Realistic or Modern Westbrook

[txlos]

Nova

​

It was obvious that Ash wasn't her biggest fan, but damn. Nova couldn't help but wince at the words that spilled so carelessly from the blonde's mouth though, the smell of alcohol and mud wafting from the girl's tattered figure. Being the person she was, the brunette wanted desperately to ask if Ash was okay, if there was something she could do... but then again, it was clear that that wasn't going to be a conversation that could go over well. So with a timid smile in Ian's direction, Nova gave a simple nod and began towards Jace's room.

Nerves ticked at her fingertips as light footsteps carried her towards the pale yellow of Jace's room, her eyes blinking rapidly as flashes of her last time in this house flowed easily into her head. It was calm, relaxing... easy. Being with her blonde beanie boy was always easy, always something she looked forward to, always something that made her feel, well... beautiful. Jace had always had this way of making her feel like the most special girl in the world, as if her past didn't matter and maybe to Jace, it didn't. God, the aching in her chest was just getting worse, by no one's fault but her own, and by the time she reached the door well, air seemed to be hard to find.

Shaking out her hair a bit, the brunette slowly clasped her hand around the door knob. It was ice cold under her touch, sending shivers down her arm. She needed to suck it up, this was Jace, not a bad ex. Nothing wrong happened in their breakup (besides Nova's three month disappearance) and she couldn't imagine her life without the blonde in it. Nova made her way down the stairs a little more confidently now, the yellow hue of his bedroom soothing her in the slightest. It was so familiar, so comforting... so yet, it now held this air of stale love gone bad. All because of her.

It wasn't hard to spot the boy, rummaging in a corner, fingers flicking furiously to find something. Typical Jace, panicked of the small things... and yet, it was somehow endearing. "Hey stranger," The words were playful, though a drop of pain hid behind them. Setting down his belongings by her ankles, Nova clasped her hands behind her back as an audible sigh left her form. "I have some things of yours..."

Winona

Paisley

​

What to do today... it was a good question. Part of Paisley wanted nothing more than to maybe do a little light shopping then come back and spend the day lounging. After all, Liza was gone and had left credit cards for the blonde to play with (as per usual). But then again, getting out of the house in general was going to be a chore. A groan fell haphazardly from the the girl's mouth, over dramatic like always. "I don't wanna do anything," Paisley huffed before falling into Graham, her shoulder overlapping his until they were close and comfortable. "Think about it, our world is about to get absolutely nuts. Auditions, the musical, don't forget about choir concert and dance shows. And you! My stunning male cheerleader, you have to keep yourself rested and healthy."

Paisley was incredibly proud of Graham and his cheerleading title. He stole the show at every halftime, displayed this amazing feat of strength and agility. And if anyone said anything negative about her best friend's sport? You'd better run, far away and fast. No one was going to step all over Graham if Paisley was around to hear it.

But that still didn't solve the immediate issue. "I don't really wanna go anything today... can't we just lay around and eat?" Paisley looked up to her friend with wide puppy eyes, pouting out her lower lip just a bit. She knew all too well that her auburn-haired bestie couldn't resist the puppy dog look. It had gotten her many-a milkshake, midnight drives and even a spontaneous trip to NYC with the boy.

Dazzle

 

[Winona]

Ash


Why was he being so nice to her, and not yelling or something? Ash had just insulted his stupid girlfriend. Sure, they were friends, but still. Ryder never would've let someone talk like that about her, no matter how close they were. He never let anyone treat her badly, even when they had broken up for that couple weeks. Ryder had always looked out for her, even before they were dating, even before... everything. He'd always been there for her, backing her up and keeping her safe.

Fuck.

Ash bit her lip, looking down at the counter as she slid into one of the bar stools by the island, placing her coffee cup on the ground. Tears started to form in her eyes. God. She'd just gotten him back and now... she was alone again. Ash had given up so much to be with him, she'd gone through so much, and now he was just... gone.

She quickly rubbed her sleeve against her eyes, dispersing any tears that might have threatened to fall, before she looked back up at Ian with an obviously forced, cold-hearted smile. "I'm fine." Ash said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she lifted the cup to her lips, taking in a deep sip. It needed more whiskey, but Ash doubted she would be able to add that here with Ian watching. What a pity. It was too early in the morning to still be sober, after all.

"Look, you're sweet. But we both know I'm the opposite of pretty right now." Ash said with a cold smirk. Her fingers tightened around the cup as he mentioned what she was doing, and she just rolled her eyes. "So? I'm turning seventeen next month. That's close enough to their age, and it's not like it's hurting anything. And I'm public drinking because they're willing to buy drinks for me." She responded with a casual shrug, as if the whole thing was absolutely no big deal.

"Look, I've never been better. I've found something to do with my time instead of hanging around bitchy cheerleaders. Don't worry about me." That was the thing, wasn't it? Everyone was worried about her now, and it just pissed Ash off even more. She'd been alone when Ryder left, alone with Jeffrey's passing the night before, alone when Belle joined the team, alone when her mother would nitpick everything she did... and now people had the audacity to say something?

Fuck them all. She was fine now.

PenguinFox

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

Jace


He'd been searching for hours for the last of Nova's things. The last thing evading him had been a stupid little yellow bracelet that Jace had gotten for her shortly after they had started dating. It wasn't super fancy or anything, and maybe he shouldn't even bother finding it, but Jace definitely didn't want it. He'd already gone through every drawer with many of them now hanging haphazardly open, their contents spilling out onto the ground. His closet was a wreck, with many of his shirts pulled down. His dressers were messes, the clothes spilling out from where he'd struggled to gather the last of her things.

