UNDER MY SKIN -- EJ

[LOGAN IAN ELLIS]

Ellis didn't get out much. Ellis dressed up even less. So on the odd occasion that the Scotsman found himself in the throng of a social event, he did the only thing that helped him cope with the anxiety. He got drunk. "Now. You're asking yourself the question: Did he take five shots, or did he take six?" His paw grasped the clear rock's glass of whiskey before him, gingerly picking it up and idly whisking it between him and his friend. The words that came out of his mouth pushed the very limits of their baritone, his eyes squinting in an attempt at the best Dirty Harry impersonation possible. Sure, the quote had something to do with a gun instead, but the subtle irony of how well it worked in this situation was too good to waste. "I must admit," he started, raising a brow and lifting the glass to his lips, "I myself have lost count through all the excitement of the fray."

He nodded coolly before taking a swig. This had to have been his third Jameson on the rocks by now. His face was numb and if he had been any more sober, he would have coughed at the searing sensation of the intense proof of the drink. Placing it down on the table once more, he looked back at his partner, switching eyebrows dramatically and sneering like the character from the movie. "Right now, there's only one question you need to be asking yourself." Ellis managed a stare into her large blue-green eyes with a serious face, the corners of his lips turned down and his hands clenching into fists onto the table. Certainly, this was no way to conduct himself while wearing such a fantastic three piece suit. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure how to conduct himself in public while wearing jeans and t-shirt, let alone a suit. At least through his drunken joking, he managed to complete sentences.

"Are you feeling lucky, punk?"

A laugh broke through his faux-stern expression, his eyes lighting up as the scowl disappeared. It wasn't hard to Ellis to have a good time when he didn't feel pressured or anxious or frightened or self conscience or discouraged. It was just hard to catch Ellis at a time when he didn't feel that way about himself. Six ounces of whiskey, two beers, some light hearted jazz music, and a table to himself with his best friend, though. Now that was a good time. Picking up his drink once more, he took his eyes off of EJ and took to looking around at the rest of the patrons in the establishment. The crowd had developed a considerable amount since they had first walked in. New Years Eve was quite the event of the year, though, wasn't it? As far as he was concerned, they were competition. And he and EJ were winning by a long shot.

"You know who feels lucky?" He asked, turning back towards her and lifting his drink once more. "I do." Flashing a smile, he solidified his statement with a short swig before placing the drink down once more on the table - this time a lot farther away. Shifting in his seat, he rested his elbow on the back of the chair, balled a fist and let his head lazily rest on his hand as he looked at her. His opposite hand had found itself on her lap, harmlessly touching her thigh. It was an incredibly platonic gesture in conjuncture to how beautiful she looked tonight. He always loved it when she dressed up. The confidence that it gave her made her nearly irresistible. Coupled with her smile and her flawless complexion, Ellis reasoned that he was in fact the luckiest man at the proverbial sock hop that night. "I'm really proud of the fact that you're the first girl I slept with." It wasn't his best choice of words, but the sincerity was there. EJ had to have been used to him by now, "You're just so perfect, yknow?"

[ELIZA JOY LIEBERMAN]

