The Truth is a Lie (Adrianna)

[Lani Hunter]

Normal was something that was starting to feel new and welcomed. Unable to throw out the compass and the memories Lani hid them away in a box under even the false identities that he’d created. It was hidden under the fact of himself, it was hidden so far deep he hoped it would eventually vanish from all existence. There were a few things that were harder to hide. He’d burned pictures one by one reliving each memory and feeling his fingertips burn with each one. Like he was erasing himself along with Odion, he was being reborn. The memories were painful but Lani knew the temptation to look at them later would be far too great for him to resist. It had taken hours for him to convince himself to burn them and hours more for him to work through each memory the pictures held. Odion was never coming back. The pictures were the last of it all. A small teddy bear had been given to a crying child.

He was getting a new roommate. He was looking for a real job. Things were looking up. He’d found it in himself to smile again, thanks to the combined efforts of Adrianna and Shapiro. But how had he let so much time slip by in his depression. Time felt warped and moved alternately fast and slow. Either way he’d woken up in this cool October and realized how long ago July looked. So much had changed and so little had moved. It was time for him to move on. He watched the flickering of the candle, his hands resting together in his lap unable to move. Letting his eyes slide close he forced his mind to turn away from the redhead and turn to a new path. Lani’s feet faltered at the debris ridden road before him. The trees had overgrown and the brush snuck out into the open. The shattered remains of his life lay across his path in snares and traps set to entangle his feet. There would be no going back once he took that step.

Lani swallowed and carefully picked his foot over emotion, around love and he ducked under truth. Adrianna didn’t want him to get closed off again. That wasn’t her decision to make. He opened his eyes and with a sigh leaned forward and blew out the candle. Taking up the plate full of ashes he brushed it without a second thought into the trashcan. His power flicked the last few mites from the ceramic and placed it in the sink. He’d certainly lost time, and he felt terrible, he’d missed Adrianna’s birthday. He’d barely remembered to send a text a few days belated with a promise to make it up to her. Lani wanted to show her that he was better. He felt better. It was a state far from where he was but it was a step in the right direction. He’d gotten a haircut and with his cropped hair he was again feeling it. Normal. He’d let it go too far and it felt good that he could adjust it with a swipe of his hand again.

He’d taken a razor too his face this morning and he realized how much of his face he didn’t remember. Here the scar on the temple, a memory he couldn’t burn, and the thin scar on his cheek, a memory burned into his skin. He touched it and bore it like an outward sign of his trials. Both were light and thin, one would have to look closely to notice but to Lani they stood out like badges proclaiming him damaged. He was proud of them, because they also showed that he was strong enough to bear them. Lani smiled into the mirror and it grew when he realized it didn’t look forced. He was going to kidnap Adrianna, he wasn’t faking his joy. He dialed his best friend. “Stop what you’re doing,” Lani said without preamble “Cancel all of your plans,” Lani continued, “You have approximately thirty minutes to get yourself dressed up.” He smirked as he then hung up offering no other explanation. He hadn’t had a chance to really surprise Adrianna in a long time and he was excited.

Lani pulled his favorite hoodie over his nice button up and snagged the card and his wallet and hailed a taxi. He’d never actually been to Adrianna’s dorm room but he knew it already like the back of his hand. He wondered for a moment if it would startle her that he knew where she lived then discarded the idea. It wouldn’t be like him not to know. He told the cabbie to wait and slipped expertly into Adrianna’s dorm. He paused at her door and as soon as his phone stuck a quarter ‘til eleven he rapped on her door.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Normal. All she could do was attempt to feel it. Nothing had been normal since the last day in June. Nothing had been the same since the woman that birthed her had been ripped away in one fell swoop. June, had it really been three and a half months since that day at the hospital? Adrian hadn't paid enough attention in the passing days to think about all of the time she was letting slip away. She'd been too buried beneath school work and keeping herself engulfed in college life to face her own problems. The problems that kept growing it seemed. Pretty soon, she was sure she would collapse under them all. But she was keeping herself busy, focused on everything else rather than herself and it was actually keeping her from going back to the way things had been when she found out her mother only had months to live. She was doing what she promised her best friends that she would do. She was staying away from the addiction of a razor because she had others to think about before herself.

Like Elisia. Like Lani.

Lani...if anything was enough to distract her, it was his problems. When he called her crying, she dropped everything in her life and all but ran to him. He was the only person she had left that had been there through everything. Everything that mattered. She didn't know where she'd be without him and now it was her chance to show him that she was there. Even if he wanted to face the world on his own, she would never leave his side because he had never left hers (though time and time again she thought he would). In all of the madness that took over her life, even the things that were in part due to him, he saved her. He protected her. Whether it was from herself or outside forces, he was always there to pick her up when she was pushed down. With Venn out of the picture, she had to admit that she was right back to depending on Lani more than she wanted to be, though she had become very good at not letting it show.

Her birthday came and went, the big 1 8 and yet, she barely paid it any mind. What was the point? It was just another reason for her to dwell on her mother's passing and her ex ditching her again. Lie after lie and he still had the balls to say that Lani was such a horrible person. God, she could have smacked him when he said it. Did he know then that he would be the one to drive her to such extremes? That he would pick the worst time possible to leave her in the dust? Only to come back for what a day or two and turn around and leave again? It had been a year, one whole year since the Halloween dance. Since he kissed her right after she broke up with Lani. Where was he now? Nowhere to be found. And where was Lani? Still there. And to think, she thought Venn would be the one she spent forever with...how stupid could she get?

