Cotton Eye Joe (Jeremy)

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Ok, so getting drunk by the water, in a nearly empty boat house wasn't exactly at the top of the list over smart things Erika had done in her life. Especially not when the drinking involved Jeremy; It was only a matter of time until they'd get into trouble, or worse. At least, they were away from the school. Away from the teachers, the dorm monitors and staff members who could possibly get them into trouble. The only thing they had to worry about was to get unseen back into the school, since it would most likely be way past curfew before they'd manage to get to that point.

The boathouse wasn't the biggest, but that didn't matter. It was also pretty empty, apart from the couch, a table and a few chairs. Placing the bottle of Captain Morgan - spiced rum, tequila and absolut vodka on the table, Erika reached for her bag to pull out whatever soda, ice tea and other refreshments she had managed to get with her. Then she reached for the plastic cups in her bag and placed them soundlessly against the wooden surface before finally turning towards the blonde.

''There. Good enough?'' she asked with a grin before opening the cap on the vodka, pouring some of it into her cup and passed the bottle on. Reaching for the ice tea, Erika cocked her eyebrow at Jeremy, ''Did you bring the board games?'' she asked with a chuckle, ''I swear you have some odd fetish for that stuff,''

Well, this could surely end up being fun. And as long as she didn't drunk dial Everett, she could actually get out of this with her dignity intact.

[Deleted]

When asked how he wanted to spend his weekend, Jeremy didn't actually think saying "Drinking on a boat and Monopoly." would actually come true. Then again, he forgot that there was a houseboat down on the lake that sat virtually empty save for the occasional smugglers such as they would become. Sure, it took some explaining. "Come on it will be fun!" He said, "You never wanna do anything fun." He tossed out.  It wasn't until he called her the sacred word that she finally perked up, and that word....well if we told you it wouldn't be a secret now would it? Didn't think so.

So, here the blonde sat upon the couch in what he would have probably called a den back home upon the boat. Feet in the air and his head dangling off the couch cushion, Jeremy watched as Erika emptied the contents of her bag onto the table. "Woah." He blinked, feet kicking lightly in the air, "Daddy Warbucks must be a big alcoholic." He teased lightly. Truthfully, he didn't know where she was getting the stuff from, and it was probably better not to ask, but of course he had to crack at least one joke at her tonight. 

"Eh..." The boy shrugged at her question, trying to keep a serious face but it was no use. A wide grin cracked out upon his lips along with a low chuckle thanks to his position. "It's fine." He assured her. Truth be told, he wasn't that big of a drinker, and really only knew his way around a bottle of whiskey and some Irish Cream that his mother kept in the house growing up. Apart from that, this was all new territory. 

She questioned him about his board games, even going as far to calling it a fetish. "Does a duck quack?" He questioned back before swinging around so he was sitting up. Reaching beside the arm of the couch, he picked up a small black duffel bag and placing it upon his lap. The zipper gave off a nice rip through the air as if velcro was tearing in the distance. Reaching in, the boy withdrew four boxes. "I didn't know what to grab." He spoke up, setting the cardboard boxes, each a different size, upon the floor, "So I just grabbed the basics. You got your Operation," With that he lifted the first box, a red and white one with cartoon pictures of doctors surrounding a guy on an operating table, "Mouse Trap," The next had pictures of red and blue mice trying to catch cheese and avoid a cage, "Life," This one was white with the letters written in gold upon the front, "And my personal favorite....MONOPOLY!" He picked up the last box, wiggling it in the air in front of him like some sort of holy relic, giving off the sound of plastic pieces tumbling around in it as the picture of a banker seemed to dance upon the front. He couldn't help it. He loved his board games.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

''Daddy Warbucks doesn't drink.'' Erika said with a cocked eyebrow before sighing, ''His daughter however, is a very skilled girl who knows how to talk her way around an ID check,'' she pointed out with a smirk, running her fingertip over the taps of the bottles before letting her hand drop. Sometimes being a girl could be so handy - especially when it meant getting her hands on things she normally was too young to buy.

''What do you want?'' she asked, holding the cup to her lips and took a sip before her eyes flickered over the bottles, ''Are you a vodka kind of person, or more that of a rum person?'' Honestly, he looked more like a beer kind of person, but where was the fun in getting drunk over beer? People always acted out and did crazier stuff while being influenced by harder alcohol. Hence why her favorite was tequila. Pulling the lemon and the salt out, she placed it firmly on the table with a nod.

