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Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

_{Time ✿ Nighttime
Location ✿ Apartment In Riverside
Mentions ✿ @Pilatus
Interactions ✿ @Pilatus}

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Manami sat on her bed, staring at the floor below her feet. She was mentally preparing herself for what was about to happen, the final confrontation with the creep who had been stalking her and roaming her apartment. Just thinking about him wandering her bedroom and living space made her skin crawl, what person in their right mind would think that was a good idea? Honestly the dude probably was insane, it was the only explanation as to why he'd convinced himself any of this was a good idea. "God, I'm insane for doing this..." the mumbled, rubbing her face with her hands.

She didn't know how she'd let Paige convince her but they had set up a whole situation that would allow Manami to get back at the dude. Texting the guy was bizarre and uncomfortable but she had pushed through it, though as she sat there stealing herself a rush of anger and annoyance washed over her. This guy had invaded her privacy, had made her feel unstable and paranoid in her own home. For what? Some delusion that she was in love with him? Her blood began to boil and Manami found herself getting antsy

Hopping to her feet she started to pace around her room, how could someone make a person feel that way? Make her feel that way? The girl balled her fist up as she stopped, letting out a deep and heavy breath. Her emotions were trying to get the best of her and honestly she didn't care. She was confident and determined, today she would get this whole mess to go away and then find a new apartment to live in.

The sound of a man's voice could be heard through her bedroom door, she was unable to stop the fear and disgust that welled up inside her. Those feelings were instantly followed again by anger and this time those emotions took over. Without really thinking Manami grabbed the first thing that looked like it would hurt - A replica of the Triwizard Cup from her favorite book series.

In a whirl she opened her bedroom door and walked up, she hadn't even bothered to do her hair or makeup today. It pulled up into a messy ponytail and she had just thrown on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. The creep obviously looked startled, but then put on the grossest smile complete with broken teeth. "I've been waiting for you! What's that you've got in your hand? Looks fancy." He said, eyes darting between Manami and Paige.

Manami blinked a few times, lifting the heavy cup up and running a finger over it. "Oh this? It's just a prop but I thought it would do the trick. It might not look like it but this pretty thing is made of metal...and it'll hurt a lot." She spoke in a sickeningly sweet tone, never making direct eye contact with him. The guy began to look weary as he started to realize something more was going on than just a simple dinner date. "Yea I guess, it'd hurt if you hit someone with it."

"Oh, I'm counting on it. Want to know why? Because some creepy nutjob thought that it would okay to sneak into my house, raid my home and stalk me!" Her voice rose as she walked up to the guy. "And I want him to know that he'd never come near me or anyone I know." Manami lifted the cup and brought it down on the guy's head, using as much force as she could. It didn't knock him out but it did make him stagger backwards and cut upon his forehead. He cursed and lunged out to grab her. She brought the cup upwards this time, catching him in the jaw. He fell to the ground, crying out as he held his face.

Manami clenching the cup in her hand as she stood there, staring down at the dude like he was a bug. To her though that's exactly what he was.

Meadow University

---

Elliot watched the dark-haired male, he wasn't sure how he felt about the awkward silence that fell between them after Bastien had finished playing. In fact, it looked like the guy was more confused and he watched as he was looked over. Elliot was someone who didn't like to cause problems, which honestly was hard considering there have been many times where he'd almost punched someone. He wanted to go through school and finish without much of a hassle, that didn't mean he was an anti-social person either though.

He enjoyed talking to people and loved to see others laugh and smile, none of that was going on right now though. Elliot could understand if maybe Bastien wasn't comfortable talking with him, after all he had sorta snuck up here like a creepy creep. But based on the look on his face he didn't even know who Elliot was, sure they had maybe only spoke in passing on or twice but did he need to make it so obvious?

As if god wanted to make him look like a fool Bastien straight up asked who he was. Elliot blinked a few times, oh god what did someone say in a situation like this? He felt his face grow warm as he started feel a little embarrassed, he didn't blame the guy for not remembering him but he didn't think that he was so...forgettable. was he just so uncool and uninteresting that people couldn't even remember his face or name? Dear lord.

