callmeemily | Housewarming / Easter Party

Entry tags:

gathering post

Housewarming / Easter Party

So, it started with a mass text to Raleigh's friends last week.

Somebody's all fancy with nowhere to go, so the party's coming to him!! Housewarming/Easter thing, some booze/food provided bring more if you want, 4/4/15. Be here!

That's the start of it, and Raleigh's apartment's actually mostly-sort-of furnished. Everything's open, the table that Joel made her is against one wall with booze and food, there's seating and music (not country, because she knows that's just her), and it's pretty much a party. Delicious food, good friends, and a good time, and her elderly neighbor's out of town so noise isn't really a problem. She's not that picky about who's here and who's not - not tonight, anyway, since it's just about celebrating her first Real Place.

OOC: If you can explain how you knew it was happening, you can totally show up! Gathering, tag each other, tag Raleigh, whatever! I'll try and hit up all top levels, too! This post is open pretty much from now until people stop tagging, but the actual party is Saturday, in game-time!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Joel might not be very good with parties -- and he might be skirting the edges of this one -- but he's here because it's for Raleigh. He feels a bit strange showing up empty handed, but the house warming gift he'd made for her is already here, laden with food and drinks, which pleases him, even if it's entirely possible he doesn't look pleased, which he'll always choose to blame on his face.

But he's here and he has a drink and people seem to be generally having a good time, so he does his best as well.

The only thing she makes sure of before she captures Joel in a giant hug is that she's not going to knock the drink out of his hand - she'd already knocked over one glass of booze today, there didn't need to be a second. But she's smiling, and she's happy - if he sees her aura, right now it's shining bright with only her leg to dim it even a little.

"Joel! I'm so glad you're here! Look!" She pulls him along by his sleeve, nevermind he's clearly been here for a bit. "It's like a real apartment!" She's gained a lot of furniture since he'd come by on move-in day. She's got a couch with some really nice pillows, there's some art on the wall, a coffee table, some more chairs-- it seemed like the works, especially with how bare it'd been. "I mean, it's like I'm an adult and everything, seriously," she said with a laugh.

She looks so happy, which makes him happy and Joel lets her drag him around the apartment to see all the things she wants to show him. He's been here before, but she's right, she's made improvements since the last time he's come by.

"I didn't know furniture was how one determined whether or not they were an adult," he teases. "Spencer and I have lots of furniture, more than I've ever had before, and I think I feel less like an adult each day."

"Hey, the thing that I have totally never had is furniture of my own, and you gave me the first piece that was really mine that wasn't my bedframe, and I don't know what else would totally make me an adult because god knows I've only sort of just started to feel like one." The words just sort of bubble out of her, and it's not the same way that she rambles when she's tipsy - this is just excitement. And happiness, and she's thrilled he made it, since out of everyone here-- Spencer and Joel are some of the most important.

"I mean, it's like that for me. Maybe for you, it's the opposite, so the more baby things Spencer buys..." She trails off as she teases him, and she just sort of looks around at the apartment and the people talking and smiling and laughing. "This is nuts, isn't it? I mean, a year ago I was making five dollars an hour and was eating beans and whatever I could sneak, and was living in a boarding house and knew no one. And now... it's just.... this."

"A lot can change in a year," Joel agrees as he looks around her apartment. His own life has changed more than he could have ever imagined. A year ago he was still keeping to himself and his list of friends was very small indeed. The thought of having a romantic relationship had set him on edge and he'd had no desire to embark on a physical relationship of any kind. He had been afraid and anxious more often than not and had kept to himself as a result. Now he's married to someone he loves more than he had ever known would be possible. They're expecting a baby, they've changed the store so that it's successful and Joel actually has people he would call friends.

And the demon is gone.

Everything has changed.

"More than we would think, most of the time," he continues. "I always thought it was silly when people said to give things time, but I suppose the last year proves them right. Sometimes time is all it takes."

"Sometimes, it is," she says with a shake of her head. "I mean, I found you and Spencer, and- and I mean, everything else, there was a lot of everything else, but it's important, I guess. Just- You know that you're really..." She doesn't even know the word she's looking for, so she just settles on, "Family. Both of you, and- and I mean. That's... that's not anything I ever thought I'd have again, ever."

She doesn't realise he's thinking about his own life, too - but she is proud of him, of how far both he and Spencer have come, but she's mostly thankful for the part that they both play in her life, right now.

