Public Discomfort

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina grinned, "Just remember that you won't be getting the phone back," she told him evenly. He could say practically anything he wanted, as she'd heard it all and far worse. She wouldn't honestly bother dealing with him because she didn't give a damn about him, and she knew it'd likely be a waste of her time. She'd just leave and give him back his hundred without a word further. Selina liked getting paid, but she also knew she had another job with a boss who actually respected her for who she was.

    Selina watched him interact with the driver, amusement more than anything else in her eyes. She merely laughed and nodded as he said that such a response was a "benefit." She understood that the act was on so long as they were in the cab with a potential gossip up front. She smiled at Kyle and figured if she was going to do this, might as well go all the way. She took his hand in hers and rested her head on his shoulder as if she actually wanted to be in close proximity to him.

    "There are so many benefits of being with you Kyle," she said with more than a hint of suggestion, "I would never just be with you because of something like fame. You know that," she added in a slightly offended tone. God, he had better pay her well for this shit. 

[Kyle Underly]

Yeah, yeah, she got to keep the phone. Let her. Kyle was almost tempted to make the offhand comment about how many he happened to have, but he knew the moment he did, she'd ask for something else. Can't give anything away for this girl. She circled like a damn shark, and he was going to have to be super savvy to make sure not to get gobbled up.

Bit harder as he practically preened during his conversation with the driver. he did note the smile, and the hand and the head thing made him quirk a brow. For a moment he wondered if he'd somehow swayed her over, then she spoke, and Kyle picked up all the little details and nuances in her voice. He had to give her this much: he'd have been fooled if it wasn't for his power. Probably didn't help that he'd have wanted be fooled, but he definitely wasn't going to be telling her that.

"Now who's bullshitting?" he asked, letting out a chuckle. "He's a driver, Selina," he gestured toward the seat, "he doesn't need the performance. But good job: you do that sort of thing when we hit the venue and you'll definitely earn what I paid and then some." Kyle ran his hands along his clothes for a bit, almost irritated at her proximity having wrinkled it slightly. He'd put some time into this ensemble after all, and he wanted it to look good when he entered this... club.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina pulled away from him with a slight smirk, "Glad to hear it," she responded easily. Interesting, that he picked up on her lie. Most men liked having their egos puffed up a bit. Sometimes it even made them easier to deal with for a short amount of time. Of course, it also had a tendency to make a few insufferable, so it was a 50/50 gamble on her part. Selina glanced at him in curiosity, "What was your power again?" she asked as she studied him in interest.

    She absently wondered if he was really just that good at reading people. Of course, actually being won over that quickly was highly unlikely in terms of her personality, but he didn't know her that well yet. Or at least, she was pretty damn sure he didn't. Selina also wondered is he wasn't quite straight, not because she was arrogant enough to think that all guys would be attracted to her, but merely because she didn't feel... something in their interactions. She wasn't quite sure how to word it. 

    Selina glanced at the driver and wondered about how his girls would feel about this version of Kyle. She didn't care all that much, as celebrities weren't something she focused on at all, but she still found herself curious. "So is the act for the fans or for advancement or do you get off on it?" she asked, blunt as always.

[Kyle Underly]

What was his power again? "Boundless charisma," Kyle replied easily, flashing a toothy smile. He let out a laugh that settled into a smirk. "I don't think I actually mentioned it. The short version is Perfect Pitch and True Ventriloquism, but it's a lot more complicated than that. I can pick up on noises and sort of figure them out better than most people, so I can usually tell when people are just stroking my ego.

"But c'mon," he gave her a look that essentially repeated his words, "someone like you? suddenly turning into a melting, blushing fangirl? People might say I'm full of myself, but they never say I'm stupid," he wagged a finger in her direction before settling back in. He was more than willing to start the small-talk portion, but she'd continued.

"Which act?" Kyle asked, looking over at her. "Because it's kind of all the above. I really am this good, and you're already seeing bits of it and thinking it despite yourself. It's cool: I do that to people. You're just more resistant because you're obviously some tough-ass girl who knows herself or something like that," Kyle said the compliment almost dismissively, adding another shrug. "Does that act work for everyone too? Or are you just doing it to try and impress me?"

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina almost laughed at his first answer. Almost. The corners of her lips lifted in a half-smile she couldn't quite hide though. Selina nodded, "Ah, that makes sense," she answered simply. Particularly with his career path, she could see why perfect pitch would be an advantage. The other stuff was probably incredibly helpful as well, but she wasn't into thinking too hard about it.

    Selina almost laughed at his claim that no one called him 'stupid', "Well, I honestly wouldn't know," she responded with a wry smile. She'd just read up basic information, she hadn't gotten to the sites where they mentioned personality or intelligence. Selina was willing to do a little research, but she didn't have the time, energy, or desire to read up on everything ever written about the kid.

