Realistic or Modern Westbrook

[Winona]

Ash


Nope. She was annoyed, and Kanen was just pissing her off more. It was crazy, but it seemed like every time he got into some kind of relationship or some girl kissed him, Kanen suddenly went from tolerable dick, to the biggest dickhead to ever exist. As if he was marking his fucking territory or some dumb shit like a fucking animal as he just went around, cussing at people, yelling, and punching them. And yeah, Ash wasn't in the mood for this, especially not today.

Her eyes flicked to Ian as he started to speak, and at least his cooperation made her feel somewhat better. He was a sweet guy, and she was quickly starting to like him more and more. "Thank you, Ian, for being a decent human being and cooperating. Now please don't get people to punch you. It's stupid." She remembered talking with a couple guys on the football team -- they'd been showing her bruises on their abdomens, and explaining to her how getting punched in the gut was a great way to get abs. As far as she was concerned, was it worth the possibility of like... exploded guts or the bruises that undoubtedly came with?

Ash's gaze then turned back to Kanen, her eyes narrowing. "I don't know what the fuck is wrong with you, but you turn into even more of a dick the moment a girl decides to fuck you or... whatever. But I'm leaving right now before I fucking throw you out that window, but you two better figure this shit out and I swear to god, if anyone else gets punched before this week is over, I am coming for you two first." She said threateningly, and then headed out of her room, slamming the door after her.

High5ives PenguinFox​

 

[PenguinFox]

​

Sierra huffed to herself for what was probably the thousandth time as she drove up the mountain to this cabin that her idiot brother was staying at. While it wasn't really surprising that he had gone off on some vacation and barely told anything to their parents, it didn't make it okay. That boy was in serious trouble when she found him. She wasn't afraid to kick his ass, assuming he hadn't already gotten himself hurt. No, scratch that, she would still kick his ass even he already was hurt. "I swear he can't be left alone for two minutes." she muttered to herself gripping the steering wheel tight. Sierra took a deep breath to calm herself. It was no use being mad at Ian; it would just encourage him to do more stupid stuff. Besides it was Christmas Eve, and she'd be lying if she said she couldn't use a vacation herself. That's why she brought her own snowboard, and a few surprises for Ian. Their parents thought Sierra was going to make sure Ian didn't die or get arrested, which was true, but she was also going up for the fun of it.

The car pulled to a stop at the end of a driveway. Sierra looked at her phone one more time. Judging by Ian's description and the address he had given her, this must be the place. She pulled up the driveway to see the magnificent cabin, with quite a few cars parked out front. How many people were here? It was already evening so people were probably all either heading in, or already inside starting the festivities. Festivities meaning drinking that is. Sierra grabbed her backpack with the essentials from the passenger seat and stepped out of her car, taking in the scenery a moment before making her way to the porch. She would have to remember to take a few pictures before she left.

As Sierra stepped up onto the porch she noticed a girl wrapped up in blankets reading. She arched an eyebrow for a second then gently called out to her so as to not startle her. "Excuse me? Aren't you cold out here?" her voice was soft and inviting as she gave the girl a warm smile. "You weren't exiled out here were you?" a small smirk graced the elder Evans sibling's face at the joke. At least she hoped it was a joke, it would be awful if these kids actually shunned a girl who wanted to read rather than be social. Not everybody was good at social situations, but that didn't mean you banished them to the cold. txlos

 

[txlos]

​

Parties were not Nova's thing. In fact, they were so not her thing that even being inside the house was making her slightly uncomfortable. It wasn't like she had always been like this, the auburn-haired girl used to party all the time back home, was social and outgoing, someone that people wanted to be friends with, but Westbrook well... she didn't think the people of Westbrook would like that Nova. Of course Drake and Alaska would always accept her, she didn't have any doubts about her two best friends loving her unconditionally, but it was everyone else. Nova had tried her best to never be seen in a negative light here, and what would happen if she let loose, had some drinks, played some beer pong and was her normal self? What if people didn't like party Nova?

So instead of tempting herself, here she was, sat on a front porch swing wearing black leggings, a forest green v-neck long-sleeve, and a dark grey winter coat, wrapped up tight in a fluffy blanket. Her current read about teen rebellion was locked snug in a frigid hand, but she didn't care too much. Most all of the rest of her was snug and peaceful. She was trapped in her own little world there, a book, snow falling, surrounded by winter... it was it's own sort of paradise.

But what paradise doesn't have it's interruptions?

Hazel eyes flicked to the stranger climbing the steps to the West mansion, the girl's step rough, as if she was on a mission to find someone. Her demeanor seemed sweet though, gentle with a stern side to her. "Not exiled," Nova quipped, sitting up a bit with a gentle grin on her face. "Just not much of a partier anymore. Don't think many in there would notice my absence anyway." And while the words were lighthearted, they held a fair amount of truth. The only people who knew of her return were Jace, Theo, Stu and Ian, two of which she had only just met on this trip. Besides them, she had simply been mulling around the cabin, spending most of her time with Ian, and when he was nowhere to be found, she resorted to reading.

"I'm Nova, by the way. How do you know the Wests?"

PenguinFox

 

[PenguinFox]

​

Thankfully this girl wasn't exiled, but she seemed to think that people wouldn't notice her absence and that made Sierra a little sad. She was pretty, and strangely familiar almost as if they'd met before, but Sierra couldn't quite place why the other girl looked familiar. The girl then introduced herself as Nova. "Pretty name." she smiled. "I'm Sierra. I assume the Wests are the hosts? I actually don't know them." she paused feeling a bit awkward that she was party crashing. "My brother is here somewhere and he shouldn't really be" She rolled her brown eyes jokingly. "But he's here now and if he's gotten into trouble, well there'll be more trouble for him." she laughed lightly.

