Party in Verona! (serenity)

[SILAS SCHMIDT]

Today was one of his good days. After a week of bad days, it was a relief to have a good day.

This was certainly a wonderful change of pace.

Music, laughing, lots of drinks and people everywhere. Of course, Silas would have been having a better time if he knew some of the people there. He had loads of friends to party with back home. But this wasn't Hutchinson, Minnesota. It was New York City and, admittedly, a better place to party.

He had already had a few drinks and had chatted up a couple of girls. Gotten their numbers even. Tiffany and Marissa, the gorgeous best friends with curvy sunkissed bodies and golden curls. It hadn't been hard to lure them in. He tended to do well at attracting different girls. He could change his personality on a whim, playing the bad boy (especially whe Tyler would accompany him), the athlete or even the shy one. His "shyness" only went so far, obviously. He wasn't truly shy as Tyler was, but merely an artificial likeness of Tyler's qualities laid over him like a mask until the girls were warmed up enough to endure his natural saucy and impulsive nature. But the strips of paper were tucked into the lining of his jeans pocket now, and he wasn't sure he'd be extracting them until at least a week from now, when they were faded and crushed from the rinse cycle of the washing machine. Besides, both girls were blonde, and everyone knew that he wasn't very into blondes. No matter how -ahem- gifted they were.

Silas glanced around at the unfamiliar faces. He wondered vaguely about the possibility of being caught. After all, Baum had to have some code of conduct that they were all breaking by having alcohol on campus. Not that Silas really cared. It made it all more exciting. He twirled his third cigarette between his fingers, exhaling pretty swirls of smoke that caught his eye. He didn't want to say that he was already bored. But it was true.

He twisted his leather bracelets on his wrists and pushed up his sleeves to his elbows. The alcohol made him warm and the fact that he had no one to talk to made him feel awkward. And he hated being left out of the fun. The host of the party, Verona, a guy who's first name started with a K or a C or some shit like that came over and clapped Silas on the shoulder, grinning as he nearly sloshed his beer all over him. Silas drew back from him considerably, as he smelled so badly of liquor that Silas feared setting fire to him with his cigarrette. The host's girlfriend came over and wrapped herself around him, cooing about being bored and wanting to play a game. Silas tried to hide his distaste, but it wouldn't have made any difference. The guy was so completely whipped that he agreed and she suggested the game that she called "Sardines."

Silas rolled his eyes and turned away, not really caring to hide in a corner with strangers. Glancing up, however, he found himself enthralled by a girl he hadn't noticed before. She was captivating and suddenly he was overcome with the strangest sensation. There was a swooping feeling in his torso, and he felt almost lightheaded. He couldn't help the slight irritation at his odd reaction. What the hell was this? Was something stronger in his cig? It must be that. Or someone spiked the drinks. Despite this, Silas felt a smile light up his own face and he went to lean against the wall beside her.

For reasons unknown, words temporarily escaped him. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. After a moment of this, he laughed, glancing down at his stick of cancer incarnate.

"Uh, hi. I'm Silas."


Party Outfit!

[SERENITY PACE]

Maybe Serenity wasn't the good girl she tried to be in front of authority figures. Maybe sometimes she wanted to have fun, drink a little, meet a guy, never call him back. One of the things she liked about herself is that she never failed to surprise people.

There was a party here in Agrabah at Baum that night, so she decided to go. She went to maybe one or two parties a month (there were a lot more than that happening a month, of course), but otherwise kept it cool. And she had a usual routine at these sorts of things.

Step one: Wear something cute but not too revealing. Being labeled as 'easy' is not what Serenity wanted for herself, so she wore a black dress with three-fingers-width sleeved that went down to her knees with tights and high-heeled red boots. With a necklace and earrings and red lipstick to match, she was ready to go.

Step two: Arrive fashionably late. The more intoxicated the party-goers were, the less likely it was they'd remember little ol' her. And that was better in the long run, yes?

Step three: Start out small, progress after a few hours. She started out with only a few drinks, just to get a little tipsy, and then she'd drink more as the night went on, just because. She didn't have a reason for everything she did.

Step four: Flirt like a mofo. This part was easy, all she had to do was find an attractive guy and talk to him and try not to be weird. Cake. Er, pie. Easy as pie, yes.

