Black converse, magenta laces. Kai descended the steps into the Looking Glass jazz bar, so chosen tonight because- well, he couldn't quite give a reason to it besides the fact that this was the last of his teenage years and that it was what he felt like doing. Also there was a doodle of a rabbit in a waistcoat on the chalkboard sign and it had pink ears, and his shoelaces were pink. So there.

At the front stand he was issued a wristband for not being of legal drinking age, which was all sorts of lame. Like, why were there even those years between 18 and 21 where one was forced to be half of an adult? In any case he got a soda which was good enough and found a spot near the dance floor but not on it, drifting through the crowd in a vaguely charming manner. The place had a friendly Wonderland vibe to it that suited Kai just fine.

As hard as it might have been to believe, though, it was rather difficult to get any more of a reaction than "like" with vague charm. Hence, his glasses he'd palmed upon entry would have been put back on had he not somehow managed to collide with an unsuspecting female, the bar counter, a head of pink hair, and a tray of drinks in the process of doing so. Mostly all at once.

"S***sorryexcuseme," said the gray eyed teen as he went after the glasses.

Cafas was a fan of clubs as much as anyone with a complicated love/hate relationship with alcohol. He liked this one slightly more than the others. It's decor was a bit odd for his taste, but sure, who didn't like Lewis Carol and watching themselves drink in a mirror.

He found himself doing just that. Staring at himself drinking a Mad Hatter, whatever that contained. The couple glasses he'd had before hadn't tasted as good as this one did. Maybe that was the alcohol talking.

What even is this thing?

He was being talked at by some girl that recognised him. He was being polite enough of course, had to keep up the PR, but she didn't seem to get the message that he wasn't interested. She'd seen all the movies so many times, she had a poster of him, it was super cool that he was a X-man, his interview with Conan had been priceless. He struggled not to sigh at her.

Please go away, please go away, please go away...

Someone very suddenly bounced off him, knocking a tray of drinks to the floor. Cafas made to catch them but was in no state for fast reactions. The slight numbing of the drinks slowed him just enough to miss completely. It was probably for the best, he'd have been soaked otherwise. As it was only the girl talking to him got soaked. She made an indignant noise, then ran off to save her dress.

"S***sorryexcuseme," said the crouching figure.

"Not at all, couldn't have timed that better." He'd been on the verge of actually having to tell her he wasn't interested at all. In her, or the conversation. The barman didn't agree with Cafas, those drinks did have to be payed for after all. Cafas off-handedly did so. "You alright?"

The glasses of what had previously been drink were piled back on their tray in a moment and the tray deposited on the table, and the weekend crowd was thick enough that Kai dared to hope that news of his complete failure as a person had not yet spread to the other side of the room. It wasn't like he was going to hang out here in any case except damn, the pink-haired guy was talking to him.

Eyewear prop clutched loosely in his left fist- like he was going to put that on, drenched as it was in mysterious liquor- the teen gave him and the miffed bartender both a sardonic smile. "Hurts in the," he shrugged in reply, "pride is all."

The pink haired guy had obviously had a couple drinks but was no stranger to being inebriated, as far as Kai could tell. Perhaps he frequented such places often? He gave off the vibes of a celebrity and ladies' man, the latter of which Kai especially envied. Not that he was going to admit that.

Gray eyes met mystery colored for one two seconds by way of saying hello, without saying hello. Pink hair might be drunk, but others might not be-it was not a chance Kai was willing to take.

"Hurts in the pride is all."

"Don't think anyone noticed or cared, so you should be fine." After all, who was going to notice another person stumbling over themselves and others? Half the people in here were already beyond the point of proper co-ordination. Cafas for one doubted very much that anyone but the girl he'd spilled the drinks on would even remember in five minutes.

He's hardly the first guy to spill a drink or two onto someone.

The new arrival caught his eye for a couple of seconds. Cafas took this as some form of greeting. He blinked rapidly as he looked away. Maybe these drinks were stronger than he gave them credit for? "I might sit down if I were you though. Any more of that and people might take notice." He motioned with his head to one of the bouncers, who was inspecting them from across the room.

Cafas took another sip of his drink. He casually observed the room as he did so, making eye contact with a couple of women. Some of them had a spark of recognition in their eyes he didn't like the look of. Others didn't. He preferred that option, though it occasionally turned out he'd just not spotted it.

Not really what we're here for, but sure...

The pink-haired guy's suggestion wasn't supposed to be funny, but it was. The sarcastic edge of Kai's smile expanded because irony: bouncers in clubs like this took care of issues where drinking went too far, but Kai didn't need alcohol to trip over himself- that was more due to his utter lack of attention and coordination. If it wasn't so loud in here he might have been able to knock out the entirely sober bar too, and that was just sad.

It was yet another reason to go clubbing. The inebriated company, that was. Pink's eyes wandered among the females of the crowd, but that was so not what Kai was here for.

Oh, he wished. But boy feelings were far from the only thing puberty had gifted him with. Damn. Genetics. He was stuck with making conversation with people with drinking problems; it even sounded lame, good company or not.

