[right][color=darkgray][sup]Timestamp: Between the Rally and the Game
Location: The Montoya Home
[color=#bb3a50]Ramón[/color] and [color=#ff99c5]Stella[/color]
Small FT: [color=#BF91CE]Rio Montoya[/color]
[@Aces Away] and [@Melissa][/sup][/color][/right]
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[img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/99b72879-2c5f-4dd6-9f62-82ecae8423ac.png[/img]

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Ramón threw his door open and tossed his bag to the floor next to his vanity while his clutch hit the furniture’s shiny dark wood surface, and then proceeded directly to the door on the other side of his room that led to his office. Stella had relatively free reign of his home and could follow him easily, and he wasn’t one to break routine so he simply kept moving until he’d reached the destination of the next unchecked box of his mental list. The pale aqua fabric lit up one corner of his office like woven moonlight across water, the jeweled breast line sparkling like scattered stars under the room’s intense lighting. As always with something he’d made, it was a masterpiece. He gently rolled the dress form out from its place and removed the garment from its fabric body before presenting it to his childhood best friend with a smug air.

[color=#bb3a50]“Go ahead, try it on, I know you’ve been waiting,”[/color] He goaded. He had to make sure everything was fine with her outfit by the time he had to leave to get back to the school for the game, or else he’d be working back and forth between both Stella and Cael’s homecoming clothes later tonight. Plus, as much as he enjoyed making his best friend wait for things just to see that angry red tint that takes over her skin, he was just as impatient to see the completed piece to his work and that included Stella being [i]in[/i] the dress. [color=#bb3a50]“And be [i]gentle[/i] or I will take my fabric shears to everything in your closet that I didn’t create.”[/color]

Stella twirled her car keys in her fingers as she followed closely behind Ramón to his room. She’d been uncharacteristically silent for the majority of their drive; the only sign she was there with him was the jingling of her lanyard as she spun it around her index finger. The blonde had been in a sour mood ever since homeroom, and it had only gotten worse as the day went on. Ethan was being a royal pain in her ass, and to make matters worse, he was completely ignoring her. Like, hello? Who just ignored their on again, off again, situationship! How rude.

But all of her woes melted away the second that she laid her eyes on her best friend’s masterpiece. Her jaw went slack as she took in the blue dress, completely left speechless. [color=#ff99c5]“Mo… baby you’ve outdone yourself. Holy shit.”[/color] The blonde took the fabric in her hands and marveled at the details. [color=#ff99c5]“I have nothing snarky to say. You really did that, bitch.”[/color] Stella walked over to Mo’s bed and placed down the gown so she could undress to try it on. She had no shame in stripping right there - there was no such thing as needing privacy for the two of them. Stepping into the dress, she delicately pulled it up over her bust, slipping her arms through the straps. She looked back to her best friend, [color=#ff99c5]“Can you zip me up please?”[/color]

[color=#bb3a50]“I know, I’m amazing, aren’t I?”[/color] Mo replied shamelessly while also preening from her compliment, checking his phone to see a confirmation text from Andre about the other boy picking his outfit up tomorrow morning before the dance. Mo’s talent was in high demand for the dance, especially amongst his friends, and they all knew it. They also knew that, as his friends, he would spend the most time on their outfits and also be willing to dance along the deadline while still providing the completed product with grace. Thus, the likes of Stella, Cael, and Andre were the last to receive their outfits as for them his final touches went to the last minute to ensure every detail be not only perfect but also eye-catching and show stopping. Stepping up to help his best friend when she’d asked, he put his phone away upon reading Dre’s confirmation and grabbed the zipper, pride flowing through his body as it closed smooth as butter and hugged every curve of his friend like a second skin. 

He stepped back and took Stella in as she turned towards him, a grin that only friends like she and Cael got to see, unrestrained and childish in its happiness. She looked stunning, gorgeous, fabulous. Showstopping, just like she always was, only ever accentuated by his designs, never overtaken. And from a first glance, not a single thing needed to be altered on her dress. Ramón has known every minute change and fluctuation in Stella’s measurements since they were children and she they had both decided she was going to be his first model, and the older they got, the less and less he actually needed Stella for intermittent fittings and tailoring. Eventually, it got to the point where they only needed this: the final fitting.

That didn’t stop them from getting together in the least, of course, it just showed how well they knew each other.

