Get This Party Started [Josh]

[RUSSEL CONNOR]

Mr. Connor was excited for the dance. When he'd heard they were to wear costumes, he'd made sure to pack his Harry Potter costume, complete with wand, trademark glasses, and one of those temporary tattoos in the shape of a lightning bolt scar. Sure, he was a little old for the part, and his hair was curly, but that didn't matter to him. He'd been going as Harry Potter for years, or at least the years that Halloween fell on a school day, because he didn't trick-or-treat anymore, obviously. He always had so much fun dressing up.

The dance was being held in a big ballroom, spectacularly decorated in festive Halloween style. He couldn't help but be a little awed by it all. Even his own senior prom hadn't been this fancy. Granted, he had lived in a small town. They didn't have places like this to rent out. Russel wandered around for a while, sort of nodding to the music, until he started getting hot under his robe. Probably not the best idea to wear a Hogwarts robe and Gryffindor scarf to a dance with all those people pressing in so close, but the costume just wasn't complete without it.

He made his way over to the refreshment table and got himself some punch, downing half of the liquid in the plastic cup at once as he realized he was thirstier than he thought. He made a face at the taste of it, though. There was a sort of bite to it, kind of like sprite if you drank it right after opening a bottle that had been left in a hot car and gotten warm. Odd. Ah well, no matter. He drank the rest of it and filled his cup again, lingering near the table and just watching everyone else.

[JOSH CLARK]

Halloween had never been one of Josh's favorite holidays, though he had gotten quite a few really amazing photos from Halloweens past. He wasn't all that big a fan of the whole dressing up thing, though he would dress up to go onstage or for photos or something. What could he say? He was weird. Because he was a chaperone for the trip, Josh had to think of something. Being lame, as one of his friends called him, Josh chose to wear nothing more than what he'd usually wear to school with one of those blue and white name stickers that had the word "Teacher" written on it. Josh found it amusing, but he knew he'd probably be the only one. He was at that moment standing back by the refreshments, with his guitar case resting against the wall near him, since it was left unattended. That was just asking for someone to spike the drinks. Of course, by the time he noticed no one was there someone already could have. Eh, it wasn't his fault. He wasn't assigned to actually watch the drinks anyway. Josh paused his thoughts for a moment and wondered if anyone actually had been assigned to do that. Shrugging it off, Josh couldn't help but laugh slightly when he saw Russel's costume as the other teacher got a drink of the punch. "Harry Potter?" he asked of the unmistakable getup, scarf and all. "Isn't that a bit excessive for in here?" Josh was all for going all out for a costume, but surely it was ridiculously hot with the robe and scarf and everything. It was one of the better costumes that evening, though, at least in Josh's opinion. It was definitely more thought out than his, own, but then, he'd simply been trying to find something that he wouldn't actually have to dress up for.

tag;; russel
word count;; 311
notes;; iiiii dunno
muse;; slightly amused and distrusting the punch >.>
credit;; graphics and form: alice. lyrics: "celebrity status", marianas trench.

[RUSSEL CONNOR]

Russel turned automatically when someone said "Harry Potter" and saw Mr. Clark standing nearby with an amused look on his face. "Oh, hi there, Josh." Excessive? He chuckled at that. Maybe, especially in light of how thirsty it was making him. But he had always been quite serious about Harry Potter. It was hard to believe the whole thing had started more than ten years ago. "What can I say? I love Harry Potter," he said with a grin and a shrug. "If I get too hot I'll just go outside for a bit. The costume doesn't really work without the robe, y'know?"

He took another swig of his drink as he looked the blue-haired teacher over. He didn't seem to be dressed up at all. In fact, he was wearing the same kind of stuff he usually did at work. Russel raised an eyebrow. "Did you not dress--" he began, then noticed his name tag said "Teacher." He laughed. "Oh, I get it! Very nice."

He finished off his second cup of punch, then refilled it and went over a little closer to where Josh was standing and leaned against the table. "So I see you brought your guitar. You gonna play a little something for everybody?"

