`SO RICH, SO PRETTY*, event fourteen.

[Edmund "Charlie" Rose]

••CAT, CHARLIE••

who wants to be right as rain
it's better when something is wrong
you get excitement in your bones
and everything you do's a game

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Charlie Rose was a laid back fellow. Oftentimes, there was next to nothing in the mortal world that could get him genuinely upset. His reaction to many an upsetting event was often a shrug and a indifferently reassuring thought of the 'happy go lucky' nature floating through his mind. He himself did not know why. Those sorts of emotions just rarely came to him. When she had been younger, Cat had noted this and started experimenting; executing numerous annoying actions and observing her brother to see if it made him angry. Out of all the countless trials she had performed, only two had succeeded in making Charlie Rose angry. One of them had been to steal a fifty he had mysteriously procured from his wallet. The second had been to eat the last of the chocolate doughnuts, those Charlie hadn't been so much angry as he had been placidly put off. This was before he had discovered his love of the cello, so harming his beloved instrument had been out of the question, though it probably would work now. It didn't happen easily, and the only advantage that had come to Cat out of the whole ordeal had been the last three chocolate doughnuts she had eaten. Charlie hadn't known about any of it, either. Cat had considered telling him, to see if it would tilt his perpetual state of contented placidity, but thought better of it.

So, not possessing a self confidence issue, when the striking girl he was attempting to talk to didn't turn around, Charlie was not so much angry, miffed, annoyed, offended, etc as he was curious. She was either ignoring him or ridiculously absorbed in examining the painting that hung on the wall before her. Charlie stood still behind her for a moment, an intrigued smile now playing on his lips, and watched her, waiting to see if she would see turn around to acknowledge him. He stuck his hands in the pockets of the pants of his suit and waited patiently, focusing mainly on the back of her head and her long, sandy blonde hair. Charlie liked the color. Much better than the practically white, "platinum" blonde that looked as if it had been bleached within an inch of its life that some girls went around sporting. Suddenly, however, Charlie's focus was cut as Anabel moved away from where she had been standing, evidently having grown tired of examining the portrait. Charlie cast a quick glance at it before he followed after her, wondering what had possibly been oh so very fascinating. He saw nothing particularly special about it. Sure, it was a nice piece of artwork, but to him it didn't seem to be something too terribly absorbing. At least not so absorbing that you wouldn't hear someone talking right behind you. Assuming, of course, that the girl had really been absorbed and not giving him the cold shoulder. He followed after her brightly, his gait cheerful. She was now examining something in her hands, something that was reflecting the light that the room was providing. Charlie stole a glance over her shoulder. It was a crystal swan. Pretty.

After a few moments of watching her study the crystal sculpture, Charlie decided to give in and talk to her again to try and make her aware of his presence. "Excuse me," his tone was upbeat and cheery and reaching a hand out of his pocket, he tapped her on one of her rather frail looking shoulders. "Might you be deaf?" his voice conveyed a pleasantness, that he wasn't trying to be rude, and that if indeed she had been ignoring him earlier; she wasn't going to throw him off that easily. Ah, silly Charlie, it won't do you much good.

Meanwhile, in the hallway she had tugged her counterpart into, Catherine Rose was taking another quick sip of her champagne. She hadn't counted on getting caught by a fellow minor - assuming he was a minor, that is; she wasn't quite sure. Well, actually, she had been thinking that a fellow underaged individual might see her, in fact she really expected it. But she had, in no way, thought that one might actually confront her about it. It was really quite sweet and annoying at the same time. Just looking at the quietly exotic looking male, she could tell that he was the gentlemanly type, just by the way he held himself alone, without including any prior knowledge; such as any words he had so far spoken. He really did seem to be a decent person, so about ninety nine percent of the entirety of her annoyance dissipated quite rapidly. The last percent was only there because of what he said next and the way he put his hands in the air in a gesture of self defense and innocence. "Don't worry, I'm not looking for trouble. Just making sure you don't end up doing something you regret." Cat couldn't help it. She rolled her eyes lightly. "It was mostly a joke, good sir," she said, accentuating this statement with another sip of her champagne. "You don't have to be so literal." That was the problem about the gentleman type. Half of them couldn't take her sense of humor, though she had by no means been joking about taking revenge on him, should her parents be informed through some fault of his. "And although I do appreciate the concern, I am quite positive that I won't manage to get drunk on one glass of champagne. Believe it or not, I am not that much of a severe lightweight." She crossed her free arm over her abdomen, which was enveloped in the blue, slightly sheer-ish material of her dress, in a semi defiant pose. "I'm Carlito Bagalayos by the way." With these words, Cat was quite sure she caught wind of some kind of foreign accent and it immediately elevated this young man's level of interestingness. "I'm Cat," she said, unwrapping her arm and extending it for a handshake. "Where did you get that interesting accent of yours?" she caught herself actually trying to put some charm into the words. Hmm.

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STATUS done!
WORD COUNT 1049
FORMATTING by me, inspiration from all other v-side lovelies
LYRICS 'right as rain' by adele
TAGGED cat; carlito, charlie; anabel <33
ATTIRE cat & charlie
LOCATION the silver estate
DATE may 4, 2007
NOTES came out better than i expected.

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[Shay Anderson]

SHAY A. ANDERSON

[/font][/url]

bad girl, drunk by six, kissing someone else’s lips
smoked too many cigarettes today.[/color][/font]
i'm not happy, i’m not happy when i act this way,
- - - - - - - - - - -
([/b][/size] BUT WHAT CAN I DO? )[/font][/size][/url]

May 4th, 2007 – early evening.
Silver estate, charity event.[/color][/font][/center]

S

[/color][/size]he couldn’t really pinpoint the time when she decided to change. Not officially, anyway. Not at all, actually. I guess you could say it had happened over time, slow and natural. Little things here and there, so that no one noticed a whole lot of a difference six months later. Kind of like when you lose weight the “healthy” way. Four or so pounds a month for six months equals twenty-four pounds. A significant number in and of itself, but if it happens that slowly, you don’t notice as quickly as you would if it happened in three or four weeks. That’s the way it happened, slow and natural. Or unnatural, if you look at it differently than she did. It was one of those things that could happen to anybody. One day, you’re sitting in your room all alone, musing over anything and everything. It’s Saturday night. When you’re a seventeen year-old female with a fairly positive social status, you should not be in your room, alone, musing over anything and everything on a Saturday night. You should be out with your friends, doing whatever the fuck you’d like. It doesn’t have to be partying. She used to like going to Mellow Drinks and People for the poetry slam the regulars usually held every Saturday. See? A slow change. Her appearances became less regular, slowly filtering into one a month and then into nothing at all. But it happened so gradually, nobody took much notice.

O[/color][/size]ne Saturday night, she had skipped the poetry slam in favour of musing over her life. She wasn’t happy, didn’t like who she was becoming. Didn’t really like who she was, come to think of it. She was bored, irritated. Valkyrie, California had so many things to offer someone her age. A world-class education she was ignoring. A chance to get to know All the Right People, which she was not doing. It was clichéd, but it was true. Isn’t that part of the reasons that some clichés becomes, well, clichés? Because they work each and everytime? There’s nothing wrong with going a tried-and-proved route, is there? Either way, something needed to change. Now, Shay Anderson prides herself in being a strong, independent individual. Since a young age, she’d done, for the most part, what she wanted when she wanted to do it. So, in her eyes, there is absolutely no problem in doing something outside of the so-called “norm”. So, you could blame peer pressure on the reasoning behind why she decided to change that one lonely Saturday night. You shouldn’t but you could. Completely her choice. Ask anybody. Or, don’t. They’ll probably lie and say that she was pressured by her B-list friends, which could be seen as true. It isn’t, but since when does anyone listen to the truth anymore? We’re all media-whores and you know it. Anyway. So, what do you do when you’re unhappy and bored with your life? You do something about it. Just like when you look at yourself and finally decided that’s it, you need to do something about this ugly weight of yours. When you live in Valkyrie, California, and you’re unhappy and bored, there’s only so much you can do. She decided to change for the worse.

