[IC] Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

[Rightful Heir]

It was tempting. It was really tempting. As Sawyer stood there in nothing but his Halloween costume, _{if you could even consider a themed pair of boxer briefs a 'costume',} he eyed his costume from the year before while chewing on his lip. 'Why did I agree to this?' The boy pulled on the fabric at his groin and snatched his cell from his desk, quickly typing out a text to his friend, Astraia. He sent it off, and nearly as soon as he had sent it, he had a reply back. Did that girl have her phone surgically attached to her hand? Sawyer rolled his eyes and typed back a couple more replies before placing his phone where it once sat, smirking to himself at the way she was so openly flirty. He knew better than to think it was only him she was like that with, but a guy could only dream, right? Plus, she was one of his greatest friends. The playful banter was cute and all, but at the end of the day he knew where they stood and that was alright with him. It'd been that way for years. Nothing was going to change that.

As if on queue, Gavin swung the door wide open and Sawyer immediately regret not locking it in the first place. Gavin's laughter filled Sawyer's room, but it wasn't at all funny to him. "You're actually gonna wear it?" Sawyer narrowed his eyes at his brother. "You know Yess' never gonna let me live it down if I don't wear what she picked out for this party. She wants us, and I quote 'thirst trappin'." Sawyer rolled his eyes with a bit of a smirk, over-exaggerating the air quotes. Gavin, however, had a coy little smile of his own on his features as he spoke. "You know who else is going, don't you?" Sawyer's heart skipped a beat, knowing all too well who his annoying twin brother was speaking of. It took a second before Sawyer could recover himself, turning away so that Gavin couldn't see the bit of hurt in his face.

"So what the hell are you going as, anyway? What did Yess pick out for you?" Sawyer managed to collect himself, turning to face his brother once more. "What's that smirk for?" Without hesitation, "I told her I wasn't going. I knew she'd pick something obscene out for us if I had told her that I was, in fact, going. I've got to finish doing the make-up for it, though. I'll meet you there, alright? Just don't do anything crazy. Only a few drinks tonight, okay? We talked about th--" "Okay, yes mom!" Sawyer mentally winced at the word. It'd been ages since it had slipped from his mouth. The boy grit his teeth as he snatched his previous year's costume up and stuffed it into his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder before scooping up his Vader mask up under his free arm.

Before Gavin could make another unnecessary comment or demand, Sawyer gave his brother a salute and slipped out of his room and on down the hallway to the stairs. He descended two at a time, hoping to get the hell out of dodge before their father made it home to see his delinquent son dressed so... horrifically. And not in a good, 'punny' way, either. The boy made it down into the garage and clicked the door button, unlocking and climbing up into his truck. It was a 1979 Chevy Silverado 4x4. 4" Rancho Suspension Lift, 3" Body Lift, 38.5" Gumbo Monster Mudders 15x12 Chrome Wheels, Diamond Plate Tool Box, 2 KC 150Watt Lights, Grill Guard, MileMarker Part-Time Kit, Warn Hubs, Dual Exhaust w/echo tips, Sunroof, Tinted Windows, Pioneer Stereo System, AirTank/Bumper Combo, and 17" Drop Hitch.

Not that every kid at King's Academy had a "sweeeeet ride", but Sawyer didn't care much for money or the fame of owning a fast & furious car. As long as it ran, and ran true, he was alright. The boy, with a bit of his uncle's help as well as a couple of friends, helped him rebuild it from the ground up. His next project would be a 1969 Chevy Camaro SS. One day... for now, he started up his truck and pulled out from their driveway, heading on down towards Kavi's place. Sawyer wasn't typically a fan of Kavi's, as he used to be his brother's bully when they first moved to the area back in Junior High all the way up to a short time ago. Sawyer had gotten into a few scuffles with the boy, but Kavi never seemed to have a problem with Sawyer. Eventually, once Kavi started to leave Gavin alone, they seemed to have somewhat of a mutual understanding of each other. If anything, Yessi was to blame for tonight. The coming to the party, and the get-up. That girl could convince the Devil to sing hymns.

Sawyer pulled his truck into a spot a couple of blocks away from the Salvador residence, blasting his own version of Halloween music. His speakers blasted the ending to Running with the Devil by Van Halen before shutting his beast off, stepping down onto the pavement. He could hear the music blasting from where he stood, chewing on his bottom lip as he stared off down the road where Kavi's house was located. The boy took a deep breath before swinging his backpack strap over his shoulder and pushing forward, texting both his friend and brother that he had made it to the party. He hoped he wouldn't see old familiar faces tonight, the kind that bring trouble for the recovering addict. Sawyer picked up his pace, hurrying along the sidewalk as he pulled his Vader helmet on over his face. As if he wasn't already embarrassed enough at just simply wearing the costume, but to have everyone gawk at him as he entered Kavi's home would be an absolute disaster. Let them think he was whoever.

The boy fell in with a small group of people heading for the door, dipping his head to Kavi as he was squeezed between the others through the doorway. Sawyer had half a mind to ask Kavi if he had a place to stash his backpack, but decided against it as the boy seemed preoccupied with greeting guests as they filed in. It was time for Sawyer to find a more familiar face to hang around to get the fun trouble of the night started, which didn't take very long before Sawyer practically ran into Aurelio. The Lockwood twin side stepped, recovering quickly as he steadied himself off Relio's arm. "Ey! Reli, nice costume, man! ...what are ya? 'Swimmin for Bitches'?" he laughed, clapping his buddy on the shoulder. The boy looked around for Yessi, knowing she wouldn't be too far away. The boy just had to spot the sluttiest costume there and it'd probably end up being her.

[spooner]

_{Eternal Rest}

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Getting into an Uber basically naked aside from some prices of plastic armor would probably embarrass most people but Max Wallenberg just laughed along loudly with the driver as they zoomed down the roads of Palm Beach towards Kavis party. It wasn't long before the car began to slow down in front of the Salvador house. The burley teen thanked the driver with a wide grin and a firm handshake before he grabbed his Roman helmet from the backseat.

As the car drove of Max straightened his cape looking towards the lit up house. He put his helmet on and fished his phone out from his tiny golden shorts and checked his messages again. Santiago was still ignoring him and had not answered his last eight texts. He let out a frustrated sigh as he made his way up to the party.

A booming laugh escaped him as he marveled at the amazing decorations complete with animatronics as the group he entered with shrieked in fright. Max greeted Kavi with a hard high five “Thanks for hosting man! This looks sick!” he enthused as he entered the house. He looked around and surveyed the crowd to find out where to go. His face lit up as he saw his teammates throwing up their hands and waving their captain over.

“Hey boys! Having a good time?!” he spoke loudly over the booming music as he looked at the lacrosse team crowded around a table playing flip-cup. The group erupted into cheers as the last cup was flipped. “Eey! Max you’re finally here! Nipples on display I see.” his second in command Brad Leone greeted him with a fistbump.

“Yeah man! These have always been in high demand!” Max laughed as he jokingly flexed his pectoral muscles. His teammates laughed along with him as they set up another round of the drinking game. After an intense effort Max left his boys victorious and headed back into the crowd dancing his way through. A few songs later he found himself at the edge of the crowd spotting a few familiar faces.

“Wow! Sawyer, my man! I’m proud that someone took the same opportunity as me!” he said joyfully slapping his teammate on the back. He surveyed their similar costume choices of short shorts and accessories. “And Reli! Welcome back my dude!” he greeted the other member of the twin squad. “And who is-” he looked over their shoulder to see who they were talking to “Oh…” he uttered as he saw it was Millie-Jean, his ex-girlfriend’s sister. “Hey there Millie, everything good?” he asked awkwardly scratching the back of his head. “Uh-uhm I’m just going to get something to drink! Catch you guys later.” he mumbled as he rushed towards the refreshment table. Shaking his head to dispel the awkward situation that just transpired, taking three shots of vodka one after the other also helped with that. Slamming the plastic shot glass down on the table noticed his newly reunited friend staring at the front door.

“Looking for someone special officer?” he asked amused.

[Venus]

_{A #Marcher Collab with @spooner}

At ten minutes past nine in the evening, a hunter green G-Wagon was making its way to the driveway of the Diedrikson residence. Die Antwoord’s ‘Baby’s On Fire’ was blasting from the speakers, the echoing bass making the whole vehicle tremble. Behind the wheel was the one and only Marisol Castillo, dressed up in a rather sultry version of Wednesday Addams complete with the double braids and the shiny black Mary Janes. Once parked in front of the main entrance, Marisol began to dance and jam along to the music while her fingers moved across the keyboard on her phone screen. She sent a quick text to Archer letting him know she was waiting for him, one to Sonny asking if he was at the party yet, and one to Salem giving him an update about her current status before setting the device back on the cup holder to focus on the deafening music again.

Meanwhile, inside the house, Archer Diedrikson was kneeling down, tying his sneakers about to head out. However, it was the unnerving presence of his mother watching him from the kitchen doorway that ultimately made him flick his head towards her.

"Is there anything you'd like to share?" The tall boy asked with a sarcastic tone. He knew exactly what she was about to say.

A small sigh left his mother. "No…" she said quietly before pausing for a second. "I'm just wondering if that costume… Maybe it's a little too out there?" she finally asked.

Archer straightened up and rolled his eyes as he ran a hand through his hair. “Why, yes, mother: I do think it’s out there. It’s kind of the point.” he deadpanned. He let out a sound that was a blend between a chuckle and a deep sigh. “Where is this coming from? Is it maybe a concern of the big man upstairs?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at his concerned mother while picking up the basket of fruit, knowing that his father saw him getting his costume together earlier.

“Well... No, not-” his mother began before falling silent.

He gave her a knowing stare as he unlocked the front door. “Look, Mom: don’t worry. It’s a party at Kavi’s house- we’re not going to a Halloween rave on the strip. Besides, gay bashing went out of style years ago.” Archer quipped as he opened the door, stepping out into the night. “Ok, love you! Bye!” he blurted, closing the door and not letting his mother comment.

Finally outside, Archer took a deep breath. He shook off the interaction he just had before walking fast towards the big car in his driveway, opening the passenger door with a flare.

“A lotta bad boy’s wanna piece of me!” he sang along in the same high-pitched voice of the song pouring out of the speakers as he showed off his costume to his best friend.

A round of rowdy laughter broke through the music as Marisol's attention was pulled away from the music and to the tall boy standing outside her car. "The fruit-selling girl at the market in the 1800's? Very nice choice, Archie," she teased, amused green eyes taking in every piece of his costume: from the white, off the shoulder blouse down to the fabulous basket of fruit he was so proudly holding out. Very cute, and very Archer Diedrikson.

Her friend scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Thanks! Love your depressed Pippi Longstocking look!” the boy grinned as he stepped in to the vehicle.

Mari chuckled, lightly punching Archer in the shoulder. "So we picking up Van or heading straight to Kavi's?" she asked, foot still pressed on the brakes as she waited for his answer.

“Nah, he said to meet him there.” Archer’s muffled voice answered as he hung over his seat to put his basket in the back of the car. “So we can go straight there. If we’re not picking up someone else?” He asked.

"Nope," the girl told him simply. And as if to prove her point, she released the brakes, pressed the gas pedal and drove away from Archer's house. "I'm meeting Sal there, so that means I get to spend all of this quality time with my favorite Fruit Boy," Mari teased, squeezing her best friend's hand for a brief moment before taking hold of the steering wheel with both hands again.

Archer leaned back and clutched his chest. “Why… why that just makes me the happiest little boy!” he joked in a sing songy voice. “Good, ‘cause I need to hear what you guys are planning to do! What’s going on between you two… really?” he asked in earnest.

Mari was quiet for a second, not realizing she's started chewing on her bottom lip. "I mean, we're definitely more than friends-" she began, thinking of the many times Salem and her had hooked up everywhere in the past two weeks and shaking the suggestive memories away as soon as they came up. "But I honestly have no clue of what to call this. Tonight's actually our first official date together as… whatever this is. We haven't really talked about it, you know?"

