#rykersvoid

She'd just finished pouring them some tea and whiskey when she'd heard his key in her door, setting down the bottle so she could step around the corner into the entrance of her condo to meet him. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him like this, and she knew it wasn't going to be the last. A decade they'd propped each other up despite all the shit they gave each other, and she'd be there the next ten decades of he needed. The moment the door closed behind him, Naomi wrapped him up in her arms and lost her fingers up into his hair, lightly scratching her nails over his scalp just the way he looked. "I gotchu, Babe."

After the texts he'd managed in between ding out trays of food and serving up the guests plates and making sure Grady stayed far away from Joel and avoiding Leonidas and checking in on Duck and sneaking a smoke, John-Paul felt stretched thinner than ever. And his heart was practically screaming at him to stop, but what could he do? He'd promised his sister a stress free night so he would carry the burden for her, no matter how tight his chest got.

"Oh yeah? Fuck your family only, I just fucking dare you to try and stop me. Yeah, fuck you Barbara, we were in the same class bitch, I was at John Collins bon fire party, girl. Don't make me fucking come for you. No, I'm going in if you want it or not, call fucking security and have them drag me out here, and if they do I'll be dragged out screaming all your fucking secrets!" Her shouting and cursing filled the hallways of the CMC as Naomi pushed her way into Ryker's room, a bag hanging from one elbow as she turned to point to the nurse who'd tries to stop her. "That's what I fucking thought you skank ho."

Diamond:

"Well, who's drinking then?" Ignoring the creaking of the building in the growing wind and the darkness of the building's interior, the flashlight on her phone guiding her way right toward the bottles that glinted in the white light. "I could reallyuse a shot of tequila after that." Thank goodness she'd managed in the door just before the rain had seemingly all fell at once and thus remained completely dry.

asher:

asher got separated from his friends the second the rain turned from “annoying” to “biblical.” one moment the carnival was a blur of lights and laughter, the next it was wind and sheets of water and everyone sprinting in different directions. he made it to the silver bullet with a handful of people—ruth included, thank god—and once he confirmed she was okay, his adrenaline finally had somewhere to go. he ducked into the bathroom to dry off, aggressively patting his hair and face with paper towels like that was going to reverse nature. it didn’t, but it made him feel like he was doing something. when he came back out, he stopped short.someone was already behind the bar, sliding around like they’d decided the storm had turned the place into a self-serve situation. oh. so it was that kind of party. asher lifted a hand in surrender, grin flashing. “i’m drinking,” he announced. “why not?” was taking alcohol and not paying for it technically stealing? yes. was it also, in the middle of what felt like a hurricane, basically community morale? also yes. he hopped behind the bar with her like it was the most natural thing in the world, dripping on the floor and not even caring. then the bar lights hit her face properly, and recognition snapped into place. asher blinked, then broke into a grin. “wait—” he leaned in a little, squinting like he had to be sure. “didn’t we kiss yesterday?”

grady:

Luckily Grady hadn't gotten too soaked as he ran for cover in the bar. He came in shaking off like a dog. "God damn it's raining like an old cow peeing on a rock," he said with a laugh as he headed over for the bar and slid onto a stool. "I'll take a beer darlin' 'fore they get warm as piss," he told the woman offering to bartend, with a motion toward the cooler. He glanced at a third body coming up from the bathrooms and smirked when he heard of how the man might know the bombshell behind the counter. "Ya kissed n'don' remember f'it was her or not? Tha's a bit insultin' to a fine lookin' lady like her," he flirted with a wink, taking the bottle and drinking.

Davin:

At least he managed to find shelter he told himself as he stood there in the shadows quietly. Davin watched as people began raiding the bar. Silently, he eased his way up and settled next to what appeared to be a man with an accent. “I will take a beer too, please.” The open flirting from the man towards the young lady caused some discomfort. However, he decided to just wait for his drink before he headed towards the back of the bar to be alone.

