Leonard Densmore's Story

Len finally pulled up to his destination. He was never good in car rides. Especially when he was driving. He could've gotten Drake or Calvin, one of his brothers, to drive him, but he'd sooner die than tell them where he was going. They would've laughed and laughed till they pissed themselves and then some. So, he just asked Calvin to borrow his Dodge for a bit, and the idiot agreed without a hassle. That was one perk about having stupid brothers. Well, more stupid than Len was himself. 

As he parked and took out the only bag he'd decided to bring, he paled when he saw people standing in a circle, looking all happy and shit. Len might've seemed like a real badass, but he was no good, no good with strangers. But that's why he'd come, wasn't it? To meet that perfect stranger?

So, he dragged the wheeled black suitcase across the ground as he slowly made his way up to them. Lucky as he was, he managed to miss every introduction. Instead of being normal and telling them his name, he just stood there, silent. 

Like an idiot. 

Jordan watched as more and more girls showed up. She gave them a cold glare, making sure they knew she wasn't interested. She couldn't care less even if guys came... Then some guys showed up, her mind set was slightly altered. There were three guys so far. One had black hair, one was not her type, but the other? The last one to arrive somehow intrigued her. She noticed he seemed like herself. She had separated herself from the group after Danielle or "Dani" had arrived.

She hated large groups, she didn't like being around people much. She was sitting off to the side when she saw the blonde walk over to the group. She had seen everyone else talk or introduce them self. But that guy didn't. She picked up her yellow back pack and rummaged through it. She dug out her black pen and started to outline some of her tattoos. Being a loner. That's what she always did. It's what she always does. I guess that's just Jordan.

Alexandria

A redhead was the next to arrive on the scene. Alex admired her hair and smiled. She had always been in love with red hair and she never quite knew why. She was about to tell the girl that she loved her hair, when she stopped herself. 'Now is not the time to be socially awkward Alex' she thought. Before she could think any more about the fact that she was socially inept, another woman walked up. 'Wow. I feel under dressed' she thought with a smirk. 'But she looks quite lovely in yellow.' she thought. Alex couldn't help but admire people before meeting their personality. It was something her Ex hated about her. She brushed that thought aside, 'I'm not here to think about Spencer, i'm here to try and have a good time' she thought, standing straighter. Alex shook Dani's hand awkwardly and quietly responded "Alexandria, but I prefer Alex" Her attention was caught when she heard a car lock beep. 'Wow. We're all pouring in at the same time' she thought. 'It must be fate' she laughed to herself. As the man approached Alex gauged him. 'Probably gay' she thought simply, relying on her intuition. She would never ask or bring it up.

"Alex" she replied softly. ONLY SPEAK WHEN YOU'RE SPOKEN TO' a voice yelled in her head. Alex flinched momentarily, waiting for a slap that wouldn't come, but regained her composure quickly. She had hoped nobody noticed. Another man entered the scene and he seemed to be funny and charming. He introduced himself as 'Jadie-bear'. Alex couldn't picture herself calling him that but she nodded at what he said. The next man walked up silently and just stood with the group. 'Interesting' she thought, noticing the way he was standing. 'Doesn't like new settings? New people?' she thought curiously, but her thoughts were interrupted once more by another guest. The woman's personality made her smile. Mischievous with a hint of sassiness.

Jason smiled when the group got larger. He always did enjoy groups. Although, he got slightly bored, and shuffled off to one of the smaller walls. He hopped up onto it, and made it look like a great effort - Mainly for the comedy effect - And put his headphones in his ears. He put on random play for his I-Pod, and then he remembered his headphones weren't plugged in.

The music started to play, and seemed to be directed towards the group. He froze up, and stared at the i-Pod in disdain..

"Põdral maja metsa sees
väiksest aknast välja vaatab
jänes jookseb kõigest väest
lävel seisma jääb
kopp-kopp lahti tee
metsas kuri jahimees
jänes tuppa tule sa
anna käppa ka"

His face contorted to one of embarrassment, and he switched the song. The next one wasn't much better.

"Somebody call 9-1-1, Shorty's fire burning on the dance floor, Oh-Whoah-Ohh. ~"

Jason turned his I-Pod off, and simply stared at the group. "My bad." He muttered.

