Realistic or Modern Westbrook

[Winona]

Keisha


There was no way in hell she could just brush off the date.

She had been going over and over the date and what she'd done wrong. As far as Keisha was concerned, it hadn't been the best date, but it also certainly hadn't been the worst. She had tried to be polite and not making any moves on Grace, and maybe that was the issue. Maybe Grace was one of those girls that was all into fucking fairy tales and shit.

Keisha was still mulling over this as she walked to the library, and came to a stop in front of the door. God she hadn't wanted to do this tutoring thing before, but now... god this was even worse.

With a deep breath, she pushed the door open and stepped inside, her eyes roaming over the tables until they fell on Grace sitting at one. "Hey," Keisha said, her voice straining to sound normal as she made her way over and pulled out a chair, taking a seat across from Grace. She dropped her backpack onto the table with a loud thud.

It felt like you could cut this tension with a knife.

Soap​

 

[Winona]

Ash


She was a horrible person. She had to be a horrible person at this point, right?

The coffee shop incident had been... well, it had been nothing short of a minor disaster, although it was hard to tell if anyone had shared her opinion. Ash had done her best to keep things civil with Jace, and not go too far, but even the small amount of flirting had left her unable to look at Sean and Paisley's table. Ash had ended up departing shortly after, with Sebastian's number in hand. There would be another day for her to come up with a witty Twitter name for him.

Ash's actions once she had returned home had just returned her to that inescapable spiral. Her father was gone for the night on business... again, and Jace couldn't be summoned from his room. So standing in the kitchen, Ash had poured herself a few shots, her eyes lingering on her phone, with the only noise being the water feature. A couple quick texts later, and one of her favorite guys from Tinder was at the door.

Not hard to know where it went from there, but hey, Ash hated sleeping alone. And maybe this would somehow make her feel better about flirting with Jace in front of Sean.

It didn't.

Ash had then spent the next few days messaging Sebastian off and on. He was actually... really awesome, and it was nice to have a new friend that hadn't been there before Ash hit her low. A friend that she hadn't dated, or gotten in a fight with, or... any of the regrettable things she had done. It was a fresh start.

Finally, Valentine's Day rolled around. As of yet, Ash wasn't sure what she was going to be doing. She now stood in the school bathroom, leaning against the sink with her gaze on the mirror in front of her. She tilted her head this way and that, taking a good look at herself, and wondering what had happened. Ash been happy. Ash had been strong. She'd been a pretty cheerleader with a whole cast of friends, and now... she was nothing. Yeah, Ash didn't even really recognize herself anymore.

Finally, she pushed away from the sink and mirror, pulling her heavy green jacket tighter around her shoulders -- it was a souvenir from a previous boyfriend, something that still didn't fit her and managed to calm her in difficult times like this -- and then she headed out of the bathroom.

With her gaze focused on the ground, Ash started walking down the hallway.

Mentions: DrabberRogue 0k_mang0 PenguinFox txlos​

 

[Daniel Reaving]

Jackson

Jackson and Tallulah had eventually left his secret little wear house. Driving back to town he eventually pulled up to a place where Tallulah wanted to go. It was a rather nice park not to far from her home. Glancing down at his watch he smiled knowing they had time for whatever Tallulah was doing. “Well this is the place right?” He asked her softly as he got out of the car and looked around. Watching Tallulah as she went over to a tree. Coming up behind her as she started to climb it he chuckled. “You better be careful you’re dads gonna kick my ass if I don’t bring you back in one piece.” He teased as he watched her start to climb. If he was being honest it did make him a little nervous, the last thing he wanted to do was piss off her dad.

Despite that he watched her climb with a smile figuring nothing bad would come of it. That was of course till she slipped and fell down. Quickly moving he caught her. Well by caught it was more of breaking her fall as he ended up laying on the ground under her with his arms around her. Groaning a little as he looked around before up at Tallulah. Locking eyes with her as he laid there. Staring up at her he had to admit this night had gotten really good. “Y-you ok?” He asked softly before going silent. He couldn’t help but feel this moment was almost out of a movie, like something had to happen, the way she had looked down at him. To him he couldn’t help but feel that she had been thinking the same thing. Slowly leaning his head up.

He had been moments away, centimeters away from kissing her but of course something had to come. That same moment his lips almost came to hers a golden retriever happily plowed into them wanting to join in the cuddle with happy barks, licking, and tail wags. While it wasn’t exactly the outcome he had wanted it still ended pretty well, Once they got the dog away of course. He finally found out Tallulah had twisted her ankle. “Fuck you’re dads gonna kill me.” He had said in a gentle chuckle as he helped her to her feet. Holding onto her to help her to the car before hopping in with her. He had tried his best to get her home but sadly they where late by two minuets. He knew he was in for it as he helped her out of the car. Not only was he late getting her home she was also hurt. Still though they had stopped for a moment. Holding gently to Tallulah in the steps of her porch in there awkward adorable moment. He had figured something more than a simple goodbye was needed. Slowly he had leaned in and laid a gentle tender kiss to her forehead. Before pulling away a little bashful. “W-well heh.” He said not knowing what to say as he held onto her to help her stand. “You think you’re gonna be alright?” He asked glancing down at her ankle one more time before back into her gentle eyes with a smile. “I guess I’d better get going before you’re dad puts my head on a pike.” He said with a chuckle before going silent again. A gentle smile on his lips, he honestly didn’t know what to do so he did the only thing he could think of at that time and kissed her forehead one more time before making sure she got inside alright.

