errbody in the club {police officers!}

[teddy remington lutz]

Teddy hadn't really been to a group outing at a bar since graduation. These days, since most of their friends had gone on to farther away things, it was just Hugo and Teddy at the bar and often the two of them preferred to go somewhere to eat rather than drink. Teddy himself wasn't a particularly big drinker and had always pretty much been the designated driver at all times in college, a role that had been ingrained in his psyche and which caused him to offer his services to the police force as well when he'd been invited on this makeshift group excursion earlier that afternoon. Most of the cops had laughed at him, since OI was a pedestrian-friendly island, but Teddy had come with his car anyway.

Of course, he was also the first one there. His punctuality had gotten him picked on in college and would probably still get him picked on as soon as everyone else arrived at the far more normal time of fashionably late. He missed Drake working in the building--he was a thousand times more anal retentive than Teddy and cared so much less about being made fun of that it was easy for Teddy to be okay with him taking the heat for some of the ridiculous things they both did.

There was nothing he could do about it now, though--he was already there, out of uniform and into his civvies faster than apparently any of the other cops. He felt underdressed in his jeans and t-shirt, but at least no one in the bar yet was going to come harrass him for it so he was free to sit at the table he'd staked out and drink the hard cider he'd ordered. When it came time for everyone else to arrive, he was intending to pretend that it was something manlier, like a real beer, but for now, there was no one judging. He knew this would be shortlived, but oh well. Such was life. At least he had a job and could afford the beer.

[jacob chase carlson]

Jake never spent much time at drinking establishments. He never had much of a reason to; he never drank, and most of his friends were fellow officers who were too busy to unwind at a bar. He would much rather be on the beach playing volleyball right about now.

However, he knew he needed to be social and avoid looking like a prick, which he knew he wasn't. It was because of this that he was now walking into Lucky's, hands shoved in his jean pockets. He scanned the bar and was dismayed to see no one else there just yet. Freaking perfect.

Finally spying someone he was pretty sure he knew (at least he thought so, judging by the back of the other man's head), Jake made his way over and sat down at the same table. "Starting early?" Jake asked Teddy, nodding at his glass.

[boutina marie kessler]

Boo had never really been one for drinking. She had tried alcohol before but as it had only given her a little bit of a headache, she had decided that it wasn't worth it. Before she was old enough to drink though, she had been invited to parties where alcohol was but she chose not to drink it because she believed in the law. Boo often found herself the person that could be counted on to make sure you got home without any major mishaps. She did however, have some interesting videos of crazy shit that had gone down.

When it was mentioned to her that a bunch of the other cops were going to the bar she figured that it could be fun. She mostly liked the people she worked with and an evening spent out was much more interesting than an evening spent in.

That was how Boo found herself walking into the bar her civilian clothes. She was a little worried that no one would be there but when she looked around she spotted Teddy and Jake.

"Hello!" Boo said. She noticed that Teddy already had a drink. "Whacha got there?"

[teddy remington lutz]

For awhile, it was just Teddy and the bartender--and, of course, everyone else in the bar, but they were just a trivial presence to which Teddy was not paying much attention. He'd only consumed about a quarter of his Magnum's when he heard Jake's chair pull out and he looked up. Glad to see a familiar face, even if it was the face of someone who would probably be giving him a hard time, he smiled and raised his drink in greeting. It was a Miller, he decided. That would make it about the right color.

"I'm starting on time," Teddy said, just barely keeping his mouth from going into the straight-lined scowl he usually saved for Hugo when he was being irresponsible. He wasn't sure how punctual Jake was on a regular basis so he didn't know how well-received his comment would necessarily be, but he seemed like the sort of upstanding fellow who would at least understand Teddy's frustrations even if he didn't share them.

It seemed, though, that people were going to start arriving, which was always a good thing. Jake and Boo were even almost as on time as Teddy and when the other woman walked in, he flashed her a smile as well. "Hey," he said. At her question, he looked down at his drink--Miller Miller Miller. "It's an MGD," he said, still smiling. He gave himself a mental pat on the back--totally nailed that lie.

"So how are you guys doing?" If Teddy had to pick two people out of the ones he assumed would be there tonight, Jake and Boo would probably have been the ones he was least acquainted with, excepting some other higher-ups that he'd heard might make an appearance. While it was nice meeting new people, he kind of wished that the people he already knew would show up already.

