Realistic or Modern City Living

[lauren.]

For a moment, Cara had absolutely no idea what Roman was going on about, and she turned her head away from her clothes to look at him with sheer confusion. He seemed passionate about whatever it was that he was talking about, but... why? Did she really say something that offensive? That off? She didn't understand why he was accusing her of not believing her, when her accusation seemed to be completely accurate. After a brief period of thought, she vaguely recalled his lame excuse that he had been at last night's party because of "work", but he couldn't actually expect her to believe that, right? She had given him the benefit of the doubt that he had just been too intoxicated last night to construe a better lie, but he was still trying to run with that one? Really?

It wasn't kind of her, but she couldn't help but to smile in amusement at how distraught he seemed over this. It didn't strike her as alarming, simply because she was used to guys, when caught in a lie, going all out and pulling out the dramatics to try and gaslight the female into believing that she was wrong for simply pointing out the lie. This wasn't the case here, but Cara really had no reason to believe that it wasn't. She was an expert in drama herself, so it seemed like an easy thing to catch, and though a normal person with that line of thought may have been displeased with his actions, Cara found it to be a little funny. Not the actual content of what he was saying, but the fact that he was acting like it was really this deep. If anyone was melodramatic, it was him. She was literally giving him the opportunity to just move on and admit that he weirdly showed up without letting her know, and yet he was dragging it with this far-fetched excuse.

"Would you calm down? And you think I'm the dramatic one!" she said, rolling her eyes but still smiling as she moved some of the dresses onto the chair in her closet, to get a better view at each one independently. As she walked back to the island and straightened out the ones lying there, she said, "The party last night was thrown by my dad's company for his employees, and you're telling me that you were there because of work. Like, are you trying to tell me that you work for my dad's company?" The smile on her face as she spoke, spoke to how far-fetched she believed that scenario to be. While it may have been interpreted as Cara being unkind and dismissive towards Roman, as if there was no way he could land a job at such a prestigious firm, that really wasn't where the energy was stemming from. It came more from disbelief simply because it he had been trying to work for her father's company, nonetheless been hired by it, she simply assumed that he would have had the common decency to let her know. It wasn't like it affected her in any way, and it wasn't like it was some tiny company where Roman would be working hand-in-hand with her dad, but it was still something that she would have wanted to know... just because. She weighed the possibility that maybe he worked for one of their vendors, like the catering company, or the event planning company who had been hired to work the event, but that would have made his unprofessional behavior even more unprofessional, so that didn't really add up. It still seemed like her assumption had been the only logical one, but she looked towards him curiously to see what majestic lie he wanted to come up with to fill in the blanks that only he had created.​

 

[cure]

Even though Chanel was still being light and jovial, it was mildly concerning when she started to get deep on him. It wasn't a turnoff necessarily, because Elijah truly wasn't that shallow and he was enjoying getting to know her and just hanging out. The chemistry was clearly there, so as she said herself, there was no need to rush it. However, emotional girls weren't his forte (though they probably weren't any guys'), and it just made him concerned that maybe the alcohol was catching up to her, and she was about to start crying or something. Everyone reacted to alcohol differently, and the last thing he needed was to be in bed with her and for her to burst out crying, or something. Him not knowing her at all outside of tonight gave him reason to be more cautious too, but it wasn't like she was acting so emotionally unstable, or emotionally unstable at all, where he actually had any real reason to be concerned. If anything, she was just being straight with him. He didn't mind her reading him, and it was probably better that they were being upfront to an extent anyway. Even still, Elijah wasn't about to delve into the depths of emotion with her.

"You don't need to worry about that, because I'm starting to think you aren't even that boogie girl I thought you were originally. I mean, how long have we been waiting for those grilled cheeses? And I don't know, but something tells me a real sugar baby would have had a new blunt in her hand by now, too," he teased. They hadn't been waiting that long at all but he was only kidding. Elijah had considered not using that as a comeback against her in fear of her throwing it back at him the next time they saw the chef from downstairs, but he wanted to poke fun at this image she was talking up about herself. Even if he wasn't in a rush for it, the more he thought about it, a grilled cheese did sound like it would hit the spot right about now. Chanel was considerably more drunk than he was, so he was sure that she was craving it even more. There was nothing like drunk eats. "Out here acting like an Uber XL kind of girl when you're really an Uber Pool kind of girl," he added with a grin. "I see you, I see you." In truth, Chanel claiming that she wasn't as lavish as she seemed was comforting. Elijah clearly hadn't been intimidated by the prospects of her being as wealthy and high-class as he initially (and still did) assumed her to be, but there was something disarming by her at least pretending to be more down to earth than that. He appreciated her having a personality, even if he understood that it was possible that it would disappear once the alcohol went away. So many people were boring nowadays, unable to talk about anything other than social media or gossip about other people. Her being so light-hearted and capable of carrying a conversation was refreshing, as was nearly every other thing about her. It still was surprising to him that he had managed to convince her to hang out with him, and despite being quite confident, even he had to attribute it to mostly just being good luck. He must have been in the right place at the right time, that was all.

"The grilled cheese!" she exclaimed, propping herself up so she was upright. Not a good idea. Definitely too fast. Does it usually taking so long? Or was she just losing her concept of time? Perhaps she was getting a little too cozy in this finite lifestyle, because she was clearly being impatient. At least Elijah was confirming it, though, which made her feel more sober and more certain of herself. When she looked around the room and then finally to Elijah, she blinked curiously. What the hell was she doing? Her best friend was throwing her some crazy insane party and here she was being a hoe! Men were not in short supply, she told herself. Even if Cara had nudged them on to the exact (or close to exact) thing she set them out to do. "I think I'm being a really shitty friend right now," she pondered aloud, placing her fingers on either side of her temple. Just then, her phone vibrated. It was Nick! His message momentarily distracted her from the crisis she was about to have.

To: Nick


It was then that she finally noticed the text her friend had sent her some time ago. She read it over a few times, thinking that it would change the content of the message. Damnit, damnit.

To: Cara
emergency?? what's up? is this like a real emergency or a cara emergency?? where are you

She pivoted on the bed so that she was now sitting with her feet on the ground. As she watched her phone for any activity, she reached towards the ground for her shoes. "I wish you'd waited, like, a couple more hours before trying to seduce me. I can't mess up my outfit and abandon my friend for the rest of the night, which—" she held her hand up towards him as though she were telling him to stop "is probably giving you way too much credit, but best case scenario." As she fiddled with getting one of her heels back on, she took the time to briefly explain what was going on. "Cara texted me a while ago saying there was an emergency. And I don't know if her saying nothing else since then means it was just Cara emergency, meaning not one at all, or if it was a real one and she's dead and that's why she's not responding."

Elijah wasn't expecting things to turn in this direction, but he also wasn't outraged by it in the slightest. It had been wishful thinking to think that this would go anywhere this quickly, and for what it was worth, he had already enjoyed himself considering the time he did get to spend with this wildly attractive girl. There were no complaints to be had, and if anything, he just hoped everything was okay with this emergency she was talking about. Cara had seemed okay when they had left her a little while ago, so he wondered what had happened between then and now to constitute an emergency. Then again, he supposed that maybe Chanel was just having second thoughts about him, and that emergency text was just a made-up excuse she created as a way out. He hoped not, not only for obvious reasons, but also because he wasn't trying to come on that strong where she felt too trapped to just be outright and say she wasn't feeling it.

He laughed at her smoothly-integrated dig as he stood up, stretching out his arms in the air. "I feel ya," he said, nodding his head. He considered asking her for his number but again, didn't want to be pushy in case this was her way of telling him that she wasn't interested. Maybe she was having a moment of sober clarity amid a drunken night, and he didn't want to make her feel any weirder than necessary. Besides, he did get it. This was a sick birthday party, and the night was still young. Even on his end, it probably would have been rushing it to be doing anything this early. He wasn't even drunk yet, and he still had to find Ruby! He glanced at his phone at the thought, and though he had a few texts waiting for him, none were from her. It wasn't that big of a deal, he knew. He was sure she would text him back eventually, and if not, he had the time now to go find her himself, at least.

"Well, if you need my help with this emergency, let me know. I seem to have a gravitational pull that attracts pretty girls, so it shouldn't be that hard to find me," he said, completely teasing. "But seriously, I hope everything's okay because you aren't allowed to have a single excuse to not have fun tonight." He wasn't sure if he should wait and walk out with her or if that would be too imposing, since for all he knew, she was going to wait here to meet up with Cara. Leaving seemed best, and as he headed for the door, he had to resist the urge to ask her if it was cool if he still got that grilled cheese. His stomach was begging for it at this point, but he also knew that there was tons of food available to the party guests in the other house, as she had showed him, so it wasn't necessary. Just before stepping out of the room he looked back with a grin to add: "And I mean that! You better get out there and have a good time! It's a once in a lifetime experience that you're blessed with something like this -- me showing up to your party -- so don't waste it up here smoking all night, ya hear me?"

Chanel continued to stare at her phone, tapping it intermittently to keep the screen on and using her other hand to get her shoe on. Please tell me this is just a Cara emergency, she silently prayed. While she heard what Elijah was saying, she was still largely training her focus on the device in front of her. It was only when he was beginning to saunter away that she turned her full attention to him. Her expression changed from one of distress to one of disbelief. "You can't leave me!" she hissed. "What kind of Nigerian Prince Charming are you to leave a damsel in distress like this?" Like her friend, she was being at least mildly dramatic, but she still reasoned she had a point. What if it was an actual emergency? What could her skinny ass realistically do? Plus! To just leave her while she was clearly having a coming apart was terrible room reading if she'd ever heard it. "You're going to leave me to fight some grizzly bear on my own, Hercules? You're going to leave two girls to fend for themselves after I let you smoke my weed?" She continued to rant under her breath, only in Arabic this time: "Stupid, stupid, unbelievably stupid men. You don't jump on their dick after one smile and they just leave you to fight for yourself. You wanted something to be up with him? Well, here it is!"

Okay, so he clearly got that one wrong. Elijah was ready to see himself out, not wanting to have to be explicitly told to get out, when Chanel surprised him by being upset at the idea of leaving her to figure this out on her own. Maybe he gave himself too much credit for believing that he was good at reading people, because he didn't see that coming, but he could roll with it. He did an about face, though he couldn't help but to smirk at her antics. "My bad, my bad," he laughed, raising his hands in surrender as he neared the bed. "I figured that was code for 'I'm over you, get lost'; wasn't trying to overstay my welcome, but also wasn't trying to leave you to fight a stray grizzly bear in the middle of the Hamptons, definitely not." The claim was obvious erroneous, but at the same time, would Elijah have been surprised if this party had exotic animals or circus animals for the mere point of going there, and being extra? Absolutely not. Did he really think that the 'emergency' she was referring to was a grizzly bear on the lose? No, but he would play along into the dramatics if it meant that she wasn't actually telling him to go away, and he could spend a bit more time with her.

Once her shoes were on, he extended a hand to offer her help up from where she sat. "So, what's the plan? She just told you there was an emergency, but didn't give you any info besides that?" he asked, looking to her with playful curiosity, as he clearly wasn't as wound up over this as she was. He assumed whatever Caraline had texted her about was a "girl emergency", something like a broken nail, or catching an ex hooking up with a new girl. Things that he probably wouldn't be of any use for.​

 

[cure]

Chanel was actually concerned for her friend, though it was certainly played up thanks in part to the alcohol. It seemed much more immediate, more pressing, more urgent. Those tequila shots bumrushing her B.A.C. could also be thanked for her dramatics. She didn't think she was being dramatic, because obviously she wasn't, but because her mind was moving a lot faster than she could coherently verbalize, she ended up saying things that would result in someone like Elijah clearly being amused when now was not the time. Chanel took his hand to stand up, but held onto it for support as she continued to fiddle with it. She didn't return his playful look and instead furrowed her brows and pouted. "I'm not done chewing you into you," she said, momentarily pulling her hand away from her shoe to jab the air in his direction. "You can't just jump ship like this is the Titanic. When you hopped in the ring with me, you made a commitment, Apollo Creed, and you can't just disappear as if this doesn't clearly give you the start of a Jordan Peele movie vibes." No matter how at home she could seem in virtually any space, and no matter how cozy she was getting having grilled cheese be made for her, she still knew that Disney World was simply a temporary haven, and not even a safe one. Chanel knew what out of place felt like, even if it wasn't common for her to feel that way and she would still refuse to make it apparent in those rare occasions. It was also why she was cautious with brothers being here. They were still young, stupid kids who would fall into the trap of thinking they could do dumb shit just because the white kids they were hanging out with were doing it. If something did happen and police were called to the property, at least they were in close, direction with Cara, but even that was no guarantee.

She knew that Elijah was also keen on that delicate, silent dynamic. It was one of the many nonverbal forms of language among Black Americans. It was why she didn't have to explain what she alluding to in her Jordan Peele reference, and the only reason she did was for his own benefit because he clearly didn't understand the weight of his near crime. "You leave me and then you're gonna realize all the Black folk are slowing disappearing because they're making meat pies out of us!" That was Sweeney Todd, but it was still relevant to the point she was trying to make. "And in case your Black ass forgot: we don't split up. That's some white people shit." This entire time, she was still holding onto his hand, her body bent towards the ground to continue straightening her shoe. She scoffed and gave in, choosing to sit on the bed and dedicate her full attention to it. It was then that she realized that they felt weird and she couldn't adjust it because they were actually on the wrong foot. She held a finger up in the air, gesturing for Elijah to not make a peep about it. "This is your job, Prince Charming," she kindly reminded him, alluding once again to the German fairytale, so this was essentially his fault. "Oh, and the grizzly bear is a metaphor. Obviously, you're not going to find a grizzly bear in New York: they're native to the Northwest." She wasn't as passionate about grizzlies as she making it seem. It was just an example consequence of having two very boyish little brothers, one of which who went through the ecologic, animal loving phase and woke up talking about palm oil and tigers and went to sleep campaigning against Sea World. It was actually why she never went to Sea World as a kid.

She gave her his phone in lieu of answering his question. "And there is no plan, Scooby-Doo," she said with exasperation, mainly at herself because she knew she was rambling on and having to validate her feelings of being a bad friend and not knowing how to help if help was actually needed was frustrating. "I know it seems like I'm being dramatic, and I probably am a little bit, but there's also a fair chance that you're doing that thing where men don't believe women, so if I find my friend on the news in the morning, you'll be responsible. Anyways, I mean you know Cara," she said, overestimating his placement in Cara's world as much as he had been doing with her. "It's hard to tell with her. I guess I should just wait a little to see if she responds, but she hasn't said anything since then, which to me is a bad sign. If it was a Cara emergency, I feel like she would have texted me twelve times and called me until I answered just to tell me that she saw someone smoking weed and kicked them out because they were 'obviously trying to sabotage my party'," she said, using finger quotes. Little did she know that she wasn't actually too far off base from the actual reason Cara reached out. "So even if it's nothing, which I guess it probably isn't, you still have to stay with me so I don't go crazy." She was bent over her knees, putting her last shoe on the correct foot when she looked up to him to smile weakly and innocently. "And in case you have to beat someone up. You've already been slacking on your knight in shining armor duties, so this is actually your last shot of redemption. You're welcome."​

 

[lauren.]

