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[brushoff]

"You've reached the inbox of one Dorian Gray. Don't forget to leave me a message. If you're interesting, I'll get back to you."

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[crab_rangoon]

Vodka will do. He places a hand on the small of his back, underneath his shirt. "Yes, yes. Whatever you say. I'm sure that went over well. So tell me the story."

[brushoff]

Dorian sighs, taking a bit of a breath before he heads off to the kitchen to make a few vodka cranberries.

"So this all started when I invited Misty and Natalie over for a playdate. Things already got off at a poor start when Natalie revealed that she stole some pills from my room under Misty's nose. The poor start continued when I told the both of them that I wasn't going to work on helping Natalie get clean, but if she was going to shoot up, I'd prefer she do it in my room—and I'm sticking to that, by the way."

Dorian knows that he's the last person to try and help someone work through their addictions.

"Anyway, Natalie asked about hot gossip and I mentioned that I had some on you. I'll admit, it was mostly to see what Misty would do. She got angry, I continued to push her buttons by mentioning that you had a kid—nothing more, just that. I dropped the thread soon afterwards."

There's a pause before Dorian lightly shrugs. "I don't think she likes me. Which is going to be a bit of a problem as I know Natalie likes me."

[crab_rangoon]

He pulls away and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Dorian. Why would you bait her like that? And why would you dangle my daughter in front of Natalie?"

[brushoff]

"I'm not saying this to be mean, just as a fact—I don't think Natalie gives a shit about your daughter. Misty's the one who would hold onto any gossip so that she can deploy it and claim you're friends. I think Natalie's more the sort to live in the moment."

And sometimes the moment involves mixing painkillers and alcohol, something that Dorian is absolutely not going to tell Pagan happened.

"And I baited Misty because it's fun? And she got to show off in front of Natalie, Lord knows that's probably her favorite thing to do right now."

[crab_rangoon]

"It doesn't matter if she cares, Dorian. I do."

He sits down and crosses his legs. "And now she hates you."

[brushoff]

Dorian bristles a little, frowning slightly, obviously not that happy he's in the doghouse with regards to this one.

"Even if she does, I think she'll ignore it," Dorian points out, with a little shake of his head. "I don't think Misty's the sort to admit that she hates a person if their friend likes them."

[crab_rangoon]

"No, she absolutely will with me. I don't mind that as much. She needs to learn how to deal with people she doesn't get along with."

He looks up. "Next time, do ask before using me as an example, hm?"

[brushoff]

"Of course."

There's a pause as he mulls things over before asking, "If you read her private messages then I suppose I should ask you this. Do you think she actually likes you for you? Or does she like you just because it's your job to pay attention to her?"

[crab_rangoon]

"I think it was that way at first. But over time, things have changed."

He crosses his legs. "Why?"

[brushoff]

"I honestly find that hard to believe," he points out, with a frown.

"She just seems so...insincere. Like she's playing at friendship because she has no idea how to actually do it."

[crab_rangoon]

He leans forward. "What happened to my drink?" he mutters.

[brushoff]

"It's coming," Dorian sighs. He turns his attention to the drinks so he can finish them off and offer one to Pagan.

"And let me guess. I said the wrong thing?"

[crab_rangoon]

"No, no. Not at all. But if we're getting on this topic, I intend to have a goddamn drink in my hand." He takes it and holds it close before actually tasting it. "You're right about her. In her normal friendships. But there's a reason that she has free reign to my cabin. There's a reason that she has full access to my life. There is nothing she can hold over me. There is nothing that needs to force out of me. I offered my friendship freely and she gets nothing out of reciprocating it."

[brushoff]

"But there's still the matter that you're her warden," Dorian points out, frowning still, as he takes a little sip of his drink. "You have to pay attention to her. You can offer your friendship freely, but your attention was instantly taken the moment the two of you were paired."

[crab_rangoon]

"Dorian, why don't you trust me on this, hm?"

He taps his drink on the counter. "Why are you so convinced otherwise?"

[brushoff]

"I do trust you. I'm just...worried, I suppose. I think if she puts her mind to it, she can be more dangerous than people give her credit for."

There were a few glances, a few looks, a few moments during their talk where Misty didn't seem like the nuisance who everybody views her as. Besides, if she's willing to snort some mystery cocaine for a friend, who knows how far she'd go?

[crab_rangoon]

"Darling, I know exactly what she's capable of. It isn't pretty, but I do know what to look out for."

He reaches over to take Dorian's wrist. "What are you worried about? Truly?"

[brushoff]

There's a pause before Dorian sighs,

"Everything? Honestly, at the moment I think I just need an inmate. Someone to focus all my time and attention on so that I don't get bored."

Because Dorian knows that when he's bored, that's when he makes poor choices.

[crab_rangoon]

"Ah yes. Trixie took yours away from you."

He takes another drink and his touch turns softer on his wrist. "You need a hobby."

[brushoff]

"I have plenty of hobbies," Dorian corrects. "What I need is something new."

[crab_rangoon]

"You came back from a trip with Trixie, showing her so many new things. You can't simply take a few weeks off?" he laughs.

But he knows Dorian.

[brushoff]

Dorian lets out a little laugh, shaking his head before,

"I think with hindsight, the Trixie trip was different. I don't want to be one of those people who vanishes from the Barge and goes on a little vacation the moment things get hard or boring."

[crab_rangoon]

"You don't want to be, but now you're causing problems because things are boring," he points out.

[brushoff]

"I mean let's be real, I'm going to cause problems just by existing," Dorian points out, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Even if I wasn't trying to bait Misty, there would have been a few things I mentioned that she'd take offense with."

[crab_rangoon]

"Maybe, but at least you can admit that you did it for the sole reason of riling her up."

Another drink and he moves off of the chair, walking idly through his rooms.