Elliot realized he'd been standing there for almost a full minute without saying anything we'd while having his identity crisis. He felt awkward now and was internally wishing he had stayed home. The boy backed away a bit from the piano, lifting an arm and rubbing the back of his head. "I'm Elliot Thatcher...we've spoken once or twice. I don't really know who you are...I just heard the piano from outside and got curious."

His fight or flight instincts were kicking in and Elliot desperately wanted to choose flight, he hated not knowing what to say in a conversation, was thos really even a conversation? With that feeling of wanting to run away came annoyance and anger, he had to really push those down and not act on them, he really wasn't in the mood for Mac to give him a lecture on how he needed to control his emotions.

"You just don't look like the kind of dude who can play so well....you look like one of those foreign runway models who think they are the shit."

An odd comparison indeed but it was the first thing that popped into his head. Elliot fiddled with the edge of his sweater, a nervous tick that resulted in many of his clothes looking frayed. "Sorry if I offended your or something, I can go if you want me to." He offered, looking at anything and everything but Bastien.

Meadow University

Alaric stood off to the side, watching the interaction between Cassian and Mac with an obvious look of annoyance on his face. He didn't like the vibes the other dude was throwing, he had an ego the size of Texas and just oozed a whole "I'm better than you" aura. He typically didn't even care to be social with guys like that and really didn't care if they they knew he disliked them or not. With a little huff the blonde boy tipped his whiskey bottle back, as if he could get even more irritated the bottle only provided a few last drops.

"God hates me, doesn't he?" Alaric mumbled under his breath, the bottle hadn't been full in the first place but it was definitely disappointing that it had gone dry so fast.

For a moment h e had forgotten about Mac and Cassian, his alcohol crisis threw him for a loop. Though when Theo spoke up he was drawn back in, turning he noticed the poor broken cup. Boy was speaking with some attitude, he could get down with that. But Mac didn't need anyone to stick up for her, at least not in this situation. He'd seen the smaller girl beat some guys with the words that could fly outta her mouth. It was a very entertaining thing to watch, especially with the way he was beginning to feel. Good God the whiskey was starting to kick in.

He was glad when his friend returned, leaving Cass to just stare after her. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he wasn't very fond of the look on Cassian's face. Alaric watched the other male for only a moment before directing his attention back to the game of beer pong they should have been playing five minutes ago. This was a lot more fun than trying to start a fight he didn't want, he really didn't want to get punched tonight...though what happens after he drank himself into oblivion would be a mystery.

"The lady says to crush, so we gotta crush" Alaric said with a cheeky little grin, he had no idea what math wizardry Mac was doing in her head but it worked. He let out a loud whoop as the ball landed with a splash, returning Mac's hug and patting her head. "Look at my little beer pong queen go." He said in a teasing way, letting her go he grabbed a little white ball.

Alaric barely took any time to calculate what he was doing and just tossed the tiny ball in the air and towards the red cups. With a clatter it bounced off the edge of a cup and went bouncing to the ground. Alaric stared at the ball with a dazed look, blinking a few times before turning towards the two boys. "That went better in my head."

Meadow University

______________________________________________________

Elliot stood at the edge of the growing crowd, watching with observant eyes as people mingled and reconnected. In his hand was a red solo cup, some random girl had just handed it to him with a giggle and ran off. He really didn't understand what it meant and was skeptical as to what was inside the cup. It was dark so maybe it was whisky or bourbon? It smelled like complete ass whatever it was. Drugs weren't a mystery at parties like this so it was also very possible it was spiked with something and in all honesty he didn't feel like taking a trip to la land today...or any day for that matter. With a shrug Elliot moved to the drink table and set the cup down, someone would no doubt snatch it up as soon as he walked away. If it was drugged than good luck to whoever grabbed it, he hoped they'd have the best trip of their life. If not then he hoped they didn't die of alcohol poisoning.

