Starring:
Summary: Elena's constant headaches take a toll on EVERYONE in Club DNA's. What can she say, people? She's a giver.
Date It Happened: July 5, 2007
Simply An Accident
Ladies and gentlemen, please! Remain in your seats! Do not panic! It
was an accident, simply an accident!
— Andre, Phantom of the Opera
Club DNA's, Somewhere in New York City
Girls Night Out.
Plus Benjamin Winters.
This should be a tame evening, right? Except Elena's been having some problems in the last few days. Namely….she hasn't been able to control her powers in the usual deft way she could. She has managed to surmise that perhaps this was a consequence of the mad headache she's had going since her father transplanted an anti-invasion thought-suggestion in her head. So when Cass called and invited her out for dancing, she was all for it.
After all. It's Benji and Cass. What COULD go wrong?
So she heads up Club DNA's armed with her fake ID (thanks to Nadia), and dressed up in a simple, black, purple, and silver spaghetti-strapped dress. It has a square neckline, and of modest length - right on the calves, and a skirt that swished around for dancing. Her hair is loose, and she's got dangly earrings on. "Thanks for inviting me out, guys," she tells Cass and Benji with a hint of a smile. "I've been feeling a little cooped up."
The club is in full swing. Pulsing dance beats, lights. People drinking and making BAD DECISIONS all night. It's the typical pre-weekend celebration most hip New Yorkers engaged in. Let's see how they fare after being invaded by a trio of dorks.
"Hey, of course." Cass is dressed up in a long, black halter topped dress, hair curled and bright red lipstick. She's definitely feeling more herself lately, less like a hospital patient and more in control of everything. She's off of her anti-biotics and that definitely calls for a celebratory drink. Not to mention the fact that her surprise for Lachlan went very well - after the beginning hitch. Things are slowly getting back to normal and she wants to go out and enjoy that.
So, she called a few people together that she hasn't seen in a social setting in awhile and went out. "Oh, of course, it'll be great. I'll get you a Shirley Temple, Benjamin gets a…I don't know what you drink, Benjamin…and I'll have a cosmopolitan. It'll be like one of those great shows you see all the time on HBO. Except without all the sex in the bathroom. I'm not really dressed for that sort of thing tonight." And Lachlan isn't here, so that would definitely not be happening.
With the Den closed, Jack has been forced to seek other places to publicly endulge in debauchery. Because when you do it alone at home you're an alcoholic. He's dressed in a smartly tailored dark grey suit with a Mandarin-collared white shirt and old-fashioned, highly polished shoes. Perched at the bar and sipping vodka on the rocks, he's watching people dance, dreaming about cigarettes, and only vaugely blending in. He's bred for dives over clubs.
Benjamin looks and feels very much out of place in the club. For one, he hasn't clubbed in ever, and he just came in from work. He was surprised to have gotten the invite, and it made him a wee bit.. scratch that.. a lot paranoid. Along with a heaping side-dish of additional guilt. But there is alcohol, so maybe that will help bad feelings go away. Or maybe not so much. Alcohol. Bad. Let's not go there again… this week. ".. I think I'm over the age limit here," he admits to Cass and Elena, with a slightly forced smile to go along with it. He's glad to see that Cass is better, with a miraculous recovery no less.. but he can't quite seem to meet her eyes. "I'll just have a coke." Pansy.
"That's okay Mr. Winters," Elena says with a grin. "We'll both be unalcoholics tonight." Because Cass will probably frown at her if she tried to use her ID to score something alcoholic to drink. Not like it'll affect her much anyway. Still, she follows. "I like your dress, Cass. You look great today. I can't quite place it, though…..kinda glowy," she says admiringly. While she loves black, she certainly doesn't wear it too often. Little black dresses that looked good on her aren't cheap. So she follows the two adults to the bar. "So how's everything?" Directed to both of her companions as she leans against the bar and lets her eyes roam. "Oh hey, I think I see Jack."
George is here directly from work as well, with just a minor couple of tweaks to the outfit to suit the surroundings. Normally he'd be more relaxed, but some heavy stuff went down pretty recently. "Yeah, get me another, would ya?" he says to the bartender, finishing up a rum and Coke and passing the glass back. He's not aiming for drunk, honest Injun! Just taking the edge off of things.
Hanging around at the bar is Desmond Cusick, who has ordered some Absolut neat and is now examining the prospects for the night. She's too fat, she wears too much makeup, she's too thin, she's probably got herpes, he's probably not gay (and Desmond doesn't want to pick up a man in a public spot anyway). Sigh. Life's rough when you're having a picky evening. Dressed in a black tailored suit over a red shirt, lacking a tie, the actor frowns at the dance floor — then spots a semi-familiar face and a very good-looking prospect. Shame they're with that tall, lanky, geeky-looking fellow. Taking a sip from his vodka, Desmond considers the trio a moment before he starts to sidle a little closer, keeping his eyes on the dance floor.
"You okay, Benjamin?" Cass gives Benjamin a once over. He looks a little out of sorts. He's usually nervous, but now he seems down or something. "Just a coke? Come one, at least put a little rum in it. We're never going to get you out on the dance floor if you're not at least a little drunk." The book store owner is not at all shy at saying her intentions of getting Benjamin drunk and taking advantage of him. For his dancing abilities. Beaming at Elena, she laughs. "Thanks, Elena! I'll tell you the secret to a really good glow when you're older." Because Ramon would kill her if she tried to explain it to her now. "Jack? Really?" The idea of seeing Jack kind of makes her blush. At least /this/ time, she's much more clothed than the last time she saw him.
Oh, look! It's Elena! And Benji! And… And Cass? Jack inhales some vodka, chokes briefly, and spends a few seconds looking at the ceiling. When he's looks back he appears to have composed himself. He smiles crookedly and meanders over to be sociable with drink in hand. "Uhhh. 'ey everybody. How's it going? Ladies, you look wonderful." He also might be blushing. Just a little. "Ben. S'good to see you again, boy-o."
Benjamin isn't looking at Cass's dress. Or Elena's. Oh gawd. Neither women should be looked at like.. AUGH. It's not right okay? He refrains from answering Elena's question. Didn't hear you! La-la-la. Too loud in here. What? The sheriff is near? Keeping quiet, which thankfully isn't too strange for him, he just follows the two women. Why? He's not sure. He sure as Hell sucks for a chaperone, that's for certain. "Huh? No.. I'm sure.. just a coke. Sorry, it's been a hectic week, and I already got dr.." Jack? Who? OH. If Jack's blushing, Benji looks downright embarrassed. "Hey, nice to see you again," he directs to the Irishman.
"….why? Why can't I find out now?" Elena asks, furrowing her brows curiously at Cass when she tells her she'll give her the secret to a good glow someday. Maybe Heidi will tell her? She did leave a message to the older woman to see if she wanted to go dancing tonight. Either way she takes her shirley temple, and drinks it. When Jack approaches them, she grins, bounding over to him and standing up on her tip-toes to peck his cheek. "Nuncle! I didn't think these sorts of places were your thing, is Trina around?" she asks, searching for the blue-eyed motorhead.
George receives his refill, thanks the barkeep with a few extra bills, then drains some of it before taking a look around. Hey, cute number in the black dress over there! Even if she's a little young for him. Okay, more than a little. Anyway, he shoots her a quick wave, noting Cass and Benjamin at about the same time, and promptly forming the wrong first impression about them. This will no doubt exacerbate something or other, later in the evening.
Oh, another man's joined the mix. He's not as bleh as the tall lanky one, and he gets cheek-kisses, but Desmond figures that's as about as Platonic as one can get. Desmond drains the rest of his vodka and then ambles over up to the bar right next to Cass' gang, setting his glass down. "Another, please," he tells the bartender before glancing over at the others — and giving Elena a wink. "Fancy meeting you here," he addresses Cass. "Funny, your boyfriend looks like the type who wouldn't mind a show now and then."
