[IC] Growing Up | It's Anything But Simple

[Silent Whispers]

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Location: Her apartment, 2C then to The Mighty Bean.
Interacting With: Natasha via text -@Lady Amalthea, Dom via text -@Xtreme, Bryant via text -@Universorum

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The day she has been waiting for is finally here. Her birthday. Natalya couldn't really sleep at all last night due to her excitement as she tidied up around the apartment because of that fact. She had the whole planned out for herself and others that were involved as she looked at her list that was displayed on the fridge. Her eyes narrowed the list carefully then she walked away from the fridge then went over to the living area, turning on the stereo and turning the volume up. "You got to fight, for your right, to paaaaaaaarrrrty!" She squealed those lyrics from The Beastie Boys Fight For Your Right song. She was really happy today and nothing could really bring her down, well except for the fact that Dom isn't around for this moment.

With a small sigh, she walked over and grabbed her iPhone6 Plus then found Dom's name and started typing a message. She bit her lip a little nervously then placed the phone down before picking it up then placing it back down on the counter top. Natalya was contemplating on whether or not she should text him first or just wait to see if he texts her first. She ran her fingers through her brunette locks of hair then went over to the stereo and turned it down as Adele's Hello started to play. That was a sign. At least, she thought it was. Natalya started biting her nails as she stared at her phone, pacing from side to side then eventually giving in and picking it up again, texting Dom.

To: ♥Dom♥
From: Natalya
Good morning, sweets! Just seeing how you were doing and I miss you like crazy. Hope you're going to be in town for my birthday. Love ya! ♥

She sent the message then sat her phone back down, looking at the clock. It was still a bit early, like 8:15 early. She walked down the hall and into her room then went rummaging through her closet on what to wear for the day. She decided to wear a pink blouse with a white skirt, that came well above the knee and a pair of her boots to match. She thought the outfit looked cute but of course, there was going to be someone out there that thought differently. Natalya would usually be making her and Dom breakfast right about now but since he was busy climbing mountains or rock or whatever, she'd just have to get something to eat with her girl this morning since it has became like a regular thing between the duo.

Natalya showered, brushed her teeth and applied a small amount of makeup on her face. She then brushed her hair so that it is flowing freely behind her then changed into her outfit for the day. She reviewed herself over in the mirror that was standing in her room then blew herself a kiss in the mirror. Weird but she did it anyway. She bounced through the hallway this time then made her way back into the kitchen, where she grabbed her cell phone and immediately started taking pictures of herself. Some were cute, some were of her making a funny face and some were just downright ratchet. She opened up an app and did a collage of the pictures then uploaded it onto Instagram with multiple hashtags such as: #BDay2day #Feelingmyself #Cute #Morningpost #StoptypingNat #2Excited. Within minutes she received a few likes then smiled and some people even wished her happy birthday. She commented thank you then grabbed her pink and white clutch purse before heading out the door, locking it, too.

She hoped that Natasha was already at the Mighty Bean but if not, she was going to order anyway since she was starving. She walked down a flight of stairs that were by the other apartments in the building then finally reached the bottom step. The door made a ding sound when she opened it to step outside, breathing in the air as her eyes looked up at the crystal clear, blue skies above her and the sun rays were kissing upon her skin. She smiled then shrugged her shoulders while bouncing over towards The Mighty Bean, which wasn't a really far walk. Like a mile or so from their place.

Natalya heard the bell chime overheard and smiled as all of her coworkers eyes were on her. "Happy birthday!" They all shouted and she lit up with glee. She thanked every single one of them as she made her way to the counter, giving them all hugs and such, too. She chatted with them for a little while as she told them her plans for the day and that night. She was having a party that night and everyone who was anyone to her was invited. She was having a Saint Patrick's Day, Mardi Gras party so you have to come in with a speckle of green, just a speck and in Mardi Gras attire or you were going to be removed. She had rented out a local dance hall for her party so there will be plenty of space for her, Dom and her friends to dance and fall over one another since some of them can't dance for real.

After explaining everything, she finally placed her order, which was two scones and a Mocha Latte then even placed Natasha's order since she gets the same thing every single time they come. "Only make my order now. Wait for the other one, please." She smiled as the front cashier nodded and Natalya stood to the side, waiting for her order. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and texted Natasha then sent the message as soon as she was done typing.

To: Tasha :D
From: Natalya
Where are you?! Don't tell me you forgot about our daily breakfast. D: Get here when you can. I ordered your usual, too.

She grabbed her food then sat at one of the booths nearby. Their usual booth was taken and she gave the guys a scowling look as she past them. Natalya sat down at the booth and tore a piece of scone off and started eating. She couldn't wait for Natasha to get there and knew she was going to have something to say as soon as she came in and saw her eating already. It was okay though because Natalya had a comeback ready for her and she couldn't wait to use it. While waiting, she pulled out her phone again but this time to send a message towards Bryant.

To: Bryant :)
From: Natalya
No birthday text? Did you forget? Really?!

[Lady Absinthia]

Natasha Brinne

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Tas groaned slightly as she leaned back against the wall of the hospital, having snuck out to grab a quick cigarette by the ambulance bay. The sun had risen not too long ago and there was still a bit of chill in the air coming off the bay. It was mornings like this that Tas really enjoyed, it reminded her of mornings getting ready for school before her mother had passed away; serene silence before the day began, a moment to reflect on everything that had transpired the day or night before.

It had been a long shift and she had another two hours to go before it was over. They had reached code black, the place was swamped due to a massive pile up on the interstate and everything had been diverted to UCSFMC. Tas had seem some mangled bodies before but this had been complete chaos; thankfully Dr.Brinne worked well under stress but now that things were calming down she realized how tired she actually was.

Sam had stopped by to drop her off some food but she hadn’t even had a chance to enjoy it. She horfed it down in three bites, hugged Sam and darted right over to an ambulance to pull another stretcher right into the ER’s back entrance; barely being able to give him a wave before she was back inside and hip deep in the anarchy of the trauma unit. She swore she didn’t know what she would do without Sam and his last minute deliveries. Sure she could live off the hospital food but she wanted to remain a doctor and not become a patient; it didn’t hurt that Sam knew exactly how she liked her food and was a wiz in the kitchen.

Snuffing out her smoke on the bottom of her shoe and flicking it into the dumpster she ran back inside as her phone went off; another wreck, another patient. She couldn’t wait for the shift to be over, she was spent. Seven 16 hour days in a row had all but zapped every last bit of energy she had left, she swore her blood type at this point was “Dark Roast.” She had the next three days off and she was sure she was going to spend at least half of that time with her face buried into a pillow; then she remembered, Nat’s birthday! Okay, no sleep for the wicked.

“Get through shift, get party in order, come on Tas, keep it together woman!” she muttered to herself under her breath as the latest emergency arrived.

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Tas slammed her locker shut and slung her bag over her shoulder, the shift was finally over. She wanted to go home and change; that wasn’t going to happen. Feeling her phone go off in her pocket she pulled it out and cursed under her breath, quickly shooting a text back and running out the door, nearly knocking over an orderly on her way.

To: Natalya
From: Natasha

Work! We had a ten car pile-up, I just got off shift. I’ll be there in ten, if I don’t wreck. Oh and Happy Birthday!

