ic Teenage Dream [OPEN]

[Tiffany Korta]

Madame Raven

Briefly, Calie considered making light of things, joking about how she was going to help sort out his new team or start a record label (SAD Records was not an encouraging sign). But this was Charlie, he was family, so deserved to have the truth.

 

"Well as it happens after I went looking for myself, I actually found what I was looking for! Well, at least enough answers to help narrow down the questions I still need to ask." she considered for a bit before adding "Alek's got his thing, as do the League so I'm going to get the Atom's help, Quid pro quo obviously."

 

"Though I'll always be a Raven, so you can count on my help either for the family or that new team of yours! And there's still SAD to run now it's cleaned up and on the level..."

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

The club remained dark for a few moments after the third song ended, Bernadette smiling slightly at the cheers and yells from the crowd. Then, suddenly more lights illuminated the stage once more, as Summer (who was back holding her guitar), started the first rapid cords of the next song, immediately joined by a rapid, steady beat from the drummer.

 

As the music began, Bernadette had started moving along the front of the stage, bobbing her head to the beat for the initial few moments of the song before she began to sing….

 

I don’ give a damn ‘bout my reputation

Livin’ in the past, it’s a new generation

A girl can do what she wants ta do an’ that’s what I’m gonna do

 

As she sang, Bernadette continued to move and dance across the stage, both her movements and singing matching the upbeat rhythm of the song.

 

An’ I don’ give a damn ‘bout my bad reputation

Oh no (no, no, no, no), not me (me, me, me, me)

 

An’ I don’ give a damn ‘bout my reputation

Never said I wanted ta improve my station

An’ I’m only doin’ good when I’m havin’ fun

An’ I don’ have ta please no one

 

An’ I don’ give a damn ‘bout my bad reputation

Oh no, (no, no, no, no) not me, (me, me, me, me)

Oh noooo!, (no, no, no, no), Not meeeee! (me, me, me, me)

 

I don’ give a damn ‘bout my reputation

I’ve never been afraid o’ any deviation

An’ I don’ really care if you think I’m strange

I ain’ gonna change

 

An’ I’m never gonna care ‘bout my bad reputation

Oh no, (no, no, no, no) not me, (me, me, me, me)

Oh nooooooo!, (no, no, no, no), Not meeeeeeee! (me, me, me, me)

Oh!

 

Bernadette stopped singing as Summer and the rest of the band continued to play with an increased tempo as the redhead stretched her arms out to spin around in the center of the stage a few times before stopping to begin singing once more.

 

An’ I don’ give a damn ‘bout my reputation

The world’s in trouble, there’s no communication

An’ everyone can say what they wanna say

It never gets better, anyway

 

So why should I care about a bad reputation, anyway?

Oh no, (no, no, no, no) not me, (me, me, me, me)

Oh nooooo!, (no, no, no, no), Not meeeee! (me, me, me, me)

 

I don’ give a damn ‘bout my bad reputation

You’re livin’ in the past, it’s a new generation

An’ I only feel good when I got no pain

An’ that’s how I’m gonna stay

 

An’ I don’ give a damn ‘bout my bad reputation

Oh no, (no, no, no, no) not me, (me, me, me, me)

Oh noooooooo!, (no, no, no, no), Not meeeeeee! (me, me, me, me)

Oh noooooooo! (no, no, no, no), Not meeeeeee! (me, me, me, me)

[Dracostern]

Cerebral and Cerebellum

 

Another amazing song from Bernadette and the rest of the band! The twins would clap furiously, however Iris would notice Michael calling after some other young man. She had not met this person before, but he seemed familiar with most of the students. "I'll be back Daniel." She spoke in her brother's mind and he gripped her hand on instinct before looking over at her in concern. "Hehe...don't worry I shouldn't be leaving the building, I'll still be here." She reassured him. Normally separating from her twin would cause panic. But if they were in the same building or knew where each other were it was easier to take.  Besides, nothing dangerous was happening. 

 

So Daniel nodded and let go of his sister's hand and when he did, Iris moved quietly after Michael. Once she was gone, Daniel would turn to Sam and smile, though not before waving at Neko. "Things are fine here, what about you Sam? What do you enjoy?" 

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

"The Atoms, huh?" Charlie asks, between stealing glances at his girlfriend on stage. "Didn't take you for the super scientific type. I'm almost hurt," he obviously isn't, but he at least puts on a show of briefly pouting, "but, y'know, if you wanna come hang out with some super heroes instead of a bunch of scientist types, the door's open. Got your dad and, err, the other you to sponsor everything."

