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edgewoodrp · 4 years ago

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Spencer’s Birthday || Indoor Festivities

Date/Time: July 14th, 2020, 6:00PM -- 2:00AM

Location: Two Old Crows

Participants: @spthorne, @dominic-kingsley, @maxinebeauchamp, @charlottexkingsley, @darklighterxdemitri, @heatherpayne, @julietxhawthorne, @logancree, @valeriebianchi

Summary: Spencer’s birthday kicks off with a small gathering of his friends, but an uninvited guest tries to spoil the fun. At least there’s cake. 🍰

Maxine stood near the table they'd reserved to make it a bit more obvious. She'd invited her friends, Spence's friends, and Nic's friends so it would be a fun mix of people. "Hey there, so glad you could make it!"

"Of course!" Charlotte exclaimed as she approached the table, card in hand. "And what a throwback--I haven't been here in ages! Was this your doing or the birthday boy's?"

"Me either," Maxine commented, moving in to gave Charlotte a quick hug. "Oh, it was a combined effort. Spencer picked the place, I sent out the invites, and Nic picked the gift."

Dominic confirmed the initial order for appetizers at the bar and then headed back to the table to greet the first few guests. "Hey Charlie, I'm so glad you decided to come," he joked, as if he begged her to come.

Charlotte grinned and hugged Maxine back. "Teamwork really does makes the dream work, doesn't it?" And to her brother, she sighed dramatically before moving in to hug him. "Of course--I'm just glad I found an opening in my busy schedule to swing by."

Spencer walked back inside from the terase and spotted the three next to their table. Smiling, approached them to greet their first arrival of the evening. "Charlotte, great to see you," he said and extended his hand to shake. "Hope you don't mind that it's an air-kissing evening for me." Spencer shrugged before glancing at his partners to say jokingy, "You two might get actual kisses."

"In our case, it sure does," Maxine commented, releasing the younger woman. "Actual kisses? Well, aren't we lucky," she teased her partner, winking at him. "Alright, I'm going to get something to drink, does anyone else want anything from the bar? I think Nic already secured some appetizers, but not drinks."

Juliet smiled as she saw everyone coming in for the party. She was working and while she would have attended even if she wasn’t, she felt like this was a better opportunity. “Did somebody say drinks?” Juliet asked as she walked over to the table. She recognized mostly everyone and then offered Spencer a warm smile. “Happy birthday. Your drinks are on me tonight.”

Valerie glanced down at her phone after sending a message to Charlie saying she was here and wondered if a gift card was the right call. She knew Maxine but her partner Spencer, well not really. She had received a quick message from Charlie talking about her brothers partner having a small birthday gathering and when it came to parties, Valerie never said no.

Releasing her brother, Charlotte accepted Spencer's hand to shake and passed him the birthday card. "You too, Spence, happy birthday!" She smiled at his comment and watched her brother's partners flirt back and forth. They were adorable together, she loved it. She recognized the bartender and smiled; she almost waving her down to order something, but her phone buzzed at that moment. Looking around, she saw Val lingering by the door and waved them over. "Val, hey! Glad you could make it!"

Spotting Charlie, Valerie smiled wide and made her way over. “Hey Charlie!” The shifter turned her head then and looked at the two men besides Maxine. “So who’s the lucky birthday man!” She said, wiggling out a little bag with a gift card.

Seeing Juliet a quick flash of displeasure appeared, since Maxine had reason to believe the woman was a vampire and too curious about her partners. "Yes, I said drinks. If you want to cover Spencer's drinks, you can, but we'd already arranged to do so," she commented, indicating to Nic. She was quickly distracted by Val appearing. "Val! Glad you could come. It's Spencer's birthday. Now does anyone else want a drink from the bar?"

Dominic smiled as he hugged his sister and then turned to the birthday boy. "Its your birthday, so maybe I'll give you the kiss." He didn’t know the bartender well, and wondered how she knew Spencer.

Releasing Charlotte's hand, Spencer grinned widely at his partners. “I wouldn’t say no,” he said in Dominic’s direction. Before he could tell Maxine his order, Juliet walked up to them. “Oh, hello Juliet. Thanks you and for the offer, but it’s like Max said. We’re throwing the party, so let me offer you a drink instead.” He was then distracted by the new arrival and with a slightly awkward posture raised his hand. “That would be me, thanks for coming. Val, is it?” he asked and extended his hand. “A local beer for me, Maxine.”

Val smiled wide putting a name to the face. “Well happy birthday Spencer!” She reached out and shook his hand also while saying, “Valerie is the full name but I go by Val too!” Handing over the small bag, she playfully teased as she said, “Spend it wisely!” Turning over to smile and look at everyone else, she decided to hold off on the drinking for now. Maybe later, she thought.

Waiting for a beat to jump in, Charlotte said with a laugh, "I'll have a drink, I don't care who's paying." She looked toward Juliet. "I'll have a Moon Man--ooo wait no, let's do a Spotted Cow, please. Do you want some help carrying everything over?"

Maxine gave a nod hearing the drink orders and turned to Juliet again. "Alright so a local beer, a spotted cow, and I'll take a glass of whatever petite sirah you recommend."

"Thanks, Valerie," Spencer responded with amusement as he accepted the present. "Alright, so, drinks," he pointed at Juliet, "and food," now he pointed at Dominic, "are checked off the list," he said. "There are darts if anyone is up for a bit of a competition?" Spencer glanced around with a raised brow.

Heather easily found the group in 2 Old Crows and approached. "Hi everyone," she greeted, relieved to know all gathered so far, though Valerie was only barely and not quite friendly. "Did I hear competition? I got you a gift Spencer, but I can also give you defeat."

Dominic leaned over and gave Spencer a kiss on the lips. "Happy birthday," he wished as he pulled back. "Good luck." He'd already secured a beer while ordering the food.

Juliet opened her mouth and then closed it. So many people, so many drinks. Thankfully, she had a good memory. "Unfortunately, I'm not going to drink while I'm working, Spencer." She smiled at him. "Please allow me to buy at least one of your drinks. For I didn't get you a birthday present." She frowned slightly, wishing she had. Maybe she could make it up to him?

The Vampire then turned her attention to Charlotte and offered her a smile. "I can bring them over tray by tray. I don't mind." She began memorizing every drink order, nodding as they told her. Her eyes then moved, Dominic kissing Spencer catching her attention. She furrowed her eyebrows slightly, a bit confused, but it was not the time to ask any such questions. "Alright. I'll go make these drinks and be back in a jiffy." She smiled and walked back to the bar.

Valerie gave a nod to Heather and drew her attention back to Spencer and Dominic smiling wide. They really were a triple power couple. The shifters eyes then shifted over to Juliet and tilted her head listening to her words. Thats not typically how people talk, she wondered. “I’ll pass on the darts...last time I played I was this close to hitting someone who walked by. But I’ll be your guys cheerleader on the side!”

Charlotte perked up at the sound of darts, and waved at Heather as she joined the gathering. "You know that's my game, Spence, count me in!" She nodded to Juliet and let the woman get back to her job (even though she wanted to grill her about how house hunting was going), but the look on her face momentarily stunned Charlotte. Whatever friendly interaction they had before was about to go out the window if she opened her mouth about the boys--

But fortunately she didn't. Charlotte's pleasant demeanor returned as she looked to Valerie. "Yeah that's not terrifying, or anything," She said, letting out a laugh. "You're definitely rotating in if we bring out bag toss. Maybe then we can work on your aim."

When Juliet offered again, Spencer conceded. “Alright then, later? And thanks, Juliet.” As he heard a new voice join their group, he turned towards Heather with a smile. “Glad you could make it, Heather, can’t wait to see if that’s only talk,” he said with a laugh.

Spencer grinned widely at Dominic as he leaned back from the kiss and stared at Valerie with a mildly scared expression and chuckled as Charlotte spoke. “Every game needs some cheerleaders. So, are we playing in teams or everyone for themselves?”

Okay, now Dominic was really concerned about this bartender. She seemed most interested in Spencer, and not just because it was his birthday. He caught a glimpse of her expression after the kiss, and felt his worries confirmed that she was jealous. Well, he wasnt going to cause a scene at the party. "I'll be your cheerleader."

Heather gave Valerie an odd look at her hitting people with projectiles comment, but she didnt seem to be accusatory. "Let me just set this down and then I will crush that attitude," she joked at Spencer. She set down the bag with his present--it was very obvious if wrapped--and then started dramatically doing some arm and shoulder stretches.

Maxine also caught the glance from Juliet. It wasn't like the woman didn't know about the three of them, Max had mentioned it to the woman when she asked, but there was something very suspicious about her. She would be keeping a keen eye on her through the evening. "Oh yeah, we definitely should not use darts after everyone has had a few drinks. But for now, I say we do teams."

“Aw, thanks babe,” Spencer replied looking up at Dominic. His eyes crinkled in laughter as Heather put down the bag and started to stretch. “Oh-oh, it’s on.” Then he proceeded to flex his fingers just as dramatically. As Max spoke, he broke his staring competition with Heather to look at her. “You’re right as always, better not play live targets or we’ll be banned for life.” He pointed over his shoulder at a bag next to their table. “We got the volleyball for when that happens,” he offered.

Now Val’s eyes lit up at the mention of volleyball. “Volleyball! Ohhh now I’m in!” She smiled wide glad she was in an outfit she wouldn’t mind getting dirty in.

"Teams are fine," Heather commented. "How are the numbers. We have 3 so far, but is that you saying you are in, Maxine?" She laughed, a maniacal look in her eye. "Do you offer live target darts at the Underworld?"

"More importantly, are we playing for anything other than bragging rights?" Charlotte inquired seriously as she pulled her hair back into a short ponytail.

Spencer smiled in Valerie’s direction and said, “The somewhat drunk volleyball game is on.” At Heather’s words his brows shot up. “I really hope we don’t, the paperwork alone would be nightmarish,” he said with a shudder. “Since Heather here practically challenged me, obviously we cannot be on the same team,” he said with fake seriousness. “Bragging rights are the highest honor. Unless?”

"Unless the winner gets free drinks for a week at the Underworld?" Charlotte suggested, grinning at Spencer, Maxine and Dominic encouragingly. "But bragging rights are good, too; Birthday Boy gets the final say. I could take take Heather on my team, but if Max is in the game, you two on the same team are going to be a solid challenge."

"I'm definitely down for this volleyball later." Dominic said. He raised an eyebrow in Charlotte's direction. "That's a pretty hefty offer from someone who doesn't own the place."

Juliet had memorized all of their drinks. She took her time making them, seeing as they all were conversing with one another and already having a fun time. She'd rather take a little bit longer with drinks if it meant not messing them up. She hated having to redo things; she was a perfectionist.

She gathered the drinks, putting them on two separate trays and slowly carried both of them to the table. Being a vampire definitely had it's perks when it came to strength and agility. "Here you all are." She said with a warm smile as she placed the two trays down on the table. "Is there anything else I can get for you guys at the moment?"

"Bragging rights are more than enough for me," Heather declared. She wouldn't abuse the free drinks enough, but she loved to brag. "I promise that I am enough of a challenger myself, but I'll take Max with that attitude," she teased Charlotte. She moved out of the way for the bartender as she set the drinks down. "Oh, excuse me, I missed you on your last round, but can you please bring me a coke when you have a chance?"

"Well yeah, that's pretty much in my job description. Where's the fun in my brother being a club owner if I can't give away inventory on a whim?" Charlotte teased back, wiggling her eyebrows. "Alternately, here's another one: the loser--or losers, since we're doing teams--jump into the lake?"

The return of Juliet dampened her joviality somewhat; she accepted her drink politely and watched the woman as she went around the table again. Charlie's silence broke when Heather spoke. "Ouch, alright, betrayals are starting early tonight--that's fine, Spencer and I can take you both with our hands tied."

Valerie smirked at the suggestions and thought why not go back to old high school dares. “Why not add a little more to it Charlie?” Looking around at those present, she wondered who all would be game. “Losers jump into the lake....naked! We can do it until it’s dark-you know, in case there’s children present or we want to be away from any other strangers walking by.” She wiggles her eyebrows playfully as she added, “You know, make Spencer’s birthday a night to remember!”

Charlotte was very glad she hadn't taken a sip of her beer yet because it most definitely would've been spit out and all over everyone else at the table. "It's only Tuesday night, I'm not risking getting naked in front of my brother over a game of darts." The witch exclaimed with a spluttering laugh. "I mean you do you, but my ass is staying fully clothed tonight, thank you very much."

Brother? Something clicked in Heather's head. "Oh, you're Charlie Kingsley." She had heard of a Charlie from Bridgette and the Underworld trio, but had assumed a Charles and never put the pieces together. Any clarification on the odd comment was cut off by Valerie's ridiculous suggestion. Heather scowled at her. "Most of us can make memories just fine with our clothes on."

Valerie laughed and shrugged. “I was meaning whoever lost after the volleyball game. I’m a cheerleader for darts.” A smirk played on the woman’s lips still as she stared back at Heather and raised an eyebrow. “Fine fine....ignore my suggestion. Let’s have a PG party tonight.” Her shifter temper suddenly shifting and on edge. Relax Val, she told herself. “Think I’ll go for a drink now.”