With that she shoved her phone back in her pocket and hopped in her car, quickly starting it up as she slid her sunglasses on and tearing off out of the parking lot as she if she was trying out to run the second coming. She sped through town as quickly as she could and hit the brakes hard when she came to a parking space, squealing the tires slightly as the car came to a sudden stop. Grabbing her bag and a wrapped package she had in her floorboard she ran into the building, skidding on the soles of her shoes as her eyes fell on Nat and grinned.

”I’m here!” she called out before taking a deep breath and walking over, tossing her bag into the booth and plopping the wrapped gift down on the table. Leaning over she hugged Nat tight before sitting down and finally removing her sunglasses.

”I am so sorry I’m late, was wrist deep in a mans chest when the shift ended. Man wouldn’t take a rain check,” she said with a smirk on her lips. Pushing the box over to Nat she grinned and motioned for her to open it as with her other hand she picked up her coffee cup and downed what was in it quickly. If she was going to stay awake she needed the extra jolt. Who was she kidding, she drank the stuff like it was water; sleepy or not.

Within the wrapping Nat would find just a plain box, inside that box however was a vintage camera, a Leica MJ6 from the 70’s. On the bottom scratched into the metallic surface was a name – Anna. Nat would know the name, it was Tas’s mothers. For Tas the gift was more than just giving a nice older model camera to a good friend but passing down a part of her family and it was something that her mother had loved. Tas had shown Nat many a pictures her mother had taken with the camera before she died, her mother always loved taking pictures of the family; it was something Tas had never picked up a passion for but she knew Nat would enjoy it.

[Xtreme]

Dominic Mason

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The trip was supposed to be longer; at least a week. Dominic had already been gone a month and was desperate to see Natalya. There was no chance of him missing her birthday. He sat the end of the block, admiring his thick reddy-brown beard in the rear-view mirror. No doubt she’d make him shave it off later unless she had finally came around to his mountain man look. Dom wasn’t exactly dressed for the San Francisco heat. Having spent four weeks on a mountain he was dressed in thick hiking gear, he’d make sure to swiftly change when in the flat as he hadn’t really had a chance to change since landing back in California. A chime in to his right alerted Dom to a text, it was from Nat.

From: Natalya
Good morning, sweets! Just seeing how you were doing and I miss you like crazy. Hope you're going to be in town for my birthday. Love ya! ♥

This was it. It was a bit of a dickish move but if he told her he was home it would ruin the surprise. Opening up his messenger he sent her a quick reply;

To: Natalya
Hi babe, so sorry. There’s a bit of a snow storm here, they’re not letting us leave just yet. Looks like I might miss your birthday. I hate this. I love you, try and have a good day and I’ll see you soon

While still on his phone, Dom had a quick look through his Twitter and Instagram. Damn his girl looked good today, he loved that white skirt. His girl had legs for days and he loved it. Finally he watched as Nattie left the apartment, obviously on her way to meet Tasha at the coffee shop. The girls had a routine and they stuck to it religiously. Pulling the truck out of park, Dom moved slowly crept up towards the little red building he had called home for nearly two years. It was a pretty old building with a lot of character. Dom loved it, in fact the entire street had very similar architecture and it was all amazing. Of course someone was parked in his spot, they always are. You go away for a month and someone jumps in your grave.

After finally finding a nearby parking spot, Dom had the arduous task of moving all of his hiking gear up to the top floor of the Red Building to Apartment 2C which he shared with Nattie. Luckily for them, they had a little storage cupboard with just enough space for all of the mountaineering equipment Dominic used. Boy did it take him some time to convince Natalya to let him use the space. Thank god they were both neat freaks or this relationship would’ve been over a long time ago. Reaching into one of his bags, Dom pulled out what looked like a navy blue leather suit case. Placing it on a nearby side table, he opened it up to reveal an old style record player. Nat had wanted one of these for months, hopefully she’d like this one. He had made sure to have it inscribed with her name on the inner lid.

After a quick shower, Dom opted not to shave. Reaching into the cupboard above the sink, he looked at the array of pills in their assorted containers. He hated this part, he really, truly hated this part. One by one he opened each tub and popped two pills from each. There were green ones and black ones and two tone ones and even some pink ones….all to keep his flawed heart healthy. Exhaling deeply, Dominic stared at his reflection, wiping the condensation from the steamed up mirror. It was hard when looking at himself like this not to see what might have been if he hadn’t been diagnosed with his condition. He was so close, so damn close.

Now it was time to choose some clothes to wear to meet his lady love. Sticking with the simple was Dom’s motto. Some jeans, his boots, a buttoned down black shirt that always look so much better on Nattie than it did him and his dark denim jacket with the fur collar; effortlessly cool or at least he liked to think so.

Walking back outside, Dom leaned into the back of his car and pulled out a fantastic bouquet of flowers. He had picked all of them himself during his trek on the mountain and brought them down specifically for Nattie’s birthday. Dom never ever said much, is actions did most of his talking for him he liked to think. Moving down the street with a grin on his grizzled face, Dominic felt happy. Sure he felt alive in the mountains and on the peaks but being home and being able to see Nattie and his friends just elated his damaged heart.

Arriving at the Mighty Bean, Nat was already in a booth with Tas. Oh joy. Of course Tas there, she was always there. Coming up behind them, Dom placed the flowers on the table in front of Natalya.

“You really think a storm can keep me from that smile?”

[Hey Im Jordan]

Bryant O’Connor

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Connor looked down at his phone as it buzzed with a text, then checked his watch. 10:15, there was no reason for someone to bother him, at least not right then. He hopped up from his computer desk, and threw on one of his collared shirts, and a pair of jeans, wondering who was texting him and trying to remember if he had any obligations that day. Frowning, he picked up the phone and his eyes grew wide as he read the text from Natalya. “Oh, fuck me runnin- Wait! I got her presents a few weeks ago. That’s that genius mind coming into play, I guess…” Smiling slyly to himself, Connor left his room and reached hit a button on his phone, turning on the surround sound he’d long ago had added to the apartment. Slowly, he moved his head to the music as it filled the rooms, “Hail mary,” he muttered along to the lyrics, walking over to the sign he had hung on the wall that boldly declared “Days Since Last Incident.” Happily, the man reached up and rubbed the 5 out of 995, and changed it into a six.

The sign was an indication of the last time he’d had to speak with his parents, or family in general. He was very happy to be so close to day 1000, but he had decided that he’d save the celebration for the moment he got to add a fourth digit. Smiling to himself, he wondered if he’d be able to convince Sam to bake him a celebratory cake when the day came. ...After a few moments of consideration, he decided that probably. He probably could. Sliding his finger around on his phone, he typed out a message to Nat:

To: Natty

What?! Me?! Forget your birthday and prepurchase your expensive birthday gifts weeks ago to avoid this very issue!? Never. ;) See ya soon, bud. Give Tas my love and a wink.

Dragging himself over to the hall closet, Connor opened it and moved a few things around, eventually coming to his target: a large paper bag that contained three presents, wrapped in incredibly tacky wrapping paper, with pictures of puppies and kittens on it and one envelope. The envelope had a birthday card that he’d thought was positively hilarious, and 3 twenty dollar bills, and two quarters, one New York and one California. The boxes contained: what he considered the essential kung fu movies: The Protector, Enter the Dragon, The One, Hero, and the Forbidden Kingdom, a boxed set of IMDB’s top romance films, and an expensive, high quality scrapbook.