 

Before he can ask more about what kind of work Callie is doing with the Atoms, Michael catches up with them, with another Claremont student in tow. 

 

"Hey man, don't worry, it's fine. Head on back to your table." He turns slightly towards Iris and nods. "I'm Charlie. Welcome to the crazy world of Claremont."

[Poncho]

Michael frowned at Charlie, then waved at the new girl, and then turned his attention back to Iris when Charlie pointed out he was followed. Was he hurt that Charlie was brushing him off now? Maybe. But it was also fair for him to do that given that Michael had failed to be an appropriate friend earlier, so it was really one for one. He scratched his cheek awkwardly and paused to figure out what he was going to do.

For Iris, the confident and capable Michael seemed surprisingly off his feet; the respect he had for whoever 'Charlie' was clearly off the charts. He looked at Iris and then at Charlie and the other girl.

"Uh...pleasure to meet you, M'am." he said to Charlie's friend before continuing to look awkward. "And uh, this is...Iris." He noted to his other companion. "She's a new friend of mine." he waved at her. "But...uh, sorry. We'll get out of your hair, Charlie." he mumbled, gesturing to Iris that he was going to head back to the seating as requested.

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

And now Charlie feels awkward, of course. So then what? Let things progress as this, into a misunderstanding that can cause a rift, or take steps to fix things?

 

Taking a step forward, he places a hand on Michael's shoulder. "Take it easy, Michael. You looked like you were having a good time, and I don't wanna ruin that. Remember what I said last time about connections being important? No need to break up the fun just cus me and Callie show up, right?" Charlie is smiling warmly. This kid is way more insecure than he wants to let on, isn't he?

[Dracostern]

Cerebral 

 

Iris looked between the two young men, and having no context to any of this, would not be so bothered. It was not awkward to come over, especially since this 'Charlie' had been the one to greet them first. "Thank you for the welcome Charlie. My name is Iris, as Michael said, it's a pleasure to meet you."  She nodded her head before turning her attention to the other young lady in the room, Callie. 

 

"And who might you be? Charlie's girlfriend or something?" 

Edited April 12 by Dracostern

[Poncho]

"Ah, no, I'm okay." Michael said to Charlie, attempting to avoid letting this be something that hung over them; he didn't want Charlie to feel bad either, after all. It was just an awkward situation. So he didn't want to dwell on it.

 

"You're absolutely right, of course Charlie. I was just, uh...well I didn't want to make you think I was ignoring you. And I mean, we don't talk that often so I figured I should at least say hi." he said, looking between Iris, Charlie, and Callie. "Plus, I mean. These are connections too, you know. Sometimes you might need one of us, so it'd be nice to know they exist." he managed to get his focus back in and smile.

 

"Iris, Charlie's actually dating Bernie." he said with a laugh. "It's a pleasure to meet you, as well." he said to the new girl, extending his hand.

 

Meanwhile, Sam yawned and stretched, looking at Daniel as they sat around.

 

"Eh. I like the music. It's not so bad. But maybe it's time to go dancing." she looked around at the table. "Who wants to come dance with me?" she asked, directly pointing away from where Charlie, Callie, Michael, and Iris had run of. "It'll be a lot of fun, especially if she's going to keep playing faster songs!" she said, hopping up.

Edited April 12 by Poncho

[Ari]

Knave, Tro-Fi, Seven Sisters

 

In contrast to their earlier uproar, the North Bay Prep. table had become much more subdued, largely because Merry was trying to argue something.

 

Starting with the mid-point of the second song, an increasingly-rapid cycle had begun:

 

Merry would rapid-fire clack out something in Morse code on the table and look to Justin.

Justin would glance back, tap something much slower, and look to Adele.

Adele would look annoyed, clatter something back, and try to focus on the music.

 

And in between there were a lot of meaningful looks.

 

Sam getting to her feet seemed to break the spell of intensity settling over the table. "Yeah! let's dance!" Adele said, eagerly joining her and beaming hopefully at Iris and the rest of the Claremont crew, "I'm not very good, but Justin is *marvelous*, and Merry-!"

 

"Nope." Merry didn't look around as she spoke. "Don't feel like it."