The boy mused for a moment as he emitted a low hum. “And-” he continued the hum. “What about that little problem… back in New York?” he asked carefully. “I mean, I don't care about her… I don't know her!" Archer said defensively, throwing his hands up in front of him as he sensed a snarky comment loaded with a lot of 'fucks' coming his way judging from the way Mari raised her eyebrows at him. "But I do care a whole lot about you- and Salem as well… to some extent." he intercepted before his friend could reply.

"And look: I know you hate talking about this stuff, but I just need to know you guys have a plan. I don't want you… You know I just want you to be happy." He fell silent staring out the window before turning his head to face her again "Besides, this might be the only time we can talk about this without Torvie skulking around!" He said with a grin.

Marisol gave Archer a grateful but distracted half-smile, mind racing. She knew that what she and Salem had went way beyond just two horny friends with benefits getting on every chance they could get. They had deep conversations about things: life, the future, their hopes, their dreams, their fears, their pasts… And after every moment spent together, the green-eyed girl could actually feel the bond between them strengthening. But after the crapfest she went through with Sonny and confessing her feelings only for them to be #gonewiththewind? There was no way she would be the one to bring up the subject first.

"As much as I hate to say this, Salem's the one that has the answer to all the questions you've just asked me. I'm just rolling with it for what it's worth," she replied, trying to appear unbothered by the sudden wave of insecurity washing over her but eventually letting out a worried sigh.

The boy in the seat beside her gave a small cough followed by a very skeptical look. "Oh I'm sure you are," he rolled his eyes before turning back looking out the window.

Besides her cousin, Archer was probably the only other person in the world she could be completely open and honest about her feelings with. She knew there was no fooling him, so it was best to just come clean. "I really care about him, Archie. I fucking hate it, but I do. Everything is great when I'm with him. He's sweet, he's caring, he listens to all my crap with a smile on his face, I trust him…" Marisol trailed off, eyes widening with horror and surprise at the word that currently stood out in her mind. "Holy shit. I think it's the goddamn 'L' word."

He almost gave himself whiplash with how fast he spun his head around. Archer stayed silent with his mouth slightly open as he processes what was just said. Before speaking he composed himself "Well, you basically described me! Except I'm not interested in all that." He gestures towards her crotch and chest, earning himself an eye roll and laughter from Mari. "So obviously you would feel that way about the kid." He said, trying to hold a cheery tone to it and knowing his friend was probably scared out of her mind- since the last time she felt anything like this a Mercedes had to lose its life. "Well then it's more important than ever to keep it 100 with each other."

"And on that note: how are things with Van Daddy?" Mari asked, a smug smile on her face as she jumped at the chance to shift the conversation from her emotions to the blossoming gay romance his friend was living.

Another eye roll before he dropped the subject. "Good, thank you very much! We are figuring stuff out, and obviously we're spending a lot of time over at my house. Since we have the situation with uh… his folks..." he shifted a little uncomfortably. "But, hey: I'm happy we have each other." he smiled, thinking about his boyfriend.

“And I’m happy you guys have each other,” Mari added, her permanently hard expression softening considerably. After all the bullshit Archer had gone through because of his sexuality, it was a nice change to see him happy and with someone who was just as crazy about him and he was about them And hanging out at his place? It was the best way to shove it to-

"Hold the fuck up: macho king patriarch Garrett Diedrikson is cool with all this gayness happening under his roof?" she suddenly asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow at Archer. Knowing her best friend's father, it was a miracle he was allowing his son to have Kavan over so often. Unless… "Unless he doesn't even know it's happening?" Mari mused, an impish smile on her face now.

Archer laughed loudly. "You really think anything could escape the hawk eyes of daddy dearest?" he said while running his hands through his curly hair. "No, I think in his own weird way he's come to terms with it. As long as it's behind closed doors." A wide grin spread across his face. "But if he only knew what super slut Archie has been up to on the down low the past years." He winked at his friend.

"Oh, I bet," Mari laughed. "So much for being able to keep it in your pants, unlike me, right?" she teased, taking one hand off the steering wheel to lightly punch Archer's elbow.

Archer held up a finger. “I said that before me and Van had our moment and I-” he pursed his lips at Mari's look. “Fine! Okay, I see my hypocrisy on this topic!” he chuckled. "But in my defense you’ve known about all of my one night stand escapades!” he pointed his finger in her direction. Marisol knew everything about him, mostly because he always called her after.

"So have you!" Mari laughed as well, shaking her head. "I've told you everything in detail, from the position he was hitting it from down to what he was saying while he did it."

“Which I never asked for, I want to add.” he grumbled as he settled back in his seat.

"But that I share anyway because that's what best friends do, and you're my best friend in the whoooooole wide world!" she replied, using a teasing, child-like voice to say that last phrase while pinching Archer's cheek.

Soon enough the Salvador estate came in to view “It never ceases to amaze me how fucking big Kavi’s house is…" he leant forward to get a better look at the approaching house.

The short girl scoffed. "This is your definition of a big house?"

Archer scoffed back. “Not everything is a dick measuring contest, Marisol! If it makes you feel better I think your house is huge too.” he said in a mock sweet voice and patted his friend on the head while unbuckled.

Mari playfully swatted his hand away. "Good, because it would hurt my big, fat, manly ego if you didn't think so," she teased back, parking the car in the nearest empty spot and shutting off the engine.

After she gave herself one last good look in the rearview mirror and popped two pieces of gum in her mouth, the braided brunette exited the car, skipped around to the passenger side and turned to her best friend. "You ready to go find Bollywood Prince Charming?"

“Yes! Let’s do this shit!” the boy said as he retrieved the basket of fruit from the car closing the door after him. “Shall we?” he said holding out his free arm for Mari to grab.

"Let's." she responded, taking Archer's arm.

And with matching grins and linked arms, Wednesday Addams and the gender bender Demeter walked through the house’s door and made their entrance to Kavi Salvador's Halloween party.

[fledermaus]

“I’m surprised you’re even going tonight. Figured this many people in one place was sure to spook you into staying in.”

Millie Jean stared out the window, her eyes tracking the cars flying past. Part of her wanted to stick some headphones in to calm her nerves before she entered a crowded cesspool of STDs and assaulting noises, but she knew her sister Kellie Anne wouldn’t take lightly to that. “Well, mom wanted me to go. So, I’m going.”

Kellie Anne’s nostrils immediately flared in annoyance. Ah, yes, how could she forget about that afternoon’s argument? After Kellie had announced she’d be heading out to Kavi’s party, the twins’ mother had insisted that Millie tag along in hopes that it would ‘help her have some fun’. Knowing her sister like she did, Kellie had fought tooth and nail to prevent this from happening. Whenever their mother asked one sister to tag along with the other, it was usually so one would look after the other, and the last thing the dancer wanted was to play babysitter when she was supposed to be having fun. And yet here she was a few hours later: both sisters on the way to the party at the center of the family discord, Kellie’s angry brown eyes on the road while keeping both hands on the wheel of her Beetle.

“Don’t worry,” Millie Jean said after seeing the sour look on Kellie’s face, “I’ll be fine on my own and you can do whatever.”

It wasn’t like Millie Jean wanted to be there or be an accessory attached to Kellie Jean’s belt loops. Millie Jean just wanted to stay home and watch her butterflies (she would go swimming, but she’s not allowed to without supervision yet). A party was the last thing she wanted to go to, and she could already imagine the acrid smell of alcohol wafting over her until it sunk into her clothes. She couldn’t wait to be back home.

“Yeah, because leaving you to your own devices was such a marvelous idea the last time…” Kellie muttered, brows furrowing together now. She knew that mentioning her sister’s incident was a low blow, but a big part of her was still hurt about how Millie could have possibly thought she didn’t have anybody to trust with her issues. Well, now she most certainly did not have her twin in her corner. If she wanted to be a selfish bitch, then so be it.

Millie Jean’s blood boiled under her skin, so hot she could feel it climb up to her cheeks and turn her face bright red under her Halloween makeup. She knew it would start a fight and maybe that’s why she said it, “Maybe worry about what girl your boy toy is going to be fucking at this party, Kellie Anne. ‘Cause it sure won’t be you.”

Kellie’s knuckles whitened as her grip on the steering wheel strengthened with holding back the urge to grab her sister by the throat, her face a mask of fury now. “At least I’m not some depressed, reclusive virgin who doesn’t even know what a kiss feels like,” she spat, pure venom in her spew of words now. “You know what? You should have dressed like Rapunzel tonight- the two of you have a lot in common. You know: locked in a tower, alone in the world, twiddling their thumbs and moping around waiting for some Prince Charming to come whisk them away to live oh-so ‘happily ever after’… So romantic.”

“No, I’m just waiting for you to leave!” Millie Jean shouted, whipping her head to glare at Kellie Anne’s silhouette in the driver’s seat. “Are we almost there already? I can’t wait to get out of this car.”

“Oh, really? Well then let me make it easier for you!” Kellie shouted back, slamming her foot on the brakes and bringing the car to a full stop. Fuming, she unlocked the Beetle’s doors and glared right back at her sister. “Get out of the damn car, Millie Jean. You can walk yourself to the damn party.”

“So much for not being able to leave me to my own devices, huh?” Millie Jean bit back viciously, unbuckling her seatbelt even though she really didn’t want to get out of the car. “What makes you so sure I’ll go to the party? I’m sure I can find a high enough bridge around here, or maybe a freeway. Maybe I’ll be picked up by some strange man in his van or get stabbed by a crackhead on the streets! Wonder what mom will say to that.”

Millie Jean hoped Kellie Anne would take her bait and continue driving. She didn’t really want to walk, and if it came down to swallowing her pride or putting her sneakers to work, Millie would sacrifice the soles of her shoes before she sacrificed her ego.

Kellie Anne was quiet for a long time, truly contemplating whether beating up Millie was really worth skipping the party for. I mean, it certainly was an inviting idea, and it would help her get rid of the anger that was currently pumping through her veins. But did she really want to miss the chance of a fun night with Shawna, Sawyer and the rest of her friends over her sister’s stupidity? Not one bit.

“You know what I wonder? What Mom would say about one twin suddenly snapping and running her car over the manipulative, piece of shit body of the other one,” she finally replied. “But that’s probably what your psychopath self has wanted all along, so I’ll save you the enjoyment. Do me a favor and keep your stupid mouth shut for the rest of the trip.”

“Just drive.” Millie muttered, fastening her seatbelt and leaning pack in the seat. She glared out the window, resolutely keeping her lips pressed together.

After an angry huff, Kellie released the brakes and floored the gas pedal again. An uncomfortable silence settled in the car, the atmosphere thick with the unresolved tension between the two bitter, upset sisters. Thankfully, the rest of their drive came to an end sooner rather than later, and before they knew it, Kellie Anne was claiming one of the prime parking spots in front of the spacious home.

“You’re on your own, Mills. Don’t bother me unless you’re dying.” And with the warning still hanging in the air, the long-haired Snow White exited the car, squared her shoulders, plastered the best smile she could muster up under the circumstances, and made her way into the party.

Millie Jean didn’t follow her sister right away, bending slightly to check over her Day of the Dead makeup in the side mirror of the car instead. She had done it hastily since she had no intention of coming to the party until her mom forced her to and the Day of the Dead makeup was decided on after frantically thinking up easy costumes. Eventually, after fiddling with the flower in her hair, she had run out of things to double-check and was forced to walk into the party.

A beautiful array of Halloween-themed decorations greeted the young woman, and so did a large group of classmates both known and unknown. She said her hellos and waved at a few teammates before giving a quick look-around to her surroundings. As if by instinct or pulled by some sort of unknown magnetism, her brown eyes immediately fell on Max, and Kellie felt her breath get caught in her throat. If the boy usually shone by himself, it was nothing compared to the way he did now. The golden Roman soldier costume he’d chosen called attention to every one of his best features: the tall frame, the muscled arms, the defined chest, the toned legs, the golden treasure below the belt that she would never admit to taking a second good look at… All in their usual perfect state, down to the glowing smile on his handsome face. She couldn’t help but stare at him for what seemed like a lifetime… Up until company arrived in the form of Yessi Astor.

Kellie’s heart immediately shriveled up into a sad, pathetic prune. Of course he would be with her. She was his ‘best friend’, and probably the most provocative girl in the room. With a like that, would he even bother with giving a second glance at any other girl? Feeling the tears starting to sting her eyes, the dancer turned on her heel and walked away, with no particular purpose or direction.