After a few moments of thought and a readjustment of her backpack Sierra looked back to Nova. "You wouldn't happen to have met my brother have you? You'd know if you did, and I apologize for him in advance, he can be....a lot. His name's Ian, typically has a stupid grin, has a hard time shutting his mouth?" She secretly hoped that this girl had at least seen Ian. It would be extremely uncomfortable to go around a party asking strangers after her brother. He was too old to have to be babysat, yet here they were. Despite how much she seemed to be picking on her brother she kept a small smile. Sure his antics were typically her problem to clean up, but her life would be a lot more boring without them. "Even just a direction to go in would be helpful." Sierra added not wanting to be rude or pushy. txlos

 

[txlos]

​

Sierra seemed friendly enough, her eyes holding no sour intentions and her tone even and warm. It was funny, since Nova had basically crashed the party too after being gone for so many months, that she wasn't the only uninvited guest. At the mention of Ian however, the auburn haired girl gave a wider grin, laughing a little and nodding her head.

"I do know Ian," She chuckled, sitting up a little straighter. How his sister described him wasn't the Ian that Nova recalled meeting, though what would she know? They had been friends maybe two days, but from what she had seen, Ian was very kind and caring, someone who had listened to her problems and offered good advice (and good alcohol) in a time where she needed friends like she needed air. "He seems like a sweet enough guy, he's been behaving himself," The petite girl assured before standing up and grabbing the blanket under her arm, nodding towards the door. "He's probably inside though. Quite the popular guy when he's not begging to get his ass beat," Should she have said? Well, this was his sister, Nova figured Sierra would know. Taking a deep breath, the hazel eyed girl gestured for the newcomer to follow her inside, pushing into the giant cabin and shuddering at the intense warmth coming from the cabin.

PenguinFox

 

[Soap]

Grace

Christmas eve. She loved Christmas, who wouldn't? However, Grace hasn't felt the 'Christmas spirit.' These past few days, and no, it didn't have anything to do with Hunter. She wasn't jealous. Really. She wishes Sawyer would stop thinking she was. Well, not that she said anything about it. Was there a reason she wasn't bringing Hunter up? Well, of course not. Sawyer wasn't secretive. Okay, that part is a lie. Sometimes she was... like, with that whole Natalie thing. But there wasn't any reason for Grace to be jealous of Hunter, right?

Right. It wasn't like she was Sawyer's first time or anything. Oh wait. Grace rolled her eyes and focused on the popcorn garland that was coming together rather nicely actually, then, she heard a rather familiar voice. Her head snapped up to see the exact girl who was on her mind. She bit her lip and glanced at the garland, mulling it over. Hunter was only trying to be nice. It wasn't like she meant to make Grace jealous-- not that she was!

With a small sigh, she set it down and made her way to her, she eyed her drink. Usually things didn't go that well whenever the blonde decided to have a drink. But it's Christmas. That's an exception. No? No, probably not a good idea. "Hi." She greeted, adding an awkward wave. Good start. Okay, no, she needs a drink. Grace poured herself a drink before refocusing on Hunter.

"Let me start off by saying; I'm sorry. I... know I've been a little weird towards you. Don't peg me as some psycho girlfriend who's majorly protective." Just because it was a little weird Hunter and Sawyer had a past, didn't mean she should be rude to her. Grace knew that. Taking a very long and needed sip of her drink before continuing. She offered a smile.

"I swear I'm not the jealous type."

txlos​

 

[PenguinFox]

​

Sierra laughed as she brushed some stray strands of her from her face. "Behaving himself huh? Maybe we're not talking about the same guy." She nodded in agreement when Nova suggested going inside. "Now that sounds more like Ian." she said with a sigh. "Let me guess, he tried to pick one of his 'scraps'? I swear one day he's going to pick a fight with someone he really shouldn't. But yeah, when he's not doing that people seem to gravitate towards him." she had a thoughtful look as she said this, then followed the younger girl into the cabin. Sierra couldn't help but wonder how much Nova knew Ian and for how long. She also wondered how many friends Ian had been making. Last she knew he had been withdrawn and in an almost permanent state of silence. Well he had at least one friend it seemed which was a step in the right direction.

The inside of the cabin was just as magnificent as the outside and probably just as expensive. With the amount teenagers here, most of which drunk, this could only end in at least a little bit of property damage. It was really inevitable. Sierra's brown eyes scanned the crowd looking for a familiar face but not a one she recognized. She leaned closer to Nova so she could be heard over the din of the festivities. "So how long have you known my brother?" She asked casually trying to get an idea of how recently Ian recovered, or how recently he started pretending to be okay. She took a few more confident strides into the room. The brunette was a little anxious about being around this many strangers, seriously how many kids were here? But she refused to be intimidated by anyone younger than her. She'd never done so in the past and sure as hell wouldn't start now. txlos and anyone else

 

[txlos]

​

"Not long at all," Nova shrugged, sticking close to this new girl as she too scouted the room for Ian. He was no where to be found yet, and in all honesty, she hadn't a clue how they were going to find him in this mess of intoxicated teenagers. "I ran into him like, two minutes after my boyfriend broke up with me. I'd been gone for three months and some court order bullshit forbade me to speak to anyone," At the time it fell out of her mouth, Nova didn't think much of it, though after a minute, hazel eyes widened. She had just made herself sound like a criminal, and it wasn't the impression she wanted to give Ian's sister. "My dad got into some shit, whole family had to move and not tell anyone, anyway," Nova mulled on for a little longer, weaving through the crowd as she told Sierra about how Ian had been an ear for listening and an overall nice distraction of a guy. Ian was a friend, at least, that's what Nova hoped. She needed more sweet people like him in her life.