Adrianna was in her dorm room, working on one of her English Comp papers that wasn't due until the beginning of next week. Her dorm was void of all pictures aside from one of her and her mother that sat on the table beside her bed. Every night she found herself staring at it, talking to her mother as if she was sitting right there beside her. She still hadn't gotten into decorating her room because it just reminded her that Amelia wasn't there to help. They'd talked about it years before, about how they were going to decorate it. Polka dots, purple, lime green and aqua blue. White furniture, posters and a corkboard covering her walls. It was all planned, but since her mother's death, she couldn't find it in herself to do anything about it. It was like she hadn't been living there at all. Her roommate typically kept quiet about it, but always cleared her own decorations with Adrian before putting them up. She liked her roommate.

Hearing her phone buzz, she lifted her eyes from the paper and looked at the screen that was now lit up. Lani<3? She arched an eyebrow and lifted the phone to her ear, muttering a somewhat peppy greeting, though she wasn't completely peppy. She was taken aback by his enthusiasm, but it brought a more genuine smile to her lips. He sounded better, much better. She just hoped it wasn't all a sham. "But Lan-," And he was gone. Thirty minutes to get ready? Did he not know her at all? Okay, that was kind of a lie, he clearly knew that she was capable of looking fantastic in about twelve minutes, but still. Whatever he had planned, she wasn't prepared for and it wasn't like Lani to surprise her. The last time had been...she clamped down on the thought before it went any further and stood from her desk heading to her closet.

After deciding on a nice dress that was quite versatile, she pulled the hairtie out of her hair and let it fall down her back in waves. With a relatively new hair cut, bangs and all, she was still finding a way to wear it that made her look as good as she had before it was cut. Once it fell in the right place, she put on a little makeup and found that she was in fact amazing when it came to getting ready under short notice. She even had about a minute to spare before she heard the tap on her door. Adrianna opened the door, not surprised to find that Lani knew where she lived. Smiling up at him, she pulled him into a big hug before pulling back and looking at him skeptically. "So what exactly are you planning?"

[Lani Hunter]

Some part of Lani wanted to take responsibility for the things that he’d done and so many people were saying that they were out of his control. He begged to differ. Choices were thing that were made. They weren’t accidents. They could be bad, they could be mistakes but they couldn’t be accidents. Not when the conscious mind had the capacity to think and make one choice over another. And yet Lani knew that a lot of his mistakes would be repeated if he went through it all again. All of the poor decisions had lead him here. It had lead his sister to health and it had lead to who he was now. Yes, it had lead to heartbreak and pain, but he knew he could bear it. It was his burden and he was glad to bear it if it meant that the people he loved were safe.

Lani was all but grinning like a loon when he hung up on her, mostly because he knew she would be annoyed with him. But he knew her, and he knew that if she wasn’t given a time limit she would spend hours upon hours getting ready. And he was definitely not taking no for an answer. If she wasn’t ready when he got there then hell she was going to go out in whatever she had on, be it sweat pants or pajamas. But he knew Adrianna and he knew that she knew that he wasn’t bluffing. Lani was honestly hoping that the happiness he felt would hold up through the night. He was intent of getting Adrianna drunk and joining her in the act. The problem was that Alcohol tended to be an amplifier of emotion. If he was happy when he started drinking hopefully the feeling would extend and he’d finally be able to forget. That was all he really wished. He knew better than to admit that to Adrianna, she was amazing for all that she was able to handle. It was a hard thing to swallow, but when it came to emotions and heartbreak Adrianna was so much stronger than Lani.

Lani smiled and embraced her in return. She always looked so beautiful. Lani didn’t answer and instead held out the card, “Happy way late birthday, Adrianna.” Inside the store bought card she’d find her gift. It was a California Driver’s License with Adrianna’s picture on it. He’d had it made by a friend and it was so good that it would scan if she was ever questioned. It was perfect because it had the right birthday only a few years in the future. Adrianna was new at the fake ID thing, or so he assumed. He didn’t want to have her questioned about her birthday and have it be a different one. She wasn’t on Lani’s level to juggle a myriad of identities. Lani hoped she also didn’t mind the name. Sarah Amelia Kecha.

“The cab is waiting,” he told her, “Are you excited?” He waggled his eyebrows at her and waited her for her to realize that she had a take identification. This was partially for her and partially selfish. He wanted her to stop worrying about him, so that he could get back to worrying about other people. He wanted to show her that he was doing fine. And he was, he hadn’t cried for a long while, whether that was strength or dried tears he wasn’t sure. But he was done opening up to people and he was done being hurt. If his heart wouldn’t heal he would hide it away. He also knew Adrianna’s thoughts on that and so the liar had been reborn and the masks were well set this time.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

If Lani wanted to take responsibility for what he did, then Adrianna should be able to do the same. He often tried telling her that things weren’t her fault when she knew that they were. How was it any different? She chose a lot of things that led to this lifestyle she was now in. Pissed at the world, feeling empty and lost in a world that hadn’t stopped spinning since her heart had been shattered. It was her choice to go on though. It was her choice to give up on the things that had left her feeling relieved. She didn’t have to keep her promise to Lani and Ellie, but she did and she was paying for it with the constant nightmares, the strong urges that were powered by the slick blade of a razor. Despite the fact that she’d been clean for months, she still found a seductive allure to it, constantly tugging at her will power.

She tried her best not to think of those things. The desires. Luckily with being so busy, with her face buried in homework, she rarely had any time at all to do anything about it. Her roommate was also constantly around, so that tended to help a bit. If she didn’t have a roommate, things probably would have gone sour again by this point. Denise was a good roommate to have, really, with the way that she was just so cool about everything, it made this whole experience bearable. Granted sometimes she missed her old roommate, but Elisia still had another year and a half of school before college. It didn’t help that her best friend was also going to a different college. In his own apartment. She envied him that freedom…though she wasn’t sure it was a good thing for her to have such freedom.

