[M.E.] Unwilling Participant/s? (Elmira)

[Elmira Medina]

Elmira was pretty ticked. She had realized that Patrick wasn't really into this whole wedding thing, that he was only doing it for the grade, but even so, if was was trying to get a decent mark on his report card for this project, shouldn't he not be so half-assed about it? She had to admit, he cleaned up pretty nicely, yet maybe the change was just more obvious because he appeared so different than before.

Now which way should she go with this? The fun-loving, party girl in her wanted to say, oh whatever, it doesn't really matter, it's all fake, let's just enjoy it anyway; but the high-maintenance, shallow, bitchy side of her wanted to shout, "Oh hellll naw! You did NOT just walk into my damn wedding late, fool!" For the time being, she was somewhere in between, giving him cold stares as she faced him and drowned out the sound of the minister talking about something that she probably didn't care about-- welcome to the ceremony, blah blah joyous occasion, blah blah. Of course, if she went with her uptight bitchy side and did begin yelling in bridezilla form, she'd end up ruining the thing even more. If she wasn't embarrassed yet, making a scene would do the trick, and if Patrick hadn't been taken down a letter grade yet, her yelling about it would make it more obvious that they weren't doing well at this mock marriage.

She had to find it within herself to be courteous. "Apology accepted," she murmured with a soft sigh, the whisper inaudible to the audience. She thought she saw the minister glancing down at her, as if he thought she was rude for talking during his almost sermon-like speech, but he wasn't mad enough to stop blathering.

[Patrick O'Connor]

The lloks she had been giving him were like ice. She was not a happy camper it would seem. What did she want him to do? Not break into some families house and come in smelling like booze and vomit, underdressed? Maybe he should have done that, would of been funny too. Then again he would be kicked out to the streets again and that would be less fun. However when he apologized she seemed to lighten up. That was a start, though the good reverand seemed unamused by their fake lover's quarrel. As they queited down and the reverand began his sermon again with gusto and things seemed to get back on track.

The sermon thing went on until it got to the most important and cliche part. The Reverand turned to Patrick and asked, "Do you, Patrick O'Connor, take this girl, to be your lawfully wedded fake wife?"

"I do," Patrick said Clearly.

[Elmira Medina]

Finally, it got to the participatory part of the ceremony, the one she actually recognized among the other gibber-jabber. The minister asked Patrick the question first (and yes, he said fake wife. Maybe he had to, otherwise the marriage would accidentally be real. Wait, wasn't there supposed to be paperwork for a legal marriage? And he had also said legally, as per usual. Hm). Luckily, Patrick had replied with an, "I do," as Elmira would not have found it funny if he said no for whatever reason. Why was she nervous that he might have? It was all for a grade, right? And he wouldn't get a passing mark if he denied her as his fake wife right at the altar.

Hey, wait a second, did that priest call her a girl? She was friggen' nineteen. Couldn't she be called a woman instead, or at least, "young woman" or "young lady" (the young part wouldn't bother her)? I mean, he wouldn't call Patrick a boy, would he?

But she wasn't paying attention long enough to find out.

"...lawfully wedded fake husband?"

Yeah, that was her cue. "I do." Alright, that was relatively painless. All she had to due was utter two words- not too hard. Then people would cheer, throw rice, and they'd head to some large room with tables and a dance floor and listen to some crappy DJ for a few hours at the reception. She could deal with that, especially if there was an open bar that didn't card the bride.

"...pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

And then there was that part. How the hell did she forget that part?

[Patrick O'Connor]

Kiss the bride huh? To be truthful and honest Patrick himself had forgotten about that one. Funny you would think that that as the most cliche part of any wedding that you wouldn't think of over looking that. But as it turned out things that possesed a certain amount of cliche that was over the top was out out of mind. But now the time was at hand. He had no other choice but to do this for that grade. So on command he leaned forward slowly and kissed her. It had been awhile but it was far from his first time, it came back as easily as riding a bike. It was quick, but romantically acceptable for the confines of the marraige ceremony.

He pulled back and waited. He didn't really care either way but she seemed to be someone who held "respectable" standards, whatever that meant. She probably had a problem with what he just did. He waited for her reaction...

