[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/X3u08fW.png[/img]

[color=slategray][sub][@Fabricant451] and [@Universorum]
Location: The Karaoke room![/sub][/color]
[sub][color=slategray]Featuring:[/color] [color=f4dd2e][b]Zachary “Shortstack” Webb[/b][/color] and [color=7fffd4][b]Sam “Amazon” Lassiter[/b][/color][/sub][/center][hr][hr]
[indent]Here he was!


A real, live, actually happening party! On a boat! Zach was [i]pumped[/i]. He’d signed a guestbook, walked onto the boat, and now he was near the karaoke machine, which was near the food! Zach was happily carrying a plate of fully loaded nachos, which he was eating as he walked around, looking more at the sights than the people he was risking running into. He was bobbing his head to the music, and listening to the current person standing at the karaoke machine with a huge smile on his face. The smile had found its way to his lips as he’d walked up the boat to begin with, and it wasn’t going anywhere!

No way, no how. Zach didn’t need his friends to come here for him to have a good time. He was [i]clearly[/i] capable of enjoying himself with or without them. He didn’t need to sit at home and play Hearthstone, or FFXIV, or even build magic decks to enjoy himself. He could party! That was a good thing, right? Brian had invited everyone! Zach had tried to fight the good fight and invite his friends along, but they had been insistent that nothing good would come of the party. Of any party! Zach, respectfully, now disagreed.

Whether or not he was having a good time was not the question. Zach was [i]definitely[/i] enjoying himself, but to be honest? Parties weren’t his scene, and he [i]definitely[/i] looked like a fish out of water in the scene of the party: he was short, he wasn’t really hot, he wasn’t loud or rambunctious… He was actually usually a quiet kid! Right now, you could think of him as a sightseer, just… seeing the sights. Enjoying the sounds and flavors of the party… [color=f4dd2e][b]“WHOA!”[/b][/color]

Of course, seeing the sights meant that he wasn’t seeing directly in front of himself. This led to him bumping into some incredibly tall person, and knocking their beer out of their hand, which spilled onto his nachos (a true tragedy if he’d ever heard of one), and then it fell down to the ground and landed on his shoes and the mystery person’s shoes.

[color=f4dd2e][b]“Oh man, oh man. I am [i]so sorry[/i], dude, oh man.”[/b][/color] Zach looked up slowly at the person he’d bumped into, [color=f4dd2e][b]“I didn’t mean to, I guess I wasn’t watch— whoa.”[/b][/color] Zach’s eyes had finally found their way all the way up the long legs and torso of the person he’d ran into, to find that she was not only a girl, but [i]hot.[/i]

[color=f4dd2e][b]“Whoa…”[/b][/color] Zach had never been this close to a hot girl before! Geeze, she was so much taller than him… Why was he so short?!

If there hadn’t been a karaoke machine then Sam Lassiter probably would’ve left by now. 

Sam was in a unique position when it came to parties, especially ones of this caliber. As a member of the so-called upper echelon of the social hierarchy she was invited to parties almost by default, and yet most of the time she didn’t even enjoy them all that much. She couldn’t afford to get sloppy ass drunk so the excessive drinking aspect of these things was out of the question and she got enough of a high from feeling that snap as her fist relocated a few jaw bones on a poor sod, so drugs were unnecessary. Dancing was also a bit too much to ask. While Sam was a demon in the ring, when it came to the dancefloor she was about as coordinated as a horse on rollerblades. No one would likely make fun of her for it, except probably Owen and Liv, but even though Sam could laugh at herself where it counted that didn’t mean it didn’t suck to experience. 

Fortunately this yacht had a karaoke machine that was even hooked up to a big screen so people who were singing didn’t have to scrunch together to read the lyrics off the machine monitor which made for a singing area that was all encompassing. As soon as she found the machine, she flocked to it, demanding first ups which wasn’t a problem as at the time no one was even bothering. When someone like Sam Lassiter picked up the microphone and treated passersby to a damn great rendition of [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7l5ZeVVoCA]What’s My Age Again[/url] followed by an encore performance of [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuzCwXB4AJQ]You Oughta Know[/url] which encouraged others to stick around and belt out their drunken renditions of songs from yesterday to yesteryear. 

Parties weren’t really Sam’s thing, but she loved karaoke which helped encourage her to stick around. There were many ways to just let loose and let out stress, but when there wasn’t a heavy bag around then belting out ballads in front of an increasingly drunk audience was a damn good substitute. And she just liked to sing regardless of her ability at it which hovered around ‘well, if she was in the shower it’d be Grammy worthy.’ With can of beer in hand, Sam was coming around to having a good time simply hanging out and silently judging when people with no sense of flow tried to do a rap song, and indulging herself in some trashy junk food that was gonna go right to her thighs. It was shaping up to be a not completely dull night. 

