Billy Batson's Big Birthday Bash

[sayshazam]

If it had been anyone else Billy totally would have begged off hanging out with them after work that night. He had school the next day and was a little tired but he'd have to be mostly dead before he cancelled on his girlfriend. Even then he'd probably do his best to make it to her, especially with everything she was going through right now. She'd told him to just let himself into her place, which gave him a good idea of how she was feeling.

Sliding off Naga as he arrived at her apartment building he sent the polar bear dog off to do whatever it did when not hanging around with Billy. Eat fish and bother Ellie, probably. Izzy had a lot of black clothes and it turned out polar bear dog fur was kind of a pain to get off of fabric so he figured .

Heading up to her apartment he fought back a yawn as he adjusted his backpack. It wasn't even that late but maybe he could just crash at Izzy's place tonight and head straight to school from here. It would definitely save him some time.

Testing the door he found it unlocked and pushed it open. Anyone else he would have definitely said something about how dangerous it was but if someone broke into Izzy's apartment to rob her then they were totally the ones in danger.

"Babe, you in?" he called out, frowning when the lights weren't on. That didn't seem like a great thing, if she was here with the lights off. "I brought some food from work if you're hungry..."

[ooc: Tag Billy by shouting "surprise" at him or hit him up after that while he's wandering around the party. Feel free to tag each other too.]

Comments

[seveninches]

Isabelle thinks that with a little more time and concentration she could have come first in party planning ability, but she's happy to take second for now. She knows it's not her best work ever, but given everything else and the time constraint, she thinks she's done okay. Besides, she doesn't think Billy would enjoy something huge as much as she hopes he enjoys this. He's a little like Alec, in that way.

"The night is young yet, but I'm holding out for no yeti." In Isabelle's experience the really crazy stuff seemed to happen at the big, city-wide parties, not in her little apartment. Still, she'd be lying if she said she didn't have a few weapons stashed around the place, just in case.

[high_warlock]

"No one likes a party pooper," he agreed. The yeti had been less violent than the bat things. He had looked like he had just woken up from a very, very long winter sleep, and Magnus couldn't blame him for being grumpy; he only blamed him for ruining the party and Magnus' private time with Alec.

"Speaking of birthday parties, however..." He turned to face Isabelle more fully. While he could rely on this Lightwood sibling to be more amenable to the idea of birthdays, Magnus worried this, too, might be made more difficult by the knowledge of Max's fate. "Do you have any thoughts about your own?"

[seveninches]

It's not that she forgot, exactly. She couldn't forget her own birthday, and she knows that it's coming up, it's just that it's hardly been priority one. It's still a couple of weeks away, so maybe she'll change her mind later, but for now Isabelle doesn't know if she's up for the kind of party Magnus probably has in mind. Throwing Billy a party is one thing; all she had to do was organise everyone and then fade into the background and let everyone lavish attention on her boyfriend. A party for her would be something else entirely.

Maybe it's exactly what she needs. Maybe the distraction would be good.

"I don't know," she tells him honestly. "I haven't thought about it." He knows why, she doesn't need to explain, and she certainly doesn't feel like opening that can of worms right now. She wants to say that a party seems wrong, somehow, but that would sound a little odd, given the current circumstances.

[high_warlock]

He had gone with the birthday question to avoid the obvious option of the how are you doing question. He didn't want her to feel cornered and forced to sidestep explaining that she was (probably, Magnus imagined) miserable but moving forward. But it appeared that her birthday wasn't quite the distraction that Magnus had thought it would be.

"You know I'm getting into the habit of planning quiet parties now?" he said lightly. "Like Alec's. My friend Eleanor has never had a birthday party and we're just going to have a movie night. Something more.. intimate. Relaxed. I feel some things need to be celebrated, but the form of it can be more private."

[seveninches]

A quiet party, oddly enough, sounds even worse. Isabelle knows it's exactly the kind of thing Alec prefers, but she knows the kind of people who would be there. People like Luke and Spencer who will look at her with pity and want to give her a hug or something. She's grateful for everything they've done for her and she knows they're trying their best to look after her and Alec both, but what she wants now is distraction. She's done her wallowing, and now she needs to take her mind off things before she starts to lose it.

"Actually," she says, worrying a red lip between her teeth for a moment. She knows she's being contradictory but she thinks that if ever there was a time it should be allowed, it's now. "Maybe a big party is exactly the thing." She can fade into the background at this party, and if Magnus throws a big enough bash she's sure she can fade there, too. Maybe it would be a party for her but there would be enough people that she's sure it would escalate, and then she would be both distracted and not the centre of attention. Magnus has a way of knowing exactly how to throw a party, and Isabelle trusts that if she gives him a general idea, he'll take it and run with it.

"Private will just be a whole lot of people looking at me with sad faces," she admits, her brows furrowing a little. She's been in enough misery the last few weeks, the last thing everyone needs is an entire party of misery.

[high_warlock]

"Mmm," Magnus noised in agreement, wrinkling his nose at the prospect of being the subject of so much pity and concern. He and Isabelle were alike in that manner: always wanting to be the center of attention, but never the subject of sympathy or concern.

"Maybe a double themed party? Valentine's Day and Isabelle is a Goddess celebration?" he suggested with a hopeful lift of his brows. "You always look fabulous in red, after all. We can give you a crown and make you belle of the ball." By which, of course, he meant he would give Isabelle some measure of control over whatever gimmick or trick he planned for the party, when he got around to the planning. Isabelle would probably be kinder than he would be, but that didn't mean it wouldn't still be fun.

[seveninches]

"That's a much better reason for people to be staring at me," she agrees, nodding. She could probably work up to red by Valentine's Day, she thinks. Right now it feels like a betrayal to wear anything but white, but by then it will have been a month. She thinks on some level that Max would have wanted her to dress up. He used to like helping her get ready for parties.

"I should have assumed you'd be planning something for Valentine's Day already." She hadn't even thought about Valentine's herself, in all honesty. It always seemed a more mundane holiday, but Isabelle has learned to embrace all sorts of events since being in Darrow. She should get something nice for Billy, she thinks. For Valentine's Day, but also as a thank you for how great he's been over the last few weeks. She knows she can't have been a joy to be around.

[high_warlock]

"Actually, I hadn't." He admitted it like a secret, leaning in closer to Isabelle to lower his voice. Grinning, he shook his head and straightened again.

"After what happened last year, I didn't want to test fate. But, if I have a good reason to celebrate, then I will always take advantage." He shrugged. "I'll put up some extra wards, to keep out yetis and bat creatures and to protect the food and drink. If anything funny happens, it'll be because of my magic, not the city's." There may have been a bit of grit in his voice, determination. He did so hate when the city decided to prove that it was stronger than Magnus, his recent adventures in a female body being the pinnacle of annoyance.