[JOSH CLARK]

Not trusting the students not to spike the drinks -he had a habit of drinking a bit much and not remembering his actions, something he really wanted to avoid on a school function-, Josh had thought ahead and brought his own bottle of Coke Zero, like that was really surprising, which he grabbed from the floor by his feet as Russel replied. After taking a drink out of the bottle, he nodded with a smile and said, "Harry Potter is a totally awesome costume, and you're right, it doesn't quite work without the scarf... unless you went for something more like from the Musical." Josh had been highly skeptical when one of his friends had told him about a "Harry Potter" musical, but in the end, he'd been glad he watched it because it was totally awesome and one of the best things he'd seen in the history of forever.

Josh laughed slightly and bowed a little as Russel complimented his "costume". "Thank you, thank you. I spent forever on this thing trying to get it right. Was a pain in the ass." His gaze dropped over to his baby at the mention of it and shrugged a little. He hadn't really planned on playing anything, but he might if he got bored enough or the music started sucking enough. "Eh, I might. I kinda take it with me everywhere. S'a habit." Not to mention he didn't trust his baby alone because somebody could steal it or something and the world would end, then. He remembered something about Russel saying he could play and smiled a bit as he crossed his arms, still clutching the soda in one hand. "Maybe you should serenade us with something tonight." He still didn't know the extent of Russel's guitar playing skills, and that would actually be kind of good to know before they actually had a chance to play together. He was sure that Russel couldn't be as bad as one of his friends, though. Listening to that was pure torture.

tag;; russel
word count;; 338
notes;; .... Gotta get back to Hogwarts. Gotta get back to schooool...
muse;; currently has "Get Back to Hogwarts" stuck in his head
credit;; graphics and form: alice. lyrics: "celebrity status", marianas trench.

[RUSSEL CONNOR]

Russel chuckled at the mention of the musical. He wasn't a big fan of musicals, but he'd seen part of the Harry Potter one. Youtube was one of the few places he frequented on the internet, and he loved Harry Potter, so it was inevitable that he see it. "Yeah, but I'm not really a tie person. At least you know what I'm talking about, though. Most people are like, 'Dude, it's just a costume.' But you can't cut corners when it comes to Harry Potter, am I right?"

He laughed when Josh bowed and talked about his own "costume." He had the urge to laugh much louder than he did, but he managed not to. How odd. Was it the atmosphere of the dance that was making him loosen up so much so quickly? Had he really been cooped up on his own for so long that he'd forgotten what it was like to party? Maybe his ex had been right, more right than he'd realized, when she said he'd closed himself off after he'd lost his job.

At Josh's suggestion that he play something, Russel smiled shyly and waved his free hand in a gesture of dismissal. "Nah, this isn't really... I'm not really that good," he said, taking another drink of his punch. "You should get up there and play something, though. If what I've heard in the teacher's lounge is any indication, you're much better than I am."

[JOSH CLARK]

Josh took a drink of his soda and laughed slightly as Russel mentioned not cutting corners when it came to Harry Potter, shaking his head in agreement. "It's too epic to disrespect it like that," he stated with a nod and a fake serious expression of seriousness. Honestly, he thought if you were going to dress up, you should go all out for it, but there was a personal extent. If he'd been the one dressing up like Potter, he would've ditched the winter stuff because it'd be way too hot in there for it. However, whatever floated the other guy's boat, it was his costume after all. Josh couldn't help but roll his eyes at Russel's denial of preforming for the dance, and smile. That only made him want to get Russel up there even more. "Pfft, you can't be that bad," he insisted while setting his soda bottle down at his feet. "Plus, having fun with it is way more important than having talent. You could be the most talented person in the world, but if you don't have fun with it, there's no passion and it's lackluster." Josh really hated the amount of talent that went to waste because the person with the talent didn't have fun with it or have passion for what it was they were doing. Then there were those who made it big in the industry because of computer technology and looks while people with talent and passion for it, that deserved to make it went overlooked. He'd seen too much talent waste away simply because the person didn't look the part that Hollywood wanted. Josh laughed softly at the compliment and shrugged with a smile. "Yeah, well, I'd better have at least some, otherwise the band I'm in is even more screwed than we already are." He wasn't an idiot, and he knew the guys he played with didn't really have the look or sound many recording agencies wanted, and they were on a short list anyway because of Josh's estrangement with his father. Not many professionals would give them the time of day. But, that didn't matter so much for them. They could play small restaurant gigs for the rest of their lives and be happy as long as they got to play. That wasn't really something to think on at the present time, though, and Josh smiled again with a shrug. "Maybe I will, but you have to, too." With a nod, Josh crossed his arms, still determined to get the English teacher to play in front of the students and chaperones there on the trip.

tag;; russel
word count;; 436
notes;; \o/
muse;; awkward and thoughtful
credit;; graphics and form: alice. lyrics: "celebrity status", marianas trench.

