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elizabeth

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Lily knew damn well Booker wouldn't like this.

She wasn't going to let that stop her or even really bother her for longer than a moment, but she was well aware of that fact. Still, Elizabeth needed to get out. She was a sweet girl, but she was curious and the last thing Lily wanted was for her to trust someone she shouldn't and end up in a bad situation just because she wanted to see what something was like. Maybe Lily herself wasn't always completely trustworthy, but she knew where to draw the line and she knew when someone might need a little looking out for.

Elizabeth hadn't many any particular request, but Lily had picked one of the slower clubs she knew. It would still be fun and she knew there would still be plenty of people inside, but it was a Wednesday night and it wouldn't be nearly as wild as it could get on the weekend. She'd suggested Elizabeth come by first, partly so Lily could help her get dressed if she needed to and partly so she could give Elizabeth the only two rules she had for the night.

She was in the bathroom, doing her makeup and finishing a glass of wine she'd poured herself with dinner when she heard the buzzer.

Hurrying across the apartment, she pressed the button and said, "Come on up. I'm almost ready."

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Elizabeth was admittedly excited at the mere idea Lily had brought up not long ago, that they might have a real night out. She, of course, didn't really admit she'd barely heard of clubs before this, but she had a feeling Lily didn't care how experienced she was going to be either way. She did try to dress up, but she had a feeling her clothes were going to be a little too old fashioned for all of this. She couldn't try anything bolder even if she wanted to, if only because Booker already was a little wary about her going out. She hadn't even mentioned what they were planning on doing.

Lily had assured her already it'd all be fine. She stood in front of the door nervously for a minute or so, but eventually hit the button. She headed upstairs when she was prompted. Stopping in front of the door she knew was her apartment, she knocked on the door lightly.

"It's me," she announced, though she had a feeling Lily already guessed that.

"Hey," she said, opening the door and then stepping back to let Elizabeth inside. She had a brush in her free hand and she gestured for Elizabeth to come inside and shut the door as she ran it through her hair, smoothing it down as she went. "I'm just about ready, but come on in."

Lily liked the way Elizabeth dressed and she knew that she was from a completely different time, so she didn't want to try and throw her into anything uncomfortable. Still, she also knew it couldn't be easy for her to try new things when she hadn't been around it all for very long.

"Not to be presumptuous, but you can look through my closet if you want," she offered, heading back toward her bathroom.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said as she was let inside. Seeing how Lily was dressed when she opened the door was more than enough for her to feel like she had to put something new on. If everyone wore what she was wearing, she would stick out like a sore thumb.

"I'll have a look," she said, her expression grateful as she moved to see what she had. She wasn't entirely sure what she ought to pick out, but she hoped she would spot something that'd catch her eye.

A few moments into looking - and realizing she wasn't quite sure what would look good on her - she wondered if she ought to ask for advice on this, too.

Lily returned the brush to a drawer in her bathroom, then ran her fingers through her hair a final time as she walked back into her bedroom. With a grin, she came to join Elizabeth in front of her closet.

"Having a tough time choosing?" she asked, though she knew that wasn't it. In her time in Darrow, she'd made sure to build a decent wardrobe with clothes for all occasions, but the colours tended toward the darker; blacks and greys mostly. The styles were probably very different from what Elizabeth was used to. "Are you more comfortable in pants or a dress?"

Elizabeth was grateful again that she seemed to read her mind. It was a little less embarrassing having her just outright offer help than asking for it.

"Dresses," she replied. She knew women wore pants here, but she'd yet to buy a pair. It all seemed like such a strange thing to her. Most things she saw in this city were strange to her. "I'm sure you can choose a better one than I could. The clothes are so different here."

"Yeah, I guess styles have changed a lot over the years," Lily agreed, going to the closet and running her fingertips over a few hangers before she settled on one dress in particular. It was longer than most of her others, hitting her just above the knee, and Elizabeth wasn't much taller than she was. It would fit, she was sure, and hopefully it was long enough that she wouldn't be uncomfortable in it. The sleeves were long, the colour a soft grey and the material wasn't too clingy, though it probably wasn't quite the shape she was used to either.

"Try this one," she said. "And then we'll see if you can fit into some of my shoes."

She knew that her style was probably not up to date even to the standards of the year she came from. She'd seen some of the beautiful clothing from the world below before - it was, in some ways, quite different from what people in Columbia wore. What Lily took out for her was definitely nothing she'd ever considered wearing before, but she took it anyway. In a tiny way, t felt like she was making a statement against anyone involved with putting her in that gilded cage, and for that reason alone, she was looking forward to tryin something new.

