[IC] Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

[Bee]

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Stepping back inside to the party, it seemed to have surged even further when it came to the amount of energy that this party contained. There was a small surge of energy in Jack as a result. If there was one thing King's Academy did well, it was definitely having parties. Seemed like everyone at this school knew how to party. Not like he had a problem with that, because it was certainly something Jack took very kindly to.

But, he decided he'd had enough of partying solo. Shawna was off with her girl, so he decided he should make the best out of this dance and find someone who appeared to have needed a date. Shouldn't be too hard, right? There were bound to be some single girls around looking for a Prince Charming in the form of a Jack Goff. Jack had picked up many girls before, so doing this right now was not a task he was foreign to.

Much to his surprise, he came up on someone who he had a hunch was single. She was a pretty brunette, and she looked somewhat familiar. Jack couldn't exactly place a name to her face however, which likely meant she was someone that he hadn't really interacted with before despite the familiarity. He walked up to her, a suave look on his face as he looked her over momentarily, "Hey." Jack grinned, "You enjoying yourself tonight?" Jack was about to schmooze the lady up until the music came to an abrupt halt, followed by a voice coming on the mic. What was happening?

He looked up at the stage and there was Ryland, who was apparently the new kid in town and had the balls to sing out loud. The balls on that guy. That was something that was definitely commendable. "What a guy." Jack said, before watching just a bit more.

[Venus]

With the widest of grins on her face, Marisol hurried off behind Ryland, making sure to position herself at the vantage point of the majestic scene that she knew was about to take place. She pulled out her phone from the hidden pocket of her dress and started to record just as the music came to a screeching halt.

At first, their classmates looked equal parts annoyed and confused at why this nobody had the audacity to rudely interrupt their dance, and the collective feeling didn’t go away after his introduction. But when the boy apologized to Ariel, everyone’s mood shifted to curiosity, yet the short girl behind the cellphone camera couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Sure, she wanted her friend to be happy without caring about what anyone else might think. But she also didn’t want her friend to be stuck in a toxic relationship with a guy who cheated on her and played mind games with her. In other circumstances, her concerns would be hypocritical considering how volatile her relationship with Sonny had been the previous semester, but Mari wanted to think she and her boyfriend were past that… Maybe.

Rolling her eyes, Marisol shifted her attention back to Ryland, who had just announced that this whole spectacle was aimed at Julie Macmillan. The redhead’s confusion only added to the charm of the whole thing, and Mari couldn’t help but snicker at how she and Chanel seemed to be searching for answers in each other. Yet before anyone else had time to react in any other way than gasps, Rye was serenading Julie with a mediocre rendition of that annoying Shawn Mendes’ song Mari hated so much. God, couldn’t he have at least chosen a better one? the young woman thought, grimacing and shaking her head. She didn’t spend too much time dwelling on the atrocious track choice, because soon she was laughing in amusement and excitement as the tall boy traded his questionable singing to show off the impressive dance moves that would eventually lead him straight in front of the object of his affection.

When Ryland extended his hand to Julie, Marisol’s breathing stopped. The worry of Julie rejecting Rye suddenly overtook her, as did the fear of watching her best friend get his heart broken in front of their whole damn class. But once Mari saw the way the queen of the school was eyeing the bold young man in front of her, the brunette smiled. Julie was going to say yes: she was almost sure of it. And when the redhead finally accepted Ryland’s invitation by taking his hand and leading him to the dancefloor, the short girl couldn’t help but squeal in delight and join in with the cheers of the onlookers.

The match had been made. Her plan for the night, although not how she expected, had fucking worked.

Unfortunately, her moment of elation was short-lived. Lost as she was in saving the video evidence of her accomplishment, Mari had failed to notice her upset boyfriend approaching her, and it wasn’t until he was forcefully grabbing her by the wrist, pulling her away from the crowd and to a nearby corner that she realized something was wrong.

“Okay, start talking. What the fuck was that, huh!?”

For a brief moment, Marisol just stared at him in shock: her eyebrows raised, her green eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape. Who did Sonny think he was?! A few days with Julie, a fitted suit and a closet upgrade later, and suddenly he was acting like the king of the fucking castle?! This would not do.

“First of all, don’t you fucking grab me like that again unless you want me to give you a black eye-” she growled, violently shaking her wrist off from his grasp and putting some distance between them by shoving him hard. “Second of all, you don’t fucking talk to me like you just did. And to answer your stupid question, I’m pretty sure we both saw the same thing: Ryland made his move on Julie, and she accepted. That’s what that fucking was. Oh, and by the way, it’s so fucking nice to see you too, asshole,” the girl finished with her middle finger in the air, her voice dripping with the same sarcasm so evident on her expression.

[Ejected]

---

---

"CARTER OVER HERE!"

Of course, Carter recognized Stella Lambert's voice anywhere, though he couldn't help but crack a smile and shake his head at how enthusiastic she seemed to be and how loudly she'd screamed his name. Hell, she'd even managed to turn a few heads in her direction because of it. The attention of said onlookers was redirected shortly afterwards, however, when the music suddenly came to a stop. Shooting a curious glance at the DJ booth, Carter spotted some brown-haired, gangly kid standing there with the microphone in hand; the young man paused mid-step and craned his neck to see what was going on. His name was Ryland Aspen, apparently. Carter didn't have a clue who this guy was, though he felt that the name was somewhat familiar. He was sure he'd heard Chanel mention the kid once or twice.

His suspicion was confirmed when Ryland mentioned who he thought to be the "cool kids" of King's and issued a public apology to none other than Ariel Grey. "Well I'll be damned," Carter said with a smirk as he took a quick look in Ariel's direction to check out her reaction. Assuming that Ryland was finished with his little announcement, Carter was about to continue his walk towards Stella, only to freeze again when the guy started singing a pretty well known Shawn Mendes song. What in the Hell was going on?

Soon after the Dancing started, Ryland ended up asking Julie MacMillan to dance with him, and when she accepted the room erupted in applause. Of course, Carter briefly joined in on the clapping before hurriedly making his way to the girl he'd been waiting to see. "Well, looks like he beat me to it. Dammit, Ryland." Carter said jokingly as he came to a stop in front of Stella. "April, Santiago. You two look good tonight." Carter said while nodding his head in greeting to the couple.

"And you-" Carter said as he redirected his attention to Stella, grabbed her by the hand, and spun her in a quick circle. "You look very beautiful. Enjoying the dance so far?"

[Sugar and Spite]

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While Jasper didn't mean to have interrupted Danielle, he was glad that she did. In typical Jasper like fashion, he took the opportunity as the people around him spoke in order to watch the new comers mannerisms. How her hair shifted ever so slightly when she looked towards the dance floor, the small curve to her lips, and how those breath taking eyes seemed to linger on his for just a second to long. There was a lot that Jasper noticed about her in such a short time. These small things were something he would store into his mental box for poetry inspiration later on. There was something about Danielle that Jasper couldn't quite put his finger on - and he liked that.

Noticing that he had been silent for just a moment to long, Jasper turned his attention back to Kavan as a small, polite smile spread across his face. "I'm okay man. Nothing much on my end either." Listening as Kavan explained that he had came with Ariel Grey and how she was talking to Kavi again, Jasper sighed. "For the love of God -- you just can't keep those two away from each other. I just hope she doesn't break his nose again or something."

With Archer joining the party, Jasper nodded his head in solidarity towards him, lifting his hand for a small wave.

In an attempt to carry on the conversation, whatever Jasper had been saying at the moment was drowned out by the sound of Ryland's voice. Jasper didn't know all that much about Ryeland, and what little he did wasn't enough to form an actual opinion about the other young man. However, as Jasper watch Ryland confess his attraction to Julie while singing and dancing his way to her, Jasper couldn't help but laugh.

"I didn't know the staff hired entertainment for us too," he remarked, continuing to watch how the events unfolded. Once Julie took Rye's hand, Jasper clapped along with the rest of the students. "Before you know it, Kings will have banned DJ's and just hook up the radio instead..."

[Sugar and Spite]

Mentioning to Shawna that she was going to grab drinks, Sunshine walked over to the punch fountain and promptly filled yet another two glasses for herself and her actual date. Turning around to try and find Shawna again, Sunshine's height was definitely a disadvantage. Maneuvering through the crowd with the drinks in hand, the young woman spotted Shawna and Chrissie just a few feet away. Eyebrows raised in curiosity over what they were talking about, Sunshine thought that it was best not to interrupt them. She knew it had been a hot minute since her girlfriend had gotten to talk to one of her besties - so why not let them?

Nearing the end of the first drink, Sunshine watched as Ryeland grabbed the mic from the DJ. Like most, Sunshine only knew what she had heard in regards to Rye. They hadn't interacted enough for her to get to know him, but from what she did know, it was a total shock that he was claiming to be hella attracted to Julie. Of course Julie was drop dead fucking gorgeous, but she had pinned Ryland up against the lockers not to long ago and now... Literally none of this made sense. But hey - if being a bottom was Rye's thing, Sunshine wasn't going to judge him.

With the crowd breaking up to go back to dancing, Sunshine was able to maneuver her way back over to Shawna. One cup empty and the other full, the young woman offered Shawna a smile while handing her the full glass.

"Well that was.... something," she said laughing. "Sorry I missed Chrissie, but I got you that drink I promised. Everything okay with you?"

