Serena had quite an odd apartment for visitors to grace with their presence. It was a strange mix of a bastion of order and somewhat organised Chaos depending on which area you were in. Her coffee table and the seating area where a little messy, but comfortable looking. It definitely looked lived in, and her desk on one corner of the room was a complete cluster of papers and headphones, markers, pens and all the like.

If you were to step in her bedroom, the actual area of clothes that weren't washed yet were strewn all over the place, underwear, tops, a couple of hair bands, skinny jeans and the like. But if you glanced into the walk in closet, everything was ironed and neatly folded, or hung up in a perfect display of colour coordination.

Stepping into her kitchen though, everything was neatly ordered and in the correct places. One cupboard was lined with some 25 different blends of tea, with the adjoining cupboard being filled with tea pots, mugs, coffee makers and two or three different brands of ground coffee. All of the cupboards where adorned with see through windows so you could see all of the contents just glancing at them.

The counter tops were all polishes, and laying neatly on top of them were a tray of blueberry muffins, cookies and brownies. The speakers against one wall were playing music, Next to the controller for the music was a set of curtains neatly pulled back and tucked behind them, where 8 foot wide large set of windows stood, showing the city below.

Serena hummed and slide across the floor, enjoying herself with the music as she finished off most of the cleaning. She heard the buzzer announcing her friends trying to get in and buzzed them up. It was only a few minutes before there was a knock on the door. She slid to the door, a cheshire grin across her lips as she swung it open.

Serena was glad in what could only be described as comfortable clothing. She had a pair of jean shorts on, and a loose fitting sleeveless Icon for Hire shirt on. No shoes though, she was after all in her own apartment, which was plenty warm. "HI!" She exclaimed in greeting to whomever stood behind the door as it swung open.

A sleepover. That was what the four of them were doing. At first, the idea of it had sounded a little juvenile to Juliette, who hadn't had a legitimate sleepover (with friends, anyway) since high school. However, the more she thought about it, the more fun it seemed.

So, she'd gone all out. If they were going to have a sleepover, then it would be the best sleepover in history. She was going to make sure of that.

She'd invited Sarah, who had quickly moved up her way on the list to being her best friend. She'd also gone to the store and gotten everything on the list of things that some internet site told her was a sleepover essential. Who needed to worry about being an adult when you could be a teen again?

She'd driven Sarah over and the two of them had walked to the door of Serena's apartment. It was in a nice area of town, and it was in a nice building. The whole thing had Serena's style written all over it. She had absolutely no doubt that they were in the right place. Fall Out Boy could even be heard on the other side of the door. 

Dressed in leggings and an oversized sweater, Juliette was standing outside of Serena's door with an overnight bag with clothes, and a grocery store bag with nail polish, ice cream, chick flicks, and other goodies. She pressed the buzzer next to the door, and it swung open to reveal an enthusiastic Serena.

"Hi yourself!" Juliette grinned at Serena and gestured to the woman next to her. "This is Sarah. Can we come in?"

She felt a little awkward coming with Juliette to this stranger's place for a party. Sarah wouldn't know anyone but her best friend after all. The small size made her feel better. It wouldn't be like her shows where she knew no one. Carrying the other bag of goodies and a bottle of red wine.

Hey it may be a sleepover, but they were all adults. And adults could drink. She had made sure to double check that everyone was legal with Jules.

>>"Hi yourself! This is Sarah. Can we come in?"

Waving a little, she greeted the blonde woman. "Hi. Thanks for letting me crash your party. I do bring wine though," she smiled, holding up the bottle for inspection. Seeing the other woman's jean shorts made the brunette feel better about her own cargo pants and concert tee.

A sleepover! The idea of it took her back. The last “sleepover” she had was for her first birthday in the states, and she remembered it being a blast. Pizza, snacks, energy drinks, Twister, and waking up next to and almost kissing Agnes. All the classic teenage things.

All nostalgic memories aside, the idea sounded like a nice break from the hectic adult life she had been tricked into leading. With the various tasks and obligations piling up on her To-Do list, taking a night off hang out, gossip, and just take things back to high school might be therapeutic. The group was small, with Becca already knowing Serena and Juliette, and beyond that, Jules was bringing a friend of hers named Sarah.

She dressed for comfort, wearing black yoga capri pants along with a cropped tee she had snagged from her girlfriend’s company clothing line. Nessa was jealous of her plans, but she understood it might be unfair for her to bring a significant other for the evening when no one else would, (she assumed.) She made a joke about Becca sleeping out at her friends’ places lately, given Agnes’s recent cat situation. Becca worried it was passive aggressive for a moment before Nessa laughed it off and kissed her forehead, wishing her a fun night.