    Selina looked him in the eye and smiled, "My act certainly doesn't work for everyone, nor do I intend it to. There are certain types of people that I want no where near me, and my act helps keep them at arms length," she explained simply. There was a hell of a lot more to it. Most of her mannerisms came from an instinct to survive, but there was no way in hell she was sharing that with him. "And if you honestly want to believe that I'm doing any of this to impress, I won't disabuse you of the notion," she responded with a smirk.

[Kyle Underly]

Yes, it did make sense, and Kyle could practically read Selina's mind. Most people, when they heard about it, obviously thought about what he did and how easily it worked. He often had to tell them that he'd gotten his initial roles before he'd ever manifested, and that he'd probably have been talented even if his ability had just been, say, having a forked tongue or something along those lines. the words hovered at the edge of his lips now, but he was too busy being teased and disabused of notions to really say as much.

Kyle did have to quirk a brow as she mentioned the arm's length business. "So, that naturally makes me wonder if you're trying to hold me off." He replied, raising his brows for a moment. "I'm going to guess that you started that way, but that you're totally warming up to me, even if you still alternate between wanting to get to know me better and wanting to punch me in my all too pretty face."

He smiled and a little sound effect "bing" sounded in something near his voice, coming from just around the edge of the smile. Yes, that's right: he literally gave his smile a sound effect. Because he was just that good.

[Selina Taylor]

Selina glanced at him with an amused smirk, "You actually have to wonder?" she asked with a wry smile. "And while punching you does sound like a lot of fun, I don't want to lose an extra source of income quite so quickly as all that. Maybe after a few dates though..." she said with a half playful smile. He really wasn't as insufferable when he wasn't acting like an ass. She could almost see herself growing less likely to hit him in the future. 

Selina glanced up at the "bing", expecting it to be a sound the car had made, as she wasn't exactly used to the idea of his power just yet. She then stared at Kyle for a brief second, "Is that part of your power?" she asked. She had a feeling it was, but she was still unsure. Selina hadn't really run into someone who could manipulate their voice like that yet... or at least not that she could remember. 

She'd met so many people at this point, some of them just sort of ran together. She had a feeling Kyle wouldn't be one of them though, for better or worse. Likely worse, if she's being honest with herself, but Selina had to remind herself that he was paying her, and that he wasn't as bad as he'd originally come across, so maybe there was some small sliver of hope. Maybe. 

[Kyle Underly]

"Suuuure, keep telling yourself it's just about the money," Kyle said, smirking. He could tell that he was at least growing on her: that was how he worked. Whether she liked it or not, she'd end up impressed by him at a few points, and that's all it would take. He did have to wonder about her mention of several dates. he hadn't actually been thinking that far ahead, but he could see some potential, especially if it got him more and more attention. They'll have to see what happened.

"Sort of," he admitted, shrugging. "The whole projecting my voice thing is, and I kinda learned the sound effects and mimicry thing. That's not actually my power, so, like, it's not quite as good as someone like that. I had to pick it up the hard way, but," he closed his mouth, focusing, letting his voice literally come from over Selina's shoulder, "I can throw my voice pretty well anywhere I want," he jerked his hand back as if tugging, opening it, the sound now coming from that, "and of course I'm good at it," he put his hand to his mouth, grinning as he lowered. "Because what's the point of having a special ability if you don't use it?"

Kyle gave her another smile, and he knew that he should probably feign interest and, well, he actually was mildly interested, so: "You're a... what's the term... hydrokinetic? Right? Move water with your mind? Seen some impressive people with that," he gave her an expectant look.

[Selina Taylor]

Selina nodded, "I don't have to remind myself often," she retorted, though it was less malicious and more like banter. What the hell, why not? She was going to be with him for the next few hours anyway, they didn't have to be miserable. 

Selina instinctually jumped and faced towards the voice over her shoulder, ready to hit whoever'd snuck up on her, but she took a deep breath and reminded herself it was just his power and not a person. Her history had her hating any man who approached her from behind, so she was a little more on edge then most when it came to such things, but she didn't say anything about it and instead let him think she was merely jumpy or something. Men liked to think women were fragile little things anyway, and sometimes it worked in her favor. 

Selina didn't answer his question about special abilities, but nodded to field off any further mention of the topic. She trained herself relentlessly to master her ability, but that wasn't because she enjoyed using it. In fact, she rarely, if ever used it when she didn't need to. Sometimes she would if it was convenient, but other than that, she stayed away from it unless she was in the training rooms. 

Selina looked up at him when he asked about her power and nodded, "Yes, I'm a hydrokinetic," was her simple response. She didn't elaborate any further.