[Ejected]

---

---

While speaking with Jasper and Dani, Kavan made sure to keep a watchful eye on Ariel and Kavi as they conversed near the punch fountains. Just to be on the safe side. Truth be told, the young man was mentally preparing himself to swoop in if things got a little heated between the pair; Though knowing that he'd have to intervene in some way, he wasn't exactly sure what he'd do if it became necessary, but he hoped that it wouldn't come down to that. He was forced momentarily to tear his eyes away from the two when Archer finally found him. "Missed you too," the young man said back as he donned a warm smile and placed an arm around Archer's shoulders. "I was just introdu-"

But before Kavan could let out another word, a familiar voice echoed over the speakers and caused him to pause mid-sentence. It was then that Kavan realized the music had stopped playing, and redirected his attention to the DJ Booth.

With wide eyes, Kavan watched and listened as his newest friend basically professed his attraction for Julie MacMillan on the spot and asked her to dance along with him. The young man couldn't help but give Ryland props for being so bold; he briefly clapped along with the rest of the crowd when Julie accepted his invitation to the dance floor. "Well, that was interesting..." Kavan said to the group, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other. "He did all of this for a dance... I can't wait to see what his Prom-posal will look like. Maybe he'll try to recruit some backup dancers."

It was after feeling Archer's grip tighten around him that Kavan realized how worried he was about their friends. So, in an effort to take his mind off of things, at least for a little while, Kavan offered him a reassuring smile and said, "Happy Valentine's Day... I was gonna wait until later to surprise you, but I got you something I think you might like. It's back in the car; I didn't wanna carry it around all night."

[Rightful Heir]

Danielle had been distracted by a particularly goofy group of classmates dancing like no one was watching, only getting pulled back to reality at the sound of a familiar voice. A smile immediately spread across her face as her eyes met up with her cousin's, seeing his arm wrapped around his boyfriend. It was cute seeing them together. Archer always looked so happy with his beau standing beside him. Made her happy just seeing it. "Hey." she began, not knowing how else to respond to his unfinished question besides a smirk, as if to say 'I'm sure you know the answer.' Seems he did, since he never did finish his sentence. She just rolled her eyes and laughed, looking off towards where she'd seen her other cousin go off to, a bit of confusion flashing across her features when she didn't find him. Dani would let it go quickly, though. It's not like she was here to babysit him, anyway. She turned her attention back to her cousin, beaming at him. "Heh, thanks. I-"

The music had come to a sudden stop and the crowd of kids in the room were looking just about as confused as she was, it seemed. Danielle's focus was ripped away from her cousin, friend and new acquaintance when a voice carried out over the crowd, silencing everyone in the club. She watched with much confusion as Ryland made an announcement and even began singing his way towards a girl. _{Someone had a bit too much punch.} The girl inhaled sharply, turning her attention back to her friends about halfway through the whole ordeal, catching a glimpse behind them of an old friend of hers. She made a mental note to go catch up with him later. With them all standing there, Archer and Kavan paired up and.. well, Jasper and Dani were both dateless for the moment. The girl definitely wasn't going to commit further social suicide by dancing with her cousin(s).

Danielle peaked over at Jasper, smirking as she mumbled, "Now, I'm not gonna go serinading you like Ryland just did to that poor girl, but uhm.. care to dance, er.. somethin?" Suddenly her heart was racing in her chest. She'd never really been one for school dances, and she more-or-less had two left feet... but even so, I'm sure this would call for some good memories to look back on. Like Ryland, she'd just moved back after some years away from home.. it was the last semester of senior year. What did she have to lose?

[LovelyComplex]

_{Starring: Julie Macmillan @spooner & Ryland Aspen @TootsiePop}
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If he had put much thought up until now, Ryland wouldn’t have believed he’d get this far. If he had focused on anything but Julie, he would’ve noticed how displeased his best friend seemed and how mixed the crowd was with his stunt. Well, more so because of the singing than the dancing, which was to be expected. He wasn’t Katie Callaghan, who was the leading lady at Beverly Hills High School. In this case, her mirrored counterpart would be Chrissie McCoy, but he didn’t know the Starlet of King’s Academy well enough to talk about her skill and talent. Regardless of the atmosphere, and those that watched in acceptance or judgment, his mind was solely on the person that grabbed his hand. Anyone else could go fuck themselves.

Leading her to the dancefloor, he became more and more aware of the pounding heartbeat in his chest. The song transitioned from Shawn Mendes to Live For The Night by Krewella, which was more up his alley than his confession song. With how last minute and spontaneous his act was, he didn’t know what other songs he could use that matched his feelings, without coming off too strong. When they reached the center, the dance floor flashing with an array of hot pinks, reds, and gold, fitting colors for Valentine’s, he let the music fuse with his body, as he did for his performance, but this time, he made sure to match her and use his ballroom lessons from his aunt, to make his date float across the dance floor.

Unlike the hip hop style he showcased earlier, Rye was far more focused and careful since this was no longer a solo thing. He didn’t want to be seen as the average teenage boy that would urgently go for the grind like he had done earlier with Marisol. Rye didn’t want Julie to think that was all he was capable of, and while this was a unique song to mix club dancing with ballroom moves like a reverse pivot from Quickstep, shoulder spins from Jive or bringing Julie in a Sweetheart position from the East Coast Swing, he was going to make this work. He was going to make them work.

At the start of the song, he worked hard to gain her trust, taking the lead, holding her hands, bringing her in, then out, and back in again. As he turned her body like they were salsa partners, he chose steps carefully and with intention, to showcase her. Twirling her, he couldn’t contain the stupid grin off his face from how happy he was. He hadn’t felt this way about someone for a while and to think it would be someone far out of his league, someone that reminded him of sour candy, so sweet, yet when angered, she had one hell of a bite. And, let’s be real. That side of her was uncontrollably hot. “Am I still a little boy to you?” A reference from a line he would never forget her saying: This school already has enough little boys disguised as ‘Alpha males’. Rye’s smile never faltered, as his dark gaze locked with her stormy eyes. To someone as keen as Julie, it was clear he was observing her for any signs of displeasure.

As they danced around Julie couldn’t help but think that she was having more fun tonight than she had been having in a long time. Maybe it was true what her peers had been whispering throughout the halls. Maybe she had been wound too tight… only wanting to have fun on her terms, not just letting go and dance. But letting Ryland take the lead as they danced proved to be just what she needed to relax and let go.

Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she stared back into his eyes. “I don’t know...” she paused resting her arms on his shoulders and looked around. “Are you still acting like a little boy?” she continued with her own question.

“Right now?” He pulled her close to him and shook his head, “Nah.” At least in this instance, he was owning up to his actions and taking charge. For the first month or so of him attending King’s, though? He was being a big baby. Sheepishly, his smile momentarily turned into a pout, “But maybe earlier… yeah, a little.” By earlier, he was referring to his raunchy dance with Marisol that clearly was not something he should’ve done with a friend.

A small huff escaped Julie as they continued to sway to the more slow song the DJ had put on. “Well…” she began pondering if she should admit how she felt when she saw him and Marisol dance before. “If you tried to get some sort of reaction out of me… I guess it sparked some small feelings of jealousy.” she flicked her ice blue eyes back to his “But don’t let that get to your head!”

The ball was in his hands and he couldn’t convince his ego to talk out of his ass. To pretend that he leveled up fully to a gentleman, or prince charming, would be blatantly lying to her face. Rye knew he had a lot of growing up to do, he was a child at heart, which was okay for times like these. However, if he wanted to be with a lady like Julie, there was no doubt in his mind that he had to clean up his act and do better. “I should… apologize. For that, and for putting your date in a mood.”

Julie craned her neck around to see if she could spot Sonny. And there he was standing together with Marisol having what looked like a heated discussion. Her face fell into a frown “Why?” her expression was visibly confused. “How is Sonny’s mood connected to us dancing?” Julie queried curiosity growing in her.

“That, I can’t answer. Like I could tell he was already in a bad mood, because of me and Sol, and this was just icing on the cake for some reason?” Ryland looked over to his two best friends arguing. Goddammit. He spent so much time cheering Marisol up and now she was back to ground zero, all over again.

Unfortunately, he had no idea of their plan to play matchmakers, all he knew was Sonny was not taking Rye’s serenade and performance well solely because of the fact that his boy decided to argue with his girlfriend soon after. Did Rye suck that bad? “I meant earlier. With the whole jealousy thing.” Turning his attention back to her, Rye realized how tall Julie was. He was used to peering down at short girls, and for once, there was only a couple inch difference.

After a moment of surprise, he furrowed his eyebrows, not really knowing how to explain the ordeal well. Rye knew any hesitation would only make Julie think the worst. He didn’t want to ruin her day, and he hoped he wasn’t going to, but he also felt like she deserved honesty. “You’re perfect.” Fuck! That was not how he wanted to start this. “And beautiful.” Okay, well, he was just going to die after this. “I mean, uh, that’s a given… but like, you and Sonny looked—” He heavily sighed, knowing he was god awful at explaining shit, and probably already fucked up, “—good together.”

As Rye struggled to get his words out, Julie couldn’t help but roll her eyes playfully. She was used to people telling her she was ‘beautiful’ or that she was the ‘perfect’ girl for them. Obviously she knew she looked good, she had mirrors in her house. But they never really meant it and only said those things because they wanted something. Hopefully the gentleman who was standing in front of her was different. She had a feeling he was. “Thank you…” she whispered reaching out to put a piece of his long hair that had fallen in front of his face behind his ear again. “You look very handsome tonight as well… shoes and all.” she smirked and flicked her eyes down at their feet.

