Realistic or Modern Westbrook

[txlos]

Hunter

​

Although she tried her best, Hunter couldn't contain the stifled laugh that escaped her lips at Daniel's gestures. They seemed like the classic older/little brother types. One was younger and was hell bent on annoying his older brother and the older brother wasn't having it. That, and in Hunter's opinion, the older brother was a little nicer to look at. Even now, as she listened to him mock her, the cockiness dripping off of every last word. The brunette wasn't going to deny it, he knew how to use his words, the deepness of his voice. He knew all the right things to say to push her buttons, and he did so freely. Maybe that was one of the things that was so thrilling about him. But calling the blue eyed girl scared? Maybe not Kanen's best idea.

The impenetrable wall that seemed to float around his tall figure fell then, Hunter's face remaining cool and collect as she stood up and out of the water. Steam wafted off of ever inch of her, her tied up hair slightly damp and her slightly tanned figure standing out against the stark white snow in the background. "What makes you think I'm scared?" She prompted, tilting her head only slightly, as if the proclamation genuinely stumped her. Hunter? Scared of a boy? Please. She knew exactly what he was doing, thinking he had the upper hand, trying to pull her around at his leisure. But he wasn't the only one with honeyed words and a pretty face.

"I don't think your brother could handle me, Tats," Hunter's words were almost a purr as she took the smallest of steps toward Kanen, starting to close the small amount of distance between them. "I don't think he'd have any idea what to do with me,"

Her shoulders were pressed back, her eyes not wavering from his. Looking away meant defeat, and she wasn't exactly a kind loser. "To be honest," She went on, now almost standing between Kanen's legs, their faces incredibly close as she rested a hand on his knee. It took everything in Hunter not to kiss him there, he was just too pretty, but she couldn't. There was no way that wall was going to be broken by her. Instead, eye to eye, a smirk fell onto rosy lips.

"I don't really think you can handle me."

Hunter made no attempt to move from her position there. He had chosen to come closer, she challenged the distance even more. And would probably continue to until the pretty inked boy gave in and kissed her, which she was sure would happen before the lot headed back home. Nonetheless, this was fun and god, did Hunter live for fun.

High5ives

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Aaron​

Maisie shook her head, and Aaron pursed his lips, nodding as he looked down at his hands, clasped in the space between his legs before looking up again, expression again under control as he waited for her to elaborate. She let out a deep breath, and he straightened up, hands going to rest on his thighs as he waited for her to start.

At first, he glanced at her, a bit uneased by the start of this story- fine. It seemed fine, that’s what was wrong. His gaze flitted forward again as he tried to imagine the scene in front of him, of a smaller Maisie wandering out of her room, thirsty. His heart started to beat faster as he thought about what she might encounter.

Before he knew it, he was looking at her, eyebrows up as he listened. Slowly, they lowered, and his gaze grew thoughtful as he looked at the wood between the pair.

That… That had been personal. That had been a piece of Maisie, a piece that must have been held close, and tight, like everything about Maisie seemed to be. He pursed his lips again.

How did he respond to that? He couldn’t just say that that sounded awful, could he? She knew that.

...Maybe he could provide some kind of solace? A sense of community?

His lips stayed pursed as he again looked to the woods in front of the pair, taking in the snow on the eternally green trees as he tried to find a story that was suitable. Not too much, but… not too little.

Eventually, he began, “When I was younger…” He paused, face twitching at the thought of what he was doing. Did he really want to do this?

Yes, a little voice inside of him said, and that… that was troubling.

Heedless of that internal warning, he continued on stutteringly, “My mother and my father used to fight constantly.”

It was true. They had- As he and his brother had gotten older, their father had worn her down more and more, though they still occasionally fought, mostly around the holidays. He didn’t want to think about just how much trouble his mother would be getting herself into this Christmas, even as his hatred for her grew, remembering what he was speaking of.

Sometimes, his heart ached as he remembered that at one point, she had been the smiling young woman shown in the photos hung around his house.

Funny how everything shit about his life always seemed to come back to his father.

“And sometimes,” he continued after a long moment of thought, “she would take it out on Casper and me.”

He pursed his lips again, looking down. This was hard- harder than he had expected. “This-” he pointed to a thin, pale line across his forehead- “is from her.” His mouth twitched down.

“I barely remember it. I was- Six? Seven?- and she threw something at me. And I just stood there and let it hit me, shocked. It’s the first time I can remember her throwing something at me. I remember-” He scoffed, humorless. “I remember thinking about how she had thrown things at Casper before, but not me.”

He leaned back, glancing at her with a smile of some sort, “I bawled like a child afterwards, of course, though I have no idea why- Even back then, I was getting in fights.” He stood up.

“I suppose I just wanted you to know…” He looked at the forest again, smile gone.

“You’re not as alone as you might feel.”

And then, he went back inside.

Soap​

 

[High5ives]

Kanen watched silently as Hunter stood up out of the water, waltzing towards him like a Naiad from Greek mythology. Beautiful, but dangerous all the same. As she moved closer to him, Kanen felt himself sucking in a breath of hair, holding it for as long as he could before slowly letting his lungs deflate. Her body, her face, Hunter was attractive and she knew it. But her confidence was what really drove Kanen to seek her out, even if he wouldn’t admit it.

But if she wanted to turn this into a challenge, that was perfectly fine. Kanen wasn’t one to fold in the face of a pretty girl. As she came closer and closer, Kanen slipped his hand into pocket, removing his phone and setting it beside his sunglasses. He leaned back away from Hunter slowly, but only so he wouldn’t accidentally hit her in the face or something.

He reached back with one hand, grabbing the back of his shirt collar and peeling the white sweater away, revealing all his tattoos, and the scars they hid. He tossed the fabric down on top of his phone and let his body slide down into the water like a snake, closing what little distance had remained between Hunter and him. Kanen rolled his shoulders back, and then his head, popping the stiff joints like fireworks. The water felt good, enveloping his legs and waist, but the cold air running over his bare chest was damn near hellish. Kanen wasn’t going to back down though. This was progressing past just being a game. Kanen was legitimately attracted to this woman, and his reaction like always, was to try and scare her away.

He stepped forward, forcing Hunter to step back towards the center of the hot tub, then gently pushed her back another step. His face turned hard, jaw clenching and eyes narrowing. Kanen didn’t take his shirt off to show off his muscles or brag about his tattoos. He took his shirt off to show the scars. Cuts, burns, a gunshot or two. Some self inflicted, others just being a result of his lifestyle and line of work.

“I’m going to warn you right now.” Kanen started. His voice lacked any flirtatious undertones or anything that could possibly make Hunter think he was joking. “I’ve got a real bad fucking habit of breaking people in one way or another.” He went on. “So before you do anything else, I suggest you figure out why the fuck you’re doing any of this in the first place.”

txlos​

 

[txlos]

Hunter

​

Initially, Hunter had simply expected Kanen to do one of two things; hold his ground and not move, or fold. What she wasn't expecting was for him to lean back ever so slightly and pull the sweater from his body, revealing even more ink. Some designs were more intricate than others, some seemed like they were poked deeper into the skin, and some definitely looked newer than others. None the less, it was hard to look away from the guy's chiseled torso, every inch of him seeming to ripple with muscle. He was much fitter than his brother, that much was for certain. And along with that, he was much more intimidating.

