{EDCT} Montana Knows How to Party

[Trevor Paige]

Everything had gone according to Trevor's plan.  It was rare when the young man bothered to do any sort of preparation when it came to just about anything but when he did every bit of his scheme was finely crafted and meticulously detailed.  This was no exception.  From the trips he'd taken up to the cabins before the event had kicked off to the scouring of the area and the selection of the party site.  Everything had been organized and planned down to the smallest detail.  He'd even plotted out the exact order in which his guests would be escorted through the woods to the scene of the party.

Naturally, Penelope's involvement was also accounted for.

Brown eyes turned impatiently turned upward to the steadily dimming sun before shifting to the approaching figure.  Trevor nearly breathed a sigh of relief when he caught the outline of Penelope drawing closer as the shadows cast by the setting sun grew longer and more foreboding.  He smiled a bit, though he wasn't sure if she'd be able to see him. He'd been standing well away from the center of the camp where the light from the fire pits and lights strewn overhead barely reached.  "I was beginning to think you weren't going to make it."  He said honestly, his eyes gleaming with the shine of a magician about to show off hist greatest illusion to an unsuspecting audience.  "You ready?"  He asked.  "It's a bit of a walk."

[Penelope Adams]

All the brunette really wanted was for her involvement with this boy to end. Preferably on peaceful terms, but she wasn't picky. She didn't want to go to this party. In fact, the brunette would rather spend the evening in her cabin and be left alone. Sadly, that didn't seem to be part of the agenda of the night.

Walking over to the designated meeting area, the brunette caught the familiar voice and steered towards it. "Of course it is," she replied dryly. "You're just making this sound more unappealing by the second." But alas. A promise was a promise and she could do little about it now that she was here already.

"Let's just get this over with," she added, gesturing for the boy to lead the way.

[Trevor Paige]

As usual, Trevor expected Penelope's response. The both of them had grown painfully predictable by now. It was obvious she was only going along with all this because Trevor had wrangled her into it. He didn't think for a moment this was something Penelope was all that interested in and even though he didn't make a habit out of forcing people to do things against their will there was something in the back of his mind that was pleased with Penelope's decision to go along with him. It wasn't as if she couldn't have gotten out of it by protesting. At least he took solace in the idea that she trusted he wasn't going to do anything insanely stupid.

"Alright!" Trevor was far more excited about all this than Penelope, though it didn't take a trained monkey with a Walt Disney imagination to see that. His usual smirk never wavered as he turned and started straight for the treeline surrounding the campsite. "Don't worry. It's not too far. Just past those trees." He assured Penelope as he dove headlong into the brush, not worrying much about the path they'd need to take. He'd long committed it to memory.

[Penelope Adams]

Sighing, the brunette murmured to herself. "And now I have to babysit on top of everything else." He was annoyingly excited, which usually, didn't bode well for her. But she figured there was little point in regretting her decision now. After all, she was about to follow some idiotic boy into the dark woods...

She was too smart for this.

Still, she followed him through the bushes, mentally hoping that this wouldn't end up with her dead body buried six feet under. Then again, maybe that beat being hanged up from a three for all to see...

[Trevor Paige]

This was perfect. While they were a few minutes late, the plan was still working out exactly as he'd laid it out. He moved through the brush with a certain confidence that could only come from someone who'd committed the entire area to memory. Every step he took felt comfortable and right as if he'd been traversing this terrain since he was a child. Even in the growing darkness he could pick out every minor feature, every tree, rock formation or bush was right where he expected it to be and guided him on his way.

"You know you didn't have to come if you really didn't want to." Trevor said after a long stretch of silence. He glanced to Penelope, taking in the outline of her form in the dark. "I mean, I know you're not into the whole party thing as much as most." He frowned a bit and glanced down to the ground as he debated his next words carefully. "Look, uh, we can skip the party altogether if you want." He turned his eyes back to her shrouded form. "I could show you a few hidden spots around here. Few places the nature walks don't go."

[Penelope Adams]

While Trevor might have known exactly where he was going, Penelope didn't. She kept getting her feet caught in roots and kept getting scraped up by bushes and branches, which naturally, didn't exactly improve her mood. What did, however, was Trevor's suggestion. It had the brunette outright laughing in response.

