Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

[Bobby Drake]

"You're the first person to chill back here that wasn't friend or family."

Well that came as a little bit of a surprise. To be honest, Bobby always pictured Ali’s life as kind of the ongoing party. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Wasn’t that what it was all about? Well, it would be if he was the rock star that was for dang sure!

"Boring sometimes,” she said as she started to answer the second part of his question, ”but...I'm not gonna get any more into it than that until you can guarantee it'll be off the record. I don't want to read any headline that I'm discontent with life or anything like that. It's not bad, but you guys have a tendency to exaggerate and lie. A lot."

The hurt look on Bobby’s face was genuine. Then he thought about it. She was totally right. He was only here initially because he wanted the story.

“Off the record,” he said. “Totally.”

And he was pretty sure he meant it.

[dazz]

Looking over at Bobby as she spoke, Ali noted the surprised look on his face at her words. She didn't have to be psychic to guess the trifecta of rock-dom was in his mind. However, she intended to wait for her guarantee before commenting on it.

When she continued, openly expressing her feelings towards the tabloid media, she felt awkward. Bobby looked shocked, and genuinely hurt. She felt a tinge of guilt for a moment, and perhaps that's why she took his word when he finally spoke. She didn't know him well enough to trust him fully, yet she decided to believe him now.

"Good." She answered with a slight nod. He still seemed hurt by what she said, so she decided to lighten the mood a bit before dishing him her story.

"And stop lookin' all sad. Softie.*"

She feigned a serious expression for a moment to accent her point before breaking back into a smile. She would have grinned, but as she remembered where she'd left off, it wasn't exciting and not at all grin-worthy.

"Now where was I? Oh yeah. Boring. Well, let me answer your questions then before you ask 'em. Reading minds ain't a talent of mine, but I can guess. The whole sex, drugs, and R&R thing is sooooo predictable. So..."

She lifted a hand to gesture, three figures extended. Folding one back down, she began to count down.

"Sex? Sure, I'm hot and that's not hard to get. If you know me back in the day, I was a worse player than most guys. But aside from the occasional fling, I'm not gonna settle anytime soon so I don't need 'em."

Ali used guys only for what nature intended. When she was lesser known, she had her fun, but when her name really started to get big, she toned it back. While she missed the fun sometimes, she appreciated avoiding the double standard. If a guy acted that way, he'd be called a playboy, a Casanova. Meanwhile, she'd just be a skank. And unless that word was near her name for the dance style, she didn't like it one bit.

"Nowadays, I don't do too much because it'd get me a bad name. I don't want to read about how I became a disease-riddled ho-bag. So that's that."

Folding down the next finger, she moved on.

"Drugs? I can drink you and your friends under the table combined, but again, I'm not as bad as I used to be because I don't want to be the twit* of a party girl in the papers. Anything else is a worse poison than I'd ever put in my body. None of that stuff. Especially smoking. Gak! Like I'd wanna kill my vocal chords..."

Ali had a beautiful voice and it was her main and most important talent. Sure, she didn't always use it in conventionally beautiful ways, but her and a lot of fans agreed that she had a sick growl that needed no improvement on the rasp-factor. A lot of metal guys sounded like that from destroying their throats, but for Ali, it was all skill. Plus, unlike the metal community, she could go home after and still be able to talk.

Counting down the last finger, she finished.

"And rock n' roll? Well, that one I got plenty of. But my life ain't one big party. Touring's a blast, but then there's a lot of hard work, and then plain bouts of down time. I could be a party girl all the time, but I'm only interested in genuine friends friends anyway. And there aren't too many of them. The majority of my acquaintances are leeches and I deal with 'em when I have to, but I'm not inviting them into my home. The place would probably be trashed the next day and I don't want to deal with that kind of mess."

Making a face of disgust at the prospect, she didn't dwell on it and just shrugged instead.

"So, I get my friends in when I can and that's about it. Just...everybody's got something going on, so it doesn't happen often enough and that's when I've got nothing to do, except go out and be a media pawn. Fame's nice, but at the same time it's a bitch and I want to do something more in my life."

For the briefest moment, she sounded frustrated, but resigned to contentment.

"Dunno what though, and in the meantime, I'm cool with this."

Finishing her spiel, she turned back to Bobby. She'd just unloaded a lot on him, and she wasn't sure how he'd take it all. Trying to give him an easy reply to her unintentionally long speech, she sighed loudly.

"Meh. I don't know what I'm telling you all that crap for. Sorry, I guess. I mean hell, you should still be in the leech category."

Pausing as she remembered his last reaction to her meaner words, she added.