Lucky for her, the path had led to her newest best friend, who was currently standing alone by the drinks table, and whatever sadness she was feeling evaporated somewhat. Smiling, Kellie made a beeline towards the caramel-skinned girl and threw her arms around her as soon as she was within reach.

“Oh my God! You look amazing!” Kellie cried out, planting a quick kiss on Shawna’s lips. “I told you that Cleopatra costume was the way to go! You’ll have everyone at this party swooning after you.”

While her sister mingled, Millie Jean found herself a soda and squeezed her way to the wall, away from the bodies of everyone else. Her short trip from the cooler to her now-declared territory was torture with people pressing in on her and the feeling of a hundred hot exhales brushing across her neck. The wall was good, the wall was great, it was her only friend in this hellhole. Millie Jean was content with being on her own, the crowd was causing her anxiety and she just wanted to sweat in the corner until an acceptable time has passed so she could be-bop her way out of there.

She was beginning to settle in when a voice right next to her startled her, causing her jump slightly and the coke to slosh in her red solo cup. At first, she didn’t think the voice was directed at her, despite his words seeming to fit her description rather well - there was no way she was the only one there with Day of the Dead makeup, though. However, once she glanced up at a guy in front of her with a chiseled jaw and a wetsuit on.

“Um,” Millie Jean stuttered softly, trying to think of a polite but uninterested response. Maybe if she was weird enough, he would go away, “my mom made me come because I’m a social recluse and she’s under the impression that forcing me to interact with my flea-infested peers will make me more likeable as a person. Your nipples look weird.”

Millie Jean immediately flushed at her last sentence, looking away and take a long drink of her soda. She wanted to weird him out and make him go away, but not at the expense of coming off as a total freak. Though, Kellie Anne would argue that she is a total freak. This was going to be a long night for her.

[CaliforniaState]

_{Chanel | Aaliyah | Julie}

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For many people around the country, Halloween night had always been a time that was looked forward to with great anticipation. It was the one night of the year when it was all right to wear a costume or mask—a fun mask, as opposed to that protective one that most people wore every day of their lives. But for Chanel Martin, Halloween was simply another holiday that she hadn't really participated in or cared about ever since she was a child; If it weren't for the costume party that was to be held at the Salvador residence, she would've been spending her night mindlessly eating the candy that was supposed to be for the neighborhood kids and watching whatever cheesy horror film her uncle decided to show her. All of this explained why Chanel hadn't even bothered to put much effort into her costume. In fact, she'd found everything she needed in the back of her closet, and had made her way to Julie MacMillan's house later on that day wearing everything but the matching hat and her face. "Good thing I didn't get rid of this old thing when I had the chance," Chanel spoke aloud to the other young women that sat in Julie's bedroom as she made a few finishing touches to her makeup. "Cowgirl hats are so... out of style. But I guess it came in handy."

"Well so are opera gloves but I'm not letting that stop me!" Julie said as she finished pinning her hair up in the elaborate style of a 18th century queen. With a final veil of hairspray the girl gave a nod to her own reflection before turning to her best friend for approval. "So since a petticoat felt a bit much I opted for more of an interpretation. Does it look ok?" She asked while smoothing out the skirt part of her blue dress that cut of a bit above her knees instead of the floor length that was more historically correct. "Does it make me look like more of a courtesan than a queen?" She raised an eyebrow before the other girl had a chance to answer "But then again maybe a bit of both will do..." she said keeping a certain someone in mind.

Her head was still spinning from the luncheon Aaliyah had with Julie, it seemed like the fruits of her not so labor had paid off. She had won all expenses paid trip to Bali Julie’s house where Chanel and the fiery red head would be putting on her second face. The idea of going to Kavi’s Halloween party was foreign to her much less the school’s party even if they kept it. Aaliyah looked more like a zombie than anything, minus the excessive groaning. Either way she was stuck going now, much like she was with the homecoming ball. With enough coaxing and encouragement from her five-star family the black swan had made her way to Julie’s humble abode. 5 minutes of staying in the car with another 5 minutes of paralyzed fear outside her front door, finally led her inside the house. The two had gotten read rather quickly, almost as if they had rehearsed this scene or just weren’t plain interested. Whatever was the case, Aaliyah locked herself in the bathroom under the guise that she was washing her face for the inevitable pounds of makeup she would wear.

“Speaking of queens! How do you feel about your costume Aaliyah? You alright in there?” Julie asked their newest friend which the pair had helped out with the costume choice.

Aaliyah jumped in her skin, her ear pressed against the door heard Julies question in braggadocious volume. ”What do I say, what do I say? Just say something dummy!” she thought, “Uhh…haha I like it! I’ll be right out….just…you know…finishing up” her voice echoed nervously as the sound of running water could suddenly be heard. She looked in the mirror at her tired and flushed complexion, ”Alright you can do this, just go out there and be…normal. Yeah normal!” the teen splashed her face with some water making a few bizarre faces in the mirror before she slowly unlocked the door and crept out as if her shadow would conceal her.

“So where do we start?” she said nervously, but also with a hint of excitement.

Almost as soon as Aaliyah had finally made her way out of the bathroom, Chanel grabbed the duffel bag that she'd brought along with her and set it down on Julie's bed. The young woman then unzipped the bag to reveal an unopened, medium sized box, her trusty flat iron, and a few more accessories to complete Aaliyah's costume. "Well... we start with your hair and crown," Chanel said, a certain gleam in her eye as she quickly brainstormed all of the different styles that would work well. "And then Julie and I can test out our makeup skills. We found this neat little special effects makeup kit in the store... figured it would help. So all you have to do is take a seat and let us work our magic."

The appearance of the duffel bag made Aaliyah’s eyes widen like a child finding their first treat of this spooky night. The more Chanel pulled out of her bag the more she thought doves would fly out too. Making sure she wasn’t making a fool out of herself she shut her mouth before the queen could address her. The look in Chanel and Julie's eyes sent a wave of comfort down Aaliyah’s body, maybe this was the start of a beautiful friendship. She couldn’t muster up any words let alone a sentence, so instead the girl just nodded repeatedly and gave a few “mhmms” and “yeahs” before she got into the hot seat, ready to be reanimated.

---

---

The black car slowly made its way to the house where music was pouring out of the open front doors. The trio of girls were fashionably late since they had decided to have a little pre cocktail party in Julie's room before calling the car. The driver opened the door letting the girls spill out one by one. They all said their thanks before letting the car drive away.

Julie turned to her friends "You guys ready to head in?" She said with a small smile. Usually she wasn't a party party kind of girl but she was on a mission tonight and sacrifices had to be made.

As usual, Chanel was the first one to scream "hell yeah" when Julie asked if they were ready to head inside; unlike most of her friends, Chanel loved herself a good party, especially when she knew that alcohol would be available. After taking a few quick moments to adjust the hat on her head, Chanel offered the two girls a grin before starting towards the front door.

The redhead turned to Aaliyah with a smile before following the 'cowboy' towards the party. As the girls entered it was like the party just welled up around them. Julie scanned the crowd until her eyes found what she was looking for. But as soon as their eyes met the girl looked away and concentrated on her friends instead. "Well he sure didn't skimp on the refreshment did he?" She said surveying the table ladened with different types of drinks. After a while she decided to go for one of the fruity wine coolers.

Aaliyah had never felt like this before, it was exactly as if she was killed and then reanimated. Perhaps it was the crown or the stunning job her two friends? had done on her that gave her such confidence….and the mix of cocktails entering her system. She felt strong, powerful, and ironically alive. She had said more in the car ride over than she had in her entire high school career to the pair and she was surprisingly good at it. Regardless, they had finally arrived to Kavi’s which neither scared nor pushed Aaliyah away, rather it left a smirk of enjoyment etched on her face before they sloppily sauntered out of the car.

“I was reborn ready” the queen of the dead joked, thinking her puns were actually good while following Chanel and Julies lead. Normally Aaliyah would have caught Julie surveying the party, but instead her low tolerance left her somewhat aloof as she looked around on her own. JJ had suddenly vanished, it seemed she had a habit of causing boys she talked to disappear or worse. Julies words roped her back in, “Honestly he didn’t skimp out on anything. I like it though you can tell her tried” she said whilst poking at the webs around her. “Oh I’ll take whatever you guys are having, can’t get drunk when you’re dead am I right?”

"Yeah, I'm surprised that he went all out like this," Chanel said to the pair as she took in all of the decorations for herself. It was only when she saw Julie headed towards a table full of different types of alcohol that a grin began to make its way to her face. Following Julie's lead, Chanel grabbed herself a wine cooler as well, opting for the lemonade flavor instead of the fruit based one. As Aaliyah made her last joke, Chanel simply shook her head and handed the girl a similar drink. "Damn straight," Chanel said with a chuckle as she opened her own bottle, "Bottoms up, witches."

[Ejected]

<sub>King Tut

Location: The Salvador Residence
Interacting With: Amoli Varma, Sonia Drake</sub>

---

---

Having spent the first half of his life in Mumbai, Kavan Varma never quite understood the whole "Halloween" thing and why Americans were so obsessed with it all; From the creepy house decorations all the way down to the horror movie marathons, Kavan simply didn't see the appeal of any of it. Even when the Varma household had migrated to the states, the family never really made an effort to participate in the holiday as the rest of the neighborhood did. They never passed out candy to the kids who came knocking on their front door, never set up any decorations or carved any pumpkins, and horror movies were the very last choice whenever Kavan managed to convince his sister to watch a movie with him. All of this explained why Amoli Varma was highly surprised when her younger brother came rushing down the stairs in his last minute costume; she couldn't help but crack an embarrassed smile as she watched the young man hurriedly search around for something in the living room. "I think Jack Sparrow would've been a more fitting Halloween costume, baby brother. You know, so you'll have a valid excuse to wear your guyliner," Amoli said jokingly from the sofa. "What's all this for, anyway? You're going trick-or-treating?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Kavan said, his voice oozing with sarcasm. "It's for a Halloween party at Kavi's house. I'm supposed to be meeting Archer there, but I... can't seem to find my keys."

"Going because of Archer, huh?" Amoli said with a raised eyebrow, "You two seem to be getting pretty close now that you've finally aired everything out." As the young woman spoke, she stood from her spot on the couch and began to help her brother search the room for his keys. "I'm glad everything worked out."

"I'm not going because of him, Amoli," Kavan said with a roll of his eyes, "It's a house party. I'm going to have fun."

As always, Amoli simply put on a knowing smile and shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever." After a few more minutes of hopeless searching, Amoli finally took an exasperated breath before grabbing her own keys from off the coffee table and making her way towards the front door. "Come on, I'll just drive you there," the young woman said. "Maybe I'll even stick around for a bit... I've always wanted to go one of these high school Halloween parties."

---

---

The Varma siblings arrived at the party a little bit later than Kavan had originally intended, but at that point he didn't really care. At least his sister had been nice enough to give him a ride; though, he knew that she'd use this against him in the near future whenever she needed another favor. After the car was parked, Kavan and Amoli made their way to the front door. It wasn't until after they'd been let inside that they decided to go their separate ways. "I'll text you when I'm ready to leave," Amoli yelled to him over the music, "I'll give you two minutes before I make you take an Uber back home." Kavan simply offered his sister a curt nod before turning on his heel and making his way to... well, anywhere away from his sister.

Soon, Kavan found himself at the drink table; unlike the majority of those in attendance, Kavan filled his cup only with some Dr. Pepper. He'd never been much of a drinker, and decided that he'd much rather wake up the next morning without having to worry about nursing the world's most painful hangover. With his red solo cup in hand, Kavan began to aimlessly roam the room once more, his eyes searching the crowd of people for a familiar face... the familiar face. What he saw instead, however, was something that he certainly hadn't been expecting to see. In fact, Kavan had to double check his cup and then do a quick double-take to make sure that his eyes weren't deceiving him.

"Sonny, is that you?" Kavan said to the boy, a smirk making its way to his lips as he took in Sonny Drake's costume. "Or should I call you Sonia instead?" Of course, the young man didn't mean any harm when he spoke to Sonny. He did, however, take great pleasure in poking fun at the boy; he thought of it as his way of getting back at him for whatever snide remarks he'd made in the past. "I've gotta say man, this whole thing you've got going on kind of suits you. Maybe now you can hang with Chanel and the rest of her little fashion crew now that you're into skirts."

