Realistic or Modern &nbsp; Westbrook

Soap

Winona · Jun 19, 2019

Jace

He nodded his head in total understanding. "Sounds about right. Saying you're fine is just lying to yourself. No one is fine after a breakup." His own voice choked up a bit as he talked about it. It seemed like everyone was breaking up these days -- Grace and Sawyer, Jace and Nova, Ash and Ryder, Chase and Rae... okay, all the Vaughns after their whole moving far away shenanigans. Westbrook was now just a place full of sad teens. Ice cream shops had to be loving this.

When she asked to go shopping with him, Jace just about lost his mind. He'd never been asked to hangout or to skip school... hell, how did one even skip school? Shoot. He should've listened more when Ash would brag about it. Oh no, if he agreed to go with Sawyer, would he become a bad kid? Sawyer totally gave off the bad girl vibe. Would that rub off on him and make him the kind of dude that leaned against walls with leather jackets and who wore sunglasses... indoors?

His worries, of course, were absolutely ludicrous. But he couldn't help but be worried, with his heart pounding, his palms sweaty at the thought... but, well, what did Jace have to lose? And he really did miss his beanie. Every part of Jace's being had been wrapped up in that beanie, and his guitar, and now he was with nothing. Jace had nothing left.

So without really thinking about it, he said; "Sure. I can drive." Oh no, had he really just agreed to... to skip school? He tried to act cool, like he didn't care, as he stood up from the ground and headed out of the school with Sawyer. His legs felt like jelly, like he might collapse at any moment from doing something this stupid.

KingofAesir

Winona · Jun 20, 2019

Mason

What kind of hospital was this?

Mason had been on a quest for Kit Kats for fucking Stu for way too god damn long. If the kid hadn't just been beaten half to death, then there was no way he'd still be looking for this fucking candy. Seriously. He'd gone to the vending machine on Stu's floor -- out of order. Next one, no Kit Kats! The next one ate his dollar and no amount of kicking or trying to maneuver his hand up through the stupid little door thing managed to give him the candy that he so desperately needed.

Finally, he'd just gone all the way down to the base floor of the hospital. By this point, Mason's stupid leg that Kanen had stupidly broken earlier in the year started to grow a little stiff, probably from all of the moving... and the kicking of the vending machine. This just added to his stress as he entered the stupid little store, grabbing all the remaining Kit Kats. He tossed a twenty on the counter, gathering the ten Kit Kats in his arms, and then headed back up to Stu's room.

Honestly, this whole running around for candy thing wasn't something Mason would ever do. But being in the hospital made him nervous thanks to the many visits with Drake, and himself, and now Stu. Hell, how many times had he even been to the hospital this year in total? So many that he actually recognized a couple of nurses, and they had recognized him. That was just plain embarrassing. So being able to hunt down some candy made him feel at ease, and as if he was helping.

He stomped into the room to find Noah and Stu playing chess. "Here's your fucking Kit Kat." Mason grumbled as he dropped the Kit Kats onto the chess board, knocking over the remains of their game. He then retreated to one of the comfy chairs in the room, falling into the soft leather and letting out a breath of relief at taking weight off his leg.

Then, his anger returned, ten fold this time. "You'd think in a fucking hospital they'd have Kit Kats more fucking available. I'd have an easier time finding the Easter Bunny and beating his ass for the stupid shit." Okay, strong language, plus the threat of bodily harm to an imaginary childhood rabbit. Yep. He was stressed out.

Mason didn't get much time to relax in the chair before Elise came waltzing in, looking all high and fucking mightier than thou with her nose all stuck up in the air. Like many of the other students, Mason also hated this woman, and he hated her even more when she turned a disgusted eye on Mason and then Noah. "If you two wouldn't mind," Elise started to speak. "I need to speak to Stu alone. So if you'll just... wait outside or leave, whatever you prefer. You're no longer needed here."

"I'll wait outside." Mason replied. He was determined to not leave Stu alone with this Medusa looking bitch for any longer than needed, or at least until Stu's dad showed up. So Mason cast one good luck look to Stu, then stepped out of the hospital room with Noah, glaring as Elise slammed the door shut after them.

With a sigh, Mason headed over to the nearest couch, sinking down onto it before he leaned back against the wall. "Sorry, dude. For getting you wrapped up in all of this on your first day back."

mogy

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

Elise

She kept up the fake smile until the door was closed, and she was alone with Stu. In an instant, the smile on her face dropped, her eyes narrowed, and she turned to Stu with her hands balled into fists. "Stuart, you little idiot!" She hissed, stalking towards him. "Do you know the important meeting that I had to leave so I could come meet you here?" It was true. She'd been having a meeting discussing the learning criteria and how to update it for the next few years. And then her phone had gone off and after about the fifth call, she'd finally checked her phone to find out from Martin what had happened to his precious little son.

"No wonder your mother hasn't called or worried about you once. She's probably glad that you're finally gone and no longer her problem, but now I have to deal with you. I have to deal with someone else's mistake." Okay, okay. Elise needed to calm down, but this was her career on the line! If she hadn't even paused it for her own children, why should she pause it for some stupid little brat that couldn't even stay out of trouble for a whole month? It was unfair.

"Look, Stu, honey. I want to get along with you." Elise painted a fake smile on her face, changing her tone from the angry growl into something more soothing, but it was too late. Her true feelings had already been spoken. "But you can't keep getting into fights and causing issues. Do you know how much this is worrying your father? If you're just acting out because you miss your mother and want to go home, just ask! I'm sure your father just wants what's best for you, and if that's back in England, then...."

Elise shrugged. What? Life would be easier with him back on Sheep Street.

Dede

mogy · Jun 20, 2019

Noah

Soon enough, Mason came rushing, or well, walking angrily into the room, bringing the promised Kit Kats to Stu. He threw a Kit Kat onto the chess board Noah forgot to put away after they finished their game.

