>>> Are We There Yet? -The Bus Ride-

[elliotdavis]

Elliot checked his watch for what seemed like the ninetieth time. Traffic was horrible, and he seemed like he was catching every single red light. Great, just great. He anxiously glanced at his watch again and sighed. Just calm down, bud, you’ve got lots of time. He still had a good twenty minutes to make what was left of the ten minute trip from his house to the mall parking lot where the bus was parked, ready to ship a whole bunch of students to Vegas for the weekend. He hadn’t been previous years and quite honestly wasn’t going to come this year, why go half-way (is it half-way? I have no idea about American geography, so sue me) across the country when he could simply get drunk and waste away his life here in Valkyrie? The answer my friend, and isn’t it always, was a girl. A certain girl that Elliot couldn’t help but feel weak in the knees for was attending this trip and fucking hell if he wasn’t going to try and spend all the time her could with her.

Finally he was there, and as he pulled his 1998 red Honda Civic, a very generous gift from his father into an empty parking spot. The parking lot didn’t look too filled yet and the boy sighed a sigh of relief that he had gotten there on time. His worrying had begun this morning as he hastily threw clothes into a duffel bag and thought over everything. Elliot was not what you would call outgoing, or daring even, and for what he was doing this weekend he kinda had to be a bit of both. See, his whole plan was to spend time with Claire, get to know her more and make her fall in love with him. Farfetched? Yes. Idiotic? Maybe? Ambitious? Most definitely. However, he had pushed everything out of his mind and here he was, walking across the Valkyrie mall parking lot with a black Dakine back pack on his back and a large red duffel bag hooked over his shoulder.

He made his way past the little groupings of people and shoved his bag into the under carrier of the bus and glanced around at who was here. So far all he could see was a whole bunch of people he didn’t care about, but when he hoped on the bus he noticed at least one person he was happy to see. Claire Bartnett, the reason he was on this trip.

He had told himself earlier that he was stupid for thinking of them as any more then friends. Well, right now that’s all they were, but Elliot could feel himself falling into the trap of wanting more. It was an unfortunate circle that he seemed trapped in and couldn’t get out of. The sole purpose of this Vegas trip was to spend time with her outside the familiarity of Valkyrie. Plus, he needed to get out of here, even if it was only the weekend, it was a beginning.

Smiling, he came up to the seat Claire was in and slid in beside her, placing his backpack on the floor by his feet. ”I hope this seat wasn’t taken,”

he said to her, knowing full well that he wasn’t going to move even if it was. ”So, ready for Vegas?”[/color][/size][/blockquote][/color]

[Jason Lévesque]

It was a couple of minutes before anyone was near Jason, so it gave him time to think. Think about what had just happened. How was it physically possible? Sure, Jason worked out.. sometimes. Okay - it had been a while, but really, he thought it was silly to actually have the muse to break a sweat and look like an idiot with a weight. He still got women with his body, which was somewhat adequate. So what if he wasn't Tad and Chad? He must've had some slippery fingers from.. the condensation of the beer bottle.. yes, that was it. That's why Tacky-Miss-Tack-Tack could get the zipper undone, and yet he couldn't. But he couldn't! Argh. This would bother him the whole ride. And to make it worse, Reed Turner was actually going on this trip. What an asshole. Jason and Reed have never liked each other, for their own separate reasons. After hearing that Ashley, a very good friend of his, actually had interest in Reed was beyond him.

Just then, Jason watched as Chase Stillings made his way down the aisle. He was waving to his sister, and his sister's friends.. Daphne, wasn't it? He peered at Daphne a little closer, seeing that she was definitely growing out of her freshman body. Wow. How could he not see this before? Oh yes. A pink visor had momentarily taken over his body and soul. He watched as Chase chose the seat next to Jason but across the aisle of the bus. And it was like magic, but Chase immediately recognized Jason's depressed state. How did people do that? It always amazed him that people could look at others, and almost read them like books. Hell, if Jason could do that, he'd be wearing a golden, crystal watch and taking a fucking helicopter to Vegas. Come to think of it, he could just ask his father, but he knew his father was probably screwing his mom right near the Eiffel right now. Kinky.