Right as Sam was raising her beer to take a sip, her body lurched forward and the can of beer slipped from her fingers. It splashed everywhere, but to Sam the fact that her Combat Club jacket now had a giant beer stain on it was the worst. She liked that jacket, she didn't’ have to pay for it and her wearing it was like free advertising. Sam had to take it off now, leaving her with a black tank top and an annoyed expression on her lips. 

[color=7FFFD4][b]”What the [i]fuck[/i], dude.”[/b][/color] Sam turned her steely blues to the Beer Spiller and scoffed. She almost felt sorry for the kid, probably some nerdy frosh at his first party, but that’s no excuse. Sam wasn’t exactly hard to see if you were blind. [color=7FFFD4][b]”Don’t just fucking stand there gawking, get me another beer, dude.”[/b][/color] Sam’s voice was agitated, but given her height and the husky twinge to her voice she often came off angrier to the layman.

This Amazonian woman was going to murder him. He’d had a good run. At least he’d always have Magic the Gathering tournament wins to look back on! Or that time he was in the top ten in the Hearthstone ladder. He had a few good moments to remember, just not [i]that many[/i], which was part of the reason he’d gone to the party in the first place! Make a few memories, get together, have a few laughs. That’s it! Laughs! Laughs could solve this issue, before it got any worse. If he laughed the awkwardness, the terribleness away, then all that would be left would be the humor. Right?


Zach called upon every bit of self-preservation he had within himself, and pushed away the scared look on his face, and replaced it instead with a dopey grin. Then he started laughing. It was awkward, and forced at first, but it soon changed into something more natural — and Zach had an alright natural laugh. It wasn’t annoying, and it wasn’t graceful per se, but it did have that [i]infectious[/i] quality to it. After a few seconds the laugh faded away, and Zach shook his head.

[color=f4dd2e][b]“My friends told me that if I went to a party, I’d regret it. And here I am! In danger! Because I wasn’t paying attention, and ran into some super tall girl who was wearing a shirt that said ‘Combat Club’ in big letters.”[/b][/color]  Zachary sighed, and looked up at Sam (dude, those growth spurts couldn’t come [i]any[/i] faster? seriously?). [color=f4dd2e][b]“Before you murder me, can I at least put these nachos down? To lessen the mess we make.”[/b][/color]

As far as laughter went, there was only one person doing it. When the short beer spiller began to laugh Sam took a glance around the room, gauging the reaction and searching for clarification if she was, in fact, seeing this clearly. Maybe the kid had some sort of social disorder or something, like that little blonde girl that Sam let on her back while Sam pretended to be a fantasy creature flying through the air. But that was cute and this was just...weird. 

[color=7FFFD4][b]”Murder you?”[/b][/color] The question came with a raised eyebrow and a look of genuine, utter confusion. [color=7FFFD4][b]”Dude, you spilled a beer, what you think I’m some kinda Johnny Lawrence bully type? I’m not gonna murder you, just get me a new one.”[/b][/color] Whatever ideas this kid had in mind she wanted no part of. Sure, she was annoyed that there was a beer stain on her jacket, but beer washed out and it was at least better than grease stains or nacho cheese or some other fluid. 

[color=7FFFD4][b]”By the way, you’ve got nacho on your shirt.”[/b][/color] Sam pointed at the murder seeker’s shirt and assuming he looked she was absolutely going to flick her finger up and flick his nose for the trouble. 

Zach immediately felt a wave of relief wash over him. Honest? He was incredibly intimidated by this woman, and he was happy to hear that she wasn’t going to murder him. When she mentioned Johnny Lawrence, even briefly, Zach visibly perked up. He understood that reference! He understood it clearly. [color=f4dd2e][b]“Haven’t you watched Cobra Kai? Johnny’s the good guy!”[/b][/color] Zach protested, before glancing down at his shirt to look at the nacho.

Instead, he found nothing but a finger that bopped his nose. He glanced up with very suddenly wide eyes, having not expected that in the slightest. He did his best to push that away, reminded of the awkwardness that he’d created with his own laugh, and gulped. Get her a beer? Yeah, he could do that. [color=f4d22e][b]“Okay, I can get you a beer. What kind of beer? They have, like, brands, right? I’ve never had one before…”[/b][/color] He said, glancing around the room to see where he would even [i]get[/i] a beer. Eventually, he laid his eyes on a corner with a few different kegs in the corner, and pointed at it, glancing at the girl for validation.

[color=f4d22e][b]“Over there, right? I’ll, uh, be right back.”[/b][/color] He said, giving her a thumbs up, though it was unclear if it was meant to encourage him or her more. With his eyes glued to the floor, Zach shuffled across the room, suddenly aware of the eyes glued to him. Was it [i]that[/i] bad? He’d just forced himself to laugh! He made his way to the keg and filled up a cup, after setting the permanently ruined nachos aside. He turned around and started to walk back to her, before he stopped, and turned back around. He filled up a second cup, and [i]then[/i] went back to her with both of them. He handed her one of the red cups, and then held his up as well, [color=f4d22e][b]“hey, cheers, right?”[/b][/color]

Well, the short stack wasn’t a total dweeb if he could recognize the classics when he heard them, but it was still almost a comedy of errors as she watched him try to parse ‘get me a beer’. The oldest trick in the book of flicking his nose made Sam amused but that quickly gave way to a blank expression of disbelief. This guy wasn’t serious, right? She was damn near impressed that he didn’t trip over himself on the way to the beer corner. It didn’t really matter which keg he chose, it all tasted basically the same but even still she raised both eyebrows, tightened her lips and gave a nod at the selected keg; it was the kind of nod that would normally have been punctuated by turning to her friends and sharing a laugh but instead Sam was left to simply blink in awe that someone so...uncoordinated actually existed. 

