[Open] I'll Misbehave If It Turns You On

[Claire Jayne Madden]

Claire pulled her hair off of her neck and to the side of her hair as she stepped off stage. She took in a deep breath and placed her hand over stomach. It was really warm in this club, and she felt like it had just gotten a hundred degrees moreso. She smiled tentatively at Shane, not wanting to tell him that she felt like she was about to show everyone what she had for lunch and instead brought her hand down to his, hoping the heat would just wash over her. She looked up in time to see Hillary waving her over and she bit the inside of her cheek ,weighing her options. Claire groaned quietly before she looked at Shane, “ What should I do?” she said, tilting her head towards Stefan, Hillary, Anthony and Natalia. She tightened her fingers around Shane’s, smiling at him as she waited for his response. ‘ Well, it doesn’t hurt to say hi….’ he said , which was more than she’d expected. Claire nodded and scratched the back of her neck. “ Can you just give me a second? I’ll be right back, then you’re coming with me,” she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Claire moved quickly to the bathroom, heading for the sink as she flipped the cold water on as fast as she could. She moved her wrist under the running water, letting the cold water hit her arteries in hopes that it would cool her off quicker than if she put cold water on her face or neck. After about a minute she felt better and could feel the nausea starting to wear off. She licked her lips and shut the water off, shaking water water off of her wrist and hands before she dried them off. Heat and nauea now was bareable. It was when she was in the studio working on choreography that it kicked her in the ass. Once she adjusted her hair and dress she stepped out of the bathroom and headed back over to Shane, placing her hand inside his own quickly before she made her way over to the bar. “ … Hi guys,” she said, smiling hesitantly before she wrapped her arm around the inside of Shane’s. She kept her arm inside Shane’s before she leaned over to kiss Hillary’s cheek, “ You look.. beautiful. Too heavenly to be a devil,”she said, giving a small squeeze around her shoulders with her free arm. After turning to look at the boys she shook her head as she smiled. She’d seen Anthony’s outfit at home, but Stefan did pull off a lot of shades of white better than she’d even though he was capable of. Claire lowered her arm, tightening her hand around Shane’s as she looked at Natalia and offered a smile. “ You look pretty,” she offered, before she leaned into Shane’s side. “ Ethan will be glad to see all of you..” she said before she looked back over her shoulder to find him in the crowd again.

[Rose Elliot Madison]

Rosie turned around and looked toward the stage when she heard the music cut, seeing Claire on stage. She smiled, hearing all the nice things she had to say about Ethan, and the more then true things about his current state of mind. But she was right on all accounts, yes he was completely drunk off his ass, but so was she, and he really did have to be the sweetest older brother. Claire was lucky to have him. Rosie smiled and snaked her arm around Ethan's waist as he put his arm around her shoulder. Someone had handed him a beer so he was all set to go. As soon as Claire announced The Black Keys, Rosie gasped. She was pretty sure someone along the way had told her they were going to be there to surprise Ethan, but in her drunken state it had slipped her mind and so now here she was, just as surprised and excited as Ethan. She heard Ethan exclaim some sort of excited profanity in which Rosie yelled, "I love the Black Keys!" She jumped up and down a few times, the biggest grin on her face, "Ethan this is so cool!" Rosie took his free hand that didn't have a beer in it and pulled him into the crowd so they could be closer to the stage. People got out of the way and let them through because they knew it was Ethan's party so they easily made it to the front where she let go of his hand.

She stood beside Ethan and enjoyed the band, swinging her hips to the music, surely in her own little world as she danced, her arms above her head, thoroughly enjoying herself. On occasion she glanced at Ethan and smiled at him, glad to see he too was enjoying himself. Glad to see his birthday had been a good one for the past twenty four hours. Glad she was able to be a part of the making it awesome for him. She leaned over, gently shaking his shoulder out of excitement, "Great right?" Placing her hand on his lower back, she leaned over and kissed his cheek, saying loud enough for him to hear her, "Happy birthday, Ethan," she smiled happily. Moving her hand, she lightly rubbed his back for a moment and then gave his shoulder a squeeze. Not trying to be a flirt or cross any lines, but it was his birthday and she wouldn't treat any of her other friends differently. Causally she dropped her hand back to her side, still smiling. If they could pause on that night with all their friends and good times and never have to come to tomorrow, she thought she just might do it.

