[Master Post – Glass]
Title: The Second Glass
Fandom: Viridian Legacy: Glass
Characters: Betty, Arkady, some guys
Rating: T (L2 N1 S2 V1 D0)
Warnings: Sexism, improper use of State Fair food
Notes: According to plan? What plan? Betty and Arkady do the State Fair. Mayhem ensues.
"Oh come on, Liz, again?" Evan complained. "I'll throw up!"
He held a half-eaten caramel apple in one hand, as they walked down Main Street of the fair. Liz had managed to bat her eyes at a couple of guys who were coming down for State Fair Day, and for a few kisses, they'd been willing to take her and Evan along, as well. They couldn't keep up with her, though. He couldn't keep up with her, either.
Liz had a thing for rides that were fast and spinny — rollercoasters, the Rotor, and the Zipper, which she wanted to go back and ride again. Evan was much more interested in bumper cars and the games along the midway, none of which made him want to vomit up the impressive amount of funnel cake and cotton candy he'd already eaten.
"You're such a girl, Ebony," she insisted, feeding a piece of blue cotton candy to the guy on her left. She fluttered her eyelashes as he licked her fingers and then wiped the syrupy remains off on his cheek. "Don't do that, Frankie, it'll make it melt and get all crunchy."
"I'm a girl? Me? You're the one who wants to go on the damn Zipper for the sixteenth time! Since you're the one with the tits, so I think that makes me the manliest man here, tonight," he insisted, gesticulating with the caramel apple.
Throughout the evening, Liz's looks and outgoing personality had added two locals, Jude and Wolf, to their group. Evan was convinced it was just the cocktail dress. It wasn't that sort of event. Everyone around them, that night, was in jeans and t-shirts, and she stood out like some black and white era Hollywood star. Acted like it too, he thought, a little bitterly, as she laughed and fed another piece of cotton candy to Javier, on her right.
Evan was there as her brother. It was supposed to open the way for him to work his mysterious glamour on the ladies, but the only chick he'd seen who wasn't there with her boyfriend was the burly dame with the missing teeth who ran the funhouse. He chatted her up anyway, and they ended up with a handful of free tickets, because she'd thought he was cute and funny. He figured if he wasn't going to get laid, he could at least knock Javier around in the bumper cars a few more times.
But, now, they were headed down Main Street, toward that little booth with the really good french fries, so Frankie would have something in his stomach, before Liz made them all throw up.
"Lady's choice! You said I could pick whatever rides I wanted, if I came with you!" Liz reminded the two at her sides, as Evan hung back with the other two guys, making bets on who would be the first to puke. Evan wasn't stupid; he bet on himself.
While Frankie got fries, they all waited by one of the trees, talking and counting tickets. Jude mostly watched the ground, like he had all night, occasionally looking as high as someone's knees and making a joke that went over most of their heads. He was short and skinny, and Evan wouldn't have looked twice, but Liz had been checking him out all night, dropping things accidentally on purpose and winking over her shoulder. Jude hadn't seemed to notice any of it, just sort of awkwardly trailing behind and pointing out strange things that no one else had noticed — when the ferris wheel stopped, it sounded like a woman crying, for one, and Evan hadn't been able to get that out of his head.
Liz was doing it again, watching Jude as she teased Wolf with a bite of cotton candy, holding it out and then pulling it back. When Javier lunged for the bite, Liz was taken completely by surprise, jumping back and dropping it down the front of her dress.
"Ohmygod!" she yelped, clutching an arm across her chest, to stop the cotton candy from slipping down any farther between her breasts. "Well? Is somebody going to get that?" she demanded. "I'm out of hands."
The four guys looked at each other and at pretty much anything that wasn't Liz, for a few moments, mumbling incoherently to each other.
"Good catch," Javier finally said, and they all laughed.
"Well? Come on! It's going to melt, and it'll ruin my bra!" Liz complained again.
"I think she means you, man," Evan told Jude. "That's my sister. I'm out."
"What? No. That's crazy. I hardly even know her." Jude shook his head and looked away as his cheeks coloured. "She knows you guys. She's your sister. It's not like you could mean anything weird by it."
Javier shrugged at Wolf. Wolf grinned back.
"I don't know her," Wolf offered, waiting to see if Javier would take the bait.
Javier lunged forward, but Wolf was faster, elbowing him aside and plucking the cotton candy out of Liz's dress. He popped it in his mouth and made a completely obscene sound.
"What?" Wolf asked, when all eyes settled on him. "It's blue. I like blue."
"I thought you said you didn't know her," Javier countered.
"I don't." Wolf looked terribly pleased with himself. "I've got less to lose."
Javier and Wolf laughed and shoved each other around a bit, while Liz examined her clothes for stains. Evan watched Jude continue to examine the grass and the roots of the trees. He decided it was time to take matters into his own hands.
"Hey, Liz," Evan said, stepping forward. He just needed her to lift her chin.
As she looked up, Evan moved faster than anyone could have expected, slapping what was left of his caramel apple across the top of her cleavage. As he'd hoped, the caramel peeled off the apple and adhered to her skin.
"Oh my god! Ebony, are you crazy!?" Liz howled.
He looked back at Jude. "She wants you to lick that off. Trust me," Evan deadpanned.
Javier and Wolf stared, open-mouthed.
"Did you just—?" Javier sputtered.
"But, that's your sister!" Wolf protested.
"My sister, who has been making eyes at this cad, all night." Evan pointed at Jude. "What are you, man, a robot? Come on! There's a beautiful girl with caramel on her boobs, and she wants you to fix that for her."
Jude sputtered and choked for a moment, before the indecision passed, and his chin set solidly. He nodded and took the two steps toward Liz, examining the caramel smear. A moment passed, and then another. Finally, he pulled a napkin out of his pocket and dabbed at the caramel, nervously. A groan could be heard from the rest of the group, as the napkin lifted away only some of the caramel, leaving the rest still stuck with bits of paper in it.
He tossed the napkin in a nearby trash bin and turned toward the fry booth. "I'll get you another napkin," he offered, gallantly, heading off.
Evan stared after him. "Well, fuck."
Liz grabbed Evan's hair and pulled his head down. "Clean it," she demanded. "This is your fault, and I don't want anything else sticking to it."
"Ow! Liz! But I'm—" he complained, trying to twist free of her iron grip.
"Now!" Her tone left no room for argument, and with a sigh, he lowered his face to the caramel smears and tried to nibble them off.
"Incest?" Wolf speculated.
"Nah, sibling rivalry," Javier decided.