I[/color][/size]t was her decision, as I’ve already said, but it was still a change nonetheless. Whatever the reasoning behind it, she changed in the period of just a couple of months. Her best friend earlier this year had been Kiran Slade, queen bitch of all failing supermodels. How would that sit with you if you were one of the artistic few? She was everything they despised in people. Put a strain on her friendship with her other – actual – friends. Mysteriously enough, some of those more artistic cliques can be just as cruel, if not more, as the A-listers. Betray or ditch them, you’re on the street. Bye-bye, we’re not friends anymore. Don’t call me. Left in a similar situation, it seemed evident that the Irish female was going to have to change. Her only remaining friends with the popular girls. So, she did it. What was happening over the past couple of months – more provocative clothing, alcohol on more than a few occasions, parties every night of the week – turned into a full-blown identity change. She was lost for awhile there, but who wouldn’t be? You’re not quite on the sand, but you’re not in the water yet, either. Somewhere in between, wet sand with the water tickling at your little piggies. Might as well make it official, right? Run right on into that water and splash up a storm!

S[/color][/size]he had always been a “go big or go home” kind of girl. She wasn’t afraid to do bold, unexpectedly daring things. What did she have to lose? She was comfortable in her own skin, had a solid set of friends behind her ( or, she hoped so ) and a set in reputation. Shay Anderson is not someone who changes personality easily. Once sarcastic, always sarcastic. Once fun, always fun. See what I mean? All this new valk!girl, for lack of a better term, image was shifted the spotlight from sweet and artistic Shay to sarcastic and slightly impulsive Shay. And there was nothing anybody could do about it. So perhaps that was part of the reason she didn’t care anymore. After the initial shock of always having something to do afterschool wore off, it had become a blur. A lifestyle you could settle into easily because it happened gradually, natural and slow. The vast majority of Valkyrie knew that she sat with more socially visible people during the lunch hours. They saw her stumbling along the sidewalk, going to Bare with a group of giggly girlfriends. They knew she wasn’t the artistic freak caught in-between two worlds. Things are so much simpler when you take the plunge into the icy waves of the water, or scurry back onto the dry sand, standing as far from the water as legal. So she did. Dived straight into the water and never looked back. Which would explain her behaviour at this cocktail party/charity function…thing. EPIC, was it? What kind of a name for a charity is that?

I[/color][/size]t was only difficult seeing the look on her father’s face when he knew exactly what was going on with his daughter. He couldn’t do anything about it, didn’t even try. Painful or not, she did it anyway. But no time to think about that now. She was busy goggling at the latest member of the dark-side that had been recruited. Out of all of the pretty innocent girls of the Valks, her last guess would have been Nina Suresh. Unexpected, but it worked. She liked it; she had this attitude she hadn’t ever noticed in the gorgeous she-Suresh before. It worked. Excellent. Holding another flute of champagne, one arm crossed over her slim midsection and supporting the elbow of the arm holding the flute, Shay grinned once more at Nina as she declared she was drinking. It made things like these so much more fun to have someone to be all “dark side” with. They did have cookies, so it was good from the get-go. But you know what I mean. “You honestly thought I was asking about a test. No one studies for those things, anyway.” Responding to her earlier, confused, comment, she suppressed an amused laugh. “Moping around if no way to live your life, I must agree. Went through all of that after I stopped being friends with Kiran. Miserable shit, isn’t it? But hey, going out with a girl like Bailey is definitely an excellent way to feel better. She makes everything more fun.” It was true. She had lost connection with Bailey in the last several weeks, but that hadn’t changed her opinion of the stunning Australian. Girl knew how to have a good time. Although, with all she had go through with losing her sister, it was surprising she hadn’t been the one moping about. Surprising, but good. Shows strength when you can, sort of, go on like that. I guess.

S[/color][/size]ipping at her champagne flute mildly, her blue eyes sweeping about the extravagant mansion surrounding them, she raised her eyebrows as she inspected their background more. How much money did these people have? Fuck, how did this much wealth actually exist? Draining her second flute of champagne, the model had just begun to search around for a waiter when she heard a familiar accented voice behind her. Speak of the devil. Sorta. “Bailey!” Smiling in greeting, she looked over to Nina as well, amusement crossing her face. It was such a dramatic change, an impressive change. “Who’s here? Someone you – Oh. ” Looking over Bailey’s, who was busy inspecting her shoes, shoulder at her words, she raised her eyebrows as an attractive stranger approached them. Did he just call her sis? Ugh, gag me. Good-looks can fix things though. Arching an eyebrow at Jules, she smirked in mild hilarity. “Should that say something about you, then?” The same twisted smile on her face as she addressed the second Mitchell to have joined them, she raised her champagne flute in greeting. Meeting new people was always a fun thing, right? Awkward and irritating, but fun. If they weren’t a total bore. Fuck. She was turning into her father. Awesome.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/font]

STATUS,, complete.
LENGTH,, 1570 words.
CLOTHING,, click name.
NOTES,, -sigh- this ranting bug…georgie said it was my turn to post. XD
CREDITS,,lyrics to madonna.
format & graphics to me, inspiration from lainey.

[Nina Suresh]

NINA SURESH,

- - - - -
something has changed within me,
something is not the same,
- - - - -

Tonight was a much more important night to Nina Suresh then others probably realized. This event wasn't just a chance to catch up with friends and do her part for charity, not that she was anyway, but tonight Nina was officially getting off her lazy butt and doing something with her life. No more sitting around at home, bored to tears. Literally. That was what she'd sunk to. It must have been quite tragic to watch such a bubbly, sweet girl like little Nina Suresh falling into a slow, sad depression. She hadn't quite hit rock bottom thankfully but give it a week and she could have easily reached it if Bailey hadn't stepped in when she had. It was sort of strange that Bailey was the one helping Nina out when it was Bailey who's younger sister had been shot in that tragic shooting incident just a few weeks back. Bailey seemed quite fine compared to Nina, who had only lost a best friend and boyfriend but not to death. They had just left town. Still, Nina wasn't complaining or anything. She was glad as hell that someone had finally taken action. As crappy as she'd been feeling, it was partly her choice to keep sinking lower. Honestly, she had lost interest in everything for a while. No boyfriend, not many friends, grades slipping, father always working and a mother who seemed determined to pretend that life was perfect. Then slowly, slowly but surely, Nina stopped being interested in anything and stopped putting in effort toward anything. She just stopped caring. Thank heavens for Bailey though.