The brunette took two steps back as Kanen seemed to advance on her, but still, fear wasn't something that filled her. It was this continued flow of excitement, this coursing pulse of adrenaline that Hunter hadn't ever felt because of a person before. Sure, she had gotten a similar rush from putting herself in trouble, but never because of a man. The only men that gave the blue eyed girl any sort of rush were bad men... usually accompanied by a feeling of anxiety and pain instead of just genuine adrenaline. And those were the types of things Hunter cared not to think about, blinking a few times as she went back to examining the body in front of her.

It took a second, but with furrowed brows, the petite girl began to see the protrusions of healed-over skin, scars lacing the boy's body up and down. And once again, it wasn't pure fear that crept into Hunter's mind, although it wasn't fully lacking, but it was worry that took over most of her thoughts. What the hell had this guy been through? He didn't look old enough to have endure this much physical mutilation, but hey, Hunter didn't look old enough to have experienced half the shit she had gone through either.

Quietly, and as soft as she could muster, the brunette allowed her finger to brush over a deep set scar across Kanen's left pec, the other hand finding one on his right bicep. If this was a perfect world, Hunter would've liked to touch the scars and have them vanish from the beautiful boy's body. But it wasn't... she was sure he knew that even more than she did.

"You don't scare me," Hunter whispered low, her tone assured and serious as it broke what must've been several minute of silence. She continued to linger on different scars, eyes flicking all over his torso before landing back up on the gunmetal eyes that Kanen had glued to her face. Even here, almost threatening her, Hunter still offered a small smile. "I know life isn't fair. And I bet you do too," A weak chuckle shook her figure ever so slightly, goosebumps cascading along her body as the cold air hit whatever wasn't protected by the warm water. "And sometimes the best ways of getting in trouble is putting yourself on a block to be broken... if you break me, you break me. But don't think you're going to scare me away with these," Hunter's voice was soft and soothing, only loud enough for the boy in front of her to make out. Gingerly, and with more thought than she realized, the blue eyed girl laid her palm flat on Kanen's chest, just as she had the night before.

"So maybe I'm doing this because I want to. And as much as you can intimidate the people here, push people away from you before they get the chance to know you, I don't plan on changing my wants."

High5ives

 

[Dede]

Baby Stu

Tom nervously pulled away after he had planted that small kiss on the older boy’s cheek. It was over in a heartbeat.

‘I’m. . . I’m sorry,’ he muttered.

They’d barely known each other. Even though they were in the same football team, it was the first time they’d really ever talked.

Tom didn’t have any friends. He didn’t even know how to kick the ball, let alone do up his shoelaces properly. He was only there to benchwarm because his mother knew the coach, and he was doing her a favour to get him out of the house.

Stu was the team's permanent number 10. Tom didn’t know why he’d kissed the older boy. They were sitting alone, the sun was shining softly in their faces, Stu had offered him some chocolates, and then it just sort of happened.

Stu barely flinched, though. He just slowly turned around and gave Tom a ‘what just happened’ look, and then went back to sorting the colours of his M&Ms.

‘Are. . . are you not mad at me?’

Stu shrugged. He figured there was no harm done and it made the smaller boy happy, even if for a little moment. Plus, it was just a small peck on the cheek. Sure it felt weird and gay as hell, but he could always just wash it off later when Tom wasn’t looking.

‘But if you tried it again I might sock you in the face,’ the blonde boy added, and they both smiled and chuckled on the bench.

* * *​

Neck Tie knew what was coming as soon as Casper touched his hand. He’d squinted and braced his cheek for impact. When the kiss did land he’d tried not to flinch or shudder or move away. He wouldn’t want his friend to feel uncomfortable or anything like that.

But he blushed anyway. It was the second time he’d been kissed by a boy. Meanwhile Neck Tie couldn’t even ask a girl out to prom without first slamming his face into a door and then getting cold-bloodedly rejected. Plus, all the girls he found cute, like Grace, were gayer than a double rainbow. Nova couldn’t be less interested in him if she’d tried, plus she was out of bounds because she was seeing Jace. He guessed Ash was kinda pretty too. But Ash was going to be his sister!

Why couldn’t Casper be a girl? Or why couldn’t he have a cute sister, instead of horrible Aaron.

‘You never told me you were into boys,’ Neck Tie joked as he scratched the lobe of his ear to ease his nerves.

He then gave Casper a light-hearted poke in the arm. ‘Now please get off my bed,’ he said.

* * *​

The night came and went. By lunch hour the next day, there were literally dozens of starving kids milling about the cabin, so Ash had wisely left her future little brother in charge of the grill. ‘Don’t worry, big sister!’ said Neck Tie, tapping a rhythm on the barrel with the skewers. With years of cooking experience under this boy’s belt, absolutely nothing could possibly go wrong. In his opinion, the fire extinguisher was totally unnecessary.

Neck Tie took his station and donned the macho muscle man apron. Those West grandparents sure had a weird sense of humour. In all honesty Neck Tie could easily have just gone shirtless. With abs like his, nobody would have known the difference.

But it was freezing cold so the shirt and the apron stayed on. The hot tub looked inviting but he had a duty to do. Humming a little tune he warmed his hands over the coal and searched left and right for the cooking oil. He rubbed some over the first cut of steak and oh wait, that was the dishwashing soap!!!

mikaluvkitties @ everyone else

 

[High5ives]

This had all been fun when it was just harmless flirting, when there were no feelings involved. The moment things began to become real though, Kanen wanted nothing to do with it. He’d spent more than enough time just doing his own thing, limiting interaction with just about everyone, even Daniel sometimes. So now, the thought of building an actual connection with someone was fucking terrifying. It was sad, but Kanen would’ve preferred it if Hunter was some heartless bitch. This all would’ve been easier if She would away like most everyone else is Westbrook. If she could be intimidated or bullied into leaving him alone.

But here Kanen stood, scars all for her to see, and Hunter refused to leave. Kanen stiffened under her touch as her fingers followed his scars. This had officially left Kanen’s comfort zone, him snapping was just the next step in a pattern that had been played out time and time again. Someone tries to get close, Kanen cuts them off, and everyone end up feeling hurt in the end.

“You don’t know jack-fucking-shit.” Kanen spat the words, backing away so Hunter was no longer touching him. “You don’t know me! You don’t know this town! You can’t say you fucking want this, because you don’t know what the fuck this is!” He snapped, raising her voice smacking the water in front him. He back away more, moving back to far end of the hot tub. If Kanen hadn’t scared her off before, fine. He’d step it up a few notches.

“You’re just some good-for-fucking nothing punk-ass wannabe from outa’ town who thinks she can come in here and shake things up!” Kanen went off, moving on to personal attacks. If he couldn’t scare her away, he’d just be an asshole. Make her decide that he wasn’t worth the effort. “Surprise. You aren’t special. You ain’t shit!”

txlos​

 

[Maree]

Belle


As soon as the car stopped yesterday Belle was out. She had walked away from Zach without a word. Did she regret her decision? Not at all. In her mind, he deserved the silent treatment. He forced her into a car where she was repeatedly insulted and he didn't even stick up for her? What kind of friend did that? It was probably because he liked Ava and JJ more than her. Had he done it on purpose? Did he put her in that car knowing how she was going to be treated? How mean. Avoiding someone when you were staying in the same place wasn't easy but she managed. Every time he tried to speak to her she turned and walked away. It might have been a little harsh but until he made it up to her she wasn't budging.

