All that for Nothing

[Roderic]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

Ric:
Formal, black tie. I could do that, but with my own twist. I guess you could say I was rebelling after the bomb shell Nix dropped on everyone so casually at the Ty event last night. Getting a tie that was black wasn't that hard to do. But I didn't have much experience with wearing a tie. That was a problem. After trying to tie it a handful of times, I gave up and hoped that Skylar had some experience with it. I shove it in my coat pocket after I slip it on over a light blue t-shirt. I grab the assortment of boxes; the two gifts and the one for Phoenix because I'm never sure when I'll see her. Especially now that she was 'married'. Thinking about how often I don't see her causes me to frown. Where was dopple to stab when I needed her? That always rectified the situation. I'm about to leave when I remember I have a couple other things, so I grab those boxes too. I called a cab because, well, Skylar told me that picking her up required some mode of transportation. And with all the gifts, it just made sense. So with all the boxes in the trunk of the cab, I give the guy directions, and we head there. On the way I give her a text with an estimated time of arrival. I hope she's not like every other girl that keeps people waiting. I hated being late. I felt I missed things, even if I did want to miss things in the end of it all. I close the messenger app and play Tetris. Yeah, it's old school, but I liked that game when I was a kid and it was a good find that I came across a few weeks ago. By the time I arrived to her side of town, I had advanced seven levels. I put the phone away, move to the trunk and grab out the small gift that was for her. Well, a gift of sorts. I head down the sewers after telling the guy to wait and slipping him a twenty to make sure he did that and then to the catacombs and from there, to the mausoleum. I think about walking in, but I don't want one of those situations again. So, I knock and stand there, holding the small box tightly in my left hand.

Skylar:
I’m nervous. I hate to admit it but I am. I look down and see a sea of shimmering material staring back up at me. Urgh. He already calls me Princess and now I frickin’ look like one. Black tie. The bane of my existence as a prisoner in the family homestead. I’m half tempted to look in the mirror to see how stupid I look but I know that would be a very bad idea. Still I have to admit, as I swish the skirt, that it could be worse. It may be black tie but that didn’t mean I had to go all boring. I’d left the apartment the moment I woke to get ready for this thing. I had to go across town to Russ’s girlfriend’s place to get my hair done. I’d of gone to a hairdressers but they have one too many mirrors in their shops for my liking. Jane wasn’t too pleased when I refused to look at her hand work in the mirror either. I told her I trusted her and that I was sure it was great but I think I may have burned that bridge for any future events. She’d done a good job as far as I could tell. She’d tamed my hair, curled it and then pinned half of it back, so that it cascaded over my shoulders and down my back. I was playing around with the bust of the dress – mainly as I usually didn’t flash my cleavage what with not having much to work with and all – when I hear a knock at the door. Well… Showtime I guess. I cross the short distance to the door, unlatch and then open it. “Hey stranger.” It’s not his name. I know. But I tend to call him that if he’s been MIA for a while and well, I hadn’t seen as much of him as I’d of liked to in the last few nights. “You coming in or am I coming straight out?”


Ric:
I just stare at her when the door opens. Why was she wearing that? Didn't I tell her it was black tie? That reminded me. "I have something for you." I hand the box to her that's seen better nights since it's been crumpled a little. "You didn't have to dress up to meet them." I enter, letting her know we could stay for a little bit. "There's a cab outside. I don't know how long twenty bucks gets me," I look around the apartment, then at her. She looks ridiculous. No, that's not quite right. She looks different. It's strange. "You look, you know." I don't say what she looks like, but I know I'm supposed to say something nice. "Colorful." Not that. "Dressed up." That wasn't any better. "Blue matches your eyes." There, a compliment. Nix would be proud.

Skylar:
I take the box when it’s offered and listen as he struggles to say something nice. I fidget where I stand, running one hand over the other arm as if scratching as I do and then begin chewing on the inside of my mouth. Great. One of us is colour blind. I think as I look down at the shimmering mess. “I’d say the dress is more green than blue,” I tell him. I don’t recognise a single hue as being anything like my own eye colour. Not that I’ve seen my eyes of late, not since the image in the mirror started to change. Thankfully semi-permanent makeup was readily available these days. Else I’d of been mucking around with eyeliner and stuff too. “You said black tie. This is black tie.” I know explaining fashion to Ric is a bad idea and I’m so nervous I haven’t even given him the once over. Come on Skylar. Suck it up. You’ve got this. I open the box and look at him. “Thanks… What’s this for?”

Ric:
"What's black about that?" I ask her as I look over her dress. "There's some blue, right there." I grab the frilly girl stuff at the bottom and show her. "But yeah. It's mostly green." I shouldn't have said anything. It probably would have been better, but I'm trying to be social. "It's your black tie. Well, bow tie." I was quite impressed with myself when I came across that online, after hours of searching for 'black ties for women,' and then finally, 'black bow ties for women.'

Skylar:
I shouldn’t laugh but I can’t help it. I reach out through the doorway and run my hand down his tie, shaking my head as I do. “You know you’re just adorable at times right?” I turn around and go to fetch my shoes and clutch purse; both of which are silver in colour. After a moment of reflection, I empty the bag onto the counter and disappear into the bedroom. When I come back I’ve got on my black strappy high heeled shoes and I’m carrying a small black clutch purse. I swipe the stuff up from off the counter and shove it in the bag and then pause to put the headband on that Ric bought me. I didn’t much care if it ruined my hair. He bought it and I was going to wear it. As I leave the apartment, plastic booties in hand, I stop to hug Ric twice before placing a kiss on each cheek. “Thank you for the headband, it’s lovely.” I’m beginning to think he has a thing about hairbands, as this is the second one he’s given me since we met a few months back. “But you do know black tie doesn’t mean you have to wear black. Right? It’s named after the fancy sort of occasions where men and women get all dressed up. The guys where suits, traditionally black suits, white shirt and women dress in fancy arse dresses like this.” I twirl around to show off the dress. “And had I known we were rebelling against the dress code… I’d of worn something that’s more me. I feel stupid.”

Ric:
She says I'm adorable and I immediately look her over for some sort of head injury. I've never been called that and I know that's not true. I watch her exchange the shoes and her purse and head towards the door. She stops to give me a hug, two actually. Followed by two kisses, one on each cheek. "That's stupid. Just say, "Dress nice." I nod my head, then look at her dress and her. "I think I'll be the one looking stupid. You'll be fine." I assure her as I loop our arms together. I know it's coming and it's inevitable. I actually don't care if I look stupid. "You look fine." I assure her as we head towards the catacombs. "Thanks for coming." I add in after a minute or two of reflection.

Skylar:
I want to tell him that it’s more than dressing up, that black tie is like the most formal of formal occasions but I figure I’ll explain that another night when I’m not so freaked out. I take his arm when it’s offered and half lean on it in need of support. Of course I then have to stop us both so I can slip the booties over my shoes. I do this one handed, the hand that’s around Ric’s arm holds my bag. I then use the free to hold up the hem of the dress so it doesn’t get ruined as we walk through the underbelly of the city to reach the surface and hopefully a waiting cab. One of us needs to buy something with four doors. “You look like you,” I give him a reassuring smile but I’m not sure who I’m trying to put at ease with it; him or me. “I look like a Barbie doll.” I sigh. “And even though I’m totally out of sorts and being a moany *****… Thank you for inviting me.”

Ric:
I stop, which makes her stop and look at her. "Take it off then." I shrug. If Nix was going to kick me or us out because we weren't dressed up, then it was what it was. "We can go back and you can find something else." I leave the offer there for her.

Skylar:
“Do we have time?” I look at him, wondering if I should blow off the black tie thing too. You couldn’t take back a first impression and a part of me wanted his family to like me. I take a moment and reason with myself. Worse comes to worse I could blame Ric and say he never told me the dress code. Or I could just be honest and say he said I could change. I guess it doesn’t really matter. I don’t actually own a lot of dresses, in fact I really only had two contenders. One was safe. The other was… Well more me. “Let’s go change!” I tell him with more enthusiasm than he’d seen from me that night. “But this means you have to come in. ‘Kay?” I practically drag him back to the chamber with me. Once inside, I wait for him and as I close the door, I turn my back to him, pull my hair out of the way and ask; “Can you unzip me please?”

Ric:
"Twenty bucks should buy me more than two minutes." I say. If the cab driver left, I'd find a way to hunt him down and make him a new project later on. "Okay?" I was confused as to why she didn't think I would come in and wait for her to change. I'm being dragged, well, as much as she can drag me. She's a lot shorter than me and while she's strong, I'm no weakling. I stare at her back. Couldn't she do it herself? I just do it as to not waste any more time and possibly loose the presents in the trunk. "Okay." I unzip it, a little faster than I intended, but the thing was small and dainty.

Skylar:
“If you’re gonna manhandle my dress Ricky, the least you do is buy it a drink first.” I’m walking away before he can reply, laughing as I go. I don’t take long to get changed. I throw the dress on the bed, keep on the shoes I was already wearing and shimmy into my prefered outfit. It was about as far from black tie as my closet went without resorting to jeans and t-shirt. Ric pretty much had us covered on that front. While I’m in the bedroom, I remove the headband, remove the fixings from my hair, head-bang for a moment or two to shake it out and the throw it back. I run my fingers through it, replace the headband, snatch up my purse and head back to the front room. “How do I look?” I ask doing another, less impressive but more confident twirl.

