[IC] Palm Beach Royals: Class Reunion (Shelved)

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Day I- June 7th, 2022

1- Intros: how you got there, how do you feel about the reunion, etc.
2- Welcome cocktail taking place at the rooftop poolside bar
3- After midnight free period

Day II- June 8th, 2022

4- Morning free period to regret the previous night’s decisions
5- Lunch
6- Afternoon free period, pre-dinner gala
7- 10 year reunion dinner gala at the hotel’s small ballroom: rewriting prom
8- After midnight free period

Day III- June 9th, 2022

9- Beachside goodbye brunch
10- Farewells

Epilogue: One Year Later (Summer of 2023)

11- What has our cast been up to since the reunion?

[BrutalBx]

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”Do you remember when we said our goodbyes?
Don’t worry, when you grow up your heart dies.
Like a ticking of a clock I hear,
A heart, a beat, a song when you are near.
It’s our reunion, can you still sing for me?
Like John, Paul, George and Ringo will you just tell me to let it be?

If I could feel, like I used to feel,
I would be happy, sad, enraged and on it.
A million miles a million years later,
A boy still sees a girl riding a comet.

Maybe this is just a dream.
Maybe we’re still asleep.
Maybe you haunt me like a ghost.
Or maybe it’s just the smell of your leather coat that’s making this song fucking shit!”

Max felt the need to slam his head down onto the piano that the hotel had so gracefully allowed him to play. He had been trying to write this damn production for three months and he felt like he was getting nowhere. Having just finished up his time in Hamilton, Maxi felt it was the right time to take a stab at writing his magnum opus and it wasn’t going well.

For months he had pretty much spent his entire time locked in his apartment, staring at a typewriter once owned by Stephen Sondheim! He had taken every drug he could think of, downed as much coffee and alcohol that his body could handle and he had fucked and fondled every willing man or woman he picked up on his in frequent trips to the store but nothing seemed to strike him in the way of inspiration.

Max had found the story he wanted to tell; it was something that the likes of Broadway hadn’t ever seen. It was the story of Wolf and Fox, the Nightsisters, two young women in a small New England town as they grapple with a terrible event purportedly at their school. The story was a real one which Maxi had uncovered during a visit to his cousins in Boston. Something about this dark, sordid tale really resonated with him and he began furiously typing that very day; yet now he could barely come up with a sentence.

He was debating flying back to Florida anyway, it had been far too long since he had seen Rico or Spike or any of the friends he left behind; so when an invitation to a King's Academy reunion landed in his inbox, the timing could not have been better for the showstopper himself. There were a lot of faces that he was looking forward to seeing once he arrived back in his old stomping grounds and if any inspiration could come from the sights and sounds of long forgotten memories, then he was all for it and if there was any sleazing to be done, then that was just the icing on the cake as far as Max was concerned because he had done some Insta stalking and his class grew up hot.

Realistically, Max could’ve stayed at his other house, the one he shared part time with his cousin Rico and his brother from another mother Spike. Yet there was some enticing about the isolation of a hotel. He could lock himself away in a strange place and go all Jack Torrance or alternatively he could write a character lauded as the next Holden Caulfield. Either way, staying in this place was an alluring phenomenon. From what he could gather, Max was also one of, if not the first, to arrive. Usually a diva such as himself would be fashionably late but if he was going to do this thing right, he had to do it, the Maximum Bedlam way. Work hard, party harder.

”Fuck it”

The Mayor of Sleaze City necked the champagne that sat on the table beside the piano before clicking his fingers at the overworked, underpaid and dare he say, jailbait looking waitress. She made her way over to the performer with a fake smile and no feeling behind her eyes. ”Darling, three things” Max placed his hands down to his side and offered her a genuine smile. ”Thank you. You are doing really well serving all these rich bitches and keeping a straight face. I couldn’t do it” As if awakening from a trance, the waitress’s eyes widened and her lips began to curl into a small, almost childlike smile ”Two. Speaking of, can I get a tray, yes a tray, of tequila shots…oh and an old fashioned” She took out her notepad and scribbled down his order before he finished his thoughts. Finally, you are rocking that uniform. I mean, your ass? Good God. Work what your mama gave you, sweet pea and you’ll get a lot of cash money tips. I’m not talking about whoring yourself. Just use that hip game. Hear what I’m saying? Yeah, you do, ok. Get out of here queen, you’re fabulous, I love you” With a red flush and burning, the waitress headed off back to the bar, with a slight more noticeable wiggle in her movements.

With a smile across his face, Max polished off another champagne flute before he began a slow melodic tube on the piano.

”On with the show”

[LovelyComplex]

Spike Langley spent the majority of his flight from LAX to EYW restless and deep in thought. With a headset on, his right hand holding his phone as he watched Spiderman: No Way Home, and his left hand sketching on his drawing pad, he stared blankly at the screen, lost in space. His mind was stuck on replay, as if their last conversation, where she was in tears, was only yesterday. If only he had worded things differently, if only he told her how much she meant to him, if only he didn’t let her go.

Now the handsome, yet forlorn, artist spends the majority of his adulthood focusing on himself. Okay, correction. In recent years, he found himself unable to compromise his time, energy, and mental health for people he didn’t care about. He found himself tired of the bullshit. He found himself tired of hiding things behind a smile. Tired of the flings, the games, and all the faces he could barely remember. Spike wanted to feel something more. He was successful… But why did he feel so empty?

Ah, yes. It’s because when he closed his eyes, he saw too much. He felt too much. He could hear too much. When he closed his eyes, memories that should’ve faded were forever on rewind. The more he ponders, the less likely he will forget. The most cherished and heartbreaking time of his life, held in the frame of his heart. How did all these become memories? How did he let this go?

Sighing to himself, Spike placed his phone face down on the tray table, turning off the screen and pausing the movie. His blue eyes examined his drawing, in an unhurried manner, measuring every line, curve, and shade. A blonde woman crying her eyes out. He observed the sketch of her face and thought to himself: Looks just like you.

If there was one thing Spike could hope for by coming to this high school reunion, it would be to get this melody out of his head, a melody of stars, dreams, and fantasies. A melody that did not belong to him. No matter how many years passed he could close his eyes and see everything from his past so vividly. He was awake, always awake, floating in life, playing visions on repeat, replaying over and over again, like a broken record.

Was this weird?

He grew up. He grew in ways he never believed he could, and yet, thoughts lingered in his head, as if he was still that angst filled, horny ass, teenage boy in a lion costume. All he wanted to do was to apologize, apologize and let this old feeling go. He knew it was selfish of him for going to this thing for his own benefit. He didn’t even really want to see the rest of his class. He only cared for a handful of them and even then, he could see them whenever he wanted. But he knew, if he wanted to avoid an awkward meeting, this would be the best reason to see her again.

The Star in his life was married. Happy with a man and a son. She was an influencer that statistically dominated in the beauty community (not like he did the research or anything). She was on a silly episode of Say Yes to the Dress, advocates for the deaf on her channel, and is beautifully thriving. Completely and utterly happy. She was shining, without him, like he knew she would. Spike was so happy for her and at a distance, he would support her, anonymously.

Snapping out of his daze, Spike felt a nudge on his shoulder. The younger flight attendant of two waited for him to meet her hazel gaze. Without much hesitation, Spike adjusted his posture and amicably questioned, “Hey, yeah. What’s up?” She didn’t have her food cart so maybe she simply wanted to tell him about turbulence or something.

“Sorry for interrupting you! I, um, this might be weird but there was a young boy and his mother, two rows behind you, who wanted me to ask if you were Spike Langley.” The twenty something year old redhead, who looked like this was her first week on the job, nervously fiddled with her fingers, anxiously waiting, hoping her superiors wouldn't reprimand her. “If not, that’s fine! I don’t even know who that is, ha. Eh-hem. I’ll just tell them no.”

“Woah, breathe…” Spike glanced at her chest, his eyes going to her name tag, avoiding her boob area to the best of his capabilities, before giving her a charming and welcoming smile, “Miss Miley. What’s the kid’s name?”

“I don’t know if I should…” Looking left and right, left and right again, Miley took a deep breath and decided to take a risk, hoping her gut feeling wasn’t trusting too easily. In a whisper, she cautiously added, “Kyle…”

After raising his finger to her, happy with her response, Spike cleared the tray table, pushed it up, and reached for his backpack that was under the passenger seat in front of him. In a matter of seconds, he grabbed the newest volume of Paper Warriors, scribbled his name on the back of the front cover with a green marker, and left an uplifting note: Kyle, always have a star farther than your grasp as your goal. I promise you, nothing is impossible, if you put your whole heart into it.

Gesturing for Miley to take the mint condition book, Spike mischievously grinned at the doe-eyed woman when she realized that he was the original creator of Paper Warriors. It was clear she only knew his work from the animated series, which meant she knew of the first live action movie that was coming. Scheduled to premiere at the end of this year. “Tell Kyle this hasn’t gotten to stores yet and that I hope he enjoys being the first one to read it, aside from my editor.” Miley profusely nodded, before attempting to walk away. “Oh and one more thing.” She turned back to look at the famous comic artist and writer. “You’re both free to see me after this flight to take pictures. I have time.”

The flight attendant’s gentle soul was quick to blush, kind of like pink champagne. Once he did a lazy wave goodbye, he glimpsed at his watch. It was almost time. In reality, he didn’t actually have time for a quick meet & greet but who would he be if he denied a child a chance to meet someone they looked up to? He’d be a jackass, that’s what he’d be.

Spike knew he should’ve listened to his bros, like Nate, Max, or Rico. He should’ve booked his flight a week ago, but of course, Spike being Spike forgot. He booked his flight yesterday, at the last minute, and a travel agent was able to squeeze him in on a later flight. The cocktail party was at 8 PM, EST. The airport was around a ten minute drive away from the hotel. He had to rent a car. He had to get his room keys. He had to drop off his bags and… he was landing around 7:25 PM. Still, there was a silver lining. He made two people smile on this flight today.

I’ll be fiiiiiine. Nothing wrong with being fashionably late. He would get there when he got there. If anything, he had more time to play out what he would say and how he would say it when he saw her.

Yes, when he sees her.

He was going to see her.

Oh my god, he was going to see her...

_{(cue panic)}

[SpicyMeatball]

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It was too different than she would have liked it to feel. Had it been that long since she let herself feel this kind of connection to the ocean? Did she need this trip to remember that the sea could be warm and welcoming instead of cold and harsh? Did she need the person sitting in the driver’s seat next to her to make her feel that way?

These were some of the thoughts that had rattled around in Kristen Shearer’s mind as Highway 1 continued to unfold in front of the sleek black Mercedes that raced like a shadow underneath the Caribbean sun. Nothing but the shimmering bright blue waters of the Florida Basin surrounded the thin stretch of pavement that allowed the machine to walk on water towards the promised land of Key West. Passing through Marathon was a true herald of the stretch the Seven Mile Bridge was on this trek, yet there was no fatigue for the moment. Only contemplation.

The long voyage to get here was nearing an end. It was amazing that Kristen could have held any doubts about making it, although the typical British Airways delay that had left her stranded at Heathrow for a lengthy period of time before her flight cast a pall over the 10 hours in the air. Still, if she could have driven across the Atlantic the way she was gliding across the waves now, she might have taken the opportunity, especially if it meant she could finally reconnect with some of her lost roots. Sure, there were FaceTime chats with the clique, they were always there for birthdays and weddings and major events, but this was the first chance she had to return to her Sunshine State homeland, and Bruna Di Francesco had welcomed her back with open arms. The past couple days staying in Bruna’s Palm Beach flat, catching up over a bottle of fine wine, taking way too much guff for the English accent that had crept into her voice during her six years spent on the island, especially given Bruna’s occasional Italian-inflected tones, it felt like old times. Sure Kristen had her friends among the WAGs in the stands at West Ham, but as her “husband’s” exploits became more well-known, the chill she got from that crew mirrored that which she received from the North Sea during her escapes to the Essex coast to try and avoid the publicity. With Bruna, it was just like old times already. Sure her birth certificate and undergrad degree read New York, and her driver's licence had a crown, but the family and the friends made sure it was Florida that always held her heart.

The brunette in the passenger seat looked over at the driver, concentrating on maintaining her purchase on the road. Bruna always seemed at home behind the wheel. Of course, she always seemed at home whatever she was doing. The mat, the pitch, the sleepovers, it never mattered with her. Maybe it was that upbringing of hers that imbued it in her soul. Kristen had to find it again, and Bruna was definitely a key to bringing it back after Aaron so callously ripped it away.

The talk had quieted a little bit as the music wafting through Bruna’s stereo was allowed to soundtrack the drive over the ocean, but the silence was starting to play into Kristen’s mind, and she couldn’t rely on a drive-by shout at Fred the Tree to alleviate those notions. “It’s flippin’ amazing, innit?” she noted, exaggerating the English tones just to make sure she got a rise out of her travelling companion. “All this was a couple hours away the whole time, and I never once thought to come down here until this reunion thing was happening?”

Bruna’s mind wandered as she guided her Mercedes around the sweeping curves that preceded them, letting her body flow with the car as it effortlessly took each turn. The twin-turbo'd V8 engine under the hood purred in a surprisingly tame manner as they drove, though the german-engineered vehicle did have a way of hiding the feeling of speed. Truth be told they were going far faster than they should’ve been going on these roads, but Kristen didn’t seem to have noticed. Bruna’s head fluidly bobbed back and forth with the gentle bassy beat that played from Matt Maeson’s Put It On Me, mouthing the lyrics silently having almost completely forgotten that someone else was in the car with her.

When the song finally ended and something less involved began to play, Bruna snapped out of her little daze and glanced over to Kristen. With a warm smile, Bruna returned her eyes to the road. Even despite their lack of conversation, it was already clear that Kristen was enjoying herself.

Truth be told, Bruna had really missed seeing her friends from high school. She may have been the quietest of the bunch at the time, but when it was just the four of them Bruna always felt infinitely more comfortable. It was like there was a weight on her chest that was lifted when they were together and she felt like she could actually have a voice. And when she found out that Kristen was landing on what was essentially her doorstep? Bruna was ecstatic. She’d offered the Di Francesco mansion up immediately if Kris needed a place to stay and the pair was finally able to catch up on some much needed stories and accompanied laughing. Even if this high school reunion trip hadn’t been happening, these few nights spent with one of her best friends was more than enough to brighten up her spirits again after two years of being alone.

