Apologies (for Wanderer)

[CaptainL]

For as much as she cared about the people close to her, Chelsea Forster was not exactly the type of person one could describe as a positive influence. She lived for getting drunk and starting fights, and right now both of those passions had combined - not only had she roped Sarabeth into a drinking contest, the two of them were quickly embroiled in a heated arm wrestling match. Chelsea was naturally competitive at heart, and if her long-standing feud with Finella was any indication, nothing quite brought out those instincts like finding a kindred spirit, who was driven just as hard to prove themselves in every way they could. Sarabeth, it seemed, was one such person. And if that was the case, then Chelsea was even more motivated to overcome her, just to prove her determination could come out on top!

"Nngh-!! Oh nah, ye don't, ye cabbage-'eaded cunt-!" she barked, her speech slurred, as she began to force her hand back up from the counter, pushing control away from Sarabeth. Her teeth were locked into a grimace, and one eye was squeezed shut while the other twitched nervously. "I terld ye, nobody beats me!" Chelsea inadvertently punctuated her boast with a loud hiccup, but that didn't seem to stop her. She saw that Sarabeth was turning up the heat, and she was going to rise to meet her - planting one hand against the table, the Englishwoman leaned in even closer, lowering her head to look Sarabeth straight in the eye as she pushed her forehead up against the Young Lioness's own. This might have been a friendly arm wrestling match, but when Chelsea was going to go head to head against someone, she was going to take it seriously!

[Pegasus]

Sarabeth met Chelsea head on pressing her own forehead against the Brit’s as they engaged in war. Sarabeth had Chelsea’s hand in limbo trying to press it down as she gritted her teeth putting all her focus into winning this match. They may not be hated rivals, but Sarabeth wouldn’t take the talk lying down. The balance of the hands shifted back and forth as Sarabeth felt her arm getting tired, but she had to think quickly not wanting to give it all up so soon. She grabbed Chelsea’s beer bottle and drank from it hoping to use it as a boost as she was pressing down hard getting Chelsea’s hand closer and closer to the table.

[CaptainL]

With both Chelsea and Sarabeth putting all their focus into winning out in their struggle - well, as much as either of them could be said to be focused, considering they were both well into their cups at this point - the arm-wrestling match had ground to a standstill. Chelsea might have been small, but she was fierce and determined, and she didn't back down from a challenge easily. When she put her full force of will behind something, she could be a force to be reckoned with. But Sarabeth had plenty of strength on her side, too - and when she pushed back against Chelsea with all her might, that proved enough to counteract whatever force the Englishwoman could muster!

Chelsea huffed and panted, her eyelid twitching with nervous energy as she held tight to Sarabeth's hand. She too could feel the fatigue setting into her muscles, and they were growing stiffer and harder to move - but even still, Chelsea gave it everything she had, gnashing her teeth as she shoved back at Sarabeth with all ther might. She wasn't going to back down like this! But no matter how impassioned Chelsea was, there was only so much she had in reserve. Slowly but surely, she was being pushed back...

That was, until Sarabeth took a drink from her bottle. That was a mistake.

At once, Chelsea's eyes went wide, and she slapped the table with her free hand. "'EY! Wha' do ye think you're doin'!? Ye want me ter break ye fookin' finger?! NOBODY teruches me bevvy, ye gorriz!? Nobody!" Chelsea lived by her own code - and one of the principles she lived by was that she could never forgive a drink-stealer. The vein bulged angrily in her forehead as she shoved back hard at Sarabeth's hand, now driven by newfound strength!

[Pegasus]

"Oh, you want me to gouge or gorge or whatever the fuck you said? Make me, bitch!" Sarabeth screamed as she pressed forehead further into Chelsea's gritting her teeth in anger and even took another swig of Chelsea's drink to entice her further.

However, the more the girls got drunk, their eyes started to swell with tears and their anger seemed to be floating away from their faces. Their hands trembling together as emotions started rushing through their veins and then both Chelsea and Sarabeth found themselves starting to whimper. This would last five seconds before they went right into crying and forgetting about the contest proceeding to hug each other tightly. It seems their intense contest combined with their booze made them more emotional than they both realized. Sarabeth clung to Chelsea's jacket and cried like a small baby being reunited with a parent which is something to say given her abandonment issues.

"I'm sorry, Chels! I didn't mean anything! I got carried away and became so obsessed over having time with drinking. Please don't me throw me away! I want to be your friend! I want to hang out with you! I want....oh shit, I want to use the bathroom! I don't feel good!" Sarabeth exclaimed as she let go Chelsea and ran off to the nearest bathroom she could find her puking noises echoing from the doorway.

[CaptainL]

As she leaned in even closer to Sarabeth, the tension in Chelsea's body could only grow tighter and tighter. Her fingers squeezed at the green-haired girl's hand with a white-knuckled grip, and her forehead ground up against her opponent's as she pushed forward with her entire body to try and steer her back. Her eye was twitching nervously, and she snorted a gout of hot air through her nose like a bull getting ready to charge. It seemed as though she was perfectly prepared to steamroll over Sarabeth if it came to that, just to prove her superiority and her strength - and Sarabeth was every bit as prepared to take her up on that challenge. But just moments later...everything shifted.