She carried her own overnight bag of essentials, and grocery bag of equally essential items, like makeup and salty snacks to balance out all the sweets. Rebecca’s timing was convenient, as she got off the elevator in time to still see Serena’s door open for the guests who just beat her in. Peeking her head in the doorway, she knocked on the frame. ”Evenin’ lassies!”

Serena was still standing close to the door, so Becca took the opportunity to give the girl a quick, excited hug. ”Thenk ye fur offerin’ tae host, Serena!” The hug was shorter than some of their past hugs—she was a taken woman now, after all.

”Nice tae see ye again, Jules. An’ Ye mist be Sarah?” She extended a hand to the only woman in the room she had yet to meet. ”Ah’m Becca,” she greeted warmly. Jules was a teammate and a friend, and if she vouched for Sarah, it was easy to trust her taste in friends.

”Ah’m excited. Ah feel loch a girl again,” she admitted, finding a place to put down her bags so she could give her arms a break and get to relaxing.

Rebecca's peek around the doorway and the other's greeting were a little stifled by Serena practically pouncing the redheaded Scot with a hug, meeting her hug mid way, and giving her a squeeze hug before letting go and grinning. "Hi guys~" She chirped to both of her friends, prying herself away from Rebecca to give Juliette a hug too. God, if Serena ever made friends with someone who didn't do hugs, woe to them.

She spun around to the new girl. She was very very cute. Serena met her with a wide grin. "It's nice to meet you Sarah, I'm Serena!" She giggled. "If you erm, hadn't gathered that much already."

She spun around and gestured for them all to enter the apartment. "Wine is a very good way to crash a party, just go throw them on the wine rack, or open them right away. I don't mind." She chirped as she stepped aside to let her guests into her bastion of ordered chaos. She flashed Rebecca a smile at her comment. "I certainly hope so."

She led them into her apartment and gestured around. Feeling a little shy at the size of it, given that she lived alone. "The kitchen is over there, there are snacks cooling off a little, I'll plate them up in a minute and bring them in." She announced, pleased with her baking success.

"The bathroom is through there, sit wherever. Put your stuff wherever you like. I bought some extra pillows and blankets earlier just in case." She blushed realising she'd left her music on, and slid across her floor in her socks to turn off the speakers.

As soon as Juliette put her bags down, she was greeted with a hug. She reciprocated easily, having been forcing herself to become more of a hugger in recent months. She grinned, excited to see three of her friends in such a great setting.

As soon as Serena pulled away, Juliette hugged Rebecca. Their last meeting had been under strange circumstances and had involved several strange men, so she was glad to be seeing her friend in a better environment and in better company. "Great to see you too, Rebecca," she grinned. 

Sarah had provided the wine. That was great. Juliette had forgotten all about bringing booze. Thoughts of makeup and nail polish coupled with her recent aversion to drinking in support of Sam had apparently clouded her judgement. They were having a sleepover. An adult sleepover. There would be drinking.

"Wait, don't turn it off!" Juliette shouted after Serena. It had been forever since she'd heard that song. A throwback was perfect for their current situation. "We can leave it on, can't we? Throwback night!"

She picked up her bags and made her way into the living room that Serena had gestured to. It looked cosy with all the blankets and pillows that Serena had put out, undoubtedly for them to use.

Setting her things down in that room, Juliette took a seat at the end of the couch, letting her legs fly up in the air. She was very glad that she had chosen a comfy outfit to wear. It seemed to suit the scene.

"Alright, so what are we going to do first?" She asked, diving right into the topic at hand. "Makeovers? Baking? Nail painting? Chick flicks? Significant other talk? We can alway peruse Buzzfeed or Cosmo if we need more ideas."

The brunette smiled at Serena then turned to the last woman of their little party.

>>"An’ Ye mist be Sarah? Ah’m Becca.”

Taking the offered hand was an easy choice. Sarah wondered if these women would become good friends after tonight. "Sarah. It's nice to meet you."

Dropping her things against some pillows, the artist moved towards the kitchen with the wine. She smiled at Juliette's throwback comment. It was a pretty good song. "I'm good with the music too. Serena, where's your bottle opener at?" Sarah didn't want to just go routing through the cabinets and drawers to find it.

>>"Makeovers? Baking? Nail painting? Chick flicks? Significant other talk? We can alway peruse Buzzfed or Cosmo if we need more ideas."