Seeing him now, here, it helped. A lot more than it should have. Either way, she didn’t let that bug her as she hugged him. He offered her a card and she scrunched her nose at him, “Lani, why’d you get me this, I didn’t want anything.” But when she opened the card, she understood what exactly it was for and she glanced up at him with narrowed eyes. “Something tells me you have something involving alcohol planned,” She walked over to her side table to grab her clutch that held her current ID and a few other random things inside of it. She placed the fake ID in front of everything so she was sure to pull that one out first. Sarah Amelia Kecha? Where did he come up with this stuff?

Adrianna offered him a smile and nodded, “Yeah, I am actually. Though I wish I knew exactly what was going through that wicked mind of yours.” Not that she ever had before. Adrian just hoped that if she was going to be drinking, she didn’t do anything stupid. Like spout off how much she was hurting, no one liked an emotional drunk, but then again, nothing good really ever came from being wasted. That was what worried her the most. If Lani thought he was the only one hiding things, he was sorely mistaken. In all of the chaos that happened these past few months, she’d been keeping plenty of secrets of her own. He was no longer the only one with a few masks up his sleeve. “Ready to go? I’m dying to see where this cab takes us,” She smirked.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani and Adrianna would be having this argument forever. Who should take blame for what and then why the other should be able to take blame for something else. It was a fight that would never be won because both parties were too stubborn to yield in either direction. Maybe that was part of the reason they were still friends. They had a need to be there because of what happened and then because they had been there they’d started to realize they were good friends. Honestly, Lani had missed her, he’d been so caught up in Odion and the things that happened between him and his boss. It was all such a mess, still such a mess. Lani wasn’t even sure what to think anymore, perhaps that was why he was here seemingly content with his directionless existence.

Shrugging and simply waiting for her to get the answer from the card, Lani settled himself to watch her with a sly expression. “What?” Lani asked as if startled by her assumption but the impish expression on his face said otherwise. “Ah-ah,” Lani said shaking his finger at her, “If you want to take your real ID with you hide it somewhere else.” He leaned over so he could see her wallet and he pointed to a bank card. “Put it behind there,” he said, “You don’t want to pull out your ID and have someone catch another one underneath.” He advised. Now was probably one of the times that Adrianna should take a moment and assess the influence her friends were having on her. Lani, no matter his intensions and debatable state of heart he was under the ‘bad influence’ category and he knew it. He knew it, she knew it. But he’d never let her get hurt, that was for certain.

Lani’s smile broadened and his heart pulsed with a less painful feel. Lani chuckled and shook his head at her. “Some things are meant to be mysteries, Adrianna,” Lani said giving her a wink. Yes, and Lani’s mind was one of those things. He hated it when Dr. Neville was able to get in and he hated the idea of someone knowing his inner thoughts because they were often contradictory to action. And they exposed his emotions. No thief ever wanted to be vulnerable and no thief wanted their thoughts known. It was danger and it was terrifying. Lani had kept people at arms distance for all of his life until he’d met Adrianna and she’d wiggled her way in a bit, the Odion had come in like a bull dozer and blasted through Lani’s walls allowing for a pathway for other people to follow like Adrianna and Shapiro. But the way was closed again and Lani was intent on keeping it that way.

“Then shall we?” Lani asked and beckoned for her to follow. Down the stairs and out into the chill Lani guided her to the cab. “Thanks,” Lani said to the cabbie as he opened the door for Adrianna. He could be a gentleman occasionally. He named a bar for the cabbie as he got in on the other side and they were off. The cab pulled up and Lani pulled out a few more bills for driver and gave him another thanks. “Just act natural, I’ve got your back, don’t worry.” Lani said, he knew some people got jittery when it came to doing illegal things. Most people weren’t like Lani where this was the most conservative of all of the illegal things he had done. He let Adrianna go ahead of him when they got to the door and the bouncer asked for her ID. Lani’s ‘Tyler Von Haous’ was in his arsenal and he was prepared as Adrianna got her new ID out.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Stubbornness was something that Adrian felt leveled them. If they didn't have much else in common, they had their stubbornness. She never would give in and allow for him to blame himself for all that happened to her when he was around. If anything, she got through those things because he was around. She wasn't messed up just because of the last year or so, granted it fed a lot into it, but she had problems before then. The abandonment of her father for one (and his reappearance), and the several heartbreaks before Lani. How could he blame himself for those? Adri was certain that those were things that led her to him. Just thinking back to the day that they met, she had been stressing over Craven, over Luke. Then to find a beautiful boy with a beautiful heart that no matter how awful he thought himself, had the best intentions in mind when it came to those he cared for; she had been lucky. She knew it from the moment that they raced and she fell to the ground laughing that no matter what, she would always care about him and that he would always mean so much to her.

To this day, she still thought back to that winter morning run.

"Oh don't you play innocent with me, I know you better than that," She smiled and sighed. This was going to be an eventful night, hopefully one with no drama or regrets. As she was just about to place this birthday present in her clutch, his voice caught her and she looked up at him. His advice was met with a nod and she placed her real ID behind the bank card. "There, better?" Bad influence or not, Adrianna wasn't about to drop Lani as a friend just because he was rather adventurous and did bad things. Everyone did bad things every once in a while. Besides, she knew that he would never let her get hurt or into too much trouble without interfering in some way.