Damn. These shoes were going to haunt him for the rest of his life, weren’t they? Relief washed over him with how well she took his word vomit. Her teasing, while sweet, gave him an urge to run away with her, somewhere secluded, where they could get more acquainted. He could definitely see the little minx coming out to play. Yeah, he was into it, even if the mention of his shoes killed him a little more on the inside.

Focusing on his original thought process, about the two arguing not too far away from them, and NOT on wanting to flirt back, Rye grabbed her hands and stopped dancing, “Marisol has major self worth issues. And Sonny? I love the guy, but he sucks at communicating. Please believe me when I say this has nothing to do with you. I just got caught up, in between, and so did you.” he explained.

“Oh dear…” Julie said and turned to face their friends biting her lip pensively “I think… we should try to get out from in between them” she looked back to him. “Let them work it out… last time I tried to give advice” she paused remembering the homecoming dance. “It didn’t really go that well.”

There were probably a lot of options for them, like go hang with other friends and keep their distance, but the only thing Rye could think about was: “...we could leave?”

Julie raised her perfectly manicured eyebrow and turned slowly to face Ryland. “Oh yeah?” she blinked slowly. “And go where?” she asked letting her hand trail up his arm. She wanted to toy a little with him first, he had her attention and she wanted to see if he could keep it.

Smirking, instead of saying the natural response that came to mind 'wherever you want’, he released one of her hands, running it through his hair, and cooed, “Want another surprise? I can keep ‘em coming.”

“Alright new kid…” she laughed “You’ve shown yourself to be quite good at surprises! Let’s see if you can deliver.” Julie nodded. “Show me your best!”

“Ha! If I showed you my best, you’d never sleep again.” Rye stuck out his tongue before taking out his phone and texting his two best friends: ‘Hey, guys. Ride together? I’m headin’ out.’ He sent the message, as vague as ever.

“Bold of you to assume that I sleep…” she said as she fished out her own phone from her purse. She figured she should probably send a text to Sonny to let him know she was leaving.

‘You’ll work it out Sonny… I know you will. Remember you are not your past. Don’t worry about me, I’ll find my way home’

She sent it and focused on Ryland, “Ready whenever you are”

Oh he forgot! He quickly added in the group message: ‘ ..with Julie.’

Offering his arm to grab which she did, he smiled from ear to ear, “Fuck yeah! Let’s get out of here.” Wait, what if she doesn’t like cursing, “...huzzah! I mean.”

[Ejected]

_{Starring: Chrissie McCoy @TootsiePop & Chanel Martin @Ejected}
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After each cup, drinking more seems like a better idea. Jokes become funnier, time no longer matters, and depending on the type of drunk you are, the flirtier you get. By now, Chrissie leaned against the window sill in the bathroom, staring at Jason’s contact information. She felt a little frisky and she couldn’t help but replay the night she gave him a strip tease. He always brought out the provocative side in her. Biting her bottom lip, she wondered if she should show him exactly what he was missing.

Unfortunately, with her surroundings being her school, she was reminded of the people that were rooting for her to move on. Going to the camera mode, she diverted her thoughts toward her date. Kavi. Wouldn’t he like to see that? Convincing herself to take pictures at least, she went to the nearest stall, closing the door behind her, and slowly brought her straps down. She could always send the pictures to Ariana, if by the end of this she came to her senses.

Giddy as fuck, as she prepared for a selfie photoshoot, Chrissie sucked her middle finger, leaned in to display her chest, and let the flood of endorphins urge her to get lost in picture taking until she had the absolute perfect ones. The type that begged for someone to devour her. A mixture of sugar, spice, and everything nice. If only she had someone to critique her pictures, before she sent it with no sense of regret at all. Alas, she didn’t have that leisure.

Chanel Martin came barging into the girls bathroom not too long after that; she immediately approached one of the sinks, sat her purse on the edge, and stared at her own reflection. She was pleased to see that despite her drinking and erratic dancing, there wasn't a single smudge on her perfectly caked face, or even a hair out of place. She was drunk, but not that drunk. She was still fully functioning... at least, she was enough to notice Chrissie McCoy as she stumbled her way through the crowd. It didn't take long for Chanel to excuse herself from her conversation with Sawyer to follow in the same direction. "I gotta go check on someone really quick," she'd told Sawyer before walking away. "I'll catch you later."

Assuming that Chrissie was using the bathroom, Chanel decided to wait until she came out of the stall to strike up a conversation, primarily to make sure that the dick wad Salvador himself didn't say or do anything out of line. So, in order to pass the time, the young woman grabbed her lip gloss from her bag and began to reapply it.

As if some divine power sent her an angel, knowing she was going through one hell of a dilemma of deciding which picture to send, Chrissie peered through the crack between the stall door and the pilaster to see hottie patottie Chanel touching up her makeup. They weren’t the closest, and didn’t even have the same social circle, but girls helped girls out so why not ask her for advice? Pushing the door open, with far more force than she anticipated, causing a loud SLAM to reverb in the ladies’ room, Chrissie exclaimed, “Oh heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!”

Prancing to the sink beside her classmate, who was in there with intention, and for her, not the lip gloss she was applying to her lips, Chrissie giggled, clearly drunk and in a state where someone like Kavi could easily take advantage of her, “You having fun? I sure am!” Subconsciously, and honestly unbeknownst to her drunken self, she held her phone in a way where a simple glance down could reveal one of her naughty selfies.

When Chanel saw Chrissie come out of the stall she began shoving her lip gloss back into her purse, wincing slightly at the sudden sound of the door slamming. "Heyyyyyy, girl," Chanel said hesitantly, matching the young woman's pitch. "I guess so. I managed to steal someone's date for a little while, find the spiked punch bowl, and make a new acquaintance in the span of forty minutes... so I'd say I'm having a pretty good time. I'm guessing you are too? You came with... Kavi, right? How's that going?"

It was as soon as Chanel finished speaking that her eyes landed upon Chrissie's cell phone, and her smile slightly faltered once they did so. Man, did she seem to be in a lot worse shape than Chanel had initially thought. "Having a lot of fun, huh?" Chanel asked casually, nodding her head at the device in Chrissie's phone. "Who are those for?"

Chanel was asking her a lot of questions in a short time span. Sober Chrissie would’ve answered them all, and even talked about her date and the strong punch, but she could only focus on the last bit. “I haven’t decided! I got options.” Not ashamed of her lewd pictures, she started showing Chanel all of them, and there were A LOT. “Maybs, I’ll text my ex! Make him have ragrets. Or, or, or I can send 'em to my date. He’d be so easy.” Chrissie chuckled to herself, while repeating, “So easy.”

Glancing down, she stopped on a selfie that was more focused on her face. It seemed like she overlooked that one. It looked like her smile failed her and she looked sad, “No, no, this one is ew.” She deleted it as soon as she noticed it. How dare she drop her mask? It was all she got. “So many people are ‘in love’,” She complained, making parentheses with her fingers. Looking from her phone, to the girl giving her company, she huffed and puffed, “You too, probably!”

"Me? What makes you sa-" Chanel was at a loss for words as her eyes briefly glanced over Chrissie's pictures. Of course, she looked stunning, but Chanel couldn't help but feel a tad weird about looking at them. Especially one of the last pictures, where Chrissie didn't look much like... herself. And in regards to her very last question, Chanel simply brushed it off, focusing more on her initial statements instead. "They're not bad pictures, Chrissie... but I don't think you should send them to anyone. At least not while you're..." Chanel paused for a brief second, wanting to choose her words carefully so that she wouldn't upset the other girl. "Look, maybe after you've gone home, gotten a good nights sleep, and had time to think it over... you can send them to whoever you want. I just don't think it'd be a good idea to do it now."

Home.

What home? She wasn’t wanted at Stella’s. Her home was miles away, with her parents in another country. She didn’t know if Ariana’s plans would change because she had nowhere else to go. Kavi was a mistake waiting to happen. Shawna had Sunshine. Kavan had Archer. Where was she supposed to go? Sense washing over her as she dropped her phone in her clutch, Chrissie nodded to the one person that noticed her in her time of need, and probably knew something wasn’t right, “Thanks. You’re right.” She said, surprisingly clear for her state. “Can you… do me a favor?”

Going to the window, she cracked it open to feel the cool night air, “Can you find Ariana? I want to stay here a bit longer.” Little did Chanel know, the moment she accepted and walked out the door, Chrissie would no longer be in the bathroom. Only those like Stella and Ariana would know, times like these, where the drama queen felt utterly hopeless, she would find herself aimlessly walking somewhere, getting lost until someone found her.

"Sure, I guess..." Chanel said, letting out a sigh of defeat as she slung her purse back around her shoulder and began walking towards the door despite the voice in the back of her mind telling her not to. She finally decided to listen to that voice, however, right before grabbing the door handle.

"Look, are you sure you don't wanna talk about whatever is bothering you?" Chanel said suddenly, turning back around to face Chrissie. "Not to be all up in your business or anything, especially since I know we're not super close like you and Ariana or Stella are... but something about you just seems different tonight. Y'know, my mom used to always tell me that it's not good to bottle up all of your emotions, so maybe you should just let it all out... Talk to someone. Is this about Carter or something? Or... Kavi didn't try any slick shit, did he?"

