You know I could use somebody

[Lillian Turner]

It had been just 4 days since Lillian had been told the news that would change her life & she wasnt sure how to feel. She hadnt contacted her friends but she had posted on Facebook so they'd all know what had happened. Her phone had been thrown at the wall in a fit of anger so she had no way of knowing if anyone had tried to contact her & she'd locked herself in her room, playing music loudly so she hadnt heard anyone knocking on her door.

This was the first time she'd ventured outside and she didnt know why she was doing it but she wanted to be around people, people who werent dealing with this & who wouldnt try to talk about it & find out how she was 'really feeling'. She pushed open the door of O' Connors and breathed in slowly, pausing in the doorway before heading to the bar, sitting on a stool rather than on the counter like always.

"Hey...Pepperbeer please" she asked with a half hearted attempt at a smile, shrugging her coat off but pulling her hat lower over her ears.

(ooc. Anyone at all

[Lacey Holloway]

(ooc: Um, this post might not be great, so other characters please feel free to jump in )

Lacey sashayed over to the bar, teetering on tiny heels. "Pepperbeer," she requested breathlessly before noticing Lillian, who'd ordered the same drink. She hadn't seen the other girl's Facebook post, and therefore had no idea what had happened to her just four days ago. Lacey had often considered sending Lillian a friend request as a sort of an olive branch for all of the crappy things she'd done (namely, repeatedly taunting the girl for being a lesbian) but couldn't quite bring herself to do it.

There was something different about Lillian tonight, though. She looked so worn down, so lacking in the sort of vibrant spirit that school-aged Lacey would have desperately wanted to crush. Like she hadn't slept in days, for some reason. Maybe it was just the holiday season, but Lacey's heart grew three sizes that day and she looked over and smiled at the girl. "Uh, hey. Drink twins."

She sighed and drummed her fingers against the table. "See that guy?" she asked, indicating a tall, well dressed man chatting up a voluptuous blonde. "Such a douchebag. He's been creeping on every girl here. I want to cockblock him. Any ideas? If you don't have any suggestions, I'm just going to tell everyone he has chlamydia."

[Lillian Turner]

Looking up at the voice that spoke to her, Lillian nodded slowly before shrugging her shoulders, "Pepperbeer, the official drink of lesbians?" she asked with a raised eyebrow at Lacey, remembering all the times Lacey had taunted & teased her for being a lesbian when she wasnt, or at least she didnt think she was though she did have pretty strong feelings for her best friend that she couldnt fully understand.

Taking a sip of her beer before placing the money on the counter, Lillian looked towards the man that Lacey spoke about before frowning slightly, "Go over, slap him and ask him why he thinks its ok to cheat on his boyfriend in full public view. His 'boyfriend' could be your broth....er" Lillian almost choked on the word, forcing out a cough before taking another swig of beer, looking downwards as she tried to compose herself.

[Lacey Holloway]

"What?" Lacey hissed in a low voice, her stomach practically leaping up into her throat. Did Lilian suspect something? Lacey knew she shouldn't have kissed Spencer in that Spin the Bottle game; what if everyone had figured it out by now? She managed to calm down and compose herself just enough to crack a joke about the lesbian cocktail of choice, flipping her hair behind her shoulder as she said, "Wow, I thought they'd go more for a Redheaded Slut?" She then laced her fingers together and glanced awkwardly at Lillian. She'd been wracked with guilt for everything she'd done over the years and knew she had to apologize. What if she never got another chance? Sighing, she said, "I didn't mean all that lezzer stuff, okay. I don't know, like... I think maybe I have something bad inside of me that makes me miserable and bitchy to everyone and that's not okay and I'm sorry. You don't have to have a boyfriend so bitches like me will shut up. I've never had one either. They're stupid. Just buy a vibrator and be done with it, you know?" Lacey had gotten a little off track there, admittedly.

She frowned and looked over as Lillian coughed and looked down. "Um. Are you okay? This is fun, right? Like, I can go away or whatever but we were both drinking alone, so." She wanted to try to make friends with the girl, but felt incredibly awkward about it. Re-focusing quickly, she shook her head. "That's brilliant, though. Should I throw a drink in his face? Too much? Ugh, I need to get drunker before I do this," she proclaimed before steadily chugging the rest of her beer.

[Lillian Turner]

"Or Lagerdudes newest, 'Fair Temptress'? Or maybe it's 'Fair Tempest'? Makes more sense, he spoke about boats..." Lillian shrugged her shoulders, looking at Lacey and shaking her head slightly as the girl looked almost guilty and took a slow drink as the girl started to apologise for frankly making her life at school miserable, or at least it would've been miserable if Lillian had actually cared what people said.