[color=#bb3a50]“Damn bitch, you said [/color][color=#bb3a50][i]I[/i][/color][color=#bb3a50] did that? Look in the mirror, that dress is [/color][color=#bb3a50][i]nothing[/i][/color][color=#bb3a50] without you wearing it. You’re going to blind people with how bright you shine, babes.”[/color]

Stella could instantly feel how the dress fit her like glove before even glancing at her reflection in the mirror. No matter how many dresses Mo made for her, or outfits he curated, it still never ceased to amaze her how talented her best friend was. He had a gift, it was evident. And seeing his unbridled joy and wide smile was just the icing on the cake. She loved being able to make him feel this exuberant. Hell, if she had it her way, he’d be like this all the time. Because even when she was in a sour mood, like today, when he was happy, so was she. What was that saying… happy wife, happy life? The blonde walked over to the full length mirror in the corner of Mo’s room, stepping onto the little pedestal.

She gasped, her breath taken away.

It was truly a masterpiece. The shape of the gown, the off the shoulder sleeves and the jewel encrusted bodice hugged her in just the right ways, highlighting her figure effortlessly. The color was perfect too, just the right shade of blue to make her skin glow while complementing her hair color. [color=#ff99c5]“Mo…”[/color] Stella started, turning her head to look back at her best friend. [color=#ff99c5]“It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.”[/color] 

[color=#bb3a50]“Isn’t it?”[/color] He responded giddily. Mo was practically glowing under his best friend’s praise, the excitement and satisfaction of finally seeing the completed piece, and how immensely pleased Stella was being all he needed from his almost full month of work since his inception of the design. He’d started hers first, and she was the third to last to get it because while he delivered perfection to every client he had, those closest to him deserved absolute divinity.

[color=#bb3a50]“Alright, let me make sure everything’s as it’s supposed to be,”[/color] He said as he stepped up behind her place on the pedestal and began to do his quality checks on the gown. Once he’d confirmed the perfection of his product, he helped Stella delicately remove it and put it in a garment bag for her to keep it safe when she left. With business completed, the best friends were left with free time before the game where they’d both be returning for different reasons, Mo’s being supporting his cheerleaders and to later be Cael’s ride back here so that Mo could do [i]his[/i] final fitting and the other Candy could sleep over. Which was perfect, because there was a new development involving a mystery letter that he needed to talk to his other best friend about.

But that was for later.

With Stella now in the comfy clothes she kept in his room and the two of them sitting on his bed while he touched up her makeup, he decided it was time to ruin the good mood.

[color=#bb3a50]“So, was it Ethan that had that look on your face before you saw your dress?”[/color] He asked, ripping the bandaid off as he always did. Quick with a bit of inevitable sting. [color=#bb3a50]“Because I was almost insulted when I got in the car and got the bitchface directed at me.”[/color]

Stella was mid-sip of water when Mo decided to declare war.

She nearly spat out the drink as the words left his lips, so much so, she had to cover up her mouth with her hand to ensure no water escaped unceremoniously. Swallowing, her facial expression softened from her normally frigid exterior, the light in her eyes flickering. [color=#ff99c5]“I’m sorry.”[/color] The blonde stated, first and foremost. It was a rarity for her to apologize to just anyone, but her best friend was the exception. She sighed, revealing her current thoughts, [color=#ff99c5]“He ignored me all fucking day. Didn’t even reply to my message this morning about the dumb coffee. Of course, the one day I go out of my way for that jackass he blows me off.”[/color] Stella shook her head, [color=#ff99c5]“And he just finally had the mind to text me after nearly 8 hours and all he could say was ‘it’s been a day’. Like come ON.”[/color]  

[color=#bb3a50]“Ew,”[/color] Ramón offered with a matching disgusted expression, pushing his glasses back up his nose so he could raise it in the air in distaste. [color=#bb3a50]“It sounds like you need to find someone that isn’t such a little [i]bitch[/i], Stells, because who the fuck does he think he is to ignore [i]you[/i] and then not grovel at your feet in apology?”[/color] Inside, Ramón was simmering for his friend. He was also upset because despite the fact that it had been with much different boundaries first set in place, Mo had set the whole situationship with Ethan and Stella up.