She had been up quite early that morning but that wasn't out of the ordinary. It was peaceful being up when no one else was. The sun rising over the mountains was also quite breathtaking. She would have to drag Drake out of bed one day so he could watch it with her. Which would probably be quite difficult for one main reason. He had chosen to room with his brother of all people. Who would probably whip out a shotgun if she woke him up early. Not that she would want to be near Mason anyways. They still weren't on great terms and didn't see him extending an olive branch anytime soon. Oh, Drake, he wasn't always the sharpest tool in the shed. She was pulled from her thoughts as he walked over to her, perfect timing. "A walk sounds lovely" she smiled.

Belle swung their hands as they walked, It was nice to get away from everyone and be alone with him. As much as she loved spending time with her friends. A holiday with just Drake sounded amazing right now. Staying in a little cozy cottage, One that felt homey. Not over the top and lavish like the West cabin was. She was pulled from her daydreaming when Drake spoke again, mentioning snow sports. "Don't think I haven't noticed that cold of yours mister" she said, giving him a pointed look before raising her hand to feel his forehead. It was hot to the touch, definitely a fever. "There is no way I'm risking you face planting into a snowbank" she teased.

Her eyes scanned over their surroundings before falling on a garden swing chair. It even had a canopy so no snow covered the seat. It also happened to have one of the best views of the mountains. She pulled Drake over to it, sitting down. "I think that sitting with you and enjoying a nice view is far better than skiing" she smiled. He did seem a little distracted which was weird. But she ended up shrugging it off as it was just because he was sick. "You have only been here a day and you're already sick" she laughed. Knowing him he probably tried to dive into a snow bank or something. She leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I'm going to have to nurse you back to health, aren't I?" Hopefully, she wouldn't get sick as well or she would actually murder him.

"We could go tobogganing when you feel better though" Belle suggested. It would be hilarious to see Drake zooming down the mountain on a little sled. Knowing him he would definitely crash into the snow or a tree. Hopefully not the latter. Yeah. she should probably be the one to control the sled. A concussion wasn't on her list of things she wanted on this trip. She smiled up at him, brushing a stray snowflake from his cheek. "You look like you have something on your mind, what's up?" as much as he flashed that cute smile of his she could feel it in her bones. There was something up.
Winona​

 

[txlos]

Hunter

​

Hunter wasn't an idiot. Sure, she took pleasure in pushing boundaries, in sometimes making people uncomfortable, but she was able to recognize when she had gone too far. And evidently, as she watched Kanen stammering backwards, his figure hitting the other edge of the tub opposite of where she stood, she could tell that a line had been crossed. Usually, the blue eyed Brit would've shrugged it off, offered an apology and left, but something about watching Kanen's face shift in an instant genuinely made her feel bad. Until it didn't.

She listened, blank faced as the tatted boy roared into the space, unflinching when his hands smacked down into the water, the impact almost echoing into the space around them. Nothing Kanen did was going to be enough for her to break down in tears, beg for forgiveness or some shit, simply because it wasn't what Hunter did. She wasn't going to back away like a dog, tail between her legs, of course not. If anything, it was just time to give Kanen a taste of his own medicine.

"Do you really think that what you're doing is actually working?!" The British accent almost seethed from her lips as her fingers balled into tight fists, eyebrows knitting together as she scoffed. "The insults, the incredibly petty and unoriginal insults, do you think they're things I haven't heard before? Please, I expected better from you, Tats." Hunter paused to fold her arms over her chest, leaning back against the opposite side of the hot tub before letting her eyes meet Kanen's again.

"You're right," She started, tone still sharp but almost in a reasoning way, "I don't know jack shit about you. And guess what, asshole? You know nothing about me. But I do know that this bullshit act you pull when people get close to you? The 'big scary Kanen doesn't want any affection'? It's crap. So drop it, because it's not working on me. I've been there, I've done this!" And it was true. Hunter used to scream and shout and raise her voice to scare people away, just like Kanen. To this day, she put on a facade as if nothing could hurt her, just like Kanen. So no, maybe she didn't know him specifically, but she knew all about what he was doing.

Pushing herself up, Hunter lurched forward until she was face to face with him again, her smaller nature forcing her to look up at Kanen, but she wasn't going to let her seem less serious. "And if you ever think you can tell me what I can and can't want, you've got another thing coming."

High5ives

 

[Sook]

Kipsy

Wanda had sort of borrowed her sort of uncles car for this trip, and the whole way she was waiting for the phone call after he found the note and the money she'd left him to compensate, which was most of her savings, the rest she'd taken with her. She was all rugged up, and very excited to meet some new people and spend some time with Melissa. She'd never been skiing before either so this would be an awesome adventure! She couldn't keep the smile off her face as she hurtled along the moterway in her uncles neat little Suzuki Jimny. She hadn't had time or money to shop for music or audio books before she left so she had settled for the small collection of CDs inside the small 4x4. She did like his music taste, she was suprised that he enjoyed Led Zeppelin and ACDC, but the best find of all was his Queen CD.

Wanda pulled up to the winter wonderland to the sound of Freddie Mercury singing "Don't stop me now" as loud as the stock standard speakers would blast it. Wanda was pretty good at driving. Driving and talking were her two favourite things to do. She could drive all day without getting too tired, she used to fight to stay awake with her dad on their trips cross country. Wanda hopped out of the car, the cold air was bracing. She dove into her bag for her phone and sure enough there was a text from her friend. She texted back Just pulled in to the carpark, but just as she hit send she spotted a bus pulling away the direction she had just entered from and there was Melissa, looking just as trilled to be here as she was.

Wanda locked her car, hoisted her rucksack over her shoulder and ran up to her as fast as the slippery ground would allow with a huge grin on her face "Melissa! Hey!" She called "This is so exciting!" She was looking around all over the place "I don't know how to skii but I'm pretty keen to learn!" She smiled and pulled her friend into a hug "You are the best! Thanks again for inviting me!" She pulled back and grinned "So, lead the way, where to?"

 

[Sook]

Rue Why did their family vacation have to be spent at a skii lodge? Rue was terrible at snowboarding, and even worse at dealing with the cold. More than that, today she was completly alone. Her mother was back at her friend's house and her father was at the hotel looking after her little brother Hamish who was sick with the flu. She hadn't seen a lot of the regulars that she'd made friends with over the years there so she was all by herself today out on the snow. She was all wrapped up in a warm, faux fur lined jacket and a jumper underneath. Her very long hair was free flowing and cascaded down over her shoulders. She was atop the tower, and it was almost her turn to go. She was behind another, very pretty young woman, who looked rather nervous about going down the mountain, having to count herself in. Rue was a little nervous herself. She liked snowboarding, but their family hadn't been in years and she was very rusty. Once she took off, she focused solely on trying to maintain her balance. She was achieving that however she was also gaining speed.

