LET'S PARTY IN LOS ANGELES! -- open.

MARRY ME,

FELIX!	46.7%	[ 14 ]
DAURY!	53.3%	[ 16 ]
Total Votes:			[ 30 ]

[the mocha express]

It was nice to be back.

Damien Forbes was glad to be back in his hometown. It was already seven or eight years ago when he left the town, and he must admit that many had changed -- infrastructures, new houses and new people. But even though it changed a lot, it's still Forbes Hills, the good old place that his grandfather has founded. If it wasn't because of his grandfather, there will be no Forbes Hills in Los Angeles right now. Their family had successfully established a good reputation of Forbes until now. When his grandfather passed away, his father took the responsibility and continued what his grandfather has started. Damien knows that at the right time, he will be the one who will inherit everything that his parents had left, and one of them is Forbes Hills. He doesn't like responsibilities since he is an easygoing guy, but he knows that he can't escape his fate that easily. Taking care of Forbes seemed to be easy, well it isn't. How can you control those wild, sex-hyped, and drama bound teens from making dirty scandals and issues if you yourself can't? It will be a hard thing to do for him especially he's friends with some of them.

Before thinking of any plans, Damien decided to take a break and enjoy his arrival in Forbes first. He just arrived from London a few hours ago and he was pretty much exhausted. Since he still has free time before going to Nia's party, he thought of swimming first. Even though it was cold outside, he managed to jump into the pool and swam from one side to the other. He hasn't enjoyed much yet when his butler called him out. "Sir Damien, your father's calling." he said with a calm voice while holding a wireless phone in one hand and a white towel on the other side. Damien quickly swam to the ladder and got out of the water. His butler handed out the towel first when he approached him. Damien took it and used it to wipe his wet firm body blond hair. When he's finished, he wrapped the towel around his waist before taking the phone and putting it on his ear. "Dad, Merry Christmas!" he greeted his father enthusiastically. There was a sudden sad feeling that came into Damien when he heard his father's voice as he greeted him back. He thought that he shouldn't have left before Christmas. It was the tradition that they will celebrate it together, and there's no year that he's been absent during Christmas. "I just arrived a few hours ago, and Forbes is fine, don't worry." he assured his father when he asked about their town. "Yeah, Nia Cameron will be having a party tonight and Gray and I are coming." he told his father over the phone. Before he arrived in Forbes, he researched for some information and learned that Nia will be having a party tonight. Even though he wasn't invited, he knew that Nia will understand and accommodate him since the two of them were great friends in middle school. Though there's one thing that he was worried about -- if she will accept Gray in to her party. "Alright. Take care of yourself and Mom, okay?" he said and waited for his father to reply before he hung up. He gave the phone back to his butler. "Get my Porsche ready after thirty minutes." he said before going back to his room.

When Damien reached his room, he checked his phone first to check the time and to see if he has any new messages. It was already past ten and he has no new messages when Damien checked it. He put his phone down in his white bed before stepping inside the shower room. He stripped himself first before twisting the knob of the shower. Droplets of warm water started to go out of the shower and into his body. He massaged his head, arms and abdomen. After washing with soap and shampoo, Damien was ready to go. He twisted the shower knob to turn it off and grabbed the towel that was hanging in the steel bar. He dried himself with the towel first before wrapping the towel to his lower body. He slid the glass door and stepped out of the shower room.

It didn't take long when Damien was already standing in front of his mirror and already in his party clothing and shoes. Even though he's rich, he likes to wear simple clothes rather than those expensive ones. He believed that it was more comfortable than the other ones. He checked out his phone again and realized that he has two incoming messages. When he checked it out, both of the messages came from his best friend, Gray. He opened the first message first, and it made Damien smile. He and Gray had been close since he moved to London, and being friends with a girl has some costs too. There were times that he accompanied Gray on her shopping spree, and it wasn't fun. Sometimes he was kind of nervous that he'll turn out to be a gay if he would hang out with her more. He opened the next message and it says:


Alright, forget the fashion crisis.
Pick me up in twenty minutes.


He sighed in great relief when he read the message. He was thankful that he's saved this time. He checked the time in his phone and estimated what time he'll going to be there. He typed a short message that says:


Haha. You always look great with anything.
Even without your clothes on. JK.
You'll be fine, don't worry.
I'll be there in less than twenty minutes.


After hitting the send button, he put his phone in his pocket and rushed downstairs. When he reached their porch, he found his butler and his Porsche Carrera GT waiting for him. He smiled at him and handed out his keys. He thanked his butler after getting the keys and he thanked him back. He went in to his car and started the engine. He revved the engine a few times before driving out of their large gate and to the Lancaster's house. It was very easy to find their house since Forbes wasn't that big. Since Gray's house was just near from their's, it just took him a few minutes before reaching it. The large gates of Lancaster's house opened for him as his car entered their territory. He stopped in front of their porch and parked his car temporarily there. He got out of his car and knocked on the door. A young maid opened the door with a smile on her face. "Hi. Uhm, is Gray upstairs?" he asked and smiled back. The maid nodded and Damien replied, "Can you lead me to her room?" Without any questions, the maid led him to her room.

While he was following the maid, Damien had the opportunity to tour the Lancaster's new house. He could smell the newly bought furnitures around and fresh new paint. He also noticed that the housemaids were busy walking around while holding large boxes. It was a common scenario that you can see in the new house. Their house was just like their house in London, but he liked this one better. He was enjoying himself too much that he didn't notice that he already reached Gray's room. Damien thanked the maid and shooed her away. He noticed that the door was quite open so he didn't bother to knock. He was expecting that Gray was already ready and just waiting for him anyway. But he was wrong. He came in at the wrong timing. Well, almost. He saw Gray, already in her dress but having some difficulty zipping it. There was no way she would zip that dress alone. Damien smiled and approached her. "Let me get that." he said. He was so sure that gray was startled when she heard his voice. "Damien Forbes, haven't I talked to you about knocking?" Gray asked, but Damien didn't bother to answer. He just smirked. He's guilty that he do that most of the time, but this time was a different scenario. "Well, if you learn to lock your door maybe I will learn to knock." he said and smiled. He carefully zipped up Gray's dress and she thanked him. While Gray sat at her bed as she put her heels on, Damien looked around at her room. There were still boxes around and it's a little messy. "I thought someone had organised all of your stuff to be ready for when you got here." he said when he remembered what he saw downstairs. "I'm guessing they won't have a job for much longer." his friend said and smirked. He can't help but to smirk to, because her response was so Gray. "Shall we go?" his friend asked. "Come on." he said as he opened the door for her.

Downstairs, he did the same as he opened the door of the car for her. He let Gray go in first before he got in himself. All ready, he started the engine and revved it a few times before getting out of the Lancaster's residence.

In just a few minutes, they reached the Cameron's mansion. He noticed that there were already many cars parked around the house which means that the party has already started. Damien turned his car at the entrance and stopped where the valet guy was standing. He went out of the car and rushed to open Gray's door first. When she's already out, he threw his keys to the valet guy and made their way to the entrance. Just like what he expected, there were securities blocking the entrance. But that's was just typical. He knows what he'll do if something bad happens. Damien hates gatecrashing, especially when he wasn't invited to a party. It was like some kind of trespassing, and it wasn't a good thing to do especially when you're an elite. He'll just hope that Nia will forgive him and Gray later. Before they could enter the mansion, he opened his arm for her to hold and winked at her. Since they were friends in already seven years and counting, they already know each other's moves. As the stepped inside, he was surprised that nobody asked him what his name was. There was no guest list nor a large masculine bouncer blocking the entrance. He wasn't sure if it was the security's fault or Nia's, but he wouldn't care much about that now.

As soon as they were already inside, Damien looked around for the hostess. It wasn't that easy since there were a lot of people walking around and he hasn't seen Nia for years. He didn't know what she was like now. Giving up, he just asked the waiter who passed by. "Excuse me, can you tell me where's Natalia Cameron?" he asked and the waiter immediately pointed someone in the crowd. He followed where the waiter points at and saw a group of people. Some of them were familiar, and some of them were not. He smiled and lead Gray on the way to Nia and the group that she's with. People couldn't help to look and gossip at them as they pass by. He was sure that a few still remember him since he hasn't changed a lot. When they reached the group, he finally saw Nia in the middle. "Hey," he greeted her. He tried to catch the attention of Nia but instead he caught the group's attention. Everyone in the group was looking at them with curiosity. Damien just smiled and said, "I thought we're friends? Why am I not invited to your party?" Of course he was joking when he said that. Nia hasn't invited him because she didn't know that he just arrived. "Oh, by the way, I hope you don't mind if I brought someone. This is Gray, my friend from London. She'll be staying here in Forbes now." he introduced his friend to Nia and let her do the talking. Even though the atmosphere has lighten up a little, he could notice that some where still puzzled who he was.

[KR0NiiCALLY KRiiSTEN]

delaneykatehales

Delaney looked around at the rest of the party. Nothing had really started yet, everywhere she looked, she saw pleasant small talk. If she was being honest with herself she probably would have preferred her family's party to this, but she kept on a happy face for everyone else, especially Nia, since the party host was only a few feet from her at the moment. So instead of continuing to be distracted, the brunette turned back to Paige. The girl really did look like she wouldn't hurt a fly if her life depended on it, but Laney wasn't sure that she would make it here in Forbes. Here, where your best friend would stab you in the back, and your enemies would do much, much worse. This new sweetie would have to learn fast or pay the consequences. Maybe she was wrong though, perhaps there was something else under this cute little appearance. That could very much be the case, considering that she was already hanging around with Nia.

