[center][right][color=lightgray][sub]TIMESTAMP: Evening, just around the start of the Auction
Introducing: [color=#ff498c][b]Kitty[/b][/color]
FT: [b][color=#C70E13]T[/color][color=#C61B1C]h[/color][color=#C62925]e[/color] [color=#C64537]S[/color][color=#C65340]n[/color][color=#C56149]y[/color][color=#C56F52]p[/color][color=#C57D5B]e[/color][color=#C58B64]s[/color] [color=#C4A776]S[/color][color=#C4B57F]i[/color][color=#C4C388]b[/color][color=#C4D191]s[/color][/b]
[@Viciousmarrow] & [@LovelyComplex][/sub][/color][/right]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/fkAOKxj.png[/img]
[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/230721/f8a119d894c4da8f1c4153d30e0442ea.png[/img]
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[color=lightgray][indent][indent]As the Date Auction started, the voice of Jewel’s, the mayor’s secretary, could be heard in the distance, projecting out of a mic. And off the distance, a lanky, redhead girl with a plaid skirt, layered shirts, and a collar stared blankly around in the crowd, searching for the other redheads of this town. The one redhead she did find was heading toward the Ferris Wheel. She didn’t need that redhead. She needed the BAND. 

Vermillion Ablaze.  

RED FIRE. 

This was odd, especially coming from her, that Zachary wasn’t on the makeshift platform waiting in advance. He was always like thirty to an hour early to practice. As the saying goes, early is on time, on time is late and late is UNACCEPTABLE. Maybe he was making last minute changes to their set list? Maybe he solved a grade school puzzle for once? MAYBE he found himself right in a pillow of tits, smothering his face in pure fluffiness? 

No matter. 

As she waited, to keep her mind off of the fact that she was missing a steamy event where people thirst after one another and throw their cash like they’re at a strip joint, she decided to warm up her bass. Feel it and let the music overwhelm her, like she did time and time again. Overflowing and clouding her senses. Without much thought, already having her red bass strapped on and hanging, she stood tall on a built stage near an open clearing. Once she was done loosening herself up by doing a little wiggle, she jumped high in the air before slapping her bass and playing [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuDuW7ouH3Y]DADADADADADADADADADA[/url]. High Driver Join. Selen. 

She played as if the festival was empty. She was there, alone, surrounded by colors. Surrounded by feelings. Surrounded by her imagination. That was part of what made Kayleigh Thrasher-Jones a sight to watch. She acted like no one was there with her, regardless of who was near her. Her soul was almost tangible as she got lost with her bass, allowing everyone to experience something pure, something authentically Kayleigh.  Or how she preferred to be called by everyone. Kitty. 

Just Kitty. 


Intensely, passionately, rocking with her bass and tapping on the fretboard, she focused inward, with her music, and waited for her cousins. Whether she was aware of it or not, Kitty was a fantastic bassist. What started as something she did because her father loved music and taught her everything she knows, turned into something that helped shut the parts of her brain that others would be scared of if she dared talk about it.  Music made her normal or maybe it made her likable. Whichever it was, she didn’t care. Bass was fun. Bass had a feel to it. Bass was all about that good, good vibrations. It makes you want to dance. It’s part of the engine driving the song home. Slap it, tap it, get funky or go deep. That’s what made the bass the absolute best to play. The sensations it made her feel and made others feel. It really was all about that bass. 

Em and Zack sat on the back of their dad’s old truck, watching their cousin’s frenetic performance as they gorged themselves on fully dressed hot dogs, oversalted pretzels, and the sweetly cheap nectar of Bud Lights. Twas truly a divine feast, fit only for Gods of Rock and Roll like themselves. Practice had gone well, and this was their sublime reward. Earlier, they’d gone back to the house and picked everything they need to perform tonight, including their strange cousin, Kitty. It was going to go spectacularly. Even Em seemed pretty confident in her abilities to sing the song and drum along to the songs Zack had relegated to her.