[Riley Scott Collins]

Riley took a drink from his scotch and looked around the room. He didn’t really recognize a lot of these people from Ethan’s group, but hell it didn’t seem like Ethan cared in the slightest. There were a lot of people here that did know him though so he guessed that evened things out. His own birthday was in a couple of days and he was looking forward to spending the day with Mackenzie, Lily, Mandi, Mandi’s, even though she denies it, boyfriend Hunter, Kiersten and Lance. Football, beer, wings, his family. What more could a guy want. Well it would be nice if Hunter pulled out a win for the team. He looked over his shoulder to try and spot Mandi. Maybe she could help him out with that. It was one thing to pimp out your sister, but if it meant winning a game, well.. it’s not like normal rules were in place. He smiled as Claire went on stage, eager to hear the Black Keys. That was pretty much the only reason he’d come out tonight, he had already talked to Ethan earlier and told him happy birthday. But Mackenzie didn’t think Riley should pass up the opportunity to see his favorite band since he was working all the time. At least she kept him in line when all he wanted to do was work. That wasn’t true. He hated taking over his fathers business, had to work was more along the lines than wanted to.

Riley watched as some guy walked away from Scarlet and smiled to himself. Oh, Scarlet Harris. There wasn’t really a way to describe her other than… Scarlet Harris. He finished his drink before he set the glass on the counter and made his way over to her. “ Cinderella wasn’t putting away her dance shoes just yet was she?” he smiled and looked down at her outfit. Devil. Appropriate. “ You should’ve dressed as an angel.. just to throw us all off. But that dress looks like it fits perfectly,” he said, leaning in and wrapping his arm around her lower waist before he held her close to him so they could start dancing. It was sort of funny seeing her transition from dancing to whatever bullshit they were playing earlier, to dancing to this music. Riley held back a laugh before he just shook his head smiling. “ Here,” he said, lowering his hand to her own before he stepped back and spun her around and pulled her back into his chest before he lifted her arms over her heard and did another quick spin. Scarlet lifted her eyebrow at him and he smiled , shrugging his shoulder slightly. “ I can’t dance to bullshit music.. but this? I got this.” he said, giving a sigh before he further explained. “ Ballroom classes. That I retained. Meeting the woman who forever changed my life however, God didn’t seem to find it necessary to grant me that luxury. But.. I like to think that it’s because he wanted a chance for me to meet her again. So he could show all the other angels who missed it the first time, that love like that does exist,” he said, thinking back on Mackenzie before he scratched the side of his jaw. He had done what he was supposed to , right? He stepped in, took over his father’s company. Went to school. Was good to his daughter. He’d give up everything to remember Mackenzie’s laugh the first time they met, or to see the smile that he had fallen in love with. He’d seen it now, but he wanted to see it before she’d experienced the pain he had brought her. He knew that she had been through a lot with her family, but he just wanted to see that smile.. the one before he brought worries onto her shoulders. It was the one thing he couldn’t pretend he was okay with, at least not very well. Riley took in a deep breath and sighed. The Black Keys were playing, it was a Friday night, and he had a chance to dance with one of his beautiful best friends. No sadness when it wasn’t necessary. He smiled again, deciding to live in this moment since he could, others weren’t so lucky. “ Alright now do me,” he said , gesturing to her to spin him, ” You never did in high school,” he said under his breath, pretending to be annoyed before he let her spin him and did his best to turn under her shorter arms.

[Madeline Lea O'Neil]

Madeline stepped in through the back entrance of the club, moving her hand away from Ryan as she took a step away from him. The last thing she needed was for Patrick to be on her case about this. She walked over to the bar quickly, ordering a midori sour as she leaned against the bar and adjusted her hair. Madeline ran her hand over her stomach, adjusting her dress before she saw Hillary and smiled, giving her a wave before she ran over to her and hugged her. She did look so pretty.. the most innocent of all the angels, dressed up in sinful red. A conservative dress at that, but she pulled it off. Her and Stefan were pretty adorable anyways, they were both lucky to have each other. When Madeline heard the Black Keys starting to play, she said her goodbye to Hillary, kissing her cheek before she went to get her drink and headed into the crowd to find her best friend. Right by the stage, where else would she be. Madeline smiled as she approached her. ‘ Hi gorgeous,” she said, draping her arm around her in a hug even though she had just seen her minutes ago. It had just taken her and Ryan a little bit longer to get in the club than it took them. Priorities.

