We Like To Party

The ice cubes in Jessica Ciora's caustic, amber drink clinked against the glass while she somehow avoided spilling it. She bent down with laughter and put a hand on Bonnie Gastin's arm for support. She'd been regaling the Texas girl with her many tales from life as a pop music back up dancer, something she did with half-drunk abandon and unimpeachable good cheer.

Taylor, meanwhile, lounged on the floor against the front of a couch, her head heavy from pain medication, smiling and chatting with Cassie, her brother Bucky, and her boyfriend Shinobu. She held in her hand the iPod that connected by a cable to the stereo, and had been turning out an odd mix of punk, ska, dance-pop, and sensitive acoustic music.

"And Justin Timberlake! Oh, mai, gawwwd, I looooved Justin soooo much!" Jess laughed and pantomimed swooning into Bonnie's arms. "I had a big poster with him and his frosted tips in my locker. Don't be so quick to, walk away. I wanna rock your body, please stay..." She sang, in a voice that by anyone's reckoning was at least pretty good.

She gave a dreamy sigh and took a drink. "And of course like Michael Jackson and stuff. 'N Sync was hot. Pink. I actually always hated Brittany, and I can't really tell you why, but... oh, and Em! I looooved Eminem. He was totally my gateway drug for rap, ohmigod. I always wanted to meet him...

"I actually did meet Justin Timberlake, once. It was nothing much. He was just doing his thing in his fine three piece suit, and I was doing mine... That was it, though, I didn't hook up with him or anything. I actually auditioned once for the Pussycat Dolls, but I was like, half-an-hour late to the audition, and I wasn't really... at my best. Didn't get it." She gave Bonnie a glassy eyed grin. "My agent wanted me to try to hook up with Corona, but I was all like... uh-uh. If anything, in Japan, it'd be Eclipse, but they kind of suck now too."

She took a long drink and nearly drained her cocktail, and then took a moment to let it all settle in. She looked at Bonnie as if she had only just realized that she was doing all the talking. "So what about you, girlfriend? What do you do when you're not getting all sweaty on the mats?"

Bonnie didn't even take a sip of her drink, she just sat there nodding to this talkative girl go on about Justin Timberlake, (whom Bonnie had a bit of a thing for too) and all these other people that Bonnie either had ignored or didn't care about, like Eclipse. She smiled at the mention of Eminem though as Bonnie liked him as well, though she was more partial to Dr. Dre and DMX.

"Does Chigusa even wrestle anymore?" Bonnie had seen her bout with Allison several times as part of her research, but had not heard much of the girl since the time that Dark Angel chick was floating around.

"Whatever... I hear she's a pot head anyway, but Uh... Yeah!" Bonnie laughed nervously, this Jess chick was so fun to watch and listen, she brightened her spirits.

"Well If I ain't workin' out, I'm workin' on my truck or hangin' with my girlfriend.... At uh... Home?" Bonnie scratched the side of her cheek nervously, she knew she didn't do enough and half the time she went out with Duffy, they'd be too drunk to remember when they even did!

She felt a little shy being here, but the friendly atmosphere, thanks the Jessica, had put her at ease. To the point where she had forgotten about Morrigan. The only other thing on her mind besides her upcoming match was that her brother was really adment on her talking to the new Friction Champion, Taylor Sparks. Er. Taylor Parker.

"Oh, giiiiirl," Jess tilted her head sympathetically. "We got to get you something to do! Or someone, right?" She winked, and grabbed each of Bonnie's hands. "You seem so stressed, but don't worry, I got you."

Jess backed her way toward Taylor and the stereo, towing Bonnie along in front of her. "Hey, Tay? I'm gonna take over for a- ohmigod, Cassie! Heyyyyy, how are youuuu?"

She fluttered over to the petite redhead and began to smother her in attention, causing a break in the conversation between her and Taylor. Without anyone else immediately available to talk to, Taylor's attention drifted toward Bonnie, and when she realized she had not yet greeted her guest she creaked up to her feet.

"Hey, Bonnie, what's up?" She said, and leaned in for a quick hug. She seemed tired, but in good spirits. "Thanks for coming, man, it's cool to have you here and junk. Did you find the place okay and everything? Do you need a drink or food or anything?"

"Uh..." Bonnie blinked as Jessica grabbed her hands, lightly laughing at the 'someone to do' remark before she commented on how stressed she looked. Really, she had no idea.

Either way, Bonnie Gastin followed along, managing to snag her beer at the last second and not spill a drop before they made their way towards Taylor and... Cassie! Bonnie beamed at the sight of her, she looked so much more grown up in person!