But distractions for Delaney just kept coming, because the song that she was currently choreographing a dance to started to blast out of the speakers. For the first half of the song, she simply ran through the steps in her head, judging how nicely they fitted together, then she contemplated jumping up on the dance floor and actually performing, but she laughed at herself a little for even thinking of that. Her dad's voice sounded in her ear: "There's a time and a place for such things Laney." She smiled, still unable to block out thoughts of good moves that she could insert in her dance from bombarding her head. Being a dancer seemed to follow her wherever she went. She sighed and tried to focus on the conversation at hand, for Paige had started talking to her.

"Just moved in a few months ago, actually. Your dress is so . . . chic, by the way." Delaney smiled at the blond. "That's really cool, it would be nice to look at this place from an outsiders point of view for a little while. I've been living here in Forbes for as long as I can remember." She added, as way of explanation. "Oh, and thankyou, but really it's nothing. I've had this dress for forever, I really need to start changing it up." Delaney said with a little chuckle. She looked down at her own dress, evaluating what she really hadn't paid much attention to when she was putting it on. It was a rather cute dress, she finally decided. Only with the right accessories, she thought, also now examining her ring, shoes, clutch, and earrings. These earrings were by far her favorite, they probably cost more than the rest of her outfit combined. Laney unconsciously fingered the loop in her earring, tugging a little on her earlobe.

Delaney watched with an amused expression while Paige slipped and stuttered over what she was trying to say. When Paige finally got to her point (that she had spilled some champagne on Laney's dress) her mouth formed a small o shape, but she quickly brushed it off. "Oh honey, don't worry yourself at all about it." Delaney said, gliding her hand along the back of her dress to find the wet spot. "It's no big deal, you probably can't even see the spill since my dress is black." Finally locating the spot, she turned around with her finger still pointed at it."It's right there, and you probably can't see it in the slightest." Laney turned back around to face Paige and gave the girl a reassuring smile, since she really did seem quite flustered about the whole thing. But really, it was nothing compared to what had happened at previoust parties. There had been some drunken girl on girl action (much to all the boys pleasure), also a few pretty crazy slap fights, even a streaking party, where everyone decided it would be fun to go streaking down the sidewalk at one o'clock in the morning. Not exactly as much fun when the police showed up. The brunette had seen so much worse in several parties. A little spilled champagne really was nothing.

And that was when she noticed him. He was walking through the crowd when she spotted him. He looked extremely familiar. Delaney was beginning to get rather annoyed with herself, because she knew that she knew this boy. Everything about him was just so familiar, from his eyes, to his hair, right down to the way he walked. It seemed as if she had already known him for years. Laney decided to disregard this strong notion. She was just turning back to Paige when it hit her. She had known him for years! Of course. "Excuse me." she said rather absentmindedly to Paige. Delaney started to make her way toward Damien but stopped short in her tracks, for he was already coming this way. However, the silly boy walked right by her, intent on making some small talk with the hostess. Delaney waited rather impatiently while introductions were being made. When there was the smallest pause in the conversation, Laney tapped him on the shoulder, not really caring that she was interrupting a conversation. She gave him only enough time to turn around before launching into a bear hug, laughing the whole while. "Looks like Damien Forbes has returned home." she said, finally releasing him. "I never thought I'd see the day." Maybe a different person would have been worried that he wouldn't recognize her, but not Delaney. She knew that he would know who she was in a second, they had history together. And not the stupid romance history, they had friendship. They had been best friends probably from when they were in kindergarten, to middle school, when he moved away to London.

The thought brought her to remember their very tearful goodbye (on Delaney's part at least). It had been at the airport, and his plane to England had been delayed five times because of the weather, which only made the situation worse. Fully aware that they might never see each other again, they had waited in the gloomy, rainy atmosphere for what seemed like forever. When the plane was finally given permission to leave the airport, he had waited to be last in line, so they had perhaps a minute or so more to talk. Of course, it hadn't been enough time, and it wouldn't ever be enough time unless he stayed in Forbes, and they both knew that. Naturally, they promised to keep in touch, they would write every day, call all the time, and anything else they could do to keep together. This worked for a few years, but then they became caught up with school, scandal, and all the other things that come with having generous amounts of money. So they had lost contact, and that was that.

That was when a thought pierced her happy little bubble. What if he had changed? She hadn't spoken to him in years, and she hadn't seen him face to face in even longer. What if he was no longer carefree and energetic? What if he was no longer up for any plan? What if he had become reserved and quiet, not the same person that left for London so many years ago? What if they would no longer get along? What if all of their happy memories would just stay memories? But Delaney stopped all of the what-ifs right there. She was not normally a person to worry, and she was most definitely far from pessimistic. This thought however, was really pressing on her, and it would torture her until all of her questions were answered. And with that, she decided to get to know this "new" Damien, and discover if he was really new at all, or if he was still her best friend from seventh grade.

delaneyyyyyyyyyyyyy"and now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand."xxxxxxx

xxxxxx

[THE ELLiEPHANT]

So Paige was not about to die. She forced a relieved smile onto her mortified face. If she had spilled anything else on anyone else or anywhere else, Paige expected that she would have her head on a platter. But this was Forbes. Forbes was a nice place. People here were nice. They did not freak out and panic. the moment they felt a little wetness on their front. With that sorted out in her head, Paige relaxed a bit but she couldn't muster up much to say. She didn't know Forbes Hill, truly as it was. She had a very vivid illusion in her head. She had lived a rather sheltered life, surrounded by just Daddy and money and clothes and nice Daddy - approved people who wouldn't lead her astray. Ever. Of course, even Daddy couldn't keep her from seeing the rest of the world. Paige knew that there were girls out there who would use precious Louboutin shoes to stab with rather than for donation or charity. Even Paige was aware of the fact that there were men -her age, even - who treated girls like they were a nice dress, used once and twice only if there weren't prettier ones available at the moment. Paige didn't really have any of those qualities. She was not malicious or mean. She refrained from swearing and badmouthing people. But then Paige was just so darn naive. She wasn't stupid or clueless. She just had an extremely difficult time not putting her life in just about anybody's hand. She was also desperate. Paige would do pretty much anything for anyone or to anyone so it wasn't hard to corrupt her or get her to break any of Daddy's little rules. She was under the impression that spilling other peoples' secrets to someone was a way of bonding. Her moral compass just sort of swung from direction to direction, depending on who she was around. Right now, it was pointing in the right direction. "All the same, I'm really, really sorry," she said genuinely. She was. Sure, Delaney - bless her - brushed it off like Paige hadn't just spoiled her dress but the wet marks were staring Paige right in the face, even though everyone else seemed to have trouble seeing what she saw.

Paige nodded when Delaney excused herself. At least she had to manners to do so. Paige followed her gaze. She seemed to be looking at a blonde boy. Paige didn't believe she had ever seen him before. Apparently, she wasn't the only newcomer. There was the blonde guy and the pretty brunette next to him. They seemed vaguely familiar, or maybe it was because everyone was doing double takes as they passed, like they knew them. She felt like she should know them because everyone seemed to know about them. Or at least, want to know about them, in Paige's case. There were whispers going around already but Paige hadn't a clue what they were about. Paige hadn't gotten such a reaction out of the party guests. There were some remarks, a few rumors, and a couple of stares. It hadn't been like this. Maybe it was because there was two of them, hence twice the reaction. Maybe they were Hollywood superstars, though these people already seemed to be high society enough. Nia had amazing connections but somehow, the words from the boy's mouth didn't fit the movie star persona. Paige listened keenly for a name or some other familiar sign from him as he introduced the two. She was getting that queer feeling that she knew these people. It often happened. Paige had met many, many, many people but she hadn't been intimate with any. Sometimes, people from her past did catch up with her. There were "best friends" that didn't acknowledge her as they sat at the table across from hers in a restaurant. There were the same bullies who reintroduced themselves as if they had never met before. Paige often recognized people, though people rarely recognized her.

Gray. London. London was very gray and overcast compared to sunny Southern California but that wasn't it. Throughout all her life, Paige had only known one girl called Grayson. She had met her in London on her first day of "secondary" school as they had called it. Technically, it had been halfway through her eighth grade, having transferred in from Florida so that her father could live with the spoiled girlfriend who refused to live anywhere other than her hometown. England had been great for the most part. Sure, there had been some stupid American stereotypes along with the dumb blonde vibe that Paige exuded to deal with but overall, it had been decent, thanks to Gray. They hadn't been absolute best friends forever but to Paige, they had been pretty close considering the short time they had known each other. It had been what? A year in London? A year and a half? It was about fifteen fast months, in which Paige had her first sip of real wine and not just grape juice. Gray and the rest of the class had also succeeded in teaching gullible Paige a million and three swear words that eventually led to Daddy moving them to a gated community back in the states. To this day, Paige was still fluent in British slang, though she had never been able to pull off a British accent. In fact, the first words that came to her mind when she saw Gray, who looked the same but different, were, "Bloody hell!" Paige then promptly covered her beaming mouth, her blue eyes expanding in horror. That didn't last long, though. As soon as Delaney had grabbed onto Damien, Paige practically attacked Grayson, screaming unnecessarily, "Grayson!" She wasn't even sure if Grayson knew who she was. During the time in which they had known each other, Paige had been an awkwardly skinny girl who came up to Gray's shoulder or so. Back then, Paige had actually been a little more reckless and really a bit snotty with the juvenile battiness and angst that everyone in her grade had suffered from. But in the tiny amount of time they had been "reunited," Paige had already swore loudly, shrieked, and bear hugged who might as well have been a stranger. Other people truly had more control over Paige than she had herself.

