What the Hell Just Happened?

Participants:

bella_icon.gif gina_icon.gif ina_icon.gif quinn_icon.gif

Also Featuring:

mary-anne_icon.gif stack_icon.gif

Scene Title What the Hell Just Happened?
Synopsis The first night club reopening after the extended winter draws all kinds of people looking to unwind.
Date May 27, 2010

Lower Manhattan

This is a night club in New York City. It has flashing lights, loud music, a dance floor, and a bar. What more could a person want?


Lower Manhattan tonight, is the place for those who are tired of being cooped up in their houses, their shelters, the weather and it's dipped temperatures. With the cessation of the storm, the warming up weather - It's still so fucking cold - and the news that some places in the city have gotten back electricity, someone is taking advantage of it. One of the clubs, catering to loud music, watered down booze and not always checking the ID's of those who come in, has opened it's doors till curfew hits.

Word of mouth passed quickly enough, text messages, phonecalls, you name it. So it's no surprise that the place is packed, people of all ages of the partying spectrum present and accounted for and the alcohol is pricey but flowing in the hastily assembled opening night, post snowpocalypse.

One such person is a blonde, shaggy hair, tight jeans and a tank top who's dancing on the floor with another man. Head tossed this way, that way, dancing perhaps a shade too close for appropriate. Even in the flashing lights it's easy to see the pallor of her skin influenced by the lights. Pale, thin, Those with medical degree's might all unanimously agree that she - and a few others - probably shouldn't be out.

Isabella Sheridan can count herself amongst those lucky few with such a degree, though she is not here on business, and is concerned with no one's health but her own. And even though she should take it easy on her leg, and likely not drink too much, her concern for her own health is tilted towards favoring the mental over the physical. She needs a break. Either trapped at home or trapped at work for days upon days, learning from her recently acquired acquaintance, Ms. Ina Anderson, that there was some 'out' she could go to made it a sure thing.

She has a slinky silver dress on with spaghetti straps, and she's brought matching heels in her purse. Her coat is maybe not quite thick enough, but it's long enough to cover her legs, and that's what she needs, a little leg insulation. Her ears are braced with green fluffy earmuffs, which she will remove and stow out of sight as soon as she gets the chance, as well as large reflective sunglasses, like the kind a movie star going incognito would don. She couldn't meet with Ina beforehand - she was busy moving her stuff out of her apartment - but she scans the crowd, back and front. Always good to have a wingman.

It's only been a day since the Spectacular One-Woman Sanders Trio has been back in her own home. But simply being back in her own space was not good enough for the most boisterous of the three. As soon as she heard through the scene grapevine that one of New York's clubs was open for booze and business, Gina was pulling on her favourite slutty club outfit, layering over it for warmth. The unfortunately necessarily and functional monstrosity is stuffed into an oversized tote bag and checked once she's in the warmth of the club.

First thing's first, take a shot. Gina weaves her way through the crush of people, pulling up to the bar and shouting her order for vodka over the din of music.

"Who wears earmuffs," Ina nearly yells to be heard over the sound of the music that literally reverberates through the chests of the population in the club. Surely there are many fire code violations, starting with the amount of people. Ina elbows her way in to beside Gina, dragging Bella with her. "Hey! Two scotches and I'll get the lady's drink too," indicating Gina. "Sorry I elbowed you, let me get your drink."

Out on the floor, shaggy blonde has aborted dancing with one guy, heading towards the bar herself, ricocheting against one person and stumbling. She's looking just shy of legal for this place, and only laughs off one person's attempt to help her, pushing them away as she comes up behind the Trio.

That would be perfect. After the temperature finally gets high enough to let people out onto the streets and into the clubs, to have everyone die in a fire. Luckily, irony is not in full force tonight. Bella is already pulling off her earmuffs and removing her sunglasses. "People who like to have warm ears!" the redhead replies, her smile insolent. She moves up to the bar and starts to kick off her boots, shoving them discreetly against the bar's base, and one foot at a time puts on her shoes.

Bella flashes Gina a pleasant enough smile. Is she with Ina? She looks sort of familiar… Bella's not sure, hasn't known Ina long enough to be familiar with her actual circle, if the blonde member of their proximate trio is even part of it. "I took some pills for the leg!" Bella informs Ina, "I can't drink too much, or else you'll be carrying me home!"