"Aaa.." She worried, as the board continued to slide faster and faster down a hill that had looked a lot less steep when she was at the bottom of it. Her panic got the best to her and she managed to veer into someones path. "Oh shit COMING THRO-" But it was too late, she couldn't change directions and she was hurtling towards another female snowboarder. She tried to pull back but the collision was already in process, and she smacked boards with the female, sending her into the snow as well as herself. Once she'd gotten over the shock she sat up "Oh shit, I'm sorry, are you okay?" She asked in a hurry, trying to undo her straps so she could get off the hill and check on the other female "I'm sorry I was just trying to stay upright I didn't see you till too late!" She was still talking very fast, worried that she had seriously injured the girl.
A Little Cloud

 

[Soap]

Grace

‘It only happened once.’ What happened once? What does that even mean? You can’t do that to Grace! The possibilities coursed through her brain all night last night, saying she was a little tired would be an understatement. She wasn’t sure if she got any sleep at all, but she opened her eyes and it was morning suddenly, so. You tell her if she slept or not. It wasn’t like she was anxious about whatever Hunter said! It didn’t matter whatever she meant by all that... no, of course not. Grace is Sawyer’s girlfriend, there’s nothing Hunter could do that would change that.

Incase she could, change that in any way she means. Grace’s settled on perfecting her relationship. Surely Sawyer wouldn’t want Hunter if Grace was, and dare she say it, better than Hunter, she could at least try to be. Staring at the reflection as she put finishing touches on her makeup, Grace wasn’t big on makeup, but she usually did it anyway. Could you expect anything less from a cheerleader? Exactly. Gotta look the part to play it.

Those words could probably fit for the girlfriend part she’d miraculously got, here’s hoping Hunter isn’t her understudy.

Believe it or not, Grace refrained from asking Sawyer about whatever Hunter meant. She didn’t want to seem like she was jealous, because she wasn’t! Really, definitely not jealous. Why would she be? It wasn’t like Hunter was smart, and funny, and absolutely gorgeous. Okay, jeez. Did she want to date her? Grace let out a small displeased groan and threw the brush to the side of the mirror.

Plus, they had history! She knew young Sawyer, they’re like, practically married. Maybe she’s being a little too harsh. ‘It only happened once.’ That could mean a number of things, that doesn’t suggest they kissed each other, or... worse. She eyed the brush for a few more seconds before picking it up again, why give up on makeup? Besides, looking her best should he something she always should keep up on.

A few minutes later, she looked exactly the same as she always did. Great. She looks terrible. Grace smiled at herself in spite and left the room. Making her way to the patio, she raised an eyebrow at Stu cooking but thought nothing more of it. Whether or not he hated Grace, she was sure he wouldn’t poison her. She took a seat at one of the tables as she waited for Sawyer to come back from... wherever she went. Probably to talk to Hunter, yeah, that was it. Talking. ​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer

The first night had ended rather decently for Sawyer. In fact, the first night had ended quite wonderfully. Sawyer was fairly certain Grace had been affected a little more than expected by Hunter's arrival, not that Sawyer was complaining in the least, this just meant she had an opportunity to capitalize on that jealousy. She could work with this. Sawyer had never really gotten a chance to see Grace's jealous side as of yet so she was going to milk this for all it was worth and see just what exactly Grace would do. At least, that's what she'd planned on doing. But when she woke up that morning to Grace in her arms she found herself wanting to make that jealousy go away.

So, in completely non-Sawyer fashion, she actually got up early. Carefully avoiding waking Grace up, Sawyer had climbed out if the bed and gotten dressed as quietly as she possibly could. At which point she shuffled out the door of the room with her backpack that she'd left in her car and decided to bring inside. She was glad she had because now she had a use for it she just needed somewhere where no one would find her for a little bit. Sawyer scouted around the house for a while until she came apon an empty room. With a grateful sigh, she closed herself away in it.

Sawyer stayed there for a little over an hour working on something she hoped would let Grace know that she had nothing to fear. She had planned on giving it to Grace when she woke up but when she finally got back to the room her girlfriend was no where to be found. It was fine. It was fine. Sawyer sighed and left the room to wander about and find where everyone had gone off to. When she did finally manage to find most of them on the patio she spotted Grace looking particularly lonely in a chair. Sawyer grinned as she walked briskly past everyone else, not even casting a glance in their directions, and slowing her pace when she was close to Grace. She snuck up carefully until she was close enough to wrap her arms around Grace and the chair. A painstakingly formed paper mache rose made of notebook paper was being held in front of Grace's face.

"I'm no artist." She chuckled, placing a kiss on Grace's temple, "But I tried."

Soap​

 

[A Little Cloud]

A L I C E
STATUS
Mood ~ Happy
Interacting with ~ Rue
Mentions ~ Sook
It was surprisingly easy for her to slide down the mountain, and she wasn't as rusty as she thought. Alice smiled, and kept her balance, turning slightly every second. She heard someone behind her but ignored it. Probably just another person trying to escape life... Alice finally turned around when someone yelled to look out, and her eyes widened.
The next thing that she noticed that snow was all over her face.
Alice wiped the snow off with her glove (that was falling off), and she laughed. Turning around at the nervous girl, she put her hand up. "Calm down," She put on a reassuring smile, trying to comfort her. "I'm alright." Alice hopped off, undoing one of her straps and setting her foot down into the snow. "So, I see that you're not very skilled in snowboarding, right?" She raised an eyebrow, now smirking.​

 

[Soap]

Grace

Grace occupied herself watching Stu cook, or well, at least trying to cook anyway. He was too busy putting something on the steak, but Grace didn't pay too much attention to what it was. She put an arm on the table and leaned it against her chin with a sigh. She flinched when she felt arms around her and raised an eyebrow at the rose, carefully plucking it from Sawyer's hands as she looked up to flash her a smile. "You made this?" Her smile widened and she twirled it around. It was cheesy, and stupid, yes, but Grace loved meaningful things better than actual gifts.

She'd much rather be showered in homemade cards or paper mache roses instead of jewelry or chocolates, whatever it was that stereotypical couples got each other. Because it meant they cared enough to do it. "It's beautiful. Best rose I've ever seen." She put her free hand on Sawyer's arm to pull her around the chair and tugged her down for a kiss. "Thank you." She'd be lying if most of her worries didn't fade away whenever Sawyer was this sweet. "Best artist ever." Pulling a chair closer so Sawyer could sit too.

Now would probably be the ideal time to ask Sawyer about Hunter right? Should she even ask? Would that be considered weird? "Um, hey." Grace looked up from the rose to look at Sawyer.

"Were you and Hunter ever... a thing?" Nice job. Grace really thought it through this time.



KingofAesir

​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer

Crisis averted. Grace seemed to be happy with the rose. Anything that earned her a kiss was a success in Sawyer's book. She plopped down in the chair Grace pulled around and plucked up one of her hands, admiring the ring she'd gotten her. Sawyer laced and unlaced their fingers, simply playing around with Grace's fingers for a moment. As much as she might enjoy jealous Grace she didn't want her girlfriend to not enjoy this trip.

Sawyer's head popped up and she refocused on Grace's face when she spoke. The question that came after had Sawyer smiling slightly and leaning forward so that she was mere inches from Grace's face. She could understand why Grace would wonder that. Hunter was close friend and had been there at a time in her life when even she was still questioning herself. So it was a perfectly reasonable question. In truth, Hunter and Sawyer had never been a thing. There had been the night they met but the morning after they had woken up and broke down laughing, agreeing that they would both be better off as friends.

"Are you jealous, Grace Jackson." Sawyer grinned, "You're cute." She straightened up, smile still gracing her face, "To answer your question, no, we were never a thing. We both agreed that we would be better as friends." Sawyer paused for a moment questioning on whether she should tell her about that first night or not. Maybe she shouldn't...no. Sawyer had decided she wasn't going to keep things from Grace anymore.