Paige stopped affectionately but violently weaseling the air out of Gray's body for a moment. She squealed belatedly, "It's Paige, remember?!" Paige certainly hoped she did. It would be such an embarrassment if Gray just brushed her off like all the other old "friends" had. Gray had always been different from the average female, though. Paige took a step back and looked her over. It was the same Gray from what she remembered, which wasn't too much as it really was a long time ago to her. She had the same red hair, different hairstyle, though, and she was still at least a solid two inches taller than Paige, despite the heels. "You look so...pretty! And what a coincidence, I'm staying in Forbes, too!" she added joyously. Everything the came out of her mouth had to end with an exclamation mark. What better way to impress soon - to - be friends than with an apparently 'famous' friend, seeing as people were still glancing towards Gray and her escort. Paige looked at him, too. She dropped her voice. "Who's the hunk?" Paige said, smirking a little slyly. She was guessing he was her date to the party or boyfriend or something. "Looks a lot like that . . . what was his name? Oh, Damien. You guys still friends? He was, what, my height when I left? And -" Paige reminisced, tittering. She ended with a hearty laugh from all those bizarre times in London so she was unable to go on. Oh, she had been so different back in England. Well, that was a lie in some sorts, as was the bit about Damien. Damien Forbes had always been popular in her eyes because he was Gray's best mate and she might as well have been part of the royal family. Damien had never been her height since Paige had always bordered on midget but Damien had never been this tall, either. Things must have changed.

[JokersHeart]

Who was this girl that was having a party anyway? Damien had said something about a Queen but Gray highly doubted that could have been true. America didn't have a Queen, and if they did, it surely wouldn't be in such a place as Forbes. But, if by some miracle, they did have a Queen, Gray was all for meeting her. She couldn't be any worse than the real Queen. 'Boring old woman.' But, first, she had to get to the party before she could scope out this Forbes 'Queen'.

"And what are we supposed to be arriving in?" Gray hadn't quite thought as to how they were supposed to get around Forbes when both her and Damien had just arrived that morning but, the moment she stepped outside the front door, she realised how little she had thought of Damien's abilities. "Nice ride." She flashed an approving smile at her best friend, pleased that someone had thought ahead to get them something stylish to drive around in. "So, does this mean I don't have to drive anywhere?" Another smile spread across her lips, only this time, it was a joking one. If there was one thing Gray liked more than alcohol, it was driving but she never combined the two. She wasn't that stupid. Despite all the things she'd done to prove that very thing.

Most of the ride was silent on their part, though the radio was on, blasting music that Gray mostly ignored. Her thoughts were too far off in her mind for her to notice what was playing anyway and before she could focus on any single thought for more than thirty seconds, they stopped outside a rather elaborate 'mansion'. She supposed that's what it would be called due to its size. 'A little excessive...' The thought fluttered through her mind as she stepped from Damien's Porsche. She quickly followed her best friend towards the house, noting the security guards that appeared to be guarding nothing in particular. "Are they all like that here?" But, before anyone could answer, Damien held his arms out to her and winked. So it was going to be like that? Well, Gray was certainly up for it. Smirking and winking back at the taller boy, she slipped her left arm through his right one, holding on tightly as if they were a couple and without much warning, they entered the mansion. Though, Gray was thoroughly disappointed. She was ready to put on such a good act and there was no one to even try to get past. Well, this was pathetic. She was already let down by the Americans attempt at keeping themselves safe.

Pretty much as soon as they were inside, Damien seemed distracted, obviously looking for someone. Well, Gray figured that was a given since he used to live there, he was bound to know people at the party, right? The idea that he knew people was reinforced when Damien led both of them towards a group of people, a somewhat intimidating looking group of people, and immediately began joking with them, in his somewhat different sense of humour. So, figuring the conversation wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon, Gray let her gaze wander around the different people at the group. To her, they all looked pretty similar. Rich. Well bred. Dangerous. This was either going to be a very exciting or very disappointing stay. She was hoping for the former. But the moment she heard her name mentioned, Gray's attention was brought back to her best friend. Had he really introduced her? Wasn't that supposed to be her duty? Didn't that make her like some sort of social invalid? She sighed inwardly. Damien had never been that fantastic with first impressions and this may not have been his, but it sure as hell was hers and it wasn't going stunningly.

Just before she was going to give Damien a scolding look, some brunette girl pounced all over him. Number one of people who knew him and time for Gray to take a step back for a moment. She sure as hell wasn't going to get between him and some old flame. That was the last thing she wanted. But, before she could have any grand ideas of escaping Damien's limelight, she was attacked by someone as well. The girl caught Gray completely off guard. If it hadn't been for her tight grip, Gray probably would have been on the floor right then and the red head was almost thankful to this blond for holding onto her tightly. "It's Paige, remember?!" Paige? The name was familiar. Gray took a moment to examine the girl before her. There was only one blond named Paige that she could remember. But it couldn't be her, could it? "Paige Verdes?" The moment the name escaped her lips, she remembered the girl. She'd been a lot smaller back in London. But, it had been quite a few years since they'd last seen each other. It was kind of a given that she would have grown. "No way. I thought you'd moved to Japan or was it Canada?" Gray couldn't remember which one it was but it didn't matter, there was someone in this damn city that she knew other than Damien and it made her exceptionally happy.

"Who's the hunk?" The question itself confused her. What hunk? She was only with Damien. Gray glanced towards her best friend, guessing that Paige didn't recognise him. "Looks a lot like that . . . what was his name? Oh, Damien. You guys still friends? He was, what, my height when I left? And -" Gray smiled slightly at Paige's mild rambling. Well, it seemed that she'd stayed somewhat the same, from what Gray could remember of her anyway. "That's definitely Damien and I guess you could say we're best friends now. Though that could easily change if he doesn't introduce his friend there." Gray nodded towards the brunette that Damien was talking to. "How long are you gonna be here for? You were in London for a year or so, right? What are the chances, huh? This is wicked cool!" Gray realised she was talking like a fifteen year old girl in front of people she didn't even know but for once, she didn't really care. She was quite enjoying it and especially enjoying knowing someone within the snotty group of 'Forbesians'. "How long have you been here?" It was turning out to be a little like twenty questions on her part. God... She must have been fifteen years old. This was stupid. "Sorry, you don't have to answer all the questions. I just didn't think there'd be anyone I knew except for Damien and I'm a little bit happy, in case you hadn't noticed." Gray smiled a bit, hoping no one else had noticed her childish ramblings.

[the gingybread --]

know the place, know the time!

» when » Set your watches, it's New Year's Eve and there's only four hours left of 2OO9.

» where » Anyone who's anyone can be found at Nortons' mansion, where the ever energetic besties Luke Norton and Delaney Hales are holding their New Year's Eve Bash.

» weather » The skies are dark and clear, with some pre - New Year fireworks once every hour or so. Winds are tame, but temperature's still a bit chilly.

» what you missed » With new faces and not-so-new ones arriving in Forbes Hills, it's inevitable that some of its residents leave the lush community -- it's the holidays, go figure. One of them was Natalia Cameron, who left in spectacular timing after causing quite a lot of drama in her own party. She's now avoiding the harsh spotlight of LA in the city of Paris, spending the rest of her break with her family. Also whiling the Christmas time away in Europe was Landon Carter, only he's in London with his dad in business. Not so much leisure time at all. We know one person who will have loads of that -- Eli Haigh. The good boy of Forbes Hills is currently celebrating his Christmas and soon his big eighteenth in the beaches of Hawaii.

Despite that, an infamous face is returning to Forbes Hills, and it belongs to Reece Keese. After a year of promoting his fashion line in Europe, the eldest heir to the Keese fortune has come to celebrate the holidays in the only way he knows how. Let's hope younger sister Esme Keese can still have her fun with her big brother around. She's already been spotted in the arms of (and in bed with) Malek Hartley these past few days. It doesn't look too serious, but nothing really is what it seems in this place. In fact, the so-called "fling" is so much more than what people know, the fruit of the two's deal.

Speaking of the deal, Esme has yet to become queen, but then Malek hadn't made any big moves either. Having too much of a good time, I presume. Plus, there's one tiny problem. Nia placed a security blanket behind before leaving -- Macy Wyatt. A near perfect choice for a temporary queen, since no one can find a single piece of dirt about the girl to bring her down, not even Forbes Hills' best - who she is friends with, no less. Alexa Paxton may have the skills and the heels to get to the top, but she has a lot cut out for her with Macy and Esme on the way.