After searching for what must have been fifteen minutes, the auburn haired girl found herself in a mostly empty kitchen, a few bodies milling around but not anyone sober enough to know what she was saying. "I'm sorry," She chuckled, pulling her hair back into a loose ponytail. "He's gotta be around here somewhere, I just had absolutely no idea where." They had looked in the entry way, the living room, the kitchen, and yet, no Ian. Sighing in defeat, Nova grabbed a red solo cup and poured in one third strawberry vodka to two thirds Sprite, mixing it around before taking the smallest sip. There was no way she was going to let herself get out of control tonight, not if she could help it.

PenguinFox

​

Hunter usually loved parties. She loved a little chaos, a little bit of hectic noise, but so far, this was a lot of people getting a little drunk for little reason. So there she stood, observing people from her post by the drinks, watching the alcohol fade fast, just like the judgment of the people around her. All she wanted was to have some fun, and fun meant Kanen. She hadn't seen the boy since Ash so rudely stole him away, which pissed her off a bit, but it wasn't enough to ruin her mood. She just needed to find something, anything to do.

Grace seemed to have sense her strife as the pretty blonde walked over, confident looking until her mouth opened. Hunter listened with bored eyes, a small smirk coming to rest comfortably on her lips. This girl, Sawyer's girl, was so hell bent on letting this complete stranger know that she wasn't jealous, and it was so comical to the Brit. Hunter didn't have any intention of taking Sawyer, wasn't attempting to pose any sort of threat, and it needed to be known.

"Grace, it's okay even if you are jealous," She nodded, looking the blonde in the eyes. "Jealousy means you care for someone. If you weren't jealous then I'd be worried about Sawyer. The fact that you're so insistent that you're cool with someone when you're clear not just shows me that you love beanie girl over there enough to try to be nice and friendly to someone that you probably don't like." A shrug rose and fell onto the brunette's shoulders at the comment. She was used to not being liked. It didn't affect her much anymore. "But we're cool, Grace. I have nothing against you, and if you have even the smallest thing against me, that's cool. I know what it's like, I've been in your shoes, I'm not blaming you. Just know that I have no intention of getting Sawyer back. Like she said, we're better as friends."

Soap

 

[Dede]

Neck Tie

Christmas was Neck Tie’s favourite time of year, and he’d been looking forward to it immensely. But he’d never spent one away from home and from his family. Sure, it was good that Casper had come on the trip with him, but he still couldn’t help feeling a bit sad. All the older kids were having this huge drinking party and the music was so loud that he found himself clutching at his ears now and again. He’d never had a Christmas so noisy and filled with so many strange faces. He wanted to go home but then again that was no new feeling, since he’d been feeling homesick since the day he arrived at the cabin.

That was why Neck Tie was sitting alone at the tree, in the quietest corner of the room, a good distance away from the crowd. There he hummed a few carols to himself, then The First Noel, now Hark! the Herald Angels Sing. He was in his best green and red Christmas jumper, with a reindeer in the front and a scarfed snowman in the back. His grandparents gave it to him some years ago, and it was getting a bit small for him now. Probably Dad would have to buy him a new one for next year. Maybe he’d ask for a blue one this time, for a change.

If he wasn’t going to be part of the party, he might as well make himself useful some other way. Thus, Neck Tie had tasked himself with making the prettiest most awesomest Christmas tree in the whole wide world. He meticulously spaced out the little golden bulbs and ornaments on the branches. He wondered if he was getting any presents from Dad and Elise. He’d been wanting a new phone since his current one had a cracked screen and he could no longer play Space Invaders on it. But he’d been more than naughty, having been both suspended and grounded, and there was a good chance that he’d gone down in Santa’s bad book and would be irrevocably left out of the Christmas cheer this year.

 

[A Little Cloud]

A L I C E
STATUS
Mood ~ A bit annoyed
Interacting with ~ Neck Tie
Mentions ~ Dede
Alice blinked. The girl didn't even bother to talk anymore, she just turned around and headed to leave. Alice raised an eyebrow and just sighed. She was never a social-butterfly, and now a potential friend was walking away. She just shook her head and stood up. Brushing the snow off of her clothes, she winced as pain shot through her forehead. Looks like the girl did do some damage... She put one hand on her forehead, and let the snow melt into cold water. Alice picked up her board and headed back to the cabin.

Alice realized that everyone was partying the moment she walked through the door. Loud music was playing, people were shouting, and the clinking of bottles could be heard. She just rolled her eyes and headed towards her room. Alice closed the door and locked it - just to make sure. She sighed and changed back into her regular clothes. A couple of minutes later, Alice unlocked the door and opened it a crack. No one there. She let out a breath and started walking down the hall.

She eventually reached a room where there were only one boy and an ornate tree. Alice wanted to whistle to let the boy know that she had entered, but decided that he probably escaped all the partying to have some time alone. She stood in the shadows while she watched him decorate the tree, smiling slightly when he put on the ornaments, glad that he didn't put them too close together. Alice decided to make her entrance. Stepping carefully into the room, she picked up a giant, glittering, silver star that was supposed to go on the top of the tree, and stood behind the boy and the tree. "Beautiful, right? You did a good job of decorating." She avoided the boy's gaze, instead just stared at the tree.​

 

[Dede]

Neck Tie

The girl appeared out of nowhere, and he stopped humming the tune right away. Oh no! What was she doing with the star? That star wasn’t supposed to go up till everything else was ready! At least, that was how his family had always done it. Would Christmas be completely and utterly ruined? Probably not. Neck Tie decided that it wouldn't be such a big deal if the star went up now. He smiled because he was happy with how the tree was coming along.

He then blushed at the compliment. ‘I’ve done it lots of times,’ he said, gingerly affixing another golden bulb to the tree. ‘We usually put the tree up way early, though. . . like in November. . . not right on Christmas Eve!’