That night had been stuck in his head for a while, so much so he barely noticed that class was about to start as he walked through the halls to class. The warning bell having been the only thing to bring him from his little day dream back into reality and the realization that it was Valentine’s Day of all days, a day that normally he cared little for was not possibly gonna be a rather nice day.
PenguinFox​

 

[Dede]

Friendly Neighbourhood Neck Tie

​

Neck Tie would soon need glasses if he kept up his gaming routine. Sure the laptop screen was like. . . tiny, but it was better than going home and not being able to play games at all. By now he was as regular a fixture in Raven’s home as a piece of furniture. The boy was always sitting there collecting dust at the kitchen counter with his headset on, completely shut off to the outside world, so good luck to anybody trying to hold a conversation with him. Occasionally he’d yell things into the microphone because his teammates were a bunch of morons, who were too selfish to pass the ball. Even though his username was HappyMeal and looked harmless enough, he was hardly a happy gamer.

He’d been coming in everyday after school with Mason, and he’d play FIFA to his heart’s content. He told Dad that he was working on a science project with some mates. He wondered how long he could keep using that excuse without his old man suspecting something. For now though, he was going to make the most out of that wonderful game that Mason had bought for him.

Today Neck Tie left school early because he had a free last period, and he came straight to Raven’s place. He was now waiting to play a Pro Clubs match. His team was straddling on the division 1 league title. Their most important game of the season was coming up, and the club could either win a trophy or go home disappointed and empty-handed.

Before the match started, Neck Tie took the time to glance out the window. Boy was he glad that he’d left school early and was now indoors, because the snow had started to come down quite heavily. Neck Tie spun around on the bar stool as he waited for the lobby to fill up with players. He was kind of nervous to be sure. If anyone was going to score the winning goal and clinch the title it was going to have to be him, because he was the main striker, just like he was in real life. That was a lot of responsibility for a boy to bear. If only there was a Kit Kat around he could munch on to calm his nerves. He wasn't Casper either, so nibbling on his own fingers wasn't exactly an option.

Winona DrabberRogue

 

[Winona]

Adriane

Mason had been falling behind and not taking time to care for his daughter like he once had.

Now, Adriane was completely peeved. She stomped her way up the steps to Raven's house, towing Ariana behind her once again. She didn't even bother pounding on the door this time, instead just busting in. Adriane had stayed home with Ari because she'd felt sick, although now, the little girl seemed to be feeling perfectly fine.

And again, Adriane was faced with the scrawny blonde freshman instead of her ex. "You." She growled. "You are going to watch Ari for me until Mason gets back, okay?" Adriane was not missing her Valentine's Day date today.

Ari was confused, and she barely even knew the blonde at the table! But this was her home, or at least sometimes her home, so she let go of her mother's hand and headed past the kitchen table towards where Mason had been keeping her toys. What? She was a child, and a child of a single mindset, which was toys.

Dede​

 

[Soap]

Grace

She smiled sheepishly at Keisha before quickly averting her gaze from the brunette's. She was making this at least ten times worse, but what was she supposed to do? Oh! Learn. Perfect, yes they needed to learn. Flipping through the pages of the biology book before pushing it between them. Keisha usually forgot hers, this was only maybe... the third session they've had but it was clear Keisha wasn't interested in learning, so Grace had to up her game a bit.

Look, she takes this thing seriously, okay? "Okay, so last we left off..." Was an awkward goodbye at the end of their date. Oh c'mon. Grace hated conflict, or... whatever this was. It was way too weird and she felt at fault. Maybe, she should just explain. Or... maybe not. "Actually, no that's not right." She shook her head and flipped through the pages, momentarily glancing at Keisha.

"So... how was your weekend?"

Small talk always fixed tension.

Usually.

Winona​

 

[Elf_Ruler]

It was that time of year again, the worst time of the year. The time of the year where the world makes anyone feel less than average for being single.Tatum hated everything to do with this day, the stupid heart balloons, the roses that got handed out everywhere anyone went. On the corner of the street, near the school, at the gas station. Love filled the air and Tatum hated every bit of it. The roses meant nothing, the stupid cards, candy, and teddy bears were pointless. There had never been a purpose to the "holiday" because it was nothing but a way for the man to just get money out of the consumers. Teenagers, young adults, parents, etc. It didn't matter who it was they all got sucked in but not Tatum. When she woke up her mother and father had both given her little candy boxes to which she rolled her eyes, "This is pointless. I don't need candy for you to show your love." she stated. She even saw little balloons in her car and she couldn't help but groan as she threw them down in the driveway. It was like her parents expected her to like Valentines Day and she didn't. The wind was bitter and it bothered Tatum more, though the wind did match her bitter feelings towards the day. Typically any other holiday was fine, well not all but none bothered her more than this one. Everyone always blamed the fact that she was single every year on Valentines. That wasn't the point to her, she just never felt the hype that came with it.