Madeline took a sip from her drink before she looked back towards the crowd and smiled at Ryan. His height was really beneficial whenever she found herself looking for him. “ Dance?” she mouthed towards him since there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d be able to hear her. Madeline took another sip from her drink before she set the glass on the stage and made her way towards Ryan. She stepped in front of him, maybe about two feet away. It was so strange how in private they were all over each other, in public they hardly touched, but things like this.. where they could get away with it. It was almost fun to her to try and push the boundaries. She smiled slowly before she stepped closer to him. ‘Do you think I could have a place to stay tonight?’ she questioned before she carelessly scanned him from head to toe, in no part hiding that she was checking him out. “ Patrick’s in Los Angeles until Monday,” she said , unsure of why she had held that information away from him until this point. When the song changed, Madeline couldn’t help but smile brighter. What an appropriate song for Ryan. She stepped forward, wrapping her long arm around his neck before she inched herself closer to him to dance. But it was dark, and there were bodies everywhere. They didn’t have many chances to get away with things. She draped her fingers lazily over his neck before she stood on her toes and kissed him, knowing she’d think about the way he kissed for days, weeks, after tonight.

New Song

[Shane Alexander Madden]

Shane smiled and took Claire's hand in his own after he'd said he didn't mind going to talk to her friends with her in the least. He followed her to the bar, grateful for the quieter atmosphere over here then the loudness by the stage. As they approached the group of friends by the bar and stopped in front of them, Shane let Claire wrap her hand around his arm, clearly uncomfortable but like he told her, it was no big deal. Say hello, no one was expecting her to hang out the whole night right here, she could be on her way to mingle in a few minutes. Shane smiled, "Hey Hillary, Stefan," he nodded, reaching out to shake Stefan's hand, and then offered his hand to Anthony too, "Hey man, what's up," he took a deep breath. "Natalia, how have you been, busy I'm sure?" Sure she was busy all she ever did was shit for her career. And that got really friggin busy. Shane would know, he was just better at balancing his career with the other important stuff, like Claire, and his family, his friends.

Shane looked down at Claire, trying to help make the situation more bearable. He moved his hand behind her, subconsciously rubbing her back and made small talk, "By the way Hillary, I caught the fashion show the other night, looked great. Although I'm sure it was better in person," he joked winking at Stefan. "Natalia have you gone to see Ethan yet? He looks like he's having a straight up blast, though he's not alone on that one," he laughed, "It's a good thing Rosie keeps up with him or we might find him passed out in a dumpster later." He shrugged, shaking his head, but smirking. Both of them were going to feel like absolute hell tomorrow. They'd be lucky if they crawled out of bed by dinner time at the earliest.

[Ethan John Fox]

Ethan watched as Claire moved off the stage. He had to give her a big effing hug later. And whatever the hell else she wanted. He stared back at the stage, in complete awe before he realized that Hillary was dragging him towards the stage. He had a beer in his hand, his favorite band was playing, and his friends were around him to celebrate. And some people he didn’t know. But whatever, if they liked the Black Keys then they were alright in his book tonight. Ethan took a long drink from his beer bottle before he shook his head. Still in disbelief. He hated himself; for just a moment. This lifestyle he hated.. and her he was, at his birthday party, where the Black Keys were playing, he was hanging out with Victoria Secret models and a rockstar, and Shane Madden had come home from tour to play just for his birthday.. and he was pretty sure he saw that little heartthrob, Joel Foster, running around somewhere. Probably hopped up on pixie sticks or whatever candy those little elves like him ate, but whatever. He was still there. Cause of him, Ethan Fox. “ Fuck,” Ethan said beneath his breath, giving a small sigh. He was definitely becoming a part of the world that he had despised.

When Rosie shook his shoulder he snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at her smiling, “ Yeah it’s amazing..” he said honestly, still in shock that he was able to live this life. Most sister’s got their brothers cd’s. He smiled again as Rosie wished him a happy birthday, wrapping her arm around his waist as she kissed his cheek. Ethan nodded, holding his beer loosely in his hands before he wrapped his arms around her shoulders in a hug. “ Thank you,” he yelled over the music before he leaned down to kiss the side of her hair. Ethan used his free hand to pat her back gently before he took a small step to the side and looked back at the stage. The god damn Black Keys. And to make it even better, later… All Time Low. Ethan looked away from the band and back at the beer in his hand before he leaned down to yell over the music to Rosie. “ We’re gonna need to get food later,” he said, gesturing to Madeline, Ryan, himself, Rosie, circling around the entire club for who-the-fuck-ever wanted some French toast from Ihop. Tomorrow was going to be a complete bitch no matter what, but if they didn’t start drinking water and getting food in their system, they’d be royally screwed.