Cara's reaction was no better than what he was expecting, but it was still exasperating. Intended or otherwise, smiling right now was inappropriate on many different levels. As he processed just how incomprehensible she could be, he exhaled quietly and rolled his eyes. A good part of him thought of just turning and leaving, since it was seemed like he was the only one trying to figure things out, and if not that, then definitely the only one who cared. While it was belittling that she would think he was so beneath being able to work at her father's company, not even because he did, but because it really only validated what he just called her out on. Objectively, it made the most sense to just say yes, that was the case, but he really had no incentive to admit to it. Attempts at honesty were clearly getting him no where, and if anything, he saw now that he chose right in keeping quiet about his employment. "I don't know the details; I was a last minute stand-in. We're associated with your dad's company somehow, and they wanted to schmooze with some important contacts who'd be in attendance."

Now that it was dark out, it probably didn’t matter much what she wore, but then again... pictures! They would probably be the only way that anyone remembered the night, and Cara wanted to look nice in them. She was pretty set on a light blue silk dress, but wasn’t positive yet, since she didn’t want to fully clash with the theme. Hmm....

Looking back to Roman, she tried to give him her attention. “Really?” she asked, smiling as she scrunched her nose in apparent disbelief. “What’s the name of the company you work for? I can put a good word in for you,” she offered. The offer was sincere, but it was also only made because she truly didn’t believe Roman, and was now willing to push until he admitted that he was lying. She didn’t get why it was such a big deal and why he still wanted to pretend he had reason to be there, but if he wanted to pretend, she would listen to the story.

Roman shrugged and took another bite of his grilled cheese. "If I knew it was your place, I would have said something," he explained nonchalantly. "Or I would have just avoided coming altogether. I reckon I see enough of you back home." The way he saw it, the two of them could go back and forth all night. He didn't have anything further to provide, and the actual truth, or rather the details of the truth he already told twice now, would only blow things up. Sure, what he said was more lie than truth, especially compared to his first excuse which was entirely true, just very vague. His current reasoning wasn't completely fantastical though. There were important contacts to be schmoozed with, and it was the company that he worked for. The simpler thing would have been to just respond 'Yes' to her initial question about him working for her dad, but their interactions informed him that she would probably just laugh in his face and further make him wonder why he hadn't just lied through his teeth to begin with. It shouldn't have mattered what she thought of him, he reminded himself. But here he was, and it did, and it was embarrassing for all he was concerned. As he questioned why he told the truth to begin with, knowing that it sounded weird, he came to the conclusion that the only way to have avoided any of this was to avoid coming altogether, because as Cara kept pointing out, there wasn't really any good reason for him to be here.

For whatever reason, at that moment he realized that he'd completely abandoned Brooklyn. He started to pull his phone out to text her. By this point he had lost track of time and didn't know if Nick had made it back, or where he was in that process. It couldn't have been too long, he reasoned, since he didn't have anything for either of them. "Well, it looks like the only thing you suffered from was a slight concussion that caused you to be mildly tolerable for all of five minutes, and you have clearly not succumbed to your injuries, so..." His voice distractedly trailed off as he concentrated on what was in front of him.

To: Brooklyn
are you still at the bar?

He wasn't sure which would be the more concerning answer, not that he thought about it. While he was annoyed with her, at least she was back to normal. As before, he didn't think he was adding much value standing around. "Do you know where Chanel would be? I can have come help you."

The fact that Roman wouldn't tell her the name of the company he claimed to work for was an answer in itself, and though her satisfied smile probably attested to how she felt like she was right, she didn't harbor on it. She wasn't going to embarrass him over it, even if she still felt like it was silly that he wouldn't just admit that he was in the wrong! She didn't get what the big deal was, and why he couldn't just admit that he had changed his mind and decided that whatever plans he originally had weren't as important, after Brooklyn and Nick invited him. That was the most likely chain of events that led to his arrival, and him pretending that he worked for some company, only to refuse to give the name of that company, just made her version of events seem all the more plausible. He could have said he worked for Warren Buffet Assets, Inc. and she would have believed that to be a real company, but he couldn't even come up with a detailed version of his lie.

It just seemed silly now, and if nothing else, at least that had put her into a better mood. She ran her fingers along the silk dress again, dramatically wincing in pain as the scrape on her hand was folded in on itself with the movement. That, coupled with his mention of the concussion (was it possible that she had that too, from the way her head moved when she fell????) reminded her of his hand, that she had asked about a minute ago. "Let me see your hand," she said, ignoring his words in favor of her own thoughts, as she left her dress where it lay to approach him by the closet doorway. She took his hand into hers gently, and examined it. She didn't know what she was looking at from a clinical standpoint, but just seeing that his knuckles looked somewhat inflamed and red made her concerned. "Let me tell them to bring you ice," she insisted, as she stepped past him and towards her room's intercom system. "You need to let Ruby look at that. What if it's broken?"

It was a good thing his attention was on his phone when she cringed in 'pain.' Now that she was fully back to normal, he felt less of an emotional pull to abstain from teasing her. When he finished texting Brooklyn, he thought about the answer to his own question. How long would she have realistically stood there? Whatever it was, he knew he surpassed it. In the amount of time it took for him to find Cara, confront Logan and come back to the main house, Brooklyn would have gotten into something else. Though, that also meant Nick should be returning soon, if he and Brooklyn weren't meeting up elsewhere considering she was likely elsewhere herself. As he did so, he remembered Cara's silly quest that he get Ruby up here, and then wondered himself why she couldn't do it on her own. By the time he looked up to ask, she was already taking his hand. He was caught off guard for a few reasons, one of them being that it was a lot easier to deal with her being in just her underwear when she wasn't standing right in front of him. Even though she was annoying him over this whole Scooby Doo mystery of why he was at her place this weekend, he could have just as easily forgotten it all when she took his hand. Before he got a chance to protest her grabbing him, she'd taken his hand, and gentle as it might have been, it was still tender enough that he winced, much to his annoyance since it wasn't even that bad. It just needed ice, he told himself, but as Cara validated that thought and began to call for some, he reasoned that she was overreacting. "I'm fine." He casted his eyes towards the ceiling, imitating an eye roll, but mainly trying to redirect his gaze.

As she started back into her room, continuing on about broken bones and calling Ruby, he took her arm with his good hand. "Would you quit it?" he pleaded, attempting to sound more annoyed than he actually was with her attempt at helping. Any annoyance that did come true was just lingering from the previous conversation from a couple of seconds ago. He didn't know what she wanted from him. And maybe he was just really bad at guessing because it just seemed like he was continuing to mess things up. On the surface, he knew it seemed like he was just being careless, when in fact the opposite was true. For once, he was trying to be intentional, to not make the wrong move because he actually cared about the consequence. He wanted more, and he wanted her, but not to the point that he just wanted to return to something physical. The past twenty four hours told him that he wouldn't suffice at that, and now even more so. He still wanted her though, and even if it wasn't, in his mind at least, in the way that he wanted, it was still enough that he didn't want her completely gone. He'd fallen past just the physical, but it felt like he was alone in that, so his only options were to choose between himself and her. As he pulled her toward him, he decided he would choose the latter.

He didn't know if it was the alcohol or what, but as he kissed her, it felt like he was making up for lost time. In reality, it hadn't been more than twenty four hours since things had been normal between them, but the distance that ensued between then felt much larger than the passed time. He didn't know if he was making the wrong move or the right one, and as he pushed her against her the wall, he realized he didn't really care about that as much as he cared about keeping her and being close to her. He'd been stumbling this whole time, and it was obvious, and he wasn't even stumbling forward. Being close to her again reminded him why he didn't just walk out, why he didn't just ignore Nick's innocent comments, or why he couldn't seem to settle with keeping things at the friends with benefits level. But it also reminded him that he cared more about the present moment with her now than he did those other things, and he wanted to prolong the present as much as possible. He couldn't do that if he didn't know what step to take. He was already pulling at her bra strap, his lips trailing down to her neck by the time he caught himself. Roman remained where he was, before he fell quiet. He finally pulled away, but only to take her face into his hands and press his forehead to hers. "I'm trying," he said. "But I don't know." It was a statement he typically hated uttering, and one he rarely got a chance to hate because as far he was concerned, there were few things he didn't know. Maybe that's why this was so frustrating. Maybe that's why he was so determined to solve this. ...But maybe there was something more to it than something totally logical and mathematical. Maybe that was why he hung on. "Just tell me what you want." ​

 

[lauren.]

"You know what I want." No, no, no, it was not a fair response. It wasn't fair to play coy when Cara knew that Roman really was trying. She could see it in the look on his face, his mannerisms, and just the way he spoke. The frustration that showed here and there attested to it--that he really was trying, even if he was making mistakes. Cara's intention wasn't to respond in a way that made him more exasperated with the situation, but it was also hard for her to be serious when it came to this stuff too. It wasn't that she couldn't be romantic or anything, because in a typical relationship, she absolutely could be. It was just that this thing with Roman was different. Everything about it was different compared to previous relationships she had been in, and it made things complicated. Maybe she wasn't showing that it was just as unfamiliar to her as he was making it seem to him, but it was. She wasn't sure what to do and what not to do, especially coming off of feeling like he had just broken her heart the night before, when at that point, she had no reason to think her heart should even have been involved in whatever they had. It was weird, new territory and because they were both so similar in their ways, neither had wanted to make any sort of move to start a conversation to establish any sort of rules or guidelines for whatever it was that they had. Especially now that Cara felt like she was the one who was more emotionally invested than he was, she was taking a step to purposely seem more guarded and less emotionally invested, if only to protect herself from getting hurt again.

Surprisingly, Cara didn't wince this time when her "injured" hand slipped behind his back, reaching up and gently toying with his hair. If it was pointed out, she would contend that it wasn't because it was suddenly healed, but just because she had a worthwhile distraction for the moment. It was so strange how Roman could go from being such a complete asshole, to actually being charming. She was already only in her underwear, and her makeup was already messed up; there was no reason to not just jump to the chase and-- A knock at the door disrupted that though, and she pushed him away gently, only to yell, "Just leave it out there, please!" to who she assumed to be someone from the kitchen bringing her the water she had requested ten years ago.

It wasn't just because she was thirsty that she sauntered over to the door a few seconds later to retrieve the tray that had been left for her as requested. She also just truly didn't know what to say, and even though she wanted to just pull Roman into bed, she wasn't sure if it was appropriate to do. She called out a 'thank you' to the woman who was already halfway down the hall by then, before carrying the tray inside and setting it down on her desk. "They brought the water," she stated out loud, as if it wasn't obvious what she had just carried in. She poured herself a glass from the pitcher, and poured one for Roman, though she didn't verbally offer it to him. If she wasn't drunk, she probably would have felt like the silence and the distance between them now was awkward, but it didn't register to her as she appreciated how refreshing the cold water felt.

She had placed her phone there on the way in, and took the moment to scroll through the unread texts she had, paying mind to the most recent one which was from Chanel. By now, she had essentially forgotten that she had texted her to begin with, but when she read her own message and Chanel's response, she was reminded of why she had.

To: Chanel
Omg you wouldn't even believe it. Makayla was being crazy and basically assaulted Ruby right in front of me but I broke it up and took care of it. Some idiot bumped into me though and ruined my dress so I might kill myself, tbd tbh ​

 

[Collapsed]

Nick had texted Brooklyn to meet up with him by the tennis courts too, but he wasn't surprised when she answered to say that she didn't want to be associated with what he was doing over there, and to meet her inside of the guest house. Similarly, though he wasn't pleased by it, he wasn't surprised to find her there a few minutes later talking to a couple of guys. When you had a girlfriend who was as beautiful as Brooklyn was, you kind of were forced to get used to these kinds of things. Add in what Brooklyn did for a living, and Nick had developed a thick sort of skin when it came to this a long time ago. It didn't mean that he didn't quicken his pace when he noticed a guy hitting on her as he did tonight, but it just meant that it wasn't something that he was willing to start a fight over every time it happened. Even so, and maybe it was insecurities talking, but Nick was pretty convinced that she was doing it to make him jealous, at least tonight. Despite how hard it might have been to believe, Brooklyn actually could be quite personable in social situations. She knew how to be charming, if only because she made a living in two jobs by interacting with people and working them for money. She read people pretty well, and understood how to get what she wanted out of them. It was probably part of the reason why she and Nick fought so often... because she knew how to read his insecurities, or when he was in a particularly off mood, and would capitalize on it to start a fight if she felt like it. Fighting wasn't in the cards tonight though, and thankfully the guys who were hovering near her got the hint that she was no longer here to entertain them once Nick approached. "See, I told you it wouldn't take long," he said, beaming proudly as he kissed her upon arrival.

Upon spotting the empty glass in her hand though, he frowned. He highly doubted it was the same drink she had had in her hand when he left her, but still. You had one job, Roman! "You want another one?" he said, nodding to it. Even though a drunk Brooklyn was usually a happy Brooklyn, there was also a point for her, as there was for everyone, where too drunk no longer equaled happy. Brooklyn's tolerance was high enough that it was usually quite apparent when she was getting there, and it didn't look like she was close yet, but he still wasn't going to pour liquor down her throat if she didn't want it. "And where'd Roman run off to? Hoeing around two nights in a row?" he asked with a smirk. Roman wasn't particularly sociable to an extent where Nick could see him wandering off to socialize with strangers unless he saw something in it for him, like he assumed he saw in the girl he was making out with last night.

Nick and Roman were both lucky that Brooklyn was in a fairly decent mood overall, since even after being abandoned by both of them, she managed to mingle with people who didn't automatically piss her off, and allowed her to pass the time until Nick returned. Alcohol always helped in situations like this, and she nodded when Nick returned and asked if she wanted another one, though she didn't mind walking with him until they passed a server carrying some sort of themed cocktail, which she accepted two of, one for the both of them. "I wouldn't be surprised," she answered, rolling her eyes at the thought of it. The eye roll was based more in him leaving her than it was in whatever stupid antics he was getting himself caught up in. "But I think he just went to smoke. He was getting bratty," she added with a shrug, leading Nick over towards a quieter sitting area with couches. Flopping down onto one, she patted the space beside her for him, though she knew he would have sat even without the invitation.

"I'll let him know where we are," Nick answered, as he took out his phone and texted Roman their location. He already had a few texts from other people who wanted to buy, just via word of mouth, but he ignored them for now. He had made a good amount of money, and even if it wasn't his main concern, he also didn't want Chanel's party to be ruined by too many people having access to this. There was already an unlimited amount of alcohol unlike normal parties or nights out at bars or clubs, so that added another element of caution into the situation. Besides, if nothing else, he knew Brooke would kill him for leaving her MIA again (so soon, at least).