Message received, and given the fact that Heidi isn't doing anything at all tonight, she heads out toward the designated club, looking as if she belongs - surprisingly. Heidi has a good idea of what the current fashion trends are, despite her age, which hints that maybe she might be the slightest bit vain. She likes to look good. Has to. Since recently, if she looks /terrible,/ her face is likely to show up in the local papers in the DISASTERS section, or whatever there is. Still, she's not exactly the partier type - at least without a few glasses of wine. Eventually, she makes it in, searching for Elena.
Jack grins over at his newest drinking buddy. "I had a blast when you came through the Den. We'll have to do it again sometime." He gives Benji a manly clap on the shoulder and polishes off his vodka. That makes three. He manages not to spill and ice when Elena comes up to give him a tacklesmooch. He blushes a shade deeper and shakes his head as he wraps her up in a one-armed hug. "S'not really my scene, but I had to—" Desmond's arrival doesn't go unnoticed. "'M not her boyfriend, but I love goin' to shows," he replies honestly.
Benjamin gets his coke from the bartender, and gulps it down. Mainly to keep from talking.. but this backfires as he chokes at Jack's comment. A weak nod is made as he tries to force the soda out of his sinus cavity. Thank you. "Y-yeah. Sorry about passing out on the floor of your bar." Aw. He apologized for that. He gives a polite nod to Desmond as he sidles on over. No clue that it was just implied he was with Cass.
She pulls back and smiles at Jack. "I know, but still. Are you gonna cut up the floor tonight?" Elena asks eagerly. She did dance for fun, after all. Hell, she competed. When she pulls away, she blinks at someone waving at her, and stares at him for a little bit. "….Cass….Cass….I think Matt Damon just waved at me," she murmurs under her breath at the other woman. With a beaming smile (while pondering just how she could grab him for an autograph while gushing at how much she loved the Bourne Identity and he could kick James Bond's ass any day), she is about to continue, but Desmond strolls along, gives her a wink, and says hello to Cass, her jaw -drops- open as she stares at him. Why? Because Phantom of the Opera was ONLY her most favorite musical EVER. She can't help but lift a finger. "Y…y…y…you're…"
Thankfully, she catches one hot, blue-eyed number enter the club. She can't help it, her jaw drops even further at what the other woman is wearing. Between Cass and now Heidi she feels like a frump! MAN. Maybe she SHOULD just be a nun. "Heidi!" She waves from where she is.
This is not exactly Kasey's scene, really. Club = People = Touching = Hot chicks + Jealous Boyfriends = Comas = Juvie = The Equation just explodes here. SO, the only reason Kasey is here, is probably because he comes with a group of guys. Bob, Larry and Joe. The lovely NPC posse that abandons the young man- ting near the door once they actually are inside. He/She/Is is dressed relatively simply, decent leather jacket thrown over a white button down shirt, a pair of baggy (YET IRONED) jeans and docs on his feet, hair tousled with black fedora patted down on it, if only to TRY to have a brim to hide his eyes. That's where style attempts can join the Failboat. So now he's just going to wander around mostly aimlessly, hands shoved in pockets and keeping his eyes on his feet. The floor was talking to him.
"Because your father would flay me alive and set me out in front of his doorway as an example for all others," Cass explains to Elena as she grabs the stem of her cosmopolitan and takes a careful sip of it. She's been known to spill things. "Er, hi. Jack." She's just as embarrassed at seeing him so soon after he interrupted her surprise for Lachlan. Then, all of the sudden someone is talking to her and she doesn't even know who he is. Or possibly she's forgotten. "Huh? If you were talking to me, he's not my boyfriend. And Matt Damon doesn't live on this coast. He's in LA. I think." Because if he /did/ just wave at Elena, she's gong to be very jealous. There's a lot of conversation going on at once and it's hard to keep up with it all.
Desmond raises an eyebrow at Jack, then grins a bit. "That's good to hear, boy-o," he states, playing off Jack's accent, "but I was talking to your friend here." He nods to Cass — and then Elena starts her stuttering and the actor's grin grows. "Desmond Cusick. And you're very pretty." He extends a hand toward Elena. "Do you dance?"
George eyes Elena a bit longer. And smiles back. Okay, so yesterday his karma was crap, but if this is the flip side— Oh, but her attention's gone and wandered. Well, it was nice while it lasted. Then, overhearing that name, he squints and looks around. There aren't a whole lot of Heidis around— and yeah, that is indeed the boss's wife over there. Huh.
Yes, Heidi is hot or something! She can't run around in jeans and t-shirts all the times. She does dres up at times! And - there is Elena. Still appearing uncomfortable - she realises that when she dances, /people get hurt,/ she heads over to the bar in order to get something for herself to drink. She won't be driving tonight, after all. And once she has something (who knows what it is, Heidi's player doesn't drink) she'll go over to say hello to Elena and Cass. And Jack, who she's probably seen by now around the mansion. She can't catch everything said, and only hears 'Matt Damon.' "Matt Damon is here?" is the resulting greeing.
Many lots of people, many lots of hot girls…Kasey scans the crowd for his posse, but Bob, Larry and Joe, sadly have moved on and are no where to be found, so the footballer just facepalms, pivots smoothly on a heel and heads back for the door. QUICKLY, with HASTE. There is teh fleeing. If he was playing a game, this would be the workings for a touchdown. He's at the 30, the 20, the 10 - TOUCHDOWN, he barrels out of the door.
"Why would Papa flay you alive? He'd never do that to a woman," Elena says simply to Cass….until the realization FINALLY sinks in. "Oh…OH…" She can't help the flush on her cheeks. She clears her throat, only for Heidi to arrive and smile at them. "Hi, Heidi….this is Benjamin Winters, my father's friend. You know Cass and Jack, and this is Desmond Cusick," she says, making quick introductions. "He's currently the Phantom at this season's Phantom of the Opera, and he's -awesome-…" Fangirling? SHE'S ALLOWED TO, right? And when Heidi wonders about Matt Damon, she gently nudges Heidi to look over THERE where George waved at her. "There. Doesn't he look just like Matt Damon?" she murmurs. Of course she doesn't know that the guy actually works for the Petrelli campaign so Heidi might actually recognize him.
When Desmond extends a hand though and asks if she dances, she can only nod, coloring in her cheeks further. "I…yes I do. I compete on occasion," she tells him cheerfully, despite the embarassed look. But he extends a hand out, she hesitantly reaches up to take it. Because she doesn't know any better. After all, he looks nice!
Nathan flattens himself against the door as an androgynous young— person barrels on by. Bad move to fall down even before drinking. Dressed chicly all in black, this gives the illusion that he's not 40-years-old, perhaps. Glancing at his watch, just a little later than when he said he's get here, the wnanabe-Senator glances around at the crowd with just a touch of reservation, before heading on in, looking in search for his wife.
Benjamin just… blinks at Desmond picking up Elena.. and he's so not telling Ramon. Because Ramon is his friend, who will run him over with the van because he let Elena get picked up on. Oi.. maybe he can just slip on out and not be noticed. This.. really isn't his scene and he can't think of anything to really say that's not painful small talk. Then.. Oh good! Introductions. This he can do. He smiles politely and nods at Heidi, "Hi, pleased to meet you… and what?? That was the guy playing the Phantom? Oh man.. I'm taking my mother to see that performance soon.."
Jack confused. Jack ver' confused. Now is as good a time as any to order another drink. With his usual lack of manners and grace, he reaches across the bar to grab a server by the sleeve. "Hey! Vodka. Rocks. Double. Hurry?" Smiling hopefully, he waves a ten dollar bill. Moments later it's exchanged for the requested drink. Pleased, he slurps down a snootful and turns to raise a hand in salute to both Desmond and Heidi.
