Underage (Open)

[Henry Ballo]

Henry hadn’t ever actually gone drinking before. He’d been drunk. Twice. Both times at his father’s house. The first was when his father had equated high height to high tolerance and had pressed on the boy a scotch because it was the “adult” drink for “grown men.” Henry had been all of sixteen the first time. He hadn’t thought that the burning sensation had been very good, and had been concerned because his mother had once told him that his grandfather had had a drinking problem, and that was why he should never touch the stuff. But his father had been encouraging him to drink the whole thing and Henry, his usual distaste for his father waning under the fact that his father was talking to him in civil tones, had. And he’d had two more after that. By the time he was done throwing up into the toilet—alone, with his father outside laughing about how young boys couldn’t hold their liquor, Henry had sworn off the stuff. The second had been when his father had just shared his disappointment with Henry because he hadn’t gotten into the best schools. It had taken Henry three shots of something sickeningly sweet to tell his father that it didn’t matter what he thought because Henry was going to list himself as an independent and didn’t want any contact with him anymore.

That had been six months ago. For Henry’s 19th birthday, one of the cheerful friends he’d made in college had bought the stoic student a fake ID and had told him to let loose for a change. They were going to go drinking, he said, and Henry was so tall that the bouncer didn’t even take a proper look at the fake ID. Besides, it was a Monday night. Not too crowded. His friend had bought him a drink—anything but scotch had been Henry’s only requirement—and then had promptly vanished into the crowd, leaving Henry with an alcoholic drink in his hand and an eye on the crowd of gyrating, hopping people doing what was culturally referred to here as “dancing.”

Great. And somehow, this was supposed to be fun. Henry sighed, knocked back whatever he was holding, then ordered another one. Maybe if he got drunk he’d find it in him to be happy about this. He just hoped no one caught onto the fact that he still wasn’t legal.

((Please feel free to play the adventurous friend or anyone else! Torment away!))

[Deleted]

Clubs had pretty much became Elina’s second home. Whenever she didn’t feel like staying at her dorm, which happened multiple times a week, the girl would find herself searching for someone to tag along. Quite often she did not care who it was, as long as he or she got her safely to the club. Half of the time the girl would leave with someone else, be it because she simply knew them or for different more interesting reasons. Today she had bribed the girl from across the hallway to accompany her. At first the brunette actually did stay at the blonde’s side, but eventually she subtly squeezed her way through the crowd and over to the bar. It was not too easy to locate it since there was a lot of noise in the club, interfering with her hearing, but eventually she managed to distinguish where the sound of people ordering drinks was coming from. And once she successfully reached the bar, relief washed over. Time to have some fun.

A mix of ice tea and vodka got ordered as crossed arms rested on the bar. What would be even better right now is her being able to find someone willing to pay for the other drinks that would be consumed that evening. She didn’t feel like really putting a lot of effort in that though, but perhaps she should have. If Ellie wasn’t blind, she wouldn’t have made the next move though. Her somewhat racist trait would have gotten the upper hand. Right now, however, she simply opted to speak to whoever sat next to her. Hopefully that person was male, or someone with awesome male friends.

”No dancing?” Elina did wait after that for a reaction though and only once she was certain it was a guy, she continued. ”I could teach you some moves if you want.” Because, come on, it was not up to her to be straightforward and to ask him to dance.

[Henry Ballo]

Henry had always rather thought that he was too intimidating for anyone to try to strike up a random conversation with. Thus far he hadn’t necessarily been wrong. With the exception of Estelle and a few others whom he’d managed to make conversation with, people DID leave him alone. He’d grown accustomed to that—grown to expect it. So when a girl next to him actually spoke to him, he physically started and turned to study her. She definitely didn’t look old enough to be drinking. But then, considering he wasn’t, he supposed it would be wildly inappropriate for him to even start talking about this. Yup. Better to leave the topic alone. Indefinitely.

“I do not really find what they are doing to be dancing,” he informed the girl, turning his attention forward because he wasn’t sure he wanted to encourage this conversation. Although it was usually the guy who was supposed to hit on the girl, correct? So why did he sometimes find it worked the other way? His father had told him to take advantage of the situation. Considering the source, Henry had promptly ignored it. “It seems to be more…writhing.” He grimaced, then glanced over at her. “Am I incorrect, or are you in a roundabout way attempting to ask me to dance? What moves, precisely, do you know?” He clearly wasn’t sober enough for this thing. He needed to be far more drunk. Or he needed Estelle here to talk to, where he could pull her away and have a private, quiet conversation with her about things that actually made sense. Not the talk here, which seemed to revolve around sports, weather, and being so totally plastered right now.