Juliet paused, waiting to see if anyone else wanted anything to drink. She offered Heather a smile. "Of course. Anyone else?" She asked, her eyes flickering between the others. She was listening in on the conversation, noticing one of the girls suggesting losers get naked and jump in the lake. Her eyes widened and she couldn't help but laugh. Oh what it was like to be young. She thought and then the last name Kingsley was said. It was a family name she would never forget. One that she was more perplexed by now that it seemed as though her family and theirs got along. Honestly, Juliet didn't understand. She lifted a hand to her temples, rubbing them softly as the others continued to speak. "Yes, a drink--" Juliet turned towards the woman who had suggested getting naked. "What would you like, sweetie?"

Demitri had been watching from the bar, listening and smirking at the suggestions of what the group should do and how they should punish the losers. "I think Valerie is the only one here that knows how to really party." Demitri said as he walked over to the table and took a seat. "What's the saying now a days... you only live once." Demitri said with a smile. "Why not live a little?"

"Me? Yes, I'm Charlie," Charlotte responded to Heather before turning back to Val. She patted the shifter's arm and smirked. "You're a party animal and I love it, but I don't think this is the right venue to free the nipple. Points for spirit, though."

As Demitri made his presence known, Charlotte cringed inwardly. Having had a few run-ins with him already, she was glad she wasn't alone with him. "I've got the living part covered, but if you would like to strip for my brother, go right ahead." Looking down the table at Maxine, she thought 'Please tell me you didn't invite this guy?'

Dominic frowned as the strange man inserted himself into the party. He looked around to see the other's reaction to him. Finally tired of the stripping talk--that was fun but not now and not with this crowd-- he held his hands up. "There will be no stripping at this event. The only ones stripping for me will be my partners, and that can wait until I'm home without my little sister." He glared a warning at the man who was egging this on. Valerie had at least been invited.

Heather flinched at Demetri's voice. Oh no. Whipping around, she snapped, "Who the hell invited you?" Damn why was the creep egging on skinny dipping? "And for fuck's sake I am still not swimming with you."

The shifter chuckled and still smiled. “It’s your guys party. I second Charlie’s idea of free drinks at the Underworld then!” Val then looked at Juliet and said, “A rum and coke please.”

Charlotte's gaze shifted to Heather as she silently raised an eyebrow. Still not swimming with him? There was a story there, and she made a mental note to ask the other woman about her... relationship with him later. "Or, if not drinks," Charlie said, suddenly enlightened with a new idea, "How about loser gives a tarot reading to the winner?"

Maxine snickered at Heather's comment. "It definitely means I'm in for darts, and no, live ammo is not a typical thing at our club." For a moment, she could only watch the exchange in amusement. Getting drunk and jumping in a lake naked was something she used to do, but not at Spence's party. "How about we do that next time you through a party, alright Val?" Maxine winked at Nic, given his comment, but she frowned seeing Demetri approach and caught a certain glimpse from Charlotte. 'No, I didn't invite him at all. Dude acts like a total creep,' she projected the thought back. "I do have some tarot cards in my bag."

"Okay then, Maxine and I versus Spencer and Charlie," Heather concluded, "even though you are breaking my heart about the darts." She fake pouted. The image of throwing a dart at Demetri fueled her though. Accidents happen.

When Juliet returned with their drinks, Spencer turned towards the table to help move the glasses off the tray. "Thanks," he said towards Juliet before turning to watch the conversation unfold. He snorted, shaking his head when skinny dipping was suggested and was glad that the others shot it down, maybe another time and without any siblings.

As the new arrival just lounged on the chair, he frowned momentarily before smoothing his expression, turning towards Max and Dominic with a raised brow 'who's he?'. "Looks like we're on opposite teams, may the best one win," Spencer grinned at Maxine. He leaned forward to peck her on the lips and then turned to their guests. "A tarot reading it is then. I hope you won't let me down tonight, Charlotte." He grinned at her.

"Those teams sound great, and, ha, maybe you should try hunting or something. Sounds like that’s what you're needing." Maxine glanced back at Spencer and heard his thought, projecting back an 'I don't know him well, but last party he was kind of a creep -- I didn't invite him.' But her skeptical look disappeared as Spencer placed a peck against her lips. She wanted to pull him back in for deeper kiss, she would at home. "Alright, we have red darts and blue darts. Anyone have a preference?"

Charlotte grimaced at Maxine's response. It was a little unnerving how he managed to keep showing up out of nowhere, but as long as he didn't cause trouble... maybe it would be an okay night. She did perk up when Max mentioned the cards, though. "Oh good! So you're ready for your inevitable defeat, perfect." She grinned, saying nothing of the deck she had stashed in the car. "Don't worry, Spence, we got this," Charlotte grinned back. "This is my game." At Maxine's question, she deferred to Spencer--it being his special day and all.

As Max’s response echoed in his mind, Spencer wondered if Dominic was the one to invite the stranger. He turned his attention back at the game discussions and hummed for a moment as if deep in thought about which color to choose. “I think... that red will bring us victory tonight,” he said and went to gather the darts, handing the blue ones over to Maxine and three of the red ones to Charlotte. “Since it’s my party and all, I say we go first.” Spencer stuck out his tongue at Maxine before turning to face the dartboard. “Oh, we playing 301 or 501?” he turned to ask.

Dominic shrugged as he caught Spencer's eye, trying to relay his confusion. Heather and Val clearly knew the man, though it didn't seem either of them invited him over. He had just been sitting at the bar watching as far as Nic could tell. "Sorry Max, but I've already promised my cheers to the birthday boy. This did turn out nicely though where no outcome can disappoint me."

"No, I don't want to be a hunter," Heather said a bit defensively. She shot a glance at Demetri. "Blue works fine for me." It was her favorite color, after all. She held her hand out for Maxine to hand her her darts. She frowned at Spencer's question. "While I am good at throwing these things, I will admit that I don't know what that means. Are we playing by some sort of tournament rules?" While Heather was super competitive and loved rules, she knew that learning a whole new game at a party would get complex and make her a bit intense. Others have not enjoyed her in that state.

"Thank you, why don't we start with 301?" Charlotte suggested as she accepted the darts from Spencer. She spun them idly between her fingers as she looked to Heather. "As for rules, throw from the... professionally done, grungy taped line on the floor and don't hit anyone. Optional house rules include: take a drink every time you miss the board?" It seemed like a safe suggestion; the night was still young and no one was drinking anything hard yet.

Spencer chuckled and shook his head with fondness at Dominic. “Sorry, it’s just what score we start from to deduct our points from. 301 is shorter,” he explained and went to pick up his glass of beer. “I second Charlotte’s rules additions.” He took a sip from his beer before going to stand behind the line, aiming his first dart and hitting the 5, 15 and 1. “That’s 21, so we’re left with 280,” he stepped aside to let Charlotte have her turn.

Valerie simply smiled at Maxine and wondered if she even wanted another party. But that would be a thought for another time. Right now, her phone rang and after taking it out of her bag, she watched everyone start getting ready for their game. Now would be a good a time as any. "I'll be right back! Gonna go get my drink and take this." Turning around and heading to the bar, she answered her cell and told Logan where in the area she was for him to drop off a costume she'd need for a photoshoot of hers.

Demitri let out a sigh, rolling his eyes at everyone. I swear each generation gets more boring. He thought to himself as he leaned back in the chair and listened. At Heather's remark, Demitri barely even gave her a glance. "I came without an invite. It's not exactly hard to figure out what's going on in this town." He answered her. "And, surprisingly, not everything I do is about you, Heather. I just thought I'd give my thoughts on it considering it is someone's birthday. But of course, you guys just like keeping things boring."

Juliet waited, listening to those that said they'd like drinks and nodded. As she walked away to the bar, she kept her focus on what they were saying. And she had definitely heard right. Spencer was involved with the Kingsley family. It caused a cold chill to radiate down her spine. Times must have changed if this was even allowed between the families.

Heather nodded in understanding. Okay good, this was going to be casual...as she could manage. "Now that we got the rules down I know exactly how to crush you," she returned to her trash talk. She only had a coke to drink, but would just drink it in the spirit of things. She glared at Demetri. "Thank god. I would prefer that nothing you do concerns me but you just keep popping up, as you have admitted, uninvited."

Logan had the outfit, one that Valerie thought was a costume instead of the real deal, shipped to him from his other residence outside of the states. Sighing, he stood in front of Two Old Crows. The vampire had told Val he had an outfit that would work for her client’s themed photoshoot and in exchange Val would sing at his lounge a night or two. But coming and interrupting a birthday was not his intention. They might already be too busy to even notice you Logan. Quietly, Cree stepped inside and looked around first.

"Bravo, bravo," Charlotte applauded Spencer's first round of points. She stepped up to the line and took aim, landing on 19, 20, and 1. "And that brings us down to 240!" She announced victoriously as she went to retrieve the darts. But of course Demitri opened his mouth again and now she was even more concerned. Uninvited and, thus far, having no friendly interactions with anyone present, what were the odds of him having found the party? Out of all the bars in the city and the town? Was he... was he stalking someone here? Her grip tightened painfully on the fistful of darts as she addressed him. "We do like to keep things boring, thanks for noticing. And since this clearly isn't your scene, feel free to hit the road, Jack."

Spencer turned to face the stranger, he might have let the attitude slide when thinking someone was friends with him, but after seeing the reactions he elicited that was quite enough. “Right. Seeing as it is my birthday, either leave or go lurk in another corner. A far far away corner,” he demanded and turned away with a tight smile in Max and Heather’s direction.

After his sister's outburst, Dominic's mind was made up. But Spencer beat him to it, and he couldn't help but whistle in appreciation at his telling off. He still moved towards the man to intimidate--and decidedly between him and his sister. "Thanks for coming, but this is a private party," he said tensely. And now he finally recognized the interloper as the strange man who approached him at Riverfest. Nic hadn't dwelled on that encounter much, but he had been kinda rude then too.

The corner of the plastic fletching began to bite into the palm of Charlotte's hand. Loosening her grip, she nudged three mostly unharmed darts into Spencer's hand. With her free hand, she reached up and squeezed Dominic's shoulder. The last thing they needed was to start a fight on Spencer's birthday...

Maxine was on board the rule additions and was about to step up and take her round when Demetri openly admitted to not being invited. "As my partners have stated, this is private. This whole room is reserved just for us, so I highly suggest you leave," she practically demanded, using her charm ability in hopes to be more effective in shoo-ing the creeper.

"I may be uninvited but this is a public bar." Demitri said bluntly to all of them. He honestly could care less about the party. And it thoroughly amused him that so many people were even paying attention to what he was saying. "Who said it wasn't my scene?" Demitri asked, tilting his head at the other woman that was talking to him. "So the birthday boy tells me that I can stay in the room, and as you say 'lurk' in a corner." He used quotations around the word. "And all of you are going against that?" A smirk formed on his lips as he shook his head back and forth. His eyes flickered towards the darts as one of the girls passed them to the birthday boy. And then another girl steps forward, giving him a demand.

Demitri took a step towards the dark haired girl. He wasn't afraid of her and if she thought he could scare him off, she was sorely mistaken. His eyes flickered up to glance between her partners. "She's cute when she's demanding, isn't she? A little feisty one you have here." He smirked and then lowered himself slightly, just so his 6'5 self could be eye to eye with the woman. "All I'm hearing from your mouth is suggestions. Doesn't mean I have to leave at all." His voice was eerily calm as he talked to her. "It's gonna take a little more than a couple of suggestions to get me to leave this public bar, sweetie. So why don't you turn back around and go play some boring dart games with your friends? I'm sure they are a little worried by the fact that you're so close to me right now."

It was Heather's turn at darts, but how could she play when this asshole was threatening her friends? Her hand tightened on the darts as he just kept talking. Did he take a course in this creepitude? Before she knew it, Heather was across the room and shoving Demetri away from Maxine. "Learn to take a fucking hint." She pulled the darts up and pointed one at his face, held more like a knife than a dart. "Or I will relieve you of your eye."

Ah, Heather. Demitri thought to himself as he was shoved backwards and threatened. He watched as she held the dart up to his face and he chuckled. "That thing isn't sharp enough to take my eye out, Heather." He lifted a hand and placed it around the metal end of the dart.

As Juliet walked back over to the table with the drinks, she noticed a small scuffle happening and she frowned. She slowly placed the drinks on the table, eyeing what was happening, but she didn't do anything about it. Yet. She placed herself near Spencer and Preston, just in case.

When Logan entered, his ears heard 'this is a private party' and automatically he cringed. Great, it's clear they don't want any new faces mate. Make this quick. Without delay, the vampire quickly made his way over to Valerie who stood by the bar with a drink in hand waiting.

Valerie smiled wide, thanking and accepting the garment Logan had lended. "Why don't you come on over and say hi to everyone! There are some people from my birthday. Come on!" Without waiting for a reply, Val tugged on his arm and the vampire didn't argue. Especially not when his eyes landed on the tense scene.

Cold dread trickled down Charlotte's spine as Demitri made his stand; the honeyed words of Maxine's charmspeak seemed to roll right off him (even if he did technically adhere to them). As the incident escalated, she noticed he didn't hardly flinch as Heather held a dart to his eye. "Okay, this is getting out of hand," Charlotte started, forcing her feet to carry her forward and squeeze between the bodies blocking her from the action. "Everyone's eyes are staying where they belong--" She said behind Heather, willing her to back down. "--and those giving unwanted opinions on parties they weren't invited to can find that corner to lurk in." She added, staring as neutrally as she could at Demitri as she neared them. "Now, how about we all take a deep breath and calm down, and not start a bar fight over a game of darts? Because that's just embarrassing for everyone."

