truth & dare [james, brett, nessie]

[WILLIAM LAWRENCE HEAVENSBEE]

At least Nessie was giggling after James and Brett left, which meant she wasn't in completely ruined spirits. Liam still dared to hope. She even agreed with him when he made his comment (which was actually completely untrue, though Liam made it sound like it was. Many, many people wanted to be James's friend. It was mostly people who didn't know him, but even those who did found him to be a funny, likeable ((though fundamentally stupid)) kind of guy.) And then she actually rested against his chest which was an adorable move Liam didn't really expect her to make.

And then she was gone and Liam stared at where she sat now and his lap, wondering what went wrong between those two places. He had half a mind to blame it entirely on James, but the fact that things had been going so well, and then not, made him feel like he had done something wrong. Unless Nessie had simply taken a moment to determine that the mood had been lost, then he could blame that on James. He wasn't sure how likely that was, but he also had no idea what he did to drive her away.

Apparently she slept around - was Liam revolting in comparison to other guys? That couldn't be it - he heard the opposite from other girls. Confused, frustrated, and hurt, Liam didn't bother hiding his disappointment. "Right." he said, halfheartedly. "We should do that."

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

Brett was awfully close to James, and he had to admit that he didn't mind it at all. As her fingers crawled up his skin, he realized just how lucky he was that Liam was otherwise occupied. He decided he rather liked their arrangement and certainly wasn't going to complain about extra alone time with the girl. Just when he leaned down, moments away from pressing his lips against hers, Nessie's voice rang out from across the common room, and James' head snapped to attention like a dog's.

He whipped his head around to face her, much faster than was necessary (and quite frankly, much faster than he should have, given his newfound talent of bashing his skull against things. Hard things), and grinned when she called them back over. And suddenly, he was back to dragging Brett across the common room and plopping down near them, though choosing the arm chair this time. He sent an apologetic glance to Liam as he did so — after all, he hadn't meant to interrupt.

But he could cheer his mate up! Brilliant idea, James, m'boy, he thought, and grinned smugly to himself before focusing his attention on the two lovebirds on the couch. "Let's play a game!" he announced, though it seemed more like an order than a suggestion. "I'll bring booze!"

And with that, without waiting for a response, he was off once more, racing up the steps to get his hidden supply of firewhiskey.

[BRETT AINSLEY DuPONT]

The day was really feeling like quite the whirlwind, and honestly, Brett was tired of James dragging her by the arm. they were at most friends with benefits, which was perfect, that hardly gave him license to control her like that, so when she sat down she pouted lightly. But at his mention of games and booze, she couldn't help but perk up. She was about to wink at Nessie, given it were those same two ingredients that got her sleeping with the hottest professor in the school; but when Brett looked over she noticed something. Nessie seemed a little uncomfortable and she was no longer touching Liam, something had happened and this wasn't the place to ask what, but she filed it away for later.

Brett looked at Liam and at Nessie quietly, but silence wasn't in her nature. "I think that was his first good idea all day... alcohol." She clarified. Of course there were a few things he did in the trophy room that were fairly inspired....

"And I'm sorry Liam, I owe you one." She said, feeling a little bad for being a cock block even if it was James's fault, especially after he was so noble and turned down his chance to sleep with her. granted, he could still probably sleep with her, she and James were the opposite of exclusive.

[WILLIAM LAWRENCE HEAVENSBEE]

Liam wasn't going to openly mope in public. He refused to be that one person who ruined the atmosphere. Besides, though still confused, he could enjoy the company of his peers - if Nessie was going to give him mixed signals than so be it. Clearly it was her issue and not his. He mentally shook himself out of his frustration. The only thing left to do was to move on -- Nessie's body language was suggesting his hopes of getting laid today were suspended.

He caught James's apologetic glance and replied with a sort of exasperated acceptance. This was his best friend, after all, and life was ultimately better with him in the picture. Besides, Liam's maturity was contributing to his feeling of moral superiority. He tried to ignore thinking about Nessie's question -- about whether it got him anywhere -- because moral superiority was all he had going for him at the moment.

