Down the Hatch Kimmie! {C}

[Admin Signal]

There was an odd electricity to the way the sun was slowly sinking. It was still rather odd to see that it was going to be dark so much sooner than he'd previously been used to. Time changes and what not were always something that gave a fresh breath in his life. New schedules, more sleep, less sleep, didn't matter. Signal was a fan, and with the fast approaching night, he wanted to do something with it.

His first choice had been to get Blake to spend some guy time with him, but the black headed boy had other things he needed to do. Some show, or friend who needed help, or something along those lines. Point was, Siggy needed a partner in crime of the evening. While he and Liza had been dating for some time now, he had started to try and ask less time of her, thanks to her classes and ease of distraction. Signal was almost convinced the girl would fail if he didn't give her space. Althoooouuugh, now that Blake was unavailable, it must be a sign that Signal could take the opportunity to cause a little mischief, and take the girl on an adventure!

So he dolled himself up in his favorite white shirt and jacket, leaned against her door rail, and whistled low. "Ooooh there's trouble brewin' and I need someone very special on my arm to keep me proteeecteddd" he crowed. "Oh who should I call upon in my time of need?"

[Noel]

The shorter days made her very very frustrated. In Liza's opinion it was a waste of her life. She'd spend all the daylight hours slaving away in class just to rush outside to see the sun setting. It wasn't fair and neither was her History professor. Like she really cared what the exact year of the French and Indian war was. But here she was sitting on her bed watching the sun's fingertips slowly start to fade. Her lip poked out in a slight pout. It didn't help that her boyfriend and best friend had recently decided she needed to focus on her studies. She found herself in her room a lot now that Kimber was no longer falling for her "I need help" excuse. She looked back at the book in her lap. She was sitting cross legged on her bed with her hair in a bun and no make up on. She'd gone to class like this much to her own surprise but she hadn't had the energy to care about her own appearance. It was one of those 'I hate fall and winter' kind of days.

She sighed heavily as she rubbed her forehead. Maybe it would warm her brain up and make the date stick better in her memory. Her small thin fingers flipped the page of her history book but her eyes merely scanned the new text lazily until it ran together. Liza threw her head back and groaned. She was so bored. Why wasn't anyone visiting her? She looked over at her phone on her nightstand. Not even a single text! She was beginning to feel neglected. Closing the book with a snap she decided maybe she would hunt down her boyfriend. But then she perked at the sound of a familiar voice outside of her dorm room door. A wide smile started to form as she uncrossed her legs. Looks like he hunted her down.

Liza didn't waste any time getting to the door. She swung it open enthusiastically before leaning on the opposite door frame. A difficult curl hung in her face as she peered up at him with a puckish glint in her eyes. Crossing her arms she said," Oh, are you looking to get me into trouble? I'm pretty sure my boyfriend and best friend locked me in this tower to keep me from doing just that." 

[Admin Signal]

"Trouble? Me? Nooooo." He gave a grin to the girl, keeping his arms crossed and sizing her up. She'd been studying. Good. So he didn't have to feel bad about pulling her away. "The tower is for your own protection though my princess, don't you know?" He got on his knees, holding up his hand. "Throw down your hair and lets go get your best friend and boyfriend what they deserve!"

And with that and a few kisses, they were swept off into the night, headed toward the town where Kimber had set up. Signal had not a clue what it was they were going to do, but he'd be damned if he wouldn't find something entertaining on such a good night like this. He swung the girls hand in his, looking over til he saw a young man holding out fliers. With a soft tug, he headed over, holding out a hand and taking one that was offered to him.

"PARTY AT THE LAKE"

"Oh perfect! Lets get Kimber, and we'll head to the lake."

He grinned like he had a plan, tugging her faster toward her friends house. He stopped at the stairs, looking at Liza. "Would you like to ring the bell, or shall I?"

[Noel]

"The tower is boring," Liza responded much like a child who had been put out. She kept her smile on though and clapped her hands together excitedly. She was free! She looked back at her history book like she had won some sort of battle. It would be nice to get out for awhile. She was glad the school she attended was in California. They had a few more weeks until it actually got pretty chilly on campus. Briefly embracing him she laughed," Okay I'm in let me just grab a sweater." 

