RP: You Can Dance if You Want To

[harley_jordan]

Date: August 19, 2011
Characters: Harley Jordan, Ariel Crabtree, Thad Jordan, Gabriel Long, Kudzu Emory, Stephen Ross, Duck Reese (NPC), anyone else
Location: Muse
Status: Public
Summary: Harley wants to kick back and have a good time on her birthday. Which means inviting some people clubbing and not making an issue of the fact that it's her

Comments

[kudzu_emory]

Kudzu wasn't quite sure how he'd wound up being invited to Harley's party, but he didn't have enough friends in Texas yet to start alienating any of them. So he went home after work, showered and tried to find something in his closet that wasn't covered in paint. He'd managed to come up with dark wash jeans and a button up shirt he sometimes wore to meet clients. The shoes he couldn't do anything about, but he rather liked his heavy work boots and figured the steel toes would come in handy if the place was particularly crowded. He was short enough that people often stepped on his feet before they noticed he was there. He had a small envelope in his pocket, still not sure if one still gave gifts after one was in their twenties, but figured it couldn't hurt. It wasn't much anyway, just a gift certificate to a car accessory website he'd found and thought Harley might like since that's about all he knew about her.

He spotted Thad after he got inside. Taking a few deep breaths to maintain calm in the loud space, he approached him.

"Hey."

[thaddeus_jordan]

Thad had located Ariel and Harley and was on the point of heading over when Kudzu approached him. "Hey man," he said, trying not to be amused at how out of his depth Kudzu seemed. Thad was at home in a crowd, or at least he'd used to be enough to fake it until it was comfortable again, but Kudzu was a quiet type.

He smiled easily at him. "You good?"

[kudzu_emory]

Kudzu shifted uncomfortably, aware that he probably looked nearly as out of place as he felt, but didn't much care. Night clubs had never been on his list of places to hang out. It had always seemed like something his mother might do.

"Yeah, I'm good." Wouldn't do to actually admit it outloud though. "You must be sick of seeing my face."

[thaddeus_jordan]

"Nothing wrong with your face." Thad quirked a grin. "Nah, I'm not tired of you yet. Don't really tire of people easily." Things had been pretty lonely inside.

"So do you drink?" It wasn't something that really came up at work, much as they tended to smoke together. But if he did, maybe it'd mellow him a little.

[kudzu_emory]

"A beer here or there." Getting drunk was definitely out. "I have to drive myself home anyway, so I'll keep it light."

He loosened his shoulders a little, Thad was a soothing presence.

[thaddeus_jordan]

"Well, let's go get a beer here or there, then." Thad nodded and then gestured to the bar; he liked to have a drink in his hand if he was partying. He spotted Harley talking to Duck and sent her a nod and a grin.

They approached the bar and Thad held up two fingers for the bartender. "So what are you usually up to on the weekends? When you're not club-hopping," he said with a glint in his eye.

[kudzu_emory]

"You're hilarious." He leaned against the bar as he weighted, wondering if he should have put his hair back as it swung over his face. "Eh. I'm boring. Watch movies mostly, read pot boiler mysteries. You?"

[thaddeus_jordan]

Thad laughed and crossed his elbows on the bar. "Been watching a lot of TV actually," he admitted. "Not usually my thing, but five years away...I missed a lot of stuff. It's kind of crazy, all these things that are out that I've never even heard of. Can't believe The Simpsons is still on, though." He took one of the two bottles the bartender slid their way. "Haven't even started on movies."

[kudzu_emory]

"I don't watch tv." He laughed. "So you're probably further up on things then me. Same with movies. I only catch them when they get out on DVD. Peony sends me a batch every Christmas otherwise, I'd be watching black and whites and not much else."

He took the beer and pulled a long sip, enjoying the carbonation.

[thaddeus_jordan]

"It's kind of weird to have time for it. Never used to," he said with a shrug, taking a drink. "Used to be I'd watch a game here and there or a fight, you know? That'd be it."

He jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward the door. "So you like old stuff, black and white? Pretty sure they show those here."

[kudzu_emory]

"I saw the ad outside. I dunno though. I haven't actually sat in a theater in like...years." He shrugged. "Could be interesting though. Seem to be doing all sorts of shit I've never done before recently."

"Yeah, sudden amounts of free time, huh? Might have to get a hobby."

[thaddeus_jordan]

"You should try it. Popcorn's the best part," he said with a grin. "And it doesn't have to be all social if you don't want it to be."

"Ha. Yeah my ah, old hobbies don't really fit anymore." It was more like he thought they might fit a little bit too well. He sipped again and wiped his mouth with the back of his free hand. "Trying to get back into some stuff I used to be into, though. Used to play a little basketball, do some boxing. Inside I took up knitting." He laughed. "Which is a hell of a thing to get into, I know."

[kudzu_emory]

"It's not the..." He shrugged. He didn't need to lay his hangups all over Thad, not at a party. "Yeah, you're right really. I should give it a shot. Might be nice to see 'em on a big screen."

"Knitting?" He grinned. "I can quilt. My Aunties used to make me help. So I've got not a place to judge upon."

[thaddeus_jordan]

"Nothing like the big screen," he agreed, drinking his beer and not pressing when Kudzu trailed off.

"Now I feel better," he said with a chuckle, then moved a shoulder. "I dunno, I just tend to drift towards intricate stuff like that. Sort of like tattooing. I'd do it for people sometimes. Anything with my hands." And inside they'd done a knitting program for inmates, which meant knitting needles were a hell of a lot easier to come by than jury-rigged tattoo equipment that were actually sanitary. "Might pick it up again, so don't be surprised if I start sporting some new hats or bring you some mittens." He was joking, at least, he was pretty sure he was joking.

[kudzu_emory]

"I can show you some of the finer bits of carpentry if you're interested." He grinned. "Always been my favorite thing to do with my hands and it can make us some money if we can produce nice molding faster."

[thaddeus_jordan]

"Finer bits, what; like carving things?" He'd noticed some of the molding along the ceilings at the condos they were working on, and had wondered if they were done by hand or not. He smiled. "Why not? I'm game."