 

Justin laughed good-naturedly. "MJ'll change her mind, let's go!"

[Avenger Assembled]

Neko couldn't translate Morse code into English fast enough to understand it but she knew it when she heard it, and her eyes narrowed as she focused on the younger teens - after all having heard all of Bernadette's songs many times before. There were innocent explanations for why they were communicating with each other secretly; but she didn't like the smell of the whole thing. Owain was already up and trying to dance with the handsome boy from that school he had been making eyes at all night, and she didn't want to ruin his good time - but something...

 

Her nose wrinkling, she picked Merry out of the girls. Moving over there at speed, she whispered urgently and with some conviction, "Your hair, it-I can help," she said, holding up her purse in a sisterly gesture with the taller and broader girl as her head tilted toward the ladies room. Small and slender and perfectly human-looking, she hardly looked like a threat to anyone without the eyes to see what she really was. And if they could do that - well, they'd have said something already. 

[Tiffany Korta]

Madame Raven

"Wow only a few years older than you all and I'm already a ma'am." Her wide grin suggested she really wasn't concerned about it at all "But as Charlie said Callie is perfectly fine, Callie Sen if you're curious!"

 

She took a moment to greet both of the newcomers equally, making a note if their body language suggested any concern, she'd met quite a few people over the last few years and got her a general feeling of how she'd find people.

 

"And I looked forward to all the interesting stories of the singer before they all get mega successful and popular!" 

[Dracostern]

Cerebral and Cerebellum

 

Unfortunately for Adele, Iris has seemingly slipped away and was not currently with the rest of the students. Daniel was, however, and he seemed to be getting up to dance as well! Though seemingly by himself.

The young man headed after Sam as well and just let loose when he had enough room. A skilled Dancer he was not...but he was having fun at least. 
Meanwhile

Iris nodded her head. "That makes sense. It's nice to meet you two. Might I ask, have you been to Claremont?"

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

"Don't worry about it, Mike," Charlie reassures him one final time. No reason to keep going at that particular issue.

 

He doesn't comment on Iris' question about whether he's with Callie, Michael colors that just fine, and he has to keep some secrets from people he's only just met. No need to give anyone an idea that could link their secrets IDs too easily.

 

"Yeah, I went to Claremont for a while," of course that under another last name and secret identity, in case Iris tries to look him up, "had to drop out before my last year, but that's how it goes. How about you? How's the school? The headmistress can be a pain, right?" He grins at Callie at the last line. Of course he's just joking.

[Poncho]

Michael gave Charlie a thumbs up to confirm that everything was good now as the conversation moved on. He wasn't going to worry about it anymore, at least. 

 

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Callie. I'll try not to harsh your vibe too much." He wasn't concerned, friends of Charlie were people he'd generally be positive to. He offered an indifferent hrm to the question of the Headmistress. 

 

"She's not that bad, but I've also not dealt with her too much. I'm hoping that changes next year; not in a negative way though. Junior year is already almost Senior year, and Senior year is almost graduation! i've got to make sure that my extracurriculars are all accounted for on transcripts." this was a lie. He'd actually started all that stuff earlier this year, of course. You could never be too prepared!

 

"Anyway, if you'd rather us get out of your hair, we can respect it, I think I see Sam leaading the others out to dance, and we're not connected to the band after all." he said with a wink at Charlie. "I'd hate to cramp your style; how can you be the cool guy leaning against the pillars with that smirk on your face when someone's talking to you, you know." he said in good humor and fully expecting Charlie to rib him back.

 

Meanwhile, Sam had commandeered part of the dance floor for the combined students of Claremont and North Bay. While Michael had taken a table by talking with club workers and putting down a deposit, Sam controlled her little fiefdom on the dance floor with toxic looks and a stance that made those who weren't welcome stay away. That section was for Claremont and North Bay, simple as, and in that section she was having fun with her dancing, even if she didn't even have anyone to dance with, she was going to have her own fun.

[Dracostern]

Cerebral and Cerebellum

 

Iris shook her head. "The Headmistress is alright. She has helped us a lot." The young woman would have said more about how she enjoyed her time at the Academy and how she had made more friends then she had ever. But it seems like Michael wanted to leave. They probably weren't supposed to be backstage so it made sense. 

 

"Oh! Umm...a-are we allowed to be here or...?" 

 

Daniel, meanwhile, was not feeling any awkwardness despite all the looks he was getting. The young man was on the dance floor now, letting loose and finally relaxing for the first time in a while. 

