[b]Ly[i]n[/i]N[/b]

Lynn zoned out for a moment when Amelia was speaking, which was likely a very fortuitous thing, as her inebriated mind may have slipped up and made an uncouth comment about what laying low entailed and perhaps what the ramifications of such a course of action were for others in the group. Instead, she looked at everybody's shoes, and noticed how markedly smaller hers were than everyone else's. Eli and Amelia were introducing themselves, which felt strange to Lynn. It felt like some heavy, cold thing that threatened to rip through the little fragile house of cards Lynn's good mood tap-danced on top of, and she couldn't explain why. Lynn wanted to put herself between Eli and Amelia [i](yo! Amelia's name already has Eli in it, what the fuck)[/i]and ask some questions to disrupt this, whatever it was, but before her mind had formulated a plan to make this happen Amelia had turned things back to Lynn. Fuck, this was more thinking than she wanted tonight. Lynn drank some more. "How hard did I pregame?" Lynn asked. "I just don't drink like a pussy," she said back, grinning. She was joking. Were her jokes good? People liked her more tonight than normal. Maybe they'd like her jokes. Lynn was surprised at her first beverage. She would've figured it was something nicer. As she looked down at her poor man's Jack and Coke, Lynn noticed the edge of the cup was swimming a bit in her vision. [i]About time.[/i]

Eli called her bossy. That made Lynn grin. Was she bossy? Lynn had never heard that before. She started to say that she didn't talk to enough people to be bossy but someone had changed the subject and the line was gone from Lynn's mind and her mouth at once, forgotten. As Lynn watched Eli speak, her mind was split between the girl's words and everything else about her. Lynn's normal doubts about whether or not a housebroken para like Eli could be really trusted beyond getting dinner together - if Keaton was getting Eli in on the operation so they could stab Lynn in the back - seemed to melt away. Lynn's hair slowly and softly stopped dancing with color and settled down to a dull auburn. To someone not paying close attention, it would seem that she perhaps had some splotchy highlights put in, ones which changed color every few minutes, but far more slowly than they did before. It was messier and unkempt this way, full of split ends and a tangle or two. Lynn's skin lost a bit of its glow, and the radiant heat around the girl dimmed down. Eli invited Rolex over, which was good. Lynn would've butchered it if she'd done it. Eli drank at fourteen? Younger than she was expecting, but Lynn giggled. "Whiskey! That's real shit." She followed Eli's eyes over to two people making out, and the same strange feeling from before seemed to well up in Lynn. [i]I could be doing that,[/i] Lynn thought, and in her mind, even her thoughts seemed to slur. [i]No you couldn't,[/i] said another, and it wrenched her eyes back to the conversation before the sight of Maddy - [sub][i]tall[/i][/sub] - threatened to twist her mood any more than it already had. Lynn turned back and saw something in Eli's face. Lynn was not sure if she could have articulated what she saw, because doing so would have meant having to explain how she saw it. It was what Lynn had just felt, that feeling of trying desperately to stomp out a roach and being afraid to lift up your foot in case it's alive and still scurries away. [i]she had a bad time[/i] Lynn thought, staring at Eli has she swayed a bit. [i]i had a bad time too[/i]. She used her powers to catch their attention without making a racket and Lynn stared in awe. [i]that's so fucking cool,[/i] she thought, looking down at her own hands. [i]she could do anything and nobody would have to know what she was.[/i]

Keaton. Denim. Lynn liked Keaton's denim. And Amelia's jacket. And...maybe also Eli's denim. [i]fuck were we wearing denim?[/i] She stumbled through the day's events trying to remember if someone had said that or not. No, they hadn't. She'd gone back to her dorm after work after getting the tequila because Cara told her that GARY WAS FUCKING DEAD and there had been no mention of denim not once. Not once at all. Lynn wasn't out of the loop. Unless they said something to each other and didn't say it to her? [i]why would they do that?[/i] Lynn thought. Two more people came from the edge of the clearing and Lynn felt the cards all go bust before the house came tipsy-tumbling down. It was Archie and Natalie. "She looks really pretty," Lynn murmured. And heels. And her makeup was fucking perfect. Lynn turned away and finished the rest of her drink, a tinge of blue ink-splotting out messily from the roots of her hair and base of her irises. [i]archie didn't show his other hand[/i] Lynn thought, the sort of thought that picked the knocked-down cards off the floor and ripped them apart. There was something sharp and sudden in Lynn's stomach and she thought for a brief, sobering moment she was going to hurl but it passed. [i]I burned Gary's hand too just like Archie's[/i]. Lynn tried not to think about Archie. Just don't. Just don't. [i]if he comes over to talk just find a reason to leave go get more liquor or food or just say you have to pee it doesn't matter just get away[/i] 