"I'll just be a moment," she said as she took it to change in the nearby bathroom. It fit well when she put it on, and she spent a moment staring at herself in the mirror. She looked like an entirely different person, and the outfit wasn't even as 'different' as she'd seen in the stores. It was a good different, though. At least she liked to think so.

She came out after deciding that, smiling apprehensively at Lily as she showed off the outfit. "Do I look okay?"

"You look great," Lily answered after taking a moment to look at Elizabeth in her dress. She really was a beautiful young woman and that was the very reason why Lily was taking her to the club. If she went on her own, there was likely to be more than a few men who had their eyes on her.

"Okay, time for shoes and rules," she said, turning back toward the closet. "First, don't take a drink that hasn't been handed to you directly by the bartender. You never know what someone might put in a drink before they give it to you."

Elizabeth's expression relaxed at the compliment. She still wasn't entirely sure of herself, but she trusted Lily wouldn't lie to her. Or, at the very least, not lie to her about something not flattering her. It still was a bit odd - even the cloth felt different against her skin - but she liked new experiences like this.

"There are bad things people can put into drinks?" she asked, more curious than outright questioning the advice. She would be sure to follow anything she told her to do, whether she understood or not. She knew the ins and outs of this sort of thing far more than she did.

This was exactly why Lily wanted to be the one taking Elizabeth out and she nodded as she pulled a pair of black flats from her closet. "Drugs mostly, things that would make you suggestible or knock you out completely. There are plenty of people out there who'd do something like that." Not that Lily was exempt from putting things into drinks, but she hadn't wanted to take advantage of Nina.

"The only other rule is that we arrive together and we leave together," she said, offering the shoes to Elizabeth. "I'm pretty sure Booker might actually use that shotgun of his on me if I don't get you home safe."

"That's terrible," Elizabeth said, making a face. She liked to think people were better here than the ones chasing them. It seemed this place had its' share of bad people. She knew Booker never was without someone to chase, but this seemed a lot worse than the few stories he'd shared with her.

She took the shoes with a grateful smile. They were a much different style from her own, but that didn't stop her from putting them on. She wasn't about to agree with her that he might, but she knew he was awfully protective of her. "I'll make sure to stick by you, don't worry."

She was probably going to be pretty unsure of herself anyway to wander off much alone.

"Well, the world is filled with assholes, isn't it?" Lily asked, but she was smiling as she said it, taking a step back to look at Elizabeth. She would fit in now, that was certain, even if it was radically different from what she would normally wear. Lily hoped she didn't feel too uncomfortable, but she looked good.

"Perfect," she said with a grin, then went back to the closet to retrieve a pair of shoes for herself, a pair of heels that gave her several more inches of height. Sitting on the edge of her bed, Lily pulled them on, then reached for her purse. "Are you ready?"

Elizabeth knew that too well, honestly. It wasn't something she said outloud - no, that would invite questions - so she simply pursed her lips slightly and nodded in agreement at the sentiment.

"I think so," she replied to her question, a smile lifting now that she had the approval she was looking for. She wasn't sure what to think, but she trusted Lily to know what looked good and what didn't. Motioning her forward, she added, "Lead the way. Is it far from here?"

"No, I picked something close by," Lily answered as she headed for the door, then locked the apartment behind them once they were out in the hall. "Easier to get to, easier to get home." And it was one of the clubs that usually wasn't quite as busy on a weekday, the kind of place to ease Elizabeth into what passed for a social life in this place and time.

"Have you been out much since you got here?" she asked, stepping into the elevator once the doors slid open. "Restaurants, pubs? Anything like that?" She had no idea how closely Booker watched Elizabeth and how much he tried to keep her from doing, but she suspected he was a little more watchful than she was used to herself.

"Out to someplace like this? No," she admitted, following close behind her. She had a feeling she was going to be sticking by Lily's side a lot of the night, just because she wasn't entirely sure of herself. She couldn't tell her the real reason that happened to be - it was too dangerous, even if she liked her a lot - but she didn't want her to think it was Booker keeping her in, either.

"I've been to some restaurants, and I went to a bar once but -" not to drink, but to make sure Booker was okay. That'd been quite a night. "I guess you can say this is all still pretty new to me."

She had assumed as much and she nodded as the elevator took them down to the main floor. Lily headed across the lobby, her heels clicking on the floor as she walked and then pushed the door open, the warm evening air rushing in to greet them. "It's a completely different world," she said and while she didn't understand, could never fully relate to how it felt, she knew it had to be difficult at times.

"Do you like dancing?" she asked. It didn't really matter where or when a person was from, dancing always seemed to be a part of their world. The dances themselves changed, but the fact was that it always existed in some form.

"That I do like," she said with a smile. It'd been the first thing she'd done when she was free, when things were still innocent. It still brought her joy now, as did music in general. "I'm not sure how good I am, but there's something freeing about it, don't you think?"

