AlteredTundra

Legends of Carnation Island (SHELVED)

_{An @Altered Tundra, @NeoAJ, @TootsiePop, and @Hey Im Jordan Collaboration
Featuring! Alluring Andrea, Jealous Jade, Dashing Dax, and Zippy Zayden}

And what a nice room it is.

Andrea couldn’t help herself. Between the sight of the bed to the sight of the brown beauty, she was enjoying the sights in front of her. To her surprise, when she walked closer to her, she wasn’t as tall as she appeared to be. Maybe it was the way she carried herself that gave the blonde that impression, or maybe it was Andrea was so used to everyone having at least half of a head over her that she didn’t think there could be others like her who suffered from the relentless short jokes.

“Yeah girl, it’s pretty crazy. But then again, that’s the Ashfords for you. Simplicity isn’t in their framework.” She laughed, leaning against the doorway.

Her head was somewhat angled up, though Andrea’s eyes remained on Jade. She didn’t know her that well but she knew her name at least. They had crossed paths a couple of times. Honestly, there had always been a part of her that wanted to approach Jade, but there was never a right moment. Andrea was a busy girl and every moment that wasn’t studying for exams or making trips to Palm Beach to make sure her idiot brother didn’t ruin every relationship he found himself in was spent doing her extracurriculars. But all that aside, she knew Jade and had often observed her in those free moments. So, now was kind of perfect. Their one on one with no interruptions.

At least, it would have been perfect if she didn’t hear the same song that she knew a particular boy she was quite fond of repeated way too much. Also, she was approached by another cute boy, though this one had a very mild demeanor. “That would be Zayden. Don’t mind him. He just likes to blast that music THAT’S TOO LOUD!!” She screamed directly at Zayden, knowing her voice carried despite her tiny frame. Though, for now, her attention remained on the towering blonde who spoke so softly. “Sorry, sometimes Z just needs to know that not everyone shares his love for loud music.” She laughed, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, I’m Andrea and this, I believe, is Jade. She’s an athlete or something, right?” She asked, looking over to Jade.

“GET BENT, DREA!”

The music went up a notch and this time it played the next song on his list which was Wait (The Whisper Song) by the Ying Yang Twins. Awesome. His best friend was chilling in this cabana too. This summer was going to be fun. Dropping to the floor, from doing quite a few pull-ups, intentionally and obnoxiously LOUD, Zayden was fully awake and energized ready to get this party started! But first. Push ups and sit-ups. His work out wasn’t over yet. Man, music shuffle was weird sometimes. Whatever. He could get with this song. He’d smack Drea’s ass later.

“IN YOUR DREAMS, ASSPEN!” She shot back, huffing. “Again, sorry for that doofus. And ignore his inappropriate choices in music.” She said that as though she didn’t want to hum along to the Yin Yang Twins. Z knew exactly what ruffled her feathers and he did that on purpose.

Jade was enjoying the conversation. It seemed like this girl was at least chill enough that it wouldn’t be too much of a bother to share this palace with her. Even if she had no idea what her name was. Did it start with a K? She would have to subtly try and get a glimpse at her luggage or something.

She was going to answer the girl’s remark when the sounds of inescapable crunk started blaring from out of nowhere. It was so obnoxious it could easily be a sign that the bonfire party had started, but it was way too early for that. Plus it was making the cabana shake. It could only be a male doing something that stupid. Unfortunately, it appeared as though it wasn’t the one who had materialized in her doorway. Good thing I didn’t start unpacking anything yet. Jesus.

The boy looked like a skyscraper next to the other girl, and he was asking questions that Jade didn’t care to have answers to. Not that she would know. Although she could now piece together that both his and the girl’s names both started with D. Well that helps. So what is it? Diana? Denise? Destiny? Daenerys?

Apparently, the answer was none of the above as Andrea Nope. Way off. took control of things, shouting up to … Zayden? Never would have gotten that one. He was living up to being a Zayden, that was for sure. Andrea knew Jade well enough to know her name. That was a nice boost to the island ego. Once the shout fight with Zay had ended though, and the song changed to something a lot quieter, Jade decided to correct something in the newly christened Drea’s introduction.

“I mean, athlete is underselling it a little bit,” she said with no hint of humility in her voice. “I am kind of a big deal. Star striker for the Kraken, just missed going to the World Cup this year, I’m an elite athlete, Drea.” She reached around looking for where she had tossed her iPod. “Also, if that homeboy upstairs wants to start throwing down, I will crank some Missy at him and show him what good rap sounds like.”

“Okay, so I was mistaken,” she said, turning to the blonde giant. “This is Jade, America’s next Olympic Gold Medalist.” She shot Jade a quick smirk. “And what about you, handsome? You got a name? Obviously, it starts with a D. All the best things in life start with the letter D!”

