LIMITLESS

"I'm saying you should be careful." She bit back a grin, though her face fell a second when Stradlin brought up Tessa and the bakery fire. She knew better than to give that any sort of premature reaction though and she waited a beat before they were smirking up at her, and Cecily shook her head. "It's not that bad, not anymore than usual at least. Thanks... you too. Any particular reason you're hiding out here..? Or did you just need a break?"

Stradlin knew their mouth had a habit of getting them in trouble, the problem was that it was usually too late before they realised they'd perhaps gone a step too far. Still, they'd said what they'd said and they weren't the type to make excuses if they got called out on it. Luckily Cecily seemed to either not be bothered or perhaps too close to her daily word limit to say much else. "I'm not hiding," they scoffed. "About to leave. Got stood up by all the fuckin' boys. Only so much of Jane and Damo being cute I can be around before I feel like I'm interrupting something, y'know?"

Of all the Rosewood events she had to like galas the least; getting dressed up was fun but then it was hours of trying to figure out what to do with her hands. She'd sit back and observe as she normally did but the additional adult presence made her uncomfortable, their judgmental glances different from those of her peers'. If Cecily happened to step out for air at the same time as Stradlin it was pure coincidence and not because she'd gotten the idea from them. She shook her head, "I don't smoke but... Have you seen the curtains in there? Highly flammable I'd bet."

"You insinuating I'm a criminal?" Stradlin might not have been a hardened criminal the likes of Ace Claymore, but they certainly were an expert shit stirrer. "Considering your sister is in there and I had to watch Soda lose his damn mind when she got caught in that bakery fire... I know y'all are self involved but that's next level." They shook their head to themselves, then smirked back up at Cecily so she'd know they were only fucking around. "Must be bad if you're joking about lighting the place up. You look nice at least, which is all anyone in there cares about."

"Porque no los dos?" Dulcie laughed as she raised and eyebrow then followed their line of site. "We can all contain multitudes." She smiled at the question and thought about it for a moment. "Maybe, yeah. At least for a little bit. Unless you want to drink alone which, more power to you I guess." Dulcie gave them a little salute and made space for them to get down before they started moving through the crowd. "After you."

"Such as being bottoms and tops," Stradlin laughed, full bodied in a clearly drunken manner. "Ah yes, you nailed it. Came to Pride to drink on my own. Actually, no I came to send straight women into a sexuality spiral and disappear in a puff of smoke." It was always a vibe in Katz, but even more so that night. Stradlin was smooth in the way they navigated the crowd with practiced precision, only pausing to check if Dulcie was still there. "You good?"

Cecily wasn't sure if she'd ever thought of it like that, that in a place where everyone felt entitled to each other's business the Lisbon mythos lied in their privacy. Or rather, it was something she'd always known and it just felt especially obvious the way Stradlin said it. "Oh there's some truth to that one. Way more interesting than witches too." Her idea of fun usually involved sticking by the sidelines. "Yeah, people watching," she said easily, being a bit of a smart ass about it as she took a sip of her drink. "I'll go with you if you wait for me to finish mine. Unless that's not an invite, then I'll just you know, fuck off."

"Witches are cool too but we already got plenty of those around here," they waved a hand dismissively. "Hey, no shade, bet you see some wild shit." Because the goal was to get the youngest Lisbon doing something they weren't sure anyone had ever seen before, Stradlin eased up, clearly in no rush to finish their drink. "How about this... You teach me how to people watch first."

"Not everyone can be an original," she joked back. She didn't think all comparison was inherently bad though; the Lisbons had their own similarities, traits that overlapped between two, three, or all five of them. And yet they were all their own people still. "True. We're also not as mysterious as people think. And I definitely don't fall into that louder category but this," she nodded to the party, "This is fun."

