They had barely ordered their food when the PNKs had dragged Tani away to the one place he couldn't go after her in pursuit: The girl's restroom. That left him alone with his fraternity brothers—for probably the first time since he had first been asked to join them. It was the perfect chance for him to try and fit in, especially with his performance in the first round of the Scare Games, but no matter how he tried he found it difficult to do much of anything but nurse his soda in his hands and watch the others as they waited for their food to arrive.
The place was loud and rowdy, with music blaring underneath the roar of the crowd. It wasn't his kind of hangout, but he said nothing against it: He just waited to be recognized by someone else before speaking. If Tani were with him—and if she were able to get over her disdain for the PNKs and RORs—she would've made vigorous conversation herself and have given him an in in the process, but until she got back he was on his own.
And it was taking a while for her to get back… It was starting to worry him. She had been dragged into the bathroom by two of the PNKs: Only one of them had left so far—her old roommate—and had left the restaurant altogether. Only now did the red-head return, storming back through the clutter of tables and monsters before passing once again through that forbidden door.
As their waiter brought over a bounty of mealworm arancini and crispy, lime-seasoned crickets for their appetizers, it was the ROR president that finally brought him into the conversation—his gaze also momentarily following the sorority monster before falling over to Randall. He lounged in his seat as he spoke, an arm resting on the back of his chair. "So, Boggs, tell me: What is it with you and the little green fury?"
"Mike?" he asked somewhat timidly.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said 'little'," Johnny snorted before correcting, "I meant Tanith. You can't tell me that nothing's going on between you two."
He felt his scales ignite at this, and nearly began to wring his tail between his hands out of habit before catching himself in time. "N-no," he fumbled with his words, "Tani's just a friend." He then added with a thoughtful nod, "A really good friend. We met at the beginning of the year and we sort of just became a trio: Me, Tani, and… Well, you know." It had been uncomfortable bringing Mike up once already: After the incident from earlier that night, he didn't want to risk steering the conversation back on the cyclopoid.
Still, the former continued to smirk and raise a disbelieving brow at him. Did it really look to other people that there was something going on between them? Well, they had pretended to go out a date just that one time, but after that they had hardly ever been together without Mike being there with them as well. There was no possible way he and Tani would even think of actually going steady: Tani was too free a spirit to be with anyone and he… She was special to him, but he couldn't think of her that way. Despite himself, he fiddled his fingers with his second pair of hands beneath the table. What they had going for them was good enough.
"It's smart on your part though to consider making connections already," Johnny commented, briefly turning away to pluck an arancini from the large platter and pop it in his mouth with a subtle crunch between his fangs. "Most freshmen don't think to bother."
That gave him pause. He took a moment to play the other's words through his head a second time before speaking. "Pardon?" It was a bit difficult to believe what he thought the ROR President was insinuating.
"Her mom is the top child scout for Scream Industries," he shrugged nonchalantly, but then chortled, "And let's face it: It's hard to see her charm."
"You sure can't fall for her alluring personality," Chet butted in with his mouth full of crickets, laughing as the others joined in.
Somehow, what they both said managed to hit a nerve he didn't even know he had. What held Randy back from telling them this, however, was a sense of dread that chained down his offense. Instead, he tried to make light of it but offering them a small grin and a low chuckle—treating the biting stings of the insults as if they were actually jokes. In the very least, he knew that he would never use Tani like that: The thought of trying to get close to her mother hadn't even crossed his mind. He knew for certain that Tani had to know that too: She had too strong a will to let herself be used like that, even if it meant isolating herself from others as a result.
He liked Tani long before he knew about her mother, and he liked Tani for who she was—not what she had to offer him. Besides, he was more interested in working at Monsters Incorporated after graduation. The company's ties to the university were one of the main reasons he applied to it.
Fortunately for him, he didn't have to listen to their words against her any longer as she was escorted by the PNKs that had taken her into the bathroom. Spotting the group out of the corner of his eye, he pulled out the chair beside him for her and then startled with sudden realization. Looking back up, it was hard to believe that it was still Tani he was looking at between the sorority girls, for her appearance had been greatly transformed within the period that they had been gone.
Her short, normally spikey hair had been curled in subtle waves, and an electric violet streak now ran down the right side of her pixie cut. The black turtleneck she usually wore was replaced with a mauve, thigh-length tank and a Byzantium crop-top that hung loose over one of her shoulders. Accentuated by a light shade of purple eye shadow her eyes seemed to pop, and when she got closer to him he caught a scent similar to a rainy morning's from whatever perfume had been used on her.
It wasn't her at all, and it was obvious that she was uncomfortable with the way she was dressed, but he couldn't help but feel his heart leap in his throat at the sight of her. Maybe he was a bit biased on the matter, but he thought she looked really good in purple…
"I look like a giant, green and violet candy wrapper…" she murmured absentmindedly as she took her place beside him, shifting in her seat.
"No, no, no," he found himself reassuring her in a voice just above a whisper, still in a minor state of shock. "You look fine—y-you look great… It suits you."
She snorted after a brief seconds' pause, apparently caught off guard by the compliment. She drew herself inward with a bashful sort of smile. "I don't really feel like it suits me," she replied, "but then I'm used to wearing only neutrals. It's not like there are many other colors that go well my scales."
Struggling to think of what to say next, he just nodded in answer.
"I'm telling you, if you had your scales dyed pink then you wouldn't have that problem," Crystal muttered from the other side of the grouping of tables that made up their large party.
"And I'm telling you that's never going to happen…" Tani seethed through a false smile so quietly that only he could hear her.
Soon enough though, her disgruntlement faded as she redirected her attention to the food. She paid no attention to the stares surrounding her as she began to dive heartily into the appetizers—far opposite of the delicate manner in which the other girls at the table poked at them or the salads they had ordered. It wasn't that she lacked manners so much as she didn't seem to get ever full, and had already eaten more than any of them by the time their main dishes had been brought to the table. All the while, Randy found himself holding back his own snickering—particularly when Chip gave him a look and mouthed silently, 'Where does she put it?'
Once all the food was set out, before any of them could really dig in, Johnny rose to his feet with his drink in his hands—calling the whole of them to attention. Even Tani fell silent, already sensing the matter worth standing for. "Ladies and gentlemen, scarers of all breeds," he boasted with confidence and his glass held high, "a toast to the new semester, to the Scare Games, and to our first victory! May luck shine on us for the rest to come!"
All raised their drinks in answer, a cheer passing many of their lips and with Javier commenting smugly, "Ain't no 'luck' to it." However, Randy caught how Tani seemed to watch him as she raised hers, as though she were toasting only for him. It served as a reminder that the evening changed nothing about the caution and resentment she held for the others, and also made him feel as bashful as he had made her a moment earlier. He had mixed feelings about that, but surely she would come around sometime. He was counting on it.