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Post by A.J. Dogherty on Jan 11, 2016 1:57:15 GMT
Kensi frowned at Jamie, crossing her arms in front of her. "Well, that sucks," she told him. "Because I liked you. I still like you." She followed his gaze to the other girl from earlier and scoffed a bit. "Unbelievable," she murmured. "You know, you're kind of a jerk." Shaking her head, she looked at him. "When you change your mind, don't be surprised if it's too late," she told him before walking away, trying to hide the fact that she was actually hurt by how quickly he seemed to be able to move on from her.
Will watched Kensi walk away out of the corner of his eye and knew he had to act a bit faster if he wanted to continue charming AJ away from James, he grinned at her. "Do you want a drink?" he asked, draining his own.
"I don't really drink much," she told him politely.
"Well do you maybe want to go somewhere more private and talk a bit?" Will suggested.
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Post by James Benson on Jan 11, 2016 2:16:31 GMT
Jamie sighed, in retrospect wishing that he might have been a little nicer, or maybe a little more appreciative of the effort she was trying to put forth. He had liked being her friend, he liked having someone like Kensi around, and just because they hadn't worked out as a couple, he supposed that with an effort put forward on his end, he might have at least been able to retain their friendship.
With his parents having given him free reign to keep himself occupied for the evening, and given the fact that Kensi had turned away from him as well, he had only one thing on his mind and that was finding AJ to speak with her. He wanted to explain that there wasn't anything going on with Kensi, even if he wasn't necessarily trying to get with AJ at the moment either. Spotting her still in the middle of her conversation with Will, he hoped that she wouldn't mind the interruption. Walking over to them, he cleared his throat softly to announce himself. "I'm sorry to interrupt. AJ, I just wanted to apologize for the abrupt end of our conversation. Did you maybe want to pick up where we had left off?"
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Post by A.J. Dogherty on Jan 11, 2016 2:29:37 GMT
AJ blinked a bit, seemingly caught in between James and William now. She typically, especially with three older brothers, could go an entire school year without even a semi-attractive boy talking to her, now there were two very attractive boys talking to her and it was enough to confuse her thoroughly. She looked at James and couldn't help but smile softly at him.
"Trouble in paradise with you and Kens, eh mate?" Will asked. "AJ and I were just about to go find a spot to chat a bit more privately, actually. But maybe we'll find you after midnight and you two can finish whatever it was you were talking about."
AJ looked between both of them and huffed a bit, not quite knowing if she wanted to talk to James if he was, in fact, still going through issues with his ex-girlfriend. But she also certainly hadn't agreed to go anywhere with Will. "I never said that we - I think I'm going to go get myself a soda," she said. "Alone." She took a deep breath and walked in the direction of the bar, wondering if things in the city were always quite so dramatic.
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Post by James Benson on Jan 11, 2016 2:42:28 GMT
Jamie frowned when she left, wondering if he had upset her by allowing Kensi to interrupt their discussion. They had been having a perfectly good time together and he had enjoyed getting to know the fact that she wanted to be a teacher, that her father was a mechanic, and that she likes wrestling - he just didn't think that he was content to leave it at that just now. However, he was torn between wanting to go after her, wanting to respect her wish to go alone, and wanting to put Will in his place for making it seem like things with Kensi were still going on.
He opted to go with the third option, turning to the other young man with a slight glare. "There's nothing between Kensi and I," he stated firmly. "And obviously AJ isn't interested in whatever it is that you're trying to accomplish with her. So I suggest that you leave her alone and find someone else to bother."
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Post by Will Blye on Jan 11, 2016 2:57:23 GMT
Will smirked a bit at James and shrugging a shoulder up. "Maybe, but what's the fun of any of this without a bit of friendly competition. She seemed plenty interested before you came along," Will pointed out. "In fact, I'd be willing to wager that I could accomplish quite a bit with her if I put my mind to it," he told him easily. "What do you say, James? How about we have a bit of fun?"
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Post by James Benson on Jan 11, 2016 3:07:15 GMT
It was a dangerously slippy slope, he knew. If Jamie were to agree to what Will was proposing, if they had gotten to a point where they got in a competition over this girl, he wasn't sure how it was going to end up. There was no doubt in his mind that he would win though he knew that there was the potential of accidentally hurting AJ all the same. "No," he said decisively. "It's not fun if someone gets hurt, Blye. And I think that what you're asking to do is play a dangerous game involving an innocent girl."
Shaking his head, he looked over at her for a moment, wondering if it would be okay if he had gone against her wish to get a drink on her own. "Just leave her alone."
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Post by Will Blye on Jan 11, 2016 3:27:15 GMT
Will rarely got along with the other guys at school. There were a few - boys on the soccer team and from his classes that were a bit meeker - that laughed at Will's jokes and did what he told them to do. But then there were guys like Brody Finn and James Benson - born with the same silver spoon that came with being the best of the best, as far as they were concerned. Everyone - and really, that means everyone - liked Brody. Girls wanted to date him, guys wanted to be his best friend. And as for James - he was just so well behaved compared to the rest of them.
