He pulled his own phone from his pocket. "Yeah, it's about nine thirty." He said, looking over at her. "Why?" They were unsure if maybe she wanted to go back. Was she bored of their company? He didn't blame her, if that was the case. He would get bored of their company too.
"When do you have to go home?" She asked, looking back down at them. Her legs were crossed on the log, hands placed flat in the space created by the pretzel shape of them. She didn't have a curfew. Her mom knew she was careful, and safe. Confident in her abilities to either avoid trouble, or make it safely out of it. And the rule was, if Con was even slightly concerned or worried, she should and was welcome to call her mom.
"I'm feeling up to a small adventure before I leave tomorrow. Like…an appetizer adventure. Before a bigger one, you know? And it's always nice to have company on adventures."
They considered the question. Their mom was too out of it a lot of the time to really care what he was doing; it was a small miracle that they hadn't gotten lost or kidnapped as a child, and they knew it. "I don't have a curfew." he said slowly, shrugging a shoulder. "And I'd be willing to go on this adventure, if you tell me beforehand what you have planned. If it's drugs, than I'm sorry, but you'll be going alone. I don't…I'm not getting mixed up in all that."
Con, for a moment, looked absolutely appalled and offended. "Drugs are a bad adventure. There's not much fun in losing your mind to something that tastes or smells horrible, if you ask me." She said, tone properly offended. "Anyway, there's a Shakespeare in the park happening at ten, and we can make it in time if we hurry, it's pretty close to here. Or we could go to a museum, those are so fun at night. My third option has to be a surprise, but it's mostly legal and won't involve substance abuse or you getting mugged, don't worry."
They perked up at the mention of Shakespeare. "I would love to see Shakespeare in the park." he said with a little smile, thinking of the tattoos they bore and the worn copies of Shakespeare on the shelves of their room. "If you're alright with attending it with an admitted Shakespeare nerd."
(djgskbjdh Lucian eventually awkwardly flirting by quoting romantic-ish Shakespeare lines "shall i compare thee to a rose")
((i think it's fairly obvious responses are gonna be weird for a couple weeks while im gone lol. also dchd con would think it's sweet even if the actual context is a lil oop))
Con made a mental note of the excitement, doing her best to file it away. She might never come back to California, but she was starting to hope she might. Lucian was cool. Like the kind of person she could imagine herself being actual, honest friends with. And if she ever saw them again, knowing things he liked was important.
Shaking her thoughts away with a confident smile, she sort of threw herself off the log while grabbing their hand to tug him up. "I've been hearing about this for like two weeks straight from one of the actors–friend of mine. I think I can handle you being into it. All it really means is you'll actually appreciate it." She stated, not letting go of their hand as she took off down the sand. "We have just enough time to stop by a convenience store, too. I'll get Charlie his empanadas, and we can get some 'movie'–" She made air quotes with her free hand. "–snacks. What kind of snacks do you like?"
(that's fine, have fun! dkgbh yeah lol. I just have this picture of him just. using Shakespeare when he's anxious and she's just staring at them like "why are you reciting a whole three pages of Hamlet off the top of your head" and he goes "I'm stressed, leave me alone" and then continues with the monologue lmao)
Lucian let her pull them up. "Probably a cream soda and salt and vinegar chips, why?" he asked as they walked alongside her, back towards the party. "And do you have a vehicle or how shall we be getting around?" he had caught a ride with someone who he was sort of friends with, and they figured they would just send a text to said friend, letting the friend know that they had a ride and not to worry. "I don't have a vehicle, I caught a ride with a friend."
((local demigod recites the entirety of hamlet, act 2, before their mid terms))
"So I don't forget to grab them, obviously." She said, like it should have been obvious. With the faster pace, they approached the party a lot quicker than they'd left it. "Well, I was going to walk, it's close enough. But I can get a ride. I'll make sure you get home safe, and before one in the morning. And with all your shoes."
As they made their way into the crowd of party-goers, Con kept a tight but not uncomfortable grip on Lucian's hand. Her other hand generally appeared to stay at her side. She briefly bumped into someone, some guy who was obviously three sheets to the wind and looked about to pass out, but kept going at a steady pace. By the time they cleared the crowd a few minutes later, heading up the small hill towards the beach lot, Con lifted her hand, a set of keys dangling from it.
She'd made sure to slip the guy her number to get his car back, of course. But he was too drunk to be driving anyway.
"I'll drive. Do you have a license on you? I have one, it's just Italian."
(kgsdbfkhb yes. Lucian, in midterms, muttering under his breath– "to be or not to be, that is the question" while doing math problems lmao)
"I have a license on me, yes, why?" he asked. He blinked at the news that she had one, just Italian. He hadn't been expecting it to be Italian, obviously. "Have you made sure it's legal to use an Italian passport in America?" they queried, cocking his head faintly at Con.