((I am sorry this took so long.^^*))

[Deleted]

Elina was not one to turn to complete strangers like this. Usually someone interesting enough would be tagging along, or she would be able to count on Chris to show up within minutes after she called him. The thing was that the young man had decided to take a break of it all and Ellie had not heard anything ever since. In all honesty, it had broken her heart, but of course she kept that hidden from everyone to find out. In other words, the brunette needed the current distraction, even while the guy did not give her the impression of being that interested. At his comment about what she judged to be dancing, a small smile crept upon her lips. ”Then why don’t you go on the dance floor and show them what real dancing is?” Some men would take that as a little dare, and in turn they would end up in the middle of the sea of grinding bodies. When Henry implied that he caught on to her subtle approach, the girl chuckled softly. ”In case I am, is it working? And as for moves, why don’t you find out?” Since he had seen through her attempt to make him dance, there was no point in being subtle about it anymore.

When the waiter slid over her drink, Elina took a quick sip and then slipped off the stool. ”Come on.” She mused, making a motion with her hand for Henry to follow. If he wouldn’t, it would be enough proof that this was not going anywhere. After all, Ellie could not imagine anyone not following her onto the dance floor. Unless they were gay, but even then… As careful as possible, even though people still managed to bump into her, the girl finally found a spot big enough to move around without constantly rubbing against someone else’s butt and other body parts. She would give him about twenty seconds, mainly because she was impatient like that.

[Henry Ballo]

Henry eyed the girl next to him. Did she think he was flirting? Henry hoped not. For one, he didn’t know the first thing about flirting. He’d only ever managed to flirt with Estelle, and that was because they had both been…awkward. So incredibly awkward because they hadn’t known what they were doing, but in that case, two awkwards had managed to make something that had actually worked.

“Because they would not like what I consider to be dancing,” was his response, plain and simple and straightforward. His dancing was traditional. He hadn’t ever really figured out how to get into the more modern dances, even though they were based on African beats. African beats, yeah, but not Tswana rhythms. Henry really wasn’t much of one to try anyways, and he definitely didn’t take a woman up on her dares. However, as he glanced down on her and she seemed to be clearly inviting him, it would be…kind of rude not to join her. And the liquor was beginning to blur his vision and make him feel, if not relaxed, a little more at ease. And more inclined to think it was a good idea to take up a challenge. So he rose to his feet—ignored the way the barkeeper’s eyes trailed up his frame—and followed her into the dance floor. When she was there, he shifted slightly into a dance. Well, it was more of a shuffle, but he could keep a rhythm and had a few decent steps—enough to not completely embarrass himself. It wasn’t at all the same as the dances he’d been taught. But it wasn’t bad, either.

“Do you come here often, then?” he called over the noise, wondering just what he’d gotten himself into.

[Deleted]

If Henry had not tagged along, Elina quite probably would just have moved on to the next person. But, just like expected, soon enough he appeared on the dance floor as well and a little victorious smile came to grace her lips. His body even settled into a rhythm and she felt relieved about that. Not that the girl would have minded to get him to move though. She did have a couple of tricks up her sleeve. “You blend right in.” Just in case he did need that confirmation, seeing he had created the impression of doubting his own skills. Ellie soon enough matched his rhythm, suppressing the urge to give the best of herself, especially when the guy spoke up again. Of course the brunette could combine the dancing and the conversation, but she had just to test the limits and just how found Henry was of his personal space bubble. “Not often enough,” her voice raised as high as his. If they would keep that up, Elina knew her throat would be sore and her voice gone by the end of the evening. So in order to avoid that, the girl stepped close enough, only having to lean in for him to hear her better. “How about you?”

Elina did not even bother to recreate the decent gap between their bodies. There still was enough space for her to move around without brushing against him, so. “Why are you here alone? Or, well, sitting at the bar by yourself?” For as far as she could tell, he was still a young guy and social enough to interact with others. Perhaps her blindness was forming a disadvantage right now and something was wrong with him physically or appearance-wise? Not that she could really care at that point though. Ellie was receiving attention and that was all she needed at that moment.

"Shouldn't you be surrounded by girls?"

[Henry Ballo]

Henry rolled his eyes as he glanced around. Blending in was not the word he would use for what he did. He probably wasn’t that much taller than everyone here—in fact, there were probably quite a few who were close to his height, although not necessarily as tall as he was. But in any case, the combination of his height and his, well, color tended to make him look a lot different than anyone else here, but that was of little surprise to anyone. But this did make him frown. He supposed she couldn’t really tell, so he wouldn’t think about it. Henry’s brows climbed as she swayed into him and leaned in. He thought she could tell what he was doing. Boundaries would have to be made clear, but the gap around them was shrinking, and soon there wasn’t much room for them to end up returning to that position. Fine. For now he’d deal with it. But she was flirting. Heavily.

“Not at all,” he said. “But it is my birthday. A friend talked me into it.” He frowned. “And as for why I was sitting at the bar for myself, my friend promptly found a woman and ditched me. I should not be surprised.” And Henry was prickly enough and had a nasty enough glower for most people to stay away. Except this one. He laughed, shortly.

