Just a shitshow [Post-Tourney Party//Open]

She couldn't even pretend not to be miserable. Her expression sagged with the weight of the emotional toll the Summer Tournament had taken on her, with shoulders slouched and frazzled hair. All aches and wounds healed, her ass... Addison still felt blanketed up in phantom pains every time she let herself sit still too long, or let her mind wander back to her one-and-only match. So much for a shot of glory.

Addison sighed, plopped on the edge of the couch, and sipped at the shitty light beer they'd set out for her and all her fellow losers. Her face screwed up at the taste. Yeah. That settled it. She hated alcohol, but she had to keep up appearances, didn't she?

Besides, the situation seemed to call for it. Fanning her self-pity made her feel that much better.

Valerie hadn't changed all that much over the past two years. She was still somewhat nervous as she entered the party, but made a beeline for the table with the alcohol anyway. It seemed like a good excuse to let herself go for a little while - a party celebrating the tournament. Of course, her sister, Cherry, (who had stayed behind, having seen enough parties in her life) wouldn't approve, but then that's what made this fun in the first place. With any luck, she might even make some new friends. Unless it was bad luck. And then her only friend would be the wine she sipped lightly. Seeing that someone else was nearby, she gave what she hoped was a friendly smile. "Hi," was all she said, not meeting the other person's eyes. She found that it helped her just a little when she was trying to socialize.

Harley, meanwhile, was quite excited to be at the party, which would be her first in some time. She had even convinced Vivian to join her - mostly to keep herself from going too far after learning there would be alcohol present at the event. She hadn't been exposed to it very often, and Harley was not known for her skills in restraint or self-control, not to mention the (very) near-death experience they had recently been through. She would have invited Anne as well, but doubted that the younger girl would be welcome at such an event. She hadn't had much interest in the tournament this party was supposed to be for, though. She just really wanted to experience a Beata party. Rather than head anywhere in particular, she hovered near the doorway to observe.

Sure this party was mainly for post-tourney purposes, but surely it would be fine if he stumbled in for a bit, right? D'angelo casually walked in the dorm, greeting some students as he passed by. It wasn't hard to miss him. Considering he was most likely the tallest one there. Making his way toward the table and taking a cup of what seemed to be beer. He then took a seat on the couch. The summer let out a huge sigh before taking a sip of the beer. He hadn't been able to relax like this for a few months. He had been in his home state to further his pursuit in basketball. Since there was no chance of having scouts come to Beata for obvious reasons, he had to partake in many games, leagues, and combines in order to have some footage for scouts to look at. He wasn't worried at all about the lack of live performances that most high school athletes had. He was already guaranteed scholarships for certain colleges already. The thought of all that made overwhelmed him and he decided it was best to not think about all that yet.

D'angelo swirled the drink in the cup, he couldn't have as many as he wanted since he had limited himself to two per occasion. It was important to him to be in the best of shape over the course of the new year. He turned his attention to the girl that was sitting at the edge of the couch. "Hi, nice to meet you. I'm D'angelo." he said with a welcoming smile.

Drugs and drinking weren't exactly her usual protocol, however, she was never one to pass up an opportunity to try and make need friends in the school. The only time she'd seen so many people gathered together outside class was during the formal season, and she couldn't be bothered to try and meet some people only once every year. Not to mention, she'd feel less upset over getting blown over in the tournament when she was surrounded by people who felt the same way. Probably. What was that old saying... misery loves company?

Ishiko found herself wandering to the back of the dorm room, curious on why a winter would throw such a party of all people. Some might have thought her nosy, but she thought little off it, surfing her fingers over old books and boxes and slipping out one sleek wooden container, it's cover old and worn. She blew the dust off the top, sleeking the edges clean. "Chess?"

She didn't agree to this, not one bit. She absolutely hated parties, but alas, she had no power over her dorm-mate Cayden. Why the hell was she put into his dorm anyway? He was a complete ass just like every other douche in the school and didn't the school know about her little "problem?" Stupid school, probably didn't get two craps.