"Yeah." Jason nodded, lying through his teeth as he watched a petite blonde make her way over, but having eyes on Jason's friend Chase almost immediately. It was like a tracking system women had, programmed in their brains. They always knew what they wanted. Sure, Jason knew most of the time what he wanted, but not currently. Lying was saving him these days. Little did he know he wasn't the only one. He watched as the blonde started making conversation with Chase, and slowly drifted away. He was tired. Sure, he'd allow anyone to sit next to him, or even talk, but for now effort meant nothing to him. Besides, he had Las Vegas, the place where effort and dreams meant everything, before him. If he'd make it through the bus ride, that is.

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[ally]

Being alone on the bus was just one of those things Alessandro finally decided when he saw most of the students head to the back to speak to their friends. He didn’t need friends anyway, not if he was going to Vegas, the land of everything a man could dream of from gambling, women and… to be honest that was all he could think of which could associate with Vegas but never fear more thoughts may occur during the trip up there.

Taking of his black hat the Italian soon ran his hands through his straightened brown hair with a sigh.
Maybe I should have brought me my I-pod; he thought finally as he placed his hat on the spare seat next to him. His hands down at his chest fiddling with the silver Kodak camera he had brought with him for personal use and of course school coursework use.

{Block ¬_¬, sorry.}

[Daphne Hayes]

[[Ok, the bus is now on the road to Las Vegas. Characters who have not made intros, should probably modify them that they are on the bus and not in the parking lot.
We will probably continue the bus for a little bit longer]]

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[freddy]

Over the top of her book, Claire barely saw someone slide into the seat next to her. Thinking it was some ignorant jerk that just wanted to sit somewhere, her eyes flickered up and she prepared to say, possibly a little rudely, that the seat was taken. She was a little taken aback upon seeing Elliot next to her already, and had to pay enough attention so that her smile didn’t break her face or something. Playing it cool, she closed her book and set it down, folding her arms over her folded legs and replying. “Does it matter if it was?” He might have gotten a kick out of pissing off the person that had been sitting there, had there been one. Then again, she would have too.

”So, ready for Vegas?”

“Oh hell yeah I am. But I don’t think Vegas is, or could ever be.” Claire said with a laugh, unfolding her legs again as the bus drove off from the parking lot. She wasn’t about to tell him that she’d already been awake for something like four hours, just because she was excited, but she did sound enthused. “Parties, drinking, and just hanging out. This is going to be a blast.” She’d never seen anyone at Valkyrie drunk before, but knowing some of those kids when they were sober, they were going to be hilarious to watch. Of course, Claire knew from the couple times she’d gotten drunk before that she was also a fun drunk. “Are you ready?”

As the bus drove on, she found herself feeling the sleep that she had been deprived of over night. Being in cars or busses had always made her more tired than she might have been were she actually on her own two feet. With the back of her hand, Claire covered her mouth as she yawned a little, and blinked a few times when her eyes began to water. Damn. So much for hanging out with Elliot the entire bus ride there. She hoped that the ride would seem a short one, so that she didn’t fall asleep and make a total idiot of herself. Either that or they got to some kind of stop, so she could run a mile or something to get her blood going.

[Daphne Hayes]

Daphne laughed at how Anne but a spin to it. It was true, when you wrote a rumor about someone, you were just giving them more publicity. Some people, just didn't need it. But if it was good or bad, it didn't matter, as long as people just knew your name, that's all that really mattered. It was like Valkyire had their own little Hollywood. If Britney was getting a divorce from Kevin it was just as big as Daphne having threesomes, and Anne in love with Mark Wood. "Mark Wood....isn't he that medicine guy?" she asked. She heard he was big into becoming a doctor or something like that. She shrugged, "Well, anyone interested in medicines must be spending too much time in the hospitals since not even we know who he is," she said with another laugh before turning her attention to the gorgeous new mystery man. "I'm sure you would. But, you know how many other girls are thinking the same exact thing as you are?" she said, which she was positive was the truth.

Daphne noticed that Anne punched her stomach after Oscar left. She looked at her funny and Anne told her it was a stomach ache, "Oh. Well, don't puke on me," she said, jokingly edging away from her. "It doesn't? Huh. I know he's... wow, I can't even explain him, but he's never acted that awkward before. Oh well, maybe we'll run into him more down there," she said referring to Vegas. Haley Summers, one of her friends from middle school, sat down in the seat across from the two girls. "Yeah, we were just checking him out too. We are about 95% sure he's Reed's brother. You know, the one that went to college a couple years ago in Los Angeles. But, we were like in eighth grade when he was a senior. But, Anne's convinced that she'll get to him first," she finished telling Haley with a giggle and took another sip of her coffee, which she kept in her hands because of - hello - no cup holders.

