[IC] CANCELLED.

[Hey Im Jordan]

<sub>Featuring: Hailey Green, An Unsuspecting Video Merchant, Butler, Daddy, and Mother
Location: A video store —> The Stentorian Estate’s Kitchen
Interacting with: Hopefully no one for a while.
Time: Thursday after dropping Hana off.

^{Yep, it’s a flashback post. Eat me.}</sub>

Hailey Green was angry.

And that was to say the least. A better suite of words might have been things like ‘furious,’ ‘enraged,’ ‘heated,’ or perhaps even… ‘triggered.’ It wasn’t the first time she’d felt this way, but it was far from a ‘good look’ for her. The source of her ire? New Release Video, the last remaining video rental place in Los Angeles — and more importantly the one she had been renting videos from every Friday for the past 15 years of her life had a sign hanging on the front that said, in big letters: ‘CLOSING SALE.’

Hailey had been driving home after dropping her girlfriend off for a playdate when they’d passed by the building and seen the sign. Immediately yelling for her Butler to stop the car, Hailey was now walking into the store with Butler by her side, whispering in her ear about how this was probably poor tact. Hailey, though, didn’t care. She didn’t like change, and the removal of something she’d done for years and years was certainly change.

As such, Hailey’s mind was already made up before the car had even stopped. “I can’t believe the audacity. How dare they shut down? Do they not understand that they have faithful customers? Honestly. I can’t believe the state of this country.”

“I want to make it clear that this is not the fault of the person behind the counter, Hailey.”

“I’m going to be gentle.” Hailey scoffed, glancing over at Butler as she waited for him to open the door for her. Butler sighed, muttering.

“I doubt that very strongly…”

Hailey marched across the way toward her target of the day, the young man behind the counter. Hailey rung the bell, and the boy turned around, staring at her. As it clicked that he was with a customer, the boy started to speak, but he was, unluckily for him, cut off by the already salty Hailey. “Excuse me. Do you know what that sign outside the building is about? The one about closing.”

“Uh, yeah. The store is closing down at the end of next week — I guess running a video rental place isn’t a very profitable enterprise in the year of 2043.”

“Firstly! Are you aware that New Release Video is the last remaining movie rental place in Los Angeles? Are you aware that you have dedicated customers that have been faithfully coming here once a week for the past fifteen years? Do you not understand the severity of what you’re implying? The closing of this store might as well be the destruction of a historical landmark.” Hailey was talking quickly and in a raised voice, full of ire. The young man looked at Butler, assuming he was a father or someone that could tug the leash and get the dog to back down, but Butler did nothing. Instead, she just went on, “do you even know what’s going to replace this store!?”

“Uh… some kind of sandwich shop? I don’t know. The company that’s buying this place sounds like a sandwich one to me…”

“A sandwich shop!? Brilliant. Just. Brilliant. You’re lucky that my friend here asked me to be nice. I’m going to leave now, but I will be back tomorrow night, and if what I want isn’t here… then I’ll not play so nicely. By the way? You ought to work on your personal hygiene” With that, Hailey spun on her heel and stormed out of the building. Butler was right, the person behind the counter had no power here, and was as useless as he looked. He even smelled like the garbage he obviously was.

Butler looked at the young man and shrugged. She was gentle, he had to give her that. Following Hailey out to the car, Butler sat down inside and started the machine, adjusting the rearview to look at his charge in the backseat. “I see you’re in a bit of a mood—” Hailey scowled. “—we can go get Hana.”

“No! Hana is on a playdate and enjoying herself. Take me home, Butler.” Hailey snapped. Yes, Butler did have something of a point — Hailey could have very easily taken her frustrations out on Hana, and Hana probably would have kissed her and asked her if she felt better yet. But, Hailey had no intention of doing so. Hana was off with a friend, one that Hailey happened to like.

That Kit girl had guts — she was tenacious, and Hailey approved. If Kit wanted to be friends with Hana, then Hailey had no problem puppeteering that to happen. Hailey could go home and calm down by watching Gundam; that was healthier than slapping her girlfriend around, anyway.

Once Hailey arrived home, though, she found her plans to watch anime somewhat… delayed, as she walked into the kitchen to see her mother, Alyssa, and her father, Ty, standing there. Undeniably ominously. “Mother. Daddy. What’s wrong?” She asked, looking between the two of them. Standing behind, eyeing the situation, Butler frowned. This seemed like it was going to end poorly.

“Hailey. I brought your father here with the unfortunately accurate idea that he can talk some sense into you better than I can.” Alyssa sipped at her drink as Hailey walked up to Ty, squeezing him in a tight hug and kissing both his cheeks. “While I suppose in some ways that it’s my fault, you have overstepped your bounds.”

At this, Hailey took a step back and arched an eyebrow, looking between the two assembled parents. “I’m sorry?”

“Hails… Belle called me.”

Mmm. Oh.

“Mmm. Oh. And what did she have to say? I understand Beatrix’s parents are coming to visit… Is Belle trying to plan some kind of get together? I’ll make it happen, so long as it isn’t our day.” Hailey was playing coy. She knew what this was going to be about almost immediately. Ophelia, Trixie, Owen. “I know how much of a socialite she is…”

“That’s not what this is about. Hailey, Belle said that you… orchestrated Owen and Trixie breaking up?”

Well, there it was. Hailey understood now why her mother and father were standing united against her. Freezing up, Hailey felt herself ice over slightly. She hadn’t expected to have this conversation, at least not anytime soon. “I saw problem, and I extracted the problem. It was a bit painful, but that’s in the word, don’t you think? ‘Extract’ doesn’t exactly imply a painless operation. Trixie was unfortunately caught in the crossfire, yes. But I have no regrets.” Hailey took a step back, away from her father and beside Butler. At least Butler was going to be on his side — he was paid a handsome sum to do so, after all. Hailey kept her eyes trained on her father, and what she saw made her heart sank.

Actual, real, true disappointment.

Alyssa’s eyes were boring into her too, but Hailey was used to that look. Herself, and her siblings alike were all too used to it. Cold green eyes drilling a hole into your head and doing their best to find your every thought. Hailey handled it better than the other two; she had learned long ago the best way to deal with Alyssa was to be as icy as she was. That… that didn’t work with Daddy.

“Hails… why exactly was Owen a problem?”

Hailey didn’t think she’d have to stand here and defend a decision she’d made. She hadn’t been considering this when thinking about what she wanted to do when she got home. She wasn’t planning on doing anything when she got home; especially not this. She hated seeing her father look like that, and hated hearing the tone of his voice. Did he hate her now? Had she erred?

No. She couldn’t have — she was right, because she had to be. Her position didn’t exactly leave much room for error. If that made her father wrong, then… so be it. “Owen became a problem some time ago; around the same time that Jennifer girl was rearing her head thinking she could… pull a coup so to speak. School politics, I won’t bore you with the nitty gritty. While I was handling my problem, Owen stuck his nose in my business and told him that he thought I was doing wrong. He said I was being too harsh. I disagreed. It was then that I told Ophelia that Owen had to be dealt with.” She watched as Daddy seemed to get even more and more upset. Hailey, for the first time in a while, very very much wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

“Hailey, do you understand how much that messed Trixie up? It basically threw her into depress—”

“It is not my fault that Trixie couldn’t handle it! My cousin being an overly emotional bitch is not my fault. I shouldn’t have had to account for that! It’s not my fault she has no control over that. Call Isabel, not me.” Pushed back against the wall, Hailey lashed out on the offensive. “I’m not sure what the point is here. Why are you attack—”

“Because I taught you better than this! You’re supposed to be good. Lead by example, not as a dictator. They’re supposed to want to be led, not be controlled by fear! I know what your mother wants, but you shouldn’t forget about the me part!”

At this, Hailey stuck her finger out at her mother, “maybe you did, but she taught me otherwise! She taught me to win by any means necessary! I can’t win by being nice, and I have to win. I have to be perfect, Daddy. I have to be perfect for you, I have to be perfect for Mother, I have to be perfect for Mom. I have to find the best way to do that, don’t you understand? This isn’t easy. I made a call! That’s what I’m SUPPOSED TO DO!”

Having nearly spat out her drink at Hailey’s sudden accusation, Alyssa glanced at the Butler standing behind Hailey, but Butler didn’t seem like he was going to step in. Apparently, Alyssa had to handle this on her own as well. “Excuse you, young lady —”

“Shut your mouth!” Hailey was physically shaking as she attempted to regain her composure. She wasn’t doing a very good job, with angry tears welling up in her eyes. “Do you understand how impossibly stupid the ‘politics’ and the ‘social ladder’ is? Yet, I have to be at the top. I have to be the best. Because you wouldn’t accept anything else! And now Daddy hates me! This is YOUR FAULT!” Hailey had seemingly cracked — between this and the realization that she was going to have to give up her ritual of going to the movie store, she had exploded. “You all three set standards for me that I can’t meet! No one can meet them! It’s stupid and retarded and so many other words. NO ONE CAN BE PERFECT!”

Hailey accented her final words by screaming, before she spun on her heel and stomped out of the room. Butler waited until she stepped away, and looked at Alyssa and Ty. “Truly monumental.” He muttered, before following after Hailey as she stomped off to her room, in the throes of a proper temper tantrum for the first time since she was nine years old.

[Silver Carrot]

_{A Collaboration Between: @Bee and @Silver Carrot
Featuring: Camille Winters and Panda}

---

---

Panda stepped into the warm interior of Captain Cuddles. Looking around, this was exact opposite of her ideal date spot. It was Family Restaurant with an arcade attached. The atmosphere was colorful but it was gaudy,and a little greasy and lived-in, and smelled of cheese and weed. This room itself told the story. This place used to be for kids before teenage burners became the dominant customer. Even so, the amazing pizzas were BHHS legend, and there was a Star Wars viewing on the roof. Panda wasn’t a geek by any stretch of the imagination, but Star Wars was an okay enough movie. What had really sold Panda on this date was the rooftop cinema as a concept. It was quirky, kitsch, weird, and didn’t have the sexual tension of a drive-in cinema. The emo girl smiled and turned to Camille, hoping that she wasn’t having second thoughts about this. The date or the location.

Stepping inside the facility had chucked Camille all the way back to her childhood. It was the ideal vibe for a date, even though it was definitely somewhere she would’ve gone as a child. She couldn’t help but to shake that thought from the back of her mind. Knowing that this was chock full of nostalgia. ”Jeez. It’s like my childhood in here. You sure this is a date place?”

Panda took the flyer from her coat pocket and showed it to Camille. ”Yep. This is the right place. Captain Cuddles. Date night. Star Wars on the roof. But yeah, I do like it in here. I might have to come more often, depending on how good their pizza is. Speaking of, I wonder if we order now, or order on the roof. The flyer isn’t very clear on that.”

”I uh… actually have no idea.” Camille shrugged, before she started looking for a way upstairs. ”Why don’t we head to the roof first and see what’s up? Maybe we can ask around. Worst case scenario is that I come back down and order for us. Besides, I doubt there’d be much room up there. Better find us a spot now, yeah?”

”True. I’d hate for us to go up there and find no good room. Or no room at all. Let’s go.” Panda replied, following Camille. They found the stairs, and made it to the roof. There were a few couples there already, already stocked with pizza, but there was still more than enough room for the two of them. Everybody else must still be in the restaurant.

Finding a nice spot that wasn’t too close or too far away from the screen, she sat down and waited for her girlfriend to join her on the rooftop before saying anything else. ”Well hey, here’s our spot…” Camille smiled, before glancing around for anything else. ’Now is the problem of the pizza. I still don’t know where to get it. Guess I’ll go down and get if for us?”

Panda sat down, and pulled her collar a little higher. It wasn’t warm, after all. She then answered Camille. ”Unless you want me to go down, but sure! I’ll have something a little spicy but nothing that’ll blow my head off. If it has jalapeños, then yes please.“

”Jalapeños? I never took you as a spicy food type of person.”

”I’m not a spicy food person, per say. It’s just cold and it might warm me up. Besides, jalapeños are deelicious.“ Panda shrugged and smiled.

”That makes you a spicy food kinda person, technically.” Camille laughed, before giving a small wave to Panda, ”I’ll be back. Just gonna get us some pizzas. You hold down the fort here… and I’ll be back with your pizza, madame.”

With that, Camille went downstairs back down to the cashier. He was a pimply, gangly, homely boy who looked absolutely dead inside. Understandably so, since he had to deal with the worst people, whether it’d be mothers demanding for his manager since he didn’t honor their coupon that expired three years ago, or screaming little shits that didn’t know how to shut up. At this point he was just a former shell of himself. Camille coming up to him made little to no difference in his demeanor.

”Hi! I’d like one pepperoni and sausage pizza… and whatever your jalapeno special is.” The girl smiled, before pulling her wallet out from her purse. The cashier absentmindedly pounded the order into the system, before pulling up the final total. Thank goodness they were here tonight, otherwise Camille’s wallet was going to be crying a LOT. Handing over her debit card, the transaction was completed and the cashier let out a big sigh as Camille turned around. She thanked the cashier, but he wasn’t having it today.

Big mood.

Walking back up the stairs, Camille found her way back to her girlfriend, smiling as they made eye contact. ”Miss me?” She asked, leaning in to kiss Panda on the cheek. Panda chuckled, and leaned in to offer her cheek to Camille. As she did so, she put her arm around her.

”You were gone about three minutes, but yeah, I did. But it’s funny. Even though we’re dating now, I don’t really feel that everything’s changed. And I think that’s a good thing, you know? I think because we were already bffs who were comfortable hanging out, we’ve bypassed the awkward dating phase completely.”

”Well that’s good, isn’t it?” Camille smiled, before turning around to see if the pizza arrived. It didn’t. ”The honeymoon phase is always fun… Camille put her hands on the table, before softly embracing Panda’s even softer hands. ’...but every day with you is a honeymoon phase, to be honest.”

”Why have I never noticed how smooth you are?” Panda chuckled, as she turned so that she was looking at the blank cinema screen, and rested her head against Camille’s shoulder. After a while she looked up at her girlfriend’s face, with a foxish smile. ”Speaking of honeymoon phase, what were your plans after this movie?”

It was now, that the pizzas were delivered, and set down on the table in front of them. The woman who’d brought them up smiled a knowing, ‘ah, young people...’ smile, winked at them both, and returned downstairs.

”I dunno. I didn’t notice either.” Camille shrugged, before letting her girlfriend put her head on her shoulder, ”Too busy being infatuated with you.” Camille chuckled softly, before she watched the pizza be bestowed in front of them. The question that was presented in front of them now was a hard one to ponder. She didn’t know what to do after the movie.

”I dunno. What do you wanna do?”

Panda blinked. After that night on the boat, of all things, she wasn’t expecting that to fly over Camille’s head. Panda didn’t want to seem forceful, perverted or desperate by pressing the point, nor could she really let it drop, so she shrugged, and inadvertently blushed and looked away as she did so. ”I dunno...heading back to my place would be a bad idea, because my parents are...well, my parents.”

Raising an eyebrow, Camille soon put two and two together, realizing what Panda actually meant. ”On the first date? Camille’s face contorted into a sly smile, ”Well I’ll be..,” The girl laughed, before opening the box for her girlfriend, ”I’m just saying, I do have a car, babe.”

”C’mon, Camille, don’t pull that ‘first date’ stuff on me.” Panda giggled. ”We both remember the night on the boat. I think we’re past the stage where we need to pretend to be prudish and bashful around each other. After this date, We’ll drive somewhere quiet together before we have to go home.”

”Oh yeah… the boat…” Camille blushed, before turning back at the screen. ”I still don’t remember anything from that night.”

”If anything, that’s just a bigger reason to do it right this time, and remember it.” Panda replied, as the film came on, and she turned her attention to it, resting her head on Camille’s shoulder and pulling herself close with an arm sneakily wrapped around her, hugging the other shoulder. Panda didn’t quite remember that night on the boat either. It was a haze. She only remembered bits and pieces of that night. But for the time being, she was content with that.

[LovelyComplex]

_{Kit's parents
Thursday Night
Collab with @Hey Im Jordan}

Oliver knew that his wife was in a mood. She had been, ever since he’d allowed their daughter to go to the party (though Oliver knew that if he and Molly had been in Kit’s position, they would have been at the party no matter what, even if he didn’t want to go), and Oliver knew how to handle that. A night out, and removed from Kit. Their daughter was their daughter, and of course Oliver loved her more than anything, and he knew that Molly felt the same way, but the simple fact of the matter was Kit had… an overbearing personality. Living with her? Even as her parents — who Kit typically listened to — it was sometimes exhausting.

So, after Kit had arranged to have a friend over, Oliver had done what he felt was the right thing to do, and made reservations at Molly’s favorite place to eat (some four star Italian restaurant that Oliver couldn’t pronounce the name of), put himself in a suit, and put Molly in a little red dress he liked, and kissed Kit goodbye for the evening. Oliver, being the super dad that he was, had also baked Kit and her friend a little dessert, based on what Kathryn had picked out.

Their night had been fine so far. They’d went to see a movie — some bullshit romantic movie that Molly mentioned — and were now sitting at their private table in the exclusive, expensive restaurant that was sure to cost him eight hundred or more dollars a plate… but it didn’t matter. Molly was calming down, and he was fairly sure that Kit was okay. Everything was fine, he was handling things. Oliver took a sip from the glass of water that the waiter had poured him to start, and asked a simple question. “What did you order to drink again?”

The Professor was indeed a happy wife as she held her fine glass close to her lips. She was already on her second. In eloquent Italian, she first said the producer’s name, “Tenuta dell’Ornellaia…” and then she answered his question and disclosed the wine’s name, “Masseo Toscana, the best merlot I ever did taste. Straight from Tuscany!” She was buzzed, actually past that, because she hadn’t had any food all day and the first thing she wanted immediately was alcohol. Nice, delicious, wine at L'ultima Cena. Of course, she planned to order something with meat. Eventually.

“Sounds… great.” Oliver didn’t know what any of that meant, but as long as he could relax and not worry about her being stressed and angry… the Doctor was a happy boy. “I’m glad you’re able to let your hair down and breathe tonight… you were getting a little wound up there for a bit, lover.” Oliver said, reaching underneath their table to squeeze her knee. Was she drunk? Yeah, she was drunk. Nothing new for him, though! “Plus, KitKat is having a nice night with her friend, we’re here… everything is going well, Mols.”

Her dark gaze peered from her glass to her husband’s eyes. If she were sober, she would’ve found something to bitch about, twisting his words and finding the problems. But! She was totally drunk, so he was safe. For now. “I know, I know. But I love her hair so much and it’s all gone! And she’s kissing everybody. I don’t know what I did!” Where did she go wrong as a parent? It was times like these, she needed a drink. And hey, she had one. Or several. “She’s my baby but she is so…. is sooooooo…” Molly couldn’t think of the best word to describe Kit.

“...different? She’s not like me, and she’s not like you.” Oliver offered. It was true. Kit was a combination of the two of them… and it was sometimes bad. She was explosive, independent, loud, and a bit of a fool sometimes. Plus, she liked pizza. “Don’t worry, the hair will grow back. It was time for a change, and she’ll feel better now — it’s important we help her feel better you know? You didn’t do anything wrong. She loves you.” Oliver said, squeezing her knee again as he watched her start to freak out a little bit. “You should get another glass.”

“You are absolutely right!” Molly looked around for the waiter, realizing she was feeling the motions of her unhealthy drinking, her words turning into slurs the more their date went on, “Where is Gino?” That was their waiter. If Molly didn’t have Gino, she didn’t want to eat here. “Oh, that reminds me! Bellie is goin' to have her annual Candy reunion soon, I think you should keep Alex company because I’m stealing Summer. No deets, yet. But it’s goin-to happen, and I gotta’ make sure I look hot.”

What the Professor said? “You should keep Alex company.” What did the Doc hear? “Get together with your best friend and get high and play Call of Duty zombies with your wife’s permission.” As such, Oliver nodded his head enthusiastically, “That sounds great! Why don’t you and Summer take a spa weekend? Me, Alex, and Kit can handle the twins for a bit, and you guys can get ready for the get together.” If Kit came, then Oliver could delegate all of the babysitting to her — she likes the kids anyway. “You need a break anyway.” And some asshole had knocked Alex and Oliver off of the leaderboards. It was enough of a pain in the fucking ass to scrounge for the bottom of the boards at their age.

“You’re absolutely right!” A break was needed indeed. Oliver was a wonderful husband and always kept her and their child in his best interest. The waiter approached but rather than say anything, he simply poured the stressed mother more wine causing her to childishly cheese in excitement.

“The usual, Mr. Thomas?” Gino, with his deep, husky voice, spoke to the more sober one. The Professor was in heaven with her buzz and the only thing that could bring her down was a disaster, which couldn’t possibly happen right now! It was date night. Date night was rarely interrupted.

“Gino, do you think I deserve a break? Lover thinks I do. How ‘bout you?” Molly leaned forward, eyeing the Italiano and brawny lady killer.

“Of course. Every mother deserves a break, and I’m sure you’re no exception.” The charmer nodded at the madame, before bringing his attention back to the Doc.

Oliver had been subtly nodding his head when Molly had asked the question, hoping that the waiter would catch onto the hint, and when he did? Oliver relaxed somewhat in the chair. He didn’t much care about Molly eyefucking the waiter — she was drunk and that didn’t really matter to him anyway. She gave him her heart, not her eyes. “See? He agrees. Yeah, the usual is fine.” Why change from something that worked? Pasta ruled, anyway. “See, Mols? I told you everything would be fine.” Hey, so far? So good. Kit wasn’t calling, or texting, and she was probably happily eating that delicious dessert he’d made with her new friend. Everything was great.

“Right away. I’ll leave the bottle with you two.” Gino gave one last smile to Molly before taking his leave.

“So far, so good. How could I have possibly doubted you?” Bringing the glass to her lips, her eyes preyed on her husband. She took her time gulping her wine. The true savior of her day was this fermented grape juice. “Tonight’s going to be even better, don’t you think?” With her heel off, her left foot explored under the table to its… destination.

All those years ago, Oliver had made a mental note. Nothing got Molly’s panties in a mess like Italian food and wine. That was paying off, even to this day, and he had words to say to respond to her. Answers to give her, innuendo to say, even a little bit of flirting. He had all that stuff locked and loaded… But that stopped when his phone began to ring with a very… distinct ringtone. Molly and Ollie both knew who it belonged to, but even so, Oliver had to stare at his phone for a few seconds before he answered it.

Maybe he liked the song. Maybe the contact showing was the problem.

KitKat

“Hold that thought?” Ollie asked, letting the ring hold as he looked across the way.