Step five: Hopefully have fun. Self explanitory.

Having plans like this made it easier for her to do things, even let loose and have fun at a party. She was strange, but she didn't mind.

The best parties were held by some guy with the last name Verona, which is what he went by. They were by far the most lively and the most popular. You knew you'd find someone to talk to and you'd eventually belong, even if you were having those wallflower moments like she was at the moment.

Solo cup in hand, she leaned against the wall and sighed. Everyone was either talking to someone else or looked too drunk to speak. Serenity didn't like to interrupt people, usually that started drama she didn't like dealing with. So she just sat by the wall and waited for opportunity to knock, something she didn't normally do, but there were certain... perks. To being a wallflower. How hilarious, Sere. You're a comedian.

Serenity was so enthralled by nothing that surrounded her that she didn't feel eyes on her until she felt the presence next to her. She turned her head towards him and nearly gasped. Well wasn't he attractive... and... familiar. Something churned in her stomach but she was so distracted by his chin that had to be chiseled by gods that she couldn't worry about that.

Turning her whole body towards him, she smiled crookedly. So he was a smooth talker, nice. "Hi. I'm Serenity. It's nice to meet you." Her tone was half mocking him, half where-have-you-been-all-my-life. Her body language said so, at least. She was turned completely towards him, looking straight up at his face, and subtly batting her eyelashes.

What was this man doing to her?

[/justify]

{outfit}
{my first posts are always bad i'm sorry}

[SILAS SCHMIDT]

Oh god.

She looked up at him, initially surprised, but she relaxed after a moment. He stared at her eyes, captured by the most lovely combination of evergreen and cinnamon. Hell, she even kind of smelled like evergreen and cinnamon. Silas composed himself quickly. It wouldn't do to look like a bumbling fool in front of her.

Serenity. She most certainly was. He'd never felt so good as he did now. Was that the smoke talking? Maybe the whiskey? Whatever the case was, this girl was bangin' and he wasn't about to screw it up. He glanced her over, the corners of his mouth turning up into a very Silas-y smirk. She turned her entire body towards him, giving him her undivided attention and there was something in the way she did that that just drove him a little crazy. They were very close and he got momentarily distracted by her long eyelashes and scarlet smile.

Damn, this girl. She was something.

"Very nice to meet you as well," he told her. Not waiting for her, he reached down and took her hand from her side, shaking it pompously like a ridiculous politician when he realized a second strange sensation. Holding her hand in his own sent such an intense shock through him that it nearly registered on his face. It was like taking MDMA. Just touching Serenity's smooth palm got him on a euphoric high and in order to put a stop to all the insane fantasies running through his mind, he let go of her hand.

"I don't think I've seen you at Verona's before. You friends with him? Or maybe his girlfriend?" Silas glanced at the guy who was talking animatedly with some friends, his arm around the girl who was nodding excitedly.

"They want to start a game," Silas said, his eyebrow raised as he looked back at Serenity. "I'm not sure I'm ready to play Truth or Dare, or braid the hair of people I don't know." His eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled.

[SERENITY PACE]

Maybe this wasn't a good idea. Her mind and body were going crazy just looking at Silas. Silas was such a nice name, too. Though he looked like his name should start with a T or someting, or maybe she was mixing him up with someone else. Everything was mixing up right now and she couldn't handle it.

And when she was about to look away just to catch an breath when he smirked. Her heart probably stopped for longer than it should have, and she breathed deeply, almost a gasp, and smiled back, trying to cover it up. It probably wasn't effective, but it was worth a shot, right?

Oh, what was she doing? She never got this starry-eyed at someone she just met. Ever. There was just something about him that was interesting... no, that was an understatement. It was setting everything under the skin on fire, and for a second, it almost made her angry... vengeful? No, it couldn't be that. It was just what she was drinking, or the lack of proper air conditioning in the room, or-

As if he had injected C-4 into her palm, an explosion of that same fire, mulltiplied in intensity by a number she couldn't comprehend, ran through her hand, up her arm, and - Had he said something beforehand? She remembered to breathe. This was so stupid. She needed to stop. Was her drink drugged? But she hadn't put it down. No, calm down, Serenity. Chill. It's just... hormones or some shit. You're fine.