[RUSSEL CONNOR]

He grinned like a happy little kid when Josh agreed with him about Harry Potter. It was nice to meet someone roughly his age who didn't think it was a little childish. Sure, maybe it was, but that didn't mean he had to give it up. After all, nobody ever really grew up, not entirely. And he, for one, hoped he never lived to become a cranky old man.

"Well, I didn't say I was bad, just... not that good," he said with a laugh. He was right about doing it for the enjoyment of it. So much music nowadays was uninspired, and so many songs re-used bits of old ones. Especially rap. He couldn't stand rap. He tended to listen to older stuff anyway, from the 80's and 90's, partly because he grew up then but also because he felt it was better quality. Of course, maybe he was a bit biased.

He smiled when Josh mentioned being in a band. "Is it as much fun as it sounds? I thought about starting one when I was in high school, but I think everybody does that," he said, laughing loudly. Boy, the atmosphere really was getting to him. But he didn't seem to care anymore.

Again Josh suggested he play, this time making a bit of a deal with him. He seemed determined to get him up on that stage. He rubbed at his ear and took another sip of his drink. "But... I don't have my guitar with me." Oh, that was an excuse if he'd ever heard one, but it was the only way he could think of to get out of it.

[JOSH CLARK]

Was being in a band as fun as it sounded? Josh wasn't fully sure how to answer it. He and the guys enjoyed it and they had a lot of fun with it, but there was actually a lot of work involved in it that most people didn't really take the time to remember because they didn't look past the "glamor" of being in a band. "Well, it can be as fun as it seems if you make it be," he finally answered with a smile. Yes, being in a band, like everything else Josh figured, was only as fun as you made it. It could be the most enjoyable thing in the world, or it could be filled with drama and clashing members and fights. That was the best thing about being in a band with his best friends, though, Josh knew they wouldn't ever really fight and any disagreements would be settled with vigorous rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Yeah, they were that cool. "Of course, most people forget that if you want to actually try to go somewhere with your band it's gonna take time and money out of your own pocket for advertising and other random fees that pop up." Josh had seen more than a fair share of bands split up because of drama over the forgotten aspect of trying to get your band up and going, money. If you didn't spend the money to advertise or other small things like that, it doesn't matter how good you are because no one is going to hear about you (unless you by some random bout of luck get discovered without ever really doing any "professional" playing), and you won't get any sort of following.

At the excuse of Russel not having his guitar, Josh's gaze slipped over to his own. There was a dilemma. He still wanted to hear Russel play, no matter how badly, but he only had his own guitar to offer. Most people never got a chance to touch his baby because he was that protective of it. For Josh to even consider to let someone play it was showing a great deal of trust that he didn't often have. After a moment of silent debate, Josh finally said, "You can use my guitar." He congratulated himself internally when he realized he'd said it without a grimace or a flinch or a frown, though those were his natural reactions to the statement because the guitar was his baby and... well, it was special dammit. If it had been one of his other guitars, there wouldn't even be a moment's hesitation, because he didn't care so much for those, but that one was the one he used all the time, to work through his issues and everything. You didn't just do that without forming some form of attachment. There was a few moments pause before Josh smirked slightly, figuring a slightly childish but the best way to get Russel to actually play. "I dare you to get up there and play something," he stated, still smirking slightly and suddenly feeling like he was in junior high all over again. It was pretty great, actually.

tag;; russel
word count;; 533
notes;; holy crap that looks like a lot of words o.o
muse;; thoughtful, awkward, and amused
credit;; graphics and form: alice. lyrics: "celebrity status", marianas trench.

[RUSSEL CONNOR]

Russel was surprised when Josh offered his own guitar. "Wow, seriously?" Dang, now he didn't have much of an excuse, did he? Although he was warming to the idea of getting up there to play something. Then when Josh actually dared him to do it... "Oh, you're on now, pal! All right, I'll do it, but... you gotta go first." He took another swig of punch as he tried to steel his nerves.

“Pft, yeah, seriously.” Josh just had to keep reminding himself that this was a good thing and that his baby would be okay. He didn’t feel the need to warn Russel about badness should something happen to the guitar, since he figured Russel already understood that without words being said about it. Josh let out a dramatic sigh as Russel said he had to go first, but nodded. “Alright then,” he said with another nod before grabbing his baby to get up there during a break in the music already playing. “Yeah, so this is happening ‘cause I’m trying to get Mr. Conner up here to serenade you all, so… Yeah.” Josh was bad at introductions but whatever. After smiling, he started to play this song because it’s a lot of fun and he wanted to.

Oh man, he was really going to have to do this now, wasn't he? He wasn't used to playing to such a large group of people, just in the corner of a little cafe with dim lighting and people not really paying attention. And that had been months ago. But as he drank the rest of his punch and listened to Josh's performance, he felt his resolve strengthening. Besides, there was no way he could back down from a dare. He clapped enthusiastically with everyone when the song was finished, then jumped up and joined Josh on the stage. "Well I uh, I'm not even half as good as Mr. Clark here, but I'll see what I can do," he said into the microphone as he took Josh's guitar carefully from him. Now what song to play? Something fun... something like... Smelly Cat!
"Smelly caaat, smeeelly caaat, what are they feeding you?
Smelly caaat, smeeelly caaat, it's not your faaault!
They won't take you to the vet,
You're obviously not their favorite pet,
It may not be a bed of roses,
You're no friend to those with noses."
He paused for just a second to shout out, "Everybody with me now!" though nobody really joined in, just laughed. But he was beyond caring at this point. He was really getting into it now.
"Smelly caaat, smeeelly caaat, whaaat are they feeding you?
Smelly caaat, smeeelly caaat, iiiit's not your faaaault!"

Josh waited off to the side while Russel played, holding his breath for a few moments while focusing mostly on his guitar. Then he actually realized what the hell Russel was singing and playing, and he couldn’t stop himself from snorting a bit. “Smelly Cat, really?” he asked himself, shaking his head a little. It almost made him wonder if he should check the punch for something. But, he decided not to. Maybe the guy was just loosening up a bit more than he thought he would. Russel wasn’t as bad as he’d thought the guy would be, but the song didn’t really leave much room to judge that on. Once Russel was done, Josh went back on the stage for his guitar with a laugh. “Interesting song choice, but well played. You have completed the dare, so bad things won’t happen now.” Josh really needed to stop the habit of talking just to talk.

Russel handed the guitar back and then jumped down off the stage, feeling like he suddenly had a lot of energy. He never really did such goofy things in public, especially not in front of students and colleagues, but it had been fun. He almost wanted to do it again. Almost. He laughed at Josh's words and shrugged. "It's the first song that came to mind. My repertoire is rather limited, I'm afraid." He was still grinning from ear to ear. "That was more fun than I thought it would be," he said, making his way back to the refreshment table and grabbing his cup, filling it with punch again and drinking some more. The lights up there had made him hot again. Maybe he should go outside for a bit of the cooler air soon.

"Hey, nothing wrong with the first song that comes to mind. I’m just surprised you could actually play it.” Josh laughed as he carefully held his precious --the thought of which made him want to call up the boys so they could have a dorkful Lord of the Rings night, complete with acting out different roles-- and went to return it to its case before taking a drink of his own soda. “Well, you looked like you had fun, which is the most important part.” Honestly, Josh wouldn’t have cared if Russel had been terrible as long as he’d had fun with it. “Dude, are you okay? You’re kinda flushed.” He didn’t think it was that hot in there but then he wasn’t all decked out in Harry Potter robes either.

"Am I?" he asked, putting a hand to his face, though that didn't help much because his hand was warm too. Then he switched hands with the one that had been holding his cup, but of course that was cooler than his face because the punch had ice in it. He laughed. He wasn't really thinking straight, was he? "Eh, it's just the lights up there, I guess. And this costume." He loosened the scarf just a bit. He still didn't want to take off the robe. He downed his cup of punch, then stood there chewing on the ice. "Ice. Ice helps. I might go outside for a bit though, to cool off. You wanna come with, or stay here?"

He wasn’t so sure it was just the costume or the lights, but he’d save his suspicions a bit longer until he could see more evidence to his thoughts without having to actually check the punch, cause that was just a step he really didn’t want to have to take. Josh nodded a little at the question before nodding toward the doors. “Nah, I’ll head out there with you. Could do with some fresh air, too.” Of course, there was no way he was going anywhere without grabbing his guitar case. That had to go with.

"Aaaall righty then!" he said in his best Jim Carrey impression, heading for the door. He held it open for Josh to follow and immediately felt better in the cooler Autumn air. "Oh man, I didn't realize how hot it was in there! Or seemed to be." He turned around, walking backwards, and looked Josh over. "You don't look that warm. Good grief, is this costume really that hot?" He nearly tripped as he was walking backwards, so he stopped and steadied himself, laughing. "Whoa, almost fell, there."

[JOSH CLARK]

Josh just kind of raised an eyebrow, a habit he picked up from Aleix, as he walked with Russel before laughing slightly. It was fairly obvious by that point. “Dude, I think you’re drunk.” The facts all kind of added together and Josh really wouldn’t put it past one of the students to spike the punch. Russel couldn’t have had that much, though… Unless there was more alcohol in the punch than Josh figured there was, and that very well could have been the case. “Did the punch taste kinda funny to you?” Seriously, if they had to try to figure out which kid thought it’d be fun to spike the drink, Josh wouldn’t be too happy. There’d already been enough issues on the trip with the whole prank on the ghost tour he’d missed out on.

"What? No no no, that can't be right," he said with a frown. Could it? The punch had tasted a little funny at first, but... "I haven't even had that much of it. Only... well, I've had... I dunno, five, six... I can't remember. I was really thirsty." It was cold out, and he was feeling better and better, almost ready to go back in now. He grinned. "Oh well, guess there's not much either of us can do about it, anyway. Unless you wanna go pull the punch off the table? But what a waste... You know what would be fun? If somebody here was dressed as Voldemort. Then I could get into a wizard battle with him." He pulled out the replica wand he had in the pocket of his robe and held it out to him so he could see. "See? I've got a wand and everything."

Yup, the guy was definitely drunk. Josh snorted slightly at the dorky behavior of the other teacher and nodded a little. “That would be pretty epic, actually.” To see a battle between “Harry Potter” and “Voldemort” would definitely be a site to see, especially if Russel would be Mr. Potter. With a slight sigh, Josh flicked his hair out of his eyes. “I probably should go deal with the punch, actually. Kinda my job as a teacher. You gonna come back in or hang out here a bit longer?” Josh wasn’t sure he should leave the guy alone, but then Russel didn’t seem too out of it, so maybe it’d be okay.

He laughed. "Wouldn't it?" If only somebody had come along as Voldemort. But oh well. He popped some more ice in his mouth and chewed on it. He was much more comfortable now. In fact, it was getting a little cool. So when Josh said he'd go back in, Russel nodded. "I'll come back in. I guess this time I'll drink water. There is water, right? I could go fill my cup in the bathroom if I have to. Dude, is there a spell for making water? Oh man, I am drunk, aren't I? I'm all rambly and stuff." He laughed. "You won't tell anybody, will you? Maybe it'll wear off in a bit and nobody'll notice."

Josh couldn’t help but laugh at Russel’s rambling. Him being drunk at a school function wasn’t the best thing but it really wasn’t the teacher’s fault. Josh figured Russel would be a fun drunk elsewhere, though, which was always entertaining. “Nah, it’ll be our secret.” Josh nodded a little with a smile as they headed back in before gesturing down a hall. “There are some vending machines down that way with water if you don’t want the over chlorinated city water.” That was the one downside of cities, the gross water. Josh never drank water from tap unless he had to, but usually he’d end up sick from it.

Russel had finished all the ice in his cup and was following Josh, swinging his arms as he walked. "Thanks, man." He was glad the other teacher wouldn't tell on him. He really didn't want to get into trouble over something like this, not when he hadn't meant to consume alcohol in the first place. "Nah, I'm cool with tap water," he said with a passing glance at the vending machines, but then he did a double-take and stopped. "Oh my gosh, they've got skittles! I'll catch up with you later, Josh!" He waved at his friend and then scurried off toward the machines, fumbling in his pocket for spare change excitedly.