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Post by NEELANJAN MARTIN on Nov 18, 2013 21:12:35 GMT -8
He'd been about fourteen the last time he'd gone to an actual party.
No, his father's corporate dos didn't count. Not when everyone around him had been gently sipping wine, mingling in a decidedly civilized manner and laughing at jokes that weren't funny at all. They were parties of a sort, yes, but people were supposed to have fun and let loose when they were there and while some of the people there might have been having fun, Neil could hardly call a corporate party letting loose at all. Drink, but don't get too drunk. Be friendly, but not too friendly. Smile, but not too widely.
Control was the name of the game and Neil played it all too well. He'd been awful the one time he got drunk, and wasn't planning to try it again any time soon. But company culture and fitting in dictated that he should at least attempt to attend one of the intern parties, and there was a 50s-themed one that he'd heard people talk about in the office. A fellow intern had invited him, he'd said yes, and soon he'd texted Kris, asking her to come along. They did say he could have a plus one after all, so why not?
So that was how he found himself at the side of a large room in Google headquarters, dressed in suspenders and a bow tie. He sipped quietly at his Coke, taking note of the hustle and bustle inside as his colleagues mingled. Perhaps he should go up and talk to someone... Then again, he wasn't very good at making actual connections. You know, being friends. He set his drink down, turning to Kris with a small smile.
"Want to go and get some more food?"
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22nd May 2012, 10:30 p.m.
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Post by KRISTEN MAYOR on Nov 18, 2013 22:31:07 GMT -8
Let's get one thing straight: Kris did not like parties.
Even when she went with a friend, parties just had this way of making her feel even more self-conscious than she already was. She couldn't even strike up one-on-one conversations with strangers; putting her in a room full of them was a recipe for disaster. (At least, in her mind it was.) She had a pretty miserable time at parties, and would typically just stay on the sidelines for what she hoped was an acceptable amount of time before excusing herself to make her escape. Or, if it was a house party, you could find her making friends with the resident animals until, again, she could excuse herself to make her escape.
But when Neil asked her to go with him to some intern party at Google, she found it was kind of impossible for her to say no. First of all, costume parties were cute as heck, and second of all, she was going with Neil. How bad could it possibly be, right? So she had winced, sucked in a breath, and texted him back with gritted teeth.
(And had promptly panicked and, not knowing what to do, gone to Ani for help, who proved to be absolutely no help whatsoever. Thanks a bunch, Ani, really appreciate the help.)
After a little frantic running around, Kris had managed to get her hands on a pretty polka dot dress that fit in with the theme- and, thankfully, wasn't that expensive. And with the sweet ass necklace she found to go with it, she actually felt... a little cute? Maybe? Possibly? Nah, just kidding, but she was at the very least presentable to the world.
Thankfully for her, Neil didn't appear to be much of a party person either. They stood off to one side as Neil sipped at his coke, and she happily helped herself to some of the finger food they had left out on the tables. While usually she wouldn't have even glanced at the food because she was so nervous, with him she actually didn't mind scarfing down as much as she could carry on a plate. Wait, that wasn't very polite-
Neil turned to her with a small smile and a question, and Kris blinked at him once before swallowing down her mouthful of food. She hadn't had anything to eat all day, but now that she was here she was starving. "Yes please." She replied, grinning at him in what she sincerely hoped was a pleasant way and not in the least bit constipated.
She was going to try her best to be a good (friend) date, honest! |
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Post by NEELANJAN MARTIN on Nov 19, 2013 13:58:09 GMT -8
He wasn't sure how she'd react to his being so awkward in large crowds. Sure, he could probably mingle and socialize, and could probably do it with some success. However, with the large amount of alcohol that was inevitably being served underage, he wasn't quite sure that he wanted to. He knew that Google was pretty lax, and some of his colleagues would inevitably be wasted by the end of the night. But nobody was getting piss-drunk just yet. Everyone was going to pretend to exercise some self control. This was a company party after all, but he could see people starting to get a little tipsy, and this was a scene all too familiar, a snapshot returning to haunt him from his younger days.
Neil swirled his Coke around in the red paper cup.
Ah, childhood.
"Food sounds good," he said, getting up from where he was leaning. His tone was surprisingly flat, free from its usual exclamations and cheer. It almost seemed as though he'd forgotten to pretend for a moment. Somehow, he couldn't help but wonder whether Kris would think any less of him for not enjoying a setting like this. He knew he did come across as charming most of the time, but a party was completely different. Turning towards his friend, he managed to squeeze out a smile.
