CRAZY, BEAUTIFUL NOTHING.

[ashley sarah de luca]

if there was something that ashley never got tired of, it was dancing. and exposing her skin. putting those two together, it would be clubbing. despite not having a job and falling deeper and deeper into debt, ashley still had clothes that she had when she had her modeling job. she dressed up in a simple white dress and a black jacket. she got out of the taxi and walked quickly in her heels into the club. giving the id checker a wink before watching him flush into shades of red. the girl took her jacket off and went to get a shot of something to get into her system.

she wasn't a lightweight, in fact she was far from it. she knew how to handle alcohol and she could last longer than most guys. she wasn't an alcoholic, but she drunk a lot more frequently than most girls. it was probably because she was surrounded by creepy men who wanted to get into her pants. she danced exotically for money since she was sixteen, and she knew how to get what she wanted. and she knew exactly what men wanted. with those two traits, she was quite a manipulative whore.

not that she minded people calling her that. in fact, it made her feel like she accomplished something. there were few people who could get exactly what they wanted from the opposite gender. ashley caught the eye of another man, perhaps a few years older than her, and she gave him a wink as well. he smiled back at her, but right next to him was another girl. ashley rolled her green eyes and gave another smile. she knew that he would be coming towards her soon, giving some lame excuse to his date.

ashley didn't feel bad at all. the guys who wanted to cheat on their girlfriends.. well they were assholes. and their girls must not have been doing anything right. the man came over a few minutes later, and ashley flirted with him. he flirted back with her. eventually, he led her on to the dance floor, and she forgot that he had a date. apparently he did too. she saw from the corner of her eye one of her friends. tom. she caught his eye and gave him a radiant smile. ashley leaned into the boy and whispered, i'll be right back, hottie. maybe you should check on your girl. he whispered some apology and ashley assured him that it was okay. the blonde girl walked over to tom with his tattoos and then gave him a small shove.

hey sweetheart, what's up with you? she said, giving him a wink. the girl ran her hands through her strawberry blonde hair and then lead him over to the seats. want something to drink? it'll be on me.

[tommas ugo renda]

Recently, Tom had been cutting down on the partying and the sleeping around. Even when it came to alcohol, the number of times a week that he got hopelessly drunk had moved from three to two. Great improvement, right? Wrong. Even with such a small decrease, Tom was already unhappy. He was used to sharing a bed with complete strangers, flirting and drinking and dancing and whatever else you could name that happened at a club. Cutting even the smallest bit of it away wasn't good for him, even though he was doing it in the name of love. God, how cheesy did that sound? Yet it was true; his heart belonged to someone now, and even though his body still belonged to whoever he was sleeping with on a given night, doing that kind of thing felt different now. Different emotionally, which surprised him. Since when had he given a shit about what other people thought of him? But now he cared about what Wesley thought, and even if getting drunk and dancing and sleeping around was still a drug to him, it was tinged with regret. Bittersweet, huh?

But even while knowing that there was something morally wrong with doing this kind of thing, it wasn't like he could just stop. No, cold turkey would probably send him into a horrible withdrawal, and that wouldn't be fun for anybody, least of all Tom. So he'd been gradually cutting down on his vices, his addictions, his drugs, all for Wesley. But the thing was, he wasn't even sure if the younger boy even noticed what Tommy was doing for him, and that just added to the unhappiness that was building around around him. He could deal with most of the problems when he was sober and at school, but when he caved in and actually went out to a club? Well, Tom's logic was that if he was already at a club, why in hell shouldn't he take advantage of it? He could get drunk and dance, and luckily, only liking the same gender made it a bit harder to stumble across someone that wanted to sleep with him. He wasn't going to strike up a particularly suggestive conversation with anyone tonight, but hey, if someone else started one...

After just a few hours of this new style of subdued partying, Tom was already bored out of his mind. Having morals was horrible, if they kept him from the things he loved the most. Was that bad, that morals kept him from the things he enjoyed? It meant that he enjoyed bad things, that much was obvious. Did that made him a bad person? No, that thought almost made him laugh. He was already a bad person, how much worse could he get? Fuck it, he had a job to kill someone. He couldn't get any worse. Luckily, just as he was about to get back into his normal style of partying, someone else made it all that much easier. Most of the people at the party scene were complete strangers, and when he slept with someone, he normally never saw or spoke to them again. That much was routine, making new friends. But there were always the few people that seemed to show up at every party he was at, and he eventually got to know them; another reason why he couldn't just cut off the partying. Half of his social life was based around the clubs, and he'd get lonely if he was cut off from everyone he knew.

