Feferi really knew where to go for a good time. The last couple of years had been only so-so, but this was definitely a good pick for a Halloween bash. Good music, a jumping crowd, and only a short bus trip from the college. Eridan-scratch that-Ariel was on the dancefloor with her doppelganger, who was squealing and writhing up against 'her,' not even tipsy yet. However, Eridan couldn't help but check his phone every few minutes, expecting a phone call.
Checking your phone isn't dancing!" Feferi pointed, mid-grind, dressed to the nines in a form-fitting prince's tailcoat and leggings that hugged her curves and a cravat that emphasized her bust. A chintzy gold-tone crown perched atop her head, held in place with barrettes, and her fingers were littered with coin-machine rings in flagrant mockery of Eridan's usual jewels.
Eridan shrugged and slipped the phone back into his bra. "Sorry, Fef, my mind's been elsewhere." Honestly, he wasn't feeling the song, but as it ended he could hear the transition into one much more agreeable to him. He grinned and began to dance in earnest, his hips rocking in his tiny black witch dress, long fishnet-bound legs and shiny black high heels drawing many a passer's eye.
"Where else could it be?" Feferi cackled, pushed forward somewhat due to the crowd surging behind her.
"Don't matter, I'm back now," he grinned, convincing falsetto firmly in place. He rocked and ground with Fef, having a grand old time as he convinced himself that, if Sollux did call, there was no possible way he could miss the phone ringing.
Karkat and Kanaya stood near the bar in the most relatively "quiet" section, attempting to converse as normally as possible. He was in striped shirt and shorts, with red shoes and a red sideways baseball cap, nursing a plastic cup of ice water; she in an elegant black dress and gloves, multi-strand faux pearl necklace and wig.
"Honestly it's not the noise, Kanaya, it's the GODDAMN FUCKING ASSHOLES WHO KEEP KNOCKING INTO ME!"
Kanaya mildly attempted to adjust the ornate bun on top of her head while not jabbing anyone in the eye with her cigarette holder, "If only they hadn't confiscated your bat, you could show them what for."
"I know!" Karkat threw up his hands, managing at only barely to not splash anyone, "Now I just look like a retarded elementary school kid; I needed the damn bat to properly be Ness!"
"Like anybody gives a shit," came a feminine voice behind him, as Eridan approached carrying a tray of frog-green shots. He pressed one into Karkat's hand. "It's for all a our benefit, yours included, that they confiscated your cudgel. I prefer my festivities not involvin' gettin' writ up in a police report." He picked up another shot and handed it to Kanaya.
"Ness wasn't even my idea! I was fine with that shitty Batman hood, but you guys decided I needed to be something cute and hilarious or whatever crap Feferi was spewing about the joy of the season." Karkat then slammed back his shot, barely even tasting it.
Kanaya swirled hers as Karkat rambled, looking over at Eridan, "How's tricks?"
He raised a shot to her, "You know me. Can't say no to tryin' a half-price festive shot." He knocked it back and sputtered, wincing, "...Which clearly ain't the wisest decision I ever made. Eech..."
"Tis the season." Karkat responded, placing the glass back on the tray.
Kanaya sniffed her glass and made a face, then set the shot back on Eridan's tray.
Eridan eyed the shot and shrugged, "Might be the wisest course a action. I'd say, if it ain't your thing, to try passin' it to some pretty young think what caught your eye, but this shit's more a act a aggression than anythin' else. Shame..." He nodded to her, "Diggin' the Audrey Hepburn vibe, by the by. Suits you."
Karkat snatched Kanaya's abandoned and sucked it down; neither of the others seem to mind.
"Glad to see my intention was made manifest," Kanaya bowed slightly, "Out of curiosity, how many shots have you been passed, Ariel?"
"Fewer'n I got ass-grabs, which leaves me thinkin' I should a dressed as chivalry's rottin' corpse, since it's clearly dead as dead gets. Me an' Fef had about two drinks apiece so far, plus there's the tribute I brought you two, an' we ain't paid a plug nickel as a yet." He gestured over to Feferi, who had finished dancing and was slowly working through the mass of people back to the group. "Thinkin' on gettin' somethin' I can enjoy drinkin', though. You guys want anythin', long as I'm goin'?"
Kanaya replied, "I'd ask for a martini for my ensemble, but frankly there's little point considering where we are and how likely that glass were to break."
Karkat responded, "Vodka and redbull, and make it a double, but only if they don't have quadruples."
"Somethin' classy, an' somethin' to regret. Got it. Tell Fef I'm fetchin' her somethin' with an umbrella." Eridan clapped Karkat's back and made his way off towards the bar.