Ric:
"Like you're an every day masquerade offender." I tell her when she gets back in the room, ignoring the comment about manhandling her dress. Mostly because of the drink comment that followed after it. "The cab driver probably won't mind." I shrug my shoulders, then look her over to give an honest opinion. The short dress shows off her legs and for a chi-woman they aren't bad looking. "You look like you." I assure her, then nudge my head to the door, indicating we should leave.

Skylar:
I raise an eyebrow at the masquerade comment as I’m not exactly sure what he means by it. “Is that a good or bad thing? And how does one look like a masquerade offender exactly?” I figure he has time to explain on the way. I cross the room, but before we leave, I wrap my arms around his neck and look up into his eyes. “And thank you. For suggesting I change. Your family may not like what I’m wearing but at least they get to meet the real me, not the Barbie doll princess I’m pretending to be.” It would be ever so easy to kiss him but I curb that instinct by remembering what happened a couple of weeks back; the last thing I needed tonight was to feel awkward around Ricky.

Ric:
"A bad thing, but some women were short things all year round." Like strippers, but I don't say that. That isn't a nice reference. Even I know that. "So you probably won't get too many looks. Maybe some propositions." I close my mouth right after I say that because I knew I should have not said it, but it just came out. "And it's cool. I'm on the naughty list as it is." I shrug as I stare at her, meeting her eyes as she looked at me. Skylar needed boundaries, but when I pointed it out, she took more space for herself. "Figure why not add to it?" I grin a little, but don't move from my spot. I feel like I should say something else. Or do something else, so I give her a hug. Barely. "Ready?" I ask as I peel her off my neck.

Skylar:
I laugh at his explanation but soon stop when he hugs me – brief as it may be - because that’s the first time he’s ever done that; hugged me without me hugging him first. Yes I have my arms around his neck but still. “I can… handle being propositioned. Besides…” I give a small shrug as he removes my arms from around his neck. “You’ll be with me. I’ll just tell them you’re my boyfriend and that you’re the jealous type. They’ll soon back off.” I smile and head for the door. “So… What you on the naughty list for?”

Ric:
Skylar always had these strange, exuberant explanations. Illogical too. All these qualities made it hard to argue with her. "There was an incident a couple nights ago. I reported it and everyone was sort of dancing around it. Then the guy my sire is, well, you know, puts his two cents in and starts painting a scenario that isn't true. That maybe I broke into someone's house, or robbed pockets. Then told me to list anyone I think might have problems with me. More like demanded it. I might have had a few choice words." I shrug my shoulders as I follow after her, then grab for the door. I open it and then stand there with it open. I'm trying hard not to close the door and reopen it, but I give in and do it again. "Ready now?" I ask once it's open.

Skylar:
I watch and wait to see if he’ll open the door twice before we go through it. He does. It’s an odd thing to do, but I know it’s an impulse he can’t control so I wait till he’s through playing. I don’t mind his quirks, though I’m pretty sure he has a fair few more I haven’t seen yet. “If you are,” I tell him as I hop over the threshold. I don’t wait to be offered his arm this time. “So the guy your sire’s doing was a prick. You defended yourself with colourful language. Is that all it takes to get you on the naughty list?” I don’t really understand how his family works. If Nix’s beau was anything like Pi, things could get physical if the two of them were in the same space.

Ric:
"Well, not with Nix. She didn't say anything about it. Other people sort of told me he didn't mean anything by it, but the guy knows me. We're in the same faction and well, he's now part of Altaire too. But I'm sure he knows I don't like or trust him." I shrug my shoulders as I close the door behind us. "I'm sure everyone's cooled down by now. Especially since I know some Altaire did it. It was probably an accident." I didn't think twice about Pyper doing what she did when I found out it was her. She had issues with a few of her powers before. I lead her to the stairs of the catacombs. "We could always ditch the party if it's boring or whatever." I usually left about half way through anyways.

Skylar:
“Is he the kind of guy that needs to assert his authority over others?” I ask. I’m not entirely sure what happened to bring about the war of words, so I decide to ask. He’s apparently feeling chatty tonight so I might as well take advantage of the fact and learn a bit more about his family. “Some Altaire did what? You’re kind of bringing me in, in the middle of the story here.”

Ric:
"I don't know. Nix-that's my sire. Phoenix has had a bad run in with guys. A few times. I'm wary of his intentions. Well, what he actually wants instead of what's going on currently with them. I obviously know what he wants from her right now." I shake my head. It's disgusting thinking about Nix doing the dirty with anyone. Or any Altaire doing the dirty with anyone. It's not something I think about a lot, but when I do, I always want to bleach my brain. "I got attacked. Sort of. Mind blocked. Randomly. Come to find out, it was Pyper. She's sired by Phoenix too. Like Juliet and me." I shrug my shoulders. "You should meet Juliet. She's probably the sanest of all the women in Altaire. I'm sure I'll be one of the only guys there tonight. The other being Blake." We head into the catacombs, and round a corner to follow that path to another corridor and out the door to the sewers. "I mean, like get to know her. Besides that walk by stuff she does."

Skylar:
“Oh Ricky. There’s nothing wrong with getting your itch scratched.” I feel I have to tell him this because I saw him shake his head. I know he has a messed up view of sex and that he thinks it weird and unnecessary but he has to accept that some people – myself included – actually want/need it. “And sure. If you want me to get to know your sister I’m up for that. Can’t hurt… Right?” Though of course it could, depending on what she was like. I prefer to hope she’s like Charlotte, rather than Pi. I’m not much for female company but for Ric’s sake I was willing to make the effort.

Ric:
"Your what?" I look at her like she's from another planet and stop. Because I really have no idea what she's talking about. "What itch are you talking about?" I look her up and down, expecting her to stop and scratch something. Her leg, mostly. Because people could walk and itch their arm fine.

Skylar:
I laugh and tap him on the nose. “You crack me up. And don’t think I’m taking the piss, because I’m not. I find it adorable that you don’t know some of these things. It’s a euphemism… for sex. You know… that thing you say you hate.” I flash back to a conversation we’d had a while back in which he said he’d tried all walks of life. “Which reminds me…” I bump his hip with my own. “You can’t really say that if you’ve never had sex with someone you love. Or at the very least care deeply about. I mean sex can just be sex. But when you really like someone it’s… Well… Maybe one day you’ll find out.” I sound like me; confident and stuff but I feel my cheeks redden. I know what my treacherous body is thinking and I really don’t have the time to entertain that fantasy right now. It was something I could save for later though. Especially since Ricky’s been so… well… I dunno. He offered me his hand and half-hugged me. If I needed signs of hope to keep me interested they were certainly there. At least until he opens his mouth next, as I can almost guarantee the next sentence from his lips will make what little hope I have go up in smoke.

Ric:
This was going to be a long night. I internally face palm. How did we get on the topic of sex? Blake. That's right. My eyes narrow. "That's a stupid euphemism. If you're going to do something, no matter what it is, just say you're going to do it. Why sugar coat it with something else?" I rub my nose. "I'll take your word for it. Or just let you have all the sex with someone you love and care about and listen to it." Because Skylar liked to tell me all about the things she did. I don't think she has a filter in her brain on what is or isn't appropriate to talk about with people. I wonder if that's a her thing or an Allurist thing. Another allurist knew had the gift of gab.

Skylar:
“Woah. What? You want to listen to me have sex with another guy? That’s erm…” I don’t even know what to say to that. My brain starts replaying the conversation. Had I been daydreaming about all the things I wanted to do with him and ended up missing part of the conversation. I mean it’s kinky and kind of out there but still, I wasn’t sure that Ric was into that kind of thing. Dillon would probably jump at the chance to show Ric a thing or two. Though he really wouldn’t be the best role model. Not for Ric.

[Skylar]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

Ric:
"I'm sure I'll be subjected to it. I practically know everything else that's going on in your life." I shrug my shoulders and step around a puddle in the sewers. "But, I wouldn't mind not hearing about it." I add in. Maybe if I tell her things that are okay to talk about, she might listen.

Skylar:
I stop in the sewers, remove my arm from his and place my hands on my hips. “Well you sure as **** don’t listen very well, so I guess it doesn’t matter what I talk about.” I signal my frustration by raising one hand in the air as I grunt. “I ask you if you want to actually, you know, be there and listen to that and you ******* tell me I’d subject you to that.” I’m mad. I know it. He likely knows it. My voice echoes off the sewer walls. I scowl at him and poke him in the chest with my right index finger as I continue. “You know what Ricky? I’d never ******* do that to you. The only way you’d hear me having sex is if I were having it with you.” I cross my arms over my chest, huff and then blow a strand of hair out of my face. I’m too mad to use my fingers to do it and the damn thing doesn’t comply, which means I have to do it again. When it falls back in its starting position for a second time I just leave it be. One more attempt and I’d start look like a ******* bull.

Ric:
I have no idea what happened. I just listen and watch her as she explodes at me. What did I say? "What the **** are you talking about?" I think we're talking about the same thing, only we aren't. "I didn't mean literally." I just stand there, not sure what to say for a few reasons. "I meant that you'd probably tell me all about it." I rub at my hair, pushing it forward a little. "I'm sorry." I mutter, skipping over the idea of her having sex with me, because we both know hell freezing over would happen first.