“Kavi? No, no. He didn’t do anything. If anything...” Chrissie trailed off. Leaning against the wall, facing Chanel once more, she studied the floor and her french pedicure. The moonlight seeped through the window behind her causing a halo to surround her wavy hair. If anything, she was the one leading him on because she liked the attention. He was behaving himself for someone with his kind of reputation. As far as she could tell, he seemed to be dealing with his break up differently than her. Or at least, they didn’t give into the sexual desire that was obviously there because maybe, just maybe, they both knew that was a mistake. That the only reason they’d have sex with one another was to feel good about themselves and not because they liked the other in that way.

Before she could go any further about Kavi, Chrissie registered the mention of Carter and her self pity turned to bitterness, real quick. “What about Carter?” Although she was no longer mad at Carter, per say, just hearing his name made her think of her cousin and it pissed her off. “Has he told you?”

"Told me what?" Chanel asked, her eyebrow raising at how quickly Chrissie's demeanor changed. "I mean, he did say something about you and him having a pretty heated conversation before class... but that isn't really anything new, right? And I thought you two had moved past that, anyway."

See, sober Chrissie already couldn’t handle talking about subjects like these. That hit home. Add alcohol to the mix, and it was all downhill from there. “Why don’t you ask Stella!” the primadonna snapped. “Like really! I hope those two get together. The sooner they do, the sooner Stel will stop being a lil' bitch.” Tightening her grip on her clutch, Chrissie stormed to the door.

Crossing her arms, she impatiently waited for Chanel to open the door or get out of her way, “I’m sorry, I can’t talk about this right now. I gotta' go.” Sadly, Chrissie was in no state to welcome kindness and comfort. Hurt people take out their hurt on others, and while Chrissie didn’t mean to, she couldn’t hold back. She was just so sick and tired of Stella’s bullshit. But more importantly, she still hadn’t fully recovered from her break up.

Slightly startled from Chrissie's sudden outburst, Chanel stood frozen for a few seconds before slowly nodding her head and sidestepping out of the way. There was obviously more going on with Chrissie than Chanel had originally thought, so it made sense as to why she didn't want to divulge all her business with someone she probably barely even considered a friend. "I understand," Chanel said, pulling the door open for the other woman to exit. "I hope you uh... try to have some more fun tonight. And stay safe."

“You too! Ciao.” Not giving Chanel another glance, Chrissie stumbled, yes stumbled (remember she’s still drunk), out the door, waving goodbye, heading straight to her next destination: finding Ariana. In the morning, she would probably come to regret this moment, revealing a side of her to someone who shouldn’t have seen it. No one deserved whatever Chrissie was becoming. Especially not someone who was innocent, and hardly involved.

Why was she like this and why did everything hurt on the inside? If only she could find a way to forgive and forget. Find a way to love. Tonight wasn’t the night and a happily ever after was out of reach. Sometimes, you have to hit rock bottom before you can climb again, and Chrissie was almost there. Killing herself lately, that’s been her mission, and it will stay that way until she gains the courage to just deal with it.

[NeoAJ]

---

”Everything OK with you?”

Shawna wasn’t entirely sure at the moment. As she looked at the cup that her girlfriend was offering, she was thinking about the exit that one of her best friends made. One that was less than graceful and definitely related to the liquid in the cup. Should I have gone after her and made sure she’s all right? Am I all right with how that went? Chrissie seemed all right. But not having that space to go to… I can’t put it all on Sunshine, can I?

Shawna shook her head out of her own thoughts and looked back at Sunshine, the cup still in her hand. “Not as all right as I thought they’d be, honestly. But, I think we need somewhere private to talk about it. Give me one sec,” she held up a finger as she went to find the person she knew could make that happen.

It took that second and a few more, but eventually Shawna found her “boyfriend,” chatting up some brunette whose name she couldn’t place. Had to be from one of the random low-level classes that she dare not enter. Still, she looked vaguely familiar. “Hey Jack,” she interrupted. “Can I borrow the keys to the Viper for a bit? I have some… personal business to attend to."

The football star rubbed his hand against the bottom of his chin. “I don’t know. I don’t think you should be doing anything in my dad’s car. It’s very expensive, you know.”

“Oh, I know. Hey, who are you talking to? Is that Angela? Should I say hi to her?”

“Nah, Angela… really? Angela? I thought her name was Amber. Anyway, she’s fine. Here.” Jack reached into his jacket pocket and produced the keys. “Just don’t spill anything in there.”

“I promise. Cross my heart and hope to be banished to Wyoming.” Shawna snatched the keys from his grasp and skipped back over to where she hoped Sunshine was still waiting. It looked like she was still there. “Hey, sorry I took more than a second. Care to join me on a romantic getaway to Jack’s Viper in the parking lot?”

---

[Sugar and Spite]

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Jasper was all for supporting his friends relationships. Seeing Archer and Kavan together only reinforced this. Not only did they look genuinely happy, but they also looked good together - like movie star level good. It was because of couples like Archer and Kavan that Jasper now understood why Valentines day was actually kind of important. Of course you should always show love for your significant other on any day, but Valentines day allowed people do go a few extra steps above anything they would normally plan.

Once his friends had walked away, Jasper was left standing with the newly met stranger Dani. Not really knowing what else to say, and not wanting to awkwardly walk away without saying anything, he was left standing there trying to come up with a conversation starter. Thankfully - or maybe not so thankfully - she asked him to dance.

"I... yeah, sure!" he said, slightly shocked. Deciding to use what little charm he had to extend his hand to her before leading them to the dance floor, Jasper tried to keep his panic under control.

There was just one small problem with him taking the lead.

Jasper Fray didn't dance.

[spooner]

After sitting and brooding for some time Max decided he would shake it off. It was not like him to not enjoy himself whenever there was a party going on. So he turned his attention back to his group of friends and soon enough his booming laughter could be heard from every corner of the dance. He didn’t want the situation he had gotten himself into to bring a stormcloud over his good time. So when his teammates suggested that they all go and tear up the dance floor he naturally followed.

The lacrosse team took over a large part of the dance floor and if that annoyed their peers, Max couldn’t find it in him to care. There were a handful of girls that saw Max dancing by himself as an opportunity to put the charms on him. But the burly teen just smiled and danced off in another direction. He was really not in the mood and after the fourth awkward dance-off, he decided the dancefloor wasn’t a safe space anymore. He quietly slipped of and out toward the parking lot.

As the fresh night air hit him Max exhaled heavily shoving his hands in his pocket grabbing his car keys. He directed them into the mass of cars and press the button on his keychain making his truck beep. He followed the sound and opened the front door, leaning in to switch on the sound system. Max connected his phone and put on his ‘Chill Driving’ playlist.

Max clambered up on the bed of the truck taking off his jacket bunching it up under his head so he could lay and look up at the stars alone with his thoughts.

[Ejected]

_{Starring Archer | Kavan}

“Back at the car huh?” Archer whispered in Kavan’s ear wiggling his eyebrows. “Are you just trying to get me alone so you can… ravage me?” he let out a low cackle a little too proud of his own joke.

"I don't know, maybe I am," Kavan responded, a smirk evident on his face as he took a quick look at both Danielle and Jasper who stood close by. "I think those two over there are about to head to the dance floor pretty soon. That'll give us a chance to sneak away for a minute. What do you say?" As Kavan spoke, he looked at his boyfriend with a questioning look, eagerly awaiting his response.

“You don’t have to ask me twice…” Archer suggested and proceeded to say goodbye to his cousin and Jasper before grabbing hold of his boyfriend’s arm following him.

Flashing him a smile, Kavan interlocked his arm with Archer's and began to lead him towards the exit. The two didn't speak much until they’d stepped foot outside of the country club and the sound of the DJ's current musical selection had started to slowly fade away. Kavan lead Archer through the lot, all the way towards the parking spot that he and Ariel had left not too long ago. And once they'd finally reached Kavan's car, the young man brought him to a stop beside the passenger side door, and let his arm drop back to his side. "Okay, so before I show this to you..." Kavan said with a half-smile, "I just thought I'd say a few words first, while simultaneously trying not to sound too... cheesy."

“Oh, you really know how to charm me don’t you?” Archie grinned leaning in and kissing Kavan on the lips before pulling back and letting him continue. Looking at his boyfriend he got filled with warmth. He really was his favorite person in the world, even surpassing Marisol. Not that he would ever admit that to her face. He just stood holding his hand looking down at his own intertwined with Kavan’s.

Sucking in a deep breath as he studied Archer's facial expressions, Kavan continued on. "You mean a lot to me, Arch. You're my best friend. And the best boyfriend I could ever ask for. And these past few months have honestly made me into the happiest version of myself. So, for this Valentine's Day, even though we weren't able to come together, I figured I could at least give you something to show how much I... love you." And there it was. Those three words that perfectly described how Kavan had grown to feel about him.

As the words left Kavan’s lips it was like Archer’s whole world stood still. He was frozen to the spot he stood. He couldn’t get a word out, no matter how hard he tried. Usually, he couldn’t shut up but now his boyfriend’s words had made him mute. What he really wanted to do is to shout the same three words from the mountaintops. “Uh-” he croaked before going back to being mute.