Feferi waded through the crowd of people, pausing only to politely decline a dance from a guy dressed as a giraffe. Adjusting her crown, she greeted the others, "Hey guys! Aren't you having fun? You should totally dance!"
"Do I look like your fucking jester, Feferi?" Karkat pointed at himself.
Kanya continued, "No, you look like a retarded elementary school child, if memory serves.
He pointed menacingly at her and she poked him in the chest with her cigarette holder, "Perhaps later; need more liquid courage, you see."
"Is the dancing why we're here? Have you dragged us all along to dance for your amusement while my dignity turns over in its neglected and unmarked grave?" Karkat looked back at their princely addition.
"I wanted to have fun with my friends! And I wanted my friends to have fun!" Feferi hugged Karkat from the side, "Come on, try having fun. You might like it!"
Karkat accepted the hug, but did not reciprocate, "You aren't the empress of my good time, Fef, so don't push it. I'm having plenty fun right here in this semi-quiet hovel of darkness."
"Could have fooled me." Feferi made a face and tugged the corners of Karkat's lips up in a smile. "He doesn't look happy, does he Kanaya?"
"Well, now he does." Kanaya gestured to the pair of them while Karkat fought back a chuckle.
Feferi giggled as Eridan could be heard a few feet away, "Hey shitstain, just 'cause my hands are full don't mean I won't beat the shit out a you, now KEEP YOUR FUCKIN' HANDS OFF THE MERCHANDISE!"
Kanaya rolled her eyes and walked off and returned shortly, dragging Eridan along steadily, "Shooooosh."
Eridan grumbled the whole way back to the others.
"Bootygrabs o'clock sure does come early," Feferi commiserated, letting go of Karkat's cheeks to help Eridan with his drinks.
Eridan made a noncommittal noise and began to pass out libations. "Kan, got you a cosmopolitan. Swill for Kar. Fef, got you a strawberry daiquiri, complete with umbrella," he paused while she made a giddy little squeal, "an' somethin' worthwhile for me." He raised up a glass of blood-red wine. "Cheers."
Everyone properly raised their glasses and took draught.
Kanaya then looked to Eridan, "Gotten any calls yet?"
Eridan's eyes flicked over to Fef, who was sipping her daiquiri through a straw. "Not as a yet, but I'm still hopeful."
"Sollux and hope aren't really things to be relied on, ED." said Karkat, nickname mockingly tagged on.
Eridan shrugged, a little irritably, and Feferi pouted. "Wish he could've come. I don't care if he hasn't got a costume!"
Karkat barked, "Oh, but I had to gussy up like a misshapen Ken doll before I could be fucking presentable to the public!?"
"In-costume is best! Present but not-costumed is better than nothing," Feferi protested, stirring her drink. "Besides, you look cute as that guy from Smash Brothers!"
"I would've rather come in a burka!" Karkat spat.
Kanaya looked amused, "Oh? The modern philosopher thinks he's too good for this place?"
Karkat looked at her, bewildered, "More like no one here gets why I'm dressed like some pissgargling ventriloquist's puppet."
"Nothin' wrong with strayin' from the beaten path, Kar," Eridan said, tugging his skirt down a little in back.
"I recognize you!" Feferi protested, "Maybe I should've been Princess Peach. Oooh, or Sheik! Prince and Princess all in one!"
Karkat replied, "If you tried to dance in that much wrapping you'd expire of heat exhaustion before you even got through the first shimmy. And dehydration, if you forgot to drink. Seriously, do you see any mummies here? No, because even these drunken louts here have sense enough to not sweat themselves into early yet thematically appropriate graves."
"Still easier than Kirby." Feferi started to giggle into her straw, "Oh geez, could you imagine? Bouncing and shaking in a perfectly spherical costume? I'd be king of the dancefloor! Everybody out of my way! Heeheehee! I think I have to do that now. Kanaya, can we do that?"
Kanaya pondered, "That would require more LSD and less alcohol, wouldn't it?"
"Lousy reality, getting in the way of a perfectly good time..." Feferi pouted, as Eridan gave her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. "It'd be cute, though! You'd make a pretty Zelda, and we could get Sollux to, I dunno, maybe be Mario or something? We could beat each other up with squeaky mallets and then nobody'd question who Karkat was and he wouldn't feel left out!"
Eridan scowled into his drink, "Fuck me if I didn't try to wrangle him, Fef, honest an' true. What the bastard got against socializin' is beyond me, an' it ain't like this place checks ID's for shit."
He fell quiet. Why had Sollux declined the invitation? By now he must have realized that if Karkat couldn't pay, Eridan and Feferi always covered him; for the price of a little ribbing, Sollux could mooch right along with him if it came down to it. It was Halloween for fuck's sake, and here Eridan was, done up in skank chic and looking like sex itself. Fucking wasted opportunity, right there.
