Westbrook Season 2

[lion.]

Ronnie "Blue Nile" Kane​

“Woah there,” Ronnie felt his face scrunch, “What are you? People’s magazine? Entertainment Weekly?” Distinct from his silver-tongued mockery, Ronnie was smiling wolfishly. Dumb-luck stoned beffited his villany routine of mocking, the malt method in the way his lips upswung adding to the effects. His straight-arrow dark pupils bore into the con artist of a writer.

Upon a closer look, she was finer than champagne on ice. Dark tresses of hair edged toward her sharp jaw to even sharper eyes, the fibers of Buccelati gold ingrained in her investigative gaze. But then, if she was champagne, she came with costs.

In her case, a story.

“Since you are calling the shots,” Ronnie intervened into the muted static, “Tonight’s story will feature Ronnie Kane.” The apparently quiet boy with a dark past who is here to make people swoon after him.

To think a looker like her wouldn’t be a cheerleader.

Supposing that the mic was still whizzing, and that curiosity did eventually kill the cat, he paused to lick his lips.

But seriously...what staircase did her parents drop her on that someone like her became a person that literally went around questioning anything and everything?

Tugging on a silver chain that had tucked into his shirt, he rough-housed his vocals.

“You see, I’m here because I want to stay as long as possible away from that hell house of mine. Oh, and the other thing,” his fingers sloppily snapped, “I have to get premarital with this school.”

He knew he was missing some details.

“And if this is really happening,” his eyes crossed over to the phone in a laconic manner, villanly smirking, “Let the notes know, I really did get expelled from what they refer to as possession of drugs. You’re going to have fun researching that detail, I already know.”

“What can I say. I love being me. It is just the perfect solution for this society.”

Soap

 

[Soap]

Grace


It was more than safe to say Evie became a little more disinterested when Grace and Sawyer started talking, but it wasn’t as if she was about to leave! She’d been talking to a brick wall for the past month. Let her enjoy this. “Ha. Yeah, she like, never leaves. How many stalkers do you have exactly?” The brunette said, before Grace even had a few seconds to process either of their words, a knock at the door made both Grace and Evie turn towards the sound, momentarily breaking the almost excruciating eye contact between Sawyer and Grace. “Genevieve. She needs rest, and you, need your IV.” Evie’s jaw dropped and pointed towards oh-so-sad bed ridden Grace.

“Rest? The chick has been sleeping for like five years now. Come on, please?” Her pleas fell on deaf ears as the curly haired woman just shook her head for a reply. “And risk this amazing opportunity of you standing in one spot? Absolutely not. Let’s go.” Grace had to admit— she felt bad. She didn’t know her, no. But it was clear Evie was actually... interested in hanging out with her. Almost humorous how she managed how to make a friend in a coma. “You can see your friend later. For now, we gotta—“ The nurse attempted to cheer up the smaller girl, but Evie just shot her a death glare. “Whatever. She’s not my friend, let’s get this dumb shit over with.” Jeez. This kid’s mood shifted quickly. Grace takes back her precious statement. Evie left the room and the nurse shot Sawyer and Grace a nod for an apology.

“She’s... a lot.” Grace smiled faintly.

Grace’s gaze met Sawyer’s again and it was like her breath just... stopped. It’s hard to remember why you broke up with someone in the first place when you open your eyes and suddenly it’s months later while the love of your life is saying she basically never left your side. Okay, maybe jumping the gun a bit early there. But could you blame her? It was almost as if she was trying to say something with her eyes if that made sense? Did it? “I wouldn’t leave you either...” That was stupid. Stupid words. Stupid Grace.

Everything just felt out of place. It’s as if Grace left all her feelings out and they got all... messy. That was a good comparison, right? “Sorry. I just... I don’t know.” What to say? Or what to feel? It was a good question, Grace just wasn’t able to communicate either.

KingofAesir​

 

[Winona]

Jace

Being at the school again sucked.

And earlier today, Elise had handed Jace something very familiar. Ash's bracelet -- the one that he had gotten for her following her accident. The clasp had been broken off, but Jace had gotten really good with his hands, and a quick stop at the jewelry store later, he had purchased a new clasp and managed to fix it. The bracelet was now as good as new, but looking at it made him sick to his stomach. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. Somehow, Ash had lost her bracelet in the stupid art room, from what his mother had told him. And Jace had seen what Kanen had "accused" his sister of on Twitter.

She had fucked Kanen in the art room and lost her bracelet. Classy.

Now, Jace was at the school. He was supposed to be some kind of adult supervisor to keep people from making babies or doing drugs or whatever, but Jace felt like this was a huge joke designed to make him feel even more terrible about himself. Because since he had stepped through those doors, it had been nothing but teasing. If Jace heard one more person say "Hey it's BJ," there was a good chance that he would end up crying in the Westbrook halls one last time.

He'd stepped into the gym, looking around for his little sister so he could give her this stupid bracelet back. But then Jace saw where she was -- by the video games, and he saw who was hanging around her. Fucking Ryder Vaughn. Aka the guy that stole Nova. Aka the guy that had lifted him into the air. Aka the worst person to ever possibly exist.

There was no way in hell.

Plus Stu was over there with that pretty blonde girl he liked, and Jace would be a horrible older brother if he went over there now and ruined Stu's chances with Audra. After all, it was Jace. Jace ruined everything.

So he turned and headed back out of the gym, and started down one of the empty hallways with the bracelet still in his hand. And then Jace saw a guy that had graduated with him, also roaming the hallways, so he slipped the bracelet into his pocket and decided to intervene. Somehow. Maybe. In some way.

"Shawn, right?" He asked. "Uhh, you... can't really be... uh... be here."

Twin Fantasy​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer
Sawyer sighed a breath of relief as Evie's nurse stepped in and ordered her to leave. The kid was lonely, Sawyer knew that and she didn't have a problem letting her stay. But right now she'd much rather be alone with Grace. Evie could come back later. Sawyer was more than certain she would. Evie was funny, good company when she wasn't constantly insulting you. She'd be good for Grace when Sawyer wasn't here. They'd be good for each other. Evie could use a friend that wasn't going to constantly fight with her like Sawyer would. But enough about Evie.

With the satan spawn gone, Sawyer settled into her chair and relaxed considerably. There was still tension visible in her shoulders. Bunching her up and making her look rather uncomfortable leaning against the back of the chair. She leaned forward onto her knees to try and make up for that. She had no idea how Grace felt right now. It had to be weird. Hell, it was weird for Sawyer. They hadn't really had a real conversation since they broke up and now here they were. Sawyer was quiet until Grace spoke up. I wouldn't leave you either. Sawyer felt her heart pound twice and soar. That made Sawyer feel a whole lot better about being here. That meant Grace still cared. Sawyer couldn't help the grin that spread slowly across her face. But it didn't look like Grace had wanted to say that as she tried to cover. Sawyer's eyebrows drew together and she felt the urge to reach out for Grace's hand but resisted it, her hand did reach out to rest on the edge of the bed though, just in case.

