At that French-sounding place... {Ella}

[Justin Marshall]

After a beer and two shots of tequila, Justin already felt it a little. His parents had warned him when he turned 21 about the perils of drinking alone, but he wasn’t really alone if he was in a club, right? He liked hanging out in places like this. The alcohol and loud music combined to ease the annoyance he felt about, well, everything. It didn’t dampen his power at all, but it sure made it a lot more fun.

He asked for another shot from the bartender. The liquid warmed the back of his throat, and he could feel the warmth pleasantly trickling throughout the rest of his body. He began to feel the music not as coherent rhythm and melody, but as rising and falling that he couldn’t escape. In a good way.

A young woman wearing a sparkly tiara and a t-shirt handpainted with a giant pink number 21 bounced unsteadily up to the small open space at the bar beside Justin. She tripped on a barstool and caught herself on Justin’s arm. “Oops!” She giggled, but didn’t seem entirely apologetic as her eyes lingered on his features. Justin started to grin at her, but found his view blocked by a tall, skinny guy, who glared protectively. “She’s my girlfriend, creep,” the kid announced before pulling the drunken birthday girl away.

Ow. The lie poked insistently at his head. It always seemed to hurt more when he was drunk, but it wasn’t usually a problem because inebriated people were usually obliviously honest. Justin rubbed his temples as the pain faded. He was buzzed enough not to let the situation bother him. The guy was probably just trying to make sure his friend didn’t do anything she would regret. However, he did resent being called a creep a little. He made a rule of never leaving with a woman unless she asked first (and could still form coherent sentences). It was always a bonus when a night ended like that, though.

He put the incident out of his mind, letting the music wash out his senses again as he stared at the bottles of liquor behind the counter. He debated having another drink, or waiting a while. On one hand, no one here looked familiar so far, and therefore no one would care if he made a fool of himself. On the other, in this small town he never knew when that could change. He compromised and ordered another beer. At least he could sip it slowly.

[Ella Tate]

After a long, surpisingly okay, day at work, Ella was ready to just lounge at a bar getting thoroughly wasted.

Having divested her work jacket at the entrance, the brunette let her hair down from the tight bun she had had since morning and went straight to the bar.

An exchange between a birthday girl and her co-worker left Ella with a grin. When Justin rubbed his temple, Ella frowned a little before turning her powers on a little. Alcohol could not have been the cause of his little headache so she assumed it had to be his power acting up.

She moved closer so her suppression could take full effect and she nudged him a little.

"I assume you want to be alone since you didn't invite me but...good looking guys like you shouldn't be alone in a bar." She raised a finger up at the bartender who nodded. Service was good here.

[Justin Marshall]

His headache was gone as quickly as it had appeared, happily. Justin attributed it to luck and thought no more about it. He felt a nudge again at his side, and backed away a little, hoping the lady with the protective friend had not returned. To his surprise, someone a little older and a lot more attractive stood there instead.

”Ella!” He said with a twitch of his lips upward. ”Did you kill my power? You just made my night.” Normally he would care if people heard him talking about his ability, and normally he wouldn’t have been quite so happy to see an acquaintance. But the cancellation of his powers combined with the alcohol made him feel downright bubbly. No more lies, no more headache, and no more paranoia, at least for a little while.

”I never invite anyone anywhere,” Justin responded with a chuckle at his own ridiculous, sober habits. ”It’s nothing personal. Oh, and put that on my tab,” he added to the bartender as he poured Ella’s drink. It was the least he could do in exchange for her company. Belatedly, it occurred to him that he wasn’t the only one out alone tonight. Ella did not appear to have brought along any friends. ”Anyway, we both know I’m hopeless, so what brings you out alone tonight?”

[Ella Tate]

Justin's upbeat tone warned Ella of his inebriated state. Not that it was a problem. She rather liked this side of him. That smile rarely came about and when it did...well, she liked guys who smiled like that, enough said.

"I did, I thought you might need some of my lovin'." She smirked and slipped on to the barstool beside the security personnel and picked up the tumbler of some kind of alcohol or other and raised it to Justin when he said to put it on his tab. Her night was getting better and better.