"Heidi!" Cass greets friendly enough when she spots the senator's wife coming toward them. "Hey!" Raising her drink in a gesture toward of greeting, she smiles. "Get yourself a drink and settle in with us." The mention of Desmond Cusick /still/ doesn't ring any bells for poor Cass, so she might be more warning of her friend going off dancing with him, but for the moment she's just cautiously wary. They came here to dance and she's not about to deny her friend the chance to. "I only saw Phantom when I was younger. My dad took me." Smiling at Benjamin, not in a making fun of way, she adds, "That's nice of you to take your mother to things."
Desmond grins wider, pleased that Elena does indeed dance, and that she's going to now dance with him. And though it's generally not a good idea to sleep with fans, well, let's just see where the night goes, shall we? Yes. He laughs a bit at the compliment. "Thank you. It's always nice to hear that others appreciate my work." Before he leads Elena off, though, he glances over at Benjamin and smiles. "Oh really? Where will you be sitting?"
"And it's a pleasure to meet you all," he adds as an afterthought.
"Well… Mom loves theater, and she still works when she can on or off stage.. And I'm still real close with her." Because Mama Winters won't let it be otherwise. That's why. Benjamin does however give Cass a smile for her words, meeting her eyes, then looking away as Desmond addresses him, "Mezzanine, first row. Those are usually the best seats for most shows."
Fangirling is a typical reaction when you run into an idol, so it's understandable. It gives people someone to look up to, which considering some of the activities around the city lately, that's pretty important. In other news, introductions! Holding onto her drink (It's something with alcohol, really!) she shakes hands of the people nearby, looking over toward where Elena's indicated Matt Damon is standing. And… She laughs. "That's George." Pause. "The other George. He works for Nathan." Though they haven't talked, she's at least aware of the people who work for her husband.
She doesn't see Nathan yet, since she's looking back over toward Cass, Desmond, and the others, before taking a seat. She… is not going to dance, especially if Nathan plans to be here.
When he doesn't immediately find his wife, Nathan veers towards the bar. Gin and tonic, is what's ordered. Heavy on the gin. Handing over far too much money for a simple drink, clubs are just like that, Nathan cranes his neck to glance around and— picks out faces in the crowd, Heidi's among them. Oh, good. He polishes off half his drink with a slight shudder, for fortitude, and heads on over, zigzagging as one does through the crowd o' people, drink held protectively.
"George? — oh, another George," Elena says with a laugh, giving George another wave, but her hand is taken and she is turned towards the dance floor. "Okay, well - I'll be back in a little while…" Her eyes sweep the room again and she blinks at the sight of Nathan Petrelli. "Oh, I didn't know Nate was coming," she says, waving to Nathan from where she is with a smile. And then, she's led off to dance with Desmond, looking up the much taller man as she chats. "I heard you opened up your own theater recently, how's it doing?" she asks. See? Someone who reads the papers!
Jack eyetwitches when it becomes apparent that Elena's going to go off with Desmond, but he keeps his yap shot. Apparently you can teach an old dog new tricks. When he spots his buddy Nate, he beckons the other man over with an above-head wave. "Hey! Over here, man!"
One more wave back, then George looks around to figure out where Heidi— Oh, there she is, over there. And there's the boss. What's he doing here? Well, no matter, they're on personal time so he'll leave them alone. Instead, he turns to chat up a redhead sitting closer by, only to find that she's ducked out for some fresh air. Well, hell.
Heidi gives Elena and Desmond a curious glance. She knows… Well, it's none of her business, really, and this /is/ a club, so dancing does happen. It's probably nothing. Besides, Desmond is the Phantom of the Opera! Attention turning away from Elena - though she does offer a smile - she notices that Nathan has finally arrived, and raises from her seat enough so that she can give him a kiss on the cheek. Which is totally not her way of saying /MINE, KEEP AWAY./
ROAR
She's working through her drink slowly, mostly because she doesn't /want/ to get drunk. Tipsy is okay, but this Petrelli likes to play on the side of caution. Usually. Graduation parties of little brothers are the exception, except she knows how painful her dancing is, and that's embarrassing. "I hoped you'd show up," she says to Nathan, sitting back down.
"Those are excellent seats," Desmond replies to Benjamin. And the name Winters sparks something in his mind, in conjunction to the mention of work in the theater. "Yes, stick around — we'll talk more." Right now, there's dancing. He leads Elena off to the dance floor without a care as to who might be glaring daggers into the back of his head because of it (*coughJACKcough*). At her question, he grins again. "It's doing well so far. Honestly, I'm waiting for the novelty of a new venue to wear off. Then we'll really see how well it's doing." His gaze moves briefly back toward the group. "I didn't know you knew Nathan Petrelli." He reads the papers too.
Wave to Elena - is she old enough to dr— whatever. Nathan waves once, before catching Jack's greeting and heading on over. Kissing Heidi's cheek in return, he moves to sit down, lifting his glass towards Cass and Jack. "Hi." Suave greeting, not really, it's because his sober and Cass's sober are combining together to manifest into awkwardness! Not that he'd realise this. "Eventually," he says to Heidi. "All the traffic was against me. You look good."
"We usually claim similar seats for the season .. sure," Benjamin says to Desmond before he finishes off his coke then gets a refill.. without rum. Even if it's tempting. He turns around, putting his back to the bar as he looks around, and he doubletakes. Isn't that.. oi.. He didn't expect to see that Petrelli guy in here. He reads the papers too. Religiously. Duh. Okay, so not staring now.
Another long sip of her cosmopolitan as she watches and listens to Benjamin, Cass frowns. "You sure you're alright? You seem kind of down." The poor man wears his heart on his sleeve. However, there's more people that need a bit of talking to and JAck is one of them. Mostly because of the eyetwitching. "Don't worry, Jack. We'll make sure he doesn't do anything untoward. And if we does, we'll beat him over the head with my shoes. They're heels and will do a lot of damage." That comes right on the heels of Nathan entering the conversation and Cass almost chokes on the swig of cosmopolitan she was taking. "N-Nathan," she manages once all the liquor has cleared out of her windpipe. "Hi. Disregard anything you heard about death by shoes."
So there she goes, dancing with the PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. The other people in her dance crew would flip! Chalk yet another score in a lengthy list of life's adventures for her. Elena smiles as Desmond answers her question about the theater. "So what's the turnaround on that like?" she asks. And then she laughs. "I'm sorry, it's just that I've never actually met anyone famous off Broadway before, forgive my questions, I can get too curious sometimes." Though when she brings up Nathan Petrelli, she can't help the flush return on her cheeks. GAW. What the hell. She wanted to go out and NOT think about…but…goddamnit! "I….I don't really know him that well," she begins. "But I'm…good friends with his brother. And his sister-in-law." She nods to where Heidi stands, adding that on quickly.
The headache. It's intensifying now. Unbeknownst to her best efforts, she's sending certain signals. Good signals. UNEXPECTED signals. -Everywhere-.
Elena also does NOT mention the chicken suit Nathan Petrelli sent her at Evosoft. FOR EVERYONE to see.
Not completely oblivious, and more than a little cautious now, Heidi can't help noticing the distinct discomfort between Cass and Nathan. However, she's still not willing to throw accusations around so easily, and is content to simply give Nathan an odd look and go back to staring into her drink. The affair didn't completely change Heidi, even if it did make her more aware of the fact that their marriage was a little rocky for just a little while. She knows Nathan loves her. Nothing to worry about.
The feeling is almost unnoticable at first; Heidi passes it off as nothing, except it /gets worse./ The desire for Nathan is suddenly much more than she intended. Hell, to be honest, the desire for almost anyone /near her/ is pretty much at. The worst thing is, she knows what's happening… Blue eyes glance toward Elena before she thinks /To hell with it/ and grabs Nathan by the shirt collar. NOT EXACTLY WHAT SHE PLANNED. But hey. Whatever. And she'll pull him down into more than just a kiss on the cheek.