"Seriously, though, no offense this time. You haven't crossed into friend zone yet so...don't look like a kicked puppy, kay?"

((*For these words, Ali would've used some...stronger language, since she's is and will always be graced with a vocab that would make a sailor blush. But, I don't want to get in trouble for swearing again, so use your imagination and react to what you're thinking of.))

EDIT: Typo, plus...holy crap this ended up being long...

[Bobby Drake]

Bobby didn’t exactly cross his fingers behind his back. He wasn’t really sure what he meant promising Ali that he wasn’t going to use anything she said in a story. All that was going to do was open the door to the absolutely coolest stuff anyone could ever imagine hearing about the world’s biggest rock star ever! He crossed his arms over his bare chest in pouting a little as she started to talk.

"And stop lookin' all sad. Softie.*"

It wasn’t the word ‘softie’ that got his attention, but the colorful phrase placed in front of it. Bobby hardly knew anyone who used words like that!

"Now where was I? Oh yeah. Boring. Well, let me answer your questions then before you ask 'em. Reading minds ain't a talent of mine, but I can guess. The whole sex, drugs, and R&R thing is sooooo predictable. So..."

All right! This was more like it! Bobby unfolded his arms and leaned forward for the good stuff.

"Sex? Sure, I'm hot and that's not hard to get. If you know me back in the day, I was a worse player than most guys. But aside from the occasional fling, I'm not gonna settle anytime soon so I don't need 'em."

Bobby stifled a laugh. No way was she more of a player than most guys. Chicks could never be more players than guys! They weren’t built for it. They usually used guys for power trips, or for...getting things. But guys had a whole different motive when they played the game. He should know. He was a junior player himself. You had to bag a certain number of babes to reach full fledged ‘playa’ status. Bobby was shy by an undisclosed number of baggings.

Still, he looked at her with a kind of wistfulness. He wished he knew her ‘back in the day’. She was probably a wildcat and a half in the sack! His mind drifted off course with those thoughts and he tuned back in sometime to realize she was talking again.

“...Fame's nice, but at the same time it's a bitch and I want to do something more in my life."

“Mmhm.” Bobby adjusted his sitting position. She’d totally sidetracked him by talking about sex first. That coupled with the interesting tattoos he’d seen on certain body parts had Bobby’s mind south of the equator.

"Meh. I don't know what I'm telling you all that crap for. Sorry, I guess. I mean hell, you should still be in the leech category."

“A guy sneaks over a fence to take lewd photographs of a girl in a bikini, and suddenly he’s a leech?”

"Seriously, though, no offense this time. You haven't crossed into friend zone yet so...don't look like a kicked puppy, kay?"

What did that mean? Was she saying...? Was there a chance that he might...? No. That only happened in stories. Still, maybe if he carried her guitar for her or something she might let him... No. Bobby adjusted his sitting again and tried to think of something to say. His mind was only in one place though, and it made it hard to think.

Guilt toyed at his heart suddenly. Bobby cleared his throat. He couldn’t tell her he worked for Guido. Not after lying to her and then having her be all honest. It turned out that Bobby Drake did have a conscience.

Dammit!

“That’s...a lot of information.” He didn’t know what else to say, and he just tried to stop picturing her naked. The chaise lounge was icing over.

[dazz]

Ali was so busy talking that she missed the little things Bobby was doing on the side. The laugh as she was on her first point...ooh, had she heard that, she would've challenged it for sure. Even though she'd toned it down, no one, and I mean no one, could challenge her player status. Ali was a bigger hornball than anyone. She was just a reformed one.

Ali probably would also have made a point to call Bobby on it if she realized he'd checked out of the conversation long ago in favor of Fantasy Land. As she went on, however, her focus roamed, and not until she was done did it return to him.

Wrapping up, she noted Bobby's taciturn response. She'd just let a lot out, he had to process it. And she was so distracted by it herself, she was slow to process why he was so quiet. When Bobby finally said two words, she laughed.

"Nah, just a creep."

Ali waved a hand dismissively as she looked back out across the pool. Logic would lead her to think him a HUGE creep for his intro, but she didn't follow that today. Uttering her last line, she saw motion in her peripheral. He'd moved for the third time and it suddenly struck her as fidgety. Looking over to face him, she raised an eyebrow. Why was he...?

Oh.

OOH!

Her once notorious gutter of a brain suddenly began processing once again. What happened to her radar? She just said...

Oh god. Crap. I'm off my $^%in game today...

Bobby got in his reply as she hit her palm against her forhead. In a moment, she was laughing.

"Yeah...yeah it is." Ali managed between giggles. "Not that you know. I lost you a while ago, didn't I?"