"You're not hopeless. Just...prickly and choosy." Ella chuckled. "I...needed some time away from home. Gets crowded sometimes and...I'm not a big fan of crowds unless I have some alcohol in me." She held up her half empty tumbler to prove a point.

"Trying for some action tonight?"

[Justin Marshall]

”Hah, I could always use some of that,” Justin replied unashamedly, leaning against the bar as she sat and took her drink.

”Prickly and choosy works, too, but it’s still an obstacle,” he allowed, dropping the grin for barely a second. He briefly remembered several relationships he’d missed out on because of his personality and the side effects of being a meta-human. Sober, he told himself he didn’t care, but drunk and powerless he felt a little disappointed with himself. However, he was too happy in his current state to dwell on such thoughts.

His amusement returned as soon as he said, ”I can fix that.” His eyes twinkled, but even drunk he couldn’t bring himself to wink. At least he wouldn’t have to be embarrassed about that in the morning. ”It’s not too crowded in here; the music is just loud.” He gazed at the open floor, idly assessing whether he was drunk enough for dancing. He was coordinated enough for parkour and martial arts, but try to sync anything to a musical beat and he looked like a drowning fish.

Maybe one or two more until he got to that point, then. ”What, you mean action?” He gestured at the crowd of inebriated customers, ”Or action?” His eyebrows raised, as if to add a silent ”if you know what I mean?” Then he ruined it by laughing. It had been too long since he’d had any action action.

[Ella Tate]

"Everyone could use some of this," Ella gestured to herself with a smirk. Oh she was cocky all right. And she had every reason to be. Physically, there was nothing evidently wrong with her. Her flaws were more buried deep than anyone was allowed to see. She genuinely could not care less that people always looked to what she had on the surface than what she could offer underneath.

She crossed her legs and leaned forward on the bartop to accept her drink. She took her time with it, knowing she would have to savour it tonight. It was generous of Justin to open his tab for her but she knew enough that it was rude to overwhelm someone's credit. And knowing he probably made the same pay as she did, there was no way he could handle her alcohol intake.

"You planning on being perpetually drunk to get rid of that prickliness?" She grinned. "Because I gotta say, I approve of that plan." She chuckled. Agreeing with Justin about the amount of people in the club with a simple nod, she looked around the place and noted how many metas were around. Judging by the headache she could feel pressing against her temple, a fair few.

His suggestive eyebrows had her chuckling. What were they twelve? "If you have to ask." She turned in her barstool and uncrossed her legs. "Dance with me. You'd get more action if girls think you're unattainable." She dropped from the stool and gestured to him to follow her by crooking one finger in his direction. "Come on, handsome."

[Justin Marshall]

Justin only laughed at Ella’s response. He would have laughed anyway if he was sober, but now everything was extra funny. ”Being perpetually drunk would be nice, but I think my wallet and my liver would protest.” He would leave his sober and hung-over brain to mull over the dangers of alcoholism tomorrow. ”But I’m glad you like it. Too bad I can’t charm all the pretty women like this in the daytime.” Yeah, he thought he was charming her, and not the other way around. Maybe. He just knew that she sounded awfully flirtatious.

As if she had been a mind reader and not a power suppressor, she asked him to dance. How could he resist when she put it that way? He downed the rest of his drink hastily and followed her out into the open space, smirking. ”You don’t know what you’re getting into. When you’re tired of me stepping on your feet you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.”

He silently doubted that anyone would believe him to be unattainable just by dancing with Ella. He’d only been in Pilot Ridge about two days before he’d heard she had slept with half the town. Not that he was too surprised, or that he thought less of her. He just couldn’t see others seeing her as girlfriend material. Happy that the thought hadn’t come slipping out of his mouth like most of the others had so far, he took her hand and spun under it, turning once. ”There, that’s my only move. I hope you can work with that.” So much for his dignity.

[Ella Tate]

"We have a very capable hepatologist on call." Ella said, like that would solve everything. She laughed when he claimed that he was being charming. "You're so adorable." She patted him on the cheeks with a grin. And Justin should really know by now, Ella is never not flirtatious. It was her default mode, after all.

