NIGHT FALLS ON HOBOKEN → QUINN FABRAY
TAGGING → Quinn Fabray, Carter Baizen
TIME FRAME → Saturday Night, March 10th
THE LOCATION → Some farm in Hoboken, NJ
GENERAL NOTES → :D
“Ready to go?” he asked as he reached out to offer his hand to help her from the back of the cab. He secretly wondered if she was nervous at all given she had little control in where they went, or much of anything they did during the weekend. While she’d been a good sport the first time, even as he’d made her spend more of it in Brooklyn, he still expected her to put her foot down, or throw a tantrum of some sort. He’d been around the Upper East Side long enough to know that it was full of people who would have done both way before they entered New Jersey let alone when the car stop at some seemingly random farm away from most civilization. “It’s going to be fun. I met a couple of the guys that live here a few weeks ago. They liked the poncho I was wearing.” He’d skipped wearing another poncho tonight, but he was sure once they got inside that he would have easily fit in with one. As it was, his simple jeans and buttoned up plaid shirt would have to do, but he still felt it was worth mentioning. “They throw these parties, and you should hear some of the random bands that have stopped by. I thought the guy was lying at first, but it all checked out.” Carter looked over to the medium sized barn as the large door opened and some of the noise and light from inside spilled out making it look much more inviting than when it was closed.
Quinn Fabray:
From the Upper East Side to Brooklyn to… Where ever they were now, Quinn was very disoriented. Carter had made clearly made it a priority to give her not only no say in their weekend plans, but give her no hints as to where they were going or doing. Their last weekend was literally a blur but she remembered staying in Carter’s place a lot and going around the city. South then north then northwest as far as she could tell… Nothing looked familiar anymore but she wouldn’t be one to complain. And with Sam’s aunt over at his house this weekend, her adventure with Carter couldn’t be better timed. She didn’t need anyone else realizing she was virtually homeless and as far as Quinn could tell, Sam’s aunt seemed like someone who would gladly spread her story around. Getting out of his house and out where ever Carter would take her was perfect. Even if she had no idea where she was.
“Always ready,” Quinn replied with emphasis on the first word, placing her hand in his for support. As she was lifted out of the vehicle, she surveyed the location and found no visual cues to allow her to determine their location. She quickly realized she and Carter had very different circles and spheres of possibility and it was very unlikely she’d ever been here before… or that she would have ever came here without him. A smile verging on a smirk came to her lips when she heard the word “poncho.” She’d never been one to call him out on it, but the item seemed very near and dear to him. Poncho appreciation posts were frequently on his blog after all. “Oh, so you do hang out with people outside of St. Jude’s and Constance. I was starting to worry,” she quipped. She turned towards the noise and light as Carter finished his thought and nodded before returning his gaze to him.
“Okay. Sounds legitimate,” she began as they started walking towards the barn. “Secret farm parties with loud music… It’s like we’re in a the sequel of Footloose or something. I like it.” The closer she got the more she realized this was perfect. A bunch of people she didn’t know and didn’t know her? A weekend away from people asking “are you okay?” followed by “are you sure?” and “I’m worried” and whatever else they would say? A wave of relief almost as tangible as the wind blowing through her hair washed over her. “Where are we anyway? Or is that all part of your game? The mystery?”
Carter Baizen:
“You shouldn’t believe everything you read,” he quipped with a teasing grin on his face. While a good majority of people he spoke to, especially online, were a year younger than he was, he was glad to show that he was capable of expanding his social circle beyond that. Having someone around to witness that fact could only help in eliminating his creepy old guy vibe he seemed to have picked up since his return. While he would admit a lot of it was his fault, arguing with the little Van der Woodsen for example, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t be thrilled to see it gone either way. “That’s exactly what it’s like, only in the sequel they do allow dancing, and Kevin Bacon is too busy to stop by. I mean you were talking about the original right? Don’t tell me that you like remakes.” Carter exaggerated a look of judgment with a raised eyebrow as he shook his head.