She didn't mind being pulled along by Signal. After all this time she would happily dislocate her shoulder if it meant be hauled around by him. So she was happily in step with him as they headed toward her friend's apartment. She wondered if Kimber would be home. Wouldn't she be hanging out with Blake? Liza shook her head at her own thoughts. While Liza couldn't go a whole day without seeing Signal, Kimber and Blake seemed to have no problem going a whole weekend. Once she mentioned this to the redhead but the other had shrugged it off. She had told Liza that Blake was busy with his music and honestly it was nice to have space once and awhile. Glancing at her own boyfriend she smiled. She couldn't imagine why. 

"Oh a lake party sounds fun. Nice to get out right before the weather turns. But I don't think Kimber is going to be immediately on board," she said before he was leading the way again. She giggled happily as they entered Kimber's building. She loved Kimber's apartment. It was spacious and always smelled like flowers. When they got to the door she rolled her eyes comically before pounding one of her small fists upon the door. Kimber's doorbell was broken and her maintenance guy was lazy. Liza had heard the rant about that fact many times.

Kimber had been lounging on her couch watching a show about woman who were professional housewives or something. She rarely watched reality television and now she knew why. But still she had been cleaning and turned the tv on for background noise. Soon she found herself enthralled by a marathon about a group of woman who lived in Miami and seemed to just yell at each other all the time. Her hair was in a sloppy loose braid hanging over her left shoulder and she still had her yellow rubber gloves on. She wasn't expecting anyone to stop by so she was a little surprise when the knock came. Maybe it was the maintenance man finally here to fix her doorbell. She got up without much hurry.

"Surprise," Liza cried throwing her arms into the air as the door opened. Bewildered Kimber looked at the couple as if they were total strangers. Liza looked down at the other girl's hands before adding," Nice gloves."

Kimber looked down in confusion before realizing what she meant. She cleared her throat and ripped the gloves off feeling a bit of a blush come to her cheeks. She stepped out of her own doorway and motioned them in, rolling her eyes slightly as Liza skipped through the threshold. Clearing her throat again she responded," Yes well, I wasn't expecting company. What are you two doing here anyway?" 

[Admin Signal]

Signal gave a bright smile at the red head, of course still wearing her cleaning gloves. He'd seen imprints of the rubber on her hands before... Just a stupid habit, observing trivial things. Watching her slip them off, a hand ran through his hair as he thought about what he could possibly say to get Kimber on board.

"We were going to head to the lake and thought that you would appreciate the opportunity to spend some time with us." He said after a second. "Since we were so nearby, and Liza has been studying so long. We've just not been around as much as usual. I tried to get Blake to come too, but he's working tonight or something."

It wasn't lying. If she just happened to go to the lake with them and there just happened to be a party there, they could just haaappen to go check it out and just haaappeeeeen to have fun. Yeah!

[Noel]

Liza looked over her shoulder while Signal smooth talked, holding the remote. She watched as her best friend crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Liza sighed inwardly. She loved her boyfriend but if he thought it was going to be easy peasy he had another thing coming to him. Besides if Blake wasn't going it was going to be even harder. Unless…Liza smiled deviously to herself. She bet if she could get Kimber to loosen up she could have an impromptu double date.

"I didn't know Blake was playing tonight. Well I figured but," Kimber slapped her gloves against her left arm thoughtfully," The lake? It's cold out. It's almost winter."

"Winter?! This is Cal-ee-forn-ya Kimmy. There is barely a winter here," Liza giggled and making her way back to Signal's side. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and gave the red haired young woman a charming smile adding," Besides I HAVE been studying like you nagged- I mean asked me to. So could you please just come out to play?"

Kimber still looked a little unconvinced but the brunette could tell she was wavering. What else was she going to do watch more Real Housewives of Miami? Liza elbowed her boyfriend in the ribs lightly. All he had to do was say one more flattering or convincing thing and they'd have her at the party in no time. 

[Admin Signal]

"We don't plan on going swimming," Signal imlored, smiling at the girl winningly. "Liza's been really good too!" He was nearly bouncing on his toes, mimicking how Liza did from time to time. "The housewives are hardly a show that fits you anyway! You're home would be far more tidy than theirs are, and they have like 5 maids each."