Ah yes, there it was. The little storm cloud that had been hanging over her head since the disappearance of her ex-husband. Still an ever-present thought in her head, but one that she was not going to let ruin her weekend. He’d done enough to ruin her life at this point, Bruna wasn’t going to have that lovely image of her ex-husband lip-locked with her sister in their own god damn house stay in her head. She was gonna have a good time this weekend damn it!

When Kristen finally broke the silence, Bruna was thankful that she could focus on something upbeat. “I’ve actually never driven down here and… … Yeah, it's beautiful here, truly. Part of me wishes I’d looked a little closer to home before booking my wedding, not that it matters now though anyways.” she replied, the little hint of awe audible in her voice, her eyes glancing around at their surroundings. It took a second but the exaggerated English accent hit her again and a grin spread across Bruna’s face before she playfully nudged Kristen’s upper arm with her elbow. “What happened to trying to ditch the accent? Still hooked on that cold, wet country that you call England?” Bruna teased, shaking her head with a laugh. “Welcome home my darlin’.” she stated playfully in a thick and quite terribly-imitated southern accent.

The short time in Florida was already drawing more laughs out of Kristen than she remembered from the past couple years in the United Kingdom, and the sound of Bruna, proud Italian she is, doing the full on southern accent was quick to add to that tally. “OK! OK, c’mon! You cann’t do that to me! Not when you’re as southern-fried as a Scotch egg!” She was trying hard to shake the accents and the euphemisms but it was difficult.

Especially with the reminder of weddings and what not. She still regretted how her wedding with Aaron went down. It was so sudden, and she wasn’t able to get Jasper and Margeaux over for it, due to time and possibility of Roman sightings respectively. Only Bruna was able to fly in on such short notice to act as her maid of honor, paying Kristen back after the trio were able to serve as bridesmaids at the di Francesco knot-tying a couple years earlier. Of course, neither marriage was going to have a happy ending from the looks of things. That was something Kristen was not looking forward to discussing with the other members of the clique… or anyone who checked out the British tabloids. She prayed no one at King’s would dare pay those rags any mind.

But she was able to let loose the sordid details with Bruna, the alcohol that flowed over a traditional Italian dinner able to get Kristen to open up about just how bad Aaron had gotten in recent months. The London club scene was a maddening influence on the boy from the West Midlands. It wasn’t as personal as the trigger to end Bruna’s marriage, but still, having a woman’s belly button ring caught on his tongue during a body shot was only number four or five on the list behind the public snipping of the wedding band.

This voyage back home was supposed to serve as a palette cleanser for Kristen, to allow her to forget the ongoing issues happening back home. England was growing less and less hospitable by the day and it was hard to ignore Bruna’s remarks about getting those hooks out of her system. Even if it meant giving up the home once she officially secured it from Aaron in the divorce. Hopefully Margeaux would be willing to come on board and be as ruthlessly efficient as she was dealing with Stefan’s pitiful lawyers. Once, of course, M made Kristen admit what a mistake it was to get married in the first place.

Still, if there was nothing in the UK keeping Kristen attached to the rock, it made sense to come to a familiar spot. Her family would be pleased, even if Brittany had moved on into the world herself. Plus, those special dinners would be way more frequent. Even if everything her diet told her was screaming no, that second serving of handmade ravioli screamed “More.”

“I’ll admit though, home is sounding and looking a lot more appealing nowadays. Especially if I have enough money to get a spot down here along the ocean. You don’t happen to know any businesses that need a CFO or anything like that, do you?” She shook her head for a second, large hoop earrings swaying as she did. “Actually, never mind, I don’t even want to think about that sort of trash this weekend. This is all about you and me and Jaz and maybe Marg, we’ll see how smug she wants to be, but we’re just here enjoying life, right?”

“Even if you don’t want to discuss details, I’ll just plant a little seed in your mind. You’re always welcome at my place while you look for a position and a house. You know my family loves you and lord knows we have the space. Just keep it in mind, kay?” She shot a smirk at Kristen before changing the topic. “Like you said, we’re here to enjoy life and we will enjoy it this weekend if it kills us!” She exclaimed playfully. “Oh! A little late but I completely forgot! I packed a small cooler-bag of drinks for the ride. It's behind my seat if you can reach it. Help yourself to anything you want. Grab me a bottle of water if you do, yeah?”

If the tiny blip in Kristen’s thoughts threatened to derail this weekend for even a moment, it was good to know that Bruna was there to shut that down instantly, in multiple ways. One of the biggest problems the former Miss Blake was having with the situation was not having a plan whatsoever for what would happen once the proceedings with Aaron were done. Bruna made sure she wouldn’t have to deal with that thought for a second. If nothing else, having one of her besties nearby after so long away was draw enough to convince her this was where she needed to be if she wanted to move forward. She reached in behind the seat and fished a pair of water bottles out of the cooler Bruna alluded to, plunking one in the cup holder before cracking her own open and taking a long sip.

After Kristen’s little indecisive moment, Bruna reached back over to the Mercedes’ audio controls and flipped through a few songs before arriving at one that brought a smile to her face. Party In The USA. A more fitting song didn’t exist in her mind. After tapping it, she turned up the volume a bit before listening to the trademarked guitar intro began and the sound of Miley Cirus’ voice filled the car.

And as the lyrics began, Bruna began to sing along to every word.

I hopped off the plane at LAX
With a dream and my cardigan
Welcome to the land of fame excess (Whoa)
Am I gonna fit in?
Jumped in the cab, here I am for the first time
Look to my right, and I see the Hollywood sign
This is all so crazy
Everybody seems so famous!

As she sang, Bruna nudged Kristen’s arm again to sing along with her, her own head swaying along with the upbeat, happy song. What a perfect way to start the weekend, singing in the car with her best friend, not a care in the world between them. Bright, sunny skies, rich blue water around them on all sides and the black tarmac between the tires.

… And a JAY-Z song was on
And a JAY-Z song was on

So I put my hands up
They're playin' my song, the butterflies fly away
I'm noddin' my head like, yeah
Movin' my hips like, yeah
Got my hands up, they're playing my song
They know I'm gonna be okay

Yeah, it's a party in the U.S.A.
Yeah, it's a party in the U.S.A.

Kristen had gotten the message with Bruna’s bump and started shimmying her shoulders from side to side in tune with the beat, mimicking the best of Carpool Karaoke dancers as she did. She couldn’t help but start to add her own voice to the melody, blending it in as a Miley from a different era echoed her thoughts about her return to America. She was sure this wasn’t going to be a London party, or at least it was going to be one she could take part in. And that could only be a good thing. She wasn’t sure what Britney song would come on, but in contrast to the narrator, she knew her DJ was going to put the right song to make her feel alright to make her not regret hoppin’ on that flight to her hometown. Kristen’s hands went up and all the butterflies flew away. Because although they were on the southern edge, this was gonna be a party in the USA.

Yeah, it's a party in the U.S.A!

[spooner]

_{“Get a load at this trainwreck,
his hair’s a mess and he doesn’t know who he is yet.”}

“It’s so good to have you home my little baby Frank!” Franklin’s mother gushed as she flung her slender arms around her son's neck. She had to stand on her very tippy toes to do so since Frankie was so much taller than her. “Yeah… mom… I gathered as much” the redhead managed to get out between the kisses his mother was harassing him with.

When she finally let him go Frankie set his backpack down on the counter before approaching his father who was deep into his laptop where he was programming something that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. “Hey dad!” Franklin said, slapping a big palm across his tall lanky fathers back “What’s up?” he asked as he sat down next to him. His dad jolted back as if awoken from a trance looking around confused “Oh!” he exclaimed “There you are son! I almost began to worry!” he smiled warmly at his son.

“Yeah… I can see that, What’re you up to?” Frankie chuckled pointing at the rows of code crowding his fathers computer screen.

His fathers eyes practically shone behind his spectacles “Just some servers for the old colleagues… actually some pretty interesting work, you see..” he trailed off when he saw the look on his wife’s face.

The younger Bonaparte just laughed and shook his head “I’m happy you’re keeping busy in your retirement” he threw an arm around his father giving him a squeeze. Frankie let go of his father, who went right back to clicking on his laptop and leaned back in his chair balancing it on its two hind legs, a habit he has had since he was a kid. Much to his mothers chagrin for now she just sighed and gave him a stern look, which Frankie promptly ignored.

“So… Reunion, that should be fun huh?” a sweet smile spread across his mothers face. All Frankie could muster was a look of disbelief. “Fun isn’t really the word I would use mom…” a tired sigh escaped the young man. “I don’t know if you remember but, I wasn’t really the most popular kid at King’s.” he offered a small laugh.

His mother’s face fell, she had always felt bad about not doing more to help little Franklin and his hard times at school. But her son had pleaded with her not to step in, convincing her it would only get worse if his mother came to his rescue. “Yes, well, Lili will be there right? And Spike!” her tone brightened “Whatever happened to those two? Are they still together… They were so cute!” she chirped.

Franklin let his chair drop back on its front legs and then jumped up from his seat “Don’t get me started on that… it’s uh complicated.” he rolled his eyes as he made his way over to her, giving her a peck on the cheek. “I’m heading down to the beach and then I’ll head over to the hotel! I’ll try to swing by on Sunday before I leave!” he said, grabbing his backpack and swinging it over his shoulder waving to his parents as he walked away.

Although he burned very easily thanks to his very fair complexion courtesy of his mothers genes, Frankie loved laying at the beach feeling the sand underneath him and the sun's warming rays hitting his body. He almost felt more freckles popping up by the minute, but it didn’t matter this is exactly what he missed when he felt trapped in the concrete jungle that was New York City.

And he would be lying if he didn’t enjoy the new found attention he got in his hometown now that he no longer was a awkward teen, but rather a burly tall man. The girl working the towel cabana had already been up to his spot three times asking him if he needed anything, and Frankie didn’t look that helpless for that to be warranted.

A buzzing from his backpack made him sit up slowly and dig around in the void of the bag. The notification on his screen reminded him that reunion was in fact still happening and only an hour away at that. The redhead took a deep breath and unlocked his phone, deciding to send two texts.

“You better be there when I arrive… there is no way I’m standing around alone at this thing” he sent to Lilibeth, who still was his best friend even after all these years apart. She was the main reason he was even back , since she practically begged him to come.

“Please let me know when you land! So I know how to divide my time at this thing, if you know what I mean.” he sent to his other best friend Spike. It had been a problem staying friends with both Lili and Spike… since the incident. One of the many headaches this weekend would bring.

Another was that thing with Yasmin some time ago. Frankie shuddered at the thought of dealing with that mess. He popped his phone back in his backpack before starting to pack up his belongings and heading for the exit waving to the cabana girl as he did so.

“Bye sir… come back soon” she said dreamily.

He had been standing in front of his room mirror for the better part of a half hour. He told himself it was because he wanted to look presentable as he got to show his old classmates his major glow up. but actually he was nervous, and really didn’t want to go.

He had decided to go with a casual Tom Ford suit paired with a simple _tightblack t-shirt and a nice burgundy pocket square and opting to go for a scarf instead of a tie. Classy but still casual giving off the vibe that he didn’t really care, even though he did very much so care how he presented himself tonight.

A quick glance at his watch informed him that he couldn’t really drag it out much longer. Hopefully his friends would be there to greet him as he ascended the stairs to the venue. After one last hand through of his red hair he mustered the power to walk through the door and head for the cocktail party.

[KZOMBI3]

███████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████
𝓢𝓪𝓿𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓪 𝓘𝓷𝓮𝓼 𝓢𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓸𝓼

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_{𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. home | long ass drive | hotel bar
𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐝. party now, rehab later
𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐝. ✟ ✟ ✟
𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. Benji @metanoia
𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. Maxi @BrutalBx}

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It had been a normal day. Wake up at the crack of dawn when the rest of Miami still slept, get a coffee, relax on the balcony sipping that sweet, sweet mug of warmth before getting annoyed with the silence and moving on to something that got her blood pumping. The quietness of the world that seeped into her bones, forming an overwhelming sense of calm wash over her irked her to no end. While others dreamed of a moment's reprieve from the hustle and bustle of their daily lives Savanna Santos could honestly say that that wasn't her. She enjoyed the chaotic nature the world had to offer. Thrived in it. And if it wasn't there then that just meant she needed to create it herself.

What would Vann be if not a master a creating chaos?

Just like every other morning before - and all the ones to follow - the stillness rubbed her the wrong way. Goosebumps rose along her skin, indicating it was time to move on. Find something else to stimulate her senses. A trip down to the beach for a quick swim was required to help her physically prepare for the nightmare that was going to be this reunion. It wasn't the best of times for the young Santos child. A lot of cliques, a lot of drama.
_{Whole lotta fun too though...,} How could she forget all the times she snuck out of class for a quickie or to purchase some weed from her favorite noncommittal? Neither things were wholly exclusive from the other. "Two for one special" Benji liked to call it. A relationship that had continued even to this day.

A needy thought arose as she dried herself off, planning to get the show on the road; literally. Pulling her phone out she quickly typed a message to her preferred west coast dealer.

To: benj 💊
ayy vato lo que pasa
im lookin' for molly you seen her

Satisfied, for now, she locked the device before tossing it back into the front seat of her bebé along with the rest of her beach-going tote. Everything needed for this weekend fiasco had already been packed up and thrown in the trunk the night before. All required scheduling had been moved around in preparation for this trip. The Miami native rolled her eyes at nothing but the memory of her mother and father urging her to take some time off from the shop and go and enjoy seeing all her old classmates. In the end the idea of being able to whore herself out to some old friends and learning new gossip won out. Besides, it's not like the venue was that far from her.

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"That far, my ass," she grumbled to no one as she emerged from her vehicle and passed along her keys to the valet. "Not a fuckin' scratch, gilipollas," Vann was way too high strung after the nearly four hours spent on the road with little to nothing in her system. She prayed that Benji was already there, somewhere, and with ample supply to put her back in balance. The thought alone was enough to get her shoulders to relax and after checking in with the woman at the front desk and them sending up her stuff she decided it was time to explore. Her first stop? The lobby's women's restroom. Vann pulled from her pocket a small baggie before laying it out on the screen of her phone - no telling how clean those counters were. Just a little something to get the party started.

In no time at all she found the bar, piano notes floating through the air and bouncing off the marbled flooring like some ominous creature waiting at the end of the hall. It wasn't so much the music that caught her attention, rather the voice attached to it. Those words and the cadence with which they sung - and sub-sequentially smacked their head - told Vann exactly who was here. _'Max.' Hazel eyes watched from the threshold, catching sight of Max snapping his fingers towards a very young little thing. Conversing with her and ordering drinks for himself.

