Timestamp: FLASHBACK- Friday, during the game
Before Time To Hang
Location: EZ Park Convenience Lot
Sav, Nev, and Toury
@NeoAJ and @Aces Away
Before Time To Hang
Location: EZ Park Convenience Lot
Sav, Nev, and Toury
@NeoAJ and @Aces Away
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In the residential section that surrounds Beverly Hills High School like a quarter moon, there is a moderately successful convenience store that has staked itself on catering to the needs of the Pirates’ populace during business hours. Whether looking for some chips to hold the hunger pangs back until a customer gets home, some water in the midst of the California heat, supplies for a hastily-crafted last-minute homework assignment or… other things that he definitely didn’t know about and doesn’t want to know about, Ahn-Jun “Andy” Park’s store was the place to go for those who didn’t want to drift among the towering buildings during lunch hour and wanted a gruff but friendly face. Or in the case of his daughter Sunny, an actually friendly face.
Since taking over as the primary day-to-day operator of EZ Park and gently pushing her father towards a part-time schedule, Sunny Park has tried to open things up a little more and make sure that the students of BHHS know that they won't get the fifth degree that Andy offered upon their arrival. The younger Park knew all too well what that was like when she brought friends back to the store for what she thought would be discounted snacks. Andy thought otherwise, much to Sunny’s chagrin. That policy was rescinded now that she was in control.
Once she found out about the offers available at the local convenience store, Savannah Payton was quick to broach the subject of a mutually beneficial arrangement. With Homecoming bringing a lot of off-campus attention, the usual parking lot setup that the PLC used for operations became a bit riskier. Over the summer, Payout made Sunny an offer. If the PLC had access to a space in the lot and the facilities inside, Sunny would get a discount on the services provided. Seeing an easy way to get her hookup without arousing the suspicion of her father, Sunny agreed. So now, when the Kia appeared in front of the convenience store, Andy was told it was for school fundraising opportunities. It technically was correct, especially on a day when there would be plenty of alumni possibly looking to younger siblings to let them know where the place to go for what they need would be.
After the bell rang to bring the school day to a close, Savannah Payton skipped the pep rally and drove her Sorrento right into its usual spot in the EZ Park lot to set up shop for the afternoon. She didn’t need school spirit. She needed to sell spirits, and whatever else the clientele may desire to enhance their enjoyment of the events tonight. Aside from a choice bottle or two that had already been earmarked for her own personal use. She was likely going to need at least one of them for tomorrow’s events.
The person who effectively sealed her fate in attending one of those events was the only one who accompanied her to today’s shift. With Everly wanting more time in the parking lot to work on her tricks, and Addie… being Addie, Savannah’s partner and muscle was again Nevaeh, in her usual cheerful mode. While it did mean that there likely wasn’t going to be any funny business, usually it meant the conversations were kept to just Savannah and her customers, or Savannah and Sunny whenever she came out for a breath of fresh air. Today however, Payout wasn’t going to let the dark one get away with another podcast session.
“So what was that all about gettin’ Ev’s back on that whole dance thing, Nev?” Savannah questioned her fellow PLC member. “Figured the last thing you’d wanna be doin’ is slow jammin’ to Zayn or some shit like that. I thought you’d have my back on not wantin’ ta do tha thing.”
It was true it had been a long time since Nevaeh allowed herself to be a part of the BHHS social scene. Even when she was running with the cheerleaders, she wasn’t a willing participant in a lot of the perceived obligations they had to show up at parties and school events to schmooze and such. She did it, but she never really felt at home doing it. When her father was still in California, she went to some of those big charity events with him and was basically used as a prop. She felt similar vibes at a lot of the functions she attended from freshman to junior year.