He could've been paying attention to what she said, but with his changing body language, she was doubting it. She expected a strong response to her candid sex talk, but when she the "friend zone" comment slip, his mind had to be in the gutter.

God, maybe her player status should be questioned... She was letting herself go.

"My bad. But I can bet what's on your mind again. And, uh, sorry but no."

((I know this is less epic than the last, but I'm distracted by wrestling.))

[Bobby Drake]

Maybe this was why Guido always sent Bobby to interview with Tiffany. Sex was like Kryptonite to Bobby. It stripped him of his powers. Mmmmmm....stripped... He’d ignored the ‘creep’ comment earlier with very little difficulty. There were a whole lot of better things to think about than whether he was a creep. Besides, what did that mean anyway? If sneaking over a wall of a hot chick to take photos of her in a bikini and then daydreaming about having sex with her the whole while she talked meant he was a creep, well...guilty as charged!

Still. The Friend Zone. It was a term that meant that he still had options. He wasn’t a friend, which was sort of the killer to the possibility of a one night stand...and he was a stranger that nobody knew he was here. Bobby had watched enough movies to know that made him a prime candidate for a meaningless fling. And boy was he up for it. He shifted again.

The only thing he could think to say was that she had given him a lot of information, so he said it because he’d found that the best thing to do is to always say the first thing in your head. To his surprise Ali was slapping herself in the head and laughing. He obviously missed something.

"Yeah...yeah it is." Ali managed between giggles. "Not that you know. I lost you a while ago, didn't I?"

Guilty blinking and coverup face. “What? What do you mean?”

"My bad. But I can bet what's on your mind again. And, uh, sorry but no."

She might as well have told him there would never be another Christmas. Shoulders slumped a little, and Bobby managed to keep most of the rejection off of his face. But he had to ask. “But....back in the day?” He looked over at her cautiously. “Just curious. Back in your player day would it have been different?”

The male ego was a very fragile thing.

[dazz]

"What? What do you mean?"

Bobby's response made her laugh even harder. He said it in an attempt to be innocenc, but her mind was into innuendo mode. She could see the double meanings in everything, and when she replied, she took it a whole different way.

"Oh, okay. You're still lost, I see. I'll wait while you catch up."

Ali punctuated the remark with a sly grin. Maybe it was a weak joke, but she still thought it funny. She didn't care if he liked it or not.

As she went on, Ali didn't think she was being too harsh as she killed all his fantasies. She wasn't trying to seduce him, and she wanted him to pay attention to that fact. His mind was in a fantasy land it shouldn't have been in. However, as her words hit his ears, she could see the look of devastation flash in his eyes.

Oh god... she thought, groaning internally. The kicked puppy thing again...

She didn't intend to be mean, but he was definitely sadder now than he was before. She was searching her mind for the words to fix it when he spoke.

"But...back in the day? Just curious. Back in your player days would it have been different?"

Ali knew guys were weak when dealing with these matters. She'd crushed a lot of hearts, the morning after her many past flings. That reality probably wasn't in his fantasy though, and he needed to know it. More importantly, he needed his wounded ego soothed.

"Goddammit..." Ali finally began. "So I wouldn't bang ya right this second? Is that so surprising? I like seriously just met you, I'm not that much of a ho-bag that I'd hop your bones after this short a time." Ali answered honestly in a matter-of-fact way, trying to cheer him up with her colorful language. Pausing, she gave him a good once-over look before continuing.

Too nice. Not so much my type, but...

She didn't want to give him false hope, but he needed something to make up for the slight.

"Doesn't mean I wouldn't someday." She continued with just a hint of possibility in her voice. She flashed him a pearly grin.

That'll cheer him up.

"Besides," she added, deciding some insight would help. "If I did do that stuff now, I'd never talk to you again. It'd be a use-and-toss situation. Now, you can, like, talk to me down the line and I won't avoid you like the plague."

[Bobby Drake]

"Goddammit..." Ali finally began. "So I wouldn't bang ya right this second? Is that so surprising? I like seriously just met you, I'm not that much of a ho-bag that I'd hop your bones after this short a time."

“I wouldn’t mind...” He said it under his breath.

"Doesn't mean I wouldn't someday."

Bobby looked up at her with wide eyes that got wider at the toothy grin she flashed him. Just like that he lit up. “Yeah??”

How freakin’ cool was that! It was enough to feed his fantasy life for at least a year!

"If I did do that stuff now, I'd never talk to you again. It'd be a use-and-toss situation. Now, you can, like, talk to me down the line and I won't avoid you like the plague."