"You didn't give him anything, did you?" Brooklyn asked after a moment of silent. She sipped her drink, seemingly in thought, as she glanced in Nick's direction. Her tone didn't sound demanding or angry or upset, but it was a question that came across as clearly only having one acceptable answer. Roman was a big boy, and he was allowed to make his own decisions, but that didn't mean that Brooklyn was going to approve of them all. Even if they didn't have that family-like bond that they had, and even if she only was thinking about him as a friend, she felt like she was allowed to disapprove of some of his decisions. While she tried to respect boundaries and not jump into his business, because they all had their vices, and Brooklyn was no one to talk, his drug habits in the past had worried her. She felt like if he didn't have an addictive personality, then he at least lacked the ability to address his emotional trauma in a healthy way, and that enabled him to self-medicate to a point of it being dangerous. She had forbidden Nick from giving Roman anything other than weed early on in their friendship after realizing that his habits crossed the line of just a social user, but thankfully, Nick had seemed to be pretty aligned in his thinking and wasn't looking to supply Roman with much else anyway. Brooklyn figured that they did drugs that were considered to be party drugs together from time to time, and while she wouldn't "forbid" it, it did make her uncomfortable. Roman using stuff like that in general made her uncomfortable, but Nick enabling him was even worse. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she cared about him like a little brother, and if something happened to him that she felt like she could have prevented, she wouldn't be able to get over it.

"Any what?" Nick asked, initially clueless to what Brooklyn was referring to. It clicked by the time he got the words out of his mouth, but then he had a mouthful of his drink, which, by the way, was all to sweet for his liking. Swallowing it, he then shook his head. "Oh, no. I mean, he didn't ask me for anything, so..." While Nick and Roman smoked weed together sometimes, Roman had his own dealer for the other shit he took. Although Nick could get his hands on things like Percocets, OxyContins, Ketamine, and even the more "street" drugs like heroin, meth, and son on, it wasn't what his main market consisted of. He didn't typically deal to addicts; just stupid kids with enough money to waste on the weekends, and he intended to keep his market consisting of that. He knew that Roman used prescription painkillers sometimes, though he liked to know as little about it as possible, but again, it was more of an unspoken thing. Nick didn't like butting into people's business, and as long as it didn't affect him, he didn't feel inclined to question Roman about it. I mean, what kind of stance could he take, lecturing someone about drug use, when he literally sold drugs for a living?

A few months ago, Brooklyn had pointed out that it seemed like Roman wasn't using as frequently as it had been in the past, and Nick would agree with that. He honestly just attributed it to the new job he had picked up. Never having worked in the business sector before, Nick had simply assumed that drug tests occurred pretty regularly, maybe even monthly, and that was why Roman had chilled out with it. Again, it wasn't something that seemed to warrant a conversation, because that just wasn't how their friendship worked. He would feel out of line even bringing it up and considering that there would be no benefit to a conversation like that, it again, just fell into that category of unspoken things.

"Good," Brooklyn confirmed quickly. Roman seemed to have been doing good lately, and she didn't need Nick screwing that up. She had no hard evidence that Roman had stopped using drugs, but his ability to function on a day to day scale had improved a lot in the past few months that she didn't need anything concrete to believe it. The mere fact that he could get out of bed five days a week and show up to a nine to five job was shocking enough to validate the assumption on its own, relative to his old behavior. Like Nick, she wasn't going to say anything to Roman, but her reasoning was more-so paved in the idea that she felt like if she did acknowledge it, even in a way that was meant to be positive, he would be oppositional enough to feel inclined to start using again, just to spite her. Childish, but Roman enough to sound realistic. While it was 100% positive, now that she thought about it, it did make her more curious about whatever this job he had was. She knew that it was some sort of finance job, but she didn't know how he got it, why he got it, and why it had motivated him to change such hard-to-break habits. It was hard to believe that a job, of all things, had motivated him to make such a major change. "I don't need you to give him a reason to start using again. He seems like he's been doing good." She took another sip of her drink and after a moment of thought, added, "Do you think we should bring it up? Like, tell him we're proud of him?"

Nick laughed, only because that seemed just as cheesy as it did a bad idea. "No way, we're not his parents," he offered, lounging back into the couch, and extending an arm to wrap around Brooklyn, pulling her in closer to him to kiss her on the side of the head. "The more you push for info, the more you're going to push him away," he teased, playing into the parent role for a second, before smirking. "But for real, I mean, clearly he's fine. He was probably depressed for a while, but who isn't? He figured his shit out, and now he's moving on, so there's nothing left to say," he shrugged. "I just feel bad that he's stuck in that white collar world. That's no place for anyone with even a single shred of dignity of the ability to think for themselves. You couldn't pay me enough to do that."

Brooklyn rolled her eyes. Here we go again. She bit her tongue to keep from turning this into an argument, and instead, leaned over to kiss him. It was an easy way to nip that conversation in the bud, and make him seem attractive again.​

 

[cure]

This girl knew her pop culture, that was for sure. She rattled off some reference in every sentence, it seemed, and that, coupled with the emotion behind it, just made it harder for Elijah to take her seriously and stop smiling. He considered telling her that even though he had initially been shocked at the idea of her actually being single, it all made sense now, but he kept his mouth shut. She was hyped up enough as it was, and he didn't need to push any buttons and give her anything else to linger on because apparently, there was some emergency. Granted, Chanel admitted that it could just be a "Cara emergency", and while he didn't know Cara enough to know what that meant specifically, he understood the gist of it. It was probably what he thought this whole thing was anyway: girls freaking out over things that only the girls they were friends with could rationalize as being an emergency. He had a sister, so he was pretty convinced that he knew how these things worked.

"Bruh, I am not about to be the black guy who's the first one to die in the horror movies. Don't be setting me up for that shit, or none of this Get Out shit!" he insisted playfully, shaking his head as he watched her put her shoes on (for the second time). "All I know is that I don't need to outrun the murderer on the loose," he explained. "With you wearing those shoes, all I'll have to do is outrun you, and then I'll be set." His smile spoke to the lack of seriousness behind his words, and he knew that he wasn't doing his knight in shining armor image any good, but he couldn't help it! She was fun to tease because she was so reactive. The things that came out of her mouth were colorful and humorous, and even if she was dramatic, he knew that she had a good sense of humor and wasn't taking anything to heart. "For real, though," he continued with a laugh, "Why don't we go look for her, or something? You think she could be in her room, or do you think Michael Myers has already got her cornered somewhere? I've always thought I could take that guy." This was turning out to be a weird night indeed, but Eli was still interested in seeing where it went. It wasn't like he knew anyone at this party other than Ruby, who still hadn't answered him, so he had no reason to rush out of there now that Chanel did want him to stay.

Chanel gasped at his plan to use her as a decoy if this really did turn into a horror film. It was followed up with a playful scoff though. "You could totally take him." She stood up from the bed, this time settled and ready to face whatever she thought was lurking in the corner ready to get them. "Good idea. I feel like if it was Cara emergency, I would hide out in my room too. Let's go." She took his hand, which by this point felt pretty natural, and led him into the hallway. "Just so you know, another thing you signed up for when you decided to hang out with me was to take lots of candids for me to post on Instagram. So please have your phone ready by the time we get back to the party." Speaking of the party... Chanel stopped walking and looked at him. "I'm not holding you up from your friends am I?" She thought he and Cara knew each other better than they actually did, but she no longer thought that he was actually here as Cara's direct friend. It didn't really seem to add up, and so she figured he likely came as part of an extended friend group. "If so, I'm doing them a favor. I highly doubt they know how lucky they are to not be risking their lives with someone who openly admitted to being willing to use me as monster bait."

"Nah, I actually only have a few people here, and they're probably all wasted by now," he said. It was kind of a lie, but not really. He really only knew Ruby, but since he also knew Cara, at least by name, he was sure that there were a few other people that he would recognize in the same capacity floating around. He didn't need to reveal that he was basically friendless here, not only because it would make him sound weird, but also because it would probably make his presence at her party seem all the more random and unnecessary. "Lucky for you though, I have Instagram-boyfriend worthy skills down pat, so I gotchu," he laughed. He had had girlfriends before, so he knew how important the "perfect shot" was. It wasn't like his Instagram was an ugly piece of shit either, soooo... he got it. When you had the genes that people like he and Chanel had, could you really blame them? They had virtually no bad angles, so the world deserved to see as many pictures of them as possible. He allowed Chanel to lead her down the hall, as he obviously had no idea where he was going. "And if she's not in here, you could always text the rest of your friends. I'm sure they would all be hitting you up if there really was a big problem," he offered, assuming that Chanel and Cara were a part of some big friend group.

"Oh, wait! She texted me." She cheered excitedly, finally letting go of his hand so she could hold her phone with both hands since that was what was needed to read a text message. "Ugh! Some jackass ruined her dress." Even though it confirmed for her that this was indeed a Cara emergency, namely in how she completely glossed over the first part of her friend's message, she didn't realize what it validated in Elijah's mind. "So she's definitely got to be in her room if she's changing. I'll go check on her, and you can grab the stuff Nick left for me. His room is right there." She pointed her finger to a couple of doors down. "It should be on the bed." Instead of waiting for a confirmation, she began to split ways as they were already coming upon Cara's room. She turned to face him though and poked his chest threateningly. "Oh, and don't run off with my weed either, Jesse Owens."

Chanel knocked on Cara's door and waited for an answer. It seemed to be a pretty long wait, but that was probably the weed kicking in. Or was it the tequila? Which one did what? "Babe, you in there?" she said knocking again. ​

 

[cure]

Roman pulled his palm from where it had been pressed against his lips, wiping away any lipstick stains. It was clear that the lowered expectations he created to form an emotional guard rail weren't low enough because her response still left him deflated. It wasn't even that it wasn't the response that he wanted, but it was a wispy non-response, and for anyone who was trying to find something to hold onto, it was frustrating. Roman didn't have the energy to be frustrated though. His outburst and the response to that had virtually depleted his energy supply to do anything more than become exasperated. Was he still right? Absolutely. But as he continued to try to rationalize what was virtually out of his control by this point, more awareness came into his own role in the current state of things. There wasn't any other way he could think of to say what he had been saying—besides the obvious, but he was still largely on the fence about that—so maybe there was something else. Maybe it was a bit premature, and subsequently, insensitive on his part to try to move things forward right now.

He crossed the room to where Cara stood and wrapped his arms around her from behind, dotting her shoulder with short pecks. "You know that's not a real answer," he said beneath his breath. He moved her hair behind her ear and continued to kiss her softly. For a moment, he stopped and considered what he was about to say. The logical part of his brain was telling him no, but the emotional part that only seemed to really exist and rule his decision making when he was around her told him that he'd laid everything out on the table with nothing to really show for it, and because of that, there was really anything for him to be afraid of. He couldn't get more vulnerable than he'd been, and while that was scary when he thought about it, it made it a lot easier for him to calmly talk to her. "I don't want to chase you," he whispered into her ear. "I want to be with you. I know that's probably not what you want to hear right now, especially after I hurt you, and I don't want to push you away either. So you don't have to tell me," he said, referencing again her response from a moment ago. "Or know. But I'll be here if you want me to. Plus," he began, pulling her closer to him. This time there was a playfulness to his tone and gesture. "I'm not going anywhere until we watch all of Toy Story like you promised."

Cara liked this softer side of Roman. It wasn't completely new to her, as when they hung out privately, he showed this side more often than not, though maybe not in quite as open of a capacity. She craned her head back slightly to kiss him, smiling at his reference to Toy Story. She still couldn't believe that he claimed he hadn't seen any of them, but if that said anything about his childhood, then maybe it helped to explain why he was the way he was. "I don't want you to chase me either," she answered after a few moments, pulling away from him only to hand him a glass of water. She wasn't sure how much he had been drinking, but her head was feeling weird enough that she felt like she was either going to drink water now and allow herself to survive the rest of the night, or ignore the sign's her body was giving her, and hit the floor after her next drink. "But I also know that 'being with me' doesn't mean the same thing to you as it does to me," she explained softly, refilling her glass and then walking over to sit on her bed. She sipped her drink as she looked at him, still surprised that he was actually being this sweet. "I don't want to 'be with you' if it means that we're good when we're like this, but hooking up with people on the side. Like, I don't mind that if that's where we both are, because that's whatever, but I don't want to pretend that it's something else if that's what it is," she explained, hoping that that made as much sense outside of her head as it did inside. She didn't get that Roman was alluding to wanting exactly that, mostly because she just didn't think he was capable of wanting that, nonetheless explicitly stating it.

Water was the last thing Roman wanted, but he took it in his sore hand and appreciated the soothing effect from the chilled glass nonetheless. "I'm not hooking up with other people, Cara. I know what last night looked like, but it wasn't anything. Her dad's a big contact, so I couldn't just tell her to fuck off and leave me alone." He took a big swig of his water, not realizing until after he hydrated just how thirsty he was. He sat the glass back down on the desk before walking over to the end of the bed. "I know how it sounds, and I probably can't explain it without making things worse, but I'm not lying to you. I mean, I figured you were doing the same thing." He sat down next to her but left enough space so he wasn't pressing against her. "Which is fine if you were; I wouldn't expect you to want differently even if I did. Do," he corrected after a second thought.

"It's just hard for me to believe that you didn't know that this was my house," Cara admitted, because even if she didn't want to be hung up on last night, it was hard not to be. His story wasn't that believable, especially when you took into account that his friends were here. He wanted her to believe, not only that he worked for some company that happened to be affiliated with her dad's, but that it didn't strike him as odd that his friend were also in attendance at the party... that he assumed was a work party...? It just didn't make any sense, and while him acknowledging that she probably thought he was lying somehow made his claims seem more valid, it still didn't add up. "I wasn't not hooking up with people, I guess, but I just wouldn't come over to your apartment and do it, and then brag about it to everyone in front of you." She had maybe made out with a few people, but she hadn't went home with anyone in the time that she had been hooking up with Roman. She knew that they weren't exclusive, and maybe if the opportunity had presented itself she would have, but it hadn't. At the same time, as she said, the way that he had done it had crossed a line regardless. "But if you want to... try... not seeing other people, I would be... down," she said, looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and cautiousness, as she wasn't really sure how to say that yes, she wanted to officially be seeing him exclusively.