The girl shook her head, [color=#ff99c5]“It doesn’t make any sense Mo. Like, I get he and I have our moments, but everyone in this school wants to be with me. Why does he act like it's a chore?”[/color] Stella furrowed her brow, but then quickly reversed the movement since she knew her best friend would have her head if she messed up his makeup job. [color=#ff99c5]“It’s a shame, the sex is great, but everything else is well… meh. I like arguing with him and giving him a hard time, but that’s just my way of showing affection.” [/color]

[color=#bb3a50]“A [/color][i][color=#bb3a50]chore[/color][/i][color=#bb3a50]?”[/color] The disgusted expression morphed to indignation and Ramón forced his best friend to look at him with a few stern fingers under her chin. [color=#bb3a50]“Stella Louise Manning, if you even so much as [/color][i][color=#bb3a50]think[/color][/i][color=#bb3a50] that he feels that way then you need to take a step back and look at why you’re still bothering. You can have good sex without a relationship, [/color][i][color=#bb3a50]situationship[/color][/i][color=#bb3a50], whatever,”[/color] He said with a glare before she could correct him herself. He stared deep into her striking sky blue eyes, grounding her with his own warm earthen brown.[color=#bb3a50] “If he doesn’t get you, if he doesn’t respond to you properly, if he doesn’t even give you gifts that fucking [/color][i][color=#bb3a50]fit who you are[/color][/i][color=#bb3a50], then he doesn’t deserve any bit of you. You are a goddess gracing him with your presence and like an ignorant, godless heathen, he is turning a blind eye. You shouldn’t chase him, you should [/color][i][color=#bb3a50]smite him[/color][/i][color=#bb3a50].”[/color]

Ramón Montoya was the King of the Candies, the literal thread that held the drama club together, and one of the most vindictive and vicious responders to a perceived slight against him or his loved ones that Beverly Hills High has ever had the luck of not seeing, his worst reactions being restrained as his attitude was put on a leash by his family and their wariness of bad press and media. If Mo had it his way, if he could get away with it, he would give Ethan the most public humiliation of his life, and make sure there was evidence so that the boy never forgot it.

How [i]dare[/i] someone so basic make his platonic soulmate deflate like that? [i]Unforgivable.[/i]

Stella listened to her best friend, although her eyes seemed to glaze over as he went all Mama Bear. It was very unlike the girl to show such raw emotion, most of all let a stupid boy like Ethan Green get the best of her. She prided herself with having the grace and poise of someone twice her age without the wrinkles, what was it about this specific situation that was causing her so much discomfort? She and him had played this song and dance for nearly a year and a half. Why now was it suddenly an issue?

Maybe it was the fact graduation loomed in the distance and Stella had to figure out what the fuck she was doing with her life. Maybe it was because Katie Callaghan was favored to get the lead again this year. Maybe it was the creepy DMs she was getting that seemed to pile up by the day. Ethan Green was the straw that seemed to break the camel’s back. [color=#ff99c5]“I bother because I enjoy his company and he’s the only person I know who is willing to put up with my bitch ass attitude and serve it back to me tenfold. It’s fun, he’s [/color][i][color=#ff99c5]fun[/color][/i][color=#ff99c5].” [/color]

[color=#bb3a50]“Fun is [/color][color=#bb3a50][i]fine[/i][/color][color=#bb3a50], babe,”[/color] Ramón responded, well aware she had zoned out on him the moment he started his rant against Ethan but willing to let it slide due to her mood. [color=#bb3a50]“But you haven’t seemed like you’ve been having fun recently,”[/color] He thought back to the car ride in, where she seemed okay, almost defensively hopeful in a way she tried to hide behind a casual air and act of whimsy. How different she was less than half an hour later when he’d entered Belmonte’s class for Cael and Minnie’s cupcakes and some good old Candy kiki. Stella swinging between moods like Tarzan between vines was not unusual, hell it was practically a requirement of the Thespian Society to have a volatile personality regardless of where it was on the spectrum, so that alone would not normally be a problem. However, this wasn’t her being dramatic and shifting through attitude because she felt like it and she could, this was because of a [i]boy[/i].

[i][color=#bb3a50]Gag me with a chainsaw.[/color][/i]

Mo took a deep breath before he said something that hurt his friend in her vulnerable state, visibly restraining himself and forcing a more neutral look onto his face when he asked the only thing he could think of that really mattered to him in the end.