”Ashley,” he said sweetly, clasping his hands like an excited little girl and letting a smile light up his normally irritated face. After a few seconds of that, he gave up and rolled his eyes. By now, she probably understood his shitty sense of humor. ”Nothing but the usual is up. I haven't seen you in fucking forever, though. Your life has to be more interesting than my non existent one.” Tom had already had a few drinks, but being well over six feet tall and with a decent metabolism, they didn't affect him too much. But hey, if she was offering more drinks, who was an obvious alcoholic to turn them down? ”Why not?” he asked, grinning softly. People would expect a tall and heavily tattooed man to act like, well, the stereotypical tall and heavily tattooed man, but Tom didn't. Not even close. He was a teddy bear most of the time, and anyone that knew him for over twenty four hours could easily pick up on that. The sad thing was, most of the people that he got physically close to never got to know him for that amount of time..

[ashley sarah de luca]

some people just assumed that ashley was the type of girl to leave the club with some boy who she'd never seen before. that wasn't the case. ashley did have some sense of pride and dignity. she didn't go around banging every person that she saw who had a penis. although most people would think otherwise, ashley had never slept with a guy before. it was something that surprised everyone, since she was a model, and models were known for being quite promiscuous. but the modeling industry was exactly like the music and the art and the acting. you don't go sleeping around with your coworkers. that's just wrong and awkward.

since the only male interaction she had was when she was modeling or stripping, there really wasn't any time to get all lovey dovey. not that she minded it. some of the girls hated it, they wanted to get a hold of some of the other attractive males that worked with them. not ashley, there was a little part of her that wasn't ready for relationships. not now, not ever. the idea that another man would have possession of her just sounded and felt wrong. the girl wouldn't fare well in relationships anyways, she would probably end up flirting (would that count as cheating?) behind his back.

she turned her attention to the bartender, gave him a little smile and twirled a lock of her hair around her fingers. two drinks please. he managed to ask her what kind, and she playfully rolled her eyes, oh, just surprise me. she giggled and then turned her attention back towards tom. she laughed again at his irritated face, poor man. he had a wicked sense of humor and his looks made sure that no one would approach him. unless they were like ashley. the kind of girl who loved to live life on the wild side.

i don't believe you. your life is always interesting to me, more than mine is anyways. she said, as the bartender returned back with two colorful drinks. thank you sweetheart, she said again, as she sipped up the alcohol. it was probably bad for her, and she would probably get a horrible hangover the next morning, but who cared? it wasn't like ashley had anything to do besides sit around on her ass all day, trying not to get any fatter.

my life sucks, bro. i'm just looking for another job.. and failing. she said, rolling her eyes. she knew that she should probably try harder, but there were too many fun things to do. too many new people she had to meet and flirt with. she loved messing with their minds, it was something she was good at too. most of them knew that she didn't mean any harm, she just wanted to have fun. and the ones that she enjoyed playing with the most were the awkward antisocial kids who didn't know how to react. she just loved getting a reaction out of them. but you know, nothing new. probably just gonna end up dancing or something, you'll help me out, right? she said with a wink.

she knew that tommy boy was taken, and he knew that she had no interest in him. but that's just how her personality was, flirty. she called everyone sweetheart and love, and some of her im messages could be interpreted two ways. she was known to be touchy-feely as well, and she loved to flatter the pants off of some men. although it sounded really vain, ashley knew that she was pretty. otherwise she wouldn't have been so popular with the male sickos in rome, and she wouldn't have become a model. and she loved flaunting off her body. she was joking about the dancing part, although she knew how to, there was no need for her to visit her memories and then drag out the one where she was dancing with the pole. ashley looked up at the tall teddybear with her green eyes. together, they were an interesting pair. no one would expect to see them together.

the tall, hostile looking guy with the tattoos with the smaller, blonde girl with the revealing clothes. they were a funny pair, and ashley laughed at the thought of what they might look like together from another person's view point. silly judgmental people, they just needed to learn how to spend time with new people without hating on their outward appearances.