Skylar:
“Oh yeah. Cos I live to make you uncomfortable with all the talk, of all the sex I’m not having with anyone that isn’t battery powered.” I nod and am finally annoyed enough to move that stubborn strand of hair. I don’t know how it got past the head band I’m wearing? I take the thing off, smooth my hair back – still glaring at him – and put it back on. “You really think I’m some sort of whore don’t you?” I fold my arms again and wait for his reply. Yes, the short, tight dress I’m wearing doesn’t do much to strengthen my argument but I had rather hoped he knew me better than that by now. The only other guy he’d seen me with recently was Dillon and I’ve told him several times over that there’s nothing between him and I.

Ric:
"I think you're more experienced than me. That doesn't necessarily make you a whore. A whore makes money for sex." I point out candidly. "And I'm not even going to ask about what the battery operated bit means. But a suggestion? If you don't want me or others to see you in a negative limelight, which I don't-tone it down a little. It's intimidating and uncomfortable. I can't relate to anything you're talking about."

Skylar:
I throw both hands in the air this time as I grunt. I spin on my heels, turn my back to him and rub at my temples with my index and middle fingers. God give me strength. I’m either going to slap him or force myself on him. Neither of which – I’m pretty damn sure – will end well for me. I stand there and say nothing. What can I say? Sorry. I had a psychotic break. I sigh, my shoulders noticeably rising and falling as I do. Things had started out so well. I don’t even know how we got here. I’m silent. Completely silent. I know I should say something, I’m just not sure what.

Ric:
"What are you doing?" I ask after she does whatever that was she did. I put a hand on her shoulder and give it a small shake. That's when I notice she's rubbing at her temples. Classic indication Skylar has a headache. I don't have anything for that. "Can we go to the party?" I don't know what happened, or why she has a headache. "Forget what I said about all the stuff I said. I'm sorry."

Skylar:
He shakes my shoulder and asks if we can go. I roll my eyes to myself. “Look.” My hands fall to my sides and I turn back to face him. I look up into his naturally dark eyes, thankful that the darkness stole their alluring lustre. “I just need a moment to calm myself down. All right? I don’t even know how to begin to explain to you how I feel right now. Not in a way you could relate too. I mean, being an allurist is not unlike having permanent PMS. Sometimes I don’t know if I’m coming or going. You said something that pissed me off. I should haven’t reacted the way I did. I wouldn’t have reacted like that a few months ago. Anger management issues. Maybe that’s something you could understand. It’s like having that only with lots of different emotions as the trigger.”

Ric:
"Oh." I nod my head at her, then take a step back from her to give her space and a moment. "We can go whenever." I actually don't care when we show up. And I care even less if the stupid presents are stolen. I wasn't even sure I was going to come to the thing after everything and then finding out Nix was married to Blake and hadn't told anyone. Hadn't told any Altaire. But it explained a lot. I pull out my cigarettes, then the lighter and light it. "I didn't mean that you would do that." I think I might make her mad again, so I stop talking and just stand there.

Skylar:
I should have known he didn’t mean it the way it sounded. Typical me. Hearing what I wanted to hear. Or didn’t want to hear. Or I dunno. Maybe I was just mad he’d want to share me. Would share me. The guy has me tied up in knots in time as I just don’t know what he’s thinking. Sometimes I think there’s hope. Sometimes I think I stand more chance of meeting E.T. Him backing away, even if was just one step makes me feel like ****. “I’m sorry Ricky.” And like that the storm had passed, I could hear it in my own voice. “I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable either. Well… Maybe sometimes. It’s fun to watch you squirm.” I smile at him, hoping he’ll forgive the emotional outburst that sprung from nothing more than a misunderstanding.

Ric:
"It's cool." I'm just glad whatever happened was done with because I really had no idea how it went from what was actually enjoyable to whatever that just was. "I don't squirm." I inform her in a very serious tone, that matches my facial expressions. "And I wasn't uncomfortable. I was observing. Trying to solve the puzzle." I start to walk again, this time slower than ever. I'm not sure if she's ready to go yet.

Skylar:
“But you said what I say is intimidating and uncomfortable. So… logically… I do make you uncomfortable. And you do squirm. Even if you don’t show it.” I say as I close the distance between us and take his arm. “Admit it Ricky. Go on. I swear I won’t tell another living or unliving soul.” I’m back in my groove and I know it. Scheduled programming had resumed.

Ric:
"Sure. Some parts of you are intimidating." I finally cave in after she takes my arm. "So we had to bring a small gift to the thing. Pretend you always knew what it was when whoever it is opens it." I suggest as we begin to walk to the sewer exit.

Skylar:
I ever so briefly rest my head on his shoulder as we walk. “Wait. What?” I’m pretty sure he’s throwing that out there to change the subject so I go along with it. It’s the most I can do after the **** I just gave him for no reason. “Why didn’t you tell me that before. What did I get… whoever it’s for? I really don’t want to look surprised. I’ll totally throw you under the bus otherwise.”

Ric:
"I don't know who it's for. And you got them a present." I reiterate as we keep walking. I push the desire to move my shoulder to push her head off it away. "It's a game of sorts." I inform her. That's all she was going to get out of me because I think it's stupid. I didn't know what to get for a person that I didn't know was getting the present.

Skylar:
I playfully smack his arm when he tells me I got them a present. “You’re a doofus. You know that right. Didn’t I tell you like yesterday that I’d be happy to help you with shopping for stuff. Why didn’t you just tell me we had to bring something?” A wicked thought comes to mind and I debate keeping it to myself but then think, **** it and say it anyway. “Were you worried I’d buy a dildo or a chocolate penis or something and embarrass you? I do have other interests besides sex you know.” Especially since I’m practically celibate. I finish that thought in my head. I don’t want to get into the why’s of that. Ric was a smart guy, maybe not when it came to stuff like this perhaps but I’m hoping he’ll figure it out eventually.

Ric:
"What? No." I stop and stare. Then shrug. "Should we stop and get one though?" Part of me was kidding. The other part? Not so much. "Kidding." I shouldn't be a dick and ruin an event for someone else. If I knew Blake was getting the gift, we would definitely stop.

Skylar:
“Am I giving you ideas?” I laugh. “Come on. Let’s go see if your taxi’s still waiting. So… What kind of party is it anyways? Will there be booze? And if so… Are you going to allow me to drink any?” I laugh again. I know he thinks I have a drinking problem. If that were true I’d probably be half cut already, what with my nerves about meeting his family. “Anyone in your lot that I need to keep an eye out for? You know. The handsy uncle type or something?”

Ric:
I wanted to say Calix, but decided against it. If he tried something on her, I wasn't against stabbing the guy as a friendly, "**** off," reminder. "No. And if you want. I'll be there. And you'll get back safe. I'll see to it." We hit the city streets and head to the cab. I give the guy another twenty for the extended wait. "It will probably be boring. Or over the top. There's no middle."

Skylar:
“Careful Ricky. That sounds awfully like you care.” I climb into the taxi, preserving as much of my modesty as my outfit will allow and settle back in the seat. “And it’s good to know you aren’t planning on getting me drunk and palming me off on some poor unsuspecting soul. Where is the party anyways? You never said.”

Ric:
"Not really. I'm just being a good host and, friend." I say that word slowly. I think Skylar is the first person outside of Altaire that I befriended. I tell the cabbie that we need to go to Wickbridge, to beta towers, specifically. "It's at one of Nix's apartments. In Beta towers." I add in, though I'm sure she knows this by now. "Do people do that? Get people drunk and ditch them?"

Skylar:
Holy crap – I catch myself before I do my best impression of a guppy at him – he admitted I was a friend. I’m no expert in Ric-eze, though I am trying, but I’m pretty sure that’s a big deal. “Oh. Well damn. Maybe I’d be better off crashing at yours tonight then. If you don’t mind that is. What with us being closer to your place and all.” I give a small shrug. It might look like I don’t care what his answer will be but of course I do. I’d much rather stay at his, especially since I had a legit reason like this. “And no. Not generally. I mean most people that bring a da… that bring someone to a party, usually leaves with them. That’s the norm. Though I guess it’s possible that one or other could get bored of the other and find themselves a better prospect while they’re there.” I don’t like the sound of that even as I say. The chances of him ditching me for a family member are slim but anything’s possible. “How about I’ll promise not to ditch you, if you promise not to ditch me? Deal?”

Ric:
"Yeah, whatever." I say, shrugging off the suggestion of staying at my place. "You know the bed's yours whenever you want or need it." I look at her when she mentions the possibility of me ditching her. "Sure." She obviously needed the reassurance to make me promise that I wasn't going to ditch her. "Deal." I look at the black bow-tie in her hair and grin a little. "If you get bored or something, we can leave whenever. Just let me know." I tell her as we head south and out of the Cherrydale district. "I don't really do Christmas anyways, so it isn't that big of a loss."

Skylar:
This night had really only just began and already I felt like I was in an episode of The Twilight Zone. Ric really isn’t acting like himself. Or maybe he is. Only it’s a new self. I still haven’t worked out exactly what it means for me but it has to be good right? He pretty much just told me I could stay whenever I liked. I can’t help but smile at that. I turn and look at him and catch him smiling too, just a little but it’s there. “Thanks. You may live to regret that offer you know.” I feel it’s only fair to warn him. Dillon was already complaining he spent more time at Ellie’s than I did and I came home almost every morning. “Do we need a signal?” I ask. “To let the other one know we want to leave? I mean I don’t know about you but I can’t do that talking into the mind thing that some people can. I could text you, but that would look pretty suss.”

