failderp | [eudio] IC inbox

steeeeeeeeeve
darling steve

would you like a private drinking lesson

before your party?
might be a good idea.

sure.

you should come over
ive already started

is everything okay?

i'll be right there.

drinking alone doesnt mean anythings wrong
only if you do it all the time
this is my first time

i do think my life heres going to shit though

but thats not why im drinking
its a party for one
i want a party for two

party for two coming up
you can tell me all about it.

[ Steve's been to Celeste's a couple times before, usually at the start of some grand wardrobe-improving venture. So he gets there pretty quick, knocking on the door and leaning in to listen. ]

Celeste?

I'm in heeeere.

[The front door is unlocked, and "here" turns out to be her bedroom, which has been covered with film and band posters (the walls) and several layers of clothing (the floor). She's cleared her bed, though, and is sprawled out on her back with a bottle of vodka in one hand and her phone in the other. In these pyjamas, without a bra.

She quickly flips onto her stomach when he reaches the doorway, and thank goodness she's put the cap back on the bottle.]

Steve! Come in. Don't mind the mess, or I'll kick you right out again. The floor is lava, come sit with me.

Hey. I don't mind, just watch out.

[ Steve laughs, as the floor is lava -- Steve wouldn't risk stepping on any of it. He backs up a few steps into her doorway to get his boots off, then picks his way through the lava until he's close enough to hop onto the bed beside her. ]

So it's a party now? What are we drinking?

Oof! [Even though he's the one who plopped down, she feels the need to make the sound effect.] Careful, careful. It's - closed. Well. That's fine, then. Vodka, bottoms up.

[She hands him the bottle, then turns onto her back again, staring up at the ceiling.]

Do you know what's stupid, Steve? Boys. And men. And some women. They're all stupid.

[ He takes the bottle, opening it as he listens to what he suspects is the intro to the real reason she needed company. ]

Yeah, that sounds about right. People are stupid.

[ Including him, he thinks, once he has a mouthful of vodka. His eyes water but he gets it all down with just a little cough. That's strong. That's nothing like beer. ]

So um. Who did what? To make you think they're stupid.

[ cough ]

Oh god, where do I start?

[It's a good question. Where does she start?]

They're all lovely, that's the problem. Everyone here is so lovely. Except John, he's a bastard, but he's just the kind of bastard I like best. And Petre's a bastard, but he was when I knew him anyway, and he's not good for much else but fun anyway. Everyone else is lovely.

[ Steve is starting to wonder if he needs a notepad... ]

How many people is everybody? John, Petre... [ he's ticking them off on his fingers ]

Leave Petre off, he's fine as he is. And so's Caleb, he's brilliant. I'd go mad without him.

[There's a place to start.]

He was my date at the masquerade! Dark hair and eyes, really spectacular cheekbones, sort of crooked smile. But it was just as mates, he was my arm candy. And then I saw John there, and he had a date too, but she was - [Her mouth pulls into an exaggerated frown.] - really beautiful, I mean perfect, blonde and blue-eyed and American and just. Where in god's name did he find her? And why do I care? Give me the fucking bottle.

[She thrusts her hand out petulantly.]

I don't care. But at least I know his type now, and it's not me. No wonder he'd never give a straight yes or no. Anyway, he's a bastard, like I said.

[ This doesn't seem like to time to reassert that in Eudio everybody's supposed to be sharing, or that guys can have more than one type. He'll get to that when she's gotten all of this out of her system. Right now Steve just passes the bottle back to Celeste, playing his part and listening. Petre is fine as he is, Caleb is friendly arm candy, John is a bastard who might be seeing someone else. He's keeping up! ]

Okay. She might have been a date like Caleb was your date, though, right?

Well. Yes.

[She props herself up enough to take a long drink, then flops back down again.]

He looked really handsome, though. I didn't know he could look handsome. And Shai was there as well, and Shai... [She sighs, almost dreamily.] She really is perfect. In every way. And she makes me want to be perfect just like her, but I'm the furthest thing from it. She's always saying I'm enough as I am, but she'll figure out I'm not.

Nobody's perfect. Or "just like" anyone else.

[ He's claiming the bottle again, the burn having passed now. Steve takes another drink and adds Shai to his mental list. ]

What makes you think she is, anyway?

She is. [Drunken, bitter petulance.] She's... strong, and doesn't care what anyone thinks of her, and she commands respect just by - by being, she's one of those people you respect as soon as you're in her company. She's funny. Beautiful. Nothing breaks through her shell.

[It's everything Celeste tries to project, basically.]

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