"Don't apologize. It's okay." Sawyer smiled, warm, inviting, the complete opposite of the one everyone else got, "You're okay. I'd probably be confused as hell if I'd just woken up from a coma too." A laugh. Something Sawyer hadn't done in a long time. At least a real one. But she should change the subject before things got sad.

"I brought your blanket." Sawyer gestured to the butterfly blanket drapped over Grace, "Your mother wouldn't let me any where near your room so your brother had to go all Mission Impossible when I told him about it." Sawyer smiled at the memory. She was trying to separate Greyson from her father in Grace's eyes. Greyson wasn't her father, far from it. He deserved a chance.

"He came a lot too, you know? He was here with me a lot." She turned around and pointed at her guitar tucked away in the corner of the room, "I'd play for you and he'd just kind of hum along." Sawyer settled back into her chair and returned her hand to it's spot on the bed, "He was really excited to meet you. Asked me all kinds of questions." Sawyer really hoped Grace would give him a chance. More because she'd rather answer questions about Greyson than herself right now. Sawyer wasn't sure she was ready for Grace to know how bad she'd been.

Soap​

 

[Soap]

Grace

Her smile wasn't exactly forced. Bittersweet probably. It was nice to hear her laugh. Many things about her surroundings gave her a sense of familiarity. It was comforting, but the only part that stood out most was Sawyer. Sure, necklaces, long lost siblings and fathers aside. Sawyer was the only thing that made her grounded. It's as if she's afraid to find out more that changed while she was gone-- yes, technically, she wasn't gone. But that's the way it felt. Sawyer didn't change though, right?

That's the way it seemed. It's the same way it always was with them. Talking, smiling, laughing. It was only natural for a small town girl to be afraid of change. But losing this somehow meant more to her than anything else. Losing her. But Grace knew it wasn't possible they would lose each other. She's aware that she's the reason they broke up in the first place, even then-- Grace knew she wouldn't actually lose her. There was still the off chance they would see each other, even maybe become friends. Maybe that's what kept her from down spiraling. Maybe that's what made her find her in the classroom all those months ago.

She furrowed her brows and ran a hand along the butterfly blanket. But before she could thank her, the topic of Greyson came up. And it just felt like too much to deal with. At least right now anyway. Grace was completely comfortable on pretending none of that-- or them, existed. "Can we not talk about them?" She could handle it later. However she felt about it-- it wasn't good. She needed time. Time to adjust. Time to even comprehend what was happening with her... family. Her hand played with the necklace, pushing the ring back and forth along the chain. It was sweet that she remembered. How many people do you know that remember your favorite blanket? It's a small thing, yes. But it was always about the small things with Sawyer. The tiniest actions from her meant so much and Grace never understood why.

Grace eyed Sawyer's hand on the bed, hesitating before interlacing their fingers together. "Can you just stay?" It was selfish to ask, especially since she's been here all the time. Maybe now that Grace was okay, it gave the Sawyer the green light to take a break from the hospital. But Grace wanted to be selfish for a little while. She needed it.

KingofAesir​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer
Sawyer cursed herself for even bringing Greyson up in the first place. Grace had literally just woken up, she didn't need all this shoved down her throat right now. She imagined it had to be hard, to wake up and see that so much had happened. Hell, Stu had brown hair now. It was weird to think about. Sawyer was so used to change. It had just been part of her life for a long time, but someone like Grace wasn't. Someone who'd lived in the same place for their whole life wasn't prepared for change on this level. To wake up and find that three months of your life had been practically ripped out from under you had to be a lot. Too much, even. So if what Grace needed right now was a rock, Sawyer was more than determined to be that rock.

She smiled down at their hands and could've laughed at the way her heart flipped. That something so simple as hand-holding could make her feel like she was on cloud nine was ridiculous. Grace's hand was warm, soft. Sawyer could remember how Grace's hands felt. A feather light touch on her face, finger tips trialing down her abdomen. Sawyer shivered involuntarily and brought herself back to the present. The present where Grace was asking her to stay. Asking her. Sawyer had never expected Grace to want her here. Really, who would want to wake up and find their ex had been hovering over them like a overprotective parent the whole time? But Grace wasn't turning her aeay and that was more than Sawyer could ever ask for. Sawyer just smiled at Grace and stood from her chair, nudging the other girl softly.

"Scooch. I hate these chairs." Sawyer settled in next to Grace and ran a thumb swiftly over her knuckles.

"Of course I can stay." Brown eyes shone with a increasingly intense glow of admiration as they locked with the blue eyes that they'd been missing so much.

"I never left, Grace."

Soap​

 

[PenguinFox]

Ian had fully prepared himself for rejection, but he had most certainly not prepared for Alaska saying yes. Especially not so enthusiastically. He only let the look of shock rest on his face for a moment, before letting a wide grin spread on his face. "Looks like they're all too scared to fight me." he quipped back. He hoped that she was entirely joking about there being a line. He found it hard to imagine that she would pick him over others. Even harder to imagine was him winning a fight nowadays. Before the accident? Sure, maybe, depending on who it was, but now? Well Ian just wasn't as sturdy as he used to be.

"I have a good feeling about tonight, I don't know why. I mean odds are we're going to be alright, right?" Ian said with a shrug. Things felt like they were going well for once and that made him optimistic. It would take something big to ruin this high he was riding. The hug Alaska wrapped Ian in suddenly was definitely another surprise. Red immediately spread across his face as he hesitated for a moment before returning it. "Thanks. It's been a pretty good one so far." he said trying to gain control over the heat in his face. Luckily she seemed to be fighting her own blushing, or at least attempting to hide it by fiddling with her hands. This brought a few questions to Ian's mind. Did she like him? Were they going to homecoming as more than friends? Or was she just sheepish about the hug?

