John made a noise of annoyance as his friend yanked him off of the couch. He had been playing a videogame on her 3DS and she'd finally gotten bored enough to come and bother him.
"What do you want, Vriska?" John asked as she frowned at him. She'd invited him over into her dorm room so she could show him one of her newer PS3 games, but he was uninterested and instead picked up her 3DS.
"Are you seriously coming to the party dressed like that? Tsk tsk, and here I thought you would at least think of your friends," Vriska shook her head but she was unable to keep the smile off of her face. "Now go to your dorm room and change so you can look good!"
John was dumbfounded. "Wait, what party?" He had been wondering why Vriska had bothered to put on a dress, even though she still wore a pair of jeans underneath it.
Vriska rolled her eyes as she stepped back. "God, you sure are slow! Tavros's bro is throwing a Christmas party at his apartment! We have to at least drop in for some beer." Her small accent kicked in, causing every word that had a b to sound odd.
"We're too young to drink, Vriska," John stated, crossing his arms. It took him a moment for what she said to settle in. "I- I knew that but- wait, did you just invite me to a party? Like- like a… date?" His voice lowered as he finished the sentence, a blush creeping onto his cheeks.
Vriska deadpanned before hitting her palm against his arm. "No, dumbass! It's a party, not some fucking high class restaurant! Now go before you embarrass yourself any further."
A few minutes later, John and Vriska were exiting the dormitory. They had on their jackets and hats, despite the fact that John was well adjusted to harsh cold from living in Washington most of his life. He hadn't bothered to change, just grabbed a jacket and hat along with a pair of shoes.
"Come on, John. Pick up the pace! My sister can walk faster than you in the highest heels you've ever seen!" she complained as she ushered him out of the door.
John rolled his eyes, but quickened his pace nonetheless. "Yeah, yeah. How far away does Tavros live, anyway?"
"You mean Rufioh? He lives a block or two that way." Vriska pointed at a bundle of buildings as they walked through the parking lot.
"How many people will be there?" John frowned, his slightly buck teeth showing a bit. He wasn't very fond of social situations, but he knew to be kind to everyone he meets unless they prove themselves to be unworthy of kindness.
Vriska smiled. "Not too many. Why? Are you hoping to meet somebody there?" she nudged his side with her elbow and wiggled her eyebrows. John sighed at this, causing her to laugh loudly.
"No, Vriska. I just wanted to know if I have to meet anybody new," John said, rolling his eyes sarcastically.
"Maybe a face or two will be new, but you'll know most of them. Come on though, it's freezing out, and we have a party to crash!" Vriska laughed, gripping John's hand before dashing down the sidewalk. He was forced into run while he was dragged away from the college dorm where he lived. John eventually began laughing as the people they passed gave them amused looks of confusion.
It didn't take long for them to arrive at the apartment complex, but by then they were panting and their faces were pink from the cold. A few other people were entering the building, but he didn't recognize them from the angle he was at.
Vriska pulled him into the elevator before the doors closed. Two other people stood in the elevator with them, both woman who appeared to be older than them.
"John?" one of the girls spoke to him, raising a hand tentatively. John turned to face her, and that's when he finally realized who it was.
"Jane!" John stepped over to her, wrapping his arms around Jane's stomach tightly and squeezed pulled away quickly and looked at her. "I didn't know you were in New York!"
Jane let out a laugh. "I just arrived a few days ago. Roxy wanted to visit her mom and sister and insisted I attend."
John laughed, before remembering that there were other people in the elevator. "Oh, uh, sorry." John turned to Vriska, who had her arms crossed and was looking at him with a weird expression. "Jane, this is my friend, Vriska. Vriska, this is my cousin."
The two exchanged polite greetings as the elevator came to a stop at the ninth floor. Vriska said that this was their stop, so John excused himself and exited the elevator.
"Wait, Johnny!" Roxy called out to him as they stepped out of the elevator. "This is the floor we get off of too, silly!"
"Excuse her, she was drinking a bit before we left. We were invited to an early Christmas party by our friend, Rufioh and his little brother Tavros." Jane walked over to John with Roxy in tow, their hands linked together. John noticed but refrained from saying anything.
