Jensen, Melissa and Jack Backdated to Felix's party, late.

[om_janus]

At Felix's 1920's party, Jensen's had a little too much to drink and inadvertently causes some discomfort for a newly transformed Mel. Enter white knight Jack and cue computer geek talk


Warning: Mel's struggling with her triggers/issues regarding parties and alcohol etc and is unnecessarily harsh on herself for struggling.






When Mel walked into the party, late in the evening so that if she had to make a quick exit it wasn't a big deal, she was doing her best to cover her nerves. She was in her original female form since it complimented her costume best, a homage to the late great Josephine Baker, which meant she was also nervous as hell. Not because she didn't trust the people at the party, the fact that she'd shifted at all proved otherwise, but because it was basic instinct.

She scanned the party immediately for someone she was comfortable with, anyone to distract her.

“Mel!” Jensen crowed at the sight of his shape-shifting friend, his arms in the air. He’d long since abandoned any pretense of dressing time period appropriate. His tie was loose and crooked, he’d lost his suit jacket at some point or another, and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his mid-forearm. “Welcome to the 1920s, toots!” He made a face at himself. “Ew, sorry, I take the toots back. Why did I say that? S’fucking derogatory as fuck. Have you ever noticed how many slang terms for women can be used as a term of endearment and as an insult? It’s fucked up. Patriarchy, am I right?”

"Uh, yeah, yeah I guess. I've noticed a lot of things since learning to shift." She told him, torn between amusement and caution. Not because she thought Jensen was a threat, it was just that drunk people could be unpredictable and she was tense enough.

"Been indulging a little bit, have you mate?" She wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging herself, trying her best to keep calm and just have a conversation with her friend. She could do this.

“Yup!” Jensen confirmed, grinning. “Doing the Roaring 20s justice!” Getting drunk hadn’t been the plan, but once he’d started stopping hadn’t been so easy, sooooo he’d pretty much went with it. Especially since it was making him feel good right now, all warm and numb. “How about you? Having fun?”

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, it's been a good night." She nodded, of course the night so far had been as Curtis. She wanted to be able to associate this body with fun too though, not just fear and anxiety. "Just a little word to the wise, you might wanna slow down a little bit? Spewing is never pretty and if it's anywhere near this dress you're in trouble." She played it off as a joke.

Jensen waved a hand, grinning as he answered, “Psh. I’m fine. I’ll stop before I get to a spewage degree of intoxication. Your dress is safe, I promise. Speaking of! Pretty dress!” He gave Mel a thumbs-up. “Where’d you get it? It looks really authentic. I looked around, but everything is so fucking expensive. I ended up making mine and Shaun’s costumes.” He went to go tug on the lapels of his jacket only to remember half-way there that he was no longer wearing his jacket.

"They're good, were good. Wherever they went." She assured him with a tight nod before answering. "It was Shinobi's idea actually, he and some of the girls helped me source most of the pieces but I only let him help with some of the paying." She didn't know him well enough to feel comfortable in letting him pay for everything even if he was Paige's boyfriend.

“Cool! It came out great!” Jensen was probably biased, but he automatically liked costumes that took a little more creative putting together more. Not that the costumes out of a bag or, in the case of this party, off the rack, weren’t cool! Completely the opposite! He just respected the amount of work that went into buying this, building that, and pulling bits and pieces together to make a costume. “My sister would freak. She was a flapper last year for Halloween.”

"She'd love the whole party then, I'm not exactly in the traditional flapper dress most people expect though." Which was why it had appealed to her, despite the abundance of tit tape she'd had to use to keep it all in place since the plunging neckline meant no bra. Another detail that had her more than a little tense. "Maybe you could send pictures?"

Jensen started to grin at the awesome idea, but then he remembered and his heart dropped. He glanced away to hide the way his grin fell and when he looked back it was forced right back into believable place. “Yeah, maybe,” he agreed, enthusiasm half-hearted. “I need another drink. You wanna grab a drink?” He gestured over his shoulder at the drink table.

