Realistic or Modern City Living

[BurningBridges]

Roman better have planned on pulling a vanishing act by the time Brooklyn returned, because if he was still there by then, she was going to claw his eyes out of his head, especially for his parting remark. Maybe not really claw his eyes out, but there was definitely some physical violence that he had earned, fair and square, with this dumbass stunt and those idiotic comments. Between the two stupid men she spent most of her time with, Brooklyn really didn't know how she managed to maintain her sanity. Between Roman orchestrating such an unthought out plan, to Nick sitting there like he didn't have a single brain cell left, instead of reacting... they were both irritating beyond comprehension.

Once she finally got out of the apartment, she headed straight for the stairs, brushing past Elijah on her way down. She had half a mind to curse him out for walking so slowly and taking up the entire stairwell, despite neither of them being true, but by the time she realized that she couldn't hear Holly's annoying little voice, she had already upped her speed enough that Elijah was no longer a thought on her mind. Nick better have caught up with her, and Holly was lucky that it was him who was going to get to her first, because she was right up there with Roman on needing to have some sense slapped into her. Cara was going to be added to that list too, since she was the one who apparently signed up to take care of Holly. It made no sense that Brooklyn was now the one chasing her down, while Cara kicked back and relaxed doing god knows what. It irritated Brooklyn even more, because she felt like she didn't like Holly, or at least that she had no reason to like Holly, and yet she still did somehow. No matter how annoying she was, Brooklyn felt an inclination to look after her that she couldn't ignore. She supposed that maybe it didn't stem from love, but actually because she knew that Holly would literally get herself killed without supervision. It was as if she was walking down the street, minding her own business, and a dog ran past her towards a busy road. She didn't like the dog and had no reason to personally feel responsible for it, but since she was smarter than it was, she felt like there was some unspoken rule of humanity to at least attempt to steer it away from the busy road.

She reached the building entry, surprised to see that Nick and Holly weren't there, and actually slightly worried by that realization. She figured that they had just gone next door to get the cookies after another thought, and that was the only reason why she didn't continue to rush, and instead, answered her phone when it rang. It was a girl that she worked with, Ellie. She was a younger girl, and new to the club, having only worked there for a month or so. Brooklyn didn't know a lot of the newer girls well since they tended to start off on the day shifts when things were quieter, which were shifts Brooklyn didn't like taking because they netted less money. She was only really familiar with this girl because she had been assigned to be her "mentor". Typically, whenever a new girl was onboarded, they were paired up with one of the more experienced girls to help ensure that they learned how things worked and brought in money without bothering management too much. It didn't sound like something that would attract a Brooklyn-like personality at face value, but she made a couple extra dollars an hour doing it, so there was that. She also didn't mind it as much as some would expect, because now that she was considered one of the most senior and valuable members of their team, going to work was usually a nice ego boost. There were bad days, usually just because of bad clients, but among the rest of the team, she had enough respect that she liked being there even outside of the money.

While she was somewhat familiar with Ellie because of that assigned relationship, she still barely knew her, and her initial thought in response to seeing her name on her screen was that the girl had called her accidentally. "Hi, what's up?" she asked, her voice neither chipper nor harsh, though notably lighter than one would expect given the rage Roman had just induced in her moments before.

"They're firing me." Ellie was barely able to get the already largely intelligible words through her poorly stifled sobs. Trying to talk only caused her to spiral even more out of control, and she was sure she was having a literal heart attack. When she did get a deep enough inhale, the stability of her words were no less hurried and garbled. "I'm gonna be homeless and then I'll have to drop out of school and go back home and then my parents are going to disown me, but I don't want to go back there, but they said I had to or else Vince is gonna get rid of me."

"No one is firing you," Brooklyn stated sharply, though the sharpness of it wasn't intended for Ellie. She seemed like a nice kid and Brooklyn didn't like hearing her upset for that reason, but on a more selfish level, Brooklyn felt like Ellie being fired would be a poor reflection on her. It probably wouldn't be, but she felt that way anyway. She liked the idea that she was good enough that she could shape newer girls into being good too, and if she couldn't do that, it would automatically feel like a failure on her end. Plus, she didn't know who the hell thought they were firing one of her mentees without consulting her first. Yeah, yeah, Brooklyn wasn't a part of management or anything, but she had been there long enough that she had enough of a say in things to a point where she knew she would at least be warned of this prior to Ellie finding out. "What happened, and who told you that?" she demanded, though a touch softer now.

"Chloe and Andrea told me that Vince was gonna get rid of me because none of the customers like me because I don't want to go back to the private rooms with them like they do and that's why I haven't gotten any of the night shifts and I'm going to be fired, but I've been trying to do all the stuff you told me but I don't want to go back there, but I can't lose this job."

It barely surprised Brooklyn when Ellie revealed that it was other young, newer dancers who were feeding Ellie these lies. She didn't know if it was an age thing, where all girls in that age range were just naturally catty, or if it was the industry, but it wasn't something that Brooklyn had the patience for. It was a high school-esque culture with cliqueyness that surpassed understandable competitive nature. Ellie clearly needed to grow thicker skin, but Brooklyn wasn't going to teach her that lesson today. Despite how blunt she could be, the girl on the other end of the phone was crying and clearly freaking out, and Brooklyn did have some capacity at feeling empathy. She had been new to this world too once, after all. "Don't listen to a word that they say. They probably just want you to quit so they can take your shifts. I've already told Vince that if he has a problem with you, he can let me know, and he doesn't have a problem with you, so it's fine. You're fine." Maybe that was a tiny lie, because Vince did want her to be performing better than she was, but Vince could also fuck right off, and Brooklyn had no problem telling him that to his face. She would deal with these mean girls directly the next time she crossed paths with them, and indirectly by doing what she could to fiddle with their schedules in an unfavorable way, but for now, she had another child to deal with. "Does he have you scheduled for Friday? Come in at ten either way, that's my shift."

Ellie scrubbed her eyes, partially blinded by her tears and the mascara that was getting in them. "Ouch..." She looked over her shoulder from the corner of the room she was huddled in. "I'm not good enough for Friday nights yet. They said I have to ask for them, and I can only do that when I make enough or if Vince just really likes you, and Vince doesn't like me that much I don't think and everyone gets more tips than I do."

"Stop freaking out," Brooklyn snapped, rolling her eyes as she approached Insomnia Cookies. She spotted Holly and Nick through the window, relieved that at least that was one less thing she had to worry about. "If I thought that you weren't good enough for Friday nights, I wouldn't tell you to come. That would be more embarrassing for me than it would be for you, trust me." While Brooklyn had different personalities that she could put on at work vs at home, she wasn't capable of being that different to a point where her patience was infinite. "I'm hanging up now, but I will take care of Vince, and those dumb bitches, and I'll see you on Friday at ten."

After hanging up, Brooklyn stepped into the small storefront and approached Holly and Nick, who were ordering at the counter. "Did you yell at her already, or do I need to?" she asked, looking to Nick.​

 

[lauren.]

Cara sat down on her bed, indulging in the cocktail she had made just a few minutes ago. It was still cold, and somehow, drinking it while being satisfied over getting back at Roman for being a dick made it taste even better. She didn't plan on spending too much time here. Holly would probably come in to help her find the nonexistent missing item in a few minutes, she surmised, and besides, she was curious to see what was going on across the hall. She still refused to believe that that man was Ruby's boyfriend, and she wanted to gossip with Chanel about it. Plus, she was still hungry, and the food over there actually looked halfway decent. As she sunk into her bed, she considered counting this as a cleanse and ignoring her body's hunger signals and just going to bed. She was tired and now that she was showered and in comfy clothes, she knew she would be able to fall asleep pretty easily. It was a tempting option, especially because she knew that once Holly went back across the hall, even if Cara followed suit, she would still be annoyed at Roman. At least if she was asleep, she wouldn't have to deal with that, or listening to him and his annoying friends banter back and forth for the next few hours.