It was fortunate that they had time to put up a tree at all. Neck Tie spent all of yesterday burning steaks and scraping off the burnt residue afterwards. But the good news was nobody died from eating his food. Not even Jace. Casper thought he wasn’t joking, but of course he didn’t really want Jace to get food poisoning. At least not right now. That wouldn’t be in the spirit of Christmas, would it?!

‘I’m Neck Tie, by the way,’ he smiled, awkwardly getting himself tangled in the Christmas lights as they came spilling out of the box. ‘I mean, Stu. . . but mostly everyone calls me Neck Tie.’ He looked at her for a bit. 'Do you, um, want to put the star on?'

A Little Cloud

 

[A Little Cloud]

A L I C E
STATUS
Mood ~ Pleased
Interacting with ~ Neck Tie
Mentions ~ Dede
Alice was worried at first when the boy stopped whistling, but soon realized it was only because she had just suddenly appeared. She tilted her head at him, a little surprised that he was so happy about the tree. She wasn't excited about any holiday anymore, and the last time she enjoyed Christmas was in Washington. Alice nodded when he accepted the compliment nervously and smiled when he mentioned doing it with his family. "It's only late by one month. But it does seem a little late." Alice held in a sigh when she thought of the pine tree back at her house, naked with only a couple blinking lights hung up. Her parents were way too busy working to decorate, and Alice had her own clients. But she shoved the thought from her mind when the boy started talking again.

Alice smiled softly at the nervous boy and chuckled when he got caught in the lights. "Nice to meet you, Neck Tie. I'm Alice." The nickname was surprising, and she wondered how he got stuck with it. But it wouldn't be appropriate to ask. "Uh...looks like you need a little help..." She helped untangle Neck Tie from the lights, wrapping them around her arm. She put on a soft smile and nodded. "I wouldn't mind....unless you want to." She said the last part quickly, worried that she might've offended him - in some unusual way.​

 

[Winona]

Ash


So far this whole week of partying was going by about as Ash expected: lonely. At least she'd kind of repaired things with Grace, although Ash hadn't really had a chance to talk to her. And with it being Christmas Eve, there was so much activity going on that Ash wasn't sure how to approach her friend so for right now, she didn't. Instead, Ash realized that her cup was empty, and headed back into the kitchen to get herself something more. Well, at least alcohol always had her back.

Ash sighed, stepping into the kitchen and walking over to the counter that had the display of alcohol. She set her cup down and then hopped up before she started poking through the different bottles, many of which she'd found downstairs in the cellar with Jace. What? Her grandparents always had plenty of alcohol, and never seemed to notice when most of it would go missing after a week of Ash and Jace was up here. Which obviously was for the better, but anyway.

Finally, she started selecting random alcohols, and figured why the fuck not have some fun? Wasn't like there was anyone here she particularly wanted to talk about, and it wasn't like Ash had ever been a huge fan of Christmas, so might as well spend it with a horrible headache. So she poured bit by bit of different bottles into her cup before she finally picked it up and took a sip, almost spitting it back up from the horrible taste. Well, at least it would get her messed up. Hopefully.

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

Ava


This party thing sucked. This whole week sucked. And to think, Ava thought that a world where she could just lock herself in her room for countless hours and play video games would be a dream come true! Turns out that if you don't have responsibilities that pull you away, or parents yelling at you, video games getting boring after about twenty-four hours in.

Hence why she had finally decided to get cleaned up and come downstairs for this fancy Christmas Eve... whatever you called it. Party. Get together. Whatever it was. It wasn't long of passing people that Ava barely knew, even shooting a glare at Caleb as she remembered when he had run her over with his snowboard, before Ava figured she might as well just return to her room and hide. But then she caught sight of JJ and... well, whatever. Ava had come here to hangout with her friend.

So she stalked her way through people over to JJ, forcing a smile onto her face as if she was actually happy being here. "Hey... Jules. What are you doing? Having fun? Gettin' jiggy with it?" She asked, hoping that that was the lingo that kids these days used. God. Her back hurt. Ava was too old for this stupid nonsense.

Soap

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

Drake


He loved parties, even if he thought that they were significantly better with a little bit of drugs, but he was still clean, and Drake was intending to keep it that way. How long had it been? At least a week, right? Or... nope. Never mind. It had been less than two days since Drake had given up everything cold. Right. That's why he still had this headache, why he still felt hot to the touch, and why his stomach hurt. Duh. Of course. This couldn't be worth it, but when he saw Belle, and thought of Maisie... yeah, it was worth it.

If it made his girlfriend and his -- dare he say it? -- best friend happy, then so be it. Drake would deal with all of the stupid stuff that went along with withdrawal, but that didn't mean he couldn't still have a little fun. Hence why he now had a bottle of vodka in one hand, and two shot glasses in the other as he edged his way through the crowd. Alcohol had always been something Drake avoided like the devil -- he wasn't a fan of what it did to him -- but now, it was the only kind of thing he could do.

His eyes fell on Aaron, lighting up as he squeezed past a few more people to come to a stop in front of Aaron. "Hey friend! Want to have a shot contest?" Drake asked, wiggling his eyebrows... alluringly or something as he held up the shot glasses and the bottle. What? Shot contests were the only could thing about drinking.

mikaluvkitties

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

Jace


Every day just seemed to remind him of why he hated these types of things, and why he usually kept to himself. The only reason Jace was by the party right now was because his room just scared him now. Stepping into it made his heart beat faster, made his stomach churn, and it would feel as if he couldn't breathe. So he'd been spending as much time as possible out of his room, and had even slept on the floor in Ash's bed last night, despite how much she had protested. After Ash had heard what happened, her opinions had quickly changed, and she'd thrown a pillow at Jace before falling asleep.