Yeah, "fine".

It had only been a few seconds, but it felt like hours, and he dropped her hand, which hesitated to fall to her side. She wasn't even in full control of her limbs, oh god. Serenity tried to cover that up by pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, but her face was a lovely shade of pink. Partially because her blush brush had been wet for some reason, and partially because of that damned fire.

Regaining composure, she shrugged. "I know a guy who knows a guy, you know?" She smirked and took a chance by looking straight into his eyes. She could handle this. "What about you?"

She laughed a little at the whole idea of a game. Serenity was never one for Truth or Dare, a.k.a "Who do you like?" or "Awkward sexual activity". In all reality, not a lot of people were listening to Verona and his girlfriend. It was a bit middle-school, and most of the people here were seniors.

She was about to say something along the lines of 'i know a different game we could play' when she got a tap on thew shoulder from behind and felt a slosh of some drink spill a bit on her shoulder. Moving her hair away from it, she turned only her head to see who it was. It was a guy she kind of knew but never really noticed. "Heyy, you're Pace, right? Like the salsa?" Oh, and he was drunk. Perfect. And it was kind of a pet peeve of hers, but she accepted it because people in America weren't literate in Italian pronunciation. Pah-chay.

"Yes, I am," she said, a bit coldly, and turned back around. The guy tapped her on the other shoulder, spilling some more drink, and she pulled her hair out of it and attempted to bunch it in the back along her spine. Ignore him and he'll go away. She smiled back up at Silas, hoping he would ignore him like she was.

[/justify]

[SILAS SCHMIDT]

Something about this girl got his blood flowing. The heat he felt radiating from her (or maybe it was from him?) was almost painful. It was like someone had cut him, opening all of his senses in the area. But it wasn't confined to one spot. His eyes traveled over her, taking in the sight like he was burning the image into his mind.

The blush on her cheeks set fire to his nerve endings. Would it be a bad idea to just snatch her up and disappear for hours of questionable activity? Yes. Now that he thought on it, it would definitely be frowned upon. Of course, Silas had a knack for breaking the rules.

"I kind of know that Verona guy. But I mostly just like parties. Lots of action, you know? I hate sitting around."

Serenity smiled like an angel and laughed. She had a beautiful laugh. And that was saying something, because usually Silas found the laughs of other girls irritating. Actually, he usually found them irritating in general. In Silas' opinion, girls weren't worth much unless they were good housekeepers or fantastic in the sack. He had learned a few years back that girls really hated this opinion, so he tended to keep it under wraps unless a girl really pissed him off.

He caught a look in her eye and his heart actually raced. He recognized that look. That was the same look he gave to Modern Warfare 3 just before he bought it. It was that hungry look that said, 'I want to take you home and play until I collapse in three days from food deprivation.' Silas would have happily agreed. Until something got in his way.

Some drunk idiot came over and tried to talk to Serenity, slopping liquor down her shoulder. She looked a bit annoyed, and Silas wondered briefly if it was because the guy pronounced her name wrong. Confused, he shook that thought out of his head. How would he possibly know how to pronounce her name? Who made him the expert? Regardless, he glared at the dude who was obviously trying to move in on his this girl. She turned back to Silas and he nearly glowed with pride. She was more interested in him.

Shitfaced didn't get the memo, apparently. He tried to get her attention again and before Silas could stop himself, he had shoved the guy backwards, hard.

"Step off, ya' stupid fuck! She obviously doesn't want to talk to you!"

[SERENITY PACE]

Okay, so the guy would just walk away and Serenity and Silas would talk a little more and then get out of there and do something more or less legal and maybe come back to the party but you couldn't be sure with these things, right-

Oh no. Oh no no no no. This was bad, this was very, very bad.

Serenity could sense the tension right away. It took her a little while to process what it was between her own feelings and the alcohol, but she knew something was wrong the moment she felt the drink spill onto her shoulder. It should have been a sign for her to tell the dude to go home, he was drunk, but instead she had turned around and ignored it like drunk people weren't stubborn and persistent at times.

She could see Silas was overjoyed that she had done so, but the guy hadn't taken a hint because he was still there, still behind her, still about to ruin everything. Oh god.