Alaska then surprised Ian again by asking how he was doing. Sure they were friends, and she knew about his struggles, but most of the time people continued on with their business and didn't ask how he was doing. That didn't necessarily mean they didn't care, but it was very easy to forget mental illness. It typically wasn't visible, so usually it was an out of sight, out of mind kind of deal. Even Ian's own parents seemed to forget about his problems occasionally. In all honesty it seemed the only people who were constantly conscientious about his mental health, in addition to his physical, were Sierra and Ash. And now apparently Alaska. Ian thought for a long moment, digging deep and mulling over his emotions to give her the best answer. "I'm doing alright." It was an honest answer. It was his birthday, things were going well for him, he wasn't overly worried about Ash's safety since she had spent time at his house, and now he was going to homecoming with a really pretty girl. Despite the constant darkness in the back of his mind, there was currently quite a bit of light in his life. "Both physically and mentally. Things seem to finally be on an upswing. Partially thanks to you." he gave her a small smile. "What about you? How are you doing?" a z u l a

Audra idly chatted with her teacher. So far the night had been rather boring. She had yet to meet up with Stu whom had promised her Swedish Fish, so she had been talking with a teacher she had started to like. He was a nice guy, really helpful and he wasn't that much older than her so it wasn't really that weird if she was friends with a teacher right? Ah who was she kidding? It was still kinda pathetic. He was an interesting guy though. Moved here from California, used to know one of the students here, was studying to become a lawyer.

While talking Audra glanced around the gym, eyes lingering where a large group of kids was gathering to play games. "Y'know, you could go join them if you wanted. There's nothing stopping you, and I won't be offended." Mr. Dwyer said, noticing the look. Audra looked down sheepishly, embarrassed she got caught. "I don't know...I haven't exactly made a lot of friends here still. I don't really fit in." Dwyer practically rolled his eyes. "And what better way to make friends hmm? You can't make friends by not putting yourself out there. Even just standing at the outskirts of the group works. Mathematically there's bound to be an extrovert in that group to bring you in." The girl opened her mouth to protest but Dwyer silenced her by putting his hand up. "I won't be offended, go. Mingle with people closer to your age." he added while he waved her off encouragingly.

The blonde gave the teaching assistant a grateful nod for his words of encouragement and shyly made her way over to the group, leaving Dwyer alone. She wrung her hands together and tried to not look desperate. "Hi." she said quietly to really no one in particular. Finally, her eyes caught hold of Stu. Her shoulders relaxed and she sent a smile once he spotted her. At least now she'd have some one to talk to without feeling awkward. Dede

The lock in. This was a large and important part of Parker's master plan. It was only about a week until homecoming so it was the perfect time to ask Gia to be his date to it. All the pieces were falling in to place and his phase one goal was starting to almost be visible. Phase one was to get Gia to go out with him. He didn't really believe in that gooey romantic bullshit, but she probably did. If Parker was any judge of personality, and he liked to think he was, Gia's belt was under lock and she would only give the key to someone she was dating for a while.

Phase two was to get close to Gia, go through the motions of a stupid fucking relationship until she gave it up and then...bail? Parker hadn't fully thought phase two out yet but it wasn't that complicated of a phase anyway. All the lying and manipulation was in phase one. That and he was more of a 'burn that bridge when he got there' type of guy. He planned ahead but only the hardest stuff. Everything else he would just wing it.

Walking into the gym Parker's eyes scanned around for his target. Once he spotted the blue hair he moved in. A predator moving in on his prey. He sauntered over confidently, throwing a nod in the direction of anyone that looked his way that wasn't his target. Keep it friendly and casual. He's a 'good guy' and definitely not the guy that everyone else knew him as. "Hey Gia!" he said with a wide grin. "Could I possibly steal you for a moment?" Elf_Ruler

 

[Winona]

Ash

She couldn't help but laugh at the memory of Colby breaking his arm. Okay... wait, that sounded mean. It wasn't the memory of him breaking his arm, because that had been scary, but just the memories associated with that old playground that Ash hadn't been to since Colby had left. After Colby had moved, Ash had had more important things to worry about than playing and having a good time. Her cheer days had taken off, and her mother had pushed her more in dance.

"Sounds good, Colby. Can't wait to hangout with you." Ash said with a smile, and she would've kept talking to her old best friend, but Jackie's trash talk caught her attention instead. Plus, Colby had turned towards Tatum who he claimed he wasn't interested in. Please. Ash wasn't stupid -- all that flirting on Twitter had to mean something.

"Jackie!" She greeted the girl with a smirk. "Are you ready to lose?" Ash wasn't confident about a lot of things -- but when it came to playing Just Dance and copying the dance moves she saw? Oh, Ash knew that she could do that. It had been one of the only video games she had played growing up, and years of dance had prepared Ash for this moment.

Jackie's next words did throw her for a loop.

Were they doing partners?

Fuck.

"See I want to win, and Ryder can't dance, and Ian's busy." And Ian also couldn't dance. Maybe Ash could ask Tatum to join them, but things had been so tense between the two girls that it was easier to just ignore her. "I say we do this one on one. You know, for the bet."

geminiy​

 

[Winona]

Milos

Now freed from video games and violent racing, Milos followed after Cam to his backpack full of snacks. That was something that Milos had actually completely forgotten to bring. Oops. A miracle, really, seeing as how his mother had been doting on him while he'd been getting ready and had made sure that Milos was prepared for several days of staying at the school (no, mother, he did not need three pairs of underwear), but had somehow managed to forget snacks.

"Oh I love fruit snacks." He said wistfully as he took one of the little packets from Cam. Fruit snacks had been the greatest invention of the 21st century, let's be honest. Milos opened up the bag, pulling out a red fruit snack and popping it in his mouth. The burst of flavor made him smile -- eating fruit snacks made him feel like a kid.

Milos's gaze moved around the room, stopping for a moment when he saw a certain blue-haired girl. He'd have to catch up with Gia later, but she seemed occupied with Parker.

Which was... a little worrisome. Milos had been at the school for a year now, and he'd heard plenty of things about Parker. But Gia was a smart girl, so she'd be fine... right?

"Do you think there is anything else to do?" Milos asked, his attention turning back to Cam. The last thing that he wanted to do was go back and embarrass himself with more video games.

Elf_Ruler​

 

[Soap]

Grace

She did as she was told, smiling impossibly wide as Sawyer laid with her. Why did she always make everything feel so... heightened? Was that the word she was looking for? Probably not. But it was moments like these is when Grace honestly felt like life was worth living-- probably a bit too early for the mention of that. But it was true. Sawyer made her feel special. Like she was loved. And there would probably be a waiting line of people ready to reassure Grace but their opinion didn't matter.

Sawyer's did.

Grace met her eyes at her words and the playful tension in the room suddenly became a little more serious. Of course she never left. That much was clear-- and she wasn't about to ask why. She knew why. That was going to be a whole different conversation that Grace wasn't ready to get into. She held her gaze for what felt like hours before she decided to change the subject. "... Wanna see something cool?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She didn't exactly wait for Sawyer's reply and lifted the end of her shirt, just enough to reveal the scar on her stomach she'd found hours ago.