[Hillary Rachelle Jones]

Hillary fluffed her hand back through her hair, trying not to think about the hours of homework she had left to do. It wasn’t often that all of them were in the same state anymore, let alone the same room so she didn’t want to just be that baby who left early. Well, earlier than she planned to leave anyways since Stefan was looking pretty handsome tonight. Hillary smiled quickly when she noticed that Claire had finally started to make her way over with Shane. She tried to give a casual glance in Anthony’s direction before she looked back at Claire and Shane and offered a warm smile as they approached. “ Oh.. thank you so much,” she said to Claire as she complimented her and then gave her a hug back. “ You look well, you’re doing heaven justice” she said before squeezing Claire’s hand tightly as she sat back. She narrowed her eyebrows as Shane shook Stefan and Anthony’s hands. “ No way, I’m getting in on this, too” she said before she sat out of her seat and wrapped her arms around Shane to hug him. “ I mean seriously… You two might be more smitten than Stefan and I, and that’s saying something. I’ve never seen two people look at eachother the way you two do.. So if you make her happy, then you need to give me a hug because that makes me happy,” she said, giving him another quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before she sat back down.

“ I was so nervous!” she blurted out honestly about the fashion show. “ Madeline, Rosie and Audrey all have this ..obvious sexual appeal. They’re complete bombshells. And then I get out there and I’m afraid people are going to throw tomatoes at me. It’s not even the proper produce for a good facial,” she said with a slight shake of her head. Hillary looked past Shane as he mentioned Ethan to Natalia, and Rosie. She watched them for a minute before she laughed quietly. “ Well he might not be the only one in a dumpster. They should both probably slow down, but… chances of that happening..” she said, not even attempting to finish her statement. They all knew Ethan was going to keep drinking. Hillary crossed her legs before she reached back to the counter to pick up her drink, “ Here Claire,.. I didn’t really want this. I’m trying not to drink so that Stefan can have all he wants and not have to worry about getting himself home,” she said as Claire took the glass from her.

[Ryan James O'Neil]

Ryan followed Madeline inside through the back door, parting ways with her briefly while she went to say hi to Hillary and get herself a drink, so Ryan found Logan and sat down for a moment with Logan, Blake and Mackenzie, "Hey, I didn't know you guys were here already." Logan slid a beer across the table to Ryan, already opened and he nodded his thanks while Mackenzie added casually, "I see you and Madeline seem to have found each other for the past twenty four hours." Ryan shrugged, "So?" Mack shrugged also, smirking, "So, nothing. Just making a statement." Damn her and her super human observant nature. Girl noticed everything, down to every last bruise. Ryan shook his head, thinking back to that day that Mack had stopped by, dropping off tacos from Dani. Kiersten had been at Dani's and Mack was there to give something or other to Kiersten, somehow ending in her offering to deliver cooked goods to Ryan. She hadn't wasted anytime in asking him about it, very straight forward that one was. But he didn't deny it, there was no use. Just asked that she not say anything. Which she hadn't, he supposed. But she knew. And she'd also asked him what he was going to do about it. Back then it was easier to say he was thinking about leaving Madeline alone, hoping it would help calm Patrick down. But that had been months ago. Surely Mack could see nothing was helping. But she didn't judge him for it. Didn't ask him why he didn't just man up and put a stop to it. Somehow she understood the technicalities, the power Patrick had, the ability to make a mess of things, ruin Madelin's reputation. She understood it simply wasn't that easy. So she just watched from afar.

Ryan got up, tired of Mack's eyes watching him all knowingly, heading toward the stage where he knew he'd just seen Madeline go. She was hugging Rosie who was overly thrilled to see her, hugging her back like her life depended on it. Ryan thought her saw Rosie say something like, "I fucking love you," to Madeline, Ryan just chuckled. When Madeline spotted him above the other heads, he nodded when she asked to dance, moving over to him. He put his beer down on the stage beside her drink, smiling at her while she so obviously was checking him out, "You always have a place to stay." He answered, shrugging. She mentioned Patrick being out of town for the entire weekend, and he could only just manage to hide the hope that had unmistakeably welled up. The whole weekend. Eagerly, he took her in his arms, "Is that right?" he asked, thinking. What she was suggesting, did they dare? Well, what the hell. They had nothing more to lose but themselves. If they were going to go through all this the least they could do was still have each other at the end of the day. Make it all worth it. Because here was the bottom line; it was a nice thought, to hope that maybe, if Ryan made and honorable exit, that life for Madeline would be easier. But Patrick was a monster whether Ryan was in her life or not. She took hits all the time, the least Ryan could do was stay there for her, be a safe place to go when she needed it, a pair of arms to collapse into when Patrick was particularly brutal. And pray to god it would all be over soon. But she was making some sort of sacrifice here. And he would make it worth her while. Ryan pulled her closer, as close as possible in the throng of people, heat radiating from random bodies all around them, but all he felt was her. He kissed her back, holding her close like their lives depended on it, like he knew every time he kissed her if was important he make the most of it. Ryan didn't really think this could count as dancing, unless you said their tongues were doing the dancing, but at the moment, he didn't really give a shit.