Thankfully Kavan hadn’t heard as he finally pulled open the car door and began rummaging under the passenger seat until his fingers finally wrapped around what he'd been searching for. He then stood back up and faced Archer, this time with a small book held firmly in his hands. On the cover was a beautifully illustrated photo of none other than the two boys themselves. "So, with the help of one of the Sophomore girls from the arts department... since we both know that I'm a terrible artist," Kavan let out a brief chuckle before continuing.

All Archer could do now was to stare into his boyfriend’s eyes still as quiet as before. He could feel the stupid water well up behind his eyes which he tried real hard to hold back. He couldn’t believe someone would ever do anything this thoughtful for him. His green eyes moved fast over the cover. It was beautifully illustrated, and as Kavan stated definitely not done by him. Archer’s lips stretched into a wide smile as he caressed the outline of the painted versions of him and Kavan.

"I wrote us a little book. You know, of how we first met and how far we've come since then. It starts with the very first time I sat at your table in the library... shows us, Marisol, and Sonny on our first day of high school... that time in my bedroom when we finally admitted our feelings... It's all in here, Archer. Well, most of it, anyway." As Kavan spoke, he flipped through a few of the pages so that Archer could see his handiwork.

A tear rolled down Archer’s cheek now, he couldn’t hold them back anymore “You cute little shit…” he whispered mostly to himself. He carefully took the book from Kavan’s hands and stared at it for a little moment before laying it on the car seat. When he turned back he threw his arms around his boyfriend on the verge of sobbing. “I-” he tried to start but had to center himself as to not start wailing. He nuzzled into his neck breathing heavily before finally pulling back. Archer quickly wiped his eyes and proceeded to hold Kavan’s face in his hands “I… love you so fucking much…” he sniffed pulling him in planting a passionate kiss on his lips making sure Kavan really felt it.

As Archer's lips found his own, Kavan could feel a comforting warmth growing inside of him. He was happy. He'd found his person. They loved each other. Kavan was the first to pull away from their kiss, and when he did, he took hold of Archer's hand once more and offered him a large grin. "Think we should get back in there and see what we're missing?"

“Honestly I could spend the rest of the night here in your car” Archer sighed looking back towards the country club. “But I guess we should take advantage of the party…” he gave him a quick kiss before both of them headed back towards the Valentine party.

[Venus]

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Fuck! What now? You do wonders to fuck up your own shit, Sonny Drake. But now you’ve done it and for what?

Yeah, for nothing. For...well, he didn’t know why he did it. Could be that SOnny had a few too many, but that wasn’t true because he only had one or two solo cups full of the spiked punch. That wasn’t enough to do any real damage. He was tipsy and had some hint of a lasting buzz, but nowhere close for him to feel as though the alcohol was to blame. So what? What was his reasoning? Sonny could blame it on his fear of Julie’s dad and feeling an obligation to remain by her side? Maybe it was how good of a time he was having. No huss or fuss - just a good time with his good friend.

As Sonny let out a stressed sigh, hearing the backdrop of some song start to play, a clear as day sign that the DJ regained full control over his booth, it became more apparent than ever that Sonny had acted, yet again, impulsively. From where he stood and how Marisol exploded at him, he could see how she might see this as him being an asshole again. He could even see how others might see that as well. He pulled her away from what appeared to be her trying to get footage of the big moment and Sonny had obviously acted without thinking the entirety of what was the present situation and the consequences to come from it.

And the more Sonny thought on it, the more he became convinced he had no fucking idea why he did this.

“Yeah, I bet,” he said, rolling his eyes at Marisol, scoffing at her last comment. “It didn’t seem like you were too happy to see me earlier, with how you and Rye were dancing.”

The young woman rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised you even managed to shift your complete attention away from Julie for the first time this week, even if it took Rye and I almost dry humping on the dancefloor for you to notice me," she immediately argued back.

“I was just doing what you wanted to do. You know, the whole plan of setting those two up--” Sonny gestured to Rye and Julie. “And trust me, if you met her father, you’d want to make sure she had a good time too instead of grilling me for not being a perfect boyfriend.”

"So you're telling me that it's my fault you've been blowing me off to hang out with Julie lately?" Marisol pressed on with a scowl, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "As far as I know, setting two people up doesn't require daily afternoon visits to each other's houses, a fitted suit, or an entire new wardrobe, unless you're looking to be the person who gets set up with her."

“Oh please!”

He was finding it more difficult to reason with her than he ever had to in the past. Now granted, Sonny knew that he wasn’t completely in the right here. What she said was true and he and Julie had seen more of each other but so fucking what! It wasn’t a crime to spend time with a friend and Marisol should know that. Sonny had never felt anything but friendship for Julie, but of all people, his girlfriend thinks that?

Sonny rubbed his temples and shook his head. “You’re seriously mad at me because I had to put in the hours for your plan?!” Swallowing the words he had almost said, Sonny got at Mari’s eye level. “Getting a new wardrobe took more time than I would’ve preferred. If I had my way, I would’ve worn the suit I wore to Homecoming, but Julie convinced me. And yeah, maybe I like the way I look tonight. Is that a crime?” He asked with an attitude.

Marisol could only scoff. “‘Put in the hours’? Son, all you had to do was fucking ask her to the damn dance, show up to her house the day of to pick her up, bring her here, gas Ryland up to her a little bit, and then we would throw them together and watched it all play out. Whatever hours you say you put in for the sake of ‘my plan’ are your problem. Though, judging by how many of them you ‘put in’, I’m sure it was everything but a problem.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Sonny asked, arching an eyebrow. “Seriously, Mari: tell me what exactly is bothering you so much about how much time I spent with Julie?”

“Gee, I don’t know! Maybe it’s because you’ve always had a thing for the pretty popular girls?” the short girl spat, her eyes flashing with anger. “First it was Romina Stauffer back in elementary school. Then, you moved on to Serena Hotchkiss and Patricia Lowe in middle school. Then you start messing around with the Palm Beach Princess Ariana Mossos herself for basically the entirety of the second semester of sophomore year- who popped your cherry and whose cherry you popped, I might add-, and who you barely got over during junior year. And let’s not forget the time you made out with our lovely class president Victoire Bailey at that Diablo party last semester, and the few weeks you dated her wannabe actress stepsister Nadia Aurelios behind my back not long after that. So, yeah: you can see why it’s not completely outlandish of me to jump to conclusions given your track record.”

“Congrats on knowing my romantic history!” Sonny clapped his hands for emphasis. “What’s next? Are you going to list off everyone I don’t like at this school?” He scoffed at her. “Or maybe you want to list off every person I haven’t talked to at this school? Really, that would be amazing.” He let his words sink in before laughing and cut it off into a flat expression. “I have never wanted anything from Julie other than her friendship. She’s like a fucking sister to me, Mari, and the fact that you would even think that just shows how little respect you have for me.”

“Oh yeah? Wasn’t I ‘like a sister’ to you at some point too?” she definitely pointed out. “Don’t give me that ‘just a sister’ excuse. We both know that’s bullshit.”

“Well it’s true. And we never were truly like brother and sister. If we were, last summer wouldn’t have never happened. So when I say Julie is like a sister, I mean she is to me what Drea is or what Nikki is to Kavi. Like, holy shit! The girls I’ve been involved with, regardless of the reason or nature, have always -- always -- been when I was single. I don’t cheat and I never have cheated. I’m not Kavi!” While a part of him knew he should stop, he couldn’t, so he didn’t. “And since we’re airing it all out there, the only reason I spent so much time with Julie this past week was because my mother felt it would be a good idea if I gave this whole date arrangement shit a -- and I’m quoting her -- ‘a genuine effort’!” His last words came out louder than he probably intended them to be.

When Marisol heard Sonny’s last statement, she pursed her lips into a straight line and nodded in bitter understanding. And although she should feel satisfaction at how everything made absolute sense now, it didn’t stop the ache in her chest at yet another confirmation of how everyone thought she wasn’t enough for her boyfriend. “Of course...” she trailed off, clicking her tongue in disapproval. “Leave it to your mother to encourage her beloved little Jackson Jr. end up with a prim and proper lady like her rather than a fucked up tomboy like me, right?”

Sonny squinted at his girlfriend, head bobbing back slightly, and shook his head. “What? No, that’s not it.” He wanted to make sure she knew that his mother never thought anything of the sort and to affirm this, he wanted to take her hand but after how she reacted when he grabbed her earlier, he just gave her a stern look. “Listen: yeah, my mom has her reservations about me. But it’s not like she ever thought of you as less than or anything of the sort. So what if your clothes aren’t always matching or you don’t have perfect poise. No amount of increases in my allowance or new cars will change the fact that I love you in that way, not Julie. And even if my mom doesn’t approve, she has no choice.”

In typical Mari fashion, instead of focusing on the probably fake and highly questionable reassurance her boyfriend was offering her, her attention went to another part of his speech. “Higher allowance? New car?” she repeated, visibly confused. “What are you even talking about?”

“I, uh--”

Even before he realized what had left his mouth and the direction of this conversation that just seemed to be getting worse the longer it remained, Sonny knew that he fucked up. Just when things were going perfect in his life in the sense that he and Mari were finally moving past everything that threatened to tear them down last semester and he was actually starting to feel happy for once, this dance allowed the universe to throw him one curveball after the other, prompting him to wonder if he pissed someone off in his previous life and that’s why he was offered this unappetizing platter of shit pie.

As he felt his throat getting dryer and dryer, Sonny coughed a few times and tried that again. “My grades have been loads better lately, so she decided to reward me,” he shrugged, thinking nothing of it.