He looked them both over again, so I guess I'll hide out while you two do the whole getting dressed montage thing?" His eyes paused on the gloves, debating on whether to analyze them or not... probably best if he didn't. Invading privacy was something Sig needed to work on not doing... When anything as small as a napkin could give hints to the entire life of someone though, it's a little difficult to avert your eyes.

[Noel]

Kimber looked at her television while Signal spoke. She was just going to take a long bubble bath, drink some tea, and watch a documentary. Nothing too pressing she couldn't just reschedule later. Lately she'd been a little homesick so she hadn't been up to going out. It would be nice to do something other than class and cleaning. Finally she flipped her hair to one side before sighing," Fine, I'll go."

Liza clapped her hands once together in glee before taking the other girl's hand and pulling her toward the bedroom. Kimber looked over her shoulder," It's not necessary Signal it won't take long. It's not like we're going anywhere special." 

She was right. Ignoring all of Liza's suggestions for fancier fashion she simply slipped on a pair of jeans and an cream slouchy sweater. Pulling on some boots she was back out, the tiny brunette trailing behind her. She picked up the remote and turned off the television while Liza resumed her spot beside Signal. Looking over at both of them she asked," Ok so what, we're going for a walk around the lake or something?"

Liza smiled deviously as she looped her arm through her boyfriend's," Or something."

[Admin Signal]

And in a flash they were off! The group minus one made their way out of the building, and toward the lake. "It's really good that you came along Kimber, we've really missed having you around. Schools been tough on all of us lately." He tried his best to not think about the math book beckoning to him upon his return. Nope. No homework this evening. Tonight was about getting out and having fun! All this extra energy would usually have been spent getting sweaty in some gym, but that place had started to feel like he was there more than his actual bedroom, so this was a new way for him to clear his mind and focus.

As they reached the lake, the tell tale signs of the party were pretty noticeable. Signal had expected her to turn on heel before this point, but now there was no mistaking it. A DJ was out, tables were set up, and people were already standing around drinking. One or two seemed like they were there strictly to get wasted and had taken no moment to wait.

"Oh wow," Signal said. "There's a party here! I had no idea! Did you know Liza? Awesome!"

[Noel]

Kimber heard the festivities before she actually saw them. At Signal's reaction and faux surprise she crossed her arms. So this is why they had come out here, for a party and drinking. She could have done that at Blake's gig if she had been so inclined. Liza's eyes grew comically wider as she added on to the charade," Oh my gosh! How unexpected to happen upon this party!"

Kimber's head swiveled to look at her friend who was bouncing on her toes and looking around. The brunette finally made eye contact with her and leaned back by the force of her unhappy expression. She kept her facial expression as innocent as possible as she asked," What?"

"You know what," the redhead countered with the same glare.
"I don't think I do."
"You knew about this you sneak!"
"How dare you! I am so insulted! How could you think I would lie about something like this to my best friend. The only person in the whole wide world I wouldn't lie to. Why I am so hurt-"
"OKAY! Okay. Whatever."

Liza smiled then and patted her friend's arm. She knew if she could make a big guilt trip Kimber wouldn't get too out of control with her pouting. She linked arms with both her and Signal before skipping toward the tables. The petite senior picked up a bottle of what looked like rum and poured it into two cups, one a little fuller than the other. She then filled the rest of it with Coke and kept the less full one for herself, handing the other off to her older friend. Kimber at first refused until Liza huffed," Come on Kimmy. It's Friday night and we are young! We should loosen up, you are always saying how you're much more relaxed now."

Kimber looked at the cup and then at her friend's eager friendly face. She was right. After that last fiasco with Blake she had vowed to act more her age. And people her age drank at Lake Parties in the middle of November didn't they? Finally after glancing at both Liza and Signal while she considered her options she took the cup apprehensively. Taking a sip she wrinkled her nose at the strength and said," Okay fine. But only one drink."

"Whatever you say," Liza agreed with a small smile before looking at her boyfriend and giving him a wink. She had never seen her best friend drunk and she was determined that tonight would be the night she would.