Gathering belongings was the worst part of a breakup. With Nova, the two of them had exchanged so many things or forgotten things at each other's houses so often that it was almost impossible to gather it all at once. Or... for Jace, anyway. Their relationship had fallen together so easily, fitting together perfectly like the pieces of a puzzle that Jace had never even though about breaking up, or ever having to do this. This... awkward item exchange as he was shoved deep into his closet, going through the last place that that gosh dang bracelet could be. And then finally, he found it, lost deeply in the back of his closet.

His fingers had just closed around it when Nova's melodic voice reached him, and Jace froze, not wanting to exit the safety of his closet, with the last of his shirts falling down around him, keeping him safe. Jace was shaking, his fingers closing tighter around the bracelet, and he had to take a deep breath to steel himself. God, he still loved Nova, and every day, this breakup was feeling more and more like a bad idea. But gosh dang it, he didn't know if he liked dicks or boobs or both at this point.

Jace slowly crawled out of the closet, looking towards her with his hand still gripping the bracelet like it was a lifeline. "I... uh... sorry..." He swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to keep himself strong as he looked up at Nova. All he really wanted to do was wrap her in his arms, bury his face in her soft air, and relax with her like they used to. But he'd messed that up, hadn't he?

"Here. The rest of your stuff is over there." Jace said, nodding towards the pile of belongings that he'd started to form.

txlos​

 

[Soap]

Raven

Raven rolled her eyes at Ari. Jeez, that quick. That kid went through toys faster than Raven-- Never mind. It was nice to have a sense of familiarity, being with Mason just felt... kinda normal now. And she missed normal, her start of the year was like... an old puzzle. Everything's been thrown out and jumbled around and Raven couldn't find the pieces to finish it because they were missing.

What the fuck, who had the audacity to give her a broken puzzle.

You'd think it hasn't been long. But it felt like it'd been at least six months already. Juggling school, newspaper, and going back and forth to the hospital every day was hard. At least it was a weekend and she only had to worry about the hospital part. Raven hated that part.
She wanted to give a sarcastic answer towards Mason, but she didn't have the energy to do so.

"Like sh-- I'm... okay." She remembered Ari was here, and... she didn't want to be yelled at as the one who taught her curse words. Despite how much she actually wanted to. Raven found herself explaining her problems per usual around Mason more often than not. "It's weird, going home to an empty house y'know? Like I don't mind living alone." She didn't. Really.

"I don't know. It's... too quiet. There's no tv in the background, or Nancy blasting music. It's just... me." Raven sighed and met Mason's eyes, shaking her head and chuckling softly. She hated sharing too much.

"Anyway, it's whatever. I wouldn't say no to a sleepover once in a while." She poked Ari softly on the arm, raising her eyebrows once she got her attention.

"Whattya think kid?" She teased, grinning as the waitress had brought her drink, mumbling a thanks.

Winona



​

 

[Moonshadow]

June
​

Now that she was alone in her room, the more she thought about it, the more she realized how out of place she is at Westbrook. Perhaps for the best, judging by Argentina who was nice towards her. Maybe she can start a new. The thought seemed nice. But, she knew it was impossible with everyone else there.

And as she stared at her computer screen. She pushed her glasses up as the reflection of ‘June’s Blog’ stared back at her. She hesitated before moving her hand to the mouse. But, before she could do anything, the door opened causing her to immediately slam her laptop close. “Valerie! Oh, can you please knock next time?”

Valerie rolled her eyes. “It’s my house.”

June’s shoulders fell. “Okay whatever. What do you want?”

Valerie glanced at June’s laptop before looking at her. “Since I’m making breakfast, I thought that maybe you can go to the coffee shop nearby to get my mom something to drink... and me.”

June contained her sigh as she got up and walked to the closet. She couldn’t say no to what Valerie wanted she realized. If Valerie covertly told her to go get coffee for her mom even though June knew it was probably for her she would do it. “Okay where is it?”

