NeoAJ

Palm Beach Royals: Class Reunion

It seemed like old times. At least for that brief shining moment at the bar when Willow was... well, Willow. Perky, positive, probably pretty stoked that some of her old fashion tips had finally taken root. She was effusive in her praise of Tara's outfit, and even cracking jokes off of Tara's opening line. It was like she hadn't changed at all since the wedding. Guess that was a sign of things going well.

Allison was there too. She had snuck up alongside for a second. Tara almost didn't recognize her, but she still had her mother's face. She felt bad being more friendly with Tsunami then her, but that was natural given her work. Tara didn't have time to remark on her presence before Willow had pulled the both of them into a hug. Again, it felt like a throwback, and it was something that was as warm as could be expected. It always seemed like Willow hugged with the force of a woman ten-times her size, and while Tara was usually sturdy enough to catch all of it, it did feel like there was a lot of effort in this one.

"This... this is nice! All right then!"

Unfortunately the opportunity to build on these fuzzy feelings was quickly lost as another person emerged looking for drinks. Or for more trouble. Yes, he may have also added some hair to his look, but even under that goatee, it wasn't hard to see the leering face of Grayson Chambers. Of course, the last time Tara saw it, his eyes were closed. And the face was way redder. And her knuckles hurt. Yes, he was the reason she didn't get a big high school graduation send off. Sure, she was at the after-party, but there was still something lacking to the festivities given the way her grade-school career ended. There was a lot of resentment for Grayson after that. Still was, if she was being honest. Graduations at Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart were great, but they didn't have the chance to be family moments like high school. Shoot, maybe it would have been one more happy memory before Brendan ran off.

There was a lot of overthinking going on as Grayson started trying to butter up the three women at the bar. Like nothing had ever happened. But then he launched into an apology. An unexpected detour, for sure. It felt a little lacking though. Like Grayson didn't really know what he was apologizing for. He just knew that Allison, Tara and Willow all had reasons to be upset with him, and was trying to throw out a blanket statement. He even laughed, looking directly at her, when referencing the T.K.O. Punch. Inviting another one as penance for what he had done 10 years ago.

She thought about it. She briefly looked down at her right hand, now clenching at the glass that held her mojito. Tara was liable to break the glass if she wasn't careful. That would be a pretty cool show of strength, actually. But she didn't want to start shit this early. No need to be known as the woman who turned the reunion into an MMA fight too.

But Willow. Willow was the driving force behind the initial punch. The hurt she showed in the bathroom. A complete 180 of her usual self. The heinous act that could do such a thing. Tara looked to Willow to see if there was any indication how she felt about the current situation. Willow was instead looking back at her and Allison. Tara really didn't have anything to say to Grayson at this moment. It looked like Willow didn't either. However, eventually she did speak. It was tentative, but it was a call for peace. At least for now. A call for moving forward. A call for moving away from the past.

It was pretty clear which side of that fence Tara was on. As if her outfit wasn't a sign enough that the days of bare-knuckle boxing people were long past. And if Willow wanted to bury the hatchet, at least in the face of the man who caused her all that pain all those years ago, then for now, Tara would honor that wish.

"My days of punching faces are over, Grayson," Tara finally added to Willow's request for calm. She breathed a heavy sigh as she took a long sip of her drink and set it back down on the bar. "These hands are made to heal, not to hurt. At least not anymore." She did her best to sound zen about everything, but she wasn't sure if it just came out as melancholic. "Just don't be expecting sunshine from this corner."

Palm Beach Royals: Class Reunion

It just wasn't sitting right.

As she stood in front of the full-length mirror that looked like it had been shattering womens' dreams since the turn of the previous century, Tara O'Leary could easily be another name added to its long list of victims. She shifted uncomfortably in front of the mirror, the little emerald green kitten heels nipping at her toes as she did so. The shoes were not made for fast movement, that's for sure. But it wasn't that.