"You dont have to apologise, I never cared. I figured you were insanely insecure and taking it out on someone you thought wasnt as good as you to make yourself feel better. To be fair, I was the perfect target wasnt I? Orange hair, a penchant for surfing down staircases on a metal tray, I went to a Halloween Party dressed as Freemans wife, I call Adelle my wife and the only guy I've ever had an interest in...is my sassy gay best friend. Its fine, there's no point being angry at you anymore, life....it's just...." Lillian threw her hands up in the air, she'd always wanted to have this moment but in her head she always outsassed LAcey & made her feel as crap as she made others feel, but somehow it just didnt feel worth it.

Lillian took a second to compose herself before nodding, "Im fine, just had some bad news. But this..." she motioned between herself & LAcey, "...this is helping." she took another swig, wondering how Adelle would react to this story, making a plan to visit her soon.
"Whats this guy done then? Im all for ruining his night but I need backstory" Lillian leaned in closer, her eyes never leaving the bloke they were trying to sabotage.

[Lacey Holloway]

Lacey sat quietly, frowning slightly when Lillian pegged her as insanely insecure. She wasn't wrong. "Ugh, I don't think you're worse than me at all, that's what I'm trying to say." Lacey felt frustrated, unable to fully articulate exactly what she was feeling. She ran a hand through her thick red hair and sighed. "All that stuff is what makes you, like, a cool interesting person or whatever. I wish I didn't give a shit what people thought of me. It's just... I think I might actually be..." Lacey couldn't bring herself to spit it out, so she just stared wide-eyed at Lillian, motioning with her hands and raising her eyebrows in a meaningful way that probably made her look completely insane.

"Okay. Uh, cool." Lacey wondered if she should ask what happened, but remembered all the times she'd broken down in public and how much she always hated people asking what was wrong, offering unsolicited advice -- if Lillian really wanted to talk, she would. Lacey then located their target, staring at him with narrowed eyes and a steely focus. "He called me 'babe' and grabbed my arse, and therefore he must die," she nodded once before downing a shot for confidence.

She pushed herself up from her seat, wobbling slightly as she marched over to the stranger. "HEY!" she barked at him, pointing a finger in his face. "How dare you try to... cheat on my only brother Su... Sa... Stephen? The light of my life, the kindest person I know... he gave you everything! EVERYTHING!" she shouted in a fairly theatrical tone that soon devolved into a Scarlett O'Hara impression. She put a hand on his chest and looked at him seriously, "Someday... someday, Pete, you'll accept what's truly in your heart," before turning and running away while the guy was still too puzzled to do anything but sputter at the girl he'd been chatting up. Toppling over to her spot at the bar next to Lillian, she covered the side of her face with one hand and laughed breathlessly. "Think it worked?!"

[Lillian Turner]

Lillian looked at Lacey intently as the other girl started waving her hands around & nodded her head once before smiling, properly smiling for the first time since Robbie had died, "You might actually be insane?! You dont have to tell me anything, but you know, I wont judge you" she shook her head, taking a long swig of her drink before letting the moment pass.

"Ugh, scumbag! Why do guys think they can just go about touching us? Not that I get touched very often but I see it happening all the time to my friends & sisters. Give 'im hell!" Lillian egged on Lacey, though it didnt look like she needed any encouragement as she marched over to the man & schreeched at him. Lillian giggled into her hand as Lacey returned and watched the guy, who was now stood alone as all the girls walked off in disgust.
"Oh yeah it worked! Damn, you're good! Anyone else's night we can ruin?" Lillian asked as she looked around, catching the bartenders eye and ordering two more drinks.

(ooc. Sorry I took ages, sorry she isnt so great)

[Lacey Holloway]

Lacey smiled serenely, gingerly crossing her ankles as she returned to her seat. "Thank you, thank you," she said with an imaginary tip of the hat. She then shrugged. "I dunno, is there anyone here you hate? Someone who's done you wrong? See, I'm trying this new thing where I don't ruin people's lives for no reason other than projecting my own issues," she noted dryly.

"But, I mean... sometimes you just have to be a bitch, you know? You have to let people know you're not gonna take their crap," she sighed. "I used to just... let it go if a guy touched me or kiss them back when I didn't really want to because I thought maybe I could convince myself it was what I wanted, I thought it would make me... I don't know, normal. That's stupid. No one should put themselves through that." Lacey was feeling oddly revelatory as she downed the last of her drink. Fuck it. "Ten points to Slytherin if you've figured out why I used to pick on you."

[Lillian Turner]

Lillian smiled before shrugging her shoulders, "I dont really hate anyone here. Unless you can find whoever invented drugs & kill him like he's killed people....but...pffft" Lillian snorted, looking almost angry before letting it pass once more, picking at her non existant fingernails before looking at Lacey, tilting her head to the side slightly as she listened.

