Proper Etiquette 101 (open/Casual)

[chesh]

It was mid day in summer, the sun was high as the sun rays beat down on Chesh's pale skin. he wore a simple pink and purple striped shirt, with black shorts and sandals. Usually he would wear something a little more suiting to his taste, but it was a bit to hot out for anything heavier than what he had on. He wore a sweat band on his arm, with a little kitty embroidered onto it, and his usual necklace with the word smile written at the bottom of it. He had a cool bottle of water in his hand, letting a bead of water roll off of the water bottle onto his arms, as he shielded his eyes from the harsh sun.

Usually on a day like this he would be inside, in his cool air conditioned apartment, but he had a mission today, and he was determined to fulfill it. The library was only a few minutes from his house, but he had to take a detour today. His mission for the day was to thoroughly educate his good friend Ashton, or better known as Hatter on proper etiquette. This wouldn't be an easy task, Hatter was going to be less than enthusiastic about learning about proper etiquette...let alone going to a library, but it had to be done. Hatter didn't know the first thing about proper etiquette, and it was about time he learned a little bit about it from his good friend Chesh.

He stopped short in front of Hatters apartment door and opened it with one swing. He looked around at the one room apartment and raised an eyebrow "Bloody hell Hatter, can't ye find a better place of living" he said with a grin as he grabbed Hatters arm. "Its about time ye visit a library don't ye think" he chuckled as he dragged him out of the apartment, and on his way towards the library.

[ashton]

The previous night had been full of liquor... a lot of liquor. He wasn't quite sure how much he had drunk, much more than he usually did. Vaguely bit's and pieces fit together, filling in how he had come home. At around three in the morning he had stumbled in, drunk as a skunk and passed out for several hours in the bathroom with the shower on. Several hours later he had woken up with one bloody disaster of a hangover. Having been full clothed in soaked in icy water Ashton somehow, with little memory crawled into a pair of black baggy jeans and a pink tank top before collapsing into his bed and huddling under the covers, his cat Satsi curling up against his stomach as he drifted back into the dream world.

He didn't know what hour it was that Chesh wandered in, but he heard the boom of the door opening at some insanely early in his mind hour of the day. He grumbled something in his sleep about forgetting to lock the door as he pulled the covers over his head in hopes that the intruder would leave. Of course those hopes were futile. He heard his friends voice boom and raised his arm in a shooing manner. Instead of that working he was suddenly pulled out of his bed in a quick, unpleasant motion, yanking the annoyed Hatter out of his comfort zone.

[pink]"BLOODY WANK! I don' wanna!"[/pink] He yelled out as he clung to the covers with his free hand, and only managed to rip them off the bed. Before he was ripped out of his apartment he managed to grab a random black ball cap and push it over his messy wild blue hair. He muttered under his breath but finally caught up with Chesh and walked begrudgingly with him rather than nearly having his arm pulled out of its socket. He had a sour look on his face, hat pulled down as close to his eyes as possible to try and relieve his eyes from the head splitting, scorching sun.

"I do plen'y o' readin' Chesh. Why do I have to go to the Library?" He asked, sighing heavily, trying to show his disdain towards the prospect of going out to a musty library instead of staying in his warm bed and sleeping the day away and into the night. His throbbing head thought it would have been a better plan too.

[chesh]

Chesh's fast paced walk quickly turned into a leisurely stroll towards the library, once he felt that Hatter had stopped struggling. "ye can't spend ye'r life drinkin n' partyin mate" he said patting Hatter on the shoulder and grinning. The sour look on hatters face just made this whole thing all the more fun, he knew exactly how much Hatter despised Library's. They made their way to the Library, Chesh really couldn't wait to find his way into the air conditioned building, it was bloody hot outside. He glanced back at Hatter and grinned "Oi, mate, we aren't doin any leisurely readin here, no, I'm here as ye'r friend, to teach you proper etiquette" he chuckled.

He pulled Hatter up the Library steps and into the building as he looked around, "First things first" he said looking at Hatter with a grin, as he snatched the hat right off of his head "Take that bloody hat off you while indoors." He made his way to a computer, and looked up all books on proper etiquette. Of course, they weren't going to read them all, that'd just be silly...Chesh had already read them all before. He sat Hatter down at one of the tables as he disappeared into the endless isles of books awaiting him.