Truth be told, somewhere between the guy upstairs (Zayden! That was good, there had to be like, what? Three Zaydens in the whole world? That one was probably his buddy!) and the other girl yelling at each other, Dax had more or less checked out of the conversation, and was instead fiddling with a fidget spinner he’d pulled out of his pocket. Sure, they went out of style like, almost a year and a half ago, but Dax didn’t spend two and a half hours watching YouTube tutorials on fidget spinner tricks to not carry one of the fuckers in his pocket to spin when things like this were happening around him.

It wasn’t until the athlete started talking, that Dax allowed himself to snap back to reality and listen to the not so good music that was blasting around him, and at least listen to what the girls had to say. Olympic Gold Medalist? Missed going to the World Cup? Elite athlete? Not just athlete, but elite athlete. That seemed important. If Dax had time, he would have written that down. It was cool! He wished he was good at sports… He was like, okay at tennis, but that was about it, and it was mostly because of Lottie.

Maybe he could ask this girl to teach him some cool tricks in her sport. Soccer, it had to be. El futbol. Or… whatever they called it in the rest of the universe. Then, Dax turned his attention to the other girl in the room, which consisted mostly of turn his head down to look at her. “Dax. My name is Dax. Well, Daxton, but you can just call me Dax. Please.”

Jade had triumphantly pulled her iPod out of her carry-on bag as Dax introduced himself. “Got it after the third time, Dax. Will do.” She was now looking around her bedroom for some sort of speaker system to combat Zay’s bad 2000’s rap with her excellent 2000s rap. There didn’t appear to be anything until she remembered the living room. There had to be a sound system out there. “What say we take this party out of my room and start hitting Zay with some education?”

Drea liked Jade the moment she saw her spread on her bed, but now she liked her even more. They shared the mutual hobby of putting Zay in his place when he became too obnoxious for his own good. Not that Drea wasn’t obnoxious herself, but Z took it to new levels she didn’t think was possible. And the fact he was playing the highly-inappropriate song just made her want to team up with Dax and Jade to give him a fight he wasn’t ready for.

“I’m so in!” Drea’s eyes shot directly to Dax. “What do you say, handsome? Wanna be on the winning team and defeat the antagonist upstairs?” She asked Dax.

Well, Dax was smart enough to not disagree with someone calling him handsome, but he didn’t think he much wanted to participate in a battle. He just wanted to unpack and get settled in his room… but if he had to pick a side, then he was going to have to be on Zayden’s side. After all, they were friends! “If you’re gonna make me choose, I gotta side with Zayden.” Dax admitted, with a sad shrug of his shoulders. Besides, Dax would never rain on someone’s parade, but… Missy sucked anyway. “Are we gonna share the D room, though? Or should I find a different room?” He asked, looking down at the short, loud, attractively angry blonde.

“‘Cuz I’m down to share.”

Andrea sighed, rolling her eyes along with Jade as Dax had not only chosen to side with Z and his lame-ass, but now the topic was back on the room, which as dull as it was, she admitted that issue needed to be resolved. “I suppose we can share but there’s only one bed in the room. And I sleep in my birthday suit.” She said as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Would that be a problem?”

Maybe Dax was already too high. This girl seemed to think he was… not interested? Or perhaps she was trying to bait him? To make him answer something she didn’t want to hear so she could start a fight? That was possible, in fact, that was maybe even likely… Dax just didn’t think of people like that. Dax only saw the positive, only saw the possibilities. The good, never the bed, and especially never the ugly.

“Uh, no, that’s definitely not a problem. Do you want me to sleep naked too? To make you like, confident. I support your uh, freedom.”

Jade just shook her head. “This is a conversation that is best had in a place that is not MY room. You two want to be naked under the covers, do it in a different bed. For now, however…” She hopped off her own bed and moved towards the door. “It’s time to make Zay lose control.”

The striker made her way out to the living room and quickly spotted her target, a giant sound system in a bamboo cabinet off to the side. There were all sorts of cords neatly draped to the side of the machine, and Jade quickly tossed them all aside to find the one that would hook up to her music. Flipping the switches on the board until she heard a familiar hum, she smiled. “Showtime.”

The lyrics were swift and merciless, proclaiming “MUSIC MAKE YOU LOSE CONTROL” twice before descending into the xylophone that heralded Missy Elliot’s 2005 hit. Jade turned the speakers up loud enough to drown out Zay’s music and make sure he heard it clear enough in the upstairs.

There was no retaliation. Instead, the music upstairs cutoff and before they knew it, the devil himself approached them with the confidence of a lion. Speaking of birthday suits, Zay was dripping wet, with a towel wrapped around his waist, having taken a five-minute shower, striding his way downstairs to see Drea, Dax, and a girl he sorta knew but not really, Jade. “Yeah, you know what this means?” He mischievously and widely grinned, eyeing Drea from head to toe, before entering their kitchenette, opening the cabinets and seeing if his bae, Rach, gave them the hookup.

She did.

“It’s pregaming time!”