[AlteredTundra]

_{An @Altered Tundra & @HaleyTheRandom Collaboration featuring Stella Lambert & Oliver Greyson}

She is dressed to kill
And he is to die for
She knows he would kill
Just to hold her on the dance floor
So do we dare to take this dance
Cause I'm willing to take the chance
And tonight could be the night baby
Just take my hand I swear we'll make it right

As soon as she got home, Stella was busy at work for her costume. Everything was customly made by her and Winnie. Her cousin came down from New York just so she could ensure that Stella’s costume was the best that it could be. Granted it was as simple as one could get for Halloween, but there was a lot more to it than just met the eyes. At face value, it was a black pantsuit, some heels, and half-skull mask., but what nobody, not even Oliver or her parents if they didn’t ask, was that the mask was stitched by Stella herself.

For everything she might’ve failed at, Stella grew up learning how to sow and since Kavi had initially paraded around King’s, announcing he was having a party at his house, Stella knew this was her chance to wow everyone.

So for the past two weeks, when she wasn’t doing homework, she was putting everything together for her and Oliver’s costumes. It was hard work and she required all the help that she could receive. Whether it was from her parents, who knew how to do _some_ of what she needed to get done or her cousins who lived nearby, Stella slaved over it all. For the first time, they saw a different side of her. Sure she had her usual cheery self, but for the first time, she showed a more dominant side to her personality. She wasn’t barking orders like some slave-driver but she was passionate and on top of things. Not even her mother, who was one of the most dominant woman in the Monroe-Lambert family could get a word in without Stella getting ten more in. In the end, Melissa agreed to follow her vision.

And then came the day of the party. It being Saturday, she still had a lot of finishing touches to do, mainly on Oliver’s costume. She had to finish the wig styling, which she had Winnie to help with. Given that she did a lot of her own wigs for her own costumes she wore when she did her sets as a DJ. It was a chaotic mess at the Lambert-Monroe manor.

Around five or so, there was a knock on the door and Stella immediately ran, remembering exactly who was supposed to come over around this time. She just didn’t realize it was that time already.

As she would open the door, she saw Oliver. “Oli!” She gave him a hug, then jerking him inside. “I’m so sorry! It’s just so busy here.” Stella didn’t need to gesture towards all the running back and forth those inside were doing. Employees from her mother’s work were around, working around the clock. “You see, when I told my parents about what I told you about last week, she went above and beyond. She actually employed HartCorp’s designer department to help with the costumes. I’m sure they’re done or close to being done but it might be a little longer than I had hoped,” she sighed out disappointedly, the teen being completely out of breath as she hunched over onto Oliver’s form.

Oliver had never been the most enthusiastic about Halloween; come to think of it, he wasn’t that enthusiastic about any holiday. When Stella had asked if he was going to Kavi’s party, Oliver had almost said no. Instead, he found himself saying yes. The last few days before the party had been a blur. He had tried to decide on what to wear, but when he had brought up the topic to Stella, she had insisted that she had it covered. Oliver didn’t mind her enthusiasm, but going in blind made him a little nervous. However, he trusted Stella, and her fashion choices had proven themselves in the past.

Making his way over to the Lambert residence, Oliver didn’t know what entirely to expect. His first and only time here, he was greeted by the whole pack - not that Oliver had a problem with that, it just surprised him. Knocking on the door, it appeared that Stella was as happy as ever to see him. He returned her hug enthusiastically before being pulled through the door to the scene before him. Oliver recognized one or two familiar faces from Homecoming night, but his names slipped his mind. They’d come back to him soon - hopefully.

”Don’t be sorry, Stel. I told you I could have done my own costume,” he said, eyes bouncing from one fast moving person to the other. He offered Stella an encouraging head-pat. ”Don’t worry about the time. We can be fashionably late.” He paused once more, thinking of what question he should ask first. ”So what are we going as anyway?”

Stella had an expression of absolute relief and joy when Oliver asked about their costumes. It was like all of the stress and pressure from the environment was soon lifted when his curiosity into all of her and her mother’s hard work was going to pay off. So Stella wouldn’t waste any time with a stuttering reply because her excitement was that high. Instead, she took Oliver by the hand as she led him upstairs, nevermind the fact this was the first time a boy was in her room.

She propped the door open and though it was wildly chaotic in her room when they (they were her mother’s employees) saw Stella, they stopped what they were doing and smiled. “Oh, Miss Lambert, you’re just in time. We just finished!” One of them said, stepping to the side.

Stella, which she was so unlike herself, tugged on Oliver to reveal a matching set of Tate from American Horror Story and his skeleton bride. While Oliver’s was textbook to Tate, Stella’s was improvised. She had herself a black pantsuit and a half-skeleton mask with a black wig. In addition, she had black flats to complete the outfit. “So, what do you think?” Stella asked, a look of approval on her face as she turned to Oliver for any sort of comment.

Oliver wasn’t used to being grabbed and tugged on so much in such a short period of time. He was in the right mind to protest, but the fact that Stella had the best intentions made everything more than okay. It was clear to see that Stella and everyone else involved had been busy. The living room was turned upside down, but Stella's room was even more of a wreck (not that Oliver was judging). Another thing that was apparent was how much thought was put into these costumes. Not only was there care put into the costumes, but there was also proof that Stella had actually listened to what he had to say during their conversations.

The young man had mentioned his current favorite TV series once or twice, as well as his favorite character. Any doubts that Oliver had in his mind about letting Stella take over the whole operation were now completely out of his mind.

”They’re amazing!” he responded, a wide grin plastered on his face. ”Honestly. What made you think I wanted to go as Tate? Not that I’m complaining,” he replied as he held up his hands in a ‘no offense’ sort of gesture.

As Stella went to open her mouth, one of the HartCorp employees stepped forward. “That was actually my idea.” A woman said. She was about ten years older than Stella and Oliver. “You see, Stella wanted something to match for her skeleton costume and, well we stalked some of your social media and saw you mentioned American Horror Story a lot. Tate fit your general shape and your hair really was the selling point.”

As she stood there, Stella nodded when Oliver would look to her. “Basically all of that. I love the idea of my skeleton and your Tate. Something about it just made sense,” she admitted, smiling at Denise, giving her an inaudible thank you for saying what she probably would have stuttered through.

He simply nodded, trying to hide his own excitement as best as he could. ”Makes sense, but, uh… when do we get to see how fabulous we look in them?” he asked no one in particular.

“You heard the man! He wants to try them on right now!”

As Denise clapped her hands, those in the room rushed both Stella and Oliver. The two teenagers were victims in the rushing assault of being dragged behind two individual changing sections. While it was set up like a professional fashion room where there was around the clock workers to do the makeup and hair, it was still Stella’s room in her parents house, so curtains were set up to protect both from getting any sneak peaks at something that neither of them should be (at least not in her parents’ house).

In the time of under ten minutes, it would have allowed both Stella and Oliver to just test out the outfits. Makeup would take some time to apply, but since they were still a fair amount of time before the party actually started, there was plenty of time for both of them to see how each other (and how they themselves) looked in their respective costume.

And then, as both stepped away from the bum rush of their changing areas, Stella’s mouth dropped when she saw Oliver in his tate suit. She felt such a rush of emotions that the girl immediately hugged him, resulting in a harmonious “aww” from everyone in the room. And then, when she realized just what happened, she took a step back. “I’m so sorry! You just looked so cute and, okay! Do you like it?” Stella asked, turning both of them to the standing mirror that showed the couple standing next to each other. She had her arm connected with his, smiling at him through the mirror.

More being tugged around. At least the smile on Stella's face was worth it. Changing as quickly as he could, Oliver stepped out from the changing station as he attempted to finish buttoning his cuffs. He returned her hug once more, as he felt his face turn a slight shade of pink. ”I love it actually. It fits great!” He took a moment to get a better look at Stella’s outfit. ”You look pretty good yourself.”

Stella was thankful for the mask that hid most of her cheek or else Oliver would have clearly seen her blushing cheeks. If she wasn’t in the high of her own handiwork (well the handiwork of her and her mother’s employees), she might’ve let out a high pitched squeal like she usually did. Instead, she took a long moment to remove the mask and look at Oliver directly and not through the mirror.

“Thanks! I wasn’t sure how they would look on us. Things don’t always look the same as they do on mannequins,” she said, finding some humor in it as she let out a low giggle. “Do you like the way it fits? I mean, it’s not too tight or anything, is it? I think there’s still some time to make adjustments if it is.” Stella lightly patted Oliver’s shoulder, making sure it was even and fit for his frame.

Moving to stand in the mirror beside Stella as to get a better look at himself, Oliver fixed his collar before doing a bit better exam of the suit. The shirt and jacket fit surprisingly well. The only thing he could even find wrong was how long the pants were. ”I really hate to be ‘that’ gay, but the pants are a little long. Not by much, though,” he quickly added. ”I can just roll them up if it’s too much trouble. Really.”

Stella pulled out her phone to see what time it was and she noticed that it was barely seven. She had wanted to get to the party on time, but there was still enough time to make some adjustments to his pants. “Well, I guess we will have to be fashionably late then,” Stella mused just a bit quietly to herself.

And then an hour would pass, during which time, while Oliver would likely just wait, Stella and Denise led the charge of doing the necessary edits to his pants. After getting it the right length, Stella put them on the mannequin to make sure they were aligned perfectly with the ankles. The mannequin itself was as tall as Oliver was, so it was the easiest, not to mention the quickest way for them to see if anything else needed to be done. With just a sigh of relief by everyone in the room -- most notably from Stella as she exaggerated her sigh of relief -- she saw that it was perfect and she responded by giving a celebratory hug to Oliver, letting go only a long moment later.

Soon Stella and Oliver were finally in their costumes, the time escaped them though. It was already eight but they had already agreed to be a bit late, so it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Besides, this was probably the first time that Stella Lambert felt proud of something in a long, long time. Her radiating smile beamed through her face, into the mirror as she clung to Oliver’s arm with such pride. “I just love it. Don’t you love it?”

Feeling a little bad about complaining about the pants, Oliver waited patiently until they were finished. Makeup on, pants fixed - everything was officially in the right place. While he would never be the babe Evan Peters was, he still thought he looked pretty damn good. ”I can honestly say that I haven’t been this pleased with something in a bit. I’m not really a suit kinda guy, but you might just change my mind, Stel. You’ve outdone yourself,” he said, turning to look at the staff. ”You all did!”

Yeah, it was entirely impossible for Stella to contain her delighted squeal when Oliver had, yet again, complimented her on a job well-done. This was one of the few times where she was really able to go as in-depth with her vision as she wanted. She honestly felt so grateful that her mother believed in it enough to lend her some of the best designers from HartCorp’s fashion department. All of the hard work she put into designing and even being allowed to be in charge of it all with Denise as the one to take over when she had to leave for whatever reason, it all was worth it to see the smile on Oliver’s face.

Had it not been for the arrival of her parents, Stella probably would have given Oliver a giant kiss. Instead, she settled by just grinning widely at him. “Wow babygirl, it all looks great!” Francis exclaimed, immediately taking a picture.

Yeah, as if I wasn’t blushing enough. Thanks a lot, dad!

Stella wanted to roll her eyes at him but she had to look presentable for the pictures. With the best support system of the HartCorp employees clapping (more so congratulating themselves on a job well-done), Stella and Oliver posed for the next fifteen minutes for pictures from both her father and the employees. Eventually, they were allowed to leave and were out the door within another fifteen minutes.

Stella and Oliver were now in his car and Stella was free to let out a sigh. “Oh my God!” She exclaimed in only the most dramatic way.

She leaned against Oliver’s shoulder, not really caring at this point. She was on a high right now and honestly, Stella felt something was happening right now, so she went for it. She removed her mask as she took Oliver’s face into her hands and for the first time in her life, Stella was finally making the first move. And as their lips met and time froze, Stella wanted it to last forever. She leaned in closer, almost hovering over Oliver while still partially remaining in her seat. She realized just how far she was going and she immediately let him go, backing off as she recoiled back to her seat.