"It's not a passport, just a license. I have…dual citizenship." She didn't mention where exactly those places were. To be honest, she wasn't even sure herself. She'd been born in Greece, but traveled so often that nowhere really meant home. Somehow, she was able to go anywhere, for any amount of time. That was probably her dad's doing. "An Italian license is valid in the U.S., it's just that most police officers in the U.S don't read Italian, so that can be an issue. So if we somehow get pulled over, you can vouch or whatever." Con clicked the unlock button on the fob, following the noise to an old Chevy truck. "Oh, nice."
"My bad, got confused for a second. I mean license." he replied with a quiet laugh, following her towards the car. They raised an eyebrow a little at her last comment, wondering why she seemed surprise at her own vehicle. They had assumed it was her vehicle, anyway, since it was strange if it wasn't her vehicle.
If asked, Con probably would have admitted to lifting someone's keys. Sure, it wasn't exactly moral. But she never returned anything in bad shape, and always made sure things were returned. So there was that. But Lucian didn't ask, and she didn't tell.
"My passport is Greek." She said, climbing into the driver's seat. There was a half consumed energy drink in the front cup holder, and she made a note to buy the owner a new one before returning the car. Two. Two made her next action–picking up the can to drink out of it–a lot better. "'Cause like, technically that's what I am. Not technically, just actually, but I haven't been back in a few years. Does two count as a few, or would that be a couple?"
"Two is a couple. Like we're a couple." They replied, then realized that that was not a good comparison. "Er– not that we're a couple! I'm just saying. We're a couple people, not a couple. Uhm. Yeah." He cleared his throat awkwardly, hoping she wasn't offended or upset by his words.
"I think it would be a couple of people." She said, tilting her head as she thought about it. Not seeming to notice his worry, she carried on, unconcerned with the accidental implication. "So it's a couple years, not a few. And I mean, we probably look like a couple to people who are into assuming. There's a lot of those out there. Hop in, we've got Shakespeare to see! They're doing Taming of the Shrew, that one's my favorite. Mostly because I like Ten Things I Hate About You."
He nodded slightly. "Yeah, of course. Oh, I don't believe I've seen Taming of the Shrew. I've seen plenty of others, but not that one specifically, I don't think." They ran a hand through their hair, pausing when they got to the truck.
"To be fair, it's got so many issues, on the topic of the main plot. I prefer the movie because it's at least better than the hot mess of the Katherina and Petruchio plot. Imagine managing to destroy a woman's personality and individuality in it's entirety." Con said, a semi-disgusted look on her face. "I wonder if Charlie's troupe is planning on changing any of that, or leaving it as is. Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, that's true. Shakespeare was, however, very much constrained by the… attitude of his day towards women, people of color, and queer people. Of those categories, I fit two, which can make it a little difficult sometimes, when the only people of color in Shakespeare are usually evil or violent, but that's a discussion for another time. However. I will go to my grave insisting that Shakespeare had to be bi, because…I mean. Come on. There's so much evidence for it." They said with a laugh.
As they loaded up, Con started up the truck, making a face and adjusting the seat. "Seatbelt. It's his only comedy that's like that though, right? Aren't the others generally pro-equality and listening to women? I read somewhere that if you compare them to his tragedies, it's listening to the women that lets everything end up well. I don't know enough about Shakespeare to really back that up myself though."
Then they were pulling out of the parking spot, Con using the manual crank to roll the window down and let in the warm night air. Mixed with the smell of salt water and faint smoke from the bonfire, there was a sort of serene vibe about the whole thing. The radio came on to a country music station and Con snorted, turning it down just enough for it to be background noise.
"You're gonna like this. Charlie's troupe really knows how to capture the essence of Shakespeare."
He fastened their seatbelt, cocking his head at her faintly, then nodded. "Yeah, that is strange. I don't know why that's the only play of his that seems to be like that, because you're right, for his time Shakespeare did very well with his treatment of women. Although, ah, that final point could be argued, because in the uh, the Scottish play, everything goes to hell in a handbasket because the main character listened to his wife. So you could make that argument as well." they smiled a little. "I hope that I like it too."
"That one's an outlier and can't be counted. Though, all she really did was influence him. He made his decisions." She said, shaking her head. "Personally, I don't commit murder no matter how much someone tells me to. Oh, look at that dog!" Pointing, she grinned at the sight of someone walking a dog. "When I was a kid, I really wanted to get one. We couldn't 'cause we moved a lot, and mom said that's unfair to an animal. She's right. They're still cute though."
((do we want to do the grocery store bit, or skip to after the show, in a few responses?))
"Yeah, dogs are great." Lucian agreed. "And yes, you're correct in your point about the play, I suppose." He smiled faintly, running a hand through their hair with a faint sigh.
(Sounds good! Sorry for the small response)
((is that a yes to the skip lmao?))