[color=C70E13]“This is the second time she’s done this in the past hour.”[/color] Zack mused, whisking crumbs away from his mouth with the back of his hand. [color=C70E13]“She’s really committing to this bass solo thing. Is she trying to tell us she wants to play that during the set?”[/color] 

Em sighed deeply at her brother’s question. With a shrug, she finished off the last of her beer, her fifth drink of the day. [color=c4df9b]“It’s that, or she just keeps forgetting we’re done practicing. She’s got goldfish brain, Zack. I love her, but god damn…”[/color] Em reached back into the cooler they’d brought along and cracked open another Bud Light.

[color=C70E13]“Goldfish brain? What do you mean?”[/color] Zack looked quizzically at his sister, not understanding the phrase.

Clearing her throat and shaking her head in disappointment, Em began to lecture her sibling in a matter of fact manner. [color=c4df9b]“Zack… Goldfish, [i]like you[/i], have a small brain. Their cognitive skills aren’t up to human standards and they…”[/color] 

[color=C70E13]“HEY KITTY! EM SAID YOU HAD GOLDFISH BRAIN!”[/color] Zack suddenly burst out. [color=C70E13]“ALSO GREAT JOB AGAIN ON THAT SOLO! REALLY SLAPPING THOSE STRINGS! COME GET A HOT DOG!”[/color] Beside him, Em blew a raspberry and rolled her eyes. 

Suddenly stopping, Kitty looked over her shoulder at her cousins, her gray eyes falling on Zachary. She stood there, neither smiling or frowning. Her gaze locked with his and she took a moment to ask him something that had come to mind, in the moment. [color=#ff498c]“Have you ever eaten a goldfish whole? Dropped it in your mouth and swallowed?”[/color] For some reason, something was telling her if Zack was dared to, he might or maybe she had a dream of him doing it and she wanted to see it. Regardless of how she remembered this, she needed to know. Would he eat a goldfish whole? Frozen in place, not budging, nearly a statue, she waited. They knew, especially Em, that Kitty wouldn’t move until he answered. That’s just how she was. She needed to know.  

[color=C70E13]“Kitty, c’mon. You know that’s a sensitive topic.”[/color] Zack huffed, folding his arms together. 

[color=c4df9b]“Oh for fucks sake, Zack. You’re not going to bring up the goldfish we had as a kid, are you?”[/color] Em probed, annoyed at her brother’s sudden defensiveness.

[color=C70E13]“What? Mr. Hatley was part of the family, and [i]you[/i] decided to put him in my mouth when I was sleeping.”[/color] 

[color=c4df9b]“I WAS 6 YEARS OLD, ZACK. YOU CAN’T PUT THAT ON ME.”[/color] Em rose to the occasion, nearly dragging the duo back into their ceaseless bickering.

[color=C70E13]“So yeah, yes, Kitty, I did swallow my best friend in the whole world when I was 12. You woulda remembered that ‘cause you and Em were accomplices.``[/color] Zack’s eyes glazed over darkly, as if reliving a terrible nightmare.

[color=#ff498c]“I knew it, I see things you know?”[/color] Kitty's mouth finally rose into a smirk as she turned on her heel, taking off her bass. [color=#ff498c]“I must put away Oscar Winning Frankfurter the Seventh. He needs rest.”[/color] She shuffled to her case and like she was touching a gift from some almighty power, she placed her red bass back in, securing Frank and locking him up. Bouncing up, she pranced to her cousins and laid out her hand for the dog. [color=#ff498c]“Does it have everything I like?”[/color] 

Em gripped the bridge of her nose after hearing her cousin rattle off the name of her bass. [color=c4df9b]“You guys have got to stop naming your instruments, [i]oh my god[/i]. It should actually be banned. You know what I call my drums? I call them [i]drums[/i] because they’re not real sentient creatures.”[/color]

[color=C70E13]“Em, that’s because you’re lazy and have no creativity. You just don’t have any pazzazz. I call your drums Dreama. I don’t know why, but that’s just the name that speaks to me.”[/color] Zack plopped a plain hot dog with absolutely nothing on it in Kitty’s hand. [color=C70E13]“There, Kitty. Your favorite. Air on Dog.”[/color]

