Faking It

[Crystal Deboir]

She didn't know how they'd done it, but a few of her older friends from college had convinced Crystal to come with them to this bar. They'd given her a fake ID and in she went. Crystal easily looked over 18, but it was 21 she had trouble passing for. Mallory had just flashed the doorman some skin and they'd ushered Crystal past him unnoticed.

In the bar, she couldn't get rid of the smoky smell that invaded her nose. She got grabbed a few times, which she was actually surprised about. She'd worn a pair of black fitted pants and a light green lace top, but they weren't really slutty or anything. Maybe drunk men were just like highschool boys.

Someone handed her a drink, and she took a sip of it, making a face. "Oh my god, Mallory, how do you drink this stuff?" she hissed, yanking the redhead close to her. Her friend just rolled her eyes and made a comment about how Crystal could go home if she wasn't having fun.

She sighed. Crystal definitely didn't want to be left out. It wasn't like her to cave under pressure, but she figured she may as well try to blend in. Six drinks later she felt really good about herself and was engaging in a slurred conversation with a rather cute fellow at the bar when she felt a sharp tap on her shoulder.

"Ma'am, I need you to come with me, please."

((Open to anyone who wants to give a reason as to why someone is ma'aming her, or perhaps save her from an employee about to call the cops or show her the door.. who knows!!))

[Connor Batten]

Connor glanced over when he heard one of the bartenders calling some young girl "ma'am" and instantly recognized her as being the teen he'd gauged as being too young to be drinking and been watching.  He wasn't about to let some dumb drunk take advantage of her.  He stood up and approached, putting a rather convincing look of relief on his face and grabbed Crystal's shoulder, giving her a look that clearly said 'PLAY ALONG.'

"Oh, thank God, I was wondering where you were, Crystal," he said, then looked at the employee.  "I'm really sorry, man.  Thanks for stopping her, I was hoping she hadn't wandered off.  See, her birthday was just recently and she turned 21, so she's still a little new to the bar crowd."

There, that would explain any seeming naivete with the girl, and Connor knew that after only five or so drinks, he acted and sounded entirely sober.  For the most part, he was.  Maybe a little buzzed, but not enough to show.  This was a man who could hunt after a 12 pack of beer, and not get banged up.  He'd built up a rather lovely tolerance.

[Crystal Deboir]

Crystal was all duckies floating around her head from being spun too fast. "Oh hey!" she said cheerfully, patting Connor's hand. "Where have you been? I saw you earlier and then you disappeared!" She wasn't playing along - she really had seen him earlier, but then he had gone off and she couldn't find him again.

"Are we leaving now?" she asked, stumbling a bit on her feet. So being drunk was very new to her. It wasn't the first time, but it was within the first three times. "My friends are being bitches," she affirmed, nodding her head and pointing. "See that redhead? She's a BITCH!" she said, cupping her hands to her mouth. Mallory couldn't hear her any way, she was too busy making out with someone in the corner.

"I'm gonna kick her in the head," Crystal said suddenly, and tried to shrug Connor off. Oh yeah, this was going to be good. The bartender folded his arms, not sure if he bought Connor's story.

"Get her outside and get her some air," was all he said.

[Connor Batten]

"Yeah, we're leaving now," he said in agreement, flashing the bartender an 'I've got it under control, it's fine' sort of smile, and grabbing Crystal's arm rather gently.  "Let's get you some air."

And he proceeded to lead her out, rather adept after years of working at his career with getitng people to do things his way.  A drunk teenager didn't stand a chance.

[Crystal Deboir]

She was propelled - literally, Connor was pushing her to the point where she either walked or fell on her face - outside, and promptly tried to break away from him once they were in the cool night air.

"Listen, I can explain everything," she said, holding a finger up. "What had happened was..." she began to teeter and fell backwards into the side of the building, laughing. "Oh my god, I'm going to turn into an alcoholic and never finish school," she wheezed between giggling fits.

[Connor Batten]

He wasn't looking for an explanation, especially given how drunk she was.  He was wanting to get her out of there before someone took advantage of her, or she made a fool of herself in front of a lot of people instead of just him.

"Do you need a ride home?" he asked, definitely not buzzed enough to be unable to drive.

[Crystal Deboir]

She thought for a minute, and then shrugged. "I really shouldn't take rides home from people I don't know." She didn't know who else to call, though. Bianca didn't have a car. She -wasn't- going to call Adrian. She couldn't call her parents.

She pulled her phone out and looked through her list of names, becoming more and more irritated. She looked up. "I'll just walk it off. It's cool." She stumbled a little.  

[Connor Batten]

"Yeah, right," he returned, grabbing her arm as gently as he could as she stumbled.  "Let me walk you home, at the very least.  I can keep you from falling over and sleeping in a ditch or something."

He wasn't taking 'no' for an answer, not when she was so obviously not going to make it alone, and he knew the sort of creatures that ended up in Ramsa.  No way was he letting her go alone.

