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[color=slategray][sub]Collab with: [@Universorum]
Location: The Kitchen
Interacting with: Each other[/sub][/color][/center][hr]

[indent][color=f49ac2][b]“I’ll remember that.”[/b][/color] She said to the strange girl that just came up to her at the bar, telling her to guard her drink. It was a bit of an odd thing to say just out of the blue. Most would introduce themselves first. But before Elodie could, the girl already walked off with a beer. Right then, she got her own mocktail.

Elodie took a swing from her cup and almost spat it all out the second the bitterness hit. She looked down at the pitch black mixture. It was definitely not a mocktail. What the hell did that Asian girl make? She thought. Her mom would return it. Hell, her mom would be angry as hell. But this was Elodie’s first party in the US. She couldn’t just return it. Maybe this is what everyone here drank. Slowly she took another sip. No, no she’d need some other way. Then she saw it, straws. On the other side of the bar. The people on that side looked busy so she just reached over and grabbed two. With a cup and straws, she started wandering the around a bit. With straws, she could drink it a lot easier. Still, the taste wasn’t all that.

But who cares! Not Elodie, she was feeling a warm and a little fuzzy. The tequila and vodka raced up towards her head and it didn’t take long before Elodie stopped looking out where she went. Then, when she saw some strange lights behind her, she just turned around to look at them with a goofy smile as she walked backward. Inevitably she walked right into someone and immediately lost her balance.

No one could really blame her for losing her balance. After all, she had the misfortune of bumping into someone who was basically a titan. Luckily for her, this particular large man was more of a gentle giant than anything else. Even though he’d had a bit of a party foul from her bumping into him, and his beer had splashed out, Damian was quick to catch her, stepping forward and putting a hand on her back, pulling her back up to a steady position.

After he was sure the girl wasn’t going to fall on her ass, Damian removed his hand from her back and smiled down at her, white teeth shining. [color=309b75][b]“Hey, take it easy, yeah? Gotta watch where you’re going or you’ll fall next time.”[/b][/color] He grinned and winked down at her, before suddenly realizing that he had no idea who this was. [color=309b75][b]“Who… are you?”[/b][/color] He asked, before taking a sip out of his red solo cup.

[color=f49ac2][b]“Whooooooop.”[/b][/color] That was the only sound that came out of Elodie as she tipped over and got set straight again. Right after which she began to laugh and apologize: [color=f49ac2][b]“Excusez-moi, excu- I mean, sorry.”[/b][/color] She said, as her cheeks were getting read from the tiny bit of shame she felt combined with alcohol. [color=f49ac2][b]“I’m new. No, I mean I’m Elodie. I’m both Elodie and new!”[/b][/color] she said excitedly. After a moment, her mind had recovered enough from the near-fall to realize that she could be thrown out if he believed she just walked in. [color=f49ac2][b]“I mean, I got here like a week ago for an exchange program at Beverly Hills High School and then I got an invite to this party! So I came and look at it!? There are actual kegs!”[/b][/color] She shouted excited while pointing at one in the corner. Only to realize she might have overreacted a little. [color=f49ac2][b]“I mean, we got those. But just.. not at houses. This El Jefe must be a really cool guy to let people just party here. Do you know him?”[/b][/color] she asked, after which she took another draw from her funny tasting mocktail-that-is-actually-a-cocktail.

Oof. French girls. Then she got all blushy and defensive. It was cute as hell, and Damian liked cute. [color=309b75][b]“That’s me. I’m El Jefe. Well, my name’s actually Damian. Damian O’Connor. This is my house… I’m glad you came! I tried to invite everyone, y’know? Yeah, I bought the kegs — well, my aunt did. I just gave her money.”[/b][/color] He grinned again, looking at the murky drink the girl held in her hand. [color=309b75][b]“Looks like you don’t do beer though, huh? I don’t know what you’ve got in that glass, but it [i]smells[/i] strong. Hey, at least you’re having a good time! That’s what I wanted people to do, and it’s worked so far.”[/b][/color]