Jack grins brightly at Cass' offer of shoes as weapons. "Atta girl," he encourages her. "But 'Lena can look out for herself. They're just dancin', after all. Man, is it gettin' hotter in here?" He tugs at his collar briefly and clears his throat. "What was I sayin'? Man, you look freakin' pretty." He clears his throat again, suddenly finding his eyes on Heidi. "So do you. Who wants to dance? Ben, let's dance with these ladies."
"Huh? Oh yeah, fine Cass.. I'm just.. I feel really out of place here. That's all." No really. He's not feeling guilty for many many reasons. Benjamin forces another smile at the bookseller, "Glad to see that you're doing so much better now and not in the hospital anymore." The former accountant is now wishing he had of just gone home to change, but this was so close to work, and who's he kidding? He would have worn a suit anyway. Which is getting hot, as evidenced by him reaching up to loosen his tie… and hey.. dancing does suddenly sound good. Not that the thought occurred to him until Jack mentioned it. "Good idea!," he says to Jack. Suddenly feeling too good for his sober nature, his head starts to bob.. then his whole body follows.. without warning.. he's kinda dancing /into/ Cass. Not that it could be considered dancing. It's more like bouncing into her!
Nathan frowns, swirling his drink. Apparently this is a pretty good club, he feels suddenly right at home. Surrounded by pretty people, such as his wife, and Cass, and— not Jack, that's very wrong. Nathan clears his throat, turning to Heidi. He was very correct - she does look good tonight. He's about to speak, when all of a sudden, he can't because he's getting YANKED closer and into a kiss. His glass goes skittering and spilling liquor and ice on the ground, but that /hardly/ matters. Is it hot in here or is that just Heidi?
The awkwardness is actually nothing having to do with what Heidi might assume. It's only because Cass and Nathan are together and neither of them are on mind-altering substances. Whether that be liquor or (in Cass' case) morphine. However, that is all about to change! Because Elena is pumping her happy drugs into the atmosphere and, really, she should have caught the sudden change in her mood. But, all of the sudden she's flushed and really can't help but want to move. A lot. Because normally this is the sort of thing that happens when she's drinking and dancing around Lachlan. Before she can even answer Jack that she /would/ actually like to dance, however, she's being thrown against Benjamin. Her drink goes flying everywhere as she goes sprawling towards Jack.
Hey! This works! When Cass is bounced in Jack's direction, he grins toothily and bounces her right back at Benji with his midsection. Think epic ping pong match. Not only that, he reaches around Cass' shoulders to give Benji a hearty high-five. "SCORE!" Unf unf unf. He unbuttons and strips off his expensive suit jacket and tosses it aside casually. Dancing Takes Precedent. "YEAH BABY THIS IS HOT!"
Something in her brain is warring with itself, contemplating between the fact that she knows /exactly/ why she had this sudden change in mood, and the fact that Nathan has never looked better. Neither has Jack, for that matter. The drink in her hand falls out of it, clattering to the floor. The shattering of glass is deadened by the loud music.
She needs to do something about this.
God, is there a table nearby she can— Just—
Needs to /do something/ about this.
She pulls out of the kiss, fully intending to go attempt to speak with Elena about this, except… "Nathan," she says, intending for it to be a protest, except it totally doesn't sound like that. Begging? Pleading? Yeah, that'd be more of a proper description. She stands, pulling him into another kiss, trying to press him against the bar.
"Turnaround is pretty good for such a thing. It really does depend on what shows and what casts you use." Desmond nods at the explanation of how Elena knows the Petrellis. "I see." And … it … wow, it's a little warm in here, isn't it? Huh. The actor's not exactly leaping at Elena, but he's definitely feeling urges. Clearing his throat softly, he manages not to pull the girl right up against him. Instead, he smiles down at her. "You know, you're very beautiful and an excellent dancer." But … but … she's not that excellent a dancer, is she? Wow. Desmond's felt some attractions before, but this? Holy hell.
Benjamin is just missing the right color of suit. He's dressed far too conservatively for what he's doing, but he doesn't care! Jack's high-five is met, returned, as he's still bobbing his head, and working on bouncing off of Cass! "I LOVE THIS SONG," he shouts over the music.. having no freaking clue what it is he's actually listening too over the sound system..
o/~ Oh baby, don't hurt me.
Distantly, Nathan is aware that this is not very good conduct. But somewhere between him being pulled up to stand and then his back hitting the bar, he's really not sure if he should be caring. "Heid—" More kissing. Okay. Nathan wraps his arms around her waist, hoisting her up a little. CHANGE PLACES. Heidi gets to lean against the bar, and finally, Nathan comes up for air. And glances around. He has a situation that needs to be walked off, it seems. Step back and assess.
…but he really doesn't want to. He slams his palm against the bar just next to Heidi, apparently attempting to get the bartenders attention. "Two gins, thanks," he says, then resumes kissing his wife.
"Guys!" Bounce. "/GUYS/." BOUNCE. Cass doesn't mind dancing. In fact she /likes/ dancing. But this isn't really dancing. This is being ping-ponged between to men. And it kind of hurts. Letting her glass drop to the floor, she finally just attempts to step backwards against the bar and almost into….Nathan and Heidi. Making out /very intensely/. My. Something may be wrong here, but it feels so good. "God damn. Where is Lachlan when I need him."
"ME TOO MAN THIS SHIT IS KICKIN'," Jack shouts back to Benji. "WHAT IS LOOOOOOVE~" He starts shouting to Cass inbetween crotch-jostles. "Hey!" Bounce. "Sorry about the other night!" Slam. You got nice boobs, though!" Unf. He nods earnestly, as if he's explaining a particularly important and secretive fact. "Hey! I think the Petrellis are gonna bone! Way to go, Nate Dogg!" He sticks two fingers in his mouth and whistles, then whips out his cell phone and takes a couple of shaky-handed pictures.
As she dances with Desmond, a single name reverberates in the deep recesses of her now conscious mind, pulsing along with her headache….and apparently pulsing along with the NIGHT AT THE ROXBURY RE-ENACTMENT at the bar. Now that the issue was brought up, she can't stop thinking about it….and this is the sole reason why the things she's sending IS ONLY GETTING WORSE. Elena can't help but lift her hand to her head a little bit. "I feel a little dizzy," she murmurs at Desmond, even as he looks down at her and smiles and says those things girls usually strip their undies for men like him before. But unlike the others, she's rather immune to the effects - she has to use them on HERSELF to be affected but it seems that whatever she's transmitting is…. but she continues dancing…until…she can't anymore. She tries to push back…but she ends up leaning heavily on Desmond. "I think I might….I think I need to sit down. I'm sorry," she tells Desmond. Her head feels so heavy, but she does ease away….
Just in time to be STEAMROLLED, like a dork, by a horde of FIVE GIRLS who are in town due to a Maxim Magazine photoshoot so they can get all up on Desmond. They look like Maxim Girl July, June, December, November, and February, all crowding around the Julian MacMahon lookalike telling him about how much they loved Nip/Tuck.
"What? Can't hear you! MUSIC IS TOO LOUD," Benjamin replies to Cass.. he's still slam bouncing around, oblivious, head bobbing.. Wow, he's gonna be sore tomorrow. "Why do you need him? Plenty of guys here!" What? It needed pointing out.. although Jack's doing enough of that. "Don't talk about her boobs in public like that! It's not nice!" If Cass wriggles away from the dancing duo, Ben shrugs and slams into Jack. "WOOO! Go Mr. Petrelli! SCORE!"
And the song playing right now is, of course…
~What is looooooooooove?