Adrian was relieved to see his smile widen. It was so nice seeing him smile again because the last few times she'd seen him, everything was a mess. Very rarely did she get to see it anymore and she just wanted to revel in it for a moment. Maybe, if she could be happy again, she could keep making him smile. She just wanted to take all of the hell he'd been put through away and see him happy again. Adrianna knew well enough that it wasn't that easy, but she hoped. If there was anything about her that hadn't changed it was her need to hope for the best. Her answering smile was smaller, more reserved, but more genuine than the others. "Happy to see you smiling again, you had me worried I'll have you know," She said quietly before nudging him and following him out of her room.

When he opened the door for her, she smirked and poked his cheek before sliding in. Why oh why did she let her mind get in the way of things? The more things progressed, the worse it got and she had to shake herself mentally to stop. Upon arriving at the club, she focused her attention more on what she was about to do. Lie outright to a bouncer. Her age wasn't that significantly young compared to the drinking age. She could totally do this. As long as she didn't turn bright red, avoid eye contact or get all squeaky, she'd be fine. The bouncer asked for her ID and she very smoothly slipped the ID out of her clutch and handed it to him with a smile, a dazzling one at that. Hey, she might as well use her looks to her advantage after all. He didn't even question her as he looked at it, he just handed it back and she turned to Lani with a wide look that practically said what she was feeling; 'how the heck did that work?'

[Lani Hunter]

Theirs was a complicated relationship. They’d been very close and then as far as the moon and sun and now they were getting close again. Closer, Lani dared to think, than they’d been when they were dating. They had started a relationship on the foundation that ‘this is awesome!’ and it had been a foundation of sand and it had crumbled at the first wave and they’d fallen into the surf and their relationship had been destroyed. Lani wasn’t one for going back. He might be thick and slow when it came to emotion but he was quick when it came to life lessons and he knew better than to touch a hot coil after he’d been burned the first time. But his and Adrianna’s relationship hadn’t ended in an explosion, but more as a fizzle. As though their love had eroded away. Not like his and Odion’s where it was like being shot. There one moment and gone the next.

Lani waggled his brows at her and a sly expression took over his features. It was true, anyone who knew Lani knew that innocent was not something he could claim. Though he did quite often, and he’d never admit otherwise. “Mhmm.” He assumed he knew the answer to that, Adrianna wasn’t that type of girl and he really hoped he wasn’t creating a monster. Lani had been drinking from a young age, first with the older thieves and then on his own when he’d gotten old enough to pass as someone who might be twenty one. It was such an odd age. Why 21? When most other countries allowed people much younger to drink. It really only fueled the desire because now it wasn’t allowed. Honestly Lani might actually be a little let down when he turned 21 and no longer had to use his fake IDs. “What’s your name?” He asked testing her.

Lani paused startled by her statement. He realized he’d lost it and he recovered the smile with more warmth behind it. He gave her a one armed hug as they walked. “Sorry,” he apologized. He didn’t want to worry her, thinking back she probably should have been worried. Honestly if she hadn’t been keeping tabs on him every so often something might have happened. “And I’m sorry I’ve been too focused on myself,” he started and as they walked he didn’t take his arm from around her shoulders. “How are you holding up?” A lot had happened since they’d become awkward friend again. Amelia was gone and Adrianna’s father decided he wanted to make an appearance. Lani’d break his nose if Adrianna let him. But something told him that Adrianna really wanted to be the one to break his nose.

Lani watched Adrianna and the bouncer and it took a lot for him not to connect his palm to his forehead. She was overdoing the smile, but luckily the bouncer was as Lani expected lazy and unfamiliar with the California and let it go. It was a good card though, Adrianna was just inexperienced and he was really glad the bouncer didn’t say anything. Adrianna might have blown the whole thing if she had to speak. Lani didn’t react when Adrianna looked at him until he had his own ID back. He passed the bouncer and laughed a little. “That would be not acting natural,” he teased with a chuckle and led her up the stairs to the bar. “What do you want?” He asked as he guided her to the bar weaving between people of various levels of inebriation.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrianna was so different. Different from him. Different from how she had been when she first met him. She wasn't the same innocent and naive girl that she used to be. It was a hard truth to face, but she knew that she'd never go back to being that girl. The doe-eyed, clarity in her big brown eyes was gone. As if it had never been there at all. She was hardened by the turmoil that took over her life. She often wondered if her innocence and dependency had been one of the downfalls of their relationship. One of the reasons that they didn't work. It was something she knew she shouldn't dwell on, but she always wondered what it had been that made them crumble. Was she too fragile for him? Was he incapable of keeping her happy? She didn't know what it had been, but just as everything else, she blamed herself for it not working. What else was there to blame it on?

"My name is..." She paused briefly and then shook her head, "Duh, Sarah. Amelia...uhm something or other? That'll totally pass right?" Adrianna shook her head and laughed shortly. Nah, she wasn't worried about being questioned. As long as she didn't burst into hysterical laughter, she should be fine. It wasn't her first time slipping into a club and drinking, though the times that she had the drinks were bought for her by someone old enough so she never had to worry about it. And it wasn't like she looked her age. People mistook her for being older all the time. He wasn't the only one that could get away with things. He was just the experienced liar.

His slip had her worrying briefly, but the warmth in his smile allowed her to push it away again. The last thing she wanted was to spend tonight worrying about him. He wouldn't want her doing it either, so maybe she should just let things go for now. He apologized and she waved him off, both times. She understood why his focus wasn't on her. It didn't bother her, mostly because it was to be expected and also because she didn't really want him to be focused on her. If he'd been keeping a closer eye on her, he'd see just how not fine she was. How everything that happened was still building and pushing her down further and further. Here she thought she'd hit rock bottom, but it was more like there was no rock bottom. She was just falling. And it was dark. His question caused her own smile to slip and she replied with a tight-lipped, "fine." Adrian just wanted him to leave it at that. There was no use getting into it.

