sure to get her kicks.

letting out a laugh, shock didn’t hesitate to pick up her drink from the bar and follow along after dani. she doesn’t even give the man that had bought them their drinks a second glance, leaving him behind as easily as her friend does. not that she had anything to say to him, considering she wasn’t the one that had insult him straight to his face the way dani had - but still, a person with a better conscious would have felt bad or spoke up to apologize on the blonde’s behalf. taking a sip of the drink, she scrunches up her nose a bit. “god fucking cheapskate, this is bottom shelf.” @dragcndani

a smirk grows on her lips as she leans forward, elbows resting on the bar separating the two. it was rare that shock ever agreed to cover for any of the bartenders at the casino or to be in any position beyond acting as a bouncer or working on the betting books. but when she noticed lance come into the building she’d been quick to send the current bartender on break and reassure him to go ahead and take his time with it. “and who says that hasn’t been my intention this whole time?” she shoots back, raising an eyebrow with the words. her tone was equally as teasing as his own and she probably should have left it at that, but shock was never one to not push. “so tell me, strongbow - is it working? or do i need to up my game here?” @rcturnofstrongbow

Shock’s smirk is enough for Phoenix to know her answer. He knew he would make it clearly obvious when he didn’t want to be somewhere, especially after everything that had happened to him recently. He’d been in somewhat of a slump lately, so he never really wanted to be anywhere. He nodded his head, “Yeah. I-It’s kind of a long story.” In reality, he probably didn’t need to hide from Vanellope — surely she would be staying out of his way on her own. Still, he couldn’t stand to face her again after the winter festival. “Uh… Not yet,” he chuckled. Phoenix was never the brains of any operation, even he was aware of that. “But we could probably come up with something.”

Torn for a second on whether she should offer to listen or just move forward, Shock takes another look at Phoenix and realizes that for all the kid swears he has friends - she doubted any of them were offering to help him through whatever the fuck was going on. So with a shrug, she took another sip of her drink and decided for once to be there for him. There were very few people she’s ever willing to do this kind of shit for - but the Panice boys had long since gotten themselves high up on that list. “I’ve got all night,” she offers. “Or at least until we find our brothers.”

leaning forward to press a small kiss against her temple, holding her gently around the shoulder. whatever relationship he had with his younger siblings, no matter how rough it might get, lock loved them. being gentle with them was second nature when it came to the duo, even when he pushed them around. right now, looking at his little sister all grown brought a small smile to his face.

“now, shock please. why must we talk business when all i want is a simple favor?” eyes wide, bottom lip jutting  “por favor, hermanita. por mi?”

.

as he places a kiss upon her head and wraps an arm around her shoulder, shock knows he needs her. whatever this favor is that he’s asking for, if it hadn’t already been obvious that he somehow needed her help in it, then it certainly was now. for as much as the bordes did deep down love each other, this type of open affection wasn’t their norm. at least not hers - so being on the receiving end of it was telling enough.

“when was the last time any favor you’re asked for has ever been simple?” she returns, staring at him unaffected by his pouting. “so like i said - what’s in it for me?”

Phoenix hadn’t been the most exciting to be around recently — it seemed like every time he turned around, something was going wrong for him, and instead of trying to fix things, he’d sulk about it for hours on end. It didn’t help that Hades forced him to come to the masquerade, but at least he had Barrel to sulk with while he was there against his will. But with Barrel off talking to Sibella, he was left to sulk alone once again. Though, it seemed Shock came to save the day as she approached him with a glass of champagne in hand. “Is it that obvious?” Phoenix chuckled, noting the obvious sarcasm as he took the glass from her. “Thanks.. I’m just uh .. hiding over here to avoid Hades…. and my ex..” he admitted, taking a sip of the champagne he now held. “But uh … What’s up with you? Did both our brothers ditch us or something?” He asked with a chuckle, realizing Barrel was no longer with him and Pierson was clearly not with Shock at the moment. “W-We can team up and get them back for ditching us, if you want.”

