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[turnthebadinme]

It might not have been anything they would have done on the Upper East Side, but somehow, Serena felt like the little party they'd assembled was exactly perfect. Since they were celebrating Eric's sixteenth, she wouldn't have settled for anything less. The Winchester seemed like just the right place for a cozy, intimate gathering, small not for the

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[renegade_reaper]

Knowin' who the party was for for once made it easy for Beat to be able to relax an' have a good time. Eric was an aight kid, an' he never hadda problem with him. That he was his girlfriend's brother made it all the more important to him to get along. He knew jus' from havin' a sister of his own how important he was to her.

Food in hand, he found a seat, not exactly goin' to mingle but thinkin' he at least looked approachable. It was a start.

[turnthebadinme]

Laying a hand on his shoulder, Serena bent to kiss him. "Thank you," she murmured, smiling a little. She'd been to a couple things in the last month or so, but this was the first party she'd thrown in her own right since they'd talked about that stuff. It wasn't the usual kind of party, but it still meant a lot to her that he'd come.

[renegade_reaper]

Beat put his pizza down when he realized Serena had come over. She'd been careful to say he didn't have to come. He wouldn't have missed it, even though he'd never admit t hat kinda stuff outloud.

"What, for eatin' the food? I know, I'm good at that, yo," he said, obviously shruggin' off bein' at the party as no big deal. He grinned up at her once she was standin' up straight. "Your brother's lookin' like he's havin' a good time."

[turnthebadinme]

Glancing across the room to where Eric was, Serena smiled. "Yeah, he really does," she said, softly fond. That was all she'd wanted from the night, and with that accomplished, it was easy to relax and not think anymore about whether things were going alright. Sometimes it seemed to her like being here had helped her finally start to be the big sister he deserved.

Drawing out the seat beside him, she brightened up a little, looking back to Beat, her smile turned teasing. "Is this seat taken?"

[renegade_reaper]

He looked like he was actually considerin' the question. Grin eventually showin', he shook his head. "Naw, you can grab it, if you want. Ain't thinkin' seats are set in stone anyway, man."

[turnthebadinme]

"You haven't talked much with Blair, have you?" Serena asked, mock-accusing as she slid into the chair, her hand resting lightly on his arm. She loved her best friend, but the girl could be terrifyingly territorial. Spotting B across the room, she smiled. Eric was almost as much a little brother to her, something for which Serena was grateful. "She'll fight you for a flight of steps."

[renegade_reaper]

"Dunno if you noticed, but I try not to mess with her," he joked, though if he was real honest, there was some truth to it. Last thing he wanted was to get on her best friend's bad side. "Luckily, I ain't ever hadda issue with the seatin' thing. Or anythin' else, really. Kinda glad 'bout that now."

[turnthebadinme]

Serena laughed, a short sound, before pouting a little. "She likes you," she protested. The truth was, Blair didn't pay all that much attention to Beat so far as Serena could see, but that actually came out to roughly the same thing. "Now that she no longer has to worry about walking in on us anyway."

[renegade_reaper]

"Man, I'm even happy 'bout that," he said, soundin' kinda amused. It was awkward jus' havin' her come in when they weren't doin' much but kissin'. He didn't want to think how bad it'd be if it was more than that. "Definitely didn't mind you movin' into that bigger place, gotta say."

[turnthebadinme]

Still sheepish, she wrinkled up her nose a bit. "It's just kind of a miracle we both lived to see the day," she said. "Blair and I aren't very good at sharing." Now the mess was confined to her room, they were doing a lot better at this living together thing.

[renegade_reaper]

"Man, way you're talkin', you're makin' me real glad she don't hate me," he said, lettin' out a laugh. He'd faced a lotta big an' bad things, but he was glad to stay away from that now that he could.

[turnthebadinme]

Serena scoffed, shaking her head. "She's got no reason to," she pointed out. "You make me happy." She'd always thought Dan had made her happy, too, and Blair hadn't been able to stand him anyway, but then, Blair's definitions of basically everything in the world were different from those of normal people. "I think she's got other things to focus on anyway."

[renegade_reaper]

"Good. She oughta keep it that way," he decided. One less thing to worry 'bout was nothin' Beat was gonna mind. "Means all I gotta do is keep up what I'm doin' with you an' I don't gotta worry."

He shot her a grin before takin' another bite of food. Stuff was good, he hadda admit.

[turnthebadinme]

That was the way Serena liked things - easy and carefree - and she nodded, smiling. Dating her came with plenty to worry about, but that rarely crossed her mind. "I like the sound of that," she said lightly. "Besides, I'm the one to be afraid of, not her." She laughed, mostly because it was so vastly untrue, partly because it was nice to joke about something that had, for a few minutes once, seemed all too possible.

[renegade_reaper]

He couldn't help but snort a little at that, which he figured was okay since she laughed, too. He hadda admit, it wasn't often that Serena was even close to intimidating. Even when she was all weird, she was jus' kinda cold. "Oh yeah? You ain't gonna beat me up if I piss you off, are you? Not that I'm plannin' to make you mad, I jus' wanna be prepared for anythin'."

[turnthebadinme]

"Oh, uh huh," she said, nodding, but it was impossible not to giggle just a little at the suggestion. "Definitely, I will beat you up. It'd be terrifying." It wasn't like she was some weakling or anything, but the very notion of actually physically fighting someone was just so ridiculous to her. It had rarely been an option, in part because her fights had mostly ever been with girls like Blair.