[color=#ff498c]“Perfect, I love Air on Dog,”[/color] Kitty graciously took her flavorless hot dog and inspected it, making sure it truly was her ideal hot dog. Afterwards, she started moving it in the air like an airplane as she talked to Em. Her cousin with no friends. [color=#ff498c]“I don’t like Dreama. I prefer Oscar Winning Frankfurter the Eighth. And I think Oscar Winning Frankfurter the First, the Second, the Third, the Fourth, the Fifth, the Sixth, and obviously, the Seventh would agree. Frankfurter is a good name. Frank. Furter. Oscar Winning.”[/color] Once she was done with her rambles, the Air on Dog found its way into her mouth, she began unceremoniously shoveling it in. 

Em started to rub her eyes in frustration at the sheer stupidity of these two. [color=c4df9b]“Okay, that’s it. I’m breaking out the heavy shit.”[/color] She crawled her way back deeper in the depths of the truck’s bed and brought into light a gallon jug of clear liquid. With a little effort, she popped off the lid and heaved a hefty swig of the mysterious concoction into her mouth. She was gagging for air in a mere moment, the scorching liquor a fire in her belly.

[color=C70E13]“Holy shit, Em. It’s like 8:30. Oh wait… I guess that is the right time to start drinking.”[/color] Zack caught himself as he looked into the horizon, noting the sun’s quiet departure and the arrival of the night. [color=C70E13]“Welp. Let’s pass the moonshine around!”[/color] The flaming haired man took the jug from his sister and downed his own fair share before offering it to his cousin.

[color=#ff498c]“All the shine, but where is the moon?”[/color] Kitty asked out loud, licking her fingers before grabbing the giant jug. [color=#ff498c]“8:30 and because of your need, to live and breathe a set list that has no coherent theme, we miss the biggest event of the day.”[/color] Sighing heavily, Kitty brought the liquid mistake into her lips and chugged, chugged, chugged. When her belly was feeling fuzzy, she released the jug and passed it back to Em. [color=#ff498c]“This is why we don’t get laid.”[/color] 

[color=C70E13]“Yeah, okay. Speak for yourselves.”[/color] Zack chuckled to himself, posturing against the truck. For some reason though, Kitty’s words made him think that he might be forgetting something. Hmm… It was probably nothing.


Em was clearly flustered at the mention of not getting laid, but chose not to engage in that dialogue. The drinks hadn’t helped, her skin growing a deep red both in embarrassment and as her intoxication increased. [color=c4df9b]“Kitty, what could we possibly be missing at this backwoods festival? What? Are we missing the corn shucking contest? Maybe the barnyard ho down?”[/color] The moonshine was quick to work on the small woman, and damn, she was already a little dizzy.

Instead of giving a clear answer, Kayleigh took this as an opportunity to play a game. With her hands free, she took a couple steps back, feeling lit because of all the drink she drank. Tying her shirt to show her stomach, and giving herself a sultry vibe, she walked down the runway flipping her hair side to side. When she did a pose at the end of the runway, she put her finger up for them to wait a moment and ran to the other side, pretending to be in the crowd. She swiped her hand on top of her other hand, like she was throwing cash to the stage. She brought her finger up once more, WAIT, and went back to the stage. Kitty pretended to have tears of joy as she picked up the cash off the floor. 

Then and only then she was done acting out the date auction. 

Wallah! She spread her hands out, spirit fingers, wondering if they got it from her obvious imagery. 

[color=C70E13]“Oh! Oh! I know, I know!”[/color] Zack exclaimed, bouncing up and down like an excited dog. [color=C70E13]“Moulin Rouge! Moulin Rouge!”[/color] It was so obvious from Kitty’s display that someone was putting on a grand soiree, an elaborate performance of Baz Luhrmann’s musical masterpiece. 