"So," Daphne started to the two girls, "it looks like everyone we know is here. Surpringly though, I thought more people would come..." she said as she looked at all the people littering the seats and talking with each other. "I wonder what the craziest thing that will happen down there, because you know, everyone on this bus will know about every little detail each of us do," she said as she sat back down in her seat and looked at both the girls again.

"Hello ladies and gentleman. This is your bus driver speaking. I just wanted to give you guys some information. Right now....we are leaving Valkyrie, and out next stop with me a pitstop about a couple hours from here, after that, our next stop will be Treasure Island Hotel!" The man said, who sounded to be about fifty and the enthusiam level much higher than highschooler's needed, but they were leaving Valkyrie as of now, and the only thing ahead of them was Vegas and fun, and behind them was the people of Valkyrie, preparing for their annual anniversary parade.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[leslie]

Ben arched an eyebrow as Faden reported that he liked closets, but didn’t say anything about it, just wondered what it was that he’d meant. He looked back and forth between the two as they talked about the amount of people on the bus, then about Cirque de Soleil. Ben had heard about the fantastic show before, as many people had, but had never actually seen it before. But if Laura was going with Faden, he figured that he should probably leave them to do their thing.

"How about you? You got any big plans for viva Las Vegas?"

Making sure my sister doesn’t do something stupid…He thought, inwardly scowling again. But, he managed to remain pleasant, and shrug his shoulders a little. “Nah. Just hanging out with whomever I find to chill with.” He replied. That was pretty much it too. He wasn’t sure what to do in Vegas, as he’d never been there before in his life.

((P.s. Because the bus is moving, Emilia's sitting on the bus, saying Hi to Luke.))

[elliotdavis]

The bus began to roll and Elliot could feel the anxiety rise in his chest. When he was younger he was that kid teachers hated to take on field trips, getting bus sick was another one of the boys charming traits. However, it had been awhile since he had fallen victim to it, and reassured himself that he could keep his breakfast down on the ride. Anyways, these buses had bathrooms, right? There was no way he was going to puke all over Claire and not only completely gross her out, but cause her to quite possibly hate him. He knew that if someone puked all over him, he wouldn’t necessarily feel too warm towards them.

“Oh hell yeah I am. But I don’t think Vegas is, or could ever be.” He looked over and smiled. He could just see all the goings on now and the fights that would erupt. He was more then sure that people who were best friends before hand would become enemies and numerous couples would fall victim to the temptations of Sin City. ”Fucking right, it’s gunna be wild,”

he replied and nodded that he was in fact ready. Or, at least he was now, earlier he had been sceptical about his intentions with going and had even contemplated backing out. It would be a douche bag thing to do, especially after he had told Claire he was for sure going, but Elliot was like that.

”I am now, I was stressing about stuff earlier though,”[/color] he shrugged his shoulders. ”But it’s all good now, and I couldn’t be anymore excited,”[/color] his mood was light and happy, and he hadn’t smoked that morning. Don’t get me wrong, he thought about, but then decided he had the rest of the weekend to get high and stuffed his stash in his bag.

He looked across Claire and out the window as they sped by what was left of Valkyrie, and out of the corner of his eye, caught her yawn. He blinked a couple times behind his glasses and yawned himself. ”Damn you,”[/color] he teased her, covering his mouth. Yawns were contagious, it was a fact and Elliot was no stranger to falling victim to it. He himself was barely tired and a little wired on coffee at the moment. Claire, however looked like she wanted to fall asleep. It was going to be a long ride and he wouldn’t blame her if she did. ”Tired much?[/color] [/size][/blockquote][/color]

[frankie]

Frankie was probably one of the only kids not tremendously psyched about this trip. Las Vegas wasn’t really his scene. He was a rocker, he respected women, gambling is the best way to loose all your money and end up in a shit load of trouble. He wasn’t a dance club type of person, even though those were the only clubs you could find in Vegas. He could go and see a few bands play, since he’d checked up on that, though no bands that he really, desperately liked were actually playing that night. Just by coming Frankie doomed himself to being that black sheep kid who was starting shit with bouncers for the hell of it, breaking glass and kicking people in the teeth. After all, if he was going to go to Vegas, he might as well rock the hell out of it while still respecting the fact that he was one of the few dudes with moral standing, black eyes and broken bones being the least of his concerns.

