A Riot's Overdue

Vanessa couldn't believe this was happening. She had been so careful to never divulge her entirely misguided mistake with Chuck Bass, no one knew. She thought no one knew. How the hell did 'Gossip Girl' know? Whatever, that wasn't the point. She didn't want to be stuck at this party but she definitely didn't want to face Dan, not now. Not that it mattered! So, she'd done the next best thing and pushed her way through a sudden crowd of whispers and into Juliette Vanderbilt's nth house. After the third turn trying to find the bathroom or a coat closet, or anywhere that wasn't occupied, she could have screamed. Rich people and their endless number of fucking rooms.

Caisson laughed as Vanessa narrowly avoided running him down, clearly trying to run from the revelation that she was as shameless as the rest of the Upper East Side. Of course, Caisson had known all about her indiscretions from his time on Gossip Girl's server, but it was always fun to witness long kept secrets being exposed. "Hey, it could be worse." He paused for dramatic effect, "It could've been Zach Tamaki."

Elizabeth didn't enjoy that Caisson saw right through her. The persona as the darling of the Upper East Side had been curated for years. She had messed up by letting him in even a little bit, someone she knew that couldn't be trusted. But it had been fun, felt nice to just let a little control go. "I am sure you will be watching."

"Always." If Caisson Andrews ever turned his attention from Elizabeth Baizen, it would be because he was dead. She was too intriguing and he was far too inquisitive for his own good. He wasn't sure he could ever let this go without seeing that side of her again. "I'm sure Gossip Girl has better secrets to out beyond underage drinking." Actually, he knew she did. Caisson hadn't been on the Gossip Girl servers since the takedown, but he had been on them. There wasn't a secret from before that day that he hadn't stored in his own personal hard drive, and he had just been sitting on that information this whole time.

Elizabeth should be at the art gallery, listening to someone droning on about art and the importance of every piece. But she had taken the invitation here, knowing she had to keep it together. Too many eyes, too many phones, and definitely too many people she couldn't trust. She would find her chance to have some fun. She always found her opportunities.

Caisson's smirk stretched into a grin as she played dumb. They both knew that she knew exactly what kind of wine that was, but whatever persona he had met in that wine cellar was staying buried behind the pristine Elizabeth Baizen. In all honesty, he wasn't sure which version of her was real–sometimes even convincing himself that their time during the blackout was a fever dream–but that mystery was what had him hooked. "Of course... Can't wait to see what you get up to in two months."

William felt the shift in the atmosphere before Caisson had a chance to explain. Suddenly the manila folder on the table felt like a time bomb. One wrong move and they would both be blown to smithereens. William knew Caisson would do a thorough job, he always did. And he knew that O'Malley was dirtier than most. There had been enough mutually assured destruction, enough shared contacts and back alley deals between William's clients and Slater's that they both could destroy the other. Had Slater forgotten that? No, of course not. The difference between William and Slater was that he had nothing to lose. William... he had everything to lose.

"I don't make mistakes." William wouldn't need more confirmation than that. Detective O'Malley had a lot to answer for and it seemed that some of that included the cover-up of the decade. Caisson still had a lot of questions; Slater didn't exactly grow up with them, so how could he have known Ginny? But there was no denying that damning evidence that had pointed to him, had one day just vanished and the investigation pivoted to that nobody boyfriend of hers. Caisson didn't really know the guy, but seven years for a crime you didn't commit...

@tfrstarters

The second Elizabeth Baizen had walked into the room, Caisson's eyes had been on her, watching her every move as she exchanged pleasantries with other guests. What the hell was she doing here? If anything, he would have expected her to make an appearance at the gathering at the art gallery, but no, she was at the hot tub party where every surface was lined with shots. He really needed to stop making assumptions about this girl.

"I don't care what it takes, Malachai. I don't care if you have to burn it to the fucking ground, I want this taken care of. Don't make me bring up April 29th-... Yeah, yeah. You too-," William opened the door at last, hanging up his call and raising both eyebrows at the sight of Caisson Andrews. He worked fast. The folder immediately piqued his interest. "Were you planning on taking down the whole door, Andrews?"

Caisson walked past him as the door finally opened, dropping the folder down on the nearest countertop. Had it been any other day–any other situation–he might have bantered back and forth with the man before things got serious, but this was too serious. "I did what you asked, but this O'Malley guy..." He shook his head, still not believing half the shit he had read. "He's so far under Slater's thumb, I'm surprised he can still get out for air." Caisson had a habit of gathering intel; he sat on it, lived in it, occasionally used it to his advantage, but he couldn't just leave this alone. This was bigger than his need to be the smartest guy in the room, he needed this fixed–for Lucas.

"I know, I know... I'd miss me too." @tfrstarters

"Not sure 'miss' is the correct word."