"Why do I get the feeling that I should ask for an autograph?" said the teen in regard to the looks good company was getting, in his usual quick way.

>"Why do I get the feeling that I should ask for an autograph?"

Wow, did this guy know words weren't all meant to run onto each other like that? Cafas had dealt with a few kids like that at the mansion luckily so he was at least adept at deciphering it. He debated telling the guy no, but ultimately felt it was a waste of time. He was in a crowded bar, someone was bound to mention it eventually. If he got good and lucky they may not, but he wouldn't count on it.

I used up all my luck getting that part...

"Because you've been to a cinema in the last few years? I swear I wouldn't have volunteered for it if I'd known how big that series was." Cafas shook his head in tired exasperation. Fairy Prince jokes got old after a while. Then the inability to walk through New York without someone stopping him for a couple years. It was going to start declining soon, hopefully.

Last movie is out of cinemas, not long now...

"So, gonna sit down or what?" He had to be better company than any of the women that he'd already spoken to. Cafas indicated to the stool next to him.

>>"Because you've been to a cinema in the last few years? I swear I wouldn't have volunteered for it if I'd known how big that series was."

It admittedly took a moment for Kai to catch on, but when he did his expression reconfigured itself into an exaggerated woah. The realization that he'd somehow managed to run into the Fairy Prince, no pun intended, was epic. Not only did Kai know girls back home who would have killed for an autograph, but this guy was made out to be such a big deal even he'd been suckered into watching the movies, and that was saying a lot.

Less talk, more popcorn. That had been a long time back. He hadn't been to a cinema in what, almost a year now? How had that even happened?

"I scared away a fangirl, did I?" He set his Coke on the counter and took a seat on the proffered stool, curious. "So don't like the spotlight too much? And why a bar, of all places? If you care to tell."

The familiar pressure built inside his head and Kai took a quick gulp of his soda and stopped talking, oh god he was so stupid.

>"I scared away a fangirl, did I?"

"Yeah, she really couldn't take a hint." The younger guy was taking a seat, good, that made one less available spot. Plus, he really seemed a bit too clumsy to be walking around a crowded bar. People tended to take umbrage when someone knocked their drink over them.

>"So don't like the spotlight too much? And why a bar, of all places? If you care to tell."

Cafas blinked hard and tried to gather his sense of balance. His entire body felt unusually heavy, and the room was spinning on some weird fourth dimensional axis as best he could tell. He looked down at his drink curiously. What made these Hatters so Mad? Was that what was hitting him so hard?

You're meant to be responding here dude.

"Uh, no, it'sh not really the spotlight I mind. Jusht people and media with no boun'ries. As for th'bar, they sell drinksh and it's easier to not be noticed in a crowd." Not fool proof, clearly, but easier. Causing a commotion never helped.

That reminds me, gotta have a friendly chat with the editor that ran that headline about Maya...

Cafas sipped his drink a little suspiciously. It didn't taste weird, did it? How would he know? He turned his head to look at his new drinking buddy. "How 'bout you, why you here?"

Sorry, got a little carried away there. He could have apologized but didn't; it would only have made things worse, anyway. Instead the teen tilted his Coke back and watched the Fairy Prince examine his drink as if it were the cause of the sudden vertigo. Yes, he could keep on thinking that.

>>"Uh, no, it'sh not really the spotlight I mind. Jusht people and media with no boun'ries. As for th'bar, they sell drinksh and it's easier to not be noticed in a crowd."

"Media will take anything as an excuse, eh?" Kai's smile was sympathetic and for the plight of celebrities- people and media with no boundaries seemed a common enough claim among the rich and famous, or so he had heard. "I get you." Speaking of which, hadn't he seen some headline recently about Fairy Prince and some other girl? It had most likely been worthless and he'd not done more than skim in, but still. Point taken, even if he wasn't so convinced about the easier-to-blend-in-in-a-crowd.

"A particular hobby of yours then, drinking?" What he was really asking was why the celebrity felt the need to drown himself at the bottom of a bottle, but the inquiry could easily have been passed off as is-it-fun, either way.

>>"How 'bout you, why you here?"

A sardonic laugh, because he wasn't even sure. "I thought it'd be fun," he said, which was true enough. And after several moments of thinking harder than he should have had to, "...Cafas?"

>"Media will take anything as an excuse, eh?"

No joke. Cafas was surprised his drinking hadn't had an article yet. Then again, he'd never been the clean cut celebrity. It probably didn't make as good of a story as, say, him potentially cheating on his boyfriend. Which he had. They had absolutely zero proof though. A few photos of him dancing a bit closer to Maya than was considered "friends" level proved nothing.

>"I get you."

That was new. Most people outside of the media spotlight just scoffed. Not much sympathy in general. He couldn't blame them. It was hard to understand how little money made up for a complete lack of privacy. He had to think about how almost any action would affect his friends. It got tiring, and it was especially draining when he failed to protect them from it.

>"A particular hobby of yours then, drinking?"

Nope, I've gone pro...

>"I thought it'd be fun... Cafas?"