[Admin Signal]

Alright, so he wasn't much of a liar. Sig would be the first to admit that anyday. So instead of continuing to try that, he just let Liza take over. He took their time of arguing to look over the party, seeing what was going on. It seemed that they were some of the youngest there. He thought he recognized a girl or two from the school, but they were hanging around some older guys. With a grin he looked as his girlfriend made the drink for Kim.

"Yeah!" He heard the DJ playing a song he liked, bobbing his head and wrapping an arm around Liza and smiling like a fool at Kimber. He was on board with Liza this time. Lets see what happens when that red hair is let down! Without much more thought, he reached for his own cup, pouring the rum and coke in it as well... though with quite a smaller margin of coke than even Kimber. He took a sip and closed his eyes, cringing. Woops... He took 2 gulps to make room in the cup and topped it off with coke.

Sig could already feel his head flushing slightly...

[Noel]

"One more shot," Liza chanted two hours later with a group of others. She felt a little dizzy…well okay a lot dizzy as she laughed hysterically beside Kimber. She had promised Kimber only one drink but she hadn't said anything about shots. She was glad she'd made the first drink so strong because it was easier to convince her shots we're really "drinks". She'd had about five with the girl so far and was really feeling the effects because of her more petite frame. She nudged her older friend who's eyelids drooped over a bit before yelling," On the count of three! One, Two…THREE!"

Fireball scorched it's way down Kimber's throat as she knocked her head back. She was very very drunk and it wasn't all Liza's fault. The brunette thought she was smart by tricking Kimber into these shots but she had let herself get this far. After the first drink she realized why the hell shouldn't she get drunk? This wasn't her freshman year of high school, she had a boyfriend, she wouldn't black out and get into trouble. She deserved a little time to get a little relaxed and not worry about how stupid she might look. She slammed the shot glass back down while everyone cheered and the boy with the sharpie put another tick mark on her arm. Liza was at six but she had wandered away a few times and Kimber had earned two more tick marks than her. Running her fingers through her slightly sweaty hair she smiled at her friend who was twirling and laughing. She let the smaller girl seize her hands and together they ran into the crowd, the DJ loud against her skull. After a few moments of dancing their faces were flushed and Liza yelled," I'm going to find Signal!" 

Kimber just nodded while Liza departed. She was quickly engulfed by the crowd but the other girl didn't seem to worried. She looked around excitedly before spotting the familiar back of her boyfriend. She started running and soon launched herself onto the back of him singing," I got Kimmy drunk! You owe me five bucccckkss!" 

She laughed loudly before climbing off of him and turning him toward her. Leaning up she kissed him fully and for a rather long time, grabbing around his middle and keeping hold of his shirt for support. Finally pulling away she looked back at Kimber who was still dancing, and it sure wasn't the ballet Liza was used to seeing her practice. Letting her head fall back she sighed," This is sooooo fun. Too bad Blakes not here he'd loveee this!" 

[Admin Signal]

Signal put his hands behind his back, watching the girls do their drinking, sipping on his own. It wasn't long however, that he wanted to explore, so he left them to their devices, sneaking off into the crowd to find some adventure for himself. He saw a group of people playing beer pong, laughing and cheering at the losers, and chanting as they drunk. Sig watched, cheering along with them, figuring out the rules and smiling like a naive little piggy.

Before long however, a few people had taken notice of him, wanting him to partake! "Who's next!" the shout had been, a consecutive winner standing triumphant on the other side of the white fold out table.

"Over here!" A voice sounded. Sig shocked himself, realizing he'd said it. His face blushed slightly as they patted him on, pushing him forward to begin the game.

"Fresshies throw first!"

Signal picked up the pong ball, holding it between his fingers and rotating it. With a flick he bounced the ball, slipping the ball neatly into the middle cup.

All cheer.

The champ takes his drink and downs it gracefully, laughing. "You holding out on us man?"

Signal picked up the ball, tossing it again, missing his mark completely.

"Beginners luck!" The champ tossed his own, sinking it nicely into Sigs front cup. He picked up his drink, looking down in it and smelling it... It smelled potent.

"You gonna take it on a date or drink it!"

Down it went... and back up.

Sig had spluttered slightly, barely managing the dribble to hit the grass. The group laughed and he knew he couldn't do that again. Down it went, and down he held it.