It wasn't the dress. Not that it was something that Tara herself would have ever selected for her wardrobe. Even in her glory days, she preferred muted greens, natural colors that blended in with the leather she cloaked over herself. This dress? This shimmering cocktail dress would only be considered a natural color if someone drowned an emerald in the Dead Sea and shined a thousand suns at it. It didn't even have any sleeves. Or straps for that matter. Tara hiked it up higher, trying feel a little bit better about that lack of security that was offered. Of course, she couldn't be surprised. Given the outfit that Tessa was going to be wearing to this shindig, Tara should probably be grateful for the coverage this dress did offer. And she was appreciative of the help Tessa did offer in selecting it, since Tara's choice probably would have been sweatpants and a tank top and spending the evening with the Dropkick Murphys and her punching bag. But no, it wasn't that.

It wasn't the lack of sleep. Tara's nap did a great job recharging the batteries after the long drive. She ended up sleeping for a solid four hours. Nor was it the supper she ended up having. The choices on offer at the actual hotel where... not adjusted to palettes such as hers. Not with all the truffle oil and caprese and... lobster pizza. That screamed bad choice for someone who was likely going to be going after the open bar like a Fijian fly half after a loose ball. That is to say, with reckless abandon. Instead, Tara chose to order from the Cuban cafe down the street. She caught Ana right at the end of closing, but it was worth it to get a palomilla platter delivered to her door. A much more fortifying meal for the night ahead. So no, it wasn't either of those.

No, the mirror couldn't take credit for anything. Tara looked like she cleaned up well. Years of hanging out with Tessa had taught her enough about makeup to get by and the purple eyeshadow was really bringing out the green in her eyes. Her tangled mop of hair was tamed enough to be kept in check for the night. She did everything right in that regard.

So why was she so unsettled?

"Ugh...it's OK," Tara told herself with a shakiness to her voice that was never present in Palm Beach. "You're going to be fine. You don't even have to talk to people. Just post up at the bar, let Rudy take care of things. Then, maybe we talk. That sounds like a solid game plan." Avoiding confrontation was never her style, but she just didn't want to do it tonight. Maybe not ever. Just get to the mojitos. That was the end goal. Looking over at the digital clock on the bedside that blared 7:58pm, Tara breathed a heavy sigh, grabbed her wallet and headed to the door.

It was a long walk, it felt longer than it did in the afternoon. Maybe the heels weren't helping in that regard, but it was still felt like a trip to the gallows. Only it wasn't Tara's execution, it was the legend of T.K.O that was on the docket. There's still time. I can escape down the street. Pretty sure Tessa can't catch me... Tara looked around, as if an exit would reveal itself. However, the only visible escape was going to be through the depths of the Atlantic. And there were sharks out there. Nope. This isn't swim gear, that's for sure. Instead, Tara metaphorically held her nose and re-entered the bar she had been so rudely escorted from earlier in the day.

Thankfully, it appeared most of the class of '09 remained as punctual as they ever were. The party was far from full swing. Only a few people had shown up, and the hostess with the mostess was not one of them. More importantly, spots at the bar were still available. Quickly confirming that no one was making a beeline for her position, Tara made her move. She locked eyes with Rudy, still on duty like the solid foot soldier he was, and held up a finger. Rudy nodded and quickly began the process of creating the first of what would be another solid army of mojitos heading Tara's way. As the woman slid on top of a stool, she almost didn't realize she wasn't the first person to the bar tonight. It was just really surprising when she looked over to see exactly who she had ended up joining in avoiding all contact.

...Willow? Is that really Willow? Fuck, I literally haven't seen her since the wedding! Shit! I, um, shit... All of a sudden, Tara wasn't sure that the bar was the place to be for her tonight. She tried to subtly look over again. Willow looked like she had the same strategy that she was employing. Stay at the bar, back to the floor and avoid all contact. At least that was the look on her face. A look that was on Tara's own face not a few minutes ago.

OK, OK, it's fine. Maybe, she won't recognize me. I mean, how long has it been? Four years? I don't even remember. She's probably been too busy with being married and all that stuff to remember me. Definitely not looking the part of Rocky anymore. Maybe I can just fake this.

No! C'mon, this is Willow! If nothing else she can help me get through this night! I mean, Tessa is gonna be so freaking busy. Everyone is going to be asking for her and wanting to talk to her. Willow... she was so good. She was a ray of light. She could keep things going in the darkest times.

Maybe she can keep me afloat. Just for long enough...