“The princess awaits.” The mother shrugged, holding her glass delicately in her fingers, as she stared back at the hubby. She was at peace. There was no way in hell her daughter could ruin that.

False.

Kathryn always found a way to change the course of her day. For better, or for worse. The unfortunate side effect of being a parent. For now, Molly would assume this was simply a phone call giving them an update of the happenings of her night. Nothing more, nothing less. “...So?” Glaring at Oliver, Molly waited expectantly for the deets.

“Uh… we should probably catch the check and take off. I couldn’t really understand what she was saying, between the crying and the music playing in the background, but from what I understand there’s been an accident… she broke her bong. The one I gave her? She’s freaking out, Mols.”

Well, he almost got laid.

“Fucking hell.” She gave up! There was no winning for the Professor.

[smarty0114]

---

---

_{Featuring: Jamie Callaghan, Alison Callaghan and Henry Callaghan
Location: The Callaghan Home
Interacting With: Trixie Kingsley @Lovely Complex}

---

---

It had been an absolutely perfect night. This had been the kind of date that you tell your kids about, the kind of date that could send even Jamie, the most grounded and practical of lovers, into a full on fit of romanticism. As Marshall’s home grew smaller and smaller in his rear view mirror, Jamie’s mind lit up with images of Marshall, his brain replaying snippets of the night over and over. He smiled, grateful that his tumultuous week had ended with a very handsome capstone.

All good things must come to an end, and Jamie’s lovestruck day dreams were no exception. After parking his car and walking into his house, he heard his mom call from the kitchen.

“Jamie, can you come here? Your dad and I need to talk to you.”

Adrenaline flooded his nervous system, and his heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t even sure what they could’ve found, but suddenly he knew they had something. He inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and put on a poker face. From the balcony that overlooked the entryway, Katie peeked her head over, grimacing in a shared commiseration. This wasn’t going to be good.

Jamie found his parents seated at the kitchen table, staring him down, a copy of the school newspaper between them. They remained silent as he slowly approached the table and took a seat, a deer all too curious of the hunters stalking him. The copy in question was his infamous piece on Hailey the Heartbreaker, leading to a moment of confusion. How the hell had they even gotten it, and why the hell did they care?

“Owen Lyon dropped this off earlier. He wasn’t very happy about it,” Alison said, cooly. She had yet to pass judgement on Jamie, but his next few words would determine his sentence.

“Well that’s no surprise,” Jamie scoffed, his confidence rising. He’d had this fight enough times this week that he could navigate it like a pro. “He didn’t want me to write it, but he’s also not my boss. So what’s the issue?”

Henry sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples as if to relieve the headache that seemed to have started the moment his children became teenagers. “The issue, Jamie, is that we have kids showing up at our house, complaining about what you said about them,”

“And what exactly did I say about Owen Lyon? That he’s not a cheater? That he stood up for Jennifer Hart? I didn’t slander anyone, I did my job. I may have gone over Trixie’s head in the process, but that was a matter of time. I needed the story out.”

“Jamie, did you perhaps stop to consider that there’s certain things that everybody doesn’t need to know? That some people value privacy?”

“Dad, my job is to report on this kind of thing! Trixie told me to get this story, hell, she’s the one who spilled everything to me! It’s not my job to consider what Owen Lyon wants, it’s my job to save the paper!”

“Well maybe, you should find a different job,” Henry said, his words hanging in the air as he stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Jamie and his mother in an uncomfortable silence. After a moment, Jamie stood to storm out too, but his mom stopped him, placing her hand on his.

“Honey, sometimes, the right thing isn’t in line with what you’re supposed to do. Sometimes your path is a little different than the one you lay out for yourself. I know it can be hard, but I also know that you have it in you.” Alison said, giving her oldest boy a comforting smile.

Jamie shook his head, and followed his father out of the kitchen, storming upstairs and throwing himself onto his bed, letting out a guttural scream into his mattress. Gone were the thoughts of him and Marshall. He was furious. He was doing everything he was supposed to, doing everything he’d done for the past two years of high school, and yet he was suddenly being persecuted for it.

For a while, he let the anger wash over him. His fists found pillows to pummel, slamming into them over and over, a number of them taking on Owen Lyon’s stupid face. His screams were released into the muffling ball of blankets, as the weeks worth of stress and irritation, the pressure that had been building since the New Years party all came flooding out.

Finally, he fell back, exhausted by his outburst of emotion. His breathing returned to normal, and out of the fires came an idea. He pulled out his phone, and sent a text that he hoped would set in motion a chain of events that would put this whole thing behind him once and for all.

To: Trix
we need to talk

[Grimoire Gaming]

---

---

_{A @smarty0114, @Silent Observer & @Lovely Complex collab
Featuring: Noah Nichols, JD Piccoli, Lucas Piccoli & Regina “Sin” Piccoli
Location: The Hardy-Piccoli Manor}

---

---

It took a hell of a lot to make Lucas Piccoli feel awkward. Hell, he wasn’t even sure that he’d ever been acquainted with the feeling, living a life as shamelessly as he had thus far. But, walking in to his teenager’s wide open door and catching him with his tongue damn near down another boy’s throat? Well, hello awkward, nice to meet ya! It’s not that his son was kissing a boy, that’s not the awkward part, don’t get it twisted, it’s the fact that his dumbass didn’t bother closing the goddamn door first. No, the boy-kissing came as no surprise to Luke, he’d had his suspicions for a while now. The poor kid has far too much anger and self hatred to be struggling with anything less than an identity crisis… Christ, it was like looking into a fucking time travel mirror sometimes.

The patriarch of the Hardy-Piccoli manor trotted down the spiral steps and headed towards the kitchen, where his wife was no doubt sitting and angrily staring at the Chinese food menu. Hangrily staring at it, rather. When Luke entered the room, he made a show of widening his eyes, blowing out a puff of air in a mighty sigh, and slowly shaking his head from side to side. “Welp…” He started, trailing off as he leaned his head into the fridge to fetch a beer.

The fragrance of the kitchen wasn’t that of flowers, like most proper wives would make sure of. Though, there were some dried up in a vase, by the window sill. Dead sunflowers. Poetic, if anyone were to ask the boss lady. The smell was more of incense. A scent to go well with the gothic architecture, like a church. A place bound to give anyone a spiritual awakening. All intentional, of course. Life was sacred and so was their home.

This was their little piece of heaven and the woman of the household always had rhyme and reason behind the design. If you didn’t like it, this place wasn’t for you. Their home was a thematic art museum, horror and all hallow’s eve, and everything in between, where ninety nine percent of the furniture cost an arm and a leg. But what mattered was the look. Fuck the price. This was for morale. Regina liked having her home like this. She needed her home like this. Luke approved and made wife happy, even if the look on her face usually read: I will castrate you.

As mother dearest peered down at the menu in annoyance and silence, she swirled whiskey in a crystal glass with her right hand. Her predatory stare, dark and hungry, went from the menu to the man at the fridge. She didn’t say a word. She waited.

“Now listen close, ‘cause I’m only going to say this once.” Lucas said as he popped the cap off of his bottle of lager using an opener that was fastened to the side of the refrigerator. “You listenin’, you got your recording device out or whatever?’ He asked with a smirk and a raised brow before taking a swig of the brew in his hand.

“Fucking shit, spit it out already, Luke. You’re taking as long as it takes to get your dick up and that’s just sad.” Sin rolled her eyes before taking a swig of her drink. She was impatient and he knew that. He shows his age more and more each day.

“Agh, fuck off, you don’t even deserve it now…” Lucas shook his head at her and took another sip of beer before continuing. “...you were right.”

Oh. He was right. She should’ve recorded this shit. “About what exactly? I want to hear exactly what I’m right in. Please, Shortie, enlighten me.”

He replied first with an eye roll, and then shrugged. “Spawn’s got a crush.” Luke took a seat at the large, dark walnut dining table beside her and set his bottle on a coaster. “And apparently we missed the parenting memo to tell him that he needs to shut his door. I thought that was self explanatory, but…”

“Hey, maybe he likes the risk and the danger of being caught. Could be a hard turn on. We didn’t always close the door.” Sin teased, grabbing the menu and gesturing for him to take it. “I circled what I wanted, you decide what the boys should eat, or we’ll just order everything and share.”

Lucas raised an eyebrow and nodded. What she said made sense “Well shit, maybe we raised an exhibitionist… though, he looked pretty mortified. Who knew sexual deviancy was hereditary?” Luke smirked over the menu at her, little more than his ever expressive eyes peeking over the paper. “They’ll be down soon, once they’re done tongue boxing, I assume. I told him you were hungry, he knows the risk of every minute longer that he takes.”

“You know me so well.” Lucas’ wife said plainly.

Meanwhile, upstairs…

“You lied.” JD’s last words still hung heavy in the room following his father’s departure, which had come just as suddenly as he had arrived. What Dixon had meant by that, of course, was that Noah lied about like liking him. You don’t just kiss someone back… all desperate and hungry like that… and not like them, like them. Remembering the kiss, and the intensity of the moment that had just passed, JD put a finger to his lips as a plea for Noah to keep quiet about it. He wasn’t ready to face the full consequences of talking about it yet, of making it real like that… even if he wanted to do it again.

“... are you… okay?” Dixon asked after what seemed like entire minutes of silence. Noah looked stunned, he hadn’t lost that deer caught in headlights look since Lucas had first come into the room. JD even hazarded to take a step further towards the boy, which felt dangerous, given what close proximity between them had led to previously. But it was the tempting kind of danger, a little bit of thrill at the ‘what if’ of it all.

Was he okay? That was a very good question. If Noah was being completely honest, he wasn’t sure. Noah was staring vacantly through JD, trying to process everything that had just happened. His first kiss with a boy, hell, his first kiss, period, had just taken place, and it had left him aching for more. Why didn’t people do that all the time?

After a moment of contemplation, Noah’s mind returned to his body, snapping back to life. “I’m… great.” Noah smiled from behind a loose fringe of blond hair, eyeing JD with a newly discovered lust. He wanted to kiss him again, kiss him until someone forcibly pulled them apart, but he had neither the confidence for that, nor the time. “Your dad sounded hungry,” Noah continued, unsure how to traverse this unfamiliar territory. What do you say to the boy who just kissed you, the boy who you were pretty sure didn’t even like boys?

For a moment, JD was caught up in Noah’s thirsty gaze. He chewed at his lip rings, wondering what in the hell he was getting himself into here. Gods, what if Katie found out. Katie could not find out. But that was a discussion for later, when they aren’t both recovering from what just happened. “He’s not the bad one when he’s hungry, trust me.” Dixon toyed with his lip rings some more, out of a nervous habit. “Well, if you really are… great… then are you ready to meet the vampires?” He asked with a smirk.

Good lord, did he have to play with his lip rings like that? It was so… so… tempting. With a soft smile, Noah nodded, trying his best to ignore the lip rings, and the hair and the everything that made this boy so irresistible. He allowed JD to lead the way, his head down. He was about to go meet the parents of his first kiss, after one of said parents had walked right in on that first kiss. God, Katie was really starting to turn his life into a soap opera.

“Remember what I said about them.” JD began his second pep talk of the afternoon. Noah needed it. He could already tell by the submissive way that Noah had his head down that this was going to go so, so poorly. His parents were carnivores, and he accidentally brought the softest lamb to the slaughter. “They’re shit talkers, so, don’t take any of it personally, okay? Personal jabs are like… our love language, or whatever. If you feel weird, it probably means that they like you… or…” Or they were just having fun. “Something like that.” Dixon finished as the pair made their way down the steps and towards the kitchen.

Both of his parents were sitting at the table and Dixon eyed them each carefully. He had told them to be nice this morning, but that advice more than likely fell on deaf ears. “Hey,” JD greeted casually. “This is Noah. Don’t be rude.” His voice was confident and assertive, as he was raised to be. It was the only way to survive this place unscathed.

Lucas nodded and slid the menu their way. “Luke.” He said, introducing himself curtly. “Not Mr. Piccoli, that’s my old man. Just Luke.”

Noah’s eyes looked this man up and down, taking note of his many eccentricities, sketching him out in his head already. The same rebelliousness that had initially drawn Noah to JD was just as prevalent in his father, maybe even more so. Waving a hand, he looked at Luke, not so much at his eyes, but to the side, just ever so slightly breaking eye contact. His mom had been right. This was way easier. “I’m Noah. Nichols.” He realized too late that his last name was probably not necessary. Things were off to a great start.

Irritable, but still welcoming, Regina watched her son and his toy with a calcutive stare. To shatter the ice, rather than ease into greetings, the mother, who held her glass of whiskey close to her lips, her elbow resting on the counter, brought the glass of hard liquor towards Noah, “Whiskey?” The question lingered in the air, and her expression and tone didn’t hint if she was joking or not. After a pause, she introduced herself, “The name’s Old Hag. My sperm donor calls me that. You can too, or Sin, or Regina, or JD’s mama with the big bust. I don’t give a fuck. Capeesh?”

“Oh, uh, capeesh,” Noah said quickly, clearly intimidated by the brashness of JD’s family. He hadn’t realized how serious JD had been. He really was sure he’d just been overcompensating for having eccentric parents, but no, these people were more than eccentric. They were...revolutionary. He could tell, these were the types to rewrite every rule they didn’t like, the kind of people who didn’t just create, they remade. They were everything Noah wanted to be as an artist, and then some. Brave, interesting, wild. He was going to explode, surely, from the sheer whirlwind of emotions that were tearing apart his insides. Anxiety, confusion, admiration, and fear jumbled his internal organs into a mess. How was he possibly going to survive the night?

“Mommm, seriously?” Dixon asked in a groan. She was playing with his friend out of sheer enjoyment of watching him squirm. JD had asked them to behave, and they listened… not at ALL. He was a good son, he didn't deserve this. Dixon waved off her offering of whiskey to Noah, “no thanks, he doesn't handle alcohol well.” He turned his attention back to Noah now, smirking. “Do you?” He asked, remembering how the party had turned out earlier that week. How he had to take care of Noah. JD had done a piss poor job of it, but even still, it felt right — taking care of Noah.

After circling the things he wanted from the Chinese food menu, he pushed it towards Noah. “Pick what you like. Do you want something else to drink? We've got, like, a bit of everything.” JD asked as he got up from the table and walked towards the fridge to refill his own glass of juice.

“Isn’t that more of a reason to get him drunk!? You should build his tolerance up.” Was she a good mother? Probably not. “Then that opens the possibility of drinking games and… other things.” Her gaze went from Noah, then to her husband, as she recalled the questionable nights they had from drinking.

Abruptly, because that’s how Sin Hardy was, she pulled the menu away from the boys, “We’re just going to order everything.” They had the money, so why not. Chinese leftovers for days.

“Erm, water’s fine,” Noah said to JD, his eyes flitting around the room as his insides imploded. He could hardly handle conversations with the Callaghans, and they were boring compared to Lucas and Sin. Make it through dinner without embarrassing yourself and you’ll be good. How hard can that be? Noah’s eyes finally landed on Sin and Lucas, as he scratched the back of his neck. “I-uh-I really like the art you -erm- guys have up,” Noah said, taking his tentative first steps into the lion’s den of conversation.

Dixon, with his head hidden behind the safety of the open fridge door, was dying inside. ‘Other things’? Oh gods, she knew. Of course his mother knew. She was like a freaky psychic witch when it came to him. And if she knew, then this dinner conversation could end up getting a whole lot more awkward. Was it possible to rewind time and just… uninvite Noah over? No, it wasn’t, and truthfully, there were some things he didn’t want to rewind away. Putting on a neutral-faced mask, he returned from the kitchen counter with a glass of juice for himself, and water for Noah, before sitting down across from him at the table.

“Really?” Lucas responded to Noah with an eyebrow curiously raised. “Wife and I have a very… unique taste in decor, I’m surprised you like it.” Luke was judging a book by it’s cover a bit, given Noah’s very vanilla appearance. He didn’t seem the type to find interest in gothic art and architecture.

“Noah’s an artist.” JD explained on the other boy’s behalf.

“Ah, is that so?” The father remarked with a nod and sipped at his beer.

“Your dad’s a prat.” Grabbing the menu, Sin hopped off the chair. Pulling out her phone, she added, glancing over to Noah, “You got a callus on your middle finger. Not the fingertips like a guitarist.” So, by pure observation, Sin assumed this kid drew. And by observation, she assumed he was interesting. Why else would her son like him? Because he was vanilla? Absolutely not! It would be uncanny, unheard of, and unnatural, if this kid wasn’t different in some way. Different was good in the Hardy-Piccoli book. “I bet secretly you’re a freak.” She winked at the lamb, letting that feeling linger in the air for a second too long.

Sighing to herself, still famished, she decided it was time to get away for a moment to order food, “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m going to take care of this.” She waved the menu at them, and grinned, “If I don’t, you may end up missing your second head. And by you, I mean all of you. Luke, entertain them.” With that, the mother disappeared, walking out of the kitchen, heading toward the backyard.

Lucas shook his head as he watched his wife leave the room. Hate to see her go, but oh, to watch her leave. Actually, it wasn't that bad to see her go, either. He'd had just about enough of her hangry ass for the night. She'd pay for her constant insults later. The disgruntled father turned to face the kids now. Entertain them? What the fuck did he look like, a television? “I ain't really about small talk, kid. How about you tell me something interesting instead.” Luke said to Noah, both his eyes and his son's were on the Noah now, both awaiting his answer with different intentions.

The last place Noah needed to be right now, was on the spot. So of course, the universe, or some malignant deity that had taken a special interest in forcing Noah into uncomfortable situations. “Oh well, uh,” Noah stammered as he racked his suddenly empty brain for anything that would satisfy Lucas’ desire for ‘something interesting.’ “Did you know that Van Gogh painted Starry Night in an insane asylum? It’s supposed to be the view from his window,” Noah finally burst out, his eyes darting from Lucas, to his own fidgeting hands, and back to Lucas.

“Huh, no shit… I didn’t know that.” Luke said with an appreciative nod, clearly impressed with Noah’s fun fact. The Piccoli’s didn’t own a Van Gogh piece — they weren’t that fucking rich — but of course, they knew of his works. Who didn’t? “That’s not too surprising, though. Us creative types have always been colored as a bit crazy. I think that’s what makes us better at the arts.”

“Pfft, speak for yourself, old man. I’m not crazy.” Dixon retorted and crossed his arms over his chest in challenge.

“Oh yeah? Would Doc Thomas say the same?” Lucas fired back, quick as a whip. It was no mystery as to where JD got his spiciness from. “And thirty-six ain’t old, ya lil shit.”

Dixon rolled his eyes and uncrossed his arms before standing up from the table. “Whatever, that’s different from crazy crazy. And yes it is, especially in rockstar years. You’re like, ancient, dude. Soon enough you’ll be looking all… Mick Jagger.” JD smirked, pleased with the barb directed at his father. “I’m going to take Noah away from you people now. Let us know when dinner is here.” Dixon said before nodding at Noah to follow him out.

“Close your goddamn door this time, will ya?” Luke called out from behind them. Check and mate for Papa Piccoli on this particular verbal sparring match.

Noah breathed a sigh of relief and stood up to follow JD back to his room, blushing a bright shade of red at Luke’s final jab. He’d survived though, and that’s what counted. Hopefully, that meant more kissing.

[smarty0114]

_{Featuring Jamie Callaghan & Katie Callaghan
Location: Callaghan House}

---

---

As the lights in the Callaghan house went out, and Alison and Henry slipped into a much needed slumber, Katie tiptoed down the hall, to her older brother’s room. She’d been listening to his fight with their parents, but she’d waited till now to go get the full story from him. Her parents were on edge right now, and considering her own escapades, she saw no need to draw any attention to her. At Jamie’s door, she gently turned the knob, and pushed it open, slipping in and shutting the door behind her.

Jamie was lying on his bed, eyes focused on his ceiling. He turned his head slowly to see who had entered, and propped himself up on his elbows once he saw it was Katie. “Come to see the prisoner?” he joked, letting his head fall back into his pillows with a sigh. He’d been lost in a haze of thought since his fight with his parents, his mind jumping from annoyance, to anger, to self pity, to guilt, in an endless cycle that had him wishing he could text A Double and pick up something to shut his brain off.

Katie rolled her eyes, and climbed onto Jamie’s bed, laying down next to him and resting her head on his shoulder. They hadn’t had a talk like this in years, and that time it had been Jamie in Katie’s bed, and he’d been coming out to her. Now, it was Katie who had something to say. “Do you love Marshall?” she asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

Jamie looked down at her from the corner of his eye, his face scrunched into a visage of confusion. “Well, I mean, no. Not yet. I like him a lot, yeah, but… love isn’t something that comes in a week, I don’t think.” Jamie said.

“What about AJ? You loved him, right?”

Jamie sighed. He mulled it over for a moment, his mind replaying his relationship with AJ, the ups, the downs, and everything in between. “Yeah. I did. Once upon a time. Maybe I still do. Love is confusing like that. No matter how much shit happens, it’s hard to forget what you loved about someone.”

“How did you know? That you loved him, I mean.” Katie was sitting up now, staring at Jamie intently. Her face was steely, like it normally was when she was upset, but her eyes betrayed her to Jamie. She was nervous about something.

“I don’t know really. We’d been dating for a few months, and one night he told me he loved me, and I just knew.” A pang of guilt shot through him, as visions of AJ morphed into Marshall, lying below him in the grass. He pushed it away, and turned to look at Katie. This wasn’t about his confusion right now. “Why?”

Katie chewed her bottom lip, her eyes finding her lap for a moment and then looking back up at Jamie, a nervous smile spreading across her face. “I may or may not have slept with Scott. Lyon.” She studied Jamie’s stunned face for a moment, letting them sit in silence for a few moments before the overwhelming discomfort forced her to speak. “Say something, for fucks sake!” she hissed.

Jamie’s mouth remained agape, and when it did shut, he kept silent, carefully choosing his next words. Part of him wanted to go toe to toe with Scott Lyon right then, but another part of him recognized that his sister was her own person. As much as he wanted to protect her, there were certain things she’d have to go through, and this was one of those inevitable events. “Okaaaaay. Didn’t you hate him, like, two days ago?”

“Well that’s the thing. I did. And now I don’t. I think. I’m fucking confused, Jamie!” she said, falling back down next to her brother, her hands flinging into the air in defeat. “He is confusing and infuriating but he’s also sweet, and funny, and smart, and very nice to look at and his dick is-”

“I’m gonna stop you there, because I absolutely have no desire to talk about Scott Lyon’s dick,” Jamie said, a comment which sent both siblings into a fit of childish laughter. For a moment, the years melted away, and they were kids again, laughing together, blissfully unaware of the pains that the future would bring. Finally, when the laughter died, Jamie spoke up. “My advice is to stop freaking out. If he’s really all of these things, you don’t need to worry about love and shit like that. Just, go along with the ride, and if it’s meant to be, the rest will come.”

