Out tonight

[wantwhatiwant]

Who| Ian and open
What| Partying. And by partying we mean coming down off his two week binge of trying to forget the arena
Where| Bars, clubs, the streets of Panem
When| Current, at night/early morning
Warnings/Notes| Underage? drinking (not sure on the drinking age of Panem), drugs, breakdowns

He had told himself he was fine. He had died, woke up, got a shower and went out. Breezy pausing only to check the death toll. Blaine and Kurt had survived, they must have escaped. Well at least his dead hadn't been completely in vain. His escort had even congratulated him for fighting back, like they had expected him to just lie down and die. He had smiled and headed to a bar. He had just died, he figured he deserved a drink.

One drink had led to another, and one club had led to another, he had veered off from the main clubs by the tribute tower and had found a few ones that played decent music. Nothing he knew of course, but heavy and angry, matching his mood.

That had been two weeks ago, he had slept at times. Either back in the tower or wherever he found himself. Not always alone. Being alone was painful, as was being sober or not being high. He had all the money he wanted and so he spent it on forgetting.

Somewhere deep down he knew he was acting like Frank and it sickened him, a burning hatred that reared up whenever he was sober enough to think. Though he had always drank, and smoked shit it was never serious, just mucking about with Mandy or Lip. He had wanted to be an Officer, or if he couldn't be, his GPA was not the best, join the army and work his way up. It had kept him focused, kept him training, kept him out of the worst of trouble.

He didn't have that anymore, or more he had it in a twisted nightmare form. An eternal soldier, unable to die, not fighting for any cause just for entertainment. Killed and revived on the sick whims of a crazy futuristic society. It wasn't going to change, and they weren't going to escape, shit like that didn't happen. The Capitol had no reason to change, this worked for them. So what was the fucking point of trying anymore? So he had stopped trying, stopped thinking and everything had become so much easier.

Tonight was a night like the nights before, he moved from club to club, going with the crowds. Not knowing where he was, not caring. Escaping from his own head, because everything was shit and finding a way to make it not shit would involve far too much thinking.

Comments

[splendid_roman]

Ian couldn't sleep, so he'd got up early and gone out for a walk while it was still quiet. In his meanderings he'd wandered down a street where there were still people awake. There was a loud bass line coming from one of the buildings and a crowd of laughing people who couldn't walk in a straight line.

Ian was prepared to give them a wide berth until one of them thought it would be hilarious to drop a bottle, spreading glass and its contents on the pavement. Ian jumped out of the way, almost straight into Ian.

"Are you alright?" he asked, holding one of Ian's shoulders to make sure they both stayed upright.

[wantwhatiwant]

Ian automatically fought when he was grabbed by the shoulders, jerking backwards. Then blinked as he realised that he knew the person. "Yeah?" He didn't sound sure, didn't look sure. He looked like he was one drink from being on the floor. "You?" He grinned stupidly.

[splendid_roman]

"I'm fine." He took his hand back, but frowned, now he had a chance to look at Ian properly. "You don't look it."

[wantwhatiwant]

"M'fine." He shrugged off the concern, and shoved his hands in his pockets, swaying slightly. "You're out late."

[splendid_roman]

"Early," he corrected. "It's early." Or late if you'd been up all night, he supposed. "Go easy and drink some water before you go to bed," he advised in a friendly tone.

[wantwhatiwant]

Early. Right, fuck he probably needed to get off the streets if people were beginning to wake up.

"Fuck water." Was his very eloquent reply as he swayed again. Memories stiring as he pointed a finger accusingly at him, "Who the fuck are you to lecture me about drinking water."

[splendid_roman]

"I'm just trying to prevent you from having a hangover when you wake up," he said in a reasonable tone. He was trying not to think about what happened in the arena.

[wantwhatiwant]

"Fuck hangovers." Ian's tone was anything but reasonable, "I don't plan to be sober enough to get a fucking hangover."

[hit_girl_mindy]

These days, Mindy found that her training didn't keep things out as much as she wanted them too.There was always that annoying lay time where she had o lie and relax and occupy her mind with things that weren't about training to kill, more advice about sponsors and what she should do. Fuck, she had the pigtails and the stupid looking innocent face, why not use to her advantage? Why be smart, after all? More to be made being nice, playing sweet, maybe even doing the whole crying bit like Howard.

Ha. Funny. Crying. She barely did that when dad had died, why would her imprisonment with these nut jobs make her do it? No, her mind was always thinking, always curious. So after the exhausting task of training, watching more people go, she was out tonight, restless curious what passed as entertainment. She found herself in one place that gave her something hard, something that didn't need anything more than just jumping and hitting a little bit. She was fine with that too: knocking around, shifting, all the while just letting go. She was looking for something right now, and she knew if she stuck around, she'd see someone worth talking to.

[wantwhatiwant]

Perhaps not someone worth talking to, but someone nonetheless. Stumbling along the street, following the crowds though he was a little way behind them. He felt like he was going to be sick, he didn't want to be. He put his hand on a wall to steady himself and squinted at his surroundings, wondering where he was.

[hit_girl_mindy]

Oh wow, this one guy was pretty out of it. Normally she would not have given five shits about some random teenager drunk off their ass, but this guy seemed a little out of it. He stuck out to her.

