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[sub][color=slategray]A [@smarty0114] & [@Silent Observer] collab
Featuring: [color=ba314c]Katie “I Suck” Callaghan[/color] & [color=0073d8] Dixon “I’m Not Moody” Piccoli[/color]
Location: Near the front of the ship[/color][/sub][/center][hr][hr]

[indent]
The party had barely begun and Katie was already crying. This was unusual. Katie Callaghan didn’t cry in public. She barely even cried in private. Katie was of the firm belief that crying was an inside job. As the tears rolled down her face, she screamed out over the ocean. What had she been thinking?

She’d dragged Noah to this stupid party, and when he’d done what any reasonable person would do, she screamed at him. That was beyond fucked, especially because she knew how damn insecure he could get. [color=ba314c][b]“Why am I such a bitch?”[/b][/color] she asked the sea, getting no response, as expected. She wiped her face dry, and took a seat on one of the chairs by the railing. She was near the front of the boat, a couple of feet away from one drunk couple playing Titanic. Dixon was supposed to meet her here. Her plan was to fill him in on what had happened, and then to find Noah. After that, well, she hadn’t quite decided.

Dixon weaved his way through the crowds of drunken high schoolers. He was small, so things like this usually weren’t that hard for him, but he had a beverage in his hands now, which made it more difficult. He didn’t want to risk spilling it, not after the sass he had endured to get it in the first place. The short boy shoved his way through as best he could with a few ‘fuck you’s and ‘back off’s thrown in for flavor. Once free of the crowd, he was closer to where he could find Katie, at least according to the text.

[i]Fucking Katie.[/i] 

The green-haired boy remembered that he was mad at her earlier. His anger had mostly subsided by now, the car ride was long enough ago. If he dwelled on it, though, surely the flames would reignite. As if to quell the fire before it started, Dixon took a sip from the blue straw in his mocktail. Oh, that was tasty. Sassy bartender deserved props, JD would give him that much. He looked up from the drink to see the familiar form of his theatrical friend sitting in a chair. JD marched over towards her, taking in a breath as if he were about to start a rant about why he didn’t want to be here. He would have done just that, had something not caught his eye. Was she [i]crying[/i]? An immediate wave of discomfort washed over him. He was not equipped to deal with crying people. Especially not crying girls. Abort mission!

[color=0073d8][b]“Oh… uh…”[/b][/color] JD stammered awkwardly. He sat down beside her, because that seemed like the right thing to do. Then he chewed at his lip rings nervously. [color=0073d8][b]“You… okay?”[/b][/color] He asked, glancing at her sideways through a curtain of hair in his signature way of talking to acquaintances or strangers. This was Katie though, his friend… but, this situation was strange enough that his more comfortable, friendly mannerisms were thrown overboard.

Katie, startled by JD’s sudden appearance, inhaled sharply, wiping her face away again. Fuck. He’d seen her crying, that was for certain. With a sigh, she sniffed and looked back up at JD, her eyes red and her cheeks puffy. [color=ba314c][b]“I’m… I’m good, just, this stupid party, and I got into a fight with Scott that I’m sure the whole fucking school will have seen by tomorrow, and I yelled at Noah, and now I can’t find him, and oh my fuck, I’m [i]far[/i] from okay!”[/b][/color] 

Katie let her head fall back, tilted up toward the sky, an effort to keep any tears that threatened to fall, in. She was upset, and when she got upset, she became way more volatile than usual. Sighing, she finally let her head fall back to meet JD’s eyes and chuckled at the absurdity of the situation. [color=ba314c][b]“I probably seem insane right now, don’t I?”[/b][/color]

[color=0073d8][b]“Yeah, a little.”[/b][/color] Dixon never sugar-coated his words, he got that from his parents. His words were more often acidic than not. That being said, he was still studying her with concern. JD didn’t know how to fix a crying Katie, but he certainly didn’t like seeing her upset. She was still his friend. [color=0073d8][b]“You lost bible dude? Why’d you yell at him?”[/b][/color] Dixon didn’t bother asking about why she’d gotten in a fight with Scott, that was obvious — expected, even. But Noah seemed nice enough from the one time JD had spoken with him.

Katie smiled softly and shook her head, taking a deep breath. [color=ba314c][b]“I was fighting with fucking Scott, and, I just, I got so wrapped up in it, like I [i]always[/i] do, and Noah was just trying to get me away from him, and calm me down, and I flipped. I was just, caught up in [i]him[/i],”[/b][/color] Katie explained, shaking her head at her folly. [color=ba314c][b]“I just need some help finding him. He probably won’t even want to talk to me, but I can’t just let him wander around this circus. He’s delicate y’know?”[/b][/color] Katie said. Noah was like a brother to her, and she worried about him, now more than ever.

[color=0073d8][b]“Caught up in [i]him[/i], huh?”[/b][/color] Dixon raised an eyebrow at her, which she couldn’t really see from behind his emo fringe, but he did it all the same. Did she really not realize that her and Scott had that “I bully you because I like you” thing going on? They were like a damned TV trope come to life. She went on to discuss finding Noah, which was likely the reason that she texted Dixon in the first place, he was gathering. Wait, did she just call Noah [i]delicate[/i]? Oh wow, JD wasn’t sure what to make of that, but he stored that nugget of knowledge in the back of his mind for safe keeping. [color=0073d8][b]“He… doesn’t want to be at this party either… does he?”[/b][/color] Dixon inquired, his eyes squinting at her suspiciously.

Katie sighed in defeat. [color=ba314c][b]“Not exactly. I dragged him along cause I thought it would be fun, but then Scott happened and well… okay, I know! I fucked up! I shouldn’t have even brought him here in the first place. I’m the worst.”[/b][/color] Katie shook her head for a moment, before standing up and brushing herself off, as if she hadn’t been crying moments earlier. [color=ba314c][b]“Now that I’ve admitted defeat and been humbled by my losses, everything’ll work out. That’s like the laws of the universe. Now, let’s go find my painter, before I have another breakdown.”[/b][/color] Katie’s mood had flipped, from guilt to determination. How she did it, she’d yet to discover, but that wasn’t important. She could deal with the shitty feelings later, now was the time for action.

The violist quietly sipped at the fruity drink clasped between his hands as he watched every shade of Katie’s personality play out in rapid succession. That seemed like an exhausting existence, he wasn’t sure how she managed it. Probably the same way that he did being angry all of the time… not well. [color=0073d8][b]“‘Kay.”[/b][/color] Dixon replied simply, ever a boy of many words. He stood up beside her and looked around. Jesus, there were still a lot of people. He hated it. [color=0073d8][b]“Well… he’s your friend. Where do you think he’d go?”[/b][/color] JD reflected on where he might end up if he was upset in a place like this. Scratch that. It [i]was[/i] where he had ended up, earlier in that night. [color=0073d8][b]“There’s a game room downstairs, would he be into that?”[/b][/color]

Katie shrugged. [color=ba314c][b]“He’d want somewhere quiet. I don’t even know where that could be on this thing. It’s like a floating rave. I guess the game room is as good as any place to start though,”[/b][/color] Katie said, heading off to begin her search. [color=ba314c][b]“Come on, Mr. Moody, we have a boy to find.”[/b][/color]

[color=0073d8][b]“[i]Moody?[/i] [sup]I’m not the one who just had a public meltdown…[/sup]”[/b][/color] Dixon grumbled as he followed behind her. They had… a boy to find.[/indent]