Small Town Celebrities party log for Sept17-Oct6

[dirtyredneck]

The Redbright students clearly aren't getting enough homework if they have the time to start following their favorite members of supernatural society around for the chance at getting The Perfect Shot of them looking hot. It starts slow and small, for the first week, anyway. Just a random person pulling out their phone and taking a quick shot. Can't even be sure it was you they were photographing. By the five days in, though, they've started making a game of it. Groups of two and three going out together. Following people for a while. Having the audacity to wave when they're looked at. Some even invite their target to take a picture with them and their friends. (If you say yes to that, please do flex a little.)

Ratings on the website change on a day to day basis and currently both Redbright Professors and the Hillingdon Clan lists are the current most popular due to the territory change over and general familiarity with the groups.

Hans Estergaard had been reigning supreme as #1 in Hillingdon since he had the audacity to challenge Sylvia for her seat on the council. An unprecedented length of time! (It's like the students enjoy the idea of someone standing up to Sylvia, the person ultimately in charge of telling them what to do. Go figure.)

Most factions are getting more attention from these folks, though. They really have a lot of time on their hands.

[[ooc: post around like it's a party log. If you want an npc bothering you and want me to play them, put NPC request in the subject line.]]

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[goodgraces]

Guinevere was as shocked as anyone at the turn of events. She had only wanted to speak with Dylan, reason with him, not frighten him away. Their next session was definitely going to be an interesting one.

In the meantime…

She turned to look at the remaining Redbright students, who were now a bit uneasy, no longer confident in what they were doing.

The notable exception to this was the mouthpiece from earlier. Unmoved by his friend’s departure, he decided this would be a perfect time to make a play for Caroline.

“You’re right fit! You got a boyfriend, yeah?”

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline rolled her eyes. "I only date men," she told him. "Boys aren't worth my time." She took a step forward, a predatory gleam in her eyes. She was still in control but it was time to take off the kid gloves - no pun intended. "Why don't you run along now. I'm sure it's past your bedtime."

[goodgraces]

Most of the Redbright kids have decided now was the time to call it a night.

One of them, a descendant of the fae, gripped the two girls next to her and started dragging them away with some urgency. Unlike the others, she knew exactly what Caroline was and didn’t want to risk becoming a snack.

And yet, as before, the cheese stood alone. (That would be Maxwell, the cheeky one.) He didn’t seem daunted in the least. In fact, he looked downright ecstatic. And why shouldn’t he be? The gorgeous American was actually paying attention to him!

“Nah, bedtime’s a ways off. But I’d be happy to let you tuck me in later if you like!” This was said with a grin and what Maxie assumed was a saucy wink.

[vampire_barbie_girl]

The wink may have been intended as saucy but to Caroline, it just made it clear how out of his league this guy was. She took another step closer, then reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Listen to me closely," she said, tightening her grip. "I am not in the mood to be chased by schoolboys tonight, or any night for that matter. So learn your lesson and leave." She squeezed harder for a moment - he'd definitely have bruises in the morning - then let go.

[goodgraces]

That finally drove the message home.

Pale-faced and starting to break out in a cold sweat, Maxwell stared at Caroline with terrified eyes while rubbing his throbbing arm. When the only other remaining Redbright student touched his shoulder, he nearly jumped out of his skin. The two boys locked eyes for a moment, each silently sharing his desire to be anywhere but there. Then, in an almost synchronised motion, both boys fled along the same path as their departed schoolmates.

The confrontation between Caroline and Maxwell had escalated quickly—and ended just as fast. Before Guinevere could use her power to diffuse the situation, it was already over.

Now alone with Caroline, she was left feeling uneasy. There had been a flash of something dark and dangerous in the other woman that made the hairs on the back of Gwen’s neck stand up.

“Caroline…” she asked warily. “Are you all right?”

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline watched them go, taking several deep breaths as she did. She was glad they were gone but not exactly happy at what she'd had to do to make that happen. Usually she was better at not letting things get under her skin, though after three nights, she hadn't had much patience left, apparently.

She waited until she felt calm again before turning around to face Gwen. "Yeah," she said finally, "I'm okay now. Sorry, that was ... pretty crazy."

[goodgraces]

“Yes, it was.”

Guinevere smiled wanly. Nothing about this felt right. She knew the kids were completely in the wrong for harassing Caroline. And yet, her handling of the situation did not sit well with Gwen. The lead boy had been rude and absolutely deserving of harsh words, but the way Caroline had put her hands on him was not something she could condone.

“Hopefully this will be the end of…whatever has been going on.”

She truly meant that—for everyone’s sake.

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline could tell Gwen felt uneasy about what had just happened and couldn't blame her. At the same time, she knew plenty of vampires who would have done a lot worse to the kids than give one of them a bruised arm.

"That would be nice." She took another slow breath, trying to let the rest of the tension out. "I could really use a ..." she almost said drink, then decided maybe that wasn't the best plan for once, "tea or something, if you have time to join me?"

[goodgraces]

“Abso-bloody-lutely!”

If she cared at all for alcohol, a stiff drink would honestly be great right now. Unfortunately, she’s barely even a social drinker. Tea, on the other hand, is always something for which she’ll make time.

“Do you have somewhere in mind?”

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline laughed at Gwen's enthusiasm. "No, but this is London, there must be a place to serves tea somewhere nearby, right?" she asked with a grin.

