2007-04-07: Abandon All Sanity, All Ye Who Enter Here

Starring:

Elena_icon.gif Ramon_icon.gif Jaden_icon.gif Gene_icon.gif Eric_icon.gifJane_icon.gif Lachlan_icon.gif Randall_icon.gif Cass_icon.gif Benjamin_icon.gif

Guest Starring:

The Mayor, The Governor, Laurence and Vidalia Lancaster, Stormtroopers, R2-D2, the Bunny from Alice and Wonderland, and Mary J. Blige

Summary: Jaden's company, EvoSoft, hosts a charity benefit for a currently unnamed medical facility for the more indigent parts of New York's populace. Since this is Jaden's party, plenty of shenanigans ensue.

Date It Happened: April7, 2007

WARNING: This log is rated UC. For Uber Crack.

Abandon All Sanity, All Ye Who Enter Here


The Crystal Pavilion, New York City West Side

The Crystal Pavilion is on the West Side waterfront of New York, overlooking the bay on top of one of the hill-ier areas of New York City. It is a new design, with an art-deco feel and plenty of glass that made looking out in the cool night clear as….well, crystal. The architect himself was in attendance, in fact this venue was supposed to be off limits until it was -done- done according to the man's specifications. But no one refused JADEN CAIN, multi- billionaire, and so was able to make a special exception tonight and have the Crystal Pavilion debut by hosting the EvoSoft Benefit for the philanthropic medical facility that Jaden has to name.

….alright so it wasn't Jaden who did the convincing. Candy Cain, however, strikes a very convincing chord when she wants it to.

The main pavilion itself is a large, open space, with carefully arranged tables for people who want to sit and socialize. There are servers milling around with silver platters full of canapes of various kinds, as well as wine and champagne. There are three open bars, and a stage mounted up right in front. People are already there, New York's social elite mingling with those who got in on a 25 dollar donation. Tuxes are pressed, jewels shine, even the mayor of New York, several well-known Broadway names, and various Wall Street executives make an appearance. There is also, of course, security.

There is an amp, drumset, and other musical instruments mounted on stage though, which may or may not be a touch worrisome. The hall is also decorated tastefully, a "winter wonderland" sort of feel with crystals from the lighting fixtures hanging from above, and the lighting a soft white-and-blue-and-purple scheme.

It promises to be a very posh evening.

Unless something crazy happens.

Oh there is, as well, a giant ice sculpture. Of Scooby Doo in a tux, with a giant mile-high sandwich between his paws and looking like he's about to eat it. The tail is carved in such a way that it slides around to drop into a shot glass….or a mouth, if you're into that sort of thing.

Clearly -SOMEONE- insisted on this addition. It certainly wasn't the event planner's idea.

Ramon had called over to Cass to figure out what color corsage to buy, because…he's old fashioned that way. He brings her in a rented limo, wearing a rented tux, and had opened the door for her and offered her his arm, which is how they arrive in the room. His left eyebrow twitches just a tad — its clear the last time he was anywhere quite this posh it was because he was helping to set up the sound and light show.

While Ramon is living it up with a night on the town, ten minutes before the proceedings…

"Elena thank you SO much for giving us a hand," Sam Jones says, giving her friend a grateful look as her friend changes behind the changing screen in her room. "I'm really grateful, I can't believe the PLAGUE obliterated like….half our catering team for tonight."

"It's no problem….what IS this thing anyway?"

"It's what all the female servers have to wear for this thing. Men wear white, the girls wear black."

"I see."

Pause.

"Oh my god."

"What?"

"Sam. There's no way. NO WAY."

"It's not SO BAD, it's like….what waitresses in Las Vegas casinos wear!"

"You can't be serious! I…I'm CATHOLIC."

"You're a dancer, dear. Flaunt it."

"ARGH. I REFUSE. What sort of party is this anyway???"

"Some benefit. For….that hotshot CEO. The one in the papers. Jay Kay?"

"……Jaden Cain?"

"Yeah, apparently he picked the uniforms…"

There is nothing else from Elena, save for a resounding FACEPALM.

Not attached to anyone here in particular, but present the same because it serves some charitable purpose, Doctor Jane Forrest has broken out one of her little black dresses. It's knee length and exposes just the barest hint of cleavage in front, with matching two inch heel shoes. Her hair is neatly pinned up in the back as she moves among the people here assembled, trying not to play the society game her parents introduced her to some several years before while managing not to be impolite. One hand holds a glass of champagne from which she occasionally sips, and from time to time her eyes settle on the stage. There be musical intruments on it, and thus is where she would much rather be.

Quite impressed with Ramon's attention to detail and thoughtfulness, Cass steps out of the limo and graciously takes his arm. The corsage is the perfect shade of red rose to contrast with her deep silky green dress. It's long and cuts low in the back. With her hair curled and pulled away from her face with another, smaller rose and dangly teardrop (almost certainly fake) diamond earrings, she looks quite the lady. If it weren't for the fact that the spaghetti straps the tattoo on her upper arm. She grins at Ramon. "Thanks for this," she says in a low tone. "Honestly. You look quite dashing." And the party is just what she needs to get her mind off of more serious matters. "I saw this requires champagne."

This is ridiculous to Gene, wearing a tux for a party. He wears one though, a basic ensemble in the classic white and black style. It was the cheapest thing that Eric would let him get away with. Gene has the money to buy nice things, but he'd rather let the money go to personal projects than styling threads. The polished black shoes are too tight, the close too odd feeling for Gene's liking. This isn't like denim soft cotton. And if he gets a stain on this stuff, it's like a two hundred dollar fee. He could buy a dog for that much. Shuffling his shoe into the grass, he looks about. Talking on the phone to who may or may not be Eric as he is driven over, Gene looks out to see all the important people that are getting out. This is going be lame, he thinks. "Do I really have to be here? Seriously, I'm gunna do something to make myself look stupid, everyone will laugh, and I'm gunna have to see the company shrink again. His voice is annoying too," Gene whispers in a pitiful manner as he makes his way out from the cab, unavoidable defeat palpable in voice. Whatever Eric says, Gene gives a tired sigh. "Fine, I see how it is. I'll see you when I get in."

Thankfully, Gene has brought in something to make his night at least vaguely enjoyable. What would that be? The sound of 'beew bwip bwip' comes as Gene pulls out a remote from his pocket that seems a little larger and complex than a Robo-Sapein. But this is no Robo-Sapien that Gene pulls out from the other seat. This is… R2-D2. A full-size R2-D2. After struggling to set it on the sidewalk, Gene goes to the trunk in order to get the drink tray from Return of the Jedi as well as a magnetic bowtie, placing the accessories upon his date to the party. Gene pilots the machine to make its way over using the remote. There we go! If this won't attract the ladies and make an awesome first impression on people, Gene doesn't know what will.

2 Hours Ago…

"SHAG! SHAG WAKE UP!" Jaden Cain busts into The Basement with all of That 70s Show Kelso Flair! He runs a hand through his hair and looks around the messy place of residence. He frowns, "Shaggy?"
"Duuuude?" The voice comes from underneath a pile of clothes. Soon enough a familiar green t-shirt is tossed out of the way and Shane "Shaggy" Andrews pops his scruffy shaven face up from underneath. "Wha?"
"It's time!"
"Time for what, dude?"
"We have a gig tonight."
"Who?"
"Who are we?"
"… The Chipmunks."
"Ohhhhhh! Right." Shaggy drops back into the pile of clothes and covers his face back up.
Jaden's already backing towards the stairs, "Get up! I need you to pick up Christian and get to the gig! I've got to pick up my suit!" Jaden stops when he doesn't hear Shaggy moving. "SHAG!"

Shaggy's hand comes up and there's a delightful middle finger showing. Guess that means he's going to handle business.

Now…

The Mystery Machine (Yes. That Mystery Machine) pulls up in front of the building. The doors open and the sight of… NOTHING. There's a sudden pan to the faces of the valets. They look… confused. As hell. Some keys are tossed in one of their directions. They smack him in the forehead and he falls backwards with all the comedic timing of a well placed sitcom gag.

Jaden's voice can be heard, "Gentlemen. Start your Rock Bands…"

Originally, Lachlan was going to bring Cass to this party so as to make an Impression and be Swanky and all that fun stuff that girls /apparently/ like. After Napkingate '07, he thought about taking Jack to cruise the ladies that would obviously be present. Finally, however, the Scotsman has had to settle for coming alone (he rented that damned tux, and he wasn't going to let it go to waste). It's the first time he's been out and about alone with booze in public since he and Cass had The Talk, but he figured he could reward himself with a little something this evening. He's been doing well enough in avoiding all the classy ladies and has pointedly remained by the nearest place of food, occupying his thoughts with which delicacy is meant to be dipped into which sauce. This gets boring, though, and fast. He turns from the table just as Jane starts to pass by, and he nearly knocks right into her. "Fu— 'm sorry," he mumbles, reaching out his hands to steady her by the shoulders. When he sees who it is, however, he smiles. "Oh hey." A familiar face! Thank God.

Back to the gala, Elena is preparing some champagne glasses to wheel out to the public. She has absolutely no idea Papa is outside. There will be tears, or at least….she'll be crying tears of joy seeing her father so dashing. It'll be like Soun Tendo all over again weeping over Akane. Only she's the daughter and he's the father. But anyway, she is arranging the flutes on the silver platter she's supposed to carry out.

She's tried to make the dress she was given as best as possible. She can't do anything about the length, but she can do something about the plunging neckline, having decided to wear a tanktop underneath to cover up the Vee. But there was no mistaking it. In a party where Jaden's insane decisions reign supreme, it seems all the male servers are dressed like Odd Job (with the hats!), and the women are dressed in mini-versions of the famous black dress worn by Xenia Onatopp in James Bond: Goldeneye.