But she found her attention shifting from the far more matured Cassie to the current Friction Champion, Taylor Parker. Bonnie scoped her out, she knew her, had seen her on TV and on billboards, had heard about from her brother but this was officially the first time Bonnie had actually met the girl.

She had really hot shoulders and a pretty face, but didn't really notice her damaged nose.

"Ah!" The hug was a bit unexpected but Bonnie was quick to return it, patting her lightly on the back before they broke the hug. Bonnie would listen to Taylor and smiled brightly before extending her hand.

"I'd like my clothes back..." She said, sticking her tongue out. "I'm kiddin'! Naw, thanks fer havin' me over! I found it okay, but uh... Congratulations on yer win, champ!" Bonnie beamed with a smile she tried her hardest to look natural before turning to Cassie, feeling a bit awkward as it had been a very long time. And Bonnie barely remembered the day they met, probably because she was a little high on one of her first and last outings with Mary Jane.

"Hi Cassie..." Bonnie said, giving an awkward little wave, about to step forward with her arms open to go for a hug before pausing, chuckling and then waiting to see if Cassie was okay with it.

After a momentary delay, Taylor's face lit up with a radiant grin. "Haaaa! I forgot about that! Like, I never put it together that that was you, and you were coming over, and..." She shrugged. "Well, the clothes are long gone, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry. Things were way different back then..."

She nodded politely to Bonnie, but didn't say anything about her win for the title. If she still had the title in a month, maybe she would feel more like a champ.

Cassie spotted Bonnie from past Jess and quickly, and somewhat awkwardly, lurched forward to give Bonnie a tight squeeze. "Hi, Bonnie," she said.

"Bonnie, ohmigod, don't you just love this girl? I just want to squeeze her all the time, I can't even deal." Jess for once did not have a drink in her hand.

"Didn't you guys fight once in the gym or something?" Taylor asked.

Cassie shook her head. "No, Bonnie was going to help me work on some things, but-"

"Oh. My. GAWD. THE MULLET!" Taylor burst out. After a stream of giggling, she got it under control, in case Bonnie did not have a sense of humor about her former hairstyle. "That's gotta be why I didn't put you together with the old Bonnie. It's for the best, though. You look good, dude."

"Okay, Cassie. Time to dance!" Jess hit play on a song that made Taylor burst out laughing.

Jess wasted no time as the song got going, and started doing her thing, swishing her hips and working her body like a professional. She tried to coax Cassie into it as well, and took her hands to help her dance along with her. Cassie's freckly face reddened, and she timidly stepped to the rhythm.

"That's the girl you gotta watch out for, man," Taylor remarked to Bonnie while she watched the spectacle unfold before her with a smile on her face. "Forget me. That's the one, I don't care how big or small she is."

"It's okay... All things considered, Sparks. I really didn't care." Bonnie said, flashing Taylor a wink before she reunited with Cassie, hesitating to hug her at first before Cassie initiated a tight squeeze that Bonnie quickly returned with a strong hug of her own.

"Cassieee!!" She beamed while clutching her, a smile that soon faded as Taylor mentioned her past hair style. "..." Bonnie recalled the days before she met Duffy when she didn't care about her appearance, looking back then to now, she was glad she did something different.

"Thanks." Bonnie said solemnly behind her small bit of butt-hurt. But that was then! And now she was smokin'! Though, she couldn't help but envy Jess' rhythm who went to town on the dance floor, she looked like she belonged on MTV or something, while Cassie... Bonnie had to stifle a giggle.

"Oh I know! Ain't gotta tell me!" Bonnie exclaimed while casually swaying side to side and tapping her foot to the music.

"Ya sure do thrive in good company, man!"

"Oh, that's a shame." Mai said with a frown as she looked at Shinobu. She caught Jess out of the corner of her eye, doing their thing. The two had become fast friends and even came together.

"Jess-san and I have had some similar trouble. One of the girls on my record label is in the league and she's fell in with a couple of naughty girls, if she's not a bad apple herself." Mai brightened up when Shinobu frowned. She reached over and patted his hand.

"If I did Tension, I would make sure to treat you right. I have a reputation to protect, after all!" She said and raised an eyebrow. Even if she was in street clothes, which consisted of a short skirt with long leggings and a tank top, she still wore her cat ears and had a fox tail sewn into her skirt.

"I appreciate it, Nagasawa-san." Shinobu said and looked over to see Cassie fraternizing. He smiled.

"Any time, Fujiwara-san." Mai bowed back. "Do you dance?" She asked.

"I.. do but I..."

Mai took Shinobu's hand and pulled him away from where they were chatting and began to swivel his hips in front of him.

"But, I... Cassie-chan is..."