"From the outside looking in, you're mysterious because you're not obsessed with letting people in on every second of your life in some egotistical parade. Gives people room to fill in the blanks however they want. And, I mean, y'all are mad synced up. Can't say I don't see the merit in the telepathic alien sirens from Venus theory, just sayin'." Stradlin shrugged, obviously knowing enough about them by now that they knew they were just normal people, but a good story was fun too. "This, as in standing here watching everyone else have fun, or..." They looked over at the edge of the crowd only a few feet away where the lingerers on the fringes melted into those properly dancing, then back to Cecily. "When I finish my drink I'm goin' in."

"I think that would be very smart. It's character building that our community really needs to grasp and commit to. It's honestly tragic how many people don't know how to use a broom and dust pan." She let out a laugh and held her hands up. "No judgement, promise. It's a great perch. Oh and very useful apparently though I'm sure you could have charmed your way into that bottle anyway," they admitted and checked the bottle over. "Very nice choice. If you feel like sharing, I am feeling very generous in volunteering my glass," she told them and grabbed a clean one from behind the bar. "Sharing is caring, you know. Tis the season."

"Eh, why clean when you could be using that time to better wield a strap. Or," they gestured to some conspicuous gentlemen down the bar, "the recreational use of poppers." It was true, they probably could have charmed their way into possession of the bottle, but old habits died hard and getting their hands on things they shouldn't have was still a rush. "What, you want me to tend your own personal bar now? Let's move, gotta be a better view of the stage than here."

"Yeah, she's changed my life for the better. Hey, I know how to do that." Perrie tried to hide how his cheeks pinked. That shy boy he once was still lived within him. Moving to a big city and getting into an Ivy League school could never beat that out of him. "There are easier ways to get the gang back together, yanno. Ways that don't involve cleaning up messes. Alright, let me enjoy being around my girlfriend after being away for so long. Besides, I've gotten back into my writing. Hobbies have been found. I'm afraid to ask what ideas you have for me."

Stradlin grinned with accomplishment, always out to make Perrie squirm. They might have grown up and been well on the way to figuring things out, but he was always going to be the same old Ponyboy to them. "Yeah but when have I ever done anything the easy way? At least this time we won't be making a mess," they pointed out, vaguely recalling every other time their crew had gathered and caused chaos. "Yeah, yeah, she can ride you into the sunset later, Pony. Right now, I call dibs." A flourish of their hand turned the attention to a row of shots lined up on the bar, and Stradlin's smirk became positively devious. "Race to the middle?"

"You think I got eyes in the back of my head now? I don't know where she is. If I had to put my money on something she's probably trying not to watch her friend beg with his eyes for help. Apparently he's not great at flirting." Bryson tilted his head to the side as he watched them, unsure if he actually believed it. "Then maybe it's time for new friends."

"Oh, shit, she's real?" Stradlin pulled an expression of understanding, having been there with members of their own circle once upon a time. "Wonder why people never get the memo that no one can help with that. Only outcome if you're askin' your friend for help flirting is that you look like a loser and don't get laid anyway, or your friend snatches your target's attention and you still don't get laid. Some shit in life you gotta figure out on your own." Bryson's reaction made them laugh – he was always so black and white about things that of course his suggestion was to boot their friends and start over. "I mean, I'm good. I'm not that codependent that I can't have fun on my own. You should know somethin' about that, lone ranger."

It took her a second to place Stradlin's reference- she got really into Twilight for a bit, like really into it, but at that point it was too late to say anything. She followed them to a table and was relieved to be away from her sisters' watchful eyes for a bit. "Yeah, pass. Tessa's always said we're a lot alike, me and Perrie, but I don't know, I don't see it. Might just be a youngest sibling thing."

"Being like someone else is boring anyways," Stradlin said, mostly because they were a huge proponent of individuality, but also because the idea that they could have low key been flirting with someone too much like their best friend definitely gave them the ick. As much as they loved Perrie, that was so not the vibe. "If anything proves that point it's all of this," they gestured to the club around them. "Self expression is dope as fuck. Some people are just louder about it than others. I mean, I'm sure you and your sisters aren't as similar as people think either."