[tommas ugo renda]

For someone like Tom, it was rather amusing to watch the bartender work to untie his tongue. If he couldn't flirt, he could at least watch one of his friends do it, right? ”Is it just something you do unconsciously, or do you actually have fun watching them act like that?” he asked, honestly curious for once. If he'd been interested in girls, Ashley would probably have been his type. No, not probably; she definitely would have been his type. But luckily for both of them, they weren't interested in each other, and their friendship-ish thing could go on without any awkwardness hovering around. ”You trust him to choose a good drink?” That made the dancer raise an eyebrow, but oh well. He wasn't picky on the type of alcohol that he consumed, as long as it was, well, alcoholic. So no, he wasn't at all picky, and there was a very low chance of the bartender spitting in their drinks or anything, since he seemed to lovestruck with the girl sitting across the bar from him.. He probably wouldn't do that anyway, since it was bad for business and all, but whatever. Tom was overly careful, even if he didn't seem like it most of the time. Sure, he'd made some stupid mistakes in his life, but who hadn't?

”You have an odd taste in topics, if you think my life is interesting,” he said, sniggering. Maybe it was interesting in some aspects, but when it came to the most interesting things.. well, he wasn't allowed to tell anyone about those things, and he was used to that by now. That, and he didn't find his own life that interesting, even though the more.. illegal part of it would probably interest most other people. He was accustomed to it by now; he lived his life, and it had become normal. Routine. Obviously, he took more interest in other people's lives because they had new aspects that he hadn't experienced, but wasn't that true for everyone? Except maybe narcissists, but Tom wasn't in love with himself. Wouldn't that be horrible if he was? He'd be even more annoying than he already was, and nobody needed that in their lives. Taking a small sip of the drink, he watched Ashley, thinking. To be honest, he hadn't heard much about her life, other than the fact that she was unemployed. Then again, he was a naturally talkative person when it came to the things that he was allowed to share. Tom had his secrets, but anyone he talked to ended up knowing the basic outline of his life. He'd already learned a long time ago that most people weren't like that. ”Interesting,” he said carelessly, smirking slightly.

Being unemployed wasn't that interesting, no, but remember what had been said about different things being interesting to Tom? He would never have to face unemployment, and he was well aware of that fact, so hearing about his friend who was looking for a job was actually quite intriguing to him. Yeah, it was weird, but no one could judge him on his private thoughts. They weren't that private anymore when he started talking, though, his genuine interest in the topic showing through his words. ”Where does someone like you go looking for a job, anyway?” If Ashley hadn't been his friend, he might have tacked on ”A whorehouse?” to the end of that, but he was behaving tonight. Ashley did look like someone that would search for a job in a place like that, but he wasn't going to comment on it. Not now, at least. Maybe if he had a bit more to drink, but then again, it would probably be in some other language and Ashley might not be able to understand it. His languages always got jumbled up when he'd had a bit too much to drink, and with Castor teaching him Spanish, that wasn't getting any better. ”And of course I'll help you,” he said, his voice as close to a purr as a human's could be. ”It would just be sad if I couldn't help you dance, seeing as I'm majoring in it and all.” He knew Ashley was kidding, and so was he, but where was the harm in playing around if they both knew that it meant absolutely nothing?

[ashley sarah de luca]

ashley looked up when tom asked her. and she gave him a wicked smile. both i guess, she answered truthfully. raising an eyebrow at him, wondering why he wanted to know something like that. it wasn't like tom was a flirt, or interested in flirting. especially not with other girls. the blonde waited until the bartender was out of view and then she explained, i normally do it unconsciously, like when i'm around you or when i'm with just regular guys in general... but when i see some socially awkward kid- then i kick it up a notch. it's just so funny to see them all flabbergasted, don't you think? she said with a wink, while the young man returned back with the drinks.

of course i trust him! he wouldn't do anything, she answered with a shrug while drinking her pink colored drink and thanking the bartender. while he was walking over to another couple, she whispered in tom's ear, after all, you're here. no one would do anything to anyone who's around you. gotta love people who judge, huh? she gave a little giggle. if tom wasn't gay, then this surely would be an awkward friendship. she didn't really have a lot of friends, and the few that she did have were usually a friends with benefits type of relationship. and it didn't help that most guys really wanted to get into her pants. while she did dress promiscuously, it wasn't because she wanted to bang. the idea of sex and condoms and babies just frightened her. there was no way that she was ready for that, and no way that she was ever going to do it anytime soon. it was a relief that tom was someone that she could just talk to without having to worry about all of that.

