"Dude, is she asleep?"

Ian stood from his lawn chair and peered over Violet's curled up body. She somehow was able to get comfortable in the rickety reclining lawn chair, and had indeed fallen asleep. He could hear her breathe softly. "Yeah, she's a bit of an insomniac." He slipped his jacket off and covered her with it. They had stayed at Reina's Dungeons and Dragons partyconsiderably longer than expected, which lead to Violet only having three hours of sleep before she worked. She came straight over to the barbecue after work.

"Damn, Kels was supposed to pump her for the dirty deets once she was good and liquored up," Louis joked.

"In vino veritas!" Kelly said, raising the empty wine bottle unsteadily. A small fire was flickering in the middle of their circle, so through the dark Ian could see Kelly draped over Louis precariously, sharing a lawn chair that should have been thrown in the dumpster years ago. Louis took the bottle and set it on the ground before Kelly dropped it on him, and she made a face.

Trevor took another pull off of his pilsner. "So what is your deal, dude? You've been attached at the hip since the last show."

Ian cracked open another beer. "What, you guys don't like her?"

Eyes closed and nestled in to Louis's neck, Kelly said, "Nah, she's cool man, really sweet. We like her. Can't hold her liquor for shit, but I'll take a sleepy drunk over a sloppy one anytime."

Louis continued the thought. "What Trevor means is that you two have been hot and heavy ever since, and it didn't end so well last time things got all heavy with you."

"What, Hels? That's different. Helen and I were, fuck, I dunno."

"Hot then you're cold, yes than you're no," sang Kelly.

Ian took a drink. "Accurate. Yeah we were. Back and forth, super intense then nothing. But like I've said a million times, I was in a super shitty place then. We were...oil and water. We should have never kept it up."

Trevor nodded. "But anger-banging will do that to a person. So you and Violet either haven't anger-banged yet, or the anger-banging isn't any good."

"Come on man, don't be gross."

"Oh-ho!" Trevor said triumphantly. "You haven't banged at all yet. Copy that."

"Fuck dude!" Ian pleaded with the sky. "I really like her. She's not another Helen. I want to do this right."

Louis was trying to reach his beer on the ground, but couldn't due to the pile of Kelly that was pinning him. Ian grabbed it instead and offered it to him. "Fair enough man," said Ian. "We just don't want to see you burn out and be a big pile of dead ash again."

"Ash is inherently dead, babe," came from the crook of Louis's neck.

"Pedantry is inherently a buzz kill, love."

Trevor said, "We'll drop it, just trying to give you some tough love. Besides, Eric will have the last say on her when he gets back."

Ian rolled his eyes. "I don't need his permission to date, that was an eternity ago."

Trevor shook his head. "Nah, but he's a master at capturing a scene, and how ever he sums it up seems to stick with you like white on rice."

Ian chuckled, and looked over to Violet. He saw her chest rise and fall. "Fair enough."