[Madeline Lea O'Neil]

Madeline smiled as Ryan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. She moved her arms so that they were around his neck and pulled away, placing her forehead against his. “ I love you,” she said, a little louder than normal so he could hear her. Madeline had started modeling when she was fourteen, and a scout had found her when she was at the market with her family. And she had this thirst to search for something more than what she already had at that age. So she modeled, leaving Africa to go to Paris for runway shows, return home, go to school. She had no idea what she was searching for, but it was a hole that never got filled. So she got older, seemingly wiser, and spent more and more time trying to find something, anything, that would fully make her happy. Finally she made it ‘big’ in America and signed with Victoria’s Secret, though that didn’t do it for her. So she was sure that when she became one of the favorite ‘angels’ it would give her everything she wanted. And it hadn’t. And then David took his life, which left her searching even more. And yet, that was around the same time she had found Ryan. And he had found someone else before her. But there was something new in her life, a sense of calm, relief, protection, that she hadn’t felt. He made her so nervous, and calmed her down at the same time. But since she couldn’t fully have him, it wasn’t anything that she let take control of her life. But then Ryan and his girlfriend broke up, she went to one of his concerts, and she was with him. Ever since then the power he had over her was overwhelming, controlling, inspiring. It was absolutely everything in the world she’d ever searched for. Feeling yourself with someone, but their love makes you discover things about yourself that even you didn’t know. Wanting to build a life with someone, butterflies in your stomach everytime you see their familiar smile. His breathing, the rise and fall of his chest as he slept, how he would wake up to watch the sunrise with her. There wasn’t a single thing about him she wasn’t enamored by. Which is why when they had ‘broken up’ the first time, she wanted to do anything to get over him, to replace him, to search for the feeling he’d given her. So she’d married Patrick. And he had been similar to Ryan in one aspect; he made her feel something she’d never felt in her entire life. Though what she felt from him was much different; broken, weak, destructible. Even David’s death hadn’t taken as much of a toll on her as his blows against her did. But she figured that was because David died once, though she remembered it daily. Patricks’ blows were different, harder each day. David’s death had impacted Madeline, but it hadn’t changed her to the point where she didn’t recognize herself. She’d become so submissive with Patrick, quiet, easily ordered. He was looking for a relationship he could control, and he’d found one. Or at least, he thought he had. He had no idea his wife was out with Ryan tonight, though he had raised suspicions many times.

Madeline smiled softly as she looked over the features of Ryan. He knew her better than anyone in the entire world. He was literally the only person who knew every single facet of her life, even over Rosie. He knew all of her deep dark secrets, desires, dreams, her fake smiles, when she was finding the bright side even if she didn’t believe there was one. And to think it had all started when she thought Logan’s friend was cute, even though he had a girlfriend, and she wanted to spend a little bit of time getting to know him. But there was always a part of her that was determined to get what she wanted. And there wasn’t a thing she wanted more in this world than Ryan O’Neil. “ I’m sorry that I am weaker than you…” she said quietly, tracing her thumb against his jawline before she smiled apologetically. Everything he had to go through and felt, was her fault. And she knew it. So when she could make him happy, she wanted to. “ VIP?” she asked with a smile that matched her devilish red dress. “ I want to show you something,” she said, placing her hands on his cheeks before she stood up on the toes of her right foot and placed another kiss on his lips. “Unless you’re scared,” she said lifting her eyebrow at him with a smile.

[Zachary Adam Pierson]

Zach had thoroughly checked the perimeter and checked it again, making sure there was no one lurking around. After he'd whacked off thug number one, Zach had a few days of relief when he knew they wouldn't know that guy was gone. But he also had known in just a few days they'd figure it out and he'd have to be on his game twice as good. Sure enough thug number two was trailing Scarlet not even a week later. But he was at least sure this guy had no idea who Zach was. The first guy had at least had the chance to realize that Zach was playing two parts here, one part boyfriend, one part protector. But this guy just saw him as the boyfriend. Which put Zach in a really, really good place. It was better with the guy being clueless about Zach's career of choice. Zach could have the element of surprise if need be. Having checked the perimeter, Zach felt a little better. This place was swarming with people, someone could easily hide here. Among the crowd. But he was very sure they were safe for the moment, he'd been thorough. So he headed inside, looking for Scarlet but only found Logan, Blake and Mackenzie. He approached where they were sitting waving briefly, "Hey guys, hows the party?" He looked around at the people enjoying the band, seeing the guest of honor in the distance by eh stage and looking like he was having the time of his life. Logan smiled, "The party is getting pretty wild. And probably more wild to come. Want to sit down?" "Nah, I'm just looking for Scarlet actually." Mackenzie piped up, pointing in a direction on the dance floor, "Over there, dancing with Riley." Zach looked where she was pointing, grinning, "Dancing with Riley? And you don't mind at all?" Mackenzie laughed, shrugging, "Oh I'm just glad to see him let his hair down. Besides, he sees me everyday, I can bug him later." Zach nodded. True that. They were friends, Riley and Scarlet, nothing wrong with dancing. It wasn't as if they were acting affectionate toward each other. "Well, I think I might go break that up, I might have to go steal her away." He winked, and then headed over towards the pair of them.

