girls. I would never ask you not to do that, especially because I hang out with more guys than girls. But that doesn’t mean I let them hang all over me and I sure as hell don’t hang out with them while I’m half naked. Do you see the difference?”

Kellan knew that her boyfriend was a flirt. She knew that from day one. But that didn’t mean that she had to like it, and it definitely didn’t meant that she wasn’t going to say anything about it when the time was right. And now was definitely a good time.

[○ Draco Foyen.]

"Sardines!"

Draco was drunk, amongst other altered states of mind, and at some point, the sloshed boy had hoisted himself up on the counter and was now rambling about something. Noah threw an olive at him and Draco swatted it away, looking perturbed before finally shaking it all off and resigning to flipping the other boy off over his shoulder.

"We're going to play sardines because you guys are otherwise, terribly boring." He smiled crookedly just then before looking down to stir his Cognac, the ice tinkling like frozen bells as he tipped the glass back to take a long drink. Setting the drink back on the counter besides him, Draco looked even more confused, probably because the poor boy knew he had been talking about something, but he had absolutely no idea what.

"Oh! Blast, sardines! Okay, uhmmm," his steely grey eyes scanned the room, most of which was cluttered about the bar at this point, "Morgan, has to hide somewhere, and we all have to find her. And when you find her, you have to hide with her, and the last person who hasn't found everyone is the next sardine, get it? It's sort of like reverse tag." He looked awfully proud of himself, not to mention disgustingly excited. Between the outside balcony, the massive back bedroom with the adjoining marble bathroom, the grand room they all stood in now and the terrace that wrapped around the ceiling to create a second floor, there were more than enough places to hide.

Draco smiled, finishing off his drink as he looked over to Morgan with something playful in the darkest depths of his eyes. The fun part only came when you had a few people stuffed in a closet or behind the sofa and it was a fight to quiet the giggles amongst the who's hand is that? and who spilled my drink?!.

"Noah! Pour some shots damnit."

[noah]

"Me? Flirting? Never. It's polite conversation." But he managed to disregard everything with a wink that was obvious even as he turned away to mix Morgan's drink. Muttering something playfully over his shoulder about her smart ass comment, the temporary bar tender turned around, setting the drink in front of the Almasian, looking pleased with himself.

Besides them, Draco was trying to get everyone's attention while swaying back and forth like some well-groomed town drunk/lunatic and if Noah hadn't been so amused, he might have found it irritating. Throwing a handful of olives at the blonde, he changed focus once more, now eying his best friend as she sidled up to the bar, looking mildly distraught. He was about to say something, but Eiji was pawing at her and as Draco continued to wave his arms about like a madman, he realized there wasn't much he could say, so he went about his buisness, pouring the dazzling guest of honor her drink because he knew that sometimes that was the only language she cared to speak in.

"Girlie," he looked at Morgan, leaning forward on the bar, "we both know you could like me a little less, hell, you could like me a lot less, and you'd still be crazy about me." Another wink as he slid back behind the bar to pour a round of shots - he was obviously on a roll tonight. Spreading a handful of shot glasses out on the counter, Noah filled every one up to the brim with Bombay Sapphire, which was Elliot's favorite sort of Gin; he imagined this to be because it was the same clear water blue as her eyes.

"Okay everybody hurry up and drink so Draco will shut up!" Noah laughed, lifting up one of the glasses on the end and raising it in Elliot direction.

"To the most beautiful, charming and intelligent birthday girl there ever was." With a smile that was all his own, Noah emptied the shot, slamming it back down on the counter and pulling a bit of a face - he had never particularly liked Gin.

[morg]

"Yeah, sure, real polite," drawled Morgan, rolling her eyes and sticking her tongue out at Noah. You could dress her up, but she was still a rowdy tomboy underneath those curls and that pretty dress. Her hand curled around the drink, wishing she knew what had been added to it.

She'd barely managed a tentative sip when Draco started shouting like an idiot. Startled, Morgan nearly dropped her glass, and shot the handsome blonde a glare. He could have at least waited till she had a bit in her before he declared everything boring. Clearly he'd gotten fairly far along.

"Sardines?" she repeated. "Yeah, I think I played that when I was, like, ten."

She looked to the bar, at the growing number of shots. Great, one of those and Morgan would be buzzed, at least. Which meant lots of giggling, clinging, and declarations of attraction. And there was Noah, and Eiji was still around here somewhere. For that matter, with enough in her, Morgan was likely to tell Kenneth how much she liked him.

"Wait, me?" she turned to glare at Draco, wishing she had something to hurl at the drunkard. "You're..."

Words abandoned her. Sighing, she shook her head and turned back to the drink. Could she fake it? No, she'd never seen anyone do that. Besides, they'd figure it out. Someone here had to know she was a lightweight.

