Wednesday Night at The Catscratch Club

[poison_lipstick]

The day was coming to a close as they opened the club, and it was a day that had just gotten weirder and weirder by the gorram second. Saffron had woken up with a boyfriend who was suddenly gay, had come across an ex-husband who was uncommonly cheery, and had made out with Major Perfect himself (who was no longer acting near as perfect) - and that

Comments

[getemtiger]

Though Mary Jane would not have classified the club that night as 'business as usual,' she, being one of the lucky, unaffected people, had shown up to the club just as she otherwise would have. For her, unlike so many others, the day had been a fairly normal one. People had said this sort of event happened fairly frequently; she, on the other hand, could still barely wrap her head around the concept, and was preferring thus far to act as if everything was normal. The task wasn't a particularly hard one.

It was because of that, perhaps, that she was barely thinking about what was going on when she got up to sing. At least for now, everything was just as it ought to be.

[For Peter/plot.]

[daretodo]

The music starts and I quietly excuse myself from my guests with a hushed, "I'll be right back." I slink around to the back, brushing past my fellow patrons, as I come up one of the sides of the club. After all, my entrance doesn't need to be dramatic so much as it needs to be sudden.

It's when Mary Jane opens her mouth, about to sing, that I finally spot my opening. Noticing the piano's free, I settle down behind the keys and lay down a riff that'd make Elton John jealous. Turning towards MJ, I lean into the mic and I say, "This is for you."

[getemtiger]

So engrossed was she in preparing to sing that she didn't notice Peter's approaching until he was playing the piano. Suddenly distracted, she turned to gape at him, confused and already a little hurt. Even if they hadn't talked, she'd seen him at the club the nights she sang; for him to be interrupting like this, though, let alone saying that it was for her, didn't seem like him at all.

She didn't say anything yet, waiting to see what he was doing, but it was apparent enough what he was thinking. Something wasn't right, and she was pretty sure she had an idea of what it was.

[daretodo]

I play another couple of measures, infusing a real sorta jazzy groove into the whole piece, because I want to make this performance memorable -- to say the least. But figuring I've gone on long enough, now, I do a quick run down the keys and I shout out, "Double time!"

The music picks up a notch -- well, a lot of notches, actually -- and I hop down from the stage, landing on one of the spindly circular tables that litter this place. I go from table to table with the sort of agility that's impressive -- but not too impressive. I can't risk compromising my secret identity for the sake of getting even, after all. I pluck someone's drink right outta their hand -- "Thanks." -- and take a swig from it before I toss it down to a completely different someone. I don't hear the sound of shattered glass, so I assume they catch it. Not that any of that matters.

Leaping from one last table, I land with a foot propped up on the back of a chair, using the momentum to slide forward on it a good ten feet, before it's my stop, so to speak.

[waltsnothereman]

For a nerd, he sure knew how to live it up, Wanda had to give him that. Grinning as she took the offered hand, she winked at the rest of their little party and let herself be led over to an empty spot between the tables, wrapping her left arm over Peter's shoulder. God, she hadn't danced in ages.

[daretodo]

I rest my hand at the small of her back, pressing her in closer to me, as we dance in a slow circle. I dip her, once, leaning forward a little myself in the process. Then, sliding my hand down her side, I very pointedly pull up her leg so she can hook it on my waist.

[waltsnothereman]

Practically wrapping herself around Peter, she hummed contentedly in time to the music as he spun them once, twice, before going in for another low dip. Every single pair of eyes in the club was on them (and for very good reason, at that) and Wanda was just drinking the attention in.

[daretodo]

The song comes to an end and I dip Wanda one last time, my hand supporting her back. But my eyes aren't on her. Oh, no, they're on the stage, looking for Mary Jane's reaction to my whole little show.

[getemtiger]

Peter's looking up at her was the last straw, so to speak, a way of adding insult to injury. No matter what was going on here, there was no way he couldn't know what this was doing to her. Mary Jane had barely moved the whole time he was pulling his little stunt, and she couldn't bring herself to now, either, staring wide-eyed. If he was looking to see what she thought of the whole thing, it was more than clear by her expression that she was nothing less than crushed. She'd known things would never be quite what she wanted between them, but that didn't mean she could have expected anything like this.

[waltsnothereman]

Following his gaze up to the stage as she straightened herself out, Wanda looked momentarily confused by the wounded-looking redhead.

"That was all for her?"

After reflecting on that for a moment, she just smirked and leaned over to plant a kiss on Peter's cheek. "Hell of a show, wasn't it?" she added, not waiting for an answer before sauntering off to rejoin their table.