"I cant be a bitch, Im practically the worst Slytherin ever. I like people too much, I like watching them & learning about them and observing them and seeing what breaks them & makes them tick. I dont want to be evil just for the sake of being evil, I dont see the fun in that." she shook her head before giving a small laugh, "But I see the fun in going down a staircase on a tea tray....go figure" she smiled before nodding her head, "I've done things to try fit in, try to be normal. I went shopping with the girls & tried to be like them but in the end they picked on me & I took it you know..I thought thats what I had to do to get friends. I dont want friends that I have to pander to...thats probably why I like Lagerdude & my wife so much. They're my polar opposite but they accept me for the crazy fucker that I am" she shrugged, taking a swig of her drink before looking at Lacey, "Aw man, you totally picked on me cos you fancied me....who wouldnt?" she laughed, before shaking her head, "I dont honestly know why you did, I guess I just wasnt your cup of tea? I was an easy target? You hate orange?" she suggested, her cheeks tinging pink slightly at the thought of Lacey fancying her, it wouldnt be the worst thing in the world she told herself before shaking that thought away, Lacey was 100% straight, look at her, she was gorgeous & had guys trailing after her, "Besides Lillian, you're straight....arent you?" she asked herself, her brows furrowing together as she found herself unable to answer her own question.

[Lacey Holloway]

Lacey glanced over at Lillian and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion; it seemed like an oddly specific thing to say but she decided not to push it further.

She then shook her head. "Oh honey, hating people is easy. Liking someone, really liking someone, putting yourself out there so they can reject you before you even get the chance to reject them first... that's the worst," she spoke candidly, putting her chin in her hands.

"Oh my God, I'm like, a natural redhead, how could I hate orange?! You were closer on your first guess," she replied cryptically. She stared at the bar for a second before breaking down in spontaneous, somewhat inappropriate laughter. She'd always been so terrified that someone would somehow figure out her secret, and yet, even now, when she'd revealed too much, when she felt totally transparent and exposed and like she'd all but blown up her spot, Lillian still had no idea what she was hinting at. And why would she? Now cackling with her face in her hands, Lacey turned back to the other girl. "Lillian! I'm like, trying to come out to you!"

[Lillian Turner]

Lillian frowned and shook her head, "Not everyone will reject you...I wouldnt have if you'd just been nice to me from the off. You were always a proper bitch to me....for the record, I forgive you" she nodded her head, she still disliked the things LAcey had said to her & how she'd made her feel but the girl had done a brave thing by not only talking to Lillian but she'd apologised & that took balls.

As Lacey began to laugh, Lillian wondered what she'd said that was so funny before her eyes went wide as Lacey admitted to being a lesbian. "Fuck...what?! Well...shit, you were projecting the whole time you picked on me and no one guessed it. Wow" Lillian nodded her head and let out a small breath, "So....did you fancy me?" Lillian asked with a smile before laughing, of course Lacey wouldnt have fancied her.
"Since you're sharing....um...you asked me earlier if I was ok? I uh...Im not really. My brother died 4 days ago. Drug overdose...I dont know what to feel. Hence..." she picked up her beer and drank from it, biting her lip as she looked at Lacey.

[Lacey Holloway]

"Oh. Thanks," Lacey said genuinely, a little taken aback by the other girl's forgiveness. She wouldn't have forgiven herself. It seemed strange when other people did.

Lacey went beet red at Lillian's next question, her face suddenly matching the roots of her hair. She couldn't bring herself to say 'yes' for fear of freaking the girl out, but knowing Lacey, her 'no' would come out either highly insulting or far too defensive so she just stuck her straw in her mouth and quickly drank until the moment passed.

"What? Shit. Oh my God. I'm so sorry," Lacey's stomach dropped at Lillian's words and the sentences tumbled out of her in quick succession; she wasn't sure what she was supposed to say or if there was even a good thing to say. She wasn't going to fault her for drinking, though. Lacey would probably do the same if it happened to her. She very hesitantly placed a hand on Lillian's shoulder, barely placing any weight on it. "I'm... not going home for awhile, if you want to hang out and talk or... just sit around making up stories about random people or... whatever."

[Lillian Turner]

Lillian nodded her head, she wasnt quite sure what to say when people expressed how sorry they were for her brothers death so she just looked at her hands, stopped herself from crying before smiling weakly at Lacey as the girls hand found Lillian's shoulder, her eyes moved to look at it before looking at the girls face, "Cool...let's get ratarsed, yeah?" Lillian asked as she dumped a small bag of money on the bar & motioned to the bar tender, "2 of your strongest & keep them coming yeah? Thanks dude" she smiled before sitting back in her seat, looking around the bar.

"See that couple?" she pointed to a young good looking man who was with a woman old enough to be his mother, "She's bought him from The Daily Prophet Bargain Pages. She's a cockacidal maniac. Ex-porn star. She's done it all....." Lillian paused, then looked at Lacey and laughed at the sheer absurdity of it all.