She scrolled through social media aimlessly for a few minutes, in her own world mentally and not paying any mind to the distant sounds (and eventually, lack thereof) coming from the common area of the apartment. She was pulled out of her bubble when her door was pushed open, and Roman appeared. Only then did she notice that the apartment was quiet. It wasn't as if the walls were so thin that she would be able to hear Brooklyn and Nick all the way from her bedroom anyway, but she would most definitely be able to hear Holly. The only explanation was that Brooklyn had put her in front of the TV and that was why she wasn't talking about, but even if that was the case, it was bold of Roman to come strutting in here with his friends just down the hall. Cara supposed that Brooklyn may have sent him in here though, to tell her to get Holly out. "Confused about what?" she answered, adjusting herself so she was sitting up straighter. "You asked me if I wanted to have dinner, I said yes, and then I come out of my room to find you already eating dinner with your friends, in my apartment," she said, smiling at the absurdity of it and the audacity he possessed, not out of amusement. She wasn't speaking venomously or angrily, but she didn't understand why he was claiming that he was confused. "And yet you're the one whose confused?"​

 

[cure]

Roman shifted his eyes to the side. Uh...what? After a second glance, he could confirm that she was being serious about...whatever it was she was talking about. "In mY aPaRmEnt." He pushed himself off the wall with an apathetic roll of the eyes as he went over to the bed. "You're really annoying," he said, leaning back across the mattress. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't as bothersome as the statement made it sound and the lightheartedness in his delivery spoke to that. "You," he began, pointing his finger up towards her. "Agreed to eat with those two before I got here for whatever reason. I was going to grab some things for us to take back to my place, but you just had to be weird and sociable today and make everything confusing. And then you," he continued, jabbing his finger at her again because she was clearly the source of all of this confusion, and that needed to be emphasized. "Texted me asking what should you order. So did Brooklyn lie or were you actually planning on standing them up?" He rolled over then, taking the drink out of her hands so he could taste it. "I'll forgive you regardless because I'm in a good mood and I'm actually mildly pleased to see you—or I was before you decided to emotionally abuse me."

“Why is it impossible for you to just say you’re sorry?” Cara wasn’t trying to be petty and her tone was more curious than it was accusatory, but it probably was petty. They didn’t need to argue right now, but at the same time, it felt like a valid question, especially coming off of this weekend where he had every excuse in the book ready to pull out for his behavior. She didn’t like how he wanted to attempt to turn this back on her, instead of just addressing her question directly. Nonetheless, turn it back on her with unfounded claims. She had responded to Brooklyn’s invite with an “okay”, but for all they knew, she was just acknowledging the invite, and not accepting it. It had been a strange enough invite anyway, that Roman actually believing that it was true without texting Cara to verify it, invalidated any of his feelings regarding that.

“I never agreed to eat with them,” she asserted, “And I get that you and I are very different, but I didn’t think it was necessary to tell you that eating other people’s leftovers isn’t really something that I’m interested in doing.” She stood up, and moved over to her closet, stepping inside and sifting through things. She needed to ask Holly to come over this week to help her organize and get rid of last year’s summer wardrobe.

"This drink is good," Roman announced after a long sip. He still didn't get what he needed to apologize for, or what she was even mad about, but if it was just surrounding dinner plans this evening, then it wasn't really deep enough to warrant a full blown conversation. Maybe if it was any other day, or any other situation, he would have had more energy to entertain it, but today wasn't one of those days. Still, he was going to tease her. "It almost entirely counteracts the bitterness you're projecting."

Of course it was good, she had made it. She was going to have to make another one now though, because she wasn't drinking that after he had just drank out of it, right after eating god knows what. Even though she had no ground to stand on in wanting to act grossed out at him drinking from her glass, his presence right now was grossing her out. Him thinking that she wanted to eat Brooklyn and Nick's leftovers was grossing her out. She wondered if he had ever done that before. It was bizarre, considering that she had no problem ordering food for them, if it was a money issue or whatever. But to think that she would be okay with him taking food that had been handled and picked through by those two, and snuck over to his apartment for her to eat? Ew. Hard pass. "I'm glad you like it," she said, stepping out of the closet and over to her dresser, where she found a pair of earrings that she would use as her excuse to Holly. "You can enjoy the rest of it somewhere that's not my room."

He knew he brought that one on himself. "Cmon, don't be like that. I'm only making fun." Since Roman still didn't think he had done anything wrong, and Cara's recounting of events was dramatic enough that he didn't feel the need to really validate the conversation. He wasn't going to actually comment on her hyperbolizing the food that was ordered, as if it was something that had been sitting in the fridge forever and picked out with bare hands. Plus, while he wasn't expecting this reaction when he initially thought up grabbing food for them, he wasn't so surprised. It did make him wonder whether or not she would have really cared as much if he hadn't done whatever he had done to upset her. It couldn't have been that big a deal that he was eating with his friends when he expected her to as well, he told himself. It was also amusing because of how different he would have reacted to her before they actually got on. Cara had been one of the rare few that could consistently get a strong reaction out of him. It wasn't like he was so stoic that he was unmoved by most things; in fact, most things irritated him. He was really only responsive if he was around people he was particularly comfortable with. It was why he could and did go back and forth with Brooklyn. It also depended on his mood though. Sometimes he felt less playful than other times, and so was more muted. Now was sort of the reverse since he was being obnoxiously unresponsive, but because he was teasing Cara.

Understanding her more—or maybe understanding was a strong word. Having greater insight—likely helped in him not being so easily baited by her doing or saying the most mundane of things relative to her. It was no surprise that as he got to know her, she was humanized in his eyes, and so being sympathetic towards her didn't take any effort. At least not when she was being how she was now, which he considered to be pretty normal, and yet another reason for him to not really worry too much about what was in front of him. She was being a baby, but she wasn't being mean, and so he was taking her words and reactions at face value. Even still, he had enough self awareness and care for her that he wasn't going to keep baiting and irritating her. It was kind of cute, but it would be kind of mean to exploit that. Plus, it would likely end with something much stronger than the ultimatum she left him with. He wasn't going to cosign how she was reacting, which might have been childish depending on who you asked because it probably was as simple as just apologizing for whatever and letting her being annoyed, but that was what her girlfriends were for.

As he exhaled theatrically, he did truly try to conceal the amusement in it, and stood up from the bed. Walking to her, he reached out until his fingers grazed the fabric of her shirt and tugged it a little. "Are you really mad at me?" He asked sincerely. "Or do you just need me to state the obvious that I only stayed around because I actually thought you were too?" He stood beside her now, leaning into the dresser and again, trying to straighten his grin upon seeing how unamused she looked. "I won't apologize for offering you poisonous food scraps. That's how I express my affection, and it's kind of a deal breaker if you want to keep dating me." Clearly he wasn't completely done with being silly, but she was going to crack at least half a smirk before he left this bedroom.​

 

[A_Writer]

"You can't run from the truth forever," Holly said before laughing. Nick's response to her accusation about him liking oatmeal raisin cookies had been pronounced enough that she was now putting more thought into it than she would have, had he let it go or not responded to it at all. She didn't consciously think that she was teasing him, but that was basically what she was doing. At the same time, she truly felt like he looked like the kind of person who would like those cookies, and his complaints weren't going to change that. She watched intently as the woman behind the counter packaged their cookies, stacking three boxes besides the register. Holly reached for them immediately, pulling the smallest one off of the pile and opening up the lid, as the woman began to ring them up on the computer. "They smell so good!" she cheered, pulling a small piece off of one of the S'mores cookies and popping it into her mouth. "And they taste so good too!"