Shock simply smirks in reply to his question, knowing he probably doesn’t want that answer. It had been clear as day that Phoenix had no interest in being here and would run out the door any second if he could - even if she didn’t know him so well it was still obvious. “Hiding from an ex?” she questions, understanding the trying to stay away from Hades part but not getting why he’d have to hide from an ex. Then again... this was Phoenix after all. “Really? Got something in mind?” The thought of trying to mess with Pierson wasn’t as appealing as potentially fucking with Barrel in some shape or form - that Shock would be down for any time.

not many people would be bold enough to sit next to lucy and open conversation without even the smallest sign of an invitation. but she’s not surprised at all when she finds it’s shock dropping down in the seat next to her. “kitty seemed really excited,” force was not the right word, not by a long shot. lucy would follow kitty and benny into literally anything, the promise of seeing them happy enough to make her put up with even the most obnoxious things. “It’s hard to say no to her.” she shrugs before looking over at shock to give her a once over. “you look nice. here with your boyfriend?” it takes a lot of effort on lucy’s part to not let bitterness wrap itself around her words. it takes even more out of her to even bring him up, usually avoiding the topic of pierson altogether when it came to shock. but she knows there’s very few reasons why shock would show up to something like this, and he’s at the top of that list.

humming in understanding, shock brought her drink to her lips for a sip before nodding her head. “makes sense,” she comments because well - it did. though she wouldn’t consider herself close with any of lucy’s friends, she’d gotten to know them well enough to absolutely see how kitty could get more than just really excited when it comes to something like a masquerade ball. or how it could be hard to say no to her - or even the other ones that were always around. hell she wasn’t even actually their friend and she’d likely give into something like this if they were all so insistent. “yeah. he’s here for work reasons.” on that she doesn’t elaborate further. even though hades’s secrets aren’t hers to protect, they are pierson’s - and she wouldn’t just shell them out to anyone. though lucy had earned enough trust out of shock to get that much of the truth rather than whatever lie she probably should be giving others. not that many other people bothered to talk to her - nor did she herself try to talk to them.

snorting, shock brought her drink up to her lips for a sip as they walked out of the cafe and away from the music in question blasting inside. “tinsel won’t be strong enough to actually do any damage,” she comments, probably saying more than she should but not quite caring because this was lucy. “unless you’re just trying to send a message, then i suppose it could do.” @itswyldstyle

somehow lucy isn’t even shocked that she can add bizzare snowstorms to her list of things that have gone wrong on this island. and while she hates, more than anything, that she was outdoors when this storm hit she imagines it could have ended far worse than having to hang out with shock. still not exactly the best, but beggars can’t be choosers or whatever. closing the front door to the bordes house behind her, lucy takes a second to let her body adjust to the shift in temperature. it felt nice not to be caught in the harsh chill or the storm, but her body still felt cold, fingers throbbing in pain. “yeah, coffee sounds good.” Lucy nods, following shock into the kitchen. “thanks…for this.” the thank you is wrapped in tension, like it’s something of a struggle to even say it as she pastes on a small smile. looking around and trying to think of something to say, she brings up a topic of neutral ground. “your family good? like did you hear from them yet or?” to be completely fair lucy cares more than she would ever let on, but as usual her words are coated with a perfected dull tone.

Getting the confirmation that Lucy wanted coffee, Shock pulls out two mugs from the cabinet above and sets the first on into the machine, picking out one of the coffee options that she figured the other girl would like the best. “Haven’t really checked,” she answered honestly, not having really even thought yet to update her family on where she was or see if they were all okay themselves. Top priority had simply been getting herself home. But it seemed clear no one else was here, so she pulls out her phone just to find a string of texts from both Oscar and Lock, as well as Pierson explaining he was with her other brother. “Yeah, they’re fine.” Not that she had a doubt they wouldn’t be - it would take a lot more than a blizzard to knock down a Bordes. As she types out responses to each of them, letting everyone know she is also indoors now and fine, Shock realizes she should probably say something more than just that. “How about your friends? They all good?”

Rancis raised his eyebrows as Shock took his drink, almost protesting but deciding against it, mostly because he’d already drank plenty for himself beforehand. Smirking, he took the drink back as she handed it back to him. “Damn straight,” he agreed as he took a sip, himself. “’m surprised you’re even here; thought you’d be too cool for this kinda thing.”

“Oh, I am,” she agreed with a smirk as she raised her shoulder in a half-shrug. “I probably won’t stay long, but I figured I should at least give it a chance.” In truth Shock knew it was expected for her to attend the event if only for just for a brief period of time. “Anything besides the drinks seem even slightly entertaining around here?”