Through the haze of alcohol, Sarabeth couldn't focus on their contest any more - only on the guilt she felt at stealing Chelsea's drink. It might have been a pet peeve of the Englishwoman that she wasn't willing to let down, but when Sarabeth's emotions were running wild, she felt like she'd betrayed a friend. In seconds, she broke away from their armlock to cling to Chelsea, sobbing into her coat. If Chelsea was sober, she would've seen this as a perfect opening to reclaim the advantage...but she was just as impaired as Sarabeth was, and it was hitting her hard.

At the same time, the blonde reached out to cling to Sarabeth's shoulders, pulling her tightly into a hug. She too started crying, and she didn't really know why - but all of a sudden, all the worries and doubts she had ever felt, all her concerns that she wouldn't have any friends and that she would push everyone she cared about away from her, came flooding back to the surface. Chelsea didn't like to let her emotions get the better of her, but sometimes she had no choice - and when things were growing this emotionally charged, she just couldn't help it.

"I'm shorry-! God, I'm shorry...don't think I'm mad, really-!" she slurred, hiccuping occasionally. "I just, uh...I didn't mean it! Really!!" Chelsea had only just met Sarabeth, but she couldn't help but recognize the two were kindred spirits, and that Sarabeth shared her passion for living life to the fullest. Now, with the alcohol added to the mix, she might as well have been someone she'd known since childhood. She was only now starting to build up the support network she always needed - and even if it was over something so foolish, now that Sarabeth had even raised the possibility of them being at odds, Chelsea too felt the need to cling onto her and to never let go. She had only just tasted what having a friend was like, and she didn't want to lose that. She'd fought for it all her life. "I really didn't mean it..!"

Chelsea was so consumed with her sobs that she barely even noticed that Sarabeth was trying to make it up to her, too. She could only sob incoherently, up unil Sarabeth got up to run to the bathroom. Taken by surprise at first, Chelsea shook herself out as Sarabeth slipped out of her arms. "Huuuh..? Wuzzat? 'ey, 'ey, 'old on, I'm still talkin' 'ere..!" Pushing herself up from the table, she took a few blundering steps after Sarabeth...only to fall flat onto her face just a few steps out. The drinking contest, it seemed, had taken its toll on them both.

[Pegasus]

Ryan started rubbing his eyes and Jonathan regained some balance of reality as the effects of the alcohol were starting to subside. Sarabeth stumbled out of the bathroom as she took a nice long drink of water from a fountain in the corner to wash the vomit taste out of her mouth. William finally awoke to see Anfield licking his face and he narrowed his gaze in confusion patting the Bulldog on the head. It seems everyone was starting to calm down from their visit to the tipsy island and Jonathan took another swig from his bottle nearly immune to the taste of his drink after a couple rounds. He looked at his watch and the time read 1:13 AM.

“Ain't this place suppose to be open? I know it usually opens at 6 in the evening,” Jonathan stated.

“Wednesdays through Sundays. George altered the schedule so he and Chelsea could have their couple time on Mondays and Tuesdays. Though, I’m surprised he ain’t home yet,” Ryan replied as he looked at the calendar depicting a Tuesday as the day today.

“Oh shit! Chelsea! Let me help you up there!” Sarabeth obliged as she grabbed Chelsea’s left arm to help the pub co-owner back to her feet and even helped dust off her clothes for her. “Ya know, that was really fun arm wrestling and I ain’t met someone as strong as you. I’ve even been trained by Alania, Astrid, and Tina and while they are stronger, you’re not too far behind. It honestly reminds me of spending time with my uncle before he had to serve.”

[CaptainL]

"Nnngh..." Chelsea was still teetering uneasily from side to side as Sarabeth guided her to her feet. The alcohol was starting to get to her now - not just in making her tipsy, but in making her emotions run out of control. That had been clear enough in how she'd slipped and fallen just getting out of her chair, and it would also show a moment later - as Sarabeth helped the Englishwoman up, Chelsea threw her arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug and burying her face in her side. She sobbed incoherently, and her tears began to dampen the Young Lioness's shirt. She could hardly help herself. She'd only known Sarabeth for a matter of hours, but already she seemed to be a kindred spirit, one she felt closer to than most people she'd ever met, and one of a select few she could trust opening up around. Normally, she wouldn't want anyone to see her like this. But Sarabeth...Sarabeth was different.

"Don't...leave me. Pleashe..." Chelsea hiccupped a little as she trembled in place. By this point, she didn't even really know why she was crying this much; only that she was. But when she stopped and realized what Sarabeth was saying, she realized it was all right. She didn't have any reason to cry. Sarabeth wasn't going anywhere - and if anything, their ordeal had only drawn them closer to one another than ever. Besides, Sarabeth was flattering her, and she couldn't say no to that!

