Drink-a-Thon [Rook, Claire, the Gang]

[Dahlia Godric]

"That's cool," Tiffany said, nodding as he told her Laura wasn't his girlfriend. Score one for Tiffany, or so she thought anyways. If she knew how damaged Trevor was, maybe she'd have changed her mind.  "I'm surprised Colt is even going to school on the West coast - or do you just mean out west as in Colorado or New Mexico? I kind of assumed he went back to California, but it's weird to hear he went without you. I mean, growing up you guys were like, inseparable," she said with a laugh. She had no idea what had happened, so she'd feel a little bad knowing Trevor wasn't actually okay with the move - or aware of it 'til it had really been happening.

"Anyways, I met a few people randomly a while ago and they know the birthday girl. I feel a little old, but I forgot that I look like I'm twelve, so I still fit right in. Afraid I'll be like the dirty old guy that hangs around the high school - except I'm a junior and most of them are freshmen or sophomores at the school, so it's not that bad. I think I just worry too much," she said, laughing again.

"Dude, it's so wild that you're even here. And, Colt may have had a crush on me, but I always was totally in love with you," she added, grabbing a beer as the girl who'd introduced herself as Claire swung by with a tray full of them.

[Trevor Browning]

Alright, so maybe Tiffany would have changed her mind if she'd known how 'damaged' Trevor was, but the fact of the matter was that 100% of the girls Trevor had dated, fucked or shown any level of interest in up until this point had never realized the issues he had, and that included Laura Vida.  He had problems, but none of them were obvious and he was very, very good at keeping them under wraps.  Fortunately for him, he wasn't the kind of 'needy' that would latch onto people who didn't want him, which was mostly for the sake of his own pride.  If he felt unwanted, he would not force the issue, even if it meant that he let other, more self-destructive hobbies take up the time that was formerly spent with that person.  It was why he'd been such a drinker and so very aggressive and reckless on the hunting circuit when Laura and Lance started hanging with him.  Somehow, their influence had turned those 'hobbies' into more of a social thing (both of them liked his hunting approach, even if it would have made his brother, and probably even his father, unhappy), but they'd never really put together his problems, either.  Why would they?

For that reason, Tiffany would be fine hanging out with the 'damaged goods' that was Trevor.  At the most, his protective streak would extend to her, which women other than Laura tended to like.  Of course, he hadn't exactly intended to give her the impression that he was 'on the market', though he also hadn't thought about it much.  He just didn't want to be the cause of people thinking the wrong thing, though if he'd heard them, he'd have known that what he said wouldn't have mattered much.  Even Rowen had picked up on it, and he'd only seen Trevor and Laura together for a few minutes.

"No, he's out in California," he told her, confirming her assumptions, which was easy enough.  It was hearing her say the bit that most people didn't bring up: that Colt had gone back without Trev, when they'd always been inseparable.  He had to laugh at little at that, and though it wasn't really a happy laugh, he wasn't in the business of letting on the fact that he was bothered by it.  It was, fortunately, becoming something of an old hurt by this point.  He still smiled, shrugging and downing the rest of his beer.  "You know, I guess it was just time for him to grow up.  Sounds like he's doing fine."

That was really all he had to say on the Colton issue, because what else could he say?  Eventually, he'd bring Tyler up to her, since she was someone who'd known him as a teenager and she'd be appropriately surprised to hear that he had another brother that even he didn't know about, but for the time being, he laughed with her about how 'old' she felt in this crowd sometimes, agreeing easily with her.  They were definitely older than most, if not all, of the kids here.  Actually, they'd have both fit in better with Coop and Nathaniel, which probably would have been bad.  Trevor never needed to spend any time in a small group that included Blair and Iris.  Just sayin'.

Claire wandered by with a tray full of beers that Tiffany took notice of to grab one, so Trevor certainly didn't turn the offered alcohol down.  He realized that another beer was a smart move when Tiffany informed him that it was 'wild' that he was there, then that she was 'totally in love' with him when they were younger.  He'd been in the process of showing that new beer who was boss when she did, which ended up with him cocking his eyebrows up and setting his drink down sooner than he'd originally intended. 

"What?  No way," he said, probably a little more surprised to hear her admit it than he should have been.  He laughed and couldn't help being a little smug about it, but he had honestly been pretty oblivious of the idea until Laura had said it just a few minutes earlier.  To have it confirmed by Tiffany herself so soon after it first entered his mind as a possibility was a surprise, and then there was the fact that she was admitting it.  That probably was an indication that she was over it, which meant it wasn't a big deal, right?  Had to be.  "So, what you're saying is that you're into the scrawny types, huh?"

