Meadow's Pond

[JennyxEli]

Andy
"You okay?" I asked Dawn when she returned. I tried to sound concerned, but the words came out a little slurred.

Eileen
"Yeah..." I trailed off. When the waitress came back, I told her my order and played with my thumbs.

[Callie]

Dawn

I just nodded. "Yeah," I mumbled as Zack joined us, sitting down and ordering two beers. "I don't want one," I told him.
He looked surprised, but told the guy to make it one. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I'm hungover."
"Oh." he frowned slightly and kissed me on the forehead, looking over to Andy. "Who's he?"
"That's Andy. My friend," I answered, hoping he'd go along with it.

Rayne

I ordered too, then smiled weakly at her. "If it like... I don't know, makes you feel any better or something, my parents got a divorce a while after I turned eleven. That was a fun custody battle," I said with a slight smirk.

[JennyxEli]

Eileen
I frowned and took his hand. "I'm sorry," I mumbled. Boy, I hate myself for...well, pitying myself.

Andy
I raised a hand. "Hey." So this was the boyfriend...he looks gay. I felt something burning within me...kind of wanting to punch him. God, was this jealousy?

[Callie]

Zack

I shook his hand and looked him over warily. There was something about him... the way he looked at Dawn irritated me. Sort of... made me jealous. Like it always did when any guy looked like that at her. But Dawn looked at him differently than the others.

Rayne

I smiled gently at her. "It's fine. Things could be worse," I said, looking down at our hands and blushing slightly. Things could be worse... like they are.

[JennyxEli]

Eileen
"I have to agree with that," I lied. Actually, everything sucked right now.

Andy
I shook his hand firmly. He had a weaker grip. I ran a hand through my hair, glancing at Dawn. "Well..." I took a sip of my drink.

[Callie]

Rayne

"So..." I mumbled, leaning back as we waited for our food. "Awkward silences make gay babies, you know," I said knowingly.

Dawn

"Awkward," I remarked, looking between the two of them and ordering myself another beer. I'd changed my mind. Too much tension.

[JennyxEli]

Eileen
I didn't find that in anyway funny, but I murmured, "Oh do they?"

Andy
I drummed my fingers on the table and looked towards the television in the corner of the bar. Sports was on, baseball. "No!" I boomed. Flippin' Cardinals. Cubs are better.

[Callie]

Rayne

I shrugged. "That's what I hear."

Dawn

"Wanna dance?" Zack asked after a moment.
I just shook my head. "I think I'll probably fall over or vomit if I do, so..."
He chuckled a bit. "If you insist."
"Yeah. Go win some money." He looked warily at Andy, and I rolled my eyes. "I'll be fine."
Zack nodded a bit, then walked back to the pool table.

[JennyxEli]

Andy
"He doesn't trust me?" I said with a laugh. He had a right to.

Eileen
I took the cherry out of my milkshake and popped it into my mouth, pulling out the stem.

[Callie]

Dawn

"Apparently not," I answered with a slight smirk.

Rayne

I looked down into my drink before drinking some of it, trying to think of something interesting to say. "Did you ever plan on going to college or anything?" I asked her, then almost slapped myself. Stupid. Like she wants to talk about school.

[JennyxEli]

Eileen
"I do, actually," I said, perking up slightly. "I take a few classes at the community college; while I'm not working and don't have Bree on my hands." I sighed. "But I can't really afford any of it anymore. I don't have enough money for this month's rent, much less my classes."

Andy
"Good. He shouldn't."

[Callie]

Rayne

I frowned slightly. "Well... if you want, I could babysit her for you. Y'know, so you don't have to pay anyone to look after her."

Dawn

I chuckled slightly. "And why's that?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at him as I downed some of the beer.

[JennyxEli]

Eileen
My eyes grew wide. "No, no, I couldn't let you do that! You have a life too...I couldn't just dump my responsibilites on you!" I shook my head.

Andy
"Because I'm baddddd," I chuckled. "To the bone," I added on the end. I grinned sheepishly at her.

[Callie]

Rayne

I chuckled. "I don't, actually. I don't, uh, get out much. I was only at the park yesterday because Adrian dragged me. Really, it'd be no problem."

Dawn

I laughed and grinned at him. "You're not all that bad."

[JennyxEli]

Eileen
I searched Rayne's face for any traces of doubt, regret, lies, but I only saw honesty and sincereness. I sighed. "Are you sure?"

Andy
"In which way?" I asked, raising my eyebrows with a laugh.