Maybe that was part of why she assumed no one wanted anything to do with her after the black mark was put on her name. What good is a prop with a foul stench on it? But there was one person who stayed with her through everything, and she thrived in events like that. Toury made a lot of those things bearable, even if she wasn’t feeling it herself. Since her release back into the wilds of Beverly Hills, Nevaeh had been neglecting to give her girlfriend any attention on her grounds, instead asking her to come to the parking lots she now called home for their usual interactions. It was greedy. She had to start doing better by Toury.
“I meant what I said earlier,” Nevaeh asserted. It wasn’t hard for Savannah to think back to what exactly she said given how little the dark-haired devil actually said. “We’ve been working hard, and the results have been good. We deserve a break. A night to enjoy the fruits of our labor.”
“Yeah, but this more a y’all thing,” Payout protested. “I mean, Ev puttin’ it up? I didn’t really see that comin’ but I guess I could? I know she’d bin feelin’ kinda melancholic ‘bout school ‘n shit. Seems like doin’ a dance or somethin’ would help make her feel a part of it. ‘N Addie I figure she’ll tear through there like a whirlwind, like she do. But fuck, girl! You ‘n me weren’t about bein’ parta any shit here, ever since I known ya. So I’m basically goin’ ta support y’all. I just wanna know why. Ya owe me that.”
“Well…” there was an unusual coyness in Nev’s voice, unsure if she wanted to share with someone who has been her closest friend in the last year that wasn’t forced to share a cell with her. “This also helps me give Toury something I know she wants. She’s been… insistent that I try and have more time with her outside of things here. I feel as though this would be good for her, to have me in her world for a night. She does so many things for the Candies. I want to give her an event where she can just be her and enjoy it with who she cares about. And I care about the PLC, so if the group is interested in attending, that’s all the people I care about in the school there too.”
Payout leaned back against the Sorrento and sighed. “I guess I see tha point n’ that. Shit, I ain’t had to worry ‘bout relationships in a while. Forget how much work it kin be. Course my last one was pretty one-sided. I didn’t have ta think too much about shit.”
“I hope I didn’t put you in an unpleasant spot,” Nevaeh confessed. While she did think she was being altruistic in giving her girlfriend something she wanted, she did rope Savannah into it without even discussing it. It was greedy in another way. She had to be better at that with those who dared to earn her friendship. “I should have asked if you were OK with it. I’m probably going to be occupied during it too, so it’s not like I’ll be able to give you a lot of support during it. I don’t want you to have a bad time supporting my good one.”
“Don’t worry ‘bout nothin’,” Sav affirmed. The pink-blonde glanced up past her associate, spotting another person crossing the small patch of pavement who did not appear to be interested in what she had to offer, and more into what the girl in black had on display. She waved her hand. “I’ll be allright.”
Tourmaline Phoenix stalked across the parking lot towards her cheerleader-turned-cheer-eater with nothing showing on her face about the aggravation and irritation she was feeling beneath. Her step-brother may have thought he was being sly and inconspicuous, but Toury saw the way he winced when reaching for his favorite cereal in the cabinet this morning, and the moment just before when his reach had hiked his shirt up and exposed ugly purple bruising along his side and ribs. Someone was bullying her little brother, and for whatever reason it wasn’t getting through to Dash that it was bullying, so he refused to tell her anything.
Okay, he wasn’t actually her little brother, being both the same height and age as her, but the energy had been there long before her father had put a ring on Dash’s mother’s finger. Regardless, Dash had the protection of the Tantalizing Trio, and someone thought that that didn’t mean shit. So naturally, when Jonah Goldstein of all people had reached out to her with vague feelers and talk of a proposition, she had made a simple demand back: information on her brother’s tormentor. She didn’t care how the cheerleader boy got it, only that he did. If he managed to procure the information she demanded in the few hours until the end of the game when their meeting was set, then that would prove that whatever offer he wanted to bring up to her- and from their recent interactions, that offer had something to do with Dash- would be worth listening to, and that he had a dedication worth acknowledging, as well as connections he could call upon on short notice. Whether the brunette boy knew it or not, this was the only test and chance he would get, because Toury was on a warpath for her brother right now and she didn’t have time for anything that couldn’t hold water, even if it was a friend’s plans.