The other night when Bailey had dragged Nina out of the house, Nina had been somewhat hesitant. She just wasn't the party type at all. She got drunk a little too easily and having a doctor as a dad didn't help her. She got the talk about drinking sensibly all the time. But that night, when Bailey insisted that she drink, and drink a lot, something inside Nina had suddenly clicked. As her speech because less and less pronounced and she slowly forgot all about this Logan Connelly guy, she realized something. She had been missing out on this lifestyle for so long but she didn't have to anymore. This was a part of her, it felt unusually natural and as much as she'd always tried to deny it, she always would be a valk!girl inside. Growing up in Valkyrie, Nina had always tried to deny her true self. She'd always refused to cave into peer pressure and follow the leads of her fellow neighbours. She refused to become like Bailey, Bella, Anne, Daphne and all those other elite girls. She hadn't wanted to because it seemed like she was just following the crowd but maybe she was just not willing to admit that perhaps she was just like them, deep down. Now she was sick of denying this part of herself that was dying to escape and tonight she was making sure her old self realized that. Tonight she officially accepted that she had the potential to be a valk!girl and she was willing to take the challenge. She was ready to change, for better or worse.

"You honestly thought I was asking about a test. No one studies for those things, anyway." Well duh. Now Nina felt kind of stupid. Wrinkling her nose at Shay, she giggled. "Well, you sounded pretty convincing to me. And to our parents thankfully." Glancing back in their parents direction, Nina bit her lip again. It was a bad habit she seemed to be doing for no reason these days. Just whenever she felt a little unsettled or anxious apparently. Well that explained why now. She was definitely feeling both unsettled and anxious, still adjusting to her new self. She looked back to Shay as she heard her speak again and nodded with an amused smile, taking another long sip of her champagne, finishing it off already. Brilliant. "Ah, so true. Bailey knows how to have fun. I'm so glad she dragged me out the other night." Nina giggled lightly as she turned to replace her empty champagne flute with a full one. Much better. As she took a nice long sip and let the effects of champagne start to sink in, Nina spotted a familiar face approaching her and Shay. Speak of the devil. "Hey ladies." Nina took another sip of her champagne and waved enthusiastically at Bailey as she got closer. "Bailey! Haaaii!" she squealed, a little too high pitched. See this was why no one gave her alcohol. Two glasses and the effects were already taking place. Quite sad really. "Well Nina, don't you scrub up nicely. You look smoking." Nina blushed slightly and gave a quick twirl for the other two's amusement. "Thaaank you. You look pretty hot yourself!" she added with a small smirk, raising her own champagne flute back at Bailey.

And suddenly things got much more interesting. Hearing Bailey's odd comment about someone being here, Nina opened her mouth to speak but Shay beat her to it. "Yeah...who?" A crinkle appeared in her forehead as she took another sip of her champagne and looked around in confusion. "Well now sis, don't look too excited to see me." Oh hello there. Nina fell silent for a moment as she took in the extremely attractive guy currently with his arm around Bailey. Wait - back up a second. Sister? As in he was related to Bailey? This wasn't Adrian though, that's for sure. So another brother she hadn't told Nina about? Why on earth hadn't Bailey introduced Nina to him before? Jeez, Nina needed to have a good talk to Bailey later. Bailey didn't seem too happy to see him though, jerking away from him. Nina sipped her champagne quietly, a small smirk sitting on her lips as she watched Bailey and the stranger. "Jules is the name, by the way because she sure as hell isn't going to introduce me." Nina couldn't help noticing that Jules seemed to be looking at her a little more than the other two. She giggled softly at Shay's comment and tugged at the hem of her dress again, trying to get used to the short length. So what did Bailey have against Jules? Probably just typical sibling rivalry. Finally Nina spoke up, a slightly flirtatious tone in her sweet voice, "Hi Jules, Nina Suresh. So you're Bailey's brother?" she sent a brief, friendly glare to Bailey before continuing, "I guess that makes us neighbours! I don't remember seeing you around though...?" Nina raised a curious eyebrow towards Jules.

- - - - -

STATUS; finished
WORD COUNT; 1,104
TAGS; shay, bailey, jules
TIME/PLACE; the silver estate, evening of may fourth
CREDITS; format is mine. lyrics are from 'defying gravity' from wicked, the musical and banner was made by woweeitskaex @ caution v.2
OUTFIT; nina
NOTES; Couldn't wait any longer to use these adorable banners xD NULES <33333

- - - - -

[Jordin Ames]

Peter & Jordin,


I wanna turn the whole thing upside down
I'll find the things they say just can't be found
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Jordin had never really been in a relationship before. Not really. There had been guys she crushed on who ended up using her and there was only one guy who she had dated for longer than a few weeks, but it turned out, he was just using her as well. Adrian Mitchell on the other hand was her boyfriend. The other guys did not matter anymore. Not when he was there for her. Jordin did not know what it felt like to lose a parent, a sibling, etc. Nor did she know what it felt like to lose a good friend to a gun. So it was pretty obvious to include that she did not know what it felt like to lose both in one day. She could imagine what it might be like but chances are it would not come close to the actual agony of it all. She imagined that if it had been her she would mourn the family member more and then feel guilty for not thinking about the friend. She would probably find some way to blame herself. But still, she didn't know. She couldn't know. No one could know until it actually happened. What Jordin did know, one hundred percent was that with Adrian, there was no jock using her for sex, there was no Joey Adams, there wasn't even a Parker Connelly. There wasn't an Amanda Summitt, or any scandal, there wasn't a scandal star. It was just them. Her and Adrian. Girl who adores a boy.

So as girl hugged boy tightly, and felt his arms around her, all she could do was hope her heart wasn't bruising the inside of her ribcage. If only she had a larger brain to store every tiny smidge of detail of her time with him, she didn't want to miss a thing. To tell the honest truth, them getting together, yeah not an easy task. And most of that was her fault and her lack of self esteem. While everyone spotted his feelings for her off the bat, it took him getting drunk and punching her date to get her to notice. And then she had been angry because she had thought Adrian was in on the lie Tito was trying to pull over her head. And just... it wasn't easy for them together but so far, at least on her end, staying together had been the easiest thing in the world. The Mitchell boy was an integrated part of her life and she was sticking to him. Everything else could wait, but she needed to be there for him through this. Even if at times it felt as though he might not even want her to be. She felt him pull away, out of the hug and watched him as he glanced at her and the floor. She gave a small supportive smile before he then asked:

"So uh, do you want to head inside then?”

[/i] Jordin smiled when he put out his arm. She wanted to tell him she appreciated him trying so hard. She put her hand on his arm, linking them before nodding, "Good plan." She responded before they went inside the large mansion for an evening neither of them probably wanted to be at. Now, don't get her wrong, Jordin was sort of a fan of these events. She loved getting dressed up and feeling like she was part of society, what she wasn't a fan of was the timing of this sort of event because as much as she liked them, she knew Adrian was not exactly the most formal guy. Nor would she want to be anywhere near this chasm if she was having a rough time because the judge-mentality and curiosity of the people inside this grand hall was ridiculous and not something anyone wanted to deal with when they were not in the mood. And yet Adrian was here, he was trying and she respected him for that. But honestly, if they could spend the night, snuggled while watching a movie, relaxed and with no peering, sadistic little eyes on them, she would be far more comfortable. As they entered, she gazed around. It was definitely beautifully decorated, expensive. The place was already fairly full too. She looked over to Adrian, "Do you want something to drink?" She asked, offering to go get some.

