Night's Omen

Angela leaned down, looking at the Jukebox with her big doe-ish brown eyes, long lashes fluttering as she attempted to make her selection. She wore those tight jeans Jared liked, and she knew people looked at her, so she lingered just a little longer. Finally, fingers pressed down on her first selection.

She rose, checking her reflection in her beer bottle. She drank for the hell of it; Jared never seemed to mention that she didn't get drunk. He just thought it was hot she could drink all his homeboys under the table. In fact, she was looking forward to seeing them tonight. She'd dressed extra pretty, too. She liked to make his friends jealous of him; she knew he didn't have a lot in life growing up, so she enjoyed making him envied. A blue corset, the aforementioned jeans, and some black heels completed her ensemble.

She smiled and tipped the bottle back, drinking the last of the beer within the glass, and ignored the disgusting foam at the bottom as she tossed it behind her into a trash can. She sat down on a stool by the pool table and waited for it to open up. Joan Jett's "Cherry Bomb" began to play through the surround sound of the bar, and she couldn't help but grin to herself.

April had been flabbergasted when Angela Arun invited him out to hang with her and her friends, but he was also delighted. Although he hadn't really heard from her since she graduated, it wasn't to say they couldn't fall back on friendly terms for a night out. It had been his freshman year, her sophomore one, when they had met. She had sat just in sight of him in English class and captivated him. Her attitude, her words, her appearance; the latter of which being what made him muster his courage and ask her to be his model for the portrait project of an Art class final. While he worked, she had talked, and eventually gotten him to talking, too. There was no getting bored of her, and he must have interested her as well. Or at least entertained her with his dumb freshman questions and naivete. That tended to be his hook for most people. Including Ritz.

So here he was, dressed in something a little less casual than sweat pants: jeans that still had the knees, one of his shirts that actually fit his form, the non-gym-shoe sneakers, and a hair tie holding back the brushed mess of long blonde hair. Having his hair back like that showed off the ear stud, which he stared at for a long time in the mirror before decisively leaving in. It, in combination with his clothes and neatened hair, made him look grown up for once.

He hadn't been to bars, really... ever... so he was slightly nervous upon entering Hole in the Wall. All the necessary cards, keys and cash were tucked in his front pocket, the one closer to the crotch so hopefully people would think twice before grabbing at it. He was glad when he caught sight of Angela, and grinned as he came up next to her. "I'm thinking you picked out the music," he said. "It's very you. You're looking..." He gave her a once over. "Out on the town. You're not going to get me in trouble tonight, I hope."

'People' may have been looking at her, but that wasn't the important part.  What was important was that Jared was looking at her, leaning back against the wall with a pool stick and working on his second beer of the evening.  They hadn't been there long, but he'd made short work of the first.  That was the warm-up, necessary to be out of the way fast.  Now, he had a head-start on his buddies, and he was looking forward to a wild night as he stared at that ass of hers in those tight jeans.  There was a reason he liked those pants on her, and the fact of the matter was that he liked them better off of her.  He smirked, leaving no doubt as to what was on his mind, and only glanced away from her for an instant when the person he was about to smash in pool made his shot.  Scratch.

"Nice shot, dipshit," he remarked, circling the table in the same way that a shark circles a little liferaft in the middle of the sea, and he finally leaned into the kill, knocked two balls into the pockets and just opted to leave the 8 ball in his opponent's path during his second shot.  Anything to make things difficult.

When Angela returned to her stool, he had to walk over and slip an arm around her shoulders, it was nearly a requirement.  He should have known she would play that song, though.  It was her favorite, and it suited her.  "My Cherry Bomb needs another drink," he noticed, reaching into a pocket for a few bills and leaning over to drop a kiss on her shoulder.  He was just touchy like that.  "Grab me another while you're up there, baby?"

Ah, but she wasn't alone.  He glanced to the boy who'd been talking to her when he walked up, and he grinned.  He knew April in passing, though not well.  "Hey, Blondie.  Haven't seen you around here before."

