Nothing beats pizza, except maybe pie [PG-13]

Alright, he could not screw this up, otherwise he would likely just give more reason for mutants to have some kind of bad rap or something like that. The male would offer him some kind of dry greeting, one that was as warm as the arctic and made his gut feel as warm as it, though he managed to keep the usual happy expression about him. By the end the male seemed to warm up, even though knowing politicians it was a fake warmth that was being produced to please his daughter more than make him feel welcome. ”I...i'm glad to hear so many people have spoken so highly of me.” he managed as his attention turned to Austyn, shaking the senators hand lightly, yet he would see it as feeling firm.

Something was up with his twin, and he did not need any sort of phoney twin link to really feel that out, though a strange feeling within the pit of his stomach did help. He was planning to ask what was wrong, but the senator seemed to beat him to the punch, Ryan giving him this looked that silently asked “Ya okay?” While someone that did not know Ryan could not ascertain such a meaning from the look, but he was certain that Austyn could figure it out. He wanted to ask him when no one else was around, but Sam had some kind of death grip upon him that she would not release, and so he would be inclined to follow her, with a small amount of color on his face.

Granted one could assume many reasons behind that color, there were also just many reasons behind it, mostly a small amount of embarrassment and he was worried. The thing seemed to start and they were lead to a table, with a rather handsome male, one that he had bumped into, along with one that looked much like him but slightly older and a younger tan male. The dirty blond male would smirk, analyzing Ryan for a moment and then cocking an eyebrow. The mention of food however did make Ryan realize that he was hungry and that he did require food, stomach rumbling in agreement. His phone would vibrate and show a message from his brother, or rather within a group chat.

lol! Granted mostly his brain was for some reason only working on half power, so he felt as smart as he acted. For now he would just have to see how this evening went, and hope for the best.

Well, wish me luck! Austyn texted, and almost on cue the announcer called him up. Austyn smiled and stood up as he walked past the other members again. He felt a tug on his sleeve, he looked back to find that his tan friend had snagged him and nodded at him, wishing him luck in his own little way. Austyn nodded back as he walked onward, eventually making his way up the stage and to the podium. He thanked the annoying man before taking a side of the podium in each hand. Withdrawing his glasses from within his coat he placed the upon his nose and cleared his throat. "Thank you Ladies' and Gentlemen."And as it opened the final sealIt's truly a blessing to stand here with all of you I stood alone on crumbled groundt-to uh. Ehehe... It's truly an honor to be here tonight. I just wanted to take this tie so you could all get a true understanding of what Senator McCartney will-He stammered for a moment, unsure who, or what was saying what was being said. His pupils dilated and his eyes entered rapid motion as he saw before his very eyes, himself standing in a world with a large pillar of light, radiating warmth. But the pillar began to wane, it began to falter. The ground beneath him was grey and cracked, turning to dust all around him.The stars had fallen And the sun was coldb-b-be integrating into American society, and how he should be counted as one of the greatest visionaries in the history of the world.He still spoke, trying to not to show suspicion, but something was wrong. Now he felt cold, he felt the winds from this vision, as if it were him. Yet it felt like he was so far away. This world has never been, Only for the seeing it will be seenFor what I'm going to talk about, is the impossible, and through the Senator I believe that WE can help him make the difference.He began to worry now, was this voice threatening him, and the entire race?