Holly was as happy as she could be, or so she thought, because when the little bell on the door rang, signaling that it had been opened by another customer, Holly couldn't have been more overjoyed to see that it was Brooklyn. The way her eyes lit up suggested that they hadn't actually just seen each other five minutes ago, and it was a pleasant surprise that they were running into each other right now. "Oh! This is my best friend," she said, pushing Nick aside just slightly so she could speak to the cashier, as she pointed to Brooklyn. The woman only smiled, her eyes still trained on the register as she finished punching some buttons. She read out a total price that was high enough that even Holly realized that her twenty dollar bill wouldn't be sufficient, so Holly looked to Nick because he would be able to fix this, as she pulled another piece of the chocolate cookie off and popped it into her mouth. "Roman didn't give us enough money," she revealed, as if it was dastardly news. "But it could have been an accident because sometimes when I see money, I think that it means one hundred dollars, but it really just means one dollar, and that's what Roman probably thought because he didn't know we needs lots of cookies, not just twenty cookies," she explained, assuming that twenty dollars equaled twenty cookies automatically.​

 

[lauren.]

Ruby remained quiet as Makayla spoke, though her eyes followed the girl as she headed to the table and sat down. She understood what Makayla was saying, but she didn't necessarily agree with it. As far as Ruby knew, they had addressed this. Ruby had apologized and acknowledged that what she had done wasn't fair to Makayla, and she thought that they were moving past it. Maybe she should have followed up? Asked again, and again, if she forgave her? It seemed worse to continually drag something that she thought they were both on the same page with, but apparently they weren't on the same page, and Makayla was still hurt over it. Had Ruby known that, she obviously never would have invited Elijah over, and she would have sat down with Makayla to discuss it all again. The thought that Makayla was hurt by this still made her feel sick. She didn't think that the girl was just going to forgive and forget--she understood that things would still sting even as time passed, but she at least had been under the impression that Makayla recognized that Ruby hadn't intended to make her feel bad. She thought that she had adequately apologized for doing something that had hurt Makayla, while explaining that her intentions, while selfish, had just been to avoid family conflict. If she still lived with her parents or interacted with them daily, then of course, she would have understood that it would have been unfair to want to hide her relationship from them, while still wanting to be in said relationship. She saw her parents a few times a month, and the fact that she could pretend to be in a relationship with Elijah with little skepticism on their part spoke to how them not knowing about her and Makayla wouldn't impact their day to day life at all. Yes, she understood that to Makayla, it was more of a principle thing, and that was fair, but Ruby's confusion now rested in what the future held.

It was evident that Makayla was still hurting over this and again, that was fair, but what didn't feel fair was how Makayla was now acting like their relationship didn't really mean anything to her, anyway. She apparently didn't care whether they were in a real relationship or not, and them going public was somehow a "sacrifice". To Ruby, going public to the people in their apartment seemed like an equal (or close to equal) "sacrifice" on both of their parts, because they were coming out to the same people. It wasn't like she wasn't asking Makayla to call up her father and come out to him. It was a weird situation, because their lives were so different. Even someone like Ruby, who was careful about boundaries and specifically went out of her way to try to understand people and their situations, would never really be able to fully understand how unusual and unfortunate of an upbringing Makayla had. Even if she could sympathize with it, she would never understand what it was like to literally have no blood family to lean on, and then on top of that, be forced to adopt a non-blood family member as, what would basically become, your child. She obviously didn't think that she was as close to Holly as Makayla was, but it was hard for her to understand why Makayla felt like Holly knowing that they were dating would somehow be more detrimental to Makayla than Ruby, and how it would be just as detrimental to Makayla as Ruby's parents knowing.

Even if Ruby couldn't understand it, she was at least capable of acknowledging that it clearly wasn't something that she understood, rather than attempting to prove her point. She stood in silence for a minute, though it felt much longer, as she mulled over where to go from there. Makayla's shift in conversation to the food was probably appropriate. With the three girls probably on their way back into the kitchen momentarily, this probably wasn't the best time to flesh things out, but even if she didn't feel happy, per se, Ruby was definitely more satisfied now that she actually knew why Makayla had been acting so inappropriately. "I remembered you liked it the last time we ordered from there," she commented, adding some of the pasta to her own plate before heading to the table herself. "If you're up to it after Holly goes to bed, maybe we can sit down and talk about all of this." ​

 

[lauren.]

"The point is that I'm no one's second course," she answered Roman. She wasn't mad... or at least she wouldn't agree to being mad. That would make her sound dramatic, which she most definitely was not. She really wasn't trying to be, at least. She wasn't looking to start a fight or for Roman to plead his case. She just felt slighted, and it rubbed her the wrong way. She didn't like that he wasn't at least acknowledging that he had basically bailed on her, and that now once they were in private, he was trying to play nice. Yes, Cara wasn't exactly looking for everyone to know about their relationship either... but whatever, it was just the principle of the matter. "If you wanted to eat with your friends, that's fine, but you shouldn't have made plans with me. Like... who does that?" She rolled her eyes, shaking her head as if the question was a rhetorical one that she had already answered herself in her head. It probably wasn't necessary to be having this conversation, especially since Roman was being soft, but it was also just in Cara's character to get offended over things easily. It became even easier when she felt like she was letting someone in too quickly or deeply, because for whatever reason, one little thing would happen and the alarm bells would go off in her brain telling her that she needed to put the walls back up. It was a defensive mechanism of sorts, but she didn't know why she had it. She had never been in a horribly traumatic relationship with someone who had left her feeling broken. She had other trauma in her life that probably hadn't been addressed, but because it wasn't linked to romance, it wasn't something she would automatically blame for why she felt inclined to self-sabotage the relationships she got herself into. The point was though, that to Cara, this wasn't self-sabotage. Not in the moment, at least. In a few days maybe she would question why she felt so compelled to get hung up on a technicality, but right now, her mind was able to convince her that Roman really had slighted her. That he had purposely made her believe that they were going to hang out, only to hang out with his friends in front of her face to make her feel bad and look like a moron.

"I don't want you to think that you can just text me when you feel like it, and then change your mind when 'better plans' come along," she explained, resisting the urge to scoff at the idea of Brooklyn and Nick constituting as 'better plans' in any universe. "And then act like I'm stupid enough to not realize what you're doing." She looked at him then, as she sternly added, "Because I'm not." Speaking of stupid... "But it's fine, because after I realized you had other plans, I made other plans too. I'm hanging out with Holly so... basically an upgrade for my night, character and personality wise."

 

[Collapsed]

Finally, there was Brooklyn. It felt like she had been gone an hour. Time didn't move slowly with Holly necessarily, because at the rate she spoke alone, things often felt like they were moving far faster than Nick could keep up with. However, he wasn't used to interacting with her on his own, so he was naturally feeling like he wasn't cut out for it and needed someone more qualified to step in. Even if Brooklyn didn't have warm-caregiver written all over her, she was somehow good with Holly. Maybe "good" was debatable, but for whatever reason, it wasn't to Holly, so he would roll with that and give Brooklyn credit where credit was due. "Of course I yelled at her," he responded quickly, though immediately after, he asked himself, "Wait, yell at her for what?". The tone of Brooklyn's voice suggested that denying it would have made him an idiot, and damnit, he wasn't about to be an oatmeal raisin loving idiot all in the same day!