As Rudy plunked the lime green drink that looked to match the dress to the near-exact hue, Tara quickly took a long sip to build up the nerves that had long since abandoned her. Looking over one more time to make sure her high-school friend's attention hadn't been grabbed by something else, she finally spoke. "So...fancy meeting you in a place like this, huh?" Tara remarked, nowhere near as emphatically as she used to. "Don't think we're going to be running laps this time, eh Willow?"

Olympus Academy // A School for Demigods and Demigoddesses

@BleedingLover Hey! Yeah, there are a couple of slots open. I'm not sure how you feel about playing males, but if you're not against the idea, then we have a total of 3 male slots left: Hunter of Artemis (will go into detail about that in a minute), son of Demeter, and son of hecate. You will be free to apply for any of those if they interest you at all.

Now, as for the Hunter of Artemis, this decision was made a bit late into the game but it's something that I find fits within the lore of Artemis. Seeing as how she's a virgin goddess, her having straight-up children is a stretch, but her having a bond with certain young children who would have been trained by her throughout whatever means the writer deems necessary makes a lot of sense. So in that, for the Hunter of Artemis, they will be gifted with Artemis' powers and all that with the added bonus of being trained by her.

Now as to whether or not you want them to approve of her means (maybe she was too harsh on the males cause they are males) or somehow take whatever route that will result in the Hunter of Artemis approving of her methods, that's entirely up to you. I just wanted to give you a bit more information about that.

In either case, really happy to have you and if there are anymore questions I or Plank can answer, feel free to ask them. :)

@Altered Tundra

Great. Give Kelsey more abandonment and resentment issues since Artemis literally never did any of this with one of her actual daughters.

When Royalty Collides

OK, after discussions with other people, I will be submitting a character who is the twin sister of @Altered Tundra's character. Her name is Princess Caterina Rossi, but I don't have a FC or a color yet. Just confirming I'm in.

When Royalty Collides

I will put down tentative interest as well, if only because I have no clue how I would play this kind of RP. I guess I can try and find a kingdom that hasn't been claimed yet, but we shall see. It's going to be a lot for me to do and that's been a problem lately.

Edge of Darkness | Pokemon

The One True Dancing Queen

If you're going to come in here and try to step to this beat, you better make sure your shoelaces are tied, fool."

---

Name: Robyn Marie Springs

Nicknames: Springs

Aliases: The Dancing Queen, Breaker of Souls, The Block-Rocker

Age: 25

Gender: Female

Origin: Castelia City, Unova

Appearance: Robyn stands at 5'9", and weighs 118 lbs. She is of African-American descent, her skin is a light brown, and she has light brown eyes that some swear shine gold in the moonlight. She wears her purple-sheened black hair pulled back in a ponytail that ends at her shoulder blades, but leaves the bangs hanging out front. She has tattoos of the Chinese symbols for determination and dance on the lower left and right sides of her back, and she has a large scar on her right leg, around the knee.

Her outfits consist of a variety of plain low-cut t-shirts, zipper up hooded sweatshirts with a variety of graffiti-styled designs on them, shorts that barely go halfway down her thighs and tights that cover up the rest of her lower body. The constants in her outfit are a bright orange scrunchie that she uses to keep her ponytail in place and a gold plated chain carrying a pendant with an aquamarine stone set inside of it.

Personality: Robyn has a tendency to be a little bit ditzy in social situations, but that doesn't hamper her energy levels. She's still willing to give as much as she can to whatever cause she sets her mind to, be it making a sandwich or being a Pokémon League champion. However, that raw passion can get it into a lot of trouble at times, as she tries to step beyond her limits or into situations she doesn't really understand. Luckily there isn't much that meets that criteria anymore.

The other side to her passion means that she is quick to learn whatever she can about the field she is in. It was how she was able to become so good at crew dancing in a relatively short amount of time, and why she is relatively knowledgeable on Pokémon in Unova and Alola. She is quick to share info with whoever is around, even if they don't ask for it. This also means that she is not very good at keeping secrets. In her blonder or drunker moments, she'll be blurting out confidential information without realizing it.

Short Biography: Robyn was a dancer for most of her life, starting in ballet as a child, before joining a street crew at the age of 13. She was good, able to do aerial moves that most of the other dancers could only dream. Her crew, Rock Steady, scored an audition for Unova's Got Talent. However, during the audition, Robyn was thrown incorrectly and landed hard on the concrete, shattering her right knee and breaking both her wrists. Her parents couldn't afford the proper surgery and as such, her dancing career was over at 18.