Ric:
"When did you become a secret spy or something?" I look at her, amused. "Yeah, you're probably right. If you're the snoring type, I'm going to have to rescind my invitation." I shrug my shoulders, the smile vanishing. Maybe I'm serious, maybe I'm not. "Got any ideas for this signal? That's not obvious?" I sit back in the cab, my eyes still on her as I wait to hear her opinion before I give mine. If it's even needed.

Skylar:
I give him a big, genuine smile at the spy comment and then poke my tongue out to the snoring one. If I snored it was news to me. Dillon hadn’t ever complained, not even teasingly, so I probably don’t. “Signal… Erm… I could take the headband off… Though I might do that naturally.” I think through a few other gestures but none seem appropriate. “Maybe we need a code word? Oh and I don’t know if I snore. I don’t think I do. You can let me know.” I don’t look at him when I say that, I peer out the window at the road. I look to the cabbie and try to adjust myself in the seat so I’m not in his mirror. Was taking a cab a bad idea… masquerade wise?

Ric:
I listen and then shrug my shoulders. "Maybe a code word would be better." Only because maybe she would do something that was the gesture by accident. I might do it too. "Or we could just tell them we have to leave. You have to play at Lancaster's or something." I shrug my shoulders. "Or maybe you could say you have a headache." I shrug. I wasn't good at making up excuses. I just, left.

Skylar:
“Oh wow,” I turn my body towards him and grip his arm with both hands. “That’s pretty perfect. I mean if anyone checks we can always say my drummer bailed on us at the last minute. Drummers are notoriously difficult to replace. Especially at short notice.” I realise I might be pushing that boundary of his, as grabbing his arm for having a good idea was probably crossing a boundary and so I pull my hands back to my lap and start fiddling with my purse. “Though if you say we have somewhere better to be, I’ll go along with that too. Even if the somewhere better is just back to yours to listen to music or something. Oh and PDA’s. Do I need to behave myself? Around you that is, since your family will be watching.”

Ric:
"What's PDA?" I look at her. Mostly the hands that are playing with her purse. "And if that excuse works, we should use it. I don't think, 'We're going back to my place,' is a valid excuse." I shrug my shoulders, not realizing how that sounds because I'm speaking literally. I look out the window and notice the bank in Gullsborough that I stop at every couple weeks when I deposit some cash there with them.

Skylar:
“Public displays of affection. I was asking if I should stay away from you more or less. No hugging, tapping you on the nose, that kind of thing. People will… make assumptions. And god no. If you say that they’ll think we’re skipping out early to go have sex.” Not that I’d mind if we did. I just know how Ric’s pretty much repulsed by the idea. Unfortunately. I can’t help but sigh softly and my hands clutch at the purse as we draw ever closer to our destination.

Ric:
"That's a broad assumption." I tell her about people thinking we're going to have sex. "And I don't know. I don't care about PDA. If I said no, you'd act weird. Like in that dress." I shrug my shoulders as we pass the tavern by the river. "Do whatever you want. I'm not in charge of you."

Skylar:
I nudge him with my foot, which is a little more challenging considering my outfit and the fact that we’re in the back of a car. “Well you see.” I decide to explain my reasoning, even if it might trigger some sudden realisation as to what I’ve been doing these last few months. “If I’m how we are when we’re alone, then people will assume that you’re fine with that kind of thing now and they might start doing it more often too. That and they’ll definitely assume we’re *******.” I put it as coarsely as possible, to hide the fact I’d like nothing more than to be doing what they’d all be thinking. What I can’t control is the sudden flush of fire in my cheeks as I say. I’m usually fine talking about sex. I have no problem over sharing or talking smut, usually. However, every time I think of Ric that way I feel… Well I feel and that fire has to go somewhere.

Ric:
"I don't want more people doing what you do." I didn't even like that she did it. To have more people doing it? I would probably live in the shadows forever. I look from the window, to her. I stare when she says people will assume we would be screwing around. I notice her blush, for at least the second time tonight. Sex talk usually didn't make her do that. Part of me wants to offer for her to **** me already so she could be thoroughly disappointed and we could move past the little things she says that I don't comment on, but the truth is, I don't want to have to deal with cleaning up another fadebeast mess. It took me months to clean the apartment and I'm still sure there's blood somewhere in the place. "Probably not. Most of them think I'm gay. But they can think whatever. I'm gay, we're screwing. I don't really care."

Skylar:
“I’ll try and behave then.” I tell him before I find myself chewing on the inside of my mouth again. “I’m actually a little nervous.” I admit. Again this was silly. I’m me. I’m great. I’m super confident. I’m a busker. I win over strangers on a daily basis. But no matter how much I tell myself these things, that gnawing ache in the pit of my stomach tells me to be worried.

Ric:
"Of what?" I don't think I've ever been nervous. But then again, I tend to only do things after serious calculation and preparation. No need to be nervous. "Don't be. There's no need to be. The worse case scenario, we get annoyed and we leave. The best case? You make a friend." I suggest as the cab stops and I pull out a few more twenties and pay the guy. "Besides, it's a party and you like those. Or going out and having fun. It's practically the same thing here." I close the door and move around the side of the cab to her side. I grab the handle and jiggle it a total of four times, then open the door and wait for her to step out.

Skylar:
I’m glad he’s out of the cab as it gives me a moment to think up a reasonable response to what he’s just asked. What am I afraid of? I wait for him to open the door and don’t say anything him taking his time. Apparently cars get a different tic. I file that way for later. “Well,” I say stepping out onto the sidewalk. “They’re your family. They’re important to you. And if they hate me. It’s going to suck.” I decide honesty is the best policy. I’d been pretty truthful about a lot of things up until now, so this one was a little easier to say. “But no worries I’ll suck it up.” The cabbie gets out to open the trunk for Ric but before he can go get his stuff I throw my arms around him and give him two good hugs before kissing his cheeks. “Had to be done. Sorry. I have no idea how long I have to behave for. Best get it out of my system now.”

Ric:
I don't agree or disagree with her when she says Altaire are important to me. They are and they aren't. Some will never be and lately, it seems that no matter how important some of the others are, I'm just not as important to them. It bothers me, but I don't say it. To her or anyone. I move to grab the presents but am stopped when she gives me her usual hug and kiss greeting, only we aren't greeting. "Try and contain yourself. Princess. It's only a few hours." I grab the presents and stack them in order; largest on the bottom to smallest on top before we head in to the party.

Skylar:
Pfft. Contain myself. Ric and I had our own natural rhythm with one another, so I knew behaving – on my end – was going to be hard. I had to be me. But not Ric’s me. Me me. I click my fingers in the way I do when I feel like this. This was my last chance to expel any nervous energy I had in me. Click. Click. Clap. Click. Click. Clap. Right. I can do this. I take a deep and unnecessary breath as I look him over where he stands, presents in hands. Yeah. He’s worth it. “Okay Ricky… Let’s do this thing.”

[Roderic]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

----- After The Party -----

Skylar:
I leave the party, practically cursing Ric’s name as I wait for the elevator to take me down to the lobby. There were a number of things I’m happy about and I start to make a list of them as I watch the flashing light that indicates where the elevator is. First he did his shadowing thing after promising not to leave me. Secondly leaving like that was just plain rude. Not only to me, but to his family. We literally showed up, got given presents and left. It looked so bad. I barely had a chance to say word and I like to talk and be social. Then there was the thing with Juliet. Just what the **** is date night? My mind of course jumps to the worst possible conclusion. I’ve been suckered. After all I’d been through to get Ric to even accept me kissing his cheek, it turned out
When the elevator arrives, arms fully loaded, I press the button for the ground floor and allow my thoughts to wind me up. I don’t have much choice in the matter really. Allurists are prone to mood swings and right now I’m definitely changing tempo. I was pretty happy at the party. After everything I’d imagine, I felt quite comfortable there. Welcome even. Now I’m just pissed.
As the doors open, the first thing my eyes settle on is Ric. I’m not happy and it probably shows in my eyes. As I approach him I wonder just how the **** I’m going to punch him in the shoulder with my hands full? The answer is, I’m not. I kick him instead, in the shin. Not too hard, just hard enough to know I was annoyed with him.
“What the **** Ric?”

Ric:
There was too much going on at the party, so I said what I thought was the code words and booked it. I came, socialized and then got uncomfortable. With how much was going on. But I felt we did our part and so we could head out. The shadows dropped around me when I made it to the main floor of the flats because I kicked a zombie in their gut, then stabbed it in the head. Kind of hard to keep shadows around you when you're kicking all this ***. I heard the elevator open and suspected it would be her. "So what did-" Skylar came around and kicked me in the shin. "What was that for?" I rubbed at my hair, which was shorter than usual because yesterday Freyja gave me a haircut. Why? Because she could apparently. Damn Altaire women.