Sarah groaned. "Let me have a glass or two before you pull out the Cosmo. Please." She did not think she could deal with Cosmo questions until she was at least a little inebriated. "As the newbie of the group, I would like to get to know everyone before we dive too deep," Sarah teased. She trusted Jules and Serena and Becca seemed like good people, but she still wouldn't mind knowing more than just names. And as it was a party, they'd do it in a fun way. "I suggest either Truth or Dare or Never Have I Ever to start us off."

Sarah introduced herself, making all four women in the apartment officially acquaintances at the very least, which was a good place to start any slumber party. Becca wanted to have a good time, but she was not the type to feel comfortable if someone felt like an outlier. In an effort to get the party started, (and get a glass of wine in her to loosen her up,) she followed Sarah to the kitchen to help her gather wine glasses and the bottle opener.

Juliette proposed some activities to start the party off with, a few of which perked Becca’s ears up, but Sarah, as the newcomer, had a good idea to warm them up. A game to get to know one another and open the girls up more sounded like a great way to get familiar. She had only just met Sarah, known Juliette for a short while, and only recently reconnected with Serena, so she would certainly reap the benefits of an ice breaker.

”’At soonds barry. Ah say Ne'er Hae Ah Ever since Ah've ne'er played 'at!” Back in Scotland, she had played Truth or Dare, resulting in her first kiss as a teen, but Never Have I Ever was a boring game for a group of girls who were still too young to have many diverse life experiences.

”Ah’ll start!” Taking a sip from the wine glass in her hand, she looked over the group she was with and wondered what she might have been able to catch at least one of them on. Her surveying stopped when her mismatched eyes landed on Serena and her lips curled into a mischievous grin. ”Ne'er Hae Ah Ever snogged a redhead.” It was true; of all the people she had now kissed, none matched the Paisley girl in hair color.

As expected, Serena took a sip from her glass, looking at Becca as a blush crossed her cheeks. Juliette took a sip from her glass as well, making her curious (and maybe a bit jealous) as to who the redhead in her past had been.

The only holdout was Sarah, who kept her glass down. Becca smirked. ”Mebbe we change 'at if ye play yer cards reit,” she joked, before remembering she was not, in fact, single—a fact she was still getting used to after two years. Her forwardness caught Sarah off guard, and she ended up in a coughing fit from the surprise, like she swallowed something incorrectly. Hastily, Becca added, ”Is a thing Ah woods say if Ah didne hae a girlfriend.”

When Sarah recovered, she managed to reply confidently with, "If you were single I might have take that offer."

Becca could only blush, having received a taste of her own medicine. She sipped her drink, not because she had kissed a redhead, but to shut herself up for a moment. ”Okay Serena, yer next!”

When Serena had been preparing for the evening she'd done things like spend time baking so they'd have nice snacks, and made sure her fridge was stocked, and gotten a hold of movies and what not. She hadn't really expected the direction that Sarah had suggested, which the other two seemed to be in wholesome agreement with. She wasn't necessarily opposed to the idea but... Well. She was a little nervous. She pointed out where the opener was to Sarah and they all got wine and sat down.

When Rebecca asked her question, Serena had felt very very flustered. Obviously she'd had a drink, and then a few more afterwards, waiting until she trusted herself to speak again before commenting. "I'm not really sure what to ask... Hmm." She stood and went over to the counter, stacking the now cooled baked goods up onto plates and bringing them over, setting them down on the coffee table.

"Oh! Never have I ever slept with a guy." She had a fairly quick response from most of them. Rebecca's response was slightly more bashful, and a little glare directed at Serena. Heh. Lucky Guess. Juliette drank quite a bit, and Sarah responded by rolling her eyes at the group and also taking a drink. Serena, obviously, did not drink.

She smirked at Rebecca before turning to Juliette. "Okay, your turn Jules." before grabbing a brownie and nibbling on it for a bit, and going to refill her glass.

Sarah’s response to Juliette’s suggestions took her a little off guard. They were at a sleepover, so Juliette had figured that they would play things up. Though, she reminded herself, Sarah only knew her, and the whole situation was probably a little bit strange for her. She had to cut her some slack.

Apparently, though, slack was not needed. Sarah just had something else in mind.

Never have I ever. Juliette was down for that. She grinned and accepted one of the glasses of wine that Rebecca had poured before settling deeper into the couch. It had been a while since she’d played the game, but she still knew the ins and outs well enough to know that she shouldn’t put her glass down any time soon. Her past wasn’t exactly squeaky clean.