Rehab sucked, and Robyn repeatedly grew frustrated until one day she ran away from home into Pinwheel Forest. There she found a battered Petilil that she took back to Castelia to heal. She was going to bring it back to its home, but instead ended up keeping the newly-christened Nina. Her friends and family convinced her to take on the Unova League challenge to try and earn the money to pay for the necessary surgeries to fully fix her leg. Robyn had nothing to lose so she tried. She didn't lose. She won the championship with Nina dancing past the competition with ease. The Elite Four was no match for the Flowering Pokemon. Robyn had enough money for surgery and enough to take a trip after.

The Castelia City native headed to Alola after that, desiring a tropical paradise and a new challenge. She worked her way through the trials there and soon reached the summit of the Alola League as well. She was seemingly unstoppable. The Alolans wanted her to stay as champion, but she was only a tourist. She returned to Unova and was approached to become a member of their Elite Four, if not a Champion contender along with Iris. She accepted this offer and settled in as a daunting opponent for anyone looking to try and come for her throne. With Sinnoh looking for substitute members to rotate through it's Elite Four, Robyn is playing tourist again as she headed to the Northern lands.

Pokemon:

The Floral Dancing Queen

Name: Nina
Species: Lilligant
Gender: Female
Ability: Own Tempo (Can not be confused.)
Appearance: Looks like a normal Lilligant except for two notches in the giant leaf coming from her crown, giving her a look similar to her trainer's ponytail.
Personality: Nina moves to the beat of her own drum, but she's always chipper and full of energy. She is ruthless in battle, dancing circles around her opponents until their dreams are smashed.
Move Set: Quiver Dance
Petal Dance
Sleep Powder
Dream Eater

The Bringer of Rain

Name: Juliana
Species: Lapras
Gender: Female
Ability: Hydration (Heals status problems if it is raining)
Appearance: Juliana has darker blue skin than a normal Lapras due to the constant traveling around the Alolan Islands, and the dark blotches are smaller
Personality: Lapras are known to be gentle creatures, and Juliana is no exception, maintaining a kind disposition no matter who is approaching her. She really enjoys neck rubs.
Move Set: Rain Dance
Thunder
Ice Beam
Surf

The Mega Master of Disaster

Name: Katrina
Species: Absol
Gender: Female
Ability: Super Luck (Heightens the critical hit ratios of moves)
Appearance: No change from a run-of-the-mill Absol. Katrina is equipped with Absolite to allow her to Mega Evolve.
Personality: Very docile and shy when first met, Katrina has opened up since beginning her travels with Robyn. She took to dancing very quickly, expressing a joy that was previously unseen.
Move Set: Swords Dance
Night Slash
Stone Edge
Play Rough

The Fiery Speaker of the Spirits

Name: Sayuri
Species: Oricorio (Sensu Style)
Gender: Female
Ability: Dancer (When another Pokemon uses a Dance move, Oricorio will immediately use that move as well)
Appearance: While maintaining the main purple coloring and the light blue feathers at the tips, the middle pink feathers are a deeper red as opposed to pink, an homage to Sayuri's roots.
Personality: Because Sayuri was originally caught as a Baile Style Oricorio, she has a temper that is quick to show itself from her usual calm and collected exterior as a Sensu Style Oricorio.
Move Set: Teeter Dance
Feather Dance
Revelation Dance
Air Slash

The Cymbal of Destruction

Name: Marley
Species: Kommo-o
Gender: Male
Ability: Overcoat (Protects the Pokemon from the effects of sand, hail and powder
Appearance: Marley is slightly bigger than a normal-sized Kommo-o
Personality: Marley likes to create his own music with his scales, even if it's nowhere near in time with the actual music playing. He knows it's off-beat, he just likes hearing it.
Move Set: Dragon Dance
Sky Uppercut
Clanging Scales
Poison Jab

The Dancing Deity of the Day

Name: Ra
Species: Volcarona
Gender: Male
Ability: Flame Body (Burns the foe on contact)
Appearance: Ra appears similar to most Volcarona.
Personality: Ra knows how powerful he is and acts like it, often looking down on his opponents. Robyn doesn't like that aspect of Ra's personality, but it gives him a competitive edge, so she lives with it.
Move Set: Quiver Dance
Fiery Dance
Bug Buzz
Morning Sun

Summary: An ex-dancer who channeled a gruesome injury into a championship Pokemon career.