Zach came up beside them, clearing his throat, "I don't mean to interrupt, but I was hoping I could steal her away from you," he smiled, placing a hand on Riley's shoulder, "Hey Riley, whats up," and then smiled at Scarlet. "I asked people where Scarlet Harris was, they just point to the dance floor, I should have known," he laughed, shaking his head, "Not all that surprising." Riley had stepped away, surely taking the hint that he was being bumped out, but he was still in luck, because Zach saw that Mack had decided to come out to the dance floor after all. He smiled at her shaking his head, and then turned to Scarlet, wrapping his arms around her waist. "So what's a guy gotta do to get the senator's daughter's vote? Surely there's a secret to it." He smiled, watching her. If someone asked him today if he was in love with her, he thought he would say yes. But he didn't want to scare her off. So he waited for the day when she might tell him, the he could reassure her that he did too.

[Mackenzie Janelle Collins]

Mack sat and drank water, not drinking tonight, and watched Blake and Logan together. Blake was probably the cutest pregnant person the earth had ever seen. Ever. Mack only hoped that she'd look that cute when she ever was pregnant in the future, thought the thing was she really already new what she'd look like pregnant due to her role as Quinn Fabray. Mackenzie sat with Blake and Logan thinking to herself, maybe Zach was right. Maybe it was about time she went and stole Riley away. But she was in no rush. She wanted Riley to enjoy himself, enjoy the band which she knew he loved, let his hair down. He'd been so overly stressed out lately with school and his father's company, and herself and Lily at home, not to mention whatever internal struggles he was dealing with, what with losing his memory and all that. It broke her heart to see him so frustrated with life sometimes, and most days she'd kill just to get a smile out of him. Luckily, herself and Lily were about the only things he did smile about, other then football, or if Mandi stopped by. But other than that it was like pulling teeth. Some days she'd get a glimpse of the Riley she knew when she met him, the happy guy, not burdened with all this extra stuff. And he was still there, she was determined he was the same guy deep down, the man she fell in love with and still loved every second. Just watching him with Scarlet brought a smile to her face. She'd never give up on him, ever. Things got better everyday after all. Ever now and then he'd remember things, little things. And he lit up like it just came to him, over whelmed with relief for remembering such a time. It was funny how even the littlest of memories excited him, because remembering anything at all was better then nothing.

Mack stood up, leaving her water on the table and wove through the crowd on the dance floor where Zach had headed, trying to get to Riley. She saw Zach approach them too, but couldn't hear what they were saying. Riley began to back away, leaving Scarlet with Zach, when he backed right into Mack who had walked right into him in the cluster fuck of people on the dance floor. She laughed, "Oh, sorry, just me," and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her chin on his shoulder. She leaned in and kissed his cheek, "Glad you came?" she asked, leaving her arms wrapped tightly around him. Through everything that the pair of them had thrown their way, there was nothing like wrapping her arms around Riley, forgetting everything and just being happy that she could still wrap her arms around him. There was some loved ones she couldn't say the same for. But they were out, Kiersten was babysitting, she had every intention of just having a good time while they could.


Outfit

[Scarlet Rose Harris]

Scarlet shook her head and laughed as she danced with Riley, trying to get him to twirl around in a circle the same way she was. It was moments like this that made her heart melt, wishing the old Riley was here with them. But it was also moments like this that showed her he was still inside here. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug as they danced and squeezed him tightly. But she smiled as Zach cut in, better late than never. “ Hmmm..” she said as she wrapped her arm around his neck so she could dance with him instead. “ Well first of all.. do you always call me by my full name, Zach Pierson?” she asked before she stood on her toes to give him a quick kiss. “ Hi,” she smiled, finally greeting him. It was weird how she flaunted him differently than she had flaunted other men. It was an actual relationship, which ordinarily suffocated her but here she was, arms wrapped around a man she lo-…well that she severely cared for. “ Let’s get one thing straight, Pierson. No one gives a shit about a Senator’s daughter. They do however, care about a Presidential candidate’s daughter. Get your shit straight,” she said, trying to must a look of seriousness before she smiled and laughed, leaning forward to hug him. “ But very select few get her vote… Though sex doesn’t hurt. Since you’ve been holding out like a nun,” she added sarcastically before she smiled at him again.