Let the weeping begin.

"I'll be there I'll be there!" Eric Walker is in his own limo, riding in the back. He's in his own tux…and thats not a rental. Its tailor made, highest quality, and so entirely not him. However he seems to know how to pull it all off. Black and white silk, perfectly worked and tailored and pressed. However, as he hangs up the phone, the young man knocks on the drivers seat. "Pull off before the door. I'll walk."

The limo pulls to a stop and he gets out with a sigh, tugging everything back into place as he gets out he sighs and grumbles. However, as the young man tugs his sleeves right and then starts on a brisk walk towards the front door, he misses the three figures that pause to note his arrival, and then nod to each other and slip into the crowd. Now as Eric comes near to the door, he is about to wave towards Gene to get the other young man's attention when he notices…just who…his…+1 is…

Pause.

R2? He can't even think of anything to say for the moment. Then he nearly gets run down by the Mystery Machine and as he moves out of the way he notes the voice that comes echoing out of that van after the keys get thrown out.

Pause. Again.

One eyetwitch later he is stomping over towards the van to poke his head into the thing, grab Jaden, and drag him out. "Get over here!"

"Allow me to get you some, bonita," Ramon says. He looks around for the server and then…spots R2 D2. He strides up to the robot, and, taking it for someone in costume, picks out two champagnes and mutters, "Buddy, they're not paying you enough." And back he goes to Cass, holding out the drink. "That short guy," he nods to R2 D2, "looks a little shifty. Hold on to your purse around him."

Decked out in an all white tuxedo, Drake is preparing a few of the platters with appetizers, and condiments, looking nervous as all get as he glances over to Elena. "So, how did you talk me into this again?" He asks as he plucks one up and places it over his shoulder as he carefully balances it. "I mean, the tux is awesome, but.. I feel so weird around all these people." He says as he pokes his nose out into the main room. "Did… did that guy bring an R2D2 into here? I thought this was a benefit and not a comic book convention."

Gasping when she finds hands suddenly on her, and taking care to make sure she neither falls nor spills her glass, Jane takes a moment to recover and realize Lachlan's the one who both nearly barreled into and helped steady her. "Hey," she replies with a slight chuckle. "This seems the interesting soiree. It's rare anyone at this type of feast has a sense of humor, at all." Not so fond memories of her parents trying to marry her off to some potential future Senator or bigtime CEO come to mind, and the contrast draws out a smile as she checks out the Scooby.

"Well, Sam said her mom's catering staff caught some sort of Spring plague, so she's calling her people who know people," Elena tells Drake, and grins. "And relax, you look good in white," she teases, nudging him slightly by the elbow. When Drake points out R2, she looks over at the crowd….and palms her face. "That's Gene," she tells him. "He's a genius. That's all you need to know about him really." Since she's not about to say that he was a walking R&D Department in on himself. She picks up the champagne glasses. "Ugh. You'll back me up if someone pulls a Vegas on me, right?" she asks Drake. She is -also eyeing- the drumset on the stage. "….don't tell me you're performing too."

Beaming at Ramon, Cass takes the glass from him and stares at the R2-D2 droid wheeling about the party. What. Is. That. Okay, she knows what it is. She can't be good friend with Nima and not know R2-D2…but what is it doing /here/. Then again, this /is/ Jaden's party. It would feel wrong to not have something quite insane. "Thanks. And…I'll be careful. But I don't think it has arms. So my purse should be safe." She's a little entranced by the whole thing. Shaking her head, she turns her attention so that it's focused on Ramon again. There are so many people here that it's not unusual for her to miss familiar faces in the crowd. She laughs and holds the glass up for a toast. "To getting out."

"A vegas on you? Am I supposed to pretend to be your boyfriend or something if you get hit on?" Drake says as he follows after her, giving a few quick smiles to those who glance his way, offering snacks to the guests as he goes. "I'm not playing anything, at least.. I don't think I am." He looks over to the stage and grins, eyeballing a guitar that's resting near by. "Though.. I'm /so/ tempted to now." He takes another look towards the Star Wars character, then starts off on another sweep of the room.

Soiree. Right. Lachlan doesn't know what that word means, but it sounds fancy, and that's what this shindig is. It fits. He glances around with a nervous sort of roll of his shoulders, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants and breathing out a sigh between his lips. "Yeah, somethin' like tha'," he mutters, clearly out of his element. Then, he brings a hand up to tug irately at his collar. Nnnguh, stupid things. "Why're ye here? Gotta date 'r somethin'?"

"Well nothing that drastic," Elena points out, grinning at Drake. "But if you could whale 'em in the face with your platter, that would be key. I'm a lady you know, violence is undignified." Lies. Says the girl who dropped two agents. When Drake makes his rounds, the young woman hefts a platter and goes around the room to serve champagne to the party goers. She also manages to bump into……Lachlan! Whom she almost doesn't recognize considering he is dressed all snazzily. And as to who he's just bumped into, she blinks. "…….Jane?" Another peer to the other person. "LACHLAN?"

Pause.

"……champagne?" she offers, her cheeks burning as she tugs on the skirt.

"I could always just choke slam someone also, it'd be a lot less dramatic than a platter to the face." Drake says with a chuckle, before pausing next to Elena's side as he offers up a surprised grin to the pair. "Hi Jane, Lach'. Small world, huh?" He says, offering them some snacks. "I think I have fish babies ontop of crackers. And.. I can't pronounce the rest of it, but it's expensive." He looks around the room once more, letting out a soft breath. "Anyone else here we may know?"

By the time Eric gets to The Mystery Machine, he'll find that it's empty. The Valet kids are probably too disturbed to really go park it. It is, after all, the Mystery Machine. However, if Eric looks up and towards the red carpet leading towards the doors… he'll probably get to see a sight that doesn't make any sense. Cameras don't give anything away but the strange emotional faces on those that are outside as Jaden and The Chipmunks make their way to the door.

"Open, says me." Jaden's voice commands. It takes the doormen a couple of moments to recognize the voice, but when they do, they facepalm and pull the twin doors open to allow the musical group their entrance.

FX: Slow Motion
Music: Stayin' Alive.
Reference: Superbad

Christian: He's the one on the left. He's the chunky one. If there needs to be a Chipmunk reference, it's Theodore. He's dressed to party, but definitely not the kind of black tie event that this one is. In fact, it may or may not be kind of hard to tell that it's actually Christian, what with all the marshmallow fluff that's on his face. Which he keeps licking coincidentally. No fingers. No feet. Just… puff. Ladies and Gentlemen: Kirby.

Shaggy: He's the one on the right. He's the tall and lanky one. If there needs to be a Chipmunk reference, it's probably Simon. Unlike Christian, he's managed to get himself into the perfect attire for this party. Or so he thinks. He's got on a nice pair of black shoes. Expensive. Shiny, even. White socks, of course. He's wearing a pair of black Ray Bans sunglasses. On his body… isn't much. There happens to be a pair of black silk boxers that have a big red STOP SIGN on the back of them. To fit in with the crowd, though, he's wearing a classic black bowtie. Pwn'd.

Jaden: In the middle? Is the leader of this fine band of musicians. He is, as they say, the leader: Alvin, for reference purposes. He doesn't walk so much as waddle. He's taken the advice of everyone and got the closest thing he could possibly find to match the tuxedos that everyone else will be wearing. Jaden Cain is dressed like a goddamn penguin. His face can be seen (SMILING LIKE HE OWNS THE PLACE) within the beak, if anybody dares to look that close.

As the doors close behind them, Jaden holds up a flipper and stops his homies. "ATTENTION SAN DIMAS!" he calls out, trying to grab the attention of the entire party. "ARE YOU?! READY?! TO!" Dramatic pause. "ROOOOOOOOOOOOOCK!"

Oh. Dear. Lord.

"Charity," Jane answers simply, her eyes drifting back to the stage and the guitars. "But no date. There was a guy I thought was into me a few weeks back, but he just stopped call…" The guitarist/lawyer is at that moment offered another glass of champagne, by… "Elena?" Her eyes take a moment to register the clothing her friend is in, and her embarrassment. "That's quite the… outfit." Her voice lowers. "How'd you get roped into… this?" Drake, being someone she only met once in passing, gets a polite nod of greeting.

Mayor Bloomberg looks at Jaden, Kirby, and the Almost Naked Man, pausing from his sip of wine. He looks at them for a bit, especially Jaden. There is silence.

"…."

And then, epiphany lights up in the man's eyes.

"OH, I get it! Penguin suit!" He laughs, takes a drink. "Here I thought it was going to be another one of those -boring-….well. No offense to your father, young man, but he was pretty damned dry. I look forward to the show, young man."

He walks on, and pats R2-D2 on the head as he goes. Because a party isn't a party without midgets.

"To …" Ramon can't finish the sentance. Between Alvin's Excellent Adventures and the sight of his daughter in a skirt short enough to make him wonder why he didn't buy a new gun sooner, he's lost his ability to really form coherent phrases. So he just clicks his glass to Cass', just…remaining stoic. He recovers. "Getting out." He smiles, even while his eyes do a funny number where they double the lines around them. Oh so casually…"Who do you think maybe picked out the servers costumes?"

Blinking his eyes, Drake nearly drops the platter when he hears the loud yell. Turning around, he widens his gaze some, and puts the large tray down. Reaching over to give Elena a light tug, he says. "Those are the Chipmunks! I go to all of their concerts here in town! They are so freaking awesome. What are they doing here? Are we gonna be on MTV or something, and they're filming some sorta weird reality show?" Looking around, he tries to spy the cameras, if there is any. Holding up the 'horns', he yells back. "YOU ROCK ALVIN!" This is a professional party, right? This just went from boring, to awesome, in five seconds. First R2D2, and now Chipmunks half naked wearing penguin costumes.