When she finally saw her girlfriend past the cars after walking over from the school campus, her bright ruby lips pulled into a sharp smile and her thoughts of her later meeting were put on hold in favor of taking Nev’s form in. The next few hours were about the angel turned omen that she managed to earn and keep the heart of. She could get back to business when it was time to part. Nevaeh had her back to her, but Savannah had clocked her as soon as she’d appeared on the other side of the lot. That didn’t stop her from announcing her presence to her girlfriend as she always did, coming up behind her with a simple, “Hey, baby,” and wrapping her arms around Nev’s shoulders, putting her face over one shoulder and kissing the fallen cheerleader on her pale cheek. Left behind, as always, was a slight red tint from the gloss she put over her lipstick, and one of her favorite things to do was see how long her girlfriend lasted before caving and trying to wipe the mark off. She grinned at the other girl on the lot once she was done kissing Nevaeh’s face. “Hey Savvy!”
Savannah could only smirk as she saw the peering face of Nevaeh’s girlfriend emerge from that sculpted shoulder like a hydra. Watching over the scene could make a person sick if they weren’t aware of just how important it was to both of them. It was strange how the black-haired girl could ever think that she didn’t have a girlfriend.
When Savannah had those talks with her back in June, Nevaeh was certain that everyone she had before her arrest left her abandoned to walk the earth like a waif in search of a haunt to call her own. That sense of detachment allowed the two to bond in the early days of Payout’s California residency. Both were ripped out of their respective worlds and cast into strange new levels of existence, but their combined knowledge helped one another get set up to move forward. Nevaeh could count on Savannah as someone who wanted to be her friend whether she had status inside the school or not, and Savannah got the connections she needed to set up shop in Beverly Hills wherever she pleased. It’s why they were at the convenience store now, with Nevaeh being well aware that Sunny was a willing host to their off-campus dealings.
Still to watch that little bit of pink return to the cheerbleeder’s face as she felt the touch of Toury along her neck, the blonde appraising it like a vampire sizing up their latest damsel, Savannah couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. How long had it been since someone had caressed her like that? At least without putting a shiv into her side a minute later? She didn’t even really get a chance to say goodbye to the gang in Texas before leaving, with her mom determining the Golden State getaway was happening while she was serving another six month sentence. The second she got out, Savannah was bundled off on the Fresh Prince Express. It was only through the grapevine she heard that Chapolita finally got nailed on the grown-up charges and likely wouldn’t be seeing freedom in Texas for a while. What she wouldn’t give for one more chance to show Alexis what she actually meant to her, for all that she did…
Payout shook her head and returned her attention to the newly-arrived girlfriend of her consigliere. “Good seein’ ya, Toury. I’m guessin’ I’m gonna be flyin’ solo for a bit if ya got Nev wrapped up like that within seconds of ya bein’ here.”
Nevaeh blushed a little more at the direct reference Savannah made to what could be happening. Toury was very intoxicating, and distracting, and skilled at getting what she wanted. Even in her darkest hours, she persisted and continued to knock away at the walls Miss Morgan had set up to protect herself during her time away from the school. It wasn’t easy given Toury liked to present herself as a free agent at times, free to toy with the affections of other people in the school at the whims of agents of love and chaos. It made it easy to believe that Toury would move on and forget the discarded Nevaeh just as the other cheerleaders and the Strattons and everyone else did. Yet here she was, hanging off Nev like a choker on a fledgling child of the darkness.
“H-hi, Toury,” Nevaeh finally stammered out. She moved her thumb up to her blackened lips and licked her print, preparing it for the task of wiping the red lipstick off her cheek. It was going to be a quick cave this time under the attention from Miss Phoenix. Nev looked back over her shoulder at the blur of blonde. “I didn’t think you’d be over here while we were working. Not that I’m not happy to see you.” She looked back at Savannah. “I’m fine to stay out here if you need me here, Sav.”