For this world to survive - to keep me aliveTo-to....to uh, to fully understand one and other. To achieve the unachievable. The secret to our potential. He trembled, confused and angry, but not willing to humor the disembodied voice... even though he could feel the voices breath down his neck. I kept all the secrets deep inside meThis secret... is Unity. The truest and ONLY next step we can take. Together, we cannot be outdone.Now I will pass them on - now, now you are the oneBut now we find ourselves bickering and isolating one and other for reasons beyond our control. Mutations is one of them. We must remove the barrier between us and our mutant cousins, remembering that they did not choose this... the true threat is not the mutants... it's the democrats. Democrats choose to be democrats, Mutants did not choose to be mutants. So I'd like you all to keep in mind as we go out this year....and remember that I don't care what you are...as long as you aren't a democrat. He tried his hand at humor. It worked, Sam smiled and rolled her eyes as she looked to Ryan with the look that just said "typical Austyn"I was given the seal and the keyWith that...He continued, freezing though as he now saw himself holding a sword and a necklace with a small emerald on it, feeling time around him freeze, even in the vision, except for him. And I...He stood up, walking towards the pillar of light within the eternally time-stopped world. will keep it...His hand wrapped around blade and necklace he stepped towards the pillar and walked. He tore the amulet off his neck.Until... His foot falls short just before the pillar, the necklace hot in his hand as it graphs itself through the palm os his hand, appearing on the backside of his hand, glowing like an eye.I die. The voice's whispers were finished, and in a flash he felt pain unlike anything he had ever felt before. He felt the heat, the ground going from grey to green, the area coming to life once more, and all thing returning to their rightful place. Austyn stepped back and walked down from the stage as he walked back, but to the table, but to the back door.

He pulled out his handkerchief as he put it up to his weeping eyes. Removing it to find blood where there should have been tears. Sam was the first to notice Austyn's irregular exit. Well, the second if Ryan were paying attention. "He stood up for mutants..." She said, thinking she had reached the conclusion that he was embarrassed of his actions. Though it was not that, and perhaps Ryan knew it, but none others did. "It must be nice...to have a brother who would do that... erm. Uh, Should we go check on him?" She asked, caught with a red face as she found herself envious of Ryan. The tan male looked worried, but quickly turned to his phone. The text went through and the phone buzzed, from Austyn's seat as he left the phone behind.

The time for Austyns speech thing had arrive, Ryan letting his gaze follow his twin as he would make his way to the podium, offering a small wave and mouthed good luck. He knew Austyn would do well, he was always pretty good with public speaking, unlike Ryan, who usually froze up in the middle and ended up making a huge fool of himself. The blond sitting across from Ryan would let his gaze follow Austyn as well, withering almost it was though something about him was also familiar, as if he had seen that face somewhere before. Likely it was on some kind of internet thing, or maybe a billboard, one of the two. His mind jumped from Austyn to how he knew this guy, though he was simply watching Austyn and seemingly taking in all of what he would say with a certain interest. However he managed to keep himself from awkwardly staring, as that would draw unwanted attention from his supposed date and perhaps from the person he was trying to remember, leading to trouble that he did not want. However it was upon hearing the first stutter that his attention snapped, moving fully to his brother as his neck moved fast enough to appear as if it were going to snap.

While to most it may have not seemed like much was wrong, something within him felt as if that were not the case, his chest feeling heavy and his own heartbeat beginning to elevate. His brother seemed nervous, though he could not quite tell why from this distance, not able to see the rapid eye movement or anything along those lines. Still, as the speech went on, he would try to sue humor to perhaps deflect a potential problem and it felt as if he had done just that, something about democrats being the real enemy instead of the mutants; which worked and he felt as if he had heard that line before but in different context. His mind the snapped to that, Ryan scratching at his nose lazily as his mind went full force considering where that had been heard. When the speech had ended, Austyn instead of returning to the table would walk towards the back door, drawing Ryans attention as he leapt to his feet, concerned for his sibling slightly. The male with grey eyes would watch Austyn curiously, then returned to his cellphone.

'Y..yeah I think we should.” Ryan said nodding in agreement, following to where he saw Austyn go. Ryan woyuld follow where he went, peering through the back door and looked around for his twin. ”Um....Austyn..soemthin botherin ya?”

Austyn was what one might have called "free" from the public eye as he began to wipe away the excessive streaming from his eyes. He felt the center of his hands ache, and his voice became hoarse. He tried as best as he could to wipe the blood away, and make sense of what he had just seen. The bleeding from the eyes was odd, and the vision was even more so. Was that part of his freakish mutation as well? Was his mutation even more advanced than he realized? If so, why was it hurting him like this? What did that vision mean? Why did it make his eyes bleed. He began to think about what might cause the blood trailing from his eyes. He took a breath in and wondered quietly to himself. The vision...the voice... the eyes of blood and sore hands. "Holy shit it's stigmata..." he cursed as he pressed the cloth against his eyes, beginning to sweat buckets.