“Really?” she asked him, eyebrow raised questioningly in a way he knew meant she thought he was full of shit. “What car did she get you? Because as far as I know you love your orange truck from hell more than me.”

“Close,” he added with a half-grin. “If only mom liked it as much as I do,” he rambled, scratching the back of his neck in an effort to stall. He knew regardless how he said it, it was very likely that Mari wouldn’t be happy about it. With a sigh, Sonny came out with it. “Here’s the thing: she didn’t want me to pick up Julie in my truck, something about it being tacky or whatever...” He let out another sigh and continued, “So she bought me that silver Audi that you might’ve noticed in the parking lot.” His stomach tightened up as the tension in the air suddenly became twice as thick.

“So you’re telling me that your mother bought you a brand new car straight out of the dealership just because she didn’t want you driving her majesty around in your truck?” the young woman inquired in outraged disbelief. Her voice and freshly balled-up fists were both shaking with anger now, and it was taking an outstanding amount of self-control for Mari to not flip out right then and there.

In addition to seeing that rare way her face scrunched up, Sonny noticed her fists were balled up. He knew she had a tendency to overreact but this was giving him war flashbacks to when she took a bat to Vic’s car. He didn’t think she would do the same to his Audi, but whenever Marisol let her anger get out of control, she became someone else - she became something else. In whatever ditch effort he could muster, Sonny had to try and detonate this big bomb in a really small package. “It’s not that big of a deal,” he retorted quickly, “It’s just a car--” A really nice car. “--It doesn’t have to mean anything. So just take a breath…” Before you use my face as a stress ball.

"Are you really this stupid?!" the short girl cried out, her face getting red. "It's so fucking obvious that your mom doesn't like me-- has never liked me-- and she'd rather you be with girls like Julie. And why not, right?! They're obviously the better choice for you! Any other polite, pretty priss out there is a hell of a lot better than the potty-mouth tomboy in your mother's eyes, and we both know I'll never be able to live up to that! So how about I just do the both of you a favor and fuck right off?!”

“You’re twisting my words,” he sait swiftly, cutting her off. “You seem to have this idiotic narrative that I like Julie or that my mom doesn’t like you. I honestly don’t know what ever gave you that idea, so allow me to paint you the picture of what’s true...” Sonny coughed and stared Mari down, knowing this was his only chance to get it right. “I have never liked Julie like that. I will never like Julie like that. Sure, maybe in some alternate reality where you and I aren’t madly in love and I was every bit the mommy’s little follower you think I am. Then, sure: I would be serenading her like Rye is. But news flash, Marisol!” He raised his voice, “That’s never going to happen. Despite any track record of mine suggesting otherwise, the only person I will ever see myself with is the idiot standing in front of me who needs to understand how much I love her!”

The beginning of Sonny’s monologue had Marisol poised and ready for a fight. She was about to interrupt her boyfriend and list all the different ways his mother’s behavior had given her the idea that she was considered inadequate for her son when he chose to stare her down.

“You really mean that? Or are you just trying to placate me?” she grumbled, her eyes still locked on the ground. Marisol knew Sonny well enough to tell that he was being serious, but she still wanted to hear his confirmation.

“Plac-what?” He asked, bearing a genuine confused, blank expression on his face.

Marisol couldn’t help but look up at him and roll her eyes. “It means to make someone less angry,” she clarified as the corners of her mouth turned upwards in a hint of a smile. “Jesus, Sonny, how did you even pass the vocabulary portion of the SAT’s?”

“Bold of you to assume I even took them.” He remained silent for a few seconds. “...don’t tell my mom I just told you that. I got her to finally get off my back about college and shit and i know she’ll give me one of her trademark lectures the minute she finds out.”

The girl’s mouth finally broke into a smile. “Cross my heart, hope to die,” she promised, holding a closed fist to the heart. “Though you’ll be the one hoping to die after your mom eventually gets ahold of that bit of information…” she snickered.

Sonny’s response came in the form of a chuckle. He glanced away from Mari for a moment to see if Rye and Julie were grinding on the dancefloor but he couldn’t spot them. He frowned and took out his phone as it vibrated in his pocket and he saw the group text from the two of them, which quickly shifted Sonny’s mood swing from disappointed to satisfied.

In the moment he read her message and the added bit from Rye, Sonny wanted to keep his grin but he honestly couldn’t believe how much of a dick he was. Of course, he was grateful that somehow he made it better with Mari, but as for Rye and Julie? Yeah, that something else altogether. Maybe if he didn’t have it in his head that he needed to be by Julie’s side to make the date go well then maybe Sonny wouldn’t have reacted so...aggressively when Rye made his move.

“So, listen,” Sonny said, pocketing his phone, “I know I’ve been a shit boyfriend tonight and, well, I, uh…” He rubbed the back of his head. Communication wasn’t his strong suit and he always struggled getting his point across, “You know I suck at articulating myself but you wanna dance? I’m no good but they’re playing a dope song right now and I want to...make it up to you, that is. And I know how much you love it when I do this.” Sonny did his best attempt at a salsa hip shake, which looked awkward on him because of his slightly overweight figure and how out of practice he was. He certainly wasn’t going to win any dance competition with his hip shakes.

Marisol couldn’t help but snort. “Okay, first of all: don’t ever do that in public again,” she told him, her eyes sparkling in amusement at his terrible attempt at dancing. “And second, it hasn’t all been your fault. I haven’t been the best of girlfriends tonight either, soooo… I’m sorry about everything I said before. You and Julie looked so good together and were having such a good time, and I know she’s totally your mom’s dream girl… So that shit kinda just… Messed with my head a bit. Guess I have some shit to work out still, right?” she laughed awkwardly, shaking her head.

Sonny had a poorly-timed joke ready, but then he noticed how uncharacteristically vulnerable Marisol was appearing, especially after she mentioned his mother and how she might prefer Julie or at least, the type of girl Julie was. It made him think about a lot of things, some immediate and some not so immediate. Even after everything they both said and the actions that emphasized their words, Sonny could tell that under it all, what his mother did affected his girlfriend deeply. It was like her version of a scar that nobody could see but her.

He grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. “It’s all good in the hood!” She shot her a rare cheerful grin. “We’re imperfect for others, but together, we cancel each other’s shit out.”

“Bad for others but perfect for each other: going strong since the year 2000!” she laughed, closing the distance between them to wrap her slender arms around him in a tight hug. “I love you, dipshit. I hope you always remember that.”

He smiled and chuckled out a single laugh. “Love you more, dumbass!” He nibbled lightly on her neck, holding her close to him so she couldn’t escape. A few seconds later, using his superior strength, he picked her up by the waist. “The dance floor awaits!” he declared before dragging his gleeful girlfriend back to the dance floor.

[Sugar and Spite]

_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Watching Kavi walk away lifted an invisible weight off of Ariels shoulders that she had been carrying around for a while. Unfortunately, when the old weight was lifted, it was immediately replaced with another. Was letting him go really the right thing? It had to be. No matter how much it hurt, she knew that this had to be the right thing for them both. She made her look like an idiot, and she broke his nose. Nothing about that was healthy. But yet ---

No. Stop.

As Ryland took the mic from the DJ, Ariel threw away another cup. Already extremely drunk, she didn't go for the punch this time, but instead a bottle of water. Twisting the top off as she took a drink, the young woman nearly choked when she heard her name. Quite a few heads turning her way didn't help her current state of embarrassment. Turning a light shade of red, Ariel turned quickly on her heel to find a place to hide. Maybe the bathroom? Behind a group of tall people? Walk out the door? Whatever would work.

Hurrying off as Rye continued to tell her to follow her heart or whatever other cheesy thing, Ariel clenched her jaw in frustration.

I'm fucking trying, bro.

As he started to sing, Ariel quickened her speed. She had to get out of here.

Not really paying attention to what direction she was going in, Ariel ran straight into none other than Sawyer - both of them tumbling to the ground as she was shoved from behind by someone who began throwing up in the trash can. Looks like the vodka was working on more than just her.

"I'm so sorry," she slurred, doing her best to get up from the floor.

[Venus]

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What the fuck just happened…

For a moment, Ariana simply stood there, struggling to believe how quickly everything had crashed and burned right before her tear-filled eyes. To any onlooker with brief knowledge of the situation, this might look like yet another occasion of the school’s playgirl toying with a guy just for kicks and her own amusement. The truth, however, was different from what they would expect. There was a reason as to why Ariana had freaked out when confronted with the proposition of commitment-- and it wasn’t just the shock of how unexpectedly it had been. Looking back on it, Max had gone about it in a really sweet, considering way. But how could she have explained the reasoning behind her unexpected, less than desirable reaction when the words simply eluded her?

The girl wanted to call out to Max, to follow him, to stop him in his tracks and explain herself, but was seemingly frozen on the spot. Her legs refused to move, her jaw was tightly locked with panic, and her voice was stuck in her throat. All she could do was feel her heart breaking as she watched Max’s face fall in disappointment, step away and defeatedly retreat back into the safety of the ballroom after his failed attempt at officializing things with her.

When she was finally able to regain movement, Ariana immediately pressed her back and leaned her head against the nearest wall. She shut her eyes tightly and took deep, shaky breaths as her body trembled, fighting against the overwhelming desire to become a sobbing mess right then and there. She certainly had every reason to. Her remaining friends with benefits relationship was more than likely over for good, she had broken the lacrosse captain’s heart, and her mood was so shot that even the prospect of taking Jasper’s virginity later that night wasn’t appealing anymore. Hell, she didn’t even want to sleep with anyone anymore. All Ariana wanted was to cry on her best friend’s lap, stuff her face with ice cream, curl up under the covers with her and spend the rest of the night with the one person who not only had her back and didn’t judge her, but who also understood.