Other: - She is never seen without her Xtransceiver, or her Mp3 player, the headphones of which are perpetually dangling over her shoulder if they are not in her ears.
- She loves Casteliacones, with her favorite flavor being chocolate peanut butter.
- Her favorite genres of music are trap, hip-hop and trance. She hates country and adult-alternative music.
- She knows she can still dance. She just chooses not to anymore.

Edge of Darkness | Pokemon

@Ambra @Hey Im Jordan

She is ready.

The One True Dancing Queen

If you're going to come in here and try to step to this beat, you better make sure your shoelaces are tied, fool."

---

Name: Robyn Marie Springs

Nicknames: Springs

Aliases: The Dancing Queen, Breaker of Souls, The Block-Rocker

Age: 25

Gender: Female

Origin: Castelia City, Unova

Appearance: Robyn stands at 5'9", and weighs 118 lbs. She is of African-American descent, her skin is a light brown, and she has light brown eyes that some swear shine gold in the moonlight. She wears her purple-sheened black hair pulled back in a ponytail that ends at her shoulder blades, but leaves the bangs hanging out front. She has tattoos of the Chinese symbols for determination and dance on the lower left and right sides of her back, and she has a large scar on her right leg, around the knee.

Her outfits consist of a variety of plain low-cut t-shirts, zipper up hooded sweatshirts with a variety of graffiti-styled designs on them, shorts that barely go halfway down her thighs and tights that cover up the rest of her lower body. The constants in her outfit are a bright orange scrunchie that she uses to keep her ponytail in place and a gold plated chain carrying a pendant with an aquamarine stone set inside of it.

Personality: Robyn has a tendency to be a little bit ditzy in social situations, but that doesn't hamper her energy levels. She's still willing to give as much as she can to whatever cause she sets her mind to, be it making a sandwich or being a Pokémon League champion. However, that raw passion can get it into a lot of trouble at times, as she tries to step beyond her limits or into situations she doesn't really understand. Luckily there isn't much that meets that criteria anymore.

The other side to her passion means that she is quick to learn whatever she can about the field she is in. It was how she was able to become so good at crew dancing in a relatively short amount of time, and why she is relatively knowledgeable on Pokémon in Unova and Alola. She is quick to share info with whoever is around, even if they don't ask for it. This also means that she is not very good at keeping secrets. In her blonder or drunker moments, she'll be blurting out confidential information without realizing it.

Short Biography: Robyn was a dancer for most of her life, starting in ballet as a child, before joining a street crew at the age of 13. She was good, able to do aerial moves that most of the other dancers could only dream. Her crew, Rock Steady, scored an audition for Unova's Got Talent. However, during the audition, Robyn was thrown incorrectly and landed hard on the concrete, shattering her right knee and breaking both her wrists. Her parents couldn't afford the proper surgery and as such, her dancing career was over at 18.

Rehab sucked, and Robyn repeatedly grew frustrated until one day she ran away from home into Pinwheel Forest. There she found a battered Petilil that she took back to Castelia to heal. She was going to bring it back to its home, but instead ended up keeping the newly-christened Nina. Her friends and family convinced her to take on the Unova League challenge to try and earn the money to pay for the necessary surgeries to fully fix her leg. Robyn had nothing to lose so she tried. She didn't lose. She won the championship with Nina dancing past the competition with ease. The Elite Four was no match for the Flowering Pokemon. Robyn had enough money for surgery and enough to take a trip after.

The Castelia City native headed to Alola after that, desiring a tropical paradise and a new challenge. She worked her way through the trials there and soon reached the summit of the Alola League as well. She was seemingly unstoppable. The Alolans wanted her to stay as champion, but she was only a tourist. She returned to Unova and was approached to become a member of their Elite Four, if not a Champion contender along with Iris. She accepted this offer and settled in as a daunting opponent for anyone looking to try and come for her throne. With Sinnoh looking for substitute members to rotate through it's Elite Four, Robyn is playing tourist again as she headed to the Northern lands.