Quinn has no small effort in getting to the club tonight - cooped up in St. Luke's for weeks, just being able to return home tonight, albeit without power, she was eager to get out and absorb herself in some music for the first real time in as long as she could remember. Dressed in her typical blue hoodie and jeans, scarf and wrapped around her neck and headphones warming her ears as best as they can, she was at least a little prepared for the cold that lingered still - though maybe not for the blast of cold air she'd received driving there. Scooters are a bitch sometimes.

But really, none of that mattered now as the headphones slip down to her neck and let the wholeness of the club's music invade her ears. A drink sounded right good right now, and that was a problem quickly solved by slinking up to the bar. "'Ey! Bartender, a simple pint 'a Guinness if you've got any!" Stereotypical, but there's no messing with perfection. Taking her drink, she looks down the bar and smiles.

Gina doesn't seem upset when Ina accidentally throws an elbow her way. She's quick to smile at the offer of paying for her next drink. "Thanks!" She informs the bartender that she'll have what they're having.

When the shaggier blonde approaches from behind, Gina turns and flashes her a more flirtatious smile than the one Ina received. "Well, hey there, cutie." Lightly, she rests her hand on the other girl's back to guide her to settle next to her at the bar, where she can lean against it and not drunkenly fall over. "Party's in full swing, huh?"

"I'm not a lesbian!" comes the warning from the shaggy blonde, even as she's letting Gina help her. "Water!" she calls out to the bartender, even as the drinks are starting to trickle in. Frail hands settle on the bar, leaning against it and for all that she looks like she should be in bed, Blondie is smiling, looking at Bella, Ina, Gina and Quinn.

"Hey! I'm Mary-Anne! Great party isn't it? All the god damned snow has been making it a bitch to have any fun!"

Quinn can't help but laugh at the woman's assessment of her, shaking her head. "Aye, not unexpected for the first place to open," she states, raising a glass to her. "Thank the Lord for the timely thaw." Though not intentionally in response to her toast, it's fitting anyway. "May it never come again, right?" She takes a long gulp of her drink, grinning at Bella and the others. "This your firs' time outta the snow too?"

"Neither am I," Gina calls back. Maybe she's a bar lesbian, but that only applies to the dance floor. And it's all just a ploy to get the guys to sit up and take notice anyway. She grins to Mary-Anne and introduces herself in kind. "Gina. And I know, right? Fucking eternal winter. It's about time things started livening up around here!"

Gina has never had scotch. Niki has, but Gina's never had the experience. It draws a small grimace when she sips at it, but she doesn't complain or send it back or - God forbid - leave it sit. She's a hardcore scene queen in the making, dammit, and she will drink any hard liquor that comes her way.

"What do you expect Bella? You want the fucking Orchid Lounge? Beggars can't be choosers, not for another month and Rapture isn't open." Money is passed over, Ina in her short red dress leaning against the bar with a hip cocked to look at Quinn and at Mary-Anne. "Hey, girls, did they even check your ID at the doors or just let the two of you in? Better hope the cops don't catch you."

"Hi Gin-" That's as far as Mary-Anne gets in greeting as a guy seems to surge out from the crowd, looking for someone and upon seeing who he was looking for, fastens a hand around Mary-Anne's wrist. "Mary-Anne, time to go home."

"Get your hands off me! I don't want to go home! I came here to have some fun! I'm with my friends, leave me alone and stop being an asshole!" Mary-Anne tries to shrug off the guys arm, pull back in the quartet she just met.

Trouble. Bella's first instinct to is ghost - she is honestly a little nervous about being seen in public. But there are some things you can't just ignore, and this S.O.B…

"Excuse me," Bella says, stepping forward, reaching out to touch her hand against the man's own wrist, "Come on," she says, playing nice for the moment, give Mary-Anne's assailant a smooth smile, "There's no need for that. We're all just trying to have a good time. Let her go, have a drink with me, unwind a little?" She can't bring herself to out and out flirt with this man - her revulsion makes that beyond her abilities. But she can at least try to soothe or distract him.