After pulling out four shot glasses, clink, clink, clink, clink, he displayed their options, “Crown Royal Whiskey, Absolut Vodka, or PATRON! Choose your poison.” They should know better than to think Zayden, of all people, would let them get away with no alcohol in their system. They were going to a party thrown by RACHEL. She didn’t tolerate pussies. And since they were cribbing with him, he was going to make sure they got to his level or higher.

“Like you even have to ask.” Drea said as she walked up, trying her best to reach for the Vodka but goddamn it, it was just too damn high!

Jade shook her head at the brash display from the semi-naked Zay. Wasn't terrible to look at, and at least she had control of the pre-game music now. All in all, it was a win, and now apparently it was time to claim her reward. Might as well. This was her vacation after all.

"Well, everyone knows that the queen needs her Crown," she stated, grabbing a nearby chair since if Drea was having problems reaching the booze, she would as well. The chair did its job and the soccer star grabbed the vodka for her fellow female and the whiskey for herself. While there she tossed the tequila to Zay, figuring that was his choice. As she hopped back down, she uncorked the bottle of Crown. "And she fears no poison."

Jade was not sexy at all and even though Zayden was literally right by the cabinets, she went out of her way to bring a chair and get it all herself. What a power-play move. Shrugging to himself, graciously taking the tequila, though he preferred whiskey he didn’t mind Parton, Z poured his shot and waited for everyone else to join him so they could shoot it up together. With a smug grin on his face, he peered down at his tiny friend. “You did your best.”

The only reaction Zayden got from Drea was an exasperated expression as she took the vodka from Jade and her arm wrapped around Jade’s neck. “Thanks for being so great.” She innocently kissed Jade on the cheek. It was short and sweet and by the time it ended, she had a wide smirk on her face, looking at Z.

“Gayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. Okay, y'all bitches ready?” Rolling his eyes at his friend, paying no mind to her antics, he lifted his shot glass, “Cheers to the summer and having unforgettable memories.” He turned his head and beckoned the other boy toward them, “Dax, get your ass in here. Here. Take this.” He poured another patron shot.

“Hey, man, I don’t wanna throw off your vibe, but could you… could you put some drawers on?” Dax asked while looking at the shot that was offered to him, before an idea clicked in his head. He looked down at the shirt he was wearing, and then pulled it off and held it out to Zayden, trading it for the shot. “You can wear this like a sumo wrestler thing. It’s cool, I don’t even like this shirt.”

“...thanks, but I’ll go put some clothes on upstairs. Okay. 1-2-3.” Since Dax wanted him to cover up, he had to rush the shot process. Swiftly and with experienced ease, he drank the shot and placed it back on the counter. “I’ll be back, then we should head out. Don’t want to waste time to mix and mingle. Ain’t that right, ladies?”

Jade was in a tiny bit of a daze after that kiss from Drea, but she still had the presence of mind to pour her shot of whiskey and down it in time with the party lead. She was still thinking about the action. She had kisses before, teammates in the throes of victory, jackasses at the campus bar who thought they could sneak a quick one. That one was more than hell to the conquering hero type though. It felt good.

"Yeah for sure. Can't deny Rachel her star attraction now, can we?" she agreed. "Although I should probably get changed out of these boat clothes too." She looked at Drea. "I can rock island formal just as well as I can causal." She then winked at Zay. "Give me 15 minutes and I'll be ready."

“Word, and sorry for earlier. I’m not the most observant when I’m tired as fuck so I thought I had this place to myself. Then finding out Drea was here… she just has a way of really pushing my buttons.” Hey, even Zayden knew there were times he could be an asshole and he wasn’t too prideful to not say sorry if his music did upset anyone. Maybe later they’ll set ground rules, but for now. It was time to get ready. “Yeah, fifteen minutes everyone meets back here and then we’ll head over to wherever everyone else is. Probably the bar.” With that, the hype man walked away, towel and all, back to his room.

“And thank god he’s gone!” She sighed, taking a hefty swig of vodka. As she did, the blonde couldn’t help but linger at the sight of Zayden walking away. He only remained in view for a few moments after but it was enough for her to start ...thinking things and these were thoughts she rather not have at the moment, thank you!

Shaking her head, it quickly went away. “Well, to our rooms it is.” It was only a moment after those words left her lips did Drea remember. “Oh damn that’s right.” Her eyes went to Dax. “We never did figure out who was taking the room next to Jade’s, did we? But, ya know, I think you should take one upstairs. You and Z seem to have bonded.” She nudged Jade. “Isn’t that right, Jade?”

Dax raised an eyebrow. There was some confusion here, from the taller, shirtless man — he’d thought they’d reached an agreement? “I thought we were sharing? Were you joking? I wasn’t.” He explained with a tilt of his head. If that’s what she wanted to do, that was fine, but he’d thought they’d made a call!