"She was...my first time, but, we were both drunk and as I said both agreed we needed to be friends."

Soap​

 

[PenguinFox]

​

Ian was pulled from his thoughts as a voice sounded next to him. It was a kind voice and he couldn't help but smile as he turned to face it's source. "Good morning." he said cheerily to Nova. "Is it early? Could have sworn I had woken up late actually." he knew very well it was early, and that no sleep was had by him, but he didn't want Nova to worry for him. Not that she would anyway, or that he would care if she did. Nope they were just two people who met yesterday and were kinda friends now. That's it.

Nova then handed Ian a cup of coffee which he was tremendously grateful for. To him caffeine was a food group, and it was a wonder how his heart hadn't exploded yet. "Thanks, I don't have a lot of vices but caffeine is one of them." he pounded half of the coffee before looking back to the brunette with a grin. "That and soap operas." he joked.

Ian looked back down to his notepad and frowned. "I was hoping this scenery would be, I don't know, inspiring or something but..." he trailed off and showed her the blank page. "Not a drop of creativity." He sighed and tried to think back to how he used to get past a slump like this. He could almost hear the voices of the older neighborhood kids; 'Get blood flowing, get creativity flowing'. Granted when they said that they never really meant exercise. Typically their go to adrenaline rush was pranks and picking fights. Not serious fist fighting, but little tussles and scraps with no hard feelings afterwards. Until Ian was thirteen he would always be a loser of those fights but, as if a rite of passage, on his thirteenth birthday he was told a lesson by the oldest kid on the street. 'Ian, you're never going to be big enough to throw your weight around, so if you fight, do it smart, and show no weakness. Be quick, but if you do get hit, grit through it.' Ian was never sure if he was told that out of concern for his safety, or just so that the older kid could not feel bad wailing on him, but the lesson stuck and Ian learned how to survive a fight. Key word being survive, the older kid was right, he couldn't throw a punch, but he could take one. Growing up around that much testosterone had it's benefits.

Due to a sudden burst of yelling coming from the hot tub, Ian was pulled from his reminiscing. He stared at Kanen and the mystery girl for a few moments, looked to his blank notebook page, then back to the argument. He then got an idea, but boy was it a bad one. "Blood flows, creativity flows." Ian muttered almost as if a mantra. He sighed deeply and looked to Nova. "I'm about do something really dumb for the sake of this song. Art is pain right?" he voice was clearly unsure of himself. With that Ian made his way over to the hot tub. "Hey Kanen." he called out casually and confidently. He leaned to the side to see past the Fiaco brother. "Hi, I'm Ian, nice to meet you." he introduced himself warmly to the girl in the hot tub. Every second that passed made Ian more and more unsure of what he was about to do. He took a deep breath to steady himself and spoke to Kanen, not breaking eye contact with him. "Quick question Kanen, are you really as tough as you make yourself out to be? Or is it all an act?" Ian braced himself, keeping everything he had learned from his older neighbor in mind. This song better become a hit after all this. txlos High5ives

 

[High5ives]

Having someone refuse to back down made Kanen feel vulnerable, especially when it was a woman. If a guy kept running his mouth, well, Kanen would just beat the ever living life out of him, but there wasn’t any scenario where Kanen would hit a woman. He was a lot of things, but Kanen was not the type of man that’d go wailing down on a girl half his size. Drywall? Probably. Some random dude on the street? Sure, why not. But no matter how weak or afraid Hunter made him feel, Kanen wouldn’t do a damn thing to hurt her. Not intentionally anyways.

As Hunter moved closer to him again, Kanen just wanted out of the situation. She’d already made it perfectly clear that she wasn’t going to go anywhere, and there wasn’t much else Kanen could do to scare her off unless he escalated things on to physical violence. Obviously, that wasn’t an option, at least not until Ian came over and ran his mouth. Thank. God.

“Piss off, Hunter.” Kanen growled turning his back to her. He put his hands on the side of the hot tub, and lifted his body out of the water, like some sort of leviathan rising from the depths. The muscles down his back and sides rippled in a wave, working in unison to bring Kanen’s figure up and out of the steaming water and into the freezing air. Out of the tub, Kanen stood there for a moment, staring at Ian. The water that clung to his torso evaporated. Frankly, he looked like an old cartoon character, so pissed off he was literally steaming.

Kanen didn’t say a word as he took a decisive step towards Ian. His whole torso rotated. His arm, his back, his shoulders, his hips. They all added force behind Kanen’s closed fist, which slammed into Ian’s stomach like a slug out of a 12 Guage shotgun.

When Ian doubled over, Kanen grabbed the back of his neck with his other hand, not letting Ian stand up straight. “Does this feel like a fucking act to you?” Kanen snapped, pulling his fist back and bashing it into Ian’s gut for a second time before he pushed the smaller boy back against the patio railing. “Go ahead. Keep running your mouth. Let see if you can still talk after I kick your teeth down your throat!” He yelled.

txlos PenguinFox​

 

[txlos]

Nova

​

Nova couldn't help but laugh as Ian shamelessly admitted his love of soap operas, and while they weren't exactly her thing, she applauded the guy for being so up front about it. Though, Ian seemed like the type to just simply accept himself. The hazel eyed girl wish she had the same confidence in who she was, back when she living in Seattle, back when life was a little more fun and spontaneous. But people in Westbrook seemed to like her as sweet, innocent Nova, who helped those in need and stuck up for the people she cared about. And now that she wasn't with Jace, maybe people would start taking her a little more seriously.

Though that daydream didn't last long as she heard Ian speak again, his eyes no longer on the blank sheet of paper in his hands but instead on something behind her. With a quirked brow, Nova turned and saw what that thing was... and of course, she saw Kanen. "Not a good idea," She barely muttered, heart clenching in her chest. She had seen first hand what the tattooed boy was capable of, seen the consequences of people being too up in his face. And Ian wanted to risk that much blood loss for a song? Absolutely not.

Nova obviously didn't speak soon enough as she stood frozen, watching the flippy-haired boy stroll past her to perch on the edge of the hot tub, calling Kanen out on, well, being Kanen. Her stomach clenched, palms going clammy, and she couldn't even do anything. She didn't know Ian well enough to step in and tell Kanen that he didn't mean it, because maybe he did and god why were boys so stupid?! And it wasn't even as if Ian didn't know, he admitted that he was going to do a stupid thing. So as the first punch came down into the boy's gut, Kanen looming over his victim like a lion over prey, Nova couldn't feel much else besides helplessness. Her teeth clenched, as did her grip on her coffee mug. It's not like she was going to insert herself into the situation, but other than doing that she had no clue what do besides take a few steps forward, being just close enough to run in in case blood appeared.

Hunter

​

He was infuriating, but also stumped. It was obvious to Hunter that Kanen wasn't used to this, to girls refusing to fall victim to his 'big and loud' scare routine, and so here they were. Face to face, both silent after the brunette girl's blow up with neither one daring to break eye contact. It was so intense and unwavering that Hunter didn't even hear the voice call Kanen's name at first, not until the tatted boy made his move to turn, growling another mean remark that bounced off of her like water. All that struck her mind in the current moment was examining the guy's back and shoulders, eyes squinted as she found more scars and and cuts, her stomach twisting. He'd been through hell, he looked it, he talked it, and he obviously wasn't going to let someone come in and learn all about it. Scars weren't an excuse for story time. And all those scars and tattoos and that attitude made sense. The stubbornness made sense.