Mason didn’t only seem angry, he was angry, and he showed that he was angry very clearly, without any problems. But that was classic Mason, right? Getting agitated and angry over every little fucking thing. Noah didn’t get it. They were just Kit Kats. He wanted to tell Mason to calm down, but Noah knew better than that. He knew that Mason would just react badly if he said anything about calming down, so he just kept his mouth shut as Mason vented.

While Mason vented, a strange new face entered Stu’s hospital room. Stu’s mother, Noah presumed. Even from the doorframe, the lady seemed like a bitch and a half, and when she started speaking, Noah knew that she definitely was one. Noah was a good judge of character like that, and besides, he has had a lot of experience in dealing with women like that.

When the lady started speaking, she immediately asked him and Mason to leave the room. Noah, like Mason, agreed right away, not because he wanted to leave Stu alone or was tired of babysitting the boy, but because he wasn’t strong enough for a fight today. Even though he didn’t complain, today was a stressful day, and it has definitely taken it’s toll on Noah.

Noah yawned as him and Mason walked over to the nearby couch in the hallway. Noah sat down next to Mason. When his friend apologized to him for wrapping him up into all of this mess, Noah felt exactly the same as he felt when Stu apologized for messing up his car—weirdly sad, but annoyed. Again, it really wasn’t Mason’s fault for dragging Noah into the whole mess. Noah was the closest person around which is why Mason called him, and not some random person. If somebody else was in his position, Noah knew they would feel the same way.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Stu seems like a chill kid, and it was fun to hang out with him today.” Noah was honest. No acting. No manipulation. Pure, raw honesty. “I assume that self-absorbed and mean lady is Stu’s mother?” Noah questioned Mason.

Poor Stu. Noah got a headache from just hearing the lady say those few words she spoke, so imagine how Stu must have felt having a full-fledged conversation inside the room.

Interactions:

Winona (Mason)
Mentions:

Winona (Elise),

Dede (Stu)

Dede · Jun 20, 2019

Neck Tie

A coffee? Neck Tie gave a small chuckle. He seemed to have gotten off lightly considering the guy’s car was utterly ruined from the inside out.

Suddenly the door flew open, and Mason came stomping in red hot with anger. Neck Tie wasn’t the least bit alarmed by this, in fact he found it pretty amusing. Mason was always like that, his bark was way worse than his bite.

Without the slightest warning, Mason dumped a whole bunch of KitKats onto the chessboard, sending their little plastic pieces bouncing off in disarray. It was a good thing their game had already finished, otherwise Neck Tie would have been deprived of his sweet victory over Noah. Now the boy’s eyes widened at the heavenly mound of snacks in front of him.

‘For! Fats afot of FitFats!’

(‘Cor! That’s a lot of KitKats!’)

He quickly snatched one from the pile and started peeling off the wrapper, smiling as he did. He stuck it into the side of his mouth that was still functional and carefully nibbled away at the KitKat, the first of many. Even though his tongue was numb and he could taste very little of the chocolate, he was still as happy as can be.

That was until Elise arrived.

At first he was glad to see her. He thought she might have been glad to see him too -- that he wasn't, you know, dead. But good feelings quickly evaporated when Elise dismissed his ‘friends’ out of the room, and it became clear she was more than just annoyed at him. Neck Tie’s eyes trailed after Mason and Noah, quietly wishing they had stayed.

No sooner had they taken their leave than Elise was lashing out at the boy on the bed. When she called him an idiot, his shoulders sank a little, his face dropped. He slowly removed the unfinished KitKat from his mouth, trying to hide it by his side. Sure it looked bad. Elise had come all the way from work thinking there was an emergency, just to find him casually playing chess and nibbling on his favourite chocolate bars.

It wasn’t exactly his first offence, either. There had been that whole fight with Jace during the musical, and then his little road trip with Alaska, which saw her missing part of her Shakespeare conference. This would be his third strike.

He hadn't expected her to bring up his mother and call him a mistake, though. He knew it was true. His own mother didn't want him, and she never called when he was last in hospital. The last time he tried to call her, another man had picked up, and he scolded him for waking them up late in the night. Did Dad know that Mum was sleeping with another man? Did he always know?

He thought. . . he thought Elise would be different.

Neck Tie sniffled and his eyes watered. He looked at the chessboard because he didn’t dare meet Elise in the eye when she was so mad at him. He felt ashamed, because he never wanted to disappoint her the way that he had. And he would rather think all this was his own fault than think that she somehow hated him. When she finally changed her tone, he was relieved. Elise was just under a lot of stress from work. She'd been good to him so far, hadn't she?

The worst part? He couldn’t even go back to Sheep Street even if he wanted to. He didn't belong there, he didn't belong here. He didn't belong anywhere.

txlos · Jun 20, 2019

Nova

A clenching feeling took hold of Nova's phone as she glanced down at it once more, her lips pressing into a thin line. She could just picture it, the anxiety coursing through her ex-boyfriend's veins, his fingers clutching into his hair, twisting into blonde locks for dear life. The image made her skin crawl, and even worse, it made her heart hurt. This was her fault, the pain she was causing him. And though it wasn't intentional, the feeling stabbed into her gut like a twisting knife. Jace still meant a lot to her (obviously) and what if she still meant something to him? God, that was a dangerous path to head down... but maybe when she got home. Blinking away the absent look she was too aware of in her eyes, Nova's fingers began flicking across her keyboard.

To: Jace

It wasn't a gift, you let me borrow it while I didn't have a guitar. I'd just really like to sit down and talk with you. You mean a lot to me Jace, I'm here for you. Don't forget that.