And in that moment of the afterward, at the moment that came after she stopped kissing him (yet her hands remained), Stella didn’t know what to do. Her hands were shaking and as a byproduct, Oliver’s head was vibrating somewhat as well. She didn’t know if it was from her hands or if it was caused by the car engine being revved up but Stella felt something come alive from within her chest. It was frightening for her but at the same time, she was enjoying it. This was the sort of thing Stella felt when she drank a little too much or how she kissed Lucas Anderson at Diablo’s party.

“We-we should get going. I don’t think we want to be too late to the party,” Stella said, suddenly and without warning turning to face in front of her. Again, she was thankful for the mask because her face was blushing like a ripe tomato and she didn’t know how to cope with it. God, what has she done?

Stella didn’t do anything to poke the bear, well the teddy bear that wanted more love because believe it or not, Stella wanted to just forget about the party and kiss him again and again. For reasons unknown to her, she couldn’t help but think about the kiss again and again. The taste of his lips, the rush she felt when she took that leap of faith, and every butterfly flapping away in her stomach. Honest to God, she was at a loss. Yes, she adored Oliver like no other. He treated her like an actual human being (unlike some people) and she felt like she could be herself around him. If nothing else, she was extremely attracted to him for that. And also because he was so gosh-darn cute!

And that’s when Stella fell into the pit of temptation yet again and briefly brought her brown eyes to gaze upon Oliver’s face as he looked like a total cutie-patooty. She watched him until they stopped. Being so focused on Oliver, it didn’t even register in Stella’s mind why Oliver had stopped driving. Only when she saw him turn around and startle her, she remembered and she gasped a tad louder than she intended to. “Oh!” She chirped, nervous laughter following as she smiled, hoping Oliver didn’t see her practically stare at him while he was driving. ]"We should go announce ourselves then!”

As the horror duo left the car and made their way through the intricately-designed walkway, Stella couldn’t help but adore Kavi’s attention to detail. It honestly was amazing how all out he went for the party. “I guess if he’s going to host a themed party, might as well go the whole nine yards,” Stella commented with a wide smile. Almost as soon as those words left her lips, the Dracula doorbell rang as Oliver had pressed it and the devil whose name she just spoke met them with a smile as he let them in.

[Venus]

_{I’ll do the coding tomorrow cause i’m fucking tired but here’s the posttttttt for Diablo and Aiden}

Not all was at peace in the Devil’s Kingdom.

It turned out that Jamie Foster had found out about his daughter's pregnancy on the day of the assembly. While they were at school, he had scheduled April’s first doctor’s appointment, to take place first thing the following day. Santiago had agreed to attend the appointment with April, going into the whole thing with nothing but the denial he’d been experiencing since she’d told him the news. Of course, that denial was soon thrown off the window the second they’d heard a strong, steady heartbeat ringing across the examination room, followed by the grainy images of what the doctor said was the baby moving around and wiggling on the monitor of the ultrasound machine. Now that he’d seen and heard the solid proof, the realization that he really was going to be a father had sunk in, and left the eighteen year-old in a daze for the rest of the week.

After a few days of reflection and introspection, Santiago had decided to have a serious talk with April about what he thought was the way to do things in order to keep their kid safe. The first of these things -her skipping Kavi’s party- was met with a noncommittal nod. But the second he brought up how she really should quit racing until after the baby was born, World War III began. She dismissed his suggestion as soon as the words left his mouth, and no matter how many good reasons he listed against carrying on her favorite hobby, the girl was having none of it... Which naturally ended with the young couple being on the outs again and his mood being shitty all throughout the next week.

And these were just parts of the millions of thoughts racing through his brain as he drove down to Kavi’s party against his will with Aiden in the passenger seat.

At first, Aiden was mildly entertained by Santiago’s obvious frustration and took to casually pepper their conversations with words purposefully meant to remind him of April. (Words like ‘baby’, ‘dad’, and ‘pregnant’; Aiden wasn’t the most subtle). However, he quickly grew bored when Santi started to become more and more distracted from the conversation with his reactions getting darker and darker. Aiden was starting to get antsy.

“So,” Aiden drawled from the passenger seat, with his back propped against the car door and one leg drawn to his chest while the other was sprawled across the dash. When Santiago didn’t react instantly, Aiden repeated, “So…”

“What?” Santiago snapped, brows furrowed as he glared at his best friend. It wasn’t enough that Aiden had dragged him to the party hosted at Kavi’s house of all places, but his constant mentions of things related to April and his baby were starting to get under his skin.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Aiden asked awkwardly. It wasn’t his original question, but Santiago’s response had him holding back his other question (which was along the lines of: can you have sex when she’s pregnant?).

Diablo let out a long, deep sigh. “I’m just fucking pissed, man,” he began, shaking his head. “First Lils tells me she’s pregnant, then Yessi decides it’s time to haul that big, juicy ass back to Florida at the same time Xixi brings back hers, then Max decides to fucking ditch me to run off after Yessi, Lils and I can’t seem to fucking get on the same page about anything regarding the kid, and MHS fucking slaughtered us at the game yesterday. It’s as if it’s one shitty thing after the next, and I’m getting real fucking tired of it.”

Aiden drummed his fingers across his knee, humming in thought. He wasn’t actually thinking all that hard, no matter what he thought of or said, it most definitely would not be good advice. Aiden is just not a good-advice giver - matter of fact, as a forewarning, he usually tells people to not take any of his advice. He did just get out of juvie, after all.

“That sucks, man.” Aiden sighed sympathetically, lazily tapping Santiago’s shoulder in solidarity. “So, like, can girls have sex while preggers, though? That might at least solve one of your problems.”

Santiago scoffed, shook his head and turned his attention back to the road. Did he really expect Aiden to even mildly begin to understand what was happening the way Max or Lucas would? Of course not- this was probably just another source of entertainment to the guy, which only served to fuel the volatile mood he was already in. Thankfully, anger had been effective in getting the young man’s foot pressed to the gas pedal, so they’d reached Kavi’s house in record time.

When they’d finally found an empty parking spot some distance away, Diablo had half a mind to drop off Aiden, wait until he was far from sight and go back home. Hell, maybe he’d swallow his `pride and call up April to make amends and hang out watching a couple of movies in the theater room of his house. But the promise of blowing off some steam at the party was much too inviting to pass up; after all, it could be one of the last parties he’d be able to attend before he had to forcefully man the fuck up. So with one last sigh, Santiago killed the engine of the Lambo, unbuckled his seatbelt and exited the car.

“Listen, man,” Aiden murmured, unbuckling his seatbelt and hopping out. He scratched the back of his neck, leaving red marks with his nails, as he tried to find the right words. “Shit sucks. I’ve been to juvie and this is like juvie, but with a baby involved, and it’s for eighteen years. Which super sucks. But you know what would make it less sucky? Coming out with your boy - that’s me - and getting fucking lit, yeah?”

Aiden propped his elbow on the top of the car door and raised his eyebrow at Santiago, grinning ear to ear mischievously, “Wanna go fuck Kavi’s shit up?”

Aiden might be friends with Kavi, but Santiago was his man and if that meant trashing his house with devil - well, he couldn’t care less about how Kavi felt about it. Aiden was a ride or die, through and through.

Santiago stared at Aiden for a long, hard moment, searching his face for any kind of bluff but finding nothing but honesty and sincerity. Okay, maybe he had jumped the gun in assuming the worst out of one of his closest friends like the idiot he was. The dude just clearly wanted to help him let loose and forget about all the unfortunate things currently happening in his life. So what if his baby mama was angry at him? So what if both Yessi and Xixi were back and attached by the hip? So what if Max was making up excuses to spend more time with Yessi than him? So what if last night’s football game had been an utter shitshow? He was Santiago motherfucking Fernandez, for crying out loud: the fucking Devil of King’s Academy- love him or hate him. Devils didn’t waste their time moping around like pathetic little bitches over shit they had no control over. No: devils fucking pulled themselves up by the bootstraps and fought back harder.

‘Deja de ser tan mamón, Santiago. Ve a la cabrona fiesta y no jodas más.’

Filled with newfound confidence, Diablo squared his shoulders and stood up to his full height. “You know what? You bet your ass we’re shutting that son of a bitch up. I won’t forget how he showed up to my party last time when nobody fucking invited him. But before we go-” he said, reaching his hand into his pocket and pulling out two Xanax pills. He offered one to his wingman with a smirk on his face. “How about we pop these beauties up? Maybe they’ll help shit out the fucking stick that’s been up my ass lately.”

“Hell, yeah! My boy is back!” Aiden whooped, swallowing done the offered pill. “Les’go!”

Aiden wrapped his arm around Santiago, shaking him back and forth energetically. He started walking towards Kavi’s house, expecting his friend to keep up lest he get strangled into the dirt. The small walk from the car to the door was filled with Aiden yelling and wolf whistling at people passing by, jostling Santiago in his grip until Santiago joined in.

The house seemed to shake with the bass and the walls vibrated with the voices bouncing off of it. The boys didn’t bother glancing around the decorated home or their fellow party guests before they were swinging the front door open, stumbling in and both shouting with their arms slung over each other’s shoulders:

“Yo: let’s get fucked uuuuuuuuuuup! Where’s the fucking booze at?!”

[Rightful Heir]

After the one Lockwood brother fled the home, it left one with an empty home. Gavin knew his father wouldn't be back for some time, being stuck at a late night 'meeting'. As if he really expected the boys, well at least Gavin, to not put two and two together when these "meetings" seemed to get longer and longer every time he had to stay late. The man seemed to be in a better mood the morning after them, too. They weren't kids anymore. Hello.

After a half-panicked search on his bed, Gavin finally found his phone amidst the outfits that he'd laid out earlier before he'd decided on his last-minute costume for the night. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a hefty sigh before connecting his phone to it's Bluetooth speaker which he had Sawyer rig to more speakers hanging from every corner of his room. Gavin pulled up Spotify and flipped through music for a minute or two before searching up a Halloween playlist, pressing shuffle before sitting down at his counter top to start on his makeup. It proved to be a bit difficult to stay focused to create the fake scars across his face with the music playing the way it was. Paper Planes by M.I.A. It was definitely getting him in the mood to party, and didn't help that it made him want to rush. He needed to take his time on the makeup or risk messing it up. Gavin wouldn't be happy unless it was absolutely perfect the way he envisioned it.

A mere thirty minutes had passed before the Lockwood boy had finished up his scarring makeup for his Remus Lupin costume, feeling quite satisfied with the look. Now, time to slip on the Hogwarts uniform and he could be on his way out the door to the party. As he rounded the corner from his bathroom to the bedroom, he stopped dead in his tracks, caught in a stare-off with one of Sawyer's rescued pups, Scoob. Who currently, was laying directly on top of Gavin's outfit... more than likely shedding his fair worth of fur onto said outfit. Gavin looked towards his cracked open door, then back to Scoob who lay with his head on his paws while wagging his tail gently as soon as Gavin's eyes met his.

"Where's your brother, Scoob?" Gavin asked the dog, to which the pitty gave a low awoo at him. Bagheera, or as Gavin often liked to call him "Padfoot", was nowhere to be seen. Highly unusual, as the two bullies were inseparable more than half the time. Gavin made a sharp sskt! at Scoob, who obediently hopped down and off the bed, wandering off towards the bedroom door before pushing his nose through to disappear into the hallway. Gavin shook his head and chuckled to himself, grabbing his lint roller from his dresser to begin de-furring his costume, slipping it on once it was Scoob-free. Gavin looked around his room a moment before he started flipping through his sheets and discarded outfit choices as he had when looking for his phone, but this time he was searching for the wand he has for his costume. Was just a stick he'd found on his walk around the neighborhood one day that he'd whittled down to look more like Remus' wand.