Pokemon:

The Floral Dancing Queen

Name: Nina
Species: Lilligant
Gender: Female
Ability: Own Tempo (Can not be confused.)
Appearance: Looks like a normal Lilligant except for two notches in the giant leaf coming from her crown, giving her a look similar to her trainer's ponytail.
Personality: Nina moves to the beat of her own drum, but she's always chipper and full of energy. She is ruthless in battle, dancing circles around her opponents until their dreams are smashed.
Move Set: Quiver Dance
Petal Dance
Sleep Powder
Dream Eater

The Bringer of Rain

Name: Juliana
Species: Lapras
Gender: Female
Ability: Hydration (Heals status problems if it is raining)
Appearance: Juliana has darker blue skin than a normal Lapras due to the constant traveling around the Alolan Islands, and the dark blotches are smaller
Personality: Lapras are known to be gentle creatures, and Juliana is no exception, maintaining a kind disposition no matter who is approaching her. She really enjoys neck rubs.
Move Set: Rain Dance
Thunder
Ice Beam
Surf

The Mega Master of Disaster

Name: Katrina
Species: Absol
Gender: Female
Ability: Super Luck (Heightens the critical hit ratios of moves)
Appearance: No change from a run-of-the-mill Absol. Katrina is equipped with Absolite to allow her to Mega Evolve.
Personality: Very docile and shy when first met, Katrina has opened up since beginning her travels with Robyn. She took to dancing very quickly, expressing a joy that was previously unseen.
Move Set: Swords Dance
Night Slash
Stone Edge
Play Rough

The Fiery Speaker of the Spirits

Name: Sayuri
Species: Oricorio (Sensu Style)
Gender: Female
Ability: Dancer (When another Pokemon uses a Dance move, Oricorio will immediately use that move as well)
Appearance: While maintaining the main purple coloring and the light blue feathers at the tips, the middle pink feathers are a deeper red as opposed to pink, an homage to Sayuri's roots.
Personality: Because Sayuri was originally caught as a Baile Style Oricorio, she has a temper that is quick to show itself from her usual calm and collected exterior as a Sensu Style Oricorio.
Move Set: Teeter Dance
Feather Dance
Revelation Dance
Air Slash

The Cymbal of Destruction

Name: Marley
Species: Kommo-o
Gender: Male
Ability: Overcoat (Protects the Pokemon from the effects of sand, hail and powder
Appearance: Marley is slightly bigger than a normal-sized Kommo-o
Personality: Marley likes to create his own music with his scales, even if it's nowhere near in time with the actual music playing. He knows it's off-beat, he just likes hearing it.
Move Set: Dragon Dance
Sky Uppercut
Clanging Scales
Poison Jab

The Dancing Deity of the Day

Name: Ra
Species: Volcarona
Gender: Male
Ability: Flame Body (Burns the foe on contact)
Appearance: Ra appears similar to most Volcarona.
Personality: Ra knows how powerful he is and acts like it, often looking down on his opponents. Robyn doesn't like that aspect of Ra's personality, but it gives him a competitive edge, so she lives with it.
Move Set: Quiver Dance
Fiery Dance
Bug Buzz
Morning Sun

Summary: An ex-dancer who channeled a gruesome injury into a championship Pokemon career.

Other: - She is never seen without her Xtransceiver, or her Mp3 player, the headphones of which are perpetually dangling over her shoulder if they are not in her ears.
- She loves Casteliacones, with her favorite flavor being chocolate peanut butter.
- Her favorite genres of music are trap, hip-hop and trance. She hates country and adult-alternative music.
- She knows she can still dance. She just chooses not to anymore.

Edge of Darkness | Pokemon

Yay! I hopefully don't have much adapting to the character to do, so I'm looking forward to RPing with her again!

NeoAJ's The Ones

I'm making this so I can keep tabs on all the characters I end up making, since I rarely use the same one twice, but you never know. They could be brought out of retirement someday. Avert your eyes from the older ones though. I was not good back then.

Olympus Academy // A School for Demigods and Demigoddesses

_{A Collaboration Between: @Bee and @NeoAJ
Featuring: Jessica Oliver and Mia Riley}

---

---

All this time later, Jessica was STILL on her phone for whatever reason. It was like she was glued to it, but that wasn’t odd considering who she was and what little hobbies she actually had. She was still sipping her drink, as always. It wasn’t like she was expecting anyone to go up to her and actually say hi, or any company right now. She was much more in the camp of being alone and minding her own business. At least, for the time being.

Meanwhile, to say that Mia Riley was slow to get out of bed was an understatement. The late flight out of Philadelphia had taken a lot out of her. The long amount of time spent in the airport bar with her fake I.D. didn’t help either. Lifting the license of Texas resident Katelyn Rogers may have been the most expensive acquisition Ms. Riley ever made in terms of alcohol consumed. But it did get her into the bar and into the suitcase of a British businessman. Not enough to snake his laptop, but enough to slip his phone out and get some info off it.

Either way, she was exhausted. Enough to miss out on all the festivities at the Lakeshore that she was blissfully unaware had devolved into chaos. Enough to completely miss her roommate who had already moved through the shadows and out of the room. It gave Mia a modicum of quiet that she treasured for the moment. Then her stomach growled.

She wasn’t going to cook anything herself. Not on the road to recovery. So Mia dressed herself as quickly and as fashionably as she could, which was still streets ahead of most of her peers at the Academy, and headed towards the Apollo Cafe. It appeared to be packed. Not a good sign. At least there wasn’t much of a lineup at the counter. The daughter of Hermes put in an order for an everything bagel and a tall pumpkin spice latte. It was September. It was appropriate to go PSL.

Not expecting to get it any time soon, she scanned the area for a spot that wasn’t already taken by someone else. Luckily, one of her good friends was saving her a seat. Jessica just didn’t know it yet.

“Jessica!” Mia exclaimed as she made her way over to the woman still on her phone. “How you doin’, girl? How was your summer? Mind if I sit here? Great! Thanks!” The Jersey native effortlessly slid into the chair opposite the child of Aphrodite. “Anyway, it’s been months! What’s up?”

Jessica, being completely oblivious to the world around her and being immersed in an entirely different world, had been rudely surprised when she heard a rather loud voice, yanking her from her trance. Blinking twice and looking up from her phone, the Daughter of Aphrodite immediately recognized who it was. It was impossible to miss eyes as iconic as those. She wasn’t entirely expecting Mia to come along, but it wasn’t like she was going to oppose the presence of such an amazing person.

It’d been a while, anyway. Jessica was more than happy to accommodate Mia, even if she would’ve much rather been alone. “Mia! Hey!” She smiled, putting her phone down, “I’ve been good! What about you? It’s been suuuuuch a long time!”

“I know, right?” Mia agreed. “Feels like forever since I’ve actually done anything! At least, anything worth Gramming!” She smiled, taking those sparkling orbs away for one second before opening them again. “But yeah, just another summer prowling the boardwalk, showing those tourists what’s the real situation out there. Living that Jersey dream, right? So c’mon! Did you get any super new shit over the summer? Gotta be at least a couple outfits you’re dying to show off!”

As soon as Jessica heard Mia’s question about her fashion, she could not have had a wider smile on her face. There was so much shit she wanted to talk about it was hard to figure out where to begin. She put her phone down and put her hands on her cheeks, a rather happy look on her face as she started to think about where to begin. “Girl. You don’t even know. Girl.” She smiled, before grabbing her phone and pulling up the photo app. Guess she had to start at the beginning of the Summer to really show Mia what she had gotten into. “Just the usual… top secret shit.” The Daughter of Aphrodite smiled, before showing a picture of herself wearing a rather lavish dress.

Mia just stared at the gorgeous gown that Jessica was showing her. It was exactly the kind of garment that was fitting one of the premier fashionistas on campus, and she could barely contain herself at the sight of it. “Damn, girl! Where did you find that? The gods themselves gotta be jealous of that stunner!” She leaned back in her chair, just needing a moment after seeing that. “Like I know you’re good, but seriously, that is fucking amazing.”

Jessica was blushing with how much Mia was gassing her up. The Daughter of Aphrodite was a big fan of anything that pumped her ego up, especially talk like this. Man, she was getting such a big head from this. She sort of felt bad as she continued to talk about her fashion procurements over the Summer. Not to mention, Mia was an actual friend of hers. Of course, she genuinely wanted to know what she was up to during their time apart. “What about you though? What’s up with you? You’ve got to have done more than prowl the boardwalk. No way it was just that.”