"F**k," she muttered, reaching for the shot glass. Raising it, she turned to Elliot. "Or to Elliot, since we actually know her."

Winking, she tilted back her head, draining it in one quick gulp. Gah, gin. There goes Morgan's social reservations.

[Elliot is on the edge.]

While everyone else probably felt like punching Draco, Elliot wanted to hug him - well, perhaps push him off the bar just for fun, but then she'd have to hug him. He was terribly pushy and she found him adorable in all his lunacy. Noah filled her glass and somewhere behind her, Eiji was disappearing and she gave his hand a squeeze, already missing him something terrible. Turning back to her favorite fall back and the best crutch she had ever known, Elliot picked up her drink, taking a long sip as her best friend continued to blather wildly besides her.

Reaching up to adjust her tiara as Noah toasted her, she blew him a kiss, picking up her own shot along with Morgan. The other girls response made her laugh and Elliot raised her glass, coloring already beginning to flood into her cheeks.

"To me!" Emptying the glass, she slammed it down besides Noah and wiped the edges of her mouth, having already given up on trying to keep her lip gloss in tact. There was a fluttering in the pit of her stomach that had nothing to do with Eiji, and as her skin started to warm, she picked up the drink Noah and made her and took a small sip before turning to her friends, looking a little more joyful.

"Okay everybody close their eyes! Morgan has to go hide." Yes she was going to encourage Draco's ridiculous idea, if not for any reason than it would provide them the opportunity to create a little mischief for a while.

[nate]

Sardines? What are we, twelve? Cavan Jr. pegged it: it's a crazy kids game. And I certainly don't want to be trapped in a close space with inebriated versions of anyone here.

Hmm...

Nate drummed his fingers on the bar as he tried to figure a way out of this. He took his shot glass, raising it when the others did.

"To Elliot," he murmured, barely audible. He downed the drink, barely feeling it.

Thank my father and wishes, I suppose.

Now, how to get out of this? Clearly denial is out of the question. Elliot and Draco have too much force of personality. For that matter, a drunk Morgan will probably be just as annoying. Which means that I'm along for the ride.

Doesn't mean I have to do it enthusiastically though. If I'm the second to the last, it means I barely have to put up with any idiocy, and I don't have to be the main fool next time. Perfect plan.

Now all I have to do is practice.

Chuckling, Nate closed his eyes and played with his shot glass. This ought to be amusing, at the least.

[҉ Kenneth Lorne]

Ken blinked. Someone had asked when Kellan and him broke up? Everyone knew they were inseperable. What the hell would drive someone to ask...

"Jessica?" Kenneth asked, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "You're jealous of Jessica?"

Those probably weren't the right words to use. Kellan wouldn't appreciate being accused of being 'jealous', but to Ken that's what it sounded like, so that's why he called her on it. He shook his head, wanting to just wrap his big arms around her and assure her that she had nothing to worry about, but he didn't for two reasons. Kellan was too pissed for a hug, and Ken was too irritated to try. Jessica Rey. He groaned.

"My half-nakedness around other girls bothers you?" He tried to find where the exact problem was with this. He could understand if Kellan didn't want him talking to other girls; that would make sense. It would be stupid, but he would understand it. But she'd clearly said that wasn't the case, and it was more his half-nakedness? He felt foolish and slow for not clicking in, and he wished that he could blame alcohol for his retarded mind. Maybe he would later, but right now he just felt dumb.

"Jessica Rey," he muttered darkly to himself, wiping a hand down his face and groaning again.

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

“I’m not jealous, Ken! I’m -” Kellan started, but she stopped herself right there because she knew that she was being jealous. She couldn’t help it, though. Just picturing Kenneth, her boyfriend, with that stupid brat made Kellan want to throw something at someone, particularly the two of them. Of all the girls in the whole school to flirt with, he had to pick Jessica Rey?

Kellan stepped away from her spot against the wall and paced a few steps down the long hall, then turned and paced a few more back. Her hands balled into fists around the fabric of her dress. She didn’t want to get mad, especially because this was not the time and place to have a fight with Kenneth, but he was right here, and Kellan didn’t think that she would be able to keep it in any longer.

“So what if I’m jealous and so what if bothers me?” she admitted. “You’re going to tell me, honestly tell me, that if you heard I was letting some random guy hang all over me while I was wearing, I don’t know, a bikini, you wouldn’t be upset?" She paused for only a moment before she kept going. "And maybe if it was someone else it might not be such a big deal, but Jessica Rey? Ken, she’s a stuck up brat whose goal is to make other people miserable. So excuse me for not wanting you to flirt with someone like her.”

Kellan let out a huff and stared Kenneth down accusingly. He had admitted to her before that he thought she was cute when she was angry, but she doubted that he’d be thinking that tonight. Not when she was being so serious and when one of his brilliant smiles wouldn’t do the trick.