We Like To Party

First, Taylor wanted to argue, but Bonnie's words quickly shut her up. Her face quickly drained of color and her proud shoulders slumped, like her body was suddenly too heavy for her bones to support, and all of her energy left.

She closed her eyes tightly as if in pain, and then sat forward to put her face in her hands. Her back shook gently, only once.

"I never said you were, dipshit," she croaked quietly, and then got up and walked swiftly out of the room and upstairs. Cassie was too engrossed in the match, chatting through it with Bucky, to notice.

Mamouru had managed to get Alaina off by themselves. He snuck away to Taylor and Johnny's bedroom where he figured no one would look for them. There were so many people at the party that he doubted anyone would be looking for them for a while anyway.

He had been thinking about things all night and this might have not been the best place to do this, but it was also the right place. At least, that's what he felt. He took Alaina and sat next to her on the bed and looked at her. "Aliana-chan, there's something I think we should talk about. He said, turning his head a bit. He'd done this plenty of times before, he knew how to handle himself.

Alaina had no idea why Mamouru wanted to sneak away from everyone. She liked to think of herself as approachable and understanding.... why the privacy? Did Mamouru go to the doctor and find out something terrible? Did he maybe have great news he wanted her to hear? Her mind raced as they entered the bedroom.

"Whats wrong babe? Is everything all right?" She asked as she gently held his hand, and rest her head on his shoulder.

mamouru squeezed Alaina's hand. He kept his eyes lowered. "I have been thinking." He said and paused. "We've been together for a while and your career is really starting to take off. I think that for you to succeed on the big stage, then it might be best for us to... part ways." He said and looked up at her.

"You know I care deeply for you, Alaina-chan. I have thought quite a bit about this and I think that you'll really be able to focus. There are ... things... I need to focus on as well." He added. He certainly couldn't tell Alaina what they were. "I mean, we have a lot together, but it is not as though we have been living together. Lately, we have barely seen each other except for when I have come over to your place." Naturally, considering he lived with another woman now, he couldn't very well have Alaina over and the excuses were beginning to wear thin.

"I'm sorry, Alaina-chan. I just feel like it's for the best."

"Part ways...w-what the hell are you talking about?!" Alaina said, lifting her head up and looking over at Mamouru totally confused. "You know you mean the world to me.... how can you just suggest we end what we had like that? How many women would accept what you do and be OK with it?! I... I just wanted to see us happy together!"

Alaina let out a great exasperated sigh as she slumped over burying her face in her hands, fighting back the urge to sob. "What happened to make you feel this way?"

Mamouru turned his head. Once more he had to tell a lie. He was surprisingly good at it, but dammit, he was starting to get tired of being the bad guy. Maybe it was everything that happened to him catching up with him. He was finally getting his karmic comeuppance. He was getting a little tired of THAT too, considering just downstairs the only woman he had ever truly loved was gallivanting around with some actor dude and making everyone happy. Still, he couldn't help it. He couldn't tell Alaina about Aurora or the baby. Or anything.

"Alaina-chan, I've been sleeping around. I thought I could be a one woman man, but I can't. There have been a few girls since we've started dating. I tried, I really did bu tin the end, I am who I am and it's unfair to keep doing that to you. I DO care about you Alaina-chan. That's why I have to let you go."

Alaina went from sad directly to mad.... cheating on her?! With multiple women!?

"So, I get it. It was just like Cassie said back at my place! I couldn't be just like sweet little Cassie, so you used your charm on me but I've been nothing more than... a glorified dick holster to you!" She shouted, standing up and glaring at him with a look of pure anger. "I was ready to give you everything, to make you as happy as I could and you just fucking used me! Just...." Alaina was at a loss for words. "I used to tell people they were wrong about you. I stood up for you only to be stabbed in the fucking back!"

Alaina got up and moved to the door. "Do us both a favor and stay out my Goddamn way." She growled as she spoke, not even looking back at him. In truth she was a jumble of all sorts of emotions, not entirely sure how she felt as she stormed out the door.

Mamouru let Alaina say whatever she wanted, think whatever she wanted. He WAS everything she said he was, even if he had been lying about cheating on her. Maybe she would stop thinking she could change people. Maybe she would wisen up. Maybe it would be better for her this way. The way it was clearly better for Cassie and everyone else.

Mamouru didn't even say a word when Alaina stormed out. He was honestly surprised that he didn't get slapped as well. Now all he really had to do was see if he could slink away from this mess without getting reamed by Taylor or Johnny, at worse. He was probably going to get the shit beat out of him once more and so, he mentally prepared himself.

Cassie was barely in her seat, big-eyed with little fists clenched, while she watched Taylor 's showdown with Angel. She had managed to look away just before Angel's face-crushing superkick, though the aftermath was just as difficult to stomach. The whole match was far more brutal than anything Cassie had been involved in, but oddly enough it didn't frighten or repulse her. She was captivated, maybe even inspired.

The fighting spirit!

To her right, Bucky was explaining to Shinobu some of the finer points of grappling, and what Taylor could have done to prevent Angel from manhandling her, and vice versa. Meanwhile, Jess approached from the side.

"Hey, Shinobuuu... I can't find a seat," she laughed drunkenly. "Do you mind if I sit on- ohmigosh."

She looked back and forth between Bucky and Shinobu and blinked in confusion. She shook her head like maybe she was a little too drunk to see straight, and then looked again.

"Oh, mai, gawd. Are you twins? I didn't know you had a twin brother, Shinobuuu!" She purred seductively, arching a suggestive eyebrow. Then she realized that one of them was Japanese and the other was pretty white. "Wait, no... You look exactly like you, only... Japanesey. Cassie, look! They're twins!"

Cassie looked away from the match, smiling over at Jess and wrinkling her brow in confusion until she looked at Shinobu and Bucky. With them standing side by side... she had never noticed the resemblance before.

Her jaw dropped. Oh no.

Shinobu was fine with listening to Bucky while the match went on. The two competitors surely put on a fierce show and Shinobu definitely needed some help when it came to anything involving the ring. Bucky had as much training growing up as Cassie did, even if he hadn't pursued a career in fighting like his sister.

However, he was easily distracted by the inebriated dancer and while Mai tried to wave her off from her seat, Shinobu didn't mind. He was shy around a lot of girls but in a different universe, he and Jess might have come as a couple instead of he and Cassie. He was the first real person he met in the league outside of Johnny and even if she might not think of him, he did consider her a friend and someone who was harmless when it came to he and Cassie, even if she seemed the opposite of such.

However, her revelation was far more disturbing than her invasion of privacy and while everyone was stunned, he looked over at Bucky and scrutinized him carefully. He pulled his hand to his chin and tilted his head. He looked Bucky in the eye and shrugged. "I'm afraid I don't really see it." He said, flipping his bangs a bit. "Jake-kun is much more handsome than I." He said, smiling at Jake, joking a bit.

Through the course of the evening, once everyone had gathered, Morrigan had migrated up to the front room. As much as she loved the company, people were going to be leaving eventually and Morrigan needed to be there to make sure no one left with their keys who shouldn't be driving. Not only that, but she had seen Taylor's match a few times already and had some work to do. It was just better for her to be upstairs, she felt. Those were Taylor's people, not hers. She didn't even KNOW who HER people were, though.

She sighed and then shrugged and put on a movie upstairs. She decided to put on a classic, Nosferatu. She loved the movie and it wasn't too bad if someone came passing by and caught sight of it.