Though Nia left town, Paige Verdes has been doing fine without her chaperon. Then again, she has been spending a lot of time with Damien Forbes and Gray Lancaster for people to mess with her. However, fresh meat is still fresh meat, and when it comes to the female ones, Finn Lee is sure to be close by. He's still as determined as ever to do what no man has done before - pop Macy's cherry - but it doesn't mean he's putting a halt to his flirtatious ways, both Paige and Gray on his to hit list.

» what's up » With Forbes Hills' queen-less and New Year's birthday boy out of town, it's free reign when it comes to who's holding the big New Year's Eve party. There are a couple in town, but the Luke - Delaney collaboration is the party to be in. It's a casual affair -- game night, Forbes style. to be exact. The rambunctious teens are in the middle of truth or dare, and things are just about to get interesting.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoWELCOME TO FORBES HILLS, BABE.

[KR0NiiCALLY KRiiSTEN]

delaneykatehales

Delaney had spent basically the entire day at Luke's house already, setting up, and goofing off. Well, really there had been a lot more goofing off than setting up, but the place eventually did get decorated. In fact, by the time the party had finally started the Norton mansion was completely decked out in silver and gold, with many signs, banners, and balloons, all in some way proclaiming "2010!". Which really was all this party was about. It was going to be the first great bash of the new year. And not one of those stuffy cocktail parties, only consisting of small talk and expensive dresses. This party wasn't going to be like that in any way at all. In fact, Luke and Delaney had specifically requested everyone to dress for comfort instead of style (with some cute underwear, since they were sure to be revealed at some point). Laney herself was dressed simply in a pair of her favorite jeans and a spaghetti strap shirt, with her hair parted to the side, lying pin straight and shiny at her shoulders.

As the party had started, there had been the natural party beginning, always a little awkward, always a little controlled, considering you knew what was going to go down in a short while. But then the real fun had begun about a half and hour later, when they started the party games. Yes, this party was going "back to basics", as Luke and her had decided to call it. They were going to have all the typical high school party games, just a little more naughty... or in other words, a lot more fun. They started off with the classic truth or dare, but after that they had several others lined up, including strip poker, spin the bottle, and of course, seven minutes in heaven. Even more classically, they were serving pizza. No, not that junk fast food pizza. It was gourmet, courtesy of Luke's fantastic chefs.

Music blasted from the Luke's insane sound system while some really crazy dares went down. They had only been playing for about ten minutes or so, and already so much had happened. The game had started off with a strip tease, followed closely by some skinny dipping, then a timed three minute make-out session. There had of course been some truths in there too, for those who couldn't stomach the kind of dares that went down in Forbes Hill. However all of this had transpired between quite a few of the unimportant people in Forbes Hill. They had residence here and they were invited to all the parties (everyone was) but they didn't reside in the innermost circle of the elite. But now the dares had moved onto that inner circle. It was about to get very interesting.

"Delaney!" called a blond girl from the circle that she didn't know very well. "Truth or dare?" She smiled, finally, it was her turn. "Dare, of course." You were a wimp if you chose truth, every Forbes Hillsider knew that. "I dare you to give Reece your best lap dance... wearing only this." The blond was holding up a pair of skimpy lingerie that Luke and Delaney had provided. They had put what they thought would be useful props into a bag that the darer could use at will. "I knew that bag would come back to bite us." she said to Luke, who was sitting next to her, in an undertone. "Fine, I'll be back in a second." she told the room at large, and hurried off before they decided to make her undress in front of them. After hurrying to change so her guests wouldn't get bored (forever the party host), Delaney came back into the room, prepared. She heard a wolf whistle, and blushed, but focused on her task at hand. 'I only have to wear this for a few more minutes.' she thought reassuringly to herself. This was sure to be funny, Laney could already see Reece's panic stricken look. Laney had to admire her darer, for everyone knew that Reece was gay, and very uptight. A slower song started to play right as the brunette began to slink her way toward the unfortunate boy. She began to sway her hips sensually to the music as she got closer and closer. Finally, when she was directly in front of him, she placed one of her feet (clad in some sexy stiletto's that her darer had provided) in between his feet, and kicked the other one up to rest on the arm of the chair. She continued to circle and sway her hips as she leaned in closer and closer. Eventually, they were nose to nose, and more importantly, pelvis to pelvis. Then, with the skill and flexibility that only a true dancer could have, she swung her leg that had been resting on the chair arm up and over his head, keeping it completely straight, and keeping her other foot in the same spot, she pivoted so that her back was now facing him. Delaney smiled as she heard some scattered clapping from behind her. They were probably enjoying this a lot more than Reece was. She bent over so that her barely covered butt was in the air facing Reece, and ran a hand up her leg. With a sudden thought she turned toward him again and ran a hand up his leg, maintaining eye contact, her hand slowly moving up his thigh. However there was where she decided to stop. Delaney turned back toward her 'audience', gave a little mock bow, kissed Reece on the cheek and ruffled his hair. She wanted nothing more than to see his expression, but she wouldn't let that ruin her performance. So she didn't glance back at him once as she retreated back into the bathroom so that she could change.

There was a problem that she discovered when she got to the bathroom. Her clothes were gone, all of them, even though she remembered exactly where she left them. She walked through the hallway, already a little chilly in her skimpy outfit. She peered back into the main room to see all of her guests grinning at her mischievously. So they were in on it too. Delaney frowned back at all of them. "Where are all my clothes?" she demanded rather crossly. The blond that had dared her giggled and responded. "That's one part of the dare that I forgot to mention. You have to wear that for the rest of the game. I'll give your clothes back afterward." Delaney glared at her but sat back down cross-legged next to Luke nonetheless.

"Fine, but now it's my turn." She looked around at the group, slowly choosing her victims. "Okay, so I have a dare for both Macy and Luke -- and don't even try to say you want to pick truth while I'm sitting here in some lingerie." Laney had picked Macy and Luke because they were her friends. If you picked someone you didn't really know or had already made an enemy out of then they would hate you for making you do something embarrassing. Friends, on the other hand would laugh at themselves along with you. She had thought of several truth or dare ideas previously, so that she wouldn't have to think of a crappy one off the top of her head. She picked one of her favorites. "Alright, Macy and Luke have to switch clothes -- don't worry though kiddies, we'll keep the undies on this early in the night, no nudity quite yet. But you have to undress each other... using only your teeth." Delaney just grinned back at their shocked faces.

ooc: before outfit, after outfit. xD

delaneyyyyyyyyyyyyy"and now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand."xxxxxxx

xxxxxx

[squash bananas]

reece christopher keese
_________________________________________
once you've had me you'll never go back. once i'm in your heart you'll never get rid of me







Reece had only been back in town for a few weeks and he was already glad that he was back. He had desperately missed Forbes. And his little sister. When they had been younger, the two had been inseparable. But when he decided he wanted a fashion line and Esme wanted to follow in her fathers foot steps, they knew it was for the best if they took a break and followed their dreams. Now both of them were doing well. Well, Reece was doing better then Esme, but not by much. But he was about to spend some more well deserved time with Forbes' Elite.

He had arrived about ten minutes before Esme had shown up, but basically ever since brother and sister arrived, they were attached at the hip. Reece was even able to get her away from Malek, for a short time being. But now, he was sitting in the group with the Elite and not so Elite. Esme to his right and others all around him, he smirked. Now this is how the Elite party. Playing truth and dare, the intense version. He had enjoyed the previous games. Strip poker had been amazingly fun. Skinny dipping was well, cold. And now that truth and dare was going on, he couldn't wait. He was going to have the time of his life, and possibly embarrass the hell out of Esme. After all, what were big brothers for if not embarrassing their little sisters to death? Some blond girl he didn't know was about to share the truth or dare question with someone. And with that simple question, the game moved into the elite circle.

"I dare you to give Reece your best lap dance... wearing only this." Reece's jaw dropped. He turned to Delaney, panic stricken. He knew she was going to go through with it, he just hoped to god that she didn't. He gulped and looked over at Esme, his eyes begging her for help. But Esme just laughed and shook her head. Reece turned back to the group, visibly paler. This was going to be painful. And extremely awkward.

He watched as Delaney ran off to change into the horrible outfit. The moments while she was gone were agonizing. He hoped she would get locked in the bathroom or something. But nope. Sure enough, she came back in wearing an extremely skimpy outfit. Reece wasn't sure if he should look away, gag, or freak out all together. And Esme wasn't helping. She was laughing her a** off. He glared at his little sister as music started. "Lord, are you serious?" Reece hissed under his breath as Delaney came dancing closer to him. He knew Delaney was a dancer, but he was about to see just how flexible the girl could really be. She danced over to him and kicked his feet apart. He was about to throw them back together when she threw a leg over the arm of the chair and started inching closer and closer to him. This was so not even funny. He was going to ruin that blond girl as soon as it was his turn. Oh it was going to be good. But now, he was more concerned with Delaney now that the two were nose to nose and pelvic to pelvic. This had to be the most awkward he had ever felt, and Reece Keese did NOT like feeling awkward. Lord, if I make it through this, I promise. . but that was as far as his prayer got before her leg flew up into the air and staid perfectly straight. He was shocked at how flexible she was.

She then turned around so her back was facing him and bent over, revealing the fact that her a** was barely covered. He averted his eyes, but he was soon snapped back into reality as she turned towards him and he felt a hand met his leg. He gulped and looked down in horror at her approaching hand. As her hand ran over his thigh, he started freaking out. Any closer and she would be all up on his junk. And that would not be cool. But as soon as he was about to go on the defensive, she stopped. "Oh thank god." Reece moaned as Delaney ran off. He turned to the snickering Esme and frowned. "Oh just wait. I can only imagine what you're going top get." Reece hissed at his little sister, who promptly stopped snickering.

Then it was made clear that Delaney wouldn't get her clothes back till the game was over. Well at least she would be rubbing all up on him anymore. He took a deep breath and shook his head. He then turned to Delaney. Her turn. "Alright, Macy and Luke have to switch clothes -- don't worry though kiddies, we'll keep the undies on this early in the night, no nudity quite yet. But you have to undress each other... using only your teeth." Reece smirked. That was a good one.

outfit

[bringonthethunder]

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════
xoxoRAISE A LITTLE HELL
xoxoIN THE END IT COMES DOWN TO YOUR THINKING
xoxoAND THERE'S REALLY NOBODY TO BLAME
xoxoWHEN IT FEELS LIKE YOUR SHIP IS SINKING
xoxoAND YOU'RE TOO TIRED TO PLAY THE GAME

════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Everett had been flying under the radar for quiet some time now. His plans to show up at the past Queens Christmas shindig had been fallen through, when things between Gemma and him heated up ( in a good way of course ). Rather then the quickie that he had expected, it turned out to be quiet the long, passionate night. Being the no show at the party hadn't been planned but he heard quiet the scandalous stories from it. Of course, it seemed in those few days after the party, many of the old Hillers, were running for the hills ( no pun intended ). Funny enough, it hadn't been Everett who had been running this time. Some of those who left, weren't high enough on his list to even be a bother to him. He was very surprised to hear Landon was one of those to leave. But at the same time, everyone was entitled to their scandals--no matter how scandalous they were. He had bid his good friend a farewell, and he assured him news of the latest dirt would reach him quickly. His intended target, Queen Nia, was another who left the Hills; she was now off somewhere in Paris. As if to make things worse, Gemma also left. Who was he suppose to for to for an easy ******** now? Of course, with the departure of some, came the arrival of others. The increase in males was a fashion designer, the founder of this great city grandson ( or something along those lines ) and a soccer star. The ladies, which were clearly more important, a dancer ( who in Everett's mind should be very flexible, and was more than willing to 'take one for the team' and find out, one from old money and the innocent one.

He had yet to met these familair strangers, considering he had been laying considerable low and out sight. Although his mother wouldn't shut up about the fashion designer, and almost had made him meet the kid. Yeah, no offense but he made sure he stayed clear from his parents work world. As usual the new kid's were causing a lot of talk though the city. Oddly enough, Everett wasn't the only one who was waiting in the wings to make a move. Malek seems to be playing a familair strategy; not as hidden as Everett was but all in the same. Of course, with Nia gone, the throne was wide open and he knew there were a couple of girls who could do anything to get it. He wasn't too sure how the new females in town were feeling about the open seat he knew ( more or less ) where the regulars stood. Alexa, of course, was one of those who could and possibly would kill someone for her throne back. Lyric, from what he understood, didn't intend on playing the game for the throne. Although it would cause quiet the riot to see her reigning. Esme was another who was in the running for it, despite the friendship between her and Alexa. Finally, Macy; sweet, innocent Macy, was the last women. And possibly most definitely the holiest out the bunch. The only thing left to do was pick a winner to be his new toy.

Walking into the party Everett had a feeling it was going to a good night. He spotted a few familair faces and smirked at all the looks. After his no show at the last party, people had begun to think he too had skipped town, again that is. He had showed up here to prove he was in fact still in town and boy was he ready to stir the pot in whichever way he could. As he walked farther into the house his smirk only grew at the theme of the party; game night with the twist of Forbes, of course. 'Oh am I going to love this.' He thought, his smirk never failing. As he moved past the people, giving them smirks and nods he stopped when he heard a game of truth or dare going on. "I dare you to give Reece your best lap dance... wearing only this." a girl had spoke to another. Knowing this could only end well in his favor, he stopped to see the girl outcome. It just so happened that the girl who was given the dare had been Delaney Hales, one of the new girls. It didn't take her long to change into her new found outfit and Everett was right; it had been worth it. She came out in on in quite the outfit to give whoever his lap dance. Boy was he loving this party. What made it even better was all the Forbers were in one room together. Well the ones that hadn't left anyways.

"Maybe I should've come a little earlier," He said loudly, stepping into the room full of familair faces. He hadn't actually met up with any one them. The only one he had talked with had been Landon and he wasn't even here. "Clearly I'm missing out on a lot of fun." He said with a small laugh. "Count me in on this game." Everett scanned the room for a spot to sit and his interest peaked in a spot next to the ex-queen herself, Alexa.

"Alright, Macy and Luke have to switch clothes -- don't worry though kiddies, we'll keep the undies on this early in the night, no nudity quite yet. But you have to undress each other... using only your teeth."

He let the attention die off of him as Maxy and Luke's dare rang through the room. 'Not to shabby of a dare.' He thought as he walked over to Alexa. Smirking, he planted himself in the empty seat next to Alexa. As he sat down he bumped him arm lightly into hers and winked. "It's been a while, 'Lex." He eyed her attire appreciatively, "And you're still looking as good as ever." His eyes returned to her face, after all he did have class. "Don't I get a welcome hug or kiss?" He raised his brows and mock pouted at the girl before him. He opened his arms slightly and challenged her with his eyes. It was one of the reason he'd been attracted to her. The headstrongness she possessed was very attractive. Maybe choosing a girl wouldn't be too hard. And at least there would be some kind of challenge.

ohohcee; outfit also, i apologize for the crap post D:

[JokersHeart]

Settling back into the Forbes lifestyle had been easy and kinda nice. Even though his world was once again full of the dramas and secret warfare, Luke liked it. Maybe it had something to do with being around it all his life but it was comforting to be back in such a familiar place, one he knew exceptionally well and one he'd missed quite dearly. There'd been one person Luke had missed the most while he was gone, his best friend - - Delaney. They'd spent the entire day getting his parents house ready for the New Years party they'd planned in a matter of hours. It was all about going back to when things were a little bit easier and days were just that little bit more carefree. All they wanted was to have some fun for once, some fun that didn't involve dressing up in a monkey suit and drinking champagne in a stuffy room. It had been Delaney's idea to do something different and it had been Luke's idea to play the childish games. It even looked like everyone was having fun, even though the evening had barely started.

A chuckle escaped Luke's lips as he heard his best friend being dared. A lap dance for Reece? Either this blond girl was the dumbest person in the world or an absolute genius. He couldn't wait to see Delaney's moves though, he was pretty sure she'd never given anyone a lap dance before. Or at least that's what he wanted to tell himself. But, he had to do a double take on Delaney when she came back wearing the least amount of clothing he'd ever seen on her. This was completely insane. But, he couldn't take his eyes off Delaney as she ground against Reece, showing off her flexibility. A part of Luke felt jealous that Reece, the gay of the elite, was lucky enough to be the focus of Delaney's skills. Forcing his eyes off the pair, Luke bit down on his lower lip. The jealousy just had to be a form of protectiveness, right? He wasn't actually jealous of Reece. He was just protective of Delaney since they were best friends. But before his thoughts could get too far, he heard that she had to stay in that outfit for the remainder of the game. 'That could be a while.'

He smiled sympathetically at Delaney up until she chose him and Macy for a dare. He shot a worried glance at Macy. "Alright, Macy and Luke have to switch clothes -- don't worry though kiddies, we'll keep the undies on this early in the night, no nudity quite yet. But you have to undress each other... using only your teeth." Luke's head snapped back to face Delaney. Those words didn't come out of her mouth. Did they? Tilting his head to the side a little, Luke knew he had to go through with the dare. If there was one thing he couldn't do, it was give up, he was one of the inner circle and no matter what the dare, you did not ever say no it. "Just don't get too jealous that it's not you, Laney." Luke smirked as he spoke before he stood and slowly walked over to Macy, holding out his hand for her. If they were gonna do this, everyone was gonna see it. Considering Luke wasn't quite sure how many guys had dreamt of doing this very thing to the smoking hot replacement queen.

Before Luke could think about what he was about to do too much, he bent down and grabbed the bottom of her shirt with his teeth, trying not to get too much saliva on it since he was sure she wouldn't appreciate him ruining her clothing over a stupid dare. He was glad he was two inches taller than Macy as he pulled the shirt over her head and now outstretched arms. The task would've been a lot more difficult if he was shorter than her. Letting the shirt fall from his mouth, a tiny smirk spread across his lips. He was enjoying this more than he thought he would. Deciding she could undress him in just her underwear, Luke set about undoing her jeans and working them down her body. This was far harder than he'd anticipated and he finally understood why he'd never ever tried to do this to a girl he wanted in his bed. It was easier to just rip the clothes off with both of his hands. Finally getting her jeans off, Luke stood to his full height and grinned at Macy. Now it was her turn to undress him and she was wearing about as much as Laney was right then. All he could hope was that he didn't get a boner while she undressed him.

Luke couldn't keep his eyes off Macy as she undressed him, quite seductively at that. '[********. ********. ********]' He was getting turned on. Oh this was going to be embarrassing if she didn't finish soon cause he was sure that the moment he started to put her clothing on, he was going to be turned off. Or at least he hoped that's how it would work out. Macy was finished before he realized and now, he was standing in front of his friends wearing nothing more than a pair of navy blue, cotton boyleg briefs and was about to put on girls clothing. God he'd missed this kind of stuff. "Have I mentioned that I hate you lately?" He turned to face Laney as he asked his question before picking up Macy's jeans and squeezing his legs into the tight fitting things. For once, he was grateful that soccer didn't involve having to bulk up or anything, it was all about being quick and agile. Buttoning the pair up, Luke sucked in as much as he could but failed at successfully getting the two ends to meet and had to resort to leaving them open. He hoped Macy didn't mind not getting her clothes back in the same shape she'd got them in. Maybe he'd buy her something new to make up for it.

Luke pulled the shirt on over his head, only just realizing how tiny Macy really was when the shirt barely covered his entire stomach. 'Great.' He sat back next to Laney and smiled at her. What a pair, her in lingerie and him in girls clothes. The funny thing was that he didn't actually feel that embarrassed about it.

"Macy and I choose... Paige. That's right, isn't it?" He asked Macy, hoping she wouldn't say no to his choice since he supposed it should be both of their choice as to who it was and what the dare was. "You have to imitate someone within this circle."

ooc || lukes outfit before macy's clothes

[THE ELLiEPHANT]

This was mortifying. Paige was about to have a premature heart attack. Every time it was turn for a new dare, Paige adverted her gaze, thinking furiously when someone glanced at her, "Not me. Not me. Not me.' Fortunately, her mental chant had worked so far. The thought of a just truth made her queasy. Even Paige had some things to hide - everyone did - and she was very open about things but details about her romantic past and equally personal subjects weren't things she wanted to open up to a crowd. She saw all the grilling that went on until the truth - the actual truth - was weaseled out and the circle formed only accepted the worst tidbits about a person. Nothing Paige had done was juicy and scandalous enough for these sorts and Paige didn't want to make a fool of herself, which was why she was dreading her turn. She would've peed if she had been selected for a dare. Paige, however, dared to look into the circle now. The time make - out session was over and another turn was up for grabs. Paige's heart skipped a beat but there wasn't a need for a panic attack yet. The girl with the authority was staring straight at Delaney and Paige bit her lip for the two of them, although Delaney seemed fairly comfortable. The lap dancing dare didn't even faze her. Paige didn't know whether to be horrified or admire the dancer. Either way, Paige made a show of examining the chipped blue nail polish on her fingers. This one was much easier to ignore, though the silence was consuming Paige's imagination and Paige could only imagine what was going on while she stared at her nails. Paige quickly pushed off those thoughts. She didn't want to think about it, even if the circle was wolf whistling. Paige shifted uncomfortably and almost wished they'd never be done to lower any risk of Paige having to do that.

If anything, the next dare was worse. And it came from Delaney's mouth. Paige glanced up quickly in surprise. Her opinion of Forbes Hill and its residents was changing fast. At Nia's party, mostly everyone seemed polite and friendly. At Delaney's (she was one of those under 'polite and friendly,' too) and her friend's, Paige had expected much of the same in less formal circumstances. She had underestimated how casual it turned out to be. There was casual sex, casual everything as if nobody was watching and nobody cared. The second part was true but the first definitely wasn't. Paige was just about the only person in the whole circle who spared Macy some modesty as she undressed Luke with her teeth. Paige looked up to shoot her a sympathetic glance but too soon. Instead, she got an awkward picture from her viewpoint of Macy attempting to unzip Luke's jeans, Paige flushed and returned to her examination of her nails. She was more embarrassed than Luke and Macy combined. Well the boy didn't even seemed to unsatisfied after they were through. Paige gave Macy a sympathetic look but it turned out as more of a grimace. This was so risqué, so insane, so not Paige. Paige began her chant again, 'Not me. Not me. Not me. Please, not me.' Paige, as a last resort, turned on the big blue eyed puppy dog look she gave her father when she desperately wanted her way - it always worked - but Luke was looking right at her. Her out of all the people in the circle. Paige prayed it wasn't her. This wasn't just his turn. It was Macy's, too. Macy wouldn't do this to her, not Macy. Macy was more like Paige than anyone else she had ever met. They were friends, or at least, Paige thought so. Macy would understand. Macy would not choose her.

But Luke would.

Paige winced when she heard her name. "Truth!" she begged automatically. Snickers sounded in the circle. Paige flushed again. She didn't meet Luke's eyes (how could anyone look at him in those clothes?) as he thought over what he wanted her to do. Take off her t - shirt? Or her shorts? Both? Pole dance in his living room? Make out with a girl? Paige's stomach was knotting up. She gave Macy one last pleading glance, 'Have mercy. Please.' Nothing of that sort was happening. If Macy was going to rescue her, now would be the perfect time. Paige thought her heart would explode when he opened his mouth again. "You have to imitate someone within this circle," he said, finally after what felt like an eternity but was only a few seconds. Paige involuntarily sighed loudly, drawing a few more eyes to her. Some people were still staring in the wrong direction, ignorant to who this "Paige" girl was. For once, Paige was thankful that she was new and she was thankful that Luke was not as insane as his actions made him out to be. Paige nodded meekly and wrapped a blonde strand around her finger nervously as she scrutinized everyone in the circle. She started with Luke but decided against him in less than a second. Macy was fair game but they were so alike that Paige wouldn't even know how to make it into an imitation. There was Delaney and Reece. Paige was not a dancer of any sort, especially a lap dancer, and imitating a homosexual man might be a little too weird. She'd come back to the second one. She didn't know Esme or Alexa well enough. The same went for Malek and the two brown haired boys that she didn't know. That left Damien - an outdated imitation of him as a kid might be amusing - and Gray. 'Bingo.'

Paige shot her a rueful look. Gray was just easy. Paige had known her longer than anyone else around. She was British. She drank. A lot. Gray just had more outstanding traits than anyone else in the circle, in Paige's opinion. Paige cleared her throat quietly and took a deep breath. Paige reviewed what a Cockney accent sounded like in her head, although she was quite sure that Grayson had never lived in the East End of London. "My name's Grayson Lancaster and I'm an alcoholic," she began simply, awkwardly in her Mockney accent as though she were at an AA meeting. She added quickly, "That's step one, right mate? And step two. . .a greater Power can restore us to sanity. . . That's God, hm? Well, I've been drinking wine at Holy Communion before I was even baptized so I guess I'm good to go." Paige began slurring her words and they crammed together, partially on purpose and partially because of her nervousness. Paige looked around for help but all everyone was staring at her as though she was a nut. They didn't know Gray well enough, which was good and bad for her imitation at the same time. Paige's eyes quickly settled on an opened can of beer in front of an unsuspecting boy. Paige grabbed at it. It sloshed around in her shaking hands before finally slipping out. Paige gasped in surprise before recovering, "Sorry mate," she drawled, slurring her words more than ever, "Let me clean that up for you," Paige leaned down to "drunkenly" mop it up with her hair before she realized that Gray wouldn't put her hair under such torture or at least, Paige wouldn't. "You know, Jesus' blood was made outta wine. Amen to that!" she blurted out, hardly believing the words spewing from her mouth. She went to church every week, for the record. Paige shook her head sorrowfully for the act, though. She was really warming up to this. Paige lowered her face to the floor and sucked up the booze off the floor loudly, her blonde hair hiding her face. She smacked her lips sloppily for good measure. Paige straightened up again and that was that.

She returned to her seat in the circle oblivious to everyone's reactions, although she was about as red as any drunk and not just from the little beer. She wanted to hide her face but her turn was over. She was immune for now. Now she had to choose someone else to humiliate themselves. Paige mouthed a silent, quick "I'm sorry" to Grayson before she said, "Grayson?" She sincerely hoped Grayson wasn't taking Paige's imitation of her to heart or what was the come next personally, "I dare you . . . and Damien to a drinking game. You guys can pick which one." Paige leaned back on her hands. She was making Grayson out to be a more unmanageable alcoholic than she really was. She had gotten carried away. Hopefully, those two would be too drunk to care.

[squash bananas]

ｙｏｕ'ｒｅ ｔｈｅ ｆｉｒｓｔ ｔｏ ａｒｒｉｖｅ
ｔｈｅ ｆｉｒｓｔ ｔｏ ＴＡＳＴＥ Ａ ＤＲＩＮＫ
ｔｈｅ ｆｉｒｓｔ ｔｏ ｈｉｔ ｔｈｅ ｓｃｅｎｅ

"I dare you to give Reece your best lap dance... wearing only this."

The best dare ever for someone to give a clearly homosexual man a lap dance by a lady. Oh man this was going to be good. Esme turned to her older brother and snickered as she watched him visibly tense up and start to panic. She knew her brother and she knew that he was not going to appreciate this. Not one bit. Ever since they had been young, he had never been into women. Always men. Hell, he had even stolen a boyfriend or two away from Esme, something she stills holds a grudge about.

"Oh just wait. I can only imagine what you're going to get."