But couldn't he just admit that maybe, just maybe, Hunter wasn't going to be like every other bitch in this place, lecturing him on the goods and bads? That maybe she wasn't going to try to change him, make him into a good Christian boy to bring home to momma? That maybe she didn't have a clue what Tats went through, but she had gone through her own? And yeah, maybe Kanen was so god damn infuriating because they were so similar in their defense techniques, so similar in how they managed to keep people out of their lives, and he was so pigheaded and difficult. Not that Hunter had much room to talk... she was too.

In all of this inner turmoil, the wrestling of her attention between Kanen's muscles and his attitude, Hunter hadn't even noticed why he had stepped out of the hot tub. Not until the first punch was thrown anyway. Her cerulean eyes darted to the scene then, shaking her head a bit to get any of the useless, unhelpful thoughts away before refocusing on the sight of Kanen holding down some poor guy by the neck, jabbing shots into his stomach. Had he said something that she didn't hear? Was he doing it just for fun? At this point, Hunter didn't really care, but it's not like she couldn't do anything. Quickly, the Brit grabbed a towel and threw it around her shoulders, pushing herself up and out of the tub. The cold air seemed to bite at her bare body, her teeth instantly wanting to chatter but she had other things to worry about than her own comfort at the moment.

"If you can't say something nice, fuck off," Hunter growled before slotting herself between the two, pushing the men away from one other and taking a deep breath. Kanen had hardly flinched, but the brown-haired stranger seemed to stumble back a few feet. "I get that you're mad, but beating the shit out of someone who doesn't matter might not be your best bet," The words were grumbled in the direction of the man that was just previously yelling at her. But like she had previously stated, Kanen didn't scare her. Hunter examined the area once more, her eyes falling on a thin girl with auburn hair, her body rigid as she watched everything that was happening. Hunter pointed at her then, unapologetically and yelled, "If you can't keep your boy under control then keep him on a fuckin' leash,"

And in truth, that was all Hunter had in her at the moment. Her heart was racing, she was freezing her ass off, not to mention all she had for protection from the 30 degree air was a slightly damp towel (which was only making it worse). Nonetheless, she looked from the brunette before looking back up to Kanen, bracing to be yelled at again. He could take his jabs at her if he needed. At least she knew she could take it.

High5ives PenguinFox

 

[PenguinFox]

​

Ian expected Kanen to hit hard, probably a lot harder than any other time he'd been hit, but that was...intense to say the least. He knew going into this situation that Kanen was exactly as tough as he acted, but he was also his best bet for getting a good punch, a punch good enough to knock some creativity into him. Something was definitely knocked all right. Ian felt grateful for those lessons oh so long ago, otherwise Kanen would have for sure floored him, or worse.

Ian wheezed several times as he was doubled over, but it slowly changed from gasping for air to something else; something that could be considered laughter. He didn't understand it, but his plan worked, albeit he would have preferred not to have been hit that hard but someone else would've held back. His mind was already racing with ideas to write down, if he could just get back over to his notebook. "N-nope. Definitely not an act" Ian coughed out as he managed to finally get back upright. Surprisingly he had a wide grin on as he looked at Kanen. "Thanks man, honestly." his voice was still a little shaky but he was starting to catch his breath again at least. It was going to be hard to explain to Kanen that he had no hard feelings against him and hopefully the feeling was mutual. Ian was about to start explaining that, but he was cut off by the mystery girl yelling at Nova.

The jab at Ian was fine, being told he didn't matter was something he was used to. The girl was probably also just saying it to deescalate things. But yelling at Nova was uncalled for. Nova wasn't doing anything wrong, in fact nobody had done anything wrong in Ian's eyes. What did she mean keep 'keep your boy under control' was she insinuating that Kanen was the wounded party here, and not Ian? And he wasn't 'Nova's boy', but that was something to unpack later, now there was an anger boiling inside of him. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at this girl. This whole thing wasn't supposed to be an issue; Ian throws an insult, Kanen throws a punch, Ian uses it to write. But this girl just had to go and complicate things. He did his best to let it slide, even literally biting his own tongue, but he couldn't stand by and let someone as innocent as Nova be attacked like that.

Ian tilted his head slightly as if he were genuinely curious as he spoke. "Who are you talking to?" his voice was smooth and calm, but clearly icy. Ian wasn't the type to intimidate, he didn't have the build for it, but on the rare occasion he was mad his voice dripped with venom and sarcasm. "Because it seems to me the only one who needs to regain control of 'their boy' is you." Ian arched a brow at her awaiting her response. One of two things typically happened when Ian took that cold, sarcastic tone with people; either they took a swing at him, big deal there after what just transpired, or they came at him with sarcasm themselves, which were Ian's weapon of choice. He hated this feeling of venom in his mouth, and knew it was a bad idea to continue to provoke but he'd rather whatever this girls problem was to be taken out on him than Nova, who had no part in this. txlos High5ives

 

[High5ives]

Ian has to be fuckin insane or something. At least that’s what Kanen thought as the boy stood up straight, laughing with a stupid look on his face. He had to be absolutely batshit to come at Kanen, and then laugh in his face. Honestly, it was a little bit disturbing. Kanen knew for a fact that he had plenty of power behind his punches, and yet it was like Ian didn’t give a shit. Like he wanted to get his ass beat. Who the hell want sit get beat up? Crazy people. That’s who.

Kanen was about to step up and make Ian eat his words when Hunter intervened, putting herself between Kanen and Ian. Fine. Whatever. Kanen backed away slowly, not because Hunter asked, more so because he was satisfied. He’d been able to release all that pent up energy and just hit something. (Frankly, he would’ve preferred hitting someone who’d hit back, but that was besides the point.) He was ready to just grab his shit and go back inside when Ian just had to go and open his big, fucking, mouth. This kid had a deathwish. Surely, he wanted to die.

Ian didn’t say anything that was necessarily insulting or anything, but his tone was infuriating. It was just enough to tip Kanen right back over the edge. He’d give Ian one last chance to shut his damn mouth, if he didn’t, there’d be hell to pay.

The Oldest Fiaco Brother turned his body sideways, he had to in order to get past Hunter and re-initiate contact with Ian. Kanen’s hand clenched onto a handful of Ian’s hair and pulled back hard, nearly forcing Ian to bend over backwards. Pulling him down further, Kanen came to essentially stand over Ian. “Don’t you open your mouth one more fucking time.” Kanen warned, practically talking down Ian’s throat. “Because if you do...” He went on, “I’m going to wait until everyone is asleep. When there will be no one to stop me and no one to save you...And I’m going drag you out of the cabin by your hair, kind of like I’m doing now...” Kanen paused to give Ian’s hair a sharp pull, just for emphasis. “In my car there is a chain, rusted and red. I will take said chain, wrap it around your skinny little neck, and drag you’re sorry ass clear to Westbrook and back... And in the morning, I’ll make damn sure she, “Kanen pointed a finger at Nova. “is the one to find your bloody, mangled, body. So go ahead. Say some clever. I fucking dare you.”

txlos PenguinFox​

 

[txlos]

Hunter

​

This kid must've wanted to die. Honestly there was no other reason that Hunter could think of that would make this kid want to confront, and then continue to prod at, at guy like Kanen. Even she wasn't that stupid, she knew when enough was enough, but fuck boy over here didn't seem to have a clue. It was to the point where if Kanen was going to hurt the kid, she didn't really mind. So there the brunette girl stood, still in nothing but a towel wrapped around her shoulders, listening to this guy run his mouth as she stood the two men who all but towered over her. No more steam radiated from her, the warmth she had felt just minutes before fading and turning into shivering, Hunter's frame quaking just a bit but her face remained collected.