He reached into his pocket as Holly said something about Roman not giving them enough money, but with a few pats, he realized that it was empty. Nick basically always had cash on him. He didn't have a line of credit open, nor a bank account to use a debit card with. He was paid in cash, and liked to pay in cash for everything he purchased too. Obviously, in his line of work, not having a paper trail was helpful, but even beyond that, Nick was one of those people who believed that the government had no need to know how much money he had to his name. He wasn't a conspiracy theorist, but he just didn't trust authority for shit. Their government was greedy as fuck and he didn't need anyone dipping their fingers into his earnings. "Fuuuuck," he muttered, double checking that his wallet wasn't in his other pocket either. He knew that he had left his wallet at home because when he had went to pick up the food earlier, he had nearly kicked himself in the ass thinking that he was going to have to walk back home to get it. Luckily, Brooklyn had already paid with it so he was in the clear, but he hadn't thought to stop back in his apartment to pick it up before knocking on Brooklyn's door. "I left my wallet at home. Spot me?" he said, looking to Brooklyn with a teethy smile in an attempt to win her over. In reality, she was spotting her little kid friend, but Nick had also let her order far more than they needed due to his spacey state of mind, so he probably deserved to foot the bill. "Or spot Roman, since his cheap ass was the one who gypped Holly and I. I mean, the dude can't even send us off with enough to pay for a few..." He had to stop himself as he realized just how much the screen in front of him said they owed, and multiple boxes that the woman had packed for them. "I like your style, kid," he said, laughing as he nudged Holly, before glancing at Brooklyn and trying to paint a more serious expression on his face. "And for the record, I only just caught up with her two seconds before you walked in sooo... no time to stop her."​

 

[cure]

Her shoulders dropped faster than the bags did to the floor. As she craned her head back, pushing further against her closed door, her palms tugged down on her face. This wasn't happening. That didn't just happen. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," she whispered, seemingly to the gifts she stooped over to pick up. Had she really been that drunk that she didn't know that was Ruby's boyfriend? The alternative wasn't that much better, but given that she could increasing recall parts of the night with him, and her own baseline of behavior, it seemed the latter was the most likely thing. It was still more his fault than hers, she reminded herself. It wasn't like he was so off his shit that he forgot he was had a girlfriend.

She collapsed onto her bed, staring at the ceiling until her thoughts were interrupted by the buzz of her phone. She lazily, if not a little reluctantly, heaved the phone from beside her.

To: Cara
how did no one know she had a boyfriend ughhh

To: Cara
i'm literally so screwed rn. we NEED to talk when you and hols get back

It took another couple of slow breaths for her to collect herself. She was not going to cry. If she started, there was going to be no stopping. Plus, she had no reason to cry. This dude was clearly one of those guys who just liked going around treating women like shit, like some sort of disposable toy. Why she continued to attract men like that was beyond her and the good Lord himself seemed in no kind of hurry to answer her many a prayer asking what she did to deserve such a curse. In the meantime, her only options were to wait around for her divine response from God or go back out there were the other three. She much more preferred the former option, but she still pulled herself from her bed, knowing that the latter was really the only thing she could choose from. "Mmmm, so exciting! Everything smells so good!" She exclaimed as she came down the hall, rubbing her palms together. As she continued into the kitchen, she looked around, noting a very obvious missing presence. "Dang. Where'd your boo go? Did we scare him off already?"​

 

[cure]

Roman groaned and rolled his eyes as she criticized him for allegedly double booking. "Cara, I told you—" he began, but ultimately stopping short as she continued. Where was all of this coming from? He was wondering genuinely where these allegations were coming from. He was so confused for a moment that he actually tried thinking of when he ever insinuated she was stupid. "When did I say you were—" he began once again, only to start over when she firmly declared that she was anything but stupid (which he already knew because he never said otherwise). "I didn't say you were stupid!" He exclaimed wide-eyed and incredulously, his hands spread out in confusion. He held her gaze for a long couple of seconds, both confirming that she was done with these fables and to give her a chance to say 'Psych!' or something else that would inform him that she wasn't being serious right now. In place of another eye roll, he simply blinked slowly and intentionally, turning around so that he was no longer facing her and was instead leaning with his back to the dresser. Tilting his head to the side, he appeared as though he was inspecting something on the wall across from him.

Roman wasn't going to take the bait. He also wasn't going to keep defending his character. "No, that makes sense," he said with a resolute shrug. "Children tend to prefer the company of other children." Roman looked back towards Cara. "So when they come back from Insomnia, you two can eat your biscuits and play make believe all you want." He pulled away from the dresser, making his way to the door before he stopped just outside before it and turned around. "Ooh! And perhaps you both can play dress up and pretend to be big adults who can use their big adult words to hold big adult conversations."
​

 

[lauren.]

Ah, yes. There we go. Classic Roman, reminding Cara just how unlikable he was at his core. Perhaps it wasn't fair that she was so quick to demonize him, able to convince herself in a heartbeat that he truly had done all of this to spite her and make her look like the fool, but she truly did feel wronged. Again, it was easier for her mind to want to cut people off when it already felt like being close to them was leaving Cara too open and vulnerable, and that probably played a role in it. On top of that though, objectively speaking, Cara actually did feel like Roman had done something with intentions to hurt her, and now was trying to act like he hadn't, once he had been called out for it. She felt like he was gaslighting her--attempting to convince her that she was just making up what had literally just happened. He texted her to eat dinner together and she responded in an agreeing manner, only to find out minutes later that Roman was already in her house, eating dinner with his friends, clearly negating his invite to eat dinner with her. On top of that, he didn't even have the decency to acknowledge her when she had said hello to the three of them. She wasn't asking him to jump out of his seat and embrace her in a loving hug, but any sort of acknowledgement would have been better than her being left on the real life version of read in a room with three other people. They didn't need to be public with their relationship, but if she wasn't cursing his name to hell for sitting in his kitchen as she previously would have, then couldn't it be expected that he would at least respond to her 'hello' with one back? Apparently asking for that, or even just a smile or wave in front of his friends, was too much. Maybe that would have been fine, had he not come in here and attempted to act like all was good and well now that they were alone. If he just wanted sex and a sprinkling of friendship, whatever they had had for the past few months, then that was fine, but there was no need for him to have led her on over the weekend acting like he actually wanted to date her. If this was how he "dated" women, then maybe she was better off on her own anyway.

Just as she had told him, she wasn't going to sit here and let him make her out as stupid by attempting to convince her that she was the crazy one when he was the asshole. "Shut the door on your way out," she said, turning away from him and waving her hand at him to shoo him in the direction he was already heading in. If he thought that she was going to beg and plead for him to stay, then he most definitely didn't know a thing about her. Her stubbornness had the potential to be the death of her, but true to form, it wasn't a trait that she was going to willingly let go of. She hadn't been raised to recognize the importance of meeting people halfway, and she had been well off socially to a point where she had survived without much stress living by the idea that regardless of whether she had once considered them to be a friend, if someone wronged her, she could cut them off. It had never come back to bite her in an explicit or obvious way, though it did cost her some solid friendships. However, in a more passive way, it had thoroughly impacted her ability to form intimate and close relationships. It had become a defense mechanism that had transformed into one that was less of a reactive defense one, and more of one that acted on the offense--cutting people off before they had a chance to hurt her. In this case, by the logic of how she understood the situation to have occurred, she did believe that Roman had already hurt her, but her reaction to the situation also reflected how her brain was perceiving her relationship with Roman as a whole. He had hurt her in this small incidence, and because she liked him a lot a lot, that meant that he had the potential to hurt her a million times worse in the future. Why allow him the opportunity to do that, if shutting down and sending him on his way was also an option? One that saved her from what her brain perceived to be guaranteed heartbreak?