Not really one to get plastered at parties, Elliot felt a little out of place. Everyone was bouncing around and having a good time while he just felt like he wanted to go home, curl up under his warm comforter and watch some discovery show. He really only came because Mac and Kiki had convinced him to go, it was hard to say no to such upbeat people. Plus it wasn't a bad idea to try and mingle with people. His roommates were really the only people he interacted with on a normal basis, he considered them his best friends. Elliot let out a sigh as he swept his gaze over the crowd, looking for someone or something he could use to distract himself for awhile.

Nothing seemed all that interesting. Mack was falling into guys, Theo and Conner were playing beer pong, he was certain that Jasper was ready to pull Junie's hair out. Everyone was just doing their own thing and he didn't really want to interrupt. He figured the cabin might have better results and moved in that direction. As he was nearing it a sound caught his attention, it was barely noticeable among the booming of the dance music, was that someone playing piano music? Curiosity took over and Elliot meandered through the throng of drunk college students, he really hoped that whoever owned this cabin knew what they were getting themselves into.

Elliot got closer to the stairs, the twinkling of piano keys was unmistakable to him and it was obvious that the sound was coming from upstairs. He contemplated for a moment on if he should go up there or not. On one hand he might run into a cool person who can play a piano, on the other it could be some violent ghost just waiting for him to fall into a trap! Elliot shook his head, his imagination got the better of him sometimes.

In the end curiosity won, his mother always told him that he was too nosy and in this instance she was right. Elliot slowly climbed the stairs, the sound getting louder. Trying to be as sneaky as possible the boy peeked into the room and was surprised to see that it was actually a real person playing a keyboard. Part of him was a little disappointed that it wasn't the violent ghost.

Elliot patiently waited, he recognized Bastien but couldn't remember if he ever mentioned being able to play so well but then again he really never took the time to get go know the guy. Since he was distracted Elliot creeped further into the room, gazing around silently so as not to interrupt. He was actually very good, which was surprising for some reason. Once Bastien finished Elliot Did the typical cliched clapping, though he was still looking around the room as he did so. "Hey that was pretty awesome, didn't take you for a piano kind of guy." He stated bluntly, turning his gaze to the other male. He walked over to the keyboard and stared at it for a moment. "I'm surprised this is still even here and and working, based on how dirty this place is no one's been here in a minute."

Meadow University

A huge grin spread across Alaric's face as he saw the obvious look of disgust on his friends face, Macaroni was a nickname that Mac hated and he knew it but it was just too much and way too easy to tease the dark-haired girl. "Loser? Oh you've hurt me Mac. I don't think my poor heart can take it!" The boy said dramatically. placing his free hand on his chest as if she meant the words. Alaric let out a laugh though as her arms wrapped around him, his gaze moving to Kiki and the infamous blonde. He stuck his tongue out at Lottie in a teasing and playful manner before taking a swig of his other friend - Whisky.

"Of course, I've got everything set up just like it should be. You know staying in such a boring place means I gotta make it feel spicy and not so drab." Alaric didn't realize that Mac wasn't really listening to him anymore and continued to drone on about how he'd made his room the perfect place to be. If anyone was close to the blonde boy they would know that the only place he could be himself without the strict rules of his father was a Meadow. At home he was forced to conform to the rigid lifestyle of the rich, perfect son and do what he was told. Being rich was so overrated, it was much more fun and free to live on the edge, never knowing how much money you really had. You wanted to go to the bar? Sure, but you might not know how your gonna pay, you might end up having to do party tricks on a street corner to pay for a beer. It was an adventure!

I wasn't until Mac snapped her fingers at him ordering him to follow her that he realized she hadn't even heard a word he had said. Alaric stuck out his bottom lip in a pout, "What am I, a dog?" he mumbled as he hurried to follow his friend towards whatever shenanigan she'd spotted.

Alaric had no idea what he was getting into by following Mac but when he saw Theo and Conner setting up for a game of beer pong he practically started jumping. He was like a kid in a candy store, he was grinning from ear to ear as he wrapped an arm around Mac's shoulders, pointing at the two boys with a confident and challenging look. "I'm pretty sure that I'm an Alcholic so there's no way that hey can beat us." He said in a matter-of-fact tone, wiggling his little bottle of whisky in the air. Mac than grabbed a ping-pong ball and threw it in the air, he watched with an amused look as she tried to catch and also watched as she quickly failed at whatever she was trying to do.

