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It was great - how they fell back to being children again so easily. That nickname hit Emmett's ears, and she beamed. Nobody really called her that anymore - it sort of fell away when she moved away from Bellefonte - away from all of her friends. It hadn't been a choice she regretted, but now that she was in good company again, the mechanic felt that possibly she did miss her old high school.
... And then the hem of her shirt started to shift upwards. Emmett grinned wildly, letting another set of laughter pour out of her as she pressed a hand down on either side of Alice's head, uncaring - at least for now - of the way the cold stung her hands. There was no attempt to push her clothing down. It was like a game of chicken, and Emmett was often the one stupid enough go all or nothing.
Instead, she leaned down to get her face as close as she could to her friend's, eyebrows quirking upwards as she threatened to close any distance. "In public, really?" She teased.
Brown eyes followed the movement with part interest and part curiosity. Though she should have worried about the cold, she didn't. It was the furthest from her mind. Granted,. it helped having a human shield covering most of her body.
She didn't mind, of course. In fact, she actually preferred it.
With the little movement she was granted, Alice shrugged. "What can I say?" She offered, "I never claimed to be one to play fair." She let the tendrils drop the snow down, most of it falling to the wayside, though, some seemed to slip right down where she'd intended; hopefully causing some form of reaction.
And even the telekinetic couldn't stop the wicked grin that appeared on her lips. "Oops."
Emmett had to try and call Alice's bluff - if it was a bluff. She never really knew with the brunette, and as just a bit of snow had fallen against her skin Emmett clenched her jaw, a seething sound escaping her mouth as she squeezed her eyes shut. She tried her best to push back against the sensation of ice against her skin, but the mechanic failed, quickly pushing herself up and onto her feet, hands trying to brush off what was against her skin.
"Oi, you are dirty." She was still laughing though, looking down at Alice now abandoned in the snow bank. Within the next moment, she was offering her a hand to help get up. "I'll call that your win. For now." There was always the possibility that something could change later in their adventure.
Had she been a better person, she might have stopped herself from looking as smug as she did. As the blonde moved, Alice sat up. She managed to stifle the laugh, but not her amused expression.
Taking the offered hand, the telekinetic pushed herself up. She brushed the snow that had yet to melt off of her clothes. "Ah, you flatter me so."
Though none of the snow had managed to melt enough to soak through her clothes, Emmett felt the pain of the cold as she brushed as much of it off herself as she could. There was a temptation to push Alice right back into the pile she had just pulled her out of, but it was too soon for revenge, and the telekinetic had an advantage on her. So instead she looked around where they stood, seeing if any bar looked more enticing than the last.
"Somewhere inside." Emmett denoted, looking back to her friend. "I need to warm up." She was still grinning though. "Any place here your favorite? Other than where we just came from?" No way would she risk running into that woman again.
She thought about it for a moment. There was plenty of places she could have picked. She had her favorite spots, like most did, but out of all of them, there was only one place she could pick.
"I know the perfect place." It was inside, warm and the chances of running into any exes was small. At least, up until this point Alice hadn't met any.
She gestured for the blonde to follow. "It's pretty close, too."
Emmett wasn't always the best when it came to planning. She was spontaneous, and were she by herself, she would have wandered until something caught her eye. Her scheduled life only revolved around work hours and hockey games. Or, on occasion, other people's plans. Quick steps brought her to Alice's side, following the brunette.
She had no idea where she was being brought to, and for it, Emmett couldn't help herself. "Now is this perfect place just your apartment?" Emmett laughed at her own joke. "You could just tell me if it was."
Alice laughed. That really would have been the better option, though the brunette had already set her mind to a different place. "It's not." She said honestly. "You'll see."
She guided the blonde down the street, and a few minutes passed before they reached their destination. She pointed at a door in one of the alleyways that lead into the side of one of the buildings. "That's the staff entrance." She explained as she moved towards the door.
Though Emmett was a frequent of downtown, there were enough places around that she wasn't entirely familiar with. When they reached an alleyway, Emmett wondered if they had come across a secret bar scene with no name. Instead, she was informed it was a staff entrance to something, and Emmett raised her eyebrows. Her first thought was that it was for the yoga studio. That would make sense, and it also would explain why Emmett was unfamiliar with it.
But she held her questions, stepping down the alley towards the door, ready to follow Alice into it.
Pulling out her key, Alice opened the door. She stepped through it and reached for the light. It was easy to find, even in the darkness. The locale was closed for the night; the owner had a business trip they needed to attend and gave the girls working here a few days off. But most of them still came here to practice new routines.
The lights flickered on, revealing a small hallway leading to three doors; a dressing room, a bathroom and a storage.
"Welcome to my favorite place in the whole world." She offered, gesturing towards the dressing room. She chuckled then, skipping forward before turning. "I hope you don't mind wearing a corset."
Upon entering, Emmett found nothing that would offer immediate clarity as to where they were. She closed the door behind them, confusion etching its ways into the mechanic's features as she turned to the brunette. Even if she wasn't sure what this place was, a smile played about her lips at the idea of this being Alice's favorite place in the whole world. It had her already curious nature work up a notch.
That smile quickly dropped when the final word of her sentence hit the mechanic's ears. Dark eyes grew wide, eyebrows rising with genuine surprise. Still, she followed Alice. "I don't think I've ever even seen one." Let alone actually put one on. All she knew were stories of the way they constricted air flow.
The way the blonde's smile dropped only had the brunette laughing. It was a nice feeling, she supposed, being able to keep people on their toes. "Time to change that, then." She declared with ease. Opening the door to the dressing room, she gestured for Emmett to walk in first.
The room was medium sized, one wall lined with mirrors and chairs. Various items of burlesque clothing strewn all over, some folded, some carelessly tossed over chairs and other furniture. All marked with names.
Alice took a moment to size the blonde up; Size didn't matter as much with corsets, since they could be both tightened and loosened, but the other gear... "Do you wear high heels?"
That smile had Emmett a little worried about what she was walking into, but it wasn't like the mechanic to back down from anything. This, though. This was different. "Is this what you meant by dancer at night?" The blonde let out a laugh, only because she really hadn't expected it. "Damn, Alice. You have a whole 'nother level of badass in you."
She stepped in further, dark eyes scanning the room and catching sight of the various dresses and corsets around. The brunette did well to keep Emmett on her toes. Nowhere in her plans for tonight did it involve dressing up in burlesque. Really, Emmett never thought she'd find herself in a position like this in her whole life.
The question about high heels did bring a flash of concern to her features. "Never have before." But they both knew her ability allowed for impeccable balance; something Emmett wouldn't point out.
Offering her companion of the night the most innocent shrug she could possibly muster, Alice smiled. "What can I say? I live to impress." By impress, she meant challenge, of course. The blonde didn't need to know that, though. They had the entire locale to themselves for the night, so what was the harm, really?
Tapping a finger to her cheek, she looked around the room. "Well." She wondered if she'd offer the blonde flats or simply go for heels and hope for the best. That was an issue for later, though.
Turning so that she could face the blonde properly, Alice spread her arms out. "So, are you game or what?"
Emmett had a serious problem with blindly accepting any challenge thrown in her direction; it was something that she never grew out of, and she had to wonder if Alice was playing into that with the idea of putting her in heels and a corset. Her tongue ran over her lips, buying her an extra few seconds before she moved around the room, just looking at it all. Slowly, she turned back to the brunette, shrugging her shoulders.
"Why the fuck not." Emmett's classic grin returned to her face like some sort of front before she held up a finger, pointing at Alice. "But if any of this gets out to anyone, I'll throw you in the snow again."
