ONCE BURNED was made by MEL. Copying, altering, or stealing any of the site's content is prohibited. All of ONCE BURNED's characters are the original work of their owners and may not be replicated or stolen. All images and graphics belong to their rightful owners and ONCE BURNED does not claim to own any of them.
It felt like he'd gotten caught in the middle of a dick sizing contest and it was starting to bore him. Whatever had happened between the two, or was still happening, it felt like he was intruding on years worth of history. It wasn't something he'd normally bother getting involved with.
"You didn't stumble into anything." He replied honestly. After all; It might have been his intention, but they had barely gotten past the point where the girl had bothered looking in his direction. He might have felt wounded, but naturally, he was far too confident for that. "It seems like I'm the one who accidentally stumbled into something."
He pushed himself free of Carter's grasp and grabbed for the drink he'd left unattended for too long, finishing it. He rose then, shoulders rolling. He waved the bartender over. "A whiskey on the rocks."
Coming into the night, the hydrokinetic had no plans aside from to look good and have a fun-filled evening. For the initial portion of the night, all of that occurred. Men and women came up and tried their hand at her zipper, and all failed. However, the moment she found an individual that she wanted to take home and really get going, it became unnecessarily complicated. With each back and forth, her frustration grew. Out of every moment Carter Chevalier could have reared his ridiculously attractive head, he chose then.
It frustrated her even more that she still wasn't really mad about it, either.
If she had a glass of water nearby, she'd be fiddling with that too, because holy fuck. Isaac made his choice the minute he turned away and went back to the drink, though he probably realized. The Brit did not beg no matter the situation, especially for sex. Rya brushed past the one blonde to the familiar face of the other instead, where she left little more than a few centimeters between them. "So, Blondie," The name that hadn't been used since he left, "I'd love to do a little catching up."
Who knew if it'd even work, but even if it didn't, there were always other prospects.
Isaac was quick to put Carter back into appropriate perspective. Given the way she was acting, he thought for sure something had been agreed upon between the two already. But no, his tone indicated his inevitable direction, and he freed himself without a fight from Carter. He didn't like the idea of ignoring the person he'd originally come over here for.
But with Isaac still in reach, Carter pressed a hand to his shoulder blade and leaned in; "Make that two, won't you, chère?" He asked, his eyes glancing up at the bartender before offering a quick wink.
When he eased back there was a body close enough to press against his own with the slightest bit of encouragement. Suggestive words hit his ears like no time had passed at all. He quirked his eyebrows once, instinctively. "And what, you would have me leave my friend to drink the woes of losing you alone?" He asked her then, corner of his mouth dragging up with clear humour. Quickly, he finished the last of his glass and hit it back against the counter.
"Somehow, my dear, I get the very real sense that you have but one desire." He continued on, his hand reaching for a new drink without letting his eyes stray from her face; "And unfortunately for you, you seem to have forgotten that I always deserve so much more than to be your second choice."
Turning his head to respond, he caught the wink. Immediately his eyes turned back to the bartender, eyebrows furrowed in thought. "You heard the boss." He offered.
He could feel the girl shuffle past him, an amused smile curling on his lips. He took a quick swig from the drink as it was placed before him, if only just to stifle the laugh. "I'm very forlorn, you see." He said dejectedly. He turned then, elbows propped against the bar top, one hand holding the drink, the other clutching his chest, as if in pain.
"Mm! Preach it, brother!" The hand he'd previously had clutched to his chest shot upward, a fist shaking the air as if congratulating the gods themselves for allowing such greatness to walk the earth - and for letting him witness it.
Rya put herself in the very real position to be rejected. She felt it coming almost immediately after she put herself, but she supposed she shouldn’t be mad.
She shouldn’t be, but oh, she was.
Not at Carter, per se, because he did the one thing that a decent human being would do when some random woman came in. The rationale didn’t exactly hit the hydrokinetic to keep her from feeling the humiliation. She barely flinched when he spoke the sarcastic term of endearment, and when he returned to Isaac, her face went blank. Rya waved Isaac off in a single motion and turned to the terrakinetic in another.
“Welcome home, Chevalier.” She said simply, shrugged, and turned away from both of them and back to the bar. “Hey, get me a fucking water.”
“Yes, a fucking water”
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter had to offer a hearty laugh to the way Isaac was acting. It was nice to be able to have a joke, but it seemed that one in the party wasn't all too willing to join in.
A smarter man would have left well enough alone. But she didn't leave, and perhaps that was the point. Carter being Carter had never been the type to quit while he was ahead. Besides, the bartender had been nice enough to place a drink in his hands.
"Now now, no need to snap at those who don't deserve it." Carter pointed out, this time dryly. Obviously she was upset, or cross, or at the very least she was feeling a type of way that didn't agree with her, "Even Isaac knows that."
He was almost disappointed in the way the girl so easily dismissed his joke. Almost. While he understood the humiliation of being rejected, she was, after all, the one who'd thrown herself so easily in their direction. Not only once, but twice.
Or was it three times? He couldn't remember, but it didn't really matter. The fact still remained.
Offering the bartender an apologetic smile, Isaac took another swig off of his drink, savoring the bitter taste. "I'm sure our kind host here would take no offense if you just apologized, hm?" He spread his arms at that; it was a reasonable request, no?