The first statement, made by Becca, was about kissing redheads. Juliette took a sip from her glass, mentally shaking her fist at that cute redhead in college for getting her off to a bad start.

Serena also too a sip, which made Jules grin to herself. Of course she took a sip. She’d heard the rumours about her and Becca and their little ‘walk’.

Sarah was the only one who hadn’t taken a sip. She shook her head as Becca then proceeded to flirt with the girl, talking about taking her redhead card. The scot was quickly making her way through the small group of girls with her flirtation.

Next to ask a question was Serena. Sleeping with a guy, of course. Juliette knew that Serena liked girls and was happily in a relationship with Amelia, but she hadn’t realized until then that she hadn’t ever swung the other way.

Juliette, however, wasn’t able to say that. She set her wine glass down, tied her hair back, and then took a good, long sip. It wasn’t like she could hide or deny her history. Or her present…

Sarah took a sip as well. It was unsurprising to Juliette, who was well versed in certain parts of her personal life.

The most surprising thing that came from the statement was Becca taking a sip. Juliette cocked her eyebrow at her blushing friend, making a mental note to pester her for details later.

Juliette was the third person to take a turn. She took a deep breath as she pondered what she should ask, taking a brownie from the table in the middle as she thought. There were things that would be interesting to ask, but she couldn’t very well get away with saying she hadn’t done. There were even more things that would make excellent statements, but she doubted would get anyone to drink from.

After a minute, she had the perfect thing to ask. “Never have I ever been sober and kissed someone within thirty minutes of meeting them,” she announced with a grin. She looked directly at Serena and Becca as she spoke. Oh yes, she knew the rumours.

Serena and Becca both took sheepish sips. Sarah did not.

"DOES EVERYONE KNOW ABOUT THAT?!"

"Did ye tell anyain? Coz Ah sure didnae."

Juliette giggled as she sat back against the couch cushion, being very careful not to spill any wine. “The mansion has eyes everywhere, ladies,” she informed them. The question had clearly been a perfect one.

They were barely into the night and Sarah was already have fun. Never Have I Ever was a game she knew they could play without being too specific. And it would drop some barriers between everyone. The brunette had already learned quite a bit about the other women. Jules and Serena had kissed redheads. Becca was a flirt. Serena seemed strictly on her side of the field.

And apparently Serena and Becca had kissed each other within thirty minutes of meeting.

"Wait. Really? You two?" she giggled.

"In mah defense. Her eyes ur very blue."

Sarah couldn't help but giggle at them. "Doesn't that place have, like, security cameras?" The song playing ended and a new one began. Smirking, she knew her question. "And, never have I ever kissed a girl and liked it." She then too a generous sip of wine.

She laughed a little harder as every single one of them took a large pull of the alcoholic beverage. Sarah had to put a hand up to her mouth to make sure she didn't spew her own drink.

Becca was the one to break the silence. "Ah mean. They've aw bin guid." Which made Sarah hastily swallow so she could burst into laughter.

One round through her first game of Never Have I Ever, and… Becca had gone a solid three for three. Never had she ever thought she would be the type of girl who would hit every criteria of every question in a game like this. The once innocent Scot was going to have to take some time to seriously assess the habits she was picking up.

Rebecca was not oblivious to the look Jules gave her when she took her sip for sleeping with a guy. She was not shy about being bi, but given the one instance where she did indulge in the opposite sex, the fact that she had sex with a man was not one she advertised. Somehow, she doubted that excuse would fly with Juliette, especially after that cute little stunt she pulled, outing Serena and Becca for their meeting on the Mansion bench. (At least that would keep her from having to explain the time she did the same thing with Vicente.)

After Sarah asked a question that would obviously get her, (and herself as well, which Becca was not entirely sure was within the rules, but would not stop a girl from drinking,) Becca was already starting to feel warm. She was not a total lightweight, but red wines were a weakness for her.

At the very least, she had a turn off as the great asker of questions. Glancing around the room again as she nibbled at the potato chips she had pulled from her bag, she knew she had a question at the very least Juliette would have to drink for. ”Ne'er hae Ah ever... dated a bad boy. Ur girl. There's nae judgin', obvioosly.” About the genders, at least, because she was ready for some high-key judging.

Jules was quick to reach for the bottle (probably) jokingly, but Becca lightly swatted her hand away, giggling. ”Yer datin’ choices urn ae excuse tae gie greedy.”

Sarah was the first one to say something, looking as though she were perturbed with someone who was not there with them. "Does it count if I didn't know he was?"