Baby don't hurt me!
Don't hurt me!
No moooooooooooore!~
No. No. No. No.
"Wait," she gasps, breathing heavily. The thought that, if something happens without Elena knowing what's going on, she's going to be more than just simply embarrassed… It kind of helps, a little. She has to allow another kiss, though, because she has /no/ willpower to stop it. Still, she's looking elsewhere now, and it's not just her and Nathan. "Wait," she repeats. Heidi takes a deep breath, but the air in here is stuffy, and— "Wait. Just. Wait." It's more for her benefit than Nathan's. "I'll be back."
It's difficult. With her ears ringing, she totally misses Jack's words, misses the cellphone picture-taking, and tries to find Elena. The voices hit her ears, and she smiles, not having the presense of mind to be the least bit embarrassed - yet. Oh, but she will. She will. "Elena!" she calls.
"Are you all right?" No, Elena is obviously not all right, and— ASOIUGTADFGJ — she just fell against him and Desmond is really not in a position to be fallen against for any respectable public anything of any sort. He catches her and tries his best to keep his hips away from her body, for the sake of everything and in spite of his overwhelming desire not to. Then there are fangirls and they're not even his fangirls. He keeps one arm around Elena and attempts to guide her to a chair while trying his best to beat back the horde. "I'm not that guy! Just … wait, all right! Give me a second!" He pulls out a chair and settles Elena into it. "Do you need something to— AYAH, ladies!" WE DO NOT TOUCH MISTER CUSICK THERE IN PUBLIC. "Do you need something to drink?"
Kitty has been sitting in a corner the whole time just bobbing her head to the music. She doesn't really recognize anyone until she sees George and Desmond and that lady from the subway train the other night that was raving about her Vogue with Matt Damon. She smiles and downs the rest of her drink, courtesy of some guy she had met earlier. Kitty makes her way towards George and then her head knocks back and she gasps slightly.
The young woman closes her eyes and dances with the music. Her hands pulling at her tank top and her skirt whirling around her. What the hell is wrong with her?
There is wriggling away and finally Cass comes out to breathe, leaning against the bar. Heidi and Nathan have, thankfully, stopped making out and somehow. Where /did/ Heidi go? Oh God, who knows. Everyone seems to be going wild on the dance floor. Including Jack and Benjamin, bumping into each other and doing a frat boy, who knows what sort of thing. "I. Wow," she tells the now alone Nathan. "I have /not/ had enough to drink to feel like this. Are you drunk yet? Should we be drinking more? Will drinking more make this better?"
George finishes off his latest round and takes another look around. Phantom actor and fan, check. Boss and boss's wife, check. He stares off into the crowd, managing in his own personal haze to miss Cass's dilemma. And Desmond's, for that matter. Instead, his attention zooms right in on… Kitty. Someone he knows. Someone who is /dancing just for him/. Or so he thinks. Without a word, he steps forward and begins to move with her, hands clasping at the small of her back as he pulls close.
Wait? WAIT? "What?" Nathan says breathlessly, but he does have the presence of mind to wait. Staggering, he leans against the bar, sort of… hunched. DON'T ACT LIKE YOU'RE NOT IMPRESSED. Undoing the top buttons of his shirt, because it really is hot in here, Nathan slams down the drink the bartender finally divvied up. Then Cass is there, yay company, and he pushes what was gonna be Heidi's drink at her. "Yes," he tells her, seriously. "We need to be— drinking m— " He tilts his head, and smiles at her. Thank god Elena's not around, imirite. "You, uh. So." This is where he says a line. But they've met before! So he doesn't need a line. Instead, he just pulls Cass into a very, very suave dipsmooch.
Jack chestbumps Benji fratboy-style and gives him another high-five. "SCORE!" he agrees. With Heidi breaking away from her husband, he tucks away his phone and pounds the rest of his vodka down. "Man! Nothin' like bein' drunk and randy! You should definitely drink more!" Sagelike wisdom. "HOLY SHIT! GO NATE DOGG, GO!" Cameraphone is back out again in a hurry. Snapsnapsnapsnap.
She's snagged by the Phantom of the Opera - something she would consider romantic if another guy's name wasn't pounding into her head along with What Is Love, Baby Don't Hurt Me… but Elena is herded into a chair, a little dizzy and a little achy thanks to the steamrolling of Desmond's non-fangirls. "You're…so popular Mr. Cusick…" she says, her head rolling back a little bit and lifting her hand to her face. God…this hurts. This hurts so much. And it's only getting worse, the signals? Are being sent EVERYWHERE, and hitting everyone in range with the FULL POWER of Elena's…whatever the hell it is. "Water, please…" she says, looking up at Desmond apologetically. "Thank you so much, I— Heidi!" She lifts a hand. "Heidi….are you okay? What…?"
Benjamin grins ear to ear, and points over to Nathan and Cass, "Now that's just.. I need some of that action.. I know! I'm gonna streak.. and find someone to have sex with! YEAH!" (Really, it should be the other way around, to tell the truth about it.) He punches a fist to the air, then makes a break for the door, shrugging off his jacket as he leaves!
Heidi isn't feeling so great herself at the moment, to be honest. She's fighting something she doesn't want to fight, and it's taking her toll on her. But, there's Elena, and she needs to get her out of here before this gets much worse, except because Heidi's been denying herself, it catches the blue-eyed woman's attention that Elena is /severely pretty./
Before she knows it, she's leaning over the chair, giving Elena /the eyes./ She has no idea what she's doing, but that doesn't matter, because it doesn't appear that Heidi's actually in control anymore. Something is thinking, and it certainly is not Heidi's brain as she leans in to give Elena a kiss..
Kitty grins and opens her eyes to see that she is dancing with George. She presses against and puts her hands, well everywhere. She dances faster and throws her hair back. The music is so loud and making her vibrate. But that isn't the reason she is acting this way. She doesn't care as long as she is touching something. She sees Desmond also and licks her lips.
Oh man, what is up in this place, it's so freakin hot in here. Kitty runs her hands all over George's body and She winks at Desmond and makes a 'come here' motion to him. She laughs and closes her eyes again, obviously having A LOT of fun.
Benji is leaving? That's fine with Jack. "Yeah, buddy! Show 'em what bein' pale an' naked is all about! I'ma go fuck some bitches." He tugs his collarless shirt straight and pushes away from the bar, all elbows and knees and erections as he dances his way out across the club. OMG. OMG. GIRLKISSING. "Man, that looks fun. I'ma capture this moment an' stick it in the spank bank." Camera phone, ahoy! Snapsnapsnapsnap.
Taking the drink that Nathan slides over to her, Cass gratefully swigs it down. She needs something to drink. It /is/ hot in here and she's wearing a halter top. Pushing her hair back from her forehead, she takes deep breaths. These are not good feelings to be having. She should go home. Where Lachlan is waiting for her. Mmm. Yes. There could be—her train of thought is /completely/ derailed when Nathan just sweeps her up, dips her and then kisses her. What. /What/. This is…wow. Well, that's something. Caught up in the moment, she swoons appropriately, throwing an arm around Nathan's neck to make sure that she can actually have some sort of support.
"Water. Oka— LADIES!" The wandering hands are really not helping Desmond's embarrassment any. Jesus, can't they wait until they get out of the public eye or something?! God. He's about to wade through everything when— WHOA WOW WOW WOW. There are two very good-looking ladies right there making out and hot damn. Desmond does not see the summoning from Kitty, because his eyes are locked on the girl-on-girl axxxion taking place right there in front of him. Hot. Really, really hot. And one of the fangirls rips his jacket off his shoulders, but that doesn't help the hotness any. "Wait, just— !" Desmond spots Jack. And Desmond sees that Jack is good-looking. And Desmond? Desmond is horny, Goddamn it. So while the Irishman snaps photos, Desmond steps forward, attempts to place both hands on the side of Jack's head, and pull him into a kiss.