She still had a bitter taste in her mouth about the whole thing when she passed over the bouncer's inspection and try as she might to recover her good humor, it was rather difficult. His teasing didn't help, "Sorry, not all of us are good at lying." She winced at her own tone and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she walked through the crowd towards the bar. Adrianna was more snappy lately, she found. Not her easy-going self. It wasn't like she could help it though. Her life was hell and she was stuck right in the middle of it. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to snap and I didn't mean to say that..." She bit her lip, leaning against the bar, keeping her eyes off of him. This was all too difficult. How was she supposed to do this with her thoughts running wild. "Can I get the strongest thing they sell here?" She asked loud enough for him to hear. Maybe that would be a hint of just how she was holding up.

[Lani Hunter]

It was getting steadily colder as the months moved into the school season but it was still quite warm and in fact unseasonal. Not that Lani was complaining, he rather enjoyed the summer and warmer months. Though he also enjoyed the dry ones a lot better as well. It was a problem that he couldn’t and in fact was afraid of swimming but he’d never been put in a position where he had to do anything like that. Perhaps it was the fear of water that made the feeling of being overwhelmed feel like drowning. Things often got too much to handle but when that familiar feeling of water in his lungs came he got into a terrifying state where he had to remind himself he wasn’t drowning. He looked at Adrianna. He knew her fears and her worries as they had been, but inevitably new ones were born without her mother. She didn’t know all of his secrets but she knew far more than he would have liked, but then again the fact that she knew and was here meant she cared and Lani wasn’t completely sure how to diagnose the feelings in his heart.

Lani snorted out a laugh. “Eh… yeah… just um, keep the talking to a minimum.” He advised. He really hoped that the bouncer wouldn’t pick her to be the one that would be picked on. If they did Lani was fully prepared to rescue her. He was a fast talker and they both knew he was an adept liar and coming up with things off the top of his head was a life saving skill. It was part of what made honesty so difficult and when lying became easy as breathing there was only so much that could be done to break the habit. Lani was starting to wonder if despite his efforts to rid himself of his boss he was too far gone to save. He loved stealing and it was hard to see beyond that and trying to was getting harder and harder because he could lie his way and steal his way through people but he couldn’t hide the mediocre ability he had to do anything else. Maybe he should stop trying.

Lani winced inwardly. That was downright icy. So asking how she was doing was off limits. In retrospect it made sense, he’d be a wreck if something happened to his parents or god forbid to Caroline. He’d be inconsolable. Adrianna was in so many ways so much stronger than him, he didn’t think he could go on if something like that happened to him. His only advantage over her was that he’d grown up early and he’d known the world was a darker place for most of his life. He didn’t even remember a moment when he’d look at someone and not wonder what terrible things they had done or were doing. No one was innocent, he was starting to realize. No one wanted to hold him responsible for his actions, well how long would that go on before they realized that was wrong? How long before they let Lani get away with something major? They were fools, Lani was a terrible person, maybe not in all walks of life, but if they gave him a by chances were he’d see how far he could go before they finally realized who he was.

Only practice and determination schooled his features into one indifferent. He didn’t want her to know how much that hurt, how much that simple statement dug into old wounds and rubbed salt into still healing ones. “Right.” Lani said simply not sure if he was agreeing or if he was simply dropping the subject. They were here to have fun and Lani wasn’t going to let them fight. He was tired of fighting and perhaps he deserved to be reminded of himself by someone. He leaned easily on the bar and looked for the bar tender who was making her way around the bar taking orders segments at a time. He was aware of Adrianna next to him and he made as if to look at the drink list so he didn’t have to look at her. His eyes, apparently, always gave him away and he didn’t want her to see. He closed his eyes and a charming smile bloomed on his lips and he cracked his eyes open to look at her. He elbowed her good naturedly. They both knew she was right. “Whatever. Let’s get drunk!” He declared and a sly smile crossed his lips and when the bar tender came to them said, “Two tequila shots.” It came quickly as did limes and salt. He handed one to Adrianna and licked his own hand putting a packet of salt on it. Best way to start the night. “Have you ever done this before?” He asked and waited for her to mimic him before he toasted the night. “To getting drunk!” He clinked his glass with Adrianna’s, licked the salt and took the shot. He took the lime and grinned at Adrianna the lime in place of his teeth hoping to get a laugh out of Adrianna.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrianna, different as she was now, hated the way she could snap so easily at her best friend. She hadn't meant for it to be so harsh, but she simply couldn't help it. She didn't want to talk about her mother or her father or Venn and she knew that if he asked her again, she wouldn't be able to do it again. Lani was probably the only person she couldn't push away twice when he asked her things. And surely he had to know that she could never lie to him about what was going on with her life. She'd tried before and always seemed to fail miserably. Sometimes she wished she could lie like him, it would make her life so much simpler if she could convince everyone whatever she wanted to convince them of. She envied him a lot of things, even one thing that she couldn't say she was fond of that he did to her. The lying though convenient, wasn't her favorite quality of his.

Her words, though true, caused her to feel guilty, even if he acted as though it didn't affect him. She wondered if it did. What if he really didn't care what she thought of him? Were they really friends? Did he value her opinion or her advice at all? Her throat constricted and she wanted to fold in on herself again. All of her insecurities about men in her life piled on her shoulders once more. What if Lani was just doing this because he still felt guilty that he almost got her killed? What if he really felt nothing for her and never had? Clearly they broke up for a reason, but she didn't understand their friendship. Was he only doing this because he didn't want her running off to the police? Was any of it real? Her thoughts were getting the best of her and she could feel that all too familiar stinging feeling beneath her eyes. She didn't want to cry in front of him, especially if her thoughts were correct.

