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[indent][indent][color=#ffffff]A false gasp of shock and offence slipped from Blair’s lips as she pressed her hand against her chest. [/color][color=#c9bef3]"You’re not trying to date me?! But I’m such a fun date," [/color][color=#ffffff]she teased, her lighthearted laugh taking any real sting from the words. Her expression softened into something more genuine. [/color][color=#c9bef3]"Thanks, Dollface,"[/color][color=#ffffff] she added, accompanied by a small wink. That warmth, however, seemed to retreat slightly as her tone grew more sombre, her smile dimming by a few degrees.[/color][color=#c9bef3] "I hope I don’t disappoint. I’m in desperate need of a good friend here."[/color]

[color=#ffffff]The bourbon’s warmth in Anissa’s chest acted like a lubricant for her inhibitions, loosening her tongue and making space for the truth.[/color]

[color=#5a3e85]“Honestly? Same. Could use one too. This night hasn’t been…the best it could have been.” [/color][color=#ffffff]It was an incredible understatement. Juggling Sylas’s probing questions, dealing with Anatoliy’s volatile temper, and weathering the peculiar chill of Elias’s diverted attention had been emotionally draining. “Not the best” was a polite term for an evening that felt like a series of small, personal defeats. At least Blair’s company came paired with bourbon and a refreshing dose of blunt honesty, two things Anissa found she could appreciate in the moment.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]After calling out her request to the bartender, Anissa blinked in surprise as he suddenly materialized directly in front of her, closing the distance with an almost invasive speed and stopping just shy of her personal space. His breath was warm and unnervingly sweet against her cheek, likely from the honeyed mead she’d glimpsed earlier. Still, she also picked up on the sharp tang of a stronger alcohol that seemed to cling to him like an unconventional cologne. A bold block of spring-green paint stretched across his brow and curled over his ears, making his dark eyes glow with a preternatural intensity under the lights, like polished garnets.[/color]

[color=#b22222]“Close…”[/color][color=#ffffff] he murmured, his exhale gently parting the few stray strands of hair that had fallen across her face. [/color]

[color=#ffffff]Her eyebrows shot up in bewilderment. [/color][i][color=#ffffff]Close to what?[/color][/i][color=#ffffff] Too close to [/color][i][color=#ffffff]her[/color][/i][color=#ffffff], that was for certain. [/color]

[color=#ffffff]Before Anissa could summon one of her usual quips or, better yet, back away, the man fished a bottle of whiskey from nowhere with the flourish of a magician. [/color][color=#b22222]“Not quite it, though. You were really clo—oh shit!”[/color][color=#ffffff] His words broke off as he finally noticed Blair. He staggered back half a step, pointing at her with the wide-eyed fervour of a man struck by a divine revelation. [/color][color=#b22222]“That dress! Someone finally understood the goddamn assignment! It’s a goddamn party! Hell yes!”[/color][color=#ffffff] He reached behind himself, seemingly for balance as much as for the bottle, and grabbed the sambuca, steadying his swaying form.[/color]

[color=#b22222]“Slippery nipple, right? Not a buttery nipple?”[/color][color=#ffffff] he asked, snapping his attention back to Anissa. She had no idea how to respond, her mind momentarily snagging on the absurdity of the question. What was a Buttery Nipple? Some kind of creamier, Baileys-based version? And oh gods, she really needed to stop mentally cataloging types of nipples. Like…[/color][color=#ffffff][i]right now.[/i][/color]

[color=#b22222]“…That was a joke.[/color][color=#b22222]I never forget a drink. And that dress…”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]His hand began to shake, finding a rhythm to a beat only he could hear, one that was entirely out of sync with the actual music pumping through the party. [/color][color=#b22222]“In-spi-ra-tion!” [/color][color=#ffffff]he declared, sloshing liquids together. [/color][color=#b22222]“I’m making something special for that dress…”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Just as before, she watched him prepare the drink, but now her fascination was less with his skill and more with the chaotic, surreal energy of the person himself. Anissa’s attention was only diverted when Blair leaned back against the counter beside her. [/color][color=#c9bef3]"A slippery nipple?" [/color][color=#ffffff]Her lips scrunched into an intrigued, nosy smile. [/color][color=#c9bef3]"Who are you trying to seduce?"[/color][color=#ffffff] Her attention shifted from the brunette to skim the various partygoers like she was Sherlock. [/color][color=#c9bef3]"Are they hot?"[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Anissa felt heat creep into her cheeks, though whether it was from the bourbon, the cherry-topped monstrosity the bartender had now slid her way, or Blair’s blunt question, she couldn’t say. Her fingers hovered above the glass, hesitating to explain because... well, would Blair even believe her if she’d stated that River was just her friend? Sylas sure hadn’t. [/color]

[color=#5a3e85]“I’d promised to help him loosen up, that’s all,”[/color][color=#ffffff] she began, watching a little self-consciously as Blair continued to engross herself in visually combing the party for a candidate. [/color][color=#5a3e85]“And I want to keep that promise.” [/color]

[color=#ffffff]Instead of joining the search, Anissa’s eyes found him on their own—River, near the rink. The blonde he’d been talking to was gone now, leaving him standing alone. A small, unacknowledged flicker of relief passed through her; the last thing she wanted was to interrupt. As for the second half of Blair’s question, she genuinely considered it now, recalling how his striped shirt had hung loosely on his frame and the way the solid lines of his forearms were dusted with dark hair. And then, inexplicably, she was remembering the brush of his breath against her ear as he’d leaned in to tease her about her height.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Her stomach flipped at the thought. She hated how vividly she could recall it, how easily it joined the log of the night’s other jarringly intimate moments, like the bartender’s sweet, alcohol-cloaked breath in her space moments before and then Anatoliy…sniffing her. Each encounter had felt like a small invasion, as if her personal boundaries were merely paper screens, easily pushed aside. [/color]