While the news of Isobel and Logan's most likely demise was entertaining if not borderline scandalous in certain circles, it did not interest Lucas. Were anyone really expecting a Happily Ever After there? Doubtful. So why dwell on it when Scarlett was sat there amongst the extravaganza looking like she was 12th in line at the pharmacy? So tactless. So... ungrateful. "Figures, Jake does favour the Vandervorts." Along with everyone else, apparently, considering Sapphire had declared open season on her own body as soon as this party started, attracting so much saliva it was a wonder she wasn't fucking drowning. He'd noted that Caisson hadn't hesitated to contribute to the DNA cesspit - not surprising, just a questionable decision. Regardless, maybe Scarlett could learn something from her sister; to appreciate and take advantage of the wealth surrounding her. Participation. Luke procured his blank card again, tapping at it while an idea formed in mind, "do you know if Scarlett is playing?"

"Can't say that I blame him." Caisson said with a grin, his eyes scanning the room to see just how many of them were in attendance. So far, he had only seen Scarlett, Sapphire, and Layla, but he supposed it was possible for Alex, Aaron and Sophia to show face. Jake couldn't be blamed for flitting between them–the family were stunning. The stupid grin on his face only grew wider at his fleeting thought of Sapphire and the room intended for one of the matches that they thoroughly destroyed. Lucas' words abruptly pulled his attention back to his devious friend, and his eyebrow arched. "I haven't heard anything directly, but I highly doubt it. The last time she signed up to anything with pairings was that Heaven and Hell party like three years ago. You thinking it's time that changed?"

Lisbeth had been worried about who exactly she would be getting paired with, especially if it was Nate or Zach. But this was certainly a pleasant surprise to her; Caisson had been interesting when they were in school. She had known him for a while; she couldn't say they were friends. But he was a welcome presence, a handsome guy to spend some time with.

"That's what I'm always saying." Caisson's smirk remained, seeming to be a permanent fixture on his face this evening, and he gratefully took the glass from her. They clinked glasses, but he was slower to bring his to his lips, opting instead to watch her down her own. Damn, some god out there was truly on his side today. He threw back his own glass before answering the question, his mind briefly drifting back to the wonder that was Sapphire Vandervort. "Surprising, a little eye-opening, definitely entertaining, but as far as I'm concerned the night is only just starting. Yours?"

zach felt his throat go dry when she moved even closer, her nose practically touching his. seriously, there couldn't be less space between them right now without them actually... y'know. he opened his mouth to say something snide back, but instead his hand was coming up and brushing her hair back from her face. and truly with the greatest of compliments and frustrations, he said, "you are un-fucking-bearable."

there was no sarcastic remarks, no snide comments, nothing from either of them. nothing but close contact and the gesture of zach brushing her hair away from her face. her breath caught in her throat at the softness of his movements. "and you're painfully fucking frustrating"

sapphire and caisson had gotten a little carried away. like, literally. they were all roaming hands and tangled hair, and moving further away from the bar than they'd intended to. sapphire couldn't have been paying less attention to what was going on around her, too stuck on caisson andrews and when exactly he got so hot...

Caisson wasn't caring at all who or what they bumped into; the thrill of the moment and the tequila shots had gone straight to his head, and he couldn't have cared less if she were to pull him atop her as she lay across the appetiser table. Sapphire, however, broke away from his lips to shoot an apology and he couldn't help but laugh when he saw whose moment they had interrupted. "Really? Temu Chuck Bass?" Sapphire's lips were back on his jaw, his neck, his shoulder, and a groan threated to escape his throat. "That dress blind you too, Aggs?" He cackled again before grabbing Sapphire's jaw to return her lips to his, then continued through the crowd.

"Me too," she grinned back when he pulled back. Caisson was definitely making a good show of being more interesting than tequila. Not an easy feat. At his question and that grin, she couldn't help herself. Sapphire pressed a finger to her lips, making a show of thinking it over before she shrugged off her dramatic, pink, fuzzy coat and draped it over the barstool. She took the salt shaker from him then, shaking it onto her own shoulder before placing his tequila shot in her cleavage. "How about here?"

Caisson watched her tip the salt on to her shoulder with a hunger in his eyes and a smirk on his lips. The party was in full swing around them, but here she was with salt on her skin and a far too tempting shot where every man dreamed they would one day stumble upon one. What was he supposed to do? He hadn't ever partook in exhibitionism, but no amount of eyes on them could have stopped his tongue from seeking out that salt. He lingered there long enough to kiss along her clavicle, before dipping to the shot glass and pulling it free with his mouth. In one swift motion, he had thrown the tequila back, discarded the glass on the bar, and reached for her hips to pull her close. "Perfect. Unfortunately, I don't have anywhere near as appetising to hold your glass." With one hand still on her hip, the other picked up her shot and brought it to her lips.