Becca smirked. ”Ah hink ye drink twice if ye didnae know." Sarah laughed and conceded her two drinks.

It was then Juliette that gave the extra rule some thought. ”Do I have to drink twice?”

Becca arched her brow, remembering Jules telling her how her and Sam met. ”Ye mit hem when he cam intae th’ hospital fur a stab woond. Ah hink ye knew.”

”But he said he was a cop...”

“He has an eyepatch.”

Serena was cackling, and Becca and Sarah were adding in with fits of laughter that almost took them off their chairs. Juliette refilled her glass after her drink and defiantly added, ”Well, bad boys are better in bed.”

“You would know, since he’s two doors down.” The final tease was only met with a wink from Juliette and laughter from the rest of the room as they opened a new bottle to refill any glasses in need.

If this sort of thing had happened just a few years prior, Serena would have been an awkward mess, but as she was now she could mostly enjoy it. And if she started to feel blushes or nerves starting to creep up, she could drink. Ah, being legal was truly a wonderful thing. After another gulp and draining her glass she stammered out "Becca started it! Kind of..." She hid her blush by dashing over to the kitchen and pulling out some slightly dustier bottles her Grandmother had sent and brought them to the table.

Serena wasn't overly picky with drinks, she just liked things with a smooth taste, however to seasoned Wine drinkers... She had well aged reds and whites from France and Spain that probably cost an arm and a leg. She opened one and poured herself a fresh glass. Obviously she also drank for the girl kissing comment, quite a lot in fact. This game was going to have an impact on the group pretty fast.

Serena actually had a surprisingly high tolerance, luckily. She found herself rolling a little on the sofa with quiet laughter at the next exchange as Jules and Sarah tried to suss out their drinks. She came out of it with a big grin as Becca's phone chimed with a message Serena quickly held up her hand. "As host my one rule is no phones for the night~ And let me tell you, I'm dying to text Ami so it's not just you that will have to wait~" She soothed.

Serena paused for the next question thinking hard. Hmmm. Boundaries. Oh, she could push it a little further. "How about.... Never have I ever, gotten intimate with more than once person, at once." She glanced around the group to silence.

Gazes lingered on Rebecca for a little longer than the rest of them with a resounding response of. "Oh, screw off, all of ye. NO." There were many giggles as a result of that one.

"Your turn Jules~" She picked up a blueberry muffin and nibbled.

For her next drink, Juliette had to cite that cute redhead again. Darn her and her freckled nose. At least she hadn't been alone for that drink, though. Every single other girl in the room, including Sarah, took a long sip of their wine. It seemed that they all had at least that in common.

The next question had gotten her to down quite a bit of her wine. So much, in fact, that she had to refill her glass. For that, she had only Sam (and herself) to blame.

Thankfully, the third question warranted no drinking from her. Or anyone else, for that matter. She snickered at Rebecca’s indignant reply when they all looked at her for a little longer than anyone else. Sure, she hadn’t done that particular thing, but the girls really couldn’t be blamed. She had already flirted with every single one of them and left her mark on Serena.

The questions had come full circle, and it was Juliette’s turn again. She took another bite of the brownie she had taken, and swirled her glass of wine as she thought. She was already feeling a little more giggly than usual, and they were only a few questions in. The night would either be a really good one or a really hazy one. Possibly both.

“Never have I ever been in love with more than one person at a time,” Juliette said after a moment. She wasn’t sure if it would get any drinkers, but she was curious to see the responses.

Serena and Sarah both kept their glasses stationary, but Rebecca looked uncomfortable. ”Ah mean…” the woman started to say something, but trailed off and took a sip. Rebecca had a history, it seemed. Whomever said that blondes had more fun clearly didn’t know enough redheads.

Juliette laughed and shook her head, holding her wine glass and partially eaten brownie close to her chest. ”Alright, either people need to start telling stories as we go, or someone needs to start writing this down, because I want to know the details.”

"I would not mind stopping for story time," Sarah grinned. There seemed like a lot of good stories between all of them. The things she was learning were pretty little when all was said and done. None of them really knew any names or specifics at this point. Unless the tale had been told before hand.

Reaching over to fill her glass with Serena's new fancy wine, she thought of what her turn should be. They had already done the male/female bits of fun. Grinning and turning to look straight at her fellow brunette, she spoke. "Never have I ever kissed or slept with an X... man."

She cackled as her friend blushed and took her drink with a 'That's not fair'. Sarah was pleasantly surprised when the other two took their own drinks with their own blushes.