Keeping Quinn’s hand in his to keep from getting separated in the dark, and also as an excuse to have her close, as they walked towards the barn doors to go inside and join the party in progress. “I hope you’re not asking so you can call yourself a cab to leave already. We haven’t even gotten to the part of the movie where the two leads finally realize what the audience knew all along…” He paused for a moment like he was expecting her to read his mind and finish the thought even though his spin on romantic movies weren’t exactly the heartfelt ones that creators shot to bring out in people. “That two attractive people look even better when kissing,” he reveled like it had been obvious all along. “The music will swell, people around will cheer as they’re oddly invested in it, and then the scene cuts to something more interesting before the moment gets awkward.”
Grabbing the door to keep it held open after someone had exited before them, Carter let go of Quinn’s hand and motioned for her to step throw as he followed closely behind her. The atmosphere inside was relaxed, friendly, and loud as the music competed with all the conversations going on around to see which would be louder at any given moment. “Come on, let’s go grab something to drink.” He scanned the crowd, offering small smiles and the occasional nod of his head when he passed someone that looked familiar to him, and even some that didn’t.
Quinn Fabray:
“Uh-huh,” Quinn said with a roll of her eyes. If the people inside actually knew who Carter was, she’d be convinced. “You mean Kevin Bacon isn’t your older friend? He’s not coming? Wow, I’m… disappointed,” she teased. “And I didn’t even know there was a sequel, so your harsh judgment is unwarranted,” she concluded by tilting her head to look up at him. As they walked, she hadn’t realized they were still holding hands until he started talking again, suggesting she was going to run off. Like holding her hand was somehow anchoring her here with him. She was ready to protest the accusation, but he continued, stringing along the idea of a movie or a sequel. “We haven’t even gotten to the part of the movie where the two leads finally realize what the audience knew all along…” And then a vague pause, suggesting she should be able to fill in the blank. His whole tone changed and it left her perplexed. The phrase seemed like such an odd thing for Carter to say so she merely stared at him, a mix of skeptical and confused. At the revelation that two attractive people looked better kissing, she shot an eyebrow upwards and suppressed the urge to laugh. She wanted to ask if he was serious, but he looked pretty invested in the idea. Quinn chose to nod instead, putting on the same face of devout belief that he had, only hers was slightly exaggerated. “Well, our destination does seem to have a lot of music and people, perhaps it will swell and they will cheer and then…”
But they had reached the door. Carter had to break the contact to grab the door and effectively put a nice, unfinished end to her sentence. Quinn smiled as if she was really pleased with herself and made her way inside. At first she was shocked almost to the point of overwhelmed at the amount of people in the room, but that was short lived. Complete relief came soon after as she surveyed the room and couldn’t readily see anyone she knew. The music was stifling in the best way possible. She could not have asked for a better venue. This was going to be perfect, wonderful, exactly what she needed. Her eyebrows instinctively raised when she heard Carter’s voice again behind her and she nodded. A drink would be a nice addition to a seemingly flawless evening. She followed him because he seemed to know where he was going… And seemed to know a lot of the people they passed. She smiled at those who smiled at her, but didn’t know a soul. “Okay, you can’t know everyone here,” she commented, making sure she was close enough so her voice wouldn’t be lost in the sea of noise.
Carter Baizen:
Carter couldn’t help but to notice how Quinn conveniently left her story end prematurely as they reached the door and walked inside to join the crowd, but with the night being young, and plenty of distractions around, he decided not to push it. Juliet gave him enough grief about what she thought was an obvious crush he had on Quinn, but he preferred not to dwell on any of it, especially not when they were supposed to be out having a good time. “Sure, I do,” he lied and gave her his best poker face when she questioned how many of the people they were now joining that he actually knew. In reality he’d only seen close to a dozen or so of them before, and could name even fewer than that, but for some reason, he decided to claim otherwise for the time being. “It’s possible for me to know people outside of the Upper East Side, you know. I’ve got a whole other life that you don’t see blasted out on Gossip Girl.” While most of it consisted of things he was glad most people didn’t know, Carter conveniently glossed over that fact. He rather liked holding a little bit of mystery to himself, and keeping people in the dark about his motives was seen as a positive in his book. He liked to keep his cards close to his chest until the right moment to win big. There wasn’t a better feeling in his mind than winning a big hand both in poker and in life.