"My, how romantic of you, Paige," she snorted. "Just the two of us? Alone in the woods? Oh my, that must truly be every girl's dream!" Sarcasm laced her dramatically high pitched words. Still, his words did leave a question at the tip of her tongue. "Why? Why plan all of this only to ditch it last second?" It was a curious thing indeed. She wondered if she'd ever be able to read his intentions.

[Trevor Paige]

For once Trevor hadn't fully expected the extent of Penelope's reaction. Thus far she'd responded exactly in the way he'd assumed she would but outright laughter wasn't quite what he'd thought would emanate from the girl. His brow furrowed and he glanced away for a moment. He was thankful the dim lighting (hopefully) kept his surprise from being noticed. His proposition hadn't been made with any ulterior motives behind it, he simply figured it would be a more agreeable option given Penelope's lack of desire to be around, well... anyone else. Ever.

"Uh..." Trevor let out, the frown on his face coming through in the faint sound of his voice. "I just thought you'd prefer that over watching people get drunk in the middle of nowhere." He offered. His mind had taken a few moments to scramble and catch up to what he was saying and doing. He let out a low exhale of breath and found himself back in control of the situation. "I was giving you an out." He said with increasing confidence. The smirk returned to his face even though it was dark and Penelope probably couldn't see. "What's the matter, Penny? Afraid you might actually have fun?"

[Penelope Adams]

Now it was the brunette's turn to smirk. She might not have caught on the surprise in his face, but the way he spoke, the simple 'uh', gave her all the information she needed to know and she intended on milking it for everything it was worth. "My, did the cat steal your tongue?" she asked coyly, picking up her pace. "It's not like you to be at a loss of words," she continued, completely ignoring him and what he was saying. She stepped quickly forward until she was ahead of him and then she turned to face him, a finger pointed directly at his chest.

"That's the worst excuse I've ever heard. Giving me an out? Please, even you can think of something better than that." Her response might have surprised him and yes, he clearly managed to pick himself up. But not nearly as well as he might have thought. "You're deflecting, Paige. Tsk," she said, her tone lowering. "Don't be so obvious."

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor let out a short laugh. Yes, he gave Penelope credit for not just throwing him off his game but also recognizing it and calling him out for it. She had managed to get him to stumble over his words, albeit briefly, and just for a moment a hint of his true nature shined through. Thankfully it didn't seem as though she'd caught on to the faint trace of his internal insecurities and doubts and they were quickly right back into the usual groove of their back and forth banter.

"Excuse?" Trevor replied with another laugh. His head shook and he waved a hand dismissively. There had been an opening in his defenses but Penelope failed to capitalize and the shields were back up in full force. He let out an amused sigh and glanced over to her. "That's the thing, Penny." He smirked in the dark. "I'm always deflecting." He pointed out. "What's so different about this time?"

[Penelope Adams]

Grimacing at the nickname, Penelope huffed. She wasn't going to point it out, though. She'd told him before that she hated it. "Because this time you made it too obvious," she replied simply with a shrug. "Usually you're better at covering it up." It was a simple statement, but a true observation nonetheless. Still, it left an important question. A question Penelope finally saw the opportunity to ask.

"What are you up to?" She tapped his chest with the tip of her index finger once more. She doubted she'd get an honest answer or an even remotely satisfying one, but she figured this was the best time to ask regardless. "You're trying awfully hard to keep up appearances. Afraid I'll call you out on your bullshit again?" Their time spent at the skating rink was still fresh in her mind.

[Trevor Paige]

"Momentary lapse in judgement." Trevor replied simply. He'd made the mistake of stumbling once he wasn't about to go back and own up to it or give Penelope anything more than she'd already seen. Trevor may not have been a bad guy, per se, but he certainly didn't like it when people got the chance to root around in his mind or decipher is true intentions. She may have called him out on his bullshit but he'd be damned if she was going to get much more than that out of him.

"Why do you think I'm up to anything?" Trevor countered, glancing down once he felt the finger press into chest. His usual demeanor was back and in full force. There was no wavering of the mischievous smirk on his face or hesitation in his voice when he spoke. His eyes lifted from Penelope's poke and caught her gaze through the dimly lit forest they were standing in. "You're a smart girl." He said with no trace of sarcasm to be found in the words. For once he was actually being honest. "You're good with putting puzzle pieces together. Why haven't you come to any of your own conclusions yet based on the evidence at hand?"