Skylar:
“For leaving me like you did. You’re a dick. You know that right? If you take someone somewhere, you don’t just ditch them, you damn well leave with them. Unless they refuse to go with you, in which case ditch away. But I was planning on following Ric. You just ******* left me there with your family to say good bye on my own.”
I want to rub at my temples but I can’t, so I shove all the stuff I’m carrying into Ric’s arms.
“And for being a dick, you can carry this lot. Which by the way you should be doing anyways. It’s not polite to make the girl carry stuff. You’re the man in this relationship Ricky. Not me.”

Ric:
"I never claimed to have etiquette 101 skills." I remind her as she goes off at me. "I said you had to go perform. Not my fault you neglected to hear that information or to acknowledge it." I pointed out in the next sentence before I state the obvious again. I don't know why Skylar says the obvious sometimes. "I also know you are a woman. At least from an external glance." I extend an arm out to her breast region. "I gave you all the gifts because I don't want them. That might be rude, as you say I am, but I'm not overly materialistic. For a couple reasons."

Skylar:
I sigh.
“Well then let me school you. It doesn’t matter who owns what. The guy usually doesn’t let the girl carry stuff.”
I’m not sure why I’m arguing this. It’s not like I’m some weak arse girly, girl that needs looking after. I could probably beat Ric these days in an arm wrestling competition. I spent so much time hammering out metal and reworking it that my strength and endurance had improved like crazy over the last few months.
“It’s a chivalry thing.”
I add in case that helps to clarify my point.
“And I’m a ******* woman. Don’t make things worse by implying I could be a dude. I’ll ******* prove it to you if you want? Just say the word.”
I’m still annoyed and my words are more of a challenge than an offer. Though as annoyed as I am, I know I’d follow through if he decided to take me up on the chance to prove my gender. He’d probably not like the manner in which I’d choose to prove it but that would be his problem if he asked for it.

Ric:
"Right here?" I shrug. "Sure. Go ahead, princess." I stand back, ready to see what she's going to do, gifts in my hands, though I move them down a little so that I can see what she's going to do to prove she's a woman, even though I already know that she is.

Skylar:
“**** no. I’m not proving that here. I’ll prove it to you when we’re back at yours. What do you take me for? Some kind of ******* whore?”
I leave out the bit about me not being drunk enough. It’s the truth but he probably wouldn’t want to hear that. I’d taken my top off while walking down the street after the auction but in this day and age having breasts – even small ones like mine – didn’t mean you were a woman.
“And… while we’re talking about whores… Care to explain what Juliet meant by date night? You told me you don’t date.”
I bite back my words once more as I want to call him a ******* liar. I was going to make him seriously uncomfortable when I got him back to his flat and I was going to love every single moment of it.

Ric:
I just shake my head in disappointment. Some people had true galls, and could put their money where their mouth was, but not Skylar. I heard about girls like her. 'Teases,' they called them. I wonder if this situation applied to that phrasing. "No, but you did offer." I point out. "And I don't." I shrug. "Someone told me an incorrect definition of dating. Which was actually hanging out. So I asked a bunch of people, mostly some Altaire’s and my faction leader out on a date. She corrected me." I look away because a lot of people got a good laugh from it, but I hadn't.

Skylar:
I want to argue when he says I offered. I had. I would. I just wasn’t going to pull my pants down here where anyone could walk in off the streets and see me. The words are still there but when he explains about the date night thing a little of my anger dissipates. I could see that. He did seem to have issues with his lexicon at times.
“Right. Okay. Well… Cool. Maybe you should get her to call it something else then. Since you’re now on the same page as the rest of us. Kinda.”
I’m not having a dig at him. He still has issues and I’m pretty sure he knows that, but then wasn’t that we he had me? To help him navigate social situations.
“Come on Ricky…”
I start walking backwards, my eyes on him as I move towards the door.
“Let’s get home so I can make good on my offer.”
I smile at him. I wasn’t pissed off anymore. In fact I felt pretty good. Not only were we skipping out early, which meant more tie alone with him, but he’d given me free reign to do something totally inappropriate, even if he hadn’t realised it.
“Oh and on the way I’ll explain to you how us leaving like this is rude. I’m gonna need Nix’s email. I owe her an apology.”

Ric:
"You could just show me what's up top. Not that I ever said I didn't believe you were a ch-woman." I catch myself. "I know this by your rapid and extreme mood swings." I say as we step outside. "And I'll write it down when we get back to the apartment." I head north to the train station. "Can you walk on water yet?" I ask her softly as I readjust the presents in my arms since I won't be seeing a show.

Skylar:
Now I punch him on the shoulder.
“Beginning to regret your words Ricky?”
I tease.
“You wanted proof. You’re damn well getting it. And no. I can’t walk on water yet. I have no idea if I’ll ever develop that super power.”
I shrug and take out my phone. He may be content to wait till we get back to his to give me the email but I wanted to send the thing now before I forgot and so I begin to type out my apology. As I start putting things into words I realise that I should have thanked her for allowing me to come before I left. Damn Ric. I wasn’t usually this rude. The guy fucked with my head and not always in a good way.

Ric:
"Great. I can't wait. Been waiting to know what was under the hood for months now." I roll my eyes. Somehow I think Sky took this a little too far on purpose. But I'm wondering what else I could say or do to get results in my favor due to this fluke. But something else drew my attention. "Is that how you see vampire powers? As super powers?

Skylar:
I don’t comment on the ‘under the hood’ thing. I’m pretty sure he’s lying and I can’t be bothered to argue it out with him. Besides, I need to finish up my email.
“Mhm.”
I give him the typical female reply that means ‘I am listening and you are correct but I’m too busy doing something far more important to pay any attention to you right now.’
I stay quiet for a moment longer and then hand him my phone.
“Type in the email addy for me please so I can get this sent?”
Now my mind is free to debate whatever he likes I decide to give him a proper answer to his question.
“Yeah. Why not? It fits. I mean normal people don’t have powers. We’re like superheroes or something. Or we could be if we wanted to be. Heroes or villains. I guess it all depends how we choose to use the powers we have. You’ve seen Spiderman right? The whole ‘with great power, comes great responsibility’ thing.”

Ric:
"I'm sure she won't even care. They're used to me disappearing at these things. It's usually a lot worse." I tell her before I type in Nix's email address anyway. I hand the phone back to her with a shrug so she can send it and look around the city streets. "I've never seen Spiderman, no. I don't watch a lot of movies. Or television." I remind her before I nudge my head to the north and then to the east. "Are we going to your place or mine? And how do you judge the use of your powers? Are you a hero or villain?"

Skylar:
“Yeah yeah.”
I take the phone, read through what I wrote one more time and hit send. Nix may be used to Ricky being an arse but she didn’t know me from Adam and I kind of wanted to be on her good side. Not that that was the only reason to apologise. I’d been rude in my mind, so I needed to make amends. That’s just who I am.
“It’s a comic too and we’re going to yours. Remember?”
I look at all the **** he’s carrying and wonder if it might be best for him to do that summoning thing he said he could do, as I’m not sure he can carry all of that and me over the river. But I leave that up to him to decide. He knows his limitations better than me. Or at least he should.
“And that’s a good question. I guess that remains to be seen right? I mean I don’t have that many powers. I seem to be able to confuse people and talk them into giving me a good deal. Both of which work to my advantage I guess. I have Dillon wrapped around my little finger so much that if I ordered him to jump off a bridge he would. That could easily be misused, I have to be careful what I say around him now. And then I have the ability to inspire greatness in others. Which I tend to mainly use on you. So all in all, I’m probably not powerful enough to be a hero or heroine rather. I’m more of a sidekick. I help others.”
I shrug. I’d not really given it too much thought up until now.
“What about you? You don’t see them as superpowers? I’m betting you’d prefer to be the villain too.”

Ric:
"Yeah, well maybe you think I'm so rude you can't stand to be around me for the rest of the night or something irrational." I say plainly with a shrug as we head east. "No. I see them as abilities that we need to be careful using otherwise we're going to **** ourselves over. And you're a complete villain. From what you said, to the idea of inspiring me to greatness. You're inspiring me for your own selfish reasons. At least, at first. Maybe not anymore. But you wanted to imprint yourself on my soul, knowing I don't buy that garbage." I shift the stuff around in my arms as we keep walking. "And I'm neither. Maybe somewhere in the middle between villain and hero. I do what people need to do, which could be seen as negative, but for a good cause."

Skylar:
“Hey. You ain’t getting rid of me that easily.”
I follow him through the streets as per usual and take in what he says next.
“And that’s hardly fair. Just because I can do something doesn’t mean I have to. Well… With the confusing people that is. That seems to be something I control. The charming people into giving me a deal thing kinda happens whether I want it to or not. The Dillon thing, also not my fault. You think I’d choose to enslave a friend? Though that worked out for the best what with me having bitten him and him remembering it and all. At least now he’ll never blab no matter how drunk he gets.”
I laugh before I re-address the last power. Ric had it pretty much spot on. I was trying to get him used to me. I mean the first time I inspired him it had actually been an accident. I’d just been thinking about him. Now it was totally intentional but more to keep him safe and let him know I cared.
“And yeah. Maybe you have me there with the inspiring thing. Though the first time was a total accident. I didn’t know I could do it. And yeah. I wanted you to be used to my energy. Did it work?”
I look at him, the curiosity in my eyes. I’m pretty sure it did work on some level as he does allow me into his space now, occasionally. Though that might have more to do with the physical efforts I make rather than the mental one.
“And yeah I totally do it to keep you safe these days. When Ellie does it to me it’s like a mental hug. Even if I don’t see him that night I know he cares. I like that. I guess I just want you to have the same thing.”