With a defeated sigh, Nova clicked her phone off and set it back in her lap, threading nimble fingers through her auburn locks before looking back up to meet a distressed looking Ian. Though his words were steady, his demeanor was anything but. The boy's figure looked rigid, but also somehow sagged. As if something had tired him out, taken the energy that he had had not but a minute ago. Concerned, and ever so caring, Nova placed a warm palm on the blonde's thigh. "You doing okay?" The words were but a whisper, falling softly from her lips as her hand rubbed once, back and forth, on the worn denim of the Evans' brother's jeans. The talk of his song-writing talents could obviously wait, as the blank look in Ian's eyes was more than a little concerning. Nova feared that he was slipping off into similar thoughts as her, and while it was something that she could handle, being there for her current boyfriend was incredibly important to her.

Interactions:

PenguinFox

Danielle

Coming back to school after a break always sucks. It meant no more sleeping in, no more lounging around with her cat, Murphy, and worst of all, it meant going back to a place filled with bubble-headed girls, screaming when they saw each other in the hallway as if they hadn't been on the phone all night talking about who fucked who when and how it went down. Dani couldn't help but even chuckle to herself at the thought, glad that she didn't have to be involved in any said drama. All she needed were her two closest friends, Noah and Milo, who she surprisingly hadn't seen yet today. Though it didn't worry her too much, as the two always seemed to loom in the shadows of these gross, hallowed halls of high school. Well... sorta. Noah, definitely but Milo was more of a 'life of the party' type.

Sighing heavily and opening the metal locker with a loud clang, the petite brunette examined her appearance in her magnetic mirror. She was wearing the usual - slightly baggy high-waisted jeans of a lighter wash with a white t-shirt, tied at the bottom to reveal the smallest sliver of skin. white slip on Vans covered her feet and a black belt cinched in her waist only slightly. Never one to show off her body (considering she didn't think it was much to look at anyway), Dani just wanted to be comfortable. High school was hard enough, worrying about her appearance wasn't going to get her anywhere. She took a moment to ponder that, looking around the mainly empty hallway, brown eyes scanning over the tiles and lockers, taking in the silence that was so rare in this high school, before going back to her locker to open a protein bar.

Mentions:

Winona

Paisley

Unlike most, Paisley absolutely loved coming back to school. It meant time back in the music room, time back in the music room, time to really delve into whatever Winter production was going on, and most importantly, time to get away from a suffocating Aunt Liza. The blonde girl loved her Aunt dearly. but god was she sort of a lot sometimes. All Pais wanted for this new semester was to focus on her studies and theater friends, the people who meant the most to her, the people who supported her. And above all, maybe stay out of any spotlight that wasn't onstage.

With a skip in her step, the peppy blonde made her way into the cafeteria with a home-packed lunch in hand. A cup of pear slices, some salami and cheese and an aloe water rested heavy in her hand as bright blue doe eyes flicked from one table to another before eventually finding a head of loose auburn waves. Her smile glittered as Paisley made her way over and plopped down beside Graham, resting her chin on his shoulder. Graham was one of her best friends, and a talented young man in general. The two shared not only a love of theater, but a strong work ethic (and too many late nights spent watching musicals on Broadway HD). "I've been looking for you all day!" She squealed, tucking her chin onto his shoulder in a weird hug-like thing before releasing it and emptying the contents of her lunch onto the table. She hadn't yet noticed Milo, though he too was a fellow theater lover. "I think we have music together, which would be great, and I'm definitely going to need that smart head of yours in biology this year. Day one and I already know I'm screwed." In the midst of Paisley's rambling, she mindlessly reached up to fix the boy's hair, tucking a fallen piece back into place. If you hadn't known the two, you'd think they were together.

Interactions:

Dazzle Mentions:

0k_mang0 · Jun 20, 2019

sebastian

Location: School cafeteria
Interacting with: Juliette (

Soap )

His shoulders slightly tensed up when he heard another voice nearby, restraining himself from flinching. Sebastian didn’t expect anyone to notice. He wasn’t aware someone had sat near him until he saw her. His backpack (with his skateboard strapped against it) laid between them, taking up about 2 or 3 feet of space so the girl wouldn't sit close. She looked about his age, and not quite familiar. Sebastian had seen her a few times around school before, from passing by through the school hallways, but he didn't know her name; he assumed they weren’t in the same grade, never having seen her in any of his classes.

“Uh...thanks,” Sebastian said, unsure what to make of that nonchalant compliment. “It could’ve been better, though.”

While finishing the last few fries, he caught several students around him looking at his direction and whispering to each other. No, not exactly at him, he realized. At the girl beside him. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about, especially with his earbuds on, but he didn’t like gossip when he sees it.

From the corner of his eye, he found a small group sitting at a round table about ten feet away. He narrowed his eyes pointedly at them until they realized he’d caught them and stopped staring. Shaking his head like his grandmother would do after witnessing dumb childish nonsense, he went back to erasing an error in his trigonometric ratio problem and bit into his homemade blueberry muffin.

Soap · Jun 20, 2019

Raven

And then it was all over just like that. Raven wiped the corners of her lips and edged away from the table. Ash suggested they should get out of here and Raven nodded almost instantly. No matter how drunk she was, or how tempting it was. She shouldn’t of kissed her. She was with Alaska now.

Alaska.

That seemed like someone she kept pushing everyone else away for. People only did that if they were in a relationship, even though they never officially talked about it... Raven knew what she wanted. She wanted her, not weird make-outs in a strip club, not pining over her while another kisses her, and most definitely not staying in limbo with someone she has a real shot with. She had to talk to Alaska. She could fix this, Raven was never the one from hiding the truth but... did she have to know about the kiss?

“Right. Yeah, we should get out of here.”

Ash and Raven went their separate ways after that. They had a good time, a bit awkward afterwards but... hopefully it didn’t impact their friendship in anyway.

As soon as Raven stumbled into the cabin she pulled out her phone to text the girl that’d been on her mind and was met with a ‘notice.’ Oh. So... she’s leaving. Raven wasn’t sure for how long, but that wasn’t the point. Alaska was leaving. That’s all.