Walking over to the makeshift bar that was basically a few metals tubs filled with ice and an assortment of beer, Carter reached in and pulled out a couple bottles randomly. Looking between the two bottle that he’d fished out of their icy home, he twisted the caps off of both, and offered her the brighter of the two bottles. The label advertised how it ‘now included lime’ as a selling point, and he figured that was his best bet of the two in getting a drink she’d at least tolerate. “So….” he let his voice trail off as a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Who should I introduce you to first?” he finally asked as he brought his beer up to his lips to take his first long drink of it. If she called his bluff on knowing everyone, he knew he’d have to either come clean or try to wing it, but neither sounded too awful in the scheme of things. “Or we could skip all that, and make our own fun.”
Quinn Fabray:
When Carter claimed that he truly did know all the people he waved and smiled at, Quinn tried to read him for any indication he was lying, but couldn’t find a thing. He looked just as dedicated to that idea as the “two people looking better” one, so she wasn’t sure quite what to make of it. If he knew when and where this party was, then he had to know someone. And he knew where the “bar” was, only adding a shade of credibility. “Okay, okay,” she conceded, accepting the cold bottle from him. “I’ll try to stop doubting you.” She stared into the bottle, as if she was looking for an indication it was safe to drink, but quickly took her first tentative sip. She pursed her lips, once again acknowledging that beer was just not her first choice, but glanced towards Carter as he continued.
Quinn hummed against the top of bottle, keeping the opening close to her lips. “Hm, two good options,” she mused, contemplating the end results of both. Introductions would prove if Carter really knew these people, but would require sharing her own identity. It had been a while since the whole Photoshop scandal and it had barely been featured in the news, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to go around making herself known to the strangers she was so glad were strangers. And who could say no to fun? Even if everyone’s definition of fun was different than hers, she had accepted this weekend and the one before it under the pretense that it would be different than any weekend she would come up with on her own. The way he was smiling made it seem like he already had a plan anyway. “Very tough. We can make our own fun first, and if that isn’t fun, you can introduce me to one of your many friends. Preferably the one in the cowboy boots with the spurs,” she said, turning her head to draw his attention to boy who got way to into the idea of a dance in a barn. She returned her attention to Carter with raised eyebrows as she took another long sip.
Carter Baizen:
Carter smiled at his apparent victory when Quinn seemed to buy his story and vow to stop doubting him in the future. He conveniently left the try part out of her statement when committing it to memory. It worked much better for him that way, or at least for his ego. Watching as she took a drink from the beer he’d offered her, after much hesitation that is, he half smiled as it appeared to barely pass the drinkability test it was under. “Bold choice, even if you slipped some doubt in there along with it. It’ll be fun.” He followed her eyes as she looked over to a guy a few feet away that seemed to be in his own little world, and apparently that world was a cowboy dance off for one. “It’s a shame you’re going to have to miss out on meeting…Bubba over there. We can ask him to join us.” He looked back away from the guy he’d just given the worst fake name to in the world, and over to Quinn again. “He can give you some fashion advice.”
He took a long pull from his beer as he glanced around to see what he could find to entertain them first. While he was glad that he didn’t have to fake his way through introductions with most of the people around, that meant he needed to find something else to quickly occupy their time and add some more fun to the evening. “How about a game of washers over there.” He motioned towards the group that were playing, but decided it could lead to more introductions for him to make up. “Or I can show you my dance moves. I didn’t do that glee stuff, but I’ve got some rhythm.” He started swaying his shoulders to the beat and came up with a mock dance on the spot. “This is just a preview for you.”
Quinn Fabray:
“Hey, I totally almost entirely shelved doubting you, you could do the same,” Quinn retorted. Bold choice? Pft. She agreed to the weekend, she was committed. Sure the idea of someone else’s fun was scary. But right now being someone else sounded really nice, only encouraged by the fact that she couldn’t recognize a single face. She nearly choked on her drink when Carter called her cowboy friend “Bubba.” No way in the world was that his real name. Maybe she should have gone with introductions. That would have been amusing. She wanted to call Carter out, but was quickly distracted by his comment insinuating she needed fashion advice. Her eyebrows rose and came together and she let her mouth fall open. Surely he couldn’t be serious. Maybe this was his plan to distract him from his obvious lie. At any rate, it was working.