"Oh, really? We're heading there too! Right, Vriska?" John nudged his friend and she rolled her eyes before nodding.
"Tavros invited me and I ended up inviting John because he said it was fine by him." She shrugged indifferently as they stopped in front of an apartment.
John knocked on the door and it immediately swung open. A girl stood in front of them, grinning ear to ear. "Hi, guys!" she greeted cheerfully before stepping aside. "Come on in!"
Inside there were more people scattered about. Rufioh was leaning on the kitchen counter in the back having a conversation with somebody John didn't recognize. Tavros and Gamzee were sitting on the couch and Tavros smiled and gave a small wave when he saw them enter. Another girl that John didn't recognize was sitting on the seat across from them, sipping something from a girl that let them in walked giddily around to two blondes, a boy and girl, who were standing near the entrance of the small hallway.
Rufioh looked over to the door, noticing the group that just entered. He stood up fully and greeted them happily. The other person there waved politely, and Jane and Roxy walked over to them. Roxy was practically jumping up and down with joy, even though she was wearing high heels.
"John," somebody behind him said his name, obviously a female. He turned around to face them and saw his friend Rose.
"Hey, Rose!" John smiled widely, his buck teeth showing. "Long time no see!"
"Yes, it has been awhile, despite the small fact that we attend the same college," Rose agreed, nodding her head.
John laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. Too bad we don't have any classes together," he said sheepishly. "Oh! You've met Vriska, right?"
"Yes, you have introduced me to your friend before." Rose nodded at her and Vriska smirked, giggling a little
"Great greeting, Lalonde. Great to speak to you once again." Vriska rolled her eyes as her smirk grew.
"Always my pleasure, Serket." Rose returned the smirk, her black colored lips pulling to one side.
John realized that the girl that let them in was somewhere else and the other blonde was watching them with a straight face. He was wearing sunglasses, a beanie, and a red scarf despite being inside. Rose caught his gaze and cleared her throat.
"John, Vriska, I would like to introduce you two to my friend, Dave. I would also introduce you to Jade, but she is away at the moment." Rose gestured a hand to the blonde boy standing there. Dave nodded once as if he was greeting them.
"Hi! It's nice to meet you!" John waved and grinned, his monster teeth showing.
"You too." Dave nodded again, trying not to blurt something stupid.
Rose looked between the two of them with her signature smirk before turning to Vriska and saying, "I suppose we should leave these two to enjoy themselves. Would you care to get something to drink?"
Vriska laughed. "Only if there's alcohol in it." she said, turning away from the boys.
Rose leaned over and whispered something in Dave's ear,causing his cheeks to flush before she followed Vriska into the kitchen. John watched as they walked away, wondering what Rose had said.
John turned back to Dave, who was no longer blushing, and smiled. John liked his sunglasses and beanie, but didn't think he really needed to have them on inside. "So," he started, "what kind of things do you like to do? Do you know any good movies?"
Dave shrugged. "I don't really watch many movies," he stated. "Usually just listen to music or mess around with my turntables. But based off of your shirt, I'm going to guess you're into Ghostbusters."
John looked at his shirt. Sure enough, his white tee shirt had the Ghostbusters symbol on it. Looking back up, he let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I'm kind of a fanatic for movies, but they're good, I swear! I guess you could call me a dork for them," he admitted.
"Well, I, in particular, have nothing against dorks. Actually, in fact, I kinda like them." Dave shrugged indifferently, trying not to smirk as John gave him a surprised look.
John's face flushed a bright pink and he averted his eyes, looking toward the door. "I- Thanks, I guess."
"Sure, man. Wanna sit?" Dave nodded his head toward the couch and John glances at it before agreeing.
Sitting on one of the two couches in the living room, John and Dave continued to talk about various things. They enjoyed themselves, John laughing at Dave's jokes while Dave tried not to call his buck teeth cute. Rufioh was about to turn on a movie for them to watch when the power cut off and the sound of wind blowing and snow falling at great speeds out the window interrupted them. A blizzard was starting, as well as the beginning of a long night.