Closed A House Party

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin led Dreya to the house having a party, but it was difficult to miss once they began getting close enough. The music was going. There were people spilling out of the house, and a general mess to it. He got them close enough and then looked back at Dreya, wanting to just see how she was doing before they went inside. He squeezed her hand gently, and gave a little smile. "You ready?" Corentin asked.

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya smoothed out her skirt as she and Cory drew closer to the party. She kept her hand in his, smiling shyly up at him. "As I'll ever be. The music sounds fun," She countered, pushing a little into his side. "What do you like to do at parties?" She asked, unthinkingly wrapping herself a little around his arm.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin was content for her to be nice and close. "Usually drink and dance," he said. He led her inside, the music was loud, there were people mingling about everywhere, it was clearly a little into things, and he gently guided them to where there were paper cups of alcohol. He leaned down to her ear. "What's your drink?" he asked.

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya was looking around. There really were a lot of people here, and it caused her to shrink a little more into Corys' side. He asked her about drinks and she blinked, looking over. "Oh," She just reached out and took one, not caring too much what it was. She saw a somewhat vacant spot nearby so she walked over there, trying to pull him with her, and pulled herself up to sit on an empty space of counter. The music here was good, and she wasn't quite so surrounded so it was a little easier on her. She offered Cory a shy smile and sipped out of her cup, trying to relax.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin remained at Dreya's side as they were in the crowd of people. He sipped his own drink and went to the empty space, sitting on the counter next to her, and put his arm around her, almost protectively. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the alcohol and music wash over him. It was loud and seemed to be vibrating in every corner of his being. Corentin then glanced at her, nudging her a little before leaning in close. "You okay?"

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya felt herself blushing, and feeling a little braver after having drinken half a cup of... something, she pressed a kiss to his cheek quickly- barely a brush of her lips against his skin before she'd pulled back, sipping her cup cradled in both hands. "I'm alright," She promised. "It's very... busy, isn't it?" She asked, looking around at the party moving around them.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin was a little surprised at the lips touching his skin. But he didn't lean away, just letting her speak. "Yeah," he agreed, it was pretty busy. "Close your eyes," he suggested, as he lined into her. "Take a deep breath, focus on the music, on the vibrations, forget the people, just feel it," he told her, leaning out from speaking, to give her a little demonstration of what he meant. The intention to let her just feel the way the music filled the room and be unbothered by the people.

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya nodded, considering the idea and watching him as he showed her. She took a breath, straightening up and shutting her eyes, just trying to focus on the music. The song was unfamiliar, and it was hard to catch all of the lyrics, but the bass was loud and it reverbarated in her bones. She couldn't help but enjoy it a bit, almost feeling as if her heart was syncing to the music. She smiled, just enjoying it, unthinkingly leaning in a little closer to the man beside her.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin watched Dreya follow his instructions and gave a little smile as it seemed to work. He shifted to be closer to her as she leaned in, and just smiled, doing the same. Feeling the music. "That's why this can be fun, just, let go and feel it," he said softly. It was easy to forget about problems about what he needed to do when the music was always so encompassing.

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya smiled softly and nodded. "The music does make it worth it," She agreed, and feeling a little bolder, she leaned against him, smiling softly. "I can see why you like this now," She spoke, offering out her hand for him.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin smiled, enjoying that he managed to make her like it. He knew that it was something that wasn't a normal thing to like, especially if she didn't like this sort of thing normally. "I think people ignore the healing quality of just being filled with music," he said taking her hand, but not moving from their spot. just enjoying the music and how it flowed through him.

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya could feel her heart beating furiously, unsure if it was from the party of from his hand in hers. She laced their fingers, and after a few moments, she peeked up at him. "Cory... can I ask you something?" She asked him, knowing she was blushing furiously and unsure if her question would even go over well.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin was just enjoying the music, enjoying the feeling of this place, of the bouncing music. "Sure," he answered looking at her with a small smile, seemingly fully relaxed in this particular atmosphere.