Another round of slow melodic tunes began to fill the space around the bar as he turned his attention back to the black and whites, completely unaware to the woman sauntering up to his table and having a seat. A coquettish grin plastered on her face, "Hope some of those shots are for me, papi~"

[Aewin]

It was only a four hour flight.

She could handle that, right?

Yasmin Macar's foot tapped against the cabin floor, impatience written all over her face. Or was it worry? Perhaps it was neither, perhaps she was feeling the effects of her third vodka shot. Only God was to tell.

Her book laid discarded, bought for the flight. Layla pestered her into reading it— a trashy romance novel that was Layla's obsession of the month. Yasmin had found it in the airport booksellers, the typical hunky man with abs like freshly baked buns glossed with the world's silkiest butter standing on the cover of the book. Yasmin attempted the novel, even getting as far as reaching the halfway point. It was only when her eyes skimmed a particular paragraph where she found herself suddenly pulled away from the fantasy.

Sometimes my brain struggled to remember that we were just friends. She'd never dated, never even hinted that she wanted to. She'd never given me a longing glance. Never started at my mouth like she wondered what it tasted like. But my hands, not once, stopped wanting to reach for hers.

It wasn't perfect, but it hit too close to home. Yasmin tossed the novel back into her carry on, hot face first so the abs couldn't tempt her again. She even flagged down the flight attendant, asking for a flat white to wake her up from the pre-hangover headache she felt building behind her eyes.

'Remember why you're going.' Yasmin thought of Vann, of Max and even Luna whom she hadn't even seen for a while. It was going to be a lovely weekend. It had to be, with the whole gang back together. Drinks and laughs with old friends, reminiscing about times long gone. She was going to have fun, and look fucking amazing while at it.

'That's it, keep convincing yourself. Maybe he'll notice.' Thank you, intrusive thought.

•••••••••••••••••

The flight landed exactly 26 minutes later. Yasmin watched the clock on her fitness tracker the entire time, lost in nostalgia. The temptation to touch that book never returned afterwards, much to her relief. She tucked the book away as far deep into her carry on she could manage, hoping that that would help the anxiety disappear just the same.

It worked, for a while.

Key West international airport was only a fifteen minute drive from the airport, but with the alcohol in her system, she decided to Uber it instead.

The entire time the New York native stayed glued to her phone, promising Layla that she had landed safely and she was on her way to the hotel. She held off on calling Layla, realising that the poor Uber driver wouldn't appreciate listening to the word vomit seasoned with anxiety from another tipsy woman in his backseat. If she was even given the opportunity, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop.

She learnt that the hard way.

Arriving at the hotel, Yasmin tipped her Uber driver before wandering into the lobby. She checked in with the concierge behind the counter before making her way to her suite, a cute assistant following after her with her luggage in his hands. Not that she was carrying much— she thought, but Yasmin could see the poor boy huffing from the corner of her eye by the time they arrived at her door. Like her driver, she tipped the lad for his efforts.

Her room looked gorgeous. With its slick and clean design and comforting colour scheme, it no doubt earned its claims of luxury. Yasmin tested her bed, sighing at the softness of the mattress. It almost made her want to kick off her heels and take a nap.

But the coffee in her system said no.

Instead, Yasmin pulled herself away from the bed and back to her luggage where she could start to unpack. Though she still looked good in her blue vest and shorts, comfortable for traveling, it wasn't good enough as a party look. No way.

This would be the first time a lot of her old peers would be seeing her. Most of them remembered Yasmin Macar as the bigger Macar twin with a penchant for causing trouble for attention. She wanted to look good, show off a little for once.

It was for that reason she chose a dress with a romantic neckline. She wore a red ruched dress with fun puffy sleeves to show off her evolved sense of style with some strappy black heels. The heels made her feel wobbly, especially considering she'd already pregamed on the plane, but damn did she feel they make her legs look good. At least if she decided to check out the pool, she was ready.

With her hair slicked back into a half-up, half down look and her makeup touched up, Yasmin took one last look at herself in the mirror. She gave her reflection a wink, allowing a confident smile to brighten her face before she left her room for an evening of only good vibes.

[KZOMBI3]

███████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████
𝐉𝐈𝐍-𝐊𝐘𝐔 ♤ 𝐓𝐀𝐊

---

_{𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. flight | hotel
𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐝. soundin' extra extra extra lame
𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐝. ♤ ♤ ♤
𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. Yasmin | Luna | Benji
𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. Spike}

---

The morning rays had filtered in through the dark curtains, casting about beams of light to illuminate the apartment. Particles danced between the streams of light, refusing to touch the ground lest their dance come to an end. Jin had all night, and early morning, to watch and ponder, sketch and drink before doing it all over again. Sleep refusing to come as easily as it would to most.

He never truly found sleep to be obtainable, especially with his reunion looming over him. It wasn't something that he would normally allow to take up that much space in his head. Yet here he was with less than three hours til his flight took off with bags packed and ready and bags under his eyes. Metaphorically. Jin prided himself on his skincare regime. Thank you Rome. However, the black sheep of the Tak family was not looking forward to being shoved in a hotel with people who didn't matter to him. They didn't then, why would that have changed?

OK, not everyone. There were choice few, _{'Luna and Yas, Spike and Benji...'} memories of their faces and stupid antics crossed his mind and he couldn't stop the goofy grin slowly spreading across his face. With a heavy sigh he grabbed his bags, simple and minimal, and took off down to the Uber waiting to take him to the airport.

✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦

Most of the flight was spent failing to get any sleep while wedged between two overly perspiring gentlemen who looked like the poster "dudes" for red flags. Constantly being pestered about "What did he do for a living?" "Got any tips?" "How much would __ tattoo cost me? Could you do it cheaper?" It was frustratingly annoying to have to listen to it in his shop, but at least there he could kick them out. No, here he was stuck. Thankfully, after answering their questions in simple one worded Korean responses they laid off the incessant barrage of questions. So, Jin fished out his sketchbook and began to work on some designs he was fiddling with based on Spike's comics. An idea that they had tossed around back and forth about whether or not they could incorporate Spike's genius ideas for characters and concepts with Jin's talent for putting it in ink. Er, bodily art ink that is.

After completing yet another piece he pulled out his phone and snapped a few pictures, opting to send 'em to the comic creator in question.

To: Spike-Meister
take a look at some of the ideas been playin with
in the air should be landing soon... be honest how bad is the turn out?

Slipping his phone back into his bag Jin went back to doodling some nonsense as he waited for the ever approaching landing.

✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦

He made it to the hotel without any hiccups. Checking in was a breeze, not like any hospitality in New York he was used to, and off to his room he had gone. Jin enjoyed the serenity of the space. Modern with a touch of minimalist. It was nice. Too nice almost... he was going to have fun ruining it. Or at least ruining something in it. He was there to have a good time. Relax. Enjoy himself and the company of others. Might as well go all out. Before heading out to explore what the hotel had to offer up the alumni there he showered; making sure to really, really take his time. There was no need to rush. It was still early enough that others would still be arriving. Not like there was an itinerary planned for this trip.

After dressing in a simple matte black blazer paired with a white jumper and narrow fit black denim he decided he was just going to wander and take everything in. Grabbing his "fancy" black snap-back, along with his essentials, he was out the door of his room and roaming. _{'It wouldn't kill me to be social every now and then. Right? Meh. Why risk it?'}

[Bee]

---

---

It had been years since Luna had last been to Florida. Ever since she became an alumni of King's Academy, Florida was but a memory from her past. It was her roots, no doubt, but she had little interest in remaining in the sunshine state. However, a reunion was an entirely different story. The marketing executive was on board as soon as she received the invite. It had been many years since she'd seen many of her old friends in person - Yasmin, Jin, Lili, Kim, and Frankie. After dealing with the monotony of meetings, schmoozing up to clients, and dealing with people with sticks up their ass, some time with people she knew for sure were chill was something that needed to be in order for Luna.

And there she was, on a flight from LAX to Palm Beach - first class, because she was always down for the bougie shit. Even if she was going to be asleep for some (most) of it, there was no way she wasn't going to make the most out of the reunion. It wasn't often that opportunities like this came up. The thought of seeing her old friends was filling the woman with excitement, even if it was still ungodly early in the morning and she was trapped in a metal tube for upwards of five hours until it was wheels down in Florida. As she laid in her comfy, cushy seat on the airplane with her eyes closed, Luna reminisced on her memories.

From prom with Jin, to gossiping and bullshitting with her group of her friends during lunchtime and after school - they were all memories that Luna held dear to her heart. But at the same time, she knew that it wasn't going to be the same. Everyone, including her, was all grown up and had careers and families. There were a few text conversations here and there, but the in-person dynamic, well that was something that dwelled within Luna. She knew that she still had the ability to bring the energy, but whether or not they would receive it, that was the million dollar question on her mind right now.

A few hours later, the plane had finally landed in Florida. It was still as humid, sticky, and wet as ever. As soon as she stepped foot outside of the air-conditioned airport, Luna was reminded as to what Florida was really all about. "God. How did I do this? It feels like I'm walking in a bowl of soup." Luna sighed, as she looked around for the car that was to take her to the H2O Suites. It was only a matter of less than an hour before she'd be within the vicinity of her old classmates again. The prospect filled Luna with a mixture of optimistic energy, yet anxiety. Eventually, the car was spotted and Luna clambered in, luggage and whatnot in hand as it drove off to the H2O suites.

Pulling up on the resort, Luna climbed out and made her way to the receptionist's desk to check in. It was a smooth process, and Luna swiftly received the key to her room. It was a nice suite, even though she knew she wasn't going to be spending much time in it anyway. She had a feeling that some people were already there. It wouldn't be long until she'd run into someone she knew. Slinging her bag across her body once again, she smiled and nodded at the receptionist, before making her way down to the elevator. The rolling wheels of the luggage bag echoed throughout the hallway, in tandem with Luna's footsteps.

However, as she looked up and zoned back in, Luna saw a familiar face, and her lips split into a smile.

"Jin? Is that you, homeboy?"

[AlteredTundra]

_{Collab w/@Venus || featuring His babygirl
Mentions & Interactions — Bruna @SpicyMeatball || Vann @KZOMBI3}
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

”What a pain.”

For reasons he never quite understood, Benjamin Cross hated traveling to places he swore he’d never go. There weren't many places that made that list. Ohio was one of them. Like so many people and himself included, he loathes Ohio. It sucks and the only people who actually take pride in being there are Mormons and Machine Gun Kelly, and Benji has a very love-hate relationship with the singer-rapper. Long story short, he robbed Benji out of getting signed.

Anyway.

Florida was another state that Benji swore he’d never return to ever again. Bad memories. Even worse because he was fairly certain his family still lived in Palm Beach. Or at least his parents did. He knew his brother and now-wife, Florence, live in England. Yeah, Benji was so happy for them when he heard through his twin. Not from Wesley himself because, of course, the good son couldn’t be caught dead keeping contact with the black sheep. No, Cassie was the one who told him the wonderful news.

Yeah, the wonderful news that literally nobody else bothered to tell him.

But no, Benji wasn’t salty at all. Never!

It was all fine, though. His family disowned him years ago and he hasn’t looked back since. Life in LA was pretty great. He was the best underground DJ that anyone had the pleasure of seeing live and the DiFrancesco assorted product being sold in various nightclubs was a hit. He was making Bruna money and in turn, he was making himself some extra cash that obviously wasn’t being used to buy drugs for recreational use. Benji totally doesn’t use the product he sells to lucky fans of his.

Life was amazing! Phenomenal, even!

Well, all except for one little thing...

“Is she calling again?” Benji looked at his phone and sure enough, that little nympho that he was seeing on the side had called for the tenth time in the last hour.

It wasn’t that Ariana was necessarily a bad person or that he found her unpleasant. Compared to most college girls he had hooked up with over the past few years, she was one of the few that kept his attention after the first night of making all of her wet dreams come true and then some. So he kept seeing her despite the annoyances that she caused within him. She had a great body and the drive to keep him going when it really mattered, but there was one quality of hers that he wished wasn’t so…present.

As Benji got his rental, which was some Ford brand of car. It was dark blue and it did the job. He wasn’t a guy that cared about cars all that much. He just needed to get to the hotel.

“Babygirl is calling.”

Benji rolled his eyes and sent Ariana to voicemail yet again. Could he have taken her call? Probably. Did he want to while he was driving? Absolutely not.

That was the quality he wished she’d drop. She was consistently in need of his constant attention. If he wasn’t around her, then she was blowing up his phone. Whether it was text after text or requests for FaceTime, any time that Benji thought he might have to himself, Ariana Mossos was proving him wrong.

It’s not like Benji didn’t understand why she was obsessed with him. She was right to be addicted to him, but there was a time and a place and it most certainly wasn’t when he was about to pull up into the parking lot at the fancy resort that his high school reunion was at.

“Finally here.” Benji got out of the car and grabbed his bags, making his way through the entrance of the resort.

He was a lot earlier than he thought he was. Like an hour early. As soon as he checked in, he made the walk to his room. As he was in the elevator, again she was buzzing him. "A request for FaceTime?"

Fine!

With a sigh, Benji finally accepted her call. He put on a smile for Ariana and when the request went through, he greeted her with his best attempt at a smile. “Sup baby girl? Sorry 'bout not getting to you sooner; it was hard to find a moment. Traffic at the airport and on the road was a motherfucker.”

"Hi Daddy!" came the girl's excited response, very obviously thrilled at finally getting a chance to speak to her boyfriend. "It's okay, I understand! I'm just happy to hear you made it okay," she told him sweetly, blowing him a kiss as she settled into bed and making sure her tank top-covered chest was visible in the frame-- she knew it would help hold his attention for longer. "How was your flight?"

Benji resisted the urge to roll his eyes when she said that horrendous nickname she had for him. Sure, it was great to hear when he had her in his bed or he was taking her in hers. Anywhere else, however, especially in a semi-private location like the elevator of the resort-hotel-whatever he was going to be staying at was something else. “It was alright. Long as fuck, though. Shitty in-flight movie and the peanuts were staler than my family’s morals.” He heard himself laugh and looked at Ariana, but more specifically looking down at her chest. Dumb as a rock but body was banging. “I just checked in and actually on my way to my room now.”