From behind him, he could hear a rhythmic thumping. The boy grit his teeth slightly before turning to face the intruder, who matter-o-fact had exactly what he was looking for hanging from his mouth. "Baghy. Bring that here," Gavin spoke to the dog sternly. Now, the thing with Bagheera, he was a lot like Sawyer in many ways. He didn't like listening to you, and didn't like being told what to do. The pitty's ears tweaked as if he heard something from downstairs, giving Gavin one last big ol' pitty grin before taking off down the hallway with the stick still in tow. "BAGHEERA!!" Gavin sprinted forward to try catching the dog but of course there was no competition. The boy whipped his door open in time to see the dog's tail disappearing down the staircase. Gavin shook his head and made a mental note to talk to Sawyer about putting his pup into some real training classes.

Grabbing up his keys, phone and wallet, Gavin made his way downstairs to the front door, but not before passing Bagheera who was chewing on Gavin's stick wand. "Yeah, no, don't worry. I didn't need that or anything. You go ahead and keep it." Baghy acknowledged his words with a few wags of his tail before continuing to cronch! down on his newfound toy. Gavin rolled his eyes and pushed his way out the front door, being sure to lock it before making his way out to the garage. The boy slid into his Toyota and turned the engine over, flipping on his headlights before leaning back in his seat, picking out a song in the playlist to listen to on the way over to Kavi's to join his brother and friends in what he would hoped would be a great night of partying and having fun. With everything set, Gavin headed off into the night.

[fledermaus]

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^{𝑺 𝑨 𝑳 𝑬 𝑴 𝑹 𝑰 𝑽 𝑬 𝑹 𝑨}

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Salem knew what the right decision was. It was his first outing where he would publicly acknowledge his relationship with Marisol after days of sneaking around, though he was sure it was obvious to everyone. How could people not notice the purple bruises Salem left on her neck, a bit of pride sparking in him every time he saw the colors blending with her soft skin. There were so many things that could go wrong, now with social media being a large part of everyday society, but Gwen wasn’t that active on social media. She was nearly nonexistent. Still, he knew what the right decision was.

“Salem, what are you up to tonight?” Gwen asked, her posh voice sultry with the sound of slicked magazine pages flipping as background music.

The right decision: to be honest. Salem should say, “I’m going to a party, Gwen, with another girl who I think I have feelings for. I’m so sorry, I wish things between us could work out”, but instead he said: “Nothing, I’m just staying in tonight, studying.”

The air in the car felt thick with his lie and he swallowed self-consciously, suddenly paranoid that she would be able to tell by even the simplest cricket chirruping in Kavi’s front yard.

“Oh,” Gwen’s voice was always so feathery and husky, and there was a tinge of pride in her tone as if Salem was a good dog who did his trick like he was told, “Salem, I’ve been thinking. What if I come down there for winter break?”

Salem should say: “I’ve been thinking too, Gwen, and I don’t think that’s such a great idea.” Instead he said, “That would be awesome.”

The guilt was welling up in his throat and he needed to go before he buried himself neck deep in lies. He said his goodbyes and whispered a hollow ‘I love you,’ before he turned his attention to the house in front of him. It has to be worth it, he was doing the wrong thing right now, but he couldn’t break up with her over the phone and he felt too strongly for Marisol to let it be. His decision, in the end, has to be worth it or else he’ll break.

The house was loud and crowded, and Salem looked over the tops of people’s heads (which was rather easy) to look for Marisol. He knew she was with Archer and so he scoured the crowds for their faces, looking rather lost without the only two people he really knew at the school.

[Hoekage]

_{A @Hoekage&@verzehren Collab}

_{Interactions // Eachother | Daddy Vader @Moro | Prized Courtesan @spooner| Papi Ares @spooner}

Either the party had gotten busier or Aurelio was just a beacon for friendly faces even amongst the dark outskirts along the walls away from the winding and grinding of horny, sex-starved high schoolers. The first to bump into him was Sawyer, his closest friend (besides a certain red-haired princess), and in the peculiar outfit that screamed ‘Yessi’ all over it. A loud laugh, certainly fueled by the current high he was navigating through, expelled from his lips as he clasped a firm hand on his shoulder,“Nah, I’m diving for them. Holy shit, dude, I can’t believe Ass was able to talk you into... that. ” His hand motioned to the outfit, or lack of, that left little to the imagination.

Reli wasn’t offered a response as the second friendly face approached the growing group. A snort left him and he was starting to believe he showed up to this party overdressed as he met Max in a friendly “bro hug” clapping a firm hand to his back before pulling away. The vibration of his phone brought his attention away from the group and to the bright screen where his the princess finally responded to him.

From: Teacher of Bright Burning Torches
We're here... What are you supposed to be? Diving for your next conquest?

The message had his brown eyes searching the room, from his position it was easier to scope out the faces, and a cowboy hat caught his attention first as he spotted Chanel with her attention elsewhere. Just to her left was the target of his attention, and she was turning just as his eyes met hers to laugh loudly at whatever stupid thing the guy next to her said. Alright, princess.

Max’s awkward mumble drew Reli’s attention back to the people around him as he glanced between Sawyer, who was definitely looking for someone, and the uncomfortable looking girl next to him.

“Follow the Roman he’ll lead you to the princess you’re searching for if that’s what you can call her with how she’s dressed.” A pat on Sawyer’s shoulder and a friendly push in the right direction sent away the last of the company as Reli turned back to the girl, “Sorry about tha-”

“...Your nipples look weird”

The statement caught him off guard for a moment before he was practically howling with laughter, bent over and clutching his stomach. After a good fit of laughter, Reli was reduced to just chuckles as he wiped away the imaginary tears, “Do you really think they’re weird? What’s weird about them?” The question was lilted in a teasing manner as he looked down at himself again running his hand along his chest, “Maybe it’s the dive suit, I knew should’ve asked Ximena if my nipples looked okay before leaving the house.”

Millie Jean’s face must be cherry tomato red underneath the white paint over her cheeks. “No, your nipples look,” Millie glanced down at his pecs and then away quickly, staring in the opposite direction. She cleared her throat and finished her sentence, “Relatively normal.”

Honestly, she can’t believe this is happening to her right now. The minute she stepped outside the door, she had damned herself to this fate. Of course, at the only stereotypical high school party, she has ever been to, she would be the one to run into a weird (attractive enough) guy. Millie Jean just wanted her cats and her butterflies and her fish - not whatever this is.

The breath of relief was dramatic as was the slump of his shoulders once Millie retracted her initial observation. Truth be told, Aurelio knew he looked good in the wetsuit, and all this pretense was just to fluster the Los Muertos wallflower. A light chuckle was matched with a dismissive wave of his hands as he leaned against the wall next to her, his brown eyes examined her face with a clear gaze unlike the previous haze from his boisterous laughter.

“What’s your name? Social recluse or not, you seem fun.”

Fuck, was there a polite way to say that she had no interest in exchanging names with him? “It’s Millie Jean.” She purposefully did not ask for his name.

Aurelio nodded to himself, he wasn’t high enough, or drunk enough yet to miss out on social cues, and could definitely tell that she was done with this exchange, “Alright Millie Jean, I can hear the drinks calling my name, but if you change your mind about not wanting to be here come find me, I’ll show you a good time.” He pushed off the wall paused for a moment before easily grabbing her phone from her hand, a few taps on the screen had his number saved and her phone back in her hand like it never left. A parting wink was given before he walked away in the same direction Max and Sawyer had gone.

“That’s - okay, he just...did that, I guess.” Millie Jean stuttered, first at the guy’s back and then to herself. Despite several beats of time flapping by, Millie Jean remained flabbergasted at his bold behavior with taking her phone from her hand. It was only when she was able to pick her jaw off the floor, that she looked down at the new contact in her phone labeled: Supreme Nipples.

Not quite sure why she did it, Millie Jean sent him a text with the sentence, “don’t hold your breath.” He shouldn’t expect to show her ‘a good time’ anytime soon.

[Sugar and Spite]

Sunshine seemed to be settling into Kings Academy just fine. To her surprise - and mild expectation - Kings wasn't that different from back home. Granted she missed her friend back home. Could Kellie and Shawna offer her as great of a friendship as Spice had? Better yet - could Sable not screw this new friendship up like she had the old one? Granted Spice had overreacted. Well, maybe not. Who knew. She had tried messaging Peaches - she had always insisted on calling Spice, Peaches - many times, but she had gotten no answer. Oh well. Time to dress up and drink her problems away.

She had chosen to dress up as Dorothy for tonight's outing. Her blue dress was a tad shorter than the actual characters, her white socks had turned to white stockings, and her red shoes had turned to just red flats. She had took special care when applying her red lipstick and mascara, and even more care on making sure the pigtails and blue bows were even in her hair. Texting Shawna a quick 'headed that way', Sunshine borrowed her aunts car to drive to Kavis. In a short fifteen minutes, she had arrived. Though Sunshine had yet to meet Kavi, she admired his decorations. At least he didn't just throw something up in a split second decision.

Sable let herself through the door, watching her step as to not bump into anyone as she went. Searching the crowd for Kellie and Shawna as she went, Sunshine spotted someone dressed as Sandy from Grease. Anyone who knew Sunshine knew that Grease was her all time favorite movie. She could sing every song, quote the movie word from word... Grease was a huge part of the young womans life. She would have to speak with the fellow fangirl later - but first, she had to find her queen. Just as the thought had escaped her mind, Sunshine found Shawna at the wide arrangement of alcohol. Giving her new friend a smirk and the best courtesy she could manage, Sunshine gave a silly greeting of "My Queen," before standing back up to pour herself a shot of tequila.

[Sugar and Spite]

Ariel highly doubted anyone would know what - or who - her costume was. That didn't bother her though. It was just less of a chance that she would have to worry about someone else stealing her costume. Said costume consisted of a red wig, a white spaghetti strap halter top, black jean shorts, a tan trench coat and a white scarf tied around her neck and face. Enaia Jin was who she was dressed as. Ms. Jin was a character that one of Ariel's favorite singers - Lights, to be exact - had created for one of her latest albums.

Much sooner than she had expected, Ariel found herself entering the Salvador house right behind Santiago Fernandez and one of his buddies who's name she didn't remember. It was way to early in the night to be that loud. Then again, Ariel had a feeling that being loud was one of the very few things that the Devil was good at. Searching the crowd for Kavi as she walked around aimlessly, the young woman felt her palms begin to sweat and her stomach begin to churn. Ariel didn't have the best luck with crowds, and it didn't look like tonight was about to be any different. Maybe if she found Kavi, seeing his face would help calm her nerves. It sounded stupid to some people when she tried to explain it, but familiar things helped calm her anxiety. Familiar faces, scents, even voices helped to calm her nerves. Lost in thought, she looked up only when she heard his voice.

"So what do you think about the costume," she asked, twirling around so he could see her outfit. "I'm thinking maybe I should dye my hair red."

[SpicyMeatball]

God this was certainly a week from hell, and making a deal with el diablo certainly hadn’t helped her at all. In fact, it had likely made things worse. Ever since the big announcement to him on homecoming night, things between April and Santiago had been anything but smooth sailing. The day of the assembly--the day she had told her father the big news--April had asked him to come with her to the ultrasound appointment. What she expected to happen was for Santiago to finally get properly involved, perhaps to grow up a bit. What actually happened? Santiago did what he had done at homecoming. Radio silence for a few days. Absolutely no contact no matter how many times she called or texted him.

When he did finally meet up with her, Santiago had wanted to discuss a few changes to keep the child safe. It was a fair and good thought, right up until he actually voiced these changes. While skipping out on Kavi’s party wasn’t the end of the world, Santi had the audacity to ask her to discontinue her favourite hobby. To say that April responded poorly was a gross understatement. “Fuck no I’m not going to stop racing! I’m on a fucking track Santi, there’s very little that could actually go wrong! And what about you? Are you gonna stop taking whatever shit you put into your body? What fucking compromises are you gonna make? Because right now? Right now it feels like this is all on me and I’m so done with your shit. The walking away and going silent is driving me insane! What’s next, are you gonna ghost from the delivery room in 6 months?” Once Santi had burst that damn, there was no stopping his Lils from laying into him.

There was a reason her father called her Tiger Lily.

April replayed the events over and over in her head as she carefully applied the dark eyeliner around her eyes, everytime getting more and more frustrated with Santiago. Maybe it would never really work between them? Was she just kidding herself all this time because of her childish infatuation with the devil of Palm Beach, Florida? “God I hope not…” she muttered to herself. “Its a little late to turn back now April.”