She hadn't even processed Roman's comment about Insomnia Cookies while being tangled up in her own web of despair and self-pity, so she didn't think twice and returning to her closet after allowing him to leave her room. She looked at Chanel's text, though was momentarily too angry to even respond to it. She needed a minute or two to cool down and collect herself, and then she would head back over there with Holly.​

 

[Bandit_]

Ruby mentioning that she had remembered that Makayla liked the food from the place she had ordered from was noted, and it did make Makayla feel a little bit guilty, even if that wasn't obviously apparent in her demeanor. She continued to eat, only nodding when Ruby suggested that they talk about this later on, once Holly was put to bed and things had quieted down. She didn't like feeling like guilty, especially not when at the same time, she still felt like her actions were justified. Ruby being the person she was upset with made the situation even harder, because no matter what you did to Ruby, she was still so nice. Even when it wasn't warranted or deserved, she was naturally gentle. Unlike Makayla, she didn't seem to have an instinct to lash out when she felt like she was being attacked. Makayla was typically a reserved and private person, but she had a sharper side to her that surfaced when necessary. Ruby's edges all seemed smoothed out. She had made the tiniest of jabs at Makayla earlier, but that truly felt like the worst that the girl was capable of. Maybe it was more of a reflection of Makayla's own issues, but despite being angry with Ruby still, she also felt like she didn't deserve her kindness. She had been on her own for so long, that she wanted to believe that she was better off that way, and maybe that underlying mentality was what made her even more upset about the situation. She wanted to convince herself that Ruby had done her more harm than she truly had, so that she would end up back in her closed off little world, where she was the only person she could rely on. Having Ruby in her life had been a lifesaver, and even just in the small things that the girl did for her, her life was ten times less stressful than it had previously been. It sounded all good, and it was all good, but it was still such a new thing to Makayla that she wasn't sure how to really react to it.

It was hard to acknowledge that she was allowed to be upset with Ruby, while also recognizing that Ruby hadn't meant harm. To her, it had to be one or the other: either Ruby was wrong for what she did, or Makayla was wrong for her reaction to it. She wasn't used to both parties having to take responsibility because in her world, there had never been another party involved. Relationships were give and take situations and she understood that, but when to give and when to take was where she wasn't experienced. She felt much calmer now that Elijah was gone, though it probably had less to do with him and more to do with her being able to take a break from feeling like she needed to prove a point. Makayla obviously wasn't a silent figure that barely existed within her own apartment, but she also wasn't typically loud and assertive, especially around other people's guests, so even just having to put on that show for a few minutes had left her tired and craving a little escape. She would have to text Nick later to buy some more bud. Though she smoked nearly every day, she bothered Nick more than she needed to. She tried to buy in small increments which meant that she had to buy frequently, but she only did that because she knew if she bought a larger supply at once, it would still only last her a day. She didn't have the best self control when it came to weed but it was also hard to blame her.

She tried to liven back up a bit when Chanel returned, if only to not seem that drastically different than how she had before. Elijah had left on his own accord, after all. "He said some tech issue came up at work so he had to leave," she explained with a smile. "Make a plate and come join us, though!" she insisted before teasing, "I want to hear all about all of the gifts you got, girl! I can only imagine what your net worth is after that party."​

 

[lauren.]

Ruby was relieved that Makayla responded to Chanel in a normal manner when she returned, seemingly reverting to her better self, at least for the time being. "More food for us, I guess," she added with a smile, nodding along as Makayla told her to make a plate and sit down with them. Ruby felt lucky to have such nice girls as roommates. While she was capable of living on her own from a financial standpoint, Ruby already wasn't the biggest social butterfly in the world, so living with other people had always come with an appeal to her. It forced her to socialize from time to time, or at least allowed her to not feel so lonely because even if she spent most of her time alone in her room, she was still in the vicinity of people whom she knew. She had done so throughout undergrad and medical school, and her residency as well. This was the first time that she had moved into a place "randomly", just coming across the listing online and deciding to give it a try. Given the horror stories that people had about bad roommate situations, Ruby felt especially lucky with how this had turned out. She hadn't hung out with Makayla and Chanel as a trio frequently enough to really have a grasp of what the dynamic was like between them, but she enjoyed what it was in passing and random occasions like this one, so she had no complaints. Of course, her relationship with Makayla had turned into something that was better than she could have wished for (outside of what they were going through right now, but still), and she found Chanel to be adorably endearing and sweet, so that was lovely too.

"Oooh, yes! What did you get?!" she agreed cheerfully as she sipped her wine. She was glad that the conversation was turned to one that wasn't focused on her and Elijah, and was light in general. Speaking of the party, she was reminded of what Elijah had requested of her just minutes ago, when he had brought up having spoken to people at Chanel's party and needing her number to get in contact with them... or something like that. She had been so wrapped up in everything that she had been feeling that she had already forgotten what was really behind his request there, but if he could get Chanel's number to him, that would be fulfilling at least half of his wishes. "Oh! By the way, Elijah asked me to send him your number. I think he spoke to one of your friends at the party about working at his restaurant, and he didn't get their number so he was hoping you knew them, or something. I didn't want to send it to him without checking with you first, though," she explained. She didn't really want to get into a conversation about Elijah beyond that. "He also asked me to try to convince Cara to work as a bartender there," she said, actually laughing now that she was saying it out loud. "So maybe you can help me pull some strings there, too." She was mostly kidding because she was sure that Chanel would find the idea to be just as outlandish as it sounded to Ruby, but at least now she could say that she tried.​

 

[BurningBridges]

Brooklyn had a reputation of being angry and spiteful and while it was probably well deserved based on her own actions, there were times right now when it became hard to blame her for responding to certain people in the way that she did. Nick couldn't even manage to carry a wallet on him when exchanging drugs for money was literally his sole responsibility in life, and Holly somehow went ahead and helped herself to over sixty dollars worth of cookies. Cookies!!! If the younger girl's hands weren't already digging around in one of the boxes, Brooklyn would have told the woman behind the counter that they had changed their minds and weren't taking them. In the right mood, Brooklyn still would have said that, yanked the half eaten cookie out of Holly's hand, placed its remnants on the counter, and dragged the two of them out of there. That seemed like it would take more energy than just paying the ridiculous price herself, which she did, though not before glaring at the two fools beside her. She most definitely would be taking twice that amount of money out of Nick's wallet later on, not because she really needed to be that concerned over sixty dollars, but out of principle. Plus, she made a mental note to short Cara on the rent next month since she wouldn't have been dealing with this in the first place if it hadn't been for her bringing Holly over just to disappear.

She kept a first grasp on Holly's arm for the next few minutes, literally not releasing her tight clasp until they were standing in front of Holly's apartment. She pounded her first on the door obnoxiously a few times before stepping back and holding up her hand to Holly. "Stay," she commanded, not intending to act like the child was a dog, though she wouldn't have objected to the comparison had someone pointed it out. She had already opened her apartment door to let Nick in, so she waited in its doorway just until she saw the door across the hall begin to pull open. Once that happened, her job was done, and she quickly shut her own door behind her. That was a nuisance that didn't have to happen in the first place had it not been for everyone else's lack of competency, but at least now it was finished. She wanted to huff and puff about her food now being cold but as she returned to the kitchen, she realized that not as much time had passed as she had originally thought. "I just spent sixty dollars on cookies so you're welcome, and I hope your immature self is happy," she said, addressing Roman without looking at him. He was still in the living room, Brooklyn having no reason to think that he had gotten up since she had run out a few minutes ago. Useless, she scoffed internally. She couldn't forget that he was the troublemaker who had started that little excursion in the first place, and yet for whatever reason, the universe was rewarding him with cookies that she had paid for. She had shoved most of the boxes into Holly's hands before positioning her in front of her apartment door, but Nick had taken one or two of the small boxes back for them. She sat down in front of her dinner again though, unlike them, having not scarfed down her first serving in two seconds.