James ran off to fetch booze, and while Liam had less than favorable feelings towards alcohol, he was used to his friends drinking. He wasn't going to join in, but he wasn't going to stop them either, per usual. James was hilarious whilst drunk anyway.

Liam shot Brett a small smile, though wishing she didn't actually verbalize his loss tonight. He shrugged it off impassively, crossing his arms over his chest now that Nessie wasn't there. "My fault - I shouldn't have passed you up on your offer." he said with a wink, trying to be a good sport about the whole situation, though is was all rather ironic and disappointing.

[VANESSA JANE SORIN]

As much as she hated emotions, Nessie wasn't stupid.  She could generally read what other people were feeling if they didn't try too hard to hide it.  So it didn't take her long to realize that her sudden, unexplained decision to move away from Liam had upset him.  She drew her lower lip into her mouth and stared at her feet, trying not to let herself know whether she cared or not.  If she was honest, she felt guilty almost instantly, and she was struck by the urge to apologize.  But she had a feeling that would make things even more awkward.  So she decided to simply go with the flow.  Ignoring her emotions had always worked well for her in the past, and she saw no reason why it shouldn't work now. 

She wasn't entirely sure if James and Brett would join them now that they both realized what they'd interrupted, but after a couple of seconds, they made their way back over.  Nessie pretended she couldn't see the apologetic glance that James passed toward his friend, but she really wasn't a very good liar, and she was sure Brett at least would notice how ridiculous she was being.  When her friend sat quietly watching them for a second, she actually began to wonder whether Brett would point things out right away, and Nessie felt her cheeks start to become a little pink.  Brett was smarter than that, though, and when she started speaking, it was only to commend the idea of alcohol.  "Definitely a great idea," she agreed, but her tone wasn't as enthusiastic as it probably should have been.  Thinking about firewhiskey and playing games set her to thinking about Paulo, which only made her more uncomfortable.

Nessie mentally thanked her friend for keeping up some sort of conversation since she didn't seem to be terribly good at it right now.  But at the next exchange between Brett and Liam, she decided she might not be thankful after all.  On some level, she supposed she'd realized that Liam was only here because he'd passed up the chance to sleep with Brett, but the idea that either of them regretted his having passed up that opportunity hadn't crossed her mind until it was voiced.  Immediately feeling uncomfortable, Nessie stood and announced,"I think I need a shirt.  I'll be right back."  Putting on clothes when they weren't strictly necessary was more than a little out of character for her, but at the moment, Nessie figured she needed a brief escape more than she needed to make sense, so she hurried up the stairs. 

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[WILLIAM LAWRENCE HEAVENSBEE]

Liam had no idea what to make of Nessie's behavior. He didn't blame her for wanting to get a shirt though - the atmosphere had definitely cooled down significantly. Was it really only moments ago that Liam felt warm because his body was pulsing with anticipation. He sighed, trying to forget his loss.

He looked at Brett and opened his mouth to ask a question, but didn't know what to ask. Brett didn't think he was repulsive - she offered to sleep with him didn't she? Liam couldn't have turned defective on the way to the seventh floor.

He closed his mouth and sighed again. Today had the makings of such a good day. He was starting to feel stifled in his clothing. His shirt was already partially opened and his sleeves rolled up. He kicked off his shoes then.

Trying to revive the spirit of fun, Liam forced a smile and poked fun at Brett. "You know, I had thought you two might last a little longer. But I guess I was mistaken."

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

James hopped down the steps (almost slipping at the third one, though steadying himself at the last moment, firewhiskey safe in his hands) just as Nessie got up and left, and he watched her go, confused. Was she still mad at his for interrupting her and Liam's little rendezvous? He'd left immediately after. He shook his head as he walked back to Brett and Liam. Women.