With a quick twirl, she looked herself up and down in the tall mirror that stood before her, the short leather cape flapping behind her. The brunette had dyed her hair in the days before, and her hair was now closer to black than ever before. It was still evident enough that it had once been brown, but it no longer shone in the light like it once had. “And now for the final touch…” April said quietly, reaching down to the case on the table to her right that contained her colored contact lenses. Gone were the innocent brown eyes of April Foster, replaced by the bloodshot and yellow-orange eyes of a creature of the night.

At least with Halloween, she could hide herself behind a costume and no one else would be the wiser about her current...predicament. That is, assuming Santiago hadn’t told everyone by now.

April glanced at the time. Just enough time to make it to Kavi’s before it got too busy. Perfect. She quickly made her way downstairs and grabbed the keys to her signature Maserati before exiting the house into the garage. As she had done hundreds of times before, April slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. With the quick press of the gas pedal, the arctic-white sports car shot out of the driveway and towards Kavi’s house.

As she pulled up onto the side of the road in front of Kavi’s house and got out of the car, she looked up to see Santiago and what looked to be Lucas just entering the house. “Never fully agreed to not come. His loss.” she shrugged, locking the car before walking up to the house on her own. As Santiago yelled out within, April snuck in behind him and quickly paced off to the side out of his direct view. It was about time she enjoyed herself without worrying about what the almighty *El Diablo* had his dick stuck into.

April grabbed an icy cold can of ginger ale from a cooler before cracking it open with a satisfying snap. She wasn’t an idiot. Alcohol was off the table tonight. Just as she took a sip, she noticed the other two members of the Unholy Trinity--Julie and Chanel--and that one girl Aaliyah joining the party. With a devious smile, April wandered over to the group glanced across the trio before her. “Evening ladies, happy Halloween! Looking stunning as usual, including...Aaliyah was it?” she looked to the Undead Queen. “Sorry I couldn’t make it to your little get together but, wow! Your costumes look incredible!”

[QueenNugget]

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@Altered Tundra

---

It hadn’t taken very long for Simone to get ready, she had already had her outfit planned almost a few weeks beforehand, which was surprising because she usually never planned for anything. It was just that this year was special considering she had just moved to a new city, Palm Beach in fact, though she hadn’t really wanted to, but it wasn’t exactly her decision. She hadn’t gotten word of the party until the day of, which also happened to be the day the invite was sent out so she wasn’t late like she was most of the time. It was being hosted by some random guy that went to her school apparently, Kavi, she believed his name was, but she hadn’t been there long enough to really meet anyone else, though she wasn’t above crashing it either, it might actually be fun.

She stood in the mirror of her room, turning and inspecting the job she did on her Snoop Dogg outfit, one of which she was proud of. She had changed her mind plenty of times, and this one was probably the least flattering of them all, but honestly, she didn't care. She just wanted to have fun. From the oversized flannel to the fake facial hair, she loved every part of it.
Quickly walking down the stairs, she grabbed the keys to her car off of the counter and left the house, making sure to lock the door behind her. Her dad wasn't currently in town, so she basically had free reign to do anything she wanted, but she was also so incredibly lonely. She didn't really know anyone here except those who she had dance with, but other than that, she felt restless, bored, and deprived of human interaction whether that be over exaggerating or not, that's certainly how she felt. So, stopping outside her car door, she rapidly typed in the address of the party before entering her car and turning it on.

"Okayyy, let's go see where this hoe's at," she said, keeping her phone in one hand so she could follow the route.

---

Fortunately, the address wasn't too far away, and she could definitely see which house was hosting the party; there were people and decorations everywhere, and the only thing that was hard to find was a parking space. Bringing her car to a stop a short distance away, she hopped out and stretched, a wide smile on her face. Oh this is gonna be fun, she thought to herself, making her way to the front door. The young woman hoped she could at least meet Kavi, the hoster of this rad party.

Making her way through the front door, only laughing as the electronic animated creature thing jumped out from the doorway. She ducked her head and went inside. She liked this Kavi dude already.

"Snoop Dogg is in the house!" she shouted, throwing her hands in the air. Standing inside the crowd, Simone lowered her hands and placed them on her hips and inspected the scene around her. There were already a lot of people, she could only assume that she was just a tad late, though that's what made a good party; it would be bad if people can on time, as quoted from one of the shows she'd been watching to pass time, Parks and Rec.

"Yo! Has anyone seen the guy named Kavi?!" She yelled again, trying to get the attention of anyone in the crowd, grabbing herself a drink of anything that was closest.

---

[AlteredTundra]

_{L o c a t i o n • Inside the House
I n t e r a c t i o n s • The Girl on Fire and Snoop Doggy Dogg}

It was safe to say the party was off to a great start. In just the first hour alone, no fights have been started, nobody was on edge or starting problems - or at least none that Kavi saw. For all he knew, some were getting on each other’s nerves, but if he didn’t see it happen, there wasn’t much he could do about it until it exploded out of their control. But even then, through the high fives and “bro hugs”, Kavi kept an observant eye and/or ear on those who walked by him and those who were coming and going from the main house and the back patio, where it appeared like a couple of people were assigning teams for Beer Pong. He kind of wanted to join them, but Kavi had more important things that needed his attention, or rather that demanded his full attention, not even the frustration of spotting Santiago was enough to pull him away.

Truly, it was as though some divine entity was on his side. For all of the trouble he caused this year to Nadia, to Ariel, to even Santiago Fernandez, karma had not yet decided to get back at Kavi. Even with the arrival of the Unholy Trinity and Astraia (separate entities but equally dramatic), Kavi wasn’t stressing one bit, not when his best girl (and only girl for the immediate and somewhat distant future) was by his side looking as fiery — and hot — as her temper.

“Damn Ari, if you were to do that, well..” Kavi paid no mind to those around him and wrapped his arms around her waist and just gave her a slightly suggestive eyebrow wiggle while laying a kiss on her. “I might not be able to keep my hands off of you.” He told her without hesitation. The red hair did something light a fire inside him that just made him kiss her again, then again and again until Kavi had to forcibly remove himself from her or else they would get it on right there by the stairs.

He soon apologized to her, but at the same that happened, Kavi heard someone call his name from behind him — well, not to him directly but someone who was asking who the hell Kavi was (he was paraphrasing). He turned around, holding Ariel’s hand since now it was pretty much okay with her that he touched her. She trusted him, unlike a certain jackass. Soon Kavi and Ariel would be right in front of the person who he thought was calling his name, but when he saw ...them, Kavi was a little perplexed. Her certainly heard a female voice, but when he found the source, who still was asking around for Kavi, she--he--didn’t really look all that feminine.

“Are they supposed to be Snoop Dogg?” Kavi asked Ariel briefly before tapping Snoop Doggy Dogg on the shoulder. “So, I heard you were looking for me.” Kavi would say, half-uncertain what to expect and half-wanting to put on Drop It Like It’s Hot.

[mickilennial]

---

“Do make sure you tell Bruce he’s still a twat, yeah? Catch you next time, Liz.” Mackenzie Davenport smiled as she hit ‘end call’ on her cellphone.

It had been a year since her father, in all of his collective wisdom, had decided that Palm Beach was a better fit for the two of them rather than sticking with London. But if he was so stuck on family and all of that other crap, why was he schmoozing at a Hollywood party on the other end of the country? Why hadn’t he come back to Florida with Mackenzie? The answer was pretty simple as far as she could make out, though by this point in their amazingly strained father-daughter relationship Mackenzie didn’t really give a shit.

If her dad got to be at a party, well, there was no reason she couldn’t be at a party either.

Fortunately, for Mackenzie it wasn’t difficult to find a party given none other than Kavi Salvador had decided he was hosting one, with refreshments provided. As it was no surprise to probably anybody ever, Mackenzie was all about free drinks and awesome parties. Finding a costume wasn’t hard considering the fact she had too many to count and most of them were “party-friendly”. After all, trick-or-treating was never really her thing. The one outfit she had decided on for this particular party fit her almost perfectly. It was simple with long crimson and black colors, hugged her like a pro, and gave her the impression that she was just a bit devilish.

Just a little bit.

Mackenzie checked her makeup in her rear-view mirror of her car one last time as she put aside her phone and her keys. It had felt like a long time since she had been to a party like this. She had missed Homecoming and Diablo’s party due to obligations with her father, though after hearing how the former went down she was kind’ve glad she had been excused from the event. Not that she would’ve had any problem being someone’s forced date, but the fact that another group of old men were trying to dictate her life. Dictators were definitely not her aesthetic. Missing Diablo's party was definitely a bummer, though. But regardless of that double-edged sword she was here now and she definitely wasn't missing this specific rager. She just wondered what kind of shenanigans were going to happen.

She smiled as she opened the car door and took a step outside, with eyes forward.

“It’s been a hot minute, hasn’t it?” She muttered, thinking the last time she had been inside Kavi's place of business as she began walking toward the front door. It appeared she was as fashionably not-on-time as usual.

It appeared no time at all as she passed the “security” that Kavi had apparently hired, entering the party with a full-bodied wave of energy hitting her like a brick. She wondered where the fun was at, or more importantly, where the alcohol was. She hadn’t had her fix in quite some time. Last year’s run in with the cops had put her in a “dry county” for a good amount of time and her father had screamed at her like he hadn’t done since the one time she was caught with Liz in London with something a lot worse than a few beers. She was just happy she got away with that shit and everything was basically back to normal again, or what qualified as normal in Palm Beach.

As she shifted through the dark corridors as loud music blared around her she tried to make sense of her surroundings. Soon enough she would find what she was looking for... and maybe some additional things that she wasn't.

---

[AlteredTundra]

_{A Collaboration Post with @Altered Tundra & @Ejected featuring Sonny Drake & Kavan Varma}

The glances and stares that came his way had Sonny, for the first time, feeling like how he always imagined himself if he one day woke up as a woman: adored and cherished by those around him. He had always stood out but in the worst of ways (someone else’s words, not his). Whether it was his so-called ‘rat face’ or ‘the face only a mother could love’ comments that he had always felt were the same thing (yeah like be original at least). But, since he arrived, either he received harsh spanks on his ass, resulting in either a glare or a smirk as if he played up to the joke among those who hit his rear.

And in the midst of all the laughing and otherwise inappropriate jokes initiated by Sonny, yet another person approached him. Had it not been for the remnants of a high he was experiencing from some people he barely knew joking around with him, Sonny might have recognized the voice.

As he turned around and came to the sight of Kavan, he just sighed. “You must really be enjoying this, huh?” Sonny refused to acknowledge the costume Kavan chose to wear despite him smiling as he eyed Kavan head to toe. Oh, the comments he could make.

"Oh, enjoying it?" Kavan said with a chuckle after taking a quick sip from his cup, "I'm relishing in it. After all, it's not every day that I have the pleasure of running into Sonia Drake." Of course, Kavan knew that Sonny probably had millions of his usual snarky comments bottled up inside, just waiting to come tumbling out of his mouth. And although he didn't quite understand why the cork had yet to be popped, he didn't really think much more of it before he decided to continue on.

"Raided your mom's closet, I assume?" Kavan asked with a smirk, "Or did Mari help you out with this whole... transformation?"

He smiled almost pleasantly at Kavan. “Actually, it wasn’t neither of those things,” he said, correcting the great and honorable pharaoh. “I phoned in the big guns: my sister.” He declared proudly, flipping his hair from one side to the other.

Sonny had come a long way since a few months ago. Hell, in the past month alone Sonny has found more personal growth than maybe in his entire time knowing the bunch of misfits he regularly hangs out with. A pettier Sonny might’ve clapped back at Kavan almost immediately. In fact, had this been September, he would have already made a few Arabian jokes simply because he knew it got to Kavan, but Sonny was turning over a new leaf.

“So make all the jokes you want, Kavan.” Sonny leaned a little closer, offering Kavan a sneak peek of his goods. As he did, a hand rested on Kavan’s shoulder. “After all, it’s not every day you see quality prosthetics outside of Hollywood.” Suddenly, he reached into his shirt and pulled out a silicon breast. “Seriously, just look at these. They’re actually the real deal. I don’t know how Drea did it, but she managed to get me actual breast implants!” The shock in his voice was just as genuine as when Drea had whipped them out for him when they were picking out his costume. “Just touch them! Go on, it’s okay. I’m giving you my consent to touch my tits, Kavan!” He winked at Kavan.