"I...I really didn't mean it," She whispered, probably not even loud enough for him to know what she said.

His change in attitude had her kicking herself. She always had to get in too deep with her thoughts and question everything that ever happened. Adrianna hated that she was always doubting Lani. Despite every reason he'd given her to doubt him, deep down, she knew that those reasons meant nothing. That he was her best friend, her first real love despite how much she often tried to deny that fact. He was not this monster that he made himself out to be and that her conscience often tried to convince her of. Adrian plastered a smile on her face, trying to seem as normal as possible when he smiled charmingly, her heart giving a little squeeze. They were here to celebrate her birthday, to have a good time and to be best friends. She could do that for just one night couldn't she? Just forget all of her hardships and trust Lani to bring out the fun in her? Whether she thought she could or not, she was going to try.

His exclamation had her laughing a little easier and her eyes widened at the order of two tequila shots. She'd never had tequila, or any truly hard liquor at that. Least of all straight up. "Uhm, definitely not. What exactly do you do with the salt and lime?" She was an experienced girl, but in the art of drinking, she was fairly new. Adrian watched him as he went through the process and cheers-ed him when the time came. With the lime in place of his teeth, Adrianna found that he looked very much like the Lani she fell for and it caused her to giggle at an attempt to hide the pain. With a deep breath she looked down at her shot and bit her lip and followed suit, licking the salt from her wrist, downing the shot and sucking on the lime. Her whole body shivered as the warmth of the tequila traveled down. Tilting the shot glass bottom's up, she shook her head, squinting and making a face. "Oh golly, that was strong," She laughed. "Let's do another! Canwecanwecanwe?" Now she was in a bit better spirits to say the least.

[Lani Hunter]

((Sorry this is so late!))

Lani knew Adrianna hated the way he was so adept at lying. Lani also knew that it was his best skill and he was going to keep using it for as long as it was useful. If he could protect her by lying he would do so. She should rest assured that she was – now – the person that he was most honest with. Honesty was hard, Lani wasn’t like normal people who told the truth like it was easy as breathing, no, for Lani the truth held dark secrets and painful memories. It was far easier to tell a lie than the truth. Lani wanted to talk to Adrianna to work out how she was feeling but for the current moment in time they were celebrating and he was not going to let them get into deep conversations. He couldn’t really speak for after he had had bit to drink but he was going to try to be less drunk than her so that if she got too drunk he could take care of her.

If Lani knew anything of her thoughts he would probably be rather hurt, and then he could probably sit on her until she admitted that she knew he loved her. Maybe they didn’t work as lovers but that didn’t mean that what was between them wasn’t love. He cared deeply for her, if he had not then he would have let her be his friend instead of stealing all of the razors away. If he was still worried about her going to the police he wouldn’t be so relaxed around her. Adrianna knew him well enough, he thought, to know that. She would never know how much he was hurting, he would play unwounded bird until the very end. Lani didn’t hear her last proclamation and he was probably better off having not. It hurt but for now it was easier to ignore it. If he remembered the statement later he might get upset, but that wasn’t like any other night that he spent alone. He wondered how Odion was doing. He bit his tongue. He did not care!

Lani laughed and waggled his brows at her. “Watch and learn, grasshopper.” Lani said before taking the shot. It burned and the lime felt terribly good afterward, it was never really a good idea to start out with tequila but what the hell, he needed something a little strong tonight. Lani watched Adrianna and laughed at the face she was making and had to spit the lime out into his glass before he inhaled it with laughter. “Right, lime is great after!” Lani agreed and laughed at her eagerness. “Let’s get something a little gentler, say? You might feel that one a little later than expected. We’ll do another one later.” Even Lani after a shot or two started to feel buzzed. He snatched a menu from the bar and held it open for Adrianna to look over. “Okay, I’m gonna give you a little bit of advice. You’ve started with liquor, now you are going to stick with liquor. Hear me? No beer. Mixing is bad. No mixing.” Lani rambled and laughed, wow that was strong stuff he was already feeling hot and loose. “What are we not going to do?” He quizzed.

“Pick anything, it’s on me tonight,” he said as he waited. He already knew what he was going to get and he was going to be more careful with that drink. He didn’t want to get too far gone, he needed to take care of Adrianna still. Another problem was Lani had a tendency to get talkative and philosophical when he was drunk, there was no telling what he would try to talk about. And he was making three things off limits for the night: Adrianna’s mother, Adrianna’s father, and Odion. The music started to pick up and a few people started to get on the dance floor. It wasn’t very crowded and Lani didn’t think he’d ever get drunk enough to think that he could dance but he was definitely more impressionably and if Adrianna suggested it he might go along. He needed a few more before he hit that point though. She was taking too long to pick a drink and Lani hid behind the menu and peeked over top of it so that only his eyes were visible and he started dancing his eyebrows at her. That was a strong shot.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrian watched Lani carefully as he instructed and tilted her head to the side. It was so distracting, watching him. It allowed for her mind to escape Venn. Which was not something that happened often. Everything reminded her of him. He'd been her closest friend since she was eleven, her mother had loved him, and he had always been there when she needed him. But then it all seemed to change after the Halloween dance. Dating for just a month and it all fell apart, he kept disappearing. Only to tell her what, he'd gone into the military? Without even talking to her about it. And then he shows up right after her mother died. It was all so frustrating and it tore into her every time she started thinking about it. But as soon as it started sneaking back in, she clamped down on it and looked back at him.