“Oh?” Toury replied to her girlfriend with a devilish grin, speaking into her ear but still loud enough for Sav to hear her. “Brazen, looking to see how voyeuristic your clients are?” She trailed teasing touches down Nev's arm until she reached her hand, intertwining their digits. She knew, of course, that that hadn't been what the goth girl meant, but Toury never missed a chance to make a lewd comment or flirt with her girlfriend, so when the opportunity for both arrived it was more tempting than she tended to be to the school population. Besides, after having lost her ability to touch the other girl when she was in juvie, the playful blonde made sure to have as much contact as she could get away with, especially after she had to hunt the girl down herself shortly after the release because she had started avoiding her, thinking Toury had moved on as if she hadn’t been to every visitation and written letters to her through her whole stint. “Count me in.”
“Suit yourselves,” Savannah confirmed as she shook her head. “I mean, I get it. Ya got shit like that goin’ on, ya want the world to see it. See whatcha fought for. I just didn’t think leanin’ on a Sorrento would be too comfy in the Cali heat. But I’ll take the company.”
“Excuse me,” a relatively quiet junior spoke up, brushing the light brown hair out from the side of his crisp new Angels hat. He looked like he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be doing in this particular parking lot but he dug into the pocket of his cargo shorts and pulled out a couple of bills that lacked the clean creases of his hat. “Brayden said I could come to you to pick up a couple of six-packs of Cherry Coke?”
Savannah smiled as the clearly nervous customer blurted out his order. Their various products had been assigned codenames so that discussion could happen relatively freely among students, and if anyone snooped in, there was at least a little deniability. Drugs? No drugs here, just someone networking for the local convenience store, making sure beverages reached the parched students of BHHS. Because marijuana was their best-selling offering, it was assigned Coca-Cola and all its various flavors for whatever strains Addie cooked up. Cherry Coke was very popular.
“Oh you’re Brayden’s friend, are ya?” she asked, sly as ever. “Foster or Posey? Ah, I guess it don’t matter none. Let’s see if we got any Cherry Coke in stock for ya….”
“Griffin.”
“Griffin, gotcha, well, welcome to PLC Convenience, right this way,” Savannah escorted the soon to be tarnished Angel off to the front seat and turned on the radio in the Sorrento, giving the couple a small semblance of privacy while she talked business and educated Griffin on how to actually handle such transactions.
Nevaeh blushed a little more as Toury continued to hang off her like a jungle gym. She did say how much she enjoyed the strength the black-haired girl built up during her time away from the general populace. Toury’s fingers still felt delicate as ever in her hand though. She knew that Toury was capable of far more power than she was, at least in terms of fighting the injustice in the school, but it still gave her some comfort that she could keep Toury protected in case the battle got to be too much. “I keep telling you that you don’t have to be here if you don’t want,” she offered. “I know you were all right with what I was doing for the Twins, but I don’t need you getting roped up into any PLC things either. I don’t think they’ll let us share a cell if we’re both busted.”
It was clear that stint at Camp Joseph Scott still was affecting Nevaeh a bit. It probably shouldn’t have, given that they maintained her on the path of graduation this summer, and Santa Clarita wasn’t a world away from Beverly Hills, but it may as well have been in the middle of the Gobi Desert for the levels of separation she felt during her time there. When she got out, she was angry and sad, emotions that led to her isolating herself from most people. After Savannah pulled her up out of the depths and Toury reaffirmed her commitment, she started to move past it. Slowly. Little by little. A glacial pace. But Savannah told her that her March birthday meant that she wasn’t going back to Santa Clarita. The Twin Towers would potentially be in the cards.
“Even if they did, I’d never get out of jail because of all the people I’d have to take care of to protect you.” There was that positivity that Nevaeh wasn’t known for in the slightest.