Quinn wrinkles her nose and sets down her glass upon seeing the girl rather forcefully grabbed. That's really not cool, particularly when people are just being able to enjoy themselves again. "'Ey now, if she wants to be left alone, let it be," she remarks with a point of her finger as Bella finishes talking. "Why don't you sod off and let the poor girl enjoy herself? I'm sure we could all use it." She doesn't make a movement towards the man, the other woman seems to have that covered, but she's still a bit tensed up. She's not always one to get involved, but come on.

Niki would guess that the gentleman attempting to take Mary-Anne home is a well-intentioned boyfriend. The girl looks like she should be in bed. Gina doesn't seem to have any of Niki's good sensibilities, however. She's quick to flash a glare to the man. She doesn't act just yet, but if Bella's methods fail…

The tall blonde guy, probably to be pegged in his late twenties, rounds on Bella when she lays a hand on him. Her wrist is grabbed, plucked off of himself and dropped forcefully. "Listen Lady, back off. You don't know anything, and I don't need a drink or a good time, so don't touch me and back the fuck off. Mary-Anne, get your ass and your jacket, we're going."

There's a glare to Quinn when she talks, the next focus in his fury. "She needs to be in bed, not out partying and getting drunk. Aren't you afraid that you might get what she has? Evo-Flu don't you know? Don't want to catch that now do you?" He's taking a step towards Quinn, invading personal space.

"Fuck, Jacob, just back the fuck off!" Mary-Anne protests, a hand coming up to her forehead, eyes closing for a few moments. "Fuck, I just wanted to have some fun and a drink. Is that a fucking crime?" She doesn't look like she has the Evo-Flu, none of the trademark symptoms or even the sheen of sweat that would scream fever.

"Listen buddy," Ina interjects. "Why don't you go cool off outside, in the snow, and when your girlfriend is done partying, she'll come out. Or do we need to get security?"

Bella takes careful note of this lack of symptoms, her lips pursing. "Honey," she says, moving over to Mary-Anne's side, "Mind if I feel your head for a moment? I'm a doctor." She glances towards this Jacob, tone wry, "If she's sick I understand your feelings, but if you're bullshitting we will have you kicked out." Bella turns back to Mary-Anne, lifting her hand towards the shaggy blonde's brow, "It'll just take a second. I want to make sure he isn't trying to pull anything, okay?" Trying to tap into her reserve of bedside manner.

Now, passive as Quinn can be, this just won't do. As the man gets in her face, her eyes narrow further and the Irish girl stands straight, attempting to look him in the eye. The mention of Evo-Flu, however, is something that resonates in her ears and prevents her from doing anything really rash. Instead, she simply crosses her arms, scoffing. "You ever figure you might get 'er to come along by not being a ponce?" A glance is had over to the girl and the woman now tending to her, a hint of a smile returning to her face. Looking back to the man, who still hasn't backed off, she shrugs. "Right then, mind backin' off a bit?"

This is clearly a job for — somebody else.

Unfortunately, Gina steps in anyway. She shoulders her way between Jacob and Quinn. He's being an asshole to every lady present, so enough is enough in her mind. "Back the fuck off, man." All she sees is a controlling bastard of a boyfriend, and this does not fly. "If she doesn't want to go with you, she doesn't have to go with you. You have thirty seconds to turn your ass around and get out."

"She's my fucking sister." He's turning away from Quinn when Gina's now getting involved, shoulders thrown back and chin up in a 'what's it to you' type of attitude. "She's my sister and I'm her brother and she's supposed to have her skinny ass in bed." Spoken loud enough for Mary-Anne to hear. "So why don't you back off and let me take care of my family." Now it's time to invade Gina's personal space.

Mary-Anne's getting agitated, the bartender seems to be going off to go and find security or send someone else to get Security. "Jacob. Just stop it, please." She starts to beg, even as Bella's hand descends on her forehead. She's cool to the touch, perfectly fine and not a symptom of the H5N10 at all. The whites of her eyes though, off white, and breathing fast. "Please, tell your friend to back off, he's my brother, he's just trying to protect me."

About now would be a good time to have some diagnostic tools. A light to check her pupils' reaction to light. A stethoscope to try and see if the breathing is just fast, or actually irregular. Bella does not have any such tools to work with, but she does her best, stepping in front of Mary-Anne to try and grab her full attention. "Don't worry," she says, "I'm sure everyone will keep their senses about them," this last comment is directed over her shoulder, an imperative prediction. She lifts a finger, "If you could do me a big favor, Mary-Anne, and follow my finger with your eyes without turning your head." Her fingertip coasts from side to side. A simple neurological test.