His laugh made her smile and she pouted when he suggested something lighter. She wanted to get drunk, smashed and not remember anything. She wanted to forget about everything bad in her life and drown it out with alcohol. "But Laniii," She stuck her lower lip out further and then broke into a smile. When he held the menu open for her, she squinted at it and pursed her lips in debate. Vodka-cranberry, martini, gin, rum and coke. It all looked good to her, but only because she didn't know what exactly any of it tasted like or how strong it was. He started advising her again and she looked up at him trying to catch all of what he was saying, but she could feel her attention span going crazy. It was like the dog from Up. Wait, what weren't they doing? Oh yeah! "Mix drinks! Er, well beer and liquor. But isn't beer used to chase down shots?" That's what Coyote Ugly taught her. After all, that movie was hardcore bar life. Right?

"Yay for spending all of your money!" She giggled and stuck her tongue out at him, "Kidding, kidding. Uhmmmm." Adrianna huffed, her bangs flopping back in her eyes. This was not as easy as she had hoped. "Let's go withhhhh," She still couldn't even come up with anything. He peeked over the top of the menu and she laughed, "Stop distracting me!" Gosh, that shot must have really been getting to her. She was giggly and smiley and it was just weird. But she didn't want it to stop. She was finally able to smile without it hurting or being forced. "Is rum and coke lighter? Since ya know, the coke would dilute the rum...I think." She sounded stupid, she knew, but alcohol wasn't what she knew. She knew dancing.

Glancing over towards the dance floor, Adrianna's face broke into a wicked smile. She was brought back to their first real date, the one where she promised she would never make him sterile by kicking him in the manhood. Instead of the memory hurting, it only made her brighten and she got all bubbly and peppy. "And after this drink can we go on the dancefloor. Pretty please! Please please please, Lani." Because at least then she could feel a little better about herself. That way they'd be somewhat even, unless he'd magically gotten good at dancing. With his two left feet though, she couldn't be so sure. It didn't matter though, his dancing made her smile and she had fun with him. As long as no guys came up being all grabby, she would be good. Her mind continued playing out the night of their first date, but it stopped right before they kissed, and she was glad. It wouldn't be bearable if she had to experience that again and know that it wasn't real.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani remembered Venn very rarely, and when he did it was a reflection on how much he hated the musclehead. He still felt guilty about the whole thing because he’d been so upset initially at Adrianna for moving so quickly away from him, but at the same time he’d been running from her at top speed. But Lani’s mind rarely crossed over the subject of Venn, he was not worth Lani’s residual anger and he’d gone and left Adrianna. Lani felt very much about Venn the way he felt about Rhett. But it appeared he’d lost to Rhett as well. It was easy to forget the hard topics and to ignore the ideas floating in his head about loves lost. He was grateful he hadn’t lost Adrianna, he was very worried for a while that he had. She was the best friend he’d ever had and she showed it time and time again, even when Lani was convinced he’d finally done something that was going to make her wash her hands of him.

Lani gave a stern look and struggled a bit, Adrianna’s pouting face always got him, every damn time. He just couldn’t say no when she made that face. But luckily her face didn’t last too long. “Right,” Lani started and then listened to her question. He’d done that himself a few times but that always left him with a terrible stomach the next morning. “Well… technically you can. Just remember: Liquor before beer you’re in the clear, beer before liquor never sicker.” He recited. The problem was that after he did a shot and chased with a beer he usually did it again and broke the rule, and was, well never sicker. To avoid being sick altogether he was just going to keep Adrianna to the one, and hopefully if they got separated somehow she would remember that. After all, Adrianna was a beautiful woman, chances were someone was going to ask her to dance.

Laughing with her Lani shrugged, technically it wasn’t his money either, but oh well. Making faces at Adrianna over the menu was extremely entertaining especially when she scolded him. He laughed through his teeth and stuck his tongue out at her through his teeth. Lani nodded, “Most things are lighter than tequila,” he chuckled, “I love those!” He turned to the bar and ordered one for himself and for Adrianna, his tab was going be rather large, good thing it wasn’t his card. He retrieved the glasses and handed one to Adrianna. He took a few sips of his own. It was strong and it was good. If there was a liquor Lani loved it was rum. Adrianna was probably going to try a whole lot of things before the night was over. Lani really was a terrible influence on her. It was a problem to turn to alcohol when he wanted to forget everything but at the moment it was too much fun and he was getting drunk with his best friend. He was doing a fine job of not thinking about the first time he and Odion got drunk together.

Damn. Lani thought as he tore his eyes off the dance floor and then back to it. He groaned exaggeratedly for Adrianna’s benefit. He looked at her with narrow eyes. She was too precious, adorable and with his inhibitions lowered just enough he found it hard to resist. “Ughh, Adriaaaannnaaaa,” he whined and gave her an unhappy face. She was so hard to say no to. “Ughhh fine.” He finally relented, “But I reserve the right to stand there and not move.” He sipped at his drink, lingering on it to avoid the dance floor. Despite Adrianna’s best effort his dance skills hadn’t improved very much. He had managed to more or less accomplish swaying in rhythm. Anything more complicated got a little dangerous and Lani tended to get bold and flail more than dance when he was a little inebriated. This reminded him a bit of their first date, well unofficially, as they hadn’t been dating yet, but he counted it. He smiled at the memory. He was happy with Adrianna, he was happy now. She had been a constant warming hearth, Odion had been a rollercoaster of hard emotions and lessons. Maybe he did love Adrianna, as more than a sister. The relationship with Odion had been exciting but it had been hard, with Adrianna it had been effortless. Maybe he was confused, maybe that was love. He shook his head a bit and gave his drink a sidelong look. Those were dangerous thoughts and he wasn’t sure how much of it was due to the alcohol but his drink was gone faster than he wanted and he looked at the dance floor in distaste, hopefully Adrianna would take longer with her drink or forget.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrianna found herself nodding right along with him, after all the little rhyme seemed to make sense. She was so out of touch with drinking though. Every time he came to a club, it consisted her maybe drinking beer, but even then she rarely finished it. Most of the time she just danced because it gave her something to do and it kept her skills sharp for work. When she decided to go back to work that was.... Things had been too crazy for her to work and Cynthia luckily understood what she was going through because otherwise, she was sure she'd have been fired from the absence she'd had over the past months. Between being in California, graduating, going to a counselor in town, she hardly ever felt like dancing, let alone for a bunch of men while in a skimpy outfit.