Ric:
"You've grown on me. Like a cold sore." I tell her, but realize how mean that sounds. Somehow it didn't seem that mean when I was thinking it. "If you're asking am I used to you being around, then I am. Even if you can be annoying and selfish on the occasion. And have a wild active imagination." I nod my head and look across the half-frozen river that stood between us and the apartment. "So a couple options. I can attempt to carry you on my back with all this crap. Or I carry you, you carry the boxes and stuff. Or we toss whatever we don't want. Whatever isn't practical." Which was almost all of it, in my mind. Maybe I was The Grinch.

Skylar:
Great. I’m as welcome as a cold sore and he thinks I’m selfish. Perfect. I half want to call him and arse and argue with him. I half never want to speak to him again. I’m filled with a quiet rage. The kind I had as I rode the elevator down alone. I momentarily close my eyes and try to force the feelings back down into my gut as I don’t want to deal with them. Instead of reacting though, I just go quiet.
“Whatever.”
That’s the only reply he’ll get from me till I can figure out how to speak without trying to verbally take his head off. Damn stupid vampire PMS. It sucked. I feel like I’m one some emotional rollercoaster, only I don’t have the option to ever get off or take a break. It certainly doesn’t help that trying to date Ric is not unlike banging my head repeatedly against a brick wall and hoping the thing falls down. I small part of me doesn’t know why I torture myself like this. The part of me that ignores that small part, does so because it too doesn’t have a good answer. Am I just stubborn? Is the challenge of getting what I want all that’s driving me? I glare at Ric and try to hold on while my rollercoaster takes me further into the depths of anger and despair.

Ric:
Whatever? That's all she had to say? I stare at her and absorb the silence from her. At first, I liked it, but silence from Skylar didn't seem right. Her yapping my ear off was probably better than this. This was what Phoenix did when I said or did something she didn't like or agree with. Silent treatment. "Phoenix does this. What did I do?" I ask her, turning to face Skylar completely.

Skylar:
I can’t help but groan as he asks what he did. I’m pretty sure he knows and him asking me is just dumb. But then I remember that he’s odd. It’s part of what I like about him but sometimes he really has no idea about social norms.
“You compared me to a ******* cold sore.”
The fact that I have to tell him means my emotions are set free before I’ve had a chance to process and squash them. I’m angry and it shows in the sharpness of my tone.
“And called me selfish. And as far as being selfish goes you are full of ****. Compared to most people I’m a ******* saint. If you hate me and don’t want me around you should just ******* say. Taking digs at me is just cruel.”

Ric:
I frown. "Okay, maybe my words were a little strong, but you get to say whatever comes in your mind. Just because you add, 'in the interest of full disclosure,' doesn't mean it's wanted advice." I point out. "Maybe saying you were like a cold sore was a bit overboard. I don't mind you. Being around. I'm sorry." I don't talk about her being selfish or not. Obviously we won't agree on that one. Forcing her abilities on me did seem selfish.

Skylar:
“When I say in the interest of full disclosure, I usually follow that with a fact about myself that you might not like. I don’t insult you or anyone else when I use that turn of phrase. And you think it’s only a bit overboard? **** me. You really don’t have any social skills do you? There. That’s an insult. No full disclosure necessary on that one. That’s just the truth. And how the hell am I selfish? Tell me. I really want to ******* know what I do that’s so ******* awful.”
I have my arms folded across my chest and I’m still glaring at him, when I can bring myself to look at him that is. Heightened emotions are a ***** and I’m struggling not to kick, punch or throw something at this point. I never used to get like this. Not before I died that was.

Ric:
If she expected a reaction from me about my lack of social skills, she wasn't going to get one. It's true and I know it. But I did feel I had made some substantial progress in the last year or so. If not, we wouldn't have even been talking. I wouldn't have gone to the Altaire thing and she wouldn't have come with me. She also wouldn't have had a key to my apartment. I would have just stuck my sword in her skull and that would have been the end of Skylar camping out in front of my door. For a few weeks at least. Maybe forever. "You force yourself on people. And you expect them to just be accepting of it. And push boundaries and keep pushing them, even if they aren't comfortable. You don't care how the other person might," I almost say feel, but decide against that. "Be busy, or stuff." I never say stuff, but it sounded better than saying 'feel,' in my mind.

Skylar:
“Two words Ricky. Go away. That’s all you need to say. Don’t want me around. Tell me. I push everyone’s boundaries. Okay maybe I push you further than I push other people but…”
I stop short of telling him I like him. It’s the truth and I’ve probably said it before but for some reason my mind is protesting those words.
“You need it. Even if you don’t know you need it. Or want it. So yeah I’m selfish for trying to help you get past your social phobias. What a horrid ******* manipulative woman I am.”
I huff. If I didn’t still have the headband on I’d likely be blowing hair out of my eyes too.

Ric:
"Alright already." I snap at her, the gifts going to the ground when I throw my hands in the air, exhausted with Skylar and her dramatics. I'm a rude, insensitive asshole. Got it. Got it the first few times we hung out, got it before I even met her and got the message loud and clear again, in case I forgot it. "Same thing, Skylar. You don't like hanging out with rude assholes, walk away." I point away from the lake, to all the other options she could walk. North, West, even east to the woods if she wants. "I said I was sorry. And I didn't say I wanted you to go away." I start picking up the presents I dropped. "And you're not a doctor. I doubt you could help me with whatever you think is wrong. Not that there is anything wrong with me. Maybe there's something wrong with-never mind." If I finished that sentence, I'm sure it would start another argument. "Your choice, but I'm going home." I snatch up the last present and place it on top all the others; again all of them in perfect order.

Skylar:
I have a few thoughts on what I think is wrong with him; the most likely of which not being something I should volunteer mid argument. Luckily I manage to bite back the idea that he was probably abused as a child.
I bend down to help him pick the stuff up. I don’t want to go away. I like him. Even if he only tolerates me and sees me as some sort of nasty disease he can’t shift. I don’t know why I do this to myself. I sigh and try to push my anger away from me.
I know how his sentence ended. No need to fill in the blanks there. There’s something wrong with me. I wouldn’t deny that. I’d never liked walking the conventional path people expected of me. I - like every other ******* person on the planet - have issues.
I shake my head.
“I’m not going anywhere. I like hanging out with you. Even though you can be an arse. I know some of your more obvious flaws Ricky. They don’t bother me. Normally.”
Okay so saying **** without thinking or without realising how bad it sounded. That was a flaw I could live without but then he’d been that way since the day I met him, I didn’t really have any right to complain? Did I? I think about it for a moment. I guess I’m just hurt he doesn’t like me the way I like him. God. I’m acting like a teenage girl.

Ric:
I know we've come to the point that I should say something nice. About her. "I don't mind hanging out with you either." That was nice. Right? I think back to what I said and how I said it. No, it wasn't really that nice. It was me saying the same thing she said almost. Like it was expected for me to say it. I stop and look her up and down. "You have nice calves." I blurt out. It's true-she did. And while the dress was definitely an eye full in a negative way in the middle of winter, it did show off her nice calves and some more. I realize I'm staring at her legs and that it might be creepy, so I look at the lake again. "Again. I'm sorry." I say before heading closer to the bank of water.

Skylar:
I smile when he says he doesn’t mind spending time with me as it’s the best I’m going to get from him. Or so I think, because then he blurts out that I have nice calves. I look down at my legs to see if I think the same. I figure they’re okay. Nothing to write home about. I know I’m not ugly, but I’m not particularly vain either. “Aww. That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me and I’m going to reward you for it by not kissing you on the cheek.” I laugh. I didn’t mind him checking me out. Truth be told I didn’t really care if random men on the street checked me out, so long as they didn’t’ try and pinch my arse or something. Perving is only allowed from a far as far as strangers go. I have to know someone pretty well, or be completely drunk before I allow some random guy to paw at me. That or I have to be attracted to them. Ric had more or less gotten away with groping my arse the first night we met, even if it was just to keep me on his back. I smile at the thought of that. “I’m sorry too Ricky. You aren’t the only one at fault here. Just do me a favour, ‘kay? Just remember that you can tell me to go away if I’m being a pain. All right? I don’t really do hints. Honesty’s the best policy and all that. Oh and in the interest of full disclosure…”
I grin at him as I use those words. “I might not listen even then. I reserve the right to be me and bug you as I see fit. But it’s still best all round if I know I’m not wanted.”

[Skylar]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

Ric:
I just look at her astounded. I could tell her to get bent and she gets to decide if she wants to? What if she never wanted to? "In the interest of full disclosure-if you decide not to leave, you might get hurt." I think it's fair to be up front with her that way when she decides to be Skylar and do what she wants to do and not what she should do, she can't be mad at me. "Now, I really don't think I can carry you on my back." I tell her. "Not with all these presents. Should we flip a coin? Some gifts get ditched, or I carry you and you carry the presents?" It's the best solution in my mind. Summoning hadn't even crossed my mind because for whatever reason, she never wanted me to do it before.