She didn’t even bother to text back.

***

Happy new year.

Alaska left.

Nancy’s leaving.

And it wasn’t just a cold with her grandmother.

Raven had no-time for basically anyone, not even the paper. She’s been to the hospital, school, and that’s it. She wasn’t even sure when was the last time she slept in her own bed. She absolutely hated hospitals.

She wasn’t exactly sure what was wrong with her Abuela, hell, she wasn’t even sure the doctors knew what was wrong with her. But it wasn’t good. And that put Raven in an almost constant state of nervousness. It was surprising she even got a moment to herself near lunch. Barely even getting time to eat, she decided to work on an assignment instead of letting her grades fall. Grades were the last thing on her mind... but she promised she’d do good. She promised her grandmother a lot of things, whenever she feels more herself she’ll tell her about it.

Even if she doesn’t remember her... It doesn’t matter. Raven doesn’t break her promises.

She was at a bookstore because conveniently, the library didn’t have the book she needed. She walked row through row until finding the book that caught her eye. Whether it was for the assignment or not... it seemed kinda interesting. Opening a page, she didn’t even get to the first line when she saw movement from the corner of her eye.

“Shiloh? Is that you?”

COTimberWolf1942

Winona
Grace

“Ma’am. It’s not that hard, he’s a kid around my age. Maybe younger. Blonde hair? Easily excited?” The receptionist raised her eyebrow while her eyes trailed over Grace. Which only earned an eyeroll from her, the last thing she needed was an uptight woman who could barely do her job right.

Maybe she was technically doing her job because she wouldn’t tell her where he was because she wasn’t ‘Family.’ Or... because she was just a major bitch. Maybe she shouldn’t be so harsh... but she wasn’t feeling very generous right now.

Grace’s eye caught Mason’s and she left the reception’s desk without another word. Did Mason hear before she did? Jesus, she was terrible at gossip when she actually needed to know what was happening. She didn’t quite know Noah well, but she acknowledged him with a nod anyway.

“Hey, is he okay? What happened?”

mogy

Soap · Jun 20, 2019

Juliette

“Maybe. But it went in, didn’t it?”

Juliette simply hated perfectionists. Simply because she was one.

Yes, she noticed the stares. She wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of actually showing them she knew about it in the first place. Of course she knew, this morning was more than a fabulous show to them probably. JJ took a bite out of her salad and turned to the boy, furrowing her eyebrows in thought. Staring at him for a few long moments before saying anything. Juliette was trying to put pieces together and figure out where his place was in the school. Was he new? Or has she just never paid attention to anyone less popular than her? Hmph. Interesting.

“So... you’re not on the basketball team are you? Not that I pay attention much during the actual game.” Being a cheerleader... it was probably a good idea for her to pay attention to the game. But that’s just stupid. Grace and like... Belle were the ones who actually cared about the dumb thing. It was fairly obvious JJ was not a sports person. She... liked running. Though she probably wouldn’t admit track was an actual sport.

Nor cheerleading.

“But I’m curious. Are you a sit on the sidelines guy? Or do you actually put your bottle throwing skills to work?”

0k_mang0

Winona · Jun 20, 2019

Keisha

Out of nowhere, some blonde bumped into Keisha. She was ready to let out a stream of insults, but then her eyes met the blonde's, and all of the rude words she had to say died away on her lips. It was like she was back to being a little five year old, in a frilly pink dress, with her hair done up in poorly made pigtails.

It was her -- the blonde girl that Keisha remembered from being in kindergarten, the first girl she'd ever had a crush on. Keisha couldn't talk, she even forgot to breathe for a moment. It was like a stroke of luck that she was still in Westbrook after all these years, when Keisha was coming back home. A miracle, if you will.

And then she was gone, apologizing and running away, and Keisha was dumbstruck.

Soap

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

Milos

"Agreed." He grumbled to Graham, his shoulders sagging in defeat. Well, there was nothing left to do here. He excused himself from the table, from Belle and Graham and the other cheerleaders, and leaned down, picking up his discarded balloon animal stuff. Milos stood up, shuffling sadly out of the cafeteria. What had he done wrong this time? All he wanted to do was help people, and make Grace feel better, and now Milos had gone and done the opposite! Should he even try to comfort Sawyer later?

Once he stepped out into the hallway, Milos looked around, and then his gaze fell on Dani also wondering the hallway. The sadness from before was wiped away, instead replaced by a bright, happy gaze. "Hey! Dani!" He called out to her, and then hurried towards her, his failure at comforting Grace and the sadness he'd just felt washing away like they were nothing. "Hey, what are you up to? Just wondering the halls like a cool... uh... renegade or something?" Okay that made little sense, but oh well. Milos knew that Dani was kind of different from him. Less wanting to be the life of the party, more wanting to be a wallflower.

txlos

Dazzle

txlos · Jun 20, 2019

Danielle

Danielle couldn't help but jump slightly as a familiar booming voice sounded into the hallway, her chocolate gaze flicking over to a welcomed familiar face. Milo. Milo was always loud, always booming with confidence and positive energy, and while Dani could sometimes be a... well, a pessimist, that seemed to lessen around the brunette boy. "Did you just call me a renegade?" She chuckled, quirking a brow at him. Such a strange boy, he was lucky he was all genuine and not-bad-looking and stuff. Shaking her head, Dani shut and locked her locker before turning back to him, eyes falling down to his hands. They seemed to be occupied by... balloons?

With a point of a finger and knitted brows, Dani tilted her head and looked back up to Milo. "Hey uh... not to be mean or anything, but dropping out of high school to join the circus is supposed to be a joke." A chuckle rolled from her throat at the comment, though her tone was playful and airy. Milo was Dani's absolute best friend, someone who she could spend endless hours with in sweats and a baggy t-shirt and be free of judgement. And while he was more of an outspoken party-goer, while the brunette girl was the exact opposite, somehow they managed to mesh together quite nicely.