"Oh, I'm calm, darling. You don't have to worry about that." Demitri winked at Charlotte before glancing towards Heather. "See now if you were more like your friend over here..." Demitri jerked the dart out of Heather's hand. "We might be able to get along." He spun the dart in his hand as he took a step back from the two girls and glanced over them towards the boys. "It's interesting to me that you guys let girls fight for you." He ran his tongue over his front teeth, sucking on them for a moment. "But I know weak men when I see them."

At that, Juliet pushed through everyone, not caring if she had to move them out of the way to get to the man. She was not about to let him ruin her decedents birthday like this. "Come on. You're not a paying customer and you are obviously not here to cause anything but trouble." Juliet quickly grabbed the man's arm and jerked him towards the door.

Demitri rolled his eyes, turned and threw the dart at the board. It hit the 25 area, just outside of the bullseye. "Valerie has my number if you actually want to play nice and invite me for a game sometime." He offered Valerie a smile before jerking his arm out of the woman's hand as he neared the door. Juliet quickly shoved the man out the open door and stood in the opening, arms crossed, making sure he didn't try to come back. She watched as he walked off and then finally closed the door behind her. He didn't even wait until he was further away from the bar. He used his power to orb away just as he left.

Heather held her death stare as Demetri ripped the dart out of her hand. She had held on tight, but he was quite strong and the fletchings dug uncomfortably into her hand. "I'm pretty sure that the problem I'm this relationship is you." As he was dragged out of the bar, Heather intentionally put herself behind Spencer to make it a bit harder for herself to rush after him. After his sexist comment, she was tempted yet again to throw a dart at him, and most likely would have if there wasn't the bartender near him.

Dominic scowled at the man when he called them weak. "We would all appreciate if this didn’t turn into a fight, but if it comes down to it, trust me that these girls are a lot stronger than me. I think your comment says more about your opinion of women than it does our "manliness"" Once Dominic was sure that the intruder had left, he visible relaxed. "Thank you miss for taking care of him," he said to Juliet.

Every word out of Demitri's mouth seemed designed to grate on Charlotte's nerves and goad the others into joining the fray, but fortunately, no one took the bait. Her glare hardened, but she kept her eyes on him as he snatched the dart from Heather and threw it at the dartboard. The tension visibly evaporated from her limbs as Juliet escorted him outside, but her hands trembled. She looked out the window in time to a dark mass fizzle away in the evening light. What...? Returning to the fold, Charlotte leaned (heavily) against a table and tried to calm her racing heart. She, too, looked to Juliet and gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, thanks for that. Talk about a real party foul."

Val was very confused and clearly had missed a lot in those few minutes away from the group. But when Demitri said what he did, the shifter froze with wide eyes and mentally groaned. No.... Lifting the drink in her hand eagerly to her lips, she took a long sip before speaking and gesturing to Logan. “So, Uh, anyway, Logan stopped by to giv-“

Logan quickly interrupted Val’s words. He knew she only meant well but he felt the sooner he was away from the tension the better it was for everyone. “I came to drop something off and I’m aware it’s a privet party but I’ve just come to wish you well on your birthday mate. Enjoy the rest of your evening everyone.” The vampire offered everyone a soft smile before nodding and turning back towards the bar.

Heather tensed as Logan, another man she found a bit sketchy, approached, but he proved once again that at least he had manners. And after what just happened, she was feeling more strongly that Demetri was not an ordinary human. Was the eye piercing comment a bluff, or a admittance of power. As she calmed down slightly, she was glad that she hadn't tested poking out an eye in her rage, but she still very much wanted to punch him in the face. And the fact that he had shown up at a party with so many witches concerned her. Maybe he wasn't stalking her, but someone else here could be in danger.

The whole thing happened so quickly, but Maxine's charmspeak having no impact on the man made it even worse. However, before she could even get a word in edgewise, Juliet was escorting Demetri out - a move that surprise her. ‘My charmspeak did nothing to that creep, what the hell is the deal with that man?’ she projected to both Charlotte, Nic, and then Spencer. "Jeez, who the hell tries to start a fight at a birthday party? Well you almost had your opportunity for a live dart board, Heather...Thanks for interjecting, something about that creep nearly froze me for a second." She waved her thanks to Juliet as well, taking a long swig of her drink before Logan walked in. And thankfully walked out. "Alright, I think it's my go now." With that she stepped up to the board and threw her darts, one landing on the twelve, and another on the triple ring on the 10, totaling in 42 points.

Spencer was about to step up next to Heather when Charlotte took the place next to her, but he knew that if push came to shove he would get between them easily. At the stranger's next words Spencer rolled his eyes dramatically, 'typically fragile masculinity'. Seeing Juliet pull the guy and throw him outside was actually quite impressive on her part and he really hoped to never face the man again. "That would be a pass," Spencer called out after the stranger's last remark before he was out the door. "Thanks, Juliet." He gave her a genuine smile. When Max's thought reached his mind, Spencer turned to frown in the direction of the door, 'that's odd'. As they settled back in, Spencer cleared out of the path to the dartboard and went to pick up his glass of beer."Good throw, love," he said with a more relaxed smile as the tension left his body.

Valerie stood quietly holding her drink in her hand watching everyone's reaction-none of which were directed towards her. Thank goodness, she thought and took a larger sip then she should have. The shifter smiled and quietly cheered for the team which she was on.

'I don't know, but it can't be anything good,' Charlotte thought back grimly. She picked up her beer and took a long drink, almost enough to empty it. After what she saw, she knew she was going to have a long night of reading ahead of her--just maybe not tonight. Her nerves were shot, and tonight was about Spencer. She perked up a little at Logan's familiar friendly voice and waved at him before he turned back to the bar. "Alright, Max, nice shot!" She cheered, perhaps a little too loudly.

Heather stomped up to the dart board to yank out the one Demetri had thrown into it. He sure had gotten a lucky shot. She snorted at Maxine's comment. "Yeah, I really lost my chance there." She turned to Spencer. "I'm sorry for almost starting shit, but I've ran into that guy multiple times and he's always like that." Heather then leaned in to whisper to Maxine. "We need to talk later about that guy, Demetri. I suspect that he may be more than your average creep."

Heather cheered as Maxine hit a triple and went in for a high five. "Best round so far, let's up that!" She steeled herself and lined the darts up. She hit a 7, then an 18, and then the triple ring of 12, totaling 61 points. She whooped in excitement. "I am the champion, and now we are at only 198 points!"

Spencer faced Heather and shook his head. “Don’t apologize. I’m not one for violence but I would have totally punched that guy,” he said with a chuckle. “The things he said were pretty creepy,” he took a deep breath and exhaled sharply, “let’s see if tonight wasn’t completely ruined?” He looked around with a grimace. As Heather scored her points, Spencer whistled. “You’ve got a good arm on you,” he said before walking to the board to pluck out the blue darts and handing them over. “Let’s see,” said and took his place. Throwing the darts, they landed on a tripe 6, 7 and double 4. “That’s 33 so we’re at... 207,” he added while walking to the board to pull out his darts.

"Ooo, brava, brava, very nice Spence," Charlotte applauded her teammate. "You guys better watch out, looks like we're catching up!" Despite her bravado, she rolled the darts in her hand nervously. They were still shaking, and that wasn't doing her aim any favors. While Spencer cleared the board, she picked up her bottle and downed what little remained; once he was clear, she stepped up to the line and threw. None of her shots went where she wanted, but they at least hit the board--that was enough. "13, 10, and 2 brings us down to... 182, I think?" She counted as she removed the darts from the board. "Back to you, Max!"

Maxine had been about to project into Heather's mind out of instinct but just remembered not to. "We definitely can. He's more than a little unnerving. And he stepped on my toes tonight," she whispered back. The woman backed up to let Heather aim and cheered at the shots before Spence took his turn. "Nice shots, babe," Maxine winked at Spencer. When Charlotte hit the 13, she gave a small clap before taking the darts. The first shot hit a 4, the second an 11, and the final a double 12. "Alright, I think that takes us down to 159."

Heather entertained the idea of Spencer fighting. It definitely didn't fit her picture of him, but it was nice to know he had her back. She smirked and bowed dramatically at the compliment. She couldn't admit that it was mostly luck. These things were deceptively hard to aim precisely. "It's not gonna be enough, Charlotte!" she yelled, but still gave a sportsmanlike clap. The witch gave Maxine a nod to acknowledge their plan, and once Maxine did her turn she gave a whoop. Taking aim, she managed to hit a double 15, but then her luck flopped with a 5 and a 3. "Oh, looks like we have only 121 points. That's gonna take a miracle for you to catch up."

Dominic frowned at Maxine's message. Her charmspeak having no effect may mean that he wasn't human. There were plenty of supernaturals in Edgewood, but an unknown antagonistic one could become a problem later. Pushing that from his mind, he returned his attention to the dart game. "You got this Spence and Charlie!" He cheered, seeing them falling behind. Despite his professed allegiances, he cheered for every person playing, enjoying the friendly competition.

Spencer bowed at Charlotte's cheering and threw a grin in Max's direction. "Not bad yourself," he said after her throw and confirmed her subtraction. "Glad to see it wasn't all talk, Heather," he teased her after they finished their round. "Not let's try and catch up and then some." Spencer took his place and after aiming for managed to hit the triple 8. "Okay, not bad," he said mostly to himself. His next two throws hit 12 and 17. "Okay there might still be a change for us, Charlotte," he turned to her, "we're at 129, I'm counting on you now," he said with mock seriousness, his expression morphing into a grin a second later.

"Ooo, how's that look for a miracle!" Charlotte exclaimed with a laugh, grinning at Heather. Now all she had to do was not fuck it up. She schooled her expression into one serious enough to match Spencer's and gave him a salute. "I won't let you down." The tremor in her hands had subsided considerably since her last turn, and it showed in her throws--all landing near to the center. "14, 18, and almost-bullseye makes 57, which brings us down to 72!" She counted, clearing the board for the next team.

Maxine let out a low whistle as Charlotte almost hit the bullseye. "Impressive." Once the darts were out, she lined up making her shots. The first hit a four, the second hit a twenty, and the third a triple ten. "Hell yes," she cheered to herself at the last hit. "I believe that's 54 total, bringing us down to 67."

Heather conceded and let out a cheer at Charlotte's near-bullseye. She was grinning wildly back. This was some fun competition, but she wasn't about to let them win. "Damn, you guys are really gunning hard, but I think I will manage the 5 points to keep our lead." Her first dart hit the 14 quite close to the bullseye, and her correction attempts still didn't hit the mark, earning her 9 and then 20 points. "Shit, still at 24. That round could have gotten us to zero."

"Could have, better luck next round," Charlotte replied, still applauding their point gain. She rolled the darts in her hand again as she stepped up to the line and took aim. The shots canted to the board's right side, landing on 4, 6, and the inner ring of 13. "Down to 18!" The witch counted gleefully, spinning to face her teammate. "We're so close, Spence, you've got this!"

"Charlotte, I knew you'd make me proud," Spencer said with. hand over his heart. With a grin he turned in Max's direction. "Let's see if you can catch up," he teased and stuck his tongue out. "I'll be right back, Charlotte go first if I'm not back," he said and sprinted to the bathroom. Spencer returned just in time to see his teammate hit the 13. "Ooh we might just win, if I don't get slippery fingers now." He aimed for the 18, dart goes flying and lands on the 13. 5 more. Trying to hit the 5 got him a miss as the dart got stuck just outside the circle, but at least it was on the 5. Spencer groaned. "I could do with some cheering, Dominic," he glanced at his partner with a pout before aiming again, going for the 5 again, but instead landing on 12. "Minus 7, does that count?" he asked, arms spread.

As the last few darts hit the board, Maxine couldn't even be angry with the results. "I'd say it counts, good job, babe." She leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. Then turned to Heather. "Well, we put up a good fight anyways, but, come on, time for a reading." With that she moved back to the table and pulled out her deck. She first passed it over to Charlotte so she could shuffle the deck, before pulling out the cards. "As you shuffle, think of a specific question you would like to ask the cards," she informed, before taking the shuffled deck back.

At the desperate pout of his partner, Dominic resumed cheering in earnest. "Just one more dart babe, you got this!" He cupped his hands around his mouth even though they were in a small space. He let out a whoop at their victory and gave his sister a hi-five before giving Spencer a peck on the other cheek. "You won, and it's all thanks to my superb cheering. Congrats!" He moved back to the table with everyone to watch the tarot card readings.

Tragically, Heather found herself on the losing side. "Damn, that was a close game. Good job guys, but be ready for my revenge." She made the 'watching you' gesture with her fingers. She was surprised at how little she was disappointed at the loss. It seemed that maybe playing with people you like could be just as fun as winning. "We'll crush them next time," she told Maxine, going in for a high five. Heather followed her back to the table and stood behind her to watch the first tarot reading. The witch knew how they worked, but didn't put stock in the actual predictive properties of tarot. Magic like active powers and potions could be seen and proven without being left to vague interpretation.