He was serious? “The bed is certainly large enough for two people.” She scratched her head. What was her intention to trick Dax into taking a room upstairs so she could be alone next to Jade turned into one of the best reversals on her since high school. She respected Dax’s genius strategy. And if it was unintentional, then that just meant he would only get more diabolical as the summer went on.

“Yeah, I suppose we can. Nothing wrong with that.” Was all she had to say. She genuinely had nothing to clap back with.

“Cool.” There was no diabolical scheme behind Dax’s words, and the bright little smile on his face spoke in favor of that. The simple reality was… Dax had already put his stuff in that room — he didn’t wanna carry it upstairs. He’d shared beds with people before, in a totally non-sexual, non-gay way (it was totally Zay), and this was no 0different. “I can wear pants when I sleep if you want. Or even, like, crash on the floor. Not everything is about sex! Appreciate each other for the company, man.”

Jade looked over at the woman now sharing a bed with a man on day one of this excursion. "See, this is why I prefer the subtle 'Get your ass upstairs' approach," she whispered to Drea. "Less chance they actually get bold enough to think they have a shot at something." She pulled back slightly. "Does he… actually have a shot at something?"

Drea looked at Dax for a moment, her eyes quickly scanning him up and down. Tall, fit, and not entirely repulsive personality-wise: everything that Drea wanted in a man if she ever saw herself settling for one. She didn’t like limiting her options, but if Dax ended up being the guy who she got with in the end, then she wouldn’t be a complaining woman. Still, she had to explore what else the summer had to offer before making those decisions.

As she smiled at Dax, she leaned to Jade. “I don’t know. But he is interesting.” She found herself admitting.

Jade stared at Dax for a moment, trying to take in every part of the man who stared down a challenge from a girl who was very attractive and not only didn't blink but also managed to hit her back with the laser reflection and score a win. He was bold. Interesting? That remained to be seen. All she knew about him was that he was tall and had no problems being all up in the personal space.

"Well," she said, clasping her hand on Drea's shoulder. "I am gonna leave that whole finding out how interesting he is to you. Instead, I am gonna go put on this little number that I picked up in Malé and get set to rock this party." She turned off her iPod and gave Drea a wink as she headed off to her room, which she had all to herself, and prepared to prepare for tonight.

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

_{Location // King's Academy Campus Quad
Interactions // Nikki Salvador (NPC); Ariel and Marisol (sees them)
Time & Date // 11:30AM-12:30PM (Lunch Hour) | October 29th, 2018}

Kavi Salvador’s Halloween Party was the talk of the town.

Or at least those who attended and had a front-row seat to the multi-layered carnage throughout the entire evening. And there was a lot of sequels to said carnage. What had started as a simple get together among the senior class who attended King’s Academy soon became a verbal bloodbath as well as non-violent destruction of property. And those at the center of the chaos sure felt the full force of it. Santiago was outed of being a father, Kavi’s short make-out session with April Foster was broadcasted all over social media (and thus him being dumped by an irate Ariel Grey), Sonny and his band of Misfits pounded the shit out of Bradley Leone.

And that was just a small handful of those who found themselves forced into one situation or another that was created by someone at one point. It was truly a sight to see.

“What are you reading?” Nikki asked Kavi.

“Just some idiot with a blog.”

He was on his phone, reading a blog post posted by someone identifying themselves as “The Royal Reporter”. It was a blog site that came to his attention soon after homecoming when he was arrested and karma slowly getting back at him for his past deeds. All of those who he bullied, all of those he dated and didn’t treat right. Part of Kavi wanted to find this person and teach hem a lesson. If it was up to Mac, she’d probably tell him to do it and flip them off while he beat the shit out of them, but if Ariel was here, she probably wanted him to rise above it and find a way to better himself. Two devils on his shoulder who decided to take the lunch hour off.

And now, as he turned around, he was confused by something. “Wait, why the hell are you hanging around with me? Don’t you have friends or something?” Kavi asked her. She usually hated being around him.

“Fuck off. Don’t you remember what mom said this morning? You have to babysit me today cause she and dad are gonna be in Miami for a conference dad has for an expansion of the Shore Shack.”

With everything happening, it slipped his mind and he silently cursed himself. “Okay, well sorry to disappoint you but I’ve made plans today, but I’m sure you can find something to do. Palm Beach is a big town. Go get into trouble for a few hours and just leave me the hell alone, okay?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a selfish ass!” Nikki huffed as she would stomp herself away and leave Kavi with the repeated insult he seemed to be receiving as of late.

So there he was, sitting in the quad with his lunch tray full of a compete for lunch but he didn’t have the appetite for it. His mind was just still stuck on basically everything that happened in the past fourty-eight hours. He lost his girlfriend and got drunk with Mac. Whispers of Brad getting beat up by Marisol and Sonny in drag did bring a smile to his face, but that didn’t last long.

