taterodriguez:
With everything that had been going on in Tate’s life in the last few weeks, any excuse to drink was welcomed in fact encouraged so they weren’t spending their evening alone with a bottle of vodka at Howl. When they received their invitation from O, it was a hard offer to turn down. So, Tate slipped into a simple but elegant jumpsuit and threw on their favourite pair of Stuart Weitzman booties before they made their way to O’s apartment.
Upon their arrival, Tate made a beeline to the kitchen to prepare their self a double vodka soda, skipping the wine this evening and shooting straight for the hard stuff. They were unsure of what events would unravel this evening, but Tate honestly couldn’t care less since there was free alcohol and many places for them to hide.
Instead of seeking an immediate place of refuge, Tate hoisted their self onto the counter of the island in the centre of the kitchen in attempt to remain close to the free booze. As Tate sipped on their vodka soda, the sound of approaching footsteps went unnoticed until they heard a voice beside them. “Oh,” Tate exclaimed. “Didn’t think I’d see you here.”
Living with Chessie and O for the past few weeks meant that Ben was pretty familiar with the kitchen. And since he had to throw away a napkin, he figured he could do it himself. Ben stopped in his tracks when he saw Tate. He was caught off guard that someone else was in the kitchen. Nevertheless, he gave them a slight smile.
"Surprisingly, you’re not the first person who has said that to me tonight,” Ben added with a shrug. “I’ve been crashing with O and Chessie so I know where a lot of things around here are. I even know which toilet is the best to use in the house,” He joked. “What are you doing in here? I’m honestly thinking about copying you and staying here for the rest of the party. Do you mind if I join you?”
chessieabernathy:
“You’ll be lucky if we can get the terrace door open in the morning,” A certain bitterness found Chessie’s tone, eyes rolling as she recalled their current situation. The mention of wandering without pants on brought a loud bark of laughter. “Haven’t you read any of those Gossip Girl blasts? If I started wandering around pantsless tonight, I don’t think anyone would be surprised.” What was meant to be a joke, brought on an eye roll. Not because of him, but the thought of what Gossip Girl would be posting about tonight. Thank god she decided not to keep her phone on her. Chessie shrugged at the mention of the bartender. “I gave him my exes number,” She comments with a snicker, “Some poor idiot in California’s gonna be woken up to a booty call,” Chessie can’t help but laugh at her own words, “Don’t worry, B. I’m sure caveman isn’t his type.”
“Someone has to do it, you have to take one for the team,” Ben knew about the blasts, he even found himself the subject of two so far, “I don’t pay attention to those unless I see my name,” He said with a shrug, “But if you’re going pantless I get to go pantless too so choose wisely.” He threatened, “He’s never gonna bartend another party after he finds out you lied to him,” He snickered, “I just let my hair and beard do whatever,” He admitted to the brunette, “If it looks like a caveman then so be it. It’s better than putting all this hair up in a man bun. Don’t be jealous.”
quinnxarchibald:
“Oh my god, I feel like I haven’t had real social interaction in, like, two weeks. How am I even supposed to talk to people anymore?” Quinn asked, shaking his head as he watched the person sit down across from him.
Ben looked at Quinn, before turning away. “Why would you want any socialization with anyone around here?” He asked, “I feel like it never ends well.” Ben could say that from personal experience with the last two parties he had attended. “Not to mention that most socialization happens through screens nowadays.”
kirbcy:
“Then don’t,” Bishop said with a jerk of his head. The word help ground under Bishop’s skin and he laughed, shaking his head, his hand splaying as he gestured. “I don’t want or need your help, Vanderbilt. I’ll say it again, just because you married a blood relative of him, that doesn’t mean anything. Water is thicker than blood for you two, that’s clear. I don’t want it. I don’t need it. I don’t trust either of you, so just save me the bullshit. You want to small talk, fine, but don’t pretend like you give a shit about me.” Bishop was tired of the fake friends and fake shit, at least when people unbridledly hated him he knew that it was real.