"At least! Though I still wish I was down there with you!" Ariana whined, glossy pink lips puckering up in a pretty, sparkly pout. "We would've had so much fun."

“Yeah, no doubt.” Benji gave a fake laugh so his dead tone didn’t give off just how fortunate he felt that she wasn’t here with him. Then he saw her pouting. “There’s always next time. The cats I grew up with love throwing over-the-top parties. I mean hell, you should know. You’re probably as rich as they are, what with all that fancy money and that big ass house of yours.”

The corners of Ariana's lips curled upwards as she raised a curious eyebrow. "'The cats you grew up with'?" she repeated, a little giggle in her voice. "Nobody talks like that anymore, Daddy. And you make it seem as if you don't come from the same world I do. I thought you told me once that you and your family were pretty well off, too. The only difference between you and I is that you grew up in Palm Beach and I grew up in the Hills."

“Well, you’re half right,” he stated with a chuckle, “but there’s one difference you forgot to include there, babygirl. You still have that family money you grew up with. Mine ripped it away from me because I wouldn’t conform to their impossible standards.” Benji may or may not be leaving out a few important details, but Ariana didn’t need to know that. In fact, she didn’t even need to know that maybe his family had at least some merit to what they did…yeah, like he’d even say that out loud.

"I might be on the same boat soon with how strongly against it Dad is about us dating. He's threatened to take my money away so many times I wouldn't be surprised if I wake up one day, try to swipe my card and it gets denied," she complained, rolling her eyes at the fictitious-yet-potentially-realistic situation. "I just wished he'd understand how I feel about you! You can't control who your heart wants! He of all people should know that."

This would be the second time that Benji was overcome with the urge to roll his eyes. He wanted to do it, too. Then he heard a sound echo in the lone elevator he was riding up the floors. It was like a saved-by-the-bell moment for him. "Yeah, I guess that must really suck to have a hypocrite for a father," Benji said almost as an afterthought. Half because he just wanted to steer away from the subject of her potential feelings for him (God forbid she actually used the L word). The other half for--and this was the God-given truth--he didn't really care.

He pulled his luggage by the handle of the bag. It was one of those that had wheels, so there was somewhat of an echo as he made it to his room. His room was close to the elevator, which he was grateful for. "Holy shit!" Benji said unprompted and as-a-matter-factly as his gaze left his phone, looking around the room as he took it all in from the view to the apparent-spotless nature every inch of it did. As a result, his arm that had his phone in his hand came to his side, shielding anything other than a close up to his dark-colored jeans.

"What's wrong? Is everything okay?" came Ariana's worried inquiry from the phone's speaker, her eyes narrowed at the inability to see what was happening..

Benji walked further into his room, examining everything he could see within his current position in the suite. The walls and furnishings were whiter than his entire bloodline (which consisted of English white and Portuguese white). So suffice to say, he wasn’t expecting that, especially not for it to look so nice. And considering that he lived in luxury for most of his adolescent life up until he moved away in protest of reasons already mentioned, for it to stand out as fancy in his eyes was saying something.

Benji spent about twenty seconds of slow walking passed and he was near the balcony, and he saw the pool. “A private pool?” He muttered, shaking his head and grinning. He brought his phone up and saw a concerned Ariana look at him. “Don’t worry, babygirl. Everything’s fine. Just wasn’t expecting this room to be so over-the-top, is all.” But that wasn’t just it. In his mind, instead of doing what he could to ease his west coast bunny’s mind, he was thinking about all of the fun he was going to have here. The pool in particular was a place of interest that he was going to explore thoroughly. “My old class prez certainly didn’t spare any expense. Or whoever the fuck is in charge of financing this whole affair.” Benji laughed, smiling at Ariana.

The young woman's worried expression morphed into a displeased pout once again. "Ugh, I'm so jealous!" she complained, letting her bottom lip stick out and her hazel eyes roll. "This is so not fair! I should be down there with you, Daddy! What are you supposed to do there by yourself?"

Benji half-shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably catch up with some of the fuckers I haven’t seen in almost a decade.” Of course, Benji knew what he was going to do. First he’d find Bruna and get his stuff and then make his way to the cocktail party. Maybe he might run into Marg or Van there. Or he might find someone else who likes to have fun. All he knew was he had to end this call soon or he was going to lose what little remained of his sanity. “But don’t feel bad. I’m sure you’ll have similar fun at your own reunion… whenever it comes around. Or you can persuade your dear old dad to send you to one of these for your next birthday.” Benji had no idea if that’s what she wanted to hear, but as he spoke he followed it up with a wink and he shot her a grin for good measure.

But not even Benji's irresistible charm could cheer up his lonely, morose California babe. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't just say 'fuck it' and get on a plane and fly down there to be with you, B," she said, turning her doe eyes to Benji in a silent plead for him to agree with her splendid idea and ask her to come to Key West with him.

Fuck. Out of all things she could do--

Did Benji enjoy Ariana whenever he needed a break from his hectic life of slinging cocaine and pills to people she probably knew from her college? Of course he did. She was hot and the times they spent between the sheets were always a grand time.But did he want her around the people he went to high school with and her being a brat any time he decided to hang with Vann or Marg or whoever the fuck he wanted without her hovering over his neck every fucking second of every fucking minute that went by that he wasn’t paying attention to her? Again, no-the-fuck he didn’t.

As he contemplated what he was going to say, rambling through his words as if trying to think of what would be a good enough version of “no the fuck you can’t come here”, Benji saw a text from Vann pop up. He couldn’t hide the smirk. Knowing that Ariana would catch onto it sooner than he probably realized she would, he just took in a deep breath, which made him fall silent for a few seconds. “I’ll have to say no to that, baby girl. I’m not here for just pleasure. I’m meeting a friend of mine and they’re going to give me some stuff to sell to my old friends here, so I won't have time for you this weekend.” Maybe that was harsh, but Benji could have just said fuck no to her face and leave it at that. As far as he’s concerned, this was him being nice.

Just as Benji had expected, the sharp-eyed Ariana didn't miss the way his mouth curled upwards in that smirk she’d gotten to know so well. It was the same look that came over his face whenever she said something suggestive, or whenever he was about to indulge her in all the intimate fun they had together. And it seemed Benji had realized his slip-up as soon as it happened, because before she could do more than glare suspiciously and open her mouth to further inquire about what had just happened, her boyfriend took in a deep breath and fell silent for a few seconds-- an admission of guilt in Ariana’s eyes. As if this wasn’t enough of a red flag, the words that came next certainly were.

...I’m meeting a friend of mine… So I won't have time for you this weekend…

Ariana knew that look… Benji not only didn’t want her there, but he was getting ready to cheat on her again. She might be in denial about plenty of things, but the situation currently bubbling up between them wasn’t one of them.

Now it was Ariana’s turn to be silent. She pursed her lips for a few seconds, pondering her next words carefully. Anything she said was bound to end in one of their usual fights, with him turning the tables on her and blaming her for the argument even if it wasn’t her fault while she sobbed her heart out and begged for forgiveness. And, quite frankly, she was tired of that. She was tired of being the one to compromise, to endure betrayal after betrayal, to spend countless hours crying and wailing and whining-- all because the man she was stupidly in love with had decided to hurt her yet again…

Was she going to keep putting up with it in order to keep him? Or was she ready to finally live up to being the daughter of Audrey Mossos-Huntsberg?

“Daddy?”

His patience was continuously tested every time she called him that, but to save face and not wanting the hassle of having to deal with her any longer than he wanted to, especially since he knew he had to hang up soon, Benji decided not to make a big deal about it. “Yeah?”

“You know I love you so much…” she began innocently, batting her eyelashes and purposely using the ‘L’ word that she knew would make him bristle in annoyance before continuing.

Oh, good fucking lord where is this going--

“But if you cheat on me again like I know you’re going to do, you’re going to be very sorry about it.”

“Is that right?”

Two could play that game.

On the other side of the country, Ariana Mossos squared her shoulders and let out a long, determined sigh. If Benji was going to cheat on her this weekend, then she would do the same to him.

Benji could deal with a lot when it came to Ariana. The cringe usage of daddy for a nickname, her constant need for attention (most of which he does give her because there’s always something in it for him), but something that boiled under his skin was that not-so-subtle threat hidden under a trademark smile of hers, though what wasn’t trademark was the change in her demeanor. He was observant enough to know she meant it, but who in the hell did she think she was, anyway? Who did she think she was assuming that they were in a relationship? She wasn’t his girlfriend and he wasn’t her boyfriend. They had sex and that was it.

And it was like this every goddamn fucking time. Any time he did something she didn’t like, he had to deal with her whiny, bitchy, almost numbered-list of things she didn’t like. Of course, every time they had a spat, Benji always came up on top (in every way implied). Benji knew how to manipulate her to get what he wanted, and Benjamin Clyde Cross always got what he wanted.

He eyed her, seeing her face and seeing how she was just waiting for him to say something — anything — Benji smiled. He actually did this for a few long moments. He held the phone close to his face so she got a clear shot of his eyes and how his lips curved into a smirk. “Ariana..” He spoke in a low tone, taking a moment to get her reaction, letting the tension build just for a few seconds before he simply said, “We’ll see about that.”

click

In a matter of moments, Benji had hung up on Ariana. No goodbye. No “see you later”. He just ended the call, but he wasn’t done there. In an act that was done out of pure spite, Benji went into his contacts, went to Ariana, and blocked her number, erasing her out of his contacts, and effectively would render what he just knew wouldn’t be the end of her insistent nagging because he knew her that well. It was, in his mind, the only response to her demand.

And you know what? Benji had no regrets. He could finally relax for a while before he had to get ready for that party.

Over the course of the next hour, Benji managed to do just that. He took a quick shower because he wasn’t the kind of guy who ever liked to take long in it unless he had a reason to prolong his time in there. As he exited the impressive bathroom, a towel wrapped around his unclothed body, Benji held his phone in his hand and he remembered that Vann texted him a while ago. He was in the middle of his thing with Ariana that it had nearly slipped his mind.

Yeah, better text her back, Benji.

cuban delight: - ayy vato lo que pasa - im looking for molly you seen her Me : - she's around - just have to pick her up - she can't wait to see you bby - and she ain't the only one ;)

"And that oughta do it."

There was a satisfied look on Benji's face. That text from Vann had reminded him that he had to speak to a special someone he knew was around here somewhere. Before he'd join the festivities, he'd have to meet with a fellow classmate of his who was his supplier and more importantly, catch up with Bruna. It's been way too long since he's spoken to her about more than his next shipment of pills and powder.

But first, he had to figure out what he was going to wear. It was a cocktail party, so obviously something formal, but did Benji really feel like busting out the suit? It would be a thing called fitting in and, o course, if he was going to make certain people at this reunion jealous (assuming they were coming), dressing like the dashing motherfucker he knew he was wouldn't be the worst idea.

"I'll make some fuckers jealous." Benji grinned and ten minutes later, as The Doctor walked out of his room looking like a motherfucking boss. He abided by the semi-formal guidelines, but he wouldn't be Benji Cross if he didn't pair it with his trademark cap. And if anyone expected any different then they didn't know him at all.

BC was in the house and he had very little time to accomplish a lot.

[Venus]

<sub>"La bohème, la bohème,
On était jeunes, on était fous.
La bohème, la bohème,
Ça ne veut plus rien dire du tout."

La Bohème by Charles Aznavour</sub>

---

---

Contrary to most of her classmates, Margeaux Cheng wasn’t excited, or thrilled, or even the least bit enthusiastic about receiving the invitation to her high school reunion. It wasn’t that she’d had a bad, terrible, or traumatic high school experience-- quite the contrary, actually. Margeaux had been one of the most popular girls in school, along with her three beautiful, intelligent, overachieving partners in crime. She hadn’t been a bully nor had she earned herself any enemies during her time at Kings, so there was no dread of a confrontation with any victims of her actions from a past life. No members of staff were on the guest list, which meant no opportunities to get ambushed with praise about how much she’d accomplished so far when she hadn’t felt as hollow and unfulfilled as she did at the moment. There was, however, the prospect of having to face the man who, with his endless lies and strew of broken promises, had single-handedly pushed her down the path of self-destruction.

As the aluminum bird flew across the clouds in the afternoon sky, the pensive Asian girl staring out the window couldn’t help but continue to doubt and second-guess her decision to attend the event she was traveling for. Margeaux’s gut feeling had been badgering her all week, as if imploring her to reconsider her choice of walking so voluntarily into the lion’s den. But Bruna, Kristen and Jasper had begged and pleaded for her to come along. It would be fun, they said, to get the girls all together for the beachside getaway they so desperately needed. Could they book a trip to some exotic location and have the time of their lives? Without a doubt. God knew they all had the funds and employment flexibility to get away with it. But would it give them the same thrill and satisfaction of facing their former classmates as the united front they continued to be even after ten years? Not a chance. Plus, He wouldn’t be RSVPing to this thing. His majesty was too busy with that tour of his to even consider the possibility of taking a break to make an appearance at a silly reunion like that.

So what was there to lose?

After extensively consulting it with her therapist, Margeaux had decided to claim her spot to the upcoming soiree at the last minute. The reunion would be the perfect test to ascertain whether she could successfully cut out the toxic vestiges of her past, or if they would continue to weigh her down and prevent her from blossoming into the woman she desperately wanted to be.

The decision to arrive at the venue a day prior to the start of the reunion had been Margeaux’s deliberate decision in hopes of avoiding her former classmates as much as possible. Her arrival to the airport and to H2O Suites went by smoothly and without a hitch. She took a moment to admire her spacious suite’s aesthetic, with its neutral design and pops of color peeking through, before dropping off her belongings and indulging in a seaside Cuban dinner for one. The rest of her night was spent lounging inside the small pool adjacent to her suite, with a glass of rosé in her hand, a bottle at arm’s reach for refills, and a selection of French singer Charles Aznavour’s most melancholic songs softly playing in the background. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the concrete edges of the pool, humming along to the melodies that trickled out from her bluetooth speaker. In order to survive the storm brewing in the horizon, Margeaux’s mind, body and soul needed to be recharged and ready for the battle approaching.

[Sugar and Spite]

_{Staring: Rowan Gale}
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

No amount of excitement that Rowan had for the reunion could take away from his anxiety about the flight there.

With every slight jerk of the plane, or gust of wind, Rowan felt his hands tighten on the arm rests of the seat. Since this was his first flight, Rowan understood why he was feeling anxious - but that didn’t stop him from getting a little angry at himself as well.