Eric pauses for a moment at the van. "…he's got away…" He grumbles before he turns swiftly to see…what the heck…is that…going into the building. "…that…can't be. He…couldn't be…he…a penguin!?" Only one of thost three figures that are going inside the place can be Jaden Cain. As he hops down out of the Mystery Machine the young man just…stares.

He should go home. No really. He should go home.

…but his family is in there though. So off he goes, striding into the door to glance around the place, and just…stares at the whole specticle. "…Jaden…how…could you."

Pause.

…though this is going to make explaining things to his dad that much easier. So Eric appears, in the wake of Jaden, with /much/ less fanfaire. Looking around the young man just…shakes his head….at least is wasn't going to be boring.

Now…where did Gene and R2 get themselves to…
As people stare at Gene and his guest, the social caterpillar looks toward his companion. "Looks like they are laughing AT us and not with us, Artoo."

"Bip Boooooo" comes as an automated response. The mechanical creation isn't a true droid or else R2-D2 might have come here with a better date than Gene.

"I guess so," Gene replies. Does he understand what the responses are or is he just pretending? Either way, it cries out issues growing up. Or he really really like Star Wars. One of the two.

Setting R2-D2 to Follow Mode, Gene puts the remote away in his jacket, which is what the R2-D2 unit follows after, staying about five feet away. The AI and sensors are good enough to account for people and obstacles, allowing R2 to follow after its master with ease. There are more stares as he walks, but big surprise there. Gene thought it would be cool to stand out. Now it just makes him red as they come, his cheeks near glowing. He will survive this party, if nothing else to prove his mettle. He moves toward the food dish, not knowing that his drone is getting more Kudos than him. Getting what he wants, he puts the plate on R2-D2's tray along with a drink. This party accessory is hip AND functional. Well, functional at least. Gene is quiet as the grave as he focuses on his supply run, which works out because most people likely are content to focus their attention elsewhere.

Her glass already held up, Cass' eyes widen at all the shouting and the penguin suits and…boxer wearing people. That plus R2-D2 and Mayor Bloomberg…oh God. She's brought back to Ramon and the /normalness/ once he clinks his glass with hers. She can't tell whether she should laugh or apologize. So, she does both. "Yes. To getting out. I'm so sorry. I thought this was going to be more….normal. I should have known." It being Jaden's party, after all. "If I had a guess, it would definitely have been Jaden. He's the one leading the…Chipmunks. He's…well, he's certifiable, I think." What's a good idea right now? Well, drinking is. So, she takes a small sip of her champagne. And then she looks around her, laughs and takes a much longer one. This is one of those evenings where bubbly tipsiness is the best policy.

Uncomfortable in black tie, Benjamin is late to showing up for the event. Owing to his associates playing a vicious game of 'not it' as to who got to show up and represent their firm at the charity.. thing. He shifts a little in his tuxedo and fusses with his tie. He's used to wearing suits, but something this nice? Eh. There's little time to digest his discomfort as he walks in, and stares around the room. What. The. Heck? No wonder his coworkers played the 'not it' game. Now. How long was he required to stay?

"A friend of mine's Mother runs the catering service that's….servicing this soiree," Elena explains to Jane, rubbing the back of her neck. "Half the catering staff caught the viral plague, so Sam called the friends she knew to try and help out. The rate's pretty good, and I wasn't doing anything tonight so…" And this is when Drake is grabbed and he points out the Punk O Rama that's going on in the other end of the room, Elena….nearly drops her own serving plate. "……oh. My. God," she says, staring at the group that just walks in even as the mayor managed to pat-pat R2 before heading off to speak with the Most Powerful Men of New York. Indeed, the mayor could be seen chatting with Governor Spitzer, who's oggling the female waitstaff, and Laurence Lancaster, who seems to be speaking with the mayor on business things.

"Oh, excuse me~!" A college girl, dressed as a Bunny, looks up at Benjamin with the glazed eyes of someone on E, who clearly thought this was a rave thanks to a certain certifiably insane Chipmunk. There's a pause, and her eyes widen. "Oh my god! You're that comedian! You're….you're….." Her brows scrunch up, trying to remember.

"………you're STEVE CARRELL! Ohmahgodohmahgodohmahgod! Can I have your autograph???"

"Wow," Jane replies, looking over the outfit again, and her head shakes a few times. "The things people have to do for college money." Her features soften, sympathetic, and an idea is hatched. "How much would you lose if you ditched, chica? I can't see you looking so uncomfortable and not offer you an out of some kind." And moments later she follows the attention aimed at that stage. One hand covers her face, and she murmurs "This is wackier than Elton John's early career. Tell me, please tell me, they're at least half as talented as he is."

"Yeah, I kno— " Whumpf! Someone's just bumped Lachlan, and he flinches, half-turning to catch whomever it is and — "Oh." He stuffs his hands into his pockets once again — hard. "Uh." Whose idea /was/ it to dress the waitresses up in this— ? "Elena?" Lachlan's eyes grow wide. Shit. This looks /bad/.

"Hey." But then Jaden interrupts and Lachlan just squints. "Tha's the arse fro— " Yeah, suddenly, the Scotsman is feeling all sorts of uncomfortable. There are a lot of people here, a lot of scantily clad women, and he's already had enough booze to buzz him just a bit. Clearing his throat softly, Lachlan excuses himself with a soft grunt and starts to head for the exit … until he spots a red dress and a familiar tattoo and … /why is that man standing around Cass like she's maybe someone he's familiar with/? Ramon looks vaguely familiar, but never having been one to recognize the faces of brief clients, Lachlan doesn't match it to anything in his databank of memories. Scowling, he starts to shoulder toward Cass and her date with all the fury of a spurned and buzzed Scotsman. Once he reaches her, it's not her he addresses, but Ramon: "Just wha' the bloody fuck d'ye think yer doin'?"

Jaden and The Chipmunks don't wait for applause. Though, Shaggy manages to catch sight of Drake and his fanboying. "Thanks lil' munk dude!" He throws the horns back in Drake's direction as the three band members head through the boring crowd and make their way towards the stage.

Meanwhile, in Jaden's brain: "Dude. Was that the mayor?" "Yeah." "Did he just totally compliment us?" "Yeah." "Doesn't he have a hot daughter?" "Kinda', yeah." "Dude, we're so hittin' that." "Hell yeah."

Back to reality, Jaden and The Chipmunks have managed to get themselves up onto the stage and Jaden waddles on over to the microphone! "Attention all party people! Attention! There's a bomb in the building! I repeat, there's a bomb in the building!" As he speaks, the floor opens up in front of the stage (probably thanks to Candy Cain's special effects wizard boyfriend) and rising up from underneath is a large, well, it's a Cartoonish Bomb. Complete with a sparkler for a fuse. Jaden's voice continues to speak even as the bomb blocks the view of the stage. It's that big. "If you don't want to be…" Cue Dalek voice, "EXTERMINATED" Cue Jaden voice, "… then I suggest you report to the dance floor immediately. You have ten seconds to comply. Before we blow this MOTHER SKY HIGH!"

Suddenly a bright spot light appears and shines right on Ramon and Cass. That must be where the dance floor is.

Ramon had just /downed the crap/ out of his drink. He was just considering that he was going to take off his tux jacket and give it to Elena. But here comes this fellow like the rampaging rhino. He steps protectively in front of Cass, keeps one hand on his drink, and slides the other into his pocket as he eyes Lachlan, who he remembers far more clearly. He says, in low, rumbling warning, "I'm taking Miss Aldric out, at her gracious request, to this party. And if you bother her, I'm afraid we'll have to go outside. But I know you're not the kind of person who would wish to cause her any distress by making an ass of yourself at a," he sort of stumbles over the next word, "classy," he clears his throat, "event such as this one, so you won't." His next words are hard. "/Will you/?"

"Gene!" Eric's voice calls out to his friend with the R2 unit. He's over there. Over he goes towards him. However along the way something tugs at his mind. There's his dad over there talking with…well…the powerful. There's his mom chatting with the wives. Where are the rest of his kin? Ah well. Dosn't matter. Or at least he so thinks. There's also other familiar voices and his mind is jerked back to reality. Wait…isn't that Drake over there in white…talking to…E…lena….

Annnnnnd…there goes the brain! Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Flatlines.

Boss. Don't read his mind right now. Really.

Entirely distraceted for a moment he entirely misses the foot that his older brother, having snuck up near him in the crowd, sticks between his feet. And so the aikido expert entirely looses his balance.

"Wha…WAH! LOOKOUT!"

And over he goes! Sprawling on the floor inbetween Lachlan and Ramon and Cass. Faceplanted. Laid out. Thankfully he didn't take anyone down with him!

…and then he's spotlighted.

…thanks.

"I can not believe we're actually getting paid for this. This is so freaking cool." Drake says as he loosens his tie up a bit. "Hey Elena, we're dancing, right? I believe we were /told to/, and I'd hate to let the Chipmunks down." As Lachlan starts storming off towards Elena's dad, and Cass, he raises a brow up slightly. ".. um. Why is.. Lachlan, 'bout to get his ass whooped for?" He whispers against his best friend's ear. "Isn't that your pops?" He rises a bit on his tippy toes, then looks over to the band again. He seems to be undecided. Try to break up a fight, or slam dance to the Chipmunk's music. Probably.. best to not do either, until things smooth over.

