I LIKE IT (open)

[efer]

To say the least, Atticus was in trouble. He always had a knack for getting in trouble and he never went to any extent to get rid of it. He liked his habit of getting into trouble. He felt an adrenaline rush from it and there was nothing better than starting a scandal, at least to him. Atticus felt a sick satisfaction from messing up one of New York's finest galas with all of the fanciest and wealthiest people in town. Atticus had a love for messing up. He would always cause a riot and stand with a scotch in the corner after everything was done for and smirked to himself as he saw the destruction that he caused. His family didn't find it too amusing at all. His habit of getting into trouble caused him to get kicked out of the family. If it was up to them, they would have him change his last name as well.

Atticus was here on business. The business that involved getting money to repay his debts in gambling, alcohol and other various drugs. The business that involved getting himself out of a deep, deep hole he had dug for himself. He did not expect to get out of it anytime soon because as he was repaying his old debts, he was just making new ones. The smart move was to find himself a nice, steady job and then to get a girlfriend. A smart girl who was pretty and could help him rebuild himself. Then he would get a place back into the family, get his trust fund and everything would be fine. Everything would be just like it was back in the day and he would have no worries at all. After being back in the family, he could quit his day job and not have to worry about a single thing. Everything would be splendid, but that would just leave the cycle to start again. Before he knew it, he'd be on the drugs and alcohol like it was his job, and then it would become his job.

He wasn't thinking about doing the right thing though. All he was thinking about was getting himself so drunk that he could barely stand up straight. Okay, maybe not that drunk, but he was in london and he was going to have a good time. If it was the last thing he did, he was going to enjoy his time spent here. He was a tourist for god's sakes. Atticus had been at the bar for a good half hour and already took five shots. He was getting a bit tipsy and his breath reeked of alcohol, but that wasn't about to stop him. He watched as some models walked by with their bums barely covered and he straightened his suit as he walked through the club. Dancing a bit here and there and making a path leading up to the bar. Atticus took a seat as soon as he saw one available and waited his turn to order something. He watched the scene of the club and nodded his head along to the beat of the music. There were people grinding up against one another and everyone seemed to be having a good time, he was for sure.

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[harlow lorraine golightly]

owning a club wasn't really a life-long dream of harlow. i mean, really, what kid says, "i'm going to own a night club when i grow up!" while it hadn't ever really been something she had thought of doing, it had been quite the success. not to mention, it was far better than the ballerina or equestrian olympian career choices she wished to pursue as a child. it was also the most logical career choice for her. she had spent quite a lot of time drinking and partying, why not own a club for it? it made sense, and it was enough to keep her mother content. paradox had been open for nearly a year now, and it wasn't too often that harlow actually had to work. she had hired managers and a lot of other employees to do most the work. despite this though, harlow always managed to find herself at the club, whether it was just checking up on people, keep an eye on things or merely just to enjoy the clubbing herself. tonight, however, she was working behind the bar counter. she didn't necessarily have to be there, but they were a little short staffed and she figured she should probably pick up a bit of slack. not to mention, it wasn't like she really had much else to do with her evening. plus, she'd prefer to distract herself. sitting home alone and being a victim of her thoughts wasn't really on the top of her list at the current moment. besides, she could be in a place filled with an endless supply of alcohol. what else could she possible want?

it was a rather slow night to say the least. not really around the club as a whole, but at the bar it was a little slow. maybe slow wasn't the right word, but it was lacking the interesting people. at this point, there were only the alcoholics and the few sluts her were too drunk to even remember their names. usually harlow was able to find at least one person who could provide some good conversation. whether they were sober or not was irrelevant. normally, at least one person had a good story to tell. as soon as she made her rounds, serving each customer at the counter, she moved towards the newly vacant seat, only to find that atticus was the person who had taken it. she smiled lightly at the familiar face, leaning lightly against the bar counter, standing across from him. "well hey there atticus," she said with a grin. it was nice to have atticus around. sure, he was a pain in the ass more than not, but they did have quite the history. they had caused so much trouble between the two of them and they had always had a bit of chemistry. it was a mix of things, mainly a good friendship type of chemistry, but they also had their share of lustful moments too, even if they had been intoxicated for most of them. "want a drink?" she asked, knowing his answer would be yes, despite the fact that he already reeked of alcohol. it was atticus, he was always trouble, but hey, he was just the type of person she was looking for. someone with a story to tell. someone to keep her interested.

[eh, sorry it's not that great.]

[efer]

atticus had no idea what made him want to get drunk so badly tonight. Maybe it was because staying sober was just not a useful way of using his own time. He wanted the control of his own body to vanish. He wanted to just let go and be loose. That was a lot better than using all of his energy to think about what he was going to do with his life. He was going to wait until after the hangover to deal with that. There was the slight problem of not having any money left. There was the difficulty that came with leaving your family, or rather being kicked out of it. One of the biggest challenges was finding a source of income. Atticus was not going to work a day in his life if he had anything to do about it so he was going to plan and devise any type of way to get around sitting in an office for years on end. He was not going to become some low life.

While he hated his family and hated everything they basically stood for, he had made an identity for himself and he wasn't going to let it be ruined. Atticus was a man of status of wealth. He knew where the parties and drugs were. He knew how to get the women and he was successful in any venture he sought out in correspondence with any of those things. He was an expert at rocking and rolling and partying every single day of his life. Atticus was into drugs and alcohol. He had been sucked into the hole and he had no intention of getting out. One thing led to another and he became quite a poker player, which then turned into any kind of gambler. He normally kept this stuff to himself, refusing to let anyone know of his guilty pleasures. He did a good job with keeping it secret too. Who would ever suspect that some wealthy New Yorker would turn out to be such a major slum? Not many people. Atticus still dressed the part of a Roberts even if he wasn't part of the name anymore and had no money so to speak of.

Through his drunken vision, he spotted Harlow Golightly. The one girl he always seemed to be able to get along with. He wouldn't go as far as saying he liked her, but they did tend to have their chemistry. Although their nights of passion occurred when both of them were so drunk they couldn't tell their head from their ass. Nevertheless, Atticus never minded her companionship if he was sober or drunk. He especially liked her since she owned the bar and was offering him a drunk. A lopsided smile came across his face as he said, "Only if it is on the house." He wanted her to be on the other side of the bar. Instead of serving him, he wanted her to be next to him and talking. Although this was just as good, too bad she had that boyfriend. Not that Atticus really minded. He saw boyfriends as yield signs, not as stop signs. "I like your club," he told her, not sure of what else to say. He was smiling and nodding along with the music, something inside of him urging him on to get up and dance.

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