“That would be super hot to see, less fun to deal with the aftermath. And honestly,” Toury huffed with a roll of her eyes, letting Nevaeh go and circling around so that she was in front of the other girl. She crossed her arms and leaned against the car before giving her girlfriend a wide eyed, innocent look that anyone who actually knew the blonde knew to be wary of. “I'm just visiting my beautiful, wonderful, super strong girlfriend and grabbing a few concessions before the big game. If anything untoward is happening how am I supposed to know? I've never been involved with anything like that so how should I see the signs?” The blinking, doe eyed look dropped just as quickly as it had appeared and Tourmaline was back to looking lasciviously at the dark beauty before her. “I was too preoccupied with my girlfriend's rockin’ body and addictive lips. See how that works?”
She knew it wasn't a genuine argument, just like Nev knew that Toury couldn't get in trouble for a clique and operation that she had no part of outside of her relationship with Nev or a suggestion of supplier to the kids around school. If Toury were to be arrested and put in juvie- or more likely since she was almost eighteen, prison- it would be for getting caught with blackmail or for finally playing too much with the wrong person and taking a wrong step in her manipulations. The Tantalizer had her own illicit activities she dealt in, not that her girlfriend seemed to realize that there was trouble to be found and had outside of narcotics, but Tourmaline had been steeped in it- an agent of it- long before she locked eyes and lips with the girl that got quickly supersaturated in her own criminal element. Toury, despite her glossy blonde curls and bright makeup, her outgoing personality and standing as Mr. Phoenix’s daughter, was a corrupting influence and very proud of it.
She'd seen the near limitless possibilities in the eyes and movement of those like her now best friends, Helen Wells and Amy Kwon, long before she ever approached them with open arms. She was content to let the girls stumble blindly beneath the light for years until the illusion- their trust and belief in others- was finally shattered, and that was when she swooped in to help them realize that they stumbled so hard in the light because they were always destined to dance in the dark. She hated- or in Helen's case, didn't even know- the events that lead to both girls finally being open to her tainted influence and encouragement, put that look in their eyes that alerted her to their entry of limbo between dark and light so she could guide them all the way over. You never miss a look that you see in the mirror, after all. No one was a Tantalizer without a reason, they weren't just some random clique of sluts, they were there because together maybe they might be able to burn down the world that betrayed them each in their own way.
She’d seen the possibilities and dark streak in Nevaeh from her vantage point on the bleachers while the cheerleader practiced, but it had been through actually flirting with the girl and eventually doing the unthinkable and actually dating her that had gotten her to realize that, to Toury at least, it wasn't about someone's potential for once. Nevaeh didn’t need her nudging in the end, what with the Toxic Twins setting their teeth into her and eventually throwing her under the bus, and while she had been satisfied with her cheerleader in the light, she was just as willing to have her by her side in the dark. What she did not like was how it happened, how it had been a betrayal and had taken the girl away from her for months. However, there had been nothing for her to do. Toury, despite her standing as the creator of the Tantalizing Trio, was far more restricted in her actions than the likes of the Hive, the Elite, the Triple Crowns. At least in the light of day. These cliques were made up of entitled rich kids with more combined resources and connections than most small towns’ local law enforcement. While none of the Tantalizers were toeing the poverty line, they also were nowhere near the tax bracket of those kids, and that meant having to tread lightly and find the hidden angles so as not to disrupt the lives of their loved ones, especially with both Helen and Toury’s fathers working for the school. That didn’t stop them from raising hell when they knew that they could get away with it, of course, or they wouldn’t have the well earned reputation that they do, but it did stop them from messing blindly with the ‘higher tier’. Unfortunately, the likes of the Strattons were also on that tier, out of the blonde’s vindictive reach.