Jensen might have thought he'd covered the reaction but he was drunk and therefore not as quick as he might think he was.

Mel had no interest in drinking but she did have an interest in making sure her friend didn't end up in a ridiculous accident or the victim of alcohol poisoning.

"Let's go." She nodded.

Jensen grinned, “Awesome!” He turned not exactly steadily on his heel and started for the drink table. Maybe he’d get something from the oh-so-fancy champagne fountain this time! “What’re you having?”

At the table, Jensen picked up a champagne glass and smiled at Mel, “Is this the point that I ask you what a girl like you is going in a place like this? Or is it: Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world? I can’t keep track of my cliches.”

"I guess it depends on which movie you're in whilst apparently hitting on me." She pointed out with a tight smile before pushing herself to be less tense and more funny. "Isn't your boyfriend around somewhere though? Am I about to be pounced on by a jealous lover?"

A snort became laughter and Jensen wasn’t sure if he was laughing more at being called *~*lovers*~*, or at the thought of Shaun being jealous over him. “Nah,” he answered, shaking his head as he filled his glass with bubbly. “He is around, but he knows I’d never and also I’m not hitting on you. That’d be weird.” He blanched when he realized how that sounded and reached out. “Not that you aren’t smoking hot, I mean, cause you are. But, you’re my friend. Also, I'm gay.”

Yes, she was his friend but when he suddenly reached out for her she couldn't help recoiling a little. Even as she was doing it, she felt stupid for it and then crashed into somebody behind her and recoiled again, worse this time because it was completely unexpected and who the fuck was that anyway?

"Whoa, careful," came Jack's voice from behind her. He'd seen how tense she was, and had been about to appear at her side when she flinched. He covered it smoothly, managing to only splash one of the drinks he was carrying (missing both her dress and his captain's uniform), and his sidestep brought him inconspicuously between Mel and Jensen, smiling and calm. "Sorry, didn't mean to sneak up on you. I was just bringing you a drink."

All of which seemed natural enough, but he was watching her closely. He'd cover a hasty retreat if that was what she wanted, or smooth things over and help her relax; she only had to give him a sign. Despite what he'd just said, he didn't offer the drink (a tasty, colorful concoction he'd just mixed and tipped into a martini glass). Normally it would be understood that any drink he brought her would be non-alcoholic and untouched by anyone else, but she was jumpy enough that it might just trigger more bad memories. He offered his elbow instead, tacitly asking what she wanted to do.

“We were just getting a drink!” Jensen replied with a gesture at the table that made champagne slosh out of his glass. “Oops!” He sucked up the alcohol that had spilled over his fingers, giving Jack a wave with his free hand. “Mm. Also, hi!” Dude whose name he was currently drawing a blank on...

Mel's heart was pounding as she forced a smile to her face. This was stupid for god sake. They were safe, even if they weren't all sober.

"Jensen, Jack, Jack, Jensen." She introduced, her voice a little quiet but still determined to push through. She was leaning into Jack though now that she knew who it was, holding onto his elbow a little more tightly that necessary.

Jack had relaxed as soon as Curtis took his arm. It wasn't that he didn't notice the forced smile or the tight grip she had on him; he knew she wasn't at all relaxed yet. But she'd decided to stay and play along with his charming soldier routine, which meant she was going to work through her fear. That was definitely better than the alternative, and Jack was ready to assist.

Of course, Jensen was proving an interesting element in this situation, and Jack's eyebrows were sky high as he regarded the other teen. More specifically, as he watched the very pretty, disheveled, and athletic other teen eagerly suck champagne off his fingers. His disbelief had a decided note of appreciation to it (as well as a more subtle note of amusement), and he shot Curtis a quick Is this some kind of set-up? look before giving a nod. "Nice to meet you, Jensen," he said, his tone turning the statement into a decided compliment as he tried to suppress a grin. "Having fun there?"

Jack! That was it!