“If the audience is in favor, it’s good enough for me. Good game, guys!” Charlotte grinned, applauding the ‘victory’ Spencer secured them. She returned Dominic’s high five with gusto, patted Heather and Maxine’s shoulder, and stuck her tongue out teasingly at Heather as she returned to take a seat at the table. “Any time, any place, I’ll be ready.” With the cards literally on the table, Charlotte accepted the deck delicately and began shuffling and thought about what she might want to ask about. It had to be... “Okay, let’s hear it.” She said, passing the deck back.

"I'm doing a three card reading, so this indicates past, present, and future." Maxine placed cards in each representative spot. In the past: ace of wands, present: death, future: the tower. "First, the past - ace of wands. This card signifies potential, movement, and activity. Your past often effects your present, and there was a major decision in your past that you may have shied away from, or taken that is where you should look to now for some questions you are having."

Next, she indicated the death card. "This card means change is happening - not actual death, but some part of your life is undergoing a major shift and you may have an opportunity to do something over again. It could be putting an end to something you've never had closure on, or a chance to restart something else. Lastly, the tower. Like the death card, it also indicates change. Typically this is change that you are more resistant to or surprised by. It will shake you at your core, but the message of this tower is change or be changed."

“Interesting...” Charlotte leaned over the table to study the cards carefully, letting their images and Maxine’s words wash over her and sink in. The results weren’t unexpected--she pulled those exact cards during a self-read this morning. It certainly solidified some... thoughts, and notions she’d been considering as of late. The image of the Tower card drew her in; she carefully ran her fingers over the artwork. A rueful smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Very insightful, thank you Maxi.” Leaning back in her chair, she reached for her her beer bottle, only to be reminded it was empty. She'd grab a refill after Heather gave Spencer his reading.

Spencer shook his head with a laugh at Heather's gesture and returned his partners’ cheek kisses. "It was really that last cheering that brought us the victory," he said with a teasing smile in Dominic's direction. He followed them to the table as Max pulled out the tarot cards for their punishment reading. "Well, that was deep," he raised his brows glancing as Charlotte for a moment before turning to address Heather, "it's my birthday so let's not go too gloomy, eh?"

After Charlotte was done absorbing her reading, Heather reached across the table and grabbed the deck of cards and put the three back in the stack. Handing it to Spencer, she said, "I have no control over the cards," and then raised her hands in surrender. "Like Maxine said, think about what you want the cards to answer."

Spencer accepted the deck and started shuffling. “Alright, alright, no negative thoughts in sight,” he replied and concentrated on what he was most curious about. There was something he has been contemplating recently and maybe the cards would help him move forward. He closed his eyes for a moment and focused on the weight of the cards in his hands as he shuffled them, stilling for a second before handing them back to Heather. “Done. Let’s see.”

Once Spencer was done shuffling, Heather took the deck back and drew the three cards, laying them down as she named them. "Okay, here we go: for the past we have an Ace of Pentacles, the present is a King of Swords, and for the future we have the 2 of Wands." She thought for a moment about what these meant and how to present the results poetically instead of just the standard meanings.

"So, Aces are about potential, and this particular card refers to potential in money or your career. So, you've had some big opportunity in the past for money. Next, we have the King of Swords for the present." She leaned forward to look at it and smiled, the image resonating with her. "That's a cool design there. Anyways, it represents motivation, and being present it means you have a lot of power now to change things, make a good decision. Well, technically the court cards could refer to you or someone else close to you, because why not be ambiguous. Um, and the card also reflects a stern but compassionate nature." She moved her hand to point at the final card. "And finally for the future you have the 2 of Wands. The 2 refers to a choice, but the 2 of Wands gives a good outlook."

Leaning against the table, Spencer looked down as the cards got uncovered and tried to remember their meanings, but he never truly put his attention on studying them and their interpretations slipped from his mind. Spencer nodded slowly as Heather started her reading, frowning slightly as he made sense of her words. At the second and third card together his brows shot up, he didn’t think he’d get such a direct reply from them, but he knew better than to question the ways of the cards. “Believe it or not, that was actually pretty helpful,” he said finally and looked back up at the group. “Anyway, I think it’s time to refill some glasses, right?”

“Yesssss!” Charlotte nodded in agreement and began collecting the empty bottles and glasses on the table intending to take back to the bar. Before she got far, Juliet ( sensing her favorite patrons were in need ) materialized at the tableside to replace the empties with another round of drinks--and kept them coming as the night wore on.

Somewhere between their third game of darts and tipsy attempt at a volleyball showdown, the collective of party-goers returned to their table to catch their bartender delivering a homemade cake to the table adorned with a handful of skinny, vibrant-colored candles. It’s a sweet gesture made sweeter yet by their altered state of mind (and the perfect amount of buttercream frosting) that none of the party guests think to question it.

Surrounded by friends and loved ones, in the bar at the table or under the stars by the lake, Spencer can’t imagine any other way he’d want to celebrate his birthday. Rocky start aside, there’s no place he’d rather be.

#event: spencers bday2020 #spencer hawthorne #dominic kingsley #maxine beauchamp #charlotte kingsley #demitri #heather payne #juliet hawthorne #logan cree #valerie bianchi

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edgewoodrp · 4 years ago

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Birthday Bash || Outdoor Festivities

Date/Time: May 29th, 2020 8:00PM -- 1:00AM

Location: 315 Canterbury Cv, Castle Ridge -- The Outskirts

Participants: @caterinasingh, @charlottexkingsley, @darklighterxdemitri, @heatherpayne, @logancree, @maxinebeauchamp, @trevor-wells, @valeriebianchi, @xavier-bennett

Summary: In the backyard, the drinks are flowing and the party is in full swing as the games begin.

Trevor had parked a few blocks away, and by the time he'd made it to the house, the party was in full swing. Bypassing the front door-- he didnt know either of the hosts that well-- he instead walked up the side yard and into the back of the house, whistling under his breath. "Damn, that is one nice setup."

Demitri's hands were shoved in his pocket as he eyed the house. It was already becoming slightly chaotic but not in the way he enjoyed. People began to flush into the front doors and he slowly made his way to the back yard. He licked his lips as he glanced sideways, hearing someone speak. "I've seen better." He snorted as he leaned against a nearby tree.

Logan had noticed both woman were busy inside and greeting the rest of their guests. So for now, the vampire would continue to hold his drink and "wait" for his turn. Stepping outside, his ears picked up the comments made about the set up and a smirk formed on his lips at the slight remark. "Really? I'd have to agree the set up is nice. What would you have changed or added then?"

Trevor turned towards the voice that had answered him, and laughed in return as his dismissive attitude. "Oh yeah? Around here? I'm just saying its a pretty nice setup for an outdoor party. Not too frat-boy, not too wedding-shower." He shook his head and shrugged, the 6-pack he had tucked under his arm lifting in the motion. When another individual stepped beside him to his defense, Trevor gestured at him. "See? Thank you!"

"I never said around here." Demitri said as he folded his arms across his chest. "All I'm saying is that it could have been better, had they hired some other person." Demitri honestly could care less. He wasn't someone that really enjoyed the mundane parties anymore. But he could make small talk. "I mean. These games, for start." He motioned towards the games. "I think there should be more adult friendly games."

Trevor laughed before realizing it wasn't meant as a joke. "'Adult-friendly' games? Do you mean like Cards Against Humanity or...?" Shaking his head he shrugged again. "I guess I wouldn't know, I've lived here my whole life." Taking a beer out of the 6-pack, he held out the rest as an offer. "Where are you from?"

Logan held his drink up indicating he was good. The vamps eyes narrowed at Demitri and his tone wondering why would he come to such an event with that attitude. He might just be that way regardless. Biting his laughter back, he said, "The night is young mate, there might be more to these games once the host gets around to explaining them."

"Yeah sure. Cards against humanity." Demitri snorted and shook his head. Humans and their fucking card games. He thought to himself. "How unfortunate." He muttered. Demitri's eyebrows rose at the question, a wry smile forming on his lips. "You need someone to explain the games to you?" Demitri asked, eyeing the other male. "How old are you, Logan?" He teased the other with a smile. He knew he wasn't a human. He could tell. "I'm from hell." He said, chuckling lowly as he glanced between the two to see their reaction.

Chuckling also, Logan gave an innocent shrug. "I am only saying-there could be more to the game then the obvious. But, I suppose we will find out all about it later. I may be wrong." Taking a sip of his drink, his eyes narrowed still at the stranger but the smirk never left. "I'm 33, give or take." The vampire glanced at Trevor and then sarcastically laughing to Demitri, "Really? There's more of you? How unfortunate."

"I'm just saying, I have no idea what you mean by 'Adult games' man," Trevor shook his head, opening the beer in his hand and taking a sip. A sip that he almost spit out at the response to his question. Trevor turned and locked eyes with the other man, eyebrows raised in a face of 'thats definitely a normal response to that question', before turning back. "Hell, huh. That's in Minnesota, right?"

Heather saw some women hanging around in the kitchen through the window, so she made her way around back instead. She didnt wanna be part of whatever gender conforming nonsense was happening in there. She promised herself that she would make it around to say hi to Cat sometime: she was after all who had bugged Heather to come to a party for people she barely knew. She made her way through the back gate and towards a table to set down the beer she had brought. Then she caught sight of who she was with. Two of the most suspicious men in town and someone she didnt recognize. "Fuck, how did you guys get invited to this? I thought Cat had good taste."

Demitri glanced towards Logan. "You seem to be making these games way more complicated in your head." He said and then his eyes flickered to the other male. "You're not serious." His voice was low and dull. Man, people were so fucking dumb. "Sure." He muttered then went to say something else but closed his lips when he noticed someone else moving to the outside. "Who said we got invited?" He asked, giving Heather a toothy grin.

Eventually, Charlotte found her way to the backyard. "Hey kids, we've got lots of booze chilling in the fridge--does anyone need anything? Or want anything put in the fridge?" Lingering by the s'more bar, she snagged a marshmallow while she waited for answers.

Trevor sidestepped to allow the newcomer, a woman he didn't recognize but who clearly knew the other two, join their little circle by the fire. "There were invites? I just followed the crowd." He turned at the sound of a familiar voice, feeling the familiar catch in his stomach when he recognized Charlotte. "I'm good, thanks," he replied--because what was he gonna do, ignore her?-- holding up the six pack he'd brought for emphasis.

"Well I was invited by the host," Heather said, sending Demitri a glare. "So, what types of games were we thinking of playing?" This could get crazy quickly, but she would love to pound Demitri into the ground. She approached the woman and made to hand her the six pack she had brought. "Could you please put this in the fridge? I splurged so that it's not the cheapest stuff at least." She didn't have a personal beer preference, but knew that she was holding a popular brand.

Maxine saw too many people getting mushy inside and was quick to pour herself a glass and sneak outside. She groaned seeing Logan outside, but was happy to see Charlotte out back. "Did someone say drinking games? Let's get this party started!"

Charlotte stilled at Trevor's voice but nodded at his answer. Turning to Heather, she nodded and met her halfway to accept the bottle from her. "You got it, there's probably still room on the top shelf for this--if you come looking for it." Maxine's grand entrance brought a smile to her face; she made a mental note to sneak back out for games later and started backing slowly towards the house. "Everyone else good?"

Kids? Demitri thought as he glanced towards the woman that just entered the backyard. "You could get me two beers." He winked at the woman. He really only drank to keep up appearances. He didn't actually like the taste of most alcoholic drinks. "Not these games." He motioned towards the cornhole and ladderball. "Something more interesting." He said with a smile. "Something with alcohol, for sure." He then glanced towards the woman that just came out and asked about drinking games. "What's your favorite drinking game?" He asked Maxine as he moved closer to Heather, just to annoy her. He liked getting under everyone's skin but recently, Heather was a person he was focused more on.

It took every ounce of Charlotte's willpower to not roll her eyes at the man. "Two beers, coming right up." And with that she disappeared into the house.

Maxine lifted her glass to indicate that she was covered. "You better come back out and join us for some games!" While the set up was very elegant, the game selection was lacking for a party. "First we need some tunes going. I see a speaker over there, someone should get some tunes going. If we're looking to just get drunk fast, we could start with sip, sip, shot?"

"Thank you," Heather told Charlotte as she took the drinks. "Don't worry about it, I brought this for everyone else." But when Demetri ordered some drinks--quite rudely--she decided she had to be a part of the drinking to not stand out. "Actually, I will go ahead and take one of my drinks," she backtracked, grabbing one from her six pack. She popped it open and took a swig, wincing as the alcohol went down. "Maxine!" she exclaimed in uncharacteristic excitement at the new arrival. She moved closer to the newcomer, but didn't miss Demitri moving closer as well. Finally someone she knew was trustworthy. As another witch, Maxine might even be able to help if her suspicions about Logan's species were correct.

Maxine grinned seeing Heather. She hadn't noticed her at first but was quick to walk over. She didn't know Demetri well, but she had her own reservations about Trevor and Logan. "Hey girl, good to see you here! You a fan of drinking games?"

Trevor hadn't wanted to ask Charlotte to bring his own six pack in, so instead he set it down in the grass at his feet. "These are for anyone who wants to save themselves a trip inside," he announced as he did so, glancing around at the group steadily growing larger. "Feel free to take them for your drinking games."