He quickly sighed, looking over to his left and he saw, of all people, Marisol and Ariel walking somewhere. His first reaction was curiosity. Why were they seen within one-hundred miles of each other? Last he remembered, there was some unspoken beef between them. Something about Marisol never wanting to be anywhere Ariel was and Ariel never telling him exactly what went down between them. So seeing them together made him even more curious and even gave him the thought to follow them.

But he didn’t. Kavi decided against it and stayed at the table he had been sitting at as he kept staring down at his food, thinking about Nikki’s words to him (among other things), kind of just waiting for the lunch hour to end.

Iquenos: In Nomine Domini

I echo what the others have said. I am here until the bitter end. Gotta see if Zes will have at least one good idea before this story is finished.

Iquenos: In Nomine Domini

---

• The Eoldysseus - Ifrise Forest, Sovereignty of Dryadalis •

---

When smoke from the collision of the various attacks blinded Zestasia from seeing what was directly in front of him, the most the blond teen could do was stand there. Still, that didn’t mean what he heard didn’t have him on edge. He heard screams. He heard his brother yelling out to Clara and he heard Clara say something back, and then more screams came after. But after the long moments that felt they were drawn out intentionally, Zes balled his fists in anticipation.

And then, like it was nothing, silence took over and that was probably the worst part for him. At least when he heard his brother cry out his famous battle cry or Clara speaking to him or the monster roaring about, he could venture a guess, but with nothing heard — not even a single word — the empty feeling in the pit of his stomach grew and grew until the smoke had cleared. It had then, like a snap of a finger or the switch of a lever, been lifted, a smile on his formerly-pale face being the only reaction that didn’t result in Zestasia cheering as loud as he can.

“They did it!” He cheered, launching himself into a high jump and doing a celebratory flip. “We did it!” Zestasia continued the celebration even though his part in it was minimal at best.

Now that he was finally able to see what happened, Zestasia approached where Pagonia and Clara were and the slain beast. His stomach turned at the sight of whatever passed for blood of this particular species, so he turned away, choosing to keep his eyes on Clara and his brother. “I thought for sure you two were toast. For our sake, though, I’m glad my worst fears didn’t come to light.” Zestasia laughed, folding his arms behind his head. "So, what now?"

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

It was late. How late? Kavi had no idea but as he opened up his eyes, sprawled on the couch in the foyer, and rays of morning light had forced him to scrunch his face. He groaned as he had slowly arisen from the couch. His back ached. Oh God, how every inch of it felt like it was twisted and distorted from the inside. Just him standing up forced some of his joints to crack. And boy did it feel good. Groaning more, Kavi slowly took the time to bend his back both forward and backward, his arms doing the same. Every joint that would crack did and there was nothing more relaxing than hearing the stress release from every inch of his torso.

Slowly his attention turned to the house and the carnage that remained. His head was throbbing, which was probably from all of the alcohol and not enough water he consumed last night. The last thing he remembered was sharing a bottle of vodka with Mac and passing out. Remembering anything past that resulted in Kavi drawing a big blank and only making his headache even worse.

His feet had moved slowly through the wreckage of empty cups, some of the partygoers who didn’t quite make it to their cars laid out against the wall. He went to the fossit and grabbed a cup nearby, getting himself some somewhat cool water to drink. The taste of it going down his throat did a lot to make him feel a little better, but it still wasn’t exactly what he needed.

As he sipped the water, he saw someone who was half laid out upon the tipped over beer pong table that had made its way into the house, he shook his head. “Rough night?”

“Where am I?” The male asked, looking at Kavi with a confused glance.

“You’re at my house.” He responded with as much energy he had to spare, which was to say, it wasn’t a lot.

The teen looked even more confused.

“Go home, Brad.” Kavi shook his head, trying not to chuck the cup at Brad’s head. The last thing he needed was for that homophobe in his house.

He heard about Bradley Leone. Kavi didn’t play Lacrosse but that didn’t stop the whispers and these whispers often spoke about how Bradley had an unnatural hatred for anyone who wasn’t straight. He didn’t understand. Kavi wasn’t the most pleasant person around, he knew that, but his douchebaggery ended at bullying. Kavi never once resorted to being the homophobic kind of bully. When he had gone down that particular rabbit hole, Kavi had never attacked someone for who they loved. His sister was gay. How was he going to ever be able to look her in the eyes if he judged someone for being who they are? He simply pushed people around for being short or Jewish like his old pal Elijah. Kavi often wondered what happened to Sholamijah. Maybe he shouldn’t call him that.

Kavi thought about it and shrugged shortly after as he downed the rest of his water. “I guess I should start cleaning. They’ll be home later on today and I don’t want to explain why there are so many empty cups around. They did, after all, say no parties.” He laughed as he began to bag the trash. “Yet another thing I’ll probably be grounded for if they find out.”