Mai didn't stop dancing but followed Shinobu's gaze to the red head. Mai brightened up and waved at Cassie. "I know I have a magnetic personality but I'm just trying to have some fun. Call her over if you'd rather dance with her, Fujiwara-san!"

Morrigan had been a lot less of a hermit this time around. She was still in a dark corner of the basement with her laptop open and a slasher flick playing on it, but she was in the room and listening in on the conversations with the one ear that didn't have an earbud in it. Next to her was Mamouru who had his hand gripped tightly around his drink and was trying his best to coolly survey the party scene while his girl was out and about, mingling.

"You look like shit." Morrigan said, turning her head and looking at the stoic twin.

Mamouru looked down at her and then glanced at the screen. He took a drink from his cup and then sighed. "I've had better days and I really don't want to be here." He said.

Morrigan grinned suddenly. "Someone who wants to be here less than me. Nice." She paused her movie and then set down her lap top. She walked by Bonnie, Taylor, Jess and Cassie. "Do you want a drink, boss?" Morrigan said in passing. "Johnny's still... working out I think. Want me to tell him to scrub down and join the party? Or maybe he's showing off to some of the other guests." Morrigan shrugged and began to slip away from the group.

"You might be the only Higurashi having fun right now~" She let the words float in the air. if Taylor wanted something to drink, she'd call out.

"Dirty baaaaaabe, you see these shackles baby, I'm your slaaaave~" Jess sang along while provocatively grinding in front of the blushing Canadian, holding her hands out with her wrists together. "I'll let you whip me if I misbehaaaaave~"

A continual stream off giggles simmered out of Taylor while she watched Jess and Cassie. "What? No, I'll get it." She looked up for Morrigan, and looked away when she found her by Mamouru. She wasn't sure why Mamouru even came. She was beginning to wonder why Morrigan was there, too.

"Yeah, man. I thank my lucky stars every day for these guys. Like... I was an asshole to Akashi when we met, and she stuck with me. I was an asshole to Bear, and she stuck with me. Johnny was a little different..." She slipped Bonnie a sly grin. "Stuff's so much better now than I ever could've imagined before, ya know? But... The bitch of it is that sometimes it feels like everything can be perfect except for one thing, and everything feels like shit. Know what I mean?"

"Go 'head, be gone with it!" Bonnie jeered along from behind Taylor as she heard Jess sing along while she danced with Cassie, beside... Mai Nagasawa and someone who looked like The Phantom Detective guy. But that would be silly. Still Bonnie couldn't resist joining Jess in singing, or rather hollering in her case, She didn't even notice she was smiling genuinely now, it had been a while since she allowed herself to actually have a good time and relax.

"Bear?" Bonnie said, raising her brow while hearing Taylor's heartfelt statements out, the end of which, Bonnie agreed heavily on.

"I do... I  think I'd be a way happier person if not fer... Stuff..." Bonnie admitted, while she clinched her fists tightly.

"Ya know... I was very close with a lotta people that you fought with. Heather was gon' be ma' sister-in-law. And Cecilia, Rebecca and Adrian are... Were... Practically family. But I never got too deep into their feuds or agreed with stuff some of them did, but they were the only family aside from my brother and my girlfriend that I had here." And Bonnie scratched her arm.

"... But I hope ya know. I never held anythin' against ya and I always thought you were pretty righteous, man. We even DVR'd yer fight with Akashi." She admitted with a shy smile.

Taylor guffawed and cocked her eyebrows at Bonnie. "C'mon, dude... There's no way you weren't all like Fuck that white trash punk bitch! It's okay, though, you were never a bitch. I guess maybe you woulda been if we'd actually met before." She shrugged.

"Man, no offense or anything, but I fucking hated Heather and Cecelia, and I'm glad they're gone. Mostly gone, whatever. And fuck Rebecca, and really... Me and Adrian have had our ups and downs, ya know. But like... Fuck that bitch. For real, I don't even give a fuck. What a fuckin' pussy, man. Such a talented girl, but such a pussy," she said, shaking her head. "Fuck that."

Cassie attempted to edge her way back to a chair, but Jess caught her. She put her hands on Cassie's hips and helped her to move them to the beat.

"...And now that I've said shit about all the people you just said were family, it's time for a drink!" Taylor said with a laugh. She gave Bonnie an apologetic smile and a pat on the arm and went off to find something strong.

After a moment left alone, Bonnie was joined by Bucky. Jacob Elliot. Before he even said a word, he was clearly Cassie's brother. Short-ish, thin, puppy-eyed and boyishly adorable, but he carried himself with masculine self-assuredness and good manners.

"Hi," he said. He had short, sandy hair and faint freckles, green eyes, a white button-down shirt and jeans, and a cup of cold tea in his hand. "You don't dance?"