the girl gave a little shrug. she was sensitive about things in her life, whether someone wanted to know about other stuff- like food or music or clothes, then she would talk for hours and hours. she did have her own secrets, and she held them close. there wasn't anyone that she would trust anything with, surely not any of her friends. not that she had anything against any of them, it was just that.. she needed someone who she could sit down and talk and cry with. someone who didn't judge, and who could look past her party scene. the blonde shoved the thoughts away, she was content with life at it was, and there was no need for her to ruin the moment by thinking about touchy subjects. oh, you know me. i'm an odd person in general. she returned his little smirk when he said interesting out of the blue. the girl shrugged, interesting indeed. surely they weren't talking about the same thing, but it just felt like she had to say something. like as in agreement. both parties were very interesting- it just depended on what one's definition of interesting was.

oh you know, i work to pleasure old men. she said casually, not even flinching while she said that. after a while she laughed while realizing her statement wasn't entirely false. she just didn't want people to know that part of her life. it was considered illegal, and it was certainly frowned upon by the majority of the population. no, but i'm probably just gonna look into some more modeling businesses. or acting. but they're always so damn picky about the stupidest things. like my eye color. she rolled her eyes, she knew she sounded vain and shallow at the moment, but she was sure that tom wouldn't mind. even if he did, she would know about it, and she'd shoot him right back with one of her own comments about his tattoos or something stupid like that. who cared that she had green eyes instead of blue? and that ashley sounded like someone with blue eyes? she just couldn't change her eyecolor if she wanted to, right? she gave a little giggle as he purred. like a cat. the alcohol was surely getting into her system right now. aw, you'd be so pathetic. i'd cry for you if you couldn't help me. the girl smiled while finishing the last drops of the drink, while asking the bartender for another one. she'd have to get to know his name sometime- but not now.

[tommas ugo renda]

Honestly, everything amused Tom in some way or another, but one of the most amusing things was other people's opinions on him. Some thought that he was a flirt, which he could be, and some thought that he was a completely harmless kid in a body that didn't fit him (or was that only Nikolai?). And to tell the truth, some part of him cared about what other people thought. Making a good impression on people was obviously essential in his line of work, but it went deeper than that. Tom actually wanted to be useful and make people happy, no matter how odd that was. Overall, though, the opinions of people that he didn't care about just made him laugh. ”I guess flabbergasted people can be cute,” he mused, rubbing his chin absently. ”Especially if they're already awkwardly adorabile...” Tom hadn't had that much to drink with Ashley, but he'd had a few glasses before that... Rather large glasses, to be honest. He hadn't planned on getting drunk, but it was a pretty sure sign that he was when he started slipping into Italian and forgetting that he wasn't exactly single anymore. Nudging Ashley's arm lightly with his own elbow, he winked. ”So you flirt unconsciously around moi?” Oh yeah, and the French... couldn't forget his third language.

”He might, you know, piégez you in his car and rape you?” Yeah, like he hadn't heard stories of that happening hundreds of times. Things got around when you lived in the world of crime. ”Anyone would want to do that! Because you're pretty,” he laughed, his voice luckily not slurred yet. Maybe he was a better flirt around people that he was actually attracted to, but with Ashley, he was just throwing out blind compliments. It couldn't really be considered flirting, though. More like... well, Tom wasn't sure what it was. Something between joking and a compliment, quite possibly. After rambling quite a few of those in various languages, Tom took a few drinks of water, the part of him that was still able to think knowing that it would hold off an unpleasant hangover in the morning. ”I'll protect you, princess,” he chuckled, patting her shoulder. ”Or my reputation will, at least... I'm kind of useless.” Well, the two ended the same way, so why did it matter which one he said? Whether it was his reputation or he himself that kept people from trapping Ashley in their car and raping her, it was still preventing the situation. The situation that would never happen, but hey... it wasn't cool to ruin Tom's fun.

”You're very odd, no?” He tried to keep a straight face for a minute, but ended up collapsing in a fit of giggles again. He normally wasn't like this when he was drunk, but Tom had been in this mood before he'd taken in any alcohol tonight, so no one could blame him. He wasn't aiming to get in anyone's bed, so he wasn't flirting. Tom could have a good time in other ways, couldn't he? Like... finding everything that Ashley said insanely funny? Yeah, that would work. ”Modeling doesn't sound so bad. Wear contacts!” That started him laughing again, but before Ashley could say anything else, Tom lightly grabbed her hand. ”Want to go dance? I can help you.” That last statement was accompanied by a tiny wink, though as they both knew, it still didn't mean anything. Even when Tom was drunk out of his mind – which he luckily wasn't at the moment – he would only ever be interested in boys. It would be an understatement to say that Ashley was too feminine for his tastes, but hey, he could still throw compliments and joke around. Nothing could stop Tom from doing that, except maybe threats from his family... but he didn't receive those on a very regular basis.