She couldn't believe that Cara was still nowhere in sight. For some reason, that irked her more than having spent all that money on something as stupid as cookies. Brooklyn was willing to list this as another great example of how no one but her seemed capable of being responsible for themselves. She was constantly cleaning up the messes of these idiots with no recognition for it. "Go tell Cara that Holly's home. Maybe she'll leave too," she added. Brooklyn had tried to be nice by inviting Cara to eat with them, but clearly she wasn't deserving of that level of kindness with the way that she repaid them just now. ​

 

[cure]

Roman made sure to leave the door open as he went back to the living room. He didn't get what Cara's problem was. He ran the conversation back in his mind, and could only continue coming out wondering why she kept disbelieving whatever he said. As far as he could tell, Cara was just being petty. While he was momentarily annoyed, namely because unrequited feelings were never that great to deal with, he didn't think much of their conversation. It wasn't something that a big deal to him. Cara just seemed like she was in a mood, and he felt pretty certain that if he hadn't walked away, and instead had chosen to call out her hyperbolized recounting of things, it would just be a recipe for instigation. Granted, if he knew that her feelings were hurt, he might have behaved differently, though it likely wouldn't have ended up much different since he would sooner ask what he did to upset her than apologize out of ignorance. A couple of silent moments passed before they were interrupted by the arrival of the others. "Hey," he said when Nick sauntered in. "What all did you get?" He asked curiously, though his furrowed brows spoke to his surprise. He was honestly only expecting one box, especially since he had made a request for two specific flavors and he hadn't given Holly that much money. Insomnia cookies wasn't the most expensive thing in his mind, but he had been enough times since living here that he was familiar with what twenty dollars could you get. If anything, he was expecting two for him and the remaining four for the others. He had a sweet tooth, but he wasn't that starved for cookies. Not that he was complaining.

"Were they having a sale?" He added with a light chuckle just as Brooklyn came in. His smile only widened when Brooklyn revealed the reason for the extra box. He was too busy laughing to register that two boxes for sixty dollars didn't quite add up. "Guess not," he said finally as he stood up from where he sat and went over to where the others were. He stood beside Nick, sliding one of the boxes towards him. "You tell h—" He started, only interrupted by what lied in the box before him. He blinked several times, momentarily assuming that the box of oatmeal and sugar cookies was not, in fact, and box of five oatmeal and two sugar cookies. "What the fuck?" Roman opened the box Nick had, noting that this one had five rainbow cookies and one s'more. He didn't realize that there were three other boxes compromises the remaining s'more, sugar and all of the M&M and double chocolate mint cookies he had very fucking clearly requested. He contorted his face into an angry pout, shooting a cold scowl towards Brooklyn. "Oatmeal?!" He exclaimed, his raised voice carrying through the living room. He grabbed one of the cookies, chucking one towards her with each break in his speech. "No one! Eats! Oatmeal! Cookies!" Roman rivaled Nick in his offense over such a deplorable cookie. He would have been even more upset if he knew the way in which his supposed best friend spoke about him. Comparing him to a green-haired pencil-built child was rude. On all accounts. "And you let her!" He tossed the remaining two cookies at Nick. "Cashapp me twenty dollars right now."​

 

[Collapsed]

Nick didn't get why Brooklyn was so annoyed. It wasn't like he was going to refuse to pay her back, and okay, they spent sixty dollars on cookies. Big deal. Nick spent that much on binge food after a good smoking session nightly, at this point. The cookies weren't going to go to waste, and the kid was happy. Sounded like a win-win to him. He was tempted to tease her that he didn't know why she acted like she was equipped to be a mom when she couldn't deal with a kid sneaking a few extra cookies into their order, but he wasn't looking to get shoved down five flights of stairs, so he kept his mouth shut. She sent Holly back to her own apartment which Nick was cool with, as he still wasn't sure why Cara had brought her over in the first place, and he didn't need Brooklyn demanding that he go chase her out of the building if she made a run for it again.

He tossed the two boxes of cookies that he had been left with onto the counter. Though he was definitely planning on eating some of them, he still had some good as fuck Mexican food to eat, so he had to keep his sweet tooth waiting for just a bit. Roman, on the other hand, seemed ready for the sweets and as he and Brooklyn sat back down, Roman ventured towards the boxes of cookies. Nick was surprised by his angry reaction, though unsurprisingly, the word "oatmeal" struck a cord in Nick, and he was soon standing up and peering towards the boxes with anger-laced curiosity. "No..." he whispered aloud in a way that suggested he had just been gravely betrayed. "That little con artist..." Wow. Here they were underestimating Holly as being an innocent little ray of sunshine, and meanwhile, she was the criminal of the century! Assassinating Nick's character with her claims about his cookie preference, and then ordering them and taking the good cookies while leaving them with those pieces of shit!!! His anger was dramatic, but he was also feeding off of Roman's, though he wasn't going to go so far as to throw cookies at Brooklyn. Throwing them at Nick was one thing, but shit, this was not the time to be poking the bear. Roman was dumb as hell for that, especially since Nick knew that she was going to blame Roman for causing this whole fiasco anyway. "Holly stole our shit," he explained. "She was down there talking about how she thinks you and I deserve oatmeal raisin cookies, and then when I was like 'nah' and ordered the good shit, she goes and takes those for herself and leaves us with this." Well, the rainbow sprinkle cookies did look alright, and whatever that chocolate looking one did too... but that wasn't the point. It also should have been an indication to Nick that it wasn't Holly who was responsible for the mix up, since there was no way that she would voluntarily leave them anything rainbow-oriented, but he wasn't thinking that deeply.

He picked up the cookies that Roman had thrown at him and placed them on the counter before sitting down. He was already distracted by the food still on his plate, but he would still stew in his annoyance, even while eating. "Fill that box up with like, lettuce or some shit, and go over there and demand she give us back ours," he suggested to Roman, nodding to the box that was now empty.​

 

[cure]

"I haven't even opened everything yet, if I'm being honest." Chanel scoffed, some light embarrassment in her mumbled voice, as she sat down with her plate. She wasn't sure if she felt worse about having not done so yet or having received any of what she did open so far. "There's no way I can tell my parents about some of the stuff Cara's friends got me. If I knew they were that loaded, I would have asked for them to just send that money to my loan accounts. But I honestly wasn't expecting anything," she clarified quickly, not wanting to sound braggy. The party was already enough on its own. Of course she wasn't going to ask Cara if she had planned enough space for all of the gifts she was expecting to receive. In fact, as her birthday got closer, she realized that what she was really craving most for her big day was to have a weekend with her family where she could do laundry for free—or better yet, have her mom do it for her—and sleep in and wake up to her favorite breakfast. Instead of cake, her dad would make his famous apple pie. She always received gifts from her family, but she wasn't wanting to spend time with them because she didn't want to feel guilty over expecting gifts. There were just times when she missed things back home; specifically, things before she went off the college. Only this time, it was more like she was trying to relive those moments of the past so that she could correct them. They didn't feel as cozy and nostalgic now that she knew what her brother was going through at the time. And it wasn't even like she didn't completely know what was going on. But he was always kind of a loser. In her mind, they all had their roles. Every family has the one 'special one,' she would tell herself. Chanel didn't even like remembering that now, especially not with Ruby right next to her. What better a reminder that she hadn't changed from the cringey teenager as much as she had fooled herself into thinking than by sitting next to the person whose boyfriend you slept with?

"I seriously made my brothers swear on their life they wouldn't tell them how big that party was, or even that Cara was holding something like that for me. That was so nice of her though. I'll have to do something to say thank you, but I'm not really sure what can match something like that, y'know?" Apart from the obvious mishap, her birthday overall was a success. It had actually been perfect up until a few minutes ago. "But you already know what happened this weekend! Let me tell you about the rest of the week." Chanel went on to recount her festivities with her friends thus far. She hadn't had much time in the apartment because of it, and so it was really more of a catch up than her trying to just ramble on about herself. "That's why there's so many bottles of champagne! They're so crazy." She giggled as she chewed on her pasta, only being pulled away from their conversation when there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it," she said. She probably needed to get up anyway to check on her laundry. When she saw who was there, she turned her head to the side some. Stepping to the side to let her in, she leaned outside to see if there was anyone in the hallway. In retrospect, she recalled hearing the sound of a door close. She presumed it was from Cara's door, but it could have been anyone on the hall. Still, it would have been weird if Cara just dropped her off like that. "Why were you out there by yourself, Hols? And what's with all the cookies?"​

 

[A_Writer]

"These are for you for your birthday! I got them for you! Me and Brooklyn did! And she says you owe her sixty dollars!" Holly hadn't originally picked the cookies out under the guise that they would be treats to celebrate Chanel's birthday, but the idea came to her on the way up when Brooklyn asked her why she felt compelled to order so many cookies, and she ran with it. She remembered that Chanel had said, just a few minutes before, that she didn't want anything else for her birthday, but that was a silly thing to say anyway, so it didn't carry much weight in Holly's mind. Needless to say, on the way up from the cookie shop, Holly hadn't even remotely grasped that Brooklyn was angry or even annoyed. The blonde had told her to tell Chanel that she owed her the money for the cookies, but again, Holly only took that at face value. Since Brooklyn wasn't yelling at her, her tone wasn't something that Holly would pick up on otherwise, and because her grasp on the concept of money and social etiquette was so poor, it didn't strike her as being an odd thing for Brooklyn to demand.