Diamond:

A brow lifting as Asher slid across the bar to join her, the showmanship about him had it's appeal, curling her mouth up in a cat like grin, body turning so as he slid in beside her she was facing him. "You're a fucking nerd, but a hell of a kisser." Grinning, she slid a finger under his chin and laid a peck on him again, grinning at the smudge of bright red that her lipstick left behind. Well, well, well, it seemed she'd managed to find herself stuck in a bar, with a plethora of handsome men. "Well, this does look like a party, doesn't it?" Grabbing a few beers from the depths of the fridges, she popped each top with practiced ease and slid them down the bar to their distinctive reciptients. "And...." spinning around with a scan to the bar back, she gave an 'Aha!' with the discovery of the shot glasses. Plopping one down for each of the men and herself, of course. "Can't start off a party without a shot of tequila." The last one poured she took back with hardly a wince besides a sucking of her teeth, placing the full shots in front of each of them and holding one out to Asher before refilling her own. "Cheers, gentlemen."

ruth:

it was hard to not immediately grab her phone and see where her brother was, given the sudden change in the day's events. of everything in her life, she never seemed to remember the check the weather. rain or shine she would have to go to work, she could go to the rink, life continued on. as a result, the sudden lack of anythign that she could do. she looked at the tequila shot, glancing back at the window. what if the storm was bad, what if she was needed the moment it stopped? she wanted to be fun, take the shot and wait it out like everyone seemed to be. but, she paused, pushing her shot over to davin, "cheers to the storm."

asher:

asher looked at the guy sliding onto the stool and laughed, like the whole situation was still unreal. “i kissed a lot of people yesterday,” he said, unapologetic. “i had a kissing booth. you should’ve stopped by. it was foir charity.” diamond leaned in and asher let her kiss him again without hesitation. asher had never been the type to deny someone affection if they wanted it, especially not in the middle of a storm-turned-party. then ruth joined them at the bar, and asher clocked her immediately especially the way she nudged her shot toward davin like it was a hot potato. asher took the shot diamond had handed him and, without even thinking about it, passed it over to ruth instead. “ruthie,” he said, brows lifting in that gentle, coaxing way he had, “one shot isn’t gonna kill you.” he grabbed another for himself, raised it toward her, and held her gaze like he was making a pact. “i’ll do it if you do.”

grady:

Grady eyed the woman with a devious smirk as he raised his shot and took it without so much as a flinch. He grew up shooting back moonshine. Tequila wasn't shit. A drink of water at best. But she didn't need to know she didn't stand a chance drinking against him. It was always more fun when people thought they had a chance, present company included, storm raging outside be damned. "A kissin' booth? Girl, you might want to get'cherself tested," he darkly teased the both of them, tapping the bar for another, his smirk edging higher along with a challenging tick of his eyebrow. He let his attention fall to the others at the bar as Asher tried convincing them to partake in the free drinks. "Get it while it's free," he added enticingly, his smile softening. "Might help ya'lls nerves," he urged with a small motion between her and Davin.

Diamond:

Attention sliding to the country Boy with his quips, she knew the smile wasn't going to be going anywhere any time soon that night. Even when Ruth turned down get shot. "Come on Ms. Olympian, you can't even drink up with your fellow townsfolk, huh? Call it a belated celebration party, bitch, drink up." Tone encouraging, the second one went down smoother than the first. "Someone pass me my bag over there in that chair, i got a Bluetooth speaker and we can get some music going, too. Who wants to play DJ?"

ruth:

"it's not—" she paused, unable to discern if the encouragement from the people was teasing or something more harsh. she knew she didn't hang out at the bullet or make a habit of drinking outside of special occasions. but, she didn't want to say any of that, or admit that she simply was too worried to drink. "i guess one is fine." tequila was her drink of choice anyways, maybe that was supposed to be the sign from the universe. one shot wouldn't kill her, one shot was free, a celebration, the chance to unwind. she couldn't predict the storm's pattern, she only knew that one shot would be her limit. "cheers?"

asher:

asher grinned when ruth finally accepted the shot. “one is fine,” he agreed enthusiastically, like this was a major victory. he clinked his glass against hers, tapped the bottom on the bar, and knocked it back with practiced confidence. it went down easy enough until it didn’t. he coughed once, making a quick face he tried to hide behind his hand, and then laughed at himself. the warmth hit him immediately, spreading through his chest and into his shoulders. light weight, confirmed. “okay,” he breathed, eyes brightening, “i totally want to play dj.” when diamond asked, asher immediately reached for her purse and lifted it like it was a sacred responsibility, handing it over with exaggerated seriousness. “absolutely,” he said, beaming. “i’m a professional.”

grady:

"Olympian?" Grady asked, his attention piqued. "Well I'll be damned. What're ya celebratin'?" he asked as he hit his shot glass on the bar and raised it all the same, downing it smoothly. "Hit me with another darlin'," he told Naomi, drumming the bartop gently. He chuckled freely when Asher grimaced as his shot went down. "Looks like you ain't tha only one who don't drink much," he teased him playfully, leaning in a bit to Ruth. "So what'd'ya do in the Olympics?" he asked, giving his bartender a smile and nod in thanks after his glass was refilled, taking it back, then sipping on his beer. "I'll be honest, I don' watch too much'a any'a tha' stuff, but I know they got, what, like skiin' n'sleddin' n'whatnot?"