He was right to not trust Ben. Ben wasn’t trustworthy, he knew that. He wished that life was too short to hold grudges because he knew people had plenty of them against him. And now, Bishop was one of them. “Look, I’m not here to be all buddy-buddy with you,” So maybe at first he was but not now. “I mean I’m not pretending. You are King’s little brother whether you acknowledge it or not,” And he did care about family, “I give plenty of shits about you.” How did Ben even express that he cared? “I know shit is fucked right now and we were never really close but let me hear about your problems. Hell, take all your problems out on me.”
monty-santos:
“I never made it down to Greece, but I’ve heard that it’s amazing,” Monty nodded with a smile, “But it’s really not surprising if you look at how big all of Europe was, not to mention we probably were in very different places if we did happen to be around the same area,” he pointed out with a shrug, “But that’s good, King’s pretty great. Did you two travel together after that?”
“It’s one of my favorite places in the world. The ocean’s so damn blue there, especially compared to the crappy Hudson. But you can’t flush toilet paper cause their piping system is too old. That was something that was hard to remember when I was drunk,” Ben disclosed to the other man. “You could’ve been the third wheel if you wanted,” He proposed, “Pretty much, yeah. She somehow was able to put up with me for that long.” He let a slight chuckle out but it was true. Ben was honestly a mess when he ran into her.
chessieabernathy:
There was a presence about Ben Vanderbilt that made Chessie think of him as an older brother, one that didn’t press her talk about her feelings, didn’t care – or in Ben’s case, mostly didn’t know – about her fuck ups. He was someone to have a drink or a smoke with, and shoot the shit. “Being a Vanderbilt can’t be much worse than bein’ an Abernathy. Go into any state in the Bible Belt and you’ll get swarmed.” She pointed out, attempting to keep the bitterness out of her tone at the mention of her family. “Don’t hold your breath,” she happily changed the topic, laughter at her lips. “Who knew you were such a romantic, B.” Chessie couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his comment, but appreciated the sentiment. At the mention of gin, she lifted a brow, giving him a look. “And what might that be?”
“That doesn’t seem like the Southern hospitality that everyone’s told me about. I figured you’d get swarmed because of popularity, ” He pointed out, “At least no one gives you a double take while you’re here.” He at least assumed no one did. Well, not in the way that they did to him now that he was back. Some people stopped in their tracks and obviously stared at him. It was very hard to ignore. “You’re more likely to be a psycho if you prefer gin,” He stated as if he was unconcerned, “It’s some unspoken alcohol rule.” Except people did speak about it. “See? no one thinks that about my beer. When are you gonna give it a chance?”
arlovasquez:
chessieabernathy:
Chessie hummed as he spoke, half listening as she followed alongside Arlo. At his warning, she shared the same laugh (mostly out of drunkness, rather than actual humor). “I kind of fucked up your guest room, too.” She found herself admit, without giving him the chance to react before her attention was on Ben. Her eyes rolled at the sight of him, a smile present on her face. “A’course you’re hiding out,” she comments easily, ignoring his question as she crosses the room, moving to sit next to him on the bed. Tucking her knees under her, she lets out a laugh. “Stop trying to make me drink fucking beer,” she complains, giving him wide eyed look, as if in complete shock that he’d bring the subject up.
“S’about to be a very white Christmas,” Chessie begins again, pulling the two small bags of coke from her clutch. She holds them up with a smile, as if to show them off before turning her attention back to Arlo. “Do you have a mirror we can use?”
Arlo hadn’t expected to seen Ben when he opened his bedroom door, but there he was, drinking a beer away from the other party guests. He couldn’t help but chuckle, not even the least bit bothered by the fact someone was in his room without his knowledge.
“Hooking up?” He asked with a chuckle. “No, we’re just…” he trailed off, unsure of whether he should actually say it in front of Ben. Though he realized Chessie had no issue with it since she was the one who pulled it out of her handbag.
“Yeah! I’ve got one over here,” Arlo said as he walked towards his dresser. “I keep it here so I can put ties on.” Retrieving the mirror, he crossed back and handed it to Chessie. He stepped back and watched the other two sitting on his bed.
“I would be a bad host if I didn’t tell you that I highly suggest the floor at the present state of my sheets…”
He fixed his posture as they came in. Why did no one else like beer? What the hell was that about? However, he decided to let it go. Chessie sparked his interest immediately when she mentioned white and Christmas, now that Christmas was actually over. Shit. He was past the point where his judgment was just cloudly. It was really almost gone. He watched Arlo get the mirror and hand it to Chessie, and then his eyes were fixated on those two bags. Was he allowed to get in on this too?