Almost instantly after Sonny had pulled the silicon bag from his shirt, a wave of confusion and slight discomfort passed over Kavan. The young man forced a half smile and let out a nervous chuckle in response. "Uh... thanks for the offer, buddy. Glad to know how excited you are to have boobs." Kavan said with a shake of his head. It was in that moment that Kavan had idly begun to search the crowd for his boyfriend once more. His eyes had finally landed on the back of brown-haired boy's head just as he opened his mouth to say, "But I think I'm gonna go ahead and pass on this one."

Sonny shrugged disappointedly, reaching back into his blouse to align the silicon bag back where it was so he didn’t look like one of those girls who had misshapen breasts. He had to maintain the illusion that he was a girl, after all. As he did, he couldn’t help but notice Kavan scan elsewhere and in an obvious manner, too. Usually when people who were forced to endure Sonny’s company, they at least did something to feign interest, not flat out turn their back to him. And given this was Kavan, the nicest guy that Sonny knew, he knew something was definitely up with the great pharaoh.

“So what’s up with you?” Sonny asked hoping to get Kavan’s attention. “You looking for someone? Am I not woman enough to keep your attention?” Sonny followed it by shaking his upper body jokingly.

Kavan's eyes suddenly flashed back to Sonny when he heard the boy ask him what was wrong; he simply offered him an apologetic half-smile as he turned back around to face him. "Sonny, I actually think you're a little too much woman for me, man," Kavan said with a chuckle and a quick shrug of his shoulders. "And I guess I'm just still trying to get used to this whole American Halloween thing. That, and I may have been looking around for my uh... boyfriend." That word still felt weird coming out of Kavan's mouth. Boyfriend. After all, it wasn't like he'd been open about that sort of thing before in the past, so it would surely take some getting used to. "Just figured I would've run into him by now."

It was safe to say that this came as a huge shock to Sonny. Granted he and Kavan weren’t ever especially close and the only one that he seemed to even remotely enjoy the company of was Archer, but still, it did send waves of surprise through Sonny’s body. He had to jerk himself around to face Kavan when he heard the word boyfriend. “Damn look at you. And here I thought you wouldn’t ever find yourself a man.” Sonny jokingly punched Kavan’s shoulder. “So who is the lucky guy that nabbed our favorite pharaoh? I’m gonna need to get this man a drink!”

With a slightly sheepish grin and a quick glance in the boy’s direction, Kavan subconsciously fiddled with the rings on his fingers. “It’s Archer.”

“Say whaaaaaat!”

Sonny had only stared at Kavan. He tried to speak, but nothing coherent came out. It was as though the reveal did more to silence Sonny Drake than anything could, even more than Marisol’s Carrie Underwood moment. And what was most surprising for him was that he didn’t know why he was speechless. It wasn’t like he was ultra close to the two. Aside from lunch hangouts, Sonny wasn’t around them much. And sure he joked about the two ending up together but that was more him being an asshole rather than actually thinking they would finally hook up.

“Well shit..” Sonny mouthed out trying his best to break the awkward silence. “I mean, alright, so you and Archer..” He rubbed the back of his head, still trying to find the right words for this. “Congrats? Like, hey I’m happy for ya. I know it might not seem like it, but I actually do care for ya two. It’s hard being out like that. Major props to you bro for taking a risk like that.”

"Oh, wow..." Kavan said, unable to hide his surprise. "That's... really nice of you to say. Thanks, man." To say that the words that Sonny had just uttered came as a huge shock to Kavan would be an understatement; The young man simply couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sonny and Kavan had never been close, and every time Kavan seemed to come around the other boy, he had to be mentally prepared to take whatever asshole-ish comment Sonny had ready to fire at him. But for the first time since he'd met him, Kavan actually found himself genuinely appreciating something Sonny had to say to him.

And who knew? Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

[eclecticwitch]

---

_{Location: Kavi's dank ass house
Interactions: Carter
Color: E0633C}

---

She sighed, watching the smoke escape her lips to reach the night sky. There was something upsetting going on inside of her head and stomach. Not like a headache or pukey upsetting. Something kind of sad maybe? She didn't really get it. She was her to distract herself from the fact that Jordan was moving away and she would not see him again. Bea didn't like it.

She snubbed out the butt of the cigarette and gulped down a good portion of her drink. Now that she had liquid numb on board to deal with the craziness that was a party she went back inside. More people had arrived and were starting to group up or dance. Bea went back to the drink table briefly to fill her cup and then moved around the edge of the party. She wandered room to room, just watching and listening where she could. Nothing seemed to interest her. Not even the sight of Sonny in drag, which would have normally been amusing enough for her to consider painting it.

Not paying too much attention to where she was going, the young woman quite suddenly ran into something much taller than she. After stumbling briefly and saving her drink she looked up at him. It would seem she had run headfirst into the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. She patted her fake blonde hair to ensure it had stayed in place and raised her eyebrows at the previously dead man. What was his actual name again? "Sorry man," she said in her usual bland tone. "Have any trouble digging yourself out of your grave?" she inquired.

[spooner]

_{Archer | Guy}

---

---

It didn’t take long before the two friends got separated from each other in the sea of their peers when Archer and Marisol had entered the party. The lanky boy gave up after a feeble attempt to locate his small friend. Instead he dumped his bulky basket of fruit by the snacks table as he grabbed a handful of caramel corn and a beer. He shoved the popcorn in his mouth and twisted the beer open nodding hello’s at his friends dancing. Mostly he was just looking for somewhere to sit.

Eventually he made it to a group of couches where people who had grown tired of dancing had gathered. There he recognized one of his fellow literature buffs Guy Lowell. Archer grinned widely and jumped down next to the boy on the sofa. “Suh dude!” he said slinging his arm around Guy giving his shoulder a squeez. “Woah great costume.” Archie exclaimed as he surveyed his friend from head to toe. “Atlantis…. obscure. I like it!” he let out a chuckle before taking a swig of his beer.

The Jell-O shot had proved gross and disappointing. He tossed the small cup into the nearby trash and poured some coke into a red solo cup. If he had just been holding a can he would have been judged and asked why he wasn’t drinking. With the cup he blended much better with the crowd of rich alcoholics. He wandered away from the hubbub of the drink tables and found himself a nice spot to just sit and watch people.

As he sipped his drink he began to seriously wonder why he had even come. He just didn’t know people here well enough. So many strangers despite his years at KA. He stared into the deep brown of his drink, wallowing in his stupidity when a weight plopped down next to him. The movement caused him to fumble with his cup but he managed to steady it as an arm wrapped around his shoulder and a familiar voice caused his heart to leap straight into his throat.

Guy turned with a bright grin. “Hey dude,” he responded jovially. His whole outlook on the party suddenly brightened and he was feeling much much better. Funny how his brain could flip on him like that. He decided not to pay this switch any mind and instead concentrated on the person who always managed to make him smile and feel less like a doofus amongst princes.

“Thanks, glad at least one person got it. ‘Fraid you outdid me though… Something Renaissance?” His eyes traveled over the softly curled hair and exposed shoulder. It wasn’t fair that Archer could look so damn lovely. He struggled to reign his heart back to his chest where it belonged.

Archer had just about forgotten that he was even wearing a costume. He looked down at his bare shoulders and let out a laugh. "Uh yeah something like that!" He said and shot Guy a wink. "Thanks, I just think it's so unfair that all the girls get to dress in sexy costumes and we get stuck with the boring ones!" He said draining his beer.

The wink about did him in, but a master of keeping his feelings reigned in did not allow it to show in his face. Raising an eyebrow, Guy gestured toward Max and Sawyer. “I think the guys around here have no problem discovering something sexy to wear. Besides,” he said with his goofy, lopsided grin, “There is something to be said about the way clothing can be worn over form for sex appeal.” He gestured toward Millie Jean and April to make his point. “And your own costume gives quite a punch to the gut.” His deep voice was teasing as he nudged his friend playfully in the side with his elbow. “Need another drink?” he asked, eyeing the empty beer bottle.

Archer put his empty bottle on the table and rubbed his hands together. "Yeah sure! I need to find that boyfriend of mine anyway so might as well get another one!" The boy said slapping his knees as he stood up. Looking around to see if he could spot Kavan somewhere around the room.

Ah yes, boyfriend. He was glad that Archer was looking elsewhere because Guy took a second to wressle the stupid off his face. Pushing the lensless glasses up his nose and hair hair back from his face he stood as his friend did. He was sure to grab Archer’s empty so that it could be properly disposed of. He wasn’t about making messes in other people’s homes. Even giant jack-asses like Kavi. “Finally dating now, are we?” he said in a light and teasing tone.

“Yeah…” Archer mumbled still looking around the room as they made their way over to the drinks table. When they arrived Archer grabbed another beer and twisted of the cap and took a big swig before turning back to face Guy. “I guess I’ll find him later.” his fingers tapped on the cool glass bottle. “So have you found something interesting to read lately?” he asked his fellow literary geek.

“Been doing a Terry Pratchett binge lately, what with Good Omens coming out. That’s not quite as important as you settling down. Who’s the lucky guy?” Guy led the way a bit from the table so that the pair could better hear each other over the cacophony of the room. If Archer told him he would no longer have to pretend not to know who it was. That would be a small relief.

“Kavan Varma…” Archer said between his gulps of beer. He for some reason felt awkward talking about it with Guy. Why? He could not answer. “So! Going on a fantasy trip then?” Archer tried to steer the conversation away from his romantic life.

Guy offered a slight grin, “Congratulations to you both,” he said with real happiness which surprised him. He supposed he could be happy for them both, why not? Between the fast paced drinking and the way Archer shifted Guy could read that this was not a welcome topic of conversation, so he let it go. “As the holidays approach I think all of us could use a trip to fantasyland,” he joked. “What about you Archer, anything good to read lately?”

The curly haired boy thought for a moment going through his mental rolodex of books he had read as of late. “Well I have been going through a lot of indie publications as of late. And as you know that is very hit or miss.” he grinned at his friend.

“Still better than doing Wallenberg’s essays,” he said dryly.

The tall boy let out a loud laugh “Say what you will about Maxie, the boy pays well. I could’ve taken my essays from fifth grade and it still would’ve passed for him” He said as he looked towards the big oaf of a man. “But he’s actually really nice for a sportsperson.”. Guy mutely nodded his agreement but it seemed that Archer’s attention had gone elsewhere. As he scanned the room one last time his eyes lit up when he saw the shining gold god that was Kavan. “Oh hey, there he is! Over there with…” he stopped as he saw the girl his man was talking to.

“Huh…” was all he could muster as he surveyed the ugliest girl he had ever laid eyes on. Archer felt bad that he thought so about the poor girl, but then he realized he was looking at Sonny in drag and the guilt evaporated. “Come on let’s go say hello!” he said waving at Guy to follow him as he pushed through the crowd to reach his friends.

Dutifully the young man followed along behind Archer, unwilling to say goodbye to one of the few people he knew in this god forsaken place. He had an easier time navigating the crowd as Archer took the lead, which was thankful as he did not want to spill anything on some poor innocent who had likely spent crap tons of cash on their costume.

Archer’s smile grew larger as he came closer to the pair. He put his arm around Kavan when he arrived “My my my, who have we here…” he said wide eyed looking Ms. Drake up and down. “I’m impressed that you had all of this inside of you” he said laughter on the brim of bursting out. He reached out a finger and poked at one of Sonny’s fake breasts. Guy made a point of looking at the ground in embarrassment. “Wow very realistic.” he said as the laughter seeping out. “You two know Guy right?” he said as he grabbed Guy with his free hand dragging him closer to them.

A little awkward now that he was among people he did not know so well he stood a bit off to the side. His heart plummeted to his stomach as Archer was physically affectionate with his new man. Ever the great actor, Guy kept himself neutral and pleasant. His position on the sidelines did not last long as his hand was tugged at and the tall nerd was pulled closer to the group. He gave one of his famous, lopsided grins as he held out his hand to each boy in turn. “Hello,” he greeted shyly.