At least he'd had Raven to talk him through it, although he'd felt bad when he'd opened the door to the bathroom, babbling about how he couldn't breathe, and then even vomiting in the toilet from stress. That had only happened a few times before, and it had been embarrassing to do so in front of Raven. But at least she had been there to help him, to talk to him, to remind him to breathe because in that moment, Jace could've sworn that his lungs stopped working.

He was still sick to his stomach today, his hands shaky, and his head dizzy from the stress of yesterday. So after a few minutes of being leaned against the wall, watching everything that was going on, Jace started to get that feeling again. The short breaths, the inability to breathe... so he'd headed to the door, grabbing his coat and slipping on his shoes before he stepped out onto the porch, breathing in the fresh air. Jace made his way over to a bench, sinking down onto it and closing his eyes, trying to calm himself and stop the turmoil going on inside his mind, and inside his stomach. Stupid feelings or... whatever it was.

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

Mason


Best idea ever. At first he'd been unsure about coming, not wanting to spend a week away from Ariana. But Adriane had assured him that she would watch her, and that it would be fine, and he deserved a week away, etc. After way too much arguing with her over it, Mason had finally chosen to go and yeah, he was glad. What a stress relief this had been. Following the first day, Mason had spent his time wrapping up some loose ends with a few chicks and damn, was it nice.

By the party today, he'd slept with a few girls, and was feeling much calmer and much more over the stupid drama that he totally still wasn't hurt by that had happened with June. Now, with a drink in hand, he was busy looking at a hot girl across the way, when he noticed Raven. Right. Mason had almost forgotten she'd come on this trip... well, at least she'd give him some witty dialogue to keep him entertained as opposed to the endless girls throwing themselves at him, that he obviously had.

"Hey Raven," he said with a grin as he came up behind her, and leaned against the wall next to her. "You look awfully lonely over here. Where's your girlfriend?" Yes, Mason had noticed a wonderful lack of Vaughns.

Soap​

 

[Dede]

Neck Tie

‘It is kind of late. . . A lot late, actually!' he said with a hint of regret, 'We didn’t even get to do the advent calendar this year. And the tree at my house is all fake and plastic, and really small. . . so small it's sitting on the dining table!’

He chuckled a little when the girl tried to untangle him from the web of Christmas lights. Once freed, he took the other end of the cords and began working his way up the tree, making sure the lights were evenly distributed, until he had reached the top where the star was supposed to go. Oh yes, the star.

‘I. . . I don’t mind,’ he said, ‘I think you should do it, Alice!’

Of course Neck Tie had wanted to put the star on himself, but that would've defeated the purpose of Christmas, which was about sharing and being selfless.

‘But wait—!’

He still had to give the tree a few finishing touches, and only then was it worthy of being crowned with the silver star. His only complaint? It should have been golden.

Finally the boy stepped back and allowed Alice to approach the tree. He didn’t even know why he was suddenly feeling so excited about it. Maybe it was because there was someone there to enjoy decorating the tree with him, which was way better than doing it alone.

A Little Cloud

 

[Soap]

Juliette

Juliette had to admit, actually having people around on Christmas Eve was... different. Who cares about Christmas? Not her, nope. Overrated. She swirled the drink in her cup and her gaze scanned the 'party' members around. Y'know... for a party? It really didn't feel like a party. A big part of her wished her boyfriend would've came to entertain her, sure, it was nice that Ava came. But don't think JJ had forgotten about her attitude the other day, or the insults that came along with it.

She was all here for hating on Belle, because, well... because. Juliette was convinced the redhead was a total fake. What? She was. Her smiles, and compliments, and sexy dancing. She needed to tune it down. JJ didn't have a problem with telling her either! She wasn't a huge threat at the moment, so why not let her whore around? Whatever. The point was, don't poke at JJ especially when she did nothing to provoke you.

She placed her cup down and turned to her with crossed arms. Ignoring her questions and awkward weird 'slang,' or whatever the hell she was saying. "Oh? So now you want to talk? You're better off talking to someone else who isn't 'slutting it up.'" Making her statement with an eyebrow raise, awaiting for her friend's reaction.

"I didn't peg you for the jealous type. It's just Zach, and I wasn't flirting. I have a boyfriend."

Winona

Grace

She was certain she'd just made it worse for some reason. She shouldn't of even talked to Hunter, averting her gaze when she'd met eyes with her and was suddenly extremely interested in the cup she was holding. Only looking up towards her when she'd mentioned Grace probably didn't like her, and she scoffed in disbelief. It wasn't that Grace didn't like Hunter, it was the exact opposite. And the more she thought about it, Sawyer and her together, it made sense.

She didn't hate Hunter. She was envious of her. Yes, it wasn't hard to realize. Grace just didn't want to admit she was jealous. Hunter was... she was the exact girl Sawyer would want. Well... if she was being honest, she was the exact girl anyone would want. And the fact that she'd said she was in her shoes before, well, that seemed impossible to the blonde.

She was herself with no apologies, and she was perfect. She shook her head and met her eyes with her own, "I don't hate you Hunter." She considered her words for a moment before continuing. "We both love her, and I can't hate you for that. I mean... who wouldn't love her?" She smiled at the thought of her, her smile faded gradually and Grace gave the smallest of shrugs towards Hunter.

"...Merry Christmas." Tilting her cup with whatever terrible content was inside of it and making her way away from her.

txlos


Raven

Raven was still, messing with her phone. Turns out it wasn't dead. It was broken. It was Christmas Eve! Why spend it at a cabin full of people she hardly knew? Tapping her phone any harder wasn't going to get it to work. Maybe she was acting a little stressed. But there was just this feeling gnawing at her, and it wasn't exactly a good one. Something felt wrong but she just didn't know what it was yet.