Amelia's sister finally pulled up to the mansion she would be spending quite alot of her time from now on. She turned to her sister and said "do I really have to-" before she could finish her sister said " Amelia-Rose you are going here, you will enjoy it and that's the end of it. Besides you might meet someone special here." Amelia looked back at the masion and muttered under her breath " I seriously doubt it". As Amelia started to get out of th car her sister drafts her back in and gave her a big hug. Amelia felt her cheeks slowly turn a bright shade of red. She just pushed ysandrie away. Amelia got out of the car, got her suitcase out of the boot and waved her sister on. Ysandrie was grinning like a chesire cat as she drove away.

Amelia finally made it inside the mansion and looked for a mirror and as she suspected she was as red as beetroot. She walked in to the nearest room and saw a bunch of other people there and suddenly she felt self conscience as she studied the other girls she thought " how am I going to find someone when I'm not the prettiest girl here am I". Amelia sighed. She put her suitcase next to the door and sat on one of the couches right on the corner she looked around. She smiled an awkward smile. She smoothed the red dress she was in out, it matched her lipstick. She also gave an awkward kind of wave and she was waiting to for someone to speak to her because she just know she would make a fool of herself if she came across to eager as she never really wanted to be here anyway but not she was here she might as well stay.

As she looked around the only guy that took peaked her interest was the boy with blond hair. But really how was she supposed to compete with the other girls here, she wasn't the prettiest or the most intelligent she was just average, just Amelia-Rose, almost the same as she always has, and then she feels it the pang of guilt to Luke, like being here was a betrayal but she guessed he would want her to be happy again, wouldn't he??. She heard a voice, this voice pulled her out of her own little world and her own conversation with herself.

"Oh so you play guitar?" Len nodded, pleased to note that the staff member handling said guitar seemed to be doing so appropriately. "I'm pretty good at it, I guess," he mumbled. It was the truth, at least. Even his always-drunk brothers often complimented him on his skill, and he was sometimes even asked to play at the parties he was dragged to. As he followed Michael and the staff member to the kitchen, he blinked and his eyes widened. He wouldn't have imagined anything so... fancy. Well, fancier than what he himself was used to. Michael turned to look at him, and Len suddenly became very interested in the refridgerator handle. "Yeah. Better than the kitchen at my place," he answered with a weak smile. Len was struck with a need to act... decent. He wasn't around his brother's friends. He was around a decent stranger, so he planned to put in the effort to make himself appear just as decent. Which meant no swearing. Meh. He could pull it off. At least, he hoped so.

His attention was called away. Apparently, it was dinner time. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and made his way to the dining room, where he took a seat at the table. He tried to be quiet about it. After all, weren't these strangers supposed to be decent? Len just hoped they weren't staring at him. He hated being stared at. And then... some girl started talking about skillet. He loved Skillet. Monster was his favorite song by them, as a matter of fact. But he didn't say anything, just sighed softly and picked up a glass of water. He started sipping at it slightly and started spacing out.

Alexandria

As more people entered the room Alex became more and more uncomfortable. She didn't like to have so much attention on her. Jason's comment made her want to go back to her room. She didn't want to be THAT couple, she always found that couple obnoxious. It didn't make it any better that Jordan and the new girl were staring at her like she was something out of a horror movie. 'They're just bruises' she thought. Then she heard Sebastian's comment and it made her feel better. "Thank you" she said quietly with a small smile. "What brings you here Sebastian?" she asked politely.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out quick. The text read: 'I see there is more security outside. What did you do Alex? Rat on me? Don't you love me anymore? Oh well, I'll still find a way in. Don't you worry.' Alex shuddered and she knew it could only be from one person. She quickly put her phone back in her pocket and turned her attention back to Sebastian.

As he put down his water for the umpteenth time, Len felt his pocket vibrate. He reached in and pulled out his shitty cellphone and opened it up. Oh God. It was Calvin. Len sighed. He knew that if he hung up, his dumbass brother would only call again. And he want gonna turn his phone off. Hell no. So, he accepted the call. "Hell-"

He was immediately cut of by a voice so loud, he had to hold the phone away from his ear. "LENNAAAAAAAAAAAAY WHAT'S UP BIYATCH?!?!?" Len turned bright red and quickly looked around at the people at the table. 