OOC: sorry for the late and kinda short reply, thought it would be funny to see her action

[Elmira Medina]

The reverend did say kiss the bride, not kiss the groom, so it was only natural for the guy to initiate it, right? Elmira's job was to just stand there, wait to be puckered, and then presumably return in smooching, which she mostly did. It wasn't too inappropriate: she kept her tongue in check, as it would be awkward to send it down his throat whether or not there was a crowd of people watching in a church, and it didn't last so long that anyone would have to glance at their watch. When she first returned the kiss, her eyes were a little widened, as if she half-expected him to chicken out or give her a peck on the cheek instead, but upon recognizing the weirdness of her peepers remaining open, she gently let them close to finish the soft kiss. When she pulled away, she gazed over at Patrick, a simper denting her now blushing cheeks. It would be much easier to make out with a dude she barely knew if she was plowed with alcohol, yet it wouldn't be playing it too safe to get drunk on such an occasion.

So the formal ceremony was concluded. Elmira took Patrick's hand to walk back down the aisle together, letting the audience clap, cheer, or throw small food at them (rice? Seeds? Whatever they were stocked with that wouldn't be too painful or messy) as she pictured in her mind. Then they were to travel to where the reception was, which would probably include eating, toasting (could they make toasts to a fake couple that they didn't even know?), and possibly dancing. Ooh, that could be interesting, especially if there was a good DJ. But then again, this was a wedding, and not only that, it was a fake wedding sponsored by a church, or possibly the school, who had some kind of agreement with the church. Whoever it was likely did not plan on turning the reception into a night club. Maybe she could at least sneak in some champagne. It wasn't hard liquor, but she heard that the carbonation of the drink caused the consumer to get buzzed quicker than regular wine. She'd make it suffice.

"So, uh, that wasn't too bad, was it?" she asked Patrick as she slid into the backseat of a black car.

[Patrick O'Connor]

As Patrick kissed her he felt her hesitation, and of course her suprise. It was kind of funny really. He wondered what her suprise was about. The hesitation was easy enough, she was suppose to kiss someone she had only known for a day. Her suprise though was kind of amusing to Patrick. It was was she suprised because she had though he would chicken out from the real deal? Or was it she didn't expect someone who seemed so anti social to know how to kiss? Regardless the kiss ended and the good reverand pronounced them fake man and wife.

She seemed a little embarreses as she stood there. With the formal ceremony over she grabbed his hand and they walked down the aisle as rice was thrown their way. As they walked outside Patrick thought of the two things that were left on the agenda. The reception, and the "honeymoon". Probably the most daunting things of the whole schbang. As they got to the car Patrick opened the door for her. After she got him he sat down next to her closing the door before he answered her question, "No, it wasn't too bad."

As they dorve towards the reception Patrick wondered how it would go. Would it just be dinner or would it have dancing as well. He knew that the school sponsered this but he wondered just how far they were going to go. They couldn't make it too terribly extravangant could they? It could be a dump for all he knew...

[Elmira Medina]

When the car pulled up to the reception area, people began to clap. It was as if they were applauding the fake couple's ability to sit in a car and arrive safely. In any case, Elmira stepped out and smiled awkwardly, leaving her veil behind. She almost left the bouquet of flowers, but then she remembered that she'd probably throw them at the reception for a bunch of girls to try to catch. Oh joy.

There was the feint sound of some 80s song playing in the room, and an old man was dancing with a young girl, probably his granddaughter. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, but Elmira wondered why nobody else was interested in dancing. Oh well. It's not like she paid for any of this wedding stuff, anyway.

"Let's try to find some booze," she whispered over to Patrick, scanning the area. It would be hard to sneak around and get drunk without being noticed, considering she was the bride, and should be expected to receive the most attention out of anyone there. Going unnoticed was practically impossible.

[Patrick O'Connor]

Patrick was just as cynical as she was when they arrived to the sound of clapping. What really was the point? Why were they here? Forced to do this? Certainly for most students participating it waqs fun, but why him? Why them? Patrick was sure that she was not the one who had picked him to do this. That Claverling woman said that this would be good for him but that was a load of it. How should she know? She would probably answer that with a "I'm a doctor so I know" answer but that was crap. She didn't know a thing about him so she was fly blind. Dangerous territory for someone who was prone to extreme acts of violence with little to no provokation.