As the two separated, she could feel a breath she didn't know she was holding release, her chest deflating and mind settling. The last thing she wanted right now was to have to introduce herself to people by explaining what happened to this dumb idiot who had fucked with Kanen. Being a witness was never fun. But as she turned to grab her close, Suicidal McGee decided to open his mouth again.

It happened fast, fast enough that Hunter blinked and Kanen was no longer by her side. Instead, she had the big-mouth by the hair, viciously cranking his head back as he all but seethed words that even felt like venom to her. Kanen meant business, and this guy didn't know better. Blue eyes widened as Tats went into gruesome detail on what the consequences of another smart ass remark would be, the words painting a picture that was both disturbing and incriminating. Hunter's vision sporadically looked around, mainly seeing the guy's little auburn haired girl, looking absolutely mortified, but also a large group of people sat down, barely out of hearing range. Not really thinking, and mainly hoping that thick-headed Kanen would listen, Hunter swiftly walked behind the taller man and put a hand on his shoulder, pressing her thumb in to create some pressure before standing on her tiptoes to whisper in Kanen's ear.

"You have a group of people that I'm guessing you don't know very well over to your right. Drop the boy, let him be a dick, and lets get out of here," The statement was hurried and slightly shaky as Hunter began to really feel how cold she was. "He's not worth it and you know it. You could wreck his shit in two minutes but it's not going to benefit you and sweater-girl over there did nothing wrong. So c'mon."

It took a moment, but Hunter could gradually see the intimidating man's grip loosen, his shoulders softening by maybe a centimeter. All Hunter wanted was for him to let the boy go. If Kanen didn't want to be around her after, fine. But she wasn't going to have the police called on the boy, not if she could help it.

A minute more passed before the boy was released, stumbling backwards as the small girl who had been frozen in place ran over to him. They didn't matter though, no right now. All that mattered to the blue eyed girl was getting Kanen the hell out of there. She could feel his pulse up through her fingertips, the pure heat radiating off of his body and she knew if anything else happened right now, the boy underneath her touch would snap. Hunter stayed silent then, waiting for his next move. She wasn't going to be the one to push that final button.

High5ives

Nova

​

It's not like Nova didn't want to help, like she didn't care or didn't mind what Kanen was doing to her new friend. It was that she legitimately didn't know how. Kanen was more than a little too strong for her to do any real damage, and yelling at the boy had never worked in the past, so why would it work now? So there she stood, frozen and helpless. Stiffness shot through Nova's body as she watched Kanen break Ian's neck back, the anger on the tattooed boy's face seeming to make the environment gloomier, more dense and heavy. A whimper escaped her lips, daring to take a step further but no more.

But what really got her was the threats that poured like black poison from the taller man's mouth. It made her body go rigid, mind go blank. How had she gotten wrapped up in this? She hadn't even said anything! Yet still they came, the promises of chain and mangling, the scene that Kanen was painting seeming to come to life in the version of a horror movie. Violence was the one thing that Nova had never done well with, something that made her skin crawl and anxiety shoot through the roof. Not only that, but the hazel eyed girl had never known Kanen to make idle threats.

Had it not been for the girl, baring nothing but a dark, plum colored bikini, her breath turning into fog as it hit the air, Nova was sure she was going to pass out from the pure adrenaline that was slicing through her veins. She watched closely as the girl whispered something into the boy's ear, watched as she gripped his shoulder, watched as it worked. As if like magic, Ian was released from the death grip (literally) that had been holding him, stumbling to the ground with Kanen still towering over him. It took but a second for her to run over to him, kneeling down on the ground, snow melting into the fabric that covered her knees. Nova made no move to confront her friend's torturer, too focused on a pretty messed up Ian in front of her.

"Are you okay?!" It came out as an exasperated sigh, soft hands smoothing out Ian's hair and eyes flicking all over to make sure there were no blood. I mean it was Kanen, after all. She wouldn't have been surprised if it had managed to make her friend bleed even with a punch to the stomach. "What in the fuck were you thinking? Do you have any idea who he is? Or are you just crazy?" No blood appeared to be oozing from anywhere, and all in all, Nova was pretty sure Ian would just have a sore scalp and a few bruises to the stomach. She sighed once more, frustration and worry mixing into the action. "Y'know what, nevermind. Let's just get you inside before you do something else dumb."

Carefully, as if Ian was going to break (which he wasn't) Nova helped him to his feet and scurried over to the slider, opening it for him and shooing him to the kitchen.

PenguinFox

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Casper​

Casper knew that kissing Neck Tie had been a mistake as soon as he spoke. He looked at him, eyes searching as he smiled just a bit, then, a second too late, nodded, looking down. He laughed when he was poked, or at least tried to, and got off the bed.

~`*`~​

Since yesterday, Casper had felt bad. He wasn’t sure why- was he disappointed? Upset? Not really. He kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Stu to do something, or seem upset, but he didn’t, and in a way that made Casper feel worse.

Had it been lackluster? Was he not into boys?

Probably not, given how he had reacted- Why had Casper kissed him?

He had been nibbling at his lips and fingers again, though not as hard as the day before, and not in front of Stu, either. It had been hard, especially when he was following Stu around- What? He didn’t really have another friend, and he was sure Aaron would much rather hang out with his new friends than with him.

However, Casper kind of regretted this decision now, watching Stu lather soap on a steak. He was pretty sure Stu didn’t know what he was doing, which might have made Casper feel better about his own limited knowledge if Stu’s not knowing what he was doing had presented in any way other than putting soap on a steak.

After a stunned second of silence, he found his words, however quietly.

“I don’t think we can eat that now…” Casper mumbled, twirling a strand of his hair as he looked at the ruined steak.

Today, he was prepped for cooking, wearing an apron he might have liked if he hadn’t been painfully aware of just how girly it truly was.

He pursed his lips, unsure what he was even meant to be doing, then asked, “What were you trying to do?” He wanted to help- he really did- he just wasn’t sure how he could.

Dede​

 

[Winona]

Drake


Right. Cold. Everything that Belle said about it -- about nursing him to health, about letting him rest until he felt better -- just made Drake feel worse about the truth behind it. Behind the fever, the stuffy nose... god, all of it was just a reminder of his problems, and how much easier it would be to just give in and take his drugs again. He'd never feel this pain again, and instead he'd just feel the sweet relief of the morphine every single day. It was perfect, wasn't it?

Drake followed Belle to the little swing, taking a seat beside her and scooting closer to Belle, until their arms were pressed against each other, with his hand still tightly clenching hers. He took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly, a cloud of his breath billowing out in front of him. It was beautiful out here, the snow-covered mountain, all the snow-covered trees. He looked at Belle as she asked what was on his mind, a faint smile crossing his lips. "Well, now that you mention it."