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

_{An @Altered Tundra, @HaleyTheRandom, & @verzehren Collaboration featuring Stella Lambert, Oliver Greyson, and Millie Jean Nicholson}

---

Stella and Oliver both found themselves in an interesting position. Between how hesitant Stella was to admit her feelings to him and how Oliver was equally as uncertain in coming forward when they finally did it, they didn’t know what that meant. They both agreed they liked each other but there was still something about them -- at least from Stella’s side of things -- that gave her some doubt. This feeling of having someone who cared for who she was and not her body was a foreign feeling that she had a difficult time getting used to.

As they walked around, their hands connected and unintentionally drawing attention towards them, Stella could only do what she knew how to do in situations like these: put on a smile and pretend that the whispers didn’t make her anxiety spike up.

Just keep calm and smile forward She urged herself.

Stella’s pace slowed a bit. This happened when she felt anxious, but just as her legs were about to completely give up on her, she hadn’t realized that she had tugged Oliver into a collision. “I’m so sorry!” She immediately apologized. Only a moment later after the person she bumped into had turned around did Stella realize who it was. “Millie Jean!” Her usual screeching voice met Millie as Stella’s right arm left the comfort of Oliver and wrapped around Millie in a warm, if not tight, embrace.

It was too close for comfort, really, but how could Millie Jean tell her friend (that she had ghosted months prior) that their physical proximity was both unnerving as it was anxiety-inducing. Instead of waxing poetic about how she might spiral into a never-ending swirl of panic, Millie Jean just patted Stella’s back with a forced smile.

“Hi, Stella.” Millie Jean glanced awkwardly at the other person, whose name she couldn’t quite recall right now.

The excitement of seeing her again had gotten out of Stella’s control that she had squeezed just a little too tight. It might’ve been a second or two too long, but she eventually let go and saw the hint of a small smile on Millie’s face. At the very least, she was smiling, but damn it! She hadn’t seen her in a while. It didn’t go unnoticed by Stella. There might have been a lot happening in Stella’s life with Oliver, her family coming and going as they pleased, and her extracurriculars, Stella still made an effort to stay in touch with her friends even if a couple of them became too busy for one reason or another.

And this applied to Millie Jean too. Stella understood if there were things that she had to do, but Stella was always there for her if the girl ever needed her. “How have you been? I feel like we haven’t seen much of each other since the senior year began.” For a moment, Stella nearly forgot her manner. “Oh and this is Oliver. He’s my, well, uh.” She turned to Oliver. They hadn’t had much time to talk about what name they were going to put on their relationship. And the more she thought about it. “Oliver is my boyfriend!” She declared proudly, squeezing his hand. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense to call him what he was to her: her boyfriend.

Millie Jean’s eyebrow twitched and she suppressed the need to raise it - she wondered if Oliver had known that until just now because the word seemed to have been conjured abruptly. The girl crossed her arms across her chest, before uncrossing them upon realizing her stance was a tad bit defensive. Her therapist says she should avoid making physical gestures that provides a barrier between her and other people; Millie Jean told her therapist she could stuff it (except she didn’t, but she certainly thought it).

“Well,” Millie Jean stuttered, mind racing to think up a decent reply, “I’ve just been busy, I guess. Taking care of, er, the cats and the butterflies and fish and stuff. Um, and you? I mean, you are obviously doing very well, boyfriend and all. Hi, Oliver.” She waved slightly at Oliver, the gesture awkward and unnatural.

“Mmm..” Stella hummed, nodding, “yeah, I guess I am. School has been hectic, especially cheerleading. Chanel’s taken over captain duties and she’s been making sure we got our routines down perfectly. That and my family being their usual selves, I guess things have been all right.” Even though Stella wished things were less stressful when she glanced briefly to Oliver, she realized that things weren’t as bad as she thought. At least now she could lean on him if things became too difficult.

Millie Jean witnessed the brief flicker of Stella’s eyes and felt almost like an intruder. Strange, considering she was in the middle of a party surrounded by multiple people in a house that was not her own, and she might actually be an intruder if Kavi didn’t have permission from his parents. The feelings she had been pushing down hit her all at once, and maybe so did the alcohol.

“Fuck,” Millie Jean said, her voice strangled by acidic spit on the back of her tongue, “I think I have to go. Sorry.”

Without another word, Millie Jean sped down the hallway, away from Stella and Oliver.

“I hope she’ll be okay,” Stella said, concerned. Her gaze lingered on Millie Jean until she went out of view and she turned to face Oliver. “I think I’m getting a little weary. You wanna get out of here? I did tell dad I wouldn’t be out too late. I know he likes you and all, but I don’t want to take advantage of his kindness, you know?”

Oliver had stood by Stella's side patiently as he often did, paying little attention to the conversation until Stella mentioned making an exit. ”No worries. Parties aren’t really my favorite thing and there’s a lot of drunkness going on. Let’s just make sure we get you home safe.”