[atrb=border,0,true] [style=width: 310px;height:40px;font-family:georgia;font-size:30px; letter-spacing: -5px;line-height:120%;text-shadow: black 1px 1px 1px;color:28061c; margin-top:-15px;]the greatest man of my life [/style] Eliza wasn’t exactly sure how excited she was about new years. Sure, the fact she couldn’t drink had something to do with that fact. New years eve was just one huge reason to get drunk for a lot of people, and suddenly seemed so odd through sober eyes. Truth was, without alcohol to impair her, Eliza could actually think about what she had achieved in the last year, or more accurately what she hadn’t achieved. It must be why so many people drunk so much this time of year- to drown out the feelings of intense failure they would feel if they really looked at their life. It was enough to make anyone an alcoholic really. Eliza couldn’t even blame Ellis for sitting there teasing her with his drinks. He was having a good night, and if that wasn’t so damned nice to see she’d have made him embrace sobriety with her. Curse the feelings that made her own happiness second to his. Eliza’s problem wasn’t so much all the little things she hadn’t done, all the new-years resolutions she had broken, no. That stuff was trivial. Her problem was that she felt like entering the new years with such an unresolved issue was a bad sign. A sign that the rest of her year was going to be spent running from her problems and never dealing with them. Which was likely to be the case anyway, as Eliza was notorious for running, especially from complicated emotions. It just didn’t sit right though, and all afternoon it had made her stomach feel uneasy. What could she actually do though? Eliza wished that the ominous feeling was enough to scare her into telling Jelly’s father about his impending fatherhood, but it really wasn’t. She was more likely to sit and mope about it than she was to actually fix the situation, but then what else was new? Thank God for Ellis though. Her best friend had made it impossible to mope, and she loved him for it. He’d made her come out instead of sitting at home and moping. Which she was so thankful for, because she felt freaking fantastic all dressed up in her nineteen-forties styled cocktail dress, with her red lips and her hair curled just so. She looked hot, and more importantly felt good about herself. And aside from the fact that she couldn’t actually drink, Eliza was having the best time. She always enjoyed Ellis’ company, but he just seemed in such a good mood that she could forget her own issues and enjoy the light hearted banter that they always seemed to engage in. Besides, diet cokes weren’t so bad. She could just pretend there was something harder in her glass and get drunk off life or something. To his credit, Ellis kept up with his impression. Eliza, on the other hand, was grinning at him. Barely able to contain her laughter as he spoke. Honestly, his reference wasn’t anything she was personally interested in, but being the man’s friend for as long as she had, of course she was familiar with it. There was a great deal of things she wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for Ellis actually, but that wasn’t the point. Giggling as his expression cracked into a smile, Eliza went to reply but was cut off by his next comment. Biting the inside of her lip, her expression softened. So what if the wording was odd, Eliza knew what he was trying to say and she was completely touched by his sentiment. He was always doing that- pulling sweet moments from nowhere that made her feel so special. Leaning over, Eliza pressed a gentle kiss to her best friend’s forehead. “I’m just happy you’ve put up with me for so long.” She could use the moment to get all sappy and tell him in so many flowery metaphors what she felt for him, but she was sure he’d get it from the slight joke she had made. “Now, make me the luckiest girl in here and come dance with me?” Picking up his spare hand, she gave him a gentle tug.

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[LOGAN IAN ELLIS]

Put up with her? He laughed. Hardly. She was joking, of course. For the most part, EJ was a complete dream. The pessimist in him was tempted to break the moment and refute her words with how pathetic he was out of the pair. He had always felt he was the one being put up with - what with the way that she took care of him and the matter of just how frail he was emotionally. The truth of the matter, how ever, was that their friendship was simply of a symbiotic nature. It had nothing to do with who put up with who. It was about how much they needed each other. With the lingering sensation of her lips still warm on his forehead, Ellis just took to smiling and slipping his hand into her own as it was taken. After all of these years, unspoken sentiments had become their specialty.

There was a brief pause after she had tugged on his hand, the man muttering a quick, "Hold on," before actually proceeding. It had been a while since they had arrived at the Marina and he had gotten comfortable. Comfortable, at this stage, meaning three whiskeys deep. It was impossible to tell what kind of effect it had had on him until he stood up; there was something so easy about sitting and stewing in his buzz that he had gotten used to. Moving his arm away from his chin, he allowed his head to loll for just a moment before grabbing onto the back of the chair for stability. Scooting himself towards the edge, Ellis placed both feet firmly on the ground and gave a quick prayer. Nothing would have been more horrifying then not only making an ass out of himself on his only night out this year, but ruining EJ's as well.

He stood up. And with ease, one might add. Was the preparation really necessary? Of course not. He was over analyzing again. Maybe he hadn't drank nearly as much as he thought he had - or maybe he had, but after doing it so frequently, he had developed an immunity. Feeling sheepish, he pushed the subject to the back of his mind. Taking his first step, an expected head rush enveloped him. His frame wobbled - but a relieved smile wash over his face as he looked to his friend and fixed his footing. "And he's good!" he stated - maybe a little louder then usual, but completely unaware. He couldn't help but appreciate just how much she dealt with him. Was there a medal for those sorts of courageous acts? "So..." he stated coolly, collecting himself by straightening his tie and pinning the front of his tailored suit back together, "Shall we, m'lady?"

