Bishop Holiday Bash! (Open to Bishops and friends)

[Oliver Seabrooke]

Oliver knew from experience that Zach and puns didn't mesh well, so he just chuckled at both of their statements. "Hey, I wouldn't have let just anyone kick my face and accept their apology," he teased, unintentionally flirting right in front of his best friend. He was still so unused to it, he never knew when he was doing it. "And Zach... Don't surf crowds. I saw enough of that shit when I was touring, someone nearly always gets hurt." Okay... So those moments had actually been a lot of fun and Ollie had laughed about them then; he was just bitter about it now.

He was so incredibly moody, how the hell did he have any friends? At least these two did a good job cheering him up (usually; Oliver was pretty suspicious of that tall guy and the weird vibes going between him and Zach).

Speaking of... He listened with a furrowed brow as Zach 'explained' himself, sensing there was definitely something he wasn't telling. He sent Jade a 'do you believe this?' sort of look - since hanging out with her, he'd gotten a little better at picking up on bullshit. Still, he didn't feel okay outright calling his friend a liar with no evidence, so he shrugged uncomfortably, taking a long sip of his drink. "Well, it was nice of you to invite him," he finally grumbled. "... I don't like that stare he was giving you, though," he added in a mumble, drinking again. "Like... Like... Oh, I don't know," he breathed, exasperated. "Jade, didn't it seem like something was going on, or am I being paranoid?" he asked grumpily.

Ollie rubbed at his bad eye, trying to take comfort in the cool, soothing aura of the nature around him. He could feel the cool comfort of the chilled grass, the deep, old presence of the trees around them, the mostly clean remnants of snow along the ground... Oliver was thankful it was all unpolluted and healthy, if cold and quiet because of winter. "I must be paranoid..." he grumbled under his breath. Another gulp.

[Noa Reese]

"I, ah, I'm a.... Friend of Zach's. I didn't have anywhere else to go tonight, so... Here I am."

Noa's smile stayed on even as she raised an eyebrow skeptically. He knew she could tell when people were lying, but maybe he didn't know just how much she'd trained in her power. How the pitch could waver on half-truths and doubtful statements, like it did now.

Sometimes she wished she could be blissfully ignorant.

No, she wasn't going to let some doubt over a few words ruin her high. He probably just was confused about why Zach had invited him (something she was wondering as well), or maybe they'd recently had an argument or something that made him doubt their friendship. There were a million possible explanations, she didn't need to start getting suspicious over silly things. So she let it roll off her shoulders, prepared to suspend her disbelief for the evening for the sake of laughter and merriment, and focused on their little gift exchange, choosing to avoid his previous question.

"Should we... Open them later, in private?"

She batted her eyes with a vicious innocence that confirmed the suggestion in his tone, her lips twisting mischievously. Her voice was still a low purr. "Your other gift? Oh yes." The way her teeth flashed in her smile was practically predatory for a fraction of a second, and then the pretense seemed to melt away, leaving her once again shockingly casual. "But this one - feel free." Her glance down to drum her fingers on the present coincided perfectly with his glance away, so well-timed that she completely missed it.

[Rain Tseung]

Rain smiled as the door opened, and the smile got even wider as she saw who was behind it. “John! Jake!” The two people who she would never get tired of. She had been uncertain if the twins would still want her here, well other than the fact that she brought presents… Everyone loved presents.


Blushing at the ‘hot/nice’ comment from the twins, she looked at the ground. “I.. uh… Thank you. You two look… Handsome.” It was the best she could do without saying ‘hot’ or ‘cute. Handsome seemed like a nice middle.

“Uh yeah! The cookies are for your family and guests.” The other stuff the two could guess was for them. She wouldn’t feel comfortable not bringing anything… And she would have been completely and utterly uncomfortable and embarrassed not bringing anything when the twins got her something!

With wide eyes she starred at all of the people in the living room. “Crowded seems like an understatement…” She looked at the twins and grinned, her heart rate increasing a bit out of nervousness. “Sure! I would love too.” She looked at the cookies, “Uh what should I do with the cookies?”