[Penelope Adams]

Lowering her hand, Penelope took a step away, suddenly aware of how close they were standing. She hadn't quite gotten over her last dream walk into his head and she wasn't about to start poke around with that again. He offered a fair question though, but even he knew the answer to that. He was goating her and she wouldn't put up with it. Taking a deep breath, the brunette pursed her lips.

"Because contrary to what you seem to think, you don't occupy my thoughts long enough for me to bother." It might have been a lie, all things considered, but she spoke the words as if they were true nonetheless. But that wasn't all, her words were also cold and perhaps a little too harsh, blunt, even. "For me to spend my time figuring something out, I have to care about it. or at least be interested." She turned then and started walking in the direction they had been heading only moments before. "I'm sure you can relate."

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor's eyes followed Penelope as she turned and started off through the trees where they had been headed before. He had to keep himself from issuing a bit of a chuckle in the process though. Her words may have been harsh but there was something about them that didn't quite ring true. It was a strange thing when you met someone who was so similar to yourself in so many ways. He wondered briefly if he would be so easy for Penelope to read if she just bothered to pay attention to the pages that were being laid out before her.

"See." Trevor had remained silent for a long while, letting Penelope get a bit of a lead before he trotted to catch up. "Here's the thing." Oh, yes. Trevor certainly had his response in mind as he slowed to match her pace, walking alongside her now. "You're an independent girl, that much is obvious." He said, pointing out something he'd known from the beginning. "I respect that, I like that, don't get me wrong. But you contradict yourself." He glanced in her direction but only long enough to catch a quick glimpse of her reaction, should there be any. "You make it very clear that you don't care and that you're not interested in any of this in the slightest. You're trying very hard to get me to comprehend just how much you hate all this." He gave just a bit of a pause for dramatic affect. "If that's true then why did you give in to a simple schoolyard agreement that means... nothing? I mean, we even shake hands. There's no money involved. You could've just said, 'I don't wanna' and there wouldn't be anything I could do except maybe get my panties in a bunch but I don't see you giving that much consideration given how little you care."

[Penelope Adams]

The brunette shook her head, a smile forming on her lips that appeared more sad, or perhaps disappointed than joyful. She listened to his words and remained silent for a moment as they walked alongside one another. Then, she shrugged, turning her head upwards so that she could catch a glimpse of the dark sky beyond the trees. "Because promises mean something to me," she finally said, her voice quiet. "You don't make a promise only to break it. What's the point then in even making one to begin with?"

Perhaps it was a little too honorable to fit her usually disconnected manner of being, but still. It was true nonetheless. And being honorable was never the intent either. No, she care little about honor or how people viewed her. But promises was something the brunette took quite seriously, even if they were made on a whim. "You should be careful about what you promise people, Paige. You never know what kind of harm a broken word can cause." She knew that.

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor had touched a nerve. He didn't know why, how or what, exactly he had said but Penelope's suddenly sober tone yanked him down, grounding his ego for the time being. his brow furrowed as he glanced in Penelope's direction. Yet again she'd caught him by surprise though this time he opted to remain silent until he could gather his faculties again. Whatever he'd done it was apparent Penelope was not amused.

"I don't promise anything I can't follow through with." He replied soberly. It may have seemed as though he issued promises like it meant nothing but he had yet to go back on anything he'd agreed to. He offered Penelope a legitimate lead to a story, just as he'd promised and he truly was giving his best effort in making sure she didn't regret agreeing to come out to his little party, even if they ended up forgoing the event altogether and doing something else that was more fitting.

Trevor's gaze dropped to the ground in front of him as he moved slowly along. He wasn't silent for long, though, as he quickly settled the debate that was raging through his mind. "Look." He said, his tone stoic and sober. His eyes raised again, though they didn't venture over toward Penelope. Instead he opted to stare straight ahead. Her overall reaction wasn't important anymore, only her answer. "I know this isn't your thing." He said clearly, nodding a bit to himself. "And the last thing I want to do, honestly, is drag you out somewhere you'll be uncomfortable." He stopped in his track then, turning to face Penelope. There was something almost resigned in the way he spoke. Failure or even the faintest trace of admission of failure wasn't something Trevor wore well. "Just say the word and I'll lead you back and... I'll leave you alone for the rest of the trip."