He laughed a little, obviously joking, but even he had to admit that he'd been preeeeetty 'lean' when he was in school.  He'd been strong because his father raised him like a mini-Marine, but he'd been a wiry little shit until he'd hit his twenties and started to fill out.  In pictures, he'd have looked a lot like Tyler did now, which had been one of the bigger hints that his youngest brother was telling the truth.  Ha, wait until Tiffany met him!  She'd probably wonder if she was meeting some time-warp version of Trevor, until the kid talked.  Well, that was actually unfair, because Tyler (who couldn't back up what he said for shit) was picking up some behavioral cues from Trev, including some attitude and language.  Trevor wasn't sure if it was a good thing or bad, since he was starting to wonder if he shouldn't be making sure that Tyler could take care of himself. 

[Rowen Ayers]

Wow, so this conversation was going downhill hard and fast.  It made him hope that Lance wasn't so pissed off at seeing him when the guy arrived, because if they both did this shit, he was either going to freak out or have to walk away, both of which would be a serious shame.  It sucked, because he remembered them both fondly, Lance as the kind of friend he'd really needed back then, and Laura as the kind of everything he'd needed.  That they'd taken off so quickly was NOT their fault, he wasn't stupid and he understood that, but it still had hurt.  He thought she should have contacted him if she'd given a shit about him at all, but then he'd moved after graduation, so he could cut her slack from that point forward.  Of course, he didn't know what being a Vida meant, or that she could have found him, if she'd wanted. 

He sighed suddenly, closing his eyes and rubbing at the bridge of his nose for a second before he glanced back up at her.  "Listen, this isn't how talking to you again was supposed to be.  I don't really know why you're so pissed or whatever, but that wasn't the plan," he told her, though it wasn't exactly like he'd had much of a 'plan' to begin with.  He honestly hadn't ever thought he'd see her again, though he'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about what it'd be like before.  He'd imagined them screaming at each other at his lower points, but mostly, he'd just wanted to see her and know she was okay.  For some damn reason, he'd actually cared about her, which wasn't something he did much.  There was so much he could say, but it all made him feel like he'd either sound way too much like a bitch for his preferences, or like a total dick.

He let the comment about his parents just flow past him, mostly because everyone had apparently seen it coming, so nobody was very surprised.  Even he wasn't surprised by the time they decided to divorce, though it had been kind of rough being stuck in the middle.  He also didn't really care how she knew these people, though it had felt right to ask her about it.  The way she delivered it made it sound more like it was some kind of pissing contest, like they were listing who they knew to decide who belonged there more, and yeah, maybe she did lead a busy life.  She'd always been involved in every damn thing she could be, so he wouldn't be surprised. 

It was amazing, considering the temper he was capable of, but he didn't want to fight with her.  "I'll start over.  You look great, and I mean that.  I'm not trying to blame you for your parents moving you, and I'm just glad that everything worked out for you.  It feels good to see you again," he told her calmly, watching her face for signs of any kind of reaction, whether she opted to chill out, throw an attitude at him, or punch him.  All seemed like possible reactions right about then. 

[Lance Vida]

 Lance probably picked the exact right minute to show up. Laura was opening her mouth for another round when she heard his bike pulling in, and stopped herself short of putting in a strong ballot for Bitch of the Year. She knew why she was reacting the way she was, but Rowen was trying to be civil. Maybe she wanted a fight, and since he wasn't trying to give her one, she was trying to pick one. She assumed he'd be more raw about her just vanishing. Now that Lance was here, though, she'd have her fight for real.

Of course, when Lance pulled off his helmet, he didn't know any of this. It was only when Laura hopped over the railing of the porch and came storming up on him did he put two and two together. His sister was so fucking predictable. "You need to calm your shit," he hissed, pointing an accusing finger at her as he made an effort to dismount the Suzuki before she pushed him off of it. He could already see her hands coming up to shove him, and she had just as much ability to knock him off as he did to stay on. He didn't want to push it.

As he got off, he grabbed her hands before she had a chance to shove him back into the bike, and clamped down on them. "Hey," he said. "Hey. Hey." He kept repeating it until he had her attention. "Stop. What's the problem?"

Laura huffed, yanking back from him as soon as she'd done so. "He just... sucks," she replied cryptically.

Oh yeah, she was definitely hurting in her pride area. "Go easy on him," he said. "He's probably over worrying about us. You can't really seriously be that mad about it, unless Trevor is inside not paying any attention to you, either." He paused. "Ah, so he's inside chatting up someone. Hey, you could have taken that boat when it sailed by, but don't get all mad when you alienate everyone - OW!"

Laura started punching him and he had to stop his funny future-telling to defend himself, because she landed a few. He got her into a headlock and almost dropped her on her face when she finally stopped fighting. She uttered something angry but agreeable at him, and he let her go with a shove, sending her up a few feet.

"Rowen!" he said, walking past his sister. "What's up, man! Just ignore her, she's being bitchy because her boyfriend has friends besides us," he said, giving a loud laugh as he said it.