---

Peter knew Daphne was not new to being pushed into reactions by her fellow classmates. Anyone at her level of popularity was going to have to deal with it. One of the ways you get used to it is learning quick, sharp and painful comebacks so this why he was surprised by Coco's little rhetoric with Daphne because Daphne didn't seem to come back with a double edged sword as she might have had the situation been different. He watched the pretty brunette's face as the pretty blonde dug in the claws and it seemed to actually be affecting Daphne instead of just bouncing back off and falling to the ground. "I'm glad you've been keeping yourself busy." Peter looked back at Coco as Daphne gave the final departing note. He watched as the blonde made her way through the crowd. She could be so different sometimes. He remembered the school shooting and he remembered what it had meant. Coco had been another person. He had so many conflicting views on Ms. Lehoux it gave him a headache. When they first met she was this sexy enigma who was fun to mess with and he loved the small exchanges of wit as they attempted to glue their bodies together. Then she became this girl that as much as he was attracted to was just fun to annoy. But then it changed somehow.

It changed from this relationship with daphne being a fun way to annoy coco, to annoying Coco being a fun way of being with Daphne. And then the school shooting happened which decided it would throw out everything he knew about Coco out the window. He saw her scared, vulnerable, even cry. But the most important thing he saw that day was how much he seemed to affect her and it threw him off. He sort of assumed that to Coco, he was just a little toy for her to play with and the only reason she was even slightly frustrated with what was going down with him and daphne was because she was being told she couldn't play with new plaything she had found. It probably a least started like that so when Coco had looked at him and asked "What have you done to me?" He had not been able to give her an answer because he had no idea. "I-I can't. This. Anymore." Peter heard Daphne's voice and felt as though his throat was in his stomach. He thought he might have a fair idea what was coming next. God what had happened between her and dean? "Sorry. I mean... Actually I don't know what I mean." Peter shifted to face her more squarely, he raised his brow slightly, urging her to continue.

"Ok. I see it now. It'll always be Coco for you and I get that. You wanted to make her jealous, and she is now. So I don't see anymore why we're together..."[/i] Peter nodded, he knew it was coming. He had and yet he was still fighting to keep some anger down, "It hasn't been about making Coco jealous for awhile Daph and you know that." He began, "Don't try to play it off like I completely used you to get to her. Or is it still about you making people see you can have a relationship?" Peter added, not exactly with a happy tone but he was keeping his voice controlled. He didn't want to make a scene, not for the sake of the people around him, or his father but more so he didn't want to give Coco the satisfaction. Nor did he want to shame Daphne at all. "I want to be someone's Coco, someone's Amanda, someone's Brianna," Peter shook his head, "You want to be someone's Coco? I didn't know you were so experimental." Ahh sarcastic rhetoric is so useful as a defense-mechanism. And probably not the best time to rear it's ugly head but what could you do? It's Peter. "I've just always been that girl. The girl that somehow finds herself in the middle of someone else's relationship that she just doesn't understand until she gets hurt. Or... about to get hurt." Yeah Peter couldn't say much to that one. Well he could have but here Daphne was, someone he cared about, trying to be truthful. He just listened this time. "I just want someone to want me as mucha s you want Coco."

Peter shook his head, "Daph, I don't want Coco anymore. It was an amusing little game nothing more." Now that... that was just a lie. even Peter knew it was something more. He might not have a clue how MUCH more but he knew it was more than just a game now. But he knew it wouldn't do anything. It was over. "If it's any constellation, as fake as this relationship started, you were the most honest relationship I've ever been in. But, I think this is where we should... break up." He nodded, having known this was the direction she was going, but hearing her say the actual words stung more than he had expected. He swallowed back and sore before shrugging, "It's not so much a comfort as it is pathetic." He said plainly, but he forced a small smile in her direction, "Not that it wasn't true for me as well." He nodded again before glancing around the room for a moment. He needed some air and he didn't want to stand here and have some long drawn out depressing break up. It was over, Daphne had just decided it so. He stood straight, brave face as always and patted Daphne on the back, "See ya 'round Hayes." He said as casually as his voice could push out before making his way through the crowd and out into the large beautiful grounds of the Silver Estate, not before grabbing his drug of choice, a white russian, before hand. He took a drink from the glass as he pulled his tie loose. When's this shak party starting so he can shitfaced?

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[/color][/center]
STATUS, complete
CRED, format to Lainey and graphics to me
WORD COUNT, 1788
LYRICS, Jack Johnson
CLOTHES, Peter and jordin
TAGGED, daphne and Coco and Adrian
I SAY, YAY, finally, sorry for the delay
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/font]

[isaaclacroix]

MATTEO & ISAAC
Mirrors on the ceiling,
the pink champagne on ice
And she said 'We are all just prisoners
here of our own device'
-----------------
may 4, 2007, early evening
Silver estate

To be fairly honest, Matteo did not think that he would be taking Haley Summers, a girl who irritated, amused and surprised him at the same time, to this boring event. Actually, he was not supposed to go at all, but his stupid nonexistent uncle just had to come back into town and had to mingle with the other town folk. Call him misanthropic but he preferred to be left alone and without all this human connectivity his family seemed to shove down his throat. However, Matteo was a little disappointed at Haley’s reaction. He at least expected a scream or scowls or even a curse or two, but sadly, nope. He was about to speak, his mouth agape when he saw Haley. The only thing that ran through his head was ‘wow’ as his brows perked up slightly and he had a sort of ‘deer in the headlights’ look on his face. ”Wow Hales… You look ravishing,” he smiled a small crooked smile, subtly taken aback by her beauty. Of course Haley was beautiful, there was no denying the truth, but he was still a little surprised for he had never seen her in formal attire. Just…Wow.

He smirked when she mentioned Rose, one of his oldest friends no less, who happened to be Haley’s sister, “Well let us see, I’m not going to tell her, and you’re not going to tell her,” he spoke, motioning towards her before he continued, ”… So what are we arguing about?” He questioned in lightly accented rhetoric, and wondered how she would react to his nonchalance. As she pushed away his legs from the coffee table, he swiftly placed his feet on the floor, the magazine taking the place of his legs on the table, ”Besides, I’ve saved you time so you could do a few once-overs before we leave, you know, to kick Demon Summers brand-named ass.” Yes, he knew of her true motive behind accepting his offer to go to the charity event, and he couldn’t blame her with a mother like that. Sirena was an utter bitch, although Rose was far more polite when talking about the Demon than necessary. If he had such an opportunity to rise from the ashes and to prove himself that he doesn’t need his mother or father or their status he would do it. Okay, so he made himself sound like some sort of messiah floating down from the heavens to come to Haley’s aid. But truth be told, he was in dire need of a date to the event, and nothing is more depressing than a lone twenty one year old pre-med kid in a room full of intoxicated wealthy people. ”I would say something ridiculously pep-talkish that would go along the lines of ‘take down the Demon’ but nothing seemed to work except…” Matt paused as he stood up in one fluid motion and extended his hand towards her, ”Shall we depart?”

Meanwhile at the Silver estate, it was such a literal blast from the past for Isaac, which he even chose to explain this situation with that exact cliché. Though he knew Demitri would be here in a few days on the basis of expanding his business, that tycoon was even going to attend the academy for god sakes, however, Isaac was unaware that Petros would be in town. He knew of Petros’ and Demitri’s underlying rivalry, even in the tabloids back in Europe, it was always the two Greeks and the Frenchman, it was inevitable. Though Isaac had remained in contact with Demitri, the two had a little falling out with the third member of their exclusive brotherhood, and here he was standing, just as he should with spiked champagne and a beautiful woman by his side. It was a little reassuring that Castellanos hadn’t changed, not one bit. Once a womanizer, always a womanizer, the saying rang true to the three men. Scanning the tastefully decorated room full of old, rich and elite of the town, he chuckled as Petros acknowledged him in such a heart-warming way, “Watch your mouth, that’s my mother you’re talking about," Isaac said in an easy voice, a smile playing at his lips. The funny thing was that his mother adored Petros and Demitri, his best friends, his almost-brothers so to say. Sometimes it seemed that she liked them over him which was amusing.