Before there was really time for closure there, there was another knock at the door. Cara was ready to yell that someone had already brought them the water, assuming that there was a miscommunication downstairs, but Chanel's voice rang out just a second later. Cara's eyes widened in panic, as she shooed Roman away, though she wasn't sure where he could go to hide. It was an unnecessary move probably, because she easily could have explained that he was in here helping her after her dress got ruined, but her brain went to panic before it did logic. She wasn't even worried about covering up, just about Roman disappearing. "Hi, come in, come in!" she called out, running over to her closet in the few seconds she had before Chanel came in.​

 

[cure]

Chanel peeked her head inside as if to announce herself. She gave Cara a big smile, completely clueless to the fact that she just missed Roman who was now hiding in the bathroom. "Hi, my love! I'm so sorry, I just saw your text." Chanel closed the door behind her as she apologized. She began to move further into the room before she noticed the grilled cheese on the dresser. She cocked her head to the side. "You ordered grilled cheese too?" She didn't really have reason to connect the dots and suspect that these were in fact the missing grilled cheese sandwiches in question, and so she didn't linger on it after the quick acknowledgement. "Where's your dress?" She looked around the room as she moved toward the closet, but again, didn't really linger on it for enough time for a response to be provided. Seeing her friend's dress wouldn't have really done anything besides validated the severity of the situation, but still. It was important. She gave Cara a hug. "I knew I shouldn't have left you for some boy. I'm so stupid." That definitely wasn't how things transpired, but Chanel thought she was making Cara feel better, and she also was forgetting the order of events tonight, at least when it came to small nuances like that. It was then that she noticed the scrapes on Cara's arm. She didn't know whether to gasp or to shriek, so she did both. "Oh, my god!! Did that jackass hurt you?! What did he look like? I swear to God, I'm going to get one of the boys and have them beat the shit out of him."

Chanel, of course, had no idea that Roman was not too far away, and could therefore hear everything she saying. Consequentially, she also had no clue just how much he was rolling his eyes at the fact that she was being just as dramatic as Cara had been.

“No, no,” Cara said, shaking her head quickly in an attempt to dissipate any concern. Though she did feel validated by Chanel acknowledging her injuries and treating this situation like it was serious unlike someone, Chanel was probably the only person she didn’t want to have to focus on her tonight. This was her party and even if things were going... strangely... for Cara, it didn’t mean that Chanel deserved to be affected by it. Now that Cara’s mood have shifted back into the okay territory, her brain allowed her to remember that she had been having fun at one point tonight. Even though the tequila was hitting her pretty hard now, she still felt like she had enough energy to turn the night back around. If anything, it probably was the tequila hitting her hard that was telling her that. “It’s totally fine. It was one of Collin’s idiotic friends, and I already had him escorted off of the property, so don’t even worry.” Collin’s friends were all stupid enough that it was a viable story, and though Cara wasn’t aware of it, it was Collin’s fault that Logan had been here to begin with anyway.

“I wasn’t even texting you about that, so you didn’t need to come all the way up here! I feel bad,” she said, moving into the closet now as she realized that she was barely wearing anything. Since she had tried clothes on in front of Chanel before, it didn’t feel incredibly inappropriate, but she just now had to focus on why she had come up here in the first place. “I think your roommates are like, really drunk. Like probably-going-to-embarrass-you level drunk, and—“ She cut herself off before she could go on about the others from the floor. Roman had saved them from her wrath this time. “But how have you been? Are you having fun? Do you need me to fix anything for you?”

Though Chanel being here offered her a good opportunity to get advice on what to wear, Cara felt like she needed to rush now to make it seem like everything was okay, so she pulled on a black dress rather quickly, with little thought put into it. “Your brother is so sweet,” she said, as she turned to look at herself in the mirror. “I was talking to him a little while ago,” she continued, not recalling that Chanel had been there for most of that. “But really, is everything okay? If they’ve messed anything up I will literally kill them so just tell me.“

She didn’t look good, she decided, but it would have to do. “Oh! And I had them move your gifts into the study. Total spoiler alert but my friend Julie, I think you met her, she got you this black diamond David Yurman bracelet, and you’re so going to love it!” she gushed. It was easy to sound excited when talking about something like this, as it came genuinely. “It’s part of their spiritual collection and I told her that would be perfect for you because I feel like you’re like, spiritual and stuff,” she explained, though she wasn’t sure what led her to come to that conclusion.

Chanel effused alongside her friend. If it wasn't for the alcohol disarming her and blurring her sense of judgment, she would have fallen over herself from the announcement of such a gift. Certainly, the only thing flooding her mind would have been how her parents were going to kill her and how she was, in fact, forever going to be indebted to the Forrester family. That would be on hold until at least tomorrow when the alcohol wore off, and hopefully with little to no side effect. "Omg, I have no idea who he is, yay!" Her attention on her phone had shifted to the present excitement, and because of that, the boys narrowly escaped from being contacted to beat somebody up. Chanel was being just as dramatic as Cara had been earlier because those shots were finally catching up to her, but even sober she would have been concerned and upset. "I love that you think that about me. It's hard to feel like you're a hippie cabin dweller when you're in the middle of a smelly city.

She walked over to where the dresses lie on the island and took a look at them. "Why not the blue one?" she asked before retroactively remembering the questions her friend had asked her prior. Again, she enthused over the excitement of it all. "Oh, my god! That boy is literally so cute. I mean, I could tell her was when we were outside, but everyone looks good in the dark, and then we went inside where there's actual light and I was like 'Literally, wow, he is so hot.' I can't believe you've been holding out on me! I usually don't do this anymore unless I'm trying to self-sabotage, but since it's my birthday, I decided to humor my inner slut, and we seriously already kissed a few times. We were just in my room for a little while, and somehow I am not pregnant, which I think says a lot about him because I'm obviously irresistible." She leaned forward across the island, her brows narrowing as her voice deepened. "He doesn't have a girlfriend, does he? I just know there has to be something because no guy is that perfect. He looks like he could be a Kennedy if the Kennedys weren't cursed." Those two things had absolutely nothing to do with each other, and the obvious reason why he couldn't be a Kennedy went completely unregistered in her brain.

For a long moment, Cara stared blankly at Chanel in confusion. She had no idea where Chanel had lost her, because she must have missed something. She had no idea who or what Chanel was talking about. Maybe it was the alcohol, but so much had happened in a short period of time, that she had essentially forgotten Chanel running off with that mystery man until right now, after a few seconds of thought reminded her of him. Still, Chanel’s questions left her confused regardless. How was she supposed to know whether he had a girlfriend when he was Chanel’s friend?

“How would I know?” she asked, smiling in confusion as she glanced back at the blue dress. It was her first choice, but colors could be complicated! Black would make the night easy. If Roman wasn’t in the bathroom, she would have moved in there to fix her makeup and hair, but she wasn’t about to do that. She didn’t want Chanel to see him in there, but not because she figured it would be suspicious. Instead, she didn’t want Roman’s presence to be known because she knew that she wouldn’t be kind if it happened. She would be forced to pretend he was some creep spying on them, and while it obviously was Cara-like enough to seem possible, she knew that now, unlike the past, she would feel guilty as soon as the words would come out of her mouth. “He’s your friend, I’ve literally never seen him before in my life,” she laughed, figuring Chanel was just being silly and drunk. “But I will agree with you,” she continued, rummaging around until she found a hair brush. “He’s definitely up to standards.”

Now it was Chanel's turn to stare blankly at Cara. What did she mean she'd never seen him before? "Oh, my god..." She thought aloud in a hushed whisper. "Who the fuck did I just kiss?" Well, it was too late now, and that actually made it better for her. The more the stranger, the better the one night stand. Because that was a colloquialism that definitely existed and predated her current thought of it. "I need to get drunk enough so I don't remember his face and get disappointed by all the losers I'll inevitably run into back in the city..." It would certainly be a miserable experience to remember the night vividly enough that she remembered how handsome Elijah was only to have to face the pack of rats that lie in wait back home. "Oh, my god. I actually want to see you in green. Blondes look so hot in green. Plus, I just remembered I'm wearing blue, and I don't want to do Mary-Kate and Ashley tonight, if I'm being honest. I was gonna change but the other dress I had is definitely the dress you start with, not the one you end with. Hurry up and pick so we can get out of here." Chanel wasn't considering that she still Elijah to entertain. Her current focus was just on Cara and this replacement dress.

"We have to do your hair too. What about some sort of updo?" She wandered out of Cara's closet then, mostly to just wander around as she chatted. She wound up stretching across the bed, the comfiness of the mattress telling her that it probably wouldn't be so bad to just fall asleep right here. "I feel bad," she said, her eyes closed. "I feel like you're always setting me up with something, whether it's a cute guy that you actually don't know or some big party. I know I'm basically dirt poor compared to you, but would you at least entertain me and let me do something for you? I know my track record is shit," she began, leaning up to prop herself on her elbows as she called out towards the closet. "But I'm literally an amazing matchmaker. It's pretty infuriating. I set up one of my friends in high school, and they're still together. I'm making you go on a Chanel-sponsored blind date when we're back home. You'll have to go undercover in H&M and picnic at Central Park, but I think you'll realize there's a sort of beauty in knowing you'll have to work for the rest of your life and so you might as well enjoy the free things like the sky. Or BOGO sales."

Cara was still consumed with herself in the mirror. Maybe the black wasn’t so bad. She weighed Chanel’s green recommendation in her head with serious consideration, but the idea of having to change again made it seem less intriguing. She was drunk and antsy, and she didn’t know where the latter feeling was coming from. She wasn’t sure if it was from the conversation that she and Roman had just had, if it was the alcohol, or if it was the chaotic scene that had occurred outside. Even though it wasn’t that serious, she had never been shoved to the ground by a man. Collin had definitely pushed her like that when they were children, but that didn’t count. Outside of them being kids and him being her brother, she had absolutely and undoubtedly left scratch marks all over his face in retaliation, so it was fair. Logan had pushed her hard enough that she could have been hurt, even if she wasn’t seriously, and her body was still trying to recover from the adrenaline rush that came with that.

As she brushed her hair, she walked away from the mirror and back into the bedroom where Chanel was lounging. “I’m just going to stick with the black,” she said as she pulled open a bunch of drawers in search of any extra makeup she may have had lying around, since the bathroom stuff still seemed inaccessible. A lightbulb seemingly lit up above her head as she rummaged through a purse that she had brought out to brunch a few days with Chanel , finding concealer and sheer lipgloss. It would have to do.

“Maybe I do know him,” she weighed uncertainly after Chanel spoke about trying to set her up with someone back home. Elijah had looked vaguely familiar, but Cara had only assumed that was because he was Chanel’s friend. She was surprised that Chanel had no idea who he was, but maybe Cara was more drunk that she initially thought she was. Maybe he was one of her friends’ boyfriends? Collin’s friend? She nearly laughed out loud at that last thought. As if. There was no way anyone who looked as model-esque as that guy would befriend her brother. “He kind of looked familiar, but I seriously thought it was just because he was one of your friends.” She tossed the lipgloss and concealer back into the bag, before giving herself another look in the mirror. Fine. It was fine. Good enough. “I do have so many fans though, so it’s hard to keep track,” she continued, clearly teasing at that point.

“And no, I’m fine, seriously! You don’t owe me anything, and I’ll feel weird if you start thinking that, so seriously, don’t!” She took another sip of water and glanced towards the bathroom door for a moment. She didn’t know if she was supposed to shoo Chanel out to acknowledge Roman again, but it would have interrupted the flow of things and in Cara’s mind, would have seemed suspicious. “Where did your guy go? Let me get a better look at him. What’s his name? I can’t believe you ran off with him without even knowing him!!” she said, playfully smacking Chanel on the arm as she headed towards the door.​

 

[lauren.]

"Yeah, when it's bad stuff, but you don't really need all that for this," Makayla answered, still looking to Ruby with a curious smile as she watched the girl inspect the shot. She really didn't want Ruby to feel like she had to drink it, but at the same time, drunk Ruby sounded like a good time. A little tequila never hurt anybody. "The lime will definitely be enough. Just pour it into the back of your throat and you won't even taste it, and then bite the lime." Makayla didn't usually even reach for limes when shooting tequila anymore, but she understood why someone who wasn't used to it might want it as a chaser, even if it was good tequila that they were drinking. Her comment about Ruby taking forever to just drink a single margarita still stood true, so she wasn't sure how this would go, but it was Ruby who had ordered tequila in the first place. If Makayla had wanted her to do shots and was trying to convince her, she would have ordered something easier on the taste buds, like a green tea shot, a Jägerbomb, or something like that. Either way, here they were, and Makayla was intrigued to see where this went. She took her remaining shot and held it out towards Ruby. "Cheers!"

Ruby was positive that salt was normally a part of the tequila shot equation, but Makayla had made it look so easy when she downed her first one, that she took her word that it was unnecessary. The smell of the tequila was strong enough to make her doubt that, but if everyone else seemed okay taking them, she didn't think there was a reason for why she wouldn't be able to stomach it. She didn't drink liquor that often, nonetheless straight liquor, but it wasn't because she felt like she couldn't... just that she didn't want to. She picked up the lime that the bartender had put into a separate shot glass for her, wanting it to be on deck and ready because she already started regretting her actions the second the glass clinked against Makayla's and an uncertain "Cheers...!" escaped her lips. She felt like a kid who had just climbed all the way up a diving board, and had no other choice but to jump. There was no turning back now... and she did it! Even if it had triggered her gag reflex, she managed to get it all down without making it obvious that her body had been contemplating rejecting it, and she bit into the lime with fervor.

"Yesssssssss bitch!" Makayla cheered, placing her empty glass down and clapping her hands, truly impressed that Ruby had managed to go through with it. "One down, one to go!" she said, pointing to the one that was remaining. She wasn't sure if Ruby would go for it or not, but if she had managed to do one, why not another?! Even though Makayla's tolerance was likely much higher than Ruby's, she was still a petite girl, and her body wasn't superhuman or immune to the effects of alcohol. Nonetheless, it was rare that she got to drink alcohol that she didn't have to pay for, nonetheless good alcohol, so it was hard for her to want to be smart tonight. "I'll take one more!" she called out to the bartender, who poured her another within seconds. "Ready?" she said, looking to Ruby devilishly before downing hers after confirmation. Ruby was a bit slower, but that was okay, because it allowed Makayla a second to watch her finish hers, which brought some giggles. Not because Ruby did anything wrong, but just because she was cute. The face that she made after she finished it, the way that she shoved the lime into her mouth as if her life depended on it, and the smile that came to her face once she realized that Makayla was watching her.

"I see you judging me!" Ruby said amid laughter once she pulled the remnants of the lime out of her mouth and placed it into the empty shot glass. "I'm sorry that we can't all be tequila experts like you." Okay, that wasn't that bad. The second one didn't go down any easier than the first one did, but at least they seemed like they were going to stay down. "When you have a minute, could we just get two waters?" she said, catching the bartender's eye as he poured drinks for another pair beside them. "You're supposed to drink a glass of water for every alcoholic beverage you drink!" she informed Makayla. "Which means that you probably need like, twelve, by now."