"Yep yep!" she said, smiling happilly as she felt the warmth of his kiss on her shoulder. There was something about Jared that just... every time she looked at him. She couldn't explain it. It was just that thing he did. She literally skipped to the bar, in an amazingly good mood now that her favouritest song in the whole wide world was on, and acquired a few more drinks. She even snuck one back for April.

"Here Ape," she said proudly, holding out to him the most frou-frou looking drink ever, complete with a tiny sword and umbrella. "It's a Mai Tai." She grinned broadly, and then extended her other hand to him with his -real- drink, an Amaretto and Coke.

She couldn't wipe the smile off her face as he stared blankly at the fairy drink she'd handed him. She did it -every- time. Every time. She wrapped herself around Jared after his shot was up and bit his shoulder playfully, like a cat might. She was feeling super perky at the moment.

"I predict you're going to be too shitfaced to play pool with me soon, dear," she chastised. Angela had a habit of taking his money in pool. A bad habit. His friends thought it was great.

April nodded at Jared's greeting. "That's 'cause I've never been here." He remembered Jared. Jared had kind of scared him freshman year, although once high school lost its terror, most of the people did, too.

It figured that Angela would give him the fairy drink. He hadn't told her flat out that he was gay, although she had to know by association. But the drink turned out to be a joke on her boyfriend, and something else got pushed April's way. He sniffed it, sipped it, mulled the taste. Dammit. He knew nothing about alcohol. "This had better not get me drunk," he warned Angela. Another sip. "Not just because I have to drive home, but also because I've never actually BEEN drunk. I don't think anyone here wants to find out that me drunk equals dancing on tables. Or something." A drunk April might say anything, he didn't know what. Could be embarrassing stuff from his childhood; could be the fact that he was sleeping with Maurizio Parise. Which would equal Parise family meltdown, if they found out. Yes, a drunk April would be a bad thing.

"So is it just us? Or is anyone else coming?" Angela had invited him and Jared didn't seem to mind April being around, but he'd hate to be a third wheel.


((XD April's like the little brother you drag around b/c he's cute and doesn't know any better. ))

He stared blankly at the fairy drink for about 15 seconds before he shrugged and slugged the thing down.  Really, he didn't care what it was, so long as it was alcohol, and he dared anyone to call him girly over the frou frou drink she'd handed him.  He took her beer afterwards, though.  Served her right for giving him that thing.

"I won't be shitfaced enough to lose if you keep giving me those pansy drinks," he reminded her, rolling his eyes some.  He wouldn't mind having the opportunity to beat her, but he really preferred to just be so drunk that he didn't mind losing the money to her.

He twisted around after his shot to steal a kiss from her, took his second shot, then looked at April.  Frankly, the idea of the little blond dancing on a table was downright frightening.  "If he's going to drink, we should get him something good.  None of the girly drinks."  A thought occurred to him, and he grinned evilly.

"Hey, babe, how about a jagerbomb?  One for each of us, on me," he told her, winking and handing her the cash.  He wanted to see April take that.  "Hurry up and finish that drink, kid.  You're not gonna wanna miss this next one."

"Aw, c'mon Ape," she said, tugging on Jared as he stuffed a 20 down her pants. Jagerbombs? Okay, Jared was officially going to see April drunk or be a shit for the rest of the night, she could see it now. Once that boy put his mind to something...

"Listen, you don't have to drink if you don't want to, but I promise I won't let anything happen to you. And I'll drive you home. Ask Jared, I drink like a fish and it takes way more than this bar's got to get me wasted." She smiled innocently, snuck a kiss off of her boyfriend, and ruffled April's hair as she headed to the bar yet again.

When she got there, she pulled out her own money and got another beer for herself since her imp of a boyfriend had stolen hers. Speaking of other people... She let her shots sit for a minute and sent Hailee a text message:

Hole in the Wall. Come drink. Jared has cute friends.

She snapped her phone shut and took the armload back to the boys. "Well, Ape, I just messaged my cousin Hailee. I don't know if you've met her, but her brother, Alex, goes to school at Ramsa. Dark, brooding, but not in a creepy sort of way."

She grinned and drank her Jagerbomb while handing his out at arm's length. "CHEERS!" she said into the bottom of her cup.