Wait. What? Having Elena go pay more attention to Desmond was understandable, they're both performer types, but this. /This/ he will not stand for. "Hey! What's he got that I haven't got?" But before she has a chance to answer, he leans in and presses his lips to hers, one hand wandering down along her hip for good measure. Which causes him to miss out on the Heidi/Elena hawtness, but honestly? That's for the best, in the long run.
"Heidi, my head hurts," Elena says, even as the woman leans at her and bores her iridescent, Christmas-lights eyes at her. She is unaware as to how close Heidi is leaning at her. She reaches out to try and take the older woman by the shoulders. "I'm sorry, I think I might have to go home, but Nate will take y — " And that was it. The Petrelli bombshell leans in, and kisses her. Her eyes snap open, and her head is swimming. She's…..never kissed a girl before, much less an attractive woman Heidi's age. It was kind of against the Catholic thing….but…it's Heidi. If she had to pick a girl to kiss for some wild EXPERIMENTAL ESCAPADES, it would be a toss up between Heidi and Cass, and since Heidi is here…. she pulls away, her hands still on Heidi's shoulders as she shakes her lightly. "Heidi! Are you okay? What's going on? And……" Since Desmond is standing near her, her jaw DROPS when he takes Jack's face and KISSES HIM.
"…………."
She can't help it. She lifts her hand up to take a picture with her jphone.
It's so sad. Nathan misses his wife kissing a hot chick. He'd cry if he wasn't also kissing a hot chick, whom he then rights and blinks at. HI CASS. Uh. Uh. WHAT DO YOU SAY IN THIS SCENARIO. "…vote Petrelli," he says, with a wry smile. Then he sees Jack— getting made out with by— someone. Definitely a guy. Squint. Nathan grips Cass's shoulder and forces her to turn around and see, as he points (not with an accidental boob graze during the motion). Because he needs to know he's not hallucinating.
Suddenly snogged, Jack closes his eyes and absently crams his phone back into his pocket. Yeah. He's gettin' some touch. But this chick's face is kinda scratchy, and she smells like like cologne. When he opens his eyes and realizes he's liplocking Phantom's male lead, Jack blushes furiously. Then he he grabs Desmond firmly by the ass and the hair for a manly dipsmooch.
Who knew that the one guy Desmond decided to snog in all of this would return the gesture? It's not like one can throw a rock and hit a gay guy, right? Right. So he's more than happy to go along with it, liplocking with Jack in a way that would make Brokeback Mountain pale in comparison. Hands roam over the Irishman's chest and start picking at shirt buttons. Hell yes! He's getting some action too.
"Oh my" Kitty spots Desmond and Jack kissing and she gaps. But whatever, she has hot George in front of her and she decides to take advantage. She leans in to kiss George and licks her lips right before she does. Her hands are on his shoulders and she grabs his head and she moves in for the kiss.
Blushing very much, Cass tries to wrap her head around everything that is happening here. "I…I don't know if I'm registered." Yes. Smooth. At the same time, she's trying to get her footing after the dipsmooching by Nathan. However, she's under the influence of very strange drugs and some alcohol. Oh, and heels. Heels don't help her at all. So she kind of slip slides and goes toppling one way and then falling backward. The fact that she just caught a glimpse of Jack snogging another guy /really/ doesn't help her balance at all, either.
Heidi hasn't kissed anyone else since she married Nathen.
And that? That's what snaps her out of it. The blue eyes are no longer screaming 'come hither,' but are slamming on the brakes so hard, they look almost terrified. What the— "What the /hell!/" she snaps, practically in Elena's face. Someone has to do something about this before it really descends into Chaos. Sure, it's alreay there, but—
"I have to get you outside."
Doesn't really sound /all that great/ coming from Heidi after she just kissed Elena, but the woman is insistant, trying to haul Elena to her feet in order to drag her toward the cool outside air. This is probably the most difficult thing Heidi's ever done, and really, she just wants to tackle Elena to the floor, which /makes no sense./
Willpower, Heidi has it.
With determination, Heidi shoulders open the door. Elena's wrist in her hand — by now she's shaking — she pulls the younger woman outside, and hopefully, the atmosphere inside the club will resolve itself. With no real time to be tactful, those eyes meet Elena's again, and this time, she resists leaning in for another kiss. "You did it. It's… You. You have to s— stop."
"Wha….no….no…Heidi…..we can't….I love Peter and you love Nathan, remember?" Elena says deliriously, COMPLETELY getting the wrong idea. "I'm….I'm -catholic- and…." She's hauled off the chair and dragged through the crowd. She clings to Heidi, and she and the other woman quickly stagger outside. In passing all she sees is Jack making out with Desmond, Cass falling on her butt, Nathan….why's he grinning like that? She even sees Matt Damon making out with some girl and now the Maxim girls are making out with one another.
The door bursts open. She STARES at the two big bouncers making out at the door. She's tugged further out, leaning against the wall with Heidi looming over her with that mad look in her eyes. "Me….what…? What do you -mean- it's me?" she asks, her head about to crack open with so much pressure building into it. "I haven't… it doesn't make any sense! I have to -will- it to happen, not like this. I was just dancing, and I was thinking of— "
Pause.
"Oh my god. OH MY GOD." She had absolutely no idea but it clicks. Apparently she can. AND HAS. "OH MY GOD!"
She whips around, and stretches out her hand towards the interior.
Gay? Jack's not gay. He's finding wiggle room. HEY, LOOK OVER THERE!
He seperates from Desmond with a resounding smacking of lips. They even bust a slob. He allows the first three buttons of his shirt to be undone while he gasps for air. He looks down into the narrow gap between them. "You're got the same stuff that I've got," he observes. "I'ma go get drunk. Nice meeting you."
Oh god Cass is doing that thing where she falls down! The last time that happened, Nathan managed to hit his head against the floor and almost get kneed in delicate places. But at least this time, he's not drunk. A little tipsy, a little /drugged/, but not drunk! So quickly, Nathan's arms move to wrap around Cass from behind as she starts to sink from the floor, holding her securely. Hands squarely planted on her breasts. That's inappr— hot. That's hot. He rights her once more, clears his throat. Adjusts his clothes discreetly. He just is not thinking clearly, it seems, and all he can think is 'girls are pretty, want girl' - in fact, it's getting worse, even as his wife drags Elena from the building. Around them, crazy horny people are dancing, and he goes in for the k— wait. No. Even though his body is saying "YES", his mind is saying "NO, DOWN BOY" and his body replies "CAN'T". Still, he steps back, looking very confused.
Gasp. Gasp. Jesus. What … what the hell. It's probably a good thing everyone in the immediate area is about as horny and as making-out as Desmond, otherwise his reputation might be at major risk here. He steps back from Jack as though suddenly repulsed and wipes at his lips with a grimace. "Jesus. What the hell?" Without another word, the actor retrieves his jacket from one of the Maxim fangirls and heads out the door. He has to get out of here, with or without some form of relief. Once he's outside, he spots Elena and Heidi but, not wanting to cause more of a scene, he just glances at them and heads on down the street.
It's just something that she does sometimes! Cass is grateful when Nathan keeps her from falling again, however. There seems to be something on her…hey. Waitaminute. Those would be hands. Nathan's. Luckily, he backs up quickly and she does her own backing up of her own. What the /hell/ is going on? The immediate needing of contact is ebbing away, but some of it is still in her system and now that she's on her feet, she still has no idea what's going on. Other than look around for some pink hair. Seeing none, she has no idea what to make of this. And why she would suddenly allow Nathan - a friend, a married man, and the brother of her friend - just kiss her like that. Oh God. She looks just as confused. "I…did someone roofie our drinks? Please say someone roofied us."