Holly headed past Chanel and inside, where the smell of food reminded her that it probably wasn't time for dessert yet. She hadn't forgotten about the brownies that Ruby had made either, and would likely end up settling for eating half a brownie and half a cookie later. A rainbow sprinkle cookie! She set the boxes down on the table, pushing Makayla's plate out of the way slightly to make room. "And, Chanel, there's enough for me to have three rainbow cookies and you to have two!" She paused in her excitement for a moment, momentarily disappointed that Chanel wouldn't get to have as many as her. "And it's okay that there's only two for you, because you've already finished growing," she explained, as if these cookies were the protein that Chanel no longer needed to grow big and strong. "And I'm sorry Ruby, but there weren't any graham crackers down there for you!" she announced, laughing out loud at her own inside joke.​

 

[BurningBridges]

As if she needed more proof that she was unfairly pinned as being the bad guy all too often, there they went. Two man-children throwing a fit over cookies. Cookies! She knew that neither of them were truly angry; they weren't that stupid, but she had no energy for their stupidity right now. Not when it involved food that she just spent a small fortune on being thrown at her, while being shouted at. She had enough to worry about, now knowing about the shit show that was going on at work, and she really didn't need these two being assholes right now. All she wanted was a nice, relaxing evening. She had done all of the legwork in ordering and paying for the food, making sure that the fridge was stocked with drinks, and so on, and yet apparently, even just that wish was too large of a request to be granted. They were going to sit here and ruin the night over cookies. It really shouldn't have surprised her, given Roman's ungrateful track record tonight and Nick's tendency to be dumb as bricks, and yet here she stood, feeling the rage bubble inside of her as she looked between the two of them. Should she yell? Knock Roman's teeth out? Toss a drink in Nick's face? They deserved it all, even if they were just 'joking', but why waste any more energy on them?

She turned away from them, taking her glass with her as she exited the kitchen. "Enjoy your night. I'm done with both of you." While it may have seemed like a melodramatic response, it was actually probably the most "mature" way that Brooklyn could have responded to the situation, at least relative to the options running through her mind. She was typically the kind of person who needed to get the last word in during an argument, and who could never just walk away from situations that bothered her. Had Roman not just caused her to go on a wild fucking goose chase, maybe she would have had the energy to retaliate against their stupidity and play along, but that wasn't an option now.

Rather than enter her room though, she continued down the hallway to Cara's. The door was open, so she didn't hesitate popping her head in. "I brought your kid back to her apartment. I know this is probably a crazy idea, but next time you decide to disrupt my night by bringing her over here, why don't you actually watch her so I don't have to sprint down five fucking flights of stairs chasing after her?" Okay, so the whole 'be nice to Cara so we can use her for her beach house' thing was out the window now, but that was fully Roman's fault, since he had already blew it by talking about the plan right in front of Cara. Besides, even a gorgeous beachfront mansion wasn't enough of an incentive to completely reel in Brooklyn's personality. She didn't give Cara a chance to respond because frankly, she didn't care what the girl had to say, and instead, she headed to her own bedroom. She knew that she would be back in the kitchen sooner than later because her glass was already half empty, but hopefully Dumb and Dumber would be gone by then. In the meantime, she had a few dumb bitches to rip apart via text.​

 

[Bandit_]

Makayla smiled as she ate, nodding as Chanel responded to them. She really could only imagine what the girl had been gifted by all of those party guests. Even the ones who were Chanel's friends had likely been generous, and even if they hadn't been exorbitantly, there had been so many people there that it must have taken an entire car or two just to bring everything back with home. Cara had her flaws but she was definitely generous. Maybe not relative to her actual net worth, but if anyone had to admit that she wasn't stingy, it was Makayla, as Cara showered Holly in gifts like it was no big deal. It probably was no big deal to her, but even so, it did mean something to Holly, which meant that it meant something to Makayla too. Like Chanel, there were definitely actual bills that she would have preferred the financial kindness to go towards, but obviously she wasn't in a position to be picky when she wasn't owed any of it anyway.

Chanel's story about her week reminded Makayla of how nice it probably was to have so many friends. She wasn't thinking of it in a self-pitying way, but just as general commentary. Chanel was the kind of person who deserved it because she really was a purely sweet girl. Even though Makayla recognized being so well received by people as a good thing, she wasn't sure if she would ever actually be able to do that herself. Relationships were so hard to maintain, and life always got in the way on Makayla's end. Even taking Holly and her responsibilities there out of the picture, Makayla didn't think she could ever have the energy to maintain so many relationships at once. Chanel seemed to have been socializing for a week straight, and if Makayla had been in her place, she would have been feeling completely drained by now. She supposed that Chanel could have been feeling that way too, but was just good at hiding it. She would have understood that. When people saw you in a certain light, such as always being sociable, or always being closed off, you were expected to be that person at all times, even if that aspect of your persona wasn't who you completely were.

When there was a knock at the door, Makayla assumed that it would be Cara and Holly, and as she turned her head to look, she was half right. Holly was there with boxes of, what turned out to be, cookies in her hands, but Cara wasn't. Makayla didn't put much thought into Cara not being there, mostly because she had to focus on Holly who was pushing Makayla's plate over to display her cookie haul. As Holly went to open one of the boxes, Makayla put her hand on top of the box, pushing it closed. "Don't even think about it," she said, standing up as she picked the boxes up and carried them over to the counter. Holly barely ate anything as it was, and after Ruby had purchased so much food for dinner, she wasn't going to let her eat two bites of a cookie and claim that she was full. Even though Holly was basically the same height as her, she placed the boxes far back on the counter, as if that would prevent her from being able to access them. "You're going to eat real food tonight," she said, making Holly a plate of food. She was careful to only put a small amount of everything on the plate, knowing that the likelihood of Holly actually eating it would be low. Still, she didn't need Ruby in her ear about how Holly couldn't live the rest of her life only eating chicken nuggets, so she would try it. "Is Cara not coming back over?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at Chanel.

​

 

[lauren.]

If Brooklyn hadn't said anything, Cara probably would not have realized that the silence filling the apartment suggested that anything was off. She was engulfed in her own problems to a point where she had nearly forgotten about Holly, but Brooklyn's sudden appearance reminded her why she was even back in her own apartment. Her eyes widened in the sudden realization of her mistake, but she was somewhat comforted by Brooklyn mentioning that she had brought Holly back to her apartment. It made Cara look bad, but at least Holly was safe. She rolled her eyes once the girl was gone, scoffing at how dramatic Brooklyn could be, and failing to see the irony in thinking that considering her own typical behavior. Would it really have been that hard for Brooklyn to entertain Holly for five minutes?