“I’ll text you it.”

~~~~
​

She parked her car almost perfectly in the parking space besides the cafe. She had become an expert at driving now that she actually tried to learn it and had a car to show for it. This came at a price though with Valerie constantly asking her to take her places in order to save mileage on her own. But she couldn’t say no and was about to boil over because of it. She looked awful probably, her hair in weird ponytail and her glasses smudged. It was awful, but it would be quick only having to wait for the coffee to finish then she would leave and Valerie would leave her alone. She took out her phone as she entered the cafe looking at the order before looking up and ordering, then taking out her card to pay. While she waited, she looked around the cafe, smiling a bit at the decor. It reminded her of her old room in a weird...

What.

Her breath hitched as she saw them. They seemed so far away before, so far. But they are here now. Raven and Mason. She didn’t know what to do. She turned around quickly her eyes staring at the machine, wishing and praying it would go faster. But it wasn’t for she had to wait for other orders to fulfilled before hers.

Well, she hoped they didn’t notice her at least.

Mentions: Winona Soap

 

[Soap]

Grace

Cheerleading practice had been a disaster. Well... not really. It actually went really well! Ash just wasn't there. Why would she quit? Was it because of her? Was Grace one of those... 'fake bitches.' Thinking about it all weekend had put the blonde in a sour mood. Grace had decided to throw more things onto her plate, because... distractions are fun.

They really aren't and they usually hardly help keeping her mind off of...

Grace has been trying not to even think of her name. Which... obviously had been difficult. She's so stupid. Why was she even tutoring someone to begin with? She smiled at the barista and took the two coffees. Well, one coffee and a hot chocolate. She wasn't a coffee kinda girl. What if the person she was tutoring didn't like coffee either? Damn it.

After an incredibly long decision making process in the coffee shop. Grace had decided on getting an extra hot chocolate instead, balancing the drinks in the holder as she opened the door with her free hand and walked into the library, searching around for...

Only one person. Huh. A girl to be exact, and she was kinda...

Forget that. Unimportant.

She approached the table and realized it was the girl she bumped into the other day, she still looked incredibly familiar beyond that. Grace shook it off. "Hey, please don't tell me I'm at the wrong library and you're the person who desperately needs help in biology." That came off a bit harsh, but she could care less.

"Oh. And these are uh, for you."

Winona​

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Tatum had been content sitting in the cafe, she had finally warmed up from riding her bike, but then again she knew she hadn't been caught yet. Her phone had stayed silent so far and she had hoped it would stay that way. She had watched some other Westbrook students meander into the cafe and paid no attention to her, but she watched all of them. She let her mind wander as her fingers traced the rim of the cup she had finished. All she was thinking about was another mug of coffee and the effort to go get another just wasn't there. But before she could even make the full decision to stay or get up her thoughts were interrupted by a voice...A voice talking to her? She looked up at the male in front of her. She gave him a once over taking in what small information she could gather. The gloves were nice quality, and the blazer she could tell meant he had to have some kind of money. More than she had. Not like her family was struggling but she could tell exactly how rich he was by his posture and outfit choice. Her brown eyes locked onto his blue ones and she gave him a small smile. That seemed to be the question around town was either if she was new or went to Westbrook.

She gave him a small nod, "I wouldn't say I go there, but I suffer there. I can assume by your question you must go there. I'm Tatum," she gestured for him to let him know he could sit down across from her if he wanted to. her gaze went back around the cafe and she saw another blonde male that she had recognized from Westbrook maybe from passing in the halls but she had no other clue as to who he was, but he looked down. She brought her attention back to the male in front of her keeping the small smile on her face. He was cute, but she was still wary of him, just like she was wary of any teenage boy and with good reason.

Mention(s): Dazzle (Mads)
Interaction(s): DrabberRogue (Jace)

 

[mogy]

Noah

​

When Milo said that he had heard about the trash cans, and how Noah crashed into them, a bunch of questions started flowing around Noah’s mind. How did Milo know about that? When did he hear about it? Who did this gossip come from? Was the gossip spreading again? Did Noah have to kill somebody again?

Wow, talking about a paranoid dum-dum, am I right?

Noah drank his iced tea, and quite a lot of it, trying to think of what to answer, since he already looked pretty fucking awkward because he didn’t answer Milo right away, but waited a good 20 seconds. Poor little Milo probably didn’t even know what was happening, and probably thought that Noah finally went completely bonkers while in Italy.

“Well, you know. It happens to everybody.” Noah smiled. “And yes, it stank like hell, but it’s all okay now.”

Only a few moments passed before Noah continued the somewhat awkward conversation. “So how has life been for the past couple of months?”

Interactions: Winona (Milos)
Other: txlos (Dani)​

 

[Daniel Reaving]

Jasmine

She couldn’t help but smile at this girl and nodded. “Yeah that would be awesome! My cousins here but god knows where she is so heh.” She said with a chuckle before looking down to the empty table she had set her tray on. “Wanna sit here?” She asked Adriane with a welcoming smile.
Winona​

 

[Winona]

Mason


His gaze turned from Ari to Raven, momentary surprise in his amber eyes. Had she really just suggested what he thought she'd suggested? For Mason, it was like everything was falling perfectly into place. They'd have somewhere that felt like home, and without the drugs. It was the best of both worlds, and Mason could help Raven out more during this... Well, you know. He knew as well as she did that Raven's grandma wasn't going to pull through. Mason couldn't even begin to imagine what she was feeling.

"That would be awesome. We're actually... well kind of homeless right now." Mason admitted sheepishly. "Drake moved in with Belle to get clean. And it's working for him, and I'm happy, but... I hate her house. It sucks. There's so many maids. She doesn't even have to dress herself if she doesn't want to!" It was, by far, the worst thing Mason had ever experienced. The lap of luxury sucked.

Before he could continue, his gaze flickered to the door as it opened and a certain redhead breezed through the doorway. Mason grew tense, his amber gaze following her and watching her as she ordered. "Holy fuck, that's June, isn't it?" He murmured to Raven. This was hell.