"No it's fine, Jane. Besides, if you can believe it, this thing isn't the -worst thing- I've had to wear in the last couple of weeks believe me," Elena says, sneaking a piece of canape from Drake's plate. She chews on it lightly and looks around surreptitiously. Maybe she can make this in her father and Dezi's wedd—ooops. Was that the fourth wall? Anyways, she looks at Drake and she grins. "Yeah, that's….Jaden. I think he's going to end up being my new boss. He offered me a job in EvoSoft's media relations department. I'm still trying to figure out if I want to take it on a part time basis and quit the 'Bucks. I'd hate ditching you though." This is one of those nights where she mourned the fact that she isn't of legal drinking age. Her father drinks.

And then, Lachlan suddenly looks MAD, and storms across the way towards Cass….and….her…..father.

Pause.

"Oh my god! OH. My god! Lachlan! Lachlan don't you DARE try to kill my father!" she cries, and takes a step towards the middle of the room to try and mitigate the damage…

But it's too late.

The Men have a Confrontation (tm).

The Spotlight (tm) falls on Cass and her father.

And Eric FLIES out of nowhere, crashing into the middle of the spotlight, dressed in a tux that was OBVIOUSLY not rental.

There is a pause. Everyone STARES at the group in the middle.

"….Larry," Bloomberg says, taking a sip. "Isn't that your boy? Why is he looking up that lovely young lady's skirt?"

Laurence FACEPALMS.

The squealing of girls and the name of Steve Carrell is enough to get Cass to turn to see who it is they might be talking about. She's not below star watching! Steve Carrell is funny. But it's not Steve Carrell she sees being accosted by star-struck pre-teens it's Benjamin. Laughing, she gives a wave to the accountant. That's right before she's faced with a very /angry/ looking Lachlan. "I. What! /Lachlan/!" Not only is she surprised to see him there (in a /tux/ no less) but she's surprised at his anger. Then, of course, Ramon has to step in and this is just one /huge/ mess. "Ramon. /Guys/." And, to make matters just that much more awkward, a spotlight appears as if from above just to highlight how much God hates her. Eric's faceplanting is actually welcomed. "Eric. Hi. Please tell me you have come bearing something with which I can kill myself with."

And then…Papparazzi appear. Cameras Flash. This WILL BE FRONT PAGE NEWS!

Benjamin blinks and looks at the Bunny-suited girl like a cow looks at an oncoming train, "Bwuh.. huh? Who? N-no!" He then hurriedly scoots /away/ from the bunny girl. He has no idea where he's scurrying to, just away from her, and unfortunately deeper into this den of madness. The coworkers are so getting nappy time practice tomorrow for this. The announcement of a bomb in the building has his frazzled nerves ready to just up and die. He completely misses Cass waving in his direction. Must. Flee. Get. Away. Oh look alcohol, no, wait, alcohol bad. The accountant tries to duck in with the crowd, and maybe squirm his way back out of the room.

It hits Gene that something isn't quite normal with this party. He gets that hunch first when he sees cute girls running around in various outfits that he would not expect at your average formal party… And then it gets confirmed by Jaden's appearance and proclamation. He merely gives a looong look toward the spotlight and who it displayed. First two people he doesn't know and then it's Eric who apparently is trying to do some non-G rated things to the girl there. Eric? What is he doing? Doesn't he know that you need to be classy at these things? Gene sips his iced tea, merely wondering if he needs to teach Eric some lessons in pose and good form.

Gene does start making his way over toward the gathering, mostly because Eric called for him. As he does, Gene notices Benjamin. While Eric could likely use a hand, the other man looks like he's gunna die. Or kill someone, it's hard to tell. "Sir… Sir?" he asks with a brow etched in concern.

There's not much time to register her reaction to Elena's reply by saying "Work for him? Don't take…" Jane trails off again, seeing the potential confrontation, the sprawled Eric, the spotlight, and… photographers. "El," she asks quickly, trying to catch up to the Latina, "any ideas how to defuse this?" She's so not looking forward to trying to separate a Lachlan and Senor Gomez.

The Bunny lipquivers as Benjamin RUNS AWAY FROM HER. "Wait! I'M THE BUNNY, you're SUPPOSED TO BE CHASING ME, STEVE!" she rails in an E-fueled bout of tantrum, stomping her feet on the floor. "Steve! Don't go! I ….I LOVE YOU!" She leaps forward…

Only to be caught by both arms by a pair of security guards. Oh yes. Jaden made them 'dress up' too.

Storm Trooper 1 looks at Storm Trooper 2. "….this has got to be the most embarassing night of my life."

"Ugh. No kidding. When do we drink?"

"Hopefully SOON once we toss Alice out on her ass."

"I AM NOT ALICE I AM THE BUNNEEEEEEEEEEEEH!"

"High?"

"As a kite."

With that, the hapless security drags the Bunny away.

Calm, rational discussion might have calmed Lachlan down, but he doesn't get that. He gets a growly Ramon, and /this/ becomes his major focal point. Cass' dismay is not noted or is completely ignored; the Scotsman has someone with which to square off, and he's doing it admirably. His eyes narrow at the other man, lips contorting into a nasty sneer. "Only thing I'll be doin' here is puttin' yer bloody face through the floor," he snarls at Ramon, "if ye dunna get the fuck away from m'girl." This wonderful example of male posturing is somewhat dampened by the sudden spotlight, then the arrival of Eric and the protests from Elena. The Scotsman blinks, squinting between all three of these things in irritated confusion. /Excuse me/, trying to /defend honor/ here.

"Eric," Ramon greets politely. Just as if he hadn't fallen on his ass. He offers Cass a squeeze to her arm. "I'm going to walk outside," he murmurs, "So this doesn't get any crazier in here. I'll try to diffuse him, bonita, don't worry." Then he looks at Lachlan and says, "Be my guest. /Outside/." And then he turns his back on the Scotsman to start walking that way, not about to do it in the spotlight on the dance floor at a party where it will embarrass Cass.

And Eric slooowly raises his head. He sees ankle. Girls ankle. Mustnotlookfurtherup. Mustnotlookup. Mustnotlookup. Now…he dosn't look up, but he does say. "…see Cass. If I had something to kill myself with, I think I'd use it about now. On me." Not really paying attention, he flings one arm up to find something to help pull himself up. His hand grabs for purchase…

It finds Lachlan's pantleg. Eric isn't really paying attention. So he uses the fabric to pull himself on back to his knees. Then he blinks once. Then blinks again. "…Cass?" Wait. She's here. "Boss?" Yeah. Ramon too. "…Lachlan?!" Yes. One more boggle right there. "…could this get any worse?" He mutters, not even noting Elena standing there nearby. Infact he's trying his very best NOT to look at her. Because. Short skirt makes brain shut down.

"Jaden. Somehow…this is all your fault." Is all he can say really. Thats it. It is. It has to be.

Shaggy starts the countdown with his drums! "Five! Four! Three!" By this point, if anybody in this crowd actually wants to have fun, the dance floor should have -some- people on it. And maybe even a few people are doing this particular countdown with him. Which is just jawesome. "Two! One!"

BOOM! The explosion comes from the speakers all around the room and the Bomb in the Building actually explodes! But nothing happens other then confetti, candy (mostly candy cains) and other awesome (and cheap!) door prizes are flung all over the place.

Somebody off to the side dressed like Kermit laughs as he catches a candy bar, "Dude. That pinata was the bomb, yo."

Apparently, he's standing next to Inspector Gadget, "Wowser."

Anyway, by the time the explosion stops, there's flashing and flipping on and off of the lights. They all go down and more party styled lights go up, including strobe, multicolored, and three colored spotlights lighting up on stage! Green on Christian, who's not sporting his green turtleneck! Blue on Shaggy, who's sporting his Blue turtleneck! And finally, Red on Jaden who's sporting his large red turtleneck with a GIANT J on it (see Wiki for picture). Apparently, they've ditched they're party costumes for their classic band attire! Thank Rod, it was hot in those things!

Jaden steps up to the mic, guitar strapped on. "It's time to…" He flips up a red cap, pulling it on his head to complete the TRUE Alvin Outfit and joins Christian and Shaggy in sparking their first set, "GET MUNK'D!"

Shaggy wails off on the drums and the music kicks up for their first song. Which happens to be a crazy punk rock rendition of We're The Chipmunks!

Lachlan's amount of blustering and anger does not impress Cass. Oh no. Downing the last of her champagne, she reaches out a hand to attempt to snag Ramon by the arm. Then, she drops her glass on a table somewhere behind her and goes to grab Lachlan with her other hand. "It's okay, Ramon. I can handle this. You don't have to go anywhere." If she manages to grab both of them, she will drag them away from this embarrassing spotlight. Even if she doesn't, she will still move that way. "/Stop it/, Lachlan," she hisses at him. "Ramon is /my friend/. If you attempt to put his face through the floor I will be royally pissed at you." Thank God the music starts up to hopefully cover the noise of this fight.

Benjamin stops in his tracks, blinking and looks at Gene, "No, I'm not that Stev—uh.. Yes?" If this were a normal, boring charity event, he wouldn't be so freaked out. This … is just.. too bizarre for him. It's like he got assaulted the moment he walked in the door! With the spotlight, Lachlan, Ramon, it's hard to miss the altercation in the works. Blinking, he looks past Gene at the scuffle to be.

"Oh God, Jane, I don't know. I'm making this up as I go along here. Papa! Papa -no-! Don't turn him into a five year old girl~!" Elena cries, in Spanish of course, trying to diffuse the situation on her own, but the men look like they're about to DUEL for the damsel, and she palms her face. Her father was stubborn, and old fashioned. Lachlan is…well. Drunk and Scottish. There will be no stopping this madness. She is looking at everyone else staring at the spectacle in the middle of the room, and her face flushes crimson considering her father and -half- her circle of friends are right in the middle of the spectacle. She is suddenly reminded of the scene in Bridget Jones's Diary when the Token Gay Friend runs into the nearby Greek Restaurant to scream fight fight fight towards…. a couple of old men beating the crap out of each other over a girl.