"So," he said loudly, placing the whiskey on the table in front of them and sliding into an armchair. He tossed a bottle lightly to Brett before taking one for himself, sending a nod to Liam as acknowledgement that he remembered his memories associated with alcohol, and cracked it open. He took a swig, wincing just slightly at the burning sensation that ran down his throat, before remembering that he was in the middle of an announcement. He swallowed too fast, choking on his tongue, and it took yet another minute for him to regain his breath.

"Truth or dare?" he offered in between gasps, his head between his knees, as though that helped coughing.

[BRETT AINSLEY DuPONT]

Brett watched Nessie leave with a sigh. What had happened? Brett totally missed something here, but she let her go and Liam started to talk. Brett laughed but wasn't sure if she was supposed to be insulted, but really the dis was only really at James, so she let it slide with a shrug. "Sorry, we didn't know you were about to get some." She said with a smile, but she was sorry all the same. It was really Nessie who had bad timing, she should have come down sooner.

Then, thankfully, James reappeared with alcohol. Brett wasted no time in taking the bottle from the table and taking a swig. James had classily decided to swig and then choked and she patted him lightly on the back. "Way to go tiger." She teased.

"Truth or dare sounds awesome." Brett said once she had deciphered his coughing suggestion.

[VANESSA JANE SORIN]

The moment Nessie made it to the dorms, she was able to breathe a little easier. Of course, she also promptly forgot the excuse she'd come up with and headed for her bed. She sat there for a few seconds, trying to pull herself together before deciding that she was making a bigger deal of things than she needed to. Particularly if there was going to be alcohol involved. Alcohol made everything at least a little easier. If nothing else, it would muddle her thoughts enough to keep her from focusing on them. So, she made one more stop by the mirror to make sure her excess of eyeliner hadn't somehow managed to smudge before heading back down the stairs, still without a shirt.

Her eyes danced around the room, registering the fact that James had returned and that he'd supplied them with plenty of booze. "You are my hero," she told him, reaching for the bottle he'd placed on the table. She opened it and took a rather long gulp, entirely too used to the burning sensation to react to it. The alcohol instantly made her feel warmer, and she found that she was instantly more comfortable than she had been before. Unfortunately, she hadn't made it back into the room in time to hear what they were doing, so she cast a rather sheepish glance around the room before asking "So... what were we doing?"

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[WILLIAM LAWRENCE HEAVENSBEE]

Liam returned James's nod It was actually really cool how they knew each other well enough to communicate silently. He didn't have a chance to return Brett's comment though, because of James's arrival. And then James's choked on his drink and Liam managed to laugh good naturedly. Normally it wouldn't been him patting his friend on the back, but it seemed that Brett was taking very good care of him. Which was cool and all.

"I don't think you want to go there." Liam said, although actually ok with the idea of truth and dare. "For I am the truth and dare master." He raised his arms as a sign of clear superiority.

Nessie managed to show up and inquired about their activities. "Truth and dare." Liam responded neutrally with a glance in her direction. Then he did a double take because she was still without a shirt. "Couldn't find a shirt?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He reached over to his cloak that he had taken off earlier. "You could wear this." he offered. If she was cold he wasn't going to let her continue to be so..

[VANESSA JANE SORIN]

Truth or dare? That could go horribly for Nessie. Though she supposed there weren't a lot of combinations of games and alcohol that couldn't, so she nodded in acknowledgement. "Sounds like a plan." She was starting to think she might actually be able to act normally. But that only lasted until she realized Liam had just done a double take. Her cheeks heated up and she found herself wishing she could sink into the ground and simply disappear. Was there something freakishly wrong with her appearance that she hadn't yet noticed? But then he mentioned shirts, and all at once, she remembered why she'd supposedly gone upstairs.