It’s just a tiny little flight. I’m fine, he thought, taking a deep breath as he tried to figure out how to work the on-flight TV so he could watch a movie. A kid a few rows behind was starting to scream at the top of their lungs, and Rowan was not about to listen to that for the last two hours of his trip.

After the plane hand landed, Rowan did the best that he could to navigate the airport and gather his luggage. Figuring out the Uber app relatively easily, Rowan took a seat on one of the benches in the loading area while waiting for his ride to arrive. The bright sun and the stickiness of the humidity was an unwelcome change from the cold rain of Washington. He missed his home already.

On his ride to the hotel, Rowan exchanged a few words with his driver. The young man didn’t seem to be the chatty type, and that was something that Rowan could appreciate. Another thing that he happened to notice was the way that the driver's eyes had widened when Rowan had told him his destination.

“Fancy place, man. Don’t really look like you’d be traveling there. Er… no offense.”

“None taken,” Rowan replied, chuckling quietly from the back seat. “I get that a lot. I’m actually in town for a high-school reunion sort of thing.”

It was the younger man's turn to laugh this time.

“Ah dude… I am not looking forward to my high-school reunion at all.”

Arriving at the hotel, Rowan tipped the driver and thanked him for his time. Grabbing his luggage and entering the building, Rowan took a deep breath. He had already felt out of place a few times since landing in the big city - but the hotel took the cake. Everything was neat, polished, and organized. Rowan's work boots, jeans, and favorite comfy tattered t-shirt absolutely did not belong here. Thankfully the young woman at the desk was more than welcoming and was happy to see that Rowan was checked into his room properly.

Rowan had managed to score one of the rooms with a private balcony. He was excited with this outcome. While the plunge pool would have been nice as well, there was already a pool upstairs if he needed to go swimming. With the balcony he could lean against the railing and look out to the ocean - just as he was doing now.

It had been years since Rowan had seen the east coast, but the salty air was familiar and welcoming. After checking his phone for the time, Rowan re-entered the bedroom, leaving his boots outside. He was more than ready to wash off the dirt and grime that was American Airlines, and had arrived early enough to do so.

While in the shower, Rowan did his best to keep his mind from wandering, and to keep his nerves in check. His plan didn’t work.

Feeling the knot in his stomach growing every second, he took a deep breath and let the warm water run over him and relax his aching muscles.

Rowan had never been super popular in high school, and to tell the truth - he really didn’t know why he was currently standing in a Florida hotel, buttoning up his shirt. The only person that he could think of that would actually want to see him was Marg. Would she even be speaking to him, or would they still be playing it as cool and nonchalant as ever? Was he about to spend his whole weekend watching her fall prey to Roman once again?

Maybe there was Frankie, but the two of them had never been close, and it wasn’t like Rowan had kept in contact with anyone over the years. He tried to look at it on the bright side - perhaps he would walk away from the weekend with a few new-old friends.

Once dressed, Rowan checked the time once again before making his way to the final destination of the evening.

He walked up the stairs slowly, focusing on his breathing as he went. Hands shaking ever so slightly, he stepped outdoors and braced himself for whatever may come next.

[Sugar and Spite]

_{Staring: Jasper Delamar}
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

The trip to Florida had been long and tiring for Jasper.

While she loved her brother and soon-to-be sister in law, Jasper spent most of her time on the trip begging and praying to whatever gods were out there that her Ty would just shut the fuck up.

While her future niece or nephew was sure to be the pride and joy of the family, Ty was being a little extra when it came to making sure that Junie was well taken care of. Not to say that there was anything wrong with making sure that one’s significant other was well taken care of - but Jasper could see that Junie was starting to get a little annoyed as well.

Nonetheless, Jasper didn’t say a word to either of them about the predicament. Ty and Junie’s relationship was something that Jasper had come to respect more than most things in this world. Besides, she was sure that if Junie felt that Ty was doing something wrong - she would let him know herself.

Ty dropped Junie off at her family's home after their arrival in the Sunshine state, leaving Jasper to take an Uber from the airport to H2O Suites.

The drive was pleasant enough, and the driver was more than welcome to give Jasper recommendations to all of the coolest places in town. Mentally taking a note with the names that sounded the most interesting, Jasper tipped her driver and exited the vehicle, now at her destination.

All checked in and ready to go, Jasper finally took the time to take in her surroundings.

The room was nice and simple in it’s own way. The overall aesthetic was pleasing, but not overbearing, and the warm summer air added just the right touch. Leaving her bags at the door, Jasper flopped down onto the bed and laid there on her back.

She didn’t know how to feel about being back home. Of course she was excited, but she would never admit it. While Jasper had healed, she still hadn’t apologized or fully felt the retributions of karma for what she had done to people in her high-school years. Sure, she had taken Frankie under her wing and always made sure that there was a table reserved for him at any of her restaurants. She had done the same for Max, Spike, Bruna, Marg, Kristen and Nate - even if he didn’t know it.

While she was grateful that she had kept in contact with her fair share of classmates over the years, Jasper couldn’t shake one simple fact; People either loved or hated her, just like she either loved or hated them. There were no grey lines in Jasper Delamar's life, and she was soon about to find out just how much of a villain she truly was or wasn’t.

Taking a shower didn’t help calm these thoughts, no matter how long Jasper stood there under the warm water.

She wasn’t exactly starting the weekend out on the right foot.

The only way she could convince Margeaux to come to the reunion was to lie to her about Roman not being there. Of course Roman RSVP’d to the reunion, and it would be crazy for anyone to think that he wouldn’t. Nonetheless, Marg held out hope and Jasper had lied - all while persuading the other half of the Fearsome Four to do so.

Max had done the best that he could to calm Jasper's nerves about Nate a few nights before, but even the world's greatest cheerleader could only do so much - especially after confirming for Jasper that Nate was going to be at the reunion.

The golden retriever boy was someone that Jasper had done her best to erase from memory, but she had failed time and time again. Her mother hadn’t taught her much, but one thing that Jasper did learn from Marie was that you couldn’t help how people made you feel; and even to this day, the mention of Nathaniel Blake’s name put butterflies in the pit of Jasper's stomach. Rather they were good or bad, she didn’t know.

A few days with her girls was what really had brought Jasper to the reunion. She just hoped that their pasts didn’t catch up with them.

Once her hair had dried, makeup was applied, and her outfit for the evening was selected, Jasper took a deep breath before turning the doorknob to the outside world.

[AlteredTundra]

_{Collaboration with @LovelyComplex || featuring best female friend, Miranda "Mandy" Warner}
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nathan Blake had always cherished the time he spent with Mandy. It didn’t matter if it was taking their almost weekly road trips that they started in college with them often just playing a classic game of rock, paper, or scissors to decide who gets to drive to recent traditions of him getting most of his non-meat groceries straight from her farm. Every moment spent with her has made not living in his hometown of Palm Beach seem not so bad, especially in early years of college when he had to live with the fact that his ex-girlfriend, Jasper Delamar, was at the same college he was.

Mandy was his rock, his anchor, and during some pretty bad nights where he drank too much vodka or smoked a little too much weed, the angel on his shoulder.

And today, she was in the driver’s seat, taking him to the airport.

For the first half of the trip, Nate was feeling great. He was riding a high because he thought about how long it’s been since he’s seen any of his old, casual friends from high school. Of course, he maintained contact with most of everyone, but not everyone. Years go by and things happen, life shifts everyone in different directions, but there were always a few people Nate never lost contact with: Spike and Max. Anytime that he went to LA or NY, which was almost every year since graduating high school, Nate has visited two of them whenever he could. When Spike started making ripples in the comic world, Nate went to every comic con he was going to appear at. Best buds support each other and Nate owns a physical copy of every issue, book, omnibus that Spike has ever released.

Yeah, for the first half of the trip, Nate was really excited. No doubt Mandy felt that energy. They sang and cheered as much they could that didn’t take much of Mandy’s focus away from, you know, driving, but at some point after that high, Nate let the excitement die down. Whether it organically simmered down or he willingly turned down the flame under his ass, one thing was for certain. During the intermission between high and his current lost-in-his-head low, Nate’s mind went from trying not to fuck up the lyrics of whatever song they were jamming along with to thinking about the reunion and the realization that it was envitable he’d run into Jasper.

Jasper…

There wasn’t a moment that Nate hadn’t thought about his ex-girlfriend from high school nor how real his feelings were — are — for her. Despite everything and all the time that’s passed, Nate still held a great deal of affection for Jasper. His prom-posal, which was very different than what anyone else thinks of when they hear that word, was so long ago yet the memory of the anguish caused by her rejection still rung his bell every time he thought about it. It wasn’t because she flat out said no. Nate had always been the kind of guy who never let it ever stand in his way of moving forward, but it was her reaction to it after the fact and the strain it put on their relationship post-graduation.

Not to mention the very awkward and tense reunion at college.

Yeah, he couldn’t forget the way she just scowled at him.

And that thought just brought Nate into an even worse mood. He never saw her look so cold at him in his life. And that was roughly nine years ago. He wondered if time changed her opinion of him? He didn’t know if it did or not.

As he lamented on that for a few minutes, Nate looked down at his phone. He must’ve pulled it out at some point because he didn’t exactly remember when, but he looked at the time. “Just under two hours until my flight leaves…” He muttered, though it was obvious that every bit of joy he had when they left was now locked away somewhere behind an apparent misery in his voice. “I think our exit is coming up soon,” Nate said to Mandy, though he didn’t necessarily look up at her when he said it.

Instinctively and abruptly, Miranda Warner pulled to the shoulder and put her car in park. Putting her hazard lights on, she turned her attention to the man next to her and gently reminded him of why it was important for him to go to this event. “You know what we’re not going to do? We’re not going to get stuck in our heads and think of the worst-case scenarios.”

She reached out and offered her hand for him to grab, “The one that we shall not name has already broken your heart, Nate. What more could she do that she hasn’t already done? Good people are going to be there and they will be there for you. I promise.” When he grabbed her hand, she tightly squeezed it, “Do you really think she’s going to go out of her way to torment you?” If anything, she was probably just as nervous to see him, but like the average tsundere, she would push him away before she admits her feelings. Mandy would know, she used to be one.

“Plus—” She leaned her head on his shoulder, taking in the stillness of her car. “—I know you and I know you want to talk to her. You want closure. And you’ll get just that, you just have to keep pushing, like I know you can. It’ll be okay. You will do GREAT because it’s you, Nate. You always do great.”

For a moment, Nate was going to ask how she knew, but this was Mandy. Even when he didn’t think she knew he was getting lost in his head, or letting bad thoughts consume the good, she knew. This was because whenever he was at his lowest, Mandy always knew exactly what to say and exactly whose name not to mention. And she was right, of course. He did want closure. And she was also right about how there would be people at the reunion like Spike and Max and even Marg (if she was going). So many people that he could fill up the weekend with positive vibes.

But if he were to make the most out of this weekend and if Nate was being honest, he needed to talk to Jasper, too. Because so many things were left unsaid and no amount of Mandy’s pep talk could shake that out of him.

Looking at his female best friend, Nate mouthed a silent ”thank you”. When it really counted, she was there for him and always — always — knew what to say to get him smiling again like his usual self.

Well, he wasn’t out of the woods but he wasn’t as down. “Oh, by the way, I don’t think she wants to torment me. Lord knows she did that plenty ten years ago and some during college.” Nate had to laugh at the awkwardness of seeing her around Meadow U for nearly four years. He had thought about transferring to make it easier for them, but obviously, he didn’t. “And you know, I know people who haven’t scarred me for life will be there to relive some old, fun memories. I can’t wait to see Spike again…even though it’s been only a year since I last saw him at last year’s Comic-Con.” Another laugh as his smile became more genuine and wider. “But there is a part of me that wishes you could come along. I’m sure you-know-who would get a real kick out of it.” Ah yes, that would’ve made any potential torment null and void…maybe.

“Ha.” Mandy chortled at the scenario. “Uh-huh, you know she can’t stand me. She never did.” Taking a quick glance at the time, the woman behind the driver's seat sat up and adjusted herself. Smiling to herself, she took the car off park and eased her way back on the highway, turning off her hazard lights. In a shy manner, Mandy muttered, near inaudible, “If I went with you… I’d miss my date.” She had yet to tell Nate about a… guy… a teacher that she’d taken a strong liking to. Nate had been incredibly distracted - so bringing up her crush, or love interest, while all he could think about was Jasper felt selfish. “He’s nice.” Mandy wasn’t the best at talking about her feelings. It took her a couple of years to get to this point with her best friend. “He’s a teacher and he cooks really good.”

“Whoa! Date?” Nate exclaimed, completely ignoring everything else she said before it. This was the first time she’s even mentioned such a thing and they were the types who told each other just about any appropriate thought that came to them. “Well, that’s good he’s nice. Teachers are always nice…well, except my tenth-grade geometry teacher, but he was a grandpa.” Nate glanced at Mandy, a thought coming to him. “And it’s good he knows how to cook because the best way to anyone’s heart and especially yours is food. Or one of them.” Shaking his head slightly, Nate steered his train of thought back on course. “I’m super duper happy for you, Mandy! You have to tell me all about him whenever I get back. And whenever you think he’d be okay with it, I’d love to have you guys over at my place one of these days!” Was Nate getting ahead of himself? Maybe. But his excitement couldn’t be contained - not when it came to Mandy’s happiness. That was the most important thing!

“Woah, woah, woah. Slow down buddy. This is our first date. So far we’ve had conversations at the market and he’s surprised me with some food, but yeah don’t get ahead of yourself.” She sighed, realizing her doubt in herself only meant she was jinxing the possibility of a relationship even before it started. “Either way, it might all be for show. You’re like the only other nice guy I know.” Mandy anxiously laughed, realizing her luck in the dating field was complete shit. Hey, at least her and Nate had that in common.

He couldn’t contain a chuckle. “Conversations, huh? Meaning more than one?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. If that wasn’t a hint at something there, then Nate was probably looking too much into that specific detail. On the other hand, it could also mean this guy was for real. “Not for nothing, but I don’t think it’s just for show. I think if he caught your attention enough for you to say yes to a date, then he’s the real deal and you’re going to have an amazing time on this date.” He smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. “And I can’t wait to hear all about it when I get back from Florida!”