It was an oddly sentimental, expensive gift set, but Connor thought that with their past relationship, it was fitting. He’d explained to Dom that he and Natalya had known each other when they were younger, but had never really given details other than that they were friends. Putting the presents to the side, he punched in another text on his phone, this time to Tas:

To: Dr. Chill

Hey, baby. Is the Dominator there? Should I do a present drop and run? I still gotta do my morning workout… I don’t wanna miss it. I’m bad at situations like this. Guess I could do it a little later and make a breakfast appearance. What’s my play?

Sighing, he pulled on his expensive shoes, already knowing what the play was. Without waiting for an answer, he began to stroll toward the Mighty Bean, bag of presents in hand. Though he knew his phone would buzz soon, probably with responses from both girls, he felt he already knew what he had to do: spend the entire day celebrating his friends birthday.

[Dio]

Samson Shin-won Ahn

Where? Currently @ The Seaside Creative Group Office
With? @Lady Amalthea

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His day had started early, Sam was on his usual delivery run for Tas at the hospital and stayed up all night afterwards. Sleeping wasn't a big deal as the man never really needed the rest. His days were long, but being able to be dependable for someone else always refreshed him, or at least that's what he told himself. By seven thirty Sam was already at The Seaside Creative Group offices, where he was interning as a member of their creative development team. His internship wasn't just coffee runs and dry cleaning pickups, he was also part of the team coming up with ideas for new ads and campaigns, something he wanted to do. It wasn't cooking, but it would do for now. His morning so far had consisted of a run to the coffee shop down the road and was now joining in on the daily morning meeting.

"What if we decrease the opacity of the logo in the background and swap it over to the left corner instead of the right?" Sam chimed in, hoping that his input would be taken into consideration. His voice wasn't often heard during the meetings but every once in awhile he had a good idea or comment, something that would catch the attention of the creative director.

"Could work actually." His boss agreed, giving him a nod of approval. "Good eye, it's a pretty easy fix. Can you edit it for us then, Sammy?"

"Sure thing, boss." Being acknowledged made this day even better, and it was just the beginning. Not to mention it was Nat's birthday and that meant a grand old party. "Oh... shit. Nat's birthday..." Sam quickly realized that he hadn't sent her a birthday call or text, something he would normally do for his group-wife. It wasn't for another thirty minutes before Sam made his way to his desk and hopped onto his phone, preparing a text.

"Maybe I can start off with a sorry or something." It wasn't that he had forgotten her birthday, it's that he was just too busy and he lost track of it. He silently thought to himself and bit his thumb, "Maybe... I can just text her later, play it cooler." But then a better idea popped into his head. If he couldn't say it himself in person the next best thing would be to have someone else say it in person for him. The relationship Nat and Sam had meant that she deserved something more than just a little text for a happy birthday, it had to be done in person, with her being his group-wife and all. "Tas!" He shouted to himself, she was most likely going to be the first one that Nat would be seeing as Dom was out of town again.

To: Doctor Hottie
Could you do me a favor? Tell Nat that I said happy birthday, wish I could do it in person!

[Turnaround Amy]

Feliks Grezskiewicz

Location: 2A
Interacting with: @Aewin

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Blegh, mornings. Nothing good ever came of waking up in the morning and facing the damage of last night in the mirror. Today, he had some pretty solid abdominal bruising and a black eye. Score. But honestly it was all-good. He got the mula, learned more about the difference between coke and pot, and had arrived home with enough time to get a solid-ish amount of sleep. Basically, it was a bomb-dig night and the morning after was the only thing making it any less awesome.
But, on the plus side, coffee-tea. All hail the coffee-tea god.

Feliks made his way into the kitchen started a pot. As he waited for the coffee-tea to boil he clicked through his empty e-mail box a few times before hesitantly poking the tender skin around his bruised eye.
Fuck nuggets that hurt.

Ugh, he was so going to catch shit for it from his friends.
Maybe he should call the coffee-tea something else. Something more cool and concise. Ct, coftea, toffee- wait that last on was already taken right?

The black eye wasn’t such a big deal anyways. No need for anyone to get upset. Plus, there was a party today! Parties weren’t the right place for fights. Okay, so last nights’ apparently had been but this one was different.

Natalya probably didn’t get high on coke.
The coffee was ready! Feliks poured himself a generous cup before grabbing a few tea bags of varying flavors and dunking them into the hot liquid. As he stood there waiting on the CT to infuse he sent of a quick text.

To: Eva Notsodarling

“Ey friend, what’s up? I need your help, there’s a weird yellow orb in the sky and I can’t figure out what it is. Seriously though, screw mornings being up so early is not natural. Remind me to catch you up later on how my night went. No scores, but good times were still had. What’d you get up to?”

Feliks grabbed a lid from the drawer to his right and stuck it on his on mug. Time to get a move on. He grabbed a pair of pants off his floor, a shirt from his drawer, and his satchel from the couch with the official sarcasm dictionary he go for Natalya inside. Finally, mug in hand, he was out the door. First thing first, he had to find some cover-up for his eye…

[Aewin]

Eva Jones

Location: 3C then out for work
Interacting with: @Turnaround Amy and @HushedWhispers

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Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Bee-

Evalyn scrambled out of bed, hair a mess and clothes wrinkled from sleeping in an odd position. She swore under her breath, realising what the time was. She pressed the heel of her palm against her forehead, wincing at the slight throbbing sensation as she barely managed to stumble into her en-suite. Did I get wasted with Feliks again? She peered at herself in the mirror, almost letting out an inhuman hiss at the bright light of the bathroom. Shit, I really need to stop that, especially the night before a gig. Eva knew that chiding herself wouldn't matter, she knew that as soon as Feliks would invite her out to party again, she would follow behind him gladly.

Eva heard her phone sound from the other room, and sighed tiredly. The aspiring model bent down to wash her face, clearing the old make up from off her face and refreshing her tired eyes. After brushing her hair and teeth, she wandered out of the bathroom, albiet slowly and began getting ready for the day ahead.

From: Partymaster

Ey friend, what’s up? I need your help, there’s a weird yellow orb in the sky and I can’t figure out what it is. Seriously though, screw mornings being up so early is not natural. Remind me to catch you up later on how my night went. No scores, but good times were still had. What’d you get up to?

She raised her eyebrow at the changed name, her still sleeping mind trying to figure out exactly who 'Partymaster' was until she scrolled through the previous messages. Laughing, Eva shook her head. She realised that it was most likely her who had changed his name while drunk last night. She quickly typed out a quick response, pulling her wrinkled pyjamas off her once she was done.

To: Partymaster

That yellow orb in the sky has always been there, bud. I feel absolutely miserable. Remind me to never go out with you again.

Knowing it was Natalya's birthday today, the girl quickly sent off another message.

To: Natalya~

Happy birthday girl! ＼（＾▽＾）／

To: Natalya~

I hope you're excited for tonight! ⌒(o＾▽＾o)ノﾟ

Pulling on a striped long sleeved t-shirt a denim skirt and some dark blue flats, the girl moved to the kitchen next to grab something to eat before shuffling out the door, shouting a quick goodbye to her roommate as her day finally began.

[Lady Absinthia]

Natasha Brinne

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As the flowers were set on the table in front of her Tas groaned inwardly, could only be one person bringing Nat flowers. Turning her head slightly she peered at Dom out of the corner of her eye and tried to plaster a smile on her face; sadly it looked more like Wednesday Addams trying to smile, it was kind of scary.