When it was very clear Carter was sticking with the fashion advice story and moving on to their plans, she left her brow furrowed but took another drink as he explained. “Washers?” she said, barely pulling the bottle away from her lips to see what he was referring to. She’d never heard of that in her life. She could tell people were throwing things, but couldn’t see what they were actually throwing or what they were accomplishing. She figured this all went back to her very different version of fun. As he continued, Quinn turned back to see Carter… dancing. At least that’s what he was calling it. A smile tugged at her lips, but she bit down at the corner of her bottom lip to suppress the urge to laugh. She passed her tongue through her lips as she slowly nodded, not quite sure what to say. “Wow” was all she could come up with before too much time passed and she let out a single laugh. It was apparent he hadn’t done glee or probably any structured dance, but he did have rhythm and seemed rather proud of himself. “Okay, you’ve got moves,” she finally acknowledged, placing her surprisingly nearly empty bottle behind her. “But shoulders,” she started, naturally curling her hands into fist and placing her wrists on his shoulders. “If you don’t keep them low, you look nervous,” she said, applying light pressure but keeping with the sway he’d found. “But I guess that’s only in performance dance,” she finished, removing her wrists but finding her place in the music herself. “But hey, if that was a preview, it was practically a performance. You’re welcome.”
Carter Baizen:
Carter chuckled at Quinn’s comment, but he knew she had a point. Just like the last time they’d spent the weekend together, Quinn had been a willing participant in whatever adventure he could dream up. Sure he got his share of worried looks and maybe a scowl or two on occasion, but it was a whole lot less than he was ever expecting to get. So while he knew he should lay off the questioning her, old habits died hard, even for him. “You’re right,” he conceded anyway especially since it helped him gloss over the look she gave him about his made up name choice. She definitely could have called his bluff, but with his lie spared, he wasn’t looking to bring it up again. “It’s a lot more fun after a few beers.” Glancing over towards the washer game, then back to Quinn again, it was one of a long list of things that he wouldn’t expect to see her do. He couldn’t even imagine the ridiculous game being set up at one of the high brow gatherings the UES threw no matter how hard he tried to, but then again Quinn had served beef jerky at one, so anything was possible.
When his dance moves earned him a surprised ‘wow’ and a laugh, it just encouraged him more. It had earned him a smile after all, so he could handle that the laugh was more at him than with him. While the compliment that followed was hardly an all encompassing ‘you’re an amazing dancer. I am so impressed,’ like he thought his moves warranted, but he took it none the less. “Better?” he asked as he lowered his shoulders some from the weight of Quinn’s hands. It was fitting in a way that the first hint of tension that he felt was when she’d reached out for his shoulders to give him a more relaxed form and not before, but it had nothing to do with the dance and more to do with Quinn. “My very own dance lesson from a professional. I’ll make sure and tip you when I turn it into a career,” he teased with a smile as he watched her find the beat of the music with much more natural grace than he had. “I hope you accept beer as payment tonight. I’m good for the rest.” Carter made an X shape over his heart with his finger like he was crossing it and sealing in his promise.
Quinn Fabray:
Quinn raised an eyebrow and half-nodded when Carter finally admitted she was right. She’d always like that feeling, the words, the recognition. “I didn’t say I couldn’t do it or anything,” she defended. Sure, she didn’t really know what the game was, but she would never admit she couldn’t do something like that. She knew he didn’t mean anything by his look towards the game, she just reacted. “I’m sure you think a lot of things are more fun after a few beers,” she smirked with a raised eyebrow. Like Sam thought things were more fun when he was high. Or Blair thought things were more fun when she succeeded in making someone cry. If she had to come up with what would make any situation more fun for her, she wouldn’t know what to say. But beer? Probably not her first choice. To each his or her own version of fun. And she had finished one without vomiting so they couldn’t be tooterrible.