Chesh picked out several books, books on dining etiquette, entertainment, even etiquette on how to properly answer the phone, and much much more. "Now Hatter, which would ye like to start with" he grinned as he slammed the books on the table straight in front of Hatter. He did this mostly to get Hatters attention, he had just pulled the man out of bed, most likely Hatter was falling asleep right now...although Chesh could never tell the difference whether he was awake or not. "Maybe ye should learn some manners for bein' in public mate" he muttered as he ruffled through the books, separating them in categories.

He sat down across from hatter, pulling on leg up towards his chest and resting his arm upon his knee. "Well then, shall we start?" he said as he tilted his head to the side grinning.

[ashton]

He had his head lowered to the ground trying to avoid as much sun as possible as they walked through the city in the blazing heat. As Cheshire turned, he turned, feeling himself walking up stairs. He looked up slowly, his eyes widening as he realized it was the library. A slight twitch began in his right eye, but he knew if he turned and walked away he would end up being dragged back, whether it be with his arms crossed in defiance, or kicking and screaming, making a scene and giving himself a bigger headache. He chose to just follow Chesh into the building instead. It wasn't as if he hated reading. In fact most of his broad knowledge base came from reading rather than the school he really didn't put effort into. He just hated the large space filled with silence. It was... unnerving.

So was Chesh at the moment. The first thing he did was take his hat, causing Ashton to pause as he reached up and tried to snatch it. He shot his friend a dirty look as his hands matted his wild hair down. Walking unwillingly behind Chesh he finally slumped into the seat that he was told to. Etiquette? Why did he need to learn such manners. He wasn't some rich ninny trying to pass as proper in front of the eyes of others. Than again, his face was starting to get bored of being slapped by many a girls at the moment.

As Chesh disappeared, Ashton lowered his head on the table, shaggy hair falling over his face. At least for the moment the silence was actually calming to Ashton. He began to doze off once more, trying to ignore the hard wood and focus on the coolness of it against his hot cheeks. Ahh, now he was beginning to get comfortable again. A small smile slipped over his lips as the sandman cast his magic dust over Ashton... and once more was rudely brushed away by his good ol' friend. The sound of the books crashing down on the table suddenly brought the man up from the chair as he leaped up a foot.

[pink]"GORDON BENNETT![/pink]

"Shhhhhhhhhhhh!" The librarian across the library scowled deeply at him from her little post before looking back down at her book.

[Pink]"Ow' much do ye' expect to teach me mate?"[/pink] He asked as he slowly sat back down staring wide eyed at the stacks of books. Not exactly his choice reading material. He grimaced as he flopped his arms on the table, his head thunking against the wood several times before looking up at Chesh with a pained look in his eyes. [pink]"Do I 'aft to?"[/pink]

[chesh]

He chuckled as he heard his friend 'swear', with a shushing response from the librarian. He looked down at the stack of books, not having an answer from his friend on which subject he would be most keen on learning. He picked up a random book, Communication Etiquette, and flipped through the pages, skimming over the pages here and there. "I expect ye' to learn bloody all of it" he said with a grin "and ye' aren't gonna get away mate" he chuckled.

He held up the book and pointed to the title "Communication etiquette, perfect for ye" he said chuckling to himself. He flipped open to a page and put his pointer finger up "Ah, 'ere we are, lesson one mate. When talking to a lady keep ye'r tone low and steady. Also, don't be burpin, nothin like that...that'll get you a slap mate" He said with a grin. It was harder to teach proper etiquette, than it was to do it...Chesh was so used to being a proper gent it just came naturally to him. "Don't be slouchin' when ye' talk to the ladies, and always keep eye contact, none of that eye-to-breast contact, that might get ye' somethin worse than a slap mate." He put the book in front of Hatter and took a step back.

He leaned up and pointed to the book, "Read up on it mate, i'll be lookin' through the other books for ye'r other etiquette lessons." he said with a smile as he buried his face into countless books. The two of them probably looked very odd in the library, both had a strange look to begin with, but to add on Hatter was obviously hungover, and almost falling asleep again. It didn't matter though, the point of being there wasn't to look good or normal, the point was to make Hatter act like a proper gent to the ladies he tried to woo.

[ashton]

He groaned as Chesh began to babble on about the proper manners. He knew how to act properly, hell he had it nuned into him by the sisters most of his life, but it seems he had lost his way quite awhile ago. Now to him, reciting these things was like torture to his head. He groaned and let it thunk against the table several more times, getting a very uncalled for Hush from the librarian again before he turned his head and stuck his tongue out at her. Looking back to Chesh, chin propped up on the table he scowled.