“ Have a quick drink with me, then come dance with me…” she said, reaching down to take his hand, only holding it long enough to drag him back through the sea of people, waving at Logan and Blake as she made her way past them and pulled Zach to a table in the corner where she saw a table for two, only someone was already sitting in it. Scarlet narrowed her eyebrows, judging the two girls as she tried to evaluate the best way to get them out of their seats. “ …… Oh my god, Natalia Richmond and Joel Foster are making out near the stage,” she said, moving to Zach quickly to get out of their way as the girls jumped out of their seats and ran towards the stage. “ Hm,” she said, slightly impressed with herself before she took a seat at the table and crossed her legs. Scarlet ran her hand through her bangs and smiled at one of the cocktail waitresses as she stopped by. “ Actually can I get a glass of moscato, and he’ll have whatever whiskey you have on hand,” she said before she thanked the girl and looked back down at the table. “ Okay, I have a question since you got to ask one,” she said, placing her right hand under her chin. “ Do you think you could love someone without ever sleeping with them?” she asked, licking her finger quickly before she reached into the candle and touched her fingers against the flame until she extinguished it to give herself something else to concentrate on since she was sort of telling him how she felt. It was tricky, trying to experience something you swore you would never want. It was like she was trying to let her walls down, but instead of doing it gracefully Zach had come in with a bulldozer, and she was just trying to pick herself up from the rubble and somehow manage to keep her head together.

[Riley Scott Collins]

Riley put his hands up as Zach approached them, “ Just in the nick of time,..” he said sarcastically. “ Good seeing you man,” he said, patting Zach on the shoulder as he turned away from them. But just as he was turning he turned roughly into Mackenzie and wrapped his arms around her to catch her just incase she were to tip over. Tiny little thing. He laughed as she said it was just her. “ Just you,” he repeated. His entire world, but it was just her. No big deal. Riley smiled as she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. “ I am glad I came out,.. it’s the perfect..pre-birthday celebration. But I’m looking forward to Sunday just to spend the day with my family. “ he said leaning down. He tilted her chin up,keeping his finger placed gently underneath it before he leaned down to kiss her. Part of him was dying to get home to Lily, but the other part of him was dying to just spend some time with Mackenzie, twirl her around and listen to her laugh.

Riley leaned away and smiled as he looked at her, knowing full well just how lucky he was to be here in his life. It was stressful as hell, but the pros outweighed the cons. “ You didn’t get all dressed up just to sit here and hug me like you could at home, did you?” he asked before he lowered his hand to Mackenzie’s. He lifted it up to spin her around quickly before he held her back against his chest and placed his hand against the small of her back. “ Do you think you’ll still want to dance with me at our fiftieth wedding anniversary?” he asked curiously before he smiled at her, giving her a quick kiss before he stood up straight. Mackenzie was a beautiful dancer, but she spent so much time doing it, he might as well give her a break. Riley wrapped his arm around her lower back and picked her up, holding her tightly as he placed her feet against his own and swayed along to the music.

[Rose Elliot Madison]

Rosie smiled when Ethan thanked her and gave her a big hug. God she was tired. But she didn't feel it until there was someone there to temporarily hold her up. She let her arms move loosely back around Ethan's waist, and then hugged him back, closing her eyes, but she smiled, fighting off the urge to yawn from exhaustion. How long had they been awake now? An entire day already? That was such a long time, she was thankful she didn't have any work or school until Monday morning, so she had all weekend to recuperate. Rosie stepped away from Ethan, nodding, "Yeah, I think an entire meal is in order, don't you? Except those two over there," she paused pointing at Madeline and Ryan who were just making out in the middle of the crowd of people, "I think they are probably going to end up making a meal out of each other," she laughed. "But yeah, I could totally go for a large stack of pancakes right about now. Chocolate chip ones, with the whipped cream on top. Shaped like that Mickey Mouse. Or anything else. I don't care what it's shaped like," she shook her head, loosing her train of thought. What was she talking about? Shaped like what? She looked at Ethan questioningly, probably with a look of already forgotten on her face, but shrugged it off.

Rosie took Ethan's beer from his hand, "Hi, can I borrow this?" and took a drink before she handed it back, and then waved her arms at the guy closest to her on stage as they finished the song, "Hey! Hey, hi! My friend wants to come one stage, it's his birthday!" The guy seemed to think it was a fine idea and motioned for Ethan to climb up on stage, "Ooh look Ethan, he says you can go up, you should say something nice to all these people. For your birthday." She nodded, confirming that it sounded like a very fantastic idea to her.

