gooseberryhigh | (no subject)

CARNEY PARTY 4; HOLLYWOOD

The Carney house is decked out in a glitzy Hollywood theme, in red, black, and gold. Get your picture taken on the red carpet as you approach the front doors. For dinner, there are heavy hors d'oeuvres. There’s also plenty of alcohol - beer, liquor, wine, you name it.

HOW THIS WORKS

Everyone is invited, including graduates! You don’t need to be friends with, or even really know, Cameron to come. The party starts at 7 PM, and anyone is welcome to stay the night. There are spare bedrooms, and since the weather is nice, tents set up on the back lawn.

When people arrive, they will be given a movie prop which they must wear or carry for the whole night, or risk being caught and required to take a shot!

There is an improv movie competition where characters will be given RNGed roles and plots. The best scene will win a prize!

There will be party games including “Never Have I Ever” and “Most Likely To”. Feel free to throw in other games if you want!

I'll keep RNGing until 11:59 PM PST on 4/1. Winners for Make a Scene and Attached at the Hip will be announced on 4/2

» FOYER; COSTUME CHEST: The costume chest has made a reappearance! When anyone arrives, they’ll be asked to pull one item from the chest. It will be a famous prop or costume piece from a movie. The chest is charmed so that you can’t see what you’ve got until you pull it out. No matter how silly it is, you are required to wear it or have it on hand for the entire evening. If someone catches you without and calls you on it, you have to take a shot. You may return your item and draw again at the penalty of one shot!

» LIVING ROOM: A small stage area and a video camera have been set up in the living area. Get ready to “Make a Scene”! Two or more characters will be given RNGed rolls to play and a basic plot. “yes and…” your way through a scene. The best scene wins a prize!

» BACKYARD: There’s a heated pool and a hot tub. There are tents set up in the yard for overflow sleeping arrangements, but the low tonight is 39, so find someone to snuggle with.

» DEN; PARTY GAMES: The den has been set up for party games: “Most Likely To,” “Attached at the Hip,” and “Never Have I Ever.” Feel free to add others!

» BEDROOMS: Anyone is welcome to stay, but it’s up to you to figure out where, because Cameron isn’t organizing it. There are five unlocked bedrooms, plenty of couches and chairs, five full baths, and lots of floor space. Work it out.

» MORNING AFTER: Who’s hungover and where did you puke?

» OOC - 🎂 Questions, comments, concerns!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Your charms do not have any effect," Iliya replies, with a severity that only works because Cameron can't see the colour of his face, or how he grins afterwards.

He slides an arm around Cameron's waist, making himself comfortable. It's not totally comfortable, not with how angular they both are, but Iliya refuses to move until he's forced to. "I will be seventeen next month. Age of majority in England. Not like here." He yawns, very quietly. Sleep is starting to become tempting. "Do you know what you will do after graduation?"

"Shame, cause that's all I got," he answers. He shifts, settling in against Iliya. He's warm where they meet and chilled everywhere else, and it makes him feel how late it is and long for his bed, piled with pillows and plush blankets. They could relocate, but it's hard to give up and admit defeat, because then the party will be over, and it's the last one. The last party that leads to the last dance and the last exam. Then they'll graduate and it will all be over. It feels like pushing over the first domino in a series, though maybe they're already toppling.

"I know. I been planning what I can do for your birthday, since you set the bar so high," he says. Involuntarily, he answers Iliya's yawn with one of his own, turning his face and covering his mouth with his hand. "Ah, I dunno. No, I guess not. Do you?"

"You do not have to do anything," Iliya protests. The music he'd arranged for Cameron had been percolating in his head for months anyway, and it had been a relief to turn it into something concrete. Maybe if they weren't dating, he wouldn't have been brave enough to push himself to do it. Not that Cameron would ever accept not doing some kind of grand gesture, but even so...

He knows better than to continue arguing the point. "Yes. There is interest from conservatories in the UK. I will audition this summer. If I do not get it..." Iliya sighs. It's his own personal nightmare, but there isn't any other option to him but trying again. He can't imagine doing anything besides playing cello. "Practice more? Mrs. Thrussell said she could recommend me to somewhere in America, but..."

Iliya falls silent. That thought is too complicated to complete.

"I don't have to," he answers. Cameron isn't confrontational by nature, but there are certain things that he will dig his heels in for, and this is one of them. He knows Iliya well enough that he expects him to put up a fuss, but he also knows that he isn't about to really try to stop him either, and that whatever he decides to do will make him turn pink and look away and say something in Bulgarian. Seeking that reaction is reason that there's no way Iliya can talk him out of it, and they both know it.

"You'll get it. You're amazing," he replies with easy confidence. He's heard Iliya play with such intensity and energy that he can't imagine anyone turning him down, no matter how competitive the programs are. Still, he perks up at the mention of an American conservatory, selfishly considering the benefit of that option. He had been sad about the idea of one of his closest friends returning to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean once they graduate even before they had started dating, and now the incentive is even greater. Of course, Iliya doesn't actually want that; it's clear enough in his voice that even drunk, Cameron can pick up on it. It's one more domino settling uncomfortably in a line.

"How about we do what I been doing the past few months and don't think about it." He takes another swig from Iliya's drink, then passes the rest back to him. "That stuff can wait 'til tomorrow. We don't have to grow up tonight."

Iliya exhales. "Thank you," he says softly. He's not sure what exactly he's thanking Cameron for. Maybe all of it. His entire life, he couldn't wait for everything to be over. Each year at school, he couldn't wait to return home; each summer at home, he couldn't wait to be an adult and on his own, free to do whatever, without obligations to anyone. Somehow, it had seemed to him that once he turned seventeen and graduated from school, he'd know exactly what he wanted, and not be afraid of his voice anymore. But now... he has the fast, easy days at Gooseberry where he can play music all day and laugh at the antics of his friends, and finally feel like he belongs somewhere. And he has Cameron. Cameron, who calls him "amazing" with such certainty that Iliya's heart aches.

He sets his drink aside. If he's not thinking about anything tonight, then there's only one thing Iliya wants to do. He puts a hand on the back of Cameron's head, fingers in his hair, and kisses him, for as long as he can make it last.

(no subject)

Iliya & Cameron

Iliya & Cameron

Iliya & Cameron

Iliya & Cameron

Iliya & Cameron