BUBBLE FIZZ (o)

The invitation might have been extended to the whole of the Shaw family, but Aiden knew who it was meant for; his parents and not him. So how in the world had he found himself in a suit and tie sipping from a glass of champagne?
Simple; his parents had badgered him into it. They had been concerned that he was not keeping in touch with the 'right type of people' and God did they have to be so stereotypical British in this regard? But, in the end they had begged, wheedled, brought up the invitation from 'an old business associate' and managed to convince Aiden into going.
He had been regretting his moment of weakness ever since. The whole affair was high class and by association was just so boring, so muted with people talking in hushed voices and offering cliche' and bland compliments. Even the prospect of a room full of new people to meet and understand failed to excite him.
So Aiden did what he did best; he put his body on autopilot and slipped into his own little world inspired by the latest science fiction novel he had read and directed by a particularly catchy tune that was stuck in his head.

Just as he was about to reach the crux of his daydream, complete with lightsaber to lightsaber duels and flashy explosions somebody collided into him. Aiden gave a light frown, this wasn't the first time he would be crashing into somebody while daydreaming and the resulting explanations and apologies never failed to be a bit awkward.
Thankfully the woman who had bumped into him seemed to think it of as her fault and started apologizing- asking after the state of Aiden's clothes. Quickly running a gaze across his suit and finding it spotless the psychologist gave a quick smile.
"Nope, my clothes are still sober." he assured her "Are you alright?"

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don't mind me dropping in- open, I couldn't resist~

@juniper

 Aiden shrugged off his newest acquaintance's concern for his suit; it was understandable, but then again he was the same person who spent most of his time in a pair of swimming trunks and an unbuttoned shirt. No, what Aiden's brain decided to focus on was the fact that he had found someone -not senile- to talk to and to kill time with. And best of all she seemed like a pretty genial person; the apologies part had already been skipped over and done with the apologies and now introductions were being started upon. Who knew crashing into somebody could be such a good icebreaker? Aiden noted the fact down for future reference.

 "I'm Aiden, Aiden Shaw; your friendly neighborhood psychologist." the man in question introduced himself, subtly emphasizing on the slight British accent that he had picked up from his parents for that extra oomph. "And whose beautiful company is it that I'm enjoying today?"

 Because, when he gave her a second look, she really was quite pretty- with her purple tinged hair and eyepatch somehow highlighting that fact in a way Aiden really couldn't pin down. Exotic allure maybe? Whatever, he was starting to go off on a tangent again, and that wouldn't do when he was talking to somebody. Those unique features also managed to tickle something at the back of his mind, there was something familiar about them, but surely he would remember such a distinctive face right?

@juniper

 Aiden beamed as he heard Juniper's occupation- a singer; how exciting! While he might like listening to songs as much as the next guy; the most the psychologist could do in the field of music was to sing in the bath- and that too at the risk of the neighbors' wrath.

 "Really? That's so interesting; here I am getting paid to listen to other people and their problems while you make other people listen to you."

 Aiden gave out a cheery, carefree laugh that seemed out of place in the formal atmosphere of the club.

 "I should get an autograph- who knows, maybe one day it'll be worth millions!" Aiden further exclaimed, patting himself over for a pen and paper.
 He found his signature fountain pen from somewhere in his pockets -he had been looking for that!- and it hopefully still had some of the green ink Aiden liked to write with, but all he could find to write on was a paper napkin.
 Aiden wrinkled a freckled nose; a paper napkin? Definitely not good enough to fetch him a six figure sum on Ebay. On top of that his enthusiastic voice and out of place looks -he was probably one of the only two people here who had yet to experience a mid-life crisis- had already managed to draw looks and whispers.

It was time to make himself scarce, and perhaps whisk away the star of the evening too.
"What do you say Miss Juniper; would you mind leaving the party and help me find something more worthwhile to sign on than a paper napkin?"

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@juniper

Tally ho! And the game was afoot! Finally Aiden was able to find a fellow conspirator to ditch this depressing gathering of the old and the rich -managing to find a somewhat workable excuse on the way too.
Now all he had to do was to find a way to sneak out with the the star of the party -literally as she was an idol after all- away without anybody raising too much of a bother. Old people's minds worked in strange ways and a young woman, slightly tipsy, leaving with a man had the tendency to raise...ideas.
You didn't even need a psychologist's degree to tell that much.
So quietly and subtly -in his own mind at least- Aiden led the way for Juniper, trying to avoid the eye of anybody that might want to stop the pair for a word or the like.
And while weaving his way through people the ever amiable Aiden tried to strike up a conversation again.
 "So Juniper, besides singing, what other things do you dabble in?"

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"You're not missing much if you haven't seen parts of the city." Aiden assured Juniper.

After all the city tended to deviate towards the tourist trap aspect quite a bit sometimes, which for somebody raised in the city was frankly annoying. Moreover the sheer effort required for navigating through the masses and dealing with the people was too much for somebody like Aiden.
No, the psychologist preferred those out-of-the-way niches in which he could spend his time relaxing. Quiet places, preferably with comfortable seating and a not-too-nosy clientele...one such place came to the front of his mind.

"In fact if you want to go some place new; I have an idea." there was this lovely diner close to the beach which didn't get much traffic and even if Juniper disliked that there were plenty of places nearby. It was a decent idea. "How do you feel about seafood and East Nova Athens?"

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nope, no excuses just had a hard time rousing my muse; sorry.

@juniper