[color=#ffffff]Then Blair sighed dramatically as she let her attention shift back to Anissa, a plotting, impish grin on her face. [/color][color=#c9bef3]"Can I get a hint?"[/color]

[color=#5a3e85]“Um,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Anissa began, utterly unsure what kind of hint would suffice without giving everything away. Perhaps she was better off just pointing him out and avoiding another exhausting round of twenty questions.[/color][color=#5a3e85] “He’s the tall, broody guy near the rink who looks like he could use some better company.” [/color][color=#ffffff]The unspoken part of that sentence hung in the air between them: [/color][i][color=#5a3e85]that better company being me[/color][/i][color=#ffffff]. At least for the short time it would take to deliver his drink.[/color]

[color=#5a3e85]“Meet you at the skate change area?”[/color][color=#ffffff] Anissa asked. She couldn’t very well assume that Blair would want to follow her on what was essentially a solo errand.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Blair’s eyes went wide, and she let out a low, drawn-out [/color][color=#c9bef3]“Ohhh,” [/color][color=#ffffff]complete with an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle. A smirk tugged at her lips as she leaned in like they were sharing the juiciest secret.[/color]

[color=#c9bef3]“I [/color][i][color=#c9bef3]love[/color][/i][color=#c9bef3] the broody ones,” [/color][color=#ffffff]she whispered, eyes sparkling with mischief. [/color][color=#c9bef3]“By all means, Dollface. Show him a good time—I mean, [/color][i][color=#c9bef3]good company,” [/color][/i][color=#ffffff]she corrected with another one of her winks.[/color][color=#c9bef3] “I'm curious to see what drink my dress inspires anyway.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Anissa groaned softly, rolling her eyes even as warmth crept into her cheeks once more. [/color][color=#5a3e85]“You’re impossible,”[/color][color=#ffffff] she muttered, though the corners of her mouth betrayed her with a reluctant smile. She scooped up the carefully layered shot, balancing the cherry like it was glass art she had no business carrying, and straightened from the bar. A breath steadied her nerves before she tipped Blair a mock salute.[/color]

[color=#5a3e85]“Don’t vanish on me, girly.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]With that, she threaded her way through the crowd. The world felt warmer, softer at the edges, though that was likely the bourbon humming through her veins and not the actual temperature. Most of the party was still clustered around the bar or the scattered tables, making her journey an easy enough navigation. Regardless, she continued to hold the glass like a precious relic, hyperaware of every jostle and brush of a shoulder that threatened to topple the cherry from its creamy throne.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]When she finally broke free of the main press of bodies and started toward him, her steps carried a little more sway than usual. The alcohol had loosened her shoulders, lending her a fluidity that was at odds with the pinpricks of anxiety needling at the edges of her consciousness. She told herself it was just the drink making her jittery, but a deeper, more honest part of her knew better.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]It had been that kind of night, a relentless series of moments where she felt picked apart and scrutinized by people she would now have to see every day. There was no leaving this place; she was here to stay, for better or worse. And now Blair, with one simple eyebrow wiggle, had cracked open a truth Anissa hadn’t meant to acknowledge, not even in the privacy of her own thoughts: that River wasn’t just a promise she felt obligated to keep. He was… attractive. A bit too honest, disarmingly awkward, but undeniably attractive. Walking toward him now, this specific drink in her hand, it suddenly felt like a far more significant step than it should have been, especially considering she’d already confessed her complicated parentage to him. What more was left to reveal when her mind was already so discombobulated by alcohol? What more could she do or say? Only time would tell….[/color]

[color=#ffffff]The cherry wobbled dangerously, and Anissa tightened her grip on the glass, her gloves absorbing some of its coolness. [/color][color=#5a3e85][i]Gods, if I spill this now, it’d almost be a relief.[/i][/color][color=#ffffff] At least then she’d have a clean, simple excuse to retreat. But then again, she’d never been a coward, despite a life filled with strange and often frightening experiences. A memory surfaced, unbidden: a night back in Vancouver when she’d learned the hard way that ghosts weren’t always just her harmless stalkers. Most were just desperate for attention, capable only of whispering or lingering. But she remembered the woman in the waterlogged wedding dress; the way her trembling, spectral fingers had reached out and brushed her cheek. The cold had been absolute, sinking straight into her bones and leaving her paralyzed not by the chill, but by the horrifying realization: if a spirit could touch her, it could hurt her. And she possessed no ability to hurt it back. She knew that for a fact.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]That profound helplessness had terrified her more than anything else. It still did.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]So no, she wasn’t about to back out now. Not over a shot and a cherry. [/color]

[color=#ffffff]And besides… he’d already noticed her approach.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Anissa lifted the shot carefully, the cherry performing a final, precarious dance on its foamy peak, and offered him a crooked, slightly nervous smile.[/color]

[color=#5a3e85]“Hey… care for a nipple?”[/color]

[/indent][/indent][hr] 
Location: Bar  
Interactions: Blair, River ([@Mjolnir]), Bax ([@Hound55])
Mentions: Sylas, Anatoliy, Elias, Iliana,