Katie smiled softly, a warmth flooding her veins. She knew what she wanted, clear as day. It had always been right there, just in front of her. “Thank you, Jamie.” she said. Her head stayed resting on his shoulder, and he reached up and gently patted her head, smiling inwardly.

“Anytime.”

[Hey Im Jordan]

_{Friday night
Collab with @TootsiePop}

There were some days, Evelyn left without telling anyone the reason why. All she would say was she was ‘going out’. Then she would drive almost two hours to visit Santa Barbara Cemetery Association and two hours back. This was the place where two of the most important people were buried. Right near her vineyard and a vacation home. A place her children can escape to if they needed to. Her mother, Cyndi Harding, who had been gone since she was twelve, having died from a drug overdose, and her manager, Silván Pearce, who passed away shortly after her youngest child’s baby shower. None of her fathers, who both were still alive, could compare to Silván. He was always there for her, even before grandfather Bellerose accepted her. His bastard child . He was always there during her rough times with the father that raised her. Van Harding. The man that treated her like a money making machine and not a child. A man sentenced behind bars until the day he dies for manslaughter. None of her children knew about Grandfather Harding and she would keep it that way.

Silván protected her and for that she would be forever grateful for him. Returning home, after being gone for hours now, Eve silently creaked the door open and glided into her humble abode, wondering what her family was up to. The family she was able to have, thanks to those two very important people in her life. Forever grateful, she was.

Emanating from the standard meeting room of the Green family — that is to say, the kitchen — Evelyn Green wasn’t greeted by the sound of her children being merry, nor the sounds of Henry and Min-seo swapping saliva, or even Parker playing with Jasmine the cat; all of which were becoming increasingly common noises in her home. Instead, Mrs. Green was met with a sound she’d heard far more often when she was younger.

“You need to fix this!”

“Me!? You jumped her ass! The fuck did I do, Lyssy!?”

“Do not call me that, under any circumstances!”

Evelyn was greeted to the noise of her wife and her baby daddy arguing in the kitchen. Just like old times.

Of course. Sighing deeply to herself, she dropped her purse on the chair in the lobby and made her way to the meeting room. On the trim of the door, the Mrs. of the Green household gently knocked, loud enough so both of her lovers could hear it. She stood under the archway, surveying the situation, before firmly speaking,
“What happened.” Not much of a question, more of a demand for someone to give her an explanation.

“This stupid idiot upset your daughter.” Alyssa said simply, pointing at Ty, who huffed and shot a look at Alyssa.

“It isn’t my fault! You said you wanted me to talk to her! I didn’t even know she was doing that stuff. I thought she just sort of… was normal at school.” Ty said defensively, folding his arms off of his chest, before Alyssa huffed. Alyssa, for her part, looked like she was two inches away from gouging Ty’s eyes out.

“Please tell your man that he’s a fool.” Alyssa hissed in response, turning her glare onto Evelyn.

Stepping in the room and crossing her arms, Eve hissed back, “You two need to stop. Now, explain. What ‘stuff’? Ty, since you brought it up, you tell me.”

Alyssa threw her hands up in the air, but she ultimately did allow Ty to speak. “Alyssa called me earlier, because she wanted me to talk to one of the kids, because I get along pretty well with the kids —” Ty was cut off by Alyssa tersely adding. “Except for Henry.” To which Ty conceded, “— Except for Henry. But anyway, I came to do that, and while I was trying to handle things, Alyssa got involved and it didn’t end pretty. So we’ve been arguing for the last like fifteen minutes about it… poor form. We haven’t argued in a while.”

“This doesn’t answer my question! What were you talking to Cyndi about?!” Oh my god. Could they get to the point? By process of elimination, the most sensitive child was Cyndi so it only made sense this was about her. “Is it about her birthday? Do I need to make changes? Is she getting bullied already? Do I need to get Xander to kill somebody?”

At this, both Ty and Alyssa furrowed their brow, taken somewhat off balance by what Evelyn had said. “What? Cyndi? No…” Alyssa didn’t get to say who it was, because Ty spoke up. “Hailey.” As if it was on cue, footsteps could be heard in the room, before they were joined by James, Hailey’s Butler.

“Well done. She’s damn near crying, which I’ve never seen before.”

“Okay. I’m done with you two. I’ll just find out from her.” Evelyn had to digest that the child who was crying wasn’t Cyndi. Rarely did Hailey need comfort. Not like when she was little. It seemed like the past was definitely creeping up with the mother of three today. Not listening to anything more her lovers had to say, she looked at James, “Bedroom?”

“Yes. But I’d personally just leave her be. She’s upset.” Butler gave his advice, but ultimately knew that he couldn’t stop Evelyn from doing what she wanted to. The three people standing there signed the checks, after all.

“Well… I can at least arm you with some good news before you go?” Eve was upset, but it made sense — she wasn’t getting a straight answer. The option of Eve being the one to talk to Hailey was a good one… it meant that Hailey wouldn’t be talking to himself and Alyssa, the two people who upset her.

“What is it, Ty?” Evelyn’s face was visibly fed up, as she looked over her shoulder to glare at the father of her children. Her child was crying and she wasn’t there yet to make her feel better. What was this good news he had to tell her? Was it that important?

“Hailey’s kind of having a breakdown. She’s just overwhelmed. She likes structure, you know that about as well as I do. The video store she and I have been renting movies from for movie night since she was a baby is closing down. So she was a little stressed when she rolled in. ...well, that’s downplaying it… she was freaking out. But like the way Alyssa does. Coldly.” Ty offered a… slightly more detailed explanation, before giving her the good news. “Anyway… the point is, Alyssa bought the store. So it isn’t going out of business anytime soon.”

“Well, I’m in the process.”

“Duly noted. Thank you.” If all else fails, Eve had that to fall on, but first she needed to see if it was just that or if there was more to the issue. Henry got punished at school — who’s to think Hailey didn’t have something else going on too? Not her. She was positive her children were having their own adventures, but she also knew Hailey was good at taking care of herself, so perhaps it was only about the movie store.

Well, she wasn’t going to find out anything by staying here with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Silently, Evelyn made her leave, with no dismissal. Gracefully, she made her way to her daughter’s room. Eve had a way when she walked through the halls. She was the type of person who could go unnoticed in plain sight. Too quiet for anyone to hear. With the knuckles of her right hand, she tapped on the door, “Hailey.” and waited for her eldest child’s to respond.

At first, there was no response. Another mystery, and another oddity for the night; Hailey was never slow to respond, but it was nonetheless delayed. “What. Do you want?” The reply came through the door, and it certainly wasn’t an invitation for Evelyn to step inside, and the venom hanging off of each word showed the story clear enough. Hailey Green-Locke was in a mood.

“To talk to you. Please, can I come in? If not, we can talk like this. I don’t mind.” Motherly Eve was vastly different than her teen self, years ago. She was much more warmer, softer, and kinder. Someone had to be, with a family like her’s. “I just want to make things better. I know how your other parents can be and honestly if you weren’t angry at your father, he’d probably make you feel better faster than I could, but you know they mean well.” Evelyn was talking to a door. Quite literally.

Truth be told, Hailey was still furious. She was furious with all of her parents, and though Evelyn hadn’t been there for the fireworks, Hailey was mad at her all the same. Still, she couldn’t deny Evelyn most likely wanted to help. There was the sound of a lock twisting and turning, before the door came open, and Hailey stood before her Mom. Hailey’s eyes were puffy and red, and as she spoke slowly and carefully — with much less venom than when she’d initially spoken to Evelyn, her voice cracked ever so slightly, revealing how closely on the edge of crying she was teetering.

“Do you… think… Daddy hates me?”

“W-what?” Evelyn was legitimately confused at this question. “Your father doesn’t hate, especially not you.” First child. First daughter. Hailey had a lot of boxes checked off to be in Ty’s favor. He could get upset, sure, mostly disappointed, but he couldn’t hate. Not even a fly. Even if he tried. Brushing her eldest child’s cheek gently, feeling how wet it was, Eve shook her head, “Why do you think he hates you?” The most ill informed parent’s reward goes to Evelyn Green! She knew more about Henry’s rep at school than any of her other children’s.

“I yelled at him. And Mother, too. A lot. They’re upset at me, because of what happened at school. I got angry.” Hailey admittedly, numbly knocking Evelyn’s hand away from her face as she stepped into the bedroom, sitting down on the bed. On the TV, an anime opening was playing, and Hailey snapped her fingers to mute the TV, “they’re upset about something that happened at school. I was — am — upset about all the pressure on my shoulders. I cracked. I snapped. I’m not good enough to be a Locke, let alone a Green.”

Cautiously, Evelyn stepped into the bedroom and tilted her head, “What happened at school? I only get calls for your brother, not you.” At this news, the bafflement on the mother’s face was clearly visible, “Do you need a tutor? That can be easily arranged.”

“Of course not. Are you joking? I’m one of the smartest people there. I mean emotional, Mom.” Hailey scoffed after Evelyn’s words, a brief show that the normal Hailey was still there. As she sighed and prepared to talk about the problems she was having, her mask shattered again. “I made Ophelia break Trixie and Owen up, following some unimportant ‘politics’ at the school. Daddy thinks that I’m not living up to his teachings, so to speak.”

Ah. So that’s what it was. Not responding immediately, Evelyn made her way to the bed and took a seat next to Hailey. “It seems…” How should she word this? For once, Eve felt like she was walking on eggshells with Hails. “...like you’re acting more like me, and your mother, than your father. Ty… he was, still is, very loving, but extremely misunderstood. May it be because of his accent or because of his brashness. As for Alyssa? She ran the place, still does, with total disregard for anyone that was no one to her, and me? I could care less. I pushed people away. I was cold. Your father, though? He somehow was able to unite very unlikely individuals together. Without him, your aunt, Amie, would’ve never gotten with your uncle. It's the little things like that… that really make your father a remarkable man. I think, he’s just…” She paused, trying to think of the word that best fits what her baby’s daddy was going through, “Disappointed. But, he could never hate you. I can promise you, when you walk for graduation, he’ll be crying like a baby.”

“That’s worse! Don’t you understand!? I have lived my whole life trying to never disappoint any of you. I live for my parents — especially Daddy! My disappointing him makes me sick.” Hailey snatched the remote off of her bedside table, and hurled it across the room like a spear, toward the wall. Rather than shatter, it stuck in the wall with a huge hole and Hailey rolled over, burying her face in a tear stained pillow and screaming. Lifting her head up, she spun back around to look at Eve. “I can’t disappoint him. I’m supposed to be his favorite.” She was close to blubbering again.

“It happens, Hailey. I’ve even disappointed your father and I can agree when you disappoint Ty it really messes you up.” Turning her body, Eve decided to lay beside her child. Instead of addressing how to fix it, she simply said, “Come here.” A gesture for her daughter to go into her arms.

Hailey let out a noise that was certainly negative to say the least. She grumbled and moved closer to Evelyn and shook her head, “Yes, yes it does. I don’t even know what to do… what if he never forgives me? I’m scared, I’m not sure I’m going to do, I have to go and deal with Trixie and Ophelia and Owen and all of that mess, and I just want to sit in my room and watch anime and pout in my bed!”

“If he was that upset with you, he wouldn’t have went out of his way to convince your mother to buy Vidiots.” Smiling to herself, loving the small gestures her daughter gave her, even if reluctantly, Evelyn comfortingly cooed, “It’ll all fall into place. It’s a mess. Yes. But nothing that can’t mend over time. You’re stronger than I ever was your age. And I promise you, your father will love you forever.”

“You don’t know that. No one knows anything.” Hailey said in a voice so bitter it might as well have punched Evelyn in the face. She was upset, she was tilted. She was a million and one emotions at once, she didn’t even know what to do, let alone what to say. “Me, Ophelia, and Trixie were supposed to be forever, and now that’s gone because of me, so what’s next? Daddy? You? Mother? Auntie Amie?”

Sighing heavily, feeling Hailey’s words go straight to the heart, Eve kept a cool head on her shoulders. She would play her piano later, to ease the pain. It wasn’t easy being a mother. “I do know things blow over. Why do you think we don’t know anything? I almost lost both your father and mother, at one point in time. It’s hard to say how anyone will react or feel, but you shouldn’t assume how they feel. That isn’t right on them. If you want to know how your father feels, find time to talk to him alone. Same goes for everyone else. Trixie. Ophelia. Your mother. I don’t know what issues you have with my sister, but her too.” Eve wanted to kiss her daughter’s forehead, but she refrained from being affectionate. It didn’t seem right. Her daughter didn’t want to be touched. “Right now, no words I will say will make you feel better. So, tell me whatever. Yell at me. Cry. Scream. That’s what I’m here for.”

Hailey’s response didn’t come in words. Instead, she let out a long breath, and moved closer to Evelyn, placing her face in Eve’s chest. Without another word, Hailey let the angry tears begin to flow.

[smarty0114]

_{A @smarty0114 & @Hey Im Jordan collab
Featuring: A Double Bishop & Quincy Hart
Location: Captain Cuddles}

---

---

In a perfect world, A Double would be cramming pizza into his mouth, but this wasn’t a perfect world, and his girlfriend had bigger concerns. He didn’t exactly have a choice; he’d learned like three days ago, that this whole thing was just going to go better if he did what she wanted. So, here he was, standing next to Q while she was hitting button on an arcade cabinet. She was almost five dollars worth of quarters into it, and A Double had at least one thing going for him: pizza buffet.

“Are you gonna need more quarters soon?” He asked, with a mouthful of delicious, gooey, greasy, cheesy, cheese filled crust meat lover’s pizza. At least he had pizza to make himself happy… not that Q was making him unhappy, it was just… she was so competitive. “I can get you some more. And some more pizza.” The reality was he was just using Q’s buffet plate to fit more pizza and cheesy bread sticks on.

A Double’s voice broke through the din of clicking buttons and distant shouts, bringing Quincy out of her Time Crisis zone. Her plastic gun still leveled at the screen she looked over at A Double for just a moment, but that moment was long enough to leave her open to an enemy shot. The “Game Over” screen flashed, and the young stoner muttered a curse. Sighing, her gaze returned to her boyfriend - she still couldn’t quite believe she could say that - and his very cute, very kissable face. “Yeah, more quarters. And I need another root beer float,” she said, wrapping an arm around A Double’s waist and heading towards the change dispenser.

The issue of the night was this: Q prided herself on two things in this world, her smoking skills, and her Time Crisis high score. It was an objective fact that she would never be able to smoke out A Double or Wyatt, so she held that Time Crisis score close to her heart. Except, it was not the high score anymore. In fact, it wasn’t even the second highest. Some game ninja had come along in the night, and beaten her score, not once, but twice. KIT, whoever that was, would be beaten. She hoped. The truth was, she’d yet to come close. Q was good, she’d practically lived at Captain Cuddles the past year or so, but this KIT person seemed to survive on Mountain Dew and video games, because no one else could possibly get a score that high. It baffled the blonde, but she was not about to give up. “Do you think I’d be better, or worse if I went outside and smoked a joint?”

“Better. Always better.” A Double said, sliding an arm around her shoulder as they moved toward the change dispenser. There were two reasons he gave that answer: reason one, he wanted to smoke a joint. Reason two… well, everyone played better when they were high! That was just like, a scientific fact. “Are you getting close? Her scores are pretty high, dude… It’s crazy. I can’t believe some random person just shattered your scores… She’s probably pretty cool, don’t you think? Or do we hate her? I can’t tell what we’re supposed to do…”

“Not even close,” Q said, scowling as she fed a five into the change dispenser. Twenty quarters fell out of the machine into a metal cup, jangling with the sound of money and hope for a win. “I haven’t decided if I hate her or respect the fuck out of her. It’s very confusing. I don’t lose often,” Q replied. She shoved the quarters into the pocket of her jacket, and when she pulled her hand back out, a joint was resting between her fingers. She held it up to A Double, and headed for the door, pushing out into the chilly LA air.

Outside of Captain Cuddles, cars crawled by, and the honking horns of LA traffic came from all directions, near and far. She turned down an alley to the right, where people young and old were posted up against the walls. The smell of cigarettes and weed was in the air, and Q fished out a lighter to add to it. Quincy lit the joint deftly, and took a hit off it before passing it to A Double. “If I can’t beat that score, my career as a gamer is done. I’ll have to retire. This could be the end of an era, babe.”

As A Double took it, he nodded as he held it up to his lips, holding in the smoke, he spoke. “Nah, it’s okay. You just gotta like…” A Double let the smoke pour from his lungs as he thought about how to phrase his next words. He didn’t want to come off like an asshole, especially not to Quincy, who was definitely fragile… A Double had to be careful! Women were hard, that much was true... he and Wyatt were both finding that out, in their own adventures. “What if you met her, right, and then you guys got the sickest co-op high score?”

A Double was treading lightly. He had to do his best, and make sure that he didn’t pick a fight… “Because like, that would be awesome. If you guys are both this dope at the game, think about what would happen if you combined your skills! It’d be like in Dragon Ball Z when Goku and Vegeta put on the Potara earrings and became one super powerful entity!” A Double hit the blunt again before he passed it back over to Quincy, all smiles once more. “I think that’d be great…”

Quincy inhaled, and held for a moment, mulling over A Double’s suggestion. Co-op high score? That could be something. Leave it to A Double to find the positive in this situation. Taking another hit, Quincy passed the joint back, smiling. “Have I ever told you that you’re like, the nicest person I know?” she asked, leaning into him as the calming effects of the marijuana worked its way through her body.

A Double frowned, confusion apparent on his face. He wasn’t sure where that had come from, or what he had done to deserve such nice praise, but he was at least smart enough to not complain about it. Compliments were compliments, and compliments meant so much more when they came from someone you loved! A Double just smiled and leaned back into her, stealing a kiss on her cheek. “See? Now we just have to figure out how to find her! Maybe we can like… lure her with Doritos? Do you think she likes Doritos?”

Quincy laughed. “Who doesn’t like Doritos? The real question is Nacho Cheese, or Cool Ranch? What if she’s a Spicy Nacho kinda girl?” Quincy plucked the joint from him and inhaled before passing it back. A wave of inspiration flowed over her and her face lit up with an idea. “What if we hold like a tournament at Burntown or something? If she’s that good, there’s no way she could resist, and if she doesn’t show, then how cool can she be? We could bring out a TV, hook up Mortal Kombat or something. I think my mom’s probably got a generator we could borrow.”

“Whoa… that could be cool! I have a PS4 we could use, but I don’t have, like Mortal Kombat… I only got Tekken 7, do you think that would work? I got all the DLC, though!” A Double seemed proud of himself for that fact, though the reality was he just had his mother’s credit card and he’d used it to buy a couple of fighters in Tekken. “I even have a T.V. we can use! It’s not the best, but it’ll work. I bet that could work…”

“Even better!”

He leaned back and tapped his chin, thinking to himself. “I mean, that just leaves one thing… what’s the prize?”

“Easy. We smoke ‘em out, and buy them tacos. What more could a person want?” Q replied nonchalantly. Hanging out with them, smoking their weed, and getting tacos? Really, what else could somebody ask for?

[Fabricant451]

_{Hailana
Saturday evening, before the Green Family dinner}

---

“I don’t even want to do this anymore.”

Hailey sounded as bitter as she felt, and she glanced over at Hana from her seat her desk. Hailey herself was scrolling through Crunchyroll, bitter and annoyed. The idea of a family dinner was not appealing to her, not anymore. She had explained what had happened with her parents to Hana very vaguely, calling it a ‘spat,’ and now Hana had to sit there and endure the fallout.

“But I have no choice, because I gave my word. I already told them I would, so even though I’m practically feuding with my Mother, I have to go attend this family dinner with all of the kids’s S.O.’s, because I thought that would be sooo sweet.” Hailey’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she flipped her hair and looked back at her computer screen. Everyone made mistakes, even her. This was just proof of that. “I cannot believe I have to attend this now. I’m not even in the mood for this. You’ll have to meet my parents, I hope you’re prepared. They’re not all as easy as my father can be.” All three of her parents were going to be difficult tonight, that much she was sure about.

To say that Hailey Green came with complications was as much an understatement as saying Hana knew a thing or two about drug dealing. The difference was that while Hana had opted to stop dealing drugs, Hailey still had the complications of family matters to concern herself with. When people spoke in hushed tones about what a mistake Hana was making by dating the Hailey Green, she was able and willing to simply disregard them or state it as the cries of the jealous. But even with the knowledge that she wasn’t tricked into a relationship, that they were actually dating and a good pair, that still didn’t exactly prepare her for the bombshell that was meeting the parents. Of course part of any relationship involves meeting the parents only the meeting tends to not be in a group scenario and most people tend to only have the two parent household. It was bad enough that Hana’s boss was Hailey’s father - but now not only did she have that, she had the other two parents plus others there. Her only course was to hope Henry or whoever took the heat off and did something incredibly stupid while Hana focused on her mashed potatoes.

“I thought I was supposed to be the nervous one.” Hana could see how stressed out Hailey was which was certainly unusual to the point that even Hana could tell something was off. She didn’t have to be dating Hailey long to pick up on certain cues and tells, that or Hana was just a really attentive girlfriend and a good listener. “If it makes you feel any better, no matter what happens tonight it’s still bound to be better than what would happen if you met my parents. They’d probably die if they knew I was...you know...not...normal.” Those were their words, not Hana’s.

Hana slid off the bed where she had been idly reading a magazine and came behind Hailey, placing her chin on Hailey’s shoulder. “I’ll be next to you the whole time, okay? It’s going to be fine. The worst thing that’s gonna happen is….I dunno...a burnt vegetable or something.” Hana couldn’t say those things for certainty, but if she had to play the picker upper, she would do her best, though she kept herself from the simple act of giving Hailey a reassuring kiss on the cheek. Maybe she should’ve. “We should watch that Darling show, it’s got robots in it. You like those, yeah?” If she could get Hailey to focus instead on her anime, that would be a step in the right direction.

Hailey sighed. She couldn’t fault Hana for trying, and she appreciated it, nuzzling back against Hana’s cheek slightly. It wasn’t Hana’s fault, and Hailey may have been a sadist, but she was at least fair. She wasn’t going to take it out on Hana, no matter what — it wouldn’t be fair to either party. She hovered over Darling, before shaking her head, “I’ve already seen Darling, like seriously three times. If I’m just scrolling through, I’m probably going to just watch Gundam Wing again.. It’s like, The Office for me.” Hailey truly wasn’t up to her normal standards, that much was obvious from the way she was speaking. It didn’t carry the same… regal elegance that Hailey tended to speak with.