[color=f49ac2][b]“You’re El Jefe! I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you and I actually never met you and I just saw something so I looked and I’m so sorry I bumped into you!”[/b][/color] The words just streamed out of Elodie until she realized it, clasped her hand over her mouth and shut up for a moment. Giving him a bit of time for the comment on her drink. [color=f49ac2][b]“Yeah. I asked for a mocktail to keep myself…normal. But I think the Asian girl behind the bar probably misunderstood. I don’t know what she put in here.”[/b][/color] She took a quick sip again. [color=f49ac2][b]“It’s indeed a bit strong I think.”[/b][/color] She pondered. [color=f49ac2][b]“But it’s kind of fuzzy too. But really!? You live here. Right next to the sea?”[/b][/color] Would he surf all day, skip lessons and be the football captain who secretly dug a nerdy chick? For a moment she shook her head. No those were just movies. Even if her current situation was touching pretty close to a movie, not everything around her could be so fantastic. [color=f49ac2][b]“So tell me, what should I know about Beverly Hills High School?”[/b][/color] she said with her goofy smile while taking another sip of her fuzzy drink. It was starting to taste alright now.

Asian girl behind the bar? Yikes. Henry must have bailed for something... Oh well, too late for that. After she asked about him living here, he shook his head. [color=309b75][b]“Nah, this is just our beach house. I actually live in a mansion in the hills. This is where my mom likes to come during the summer, I just… borrowed it.”[/b][/color] Without asking. But! That wasn’t important, he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. [color=309b75][b]“What do you need to know about the school? Well, just try not to get wrapped up in the politics. That would be the most important thing… I [i]accidentally[/i] did, and I hate it. But, hey, it is what it is.”[/b][/color] Damian explained, shrugging his shoulders and drinking from his cup again. Despite what people may think, he thought the whole system was kinda dumb… Even at the top of it, he thought it was stupid as hell.

[color=309b75][b]“Look, just find friends that you like and who like you, and hang out with them. It’s just high school. Try to have an awesome time! We go to a pretty sweet school.”[/b][/color]

[color=f49ac2][b]“Well, I like you.”[/b][/color] She blurted it out before she knew it. For a moment she remained silent. Letting the words just hang in the air. Trying to find a good comeback from it. Though she couldn’t find one to save her life. So instead she just tried to change the subject. [color=f49ac2][b]“Oh well. I never liked politics anyway. So boring.”[/b][/color] She tried to say offhandedly. [color=f49ac2][b]“Back in France, it’s just me and the girls. You know, just chill. Nothing ever happened.”[/b][/color] That was a lie. Some days were boring. But in France, Elodie's life was far from dull. The everyday gossips fought that feeling. But she still remembered being bullied. In a bid to forget that part she took another sip of her drink. [color=f49ac2][b]“Anyway maybe I should ask it in a different way: What should I totally do? Like at school or outside of it.”[/b][/color] LA was, above all else, a completely different world. And Elodie, for a few months, could play the happy tourist in it.

[color=309b75][b]“Hey, everybody likes me. I’m pretty cool.”[/b][/color] Damian said, before giving her a wink. When asked about what there was to do in LA, he shrugged. [color=309b75][b]“If I were you, the first thing I’d do is go to Disneyland. Then the aquarium. Then Universal Studios. Then I’d go to Captain Cuddles, and that covers just about everything cool in LA, if you ask me. That’ll keep you busy for a long damn time, though, those places are huge. Do you like the food here? Most of it we ordered from Captain Cuddles, so hey, if you dig it, you dig it.”[/b][/color]

[color=f49ac2][b]“I haven’t but I will!”[/b][/color] She took another sip from her drink. [color=f49ac2][b]“And all those places sound super fun! I’ll go there. Thanks for the tips!”[/b][/color] Then she took another sip, only to realize nothing was coming through her straws. [color=f49ac2][b]“Oh… my drink’s empty.”[/b][/color] She said rather sad. She was just starting to enjoy it. [color=f49ac2][b]“I’ll get another one! So, I’ll probably see you around then!”[/b][/color] Before she knew it, she was standing on her toes, giving him a big hug and then just vanished in the crowd.[/indent]