Frowning at James, he shook his head. "I can't promise that, I also can't promise she'll be that innocent when I'm through, James. But I'll tell you what, I'll give you tonight. Seal the deal, or she's fair game." Will offered, thinking there was no reason why he couldn't make two games out of this, he'd just have to tell Sloane that there were going to have to extend the terms of their bet.
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Post by James Benson on Jan 11, 2016 15:06:42 GMT
The way that Will had said it had caused the statement that she wouldn't be that "innocent when I'm through" to repeat in his head for a moment. No matter how long he had or hadn't known AJ, he didn't think that anyone deserved to be pulled into the sort of games that Will Blye liked to play. As an outsider, he had seen it happen to Ellie Tyler, and everyone knew about the resounding punch that had been delivered by her sister. For his comment about AJ alone, he felt the compulsion to hit him now too, but he refrained, instead just trying to ignore anything that the other boy had said.
"Just stay away from her," he told Will before walking off in the direction of AJ. He walked up beside her, giving her a small smile. "I'm sorry, again. I'm sure this is not the quiet evening that you were expecting when you were dragged here." Looking down at the bar top for a moment, he came to the realization that maybe most of the drama she was accidentally getting pulled into had actually been his fault. Maybe, he thought, it made more sense for him to just leave her be. "I can let you get back to your reading - I just wanted to apologize again for all of this."
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Post by A.J. Dogherty on Jan 11, 2016 17:35:37 GMT
AJ made her way to the bar, taking a seat and ordering herself a diet cola and a cup full of cherries. She plucked one up and ate it off the stem when James approached her again. To be honest, she had come to the party in hopes of a quiet enough evening alone with her graphic novel but talking with him had been nice until they’d been abruptly interrupted. Still, it seemed like perhaps there were a lot of things going on in New York City that she wasn’t sure she wanted to be a part of. But when he offered to leave her alone, she let out a breath. “Wait,” she told him. Pursing her lips, she looked around for signs of his ex-girlfriend again before smiling at him. “I like talking to you. You’ve made tonight much more fun than I thought it would be,” she admitted to him.
Chewing on her lip, she held out her cup of cherries towards him. “Want one?” she asked with a soft smile.
Will watched Jamie go before walking back over to Sloane. “This game just became much more interesting,” he informed her. “How about you and I play on the same team?”
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Post by James Benson on Jan 11, 2016 18:48:18 GMT
Jamie grinned when she admitted that she liked talking to him. Putting aside his concerns that Will may have been up to no good, he justified that if he continued to speak with her, then perhaps he could keep her from getting pulled into anything unnecessarily. The truth was that he liked talking more than he expected he might have enjoyed talking to anyone. She brought a breath of fresh air to the repetitive nature of it all, and he couldn't say that it wasn't an unwelcome change.
It had been that sense of uniqueness that had made Kensi seem so appealing, what had driven him to want to get to know her more. But what he was finding was that there was a big difference between being unique and being different. Kensi was unique in the way that she brought a free-spirited attitude to the table, but she was part of his social circle - they went to the same school, they knew the same people, it was just ultimately the same. AJ was different. She wasn't part of the same cycle that his school seemed to live by - the endless repetition of flirting, playing games, and heartbreak - not only was she drama-free, she had a lot in common with him. Opposites attract, he kept reminding himself, but commonalities keep people together.
"Sure," he said with a small laugh, plucking a cherry out of the cup. "So, AJ, you were telling me about your career goals to be a kindergarten teacher. What else should I know about you?"
Sloane couldn't say that she was necessarily surprised to see Will returning to her, having been apparently unable to make too much of an impact on her cousin. She knew that getting AJ to make a move with someone was going to be difficult, she just hadn't figured in the factor that there might have been another boy in the picture. She couldn't say that she was entirely fond of the fact that she felt like she didn't have control over the situation. It was that thought that had made her smirk a little at Will's statement of joining the same team.
"Oh? And how exactly would we do that?" she asked coyly.
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Post by A.J. Dogherty on Jan 11, 2016 23:49:04 GMT
AJ looked at James, smiling at him. "I don't know what else there is to know, truth be told since I'm not from around here I could tell you anything and you wouldn't even know if it was true or not," she joked. Still, she took a sip of her cola and pursed her lips thoughtfully, trying to think of what else there was to tell him. "I'm allergic to coconut," she offered with a grin and shrugged her shoulders. "There's nothing else that's interesting to share, honestly." And she really felt as though that were the truth. Looking around the party, there was a certain flair of ostentatious and opulent that she realized the boy at her side was used to and she felt that, in comparison, she paled to that. She was a bit of a homebody, slightly a tomboy, and a lot of a nerd.