It wasn't bad persay, thicker than a needle, shorter than a pencil. Sure, it reminded her of the accident. But there was only so much she remembered of it. Trauma was just trauma if you knew the details, right? "Don't girls like scars? Isn't that badass and stuff?" Grace glanced towards Sawyer for her reaction before continuing. "Watch out WestBrook. Hide your girlfriends," She furrowed her brows in thought before shaking her head. "... I was gonna say mom's too, but that's just gross." A genuine laugh escaped her lips. It wasn't some cheesy chuckle, or a tiny smile. It was just... her. Wasn't it funny that Grace was back to her old self with Sawyer? She hardly spoke more than a few words with anyone else. Maybe because Sawyer was the only one who was treating her like she was normal? Instead of looking at her like she was some fragile broken thing. But it'd last, right? The normalcy? Yeah. It had to.

Grace let go of Sawyer's hand and adjusted herself onto the bed, only to wrap her hand around Sawyer's arm as if she was some stuffed animal she'd sleep with for comfort.

"... I'm tired, do you think they'll give me the good stuff to sleep?"

KingofAesir​

 

[0k_mang0]

colby

Elf_Ruler Winona geminiy​

Colby looked at Tatum with a questioning puppy-like expression until, after a second, he realized what she was talking about. “Oh, right. I did give you something... a Wheat Thin.” He casually cleared his throat a little behind his hand, as if trying to cover up the slight fluster he may or may not have had for a short moment. He did remember giving Tatum “something else” besides water. Twice.

And then Colby also remembered Ash and JJ’s teasing them on Twitter about a coffee date, which he had meant as a joke, which also turned into a lame flirtatious joke later on when he mentioned coffee on Twitter again. If Ash knew about the kiss in the auditorium earlier, she would believe that they lied about seeing each other. Wouldn’t matter if Colby denies it when she finds out later, thanks to a certain Anonymous-wannabe, annoying wolf. When people are given the truth when they demand it, they still wouldn’t believe it. No wonder why high school sucks.

Colby saw Jackie the French girl and her sister appear and watched harmless, competitive smack between them and Ash. It was just a simple video game contest to win ice cream... Well, then again, it was ice cream, and Colby knew his childhood friend didn’t like to lose.

“Well, I’ll catch you later, Ash. Good luck kicking Just Dance ass.” He wasn’t going to join the dancing game anytime soon. And For the record, Colby only turned to Tatum because she had Oreos, not just her. He sat back down on his spot and looked at his other blonde friend (uh, whatever she was to him right now). They couldn’t really talk about the kiss while surrounded by other people, but he had an inkling something was bothering her and he couldn’t just ask her about the… “Wheat Thin”. Eating cookies the way she was kind of gave it away.

“You all right, Tate?” he asked. He wasn’t sitting too close to Tatum. There was about a one-foot gap between their seats, and Colby could still reach for the Oreos in case he had to be quick and sneaky to get them later.

 

[a z u l a]

Ryder


"I don't know, you did punch me in the face, though I did deserve that." Ryder teased, though it still stung to think about the fact that he'd pushed Ash so far that she'd resorted to physical violence. Sure, Ash sometimes ran her mouth but he'd never actually seen her assault anyone before. She wasn't Alaska, in fact, he'd never seen any other girl resort to violence as much as his sister. That's probably why he liked Ash so much.

He followed after her happily, but well aware of everyone's gaze on them. Usually, Ryder wasn't one to care about what other people thought of him. After his fifth fight he'd really given up on keeping any kind of good image, but he was worried what people would say about him and Ash and all of the drama that would ensue. The two were already the center of so much drama without being together, as a couple drama seemed to follow them everywhere. It had ruined their relationship and Ryder didn't want that to happen again.

"Well, I happen to be pretty good at video games." Unless Ash had practiced video games every day since he'd left, he doubted she was any good at video games at all. Even way back before they started darting if she came over while he was playing she would turn his xbox off and demand attention, not that he minded. Ash was much more interesting than a stupid video game.

He spotted his twin talking to the guy that he'd almost beaten up the morning after JJ's party, but Ash was dragging him towards her friends so he didn't have time to really process it. Then, they were standing around all of Ash's friends, whom he was sure hated him, and he was awkwardly almost hiding behind Ash as she greeted her friends.

He took the outstretched controller that Ash handed him and offered a small smile to the guy that had just hugged Ash, Sebastian he was pretty sure she'd said his name was, but before he could introduce himself formally some rather tall man was wrapping Ash up in a hug and spinning her around. Instinctively his fists clenched at his sides, but he tried to relax and remember that he wasn't Ash's protector and he couldn't go around punching her friends if he wanted their relationship to work.

Finally, the two seemed to remember that he was still standing there, and he was shocked to realize that the boy who'd stolen Ash from him was Colby, one of their friends from way back in middle school. "Hey, man. Long time no see." He greeted, offering a smile that didn't quite reach his cheek bones as he continued to watch the two awkwardly.

Winona 0k_mang0​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer
This was almost pure bliss. All Sawyer had been longing for these past three months was for Grace to look at her like this again. To look at Sawyer like she was someone important like Sawyer meant something again. That's all Sawyer ever wanted. To mean something. All her life she'd just been a passing shadow, floating in and out of people's lives like a dream. A forgotten piece of the puzzle. Sawyer didn't want to float. She didn't want to be a passing daydream. All she had ever wanted was to feel wanted. Grace had made her feel wanted and when that grounding had been ripped out from under her, her whole world threatened to tip over. But here they were now just laying here with nothing barring them but their intertwined hands. And those blue eyes were looking back at her once again. Blue. Blue fire. Bright as ever. A burning vortex of silvery tendrils that pulled Sawyer ever closer. God, she could just lay here forever. Would it be so bad to look into those eyes for the rest of her life? She decided it wouldn't.

Grace stared for a long time but not near long enough. Abruptly, Grace pulled her gaze away and drew attention instead to a small scar snaking its way up her abdomen. Sawyer frowned at the sight but it only lasted a second as Grace joked about scars being attractive. Grace didn't need scars to attract someone, that much Sawyer could attest to, but she laughed along with her anyway. It felt nice to laugh like this again, to really laugh and not just half-heartedly chuckle. It felt nice to be with Grace like this. Grace felt nice. Familiar. Comfortable. Their hands were pulled apart and Sawyer felt herself frown again until Grace came closer, wrapping her arms around Sawyer's arm. Sawyer sighed, a sound almost like a purr.

"I don't know. Probably." Sawyer chuckled, "Why? Are you hurting? Do you want me to go get someone?" She suddenly became concerned as she used her free hand to rub circles into Grace's forearm.