Perfect. Just perfect.

Turning her attention to Jeremy, she watched him pull out board game after board game with an unamused gaze. She herself preferred card games such as the bus ride, or 'I have never', or blowfish. But monopoly? Gawd, that sounded like one hell of a ride. A boring ride. ''Seriously?'' she asked with a laugh, ''Drinking games are supposed to get you wasted, not bored,'' She took another sip from her drink before leaning back against the couch, propping her feet up on the table.

''Okay, okay, really. Like seriously, what's the deal with the boardgames?'' she asked then and turned her head to face him, smacking her lips before running her hand idly through her hair. It was probably a good thing she had decided not to wear a dress and instead gone for the brown sweater and skin colored tights. It was still chilly outside, but surely, even if this got cold, all she had to do was drink more and the alcohol would fix that right up.

Pushing herself up, Erika pressed the plastic cup to her lips and downed what was left of her drink. She shook her head and grimaced before turning towards the blonde once more, ''Okay. Let's play a game. I have never. Ok?'' she said, bending down to fill her cup, ''You know how it goes, right? I say something I've never done, and if you have done it, you drink. If not, I drink.''

[Deleted]

As Erika explained how she got the drinks, an overwhelming warmth of satisfaction and pride seemed to mold into his bones. "I rubbed off on you so well." Jeremy said proudly, a big grin sticking upon his lips. The ordeal sounded like something he would have pulled, but with the added expense he probably would have gotten caught and then had to run off with the stuff. Maybe he should grow a beard? He might not look so much like seventeen then. 

The thought slipped out of his mind as she asked what he wanted. "I'd say me be more of a rum person, m'lady." He spoke, trying his best to sound like the worst pirate in the history of the world, though it came out more scratchy than anything. A subtle chuckle and he went on. "Really I haven't had either. Mom use to keep whiskey in the house growing up but that was it." His eyes watched as she got his drink ready, bringing it over to him on the couch. "Grass-ias" He chuckled out, taking the plastic cup from her hand and immediately sticking it to his lips. The golden liquid inside the cup went from mouth to throat, leaving a subtle burn as it went down to the pit of his stomach, almost igniting itself as he felt the warmth of it all seep into his bone. He gave a slight cough, tossing his fist in front of his mouth as he lowered the cup to his lap. "Good stuff." He said raspily, throat tight from the drink.

Jeremy blinked, a little shocked at her response. "What?" He shot back, a small frown tugging at the corners of his lips. "Oh come on! Don't tell me trying to pick pieces out of a guy with a buzzer for a nose while drunk and stumbling over everything isn't going to be fun?!" He explained. "Hell, my hands shake already so watch out cause I'll have the advantage as the night goes on!" He chuckled out, raising the cup to his lips once more. The liquid was a bit easier on him this time, but that same burn still set in.

Erika questioned the board games again, taking her place beside him on the floor, feet propped up on the table before them. "I dunno. I just like 'em." He shrugged, not wanting to dive any further. He liked 'em and that was final. 

The girl spoke up once more, sitting up a bit and offering a suggestion for a game. The boy cocked an eyebrow at her, listening skeptically as she explained everything. "I have never played that." He admitted before she explained the rules. Jeremy nodded, smacking his lips together at the idea of it all. "Yeah alright. Why not." He agreed, turning slightly so he could face her. "So who goes first?"

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

''Yeah. Yeah you did.'' Erika admitted with a laugh. Okay, so it wasn't entirely his fault as Ellen too had a big part of the entire 'turn a good girl bad' kind of thing they seemed to have going. Which in turn made her think that Jeremy would have made an excellent addition to the duo - if it still existed anyways. Oddly enough, she saw the two blondes making the perfect team.

Nodding, Erika popped off the cap of the Morgan bottle and filled 1/3 of it with rum and the rest with coke. Slicing up a piece of lemon, Erika dipped it in before finally handing the cup over with a proud smile. ''Very good stuff,'' she said with a smirk. ''I am a master at mixing drinks. It's my calling. Really, I should train to become a bartender or something.'' She said with an amused expression, ''Though, I'm too pretty. Wouldn't want to get groped every day.''

She needed more timid friends. Their egos were rubbing off on her and in turn making her just as... Okay, she was far too naive and what not for that to happen, but damn did she make a good expression of them. She was awesome like that.