“Let’s hope we both don't self-sabotage ourselves.” Mandy was already questioning what her interest even saw in her and all the things that could go wrong, instead of the things that could go right and have already gone right. Like the fact that she trusts him enough to go on a date. Still, Mandy prefers facts, figures, animals, having a full understanding of things, and a good handle over her life. Romance? Love? Sex? Those were tricky. Like feeling before she could even process what she was feeling. That, honestly and deeply, scared her. It wasn’t that she had commitment issues either. She was the most loyal person out there, but that doesn’t change she was cautious and didn’t like reckless dating. Mandy hated wasting her time. And yet, in the game of love you had to, to find your counterpart. Your soulmate.

Having already gotten off the exit, she found herself getting closer and closer to departures, coming to terms that her friend would leave her, as he revisited the past. Pulling to the side, she looked over to him and twinkled a bright smile, throwing her anxiety for her date away to focus on the man on a mission, “You’re going to call me if you need me, right?”

“Hell yeah I will! I’ll call you tonight and tell you all about the first day! Trust me, I don’t want to leave you out of the loop of anything.”

Nate and Mandy exchanged a few more words, mostly about her wishing him a safe flight and making sure he had everything for his carry-on bag. Truth be told, she always knew how to remind him to have everything he needed. Whether it was the flight or just in general, without him he’d truly be lost. There was a part of him that was actually serious about wanting her to come with him. There was a part of him that wished she was coming because, as much as he was so grateful that she always managed to shift his mind away from the dark side and the previously goth goddess that ruled over it (A.K.A. Jasper Delamar), seeing her again made him nervous even now.

Even now as he gave Mandy a big hug that lasted several moments and he made his way through the airport. Even as he boarded the plane and it was taking off, Nate wished she was coming with him because she was the pillar that always held him up…or maybe it was that she was the veil that covered him and protected him from his own thoughts.

But he also knew she was right. He needed closure.

“Closure…” Nate said in a low tone, smiling as he mumbled along with the song he was listening to. He had his headphones on so the person sitting next to him on the plane didn’t hear, but he was listening to familiar sounds.

_{”I say oh girl,
Shocked me like an electric eel.
Babygirl,
You turn me on like an electric feel…”}

It wasn’t the original artist, but there was something about Henry Green’s melancholic voice that hit all the right notes, especially the more Nate just sat there, listening to the song over and over again, thinking about Jasper. It wasn’t in a bad way either. It was bittersweet because of the last time they saw each other. The last they met eyes was at the graduation party that was held at the Bonfamile Manor in Meadow. They were both there, of course. Mandy was there. His other boys and her girls. Everyone was having fun and Nate wanted to just…talk to her, but he never did. He never said what he should have said so many years ago.

This was the closure he needed to achieve. He needed to make so many things right and he’d start with Jasper. When he was young, he didn’t understand why she was so angry and in the years that followed, Nate never got the chance to ask her about it. This weekend would that time. He was older and wiser. He liked to think he was more mature than he was ten years ago. He’d do it on this weekend and damn it if he was going to let uncomfortable memories get in the way of that.

And shortly, as the plane landed and Nate got off the plane, about an hour would pass before he collected his baggage. Something to do with delays and misplacing his luggage. He wasn’t stressing too much. He got enough sleep on the five-hour flight, but there was something of a worry in the back of his mind. He was a lot behind schedule. He had only an hour until he had to be at the cocktail party. Between how long it took him to shower, get dressed, and look as presentable as he could, Nate pressed for time.

“Sorry for the delay, sir!”

Nate shook his head. “No worries~” He flashed a smile at the lady at the baggage claim counter who looked overworked, so of course, Nate wanted to try and make her feel better (if he could). Not long after, she would inform him they found his stuff and he collected it.

And then he found the closest taxi he could and in fifteen minutes, he was at the resort. As nice as it was and as much as Nate wanted to bask in its glory, he had no time to spare. “Take in the sights tomorrow! You’ll have plenty of time to do that!”

With that firm reminder, Nate was off to the races. Forty-five minutes to get checked in, pick out an outfit, and make it in time to arrive on time at the shindig.

“Easy peasy!”

[Venus]

---

---

The minute Lilibeth Easterling had received the invitation to her high school reunion at the beginning of the year, the young woman had been ecstatic. In the beginning, Lili had deluded herself into thinking that her motivations for attending were innocent enough: spending time with her friends like the old days, and the chance of returning home with her head held high as the somewhat grown-up, successful version of herself she'd become. Of course, there was another reason that may or may not have influenced her prompt decision to RSVP to the reunion. Namely, a green-eyed, sandy-haired, handsome, unbelievably charming comic book artist that she may or may not continue to harbor deep feelings towards…

But let’s not talk about that.

As soon as she’d RSVP’d, Lili had begun her preparations for her long-awaited vacation. She announced her upcoming hiatus to her followers in all social media channels, filmed videos in advance to keep up with her posting schedule whenever she was gone, packed hers and her son’s belongings and made the necessary arrangements to make sure Colton was taken care of while they were gone. The blonde knew Colt was more than capable of looking after himself for a measly week, but that didn’t mean she wanted him to. One, she loved her husband. And two, she wanted to ensure that her domestic affairs continued to function like a well-oiled machine during her absence. Colt was a fantastic man, but he could be disorganized as all hell. The last thing Lils needed was to return home to unkempt chaos and disaster.

In order to spend some time with her parents, Lili had decided to fly down to Palm Beach a few days prior to the big reunion. Where was Colton, you ask? As much as he'd wanted to jet off with his wife and son or care for Coltie for a few days, the acclaimed running back had a rigorous, demanding, time-consuming training schedule he had to adhere to, and Lili didn’t believe in placing the care of her son on nannies for extended periods of time. Edgar and Clarissa had not only been over the moon about their daughter and grandson’s visit, but they had been more than happy to look after Coltie while Lili relived her adolescence for a few days. It was the perfect arrangement: everybody got exactly what they wanted.

Three days after her arrival to Palm Beach, Lili’s old, powder blue 2011 Volkswagen Beetle convertible was cruising down the US-1 highway with Key West as its destination. She sat behind the wheel of the vehicle in blue denim shorts, a ruffle off-shoulder pink crop top and white Air Force Ones. Her blue eyes were shielded from the sunlight by designer aviator sunglasses, her blond locks fluttering wildly around her face as she belted the lyrics from the early 2000’s and 2010’s songs blaring out from her speakers. Not even the hair sticking to her sparkly lip gloss could ruin the fabulous mood she was in.

To truly embrace the nostalgia of her tween and teenage years, Lilibeth had opted to dust off and bring out some of her vintage gadgets and belongings out to play. Her baby blue Cybershot camera was safely inside its case in her overnight bag, nestled alongside her 3rd generation blue iPod Nano, her 1st generation blue iPod Touch, her white Instax 25 camera, and a handful of spare film cartridges just waiting to be transformed into still captures of a moment in time. A box full of photos and albums from years past sat beside her suitcase, which she was sure would bring many laughs and memories to those close to her. She couldn’t wait for her friends to see them.

The Easterling wife made her arrival to the venue on Thursday afternoon. She was eager to have some time for herself before the big reunion this weekend-- after all, she hadn’t really had the chance to enjoy her own company since having Coltie. She treated herself to a facial, mani-pedi and massage that afternoon, followed by a lavish dinner and a few glasses of wine from the ocean view balcony of her spacious suite. The next morning, the young woman had indulged in sleeping in and a delicious brunch served at the hotel’s rooftop area. Armed with her old iPod, snacks, and the company of a good book, Lili had spent the day at the beach, taking turns between tanning, swimming, reading and snacking. It was only when the clock of her device marked five in the afternoon that Lili finally gathered her belongings and returned to the safety of her suite.

It was finally time to get ready for the party!

[Venus]

Time: 8:30 PM
Location: H2O Suites’ Rooftop Deck
Attire: Smart Casual. Women wear short dresses, men are allowed jeans with button-down shirts and dress shoes.

---

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The sun was just starting the process to set in the horizon when the clock signaled eight in the evening. The 2012 graduates of King’s Academy would soon make their way to the hotel’s rooftop deck area, where the first official event of the reunion weekend would take place. Marie-Alexandra Hodges, ever the perfectionist, had made sure the reception area was nothing short of a vision for her guests. A set of string lights helped illuminate the poolside space, giving the area a cozy, fun feel. Sleek round bar tables had replaced the poolside lounge chairs, each of them with a maximum occupancy meant for two people, and the outdoor sofas remained available for use in the area. Floating on the pool were at least ten LED-illuminated beach balls, giving the atmosphere a more fun, casual feel. Hotel employees dressed in crisp, short-sleeved white shirts and khaki dress pants would begin circling the perimeter as soon as the guests arrived, handing out small plates of delicate hors d'oeuvres and glasses of water while taking orders for the bar. On the north side of the venue was the bar, with four chairs available for use and stoked with liquors of all kinds. But, of course, the true pièce de résistance was the deep blue waters of the Atlantic, stretching out beautifully into the horizon.

The sound of the shifting waves laced together with the music coming from the speakers filled the absence of conversation as the clock continued to tick away the seconds. It was only a matter of time before the former students of King’s Academy would make their long-awaited arrivals.

[LovelyComplex]

One of the reasons Kimber Benson pursued theater was because she could put herself in other's shoes and show real, authentic emotional intelligence in a medley of art. She was always the creative type but when it came to writing? She thrived. She could get lost in her head, putting pen to paper, and create something out of nothing, giving it so much life. She had control over how her stories went. Happy, sad, full of spite, full of joy... whatever direction she chose, she always made sure that her cast displayed the most important thing to a story. Their humanity. People were flawed but that doesn't mean they were undeserving of love and happiness. Theater gives her a chance to tone down the indifference and skepticism and dial up all the feelings that encompass being human. It was her way to be vulnerable without actually having to be vulnerable herself.

Kim had been the most grounded in her friend group. Always, always making sure that they thought of their consequences before making decisions that they may or may not regret, standing up for them in the face of adversity, especially toward the fearsome four and their ex friend, Kristen. Simultaneously, she hoped that they felt unconditional love from her. Even platonic love was love. Kim was the rock. Supportive and choosing their needs/wants over her own. Stopping everything to adjust her schedule so she could be there for their milestones and moments. She thrived when she knew her friends were happy. Sure, that meant she dedicated a lot of her time to her vision and her friends, and rarely had time to relax and sleep, but at the end of the day, it was all worth it because she made others happy. Whether through a story or through encouraging words, she supported and loved hard, which only made her bonds stronger.

Buried beneath all that confidence and loyalty there was an understated jewel screaming to get noticed. Kim's love life was pretty non-existent until recently. Lilibeth had convinced her to try online dating. So, the past couple months Kim's been spending her free time meeting all sorts of people. Instead of romantic and sexual chemistry, she found a story in each and every one of them. Did that make her weird? Probably. Shit, she was 28 years old and still never had any of her firsts. Though, she did meet someone through an improv class. His name, Ezequiel Ortega. He's three years younger than her and full of so much talent. He's up-and-coming and she knows she could take him to great heights—

—Wait. Stop.

Why did she always do that? Turn a relationship into a business opportunity. She did feel something for Zeke. They'd gone on more dates than she has with anyone else. There definitely was potential there. And chemistry...

Shaking her head at the word 'chemistry', oddly triggered by it, Kim examined herself in the mirror, hearing her hotel door close, from Lili rushing to her own hotel room to get ready. An old playlist of theirs continued to resound in the background. Currently, Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out of My Head was on as Kim looked at her premiere ensemble. She didn't want to go into this party overshadowed. Her last statement in high school was 'the girl who called her class out in a play' so if she dressed in muted tones people would easily forget what she did before she became big in her industry.

The night prior, Lili and Kim spent it enjoying the jacuzzi together, drinking, eating chocolate covered fruit, sharing a decorative charcuterie board, and spilling their heart out with everything and anything that was on their mind. Lili focused on her marriage, her family, and her feelings she still had for her ex, while Kim talked about her decision to move to California to get into the TV & movie industry, her interesting dating experiences as of late, and how she was genuinely excited about this reunion because it was a much needed break. Lili did probe about how Kim felt if Max showed up. They both knew he would. And Kim responded with a shrug and a 'good for him, glad he's doing good'.

Even if Max and Kim lived in the same state and worked in the same industry, they never walked into each other. They never worked on the same plays. Never met at the same cafes. Never stumbled on each other in the streets. New York City was big but not that big, especially for two people in theater. Perhaps that was a blessing in disguise because he was a thorn in her side. If he did show up out of the blue, he probably would've found something to argue about and distract her from what mattered. Her dream. That's what mattered the most to her.

Still, their relationship was weird. She couldn't explain it. Was she actually looking forward to seeing the one guy that noticed her no matter what? Who gave her the attention she gave onto others? No, absolutely not and you can't change her mind on that matter. As much as she'd hate to admit it, she knew they had something she couldn't put a name on it. For example, neither had a date to prom, or maybe Max did, but his date left him, she couldn't really remember. Anyways, that is an unimportant fact in the story. They found themselves dancing together and having the most genuine and kind conversation they ever had together. She wasn't lonely that night and that was thanks to—

—Ew.

Okay.

No.

Like, they weren't always dicks to each other. They both knew what they wanted, which were similar things, like A LOT of similar things, and people like that... well, they clashed. Maybe, in a weird sense, she appreciated him back then because he pushed her to do great things, as she did for him, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't like debating with him and proving him wrong. There was this sort of gratification she got when she knew she bested him — perhaps she loved to hate him and that's why she didn't mind him being there. If anything, she knew the night would be an exciting one if he was there.

Regardless of her complicated feelings toward her nemesis, she was here for herself and she wanted to show her value in a louder manner. That's why after her and her best friend were done drunk talking in a jacuzzi, they picked up the perfect outfit for Kim to strut her stuff in. Lili had her own goals, and so did Kim. Neither woman was going to leave this reunion unnoticed. Whether it would lead to good things or not, only time could tell.

As a director, writer, and part time actress, Kim could become whoever she wanted. She knew how to play the part and deep down, she knew if she was truly capable of acting like this, there was a side in her begging to come out. Tonight was the night Kim would choose to be a soul sucker. A vixen that was confidant in who she was and her sexuality. The one who you look at whose eyes would turn you into stone. She didn't just want to be sexy, she wanted to be someone that was haunting, someone with poison up her sleeves, someone who could and would drain you for all your worth.

A woman with a gun.

A dame to die for.

With her claws, she will dig into your brain and feed off your pain.