"The Dominator returns from another trek into the wilderness, and we weren't lucky enough to have you break your neck? So disappointing," Tas quipped in a sarcastic tone as she leaned back in her seat and cracked her knuckles.

This was always how it was between them. Tas knew how much Nat loved Dom but that didn't stop her from making snide remarks. Dom knew how much Nat loved Tas, that didn't stop him either. It was their tit-for-tat as it were and any attempts to stop it just made both Dom and Tas snip at the person trying to stop it. Most had given up even trying by this point, they just went with it.

Feeling her phone start to chime she chuckled slightly as she pulled it out and saw she had a couple of messages. The first was from Connor and she could only roll her eyes slightly as she gave a soft chuckle when she typed her reply.

To: Mr. Netflix
Just get your butt over here. The Dominator has arrived and I'm going to need a diversion if I'm going to play nice for Nats sake. Which, of course I've already failed at. :p

Hitting send she checked her other message, straightening in her seat some as her snarky expression faded away to a rare but genuine smile. If Nat looked at her for two seconds she would know exactly who just messaged Tas; she always got the same expression when he messaged her.

To: Mah Delivery Boy :)
Hey, sorry I had to run off last night, I'll fill you in on my wonderful shift when you get off work. ><! And of course I will hun. You're going to make it for the festivities later on?

Hitting send once again, she rested her phone gently on the table instead of shoving it back in her pocket, halfway hoping for a quick reply. The small smile still playing on her features as she looked over towards Nat.

"Sam says Happy Birthday, wishes he could in person but he stuck at work right now," she said with a partial sigh. She'd hoped Sam had managed to get the day off but she understood, being an intern didn't leave one much of a social life; something Tas could sympathize with.

The happy expression slowly soured to Tas's default resting bitch face as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand and glanced out the window. She didn't know if she should go grab a quick shower and then try to sleep some or just say screw it, shower and press on. She was half afraid if she let herself sleep at this point Nat would have to get Feliks to set off fire crackers in her apartment to wake her up, something she knew the little snit would just love to do.

[ChaoticFox]

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Echo Young

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[/hr]
Location: Apartment 1B
Interacting with: @Lady Amalthea(By text)

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Echo's brown eyes fluttered open. She blinked a few times, focusing her eyes before realising she was laying on her laptop keyboard. With a groan she lifted her head, looking at the screen. Staring back at her was the 500 lines of code she'd written the night before, her school project to code an advanced number sorting program which of course, was child's play for her. It didn't make it any shorter however, which both her and Didi had realised and decided to collaborate on the task. She quickly tracked over to the "save" button and clicked it before closing the lid on her Macbook Pro and standing up from her super comfy desk chair.

After a quick shower and a good twenty minutes making her hair look somewhat respectable, she pulled on a white tank top and a light sweater, along with her favourite pair of jeans. She walked back over to her desk, snatching her phone from it's surface and sending off a quick text to Tas.

To: Nat the Taz
Mornin' girl, where ya at? Thought you said you were gonna pop by here after your shift was over? Anyways, anything you want me to prep for the party tonight, perhaps some of my awesome homemade Baileys?

She pocketed her phone and went to check if she even had the ingredients needed to make the super creamy, chocolatey liquor. She opened the fridge, quickly glancing around it checking off ingredients mentally. Yep, looked like she had everything. So naturally she began making it before hearing back from Tas. It was one of Echo's favorite drinks, and while normally she usually only made it around Christmas which had since passed, Echo justified it by telling herself it was for Natalya's party. Sure, she may finish the bottle single handedly if no one else wanted to partake, but that was their problem.

Half an hour later, two bottles of the creamy drink sat in the fridge and freshly cleaned dishes sat in the drying rack. Her stomach growled, begging to be fed. Right, she hadn't had breakfast. Leave to Echo to forget the first, most important meal of the day. Soon there was a plate with two eggs; cooked over easy of course, and two slices of toast on the table, accompanied by a steaming hot cup of green tea and cuttlery. It was her regular, non working day breakfast where she actually had time to eat without choking.

[Raxacoricofallapatorius]

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Benji Graham

Location: 2A, then 2B, then the Bean
Interacting With: Eva via text - @Aewin, Nat - @HushedWhispers, and everyone else in the Bean.

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The sound of the door opening was enough to wake Benji from his angelic slumber. He groaned, rolling over in his bed and promptly falling to the floor with a thud. The jolt startled him into alertness as he realized no, he had not been in his bed, he'd been on the sofa. Not even his sofa, he realized as he stared up at the ceiling. He was in 2B, which wasn't unusual, except that he didn't really remember falling asleep on the couch. Oh well, things happen. He tried to get up but the blanket that he'd been buried under suddenly gained sentience, wrapping around his feet and tripping him, or so it seemed to Benj. He fell, this time with a much louder thunk!

"Well, fuck you too, blanket," he muttered. After freeing himself from the blanket's treacherous grasp, the smell of freshly brewed coffee lured him into the kitchen area. Spotting the used tea-bags on the counter he instantly knew it was Feliks who had made it, and he sniffed the pot suspiciously several times to make sure the guy hadn't done anything funny to it. It seemed safe enough, and so he rummaged in the cupboard for a travel mug, pouring himself a cup and then adding unholy amounts of milk and sugar. It was at this point Benj became self-aware, and realized he was still decked out in yesterday's clothes. They smelled kinda funny, sorta like a mixture of sweat, coffee, and freedom. Okay so maybe he made up the last part, the whole point being he definitely needed a shower and change. At least he wasn't hungover.

After a few sips from the cup he decided to check his phone, and almost had a mini-heart attack. Crap crap crap! There were three notifications. One of them reminding him it was Natalya's birthday, another one about the party, and a text from his mom. He swore under his breath, having completely forgotten about the birthday and the party. Dammit he didn't even have a present. I mean, it wasn't like he was super good friends with Nat, but still. After quickly glancing at his mom's text (aww cute, it was a picture of the family cat), he sent a new message to Eva:

To: Eva-chan ^~^
nbd but i sorta forgot about Nat's party today. Hypothetically, how screwed am i if I forgot to get a present?? btw did u and Felix manage to survive last night without me? Fill me in later!

"Ahhh crap..." He stumbled out the door and down the hall to his actual apartment, 2B. Well sort of his apartment anyway. He usually paid his rent...sometimes, when Didi really gave him heat over it anyway. Speaking of Didi, the door of her room was open so he took a quick peek inside. There she was, crouched in front of her computer like Gollum, looking kind of ill with dark circles under her eyes. Pushing the door further open, Benj leaned on the frame and took another gulp from the cup. Too much, it burned his tongue.

"Didi," he said, slowly so as not to startle her, "Were you up all night...?" the unspoken "again" hung in the air between them. It was kind of awkward. "Um, Natalya's birthday party is today, remember? I'm just gonna hop in the shower real quick, then the bathroom's yours."