An eye roll was just an instinct whenever she'd heard his voice, turning slightly to see the other Rivera leaning against the wall. "Me? Lonely? Please, I do my best work alone." A total lie. The journalist needed people to function, that was something almost everyone knew. She narrowed her eyes at him before her gaze softened. "And... she's not my girlfriend." Right? Yeah. They weren't... dating, dating... They just never talked about it yet. And it seemed like something the two kept putting off.

Did Alaska want to be her girlfriend? Okay, no, those thoughts weren't worth thinking about right now. With a last glare towards her phone she pocketed it. "Where's your harem?" Raven asked with a grin, despite being a little preoccupied with worrying. Raven notices everything, don't be surprised. She definitely noticed Adriane's baby daddy making moves around the resort. Wasn't very hard to catch.

Winona



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[A Little Cloud]

A L I C E
STATUS
Mood ~ Pleased
Interacting with ~ Neck Tie
Mentions ~ Dede
Alice smiled slightly when Neck Tie allowed her to place the star on top of the tree, looking down at the glittery, light star in her hand. It was certainly beautiful, nothing like what she had at home. In fact, Alice and her parents were so busy the last couple of years that they hadn't even put up a star on the tree. She almost fell onto the tree when Neck Tie shouted to wait and balanced on one foot until he said it was ready. "Hopefully I won't make it crooked..." Alice chuckled and stood on her toes. She managed to get the star on top, and fortunately, it wasn't crooked from where she was standing.

Now, Alice was even more excited about the tree. Stepping back, her eyes looked over the tree, and she smiled at the sight of the warm glow from the golden bulbs. "It looks even more amazing now..." Alice squatted down, and sat down carefully on the ground, making sure that she didn't crush anything. She missed that. Just sitting next to the tree and just looking at it. But then she realized that Neck Tie was also there. "What do you want for Christmas?" It seemed like a nice conversation starter.​

 

[Maree]

Belle

When Belle agreed to go on the ski trip she had expected it to be more... Exciting. This was Westbrook. She had expected there to be more around to amuse her. Instead, she found herself sitting by the fireplace with a drink in hand, feeling quite bored. Don't get her wrong. The moment she had with Drake was quite lovely. How could she not be happy about them making things official? She had just expected more from the trip. At least some games set up or something. There was only so much drinking a girl could do until she found herself bored. Maybe setting up a game of spin the bottle later would make things more exciting? It was a classic party game after all.

The sight of an upset looking Grace pulled her from any thoughts of boredom. What kind of best friend would she be if she didn't check up on her? She didn't want to be like others who never cared for her problems. Making her feel better was now her priority, she could always get drunk another time. So got out of her chair joined Grace's side. "Hey, You doing alright?" she asked, concern prominent in her tone. What on earth could have made the always chipper Grace look so defeated? She looked in the direction that she had come from and spotted a very pretty slightly familiar girl. Harley? Harriot? Ugh. She couldn't remember what her name was but she had seen her hanging around Sawyer. Was that it? Oh if some chick thought she could just show up and steal her besties girl, she had another thing coming.

Belle took Grace's arm and lead her over to a couch, sitting down with her. "Firstly are you drinking straight Whisky? Have I not taught you anything? Cocktails are the only way to enjoy alcohol" she scrunched up her nose. That was the drink of brainless cowboys. There was no way she was going to let her friend drink something that vile. So she tipped the contents of Grace's drink into a nearby plant and poured her own drink into her cup. Margarita's were superior to every other cocktail and no one would ever convince her otherwise.

"Now that we have fixed that disaster. What's got you down, lovely?" she asked, giving Grace her full attention. If it turned out that they did have a homewrecker problem. Then this Harper girl was about to feel the full fury of Westbrook. No one got away with messing with her friends. Especially since Grace was an absolute sweetheart and could do no wrong. She didn't deserve to get shoved aside for some bad Raven knock off.
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mentions: txlos ​

 

[Soap]

Grace

A bit startled at the fact someone asked her if she was okay. Grace was just fine. Jealousy wasn't going to disappear within a few minutes, she knew that. "I'm fine." She gave her a nod and a smile. Okay, she's gonna try to do this thing called honesty; though with herself, Grace wasn't fine. She was the exact opposite, she didn't know how to deal with jealousy.

Jealousy is... stupid. Narrowing her eyes slightly as she was dragged to a couch and sat there while she was being judged for her taste in alcohol. And Grace made a face. Belle was right, whiskey was seriously terrible, and way, way too strong for Grace. Before she could argue about it and lie further on how she absolutely loved whiskey y'know just for the hell of it. And... to not seem like a total newbie to alcohol. The glass was snatched out of her grasp and watered to the poor plant beside them, before she could even react to that Belle was already pouring her own drink into her cup.

Despite herself, and her mood. Grace managed a genuine smile and her free hand flew to the necklace that matched Belle's, taking a sip of the drink as she fiddled with it. "...Thank you." Giving her a nod of appreciation. Belle was... weirdly always there for her, and Grace was in awe of that, in awe of her. Shaking off whatever thoughts she'd had about her newfound, but good friend. She focused on her question. With a heavy sigh, she shrugged. "I don't know. Okay, that's a lie. I do know. It's the whole Hunter thing. I don't hate her, I have no reason to. She's... she's Sawyer's best friend. No biggie, right?"

"Wrong. She was also Sawyer's... uh..." Grace scratched her head awkwardly, it was probably a weird thing to talk about. But well, some girls tell each other everything. That's what her and Ash did. At least... she thought so anyway.

"First time." Grace was hoping Belle saw it her way, because... well, who wouldn't be a little intimidated by that?