"Girl, we're probably the most sober people here! Get the hell out of here with that!" Makayla said, rolling her eyes playfully. In reality, she would take the water. You could never go wrong with water, and there wasn't a morning-after-drinking that a single soul ever uttered that they wished they hadn't consumed all that water. Even if Makayla planned on being reckless tonight and getting fun drunk, she didn't want to wake up feeling horrible tomorrow. If she was alone and didn't have to take care of Holly, she would absolutely be okay with punishing her future self like that, but she couldn't now. It was just one of the things that came with having someone depending on you 24/7. Your stupid decisions didn't just impact you, but your kid too. Even if Makayla specifically liked to make the distinction that she was not Holly's mother, she knew that she essentially was playing that role, and even if she wasn't perfect, she did try to be the best adult that she could for her. Considering Holly's personality, it was sometimes hard for Makayla to be as patient and kind as she wished she could be, so she knew that it would be even harder to provide that atmosphere for her if she was hungover and sick.

"Not for long!" Ruby responded, taking the two water bottles that were slid their way, and uncapping both of them before handing one to Makayla. "I just took two shots and had that cocktail! That's way past my two-glasses-of-wine-max norm!" she insisted, as she took a big gulp from hers. She didn't think it would hit her that hard, or hoped that it wouldn't at least, but because she wasn't used to drinking liquor like this, she felt slightly uneasy, just at the potential of the unknown. The last thing she wanted was to end this night as a mortifyingly drunk idiot, especially after only drinking so little, and especially compared to Makayla, who probably barely weighed 100 lbs soaking wet.

"I'll take care of you," Makayla reassured her, though she was still just being playful, since she didn't think three drinks would be the end of the night for Ruby. "But that means that we have to keep drinking!" So far, so good. Chanel deserved her accolades for this party, because it was definitely fun so far and just looking around, that seemed to be the general consensus. "We gotta do roommate shots with our birthday girl too!" she exclaimed, as if only remembering it now. She hadn't seen much of Chanel tonight, but it wasn't something that surprised or bothered her, just because she knew that Chanel was popular in her day-to-day life, so obviously at her own party, that would only be more true. She was sure that she was busy with the many friends she had here, but Makayla hoped to catch her for at least a few minutes to make sure she was having fun, and to compliment her on such a great party. "This man probably hates us," she muttered to Ruby, before catching the bartender's attention with a sultry smile and requesting two palomas. Since they were drinking tequila, it was probably safe to stick with that, and a margarita sounded too heavy after all of those shots. Just to appease Ruby, she finished her water before saying, "Since I'm the one who's going to be the responsible one tonight, let's get more food. That shit was goooood, and I'm saying that from a not-high standpoint, soooo..." It really was good. Every food item Makayla had eaten tonight (and it had been a lot) had been amazing. In fact, everything she had eaten at Cara's house in general had been perfect, no complaints necessary. The way that they had managed to maintain the quality and luxury of the food, and just the party as a whole, while still managing to pull of this theme made it even more noteworthy.

Ruby finished her water too, and reluctantly accepted the drink that Makayla ordered for them. "That is something I can get on board with," she agreed, following Makayla as they headed towards the guest house. Food sounded good right now, even if they had eaten dessert not long ago with Holly inside of the main house. She was interested in seeing how it was all set up in there, even if they were getting to it later than most. Her comment about taking a birthday shot with Chanel sounded cute too, even if Ruby was convinced that she was done with shots for the night. The mention of her implored Ruby to take out her phone though, and it was only then when she realized that Elijah had texted her. She texted him back quickly, as well as sending texts to Chanel and Cara.

To: Elijah
Ahhh I'm so sorry, I'm just seeing this now! I'm headed to the guest house (the one near the pool) with my roommate. Meet us there!

To: Chanel
Hey girl! I'm sure you're beyond busy and don't even know if you have your phone on you, but if you need anything at all tonight, text me! And make sure you drink water !!!

To: Cara
Is everything okay?

​

 

[cure]

Chanel rolled over from her back and pouted at Cara as the girl began to make her exit. She got herself up to follow, but not without pointing at her friend and saying, "Don't act like I didn't catch you avoiding my question. We'll talk about it when we get back." She wrapped an arm around Cara's shoulder in a half-hug. "That's your birthday gift to me. I need you to have little babies for my children to marry so that I can secure the family legacy and hopefully makeup for being the college dropout whose net worth is calculated in Instagram followers."

She actually forgot that Elijah was off doing something for her until Cara mentioned it. She couldn't be that drink, no way. Still, she looked side to side, surveying either end of the hall. "First of all, you made me go with him. Nick left me some birthday goodies, so I had him, Elijah, go to grab it while I checked on you. Nick said it would just be on the bed, so he should pop up any second. Unless he went back to my room." It was no secret that Chanel liked weed in any of its wonderful forms. Outside of her being a cool person in general, it was also why she fared so well with Makayla. Being able to hot box your bathroom with your roommate was pretty cool in Chanel's books. Cara, on the other hand, was a smidge different. It was something that Chanel always found strange since she knew that Cara had her own wild party days, and Chanel was sure that theirs had little overlap past the drinking and hangovers. She took both of Cara's hands and bounced on the balls of her feet. "Indulge me!" she whined. "Why do you always act like such a Republican with weed? You deserve it after everything you did to pull this together, seriously."​

 

[lauren.]

Cara did not believe that she had made Chanel run off with this guy but then again, she barely remembered even encountering him earlier, so she wasn't going to object to the possibility that she egged Chanel on. It didn't matter though, because clearly she was okay, so he couldn't be some ax murderer. Or maybe he was, and he was just smart enough to wait to commit the act until everyone was really, really drunk. Either way, Cara was interested in getting a better look at him now, where the lighting was better, to not only see if he truly was up to their standards, since Chanel wasn't allowed to sleep with someone gross, but also to see if she recognized him. Whether she would remember what he looked like tomorrow or not was debatable, but at least there were enough cameras on the property to ensure that he wouldn't get very far if he was some psycho.

When Chanel brought up weed, Cara wasn't particularly bothered. She knew that Chanel smoked and didn't have a problem with it, and yes, she had smoked a few times when she was younger. It just wasn't her drug of choice; it had never really calmed her down and she had a few paranoid reactions to whatever she had been smoking, that she had never taken much interest in it. When she had used drugs in the past, they were primarily party drugs, the kind she would take in club bathrooms. She didn't mind the idea of other people smoking weed, unless they were bothering her for some other reason, in which case she was very much guilty of using it as ammo for rationalizing why they were trash in her head. In her defense (somehow), it wasn't just weed she did this with. Someone could have a parking ticket, and if Cara didn't like them, she would rationalize that they were disrespectful and incompetent enough to be unable to follow basic traffic laws like a normal, civilized human being. She had a tendency to cling to anything that could even remotely fit her agenda and rationalize her tendency to be extreme when she felt people wronged her. "I don't have a problem with it!" she insisted through an eye roll. "I just feel like a lot of people who smoke a lot are gross, but not all of them! You're obviously fine, and we both know that at one point I considered Nick to be fine too," she defended. The comment about Nick was out of character for her, only because she rarely, if ever, talked about that whole Nick-hookup after how badly it had blown up in her face. She was drunk now though, so the words flowed more freely, and she didn't feel as embarrassed to admit that yes, she had went there at one point. "But don't smoke right now! I don't want you to get all weird and tired! If anything, Nick said he has coke. I'll do a line with you!"

​

 

[BurningBridges]

Wednesday, June 12th | 6:00 PM

She and Nick had returned home from the Hamptons on Sunday night, but Brooklyn was still adjusting to being back to real life, and out of vacation mode. She was up early Monday morning for work and in a way that was probably a good thing, since it hadn't allowed her much time to mope around and feel sorry for herself to having to come back to reality. Still, it was hard going from a world of such luxury and carelessness, back to the city, where bills needed to be paid, tables needed to be waited, and life's problems seemed harder to forget. She had worked at the restaurant today too, and thankfully, wasn't working her other job tonight as well. The days that she had to work both jobs were brutal, even though Brooklyn was money hungry enough that they typically felt worth it once she hit her bed at the end of all of it.

Her day today had been pretty typical. She had worked from six in the morning to two o'clock this afternoon, spent some time at the gym, did some school work for her online classes, and was now in her kitchen, sipping a margarita. Her initial plan had been to cook tonight, since it had been a minute since she had made a real meal at home, and she actually enjoyed cooking when she was in the mood. However, by the time that she had finished tending to the day's requirements, her energy was depleted and the idea of having to do all of that had lost its appeal. She still wanted Mexican food though, just without all of the work, so she had sent Nick out to pick up an order she placed at a restaurant a few blocks away. It was an order that was very much over-sized for just the two of them, but Brooklyn had been feeling indecisive when looking at the menu. She wasn't sure what she was in the mood for, and that only meant that if she picked one or two things, she was going to end up pissed off and wishing she had ordered something else. Since Nick could eat an entire grocery store's worth of food, she didn't feel bad ordering enough to feed a large family, because she knew that it wouldn't go to waste. Plus, she figured that Roman would be hungry and try to steal some of it anyway, so she had to account for that too. It was so weird to her that he seriously was out here working a nine to five job. Out of the three of them, she had certainly expected herself to be the one to end up in that world first, but Roman had surprised her. She honestly still had no idea what he actually did, and admittedly, she worked so much that his absence wasn't really felt during the day on her end anyway. Regardless, it was still weird, and as she poured the rest of the margaritas she made into her glass from its shaker, she decided that she would tease him about it tonight.

At the sound of the apartment door opening, she sighed dramatically. "Fiiiiiinally!" She suspected that it was Nick, but (unfortunately) it was only Cara. "Oh, it's just you," she commented after realizing who it was. In a move that was out of character for Brooklyn, she added, "Nick's picking up food from that Mexican place a few blocks down. La Contenta Oeste or whatever. Roman's probably coming over too, but if you're hungry or whatever, you can hang out." It didn't come out as if Brooklyn was super excited about extending the invitation, but it didn't sound completely inauthentic either. If anything, it probably sounded a bit awkward, because for Brooklyn, being nice was an awkward thing. Especially being nice to someone that she was consistently unkind to. However, this past weekend had shown Brooklyn that Cara wasn't all that bad. Even if she was all that bad, she came with enough perks to make her bearable and because the weekend had went so well, Brooklyn felt compelled to consider treating her more fairly. She wasn't so self-absorbed to expect Cara to say yes, as if she was waiting anxiously to finally be invited to something by Brooklyn, but she still felt like it was worth something to make an attempt.​

 

[lauren.]

"And last night we were watching 'Charlie St. Cloud', and it-- Well, Makayla wasn't watching it with me because she said she didn't want to watch it, but I was watching it and I was going to ask you if you wanted to watch it too, but I didn't think you would want to because it was sad, Ruby, and I know you don't know sad movies. I won't tell you what happens, but Charlie's brother Sam dies in a car accident and it makes Charlie really upset because he's like 'I'm so sad that my brother died!!!' but then Tess comes and Charlies loves her." Holly's day had been pretty uneventful, so when Ruby got home from work, she hadn't given her more than a minute on her own. Her strong like for companionship and socialization was no secret, and though she had spent the day with Makayla, nothing compared to someone "new". Ruby, Chanel, and the others on the floor weren't "new" in Holly's life, but they felt new when her only contact was really Makayla. Unlike most people, she didn't have friends that she spoke to all day via text or social media. She didn't have other family members. She didn't have a job with coworkers. Makayla was really her only "person" and like a puppy excited to see their people after a long day of being home alone, Holly's excitement for seeing her roommates and neighbors was constantly at a high enough level that you would have thought she hadn't seen them in months.

"I think I saw that movie a long time ago. It's a book, too, right? Maybe we can add it to your summer reading list after we finished Lord of the Flies." Even if Makayla had insisted that things weren't weird between them since Sunday, Ruby felt like they were. Luckily, Holly was filled with enough love that even if she felt like she was getting the cold shoulder from Makayla, Holly transmitted enough warmth to make up for it, at least temporarily. Ruby couldn't blame Makayla for being upset with her for leaving her on Sunday in favor of going to her parents' house with Elijah. She understood that it couldn't have felt good to find out that Ruby wanted to hide the very same relationship that she had begged Makayla to be okay with embracing, but... it wasn't the same. Ruby's family situation was complicated, and she didn't think that her unwillingness to come out to her conservative parents would even affect Makayla. Had this party for her brother never come up, Makayla wouldn't have even known that her parents wouldn't have approved of their relationship. She knew that it was the principle of it all, but still! It wasn't like she was actually dating Elijah. Ruby wanted to feel like it wasn't fair for Makayla to act this way when she couldn't possibly understand Ruby's situation considering that her parents weren't in her life, but obviously it didn't take more than thinking that thought to realize that it didn't make sense and wasn't something that she would even want to attempt reasoning aloud.

She hoped that bringing Elijah over tonight would clear things up. Makayla could meet him in a more official way, and see that he wasn't anything other than a really kind friend, doing her a favor. He was charming, and somehow she figured that maybe his charisma and personality would win Makayla over into realizing that Ruby wasn't the villain for doing what she did. She had ordered a pizza and a bunch of other dishes from an Italian place that she knew Makayla liked, and was baking brownies. She had kept Holly occupied for much of the evening, and insisted that Makayla rest after what she was sure was a busy day. She wanted to do whatever she could to make Makayla feel like she really did care about her, but her nerves were eating her away regardless. Ever since Sunday morning, she couldn't shake this feeling of guilt and anxiety that she had just destroyed something that had finally made her happy.

"Yeah, maybe not, though," Holly countered, right on beat, in a tone that was cheerful enough that it wouldn't suggest she was turning down an offer, despite doing just that. Reading obviously wasn't one of Holly's hobbies, and understandably so. She wasn't good at it, and never had been. Being dyslexic, on top of having ADHD, and on top of just not having a brain that was cohesive for learning meant that simple things like being able to sit down and read a single sentence were very difficult for her. By now, she could read to some extent, and if she had the attention span to sit still, she could probably read at a fifth grade level or so, but that sitting still part made even that difficult. Her IEP allowed her a lot of leeway in terms of meeting certain standards luckily, but it did take a lot of effort for her to get through menial tasks such as simple homework assignments. She was supposed to read Lord of the Flies this summer, since it was what her English class would be reading in the fall, and they wanted her to have extra time to read it and be prepared, so that she wouldn't fall behind as quickly as she would anyway. Holly knew that this had to be done, but that didn't mean that she wanted to do it. She hated anything that had to do with school, because no matter what it was, it left her feeling inadequate, frustrated, and upset. While she was quite oblivious to how out of place some of her actions were from a social standpoint, it had never escaped her that she was, as she would put it, stupid, compared to her peers. During her early education years, she attended a school that was so underfunded that there really were no special resources to help her. She was left to her own devices in class, which often left her being laughed at and made fun of for being unable to catch onto even the most basic of concepts. Once she and Makayla moved out onto their own, Makayla got her into a better school zone and that helped, and now with Ruby on their team, Holly was set up to receive a lot of support that she never had access to before. It was great, but it didn't take away the years of bad experiences that left her feeling like she would never be good at learning, and that there was no point in trying because of that.