“The floor? Alright.” He said with a shrug, he wasn’t about to argue. “Would you two mind sharing? I usually don’t mooch but this shit is looking very fine.” He admitted as he positioned himself on the floor. “What’s the point of New Year’s Eve if I don’t have fun? I mean if we all don’t have fun.” He slurred as he glanced at Chessie and then Arlo.
quinnxarchibald:
@benvanderbilt
While the night had started out quite poorly, Quinn couldn’t help but feel that things were looking up. He felt like he could rule the world, like he could do anything. Rationally, he knew that was the coke running though his veins but it didn’t stop him from still feeling invincible. Meandering through the halls, not caring who saw his bruised face, Quinn explored. He wasn’t sure why he’d been so worried before about everything. It seemed so small, so insignificant. Quinn could take on anything, including Ben.
As he thought this, Quinn stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening before he turned on his heels and made his way back through the apartment. After a few minutes he found who he was looking for. Ben. Not caring about who the other male was talking to, Quinn grabbed the brunet’s arm and pulled him aside. “We need to talk.” He demanded.
Ben’s attention moved towards Quinn as he pulled Ben away. Fuck, he hoped he wasn’t going to hit him again. He didn’t want to fight him again. The last thing Ben wanted to do was hurt Quinn even more. He looked up at the other man, studying everything about his demeanor.
Why did that need to talk? He had nothing to say to Quinn. He had nothing he could actually say to Quinn. “Do you really think that’s a good idea to do here?” He asked, wanting to delay their conversation to another day.
chessieabernathy:
Somewhere past the sunrise, Chessie hadn’t woken with feeling a common feeling of being both groggy and mildly hungover. The combination always warranted a warm cup of coffee to ease her into the day – Even with plenty of party guests sleeping all over her home thanks to the blizzard, she didn’t miss a beat. Having changed in a short robe, pulled close, she brewed a pot, leaning against the kitchen counter as she scanned the room. “Morning, sunshine,” she comments quietly, giving the new addition an arched brow. “Help yourself.” Chessie offers, nodding to the pot next to her.
Ben started feeling more comfortable around the apartment that he was intruding in. It had been a few weeks and he finally was deciding he could take most things without asking. The one problem was that Ben wasn’t a morning person. He’d much rather sleep in than have to get up. But for some reason, he was up. It took him at least an hour to wake up, another thirty minutes to be open to conversation, it was a whole process. Add in the fact that he was hungover and his face fucking hurt. Not to mention that getting to sleep was a whole process. Maybe it was all of the guilt that he had to live with. It had to be cold and he had to sleep in just his boxers. However, he always made sure he was decent when he went outside of the room that he and King shared. After he rubbed his eyes, adjusting to some light, he trekked to the kitchen. He looked at Chessie, giving her a hand to at least acknowledge her. “Stop being so loud,” He told her in a whisper. “It’s hurting my head.” Since when did he get hangovers? It was this American shit. He took some coffee before he looked back at her, “Do you think we can get out to the terrace for a quick smoke?” He asked, not knowing the extent of the snow from the blizzard.
chessieabernathy:
“S’a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, don’t you think?” She was quick to fire back, a chuckle passing her lips as she spoke. This was nothing short of normal for them, sharing a smoke, poking fun at one another. “Sounds like it made you more of what you are.” Another laugh passes, as she gives him a matter-of-fact look. The mention of beer pulls an eye roll from her, “Christ, B. You and your fucking beer. You’re practically cheating on King with it.” Chessie teased, “I’ve traveled a bit for Fashion Week, but not as much as I’d like. Never picked up a love for beer, though. Gin is still number one in my heart.”
“That’s exactly how I like my coffee.” He retorted. “Shut up,” He chuckled, “I can’t help it, I’m a Vanderbilt.” That was his excuse for everything. Maybe that’s part of the reason why he ran away, he needed to see who he was outside of being a fucked up Vanderbilt. “I’m going to keep talking about it until you have a bottle or two with me. That’s just how it’s going to go,” He said with a shrug. “For the record, though, I’d choose King over beer if I had to choose.” Ben loved his wife more than any drink. “You do know what they say about people who prefer gin, right?”
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