As promised, ten minutes later Benj had vacated the bathroom. Squeaky-clean and with a towel wrapped around his waist, he waded through the piles of clothes on his bedroom floor, kicking them around to try and find some that were clean. He ended up settling for a pair of ratty old jeans and studded belt, a faded Green Day t-shirt, and his favorite black leather jacket which was so worn in it felt like his own skin. Then he changed his mind, opting for a Doctor Who tee and a dark blue flannel shirt with the sleeves cut off instead, and then the jacket over that. He grabbed a handful of rubber wristbands at random, the kind you get for free at concerts and stuff with little inspirational phrases on them, and slid them on until he had about half-a-dozen crisscrossing his forearms. Pushing his still-damp hair out of his face, he tied a bandanna around his head to keep it that way. Running a hand over his week-old scruffled chin, he decided against shaving. Too late, he already had clothes on. Last of all he tugged on the pair of scuffed-up motorcycle boots that he almost always wore. Heading out into the common room, he checked his phone again, mind racing as he wondered how he was gonna come up with a halfway-decent last minute gift. And good lord, he needed more coffee.

"I'm going down to the Bean!" he called to Didi. But when he got to the Bean, the sound of the bell as the door opened might has well have been chiming his funeral. Oshit, she's here! The fact that it looked like Dom and Tas had already given her presents only made him panic more internally. He froze, but it was too late to run away, the door had already announced his presence to the whole room.

"Buenos dios amigos!" he called, plastering a cheesy grin on his face and trotting over to the table. "Oh, and happy birthday Nattie! I'm psyched for the party, it's going to be awesome! Plus I got you something totally cool that will blow your freakin' mind, I can't wait to show you!"

I am the worst. He glanced at his phone, still grinning. Dammit Eva, where are you? I am digging my own grave over here.

[lopsided]

---

Didi Sabello

---

---

Location: Apartment 2B
Interacting with: @Raxacoricofallapatorius @Turnaround Amy

---

Didi lost track of time, the whole night she has been awake. Her bagged emerald eyes scanned through the wall of codes in her computer screen, meticulously examining any errors or inconsistencies in her 9 hours worth of work. Since she has already missed 2 exams this term, her professor was kind enough to provide an extra credit assignment to fill up some lost grades. And of course she should've expected a catch, the project was for an advanced lesson that they havnt even discussed yet w/c involves recursive functions and call depths. It was a good thing Echo agreed to collaborate with their other project, giving Didi some more time to figure out her homework, w/c she eventually did. Feeling satisfied, she hits run, the program runs smoothly like butter . When everything looks all well and good, midway through it's execution, the system crashes.

"Oh for fucks..." As she was about to rage flip her laptop, Benji peeked through her door, looking at her with a not so surprised look. It has been a habit of her to be up the whole night, and sleeping the whole morning, since most of her classes are in the afternoon anyway. He asked her if she's been up all night.

"No. Not really. I had short naps." Tho, blinking hardly counts for it.
"Where've you been? Oh, right. Feliks'. " Benji regularly hangs at Feliks place, both of them actually, but Didi hasnt been able to come with last night dealing with this brain wrecking homework.

"Um, Natalya's birthday party is today, remember? I'm just gonna hop in the shower real quick, then the bathroom's yours." Benji said as he walks to the bathroom.

Shit, she thought, totally forgetting about the whole thing. Her preoccupied brain must've kicked that certain memo out of the way and replaced it with cin's and cout's. Nat has always been a good friend to her, and it's a horrible thing to forget her most special day, hell she hasnt even bought a gift yet. Feeling guilty, and panic at the same time, she dropped whatever she was doing and hurried to the wardrobe to get her bathing suplies, away from Benji because she swears the guy drinks her shampoo.

"I should probably text her at least." She grabbed her beat up Nokia phone by the headboard, not even the poor thing survived from Didi's obsessive doodles.

To: Nat Olsen
Heeeey how's my favorite kung fu master...
*erases everything, starts over*
Yo birthday girl what's up? Ready to part-ey?!...
*pauses, erases everything, starts over*
It's your special day! I'm really glad to celebrate it with.....
*erases everything, starts over*

Happy Birthday, Nat!

Didi sighs, dropping her phone to the bed next to her Asus. She grabs her towel hanging by the window, and walked to the bathroom.

"Hurry up!" Didi impatiently knocks on the bathroom door and Benji finally stepped out. "Ten minutes, he said." and Didi slipped in after. She heard Benji called out, says he's on his way to the Bean, and she gave him an assuring reply.

After that, she went back to her wardrobe and scanned some clothes, she doesn't have a full set of clothe to choose from, with only a couple of distinct ones. Good thing she's not a fashion nut, pretty sure, it'll save her a lot of money that way. She grabbed a striped crop top shirt, a denim jacket and her only pair of denim pants, faded and worn out. Satisfied with her choices, she messily lays them down on her bed and as she was just about to take off her towel she heard a knock on the window still. The pigeons are probably hungry again, she thought but Didi was surprised to see Feliks who was smiling gauchely from the other side instead of her feathered friends.

"What the...." She tucked her towel back on, bit relieved that she didnt stripped it all the way, and opened her sliding window. That's when she noticed the round bruise on Feliks' eye.

"The hell happened?" she asked with a worrying tone. She let him in and grabbed a bag of ice from the freezer and handed it to him.

[Silent Whispers]

---

---

Location: The Mighty Bean.
Interacting With: Natasha-@Lady Amalthea, Dom-@Xtreme, Bryant via text-@Universorum, Eva via text-@Aewin, Benji-@Raxacoricofallapatorius, Didi via text-@lopsided

---

Her eyes peered up towards the door when the bell chimed again and saw her friend walking through it though she had to announce herself, too. 'Typical Tasha.' Natalya thought to herself then saw the wrapped gift being plopped down on the table. She hugged her friend then watched as she sat down, listening to her talk about work today. She let out a soft chuckle then eyed the box as Tasha pushed it closer and even more closer as she smiled widely. "I wonder what this is." She said while grabbing the box and carefully and perfectly peeling off of the wrapper then opened the box. Her eyes widened at the camera as she stammered to find the right words to say. Her hands wrapped around the camera carefully and saw her mother's name on it.

"Are you sure, Tasha?" She questioned her in an almost hushed tone then placed it back in the box while looking at her friend. "I mean, of course you are sure but are you really sure?" She said with a sigh then lowered her head a little. "Sorry." She muttered softly while taking another bite from her scone and sip of her coffee then looking down at her phone, seeing Dom's name scrolled across the screen and his picture in the background. A soft smile spread among her lips as she unlocked her phone then read his text message. "You've got to be kidding me!" She somewhat shouted as she plopped her phone down, not even replying to the message as she sighed. "Dom is stuck in snow and won't be here for my birthday!" She continued to shout towards Tasha as she sighed again. Natalya leaned back in her seat then folded her arms over her chest.

Her eyes then peered towards flowers being sat on the table and a familiar voice making her ears twitch as the words reached them. "Dom!" She sprang up and out of her seat, hugging him tightly then placing a kiss upon his lips. "I thought..." She thought a moment then punched him playfully in the arm. "I hate you. You know that." She said while sitting down, waving for him to sit down, too as she scooted over even more closer to the window. "Love the flowers, baby." She kissed his cheek then grabbed his hand underneath the table, smiling brightly and blushing then looking at her phone as the text tone went off. It was Bryant. She picked up her phone and read the message, laughing a bit as she went to typing a reply.

To: Bryant
From: Natalya
Mhm. Whatever. You're coming to sit with us at the Mighty Bean though right?