Of course,Calvin kept talking. Shouting like a drunk, actually. "I AM SMASHED AS FUCK RIGHT NOW. DRAKE'S IN THE CORNER HIGHER THAN A MO-FO- WAIT IMMA GO WAKE HIM UP. HEY! DRAKE! LEN'S ON THE PHONE-"

Len closed that phone and shoved it back in his pocket wordlessly, then turned his attention back to his water. "Wrong number," he muttered, not caring if anyone heard. 

Elizabeth noticed a boy at the table. He seemed distraught by a phone call he had received. She stood up from her spot on the armchair, carefully as to not spill her wine on the white sofa. This was probably white she never drank wine very often, it left a dark red or purpley stain anywhere that it was spilled. She walked over to the dining room table and sat down at one of the many empty seats. She normally wasn't this forward with people but he looked upset and since everyone else was busy with their own conversations and neither her or the stranger had one she figured she should be the one to say something. "Hello," was all she managed at first. She set her glass down on the table gently, trying not to make it clank as it was set down or spill any onto the table. "Are you okay? You seem a little... distraught." She asked him, her voice soft and concerned.

Sebastian nodded to Elle. "Interesting is one word for it. Awful is more like it. I mean Bartholomew, who in the world would actually consider that? It's terrible. " He said. He couldn't imagine being called that through out his entire life. He was fairly sure that his parents had only nixed the name because it didn't fit with their lifestyle and sound like someone who could be a CEO at the head of a large company. He was glad that the conversation seemed to be moving past his name and on to Ellie. When she spoke about her flight being cancelled due to weather he nodded. "That sounds like a bit of a day-ruiner. Waiting at airports all day is pretty awful."

Len looked up, a little startled at the girl that had just walked over to him and sat nearby. He knew he'd heard her name, but it was escaping him just then. Oh well. "Distraught? Me? Ah, no, I... I'm fine." He figured he might as well tell her the truth. Why not? "My brother's just a dick sometimes." He put out his hand for a shake. "I'm Len. And you are?" The girl was pretty, he supposed. Well, prettier than most of the skanks that lived in his neighborhood. 

Lizzie offered the boy who called himself Len a smile. "Elizabeth." She replied simply. "Len? That's rather unique, is it short for something?" She asked the boy. She was curious about him, she loved learning more about people and wasn't that what this whole experience was supposed to be about. She was also always intrigued by unique names and the ones that had special meanings. When the boy spoke of his brother she was also intrigued. "Oh please, do tell, stories of siblings are like fantasy novels to us only children. " She had always wanted a sibling growing up but her mother had died before that had happened. So now, she found some interest in hearing of others' stories about their own sibling.

He was a little caught off guard by Elizabeth's first question. "Len? Uh, yeah. It's short for, um, Leonard. I don't like that name a ton, so..." he trailed off and shrugged. Then, she expressed interest in Len's siblings. This really caught him off guard. 

"Well, there's not a bunch to tell really..." he paused, then decided he might as well tell someone about his maniac brothers. "Well, first off, I've got two brothers. Calvin and Drake. They're not all that different, really. Crackheads, potheads, drunks. Dropouts. You get the idea. Well, just now, Cal decided to call me, and he was smashed, and it was embarrassing so..." he shrugged. "They're really hard to handle sometimes. But I guess there's nothing I can really do about that." He ended with a weak laugh. 

"Oh, I don't think Leonard is too bad. I actually like it, I think its a cute name." Elizabeth said quietly. When he explained his brother she nodded slightly. She was unsure of how to respond to that one. She had never understood the need people felt to do drugs, she always just saw it as a stupid decision. Growing up in the suburbs, she had never been around any drugs aside from the odd group of delinquents with marijuana until she hit high school and learned that apparently most rich kids could afford to do the harder stuff. Even still she never got involved and chose to just keep to herself. "No I guess there's not much you can do, family is family and no matter how much you might like to, you can't trade them in. "

She took another sip of her wine and made a slight face. "I'm not much of a wine drinker. Did you maybe want to come with me in search of finding something better to drink?" She asked. Being one year under the legal age had never stopped her before. It wasn't like she had ever gotten really drunk before but she'd been drinking alcohol since she was around sixteen, it was the one small act of rebellion that she allowed herself.