Maree​

 

[Maree]

Belle

"She did what now?!" Belle exclaimed. She sat there in shock for a few minutes trying to digest that bit of information. Oh man. This was much worse than she first expected. So this Hunter girl wasn't just cozying up to Sawyer out of nowhere. She had been the one to deflower Sawyer. That was strange. You don't just stay friends with the person who takes your virginity. Not unless you still wanted to still feel things for them or maybe still want to be with them. This was so far from okay. Was this girl going to try and weasel her way back into Sawyers pants? Hunter was obviously the spawn of satan itself. There was only one thing to do. They had to protect Sawyer from her devilish influence.

She pursed her lips. "I don't mean to freak you out but that's not normal. You don't just stay friends with someone who..." she trailed off a frown on her lips. Maybe they could remind Sawyer of the things she loves about Grace? There was no way she was going to let Hunter steal Sawyer away. Grace and she were meant to be together. They were in love! "How is Sawyer acting? is it different? Do you think she is tempted by that she-devil?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Maybe they could recreate their first date? reignite that first ever spark. That was bound to pull Sawyer from her spell

There was another option as well. One that totally could not backfire on them in any way. "You could always make her jealous in turn? I'm not saying do it with someone else but maybe some flirting?" she suggested. This is the downside of dating people of different beliefs. Then again Grace and she didn't share all the same values. She just hoped that Grace didn't assume that Sawyer had been a virgin as well. That would have made finding out hurt even more.

"Don't kill me for this suggestion but maybe we should get another opinion... like Ash's? I have been drinking a bit." The last thing they needed was for them to make a bad drunken decision.
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[Chappezi]

Leon O'Conner



Pulling up to the driveway cursing up a storm he skirted into the curb at a stop. Yanking the gear stick into park he found the emergency brake underneath near his feet and pushed it down. He didn't want his car sliding down road from all the ice that the snow had caused. Checking down at his phone, his eyes half shut squinting from bright blue light, he made sure he was at the correct location as stated on the post he found. He was looking for her, it had been months, but he missed her and felt a need to reconnect. He knew she should be here, somewhere. Gee, would he even recognize her, does she look different? Older? What if she completely forgot about him altogether or what they shared. That was probably his worst fear. His stomach filled with butterflies at the thought and he was now more nervous than ever. After giving himself a short pep talk using his rear view mirror he fixed up his hair and threw on his coat before exiting his car. Shutting the door he hit the lock on his keys and waited for the two beeps to sound before making his way up the driveway and through the door.

There were a lot more people than he had expected there to be, he wanted to just turn back around and forget about her all together, but he knew he couldn't. Running his hands nervously through the tips of his hair he took a look around. He didn't want to seem lost so he slowly began walking inside and placed his coat on the rack near the door. It was warm inside, the fireplace was going and everything felt so homey. He watched some people in the corner were putting decorations up on the Christmas tree. He should've been with his family, matter of fact they didn't even know he was gone. They were out celebrating moving out here for their new jobs. He would be forgotten for the night. That was okay though, he needed to find Belle.

Making his way around the cabin he found himself in the living room, in the same room as her. He saw her red locks of hair in the distance and knew it had to be her, that was her hair. It had to be. His heart was pounding as he approached the back of the couch and then using his pointer finger tapped the girl on the shoulder. "Belle?"

Maree ​

 

[Dede]

Neck Tie

Neck Tie watched as Alice carefully planted the big star on top of the tree. He wasn't going to lie, it looked amazing, and he probably would have made a mess of it if he'd tried to put the star on himself. Neck Tie circled around the tree and bent down and plugged the light into the wall, and what followed was a truly magical moment. The blinking lights red, green, and yellow, all working in perfect harmony… It finally felt like Christmas.

Alice had sat down on the floor. Neck Tie plopped down next to her, crushing a golden bulb as he did. Woops! That wasn't meant to happen. He collected the shards in his hands before sitting down again, this time a little more gracefully, and then hugging his knees. He looked up and admired the tree, becoming mesmerised by the lights.

When Alice asked what he wanted for Christmas, he gave it a long thought. He wasn’t too sure what answer to give her. He figured the only thing he wanted was to go back home... Not Westbrook, but home home. England. Chipping Campden. Sheep Street... Where he could spend the Christmas with his little brothers. He wondered if the tree back home was prettier than this one. Knowing how serious his mum was about Christmas, it probably was.

Neck Tie sighed. ‘I guess. . . I guess it'd be nice if I could get a new phone,’ he said, ‘I broke the screen on my old one. . . it's kind of screwed.’ But his dad had been struggling a lot with money, and Elise didn't like him being on his phone too much or at dinner tables. So his chances of getting a new phone were really slim.

Then the boy dropped his gaze. What if he didn’t get a present at all this year? He rubbed the tip of his nose a little.

‘W. . . What about you? What do you want for Christmas?’ he said, passing the girl a small smile.

A Little Cloud

 

[A Little Cloud]

A L I C E
STATUS
Mood ~ Pleased
Interacting with ~ Neck Tie
Mentions ~ Dede
Alice was very pleased about how the tree turned out. The only other time she had seen something as beautiful as this was when she was in Washington. Her mind wandered, and suddenly, she was back in the living room in her old house. Everything glittered, there was a fireplace with crackling flames emitting a cozy glow. There was food everywhere on tables and the indistinct murmur of people in the other room. The most amazing this was, however, the gigantic tree in the center of the room. It was covered head to toe in golden decorations, and several presents underneath. But, with one blink, it all disappeared.