"Bet it's even worse now that the number of people he can give them to is as small as ever. That would drive me nuts. Whatever." Bryson rolled his eyes but took a step back. "Girlfriend. You? I don't think I've ever seen you without a Cruz attached to your hip."

"Yeah well he ain't my real dad so unless he wants to get reported he has to pay me." Stradlin squinted, playfully suspicious, "Is the girlfriend in the room with us right now?" Not that they didn't believe him - they had eyes, after all - but it was essentially their job at that point to be the South Side's pain in the ass since Two-Bit was off being a superstar. "Mm, they're all pussy whipped so I've been driven to drinking to pass the time."

Dulcie jumped when she heard a voice as she stepped back inside of Katz. "Yeah I can't say pride clean up crews are very common. It's honestly a deep flaw of the community," Dulcie joked as she leaned back against the bar and waited for the bartender. She couldn't remember the last time she saw Stradlin, probably the last time she had actually gone to check up on Kit in person. She ordered two shots and handed on to them. "Happy Pride! Are you just hanging up there all night?"

Stradlin snorted when Dulcie jumped; not that they'd intended on scaring her but it was funny nonetheless. "I'm gonna put a motion to the queer council that anyone who's come through that door tonight as a tourist can donate their time to the removal of micro plastics in the morning." They dusted their knee, glittery purely from proximity to the merpeople filling the room rather than by choice. "Thanks, happy Pride," they raised their shot glass in a toast before drinking it down. Given the stock standard backstory regarding their existence and the trouble it had caused with their mom Pride hadn't always been an enjoyable time for Stradlin. They were well and truly unapologetic at that point though, which meant they didn't feel the need to act out the way they had when they were younger. "Let a bitch vibe for a minute, fuck," they laughed, swinging their foot out to tap Dulcie's knee. "I was multitasking. Watching the last queen's set, and swindling this," they lifted the bottle they'd had tucked behind their back.

"Do you?" She raised a brow at her, as skeptical as she was teasing. As hard as she tried not to take up too much space she knew it was no use- even at family functions. She still thought peoples' interest had way more to do with her sisters than it did with her, the general mythology of the Lisbons. Cecily didn't quite catch whatever they'd mumbled into their drink but felt her cheeks grow hot anyway, which she hid by following their gaze to her sisters' table. "Um, that's alright, I can catch up with them later." Her eyes scanned the crowd, and she nodded to Perrie and his girlfriend. "Take it you don't want to sit there either?"

"Yeah, I know what you are," Stradlin cocked an eyebrow, making a vague Twilight joke that they on second thoughts had to wonder if Cecily would get; they remembered Scott telling them all the stuff that Tessa hadn't had a clue about because of her weird upbringing. Likewise she didn't feel the need to drop in on anyone else, instead guiding Cecily to a table out of sight of both of their groups. "You wanna sit there and watch those two make googly eyes at each other all night, be my guest. It's doubly nauseating 'cause they're so cute. I don't think they even kiss with tongue, just sayin'. Love my boy buy I bet he'll see one stray nipple tonight and get all shy about it."

"You'd be surprised." She smiled back at Stradlin, their laughter infectious, and Cecily chuckled with them. Grabbing what was unmistakably her drink, the taller of the two, her gaze fell mid-sip when Stradlin's hand grabbed her's. She swallowed, nodding. "Yeah, okay. I don't need to put you on my shoulders, do I?"

"Mm, I've seen you at the family functions. I know your game." To be fair she'd never held much of a care for the Lisbons, not after all the drama they'd caused Scott over the years. For the sake of keeping the peace they'd bitten their tongue though, and while the older sisters weren't their cup of tea Cecily seemed to be further removed from their bullshit. Didn't hurt that she had legs for days either. "Fuck off," they scoffed, making a quieter joke into their glass as they took a sip of their drink, "we'll save that for later. You wanna sit with your girls?" she gestured to where she could see her sisters in their impenetrable little bubble across the room.