As she made her way to school, she couldn't help but roll her eyes once more as she parked her car and walked in the building. Valentines decorations were all over the building. It was like everyone was to rolled up in the hype, and she couldn't escape it. Too much red and pink were in her filed of vision and she hated it. She threw the hood of her black sweater and made her way to her locker. All she could see was stupid posters for the day and it was maddening to her senses. That's when she decided she couldn't handle it and began to rip down all the posters she passed on her way to her locker. She had almost contemplated skipping school but instead she was now going to pull down every poster she saw with hearts, roses, or teddy bears. She started just grabbing posters and pulling them not caring who saw her. Worst they would do is reprimand her and maybe put her in detention. Not really a large enough consequence in her mind. She continued pulling them down and it brought a little joy to her for once. She continued until she ,managed into the gym where the board was covered with posters. She even saw the pink hearts all over the wall and just began pulling them down, not a care in the world was in her mind anymore.

 

[Soap]

Caleb

All of Caleb's days from now on,... was just him winging it honestly. He wasn't trying anymore, trying to be sociable, trying hard enough in school, what was the point? Sure, he kept up appearances for his mom. Because, well, that was his mom. Whatever could put her mind at ease while she's going through a horrendous time, it's the least he can do. She still believes that him and Serena are actually still together. A small scoff of disbelief escaped his mouth as he bounced the basketball against the gymnasium floor.

It was no secret that he still loved her, but that didn't matter anymore right?

The ball flew from his hands into the basket with a satisfying swish. Serena wanted nothing to do with him and was clearly more interested in literally anyone else besides him. He wouldn't be surprised if she was spending Valentine's day with Jace. Yes, he knew they were friends and he was always a bit upset with the idea of them alone together. Maybe that's what really took control of him whenever he flirted with other girls.

Maybe make her feel like he did? Whatever his case was, it was a bad one. And the rumors about him have much died down about now, especially since he drifted away from the social crowd. Now that he really thinks about it? He was in that clique just because of Serena. Caleb didn't have many friends before they'd dated, and now that they broke up. Well, he had very close to none. A sound echoed fairly loudly and it kept going. Curious, he turned around to see a girl tearing off the Valentine's day posters that the cheerleaders had put up a few days before.

"Not feeling so lovey then?" A small smile came to his lips before it faded away, he wasn't feeling particularly special about today either, but it was still amusing to see.

Elf_Ruler​

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Tatum was shocked to hear another voice in the gym with her. She quickly spun around and was faced to face with a boy. Cute looking a little better than average but she could see something in his manners. Something she couldn’t quite place. Her hand was still holding a poster and she slowly tore it down the sound of it coming of the wall was loud. She shrugged a little at his comment, “Not really. I think today is a stupid day full of nothing but pointless and meaningless gestures.” She could’ve lied to the boy but there was really no point for her to lie. However, he was alone in the gym with what seemed like a basketball, “What about you?” she gestured to the ball and him, “You don’t seem too keen to be with anyone on this day otherwise I don’t think you’d be in here.” She set down her collection of destroyed posters and sighed, “I’m Tatum, but you can call me Tay.” She gave him a small smile. She didn’t see the need to come off rude to this boy, he kind of seemed like a loner, much like her. But she hadn’t really known him just the impression she got. She made some steps closer to the boy seeing as he was in there she might as well at least figure out his thoughts on this day.
As she got closer she carefully took the ball from him, and shot it at the basket. Miss. She just stared the ball as it rolled away. She knew she could’ve gone after it but she almost didn’t see a point. It was almost like everything else in her life. She could go chase it but for what purpose? She looked back to the male and gave a small smile of apology for how bad she had thrown the ball.

Soap (Caleb (Sorry its kind of short))

 

[0k_mang0]

sebastian

(Ash Winona )​

After that day in the cafe, Sebastian went back to being partially cynical and expected Ash to message him in a week or two, not during the next few days. He’d always assumed people were just busy. Like later that night, he considered messaging his Twitter profile link to Ash, but realized it was after midnight (homework took longer than expected); he wasn’t sure if she was asleep or not, or busy with something else, so he texted it to her in the daytime instead.

Turns out he already had a Twitter account. When he tried making one, Twitter said his email address was already being used. After changing the password, he saw the profile and remembered making it several years ago when he was 11. Even the username looked like it was made by an uncreative 11-year-old—he would definitely try to change it to something better later. His old, neglected profile had one tweet that was posted a few months later: a short video of his late-older brother, Ernie, playing Fran Liszt’s “La Campanella” at a piano contest. From the loud applause at the end, it sounded like Ernie could’ve, or should’ve in Sebastian’s opinion, won first place, but he actually (not shown in the video) got fourth place. Despite the performance being an audience favorite, one of the judges was a staunch traditionalist who didn’t like how Ernie subtly customized some parts of the song; although, Sebastian suspected the judge had never liked anything by Liszt from the beginning.

He almost wanted to delete the video—it was just one video that garnered less than 30 Likes since being posted. But he decided to leave it alone.

Somehow, January felt like it lasted for a few hours instead of weeks, and suddenly today was Valentine’s Day. Maybe having a new friend sort of made time fly a little faster. He didn’t feel sulky or sluggish in most days anymore, not to say that the world suddenly looked brighter to him. It was just a nice change of pace, finally hanging out with someone his age after school, and sometimes along the way to his part-time job if Ash wasn’t busy. Yeah, Ash was all right in his book. He hadn’t pried anything too personal yet. He wanted to slowly ease into the friendship, not rush in like a comet and potentially ruin it.