This is when the bomb explodes, and the crowd, impressed by the lights, and the music by a relatively known punk band, start cheering and clapping. Yes, even Eric's father. But they don't know he's his father….yet.

She's still staring at everything. Her father, or Lachlan, is about to get killed. Cass looks like she's going to kill Lachlan, and now Eric, who is OBVIOUSLY made out of money, is not only keeping things from her, but he's also GROPING LACHLAN'S LEG. Not only was he secretly rich, he was also GAY. Did she turn him gay? OH MY GOD. She couldn't have turned him gay!

She looks at Jane helplessly. "This is the -worst night ever-."

The confrontation between Ramon and Lachlan appears to be handled somewhat, causing Gene to frown to see everyone it drags in. Maybe it's best that he doesn't have a date. It might get him punched in the face or something. The single life seems pretty good. Then he looks over to see Elena dressed all hot. Being single sucks.

Back to where he started on his stance on girls, Gene glances back toward Ben. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay… Looked like you weren't ready for something like this." There is a pause as the observant Gene glances about. "Looks like most people here are in the same boat." The odd little toy of Gene finally catches up to him, having acquired a few pieces of trash and missing most of the food that was once on its tray. Gene is unhappy at what he sees until he notices a couple of twenties placed in a clean cup, likely as a tip. Sweet, he needs to bring out this thing to all the events.

When his leg is grabbed, Lachlan moodily half-kicks, half-shakes Eric's hand off. "Gerroff!" he snaps angrily. Do not touch a wired Scotsman. Then his arm is being grabbed when something explodes, and he half-ducks as he's dragged out of the spotlight. There's too much happening at once, so it's not hard for Cass to pull him along. Finally able to focus on just Cass, his inherent Scottish rage is turned on her. Once the trio is at a halt, he jerks his arm out of the bookstore owner's grasp. "Yer friend, eh?" he growls. "Yeah, I see how it is. Y'know, Cass, if ye dinna wanna give me 'nother chance, ye should o' just bloody said so." Ramon is ignored for now; the man apparently backed down enough to suit Lachlan's tastes.

"Elena," Jane replies, seeming about to say something but not quite finding words for a few seconds before she manages to weakly offer "Then it can only get better from here. I don't think Lachlan's going to fight, he'll blow any chance he might have at forgiveness. Just look at the steam coming out of Cass's ears." Another pause is taken, and she suggests "You know, if you take that job, things like this might be your life, chica. I say run, don't walk, or… what outfit was it you said was worse than this?"

A candycane lands on Ramon's ear, and hangs there like a deformed earring. He snatches it away and frowns darkly, then shoves it in his pocket. He has let Cass stop him, but the fact that he suddenly realizes that the Scotsman thinks his attempt to change venues, or his willingness to honor the lady's wishes, is backing down has done nothing for his mood. His features turn dark indeed, but his dark anger is a smouldering thing that he keeps under tight control, not something that's going to explode. Yet, anyway. But his body has tensed, and if he was ready to try to talk the drunkard down before, he's moving rapidly away from that now. It would take little enough to push him back towards trying to put Lachlan back through the floor in turn. Only his training as a gentleman stops him now, and the color his eyes have turned says that's a thin net indeed.

o/~ We're The Chipmunks!
Comin' On Stronger Than Ever Before!
o/~ We're The Mother @(&#@#@'n Chipmunks!
Jaden! Simon! Theodore!

Okay, maybe it was a mistake to try and keep Ramon from leaving. Because as soon as Lachlan turns his angry glare at Cass, she looks a little like she's been physically slapped. Her arm drops from Ramon's arm when Lachlan pulls himself out of her own grip. She would give the man an apologetic look if she wasn't wrapped up in this strange new turn the night has taken. She's thankful for his gentlemanly ways and unwillingness to continue a fight he has every right to in front of everyone. "I. Are you /serious/ Lachlan?" Now, she is both angry and hurt. "/Yes/. Ramon is /my friend/. How /dare/ you accuse me of wanting a night out with someone who has been nothing but nice to me when /I/ haven't done anything to prove myself untrustworthy." She's not yelling, but her voice is certainly forceful.

Benjamin utters a slightly nervous laugh at Gene, attention turning back to him. "What? Oh, yes, I'm okay, just feeling.. unprepared for this.. so yea.. what the.. Is that an R2D2? Where did you get that? I don't think I've ever seen a full scale replica before." He looks down at the little droid, marvelling at it. The continued 'tiff' soon grabs at his attention again. He looks past the 'droid, debating on whether or not he should intervene or try to 'help'.

"Hey!" Eric dosn't at least get kicked by Lach as the scotsman shakes his hand off. He blinks and then furiously wipes his hand on his pantleg. Hey! He dosn't know were Lachlan's been! He mutters to himself under his breath, shaking his head slightly before he snaps his head up and towards Cass and the pair of men. He just blinks, then blinks again and bites down HARD on what he was going to say…and then takes a candy cane and a star wars figure in the face from the exploding speakers. "DAMMIT JADEN!" He finally explodes…though he pockets the star wars figure.

Taking a deep breath he just glares at the two men. "Would you two settle down before the storm troopers throw you out!" Pause. Did he just say Storm Troo— -yes he did. MOVING ON! He dosn't know Lach well enough to yell at him. Ramon is his boss. He /wants/ to yell at them both…but insteand he just throws his arms up. He so quits. "I can't do anything with them!" He mutters before turning to find…Elena…staring at everything. "…andIpromiseI'llexplainlater!" He adds after a moment quickly towards the young woman.

"…..it was a Robin costume," Elena says, hanging her head, still, miraculously, holding the platter of champagne up. That was it. She takes one of the flutes, and DOWNS it in one shot. With her father looking like he's about to turn Lachlan into Johnny Knoxville from the Ringer with the Power of His Mind (tm), and Eric being not who he says he was, and Jaden prancing around the stage like a spastic Penger …..AS a spastic penguin, she downs -another- flute of champagne. This….is not a good idea. Tolerance? Nonexistent. She hands her tray off to a passing waitress, and she turns around.

She feels warm and fuzzy now, thanks to the bubbly. But now she's -angry-. How DARE Lachlan try to kill her father! How DARE Eric lead her on and not tell her he was gay!

When he FINALLY turns to her staring, and says what he does, she stares at him almost uncomprehendingly. And then, her face turns purple. With RAGE. "Explain later? EXPLAIN LATER? Youyou'reand you just—-!"

To make matters worse, there she was, Vidalia Lancaster, in all of her sweeping, diamond-bedecked, rich socialite beauty, looking gorgeous in Dolce and Gabbana and giving Eric a look. "Dear god, sweetheart, what sort of spectacle are you engaged in now?" she asks, smoothing down the front of Eric's tux. "Your father's facepalming next to the mayor. And what did I tell you about flirting with the hired help? Oh girl—" This to Elena. "Could you bring my son a glass of bubbly? Thank you kindly."

Eyetwitch. Eyetwitch. -EYETWITCH-. As a walking server passes by, Elena snatches an entire bottle of red wine, spinning around as she starts to stomp off and away. She'll apologize to Sam later but that was IT. That. Was. IT.

No, see, this isn't how the argument was supposed to go. Cass was supposed to buckle under the pressures of confrontation. For a moment, Lachlan is just plain stunned, and it's easy to see beneath the scowl he now wears. He glances between Ramon, then Cass, then Ramon again — and then Eric is there shouting something about storm troopers and it is /not helping/. It's Eric who is now rounded upon to receive a dose of snarling Scottish rage: "/Back/. The /bloody fuck/. /Off/!" It's not shouted; it's /seethed/. Then, Lachlan again looks to Cass, and he seems to be slightly more subdued. "He doesna look much like he's bein' yer friend," he grumbles. It sounds vaguely apologetic. Vaguely.

Costume parties always bring out the most interesting corners of the psyche— not necessarily dark, just not regularly shared with the general public. In this case, between the benefit's default winter theme and a vague resemblance pointed out during his high school years, Randall has chosen to dress up as Bernard the Head Elf for tonight's occasion. He's just walked in, a good distance away from Ramon and Lachlan, and further away from Elena, so he's still only just beginning to absorb what's going on with the lot of them.

And Ramon's iron control slips a notch when Lachlan turns on Eric, who Ramon owes. The Machismo takes over the Gentleman. He suddenly growls to Lachlan in absolutely /venemous/ Spanish, "Ve y chinga a tu madre." He /sneers/ and takes a step forward in obvious challenge now. He's a good man. He is not a saint.

Oh my. Her friend is drinking and storming off with a full bottle. Jane can't likely defuse the other thing, Cass seems to be handling that, and she turns to go after her. In doing so, she totally misses the renewed confrontation between three men. "Elena," she calls, "wait up!" A glance goes to the stage, she briefly muses the Chipmunk bunch are decent musicians, then she moves quickly to follow the Latina and catch her, hopefully.

o/~ Here Comes Trouble!
Don't Touch Me There!
o/~ Girl, Blow My Bubble!
I Mean The One Down There!

o/~ We're The Chipmunks!

For once, Cass and Lachlan are united in their anger. When Eric tries to intervene in /her/ fight, she turns at him and snaps, "Look, Eric, I mean this is the nicest possible way, but /stay out of this/." Because it really isn't his fight and while she would under normal circumstances appreciate the gesture, this is not that night. "Hey!" Then she turns on Lachlan. "Don't you yell at Eric." Yes, she can be hypocritical in her anger. "Yeah, well, maybe you should actually /talk/ to me before you bloody well assume something." Ramon's advancement on Lachlan gets her attention, though, and she panics, rushing to step in between the two before anything can escalate even further. The /last/ thing she wants is for Ramon and Lachlan to fight because of a misunderstanding. "Oh God. Please. Do not fight. Please please please."