Soap​

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Gia smiled she was going to remember Sebastian’s name; he was nice and that meant as long as she did her best to remember who he was then she would be able to become his actual friend. Gia of course nodded her head at Seb, “Yeah, so first year here at Westbrook High, quite different from Westbrook Middle. But I love it here and so far, people haven’t been bad. I’m liking all the different groups of people.” Gia really was enjoying Westbrook as a whole. There were the drama people like Milos and the sports people like Cam. There were the nice and quiet people like Maisie who was literally the best person, and then there were others she still hadn’t yet met, and she was excited for that. Her attention was distracted when she heard Parker’s voice. She liked him a lot even though it seemed like most no one else did and she didn’t feel that was fair. She turned her eyes back to Seb, “I’ll be right back. You seem way too nice for me to not know more about.”

She nodded to Parker and followed him just away from the group and gave him a large smile, “I didn’t expect to see you here, whatcha need?” she cared about Parker and she wasn’t one to just ignore someone, especially when it seemed like he had a serious topic he wanted to discuss. She knew very little about his home life, but she wondered if it was that. He didn’t deserve to have a bad home life and school life, so Gia always made sure to try and brighten up his day. Regardless of what others said Gia could make her own choices about people, because no one person is truly as bad as they are made out to be. Parker just had layers, like an ogre.

0k_mang0 PenguinFox
--

Cam smiled at the boy as he took the fruit snacks and he couldn’t fault him because fruit snacks were the best. That’s why he had brought a whole bunch of them rather than just one packet. As Cam looked around of course he saw Parker and of course he knew what his cousin was up to, he clenched his bag just a little tighter, but he had to hope that Gia was smart enough not to fall for Parker’s tricks. He wanted to have faith in Gia, but he knew Parker well and Parker always got what he wanted. Always. He had never seen his cousin be rejected by his main target and that’s what worried him. He didn’t want to watch one of the few innocent people he knew get hurt because of his cousin.

His tore his gaze away and put it back towards Milos. Cam only shrugged, “I’m sure we can find something else to do besides playing games.” He of course added a wink at the end of the comment, just for his own shits and giggles. Cam was sure there were some board games and puzzles that Tatum had mentioned bringing. He looked over by the games and sure enough there were cards, puzzles and some board games. Cam quickly left Milos to grab some options before setting them in front of the boy, “Your choice.” Cam would play any game Milos wanted.

Winona
--

Tatum just nodded at Colby’s Wheat Thin comment, mostly because she didn’t really have a better comment to use. She was still having a hard time keeping her thoughts straight. Her eyes followed Ash as she went towards Jackie to play Just Dance, and really she wasn’t surprised that she was back on the outs. It was hard being friends with Ash, it was hard when Tatum knew she was just as toxic as Ash but couldn’t verbally say it and couldn’t verbally acknowledge her problems. They were so visible for everyone to see and she couldn’t seem to figure out how to ask for help or even apologize properly. All her fault and all her problems that she had to shoulder. Sometimes Tatum wished high school was easier and that maintaining and making friends was easier, but life was never easy. If life was easy then everyone would be successful and not broken but yet everyone in some way was broken even if only a little.

She was still eating her cookies like a fat hamster. Of course, Colby had caught her mid cookie when he asked her if she was okay. She just shrugged, what could she say? ‘Oh you know I’m stressed because I feel like you won’t really like me’ or ‘I’m just insecure even though I act like I’m not’ How the hell was she going to say that? So, a shrug seemed like the safest response. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to fake it with Colby. He pushed her more than Ian or Brayden did which was irritating at times, but she would just evade the questions she didn’t want to answer. She slid the cookies over to him, “Want one?” she had watched him eyeball her cookies so if she offered maybe he would let her stress eat in peace.

0k_mang0

 

[0k_mang0]

colby

Tatum Elf_Ruler , Ryder a z u l a​

That shrug of hers was hardly an answer. She was bribing him with food, he could tell. But he was going to let this one slide, partially because it was an Oreo. Talking to Tatum about her feelings would be better in a more private place—not in the way that some people might be thinking from this sentence.

He said, “Sure,” and plucked one cookie sandwich from the pack. He wouldn’t forget to talk to her alone next time.

“Ryder and I go way back,” he mentioned, since nobody asked. “Well, kind of. I was mostly friends with Ash growing up here, and I just quietly slinked into her friend group through her. I was really more like a background character.”

After finishing the first Oreo, Colby started reaching out for a second or third without asking. “Can you believe I used to be scrawnier than this guy? I remember thinking you were pretty cool as kids,” he said to Ryder. “Part of it was your name, I liked it. I think I called you Knight Ryder once or twice.”

sebastian

Gia Elf_Ruler , Parker PenguinFox , now alone​

“Yeah, there’s definitely lots of different kinds of people here.” Sebastian never attended Westbrook Middle School, but he assumed it was like any other middle school. Although, his days during that time were not the best experience in his life.

When Gia remarked that he was nice, Seb half-smiled slightly awkwardly and said "Thanks". It was a kind comment, but he wasn’t often called nice by other people, except Ash and his friends. He didn't even consider himself that nice, but at least he wasn’t an asshole like some people at this school.

Seb arched his brow while watching Gia and her friend walk away somewhere. Wasn’t her friend named Parker, the guy that Ash and many other people say he was actually kind of a manwhore? Gia didn’t seem like the type who would hang out with someone like that, but Seb couldn’t only guess must be a good reason for her to be friends with Parker. She seemed nice, too.

 

[Dede]

Stu

insert typical stu picture here

Stu felt pretty sorry that he had to leave Tom alone with Pixie and Dante... sorry for Pixie and Dante, that is! Christ, they might be stuck with that boy now for the rest of the night! What could they have done to deserve this cruel fate? Stu dreaded to think which ones of Tom's horrendous jokes they would have to endure from now till the new light of day. Maybe Tom would even teach them how to split the atom, or divide by zero!! May God have mercy on their poor souls...

As much as Stu would've liked to be a responsible friend, and stay and discuss grasshoppers and the colonisation of Mars with Tom, he had a more important call of duty to answer to -- namely, bringing a bag of Swedish Fish to the girl of his dreams: Audra.

The boy set off on this task with steadfast determination in his eyes. Without delay, he picked his way down the length of the gym, scanning the faces around him for a sign of the girl. Some kids approached him expecting the usual benevolence from the Westbrook Wolf, who was currently in human form, but they were sorely disappointed when the boywolf refused to give them a share of the Swedish Fish. What?! Stu refusing to give out sweets? O tempora! O mores! What was the world coming to?!

After having squeezed his way through a crowd of disappointed faces, and having fended off a couple of rude incursions into his bag of sweets, Stu emerged with his supply of Swedish Fish intact. His eyes now happily narrowed on the figure of Audra, who was standing around the gamers.

He blushed a few different shades of red on approach, rubbed the tip of his nose shyly, before offering her the bag of Swedish Fish. He didn't even pay attention to the other gamers who were milling about the area; he certainly didn't notice anyone he was supposed to. All he could see in front of him was Audra. Oh, Audra. She sure had a way of making everyone else blur into the background!