   "Y-yeah. Just catching a little shut eye." He said half-heartedly, forcing his eyes shut as he leaned his head back with eyes forced shut, hoping that his blood wouldn't flow freely. His tattoo began to glow and he found his eyes no longer feeling like faucets of blood, and he blinked before looking down at Ryan and Sam. "Ryan..." Sam said before pointing to the bloody handkerchief. "Austyn, you left really fast. We were just worried is all." She said. Austyn smirked and nodded as he seemed to get slightly defensive, taking an edge in his tone towards Sam. Perhaps a combination of his unrequited infatuation with her sudden nosiness in his affairs and the fact she was intruding upon his privacy.

   "Well, I'm fine, thanks for that." He said with a smile, venom hidden in his words.

He was getting some shut eye? Ryan found himself blinking confused, as he was sure that Austyn got plenty of sleep, or at least the usual amount that he got, not that Ryan could really tell how much sleep his sibling got. Sam would point out something, Ryans attention turning to the blood stained handkerchief, his heart stopping for a moment as the whole worrying elevated for a moment. He could also here a certain edge to the males voice, one that made him slightly worried for a moment as he turned to Sam for a moment. ”Could I have a few moments with Austyn?” He asked her with a small friendly smile, though one could hear the underlying worry and the plea that she do that. He would motion for her to scoot off, and when she did so he would make his way over to Austyn, furrowing his brow.

His attention turned towards the blood handkerchief and then back to Austyn, and his bloodshot eyes. ”Are you okay?” He locked eyes with the male, lips contorting into a bland line. 'Because I don't think people bleed when they're doing fine.” Unless of course the blood that was staining the bit of cloth was someone elses, and he had not seen Austyn stab someone else, unless his sight was going as bad as he thought. Whether Austyn would deny if anything was wrong with him at this point was up to him, but Ryan had a feeling that there was something wrong.

Austyn's eyes bloodied again and tears of blood shimmered down his cheeks and along side his nose. He quickly took the handkerchief and dabbed the blood away before wiping his face, making sure not to smear it. "I...I don't know okay? I just felt like my head went numb. I stuttered, I froe and hesitated and then my damn eyes started bleeding when my head went numb. It was just so damn strange." He explained as he began to pant, sweating as he began t tug at the bow-tie and unlacing it as he then immediately went to undoing the top three buttons and removing his jacket. He was burning up, his hands ached and his eyes wouldn't stop welling up with blood when he stayed still. He had no idea what to tell Ryan....mostly because he had no idea at all. He sighed, undoing two more buttons, the shirt open to his abdomen now as he bent over, placed his hands on his knees and began to breathe.

"I-it...it must be this-this job! I can't keep lying... I can't keep doing this...." He tried to reason it out, trying to convince himself that it was a temporary insanity through some form of uneased consciousness about his work. He found himself counting breathes as he began to shake his head. [color=#009966]"I...I'm a bad guy... I twisted and turned...it's not right...mutants- PEOPLE died- no...people were murdered and I helped them get away with it..."He whimpered as he brought the handkerchief to his face again and dabbed the blood away as he began to hyperventilate and walk over to the lobby water-fountain and attempting to drink.

Austyns eyes would well up with more blood tears as they began to run down his cheek, likely staining them a crimson color. In usual Ryan fashion, he began to create imaginary scenarios as too why he was crying blood, most of them not good at all. Panting indicated that he was getting hot, even though it was rather cool back here, which did not mean anything food at all and Ryan assumed that he was likely dying from some manner of exotic disease. Whatever the case was, he was beginning to freak out a little, if only because the idea of his twin dying was not the most comforting one and his imagination tended to get away from him.. He wanted to help, but punching things hard could only do so much, and helping a person with bleeding from the eyes was not one of those things.

His twin was whimpering, about his job and how he was a bad person. Not that he could deny the job being bad, but he knew that Austyn was not a bad person, he was not evil at all. ”You're not a bad guy.” Ryan found himself saying rather sure of himself, because he knew it was not true. ”Its...just a job right?” he was just doing what he had to to help them to get by, even though he hated what they had to do. While he couldn't do anything, he offered a sympathetic hand, patting  Austyn lightly on the shoulder.