And then Silas reacted, which wasn't surprising. Serenity wasn't stupid, and she knew that guys + alcohol + threats to dominence usually ended in violence. Her hands flew to her face and she turned around as she heard something crash and saw the guy with his back on the floor - through the frame of the coffee table. Oh no. Stop. Stop.

"Stop!" she said, and grabbed Silas' shoulder gently but urgently. "He doesn't know what he's doing, he just needs to go home and go to bed and maybe take a cold shower but he'll be fine." Except not really, because she saw blood on the sleeve of the guy's shirt. And the look on his face.

And then the guy finally got to his feet and have stumbled, half tackled Silas in an attempt to retaliate. Serenity moved backwards to avoid him and shut her eyes to try and make it go away. It seemed childish, but it was her initial reaction to anything going ridiculously and horribly off-book.

[/justify]

{short post is short, sorry!}

[SILAS SCHMIDT]

Silas was just a little surpised when the guy tipped backwards and fell into the coffee table. He was a little more surprised when the coffee table collapsed into firewood. Huh. Definitely some cheap shit. Maybe if Verona made a little more cash he could buy a sturdier coffee table.

Serenity put her hand on his shoulder and her words were velvet against his skin, but he could barely hear her. The drunk kid got to his feet after a brief struggle and there was a very unforgiving look on his face. Silas cracked his knuckles in anticipation. The guy clumsily tried to attack, but Silas was ready for him. His sloppy footwork, loose grip and alcohol-soaked brain were no match for Silas' forceful movements. He wound up and punched the kid and was pleased to hear the satisfying crack of a fist that had met it's target: Drunkie's nose. Blood spurted out of it and while he was distracted, Silas hit him again, sending him flat on his back, taking out a picture frame and lamp in the process.

Verona ran over, his own eyes a little unfocused.

"What the hell!? You guys are fucking up my place! Take it outside!"

Silas was overcome by this heated urge to fight. This guy deserved it. They all deserved it. They were stupid bastards, and the world was better off without them. But Drunkie was back on his feet by this time. He and Silas grappled with each other for a few long moments before Verona decided to step in. Unfortunately for him, Silas didn't have many qualms about who was receiving the blows, so Verona soon found himself getting hit in the jaw. The little scuffle suddenly became quite a big deal. It wasn't long before the drunk guy was knocked out and Verona was bleeding and Silas was sporting a few cuts around his face. Rubbing his abdomen, he straightened up to look at the damage he had done. He sucked in a shocked breath. Five guys, not including Drunkie, were laying on the floor, either groaning or quite possibly unconcious. What the hell had he done?

Slowly, he turned to look at Serenity, his eyes wide. She couldn't think this was a normal thing. Sure, he got into fights often. But this was something entirely different. He hadn't felt in control when it was happening. It was just like an involuntary reflex. And yet..

And yet he felt powerful. Intimidating. The fire of anger that burned within him was quenched - for now.

He was terrified. Despite the fact that he never turned down a fight, he was a pretty easy going guy. He wouldn't have brought those other guys into the fight. What was the point in that? They hadn't done anything.

Wiping the steady trickle of blood coming from a cut over his eyebrow, Silas stepped towards Serenity. His amber brown eyes pleaded with her to understand; to see that this wasn't him. Even though it was. He reached towards her, wanting to reassure her, comfort her, explain himself. Even though he couldn't.

"Serenity-"

[SERENITY PACE]

Serenity couldn't look, not after hearing more music of battle. The one time she did sneak a peek, she saw the blood splatter from drunk guy's nose and she swore she felt something hit her face. So she felt it best to close her eyes because blood and violence didn't exactly bring up good memories for her. She held her eyes shut for her sanity, tried to tune out the noise. She stopped herself from imagining what was going on beyond her eyelids and arms.

Some instinct told her to step in, to stop it, to take up arms to part these men, but the Serenity that remembered My Bloody Birthday overcame that and hid herself, cowarded against the wall, for the tiny thing knew she couldn't handle it if she tried.

And when the party was silent and motionless, she opened her eyes.