As Petros asked him why he had come to Valkyrie out of all the places he could go off to, Isaac sort of paused, bringing his drink to his lips. Why did he come to Valkyrie? What was his excuse? Isaac had a gnawing suspicion that he wouldn’t really get along with the man that had impregnated his mother and had ditched town to return to his wife he freshly cheated on. This suspicion was proven true as they argued in the car ride to the mansion on his first day in town. Maybe it was the club that his step-father, who Isaac thought of as his father more than his biological one. However, Risqué still had some kinks to smooth out before its official opening, which would include a party, Europe-style, that wasn’t the only reason he came to Valkyrie. He drowned himself in the guilt of the death of his little sister Helene, he knew it was his fault, and no amount of therapy, booze or cigarettes could change his mind. Hell, Isaac didn’t even go to her funeral; nobody wants the murderer at the victim’s time of rest. It was a self-imposed exile, after his mother pleaded with him and his father offering the club in order to get Isaac back to normal. To please his parents, and perhaps to get away from the fast life, Isaac arrived in Valkyrie. But this was not the time and certainly not the place to share such thoughts; he had to be the model (though illegitimate) child, prim and proper. Instead, Isaac opted for the simpler, partially true solution, “Well, Dad thought I should get to know my biological father and a few siblings I didn’t know I had. They are all insufferable except my sister Audrey, who’s over--” Isaac pointed over his shoulder to the piano and rolled his eyes as he saw Audrey taking over from the hired pianist. Though she continued from the pianist’s spot seamlessly, it was the mere fact that she was acting like the hired musicians that made him roll his chestnut eyes, was it too much to ask of her to look like a girl and to act like she was a part of high society rather than the middle class attitude that she kept? Sighing, Isaac continued, “She is over there, taking the place of the hired pianist; figures. Sometimes I doubt that she even knows of the wealth she’s going to inherit, acting like such a commoner,” He shook his head, bringing his glass of spiked champagne to his lips, welcoming the burn of alcohol. ”But I’m surprised Mr. and Mrs. Castellanos sent you to small town America out of all the places… I’m assuming you’re still in the academy because you don’t seem have that ‘expelled glow’ on your face yet,” Isaac joked as he took another sip of his drink, running a hand through his hair.

The French boy didn’t expect to see many people he had left in Europe, and he sure as hell thought he wouldn’t see Petros until his European return. Or Andie, beautiful, flexible Andie… Ah yes, he reminisced of their time together, which spanned a few short days, but wonderful days. What happens in Greece, in the case of Petros who obviously knew nothing of Andie and Isaac, stays in Greece. “I’m not as ravishing in red as you, but I shall take that as a compliment,“ He chuckled when Andie responded, of course they’ve met before. A smirk never left Isaac lips as the thoughts of what they had done the last time they had come together flooded his mind. He rolled his eyes lightly as Petros said that he never knew that he and Andie knew each other. “Please Petros, you’re not the only one who knows beautiful women,” Isaac chuckled and patted Petros on the back as he spoke. It was good to know Isaac would not be bored in this diminutive town, not when he was accompanied by one of his best friends. Who knew exile would be such a sweet place?

-----------------

LENGTH` 1414 words... I forgot to change the inc. ><
TAGGED TO` 'tis the event
ATTIRE`matteo & isaac
CREDITS` format inspired by mostly chels<3...actually it’s like chels-lite xD
icons by me
LYRICS`'hotel california' by the eagles
NOTES` much delayed, I’m sorry. And I know the Maley part is uber short, but ‘tis my favourite.<3 who knew matt could act civil?

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[anabellehoux]

-------------------------------------------

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the room felt sterile and familiar, which was an odd combination, but completely true. Anabel had been in far too many situations as these, and not many times had she found herself so alone in a crowded room. She was not only new to this town or this state, but this country as well. People knew her, which she could tell from the casual small talk she had given when Coco had ran off to do whatever evil and malicious plot she always did, but she didn't know them. In that case, she had settled to be the party loner that night, and in spite of it all, she fairly enjoyed that. She liked to be lost in her thoughts, to be a complete day dreamer. It wasn't as if she wanted the attention so much, but only to keep her reputation up to par so she could continue to receive her wealth and pride in the fashion world. Besides, the media and public liked a blissful model every once in a while, right?

Maybe that was what Anabel looked like. A blissfully oblivious model looking at a crystal swan. Some part of her had planned it, just in case someone reported her to the tabloids (which was doubtful in this prestige, non-desperate atmosphere), and another portion of her really was lost. She was eighteen, on her own, wearing the most expensive of clothing, and modeling. But what happened when modeling was over? Anabel didn't even want to think about it, because she believed that day would never happened. She vowed to herself that she would never live like her parents did, from riches to rags, which in some twisted manner, Anabel blamed for what happened to her when she was a child. Granted, sometimes she took her hearing disability to an advantage, but it would be difficult to say that she didn't miss music or just the friendly voice of someone she knew. Music. That topic always came back.

Like that boy in the corner with the cello. It must've been beautiful. It was one of those things that Anabel could just tell. Something similar to the feeling that you had eyes burning into the small of your back, the feeling of being watched. Good, Anabel liked to be watched. It was a sick obsession, but then again, it was also her profession. (Ugh, unintended rhyming.) The eyes.. they were still there. Anabel suddenly stiffened, feeling a bit uncomfortable, until finally she felt a light tap on her shoulder. There had been someone behind her! She had known it! It was a mix of curiosity and triumph. The tap had been simple, yet Anabel whirled around slowly, in which she came face to face with the cello player. She felt his presence closely, as she watched his lips move in a slow, pleasant way.

"Might you be deaf?" She read from his lips, as she rose one eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. She wasn't at all offended that he had asked if she was deaf, when in fact she was, but more of that she didn't know who she was. Then again, she was in fashion, and he was a male. Not many straight men knew her reputation besides guys such as Petros Hayes. How awkward. How could she respond as politely as she could to this?

"Actually, I am." She said to him, pointing to her eyes slowly, giving him direct eye contact to convince him that she surely wasn't pulling his leg, as one may think. This wasn't the first time that this had happened, and in fact, this happened a lot. But the sensation of him following her and watching her before tapping her on the shoulder - it had been a bit different. He had probably been trying to speak to her but then thought she was ignoring him? In which, she simply gave a reassuring, small smile. The small was cold, indifferent and polite. Her smiles were odd, in other words. Time to practice her English once more, she supposed. "Ever since eight years of age. You must excuse my English. It is not yet practiced enough." She said to him, and then felt her shoulders tense again. She took another breath and loosened them. "Not to sound unattractive and.." Ugh, she didn't know the word for 'blunt' besides the french one. She spoke it anyways. "...émoussé, but do you have un cigarette?" Asking a stranger for a cigarette after telling him by complete surprise that you were deaf? 'Atta girl, Anabel.

WHAT'S YOUR STATUS, SUGAR?

