Party Like There's No Tomorrow - Private Thread (Corbin & Naomi)

Guest

The invite to the party from Corbin had not been one she wanted to accept. He was a no good, dirty scoundrel and Naomi wanted nothing to do with her fellow Slytherin. Except, the more she thought about it, the more Naomi was plotting. She was a Slytherin, after all, so she was not going to let this opportunity go to waste. How could she?

Naomi had dressed up in some nice, strapped high heels, matched with a dress that you would have to be very careful in. One false move, and she could end up showing people things they did not need to see. Not that this was her goal, Naomi could dress like that, but she was not one to act further on it.

No, her goal was to get Corbin riled up, as much as possible.

Naomi had purposefully been over an hour and a half late to the party. She wanted Corbin to believe she would not be attending. Of course, she didn't know how much he was banking on her being there, but if he was hopeful, she wanted that hope crushed.

Naomi had entered the party subtly, getting lost in the shadows and finding herself a drink before finding Elenore Clement. The two witches had conversed for a while, and every time she noticed Corbin looking, Naomi had turned away, ignoring the other Slytherin as much as possible. They'd been joined by Dimitri - as Naomi found out from the introductions - for a few moments, before he moved off to speak with Lucy.

There had been an occasion or two where Corbin had looked to be coming over, and Naomi had excused herself, heading to the toilet where she knew he could not follow.

By this time, however, the party was in full swing, the music loud enough to make Naomi want to dance, the alcohol flowing freely enough to have brought her to... well, just about a tipsy stage, but she was not in any way out of control of her mind or body. Just a light hum of happiness radiating her body. The Slytherin witch was just refilling her drink - guard down from the Corbin radar, because the last she'd seen him he was in conversation with someone else.

Glass filled once more, Naomi turned back to the party at large, looking around for her next target of conversation.

Guest

The party had been in full swing -- and he had been across the room, talking to Nancy, one of the usual guests (and, therefore, one of his good friends) about next month's party, and did she have any recommendations for invites? -- when the door opened and he saw Naomi walk in. But, halfway in his conversation, he couldn't just walk away or anything; besides, it wasn't that large a party that he would've bump into her at some point. So there he stayed, chatting about invites and alcohol and possible food for the next gathering (since Nancy was in charge of that for the next round), until the conversation -- as all conversations do -- drew to a conclusion.

Then, with a smile and a dip of the head, he continued on his rounds, each time looking for an opportunity to 'accidentally' bump into Naomi -- except, each time, she would wander away, either to the bathroom or across the room, suspiciously coincidentally out of his reach.

Nobody was that oblivious, and Corbin wondered why Naomi had come if only to avoid him.

Flitting -- and, on occasion, flirting -- with the different guests, he continued onwards, stopping to chat with everyone and everyone about anything and everything. From small talk about the weather and school to the more vague ones about life and death; it seemed that while alcohol made some happy and lighthearted, it made others retrospective and deep.

A few times he passed by the alcohol table to grab a beer or check to see if it needed replenishing, but, despite longing glances and a deep rooted urge for the burn that only the stronger things could provide, he resisted temptation and stuck to butterbeer. For now, he would remain sober. Once everyone was tipsy and enjoying themselves and the games they had planned began (which was soon, but not soon enough) he would allow himself the proper alcohol. Right now, though, he had to be in top shape in order to play niceties.

Stopping by Lucy momentarily, just to see how things were her end and if she foresaw anything that could go wrong, he noted from the corner of his eye Naomi looking the other way, and a smirk touched his features as he excused himself with a simple, "I'll let you go flirt your ass off now."

Making his way over to the drinks table where Naomi was, he made sure to keep his head down and approach her from the side she wasn't looking. Using the loud music to his advantage, he stepped up right next to her and, arms crossed, right hand holding his bottle of beer, he said, "I hope you're enjoying more than fudging butterbeer."

Guest

She had been doing so, so well, Naomi was sure of that much, and she was almost smirking to herself with confidence as she brought the drink - a mix of vodka and orange juice - to her lips, sipping lightly on the sweet drink. Corbin was going to be so frustrated, having not caught her, this was all so per-

"I hope you're enjoying more than fudging butterbeer."

Naomi didn't jump, to her credit, but he did turn to find the one person she'd been hoping to keep away from for the evening. Still, a number of hours was still a record in such a small party, wasn't it? Pushing a smile on to her lips, Naomi held up her glass for Corbin to see.

"Vodka and orange juice." She replied to his question. Definitely stronger than the Butterbeer in his hands... "Though I'm disappointed you haven't been doing much the same, Henderson." Naomi added, her eyes casting over the party, and not the boy beside her. The Slytherin witch was not going to allow him to think that he was worth her attention, his ego was already much too big for her liking, and she would simply not allow him to have anything easily.

OOC: I'm very sorry this is so short, Naomi won't give Corbin anything more at this moment.

Guest

Corbin knew many things. He knew, for example, exactly how many bottles of alcohol were left in stock. He knew how many people still hadn't arrived, either held back by some reason or deciding not to attend this party. He knew what each guest favoured, having observed them throughout the night. He knew what foods were left, what foods needed to be replenished, and what foods were not enjoyed and therefore should not be provided the next time around. He knew where Lucy was, and if she happened to glance his way he'd know what she wanted to tell him from her expression.