"You're asking the girl who dances to pay the bills, remember?" Lily asked with a wide grin. There was no form in which she didn't absolutely love dancing, whether it was on stage at the concert hall, in a club or on that stage in the island club. She loved it all.

She turned them in the direction of the club, glad to see there wasn't a crowd lingering outside. It probably meant they wouldn't be overcrowded inside.

"I still would love to see you dance one day," she said with a small, shy smile. The ballet had always interested her, and though she once opened a tear that allowed her to see one being done once, it wasn't the same as seeing it in person.

"Is this the place?" she asked, noticing the small crowd as they approached. It seemed the busiest place on the street, at least.

"Any time you want, just let me know. I can always get you comp tickets," Lily said, then nodded as they approached. There was a bit of a line, but she moved through it, approaching the door even as a few people who were lining up shot her dirty looks, which she ignored.

"Hey," she said to the man who was covering the door. "Just the two of us tonight."

"Yeah," he said, smiling at her. "Go on in."

"That's be great," she said. She wondered if she could get Booker to go one day. He seemed a bit too gruff to be interested, but he did always have a way of surprising her. She'd tuck the offer away to bring up to him later, focusing instead on the man guarding the door. She gave him a week smile as they passed.

"That was easy," she said, her voice a little hushed so people didn't overhear how much she was gawking at the entire process.

"Booker offered to bring you the last time I spoke with him," Lily said as she wandered into the club, then turned to give Elizabeth a smile when she spoke. "The benefit of being very nice to everyone who works at a club is that you end up getting special treatment."

It wasn't always the only reason she was nice to them, she saw no point in treating people poorly without cause, but it helped that she was given something in return.

Elizabeth smiled herself when she heard that. To know he'd thought about it even though she was sure he had absolutely no interest in it meant a lot to her. They had their rough spots, but a lot of that seemed to just smooth out now that they were here - that they were safe.

"Do you come often, then?" she asked as she followed, giving a few stray people a smile when they looked her way. People seemed friendly here, at least, which put her at ease somewhat.

"Once or twice a month," she said with a shrug, leading them toward the bar. The music wasn't impossibly loud, but she could feel it thumping in her chest already. "It's close to home, which I like, but the people here are good, too." Lily knew people all over this city and even if some of the others from the island or new places thought they were creepy, she knew it was worth it to have them on her side.

The thump of the music through her body was strange, but exhilarating. She had never heard music at such volume before, to the point she actually felt it along with hearing it. It wasn't unpleasant, even if it certainly was different.

"I have no idea what to order," she admitted as they neared the bar. She knew what Booker usually drank, and the stuff never particularly smelled very good to her.

"Have you ever had any alcohol before?" Lily asked, leaning her forearm against the bar. "Wine or beer?" It was easier to know what to start with if she knew what sort of experience Elizabeth had, but she was willing to bet giving her a whiskey of some kind probably wouldn't go over well.

"Yes, but not much," she said. Which actually meant she had maybe a sip or two of beer, but she felt like an odd person out already. Admitting to someone who was clearly well versed in this sort of atmosphere how little she knew was embarrassing at best, even if she was kind to her.

Like everything else, she was willing to sort of go headlong into it and hope for the best. She'd never been a cautious person.

Lily nodded, because she'd figured that would be the answer and she leaned over the bar as the bartender headed in their direction. "I'll have a gin and tonic for myself," she said, then paused, looking over at Elizabeth as she tried to figure out what might be the best drink to get for her. Something simple and not too strong, but she didn't think getting anything too sweet would be the right choice either.

"Long island iced tea," she decided. "You let me know how you like this drink and we'll go from there."

"I trust your decision," Elizabeth said with a small, amused smile. It was true, though. She didn't think Lily was the type of person to give her a drink that she wouldn't like on purpose. The bartender put the drink in front of her after it was put together, and she leaned against the bar as she took it and looked at it for a moment. It actually looked like normal iced tea, but she knew better.

"What's in this?" she asked, but didn't even wait for an answer before she took her first experimental sip. She could taste the alcohol immediately, but it wasn't unpleasant like she somewhat expected it to be. Just because she knew Lily wouldn't give her a bad drink didn't mean she was going to like alcohol much, period. After taking another sip, she added, "This is really good!"

"So it was a good choice?" Lily asked with a grin, leaning against the bar. "There's tequila in there, rum, vodka, some coke, some other things, I think. I'm not really much of a bartender, I tend to leave all the mixing to the folks behind the counter." It was usually better that way and she was pleased that Elizabeth seemed to be enjoying the drink.

"I got you that instead of something too fruity, because it's easier to forget about the alcohol in those things," she said. "And then it's easier to drink until you're sick, which we don't want."

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