"Zac Efron isn't in the book, he's just in the movie," she added, figuring that Ruby would only suggest something so silly because she misunderstood what had drawn Holly to watching it in the first place. "And he's in another movie that I want to watch, but Makayla said no, but if you want to watch it, she would say okay, so do you want to watch it? It's called 'Dirty Grandpa' and I think you would really like it because you have a grandpa, right? And then you like your grandpa, and I like Zac Efron, and then that makes us twins!" Holly exclaimed, finding that train of thought to be funny enough to warrant a bout of laughter. "And, and, and..." She wasn't sure what she wanted to talk about next, but she knew that she wanted to keep talking. Ruby's movement in the kitchen distracted her momentarily, but she found a new subject to talk about a few seconds later. "Does your boyfriend like dogs or cats better? It's okay if he likes cats better, but I don't think Chanel would want him to really be um, spending time here, if that's what he likes." She watched as Ruby removed a pan of brownies from the oven, and found herself inevitably getting out of her chair to hover beside Ruby by the counter. The chocolatey smell had some sort of gravitational pull to it. "Maybe instead of eating dinner, we could eat these first! Like opposite day!" she exclaimed, laughing again.

"I'm not sure, but we can ask him when he gets here. And why don't you just call him my 'friend'? Boyfriend is such a silly, overrated term, isn't it?" Since Makayla was making a big deal out of this and insisting to Holly that Elijah was her boyfriend just out of spite, Ruby didn't want to confuse her further, but she really didn't want this to be a bigger thing than it already was. Maybe having him over wasn't the best idea. She groaned internally as she pulled the brownies out of the oven and set them on top of a cooling rack. "Your sister is already going to be mad at me for letting you lick the spoon, so no getting me in trouble by trying to eat these before real food!" she laughed, waving her finger at Holly in an attempt to instill some sort of authority. It was hard to deny Holly anything because she really was such a ball of energy and sweetness. "And remember what we talked about? We're going to start trying new foods this summer!" she continued, sliding her oven mitts off. She still felt a bit weird about being Holly's doctor, but she also was intrigued at the idea of being able to help someone who had been neglected for so long. She felt like she could help, and living with her meant that she had all the more opportunity to make sure that her interventions only did good, and not harm. It was hard with stimulants though, because they did have some side effects. Holly didn't seem to be affected by the potential insomnia effects, but the appetite suppression was what worried Ruby most. She was already such a tiny little thing, so she was attempting to keep an eye on her weight more than anything else. Holly's picky eater habits didn't help, but Ruby hoped that exposing her to more food choices would help with both issues. "I ordered pasta, salad, chicken. If we want brownies tonight, we're going to try more than just pizza tonight, right?" ​

 

[lauren.]

The weekend had been an eventful one, but as far as Cara was concerned, it was an overall success. It seemed like Chanel had enjoyed herself, and lots of pictures on social media suggested that everyone else had as well, so Cara felt good about it. All of the stress had been worth it, especially because she, too, had a good time. There were a few hiccups here and there, but they seemed harmless looking back at it now, and shockingly the skin on her arm had repaired itself with little evidence of a fall even without the stitches she had convinced herself she needed, so that was a plus too. Unlike most of the others, she hadn't fled the island on Sunday to return to the city... simply because she had no reason to. Cara typically spent most of her summers at her summer house, or travelling. She would return to the city here and there for events or parties, but other than that, there was little draw to be there when she could be laying out on the beach. The view from her fifth floor apartment here seemed pathetic compared to the beachfront one she had out there, so it was hard to blame her for preferring that over this. Unlike the others, she didn't have a job to return to, or responsibilities that required her to be anywhere. The only reason she had even returned today was because her ugly stepmother was having some friends over. Even if the house was big enough that Cara could avoid them entirely if she really wanted to, she knew that she was too petty for that. She would convince herself to find a reason to do something childish, like bolt lock them out of the house and threaten the staff that they would be fired if they attempted to intervene. It would be well deserved, but still, she didn't need the stress. It wasn't worth it, and Chanel had left a few things at the house that she wanted to bring back to her anyway.

To: Chanel
I ended up coming home today! I have a bottle of something my dad wanted me to give you, and shoes that I think are yours that you left so I'll drop it to you or you can come grab it later!

She had stopped at her family's apartment before coming downtown to her own, only because she wanted to leave some clothes there since her closet space in her childhood home was basically the size of her entire bedroom in her own apartment. After a long day of doing very little, she somehow felt completely exhausted, and didn't plan on doing anything other than shower and get into pajamas by the time she reached her apartment. She probably would have texted Roman to see if his apartment was quiet enough for her to come over, but it wasn't even a necessity at this point with how she felt. When she stepped inside and was met with a surprising invitation by Brooklyn to have dinner with them, she was caught off guard enough that an "Okay, thanks," came out without her even realizing she was saying it. It didn't seem like Brooklyn was being sarcastic, and if it was takeout, she didn't think that Brooklyn could be attempting to poison her, but she was still unsure what to think as she carried her bag into her room and then headed into her bathroom to shower.​

 

[cure]

For Chanel, her week was still on Cloud 9. It certainly wasn't on the same level of grandeur as the weekend had been, but it was still a week of celebration. She'd spent some time with her family, and despite the prospect of doing so made her nervous going in, she left feeling warm and cozy. Up until then, she didn't realize how much she missed being a family unit, and they parted ways with her feeling a slight sense of loss. In true Chanel fashion, though, there wasn't much room for her to wallow in nostalgia, as her birthday was essentially a birthday week. Including this morning, she brunched every single day after the party. It was why the kitchen was slowly filling with the free bottles of champagne her friends talked themselves into get. They went to a new place everyday, and each time it was her birthday, even if the actual day of her birthday was yesterday. While she only had the bottles of champagne to show for her birthday amenities, she and her friends cleaned out in other ways too. They weren't going around the city just getting free food and alcohol by batting their lashes, but similar to Chanel, they also knew the right people, and where they didn't, they were sweet talkers. Between her family and dining, partying, and shopping with her friends, she had little time for herself. Being able to go to the gym this afternoon was the purge she didn't know she needed. Plus, she would swear her skin was looking especially glowy after her session. The birthday facial she got yesterday also likely played a significant role in that dew.

After showering and napping at her friend's place, she found herself back at her apartment for more than a couple of minutes. It was long enough for the weight of this being the actual place she lived to sink in. She'd popped in once or twice since this weekend's party, but it was really an in-and-out situation, enough so that when she finally did get to her bedroom, she missed it because it felt like her first time back since last week. Despite this, she didn't lounge around for too long, and used her overcharged battery to get some things done. She cleaned her bathroom, rearranged parts of her room, and played some music aloud while she burned some incense. She always cleaned with the doors open, but she made sure to keep it open for Holly to peek her head in and out as she pleased. Chanel had told Makayla more times than she could count that she didn't mind if Holly dropped in for a quick chat, or watching a Netflix movie on her bed, and she meant it. It was no secret that she was social, but she also just didn't like to feel holed up in a box. Knowing it wouldn't be weird to leave her door open most of the times was a benefit to her as well.

This time, though, her door was open more for the latter reason than the former, as the only thing she did when she was in her room between laundry room visits was napping on her bed. At some points, Chanel didn't make to her room, and instead fell asleep on the couch. She didn't realize how tired she was until her third nap, nor did she realize just how much laundry she had that provided enough time for her to be able to take three naps. It shouldn't have been that alarming, all things considered, but as she waited for her last loads to finish, scrolling through Instagram and she lazily lounged on her bed after waking up from her most recent nap a few minutes ago, all the domestic work didn't seem so bad. For the time being, she enjoyed the mindless scrolling with the backdrop of Ruby and Holly's conversation. Complete silence was something she rarely enjoyed, and so even today she didn't mind the noise or ramblings going on in the common areas; if anything, it reminded her of home. After over a week of vacationing, she quite missed it.

Just this week alone was so eventful that it made her actual birthday party seem lightyears away. Catching up on her timeline, and stalking the new follows that came as a result of meeting new people during the party, it was jogging different parts of her memory, almost making it feel like she was reliving it again. In truth, it would seem that this was the best, if not only, way for her to do so since she blacked out towards the end of the night. It wasn't one of those blackouts where she blinked and upon opening her eyes she was waking up to the sun completely disoriented. She knew the gist of what had happened, and having the missing details filled in via social media was honestly part of the fun. She texted her friends as she came across different things that reminded her of things that went down. It was a successful night; a night of many firsts. The coke was definitely top of the list. That was wild, but was easily a top highlight. In retrospect, she was surprised how she held her own so well given the amount of alcohol she was consuming, on top of it being the first time she'd ever done a serious party drug. Her night with Elijah also didn't fall into the abyss of her memory, but the sweet details were largely missed. That was fine by her though for a few reasons. Namely, she wanted to have a purely physical night of sheer fun, absolutely no strings attached, no consequences, no nothing. And she got that, but she also got a little more. She remembered some sweeter, fleeting moments, but it definitely undermined the entirety of their night together. For instance, she didn't actually remember the grilled cheese fiasco, or when they first kissed, or how she kept referring to him as a Nigerian Prince Charming, but she did remember the chill of the tide on her toes in the middle of the night, the giggling, and the dancing, and how they ended the night with each other. That was sufficient enough that she didn't mind that she actually didn't retain his face or name, and if anything, it made it all the more romantic. Her friends, on the other hand, had taken every opportunity they could to tell her what a dumb bitch she had been, and had been quite intent on the effort in finding him. If Chanel remembered that he was (in her mind) Cara's friend, she would have explored it, but for all she knew, he was just a stranger that the universe had wrapped nicely for her as a birthday gift. Besides, the photographer and videographer were still processing all of the moments they captured. While Chanel was too busy in the present moment to actively post on her socials that night, she was sure they got a couple of pictures in.

After hearing Zac Efron's name a few times, coupled with Holly's laughter, Chanel was pulled from the warp hole that was social media. She rolled off of her bed and went to her dresser, atop which stood a circular mirror she found at a flea market a few years ago. Her dresser was cluttered, as usual, and among the several things was a tin of hair ties and scrunchies. She went for a pink velvet, and she pulled her hair into a pony, she was reminded to show her Holly to see if she would want one as she had way too many for just herself. Though she had largely lounged around today, she still donned the outfit she put on when she was still at her friends house earlier. Even if Chanel planned on being a homebody one day, she still liked feeling like she was doing something, and getting dressed supplied that feeling.

"Mmmm." She closed her eyes as if that would better enable her to enjoy the chocolatey aroma. "If you both are playing Top Chef, I'll be the judge." Once she got to the island, she inched the barstool out enough to sit on, beginning to look back towards her phone to check on her text messages. While she had her notifications on, she got enough in a day so that they were largely ignored, and therefore her phone was effectively always in Do Not Disturb. "Matter of fact, I'll be all of them. Oh, Ruby, I just saw your text. You're so sweet." It was then that she saw Cara's text and sent her response. She was just a magnet for free alcohol this week. "Is this a new friend I haven't met? Or were they at the party too? I feel like I met, like, literally a million people, so if she was there, then we probably met."

To: my care bear
omg!!! my lifesaving cherub. did you do like I said and thank your dad EXACTLY a million and one days for me?

To: my care bear
&& did you ask if he was open to formally adopting me as his daughter?

To: my care bear
OH! and don't think that just because you drugged me that I forgot about my promise to you

Chanel really only remembered promising to set Cara up because it was ingrained in her mind that that was the only way she could repay her, and she had mentioned it enough times that night that it was virtually impossible for her to forget the sentiment.​

 

[cure]

Like his neighbor, his week had been busy and seemingly nonstop. Contrarily, his was nowhere near as exciting or Instagrammable, nor was his transition back to normal life smooth, let alone existent. Today was the first day this week that he didn't end up working past six o' clock. There was a lot of tension at the office because an important contact was at risk of churning. It came as a shock, and while those kinds of conversations were above his pay grade, it was impossible for the weight of it to not virally spread to everyone else. He'd been roped in, along with some others, to ensure that they didn't lose this contract. Even if he could get home at 5:30 everyday, he was still so tightly wound upon arriving that he became physically exhausted from it. Not all weeks were this bad, but this was one where it seemed like he was on the clock twenty-four-seven since he couldn't even be in the apartment without thinking about what the next day would bring. On the one hand, being so busy was good. It was a healthier kind of distraction. The stress and anxiety, though, was a heavy consequence, and one that he was still not accustomed to dealing with appropriately. Vegging out to Netflix didn't work. Going straight to sleep wasn't an option because he was typically too tense to relax. The gym, so far, had been his best distraction and the most effective way to actually take his mind off of work. Some days, though, he couldn't manage. Today seemingly brought some light to the tunnel. For the first time this week, he didn't work late, and he even left a bit early, though not by choice. Instead of being able to enjoy the extra time to relax, he instead used what little energy he had to left to figure out why he was excused for the day. In his mind, it didn't register that leaving an hour early after so much overtime was minuscule, or that his manager might have just been rewarding him for all of the hard work.

Fortunately, his mind and body had reaching a tipping point, and so as soon as he got home, he was asleep. He didn't sleep long, but the fourty-five minutes of desperately needed rest was somehow the most energizing he'd had all week. It was still strange to look at the clock and realize where he normally would have been or doing at the same time. It was then that he saw Brooklyn's text from earlier, and that he realized that he was quite hungry. After a shower, he actually felt felt somewhat relaxed. He considered capitalizing on the opportunity and crashing onto his pillow, but he knew the chances were more likely that he would end up ruining his sleep schedule since he couldn't seem to sleep through the night. Even on the nights that he could, he still beat his alarm clock to waking. So instead of doing that, he just shaved and changed into something more comfortable, and chose to ignore the number of times he opened his medicine cabinet. It was empty, but even outside of that, the vitamins he took were purposely on the sink. It was really meant to break the association of opening it and taking anything, but four years of habit was hard to break in a few short months. He'd never taken vitamins before, and he didn't start doing it to make up for all of the abuse and turmoil his body had gone through. Quitting cold was hell on its own, and the job that was the cause of all of his present stress was the same job that kept him from defaulting. Back then, he was virtually a zombie and the only thing he really felt was exhaustion. Even if there was a window of opportunity for him to relapse, he wouldn't have anything to turn to but an empty medicine cabinet. There were two sides to any addiction: the physical, and the mental. The latter is where Hell took up residence. Vitamins were a safe replacement for what came naturally to him. To wake up and not take anything felt like walking outside clothe less.

Sleep schedule withholding, being around Brooklyn and Nick was the distraction he needed because now he was feeling anxious for different reason. One of those being that he was pretty sure he was already being a shitty boyfriend. Most of his reluctance to taking things to the next level with Cara stemmed from his own emotional guards, but there was a more selfless aspect there as well. Being in a relationship took time and energy, and both of those, he knew, were in short supply. It certainly wasn't where his mind was at this weekend when he and Cara made things official, but now he was, and he was wishing he had remembered to say something about it when he was intoxicated and open. Now, he was back to living in his head and pretending that he was telepathic instead of choosing to have an open conversation. Maybe he could just grab extra food, take it back to his place, and they hang out there. He was sure Nick and Brooklyn wouldn't be in a rush to part ways if it was just them too, and having the apartment to themselves was a luxury. There were plenty of times, and it was probably more often than not, that Cara was over while Nick was home. Outside of being quieter and having to actually sneak her out, it wasn't the worst thing. Not having to do that was still the desired option, and even more so now that they weren't tiptoeing with each other anymore.