Alright. Enough. Benjamin knows Lachlan is a surly and unpredictable fellow when drunk. He likes sitting on mothers and apparently starting fights at parties and fancy to-do's. Not wanting to just ignore or walk away from Gene, not that he really needs to in order to try and help.. Benji glances at Lachlan and focuses, trying to look sneaky about it. Not that the CPA and sneaky go together.

"…please. Someone. ANYONE! Shoot me now." Eric Walker has so just had it. He glances at Lachlan, then just shakes his head. "I don't have time for this!" He says rounding towards Elena and opening his mouth to say…something. Anything. Just something to get her to stop and listen to him like this…ISN'T going out of control.

And then mom appears.

"…Mother. Your timing…is…I….ARRGH!" Pause. "She's a friend not hired help!" Then he pauses again. "Elena! WAIT!" And like the scene in Hudson Hawk when Hawk walks off followed by his two babbling friends he joins Jane in the Chase of Elena. Sorry Cass. You get ignored. Though…might be a good thing.

Mom might not like this…however…at least Dad will aprove. Hopefully. He will. Right.

The CPA has snubbed Gene in order to do something more important. Gene's loserdom has hit a brand new low. Noticing that Benjamin is squinting at Lach and seemingly waiting or trying to do something, he figures it's a subtle cue of not interested. Thankfully, Ben's job isn't revealed so he thinks he is someone important, so it's expected. "Well, um, guess I'll talk with you later? …Or not," Gene offers in a soft tone coated with uncertainty. He moves toward the punch bowl, just trying to get himself something to drink as his faithful drone follows behind.

Well, at least the music's good, Gene muses to himself. But well, Gene just figures drugs have something to do with it. 'Inspiration Juice' as they call it. Actually, they don't, but Gene claims they told him that's what they call it when playing Risk online to other people.

When he's confronted by Cass about his snap at Eric, the Scotsman seems almost chastised, his scowl growing more into a frown. Then, there's Ramon. Lachlan tenses up, bristling inwardly, and he takes a step forward to glare right back into the inch-taller man's face. He doesn't speak even a modicum of Spanish, but what the other man said? It didn't sound at all /nice/. And Lachlan does /not/ like that. Yet again, however, Cass intervenes, and after shooting her a glance, the Scotsman backs down once again. He won't fight. She asked him not to. But he's not exactly pleased either and, with a soft, dismissive grunt, he stuffs his hands into his pants pockets and starts for the exit.

"I'm just tired, Jane. Enjoy the party, I have work to do," Elena mutters, stopping by the 'refill' station in one of the bars nearbu, grabbing a corkscrew and -stabs- it through the cork with such a force that she almost breaks it. She works the cork out of the bottle, bracing it between her legs as she struggles with it for a bit….before the thing pops out from the mouth. What? Did you honestly think she was going to drink it? She was already feeling the champagne she just downed. She hands it to the bartender so he could fill the glasses with it. Yes. Work. It was one of the things she had in common with Cass. Pissed off at a guy? You work.

"They're actually pretty good, huh?" she says, nodding to Jaden and the Chipmunks on the stage, and steadfastly -ignoring- Eric as he calls her name from…somewhere back in the NINTH CIRCLE OF HELL her father was in, with Cass and Lachlan. "But yeah I'm considering it. I need the money, and Papa's been missing work because of the—oh GOD." Eric. He was after her.

She turns around, and grabs her wine tray, and starts….running away from him WHILE STILL trying to serve guests. SHE IS A CHAMPION MULTI TASKER SHE CAN HANDLE IT.

Except she's got champagne in her.

"Eric!" Vidalia cries. "-Where- are you going? You're not -seriously-….augh! We're going to have a talk -later- young man as to how I do -not- approve of this!" This is when Laurence takes her by the elbow and leads her off before she could say any more.

Benjamin's unknown attempt at sleepiness fails miserably on the Scotsman, who doesn't feel even the slightest effect.
Ramon stares at Lachlan for another long, hard minute. Then he steps back, also respecting Cass' wishes, and adjusts his tuxedo. Switching back to English, he growls, "Well. You two apparently have some unfinished business to be about. Excuse me." He turns on the ball of his heel and stalks away, still radiating fury like it would take very little to get him to slam /someone/ into a wall as he goes in search of a drink.

"And to everyone we say: MUNK YOU!"

The song ends and Jaden and The Chipmunks are awaiting their applause. But nothing happens. Mostly because there's too much commotion going on. The lights come back up and the band looks out and across the floor at what everybody's looking at besides them. People are running off and being chased. Other people are almost coming to blows. Eric is Eric. This is not the way his party was supposed to go.

"Jaden no happy." he says, pouting profusely. He can't believe these people… these guests… are ruining his shindig. "Take five, guys."
Christian pipes up, "For burgers and fries?"

Jaden nods, pulling his guitar over his head and hopping off stage. He brings the long sleeve of his turtleneck up to cover his mouth and nose. "Clearly, the Joker must've snuck some of his diabolical gas into the ventilation system." He looks around and spots Elena! "Yahtzee!"

Pulling back on his sleeve, he reveals a watch. Well, what looks like a watch. Pressing the button on the side of it causes a bright spotlight to shine across the room and in the general direction of Elena's head. If she looks at the wall, she'll see the SHADOW OF THE BAT.

This much she can get, watching Elena with the bottle, and her returning to work. Jane's not so much different, her outlet is the guitar, and it's professional too. Her features soften a bit, she replies "Just making sure you weren't going to hit that hard, El, and if you did to be there and hold your hair back. I remember my first alcohol experience. The next day, the hangover…" And here comes Eric. This one she can maybe handle. "Hey," she begins, turning to face the guy and run interference for Elena, "let her cool down, man. Please."

Hooray, it's an interesting party! Oh, crap, it's an /interesting/ party. Randall grabs his hat and hangs onto it as he jogs and shoulders his way through the crowd, continuing to process as he goes. Over there, Ramon and Lachlan, and Cass. Old cunning men arguing: avoid, lest they combine forces against you for having the gall to interrupt. "Sorry!" he calls out, ducking left to stay safely out of Ramon's way. Further on, Elena and her grump, and Jane and some other folks he doesn't know yet. Young beautiful people having drama: that, we can handle; head that way, but watch your mouth. He slows down, more so as he picks up on Jane's advice to Eric, or at least the general knowledgeable-friend vibe she's giving off.

When Jane runs interference, Elena hands off a couple of glasses to nearby benefit goers, just as the BAT SIGNAL shines over her head. Oh my god. Did she just…did Jaden just ROBIN her? She stares at the light, then whirls to look towards the stage. "Oh no. No. -No-!" she says, shaking her head vigorously at Jaden. And then she pulls out her cellphone and types on it quickly to send it to Jaden. This is Robinette, DECLINING the invitation to suit up.

Jaden's Tricked Out Cellphone bleeps/vibrates/does a kickass ringtone for whatever cartoon series he's obsessing over at the moment. Text:

Oh no. No. NO. I'm ALREADY dressed up as a Bond Girl. I am -not- Robinning for you!

"Huh?" Benjamin looks back around at Gene. Oh man, he didn't mean to brush the guy off.. and now he's walking away. Fudgesicles, and double sticks at that as his attempt to 'help' failed. Which is just as well, since the Scotsman is appearing to be leaving. At least there wasn't a physical fight. Sighing some to himself, he looks around the room, debating to stick around or make a discreet exit.

Now normally Eric is a very senceable young man. He listens to his friends and well given advice. He listens to his mother and his father. He listens to people. He's the most logical in his family. He's the most calm and collected in his family. He thinks things out! He goes with the best option!

Most times.

This is not one of those times.

"Elena! Dammit all stop so I can…hold still!" He would use the 'Your making a scene!' line…but think about the movies. That /never/ works out well. The woman is always like 'I'LL SHOW YOU A SCENE!' when you use that one, so he stops short of that bit. He blinks once at Jane. Who? Huh? More good advice. "…I…need to explain! She deserves that much!" He says as he starts to go around Jane, or at least try.

Oh yeah. Mom is gonna yell at him. Of course then Elena gets spotlit with the bat signal.

Only one man would do that.

Before she can stop /either/ of them, both Lachlan and Ramon are storming off in opposite directions. And Cass is stuck right in the middle feeling somehow as if this was her fault. For exposing Ramon to this, for wanting to run after Lachlan and not him. What does anyone /do/ in this situation? Crap. "I'm /really/ sorry, Ramon," she calls out after him. Becuase, well, she's going to feel guilty about this later, but picking up the hem of her dress she goes running after Lachlan. "Lachlan. Dammit, Lachlan, /wait up/." And, of course, being in heels, the woman skitters and goes falling face first into the ground. "Ow. Frick."

Jaden is already moving. Fast. The Bat Signal is gone before any civilians can see it and he's disappeared into the wall. Where the SUITS ARE WAITING. Gloved hands grab hold of the his cell phone and there's some text messaging sent back to Elena: 'There's no time for this, Robinette! We have to stop this! This is madness! This! Is! Sparta!' Send. Underneath the quick message is an even simpler direction: Kitchen. Freezer.

Could this mean that the freezer in the kitchen isn't really a freezer at all?! DUN DUN DUN!!

"Yes, Eric," Jane agrees quietly, "she does. When she's ready to hear it. Do you want to have a shouted conversation here, chasing her all around while she works, embarrassing her more than she already is after everything that's going on here tonight?" He might well get around her, though it's not for lack of her trying to be in his path. She doesn't intend to make it easy. Of course, having her attention focused on Eric, the guitarist/lawyer totally misses the Robinning and the reaction.