Of course Elena would get the wrong idea, considering Heidi just /kissed her./ She'll feel really awful about that later, but it's a struggle to just not do it again at the moment, that it's the only thing on Heidi's mind. The effort of resisting is more exhausting than just giving in. As she leans agains the wall, she can feel her hands shaking. She's sweating. Then again, anyone still in the building probably is, too, to be fair.
Finally, /finally,/ she's feeling better, not so muddled. The damage has been done, though; her eyes stare straight ahead as Elena rights what she did, fixed on some of the cars across the parking lot. She's so tired, and so completely embarrassed, she doesn't even have it in her to attempt to comfort the poor girl standing next to her.
Actually, she's almost angry with herself. "I should have said something to you sooner," she breathes, fingers digging into the wall as she fights to stay on her feet. Hopefully the next person who comes outside doesn't find them /both/ passed out on the ground. "You did it before. When— You— Me and Nathan. At the hotel. I didn't know how to tell you." Sensitive subject and all that.
Bar. Gotta go to the bar. This is bad. Gotta go to the bar. Jack's breath is coming in short, fast, aggravated pants. His eyes are wide and wild, and his nostrils flare out and in, out and in. He drops down onto a stool and drops his head to thunk meatily on the bar's surface. "Whiskey. Big glass. Very big glass." Without lifting his head or meeting the server's eyes, he pushes a crisp hundred over. "Uuurrrrgghh," he groans. "An' his face was all stubbly."
This will play merry hell with relationships all around. In a sense, George is lucky, as the ones being played with in his case can probably survive it. In another sense, he isn't, as he cannot play the 'that was so insane, I was obviously being influenced by Soviet agents' card. Everyone /else/ was being influenced, but he overlooked the most egregious of those cases, even.
And so, about two seconds away from reaching up and peeling Kitty right out of her top, he blinks and stares at her. "Um. I… think we might want to go outside," he mumbles. He's still Mr. Grabby Hands but only because he's too confused to remember to move them anywhere else.
Nathan looks mildly panicked, but keeping it together. Just. Cass is in a relationship with a man who would probably— no, actually murder him for kissing and groping his girlfriend, and Nathan likes Cass and would rather not fuck up her relationship and— wait, everyone was acting crazy. It doesn't take a genius to know something weird was just occurring. "Someone roofied everyone," Nathan says to Cass, voice still a little husky, pulling his jacket around him somewhat. Need to flee. Then— oh god. His head whips around, surveying the room. "Heidi?" Then someone familiar occurs nearby he and Cass - not his wife, just Jack, and Nathan reaches out to grip his sleeve, shaking him just a little to get his attention. "Jack. What the hell just happened?"
"I….oh god." Elena lifts her hands to her face, rubbing hard into her skin. "Oh god. Heidi I'm so sorry. The headaches, they're….I'm so sorry!" God, she was MORTIFIED. But at the very least she knows this is HER fault, and not Heidi's so she doesn't have a problem looking at the woman in the face. When the older one sags against the wall, she reaches out to support her. Her headache was -killing- her but she's not about to abandon her while she's unsteady on her feet. "I'm….I didn't know. I -didn't know- I would NEVER do this delib…" That was it. She had to talk to her father. Get this out of her head. It was messing up more than just her ability to focus.
She tries to pull her away from the wall gently, supporting her. "Let's go get Nate, okay?" she says. "And put you both in the car home." She looks at the room worriedly. She hopes the others weren't affected - she didn't see Nate and Cass kissing. Jack though. OH GOD.
"Dunno." Jack's voice is muffled against the bar. When his enormous glass of whiskey is slid across, he finally straightens his head to have a drink. Gulp. Gulp. Gulp. He rinses his mouth with the last swallow and spits it back into the glass. "God. I just dunno. Don't think we were drugged. It happened to too many people." He shoves his empty over to the bartender and motions for a refill in a larger recepticle. "FUCK. He tasted like vodka and strawberries."
Kitty giggles like a schoolgirl and grabs George's hand to follow him. And then her sense knocks in. What is she doing? But nevertheless, she follows George out and looks at the various states of awkwardness going on. Boy, was this the wrong night to come to club, or was it the right time? "George, what the hell just happened?"
Just as panicked is Cass. Because Cass has never cheated on anyone before. And…and kissing Nathan sort of qualified as that. Didn't she /just/ have that conversation with Peter about what constituted as cheating? Of course something weird was going on, but what was it? It didn't feel like the ecstasy that Eliana gives off. But it was something not of their own making. "Yeah. Okay." Not that that makes it any better in her head, but she follows Nathan to Jack. "I'll second that question. I think drugged or…I don't know. Something. We didn't have all the same drinks. It must have been something in the air or…who knows." She's talking quietly.
Ice cubes. Paper cuts. Desmond and Jack making out. Things that just aren't hot, thank about them, Nathan! Luckily not a teenager, Nathan finally… takes his mind off himself, as it were, and gestures for the bewildered bartender to refill his own glass while he's at it. "Weirdest terrorist attack I'll ever know," Nathan says to Cass before taking a generous sip of straight gin. SHUDDER. He then claps a hand on Jack's back in sympathy. He may have just cheated on his wife again, but at least it wasn't with a man.
"It's okay, it's okay." Now Heidi spares a worried look for Elena. The headaches are a point of concern, because, as far as she knows, they started after Ramon attempted to help them. Maybe something went wrong on Elena's end? When the younger girl tries to support her, Heidi actually does attempt to step away, but she can't, and give up the endeavor in favor of not passing out. But. Dear god, she kissed /Elena./
Grimacing, grunting, she reluctantly allows Elena to pull her back into the club. Now that everyone's good and uncomfortable - Heidi included - the last thing she wants to do is go be around people again, especially Nathan, who she just cheated on.
With.
Elena.
At least she got Elena out of there before there was really time for anything to happen. She /hopes./
George looks over at Kitty as they make for the exit. "/I/ don't know," he says, shaking his— Wait. Is his hand still on her— Oh God, it /is/. He quickly moves it back up to, um, the small of her back worked real nice earlier. "I think I need some coffee. You wanna go get a coffee with me?"
When Jack's second glass of whiskey arrives it's quaffed just as fast as the first. He seems like a man on a mission. "Jesus, don't touch me," he snaps at Nathan, shrugging the other man's hand off his shoulder. "I'm not a freakin' poof, okay? I like Poison and sequined tights. It's not my fault the 80s were awesome. Freakin' sue me." Deep breath. Hold it for a second. Let it out. "Sorry, man."
"Make love not war?" Cass gives Nathan an eyebrow raise, but makes sure she's on the /opposite/ side of Jack as she does so. Because even though Elena is gone and the happy drugs are gone, she's still trying to calm down from all the, uh, excitement. And while Jack is a male and a very handsome one at that, she wasn't just groped by him. "At least no one died from this one. And, woah, Jack. No need to get defensive over your sequins tights. They were pretty awesome."
"Umm sure. Why not? I could use some coffee, especially after whatever that was in there. Did you see those two girls kissing? One looked like Heidi Petrelli, that guy Nathan Petrelli's wife!" Kitty sounds amazed and chuckles. She links her hand with George's and follows him. This should be interesting.
Until of course she tells everyone it's HER FAULT. Elena looks absolutely miserably but she'd have to tell them all anyway, and then REALLY go to Cass to ask for help with her powers. But she does wave towards Nate, Cass, and Jack weakly, stepping towards them. She's still supporting Heidi.
"I'm sorry," she murmurs to everyone else. "It was my fault. I don't know what happened, my -head-…." So yes, there WERE drugs involved - just not the sort that people ingested. There's a small trickle of blood, just a few tiny drops, flecking from underneath her right nostril.