“Much better,” she said with a smile and a nod. “And I’m going to pretend that’s notsarcasm. So you’re welcome.” Wow, a career in teaching dance. That was… Something. Something she’d never considered in her life, really. Maybe when she was younger, but her dad had always pushed for Harvard law school political life like it was the most glorious yet natural thing in the world. She hadn’t had time to consider anything else. Until now anyway. Now her father had shoved her out of his life, leaving her time to create her own. Maybe that life started when she moved out of her parents’ house, when she moved in with Sam, or maybe she could start it whenever she wanted. Maybe she could start it right now. “I guess I can accept beer for tonight,” she said with an eye roll. “But we should move in,” she added, tilting her head towards “Bubba” and the majority of the crowd. She and Carter were on the outskirts but she could do whatever she wanted. These people didn’t know who she was, what did she or they care? “Come on, it’ll be fun!” Giving him just about as much choice as she had in the cab (i.e., none), she grabbed his wrist and tugged him into the crowd as she made her way towards the heart of the very loud, undoubtedly drunk group. Once she decided things were loud and crowded enough, she resumed the dance, letting herself release some of the societal constraint she had carried around for so many years, finally kind of letting herself go. For good measure, she incorporated some of Carter’s stellar moves and smiled like it was the funniest thing she’d ever done.
Carter Baizen:
After a couple seconds thought, Carter conceded her point with a nod of his head and a lopsided grin on his face. “You’re right about that one. I can’t think of any example to counter that with where beer doesn’t make things more fun, and believe me, I tried. It’s not like I enjoy when you’re right on weekends when I’m supposed to be showing you a good time.” He actually didn’t enjoy when he was wrong ever, but he felt like specifying made him sound better, and since he wasn’t in a rush to remind her about the road that was already paved for her future, it was a win-win situation. At least he assumed it was still a well paved future for her. After finding out from Juliet about Russell Fabray’s affair, Carter wasn’t quite sure what was going on. It was hardly the first affair that had been kept under wraps at the expense of anything that came along just to save a reputation, but from what he could tell, Quinn was either clueless, or just as good as her parents about putting on an act to keep up appearances. Either way he felt like it added to the long list of reasons that a fun night was needed.
“You really just want to meet Bubba don’t you?” Carter knew he had no choice as she grabbed his wrist and lead him more towards the middle of the crowd, and if he was being honest, he didn’t care either. Quinn wanting to join in on the things going on around them without being pushed into it felt like progress in his mind. “I’m jealous. It’s his cowboy look, huh? I could pull that off,” he said with a teasing grin as he found himself being led into the center of the loud crowd. With everyone around them dancing without a care in the world, he didn’t waste any time joining in. Seeing some of his moves reflected back to him as Quinn mimicked them with what he assumed was a proud smile on his face, proud that she was so easily able to mock him and not so much that she was able to pull off his ‘moves’ he shook his head with a laugh. “You gotta use your hips more,” he coached as he leaned in closer to be heard over the music. “Like this.” Carter embraced his white boy rhythm and danced near her, repeating some of his moves from earlier with a mix of some others thrown in for good measure.
Quinn Fabray:
“Bubba looks fun!” Quinn laughed. The person whose name was supposed to be Bubba didn’t turn his head at the mention of his “name,” so either Carter was lying or it was just really really loud in here. She’d have to prove the name wrong eventually, that could be funny. But right now the stifling noise was even more fun. “Jealous?” she questioned, turning her head to make sure he could hear her. She wrinkled her nose as her lips curled into a smile she tried to suppress. She liked the sound of that. It seemed like everyone on the Upper East Side liked (or hated) that to some degree. It was like a game. Maybe Blair liked it most, but Quinn could be in close second if not tied. “He’s just so… shameless. He just owns the cowboy look. At the end of the day, I guess it just turns me on.” Saying that with a straight face and level voice was difficult for two reasons: one, it was hardly true; two, and perhaps most difficult, she would never say anything like that normally. It always sounded so gross, but it was kind of fun to do the unexpected. That only empowered her, let her release some more inhibition as she continued to dance.