[color=#bb3a50]“Does he make you [/color][color=#bb3a50][i]happy[/i][/color][color=#bb3a50]?”[/color]

Stella snapped out of her funk real quick. This was getting too deep for her very shallow emotional bandwidth. Was she really having this come to god conversation today of all days?

Of course he made her happy.

Right?

[color=#ff99c5]“Nevermind, Mo. Let’s just drop this please.” [/color]She deflected, pursing her lips. It was rare for her to be this candid, but even she had a breaking point, and that came with the evaluation of her own needs. 

Ramón's emotions vacillated between shock and worry at the way his best friend was acting. Never had a boy caused his beautiful blonde bestie such confusion and self doubt. Never had Stella sounded so small, so [i]begging[/i], as she did when she was unable to answer his question and requested instead his discretion. His regret at getting the two together was quickly morphing from exasperation to genuine, true remorse as he took in the state that the athletic Green boy was leaving Stella in. Mo slackened the pressure of his fingers under her chin but left them there as stabilizers and he harshly bit his tongue while he began to silently resume fixing the blonde’s makeup. He was gliding a perfect, solid line to finish the point of one eye’s wing when his bedroom door was thrown open, hitting his dresser with a solid [i]thunk[/i] and rattling all of his possessions sitting atop it. Mo jumped in his own skin and the black line shot across Stella’s temple like it was making a run for her hairline, and the small boy hissed in rage at having been shocked into a mistake, turning a blazing glare to his doorway.

[color=#bb3a50]“[/color][i][color=#bb3a50]What?[/color][/i][color=#bb3a50] Look what you made me do [/color][i][color=#bb3a50]pendejo![/color][/i][color=#bb3a50]”[/color] 

For his part, Ramón’s older brother Rio did exactly as his little brother demanded and took a few gliding steps into his room to stand in front of the teenagers, bending down and getting in Stella’s face to stare intensely at the black streak breaking up her pale skin. He maintained a serious expression for only a moment before he broke out into an amused grin and booped the blonde lightly on the nose as if she were still the child that first befriended his baby brother, holding his hand out to intercept Mo by the face as he lunged forward in protective rage. He pushed the smaller boy back into his sitting position by his face while the younger spluttered indignantly.

[color=#bf91ce]“I’ve seen worse done [/color][color=#bf91ce][i]professionally[/i][/color][color=#bf91ce] for the red carpet, [/color][color=#bf91ce][i]hermano[/i][/color][color=#bf91ce],”[/color] Rio finally said, releasing his brother when he stopped smacking at his forearm. [color=#bf91ce]“Don’t be so upset, I came up here to tell you that mamá made your favorite for dinner, and even made it early since Stell’s is here. Both of you make sure to thank her for spoiling you.”[/color]

[color=#bb3a50]“Excuse you?”[/color] Ramón glowered in offense, getting up to try and shove his brother out of his room. [color=#bb3a50]“When the hell don’t we? Don’t make us seem like ungrateful brats,”[/color] He pushed harder against Rio’s back when the actor didn’t budge, grunting when the older Montoya son slumped backwards over his little brother’s body, sending them both onto the bed in a heap beside Stella. Ramón grunted in frustration and kicked his legs wildly where they were hanging off the bed, failing to wiggle out from under his brother’s torso and dead weight. [color=#bb3a50]“Get [/color][i][color=#bb3a50]off[/color][/i][color=#bb3a50] you bitch!”[/color]

[color=#bf91ce]“But Mónie you’re being such a drag that you’ve dragged me down with you! Now I’m stuck!”[/color] Rio put a hand to his forehead and feigned a swooning noise, somehow managing to squish his brother further into the soft mattress. He looked to his left and winked at the girl that had become his third little sister before giving Mo another moment of struggle and then finally getting off the boy, standing up while Ramón scrambled to regain composure. He laughed at the look on Mo’s face before explaining. [color=#bf91ce]“That was from Rosa, apparently you pissed her off this morning somehow and she didn’t get a chance to get revenge. Now get your bratty asses downstairs so mamá’s work doesn’t go to waste! Stell’s, she made your favorite too.”[/color] He closed the door behind him and his footsteps retreated down the stairs, leaving the teens alone once more.

[color=#bb3a50]“Have you eaten today?”[/color]

You knew that Stella was in a bad mood when she didn’t even care that eyeliner had just been smeared across her face. The blonde might have jumped a smidge when Rio burst through the door, but otherwise, her face was expressionless. No anger, no frustration, just neutral. She watched as the brothers fought playfully, a small smirk pulling at the edge of her lips. She stood up, walking over to Mo’s dresser and pulling out a makeup wipe from the pack, and got to work cleaning up the mess on her face.