Hailey ran a hand through her hair, and then her hand found Hana’s, twisting and moving it around until their fingers were locked together. Loosely holding Hana’s hand, Hailey turned to look at her girlfriend, the light of her life and sighed. “I’m sorry, I just… I haven’t fought with my parents since… really? I’ve never fought with them, and it’s just kind of… shattered my psyche, I guess? I’m a little upset.” The truth will set you free, and Hailey had a small smile after saying that aloud. At least she was finally being honest with herself. “And I’m worried that with me… shaken so to speak, and unable to control the situation… your meeting my parents might go a little… less than hoped for.”

Though they hadn’t been a couple for an especially long time, Hana was still not used to seeing Hailey in this light. This almost vulnerable, human light. So much of what Hana knew about Hailey was more along the lines of what she thought she knew about Hailey. The rumors from classmates. The belief that she had it all figured out, that she was more than human, it was easy to buy into it. Even still, knowing that Hailey liked watching old Gundam episodes - something Hana would never have even guessed - was initially a shock and yet...it felt to wonderfully on brand. In the short time they’d been together, Hailey had let Hana in with a glance, but here it was like Hana was truly being trusted with the Hailey that couldn’t be seen in public.

It was no wonder Hana was quick to tighten her hold on Hailey’s hand, like a firm squeeze meant to comfort and show affection in equal parts.

“You know, when I told my sister that I work for my girlfriend’s dad, she told me it was probably a bad sign that I wasn’t fired. She was joking, of course, but parents aren’t really supposed to like whoever their children are dating, especially in high school. It’s like...parent law.” Hana had never had to be this sort of person, the reassuring girlfriend, the tender emotional woman. Not even a month go she was cold and distant and her greatest fear was people discovering the cool, disaffected drug dealer was actually a nerd who wrote smutty fanfiction and played World of Warcraft. And that part of her had only come more to the forefront thanks to Hailey, another part of her life that, a month ago, she’d never even entertained the notion of being possible. Hana didn’t expect to be dragged out of the closet by being paraded and publicly identified as Hailey’s girlfriend (or ‘toy’ as some naysayers mentioned) nor did she particularly want to crawl back in to how she was before that.

So she would absolutely do whatever she could to maintain her relationship and to boost Hailey’s spirits. It seemed only fair.

“Maybe...don’t try to control the situation? If you could like me for some reason I’m still not sure...then surely your parents can see whatever it is you saw in me too? And honestly? If they approve of me I’d probably be suspicious anyway. It’s okay not to call all the shots for a change. Maybe...maybe it’s better if I show your parents that I’m a good fit instead of you telling them. Trust me...we’ll survive an awkward dinner.” Hana rolled her thumb over Hailey’s knuckles. “Do you wanna calm down with a makeout because I will take on that burden.”

Hana was doing her best, and to be honest, it was working its magic on Hailey. Maybe this was the power of love, maybe Hailey’s father had been onto something. Maybe, just maybe, Hana could push Hailey to be a better person. From the light touches of the other girl, to the words that she was saying — words that Hailey knew Hana was almost certainly having a mental scramble to find… It was comforting. It was all Hailey needed, and all she wanted. Maybe Hana was right, maybe Hailey could relinquish control, just for one night, and it might… it just might go well.

She could do that, or she could at least try. No petty squabbles with her brother, no attempts to throw her younger sister off… just focusing on herself, her girlfriend, and her family as a whole. That was doable! She could surely do that, just this once. Hailey let out a content noise, and smiled again, this time a full one. “Well… I don’t know that I need to destress anymore, but, I wouldn’t say no to making out.”

In truth, it might have been a bit selfish but Hana was hoping Hailey wouldn’t say no to such a request. Whether or not it was even actually good for stress relief, sometimes it was nice to at least have that confirmation that yes, someone did have your back - or in this specific case your front, right around the general mouth area. Whatever happened at dinner, it was important for both of them to know that part of being in a relationship meant supporting each other, and tonight that was Hana’s responsibility. Her girlfriend was stressed out and it became Hana’s job to figure out why and how she could fix that. It just so happened that a little pep talk and a little heavy petting probably did the trick.

“I wouldn’t either. Besides, nothing against whatever chef cooked up dinner but I guarantee nothing tonight will taste as good as your lips.” Was it cheesy? Absolutely. But as far as Hana was aware, neither of them were lactose intolerant.

[Grimoire Gaming]

_{A @smarty0114 & @GhostMami Collab
Featuring: JD & Noah
Location: The Hardy-Piccoli Manor}

---

---

JD winced at his father’s words, spoken behind his back as he walked away. That whole interaction made his stomach hurt. Jesus, fuck, why did they have to be like that? How did they BOTH find out right away… it’s not like this was Dixon’s intention. He didn’t plan to kiss Noah until it was already happening, so how in the fuck did the universe find it fitting to have both of his parents know already? JD stole a glance backwards to see if his new friend had taken the out he had offered and if he was following along.

He was. Good. JD breathed a sigh of relief. Out of the viper’s pit and into the fire. Speaking of… what were they supposed to do now? He’d saved the lamb from the slaughter, but he couldn’t take him back to his room after what happened the last time… could he? No... Maybe. “Ermm…” The mental conflict made itself known by the uncomfortable noise that JD made. Shit, quick recovery time. “So… what’d you think?” Oof, did he want to know the answer to that? It was just the first thing that came to mind. “You did, uh, good.” He was aimlessly walking down the hallway at this point, avoiding the staircase leading to the floor where his room is.

“Oh, uh, thank you,” Noah said, nervous laughter slipping past his lips. JD standing before him, his green hair bright as ever, sent Noah’s stomach tumbling over itself. His hand found the back of his neck, where he rubbed the skin there in an attempt to distract himself from the absurd amount of awkward he’d gotten himself into. “You’re parents are like, really cool. They remind me of my uncle. He’s kinda crazy like that too,” Noah said, glancing up at JD’s eyes. His face went red when he realized what he’d said, and he quickly went to correct himself, his words catching as he stammered through them. “Well, like, not crazy. Just, different. They don’t ride the same wavelength that everybody else does.”

Dixon turned back to face Noah as he spoke. The nervous expression and fierce blush on his face softened JD’s own anxieties. Noah wasn’t judging them, he was terrified, and it was kind of cute. JD smiled, “Nah, you were right the first time, they’re kinda crazy.” He hoped that was as reassuring as it was meant to be. “They def don’t ride the same wavelength as everyone else… none of us do.” It would be a lie and a disservice to not include himself among their ranks. The apple didn’t fall far from the trees and all that. “But you don’t either, do you?” He didn’t, and that’s what JD liked about him. Noah was weird too.

Noah laughed. No, he definitely didn’t ride the same wavelength as everyone else. “No, I don’t think I do,” he said, smiling. It was simultaneously strange, and exhilarating to be around someone who got him like that. Katie was crazy in her own way, but at the end of the day, she was still Katie Callaghan. She was captivating and cool, and she could never really grasp what it was like to be him. JD though, for the first time ever, made him feel like there was someone else who understood what it was like to be a freak.

“So like, about earlier…” Noah trailed off but his meaning was clear. What the hell had that kiss meant? Did JD like him? Were they just friends with benefits now? Or was it something more? Possibilities ran through his head, chasing each other like a dog chases its tail. Where could this go? Where did he even want it to go?

“Good.” JD had responded when Noah agreed with the wavelength sentiment. The next thing he said, however, brought forth a sharp intake of air from the emo. Ah, there it was, the question of the hour. What about earlier? How was he supposed to respond to that? How could he explain why he jumped down the kid’s throat just because he had his hands in his hair. JD didn’t understand it himself, really. Feeling a bit like an animal backed into a corner, he responded quickly and harshly. “What about it?” Oh, yikes… that was unintentionally mean. Dixon cleared his throat uncomfortably and tried that again with a softer tone. “What… about it?”

Noah stared at JD, chewing his lip. What would Katie do, what would Katie do? Probably be straightforward. Katie was always straightforward, while Noah was always beating around the bush. He wished for a moment that he was a turtle. Turtles could just go into their shell when shit got weird, but he was a human, and humans very unfortunately did not have shells. “Nothing. It was just… I liked it.” Noah’s eyes found his shoes, his courage spent by that sentence. It was as if he was teetering on the edge of a cliff, trying desperately not to fall off into the abyss that was, “JD thinks I’m a freaking weirdo.”

“Good.” JD replied again simply, his tone far more neutral now. In all of his internal ramblings, he had never once considered if Noah liked being kissed. He just assumed that he had, clearly through confidence inherited from his revolutionary parents. Dixon watched the other boys reactions, his ever-permanent blush, the submissive way he stared at his shoes. It awakened that almost predatory lust he had felt earlier and, acting on impulse, he leaned forward and forced Noah’s face back upward with another kiss. JD kissed him until he backed Noah up against a wall and then stopped with a smirk. “Good. You’ll be my dirty little secret then. ‘Cept from them…” JD nodded towards the direction of the kitchen. “They already know. Mom’s a psychic witch and dad… well, you know.”

Noah grinned, despite the awkward memory of their interrupted kiss. He didn’t care that he was JD’s dirty little secret. At least he was his. He leaned forward, his lips interlocking with JD’s again because wow, he’d only been kissed twice but it was really starting to grow on him. It was as if everything before had been black and white, and now, colors were bursting from the seams, colors he hadn’t even known existed. It was electric and explosive and in every way, magical. Pulling away, his lips curled into a smile. “I like that. A lot.”

“Not even Katie, promise?” The smoldering way that JD looked at him through his eyelashes as he asked that was nothing short of manipulative. But it had to be. “I don’t like people knowing my business, or anything about me really, and we both know she’s got a big mouth.” More than just that, JD was not prepared for the world (see also: BHHS) to know about his… confused sexuality. “You’ll only get more if you can keep it a secret.”

How could he say no, when JD was looking at him like that? Did he want to tell Katie? His brain thought he did, but other parts of him were not so certain and those other parts were currently leading the charge. “Okay. Promise,” Noah said. For the first time in what felt like forever, he had something that made him really and truly happy. He wasn’t about to throw it away. Suddenly, every stupid romantic comedy he’d watched with Katie made sense. With JD standing in front of him, looking like that, he was pretty sure he’d jump in front of a train for the green haired musician.

This response pleased him. JD smiled, “Good boy.” he said as he turned to keep walking. This was going to be okay, sneaking around and enjoying each others company. Neither of them were very popular, they could keep things quiet and under the radar. This was… good. Very good. “C’mon, I’ll show you the rest of the house before dinner comes.”

[LovelyComplex]

_{Friday, nearing dusk.
Collab with @Hey Im Jordan}

Their food had just arrived, but Damian never wanted to leave a place more than he wanted to leave this one, right now. He had never found himself made more uncomfortable, more embarrassed, than he was right then and there. For fuck’s sake, his dad had just revealed that he carried Plan B around in his backpack, like he was some kind of trogoldyte. He wanted to eat though, and there was still delicious milkshake! He eyed the table, watching as Ender picked up the cream soda and finally took his first, drawn out, delicious sip.

Damian needed an out, and luckily he had one. He just needed Joy’s help. He glanced at his girlfriend, and then at his watch. Would it work? He hoped it would. He wanted out, he wanted to go anywhere else on the planet. Anywhere else in this, or any other galaxy! He realized they only had one good weapon against their parents: stealth. Pulling his phone out and glancing at it under the table, Damian quickly typed out a message to his girlfriend:

To: Joy
hey… wanna go somewhere else??
jk i know u do
follow my lead

With that text sent, Damian looked up at the gathering of parents, and cleared his throat. “Hey, Joy and I should actually take off… she just got a text from Jericho. They need a babysitter, ASAP. Amie just got a call for some really important meeting, and they both need to be there. Tragic, I know, but we can do this some other time.” Lying came so easy to him. Oh man, was that a bad thing?

And as if on cue, Jude’s phone rang with Amity’s ringtone, which was her and JJ’s love song. Uptown Funk. They even performed it at their wedding. Joy wasn’t a simple thinker, she knew to get past her parents, especially the analyzer, her mother, she had to make the lie believable. She had signal words she could text her uncle and then it was only a matter of time. The word she sent was: Platypus, which meant call with a babysitting lie. Jude couldn’t help but narrow her eyes at the children. Digging in her purse, she grabbed her phone and answered it, placing it by her ear, “Amie… hello.”

“Hey is this a bad time?! Oh my god, I need to run out and there’s no one to watch my baby! Is Joy free? If not, I guess I can reach out to my sister and see if my nieces or nephew may want to. But no one knows Tyty like Joy does. All his allergies and his particular mood swings. Joy is absolutely the best. I’ll DO ANYTHING IF YOU LET HER BE MY SAVIOR!”

Amity was talking loud enough for the people around Jude to hear. There was a strained look on the Darling’s face. Oddly perfect timing. Suspicious. Her dark gaze went from Damian’s face then to Joy’s, before she simply responded, “It’s her choice.” which was a short version of ‘yes’.

“Thanks so much! We need to have a barbeque or something soon. I miss youuuu! Love you, Juju. I’m out. Byeeeeee.” Click.

“So yeah… we’re just gonna’ get going.” Joy hated to leave her food and milkshake behind, but they could pick something up on the way to wherever. It wasn’t a big deal. “Could you get this to go? I’d love to have it when I get back home!”

“You’re leaving already!?” Melody pouted. They didn’t even get to the juicy stories yet. How upsetting! Just when she felt like her and her son were making up for the past week. He already wants to LEAVE her!

Damian nodded his agreement and looked at his parents, gesturing for them to get out of the way. This was the perfect plot, there was no way this was going to backfire. He was going to have to give Joy his compliments later, and as Connor slid out of the way and pulled Melody out after him so that Damian and Joy could escape, Damian looked at his girlfriend and shook his head, “it’s fine, we can just box it up ourselves. I’m sure the little guy would love some snacks.” He explained grabbing her plate and his and balancing them in his hands as he gestured for her to follow.

Connor looked at his son and shook his head. Damian really was a chip off the old block, wasn’t he? Damian had never thought much of the ‘apple never falls far from the tree’ saying before, but Connor had run all these tricks himself when he was younger. He knew what Damian was doing, but he was honorbound by an agreement he had with his son to not say a word. Better that Damian keep calling when he’s drunk, rather than suddenly not trust his father anymore and get a DUI like that Henry kid. “Have fun babysitting, my bro.” He said in a sarcastic voice, prompting Damian to nod.

“Oh yeah, totally. Hey, baby, can you grab our drinks?” Damian was already headed toward the counter where they had the little boxes. Mentally, Damian O’Connor was checked out of this ‘lunch date’ with their parents.

“Yeah, sure.” With ease, Joy grabbed their mostly drank milkshake and the second one that Mandy brought out because Joy didn’t get any of the first one. Her eyes rested on her father, as she gave him a loving, cheesy grin, “Let’s go paintball soon. Parents versus kids. Doesn’t the sound awesome?” She was standing now and looking at the group that she considered her everything. Her parents and her godparents. She didn’t like telling white lies, but they were necessary for her to have a good time. Plus, her father and mother could use a night with Connor and Melody. They could use a drink and time to relax. “I love you guys.” As if a newfound confidence washed over her, she beamed at all of them before walking away, going to her boyfriend’s side.

They were almost home free, Damian was stuffing their food into the to go boxes, when he heard his godfather’s voice and he turned around to look back at Ender. “Be.” Ender was speaking through gritted teeth, with all the teeth grinding he was doing since those two got together, he was going to need braces in no time. “Careful. Just. Be careful.” He said, picking up his cream soda with a white knuckle grip, which Damian eyed with some degree of concern — was he going to shatter the glass? — before he lifted it up to his mouth and drank from it. Damian nodded slowly.

“Uh, yeah, of course…” He said, closing up the boxes and leading Joy outside. While they exited, Melody took charge and happily laughed, “Sooooo we have so much we need to catch up on! MANDY CAN WE HAVE ALCOHOL IN OUR SHAKES?!” Once they were safely locked into his car, he looked at her and grinned. “Smooth! Good job, I couldn’t handle another ‘story’ from them… I would have lost my goddamn mind.” He started the car and they pulled away from the Sunshine Diner and their parents, and toward freedom.

Wide-eyed, finally with space to breathe, Joy stared ahead, with a large styrofoam cup that held their combined milkshakes. Everything that was discussed was finally hitting her. There was no more embarrassment to distract her. “My mother… lost her virginity… three hours after she met dad.” Her life was turning out to be a big ass LIE! Everything she painted of her mother being such a clean cut, polished woman who rarely entertained topics for degenerates: A FUCKING LIE. “I DON’T KNOW MY MOTHER!” Yeah, Joy wasn’t pleased by this information because she thought she knew everything. She thought she was top shit and could pick up on all the signs. But she had one big oversight with the woman that gave birth to her!

Damian shrugged his shoulders, taking a left. He knew where he was going now, but he had to listen to Joy yell first. That was just part of spending time with women, he knew that already. Damian had spent time with a few women in his lifetime, and one way or another, they all got loud. This was just par for the course! “Well, I mean… our parents were kind of degenerates, did you know that? It’s crazy. And don’t think about it like you don’t know her, just think that you don’t know parts of her, because you still know some things! Just not like, all of them. And that’s cool, you know.” Damian explained, reaching into his box for a french fry and throwing it into his mouth. Besides, from his perspective, it seemed like Joy was missing the important part, “the good news is we’re finally going to get some freakin’ alone time, Joy!”

Yeah, that’s true. Joy shouldn’t worry about not knowing everything, even if she liked knowing everything. She should focus on being grateful, in this moment, that she and Damian could be alone together. The big talk with their parents was over and behind them. It was time to move forward. It was a good thing she had a boyfriend that knew how to handle the worst kind of women — his mother — because someone like Joy in comparison was easy to handle. “Where are we heading to anyways?” She grabbed the plastic spoon and scooped some of the ice cream out of the shake and put it in her mouth. God, this was so good and weirdly enough, a peace was washing over her the further they got away from the diner. She was content.

“I have an idea.” Was all Damian would say in that respect, shrugging his shoulders mysteriously. Life was better with a dash of mystery wasn’t it? That sounded like something his dad would say, and his dad was usually right about a good portion of things. He kept driving, and popped another fry into his mouth. He glanced over at Joy and put his hand on her leg, giving it a little squeeze. They drove in silence for a minute or two, with Damian’s warm hand resting on her thigh, before the car came to a stop, and Damian opened his door, “hey, follow me.” He suggested, leading her out of the car (Dames opened her door, of course).

Damian led her around the buildings, and to their destination, a bench at Venice Beach. Once they sat down, Damian popped open his box of food, draped one arm around her shoulder, and looked out at the ocean. “This is where we’re heading. I figure we can eat, talk, and creepily watch people on the beach.”

Joy couldn’t help but be surprised by him, time and time again. Knowing his reputation, it made this side of him news to her. The romantic side. Up until the New Years Party, they rarely talked, at least not since they were kids. He was the star jock and she was an underrated genius. She carefully and thoughtfully eyed him, as he stared off at the blue azure. With their drink on the ground between them, she grabbed her fork and sliced a piece of pancake with it. Before putting the piece in her mouth, she used this opportunity to apologize for her parents’ overprotectiveness, especially her father’s, “I’m sorry things have been rough for you. My dad still cares. I know he does. You’re just… my first.” And hopefully only.

“Aw, no worries. Sometimes dads get like that, and I’m… you know, used to it.” Damian tore a piece of chicken strip with his mouth, and just shook his head. He knew what Joy was getting at, but he’d dealt with this a bunch of times before. He’d been around girls before, and that meant he’d been around dads before. And dads were predictable, he really should have seen an upset Ender coming from a million miles away — he knew the dude after all. “Trust me, he’ll relax in a while. It might take a week, it might take a long time, it might take a short time… nobody knows, but I’ll deal with it until then, you know? That’s the plan, anyway.”

Slowly, she chewed her pancakes, giving ‘that’ look that her mother gave at the diner table. The one that tried to read behind the expression. The one that was overthinking. He was used to it, wasn’t he? Looking away from him, she focused on the sunsetting. It was weirdly timed, as if mother nature was trying to build an atmosphere she hoped was earnest. “You better be serious about me. I don’t forgive easily.” She ripped off a piece of bacon in her mouth. Love was stupid. It was like she had to trust someone else that wasn’t herself. She knew exactly how she worked. She knew what she liked and how to make herself happy. Now here she was trying to open up her heart to one of the most popular boys at her damn school. Basically begging to be a red target for all the other girls that have fucked him or want to fuck him. How do couples just ‘let go’ and live in the moment? How do they just naturally trust that the other won’t deliberately hurt you? Why the hell was she such a skeptic when it came to love when she had no idea what love was? The questions were driving her insane.

“I’d be surprised if you did forgive easily! Your mom still hasn’t forgiven my dad for something he did like 20 years ago, so… yeah. Don’t worry so much, I’m not un-serious about you. Now, I’m not thinking about marriage or anything, but we’re not even 20! It’d be wild to think about stuff like that already, so just… relax. Eat your pancakes, enjoy the ocean breeze, and look… see that guy? He just dropped his ice cream cone in the sand. Poor fucker.” Damian said, pointing with his chicken strip at a large man out in the sand, who was staring sadly at a lump on the ground. Damian took another bite, and squished Joy closer to him, shaking his head, “remember. No pressure.” While Joy was worried about all of the things she was worried about… Damian was remarkably calm, relaxed, and… well, enjoying the lack of pressure. They were just kids, after all. “We’re gonna go to a hotel room tomorrow, we’re gonna make out, we’re gonna fool around, maybe we’ll have sex, maybe we won’t… Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you talking about that time when your dad sexualized my grandma because of her ‘past’ job?” Joy knew that detail, at least, from her mother’s past. The fact that her grandmother started off as a stripper to take care and raise her. Of course her mother wouldn’t take kindly to one of her friends glorifying that and thinking her grammy Nana would be easy. Her eyes fell on the ice cream on the floor. “Poor dude, for sure.”

“Yeah, that sounds accurate. Truth is, I never got the gory details. I just know that Dad is ‘in trouble’ and has been ‘in trouble’ for a long time. I dunno what that means. Are parents are scuffed as hell, that could be a sex thing for all I know! It’s not important, it’s not. What is important is that you need to make sure you have a nice outfit for our trip. We’ll probably be going to a fancy hotel, which means there will be a fancy dinner place, which means we’ll have to be, temporarily, fancy.” Damian figured he’d ticked off all the boxes, all the important things they needed to worry about for tomorrow. How Joy would take it, he hadn’t considered — but if he had, he would have figured that Joy was probably going to overthink and stress. Damian of course, wasn’t going to do that at all; this was far from his first rodeo. “Good move on getting your aunt to call, by the way. That’s why you’re in AP classes, and I’m not.”