[/i] Complete! ♥
I FORGET, WHAT DAY IS IT?![/i] May 4, 2007, a Friday evening.
OH THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS[/i] Low 70's, breezy.
WHERE YOU AT, DARLING BABY[/i] The Silver Estate, Valks, Valkyrie, California.
DAMN, WHAT ARE YOU WEARING[/I] Click here; hair up, black dress and black heels.
YOU TYPE A LOT! WORD COUNT![/i] I'm coming up with 1019; including this status, quotes from the last post & the graphics.
LET'S PLAY TAG, HM, YOU'RE IT[/i] To mah Charlie!
ROLL THE CREDITS, I'M OUTTA HERE[/i] The banner is done by me, because I finally got Photoshop. Woo! The format is great inspired by everyone on this lovely site. You're all made of a shiny, golden "win"!
[/size][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Haley Summers]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
fought in a battle, nobody won
HALEY SUMMERS,
we face a mountain to be overcome
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Haley was never one who liked to be messed with. At least she thinks she doesn't. She spent most her life, still does, with people talking about her behind her back and not being able to say something to her face. I mean seriously people, grow a pair. Part of her stubbornness and resistance to anyone being slightly nice to her, especially the ones that began on rough terms, came from paranoia. She had been the chubby chick growing up in one of the shallowest societies in the world. She grew thick skin quickly, which helped her a lot when she lost the weight and had her status elevated so quickly. You know how medically, the old and the young have more in common physically than young adults or the middle age? How did Dr. House say it? "The nearly dead and the newly breed have more in common than the ones in between."? Yeah that was it. It's kind of a circle of life thing? well, it the same with popularity. The ones at the bottom have far more in common with the ones at the top than those in the middle. Maybe not interest-wise but in the way they have to deal with people. Both the popular and the down trod have very few real friends. Both get talked about regularly by their classmates, negatively. Both are constantly judged and therefore both gain thick skin and a quick tongue. Both need to learn to deal with fake friends too. Yes, the kids who are teased get fake friends all the time, usually it's to make fun of them more, while the popular's fake friends want status, but still, both fake, both painful.

So as much as her appearance and social status had changed around Valkyrie, especially with the fall from grace getting her tagged by Scandal Star, the truth of the matter was, Haley, as a person, hadn't changed all that much. She was sort of living evidence to the theory that people don't change, at least, not in any way that's significant. Haley dropped her arms from being crossed across her chest and glanced down to make sure her dress lay right. ”Wow Hales… You look ravishing,” Haley looked up at the englishman, okay... she hadn't been expecting that. Although, she couldn't help but let a small smile through. She was flattered... slightly. She nodded, "thanks..." She replied with a pause, "You're not too bad yourself." And the was an understatement. Matt was just flat out hot. He had a way of looking at you that could make you melt. The quality suit fit him perfectly, it was clean and simple but classy and yeah, how you dress does go into Haley's judgement of your physical attributes. But again, it all came back to the blue eyes. But that didn't mean anything now did it? Haley stood straight and looked back at the counter in the kitchen area, they should probably get going. Not that being slightly late wasn't fashionable.

"Well let us see, I’m not going to tell her, and you’re not going to tell her,” Haley turned her head and looked at him with a confused look ”… So what are we arguing about?” Haley shook her head "and why wouldn't I tell her exactly?" She asked. It was a fair question too. Haley and Rose may be sisters and their relationship may be getting better but they still bickered like mad, even if Rose would simply stick up her nose and claim they were only discussing to which Haley would be even more angry, since she should just accept they're fighting. Haley could handle the truth, why couldn't she? But to the point, they fought and Rose liked Matt so, anything Haley could do to down something Rose likes... leg up right? I know that sort of sounds horrible but anyone who's had siblings or even semi-friends that are based on and built on arguments and playing games with each other has done the same. They just never stated it so clearly out. And in many ways, you can only tell if you're close to Haley or not by if you can get under her skin. It's when your words just bounce off her without her even noticing that you have to start worrying. She shifted her weight slightly as he took his feet down off the table, setting the magazine down. ”Besides, I’ve saved you time so you could do a few once-overs before we leave, you know, to kick Demon Summers brand-named ass.”

See, now that effected Haley. She stiffened slightly as she watched him. So, yeah, she was using him. He knew that, why did that seem to make her feel worse about it? He didn't seem upset... God damn gut feelings. She put on a forced polite smile in that small pause after he... essentially called her out on it, casually but still. It caught her off guard. ”I would say something ridiculously pep-talkish that would go along the lines of ‘take down the Demon’ but nothing seemed to work except…” Okay, so that made Haley give a small scoff of laughter. A short little one accompanied by a small smile as she shook her head, "No need for ridiculousness. Pep talks are for the sweaty and those who lack confidence. We're neither." She replied cooly. "Besides..." She continued, sarcasm sneaking into her tone as a smirk played on her lips, "You act as though I'm only going for that. I would never dream using you like that, Matt." She added. Haley stepped back slightly as Matt stood up and put out his hand, ”Shall we depart?” She looked down at the extended hand and patted it in a slightly patronizing manner, "No need for that yet, but yeah, lets go." She responded gesturing him to follow as she turned away from him. She headed for the door, opening it for him, a small grin forming, screw classic chivalry.

{{ time lapse }}

Matteo and Haley entered the grand hall at the Silver estate. Haley looked around over the heads of the hundreds over people already there and schmoozing. She hadn't forgotten what it was like at these events in her few months of Shak life. Dealing with these people was like going ice skating. Beautiful, graceful, but if you slip at all, a pain in the ass. Haley's eyes stopped when she saw her mother talking to a few of the other big names in fashion. She felt a sore grow in her throat as she watched her mother's movements for that half moment. The fashionista(mom not hales) was dressed in a gorgeous Chanel dress, her hair cut and styled perfectly and edgy with the mix of salt and pepper tones, looking like Meryll Streep but with bigger and browner eyes. Haley tore her eyes away and turned towards Matt who was at her side and smiled, looping her arm into his, "Okay, so... what would you like to do first?" She asked, glancing back over to her mother who seemed to have noticed Haley's existence with a stern glare of disapproval. Aww... it felt like home<3 Haley looked back at Matt as Sirena Summers excused herself from her conversation and made her way over to them. Haley sighed, "Nevermind.." She then faced her mother as she came up to the two with a forced polite smile. "Haley... what a surprise." Sirena greeted, gritting her teeth slightly. Cool, Hales was sort of banking on her mere presence bothering the woman.

"Ms. Summers." Haley greeted back. "I wonder how you got in, seeing as you're not listed as one of the Summers family." Sirena said, her round about way of asking why she was there. Her tone was calm and controlled but definitely implied a distaste for Haley's gal at showing up after she had clearly wanted Haley out of her world and life in complete. Haley nodded and gestured, "Sirena, meet Matteo Buchanan, my date."

---

STATUS;; complete
TAGGED;; Maley<3
CREDITS;; format to me, inspired by everyone, graphics to me
LYRICS;; 'fall again' by glenn lewis
WORD COUNT;; 1378, bursts of muse at 4 in the morning, got to love'em
CLOTHES;; here
NOTES;; I skipped ahead a bit, just to get them to the actual event, hope that's okay
[/blockquote]

[Carlito Bagalayos]

CARLITO BAGALAYOS,

- - - - -
it's gonna be the night to last forever
we'll never ever ever forget,
- - - - -

To be perfectly honest, Carlito had been a little suprised at the strength the girl seemed to have as she'd tugged him into the hallway. For a girl of such small size, she was much stronger than she looked. Then again maybe Carlito was just used to Nina's lack of muscle. She was tiny and it showed whenever she tried to hit Carlito or Tim for being annoying, which was sadly quite frequent. Unfortunately her attempt to cause pain always followed by a scoff from the attempted victim. Nina Suresh wasn't known for her amazing strength. She made up for it in death glares. But Carlito had to admit, girls who were strong were much more scarier and even more intimidating and this girl was no exception. Not that Carlito was scared of her but she seemed quite strong. Maybe Carlito was just reading too much into it. He had a habit of thinking too much sometimes, a trait that seemed to run in the Suresh family. They all tended to overthink everything and were all big fat sweethearts, with a few exceptions being Austyn who was basically just a bitch, Tim who prefered to keep his sweetness hidden underneath and now Nina who was just denying anything to do with her old sweetheart self.