---

Current Mood in One Gif

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

_{An @Altered Tundra, @Dirty Pretty Lies, @Spooner, & @Ejected Collaboration Post
featuring Sonny Drake, Kavan Varma, Marisol Castillo, and Archer Diedrikson}

They were left alone. Not only were they left alone, but with Marisol going off to calm down after her intense confrontation with Salem, which Sonny still wished he was able to hear and was even more surprised to see that she didn’t kick him anywhere, both Sonny and Kavan sat there in their little corner of the Salvador house doing absolutely nothing. He didn’t know if Kavan was waiting for him to say something or for Archer to return. Either way, it was awkward and something definitely to be done about it.

But nothing did. God, Sonny usually could handle small talk but aside from their respective gayness (even though Sonny’s still in the closet to the public) and their gravitation towards each other as of late, there wasn’t a lot of common ground between the two. Pharaoh and woman did not make for a dynamic duo meme to name.

Sonny had turned to face Kavan, giving the man a small smile that was more awkward than if he had pulled out one of his silicon breasts again. The only thing worth noting was April’s announcement that she was currently with child and people talking about how Kavi got shoved into a pool. Sonny was more disappointed in himself that he didn’t have anything to talk about with Kavan. Did they really have so little in common that he couldn’t think of something to talk to him about?

“So, uh, this is fun.” Sonny awkwardly said. It was the first thing said that didn’t feel like a completely idiotic thing playing out in Sonny’s mind. “I mean, I guess--” Before he could get that out, Sonny heard some people speed past him.

“This way, bro! That one fairy dressed as a fairy is about to get creamed by Brad!”

Seeing the group of excited students brag about some fairy, it didn’t take long for Sonny to figure out who they were talking about. “I think that fairy they mentioned is our fairy.” Already he was getting pissed off and instinctually took Kavan by the hand. It was one thing for Sonny to jokingly call archer a fairy. He knew it came from a place of like and respect, but for others to use it so casually set something ablaze inside Sonny.

Hearing someone other than Sonny refer to his boyfriend as a "fairy" had also lit a fire inside of Kavan; his fingers tightened around the other boy's hand as he watched the group of students rush towards the back of the house. This anger, however, was almost instantly replaced by an intense feeling of worry as what that last student had said finally sunk in. "Oh my god," Kavan suddenly said to Sonny, "We have to go!"

And without uttering another word, Kavan rushed off in the same direction as the rest of the party-goers, practically dragging Sonny behind him. He didn't stop until the horrifying sight of Archer being punched in the face by none other than Brad Leone stopped him dead in his tracks.

Sonny knew that Kavan wasn’t much of a fighter and neither was Archer, so that made him even angrier. The more he watched the more it seemed like Sonny couldn’t just do that. He and Archer had their problems and maybe even had a genuine beef with each other at one point, but just like Archer has been coming to terms that Sonny isn’t a bad guy, he also was coming to terms that Archer wasn’t a great person. Sonny would even go as far as to say he was starting to think of Archer as a friend. He always has but now it’s got respect on its name.

One of his hands balled up into a fist while the other gripped his Prada bag. “Jesus Bradley,” Sonny said, stepping forward. “You got a lot of pent up rage, beating up a gay boy. There must be a reason for this. Like maybe you’re struggling with something that you’re not ready to admit to yourself and that’s why you’re taking it out on my boy here.” He taunted him, shooting a wink Archer’s way. “Wouldn’t you agree, Archie?”

Groaning, Archer took the opportunity to crawl away from under his attacker as he was distracted by what Sonny was saying. Spitting blood on the grass he looked up at the crowd. “I’m busy trying to not die to agree on whatever you said Sonny.” he panted. "But listen Brad. Are you done? Have you exerted enough testosterone to attract a mate?" Archer said gesturing towards the crowd that had formed with one hand and gingerly touching the bleeding cut on his left eyebrow. Judging by the rage that spread across Brad's face he either didn't like Archer's comment or he just didn't understand it, so he went in for another punch.

But what Brad Leone wasn’t expecting was to feel a hot, sharp, stabbing pain in the left side of his ribcage as a blunt, heavy object made contact with his body.

With a loud grunt, Brad’s heavy body fell from Archer. The large lacrosse player rolled around clutching his side. An almost animalistic growl escaped him as he whipped around to see who had hit him. He rose slowly, steam almost emanating from his body, to come face to face with none other than Marisol Castillo.

“All these damn years and you still haven’t learned you don’t fuck with Archer?!” Mari cried out, looking very much like a deranged Wednesday Addams with her red face and murderous glare. “Did you forget when my brother kicked your ass two years ago for it? You need me to fuck you up too?” she threatened, tapping the tip of the bat against the ground and taking up the stance of a batter in the home plate. "Come at me, bitch!"

When Marco and Soleil Castillo had settled out of court with Victoire Bailey’s father to keep Marisol out of jail nearly three months previously, it had been on the condition that she keep her nose clean and stay out of trouble. The arrangement for Mari to basically ‘pay off her debt’ by working for Kai Parata’s surf shop was, of course, with the intent that their daughter understands that her actions had consequences. And finally, the two-week stint at the mental preserve was meant to teach the volatile young woman better, healthier ways of dealing with her anger issues.