Joy smiled at her boyfriend and nodded, “Admittedly, I never thought I’d use it for sex or any of that. I’ve built a system with them a long time ago so I could be out longer and see my uncle contend. Just a safety thing, y’know? Since my mom worries a lot. Hell, I’ve even used this system to have little adventures with Katie without stressing about what my mom was thinking, which, I’ll need her help if you want me to go all out. She’s better at this kind of stuff. I’d ask my mom, but she has to go on this business trip for this classified prototype. JJ’s too lazy to show his face, so she’s going instead.” Now that she thought about it, this could’ve been another reason why her mother was stressing. She always had to mentally prepare herself for presentations, since she was more ‘approachable’ and ‘welcoming’ than her uncle. Truthfully? This dinner was a tremendously good thing for her and her mother. Joy felt like she was starting to understand her mother better, thanks to Damian.

“With what kind of stuff? Being pretty? That’s up to you, babe.” Damian thought she was already pretty pretty, she didn’t need to go all out, but hey. He wasn’t about to complain. Finishing up the rest of his meal, Damian leaned against the girl who was still eating her — very fucking large — meal, and focused on the ocean and horizon out in front. For the former football captain, the future seemed bright; a big difference from just a week ago.

“Yeah… I want to look nice.” Joy whisperingly replied, her cheeks peeking to a champagne pink. “Hey, Damian?”

“What’s up, buttercup?”

Nervously, she cleared her throat and softly muttered, “I love you.”

[Hey Im Jordan]

_{Saturday, before the family dinner
@Fabricant451
Minry}

---

Henry was ready for the dinner. He wasn’t excited for it, but he was definitely ready for it, and why wouldn’t he be? Anytime he got to hang out with Min-seo was a good time, and he was already planning on fucking with Hailey by wearing something casual and lame to her fancy little ‘dinner party.’ Parker was spoken for — she was out with Brian, though Henry wasn’t sure what exactly they were doing. He wasn’t worried about it, Brian was a pretty responsible dude.

Henry, on the other hand, was basically the exact opposite. He didn’t want to be at this dinner, so dammit, he was gonna fuck with Hailey. There wasn’t a damn thing on this planet that brought him as such joy… except for Min-seo of course. Which reminded him, wasn’t she still in the bathroom? Geezus, girls took forever. “Yo, Min, you okay in there?” He asked, tapping on the door with his knuckles.

What was it about boys that made them so impatient? Min-seo had seen first hand the sort of care a boy puts into his appearance; she’d seen Henry decide which clothes to wear based solely on a brief sniff which was hardly a fitting test. When Henry heard about the dinner he probably figured he could get away with wearing jeans and a t-shirt but Min-seo was different. She was proper, fancy, concerned about her appearance, she was, in essence, everything Henry wasn’t.

“I am...fine.” That question was asked any time she took longer than five minutes in the bathroom, which was to say she was asked that question every single day since she entered the Green house on the exchange program. And that was even before she started really embracing the makeover given to her, back when she let herself get away with not immaculately brushed hair. “Is...some...thing...wrong?” If anything was going to ruin this dinner it would be Min’s grasp of the language. She could speak it somewhat stilitedly but she figured she had no chance of keeping up with any sort of conversation between family members’ that was why she was determined to dress like she was going to the Met Gala or some other red carpet affair. And that was why she had used a special hair product that smelled quite faintly of violet and bamboo and a field of soft, sweet flowers, that was why she had picked out a dress that was elegant but not overly skimpy or showy with a gentle pink color to it, and that was why she had been in the bathroom now for about half an hour.

“I am...almost...done.”

Henry wasn’t going to complain, the last time that Min-seo took this time, she came out looking like a goddamn stone cold fox. He wasn’t going to complain if his girlfriend took a little while longer, and came out looking like one of the idols that Owen was always fucking trying to show him, even if Henry said a billion times he didn’t care how much of a ‘pretty delight’ they were, whatever the fuck that meant.

The point was, Min-seo was one fine looking girl, and if that meant she had to take a long time in the bathroom getting ready, then Henry was damn well gonna wait. He shook his head, though he knew she couldn’t see, and replied to her regardless. “No, no nothin’s wrong, I’m just checkin’ on you. That’s all.” Henry was fucking shallow, wasn’t he? He’d get over it with time, hopefully… For now, he was just enjoying the sighs. “Take your time, aight? I’ll just be waiting here. Are you nervous?”

“Nervous?” Min-seo repeated the question, though with her accent it sounded more like she was saying ‘ner-bus’ but she doubted Henry cared either way. The question was fairly loaded but she wasn’t quite sure how to answer. Of course she wasn’t one hundred percent calm and cool and collected but at the same time...she’d pretty much met most of Henry’s family even if in passing. She lived with him in his house at least until the exchange program was up, and just because they started kissing with a more alarming regularity didn’t mean she hadn’t been on a tour of the place. Sure, Henry’s room was basically the room she saw the most but the point was that she might not have been super familiar with his parents and all but she was likely better off than most. So what did she have to be nervous about? Other than language, but that was something she dealt with on a daily basis.

Instead she figured the best way to answer the question was to simply exit the bathroom. She gave herself a final look in the mirror, saw how flawless her makeup was, how neatly parted her hair was, and how the little bits of jewelry sewn into her dress caught a sparkle in the light. Min-seo, decked out in something quite red, opened the door and stepped out into Henry’s room, giving a little twirl as she did so so her dress spun right along. “Do I look nervous?”

Well, she certainly didn’t look nervous. In fact, Min-seo looked stunning, but that was almost par for the course now. Henry stepped forward and smiled, kissing her on the lips and shaking his head, “hell no. You look gorgeous, it’s actually unfair. The other girls don’t even come close to you, like seriously…” Henry’s face dropped a little bit though. This was going to be the first time that Min-seo had really interacted with his mothers before, and he was a little scared. At least meeting his father had went well, but Ty liked damn well everyone on the planet, it was hardly an ideal comparison… “Just… just be ready for my moms to be cunts, alright? It’s basically their god given greatest talent.”

If it were up to Min, she would have interrupted Henry’s babbling about mothers with another kiss. Henry could talk a lot and Min liked kissing and she had every reason to suspect that stopping Henry’s ranting with a bit of tonsil hockey would only be beneficial to the both of them. But she didn’t in this instance. She merely entertained the idea. In truth, she was only really half listening to Henry at the moment, she had a bit of a slower response time thanks mostly to the fact that she was still processing the bathroom-exiting kiss. It had been a good kiss. Every kiss they had was a good kiss but Min might have been a bit biased.

“What...is...cunts?”

Oh, right. She wasn’t exactly a native speaker… So it made since that she didn’t exactly know what he was saying, but he had to think about what he could say to compare it for her. It wasn’t easy, he didn’t know anything in Korean that carried the same weight as ‘cunts,’ but he could at least fire off a few other English words for her. “You know, like… bitch, asshole, fucker, mean person. Just something like that,” Henry explained, accenting each suggested word with soft, quick kisses. He didn’t need her to know the specifics, he just needed her to know that, “I’m worried that they’ll be mean to you… you’re too soft for that kind of thing.” Henry said gently, before looking over his shoulder toward the door. “Are you ready?”

Min-seo nodded in understanding with a wide little smile on her face; it seemed unusual to be smiling while learning about what kind of person a ‘cunts’ was but when a lesson came with kisses attached how could she not be grinning ear to ear? She would have expressed her doubts that a mother could be any of those things but then she recalled her own stepmother and the unfortunate reality that not every mother in the world was a doting, loving, caring figure to her child. She had to look no further than Parker for that, not that Parker had told anyone about the situation regarding her mother, but any child living alone in a tent because the house is empty is probably not going to be giving any Best Mom Ever coffee mugs away.

“It is...okay. If they are...mean...I will...not...under...stand. I will just....smile...and nod...and...be pretty...okay?”

“Yeah… that’s probably for the best…” Henry muttered, sighing as he locked arms with Min and led her out of the room.

[smarty0114]

_{Featuring: Becca Helmsley
Location: BHHS, Principal Evans’ Office}

---

---

Hailey Green had fallen so far, and Becca hadn’t even had to lift a finger. Jamie’s article had effectively torn HOT apart in the eyes of the student body. Hailey’s resignation as student body president had come shortly afterwards, and the gossip mill had made that public almost instantly. Ophelia wasn’t about to win any popularity contests, and Trixie was a trainwreck. Becca’s opportunity had come.

The school was empty at 6:45 in the morning, save for the staff, which was just how Becca wanted it. She’d woken up early that morning, and dressed for the occasion. Her ripped jeans and dark blue blouse were casual, yet professional, and the cropped leather jacket and black Doc Martens gave her an air of authority that wasn’t likely to be dismissed. Truth be told, her name gave her an air of authority, more than any outfit ever good, but Becca would never let it be said that she did not dress to impress.

When Becca opened the door to Principal Evan’s office, his secretary was present, in discussion about something that Becca did not overhear, nor care about. Smiling, she took a seat in front of his desk, setting her tote bag casually on the seat next to her, earning a befuddled stare from the head of her school, and a moment of silence. To his credit, he recognized her, and her importance. “Bev, can you give me a moment?” The older woman nodded, and hurried out, giving Becca one last glance before shutting the door. “What can I do for you Becca?” he asked, a resigned sigh punctuating his question. Despite Becca and her siblings’ unorthodox attendance, Becca had visited Evans’ office with various requests and complaints a grand total of twenty three times. She was a frequent flyer in the administrative wing.

“So nice of you to ask, Michael.” Becca smiled at Principal Evans, before pressing on. “Now, as you know, Hailey Green has unfortunately stepped down as student body president. Of course, this wouldn’t normally be a problem, but I’m personally concerned for Trixie. Her mental state right now is questionable, at best. Even you can see that, right Michael?”

Principal Evans remained silent. He’d had enough meeting with the heiress to know that she had more on the way.

“I’ll cut to the chase. I think we need a special election. If Trixie wishes to remain as vice president, I’d be happy to have her, but I truly believe that she’s just not cut out for the demands of the job,” Becca said. Her tone dripped with false sympathy and arrogance.

“Becca, as much as I’d love to help you, I simply can’t hold a special election because you personally deem the vice president unfit. It’s just not fair to Trixie,” Principal Evans said, shaking his head. Somehow, he knew she wouldn’t take that answer so easily, but it was worth a shot.

“I anticipated that response, and I offer a rebuttal. The students have a right to choose their student body president, and I think you’ll find that both Trixie’s opinion of the job, and her peers’ opinion of her has changed dramatically since the election was held. The students deserve to choose based on their current knowledge. In fact, you’ll find that I had a petition signed, requesting a special election.” Becca reached into her tote bag and retrieved a paper, boasting one hundred signatures in various handwritings. In truth, many of those signatures were forgeries, but she was confident that Principal Evans would not resort to an investigation of the signees. Daddy had taught her to win, not to play fair.

Becca slid the paper across the desk and let Principal Evans study the paper for a moment before speaking up. “In the event that this isn’t enough to open your eyes, my father has told me that he doesn’t really feel secure donating to a school that doesn’t respect the wishes of it’s student body. He’s very supportive of youth involvement in politics, and doesn’t feel comfortable supporting a school that stands in the way of it.” Becca grinned at Principal Evans, her trump card played. At the end of the day, money talked, and she had plenty of it.

The middle aged administrator leaned back in his chair and let out a defeated sigh. He’d been worried about that. Becca always played the money card. The truth was, BHHS relied on donations from wealthy benefactors, and the Helmsley’s had poured plenty into the school. Their annual donations were generous, and losing the next one would be deeply unfortunate. “I can look into having a special election held,” Evans said, admitting defeat.

Becca grinned. “I knew you’d see it my way. A pleasure, as always, Michael.” Becca stood up and exited the office, waving to Bev on her way back into the halls of BHHS. Reaching into her tote once more, she pulled out a stack of papers with her face printed on the front. Underneath her smiling visage were the words, “Becca Helmsley For SBP: Integrity Is Key.” She hummed the tune to a certain Disney song as she taped them up around the school.

[LovelyComplex]

_{Me as True, obviously.
Collab with @smarty0114 as Wyatt (FT. Q)
FT. ADubs and Ty @Hey Im Jordan
FRIDAY NIGHT, DATE NIGHT. CAPTAIN CUDDLES.}

The familiar lights of Captain Cuddles greeted Wyatt as his board slowed to a halt in front of the pizzeria. His joint had been left on the side of the road a few minutes earlier, and as he strutted into Captain Cuddle his soft smile indicated a drug induced calm that any of his close friends would spot from a mile away.

Looking around the thriving establishment, Wyatt realized he had no clue who he was meeting. That was fine. It gave him time to get a root beer float. He left his board near the arcade, behind a trash can so no one tried to steal it, and took a seat at the bar, waving down Ty and ordering a root beer float. His messy suit drawing lingering, yet unnoticed, stares from his peers who were also there from movie night, Wyatt’s gaze floated around the pizzeria, waiting for his secret admirer to reveal herself.

Hiding under the ice hockey table, Truly Bliss O’Connor, with her nice, galaxy dress on, widely gazed upon her date. She tried to think of her mother’s words to muster the courage to go near him. He was kind of blurry, because she didn’t have her glasses, but she knew his figure all the same. That was her Wyatt’s lanky body! "I’m the best girl.” She told herself reassuringly, while giving a mental reminder of her three objectives: Date Husband, get a skateboard from Husband, invite Husband over. Okay. Maybe, she was ready. Maybe, she can finally and properly give him a confession and then they can have a grand time! She was the embodiment of confidence. An O’Connor! A GODDESS. She can have whatever she wanted! Spitters aren’t quitters!

Sliding the root beer float down to Wyatt, Ty looked around and surveyed his kingdom… and laid eyes on the girl hidden under the hockey table. Shaking his head, Ty called out. “True… what the hell are you doin’? Get out from under there.” With that, Captain Cuddles himself walked back to the kitchen.

"I, uh—” Before she could give a proper fib, Ty was gone! So, she played it off like she lost a quarter before crawling out from under the table, standing up and brushing off her dress. Her cheeks for flaming in embarrassment, and although she didn’t think blushing was cute, when she did, her soul was visible and out in the open. It complimented her blue eyes and displayed how delicate her sweetness was. A shy smile, full of deep emotion. A real, genuine girl. Awkwardly clearing her throat, she tiptoed her way to Wyatt and with the courage of ‘you just got caught’ she owned up, and sat next to him: "—Hellooooo…”

Wyatt turned to face the owner of the voice, his mug of rootbeer and icecream raised to his lips. He recognized the girl next to him, from the party at the Helmsley’s. What was she doing here? “Hey, uh, I’d love to chat but I’ve got a date who’s meeting me here,” he said. He studied her for a moment longer, noting her sick dress and the look on her face, and finally, put two and two together. “HOLY SHIT! You are her!”

Wyatt waved for Ty and ordered another rootbeer float, for his not so secret admirer, before returning his attention to her. “So, uh, I’m Wyatt,” he said, sticking his hand out to shake. He was beginning to realize he had absolutely no idea what he was doing…

"Yeah, I know…” Very well, actually. She reached for his hand, with both hands and grasped it gently, giving it a timid shake. She was doing it, mommy! Look at her now! "I’m sorry about the, um, boat. This is… new.” She looked at him, as she referred to her feelings and coming out with them. His hands were so soft! BUT she shouldn’t make this awkward. She wanted to hold his hands FOREVER.

Wyatt grinned, sheepishly. “It’s chill, it’s chill. To be honest, this is kinda new for me too.”

Quickly, she released them and immediately went to push strands of red hair behind her left ear. The side closest to him. She stared forward at the massive chalkboard with video game characters drawn on it and today’s specials. While she did so, she faintly swayed her feet, waiting eagerly for his response. The party cruise was super exposing for her. It was the first time he started connecting the dots that he had her! And then the whole red room… was… weird. She discovered a side that she didn’t even know she had. "Truly. My name is Truly.” She couldn’t remember if they exchanged names before, like when he gave her first lesson in skateboarding. Yet, she didn’t mind. She liked when he talked.

“Truly. Truly.” Wyatt let the name roll off his tongue, appreciating the uniqueness of it. “It’s a nice name,” he said, running his hand through his curly mop of dark hair. “So, uh, do you like pizza? The buffet is really good, but you probably already know that.” Wyatt punctuated his response with a nervous laugh, his eyes studying his Converse before returning to her face. It was a nice face.

"Pizza and doritos!” She not so subtly dropped that last part, knowing well enough that Wyatt loved, loved, loved Doritos! She’s taken a huge liking to that chip brand since she got to Beverly Hills High. "Yes! Let’s eat then we can play games! I want to do the go karts and laser tag and DDR!” The nerves seemed to have left True as quick as the came and maybe it’s because she found his shyness adorable and wanted to show him why he was worth loving. After taking a quick slurp of her float, delicious, she spun her bar stool around and hopped off. "You stay RIGHT there. I’ll get us all the pizza!” Her mother’s domestic side was coming in use. True always saw her mommy make daddy’s plate. Actually, her mother made everyone’s plates. Her mommy was GOALS, honestly. She made everyone feel special and True wanted to make Wyatt feel special, loved, and appreciated. Tonight was the night! Go all in or nothing. No more stalker! CLAIM WHAT WAS HER’S.

As she walked away, she chirped back, "Pep and sausage, right? Of course, I’m right.” That wasn’t really asking him or confirming if her research was wrong. She knew she wasn’t wrong, she just wanted to show him how attentive she was, even if he probably had no idea how she knew that.

How had she known? Pepperoni and sausage was his FAVORITE pizza! Was she a mind reader? That would be cool. Wyatt had always thought mind reading was hot. Emma Frost could read minds, and she was most definitely hot. Maybe he’d landed his very own Emma Frost. That would be, beyond cool!

Sipping his float, Wyatt watched as True returned with two plates, stacked with slices of deliciously greasy pizza. Wyatt’s face broke into a grin as True sat down and slid his plate to him. “Thanks! Y’know, if you can read minds, you can tell me. I won’t tell anyone, except for like, A Double because he’d think that’s super cool,” Wyatt said, taking a bite out of one his slices.

Deciding to go with it, she laughed out loud, "Reading minds, good intuition, they’re basically the same thing.” And spending most of her freshman year watching, studying, and grabbing any information she could too. That absolutely helped. "I mean, you’re not so bad at noticing things yourself. You caught me red handed, with the letter.” She took a massive chomp out of her pizza, which was an all meat pizza, disregarding the teachings of being a ‘lady’. She believed if she wanted Wyatt to think about her, a lot, she had to present him with her most casual self. Not a fake True trying too hard to be pretty. Though, she did hope he’d watch one of the cheer practices to see her shaking… her pom poms. Yes, her pom poms.

Wyatt shrugged. “If we’re being honest, my friend Q is the one who clued me in to you. I probably wouldn’t have figured it out on my own,” he said, taking another bite of pizza, and washing it down with his float. “So, what’s your deal? At school I mean? Like, I smoke weed in the janitor’s closet and generally just wreak havoc in class, but what about you?” he asked, smiling as she took another chunk out of her slice. This girl knew the proper way to eat pizza. Quickly.

That was a very interesting question, which had a one word answer. Him. He was her deal. Unfortunately, she felt like that was too forward for their first date. "Haven’t you heard? I’m Damian’s kid sister.” That’s as far as anyone knew her, who weren’t her brother and Kit. "Aside from that, I guess I’m a cheerleader? I rock at DDR. I’m a bit accident prone when I do ordinary tasks. And... I’m good at doing stuff with wood!” What she meant was she had a knack for woodshop. True had no idea wood could also mean dick. Hard dick. That was one thing she knew NOTHING about.

Wyatt cocked his head. This girl was as far from Damian O’Connor as you could get, but now that he’d heard her say it, the resemblance in their faces jumped out at him. Nodding along as she spoke, he smirked as she mentioned her skills with wood. “That’s good to know,” he said, his voice tinged with amusement. “Is it kinda weird, being Damian’s sister? He’s kinda the talk of the town most days,” Wyatt said, in an attempt to find some more common ground. If there was something Wyatt could relate to, it was life in your older siblings’ shadow.

"I mean…” True took a deep swallow of pizza before clearing her throat, "It goes without saying. He’s a god, who handles pressure better than anyone I know. I’m just… me? I’m like so insignificant standing next to my family. They glow and I’m just there. I’ve gotten used to it. So I focus on one thing to keep me happy!” Really, the only goal she needed to reach for was being with him. She could care less about being a star in the night sky. She’d rather be on the ground reaching for her moon. Her Wyatt! Nodding to herself, proud of how eloquent she sounded, she went for some more root beer float.

“I get that. My sister is like this big hot shot surgical resident who’s probably gonna cure cancer, and my brother is a starter for UCLA, and I’m just kind of always in their shadow. I kinda feel like there’s always some bar that I’m not reaching. Well, not kinda. I know I’m not reaching it,” he said. He realized after a moment, how depressing he sounded, and tried his best to redirect the situation. “Why don’t we go play DDR? I want to see your moves,” he said, plastering a smile onto his face.

Taking note of how quickly he diverted from the topic, the little redhead didn’t press on. Instead, she grabbed a napkin to wipe the grease off her hand and obediently nodded, "Sure, let’s dance.” After hopping off the barstool once more, like the light at the end of a dark tunnel, she offered her hand for him to grab. "Ready to get your butt kicked?!”

Wyatt smiled and took her hand. “I can think of worse people to lose to,” he said. He followed her through the maze of arcade games, before they came to a stop in front of the two player Dance Dance Revolution! 4 machine. Stepping on, Wyatt fed quarters into the machine, and used his foot to select the competition mode. He chose Centerfold as the song, because it was truly the best song DDR had to offer. Everyone knew that. “I’ll try to go easy on you, but no promises. These feet have a mind of their own,” he joked.

"Whatever you say, hu--” Oops. She stopped herself from saying hubby. That would’ve surely scared him off. Without True’s glasses, this could’ve been a daunting task but she’s played this game so much at this point that she’s memorized all the songs and every level’s moves. She was getting kind of kiddy, to be honest. This was something she’s only dreamt about and now it was actually happening. There was no doubt she was on cloud nine.

First Stage.

Are you ready?

The track began. Her body was ready! While they danced, her breathing was steady even for their fast steps and like no big deal while she got Marvelous, Perfect, and Great, she chatted away, "Hey. So I’ve been meaning to ask you. I really like skateboarding and I think we should continue lessons. Problem is I need a skateboard. Ma supports my endeavors and I think that’ll give us another reason to spend time together, since like… I like this.”