He made it is priority to know as much as he could, because knowledge was power -- and power a weapon -- and weapons of any kind would help him in the long run. So to say Corbin ferreted out whatever possible would be an understatement; indeed, he took pride in stating he knew a lot, a statement that was usually true.

But if he were going to be honest, he did not have a single clue what Naomi wanted -- nor what she was doing there -- and it perplexed him greatly.

From their single, previous encounter, she was rather tightly wound, unable to take a joke. She'd also called him some not so nice things and stormed off after what could only be described as a tantrum, although one done with words instead of hitting or stomping feet. So why, then, had she come to the party? He'd only called after her in amusement, having been impressed by her -- someone who had no physical ones -- balls.

And yet here she was, in front of him. He kept his eyebrow raised and a neutral expression about his posture. The last thing he wanted was for Naomi to know that, firstly, he was surprised and, secondly, he was excited that she was there. No, he was meant to be neutral about everything, calm and professional and in charge. If she knew that he liked the fact she'd showed, her ego would be inflated and that would ever be good; already she seemed to have pride larger than it should've been.

(The irony here, of course, was that Corbin himself had an ego that far outweighed how good he actually was, but that's the problem with ego; those with it don't realise they have it.)

Lifting one shoulder in a semi-shrug, he tipped the last sip of butterbeer into his mouth and swallowed. "I'm saving that for later," he told her. "It won't do to get drunk before the games begin, now would it? Why, I might not remember what happened during them if that happens, and as you put it, a fudging good time should always be remembered."

Glancing around, he motioned to the people already there. "Besides, it's always more fun to watch others fudge themselves over before joining them."

Guest

OOC: Naomi is finally talking! But insists it was my fault!

Corbin's response was so characteristic of a Slytherin, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. Self-preservation she knew well, which was why she was drinking, but not drinking too fast. This way, she wouldn't be deemed a prude for not drinking, but also wouldn't be completely wasted and vulnerable. Truthfully, Naomi was nervous of being caught up in a drunken moment, and living to regret it the next day. Each sip of alcohol she took made her feel the butterflies in her stomach more...

Peer pressure was a wonderful thing like that.

"And, what games would that be, Henderson?" Naomi asked, not commenting on the drinking part because, honestly, she understood him. Not that she would ever admit to his ideas being good. "Pass the parcel, or pin the tail on the donkey? I... imagine you would have to go and get change for the latter, though, wouldn't you?" She asked, glancing over at the boy and giving him a small, faux smile to show that she didn't need to be told that these weren't the kind of games the boy had in mind.

Children played those games, and Naomi was now even more worried, though she masked it well. Perhaps... yes, perhaps coming to this party had not been a good idea, but there was very little she could do about that now.

OOC: Bleurgh, it's smol... me sorry.

Guest

Her response brought a light smirk to his face. He had a few options, now. He could tell her what they were going to be and reveal he had a hand in planning the events, since nobody ever really knew if there were going to be games or not -- and, if there were, what they would be. Or he could play dumb. There was a third option, one that he wasn't quite sure he wanted to take with the witch. She wasn't the youngest there -- his mind wandered, momentarily, to Eli -- but she definitely wasn't the type that he assumed frequented parties like this.

And that, Corbin knew, meant it would be that much easier to mess with her. For a fraction of a second, he debated going easy on her and letting her off the hook by simply stating he wasn't sure what the games were yet, that he'd be told by the host once it was time to start. It was what he always did, when asked, and it was a lie that he was familiar with.

Still, it was so boring, and he'd invited Naomi because she'd promised fun, hadn't he? So why wasn't he taking advantage of that? All compassion gone, not that he had much to begin with, he shrugged lightly.

"Oh, you know, the typical ones," he said, still keeping the smirk on his face. He paused to give her a moment to contemplate this before adding, "Spin the bottle, strip pong, human twister, and a couple other surprise ones, from what I've heard." Once again, he paused to give her time to fully comprehend what he said before letting out a tiny laugh. "I'm teasing. I'm not sure what games the hosts have in store for tonight, but it's not as risque as those."

That was something he and Lucy took pride in, after all; they always ensured that everyone had fun to the lengths that they wanted to and nothing more. Their games always had an element of ... more ... should two parties both want it, but could also be perfectly clean should neither (or one) of them wish not to take a dirtier path. It was safe (ish), and controled; Corbin wasn't an idiot.

But he said none of this to Naomi, wanting to see her thoughts on the matter beforehand.

Guest

Naomi had quirked an eyebrow at the list of games that Corbin gave her brought a quirk of the eyebrow from Naomi. She hadn't played any of these, in truth, but she knew how to play them. The stripping games... well, Naomi wasn't sure she wanted to play those kind of games. Especially with Corbin here.

The laugh made Naomi look towards the boy to find that his earlier suggestions were only jokes. Outwardly, she only smiled as if to say she was playing along with the joke, but inwardly, Naomi was cursing the boy for being such a...

Naomi stopped herself from calling him too many bad names, though.

"Well, I suppose we're both going to have to wait until they're announced, then, aren't we?" Naomi posed the question. The question was, more than likely, rhetorical. Naomi didn't try to elongate the conversation for the simply fact, she didn't wish to encourage Corbin.

And yet, secretly, she was hoping that no matter what the games were, that she would be paired with her fellow Slytherin so that she could take him down.