gooseberryhigh | (no subject)

CARNEY PARTY 3; WILD WEST

Saddle up, partner. This New Year’s Eve, we’re heading out west!

The Carney house is decked out in a rustic Wild West theme. The place is covered in hay bales, mason jars, and cacti (even inside). Cameron greets each guest that arrives with a silver pistol that shoots paintballs. For dinner, a house elf catering company appears, cooking barbeque over a pit in the yard. There’s also plenty of alcohol - beer, liquor, wine, you name it.

HOW THIS WORKS

Everyone in the school is invited! As with parties Cameron has held in the past, the rules are simple: have fun, don’t make too much of a mess, and if you break something reparo it. The party starts at 6 PM, and anyone is welcome to stay the night and take the bus back to school from here in the morning.

Characters without costumes can pull an item from the costume chest, but once they pull, they’re obligated to wear it or risk mockery for being a spoilsport. There is also a mechanical bull riding contest out in the yard. The character with the longest ride will win a prize! You may do each of these up to three times, and I’ll keep rnging for them until 11:59 PM on 1/1.

There will be party games including truth, shot, or strip and spin the bottle/seven minutes in heaven.

» FOYER; COSTUME CHEST: Those without costumes are encouraged to pull at least one item from the chest set up in the foyer. Whatever you pull out, you have to wear! The chest is charmed so that you can’t see what you’ve got until you pull it out.

» LIVING ROOM: Have a seat on a hay bale! Or a regular couch.

» BACKYARD: The yard is surrounded by facades that mimic an old western town. There’s a heated pool and a hot tub, but the lows tonight are 21. Beside the pool, there’s a mechanical bull surrounded by padding. If you can go for the longest ride, you’ll win a prize!

» DEN; PARTY GAMES: The den has been set up for party games, including truth, shot, or strip and spin the bottle/seven minutes in heaven.

» 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.

» MIDNIGHT: Near midnight, Cameron encourages everyone to stop what they’re doing and come outside, where champagne and sparklers are handed out. The fireworks start about ten minutes til, crescendoing during the countdown, with a big finale at midnight. Grab someone to smooch!

» MORNING AFTER: Who’s hungover and where did you puke? Did you stick around to catch the bus back to school from Olympus?

» OOC - Questions, comments, concerns!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There's that word again. Family. "I wish I had your confidence." It comes out too dour, too dismissive. Inappropriate for the occasion. They're supposed to be celebrating. Iliya takes a gulp of champagne, a weak attempt at getting into the mood. "I... It has not been simple, my family. Split into two countries. Two languages, two schools, two sets of customs. And now... three."

He looks up at Cameron, at how the burning light from the sparkler plays against his hair and the planes of his face.

"We will be friends, yes? Even when I am an ocean away, busy practising with an orchestra, and you... writing songs, performing to screaming crowds across America." Iliya laughs sheepishly. "Maybe I will get a ticket."

"Fake it 'til you make it," Cameron offers. He knows it sounds glib, but it's honestly the best advice he can offer on the subject of confidence. "That... does sound hard." By now he knew, of course, about Iliya's family and where he came from, but he'd never thought about quite it like that. He didn't have much immediate family, and his extended family barely stretched further than the southeastern United States.

"Look, look," he says, gesturing with his sparkler, following the path of a rocket that shoots up and up. It explodes into gold sparkles with a deep and rumbling boom, then turns plum as the shape of a bear takes form. The bird, fish, and fox will follow, but this one's obviously his favorite.

"Hey, of course we will," he replies, turning back to Iliya as the second rocket bursts into dazzling white sparkles that light the yard with daylight brilliance. "All y'all couldn't get rid of me if you tried. Besides, don't you think you're selling me short with just 'America'? I'll sleep on your couch when I'm out your way." Overhead, white dissolves into blue that makes everything look like it's underwater.

Iliya turns to follow the path of Cameron's sparkler. There would've been fireworks in Diagon Alley too, but not like this. In England, a plum purple bear means nothing. He removes his cowboy hat, just to get a clearer view of the entire sky.

He only looks back when he hears Cameron talking again. Truly, Iliya wishes he had his confidence, but it's enough for now to hear Cameron reassure him. Time and distance will change nothing. His heart will always belong to Ebonhide.

"My door will always be open to you," Iliya promises. He smiles as he watches them both be bathed in brilliant blue light. He doesn't need to look at the sky to know what's pictured there. "Go on. It is almost midnight. You should not leave a pretty girl without someone to kiss."

"Naaah," Cameron drawls, watching a trail of copper sparkles trace the sky, then explode into an olive fish that shimmers as it swims. "There's more important things." Like the assurance that, when the year is over, they'll all still be friends. He waves vaguely, with the sparkler in his hand throwing off the last of its sparks before it sputters and dies. He tosses the bare stick aside, a problem for tomorrow. "If ringing in the new year with someone means you're going to spend the year with them, I don't mind being with family."

"Cameron..." Iliya is still staring at him, which is rare, but maybe not as rare as it was a year ago. When did he get to the point where maintaining eye contact with his classmates wasn't a struggle? A year ago? A few months? How had he settled so comfortably into this friendship without noticing?

He wonders if he should offer Cameron a kiss at midnight instead, and the stupid recklessness of that thought forces Iliya to finally look away. First of all, been there, done that, and it was an unmitigated disaster. Second, Cameron is being a good friend; he isn't actually choosing Iliya over some hypothetical pretty girl. Not that Iliya would want such a thing. And third, he's probably tipsy. They both are.

Iliya downs the rest of his champagne to make sure of that. "You asked for it," he mutters. "Remember this moment later, when you have grown sick of my attitude."

Cameron laughs as the fox appears in the sky, bathing everyone in fiery orange light. He knocks his shoulder against Iliya's, harder than he meant to because of the alcohol. "If I ain't yet, I doubt I'm gonna be. I've had plenty of time to get used to grumpy bears. Pretty fond of them, in fact," he answers cheerfully, casting Iliya a playful sideways glance. It occurs to him to kiss Iliya at midnight as a joke, but he immediately thinks better of it. Even a drunk kiss on the cheek isn't worth the risk, not after how long it had taken them to get back to normal after the vaporized amortentia incident. Maybe if it was Wilde or Ulysses it would be funny, but not Iliya.

Overhead, the fireworks take the shape of numbers, counting down. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6.... The crowd gathered outside chants along, crescendoing the closer they come to midnight. Cameron joins in, enthusiastically adding his own loud voice to the mix. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. At the stroke of midnight, the fireworks finale lights up the sky daylight bright, a phenomenal display of colors and noise. Cameron cheers, tosses back the rest of his champagne, then pulls Iliya in for a clumsy, one armed hug. "Happy New Year!" he says, "Now you're stuck with me."

(no subject)

Iliya & Cameron

Iliya & Cameron

Iliya & Cameron

Iliya & Cameron

Iliya & Cameron

Iliya & Cameron