Opening the door to her room, Freya stood in the doorway that separated her from the quickly gathering students. A shiver was sent down her spine as she stood there, un-moving. It'd been a good while since her and her sister landed in their little predicament, but she still remembered it all so vividly as if it had happened just yesterday. She'd still been having some social problems, though with Leo and other's help, she had been improving slowly but surely. A plain, light grey cloth covered the area of her face that held no eyes and while she wasn't able to see anyone, she'd been getting better at distinguishing voices. Listening intently, she wished she'd known the voices better and assumed most of them were fairly new students, seeing as how she didn't recognize anyone very well.

She also wasn't like her sister who would've practically thrown herself at the alcohol. Instead, she hated the horrible smelling poison with a passion, seeing incompetent people became when drinking it.

Listening around, she heard someone walk towards her. Staying where she was, she listened more and soon realized that someone was rummaging through their bookshelf. "Hey! Don't you dare think about stealing anything!" Freya snapped with a frown on her face as she looked in the direction of the person who said something about chess, paranoid as ever.

Stupid party goers.

~~~~~

Opening the door, Pepper made her way into dorm 104's main area where several student's began to gather. She wasn't really a party person, but seeing that she lost the tourney and this was for all the not so amazing people, she decided she'd might as well check it out.

Looking around, she didn't really recognize anyone except the girl whom she'd fought and Freya, neither of which she was really interested in talking to, so instead, she grabbed a water bottle from the drink table and sat down on the couch with a sigh. God, she was such a loser sitting her with all the losers. Well, then again, this party was meant for them, so everyone probably felt the same.

~~~~~

A pack of cigarettes and a bag of weed sat in his pocket and he was ready to chill.

Holding Asher's hand, the two walked into the room filled with students. Neither him or her had been in the tournament this year but neither of them gave a shit so it was alright. Besides, he hand't wanted to participate in that damn hell show anyway; it was too much work for him to want to deal with.

Dropping her hand, the abnormally tall student made his way over to the booze filled table and grabbed two beer cans. "Any party with free drinks is a party I wouldn't miss" he chuckled as he handed the white haired her drink and held up his, motioning for them to do a little cheers together. "To not having participated in the tournament but still going to the after party," he cheered, half laughing.

Asher laughed and clinked her glass with Jake's before taking a sip. She looked around and scoffed. "Ive thrown better parties than this. You'd oughta see how wild people get back home." She winked at Jake, taking another sip. She looked up at Jake. "Do ya wanna sit Jake? Or would you prefer to stand there?" She giggled.

Of course, Noah was bummed he'd missed the tourney, but a good party was still a nice way to get back into the swing of Beata.

He'd spent the summer back up in Yellowknife with his family, mostly so he had the opportunity to visit old friends he hadn't seen for a good year. Seeing them had been nice - them being his friends, not his family - but being around non-gifted after being around gifted for such a long while, it'd been sort of.. Underwhelming. None of his friends back home could turn into animals, or survive forty foot drops from buildings, or read minds.. That, and once again, he'd had to make a habit of keeping his gift to himself.

It had been a very.. Mediocre summer, he supposed.

The Autumn wasted no time. As soon as he heard there was a party happening, he'd dropped the task of settling back into his dorm and zipped over the the Winter dorms within seconds. It was easy to find out which dorm was holding the party - he could hear speakers rattling through the walls, and it was faint, but he could already catch a whiff of alcohol. Before entering, however, Noah hesitated, hand pausing just as his fingertips brushed the door handle. He hadn't actually received any sort of invitation. Was this a party specifically for Tourney participants, or..?

..You know what? Fuck it. He'd been stuck with his uptight folks for two months, he wasn't about to suddenly start giving a shit about boundaries and rules. A grin snaked across his face, and he gripped the handle and pushed through the doorway. The music struck him like bricks the second he stepped in. There weren't too many people present yet, but Beata students flocked to parties like starving buzzards to a carcass. He imagined it'd be flooded with stumbling drunks soon enough. God knows he wanted that after such a long plane ride.

For once in his life, he entered a party that wasn't entirely a sausage fest.

A light smile graced the older student's features as he slid into his neighbour's dorm. The blaring music, the underaged drinking, the soft sound of instant regret. It was everything Harvey loved about high school parties.