Winona · Jun 20, 2019

Mason

He hated to admit it, but he actually had to agree with Noah a bit. Stu wasn't that bad, he was kind of chill, and he could be entertaining to hangout with. Not that Mason would admit that out loud, or to Stu. Instead, he just shrugged. "He's okay. Tough little kid." Wasn't that an understatement. Stu had to hell and back this school year, and was somehow still optimistic.

Mason glanced over at Noah when he asked about Elise. He snorted, shaking his head. "Hell no. Stu's mom is still in fucking Britain or something. You remember Ash West?" Chances were he did -- Ash was on the cheerleading team, and tended to be part of any and all drama. And, well, she was obviously popular. "So that's Ash's mom, and I guess she met Stu's dad at the college and now they're together." Everyone knew about it after the college trip, even Mason who hadn't gone on that trip.

He was looking around the hallway, hoping that Martin would be coming back, but instead his eye caught Grace's. Mason nodded towards her, waiting until she'd made her way over. "Yeah, I found him laid out in the bathroom in a pool of his own blood." The image was still burned in his mind. "Noah drove us here. He's fine now. Lotta stitches."

Mason glanced towards the door, biting his tongue for a moment. "Elise is in there, so... you know how that goes." If anyone knew about Elise's bitchiness, it would be Grace, Ash's best friend.

mogy

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

Elise

"Now, Stu, honey." Elise tried to keep the sweet tone going, but it was getting more and more difficult to do so. "Speak up. No one likes someone that doesn't talk and just stuffs their mouth full of Kit Kats." She forced a smile onto her face, although as she spoke, her tone continued to get more stressed out, and angrier.

"Now you haven't even apologized for getting into trouble again and making me miss a very important meeting." A too important meeting at that. She was going to be the laughing stock of the other professors because of this! And how would she ever get that promotion that she so desperately wanted with Stu causing so many issues?

"Better yet, what even happened? What did you do this time to start a fight?" Because at this point, it wasn't anyone else's issue. It was Stu. It had to all be his fault, because nothing else made sense.

"You need to write an apology to whoever you offended. And I will be discussing this with your principal about how this keeps on happening." Maybe she would talk with Martin and see about getting the other parents behind it. With all of the difficulties she was having with Stu, along with Jace and Ash, Elise was getting fed up.

Dede

Soap · Jun 20, 2019

Grace

Grace winced at the thought of Stu all bloody and beaten. Glancing towards Noah she gave him a weak smile. At least they both found him and actually helped. Turns out there's a lot of people in WestBrook that'd just look the other way, she held the urge to roll her eyes at the mention of Elise.

Elise was worse than Kate.

Okay, well, maybe she's a bit biased because she's her mom. But Kate can be...

Anyway. Elise was hard to deal with, whether it was about her own children or not. As a child, Grace was around Ash tons. That was no secret. But it also meant she knew Elise pretty well. And she wasn't a very good mother in her opinion. "Yeah, Thanks Mason."

Grace walked towards his room and she could hear Elise's voice. She didn't want to interrupt whatever pleasant conversation she was sure they were having, so she hovered next to the door. Listening as the woman talked down to the poor boy who'd just been through a lot.

Dede

Winona

mogy · Jun 20, 2019

Noah

Ash’s mom? It surprised Noah that that lady was Ash’s mom, but the more he thought about it, the more it actually made sense. Ash did have that fiery strength in her tone, the same as the redhaired lady, and they both had some similar features—mostly their eyes, and maybe their eyebrows. It actually shouldn’t have been surprising to Noah at all, but it was probably due to forgetting almost everybody from Westbrook high, how they sounded and how they acted.

Of course, there were exceptions. For example, Mason. Noah could never forget how that muscular blob of anger sounded or acted. The two have been friends for a very long time so it only made sense Noah wouldn’t forget him.

Soon enough, another person came along, but she looked young, so she couldn’t have been Stu’s other guardian or whatever. She was also very familiar to Noah, but he just couldn’t remember what her name was. He could swear she was in the cheerleader squad or something like that, but he didn’t really hang out with her that much.

As the two, Mason and the girl, talked about Stu and Elise, Noah felt kind of left out, but he didn’t mind. Right after, the girl went to stand by the doors, to possibly hear what Elise and Stu talked about, and Noah wanted to hear as well, so he followed the blonde girl.

“Hey, I’m so sorry, but what’s your name again? I’m super bad with names.” Noah whispered so the lady in the room wouldn’t hear him listening to her.

Interactions:

Soap (Grace)
Mentions:

Winona (Mason, Elise, Ash),

Dede (Stu)

KingofAesir · Jun 20, 2019

Sawyer

Sawyer was honestly kinda surprised that Jace had agreed to come, and drive no less. To be truthful, she had expected him to say no. She didn't think that skipping school was really Jace's thing. But here she was, following him out to his car with a slight grin on her face. She didn't want to be at school the chances of running into Grace were entirely too high there. This was a welcome distraction. Sawyer was glad he had agreed. They were both obviously a little down in the dumps and what was that thing that people said? Misery loves company. Sawyer's misery definitely did. She hated being alone so she would take whatever chance she got to hang out with someone. It didn't really matter who they were.

"Did you see Stu?" Sawyer asked as they climbed into Jace's car, "I saw him when I got here earlier, getting dragged out of the school by Mason of all people." she started tapping on the window sill, trying to keep her thoughts in line and off of Grace, "He looked like he'd gotten the shit beat out of him. I can't imagine who would actually do that to that kid." Of course, Sawyer had moments when she'd wanted to rip hi head off herself, but she would never have actually hurt the kid. While Sawyer did tend to solve problems with her fists it was never to the extent of putting someone in the hospital. To be honest, she probably never would have touched him in the first place. Besides, he seemed to have made amends with Grace and that was really all she cared about. Sawyer shook her head, trying to rid it of thoughts of Grace.