It was like in "Devil", a movie she was forced to watch on a bet (that she had won, by not closing her eyes for anything but blinking the whole time), when the lights flickered and someone else was dead in a matter of seconds. Only this had to be minutes, and instead of dead, they were all unconscious and broken and bleeding. In silent horror she looked upon all of them, hardly moving, and then in an instant, she looked up at Silas, who was covered in a few fresh battle scars. The look on his face was not the one of violence and exasperation and glee she might have thought would be there, but one of pleading and confusion and maybe guilt, she didn't know.

She didn't know.

Thinking would have gotten her nowhere, so she just did something spontaneous and nowhere near what she normally.

"Come with me. Now."

She grabbed him by the arm he had stetched towards her and dragged him as best as she could before the other party-goers could jump themselves out of shock. Why was she protecting him? He had just beaten up five guys over a little spilled alcohol. But she couldn't remind herself of that now, she just had to do this.

When they were on the other side of the building, she opened the door to her room and sighed in relief at her roommate being gone. "In here," her words were quick and urgent.

Serenity wasn't sure they would call the police, seeing as they were all underage and in possession of copious amounts of alcohol, but she wanted to be sure and she didn't want anyone else trying to fight him, not that she was certain anyone would. She wasn't certain of anything right now. The blood...

"What- what happened?" she asked, and then put her hands up to stop any answer. "No, I don't want to know, but... I consider myself an okay judge-of-character, and I thought you would be tough but not... Why did you do that? Those guys were just trying to stop you from going batshit! Granted, they made it worse but-" She stopped and put both hands to her mouth in thought. "Is it some kind of drunken rage thing? No, I'm going to stop talking now." She took a deep breath and rubbed her temples. "I just need to know why you had to do such a thing."

[/justify]

{the gif seemed a bit wrong now tbh}

[SILAS SCHMIDT]

Serenity's flawless face spoke volumes. She was just as shocked and confused as he was. Actually, probably more shocked than him. Oh man, she was going to hate him. What kind of a freak just took people out, no questions asked? Apparently, Silas was. He waited for the sneer of disgust to wash over him, but it never came.

Instead, she took his outstretched arm and pulled him from the party. They almost broke into a run as they escaped, weaving through the building. Silas' mind was racing, and briefly he wondered if she was turning him in. Seemed like the logical thing to do at this point. But she stopped in front of a dorm room and ushered him inside.

Silas stepped into her room, trying not to let the side of his brain that was infected with alcohol take this the wrong way. He wasn't being very successful. Then the questions came.

"I don't- Serenity.." he rubbed the back of his neck, his voice seemed to plead for him, "Look, I know you don't know me, but you have to believe me. I've never done that before! I don't know what happened.. It was just.. I couldn't even think. I shouldn't have.."

He looked over at her and approached slowly, as if he was afraid to scare her off. He took her hands in his and held them to his chest.

"Whatever happened back there wasn't me. I've gotten into fights before, but I don't bring people into it like that. I.. I could have hurt you.."

There was fear in his eyes, and he hoped that she knew he wouldn't ever try to really do something like that. And though Silas was a scrapper, he would never, ever hit a woman. It seemed that he had come much too close tonight.

"Please, I didn't mean to.. I couldn't-"

What excuses could he give? She had seen the damage that was done.


{Sorry for shortness!}

[SERENITY PACE]

Serenity listened to him, never one to not let someone explain themselves, especially when she asked them to. She expected him to act tough, to take advantage of her kindness and lie smoothly, to distract her somehow. But nothing tonight had gone as she expected, so shew threw all that out the window as soon as he started talking.

Because he wasn't just talking, he was begging her to try and understand, pleading with her that he didn't know what came over him. It didn't stop her from flinching and leaning back just a little bit when he grabbed her hands, which she immediatley felt guilty about. It wasn't intentional - she was just very much stressed about what had just happened, because of the blood. The sight anf the presence of that much blood from injured people made her sick to her stomach and nervous and a bit apprehensive to touch, causing her to flinch when the hands that caused all of that blood grabbed hers.

It wasn't her fault, it was just something that came over her. That was why she knew Silas was not just begging and pleading with her to understand, but also himself. Something just happened and he lost control and he shouldn't be blamed for it completely. She hated violence and he was violent but she couldn't hate this near stranger.