With out her response, he was all ready half way to the dance floor with her on his arm. She was beautiful tonight, not like she wasn't every other night, but tonight she was glowing. She was happy. And Ellis couldn't help but want to keep it going by being as enthusiastic as possible. It also didn't hurt that they looked phenomenal together, and a part of him wanted to show her off as his date. Slipping one hand onto her lower back, while the other laced with her fingers, he stepped to the upbeat tempo of the jazz music in the background until they had slipped into the near center of the floor. Leading her hand into the air, he spun her around once for fun before settling with his hand on her back once more with a full brim smile. Dancing wasn't necessarily something he did, but it also wasn't something he was bad at. Find the rhythm, move to the rhythm. With the anxiety that usually held him back gone, he genuinely enjoyed moving with EJ. God knows they had done it enough to be in sync about it.

[ELIZA JOY LIEBERMAN]

[atrb=border,0,true] [style=width: 310px;height:40px;font-family:georgia;font-size:30px; letter-spacing: -5px;line-height:120%;text-shadow: black 1px 1px 1px;color:28061c; margin-top:-15px;]the greatest man of my life [/style] Eliza watched, eyebrow raised, as he took a moment to compose himself before getting up. God had he really had that much to drink? She hadn’t really been paying too much attention to what the other had consumed. Really, it wasn’t unusual to see Ellis knocking back a few drinks. It was his favourite pass time. Or at least, Eliza liked to tease him that it was. Truthfully though, the less she focused on what Ellis was drinking, the less she had to think about the fact that she was not. Really was she that much of an alcoholic that this was so hard for her? She didn’t think so. Well, at least she hadn’t before. Now though, she was starting to question it. Funny thing about abstinence. It made you want things you wouldn’t normally crave. Eliza was like that, too. The moment she was told she couldn’t have something, her contrary nature told her she wanted it. As he finally stood up, Eliza offered him a grin. If this was how the rest of her year would be, Eliza would be happy. This, right here.. That was all she needed. Sure, it would be nice to have William in Jelly’s life, but Ellis would be the perfect pseudo father. Sure he drank a lot, sure he had some annoying tendencies- but really, he was amazing. He loved Eliza for everything she was and everything she wasn’t. He would always be there for her. He just made her happy. That’s all that really mattered. Life could throw some pretty shitty things at you, but as long as you had the support of family, even family you chose, and could find happiness, you’d be okay. Ellis was her happiness. He was her retreat from her crazy life where she could go to get grounded and re-centred to face the rest of the stuff life threw at her. Once they moved to the dance floor, Eliza quickly slipped her free hand over his shoulder. Forming the traditional dance pose with Ellis. The music was smooth, and she could feel it humming through her better than any alcoholic drink could. It was so easy to move with Ellis. They knew each other so well, that they could usually anticipate what the other person was going to do. She needed to do this more often- make Ellis take her dancing. At least before she got so pregnant and fat she wouldn’t be able to stand without her feet hurting. Then she’d just park herself on his couch and make him bring her endless supplies of tacos. Tacos would solve everything, that was for sure. In fact, maybe after they left tonight she’d make him get her a taco? That was seriously the only thing on her mind at times. Tacos tacos tacos. Resting her chin on his shoulder, Eliza pressed her lips gently to his cheek. “Thank you. So much.” She murmured gently against his skin. “This is the best new years ever.” Placing another kiss to his stubbly cheek, she pulled back again. Grin on her features. “Now, I’m going to have to insist that you spin me.” Wriggling her eyebrows, she let out a laugh, preparing herself to be spun. Because, of course her date would not deny her such a request now would he? If he knew what was good for him he wouldn’t deny her. If he did, well.. She might just have to spin him instead, and he wouldn’t want to be emasculated like that would he? No.

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