"It's good to see you too." Heather shrugged. "I'm not really into heavy drinking, but I'm willing to play along. I wouldn't mind seeing secrets spill tonight." Not her own of course. "I have a feeling you can hold your liquor though." She watched the man she didn't know and decided that he didn't seem too suspicious...yet. "We can grab mine from the fridge as well once they are chilled," she offered. The one in her hand was a bit warm.

Demitri smirked as he watched everyone discuss the drinks, and then the game. He noticed one of the men move to sit the six pack of beer on the ground at his feet. He already had some woman getting him his drinks, he didn't need the other male's. "I'm good. Thanks for offering." He said with a smile. He wasn't normally one to even say thank you but this was Demitri's way of trying to "fit in" with the crowd. The very lively crowd. "Ah, secret spilling. Now that's my kind of game." He eyed Heather with a smile. Secrets were something he specialized in. He was always trying to get information from any witch or potential whitelighter. Of course, he'd use those secrets and information to his advantage. "So, what's everyone's favorite drinking game that involves spilling some secrets?" He asked, glancing around. "Come on, don't be shy. We can vote on which one we'd rather participate in."

Trevor shook his head and raised his hands as if in surrender. "I'm driving tonight, so unfortunately no drinking games for me. But I'll be happy to watch. And judge," he added as an afterthought with a grin. Stepping to the side, he spotted an empty chair by the fire, and dropped into it.

Maxine raised a brow a bit surprised that the others were so interested in 'secret spilling'. She had to say she was intrigued. So she gave a shrug. "We can always play a game of true or false. Someone states two facts about themselves and we all have to determine which is true and which is a lie. Those who get it wrong have to take a drink."

Heather was surprised but relieved that the suggested game wasn't truth or dare. That could have turned bad. "I think that sounds fun," she voted, "though I thought the game was two truths and a lie."

Xavier, who had slipped into the backyard only moments ago, armed with a smaller cooler made his way over to the gathered group, giving a nod of acknowledgement to Logan. "I'm with Heather on that one, I've always played it like two truths and a lie."

Alcohol in hand, Charlotte made it back outside in time to hear two truths and a lie. "Is that what you guys are starting with? That's fun," She said, crossing the yard to deliver the barely-cooled beers to the weird guy. "Never Have I Ever is a good one, too."

Maxine grinned as Charlotte came out. "It's just a modified version of the same thing, with higher odds, but I'm happy to start with either or a round of never have I ever. But I feel like we should take this over to the fire," she began, walking over to sit on the nice chairs arranged around the small fire pit.

"That's... not a bad idea," Charlotte agreed, taking a look around the group gathered for the game. She didn't know most of them that well, this would be an excellent pregame for the dance party inside. She twisted the cap off her bottle of wine as she followed Maxine over to the fire and claimed a chair closest to the house. "Now I know you can hear me, Max, no cheating!"

Heather brightened at Xavier's arrival and shouted a greeting. Now she was thinking she might actually have fun tonight. Now that the game was decided and ready she headed to claim a chair as well, taking the one on the other side of Maxine. She motioned for Xavier to take her other side. It would be good to have someone strong to hold her back if she tried to leap across the fire pit and stab someone tonight. "So, do we have any volunteers to start?"

Logan nodded back at Xavior when he arrived and held back his glare at Demitri's rude comments and attitude. Cree couldn't help it though-he was starting to grow nervous. Two confirmed witches in this group and Heather who he still wasn't quite sure what she was yet, made his instincts stay sharp. Either one of the games that was being suggested couldn't really affect him due to his high tolerance being a vampire. However, the vampire was still curious and wouldn't back down from a "fun" night.

Xavier pulled a beer out of his cooler and made his way over to the fire, taking the seat offered seat next to Heather. Taking note of the gathered crowd he only recognized about half of them. Overall it would make for an interesting game and hopefully he’d have a new friend or two.

Charlotte soon realized she hadn't brought a glass out. Looking around, she noticed a stack on the table of food and refreshments outside. The night was still too young to start drinking straight from the bottle, so she grabbed one and poured her drink as she rejoined the circle. With no immediate volunteers to start the game, she reluctantly raised her hand. "I'll go first," She said. "So two truths and a lie, let's see... my eyes are green, I haven't seen all the Harry Potter movies, and I... may have instigated a bar fight. At some point."

Logan smirked as he heard the truth and took a sip of his drink. His eyes scanned the crowd as he waited to see if anyone wanted to share their opinion first. After a few moments though, Cree spoke, “You’re eyes are not green luv.”

"You havent seen Harry Potter," Heather guessed. She didn't know Charlotte well, but eye color was an easy giveaway and she had said the bar fight in such a way that it sounded true. "Are they?" She asked at Logan's comment, leaning over to try and see Charlotte's eyes, squinting in the fire light, but it wasn't enough to see. She turned her squint to Logan. Did he know her well enough to have remembered her eye color? Or did he have really good vision?

Maxine had an impish grin on her face as she heard Charlotte's thought. But, she didn't mind drinking. And why win if she couldn't drink. Might as well bring others down with her. "Oh she definitely hasn't seen all of the Harry Potter movies."

Charlotte wiggled her eyebrows at Maxine's grin, and looked around the circle as the answers came in. "Good answers, good answers. Any more takers? Non-answers count as a loss~!"

Met with silence, Charlotte tipped her glass to Maxine, "I have not, and I refuse to watch 'em,"--and then to Logan. "But Logan's right, my eyes are brown. Who's up next?"

Demitri folded his arms across his chest and watched as everything began to unfold. It wasn't the kind of game he'd be interested in, but he could at least watch and see what information all of the people were willing to divulge to one another. It could give him some type of leverage. He uncapped his beer and took several long swigs.

Xavier obligingly took a sip of his beer. There were a lot of friends among this group, and he felt like it left him at a slight disadvantage in their current game, but he also supposed that that was how you made friends, playing games like these with strangers. Plus, the point of drinking games was to, well, drink.

"Guess I was wrong," Maxine commented with a shrug, taking a long sip from her drink. For a moment, she was silent, seeing if anyone else would pop up. But it was pretty silent, so she stepped in to save the momentum. "Okay, mine are...I have travelled to thirty different countries, I started my first 'business' venture in high school, and I have been invited out for drinks by a celebrity."

Heather sighed and took a drink. Many people did drinking games as an excuse to get drunk, but for her all games were meant to be won. "There is no way you have been to 30 countries." Max did seem driven enough to have started trying to make money in high school.

Charlotte stared intently at Maxine and tapped the rim of her cup, thinking. "Hmm, I know two countries for sure... I don't know about 30."

Xavier took a moment to study Maxine and think of what he knew of her. Not much, but enough. "I'm also gonna say that 30 countries seems a bit extreme."

Maxine looked around the fire pit as answers poured in. "Seems like you all have your minds made up. Any other answers before I reveal the lie?"

Charlotte followed Maxine's gaze around the circle and slowly raised her glass to take a sip of her drink.

Though he wasn’t planning on playing, Trevor couldn’t help but shake his head from his place by the fire. “Counties maybe, but countries? No way.”

Maxine let out a chuckle at the rest of the responses. "Well, sorry to disappoint, but my mothers did a lot of travelling and flew my brother and I out many places. I didn't start any businesses until early college days. I'm afraid you all have to drink."

"Oh, darn," Charlotte complained, not sounding the least bit disappointed to be taking another drink.

Heather looked between Maxine and Charlotte, suspicious of their collaboration. She took a swig in disappointment. "Well, I guess it's my turn." She turned her gaze to Demitrib to watch his reaction to her claims in particular. "Here are mine: one, I can hold my breath for over two minutes; two, I have been near an explosion; three, I can speak four languages."

Maxine took another swig of her drink as she considered Heather's options. "Hmm, I'm going to go with the first option."

Demitri couldn’t help but smirk as he noticed Heathers gaze on him. Her two truths and a lie wasn’t really anything he was interested in. No. He was more interested in the darker aspects of her and her past. “Last one.” He said, eyeing her closely as he took another sip of his beer.

Logan thought about Heathers choices and thought for a second. They were good ones and some of them-might have not been so obvious if they hadn’t spent some time with her. But having fought with her during their last encounter, he did have more of “feel” for her character. Though the vampire knew it wasn’t enough for be certain of his answer when it came to witches. “I second what Maxine chose.”

Looking at Heather, Charlotte considered her options. With nothing to go on, she was quite prepared to take another drink. "I want to say... door number three."

Huh, Heather had thought more people would have latched onto the explosion. Demetri didn't react to that one in particular, which was hopefully a good sign for his innocence. "Good job, the lie is number 3. In addition to English I only have conversational Spanish and Japanese." Multiple people had guessed correctly, so she must be missing some key to this game. Maybe it was in the delivery or the believability of choices.

His smile widened when she confirmed that he, and a couple of others, were correct. He had a feeling, considering the encounters with the woman that he’d had. However, now he’s a bit curious about the explosion that she mentioned. He assumed it just had to do about her power. The one that she insists to him that she doesn’t have. Demitri knows better. He’s had a lot of experience when it came to witches. “Japanese?” He asked heather. “When did you learn that language?” He really hadn’t expected her to know more then English.

What?! Charlotte had so many questions, and even though she got this one right, she took another sip. "I always wanted to learn Japanese," She added wistfully. "I never got around to it, it's super cool that you did."

At the answer, Maxine took a drink. "Didn't you buy a book about it or something, too?" she asked Charlotte, curiously before looking out at the group. For now, she felt fine, but she had an inkling that if she stood, she would really feel the alcohol. But this was fun, she was getting to know different people better. "Okay, who is next?"

"In college," Heather answered, not giving any more details. She was nowhere near fluent, but she had taken the courses to the highest intermediate level. It was enough to impress most people. She smiled at Charlotte's comment. Turning to Xavier, she said, "You're up, X."

"I totally did," Charlotte answered Maxine. "I bet it's buried on one of the book shelves in the basement. Guess what I looking for when I get home." She added with a chuckle.

Xavier was surprised to find that he wasn't as shocked as he would have suspected at learning that Heather had been involved with an explosion. Everyone had things in their past, after all. "Right." He looked around the circle, reminding himself that his boss was present and he didn't want to incriminate himself too much. "I was afraid of Winnie the Pooh when I was a kid, my favorite flavor of ice cream is coffee, and I've seen every episode of the Bachelor."

Heather tapped her finger on her bottle as she considered Xavier. "To be honest, I could believe any of those. But I'm gonna go with door two." She was hoping that the least embarrassing one was the lie. She had a sense for what type of person he was, but didn't know many personal details yet.

"Could be your resolution for next year," she teased Charlotte. "And now you have someone to practice with, maybe." Hearing the options, Maxine let out a hum. She didn't know Xavier too well, so it was hard to say. "I think I'm going to go with door three. There are just so many seasons of that show."

"Ooo yeah! That's not a bad idea," Charlotte didn't know Xavier at all, and each option sounded equally likely. But out of all of them, she hoped this one was the lie. "Hmm, I'm gonna guess you weren't afraid of Winnie the Pooh."

"Wow, I didn't expect to divide the room that much." Xavier chuckled, looking around at everyone. "Anyone else want to guess?"

Caterina wandered out into the backyard to see how everyone was doing and was happy to see a group congregating. "Glad to see you all are enjoying the fire! How is everyone doing out here? Anyone need a refill? Oooh did you all start any of the games yet?"

Demitri glanced towards the man speaking and he shook his head back and forth. "I'm going to guess the third one. If that's not a lie, then you definitely should pretend it is." He smirked as he finished off his beer. "I need a refill." He winked at Caterina. "Something stronger than this piss drink, though."

"Coffee isn't my favorite flavor of ice cream, it's cookie dough." Xavier answered. "And before you ask, no, I don't know why I was terrified of Winnie the Pooh." He'd burst into tears at the sight of the bear more than once. And the less said about how he'd ended up watching every single episode of the Bachelor... probably for the best. "I'm good on drinks, thanks." He told their host.

"Dang. Both of those are good flavors, though," Charlotte conceded, taking another drink. She cast a sidelong glare at Demitri, but said nothing. "I'm doing alright, thank you, Cat!"

Maxine wrinkled her nose at the sound of cookie dough. "Really? I've always found it too sweet, but different tastes," she commented, with a shrug of her shoulders. Maxine waved a hand at Caterina. "I'm good thanks. We just started a drinking game out here, not any of the other games...why is there anything good hiding out here?"

"Hi Cat!" Heather greeted. "We're half a round into two truths in a lie." She smirked at finally getting one right. She raised her drink towards Xavier, "Right choice. Coffee is such a weird coffee flavor."

Something about Demetri put Caterina on edge. So hearing that no one else needed a refill, she let out a hum. "Well if it is just you needing a drink, I may wait a minute, apologies...oooh two truths and a lie?" she questioned sitting on one of the chairs. "That sounds fun. Learned anything interesting? And, there may be a game of truth or dare jenga hiding out here..."

Logan chuckled a little at his employers answers and made sure to remember that incase it became useful in the future. The man didn't know Xavier that well other then the basics and most importantly that he was a good employee and had given him no reason to not like him. But he still wondered how or why Xavier watched the Bachelor. When Demitri spoke up again demanding another drink, Logan decided it was a good time to take another sip of his own to keep quiet. But after hearing Cat's reply, the vampire smirked as he encouraged the host to join the game. "Why doesn't our host go next?" The longer the woman stayed, the longer the impolite man waited for his drink. There's some next to Trevor human, he wanted to snap, but he was doing his best to remain polite-for now. Though Logan did get a slight sense that Demitir wasn't exactly human. But then what?