[color#=009966]"...Thanks..."[/color] Austyn said with a slight smile, a broken one. It was obvious he didn't believe what Ryan had said. It was just a job, that much was true...and like all jobs it could be quit. But these stupid visions. Who was that person? It looked like him, but...black hair and glowing green eyes. He walked right into the light, the ground around was crumbled and turned to ash. He exhaled as he walked over to a small refreshment table and reached for a bottle of Crown Royal. He found himself wondering about if there was anything more to thi...to the silver haired woman in the visions who screamed at him, lips black as knight and skin as pale as snow. He began to chug the bottle and in a moment the doors opened once more. Austyn looked back to see who was coming. The skin tone was enough for him to know who it was. Austyn would never want to be seen like this. He was strong, independent and strong-willed... not easily broken or tormented and turned into a whiny bitch through visions, probably from some damn telepath.

   No Austyn...you're blaming the mutants...it's not their fault. That's your job...not you. This is on you... He thought to himself as he looked back to Ryan and chuckled. "Ry... I'm going home. I'll uh...I'll see you there okay?" He asked, no sooner had he asked had the familiar tanned male popped up. Austyn smiled at him and then sighed. [color-#990033]"You're not going anywhere. Not driving anyway, I'll take you."[/color] He interjected. Austyn went to protest but as soon as he did the hazel eyes of the male were upon him, and Austyn felt the strangest urge to not argue any more. "Scary british people is scary" He said, causing himself to chuckle. The tanned male turned to Ryan and then looked to Sam as she looked on from a distance. "Uhm...are you both coming as well or-?" he asked.

Ryan was unsure what he was supposed to do, his mind kind of shutting down at this point as his brother did not usually bleed from the eyes. He  wanted to help his brother, but he had a feeling that he could not, which was perhaps one of the worst feelings that Ryan could have. To be someone as strong as him and to feel so powerless was horrible, which was why he had the sinking feeling within his chest. His twin would reach for a bottle of Crown Royal and begin to down it, which was not likely healthy but then again nothing about this situation was, so it seemed right at home. He turned towards Ryan and said soemthing about going home,seeing him there and something like that. Bright blue orbs would narrow as he considered his sibling, but only nodded, absently making a clicing noise with his tongue.,

”Alright, see ya there.” he would say, only to see a strange tan male approach Austyn and perhaps talk him out of going the way he is alone. He offered to take him, which was a small comfort, but then again he was unsure if he could trust this guy. Before they left however, Ryan would find himself being asked if he was coming and there was only one answer that he could give. 'Yeah, i''m comin.” He said with a nod a she would approach Aramis and Austyn showing that he did intend to come.

Austyn felt a little weird at the moment. Aramis was willing to help him, and while he was incredibly grateful he wasn't sure how to respond. Did Aramis even know how to drive through American standards? Then again, Austyn had the privilege of remembering that Aramis never drove anywhere, he had a driver at all times on call. That in its own right had to be nice in situations like this one where one was inebriated ever so slightly. 'Yeah, i''m comin.” "No! R-ryan- oooomph...excuse me, Ryan you gotta stay with Sam. It won't be much longer... Just go. I trust Aramis with my life." Austyn said as he put an arm around Aramis and smiled, shaking him slightly. Aramis turned slightly red and jittery, nervous to the affection and endearing nature that was a hug. Austyn pretended to not notice as he looked to Sam and waved.

"I can take real good care of him." Aramis tried to assure Ryan before Austyn spoke up for the final time. "It'sonly another half hour... you really wanna help me? Be there for her like I WANT to and like she wants YOU to. Don't let the last half hour ruin her night..." He said, near pleading eyes at his twin. That's right, the Austyn Abernathy guilt trip. Dispite popular belief and his lack of use of the tactic, putting on a cute pleading face and guilting someone was a classic that remained Austyn's winning look. Hopefully Ryan wouldn't see through it.