He made a show of rolling his eyes to the side in contemplation. “This is me trying to figure out if banging Ali Blaire is worth not getting a howdy do in public.” Yeah right, like she was planning on being his bud or something. “I’m thinking you’re not likely to talk to creepy photo guy again anyway, so the meaningless sex sounds pretty good.”

He returned her grin.

“Since we’re being honest. I never claimed to be deep. Use me. Toss me!”

[dazz]

Ali felt better when the downcast Bobby finally looked up at her again with wide, hopeful eyes. When she smiled, they looked ready to pop out of his skull. With all the stuff happening in his mind, it probably needed the extra space in his cranium. He didn't need eyes for fantasies anyway.

"Yeah??"

The rock star stifled her laughter at the very optimistic tone of his voice. She didn't want to crush him all over again. He sounded all hopeful in way that was almost...cute. She'd let him keep that moment.

“This is me trying to figure out if banging Ali Blaire is worth not getting a howdy do in public. I’m thinking you’re not likely to talk to creepy photo guy again anyway, so the meaningless sex sounds pretty good.”

It seemed her insight was pointless to give. As Bobby rolled his eyes dramatically, she crossed her arms. She felt like she should be angry that he thought her so shallow not to talk to him again. But...his tone and gesture just made her laugh instead. She tried to give him a look, but she totally failed at keeping a straight face the moment he grinned back.

Part of her wanted to reply with an exasperated swear or two, but she had to admire his tenacity. Still laughing, she replied.

"Good answer." She said, laughing heartily. Her crossed arms were now busy holding her sore sides as she finally sobered up and answered him with a mock-serious expression.

"Well? What if I wanted to talk to you again? Don't you ever think about my feelings? God!"

The face Ali made didn't last for long. Bobby had one last thing to say, and when he said it, she just couldn't reply. She was too busy laughing again.

[Bobby Drake]

It was actually good to see Ali laughing and smiling and all that junk. Bobby couldn’t say that he like knew her or anything, but every time he saw her on the television she seemed like she was pissed off or something.

Man, I must be really funny! Awesome! He always suspected as much.

"Well? What if I wanted to talk to you again? Don't you ever think about my feelings? God!"

Bobby laughed along with her as he tried to figure out if she was being funny now or what. It seemed like it, so he just laughed along with her, maybe a little uncertainly. After awhile he found himself really looking around at the place.

“You have an awesome pad,” Bobby said with genuine appreciation. But he wanted to sound cool, not like some kind of goobery fan. "I mean, if you're into that kind of thing." He shrugged a little as he looked around and then his eyes widened like a kid in a candy store.

"Oooh! Is that a video game room?"

(ooc: edited. I didn't like what I wrote before...not yet)

[dazz]

It took the pink-haired rocker a while to recover from her fit of laughter. She wasn't hysterical or anything, but this guy cracked her up! The only reason she stopped was lack of oxygen and the stiff pain in her sides. Not surprising, he took the moment to look around the estate. The pool was massive, but that was just the outside of the place. The deck led underneath the overhanging second floor, creating a small covered seating area. Following this route, one could see inside the wide open doors into the bottom level. Apparently, scoping this out, Bobby found something he liked.

Wiping a trace of tears from her eye, Ali looked over and nodded as Bobby spoke. It was kind of generic, but he hadn't seen much yet besides the exterior, and a bit of the downstairs visible from the patio. The idea of a tour popped into her mind at his comment, but already he was distracted by one of the smaller, though well equipped rooms in her house. He spotted the game room and his eyes lit up like Christmas morning.

"Oooh! Is that a video game room?"

Following his gaze, Ali saw his spot of interest and turned back to him. He looked almost as excited now as he did when sex was the main topic. Awww! He was a geek! But, seeing as how all those toys were hers, Ali really couldn't say anything about it... Mindless fun was a great way to combat boredom.

"Yea. Check it out. I've got sorts of good stuff,"

And she wasn't kidding. One wall was lined with the arcade classics, opposite was a small but luxurious sofa facing a huge LCD television mounted to the wall. Stacked below were all the big consoles, PS3 to Wii, not to mention the classic systems. A wide variety of games for them all were shelved on either side.

Gesturing at the room with her thumb, she gave him the go-ahead to check things out further. He was still damp, but dry enough now not to track water all over the place and screw up the electronics. She didn't know if he'd take of running or wait for her, so she simply stood up and grabbed her shirt, sliding it on before going anywhere.

[Bobby Drake]

"Yea. Check it out. I've got sorts of good stuff," Ali said in reply. But Bobby was already checking out her stuff. In a way he had been all along. He looked back over at her and saw that she was giving him the go ahead sign to check out the video game room in person.