Diamond:

"That's the spirit!" Filling her third shot, and already feeling the warmth spreading through her veins, she held it up in a cheers with them, and shot it back with a little "Woo!" and shake. "Now, it feels like a party!" Taking her bag from Asher with a 'thank you' and a kiss blown his way, Diamond dug through it until she found her speaker, pulling it from the depths and setting it on the bar top. A push of the button on top had it on and in pairing mode. "Full fucking battery, too. You better impress, Skyscaper." Cracking a beer for herself, she leaned over the bar with a grin in Ruth's direction as she answered Grady's question. "She's like the best figure skater in the world or some shit. Bitch got herself two gold medals."

Ryker Bennett:

Ryker had been out in the storm a little too long. His clothes and hair was trenched, soaked from the storm. Finding silver-bullet, more like a blessing since he liked alcohol. Managing to get a door opened as the wind had picked up. Then closing it shut and moving from the door. "Someone pour me a drink." He mumbled making his way to a seat. One hand going through his hair ruffling it of the excess water. Then putting a hand on his own shoulder feeling like he had hit soemthing on the way in, a tender spot.

asher:

“i got you, man!” asher said, already moving. he grabbed another shot glass, poured with an easy tilt, and slid it across the bar. the silver bullet felt smaller than usual with the storm outside so only a handful of people had made it in. the kind of crowd where you could actually hear the clink of glass and the low murmur of everyone’s voices between gusts. asher took the speaker from diamond and tucked it under one arm. “okay,” he announced, grinning, “if we’re gonna be trapped in here, we’re doing it correctly.” he hooked his phone up in a few seconds, thumbs moving fast as he pulled up spotify. something about him shifted the moment the connection clicked—shoulders loosening, eyes sharpening, like he’d stepped into a role he was born knowing. dj mode. he looked around at the small group—ruth, diamond, a couple others—reading the room like it was a waveform. “alright,” he said, half conspiratorial, ”let’s party.” then he hit play. the first beat rolled out, warm and steady, loud enough to fill the gaps in conversation without swallowing it. asher nodded to himself, pleased, and turned it up just a hair. “that’s it,” he said, pointing lightly like he was conducting them. “shake the rain off. we’re making our own weather in here.”

Ryker:

Ryker's hand caught the glass in his hand when it slid towards him. Right now he just felt like a wet alley cat soaked in water. Taking the shot in one swing and then slamming it back down. The warmth of the alcohol helped. Sliding off his jacket, he placed it on the chair next to him so he wouldn't get sick. "Oh boy." He murmured, moving so he could see the rest of the crew he had been stuck with. Then hearing the beat of the music, like he never left Eden. Although he wasn't interested in dancing, he just watched and then hinted at Asher for another drink. Letting the sounds of the music and atmosphere let him relax after being out in the hell storm that he had come out of.

Diamond:

"Oh shit, Ryker made it through the storm. Hey handsome." Grinning, she blew him a kiss as she let Asher first pour him a shot before getting the music going. Following his shot with the slide of a beer in his direction, she had to admit the vibes weren't terrible. A bunch of sexy men stuck with her and Ruth who wasn't going to steal any spotlight from her, all of them lined up at the bar together enjoying the atmosphere. It wasn't a bad way to spend a hurricane, that's for sure. Digging behind the bar for the drawer with the clean bar towels, she grabbed a stack of them and held them out to her thoroughly drenched friend. "Here, Ry. Dry off before you die of pnemonia. At least if it happened you know we'd send you to the pearly gates absolutely hammered." A sip of her own drink followed as she eyed the crowd on the other side of the bar from her and Asher. "Why don't we do something fun? Two truths and a lie? Truth or Dare? Let's make things interesting. But.... first things first...." Digging in her bag once more, she pulled a joint from it's depths that was about as long as her entire hand. "Anyone want a party favour? This one is on me."