There was a problem with the sentence Austyn spoke, and it was that HE trusted Aramis with his life, Ryan had no such trust held in the male. As far as he was aware, the male was a stranger and could not be trusted, while that would have not usually been the case his brother did not also usually bleed from the eyes. He said something about staying with Sam, which Ryan was not too keen on considering that he was more worried about his sibling than dealing with a date that his brother had set up for him in the first place. Okay, so maybe he was not the happiest person around, but then again that what one person gets for caring about family. He even went as low as to guilt trip him, drawing a grumble from the male as well as an eye roll.

”Alright alright, i'll stay.” Ryan said perhaps a little bitterly, and perhaps catching the undertone of that sentence. While he came off as an idiot, Ryan was far from that and he understood more than he let on. Still, he would not and smile, agree like the guy he was. ”Take care alright, something about traffic and stuff like that.” He said with a wave of his hand, turning to Sam and thinking in his mind, thirty more minutes. It wouldn't be too long, and hopefully he wouldn't have to attend something like this again, or atleast the next one would have less bleeding eyes.

Aramis looked concerned for Austyn as blood streamed down his eys, dripping into the empty Crown Royal bottle he had downed nigh-effortlessly. He sighed, feeling nothing more than a simple buzz. He should have been shitfaced plastered, and yet he was buzzed. He even managed to open the limo's mini-bar and raid Aramis' stuff. Aramis just watched as he consumed a bottle of Champaign as well, and still only a buzz lingering. Aramis sighed as he saw Austyn wipe his eyes away with the handkerchief and stare at the bottle. "Staring at it won't fill the bottle again.... and the bottle won't solve anything." he said with a smile, trying to be kind and yet sting. Austyn smirked and shook his head with a chuckle. He shifted and moved across the limo and sat next to Aramis and put a hand on his shoulder. Aramis watched him, as if expecting him to suddenly try and attack him.

   "Thank you... I mean it. I don't have a lot fo friends. Mutant friends at that..." Austyn said as he shook Aramis. Aramis seemed both pleased, happy and cautious of the thanks as Austyn played up the drunk game and hugged him. Aramis froze up and tapped Austyn's back before stammering to ask him to please get off. "I hope I'll be able to be a good friend back one day... not today though... you'll be asleep in a few seconds anyway." He said, tattoo glowing under his clothing. Aramis opened his mouth to protest and instead yawned as his eyes drooped and he took in a peaceful breath. Austyn tapped the back of the divider window, the driver stopped and puled to the side. He opened the car door and stepped out, the Empire building not too far, ten minutes at most and then the ride up. He got out his phone and sent a text to Ryan.

 Change in plans. Not gonna be home tonight :( lol He texted, waiting for an answer a moment before beginning his walk. He could easily text and diffuse an angry Ryan...or so he thought. He didn't know really...Ryan was really worried about him. He was almost certain that Ryan would assume it involved the stranger, and want to know what plans...which might be doable. Either way he had a few moments before he reached his get-away point at the top of the ES building.

Ryan was worried, pacing around a little as his heart began to race within his chest, mind for a moment moving off of Sam and then he found alcohol, something that he did not normally touch but tonight seemed like an exception. The male took one of the bottle and poured himself a glass, dark brown liquid flowing over the cool ice cubes and laying there within the crevices as he tilted his head back and swigged it. A strange taste washed over his mouth, causing the mutant to wince as a burning sensation washed down his chest and caused him to shiver. How people could drink something like this he could not tell, but its effects were beginning to work, dulling senses but not the pounding within his chest, Ryan grumbling as he looked at his empty glass.”Why do people drink this stuff? It tastes horrible.” Ryan grumbled placing the glass down and shaking his head, looking to Sam who he has forgotten.

'I'm gonna go out for a moment, clear my head and stuff.” he said shaking his head and stepping outside, feeling over his back pocket for the pack of cigarettes he had bought. He removed one of them and lit the end with a beaten ligher, taking a deep drag from the stick and released it within a puff of smoke. It was the nicotine that calmed him down some, lessening the shaking and allowing him to calm down for atleast a moment as he looked up to the starless sky. His phone would buzz, but Ryan ignored that for a minute before answering, cigarette still within his mouth as he considered it with a slightly buzzed mind. Change in plans? D: Where you goin then? With that tan dude? ;) Admittedly it was not out of the ordinary for Ryan to suggest something like that, but his shot did not help any.