Once she had finished ordering, Mason knew that she'd spotted them, but the bitch didn't even have the balls to say anything. Well if she wasn't, Mason would. "Hey, June." He called, his voice cold as he spoke. "You wanna come sit or keep acting like we don't exist?" Okay, maybe he was a little harsh, but Mason didn't care right now.

Moonshadow Soap​

 

[txlos]

Danielle

​

Between traffic, waiting for a family of ducks to cross the road, and the lack of parking spaces in the cafe lot, Dani was more than just a few minutes late. Once she had managed to park the beat up hand-me-down 4runner that her mother had so lovingly passed on, she grabbed her purse and bolted for the door. Noah never minded when she was late, it was probably normal for him at this point. He had been waiting on the girl for years, and was always so patient with her. But Milos, well... he had a little bit more impatience when it came to his ever so non-punctual friend. "I'm here I'm here!" Her voice carried throughout a rather packed diner, a flash of blue jogging towards the table of two awkward looking boys. It was no secret to Dani that the two weren't exactly close, but it meant the world to her that they endured a Saturday brunch just to spend some time with her. If there was one thing she could count on, it was the two men sitting in the worn out, forest-green booth.

"You two look well-rested," It was obviously a joke, as Milos looked pretty worn out (never quite the morning bird) and Noah looked well... like Noah. Noah always looked a little tired, a little under the weather, ever since he was a freshman, but that didn't mean that he wasn't happy. He just showed it differently than others. With a grin, Dani quickly and as quietly as possible slid over the table and into the booth between the two boys, reaching over to grab Noah into a hug first and place a loud kiss on his cheek. "God I missed you!" Dani cheered, playfully swatting at his leg before turning to Milos. "And you," A chuckle fell, he looked like hell. "You look like you're ready to meet the Queen of England Milos, truly." Her smile only solidified her amusement before allowing her body to settle back into the booth. This felt right, natural even. Just Dani and her boys. Oh how sweet it was.

Nova

​

His figure was trembling, just in the slightest. That much she was sure of. And god, the small distance between her and where the blonde stood felt like miles, like if she wanted to take a step towards him it would launch Jace ten steps back. Nova hated this, every bit of this, from the look of distress on her ex-boyfriend's face to the way his body seemed drained of all life. And yeah, she couldn't help but feel like it was entirely her fault. Her relationship with the West boy had been so... well, easy. It had fallen in her lap like an unexpected wish, it had been relaxing and comforting, easy to be herself and easy for her to feel accepted and now? Well, what were they now?

Hazel eyes slowly drifted to the pile that Jace was referring to, a weak smile tugging at the corner of her lip. It was a messy pile, things tossed without a care, and to be fair, Nova deserved that. She felt her hands tighten around the guitar case, her knuckles going a pale white as she held back the ray of emotions that was invading her mind. This wasn't fair, but not only that, it wasn't right. This was Jace, Jace West, someone she still loved dearly but it was different now, but she didn't want it to be, but at the same time-

She couldn't think clearly.

The bag of Jace's clothes slid heavy off of Nova's shoulders as her eyes blinked more and more, her bottom lip finding it's way between her teeth. Bending down, the brunette set the guitar case down more gently than the duffle before slowly closing the distance between her and the lanky blonde. It did, it felt like miles, but it wasn't anything that Nova wouldn't cross for Jace. And once she had, well... it felt like every fiber of her being seemed to magnet to the boy.

It was quick, but it was so bittersweet. Nova reached out and snaked her arms around Jace's midsection, grabbing at her wrists behind his back to hold him close. Her head fell easily onto his chest, tucking her chin and bit and taking a deep breath. It was fragile, almost breakable, this embrace that she had initiated, but at the same time, it felt like home. Jace would always feel a little bit like home, no matter how their relationship ended up. Her nose began to sniffle, eyes closing as she refused to let go until the blonde pushed her away, which she assumed he would. But for now? Well, all she knew to do was enjoy the comfort of her cheek to Jace's chest, their hearts beating close together, only separated by cotton clothing and skin.

Winona

 

[Soap]

Raven

Raven hadn’t expected him to take her up on that offer, she was mostly just teasing... mostly. Her eyes widened when he said he was homeless and for a second she was worried he was sleeping out on the streets, with Ari. She hated rich people as much as the next person. Belle was... sweet. She didn’t approve of him living there, but it was better off living there instead of a shelter or worse. Letting out a soft laugh at his small outburst.

“Well, I can assure you if you come over tonight. I won’t change your clothes for you.”

She smiled at the other Rivera. So, maybe, she was kind of relieved she wouldn’t be alone tonight. Just talking to anyone that wasn’t in a hospital helped get her mind off of it in the first place. Raven didn’t even want to think about what’ll happen if—

When.

She passes away. Raven’s smile faded instantly at the thought of it and her attention moved from Mason to Ari, watching her play with some action figure. “You can stay for as long as you guys want. Trust me when I say you both are more welcome there than my own mother Is.” The toy Ari was playing with fell to the ground and Raven bent down to pick it up, handing it to Ari as Mason mumbled something. What? Did he just say— her head snapped up and her eyes widened the slightest bit.

Yes, that was in fact. June.

Before she knew it, Mason was calling her over here. “Mason.” Raven said through gritted teeth. Asking her harshly is probably not the way to go, with a small breath she looked towards June.

“Hey, Mary-Jane. Back so soon?”

A grimace at the old nick-name, but she quickly recovered with a Raven styled grin in her direction.


Moonshadow Winona​

 

[Moonshadow]

June
​

June winced when she heard Mason’s voice. It felt like forever ago, but it’s only been a couple of months since they last talked. And he didn’t seem the least bit pleased, which also wasn’t out of character for him. She eventually turned around and walked over to them. She also winced at the nickname. “Right... sorry I didn’t commence the fanfare. I’ll totally do it next time. But I hoped to stay on the down low.” She said sarcastically to Mason and looked over at Raven, frowning a bit before looking at the table besides them.

“So,” She sat down and saw Ari then looked at them, they did both look very tired. It made sense. Westbrook will never change. “You two don’t look too hot. What’s been going on?” She asked casually.

Soap Winona

 

[PenguinFox]