When the correction came to use more hips, she wasted no time in doing just that. “Better?” It wasn’t new to her after being in years of dance classes but she had always reserved that for performance and practices. Her father had told her that kind of dancing was inappropriate for anything but performance. Now that she was thinking about it, that was really messed up thinking. Now that her dad wasn’t funding her weekly dance class, his opinions seemed even further distanced from the matter. She could do whatever she wanted. So she would. “You know what we should do,” she turned to face him with wide eyes. “We should totally get something else to drink.” With every word that fell from her lips, she realized she sounded less and less like herself. That was kind of the point, but it still almost surprised her. After being kicked out, she had pretty much continued to live by her parents’ rules. Not anymore.
Carter Baizen:
Carter looked in the direction of the dancing cowboy who didn’t even have the decency to glance over when his non-name was said loudly. The guy was doing him no favors, but then again he had chosen Bubba of all things. Even Carter could admit to himself keeping that story from tanking would take work. It was hard not to allow the corner of his mouth to turn up in a smile, even as he prided himself on his excellent poker face. “That turns you on?” he repeated as he looked back at Quinn. He realized he wasn’t the only one with a good poker face, as it was difficult to spot any signs of her teasing. He was sure she had to be, and that was only partly his own ego talking. He’d managed to take Quinn out of her element for another weekend away only to lose her attention to a guy fake-named Bubba. He didn’t dissect that thought long as his short attention span combined with Quinn’s dancing pulled him out of his own head all together.
“Much better,” he agreed with a soft laugh. He knew very little about dancing. Sure he was trained in boring things like the waltz, enough to fake his way though events after all, but none of that applied. As Quinn turned around, Carter lifted his eyes to meet hers. He would have claimed he was checking out the technique of her hips if he was pressed on it, but instead she mentioned getting something else to drink, and he agreed without hesitation. “Best idea you’ve had all night if you ask me.” Reaching for Quinn’s had to lead her through the crowd, a habit he’d picked up for the night apparently, he glanced back over his shoulder at her. “The next few beers always taste better than the first anyway. I might even convert you to a beer drinker before the nights over.”
Quinn Fabray:
“I hardly think I’ll be a beer drinker,” Quinn defended as she was pulled through the crowd. Of all things to defend, that seemed like a trivial matter. If she was going to break all her parents’ rules, why not break all of her own? That part seemed a bit more scary. Her baseless distrust of alcohol that could be purchases in the two digit range was a shred of her identity she could cling to. Something to keep her from falling into the large mass of nameless bodies. If she couldn’t be Quinn Fabray, she could still be Quinn, right? Just a less restricted version of herself. One who could make her own rules based on her own beliefs rather than those of her parents. After half-colliding with so many bodies she couldn’t put names to and with her hand in Carter’s and with a bottle of some kind of beer giving her an unprecedented about of inward rebellion, she decided maybe now wasn’t the time nor the place for an internal philosophical dilemma. Maybe beer wasn’t so bad after all.
“And by the way, I’m full of good ideas,” she said matter-of-factly with a simple nod of her head. In due time Quinn could see the the makeshift bar. The metal tubs looked less shoddy now for no appparent reason. Maybe she was just in a better mood. She’d accept them as… quaint. Colloquial. Friendly. Perfect for her out-of-body purposes. As they broke free from the dense group to the outskirts, she half-skipped, half-bounced ahead of Carter, changing from the “pulled” to the “puller.” She plunged her free hand into the water and ice and somehow managed to retrieve two bottles. Feeling proud of herself, she offered them both towards him, mostly because she hadn’t thought to separate her hand from his to split the two up. “After these, I think you should introduce me to some of your friends,” she asked with a tilt of her head. She turned her gaze towards the ground and laughed, thinking about how he would pull this off if he was just pretending to know everyone, before looking up at Carter again. “Or am I interrupting your secret fun-filled plans?”