Lynn struggled to stack the cards back up before they were all shredded. Keaton. She turned to Keaton who was like a denim fucking anchor right now in Lynn's head. Keaton smiled when she looked at Lynn sometimes. And sometimes, Lynn's alcohol-slogged mind thought, it was the [i]smirk[/i] or the [i]condescending smile[/i] or all those other ones she'd seen so many times, the [i]we're reviewing your case as fast as we can[/i] smile or the [i]we think you'd be a great candidate for the Promise[/i] smile, but there were [i]Lucy[/i] smiles too, and sometimes like now it was one of those smiles, and that made Lynn smile, and she wondered if Keaton could tell what kind of smiles Lynn had, and if Keaton even understood the difference. "Good drinking," Lynn said instead, watching Keaton crush another jello shot like a champ. Sophomore year? Lynn almost wanted to laugh. She hadn't even made it through that much high school, let alone drinking. [i]if i kissed keaton right now that would be fucking hilarious i bet fish would flip flop out of his own scales[/i] And that was only a year ago for Lynn, so it felt funny to imagine. Lynn saw it on Keaton's face too, for a second, something sad. [i]something bad happened sophomore year[/i] Lynn realized. She blinked and turned to Eli, the world turning a half second after her eyes did. [i]maybe that's why they're getting along so well because they both had something bad happen[/i] Lynn decided she was doing to do something really really nice for Keaton. She didn't know what. But she told it to herself a half dozen times or so, so that in the morning she'd remember and she could do it.

Lynn grinned wide at Keaton's question, too drunk to think through the words that came stumbling out. "Hah! I have all you guys beat by a shitton. My first drink was when I was ten. Whiskey, like Eli." Lynn absentmindedly reached a spare hand to the bridge of her nose, rubbing at the scar across it. "It was 'cause I messed up his - " she blinked. Fish came swimming! Fish had like six names now, though, and Lynn could not remember any of them. She frowned. There was definitely something important about watches she was supposed to have remembered too, but that was long gone. Oh go figure, though. The one time Lynn managed to bring someone into a conversation and they don't speak fucking English. Lynn looked at Gen for a minute and sighed. "Don't worry," she said, reaching into her bag. "I have something for the language barri-" she paused, cocking her head and needing to try once or twice. "berry, bear...[i]barrier[/i], she said, handing Gen the handle. "It's like Mexican sake, Fish," she said. "Zack." She frowned. Why would you choose Zack? You could've been anything. Lynn would've picked a way more badass name, like a big movie star, or a boxer, or [sub][i]Salamandra[/i][/sub]. Lynn tensed for a second and looked around the party, but the alcohol seemed to have numbed her enough that by the time the panic had started to set in her brain had confirmed Salamandra wasn't there. [sub][i]she's dead like gary and you killed her[/i][/sub]. Lynn fumbled into her back pocket, holding her cup between her teeth, and drew out a pack of cigarettes. 

"Anybody want one?" she asked, muffled, holding her empty cup in the crook of her arm as she put the cigarette to her teeth. Normally the phoenix was right there, right under the surface, but she thought it had gone to sleep now. Lynn struck her thumbnail against the cigarette like a strike-anywhere match and nothing happened. "Whiskey dick," Lynn muttered quietly, as if she wasn't aware she was speaking at all. The cigarette had her full focus for a few moments, which was the part of alcohol Lynn really liked. There weren't so many thoughts [sub][i]tall[/i] // [i]Salamandra[/i] // [i]four dead[/i] // [i]Che[/i] // [i]she's so pretty[/i] // [i]molotov[/i] // [i][/i] [/sub] then and it was easier to just focus. "Heh always something to do with whiskey." Lynn finally got the cigarette to light and took a puff, noticing that for once it was burning down at a normal rate. [i]i save so much money when i drink and no buildings have been destroyed today either. i should do this more often[/i]