"I think Bryant is coming. And he sends his love, Tasha. Well, you know." She waved her hand then smiled towards her then eyed Dom. "So, how was the mountains this time? Sorry that I had to work and couldn't come this time." She pouted a little bit then eyed Tasha after her snarky comment. Again, typical Tasha. Her phone chimed again and it was Eva, wishing her a happy birthday and that she was excited about the party that was being thrown tonight.

To: Eva
From: Natalya
Thanks, hon. And yes, I am excited, too!!

It was a simple message but she was awfully busy with her baby, Dom, her friend, Tasha and everyone else that might be dropping in at their favorite hot spot in the area. Her eyes looked at Benji as he joined the group and wished her a happy birthday. She didn't know why but when people said that to her now, she'd do nothing but blush and smile then tuck a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Benji. And I cannot wait to see what you got me." She smiled over there towards him as her phone chimed again.

To: Didi
From: Natalya
Thanks! Hope to see you before the party soon?

She sent the message then started typing a message to send to Eva, again. Since her message was so simple the first time, she'd thought that she'd just invite her to the Mighty Bean and hangout with them. Hope the others would approve of her. "I'm inviting Eva here, everyone." She muttered then started typing a message.

To: Eva
From: Natalya
You're welcome to come to the Mighty Bean and chill with us. :) <3

She sent the message then placed her phone down as she smiled towards everyone. "Is it bad that I have no idea what I am wearing to my own party? Serious opinion answer, Tasha." She teased towards her then looked over towards Dom. "What are you wearing?" She asked while jumping slightly at her ringtone. She answered the phone and it was her caterer for the party tonight. But of course, something just had to go wrong as the caters messed up the order and she said that it was alright and thanked them anyway, even if they didn't deserve. She sighed and ran her fingers through her brunette locks of hair then sent a message towards Samson.

To: Sammie
From: Natalya
Think you can do a favor for the birthday girl? :D

[Lady Absinthia]

Natasha Brinne

---

Location: The Mighty Bean
Interacting With:@HushedWhispers @Raxacoricofallapatorius @ChaoticFox

---

Tas leaned back in her seat and smirked as she watched Nat open the present. She figured she would react like that, she half expected her to tell her she couldn't accept it; Tas was glad she didn't, she didn't want to have to go back and forth convincing her to just take the damn thing.

"Of course I'm sure," she said as she slipped out of the booth and went to get a refill and pick up her order. It only took a moment before she was back and plopped back down.

"Yeah, his love," Tas chuckled with a half eye roll, she knew exactly what type of love he was referring to and it was 100% the physical type. Not that she minded, it kept at least that part of her life as simple as possible.

"Hey Benj," Tas said as she heard Benji enter in typical fashion.

"Yeah, it's bad, horrible! How could you not have decided yet?" Tas chuckled before taking a sip of her coffee. "But not surprising, I'm sure you'll find something. Yeah, I know what I am wearing, no I am not telling you, it's a surprise," she added as she stuck her tongue out at Nat.

Truth be told she had figured it out weeks ago, she knew it was going to be a bit much but she figured it was worth it to make Nat smile on her big day. She knew how much her BFF had been looking forward to today so she was going to make sure she could do everything she could to make it the best day ever.

When Tas's phone gave its tell tale chime once again, she picked it up quickly from its resting place on the table and looked at it. Sighing slightly when it wasn't who she was hoping it was before typing in a quick reply.

To: Yin
Yeah, sorry about that. I got out way late from work and Nat was already waiting on me for breakfast by the time I pulled up. Gonna eat real fast, then I'll be up to take a shower. And yes, please!!! That sounds amazing! Set me a shot up to "taste"? You know to make sure it's all good, lol :P

Tas hit send and set her phone down before scarfing down raspberry almond turnover in one bite and swallowing. Sure, she couldn't savor it and it wasn't the most lady like way to eat but interning had taught her to eat quickly and without apology. Maybe she could eat lunch today in two or three bites instead of one.

Smirking as she wiped her mouth she stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder, tossing a tip down on the table. Nat had taken care of paying for breakfast, she could cover the tip. Was how it usually ended up; whoever showed up first paid, whoever left first tipped. Which usually meant that Nat had to cover the bill since Tas was always late.

"Gonna grab a shower and change," she said quickly as she picked up her phone and shoved it into her pocket. "And then I need to run over to Sam's work to drop something off. I'll be back after a while, I promise. If you need me, shoot me a text," she said as she slipped her sunglasses onto the top of her head.

Leaning over she gave Nat a quick hug before she headed up towards her apartment. She desperately wanted to get out of her scrubs and wash the last shift off before she headed over to Sam's work. She had a little something she wanted to surprise him with to make up for dashing out on him the previous night.

[Hey Im Jordan]

Bryant O’Connor

Interactions with: Natasha-@Lady Amalthea, Dom-@Xtreme, Natalya-@HushedWhispers,Benji-[@Raxacoricofallapatorius
Location: The Mighty Bean

---

---

Connor’s phone buzzed as he rounded into the Mighty Bean, the jingle of the store’s bell swishing as he let himself in. He pulled it out and checked it quickly, nodding in satisfaction as he became aware that he had made the correct play. He looked toward the usual booth, and his face contorted in confusion as he realized that neither Natty nor Tas were there, he looked around some more, and then he eyed a man clothed in a huge coat and boots. Dom, the one and only. Grinning now, he strolled over to them, twirling the bag round and round. As he neared, he noticed another person there: Benji. “Hey, man. Good to see ya, and… Tas is gone. How did I not see her? I must have been spacing out thinking about how amazing my presents for you are, Natty.” He explained, placing the bag down in front of her. “There’s more to come, too, but it’s such a big present that I had to keep it in the apartment for now. It’s so mind-blowing,” Connor explained, his eyes twinkling, a massive grin on his face as he built the present up.

Turning his attention to Dom, he knocked his fist against Dom’s in their normal way of greeting, with a very manly, very simple head nod added in for good measure. “My man. We should check out surfing this year, don’t you think?” He asked, grinning as he sat down in Tas’s spot and pulled out his phone, pecking out a text to her as he shook his head, feeling positively betrayed. Then again, they were basically just fuck-buddies and he shouldn’t have relied on her too much for back up here. After a few seconds of dashing his finger along the touch screen keyboard, Connor read over his text and nodded, satisfied.

To: Dr. Chill:

Local Netflix provider abandoned at coffee shop.

Punching the send button, he looked back at up Natalya and his other friends. “So, because I totally did kinda-sorta-maybe-a little blank and almost-totally-completely-entirely forget your birthday is today, can you fill me back in? What’s the plan, Natty? Laser tag? Pizza? Cake? Is Sam cooking? I hope Sam’s cooking? We should make sure we have perfect music,” rambling now, Connor smiled. “Open the card. It’s amazing.” The card inside the envelope included with the presents, had a picture of a monkey and boldly declared: ‘This birthday card is hilarious because it has a monkey on it. Enjoy.’

“Hey, who’s all coming the party? Is that cute girl coming? Er, the one that watches anime with me, not the one that draws on me. ...Evalyn. Yeah, Evalyn. Feliks is coming, right? Have you heard from Feliks at all? Because I haven’t since like… last night, and I worry about him sometimes, he’s my best friend, y’know.” Connor explained, thinking for a few seconds as he looked around the Mighty Bean. Giving Natalya a total of roughly forty-eight seconds to respond, Connor began to speak again. “I am going to get a pastry. I’ll return in a few seconds guy, bee-are-bee.” With that declaration, he stood up and headed over to the counter, eyeing the various snacks.