Almost as if he was watching some cartoon the tiny ball bounced off the corner of the table and went flying off in some random direction. There were probably plenty of the plastic things that they didn't need to worry about the one but Mac didn't think about that as she dived after the ping-pong ball like it was the only one they had. Was it the only one? He didn't know and instantly forgot about it as he watched the girl run into pretty boy Cassian. Alaric narrowed his eyes at the other male for a moment before walking over, his head was beginning to feel a little fuzzy from the alcohol and for some reason looking as Cassian's smirk really annoyed him. Looking Mackenna he spoke, "You good girlie? If you want to chase after some balls there's plenty of them around, I'm sure that guy over there has some impressive ones." He joked, reaching down to pick up the plastic object that had escaped.

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

_{Time ✿ Nighttime
Location ✿ Apartment In Riverside
Mentions ✿ @Pilatus
Interactions ✿ @Pilatus}

---

When Manami peeked through the crack of the open door she wasn't met with some raving lunatic, instead she saw what looked like a blonde woman. She watched as the woman stepped back and flashed a silver star at her along with a gun that was nestled at her hip. Instantly Manami felt the tension that she'd been feeling melt away, she practically leaned against the door because she felt like her legs wouldn't be able to hold her up. With shaking hands the girl opened the door all the way, using deep breaths to try and calm her frazzled nerves, even with a marshal here she couldn't help the feeling of unease she was experiencing.

"I'm really sorry that you came all the way here I just...I really don't want to get a bunch of police involved." She said, stepping aside in case Paige wanted to go inside the apartment. She then realized that she hadn't even offered her own name...even though she was pretty sure that she had said it in her initial text message. "Manami...though that's probably obvious...." Now that she had someone there who could help her Manami felt awkward and out of words. She had to remind herself that she needed to inform this nice woman of what had just happened. "Sorry, I'm all out of it. Whoever is doing this bolted just a minute ago...he kept banging on my door and rambling nonsense. He had a key to my door and I don't even know how he got a hold of one." She was just saying whatever came to mind weather it might have made sense or not, she was beginning to feel anxious and honestly just wanted to leave her apartment. She would finish packing, leave a very angry voicemail for the apartment owner and find a very secure hotel to stay in. She honestly didn't care if she had to spend ungodly amounts of money, if it made her feel better than she'd pay whatever.

Manami bounced from one foot to the other, running a hand through her hair. "I uh, I'm not sure how this works. I know your gonna ask questions and I'm sorry if I'm just kinda....frazzled. I really do appreciate you coming here though...even if it might have been out of your way." Manami suddenly felt bad, instead of doing the easy thing and calling the police she probably had taken Paige away from whatever she had been doing to come help her.

Meadow University

@spooner


Alaric stood in the middle of his dorm room, a half-empty beer bottle in one hand as he gazed around at the interior of the room. Guitar in it's usual spot in the corner of the room, a million posters of musicians and women in bikini's plastered on the walls, clothes already scattered on the floor. "I think my job is done here." He said, raising the glass bottle of alcohol to his lips and taking a long swig. Alaric was all about being comfortable in his environment, while some students spent their time doing the basics of unpacking he took a little more time to actually decorate. Plus he wanted to get it done now so he didn't have to worry about it later, especially since he probably wouldn't be coherent by the end of the night.

There was still some time before he needed to leave for the greatest party that would ever be, Alaric popped in his wireless earbuds and got to work on making himself look presentable. He really didn't want to meet Jasper looking like a sweaty mess, though he wondered if she would actually care. With a shrug the blonde began to rummage through the mess of clothes that were littered on the floor. One might think he wouldn't be able to find anything in such chaos, but Alaric was the king of shenanigans and chaos.

It took way too much time for Alaric to figure out what he wanted to wear, he was so into the music blasting from his earbuds and trying to decide between leather and plaid that he didn't even hear Conner knocking on his door. His poor roommate probably thought he was ignoring him but it'd be alright, Alaric would probably get so wasted that he'd start apologizing for something he probably didn't even do - He had a pretty bad habit with saying sorry for things he thought instead of saying sorry for the things he physically did.