Carlito liked being classifed as one of the sweethearts though. It meant he was a good guy and the good guy always won right? He was a gentleman and there were so few of them running around Valkyrie that surely he'd have some luck eventually when the girls realised he was the best they could get. Carlito watched the girl in front of him quietly, he observed that she didn't seem too mad at him for catching her out, which was a relief. Also a relief was the fact that she didn't seem extremely drunk. Carlito hated dealing with drunk girls. It was just impossible to get them to see sense and you had no idea what they were going to do next. Still, she didn't seem exactly thrilled at his actions though. What happened to girls being happy about guys caring about them? Geez, they were so hard to please these days. "It was mostly a joke, good sir." Carlito shrugged, feeling a little stupid as usual for taking things literally. Another Suresh family trait unfortunately. "Well you can never be sure," he responded, slightly lamely but responding all the same. Carlito never had been one for witty lines but he did the best he could and made up for it by not being a complete sleaze. That had to help, surely.

Observing as the girl took another sip of her champagne, Carlito raised a hand to tug at his ridulously large afro which he really needed to get cut and gave a small chuckle at her line about being so literal. "I believe it's a family trait." he said quietly, thinking of the rest of the members in his family. Indeed, they had a lot of traits that ran through the bloodline and not too many of them were particularly positive. Pity, that. "And although I do appreciate the concern, I am quite positive that I won't manage to get drunk on one glass of champagne. Believe it or not, I am not that much of a severe lightweight." Carlito had to smirk slightly at that line and supressed a scoff. "Well you might not be drunk yet but it isn't hard for that one drink to turn into ten. How would you explain that to your parents?" he asked, rocking back and forth on his heels slightly as he spoke with a raised eyebrow. He took in her slightly defiant pose and countered it with a fairly casual stance, hands in pockets. He wasn't here to start a fight or anything, he just didn't want to stand back and watch some girl get drunk and end up grounded for a month because she didn't know better.

"I'm Cat," Carlito nodded in acknowlegement as Cat finally revealed her name. As she extended her arm for a handshake however, Carlito's annoying gentlemanly traits kicked in and as he took her hand, he turned it and gave it a light, polite peck. "Charmed." he responded, straightening as though men did this all the time these days which they really should. It was a sign that the man respected the woman and knew the right way to treat her. Carlito's father had been determined to teach him the way to treat ladies and so he had. That was why Carlito was the guy who opened the door for ladies, stood up when they entered the room and apparently stopped them from getting trashed. Ah, true gentleman indeed. At the question about his accent, Carlito ducked his head slightly. After several months it was still painfully obvious that he wasn't an American native and it was a little annoying to always have it picked up on. Always the same question. Still, Cat asked it friendly enough and deserved a friendly enough answer. Looking her in the eyes as he spoke, Carlito smiled, "I was born in the Philippines. I've only lived in America for a few months." Simple enough answer and the story wasn't that much more exciting. He was only here because he'd come to visit Nina and decided he liked the town enough to stay.

- - - - -

STATUS; finished
WORD COUNT; 920
TAGS; cat
TIME/PLACE; the silver estate, evening of may fourth
CREDITS; format is mine. lyrics are from night to remember from hsm3.
OUTFIT; carlito
NOTES; short and lame, i know >< but it's done!

- - - - -

[Catherine Rose]

• • THE ROSE KIDS • •


WHO WANTS TO BE RIGHT AS RAIN
IT'S BETTER WHEN SOMETHING IS WRONG
YOU GET EXCITEMENT IN YOUR BONES
AND EVERYTHING YOU DO'S A GAME


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Well you can never be sure." Cat raised her eyebrows. It sounded an excuse for either being tone deaf or a dull sense for sarcasm to her. The latter of which was a personality quirk that she often found particularly bothersome because she spent a lot of time being sarcastic, and sarcasm was one of the corner stones of her sense of humor. "It's possible, believe me," she said a bit dryly, though she kept the tone of her voice acceptably friendly and pleasant overall. "I believe it's a family trait." A small smile tugged at the corner of the petite girl's full lips. "Damn those genetics, huh?" she said, a teasing edge worming its way into her words. That phrase, in some way or another, found its way into her thoughts quite often, though without the orientation of a question and the joking under current. It came up mostly when she was feeling dissatisfied with her mere five feet, two inches of height and she wondered why she couldn't have received more of her fathers genes as he was a fairly tall man. But neither she nor her brother had really gotten much from their father; they both took after their mothers in the looks department. Charlie could vouch for this himself, but in Cat's case, she had to trust her father's word. She didn't remember what her mother looked like for herself.

"Well you might not be drunk yet but it isn't hard for that one drink to turn into ten. How would you explain that to your parents?" Cat failed to repress a small snort. "You sound like a public service announcement, my friend," she said, raising her little flute of champagne up to her lips to take another delicate sip. "Mothers Against Drunk Driving isn't paying you for that, right?" Oops. Did that make it sound like she was trying to mock or make light of the organization? Whatever. "I think I'll be fine. It's quite easy to prevent one glass from turning into ten; you just stick with nine." Another small smile draped itself across her features. "If you're that worried about me, why don't you just go guard the table of drinks?" she suggested playfully, raising her eyebrows once again. "I'm sure all the underage attendants would steer clear when confronted with either getting by a scary guy like you or simply not drinking." Hopefully his 'family trait' would not prevent him from seeing that she was just messing around with him a little.

When she extended her had for a handshake, instead of shaking it, her exotic looking counterpart took it and gave it a polite peck. "Charmed." Awww. "You are too sweet!" she cried, and his PSA-esque attitude and her resulting annoyance was forgotten for the moment. "I was born in the Philippines. I've only lived in America for a few months." Oooh. "That officially makes you interesting, Carlito Bagalayos," she said, ending the statement with another gulp of champagne.

Meanwhile, Charlie Rose was awaiting the response of the blonde girl he had been watching and following for the past several minutes. When she turned around he put a pleasant smile that also managed to convey his curiosity on his face. "Actually, I am. Ever since eight years of age. You must excuse my English. It is not yet practiced enough." Oh, well. This was a bit awkward, wasn't it? Enough so that Edmund Charles Rose was left speechless for roughly a moment, and that hardly ever happened. "Oh dear," he said. "That sort of makes me sound pretty awful, now, doesn't it?" It occurred to him that this young lady was, perhaps, a girl after his own heart and simply trying to pull his leg, but something about her demeanor made him feel like it wasn't true. "Tell you what. I'll excuse your English if you excuse my little faux pas there." He smiled and that hopefully told her he was simply kidding.

"Not to sound unattractive and... émoussé, but do you have un cigarette?" Charlie blinked, a reaction brought on by his perplexion over the term 'émoussé'. It was quite obvious by now that young woman was French because of her accent, so he could only assume that it was a French word. "I assure you, m'lady, that you sound anything but unattractive and em - " he decided not to bother with trying to pronounce it "what you said. But so sorry, I'm afraid I don't happen to have any cigarettes with me." He paused. "Though if you really need one I can always ask around until I find someone who does." He was still in a bit of a state from the whole deafness news flash, but that was no reason to behave ungallantly, eh?