Skylar:
“That’s fine by Ricky. Consider me forewarned.”
I assume he means physically but he could just as easily mean emotionally. Either way if he told me to **** off and I didn’t listen I’d deserve whatever it was he chose to do to me. Not that I really see Ricky ever hurting me.
I think about the options he gave once more. I know I could suggest the summoning thing but I’m not entirely sure what that involves and being carried by Ricky means… well…being carries by Ricky. On his back or in his arms. Either way it was an acceptable form of closeness to him.
“If you carry me and I hold the presents you are still carrying a lot of weight. You good with that?”

Ric:
"There's not that much stuff. Sleeping bag barely weighs anything. A book. The only things are the statue things Chatterb-Connie made." I point out with a shrug. "I can manage. As long as you sit nicely." A small grin pulls on my face. "And still." I hand her the boxes, then assess the situation before I nod and go behind her back. I sweep her up like I normally do and then adjust her weight with the added weight. Maybe I underestimated how much those statues actually weighed. But I attempt to make do, because I said I'd be fine, but as we start to cross the river, Skylar is starting to droop in my hold. I won't make it the entire way. "This isn't going to work." I tell her. "But I think most of the river is frozen. I'm not certain though. Not worth the risk." I turn back for the shore.

Skylar:
I always find myself fighting the urge to kiss him or lick his face when we’re this close. I’d do it too if I didn’t fear him dropping me, arse first into the water. While it’s not like I’d die from pneumonia, I’m not sure if catching a cold is out of the question and I really didn’t feel like getting sick.
“So what we gonna do then? You gonna try that summoning thing? And if so… Does it hurt?”
I’m still not sure what it means to be summoned but I guess that Ric wouldn’t have offered to do it in the past if it would have harmed me. Well, not until after he’d gotten what he needed from me that night that was.

Ric:
"It's that or go through the sewers." I tell her so she can weigh out the options. "No, it doesn't hurt, but it does require you to trust me. Trust that I can do it and that I have the best intention when I summon you. Which is just to the apartment. No reason not to trust me." I tell her as I move to grab some of the presents from her. "See you soon. If you trust me." I turn on my feet and start my way across the river.

Skylar:
I pout as I don’t have time to do or say anything before he’s already off. I guess he decided against the sewers. Or I was supposed to take them on my own? I’m not entirely sure what his plan is. I consider calling out after him to tell him I trust him but that might bring too much attention to us, to him. I pull out my phone, settle down on the floor and settle for texting him instead.
I trust you Ricky. I’ll wait for you to summon me.
Given the nature of our conversation I probably shouldn’t trust him to want me anywhere near him. It would serve me right for going off at him if he left me here. Though that wouldn’t do him any good in the long run cos it’s not like I don’t know where he lives.

Ric:
I think I've only ever summoned two people before. But neither one of them complained about being hurt in the process. And I’ve been summoned before and it never bothered me. Hopefully it was the same experience for Skylar or we would be taking the sewers if there was a reason we couldn't take the lake again. Not that I'd blame her if that was the case. When I get to the apartment, I do my usual routine. After the door is open and the boots are wiped off, I put the gifts on the couch. I reply to the text quick, Incoming. I stand back from the couch and think about Sky. Longer than I ever have before and harder too. Things about her. Things that I found both tolerable and slightly annoying and then thought about her being in front of me. "Hocus pocus, or whatever it is that makes this **** work." I mumble to myself as I step back even further, waiting for her to appear.

Skylar:
I can’t help but keep staring at the clock on my phone. I bite my lip and wait. I’m not entirely sure how long it takes to get to his on foot over the river and there’s a chance he got waylaid in the process. I do my best to work out the time at which he might get back though and then just wait. Waiting takes forever. While he’s doing his thing – whatever that may be – I start considering how I could prove to him that I was a woman. Just how far was I willing to go to make him uncomfortable. There probably wouldn’t even be any options if I’d had a drink, I’d just go with the first thing that came to mind. By the time my phone beeps, I have three ways picked, each a little worse than the last. I barely have a chance to read what the text says before I find I’ve somehow shifted location and find I’m sitting in front of Ricky’s feet.
“Hey you.”
I hold my hand up to him and hope he’ll help me up off the floor.
“That was… different.”

Ric:
A hand was offered and I take it. I pull up and nod my head. "Yeah, but pretty fast and cool, right?" I say because I think it is. "The possibilities on this power is probably pretty endless." I imagine doing not so nice things with the ability. "Imagine how useful it would be to a duo of bank robbers. Someone goes in, cases the joint and then the other sits back and summons the person. Not that that's my thing, but I'm surprised no one has thought of it before." I let go of her hand when I realize I still have it long after she's standing up.

Skylar:
My fingers curl around his hand and I’m more than aware of the fact that he doesn’t let go when I’m back on my feet.
“Yeah. Is it! Quick. Painless. It’s frickin’ awesome. Imagine combining that power with that transmogrification one. You go in as an animal, then summon your partner in crime.”
I laugh and start taking my shoes off. I pick them up and go place them by the front door.

Ric:
When she's gone, I dig out my phone and send an email to Phoenix. An apology, even if I feel it's unnecessary and she can probably tell that I think it's unnecessary because I said I was only apologizing because my 'conscious' said we were rude. That's when I noticed Phoenix replied to an email from the night before. About Blake and her being married. I read it and re-read it and can't make any sense of it. I wait until Skylar returns and ask her. Without indicating who I was talking about. "Why would people consider themselves husband and wife without being married?"

Skylar:
“Woah. Where’d that come from?”
Ric asked the strangest questions but truth be told I didn’t need the answer to that to be able to give him an answer to his.
“Well I guess they feel that committed to one another or some ****. I dunno. Seems weird to me. You’re only husband and wife if you get married.”
At least this was one social convention Ric could understand. It’s not like now where I think we’re pretty much dating and he’s only just decided we are friends. We’d both have to be on the same page for that one to happen. Mainly cos I couldn’t marry him without him knowing.

Ric:
"Just something I heard about." I wasn't lying, I did hear about it from Phoenix. I just didn't feel the need to put my sire on the spot like that. Not because I think something is stupid. But as Skylar keeps talking it seems she thinks it's stupid too. "Maybe they're trying it out. Plan on getting married. Later on." I wanted to email Nix and ask her that, but slide my phone back in my pocket. Now wasn't the time. Because depending on the answer, I might stab Blake in his skull. I didn't trust the guy with anything outside the faction. Nix was the best vampire, but her relationship skills? Not the best. Axel was a prime example of this.

Skylar:
“Huh? You don’t try out labels like that. That’s just weird. I mean living together in preparation to get married I can understand but what does it matter what you call the other person? If I started calling you hubby, people would assume we married.”
I don’t think I need to put it in context for him like that but I can’t help myself. I’m obviously a glutton for punishment as the moment I say it I want to take it back as I know I’ve just left myself wide open to being insulted.

Ric:
"I don't really like labels. I just thought it was weird to call someone your husband or wife when you aren't really married." I shrugged. "But I think a lot of stuff doesn't make sense, so I figured I would ask. You're probably more knowledgeable on stuff like that than me by a thousand fold." I start collecting the presents and putting them into two piles. 'Hers' and 'mine.' My pile just had one of the Phoenix's, until I decided she could have that two. Two is better than one in other things. Supposedly.

Skylar:
I can’t argue with him there and yet even if I told him right now that in my “expert opinion” we are dating, he wouldn’t believe me. I’ve never had to covertly date someone before. It seemed weird. Dishonest even. Probably not unlike calling him hubby without us having the official papers to prove it. I shake those thoughts off and watch him as he starts messing around with the gifts.
“All right. Leave that stuff alone. I need you to do something… ”
I wait till I have his full attention and then I continue.
“I need you to pick a number; one, two or three.”
I look at her like she's from another planet before I just shrug and stop putting all the presents in one pile. "One." I say, my eyes still on her. "Do I win a prize or something?"

One wasn’t a bad option as far as options went. That just involved me getting naked so that he could take in the body Mother Nature gave me. Had he chosen option two I’d of helped him explore my nether regions, sight unseen. It was hard to argue with the results of that one. Yes gender reassignment was possible, but then I highly doubt Ric actually needs the proof he asked for. We both knew the reason for this little experiment was anything but what it appeared to be. Option 3 wouldn’t have involved me stripping per se, that was more flashing him what I have. While I’m sure he’s seen the female form on more than one occasion I’m curious to see how he’ll react when I actually start undressing for him.
“You win the method by which I prove I’m female. So now you just have to decide how involved you want to be in this little show I have planned.”
I close the distance between us and wait for his answer, my arms folded across my chest as I look him over. I should have asked him to prove he was male. I’d probably get more out of that show than he was going to get out of mine.

Ric:
I want to face palm. She was still on about this? "Look. I don't think you're a guy. Your frame tells me you're a chick. There's no reason to prove anything." My arms cross at my chest before I nod. "I'm not going to be involved in anything, because I know you're a woman. No need to be involved."

Skylar:
“Backing out now Ricky? And yet you looked so disappointed when I didn’t follow through in the lobby.”
Just because he wanted to back out, didn’t mean I was going to. He’d asked for it and if anything this would teach him to be careful what he wished for, because I didn’t do things in half measures. If I said I was going to do something, I did my best to follow through and do it.
“Best avert your eyes then darlin’, if you really don’t need proof that is. Cos there ain’t no way in hell I’m letting you think I don’t follow through when I’ve said I’ll do something. I don’t flake on people if I can help it.”
I cross my arms over one another and grab the hem of my dress before pulling it up and over my head in one semi-fluid motion, which leaves me standing in his living room in my underwear. Another minute later and I’ve left nothing to his imagination. Even the headband comes off though that was unintentional, the dress pulled that off when it came over my head.