She then gave him the game plan. He was suprised to find himself feeling the smallest tinge of revulsion, very far from being noticable. Sure he went far beyond wasted on an almost daily basis so he wondered why he felt this now. Could it possibly be because he felt that getting drunk for the hell of it was a waste? Pathetic? It would make him hypocritical. He was the first to admit that he was pathetic himself but he usually wasn't judgemental when it came to these things. He opened the door got out of the car, opening it for her while replying casually, "Perhaps now wouldn't be the best time for that."

[Elmira Medina]

Elmira's eyebrows furred together. She didn't think he was some sort of goody-two-shoes, but there must be something in him that desired to stay out of trouble. After all, it was possible that this was still part of the grade, having to behave or whatever through the reception. Elmira saw it as a party, though. A lame one, for sure, but hey, booze could improve that.

"Well, this is supposed to be some sort of celebration," she retorted, lifting her dress a bit off the ground as she walked. "We survived the ceremony, now we get to have fun with all these random people." She wasn't entirely dumb, though. It was a risky situation. There was a certain thrill about getting caught, but when trouble was completely affirmed, the possibility of maybe getting away with it was gone.

"Let's dance, then." Elmira grabbed Patrick's wrist, trying to pull him toward the center of the floor. "Pretend like you like the music, and me, and dancing," she ordered. "They'll probably start playing some, like, slow song, and then it'll get totally boring."

[Patrick O'Connor]

OOC: I noticed that we may be cutting it kinda close. Post whorez for the win!?!

"Well, this is supposed to be some sort of celebration"

"Who said this was the only time for that sort of celebration?" Patrick retorted back to her, equally as sassy, bearing a look that could best be described as slightly annoyed with a tinge of sarcasm and a certain, unmissable tone of mischief. Though he was not a fan of binge drinking for the sake of some shallow party he certainly could use drinking as something to bide the time and gain a certain form of amusement.

Her suggestion seemed like a wise thing. But as she grabbed his wrist he figured he didn't have much of a choice. As he was slowly learning the best way to deal with this was to just go with it, and try to have a little fun. So he darted along with her to the dance floor. The made it to the dance floor and it was time for the DJ to make his money at the fake Ceremony. As they made their way to the center of the floor the DJ announced, "Now this one goes out to our very special Couple."

Patrick held up his left hand, gentleman like, asking for hers nonverbally. When she accepted his offer He would place his hand on her wasit and start sliding his feet to the left and to the right with the music that started. He would lead gently swaying and moving wiht the music. He looked her in the eyes as he danced. When the lyrics of the song started coming up though Patrick was mentally blindsided.

It was. Too close. Too Close to home. As Patrick looked her in the eyes his gaze became glazed over paying little to no attention to her yet continuing to dance. Glazed over and blank with the slightest tinge of hurt. A woman appeared in Patrick's mind, and that woman was not Elmira Medina. It was a blue eyed red headed woman. One by the name of Zea Heart. Patrick had loved her with everything he had. He had promised to protect that woman he loved with his very life but all the same he saw her gunned down on the pier. Fate did not seem to care much for his promise. It was, too painful to remember. Perhaps that was why he drank, to forget. Pitiflly enough that never seemed to help, it probably even made the nightmares worse though Patrick had not had a sober night in long enough to remember.

The song continued and Patrick continued, aloof in his little world...

[Elmira Medina]

A slower song? Meh. Not that Elmira didn't like the Goo Goo Dolls; she had a fairly broad taste in music, one that included almost anything that had been on popular radio stations at some point during her life. It was just that most her her dancing experience came from clubs and parties (excluding a little bit of ballet when she was a little girl and being a ballerina in a tutu was the coolest thing a female could possibly do), and neither of the aforementioned included swaying to "Iris." Still, she could use basic instinct to understand where this was going, and so she took the hand that Patrick held out to her and allowed him to hold her lightly around the waist. Now what was she supposed to do with her other hand? Oh yeah, it was supposed to go on his neck. Or maybe his shoulder. Well, to be safe she placed her other hand somewhat in between the two.

As she rocked slowly with him, she noticed that Patrick seemed to be zoning out. What was he possibly thinking about? At first she thought maybe he was just too nervous or uncomfortable to connect with her directly, but that awkwardness wasn't initially present. No, there was definitely something specific on his mind. Was it the honeymoon? If that was the case, then why didn't he seemed too worried about it before?

She focused her attention to the lyrics pouring from the speakers. "And you can't fight the tears that ain't comin', or the moment of truth in your lies/ When everything feels like the movies, yeah you bleed just to know you're alive..." Hmmm. That didn't really sound like a wedding song. Sure, the first couple verses seemed a little romantic, but now it was growing a bit depressing. Maybe that's what was bothering Patrick.