If Bobby knew what the word surreal meant, it would have applied here.

He got to his feet and stopped himself just before heading in. He was still wet, and didn’t really want to make a mess or ruin anything or whatever. “Wanna see a cool trick?” He asked with a sly smile at Ali. Bobby held his bare arms out and immediately the water on his jeans, skin and hair began to freeze and crackle.

When it was solid ice he shook his body and flung the frost out in all directions, snowing a little bit down on Ali’s exposed skin as well.

“There we go,” he said proudly. “Dry.”

Then he turned back to the video games. “So I can just go in? I’m not gonna get the shake down by your security squad or anything?”

[dazz]

Bobby had jumped up immediately to take her up on the offer. Ali was busy getting dressed, sliging the tank over her head, popping back into view just in time to see him speak.

"Wanna see a cool trick?"

The rock star didn't have to answer, because Bobby had already begun. With a grin on his face, he stretched out his arms and suddenly, all the moisture from the pool turned brittle, frozen on to his bare chest and clothing. Shaking like wet dog for a moment, the frost flew off his body and snowed down over the deck. When it hit her skin, her first reaction was to squeak at the sudden cold, but she managed to surpress it. She wasn't that girly.

"Cool trick. Ha ha."

She retorted in a flat tone at the perhaps unintentional, but still pretty lame pun. She was grinning again in a second anyway, so she didn't hold it against him.

"There we go. Dry,"

He was beaming. Perhaps Bobby had a bit of showmanship in him as well. But back to the matter at hand: video games.

"So I can just go in? I'm not gonna get the shake down by your security squad or anything"

Ali wanted to roll her eyes. She'd told him to go in. It wasn't a trick or anything. There were no security personell lurking just within, or anything like that. But since Bobby was concerned, she replied matter-of-factly.

"Nah, so security goons over here. There's the spike pit and the laser cannons between here and the game room, though, so I hope you're fast."

She gave him a saccharine smile.

"Well? Go on already."

[Bobby Drake]

"Cool trick. Ha ha."

Standing with arms out, he swept down into a flourishing shirtless bow before her. For all intents and purposes he looked every bit the boy toy (a title he would have likely worn like a badge of honor because sometimes you just had to get honor and stay honor). The pun, of course, flew over his head unnoticed.

"Nah, so security goons over here. There's the spike pit and the laser cannons between here and the game room, though, so I hope you're fast."

She was pulling his leg (he was 90% sure of it). So he laughed.

"Well? Go on already."

Barefoot and shirtless he headed into the game room, looking around with bright eyes. Some of the old classics were lining the wall on one side. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong (which of course was the kick off to the whole Mario Bros craze), Spy Hunter...and Bobby found the one he wanted to try. “Galaga? Aw man, I’m just gonna head home and grab some of my things to move in, kay? This can be my room.”

[dazz]

Ali wore a wide grin as Bobby gave a dramatic bow in front of her. He had some performer in him as well, and she related. Not only that, but he'd proven himself good for a laugh too. He wasn't half bad to hang around.

As Bobby finally took her cue and began moving into the house, Ali debated tricking him one more time...

Lasers are nothin'...

A wicked smile crept onto her features at the thought, but she decided the unwanted swim was enough for the day and left him alone. Plus, it was quiet anyway and she didn't want to have to focus much.

As the photographer went bounding inside, Ali followed casually behind him. Her wedge sandals by the lounge, she walked in comfortably barefoot, transitioning from hot to cool concrete as she crossed the shadow of the patio, and finally the comfortable feeling of carpet once she'd crossed the threshold into the house. Bobby had already made it into the gameroom. He looked overwhelmed at the sights around him, and she entered just in time to see him speak.

"Galaga? Aw man, I'm just gonna head home and grab some of my things to move in, kay? This can be my room."

At this, Ali let out a hearty laugh, crossing her arms comfortably, rather than meanly. Recover, she gave him a look, one brow raised.

"Well this relationship is moving fast," she commented, leaning against the doorframe.

[Bobby Drake]

Man, Ali Blaire was probably the coolest freaking chick in the world!

Bobby had stars in his eyes as he took his time looking around the room, only turning to look at her smiling face when she let loose with a hearty laugh. "Well this relationship is moving fast," she commented just as he was passing by her to check out the giant mega plasma visions on the other side of the room.

"Don't just think of it as a relationship," he said as he passed by. "I could just as easily be a love slave." His toes sank into some seriously plush carpet and Bobby considered proposing for her hand in marriage.

It might be just a little too soon, but he was mesmerized by the enormity of the television in front of him...and it wasn't even on. "I think I'm in love," he said under his breath as he stared longingly at it.