"I didn't," replies George, glancing over at Kitty, "but it could've been— I spotted her here earlier." Oh yeah, did he mention what he does for a living? "Oh God, we're gonna be spinning this /all day/ tomorrow. All night, too, the way things are going this week."
Nathan raises his hand in defense when Jack snaps at him. "You just keep drinking, Jack," he says, gesturing to him. He slams down the rest of his gin, sets the class down, and turns to Cass. A hand goes on her shoulder, but it's a very serious COMRADEY-like gesture, damnit. "We don't— " …damn, he was going to say things, but they either seem obvious, or he can't stop getting slightly distracted by the fact that he was very much prepared to— Nathan shakes his head as if to clear it. "Let's just keep this between ourselves. And the entire club. Jesus, I'm going home." With a word to either friend, the politician starts away— but Heidi and Elena arrive, and he moves to touch his wife's arm - and nothing more. He almost humiliated himself and her like a foot from where they're standing, after all.
Nathan raises his hand in defense when Jack snaps at him. "You just keep drinking, Jack," he says, gesturing to him. He slams down the rest of his gin, sets the glass down, and turns to Cass. A hand goes on her shoulder, but it's a very serious COMRADEY-like gesture, damnit. "We don't— " …damn, he was going to say things, but they either seem obvious, or he can't stop getting slightly distracted by the fact that he was very much prepared to— Nathan shakes his head as if to clear it. "Let's just keep this between ourselves. And the entire club. Jesus, I'm going home." Without a word to either friend, the politician starts away— but Heidi and Elena arrive, and he moves to touch his wife's arm - and nothing more. He almost humiliated himself and her like a foot from where they're standing, after all.
"Yeah. I know. Sorry," Jack repeats, still a little huffy. "Just…" He crosses his legs. Baseball. Boogers. Getting punched in the face. Going to church. Ahhh, that's better. He uncrosses his legs.
Now five glasses of liquor in, Jack is definitely drunk. He lets out a groan and drags one hand through his hair, pulling it into tousled, sweaty spike. "Jesus. Cass. I touched you with my…" He coughs into his fist. "God, I'm sorry. Elena. ELENA. WHAT DID YOU DO?!"" Despite the fact that he's shouting, he still stands and offers an arm to lean on, should it be required.
With the effects leaving her system, Heidi's better able to stand on her own. When they reach the bar, though, she still leans heavily on it, elbows supporting her weight as she looks over her shoulder at Elena. There's no smile, though a look of resolute support is there, at least. Heidi isn't abandoning a friend just for /this./
Except seeing Nathan causes her to remember that she kind of almost did something completely inappropriate against the bar. Thankfully, her face is already red, so she can't blush anymore than she already is. She doesn't, however, meet Nathan's eyes. She could keep this to herself — or, rather, to herself, Elena, and half the club, since there were people looking — but, yeah. She doesn't want Nathan to find out from someone else.
Grumpy Heidi is grumpy as she states through her teeth: "We're even."
Kitty stops and looks down, "I forgot my bag! I'll be right back!" she yells and rushes back into the club. She is making her way back to the table she left her purse when- BAM! The gods must really be against her. She crashes into Elena and falls down on her behind. "Aw shit, I'm sorry" she winces.
"No. We don't. And didn't." Cass agrees with Nathan. The whole situation is kind of unnerving. Obvious or otherwise, she just gives the man a smile at the gesture. "Yeah. What's a secret between a hundred people or so?" Of course. The blushing just continues as Jack makes his own apologies. "I…uh…it's fine. Don't…let's not talk about it again. Really." Two incidents in the last couple of days. What are the odds. Unlike the others, she has another reaction to being told that it was Elena's fault. "OH thank God." It wasn't just her and it wasn't just a roofie. It has an explanation that she can quantify.
….oh thank GOD? ELENA WHAT DID YOU DO? The young woman stares at Jack uncomprehendingly, and Cass looks RELIEVED at what she hears. She's so confused. But she shakes her head hard, and hands Heidi off to Nathan and gives them both an apologetic smile - though at what Heidi tells Nathan, she tries not to choke too much. She turns around again….only to be crashed into by Kitty, who sends her flying towards Jack, who has offered her his arm. She practically KOALAS onto him, her knees buckling and ALMOST falling on her face if it wasn't for her arms flying to wrap around his neck.
And she stays there…
"Nuncle…" she groans. Her head. It was killing her. More blood seeps from her nose, and onto Jack's shirt. Sorry Jack, but HEY, he can go home and tell Trina he got in a fight and he can get some of his MAN CRED back.
"Oh my god! Did I do that?" she sighs and shakes her head as if to clear it even more. "So sorry!" she says and collects her purse and heads for the door. "This was some night," she says to all assembled at the bar.
We're even? WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE'RE— Nathan can't complain. He simply can't. Even if this is just tonight, Cass is standing RIGHT THERE and he simply can't be jealous or annoyed at whatever prick had the AUDACITY to put his hands on a MARRIED WOMAN who happens to be HIS— "Even," he repeats. Slow nod. "Th— it wasn't your fa— or mine— " He raises a hand, rubbing his face wearily, then fingers sliding through his hair before moving to take her hand. "Let's go home." Nathan is not in a good mood, despute being in a /really good mood/ just moments ago.
Jack bobs a nods to Cass. "Agreed. No talking. Ever. Especially to Lachlan. Christ." The disjointed statement is punctuated by a wave as he swivels around on his stool to face everyone. "Sonofabitch. Some night, eh? WHOA—" He catches Elena and wraps his arms around her. No matter what she does, she's still his girl. He gives her a hug, then leans back and peers into her eyes. "Awww, honey. You look terrible. Let's get you outta here." He glares at Kitty as she scurry away. "Clumsy bitch." Standing, he supports much of Elena's weight as he heads toward the door with her.
George hangs out and waits for Kitty to pick up her purse— and winces as she runs into Elena, heading over to see if she needs a hand up. "Yeah, fuck you too, Jack," he mutters under his breath, glancing over at the random stranger. Whose name he does not actually know. Oh well, a night like this, you can't blame anyone for being on edge.
No, not Nathan's fault, though she can kind of guess what happened by the way he says 'or mine.' She can't blame him, though. They were all so crazy just a little while ago that no one here can really get mad at each other without being totelly hypocritical.
Heidi has to lean against him as they go. She's pretty exhausted, though she can at least walk, although her eyes remain on the floor. When they do manage to get a car, she passes out almost as soon as she sits down, and will procede to sleep all the way home.
She smiles a bit when Jack hugs her, then looks at her eyes - they're dark, really black. The golden flecks that are there normally can't be seen. Must be the after-effects of what happened? "You're my hero, Nuncle," Elena says simply, still with that tiny somewhat delirious smile. She looks at Cass apologetically. "Cass I'm so sorry." The full mortification hasn't sat in yet - these were the sort of circumstances she would bawl over. Thankfully the Irishman doesn't give her enough time to do that. "Cass too," she mumbles at Jack - because she's NOT GOING TO LEAVE CASS in the Club o'Crazy by herself. So once she's sure Cass is leaving too, and preferrably with them, she keeps moving.
"It's fine," Cass waves a hand of dismissal for Elena. "I'll be fine. There's no need to apologize." Because it's Elena and she doubts that the girl did it on purpose. Plus, she looks terrible. Dark circles, bloody nose. Jack has her under control and steering her out the door, so she'll worry, but a little less so than if Elena was trying to leave under her own steam power. "Take care of yourself. I'll be right behind you." Sort of. She's going to sit down and catch her breath for a few moments before heading out of the bar. She's got some s'plainin' to do.
George nods, heading outside with Kitty. No real venom is thrown Jack's way; it's like a stranger who cuts you off on the freeway, you flip them off and then you forget all about them. He does look back at Elena, who's visibly in rough shape, butis also already being attended by people who know her better. So, yeah, outside he heads.