"I don't know...I don't think Austyn even really likes it. I'm pretty sure he's in it for the buzz. He makes the exact same face." She said with a smile before sighing, obviously worried about Austyn as well, though she was hesitant. She looked over to Ryan, and then her father who was just praising the speech Austyn gave and saying what a good man he was. She rolled her eyes. She knew this job was killing Austyn, and so she stood up. There were twenty minutes left and she looked to Ryan. "Let's go... I'm worried about Austyn...and I know you are too. I don't want you to be stuck with me when you'd be better off helping him..." She said with a smile, tucking her hair back behind her ear and turning to walk to the door.

Austyn got the message in return as he walked. He looked over the message and rolled his eyes, color burning in his face. He was easily made embarrassed by his twin. He rolled his eyes and contemplated a response for a moment. Sure it was as simply as "No" but then there was a series of questions that would likely follow in order to ensure he'd be okay. Austyn wondered something, could he potentially send this back right in his brother's face somehow? Make him look as red as he did? Bah, it would have to wait. He'd just try to play it cool and dismiss the question and move on. He tapped away on the phone as he moved forward towards his objective. Am I that transparent? I'm kidding! Nah, I wish that were the case, but I'm actually just gonna go clear my head." He typed, not disclosing where or when, though knowing his brother that came next.

Why did you think I was going with him? Did you want to trade places? I bet I could arrange it haha! ;) Austyn smiled, if nothing else he had hoped the color might drag out attention from Sam and put him in an awkward spot.

Ryan would slip the phone back into his pocket, returning his attention to the cigarette that was still between his lips, end red and burning. A trail of smoke would rise from the end, disappearing into the gloom of the air. Sam had said something about being worried about Austyn, which he was but he did not feel like making someone else delve into potential personal problems. With a flick of the butt, the glittering ashes would flutter to the ground and fade away to nothingness, intermingling with the grey concrete. His attention was on nowhere really, just moving around and not really staying on point, much like a cat chasing after a pointer that was not there. His phone would vibrate, and answering it he found his face going a little red, color blooming along his cheeks slowly. So it seemed that two could play this game, though it was a game that he planned to win.

Alright, i'm totes up for tradin places. ;] Did Ryan really mean that Text? No, no he did not, but something told him that Sam was giving him this look due to the blush that was forming upon his cheeks. Right now the booze was mostly talking for him, so he was likely only digging a hole for himself as he turned towards Sam. ”Yeah I guess I should get home, before I get...myself drunk.” Ryan chuckled disposing of his cigarette in the nearby trash bin. ”That probably means I need to drop ya off right?”

Sam nodded and alloed Ryan to take her home, but before she departed she looked to Ryan and with a very serious expression she stated: "Promise me you'll text me if anything happens to Austyn, okay?" She would virtually force him to promise if he failed to do so willingly. She was concerned, just as Ryan was, though Ryan cared far more for his twin.

Austyn smirked when he received his twin's reply. The response was really quite interesting, either his brother had taken to drinking, or Austyn seriously misgauged his brother in certain circumstances. Though he found himself wondering something. Was his brother genuine when eh said about the switching places? He shook his head at thinking that Ryan might possibly have had a slight interest in his friend, something that made Austyn want to do nothing more than irritate the hell out of both his friend and his brother. That was going to happen now. He ordained it within his own mind. He would set up Aramis with Ryan, if for no other reason to see how the two of them both reacted. Mostly because Aramis and Ryan reacted the exact same. Bright red, jittter, hard to talk, muttering a lot of awkward laughing. It was almost identical. It'd be interesting to see those two at a dinner...everyone would think they were both epileptics that triggered.

Well you sir, have good tastes then, you should jump on that opportunity at some point. He said casually, though the meaning was clear to himself. This was not a pathetic attempt, it was a statement. The manipulation came later. For now, he walked to the ES building and stood in front of it, looking up at the large building.