"You know, I think I like that idea," Charlotte agreed, nodding at Logan. She patted the seat of the empty chair next to her. "Pop a squat and tell us about yourself, Cat."

Caterina let out a hum. "Alright, I'll join in, but if I'm participating, then I want to hear what I've missed so far too," she said with a wink. "Okay so two truths and a lie...I've lived in Nepal, I have never watched any of the Lord of the Rings movies, and I hate steamed milk in coffee."

"Steamed milk." Charlotte answered after a moment of thought. "Speaking from experience, everyone's seen some of Lord of the Rings whether they've wanted to or not."

“How do you hate steamed milk in coffee?” Trevor exclaimed in surprise. “I’m gonna have to say that’s the lie. I do think it’s possible to never have seen any of the Lord of the Rings movies,” he continued, with a quick glance in Charlotte’s direction, “they’re not nearly as hard to escape on tv as Harry Potter.”

"I dunno, I have pretty distinct memories of flipping through the channels and catching glimpses of, like, 'Return of the King' or something," Charlotte recounted. "But yeah, Harry Potter's up there, too."

Caterina was definitely the type of person to feel strongly about coffee, so Heather felt that that was a truth. And she knew that Cat had lived in many places, so maybe Nepal was one of them. "I think that the second one is a lie. I bet you were hanging out with someone who made you watch part of one. Definitely not the whole one though, since those are insanely long movies."

Xavier took a moment to think it over. They were all so specific, but being a regular in a coffee shop he knew how people could get about their drinks, and Catarina seemed, from the little he knew about her, like someone who had seen the world. "I'm also going with Lord of the Rings, those movies are everywhere. How many memes are there now?"

Logan Cree wasn't sure about the last statement but he also was leaning towards the Lord of the Rings. "I agree with the second one being the lie. I find it pretty hard to imagine going on without seeing at least one of them. Plus, they also have another three that go with the Lord of the Rings...."

Maxine gave a hum considering the options. "I would have to go with the coffee thing too, you seem to have a strong opinion about your drinks," she added, thinking about the drinks she ordered at the Underworld. "Since you are participating too, we can catch you up on what we've learned soon."

Hearing the variety of responses, Caterina smirked to herself. "Seems like everyone is truly divided on this one, but a few of you were right on. I haven't seen any of the Lord of the Rings movies."

Trevor pumped his fist in mini victory, but then a moment later cocked his head to the side. “Wait, so then which is the lie? Nepal or the coffee?”

Charlotte crossed her fingers for the coffee, but slowly raised her glass--just in case.

"It's the coffee thing. I've never been a big fan of all the froth in steamed milk," Caterina answered.

"Yes!" Charlotte cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "I'm still taking a drink, though--this is a party after all."

Demitri hadn't even cared to guess. All he did was watch the others as the listened, put out their best guess, and waited. He was still waiting to see if the host, as she had stated, would get more drinks. But, he wasn't going to complain about it. He honestly could care less if he was drinking.

Heather sighed and took a drink. She cursed this dumb game which she apparently couldn't figure out. Well at least the ones left to go where the guys she wanted to learn about with this.

Trevor took a sip of his beer anyway, before leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "Okay I guess I can go next..." He trailed off a moment thinking. "Okay. I've never broken any bones, I'm really good at baking brownies, and I haven't read a single book in five years."

"Question," Charlotte started. "are we counting eBooks and fractures as books and breaks?"

Despite Maxine having answered correctly, she took a drink too, and then filled Cat in on the fun tidbits she had missed. At Trevor's list, Maxine let out a hum. "I know how much your sister likes to back, so I'm going to go with the book one, though Charlie raises an important point."

Trevor blinked for a moment at the question, wracking his brain, before finally he shook his head. "I guess I am way too dumb to know the difference between a fracture and a break," he laughed. "So yes, all kinds of breaks, small and large. And yeah, I'd count eBooks as books."

Charlotte nodded at his answer, and thought over her own response. "Hmm, alright. I'm gonna say... the books, that's the lie."

Caterina couldn't say she knew Trevor well, but she'd seen him running the PTA booth and heard many rumors. And now getting more info on the others from this game, she was delighted she'd come outside. "I'd have to go with the broken bones option."

Xavier had dutifully taken his sip from the last round, and thought over the answers the man had given. “I’m gonna have to go with the book one.” He’d thought maybe the one about breaking bones, until he’d been asked about clarification.

Heather didnt know anything about this man, and her previous logic trains hadn't seemed to work anyways. So, she decided to just go for a wild guess. "Number 3 is the lie."

Sister? Logan thought. So the human did have a sister-no wonder his features looked familiar and now Logan had a solid guess as to who it was. "I'm also going to go with number 3 being a lie mate."

Trevor paused for any last stragglers before shrugging and scratching the side of his neck. “It sounds super depressing to say out loud but the book one is actually true. The lie is the broken bones. I’ve broken more than I’d like to admit, most recently my ribs last year,” he added, reaching down to touch his side absentmindedly. “So drink!”

Charlotte stared at Trevor, and did nothing to suppress the look of horror on her face. "That's horrifying, you know that, right? Just--just awful." She took a large gulp of wine and shook her head. "Someone else needs to speak now, please, I beg."

Heather agreed, "Yeah, that's a pretty major injury there. What the hell happened?" Unlike Charlotte though she wanted to keep on this track. She didnt miss him reaching to touch his side. She took the smallest sip she felt she could get away with.

Trevor barked a laugh. “I think she was probably referring to the fact that I haven’t read in half a decade.” He shook his head, still smiling though he felt a little more bitter. “The rib thing? Injury at work. No worries though, it’s all healed by now.”

Maxine took a drink after getting the answer wrong and looked over at Logan and Demetri. "I think it's time one of you two chip in now."

Broken ribs at work? What kind of job resulted in that kind of injury, Xavier wondered, reluctantly taking the required sip from his drink. He nodded along with Maxine's suggestion. "Yeah, come on boss man. You've been quiet enough." He said, pointing at Logan.

"That is extremely sad as well," Heather added. It dissapointed her how many people never read anything not assigned for school.

Logan chuckled softly. It was a little funny that humans could still occasionally surprise him. Taking another sip after getting yet another answer wrong-not that it was affecting him in anyway-he smirked at Xavier. “Glad to hear-and see-the injury wasn’t life threatening mate. Very well....” he paused thinking of things that would still be believable and not “impossible” for regular people to do before answering. “I’ve dated twin celebrities. I’ve done commissioned paintings. I can read Egyptian Coptic.”

Hearing Logan's potential truths, Charlotte raised an eyebrow and smirked a little. Knowing what he was but not how old he was made this a... very interesting round. "Wooooow, that's a lot to unload there."

Xavier knew that his boss was an interesting man, who'd lead an interesting life, but he didn't even know where to being guessing on this one. "And when you say commissioned paintings do you mean you commissioned and sat for them or that you were the artist in question?"

Logan took a swing of his drink and smirked at Xavier's question before answering, "That I was the artist in question."

Demitri couldn't help but be amused at all of these so called "confessions" and lies. "I say the lie is that you've dated twin celebrities." Demitri chose to answer this one, eyeing Logan closely.

"The Egyptian feels too specific to be a lie..." Charlotte thought outloud. "Or maybe just specific enough. I don't know, I'm gonna say the twins."

Now this was an interesting round, Heather thought, raising an eyebrow. These all lined up with her evaluation of Logan as full of himself. "I don't think you can read Coptic. Unless you were a scholar studying that culture you would have no reason or easy way to learn that."

Caterina was delighted that she got the answer right to Trevor's list and didn't take a drink. She was planning to stay sober to be a good host. At Logan's list, she raised a brow and let out a hum. That was an interesting list of things. "Wow, what a list. Makes me feel boring. I'd have to say reading Egyptian Coptic is the lie."

"Egyptian what," Trevor repeated, furrowing his brow. "That has to be the lie," he reasoned, "it's too out there. Even if you'd previously lived in Egypt or something, I'd be way more likely to believe you spoke Arabic."

The clarification that Xavier had asked for actually hadn't provided all that much clarification. "It's a tough one, but I'm gonna go with the Egyptian as well."

Maxine looked at Logan as he listed his three and studied him closely. She wasn't sure if he would even abide by the rules but conceded. "I'm going with option two."

Charlotte took a drink before hearing the answer and leaned toward Maxine. Lowering her voice so as to not interrupt the rest of the game, she asked, "I'm gonna get something to eat, do you want anything?"

Maxine looked up from her drink as Charlotte made the offer and nodded. "I think it's about time for a refill, so I'll join you." That said, Maxine stood up to follow her.

Logan laughed at the answers and smirked holding up his drink to everyone. “Everyone except Maxine drink up!” Catching Maxines eyes, he sent her a playful wink before taking the last sip of his drink.

Just before moving inside, Maxine gave Logan a wink and the middle finger. "We'll be right back, so don't spill too many secrets without us!"

Charlotte watched the interaction with amusement, shaking her head and chuckling before heading inside.

Caterina let out a little huff of disappointment but took a sip. "Okay, I've got to know how and why did you learn Egyptian coptic? And I propose that once we finish this round, we bring out the jenga blocks. I think most of us are at a good place to make it fun."

"I call bullshit," Heather interjected. "There is no way that you just know a language like that. Arabic, sure, but you gotta explain Coptic."

"Exactly!" Trevor exclaimed, gesturing in Heather's direction. "That's what I'm saying." His tone was still good natured though, and despite the fact that he shook his head in disbelief, he still dutifully took his drink.

Seeing Maxine's gesture brought another chuckle out of Logan as he shook his head and reached for another drink that the human had placed on the floor. The vampire wasn’t a beer type person but it was something. Hearing the others surprised tones and questions kept the smirk on his face while he answered, “You’re right. I didn’t just “know” Coptic. I had a.....a friend” A Maker, he thought, “a while back who was an Egyptian specialist-she knew all about the language. And I was in the mood for a new hobby....”

"Such an interesting hobby." Demitri said, his eyes on Logan still. The man wasn't human, that much he knew. He wouldn't have been surprised if Logan was actually pretty old. He may not physically look it, but the way he spoke made Demitri get some sense of it.

Caterina eyed the man. "I believe it's your go. You're the only one that hasn't 'spilled your guts' so to say."

"Oh so now you want me to tell mine?" He asked, teasing her. He pressed his lips together into a thin line as he pondered what he was going to say. Demitri smirked and then stated. "I've had a couple of stalkers in the past, I've seen someone die, and I don't like eating food." No one there, or in town, knew anything about him so honestly, to them, any one of those statements could be a truth or a lie.

"That is the point of the game, isn't it," Caterina commented. For a moment, her jaw nearly dropped at the items he listed because they were all so odd, but she managed to collect herself. "Despite how odd all of those are, I guess I'll go with the last one?"

Heather took note of what Logan said. She believed him now, but there was a whole interesting history behind that that she wanted to know. She leaned forward in interest. Finally, it was Demitri's turn. "Or were you the stalker yourself?" she asked, glaring at Demitri. She absolutely believed that he had seen someone die. Honestly, she could believe any of those as truths with how messed up of a person she thought Demitri was. Steeling herself for the drink she knew she would have to take, she said, "I'm saying two was a lie."

"Ah... Heather, Heather." Demitri turned towards the woman with the smile. "Always observant, aren't we?" He winked at her and glanced around. He didn't care to hear what anyone else thought. "You both get to drink. It was the first one that was the lie."

Heather continued to glare, not caring who else was around. Was he admitting that he had stalked her? "Somehow I have trouble believing anything you say." She kept eye contact as she took her drink, finishing the last of her bottle. The urge to throw it at him was strong, but she resisted. Wait, so it was true that he didn't like eating food. It was a natural act, necessary for survival. Unless he isn't human...

Caterina took a drink but eyed Demitri oddly. "What kind of person doesn't like to eat food?"

Demitri snorted. “oh come on, Heather. I’d never lie to you.” He offered her a warm, charming smile as he watched her finish her drink. “Not everyone likes eating. Some eat just to survive. I don’t like the act of eating. I don’t see why that’s so odd.” He shrugged his shoulders. Of course, he worded it so it wasn’t a lie but in reality, he just didn’t enjoy human food.

That wasn't the one Trevor would have guessed either, but he dutifully took a sip of his beer. "As the kids these days say, 'weird flex but okay'. But hang on--" he continued, as something clicked. "Are we all just going to ignore the fact he said he's seen someone die?"

Heather snorted. "Yeah, right." Damn it annoyed her how he kept trying to charm her-- or something. "Yeah, Demitri, wanna elaborate?"

Logan held back a chuckle at Cat's comment and knew a few answers to those who didn't enjoy to eat. The vamp would remember to keep an eye on Demitri though. "Have we not all seen someone die before? On TV, in the hospital, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time? He could have meant anything....couldn't you have mate." Logan smirked bringing the drink to his lips and then decided against it. Meanwhile, he's ears heard the word 'shots' inside. Maybe a little harmless fun inside is in order? "I'm going inside for....a different type of drink."