"Do you, uh, not like this song?" Elmira whispered, her eyes glazing over his curiously.

[OOC: Yeah, we're kind of crunched for time. I've been busy a lot lately, but we only need a few more posts to get to the third page, and I never ditch threads entirely, so I'll make sure we finish this one right. ^^]

[Patrick O'Connor]

OOC: yeah I've been super busy too, working three jobs and one of them is landscaping for 9 and a half hours, After that or maybe a double if I'm unlucky I'm usually done thinking

Patrick once again was forced to relive the scene of Zea's Death and his fall into this madness. He relived everyone of his kills, mercilessly plugging bullets into gangsters. Moving faster then normal, rushing things to get to Zea. He rounded the corner and, BAM! He heard her scream and watched her head bob down. He stopped, mouth opening in disbelief. The mafioso rasied his gun once again at Patrick and pulled the trigger...

"Do you, uh, not like this song?"

Her words brought him out of his trance. He sighed before answering, "It hits too close to home..."

The lyrics fit him too well. Damn. This was the most cliche dance song, that they always played at the school dances. The one that they always saved for the slow dance of the night. It was painful. That this, of all songs was the one that was played. Not just that it was played but that it got to him. It hurt. It reminded him of things that he spent his life, every since they transpired trying to forget...

[Elmira Medina]

Elmira puzzled over what he meant by "hit too close to home." She was aware what the saying meant, but why would he be so pained by it? Besides, it didn't exactly answer the question. Some people actually liked songs that made them sad. She wasn't really the type who enjoyed "a good cry," but there were others who did. He wasn't crying, though, from what she could tell.

"So, you relate to it well..." she reiterated softly, not sure what else to say. "Well, if you want a different song, I'm sure you can request it. You're the groom, after all."

When the song ended, Elmira lowered her hands, placing a light kiss on his forehead (after all, she already kissed him on the mouth; it wasn't a big deal anymore). She wasn't good with situations like these, when people were upset about something. Anger was an emotion she could possibly deal with, most likely by shouting back or becoming violent, but sadness... no, it was definitely not something she was accustomed to, and she felt rather awkward. "Would cake make you feel better?" she offered with a half-smile.

[Patrick O'Connor]

She answered him back. He wasn't quite sure why he had said anything. He wasn't quite sure why he had let her in. Or even why he had felt that way from some dumb song. It was stupid. Kind of funny really. How he could not keep from remembering the worst things in his life with all the drugs availible to him. Damn, he needed to get wasted, that helped sometimes. But in the end he was always left with his failures relieving his mistakes and horrors of life that took everything from him and left him where he was now. Pathetic really.

Furthermore he was not even sure why he had told her that. He was not the type to let people into his life. If no one had a hold of him then nothing could hold him down. If he didn't attach himself to people then thy couldn't hurt him. Patrick was still not attached to anyone so that was not a problem. He didn't attach to people under a specific self made moniker, "People are good for one thing, dying."

After the song ended she kissed him which came as a suprise for him. Now he was almost frustrated, although unvisible. He hadn't wanted to say that or be reminded of the past. She offered cake and his only response was, "Sure, why the hell not?"

It was clear, the moment was pver and he wasn't going to talk about it...

[Elmira Medina]

Cake was a good solution to problems. Elmira often found herself as part of one fad diet or another, but it usually wasn't because she had genuine concern for her health. If she did, she wouldn't drink and smoke as much. Heck, there was a lot of lifestyle changes she'd have to make if she truly wanted to be healthy.

Diet or no diet, she wasn't going to not eat the damn wedding cake. She wasn't exactly sure how the thing worked, but she assumed that the bottom layer was the first one to cut from, since it was the widest and easiest to access. It looked very pretty; it was almost as if the creator didn't want it to be eaten. Nevertheless, Elmira saw no point in food that wasn't meant to be digested. It was bound to be sliced and devoured at some point, so the bride might as well be the one to do it.

She took what appeared to be a French knife nearby and cut a couple pieces off the edge, one for Patrick and one for herself. A few people took pictures as she did so, as if it were some kind of exciting event. She chewed on her lip. Weddings were quite confusing.

"Here." Elmira handed Patrick a slice. "The end pieces have more frosting."