But how could anyone expect Marisol to remain calm when life threw back-to-back curveballs like these her way? After the breakup with Sal, the green-eyed girl had done an excellent job at keeping herself in check when all she wanted was to break his nose the same way he’d done to Sonny. Hell, even her words had been dialed down into something less vicious than what she wanted to say. She had planned to go straight home, have a good cry to get things out of her system, then dilute her feelings with a little weed. But nooooo, Brad Leone had to play tough guy with Archer again. And what was a volatile girl to do when her best friend was getting beat up by a bully other than to spring to action? She’d take the assault charges over watching Archie get snuffed anytime.

It was around this time that Kavan took the opportunity to grab Archer by the arms and help lift him back up on his feet. "God, this guy needs some serious anger management classes," Kavan muttered as he placed himself between Archer and the events that were unfolding on the lawn; while he wasn't much of a fighter, he figured that he'd rather throw a few punches and risk ending up like Archer than watch his friends face some rage-filled meathead on their own.

Archer was quiet as he stood behind Kavan. He stood looking at his feet letting the situation sink in. It had been a long time since he was in the center of this kind of scandal, and here he was again dragging his friends into his shit. Worst of all he was dragging Kavan into all of this. Archie grabbed Kavan’s arm to signify not to get involved. If his boyfriend got hurt because of him, Archer would never forgive himself. Before them getting together Kavan would’ve never have had to face something like this. He would just go through his senior year in peace. He looked into the dark eyes of his partner bloody lip trembling, words escaping him. “Kav…” he whispered, not knowing what more to say.

Kavan simply shook his head and took hold of Archer’s hand, giving it a comforting squeeze after he did so. He then returned his attention to Brad, who didn’t look too happy about being struck by Marisol’s bat. While part of him was wondering if Mari always brought along the aluminum object just in case of instances like this one, the other was beginning to grow anxious as he watched the large Lacrosse player approach her with a clenched fist.

And that’s when Sonny had aptly intervened. The blonde wig flowed with the motions of his body. A sound of tapping flats on the stonework ground following the muted noise of his arm over the height of his body, blocking the punch that Brad had irresponsibly directed at Marisol. As he held the lacrosse player there, seeing the way he gritted his teeth, Sonny with his cherry lipstick-covered lips curving into a smile, stood in front of everyone and shook his head at the unlucky jock.

“So, let me get this straight,” he began, doing a quick headcount. “You not only try and maim Archer but after feeling the wrath of Marisol, you try and attack her, too?” He sighed. “I knew you were homophobic, but Jesus, Bradley! How will you come back when people find out you’re a misogynistic asshole too?” As he repeatedly shook his head, Sonny brought his free arm, the one that was carrying the loaded Prada bag and swung with every bit of strength he could muster, slamming it into the same part of his abdomen that Marisol’s trusty bat had hit.

Brad yelled out in pain and staggered back briefly before a new spout of rage burst forward. The large man lunged forward and charged Sonny with the intent of tackling him to the ground.

Marisol didn't even think twice before she dropped the bat, lunged forward and tackled Brad. His body hit the floor first, hers falling on top of him and shielding her from any real damage. Before she had time to react, Mari wrapped her arm around his neck in a chokehold of sorts, pressing her forearm against the boy's neck.

"Last warning, Leone. You mess around with Archer again in any way and I find out? I won't play nice. You know I don't give a fuck about going to jail."

“What a sight,” Sonny remarked, basking in the glory of the sight in front of him. “This won’t go well for his street cred. Getting knocked around by a dude in a dress and a girl. And all because he picked the wrong fight with the wrong person.” Sonny turned his head, shooting Archer a wink. “This, boys and girls of the audience, is what happens when you’re homophobic trash. You get beat up and embarrassed!” Sonny spoke loudly and quite charismatically at that, laughing at poor defenseless Brad.

Archer just looked on without moving a muscle. Instead of relishing in the revenge that was going on right in front of him, all he wanted was to go home. "Mari… just. Let's just leave. I think he gets it." He said shakily still grabbing Kavan's arm.

“Your wish is my command,” Mari said sweetly, giving Brad’s neck one last squeeze before releasing him and standing back up. She pretended to straighten out her black dress and hair and turned to Sonny, Kavan, and Archer with a grin on her face as if she hadn’t just released all the pent-up anger of being broken up with on Brad Leone. “So! Now that the trash’s been taken out… Where to next?”

Which setting would you like to see more of in Roleplays?

For me personally, I would love to see more over the top sol roleplays akin to daytime soap operas. While I love the high school/young adult stories I'm apart of, these would be so much fun and even more so if everyone embraced the genre-crossovers of said settings. Just let one exist that's a hub for zany adventures with mad scientists and the like. I would be on that in a heartbeat!

Word association Game!

Labor