Joel nods his understanding and he doesn't know what he can say to something like that. There are times when he really feels completely ineloquent, like he's never going to find the right words, and while it's usually Spencer to render him speechless, it's been known to happen with others. It's happening now and he smiles, then reaches out to squeeze her shoulder.

Because he doesn't know what else to do. His throat feels sort of closed up, but he hopes she understands from his smile that he feels the same way.

Raleigh just sort of nods a little, and she moves to hug him from the side, closing her eyes tightly as she squeezes for just a second before she pulls back. "I...." She exhales in a rush. "I should go check on the oven, but-- But you should have a good time, okay?" She paused, and then--

"Thank you. For everything." She's trying not to get too sentimental and sappy, which is why she made the excuse (and uses it, actually) to go to the kitchen and check on the food in the oven. It's settled, maybe, just.... it needed to be said, which is good.

"Hey you!" Davin calls out, working his way through the crowd when he spots Joel and his grumpy ass expression. "You, with the face."

He laughs and sidles up him, giving him a teasing smile. "So, lemme guess, it was this or a root canal, an' ya chose the lesser of the two evils?"

Joel's resting bitch face is kind of hilarious to Davin, and he can't pass up the chance to tease him. He nudges his side just barely with his elbow and winks before taking a sip from his beer.

"I'll have you know I have perfect teeth," Joel answers, his mouth twitching briefly, though he manages to keep a mostly straight face. It isn't even entirely true, his front teeth are a little crooked, but he's never had a cavity in his life, something he's oddly proud of. Davin doesn't need quite that much information, though.

"I'm just not very good at parties," he admits, his voice dry, but he does finally smile. "I'm sure that comes as a terrible surprise, given how comfortable I was at your birthday party."

"You have adorable teeth," Davin assures him with a laugh. He's had a few cavities in his day, but for a kid who grew up without dental insurance, he thinks his own turned out just fine.

At the mention of his birthday party, Davin's smile goes from teasing to soft and fond, and he shrugs. "Big parties aren't for everyone. I usually prefer things like this myself, y'know? Surrounded by friends."

He turns and gestures at the table with his beer bottle, giving Joel an impressed look. "Heard ya crafted that beauty with your own two hands."

As far as Joel is concerned, this is a big party, but he doesn't say as much, just sort of smiles and nods. And then Davin asks him about the table and somehow that's far easier for him to talk about. His shoulders relax a little, his smile becomes more genuine.

"Yeah, I made it," he says, nodding. "I knew she would need something small to fit in the apartment and I made my own when I first moved into the apartment above the bookstore." His sister has that now and he hopes she's being nice to it. He loves that table, but it's far too big and heavy to move.

Davin notices the way Joel relaxes once their attention is turned away from the crowd and he makes note of it, filing it away for later. "That's so nice of ya, man. It's gorgeous. I don't work with wood so much."

He glances around to make sure no one is watching and then looks at the silverware on the table, smirking as they all lift up to stand on end and spin around a few times before laying back down gently. "It's the metal that loves me."

"I wish I could do it with magic," Joel says with a laugh, but he realizes a second later that isn't true. He loves working on something, building a piece of furniture out of nothing and taking away the actual work by doing it with magic would take away what he enjoy about it.

"My dad has been building things for as long as I can remember," he says. "He started teaching me as soon as I showed interest." And it had certainly paid off, given the number of repairs he's had to make in the house and the store.

"Nah, there's nothin' like workin' with your hands," Davin says with a smile. "I mean, I use the magic t'help do some o' the heavy liftin' at work, but I love buryin' my hands in a greasy engine."

Joel talks about his dad and Davin's smile goes a little rueful. He puts on a casual expression and shrugs, looking down at the table. "My dad never did seem t'be interested in anythin', least of all me. Taught myself cars by workin' on an old junker we had when I was about thirteen. My powers were manifestin' an' my folks wanted nothin' t'do with 'em, an' they hated me usin' 'em, but I thought cars would be a good outlet. Turns out I was right."

"Your powers don't come from your parents?" Joel asks, his brow creasing faintly in a frown. That's interesting to him, because everything he can do is a direct result of his parents. His father's powers have always been a little more broad and not nearly as disciplined as his mother's, but Joel knows his psychic connection with Charlotte and his premonitions are abilities similar to his father's.