Speak of the devil, Sebastian saw her leaving the girl’s bathroom, not far from where he stood in front of his locker. Slipping on his jacket, he called out to her, “Keep your head down long enough and you’ll run into a door. And I might laugh at you.”

When Ash was close enough, Sebastian held out an unsealed yellow envelope carrying a chibi pancake card on the cover. “My cousin wanted me to give this to you.” Inside the card: a short, messy handwritten note (TO CUZIN SEBs NU FREN – Luv, tabitha) and then squiggly crayon drawing of a big heart with a cute smiley face, and a five or fix scattered stars and extra small hearts. Because why not, his 4-year-old cousin had literally said to him this morning when he asked.

“She gave me the same card, too,” Sebastian said. “At least she spelled her own name right.”

While Sebastian packed a couple of books in his backpack, two plushies peeked out from there—a red heart with a mustache and a Pusheen cat with a pink heart stamped on its butt. Those were actually for Tabbi, not that there was any note saying so. Mind you, Sebastian was not a Valentine’s Day guy, nor was he against it. He was just annoyed at some people who’d make it such a big deal and/or rub their relationships in other people’s faces.

 

[PenguinFox]

After all the pictures had been taken and a while of just chatting Tallulah and Jackson decided to head out. Having shown her a place that was special to him, Lulu decided to return the favor. She instructed the male to head to the park close to her home. She had gently led him by the hand through the park to a particularly large tree with a crook big enough for two people to sit in. It was fairly easy tree to climb and Lulu had been doing so for years. It was a great place to just sit and be at peace with the world. She had started to climb as Jackson teased her to be careful. She turned her head to playfully stick her tongue out at him, distracting her just long enough for to lose her footing.

Lulu slipped from the trunk and fell- right onto Jackson, sending the two of them to the ground. The redhead groaned as she lifted herself up, not fully understanding she was on top of a person. Looking down she finally realized the awkward situation the two were now in. Her face went deep red but she was frozen and unsure what to do. She slowly nodded when the male beneath her asked if she was okay, still unable to disentangle herself. She felt like she was paralyzed and was starting to panic. Jackson was going to think she was so weird and probably hate her now, god she was so awkward. She was so wrapped up in her own panic she hadn't even noticed how close their lips had gotten, nor did she notice the dog barreling towards them; until it was too late that is.

The force of the dog knocked Tallulah back into reality and right off of Jackson. She laughed joyfully as the dog licked her face excitedly. The owner quickly came over, apologized for the love attack of the dog, and ushered the pet away. Lulu remained on the ground, a small smile lingering on her face. When Jackson started to help the Woods girl up, Lulu went immediately crashing back down into the snow, hissing in pain. In her fall she had twisted her ankle and hurt too much to put any kind of pressure on it. "He won't kill you...probably." she said with a small chuckle that ended in another wince. Leaning on the male heavily the pair made it back to the car and headed back to Lulu's house. "Despite the ankle, and the camera scare, today was really nice. Thank you." she had said with a warm smile. She wasn't the best at gauging people's attitudes but it seemed like Jackson liked her and she was happy to have a new friend.

Once at the Woods' residence Jackson helped Lulu to the door where they said their goodbyes. When he leaned in and kissed her forehead her face grew red again and she looked down. Her emotions swirled in her chest, unsure of what to make of it. Thankfully he broke the tension some by asking her if she would be okay. "Uh..y-yeah.." she said still reeling from what just happened. The redhead regained her composure and answered more assuredly this time. "Yes, I'll be alright. Nothing's broken, just twisted." she smiled reassuringly to reaffirm her words. "Your head does look better on your shoulders than it would on a pike." she responded with a small giggle. With a small wave she headed inside.

Mr. Woods was upset that Lulu was two minutes late but she assured him it was her fault and purposely left out the part where she twisted her ankle. Over the next few weeks Jackson and Lulu hung out a few more times, both showing the other the basics of their respective art forms. Lulu spray-painted some pieces of cardboard and while she let Jackson take pictures on her digital camera.

Before she knew it it was Valentines Day. She had always been alone and that had been alright she supposed but it would have been nice to have someone for at least today. It was her last high school Valentines day, it should be special right? The bright side was that a couple of people asked her to take sappy couple pictures of them with her polaroid. They even paid her for it, so that was pretty neat. The bell ringing pulled her from the daze she had been in and she made her way to her locker, head pointed slightly downward to try and ignore all the romance stuff around her. It made her a little sad that no one ever left her love notes in her locker, or brought her balloons or chocolate or something. She wasn't necessarily into that sort of gesture, but still. She sighed as she opened her locker and put the money she had earned on the top shelf, tucking it behind some books. Daniel Reaving

 

[Daniel Reaving]

Jackson

Jackson strolled quietly through the halls till his eyes set on Talulah at her locker. He couldn’t help but smile as he headed over to her, he figured he would do something for her for Valentine’s Day despite the fact that they weren’t dating. A mischievous smirk slipped over his lips as he snuck up behind her. Making sure she wasn’t holding any of her cameras he leaned down over her shoulder and whispered boo into her left ear before taking a step back quickly Incase she whipped around to look at him. He had to admit he was happy to see her. The past few weeks had been enjoyable when he hung out with her outside of school and work. Getting to know her and her form if artwork was cool and he also taught her a little of his own. Smirking a little more at her he simply smiled a slightly awkward smile. “Hey talullah.” He said softly to her. As he stood with his hands behind his back. Holding something he seemed to not want Tallulah to see yet.
PenguinFox
PenguinFox​

 

[Gomenesigh]

Samantha Gilly

interactions: OPEN
mentions: PenguinFox

The day had mostly been like any other for Samantha. She had to go to school, deal with classes and classmates, and really only had plans to go home after that. For most other people, they were buzzing with Valentine’s Day. The school was decorated with various shades of pink and red and students zoomed around making last minute plans for the night. Samantha didn’t really care about it one way or the other. She had never celebrated Valentine’s Day because of how often she moved with her family and she rarely got close to anyone, but it didn't stop her from changing things up. The afternoon before, she had gone over to Tallulah's house and now she had pink hair. The few people she had gotten to know was a surprise even to her. Tallulah was really quirky and and she thoroughly enjoyed being around her. But, Mason was something else entirely. While she had never admitted it to anyone, she had never had a boyfriend before, if that’s what he even was. They had been going out, but were they really official? She had no idea. She couldn’t really understand why they were together. She thought Mason had had a very specific goal in mind with her and yet it still hadn’t happened and they were still together. She always had doubts about any kind of relationship she had, even standard friends. Although, still something she would ever tell others.

So, the day was over and she stood lingering at her locker. Her headphones were in and she was drowning out the world around her, but she still didn’t want to go home. For one, it was freezing out and she was never one for the bus. She didn’t mind the cold, but even today she wasn’t looking forward to walking home. Her mother had almost forced her to stay home from school because of the weather which was just another thing they were fighting over recently. Their relationship had become strained and the as the days went on, things just got worse. With a reluctant sigh, she closed her locker and ran a hair through her hair. She pulled her phone out and blankly scrolled through random songs until she found something she liked as she shuffled down the hallway.

coding by cychotic

 

[Winona]

Ash


The now familiar voice of Sebastian first caught her off guard, but then she quickly relaxed. Granted she had planned on slipping out of the school as quickly as possible, but hey, she couldn't complain about this. Ash rolled her eyes at his joke. "Please. I'm way to smooth to run into a door." She said, scoffing at the very idea. Who did he take her for? Some lowly freshman nervous about asking out his first girl?

She looked at the envelope confused for a moment before taking it. "Okay, that makes a lot more sense. I thought for a moment you were into... weird pancakes and giving out Valentine's." The very idea of Sebastian doing that made her laugh before she carefully opened up the envelope, carefully pulling out the card. She read over the wording (which may have taken a minute due to the bad spelling and writing ability of the little girl), but it still made her awe.

"This has got to be the cutest thing I've ever gotten." Ash said, slipping the card back into the envelope before pulling her backpack over her shoulder to safely deposit the card inside.

And of course, while doing so, how was she not supposed to notice the little plushies sticking out of Sebastian's backpack? "Sebastian, was I wrong?" She asked with a little gasp. "Are you actually a secret romantic with a Valentine?" Ash couldn't help herself. She reached over, plucking the chubby little Pusheen doll out of his backpack.

0k_mang0​

 

[Winona]

Mason


His day had started off, more or less, the same as always. Walking to school with Drake, smoking a cigarette, and heading inside. The whole day, he'd been haunted with thoughts of Sam. What the fuck was he supposed to do? It was Valentine's Day, and now came the questions All of the serious relationship questions.

He'd been debating all day before finally deciding to just go and ask Sam if she wanted to go out. Mason was a bit worried about what she would say but hey, he was ready for it. Whatever.

Mason had thrown his books into his locker and headed off to find her. He was on his way to try and find her when he saw Sam heading for the door. Fuck. Well, here it went.

"Hey," he said, catching up and falling into step with her for a moment before he slowed to a stop. "So, uh, pink hair. That's kind of perfect for fucking Valentine's Day, right?" Mason said. Okay, maybe not the way to start out, but fuck it. Whatever. "And I was wondering if you wanted to, I don't know, go on a date today?"

Gomenesigh​

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Aaron​

Time continued on, longer and longer stretches passing Aaron by, leaving him fine and unharmed. Worries of consequences faded, and if Aaron was honest, he might admit to a certain feeling of invincibility, like nothing could go wrong. After all, if it could, surely it would have done so by now.

His place in Drake’s life was still secure, and if anything becoming more stable, blooming faster than felt natural. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was what it was like to well and truly click with someone, if this was that feeling he had been denying himself all these years, if the vulnerability was worth the warmth constantly bubbling up inside of him.

He very carefully avoided thinking of Casper, and certainly not of Stu.

Of course, why would he think of them when he could think about something better, or perhaps in this case someone better?

Someone like Maisie.

It made his mind rattle when he thought of how much their relationship had grown since the ski trip. After what he had told her, he had half expected her to become unbearable, treating him delicately, either out of fear or some misplaced sense of compassion.

Thankfully, she hadn’t.

He couldn’t imagine what he would have done if she had. Memories of blood on tile flashed through him, and he fought the urge to shudder.

He couldn’t deny that maybe, in another life, that would have been them.

Still, that wasn’t his life, and he pushed the thoughts of her recoiling in disgust- or worse, terror- out of his head quite forcefully.

What he had now was something worth treasuring, after all. Something he was quite happy with.

Alone with her, someone who had even an inkling of what his life had been like, and was, and likely would continue to be, the urge to posture and shove and push melted out of him. He could relax, and let himself calm, if only a bit.

His therapist, back when he had still seen her, had told him constant stress was bad for his health, and he couldn’t help but wonder if that meant that, in some way, Maisie was good for him. If sitting with her and talking, or watching a show he knew nothing about simply because she liked it and he could disappear into it for a while, or even just doing homework together, made him better in some way.

That would make him a parasite, wouldn’t it? After all, it wasn’t like he really brought anything to the table besides drugs, theft, and violence, all things Maisie was better off without. Even thinking about her brought a warmth to him, and the idea that she felt anything similar terrified him almost as much as the thought she didn’t, the idea that he was falling down this hole of longing all by himself.

Sometimes, he wished he could just turn his brain off.

Right now, he were on his way to meet with Maisie, hopefully to finish settling their plans for after school. His heart couldn’t help but flutter at the thought. Was that normal?

He could think about that later. On his own, when he wouldn’t have to be around others for any longer.

A corner was rounded, and Aaron caught sight of Maisie. He sighed in relief, smiling as he came up to her. Now, that was definitely not normal. Not around most people, anyways. He tried not to think about how nice it was to feel the need to smile.

“Maisie,” he said, then paused, looking down at his shoes as he tried to find his words. He had wanted to confirm if they would be hanging out tonight, just the two of them, no Casper needed during the week, but instead, he found himself dragging the conversation towards something different and several times more awkward.

“Do you like the snow?”

Soap​

 

[Soap]

Maisie

Complicated.

That's what Maisie felt like everything always was to her. Homes that never felt like homes, her relationship with Sara, -- or with Drake. Not that the two could ever compare to each other, Sara was like her sister, and Drake was... her friend. The two had a bit in common though, whether they meant to or not, they kept hurting her without realizing. Though now that Drake has been... with his girlfriend. He's been getting better, even though he apologized, it's hard for Maisie to just forget about the roller coaster he was and the people he put on it. Nevertheless, they were friends, and Maisie wasn't going to bring up things that could mess up his recovery.

She's been a little distant towards Drake. And-- that's not because she hated him. Maisie's just been busy.

With Aaron... and Casper, she means. Not just-- Aaron alone. Though, not that that'd be bad.

Aaron was just... she felt like he got it. Y'know? Like, he knew how she felt. He just... he understood her. Simple as that. He was someone she could connect with, he wasn't someone who'd just wake up one day and decide that she wasn't good enough. Maisie isn't comparing him to Sara, or... Drake, they were majorly different-- She just... She felt safe with Aaron.
The thought of him alone brought a faint smile to the brunette's face.

She placed the book in her locker and shut it with a small thud, her eyebrows raising in slight surprise to see-- "Aaron." She greeted him with the same smile from before, waiting for him to continue. At the pause, her heart skipped a few beats in hope of him asking her to Prom. --That was dumb, she shouldn't of thought that he'd actually... it doesn't matter. Furrowing her brows at his question and she studied him to try and grasp if he was serious or not and a chuckle escaped her. "Uh, a little. It's too... cold." Obviously it's cold, she shook her head at her answer.

"Anyway, anyway, are we still uh... hanging out tonight?" It wasn't a date. Despite it being Valentine's day, they just-- didn't have anyone else special to share it with.

Maisie would be lying if she didn't view Aaron as special though.

mikaluvkitties

​

 

[Anonymous]

[class=variables] --color: #b7cfda; cursor: url('http://i.imgur.com/ZOrzC.png'), auto !important [/class] [class=container] width: 530px; height: 300px; display: flex; margin: auto; [/class] [class=left] height: 300px; width: 220px; padding: 15px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; overflow: hidden; [/class] [class=name] font-weight: 900; text-align: center; border-bottom: 4px solid var(--color); width: 120px; display: block; margin: 10% auto; font-size: 18px; position: relative; [/class] [class=imgContainer] width: 100%; height: 90px; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; margin: 10px auto; [/class] [class=img] width: 90px; height: 90px; background-size: cover; background-position: 50% 50%; filter: saturate(70%); [/class] [class=tag] display: inline-block; border-bottom: 1px solid var(--color); height: 15px; font-size: 10px; text-transform: uppercase; [/class] [class=right] width: 280px; height: 300px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; overflow: hidden; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify; padding: 10px; box-sizing: border-box; [/class] [class=leftTagContainer] width: 100%; height: 100px; [/class] [class=scroll] width: 100%; padding-right: 50px; height: 100%; overflow-y: scroll; [/class] [div class=variables] [div class=container] [div class=left] [div class=imgContainer] [div class=img style="background-image: url('http://www.igdiscover.com/images/profiles/instagram_griffingluck.jpg')"][/div] [div class=img style="background-image: url('https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS6B6uhGJD6bnonHsUlu3gCmYVsQxO6dsavwpfI1Dn2AXg8B6cF')"][/div] [/div] [div class=name]TEO EILERS[/div] [div class=leftTagContainer] [div class=scroll] [div class=tag]location[/div] WB
[div class=tag]interacts[/div] n/a.
[div class=tag]tags[/div] n/a.
[/div] [/div] [/div] [div class=right] [div class=scroll] Wringing his hands slightly, Teo nodded along and tried to keep track of the information being spit at him. Being new was hard, try being new on valentines day, without a girlfriend. Well any friends for that matter. Teo's closest friends remained in California. Way too far to just simply go visit. Jumping out of his thoughts Teo gave a small nod to match his thank you and accepted the papers being thrust his way. Making his way down the crowded hall, he slipped this way and that before finally reaching his destination. Teo stared blankly at the lock for a moment before spinning the dial to match the numbers written on his informational packet. Teo sighed heavily as he put his books up and hung his bag. He loved valentines day. Teo was a helpless romantic and couldn't help but hope for love, though it never seemed to come his way; he figured it come around to see him one day. [/div] [/div] [/div] [/div]

coded by shady.

 

[0k_mang0]

sebastian

Location: school
Ash Winona​

“I’m more of a waffle guy than pancakes.” Sebastian set down his backpack on the floor to put on his wool denim jacket, and a second later, he caught Ash taking one of the plushy toys. He felt slightly tensed for a moment, restraining himself instinctively swiping it back—if Ash had been anyone else, he probably would’ve done that.

He rolled his eyes at her notion. “No, you’re wrong about that part. I’m far from romantic. Those are for my aunt and cousin, as Thank You gifts for letting me live them.”

Sebastian had explained Ash about his reasons for moving to Westbrook, sort of. He left out the dark details, like how he was almost shot to death. He did mention that his older brother Ernie passed away a few years ago but omitted how exactly how he had died, and he told her that his parents decided to send him away about three months ago. Some kids his age would probably feel abandoned by their parents, and he did a little, but Sebastian felt relieved with the idea of having a fresh start somewhere else, especially when Aunt Lucia was willing to take him in and tolerated his skateboarding as long as it wasn’t done inside the house.

“One of my co-workers accidentally bought extras and then gave them to me this morning after I told them my cousin’s obsession with stuffed toys,” Sebastian said. “She also loves that weird cat because she thinks it’s her spirit animal, so you should probably hand it back if you don’t wanna make a cute four-year-old cry. You seem too cool for Valentine’s Day plushies, anyway.”

 

[Dede]

Tom

& His Mum Deborah

Tom couldn’t figure out for the life of him why Bowbow and Mum loved America so much. They’d spent the last few days on the road, stopping at every burger joint and shopping mall along the coast. It was ridiculous. And Just as Tom thought it couldn’t get any worse, Mum was talking about moving to Maine and maybe starting a new life here.

‘Wait, WHAT?’

‘You’ll love it! Your sister loves it,’ she said.

‘Mum, are you taking the piss?’

‘Of course not. I’m being serious sweetie. I think this is exactly what the three of us need. A fresh start in a new environment,’ she said. ‘Your father would have thought so too.’

‘He would have thought you were nuts.’

Tom moped for a bit then looked at his mother again.

‘That means I’ll have to change schools again. . . What about my friends?’

‘Um, you don’t have any friends, sweetie.’

‘Geez thanks, Mum.’

‘Here at least you have Stu. The two of you can be losers together.’

‘. . .He can’t hardly handle himself. Didn’t you see his face?’

‘That was just an accident. He said he fell into a sink.’

‘. . .I reckon a sink fell into him.’

‘Come on, sweetie. Westbrook is perfectly safe, you'll see.’

Well, he knew how his Mum was. Once she got an idea in her head, it was there to stay. She’d already called up school and arranged a tour for them with the Principal, to see if she could reassure him how safe and friendly Westbrook really was.

Principal Nona was now leading the siblings down the hallway, showing them the classrooms.

‘Your mother said you used to get beat up at school, Tom,’ she said. ‘You poor thing. . . you don’t have to worry about any of that here. All the kids here are so very nice.’

She glanced at the boy with the bow tie. Who was she kidding? This little nerd wouldn't survive one day here. But she couldn't actually tell him that; he and his sister were prospective students, and running a school was a business.

She got a call and put her phone to her ear. An anxious look graced her face as she learnt something about an emergency warning for a storm.

‘Listen, I need to pop down to the office for a second,’ she said and looked over at the boy near the lockers. ‘Ah, perfect. Teo! Could you come here for a moment?’ She beckoned the junior boy over with a radiant smile. ‘Teo’s new here too. Maybe the two of you can ask him about how he’s enjoying Westbrook so far, and how wonderful it is here.’

With that the principal disappeared and left the kids to their fate.

Anonymous Winona mikaluvkitties

 

[Soap]

Caleb

Caleb watched as she tore the poster slowly down, the sound echoing through the fairly empty gymnasium, he raised his eyebrows, he wasn't surprised at her answer, it was obvious she didn't like Valentine's day and her words were filled with nothing less of it. It was only when she asked him his thoughts was when his surprise really hit. He never really hated it, but he wasn't a huge fan either. Valentine's day was meant to be spent with someone you cared about, -- he understood that.

Caleb just didn't have anyone who cared about him just yet.

"I'm with you? Aren't I?" He teased, not giving her an actual answer towards her question. Nodding in acknowledgement of her name. It fit her quite well. If he was given a task to name her anything else, well, he don't think anything would've came to mind. A slight grin appeared on his face as she tried her luck, taking the ball from her and... missing. He shrugged uncaringly, it wasn't a big deal and while he was alone most days, company was worth more than to him than making a basket. "Caleb. Unfortunately, there's no way to shorten it." He glanced away sheepishly before admitting, "I tried when I was younger, poor young Cab." He had to admit, fun bantering was better than being alone.

"Never mind me though;" He gestured towards the posters. "Y'know, taking your anger out on posters isn't gonna make the day go faster."

Elf_Ruler​

 

[Soap]

Raven

Grabbing that weeks' Newspaper to look through while she walked.Ah, Valentine's day. The day of love, everyone was either making out with each other or crying over the person they would never have. Too bad Raven's life is much more hectic than any of those things or else she'd be a normal seventeen year old girl who was crying in a corner over a boy she could almost definitely have. What? Okay, so the past few weeks have been literal torture, but Raven's ego didn't waver.

At least-- not to anyone else's knowledge. She was at school today, and naturally, kept up her reputation. The only one who even knew about her grandmother was Mason, and despite his very drama-queen nature, he's not the type to gossip. The last thing Raven wanted to deal with at school is pity, especially answering the questions as if they actually cared; 'Is she okay? Don't worry, she will be soon.' She could've practically laughed in their face and they would've thought she was a psychopath.

The only thing Raven was used to was bad luck. No blessings. Today was her dealing with another problem, she was supposed to meet a certain blonde ex-cheerleader apparently, half of the school was shocked she quit in the first place, but the brunette was so sick and tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. So what? She's not doing splits in public anymore, who the hell cares. --Anyway, she wanted to clear the air between them since last time they spoke, well... they weren't really talking.

She walked through the doors of the fitness room, the few papers in her hand flew to the floor from the wind of it. --It wasn't even that good to read anyway, she hasn't been writing them for the past few weeks. Okay, that's a bit much, but everyone knew they were best whenever she wrote it. Alaska especially. The sudden thought of her made the brunette deflate immediately as she felt her mood worsen instantly, at the notice of someone else in here, she perked up, raising an eyebrow towards the girl she... had no idea who she was actually. Has Raven really been out of the game so for long?

"Sorry If I was interrupting your... 'workout.' Have you seen a blonde? About this big? Pretty eyes, usually really depressed for some reason?" Raven asked the new girl with a tilt of her head, taking her appearance as she did so.

Daniel Reaving​

 

[Daniel Reaving]

Jasmine
Jasmine had been in the workout room running through her rehab exercises. Panting softly as she finished her squats just as another girl came in. She planned to just continue on till the girl started talking to her asking questions about a girl. Jasmine sent her a friendly smile and shook her head.

“No worries you weren’t interrupting anything. I’ve been the only one in here all morning.” Jasmine said softly as she sat down on one of the benches. Taking off her prosthetic and rubbing the end of her leg as she looked to the girl. “Are you new here too?” Jasmine asked her softly as she hadn’t seen this girl before. She knew situations like this where a bit awkward, not everyone can act normal around someone with half a leg and she hopped this girl wouldn’t pry to much.
Soap​

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Tatum was a little shocked by the boys banter but she could only blame herself because she had asked his thoughts on the whole day. She gave him a smirk, "Too bad your stuck with my company on this day." She was relieved he wasn't upset with her on missing the basket and letting the ball roll away. Others may have gotten annoyed with her but him, he seemed to be content with whatever life threw his way. His name was simple and it fit him and for some reason it brought her a little comfort in knowing that his name wasn't some jerk name like Thad or Brayden but a name full of safety. She couldn't help but giggle at the nickname he had tried giving himself, "I like Cab, but did you ever try Cal?" she couldn't help but enjoy his calming presence, "You'd make a good Cal." Was she flirting?! she shook the thought out of her head, she was just having a fun time with someone she hoped to become friends with in this stupid school that loved a stupid made up holiday.

His comment about haranguer towards the poster caused her to shrug, "You're right that it won't make my day go faster, but have you ever felt so angry and hurt about something?" she thought she saw an expression quickly go across his face but she hadn't been sure, "This day is that for me and somehow causing a little destruction brings me a little joy." She closed her eyes for only a moment before going her full attention back to Caleb.

She thought back to her younger years where everyone always made cards for their friends and her bag was always the least full out of everyones and all she had ever wanted was friends who would give her little Valentines Day cards and they never did. It had always been like that for her growing up and eventually Tatum had begun to hate Valentines Day for everything that it stood for, "This day, as a child was supposed to be fun and it never was." she was blatant in her statement to him, "So it may not make my day faster but it helps me feel better, feel less alone I guess." Why was she voicing her thoughts to someone she barely knew? Tatum couldn't believe how open she was being with someone that she had just met but something in him made her feel like she didn't have to pretend or hide how she felt.

Soap (Caleb)

 

[Dede]

Neck Tie

Neck Tie was so concentrated on the game in front of him that he barely saw, let alone acknowledged, the mother-daughter pair stomping into the kitchen.

Now Adriane was telling him something, which sounded sort of important, although he was still mostly listening to the voices in his headphones.

‘H. . . huh?’

He turned his head slightly. Very slightly. His eyes preferred to stay on the screen.

‘. . .Oh, okay,’ he replied absently.

Of course he had no idea what he’d just agreed to. The female could have told him that the world was ending and elicited the same ‘Oh, okay’ from him. There could have been a fire and he wouldn’t have known it.

For what it was worth, Neck Tie did see Ari’s small figure move past him in the corner of his eye. So technically he wasn’t remiss in his new babysitting duties, and was ‘watching’ that little girl just like Adriane ordered.

Winona