At least he agreed to dance and she laughed when he warned her about his two left feet. "Don't worry. You'll walk out of this club a professional dancer." She grinned.

Had he actually voiced out his opinions about her, she wouldn't have been offended at all. She wasn't ashamed of her track record with people. People already knew about her and yet they still continued to sleep with her. Sex is nothing personal to her. And girlfriend material? She was far from that, to be sure.

But just as they stepped on the floor, eyes were on them and she knew at least half of the lascivious stares they were getting were not directed at her.

His move made her laugh and she taught him how to make a convincing twirl-in. "Should be fine." She shrugged before letting his hand go. "Come on, just loosen up. Just bob your head up and down, move your body from side to side." She did as she instructed to demonstrate it to him.

[Justin Marshall]

He chose to ignore her comment about being adorable, mostly because he was drunk and she was pretty. It would have earned her a glare and possibly a demonstration of board breaking if he was in his right mind.

Justin barely noticed people staring as he attempted not to make a total fool of himself. He bobbed up and down. He thought he was on the beat but he could never tell, and especially not now when he perceived the music as a mostly a giant wash of party sound. ”I feel like I’m back at a school dance,” he said as he remembered all of the terrible music and juvenile attempts at grinding he had seen at the Hammel dances and chuckled. Justin wouldn’t have been caught dead at a school dance, but on that occasion a friend had convinced him there would be lots of girls in tight dresses. He’d refused dances with a few of them, not because he didn’t like them but because he didn’t want to be seen dancing. He’d been so awkward then, and he’d changed so little.

But high school dances didn’t serve alcohol, at least not intentionally. He watched Ella moving around easily and tried to do the same, but still felt stiff and uninformed. Justin was starting to think he’d never understand how people got good at this. ”Have you ever watched Dancing With the Stars? You could probably be on there, right?” A whole bunch of really bad pick up lines came to mind after that. He stifled a laugh at them but didn’t reveal any. He just continued awkwardly bobbing, slightly off-beat.

[Ella Tate]

Laughing at Justin's comment about school dances, Ella shrugged. "They weren't too bad. I enjoyed them immensely." Of course, what she enjoyed most about school dances rarely actually occurred on the dance floor.

She was moving to the beat when Justin whipped out the worst pick up line she had ever heard and it made her laugh. "Oh God, Justin Marshall." She coughed between laughs. "Oh you've got swag for sure." She said, still laughing as she tried to get back to the beats but failing miserably.


Ella grabbed his hand and guided him about. "Okay, just follow my foot. You'll do fine." She said in a dismissive tone. She nudged his footing before she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find a really attractive woman with a grin on her face. The lady nodded at Justin and Ella let him go. "All yours." She presented him. "His name is Justin."

[Justin Marshall]

”Glad someone did,” he answered good naturedly. He was having a hard time believing that it was possible to enjoy those events, but obviously a lot of people did if he took the attendance as evidence.

He laughed slightly nervously along with her. He’d been drunk enough not to think before he said it, but he still knew it had been really terrible. ”Yeah that was pretty bad, huh? I could do worse, you know.” He really believed that, too. He hoped next time she wouldn’t choke though.

He continued trying to follow her lead, but found he couldn’t stop giggling every time he messed up. And then suddenly he was dancing with someone else. This woman was pretty and enthusiastically dancing, but definitely not Ella. He continued bobbing with her, but shot Ella several fearful glances. What was he supposed to do? Didn’t this lady see how bad he was? How long was he supposed to continue ‘dancing’ to be polite before he could slide back over to Ella? In any other activity Justin could have faked confidence, but dancing got him every time. Probably because “every time” means exactly twice.

He tried to smile and at least say “hi” to his new partner, but he only actually managed a nod and more bobbing. He needed another drink in order to keep this up. He shot more pleading looks at Ella, hoping she would come and save him.