[goodgraces]

Gwen laughed at that, the uneasiness from before fading as they talked.

“True! But I think you might be a bit more familiar with this area than I am. I’ll let you lead the way this time.”

[vampire_barbie_girl]

"Oh dear, blind leading the blind then," Caroline admitted. "Tonight's really the first time I've been in the neighbourhood. But hopefully we'll get lucky."

[goodgraces]

“Well, in that case, if we get lost, perhaps you can charm someone into helping us out? I’m sure that wouldn’t be too hard.” She gave her a mock appraising look. “What with you being ‘right fit’ and all.”

Joking about what had happened earlier made it easier for Gwen to rationalize away the events as no big deal.

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline laughed. "I think my charm might be a bit rusty but if it comes to that, I will take one for the team." She started walking, keeping her eyes peeled for some place to get tea. She'd been joking a bit before, but really, it shouldn't be too hard to find a coffee and tea shop here, should it?

[goodgraces]

Gwen had no desire to traipse around Barnet until her feet hurt. The moment she spotted a Caffè Nero, she headed straight for it, dragging Caroline with her. This wasn’t a place that could satisfy her tea needs, but there were other things on the menu that were perfectly acceptable alternatives over which the two of them could have a little chat.

“Calories be damned, I’m getting a Hot Chocolate Milano. Pick whatever you want. It’ll be my treat.”

[vampire_barbie_girl]

"Thanks," Caroline said as she eyed the menu. "I am suddenly in desperate need of a Chai Latte."

"So," she said after they had ordered, "you were telling me about your job ... before we got interrupted."

[goodgraces]

“Hmm? Was I?”

Guinevere can’t recall what she had told Caroline about her work before they were rudely interrupted.

“All right, where to start…”

She savoured a spoonful of whipped cream while considering how to talk about her job without crossing a line that could get her in trouble with the Night Council.

“I work at the Redbright Institute. It’s an exclusive school for extraordinarily talented students.”

She waved that bit of information away as though it were unimportant.

“My job is to help students who are struggling to connect with the school: failing to make social inroads with their peers or having trouble focusing in class, that sort of thing. Sometimes I work with them while they’re at the institute. Other times I make house calls, like I did today.”

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline frowned; she hadn't been expecting that. She knew about the Redbright Institute and what 'extraordinarily talented' students really meant. But she didn't know for sure what that meant as far as Gwen.

"Sounds a bit like my high school guidance counsellors, though definitely more involved." Not that Caroline had gone to the counsellors all that much - she'd been such an overachiever in high school that she flew way above their notice.

[goodgraces]

Gwen paid Caroline’s frown no mind, assuming it was a sign of concentration, nothing more.

“Yes, exactly.” She nodded. “It can be a bit more involved than basic guidance counselling, especially on a personal level. I don’t simply work with the kids, but also their families and often in their homes. There’s always the danger of becoming too attached, but the good I can do far outweighs the bad.”

[vampire_barbie_girl]

"It's sounds ... challenging, but definitely rewarding too." A bit more important than being a night club singer - Caroline couldn't help but make that comparison.

"I've heard a bit about Redbright, what's it like there?" She knew it was a loaded question, which was why she asked it.

[goodgraces]

“It’s a great school! Very inclusive. Lots of history. Modern curriculum and technology. The staff is wonderful, if I do say so myself. And we’re given a lot of freedom with our work. ” She smiled. “Honestly, I love being a part of it all. Of course, the students aren’t always angels…”

Gwen gave Caroline a knowing look.

“But like I said, they’re special, which also makes them different. And being different can be tough, especially when you’re young.”

She stirred her drink while staring off into the middle distance.

“I’ve been there. So, I understand that.”

There was a very brief moment of silence before Guinevere abruptly blinked and refocused her eyes on Caroline. Since she wasn’t free to go into detail about exactly how different the children really were, a change of subject was needed.

“Listen to me blathering on without giving you a chance to speak!” she said with a headshake and a laugh (that might have been a bit forced). “We should talk about you for a bit. What do you do for a living?”

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Loaded question, loaded answer. But Gwen clearly wanted to change the topic and Caroline wasn't going to push it, at least not right away.

"I'm a singer at this night club, called Rhapsody in Red. It's in Hackney, near where I live. It pays the bills and is pretty fun, though I'm not going to be changing anyone's lives. At least, I doubt it."

[goodgraces]

Eyes alight with excitement, Gwen waved off Caroline’s negative talk.

“Don’t sell yourself short! Music is a powerful force in many people’s lives.”

She leaned back in her seat, taking a moment to process what she’d just learned.

“Wow, a nightclub singer…. I never would have guessed that. The title alone sounds so glamourous, like something out of a movie.”

Glamourous and far more interesting than working at a school. A tiny part of her felt a little foolish for having rambled on about her own job, which probably seemed rather pedestrian in comparison (even if in truth it was not).

[vampire_barbie_girl]

Caroline laughed. "It's not quite as glamorous as it sounds, though I do get to wear some pretty dresses. And I get free drinks, as long as I don't have too many and can't perform. You should come out some night and check it out."

[goodgraces]

“Oooh, pretty dresses and free drinks. Sounds like a delightful setup to me.”

She refused to believe it was anything but amazing.

“I will absolutely make time to hear you sing!”

A little voice in Gwen’s head spoke up to remind her that Hackney was vampire territory and not a smart place to be. She paid it as little attention as possible.