[jacob chase carlson]

Jake felt like snorting at Teddy's drink proclamation. He didn't know Teddy all that well, but he was pretty sure that the other man was not the type to hang around a bar and drink by himself until someone else got there. However, this was not the best time to point out Teddy's probable lie.

Jake nodded at Boo as she sat down, signalling a passing waitress and ordering a water. "Not too bad," he said in response to Teddy. "I take it you're doing pretty well."

[boutina marie kessler]

Boo wasn't sure what she was going to do tonight. Her partner wasn't here yet and neither were any of the other female officers. She ordered a virgin Pina Coloda and shifted her attention back to the men with whom she was sitting.

Boo smiled at Jake's answer then turned to Teddy. "I'm doing pretty well." She thought about what she could maybe say next for a half second before "So what have you guys been doing lately?"

[teddy remington lutz]

Of course the first people to arrive were two people that didn't have much to say in the way of conversation. Also, Jake scared Teddy a little. It wasn't that he was particularly intimidating--there were worse at the station and Teddy was just fine with them--it was more that he just seemed to always be laughing at some private joke at everyone else's expense. Teddy was constantly wondering what the older man thought of him, the rookie whose best friend was an idiot. He wished said best friend--or even his partner or his best friend's partner--were there.

"I'm great," he said, feeling like this conversation was just getting circular. "I've been, you know, working and stuff. Waiting for Hugo to decide what I'm wearing for Halloween. The usual. What about you? Anything special?" He directed most of this at Boo, flicking his gaze toward Jake every few seconds so that he knew he was still included in the conversation.

[daphne adelaide flynn]

Daphne didn't really drink--ever--and she especially didn't drink if all of the other cops were. She often felt a ridiculous sense of duty, but in times like these, that sense of obligation was multiplied by about a thousand and she determined that tonight, during this bar outing for the force, she would drink coffee and tea to keep herself fully energized beyond everyone else's dropping energy level. She would be the most alert.

When she walked in, she was surprised to see that even the officers she'd thought would go easy were drinking--except for Jake, of course, but he scared her, so he didn't count. She made her way over to the table of people she recognized and pulled up a chair, wedging herself between Jake and Teddy. She didn't really get along with other females on the force--girls in general tended to be less forgiving of her eccentricities than males.

"Hey guys. What are we all drinking? Was anyone thinking about food soon?" She looked around for a menu, reaching across Teddy to grab one. Maybe Hugo would get there soon and some of the awkwardness would be alleviated. She didn't want to think about the possible new awkwardness he would create.

[jacob chase carlson]

Normally Jake sat back and listened to the conversations without actively participating, not feeling like his responses were really necessary. He was not a very social person to begin with, and he knew a lot of the younger, newer cops were afraid of him because he was so intense about his job. He thought effort was often wasted to even try talking to them.

However, he felt that with so many of them there staring at him nervously and none of his vice "friends" around, he should make some sort of effort. So he smiled at Daphne.

"Food would be great. Wings, maybe?"

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[boutina marie kessler]

"Oh! Halloween! I had almost forgotten about that. I really need to come up with some sort of costume." Boo smiled at Teddy, "Thank you so much for the reminder."

Boo was very glad to see another girl and smiled at her as she came in. Boo felt her confidence waver as Daphne squeezed in between the boy officers when there was clearly plenty of room next to her. Had she done something to cause offense?

"Hello," said Boo, less enthusiastically than to the others. She had been so excited to see another girl too. Now she was just feeling left out for some reason. Boo resolved to make an effort to befriend Daphne. However, right now she was at a loss as to what to say.

[daphne adelaide flynn]

This interaction was getting uncomfortable fast and Daphne wasn't sure what to do about that. She wasn't, by nature, good at alleviating awkwardness and was generally much better at contributing to it, but there had faith in no one there to even give it a try, so it was clearly up to her.

"I love Halloween!" she said, sounding a little bit more enthusiastic than she probably needed to. "I've been making my costume for months. I had to sew my own dress, but then it didn't really work out so I had to comission this woman that works at a boutique and I have to say that it's looking pretty snazzy." She smiled around at everyone. "How about you guys? Costume stories to share?"

She really doubted they had any.