Casino Night!

[broken_brushes]

When I'd first come up with the idea of Casino Night, I wasn't sure if it was even possible on the island. In retrospect, that might have been naive of me, because if there was anything I'd learned in over four years on Tabula Rasa, it was that its residents were capable of doing just about anything save getting home

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[lucked]

This might be the most roundabout way to seeing someone that Claire's ever experienced, she thinks to herself as she steps into the erstwhile casino, eyes bright and attentive as she stares around at all of the decorations and the volunteers grinning from ear to ear. Since gambling is a bit out of her league, she's dressed in a little black dress that feels similarly so, eyes scanning the area for Chris. Whether they're here together or if they're just meeting one another for a while, Claire's not sure. Part of her feels that the latter's right for them, right now, that they shouldn't allow the island's whims to dictate their actions and the speed of them. But functionally, for her, she's not sure it makes too much of a difference.

With a hesitant smile, she walks towards Chris, trying her best not to trip over her heels or stumble. "Hey," she greets shyly.

[noonelaughed]

They've left things all weird, though Chris figures there's probably not really any other way to leave it, after everything he's told her, after everything that's happened between them now. But he'd asked her if she was gonna be at casino night, she'd said she would be, and they were supposed to meet up there.

Or something. It's still all kind of fucked in this weird way.

"Hey," he says, recognizing her voice at first before he turns round and actually sees Claire. His eyes go kinda wide for a second and he blinks. Somehow after hanging about with Maxxie, showing up, and trying his luck at all the games, the idea that Claire'd show up looking like she does had somehow not really occurred to him at all.

"That's... Jesus, you..." is all he can come up with just then, so he takes a second for a breath first.

"Hey."

[lucked]

The look on Chris' face might be what makes all of this effort worth it. Claire's been meaning to train herself into wearing stilettos recently, anyway- it might help her actually see eye-to-eye with some of her taller friends, Jacob Black in particular coming to mind. But the dress, the way it feels a little too classy for a seventeen-year-old, the way her parents would definitely try to veto it if they saw, it's all okay for the second that Chris lays his eyes on her and is, quite literally, rendered speechless.

"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you," Claire replies, dipping slightly into a curtsey and turning to show off the lacy back, her favorite part of the dress. "You're looking pretty dashing yourself. I don't think I ever imagined seeing you in a suit." She walks over to the table, leaning just a touch so that it helps to support her weight, taking pressure off her feet.

[noonelaughed]

He feels like a fuckin' bell-end just then, and runs his fingers through his hair, mussing it a bit.

"Yeah, well they would let me in without one, y'know? It's bollocks," he says, though he's not bitter about it or anything. There's still a grin on his face, even if he might feel kind of uncomfortable all dressed up like he is. At least his shoes are comfortable, anyway.

"You-- you look lovely." He couldn't quite get it out the first time, so he figures he should make sure he says it properly.

He's not gonna think about her naked. He's not gonna think about her naked.

[lucked]

It's only when the two of them step closer to one another that Claire notices what slipped her attention earlier- the fact that there's the faint smell of pot all over his clothes. Granted, the entire room carries some of that smell; when there's not much in the way of recreation on such a small island, Claire supposes it makes sense that more people would turn to pot than she can ever remember happening back home, but it's not something that's she's too fond of

[noonelaughed]

"You sure you're not gonna like... tip over or anything, are you?" Chris asks her, with a glance downward towards her shoes. He's not sure just how girls manage them sometimes, but he's not about to complain because her legs look amazing. It's all he can do to make sure he's not staring or anything. He's so caught up in trying to make sure he's not staring that he doesn't even notice if her expression changes at all once she's a bit closer.

"I mean, if you think you're gonna tip over, you can always lean on me instead. You know, just for safety and all."

[lucked]

Although Claire tries her very best to keep a straight face, the image of her tipping over like a weeble or a bowling pin is enough to have her breaking out into short bursts of giggles, although she holds herself together well enough to keep from completely losing it. Reaching out with her hand, she pats Chris' chest, lingering a second too long to be just friendly. "I'm pretty sure I'm not going to tip over," she reassures him, although the thought of leaning against Chris is enough to send a small spark of mischief into her eyes.

"If I fall, it'll be spectacular. Crashing and burning, all over the nonexistent carpet," she grins. "So... win big at poker yet?"

[noonelaughed]

He's done alright for himself when it comes to the games, but he's mostly been guessing at all that, anyway. It's nothing more than luck that's got him holding more chips than he started the night with, and at the moment, he's not all that interested in the games anyway.

"Look, if you fall, then I'm gonna have to fall as well to distract everyone so you can get away without anyone noticing anyway," Chris replies, and he's mostly trying not to think about how her hand lingers against him for a moment. Not that she means anything by it, exactly, but it's long enough that Chris does notice it.

"You don't want me to have to do all that, do you?"

[lucked]

"Don't tempt me," Claire warns with a playful raise of her brow, before she heaves a sigh and closes the distance between the two of them, her hand resting on Chris' shoulder as she waits- hopes, at least, since it's possible that this sort of thing isn't as natural for him- for his arm to sling around her waist. It's not a sensation that she's used to, after so many months of trying to keep Chris at an arm's distance (at least in this respect), but Claire does the best that she can not to make a big deal out of it.

"You know," she does allow herself to point out, "you could've just offered me your arm. Much more James Bond-like, not half as awkward. If you need to remember for another island function later on."