So Serenity nodded her head and began what was probably going to be a long-winded speech as she always pulled when she could, with carefully crafted words and fluid sentences, making she she slipped the actual point in somewhere.

"I-I believe you. Not your fault."

And then she took her hands back and wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. Why? She didn't really know, it just seemed to speak louder than her precious words ever could. He probably wasn't even the kind of guy who, you know, hugged people, but she didn't care. Because she hugged him because she understood him (kind of sort of a little bit) and honestly she just wanted to not think of that horrible scene ever again. She wanted to never think of all that blood and all those broken people ever again and hope that they would all be too drunk to remember what happened so she wouldn't be asked about it. She hugged him because she wanted to change the subject and that was the only way Serenity could besides rambling on and changing her own, and right then she couldn't find the words.

[/justify]

{ i would like to know where this thread is going but alas i have no fucking idea }

[SILAS SCHMIDT]

Silas was entirely prepared for rejection.

So it was a shock she accepted his weak explaination. More surprising was when her arms slipped around his neck, pulling him close.

It had been so long since he had been hugged like this. After his father's funeral, he hadn't been physically close to anyone, save for the dozen girls he had hooked up with over the last two years. They could hardly be counted though. But Serenity felt different. Serenity was soft and warm and despite the walls he had built up, he couldn't resist nuzzling his face into her neck.

"Thanks.."

Silas felt that if she could hold him all night long, he would sleep better than he ever had. Maybe without any nightmares or dreams of any kind. Serenity emitted an aura of peace as powerful as her name. When she was holding onto him, he didn't feel so angry. So sad. So alone.

Oh, fuck, he was turning into one of those cheesy ass chick flicks. Silas' eyes were starting to sting. He had to get it together.

Sighing, he pulled back from her slightly. Her eyes reflected the orange light from the window. He took her face in his hands, running his thumb across her cheek. His expression was softer now, and he whispered to her.

"I'm sorry for frightening you."

But to be honest, there was something about this girl that frightened him. His emotions were all over the board, and it was unnerving for someone who was usually so reserved. He could normally keep it in check. With Serenity, he didn't know what to do, how to feel. He kind of hated it. And liked it.

And now, so close to her, in the dark, every inch of his skin was on fire again. Silas stared into his companion's eyes, his breath coming a little shorter. He hoped she didn't mind that he smelled like smoke and his cologne. It always tended to be stronger when he was warm.

Was it getting hot in here?

[SERENITY PACE]

Hugging Silas was probably the most comforting thing she had done in a while. They way he nuzzled his face into her neck made her smile, and she was happy that he was accepting it and not running away like she had the plague. It was comforting for her because she knew that violent delights could have peaceful ends if they wanted to. It gave her hope, which was a silly thing to feel, but there it was anyways.

But there were also about a billion other things she was feeling, which was making words even harer to find. So she didn't respond to his thanks, merely held him just a little closer. Then he let go, but not all the way, so she shifted away from him a little bit, keeping her arms on his neck for a little while. She really wanted to be close to him, still, and it felt strange. But she was pretty sure she couldn't move her arms because that part of her wouldn't let go.

"It's okay," she whispered back, smiling a little to let him know that it really was alright. She wasn't frightened anymore. Or was she?

And then she finally took in her surroundings and it confused her even more. Her face was inches from his, it was dark, and getting warmer every minute. She could care less about the smoke - Georgie brought in that smell all the time, and she had grown accustomed to it. His cologne was pretty strong, but it actually reminded her of something positive she couldn't place. This part of her wanted to be with Silas.

There was a little bit of blood still on his knuckles and some on his t-shirt, and he had nearly beaten people to death back at that party. Something about him made her uneasy, too, and that part wanted to kick Silas out and never speak to him again, but it wasn't strong.

Another part also wanted nothing more than to hug him, but also help him become better, help him work through all this madness. So he wouldn't snap like that again. So he could be just as peaceful as she was, or almost, she supposed.

Her emotions battled each other, which for her was 'verbally discussed', and she stared into Silas's eyes, wondering if he could see the chaos that was taking plae inside Serenity's mind.

Alright, fuck it. This was getting out of hand. So she leaned him and kissed him softly on the lips, ignoring every instinct that was screaming at her.

[/justify]