[pink]"I know tha' Chesh. I don' burp in fron' of others. Tha's down righ' grotty now isn't it?"[/pink] Of course he didn't have much to say about the other things. He was definitely the type that, if a woman was showing a large amount of cleavage, well he couldn't help but take a gander. Well perhaps he had become a little rusty with the ladies, but than again he really wasn't really interested in any woman around here. His mind was only on one girl, and when he was around her... well he tried to be. Perhaps there was something to be said about being a little more classy. Of course this was more than likely a girl resting only in the figment of his imagination. Still, there was enough hold on him to finally make him lift his head slowly as he looked over the pages of the Etiquette book. He sighed heavily again, eyes scanning over the first place.

[pink]"Bugger off"[/pink] He muttered to his friend as his head disappeared into the books. Ashton slowly straightened up and snatched his hat from the table, placing it back on his head in defiance before picking up the book and flipping to the next page. It took several minutes before he dropped the book on the table and made an overly exasperated sigh. [pink]"Impossible! How am I supposed to read this bloody book. Can' we just rent it or somethin' and read it after I've 'ad a nap?"[/pink]

[chesh]

Chesh was buried in his studies on proper etiquette, in all different forms. His eyebrow quirked up as he heard Hatter give out a sigh. He put down the book and started at him, "Mate, ye' have barely been readin' fer ten minutes..." he said chuckling, and letting his straight face curl upwards to a grin "It's long past noon, ye can' sleep anymore until tonight...maybe stop drinkin' so much alcohol? There's ye'r solution." He put the book he was skimming through to the side and took up another one.

"Alright, we'll continue" he sighed as he stood up and picked up the book he had previously placed in front of Hatter. He paced around the table, back and form trying to figure out what he should teach next. "Ah, 'ere we go. When answerin' the ansafone, don' simply say 'ello. The proper thing to do, is to say ye'r name, an' ask who is callin'" he said as he walked by Hatter, once again taking his hat. "I told ye, it's not proper to wear that thing inside" he said giving Hatter a crooked grin, knowing full and well Hatter probably despised Chesh right now a bit.

Chesh looked around and grabbed the hand of a pretty young girl as she walked by " 'scuse me ma'am, if ye' could just strike up a conversation with my friend 'ere it'd be greatly appreciated" he said to her , as he glanced over to Hatter "Mate, if ye' let this conversation go smoothly, eyes where they ought to be and all, I'll be ye' a drink, maybe even two" he said bribing the man who rarely passed up a free drink. He pulled a seat away from where the two stood, and watched the scene go down, chuckling to himself as he watched.

[MONA LISA DRAGOTI]

Mona loved the Library, it was her own personal heaven. She came to the Library at least three times a week. She sat in the reference section of the library, it was her favorite place to read in, no one bothered her there. She was reading a book about the different types of people in the world. She like learning anything new, she would often just grab a random book off a shelf and start to read it. She got to learn a lot of interesting things that way. She had just finished the book when she saw someone pass by in a hurry, carrying a stack of books. As she looked close she recognized him as Chesh, she briefly wondered what he was doing with all those books. She mentally shrugged and got up to put the book away in it's proper spot.

Mona sighed and started to walk over to the fiction section of the library. She liked to switch genres when she was reading, it stimulated the mind more then just reading the same thing over and over would. Mona liked the change that books gave her , without changing everything in her life. Lord knows that Lo gave her enough change for the both of them. Books were something that Mona always had control over and that was how she liked it.

Mona was walking past a table when she felt a hand grab her by the arm and dragged her to the table. She realized who grabbed her and looked at Chesh confused, until he talked to his friend. Mona turned towards him and looked him up and down before putting on her award winning smile and saying"Hello My name's Mona, Mona Lisa. Whats yours?"

[ashton]

[pink]"I 'ate you"[/pink] He growled under his breath as his hat was taken once again. He slumped back onto the chair and shut the book, rubbing his tired eyes before staring blankly at Chesh. [pink]"Maybe I like my life style. It don' have to be yours, and you don' have to like it, but I'm not harmin' no one in what I do. I 'appen to like how I am. Besides, if I stop getting slapped by the pretty birds than what fun will flirtin' be anymore?"[/pink] He shrugged and looked up towards the ceiling trying to figure out a way out of this dreaded situation. Chesh had tried this before in the past, but every time he managed to sneak out. This time though he had caught Ashton smack dab in the middle of a rather awful headache, unable to think straight.

He drapped his arms over his face, closing his eyes as he listened to Chesh stand up. He frowned and tilted his head up, listening to the footsteps, and suddenly him speaking to someone other than himself. He pulled his arms away from his face and cocked his head to the side, hearing a very tempting bribe. This didn't sound like a terrible idea. He opened his eyes and looked over at the young girl as she walked towards him. She wasn't to bad on the eyes. Not at all. At least Chesh knew his taste in women. Well quite honestly, he didn't really have a selective taste in women. As long as they were easy on the eyes he was pretty happy.