With a swing to his step, he made his way towards the beer, both hands swiping up a cup. Before he finished passing the table completely, he downed a cup, throwing it over his shoulder. Quickly scooping up another, he stalked his way through the growing crowd of tipsy teens. He spotted many somewhat defeated faces through the cluster of students. Were they those who had lost the tourney? As his wandering eyes surveyed more of the guests, he came to realise just how many were drinking away their troubles. Shit, this wasn't going to be as fun as he anticipated.

Tossing more of that sweet golden liquid down his throat, the Winter glanced around, hoping to find a familiar face. Much to his dismay, the... lovely girl he had the pleasure of calling "step-sister" was plopped down on a couch, her head turned upward by some blond boy's finger. Before giving into defeat, he gave the room one more sweep, desperate for anyone else to talk to. Most of the students seemed too self-deprecating or otherwise preoccupied to give Harvey the entertainment he desired. At least she's fun to bully...

"Whiskey? Pepper? Party? Those words don't go together. She's too much of a good girl for that." Throwing himself onto the couch beside the brunette, he took another swig of his drink. "What brings you here, Pep? Poor mom would be so heartbroken to see you here."

"Ha, I bet," the student chuckled, agreeing to Asher's statement about this being a somewhat lame party. Of course he'd seen better, but it was a party for the losers of the tourney, so what did he have to complain about? It's not like this was a planned club night or something.

Plopping down onto section of the couch next to the girl, his mechanic leg gave a few clanking noises as it adjusted to the new angle. The black haired student wrapped his arm around her shoulders, resting it on the back of the chair as he leaned back in a relaxed sort of fashion. "Have you ever thought of entering the tourney?" he asked after taking a sip out of the beer can that was already almost half empty.