Not to be intimidated, Gina holds her ground even as Jacob begins closing in. "Ooh, big man," she taunts with a narrow of her eyes. "So you bully your sister? That's charming. Must win you a lot of points. You bully strangers who are stepping in because you look like an abusive asshole? You should thank us for our concern. For not wanting her to go home with someone who looks like he might punch her." She's positively fuming now. She'd cross her arms over her chest as a way to convey her annoyance through her body language, but she's too concerned about keeping her hands free in case she needs to defend herself. Her right hand has balled into a fist at her side.

Checking her forehead was one thing, but Mary-Anne's been through enough to know that the woman in front of her is not just a party goer here to have some fun. Outside of it, she's a doctor. She's gone from angry in the face to suddenly fearful and it's not Jacob that people need to worry about.

Mary-Anne's hands come out, shoving at Bella bodily to keep her from being inserted between her and her brother. "Back off, lady."

Jacob's looking mighty annoyed, might very well be about to do to Gina what she's thinking of doing to him as his hands ball into a fist. He even starts to swing his hand until without much fanfare and a sucking sound, both he and Mary-Anne have disappeared with only a rushing in of air where two people use to be at the bar.

The shove comes without warning, at least none that Bella sees. She she recovers from her stumble, Bella is left with no patient, and no antagonist. She looks around, as if maybe they just sort of melted into the crowd. But she can't sustain that illusion for long. She looks to each of the contributors in this conflict, blinking. "What just happened?" she asks.

Quinn is on the verge of saying another piece of her mind when the pair jsut up and disappear, her eyes widening in surprise. Curious, she looks around, at Gina, and then at Bella and Ina, a confused expression on her face. "So, uh… that's not the flu, right?" It's a really stupid comment, but after the confrontation and, uh… sudden disappearance, it seemed needed. "Seriously, though, I haven't gone mad, have I?"

Gina stumbles forward a step as the momentum from the uppercut she was about to throw has nothing to connect with and leaves her off balance. She quickly rights herself, and fortunately doesn't punch anybody she didn't intend to. It leaves her feeling unfulfilled. She would have laid that fucker out, she's sure of it! Turning her attention back to the bar and her scotch, she takes a gulp. "I think she just teleported the two of them out of here," she speculates to Bella and Quinn without actually looking at them.

Oh, but of course. Teleportation. If only it were easy to figure out if that comment was a joke. If only times were so simple. Bella looks from Gina to Quinn. "No, hallucinations don't usually work like that. I think…" she frowns at Gina, "Our friend here may have a point."

Quinn rolls her eyes at Bella's comment, someone had clearly missed the joke. Still, Gina's comment seems to almost immediately alleviate at least Quinn's personal tension after what had just transpired. Her posture relaxed, and a grin creeps back across her face. "Huh, a teleporter? I'd never seen one before." She'd seen a few evo, but that much was true. A grin crosses her face as she remembers the conversations he'd had a few weeks ago on that very matter. Reaching up, she scratches the back of her neck. "Well, um, I guess that's that… thanks again for gettin' that bastard outta my face."

"Hey," Gina turns to Quinn with a small smile, "don't worry about it. The guy needed to step off." She catches a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror at the back of the bar and swiftly lifts her drink to her lips and swallows the rest of it down. "What a fucking buzzkill," she mutters. She may not be talking about what just transpired.

Of course, Gina didn't see her reflection at all. "Enjoy the rest of your night, girls." Dropping a tip onto the bar, the blonde turns to leave.

"That's it," Bella says, "No more good Samaritanizing for me tonight. Where the hell is Ina?" She looks around, but doesn't spot her friend. Bella wrinkles her nose, offers her hand to Quinn, "Bella," she says, "You're tough as nails, I admire that. Why don't you come with me? I'll introduce you to the better element."

Looking a bit surprised, Quinn accepts Bella's hand and shakes it, grinning. "Ah, not really. I just don't take kindly to people actin' so… daft. Name's Quinn, pleasure to meet 'ya." She wasn't sure what she meant by "the better element", but it wasn't really something she paid much time to. "Sure, why not. No need t' let one jerk ruin the night."


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