'I. . . I found the Swedish fish,' he said, smiling. '. . .I hope I got the right one.'

He swayed a little as he stood, trembling even -- possibly on the verge of a mini heart attack. Why did she have to be so pretty?

'Oh, I bought an extra bag, in case you wanted to. . . you know, share with your friends,' he said, gesturing at the people around them. 'We don't get these where I come from, not really. So I tried some. And you're right, they're really nice!'

He looked around, finally taking notice of where he was.

'I didn't know you were into video games! Me too! I mean. . . sort of.' That last bit was just to make sure he didn't think she was a nerd or something. At least, not until he was sure that she liked video games too.

PenguinFox

 

[geminiy]

Jacqueline Dupont

Jackie nodded to the shorter blonde and placed her hands on her waist. "Oh please, losing is not even a possibility, cherie. And of course we can play solo, battle this out like women!" Jackie teased, playfully sticking her tongue out. She turned around and made her way to the game setup, ejecting the disc and putting the disc in for Just Dance. Grabbing two remotes, Jackie made her way back over Ash and handed her the controller.

"Alright, I'm ready when you are. Winner gets to ask the loser three questions and they have to answer truthfully. Deal?" Jackie explained, opening up the game file and scrolling through the various songs. Stretching her shoulders out, Jackie finally settled on a dance.

"Let's go with the American icon herself, Katy Perry." She said, clicking on Teenage Dream and readying herself in front of the television. She paused and looked over at the blonde. "So, is this a bad time to tell you that I am actually horrible at Just Dance? I'll give it my best though, it will be fun!"

| Ash Winona |

Isabelle Dupont

Bella listened to her sister tease Ash and cringed. "Oh gosh, she's really going through with this? Jackie can't dance if her life depended on it." Bella laughed, shaking her head. When they were younger, their parents used to try to teach the Dupont girls how to dance. Bella got the hang of it rather quickly and was always a mover when she was an infant. Jackie, however, never grew out of her chronic two left feet.

Spotting Brayden, she waved and placed a gentle hand on Zander's arm to get his attention. "Hey, I'm going to go say hi to Brayden if you want to come?" She said, dropping her hand and walking over to her friend.

"Hey Brayden, how's your night been so far?" Bella asked, poking him playfully in the side.

| Zander Winona | Brayden Elf_Ruler |​

 

[Winona]

Ash

Jackie talked a big game, but Ash was confident that she had this one in the bag. She was a little distracted, her gaze drifting back to look at Ryder. Ash would have much rather been alone with him right now, catching up on everything that the two of you had missed. The last few months without Ryder had been brutal -- mostly because she had missed having her best friend there. Err... one of her best friends. No offense to Ian or Sebastian -- they had been great and she did care about them -- but there was something about being with someone that had been there for most of your life that made Ash love being with Ryder more.

Her attention turned back to the game now that she was satisfied that Ryder wasn't going to punch anyone, a bright smile lighting up her face as she looked at Jackie. The other girl had put in the game and was already choosing a song. A song that Ash knew far too well, and then Jackie was admitting that she couldn't dance.

Ash took the controller and readied herself, eyes now glued to the screen. "I actually danced to this at one of my pageants." Yes, her stupid mother used to put Ash in stupid pageants -- it wasn't something she usually admitted, because those days had sucked. But as she spoke, she spared a smirk in Jackie's direction, then looked back at the screen.

And then the song started, and although it had been a while since Ash had danced, it was kind of like cheerleading, and kind of like riding a bike. You didn't forget. She fumbled at first, but it wasn't long before Ash was hitting every move.

geminiy​

 

[geminiy]

Jacqueline Dupont

"Pageant?" Jackie repeated, trying to place the word that she hadn't heard much of in her time of speaking English. "Oh, you mean concours de beauté! I would never have placed you as a beauty queen, though you are beautiful enough to be one. I can imagine that the competition didn't like you very much. Those girls seem so boring, I'm sure they didn't appreciate someone with an actual personality and beauty to compete against."

Jackie selected the song and shot a playful wink Ash's way. "Well, may the best dancer win!"

As soon as the song began, Jackie felt like a fish out of water. For someone that does multiple sports that require high levels of coordination, Jackie's dancing was awful. Her limbs refused to work together and she spent an absurd amount of time tripping over her own feet. She looked over at Ash who seemed to be enjoying the whole affair, her dancing smooth and rhythmic. Jackie was a horrible dancer at best but next to a good dancer like Ash, Jackie must have looked like a fish out of water.

The pure inability to elegantly dance did not stop Jackie from trying. Her flailing earned her some points, though not nearly as many as she would need to beat Ash. As the scores kept rising, Ash's much more quickly than Jackie's, she had finally decided to accept her defeat. She should have felt embarrassed that she looked like an absolute fool while dancing along to the faceless neon figures and the thumping beats of Katy Perry, she was actually having a good bit of fun.

The last few notes of the song played out and the two girls hit the final pose. As the final screen came up, Jackie laughed at her rather abysmal score. "Well, it seems that you have won, Ash." Jackie said, lodging the remote down beside the television. She turned back to Ash and smiled. "I'm a woman of my word and seeing as you are the winner, you have three questions and I promise I will answer them truthfully. Nothing is off the table."

| Ash Winona |​

 

[Winona]

Ash

First off, Ash wasn't sure if the other girl was trying to gain an advantage by flattering Ash, but it wasn't going to work... okay, so maybe it did and that was part of what threw Ash off of her game in the beginning. Compliments were something that the blonde cheerleader received with a surprising frequency, but not something she had ever gotten used to accepting.

She almost felt bad about winning -- Jackie was new, so maybe she should've let the other girl win. But that competitive edge meant that Ash couldn't just give up and let herself lose. Oh well, at least Jackie was a good sport about it, and a smile crossed Ash's face while she started to think about what questions she wanted to ask.

Ash crossed over to where the video game system was, setting the controller down and then turned back to Jackie, crossing her arms over her chest while her smile just grew. She turned back towards Jackie, taking a few steps closer to her.

"Okay, so first, what's the most embarrassing thing you've done?" Sadly, Ash didn't actually know Jackie well enough yet to ask her any deep or prodding questions, so she had to stick with some of the basic ones. "Second, what's the worst thing you've done? I'm talking like most illegal." Although Jackie didn't seem like the super illegal type.

"And finally." A teasing smirk crossed her face. "What's up with you and Greyson? Do you like him?"