This girl was a god. Her feet moved so fast, it was like she wasn’t even thinking about it. As Wyatt did his best to keep up, he inevitably began to fall behind as conversation picked up. He didn’t care though. Like he’d said, there were worse people to lose to. “That can totally be arranged! I work at Wheelz N’ Dealz, so I can hook you up,” he said, making a desperate lunge to place his foot on the forward arrow. “And, uh, for what it’s worth, I like this too. You’re like, super chill.”

"Awesome!” True widely grinned, while quickly bringing her eyes down to check the butt, before looking back at Wyatt’s face. He had such a nice butt. Man, she loved his butt. Bringing her attention back to winning him over, she went on to flex some of her best friend’s knowledge. Thank god she had a video gamer for a friend. “Did you know that Halo was originally developed for macintosh, but after Microsoft saw the trailer and gameplay reveal, they bought bungie, which as you should know is the company that developed Halo.” She paused for a second, her feet still moving at an incredibly fast speed. Her gaze never looked away from him, “You look like you play Halo! Anyways, they did that to make the game as a release title for their upcoming console, the WEP - windows entertainment project - which was later named the Xbox. Isn’t that neat?” She’d have to thank Kit later.

Wyatt was ecstatic. He was pretty sure this girl had sprung from his head, because she was literally the girl of his dreams. She knew his favorite pizza, she played video games, and she was also probably a mind reader. “I love Halo! That’s like, the most classic game in the world! I play like, a fuckton of Overwatch now, but I was raised on Halo,” he said.

“Oh you play Overwatch? I love that game too!” She lied. What the fuck was an Overwatch?! Mayday. Mayday. She’d need Kit to teach her asap! Let’s hope her video game slang doesn’t fail her now, “Like, maybe sometime this weekend we should party up?

“Dude! Let’s do it! I’m a Genji main, but like, I’m pretty good with Moira too, and Orisa. Fuck Soldier though!” Wyatt said, losing himself in the video game lingo.

The DDR game came to an end, as Wyatt missed the last step, and True was declared the winner, her score far surpassing Wyatt’s. “You’re hella good. I’m kinda jealous. Maybe you can teach me how to move like that,” the dark haired boy said, stepping off of the platform and offering his hand to the redhead.

OooooOOoooOooooh! This time he offered! And if she was smart enough, she’d leave the Overwatch topic far, far behind and distract him with something else. He was speaking sorcery! She couldn’t bullshit that hard. If only she had Kit in an earpiece, just telling her what to say. Then she could keep impressing him like it was nothing.

Excitedly, she reached for his hand and held it tightly. This time she wasn’t nervous, like she was when he was teaching her how to skate. True felt like she could grab his hand whenever she wanted and that was a fantastic feeling. “We have all the time in the world for me to teach you moves like Jagger! Here or at my place if you want to come over, y’know… we have options.” BOOM. MOMMY. SHE DID IT!

As Wyatt began to lead True through the arcade, he spotted two familiar faces. The beanie clad Q, and the relaxed face of one A Double Bishop were floating between games, and Wyatt wasted no time getting their attention. “Qster! A Double! Come meet my date!” he shouted, drawing easily ignored stares from the other attendees.

A Double was a little preoccupied. After all, he and Q had to plan a video game tournament now, all so she could pull the person that beat her high scores out of the wood works and try and get her to play arcade games with her. To A Double, it seemed like he was going to do a lot of work for something that was really miniscule, but he didn’t care that much… the important part was that it was making Q happy!

When Wyatt spoke up, A Double looked a little confused when he responded, but when didn’t he look like that? When his mind and eyes refocused, he smiled. Friend! “Yeah, sure thing, man. Where is she? C’mon.” He tugged at Q. Regardless of what they were doing then and there, A Double had to support his friend in every endeavor, this one included.

“Y’all, this is True! She’s hella chill, so like, you’ll like her,” he said grinning.

Q smiled, the easy smile that came when she was stoned. “Sup, True,” Quincy said, offering with her left hand, her other one wrapped tightly around A Double’s waist.

With her free hand, which was also her left, True twisted her hand a little to give the pretty girl an awkward handshake. “It’s nice to meet you… Qster? And A Double! Um, if you don’t mind me asking, what are your actual names? My name is Truly Bliss O’Connor and I was named after my mom’s best ‘orgasm’!”

A Double stared at her.

A Double looked at Q, he looked at Wyatt… he looked back at True and cleared his throat. “My name is A Double. This is Q.” He reiterated, glancing at Wyatt and Q after speaking. Did Wyatt get with one of the ‘special’ kids? Like, special-er than A Double himself?

“Really? I was named after the doctor at the fertility clinic who was in charge of artificially inseminating the egg I came from. Pretty dope, not gonna lie,” Wyatt said, grinning at True. Q shot A Double a look, but kept her mouth shut. She wasn’t sure if this was a match made in heaven, or a pair of complete crazies. Probably both.

“Y’know, since you guys are here, we should play a game of laser tag. I love laser tag!” Wyatt said, leaping off the ground with excitement, and looking towards the alcove where kids were already lining up to get inside the blacklight arena. His best friends, and the girl of his dreams playing laser tag together was easily the best idea ever. It was truly the best of both worlds.

True’s cheeks flushed when the boy named A Double said that their names were literally what it sounded like. Maybe she shouldn’t have answered that question. There was a moment where her anxiety and sadness crept in, but she shook it off when Wyatt mentioned laser tag. “Yes, lets! I love a good ol’ game of laser tag. Though I’ll never beat my bestie. She’s like the best at every game she touches. She rocks at all these machines.” True’s expression was completely serious and determined to one day be in the league of Kit. It would be hard, but since her lover liked games, she had to! He can only have the best and Kit was the best at one thing he loved. “Also, I really like your name Wyatt.” She simpered.

“Oh, uh, I don’t know if we got time for laser tag. See, we got here, and this new person had wiped out all of the high scores, and Q wants to find them? You can see it if you go check all the machines… the high scores as all ‘A, S, S,’ and ‘H, O, L.’ Which is pretty funny, but uh, Q’s plan is to bring her to play Tekken in a Tekken tournament at Burntown and then meet her? I dunno. Ty said we’d like her because she smelled like weed.” Well, they did have a type.

At the mention of beating ‘A, S, S’ and ‘H, O, L’ at Tekken, True couldn’t help but burst out in laughter. To the point of tears. Did they seriously think they were going to beat Kit at her best game? Oh god. This was priceless. She had to see this. This was going to be a must watch. Kit was going to make them kiss the very dirt they walked on. Wiping the tears out of her eyes with her freehand, she apologized, “Oh I’m sorry. I just thought of something really funny… and like… I know the person you want to battle. Like I said not moments ago, my best friend is a beast at games, meaning she’s the person that wiped out all the high scores.”

Q stared in amazement at True, as if she’d just admitted to being on a first name basis with Jesus Christ himself. She knew Kit. The heathen who’d taken her top score, the unbeatable video game god. “Well, your friend is a fucking god. Assuming it’s really her. If she shows up for the tournament, we’ll see her skills I guess.” She crossed her arms and turned to look at A Double. “Comeon babe, a round won’t hurt.”

“A Dubs, you know you can’t resist! A lil laser tag, and hey, first hits go to the couple who wins!” Wyatt said, pulling a tightly rolled, heavily packed joint from his pocket.

“Uh, okay. I can play a round I guess.” A Double said, relenting. Not that it was very hard to get him to agree to, well, anything. He was very much a reactive person, rather than a proactive one. “Let’s get that bread.”

[Hey Im Jordan]

_{Friday night
Collab with @TootsiePop}

Blaring out of the surround sound stereo in the Lyons’ living room, and ultimately throughout the whole house, was Girlfight Remix by Brooke Valentine, featuring Lil Jon, Da Brat, Remy Ma, & Miss B. Kylie Lyon, mother lion of Owen and Ruby, wasn’t even listening to the song because she had nose cancelling black and red gaming headphones on. The bodacious mother was too busy listening to DEATH and DESPAIR to care about whatever was on her daughter’s playlist.

Kylie still couldn’t believe her daughter was taking a semester off to ‘do what she wants’. Why were they paying for her to go to college anyways? It was only her freshman year! And why did TROY act like it was no big deal?! Like Ruby convinced him without much effort at all… what the fuck was that talent? He didn’t even put up a fight! It’s like… Ruby was just like her. God it was annoying. Why couldn’t she be more like her father! Scratch that. There was enough anger in this household. She didn’t need another Troy or Owen.

Oh-my-god! Don’t even get her started with HER SON and that, that.. that thing! She couldn’t believe he was doing this to himself again! She couldn’t believe he’d allow someone that literally crushed his soul back into his life. Ky was honestly fucking grateful she was home-schooled for most of her life. She didn’t have anyone ‘make’ her break up with Troy. If anything, he found her and from that point on they were inseparable. Sure, they had some hiccups that are unimportant and he almost was going to leave her but now they’re married and happy. And THAT’S HOW THINGS SHOULD BE.

DIE-MOTHERFUCKERS.

Her PC was connected to the massive flat screen TV while she played DOOM, ignoring everyone that could be in her house. This was her time. Those who knew better, knew Kylie rarely had opportunities to be in her element because she was too busy being a nosey housewife, meddling in her neighbors’ affairs. She was in the zone and wreaking havoc in Kadingir Sanctum. It was obvious why she was here. Kylie, gamer girl since forever, was here to kill, murder, and destroy the forces of hell because fuck them. Fuck ALL of them. She needed something violent to let out all this tension and later she’d fuck her husband to sleep. This week had been unreasonably stressful. She wore a black shirt and Troy’s plain navy blue boxers. On the desk in front of her were edible brownies, fried oreos, and a nice, hard bourbon drink cocktail called The Vow of Silence that paired nicely with the chocolate. Yeah, she’d cheat on her diet. What was the worst her husband would do to her? Besides SPANK her. And maybe, she needed it.

Ophelia knew they were making a mistake before they’d even entered the house. She could smell it in the air when they stepped up to the Lyon’s den, and she looked over at Trixie with a raised eyebrow before holding up a finger. She reached into her purse, digging around for a second, before withdrawing a bag, of Sour Patch Watermelon, which she shoved into Trixie’s hand. “Here. I’m gonna do you a solid, I’m gonna take all the initial heat. These are her favorite candies, just give them to her to ease the blow, okay? This is dangerous. I can hear it from here, she’s playing games. We’re walking into the pit of anger right now, the stomach of despair. We’re not going to get out of there safely, okay? Don’t expect to walk out of here without a few hits. This isn’t going to be like with me, or with Owen. There’s no guaranteed happy ending…”

Ophelia grabbed both of Trixie’s hands, and squeezed them tight. “Just remember this, and keep it close to your heart. Use it on her if you need to: I fucked you. Me, Ophelia. You didn’t burn Owen on purpose, I made you burn him. We can make this work! But it’s hard, she’s a mother. And you never, ever tell your mother something bad about your S.O., because they’ll never forget! You gotta put all the pressure on me, and I’ll take it. I deserve it, it’s fine. You have candy.” Ophelia gave Trixie a quick kiss on either cheek, and looked toward the door.

“Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Trixie responded with exasperation. She knew she shouldn’t be annoyed, irritated, and pissed, but it was hard not to! She was facing the consequences and she hated it. In order to handle Kylie, she’d have to simmer her fire but right now it was her fire that got her this far. Was she scared? Not really. She wanted to be with Owen and nothing was going to stop her anymore. Not even his mother. She’d own up to her mistakes, but she wasn’t going to retreat and break up with him if Kylie demanded her to. Fuck that shit. Her brown gaze rested on her gorgeous blonde friend who was visibly scared for her and wanted to take all the hits. Shaking her head, Trixie added, “If you’re going down, I’m coming with you. I’m the one that wrote Cowardly Lyon. Not you. I’m the one that gave Jamie permission to air out our baggage. Not you. Ultimately, I’m the one that broke her son’s heart. Not you.”

“Yeah, sure, but I’m the one that did what that crazy ass bitch Hailey told me to do, so that one’s on me. Don’t worry about it, we got this.” Ophelia explained, patting Trixie on the shoulder, before she turned and opened the door. She wasn’t about to knock, because she knew how loud it was in there — there wasn’t a chance in hell that any of them would hear her. With any luck, Troy would be sitting in the kitchen, drinking something heavy, and they’d have a chance at getting him to defuse the situation… but that was shot when Ophelia saw no one sitting there. “Great, well… to the living room, my dear.”

From behind them, a curious minx with a dress on that showed more skin than not, approached the guests with a martini in hand. There was no sound of footsteps because she was barefoot and there was loud music playing throughout the household, “I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.” The college redhead suggested, with her ‘sounds like a stripper’ voice. “If you do, at least have a martini with me.” She gestured toward the kitchen bar. Trixie turned to see Owen’s sister and mentally thought: oh great. Ophelia knew that Trixie wasn’t fond of Ruby, for reasons being she liked toying with everyone, including her brother, which she had a weird, intimate relationship with.

“Hello, Ruby.” Trixie snarled, trying to hide her disdain.

“Hey Trixie-poo. You look good. You lose like ten pounds since I last saw you?” The lioness playfully teased, while making a jab at Trixie’s weight.

“I didn’t know you were back, Ruby, did hell freeze over?” Ophelia and Ruby were… at odds, to say the least, but it was basically par for the course for them. They were friends! In fact, in some ways, Ruby was her mentor — but they were that kind of friends, which meant that they were just… not nice to each other. “Is your mother that bad, right now? This is kind of important. We’re already doing the exact opposite of what Owen told us to do — which is leave my house and come here so we could argue and get Kylie to stop hating Trixie so that Owen can date her without Kylie whining in her ear. It’s gonna be a hard fought battle, but dammit it’s a battle we’re prepared to fight.”

“Wouldn’t it make sense for Trixie to do this on her own? Or does she really need you to hold her hand through this? I mean WHATEVER. You guys can do what you want, but this doesn’t seem like your battle, Fifi.” Ruby maliciously retorted, which was only making Trixie’s anger increase. Balling her hand into a fist, the latina held her tongue. She needed to calm down or this was going to blow way out of proportion. Was Ruby just here to be an instigator? Make things worse?

Taking a deep breath in and then out, Trixie looked at Lia and reluctantly agreed, “She has a point.”

“Even broken clocks are right twice a day, I suppose.” Ophelia admitted, eyeing Ruby. Ruby had a point, but Ophelia wasn’t sure about sending Trixie to battle the wolves on her own… She sighed and relented, looking at Ruby, and gesturing toward the kitchen. “Wanna have a drink?” She suggested, and without waiting for an answer, she grabbed Ruby by the arm and spun her round, leading her back to the kitchen. “Let’s catch up.”

While the two other teenagers walked the opposite direction, Beatrix turned her body to face the door. This was it. This was where she died. Knowing well enough Kylie wouldn’t hear her if she knocked, she cautiously opened the door, tiptoed inside, and closed the door behind her. Whatever happened after this point was all on her.

Ruby leaned on the counter, already with her martini in hand, and gave her dear friend an impish giggle, “So your life has gotten pretty damn interesting, huh? I’m curious. Why’d you do it? Why’d you listen to the great and almighty Hailey? When I found out the deets, I was like WOW that is extremely out of character for you.”

“Well, you know what they say about friends. Sometimes they make you do crazy shit — like fail zoology because you stopped going into class since the final was ‘so easy’ so you could party with them all night, and then you failed the final anyway… so you lie to Daddy and say you’re taking a semester to ‘find yourself,’ but really you failed out and you’re spending the tuition money on lingerie and alcohol…” Ophelia paused and frowned, pulling a banana off of the fruit basket, “oops, was that too real?”

This made Ruby’s full and painted red lips go into a wide grin. Still as smart as ever. This is why she adored Ophelia Brycen. Taking a long, leisure sip of her drink, the eldest Lyon listened to the music abruptly pause and her mother hiss, “What the fuck do you want? Can’t YOU see I’m KILLING SHIT!!?”

Ah. Her mother was in the best sexual moods. The kind where she just needed it rough to calm the fuck down. Where was daddy when mommy needed him? “That’s a bingo!” Ruby had no shame of her fuck ups. Honestly, she believed her father did know she was a wild card, but hey, she was her mother’s daughter and she got what she wanted. “At least I know where my priorities are. Do you?”

“Just please, can you HEAR ME OUT?! Shut the fuck up for one second! Sorry! But LISTEN for ONCE to someone that isn’t YOURSELF.”

“Trix is gonna’ die.” Ruby laughed to herself.

“We all die so we can live. Or something like that, I dunno. Plus, if there’s one thing I know about Trixie, it’s that she’s really good at yelling loud and forcing people to pay attention to her. Just give her a minute…” Ophelia said, nodding her head matter of factly as she peeled the banana, and chomped off the first bite. Then, she rolled her eyes and went back in on the important part of the conversation: talking to Ruby. “Yes, I know where my priorities are. Graduating high school unscathed, duh.”

“How’s that panning out for you? Aren’t you like a huge disappointment to Auntie Belle now?” Ruby grabbed the stick with the olives on them and slid one off with her tongue and straight into her mouth. “Looks like you won one battle.” She gestured toward the door where Trixie was, “But have you talked to the other sweet, ‘all-for-love’ Candies?”

“You have a solid MINUTE or I’m calling the cops!”

“Wow that’s a bit irrational but okay.”

“I mean ‘huge?’ Huge is a strong word if you ask me. I talked with Cassie, and that’s the important one. Plus, there’s this new little girl we’ve been hanging out with, so I think the Candies are still sickly sweet, don’t you worry.” Another bite of the banana. Ophelia wasn’t sure how they always got to this point, but here they were. Ruby was like a 14 year old in an almost 20 year old body… So frustrating. “Have you told your mom you’re most likely not going back to college? That sounds like a fun conversation, doesn’t it?”

Leaning up, eating the last olive on her stick, Ruby shrugged, “She’ll be fine. I know my mother better than anyone besides daddy. She doesn’t really have the right to talk because she rides the coattails of him, anyways. I have better things to do than waste my youth and my parents’ money at such an elitist school.” Tossing the stick on the counter, the dynamite made her way to Ophelia and brushed a strand of blonde hair out of her face, “Hm, is Cassie your eye candy?” This would be news to her if Ophelia actually found someone, but then again, this was a time of love. Both Hailey and Henry were pretty whipped themselves.

“Your son is punishing me enough… yet you KNOW I make him happy. Why isn’t that enough for you? You should know better than anyone that Owen IS Troy’s son and regardless of what YOU say, he’s going to do what HE wants. And come on, Kylie. I shouldn’t have taken my insecurities out on anyone, but I’m just a kid. And I know I fucked up. I did the worst thing to your son. But even fuck ups deserve a second chance. I just. I don’t know. I was so afraid of being in someone’s shadow and when Hailey and Ophelia took me in their wing, I felt like I could conquer the world. Didn’t Belle make you feel that way? Mrs. O’Connor too? I had not only the pressure of living up to my mom and dad’s legacies, but the pressure of walking the halls like you did! And I guess, I forgot what really mattered in the process. I know now, Kylie. I know that the most important person to me is Owen and I promise you I will never hurt him like I did.”

“That’s a hard promise to keep.”

“So you’re gonna come here and fuck high school kids, dads you babysit for, and old divorced men? I know your play Ruby. I don’t agree with it, but I respect it. And for Cassie… I dunno. I’m not sure. Maybe she is.” Ophelia took a step back from Ruby, shaking her head, and pointing at her hair. “Don’t touch the hair. It takes time to look this good, and you should know that you thot.” She said, somewhat defensively — what, it was a big deal!

“I’m a whore and proud of it. And of course I’m going to fuck and gold dig. God didn’t give me this body for no reason. Maybe I’ll get back into dramatic soap operas like when I was small. The world is my oyster and as long as I have other people’s money, I can do what I want. Travel. Star in movies. Or simply just have sex. That sounds like a perfect life to me!” With no shame, Ruby admitted, guzzling down the rest of her drink, before snickering and adding, “Oh? I’d love to meet her. Maybe I will. I’m sure I will.” She teased and winked, already setting a goal for herself to infiltrate her old highschool.

“Uh- I’m sorry. Don’t cry. Hey you want a hug?”

“Yeah, this is what BHHS needed. The real shot in the arm… Do you really think that there’s someone who’s, you know of age that’ll hook up with you? Almost everyone is shipped! You’ve seen the wall!” She’d worked hard on that wall for just this sort of situation, and now Ruby was just… being herself. “Don’t even think about getting in there and trying to ruin some of my carefully curated ships! I worked hard on these things.” Ophelia barked, waving a finger in Ruby’s face. The girl may have been graduated, but Ophelia wasn’t about to let her actively ruin what she’d worked to create! “Henry is taken now, and he was your best bet.”

“You make me sound ancient and I'm just TWO years older than you." Ruby glowered, hating the idea of losing her charm and beauty. Hating the idea of being old. “If your ships are so ‘solid’ let’s put them to the test. Do you really believe young love will last forever? Hell, I still feel like Owen and Trixie have trials ahead, even if they’ve gotten over their biggest one yet.” Fifi was so boring now. How was she going to confirm love was true if there wasn’t anything to make love strong? These poor high school students were caught up in fantasy land. They truly believed in happily ever after. Ha! It was laughable honestly.

“Okay… I’m better… do you want a brownie?”

“It has weed in it, doesn’t it?”

“JUST TAKE IT.”

“Okay, okay fine.”

The redhead chortled, hearing where the conversation had gone, “Looks like my brother will have a girlfriend HIGH on life.”

“I mean, PRETTY MUCH, yeah. My parents, your parents, Joy’s parents, Scott’s parents, AJ’s parents… all those parents met in high school. Young love is the truest of loves, after all.” Ophelia said with a wistful sigh, before she looked toward the living room with an exasperated glance. Looking back at Ruby, she shook her head, “it’s not my fault your sugar daddy broke your heart, don’t take it out on me! Just find another one. There’s a website for that, did you know that?”

“Yes, actually. But what I do with my life is none of your concern and you might have a skewed perception of love because of our relatives, but our family is only a small piece of the real world. You can believe in your disney story, and I’ll believe in myself.”

Before anyone could continue, the door opened and Kylie was holding the plate of brownies with one hand and her other hand was around Trixie’s waist. “What are you girls talking about? Here have a brownie.” The mother of the house put the plate on the kitchen island and wrapped her arms around Trixie in a loving embrace.

“Just catching up, mommy dearest.” That fake smile was plastered on Ruby’s beautiful face. There was a fire in her eyes. Ophelia had hit a cord. Trixie glanced from her friend to her maybe-sister-in-law and felt the tension near immediately. Pushing the plate closer to the girls, Trixie added to Kylie’s offer, “It’s pretty damn good.”