Yes, the girl who wrote Hateful Ever After, the biggest fuck you to her class, she wanted her classmates to see her more than just an overachiever easily overlooked. No, she wanted to be a dangerous dream and run the night in a way she had never chosen to live her life before. Be a little reckless. Be free. Be in the moment. Tonight, she was a devil and she would go out of her way to seek out the lowest of lows and the highest of highs. Tonight, she wasn't going to watch other stories shatter and think about business. No, she was going to live her own story, for better or for worse. Wherever it took her that would be the consequences she'd worry about, after making it. It was time to be a main character in a story and take a chance.

Cheers to the night!

Going to her dresser, where she placed the leftover booze from last night, Kim took a quick shot of whiskey straight from the bottle, to ease her nerves. Once again, she went to the mirror, but this time she leaned forward to make sure her red lipstick was pristine. Before walking out the door, she turned to check her ass. Not nearly as big as Lili's, but ey, it didn't look too bad. Still grabbable. Lili really did out do herself. After their conversation the night prior, once Lili was up and ready for her day she forced Kim out to go SHOPPING. This was the end result and honestly? She looked good.

Finding herself on the rooftop, Kim stood by the exit door to take in the beautiful sight. It felt like a scene painted in a movie. Taking a deep breath in, feeling the Florida breeze and listening to the waves off the distance, Kim smiled, thinking about how words could weave together and show deep truths. How words could make or break a person. How words meant to her. In this moment, she could only feel the pain of waiting and the desire of... enjoying her night. Briefly, her mind went to a place that would make anyone embarrassed and she patted her cheeks, "It's showtime."

Sauntering her way into the party, Kim waved at those that had already arrived and found herself at the bar, "I'll take a Manhattan." As she waited for her drink she texted her friends:

Get your asses here. I want to see your faces.

Kimmy

[BrutalBx]

---

A @BrutalBX & @KZOMBI3

---

Max had no need to look up from the keys he was currently playing. The presence that had joined him was one that had been such a big part of his young life: Vann.

Mi Vida and Mi Corazón or Savanna and Yasmin if you wanted to get technical about it, had been Max’s best friends since before he could remember. He wasn’t exactly sure how they had crossed paths, it wasn’t a lifelong thing like some of their other Kings Academy compatriots. It really actually hadn’t been that long ago, so the main reason he couldn’t remember was likely the copious amounts of alcohol and drugs that he had partaken in since the aforementioned first meeting.

Vann was for all intents and purposes, Max’s soulmate. Once the pair of them would get going, there was simply no stopping them and it had always been that way. The Broadway star had done much to hide the parts of himself that he didn’t like and only love the truth of what he wanted to be and Savanna was the perfect person to be around when he wanted to do that. Did she push him to be the best damn theatre kid there and ever been? No but she made sure that he didn’t take himself and his work too seriously, she helped him push beyond the mental block he had erected for himself in regards to not playing too hard. She was his balance.

He switched up the tune he was playing on the piano into a much more lively, Latin vibe more akin to the sort of music his rising star cousin Rico Nunez made his name playing.

“Mi Vida, mi muñequita
Ellos dicen afuera se cierne como la lluvia,
pero por dentro entras como huracán.
Puedo sentir tus ojos color avellana en mí,
Al sur del cielo, cero miedo, esta noche se trata del destino”

The latin beat flowed through there so smoothly it brought the Miami muñeca back to the past. Having spent time with the Broadway star and his cousin, relaxing, entangled in one another as they lay sprawled out on the couch just enjoying the music as it provided the ambiance for an amazing high.

His voice, sultry and sinful, dragged her from memories not long past as she found herself scooting closer to the man of the hour, jumping in with lyrics she knew all too well.

"La noche cobra vida con solo tu toque, incendiarme nunca es suficiente, tratar de mantenerse alejado nunca fue un pensamiento eras todo lo que buscaba... así que ven ahora, toma mi mano, ámame hasta que caiga la lluvia..."

Vann stroked his cheek, playing up the love in the lyrics. It wasn't hard to convey the emotion when it came to Max. He was her other half, always the devious angel on her shoulder. The words of the song spoke volumes of the feelings she held for the man before her. She owed him so much more than she could ever express. All the high school nights spent up on the phone or on rooftops just chatting. Small touches and caresses shared in private moments. It was like they had their own world to escape to, their own language only they could understand. He was her person and she was so grateful he was there in her life.

Max remembered writing this song in his junior year; some vague attempt at refashioning himself as a Latin lothario. Unfortunately it didn’t really pan out for him the same way it did for his younger cousin whom was swiftly making a name for himself as a Mexican sex god. Luckily, during the process of writing he had Vann to bounce off of and their relationship worked as fantastic source material.

With Savanna, love meant a thousand different things. They shared a deep connection but was it romantic? In some ways yes but in all many others, no. They could fain and pretend but in the end it just wasn’t true. They had kissed, had sex, dated, dillied and yes even dallied but it just wasn’t there. The chemistry was off the charts but the feeling, God that feeling that everyone so desperately searched for, it was absent. Max had hoped for the longest time that they could eventually get there. He was lonely. Everyone and some great love story to tell and unfortunately, he was the man who had to listen. Sometimes he wished he was still deaf.

He looked around the room, their performance had captured an audience. Shock. His eyes finally fell on the gorgeous queen to his side and he smiled ”You remembered the words? I’m touched or at least I will be. By you because girl you are looking fire tonight”

Always a way with words, her Maxi was. He knew exactly what to say and when to say it to make her light up. Whether it was politically correct or blunt or sweet didn't matter. It was always something she needed to hear.

Being there with him, in that moment of time, specifically, sent a chill to her spine that settled at the base of her neck. A feeling that was wholly them and not whatever lingered in her system from her bathroom bump.

"How could I not remember the words? I can even picture where we were when you wrote it," a sly smirk gracing her features as she leaned back to admire his own choice of threads. "I've at least got to keep up with the master. I think we're the best dressed in the whole fucking 'tel, papí." Another smirk paired with a wink.

The jailbait waitress had sauntered over at this point, still in a haze from the performance it seemed, and dropped off the drinks he previously ordered. "Thanks doll~," Vann spoke, making sure to take the tray from her absent hands. The woman seemed a little surprised at the latinas presence, but complied regardless.

Max let his fingers slip away from the piano keys as he reached into his pink jacket and clasped onto his wallet. He pulled out a hundred and slipped it into the chest pocket of the waitress. ”You have been absolutely fabulous tonight, darling. Like seriously, you’ve made my night so much better. Go treat yourself. You deserve it, you’re a goddess” He turned to the tray of drinks the waitress had brought over and grabbed a shot in each hand; he offered one to his lady before saluting the hotel employee. ”Bye bye now”

After knocking back the fire water, Maxi placed his finger gently onto Vann’s chin and pulled her into a tequila flavoured welcoming kiss. ”I’m so glad to see a friendly face. Thought I was going to have to cause all the trouble this weekend my own damn self”

Her own shot burned deliciously on it's way down but nothing compared to the surprising warmth coming from Max' lips as he kissed her. A sense of longing flooded her veins alongside the liquid fire, a wanting of things to be real yet knowing it wasn't to be. A feeling she has had to squash most of her adult life in pursuit of things less permanent. Vann was never one to be preoccupied with the idea of settling down; though to say the thought never crossed her mind was ludicrous. She was just much more content with being wild and unencumbered. Less chances of getting hurt if the expectations are never there. He pulled away much too quickly for her liking but she wasn't upset. Quite the contrary. Another shot passed from her hand into his, [color=]"Psht. As if there could be any trouble without me present~ 'sides, I wouldn't miss the shitshow for the world."[/color]

God she missed the mischievous gleam in his eyes when the two of them got going. It hadn't been that long since she visited him in New York, but Vann valued any time she got to spend with the performer. Every moment a blast and something chaotic was bound to happen. [color=]"Saludos, para causar el caos, mi amor,"[/color] Another shot back, this time much more milder than the first and she placed a chaste kiss to his cheek, making sure her lips made an impression.

[color=]"Now if only we could find our little diabla, we could really show this place a good time,"[/color]

”Well then” Max downed another shot before he wrapped his arm and hand around Savanna’s waist. ”Your mission, should you choose to accept it, mi Vida, is to venture out into that big wide world and find our missing musketeer”

It was never going to be a proper party until the other third of the lip gloss bitches was with them. Max, Vann and Yas were completely inseparable throughout their young lives. Maxi had certainly entertained the idea of being a throuple with the two beauties but alas he didn’t want to be greedy. The loves deserved to find their own kind of happiness, whatever that may be, not be forced to be his. ”And while you’re doing that, I will be on a mission of my own” The stars in his eyes were playful, his grin smug and almost childish.

His words, so closely spoken in her ear she could feel the heat of them on her skin, were ominous in all the right ways. A sort of scheming behind them that reminded her wholly of her Maxi. Oh how she wished he would never change. It brought forth a giggle, another shot past her lips and she was curling into his warmth.

”Of course I accept, mi capitán,” painted lips, stained with an invisible shimmer of alcohol, stretched wide in a cheshire grin, ”We’ll meet you up at the pool in a few. If you aren’t there then I will assume you ditched us for some cocktails,” the innuendo was clear enough. What other business would he have without her on his arm during the reunion? It was laughable to even think about it.

Though, if she were to be honest with herself, conducting some other forms of entertainment definitely have her attention. She was eagerly looking forward to… catching up with Benji while she was here. It would do Max well to let loose with others; even if some part of her thrummed with a sort of jealousy. Vann shook the thought away, placing a loving kiss to his lips before an even longer one to his temple. A gesture that she never grew out of when it came to those so close to her.

Max blew the brunette beauty a kiss as she headed off on her quest. He sure did hate to see her go but did love to watch her leave. The reality of the situation was that as much as he was looking forward to hanging out with his girls again, there was someone else that Maxi wanted to see, someone else that he just couldn’t get out of his head. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and scanned the live feeds of everyone he could possibly think of who might know where his target was. All he needed was one tweet, one tag that would help him find that which he was looking for.

There she was.

With a gleam in his eye and a rush of heat flowing through his body, Max polished off the last of his shots and pulled himself to his feet with the grace of a dancer. Gliding across the floor like a swan, the performer sauntered out of the door, completely bypassing the crowd that had gathered to watch he and Savanna’s electric flirtation over the piano.

Having made his way to the rooftop bar, Maxi entered into the sight of old friends but they were not on his mind. His hazel eyes fell upon a figure at the bar, short brunette hair, a sheer black dress…he’d recognise her anywhere. He made his way over to the bar in time to hear her order a Manhattan. ”Make that two, queen” Max leaned down on the bar next to his nemesis. Kimber Benson and smiled like a damned rattlesnake when he caught her gaze.

”Hey Kimmy, I hear you paint houses now”

[AlteredTundra]

_{Mentions & Interactions — Vann @KZOMBI3}
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Oh, how good it felt for Lost Cross to be back in his element. No more stuffy planes with babies and flight attendants that didn't know how to process a simple request for peanuts. No more annoying uber drivers, but most importantly, no more having to deal with that annoying, needy, selfish, immature brat he called a side-piece. Okay, maybe Ariana wasn't that bad. Sometimes he even enjoyed her spunky nature and the way she always worshipped him, but whenever he mentioned anyone who might be from the same species as her, she always made it into a bigger deal than it was. Maybe he cheated, but it's not cheating if you're not in an official relationship with that college brat.

If only Ariana saw it his way. Instead, to buy him some peace and quiet and be able to focus on the real reason he was at the reunion, Benji had to block her out. That meant her number. She couldn't spam his inbox and voicemail if she couldn't get past the wall. It also gave Benji more time to properly get his party on.

He swung by Bruna's hotel room briefly before he came to the rooftop to grab what a certain cuban delight had asked about. There was no way he was going to start this night without his assortment of Molly and her five best friends. The ever-lasting business arrangement he had with Bruna's family was just another reason why they got along so well. It was also why Benji didn't mind certain other advantages they had to their arrangement. A tit-for-tat arrangement, so to speak.

Benji took in the sights. The lights and music and the sights of some familiar faces filled Benji up with an euphoric, almost nostalgic feeling that brought him back to the wild ragers that were often thrown at Jin and Marg's place. Sometimes it was also hosted by Maxx. Benji didn't really care who hosted parties back then. His concern was always making the most of it and also making money, but the way everything looked and the backdrop of the Atlantic had made all fo the hoops he had to jump through to get here almost worth it. He says almost because, as much as the sights and music and casual decorations were nice, what Benji really missed were a couple of his homies. Jin and Vann to be specific.

He casually walked, keeping an eye out for both of them while at the same time, he was admiring the view. He didn't know what it was about being back in the element he grew up in, but it was bringing him back to fond memories that might not be suitable for viewers under the age of eighteen. Moments that he spent with anyone who would have him. Getting into trouble, enjoying the primetime life of being a rich kid from Palm Beach, and, maybe doing some bad things with his homie, Jin. He didn't see Jin anywhere, but knowing him he was around somewhere. So he decided to shoot him a text.

To Jin
Shit man where tf you at? Parties just aren't the same without my partner in crime!
Emphasis on crime :P

As he went further and deeper around the area, Benji also kept his eyes peeled for anyone who might want party favors. His classmates knew him and knew that if they wanted anything, they came to him not the other way around. But unlike that, Benji did sometimes go to people who piqued his interest enough.

And sure enough, right by the pool, looking finer than he could have ever dreamed (well, he knew she wouldn't be at a party if she wasn't looking hotter than every InstaThot combined).

Approaching from behind with all the swagger of Johnny Depp and Skrillex, Benji Cross strutted in a rhythm that was all unique to him. Sliding behind her a hand found its way in a firm place it hadn't been in quite some time but only for a moment before he retracted. Didn't want to show all your cards in the beginning. "Say, you haven't seen a fine as hell supermodel around anywhere, have you? Heard she's looking for someone named Molly. Blew up my phone a while back." Benji let out an amused sigh, looking at Vann with a smirk.

[Aewin]

^{a collab between @Spooner & @Aewin}

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Pressing the button calling the elevator to his floor, Frankie caught the eye of his own reflection. His perfectly planned messy hair didn’t quite look right, so as he stood there fiddling with it he almost missed the ‘ding’ announcing the arrival of his metal chariot. He let out a deep sigh when the doors finally started to close. But suddenly a faint voice could be heard shouting out “Hold the doors please!”. The redhead shot his arm out to make the doors slowly open again.