Rum and coke was probably the most appealing thing to her right now because she knew vodka was rather strong and often had to be mixed with a lot of something else to tone it down even a little. Plus caffeine fix, which was never a bad thing. She took a large gulp of her drink and felt it go down all warm and fuzzy into her stomach. At the rate she was going, Lani was going to be cardless soon. She planned on trying everything she could, with his opinions in consideration as to what she'd like because he knew her well enough to know her tastes. She took another drink and let out a hum as it went down. With each swallow, it was like she as plucking a memory from her mind and discarding it. There was no more thoughts of death. There were no more thoughts of Venn and her failed love life. But the darkness still loomed, the addiction was still there and she wasn't sure how many drinks she'd need to suck down to make it go away. The beauty of this alcohol though, was that it had the same affect as the other addiction. It numbed the pain.

The way he dragged her name out made her snort and snicker. She knew he had trouble saying no to her - unless it was something harmful, but that was beside the point. He would eventually cave and they were going to dance until they dropped...or needed more alcoholic fuel. And when he finally agreed she squealed and did a little happy dance, before hugging him. And then he tried to pull the "I'm just gonna stand there" card and she pulled back, "Oh no you don't, Mr. Hunter. Youuuu are gonna dance with me. Which means shaking your butt and wiggly your feet." Okay no, he really shouldn't do that, but boy did it sound funny to her.

He lingered on his drink and she momentarily lingered on her own until it was all gone and she was snapped back to her dancing desires. "C'monnnn slowpoke! Get a move on, let's goooo!" She gripped his arm and tugged at him. She was just so excited that she was here with him and they were having fun celebrating her birthday. Adrian had already forgotten the previous tension between them and she was over her second-thoughts of everything. All she was going to do was dance, dance, dance! And it was going to be fun and she was going to be happy for the first time in over a year. And she was going to do it all with her best friend that she loved more than anyone would ever know. He was perfect and funny and sweet and she pulled him out to the dancefloor, twirling around to place her arm on his shoulder before leaning in a little closer than she meant to, "Do you remember how I taught you to dance?" She called over the music and giggled. There was yet another memory of them dating...and it didn't even hurt this time.

[Lani Hunter]

“You understand?” Lani nodded with her and smiled, “Good.” Lani was very much out of the loop from his own recent pity party. He didn’t even know she was working and he knew very vaguely anything about her classes, oh well, they could talk about that later. It was time to get drunk and pretend that there was nothing other than happiness and rainbows. Lani giggled at the thought, drunk or not it was not like Lani to think so loosely. He knew better than anyone that it was the shadows that one had to look out for, the shadows that swallowed men and spat them out as demons and fiends that lurked in the darkness. Lani shook his head he refused to think about anything but the good things. It might become a challenge but at least drinking tended to put him in a good mood.

Adrianna was torturing him, Lani decided, he had done something and she was displeased and now he was going to have to dance, Adrianna was a vindictive person. Because dancing was such a punishment. Lani with two left feet bore the serious risk of taking someone out if he flailed or happened to zig when someone zagged. He grunted when she hugged him and returned it with a sigh that spelled out exactly how much he didn’t want to do this. He should just keep working sip after sip at his drink, he could make it last for a while, though if he got it down quick he might get buzzed before they went out, that would certainly make his inhibitions fall away and maybe dancing wouldn’t be such a terrible idea. No, no it was always going to be a bad idea, Lani thought with a terrible memory of Adrianna’s lessons. “Ah-ha no,” Lani shot down that idea. “I will shuffle. You get shuffling. There will be no butt shaking over here.” He said pointing to himself in a broad gesture.

Lani drank slowly and winced at the dance floor, at least it was pretty full which meant that the dancing would not have to be anything more than shuffling. Next time he was going to take her somewhere without a dance floor, he decided. Lani let out a whine she complained. A laugh broke out from Lani, “Quit, you’re gonna spill my drink, hold on!” He said and switched the drink to his safe arm and finished it in a swift gulp. He placed the glass back on the bar and allowed Adrianna to then drag him, more or less kicking and screaming, onto the dance floor. This seemed terribly familiar. Lani felt like he was walking into a dream again, a dream that was long lost to time and trial. Lani paused for a moment, he knew what it reminded him of: Their first date. Well, he wasn’t sure if it was a date at the time but it certainly started something. Lani smiled, he’d been so happy back then, he remembered what it felt like. Lani didn’t recognize the danger of the similar situation.

A warm smile sprang to Lani’s lips as he looked into her eyes and nodded. Her closeness brought more memories to the front of his brain. Some of those memories brought with them Odion and Lani did his best to banish them. Banish them in replacement of memories of him and Adrianna. Not all of their memories had been bad. “I think so, I haven’t practiced in a while,” he admitted sheepishly, “I think I remember keeping beat.” He was pretty sure he had that one down pat, he at least wouldn’t be the most awkward person on the dance floor. Maybe second most awkward. That was really only because he caught sight of someone doing the robot a few feet away. Lani took up Adrianna’s hands, “Aaand one, two, three,” he started before he broke down in laughter, maybe he was lying, he could keep a beat but he didn’t remember anything else.