(yeah lmao)
"That was like, ten times better than the original. Full offense to Mr. Shakespeare."
Con's clapping would have drowned out her words, paired with the clapping of the people around them, if she hadn't leaned over to speak closer to Lucian. The paper bag of snacks sat at their feet, half of them opened and munched on. All in all, it had been an honestly fun time. Between the show, which had featured an extra scene involving Katherina leaving Petruchio and leaving their home unsecured to allow a rowdy group of sailors to rob it, and the atmosphere created by sitting on a blanket on the grass under a starry summer sky, it was enjoyable.
As the cast took their final bow together, Con scooped up the bag in one arm. She tossed the blanket over her shoulder, and grabbed Lucian's hand once more. This time to drag him toward the stage. "Come on! I have to introduce you to Charlie. He was Tranio! Disguised as as Luciento for that huge chunk of the play. He's–Charlie!"
They reach the out door stage, and Con just barely managed to let go of Lucian's had and set the bag down before being practically attacked by a tall boy with bleach-blonde hair. He scooped her up–not that that would be hard, she was pretty light–and swung her in circles while hugging her.
"You came!"
"I've made it to every other!"
"Well, yeah." He said, setting her down finally. He was definitely taller than 6 feet, and his face was lit up with an excited grin. His energy matched Con's perfectly, the two somewhat like puppies greeting each other. "But you said you had that party, for that Sam girl. I didn't know if you'd be here. And you brought a friend. Let me guess, you met them just tonight?"
"Yeah, but we're bros now." Con stated matter of factly, shooting Lucian a grin. "Lucian, this is Charlie! Charlie, this is Lucian, my new partner in crime. I'm starting a gang." She told Lucian.
Lucian smiled in agreement. "It certainly was good, but I'm not sure anything can beat the original. I say this out of loyalty to Mr Shakespeare." He replied, but went quiet as he listened to Con rattle on and on, then looked at Charlie, nodding faintly. "It's nice to meet you, Charlie." They said with a quick smile. At Con's words about a gang, which they hoped were a joke, they said, "I think I'm the entertainment, then, as my skills are limited to art, music, and poetry. Not exactly prime gang material, I don't think." He laughed a little, a smile tugging at his lips as he spoke.
"Every gang needs someone to act as levity." Con said somberly, her grin replaced by a very serious expression. "Organized crime is scary and stressful as is. You need something to ground you. Anyway!" Once again back to her cheerful self, she dropped into a crouch to dig through the bag and give Charlie his food. "Charlie's been acting since he was three!"
"'tis true." Charlie said with a nod. "My moms are both actors. A lot of secondary character appearances between the two, but one of them is set to play a leading roll in this new TV show about farmers in the apocalypse, which she's wicked excited for, 'cause she was raised on a farm. You do art, what kind? Any acting?"
"I don't…I don't know. I'm a little too shy for acting, I think. I meant like, drawing, painting. That sort of art. Also poetry, like I said. I like reciting poetry, if that counts?" He laughed faintly, running their hands through their hair and looking over at Charlie. "But acting has always seemed really cool to me, it's great that you can do that and that you enjoy it."
"Maybe that's it." Charlie mused. "I'm just overbearingly outgoing, and that's why I act. I'm a spot-light lover." He added, laughing at his own joke. "I think reciting it counts fine. Of course I do, that's seventy percent of my thing, right? Memorizing words and reciting them with the right tone. The rest is being good looking."
"I always fall off of stages." Con chimed in, looking up from the bag with a lopsided smile. "But memorizing things is so hard, too. There's so many words and memorizing them all seems like its impossible. Not to mention my brain is too filled up with languages. I think learning those is enough of that for me. There's an after party, Lucian. Would you rather go there, or me take you somewhere? Home or anywhere, really."
Lucian blinked at the rather abrupt change of subject, raising their eyebrows faintly. "Oh, the after-party sounds fine." He replied with a quick little smile. "But if you don't want to, then that's fine too." He looked at Charlie, nodding a little. "Well then yeah, I guess I'm a bit of an actor." They chuckled quietly, smiling a little.
"We'll have you recite sonnets on stage. Maybe you could narrate." Charlie said, holding up his hand for a high five. Con quickly stood, slapping his hand even though the gesture wasn't meant for her, before shaking her hair out.
"After party it is. I hope there's shrimp. I love cocktail shrimp." Con paused for a moment, apparently daydreaming about cocktail shrimp.
Charlie, meanwhile, lowered his hand after the high five from Lucian. "She'll be busy for at least a minute. You ever want her to do anything, cocktail shrimp is the way to convince her. If you're rich, try any precious material. So, you from around here?" He had scooped up the bag, guiding a spacey Con with a hand on her shoulder and motioning for Lucian to follow. "If you're going to say 'what are you, a cop?', I'd like to warn you that Con already made that joke. Fiend."