"And if you want, since you're new and I feel bad about destroying you so hard in Just Dance, you can ask me one question and I'll be totally honest." She did feel a little bad, okay?

geminiy​

 

[a z u l a]

Chase

Walking into a gym full of high schoolers was just about Chase's worst nightmare. It was like all of Westbrook was packed into one room and there was no way it was going to end wall. Hadn't the staff learned by now that cramming a bunch of hormonal, angsty teenagers into one building was a horrible idea? Last year had been an absolute disaster, it was a miracle the school was letting them do any kind of fun activity. Not that being locked in the gym all night was particularly fun to him, but hey.

Chase took Noah's backpack from him and started setting up his sleeping bag for him. It didn't seem very comfortable for the injured boy to be sleeping on the hard gym floor with a broken leg, Chase wondered why the seemingly shy boy was willing to be in such an uncomfortable position just to spend the night with the annoying teenagers of Westbrook. However, Chase did understand wanting to make the most of senior year. After his siblings had transferred, he'd sulked around for several weeks before finally getting back to his old self and making the most out of what had been left of his last year of high school.

"No worries, I wonder the same thing myself." Chase joked, laughing rather loudly at the bluntness of Noah's question. It was a more common question than Noah probably realized, most people were off put by the oldest Vaughn siblings since the rest of his family was so dreadful to be around most of the time.

"Well, you see I got stuck being the oldest which meant I was too busy chasing down the twins to cause any trouble myself." It was true, he had spent most of his life chasing his siblings around and trying to do damage control for them. It had been strange not having constant chaos to control when they'd been in New York with their father. It had of course been nice, but he'd missed them no matter how annoying they were.

"What about you? Do you have any siblings?" Chase asked as he finished with Noah's sleeping bag, standing up and turning his full attention back to Noah.

mogy

Alaska

"Well, I would say usually I'm a bad luck charm but so far you seem to even that out." Alaska joked, though it was more true than she would like to admit. The first time she'd met Ian had been the disaster that had been JJ's party, after she'd gotten beaten up and had been laying on the grass bleeding, then, the next morning her brother had almost beaten him up because he overprotective and stupid. And that was just Ian, she seemed to bring destruction with her everywhere she went. Sometimes she thought everyone would be better off without her.

"I'm glad to hear that." The little brunette beamed up at him, she was genuinely happy to hear that he was doing well, it also helped that he said that it was partially because of her. It made her feel good to make others feel good, especially Ian. Alaska hadn't known the blond boy long, but he was one of the kindest people she'd ever met and he deserved the world. He deserved much more than Alaska.

"I'm doing pretty good. I think I'm finally used to being back in Westbrook and no one else has tried to fight me yet." It had been harder re-adjusting to Westbrook than she'd thought it would be. Everyone's life had moved on without her and she was struggling to re-kindle the relationships she'd had before her sudden departure for New York. It seemed like her and Raven were a lost cause, she really only had Drake, Sawyer, and Stu now, though they were all going through their own things. It was nice to have Ian now too, he didn't know the old Alaska and maybe he could help her figure out who she was now.

PenguinFox​

 

[geminiy]

Jacqueline Dupont

Jackie listened to Ash's questions, taking a moment to think about the answers. She had gone through a lot of things in her time alive, embarrassing things, illegal things, things that would make for an excellent story. Nibbling on her lower lip, Jackie searched through the archives of her mind, picking out her most embarrassing story.

"When I was a little girl, probably about six or seven years old, my school decided to put on a Christmas play. It was one of those cheesy nativity story type plays, the one with the really fake plastic baby Jesus and the children playing all the other figures, including the animals. I had auditioned to be Mary, I always wanted to be in the spotlight as a kid, and I surprisingly got the role. The more we rehearsed, the more I realized that I actually hated acting even though I was actually quite good at it. The night of the show rolled around and I was carrying this horrid looking plastic baby Jesus out onto the stage. I looked out over the crowd and panicked. I actually passed out on stage and on my way down, baby Jesus flew out of my hands and hit some poor kid in the front row right in the face. I woke up in the change rooms with my mom who had preemptively bought me a little plastic trophy that said 'Best Actress' on it. Needless to say, I gave up acting after that play. It was sure dramatic though." Jackie explained, laughing to herself as she retold the story. She still had that stupid little trophy on her shelf, serving as a reminder each day as to why she chose to go the STEM route instead of the dramatic arts route in school.

The next question did not take much thinking of all. For most of her life, Jackie had been rather straight laced. Even after her dad passed away, Jackie never was one to act out much. Bella was always the sister that got into trouble, that did the illegal stuff and knew how to get away with it. Jackie was more the type of kid to read by herself during lunch, to go exploring by herself through the woods, to stay after school to tutor instead of going to party with her friends. But there was one time, perhaps the only time, that Jackie did something that could have landed her in jail.

"My father passed away around a year and a half ago. Bella was quite broken up by the whole thing and fell in with a bad crowd, this group of partiers led by this enfoiré named Victor. He did some pretty horrible things to Bella," Jackie began to explain, her hands slowly curling into fists. "I ran him shortly before we decided to move. Bella had called me, said he had attacked her for not wanting to go with him to some stupid party and she wanted to be picked up. So I went to her and she had these bruises on her arms from where he had grabbed her. I couldn't stand him, couldn't stand what he had done to her. I took Bella home and went to that party. I left with a broken finger and nose, he left with, shall we say, a different face. Two weeks later, he was in jail. Shortly after that, we moved here. I don't like that I went after him but I did. If I had been seen, if he had gone to the police, I probably would have gone to jail."

Jackie's lungs had tightened in her chest as she remembered that night. That had been a long night but damn had it felt good. She had been itching to get after that man for so long. Sure, he had been a nasty individual to Bella before but until that night, he had never really laid a finger on her as far as Jackie knew. After she found out that he had, she went after him. Jackie wasn't the type of person to intentionally hurt someone but he really deserved it. The fight was a one time deal and she had never done anything of the sort again.

"I told you I would be honest," Jackie chuckled, her fingers loosening and the blood circulating back to the tips of her fingers.

The last question took her by surprise. Greyson? Why was she asking if she liked him?

"Of course I like Greyson, he's awesome! He's a good friend, he helped me get on the wrestling team." Jackie responded, her demeanor completely different from a few moments earlier. It suddenly dawned on her that Ash had not asked her if she liked him as a friend, she asked if she liked him more than that. Jackie felt the heat rush to her pale cheeks, the blush starting on the tip of her freckled nose and cascading over her cheeks, all the way up to the tips of her ears. "Oh. You didn't mean like in a friend way, did you?" She asked though, by the smirk on Ash's face, she already knew the answer. "N-no, of course not. He's just a friend. Sure, he's incredibly kind and rather charming, Greyson is just a friend."