She’d been glad when Savvy had come along and shook things up, got deep pleasure in her taking over the parking lot, watched from the shadows as she established herself. It was why she hadn’t stressed when Nevaeh had gravitated towards Sav instead of coming back to Toury the first couple weeks out of juvie, she’d figured her girlfriend would find her people and then find Toury again when she was ready. Only, she realized that wasn’t the case and that was when she decided to reannounce herself in Nev’s life in a way that assured the freshly fallen wouldn’t dare avoid her anymore. Say what you will about Tourmaline Phoenix, say that she’s a bitch, and whore, a tricky succubus or a walking warning sign, but she knew when it was time to stay back and when it was time to step up, it was what made her so good at her freelancing for the Candies and for her own subtle revenges, and it was a survival instinct that only ever failed her once.
She pursed her lips at Nevaeh, grabbing her hand again and tracing circles over her knuckles, ever defiant of her girlfriend’s near subconscious need to push her away or keep her at arms length. “We’ve both been busy, and I only have a few hours before I’m busy again. Is it so crazy I want to spend all the free time I have with you?”
“I guess not,” Nevaeh answered, displaying that linguistic talent of hers.
She knew there was nothing that was going to stop Toury from entering her orbit if the Phoenix girl so desired. Toury was a force of nature at BHHS, and Nev should probably be thankful that Tour chose to encircle her with protection as opposed to ripping her apart like a hurricane. Nevaeh could do her best to keep Toury away, but she would come back. Even after Nevaeh returned to school, Toury came back.
It still vexed the dark-haired girl to this day. Why, of all the girls in the school, was she the one that Toury chose? The girl she was back in the early half of her high school career, maybe she could understand it. Nevaeh knew she was a prototypical cheerleader from outward appearances. The bows in the ponytail, the twirl in the skirt, the smeared paint under the eyes, it was hard to find someone who embodied the image more than young Nevaeh Morgan. She gave her heart to the school, and she actually gave a damn about trying to perform. Hell, she hadn’t even started dyeing her hair at that point. Sometimes she wondered if anyone actually remembered she had auburn-blonde hair before it started to go dark to match her moods. No matter, as she progressed in the grades she leaned from the red in the Pirates colors to the black with all her energy.
That was the Nevaeh her mother still wished was present, that’s for sure. Nev was still getting lip service parenting from her mother back home. When she wasn’t busy working in a lab in downtown LA, Dr. Sharona Morgan was doing anything she could to avoid talking to her now convict daughter. Dinners were never anything spectacular given the amount of work Dr. Sharona had to do (or the risk of accidentally contaminating a lasagna with streptococcus), but now it was a bunch of money on a table and the occasional sandwich.
Her brother didn’t have to worry about that, with his diet regimental in order to keep at the pinnacle of fitness in his ascent through the high school ranks. All of Cameron’s meals were pre-packaged and formulated. He was the meal ticket for the future, the only good thing his famous father left the family before he trotted off to England the second he extracted his payday from MLS. He got all the attention now, Mom attending every one of his games and cheering as loud as she could between coughs. Granted it gave Nevaeh the chance to slink away unnoticed, but at some point, the silence can get to a person. Hence the persistent headphones Nevaeh was seen with when not wearing her girlfriend as a shawl, or listening to her PLC compatriots discuss something.
That’s why the Dance offered something of a rebirth. Toury would likely be going to the event on the arm of some schlub her conspirators wanted to drag towards one of Cupid’s sickening arrows. Now that Everly’s wish had been granted and it appeared the PLC would also be making their way under the lights and onto the dancefloor, there was a chance for Nev to give Toury a sliver of that old facet of their relationship. A night of grandeur maybe. A thanks for sticking with her for everything. If nothing else, Nevaeh knew Toury had the wardrobe for it.
“So,” the gothic girlfriend finally offered, “Everly convinced the others to go to the Homecoming Dance. Savannah was looking at me to back her up and keep the PLC out of the strobe lights, but… I thought it would be nice to go. Celebrate the success of the crew and try to have a regular school experience.” A small smile turned those black lips upward, especially when she caught the gaze of Tourmaline. “And it means that potentially there’s a few more hours for you to spend with me. If you want to.”