Stella was an only child. She was a miracle baby, her parents having struggled to conceive for many years before she came along, so siblings weren’t in the cards for her. Sometimes she was jealous that Mo had such a big and happy family (even though she knew they could be annoying as shit sometimes), but other times she simply felt thankful that she was included as one of their own and welcomed with open arms into their home. Her heart felt warm at the thought, especially given Rio’s words that their mother had cooked her favorite.

With the rogue eyeliner removed, she threw the wipe into the trash. [color=#ff99c5]“I had a small lunch, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hungry. But even if I wasn’t, I’d still want your mom’s cooking.”[/color]

[color=#bb3a50]“She would have force fed it to you even if you didn’t,”[/color] Ramón answered, despite knowing Stella was already aware of where he got many of his overbearing habits from. He got up off of his bed and made for his door, coming up beside her where she was still standing near his dresser. As annoying as his brother had been, he could see that the intrusion had helped bring back a little bit of the natural shine that had left Stella during their attempted talk. No matter how many times Ramón tried to bring it up, it always ended this way, with the talk of Ethan brushed aside in favor of something, [i]anything[/i], with less meaning. Mo stared at his friend for a long moment, saying nothing as he searched her gaze for something that would make this game worth it in the end. Sighing at what he found, he tried once more despite knowing it would be in vain.

[color=#bb3a50]“You don’t have to answer, and I’m dropping it after this so we don’t lose our appetite, but think on this,”[/color] Ramón didn’t say please or beg, but his friends could hear the implication of the word in his tone. The ones that mattered understood how he spoke. Because when people mattered to each other, they learned each other. He thought Stella knew that just as much as Ramón did. [color=#bb3a50]“Does he know a single one of your favorite things? And I mean personal, favorite things, not something the whole school knows about you. Again, fun is fine, but does he [/color][i][color=#bb3a50]deserve[/color][/i][color=#bb3a50] you?”[/color]

The look on his face told her that he didn’t want an answer even if she had one. He didn’t want to upset her or tear her down, but he also wasn’t about to let her keep her head clouded with any delusions that weren’t geared towards furthering her grandeur. No one had ever made Stella act like this before, and thus this was a new part of her that even Mo had to learn, but the fashion designer had never been one to walk on eggshells even around the most sensitive of their friends, and unless she was literally moments from a complete breakdown then he figured Stella would forgive him for continuing to be himself and not coddling her.

Eventually.

[color=#7c4090]“Ramón Inigo! Estella Louise!”[/color]

[color=#bb3a50]“Coming, mamá!”[/color] He held Stella’s gaze for one more moment, hoping she’d take the time to read him as much as he was reading her, before finally breaking contact and opening his door. As he headed out and down the stairs he paused and added over his shoulder to his best friend, [color=#bb3a50]“I’ll fix that eyeliner after dinner.”[/color]

The blonde let Mo’s words reverberate in her mind. Like always, his inherent wisdom was showing and he did have a point. What did Ethan [i]actually know [/i]about her? Sure, anyone who had a pulse at BHHS knew Stella, but only a handful truly paid attention to her quirks and habits. They weren’t technically dating, but could she consider her on again, off again beau one of those people? She sat with her wandering thoughts as she followed her best friend down the stairs to the kitchen, the promise of food a welcome distraction from her crisis. Her eyeliner was the least of her concerns, but still, she nodded.

[color=#ff99c5]“You better,” [/color]She attempted to jab, but her tone wasn’t cooperating. Instead, she offered her best friend a solemn smile. [color=#ff99c5]“Thanks, Mo.” [/color]

[color=#bb3a50]“Don’t thank me,”[/color] Mo responded with a grossed out expression on his face, his attitude returning now that he saw Stella was actually thinking on his words and he didn’t have to go soft. [color=#bb3a50]“You never thank me. You never [/color][color=#bb3a50][i]have [/i][/color][color=#bb3a50]to, dummy,”[/color] He held his hand out to Stella so they could descend the stairs together. [color=#bb3a50]“You just owe me the loyalty of being your sole designer and bestie for life, I think that’s a fair trade.”[/color]
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