As he waited for a response after knocking on Brooklyn's door, he sent Cara a text.

To: Cara
hungry? i should have the place this evening​

 

[A_Writer]

"The only people who eat salads are rabbits," Holly countered, reaching over to touch the hot brownie pan simply out of impulse, but missing the chance as Ruby pulled it away half a second before she could. "If I had a rabbit, I would name him Tricks like the rabbit from Trix cereal. I don't like that kind of cereal but I do like rabbits with pink noses because that's so cute!" she laughed.

Chanel arrived then, and her mere appearance the happiness that came with seeing her elicited more laughter from Holly. "That's a cooking show," she informed Ruby, as if the "Top Chef" reference would go over her head. "Like Cupcake Wars and Kids Baking Championship!" she explained. She lost herself in thought for a moment then, reflecting on the episode of "Cupcake Wars" that she had watched recently when bakers competed to make cupcakes for a Wizard of Oz anniversary party. One of cupcakes that were presented in the show was ornamented with a red ruby slipper, which made Holly chuckle aloud, as she wondered if Ruby was named after those shoes. They were sparkly and pretty, so she wouldn't have blamed Ruby's mom if that was the case.

Restraint wasn't the right word to use, but it took a lot of distraction, perhaps, for Holly to resist touching Chanel's visible belly out of impulse since it was visible and that was funny to her. Chanel's question, though, proved to be the necessary distraction that Holly needed, and she bounced on her toes with delight at knowing the answer to a question. "Her boyfriend is coming over, Chanel! Boyfriend, like the Justin Bieber song!" Holly had encountered Elijah briefly the morning after Chanel's party, when he and Ruby had come down to have breakfast. Holly had been up for hours already at that point and was swimming in the pool. She had missed Makayla and Ruby's fight, and didn't pick up on the tension once she climbed out of the pool for a quick breakfast, before Ruby and Elijah left. Though his presence did intrigue Holly, especially since she had no idea that Ruby had a boyfriend, Holly was never as fascinated with new male friends as she was with new female friends, so after only a few bites of toast, the allure of the swimming pool lured her away from the breakfast table. She had said a few words to Elijah, asking him what his favorite color was and if he had ever been to Disney World, but it hadn't been eventful enough for her to feel one way or another about him. "His name is..." She paused. What was his name, again? "Eliza!" The first part of the name was right, so it sounded close enough when she exclaimed it for her to feel like she was correct. "Like Eliza Thornberry, but not a girl, and not with glasses, and not with braces, and not with a monkey named Darwin, and not able to talk to animals!" Before someone in their house stepped on it and broke it (probably on purpose), they had a VHS player, and an assortment of very random tapes to go with it, with this show being on one of them. She had only seen the two episodes that came on the tape, but she had watched it at least fifty times, so it was something that still felt familiar to her. "Or can he? Do you think he can do that?" she said, looking to Ruby with serious curiosity, as he had never said that he couldn't speak to animals. "And Ruby got you a salad, Chanel! Because we know you like those!" she exclaimed, switching gears again as she remembered that a rabbit was a kind of animal, and that her earlier statement had been wrong, because in addition to rabbits eating salads, she knew that Chanel and Cara liked eating salads too. ​

 

[BurningBridges]

Brooklyn didn't know if Cara's answer was confirmation that she planned on eating with them or not, but it didn't really matter one way or another. She hadn't scoffed and rolled her eyes in a sarcastic "yeah, right" sort of way, so that was all that mattered. Brooklyn didn't exactly want her to eat with them, nor did she want her to not eat with them. She was indifferent as to Cara's presence as a whole, but just felt like the invitation part was a necessity that had to be offered to at least say she was making an attempt at being kinder, so her job was done. Nothing else had to be said, and the other blonde continued with little pause down the hall, presumably to her bedroom. It was the first time that Brooklyn had seen Cara since leaving her house on Sunday, and seeing her mosey in with no cares in the world was a reminder to how differently Cara lived when compared to the rest of them. Her entire life was one big vacation, with no real responsibilities to uphold. She didn't have a job to get to, bills to pay, family obligations to meet. While everyone else's weekend at her house had been a vacation, that was simply her everyday life, and considering how amazing it had been, who could blame her for spending a lot of time there? Brooklyn would have done the same thing had she been in her position. Even being on the other side of things, she appreciated Cara having that other place to go because it meant that Brooklyn had the apartment to herself more often. While the idea of that sounded nice and was nice, it didn't really mean much at the end of the day. Despite their differences, Brooklyn and Cara had lived cohesively for a while, and Cara was shockingly a pretty good roommate. They never got in each other's way, and because Brooklyn worked so much and Nick lived right across the hall, she didn't spend all that much time in the apartment to an extent where Cara's presence or lack thereof meant all that much. Still, it was nice knowing that she was alone, even if it didn't change her behaviors.

Given the time, and the fact that the person on the other side of the door knocked, Brooklyn assumed it to be Roman before she even got up to confirm it. "Well, well, well," she began, as if there was something innately wrong about his arrival. "Look what the cat dragged in." She headed back to the kitchen, assuming he would follow her inside. "Finally a big shot with a real job, and yet you still can't resist the urge to come get free food off of me. What's that saying? You can take Roman out of the broke bitch life, but you can't take the broke bitch life out of Roman?" As hard as it may have been for an outsider to tell based on Brooklyn's version of a "hello", she was happy to see Roman. Outside of Nick, he was her best friend, and their ability to be playful, honest, and unkind, attested to the level of comfort that existed between the two. She didn't think he would want any of the margaritas she had made in the shaker, so she went to the fridge to get him something she assumed he would want, and placed it on the table for him. "Not to make you feel unspecial, but I told Cara she could eat with us too," she said as she sat back down.​

 

[electric]

"What the hell is so laughable about me having a girlfriend?!" Elijah questioned, a smile on his face, though is partially stemmed from disbelief at the energy being thrown his way. He had brought up having a girlfriend simply as a joke earlier in the day, just to see how the others (especially Harlow) responded. He had expected a bit of jealousy, honestly, and as silly as it was, his ego probably wanted that to some extent. However, he had been almost immediately met with laughs and jokes by his employees (who he would call friends more than employees by this point), and he definitely hadn't been expecting that. Even though they were just clowning on him and being dumb, he still didn't know why it was such an outlandish idea. Harlow had been sleeping with him regularly enough just a few months ago, so clearly she didn't think he was unlikable enough where someone wanting to date him would be shocking. If anything, it shouldn't have come to a shock to any of them with how frequently Elijah was hit on at this place!

"Boy, give us a break," Victoria said, shaking her head and just finishing up her own laughter bout, following Harlow informing her of the "news" once her shift started a few minutes ago. "I know you're bluffing, but go on, then. Let's see her. Pull up that Insta!"

Elijah was done working for the day, but that didn't really mean much, because he was never truly off the clock. "Done working" right now, meant that he was sitting on a bar stool in front of the girl's, as if he was just a patron himself, but he had been doing that for the past hour, and any time a crowd came in, he ended up right back behind the bar until everyone was served and things slowed down again. He wouldn't complain about that, though. The business was good, and he was the type of person who enjoyed working. It was probably an easier mindset to have when you were the business owner, and when every customer actually equaled money in the bank to you, versus an employee who was paid hourly and was going to end up with the same check whether one person was served or one hundred were served. Thankfully, he had a pretty solid team on board. Or at least, the ones who were still on board were pretty solid. He had just found out yesterday that two of his bartenders were leaving the team: one, immediately, as she was moving out of state due to a family emergency, and another in a few weeks, as she would be studying abroad for the summer. It was going to leave him short staffed since a few of his bartenders were already college kids who had returned home for the summer and wouldn't be back until late August, but he wasn't incredibly worried. He had asked the staff to ask around to see if they knew of anyone looking for a job, and he figured that by the end of the week he'd have someone.

Even though Elijah did have Ruby on social media, the girls' reaction thus far had told him that even if he had pulled up the most beautiful girl on the planet, they were still going to act like cackling hyenas just to make him feel dumb, so he was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. With that in mind, he figured that he might as well leave Ruby some respect and not put her face on blast, since this had been a joke to begin with. Even though it was a joke from the start, their reactions left him wanting to drag it, just to prove a point. He was going over to Ruby's tonight for dinner, as she insisted that she wanted to thank him for playing the part of her pretend boyfriend over the weekend, so he figured that he'd convince her to come in one night this week to play that role for him, just to prove a point to these girls that he could date someone, and someone attractive at that, if he just so happened to want to! They took his response as him wanting to buy time to now find a fake girlfriend, and with a few more jokes thrown about, he eventually left them for the night.

Ruby lived only five minutes or so away from his bar, and only ten minutes away from his own apartment, so he stopped home quickly to freshen up before heading over there. He was a few minutes late, but not to any extent where it seemed compulsory to call and explain himself. He didn't need to be buzzed in, as he happened to catch the open door behind a delivery guy, and he shared in the kids' sentiment about it being sinful that the building didn't have an elevator. Even being in shape, walking five flights was something that anyone probably had to get used to, and Elijah ended up holding half of the guy's bags just to help him out, not even realizing that he was headed for the same apartment as him. When they reached their destination and it became clear that he was going to Ruby's, Elijah took care of tipping him and accepted the bags, using his foot to "knock" on the door since his hands were all occupied.

 

[Bandit_]

If Sunday wasn't included in the recollection, Makayla would have told you that their weekend at Cara's house had been nothing short of a wonderful time. To start, the location had been gorgeous. Makayla had never been to the Hamptons before, but she understood now why it was a celebrity hub during the summer months. The beach was gorgeous, the weather was perfect, and Cara's house was something out of a movie. They hadn't even had a chance to explore it in full in few days that they had been there, but what they had seen had been enough for Makayla to believe that it was the nicest home she would ever step foot in in her life. Holly hadn't been any more of a bother than she normally was, and Makayla enjoyed seeing her be able to swim, play, and have a good time. Because they had grown up in the city, it was still something of a culture shock, even to Makayla, to realize that some people had that much space to call their own. They had big houses with multiple floors, multiple bathrooms, and in this case, multiple kitchen. Big lawns, long driveways, guest bedrooms. Makayla and Holly's fascination with the place probably even superseded that of the others, just because middle class suburbia wasn't even their "norm".

Chanel's party, and even the party the night before, had been a lot of fun, solidifying that coming all the way out there had been a good idea. Not only did she get very drunk (though not obsenely so), but Ruby got pretty drunk herself, which made it all the more fun. It wasn't very often that Makayla got to actually party and hang out like that, so she really enjoyed herself and even with a mild hangover the next morning, she still felt emotionally and mentally refreshed. She and Ruby had moved in a really great direction in their relationship, and as reluctant as Makayla had been to go there to begin with, she woke up feeling like she hadn't made a mistake by agreeing to a more open, real relationship. A gorgeous beach house, two fun parties, lots of alcohol, good sex, good food, perfect weather... what else could she have asked for?

Maybe for Ruby to not decide that she wanted to create a fake boyfriend by the next morning, but how the fuck was Makayla supposed to predict that that was going to happen?

Long story short, when Ruby informed Makayla that she wasn't coming back to the city in favor of going to some party with a fake boyfriend, Makayla's mood immediately shifted into the red territory. She didn't know who Ruby thought she was, coercing her into jumping into a full on relationship, just to turn around and casually claim that she had a "fake" boyfriend, as if Makayla was supposed to just wave them off with a smile on their face. Really? She barely gave a damn about Ruby's parents not being very condoning of homosexuality because Makayla didn't care about them. She didn't have parents present in her own life, so the approval of two people who were complete strangers to her meant very little, and she didn't even think she would have needed Ruby to be open to her parents until events turned in this direction. It made the whole thing feel very shady and one sided, as if Ruby was expecting Makayla to explain their relationship to her whole family, AKA Holly, while not only being reluctant to do it to her own, but also going out of her way to create a fake boyfriend to hide Makayla. That was the part that really got her. Then, throw in that this fake boyfriend looked like his face and body were hand carved by God himself with how beautiful he was, and it just made the whole thing sting anymore. As if all of that wasn't bad enough, having to commute hours back home with Holly, through unfamiliar territory and with luggage, just made the whole experience more painful, and even though Makayla would look back on Chanel's party as being fun, she felt very unsure about the trip as a whole because of its ending.

Ruby returned on Sunday night, and though she had wanted to talk things out, Makayla had insisted that there was nothing to talk about. She wasn't trying to be petty and yes, it probably would have been healthier to flesh it out verbally and allow Ruby to see where she was coming from, but Makayla wasn't used to having to do that with people. She wasn't used to being in relationships, even just from a close friendship point of view, and she wasn't comfortable with having to make herself vulnerable to people. She felt like Ruby needed to understand how wrong it was that she was doing this on her own, and that if she didn't have that amount of common sense, than it was a lost cause anyway. It didn't feel worth wasting her breath on, and she insisted to Ruby that things were fine. Their relationship hadn't gone back to where it was on Saturday night, or even before that, but Makayla also wasn't being explicitly cold or weird. She figured that in a few days, she would soften back up and get over it (at least mostly), if Ruby really seemed to feel bad about it.

And Ruby did seem to feel bad about it. She was clearly going out of her way to keep Holly company, and give Makayla a chance to relax, and Makayla did appreciate that. Holly was technically still in school until the end of next week, but because she was exempt from so many of the state exams and final exams, it basically meant that summer had already started for her. That meant that Makayla had to be in full entertainer mode all day, every day, which was something that always took a few weeks to get used to once school let out. This summer was going to be even more interesting (AKA complicated) since Makayla had finished school, passed her licensing exam, and was interviewing for jobs next week. She didn't know what she would do with Holly if she had to work full time, though she assumed that she would just have to leave her home alone and hope for the best. There really was no other option than that.

After a long shower, Makayla was feeling relaxed. She took her time doing her night time hair care and skincare routine, before putting on pajamas, and making her way into the kitchen. She wasn't going to bed now, but since she had no where else to go for the evening, she wanted to be comfortable. Plus, since she knew the "guest" that was coming over was this fake boyfriend, she had exactly zero motivation to look any sort of nice way. Just as she was entering the main space, she heard a knock at the door. Though Ruby's expression was probably that of a deer in headlights seeing as Makayla was closest to the door and was going to get to greet who she could only assume was the fake boyfriend, Makayla jumped at the chance, and opened the door. To no surprise, it was Elijah. It wasn't his fault that he had decided to help Ruby on her immoral quest, but his feelings were going to end up being collateral damage in this whole thing because Makayla sure as hell didn't give a damn. It wasn't like she was going to be blatantly rude though, and if anyone was going to feel uncomfortable, it was probably going to be Ruby, which was fine by Makayla. She didn't know, of course, that Chanel was also going to be an unlikely victim in terms of discomfort, but that was beyond anything Makayla could be responsible. Home girl was on her own with that one!

