Beach City Grill, Santa Cruz, Saturday afternoon

[lovemykilt]

Priestly checked his reflection in his jeep's review mirror one more time. Clean pants, no holes: check. Button down shirt (with the sleeves torn out): check. Plain, inoffensive t-shirt (black, nice contrast to the red button down): check. Facial hair: trimmed. Eyeliner: straight and unsmudged. Hair: swept back into a high, short pony tail with a slightly emo-bangish bit going on in front, died dark, almost subtle purple.

"I don't know," he said, tugging on the swoopy bang before shooting a glance at Dinah in the passenger seat. "Maybe I should change my shirt again."

[ooc: for the permissably modded Dinah in Santa Cruz, or others via phone.]

Comments

[lovemykilt]

"Jennifer Lawrence?" Priestly guessed.

Tish whacked him in the chest with a towel.

[glacial_queen]

"Oooh, you're with Priestly?" Karla asked, now excited. "Just a visit? Hanging out? Anything, you know, cool happen?"

Like, say, maybe a kiss? A date? Their admission of undying love and togetherness?

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"So much cool stuff. There's been one two three four different romances started or confirmed just since I got here!"

Way to get her hopes up, Dinah.

"Hey, Jen, can we get the webcam up and running? I want Karla to see everything and everyone here." She grinned over at Piper.

[lovemykilt]

"Ooo, yes, definitely!" Priestly said. "Please, Jen?"

Jen looked at Trucker, who shrugged. "Sure," he said. "We're not going to get a whole lot of work done today, anyway."

Jen grinned and hopped up. "Great! I'd like to meet more of your friends." She went over to the computer and opened the video chat program. "Tell her to message ladybuggger. Three g's."

Piper hopped down from her stool and came over, too, wiping a bit of paint from her hand onto her forehead.

[glacial_queen]

"Oooh?" Karla asked, trying not to squeal. "Romances? Anyone I know?"

Like, say, Priestly?

And of course she was messaging that account. She was hoping that maybe she'd get a video of, say, people kissing. Specific people.

PEOPLE SHE WAS SHIPPING, FOR EXAMPLE.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah bounced, waiting for it to come up, then beamed as soon as she could see Karla. "Hi you! See, Jen? Tish, look, didn't we tell you?" She pointed to Jen. "She just got a boyyyyyfriend. A really nice one! Priestly set it up!"

Keep hoping, Karla.

[lovemykilt]

And Karla was now greeted with the sight of Priestly, snazzed up in his Priestly way, waving happily at the camera while Jen and Tish gaped.

"What?" Piper asked. "Let me see!" She squeezed around the counter, stepping up between Tish and Priestly to peer over Jen's shoulder. "Oh my gosh."

"Yep," Priestly said, rather proudly. "And now you see why I was weirded out."

[glacial_queen]

"Hi!" Karla said, waving at Priestly's friends. "I'm--"

And then Piper's face moved onto her screen. And Karla was just going to gape. Had she been saying something? Because she had no idea.

"Hell's fire, Mother Night, and may the Darkness have mercy."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Score!" Dinah punched the air while Piper and Karla looked to go into identical cases of shock. "Triple swear score, in fact... you guys okay?" She grinned. "Piper, Karla. Karla, Piper. Piper makes sandwiches, paints murals, and babysits. Karla does alternative healing, political activism in her home country, and loves kitties." Especially huge white ones. "See, Priestly and I are not crazy!"

[lovemykilt]

"It's weird, right?" Priestly asked, patting Piper reassuringly on the shoulder. "I know, it's totally weird. I, for instance, apparently have not one but two doppelgangers who used to go to our school. I only ever really heard about Alec, but Dean was an okay guy. Still. Super weird."

Especially when he spent a weekend as Dean's alternate personality, but that wasn't the sort of thing he could bring up in mixed company.

[glacial_queen]

Blink. Blink blink.

"Uhh, hi?" Karla said, trying to find her words. "I'm, yeah, Karla. Like they said. Alternative Healing and...stuff."

However Dinah had introduced her.

"Nice to meet you." And she couldn't help but add, "Gorgeous."

Someone was gaining back her equilibrium.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah snickered, and slung an arm around Jen, who seemed to be recovering. Well, she wasn't the one with a doppelganger. "What Priestly mentioned, about his doubles. Totally true. Karla's going to be eighteen next month, though. Not-- twenty-three?" she checked with Piper. "Piper has a boyyyfriend too." She grinned at Tish. "And Tish has a date!" Muahahha!