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya felt a little nervous, fidgeting a bit and drawing in a little more on herself. "I... um..." She sighed, and chickening out, just looked away. "If you wanted to go to more parties, I could babysit for you?" She offered, folding her hands between her legs and taking a deep breath. She was such a coward, but she just couldn't ask him for anything else.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin looked at her, and gave a little frown. "While that's a nice offer, what if I want to go to the parties with you," he countered. Though it was nice of her to want to help him babysit so he could enjoy himself like this, it wasn't...it wasn't what he would want to do with his time, not when he could spend it with her.

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya blushed, and looked over the crowd, chewing a bit on her lip. She could feel the little tugging on her heart, and she worried that she could get too involved in this too easily, too attached to a man that may not be available. She took a breath. "Well, maybe sometimes," She offered. "When I can," She tried to sound a little more sure, not wanting to give off the impression that she was rejecting his suggestion.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin thought her response was measured, and though he had been trying to subtle hint, he didn't want to push too much more in case she decided against it. "I'll take it," he replied. not wanting to corner her or anything else of the sort. He wanted her to be comfortable, and maybe it meant being a little more direct when he asked her out.

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya smiled, before hopping off the counter. "I'm going to get more drinks, you coming?" She asked, looking up to him. She was trying to keep her expectations low, buried away. Not all men would be like her brother, pledging their devotion openly so quickly. And besides, she wouldn't know what to do with a man like that. She turned and started to try and find a way through the crowd.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin nodded and slid off the counter. His hand reached for hers so that he could follow her much more easily through the crowd of people. He wasn't sure if she'd manage to guide them, given that she was new to parties and perhaps crowds. he leaned in. "Would you like me to lead?" he offered.

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya was surprised but a bit relieved when Cory offered to take the lead. She nodded. She hesitated a moment before holding out her hand for him. "Yes, please," She agreed. He seemed to be a lot better at this than she was, and (even if only to herself) she had to admit that she preferred it when he took charge of things. She was never very good at being a leader- it was a lot of why she wanted to work at a good bakery instead of running her own.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin took the lead from her, taking her hand and guiding her through the crowd. Able to easy them through the people until he found the drinks table. He glanced back at her. "What will it be?" he asked, keen to just see what kind of drink she'd want.

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya was busy looking around, trying to take it all in. She was drawn from it as Cory spoke, and she looked back up to him with wide eyes. "Oh, um- I'll take whatever you're having," She replied easily, unthinkingly falling in against his side as the crowd surged a bit and pushed her back against the man.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin looked at the array of drinks and grabbed two beers as she fell into his side. He put his arm around her to bring her in a little closer, and then moved to create a little space for her to stand. "here, just some light american beer," he said. he would've liked something stronger, but this would suffice for now.

 

[Dreya Monet]

Dreya felt her cheeks burning- she could blame the alcohol, but she knew it wasn't. She felt breathless, dizzy, and it seemed safer to place fault with the drinks she'd had than to put any real amount of thought into it. "Thank you," She peeked up at him, giving him a shy smile as she took the drink from his hands. Her heart skipped a beat at the feeling of her fingers brushing against his in the transition. She took the cup and used it as an excuse, clutching it with both hands and taking a long sip as she looked around the room. Her nose wrinkled a little at the taste of it, but she didn't want to admit to him she didn't care for it. "So... you drank often?" She managed, trying not to wince at the silly question she'd used to break the metaphorical silence.

 

[Corentin Driscoll]

Corentin gave a little shrug at the question, it wasn't really a simple yes or no to him. He leaned in to speak a little more into her ear, so he couldn't need to shout over the music. "I used to," he said. "It's a different culture, with a lot more focus on drinking and excessive drinking," he explained. "But here and now, not so much," He didn't have the time, nor did he want to drink too much. His own grief he knew could easily create a gateway into alcohol becoming a much bigger influence than it needed to in his life.