[pink]"Oi' your a pretty bird aren-"[/pink] He paused and stood up, straightening himself before he brought his eyes down to her eyes, holding contact on the face. He could be a gentlemen if need be. All he had to do was pretend to be one for the moment so Chesh would get off his case for just a little longer. [pink]"'Ello Miss Mona, I'm Ashton. It's a pleasure to meet ye'"[/pink] He smiled, a slight tick of a smile from the pain throbbing in his head, but instead of sitting back down he held out his hand to shake hers. Hopefully a polite conversation should keep his friend happy. All he had to do was play the cards right. That was one thing he knew how to do.

[chesh]

He chuckled at his friends spiteful words towards him as he watched the scene play out. He gave a little wave towards Mona, now realizing whose arm he had grabbed " 'Ello Mona dear, readin' up on the white rabbit are we?" he chuckled as he put his elbow up on the table next to him, resting his head on his fist. He glanced back at Hatter and smirked " Oi, mate, I'm not tellin' ye' to be exactly like me, but the ladies like a gent' not a womanizer" he remarked as he grinned.

He chuckled as Hatter started to act his regular self towards Mona, but quickly caught himself to put on a show for Chesh. He had to admit, he did quite love a good show, and hatter was a terrific actor when he wanted to be. It was quite clear that Hatter was going to take Chesh up on his offer, at least he wasn't making a fool out of himself in front of the young girl. He stood up and walked over towards them, stopping short next to them while leaning against the table. "Don' mind me, I'm just watchin'" he chuckled and tilted his head to the side "Mate , ye' can't just say ye'r first name, tellin' the young lady ye'r full name is the proper way."

He positioned himself on the table so he was half sitting and half standing, with his one leg pulled up to his chest, his most comfortable position..not to mention favorite. This whole thing was making Chesh grin wider than usual, not only was he getting what he wanted out of Hatter...finally, he was making him do it with Mona. He was sure Mona knew when a man was being a real gentleman or just acting, she might just be the challenge that Hatter needed.

[MONA LISA DRAGOTI]

Mona almost laughed as Ashton introduced himself. "Darling, faking manners won't work on me, I've spent a lifetime analyzing people. If you truly want to get out of these manner lessons is to be yourself, yet still act. Can you act?"Mona didn't wait for his answer before taking his hand and shaking it gently. She looked sideways towards Chesh. She wondered what both of these boys were doing. It was obvious that Chesh was the one in charge here, but it was strange to see them. They seemed like complete opposites, yet worked together perfectly. Like her and Lo.

"First off when a woman enters, always stand. It may be old fashioned, but trust me girls fall for it every time. Second, I know it's hard for men to not look at a women's chest, and often fails while trying to be sneaky about it. But I have personal experience, and can teach you how to look without being caught." Mona stood up and circled around Ashton slowly before standing in front of him again. " Keep the look you have going on, New York girls like to see extravagant things.The Accent is good too, girls love a good accent."

Mona sat back down in her seat and crossed one leg over her other thigh and put her hands in her lap. She looked at Ashton then gave Chesh and small little grin ,"Now then shall we try again?" She turned back to Ashton, "That is if you can handle a little acting to get a drink afterwards?"

[ashton]

Oh good God, what in blood hell did Chesh drag him into!? Inwardly he felt miserable, exhausted and in pain, wanting nothing more than to grab Setsi and curl up with her in his bed for the next few days. Outwardly he nodded as Mona spoke, half listening to her. He held back from yawning, not wanting to come off as rude. Those were points that would be knocked away and precious minutes that could be saved in the end as long as he went with a game. All this was, was a rather unpleasant game, and to win it he just had to follow the rules. Being that it was with Chesh, it was much harder to cheat.

Ashton had to smirk at the comment about breasts, [pink]"Oi' you teach me that love and I will debunk Chesh from the top of my list as friends."[/pink] He spoke in a playful manner as he watched her walk around him. When he received the complement, well Ashton was just rather pleased with himself,[pink] "You 'ere that Chesh, I'm alrigh' lookin'. Got the pretty accent an' all to go with this package o' fun." [/pink]

This girl wasn't too bad after all. A man loved a compliment just as much as a woman did. Perhaps he could play the game a bit longer without complaining. It might mean Chesh's new friend would come, although he felt there was something amiss about what she said before. He shrugged it off, not thinking too much about it before he nodded and sat down for a second. [Pink]"Alright miss, for you, I will try again. Not for that tallywacker over there,"[/pink] Ashton stated gesturing to Chesh. He paused for a moment, growing quiet in his seat before he stood up and held walked over to Mona's seat, [pink]"'Ello Miss, my name is Ashton Young, migh' I ask for yours?"[/pink] He held his eyes to hers, smiling and keeping eye's above chest level.