“Mhm!” Jensen answered, grinning. He took a sip from his glass. “My sister’s name is almost Jack. She’s Jacks. Well, Jacqueline, but I call her Jacks for short.”

Jensen took another drink of champagne. He kind of hated these glasses. They made him feel clumsy and awkward, as if his hands were too big and rough for the thin stem of the glass. “Are you?”

Mel silently took Jack's hand in hers, drawing a little strength from it whilst being faintly annoyed at herself that she couldn't find that strength for herself. Small steps...

She looked to him for the answer, as Curtis she'd seen him about a fair bit during the party but they'd hung out with others too.

"Having fun? Always," Jack promised with a debonair grin, playing his role and keeping Jensen's attention firmly on him until Mel was ready to join in again. He didn't miss a beat as she took her drink and slid her hand into his. He smoothed his thumb over hers - you're safe, take your time - and gave an apologetic squeeze for startling her. "But a party like this definitely puts a special spin on it," he continued, letting all his natural confidence carry the conversation. "Seriously, there must be a student I haven't met yet who has genetically enhanced party-planning abilities, just based on the number of ludicrous-but-fabulous events around here."

Jensen raised a hand and pointed at himself with the index finger of the other, “You have now. I so don’t have the party planning gene.” He laughed. “Unless you count a World of Warcraft raiding party.” He swallowed a mouthful of champagne. “Which you’re not and you probably don’t even play WoW. But if you do, what server do you play on? I play a Blood Elf. Level 55.” He held up his fist. “Lok'Tar Ogar.”

"Ok, you've officially lost me now, sweetie." Mel told him as cheerfully as possible. Gaming nerd as she might be, WoW had never appealed. "Uh, are you sure everything's ok?" Because typically a guy who was ok didn't drink quite like that. All the while Jack's touch helped to sooth her, ground her in the moment instead of giving over to panic.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Jensen drank more of his drink and continued, “WoW’s cool. It’s not my favorite game or anything, but it’s fun to play if you have friends to play with.” He paused, thinking. “I don’t think I could pick a favorite game if I tried.”

"Well, I enjoy playing with my friends as much as anyone," and Jack's face wrestled with a smirk, knowing Jensen probably wouldn't catch his meaning (though Curtis definitely would), "but I just never got into online gaming." Probably because he preferred more in-person games, he decided with a satisfied smile.

Mel had of course gotten Jack's meaning (when didn't she?) but the smile she sent back was still tight even though she logically knew that nothing bad was going to happen, tension still lingered.

"Jack doesn't have the patience or focus for that kind of stuff." He had plenty in certain situations of course.

"Hey!"

Jensen snorted a laugh, “Yeah, well I like playing with my boyfriend, but that wasn’t the kind of playing I was talking about.” He could innuendo with the best of them, and he was drunk, so he was even better at innuendoing than usual.

“But, yeah, online gaming isn’t for everyone,” Jensen agreed with Mel, nodding a little. “I love it, but I can totally understand someone not.”

Jack tipped his drink to the innuendo (but refrained from adding any more when he saw it wasn't helping Curtis relax). "Really though, could be fun, I just don't have a computer - and the school library feels like a strange place for it." Neutral conversation, another gentle squeeze of Curtis's hand, and sip of his own (non-alcoholic) drink: cool, normal party things, nothing to worry about.

Melissa shot him an grateful smile and squeezed back, for a moment wondering how exactly she'd have made it this far without Jack's support.

"I'm sure you've done stranger things in public, Jack." She teased as naturally as she could.

“I build computers!” Jensen shared excitedly. “It’s soooo fucking easy, dude. And I’ve been offering to fix them up for people for whatever they can afford to pay me. You just need to get a broken one, or the parts and I can totally set you up. It’d run like fucking new.” If he sounded a little eager it was because he was. Not many people had taken him up on the offer and he kept hoping to change that. It’d be nice to make a little extra money doing something he loved.