''I'll start!'' Erika chirped gleefully and put the cup against her lips, pondering what to say. ''Let's see...'' she said silently, tapping her finger against her chin. ''I have never... Slept wit- Ok, yeah I have. I have never slept with someone younger than me,'' Erika said finally and sat down on the table, crossing her feet as she leaned forward, patiently waiting to see if he'd drink or not.

Maybe he was into cougars. That wouldn't really surprise her.

[Deleted]

As Erika admitted that he had some sort of influence over her lifestyle choices, the blonde couldn't help but grin. It was like this small sense of pride swept over his bones, making him thankful that he didn't swallow up after moving to the academy. Sure, he was engaging to people back home and even here, but most never stuck around like Erika and Frank had. It reminded him of Long Island, piecing together a small rag-tag band of misfits once more. Alright, so she wasn't a misfit, but still. 

"I see that." Jeremy spoke, although the back of his mind disagreed. 'Master of mixing too strong.' It chimed in on the situation, though it really had little experience in this field. A small chuckle escaped at her quip about taking a job as a bartender. "Oh come on!" He said, tossing a hand in the air "I'd take that as a perk! I mean who wouldn't want to grope this?!" With that he bit his bottom lip and wiggled his eyebrows a few times before cracking a smile and placing the cup to his lips once more. "Still though," He went on after the sip, "It's a well paying job. It's really not a bad idea. Plus, if someone gets all touchy you can just push em out the door without lifting a finger." He explained, already having first hand experience with her little gift.

His ears perked up as she agreed to go first. An eyebrow cocked at the question. He sat for a moment, retracing his past relationships before finally taking a swallow of the brown liquid once more. After a soft sigh, mainly out of relief for the burning sensation in his throat, he explained. "She was three months younger, so I that counts." He chuckled out before his mind began to churn for his turn. "Hmmm I have never-" He began, mind still pressing to find a good one, "-played this game." She would probably try to stop him from using that one, but hey it was the truth!

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Grinning, Erika shook her eyes and sighed, ''Are you talking about me or yourself now?'' she said and rolled her eyes, ''True, but I have other ideas of things that would be a lot more fun to work as; Like a party planner.'' she said and flipped her hair idly over her shoulder, nodding somewhat at her own thoughts. There were so many things she wanted to do, it was hard to decide on one. But, she still had some time to figure it out. If anything, she could go to college before deciding on anything major. ''I don't know,'' she said finally.

''Well, I wouldn't say that months count as being 'younger' in that sense,'' she said and smacked her lips before taking another sip of her drink, grinning at his 'I have never'. ''Lame.'' Erika took a sip of her drink and narrowed her eyes. What to say, what to say. ''I have never... Had sexual thoughts about someone in this room,'' Oooh, low blow, but hey. She had to make up for the lame things he came up with, and put some tension into the game. That was the fun part.

Downing her drink, Erika went to mix herself another one. She was a heavy drinker and got ride of the alcohol like a sponge does to water. But with that, she could also drink most people under the table, which was usually incredible fun.

[Deleted]

"I dunno." The boy replied with a shrug of his shoulders, "Could be talking a bout both of us." He chuckled out before taking another sip from the plastic cup. Jeremy listened as she explained herself, talking about how there were other things to consider before becoming a bartender. "That sounds fun." He chimed in, "Though I wouldn't worry much about it. I mean seriously, its not like you have to be stuck at one thing for the rest of your life." He assured her, trying to be somewhat of a decent friend. "As for me I wanna be a bank robber." His eyes grew wide and bright at the images that dance in his head. "Something about ski masks and guns just screams excitement, don't you think?" He questioned, giving a sly wink before laughing lightly.

The blonde rolled his eyes a bit. "Well I am saying it counts so, hah." He shot back, sticking his tongue out and blowing at her before chuckling and listening to her new question for the game. His heart dropped slightly at her words. Oh great. Just what he needed.  Thinking of a way around it, he downed the last of his drink before looking at her. "What?" He garbled out behind a mouth full of the bitter sweet mixture. "I have sexual thoughts about myself all the time!"


Phew. That might actually do it. Either way, he wouldn't let her argue the point, and instead sat his empty cup on the table, open side down. "I have never..." He spoke trying to think of something, "...laughed so hard I pissed myself." He chuckled out the rest, tapping the cup a bit on the table. "Make me one while you are over there pweeeeeease!" He told her, tossing his arms into the air before going back to his original position upside down. Yeah. He didn't drink all the time, and really even when he was drunk you couldn't tell a difference besides how over the top some of his stunts got.