[color=7FFFD4][b]”You’ve never had a beer before have you?”[/b][/color] Sam asked when her new cup was given to her with a fair bit more foam than she liked, but those were the sacrifices when someone else poured from the tap. [color=7FFFD4][b]”Go on, drink it. But it doesn’t count unless you drink the whole thing in one go. It’s like...the rule. First cup you gotta down it.”[/b][/color] Sam was absolutely fucking with him, but she figured he was the type that wouldn’t be able to tell. Given that he thought she was going to kill him she had good reason to think it.

Zach stared at the foamy liquid for a few seconds, before he glanced at the girl again, then back down at the cup. [color=f4d22e][b]“What? The whole thing?”[/b][/color] He asked, before sniffing at the liquid. He wasn’t sure about this, it kinda smelled… icky. But, she had said so, and Zach couldn’t think of any reason not to trust her! [color=f4d22e][b]“Uh, okay.”[/b][/color] He lifted the cup up to his lips, and prepared himself to drink it down. Luckily, Zach had practice at drinking and eating things he didn’t like. Years of being a picky eater had trained him well!

He went to tip it back into his mouth, and froze, pulling it away before a drop met his lips. He took the cup down, and glanced up at the tall woman again. [color=f4d22e][b]“Hey, my name is Zachary, by the way. But you can call me Zach.”[/b][/color] Then he tipped the beer back, along with his neck. To Zach’s credit, he [i]did[/i] swallow it all down in one go. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to ignore the taste quite as well as he’d hoped he’d be able to, and after he pulled the cup away, he made a face. [color=f4d22e][b]“Oh, that’s gross!”[/b][/color]

Sam was only slightly disappointed when her little harmless drinking prank went off without so much as a hitch. Figuring that a first timer would try to impress and spectacularly fail by coughing or gagging while trying to chug, when the shorty got away with only minor inconvenience Sam wasn’t sure if she should give him props or try for double down. She opted to simply sip at her own cup of beer without much in the way of comment. She didn’t have to say much, her eyes giving the soft stack a once over said enough. 

[color=7FFFD4][b]”Didn’t ask your name, Zachary, I asked for a beer, which I have now. I know you probably can’t see as well down there, but watch out in the future. Some people might actually kill you for spilling their beer.”[/b][/color] Some sound advice from the junior who mostly took the incident in stride. It wasn’t worth taking action over. No use crying over spilt milk - or beer in this case. [color=7FFFD4][b]”And don’t eat the nachos. They’ll stunt your growth.”[/b][/color]

[color=f4d22e][b]“I’ll, uh, try? Thanks.”[/b][/color] Zach said, looking down at his empty cup. He made a mental note to never drink beer again, ever, in his entire life. When she said that bit about not eating nachos, he was a little disappointed, but he decided to take her advice. After all, she was tall as fuck — and he didn’t want to risk [i]staying[/i] shorter than she was. There was, of course, a slight chance that he’d never see her again, but Zach had a feeling she wouldn’t be very hard to pick out of a crowd in the future. [color=f4d22e][b]“Well, you have a beer now, so I guess I’ll take my leave…”[/b][/color] Zach gave her bit of a wave, and then turned to leave, walking off into the crowd.

In his head, he was replaying the incident over and over again, and was coming to the realization that he had a crush. A crush who could sing (karaoke at least, but it counted), was very tall (growth spurts, please!?), super hot (Whoa.), and went to the 365 Combat Club. At least he had a place where he could find her now. He’d have to talk to his mother and figure out how best to get a girl to like him… High school was gonna be so complicated now! And his only two friends were worthless to ask about this particular situation.

Sam took another sip of her beer as the awkward boy made his equally awkward exit. Who the hell said ‘take my leave’? At least he didn’t have a fedora or call her ‘m’lady’ or something, so he had that going for him; plus he lucked out and only had a mild case of hazing from an upperclassman. It could’ve been a lot worse, depending on who he had run into. Literally, at that. She didn’t even watch him leave before her attention was back to more immediately pressing concerns, like when it was her next go on karaoke and how long the smell of beer lingered. Her aunt was going to flip if the beer stench tracked to other clothes in the wash. 

[color=7FFFD4][b]”Fuckin freshmen."[/b][/color] With a shake of her head and a sip of beer, Sam went back to keeping herself entertained as a member of the volleyball team was about to try their hand at rapping.[/indent]