Hailee had been beating the sand out of a punching bag when her phone had jangled, signaling a new text. She grinned at the ringtone she had set to 'text' as she picked the slim pink-and-purple thing up and flipped the top, glitter in the plastic case flashing as the light changed. Honestly, it wasn't exactly a surprise that people were shocked by how violent this girl could become. Not with a phone like that.

Huh, what did Angela want?

Hole in the Wall. Come drink. Jared has cute friends.

She looked at the message for a few moments, considering, and then grinned and decided why not? Not like she had anything better to do tonight. She abandoned the punching bag and went over to her room at the guildhouse - where, luckily, she still had a few things other then the strictly practical clothing that she usually wore. After all, though it was better to use that while on the job... well, it really wasn't any fun.

She quickly showered, dried her hair and pulled it back into the usual ponytail rather then bother doing anything more elaborate to it and then slipped into another pair of jeans that fit her perfectly and had embroidered flowers stitched up the leg and this awesome little black top that she'd been wanting to wear.

All in all, it didn't take her above 20 minutes to get to the Hole in the Wall, and when she did she glanced around, spotting Angela fairly quickly. She smiled and walked over. "So then, who are the victems for tonight?"

April looked again into his booze-masquerading-as-Coke drink, and took another sip. For all that Angela acted like a bad girl without a care in the world, she was also the world's best big sister. If she said she'd keep him out of trouble, he not only believed her, he trusted her. His mother would kill him if she found out that he had consumed any sort of alcohol while not under her supervision, but April was already feeling that sort of recklessness that came from doing things he wasn't supposed to. Sooner or later, all good boys eventually did something dumb.

He wanted to ask Jared what a jagerbomb was, but didn't so as not to appear stupid. In hindsight he probably should have, of Jared's smirk was anything to go by. "How about I finish this, then see where that gets me?" he said, indicating the Amaretto in his hand. He nodded at Angela's description of Alex Vida-Arun. Yeah, April knew the guy. Definitely dark and brooding, not in the creepy way; more the cute, gangly, want-to-take-him-out-for-a-coffee-just-to-make-him-smile kinda way. Except April didn't say that. He hung out by the pool table and watched Angela and Jared interact while they waited for Hailee. He liked watching Angela and Jared. They teased and pushed each other around, meaning it but not, treating each other like independent people but still managing to be a team. They made each other happy being who they were. How could he not be made happy just being around them?

Hailee made her entrance about twenty minutes after Angela announced that she'd texted her. At her inquiry as to who the victims were, April waved the hand not holding his drink, which was already nearly half gone. Bad April. "That would be me, I think," he said, smiling at her. "Hi. April Lancaster, you probably don't know me. Your brother goes to my high school."

"She's right.  I hate to admit it, but I'm usually buzzed as hell before she's even tipsy," he told the kid.  Of course, the way he was pounding down his third beer, after the frou frou drink, that really shouldn't have been surprising.  This was a man who didn't waste time.  That beer was going to be long gone before he finished this game of pool with his buddy, he'd decided, and then he'd make April keep pace with him on that Jagerbomb, then molest Angela some before getting another.

It was a beautiful plan.

Unfortunately, that game of pool took a little longer than he expected, since his buddy Andy wanted to start blocking his shots up with stripes.  He was starting to have trouble getting a clear shot with his solids, and it was requiring a little more concentration than he liked.  It caused him to slow down just long enough for April to sip his wimpy soda drink while he finished off that beer, but by the time he got rid of his solids and knocked the 8 ball in, he was ready for that jagerbomb.  "Pay up, asshole.  That's going to getting Angela good and hammered for some fun tonight," he told Andy, finishing all but the very last swallow from the bottle as he collected his winnings.  Then, it was on to the Jagerbomb as Hailee walked in.

"Ape!  You haven't finished that thing yet?  Throw it back, man, now!" he told the kid, only calling him 'Ape' because he thought it sounded funny.  "You're going to pace yourself with me tonight, starting with the jagerbomb.  Finish that bitch and let's go!"

He forced the glass of red bull into April's hand, picked up his own, and dropped a shotglass of jager into each of the energy drinks.  "Now, CHUG IT!"

He wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

Angela wrapped an arm around her cousin affectionately, and then pressed the beer she had in her hand to the back of her cousin's neck, giggling at the squeal she made.* She watched Ape and Jared interact and looked sideways at Hailee as she sipped her beer.

"Fifty bucks says I can have them so drunk they're holding hands and brushing eachother's hair by the end of the night," she whispered softly. Angela often took advantage of the fact that she couldn't get even the slightest bit intoxicated.

She giggled at April, though. If he did start to drink too much, she'd put her foot down, that was certain. She wasn't going to rush him to the ER because he'd gotten alcohol poisoning. Explaining that to his mother would... be frightening. And Angela wasn't one to openly fear things.

She moved away from Hailee to grope on Jared briefly, kissing at his neck in a comical way before stealing five dollars he'd set on the table and going back to the bar to get Hailee a drink.

April was beginning to think he'd seriously underestimated Jared. Jared wasn't just insistant; he was overwhelming. His personality boiled over like it couldn't be contained in one person and had to find others to spend its energy. April was trying to keep at least some of his parentally-influenced wits about him, but with Jared around, it just wasn't going to happen. He threw back the rest of the Amaretto as instructed, taking the already legendary jagerbomb that was offered, and watched Jared chug his own 'bomb before following suit. What could it hurt, right?

Two seconds later and April was gasping at the taste. "Dear... god... jesusFUCK," he managed. He blinked his eyes and focused on the glass. He kept trying to swallow the taste out of his mouth, but it just wasn't working. Shit. "What in hell did you just GIVE me?"

Angela wasn't going to be able to get Jared to hold hands with a guy and brush anyone's hair, no matter how drunk he was, but she was welcome to try.  Fortunately, she wouldn't have to worry about rushing April to the ER because of Jared, though.  Making April keep pace with him meant that April would be completely annihilated when Jared's mind started to wander.  He'd forget after a few drinks that he'd been trying to make April pace him, and April could go dance on tables or whatever he wanted.  For the moment though, Jared was rather thrilled with the boy's reaction, even if he was a little distracted by Angela kissing on his neck.  Yeah, so she was out to get that five from him, but it was worth it as far as he was concerned.

He reached around fast to grab a handful of ass before she could slip off with his money, and then he was back to handling April.  Yeah, the jagerbomb needed to have something to chase it, and that was why Jared had ensured that April finished the A&C first.  Just to be an ass.

"THAT is the kind of reaction I like to hear, little man.  That was a Jagerbomb.  Jager and redbull, and it should be chased with coke, but we're not diluting you're first experience with it," he explained, having been a 'good guy' and sacrificed himself on the altar of bad-aftertastes.  "Let's get another."

He walked April over to the bar, sat him down, and ordered another round.  He was really starting to feel pretty tipsy, which was a nice feeling.  One he wanted to pursue.

April WAS done for. Against Jared, he hadn't stood a chance. "Thanks so much for giving me THE worst aftertaste I've ever had," he replied sarcastically. If Jared had known April better, he would have understood that that was saying something. April and Ritz stayed up late sometimes. Really late. Late enough that sometimes April merely swallowed and rolled over, instead of doing the right thing and washing his mouth out thoroughly before he fell alseep and let it go all nasty. That was a bad aftertaste. This Jagerbomb, though. Much worse.

He allowed himself to be walked to the bar, throwing a look at Angela over his shoulder in case she might try to warn him about letting Jared have his way. Actually, something should have already told April that letting Jared have his way was a bad idea for someone as alcohol-virginal as himself. But, like all the good sense he'd had before walking in the door, it was gone. He would drink whatever Jared put in front of him.

He'd ordered another round of jagerbombs, oblivious of April's thoughts and fully taking advantage of the boy drinking anything set in front of him.  If April had opted to share that comparison of an aftertaste with Jared, the man would have probably scowled and punched the kid square in the face for breaking his brain.  He didn't want ANY details about April's sex life.

"You're welcome.  Now, drink," he told the boy, grabbing his own.  This would probably end up being the point where he forgot what his goal was after the alcohol hit him, and April would officially not need anymore.  That last jagerbomb had him well on his way to being nicely toasted.  Almost time to make Angela dance with him or something.