[Tiffany Korta]

Madame Raven

Callie shot Charlie a filthy look, the fact that she and the headmistress were (and weren't, it was complicated) were the same person known only to the rest of the Raven family.

 

"She's tough but fair, and only because she's gone through more than you'd expect!" she paused adding in a softer more sisterly manner "And don't wish your school days away too quickly, being an adult is amazing, but so are the friends and experiences you'll make at Claremont! Things won't be quite the same once you leave!" she smiled so not to sully the tone to much

 

"But tonight is for good music and dancing!"

[RocketLord]

The STORMCROW

 

"Alright, alright," Charlie says, putting up his hands in defeat. "The headmistress is amazing, but I gotta keep up my rep as a rogue, yeah?" And maybe try not to make the headmistress' identity clear to anyone that knows Charlie's other identity, like Michael.

 

"Don't worry about it," he says with a smile to Iris. "I'm with Bernie, and I'm sure she's fine with you hanging out here."

[Ari]

Knave, Tro-Fi, Seven Sisters

On 4/12/2024 at 5:47 PM, Avenger Assembled said:

"Your hair, it-I can help," she said, holding up her purse in a sisterly gesture with the taller and broader girl as her head tilted toward the ladies room.

While Adele spun and kicked and Justin glided with abandon through Sam's hard-fought territory, Merry had blinked at Neko for an uncomprehending moment, then groaned and let her head briefly fall on the table. "Oh God, the green...it bled, didn't it? I asked de Pisa a million times-!"

 

Rising quickly to her feet Merry grabbed her bag, put on a smile, and put a companionable arm around Neko's shoulder. Heading to the bathroom, she gave the other girl a more scrutinizing look. "Hey...you're a Claremont-enjoyer, right? How'd a gal like you end up at a place like that? Not that we've exactly got full control of our lives at St. Isidore's." Merry admitted, the pair swinging briefly to the side to let a group of other girls pass in the narrow hall, then passing through the swinging door to their mutual destination. Breaking away, Merry stepped in front of a mirror and threw her hair in front of her face, painstakingly beginning to comb through the braids.

 

"Name's Mary-Angelica," she added, belatedly, "call me Merry. Now what do I call you, and how exactly can you help me?"

Edited June 20 by Ari

[Avenger Assembled]

Neko had stepped through the door first, taking advantage of her small frame to step past the other girl. All in the room was as it was supposed to be, save that in the reflections in the mirror showed a petite young Asian woman and not a white-haired nekomata. "You can call me Neko." Sure enough, the mirror showed Merry a tragic and stubborn disorder of her seemingly-discolored hair that turned out to be only tameable with the loan of Neko's bone-white comb, produced literally from up her sleeve. 

 

"I am in my final year at Claremont. I never went to high school before I came to America. I work as an influencer - maybe you know Catgirl Reacts?" She smiled and did a little kawaii simper in the mirror, visible just behind Merry. 

 

"I have some quick spray that will help your hair," she said, reaching into her purse. She handed it over, waited until Merry was committed to the spray, and then made herself heard. 

 

She clicked her tongue twice, then alternated clicking and rapping on the sink. 

 

I - KNOW

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

The crowd had gotten loud and energized with the last song, which as if finished Bernadette walked over and took the microphone stand and moved it back to the center of the stage. As she did so, the three backup singers (her disguised duplicates) moved their microphone stands to the center of stage as well, spacing themselves out around Bernadette. There was a brief moment of quiet before the next song began.

 

Yo, I’ll tell you what I want,

what I really, really want

 

As Bernadette sang out the first lines of the classic pop song, Summer and the rest of the band began playing the accompanying beat, but with a much more energetic rock edge. One of her disguised duplicates took the return response.

 

So tell me what you want,

what you really, really want

 

I’ll tell you what I want,

what I really, really want

 

So tell me what you want,

what you really, really want

 

I wanna (hey!),

I wanna (hey!),

I wanna (hey!),

I wanna (hey!),

 

I wanna really, really, really wanna

“zig-a-zig”, ah

 

While Bernadette took the lead vocals, she and her disguised duplicates alternated parts, while at other times singing in pairs or all together. All the while, giving an animated delivery and managing to blend the pop song lyrics with the rock tempo of Summer and the rest of the band.

