all_inclusive | Gathering: Halloween Gala

Gathering: Halloween Gala

A large, decorative sign situated prominantly in the lobby reads:

The Nexus Hotel
proudly presents its
ANNUAL HALLOWEEN GALA

Formal Reception
Nexus Dining Hall
6 PM - Midnight

Monster Mixer
Nexus Basement
8 PM - 2 AM

Masquerade attire recommended for all guests

Most of the chairs have been removed from the Dining Hall to allow for ballroom-style dancing to the orchestra set up on the far end of the room. A polished cherry wood open bar is aligned along one wall. The adjacent Bistro is open for the duration of the formal reception, serving gourmet hors d'oeuvres.

Downstairs, the basement's largest storeroom has been converted into a spooky nightclub, complete with DJ, dance floor and cocktails.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He's still not entirely sure what this strange place is or why he can't leave (and yes, he had checked as many doors as he felt was necessary, all leading to the same bullshit conclusion - that's he's stuck here), and he's not happy about any of it. Especially not when there is mention of a Halloween party that he is likely required to attend and requires a costume.

Since he has only just arrived at this ridiculous place, he's not sure where to find a costume. That is, until, once he obtains a room, he finds what could only be considered a costume tucked in the closet. Oh, he knows what it is, he's seen the movie. He just doesn't think the closet is funny.

Though, unless he's going to the party as 'Bruce Wayne', this will have to do. Hey, at least it comes with a cool hat, right?

So, black pants, black shirt, black trench coat, black hat, black shoes, black mask and a red tie - he's all set to be Denny Crane's alter-ego. He did draw the line at coloring his hair or wearing contacts to change his eye color - this is ridiculous enough.

As much as he isn't thrilled with the idea of being stuck here, he does need to eat, so he makes his way to the dining hall for food if nothing else.

MacKenzie is dressed as Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, if only because it's the easiest costume for her to throw together on such short notice - one of her own dresses and a pair of heels, some jewelry Will had given her and the cigarette holder is the only thing she actually has to buy.

She's looking for something to drink when she bumps into a man dressed all in black and frowns a little, trying to work it out. "I am woefully behind on all things pop culture. I bet you're something excessively popular and I'm just woefully square, aren't I? We can blame it on me being English."

He turns to the woman in question (and finds that his trench coat swings and billows when he does - he doesn't think he did that on purpose, but what does he know?) with a raised eyebrow - though it's beneath the hat, so it may be hard to see.

"You can blame it on whatever you want," he tells her. He then almost says that he, himself is excessively popular, but that will be forever lost on people who likely don't know anything about him. (He's not used to a world where 'Harvey Specter' doesn't mean shit.) "But, no, this character? He's only popular in an average-sized circle of dedicated fans."

"I feel somewhat better for not recognizing, then," MacKenzie says. She always feels a little behind but if it's something really specialized, not so much.

"I'm MacKenzie," she says warmly, offering her hand to his.

He doesn't bother to explain his costume - really, if you don't know the movie or the comic strip, it'll be lost anyway. It truly is a 'cult classic' type character.

He meets her hand with his - clad in black gloves he'd all but forgotten about - and responds with "Harvey."

"Pleasure," she says, bright and happy. MacKenzie has always loved Halloween even if it's a bit ridiculous of a holiday. It's not something that is done quite as well as it's done in America.

"So, how long have you been here in our lovely hotel?"

He inclines his head. He has manners - good ones even, most of the time. He doesn't mind Halloween. 'Rather likes it, actually, but not when it's thrust on him without warning and he's tossed about the cosmos - or some other bullshit.

Her question earns a frown. "A few days, I think? Not long. Long enough to know that I won't be leaving any time soon, apparently." This would be showing on his face as hugely distressing if he were talking to his secretary. To most everyone else, it looks like mild annoyance.

"Tell me about it. I got stuck here the first time," MacKenzie says, utterly sympathetic to this particular plight.

"We were here for weeks before we figured out how to get back. Eventually, though, we found a door that led back to our own world. Maybe you'll find one too? It's not something I've really figured out the rhyme or reason to."

That's the most encouraging thing he's heard since he got here. Though, he isn't quite perching his hopes on the idea of leaving in the next day or two.

"So, people can leave," he says. "What happens when you go back?" This is not the norm for Harvey Specter. He's usually the guy with the answers, not the questions.