[Ethan John Fox]

This was probably Ethan’s favorite song by the band, it just went with so many things. Going on runs, driving, playing soccer, dancing, doing shit around the house. Catchy ass tune. He nodded in agreement as Rosie said that they would all need an entire meal. They’d been awake for far longer than a day. They may have gone out at midnight that morning, but he himself had woken up at like six that morning. Forty-two hours and no sleep. At least that was his drunken math, if it was right. “ Pancakes sound good… spinach and mushroom omelette with hashbrowns and a stack of pancakes sounds better,” he said, holding his hand over his stomach. He looked over his shoulder to see what Rosie was gesturing to and shook his head at watching Ryan and Madeline. Lights camera action on those two. But whatever, Ryan was just doing what made him happy. And he wasn’t going to judge Madeline’s situation, he didn’t know Patrick. He dropped his hand after he let Rosie take his beer and then looked back at the stage, knowing that the song was about to come to an end. He took the beer back from Rosie, finishing it quickly before someone else was handing him a glass of something. Talk about service, it should be his birthday everyday. “ Rosie what the hell are you doing?” he asked, watching her talk to the band. You didn’t talk to the Black Keys when they were on stage, even if their song was over. They were like…gods. He sighed as he looked at Rosie, all eager for him to go up on stage and looked at one of the brothers, gesturing for him to come up.

Ethan shook his head at Rosie, heading over to the stairs before he walked up to the brothers and offered his hand to each of them, shaking their hands and thanking them for coming out tonight. After talking to them for a quick second he took the microphone and coughed uncomfortably. Thanks for throwing a guy that hates spotlight under the bus, Rosie. “ What’s up guys..” he said into the microphone, brushing the thumb of the hand that was holding his glass against his cheek. “ Well honestly I can say that this is the first birthday I’ve spent awake for almost the entire time.. and drunker than a frat guy during hazing,” he said taking in a deep breath and sighing. “ Anyways.. I do appreciate all of you coming out tonight. Even though I’m not sure who half of you are.” he said, looking through the crowd again, he stopped looking at Madeline and Ryan again . “ It’s my birthday and I’m not even the one that’s gonna get laid,” he said, gesturing to Madeline and Ryan so that the spotlight would go on them. Ethan set his drink down on one of the guys stools, running his hand over his hair. “ Some of you guys might know who I am because of the movie I’m shooting with the , even her dogs are famous, Natalia Richmond.” he said, stopping as a few people clapped, “ Yeah, she’s hot right?” he said, giving a small nod. “ Or you might know who I am because lately it’s been spread in gossip blogs and papers that I’ve been spending a lot of my free time with a new long legged beautiful creature in my life.” he said, twirling the microphone lazily between his fingers. “ And that’s true,..to be fair” he said, looking back at the crowd. “ But Ryan O’Neil, I swear to God I don’t care what people have to say about me or how they view my relationship because of it. I will always love you…. I can’t quit you” he said, touching his hand to his mouth before he threw a kiss out to him. But he frowned as Ryan was making his way away with Madeline, heading somewhere else. “ Sorry he’s got an angel to be with. Those are beautiful creatures, too”. Ethan puffed out his cheeks, shit he didn’t even know who to thank. “ Oh also, Shane Madden is here. Not everyone can say that at their birthday, so suck it.” he said playfully , but put on a more serious face and added. “ But that’s probably cause he’s screwing my sister and not because he loves me. The girl that was up here earlier. And I know what you’re thinking, so not what you would expect a rockstar to be into, so I don’t get it either. I mean I have my suspicions, but she’s my sister so that’s disturbing. But she makes a habit of dating my friends…. Anyways, off track. I love you Shane, and I hope you’ll be a part of this family for a while. And I would like to get my birthday kiss from you in a timely fashion. Or Stefan, wherever that beautiful fuck is.” . Ethan shook his head, sick of being up here, especially since he was drunk as shit. “ Thanks for coming out. Even though I was born. So you should thank me. Or Claire, cause this thing kicks ass. Miss Chicken and Broccoli pulling out a great party.. look what dating Shane Madden got her to be like. Alright let’s just get fucked up. And get some god damn omelettes and hashbrowns from somewhere. This place got a kitchen?” he asked, not to the crowd, but looking for someone that might work there. Ethan turned around, tossing the microphone into the air back at one of the musician brothers. Ethan threw his hand up in the air as a parting and picked his drink back up before he headed back into the crowd.