"You could call it a hobby I suppose. It's more fun than being sober. And yeah, Cafas is correct. You appear to have me at a disadvantage..." Several really, but socially it was the name. The fact the guy was there to have fun was... Way healthier than Cafas' reason. Cafas took a sip of his drink before remembering he was suspicious of it.

Coming to a bar for fun...

It reminded him of Maya again. The hint of a smile crept onto his face. He wouldn't need alcohol if that could be a regular occurrence.

More fun than being sober, that was interesting way to put it. Wasn't fun all that anyone was after these days? "But the world knows your name, Fairy Prince," shrugged the other. And everything else, but then he'd never been a huge fan. "Or are you an art for art's sake kind of person?"

It seemed a rare enough attitude around here, but then again every city had its own idea of art. Perhaps graffiti in unknown mediums was...the thing here?

On second thought, he didn't even want to know.

Cafas was smiling. It was a cutesy smile to himself, the best type, of the brand guys got for their girls, usually accompanied by a taken status and kiss-y pictures blowing up social media. All in all, irresistible; especially lighting up the expression of this celebrity in particular. OoooOOo....

He couldn't help but comment, not at all snidely. "If I were a girl I'd almost think that article about you and the enchantress was onto something."

>"But the world knows your name, Fairy Prince, Or are you an art for art's sake kind of person?"

If ever there was a good reason to get another role, it was so people stopped calling him "Fairy Prince". Maybe he could at least add some variety to it. "I'm one of those accidentally fell into it people. Funny ain't it? Thousands struggling to become big actors and I got in based on an off-hand joking comment in a bookstore." Not funny haha either. It was actually kind of sad as he thought about it. Maybe there'd be one less drunk in an LA bar if they'd landed the role he had. Maybe they'd love it all.

Is it really art? Some people sure, but me?

>"If I were a girl I'd almost think that article about you and the enchantress was onto something."

He gave his drink another critical glance. His next one would be a different drink, and he wouldn't let it out of his sight for a moment.

Seriously what's in this drink?

Cafas hadn't realised he'd been that obvious. Still, no point trying to stop. He'd been busted, so he decided to just roll with it. "I'm not one to kiss and tell. Let's just say I hope it was a two way spell. Why would you need to be a girl to think that anyway?" That actually did strike him as an odd thing to say. The fact it changed the subject slightly didn't hurt.

Was that funny? No. "You got in because you're talented," said Kai simply, then shut his mouth before he gave in to the urge to keep talking. He'd seen the movies and now he'd met the guy, and to all of this there was only one conclusion: life wasn't fair.

Cafas did not understand this, or perhaps he was one of those people who knew it but fought it their entire lives, and so were unhappy their entire lives. Case in point, the X-men. And on second thought, wasn't Fairy Prince one of them?

>>"I'm not one to kiss and tell. Let's just say I hope it was a two way spell. Why would you need to be a girl to think that anyway?"

A nice rhyme there. It fit with the celebrity theme rather well, or so Kai thought. "Why? Because," cue his Gone with the Wind voice, "...frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." He was just going to leave it to the fan girls to speculate on the love life of this drunk. Was this disillusionment, how he saw Cafas now in this bar and thought so little of him?

But he had style... charm... the thought to pay for the drinks some clumsy guy had knocked to the floor... And for that the gray-eyed teen would not settle to let Fairy Prince give his drink undeserving glares for the rest of the night, however amusing it might be.

"Your Mad Hatter, is it?" It was said quietly and as leisurely as Kai ever spoke- read, at the average pace of a debater trying to cram a dozen arguments into his two minute window but stretched out enough for maybe his audience to catch on, "I do promise it's not drugged, or even as strong as it seems."

>"You got in because you're talented,"

Kind of the guy to say, but ultimately Cafas didn't think that was true. He wasn't about to reject the compliment outwardly though. That would just be rude. Wait... That seemed to imply this guy had watched the films. Well that was funny in a way. Cafas couldn't imagine why people would actually do that. Terrible romance/fantasy/action hybrids rarely worked, especially when the source material was so bad.

>"Why? Because, frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

Fair impression, if somewhat fast. Fair comment too. Cafas didn't really know why anyone cared. Was his love life that interesting? Didn't people have their own to worry about? All they even had were the photos of Maya and him dancing. At least photos of them after might have had a tinge of actual scandal. As it was they were manufacturing scandal with speculation and name-calling.

>"Your Mad Hatter, is it? I do promise it's not drugged, or even as strong as it seems."

Cafas shot a suspicious look at the guy. What on earth did he mean by that? Was he using a mutation on Cafas? If that were the case, and it was on purpose, Cafas would not be impressed. "Yeah? what's going on then?"

Oh, so the suspicious glare was coming in his direction now. It was almost an accusation, that look- almost, but not quite.

"Do you think I know?" It was obvious that he did, but the look Fairy Prince got would have claimed otherwise. But what was he supposed to say? Oh yes, that it had something to do with something happening in the inner ear when he talked because of his x gene and he swore it wasn't on purpose and his aunt was a unicorn without a horn and- ha, and if by that time they weren't both on the floor, that would be a miracle.

Kai fidgeted on his stool. He'd drank his soda too fast and now he could feel the nose burp coming along, but at least the talking had come to a stop.