The game continued, Sig grabbing 3 cups to the others clean sweep. As he walked away from the table he felt the girl on his back, and the kiss to make losing not so painful in his memory. He had her, and... she tasted like the drinks in those red cups.


"You can have it! How's she handling?" His words were coming out only a slight bit slower, and he noticed that if he tipped his head, the world would pull him toward the ground harder than usual. Sooooo strange.

He reached into his phone, noticing a missed call. Probably someone wanting to sell him something... He'd been getting spam called a lot actually.


Over by Kimber, she was getting quite a bit of attention. A bright red haired girl drinking like the sahara had rain? Better hop on that opportunity. A couple of "bros" were already stepping up to her, making a sort of semi circle around her to ward off other opportunists. "What's up baby? You enjoyin the party?," the most 'bro' of the group. He was holding a beer in one hand, his cell in the other, rocking a bright pink shirt and plaid shorts, not to mention the sandals with the socks...

[Noel]

"You'd never know she wasn't a pro," Liza said gleefully in response to Signal as she twirled around. Her hair was sticking a bit to her neck and her eyes were dilated and wide open. She was drunk but not so drunk she didn't know when to stop. Tipping her head back to finish the drink in her cup she decided this would be the last one of the night. She was comfortably wobbly and she knew how much fun it was to throw up the next morning so she didn't want to push it. She smiled up at her boyfriend, lifting her hair slightly off her neck a moment and closing her eyes. She was the happiest she ever been in her life because her life was going amazingly. She had Signal who always seemed to know when she needed sympathy and when she needed reason. She never seemed to have to work to tell him how she felt. Her whole life she'd waited to be this carefree. Wrapping her hand around Signal's she opened her eyes and pulled him into the fray," I think this night has been just what we all needed. A little relaxation and quality time." 

Kimber was dancing with no concern of where her friends had gone. Her arms were lifted above her while her hips turned in lazy circles to the beat. Moonlight bounced of her flaming hair and made her seem brighter. Her lips were numb, her cheeks were flushed, but she wasn't cold. She felt completely out of her head and it felt good. She felt for the first time she wasn't worried about what anyone would think. When the boys approached at first Kimber didn't notice them. She was too into her own world until his voice penetrated her drunk cloud of tranquility. She turned her head to look at him, eyes blearily trailing up and down. Letting her head roll back she laughed a loud throat laugh before putting her hands over her face. After a moment to compose herself she answered," Oh hello. I'm having a fine time thanks. Like your shirt."

She bit her lip to stop the giggles that threatened to spill out. He was so…not her type. But really what was her type anyway? She had said Blake wasn't her type. Blake. Her mind drifted to him momentarily and she loftily thought to herself she wished he were here. He'd get an absolute kick out of her state right now. Maybe it was better he wasn't here. Her eyes drifted away from the young man and to her cheers on the other side of the crowd where two guys lifted a girl upside down as she drank from a keg. Kimber felt her stomach seize. She didn't know why, but she sincerely and very much wanted to do that right now. That very moment or she was convinced the night would not be anything special.

[Admin Signal]

The leader just smiled self importantly, walking over toward her nonchalantly and dancing a bit next to her.
"The names Lucas, what's yours?" He said with a winning fraternity smile. "I think I've seen you on campus. What's your major?" He let the questions hang in the air, feeling like one way or another he was going to get himself a piece of that red head's pie by the end of the night. The other guys were gonna be so fuckin jealous. He hadn't managed to score a ginger in quite a while. The last one he remembered would always have a lasting red hand print whenever he would -

He caught her looking at the keg. "Oh you are definitely in the right place." He waved at the guys to go grab another keg. The sooner he got her absolutely wasted, the sooner he could enjoy himself. He placed his beer on the table beside the dancing area. He wanted to have a clear mind for this evening...

Signal was enjoying Liza's company, that was for sure. She was so warm in his arms, made lazy drifting feel so... perfect. His eyes were emitting a dull violet glow, washing over Liza's face. She was so beautiful... so amazing. Just... Perfect... so...

sleepy.

He had to take a deep breath and force his eyes open, looking at the small girl. If he wasn't careful, he was gonna fall asleep on her. How much did he drink? What did he drink...