Ric:
"No. I'm just telling you that it's unnecessary, but if you want to prove something I already know, then feel free." I sit down on the spot I just made open by shoving all the presents to one side and slouch on the couch. My arms go behind my head as I relax and wait to see what she's going to do. When she strips down to her underwear, I'm sure she'll stop there because there's it's clear she's a woman. But Sky doesn't. She takes it all off and I'm just left sitting there, staring. Mostly because I can't believe she felt she had to take everything off to prove a non-existent point. "Yep. You're a woman." I nod, my eyes still on her body. Now I wonder how long she'll stand there with me staring at her. "Going to start dancing?"

Skylar:
I do a slow three-sixty where I stand by crossing my feet at the ankles and turning so he can take it all in. Once I’ve done that I wait to see what he’ll say or do but I don’t expect him to ask me to dance. When he does, I laugh and fold my arms across my chest.
“Why? You want a lap dance?”
I know I shouldn’t ask that cos there’s a chance he’ll say yes and while I have no issue dancing for him I’d rather do it clothed considering how freaked out he can get by being hugged and/or kissed on the cheek.

Ric:
"Why? Can you do a legitimate lap dance?" I ask her, eyes still on her body-more so at her abdomen region than what most men would probably be looking at. I wonder how Skylar stayed as skinny as she was as a human. Worked out or diet? Both? I don't ask because she's already started getting uncomfortable. She crossed her arms at her chest even though I wasn't really focused on that. "Not that I would know what that is." It's somewhat true. I've seen them done and been part of a few, but they all had a different twist to it some way or another.

Skylar:
“Well I haven’t been to stripper school if that’s what you’re asking but there’s not much to it. A little bit of rhythm and fair idea of where to not quite grind in order to get a reaction.”
He talks about strippers way too much for me to believe him when he says he wouldn’t know what a ‘legitimate’ lap dance is. In fact it’s occurred to me on more than one occasion that strippers are his benchmark of what a woman should and shouldn’t be.
“But that wasn’t the question was it. The question is whether or not you actually want one?”
I walk over to Ric and stand as close to him as the sofa will allow. I’m not a whore but I’m not ashamed of my body either. This situation - in my mind - is completely justifiable as it’s normal to let the guy you’re dating see you naked. I’m half tempted to lean into him or climb onto his lap but I want to see what he says first, as I half think he’ll pull the plug on whatever it is we’re now doing.

Ric:
"A lap dance?" I look up at her face and snort through my nose a little. "Are you that strapped for cash?" I ask, my head still resting on the open side of my palms as I think it over. "What would I want one for? I'm not going to pay you and we're not going to have sex. I don't think there's any other purpose for a lap dance, is there?"

Skylar:
“Who said you’d have to pay.”
Okay now I can’t help but push my luck. I know he doesn’t want one, he knows he doesn’t want one but the way he explains it away makes no sense.
“And just for the record…”
I place my hands on his shoulders and look into his eyes.
“There is another purpose to lap dances. Strippers don’t have to have sex with the guys they dance for Ricky. They just wind them up. Some women get a kick out of that kind of power play.”

Ric:
"So they're teases." I nod. I suspected as much. No one would miss a tease. Or a handful of them. Skylar confirmed what I knew and since she was 'good,' in her eyes, I chalk up my actions as doing a good deed for the city. "So, am I getting a show or not?" One hand moves to grab her wrist since she's left it exposed to me by putting her hand on my shoulder. "Or are you just going to enjoy the power play?"

Skylar:
“For me to answer that you’d have to ask for one. You still haven’t said you want one and either you do, or you don’t. But until you tell me either way there’s nothing I can do. So… the ball is very much in your court Ricky.”
I feel a bit odd standing there before him like that and crawling onto his lap seems a bit wrong too all things considered, she I turn myself away from and seat myself on his lap. Since he’s holding my wrist, he has no choice but to put his arm around me, at least until he lets go. I settle back against him and lean the back of my head on his shoulder and wait.

Ric:
"You're doing that thing. Stop it." I say as my arm is around her and we're practically cuddling now. I don't like to cuddle or anyone to be in my space for as long as she has been. "I don't need a lap dance. Which means I don't want one." I tell her point blank. "Just like I don't need to be doing this-cuddling thing. It's weird. Especially since you're naked." My other hand moves to her back and pushes against it, letting her know to get off my lap and away from me. "You should put your clothes back on. People do work here and could pop by. Unless you're giving it away for free for any Altaire that walks in." I start to try and stand.

Skylar:
I was prepared for this reaction and can’t help but smile to myself. When he places his hand on my back, I pus against it just long enough to say and do what I have to before I do as he asks.
“Oh darlin’ I’m not interested in any other Altaire.”
I lick his cheek and get up giggling. I grab up my clothes from off the floor and run off to the bathroom. If anyone walked in on us like this, they’d probably turn around and walk out again. They might even knock next time, as walking in on people like that was usually more embarrassing for the person coming in than it was for the people being walked in on. At least that was my experience anyway.

Ric:
I rub at my cheek after she licks it, watching her run off. If I had a sword on me I would have stabbed her before she got the chance to run off. "Yeah, well you are delusional." I mutter at her statement. She might be interested in me, for whatever reason, but I really wasn't all that interesting. Compared to Skylar, I was pretty boring. With one or two exceptions. I'm sure she isn't a serial killer. "Now you're worried about your modesty?" Skylar did my head in sometimes. I rarely understood her sometimes. I already saw her naked. So seeing her get dressed wasn't really a weird thing. She did usually wear clothes.

Skylar:
“Oh no Ricky.”
I call back to him from the other room as I pull myself together. I’m not sure who acting this way is harder on; him or me. I want to talk to myself in the mirror but that’s no longer an option. I seat myself on the edge of the bed and just hug my clothing to me as I try to figure out what the hell is I’m playing at and if any guy was actually worth all this effort. Sadly, the answer I’m given is yes. Yes some guys are worth it. And Ric could very well be one of those guys. I feel like my blood is on fire as I sit there and I don’t even attempt to continue any sort of conversation with him where I am. After maybe ten minutes I re-emerge, fully clothed.
“I was just trying to respect your boundaries. My task was complete and you had no interest in me remaining as I was so…”
I shrug to finish my sentence and run my fingers through my hair as I actually avoid looking at him for whatever reason.

Ric:
"Are you mad because I didn't want a lap dance?" I ask her as I sit forward in the couch, noticing that she wasn't looking at me. "That's not really my thing. I don't know how it can be a thing if it rarely or never leads to sex. As unnecessary as sex is. Why waste time doing it to get no return?" I shrug my shoulders.

Skylar:
“I’m not mad Ricky.”
I say as I look for the candles.
“I’ve never actually given anyone a lap dance before. Well… not what I would call a lap dance. Grinding against a guy while you’re on a dance floor doesn’t count. And some guys like to be teased. The world takes all sorts darlin’. People are as varied in their sexual preferences as they are in their taste in clothing, food, etcetera.”
I glance over at him but don’t let my eyes linger on him for very long. Considering I just sat naked on his lap, he’s holding things together pretty well. Probably better than I am. God help me but I can’t help but wonder if this dance we’re doing is ever going to be anything more than that.

Ric:
"Maybe you'll have to show me the difference. Some other night." I say casually before standing and moving off the couch. "So what's the plan now? Do we have plans or do you have stuff to do?" I point to the stack of presents. "Those are all yours." I remind her before moving from the main room, to the bedroom. I wanted to see if there were any changes to my room. Any additions made from Skylar. Girl things. I did a quick look around before I tug off my t-shirt and come back wearing a white tank top. The kind you could get at any cheap store. Like Wal-mart or Target.

Skylar:
I smile at him before he stands and walks off. I’d have no problem showing him the difference when he was ready. If he was ever ready that was.
“Sure thing Ricky. You can count on it. And they aren’t all mine. Though I was thinking the Phoenix statues would look cool at Ellie’s and the candles should go in the bathroom here.”
I wait for him to return before tackling the question regarding plans and if we had any.
“The only plan we had was me staying… So… What ya wanna do?”

Ric:
"Sure. Whatever." I nod my head at the suggestion, then think about what we could do. "I think there's something on the discovery channel. About Honeybadgers." I say. "Or we could play your Wii or whatever." I was pretty open to suggestions. I wasn't the entertaining type. Especially on short notice.

Skylar:
“How about both. We have all night. Let’s do the badgers first and then we’ll play some games. Sound good?”
I’ve cleared the sofa of the gifts and have the candles in my hands, ready to go place them in the bathroom. What we did didn’t really matter to me. So long as Ric didn’t decide to go out and hunt or anything.

Ric:
"Agreeable." I nod and watch her clear the couch. I grab the remote from the end table in front of the couch and turn the channel on. I sat next to her, closer to the side of the couch, then her. We watch the honey badger show, passing the commercials with some more questions and small talk that pops in our heads, then move to playing the Wii before the night comes to an end with Skylar taking the bedroom as usual, and Ric the couch-until he ends up in the cave again the next night.