"Looks like you and I will be spending the night raiding the food table." Neil slowly started strolling towards the direction of the best smell in the room. Waiting for his friend to follow after him, he lowered his voice, making a small admission:
"I'm really not a party person."
He paused once again, leaning in and saying in a voice that was even softer:
"I'm really only here because I figured it'd be rude to keep saying no." He gulped. Oh no, he was going to have to admit he was wrong about something. Again. Out loud--
"I- I'm sorry for roping you into this-- I thought it might be more fun if we were both dressed up. And here together."
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Post by KRISTEN MAYOR on Nov 19, 2013 16:15:38 GMT -8
She had noticed that he wasn't very comfortable from the start, but decided not to ask about it. It wasn't like she was exactly a social butterfly herself- so Neil didn't like parties. So what? She didn't either. But she was there because he asked her to and they were friends, so she was just going to grin and bear it for now. After all, they weren't going to be there forever; they could make their escape soon, and go get some real food or something! That'd be nice, because this finger food crap wasn't going to cut it for Kristen.
Neil was forcing himself to smile at her, which only made her frown in return. Didn't he know he didn't have to fake it for her? If he wasn't having a good time, he wasn't having a good time. There wasn't any shame in admitting it. She wasn't exactly one to talk, though- her forced smiles and tense shoulders spoke of just how uncomfortable she really was. Still, she did smile genuinely as she replied, with a lilt in her voice, "Excellent." Spending the entire time raiding the food table honestly wasn't that bad an idea at all.
Kris followed after Neil as he began to walk away, before her lowered his voice and admitted that he wasn't a party person. And like she was? She very nearly snorted out loud, but managed to stop herself as he continued to speak, quietly, about how he didn't actually want to be there either. About how he was only there because he felt obligated. Oh, she knew all about that. The pressure to show up just for the sake of showing up, even though you could think of a thousand different places you'd rather be than there-
"There's nothing to apologize for, silly." She said lightly, glancing up at him with raised brows and a tiny grin. "If I really didn't want to come, I would have said I had developed a sudden case of the black plague and left you to fend for yourself." Which was true. So very, very true. Maybe not the black plague, but she would have found something equally deadly and awful to keep her as far away from here as possible. She paused, bit her lip, then asked, softly, as she met his gaze, "What friends are for, right?"
Because let's face it: she was only doing this for him.
"Neil!"
Before they could continue their conversation, a grinning boy rushed up to them, a drink in each hand as he quickly approached them. There was something decidedly off about him- the way he moved, and the slight slur in his speech, said that he was a little more than tipsy already. "Here, I got you something to drink!" He declared loudly, trying to pass off one of the cups to Neil. Oh boy, so it begins. Kris steeled herself, before jumping in, saying, "But Neil's driving! Here, I'll take it." The drink was given to her instead, and then their drunk benefactor was wandering away, looking to bestow his alcoholic gifts on the next person he could find.
She let out a small sigh of relief, before turning to Neil with a worried frown, "Sorry." She apologized, glancing down at the cup in her hand and making a face. She hadn't been planning on drinking at all while they were here, but it wouldn't hurt to just nurse this one, right? Plus if anyone asked, she already had a drink. Yes, a foolproof plan! And it wasn't like she was going to get drunk off just one drink; her tolerance was better than that. |
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Post by NEELANJAN MARTIN on Nov 20, 2013 19:31:49 GMT -8
He smiled again, a far more genuine one this time. "That's very true," he murmured in response. She wouldn't have forced herself to come if they weren't friends from the start; it was a matter of honesty and trust after all. It was why he allowed himself to drop his guard around her for a moment, frowning as he glanced about the vicinity.
"Yeah, I agree. Let's just stay here for as long as we need to, okay? Then maybe we could go find a real fifties-style diner with a jukebox or something and have a real party." Somehow, that seemed like the far more appealing alternative. He was about to head off again, to go and perhaps pretend to act like he wanted to be here, when a voice called out from behind him:
"Neil!"
"Ed!" The bright grin was back on his face as quickly as it had left it. The beaming Asian boy was bright red, and Neil could tell that he wasn't exactly sober at this stage. Asian flush was what he'd heard it get called. "How's it going?" Neil asked, though he could tell that the going was very good. Good for Ed indeed.
"I got you something to drink!"
