Happy Birthday, Taylor! (No Longer Open!)

Adrian looked sharply away, trying not to let Natalia see her "Okay? O-of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Your face is all red, you are crying and running away..." Natalia stated calmly as she tried to see Adrian in the eyes.

"Yeah well..." Adrian tried to dismiss Natalia's claims. Even if that was exactly what she was doing. Running away and crying. "Shut up!" She snapped back, standing straight up with her eyes full of tears, watery trails running down her cheeks and nose. "This is all your fault!" She yelled before trying to run away again. She didn't want to deal with this, she couldn't.

Natalia stretched one arm and tried to grab Adrian. If there was something Natalia was good at, was grabbing people.

"So it isn't just Sarah Gatt, uh?" she said as she tried to trap Adrian in a reverse bearhug to immobilize her but not squeeze her. "You are at war with Taylor too? Aren't you taking this a little too far?"

"L-let go!" Adrian shouted, struggling in Natalia's grasp, her arms pinned to her side as she shook herself back and forth to try and get free. "How'd you know about that?" She asked, half yelling everything "Even if I was, it's obvious which side you'd take!" She yelled as she threw her head back to smack Natalia in the face.

"Oughhh!" Natalia groaned as Adrian's head hit her lovely face. She immediately let go the cosplayer and staggered back rubbing cute nose, the pain only fueling her anger at Adrian's accusations.

"You shouldn't had run a promo about it if you wanted to keep it secret, evil genius..." Natalia said with a clear tone of angered sarcasm. "And this isn't about sides... Is about holding silly grudges!" Natalia yelled in an accusatory way.

Adrian immidiatley thought about kicking herself, of course she knew about the war. She had pretty much told the world. "ITS NOT SILLY!" She yelled back, turning around. "What do you want me to do?" she sobbed, "she hates me, I hate her. What's left to do, she already took my self esteem, my blood, my sanity... she rubs it in to everyone... and now she wants my friend too?" she cried out, dropping to her knees. "I HATE HER!" she screamed.

Natalia felt a shiver run down her spine. She had always thought of herself as a proud woman who had big issues dealing with defeats, but she was getting the impression Adrian had a much harder time at this. In a way, she understood her or more likely, she understood what Adrian felt; she had a hard time understanding why Adrian felt like that. In The Dream's book the beating Taylor had given Adrian had been bad, but not even close to the worse she had seen...or received.

Natalia walked to Adrian and knelt besides her, trying to hug her gently and make the cosplayer stand up. "She can't take anything away from you...unless you are willing to give it to her... Don't let hate rule your life..." The Dream said bitterly knowngly as she brushed Adrian's hair with one hand.

Ciara's easygoing reaction only heaped more shame on Taylor. She shrunk down lower in the booth and turned her head to stare out the window. Maybe this new chick would leave, and Natalia would go with her and the two could screw each other's brains out till they were both dead. Or something.

Taylor took her eyes off the window and looked back at the group, and suddenly there was Lia. She froze for a moment. "H-hey." She said quietly, and looked back out the window. Obviously Lia wasn't there to see her. Maybe she'd leave with Akashi and leave Taylor all alone again. Yay.

Before long, watching the few passing people on the sidewalk, Taylor caught site of Adrian and froze again. The girl slapped the glass and Taylor recoiled like she'd been sprayed with a hose, scrambling away until she fell out of the booth. She picked herself up, sat back down, and buried her head on her folded arms on the table while Natalia ran out of the diner.

The man behind the counter hit a small bell and shoved a few paper-lined plastic baskets of their food across the counter for the waitress to grab. "Food's ready." Taylor said without looking up, her voice muffled by her sweatshirt.

Lia's rabbit ears fell visibly as Natalia pouted and refused to shake her hand. "Eh?" Lia raised an eyebrow, her smile shaken but unbroken.

The girl at the window caught the corner of Lia's eye. She DID recognize hear at least. Adrian... something. The cosplayer. She had a BIG spat with Taylor along with a huge match against her. Anyone that had the good sense to hate Taylor was good people in Lia's book. But, she ran off, yelling something Lia did not quite catch. Lia had hoped for a chance to say hello to Adrian but, no such luck.

When Natalia left, Lia shrugged. "Well then." Lia immediately sat to crawling under the table. Snaking under the table, Lia called out, "Sup." to Taylor as she slid out of her seat. Not stopping, Lia came up in Natalia's spot at the table. "Finders keepers, losers weepers!" Lia giggled playfully. Glancing upward, she noticed a glob of used gum stuck to her rabbit ears. "Ew. Gross." Grabbing a napkin, she wiped that off. "Man, no wonder you a messed up, Screwball," Lia said to Taylor, "I finally see the sort of people you hang with and I meet a girl even nuttier than you. It's ALWAYS the hot, slutty ones, too."

As the waitress came, Lia spoke to her, "That... uh... girl with the skanky suit. I'll have what she's having. And by that I mean give me her food. She said I could eat it." If anyone interjected, Lia would repeat herself loudly, "SHE SAAAAID I COOOULLLD THESE PEOPLE ARE FULL OF SHIT."