When he's called to, Lachlan half-turns (looking moody and broody) to stare back at Cass. He's not really angry so much as he is just overwhelmed with it all and somewhat tired and confused and, yes, even a little shamed and embarrassed. His turning is just in time to see the bookstore owner go faceplanting the floor, and he halts immediately. Gah. A perfectly good, huffy exit destroyed by an inability to resist a Cass in distress. He strides back toward her and crouches, offering his hands to help her back onto her feet. "Ye a'righ'?" he asks.

Shaggy looks over at Christian. Christian looks over at Shaggy. They're both sitting AT THE BUFFET table like it's just a normal table.
Shaggy: "Pass the collard greens?"
Christian: "No problem, bro."
Ah. Dinner and a show. This is the life.

Ramon doesn't even look back as Cass apologizes; he sweeps a drink off the nearest table and downs it. Then he tosses back another. Then? He focuses back on other factors that had upset him tonight. He takes off his tux jacket, because he's got other plans for it, and starts looking around.

"Yeaaaaaah, this party's odd. Artoo."

"Beeep bip bleeeeeeuuuuuip."

"Yeah, I guess as long as I don't make a fool of myself, eventually one of the girls I meet will fall for me. Maybe that's why Eric is being a moron around that girl, Artoo. He's trying to make sure that Elena doesn't fall for him, but instead goes for me."

"Beep pib brrrrrip."

"I guess so, Artoo. It was nice to think it was so, huh?"

"Bip."

Having a full conversation with something that doesn't even have sentience, Gene decides to call it a night. He begins to move toward the street, figuring he can get his cab and play some Starcraft. A small blessing of this party is that no one will notice Gene left. Though some people might wonder where that nice Astrodrone went off to.

Vibrate. Vibrate. Vibrate. Elena sets the tray aside and picks up the cellphone to stare at the text that was just sent to her by Jaden. "Oh my god. Why me? Why not -Gene-?" she groans. Because Gene really seems to be into all this stuff. Where is that R2 unit anyway? She looks around a bit….no sight of it. Crap. The ONE time she actually needs him, and there's no sight of him!

She taptaptaptaptaptaptaps quickly into the keypad of her cheap phone.

'I'm having the worst night ever and you want me to COSPLAY?'

she'll do it too. She doesn't pay attention to Jane and Eric, or the tall elf that's just sidled up near them, she's trying to get the hell away from her evil boss's machinations. But…….the freezer, eh? Yes. Yes. She'll go. She'll go there. And she'll LOCK JADEN IN.

This plan. It is brilliant. A WINNER IS HER. And there will be no PSYCHIC ELEVEN YEAR OLD to stop her. BWAHAHHAHHAHHA.

Jaden might can sense something. He's picked up his phone and taptaptaptapTAPS

Why aren't you using the expensive phone I bought you? It has a keyboard!

Send. And then there's some more typing in faster and with no typos! He's -good-.
It's not cosplay. It's saving the world. I can't do this without you, Robinette. The Joker must be stopped!

Send. After the message is sent, Jaden has already slid his way through the wall tunnels to the back of the freezer and slides open the back panel, looking out into the cold meat locker to see if Elena's really coming.

"Hurry up, ol' chap. My Bat Nipples are cold.

Eric pauses a moment in his chase. Dammit. Can't get around Jane. Grrrrrrrr. She's talking SENCE too. Eric actualy /likes/ sence. So against his will he's actually starting to /listen/ to her. He frowns slightly, shakes his head once, then again, then blinks once. He sighs, finally focusing on Jane a moment. "…I…no…thats not what I want…" He starts to reply. He seems to be about to take a step backwards.

You know. He should leave, he should just slide out with Gene and R2 and take an X-Wing back to the Death Star and just chill out. Calm down. Let things happen as they happen. He starts to even turn away to let Elena go…

Juuuust when a familiar figure seems to sprout from the crowd infront of the charging Elena!

ITS THE JOKER!

…er…wait…its just his older brother Brett. The rich, handsome Lancaster that just loves making Eric's life miserable.

Annnnd….he looks like he's going to put The Moves(tm) on Elena since Eric so totally ruined it for her.

"Oh hell no!" And Eric does indeed ready phasers as he steps purposely around Jane to close with the enemy. At this point he will /carry/ Elena out of her to get her away from his brother if he has to.

Ramon. Get there first.

PLEASE!

That's what Cass is good for, charming people with her haplessness. Already she's starting to pick herself back up, but when Lachlan offers his hands to help, she takes them. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Now that she's here, she frowns at Lachlan, unsure of what to say at him. She's angry for ruining her night out with Ramon, angry at herself for following him, angry about a lot of things. And it shows on her face. Plus, she definitely banged her elbow on that fall and she's trying to not let it show. "Ramon is a /friend/, Lachlan. /I/ asked him here because I wanted a nice evening out without any drama. It has /nothing/ to do with us."

Mary J. Blige peeks her head up from the other side of the buffet table. "Hey guys. Pass the macaroni."
Shaggy scoops himself some and hands it across the piles of chicken to the songstress. "No drama, right, Mary?"

"You damn right."

More eating.

She relaxes as Eric seems to see her point, and makes it easier for Eric to get around her. Caught by surprise in this way, she whirls to address the man again, to call after him and sharply advise just letting her friend be, only to see… what, the Joker? No, this just isn't happening… No further effort to speak with or stop Eric is made, she leaves him to the mission of Joker-tackling, and in her own frustration goes for her favorite outlet. There's a stage, there are guitars, and the band is on break.

She relaxes as Eric seems to see her point, and makes it easier for Eric to get around her. Caught by surprise in this way, she whirls to address the man again, to call after him and sharply advise just letting her friend be, only to see… what, the Joker? No, this just isn't happening… No further effort to speak with or stop Eric is made, Jane leaves him to the mission of Joker-tackling, and in her own frustration goes for her favorite outlet. There's a stage, there are guitars, and the band is on break.

Oh my god. She can't believe it. When Jaden INSISTS, Elena rolls her eyes skyward, snatching her phone up and oblivious to the taller, oversexed Lancaster bearing for her. And then, she hears him, leaning on the table next to her and then, here it comes. The unmistakeable…

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey baby."

Elena looks up. Brett Lancaster looks just like Eric, only older, a little beefier, and somewhat smarmier. He's also intent on looking down the tanktop she is wearing. Her eyebrow twitches. And twitches some more.

"So what do you say you and me go have a private party of our own…"

Something about a party. Private. With older Eric Lookalike Who Isn't Really Him. Elena busily texts Jaden back:

'BRB'

Without looking at Brett Lancaster, she points right to the middle of his forehead.

"Down, Casanova," she orders.

Ramon sweeps up behind Elena and drapes his tux jacket over her shoulders. He gives Brett a flat look which says, "I still want someone to hit tonight and you're looking likely, man." And then he turns and murmurs to Elena in Spanish, rapid-fire and intense.

Ramon whispers: You are under age, you've been drinking, that man looks like a predator and I want to take you home.

When Cass is back on her feet, Lachlan stuffs his hands into his pockets again and adopts the hunched-shouldered, frown-faced position of a chastised puppy. "A'righ'," he mumbles, accepting this explanation without further question. "'M sorry." Of course Ramon is just a friend. /Cass/ isn't the horrible, dirty, awful cheater in this relationship; /he/ is. Right? And here she was wanting to get away from drama, and he just caused a load of it. God, now /he/ feels like a hole.

And sure enough, a wave of dizziness and euphoria hits him. Brett slides to the floor, the potent wave of ZOMG hitting his senses. He looks RATHER HAPPY when he does it though, slumping down on the ground with Elena looking over at him dispassionately, a look of disgust and irritation on her face, hand propped on her hip and looking very much like what a defiant latina should. If her mother was alive, she'd be so proud. It was rare to see Elena so assertive.

"Oh. Dear. It seems that the man has had too much wine," she says flatly, reaching down to arrange it so it looks like he's just leaning on the table, having had too much to drink.

Ah, Ramon. The apple does not fall far from the tree.

When Papa comes to drape the tux jacket over her, she looks over at him and she stands up. "I'm sorry your evening went bust, Papa," she tells him in Spanish.

Time Passes…
Bat Nipples Harden…
More Time Passes…

Frosty Bat….

Jaden can't stand for this much longer. He taptaptaps on his cell phone: 'I'm going out there. It's getting wild and crazy like kids on Nickelodeon. The suit is waiting for you.'

Don't try to figure out how, but moments later there's a crash! Slow motion kicks in and the breakaway glass in the skylight of the roof… well… breaks away! Falling down in all of his heroic glory is… well… Batman.

Adam West Batman.

Well, at least it looks like that. It can't be Jaden, that's for sure. Because, well, Jaden's just a regular old billionaire playboy. He rises from his landing crouch, showing off the campy yellow utility belt in all of its bad visual glory. "Alright, everyone. Just relax." He looks around for any security or authority. "I'll take it from here."

Shaggy hops up, yanking a drumstick out of his mouth, "It's the Caped Crusader!" POINT!

The Architect, who PAINSTAKINGLY opened up the Crystal Pavilion EARLY for this mishegas STARES when Jaden CRASHES THROUGH THE GLASS. Glass he imported from EUROPE. The glass was Irish crystal! IRISH~!

"….I….I….I…"

The old man faints.