Oh.
The male froze as his colleague handed the drink over to him. His grin slipped once again as the red cup was practically shoved into his face, and he took a step back. No. Nope, nope, not this time. "Uh," he began, actually stuttering for a moment. "I'll ta--"
"But Neil's driving! Here, I'll take it."
Well, thank goodness for good friends.
Neil nodded as Kris practically gulped the drink down. It looked like she for one had no issues with alcohol consumption. Which was perfectly fine by him, but he wasn't about to get wasted, especially not when he had to drive Kris home.
"No, don't apologize," he said as his friend turned to him. "I don't actually drink-- I was thinking of taking it and pretending to chug it, but it's okay. You saved me from having to tell a little white lie there, so I've got to thank you."
Another pause.
"I'm not a very fun drunk to be around."
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Post by KRISTEN MAYOR on Nov 22, 2013 14:40:27 GMT -8
The stutter didn't go unnoticed; it wasn't like Neil to lose his cool like that, but Kris didn't pursue it. After all, he didn't want to talk to her about that junk anyway. So instead, Kris took a sip of the drink, and immediately made a face at the taste. Woah, that stuff was strong. How in the world did they get away with serving it at a party with minors? She took another sip as Neil told her not to apologize, explaining how he didn't drink. Oh, well, that was good- for a moment she had been worried that she was overstepping herself.
"Happy to help." She grinned up at him, saying, "And technically it's illegal for you to be drinking anyway, so think of this as me keeping you out of trouble." Of course, that wasn't stopping most of the party-goers- and it certainly hadn't stopped her when she was a teenager- but Kris wasn't about to point out that flaw in logic.
She waited for him to continue as he paused, before finally telling her that he wasn't a fun drunk. That kind of took her aback, but then again, was it really that surprising? People changed when they had alcohol in their system. She paused herself for a moment, and then finally replied, "Then I'll just have to make sure you don't get drunk, right?" Another smile, another sip of her drink. It took some getting used to, but she was already liking the flavor.
Call her stupid or brave or whatever you want, but in that split second Kris did something she was probably going to regret. Without really thinking, she reached out for Neil's hand and tugged it gently. "C'mon, let's get some food." She said lightly, leading the way once again towards the food tables on the other side of the room. |
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Post by NEELANJAN MARTIN on Nov 26, 2013 23:25:06 GMT -8
He heaved an inward sigh of relief as she stated that it was okay. He was fine, he didn't have to pretend. She was okay with this, okay with him. Neil had never felt insecure around other people in the past, and this shouldn't have been any different-- but he was out of his comfort zone, and feeling rather backed into a corner and very small.
"Thank you, kind charitable miss." Neil chirped, taking the hand that was offered without a second thought, and starting to trot to the table along with her. It was probably best that they didn't get lost in this mess, after all. He'd held her hand as he led her through the throngs of people in Disneyland, no? It was just a matter of safety and simply not wanting to be separated. Best not to overthink a safety gesture. You never knew, after all!
"Nice that you're looking out for me like this. It'll protect me from any harm if a car comes crashing through a window, won't it? Some sort of divine protection?" He wiggled his eyebrows, even if he wasn't sure whether she'd notice.
But someone did notice, though. A colleague caught Neil's eye from the other end of the room, and the older man gave him a wink as their gazes met. He felt his heart lurch for a moment, before returning the wink with one of his own-- what else was he supposed to do? Smile? Say nothing? Not respond?
Nope, he was going to fake it till he made it. They could think what they wanted about what was going on between him and Kris. As long as he knew the truth, he would be perfectly okay.
(Not that he really knew the truth, but he'd always been fairly good at self-delusion.)
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Post by KRISTEN MAYOR on Nov 27, 2013 11:59:51 GMT -8
"Welcome." She replied, trying not to think too much about how they were holding hands again. This better not become a recurring thing; it was already embarrassing enough as is. And he better not make a comment about it either, or she was never speaking to him ever ag-
Crap, too late.
She wasn't going to blush this time though, she absolutely refused, even if he couldn't actually see her face; it was the principle of the thing! Holding hands definitely didn't give you divine protection from getting hit by a car or anything of the sort, but if she pointed it out to him he'd just make the exact same argument he did the last time he held her hand- which had been ridiculous, fyi.