Green eyes studied Ash carefully. It seemed she was going the shutting him out path over the blowing up on him path. Good, even if the person didn't mean it being blown up on always hurt at least a little. Ian gave her a casual shrug as he prepared his words carefully. "Maybe you're in a rougher state than you'd prefer right now but you can't tell me you've never heard of natural beauty?" A small smirk rose to his face. In an entirely platonic way, he thought she really was pretty, even as she was going through whatever it was she was going through. Sure he was trying to build her up to make her feel better, but he certainly wasn't lying by any means.

Ian took a few steps closer and leaned forward on the opposite side of the island as Ash. "If they're buying drinks for you as a minor they probably don't care that much about your well being. There's a lot of scumbags and weirdos out there Ash." he paused for a moment, once again studying her, trying to figure out exactly where her head was at. "I think....I think you know exactly what you're doing, and how dangerous it is. This isn't the way to cope with whatever you're going through. If you need someone to talk to never hesitate to give me a shout. I can't say as I'd always know how to help other than listen, but I'm a damn good listener." his eyebrows knitted with concern.

Don't worry about me. Oh how well Ian knew that phrase. He couldn't recall a time he'd ever used it and not needed to be worried about. "Ash of course I'm worried about you. You're my best friend. This self destructive path you're on is concerning." his tone was gentle, words hushed with concern for his friend. He wanted to reach out and put his hand on hers but he wasn't certain she'd be okay with touch at the moment so he held back. "So please, talk to me. Let me help you." he hoped she would open up to him. He hoped he'd be able to help and not have to tell her his own personal struggles as proof he knew talking would help. Most of all Ian hoped Ash, his first and best friend in Westbrook, would be okay. Winona

 

[Soap]

Juliette

What's wrong? Jesus. Everything could be wrong. This could be it. No parties, no boys, no... well... that is unless... never mind. She didn't have to worry about that yet. Yet. Here's hoping she don't have to. JJ was nervous, scared even. And it showed on her face. Unless Ava was blind she was almost sure that she could see it. "God, so many things." Juliette took the bag from behind her back and held it out to her. "I-I didn't know what to do. I mean I know how, but I'm-"

"I'm scared, Ava."

Jules sighed heavily, shaking her hands a bit as if they'd help shake off her nervousness as she walked in, paying no attention to the dog.

There was no way. Right?

A few minutes later, they were upstairs in Ava's room. Juliette tapped her nails on the desk. "How much longer?" She was more than sure it'd only been at least five minutes. She leaned onto the desk almost knocking over the laptop, with an exasperate sigh she moved to Ava's bed. When Jules was nervous it was almost impossible for her to keep still. Always has been.

She looked up at Ava and watched her for a few seconds before looking away. "Sorry. For like, throwing this on you." She picked at the paint on her nails, knocking a rhinestone off and mumbling a curse at the sight of it, and Jules was ready to bust out in tears because of it.

Winona
​

 

[Winona]

Keisha

She was seated at one of the library tables, absolutely annoyed that her mother had not only insisted that she needed a tutor to get her caught up with Westbrook's curriculum, but that it had to be on a Saturday. Who studied on Saturdays?! It was absolute madness, and her annoyed expression as she leaned against the table, her head perched on one hand while she waited for this tutor were enough to make it obvious. Keisha didn't want to spend Saturday with some nerd--

Her thoughts seized when the door to the library open, and in walked the gorgeous blonde, carrying two drinks with her. Keisha quickly dropped her hand, sitting up straighter and watching her approach with her dark eyes. This was definitely the same blonde that had bumped into her a few days ago, and it hadn't taken long for Keisha to hear her name tossed around. Grace Jackson, head cheerleader, and very popular with... well, everyone. She was the it girl at this school.

And Keisha couldn't tear her eyes away.

For a moment, Keisha didn't even hear her speak, Grace words not registering in her mind. She was just staring at her, at her perfect lips as they formed the words, at her gorgeous eyes, at her perfect hair. But then Keisha realized she had spoken, and she quickly tried to catch herself. "Right, ahh... yeah, that's me." She admitted, her cheeks turning a bright red. "My mom thinks I need to catch up so I can graduate on time and stuff. It's stupid." Biology wasn't even a class for freshman at her school in Ohio.

So yeah, she was a bit behind.

"You're my tutor? I figured you'd be busy like... at parties or cheerleading." Keisha said, her face turning an even brighter red when she realized how she'd basically admitted to kind of knowing some about the blonde before. "Anyway, I'm Keisha and thanks for the drinks. Coffee?" She asked. Keisha was not much of a coffee drinker, so she was praying it was a no.

Soap

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

Milos


How had life... wow, that had to be one of the worst conversation starters, right up there with talking about the weather. Milos just stared at Noah for a moment, with an almost dumbfounded expression on his face, before he heard the melodic voice of Dani, coming to save the day and get rid of this awkwardness between the two boys.

A lopsided smile graced his lips as she sat down, and all Milos could do was roll his eyes at her joke. "Oh please," he scoffed. "The Queen of England wishes that she could meet me with her mad Corgi posse." She was the one with all the little Corgis, right? Maybe that just a myth, like dinosaurs and unicorns or something.

Now this was fun, this was alright. Dani was here, and Milos was easily able to relax. He leaned over, nudging her side with his elbow. "So Dani, did you hear about how Noah hit a bunch of trash cans?" A sly grin crossed his face as his dark eyes flickered back to Noah. "I want to hear everything, and I'm sure that she feels the same."

What? He liked to be up and in on the drama.

txlos mogy​

 

[Winona]

Mason


"Well for one, you showed back up." He said, his voice spitting venom as he narrowed his eyes at June. Alright so maybe inviting her over hadn't been the best idea, but Mason still had so many feelings bottled up about what happened between the two of them, and... he didn't know what to do. She had moved on, that much was obvious, but Mason was still bitter about the whole situation. "But we've both got shit going on. You'd understand if you actually cared about us."

Mason removed his arm from behind Raven's chair, instead now crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his seat, his dark amber gaze leveled at June. He didn't mean to be so cruel, but... god damn it, he was mad. His gaze only turned from her when Ari spoke up, and his gaze softened considerably.

"June?" She said, tilting her head to the side, action figure in hand after Raven had returned it (she had made sure to thank her). "Missed you." Her words, being the small toddler she was, were a little jumbled up, and then she turned back to the toys in front of her, placing down the action figure to scoop up a couple crayons and start scribbling.

"She missed you. Didn't exactly understand the whole disappearing act, and asked about you for a few days." But with Adriane back, it hadn't taken long for the two to distract Ariana from her.

Soap Moonshadow

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

Ava


They had at least a half a dozen different tests (better to be safe than sorry, right?), and now they were lined out on Ava's desk. She was sitting on the ground, surrounded by different instruction sheets and trying to make sense of everything that she was reading, and trying to sort out when each test would be done.

"I'm learning more about the human body right now than I did in health class." Ava grumbled, while she tried to figure out if all of the tests should be done or not. "Okay, I think -- I think -- they should all be good now. You wanna check them because like, I am not touching those." Jules had... yeah, ewww. Ava didn't even want to think about it.

"Just look for like... negative signs and frowny faces." From what she could tell, anyway, that's what most of the tests had. Ava put down an instruction sheet, and noticed how nervous JJ even looked. With a sigh, she stood up. "I'll look at them with you, alright? We'll see if you have Bryan's kid or what." God she hoped not.

This world didn't need more Bryans.

Soap​

 

[PenguinFox]

​

Sierra rubbed her forehead as she looked between computer and papers strewn about the table. She was sitting in a cafe preparing for her next semester. There were still so many things that she needed to get done, and most of this paperwork made no sense, and the stress of it was getting to her, so she had decided to drown it out with caffeine. In the spaces between various pieces of paper sat three empty cups and one half finished iced macchiato. Even in the winter the brunette girl preferred iced drinks over hot, though since starting college in Maine she's been more willing to drink hot. Winter here was quite different from her California hometown.

The Evans sister had been sitting at a table close to the door and was regretting her decision as every time someone came in she had to hold down the papers lest the wind blow them away. She could have moved but at this point it would have been more effort than it was worth. With a groan she placed her face in her palms. She was close to saying screw it and giving up. She'd been there practically since the place opened and was so tired and frustrated.

Just then the doors opened again but this time the college student was unprepared. The gust of cold air sent a financial form tumbling from her table and right into the chest of the man who just walked in. Great. Sierra quickly gathered the remaining forms into a neat pile and tucked under her laptop before rushing over to the stranger. "Sorry, I didn't expect the wind to take it like that." she said sheepishly. She had had so much caffeine yet still felt tired and unfocused. Maybe this distraction was what she needed. She looked up at the tall guy with a weak smile. "Thanks for catching it though." What a morning, but on the brightside at least the paper didn't go out the door, she very much needed it. COTimberWolf1942

 

[Soap]

Grace

Grace gave the girl a small pout. Graduating wasn't stupid, as much as she enjoyed school. "It's not all that stupid. It gets us out of there quicker." She said with a raise of her eyebrows and a smile. Placing her bag onto the table before she glanced at her, surprised. She was obviously new or Grace would've definitely noticed her around, she was one of those girls who kinda stood out. She meant that in a good way. Obviously. Not that she was--

Grace was appreciating. That's all.

Anyway. She was surprised at the fact she knew a bit about her, she thought about her question before answering. Parties weren't always her thing. She just went because Ash did. And... the rest of the squad, but mostly Ash. "Had no parties tonight, I got a better offer. Duh." She chuckled, taking a seat next to her and taking books out of her bag. Flipping through them as Keisha started talking.

"And, no cheerleading either, we did practice and--" Grace shook her head, ignoring the blush that'd come to her cheeks. She was basically venting to a stranger and she didn't even show that she acknowledged her name! Though it was a nice name. "Sorry, sorry. I'm Grace. You have a really pretty--" The words died on her lips when she looked up from her book, momentarily surprised to catch Keisha staring at her, she stood there like a deer in the headlights for a few seconds before she realized it was probably because she didn't answer her question.

Right. She asked about coffees. Or, non-coffees. Why is she being so weird? Speak Grace. "I'm not a coffee drinker, but I didn't know what you would like so... that one is hot chocolate, and that's coffee." She pointed at them with her pencil, after her words Grace had avoided eye-contact with Keisha.

She hated getting flustered. She probably seemed like such a nerd. Not that she cared what she thought anyway...

Who's she kidding, she's Grace. Of course she cared about what she thought of her.

Winona
​

 

[Soap]

Juliette

Ew. Juliette didn't enjoy taking those as much as she enjoyed waiting for them. She paced back and forth as Ava worked on reading all the instructions. How long are these dumb things anyway? It's fine. They'll all be negative. Nothing to worry about. Yeah. Perfect. "Right, signs and frowny faces..." She stared at the desk a few feet away and took a step in that direction only to not move an inch afterwards.

Her gaze didn't falter, she was staring at the desk as if it was suddenly going to grow legs and call her mama. Maybe she's going a bit far with that.

She flinched lightly when Ava spoke, knocking her out of her trance. She felt relief at her words and stepped closer to the desk, without a second thought she grabbed Ava's hand as her gaze scanned the rows of the pregnancy tests. Negative. Jesus. Okay, good. One down. Positive. Okay, 1-1. Not bad. Positive. Positive. Positive. Juliette squeezed Ava's hand tighter as she got to the last test.

Positive.

She let go of Ava's hand and slumped down onto the desk chair. "Oh my god. My parents are gonna kill me. Ava what do I..." Her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. There was no doubt that it could be Bryan's or... "I don't even know if it's Bryan's, I slept with..." Her phone buzzed on the table and she glanced only to see it was Zach. She pointed to the phone. Speak of the devil.

"I'm so fucked."

Winona Dazzle

​

 

[Winona]

Jace