[Crystal Deboir]

She shrugged. "Fine, fine." Crystal wasn't really starting to sober up at all, but she was becoming slightly less argumentative. She was hungry, though, and couldn't stop thinking about the massive bag of candy she had in her room... assuming the dog hadn't eaten all of it.

"So, what was your name again?" she asked, stumbling in her heels to try and get her bearings again. Damn things. The shoes that women wore would never cease to amaze her; why she gave in and wore them too was even more of a mystifying point.

[Connor Batten]

"Connor," he answered simply, glad that she was willing to agree with some reason, despite her drunken state.  There were some drunks that just wouldn't listen to reason, himself included when he was drunk enough.  Of course, it took a LOT to get him there.  He didn't know it yet, but his drinking habits were soon going to be changing, but there wasn't anything he'd be doing about it right then.  He had to get this girl home safe.

"So, do you usually sneak into bars with fake IDs and get too drunk to walk home?" he asked conversationally, figuring he might as well start somewhere.  Whether or not this was a habit was as good of a place as anywhere.

[Crystal Deboir]

"No, this is a first," she admitted as they walked. She slid her shoes off and looped the straps around her finger with her purse, finding it much able to walk like this. She didn't need to think about what she was walking on at the moment. She'd deal with it in the morning.

"I just got roped into going with some girls I know that I don't really like, but I went anyways because they're sort of bitchy if you don't just comply. And, here I am," she said, throwing her hands up. "There are people I could call to come get me, but I'm not in the mood to see any of them."

She walked in silence for a while, and then, "Do you usually pick up random teenage girls at bars and walk them home?"

[Connor Batten]

Well, at least she was honest.  She could have lied and he'd have guessed that she was, but he couldn't have really argued with her.  He wouldn't have seen the point, either.  Still, he appreciated the honesty, and discovered that she was about to be honest about a hell of a lot more, including who she was with and why.  It only confirmed the fact that he'd never understood teenage girls and never would, but he couldn't say he was surprised.  Just because he didn't understand them didn't mean that he couldn't guess their habits.  From what he could tell, this had always been typical of them.

"Sounds like you need new friends," he remarked with a little bit of a shrug, hesitating while she pulled her shoes off and simply watching her.  She was a little more practical than most of the females he knew, at least.  She just didn't look like the sort to be. 

She also didn't seem to mind throwing his sort of question back at him, but he just laughed.  "No, you just looked like you were about to get yourself into trouble for underaged drinking, which probably would have gotten unhappy parents involved, as well.  I was that kind of kid, so I figured I'd give you a 'Get out of Jail Free' card this time.  Besides, it gets dangerous out here sometimes, and I'd have felt bad if you were in the paper tomorrow."

[Crystal Deboir]

Crystal made a scoffing sound at his suggestion of new friends. "I'm a cheerleader. I don't get the option of new friends - haven't you heard? We're like a Barbie Party Pack, all come in a set." She rolled her eyes and continued walking; clearly Connor was right about her not being completely braindead. She probably wouldn't have responded kindly to the fact that she didn't look the sort to be practical though, but then again, situation sort of spoke for itself.

  "Whatever. Anyways, I don't normally go out and do this. My parents would be shocked but they'd be over it, I'd probably get like, a stern talking to." She paused. "Not that I'm like some sicko trying to 'act out' and get their approval or anything. I just don't think they'd wig out. If I got smeared and ended up in the paper, though, that would definitely be cause for wiggage."

  She stopped walking suddenly. "You know, maybe I should just get a ride. I actually live a lot further than I thought I did when I started walking, and I'm pretty sure I stepped in something really uh, not into thinking about it right now, back there. Will you hate me if I ask if we can turn around and go find that car of yours?" She scrunched up her nose and looked at him.

[Connor Batten]

He rolled his eyes at her saying that she didn't get the option of new friends, but her comparison to a Barbie Party Pack, however bitter, still made him grin.  "You know, it sounds really cliche, but you don't have to be who everyone else expects you to be.  You can get new friends whenever you want, and guess what?  All these people you know in high school?  A few months after you graduate, they won't mean a thing," he told her.  He didn't really think she'd take it to heart, considering it really was such a cliche.  It was common advice, but the fact that it was a cliche meant that everyone knew about it and they still fell victim.  Just one of those things.

"Smearage is definitely a good reason to wig out.  I promise I won't hate you for accepting a ride," he said with a grin, turning back the way they'd come.  "As long as you promise that I'm the only charming stranger that you'll be accepting ride from."

Yeah, encouraging her to accept rides from a stranger was a bad thing, and he could just imagine Kenzie in this situation.  Fortunately, he'd insisted that Kenzie get some self-defense type training, even if both she and their mother had been strongly against any real hunter training.  He was glad that his littlest sister didn't want to get into their line of work, but it worried him that she might be the 'weak link' and the perfect target if someone wanted to get at them.  Even Darren had tried to get away from his father and cousin's career, and he was currently being trained by Andrew Vida because he'd finally decided that he was going to either end up someone's plaything or splattered if he didn't toughen up.