While waiting for an answer from her, his eyes wandered around the area and quickly fell on Pepper, who had Cayden leaning over her shoulder and Harvey sitting next to her, both seeming to be up to no good. In the past he would've protected his best friend's little sister and while ever muscle in his body screamed for him to jump up and do so, he decided to stay put and see how things played out. Besides, she needed to learn to deal with all these guys on her own. But if trouble brewed, he would definitely be having a word with those two...

~~~~~

Sitting alone for not more than five minutes, she'd already somehow managed to attract unwanted company.

Flinching at the sudden voice of Cayden, Pepper clenched her fist in anger. She was so stupid! How could she have forgotten that this was his dorm room of all rooms? God, she knew she shouldn't have come... but while half of her was still angry at him, half of her was relieved that he was here. Maybe he'd help her forget about her embarrassing defeat, at least for a little while.

Somewhat resisting against his hand that pulled her head up to look at his, she was about to respond when who else but Harvey, her oh so joyful step brother showed up and sat down beside her. Just like Cayden, he always seemed to have the look of mischief on his face. The two of them were practically two peas in a pod.

"You know, I'm just one of these losers who lost the tournament," the Spring said with an annoyed sigh, turning her head from Cayden to her orange haired brother. When he mentioned her not being a partier, something snapped inside her and that was the last straw. She was sick and tired of people treating her like some preppy little school girl. She'd show them who could throw down. "And for your information, I can be a party animal if I want to," Pepper added with a huff.

Standing up and flipping her ponytail with her hand, she walked over to Jake who was sitting a few feet away with some white haired girl. Stopping in front of him, she held out her hand. "Give me some, I know you have it with you, you always do," she demanded in a lower tone than usual.

"W-what?" Jake sat on the chair confused and looked to Cayden and Harvey. What the hell was she doing? Didn't she know what this stuff could do to a smaller, probably weaker girl like her? "I'm not going t-"

"Give me it!" Pepper snapped, meeting his eyes. At this point, her breathing started becoming more heavy and her fists were clenched as she waited, not about to take no for an answer.

"Alright, but it's your funeral," the Autumn sighed and stuffed his hand into his pocket. Flipping his hand over so no one else would see, he placed a mini plactic bag of white powder in Pepper's hand and watched as she stuck it in her bra. "I'm serious Pepper, don't get cocky with that stuff, 'specially when you haven't done it before," he warned but she was already walking away. Whatever she was up to, it couldn't have been good...

Making her way back to the two guys, Pepper grabbed a beer and sat back down between the two boys. Popping open the can, she chugged the horrid tasting drink but didn't stop till the can was half way empty. Wiping her mouth with her shirt sleeve, she put the can onto the table. "Well? What are y'all waiting for? Grab some drinks and let's get this show on the road!" she half snapped half burped as she leaned back into the comfy couch, not looking at Cayden or Harvey.

Asher thought for a moment and was about to speak when a girl came over. She watched as they exchanged something but couldn't see what is was a shrugged returning her eyes to Jake. "Once. But I didn't really know anybody so I figured eh what was the point? Ya know." She said taking another sip of her beer before raising and eyebrow at Jake. "Have you ever thought about joining the Tourney?" She asked the boy.

Settled at a comfortable distance away from Harley stood Vivian, who simply stood by idly instead of jumping into the ensuing shenanigans like the rest of the party-goers. Twisting her fingers through several long strands of her silken hair absently, her eyes darting back and forth between her friend and the rest of the somewhat sullen kids who surrounded them. She didn't really know why they were here in all honesty- neither of them had participated in the tournament and Vivian herself wasn't even a fan of parties. But hey, after their last mission, nobody could argue that they didn't deserve a night of fun. "Don't you feel like joining in on all the fun?" Vivian finally questioned Harley with a slight smile, pushing off the wall and taking several steps forwards and towards her dark-haired friend, "I promise I won't let you do anything too embarrassing."

At least some people seemed to be in a bit livelier mood. Between the sadsacks playing chess, and the lady yelling at the chess kids (was she cosplaying Lady Justice with that dirty rag over her eyes?), and the drama playing out across the room with a few of her other fellow losers (something about pep or whiskey or who could even tell), her place on the couch felt like the calm eye of the storm. Here, at least, she could perch and watch and mope in peace.

Maybe on another night she would've been craving a piece of the drama. Tonight, she was just drained.

Addison perked up as another person parked himself down beside her, not that she hadn't spotted him the moment he entered the room. He and that Jake kid stuck out like sore thumbs in this crowd, their heads poking out like buoys among the sea of faces.

She held up her beer, raising her eyebrows. "Addison. Right back at ya, D'angelo." Addison returned the smile, as much as she would've loved to be miserable at the moment.

"Might as well, I guess," Harley shrugged at her friend. "Thanks for coming with me," she added as she made her way to the drinks table. "I really do appreciate it." ...Wine? Yeah, sure, wine. That was good enough. Well, in theory. It tasted awful, though, and she wrinkled her nose. Why had she wanted to come to this party again? ...Right, to see what it was like. And to remind herself that the world hadn't ended back on their mission. She didn't plan on drinking that much, but she also didn't trust herself. Harley Graves and self-control weren't exactly on speaking terms, after all. One cup would turn into two, and then three or four, and that's when Vivian would hopefully drag her away from the table. She sat down near enough that going back for more would be easy, and watched the party unfold. She hadn't been to very many back home, but this was different in general, she supposed.

Why was he here? Chip lost, but he was not a party person. Maybe the library got stuffy--maybe he needed a break from the room that enjoyed bombarding him with stories of adventure and wanderlust. Only for him to recall the feeling of charred skin and unimaginable heat. A shiver shook the blond as he paused by the door, hand in his pocket as he thumbed a pocket dictionary. Chip found himself unwilling to be without a book in close quarters. It wasn't like he thought the people hosting the party were dumb! The Winter merely played by the stereotype that people who partied enjoyed reading much less than your average Winter student.

The short boy steeled his emotions, cheeks filling with air then escaping in a slow exhale of pursed lips. A determined step forward after another, he entered the dorm. It didn't take long for the boy to identify most of the students in the room. Though, he did not pry much further into their files past their name. Though, there was no way in hell he was starting a conversation by mentioning their name without having them tell him. Chip knew that would be weird. Hell, it would be weird for him too.

That being said, most people knew him from the truth or dare night. An involuntary shudder passed through him, skin turning pinkish at the thought. Please don't let tonight be anything like that.