This time, the wide eyed look that Toury shot her girlfriend was genuine in its shock. She hadn’t been expecting that at all, but she was more than pleased with the new development, and she showed it by grinning and giving out an excited squeal before swooping down to catch the shorter girl’s charcoal dark lips in her own candy apple reds. She wrapped her arms around Nevaeh’s waist and back and pulled her in tight without breaking their kiss. Her girlfriend was going to be at the dance! This wouldn’t be some boring prowl the whole night doing the Candies dirty work to shove as many perspectives together as possible while they were all in one area. As fun as that was for her, as much as it fueled her own ego, Toury also missed going to school functions for herself or her loved ones. Nowadays it was all business and very little actual pleasure, so no matter how busy she kept herself she was still utterly bored and understimulated.
She was never anything but stimulated when in contact with her own personal phoenix. Her baby girl had really been sent into the flames and returned while carrying the cinders and ash on her soul like armor, and Toury reveled in being the only one that knew every kink.
Breaking the kiss but not letting Nevaeh go, Toury dropped her forehead to her lover’s and stared into her eyes so she could see her excitement. Her hand dropped from her back further down and squeezed her girlfriend’s toned glutes possessively before kissing her again and then pulling away to let the other breathe. She smirked at the red tint that now stained Nevaeh’s lips much like she was sure her lipstick was now closer to maroon.
“Entering back into my domain, baby? I can’t wait.”
“Don’t get too excited,” Nevaeh said, trying to reel Toury back to her new reality. While the first year of their relationship saw the two trip the light fantastic at a plethora of school events, there was no desire for Nev to show her pale face around the building any more than she had to after her time away. This was almost going to be a test for her, coming back and trying to revive herself. The time with the PLC had made her feel like she could actually be accepted, at least partially, in this new form of hers. But there was bound to be conflict and strife. There always was.
“I don’t know how long we’ll be in for, Payout’s never been one for dressy events as long as I’ve known her. Everly was the one who wanted to go, but she may not have the stamina. Addie… she’ll probably get distracted by something in the first 30 minutes. And I… I’m basically dipping my toe back in. But if nothing else, I’m sure I will last for at least one dance.”
“I’ll take what I can get,” Toury replied, completely honest. She’d take anything Nev would give when it came to their relationship, especially when she knows Nev’s going against her own comfort for it. “Do you need to borrow something from my closet or have you been hiding some hot gothic number from me?”
“I still have a couple of tricks on that front,” the raven-dyed teenager confirmed. “So I hope I’ll surprise you.” A smile perked up those dark lips. “And I know you’re going to look… absolutely tempting in whatever you choose to wear.” She moved in and planted a soft kiss on Toury’s cheek, leaving her own black mark on the tanned skin of her girlfriend. A little harder to remove than the red on Nevaeh’s visage, but turnabout was fair play. “It’ll probably keep me on the floor an extra dance or two.”
“Cute,” Toury replied, entertained by her girlfriend’s attempt at returning her little gloss game. Unfortunately for Nevaeh, Toury had no shame and that perfect black imprint of the goth’s lips would live on her cheek until she used her makeup remover tonight before bed. No doubt Jonah would get a mild kick out of it when they had their meeting later. She grinned, the stain on her skin stretching with it, and kissed her girlfriend quickly again, twirling her dark strands between two fingers playfully. “And of course, my outfit is going to be downright tantalizing.”
An even rarer chuckle could be faintly heard before the other two students emerged from the front of the Sorrento. “All right, that should set you up for what you need. Tell Brayden I'll give him a little discount next time as thanks for the referral. Free can of Coke on me,” the pink-blonde offered. Savannah knew that not only would that satisfy the person who brought Griffin into her parlor, but now Griffin knew referrals would work for him as well. It was a basic business strategy but it worked very well on the populace of BHHS.