Jackie wanted to bury her head into her hands and hide away, though she maintained her composure. Why would Ash ask such a silly question? Did she think there was something between her and Greyson? Was there something between her and Greyson? They had only spoken a handful of times, mostly about wrestling. Jackie enjoyed her time spent with the blond and she had to admit, he was rather attractive. They were only friends though and although Jackie wasn't exactly sure if she had been entirely honest when answering Ash's question, she was certain of that. Even if Jackie had somehow, in their few interactions, felt something beyond pure friendship towards Greyson, she simply didn't have time for some stupid teenage relationship.

"While you did butcher me in Just Dance, it was completely a fair win. I don't need to ask you a question, you won." Jackie stammered, thankful for the change in topic. She paused, looking back to Ash. "Well, there is one question. Ian, is it? How do you feel about him, I mean really feel about him? You look at him differently than other people, like you admire everything about him. It is quite sweet, actually, the way you two look at each other."

| Ash Winona |
a z u l a (read that last paragraph)​

 

[Soap]

Raven

Raven's grin turned into a smile at his words. Ronnie was giving her the exact attention she wanted. He was... fun. Almost different than the rest of WestBrook. There was a small piece of him that reminded her of the people from her old school, the run down trailer park she'd grown up in, and the battered and broken town she lived in all those years ago. But again, it was still only but a small part. "Perhaps." She shrugged, awaiting him to carry on.

This wasn't the type of headline the school paper was looking for, but the writer? There was nothing more a journalist loved more than a story. Unbeknownst to the pink haired boy, Raven ended the recording with a small click of a button. Letting him continue whether or not Ronnie realized he was explaining her story to her-- rather than the imaginary people who would undoubtedly read it. There was nothing more WestBrook enjoyed than gossiping. And whenever the truth was presented to them... well, it was as if it never existed in the first place. Raven supposed it was best for them to believe their theories as of who... 'Ronnie Kane' was, or rather why he was here.

Drugs didn't come as a surprise.

She knew the type. He didn't seem like an addict, no. So maybe it was something small. Marijuana? It's possible. But was it right? "Research? What if I just take you for your word?" What kind of journalist would she be if she didn't look into a potential story? It was clear from her words, she was more interested in hearing his story rather than putting the rest of the pieces together herself.

He was confident. It seemed like he didn't have a doubt in himself or his choices, the type of person not to have regrets over their past, but that could be a lie. Raven had gotten used to masking that part of her very well. She was the girl you wanted to party with, flirt with-- maybe even open up to. The last one is still something she's getting used to. But that's what set her aside from WestBrook. Everyone had that someone they would go to whenever they were troubled, Everyone.

But Raven? Raven wasn't the girl who came to you whenever she had a problem. At a first glance, you'd see the fire in her eyes, a grin that couldn't fade, the dedication to get what she wanted, and the sultry gaze she'd cast upon everyone else. You figure that's the type of girl who could handle anything. You'd figure she's brave.

Maybe if you took a double take you'd notice how scared she really was.

"Is it though? The perfect solution? Say, I'm apart of society, what do I get from you... being you?"

lion.​

 

[Winona]

Ash

It started off cute with her little baby Jesus story. A warm smile was on Ash's face, but that didn't last long when Jackie launched into her second story, about Victor, who just sounded like a total dick. Her smile faltered and fell away, and Ash felt like she should say something, but she didn't know what to say. She wasn't good at comforting people, or would this even be considered comforting someone? What would she even say? "So sorry that you bruised your knuckles on his face."

"You're a good sister." That's what tumbled out of her mouth instead. "Bella is lucky to have you." But now she felt a little bad, because Bella's whole past with this Victor guy was out in the open now. Woops. Well, Ash didn't actually think a lot of people were even paying attention, and it wasn't something that she would bring up again. It seemed personal -- it sounded personal. It was personal. So instead Ash decided to drop the whole thing there, not wanting to dwell on things like that.

Her smile only broadened once more when Jackie started stumbling over her words about Greyson. "Right, so, he's super single." She said teasingly. "If you know, you wanted to ask him to Homecoming or something. As friends." Of course, when she said "friends," she offered little finger air quotes to specify that in Ash's opinion? There was still a spark.

And again, her smile faltered for a moment once more at Jackie's question. Ash had been expecting something small. Maybe her own most embarrassing moment, but instead, she was faced with this ridiculous question -- again. Why did everyone seem to think that there was something more to her friendship with Ian then there actually was? Not only was he totally not her type (Ash wasn't into blondes), but he liked Alaska, and she loved Ryder.

You know, Ryder, who was standing right fucking there.

"I have no idea what 'look' you're talking about, but we're just friends." Ash clarified. "I mean, I care about him a... lot. Over the summer when I was in the hospital, he was there with me the whole time." Partially because he was also stuck in the hospital, but he'd been one of the only things that kept her going. Ian and Sebastian. Ash had fucked a lot of things up in her time, and lost a lot of friends, but she couldn't imagine life without either of them at this point.

"But there's nothing more to it than that. I love Ryder." Yeah, Ash got what Jackie was trying to hint at, but there was nothing there. Sure, Ash loved Ian and cared about him, but like a brother. Nothing more.

geminiy
Mentions: a z u l a PenguinFox​

 

[Soap]

Grace

Hurting?

No. Not physically anyway. Emotionally? Maybe. Yeah. But right now Grace was numb to all of that. She was comfortable, tired, and clinging onto someone she cared about. She wasn’t being poked or prodded, questioned, being pushed to speak, pushed to remember, to meet people she didn’t want to. So right now? Here in this moment? She didn’t feel all that alone anymore. Grace inaudibly muttered to herself, which was supposed to be a reply but that was before a yawn took over. She tightened her hold on Sawyer’s arm, one might consider it as a death grip— but considering her weak state, It was about as strong as a baby grasping your finger. Grace laid her head on Sawyer’s shoulder.

“I missed you.”

They haven’t been like this in almost a year. Sure, she might be counting the months she wasn’t here. But that’s what made it hurt worse— but it was a good kind of hurt. Kind of. Like, when someone people cry happy tears. Not that Grace was happy in this predicament. How else could she explain it?

Nevertheless, Grace wasn’t about to get tears all over Sawyer, she was too tired to cry, but she was awake enough to not let go. This was the highlight of her day, and Grace had a feeling it would be the highlight of everything over the course of the next few months. It wasn’t long before the blonde started to fall asleep. She could practically feel herself dreaming already. It’s weird how she could feel so exhausted despite everything, but she didn’t question it. It was normal. She just hoped it wouldn’t last long.

Grace had months to make up for. And everyone here was making her feel like she wasn’t going to get a chance to.

Everyone else made her feel... indifferent, upset, sad even. But with Sawyer, she felt safe. Maybe it didn’t matter who it was, or the complications behind their relationship.

It just... mattered. And that was enough for Grace right now.

KingofAesir​