"Really? Now that's something I might be interested in," Jack told him, with a grin for that enthusiasm.

Now Jensen looked even more excited. “Really?!” he asked and, yeah, there may have been a bit of bouncing going on, which made his drink slosh over his fingers again, though this time he ignored it for the moment. “Dude, I can totally hook you up easy. Would you want a laptop or a desktop? Are you a gamer, or would you be using it more for school and social media kind of stuff?”

Mel stayed silent as she watched, relaxing gradually as the Jensen she knew and loved (ok, was really quite fond of) became more apparent despite the alcohol. See? She thought to herself. It's just Jensen.

"How about I stop by tomorrow and we can talk business," Jack offered, pretty sure Jensen wouldn't remember the specifics anyways. He glanced at Mel to see if she needed a break - she was still pretty tense next to him.

“Oh, right, sorry,” Jensen apologized, “it’s a party. No work talk. But, sure, that’d be great.” He was fucking thrilled by the prospect of someone wanting to hire him to fix up a computer. He couldn’t wait to tell Shaun!

She did her best to send a reassuring look back to Jack. It had been pretty stupid but she'd be ok now.

Jack's smile softened a touch at the look from Mel, and he took a drink. "Looking forward to it," Jack confirmed, unable to resist tossing in a wink at Jensen. He really did seem thrilled - hopefully he still would be tomorrow, when he was sober enough to remember who Jack was and whether or not he liked him.

Jensen grinned, “Me too!” Yay, computers! “If you like what I do you’ll have to tell people.” Maybe some positive reviews would help get more people interested in having him put together a computer for them.

"Can do," Jack agreed. "Now, what else does this party have to offer? Wouldn't want to miss anything." Or leave Jensen near the drinks for too long.

Picking up on Jack's thought, Melissa looked around "Well there's, oh hey Shaun's looking around a lot. Maybe he's missing you Jensen?" Not her most subtle but he was drunk, he probably wouldn't notice.

Jensen spun around to find his aforementioned boyfriend. “There he is!” he announced. Shaun didn’t look like he was looking around for him, but he couldn’t see why Mel would lie to him about that. “Shaun! Shaun, I’m over here!” He waved his hands in the air.

Well Shaun was definitely looking now - and Jack was just barely suppressing a good-natured laugh. He added a wave to Shaun as well (much more controlled than Jensen's). "Don't let us stand in the way," he encouraged with a grin.

“See you guys later,” Jensen said with a wave before heading off to join Shaun.

Ok, so drunk Jensen was crazy cute over his boyfriend. That really had Mel genuinely smiling as she turned back to Jack.

"Thanks for that, he's a friend but..."

Jack's grin softened but didn't disappear as he looked at her. "You okay?"

"With my White Knight? How could I not be?" Joking about it helped to cover up how close she'd been to freaking out on such a fucking stupid thing.

"You were fine," Jack assured her. "Sorry for blundering in." Really, he'd made things worse by surprising her.

"Don't be. You meant well and I really did need back up...for some ridiculous reason."

Jack turned to face her, not letting go of her hand. "It's not ridiculous," he told her. Then, realizing he was starting to sound serious, he smiled again. "But glad I could help."

Wanting to avoid the serous too (NOT gonna let another party be ruined) he instead asked him "So, what do you think?" She'd only just returned in her Josephine Baker tribute outfit after all.

"Gorgeous. Couldn't take my eyes off you when you walked in," Jack told her with a shameless grin. Noticing her dress had immediately led him to noticing how tense she was in it of course, hence stepping in. Now she seemed to be relaxing a bit.

"Oh really? This little old thing?" She held back a grin as she posed for him, showing off the daring (for her) outfit, firmly held in place by double-sided tape.

"Yeah, yeah, it'll do," Jack teased, shrugging. He offered his elbow again, playing up his charming young soldier costume. "Ready to go show it off?"

She accepted his arm and kissed his cheek, he really did look damn good in uniform. "Only it showing off is going to involve dancing."