[Ella Tate]

"Then again, after parties were what we all lived for. I never saw you at any of them. Spose you weren't so social back then. Or...you didn't understand the need for alcohol back then." She snickered.

"You could, I don't deny that at all. But that was just..." she laughed and circled her arms around his neck to get more contact, which in turn helped him move better. Yeah, sure, that was her excuse.

When the other girl took over, Ella took the chance to dance with another female who kept trying to cop more than a feel which led Ella to laughing more than dancing. She saw the look on Justin's face and decided he really needed help so she ambled over, although she definitely took her time with it.

"Mind if I cut in? It's his first night out. I'm breaking him in." She grinned at the girl who looked offended at first but surprisingly changed her expression when Ella gave her a look. She smiled and scampered off before Ella turned to Justin.

"Oh porbrecito. Come here." She grabbed Justin's arms to circle around her waist and they just swayed on the spot. "See, it isn't so hard!"

[Justin Marshall]

”Well maybe someone should have told me about it,” Justin quipped right back at her. He’d never experimented much at Hammel, but it was more because of lack of opportunity than because he was a good boy. He didn’t find parties too appealing. Probably because he didn’t know about alcohol. What a vicious cycle.

Thankfully Ella was back shortly, hopefully in response to his pathetic expression, after dancing with another female for a while. Justin had to admit it had been kind of hot to see it, even if he wanted her back. He let her pull his arms around her waist, and he even went a step further and pulled her a little closer, so he could lean into her if he wanted to. ”This time I’m not letting you go,” he said. He quit with the bobbing, as it wasn’t working, and instead switched to swaying and shuffling his feet. At least he was still moving.

A tiny part of him wondered if he should really be doing this. Maybe sober he would think twice, but for now the majority of his thoughts reasoned that he came here hoping for something of this nature anyway. He just hadn’t thought he’d see Ella. Besides, he needed this, as he’d dropped himself back in Pilot Ridge with little notice to friends. ”Is this any better?” He asked, referring to his attempts at dancing. At least he hadn’t stepped on her feet yet.

[Ella Tate]

"If I had seen you more often, I would have but I barely saw you. Anywhere." Ella noted, shrugging her shoulders. She didn't take into account that she had spent her whole stay in Hammel doing anything but take notice of people. They had just been a huge blur.

"Aww, Justin, you big baby." She circled her arms around his neck and smiled when he stepped closer. "Then again, who says I want to let go?" Her lips curled into a smirk as she moved his hips against his suggestively. There, she made the first move. If he wanted to follow up on that, that was all him. She was used to initiating and going through with what she started but Justin was new, he'd have to learn somehow. And Ella was glad to be his mentor.

"Oh yeah, tons." She slid her hand down to his waist, guiding it slowly to move to the beat. He was really stiff and she could barely move him but she didn't give up. The guy seriously needed to loosen up. Ella said as much to him with a grin. "Seriously, you have to just let go." Ella said.

A waiter with a tray of shots came around and Ella stole one glass, downing it in one go. "Ooh damn. Strong stuff." She laughed as she placed the glass in another patron's hand. "Thanks."

[Justin Marshall]

”Probably my own fault,” he conceded. He’d only spent time with a few friends. He remembered Ella as being somehow intimidating to his teenage brain. Older, and attractive. He really thought his younger self was stupid, now.

The effects of the alcohol were not wearing off at all. In fact, he felt himself continuing to spiral as that last beer took full effect. It was getting to a point where his mind wanted badly to get caught up in the music and the feeling of Ella’s hands on his waist and his hips against hers, and to forget caution and everything else. This was all too easy without his power, and she was encouraging him. Saying things like you have to just let go was really tempting him.

He liked it. Justin drew her closer still. He was so close he could smell her hair. Why did women’s hair always smell so good? His hands began to move around her. Nowhere too risky yet, but he liked feeling the curve of her waist as it met her hip. He laughed as she tossed back a shot. ”More of those are always good,” he said. He was soon drawn back into the rhythm, though, and found he had somehow ended up with his face very close to her neck, inhaling her, his lips brushing her skin. The maybe you shouldn’t be doing this voice had gone into hiding.