[lovemykilt]

"Wait, when did we become the eleven o'clock news?" Tish asked.

"Probably when we all managed to pair off in the course of a week," Priestly said. "It's kind of epic."

"Thanks to you," Jen said. "Well, not Piper and Noah, but me and Jeff are totally on you."

"You may have had a hand in Zo and I," Trucker said, from where he was still sitting in his booth.

"And you beat up Tish's last boyfriend," Piper said. "Well . . . hit him once."

Priestly rubbed his wrist brace, and Tish leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. "I've been meaning to thank you for that."

[glacial_queen]

"Wait, wait," Karla said, trying to keep track. "So, Piper and...her boyfriend." Who wasn't Warren, which was weird with her face, but also good because Karla would be Not Best Pleased with that. "And Jeff and...Jen? And Zo and, umm, the other gentleman," because she'd missed his name, "...and that leaves Tish, Priestly, and Dinah. So, Tish, who are you dating?"

BECAUSE IT WAS OBVIOUS WHO PRIESTLY HAD ENDED UP WITH. DUH.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah widened her eyes, snickered, and pointed at Priestly. Because hello! She wanted kissing, she got kissing!

[lovemykilt]

"Well," Priestly said. "Will date. We have a date. Soon." He glanced over at Tish. "Right?"

"Oh please. It's not like we don't know we get along," she said.

"Well, the romantic comedy version of getting along, anyway," Jen said. Tish shot her a look. "What? I like romantic comedies. You two are adorable."

"Yeah, me and Tish," Priestly confirmed. "We're thinking Dinah needs a fling."

[glacial_queen]

Oh.

That was...very much not what Karla was hoping to hear. She had banners, dammit! Banners! She and Momoko were practically in a club. There might even be t-shirts one day!

"That's, uhh, awesome," she said, trying to sound enthusiastic. She flashed them both a smile. "Is that why you're sporting a new look? Hot, Priestly. I approve!"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Doesn't he look great?" Dinah enthused. She beamed at him and Tish. Completely oblivious to Karla's disappointment. "And it's very romantic comedy around here. I am totally convinced I can find a fling before Monday morning." Nothing like leaving it to the last minute!

[lovemykilt]

Tish rubbed a hand over Priestly's ponytail. "Apparently, this is his version of cleaning up."

"Bad things happen when I wear khakis," he told her. "They're evil. And we will totally get Dinah a fling. Also one who doesn't wear khakis."

[glacial_queen]

"Yay, a fling for Dinah!"

Karla was trying really hard to sound enthused. Really, really hard. But, if Dinah was flinging with anyone, it should be Priestly.

But now was not the time to sulk. That would be for later, when she called Momoko and whined.

"Any prospective candidates?"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Not yet, but Trucker's promised to introduce me to some nice surfers," Dinah said, stretching her arms over her head. "We've been having fun, swimming and biking and just hanging out. And then all the romantic drama." She grinned. "And having to wear red boots 'cause Priestly painted a mural too. It's been an awesome break. So many pix to show you!"

[lovemykilt]

"Trucker knows a lot of cool surfers," Priestly said.

"Speaking of murals, though," Piper said. "I should keep working on ours. Jen, Tish, you guys wanna help? Give the friends a minute to talk?"

"Sure," Jen said. "Nice to meet you finally, Karla."

"Yeah." Tish gave her a small smile, sensing that Karla was not 100% approving of her, just yet. "Maybe we'll talk to you later."

Priestly watched Tish follow Jen and Piper around the counter, then looked back at the screen, totally oblivious to what she'd been picking up on. "Isn't Tish awesome?" he asked, sotto voce. "I rule!"

[glacial_queen]

Hell no Karla did not approve. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Tish, except her glaring flaw of not being Dinah. But Karla she returned the smile and added a little wave as they walked away.

"She seems very nice," she offered. "Though the Piper thing is still really weird."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"It freaked Priestly out when he got here, and I was just amazed." Dinah grinned. "She's really nice... but there's not a lot else you guys have in common." She winked at her little sister and mouthed, You're way cooler. She bumped Priestly's shoulder. "Karla should visit sometime!"

[lovemykilt]

"That'd be sweet!" Priestly agreed. "We don't have any unicorns, but we can go see the elephant seals."

By the mural, Jen, Piper, and Tish exchanged a look. Unicorns?

"What," Trucker asked them quietly. "Don't tell me you girls don't believe in unicorns."