He raised his eyebrows, a little surprised, as she complimented his name. His real name. Leonard. Huh. Wouldn't have seen that one coming. 

When she asked if he wanted to find something else to drink, beer came to his mind. Technically, he wasn't legally allowed to drink alcohol. But hell. Screw the law. He'd been drinking since his childhood. It was like a habit of his. 

He rose from his seat and rubbed his hands together, smiling slightly at Elizabeth. "Sure. Maybe we should check out the kitchen?" he offered. "I'm not a wine person either. Beer or hard liquor's my thing." He turned red a bit. Oh, he sounded retarded. He hoped she didn't care too much. Len sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets and tried not to look awkward. 

Elizabeth was thankful when Leonard agreed to go in search of something to drink with her. She smiled politely at him and nodded. "That sounds like an excellent place to start." She agreed. She found it rather amusing that he felt the same way that she did about drink preferences.She followed his lead and stood up. She picked up her wine glass and carried it into the kitchen with her. Once in the kitchen she dumped the last few sips of wine down the sink and set the glass on the counter next to the sink. She then paused and looked around the kitchen. Where to start?

She started opening cupboard doors. Going through each one in search of something drinkable. "There are so many cupboards in here." She said finding everything from pots and pans to contraptions she had no idea how to use. "Wait a minute. I think I saw a little bar downstairs in the game room. Maybe we should go check there." She said wanting to smack herself for not remembering the bar sooner.

Len nodded, smiling. "Sounds like a plan," he said. "Downstairs, you said?"

About a minute later, the pair was in the game room, and Len saw the bar Elizabeth had been talking about. "Sweet!" he exclaimed as he looked in the fridge. He spotted a square glass bottle on the door. He picked it up, grabbed a glass, and took a few ice cubes from the freezer. He put the cubes in the glass and poured the liquid into the glass, finishing his drink. He replaced everything and raised an eyebrow at Elizabeth, a coy smile on his face. He put on his best fake European accent and said, "DiSorono. Good stuff."

Lizzie nodded. "Yup, if I remember correctly anyway." She followed the boy downstairs to the game room. Then she followed him straight to the bar. She watched as he got himself a glass and dropped a few ice cubes inside, each making a gentle cling that echoes off the walls of the glass. Once he had finished his drink he made a slight face at her. "What's the eyebrow for?" She asked him reaching past him into the fridge. She pulled her arm back an orange flavoured breezer in her hand. She lifted herself up onto the bar's counter top, letting her feet dangle off the side. She cracked off the top of the bottle with her hand and took a sip. "So, what made you decide to come here Len?" She asked the male. "If you don't mind my asking"

Len was taken aback yet again by the girl’s question. “Me? Um…” He visibly struggled for a suitable answer. He pursed his lips and stared at his still untouched drink that he’d been waiting for. “Well…” You sound like a retard. Say something, dumbass!

At last, he decided to say something. “Well,” he began, stroking his chin and narrowing his eyes in thought. He shrugged and continued. “I just… saw the add and was like ‘Well why not,” and so here I am.” He looked back at her, searching for any signs of disbelief. “No really. That’s the reason. Nothing special. So…” he raised an eyebrow. “How ‘bout you?”

Len seemed a bit surprised by her question. She watched as he struggled for an answer and he seemed uncomfortable with his own stuttering. She felt a little bit bad about it, especially seeing as she was the one who had caused his discomfort. When he asked her about her own reasons for coming here she too paused for a moment before answering. She took another sip of her drink enjoying how the orange Creamsicle flavour complimented the rum inside the drink. "Well, I guess I just needed to get out of the house. Take a bit of a vacation, you know? I just felt like I was always trying to ensure everyone thought the best of me and I needed some time to just let go a little bit. " She answered. She was sure to leave out the part about her relationship with her father, or lack there of and the reasons behind it. She wasn't embarrassed by her sexuality but she wasn't ready to share it just yet. Her own father was uncomfortable with her being bisexual as well as anyone else that she had told and she wasn't ready to lose another friend just as she was making it. She took another much needed, and much larger sip from her bottle.