His body had froze as Nova started walking over, and it stayed rigid and still as she fell to the ground beside him and wrapped him in her warm embrace. It felt like every part of Jace was cracking, breaking underneath her warm, gentle hug. Tears started to well up in his eyes, and Jace didn't know what to do. He regretted his decision -- of course he did. It had been something he'd made in a rash moment of stupidity, stuck in a stupid whirlwind of a million different emotions that he hadn't understood, and still didn't understand. Was it possible for him to be gay, but love Nova? No, probably not, but... fuck, Jace didn't know what he wanted anymore.

He just knew that he wanted Nova.

Slowly, he reached around her, pulling her tighter into the hug, and buried his face in her soft dark hair. His eyes fell shut and for a moment, he let himself think that nothing stupid had happened. That Nova hadn't been gone for months, that Jace hadn't rashly broken up with her, that nothing bad had happened and they were at the start of the year. Where Nova and Jace had been in that honeymoon phase, madly in love, playing music with stupid Stu following along after them. Jace had felt happy then, he'd felt content with his first ever girlfriend, and his first ever best friend. And now, he had absolutely nothing.

"I-I'm... sorry." He mumbled into her hair. And he was.

txlos

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

Ash


As he continued to speak, as he continued to not be turned away by her nonchalance, Ash felt herself breaking. She needed more alcohol, and she needed Ian to leave before something happened that she would regret, although she had no idea what that thing might even be. When he called her his best friend, everything in Ash hurt all at once. It was like everything cracked, everything broke, and it took everything in her power to remain sitting upright, and not break down crying. And the more he insisted that no matter what she was beautiful, the more it just broke her heart, and the more it just scared her.

"Ryder and I were best friends, too, and look how that turned out." Ash answered hollowly. She couldn't wait any longer, she needed more alcohol, something to get her through this conversation. What was taking Jace and Nova so long? Why couldn't this couple just leave the Wests be, and let them wallow in their misery alone, like the Wests were so adamant about doing? Or... at least Ash. Jace wasn't quite as good at hiding his feelings or staying strong. Ryder had been her best friend, though, and he'd been there to comfort her through the shit that had happened with Ryan, and look how that ended up. And then Raven had been her friend and was there with her after Ryder had disappeared, and that had ended up not quite as bad, but still not great.

"You should leave." Now, her pale blue eyes turned to Ian and she tilted her head up. The bags under her eyes, the hollowness of her face, it was all easier to see now. Ash hadn't been taking care of herself for a while, and it was becoming more and more obvious by the day. She leaned forward over the counter slowly, a small smirk weakly crawling it's way across her face. The smell of whiskey from this morning was already strong on her breath, laced with the alcohol from the night before. "I have this habit of ruining my relationships with my best friends. It would be best if you just left, and gave up. Okay?"

And she wasn't wrong. Ryan, Raven, Grace. The only friend she still had hanging on by a thread was Mads, but Ash saw him more like a brother figure than anything else. So she leaned back away from Ian, hopping down from the chair and made her way across the kitchen, with coffee mug in hand. "I don't care if they don't care about me. They're just using me, and I'm just using them. It's a fair deal." She explained as she opened up the cabinet, pulling down the half empty bottle of whiskey.

Ash set the bottle down for a moment, her hand still gripping it tightly. "Talking it out doesn't help, Ian. No amount of... talking can undo everything. Just time and... lots of alcohol and rebounds."

PenguinFox​

 

[txlos]

Nova

​

Two words, just seven letters. 'I'm sorry.'

They were enough to crack Nova's heart, flakes of it falling into her chest. Feeling herself being pulled closer into Jace's chest only made the tears in her eyes push past their safe dam, a few sliding down reddened cheeks as she returned the pressure into his body. This felt right, it felt natural, even after months of being apart and then weeks of a bad breakup, the blonde boy before her was always going to be her first secure, natural love. I mean, how could he not be? Jace made her feel mystical, like she could take over the world with the snap of her fingers, like she truly was worth the simple pleasures in life. And yeah, the dumb hopeless romantic in her swooned at his name, but how could it now? This was Jace West... and he meant so much.

"Don't say that," It was more of a choke than a statement, Nova shaking her head and trying to slot herself closer to her ex-boyfriend, hugging him tighter if it was possible. Dark spots began to stain his shirt, and for a moment she was almost embarrassed... and then she remembered who this was. "You can't be sorry for who you are Jace, if anyone is sorry it's me. I was awful, I was confused but I handled it so wrong and I-I'm s-s-so sorry," Chokes had turned to weeping now, as if the last three months and the breakup had finally caught up with her. And yet, she still couldn't pry herself away from Jace's chest, afraid the world would shatter around her the minute she did. "I just... I just want you to be happy..."

Winona

 

[Amyra_]

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Nicole Belrose​

The sharp tinkle of cutlery against glass brought Nicole back to reality, blinking twice to clear her head of intricate planning of her day events for next Sunday. Slender fingers gripped delicately around a knife, slicing neatly into the tenderloin steak. The air around the premises had been been very peaceful so far, which pleased Nicole.


A bite of the meat instantly cleared her of any doubts of the restaurant’s authenticity. The reviews were true to a point, the staff were still rough around the edges, Nicole actively avoided looking at the nervous waiter. She was at least relieved he delivered her meal as per orders. He kept glancing her way, as if bothered by the fact Nicole sat alone. Or perhaps he had taken her for a food critic. An independent critic would be correct.


She had a knack of leaving reviews at any establishment she had visited, something she had picked up from watching too many Gordon Ramsey videos online, Nicole only passed it off as ‘standards had to be kept.’ Though secretly she enjoyed seeing the nervous glances people would send her way, it meant she was in a position to bargain, a position of power. Nicole expected nothing less for a Belrose heir.


But she was getting ahead of herself, she thought. Taking a sip of her drink to ease herself. Time was passing slowly, she noted, not that she was worried. She preferred it, more time to think and plan for her week. She could hear her debate teammates scoffing at the pointless effort. Nicole agreed to a certain degree, immeasurable and unpredictable variables tended to mess up her schedule by hours or even outright cancelling something from her checklist entirely.


But its the thought that counts. To have everything recorded and jotted down. Like clockwork, she smiled briefly, punching her fork through the salad and a piece of meat before gracefully slipping it between her lips.