Ophelia took one of the brownies and shook her head. This was a bad plan, but whatever — it couldn’t get worse, could it? She grabbed it, and took a bite, before looking at Trixie. “Let’s get back to my house before Owen gets home.”

[smarty0114]

_{Collab with @TootsiePop
and small FT from @Hey Im Jordan}

x x x x	x	x x x x

In The Secret Tea Garden, which was right behind Heartfelt Bites Bakery, both owned by his mother, Miles Michaelson laid his head on the table in absolute depression. He couldn’t believe he lost a whole volume. He hadn’t even scanned it to his computer yet. Why live honestly? At least he helped Nero out with his whole new band expedition. That gave him a little bliss, but, man, that doesn’t change the daunting fact that he had to draw 150 pages all over again, assuming he could even remember everything! This was the worst. The absolute worst. How did he lose it anyways?!

Across from him, with his laptop open and the school newspaper beside it, Riley went to grab a hand sandwich on the top tier platter between him and his friend. They both were here to study together, while Miles’ mother, Chrissa, who was a good friend to Riley’s father, Remy, hosted Afternoon Tea, which was a British tradition. It’s a mini-meal composed of sandwiches, delicately cut into fingers, scones with clotted cream and jam, sweet pastries and cake. It was midday on a Friday and Riley had a lot to consider.

Brian Helmsley had given him homework so that they could make The Morning Show polished, focused, and worth the legacy. Something that will live on forever even after Riley graduates. The Morning Show has always been a place for announcements and news, first the short-version going live in the morning, and then the full-length show being put on the school’s youtube channel later. Brian said he’d take care of the weekly special guests, since now the dude was the unofficial-official producer, but Riley had to give him a list of segments and ideas that he thought would benefit the school, while still keeping it thematic per week. So far, his biggest focus was being inclusive and getting another partner to stand beside him and Brynn. Plus, if one of them were sick, the other could pick up where they left off. This was Brian’s way of saying: you need help, don’t put all the pressure on yourself. On the doc, he quietly typed ‘Gwen?’ with his free hand, before his dark gaze went to the Newspaper that showcased Jamie’s article. They had a lot to clean up — especially if they didn’t want their school to get even worse.

That, of course, wasn’t all that was on Riley’s mind. He couldn’t stop thinking about the interaction with Hailey and her girlfriend, Hana. After the conversation they shared, he’d have to admit he actually liked her. It doesn’t excuse her for the fucked up shit she did because she disliked people telling her what to do and how to do it, which was not Jamie’s place to air out, but… he could see why Trixie and Ophelia like her, or well liked her. Like she wasn’t completely hellbent in making the school her’s. Like she was more down to Earth than people gave her credit for. Like she didn’t choose being ‘Queen’ it chose her. Now that he thought about it, the only reason why she took the crown was simply because people gave it to her. She was a Green. Only a fool would not take the opportunity to build their own legacy in this school full of legends. He knew for a fact, people will be talking about Hailey even after she graduates. She made her mark. For better or for worse. She did. So, does that really make her a bad person if everyone’s perception of her from the get-go was royalty? She was. And she knew it.

Taking a bite of his sandwich, Riley glanced up from his laptop and set his sights on his ridiculously talented artist friend, “You haven’t touched anything. Not even the cake. And you love cake.”

With a baby whine, Miles pouted, “I KNOWWWW. I DOOOO.” But he didn’t have an appetite, which was odd for him. “I just feel like this is the end. I put so much effort into my stories and then like the idiot I am, I lose my work!”

“I’m sure it’ll come around. You put your name on the binder right?”

“No… just my initials.” Miles banged his head on the table. He was defeated. Absolutely ruined.

Riley shaking his head at his friend, simply shrugged, and offered, “I can make an announcement all next week, if that’ll make you feel better.”

Suddenly, like a puppy, Miles perked up and his eyes widened, “You’d do that for me?!” Maybe his life wasn’t all over! Riley did have an amazing platform, after all. This could be the solution to all his problems! Even though he only had one!

“Yeah, of course. Now eat some of this food. I can’t do it by myself.” As if Riley had just given Miles the medicine he needed to feel temporarily better, the blonde dug in, immediately going for the last tier which had the sweeter things on it.

Elliott had decided on the drive over to The Secret Tea Garden that he desperately needed his own friends. Ivy had been talking for a solid fifteen minutes about Becca Helmsley and her date with Lawrence Townsend, which he had absolutely zero interest in. Of course, when he’d tried to mention that to Ivy, she’d hushed him, and continued on. It wasn’t like he needed a whole squad, just, people who were not his sister.

Tea had been Ivy’s idea, and while he’d done his best to refuse, preferring the comfort of his bed, she’d dragged him along anyway. Something about him being a homebody, and how tea was good for the imagination. He’d admit, he’d hit a wall on his novel, and he could use something to clear his head. Thus, he was standing at the counter with Ivy, waiting for a cup of green tea.

“So, don’t look now, but I think I see one Miles Michaelson out there,” she said, a playful smirk spreading across her face. Elliot flushed a deep shade of crimson, peeking out the glass door into the garden seating area, confirming his sister’s observation. He stared at his sister, scowling.

“You meddle. You’re a meddler, you know that?” he said as the woman behind the counter slid his and Ivy’s cups out.

“Oh my god, what, you think I planned this? You think I overheard Riley and Miles talking about meeting here after school and so I pretended to want tea to force you into interacting with Miles? Really?”

“That’s exactly what I think,”

“Well, you’re wrong about one thing. I really did want tea,” she said, laughing her mirthful cackle, and dragging Elliott outside. She skipped up to Riley and Miles’ table and pulled up two seats, grinning the entire time, while a mortified Elliott begrudgingly followed along. This was happening one way or the other.

“Hey Miles, Riley! Fancy seeing you guys here,” she said, taking a sip from her cup. Elliott gave a silent wave and a nod to the both of them, his face still flushed red. How could this get worse? “Whatcha doing?”

Oh great. Riley closed his laptop, not one to share his plans openly with others, and blankly stared at the Nichols. Both in his year. Both with vastly different reputations. The youngest one at this table now was the artist that only moments ago had a breakdown but found himself happily chomping at pastries. Or sad eating. Riley had yet to determine which one yet. The Wells boy took it upon himself to know as many faces as he could at their school and network with some of the more talented people, like Miles, because their talents might come in use in the future.

He didn’t find use in a party girl, who was in the shadows of Shauna and Not-Shauna in the theater club, and Cassie in the Fashion club. She was the token raver, but at a school like this… being someone that ‘partied hard’ didn’t really make you special. As for her brother, he was incredibly smart, matched Joy Darling in GPA, and if Riley wasn’t mistaken, he was in the Photography club with Rose Powers. Throughout the year, he did recall catching sight of Elliot writing in random places, privately. A loner that wanted to stay that way. Still, he seemed like an okay dude with skills that could come in handy for Riley, eventually. And, well, the moment Miles saw the boy with the beanie, he lit up even more. Miles was a good judge of character.

“Elliot! Ivy! Please help yourselves.” The sophomore offered the food at the center of the table to his juniors. “If we finish it all, we can get more! My mum works here.”

“I was going to help him with his term paper on how pop culture trends influence youth but he’s been kind of too busy thinking about—”

“This paper is boring. I just want to draw, which reminds me why I’m sad.” He stuffed his face with a macaron. Okay, he was sad eating.

Ivy grinned. “Elliott, didn’t you do your term paper on that last year? Or was that mine? Either way, Elliott wrote it. He’s a great writer!” she said, playfully nudging her brother.

Elliott sighed, and leaned forward to grab a sandwich finger. “That was Victoria’s paper, which I also wrote. Honestly, Mrs. Hatchet needs to start offering new prompts, they’re always way too easy. But yeah, I got an A. I focused a lot on social media, and how distorted it makes our lives seem, and then tied that into some research I did on mental health in teens. Wasn’t too hard,” Elliott said, shrugging. School came easy to him, so much so that he often forgot that others didn’t feel the same.

“What’s got you down Miles?” she asked. Half of her wanted to mention how good Elliott was at making boys happy, but even she knew that was pushing it.

With that confidence, maybe Elliot should help Miles instead of Riley. Riley had enough going on and here he was worrying about the school image thanks to HOT, the Elite, Candyland, and fuck, just everyone at this stupid ass school. Finishing his sandwich, Riley wiped his fingers on his napkin and grabbed the school newspaper while all attention was on Miles. He scanned the article and thought back at the New Years party, the moment he shared with Marshall in the closet and then Jamie awkwardly witnessing it. It’s not what it looks like

“I misplaced my binder. With my most recent volume, for my pride and joy. Dread. I don’t know what happened to it. But it’s really the only thing I care about that isn’t my friends. School is boring so I have C’s in every class. Ma says if I don’t bring up my grades she’s going to take away my tablet. What’s the point if she takes away another thing from me!? First my binder goes missing. Next my mom gets all strict. What’s next?! My hands breaking????!”

Not looking away from the newspaper, Riley reached for his hibiscus tea and sighed, “Stop being dramatic. Your mother is too sweet. She probably just cried while looking at your grades and you felt bad.”

“Well yeah! Okay. She didn’t actually tell me to study harder… but I want to. I don’t like making her sad.” Miles frowned, as he looked to the Nichols with earnest desperation.

“Elliott could tutor you? Right El?” she said, looking over at her brother, a self-impressed look in her eye. God, she was smug.

“Uh, yeah, I could, if you wanted,” he said. His gaze drifted over to Riley and the paper, and he moved to bring up something that Ivy had made him all too familiar with, despite his disinterest. “That’s Jamie’s article? Talk about a shakeup, right?” he said, chuckling. He could talk schoolyard gossip with the best of them thanks to Ivy and Vic, and if they could go on for hours about it, it must be interesting to some people. He had been saying how he needed new friends.

Unfortunately for Elliot, Riley was far from the gossiper and he placed the newspaper down on his closed laptop, “Yeah, a shake up in poor taste.” With a distant expression, Riley scrutinized the bookworm with his dark, void-filled gaze, “I thought Jamie was better than this, but I guess we all get caught up with other people’s business.” Instead of making things right, the Newsie threw gasoline on the fire. A fire that Riley wanted to simmer down with his show.

While Riley wasn’t playing along with whatever Elliot’s goal was, Miles was oblivious and in his own world, “We should all study together! I know Riley could boost up his grades in math!”

“...you didn’t have to disclose that. Don’t worry. I can ask my brother.”

“But come onnnnn Riley, I just want a reason to go to your house and eat your dad’s food! Elliot would love your house! Please, pleaseeeeee, pleaseeeeeeeee.” Was Miles being serious right now? Openly inviting the Nichols to his house? Sure, his Dad would love it and cook for an army, but it wasn’t HIS place to do so.

“I don’t care.”

“I’ve had less enthusiastic invites,” Ivy said. The party girl smirked, and reached for a napkin. “Pen please,” she said, holding her hand out. She knew her brother carried a pen on him pretty much all the time, one of the quirks that made him so him. Elliott gawked at her, but Ivy pressed on, “Pen!” Elliott fished a pen out of his pocket, and placed it in Ivy’s hand, and she scribbled two numbers on the napkin. Ripping it in half she handed one side to Miles. “That’s El’s number,” she said, and passed the other piece to Riley, “and that’s mine.” She winked at Riley, as Elliott’s blush made a return. He’d thank her later. “Let us know when you guys want to get this little study group together again. Like I said, Elliott’s a genius.”

Taking the napkin from her, Riley gave her a half-hearted smile, not really knowing why she felt it was necessary to give him her number when it was Miles who needed the study help. Apathetically, he responded, “... thanks.”

“This is so exciting!” Miles gleamed, as he looked from Riley then to Ivy then to Elliot, “Maybe I can share with you my comics too! And Riley has a lot of Gundam and action figures!”

_{“Thank you, Miles…”}

“Oh and if you’re dope at puzzles, so is my boyyyyyyy. I can never finish a puzzle. It’s sad really.”

“Can you stop?!” Riley hated having friends. What was the point when they shared too much?! Miles’ eyes widened and he gave a cutesy whimper, “I just thought it would be nice for you to have more friends.”

“I’d, uh, really like to see those comics. And, I’m not bad at puzzles. Actually, I’m like, really good,” Elliott said, looking between Miles and Riley. Ivy, soon to be known as the worst wingwoman ever, of course had to butt in.

“And I’m, really, really friendly,” she said. She wasn’t entirely sure what Gundam was and she didn’t play with action figures, but she liked boys, and Riley was a boy. She could pretend that she had a thing for edgy guys who wore leather, but the fact of the matter was, she’d swing for just about anyone once they’d piqued her interest. Riley’s general disinterest in her, and his apathy towards the entirety of the conversation was like it’s own sort of puzzle. There was nothing like taking a guy who seemed so aloof, and bringing him down to earth with her “skills”.

This was… exhausting. Riley felt so uncomfortable sitting at this table right now, and he was just about ready to leave, “Great, awesome. Yeah. I’m sure Miles will pick a date. Now.” He started packing up his things and putting it in his backpack, “I’m actually going to get going. Don’t want to miss dinner.” Even if his father was helping with the Captain Cuddles event.

“But.. we just ate?”

“And it was delicious. Here’s my portion of the bill.” Riley slapped a twenty on the table, stood up, threw his backpack over his shoulder, and then gave them a dismissive nod, “If you’ll excuse me.” And the Morning Show host was out of this place like a bat out of hell.

Miles would’ve waved but he received a text from Nero, “Oh snap! Neo got a band! I’m so proud of him!” And for a moment, Miles had the most earnest, and sweetest smile on, as he spoke about his best friend, Nero Frost. The kind that showed possible signs of admiration. A crush.

Ivy perked up at that. “Nero? As in, the drummer?” Nero was hot, and just because she had just been coming on to Riley like a dog in heat, didn’t mean she couldn’t double dip. “I play keyboard, if he needs some more members. I sing too. I’m great with my mouth, honestly,” she said.

At that comment, Elliott nearly jumped out of his seat, his knees banging against the table, nearly spilling everything onto the floor. Jesus Christ she was vulgar. “Wow, so yeah. Ivy has an urgent therapy appointment to attend, like now, so we better go,” he said, quickly standing up, and practically dragging Ivy to her feet. “This was fun, and I’m still, like, down to tutor you. Y’know, if you’d want that.” Based on the smile that had broken out on Miles’ face at the mention of Nero, and the sinking sense of disappointment that had taken root in the pit of his stomach, he was thinking that maybe he’d rather be tutored by the drummer. Somehow, Elliott was not surprised. After this trainwreck that Ivy had caused, why wouldn’t he?

Sitting not too far from the table that now had a loney artist, who was still staring at his phone, and had absentmindedly waved goodbye to his new friends, Mina Bellerose held a plate of cake in her hand, as she sat on the lap of her forever man. She cut a piece of it and brought it to his mouth, her eyes still heavily fixated on the scene. “Yooooohooooooo.” The Fashion princess called out to the sophomore.

Snapping back to the present, looking away from his phone, Miles turned his head to see two familiar faces, and loyal customers at his mom’s tea house, “Hey Mina, Christopher, what’s up?”

Christopher knew what Mina wanted, because why wouldn’t he? It was almost in his job description to know what she wanted, when she wanted it. He gave Miles a smile when he spoke to the pair of them, and gestured toward the newspaper left abandoned. “Miles, be a doll and grab that newspaper for us, please.” He suggested; though he knew that Miles was going to do what he said. Miles was a good boy, and incredibly docile — it helped. “The cake is delicious, by the way.”

“Ah, that's right. You two haven’t been at school for a bit because of that… movie, right? What’s it called?” Miles got up, swiped the newspaper, and made his way to the super couple.

Mina swiftly answered, as she swiped the paper from the naive boy, “Years of Fire.”

Woah. That sounded dope. Maybe he and his parents can watch it some time. Maybe he’ll invite Nero over. Mina placed the plate down and focused in on the headliner article. Sheepishly, Miles scratched his head, “Yeah… things are kind of wild at school. It all started falling apart after New Years.”

“Is that right.”

“Thank you. I’m sure we’ll catch up some other time, run along now.” Christopher said, gesturing with his hand to wave Miles away. He and his better half had business to discuss, and it was very possible that they’d have to go… it didn’t seem like tea party business. Not a squabble between stuffed animals, but… something at the school. He was almost certain it was going to set Mina off. Better for the soft boy to not be caught in the crossfire.

“Sure thing! Catch ya guys later.” Miles gleefully gave his regards before prancing back to the table, grabbing his things, the twenty Riley left behind, and paying at the counter. It was time for him to see what Nero was up to anyways. As the artist walked out the door, Mina started aggressively and angrily shredding the paper.

“It might be time for me to give Emmy-Lou a call.”

[Hey Im Jordan]

_{Mason & A Double
Mentions: @TootsiePop (Jax)
Time: Friday Night}

---

A Double’s night had been long, and not really in the good way. His girlfriend had made him stand in the arcade and eat pizza and watch her play games all night. Now, that wasn’t a bad thing, by any means, but he’d been hoping for… something more? After all, it was basically their first real date! Ever since they’d hooked up at the New Year’s party, they hadn’t exactly ‘gone out,’ and then the one time they did, Q got super competitive! Oh well, at least he’d calmed her down, and there would always be a next time!

The important thing was that A Double was peacefully asleep, listening to an audiobook in his ears. A Double wasn’t a very good reader, but he liked to listen to books! He thought it was pretty cool that you could just listen to someone else read to you, and it helped him sleep, so it was pretty common for him to fall asleep listening to a book. Right now, he was listening to Jurassic Park! It was complex, but he liked the parts about the dinosaurs…

Suddenly, A Double was awake.

A Double had never heard such loud noise before, and couldn’t remember the last time he’d waken up so…. so disoriented. And A Double went to bed stoned out of his mind most nights! What was happening? He slapped around wildly for his phone, and he couldn’t find it. Tiredly, blindly, A Double pulled his headphone cord, and dragged his phone to himself from the depths of his blankets and stared at it. A phone call…

Elsewhere….

Mason was hungry. Not like, too hungry, mind you, but hungry enough. He could eat. What could he eat, that was the real question. Well, the answer to that question typically was ‘whatever the fuck I want,’ but when wasn’t that hte answer to a question he asked. It didn’t matter that it was 2:28 A.M., bro was hungry, and bro was gonna eat. Scrolling through his phone and looking at the places he could go, Mason realized that he lacked the most important part of any good meal.

A conversation partner. It didn’t really matter where he went, if he didn’t have that key part! That left Mason with the hardest task of his day so far: figuring out who would be down to go out this late at night… Luckily, he didn’t have to scroll through ihs contacts very far before he found his target:

A “A Dubs” “Double A” “A Double” “Battery Man” Double

Mason decided that he already knew A Double would come along, and before he even called, Mason was in the car and on his way to Dreamland. It wasn’t like the dude was going to say no! There was no way, he loved food! Once he was parked in front of the house, he tapped the name on his phone, and waited…

“Uh… hello? Mason…? It’s like two in the morning.” The voice that came through his Bluetooth speakers was much more tired than he expected, but Mason would not be deterred.

“What’s up, brother, whatchya doin’?” Mason asked, snapping his gum into the mic, waiting for a response. It didn’t come, at first there was a sort of… awkward silence. Mason waited though, his mother had taught him long ago that conversations were turn based, much like Pokémon, and sometimes it took the other person a while to respond.

“I’m… I’m sleeping, man… Shouldn’t you be sleeping? It’s uhm… it’s two in the morning…”

The point was reiterated, but Mason just shook his head at his phone, “no way, homie. I’ll sleep when I’m dead. I only got so much time on this earth, and I ain’t wastin’ it sleepin’. Now get out here and let’s rock and roll, champ. I’m already here. Taco Bell, let’s go!”

“Taco Bell? I don’t want Taco Be—”

Mason was prepared for this. “They got Nacho Fries back.”

Another few seconds of dead air. “I’ll be down in a second….”

“Yeah, I bet you will.” Click.

In a matter of minutes, A Double was down and in the car with Mason, who was then driving them into the city. As soon as they started rolling though, A Double rested his head against the window and decided he’d try and get some rest. At least, that was his plan until Mason rolled the window down on him, and A Double’s head rolled into the cold breeze, snapping him awake. “Wha… wha?” Was all he could manage to say, staring at Mason, with wide eyes. It was a total betrayal.

“Hell nah, bro, you ain’t going to sleep while I gotta be awake and drive your ass to get Taco Bell. Tell me about your day, brother. What’s new in your life, champ?” Mason was gonna be that guy, whether A Double liked it or not. He wanted the food, didn’t he! Then this was the price he was going to have to pay. A Double groaned but tiredly spoke, in sleepy tones that were groggy and damn near unintelligible.

“Uhm… gottagirl friend.” He said, trying to talk about the biggest thing in his life. It really was this whole girlfriend thing. It was different, and weird and confusing, but it was the biggest new thing in his life! Plus, more importantly, it made him happy. “Rose kiss… Henry. Weird.” A Double muttered, rubbing his eyes. That about covered all the bases right? “Oh, Wyatt went on a… date tonight. I’m tired, man.”

“I know you got a girlfriend, bro, I’m not that blind, homie. Now, this thing about Rose kissing Henry, and Wyatt going on a date? That’s news, brother. That’s the kind of thing I pick you up for, you know? That’s why I talk to you, brother. Because you’re my in. You’re the link to the people for me, Mason.” A Double looked over at Mason as they pulled into the drive through.

“Do you like… want something, man?”

“That’s correct. I need that Jax dude to run a camera, and to use the super ramp.”

“...when? You gonna pay for my food?”

“Tomorrow, early, and yes.”

“Alright, dude, whatever…” A Double yawned, pulling out his phone and shooting Jax a text.

To: Jax
dreamland pls 2marrow morn
bring camera
ty

[BrutalBx]

@TootsiePop@GhostMami

This was his baby; Dare Night. Lee ran a lot of hustles, like a lot. Dare Night and the Presidents Game were his most profitable and they were also his most difficult, especially Dare Night. The location for tonight’s proceedings was the front room of the least hipster looking coffee shop he could find. The son of the owner owed him money and as payment he loaned out the shop for the night. On the other side of the door, he could hear the hustle and bustle of tonight’s group, whose number included his new girlfriend, Stella, and his right hand, Hyde. He was very dubious of letting his dream girl into the game, things could get serious very quickly and the last thing he wanted was for the princess to get sucked up into his darkness.

Meanwhile, since Jasmine wasn’t one to leave her candy purple bike behind, she had trailed behind Hyde until they got to their destination, Black Aroma. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous. What was she supposed to expect from Dare Night? And why-the-hell was it so expensive to buy in? Five hundred dollars just to play?! Like damn. Rich people these days. Her heart was racing, and yet she was able to hide it behind complete and utter nonchalance. That was one of her skills, looking calm and composed when really, her insides were doing summersaults.