Ryker Bennett:

He gave Diamond a wink when she blew him a kiss. He was freezing as fuck from the cold trenched rain storm from outside. Taking a drink from his beer like it was water. ”Thank you, love.” he said taking a towel and starting to dry himself off. Already Ryker was putting his hand out to Diamond towards the joint. ”You pick the game and I will play.”

grady:

Grady held up his beer in cheers to the newest addition, taking a drink before turning back to Ruth - the figure skater. "Gold medal skater?" he asked, genuinely interested in her figure skating. "Yer more humble n'me. I'd be braggin' 'bout tha' shit every chance I go'." The music that started playing wasn't exactly his cup of tea, but it got the rest of the crowd going so who was he to argue? He simply continued drinking, enjoying the end of the world that raged outside the bar. "I vote two truths, one lie," he said once he finished off his first beer. "N'ya get me drunk n'high 'nough ya might jus' get three truths," he joked with a chuckle, motioning for another beer and shot.

ruth:

the tequila wasn't exactly smooth going down, but she did her best not to make a face, while the spotlight somehow still remained on her. she didn't want to contradict what was being said, it felt pretty nice to be the best in the world. but, somehow she still couldn't outright admit it herself. "the second gold is for the team." she corrected, a small way of trying to pay back the village it took to get to her level. she felt the shot settle in her blood, distracted only for the moment that another person walked in, luckily looking uninjured, just a little worse for wear. "but, thanks. i think." even after all this time, she could barely navigate these conversations, waving away the offer of the joint with the same no of another drink. this was more than enough to wait out the storm. if only she could find something to get out of the game ideas as well, trying to shrug and wait for the conversation topic to change, "that's probably safer than some of the dare options right now."

Ryker;

Ryker let out a low, amused huff at that, rolling the tongue in his mouth at thought. “Yeah, yeah...team,” he echoed, a crooked half-smile not fully in tuned to the conversation. He leaned back a little letting the warmth of the alcohol go through him. One arm draped lazily over the back of the seat. "Okay, you gotta do something about this music."Not exactly his taste. At the mention of the dares, he snorted quietly, glancing around the room like he was already clocking the kind of bad decisions waiting to happen. But it wasn't like he didn't make bad decisions in his life already. “We can keep it simple. Don't make it weird." Ryker motioned for another drink. The guy can hold his alcohol better than most, a few drinks wouldn't do anything to him.

Diamond:

Lightng up the joint and taking a good few pulls to not only get a good toke but to make sure it was good and lit before handing it off to Ryker with a blow of her smoke in Ruth's general direction, sure the woman wouldn't take one herself and deciding it couldn't hurt to maybe give her a hint a of a contact high. She seemed like the type to need a hand in having a good time. Nodding her head around the mouth of her beer as she took a sip to chase her exhale, Diamond nodded her head as she gave a thoughtful expression. "Okay, bet." Hands busying themselves with another beer Ry's way, she finally came up with her offerings. "I once broke into the sheriffs station over night and smoked a joint in the Sheriff's chair, I made Johnny Bollinger cum in his pants while he was wearing the mascot's outfit when we were in high school, Leo DiCaprio subscribes to my Only Fans."

asher:

asher was too preoccupied with the music to pay much attention to what anyone else was doing. once he got a speaker and a phone in his hands, his brain snapped into the only mode it trusted right now: curate, adjust, read the room, repeat. he kept one ear on the storm, but most of him stayed locked on the playlist. not just “songs he liked.” the right songs. something warm enough to loosen shoulders. steady enough to quiet nerves. upbeat enough to make a handful of people in a half-lit bar feel like they weren’t waiting for bad weather to decide what happened next. asher wasn’t exactly knowledgeable about hurricanes because california didn’t really do this. or at least it hadn’t. he had a brief, unwanted thought about climate change, about how the world kept getting weirder, and then he shoved it away. not because he didn’t care, but because worrying wouldn’t help. music would. so he focused on what he could control: the next track, the volume, the way the bass sat in the room. he watched for little cues of someone’s foot tapping, or someone’s laugh coming easier and built the night around them like it was a set.

Ryker Bennett:

Ryker took the blunt and blew it back out his nose. Then taking a drink from his beer. Then hearing the comments of what could be true and a lie. He would assume all were true coming from Diamonds mouth. ”All true.” he muttered under his breath. But clearly he was joking. ”Leo is the lie.” He said looking back at her and raising a brow.

Diamond: