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These Are Our Rules

The hotel wasn't extremely glamorous, but between the two of them they'd talked up into one with two queen beds. The poor boy had been utterly flabbergasted. Ember flopped onto the one closest to the door and also the coffee pot with glee, kicking his booted feet with glee.

"Where to first?" he gushed, grinning bright like the sun. They were going to wreak havoc and have so much fun.

So Much Fun Now

He had a pretty face, in the rugged sort of way. Not at all refined but absolutely still classy, if a bit on the dumb side. Ember stuck out nearly like a sore thumb; he'd foregone the skirt in favor of black romper overalls with neon green leggings that matched his hair, with wedge boots laced up to his knees.

And he wanted to dance, and drink, and dance, buying Ember one too many that he drank (and, when he wasn't looking, dumped) much too slowly.

Ember slid his eyes to Caroline, grinning as what's his name (Mike, probably, he looked like a Mike) laid a hand on Ember's pale, slim neck after Ember's invitation to do so.

These Are Our Rules

It thrilled her seeing Ember so happy, glad to be at least part of the reason he was out here and free for a bit. But when she opened her mouth to respond, to keep the excitement at its best, she faltered and her expression faded into vague confusion.

"s**t, Ember. I don't know." It looked like it disgusted her to even have to say that (mainly because it did). "Can't remember the last time I was just doing something to just do something. It's just that I had this goal, and now I don't because I can't, and--"

She laughed. At herself. "This is sad. Help me out. Show me somewhere fun and I'll remember how to play this."

So Much Fun Now

All the looks of the clubs had changed, and the music wasn't like anything she knew. She'd been to a dive bar or twelve on her way northward - they were always reliable for finding a warm bed - but all of this was new. This was good. Almost too good. If she had grown up with this, she never would have gotten anything done.

So she took it piece by piece to keep herself from drowning in it. She took drinks but not dances. Turned away some perfectly exploitable men. Kept her focus on Ember, watching his game (adding exemplary marks on his scorecard). For the moment, she was passively entertaining a clingy blonde in a garishly pink dress for the girl's sake, who was playing with her curls in awe and calling her 'like a magic fairy goddess like from True Blood'. That was okay.

Catching his eye and his grin, she gave Ember two thumbs up and a silently mouthed 'good one'. Which was, of course, a compliment to him and not the guy in question.

These Are Our Rules

At her falter, Ember nimbly rolled off his bed to bounce onto hers, reaching to take a hand into his own without any thought at all. He squeezed it tight as he whipped out his phone with his other hand, tongue sticking out in concentration between black lips.

"They have this thing called TripAdvisor," he explained, flicking through a list of top nightlife locations! for ideas. "I used to use it for like, everything, cos it's not like the places I visited had anyone I knew. Growing up on like, a super commune is pretty like. Insular. I think I'm the only one that's...ever left, actually."

He deflated, holding her hand tighter for a moment, a pensive look on his face. "Anyway! It's not sad. Don't be silly. Doesn't matter where the goal post has been moved, we've got a new one and it's name is fun."

Grinning, Ember turned the phone towards Caroline, revealing a club with a great score and not more than a brief cab's ride away.

"See? No problem! But, I sort of want to hit a shop first, I need to buy some things for my altars."

'Til We See The Sunlight Alright

Sometimes it still happened. Sometimes she'd feel bad and open her eyes somewhere else.

Sometimes she could avoid it, but in retrospect, she hadn't really tried this time.

Up much too early for someone who had been out all night, she'd slipped out of the room and gone out in search of coffee. (She'd gone out in search of that accent, just as she said she would.) There was a chain place down the street, where she bought her coffee in a paper cup and should have been thinking instead of listening. (Should have been thinking about safer things.) She should have noticed nine sugars and nine creamers, because that was comfort, not compulsion, but she was wandering as soon as she threw the handful of packets away, taking steps that felt familiar without reason, and

So Much Fun Now

Ember blew a kiss in her direction, squeezing her hand on his way past to a quiet corner for a bit of necking and naught more, gracefully extricating himself in exchange for his phone number and a promise for later, e'll still be in town for a bit yet.

He flopped next to her on a stool, waving at the blonde with a smile. "She looks like she'd taste like cotton candy," he noted, and ordered himself a strawberry daiquiri. Perks of a fake ID, work sanctioned.