She needed to find Chrissie before her head would explode.

Finally, Ariana’s shimmering eyelids fluttered open, and the brunette stepped away from the wall. She took a few more, slightly calmer breaths before dabbing away any moisture from her under eyes, squaring her shoulders and sauntering back into the ballroom. Once inside, the young woman’s hazel eyes darted around the room, frantically trying to find her best friend for some much needed reassurance and moral support. However, what she saw only served to put her in an even worse mood: Danielle Kennedy, deep in conversation with Jasper and giving him the eyes.

Whatever progress Ariana had made in getting ahold of herself was gone as quickly as it had arrived. Sure, the brunette had been polite and friendly to Max’s cousin, but that didn’t even begin to excuse this behavior. It’s not that she was jealous, but more that she was worried about her reputation. How would it look like if this nobody came out of nowhere and blatantly stole her date in front of her whole class?! It was enough that she’d totally made herself look like an asshole with the lacrosse captain she’d been screwing since the semester started. But to imagine the Ariana Mossos getting snubbed by a new girl and getting away with it… It was a scene the Palm Beach princess wouldn’t allow to happen.

Scowling, Ariana stormed in their direction, her heels angrily clicking against the floor. She was just seconds away from putting this newbie in her place when she collided hard with a tall, willowy figure in a short, pink velvet dress. Thankfully for the both of them, the figure in question was none other than the one person the young woman needed the most: her beloved drama queen best friend.

“Oh my God, Peaches, I’m so glad it’s you!” Ariana exclaimed, wrapping Chrissie into a tight hug. “Something’s happened with Max and I don’t know what the hell to do anymore.”

[AlteredTundra]

Kavi had wandered around the ballroom, avoiding the dancefloor, avoiding the crowds of people that split for Ryland and Julie like they both were Moses and they were the Red Sea. He remembered shaking his head at how ridiculous it was that Ryland Aspen, the guy who the queen regent had pinned against someone’s locker not three weeks ago (give or take) and now she was dancing with him.

And that made Kavi think back to a time that was a hell of a lot simpler than right now.

In his mind and in the minutes that followed him slowly keeping to the walls, hands in his white jacket pocket, his legs going directly in front of each other in the slowest walk he’s ever been on, Kavi remembered way back at the beginning of the year when Santiago had his party and when he had his first real exposure to Ariel.

Well, not his first exposure to her but since then, they were pulled in to each other’s sphere like they were the unstoppable force and the relationship that blossomed was the immovable object. No matter what happened between them, whether him two-timing her and Nadia or kissing April or the whole shitfest that happened with Rye and how Kavi’s poor choice of words made Ariel doubt him again, there was always something between them.

And I even told her straight up: I love you, but that wasn’t enough.

Or maybe he gave up too easily.

buzz! Buzz!

The vibrations of his cell phone from inside his jacket pocket brought Kavi out of the deep thought he had found himself in. He quickly checked it and saw that it was Nikki calling him. He answered and made his way back through the entrance and outside so he could hear her. “Nik, what’s up? Everything okay?”

“You mean aside from my utter boredom at home?” Her usual attitude was, as he knew it to be, in fine form. “Yeah, I’m just peachy!”

“Well, that’s great. So what’s up?”

“What’s up? You know what’s up, Kav! Did you talk to her yet?”

“Her who?” He asked, feigning not knowing who she meant.

“You know who her who! Your fiery ex is her who!”

Kavi leaned against the wall in the entrance to the country club and let out a sigh. “Yeah, I talked to her,” his voice was flat and he knew what was coming next.

“So, can I assume by your cheery reaction that you didn’t tell her what you said you would?”

If Nikki was here, he would nod. “Correct!” Kavi confirmed, hearing his sister sigh from her end of the call. “Don’t give me that. Listen, I tried. I told her I love her but--”

“--But ‘it’s not enough. I hurt you and I can’t undo that’--"

Kavi laughed. “--is that supposed to be me?”

“Maybe it is, maybe it’s not. The bottom line is you chickened out and let her walk away without you telling her how you really feel.”

There wasn’t any hiding it from Nikki. Where everyone else didn’t see his bullshit, she not only called him out on it, but she felt a sense of pride when she exposed it to him. And he couldn’t be angry at her for that, not when he knew that she was absolutely right. She knew what he wanted to tell her because Kavi had confided in her. Their bond had been closer than ever and especially after things between their parents only became less hidden. It was out in the open that their parents had separated and there was nothing Kavi or Nik could do but be there for each other. And they were. So much so that Kavi told Nikki that he still loved Ariel and he wished he didn’t fuck up for the millionth time.

“Hello!? Did you hear me, tulala?”

He shook his head, snapping himself out of his own thoughts. “Sorry,” he apologized, “what did you say?”

Nikki's response came with a loud sigh. “What I said is you need to find her and make her see you for the first time since you first fell for her. Make her see that it’s not a mistake to give you one more chance. For god sake, Kavi!” She yelled, causing Kavi to remove the phone from his ear for a few seconds. “Man the fuck up, bro! You’re Kavi fucking Salvador and you aren’t you without Ariel fucking Grey by your side. So stop being a pussy and get your girlfriend back!”

Kavi’s end of the call fell silent for nearly a minute. He heard his sister’s voice from her end, but he blocked it out by focusing on what she had told him to do. Of course, he knew she was right, there was no disputing that - but there was more than just what he wanted to do to consider. His relationship with Ariel, while being the most consistent thing in his life since his senior year began, has been toxic. It wasn’t just him that made it like that. When they got together, it was like adding a torch with the opposite end of the stick dipped in oil to a fast-spreading flame. It was like they had something in them that added a temporary relief from pain, but when the drugs wore off, history repeated itself. Kavi knew this and Ariel knew it. They both understood that regardless of anything when they were together, it was more of the same.

And yet…

“Hellooooo!” Nikki called out to Kavi.

“Yeah,” he responded as quickly as her voice went quiet, “I gotta go. Thanks for everything.”

Before she could get another word in, Kavi hung up and leaned back against the wall behind him, sighing out heavily. As he closed his eyes and contemplated what he should do, he caught the sight of Julie and Ryland Aspen walk pass him, arms hooked. He blinked repeatedly, thoroughly confused. “Well, that just happened,” he muttered to himself, ignoring the happy couple.

As he began his walk back into the ballroom, he still hadn’t decided what he was gonna do. There was a mountain of choices with just as many outcomes but Kavi was a little more sure of the how it was going to play out. He just had to find Ariel.

A few minutes later that were spent keeping to the wall, Kavi saw some of his classmates in their natural habitats but none caught his eye by the sight of red hair he couldn’t stop himself from smirking at. No matter how many times they went through it and definitely no matter how toxic they were to each other, at the end of it all, the universe put them together for a reason and even his kid sister knew that reason. Nikki knew things he didn’t and he thought that was brilliantly scary. Clearly something she got from their mother.

So he followed the fiery path she left.

Every step he took brought the limited break in his confidence back up. The things he left unsaid because he saw how much it tore her apart to talk to him kept swirling around in his head, aligning in the order of how he would say it: first, he would list the reasons why they shouldn’t work, the reasons why she’s justified in wanting to move on. He’ll tell her understands, that he didn’t blame her one bit, that he knows who and what he is and that nothing could change that. Then he’d tell her all of the reasons why he loves her and why she made him a better person, why she made him to want to be a better person. He’ll beg, get on his knees and beg for one last chance. He’ll do it in front of anyone who wanted to see him grovel. He’ll do it no matter the amount of laughs that leave his classmates’ lips or if he was recorded doing it, which he knew he absolutely would be. He’d tell her that she has every right to deny her, but that he loves her for who she is on the inside.

And all of that would never happen because Kavi saw her with Sawyer. And in that moment, he didn’t know what to think or feel. Kavi wasn’t sure if he should give Sawyer a right hook and tell him to stay away from Ariel or if he should laugh. Of all the people who could be given her time of day right now, the brother of someone who was one of Kavi’s victims. This had to be his karmic justice. First, it was Elijah’s justice, to which the universe rewarded him with a stern slap to the face from the crimson queen and now it was his crimson queen with Gavin Lockwood's brother.

“Figures.” His voice was low and Kavi locked his gaze on Ariel and Sawyer for a solid seven seconds. She had fallen over and was getting up. Sawyer was a good guy, so Kavi knew he would be a gentleman to her, probably apologize and say it was his fault for not looking. If there was anything he was to take away from this, it was that she might actually have some chance of being with someone she deserved. “Yeah, that’s cool.”

Probably in the biggest shock for him, Kavi wasn't angry or upset. He didn't feel the usual urge he had been overcome with in the past to rush over and beat someone's face in. Could he? Sure. It wouldn't take much. Sawyer was bigger than Gavin and Kavi had no doubt that he could get his licks in before any real damage could be inflicted. No, that wasn't it. Kavi was, for the first time, understanding something about himself and about how things were going to be for him from here on out. Call it an epiphany or personal growth, but Kavi understood that he no matter how badly he wanted to be with Ariel, which was a lot, he had his own shit to figure out before anything could happen between them again. That in itself provided him with some peace of mind.