Alice sighed quietly and turned back to Neck Tie, who was talking about what he wanted. A new phone? Hm...maybe I could get that for him! Alice smiled softly when she thought about the look that would be on his face when she found out. Making people happy was one thing that Alice tried to do, but some people just tried hard to avoid being happy, and that was annoying for her. She blinked, tilting her head. Neck Tie had just asked her what she wanted for Christmas. That was a hard question. Alice wanted to go back to Washington, maybe have her parents get back their job, but mostly, she wanted a dog. Her best friend had one, and it was adorable! So fluffy and snuggly. But she knew her parents would never approve. Alice sighed and chuckled. "Well, I want a lot of things. Not just for me, but for everyone! But I guess, if I had to pick one, I really want a dog." She shook her head. "It sounds so silly..." She muttered, looking down at the ground.​

 

[Soap]

Grace

Grace deflated when Belle only confirmed her suspicions. It wasn't normal! She tapped her nails against the rim of the glass she was holding. Almost finishing the drink in one sip as she thought about Belle's question. Sawyer wasn't necessarily acting different. Besides being sweet, she was being extra sweet. Oh my god. Was she just feeling guilty about something? "She's been... really nice lately. Maybe she's..." Grace trailed off and finished the last drops of the drink she had before sliding it onto the coffee table in front of them.

Grace didn't want to finish that thought, there was definitely no way Sawyer was 'tempted' by Hunter. No, of course not. Who's she kidding, has anyone seen Hunter? She rubbed at the temples of her head. "No, no, I'm sure it's fine..." Yeah. Definitely okay. Her eyes widened at Belle's idea. Making Sawyer jealous? Why? What would that solve? Besides, there was hardly anyone she could flirt with here.

Not that she was seriously considering it. Her eyes lingered on Belle for a few moments and almost rolled her eyes at the mention of Ash. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to Ash, she just... Grace really wasn't sure why she didn't want to talk to her, maybe she was afraid of it turning into a fight, she didn't want to make it worse between them. Especially when things weren't as bad as before. "I don't know, maybe--" Grace didn't get to finish her thoughts when someone she didn't recognize came up between behind Belle.

She raised an eyebrow and glanced between the two, he obviously knew Belle. But the question was how? What? She's... merely curious.

Managing a polite smile and throwing her worries away for a moment, she decided to ask the question that was on her mind. "Who's this?" She looked up at the boy and back to Belle, awaiting an answer.

Maree Chappezi

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[Maree]

Belle

Belle raised her hands in mock surrender. "I said don't murder me. I just thought maybe she might give a different perspective?" she said, pulling out her innocent smile. It was a good excuse to get the two girls to talk. It was about time that they tried to sort things out between them. They were best friends after all. No one should throw that kind of relationship to the side. They should at least try to mend it again, right?

Before she could continue arguing for her to talk to Ash they were interrupted. She knew who it was before she had even turned around to look at him. The briefest touch from him on her shoulder sent sparks down her arm. When she asked for excitement earlier this was not what she meant. She turned her head so that she could look up at him. Oh boy, that had been a mistake. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes met his. Those big brown eyes had gotten her in quite a bit of trouble. But what on earth was he doing here of all places? So far from home.

Belle quickly pulled her gaze from his, staring into those eyes for too long was dangerous. "Grace, this is Leon. But that's not important as you are going to go talk to Ash" she said, turning her attention back to Grace. She stood up from the couch and took Grace's hands, pulling her up as well. "Now off you go" she instructed. Was that the right decision? Maybe she should have gotten her to stay so she didn't have to talk to Leon alone. No, she had gotten herself into this situation now she had to deal with it. Did she really think that she could disappear off the face of the earth so easily?

"Uh, Hey," she said, biting her lip. What was she supposed to say? She had run away from her old life but a piece of it had caught up to her. One of the best parts of her old life. Was he mad at her? Could that be why he was there? She would be mad at her. All that she had left him was a note that said sorry. She hadn't even said goodbye. It was cruel but she couldn't bring herself to face him back then. "Do you want to go somewhere to talk? The rumours here get quite crazy" she suggested. The last thing she needed was a bad rumour getting to Drake.

Drake. Oh boy. This was going to be an interesting one to explain. Her eyes scanned the room for him until she spotted him downing shots with one of his friends. A small smile found its way to her lips. What a dork. She would talk to him later if he wasn't passed out. Who knew how many shots they had taken already.
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[Chappezi]

Leon O'Conner

Leon's stomach dropped as both the girls turned around, one looking rather confused as to who he was or how he knew the red-headed girl, but his eyes were fixed on Belle. She looked a little bit older, but that was it, it was still the same old Belle he knew, or that's what he thought. Was she even happy to see him, she didn't seem like it. He had so many questions and now that they were standing inches from each other face to face he could finally get the answers he's been waiting for. He wasn't mad, he was furious, the thought of how she could just disappear from his life was unfair to him. He had feelings too. Thoughts of questions to ask or things to say drowned his mind, but nothing came out for a moment or too as he just stared at her in fascination that he even found her. That this was real, part of him wanted to pinch his arm to check if he was in a lucid dream or not, but this felt real. Very real.

"Just hey? No 'Oh my god Leon I missed you'? Do you realize you just left me in the dark with nothing?" He was furious, his brows furrowed and his tone began to carry out louder. He knew she didn't want to talk about it here, but he couldn't hold these emotions in, they were finally able to escape his mouth after being imprisoned in his mind for months. "Sorry, sorry, I just...you can't do that, " He rubbed the back of his neck and bit the corner of his lower lip. He realized he might've been overreacting a little bit, but at the same time what did she expect. They were...rather close before she disappeared from his life in a blink of an eye. One day they were walking around the park, laughing and having a good time, the next she was just...gone. "You can't just leave and not tell me, but yes let's talk. Please." He said lowering his tone after finally being able to relax his temper. The only reason he really was mad was because he was worried about her, he didn't know if she was okay. Now that he could see her physically in front of him, he knew she was and that was about good enough to calm him down a bit.

Maree Soap ​