It would've meant so much to Feferi if Sollux had come, and, in fairness, it's not like Eridan minded his company. Sure, the tactless asswipe was a prick, chronically caustic and terminally geeky, always ready with a snide remark or twelve. Hell, sometimes the best thing about Sollux sucking his cock was the fact it shut the fucker up, but if Eridan were being honest with himself, there was definitely something in that fight and bile that wasn't just alluring, it was just fun to be around.
Eridan returned to himself and to the conversation to hear Feferi piping, "Hey! Listen! Hey! Hey! Hey!" Karkat was growling and fisting his hair; Kanaya lightly smacked Feferi on top of her head.
Eridan tapped Feferi, "No, Fef, just, no."
Feferi leaned against him, "Aww...you're no fun! Wicked witch, for sure."
He smiled indulgently, "An' you're a spoiled li'l prince. Good t'know we're in character here, your majesty."
He could never stay mad at Feferi. Anyone else? Sure, he could hold a grudge as dearly as a lifeline, but not with his Fef. Not these days.
Kanaya asked, "So did Sollux promise to be here or did you just assume he'd follow wherever you led?"
Feferi looked up at him, and Eridan sighed and scratched the back of her neck, cheering her up immediately. "I done my level best in cajolin' him but he said he had some kind a work he had to get done or some stupid shit. Guess the fucker ain't yet figured that when Fef gets a soiree in the works, the rest a us fall in line."
Feferi giggled, "Next time!"
Eridan finished his wine and shook his head, "Speakin' on that point, I'm nowhere near drunk enough. Ladies, Kar, if you'll excuse me...I already got a hangover scheduled for the mornin', an' I'd best get to work on that. You know how I hate to fuck up my schedule." He flourished his hand and turned prettily on his heel towards the bar.
Kanaya rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Dibs on not having to deal with him tomorrow."
"Dibs?" Karkat barked, "I'll be glad if I don't get called by the fuckers in my hall over whatever shit he's going to inevitably raise up like the goddamn Red Sea at Sollux itonight./i"
Feferi frowned, "Are they still fighting?"
Kanaya and Karkat shared a look for a moment, unsure of how to answer that.
Kanaya took the reins, "Yes. Yes they are."
Feferi crossed her arms and pouted, "I'll have to talk with Eridan. Those two would get along SO well if they just played nice!"
Karkat snorted and tried not to laugh, waving dismissively. "It's no big deal, just might have to tell them to shut the fuck up a few times as the representative of the passive-aggression police squad."
"Hmph, not good enough! I know they'd get along swimmingly!" She finished her daiquiri and pushed her crown forward, "I'm gonna have a word with him, where is he? I'll get some dang peace in this kingdom." She looked around and saw Eridan on the dance floor once more, a fresh glass in hand and shimmying with Conan the Barbarian.
Kanaya stared and then slowly shook her head, "This feels like a terrible stereotype, doesn't it?"
Karkat nodded, taking a good long pull from his neglected drink.
Feferi set her glass aside and started off towards Eridan, ready to tell him off, until Kanaya tugged at her sleeve. "Don't go into the line of fire, none would survive it."
"What? I'm just gonna smooth things out!" Feferi protested. "No big deal, just make him stop fighting with Sollux. Bam, done, everyone's happy!"
Kanaya searched her mind for any sort of deterrent, "Does it have to be now? When he's like this? It can wait til-" She wasn't about to say 'tomorrow', especially if he was guaranteed to be hung over, "Later?"
Feferi turned and saw Eridan swallowing the last of his drink and being handed a shot. She sighed, "...Guess you have a point." She turned to Karkat and leveled a finger at him, "But if he and Sollux get into it and bother anybody, you let me know and I'll get the two of them sorted right out!"
Karkat then couldn't help but fall back against the wall, cackling like a hyena while Kanaya shook her head once more.
Feferi looked back and forth between Karkat and Kanaya in confusion. "What?"
A little ways away on the dancefloor, Eridan had been given yet another shot, and rewarded his benefactor with a saucy little dance as his ears burned and his cheeks itched. His head was not beginning to swim so much as comfortably paddling along the deep-end, and while he certainly appreciated both the attention and the aesthetics of the broad-shouldered dog-boy he was dancing with, he found himself thinking on someone else. Someone rather slimmer, more angled bone than rounded muscle, with slender fingers and teeth all wrong.
One more dance, he told himself, one more dance and then off to home. Just one, and...ooh, another shot! Eridan gave the doctor-slash-booze-fairy a flirtatious wink and downed the shot, and began to dance with him. After all, it would be rude to drink and run.
By the time the free drinks dried up, Eridan was hardly in running condition, and he wandered off for the dorm with only one person in mind to see.