He took in a deep breath -- this was harder to do than Drake had thought it would be. After talking with Maisie, he'd run through this a thousand times in his head, all night long until he'd finally fallen into a fitful sleep. Drake could do this. It was just one simple question, and then it would be out there and it would be over.

"Belle, uh..." he took in a deep breath, turning to face her better, and took both of her hands in his. "Remember when I was in the hospital, and you were the only one that showed up? Well..." Drake hesitated, struggling to figure out how to say this. "I've been thinking, and... Belle I want to get better, so if it's fine with you and I've already talked with Mason and he agreed, and well... would you be still be willing to let us come and live with you?" He asked, biting his lip nervously as he asked.

Maree

-----------------------------

Ash


She had spent a decent amount of time the previous day hanging out by herself, and had even taken to the hills to go snowboarding alone. Along the way, Ash had met a nice college dude and had spent a little bit of time with him, and then headed back to the cabin, and mostly just hung out in the room she was staying in. Well, other than when she'd gone to track down Jace, and had found him hiding out under his blanket. Ash had talked with him a bit, and heard only a little bit about Nova showing up out of nowhere, and then the two of them breaking up. It had been kind of difficult to understand since his voice was muffled by the blanket.

But now it was BBQ day, and Ash had asked Stu to man the grill. He'd called her big sister, and it had honestly made Ash's day, and had put a permanent smile on her face. She'd been inside handling some other stuff (okay, so she was on social media -- don't judge), and now, she had headed back outside to check on the grill.

Ash approached Stu and Casper, a smile on her face that turned into a laugh when she saw the aprons. "I see you two found our grandparents' aprons." She said, eyeing the overly muscular man one on Stu that her grandfather always wore, claiming that he'd looked just like the apron way back in the day, when he was young. Ash doubted it, but she'd listen quietly as her grandfather would go on and on about it. It always seemed to bring a smile to his face.

And then her eyes turned to Casper, and the adorable little "Kiss the Cook" apron that they had on. "Aww, Casper, you look adorable." She said with a smile. "Come here," Ash gestured for Casper and then stepped closer to him, gently leaning over and placing a kiss against Casper's cheek, before pulling back and smiling at both boys.

"So how is it going over here?"

Dede mikaluvkitties​

 

[High5ives]

Kanen had been ready to rip Ian apart right then and there. He was in the mindset of wild animal. Viciously cruel, unapologetically savage in his movements. Maybe Kanen wasn’t really all there, like the lights were on, but no one was home. At this point, violence was like muscle memory. Grabbing Ian by his hair and threatening his life came as naturally as riding bike. It didn’t require any forethought, he just did it. Like how a dog just naturally chases a ball, or a bird just flys. He could’ve done this in his sleep. He technically had done this stuff in his sleep, in the nightmares that ravaged his evenings. He might as well been dreaming.

Then Hunter grabbed his shoulder, her hand like ice. Her words fell on deaf ears, Kanen really couldn’t care less about what she had to say. It was always the same. ‘Don’t hurt him.’ ‘He’s not worth it.’ ‘He doesn’t deserve it.’ Hunter said the same thing that every other woman had yelled to try and make him stop. The difference? Hunter didn’t treat Kanen like a wolf with rabies. She was gentle and calm. Instead of yelling in his ear, adding to whatever chaos was already swirling through his head, Hunter just talked. It was like waking up from a bad dream.

Kanen’s hand slowly relaxed, his shoulder falling a little lower with each breath. Then Kanen took in a deep breath and just let go Ian, only letting his breath after he’d taken a step or two away from the other boy. Nova swooped in, quickly ushering Ian inside before he could say anything stupid and make Kanen blow his top again.

Kanen watched them leave, but he didn’t say a word. He just turned slowly, looking at Hunter briefly before he collected his sunglasses, phone, and sweater. “Quit while you’re ahead, Hunter.” He muttered. As he passed Hunter again on his way into the cabin, Kanen stopped for a moment behind her. He could see her shivering in the cold. Hell, he was freezing too. But, he took the time to stop and drape his sweater over the blue-eyed brunette’s shoulders before he continued on his way into the cabin...

txlos​

 

[txlos]

Hunter

​

To say that Hunter was shocked when Kanen didn't turn around with knitted eyebrows and roar insults at her was an understatement. She had braced for it too, her feet planted in place, her chest inflated as she held a quick breath, and yet, it never came. Instead, that tatted boy almost seemed to calm down more as they stood their for a moment, her thumb still gently pressing into his shoulder until he turned around and met his silver eyes to her brighter blues. It was difficult, and slightly frustrating, that the short brunette couldn't quite place her finger on the look that Kanen had. He didn't look like he was filled with rage anymore, and what more could she ask for? Still, anything would be nice... even sadness. Kanen just looked blank, and maybe a little annoyed, but not annoyed enough for him to take action on it.

She watched as he collected his belonging, his movements slower than before as he slipped his phone into his back pocket and cradled his sunglasses. His sweater hung on his arm as he began walking back towards Hunter, and her breath caught once more. Had she completely blown it? Had she made the mistake of getting too involved so quick? It was what she would've wanted, she hated beating around the bush. If she had gotten on someone's ass like Kanen had, she hoped he would've stopped her just the same. Hunter was about to speak up about it too, but was silenced as she felt the thick, warm fabric of Kanen's sweater set around her shoulders. So instead, she watched once more. Watched his lips offer another opportunity to get away, watched his tall figure slip through the slider, watched as the wind seemed to settle, as if it knew the chaos was over.

And once Kanen was safely out of sight, Hunter grabbed the sleeves of the sweater and pulled it tighter around her small figure. The piece of fabric was huge, almost enveloping her entire torso. It smelled of cologne, and nothing cheap, something she probably would've stolen from a Calvin Klein rack, back when robbery was her thing. So sleeves in hand, the Brit made her way into the house, darting for her room and quickly gathering a change of clothes before heading off to take a shower. Even the hot water couldn't erase the thoughts of Kanen that ran through her head though, the way he spat his threats, the way his body relaxed under her touch, the way his eyes poured into hers. Even the burning sensation that radiated from her frozen toes up to her knees couldn't get rid of how much she wanted to sit down with the guy, drop her act and have him drop his and just talk. God, Hunter never wanted to talk, but Kanen actually intrigued her. The tattoos, the scars, his personal line of villainy, she wanted to know it all. But that was crazy right?

The blue eyed girl tried to reason with herself as she combed through clean wet hair, deciding to let it air dry before pulling on black jeans, holes in the knees, and a burgundy sports bra. She reached for her burgundy sweater then, but she couldn't help her eyes diverting to Kanen's white one sitting on the counter. Was it too much? Probably. Was it warmer than her sweaters? Yes. Would Kanen mind? Well... she didn't really care at that point. So without giving it much more thought, Hunter pulled the white sweater on, tucking the front into the waist of her jeans so it looked like less of a dress before dropping her things off at her own room.

Coffee sounded like a good option, so a quick trip to the kitchen satisfied that want. It wasn't until Hunter was walking back towards the living room that she caught a glimpse of an open door to one of the rooms... a room that was housing a Kanen. Quietly, she knocked twice on the door, leaning herself in the doorway, both hands returning to the warm mug. "How ya doin, Tats?" She basically cooed, the words soft and inviting, yet still playful. Nothing else would've fit how she was feeling right now. And if Kanen was to shoo her away, so be it. But at least she tried.

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