[Aewin]

Eva Jones

Location: At work
Interacting with: @HushedWhispers and @Raxacoricofallapatorius

---

"Turn left! Yeah, just like- now smile-!"

Eva complied, turning her head towards the left and smiling at the lamp she was now staring at, trying not to blink as the bright flashes of the camera brightened her vision. She leaned on her right leg, tilting her head to allow her now very curly hair flow towards the side. She recieved a sharp laugh as approval, and Eva let out a grin in response, the cameras catching every pose.

"Okay, one more set and you're off for the day!" The photographer called, immediately followed by a woman with a belt around her waist, makeup brushes sticking out from the pouches and makeup hidden inside the bag. "We'll be resuming in five, make sure you're ready then."

"You got it, boss." Eva followed with a mock salute, a grin still stretching her dark lips. The girl kneeled down slightly, pulling off her heels and massaging her foot. Eva couldn't help but wonder if she could take the outfit she was wearing, home. A white Led Zeppelin tee, tucked into a flared black skirt, reaching halfway to her thigh. 'Well... I could do without the heels.' She looked down at the black heels she was holding in her hand, grimacing slightly at how comfortable they were. As the lady beside her began blotting the excess oils from her face, another following up to spruce up her hair, Eva heard a call from somewhere in front of her.

"You got texts, babe!"

'Might be Natalya,' Eva thought, ducking down from the ladies beside her and heading towards her satchel, grabbing the phone that was sitting over the bag with excitement. Eva smiled as she read through Natalya's message, getting ready to text back but she recieved another text instead. Peering down, she chuckled, before typing out her own response.

To: Natalya~

I would love to, but got a shoot going on right now ( ˃̣̣̥ω˂̣̣̥ )

To: Natalya~

I should be able to meet you at the Bean in an hour tho !!

Backing out from the texting app, she realised she had missed a text from Benji. She ignored the name change, knowing that she would probably have to check through her contacts later and change some of the names back. Keyword: some. She quite liked some of the names that had been changed."Ah shit." She mumbled under her breath. She laughed as she realised what it said, shaking her head. She heard the calls of some co-workers behind her, almost startling the girl into dropping her iPhone.

To: Broji

Very screwed!! I got a hangover but I'm surviving tho you might have to ask Feliks the same question. I have quite a few of your names changed in my contacts so I can only guess last night was a good one! ╰( ･ ᗜ ･ )╯

"Eva! Hurry up now!"

"Coming!" She called, dropping her phone on top her bag and rushing back to work. Eva worked on a couple more poses, each minute that passed feeling longer as she tried getting the last of the test shoot completed. Finally, as the photographer promised, she was freed after one more set. Eva raised her hand, calling out a cheery goodbye as she headed towards the dressing room, grabbing her satchel on her way there and exchanging her heels for the flats she had come into the shoot with inside. She stuffed her previous clothes into the bag, checking herself in the mirror before nodding to herself and leaving the photoshoot with her car keys in one hand and her bag held haphazardly in the other.

[Xtreme]

Dominic Mason

---

---

The warmth of Natalya’s embrace was all Dominic needed to reassure him that he was probably the luckiest man alive. How could he not believe that? Everything about Nattie oozed perfection to him. He was so damn glad he had answered that wanted ad for a roommate two years ago or he probably wouldn’t be with the love of his life. She hit is arm quite hard, for such a small thing she definitely packed a punch. This was obviously due to his little text earlier. ”I hate you too, sunshine” Dom pressed a light kiss against Nat’s lips and scooched next to her in the booth, wrapping one arm around her shoulder and intangling his other with hers beneath the table as he did so. ”Glad you like the flowers, they’re from the top of the peak, so pretty rare. Your other present is in the apartment” Dominic often brought Nat things back from his trips, it was kind of their thing.

"The Dominator returns from another trek into the wilderness, and we weren't lucky enough to have you break your neck? So disappointing,"

Of course Tas would want to get a word in, she always did. ”Paging Doctor Bitch, the morgue called, few more causes of death just confirmed Tasha Brinne’s bedside manner” He didn’t particularly like this game that he and Tas played, especially when it was done in front of Nattie. ”Sorry babe” He pressed a quick peck against his girlfriend’s shoulder. Gently, the burly Dom caressed his girlfriend’s hand with his thumb. God he missed her, the worst part of his trips were leaving her.

Raising his head up, the mountaineer heard the oh so familiar sound of one Benji Graham making an appearance at the Mighty Bean. Dom offered a courteous nod. Ben and Dom had a very simple relationship, Benji talked, Dom listened and poured drinks. Simple, powerful and effective. It was a good deal.

"So, how was the mountains this time? Sorry that I had to work and couldn't come this time."

”You were missed but it was good. One of the guys had a bit of a fall, broke his ankle on the fifth day but other than that, it was a solid trip A light, quick smile jumped across his bearded face before he looked up and watched as Tas made her exit to go clean herself up. She had obviously just gotten back from a shift and hadn’t had time to change. As much as they battled, Dom had nothing but respect for her. She did a job he could never do.

Hearing the chime of the café bell, the Minnesota man grinned as his boy came into the shop. One bro fist and head nod later, Connor began.”My man. We should check out surfing this year, don’t you think?” This was the beauty of the bromance; Connor and Dom pushed each other to the limit athletically. Sure he had lost a step due to all the medications inhibiting his performance but with Connor, Dom always managed to forget about that and keep moving forward. It was obvious both Nat and Tas worried when the two men trained together, worried that Dom might push himself too far and that his heart might just give in. It was hard to convince them to let him be as he could just never find the right words. ”Definitely man, we can try it”

"What are you wearing?"

Dom returned his attention to Nattie and after a few moments that felt like an eternity lost in her bright smile he replied.

”Clothes, Nat. I’ll wear clothes

[Raxacoricofallapatorius]

Benji Graham

Location: The Mighty Bean
Interacting With: @Universorum

---

Benji felt a wave of relief as attention was directed away from him as Tas excused herself and Connor showed up just minutes later. Although, he was always happy to see Connor. The conversation shifted from presents to the party. "I figured pretty much everyone we know was invited," he chimed in, "Although Eva still hasn't texted me back yet today, so I hope her and Feliks aren't dead in a ditch somewhere. I had a band meet last night so I couldn't go out with them. What about that new kid, Eddy? He got invited right? I figure it'd be a good chance for him to make some new friends since he just moved in."

As Connor announced he was getting food Benj called after him, "Hey, get me something too." Following him to the counter Benj glanced only briefly at the pastries. He put a hand on Connor's shoulder and smiled innocently. "So, you'll spot me right?" Then, stealing a look back at the table he said in a hushed tone: "So, um, I sorta forgot about Nattie's birthday today and I didn't get her anything, but everyone else is getting her really cool stuff and I don't know what I'm gonna do."

He made a face, and when the barista asked what they wanted he waited for Connor to say, then added, "And a large caramel macchiato, please." His smile faded even while the barista handed them their things. "I'm like, really freaking out here. I've only got a few hours to figure something out that's not completely lame. You must have some good ideas, you always know what girls like." He shot his friend a desperate please, you gotta help me out look, cradling his macchiato as if it held his last ounce of hope.