She was a good girl that cooked and baked. Sure, she looked the part of a bad girl, but the closest to bad she ever did was be part of an activist protest, which was approved by her parents. The next thing she knew she was standing around with a surprisingly large group and had downloaded an app called Fate on her phone. It didn’t feel the most legal. None of this felt legal. If her parents found out what she was up to, she’d surely get grounded for days. The app requested her to put her bank information and take a selfie. God, this didn’t feel safe at all. She turned her attention to the bubbly, happy-go-lucky sweetheart that was Stella Locke, who put her information in without any concern or hesitation. “Hyde, this isn’t going to fuck me over, is it?” She couldn’t afford to lose money like the rest of them could.

“As long as you don’t lose” The demon with the angel face couldn’t help but tease. Part of him wanted to leave it at that, leave her chomping at the bit and leave her pissed off for the game. The dark passenger in his head was screaming at him to keep the mocha babe in the dark but there was a different part of him working, a part he didn’t even know actually existed. “Don’t worry the entire thing is safe. As soon as the game is over all your details are wiped and it’s like the whole thing never happened. We’re monsters, not savages. Well, Lee’s not” With this response, she raised an eyebrow. He was being awfully kind, which confused her honestly. She wanted to hate him, but here she was playing a high stakes and high reward game, with him. Simply nodding at him, her eyes glinted with intrigue, she went back to her phone to put in her details.

“Am I a player or a watcher? I mean helloooooo. I’m here to play!” Stella decided her Fate and became a participant of the game. Was she really not scared of what this night could bring? What if someone gets hurt? Or… worse? Maybe, Jasmine was having second thoughts. If she wanted to back out, this was probably her chance, but Hyde made her want to play. Even if it’s to prove him wrong. To prove to him that she isn’t afraid to show him up. Why did she care so much about what he thought about her?

Lee emerged from his hiding place, dressed like a million bucks but probably costing less than a thousand, his adoring public greeting him with a not so subtle round of applause. “Welcome to the fourth annual Dare Night!” He greeted them with the same rattlesnake smile that had charmed them enough to get them here. “Now I know we’re all excited to get this party started but first a few ground rules for those of you that have never played before; By now you should have all downloaded the Fate app and put in your details. Next up are the two roles, Player and Watcher. As a player, you’re the one taking or not taking the dares and earning yourself some cash money. As a watcher, you are the eyes and ears of everyone in the game. You supply a handful of the dares, keep an eye out for cops and cheaters. Every Dare you complete must be submitted with proof, no photo or video, no cash and trust me guys, we can tell when it’s fake. If it at any point, you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, you can cash out and leave the game. If you cash out, whatever points you have accumulated will be halved and the result will be your prize money. As it has just turned nine in the pm, you have eight hours to complete as many dares as possible and then return here” Lee raises his own phone in the air and started the timer in full view of the crowd.

“Have fun guys, I dare you.”

Lee made his way through his cult of followers and finally pitched himself down at the same table with his lover, his partner and a movie theatre employee. He planted a soft kiss on Stella’s forehead and smiled. “Game on then”

Before they even left the building, both Jasmine and Stella received their first dare. “That was fucking fast.” The biker girl commented. Looking at her phone, she caught the words of Stella saying out loud, “Make out with the black girl… make sure there’s tongue.” Made sense. She was the token black girl of the night, after all. Lifting up her phone, she waved it to Stella, “Yeah, mine says make out with the girl with the red dress on. Don’t go easy on her.” Well this was off to a fun start. The reward was for 50 points. Easy enough. Someone was starting small and wanted to have jerk off material.

“I’m assuming we only need to record on one phone and I’ll just tag you in it.” The first dare wasn’t intimidating at all. This was kind of easy money. Jasmine went to Hyde and gestured for him to take the phone, “Care to do the honors?” While she waited for the dark passenger to respond, she looked back at Stella and then Lee, “I hope you don’t mind.” The question was more directed to Lee than Stella.

After glancing at Stella’s phone and confirming what the very first dare of the night was, the Wall Street baby grinned from ear to ear. That was one of the sad drawbacks of this game, too many creepers looking for some cheap thrills for their wank bank. Still the more players that played, the more money he made so let the fortnite nerds have their jollies. “Go for it. This is the game after all”

“I’ve seen Luna kiss girls ALL the time! I can do this! Is this your first time kissing a girl?” Not wanting to go too deep into it, Jasmine simply gave her a: “No.” But since she didn’t want to completely hurt the princess’ feelings, since she didn’t know if Stella would take how experience she was as an offense, she added, “But you’re my first rich girl.”

“That makes me special!” Phew. Jasmine just saved her ass. If she offended a Locke girl, that would be the end of her high school career.

Hyde took hold of Jasmine’s phone ready for the snapshot. As a teenage boy pent up with hormones, he of course was vaguely excited at the thought of two stunning creatures such as Jasmine Fulton and Stella Locke locking lips in a tender embrace. However, as always in his case, there was something ugly eating away inside of Cameron’s body. It was a fever that made him want to take Stella’s pretty little face and smash it against the goddamn table for even considering going near his Jasmine. He had chosen her, she was his North Star, someone to hold on to, someone to guide him lest the monster come out. Keep it quiet, bury it deep, don’t let it out, don’t let it hurt her.

“Let’s see it then girls, on the count of two” Jasmine took the lead and knew that this game was all about winning followers. The better the content, the higher chance of making it to the end. Pulling Stella close to her, her gaze was rich and for this moment, the princess was completely fixated on the soul in the biker girl’s eyes. It was like she was caught in a web and for the first time ever, Stella saw the talent her twin had, through another girl’s actions. The charismatic prowess and power of seduction. There were some girls that were definitely more dominant than others, and the Locke girl was not one of them.

Before their lips touched, Stella brought her eyes down to Jasmine’s full lips. This actually made her kind of nervous. This wasn’t like kissing Lee. No. This girl was a stranger. Before she knew it, Jasmine’s face was inches away from her and their kiss was nothing like what eighth graders did. No closed-mouth kisses. No cute pecks. This kind of kiss was super sexual and brought heat into the blonde’s body. Open-mouthed, tongues having a little war with each other, and the scent of the cocoa beauty’s natural aroma, kind of like cake, filling her senses and making her melt. Stella couldn’t help but play with her hair, as Jaz relented and held her tighter. When they broke free from one another, the blonde gasped for air.

Wow, that was hot.

After the sordid act was complete and the impish grin had faded from his face, Hyde turned his attention to his own phone as his own first dare arrived. “Get into the Chapter Six” That was it? Really? That was a pathetic first dare, fucking noobs. The Chapter Six was an exclusive club, somewhere between Hollywood and Vine, it was known for its strict IDing and some pretty sordid shenanigans that go on in the back rooms. “This bullshit is worth 75 points? I can do this in my sleep” Hyde turned to his group and nodded. “I mean, we’re sharing a car tonight right? Hope you all have your dancing shoes on”

Chris watched as the dares for the night began to pour in. What the hell had he gotten himself into? All because he had gotten some hero complex a few days ago and helped a hot blonde babe get a fix to calm her down, and drove her home safe from the bar. She had been a fucking mess, but she was hot as hell and Chris hoped he could get to know her sober. So, when she had mentioned how he should come to Dare Night — whatever that was — he was all ears. It wasn’t until he talked to AJ about the whole thing, and downloaded the app, that he realized the shit would cost five hundred dollars. He didn’t have that kind of money! But AJ, being the wing man that he was, spotted his friend in the hopes that he could get it in with Blondie. Oh the things we do in the hopes of getting laid.

The biker looked down at his phone and waited for his first dare to come in. As if on cue, the device chimed and the screen flashed with his first challenge of the evening: Push that bike past 100 on the Santa Monica. Going over 40mph over the speed limit on the busiest street in Beverly Hills was apparently worth 75 points. Well, whatever then, it wouldn’t be his first time speeding and his bike was tuned up to go well over 100 mph. Hell, this would be fun, he thought as he revved the bike’s engine and sped off down the streets.

“Actually, Hyde.” After grabbing her phone from him, she was immediately beeped with another dare, “They only want me to go with you, but you have to ride my bike, with me behind you. And before then, we have to stop at…” Oh god. There was a picture of the Bellerose logo, which was a high fashion brand, “We have to visit this boutique… and dress for the occasion.” Would she be able to afford the outfits in this place?!

Hyde looked down at Jasmine’s phone as she showed him the other half of their dare. Already this was out of his comfort zone, he hated rubbing shoulders with the rich with a passion and this boutique was like a Mecca for the plastic folk of the Hills. Hyde, with his current look would absolutely stick out like a sore thumb, he knew he would not be welcome there. There was no way in hell either of them could afford this place. Immediately Cam considered asked Lee to wire him some funds hit he could see that his sharp dressed friend had his own issues to deal with. ”I guess time waits for no one, good luck on your end cum buckets” Ah, Hyde, such a charmer. He took a hold of Jasmine’s hand and led her out into the night.

And while Jasmine was realizing what exactly she was getting herself into, Stella’s face dropped, realizing someone recognized her… “Baby…” For five hundred points, she and Lee had to storm her own humble abode and get ‘Bartimaeus Locke’s’ custom made sunglasses, which he has worn at every event he goes to, and for the rest of the night, Lee had to wear them. Her daddy would be so upset if she didn’t return them! Everyone knew that her dad was the babymaker of the Green children and although he wasn’t a public figure, he was still rich and eccentric. He chose to keep his life and the Locke name as low a profile as possible, especially in comparison to the Greens, and as such, at least for LA people, he was simply the owner of Captain Cuddles. “You might be meeting my daddy tonight...” Hopefully not.

Tilting his head somewhat nonchalantly, Lee placed an arm around his girlfriend's shoulder. ”Don’t worry babe, parents love me” This much was actually true, he had a talent for charming the parents. That said, he could tell from Stella’s demeanour that this was something she wasn’t ready to happen just yet and he was fine with that. ”We’ll be in an out quick babe. The sooner we do it, the sooner it’s done and we can move on to the next thing. The night is young and so are we. Let’s live like there’s no tomorrow because there isn’t want. It’s you and me kid” This was McCarthy’s biggest skill, he could talk anyone into anything; it’s how he made his living. He didn’t really like using the charm offensive on his girlfriend but needs must and like his rules state; only bet on a sure thing and if he wanted to win tonight he had to make sure Stella was a sure thing.

”Let's get going, it’s game time”

[smarty0114]

_{A @smarty0114 & @Hey Im Jordan collab
Featuring: Becca Helmsley & Brian Helmsley
Location: Helmsley Manor}

---

---

Brian had to say, he was pretty freaking satisfied. So far, everything had just… worked out in his favor. He’d thrown a pretty successful party, sure. He’d worked things out with Hailey — sort of, he’d made a call. More importantly, and most annoyingly, he found himself stuck as the ‘producer’ of the Morning Show, which meant he had to work closely with Trixie. That, in and of itself, was frustrating, but he didn’t care that much, he’d deal with it. All that really mattered was that he’d gotten with Parker, finally.

And it was nice! It was mind-blowingly nice. They were happy together, and they’d went out together a few times now. Mostly to get ice cream, but it was the conversation and the way she was happy and so… relaxed compared to everyone else in his life that mattered. Brian was sure that Parker wasn’t the smartest person on the block, but she was special in all the right ways.

He was happy, and that’s what was important. He was so happy, in fact, that he wasn’t sure about talking to Becca. She wanted something, he could tell that much, and the truth was… Brian just wasn’t interest. He didn’t want to be ‘in the game’ anymore, so to speak, he just wanted to relax and spend time with Parker, but… that wasn’t an option.

He took a sip from his water, and looked at Becca sitting across the table.

Brian was right. Becca did want something. After her meeting with Principal Evans that morning, she’d gone full speed ahead with her campaign, and Brian and his show were another piece of the puzzle. Sure, he might not want to play the game any more, but she was his sister, and he loved her, in his own Brian way. She was pretty confident she’d come out of this meeting with something.

“Well, no need to pussy foot around this. I’m running for student body president, and I need your help,” Becca said. “Now, as appealing as a state run media sounds to me, I’m perfectly willing to accept that you might disagree with me on that point. I just need some time on air, and maybe a couple of endorsements from your anchors. Easy,” Becca said, grinning.

Some things never changed. When was the last time one of the Helmsley Three reached out to just spend time with one another? It must have been at least four years ago; being teenagers had really changed them, and hardly for the better. She was really still on this, crusade? “Becca… Hailey’s gone, she quit. She took a step back, she officially debranded herself as the ‘Queen Bee,’ which, by the way, has always sounded like some kind of early 2000s movie title, and it’s… over. Why can’t it just be over?” Brian paused, and took another drink from his cool, imported mountain spring water and shook his head. “How is there even an election for student body president? Shouldn’t Trixie be the one?” The politics of BHHS were worse than the crisis in the Middle East sometimes…

Becca waved a hand in dismissal. If she hadn’t shared a womb with the kid, she’d be certain he wasn’t related to her. Just because Hailey gave up, didn’t mean Becca had to. The thought was almost laughable. “I pulled the money card on Principal Evans. It was actually really easy. Considering my last request was landing the helicopter on the football field, I think he was just happy that this one didn’t involve flying vehicles. I may or may not have made some comments about Trixie’s mental state leaving her unfit for the responsibilities of such a taxing job. Oh, and I forged a bunch of signatures on a petition. That’s not really important though,” Becca said. “Hailey is gone, yes, but that doesn’t mean the game is over. If I don’t step up, someone else will.”

“Are you sure the game isn’t over? Because I’m pretty sure that you and Hailey? You were the only ones playing. With one person dropping out… fin. You’re done. Game. Over. Why do you want to drag it on further? Greed.” Brian drank the rest of his water, and considered his options as he slowly sat the glass down. Of course, it wasn’t surprising. They were raised around the very idea of greed, so it made sense that it was baked so heavily into Becca’s character. She wanted the power and control that Hailey had, and that Becca felt Hailey had never deserved. It was like watching a fucking TBS show play out before his very eyes. Truly, tragic. Forged signatures?

“I’m not sure I can have the show be so… openly biased. If someone else were to run against you, then… that wouldn’t be fair. I can give you five minutes on the next edition. Record it and post it to YouTube, that’s what I would do.” Brian shrugged, and stared at the table in silence for a few moments, “when others announce their intent to run, I, along with Trixie and Riley, will produce and host a debate between the candidates. And, yes, Becca, despite what you may think… someone else in Beverly Hills High School will be just as greedy and lustful for power as you are.”

“Is that all?”

Five minutes and hosting a debate? It wasn’t everything she’d wanted, but to be fair, Brian was a more principled man than Michael Evans. She shouldn’t have expected him to play anything less than hardball. “Five minutes is stingy, but I’ll take it. Who could possibly be dumb enough to run against me? I’m me!” She stood up and walked around the table, leaning over and hugging Brian from behind. “When I’m SBP, you won’t regret this. I owe you lunch.” Becca pulled away and paused. “Speaking of food, when are you bringing Parker around for what is sure to be the most interesting episode of Meet The Parents?” Their parents were weird, or maybe insane, and Parker was equally weird, and/or insane. There was no way that went off without something exciting.

“If I have anything to say about it? Never. But, I don’t, so more accurately probably later this month.” Brian was nothing if not bluntly honest, and the fact was, he didn’t want his parents meeting Parker. Not ever, if he could help it, but… he couldn’t. It could be delayed, or avoided, but it couldn’t be kept stalled forever. “I’m sure Mother will tell you before she tells me.”

“You ought to take a page out of my book. Hump and dump, then the parents never need to know,” she said, smirking. She neglected to mention that her current conquest had included a lot less dumping than humping, but this wasn’t the time to tell her brother that she was screwing another one of his friends. She’d just gotten a deal out of him, no need to jeopardize that. Becca strutted to the door that led into the west wing of Helmsley Castle and flashed Brian another winning smile. “Thanks again, Brother Dearest,” she said, and exited into the rest of the home, closing the door behind her with muffled thud. Mission accomplished.

[Bee]

_{A @smarty0114 & @Bee collab
Featuring: Becca Helmsley & Lawrence Townsend
Location: The Football Field, After School}

---

---

Despite the chill in the air, the football team was hard at work on the field running drills. The football team had been on a winning streak like her soccer teams, and they were headed for the championships it seemed. Lawrence had said practices were getting more intense. The coaches were surely stressed about losing Damian. Scanning the field for a moment before looking away, Becca Helmsley climbed up the bleachers, where she found the closest thing she had to a best friend lounging against the metal seats, blowing pink bubbles from between her lips. Ivy Nichols smiled and waved. “Fancy seeing you here,” Becca said, taking a seat next to the blonde.

“I come here after a rough day. Watching boys work out really relieves the stress,” Ivy said casually, popping her gum while her gaze remained focused on the football team down below them. Becca laughed but didn’t disagree. “Let me guess, you’re here for Townsend?” Becca’s eyes drifted down to the field, looking for one player in particular. The long hair gave him away, and the stare Becca gave him more or less answered Ivy’s question. The blonde laughed. “I’m glad the date went well. Has he made an honest woman out of you?”

“Ivy, you know me. We’re just… having fun. Lots, of fun,” Becca said, smirking. Whatever her and Lawrence had been doing, it was fun. Was it truly just fun though? That remained to be seen.

A sharp whistle signalled the end of practice, and Ivy stood up, sighing. “Shows over,” she said, disappointment etched across her face. She started down towards the field, Becca following behind. Ivy turned at the bottom of the bleachers and gave Becca a hug. “Have fun with Townsend,” she said, winking at her friend before heading off towards the school parking lot.

Becca waited as players moved past her, headed to the locker room, dripping sweat even with the evening chill that had begun to set in. More than a few players gave her looks while they walked by, but she ignored them. The attention emboldened her and when she saw Lawrence was the last one of the pack, she strolled up to greet him. “Hey you,” she said, looking up into his eyes. “Nice job out there.”

Losing Damian had been less of a hit than Lawrence had previously thought. It wasn’t the level of play that was the issue, but it was the loss of leadership. However, Justin had done a good job at rising up and stepping up. Obviously not at the level of Damian, but for being the new captain for a few weeks he had made serious strides in stepping up.

Currently, the first team offense and the first team defense was on the field running one last play. One last play and they could go home. Lining up behind the quarterback, he was waiting to receive a handoff from Justin. Hearing and seeing the ball get snapped, he ran up and took the ball. Seeing the linebackers pour in had prompted him to bounce outside, which resulted in the typical and he burned them like California in the summer, taking it about fifteen yards before being pushed out of bounds.

After that, there was the same old bullshit speech from the coach about good work and about how everyone put in a good effort (which was a nice way of saying that they weren’t exactly up to his standards yet). Other than that, they were left to go to the locker room and do locker room things. Everyone, except for Lawrence who was pulled aside by none other than Becca Helmsley.

“Hey.” Lawrence smiled, “Thanks. I’m surprised you were watching. What are you up to out here?”

“I wanted to talk to you about something,” Becca said smiling. “How would you like to be my running mate in the special election? I need a running mate, and I can’t think of someone I’d rather have at my side.” She’d already pictured the next few weeks in her head a million times since this morning. She’d win this election, she knew that for certain, but a good VP would secure her spot in the hearts of the student body. Running with Bailee made it look like a Helmsley takeover, which to be fair, it was, but that didn’t sell very well. Leaving Trixie as her VP would just put an enemy in her circle that she didn’t need. Lawrence though, she could trust. He was charming, well liked, and they looked good together. He’d be the king to her queen. It was picture fucking perfect.

“Running mate?” It was an interesting proposition for sure, and one that he wasn’t really expecting to come. He wasn’t really a political person at all. Politics and all that confused him and he found it to be people pandering to whoever had the most money in their pockets, even on a high school level. However, it was Becca Helmsley. One of the most prolific women at the school. Asking him to come along was a smart move on her end, considering how prolific he was as well. But, he wasn’t sure if he was interested. “I don’t know, Becca... politics aren’t really my thing…”

“That’s okay, because they’re my thing,” Becca said. She smiled, and brought her hand up to rest on his bicep. “Just think of us running this school. Justin can be the leader out there,” she said, gesturing out to the field, “but you’ll be in charge everywhere else. I need your energy, Lawr. People look up to you. Plus, it gives us an excuse to spend some time together.” She batted her eyes and grinned. She wasn’t above using her looks to win this one, far from it in fact.

“Why me, though?” Lawrence smiled, “I’m just a football player.” Lawrence looked out at the field, watching coaches and assistants pick up the remnants of their practice. “The only running I do is out here.”

“Because, you’re my football player,” Becca said. Her lips found his, and then they were on his neck and her hands were sliding down his chest and all she could think was how lucky she’d been that the rest of the team was still showering in the locker room. She hadn’t been expecting him to take this much convincing. Pulling away, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed up against him, biting her lip. “I trust you Lawr. I could’ve asked Justin or Trevor or Damian but at the end of the day, I can’t work with them like I can with you.” It wasn’t so much a lie, only a pleasant rewording of the truth. She trusted Lawrence to do what she wanted, way more than she could any of the other boys. She liked him, and she liked the sex, but real trust wasn’t something she gave away so easily, not that he needed to know that.

“Doesn’t mean I’m school running material.” Lawrence shrugged, but what came afterwards was much more up Lawrence’s alley, and a language he was far more proficient in. God, she was so hot. Looking into those beautiful, blue eyes, he smiled. “Well, when you put it like that…” The running back’s smile grew wider, “What do you want me to do, exactly?”

She beamed at Lawrence’s question. She knew she’d won by then, and it was no wonder. She was Becca Helmsley. Winning was in her blood. “I can do all the heavy lifting. You’ll need to secure the team’s votes, but really I just need you by my side, looking your usual, dashing self. Honestly, once everybody knows we’re running together, I can’t see anyone standing in the way,” she said, planting another kiss on him. She pulled away and interlocked her fingers with his. “This is going to be amazing, I promise.”

“So all I gotta do is sit there and be pretty?” Lawrence joked, laughing lightly. He liked the idea of having Becca carry the work. Just like a group project, except there weren’t really any stakes for him other than having a sad Becca, but he knew just how to fix that.

“Exactly, and you’re very good at that. See, I can play to your strengths,” she said. She began walking towards the locker room, her hand in his. “I’ve got a meeting with Brian in an hour, but if you shower quick, I think I owe you a campaign present,” she said, spinning around to face Lawrence and giving him a wink.

“Alright. Say no more, you’ve convinced me plenty.” The running back smiled, letting the soccer player bring him along to the locker room. “I’ll be as fast as I can be.”