As the doors opened, Yasmin realized too late that the person inside was none other than the one person she was not yet ready to meet. "Ah, thank you.” She ducked into the elevator, social etiquette making it too late for her to change her mind. Anyway, whether now or later, eventually they’d have to meet, right?

Frankie’s eyes widened in shock, what were the odds? He opened his mouth to say something, but the only sound that left him was a weird throat noise so he quickly closed it again shuffling closer to his sides wall trying to create some space between them.

Yasmin and Frankie stood in the elevator, a lot closer than expected in the cramped metal space despite standing on their sides of the elevator. For the first time in her life, the chatty woman had no words to quell the silence between them.

How funny, when only two months ago she couldn’t stop talking.

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^{ｔｗｏ ｍｏｎｔｈｓ ａｇｏ}

A deep sigh of relief escaped Franklin as he entered the warmth of the cocktail bar coming in from the spring shower going on outside. Instantly his glasses fogged up as he blindly made his way towards the bar. He made sure that he was securely sitting on the bar stool before he took the fogged glasses to clean them.

“Hi there! What can I get you sweetie?” a voice called out

The redhead jerked his face upward almost as he had heard a ghost.
“Oh shi- You scared me!” he blurted out. The bartender; a young perky blonde smiled “Do I really look that terrible?” Frankie’s eyes widened “No, no.. Uh.. no I…” he stuttered helplessly pointing towards the glasses in his hands he was frantically wiping with a napkin.

She raised a manicured eyebrow at him “Honey… I’m surrounded by mirrors, I know what I look like. Can I get you anything to drink?” she smiled again, winking at him this time.

Frankie let out a chuckle shaking his head “Well in that case… a vodka Russian?” She nodded and got to work. As the focus got turned away from him he took the opportunity to check his phone. The reason he was even at this bar on a Wednesday was because his old school friend Yasmin had asked to meet her tonight, apparently something had happened and she needed to talk. They had connected recently since they both worked in fashion so Yas had hired him recently to help out with a recent collection shoot and they found out they lived kind of close to each other. According to the latest text from Yas she was 5 minutes away. So Franklin’s eyes were aimed at the door so as not to miss her.

There was no need for Frankie to be looking at the door, because not long after his arrival came Yasmin, announcing her arrival with a quick call of his name by the door. She shuffled over to him, careful not to trip on her heels to meet him by the bar.

"Frankie! You're an absolute life saver, you are." Yasmin sighed, reaching over to give him a one armed hug as she placed her clutch on the bar top. Only once she was settled she turned to the bartender, giving the young blond the brightest smile she could muster before ordering herself a screwdriver.

"It was driving me mad, staying home tonight. So what if it's raining? A little rain shouldn't stop anybody." Words spewed out of her mouth like a waterfall, as though she could barely control herself as she made it through her checklist of small talk. It was only when the bartender slid over Yasmin's drink did she realize the word vomit.

With a sigh and a sheepish smile sent Frankie's way, Yasmin started speaking once again. "I'm sorry, Frankie. I should be asking how you're doing. How are you doing?"

Frankie, who had not gotten a word in since Yasmin had sat down just nodded along sipping his drink through the metal straw, so when the sudden question came from Yas he sputtered and dribbled some vodka Russian down his chin. “Oh… you know… Stressed. You’ve worked with Anna.” he smiled as he dabbed himself with another napkin.

“More importantly, what did you want to talk about? Another campaign coming up you need help with?” he asked, giving his drink another try.

Yasmin was silent for a moment, something that was quite uncharacteristic for her. She was playing with her fingers, her drink, the lock of her clutch, anything that she could reach in order to distract herself. The discomfort was obvious in the expression on her face. "You remember Liam, right?" She started. Not long after the two had reunited, Yasmin had invited Frankie to meet her and Layla for a little dinner party to catch up at Yasmin's place. "We broke up. Last month."

She stirred her drink with the little plastic spoon distractedly as she continued. "It's kinda why I dropped off the face of the planet recently. I've just finished moving into my new place." Finally she was able to look at Frankie, another apologetic look on her face. "Again, I'm sorry for ghosting you after the Spring collection shoot, I should've given you a heads-up. I know you're a busy guy..."

The man sat in silence for a moment after Yas broke the news “Well…” he began, shifting a little in his seat “That’s too bad… he seemed like a nice enough dude.” Frankie offered. To be completely honest he didn’t really feel like he had such a huge stake in this situation since the redhead had really only met Liam that one time. “Uh.. you ok then?” he berated himself internally, obviously she wasn’t ok since she just explained she had dropped off the earth because of it “I mean, was it you know… mutual?” he asked not really knowing where to go with this.

Yasmin was unable to stop the smile from appearing on her face at Frankie's awkward fumbling. It was charming in its own way. Though Yasmin wasn't the closest with Frankie growing up, she knew enough of him through mutual friends at the time to know that some things never changed. "Yeah, it was. But-!" Yas inhaled sharply, before comically blowing the air out of her mouth and continuing, "Now that we're here, no more moping. Work stuff can wait till tomorrow, for now we enjoy the night and catch up?" She raised her drink in Frankie's direction, hoping the switch in topic would ease the poor redhead some more.

Obviously she didn’t want to talk about it and Frankie had no interest in prying so he just shrugged it off and called the bartender over to order them another round. As the drinks arrived he rested his head on his fist looking at the friend sitting in front of him. “So you going back home for this reunion thing?” he asked as he slowly raised his drink to his mouth while taking a sip. “I don’t know if I want to…” he thought about the people back home that had made his teen years hell, why would he want to go back and see them? “Then again Lili would kill me if I didn’t go.” he mused.

"You don't want to go?" There was a pout to Yasmin's voice that sounded strangely like a wounded puppy. "But look at you! You look HOT, fire, every synonym in between! Who wouldn't wanna show off a glow up this great?" She stopped her barrage of compliments to take a less-than-graceful chug of her drink, "Everyone's almost in their thirties now, surely the assholes that tormented you have grown up just as you did. It'll be nice to see old friends, see where life has taken people. Plus... wouldn't it be nice to show off a little?"

Frankie was taken aback by Yas's outburst, obviously he knew that he had changed for the better since highschool. He had worked really hard to look the way he did and he’d be lying if a small part of him didn’t want to crash into that reunion and scream ‘LOOK AT ME KNOW YOU FUCKERS!’. But he just sighed “Thanks Yas… No I don’t know” Frankie straightened up fixing the shirt he had flung over his a little too tight t-shirt. “So you’re definitely going then?” he asked, finishing up his drink.

Yasmin's eyes naturally drifted, her attention drawn by the shirt before she forcefully pulled her eyes up to look at Frankie's face. Her cheeks reddened slightly, but she hid the warmth by downing the last of her drink as though she was suddenly parched. "Hell yeah, I miss hanging with my loves, Vann and Max. God, the three of us together again? Do you really want to miss out on that trainwreck?" She teased him.

He let out a chuckle “I guess you’ll have to walk me through that trainwreck… you seem to have forgotten that I spent most of my days at kings out back by the dumpsters… mostly trying to get out of them” he shot her a huge smile. “Lu can tell you how many times she had to pick old fries out of my hair.” he laughed fondly at the memories now that he had processed the situation after years of therapy.

“So anyway… what’ve you been up to… you know besides, getting… dumped?” the burly man blurted out. Internally he was scolding himself, outwardly he rearranged his face into a composed expression of interest.

Yasmin let out a snort at Frankie’s ‘delicate’ way of putting things. “I guess being dumped wasn’t the most exciting thing that’s happened so far. I’m thinking of expanding Yaswim. I don’t want to be stuck doing the same things over and over again, so I was thinking about going into loungewear. The comfy off-duty model look is all the rage online.”

The move from swimwear to other avenues scared her. Her choice to start with swimwear was personal, something she was still passionate about. Her loyal customers loved the philosophy behind Yaswim, but would they accept the expansion? The initial concepts were looking promising but could she be certain? Yasmin turned to Frankie, “Hey, I have the first samples of some of the new designs yet to come out. Would you like to come over and see? Give your thoughts and such?” Yasmin asked.

Nodding his head Frankie slurped down the last of his drink “Oh sure, let’s do it!” he flagged down the bartender one last time making a check sign in the air. After paying their bill he jumped of his stool, putting on his bomber jacket. “You want to head out?”

Yasmin nodded as well, pulling on her jacket before leading Frankie out the doors. Yasmin's new apartment was barely a few blocks from the cocktail bar. Despite the rain, Yasmin insisted on doing the few minute run as the Uber was simply unnecessary. "It's not like the rain is that bad." Foolproof logic, she thought.

When they finally did arrive at her place, they were greeted by the excited barks of two fluffy border-collies. Yasmin found herself fighting off an excited cuddle from her grey baby. "Chili, no- I don't want to have to give you a bath." The threat was enough for the dogs to simmer down, but the two lingered close as Yasmin took both her and Frankie's coats.

He thanked her as she walked away with his jacket. Frankie pulled at his shirt that was now wet and uncomfortably sticking to his body. If he was at home he would simply take the shirt and his equally wet chinos off and walk around in his underwear but seeing as he and Yasmine had just re-kindled their friendship he thought he would spare her that sight. Instead focused his sights on the happy dogs jumping at his feet. Kneeling down he enveloped himself in their fur petting and hugging as much as was socially acceptable.

After making drinks for herself and Frankie and offering warm towels and blankets, the two settled on her couch with designs scattered around them. She described her ideas as well as showed them. She even had samples of materials sitting around for them to judge together. If there was one thing Yasmin could appreciate, it was Frankie’s impeccable eye for good fashion. She trusted his judgment, noting down any adjustments needed to make her idea flourish.

Yasmin sighed happily as she felt a weight being lifted from her shoulders. She could never talk about her work like this with Liam. They never seemed to be on the same page. But with Frankie, things were so easy. As the night grew later, Yasmin found herself closing the space between them on the couch, eager to listen to Frankie but the sight was getting harder to ignore.

Her eyes drifted from his face, lingering on his toned arms barely showing through the damp shirt of his. Only recently did Yasmin realize her budding feelings for her new friend. She wasn’t sure if it was a result of the breakup and Frankie just being around at the right time, but for now, it felt right. As she got distracted appreciating Frankie in the dim lights of her apartment, Yasmin leaned closer. Like though she was being pulled on a string, she closed the space between them and finally pressed her lips to his gently.

Frankie's body stiffened when he felt Yasmin put her body on his. If you had asked his teenage self he would have said that he would have wanted nothing more than to be kissing Yasmin. But now… it just felt wrong. They had been drinking, and Yasmin had just broken up with her boyfriend. He felt like he was taking advantage of the situation so before he got too into the kiss he gently pushed her away.

“Uh… I” he started running a hand through his hair scrambling to stand up. “I should… get going… I think…” he looked around skittishly. “Not that… uh.. it's just that… You know” he let out a small nervous laugh “Very nice collection Yas, I’ll find my way out!” he blurted making his way towards the exit grabbing his jacket as he escaped into the night.

Nothing was more sobering than watching Frankie run from her apartment as though he’d touched a diseased rat. He was gone before she could even apologize for kissing him so suddenly. Had her feelings been unreciprocated? That she'd thought there was more to their friendship than there actually was? The weight that left her previously set in again as she realized how badly she’d fucked up. One mistake and she’d ruined a friendship she’d come to cherish. She leaned forward, her head cradled in her hands as she felt herself crumble from the rejection.

[SpicyMeatball]

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Slow deep inhale… … … and a gentle controlled exhale as Bruna let the inconspicuous vape pen fall from her lips. A mellow and subtle buzz spread throughout her head as the marijuana went to work to keep her mind relaxed on an otherwise emotionally exciting night. There were a hell of a lot of people she was seeing for the first time since high school, and there were a fair few of those faces that belonged to people she was far less than friends with. It was the price Bruna paid while riding with the posse that was The Fearsome Foursome, and a price that she probably made skyrocket with her constant bullying of a few notable King’s Academy members.

“What’s done is done.” she sighed, letting out a long-winded exhale of fruity vapour once more before tossing the pen into her purse.

There were of course plenty of people Bruna was quite excited to see again as well. People that she had been genuine friends with, and others that were closer to a business relationship but that still served as good company. For the latter, Benji and Vann were the first to come into mind with a honourable mention to Max.

And the former?

The former were mostly made up of the Fearsome Foursome themselves. Kristen, Jasper and Margeaux. The lovely ladies that Bruna had spent all of her free time with, and that she had frequently gotten into way too much trouble with. Not to mention the pre-gaming before just about every school dance, much to the displeasure of the faculty when they discovered none other than drunk Bruna herself had punched a freshman for hitting on Marg.

Countless other entertaining stories of the group’s infamy filled her brain before a knocking at the door broke her mild trance and focused her attention once more. And there was only one person apart from Kristen who knew her room number at this point, and that was the Lost Cross himself. Almost undoubtedly here for the pre-arranged goodie bags that Bruna had brought all the way from Miami at his request. It was honestly the least she could do for the man that was partially responsible for how quickly the Di Francesco product gained traction in the nightclub game. She opened the door with a smile and motioned with her head for him to come in, the faint fruity smell of strawberry vape hanging in the air. From under the bed, she pulled out a small, airtight Pelican hard case--a measure she implemented to further mask the scent of drugs from canine-searches-- and unclasped the latches. From inside, she pulled out a large ziploc bag containing Benji’s preferred assortment of party drugs, each divided into their respective baggies and bottles.

With a lazy smile, she handed over the contents of the box and guided the dealer back outside of her room, before sending him off with one last comment and a wink following it.

“Don’t let this get me in trouble. I’ll deny everything if you get caught. Have fun~”

A few moments after he had left, Bruna also began to make her way towards the party. Tonight she donned a little black dress that left her back open for all to see, paired with a black net veil for the added mystery and sparkly black open-toe heels to show off her most recent pedicure. Much like Jasper, Bruna loved to dress in black. She loved the way it looked on her and it was an extremely versatile colour that worked for just about every event. It also gave her an excuse to go a little heavier on the eye-shadow to complete the “if looks could kill” motif she was going for.

As she arrived at the party, her first stop was the bar where she saw that Max was already conversing with someone she didn’t immediately recognize. With a shrug, she took a spot not too far down the bar from him, but far enough to not interrupt any conversation they may have been having. With her signature lazy smile, she waved the bartender over.

“An old-fashioned on the rocks please love, if you would be so kind.”

Her eyes scanned across the party like a hawk, waiting for her ladies to show their faces.