"Well, for Will and I, nothing really changed. I can come and spend a few days here and go back to New York and no time has passed," MacKenzie says.

"I don't know if it's the same for everyone but that's something?"

The face he makes isn't particularly happy or encouraged. It's more of a disgruntled smirky frown.

"You know what? I need a drink. Theoretical physics or imaginary friends or whatever this bullshit is, should not be discussed while sober." He is rather certain of that fact. Actually, if Mike were here, he might seriously consider bumming some weed, because damn this place messes with your head.

"I agree. I'm a news producer, not a scientist or a philosopher. This isn't my area."

Still, MacKenzie thinks she has a decent enough grasp on it even if she's not going to be doing dissertations on the space-time continuum.

While Harvey isn't in a hurry to announce his geek-cred from numerous viewings of Star Trek episodes, this isn't actually anywhere near his area either.

He waves a hand in the general direction of where he thinks the bar might be. "After you."

A few steps later, he asks, "How long did you say you've been here? Or coming here?" Or whatever it was she said.

"I've been coming here for a few months," MacKenzie explains. "Since August. I always manage to get back, though, even if it's a few weeks later. It hasn't been a problem with the whole...time difference thing."

He's confused again.

"So, wait - you want to come back here?" Harvey, still only having just arrived recently, is still in the 'please get me out and back to my real life now' stage.

"Occasionally? I have a very stressful job." Understatement, really, but anyone who worked in news knew that it never stopped and you, by extension, never stopped.

"It's nice to know I can come here and sleep for a few hours or have dinner and go back home and no time has passed. It's convenient."

So, that frown doesn't go away.

"What the hell do you do?" Because her explanation for wanting to slip into an alternate dimension or timeline or universe or wherever-the-hell almost makes a wacky sort of sense. (And he's wondering if that's, maybe, how Jessica manages to get so damned much done all the time. Then he realizes that the Star Trek is talking too much again and thinks he's gone mad, because none of that is actually supposed to be possible and he's probably not actually here, he's just hit his head or something and he'll wake up in a hospital somewhere having suffered some sort of head trauma.)

"I'm an executive producer for a show on a 24 hour news network," MacKenzie explains. "So basically I don't ever really stop working. Sometimes I sleep, sometimes I eat, but I'm always just fingers-length away from my job. It's not exactly something you can just leave at the office."

"I'm one of the top attorneys for one of the top corporate law firms in Manhattan and even I make time for things that aren't work," he says. Not that he has all that much in the way of a personal life, but he at least makes time for the gym and the occasional evening companion, maybe a baseball game here and there.

"My fiance works for me. With me. He's my anchor," MacKenzie says, stumbling over it a little since it's so new for her. "So I guess I don't have the motivation to leave as much as someone else. And it's new, so, I don't know? But I come here! So that's getting away sometimes."

She isn't sure her argument is entirely convincing.

She clearly has him beat in the 'personal life' department. This is not something that he points out. He wouldn't say he's proud that he doesn't have a personal life, but he isn't shouting that his life sucks because he doesn't have one either. He just doesn't have much of a personal life. It's a thing.

"I'm not sure running away to an alternate dimension -" he cannot believe he just said that with a straight face, "- is the same as 'taking a break from work'." Though, really, pot-kettle-black much?

"No, it is not," MacKenzie agrees. "But I tried really hard to pretend that it was? I have a little trouble disconnecting from the very stressful reality of my life. I'm sure this is some kind of psychotic break or coping mechanism or whatever the hell it is that you learn in first year psychology."

Harvey half-grins. "Okay that - that I can almost buy." He pauses. "Not that I hope you're having a psychotic break, just that it seems like the most viable option. I thought it was just me." All the shit that went down over the last couple of weeks before he stumbled into this place? Yeah, he could believe he's losing it.

"Oh no, it's not just you. I guess if we're all crazy, we've got good company," MacKenzie says brightly. "I don't think I'm crazy though and you don't seem to be but otherwise, well. There's just not a good explanation for this place and how it works otherwise, is there?"

He offers a shrug. "I suppose there could be a better explanation. However, I don't have one." He pulls a face. "I don't have a drink either. I thought there was a bar at this party?" If that was all a lie, it's very distressing and he will return to his thorough investigation of every door he can locate in this goddamned place until one of them leads him the hell back to his office.

Gathering: Halloween Gala

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