Frowning, Cass takes in Lachlan's dejected figure and lets out a frustrated sigh. "Okay. I just…I just didn't want you running off thinking something that wasn't true." Okay. So, she's chased after Lachlan and made him feel like a jerk. Check. Great. "I should probably find Ramon," she sighs again. Then, when she turns around to go find him, chaos. There are windows breaking above the crowd and a /Batman/ figure dropping down from the sky. And all she can do is gape. "I. Is…what?"

"This is so awesome," Mayor Bloomberg tells Mary J. Blige. "New York benefits like this get way too stuffy."

"You got that right, M. B."

"Pass the chicken."

For the record. Brett looks /alot/ more smarmy then Eric dammit. Of course right now he's less looking smarmy and more…trying not to fall over with that HUGE FLIPPIN GRIN ON HIS FACE.

Of course his sudden fall stops Eric in his tracks. He resists the urge to kick his older brother. Instead he just holds onto his temper as well as he can, staring at Ramon and Elena. Then a curt nod towards the both of them and he turns on his heel to stalk towards the entrace…exit…whatever. Grumble. Mutter. Growl.

…and the roof caves in…and suddenly Batman is there.

Eric just /stares/ its all he can do. He just stares…I mean…what else can he do. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ON?!" He finally calls towards the caped crusader.

Ramon stares at Batman. Stare. Stare. Stare. Stare. "Oh, don't be," he tells Elena in English as he tries to steer her at the door. "Apparently I got some of the /best drugs ever/ somewhere in there tonight…"

She seems momentarily taken aback as the glass shatters and Batman arrives, but it passes and if anything just increases her frustration, stokes the need to play. Jane takes up a guitar, slides the strap over her neck, and within a few more seconds music is being made. She picks a tune which in her mind seems to fit the occasion perfectly, a Dylan piece played in the style of Jimi Hendrix. There's an intro, guitar only, and at the proper place her rich soprano voice comes in. "There must be some kinda way outta here, said the Joker to the thief. There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief…"

When Eric glares at Brett, and turns his eyes to the Gomezes, Elena -glares back at him-. Why the hell was HE pissed? She wasn't the one who was LYING TO HIM. What was he after anyway? She should've known when she smelled another girl on him that he wasn't—!

She spins around, away from the youngest Lancaster. She wanted to cry. She probably will, but not while Papa is escorting her out. Papa who was a telepath. Papa who had a gun. The last thing she wanted despite everything else was to have Eric SHOT AGAIN. He already did that once!

So she just stomps off. She's mad as hell, and she can't take it anymore!

Chaos. Windows breaking. Instinctively, Lachlan leaps forward to wrap Cass up protectively, shielding her from any stray shards of glass that might happen her way. When everything settles, he whips around to glare at the intruder. Dressed as Batman or not, the Scotsman finds that shit /totally uncool/. He casts around for something — anything — that might prove a worthy weapon and grabs hold of a chair. It's served him well in the past. "The /bloody fuckin' hell/ d'ye /think/ yer /doin'/?!" he bellows at the faux-Caped Crusader. He's not charging forward to pummel the guy — that's an improvement. Still, the Scotsman looks about two seconds away from snapping and doing just that.

At the sound of splintering glass, Randall looks up… and then down… and stares. Shaggy and the Chipmunks is one thing, but this takes things to a whole new level. Well, heck, he's all about going along with fun ideas, no matter how misguided or bed-wettingly nuts. And the earlier idea of going and saying hi to Elena is obviously nowhere near being in the cards right now; she's seven kinds of furious at her closest companions, God only knows what she'd do to someone who still only sort of knows her in passing.

And so he climbs up on top of the nearest chair, pointing straight at the masked crusader, and bellows uncharacteristically. "Can SOMEBODY tell me WHAT kind of world we live in, where a man dressed as a BAT gets all of my press?"

And as Lachlan YELLS at Batman, God decides to give the Scotsman a break.

When he looks down, he'll find that a Cornucopia prop having decorated one of the tables has fallen over, and what has rolled to his feet but…

A potato.

Batman whirls around to face Shaggy, "Correct! It is I, the Caped Crusader. The Batman. I'm here to solve this trouble on the double." He pulls on his glove in classic Adam West style and starts walking around the room. "Hmmm. I see. My Bat Nasal Transmitters detect a high pheromone content coming from this general area." He randomly waves a hand off in the direction of Brett's euphoric form. That's when he gets yelled at by Eric and he points off in the wild guy's direction. "Don't do drugs, young man."

And then there's the Scotsman. "Oh ho! Well. If it isn't my worthy and diabolical opponent. The Scotsman." Batman squares his body off, as if preparing to do battle. "Don't make the same mistake Catwoman did. You still have a chance at redemption." Batman says, taking a couple of steps towards Lachlan. "Nobody's really been harmed here. Not yet. I can even talk to the commissioner…" Pause and look over towards the buffet table. "… mayor. I could talk to him and see that you don't go away for a long time." He holds his hands up, as if to keep Lachlan calm. "Just put the chair down, ol' buddy."

This would NORMALLY be a distractionary tactic, but since his PARTNER has LEFT HIM OUT TO FEND FOR HIMSELF… Batman just tries to stall.

Shaggy crunches and looks from Batman to The Scotsman. He looks over and sees Christian doing the same thing, but empty handed. He goes into his bag and offers a tasty crunchy snack. "Pork rind?"
Christian takes it and shoves it in his mouth. "Pork rind." Crunch!

Glass breaking, chaos. Cass is too dumbstruck by how this event has turned out. When she's wrapped up by Lachlan, she doesn't fight it or even move that much. She just kind of leans against him until he's off trying to wield a chair against the Caped Crusader. Warily, Cass takes a step toward the Scotsman. "Lach…" This man doesn't seem dangerous. Just freaking insane. Of course it's the insane ones that are dangerous. And she certainly doesn't want Lach fighting him. Especially if he's just some poor actor. They've had R2-D2s and Chipmunks…why not Batman? "Just…yeah. Let's let him do his thing. I think this is part of the show."

Jane plays on amid the chaos, there on stage in front of the Mayor, Mary J. Blige, the Batman, Lachlan, Cass, Elena as she storms out, her father, Eric, Randall, anyone else who happens to be here. Even the governor of New York if he happened to be present and chatting up ladies of professional nature. "… businessmen drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth, not a one of them along the line have any idea what this is worth…"

Huff. Huff. Huff. Lachlan takes a tighter grip on his chair when Fake!Batman gets closer, and he looks like he might go through with that thought of braining the "superhero". However, just as the veins in his arm look ready to pop beneath the sleeve of his tux, Cass once again has a timely intervention. The Scotsman continues to glare at the masked maniac, but he slowly, slowly starts to calm down until he finally sets the chair down. Maybe the tones of Jimi Hendrix help. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his jacket and continues to scowl warily at "Batman", flicking his gaze briefly to Cass. "Let's get outta here."

"Good show, The Scotsman!" Batman says, saluting with great power and vigor! "Okay, everyone." Batman turns to look at the crowd and keeps his hands where they can see them. "As a deputy officer of New Gotham City, I have to officially cancel this shindig." He frowns, not really wanting to do it, but he needs to. Or something badder will likely happen. "If everyone could head towards the exits in a calm and orderly fashion, I was Batpreciate it."

Not that Randall is truly upset about being upstaged by Lachlan - the man has so much more experience at it, after all - but he still puts on a huff, for effect. "My point exactly!" he exclaims, hopping down and heading closer to the center of the room. "Let me guess. Laundry day. Am I right?"

"I…" Cass tries to find Ramon again in the crowd, but she doesn't see him anywhere. "Yeah. Let's. He'd batpreciate it if we left in an orderly fashion." That's said with a weak smile. This has certainly been much too weird of an evening for something that was supposed to be a simple night out on the town. "I must say. You look pretty good in a tux, though."

If she heard the Batman's instruction to depart, Jane isn't complying. She seems to have entered her own little bubble onstage now, letting herself drift into what she plays and closing everything else off. "'No reason to get excited', the thief he kindly spoke. 'There are many here among us who think that life is but a joke…'"
Ain't that the truth.

Crazy party. Had he been drunker and less angry, Lachlan might've enjoyed it more, but right now he's tired and grumpy and he just wants to go somewhere to relax and sleep and pretend that he didn't make a huge ass of himself in front of one of Cass' friends. It obviously didn't do her any favors. He turns and starts heading for the exit again. The compliment earns Cass a lifted eyebrow, then a glance down at himself. "Yeah?" He frowns and rolls his shoulders a bit. "S'bloody uncomfortable, s'wha'." A pause as he looks at her, examining her for apparently the first time this evening — and grinning. "Damn." That's all he says. It's very appreciative.

Eric? He's already on his way out. This has been one of the worst days of his life. However he does pause a moment to sigh and fix himself up for a moment before he drifts over towards his family on the way out. He says his plesentries of course, and then quietly tells his dad that he needs to talk to him later. He'll call and come over but…its a rather intresting idea he has in store. A very profitible idea it is. Towards Cass and Lach? Well he dosn't say a thing, he just nods once towards them before off he goes on.

"Damn is quite right," Cass replies to the appreciative swear about her appearance. She /worked/ at looking good tonight. "Though I'll be quite happy to get out of these heels." As they've already caused one accident to happen this evening. "And, yeah. You do." When Eric walks by, Cass frowns and nods back in his direction. She feels bad at yelling at him in the heat of the argument, but now doesn't really seem like the time for big long apologies.

Remorse is twofold here in Lass Land. Lachlan recalls shouting at Eric too, but he also doesn't apologize for it — because Lachlan never apologizes for such things (unless it's Cass). He nods back to the other man, though, before turning his attention to Cass. "Canna wait ta get ye outta tha' dress either," he remarks with a sly grin. Sure, he may not be the one getting her out of it when the evening's out, but he can dream! And he can flirt. And he can /tease/.

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