Getting ready for this trip had been nothing huge or outrageous, just packing clothes about a half an hour before he left while he talked to his mother, half sister and half brother back in Illinois. His brother taunted him the entire time for not being excited about it, since half naked women were about as common as flies on a horse’s ass, but Frankie really couldn’t just bring himself to be. Frankie had been to plenty of parties in his life time and this was going to be nothing other than a party. His mother told him to use protection, not to get a girl pregnant, and that he should wear those pants she thought made his butt look good. And his little sister told him he was an asshole, that was pretty special too.

Frankie’d arrived on the bus only to find there wasn’t really anyone he could spot on first glance that he really wanted to say hi to or start talking to. Maybe it was just because he wasn’t as pumped for this as everyone else that curbed his usual social, attention whorish ways. That, and he wasn’t a morning person, and would probably end up opening the window on his side of the bus and smoking a few cigarettes and then passing out. He’d been out till one in the morning last night working on some cars he’d gotten from a junkyard. Not the most productive use of his time, but it made him feel better about an anger with life that he couldn’t place.

Sitting near the front of the bus in a seat by himself, wearing an Iron Maiden shirt, the jeans his mother’d told him to wear, his aviator sunglasses to hide the fact that he was partially stoned and the small white earbuds to his ipod in his ear, Frankie was perfectly content all by his lonesome. That was pretty unusual in itself, but whatever. Some people might have considered Vegas to be hardxcore, but it wasn’t to Frankie. To him it just felt like a bunch fake people in fake scenes, trying to build a name on a mountain of farce and false respect.

[Haley Summers]

Haley smiled tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She glanced back up at the man. "Wait, Reed's older brother?" She smiled looking back at him, holy hell it was. "Riley. I remember him." She said. She hadn't seen him in forever. They had known eachother, they weren't friends or anything due to the extreme age difference, which of course didn't seem so extreme anymore. They had just talked everyonce and a while, joked aroud. She had been chubby the last time she had seen him. He looked good.

" But, Anne's convinced that she'll get to him first,"

Haley smiled, amused, "Yes well she probably will, I mean sure other girls will be trying but who's got a chance against our dear friend Anne Lévesque, right?" She said with a small smirk. Haley wasn't really kidding either. Anne's one of those girls that simply rule the school. Ever seen Mean Girls? Haley didn't trust her but she did like her. She always saw Anne with this special confidence in herself and Haley only wished she had that confidence.

Haley glanced around around, "You're right. It's full and all of the truely improtant people are here and yet it feels empty. Strange." She said, leaning back into the chair. She smiled internally as the bus rode down the street. She loved the feeling of moving cars and the white noise of the motor. She looked back at Anne and Daphne.

[bridgetainsworth]

One of the last people on the bus was Bridget Ainsworth. It took forever for her luggage was already being unloaded by her family's driver/butler. She definitely wouldn't unload her Louis Vuittons into the bus herself and wouldn't realize someone kid at there school to do it for her. So she figured the easiest thing would just to have Stewart (her driver/butler) do it. I mean thats why he was paid wasn't he, to do things for them. Her bags were pretty heavy, though. She tried not to over-pack, knowing Bridget, that was impossible. She took enough clothes to last for for about four months. Probably more clothes then most people had. But she had to make sure she had the right outfit for every situation.

She had took her seat about five minutes before the bus was about to leave. She had chosen a seat right near Daphne and Anne, her best friends. She was excited for Los Vegas. No, if defiantly wasn’t her first time there. She had gone last year with the school and with her family a few times. But this year, she felt she would get the most out of it. Being down in Vegas with her best friends, probably partying the whole time, what more could a girl want? She planned on being at all the hot clubs, eating at some fabulous restaurants, and way more.

Bridget wasn’t really wearing anything special. She just wore a plain white cami with jeans. All her cute outfits were packed or she just wanted to wear something comfy on the bus. She was too tired this morning to think of cute first, then comfy. Her hair was straitened and she was wearing a white head band. She also wore new designer sun glasses and a purse.

“Yeah, and I bet you a bunch of fake rumors will go around about what we will do. ” joining in on the conversation with Daphne, Anne, and Haley.