Demitri smiled, his eyes flickered between Trevor and Heather but lingered on the woman. He knew he'd have to do a lot more than any of this to get her on his side. But he was up for the challenge. "See? Logan has the right frame of mind." He motioned towards the other male. "Wrong place wrong time... or wrong place, right time?" He tilted his head to the side. "I tried to help the woman." Lie. "But she didn't make it." He shrugged his shoulders. "At least, that's what I heard along the rumor mill." He spun his finger in a horizontal circle. "But don't act like none of you have witnessed someone die. Isn't the True Crime and Horror genre's pretty popular among people lately? I'm sure you've seen something along those lines."

Caterina gave an odd look at everyone. "This conversation is taking a...morbid turn. I think I'm going to get the jenga blocks set up while you all sort this out, or whatever."

You didn’t say it was on TV... Trevor wanted to argue but he decided there was no point. He didn’t know the other man well enough. Instead he just shrugged once again. “So did anyone win? I know I sure lost.” His mostly empty beer was testament to that. And he wasn’t going to start another game... But he hadn’t seen heads or tails of Maggie which meant she must be inside having a good time. So...”Sure, Jenga it is then.”

Caterina finished the set up and began explaining the rules. "For those who haven't played truth or dare jenga, each time you pull a block, you have to do the action or answer the question provided. If you refuse, you take a drink."

"I'll start, I guess," he continued, standing up from his place by the fire and moving towards the blocks. Trevor paused for a moment, before picking one smack in the middle of the whole tower. "This one seems safest. Okay. Never have I ever. Huh. Didn't we just play this?" Taking the moment to think, he plopped the block on the top of the tower. "Okay fine, never have I ever been to college."

Having been to college, Charlotte took a drink and glanced around the circle to see who else had also been to college.

Caterina also took a sip of her drink.

Heather snuck around to grab a beer from Trevor's six pack since she had finished her drink during the last game. Sitting back down, she took a sip.

Demitri grabbed one of the beers on the ground and took off the cap but didn’t drink. As far as he knew, he hadn’t gone to college. He glanced around to observe who was drinking.

"Me next!" Charlotte volunteered. Studying the solid tower, she carefully poked one of the side blocks out and read it aloud. "'Which famous personality do you have a crush on and why?' Lame. But like, even though I never watched the movies, I always had a huge crush on Emma Watson. She's so accomplished for her age and she uses her platform so well." With her block fulfilled, she delicately placed it on the top of the tower. "Next?"

She gave a nod at Charlotte's answer. "I'll go ahead and take this round." Caterina took a moment to circle the tower and pulled one from near the bottom successfully. "If you could have anything, what would it be? Hmmm, well, I'm interpreting this as something material, and I would adore a trip to Paris." Question answered, she placed the block on the top.

"I'll go next," Heather hopped up, wanting to get it over with. She took a few seconds to study the tower well and pick a block about halfway up to pull. After reading the block in her head, she cussed and her face turned red. She looked around the crowd, gave a big sigh, and set the block down on the top. Without a word Heather returned to her seat and took a drink.

"Wait wait wait," Trevor leaned forward, out of curiosity. "What did it say?"

Caterina gave a nod as well. "Yes, that is part of the game. We have to know what it said."

"Tickle someone," Heather said flatly.

Charlotte couldn't stop the laugh that came out of her mouth. "Oh no, I can only imagine what else is hidden in there."

Demitri watched as the others chose blocks, read off the questions and answered. Although, Heather answers late. “You didn’t want to tickle someone? That’s not even bad.” He snorted, leaning towards her slightly with a smile. He took a step forward and pulled out a block. It told him to pick another one. “It days pull another one.” He as he then grabbed another one. “What’s your greatest fear?” He read aloud. “I don’t have one.”

Maxine wandered out after taking her shot and quickly noted the game happening. "Well that seems like complete bullshit," she began. "Everyone has something there afraid of, if you don't want to admit it, I think the rule is that you gotta drink." But it was her turn, so she found an easy brick to grab, looked at what it said, and set it beside her. She walked over to Charlotte. "Says I gotta rub noses with someone, so I guess it's eskimo kisses for us."

"Gross, I don't even know you," Charlotte replied with a big grin, obviously joking. She stood up to meet Maxine and rubbed noses with her. "Call me~." She said as she sat back down.

Maxine acted aghast at Charlotte's comment before the two rubbed noses. After a second or two, they separated and Maxine gave a playful wink. "Any time." She moved back to the tower and placed the brink on the top.

Logan smirked as he watched those go before before stepping up for his own turn. With ease the block slipped out and a mentally groaned as he read, "What's your most embarrassing moment ever?" Ever!? Really... "Uh...pen on my face before a meeting with some investors?"

Trevor couldn't help but speak out. "That's your most embarrassing moment? Ever? Damn I'd love to have your life," he laughed.

"Pen on your face? Really?" Charlotte tried to keep a straight, disappointed face, but it quickly dissolved into a fit of tipsy giggles. "That's almost as bad as Mr. No-Fear over there. But Trevor's right, if that's really it you're doing pretty good."

Valerie had poured herself a third shot and walked outside just in time to hear Logan's answer and laughed. "Oh I'm next! Me next!" The shifter drowned the third shot and shut her eyes as the liquid went down. "Whooo! Alright..." Pulling out her block, she threw her head back laughing. "Never have I ever....kissed someone in the first fifteen minutes of meeting them!"

Maxine pulled a face at Logan's answer. "I agree with Charlie, seems like a cop out answer." But given the 'never have I ever' she took a drink.

Caterina on the other hand did not drink, she was tempted to ask who would kiss someone within fifteen minutes of meeting them, but bit her tongue.

"Never in fifteen minutes, nope," Charlotte shook her head. "But twenty minutes.... that's another story." She added with another giggle.

Heather raised an eyebrow. "That's a really low bar."

Demitri licked his lips and smiled. "Got me there." He lifted the beer to his lips and took a long swig. He had done things like that before. He had even went up to women and kissed them within the first second of meeting them.

Trevor shook his head. "Guess I'm safe from that one."

Smirking, Logan lifted his drink to his lip and took a sip.

Trevor glanced around the circle before realizing it was his turn again. It was more difficult this time, but he managed to choose a block on the side that only made the tower sway a little before steadying again. "Finish your drink" he read aloud. "Ha, that's easy enough." Placing the block atop the tower, he returned to his seat. The bottle he'd been nursing only had about a third left, and he lifted it to his lips, tipping it back and finishing in two swallows.

Valerie pouted realizing she didn't have a drink with her other than the empty glass of her shot. Looking around, she saw the beer that was on the floor next to Trevor and made her way over to grab one.

Reaching toward the tower again, Charlotte slid another block out and read it. "Gents take a drink. Sorry, boys." But she wasn't feeling very sorry as she stacked the block back on top.

Demitri nodded and tipped his beer bottle to his lips again, taking a swig.

Logan took a sip also without complaint.

Trevor was at a dilemma after finishing his last drink. "I might have to bow out of this game, unless you'll let me play with water. I can't have another unfortunately, I'm DD tonight."

Charlotte nodded sagely. "Water is acceptable, hydration is important."

Caterina gave a nod at Trevor's request. "I say that is fine, safety first after all." The tower was looking a bit more precarious, but with a little pit of poking, she found a good option and pulled it out. "Finish your drink. Alright, just going to put this back first." Her drink was just under half full, so once the brink was placed, she downed the rest.

With two votes in his favor, Trevor nodded his thanks and lifted a water bottle to take his sip from the last round.

Heather crossed her fingers as she approached the tower. No one else had passed yet, so she couldn't do it a second time. There was one block a third up that was an easy choice, and she slid it out. She groaned as she read the block. "I have to sit in the lap of the person to my right until my next turn." She thanked all that was holy that it was her right and not her left--where Demetri sat. "Cat, would you mind?" If it was anyone other than Cat or Max, she likely would have passed anyways. She placed the block carefully on the top of the pile.

Caterina considered for a moment. It seemed rather intimate, but this was for the sake of a game, so she adjust how she was sitting. "For you, Heather, I would not mind."

Heather nodded and sat gingerly on Cat's legs, her bottom forward almost to the other's knees.

Demitri watched as Heather read out her block and moved to sit on Caterina. If he was a human and didn't have such a sadistic mind, he might think it was adorable. But he didn't. He turned and grabbed the next block and read it out loud. "What's the best game you've ever played in the dark?" He smirked and tucked on the front of his teeth as he leaned back in his chair. "Hide and seek." Most might think the game was innocent fun, but not the way Demitri played it.

Once again, Maxine found herself weirded out by this man's answer. But it was her turn now. The tower was getting wobbly but she picked from near the top. "Alright, the tallest person has to drink," she called out, carefully placing the brick on the top. It continued to wobble, slightly, but didn't fall.

Demitri glanced around at the other's, knowing full well that he was one of the tallest. There weren't many people taller than him in town. He nodded and took another swig of his drink.

Heather took a childish joy in Demitri having to pay for being so ridiculously tall.

Logan noticed the tower's tilt when Maxine grabbed and placed her block back. With him being next, he thought he grabbed a block that would hold. The vampire couldn't have been more wrong. The moment he pulled the block 3/4 of the way, the tower fell. "My apologizes?" The man said with a chuckle still passing his lips.

Caterina peered around Heather at the mess of blocks. She wasn't sure Heather had to keep sitting on her lap now that the tower had fallen, but didn't say anything for the moment. "It was bound to happen. I guess it's your responsibility to rebuild it then. Round two, everyone?"

Heather snickered at the tower falling. She wasnt sure if that meant she would leave Cat's lap, but she stood up anyways and went back to her seat, too embarrassed to look at Cat.

Logan nodded and replied, "It's the least I could do..."

Trevor saw the blocks start to tip and winced as they came crashing down. “Better luck next time,” he laughed, before pushing himself to his feet. “ I think that’s it for me, better go collect my sister. Good game though. And hey, great party,” he added in Caterina’s direction. Before he could fully walk away he turned back and offered, “Anyone else need a ride home?” He glanced around the circle at the game participants, careful not to meet Charlotte’s eyes, to check if anyone else was leaving.

"Thank you for coming by. Text someone here when you get home safely, okay?" Caterina said after resettling herself in her seat.

Valerie waved at Trevor and smiled. "Thanks for coming!"

Charlotte said nothing, but waved slightly at Trevor as he passed. She gave it a little while before standing up, wobbling only slightly. "I need a refill. I'll bring some beer out if anyone wants any--Heather, did you want... whatever you had me put in the fridge?"

"I could use another drink," Caterina requested, seeing as she had to finish hers.

"I can go get the drinks." Demitri stood from the seat. "What is it that you guys want?"

"Tequila please!" Valerie said, winking at the stranger and taking a sip of her beer.

Heather waved her hand. " No thanks." She still had a lot left in this drink, and she did have to drive home later. For not the first time that night she wondered why she got involved in the drinking games. "Ever the gentleman," she said sarcastically to Demitri.

"Oh," Charlotte blinked, surprised by the man's offer. "Sure, thank you. There's a bottle of moscato on the counter still, that's mine if you could grab it. And then the beers are all over the fridge, I just put them wherever there was room." And with that she eased back into her seat.

Caterina looked at the man, and gave a nod. "I'll just take a glass of the chardonnay that's on the counter as well."

"Tequila for the lovely dark haired woman." Demitri offered the girl a smile and then glanced towards their host. "I'll bring the lot, don't worry." He then heard Heather and he rolled his eyes. "I'll bring you your drinks too, don't worry." He then made his way inside to grab everything they had asked for.

Heather interjected, "But I said no."

Valerie volunteered to go first and picked the first block her eyes set eyes on. Pulling it out was easy but reading it and not bursting into laughter was not. "Wh-what’s your favorite battery-operated t-toy?" The laughter soon came after the sentence finished. "Oh....there's just too many to choose from! If you know what I mean....." She added with a wink towards the crowd.

Maxine snickered at the answer and gave her own slow clap. "True that, girl."

Charlotte smirked and nodded. "Right on, Val, right on."

"Guess its my turn now," Maxine stood up and carefully pulled out a brick. "Most embarrassing thing you've ever had to buy....hmm I have definitely felt super judged and embarrassed about buying a pregnancy test, so I'll stick with that."

His arms filled with liquor of everything everyone wanted, he stepped back out of the house and heard what Maxine had said. Demitri moved around the circle, lowering what each person wanted to them. "There you go." He muttered. "And here..." He made sure to give everyone their beverage, smiling at each of them before sitting down with his own. Just another beer. "So what did I miss?"

Caterina stood as Maxine placed her block and pulled out another. "Say something romantic to the person on your left," she looked over to Heather. Well that was rather awkward. She took a beat to consider what to say. "Your sense of determination is inspiring and you are wicked smart." Was that too much? It was supposed to be romantic, not a pick up line. Face a bit red, she put the brick on the top and sat down. Quietly, she muttered a thanks to Demitri as she took a sip of her wine.

Val nodded her thanks to the stranger and poured herself another shot. Logan smiled softly at Cat's statement and took a sip of his own wine.

Heather shifted uncomfortably when she realized that it was going to be her. Cat was a very attractive woman and a friend, but it was crazy that this game was making them do stuff like this. She honestly smiled though at Caterina's compliment. "Thank you," she said before turning back to the front and taking a drink to hide whatever her face was trying to do.

