[February 15th, the Catscratch Club]

[turnthebadinme]

Spotted: Nate Archibald, birthday boy extraordinaire. When in doubt, it's been said, turn to the local strip club. It may not exactly be tea and cupcakes or dinner at Socialista, but with the alcohol flowing and friends around, who cares? I'm sorry, was that sappy? Call me nostalgic, but put these Upper East Siders in a club and I just know all my

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[throw_it_off]

It was his birthday! Well, was his birthday, since it had actually happened a couple of days ago, but Nate couldn't complain. Not when he had new friends gathered around who wanted to be there just to be there, not to grace the society pages or get caught by Gossip Girl. There were no presents -- not that Nate could see -- and no extravagance. Just food and drinks, music and people, and maybe a dance for the birthday boy if he was lucky.

[wizard_alive]

"Oh, hey!" Nita smiled as she saw Nate. She... didn't really remember that much about New Years, but there were a couple of things she did remember - and with the amount of time she saw Serena, she'd seen him around, too.

"Happy birthday! I hope it's a good one."

[throw_it_off]

"Hey," he replied, smiling brightly at Nita. "Thanks. I hope so too. It's going well so far, huh?" Grinning, he nodded back at the bar. "Hey, can I get you something to drink or are you good?"

[wizard_alive]

Nita made a face at him, still smiling. "Shouldn't I get you something? I mean, it's your birthday, right?" She looked around. "And yeah. It does seem pretty awesome, actually."

[throw_it_off]

"Yeah, but I got everything I need," Nate assured her with a grin. "And I wanna see everyone at my party enjoying themselves."

[wizard_alive]

Nita eyed him for a moment, then nodded. "I... guess I do need a drink, but- I mean." She paused. "I could come with you?" It was double the case of the person who's birthday it was waiting on people, and Nita wasn't really used to the 'other people get you drinks' thing yet.

She grinned, shaking her head. "I know, I sound like a total dork."

[throw_it_off]

"Nah," Nate assured her as he took her hand, intending to lead them through the small crowd to the bar. "You sound nice. And like you're looking out for yourself," he joked. "Who knows what could happen to me between here and there."

[wizard_alive]

Nita laughed. "Random dinosaur." She paused, and shook her head. "Or, you know. Somebody wanting to make your birthday a good one. Somehow, I think the latter is more likely." She smiled, following him through the crush of people.

"How old are you? I mean, unless you've hit that age when you don't tell anymore." Her eyes sparkled with humor.

[throw_it_off]

"Oh wow," he laughed, arching his eyebrows in mock hurt. "I look that old already? Come on, I'm only 18. Don't make me sound like a dirty old man."

[wizard_alive]

Nita laughed. "No, I'd say probably... twenty? Maybe? I don't know, I've always been bad at guessing other people's ages." She made a face at him. "You'd have to be doing something dirty to be one, and thus far..." She shook her head. "I'm not so convinced."

[throw_it_off]

Nate was a little sensitive about the Dirty Old Man thing, thanks to one of his best friends calling him that for hitting on his sister. He laughed it off just as easily as he had reacted to it. "Just don't go looking for me at the end of the night when I've had way more to drink. I make no promises."

[wizard_alive]

Nita stared for just a moment before she blushed to the roots of her hair. "Promise. No looking. Deal?" She looked back at the bar. "What do you want to drink? I mean, it's free, so..." She smiled. "Some night, when it's not, I'll get you one, okay? Community service on me."

[forhawkeye]

Since it is his birthday, it takes me a while to find a second where Nate's on his own and not surrounded by well-wishers dressed in the finest of island couture. Still, it's not like I'm not dressed well enough to fit it, nautical theme aside. I've even gone weaponless for the occasion, a first in my stay here.

Drink in hand, I flash Nate the biggest smile I can muster that doesn't make me look like a crazy person. "Happy Birthday!" I say. "Having fun yet?"

[throw_it_off]

There was a surprised blink, just because the stripes were distracting, especially when on a form fitting dress on Kate. He flashed his own grin back and recovered.

"Thanks," he said. "And hell yeah, I'm having fun. You are too?"

[forhawkeye]

"Hard not to with company like this," I reply, gesturing vaguely to our fellow party-goers. I hook one foot behind my ankle and busy myself with the straw in my drink. "Thanks for the Chianti, by the way. Dare I even ask what sort of dancing you'll be expected to do?"

[throw_it_off]

He laughed, but ducked his head, having enough shame to look a little embarrassed. "I wouldn't ask, if I were you," he said slyly. "You just better have enjoyed it."