 

If you want my future,

forget my past

 

If you wanna get with me,

better make it fast.

 

Now don’ go wastiiiiin’

my precious tiiiime

 

Get your act together,

we could be just fine

 

I’ll tell you what I want,

what I really, really want

 

So tell me what you want,

what you really, really want

 

I wanna (hey!),

I wanna (hey!),

I wanna (hey!),

I wanna (hey!),

 

I wanna really, really, really wanna

“zig-a-zig”, ah

 

If you wanna be my lover,

you gotta get with my friends

(gotta get with my friends)

Make it last forever,

friendship never ends

If you wanna be my lover,

you have got to give

Taking is too easy,

but that’s the way it is

 

Oh what you think about that?

Now you know how I feel

Say you could handle me love,

Are you for real?

(Are you for real?)

 

I won’t be hastyyyy,

I’ll give you a try

If you really bug me,

Then I’ll say goodbye

 

Yo, I’ll tell you what I want,

what I really, really want

 

So tell me what you want,

what you really, really want

 

I wanna (hey!),

I wanna (hey!),

I wanna (hey!),

I wanna (hey!),

 

I wanna really, really, really wanna

“zig-a-zig”, ah

 

If you wanna be my lover,

you gotta get with my friends

(gotta get with my friends)

Make it last forever, friendship never ends

If you wanna be my lover,

you have got to give

(you’ve got to give)

Taking is too easy,

 but that’s the way it is

 

So here’s a story from A to Z

You wanna get with me, you gotta listen carefully

We got Em in the place who likes it in your face

We got G like MC who likes it on an-

Easy V doesn’t come for free, she’s a real lady

And as for me, haha, you’ll see

Slam your body down an’ wind it all around

Slam your body down an’ wind it all around

 

If you wanna be my lover,

you gotta get with my friends

(gotta get with my friends)

Make it last forever,

friendship never ends

If you wanna be my lover,

you have got to give

(you’ve got to give)

Taking is too easy,

but that’s the way it is

 

If you wanna be my lover

(You gotta, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta slam)

Make it last forever (slam, slam, slam, slam)

Slam your body down and wind it all around

Slam your body down and wind it all around (hey, hey, hey, hey, hey)

Slam your body down and wind it all around

Slam your body down and “zig-a-zig,” ah

 

Bernadette and the backup singers stopped for a few moments as Summer and the rest of the band continued playing the heavy rock version of the cords for the beat of the song for a few moments before Bernadette and her disguised duplicates finished the song.

 

If you wanna be my lover

[Ari]

Knave, Tro-Fi, Seven Sisters

 

"I love Catgirl Reacts!" Her face was invisible, but Merry's voice was beaming, "Remember when you ate a whole-!" She stopped dead at the sequence of taps.

 

For a moment only Merry's eye was visible through her kinky hair, staring out from the mirror at Neko and bringing to mind a Christmas-themed ghost. After a beat, the other girl tossed her hair back in place and turned to face the influencer, her eyes hard and face set. "So you were listening the whole time. Heard every word."

 

"Okay, I admit it...I don't get the appeal of this stuff. I don't like the music, the venue, I don't think Bernadette's hot like Adele does, I'm just here for my friends. And I'm not going to have them for much longer, I've done the math and our social circles don't overlap at all. But right now they're happy, they're meeting other people, and I guess that's what's really important but I'd like us to do something I like to do at least once. We could be finding stars, or birdwatching, or checking out that cool shipwreck up the coast, or, exploring the giant forest right next door! But if I insist on any of that, they'll just say "nah", and then we won't do anything together at all." 

 

The Spice Girls cover pounded distantly through the walls, the beat subdued and vocals muffled into a monotonous chant.

 

----

 

The Spice Girls cover pulsed in the air, its invisible hand guiding unconscious movements throughout the crowd. Justin had wrangled Owain into a competition of seeing who could do a particularly high-stepping and high-intensity Cossack dance the longest, but sheepishly stopped when he nearly kicked Daniel in the face. Now doing a much more reserved hop-shrug, he suddenly took notice of the other boy's arms. "Hey, you do fencing, man?" he called over the music, "You ever been to that gym in West Side? I've heard the guy who runs it is a badass, some kind of sword-wizard. Been thinking I should step up my own sword-game."

 

Adele hadn't been much for talking, smiling happily to herself as she swayed from foot to foot a little away from the rest.

 

Edited September 19 by Ari