Now, a grin split Chelsea's face as she pulled herself back up to her feet. As though nothing had ever happened, she was right back to her old self. "Eheheh...dun mention it!" She slapped Sarabeth firmly across the back. "An' ye 'aven't evun seun de 'alf o' it, like! Wha' ye and I need is a match against each uvver, so I can really show ye 'ow I bowl! Afti I deal wi' Natalie, o'cose..." At the mention of Natalie, Chelsea looked off into the distance with a glare...but she just as quickly looked back at Sarabeth, smiling to her with a nod. After they'd hit it off so well, she was sure this was far from the last time they'd enjoy each others' company.

[Pegasus]

Sarabeth usually wasn’t someone that was use to comforting others in their time of need. That was normally her when her abandonment issues or her mother came up in conversation. However, Sarabeth could instantly tell when Chelsea literally gave her a death grip hug, the blonde bunny had been through her own turmoils in life and she just hugged her new best friend back softly rubbing her back to acknowledge her feelings. It’s funny that they just met and got along so great, but now, the Young Lioness now finds out that Chelsea has her own story to tell. That will definitely be a conversation she wants to hear about later.

Sarabeth noticed Chelsea calming down and then gave her a friendly slap across the back as Sarabeth yelped a little bit. She wasn’t use to that at all mainly, because she does the same thing to Jessie and Matilda back at the dorms. However, when Chelsea mentioned a match between the two, Sarabeth nodded with a competitive grin.

“My stepmother is Astrid and I’ve been trained by the current heavyweight champion. I’ve got some skills so your British behind better bring a packed set otherwise I’m mowing you over and claiming victory like I almost did in arm wrestling,” Sarabeth taunted with a playful wink.

Sarabeth would then have an idea spring off in her head before clearing her throat and crossing her arms at Chelsea.

“I know we just met, but ah, I still have a little time to get sober and I don’t want my mom to give my dad a hard time about me drinking. You think I can spend the night and just chill with you? I know it’s a typical girly thing to do, but we don’t have to talk about boys or braid the other’s hair!” Sarabeth suggested with a little nervous giggle.

[CaptainL]

After she'd gotten ahead of herself in her little drinking contest with Sarabeth, Chelsea was quite drunk - there was no doubt about that. The world around her was blurry and indistict, she could hardly take a step forward without feeling like the ground was going to give way, and her emotions were running wild; one moment she felt ready to burst into tears about all the hardship in her life and how she felt misunderstood and scorned by everyone she met, and the next she was overcome with her gratitude for all the people in her life who had come together to help lift her up. But through it all, she recognized that she had a friend in Sarabeth - someone who understood her, and yet respected her at the same time. Someone who was looking for support in her life just how Chelsea herself was, and who had found it now in her just as Chelsea found it in Sarabeth. When she looked back up at the green-haired girl, it was with a bright and beaming grin...

But for all Chelsea was happy to have someone like Sarabeth in her life, the competitive spirit and the desire to prove herself in everything she did was something that died hard. And just as she and Sarabeth had seen so much of themselves in one another, so too did they recognize that same attitude in each other - that refusal to break down. Chelsea had issued a challenge, but Sarabeth was happy to meet it. And when she boasted of her strength, Chelsea would only plant her hands on her hips, leaning over closer to look her right in the eye!

"Oh, yeah, talk big all ye want - it's not gon'ter save ye! We both kun I wuz winnin', so dun ye evun try ter take dat one back, like! And ye can tell yer mummy I'm not afraid o' er! Not de way yer da is!"

Chelsea stuck a finger up in the air to punctuate her point...but she was undercut a moment later as she let out a loud hiccup, one that caused her to teeter uneasily back and forth. She needed to grab onto Sarabeth's shoulders to steady herself, but she was reminded of just how compromised her balance really was. Sarabeth, evidently, felt the same. But she had a proposal for Chelsea because of it, and it was one that made the Englishwoman raise an eyebrow curiously.

"Wha', like...a sleepover?" Chelsea blushed at first. It felt absurd to think that a ruthless, no-nonsense brawler like her would do anything so flippant and silly. That was what her sister did. Even when she was in high school and they were sharing an apartment. That wasn't so bad, since it gave Chelsea the chance to go out drinking the night away, but she still felt downright ridiculous thinking of herself in such a situation. She was Chelsea Forster, not some giggly schoolgirl hopped up on caffeine! And yet...she couldn't deny that she had made a new friend today. If she and Sarabeth were going to stay in touch, there was surely no harm in getting to know her more. The more she thought about it, the nicer the prospect seemed...

"Ye nah...Jud and I 'uv us rewms ed de flare above, like. If we're quiet about it, 'e'll probably be sound wi' de plan. As long as 'e doesn't take this as an excuse ter go stickin' 'is nose places it shouldn't be..." Thinking back on George's famously flirtatious habits, Chelsea groaned, rubbing her forehead. But she still looked back toward Sarabeth with a smile, and she nodded her head. She'd found love and support and a family in George and all the others. Now, in Sarabeth, she had a friend. She couldn't deny it; she'd always been a little curious about what it was that Molly had, and what she had always missed out on. Now, she had the chance to have that after all.

"...Go tell ye da ter drop off ye tewthbrush and things. I'll meet ye in me rewm." She grinned just a little wider as she said it. A tingly feeling ran over her from head to toe. Was this what it really felt like, to have friends? Whatever it was...she'd take it.

[Pegasus]

THE END