"Whoever did that is probably gonna be in deep shit, man. That's like Grade A assault right there." She made an exasperated noise, "Idiots."

Winona · Jun 20, 2019

Ash

And just like that, Ash had ruined her friendship with Raven, too. Why was it impossible for her to have a friend and, oh... you know... not kiss them? Later that same night, Grace had come up to her room, upset about her breakup with Sawyer. Ash had consoled her as best as she could and kept her problems at bay. She'd deal with her own issues in her own time in her own way. Ash was getting good at that seeing as how she had driven away... oh... everyone that she knew.

On Monday, Ash had arrived at school in the morning with a throbbing headache. She wore her sunglasses inside, wincing at the smallest noise, with a coffee clenched tightly in her hands. No amount of caffeine or aspirin could help take care of her hangover. At this point, Ash figured she should be used to them, mainly seeing as how this was the... what was it... oh hell, she'd lost count. But Ash had spent the rest of winter break with a hangover every single morning.

She'd gone through her classes, trying to keep herself as together as possible, but that seemed to be drifting farther and farther away. Hell, Ash even looked like a disaster. There hadn't been a day that she hadn't come to school cleaned up, even when she was exhausted. But today, she wore a hoodie with her jeans and an old pair of sneakers. Her hair was brushed, but poorly, and was a wild mess and of course, she hadn't even bothered to put on makeup this morning. Dark bags sagged under her eyes, hinting at the many sleepless nights spent with a bottle of alcohol the only thing keeping her company.

By time lunch rolled around, Ash had managed to avoid the whole cheerleading squad and basically everybody. At first she'd headed into the lunch room, but the moment she stepped through those doors and her eyes fell on the cheerleading squad, her usual table, she knew that there was no way she could handle them today. Everyone's attention was on Grace, and Ash didn't have the energy to sit over there and help console her friend. Plus there was Belle, and Ash wasn't in the mood for whatever passive aggressive comments she'd make towards her. So instead, she pulled her hood up and turned back around, shoving her hands into her hoodie pockets.

Ash made her way to her locker, popping it open and waiting until the hallway was virtually empty. Then she reached in, pulling out a water bottle. She only hesitated for a moment before she opened up the top, and took a sip of the vodka. With her other hand, she pulled out her phone, opening up the Tinder app. What? She would be seventeen soon, and she was disclosing her age to the guys that were hitting her up... sometimes. It was just a way for her to get her mind off everything.

What? It was five o'clock somewhere, right? It didn't hurt to get a little tipsy at noon.

Dede · Jun 20, 2019

Neck Tie

The more Elise told him to speak up, the quieter he became, as if he could be even less communicative than he already was. He felt sorry, and he’d wanted to apologise to Elise. But then why weren’t his lips cooperating? Surely it wasn’t because he couldn’t move them; he was talking to Noah and Mason earlier just fine. Well, almost fine.

It had to be something else.

The real reason he didn’t say sorry was because he wasn’t entirely sure what he would be apologising for. Neck Tie hadn’t offended anybody. Why did Elise just assume that it was his fault? He’d never actually picked a fight with any other kid in his life (well, barring that one time he threw a scrubby brush at Mason... but she didn't know about that). That fight with Jace, that wasn’t him. It was Jace who lunged at him on the stage, yet Elise still insisted that he should be the one to apologise. It wasn’t fair. How was it fair?

He did try to do as she asked the last time. No good ever came of it.

Heck, she hadn’t even heard his side of the story yet. She hadn’t asked for it, hadn’t asked how he was, hadn’t asked if he was still hurting. A kid just slammed his head into a sink, and kicked him round the bathroom floor. How could it be his fault?

‘Fit fasn’t—‘ Neck Tie mumbled, and then quickly stopped. He nearly let it slip, but he knew better. When Elise heard about Kanen, she didn’t let him be friends with him anymore. She wouldn’t even let him anywhere near Kanen after that.

Neck Tie was afraid that she’d stop him from seeing Casper, too, if ever she found out about Aaron. Casper was his best friend. He still was. Nothing had changed, not even the fact that Casper chose his brother over him and left him on the bathroom floor. He knew Casper did it because he was scared. And he knew Casper still needed his help.

So he didn’t say. That moment, he decided no one would ever find out what really happened in that bathroom.

Elise said she'd go to Principal Nona, but he didn't care. What was another suspension on top of the last? If he was lucky, he’d be expelled. That would actually be a blessing.

But his eyes still bubbled, for whatever reason, though he wasn't crying. And he suddenly felt like seeing his dad. He looked to the door longingly, wondering what was taking Dad so long to arrive.

‘Fis. . . is Fdad. . . coming?’ he stammered. Although, this was probably not what Elise wanted to hear, after having all her questions so rudely ignored by the boy.

Winona · Jun 20, 2019

Jace

Even hearing Mason's name made Jace uncomfortable. Certain people scared him -- Sawyer, Mason... probably some other scary people. Raven, although maybe not so much anymore. Aaron. There was something seriously off about that kid. And no, Jace hadn't seen Stu, or even heard about him so he listened as Sawyer explained and maybe he felt the tiniest bit of pity for his old best friend. Stu was kind of a twat, but he wasn't worthy of a beating like that. "Damn, no, I didn't see that, but... wow. Poor Stu. Hope he's okay." Alright well that was probably the dumbest statement of the century. Of course he wasn't okay.

Jace wondered if his mother would be going to check on him in the hospital, and maybe he felt a little jealous at the idea. She certainly had never gone to check on Jace in the hospital. Granted, he had only been to the hospital once for a broken arm, but still. Luckily, his thoughts were pulled away as he had to slow down to swerve a bunch of knocked over trash cans, their contents spilling into the road. "What the heck happened there?" He mumbled, peering curiously at the disaster before continuing on.