----

In the end the outfit of choice was surprisingly quite laid back. A black and red plaid button-up with a plain black t-shirt underneath. A pair of faded and partially ripped jeans, his favorite pair of converse - they were worn so much that the bottoms had begun to tear. He figured that if things went down hard than it was best to not wear the most uncomfortable outfit in the world. Last thing he needed was to get puke on his good leather.

It didn't take him long to figure out where he needed to go, one of his buddies took pity on the boy and told him where the festivities would be held. He was already running late and everyone was there and unwilling to come grab his ass. He had to pay some anti-social nerd to take him where he needed to be. By the time he actually laid eyes on the booze table that was nestled among the party people it'd been hit hard.

That wasn't going to stop him though! Alaric grabbed whatever his grey eyes landed on andbegan to down it, he would be damned if he let being late spoil agood time. As he got his drink on he spotted his favorite dark-haired friend and jumped over to her. He set his bottled of alcohol against her cheek for a moment before laughing. "Macaroni ~ Did you miss me?" He had the largest smile on his face.

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

_{Time ✿ Nighttime
Location ✿ Apartment In Riverside
Mentions ✿ @Pilatus
Interactions ✿ @Pilatus}

---

Manami had her body pressed against the door, her heart beating a mile a minute as she listened to the guy on the other side mess with the knob and key. The guy was spitting out obscene things that Manami wouldn't tell to her own mother, things that no one in their right mind would think of. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the little click! of her door unlocking. He thought that was gonna be the end of it but Manami had dead bolted the door. This caused the man to spew more slurs and she heard him begin to pound on the door, it was loud. How in the world was no one coming out of their apartments to check on the sound, she knew for a fact that she wasn't the only person living on this floor.

She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and used one hand to reach for it, looking at the message that the Marshal had sent her. Her stomach fluttered with relief upon reading that she was there. The guy suddenly stopped what he was doing and went silent for a moment, Manami didn't want to move to look through the peephole to see what he was doing. Her feet were frozen in place out of fear. Instead of being loud like he was the guy softly cursed on the other side of the door, he banged once more on the door and then suddenly there was silence. It was eerie and lingered for a minute. Was he finally gone? Taking a deep breath Manami turned to face the door and got up on her tippy toes to look through the peephole. There was nothing, no shadow or indication that he was out there.

Manami waited just another moment before slowly undoing the deadbolt and the chain lock, her hand hovered over the door handle. What if he was just hiding further down the hall, what if he planned to rush her once she opened the door? So many paranoid thoughts were running through her head, she had no idea what she was supposed to do, she couldn't think clearly at all.

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

_{Time ✿ Nighttime
Location ✿ Apartment In Riverside
Mentions ✿
Interactions ✿ @Pilatus}

---

Manami jumped as her phone rang, the little twinkling sound of her receiving a text message echoing through the apartment. For a moment she just stood there, her heart beating quickly as she took a few deep breaths and glanced towards the door. It was definitely locked so there was no way anyone could get in. Feeling on edge the girl made her way to her bedroom and picked the cellular device off her bed and look at who had texted her. Relief flooded over her as she saw it was the Marshal responding to her initial text. She knew that it was better to get the police involved, that the smart thing to do was to call 911 but she was afraid to. All the time she watched and read stories on things that happen to big stars, how entire situations get way out of hand and how certain things can even negatively impact someones career. If she was to quit this whole modelling things one day she didn't want her face all over the news, she was a small-time magazine and Instagram model and she wanted to keep it that way.

> I'm actually in my apartment in Riverside. I was going to go stay somewhere else until I could get this resolved but...I think someone is standing outside my apartment door. I can't see who they are because they aren't in front of the door, but I can see a shadow of someone standing off to the side. I'm not sure what to do...<

She didn't think she could text so fast but she did and as soon as she hit send she stashed the phone in her back pocket and slowly made her way back to her front door. Manami stood there for a moment, trying to calm her frazzled nerves. She was hoping that when she looked through the peephole that whoever had been there would be gone, that she would be able to go to her parents house even if it was annoying and that she could get this whole thing under control. Taking a deep breath she leaned up and took a look. A scream erupted out of her throat as she was met with a very sweaty and dirty face, whoever it was stood there smiling and when she screamed that smile only seemed to get bigger. She also noticed something in his hands that made her want to faint, he had a key that looked similar to the ones that were used for the doors of her apartment.