[Callie]

Dawn

I rolled my eyes. "As a person. I can't really remember much of last night, actually." Huh. Guess I had been pretty wasted. I had to wonder if he could remember, but I didn't particularly think about that.

Rayne

I nodded. "Absolutely, positively."

[JennyxEli]

Andy
I flicked her nose. "That is because you took a ride on LSD. A bit too much. Causes memory loss, don't cha know?"

Eileen
I sighed. "All right, fine. But we have to make sure it's all right with Bree. She's only known you for two days, she may not be so comfortable with you."

[Callie]

Dawn

"I vaguely remember hearing that somewhere." I smirked slightly, wrinkling my nose at him.

Rayne

"Right." I nodded. "We'll ask her when we get back, then."

[JennyxEli]

Andy
"Then ya should have known better," I scolded her jokingly.

Eileen
"All right. We shall." I sipped my milkshake and the cold taste calmed me. "It's been awhile since I've had something this...good."

[Callie]

Dawn

"The alcohol was clouding my judgment," I told him defensively. "Besides, you know what they say," I said with a grin, going over and putting Blame It (On The Alcohol) by Jaimie Foxx on the jukebox.

Rayne

I laughed a bit. "You must have had very few good things in your life for a while, then. Though their milkshakes are pretty good."

[JennyxEli]

Andy
I shrugged, though I felt a bit hurt. We weren't admitting that any of this was our fault at all, that we did it because we actually felt attracted to each other. "Or, you can take the parody and blame it on the apple juice."

Eileen
"Very few things," I murmured. I was thrown into memories. Everything had been okay until Dad had died. Everything spiraled out of control after that; I met the wrong guy that I thought loved me, he knocked me up, my mom kicked me out, he wouldn't help out...

[Callie]

OOC: Aw. D: Eileen needs a Bree hug.

Dawn

I waved a hand dismissively. "They're almost the same thing," I said jokingly.

Rayne

"I think you need to dance," I told her. "Or to laugh, at least. You're starting to look depressed, and I might have to get a hold of some of that laughing gas."

[JennyxEli]

OOC: Yeah, he life is sad as of now. =(

Eileen
I smiled wearily at him. I appreciated that he was trying to make me feel better. Him alone was already making my life better inch by inch.

Andy
"Almost," I said, smiling.

[Callie]

Rayne

"You look tired," I observed suddenly, noticing that it wasn't just her facial expression, but her eyes. There was a sort of exhaustion in there that... that I had too, sometimes, when I wasn't careful. But if I was easygoing and fun, then it usually hid the look. Other times, though, it was visible, and that scared me. It was a look that made me seem so much older than I really was, like I'd been through too much, and I didn't like it.

Dawn

"What brings you here again?" I asked him conversationally.

[JennyxEli]

Eileen
"I always am," I mumbled. "Having to juggling work, Bree, and school...it leaves no time for sleep."

Andy
I didn't want to say to look for her, so I murmured, "I came to drink my hangover away, of course." I smiled cockily.

[Callie]

Dawn

I laughed. "Well played. But I think you're here for your next conquest," I said, my eyes sparkling playfully.

Rayne

I frowned. "That... sucks," I said, unable to think of anything else to say.

[Ashley (;]

Aubrey

"I highly doubt that," I told him with a grin. "So, Bree, what do you want to do?"

[JennyxEli]

Bree
"You have TV or toys?" I asked, tilting my head to the side, eyes wide.

Eileen
I nodded slightly. "That it does."

Andy
I grinned. "I have no idea what you mean," I said sarcastically.

[Callie]

Dawn

"Of course you wouldn't," I replied with a smirk, rolling my eyes.

Rayne

I looked down and drank the rest of my drink. Things were getting awkward, and fast. I could tell her about my past, but it was full of things I didn't want to remember, so I stayed silent.

Adrian

"I would so get in trouble if she died," I said with a serious nod, flopping down on the couch and grabbing the remote. "Knock yourself out, kiddo. What d'ya wanna watch?"

[JennyxEli]

Bree
"Dragon Tales or Blues Clues!" I chimed. I smiled, my small white teeth gleaming. I should get what I want that way.

Andy
"And what's that supposed to mean?" I laughed, leaning forward. I took in a sharp intake of breath as I realized how close our faces were now. It was agonizing.

Eileen
I drummed my fingers on the table, then put a hand on top of Rayne's. "I'm sorry, I'm making this date suck by making it gloomy. I should stop talking about my life," I joked.