"I have three older brothers," she offered. "And when my dad opened his own garage, he called it Dogherty & Sons, but only Jesse works with him - and me, in the office after school when I'm not babysitting, so it's really Dogherty and son and daughter," she shrugged her shoulder up. "I am horrible at building things. I tried to build a tree house years ago, it was not structurally sound, I broke my arm. Which is also why I've only mastered taking an engine apart, not putting it back together." She hummed trying to think if there was anything else, "Other than that, I can solve a Rubik's cube in under five minutes and everything else is pretty ordinary," she explained. "School, books, work, sports," she chuckled. "I bet your life is much more exciting than mine. Nothing happens on Long Island."
Will grinned at Sloane, glancing back at James and AJ. "How close would you say that you and your cousin are?" he asked her curiously. "Perhaps you could set up your very well-meaning friend up with her and we can both let her know that good old James is only interested in her for the sport of it." The fact that the exact opposite was true beared no difference on his plan. Now that James had involved himself, it felt like an unspoken challenge to Will and he had meant it when he'd said he liked winning.
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Post by James Benson on Jan 12, 2016 1:36:41 GMT
The fact that she wasn't from around her was obvious. And not in any negative ways, it was really more that she kept reminding him of the cute, fun ways that her life differed from his own. Despite the fact that she said that there wasn't much to know, he appreciated the way that she was unlike anyone he knew. She liked working with her hands, it seemed, and she didn't mind working, which he could say differed at times from the people that he knew. Not that he thought that either way was necessarily a bad thing, he just found a change in pace refreshing.
Smiling at her softly, he shook his head. "My life really isn't that exciting," he dismissed. "This is really the most exciting part, actually. I generally tend to be a homebody."
Sloane tilted her head to the side, thinking about his suggestion for a moment. "I think that might be possible," she nodded finally. "AJ and I really are quite close, she's sure to take her cousin's advice on something like this, I would think. It shouldn't be any trouble at all to get her to agree to go out with her. And considering the fact that she doesn't know James very well, it also shouldn't be difficult to convince her that he's nothing but trouble." Smirking at him suddenly, she gave a little shrug of her shoulder. "Not that you would be trouble at all, I suppose?"
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Post by A.J. Dogherty on Jan 12, 2016 2:16:04 GMT
AJ smiled at Jamie, nodding at him in understanding. "I get that, I'm not very big on things like this or even parties in general. My parents told me that I'm the worst teenager - or maybe the best, because I never go out," she admitted. "I'd rather be in reading or watching a movie or wrestling or something," she told him. "Plus, kids are age are shitty, not you or me - but I don't know what it is, hormones or rebellion or reality television - but it's all too much drama," she laughed.
Will smiled at Sloane, "Who me? I'm a perfect gentleman." He lifted his glass to her in cheers. "Let the games begin then. We'll late James have tonight, I suppose. It's only fair."
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Post by James Benson on Jan 13, 2016 1:36:53 GMT
Drama only began to describe the way that things had a tendency to run rampant with his friends, and especially with his sister. And while sometimes, well - most of the time, it was entirely self-inflicted, there were times where it seemed like everyone was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Times like now, when the thought of Will Blye trying to weasel his way into a conversation with AJ. Had things gone much farther, that truly would have been a case of a nice girl being in the wrong place at the right time. Still, he smiled at her, "Well, if you wanted to get out of here -" he stopped himself abruptly, realizing that he wasn't sounding much different from Will after all. "I only meant that if you'd rather go watch a movie, you're welcome to come keep me company. Obviously my parents are out tonight, and I'm not sure how your parents would feel about you leaving this lively party," he added that part sarcastically, "but if you wanted to, I wouldn't mind making an escape from here."
Sloane nodded, "It would be fair, I suppose. But where does that put us, then? With no games to play and you having effectively pulled me away from my friends. Should I go find them or did you have an idea how to keep me entertained?"
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Post by A.J. Dogherty on Jan 14, 2016 1:59:00 GMT
Will smirked at Sloane, "I have a few ideas on entertaining you, but I'm also always open to creative suggestion," he told her with a grin.
AJ looked at James for a moment, her cheeks flushing a bit at his offer. "I'd like to," she told him honestly. "But I don't think that my parents would like it very much," she said honestly. "But if you wanted to keep me company here, I'd like that," she added. "Unless you wanted to make a solo escape." She wasn't sure why she was still talking, but she was. "I mean, you shouldn't feel obligated."
Everett had spoken to Adam Tyler about dating Ellie and while her father hadn't been thrilled with the idea, Everett had made it clear that he was going to work to prove that he could be good to Ellie. So, he was excited to introduce Ellie to a few old friends from school as his girlfriend and thought that she might just like it too. As he lead her to the party, he smiled at her. "You look beautiful, by the way," he complimented her before looking around. "There's James," he pointed out, eyes narrowing as he saw the younger boy with a different girl. As he glanced around further, "And there's Kensi." He heaved a sigh. "Oh boy." He grinned at Ellie, "How long do you think we can go undetected and just enjoy our night?" he joked.
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