A shirt would have been nice. A ski mask would have been nicer since it would have disguised her blushing. As it was, though, she was back down here with neither, and in need of a plausible excuse. "I... uhm... couldn't find one that I liked," she lied. It was a stupid excuse. Why would she have a shirt that she didn't like? But it was better than nothing. Besides, her lack of shirt seemed to be having a pretty desirable effect. Nessie watched as Liam reached for his cloak and silently debated the pros and cons of putting it on. In the end, she reasoned that it was just a cloak and couldn't cause too much trouble. "Thank you," she told him quietly, not meeting his eyes as she accepted the cloak he offered her. She draped it around herself and sank cozily into the couch. "Who's starting?" she asked, taking another drink from her bottle and snuggling into Liam's cloak.

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[BRETT AINSLEY DuPONT]

Brett decided it was time to start this game and get the spotlight off Nessie, who was suddenly acting weird, and probably needed her back. Also she looked hilarious in a sporta bra and a cloak, it was like super skank... Brett made a mental note to pitch that idea for a halloween costumes later.

She took a swig of the closest bottle and raised her hand. "I'll start!" She announced, looking between the three of them. It would be cruel to start with Nessie and she'd already tortured poor Liam enough today, so that left James...

"Hey babe, truth or dare?" The pet name sort of rolled out before she could stop it but she didn't bother to go back and apologize for it. She did give James a playful kick in the shins though so he would know she meant him because she would seem the type to call random people babe.

[JAMES SIRIUS POTTER]

James had lost track of the conversation, still trying to catch his breath after his choking incident. Brett was patting him on the back as he coughed up a lung and when he leaned up once more, Nessie was back, chugging the drink as though it were water. James stared in amazement as she didn't even wince, then frowned and looked down at his own bottle. He could do that. He was a man, after all. Drinking alcohol without the slightest sign of discomfort was a responsibility.

So he tried once more. There was no more choking, thankfully, but as the heat burned his throat, his eyes began to water uncontrollably. Tears were soon streaming down his cheeks as he finally swallowed the too-large gulp, and he swiped at them, accidentally hitting himself in the face in the process.

But Brett had asked him to choose between truth or dare, and James blinked a few times, clearing his vision, and then acted as though that entire situation did not happen. "Dare," he said defiantly, crossing his arms (while cradling his bottle of fire whiskey against his chest) and leaning back, completely confident. Because, let's face it, she was going to make him do something ridiculous, and ridiculous was practically James' middle name. Or, well, second middle name. James Sirius Ridiculous Potter. It had a nice ring to it, and he nodded once to himself at this thought.

[WILLIAM LAWRENCE HEAVENSBEE]

"You're welcome." Liam muttered, turning his gaze away. He was relieved that Nessie took his cloak. If she had turned his offer down, that would've been a lot of rejection in a short span of time. Now, he was actually glad that James was being his ridiculous self - it was a compelling distraction.

Liam watched with one eyebrow raised as James practically cried. Liam couldn't quite imagine what he must've been going through, as Liam himself had never had alcohol. It didn't look fun, though. So far no one made a comment about how he wasn't drinking, and Liam hoped it stayed that way. Unlike the scars and the dragon story circulating, for this, Liam had no ready and convincing explanation.

He did laugh when James picked dare. Not that he was surprised. "Oh, here we go." The antics would begin shortly, and it would only go downhill from there. Liam witnessed James drink on multiple occasions. And while slightly crazy, always ridiculous, and sometimes dangerous, it was always fun to watch. Probably because Liam, being sober, could always make sure no one died. Liam Heavensbee, defender of the drunk, he thought.

[BRETT AINSLEY DuPONT]

Brett figured he'd say dare, and she had no idea what to dare him. She relaly should have been more prepared. "Um...." She looked at her friends, almost laughing at James' need to be macho, Nessie's outfit and Liam's face. It was pretty priceless all in all. Brett almost told him to make out with Liam but decided that was cruel for Liam, and she rather liked him.

"Go over to those first years and pretend your pregnant and get one of them to put their ear to your stomach." Brett said, figuring that was random and silly enough. Plus the idea of skinny James having a baby was not only biologically impossible, but funny. Feeling for an imaginary kick would be too easy because those first years would love to feel his abs. This was slightly harder.