After taking a sip of her wine, Caterina responded with a subdued, "of course." I mean it but didn't want to come off too strong or seem rattled in front of the others. Maybe she shouldn't keep drinking.

Heather was sure her luck couldn't get worse as she slid the next block out. "Which player would you like to be stranded on a desert island with?" she read aloud after confirming it didnt involve physical touch. "Maxine." She knew Maxine was a witch, which would be helpful, and was trustworthy as far as she knew.

Hearing the response, Maxine gave a response. "We'd have one hell of an island party," she joked before taking another sip of her drink.

Demitri listens and then when it's his turn, moved towards one of the blocks. He pulls and just when he thinks he was golden, the whole towel falls over and crashes to the ground. He frowns then lets out a sigh. "Don't everyone stand at once." He held his hands out. "I got it."

Maxine gave a shrug and took another drink. "Well, I mean, you did knock it over. I think I could still do one more round?"

Heather busts out laughing at Demitri's failure. Suddenly the entire night is worth it, and it only took--she checked the time and realized it was quite late. She stands and walks over to Demitri, then gives him a pat on the back. "Oof, almost had it there buddy." Then she kicks one of the blocks away from him. "Well, that's it from me for tonight. Goodbye everyone else." She heads towards the gate and waves at the group.

Logan chuckled at the man picking up the blocks and nods his goodbye to Heather. Valerie smiled and waved at Heather. "Bye!"

Caterina chuckles a little at the interaction and feels a slight bit sad Heather has to go, but gives a wave. "Text when you get home safe! Good night!"

Charlotte barely suppressed another giggle at Demitri's misfortune, but her glee seeped out as Heather announced her leave. "Aww, alright. It was good to see you! Have a good night!"

Demitri watched as Heather walked towards him and patted him on the back. It was the first contact she willingly gave him and he'd take it. It was a win for him, in his eyes. He watched as she kicked one of the blocks and if no one was around, he would have grabbed her by the arm and snapped at her. But he kept his cool and began stacking the blocks again. "Sweet dreams, Heather." He said in a soothing tone of voice and offered her a smile. Once he finished, he grabbed another block. "Imitate a pop or rock star." He rolled his eyes and grabbed his beer. "No thank you." And took a long swig.

Maxine gave a wave to Heather as she left. "Glad you came by! Night!" Her attention turned back to Demetri as he refused the challenge. "I thought you said nothing scares you? And you're turning down a simple challenge?"

"Oh booo! You're no fun stranger!" Valerie said and stuck her tongue out at him before taking another shot. You need to stop with those shots Val, she reminded herself.

"Too bad, I think the birthday girl needed a serenade," Charlotte added as Demitri passed up on his block. Now her turn, Charlotte carefully plucked a block near the middle and read it. "Youngest person drinks, and that is definitely not me."

Maxine shook her head, too. "That's not me either." But she still took another sip anyways. She had a ride home arranged.

"I think it might be one of our birthday girls, if I'm not mistaken," Caterina piped up.

Valerie looked around as others began to say if they were or weren't the youngest and was pleased when it appeared to be her. "Aaannnd that'll be meeeee!" The shifter began, her words slightly starting to slur. Not good, she thought but smiled at the crowd and held her shot glass up and drowned it.

Logan took a step forward and pulled out his block smirking at what it said. "Ladies, take a drink." The vampire then held up his glass of wine to them letting them drink first before drinking himself.

Charlotte raised her glass slightly before taking a drink, finishing off what little was left in the glass. She poured the remains of the bottle in her glass. "Remind me to switch to water after this is gone." She said to no one in particular, but mostly herself.

Caterina took another small sip. All of her drinks throughout the night had been pretty small, so she was feeling more than tipsy, but not wasted. "You've got it, Charlotte. I think I need some water, so I can grab you a glass. Anyone else?"

Maxine took another sip and was still feeling pretty fine. "I'll take a small glass, but only if you have enough hands to carry them all."

"OOoofff...." Val squinted at the tequila bottle and giggled. "Here goes nothing..." she mumbled and took another shot, this time feeling a rough burn in her throat. Once she finished, the shifter raised her hand, "Water...yes, pweatty please?"

Val knew it was her turn next but if it involved more drinking, the birthday girl was going to have to back out that round. Thankfully, as she pulled the block free and read it, the drinking was not meant for her this time. "Neighbors to my left and right, drink!"

Neighbors meant Maxine so she took another drink and was reconsidering how much she needed the water.

Before long Caterina walked back out with four glasses of water and passed them all out. "Alright, hopefully that should help prevent terrible hang overs."

"Cat you are a literal angel, thank you!" Charlotte declared as she accepted the water.

"Thanks," Maxine commented before moving to grab her own block. "Ladies drink, again. Good thing we all have waters now." With that she took a sip of water.

Val smiled at Cat and blew her a kiss. "Thank you!" And after hearing Maxine's block, the shifter was very glad to have the water in her hands as she took a sip also.

"The timing on that was incredible," Charlotte sighed, dutifully taking a sip of wine followed by a drink of water.

"You're welcome, I know I can be," she winked.Caterina took a long drink from her water glass, too and moved to grab another brick. "Let's hope its not another of those," she muttered. "Gentlemen drink this time."

Demitri smirked but said nothing as he took a sip of his beer.

Logan chuckled watching those who didn't have that much of a tolerance drink and then took a drink himself, emptying the glass of wine before refilling it again with what was left of the bottle he held.

Demitri moved forward once everyone was done drinking and pulled a block. “Everyone drinks again.” He announced and took another swig, finishing the bottle.

Caterina took a long drink from her water, nearly finishing it. "There aren't even that many drinking ones in there," she commented.

Valerie bit her lip hard looking at the Tequila bottle in her hand versus the beer in the other. Beer this time Val, she told herself and took a small sip of it before quickly drinking some water.

On the other hand, Maxine switched back to her alcoholic drink and took another drink. "Guess we just got lucky," she shrugged.

Charlotte took another drink of her wine, and another drink of water. "Are you sure about that?" She laughed. "Could've fooled me."

Logan laughed as the blocks continued to involve drinking and finished his bottle as well. "Two birthday woman, double the alcohol."

Charlotte approached the tower carefully, sending up prayers to whatever was listening for a block that didn't hand out blanket shots. She slid the first block out with ease. "And it's... nothing, 'pick another block'." Safe for now. Placing the block back on top, she went after one lower on the tower. "'Drink some water', yeah I can definitely do that." She said with a grin, sitting back down and taking a big drink from the glass Cat gave her. "That was lucky."

Val giggled at Charlie's luck and nodded as she drank more water while watching Logan pick out his block.

Logan carefully reaching out, this time paying a bit more attention to which looked like the looser blocks, he pulled one out and read it out loud. "Ever been skinny-dipping? Well well, aren't we the curious ones." Smirking he placed the block on top as he answered, "Indeed I have."

Valerie narrowed her eyes at the towers as if she could spell the blocks to be nice to her. Slowly reaching out, the woman pulled out a block and groaned out loud this time. "Oh shit I'm in trouble....and gonna need more limes. It says, Double shots!" Val started to giggle a little as she cheated and took one shot and only swallowed half of the second.

Caterina looked at Val a bit nervously. She had drank a lot. "Do you need more water, Val? And I hope you're planning to stay the night tonight because I doubt you are in any condition to drive."

Meanwhile Maxine approached the tower and pulled another block. "Seven minutes in heaven or hell with the person on my right...well I'm in a very committed relationship, so I have to be a party pooper this time. But could play seven minutes of grabbing you something to drink, or eat?"

Looking at the person to Maxine's right, Charlotte thought that was a good idea. "Yeah, I think she's gonna need it. Maybe some excedrin or ibuprofen to get ahead of tomorrow's migraine?"

Val laughed and mumbled, "Wwhat are you saaaying? I'm not....drunk drunk....just, don't ask me to walk in a straight line...."

"Probably the best move, there. I have some ibuprofen just under the counter." Caterina stood to take her turn and pulled out a brick reading "kiss the person on your left. Well Charlotte, are you game for a kiss?"

Maxine gave a quick "Uh-huh, well, you may not be yet, but you just took two shots, might take a few more minutes to hit you. I'm going to get you more water." She turned and walked inside to grab a few items for Valerie.

The shifter pouted as she sat there like a little girl and looked at Charlie and Cat. "That's not fwair.....I don't even get a kissss...." But Valerie still smiled as she watched her other friends continue on with their game.

Charlotte tore her attention away from Maxine's mothering to Caterina's proposition. "Of course," She answered with a grin, standing up (and up higher on her tip toes) to meet the taller woman's in a kiss. She only broke it off to look over at Val and laugh. "Poor birthday girl deprived of her birthday kisses, hang on--!"

Caterina leaned down a bit for the kiss, but also became distracted by Valerie's pouting. "Val, its your birthday, if you want a kiss, just ask," she teased.

Valerie giggled and smiled innocently at the women in front of her and nodded, "I....I want kissessss! Pwease...and thank you...."

Logan meanwhile walked over behind Valerie and slowly moved the Tequila bottle away from her and placed it somewhere out of Val's sight.

Maxine soon returned with the larger glass of water and some ibuprofen. "Drink more water, and have these by your side. Trust me, I've seen too many people regret birthdays due to too much drinking."

"Hey me first, we weren't finished here," Charlotte teased Cat, pulling her back down. "She can wait."

Caterina blinked out of surprise. Was Charlotte very drunk too? "You did get robbed a proper kiss," with that, she leaned in to give her a better kiss. Not just a stage kiss

"Kisses!" Valerie shouted clapping at Cat's and Charlie's kiss. She then smiled at Maxine and looked at the water that was offered to her and the pills. "But...I'm not dwunk....."

Seeing Charlotte and Caterina going in for the kiss, Maxine discreetly took a picture.

Satisfied, Charlotte garbbed Cat's hand and pulled her over by Val. "And now the birthday girl gets her kisses!" She declared, releasing Cat and squatting down beside the seated shapeshifter and giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Happy birthday, Val!"

Caterina followed Charlotte's lead and gave Valerie a kiss on the cheek as well. "We should probably get you to bed. How does that sound?"

Valerie smiled perfectly drunk now and accepting the kisses gracefully with her eyes closed. "Puurfect! Thank youuuu." She said opening her eyes and leaning her head on Charlie's shoulder and then Cat's before looking over at Maxine and raising an eyebrow. "And ww...what about youuuu? No bwirthday kiss?" And then the shifter pouted once more teasingly.

Logan couldn't hold back his laughter now as he watched the poor 27 year old wanting all the kisses she could get. But for now, all the vampire did was begin to pick up the empty cups that had been left nearby.

Maxine paused for a moment. But the jenga block had implied as much. "Alright, alright. It is your birthday after all." She walked over and placed a kiss on Valerie's forehead before giving a wave to everyone. "My ride is here, so I gotta head out. Do you have a safe way home, Charlie? Or are you crashing here too?"

Pleased with Maxine's actions, Valerie smiled and then accepted Cat's offer by nodding and then answered for Charlie without thinking, "Charlie...is sleeping over no?" Val, shut up, her thoughts told her.

Charlotte laughed as Val beckoned Maxine over, too. She squeezed Val's shoulder and stepped back, extracting herself from the huddle and moving toward Maxine to give her a hug goodbye. "Thanks, but I should be good. Wyatt or Quentin should still be up to get me, but I'm gonna stick around and help clean up a bit." Val's comment caught her ear as well and she laughed again. "And probably help get her situated, too."

Maxine nodded and gave a wave as she walked towards the gate. A car was there waiting for her. "This was a pretty fun party. Night everyone."

"Good night! Text me when you get home!" Charlotte called after her.

"Good night, get home safe!" Caterina gave her thanks to Charlotte for helping. "I think we should first get Valerie situated for bed."

"I should probably head out also ladies. Most of the yard is clean-not too many cups out except those around the campfire. Thank you for the invite Caterina," Logan smiled politely and then looked at Valerie offering the woman a smile also, "Happy Birthday Valerie."

After Logan said his goodbye to Maxine and the others, Valerie frowned a little at the word 'bed' but didn't complain or object as she swallowed the pills Maxine had handed her and drank more water. "But...I'm not tired." The shifter lied knowing her body said otherwise.

"Of course, thanks for stopping by! Drive safe." Caterina looked down at her friend with a small smile. "You may not feel tired, but I bet the second you lay down, you'll fall asleep."

"Yeah, it'll be easier to clean up the rest later," Charlotte agreed. "Or Logan's gonna make that job a little easier, awesome. Thanks! And have a good night!" She called after him. Turning back to Valerie, she echoed Cat's assurances. "As soon as your head hits the pillow, you're gonna sleep like a rock and it's gonna feel great." Until she woke up in the morning, of course.

Valerie frowned but nodded at the women's words. "Ohhhhhkay...." she mumbled smiling gently then and following Cat's and Charlie's lead for getting ready for bed. Sure the shifter would feel wonderful as her body hit the bed but Val was going to wish a thing called "morning" didn't exist the next day.

#event: madival bday2020 #caterina singh #charlotte kingsley #demitri #heather payne #logan cree #maxine beauchamp #trevor wells #valerie bianchi #xavier bennett

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