Rya needed just a moment to cool off, grab a water, and get back to enjoying herself. After all, the two boys could get to catching up, and she could get back to dancing. However, the hydrokinetic needed something to ease her shaking hands while they did. The bartender placed the water in front of her, and she mumbled a thank you.
Except the two decided that they weren't done with her, despite the evidence that she finished with them. She pressed a finger to the rim of the glass and the water followed wherever she willed.
It was easier to ignore the situation at hand. Yes, she could get confrontational. Yes, she had half a mind to do so. Instead, she wished for a moment of peace, but she didn't feel she had to leave. Rya struggled with her pride and her comfort in this situation, and clearly, her pride won for now.
It was always so much easier with a second party on his side. Carter offered something easily construed as a dig. Really, a bartender's job was hard enough. They didn't need to be belittled for doing a thankless job.
But she thanked her, quietly as she had. That was nice, at least.
Aside from that, she gave him nothing. Not even a look; she paid the bartender more mind than she did the platinum blonde boys she'd diminished as option one and option two for her nightly roll. So he turned his form, forearm leaning against the bartop as his eyes focused on Isaac.
"So how's your sister?" He asked with a wicked grin he quickly drowned in his drink.
A pout formed on his lips; It seemed as if she'd given up so easily for someone so feisty. It was a shame, really. He'd started enjoying the banter.
Isaac's blue eyes focused on his companion for the night, lips pursing in amusement. "Not here." Though Isaac had felt very protective of his twin sister when he was younger, he'd come to realize that she was as capable of taking care of herself as anyone. Even against the Chevalier charms.
Isaac looked over at their bartender, then back at the blonde next to him. "Excuse me." He said. "The night is still young, after all." Returning the very same wicked smile Carter had offered to him, Isaac leaned over the bar.
The access to water did wonders on her psyche, the pressure from her frustration easing enough for her mind to clear. Did she get what she wanted? Certainly not. Is it what she wanted now? No. What did she want? Her mind went to fucking around with the two guys, as a way to have a little fun. She took a breath and took a sip of water, turning in her chair the minute that she heard Isaac move onto another girl.
Rya stood up and leaned on the bar, whistling to gain the attention of the bartender moreso than Isaac. "Damn, with how fast you've moved on, you've got to wonder what you have crawling around down there." Eyes traveled to Carter, "It's a valid concern, yeah?"
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Though Carter had never slept with his friend's sister, it was always an easy way to quip him. He mightn't have cared all that much who his sister hooked up with, but it was still fun to say. It was clear, though, that Isaac was still very much looking for someone to take home tonight. The concept of just having fun with friends for a night seemed to dissipate.
Now, the bartender was the mark. Carter was keen to watch though, given he knew the girl serving the drinks. That meant he spent too much time here.
And then Rya was back, and while whistling was a little harsh to grab someone's attention, it certainly got his. Carter exhaled a special kind of laugh when she took a dig at Isaac. Rocking back on a step, he removed himself as the buffer between them and took a long sip of his drink. Anything to say to that would be better out of the other man's mouth.
Isaac's attention moved back to the brunette as she attempted at a comeback. He simply stared at her, waiting for some kind of follow up. The girl's eyes traveled to the other blonde and that seemed to be that.
"So what you're saying is that people who're comfortable enough with their body and their sexuality to embrace the concept of sex-" He held up a hand then. "-without getting tied down, of course-" He looked at the girl, hoping his point came across. "-are somehow dirty? Sleeping around essentially means having STD's, no? For someone who was so eager to jump into bed with the both of us-" He gestured towards Carter, then himself. "-your logic seems rather flawed." He tilted his head curiously at the girl, even shaking his head as if disappointed.
His demeanor grew somber then and he straightened himself to his full 6'2". "Retorting to slut shaming because your ego is bruised is rather pathetic." He turned his attention to his drink and took a swig off of it. "Run along, little girl." He brushed her off, his attention now fully captured by the bartender and his friend.
Isaac made his anger clear. His posture shifted, his jaw clenched, and Rya’s posture went lax in response. She should have been more remorseful for her insensitive comment, but it did exactly what she wanted – made him angry. She had her fair share of slut-shaming aimed at her, and did she necessarily feel it right to even go to this level? Absolutely not. Or she wouldn’t, but she couldn’t help but grin, laughing at his attempt to shoo her off.
“Oh, I must have pressed a button,” She said simply, her tongue sliding along her bottom lip, “But I think this little girl is going to stay.” The fuming blonde did not frighten her in the slightest, even if he were two times her size and probably could do a good bit if he cared to. That was a future Rya problem, and she didn’t care to think it through.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
With Carter's mind completely buzzed from drink after drink, he had to be the only party to find great humour in the altercation between these two. Somehow they'd evidently gone from nearly hooking up to... Whatever this installment was. Isaac offered a volley of well crafted insults; after all, it did seem a little hypocritical, but it wasn't his place to call her out on that. She hadn't come for him, and in turn, he wouldn't actively go for her.
But he would go for another drink, because the smokey liquid in his glass was draining quickly. His hand hit the bartop and his fingers flexed and wriggled, like silently asking for someone to put another glass in his free hand.
"Now now, while this is an amazing verbal pissing contest, we know we're all a little whore-ish, no?" He asked aloud, "Let's all agree that hitting below the belt - unless done softly and preferably in a horizontal motion - isn't called for in this environment." With stipulations in place, for those insults at least, Carter unofficially declared round two to be open for all; "As you were, my amours."