Panicking Manami pulled her cellphone out again and dialed down to the front desk, if that was indeed the key she thought it was than that meant he could get in. No one answered however and in a fit she kicked the wall. "Why of all times does no one want to answer me?!" She said in frustration. She kept trying to dial but to no avail. As she was frantically trying to figure out what to do she heard muffled talking coming from the other side of the door.

"Manami....Oh Manami ~ Have you seen the presents I left you? Did you like them? I bet you did...how could you not! I bet they made you fall in love with me....you know I'm your biggest fan right? I know everything about you, I bet no one knows as much as I do. You should let me in, I have another present for you..."

Manami hands shook as she dead bolted the door and put the chain-lock on, breathing heavily. "Go Away! I-I've called the police, they'll be here any minute!" She yelled loud enough for him to hear, she tried her best to sound confident and not afraid. The dude laughed like it was the best joke he'd ever heard, he slammed a fist on the door causing it to shudder, his voice sounded deep and menacing as he spoke, none of the laughter seconds earlier seeming to be there. "Why would you lie to me Manami? Your not supposed to lie to the person you love!" He banged another fist on the door and then tried to fiddle with the key in the door. Manami closed her eyes as she pressed her body up against the door, while he could unlock the bottom lock there was no way for him to undo the deadbolt or chain. She just hoped the Marshal wasn't too far away and could come get this guy. One thing was for sure, she was definitely moving.

The Curse of Sonina

_{Location; Cafeteria
Time; Morning
Mentions; N/A
Interactions; @Inertia and @Always}

---

Felix silently sat at his empty table, nervously picking at his sweater as he listened to his surroundings. Girls gossiping at a table nearby, students laughing at some corny joke, jocks being textbook assholes. It was all made for a lively environment, one that would normally seen on a college campus but the dark-haired boy just couldn't shake the feeling that among all those laughs and jokes there was something more dark and sinister. He let out a heavy sigh and laid his forehead on the cool table, "Maybe I should go see the student counselor." He thought grimly.

What he thought was just going to be a quiet, boring lunch turned into something different when a boy he didn't recognize plopped down at the table. Felix's grey eyes scanned the student, taking note of the dull stain on his jacket. He briefly wondered what it was before looking to the boy's face. "I mean your already sitting down, kind of takes the away the point of the question." He said with a small tilt of his head, sitting up straighter and laying his chin in the palm of his hand. He expected the guy to get offended but it didn't seem like he was, instead he asked Felix is he was alright. Most students got put-off by his "edgy" aura. He was just a brutally honest person who didn't like to hold back his thoughts or opinions.

"I like to look a little crazy to keep people away. Though it doesn't seem like it worked." Felix grabbed his fork and began to pick at the Alfredo that was on his plate, he wasn't quite sure why he had grabbed it in the first place since he didn't feel all that hungry. Dropping the plastic utensil onto the paper tray, he pushed to food back and leaned back into the hard cafeteria chair. Felix opened his mouth to speak but was once again interrupted when some large dude in black made himself comfy at the table. Did he really seem like he was that approachable today or something? The boy didn't know how he would feel about this new addition, at least the first guy had the decency to ask...even though he'd sat down without an answer. This dude just say and started to introduce himself without any invitation.

He let out another sigh, his so did not have the energy for all this at the moment. He didn't say anything in regards to him telling them his name but he did raise an eyebrow when he assumed that him and whoever this other was were a couple. Felix narrowed his eyes when Luke touched his shoulder, he really didn't like to be touched by people he didn't know. "I don't know what gave you the idea this was a breakup, but your not even close bud. I've just met him and he's only been a minute longer than you." Felix said, crossing his arms over his chest, giving an obvious glance at both of them. "Besides, neither of you are my type." He couldn't help but grin to himself at that.