So this time, she agreed with him. "Yup. It'll keep you safe from everything, including flying cars and wicked witches and evil stepmothers." Why not, right? It was fine to hold hands here- the room was so crowded, no one was going to assume anything from them holding hands. And besides, she definitely didn't want to lose him and wind up alone in a room full of strangers who were at least 80% smarter than her. That was a nightmare in itself.
(It was probably a good thing she didn't see the little exchange between Neil and his colleague, otherwise she would have suddenly realized that she forgot to water the cactus and needed to rush home immediately so she could die in peace and away from this hellhole.)
They finally made it to the food table, and Kris immediately abandoned holding Neil's hand in exchange for helping herself to what was spread out on the table. There wasn't anything really substantial for her to eat, so she was stuck nibbling on toothpick food until they left. "I can't wait till we go get some real food." She mumbled to Neil quietly, a small smile on her lips as she popped a deviled egg into her mouth. Not very filling, but still very tasty! |
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Post by NEELANJAN MARTIN on Nov 28, 2013 10:53:20 GMT -8
Then again, Neil was known for taking the impossible and making it somewhat applicable to daily life. Wasn't that the principle of being a computer scientist, after all? He built things, shaped them, warped the very fabric of reality. Part of the fun of being a computer scientist was that he made his own rules, even if these rules sounded bizarre at first, insane after a while. She should have learned this by now-- he didn't confine himself to the boundaries of the real world.
It was simply more fun that way.
Besides, it seemed like she was catching on. Where she would once have protested she was agreeing with him, even if he knew that she knew that he was making this all up on the fly. At least she'd figured out how to deflect his attacks, or to prevent any more from zooming her way, or so she thought. It was okay-- Neil could always use another angle. It was all about the right apertures, and finding her in that Kodak moment. There wasn't much that you couldn't boil down to technical terms if you tried. The two of them finally completed their trek to the food table, and Neil started piling up on the cocktail sausages,
"Yep, can't wait either," he said as he popped one into his mouth. "I can't wait for an actual jukebox and having some real fun. Now we're going to have to wait for the opportune time to make the right exit--"
"Neil is that your girlfriend?
The dark-haired male turned around to face one of his other colleagues, a giggling girl whose face was flushed as red as a baboon's bottom. "She's cute!" the girl exclaimed, extending a hand to shake Kris'. What's it like going out with someone like him?
Welp.
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Post by KRISTEN MAYOR on Dec 1, 2013 16:54:53 GMT -8
Hmm, yeah, jukeboxes. Fun. Truth be truth, she was only half-listening to what Neil was saying about exits; she was a little more interested in stuffing her face and silencing her growling stomach, and deviled eggs were all she could think about at that second. But still, obviously they couldn't leave soon- they had only been there for a little while, after all. Although, maybe he could use the excuse of driving her home to bow out early? It wouldn't exactly be hard, most of the party-goers seemed to be on their way to getting totally smashed anyway. Or at least, a very loud minority.
Like the blushing girl who was making her presence known to the two of them-
"Neil is that your girlfriend?"
girlfriend
g i r l f r i e n d
Okay.
So.
She probably should have seen this coming from at the very least a mile away.
Kris being Kris, she immediately began choking on the deviled egg she was eating. To clear her throat, she took a giant gulp of her drink, before remembering that it was pretty strong alcohol. The end result of this entire fiasco was that she was no longer choking on the egg, but now she was slightly dizzy from her drink. Not to mention her face had flushed a shade of red to match the drunk girl's- and not because of the alcohol, mind you. It was because of the assumption that she was dating Neil. And being told she was cute didn't exactly help things either. This was a disaster. Wahoo.
The brunette glanced at her friend out of the corner of her eye, before finally beginning to stammer, her face crimson, "W-We're not- I mean-" The other girl held out her hand for her, and Kris nervously shook it, glancing back up at Neil and practically pleading with her eyes for help. No, wait, this was Neil, he wasn't going to be of any help at all. Actually, he was probably going to make things worse. C'mon, you could do this Kristen! Just speak up!
"I-I'm not his girlfriend." She finally managed to spit out, really wishing she could run and hide right about now. But nope, she was stuck getting humiliated in front of her best friend by some drunk girl. And almost as an after thought, she added in a mumble, "And I'm not cute." Even if she couldn't help but think she might look a little nice tonight. Not that she was going to admit that to herself, never mind a complete (and drunken) stranger. |
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Post by NEELANJAN MARTIN on Dec 3, 2013 15:34:21 GMT -8
For the second time that day, Neil found himself completely speechless for a second. A hot flush on his cheeks indicated that he might have even pinked a little, and he turned away slightly, his brow furrowing a little. It was one thing for there to be a nonverbal exchange that might or might not have been agreement. But he hated having to confirm or deny things, and this was verging far too close into territory where he had to give a solid answer.