"If it isn't Ruby's handome-as-hell boyfriend!" she exclaimed, stepping aside to allow him to enter. He had bags full of food that smelled good, which, for some reason, only annoyed Makayla further, as she now assumed that it was him who was feeding them tonight on his dollar, instead of Ruby on hers. "And with a whole feast worth of food, wow! Come in, come in!" The smile on her face might have passed as being authentic to Elijah because he didn't know her, and Holly because that was how Holly was, but coupled with her tone, there was probably a hint of the sarcastic way she was feeling seeping out of her mouth with each word. "Holly, you remember Ruby's boyfriend, Elijah, right? Chanel, did you get to meet him on Saturday? You really missed out, if not!"​

 

[lauren.]

Ruby had just missed her opportunity to tell Chanel that he wasn't really her boyfriend, and remind Holly of the same thing. Before she could open her mouth, Holly started talking about some old Nickelodeon show, and then there was a knock at the door, and before Ruby could take more than two steps in that direction, Makayla had appeared out of the blue and beat her to it. She had been hoping that it was just the delivery boy with their food, as now was around the ETA she had been given for it, but unfortunately, it wasn't an unfamiliar face behind the door. It was Elijah, who seemed to be carrying their food delivery for some reason, and again, before Ruby could attempt to say anything, Makayla was on it. It was obvious to Ruby what she was doing--how she was really trying to rub it in that since Ruby wanted to create this story, she needed to stick to it. However, she couldn't help but to feel like Makayla was being childish and petty with this. I mean, really? She was going to drag this on to such an extent that it involved Holly and Chanel, too? She had hoped that they could all laugh about it tonight, and that Ruby could explain that Elijah had only been there to cover for Ruby. She would have been fine with telling Chanel about her relationship with Makayla and how Eli had played her boyfriend just for a day to help her out, while still embracing Makayla as the person she actually liked, but no, clearly that wasn't in the cards tonight. In truth, it was wishful thinking on Ruby's part, and probably unfairly optimistic to expect things to just go that way and for them to be able to laugh it off as if it hadn't hurt Makayla, but she also couldn't help but to feel like that would have made life so much easier.

With a sigh, she offered Elijah as much of a sympathetic "bare with me" smile as she could, as she approached him to take things out of his hands before leading him back over to the kitchen. She wasn't going to start arguing with Makayla right now, now that it was clear that she wanted things to go this way, so she felt like she had no choice but to ride whatever the hell this was out for the night. "Yeah, so this is Elijah, and Elijah, this is Chanel. I'm not sure if you guys met, but yeah, he was at your party for a little on Saturday, and he spent the night because he was coming with me to a family party the next day that was kind of near Cara's place." She didn't want to lie now when it was unnecessary and corroborate Makayla's story that he was her boyfriend, but again, she also wasn't going to reject it and start an argument that would leave everyone, herself included, feeling uncomfortable. "We left before you woke up, which I hope wasn't because you were feeling super sick on Sunday!" she said, trying to change the topic of conversation off of herself as she unpacked the food from the many bags it had come in. It was only as she unpacked it all that she realized how nervous she had probably been earlier, because she had ordered far more than they needed. It had been a case of not wanting anything to possibly go wrong, so ordering enough food choices to satisfy everyone seemed like the easiest thing she could do. Two different salads, countless pasta dishes, truffle fries, Italian entree dishes, and a cheese pizza all ended up scattered among the counter top as Ruby tried to distract herself from what was going on behind her. "I didn't have a chance to catch up with you during it, or else I would have introduced you two, but I'm sure you were busy with your friends anyway. Did you have a good time though?" she said, momentarily craning her head back to glance at Chanel before returning to setting the food up.​

 

[cure]

"As charming a host as always," Roman said as he followed Brooklyn inside and finished what he was doing on his phone. He wasn't quick enough to reply how he would happily grab his food to go before Brooklyn announced that there would be an additional member to this evening's dinner. Since Brooklyn was already being a dick, he didn't actually take her comment seriously, and just laughed it off. His grin diminished as he was drinking his beer, slowly seeing that Brooklyn didn't seem to be joking. Since he had already invited Cara to hang out over dinner, it would have seemed that this was divine timing, but this would have actually messed things up in his mind. Roman obviously didn't mind Cara's company, but he didn't want to spend what little time he had sharing it with others. The lack of desire was especially true when he would be sharing it with Brooklyn and Nick. It was all too intimate, plus it was weird. Since when did Brooklyn and Cara begin breaking bread? "Why would you do that?" He was careful to hide his annoyance; it wasn't too hard considering his perpetual exasperated state.

"If you were nice like me, you would understand that it's just polite to do stuff like that."

Like you care about polite, Roman thought. Her own warm welcome from seconds ago could attest to that if years of interaction couldn't. "Are you forgetting or ignoring the fact that we do not get along?" Had this conversation been happening not even a year ago, to say Cara and Roman 'didn't get along' would have been a grave understatement. Everything she said and did was annoying, and Roman didn't take favorable how arrogant she was. Given Roman's own well-known arrogance, it surely seemed to align well with the saying that people's issues with others usually stemmed from seeing themselves mirrored in that person and not enjoying the reflection. By the time they first hooked up during New Years they weren't actively going at each other's throats like they historically had been. The tension between them did decrease, but was never fully eradicated; it simply evolved into an unspoken sexual tension until that night a few months back. Even still, their tolerability for each other didn't suddenly graduate to acceptance. There were certainly times when he knew he didn't necessarily like Cara, but he was still attracted to her. As their relationship changed overtime, their visible disdain for each other virtually disappeared. It wasn't like either were treating each other as best of friends, but it was really just one of tolerance, and probably just bored of each other's presence. While not accurate to their actual relationship, one would think that moment of indifference would have arrived quite some time ago. Alas, while they admittedly liked each other now, the two were the same people as they had been back then, and they were stubborn and could be biting. Thinking back on that honestly made Roman wonder how in the hell he ended up in this current situation: not his annoyance over eating with Cara, but his annoyance that he wasn't able to do that alone. The thought made him roll his eyes even harder. Cara would seemingly never stop making him do that.

In truth, it wasn't that serious. Much of his annoyance was just his tiredness projecting. He would be fine with being around her regardless, namely since he hadn't really gotten that chance since the weekend. Roman could be a perfectionist, though, and easily tipped off by the mildest of inconveniences, not much unlike his romantic counterpart. If there was the slightest change in what he had thought up in his mind, it was virtually like torching the whole thing. Brooklyn had to pick today of all days to be 'polite.' Today was certainly a better day than any former one where having the pair sharing a meal would have been an impossible oversight.

“That’s not what Cinderella told me.”

"What are you talking about?" Brooklyn's reference went completely over his head. Was she always so weird and confusing?

“You kissed her in Disney and now you want to pretend you don’t like her? Reallyyyy Roman? You’re starting to sound like Nick, stop it.”

"She kissed me," he said, quick to correct a minimal aspect to the story behind the photo Brooklyn was referencing. While he didn't understand her cryptic Cinderella response, he did actually forget about that kiss until Brooklyn mentioned it just now. Also weird, he noted. All the more reason why the two of them eating with Brooklyn and Nick was not ideal. Brooklyn's comment was likely just surface-level teasing, but it only validated his concern. Neither of them wanted to be public. That they got away with seeing each other this long was impressive, but they were also purely physical up until very recently, so it wasn't like they were really trying to enjoy each other's company. Roman coolly took another swig of his drink, holding Brooklyn's gaze. "It was hardly even a peck," he began, though he knew that that statement was as good a lie as any. It didn't matter. It was weird that she still had that random moment stowed away in her memory. "That you even remember that when I don't not only confirms that you are a freak, but that you're spiting me." Even if that wasn't the case, it wasn't like Roman had any evidence to suggest otherwise. It did seem pretty random and out of character for Brooklyn to extend an invitation to something so arbitrary, let alone to anything at all that didn't require Cara's presence. Her non-response to his initial question also didn't quell any concerns or subside his outstanding questions. "Tell your bestie her invitation's been revoked." Since he didn't know that Cara was in the apartment, he was referencing Brooklyn texting her that she need not worry about eating with them. Given that ignorance, it really made it all the weirder that Brooklyn would go out of her way to text Cara to invite her to eat with the three of them. ​

 

[cure]

Chanel cooed at Holly's intriguing correction. "A boyfriend?" Well, well. It must have been pretty serious for Ruby to want to invite him over. Not because there was something so special about the residents in this apartment, but rather because it was quite casual to have your boyfriend over. If it was a random hookup or someone she barely knew, then that would have caused some raising of the brow. She was surprised, then, that this was her first time hearing of him, at least as far as she could recall. Nevertheless, she was exciting to meet him, not only because that was just in her nature to meet new faces, but because this was such a juicy surprise! What kind of guys was Ruby into? She was momentarily pulled back to her phone, her gaze catching glimpse of something one of her friends sent in the group chat. It was quickly followed by another notification that she narrowly caught saying, "Is this him???"

She had every mind to just put her phone done because this was getting ridiculous. Chanel didn't date ugly guys, and her friends wouldn't let her, but he couldn't have been that much of a dream boat to warrant the hysterics. She was amused though. It wasn't her friends' antics that tickled her, but rather her projection for her expectations to be failed. All of this hype? And it was coming from a bunch of girls who were just as drunk as her? If he was really that great, Chanel would have remembered, or at least someone would have. She was busy checking out this new evidence when Makayla arrived right on time to answer the door. Like Ruby, Chanel presumed it to be the food delivery. It was why she didn't bother too much to focus on Makayla's interaction at the door at first, but even once she announced who it was, Chanel was still pulled into her phone. She had her phone's screen inches closer to her face as she analyzed the video her friends sent that had she and Elijah in the background. What kind of FBI agents had she befriended? As she shook her head and began sending a response, she was mentally reminded that this would actually be a great story to share with the girls, especially now. What a hilarious juxtaposition between Ruby's seemingly seamless and very adult life, versus her own elementary boy troubles.

To: tribe
yooooo. i'm calling the cops

To: tribe
now find his number

"Hi!" she said as she sat her phone down on the counter, and before looking up to actually give him a direct greeting. When she looked up to see not see Elijah, but to see the complete stranger her Sherlock Holmes friends literally just uncovered not even ten seconds ago, she very obviously did a double take. "Holy crap. No wa...aait...." Her excitement from the sheer randomness dissipated and turned into one of shock. As Ruby spoke, she simply stared at Elijah, determined but straining to find the difference between the man standing in front of her and the man on her phone. "Sorry, what?" she said, turning to Ruby then. "Oh! Ummmm, I feel like that name is suuuper familiar, but I can most certainly say I did not meet your boyfriend, Rubes. And he spent the night too? Wooow, that's so crazy. How convenient is the universe's timing though?" Like Makayla, Chanel was trying to conceal the true meaning behind her words, though unlike her roommate, there was more debate on her choice in doing so. Partly, it was because she wasn't sure how to navigate the situation at hand. What was the moral thing to do? Just blurt it out? Or would putting Ruby on the spot like that be more damaging and hurtful than talking to her privately? Shit, maybe Ruby would be mad at her. Chanel wouldn't have necessarily blamed her, but it definitely wasn't something she wanted or needed because as the reality of the situation continued to settle, she grew more and more upset. She wanted to seclude to her room because for once, socializing felt quite taxing and laborious. Instead, after a very quiet and controlled breath, she softened her expression, though it didn't follow through to her eyes.

"I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to properly meet, Elijah. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how busy I was that night, but I'm sure you were as well, right?" After holding his gaze with one that could only translate to saying that if she was going to Hell, he was coming too, she turned her attention to the food that Ruby was setting up, and stood from where she sat. "Wow, look at all this food. Ruby, how did you find a guy that is so accommodating? And with such impeccable timing too. Remind me," she began as she stood next to Ruby and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "To remind you to give me some advice. I've been meaning to rant about my failed boy chronicles to a qualified professional."

She let go of Ruby so that she could help her with all of the food. "Do you want to leave it in the containers or set it on on the dishware?" She was already reaching for the cabinets to grab plates when she asked. She looked over her shoulder to Elijah and smiled. "Oh, Elijah, you can get out. Of the kitchen, I mean," she said with saccharine before clarifying it with: "You are the guest, after all. Hols, did you want to ask him about talking to animals?"​

 

[A_Writer]

While Holly did struggle to pick up on a lot of social cues, she sensed that the way that Makayla approached Elijah was different than how she approached many people. Sensing that didn't allow her to put any pieces of the puzzle together or analyze it in any special way, but the energy that Makayla was exerting was different than what she normally gave off, and that in itself Holly could realize. However, Holly could only take it at face value, and seeing Makayla excited and enthused by Elijah only heightened Holly's normal intrigue by new people and the opportunity to socialize. Between that, Elijah's arrival and his presence in itself, the smell of all of the food, pretty Chanel being there, and the conversation happening, she momentarily found herself overwhelmed. She didn't present as being overwhelmed in an outwardly negative way, since it took a lot of over stimulation for Holly to get upset or frustrated, but her head did feel like it was racing and like too much was going on at once. From the crinkling sound of the bags being opened, to Makayla and Chanel both wearing shirts that showed their bellies, to Makayla addressing her personally. There was a lot that Holly's brain was telling her that she needed to take in immediately.

She was silent for the first few moments of Elijah's arrival as she tried to figure out where her head was, though it was probably just taken as her listening to the others converse without interrupting herself. She was bouncing on her toes, eyes wide and a smile on her face as her body attempted to expel some of her energy as her mind worked, and by the time that Chanel addressed her, she was able to refocus. "Yes I did!" she exclaimed, as if Chanel was a lifesaver for reminding her of such an important task. She stepped over to Elijah and wrapped both of her hands around one of his, raising it into the air slightly as she examined it. "You have big hands!" she noted with laughter. "You know what they say about boys with big hands!" Her comment had nothing to do with what it probably sounded like it did, as she assumed that the obvious answer to that was that boys with big hands can make the best snowballs, so you want boys with big hands to be on your team during a snowball fight. "Since your name is the boy version of Eliza, I wanted to see if you also can do what she can do, so come, come, come!" she tugged on his hand in an eager attempt to lead him into the living room where two of her stuffed animals were. "This is Mr. Long Neck and he's very nice, he won't bite you!" she said with a laugh, releasing his arm as she held one of the stuffed animals up, before grabbing the other. "And this is Mr. Purple, he's seventy two hundred years old and he's also very nice but he might bite you, but maybe if you know what he's thinking, then he won't!" she said, laughing again as she held both of them up to Elijah. "So, tell me what they're saying!"​