[AlteredTundra]

_{An @metanoia & @Ejected Collaboration
Featuring Carter Newton & Stella Lambert}

"And you-" Carter said as he redirected his attention to Stella, grabbed her by the hand, and spun her in a quick circle. "You look very beautiful. Enjoying the dance so far?"

Insert that immediate blush, Carter always knew how to generate that kind of reaction out of her. Every inch of her face was red from the bottom of her eyelids where her eyeliner and concealer did well to hide the evidence of her sleepless nights this past week to the creases of her mouth that flashed such a wide smile she could hardly contain the unflattering giggles that followed her cinderella twirl.

As she unattractively snorted, she said, “y-yeah! I mean, yeah I am. But, I mean,” she stuttered. Stella took in a breath, leaned close to Carter, her hands accidentally (well partially at least) came to a full-stop on his chest, “can we go talk? I mean, somewhere a bit more private?” Her heart was beating at insane pulses but she kept her composure. She had to be the bravest version of herself tonight and especially in the minutes that were sure to follow.

Almost instantly, a troubled expression came across Carter's face. "Is everything okay, Stell?" He asked. But after taking a quick glance around at those who still stood not too far away, Carter simply grabbed hold of Stella's hand and nodded his head in understanding. "We'll be back. You two have fun!" The young man said to April and Santiago with a half-smile before leading Stella towards the nearest exit.

The two didn't speak until they’d stepped outside of the country club and the sound of the DJ's current musical selection had died down a bit; The garden was only occupied by Ariana, but as soon as they entered, she left. So, for the moment, Carter figured that it was the perfect spot for them to have their conversation. Carter didn't let go of Stella's hand as he turned to face her, an inquisitive look on his face. And once again, this time slightly more concerned, he asked her, "Is everything alright, what's going on?"

Stella had a vast mixture of emotions flowing around her body from anxiety that crept up her spine like a slowly-slithering snake to the uncertainty that made her palms almost sweaty, but she also felt warmth at the touch of Carter’s hand. As it centered around her heart, causing it to flutter the moment their eyes met, Stella smiled at his concern. “Oh, sorry,” she quickly apologized, “I’m just…” She speedily thought for maybe a few moments, biting her lip. Get a hold of yourself, Stella! “I just wanted to talk is all!” No, that wasn’t all you wanted. “Spend time with you, and, well...” Stella squeezed his hands. “Carter, I like you!” She blurted out.

"You had me worried there for a sec," Carter said with a light chuckle, letting out a sigh of relief upon hearing that nothing was wrong. But his breath caught once more when Stella finally said what had been on her mind. She likes me. Carter could feel his ears begin to burn as he stood before Stella; hearing her say those words instantly made his heart rate quicken. It didn't take much longer for a smile to spread across Carter's face as he said, "I like you too, Stella."

“Carter…” She softly smiled at him.

No matter how bad things got at home, there was always the dream scenarios she had created for herself, the perfect “what if” life she painted to help quell the stress caused by her fights with Chrissie that always ended up like this: Carter looking at her with that too-cute-to-handle smile and the way specs of autumn amber danced in his eyes whenever he centered them on her and him uttering some version of “I like you”. She had practiced over and over what she would say to him if he ever said it to her, regardless of what prompted it like she was giving a speech but she couldn’t prepare for how speechless being in the reality of the moment.

Stella tried to shake off her nerves and she half-laughed. “I’m sorry.” Instinctively, the brunette apologized. She didn’t know why she did that; just one of those habits she couldn’t break. “I never imagined you’d feel the same. I mean, I just...I don’t know, it’s been a while since I’ve liked someone as much as I do with you and I guess I didn’t think you’d feel the same.”

"You don't have to apologize." Letting out a laugh of his own, Carter found himself interlacing Stella's fingers with his. "It's funny that you say that, cause I've been feeling the same way." And it was true. Carter had already known by then exactly how he felt about Stella but had been putting off outwardly expressing these feelings to her in fear of being rejected. It wasn't like Carter didn't have any past experiences with girls, but being with Stella was different. He liked being around Stella. He liked the way that she made him feel. It was deeper than surface-level. And truth be told, he was still a little stunned that she felt the same way.

"But now that we've finally come clean with each other... why don't we just make it official, you know? I for one, think we'd make a pretty great couple," And then came the nerves again. Carter anxiously scanned Stella's face for a brief moment, waiting for some sort of reaction. "So what do you say?"

“Official?” She repeated back, her mouth forming a small ‘o’ before curving into a small smile.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t thought about it. Of course, she thought about it. For heaven’s sake, the only reason she and Marcel didn’t work out was because of how strong her feelings for Carter were. It was beyond physical. Carter was hot and he was every girl’s dream guy: handsome, sweet, confident but not cocky, and he had a certain flair about him - an energy that remained unmatched. On top of everything else, he introduced her to a world that she wasn’t active in before. Ever since November, she had become a stronger person, someone who was getting to know layers about herself she didn’t know existed. She was happy with Carter and whenever she was with him, she felt the happiest she’s ever been, even happier than when she was with Oliver.

Words right now might hold some weight but Stella had been trying to act more than she had done so in the past. So she said nothing. She leaned forward and gave him a short kiss on his lips. As soon as she did that, she immediately pulled away not because she wanted to but her heart was beating so fast that she needed to take a few deep breaths to prevent it from breaking out. “Wow. That was...wow,” was all she could say when she found a moment to speak.

"I guess I'll take that as a yes?" Carter said, a goofy grin spreading across his face in response to Stella's forwardness. And without hesitation, the young man gently lifted Stella's chin, bent his head down, and placed his lips on hers once more, this time a little longer than before. "What do you say we head back in and finally have our dance?"

Immediately on his suggestion, Stella hugged him as tightly as she could. All of her doubts and nerves and especially the attempts Chrissie had made to sabotage her potential relationship -- not a potential relationship now! -- with Carter seemed like a distant nightmare. The only thing she could focus on and the only thing she wanted to was dance the night away with her boyfriend. My boyfriend… That thought had her hook his arm, clinging to it. Probably for the first time in a really long time, Stella was starting to feel like her old self again.

As they walked towards the exit/entrance, Stella smiled at Carter. “I hope they play a song with a fun beat! I’m in a mood to shake it!”

[Sugar and Spite]

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The way Shawna responded made Sunshine raise her eyebrows in question. If she knew anything about Shawna, it was that her overall body language right now was sort of tense. Whatever was bothering her, Sunshine hoped that it wasn't to major. The last thing she needed was for her or her significant other to be caught in one of Kings Acadmeys great event scandals.

Nodding in recognition as Shawna sauntered off, Sunshine stared into her plastic cup for a brief moment before turning her attention back to the dance floor. Ryeland seemed to be having a good time with Julie, while Marisol and Sonny appeared to be arguing. She had always found it funny just how many things were always going on at once, and tonight was no different.

As Shawna walked back over, Sunshines facial expression clearly changed to that of mild confusion as her girlfriend held up a set of car keys. She had no idea what a Viper was, but as long as Shawna was going to be there...

Smiling, she held out her hand for the other girl to take. "Lead the way."

[Rightful Heir]

"They're just idiots. They can easily be ignored," Sawyer chuckled, his attention quickly getting ripped away from Chanel to stare at Ryland as he spoke up. The boy raised an eyebrow and watched as the scene before him unfolded, side-glancing Chanel when he noticed the girl with the spotlight on her was looking her way for some kind of queue or help. He felt kind of bad for her. The girl Ryland was wooing, not Chanel. She seemed to be offering about as much help as he imagined could be given in the situation.

After having been dumped recently, Sawyer wasn't exactly much for the romantic-type of stuff.. his weak clap was drown out by the thunderous applause and hollering throughout the club. The boy sighed heavily and took a big gulp of his punch, he turned his eyes back to Chanel as she spoke up. 'Cute? Ugh.' Sawyer faked a smile and simply nodded, feeling that his tone of voice would betray him. "Hope someone got a picture of that. No doubt that that's yearbook-worthy." The boy downed the last of his punch and took a deep breath as he turned to say something more but noticed Chanel had gone.

Sawyer pressed his lips into a firm, thin line as he made a barely audible 'hmph' before stepping over to the punches to refill and head back over to his boys who were eagerly awaiting his return, stuffing their faces with their own food. They looked like animals. These two idiots were never gonna get girls. He chuckled to himself at the sight of his buddies before looking out at the dance floor at all the couples dancing, his smile quickly fading. Whether they were together or not didn't really matter. Just the sight of them hurt. As much as he acted like he was cold-blooded and couldn't care less, Sawyer was an emotional little shit. ()

He wouldn't think of her, or speak her name. It'd give too much power to the pain he was already feeling. Instead, he'd numb it with some more feel-good. The boy continued to chug his punch as he gave the boys a look as he reached into his pocket for his keys, heading towards the doors to go out to his truck for a second smoke sesh.... but everything happened so fast, Sawyer was on the ground with punch spilled all down his front. The boy nearly shouted a curse, luckily catching himself when he realized it was a girl who'd run into him. It was...Ariel? Yeah. Ariel. That was her name.

Sawyer cleared his throat and forced himself to his feet, offering an arm for her to grab as he also hesitantly placed a firm hand under her other arm to help her up to her feet. "Oh, no. D-don't even worry about it, it's fine. Are.. you alright?"