“No. I have a girlfriend. I will admit, I had a few flirt with me—“ because he was not bad looking and his clothes were even decently nice, indicating he might have a wallet on him that could afford one or two drinks “—but I was not interested. You were more persuasive than the others. And more insistent.”

[Deleted]

Elina was shameless to say the least. And she definitely did not complain as their dancing space was being limited by the moving bodies surrounding them. What the girl was not fond of, however, was the fact that it did influence her power negatively. A lot was going on at once and it wasn’t exactly a lot of light in the club either. At least being circled didn’t give her a lot of room to stumble over things.

Anyhow, when the guy mentioned that it was his birthday, features lit up. “Ohhh, happy birthday!” So what if he continued and mentioned that he had a girlfriend? Instead her grin expanded, if even possible, when she seemed to have been the exception to get him on the dance floor. “I feel honored to dance with the birthday boy then.” Ellie mused. While normally she would have just lunged forward, the girl actually opted to show some respect. For a second. “Can I give you your birthday kisses?” Nothing less innocent than this, right? Also, if it was his birthday, why was it not being celebrated with his girlfriend? It made Elina assume that his relationship might not be that flawless. Assumptions were better than asking the question and getting the bubble popped.

“So, that made you old enough to walk in here?” A little grin curled her lips since she didn’t belong to that category.

[Henry Ballo]

Henry, on the other hand, was not shameless. Nor was he particularly innocent. It wasn’t like he didn’t have experience in this category. He had some, although not a lot. But he hated people infringing on his personal space, despised the activities they called “dancing,” and had already decided that going out was clearly more trouble than it was worth.

He eyed the woman. She seemed too excited about this, and his comment about a girlfriend—very deliberately dropped, as when Henry spoke, very little of it came out by accident—hadn’t made a dent in her cheerful exterior. Worrying. And she still seemed to be hitting on him. She wasn’t unattractive, and he should’ve found it flattering, but he mostly found it…irritating. It wasn’t like he didn’t have people interested in him. He did. But he loved Estelle—and yes, he knew what that word meant and still said it with real feeling—and didn’t like it when people made…assumptions.

“No,” he said flatly. Then her question made him pause. “Not quite.” He hadn’t celebrated with Estelle because…she’d been busy. And his friend had kidnapped him besides with a fake ID in hand. “But most people do not ask questions of me like how old I am. And are you old enough to walk into here? Legally?” He’d bet not. She looked young. Unless she was a cougar and just LOOKED younger than she was.

That was alarming.

[Deleted]

Oh… Well, that did not go according to plan. While him mentioning a girlfriend had not affected Elina’s current attitude, his refusal of receiving birthday kisses did. Why would anyone not want free ones? Cheeks were safe territory, right? In case the guy was paying attention, he quite probably could detect how features fell with some disappointment. If that went by unnoticed, it was doubtful the sudden decrease of dancing did. Why would he decline the offer? Ellie’s mind began to mull on that while he now questioned her age in return.

The girl sank into thoughts until ‘legally?’ could be heard. Her head shot up again and it visibly took her a couple of seconds to gather the exact words that had been flowing from the guy’s mouth. “What? Oh, no… Not to be in here at least.” Anyhow, Henry had successfully (and passively) managed to throw her off guard and with a rare feeling of hurt ego. Her bluntness, however, did remain and it was throw out there where Elina hardly even moved anymore, dipping her head to the side.

“You know, I am not forcing you to talk to me or to dance… If you dislike me, you’re free to go.” A hand even motioned in a different direction. Like, why would she want to be around a guy who did not appreciate her presence? It would not do her gigantic self-esteem any good. “Hopefully someone else can make you enjoy your birthday more.”

[Henry Ballo]

Henry had turned her down for one simple reason: he was a prude.

Okay, that wasn’t so simple of a reason.

But he loved Estelle. And while she couldn’t be here with him, he didn’t want to disrespect her in any way. And how did he know what she meant by kisses? He didn’t want to make promises he couldn’t keep or start something that he couldn’t keep going. Henry could be an ass, but he was an honest and scrupulous one most of the time, especially when it came to girls.

So she wasn’t here legally either. Henry took a moment to silently question the bouncer’s efficiency and determined that no matter how he thought of it, it wasn’t going to be good. Oh well. He shook his head at her words. She didn’t seem…happy. And certainly a lot less flirty. He’d apparently managed to put his foot in it royally. Why did that surprise him? He was GOOD at that.

“It is not that I—“ Henry stopped, tried again, “I hardly dislike—“ He stopped again, swore in Tswana, then with a grace that would’ve surprised anyone who only saw his lanky frame and fairly awkward moves, spun her around. “I was taken here by a friend of mine who enjoys parties much more than I do. I am not good with words and I am even worse with women and I do not like crowds. But this is not a reflection on you.” He inhaled, then said something that very few people had ever heard come out of his mouth. “I am sorry. May I buy you a drink?”