Carter Baizen:
“Are you now? I haven’t seen them,” he teased, but gave his best attempt at being serious about it. He hoped to plant the seed of temptation to see what Quinn could actually come up with given how out of her usual element they currently were. Watching as Quinn successfully fished two beers out of their icy home with one hand, he raised an eyebrow as his expression showed how impressed he was. It was less about her ability to retrieve a couple bottles from a tub of ice, and more about her willingness to try. At a typical UES party, getting a drink only required to wait as someone carried a tray of them around. The only skill involved was making sure not to knock the others over while maintaining an expression of mild gratitude, but not too much lest the waiter get the impression they were somehow an equal. Two completely different skill sets, and Quinn could master them both. She always did seem like an overachiever.
Taking one bottle from her hand, and twisting the cap off of the one she was still holding for her, he quickly glanced around at who he could introduce her to. “You are ruining all my big plans. Huge ones even,” he lied as he tried to create some. He was confident he could fake his way through one introduction, possibly two if he was lucky, but he wanted to make himself look good instead of the opposite. While he was sure being able to laugh along when he made himself look like a fool wouldn’t have been the worst, but there were certainly better ways to score points. “I haven’t even shown you the great view outside yet.” Carter twisted the cap off of his own beer, tossing the unneeded piece of metal in the direction of a nearby trash can. “Those introductions will just have to wait. I’m sure Bubba won’t mind.”
Quinn Fabray:
“Thank you,” Quinn said with narrowed eyes. How could someone possibly believe she wasn’t chock full of brilliance? Absurd. Carter had to be lying, it was really the only explanation. She had suggested this weekend in a roundabout sort of way. And these new drinks? Totally her idea. She looked at him for a second more, with and amused kind of suspicion, before gazing out into the crowd and taking her first long drink. Still not her favorite, but she could tolerate it. She smiled at the mention of “huge plans.” “Really?” she asked, turning her head to face him. With his little (perceived) lie just a moment ago, she couldn’t tell what he was making up and what he wasn’t. Maybe he really did have plans… But that hardly seemed his new style. She wanted to ask what exactly those big huge plans were, but he answered the unasked question.
“I can introduce myself to Bubba at this rate,” she teased. She half considered waltzing right up to him and doing just that, but she didn’t introduce herself to strangers she didn’t know the names of. Only people at prestigious events who everyone knew. And would she cal him Bubba and prove Carter right? Or wrong at the expense of making herself look really confused? All fun possibilities, but he had mentioned the view. “But okay, the view idea does sound nice too. Oh,” she said, a smile growing on her face. “Maybe I’ll be able to figure out where we are! I should win a prize if I can.” Quinn had never been in New Jersey for an extended period of time and the odds of her figuring out her location were essentially zero. “Especially if there’s a way to get to the roof! Can you get on the roof of barns? I’ve never actually been in one before.”
Carter Baizen:
Hearing Quinn suggest she'd introduce herself to Bubba, the corner of his lips quirked up in a smile despite himself. While it would have no doubt proved how wrong he was about the entire situation, it would almost be completely worth it just to watch that interaction play out. If this place had some popcorn, he gladly would have grabbed some and witnessed what would be a bunch of awkward confusion, but when she showed interest in the view, he gladly continued with the idea. No matter how funny the awkward exchange with "Bubba" would have been to watch, the sequel would have consisted of his lies being exposed, and everyone knew sequels weren't as good as the originals. "I'll give you a hundred bucks you can figure out where we are." Carter glanced around the barn as he tried to figure out the layout. He'd spent enough time in them to know their basic operation. Spotting the small wooden ladder off the side that led up to the hay loft, he knew it would be perfect. The hay door in the roof would double as a perfect sky light to both see the view, and more easily reach the room from.
"No asking anyone where we are so you can pretend you figured it out," he added as an afterthought when his eyes met hers again. He was sure she could be a lot sneakier than given credit for. She had the brains for it, and growing up on the UES, she certainly got the chance to put her cunning plans into action. "You have to rely on your own deductive reason and blind luck. Come on," he motioned towards the direction of the ladder that was off away from people, clearly it wasn't an area they were encouraging party guests to explore, but that never stopped Carter before. With his drink in one hand, he reached for Quinn's in the other as he lead them over to it. "Ladies first," he said with a smile as he motioned his hand up.