"They must've had a really good reason. And like, it could've been anyone. Stu's got a lot of enemies." He knew of at least a couple people that weren't very fond of the kid, other than himself, of course. Jace flicked on his turn signal, and pulled into the mall parking lot. Obviously the best hat stores were the ones there, or so he thought. Both of Jace's beanies had been gifts and now that he thought about it, he didn't even know what color beanie to get. Or type! Were there different types?

At least he had Sawyer, the Master of Beanies, to assist him. "If you want, we could check on Stu... later or... now." He said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head as he said it. Seeing Stu wasn't really on his list, but if Sawyer wanted to, then he'd suck it up and go. At least he would make his mother happy... probably.

Jace put the car into park, looking towards Sawyer to wait for an answer.

KingofAesir

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

Milos

"Yeah. You have that total... renegade vibe going for you." He repeated the whole thing, tripping over the word renegade. Thanks to his father, he'd learned to speak with a faint Russian accent, and moving from school to school hadn't helped. Instead of developing any kind of American accent, he'd stuck with the Russian one. Thanks so much, dad. It was annoying, occasionally even making it difficult for other people to understand exactly what he was saying as he tripped over his words. "Anyway, forget about it. You? A renegade? Please." He scoffed teasingly. "You are the most normal goody girl I have ever met."

"Oh? These?" Milos defeated a bit at the reminder of the balloons clenched in his hands. "I was trying to cheer Grace up with them, but she wanted a dog, not a snake! You know I cannot make dogs!" Or anything, for that matter, but snakes. He sighed, shoulders slouching forward, and started towards his locker. "Anyway, what are you up to right now? Too cool for the lunch room?" Wow his jokes were bad today, but oh well. "Anyway, did you see the kid that got destroyed?"

txlos

Soap · Jun 20, 2019

Caleb

Belle. Okay, yeah. A name he can remember. He obliged and listened to whatever cheer talk the redhead and the boy seemed to be talking about. Grace went on about some Neck-Tie and decided to run away. He wondered if Serena knew what was happening with the cheerleader.

They seemed close...

Maybe.

He doesn't even know what he's talking about, he hardly knew anyone Serena hung out with ever since the break up. If these were the people she'd hung out with, they weren't all that bad. Despite being a bit depressing... he's sure they'll get over that. Caleb waited until they were done with their conversation before he continued about coffee. It was obvious the boy had a crush on Belle, he hoped he wasn't stepping on his toes. This was no-way a date, just merely an apology.

Right? Yeah. Of course. Besides, dating one of Serena's teammates would probably be a really low blow.

"Actually, I do know a place."

He sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Have you ever heard of... BestBooks?" Odds are she might've, at least. If she was interested in books in the first place, but Caleb didn't peg her for the reading type just yet.

Maree

Dazzle
Grace

Grace didn't even notice Noah followed after her, she was too busy focusing on Elise's words. Why hadn't she asked him how he was? Why just attack him for things that probably weren't his fault in the first place? God, what a terrible woman. Snapping out of her daze when Noah had spoke.

Despite the... conversation that was happening behind the door, she offered Noah a smile.

"We have biology together, Grace Jackson." No, she didn't expect the whole school to know who she was. Some people were prone to gossip. And those were the best kind of people.

"Ringing any bells?" Grace whispered back before turning her head to look at the door. She was getting rather impatient with Elise's rude rambling, and was almost ready to just walk in altogether.

“Okay, sorry. I can’t just stand here anymore.” Grace twisted the knob and walked in, eying Elise before her eyes fell on Stu. Her heart ached to see the boy so... broken.

“Sorry, was I interrupting?” Of course she was. Did she care? No.

mogy

COTimberWolf1942 · Jun 20, 2019

cDB7woToMdUj0N4s3hqo2txZEXEa5XMXpATYUfE7pv_f35c9p5WA75Bos-GLoveGuyzVS4pVlOKmt-esDRDa-ccWCw8FCLhLQpbovNCLVezUnh9gXUHDqeXXO0q9u3BY8W4BOA9s

~Shiloh Lee Mitchell~

This bookstore was new, at least Shiloh thought it was, everything was so clean and shiny looking, it had that 'brand new' glow to it. In the grand scheme of things that were holy, he hadn't really been gone so long from the town limits of Westbrook, but he had seen and done so many things, everything was new to him. On October 11th, Shiloh had departed the town on a bus then got on a plane in Portland that flew down to Atlanta with a few stops in between then he boarded a bus that brought him into the center of Georgia. They had been traveling hours when the bus finally stop in Fort Benning, but the shock of energy that had surged through him when the Drill Instructors started screaming and bags went flying through the air as the first week of Army Basic Training began. Nine grueling weeks of blood, mud, sweat, and tears that tested even Shiloh's resolve, making him doubt himself for at least a moment in Week Five. When he graduated though, he was glowing and proud in his new uniform with boots that looked like glass windows, his mom and sisters were there along with his grandparents. There were tears of joy, tight hugs that lasted forever, stories and dinner together because when morning came he was sent right back into Fort Benning to begin training for his job as a tank driver. He didn't know why he choose them, maybe it was the power of the vehicle or it reminded him of a warhorse being ridden in to battle, but he was glad he chose it. He wasn't able to go home for Christmas or New Year's due to field training but he had put in his days and was able to take time away from Army ways to go home and see his friends and family. Why was he in that bookstore? Well his littlest sister, Carla, desperately wanted some new teenage romance book, dystopian novel? He didn't really know, but he was desperately searching for it so he could give them some nice little Christmas gifts even if they were a little late. He rubbed his palms on his jeans and sighed, this was hard, he didn't really understand what these girls were reading now but if it made them happy, he would be happy.

"Raven." His deep blue eyes were crystal clear, his mouth dropped open a little, "Yeah.. It's me." His smile was awkward but still flashed like a thousand watt bulb as he turned to face, hands on his hips and his chest puffed up so that he straightened up tall like he always had done.