The Daughter of Hermes tilted her head back and forth. It wasn’t as if Jessica was unaware of just what “prowling the boardwalk” entailed. How else was Mia able to keep a reasonable pace with Jessica’s wardrobe without some generous unknowing contributions from the tourists on the shore? However, Mia was still playing coy. “Well, you know, I’m just out there doing my thing. I got a new ID to play with, and that’s getting me into the casinos in Atlantic City, and you know, I gotta be able to show I belong there, so I got this.” She pulled out her phone, quickly scrolled through her gallery, and showed Jessica a selfie of her wearing a brand-new sparkling green dress. “I mean, it really helps put the Irish in my eyes, you know?”

Gawking at the green dress that Mia had shown Jessica, she was honestly stunned. Not in the bad, shocked sort of way, but the drop dead, really good way. Seemed like Jessica was rubbing off on Mia, which was really, really good. Maybe at last, she could have someone who could she could talk more in-depth about fashion with. “Girl! Damn!” She gasped, pulling the phone closer to her own eyes, “That’s really, really pretty!” She smiled, before gently pushing the phone back toward her phone. “Where’d you find it?!”

Mia shrugged as she tossed the phone back on the table. “Little place in New York. Honestly, never heard of it, pretty straightforward name, it’s like New York Dress? Anyway, it’s a cute little spot and I saw that, and of course, it had to be mine, so I made it so.” After what seemed like forever, Mia’s order finally arrived at the table, with the butter still melting into the nooks of the bagel. “Thank you!” she said to the server. She took a quarter of the baked good and took a bite that felt like heaven considering she hadn’t eaten since the airplane. “Ugh, I needed that. Airplane food was terrible. But yeah, obviously I can accessorize it a little better than I did there, but it’s a fucking knockout gown, right?”

Jessica nodded intently. She couldn’t get over how fucking beautiful that dress truly was. If Jessica liked your dress, it was probably one of the highest compliments you could have ever received as a student of Olympus Academy. It really, really went well with Mia. It was fitting, considering Mia had some of the prettiest eyes she’d ever see on campus. It was only fitting that she find a just as beautiful dress. “Yes! You need to take me to this ‘New York Dress’. That is fucking gorgeous.” The Daughter of Aphrodite smiled.

The Daughter of Hermes picked up her latte and leaned back in her chair, looking very proud of herself. Her attire had been rather… street-rattish when she first came to Olympus, but if she could make Jessica this envious, then clearly Mia was learning well. “I think we can arrange that,” she confirmed. “When we get to the holidays, we can take a little trip up to the city and take care of a few things.” Mia winked to seal the deal. “Ooooooh, I think there was this little pastel pink number that would be perfect for you, Jess! Would go great with your eyeshadow!”

Jessica put a finger up to her eye and pointed toward her current eyeshadow, which was, of course, pink. “Really? Did you take any pictures of that?” Jessica inquired, “I so wanna see this.”

“Um, give me a sec,” Mia went back to her phone and started flipping through the photos. There were a lot to scroll through, given all the data she had downloaded off of traveler’s phones. Eventually she reached “NEW YORK AUGUST 2019” and went through the photos. “Ummm….there! There it is! Got it!” She turned the phone around to show Jessica this little number. “I mean, I’m not as good at this as you, but I think you could pull it off like it was nothing!”

Was Mia actually a daughter of Aphrodite? This dress was absolutely fabulous! Needless to say, Jessica was thoroughly shocked. “Girl!” Jessica grabbed the phone and pulled it closer, “I love it! Ugh! I wish I could just… get on over to that store! I’d go broke just going crazy in that store.”

Mia laughed before taking a long sip of her latte. “I know, right? If I didn’t have such a productive summer on the boardwalk, I probably would have just been standing outside with my puppy-dog eyes trying to convince someone to buy me it. But girl, sometimes you just need to have it, you know? Seriously, we’ll go to New York over a holiday weekend or something and we will get you that dress. I guarantee it.”

“You sure?” Jessica put her head on her hands curiously, before sticking out her pinky. “Promise me we will.”

The Jersey girl set her cup down and hooked her pinky with Jessica's. “Promise you,” Mia confirmed.