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[PenguinFox]

Ian arched a brow in response to Ash bringing up Ryder. He had heard about Ryder leaving but was unsure why she was comparing him to her boyfriend, or ex now apparently. He and Ryder were two different people. Then again Ian recently presumed Nova was going to leave him because someone else had left him so he really wasn't one to talk.

The blonde boy was visibly taken aback at the West's next words. When she lifted her head up to look at him though the surprise dissipated. It was easy to smell the alcohol. She was doing a lot worse than he had originally feared. At least he knew to take her words with a grain of salt now; not only was clearly under a lot of stress but she also was drinking. A small sigh escaped the Evans brother's lips. He had been in Ash's position before, not exactly the same situation, but same end result. An alcohol fueled downward spiral of self destruction. He too had tried to cut off all contact with everyone he cared about, which is why Ian remained in his spot when Ash suggest he leave.

"I'm not going anywhere Ash. I don't give up on the people I care about." Green eyes followed the blonde as she hopped down from her seat. "You're going to have to try real hard to make me not want to be your friend. Hell, I'm not even mad at Kanen and he might have caused internal bleeding." he chuckled a little before returning to being serious.

Ian watched as the West daughter pulled down a bottle of whiskey. He sighed again and looked down to the counter as he collected his thoughts. He didn't think more alcohol was a good idea, but what was he supposed to do take it from her in her own home? His green gaze moved up from to the bottle resting on the counter, almost glaring at it. Ash was in a real bad way and definitely needed someone now more than ever, and this only hardened Ian's resolve to helping her.

"You're right talking doesn't undo anything, but it does help you get through them, along with time. Alcohol, while great at drowning your problems, doesn't sole them, and as for rebounds; just because Ryder left doesn't mean he doesn't care about you. He seemed pretty crazy about you. Things pop up that pull people apart physically, but it doesn't mean they're pulled apart emotionally." Ian crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke. He spoke with confidence as if what he was saying couldn't reasonably be argued.

After a few moments of thought Ian gritted his teeth. He hadn't wanted it to come to this but he wanted t make sure Ash knew he was there to help and not leaving. "I've...I've been on the other side of that bottle. I've pushed people away out of fear of being abandoned by them anyway, fuck..." his voice dropped to almost a whisper. "...I've been abandoned in my time of need before. You're not alone Ash, and I refuse to sit idly by and watch you destroy yourself. I'll reiterate myself as many times as I need to. I'm here to help you, and I'm not going anywhere." Winona

 

[mogy]

Noah

​

Noah wasn’t dumb, far from it actually. He always had topics to talk about with literally everybody he knew. Everybody except Milos. Noah didn’t know why, and to be honest, it bothered him. What could the two talk about, except Dani? Nothing. They had zero interests they shared, or that was at least what Noah thought. It didn’t necessarily need to be true, since the two literally didn’t know each other, at all.

A silent sigh of relief escaped Noah’s mouth as he heard Dani’s very familiar voice, meaning that this awkward conversation or whatever it was, was over. He turned his head towards the diner entrance, and there she was. His best friend in the whole entire world, who he hadn’t seen for almost 5 months. Noah wanted to get up and do one of those slow-motion movie scenes in which two friends reunite after a long period of time, but that was just very embarrassing, even though he knew Dani would be okay with it. Probably.

Noah snorted at Dani’s joke before being pulled into a tight hug from the girl. He didn’t realize it until then, but he finally felt at peace, after a very long period of time. Like all of his worries about what people were thinking, about his fears and his insecurities, and about all of the bad things happening in his life just stopped for that short moment, in the duration of that tight hug. It was almost like Dani squeezed the bad thoughts out of Noah with that hug. The hug was followed by a kiss on the cheek, which rarely happened to Noah and surprised him a bit. He didn’t really love close contacts like that, but this was Dani, and these weren’t normal circumstances to say the least.

As Milos mentioned the trash can incident once again, it was clear to Noah that he wasn’t going to give up from finding out exactly what had happened Monday after lunch. Milos wanted to know everything, and there was a big probability that Dani felt the same way. However, Noah hated talking about his bad driving, almost as much as he hated driving itself. It was, sort of, a weak spot for him.

Noah looked at the menu, which was suddenly in his hands. He observed the front side slowly and carefully, before finally speaking:

“You know that I would love to talk about it, but unfortunately, it’s classified information.” Noah joked. “Anyway, is there any new drama in school that I need to know about, or is it just same old boring Westbrook again?” Noah reverted the topic, knowing that Milos or Dani will once again mention the trash cans, but at least giving himself sometime for thinking.

Interactions: Winona (Milos), txlos (Dani)​

 

[DrabberRogue]

Alas, Jace probably wasn't going to get his handshake. Well he could but it would just slow the interaction down. The girl had offered him a seat after all. So instead he used his hand to slide out the chair on the other side of the table, chuckling as he fell comfortably into it. "Going to Westbrook is suffering." He insisted, his voice a little too positive for the words it carried. Even through the sardonic inflection that accompanied them. Truth be told, Jace didn't actually mind his school all that much. Sure he hated the schoolwork itself, but Westbrook's infamous drama was always hitting someone else.

His words were well punctuated by the voice of an angry sounding Mason ringing out from behind him. Curious, he briefly looked over his shoulder to see what all the commotion was about. It seemed the school's most hated red head was catching flak again. Seriously, didn't those two go to homecoming together? Whatever. The whole Raven/Mason/June thing didn't really concern him. Well the Raven part did, but relationship drama wasn't his cup of tea.

"Or so I'm told..." Jace mused, turning his piercing blue eyes back to the girl across from him. "Tatum, huh? I'm Jace!" Finally he introduced himself, his friendly smile having shifted into more of an amused smirk. "Sooo I'm guessing you're probably new? I don't think I've seen you around before." It didn't take long for the boy to pose another question after giving his name. Best to try to keep the conversation flowing, right? Something like that.

Elf_Ruler