all_inclusive | Gathering: ...in the corner pocket

Anyone who passed the billiards room in the evening was treated to the sound of light laughter, billiard balls being struck with firm confidence, and the clatter of glasses and plates. The notice had been posted only that day for the tournament, but all were welcome to join in and play, while free drinks and small morsels of food were passed around for the enjoyment of all. The two billiard tables were rarely empty, even though the prize wasn't much to speak of, but pride was always a great motivator in people's ambitions and the ability to say you'd won was always on the line.

The billiards tournament was casual and many were lingering around, watching as the players took their turns. Waiters circulated the room with their trays, and every once in a while, new competitors were welcomed into the informal billiards competition that had begun only a few hours earlier.

Everyone was welcome, though some people would be leaving the event with a loss on their backs. It was lucky, then, that there was alcohol, food, and good company to help dull the defeats.

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"I'm not fussy," he replies, his gaze sliding from her hair to the woman. He doesn't want to say anything, but he remembers dyeing his hair a similar colour during his high school years. He takes up a cue when he figures he doesn't really have a choice about the game he's about to play (and it's not that he minds, seeing as it'll keep his mind off things). He gestures to the table.

"You can shoot first, if you want," he offers. "I'm Chase."

"Cameron," she replied as she strode to the opposite end of the table. Etiquette said since she racked, he would break, but she and etiquette had never gotten along. Lifting her cue, she bent over the felt, squinted a moment at the neat triangle of balls on the far side of the table, and then shot, balls scattering with a sharp crack. Pushed up onto her toes, neck craned and bottom lip between her teeth, she watched as the 4 wobbled on the edge of the right side pocket and then finally plopped into the net.

"Guess that means I'm solids," she said, and rocked back on her heels once before rounding to the side of the table to line up another shot. "You play this much?"

It feels like it's a joke.

No matter where he goes, he can't escape Cameron, though he imagines that it's not like she's doing this on purpose to fuck with his head. His head feels a little malleable lately, but then, he's been stabbed by a patient and still isn't sure whether he wants to go back to work, so yeah, his head's in a bit of a rough place. "I was married to a Cameron, once," he says, as if that's the sort of casual thing you just say. "And nah, I don't really have much time for pool. I spend most of my spare time surfing."

Pausing over the table with the cue in her hand, Cameron flicked the guy a glance, eyebrows disappearing into the mop of her hair. "I've never been married to a Chase," she sardonically replied, and then diverted her attention back to the ball. It was a difficult shot, the balls still clotted up on the table, and she succeeded in breaking some of them apart but little more.

"So, you're what? Australian?" she asked as she stepped back and slouched against the brace of her cue.

It's not like he'd been too worried, but there's a part of him that's weirdly relieved that he hasn't struck up any illicit affairs with a woman he's just met, named Cameron. He really doesn't think House would let him live it down and despite this being a hotel in a strange corner dimension, it's House. He'd still find out. "By way of New Jersey, yeah," he agrees, leaning against the wall as if it needs to help him stand. "Haven't been home in pretty much a decade."

He's kept the accent, refusing to completely give into becoming an American. He might've been running from his family, but there are some lengths he didn't ever consider going to.

"Why were you in New Jersey?" Cameron asked with a slight backwards jerk of her head, as if she couldn't fathom why anyone, anywhere, would ever choose to be in New Jersey. She'd never been, but felt pretty confident that even people from New Jersey wouldn't choose to be there if they could.

"Working," Chase says, a wry smile on his face. "Trust me, I know. Especially for someone from Australia and who enjoys surfing. I mean, there are a few waves to catch along the coast, but you definitely have to get used to the cold. Thing is, it's where the best was, so I kind of followed. And it got me away from home," he admits.

"Where are you from?"

"Texas. Dallas," Cameron admitted, knowing it wasn't much better than New Jersey. In a lot of ways it was probably worse, but she hadn't exactly chosen to be there, either. Not really.

"I was in school there, and then there was this..." She trailed off, flopping a hand as she tried to find a word neutral enough for Cardiff and Joe and everything that went with them. "Opportunity. So I guess we were both in shitty places for business."

All that Chase really knows about Texas is that it's a place he really has no intention of ending up in, having heard more than a few stories about things there. "Opportunity?" he echoes, raising his brow as he studies the pool table in front of him, leaning most of his body weight on the cue. "What was your kind?" he wonders, seeing as he's not sure what Dallas is known for (though, it's not like he pays attention. Who has that kind of time?)

"Personal computing," Cameron replied, emphasizing each syllable like was something she was trying to sell. "Apparently it's normal in a place like this, but where I come from it's 1983, so we're not quite to this level yet," she added as she pulled her smart phone from her pocket and gave it a wiggle. "Back home when I talk about that kind of stuff even in theory, I get laughed at. They can't see that far ahead."

Even if Joe hadn't been long gone, she didn't think she'd ever forgive him for letting Apple get to her idea first.

"I'm not exactly hugely tech-savvy personally, but obviously there's a ton of MRI and other medical machinery that definitely come back to that," he says, fairly impressed (especially given that she seems to be coming from the past). "So, are you using this place as a sort of cheat sheet? Take notes, head back, invent, make millions," he jokes.

Gathering: ...in the corner pocket

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