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STATUS complete
WORD COUNT 818
FORMATTING by me, inspiration from all the v-side lovelies
LYRICS 'right as rain' by adele
TAGGED carlito & anabel <333
ATTIRE charlie, cat
LOCATION silver estate
DATE may 4, 2007
NOTES woo.

[matteobuchanan]

MATTEO S BUCHANAN,


THE PINK CHAMPAGNE ON ICE
And she said 'we are all just prisoners
HERE OF OUR OWN DEVICE
-----------------------

Change, what a multi faceted word, a multi faceted phenomena; dreaded and often sought out by all. Everything changes, ruining the beauty of consistency, of predictability. However, without change a caterpillar would not undergo metamorphosis, seasons would not pass, days would not end and begin, and overall monotony would take over every living cell. How lacklustre. However, spontaneous combustion occurs, babies are born, people die, change is all around our humble existences. So situations change, but unfortunately, people remain the same, with little to no significant change. When nothing changes, nothing changes. Now that sounds like the end of something, but all beginnings start from the end and Matteo was no stranger to this natural rule. The Irishman was not supposed to be alive… no, not because of the dumb things he a few years ago but because of the simple fact that his parents couldn’t conceive for many years. Now that is a way to start up a story, talking about how it was nearly impossible for his parents to reproduce. He, Matteo Salvatore Buchanan, was alive because his parents gave up all hope of producing kin…And then when they did, they had him, his geek brother Rhys and his bitch of a sister Siobhan, who evidently was now living in his house.

When the hell did his house become an Inn? Not that he used his house very often, usually just closing himself off, reserved and focus on his work, and only going home if the magic of the twelfth cup of caffeine began to wear off and he was in dire need of some restorative sleep. The honest truth was that Matteo did not like many people; actually the grand total of amount of people whom he could tolerate was about three. Yeah, he was not one for social interaction, but rather one for attempting to solve puzzles on people which were one of the reasons he chose to go into medicine. It was not the saving of lives or healing ill patients, those were just bonuses, what Matt was really concerned with was the string of outrageous symptoms that would either lead to a simple diagnosis that would not come to mind until a casualty or an equally outrageous disease. He was not the one with the messiah complex most medical staff had around here. He was in it for the thrill of unravelling the answers.

But back to the main point of this all; change. This year was full of change. He finally got his white coat, he was still an intern at the hospital, but the fact that he got into medical school was groundbreaking. He was associating with people more, both on his own free will and otherwise, with all his misanthropic behaviour considered, it was quite an accomplishment. And now he was standing in front of a girl whom he first met when he broke some prick’s nose, but instead of the conventional response of gratitude, he was yelled at. Not that he was really going for a sweet knight in shining armour and making her to be the damsel in distress and the glory and such that follows…Okay, maybe he was sort of expecting a simple ‘thanks’, I mean, who doesn’t? No matter, he was now taking the lady in question to some ritzy Valk affair only because a. He needed a date because just roaming around bitter and cynical was just much more fun when you can walk around bitter and cynical with another person and b. Haley wanted to piss off her mother, and what guy in his right mind wouldn’t want to help with that? Exactly.

Presently, Mister Matteo Buchanan was now face-to-face with Haley Summers, and it entertained him to no end to annoy the attractive brunette. It was just too effortless to get under her skin, but what he liked more was her reaction; he studied it. Creepy, I know, but he liked it when she would hastily cross her arms, stamp her right foot like they did in the movies and the subtle creases in between her brows. Funny how after the whole ‘punching a prick in the nose’ ordeal was done, Matt once thought to himself he would never again come in contact with such an annoying high schooler ever again. Guess he was wrong. But alas despite their arguments in which Matteo would have a perpetual smirk as Haley would, in his opinion, overreact, he was in her apartment to take her to the event. And now he witnessed something; Haley giving out one of her rare smiles as he complimented her. The Irishmen felt a little accomplished when he saw the phenomenon occur. Maybe he was over exaggerating but this was the only real time he saw Haley kind of, sort of smile and it was surely not a bad sight. He chuckled as Haley commented on his appearance, “I know… I clean up well,” He said as he brushed off imaginary dust from his left shoulder as his light eyes smirked with him.

The smirk on his face did not disappear as he answered Haley’s question“Do you really want to give her the satisfaction that your date is a delinquent?” He asked as he cocked his brow, his head slightly tilted at the inquisition. It was rather interesting how very different Haley and her sister were. Matteo had known Rose for years, way before his relocation to Valkyrie and even before Rose moved to Maine. Rose was the only person who knew Matteo completely, she was practically his younger sister, and he loved her more than he loved his own sister. Rose was full of grace, poise and elegance; always prim and proper. Haley seemed to be more human he supposed, releasing her anger and annoyance rather than bottling it up and dismissing it in calm breaths; God that aggravated Matteo when he was ‘discussing’ with Rose about various things. Matteo was a little belligerent, he knew that, but the fact that Rose had the ability to shut down his angry rants was a bolt from the blue. However with Haley, she seemed to possess the same amount of panache as he. Finally someone who would not just put his petty little arguments on the back burner.

He noticed how Haley subtly stiffened at his casual mention that she was sort of using him. Matteo was not the one be affected by this, he suspected as much when Haley agreed to do this; he needed a date, she needed a way to get inside the polished doors of the Silver estate to show her mother that she could survive. He was grateful when Hales shut down his utterly courtly mannerism, “Thank the stars because I didn’t what to do after that...” He admitted as he placed his hand in his dress pant pocket and let out a slight sigh before exiting the apartment. It was nearly alarming how much Haley reminded him of Ziraili, his almost-fiancée, he was certain she would have also rejected his attempts at chivalry. Maybe it was because Haley reminded him of Ziraili that he stuck around, actually trying to get to know Hales instead of a one-night stand deal. Shocking, they hadn’t had sex yet, that never really crossed his mind until now.

It was not until they arrived at the Silver Estate and behind those broad doors when Matteo and Haley talked. Of course they chatted in the ride over here, but who counts car-chatting as legitimate conversation? Exactly. As Haley asked what they should do, Matteo shrugged, “I’ve never bothered going to these types of events before...” and it was the truth that fell from his lips before he saw what was approaching them, or more like ‘who.’ “Family reunion, wonderful.” He whispered mostly to himself as he felt Haley’s arm around his. Matteo was not the one to associate with family much, one of the reasons why was walking right towards them. As Sirena Summers asked in her roundabout way why in the hell Haley was at the event, it reminded Matteo of his own home. Oh, this was why he rarely talked to his mother; he had nearly forgotten such a warming welcome. His mother was a replica of Ms. Summers, but she had not one child to criticize but three. But it was time to play the part of the charades that seemed to be accustomed in this kind of community, “Ms. Summers, it my great pleasure to finally meet you,” Matteo spoke with a fair amount of graciousness that surprised even himself. His accent lightly glazed his words as his blue. Blue eyes sparked with his shiny smile. Hey, if they can put up a show, he could act civil enough too.

Ah, the life of a societal figure.

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LENGTH`1469 words
TAGGED TO` hales, bby
ATTIRE` matteo
CREDITS` format inspired by all the vside lovelies<333 graphics by me
LYRICS` 'hotel california' by the eagles
NOTES` donezo... sorry about the wait <3

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