The Angel-capped student could only nod as he walked away, purchase stored in his backpack while Savannah returned to the couple that was left to stand watch while the transaction was completed. “All right, that went better than expected. Kid learned himself pretty quick,” she confirmed to give the couple ample time to disentangle themselves should they need to do so. “Anyway, guessin’ Nev told ya we’re goin’ dancin’, eh Tour?”
“Sure did,” Toury gave Sav a toothy grin and finally broke physical contact with her girlfriend, satisfied in the knowledge that she had plenty of time now and even more time tomorrow to spend with her lover. “I’ve got to say I didn’t see that coming, I’m quite pleased,” She admitted while grabbing her phone to check her messages. She hadn’t had a chance to get her walkie talkie back after Dash had taken it earlier that morning with plans to give it to whichever Elite had requested them of him, so her message notification was in the double digits no matter when she checked, that was just the way her brother texted. Glancing over his stream of consciousness, Toury figured it wasn’t anything that needed immediate response, in fact it seemed like he was still mid info dump, so she determined waiting for him to finish before replying was the best course and put her phone back, returning her attention to those before her. “She already said she has a dress, but what about you girls? For this very special occasion, my closet is open if any of you need something. Within reason, of course.”
It was a genuine, if rare, offer from the wavy haired Tantalizer. While always open to the likes of her two besties and Nevaeh, her wardrobe was hardly ever available to anyone else. But the PLC going was what had Nevaeh going in the first place, so the least she could do was offer the girls a chance to avoid last minute shopping if they were planning on actually dressing up.
Savannah rubbed the back of her neck. “Ya know, I might take ya up on that,” she admitted. “I’m not exactly tha dress-up type ‘n I dunno if my mom’s stuff is… suitable. Definitely if I wanted the attention of tha monitors, but I’m guessin’ you might have stuff that’ll fit me a li’l better. Maybe we all meet up at yours tomorrow ‘n figure it out before tha thing. ‘Sall right, Nev?”
The goth girl nodded, not exactly happy to leave Toury’s embrace, but knowing that it was there for her made it easier. “Yes. It should be fine. Like I said, I already have something in mind for the evening. I think black is the PLC’s color.”
“You think black is everythin’s color.”
“It’s a perfect color.”
“Fine, fine, it’s a good color. We’ll see what Tour’s got.”
“Fantastic, I’ll make sure I have snacks and drinks ready,” Toury clapped decisively, happy with the new events on her roster. She’d have to text Amy and Helen about the new development soon. “I’ll pull out a few pieces I think would fit for you all but you won’t have to choose one of those, I’ll understand if you hate my choices,” She teased sarcastically before pulling her phone out to quickly send off that text as well as add an alarm as a reminder for tomorrow. She was always getting just a bit busier, but these plans gave her even more time with her girlfriend tomorrow than she initially thought, so she found she didn’t mind one bit. “I’ll even help you with your makeup, no charge, if you’re looking to go all out.”
“I ain’t gone all out in a long time, but I guess if we’re gonna be kickin’ round, might as well let ya take a crack at me. I think I gotta good plan, but,” Savannah looks at her friend, almost spotting a smile on that pale face. “like I said, I’ll take any advice inta consideration.”
The agreement was sealed in Payout’s mind, and with good timing as a Korean woman in her 30s emerged from the store and headed to the Sorrento. “Hey,” Sunny interrupted. “My dad’s getting back from his physiotherapy in like 15 minutes, so that’s your warning in case you’ve got customers when he arrives.”
“Preciate ya givin’ tha heads up, Sun,” Savannah said, almost thankful to end the conversation about making her look like one of those trophy girlfriends. “We’re almost sold out anyway. Homecomin’s good business. Still got your order if ya want it now.”
Sunny pulled out a crisp $20 and handed it to the Texan. “This and a couple of Gatorades and we’re good?”
“Make it three ‘n we’re good,” Payout confirmed, as she looked over at the doting couple now back in each other’s arms. “Those two’ll prob’ly need the electrolytes sooner rather ‘n later.”
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