The protective barriers, the fact that he can make powerful charms and healing potions with ease, that's all his mother.

"It's kinda complicated," Davin says with an awkward shrug. "My gran is the head of the biggest coven in Ireland, and our magic goes back about as many generations as we can count. But my dad - there was somethin' wrong, I guess. He has magic but he never could seem t'access it, from what I hear. So he kinda hates magic 'cause he's bitter, an' then he married my mom who really hates magic, an' then we moved here an' they never even told me I was a witch."

He's rambling, but he never really gets to talk about his background, especially this particular part. And Joel's a good guy. He'll listen. "I think they were hopin' it would skip me too, but it didn't. I started havin' weird stuff happen when I was about thirteen, an' it was my gran who had t'tell me what I was. She flew me out to Ireland t'get some real trainin', an' then I knew."

Davin has a thoughtful frown on his face as he speaks, because he's never quite forgiven his parents for trying to hide what he was. "But anyway, my folks don't like my magic an' they really don't like my taste in bed partners, so we just kinda keep away from each other. Works best for everyone that way."

Joel thinks about that, about how awful it would have been to have his parents turn him away because of what he can do. His mother's parents had been cruel, but in a different way. They had assumed the worst about her voice in partners, they had never wanted her to marry someone who wasn't a witch and before even giving Joel's father a chance, they had just written him off and in return they wrote off their entire family. He's never spent any time with his grandparents as a result of that, but that's not the same. It isn't as awful as he imagines it would have been to lose his parents.

He remembers his mother's initial reaction to Spencer, how put off she had been, but even that had taken only a day or so for her to recover from. She had arrived in Siren Cove for their annual visit and she had apologized in her own way and everyone had moved on.

"Do your parents live here?" he asks. "Or have you put some distance between you and them?"

"Nah, they live here, but we don't exactly run in the same circles," Davin says with a shrug. He doesn't think much about how sad that is, how little they talk. He knows that he's better off without them in his life, but still. "Last time I talked to 'em was just after I got jumped at the shop. Someone told 'em they saw me all bruised up. My dad wanted t'know what I'd done t'get my ass kicked."

His smile goes a little brittle at that, but he shrugs it off quickly and takes a sip of his drinks. "What about your folks? They live 'round here?"

"A few hours south of here. They moved out of town when I was twenty, left the store to me. They used to visit twice a year, but since Charlotte moved back here and since Spencer and I got married, they've started coming up a lot more often."

The only thing Joel regrets about not being able to leave Siren Cove is that he sees his parents less than he would like.

"After we moved here, I got kind of... it got hard for me to leave," he admits. "They always had to come see me."

Edited 2015-04-13 19:02 (UTC)

"I'm glad ya have that," Davin says with a rueful smile. He's truly happy for Joel, and for Spencer to have new family, but he can't help but to wonder what that must be like, to have parents who care. "I have my gran, an' she's great, but she's all the way in Ireland. I haven't seen her since I turned eighteen. But we Skype an' stuff."

He smiles and nods when Joel mentions it being hard to leave Siren Cove. "Yeah, the place kinda gets under your skin, doesn't it?"

"It's more of uh... a panic sort of thing," Joel admits, looking faintly embarrassed. It isn't that Siren Cove is so special to him, although it is, but that he sometimes feels like he physically can't leave it. The cruise had left him panicky and anxious the entire time they'd been gone.

The only time it's been easy had been to get married. That had been the easiest thing in the world.

"We moved here after something pretty bad happened to our family and I sort of took to this place like a security blanket."

"Aye, well. There's nothin' wrong with stayin' where ya feel safe," Davin says with an easy shrug. He smiles at him and doesn't ask what happened to his family, even though he's mildly curious, because that certainly isn't his place.

"I was thinkin' about redoin' the cabinets at my apartment." He decides to change the subject to try and make Joel more comfortable. He smirks and pats the table Joel made. "Can I call ya if I need any tips?"

"Of course," Joel answers with a grin. "If it's building something, I might actually be of use instead of just sending you in the direction of the right books."

He often does this, downplays his own talents, but there's plenty he's good at. It's just that he's not as good at many things as he is at building and he doesn't know if that's because he loves it so much or because it's something his father taught him, but whatever it is, it's one thing he's quite proud of.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Housewarming / Easter Party

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject