_{Collab with: @lovely complex & @Viciousmarrow}

---

---

Sophia stared at herself in her bedroom mirror, light blue eyes scanning the reflection as she smoothed down her hair. In the past Sophia would have sprung out of bed by 6am, gone for an hour long jog around the park, ate a healthy breakfast and began preparing for another fabulous celebration of her life, making sure that everyone knew it was her birthday long before the day came. She loved birthdays and making people feel their best on that special day, including herself, but this year was different and the past was dead.

She had planned a house party for the night, though it was nothing especially extravagant. She hadn't been in the mood for party planning much anymore, but drinking with friends looked a lot better than drinking alone. Especially on your own birthday. Excitement slowly built up at the chance to get blackout drunk without needing to lie or sneak around, but last week had put a damper on the mood. Tranquil Summit Psychiatric Institution called and told her that Kylie was ready to be released on June 19th, at 9am. Of course on all possible dates, it had to be on her birthday. But.. this was a good thing... right? Kylie was coming home after three months of isolation and working on her.... "issues".

"One for the road?" Sophia reached for a small travel sized bottle of vodka hidden away in her purse. "I can't..." Her fingers stopped short of the bottle, lingering for a moment before she sighed. She was supposed to be driving the hour long journey to the mental institution with Riley. Closing her purse, she swung it over her shoulder and left the room to sneak over to Riley's room. Despite being rather traumatized over Kylie's obsession with him, he had agreed to go with her to pick up Kylie. They decided to keep Kylie’s homecoming a secret, hoping that surprising the rest of the family would cheer everyone up.

"Riley?" She whispered, lightly knocking on his door. "Are you ready?"

Has three months truly passed? Exhausted blue orbs stared at the mac screen, with little to no life to his facial expression, Riley Reese had become a pale version of what people were used to seeing. Ever since that day, sleep wasn’t something that came to him easily anymore. That was the day he discovered something… far from believable. To this day, he still cannot believe what he laid his eyes on. Along with that discovery, when he does get some shut eye, that memory from when he was a child… repeats, like a recurring dream trying to haunt him to remember a time that was faint and unreachable. C.L. never did send another letter. Perhaps there was more to his insomnia than the whole Kylie wanted to fuck him his entire life? Don’t get him wrong, it’s disturbing that his twin fell in love with him and stalked him, but it’s the memory that got to him more. When the fiery haired male went in for a checkup (2 months ago), his doctor prescribed him pills to help him, which isn’t something he’s shared with anyone besides Sophia. Not wanting any of his other siblings to worry, Riley knew if at least his older sister knew he had sleepless nights, it would reassure her a little that he didn’t hide things from her. He hasn’t used much of the pills due to the state they put him in. Once he sleeps, he literally has to rip himself out of his dreams or he’d stay in his mind for... who knows how long. At least being sleep deprived he can be there for his family and his girlfriend. Beautiful, innocent Claire.

Riley never did tell Claire about his personal dilemma or even the incident with Kylie, playing it off like he was okay. Even with all his doubt on whether or not he can give her happiness, he was unable to let her go. What a selfish man he was. His relationship with Claire was the one thing keeping him afloat and it just made sense to him, you know? Although, he was a complete asshole and she was a pure sweetheart.

His screen displayed the great porn site he visited far more than he would like to admit. Silently, he uploaded his new videos on his AcemanDude profile. Recently, he caught a couple having sex in the Cherry Blossom Park. Don’t worry, their faces aren’t terribly visible. This will surely get him more followers. Ha, his priorities. Within the past three months, Riley dropped out of his online classes and decided to solely focus his life at the Diner and around town with his camera. The man worked so much that he and his girlfriend only went on a few dates in the course of three months. The Diner kept him busy, drowning him to the point where he didn’t need to think about reality. His camera being his security blanket.

What was wrong with him? Why did that one day bother him so much? The memory wasn’t even that terrible. Wasn’t C.L. his first love? Waiting for another letter from her was terribly agonizing. Why did she send an inkling of hope his direction? Maybe he should try to trace her whereabouts? Would that satisfy his appetite? Riley felt like he was slipping more and more away from himself. The questions flooding his mind were non-stop. Yet, he was unable to tell anyone.

His ears perked with the sound of his older sister’s voice. Sophia has been quite considerate to her brother’s wellbeing, since she is the only one who knows about his insomnia. Some days Riley is unable to get out of bed. Those days she would make sure he had food by his bedside. He’s glad he told one person… though being a burden is never a pleasant feeling.

Closing his incognito window on his computer, the stoic man grabbed his camera and sluggishly walked to the door. Before he left his room, he put on his sunglasses to hide his dark circles. His outfit was dark jeans, black sneakers, and a light long sleeved shirt. Nothing too extravagant, but enough to give off the vibe that he was doing better this month, than the previous. It was summer and he needed to put color back on his skin. There needed to be a major change in his life. It was time to get his shit together. Dad wouldn’t have liked seeing this side of his son.

Opening the door, Riley gave his sister an oh-so-familiar cheesy grin, that is sparse now with his twin’s absence, “Let’s get that troublemaker.” His shades hid his emotions, which is exactly what he wanted. Pulling the camera up from hanging around his neck, he quickly snapped a picture of his sister, “Happy birthday gurlfran!” After the picture was taken, he leaned in to kiss her cheek, chirping, “Love you, sis! But you’re getting old as fuck.”

“Hey, only flattering photos allowed.” She playfully pouted, memories of Kylie’s flash drive filled with photos suddenly resurfaced in her mind. “Gee, thanks, you’re a doll.” Her pout melted into a half hearted smile as she turned and began heading downstairs, frantically trying to think of something else. Riley seemed like he was doing well, but she also knew all too well that it could be an elaborate disguise to hide the truth. Nonetheless, he appeared a lot better than she had expected to see him this morning.

“Let’s get this show on the road.” She whispered, opening the front door as quietly as she possibly could and sliding out onto the front porch. Crisp cool air overwhelmed her senses, reminding her of how long it had been since she had gone on one of her regular morning jogs. “Regular” was becoming more of a loose term with each passing day as her own self motivation had reached an all time low. Thinking about it made her yearn for that tiny vodka bottle at her side again.

Getting into her grey Toyota Corolla and putting on her seat belt, Sophia looked over at Riley as he took the passenger seat. She examined him for a moment before starting up the engine, her playful demeanor no longer in sight. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” She asked once he closed the door, “You don’t have to do this… I’d understand, you know.” She knew how much Kylie’s obsession had affected her brother over these last few months and didn’t want him to feel obligated to go with her. “Just give me the word and you’re free to go.” A genuine caring smile replaced her serious facial expression, eyes locked onto his. “I’ll just tell Kylie that I kept the surprise from you as well.” She knew Kylie would be hurt if Riley wasn’t there, but it would be a decent excuse for the time being. Sophia had only spoken to Kylie three times for a few minutes each time during the past 3 months and Kylie still had no idea that the rest of the family had no clue that she would be coming home. Much less about how much she had screwed with her twins mental stability.

Buckling himself and bringing his window down, Riley turned to his sister and shook his head in disagreement, “Stop worrying, birthday girl. I’m okay, trust me.” Shrugging to himself and leaning back in his seat, he yawned, “To be honest, now that I think about it, ‘that’ wasn’t the worst thing Kylie’s done to me. I think I can handle whatever my twin throws at me.” Cracking his knuckles, the man chuckled to himself, as he stared out the front window, “Plus, we both know that me being there would make the transition easier. I want you to enjoy your damn birthday, so focus on one task at a time.” He briefly paused to let his words settle in and then concluded, “Let’s get our sister. We’re family that sticks together, no matter the shit.” Not eloquently spoken, but his words did hold a lot of truth in them. Being one of the main men in the Reese family, Riley had to stay strong for his sisters. Sophia was carrying the weight of their family. He could at least lessen the load by facing his twin. It was inevitable. He was going to see her no matter what. Sure, there was a deep, nervous feeling in his gut but at the same time… he loved Kylie with all his heart. The past was the past and it was time to look ahead and pave a better road. The family needed to be together. When one fell, they all followed close behind. Rather than letting the building blocks tumble, he wanted to be his family’s foundation once more. He was ready. This summer was the summer for change.



“Hi, we’re here to pick up Kylie Reese.” Sophia leaned against the sterile white desk at the front lobby, looking down at the brunette staff member dressed in teal scrubs.

“Wonderful! We will call her out. Please have a seat, she will be out momentarily.”

Sophia nodded, “Thank you.” Turning back to Riley, Sophia wandered over to their seating area and plopped herself down. Her eyes wandered around the room, wondering if Kylie would truly be changed after her confinement here. Did she hate the family now? How many times had she roamed these halls, wishing to leave? Was she treated well? Did the doctors and nurses actually want to help or was it all about a paycheck?

With a sigh, Sophia took out her phone and began scrolling through different social media applications. Anything to take her mind off of the fact that Kylie had practically been banished from the “real world” for three whole months. Was this what her parents would have done in this situation? Or was this another mistake? Either way, Sophia was to blame.

Kylie’s eyes followed the lines of an archaic string of text, glued to every word. A rather large paperback book was plopped in her lap, and it was the only thing she’d read the past three months. The institution was so strapped for cash that they had a very limited selection of books, and this one was the only always available. Outside of reading, therapy, and sleep, there wasn’t much else to do. Everything was a suicide risk for her, apparently. Pencils, shoe strings… You name it. It wasn’t allowed in. They were even iffy with tampons! The sheer boredom the redhead had experienced had nearly driven her to suffocate herself when she first got her. It was a big mistake telling the staff here about her suicidal feelings though. That event had gotten her a week of suicide watch: a whole week of being isolated in a padded cell practically naked.

She was glad she picked up this book though. It… really changed her life. It’s like every message within resonated with her, and she felt compelled to be a better person. Perhaps it was the medication they had her on too, but suddenly Kylie was accomplishing more in this institution than she was outside. Within the second month of her stay here, they had a special program that let high school drop outs like her attempt to get their GEDs. After quite a bit of studying, she actually did really well on her tests. There weren’t very many moments before where Kylie had felt so proud of herself.

Again, maybe it was the large amount of pills she was on, but she felt great now. No despair, no self-esteem issues, no nothing! Kylie didn’t think it was the therapy that had made her feel better though. No, she felt it more had to do with taking in the message of God.

“Kylie Reese. Follow me. Your ride is here.”

A nurse hovered over her, beckoning the twin to follow her so she could rejoin society. ”Oh! Okay! Thank you so much!” Kylie piped up and quickly closed her hefty tome. Scrawled in big Times New Roman letters on the cover was “The Bible”. Smiling brightly, the petite woman grabbed the meager bags at her feet and scampered towards freedom.

Kylie emerged into the waiting room looking quite unlike how her family saw her last. Her hair was no longer blonde, back to its normal shade of red, and her clothes were quite conservative. She wore a long sleeve, olive green shirt with faded blue jeans, some of the only clothes they could find for her. Moreover, a bright and cheery smile adorned her face, no longer etched with anxiety. At the sight of her Sophi, she rushed over and gave her older sister an enormous hug.

”Sophi! Happy birthday!” she called out with absolute glee. This was probably one of the few times Kylie had actually remembered any of her siblings’ birthdays. Ecstatically, the redhead pulled away from her sister and reached into her sad plastic bag. From within, she pulled out what appeared to be two popsicle sticks glued together to form a cross. ”I made this for you. It’s not a lot, but they don’t let us have scissors or anything so I couldn’t trim it up.”

Her cerulean eyes peered over to Riley, but a sudden sense of nausea sweeping over as soon as she recognized his visage. The doctors here had used aversion therapy techniques to help her get over her obsession with her brother, and right now it was definitely kicking her in the ass. Her orbs peeled back onto Sophi’s face, not daring to give her brother another look before she vomited all over the floor. ”You… uh... brought Riley! Great!”

The sight of his twin was nothing that he expected, actually… it was far worse. With shades hiding his gaze, he silently watched Kylie basically ignore his existence. Sure, it was Sophi’s birthday but… that was fucked up. They hadn’t seen each other in three months and now she doesn’t even want to look at him? If this was their way of curing her, to completely prevent his own fucking twin the ability to lay eyes on him, what was the point? Twins had more than just a normal sibling connection and now his sister will spend the rest of her life avoiding him. The man wasn’t dumb... he knew Kylie better than anyone else and just looking at her, he could tell she was uncomfortable with him being anywhere near her.

He was a monster to her. To his own twin.

He needed to keep it together and not make things awkward… for Sophia. If only he had listened to her earlier and just stood in bed. Today was going to be hard to put a front on. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Riley let his sisters share their moment, “I’ll wait in the car. Kye, you can sit in the front.” He dismissed himself, knowing very well she didn’t want to touch him and left the building with conflicted feelings on the matter. As he walked, he contemplated her attire, the popsicle sticks, and her… new demeanor. What the fuck did they do to his twin?

“Oh… I…” Gingerly, Sophia took the popsicle sticks from Kylie. “Wow…” She forced a smile, “Thanks for that, it’s… uhm… it’s great.” She glanced from Kylie back to the popsicle sticks a few times. “What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?”

As Riley left the institution, Sophia’s eyes followed him out. She frowned, “Be there in a sec…” She smiled and gently placed the crude cross into her purse and wrapped an arm around Kylie’s shoulders. “I’m glad you’re back.” One of her fingers twirled around a strand of her sisters red hair. “I’m glad you’re a redhead again, too. Blondes are just no good.” She nudged her sister playfully, very aware of her awkward interaction with Riley but hoping to lighten the mood up a bit. “Let’s get you out of here. Everyone is going to be so happy you’re back! I didn’t tell them yet, it’s a surprise.”



The ride back home had been excruciatingly awkward. Riley barely spoke as he laid down staring at the car ceiling, but even when he did Kylie hardly acknowledged his existence in the back of the car. Thank god for the radio. It was too bad Sophia still had a conscious and didn’t have that vodka after all. At least she would have plenty of that available later on tonight. It was obvious that something in Kylie had changed within those three months, but it wasn’t clear whether it was a good thing or not. Instead of an obsession with her brother, she was apparently afraid of him. And what was with that popsicle cross? The old Kylie didn’t seem to be there at all…. Did the institution completely erase her previous personality? “Mom… Dad… What have I done?”

“Home sweet home!” Sophia cooed as she pulled into the driveway, placing the car in park and taking off her seat belt. “Everyone is probably awake by now.” She hopped out of the car and rushed around the other side to open up Kylie’s door for her. “We didn't mess with your room while you were gone, don’t worry.” She jokingly said; In the past Kylie would have nearly killed them if they even thought about entering her room to alter anything, especially her precious computers. Sophia supposed they knew why now… it wasn’t just her gaming equipment she was worried about.

”Oh, don’t worry. It’s no problem! I will probably be getting rid of a lot in my room anyway.” Kylie replied to her sister. Sophi was already up on the porch though, leaving Kylie with her brother. Clearing her throat, she tried not to stare at him as started towards the house. Had his hair gotten longer? Looking at the back of his head, it sure seemed like it. ”Riley needs to…” she paused for a second and then addressed him personally finally. ”You need a haircut!” It was much easier to talk to him when he didn’t face her.

Peeking her head around the front door, Sophia checked to see if the coast was clear. The living room was empty, but it sounded like there were people in the kitchen. “We’re back!” She called out, stepping inside and leaving the door open for Kylie and Riley.

Holding the door open, Riley gave his twin a faux smile, trying his best to hide any sadness, “I was going to get it done today before the party.” He decided to look toward the direction of the kitchen, to ease his sister as she entered, knowing that his face was the problem.

Once they were all in, he muttered, “I still haven’t showered…" and then added, “Welcome back, Kylie, and happy birthday again, Sophi.” The red haired man walked upstairs to make it seem like he wasn’t rushing away from this unbearable situation. Getting to his room, he closed the door behind him, locked it, and slowly slid down to the floor. Taking off his shades, his blue orbs were surrounded by red.

Placing his face in his palms, he kept to himself and let light tears stream down his face.

_{@Saint Girralo@Emma@BlueAjah}

---

---

MIRIAM PRYDE

---

---

“So what do you think you’re going to do about college, Miri?”

The voice that was talking to Miriam was that of her eldest brother, Jeremiah, who had done a lot of the bulk managing the record store part of the family business whilst their parents focused on keeping it generally afloat. Even in a small town like Millington there was a challenge of selling physical copies of records, especially to people who were Miriam’s age or younger. But somehow as a unit they seemed to break a little over even. A fact that Miriam was thankful for; she didn’t know what she would do without their little record store and music studio. Music had been the only thing she had to cope with the depression that existed underneath the soft smiles and kind gestures she responded with. A depression that she wasn’t sure any of her family or friends even remotely had a clue about considering she had tried her darndest to keep it that way. Had she approached anybody in her family of how she felt and about what was hanging over her head they would’ve reacted in the old-fashioned Pryde way— by overreacting.

Miriam’s gray-blue eyes looked over to her brother who stood casually behind the counter leaning against the register with a meek smirk on his face. He may have been just making conversation to her, but the question was one that had an ulterior motive— a very obvious ulterior motive. The thought of extending her education was one that she had considered and there were many accessible options for it. As much as she was “content” with a high school degree and her current job there was a longing for something, especially when she noticed her friends going off to pursue their dreams. But… Miriam’s dreams weren’t in education. She smiled back at her brother as she attempted to word a proper reply.

“I guess I haven’t really thought much about it. A lot of my friends are going through with it, but I guess I’m not sure its what I want to do. There’s plenty of time to think about it, right?”

Jeremiah nodded, “Just don’t wait around too long. The universe isn’t going to wait around for you, y’know?”

“Right, I’ll… keep that in mind.”

He wasn’t wrong there. Whatever her decision would be she couldn’t really afford to wait around to make it. With the back and forth financial stability of the family business there was a lot of risks— especially considering that her father didn’t exactly offer many digital options; they didn’t even have a website and if they did it would probably state “Get off your damn computer and go outside, you know where the store is.” In some sort of laughably blunt magniloquence. Perhaps thinking about something in website design or general business would help the family? But then there was the option of some sort of music-leaning degree… that would be the closest thing to representing her interest in the matter.

She discarded the thought as the chime of a customer entering through the front doors of the record store was apparent.

“Good Afternoon. Can I help you with anything?”

“Something heavy… something raw.” The leather jacket-toting customer commented nonchalantly, a look of delinquency about him.

She looked at him a bit more closely— unkempt black hair going down to his shoulders, leather gloves, a pack of opened cigarettes tucked into his top jacket pocket, Motorhead patch, and a devil may care attitude. If she was a more devious person she would’ve smirked slyly as she nodded.

“I have an idea.” She commented as she shuffled through the new release CD’s before sliding on the counter a option reading ‘SPIDERGAWD’ in swirling pink letters.

It wasn’t really her type of music; but it seemed to fit the vibe the customer had given her. It had the sort of bite the older Motorkill records had with a stoner sheen— like a piledriver of guitars and aggressive drumming. She wasn’t much for over-generalizing through genres and scenes, but it was definitely a “heavier” rock sort of thing that had a sort of “raw” meaty production value going on for it. She hoped it was what he was looking for.

“Spidergawd III, I think you’ll like it.”

He looked down at the record, impressed by how quick she had pulled something out for him before fishing a few dollars out of his jacket’s lower pocket as she rung him up. “Better not suck.”

“I hope so, too. You have a full week to return it if you think it sucks.”

As the jacket-bearing man walked away he gave a half-wave as he made for the door— content with the buy for now. Miriam didn’t find it odd that he didn’t decide to browse more blindly or pick up a few more records or idly chat but it would’ve been nice to have some conversation outside of her brother’s quips.

“I swear, Miri, you’re like the witch doctor of music. You sure you’re not a person-sized iPod?”

She giggled as she shook her head.

“I'm just a girl, take a good look at me.”

Jerry

So many things to do and so little time for it really. The Harmen Family was always in the spotlight really but then of course you always had the Reese family to spice things up. The house had been quite of late. With Kiley gone the walk over to their front porch had become a routine. Twice a week like clockwork to drop off dinner. With the kids out of school he’d started leaving the back of his house open so they could use the pool whenever they wanted. Work had been almost all consuming. The weekly time with Jude and Nana had been a godsend to fend off the constant overtime and the searching. The Harmen family was certainly tight knit but there was a chink in the armor. Three months but he’d found it. All of the extra work had been off the books of course, but it had paid off. It was time to investigate a part of the revenue they had. The problem was that it really wasn’t his scene. There was always the dirty cop card to play but that was a whole different story

With Sophie’s birthday he’d had to take the night off but in the end it was probably worth it. Kylie was home after all. The little red pen on his calendar had alerted him to it. Right alongside the birthday notice for Sophie. The birthday present he’d gotten her clearly said “COP” all over it but it was one of those things that when you needed it, it was good to have it. Alongside all of that he’d continued to add to his files. Tonight was going to be a good night to actually flesh out a few profiles.

---

Slamming the dealer to the ground Jerry cuffed the delinquent with a fluid motion. The other deputies with him had caught the buyers trying to flee on foot. It had been a clean take down. Unfortunately it was another small fry who was just going to disappear into the system without leading Jerry any further up the chain. Courtesy of his own sheriff; which was a giant pain in his ass. At the same time it was really funny knowing that he could put his finger right on the problem in this town and yet it matter for absolutely nothing. Unless he could find someone willing to turn on the Harmen’s who wasn’t a criminal there was no way to get at them.

Sitting down on the hood of his car unmarked Jerry frowned as the other deputies led off the dealer. In all reality it didn’t really matter since the dealer would probably be out pretty quickly.

”Hey Jerry are you coming out for drinks with us tonight?” Jerry looked up at Deputy Reeds. ”Nah, I’m off to the Reese family’s house tonight. Sophia is having her party tonight and Kiley is suppose to be home so I should probably be there either way. Jerry didn’t bother to mention that there was a decent chance that there were some other people he was interested in checking out. That and over the next few days he had his own stake out to do.

”Alright Jerry, take it easy and hopefully the psycho girl won’t try to shoot people again. The look on Jerry’s face made the older deputy wither under the glare. With that Jerry hopped off the car and walked around to the side opening the door and climbing in Jerry started home. It was high time to get home and get ready for the party tonight.

---

Taking off the bullet proof vest Jerry cleaned and put away his gear. It had been a long day already to be honest but this evening had plenty of trails in store still. Taking a seat at his table Jerry flipped through the folders he had spread out on the table in front of him. Most of them were for the Reese family. Then there was a rather thick one for Wes, one for Claire, thinner than the others. Off to the side was one for Nana, by far the thinnest; Jerry had done his best to stay out of her life since it always seemed so invasive. Jerry shifted around a few more: Tara, Elliott, the cooks at the Orchid. It paid to keep an eye on everyone since you never knew what sort of things would be useful to know.

Neatly stacking and filing the manilla folders Jerry pushed a few pictures on the desk aside and pulled his computer over. The photos were pictures of his newest lead: The Honey Pot. It was a strip joint, hardly his seen but it was clear that part of the Harmen revenue moved through the joint. With a few clicks Jerry finished looking through the reports that the other deputies had filed. It was pretty standard stuff, nothing to really bother with since parts of them were clearly false pure and simple. With a heavy sigh Jerry closed the laptop and stood up from the table stretching.

Looking at his phone Jerry pursed his lips and scrolled through his contacts lingering on the one before finally pocketing the phone. The funny thing was that things really hadn’t progressed at all even though Nana had been in and out of his life. Hell he’d even added a few things to his collection for Jude, legos and the like. It was always a joy to have the little guy here, it seemed to make things a lot more...normal. Ah well. At some point he’d have to have the two of them over for lunch again. It had safely been about a week so it would probably be reasonable to ask if she wanted to come over again.

Taking off his gun Jerry locked it up. No way in hell was he walking into a house with Kylie in it carrying it. Replacing the gun and star with an asp and his blades; Jerry picked up his keys and walked out the front door and walked over to the Reese families home. With a knock Jerry hooked his thumbs into his belt and waited patiently.

This oughta be interesting.

_{@The Muse@Viciousmarrow@lovely complex@Saint Girralo@Emma@BlueAjah}

8:12
Jess woke up later than usual, around 8:12, but it was also summer and she no longer had classes to worry about. However she knew she had to get up and go back to being James, as it was Sophia's birthday and she was expected to be up and present today. She sat up in her bed and reached over to her nightstand for the nail polish remover, and began removing the nail polish from her fingernails. While she was comfortable with having it on in the privacy of her room when no one was downstairs with her, she wasn't sure how the others would react. She gets undressed and changes into her boy clothes, her boy underwear, boy shorts and shirt, and sighs. She is James once again and he heads upstairs to the shower with a set of clean clothes.

As he relaxes in the shower, he begins running the razor over his body and face, making sure to get any stray hairs that grew out overnight. As he washes the hairs down he takes a look at his toes which he left painted a midnight blue. As long as no one pulled his socks and shoes off later, no one would notice. When he got out of the shower, her dried off and left his now shoulder length hair partially damp as he plugged in a straightener. His hair was getting wavy again and even began to curl at the ends. As soon as he finished straightening his hair, he got dressed and pulled his hair back into a ponytail. He knew he still had some time before Sophia and Riley would return, so he went out to the living room and turned on the Tv to watch a recorded episode of Mythbusters.

9:21
James decides it's time to get up and begin working on breakfast. He heads out to the kitchen and begins preparing for a large batch of pancakes. His brother and sisters would be back soon and he wanted to have breakfast at least most of the way prepared. When he had the pancake batter ready, he began slicing apples into bite size chunks, bananas into neat little disks. He also cut up some strawberries and pulled the blueberries out of the fridge as well while the griddle heated up. He started pouring plain mix on the griddle just as Sophi, Kylie and Riley pulled into the driveway.

He walked away from the griddle only long enough to give Sophia a hug and say, "Happy Birthday, Sophi. Everyone to the Kitchen so I can talk and cook!" He immediately went back to the griddle and flipped the first batch of twelve pancakes over. He saw Kylie, but didn't exactly want to make her uncomfortable by singling her out. As soon as he was satisfied that they were cooked properly, he scooped them off of the griddle and onto a spare plate. As soon as the griddle was clear he poured the next batch onto the griddle and began spreading the diced apples into the batter. He then heard someone at the front door. "Riley, could you get the door. I'm kinda busy."

@The Muse@lovely complex@Viciousmarrow@BlueAjah@Themerlinhawk

_{Collab with: @Snagglepuss89}

Summer was a splendid thing. The season where Nana uses all her vacation and sick days just to spend as much time as she could with her five year old son. Recently, the woman has had a lot on her mind. For example, leaving her jobs and becoming a full dance instructor at Center Stage Studio. Being a Star at night for almost five years while having a morning job was fortunate for her because she was able to save up enough money for a stable home life and Jude's college savings. Most people wouldn't believe a 21 year old woman would be this financially secure in her life, and most people besides Nana's close loved ones knew how much she overworked herself just to get to this point in her life. You'd be surprised how well a Strip Club pays when you're they're main attraction. Don't even get her started with one of her main clients: Wesley Harmon. He throws money out the window like it's nobody's business. No, this mother isn't a gold digger, she's just a workaholic who wants to make sure her son has an easier life than she had.

Three months ago, Wes proposed to her, or well her night persona "Amethyst (or Mimi)", and three months ago she politely rejected him telling the Underboss that she wasn't ready to settle down (she never is). That was only one of the reasons why she couldn't accept his love. Although Wes is a powerful and wealthy man, she does not think he would be a good role model for her son. The life of a Mafia was not something she wanted Jude to be raised in. Along with that, he is in love with her act and not her as a person, granted she has never revealed to Wes that Mimi is truly Nana Darling, a young mother of Millington, who avoids people like they were the plague.

Well, that was three months ago. As of recently, the dark haired beauty has made a couple of friends that are pleasant to spend time with and Jude has smiled a lot more ever since new people came into his life. The biggest reason why she can't marry him, or any man for that matter, is... she was scared. Her lost of virginity story wasn't a pleasant one and her life wasn't all peaches and rainbows. A husband for her and a father for Jude was a lifetime commitment and to be honest, she didn't believe anyone could fit the role to the tea and assure her that she could trust them completely. It wasn't that Nana didn't want to settle down. To have a husband to love and to hold and to be there for her and her son sounded like a wonderful sentiment, but relationships were terrifying. Even simple friendships could go terribly wrong. She's taking tiny steps with her friendships with Jerry, Elliot, and Wes, but that doesn't change the fact that her guard is always up. One day, the mother hopes to give her child a sibling but for now, it's just her and Jude against the world.

Wearing a flower print chiffon skirt with a short-sleeved top tucked in loosely, the woman slowly strolled beside her boy, who wore a black Batman inspired outfit. Jude held onto his mother's hand as he looked up at the brown haired man that walked beside him and asked about Lizzy, his best friend for life, "Elliot, next time you give Lizzy a bath can I be there? I want to help!" Today, the now good friends, Nana and Elliot, were searching for birthday gifts for the man's childhood friend, Sophia Reese. The mother had never officially met the birthday girl but she's heard things about her, from Elliot and such. As the man's plus one, Nana knew it was common courtesy to get something and possibly help Elliot with suggestions, since he wasn't the best with understanding woman, Nana being an exception. Jude would spend the night at his non-blood aunt's house, which made him excited because she had a cat he could cuddle with. Primrose was Nana's best friend, who had plenty of free time to do whatever she pleased. Ever since she retired from the Honey Pot, Aunty Rosie's life has slowed down and she's even considering starting a family with her boyfriend of five years.

"Do you know Sophia's clothing size? If not, we could get her something maybe from Things Remembered, if you think customizing her a gift would be something she would like?" For the mother, she preferred picnics and a homemade dinner, but this was a party so a physical gift felt necessary.

"Her size? No, let me just text her; 'Hey Sophi, by the way how big are your boobs? Could you send me the size of your behind? Thanks'. I wasn't really thinking of clothing, maybe shoes though? Like, she exercises all the time. I'm sure her feet would appreciate it."

Shopping was never Elliot's strong point. Especially as someone who hated to spend money. Ever. Still, he did enjoy giving gifts, and enjoyed doing it right. Sophia in particular deserved at least some effort put into her birthday gift, so he'd dragged Nana along with him to bounce ideas off of. Truthfully he preferred giving people something useful, like food or shoes, over just a lump of metal to wear or look at. It always seemed a bit worthless to him.

After he finished speaking he turned to Jude beside him. Most kids gave Elliot trouble because he had no idea how to act around them, so he defaulted to treating most of them like adults. Jude seemed to have it in his head that he was an adult already anyway, so it ended up working out well in the end. As far as Lizzy went... Elliot would let the kid wash him in a heartbeat. Alone. Lizzy was a pain in the ass to bathe, still fully intent on being wild and dirty as often as possible. Still, he wouldn't quite say that out loud.

"I'd appreciate the help Jude, maybe she'd stay still for you..."

Pain in the ass dog did seem to take a liking to the boy. Although she seemed to hate any woman he hung around for God knows why. At least Nana seemed to get away relatively unscathed from the dog's moodiness. Probably on account of Jude being around almost any time they were together to distract her.

It had been a fairly peaceful balance in his life all told. Over the last few months he'd tried getting reconnected to the Reeses once more since he made up with Sophia. Come to think of it... when was Kylie coming back anyways? It would be nice to know so he can get her a gift as well. He found work shortly after arriving back in Millington, although his boss could be a pain in the ass it did mean he had some spending money. He didn't make a lot by any means, but he also spent very little.

"Any idea other than clothes? What would you want for your birthday Nana?"

"Me?" The mother looked at him for a moment and contemplated his question, Jude had a big grin on after Elliot gave him permission to wash Lizzy. As they walked, she brought her green stare to the fountain a distance away and shrugged, "Maybe more socks for Jude..." She chuckled at her instinctive answer, she truly was a mother. Clearing her throat, she added, "I mean, besides something Jude may need or want, I guess I would like a day where I wake up with breakfast in bed and maybe a nice walk in the park. I know this really doesn't help you at all... I guess I'm strange. I can't think of anything I personally need off the top of my head."

The young boy chimed in to help his mother's friend, with only happiness in his tone, "Mommy read a book that has five ways to say I love you. I like cuddles and new things! Like... a book! I like books!"

"Ah, yeah... that book was interesting. I suppose my love languages are 'acts of service' which can also mean devotion and the second being 'quality time'. I appreciate those love expressions above all other things. Maybe that explains why I can't really think of a physical birthday gift for myself."

"I think gifts make people happy no matter what it is! Like maybe, soon, I should be gifted...a pretzel." The smile never did leave Jude's face as he gave an innocent stare toward his mother, hoping his tactics were working.

Playfully rolling her eyes, Nana softly said, "Maybe after we shop, if you're a good boy."

"Oh mommy! You know I'm the best." He blinked his eyes, knowing very well he was adorable and let his mom take in all his cuteness.

After having a moment with her son, Nana brought her attention back to Elliot and asked, "You know her shoe size? We can start there. If not that, do you know anything else she might need?"

Coming to a halt, the mother noticed that they were in the area where there was an In-Mall Target (which would give them plenty of options), "It wouldn't hurt looking at things she'd really like, even if she doesn't necessarily need it. A lot of women like when guys pay attention to them. Does she have any hobbies? or an idol? I love to dance, so I probably could always use more... no, I really don't need anymore of that... well you get what I mean!"

Surprise flushed over her, as she excitably remembered, "Oh! I love old Hollywood actress Grace Kelly." She finally thought of an interest someone could get her a gift of, even if Nana didn't necessarily need it, she would appreciate it greatly (this may have reminded her of Wes' engagement ring but she tried not to think about that). Jude loved when his mama showed her childish side, she really was an attractive woman who had a pretty smile. He kept quiet, intrigued at the conversation that was going on around him.

"Pay attention to her? Trust me, it'd be far harder to ignore her."

Elliot rolled his eyes and began walking to a pretzel stand to indulge Jude's obvious hints. He hadn't exactly eaten much that day anyway, and could use a bite to eat to mull things over.

"Honestly, I think a pretzel sounds like a good idea. If he misbehaves I just won't let him bathe Lizzy later. Deal? Besides, it'll give us an opportunity to think. She was always silly about recording stuff when we were younger... Maybe a camera? Pretty expensive gift though."

Shoes or a camera. Great set of choices. Why did there have to be so many Reeses and so many birthdays he had to shop for? The number of ways in which the Reese family was exhausting grew every day. Still, he was getting used to being around them again. They could be annoying to an infuriating extent sometimes, but they were still like family. Besides, he could be a pain in the ass himself from time to time. Usually intentionally.

"Grace Kelly though? Well, I know what I'll get you for your birthday then, wall to wall Grace Kelly pinups. Hell, maybe I could do that for Jude here, get him appreciating beauty young."

He gave her a sidelong wink to show he was kidding as they reached the pretzel stand and Elliot began digging for his wallet.

"You want something too, Nana? I'll cover it this time."

---

And with that, Elliot bought his friend and her son pretzels and they sat at in the food court chatting about potential gifts for Sophia. Although they weren't aware of how they looked, they definitely came across extremely "family-like". A reserved father, a young and sweet looking mother, and an exuberant boy.

While Nana sat there, she thought about many things. Having a feeling that Jerry would invite her and Jude over soon, she decided to beat him to the punch.

Grabbing her phone, she sent him a quick text, taking a rather bold move on her part:

To: Jeremiah Richman _{@Themerlinhawk}

Hey Jeremiah! Are you free tomorrow around 12? I thought I would repay you for all your kindness. If you are free, I'll email you my address. We can always reschedule if you're not.

Nana came to the realization that the police officer did so much for her and her son, and all she ever did for him was "grace" him with her and her son's presences. She wasn't even that worth being around.

She truly did need to repay him back. Might as well give him a home cooked meal, right? Although she was afraid of opening her house to someone else other than Elliot, the mother felt like Jerry was someone she could trust (to a degree). It didn't help that the guilt of him doing so much for her was killing her on the inside.

Lilith watched through the window as a bedraggled man who evidently spent most of his time on the streets slunk into one of the alleys between the apartments. She recognized him of course, he was one of her most “loyal” customers. The man was usually soaring above Concorde jet cruising altitude - she had no idea how his body could handle all the meth and LSD he pumped into it, but it did and he kept coming back for more.

Where he got the money she didn’t know, and she didn’t really want to think about it either.

What confused her though, was why the idiot was coming here. She hadn’t received any tips that the police were close to finding her, and yet she had explicitly told him that the only time he could come within sight of the apartment was if that was the case. Her brow knitted into a scowl and she sighed, resignedly throwing on her heavy longcoat and flipping the hood up to mask her face. Tucking the revolver under her coat she angrily stormed out of the apartment’s back door, rounding the corner and confronting the man.

“The fuck are you doing here?” She demanded, getting right in his face. He was known to the police, the idiot could lead them right to her if they were keeping tabs on him. “Spill it. Now.”

The man’s eyes were sunk into his skull, and they widened as he shrank back from her. His frail frame quivered in fear of what unholy wrath he might’ve provoked on himself. “I-I needed my fix.” His voice quivered and his legs looked about to collapse. He rushed at her, pushing a twenty dollar bill at her as he fell against her. “Please, anything! I can pay more later, I just need my fix!”

She glared at him coldly, anger rising. “You could’ve lead the police here.” She growled at him, voice low and even. “You could’ve lead the cops straight to my front door, all because you wanted a fix. And then, when you get here and put my whole operation in jeopardy - what do you do?! You push twenty at me.” She slammed the man into the wall, whipping out the revolver and sticking its barrel in his mouth. “Listen to me, Paul, and listen well. If you ever come here for something that isn’t actually urgent again, I will put a bullet through your skull and dump your body in the ocean. If you ever consider going to the police, I will do the same. And if you ever,” she paused, waving the bill in his face, “try to buy some of my product with… this pitiful amount?” She cocked the hammer on the gun, narrowing her eyes and letting the action speak for itself.

Standing back, she let the man collapse to the ground before holstering her gun, letting the twenty fall in front of him. “Get out of here. I’ll meet you at the usual place tomorrow, at the usual time, and you’d better have more cash. I don’t do credit. Funnily enough it has a habit of never getting paid back.”

Lilith stormed back inside, throwing the coat to the side before sitting down to clean off the gun, gingerly unloading it and lowering the hammer softly. She sighed, setting the weapon down on a small side table, and buried her face in her hands.

She’d never wanted to be like this.

She held back from crying. Crying hadn’t done her any good before. Instead she stood, moving over to the computer sitting proudly on the desk. She had gotten a notification only moments before seeing Paul arrive, but considering it was from Sophi - it would probably lift her spirits somewhat.

The computer took a second to blink back to life, but when it did, there was the email, still sitting untouched in her inbox. She eyed the title before clicking on it, reading the message through sleep addled eyes. A party? She hadn’t attended a party for… anything since she was seventeen…

Lilith grinned before shooting off a quick reply - she could do with something fun for once.

Time went by incredibly fast for the young man. He somehow managed to get through the school year with somewhat decent grades and was satisfied with himself. It was summer which meant he was more busy than ever working at Fabletown Amusement Park. It wasn't a hard job though and as long as no one got hurt or died, he was fine.

In other news, Nathan's "relationship" with Rachel ended with a flop. She was a bit on the clingy side and got jealous when she caught him looking at other girls. She was nice, but definitely not what Nathan was looking for. Fortunately, the two were able to remain just friends. Much to his surprise though, Vanessa and James are still seeing each other regularly. While his best friend insists that they are just friends, it was obvious that Vanessa did not think of it like that.



"Alright everyone! Please remember to keep your hands and feet in the ride at all times. And enjoy the ride!" Nathan announced before pulling a lever that would start the ride.

As the sound of children squealing became more distant, Nathan sighed and tugged on his ridiculous uniform. It wasn't as bad as one of those mascots outfits, but it was still too childish-looking for him. There was no way that any girl could be interested in him when he's wearing something as stupid as this.

His break was not for another two hours, so he was stuck out here in the sun. Once the ride has ended, Nathan made sure that everyone was able to remove their seat belts and helped them off the ride. Then after the first set of riders have safely left the ride docking area, he opened the gate to let more passengers in. Every once in a while, he stopped a few children to make sure they were tall enough for the ride. Then he helped them fasten their seat belts before making the same announcement and starting the ride again. The cycle would continue.

When the ride started again, he took his two minutes of freedom to think about Sophia's birthday. It would be really rude if he showed up without a gift but he didn't know what to get the eldest Reese. "Would it be too easy if I just got her a stuffed animal from one of the stalls at work?" he wondered. "Do girls her age even want stuffed animals anymore?"

His thoughts were interrupted by the end of the ride. He did the whole thing over again and went back to brain storming. "Maybe James will tell me what to get his sister later. Worse comes to worse, I could probably buy her some accessories or something."

What does one give their best friend's older sister on her birthday anyways?

@lovely complex, @Snagglepuss89

Calvin Lewis

Calvin grimaced as he drove by the town's welcoming sign, and reached up with his left hand to adjust the black eye patch covering his left eye. He had spent the last two days driving continuously to Millington, Oregon from Maryland, and was currently on his last legs. Looking into the rear view mirror, Calvin found a tired, brown eye staring back. There had been a time when that eye had been bright, when opening it wasn't a challenge every morning.

"I need to stop and get some food soon. Getting phislophical in my old age." Calvin snarked in his head while checking his gas meter, noting that it was at half full. Flicking his vision back to the road, he took note of the town as he drove in. Grinning to himself despite his massive headache and exhaustion, Calvin felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He had arrived, after nearly two years, he would be able to keep his promise to his deceased comrade.

---

After asking around, Calvin pulled up to a church and parked his minivan in a free spot. Dusting off his jeans, Calvin got out of his car, and tied his black jacket around his waist. Rolling up the sleeves of his grey shirt, he opened the trunk of his car and pulled out his black guitar case. Slinging the case around his back, Calvin closed the door and began making his way to the town.

As he walked he began singing a tune under his breath, a song that he had sang when he was younger, when all he worried as studying for his next calculus test. Grinning, he let his deep, gravely voice stumble over the half-remembered lyrics, words returning and strings strumming in his mind as he sang.

"A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while

But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step

I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died..."

---

He had been busking at the mall for over 2 hours, gathering both strange and appreciative glances from the shoppers. Having so many people stare at him was a bit strange, but he ignored them for the most part. His voice had become a little from all the singing, and he was taking a small break and drinking a cup of water. Counting the donations he had collected, 30 dollars to be exact, Calvin wasn't surprised by the meager amount. Snorting to himself, he glanced back down at his guitar. It was a simple acoustic guitar, six strings and light wood. It had been a gift from his younger sister, a birthday gift from an estranged relation. Smiling sadly, he rubbed the guitar fondly,

"Another friend ship lost, dead before it could bloom." Calvin mumbled softly, remembering how hostile he had been to his sister growing up and vice versa. Surprisingly, Danielle had called him first when she came out and, based on the next meeting he had with her, he had been the most accepting of her change. They had shared a flat for a time, before Calvin's pensions stopped mysteriously and other demons came out of the closet.

Shaking his head clear of the dark thoughts, Calvin brought a hand up to scratch his salt and pepper beard. Deciding his break was over, Calvin, slid the guitar sling over his head picked up his bag, and started moving towards the food court.

Weaving through the lunch crowd, Calvin found an empty bench, dropped his bag, and placed his instrument on his knee. He than began strumming chords, turning tuning pegs every so often. Satisfied, the former corpsman began playing a soft tune. The words rolled off his tongue low and smooth, as if he was serenading some unseen lover.

"Babe, there's something tragic about you
Something so magic about you
Don't you agree?

Babe, there's something lonesome about you
Something so wholesome about you
Get closer to me

No tired sighs, no rolling eyes, no irony
No 'who cares', no vacant stares, no time for me

Honey, you're familiar like my mirror years ago
Idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on its sword
Innocence died screaming, honey, ask me I should know
I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door

Babe, there's something wretched about this
Something so precious about this

Where to begin

Babe, there's something broken about this
But I might be hoping about this.

Oh, what a sin

To the strand a picnic plan for you and me
A rope in hand for your other man to hang from a tree

Honey, you're familiar like my mirror years ago
Idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on its sword
Innocence died screaming, honey, ask me I should know
I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door

Honey, you're familiar like my mirror years ago
Idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on its sword
Innocence died screaming, honey, ask me I should know
I slithered here from Eden just to hide outside your door"

“What did they tell you?” A soft monotone voice echoed through a small sterile white room. Blake could feel his lips moving in response, but no sound came from them. He tried to look at the person who was speaking, but his eyes remained fixated on the ceiling of the room no matter how hard he tried. He tried to speak louder, move his body, shift his view, anything, but nothing changed. He was shackled there, helpless, feeling the room slowly closing in on him with only the subtle sound of a pencil scribbling on paper to fill the room.

“I believe you.”

That voice again, filling his chest with a crushing amount of anxiety. He tried to gasp for air under the crushing weight on his chest, but it was useless. The gasps only served to shoot pain through his body head to toe, causing a splitting headache in his temple. The room began to crumble around him and whispers began to spill through the cracks in the walls. Quiet at first, getting progressively louder. He tried to scream, but his voice refused to be heard.

Palpitations. Shallow breath. Nausea. Choking!

“BLAKE!”

Chocolate brown eyes shot open, searching the room frantically before settling on his father’s figure hovering over his bed, a strong hand gripping Blake’s shoulder. Breathing heavily, the frightened boy slowly sat up in bed and wiped away the few strands of blonde hair clinging to his forehead from sweat.

“You were talking and gasping in your sleep again.”

“S-sorry…” His heart still beat fast in his chest, causing his hands to shake as he pulled away his blankets. “Another nightmare.” Blake took in a deep breath to steady himself, looking up at his father’s steely blue eyes riddled with worry.

“I know.” His father let go of his shoulder and walked over to Blake’s attached bathroom, going through the cabinets to find a tiny orange bottle filled with dozens of prescribed medication. “Here.” He took out a small green colored pill, closed the bottle, and walked over to his son to hand him the medication. “Your mother wants you out of bed and doing something today. Say’s you’ve been loafing around too much this summer.” His father’s scruffy face smiled as Blake took the pill and grabbed a water bottle sitting on his night stand. “I don’t have anything to do though.” He protested, throwing back the pill and chasing it with water. His father shrugged, “You know how she is. Mom wants you out of the house today, so you’re going out. Find something to do. You know, like I did in the old days before video games existed.” He ruffled his son's hair playfully before he made his way out of the room. “Make sure to get your butt down there before Mom has to come up here.”

Sighing, Blake relaxed into the headboard of his bed and set his water bottle back onto the nightstand. “That stupid nightmare again…” He thought, closing his eyes. It felt like he hadn’t slept in ages, yet he spent most of his days asleep now that school was out. What was he even supposed to do today anyway? He didn’t really have friends that he hung out with during the summer and he preferred to stay home anyway. Nonetheless, Blake knew his mother could be relentless when she wanted to be. She’d have him sit outside on the curb playing with a stick and just be happy that he was breathing fresh air and being in the sunlight for once. Of course, Blake knew that it was because she cared, but his mother really could be a pain in the ass.

---

“Where is Chris?”

“Your brother’s at work.”

Blake melted into his seat at the island in the kitchen, sinking his face into the marble counter pathetically. “What do you want me to do, mooooommm?” He whined, staring back at her matching chocolate eyes.

“Oh, stop.” She shook her head, unphased by her youngest son’s act. “What about that Lynn girl… Lynn.. is that her name?” She thought for a moment on it, “Lynette!” She grinned as her son sat up straight again, horrified by the offer. “I know you two have hung around at school sometimes.” She leaned onto the counter near Blake, “I see the way you look at her, Blakey-boy.” She teased, a triumphant smile on her face. Blake lit up red with embarrassment, “Mom!” He whirled away from her and out of his bar stool chair. “Fine, I’m going!” He didn’t want to sit around and listen to any more of what his mother had to say. She already knew more than he wanted her to. Ugh.

“Have ffuuuunnn!!”

---

Having thought of absolutely nothing to do, Blake took his bike and rode to the Cherry Blossom Park which was only about a twenty minute ride from his house. This area was at least peaceful, and he couldn’t be teased by his parents or his brother. They were too much sometimes, so completely different than him.

With his bike leaning up against a tree just a few minutes off of the regular jogging trail, Blake laid in the grass and stared up at the clouds passing him by. Taking out his cell phone to check the time, he groaned. Only 10am. “How am I supposed to pass the entire day by out here?” It was easy enough to get lost in the video game world, but in the actual world? This could take centuries, and just to please his mother. Setting the phone back down next to him, he continued watching the clouds pass for a few minutes until it rendered him bored to death.

Although his mother’s notion had mortified him, the idea did pass through his mind a time or two. Chris, his brother, would have wanted him to at least try to hang out with her. Along with a pickup line and a "smooth move" or two. Chris was a ladies man after all. Taking a deep breath to gather up some sort of courage, Blake grabbed his phone and scrolled through a short list of contacts until he came to Lynnette’s name. His fingers hovered over a text box as he opened up a text message to her, wondering what exactly he should say. Lynette wasn’t exactly his closest friend, but she was probably the one that talked to him the most during the school year. Despite how awkward and antisocial he could be, Lynnette never seemed to mind. Her incessant nature had somehow grown on him after a short time of knowing her.

“Hi Lynette! Wanted to see if maybe you were as bored as I am this summer… Want to hang out or something? I’m just hanging out at the Cherry Blossom Park right now so I figured I’d ask.”

He stared at the message for a moment. Was that weird? Did normal people text that way? He never had many text message interactions so…

“Whatever.” He thought, pressing send before he could stop himself. “If she doesn’t want to hang out… who cares?” He tried to convince himself that he wouldn’t be at least a little defeated if she denied his first attempt at a real friendship outside of class.

@Gowi

---

"Who are you looking at?"

Catherine scowled at herself in the mirror, pressing a hand against her temple in an effort to calm her pounding head. She had always been told drinking killed brain cells, so how much longer would it be until she forgot the past completely and could move on with her life? Apparently she would have to try even harder tonight. After another minute of her blue eyes staring back at her, she finally broke away and made her way towards the shower, muttering;

"Just leave me alone..."

It was sometime later that a wholly different woman sharing Catherine's appearance burst from her house. Her long Summer dress catching a breeze as she danced her way out the front door. Her hair was tied into her signature French braid, and a pair of Foster Grants hid her blue eyes from view. With her door locked behind her, she continued down the street doing what resembled a Flamenco dance, if the dancer had no talent and didn't give a damn, that is. She didn't get far, however, as Jerry caught her eye mid-spin in front of the Reese household.

That insane family had cost her more than one peaceful rest since she had moved next door to them, and she really loathed the idea of potentially being caught up in their antics. Still, the cop piqued her curiosity. They had been neighbors for months, but between work and Catherine being home as little as possible, they'd never had a chance to speak. Besides, she had always fond of cops, one had saved her life years earlier. Not that it meant she'd trust him.

"Trust is worth more than gold, lock it away and keep only one key..."

She muttered to herself, resuming her "dancing" in the direction of the Reese home. Perhaps, at least, she could make a dull Summer day slightly more interesting. As usual, she made no effort to hide the scars running up her arms as she made her way towards the man, not that it would be possible in her current attire. Upon reaching the porch she stood up straight next to him, lowering her sunglasses to the bridge of her nose as she took a sidelong look at her mostly-stranger-neighbor. Fit and handsome, clearly not one of those desk cops who gorged on doughnuts and beer. With a smile she slid her sunglasses back up over her eyes and nodded her head towards the Reeses' front door.

"You sure you want to be here officer? This family's nuts, you should know that as well as I do by now. I think you live right next door there...?"

She trailed off, pointing to the house she'd seen him coming and going from the last couple months.

"Sorry I never came over and introduced myself, I'm not really at home all too often. Still time to remedy that right? I'm Catherine."

The woman jerked a thumb towards herself as she spoke for emphasis before closing her hand and holding it out to Jerry. Clearing, she seemed to favor fistbumps over handshakes, at least today.

---

---

"Yeah? Most people would be grateful I'm getting them a damn gift in the first place! Maybe I will end up forgetting it's your birthday after all!"

Elliot clicked the 'end call' button in annoyance after the last words left his mouth. That woman could get under his skin like no one else sometimes. So what if he had called to ask what she wanted for a gift? He was trying to make sure she'd gotten something she would actually like. Instead she went off on him about 'forgetting' her birthday and buying something at the last minute. Some people...

"Christ she can be annoying sometimes. I've half a mind to give her nothing now."

With a sigh he stood up from the table that the group had sat down at and stretched, not even bothering to pick up his half-eaten pretzel. Elliot didn't have much of an appetite at that point. He'd worry about getting something for Sophia later, the two tended to bicker like that often, and he'd cool off soon enough. Still, he had a woman who seemed to enjoy his company at the moment, and taking advantage of that would help improve his mood.

"I'll worry about what I'm getting her later, thanks for the help Nana. How about we take a break and do something fun? There's an arcade not too far from here, I've never been much of a gamer but if there's still that Gauntlet II machine..."

He trailed off, looking from Nana to Jude, surely the kid at least would want to visit an arcade. Kids still liked that stuff, right? As he waited on their reply he made a mental note to tip the musician playing not too far away on the way out. It wasn't his cup of tea, personally, but he could appreciate someone busking.

Holding her mint-green toothbrush, Zoey listened to the grand masterpiece of Yehudi Menuhin, one of the world’s best violinists to ever live. Nothing gave her more pleasure than the sound of bows dancing upon string and she showed the mirror a slight smile as she continued brushing her teeth. Today would be prove to be an interesting event for it was the eldest Reese’s birthday. Strange things always seemed to follow whenever the Reese’s hosted some form of public event and she had no doubt tonight would be the same.

Earlier in the morning, two quiet figures had tiptoed out of the house, whispering about things Zoey didn’t care enough to eavesdrop on. Of course they hadn’t woken her, she was always the first to rise but she simply stayed confined her bed until it was time to get out bed.  Whoever it was, although she believed the footsteps belonged to one of her brothers and Sophia, would be back soon enough. The early morning was one of the few moments Zoey could enjoy herself in complete silence, and she intended to use every second of her peace.

Things had certainly changed over the past few months as Kylie had been sent away for professional help after her obsession over Riley had been revealed. Who would have thought such a secret harbored in her own sister? It was certainly odd and the fact that she hid it for so long intrigued Zoey. Secrets could be deadly bombs waiting to be unleashed. She would know. Everyone had some, whether they chose to admit it or not. Kylie’s secret coming to the surface had left Zoey a little more out of it than usual. Talking had become a rare occasion, even for her, and she spent the majority of her time out of the house. She never told anyone where she was going, she simply left. Zoey didn’t know if her siblings noticed nor she did care much. Being around others and her family had just become quite an exhausting matter.

After caring for her hygiene and dressing into a comfortable pair of jeans and a green hoodie, Zoey carefully grabbed her precious violin and made her way to the family living room. Plopping onto the comfortable sofa, she began plucking the strings of her violin and tuned it. While Kylie had been away, Zoey had dabbled in composing her very own music and was pleasantly surprised with her results. One song in particular was inspired by both Kylie and herself, Zoey titled it Into the flames. It wasn’t completely finished, there was still a few final touches and adjustments needed to be made, but she felt it was a rather successful song for one of her age. Perhaps whenever Kylie returned to the Reese home, she’d play it for her. She’d been gone for so long, Zoey wondered if she would ever return.


An engine rumbled from the driveway, indicating the return of the birthday girl. Zoey didn’t even look at the door as it cracked open and her siblings walked in. She simply stayed focus on the task at hand, only a few moments remained until her beloved instrument would be perfectly tuned.

_{@The Muse@Viciousmarrow@lovely complex@Saint Girralo@Themerlinhawk}

Anna frowned at her reflection taking in the sight of her frizzed hair and dark bags under her eyes. She audibly groaned, reaching for her toothbrush and paste. It had been incredibly late when she had arrived to the campus last night in her old 2001 Mitsubishi Diamante and having to carry her hefty suitcases and the few boxes up to the third floor of the dorm had been painful. She looked down into the sink, her eyes trying to look past the heft of her chest and the curve of her belly immediately below it. She had been so out of breath with every trip that she had to constantly stop, making the process take three times as long. She brushed her tongue, gagging a bit as she pushed the toothbrush further back. Her eyes shot up to own reflection in the mirror once more.

The towel that was wrapped around her body after her shower was stretched as far as it could go, barely having enough fabric to cover the real estate of her skin. She repeated the motion along her tongue, holding the tip as far back as she could manage before finally pulling the toothbrush from her mouth with a series of loud coughs. Anna frowned, rinsing her mouth and gathering her things down the hall to her room.

Despite her emotions, she could not help the smile that formed on her lips upon seeing her handiwork. Her side of the dorm room was beautifully decorated; her bed sported pale blue and white sheets accompanied with various sized pillows of matching shades. On her wall, she had two large black oak picture frames with some pieces of music-themed artwork in them; one that was cut into four segments and another that was meant to look like a map made up of musical symbols. Anna flicked on the light switch and the string of lights above the pictures illuminated the wall. She had truly outdone herself. Digging through the tiny closet at the foot of her bed, she sifted through her clothing in search of a suitable outfit. Holstering her chest in one of the three bras that actually fit her, she settled for a plain shirt with chest pocket and a pair of distressed blue jeans. Casually, she slipped into her only pair of ballet flats and unplugged her phone from the charger. Looking around the room, she mentally checked off a list to ensure she had everything she need.

'Cellphone? Back pocket. Car keys? Front Pocket. Room key? Crap, let me put it on my keyring... Okay, there. Just need to grab my bag and I'll head to the mall...' From a hook on the outside of the tiny pop-up closet, Anna grabbed a small book bag that she used as her purse and double checked that her wallet and cards were in there. 'Great, all set. I'll just grab something to eat in the food court of the mall and spend the day trying to learn the town!' Her bottom lip had managed to find its way between her teeth as she nibbled on it, lost in her thoughts. 'It's not like I actually even know where the mall is but, I can Google it.'

She hated having to learn a new place especially since she had such a horrible sense of direction. Admittedly, Anna would probably never be able to find her way without the help of Google. Taking her time down the three flights of stairs of the dorm building, Anna focused on not tripping over her own two feet. It was much easier than the night before though, going down the stairs was always easier than lugging her body up. Inhaling and exhaling as slowly as she could manage, Anna crossed the campus grounds to where her car sat in the parking lot. The breathing helped to slow her increasing heart rate. She pushed her key into the ignition and turned her engine on. Before even fastening her seat belt, she squeezed her cell phone out of the tight confines of her rear pocket and placed her day into the hands of Google, only backing out of her parking spot once the friendly voice was kindly guiding her to the rest of her morning.

---

Much to Annas surprise, the mall had not been far from campus and it would have taken her less time to arrive had she not accidentally missed her turn and then had to wait for her phone to reroute. It was not super busy yet and she breathed a sigh of relief for that. Taking the escalator to the upper floor, Anna made her way towards the food court. It had been nearly 12 hours since her last meal. Immediately, her eyes, or rather her ears, were drawn to the man playing a guitar near the food court. (@Bourgeoisie) She did not recognize the tune but, the playing paired well with the mans singing voice. She walked past him, taking in his features and noting that he was slightly older than she had anticipated. She ordered a Monte Cristo sandwich and a tall cup of coffee from a chain she'd never heard of before but, their selection of higher end cuisine had piqued her interest... and made a dent in her wallet. She rifled through her bills as she waited for her food. Tray in hand, she seated herself closest to the musician, watching him as she enjoyed her meal (which was proving to be quite delicious and thoroughly pleasing to her palate). As his song came to a close, she stood from her chair and crossed the space to hand him a $10 bill with a kind smile.

"Forgive me for not recognizing the tune but, you sang it well." She maintained her outstretched hand instead of dropping the money into the case. That seemed almost disrespectful and while she would never perform in front of others, Anna had always been able to respect musicians she encountered; whatever the venue might be. Her gaze traveled down to the guitar in his hands and she idly pondered how many years he'd been playing but, she decided against asking him for fear of offending the man in some way. She shifted nervously from one foot to another waiting for him to take the money so that she could return to her seat instead of standing near the center of the food court where many eyes could see her. Mentally, she regretted not having simply dropped it into the case to avoid the interaction all together. "Well, um... Here you are," she added, trying awkwardly to complete the social interaction and return to the comfort of her food.

---

---

"That wasn't the reaction I was expecting..." She frowned at her siblings lack of enthusiasm that their sister had returned after three whole months of exile. The least they could have done was pretend. Riley ran away at first chance, Zoey didn't even look in their direction and James acted as if Kylie wasn't even standing right next to her. What a heart warming family she had. Kylie must be thrilled to be back. Sophia shot a side glance a Kylie, wondering how badly she would take it. Was her sister about to throw a huge fit, as per usual? She couldn't tell. Kylie had been acting very precarious on the ride home, maybe she wasn't a ticking time bomb anymore?

"Uhm, thanks James..." Her voice trailed off as she walked into the kitchen, taking a look at what James was cooking. "Georgie not awake yet?" She asked, referring to their youngest sister Georgina who was no where in sight. "Maybe she'll be a little more excited..."

As Sophia inspected the pancakes she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Wiggling it out of her back pocket, she smiled as she saw Elliot's name pop up on the screen. Surely, it was to wish her a happy birthday. Bringing the phone to her ear, she stepped away from the kitchen and into the attached Laundry room, shutting the door behind her for some privacy.

"Hey Elliot!" She sounded genuinely excited for the first time today.

"Not much, what are you up to?" Why hadn't he immediately wished her a happy birthday and instead had asked her "what's up"? She still had to tell Elliot that Kylie was back, but this had thrown her off completely.

" ...... What do you MEAN what do I want for my birthday?" Her eyes glared at the washer in front of her, as if she were glaring at the idiot on the other side of the phone.

"You haven't gotten anything yet?!" She purposely sighed heavily into the phone just so he'd know how disappointed she was to hear that.

"Did you forget my fucking birthday?! You better be messing with me, Elliot!" How could he? Sure, she hadn't mentioned it as often this year but really, did he need a reminder every day?! The one thing she had always wanted him to remember and he forgot. As soon as he began to say something sassy in response, she pressed the "end call" button and stuffed the phone back into her pocket.

"God, he's such an ass sometimes!" She flung the door open and reentered the kitchen, frustrated with both Elliot and her family. All of them were so inconsiderate. "I should cancel this party, what's the point, honestly?" The lingering thought of how easy it would be to get shit faced came back to mind, erasing that notion immediately.

"Riley, could you get the door. I'm kinda busy."

Sophia raised a brow as James told Riley to get the door, who had been upstairs since the moment they returned home. Had everyone lost their minds today? "I'll get it..." She muttered, passing through the kitchen and to the living room where Zoey was still plucking at her violin, completely lost in her own world.

Before opening the door, Sophia peeked through the peephole, eyeing the two figures just beyond the door. Jerry, the cop who had arrested Kylie and was now practically her probation officer. Of course he was here already, she should've known that he would be the first to know when Kylie returned. The blonde woman speaking next to him she recognized as one of their neighbors, the woman who Zoey had said was one of her teachers. Even though she had never met her personally, it was easy to tell she was an "odd one." Especially from the stories she had heard when Zoey occasionally felt like talking about it.

Opening the door, Sophia put on a soft smile and let her tired eyes bounce between the two. "Morning, officer." She let her eyes rest on him for a moment before turning to Zoey's teacher, "How can I help you two?" She immediately assumed the two were seeing each other, or were perhaps friends of some sort. Why else would they be coming together to her house? A strange pairing, though she had to admit that she barely knew Jerry. Perhaps he was an odd one himself. The neighborhood was littered with those and she was no exception.

@SouffleGirl123@BlueAjah@Themerlinhawk@Saint Girralo@Snagglepuss89@Viciousmarrow@lovely complex

Jeremiah could hear the sound of the the Reese family in full catastrophic glory behind the door. It would probably be a while before they sorted things out and actually opened the door for him. Calmly he leaned against one of the supports for the eves of the house as he smiled gently at the noise from the house in front of him.

The tapping of feet on the sidewalk behind him caught his attention as he looked up from the text Nana had sent him and pocketed the phone before he could respond in order to take in the woman dancing up the sidewalk towards him. She was his neighbor. The slightly more normal one; the reality was that between work and the Reese family he really hadn’t taken anytime to introduce himself. Not that she’d gone out of her way either but that was just the way life went sometimes.

Extending his right hand he bumped her fist calmly. The motion was natural even though the gesture was usually reserved for teenagers who thought they were cooler than a minnesota winter; but then again recently a lot of that generation had grown up. It dawned on him that he was technically a part of that generation and he chuckled at the thought. ”Nice to meet you, I’m incredibly sorry I haven’t had the time to come introduce myself. My schedule keeps me running like mad to be honest. I’m Jeremiah it is a pleasure to meet you Catherine. We can most certainly remedy our missed interactions now”

”As for the Reese family I am fully aware of just how they can be.” A half grin spread over his face as he turned back to Catherine. ”By the way. A foxtrot works better if you want to cover more ground. It doesn’t look as impressive I’ll admit but it might work out a bit better. As the door came open Jerry turned to look back as Sophia stepped out of the house. This should be good.

”Miss Ree-” Jerry bit off the name before he could get it all out. He wasn’t a cop today; far too much of that when it came to the Reese family of late. Better to be Jeremiah today. With a quick sigh and a shake of his head he gave Sophia a big smile. ”I’m sorry I just got off of work maybe six hours ago and I’m still stuck in deputy Richman mode. Happy Birthday, Sophia. I just came by to give you this.” Jerry handed her a small wrapped box that was maybe a little bigger than a quarter on its end and maybe six inches long. The whole thing was wrapped in blue and purple polka dotted paper. ”And to ask if there is anything I can do to help set up for your birthday? I assume you will be camped out relaxing while your family does set up so I figured they could use the extra hand.” Pointing to the card and present he’d handed her ”Open the present first so you can get the minor disappointment out of the way first, I am a cop after all so it's appropriate. Then open the card it’s you real present I promise I’m not a total ass.”

It turned out that Millington did have a day Spa. It had taken Jeremiah the better part of a day to find it since that wasn’t really something he usually kept track of. Given how many times he’d put Sophia through the ringer with her family and the fact that she’d been the stand in mom since her parents passed the search had probably been worth it. That and a four hundred dollar gift card to the spa would probably be enough for either a few smaller trips or one really lengthy stay. Either way it was the best he could do since it had dawned on him about a week ago that of the Reese family he probably knew Sophia the least.

”I hope you like it. And it sounds like the mayhem is in full swing. Hopefully I came at the right time? Can I save you from anything?” Jerry gave her a sheepish smile.

@The Muse@Snagglepuss89

Georgina was up an hour ago, she rarely slept in. Not that she had left her room yet, par a quick trip to the bathroom but that hardly counted she'd protest. Instead the youngest Reese child lay sprawled upon her bed on her stomach in a very unladylike fashion. Next to her sat a book, partially open, however, Georgina's attention had been drawn to her phone which she had been using to scroll through her e-mails. She really needed to check them more often, not that there was anything noteworthy in her inbox. With a sigh Georgina gave a sigh, locking her phone and shoving it to the side only to turn toward the opposing wall. Posters hid marks and even a couple of cracks that she had made soon after her parent's death, when she couldn't hold her feelings in. She eyed her floor lazily. It looked like crap, school books from the school year just gone made themself present on her floor alongside cups, shoes, dirty clothes andeven a few guitar picks. Her eyes then found themselves falling on her guitar, one of her (if not the) biggest comforters. Oh how she longed to play it, however, it was too early, she wluld wake the house up and she was not in the mood to be snapped at. Instead she plugged her headphones into her phone and pressed 'play' on her music collection before diving into her book.


Ugh! Time had escaped her! It couldn't have been so late already but no matter how many times she locked and unlocked her phone the time stayed stubbornly at quarter to ten. she even went online to check that her phone wasn't out of whack and found the time was still quarter to 10 (well, a couple of minutes more). How could have so much time flown in what felt like minutes! It seem it had and Georgina hadn't heard any of it, the car pulling up to thw driveway, the closing of the door, James cooking pancakes, the chatter. All of it. She slips her headphones off her head and frantically leaps of her bed, changing into a pair of short white shorts and a blue top in a frenzy. Finally she emerges from her room and makes her way downstairs. With each step she could hear chattering voices more clearly than the last. When she reaches the floor she makes quick work of scouting out her oldest sister who was standing by the door.

All manners being pushed aside to wait for her sister to finish at the door Georgina attacks her sister with a large bear hug as she cheers "Happy Birthday Sophi!" that was when she looked up to see their neighbour, "Good morning Jerry!" she greeted him in her usual cheeriness, unwrapping her arms from her sister's waist. She then turned to the blonde woman. She seemed familiar... oh, right! She teaches at Millington High, not that Georgina had had her as a teacher. What was her name though? Georgina attempted to draw the woman's name from her mind. Failing to do so, though, she resorted to a "Good Morning Miss," before taking a step away from the awkward scene.

She turns to complement James on the lovely smell of pancakes wafting from the kitchen before she noticed Kylie. Wait. Kylie? That couldn't be right! Kylie was in a mental asylum, right? But she wasn't, she was there. Georgina blinked a few times yet the image of her sister was still before her. Unsure as to what she should say or do Georgina just watched Kylie awkwardly for the moment. "Kylie?" she said in the form of a somewhat greeting, somewhat question. She then ran the short distance to her sister and wrapped her arms around her.
@The Muse@lovely complex@BlueAjah@Themerlinhawk@Saint Girralo@Snagglepuss89@Viciousmarrow

_{Collab with: @Themerlinhawk@Snagglepuss89}



"More ground? I’ve always been more of a "Journey not the destination" person. You men should know finishing something quickly isn't always the best thing."

There wasn't time for the cop to answer before the door opened in front of them to reveal Sophia Reese. The occasional sound of a violin called out from behind her, probably Zoey Reese. Catherine had tried her hardest to motivate the girl during her class over the last year, but it ended up being a lost cause. School, in the end, wasn't for everyone.

Her eyes drifted between Sophia and Jerry as they talked. Apparently it was the young woman's birthday, and Catherine, her neighbor, was currently standing here without a gift for her. Awkward. Salvageable, but awkward. Sure, it wasn't as if she knew the woman well or anything, but it wouldn't do to be seen as rude either. Thankfully, the deputy beside her gave the perfect opening to distract from that detail.

"Saving you might be a bit beyond my capabilities personally, but…"

Catherine rubbed her hands together as she spoke, as if warming up for a challenge.

"... I would love to pitch in and help set things up for you. A party? I haven't thrown one since I was in college! I have plenty of free time at the moment too, sort of a slow time of year for teaching."

Perhaps she was overcommitting herself here, and there was a nagging thought in the back of her mind that involving herself with the Reese family was going to be something she regretted, but Catherine couldn't take the offer away now. Besides, it was a rare opportunity for some fun, the woman had nothing of a social life these past few years, despite always being out and about. She didn't even know her own neighbors. Although, to be fair, in the case of the Reese household that was somewhat intentional.

Jerry turned and looked at Catherine again this time with something akin to awe at the fact that she’d just offered to put herself in the line of all manner of potential fire from the Reese family. With a shrug Jerry turned back around and smiled at Sophia again. ”Well, I guess someone else is interested to.” Leaning slightly to the left so he could see over Sophia’s shoulder he chuckled to himself. ”You’re going to have yourself a professional musician for a sister pretty soon it sounds like from the way she’s going”

Another turn of his head to acknowledge Catherine ”And that sounds like you assume I’m an average male. The fact that I can reliably tell you that a Foxtrot has a longer stride should have clued you in.” Jerry winked with something that bordered on impish glee before returning his attention to Sophia.

”So? What’s it gonna be? You gonna kick me off your porch or do I get to help?”
Sophia gently took the small box from Jerry as he spoke, looking at it in awe before glancing up and taking the card he handed to her. He knew it was her birthday? AND he got her a gift? Well, this was a pleasant turn around from her conversation with forgetful Elliot earlier. She smiled wholeheartedly, "Aw, you didn't have to get me anything. Thank you though!"

She laughed as he offered to "save" her, the question resonating in her mind. Jerry, her knight in shining armor, come to save her from... her family? Herself? Wait... was he flirting with her right in front of his girlfriend? "Maybe they're swingers..." Catherine didn't seem to be too bothered with it, so Sophia held her smile, turning her gaze to the blonde woman who offered up her own help with the party setup. Two more or less strangers stood at her front door, showing her more caring and thoughtfulness than her own best friend. The world could be so strange.

"Well, I-" She was cut off as her youngest sister came flying down from the stairs, wrapped herself around Sophia in a hug and wished her a happy birthday. Sophi stumbled a step to the side, using her free arm to wrap around Georgina's shoulder. She laughed, "Thank you!" She ruffled her sister's hair playfully as she greeted the two at the door. As Jerry mentioned Zoey in the background, she nodded and let Georgina step away. "Yeah, if there's one thing she's passionate about, it's that violin." She glanced over her shoulder to look at Zoey, her eyes wandering to Georgina once again as she noticed that Kylie had returned.

Sophia hadn't really planned on this being an entire neighborhood reunion along with the family, but it was too late to turn back now. She turned back to Catherine and Jerry, "I wasn't really planning a huge party, but you and your girlfriend are welcome to help." She paused, opening up the door a bit for the couple to step inside. "And to attend, of course. Come on in, James is making breakfast."

Completely absorbed with Catherine and Jerry's generosity, Sophia forgot that seeing Jerry again might have made Kylie feel more awkward than she probably already did. Instead of focusing on that, Sophia focused on the little box and card that Jerry had given her. Unwrapping the present and opening up the small black box, Sophia revealed a little black pepper spray keychain. She grinned, finding the gift comical and yet again thoughtful. She giggled, looking up at Jerry as she set down the box and took out the keychain to hold it up. "Thank you! I actually already have a pink one of these, but two is better than one." Her father had gotten her one before she went off to live in the college dorms. She had never had to use it before, but now it was a nice momento of his to keep with her.

Setting the keychain down and opening up the card, Sophia's eyes grew wide when she saw the amount on the gift card. "Jerry!" She locked eyes with him, "You did not have to spend that much on me! Are you crazy?" She couldn't help but keep an excited grin on her face as she looked down again at the four hundred dollar gift card to the spa. Oh, she was going to enjoy her next trip to the spa. It was going to be a long one. Setting the card down, Sophia walked over to Jerry and wrapped him in a hug, throwing all boundaries aside for the moment. "You're too sweet, really. Thank you so much. You didn't have to do that!"

Jerry accepted the hug and whispered in her ear ”I know I have been a big pain for your family lately and I’m sorry. This is part of me saying I’m sorry” Taking a step back Jerry chuckled. ”And for the record. As much as Miss Catherine is a very lovely lady the two of us are not together. Infact I just met her only a minute or two before you did.” Throwing another wink at Sophia he waved at Georgina as she took off back into the house.

”Seriously though. I know I’ve been a pain in your family's ass. I’m seriously sorry. Let me help with your birthday. Hell if you want; my house is empty. You can go crash in the backyard by the pool and relax well away from everything if you’d really like to. I have a capable partner in crime now” Jerry shot another smile back at Catherine.

Stepping in Jerry stepped to the side of the entry way to let Catherine in gesturing with a gentle flourish. ”Ladies.” With a look over to the couch a small smile graced his lips at the young miss Reese’s playing. ”She is so good.”

"We may not be together..."

Catherine began, making her way through the door with a sarcastic curtsy as she passed Jerry.

"But planning a party together seems like as good of a blind date as any to me. Certainly can't be any worse than my last one. Hell, we could even attend the party as a second date!"

Here she was now, in the lion's den. Catherine tried not to show fear as half of the Reeses made their presence known. She was certain they could pick up on it like a shark could blood in the water. She let her eyes turn to Georgina for a while, gracing her with a smile as the older woman tried to take in all her details. Eventually she and this girl would be stuck together for the better part of the year. Hopefully she either was sane, or enjoyed history. Zoey had never been exceptionally whacko, but at the same time trying to teach her was like trying to turn a boulder into pebbles. With her fists.

Finally though, she settled on Sophia once more once the woman had finished hugging Jerry. Catherine slid her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose once more to look her in the eyes before giving a sudden wink.

"Right, my partner in crime here and I can handle the details. You should relax, get away for a bit. Between a cop and a teacher I think you can trust us to take the wheel for awhile."

Trust is worth more than gold, lock it away and keep only one key...

Perhaps she hypocrite, asking this woman to trust them for no reason. In fact, it made her a massive hypocrite, but in the end it was for a good cause, right? She couldn't speak for this cop she had just met, but Catherine already knew that she at least was trustworthy in this matter. Besides, she couldn't afford to lose her job over something stupid like petty theft or kidnapping.

"You're only doing your job." Sophia said, stepping out of the hug and smirking as he winked at her. Playfully she winked back. Was he flirting with her or not? It was hard to read this man, as she had only previously seen him in a serious manner. Nonetheless, it was fun to play the game again.

According to the both of them they weren't together, yet Catherine seemed to believe this was a good chance for a blind date. She was interested in him then? Her eyes scanned Jerry for a reaction, wondering how he felt about this "blind date". The competitive side of her awakened somewhere deep down and she briefly felt a hint of jealousy until she realized how ridiculous that was. She barely knew this man, and he was the officer who had arrested her sister. Even if he was being rather charming, he was not hers.

"Well, I think you'd make a lovely couple." Sophia grinned, half joking. "I would refuse all of your help, but who am I to stand in the way of a chance at true love for the both of you? It could be the cutest 'How did you meet?' story." She laughed, unsure if she was actually being sarcastic or not. Sophia gestured for them to follow her into the kitchen, heading that way herself. "At least have breakfast with us first."

Jerry’s eyebrows slowly rose as the comments about his relationship status went back and forth before he finally narrowed his eyes and decided to flip the table on both of them. Turning on Sophia he grinned as they walked towards the kitchen and dropped his line neatly as they walked towards the kitchen. ”Very funny Sophia you wanna tell her about how we’ve been together for like a month now? Or are you gonna keep leading her on?”

With a smooth step he put himself safely out of range of any retaliation from the eldest Reese. It was amazing how quickly things had turned towards his relationships. Given his reputation and his history with the Reese family things had escalated rather quickly. With a raised eyebrow at Catherine; Jerry smoothly maneuvered himself neatly into the kitchen and gave James a wave as he leaned against the edge of the entry way.

Not how he’d planned on things going this morning. But. It could certainly be worse that was for sure. With a smooth motion he tugged his phone out of his pocket hitting the message ap with a quick swipe he brought up the message entry. With swift fingers he started his response.

Sounds lovely send me the address and let me bring something please. There is no way I’m invading your home without bringing something with me.

Flipping the phone back around he tucked his hands behind his back again and took in the table in the Reeses home. It had plenty of room for Jerry and Catherine. The thought gave Jerry pause. Two empty seats. That was incredible how the small things were the really morbid ones most of the time. Once upon a time he’d done a stint with L.A. county's Coroner doing weekly ride alongs. It was always strange standing in the homes of the dead, this one was still half living. It was a strange juxtaposition; so much life centered around such a profound death.

Flicking his eyes back up Jerry gave Sophia a truly sincere smile. ”Thank you, I don’t think I’ve had breakfast in a home with so many people in years.”

Sophia chuckled as she made her way into the kitchen, towards James at the stove. "Oh, yes, we're madly in love actually. Due to be married." Her tone dripped with sarcasm, but she was enjoying the way he joked with her. Quite the difference from Elliot who at times acted as if she had the plague and could not touch him or even look at him in a certain way.

Shaking off the thought she leaned up against the counter near her brother, eyeing the fluffy pancake cooking in the pan. "James, could you make some more pancakes for Jerry and Catherine? If you don't want to then I can take over..." She didn't want to make her brother feel obligated to tend to her guests. Pancakes were easy enough. Still, she couldn’t help but hope that James would oblige … she was starving.

Catherine rolled her eyes at the two as she took a spot at the dining room table and sat down, content to move later if she was somehow disrupting some sacred seating arrangement. While she could carry on with their little three way charade, it was quickly turning from fun to tiresome. Still, her day had just taken an interesting turn to say the least. While it was likely to turn into an annoying experience, dealing with these people, she couldn't deny the perks. Free breakfast, and maybe even free booze later. The perfect situation for someone who was always woefully short on cash.

Well, free in the monetary sense. The cost to her sanity remained to be seen.

_{@Viciousmarrow@SouffleGirl123@BlueAjah@Saint Girralo @lovely complex}

James kept working on the various pancakes as guests began to filter in already. Officer Richman as well their other neighbor, Catherine, were at the front door when Sophi went to let them in. Wasn't Riley right there just a few moments ago when he had asked? “Hi, Jerry. Hi, Catherine. I'm working on pancakes right now, help yourselves.” He said, waving as he peeked his head around the corner. He turned to his sisters, Kylie and Georgina, the latter of whom seems to have latched onto the other as though she would disappear if let go. “Georgina, let Kylie get settled back in before you completely smother her with all the love you have. I'm sure she could use it after being away for so long.” James sighed. He pulled the current batch off of the griddle and got started on the last batch. After pouring the batter for the last batch onto the griddle, he pulled out his phone and shot a text over to Nathan. ‘Hey, are you going to stop by for Sophi's birthday party tonight?’
~

Nathan was on his break at last. He went to his locker to check his phone for any notifications. There was one from Vanessa, probably wanting to talk about James, and there was one from James himself. He didn’t bother to reply to Vanessa for now. His break wasn’t long enough for one of her long “heart to heart” conversations. He wrote back to James, “After I’m done with work. Oh, by the way, what do I get your sister as a present? Or can I just add my name to yours? Just kidding...maybe.”

He took off his ridiculous looking hat and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He grabbed his water bottle from his locker and gulped it down. It was so hot and he was so thirsty. He was also tired though he was getting used to working almost every day again. It’s just how it was when you worked at an amusement park. The pay was good though and they had nice benefits. He wouldn’t have been very good at retail or customer service anyway. All he had to do was smile and press a few buttons.
~

James smiled when Sophi offered to take over and shook his head. No way his sister was doing much on her birthday, not if he had anything to say about it. He stayed right where he was, and kept working on the pancakes, only taking a moment to grab one and roll it up so he could eat while at the griddle. ”No chance, Sophi. Eat, come on everyone, come grab some pancakes!” James hollered at the end so he was sure everyone could hear him. Since Riley didn't answer the door like he was asked, James assumed he had gone back upstairs, possibly to sleep. ”Georgina, could you go up and check on Riley? Make sure that idiot is okay?” He asked his youngest sister. He had just pulled the current batch of pancakes off the griddle when he received a text back from Nathan, asking what he should get for Sophi's Birthday. James turned around so his back was to the empty griddle and turned his attention to the phone.

’I would say either get her a necklace or a bracelet. Doesn't have to be too expensive. It would work well with the earrings I got for her. I'll see you when you get here.’ he responded, slipping the phone back into his pocket. He really couldn't wait to see his friend. The truth was eating him up, and while he wasn't about to ruin Sophi's birthday, he knew he needed to tell the truth soon. The truth about herself, about Jessica. Relax, you'll be fine. They won't push you away.’
~

Nathan soon got a reply from James. “A necklace or bracelet, huh? I guess a bracelet would be less awkward. I should ask James for what his earrings look like so it would match,” he thought to himself.

He then texted James back, “A bracelet works. Can you send a pic of the earrings? So I know what kind of bracelet to get? Thanks buddy!”

He had to get back to work soon, much to his dismay. He readjusted his uniform and put his ugly back on. Then he took one last look in the mirror to make sure he was up to code. He finished the rest of the water in his water bottle and stuffed his things back into his locker. If his phone goes off, he wouldn’t know.

He began to head back towards the ride that he was supposed to operate for the rest of the day. He gave the guy who was working before him a wave and a nod to let him know his shift was over. The guy smiled and set up the last ride of his shift. Nathan walked over to the operating booth and said, ”You are free now, run while you can. I’ll take it from here.”

The guy mockingly punch Nathan in the guts. “Do you have what it takes, soldier?” he asked. “Oh fuck it, I’m tired. Good luck. See you later, man.”

The guy wasted no time leaving Nathan with the ride. But that’s how it always is. Who stays even a minute longer than they’re supposed to? Anyhow, the cycle of work restarts again for Nathan. And that is how his day will be until he gets off work.
~
When Nathan asked for a picture of Sophi's earrings so he could find something to match, he turned the griddle off and unplugged it. He knew that there was more than enough pancakes in the pile for the family and the few others who already showed up. He went downstairs and went into his closet, where Jessica’s outfits as well as his sister’s gift was stored. He pulled them out of the hiding place and set them on his end table so he could take the picture. He quickly sent it over to Nathan so he would have an idea of what might go well with them. ’Not real diamonds or emeralds because that would have been way too expensive for my budget. He didn't want to risk Sophi coming down and seeing them or anything else in the closet. ’Can’t wait till I get the opportunity to wear something this beautiful.’ She thought as she sighed. She sat down on the edge of her bed and felt a tear in the corner of her eye. ’No, not today. Don't do this today.’ she thought to herself as she wiped the tear away.