(Sorry for the sucky post)

[chase]

Chase simply smiled amused and shook his head. Jason was one crazy guy. He was even more sex -crazed than Chase. Inf act, compared to Jason, Chase looked innocent. He decided, if his friend truly was hung over, the last thing he needed were a bunch of people talking to him. So Chase simply leaned back in his chair and looked up as Alaura came boucing over.

Alaura, now there was an interesting girl. She was wild, care free, hot in a slightly less conventional way than most around here and was not a relationship gal. They had met a while ago and were both steadily open for experimentation. He smirked a bit as she came and sat down in front of him. "Why hello there Alaura. What brings you to Vegas?" He asked, not really caring that much, besides he already knew the answer.

((Really Cruddy post, sorry. Chase muse is currently down for repair))

[faden]

“Nah. Just hanging out with whomever I find to chill with.”

Faden glanced at Laura and glanced back at Ben and smiled, "You know Ben, I'm sure you could come with us to the show, right Laura?" He offered the option very casually. He was thankful Ben hadn't asked about the closet comment. Faden wasn't gay. He only mean that he liked closets. When he was upset or something he's hide in the closet. Because that's where he always hid from his old foster family.

Laura smiled, "You should, It'll be a blast. Unless Cirque de Soleil, isn't your thing, which it might not be, but it could still be fun." She said with a grin. It would be great if Ben could come, she thought, but if he didn't want to he shouldn't feel obligated to say yes. She glanced at Faden for a quick moment, glad he invited Ben, but praying Faden hadn't meant anything by it

[Anne Lévesque]

Anne felt rumbling of her seat and an engine start to roar, feeling everything vibrate. Earthquake? Something wrong with the car? Oh. Nope - it was just started. Yes, this only simply proved, by Anne's sudden reaction, that this was her first time on a bus like this. She sighed with little relief as she thought quizzically about Mark Wood. Usually names sounded familiar, but this didn't quite ring a bell. The medicine guy.. still didn't know. But she was sure of it that she'd investigate. She smirked as Daphne then added how there's probably every single sex position in most of the girl's minds as they checked out Reed's brother. But Anne was confident that she'd land him. Shrugging off the fact that Daphne was very suspicious of the awkward meeting on the bus, what could a girl do? Anne simply shrugged, as she glanced nervously out the window to see the bus edging onto the freeway. She checked her nails - a reflex of nervousness.

"Yeah. Let's hope so." Anne said, which would sound light hearted and dazed as if it didn't really matter. But inside, those four words were hopeful, sarcastic, confused and all around messed up. She didn't like analyzing those things though, so she tried to push Lyon out of her head. Again. Her mood enlightened when Daphne told Haley about her mission to get the student teacher, in which Ms. Summer's replied with a reply she always did. A compliment. Anne had always thought that it could be fun to be Haley Summers for a day, but after a while, she'd feel quite dull. She smiled at Haley and Daphne, then laughed. So the race was on. Which Valkyrie girl would get the older man? Wasn't it illegal? Who cared? Not Anne. Anne watched as Bridget joined the conversation. Bridget was one of Anne's best friends, the Trio of Daphne, Bridget and Anne. She smirked as the girls remarked how everything would be noted and probably exaggerated ten times more.

"I guess the saying; 'what ever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas' is almost impossible for Valkyrie students, hm?" Anne joked, as she examined the students around the bus. It was oddly quite empty, although she recognized a lot of familiar faces. "Oh, before I forget. I got these outrageous passes into Tangerine Lounge, thanks to daddy dearest." Anne smiled, excited already. Nevada. The life of Vegas. "And I mean it, VIP room, plush service and, of course, he'll be coming along." Anne said, nodding her head over at the student teacher. "He just doesn't know it yet."

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[leslie]

To be honest, even if Faden and Laura were together, Ben was glad that they had invited him to go to the Cirque de Soleil with them. At least now he had something to do besides stalk his sister. Although he had already made up his mind to go-it had only taken a heart beat-Ben decided that it might be best to pretend to think about the situation for a moment. He didn't know why he was so excited about it; maybe because Laura wanted him to go. In fact, that was probably why.

So, he nodded enthusiastically. "That would be great, if you guys don't mind too much. I've heard that it's really amazing." His parents had gone to a show a few years back, and that was a lot of what they had talked about for a good week or so. Ben had also seen a small amount of one of the DVD's that had been made for the Cirque de Soleil, and had thought it was pretty cool. If he hadn't been on his way out the door, he might have watched the whole thing.[/color]