[chesh]

Chesh grinned and chuckled to himself at Mona's every words and gestures towards Hatter. It was clear she had merely joined the game, and Chesh loved to watch a game go down as much as anyone. She gave him some very good pointers, he was right to ask Mona for help, he could get Hatter to see the woman's point of view. He realized that Hatter wasn't enjoying this, well up until Mona had complimented him...never a good idea, Hatter had a big enough head as is, he didn't need to be told how pretty he is already.

His grin was half smirk and half amusement...up until the point where Hatter mentioned that he would put Mona in his place as top friend. The smile vanished, just like magic, and was replaced with a deep frown as he furrowed his brow. It wasn't very often that one would see Chesh frown, but he didn't like joking about that kind of stuff, plus if Mona really did teach him that kind of stuff..he was sure Hatter would keep his word on the matter.

It was one insult after another from the ungrateful man, first he wouldn't be Hatters top friend, now he was a Tallywacker?! What the bloody hell was going through that mans mind. He couldn't let that smile last for to long, after all he was Chesh, the man known for his grin, so he did as he was known. He forced a smile across his face as he watched Hatter go right back into action, acting his arse through the whole thing. At least he kept eye-to-eye contact instead of his usual eye-to-chest contact, there's an improvement. Maybe the next time Hatter hit on a woman he wouldn't get slapped. Well that was just what he needed, the thought of the countless women who had slapped Hatter in the past for acting...well acting the way he usually does gave Chesh a genuine grin as he chuckled to himself. "Oi, if you can get this arsehole to act like a gent, i'll bump ye' up to the top of my friends list" he said with a smirk.

[MONA LISA DRAGOTI]

Mona rolled her eyes at both of them before getting up and grabbing Chesh. and putting him in the chair next to Ashton. She glanced between the both of them, "Unless your name is Dolores, neither one of you will be at the Top of my friend list.But how about you both tie for my 2nd best friend, since I don't have any others." she glared at them both briefly, " You both need manner lessons"

She turned to Hatter, "You are obviously a womenizer who isn't very stealthy. Your good at Peacocking with all your clothes and hair, getting girls will be no problem for you, but keeping them will be some trouble." Mona made him sit down in the chair and pushed the books away. "I love books but their not going to help you with real life examples. You need to learn from someone,me, who can actually teach you things that women like."

Mona turned her gaze to Chesh ,"You are very charming Chesh, but you need to learn to stay STILL! Girls get constantly tired of trying to follow you where you are. You both need to cut down on the swearing. And most of all if you both want girls, you should be together. Girl love to see Best Friends together."

Mona sat on top of the table and looked at both of them, "Boys are you ready to get some real lessons in Manners?"

[ashton]

Ashton already knew his problems. He'd heard them many a times, not just from Chesh or this cute new girl, but plenty of other men women, and of course this sisters of his orphanage. It really didn't seem to bother him, although the peacocking comment did perturb him just slightly. He shrugged his shoulders, flopping back down in the seat and reaching for his hat. He glanced at Chesh before he grabbed it, paused, and brought his hand back. He knew it was useless to try and get the bloody hat back, and well, right now he was more interested in what this woman had to say.

Her comments about the book caused him to smirk, [pink]"Oi' look's like we didn't need to come here after all than. Need some real life experience I guess."[/pink] He looked back to Mona, remembering to give her his full attention before she said something very amusing. She started to get on Chesh's case. He placed his hand against his mouth, biting down on his lip ring to refrain from laughing. The librarian had already begun to give him dirty looks already. Now this he was willing to stay up with hang over for. He knew that Chesh would not like the cards turning against him in this instance. He was a man who thought, compared to Ashton himself, he was very much a gentlemen to the ladies, despite his unusual lack of interest in them.

As Mona sat herself down on the table Ashton felt rather tempted to look over her small frame. He leaned back in the chair instead, placing one hand against the back of his head before he gave a small smile and nodded, [pink]"Of course ma'am. I would rather learn from someone I'm actually trying to be well manner towards than that wa- wonderful friend of mine who is already used to my charm."[/pink]