Computer scientists were supposed to be good with solid answers, yes. They were supposed to be able to measure distances and scale worlds. Then again, Neil had always been adept and twisting and turning his words, warping things so that they would suit him. It was just all in the name of science, right? As Kris began to choke on the egg that she'd been eating, he darted over and gave her a solid crap on the back, though it seemed like he didn't need it as she downed a large portion of her drink in one go.
"Sure you'd dismiss it like that?"
He turned to Kris and gave her a wink, his insides lurching slightly when he realized just what he'd done. Okay, no. He'd be fine. He teased her all the time. There had been the holding hands and the jibing around; this was just a natural progression from that. The girl giggled, evidently fairly inebriated, seemingly satisfied with Kris and Neil's responses.
"Good luck with Neil! You should bring her along to the after party later, by the way," she said as she grabbed a couple of cocktail sausages from the buffet table. "I heard it's going to be fun,"
"And you are pretty cute. Don't sell yourself short," she continued, turning to Kris. "Isn't she, Neil?"
"Of course she is," the brunette chuckled. What else was he supposed to say, really? It was a trap question, if you asked him. Then again, it wasn't such a trap if he was falling into it rather willingly. "I think she's adorable."
Oh yes, he was going to be killed by the end of the evening. He didn't really care.
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Post by KRISTEN MAYOR on Dec 7, 2013 8:11:37 GMT -8
Remind her to never do Neil any favors ever again for the rest of her life. The question he directed at her made her freeze in place, then look up and give him the the best glare she could muster. "Yes." Because it was true that they weren't dating? Of course she'd dismiss it? Whatever joke Neil was trying to make, it wasn't very funny- unless he was teasing her again, which would make sense since this was Neil. Plus the fact that he was winking at her just added to the effect that he was only teasing, as per usual for him.
It didn't really seem to matter, anyway, since the girl giggled and began loading up on the sausages. 'Good luck with Neil' lady you don't even know the half of it. Kris replied in a complete deadpan, "Thanks." I'm going to need it. Especially with the way this party was going. She snuck another sip of her drink as the girl continued jabbering, mentioning an after party they were invited to. Too bad they probably weren't going to show up. Woops.
Finally, the girl was taking her leave, but not before making one last remark on Kris' cuteness. And getting Neil to comment on it too. And once again, Kris proceeded to choke on her drink, coughing even as the girl was walking away with her cocktail sausages. "I'm not." She sputtered feebily more to herself than to anyone else, as her face flushed red once again. She glared up at Neil again as he chuckled, before punching him in the arm hard as hard as she could.
"I'm not. And you suck." She mumbled, before downing the rest of her drink in one go. She was going to need more alcohol if they were staying at this party any longer. One more conversation like that and she was going to walk home, food or no food. Neil could just tough it out all alone in this sea of drunk people. See if she cared! Because she doesn't! Not in the slightest! Not even a little!
(Haha of course she did, that's why she was here.) |
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Post by NEELANJAN MARTIN on Dec 10, 2013 17:28:17 GMT -8
He knew that he was digging his own grave, but yet he couldn't help but go deeper and deeper. Every remark, every statement that came out of his mouth seemed to be some sort of jibe, some form of flirtation. But he couldn't quite help it. He couldn't quite help himself. It was just too much fun, even if he had a gut feeling that this was screwing himself over. He was like a curious puppy chasing a bouncing ball, regardless or not whether it would mean it would lead him down a ditch. Though her next action did make him raise a brow of concern.
"Sure you want to drink it all that fast?" And he meant that in the most literal way possible. People-- people lost control over themselves when they were drunk, or even a little tipsy. They didn't know what they were doing, and while there was nothing wrong with enjoying your alcohol he didn't want her to end up doing something she was going to later regret. Unless it had to do with him teasing her, which was where he wanted her to sow all her doubts and sorrows. Neil took another bite of a cocktail sausage.
"While we're at it, what... What makes you think you aren't adorable?" He had to admit he was curious. This was going to be an interesting conversation, though perhaps this wasn't the right place and time to have it.
"Shall we start heading out?"
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