At that moment his phone buzzed. He checked. It was Eva, oh thank god. Although after reading her text, he felt much less reassured than he had hoped.

[ChaoticFox]

---

Echo Young

---

[/hr]
Location: Apartment 1B
Interacting with: @Lady Amalthea, @lopsided (via text)

---

---

Unsurprisingly, Echo was back at her desk coding for school as usual. She sat there bobbing her head as she typed furiously on her laptop, speakers blaring Do What You Want by OK GO. She had taken on a good 65-70% of the group project so that Didi could catch up on the rest of her work and had to finish this before the upcoming Monday, and was about half done her planned work for that day when her phone buzzed with a response from Tas. She quickly grabbed her phone and sent off texts to both Tas and Didi.

To: Nat the Taz
Will do, see you soon girl! :P

To: Didi
Morning gal, how's the project coming? Feel free to come over if you need help, I'm usually here. Bt dubbs, you comin' to Nat's party?

After firing off those two texts, Echo skipped over to the fridge and kidnapped one of the bottles of Baileys from the fridge, popping it's top and pouring it over ice into two glasses for her and Tas. Even if she hadn't gotten the response she did, Echo suspected Tas would've appreciated the drink regardless, considering the long ass shifts she'd had the past few days. Echo had just finished topping the drinks off with a small squirt of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon when Tas came in. She looked to the walking zombie doctor with a small smile, her eyes playful and welcoming "This oughta help after a long shift." She held out the drink and then quickly added on, in a faux british accent "Shaken, not stirred m'lady." before a grin spread across her face and she broke into a fit of giggles.

Her hair was now down and straightened into a cute little do that hid some of her face, her makeup done up like she always did it."So, how was breakfast with Natty? Hope everything went alright." she inquired, taking a sip from her drink before walking over to her desk and turning down the volume dial on the speakers. She closed her laptop after saving her code, then walked back over to Tas. Echo was no psychic, but she suspected that something was a tad off with Tas besides being overly tired "Everything alright there Tazzy girl?"

[Hey Im Jordan]

Bryant O’Connor

Interactions with: Benji-@Raxacoricofallapatorius, Natalya-[@HushedWhisper]
Location: The Mighty Bean

---

---

Connor looked down at Benji with a look on his face that very blatantly asked ‘Seriously?’ He rolled his eyes when Benji added things to his order, without the patience to even truly wait for an answer. He took the pastry offered by barista, and gave her one of his classic charming smiles, placing money on the table, leaving her a large tip. Biting thoughtfully into the donut, he considered his options for a few minutes. He could just let Benji burn, as punishment for never paying him the money he owed back. But, that wouldn’t be very nice, and unfortunately, Connor was a nice guy, deep down. Very deep down. Grumbling, he reached back into his wallet and pulled out four crisp fifty dollar bills, holding them out to Benji. After the other boy took them, Connor rubbed his hands together.

“Alright, broski. Here’s what you’re gonna do, alright,” he leaned in, whispering to Benji as he thought about what he knew Natalya liked to do and what her hobbies were. It took the man a few minutes of silent, careful contemplation, before he gave a nod. “Alright. You’re gonna take the money, go down to the mall. You’re getting her two gifts: one gag gift, because that’s the kind of person you are and she’ll expect it 100%, and then one real gift. For the gag gift, you’re gonna get her something to clean with. Like… one of those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. For the real gift, go simple, she likes coffee so get her a fancy pants French blend, something really expensive and exotic sounding. After that, head to the anime store and get me something to watch with Eva. Then, you’re going to go to the front desk and grab me two packs of the gum I like. I’m almost out. After that, you’re gonna come back here and I want exact change, I’m not a bank.” He patted Benji on the shoulder, and took another bite from his donut, chewing it thoroughly before he spoke again.

“Look, and you don’t have to wow her, alright? You’re not her boyfriend, you’re not her best friend, and I’ve known her for ages. So we kinda went all out, you don’t have to make it too amazing. Now, go my Young Padawan. I’ll cover for you at the table, alright? Make sure you’re at the party, you’re not gonna wanna miss it, trust me.” With that, he gave Benji another pat on the shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly, and retreated back to the table where his other friends were.

As he sat down, he licked the donut glaze off of his fingers and looked down at his watch. “Hey, Benji’s gonna go pick some stuff up for me from the store, alright? Supplies for your party, I really blanked this time and kinda messed up… My bad, Natty, don’t blame him. Anyway, where were we? Right. Who’s gonna be there? Everyone, right? That’s important for the extravagance and epic power of my gift.” Connor explained, smiling at Natty as he rolled his eyes.

[Lady Absinthia]

Natasha Brinne

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Location: 1B
Interacting With:@Universorum @ChaoticFox

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Tas trudged up to her apartment and dropped her bag by the door, leaning against it and causing uit to close hard. A long sigh escaped her lips, she was beyond tired and her scrubs were covered in blood and God only knew what else. She usually changed before she left the hospital but she had been running so late she hadn't wanted to make Nat wait any longer than she already had.

Looking over towards Echo she forced a smile and stumbled over to her, taking the drink and sitting down on the barstool at the counter.

"Oh you sweet angel," she said before taking a long sip and letting out a relaxed sighed. "Oh that's good," she said before taking another sip and savoring the flavor. "I could drink like ten of these," she laughed.

Tas was rarely at ease in front of people, usually only Nat or Sam saw that side of her. Yet Echo and her had grown decently close since they started living together. They were very different but that seemed to work for them. They balanced each other out and created this Zen like calm when they were alone and it was just the two of them.

"Breakfast went alright, I at least got to eat it in a single bite," she chuckled as she downed the rest of the nifty concoction.

When Echo asked if she was alright, she stiffened some. The last couple of months had been hard on Tas, very hard, but she had done her best to keep it under everyone's radar. It wasn't something she wanted to talk about or people to know. Only Dom knew exactly what was going on, which may have seemed odd but there were reasons for that; reasons only the Dominator and Dr. Bitch knew.

Yet, she wasn't surprised that Echo was asking, she was observant, detailed and a bit OCD. Very similar to Tas in that regard but lately Tas had been foggy headed, getting sick off and on for no apparent reason; her room, which used to be clean as a whistle, was now a disaster area. It was taking everything Tas had to keep moving forward.

"Long night, we had a ten car pile up get rushed in last night. We hit Code Black in the ER," Tas said trying to brush the question off as if it was just a bad night. Echo wasn't in the medical field but they talked enough that she would know that code black meant they had went beyond capacity for the ER and it would have been hell.

"Plus, the Dominator showed up at breakfast, so you know how that goes," she added, rolling her eyes slightly. She hoped that would be enough to sate her friends curiosity. Standing up she smiled slightly and picked up her bag.

"I'm going to grab a shower, thanks for the drink," she said before quickly walking off and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and locking it. She hated this secrecy but there was nothing that was going to change it.

Feeling her phone go off she pulled it out and cursed under her breath, it was Connor. She was in such a rush to get cleaned up she had totally forgotten he was headed in. Quickly she typed a reply.

To: Mr. Netflix
Crap, sorry, emergency situation, need to decontaminate after shift. Trust me you'd rather hug me not covered in blood, :p

With that done, she hit send and set her phone down on the vanity. Reaching into her bag she pulled out several bottles of prescription pills and started popping one after the other before undressing and crawling into the shower. It was going to be a long day.