"Hey. You all right?"

[wantwhatiwant]

A voice? It took a moment for Ian to place it, and he frowned when he saw the kid. Of course she might not be a tribute, but he doubted that. If she was a Capitol kid she wouldn't be out alone.

Fucking monsters putting kids in death games. "Yeah... Just fine, you?" There that was words, in almost a sentence, if a bit slurred.

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Not drunk," was her reply, extending a hand to him. Yeah, fogginess was getting clear, he was a guy from the games all right. No doubt trying to forget for a little bit, not that she could blame him.

"Don't yak on me, just trying to steady you up. Seem like a good night to, I dunno, 'mingle?'"

God, she sucked at this. She seriously hoped he wouldn't puke on her though.

[wantwhatiwant]

"Fuck you, I'm not drunk." He was glad of her hand though, and promised himself he wouldn't throw up on her. Wouldn't be a nice way to repay her.

He laughed, finding the word mingle hilarious, for no known reason. "Yeah? And hows that going for you?"

[hit_girl_mindy]

Man did she know how much THAT was a lie. Still, he was trying, what the hell?

"I bet," she said, steadying him. "Look at me. I'm fucking stale off death. How do YOU think I'm doing?"

[hit_girl_mindy]

"Fuck, tipsy then," she said, rolling her eyes. The symptoms were there man, come on. She was still holding him up though. "But where I'm from that shit still means 'drank a lot of alcohol.'"

She snickered. "I'm holding you up, dude, what do you think? Must be the impending death on my head. Guess that messes with my idea of fun."

[wantwhatiwant]

"Impending death is loads of fun." He told her, swaying in her hands but trying to stand up on his own, he knew he was heavy. "Look at this fucking place, it thrives off it."

[gardienne]

At first, clubs had scared Eponine a little bit - the bright lights that moved and swung about and the bright flashing colours and such loud strange music and people in strange clothes and makeup laughing and smiling and acting entirely inappropriately.

But that had been a year ago, and Eponine knew now that it was just normal. Just music.

She didn't want to dance, but she did want to drink. Having no money didn't pose a problem for her; there were all too many young Capitolonians willing enough to stand her a brandy if they could touch her or kiss her or something. And Eponine did it. She did it, and she downed the brandy. And perhaps ten minutes later, she would peck another cheek and down another brandy. Another and another, until the room was spinning and she finally began to smile a little bit.

Even so, she managed to spot Ian as he entered the seedy little club: his entourage of gogglers made him obvious. The barmen were obviously thrilled: between the two of them, they had filled a club which Eponine would have supposed would be empty without them, had she been in a fit state to suppose anything. Instead, she simply sipped on the thank you drink that the barmen presented her with, not knowing or caring what she was drinking.

"Come. Monsieur, there is one for you also."

[wantwhatiwant]

Ian had no idea where he was, but that was normal and he didn't care. He recognised it as a club not on the usual stretch that tributes frequented though, and he had soon found out that once he reached the point where he didn't mind being stared at everything got a lot easier.

He stumbled over to the bar where he recognised the girl there, Eponine, from Marius' world, the girl that had scammed him. He sat down and picked up the drink downing half of it in one. "Fancy meeting you here."

[gardienne]

"What? You think I would not drink? Because I am a woman, Sir? But - ah, no! That is a lady, and I am not one of those."

She shouted back over the music, glugging again from the electic blue cocktail that had been pushed in front of her. It tasted foul and she grimaced, but she gulped again.

"What are you doing, Monsieur? This is not a place for Tributes."

[wantwhatiwant]

"Why would I think that?" He slurred, confused. Not understanding that she had misunderstood his words. He had just as little idea what the drink was but he drank it happily and smirked at her.

"Oh, you not a tribute? Did you win while I wasn't looking?"

[gardienne]

"There is no need for rudeness, Sir. Perhaps you are not so gentlemanly either." She accompanied her insult with a laugh - but oh! How infuriating was this boy?

"You know I have not won anything. But perhaps also I should have said this is not the place for the good tributes."

She held up her wrist with the Capitol cuff firmly fastened to it.

"Me, I am not so good a Tribute."

[wantwhatiwant]

He laughed back, because gentlemanly was not something anyone would use to describe Ian. Ever.

He smirked at the cuff, "Not good enough to not get caught anyways." He shook his own empty wrist at her, not that that was because he was clever, just he had literally been in the city a day before they were given out, there hadn't been time for him to get into trouble.

[gardienne]

"Ah - did you help them with their bugs, Sir? And this is why they call me bad - let the bugs kill them, I said, and we do not have to fight any more. It seemed sensible to me - I do not know why everybody else did not say the same.Though perhaps that is why they have not made me beautiful this time."

She gulped the end of her drink, and slapped Ian's wrist away.

"Ah, soon, if you are bad, you might wear their honour too. Such an honour to remind me that I am in jail."

[wantwhatiwant]

"Oh, that." He nodded, he had helped. Even if this place was shit he wasn't about to let fucking aliens take over. There were kids here. Some of them were tributes.

"Yeah maybe." He finished his drink as well and ordered them some more. "You don't look bad though." Her teeth were cracked and yellow but she was from eighteen hundred and whatever, he had thought it strange that her teeth had been so white. He slid another drink over to her.