Em’s brain hurt. Between the two of her relatives, she felt like the only sane one here and her only comfort was the alcohol starting to set in her bloodstream. [color=c4df9b]“Zack, nobody’s doing Moulin Rouge here… also what the fuck scene are you thinking about? It’s set in a fucking cabaret, not a strip club. Actually, wait you might be onto something…”[/color] Em thought about the context for a moment. In retrospect, maybe, for once in his life, Zack was right. 

[color=c4df9b]“Okay, Kitty, where’s the Moulin Rouge performance? I’m down.”[/color] The smallest Snype admitted defeat, slipping off the back of the truck and onto the grass. The world spun slightly, but not enough to keep her out of tonight’s festivities.

Placing her hands on her face, Kitty silently screamed. They were idiots. Both of them. To miss the signs. The obvious signs. They would never win a real game of charades. Grumbling to herself, her hands dropping to her side, she walked to them. Turning around, she pointed across the street, where there was a crowd growing. [color=#ff498c]“The date auction. We’re missing the date auction. All because Zack loves to practice.”[/color]  

[color=C70E13]“Oh yeahhhh! That’s what I forgot! The date auction!”[/color] Zack uttered, holding a finger up as if a lightbulb had just illuminated in his head. [color=C70E13]“That was pretty good, Kitty. Should’ve been an actress.”[/color]

Em, as well, was screaming silently. There was no way in hell that little runway shindig was an auction. Auctions didn’t have runways. How did that make sense at all?? [color=c4df9b]“...Whatever. I don’t really care about that, so I’m just gonna sit here. You guys go and do your stupid little fake date bets, and I’m going to finish my beer and wait for the set.”[/color] She started to make a move back to the truck bed.

[color=#ff498c]“We can go?”[/color] Kitty’s eyes widened, giving her cousins puppy dog eyes. She thought they had just started practice but if Zack was willing, she’d go and drag Em too! [color=#ff498c]“Really?”[/color] 

Zack grabbed Em’s arm before she managed to root himself to the truck. [color=C70E13]“No, no, no! We go together. As a family. To the date auction.”[/color] he insisted boldly, maybe not instantly recognizing how weird that sounded. [color=C70E13]“Oh shit, that’s right… I’m in it! C’mon guys we gotta go, go, go!”[/color] He felt around for his phone in his pocket, tore it out, and choked back a panicked shriek. [color=C70E13]“Damn it, I’m so late! LET’S GO, TEAM!”[/color] With Em in his iron grip, he started bounding towards the festival’s center.

[color=#ff498c]“Wait! What about Frank? What about Bonnie? What about Dreama?!”[/color] Kitty shouted as her cousins were off like horses at the race tracks. Oh shoot. They were leaving her behind, she hated being left behind. Swiftly, she picked up her case and slid Frank in the back of Zack’s truck. Her gaze fell on the unfinished moonshine. 

Hm. 

They couldn’t let that go to waste. 

Grabbing the jug and saying her goodbyes to the instruments, Kitty speedily chased after her cousins, moonshine in hand. [color=#ff498c]“WAIT FOR ME!”[/color] She paused as she almost ran into some randos. She didn’t bother saying excuse me. [color=#ff498c]“DOES THIS MEAN I CAN PLAY?”[/color] The auction sounded so much fun! She’d give a killer performance.  

[color=C70E13]“Of course you can play, Kitty! We’re gonna tear this auction up, baby!”[/color] Zack beamed, practically dragging his poor sister behind him.

[color=c4df9b]“LET ME GO! LET ME GOOOO!”[/color] Em begged, tripping every which way as her stronger sibling ripped her away from her comfort zone and into the depths of hell. 

Tailing the two siblings, Kitty sang NSync like she was their radio as they rushed to the biggest event of the day, the month, the year! 

[color=#ff498c]“IT’S TEARIN’ UP MY HEART WHEN I’M WITH YOUUUUUUU.”[/color] 

The date auction! 

She couldn’t wait to see all the thirsty people. [/indent][/indent][/color]