Soap

PenguinFox · Jun 20, 2019

Ian's jaw clenched hard, his head started to ache, and his palm hurt from how hard he was pressing his fingernails into it, leaving small indents. It felt like his skin was crawling and he had to actively suppress a shiver from running down his spine. His shoulders began to ache and he began to try and think of an excuse to excuse himself. No one would notice, no one would care.

A warm hand on his leg jolted Ian's focus back to the reality. It would normally be quite comforting to the teenager, but it was of little help in this moment. A twinge of panic rose in his chest as Nova asked if he was okay. Of course he wasn't okay, but he couldn't tell her that. His burdens were just that, his own. Nova didn't need that kind of thing weighing on her. Why should she have to also suffer through what Ian had to on a daily basis? No, she deserved better, so a small smile formed on his lips as he spoke up. "Yeah of course, why wouldn't I be?" Okay well that came out sounding more suspicious than he intended. His voice was smooth and confident, but the word choice was very much suspect. There was no way she wouldn't know he was lying, but she couldn't know. Ian couldn't do that to this pure and kind girl that somehow came into his life.

Thoughts racing, the Evans boy searched for a way out of this. The only solution he could come up with was to run. Was it mature to just run away from his problems? Not really, but he was doing it for the benefit of his girlfriend, so that made it sort of okay right? His right hand unconsciously went to his left shoulder. "I- uh...I'll be right back." he stammered, confidence he had had just a moment ago now gone. With that he stood up, hand still rubbing his shoulder, and began making his way out of the cafeteria, leaving his things and the brunette behind. He carefully maneuvered through the sea of students, giving the occasional 'pardon' and 'sorry' to those he bumped through. His eyes scanned over everyone, as he was taller than most of the other kids, until he found a suitable door- a janitors closet. He made his way over and casually stood by the door. His shoulder burned, itched, and ached all at the same time. He waited for a moment where he thought people were paying him no mind before slipping into the storage space and closing the door behind him. Thankfully it was unoccupied. He tugged at the collar of his shirt to get some air flowing over his torso.

Ian paced back and forth in the small space that was this janitor's closet, hands interlaced behind his head. He couldn't believe that he was hiding in here, it was pathetic. He wanted to scream, but that would defeat the purpose wouldn't it? A deep, ragged sigh escaped his lips and his hands shook as they moved back to his shoulders. His eyes closed for a moment, as he settled into the pain. It was going to be a long rest of the day.

txlos

KingofAesir · Jun 20, 2019

Sawyer

Sawyer thought for a moment on Jace's question. Would it be weird for her to go see Stu? The answer to that was a definite yes. But it seemed like the guy wasn't as bad as she thought if he made up with Grace and she did feel kinda bad about the whole thing. Plus, she'd like to figure out who was responsible for beating Neck Tie to a pulp. No matter how annoying Stu might be he didn't deserve to be beat like that. He was a practically defenseless kid and that was just down right wrong. Sawyer was honestly feeling a little like giving said culprit a run for their money. Pick on someone your own size and all that. So, quite honestly, she did want to go check on Neck Tie, if only to make sure he was alive. Maybe he could spill who did it. Going on some kind of justice trip would definitely be an adequate distraction. So, with all this running through her head she turned to give Jace a resolute nod.

"I mean, I'd like to go check on him." Sawyer shrugged, "Maybe find out who the hell did that to him." She paused for a moment. Sawyer knew that Jace and Stu weren't on very good terms judging by that disaster on a musical, but suddenly there was another mission on her mind. Maybe this would be good for Jace too. Really, Stu had to appreciate people coming to check on him and maybe they could come to some sort of agreement. Sawyer felt like being benevolent for a moment at least. She might be able to distract herself sufficiently by helping other people. Maybe this would keep her from falling into her old habits. The last thing she wanted to do was end up right back where she was after Natalie. Sawyer had never handled sleeping alone very well at all.

"Only if you are okay with it, though." Sawyer assured, "I don't think you guys are on very good terms, but this could help. Maybe." And that's all she was gonna say on the matter. She'd let him decide whether or not they were gonna go. This was Jace's car after all.

Winona · Jun 20, 2019

Drake

He was happy. Well... mostly happy. For the most part, the whole drug thing had faded, and Drake wasn't longing for the sweet relief of a high anymore. Or, at least, not quite as much as he had been before. And, of course, they'd started moving into Belle's room. The first day they had spent the night at her house had been awkward, to say the least, and Drake had ended up sneaking into Mason's bedroom and falling asleep in bed with him, with Ari sprawled out between them.

What? Drake may have been fifteen, but he was still a child in a lot of ways. And when it came to sleeping in a new house, in a bedroom that felt bigger than his whole apartment that he had lived in for his whole life, well... yeah, maybe Drake got a little scared. But now he was feeling great, and happy, and he couldn't wait to tell Maisie. To tell her that what she had said had worked, and that now he was getting clean. For Mason, for Ari, for Belle, for Aaron... for her.

On his way to the lunch room, he saw Aaron and Casper, and a bright smile crossed his face. "Hey!" He said, hopping up to the two and not noticing how nervous Casper looked, or how Aaron's fists were a bit bruised. It was none of his business, after all! "Come with me, I need to find Maisie. I have something to tell all of you."

He took Aaron and Casper by the hands and dragged them to the lunchroom, pushing his way in. His gaze moved around the room, falling on his loving girlfriend for a moment before he caught sight of Maisie. Drake dragged the twins over with him, letting go once they reached her table, and then he took a seat next to her, bouncing a bit in his seat, his fingers tapping against the table in nervous excitement. Finally, he took in a deep breath, ready to tell them everything.

"Belle and I... well, she wanted to help me get better. I've been clean since Christmas, and I've moved in with her. So that I'm away from the drugs and everything." His smile was nervous while he waited for their approval.