[Kyle Underly]

"Gotcha, power talk's out," Kyle said, he adding a cutting sound effect and flicked his hand over his shoulder, clearly dismissing the topic. Not like they didn't have a whole bevy of other things to discuss. He did have one that hovered on the forefront of his mind (alright, there were several, but this was the one that had something of a time limit attached).

"So," he settled back, shifting to face Selina, "care to tell me why you picked a burlesque club as the first date? Did you not think I could Google or is there supposed to be some kind of joke I'm missing? Is this a thing? Like, do people just offer to go on dates with the unlikeable assholes and take them to this club to ditch them or something? I need to know how flattered I should be."

And the cocky smirk came right back.

[Selina Taylor]

Selina just shook her head, "No need to get a big head about it. I've actually wanted to visit the place as a customer for quite some time. I was going to work there as a bouncer or a dancer, but I got caught up in other things and haven't been back since my first visit, and that was merely an interview in the afternoon," she offered honestly. 

She didn't mind telling him that, as it was shallow detail. Selina then smirked, "I'll admit it was partially because I was interested in seeing how a pretty boy like you would fare there, but you seem to be holding your own regarding the idea so far," she added with a shrug. "This was mostly just something I wanted to do."

"I could ditch you if it makes you feel better though," she offered with a smirk.

[Kyle Underly]

Get a big head? That had Kyle chuckling. People said that all the time, and he didn't see any reason to really argue the point anymore. He was better than them and he wasn't shy about mentioning it. Why act all humble when it was just false modesty? Selina did have reasons that made sense and, thanks to Kyle's power, he knew that she was actually telling the truth. Just as he knew she was also telling the truth when she continued.

He waited till she mentioned the ditching thing, tilting his head again. "Hmm, I could probably still spin that pretty well, shoot for some sympathy. Get abandoned on my first date in a strange place like this. Yeah, definitely something I could work. I'd rather lean more toward the whole having a successful date bit: better for the rep, but basic PR is just part of the game."

Kyle offered another shrug before leaning forward. "Plus, you totally just called me pretty," a quick blown kiss, and the car seemed to roll to a stop. Kyle leaned slightly, and the driver was soon leaning back, letting them know that they'd arrived at their destination. Kyle nodded and then turned to Selina. "Show time."

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina had mostly been teasing about the big headed part... mostly. She didn't mind him taking it seriously. Selina nodded to him when he stated his preference for a date that ended positively, "Alright, sounds fine with me," she replied simply. Keeping her mind on the money would be easy enough if he ever became too overbearing. Selina was more than capable of pretending to like him regardless of what happened. It wouldn't really be the first time.

    Selina grinned as he blew her a kiss and shook her head, "Well, even if I called you ugly, you could detect the lie, right?" she asked, tone teasing and light. Selina then nodded as he mentioned that the performance was about to start, "So, do I wait for you to gallantly get out and open the door, or am I allowed to get out of the car myself?" she asked with a grin.

    If she weren't being paid, she wouldn't care in the slightest and would have already gotten out, but if he wanted to put on a show for his fans, she could force herself to put up with it. Selina was never one for dramatics, but he seemed like he would be. 

[Kyle Underly]

Yep, still putting on that tough face. Kyle didn't even care at this point, just rolling right around with it. The question had him smirking. "Depends on how much conviction you use. You are good at this," he pointed out. Another wink soon followed, and Kyle was then taking Selina's suggestion. As she'd already guessed, he cared very much about the whole theatrics of the thing.

So it was out of the car, stroll/strut around to her door, and then open it with a bow, a flourish, and a hand extended toward her. "Ready to put your game face on, babe?" Kyle asked, giving her his most charming smile. the hand was right there for her to take, and then they could head into the club. Kyle did spare a bit to look around, hoping for an audience there did seem to be one or two people who noticed them, and sometimes that's all it took if they started socializing. Hey, Kyle would've done this just to get into the practice: having a small audience was definitely worth it.

[Selina Taylor]

Selina just smiled at that, "So a lie with conviction behind it sounds like the truth. I'll keep that in mind," she replied. She almost rolled her eyes at the show he put on, but she found the act more amusing at this point than anything else. Selina then took his hand with a warm smile and got out of the car, "But of course," she answered. "Though is the 'babe' moniker necessary?" she asked softly, her expression as amiable and adoring as she could make it.



Selina noticed the others as well, but paid them no attention, as if Kyle was the only one worth looking at. She was genuinely happy about finally getting to go to the club though, so it was easy to let that show through her expression as well. The most convincing lies were often half-truths after all. It was something she used quite often to her own advantage.



"You ever been to a club like this before?" she then asked in curiosity. She'd been to the strip clubs where her mother had worked, but she'd never been to a specifically burlesque club before, and she was interested.