She watched with amusement on her face as Laney approached her brother and started her lap dance. Sure, Esme felt bed for her brother, but hell. When you partied with the Elite, and this Elite to be precise, you couldn’t expect anything less then the group to embarrass the hell out of you and move on like nothing happened. She watched Laney do her moves on her brother, snickering the entire time. When she was done, Esme turned to Reece, still snickering. But when he turned to look at her, the look he gave her as children came onto his face, but Esme ignored that look. Until he accompanied that look with that tone of his that meant he meant business.


"Alright, Macy and Luke have to switch clothes -- don't worry though kiddies, we'll keep the undies on this early in the night, no nudity quite yet. But you have to undress each other... using only your teeth."

Esme stopped smirking immediately and sat back in her chair, shooting evil looks to her brother. She waited for the next victim of the game to come around, wondering when the game would shift over into her direction. She wasn’t really itching to do anything, but she was itching to share some of her dares that she had come up with. And of course, she had damn good ones. Plus, who the hell would chose truth in their right mind? That could possibly be worse then choosing dare with this group. She watched as Luke and Macy proceeded to undress each other, with their teeth. Esme couldn’t help but to smirk at this. It was a great dare. And a sexy one too. She would have to remember that for later. Mental note: clothes off with teeth equals win. Watching the duo actually swap clothes was hilarious. Luke barely fit into Macy’s clothes and vice versa. The duo then sat down, wearing each others clothes and Esme smirked. This was getting good. And hell, with the way this was going, who knows. This might end up causing the most controversial bit of gossip Forbes’ has ever seen. But only the night could tell.

The next person up for the game was the new girl who had been introduced to everyone at Nia’s party. Paige was her name and well frankly, Esme wasn’t to keen on the woman. She just pulled on a façade until she knew something about the female so she easily take her down if the time called for it. Or encase she crossed her the wrong way. Either one.


"Macy and I choose... Paige. That's right, isn't it? You have to imitate someone within this circle. "

Esme rolled her eyes at the dare. This would be interesting. She turned in her chair so she could better look at Paige. I swear to god if she chooses me or Reece i'll gut the woman. Esme hissed mentally, staring at Paige as she watched the girl make up her mind as to who she was going to copy. Then she finally announced who she was going to copy. Grayson. Perfect


"My name's Grayson Lancaster and I'm an alcoholic, That's step one, right mate? And step two. . .a greater Power can restore us to sanity. . . That's God, hm? Well, I've been drinking wine at Holy Communion before I was even baptized so I guess I'm good to go."

After she did her vocal imitation, she grabbed some poor slobs drink. She then sloshed it around and ended up spilling it. What she did next was horrendous. No self respecting Forbes Elite woman would think of doing what she did next. So clean up the mess, she bent over and got onto the floor and proceeded to mop up the fallen beer with her hair. How horrible. No Forbes’ woman would dare mess up her hair in that stunt. But Esme smirked. Perfect piece of gossip. She then watched as Paige slurped up the beer from the ground and went back to her seat like nothing had happened. Esme couldn’t believe it. She rolled her eyes and turned to Reece, who she could tell was just as shocked about the whole hair thing. Even being a man, Reece knew that someone didn’t do that, especially when in the Elite.

"Grayson? I dare you . . . and Damien to a drinking game. You guys can pick which one."

But now that her truth was over, she turned to her victim, or lack there of. Paige eventually chose Grayson and Damien and dared them to a drinking match. Well, at least she somewhat recovered with a good dare. Somewhat. It would still take her a while to recover if Esme decided to make that whole beer deal known to more then just the Elite. Which she was tempted to do. But she let that slip her mind as she looked over at Malek and with a smirk on her lips, ran her hand up his thigh, ending dangerously close to his nether region before she withdrew her hand. Reece gave her a glare, but she ignored it. She wouldn’t let big brother ruin her fun.






outfit

[[Bang Bang]]

Well wasn't this just peachy? It was New Years Eve and the Forbes Lords and Ladies were enjoying their nearly perfect lives at yet another party. The cast of Los Angeles' best shifted around dramatically in just a few days. Most definitely, things were not at all how Malek envisioned. First and foremost, dearest Nia was no where to be seen. The pressures of her queenship crumbled her at her own party and now she was hiding under a french rock in Paris. It was a shame, really. Malek quite liked Nia. She was in way over her head, yes, but she was a breath of fresh air that Malek loved to inhale. Picking on her had become one of his favorite hobbies. The best part was watching her try and recover with a comment or two of her own. It was cute in the most pathetic way possible. None the less, she was a Forbes Hill-sider and Malek had a sense of respect (theoretically) for her ability to make it up so high at all. A big portion of it had been from his own work, actually. It was strange seeing his efforts go to waste. Ah well. Next come next serve. This was where things got hilarious. Nia, the nothing-has-been of Forbes, thought it would be lovely to name Macy as the runner up for the title. Malek had a good laugh at that. Esme witnessed him rolling around in bouts of laughter at the very idea. Nia was old news! She had no power in Forbes whatsoever. So what made her think she had the right to give what no longer belonged to her? Who on earth would simply bow down and oblige to a slut's demands? Honestly, he couldn't of been the only one who found that a laughing matter. Besides... Macy?? Honestly? “You've got to be kidding me.” She had about as much influence as that Penny girl. No, that wasn't her name. Phoebe? No. Oh, Paige, that's right. Yes, she had no spice to her name that Malek could exploit, but that was the point. Her name had absolutely no reputation to it other then that girl that wouldn't spread her legs. What an insult to Forbes.

But enough business talk. It was the holidays and Malek was looking forward to watching the elites destroy themselves without his help. It always happened that way. It was probably the only reason why he liked this time of year at all. With very little influence of his own, boys and girls found ways to create their own hell. Malek considered it a vacation. Of course, he wouldn't calm his antics entirely but hopefully enough so to play nice with most people. Coincidentally, this was always the time of year everyone liked him more. He always had more laughs and bigger crowds around him. Personally, Malek could care less if people liked him or not. So long as he had all his needs met (entertainment, sex, alcohol) he wasn't big on complaining.

This party was providing two of those needs on it's own. The game was called Truth or Dare, but to ever elitist, it translated to dare or you're ******** out of the circle. No one chose truth. That was a death sentence in itself. This was the game where Elites got to prove the reputation they had been building up, the entire year. The tough, the bitches, the sluts, the sly, and the rebels - it was just talk if they didn't have something to back it up with. And boy, did the other elites make an effort to provide the proper environment to prove oneself. Already, Esme's brother Reece had been forced to suffer through a very tantalizing dance from Delaney Hales. Everyone knew Delaney was a dancer. Malek had been to a few of her performances and had seen first hand just what she was capable of. It was in her blood. But he never knew exotic dancing fell under her forte as well. He found himself quite shocked at the moves she was pulling on the gay boy beneath her. More so, he started wondering if Esme knew anything similar to what Delaney was teaching her audience. Leaning in so that his lips were close to touching Esme's ear, he whispered to her so that his voice would drown out to anyone else under the slow playing music.

“Take notes,” he teased. He was only joking, and Esme would know that. Flexibility was always a turn on when it came to the bedroom. But you didn't need to explain that to Esme. When it came to sex, she must have written the book, or at least co-written it. He couldn't count how many times they had found a moment to romp but each one was better than the last. Esme meant it when she said that they'd be having sex whenever and where ever. He thought he was naturally granted the title of having sex on the brain constantly. Yeah, right. Esme was always ready for another round and constantly pulling Malek aside to force him to his best capabilities. It was a challenge in a way. To see who could last the longest and provide the most. The competition was one neither of them wanted to lose. To be honest, Malek wasn't sure of how he really felt about Esme. He didn't hate her, that was for sure. But he didn't know if he liked her either. Malek didn't like anyone. The closest he let people get was just to acquaintances. Esme was different. They didn't just play paddy cake in bed. They talked too and spent time together which was more than he could say for anyone else. She was becoming more or less his friend. The idea made him doubtful though, which was why he chose not to talk or think about it. It would be best to leave well enough alone.

“Get it, RC!” Malek laughed. The boy had a look of horror on his face. As if Delaney was anything to be scared about. If it was Malek in that seat, he'd of reached out and grabbed those firm buns she was shaking in his face. After all, she wasn't wearing a "don't feed the animals" sign on her. When the dance was over, Malek couldn't help but dwell in the sight of Reece's misery. Sure the guy was as gay as they came but a different outlook couldn't change the art, could it? Delaney's body was a masterpiece and whether you were gay, straight, or a lamp, you had to admit she was hot. Malek began to wonder why he wasn't on better terms with the sexy elite. “Note to self: Get to know Delaney.” No, that didn't sound right. “Correction: Get to know Delaney's body.” Yeah, after all, that's what really mattered. Next up was the supposed "queen" and a boy by the name of Luke. Who knows how he made it into this party. All he was ever interested in was kicking around balls and running with boys. It was sad to know this was what Forbes "best" had come down to. His father would be disappointed. Macy was dared to take Luke's clothes off with her teeth then wear them and vice versa. Malek wasn't all too amused with the idea. Like Macy didn't do that on a daily basis already. Her best element was getting her boys all hot and heavy then pulling the plug right before it got good. The dare seemed like a reversal of Reece's dare - this time the man in the situation liked it. How unoriginally boring. Turning to Esme, he made a familiar look on his face. To anyone else, it might have been nothing but they had both been doing it long enough to know exactly what was behind it. His face read, “I'm bored and I wanna ******** you.” And boy, did he mean it. With all the sexual tension in the air, Malek was ready to supply some of his own on his " girlfriend ". The word had a funny taste in his mouth. They didn't go public about it. Malek and Esme both wanted to keep their relationship under wraps. It'd make others slightly suspicious to see two very powerful gossips joining forces. But they had become white and rice as of late which brought an odd light to the situation. A fling, was their excuse. And who could call them liars? After all, they were the eyes and ears - without them, Forbes might as well been called Helen Keller. Besides, neither Esme or Malek were known to date. It was the perfect cover.

Turning his attention back to the dares, he realized someone had chosen Penny to go next. Penny/Paige was dared to imitate one of the elites (even though it wasn't said, it was clearly implied) for everyone else to see. Even though she had a gourmet of girls to choose from, the ditz child chose to go for an appetizer: Grayson Lancaster. Another outsider. Malek hadn't gotten to know her all that well - he wasn't the kind to easily warm up to newbies - but from what he was to understand, she was hot s**t back in London. Ha. Like fame traveled over continents. She could have been the Prime Minister, herself, and she'd of still started at level zero in LA. Still, she seemed interesting enough to keep an eye on. Malek wondered if she really had the skill to stay in the elites. Penny/Paige took the center of attention and began drunkenly imitating the Lancaster's daughter. Most of which was unamusing. God, who brought this girl to the party? In fact, who brought her to LA? They needed to be taken behind the outhouses and shot to death, because she did not belong. At all. Wait, what was--....Oh dear lord, no. Was she mopping beer up with her hair? Malek cocked up an eyebrow and watched with astonishment as Penny/Paige then proceeded to drink the beer off the floor. That was his boiling point. Who the hell was this freakishly weird girl and why was no one else saying anything? He wasn't imagining her, right? Maybe she was a figment of his imagination, created to be everything he wanted to exploit and yet be nonexistent to the world. That sounded more realistic then the stories he was going to have to tell everyone tomorrow. Then she turned on her bony little legs and sat back down. Malek stared long and hard at her, wondering how it was she woke up in the mornings, okay with the fact that she was a total queer. And not the Reece kind of queer. The next dare was aimed for the same girl she had mimicked and Damien Forbes. Now there was a pair. One a drunk, the other a....Well, how did one go about describing Damien? There wasn't anything truly interesting about him, but he gained the title of an elite through his dad. The dare was to compete in a drinking game. Oh wow, big surprise there. Like Penny/Paige was capable of coming up with anything interesting anyways. This was another potentially good dare gone to waste. Ah well, maybe Grayson would recover - she looked like a fun girl. Malek reminded himself to share a drink or three with her. He was sure she could sport up a good laugh. His thoughts ran dry when he felt something touch his leg. Looking down, he saw a very delicate, manicured hand start to rise up his leg. Esme. He began to smile back at her as she moved higher up, nearly touching a very important package of his. When she pulled away, they both turned and watched Reece's anger shine through his eyes. Oh, how he loved to see that face of his. Malek just loved the idea of coming between a brother and a sister which were supposedly "inseparable". Tch. That word didn't even exist in Malek's vocabulary. Leaning inwards, Malek brought his lips close to Esme's ear once more. All the while, his eyes were locked onto Reece's glare.

“Stay at my house tonight. There's a bottle of chocolate syrup in my fridge that I'm sure we can put to good use,” he whispered. Esme giggled which made Reece's rage flare up just a tad bit more. Oh, this was just too easy. Malek turned away and stared out at the dare going on before him, as if nothing had happened. In his mind, he was imagining all the wonderful places on Esme's body that he wanted to explore. It killed time and brought fun ideas into his head, to say the least.


the mischievous handy-man.



outfit

[JokersHeart]

This was how the 'elite' spent their New Years? Well, Gray was highly disappointed. She was expecting some huge bash with plenty of alcohol, maybe some fireworks for midnight and more than playing silly little games like truth or dare. Though, she did have to admit that the moment the game moved to the inner circle, it got interesting. Even Gray knew that Reece (she hadn't even met him yet) was quite well known for being into fashion and gay and here some blonde girl from the outer circle was setting her sights on making him uncomfortable. Gray had to admit, this girl had some balls and she was somewhat impressed by what followed. That girl Delaney certainly had some skill. It made Gray wonder what the elite of Forbes spent their time learning / doing. Maybe she was going to like it here after all.

Before Gray had time to blink, the next dare was happening and a boy and girl were undressing each other with their teeth. She cocked her head to the side, watching the two in the centre a little more intently than she should've been. It was just so fascinating. How on Earth did they know they could do that? And why was everyone just sitting around like it was an every day occurrence? Gray's focus shifted from the two undressing each other and let it rove over the people that formed the elite circle. She didn't actually know anyone except for Paige and Damien and she was sitting between the two of them in the circle. Did that finally make her a zero in the elite world? A tiny sigh escaped her lips. It was true. She had to build her way back to the top and she was lucky to be sitting within this circle but Gray was going to make the most of it and get back to the top and well, the top was open enough right then since the Queen had run off to France and left a rather weak replacement. Now the spot was up for grabs and it was almost a given that the strongest and slyest of the girls here would be gunning for it.

It was only the mention of a familiar name that brought Gray from her thoughts. "... Paige. That's right, isn't it? You have to imitate someone within this circle." Were the dares really going to get worse as the night went on? Or maybe this guy was just completely and utterly uncreative. Gray was just about ready to shoot a sympathetic glance to her old friend when she noticed the look on her face. No, no, no... Paige was choosing her. The realisation almost made her want to throw up. No one in this room knew Gray except for Damien and Paige and no one but Damien knew just exactly what had made Gray really wanna leave London and now Paige was imitating her?

"My name's Grayson Lancaster and I'm an alcoholic. That's step one, right mate? And step two. . .a greater Power can restore us to sanity. . . That's God, hm? Well, I've been drinking wine at Holy Communion before I was even baptized so I guess I'm good to go." Gray wanted to hide in a glass of Scotch. A large glass. But no one here knew that Gray actually had any form of a problem. For all they knew, Paige could have been making the entire thing up. The whole time Paige was imitating her, Gray couldn't tear her eyes away. It was like a bad car wreck - - you don't want to look, but you can't take your eyes off it because you don't want to miss anything. But the moment Paige picked up a beer can and spilt it on a boy before her, Gray swallowed hard. She hoped she didn't look as nervous and scared on the outside as she felt inside. "Let me clean that up for you." Gray's eyes widened just a little as Paige bent down and started to mop the drink up with her hair. Her hair. Gray was horrified. Did it really seem like she'd do that kind of thing? s**t she needed a drink. "You know, Jesus' blood was made outta wine. Amen to that!" This was getting worse and Gray could feel a few pairs of eyes settling themselves on her. No one knew if what Paige was doing or saying had any truth to it and they wanted to know. It was almost a perfect piece of gossip on one of the new girls.

It wasn't soon enough for Gray before Paige's dare was over and to add injury to insult, Paige chose her for a dare. "I dare you . . . and Damien to a drinking game. You guys can pick which one." A drinking game. Just to make the imitation true. Well, at least it was going to satisfy Gray's urges for a strong drink. Now what kind of drinking game could they possibly play in a short space of time and still have enough time to dare someone else before the evening was over? "Brill." A smile spread across the Brits lips as she looked at Damien. "I dunno how much a game this is but first to finish ten shots of tequila." She knew Damien wasn't too big on the drinking side of things but it was a quick way for Gray to get some sort of hold over her nerves again and to surprise her, a bottle of tequila appeared before her. Apparently the people of the outer circle were far more willing than Gray could have imagined. "Cheers." The thanks slipped out of her mouth as she grabbed the bottle. "Shot glasses?" She hoped there'd be some in the house. "Here." Four shot glasses appeared before her. She was about to say thanks for them when she noticed it was the same boy who'd been undressed and was now wearing girls clothes so instead, Gray suppressed a chuckle and just nodded, placing two glasses in front of Damien and the other two in front of her.

Pouring the yellowy liquid into all four shot glasses, Gray watched Damien. She hoped this would be an easy win. Maybe it'd be a way for her to gain some standing with these people, even after all they saw with Paige. "Bottoms up." She picked up the first of her ten shots and nodded in Damien's direction before downing the drink easily. She picked up the second shot and downed that one as easily and poured herself two more shots before downing them as well. This was easy. Maybe too easy. But at least it was something familiar.

Before she knew it, she had ten shots of tequila floating through her system and the start of a nice buzz setting in. This was what she remembered from London and boy had she missed it. Licking her lips just a little, Gray felt satisfied and yet hungry for more. But that'd have to wait for later. She had some daring to do. Turning to face the circle of elite she didn't know, Gray thought carefully about who to choose as the next victim. Her eyes fell upon a male she vaguely remembered meeting at the last party she went to. Well, she had her victim. "Finn, is it?" When she got an affirmative from the boy in question, she continued. "Obviously we're playing dare here so, I dare you to strip for darling Paige here." It wasn't like it was revenge or anything. Nothing of the sort. Gray just didn't know if such an opportunity would arise ever again. 'Yeah right.'


ooc || outfit