As Cara headed out of the apartment, she knew better than to even bother acknowledging Nick or Roman this time. She could greet the front door and receive the same response that she would get from them, so it wouldn't have been worth her breath, even if she hadn't been mad at Roman. Her mannerisms bordered on her exit being one that could be considered "storming out", but it seemed warranted. Not only was Roman an asshole to a point where slamming the door felt well deserved, but she was also rushing now, and the slam was only half intended for the dramatics. The door to Chanel's apartment was still slightly ajar, and Cara reached out her hand to catch it before it shut. "Hey," she said to Chanel, who was still near the doorway, as she internally breathed a sigh of relief upon spotting Holly in the kitchen. "She literally moves faster than the speed of light," she whispered to Chanel, before stepping further into the apartment.

Though she was annoyed, mostly at Roman, but also now at herself for having went back to her apartment to get her drink, just to forget to make herself a new drink before returning, she painted a smile on her face. Looking at Chanel reminded her of the text she had received just a few minutes ago from the girl, and before she headed any deeper into the apartment, she looked back at her, speaking quietly again. "Wait, what's up?" Chanel had said something about being screwed which was concerning, but Cara had been too involved with her own issues when she had initially received it to put much thought into it then. Now, she was more curious, since Chanel hadn't seemed incredibly upset or panic-stricken before she had left with Holly. She wasn't sure what changed between then and now, but she was curious to find out.​

 

[cure]

Before Chanel got a chance to respond to Makayla, the person in question was pushing through the door she was trying to close. "Guess so," she replied, beaming at her roommate. It seemed like a lot had happened within the short amount of time they had been gone, and somehow Brooklyn also got involved, which was weird. Given that Holly was also involved, it easily stood that not much reasoning needed to be in place to explain disjointed logistics.

"Ooh! While you're here, will you tell me if this top is yours? I've been meaning to text you about it since forever." It was her immediate response to Cara's inquiry, and while a lie, she needed an excuse to go back to her bedroom five seconds after coming from it. "Be right back--again! Sorry you two."

Taking Cara's hand, she disappeared into the hall and then into her own room. She closed the door behind her, keeping a firm grip on the doorknob behind her as she leaned against the door and groaned. Now that they were here, she actually didn't even know if she could say it out loud. If she didn't, at least it would make it less real. But as she stared up through her lashes, the wave of emotions she'd been concealing took the first chance at release and her eyes were getting glossy before she had much say in the matter. So now she really had to say something. She couldn't think of any other reason for her emotional response, which again left her with the consequences of her actions.

To add to the guilt bubbling in her core, she had a brief sense of dear and anxiety over Cara being the one to stand between her and such a big mistake. They were obviously good friends, but... They never spoke about deep stuff. Chanel, in a lot of ways, was still to Cara the persona she was to everyone else. She felt guilty for it already, feeling like she was manipulating and lying to the people who fell for this sweet and bubble illusion; she also felt guilty for not upholding it right now though. Sure, she was obviously closest to Cara out of everyone on the hall, and she felt confident in staying it was a mutual situation, but Cara still didn't know a lot about Chanel. She didn't even know about what happened with her brother. No one did. So on a vulnerable, emotional level, she was really on the same playing field as everyone else. She didn't know if she could trust Cara. She didn't know if something would happen and Cara would turn against her. Any allegiance Cara had to Chanel, in her mind at least, was to this costume Chanel. If Cara ever found out she was a fraud, then what loyalty would she have to the real her? None, she thought. How could she? She didn't even know the real her.

She squeezed her eyes, somehow working in her mind that to close the blinds on her surroundings would have the same affect on the stirring thoughts bouncing around and competing for space in her mind. Chewing behind her lip and now having Cara's feet as her focal point, she let out as steady a sigh as she could. "You can't say anything, Cara. Not even if you wake up tomorrow and say you hate me."

 

[lauren.]

Cara wasn't dense enough to misunderstand what Chanel was getting at when she audibly mentioned a borrowed shirt that didn't exist, and eagerly followed her down the hall and into the girl's bedroom. She grew more and more curious as the seconds passed, as Chanel's energy suggested that whatever she wanted to talk about was going to be juicy. Cara loved gossip and drama. She didn't like it when she was personally involved or victim to it, but she loved hearing about it in other people's lives. It wasn't that she fed off of the idea of people doing poorly in life or suffering, but she just liked the entertainment. If something was going on that led to any of her friends being hurt or stressed out, she wouldn't find it to be good drama, but if it was people they knew but barely cared for, or even better--people they knew and specifically did not care for, then she lived for it. For instance, she didn't like the idea of people talking about that one night stand she had with Nick, but if it had been Makayla who had been in her shoes, Cara would have been eating popcorn on the sidelines watching the drama unfold. Perhaps most people were like that, though. It was always easier to laugh things off or judge from the outside when they didn't directly affect you.

She sat down on the edge of Chanel's bed, looking at her as she stood against the door. She was clearly tense, and her words didn't argue with her body language that suggested that. What could be so scandalous that she was forbidden from telling anyone?! Cara's eyes lit up with excitement as she ran through ideas in her mind, though she maintained a fairly serious expression as she nodded in confirmation. It didn't make sense that Cara's first thought was that Chanel killed someone and needed help getting out of that mess, but for some reason, it was where her mind went. What else could it have been? Maybe Chanel liked that cocaine a little too much and had bought some of her own and was freaking out about it? Maybe one of her brothers had done something stupid, like catch an STD from Brooklyn at the party? "Oh come onnnn," she said, feigning offense that Chanel would even imagine that Cara would turn on her that easily. It probably wasn't too far off point for her character, but she wouldn't admit to that. "You know I can keep a secret!" she insisted. "What's going on?"​

 

[A_Writer]

Holly followed Makayla to the counter, frowning as her eyes followed the boxes of cookies more than anything else. She wanted to share her rainbow cookies with Chanel right now, and she didn't understand why Makayla didn't realize that that was a priority. Nevertheless, Holly didn't get too hung up on it. Cara had returned and then she and Chanel disappeared. Though Holly's gaze followed them for a few seconds as she pondered whether she needed to join the girls since she belonged in the Cool Kids ™ group rather than whatever Makayla and Ruby's duo could be called, she opted to stay. The decision was really only made because Makayla had banged a serving spoon against the side of a dish, creating a ringing noise that caught Holly's attention, despite being quiet enough that it easily would have blended in with the sounds of the room to a normal person's mind. There were a lot of food choices in front of her, and it was more than Holly could process, leaving her uncharacteristically quiet as Makayla put together a plate for her. Even as Makayla dared to put a tiny, tiny, tiny amount of salad on her plate, Holly didn't object. She was too busy looking around the kitchen that shouldn't have seemed so captivating given how long she had lived there.

"Will you play a game with me tonight?" she asked Makayla randomly, her eyes then focusing in on the girl beside her. It was no secret that Holly craved socialization and companionship. The fact that she didn't have any friends of her own probably made her seem more needy in that category than she may have, had she had people to hang out with. While everyone else in their apartment buildings had their own lives, and their own friends and people outside of the building, the people on this floor were all that Holly really had. More than them though, Makayla was the one true person who she relied on most heavily for that socialization. While she did seize any opportunity she got to hang out with the other girls on the floor, Makayla was undeniably who she spent most time with. They would go on walks, spend time at the public library, go grocery shopping, and look for dogs in the park. Makayla watched movies with her, helped her with her homework, and listened to her talk, and talk, and talk. Even if it seemed like Holly couldn't care less about Makayla when the others were around, it was just relative to how fascinating and cool she found them to be. Makayla was still a person, and that in itself basically qualified her to be a fair candidate to spend time with. "We could play Go Fish, or Uno, or freeze tag!" She looked back towards Ruby, who sat at the table, before turning and approaching her. "Do you wanna play too, Ruby, or do you have to do your work?" she inquired, only throwing in the last part because by now, it was ingrained in her head. Oftentimes when she suggested to Makayla that she ask Ruby or Chanel to do something with or for her, Makayla would be quick to take those plans off the table by insisting that the girls were busy with something.

"We'll see," Makayla answered, only half listening to what Holly was saying as she set the girl's plate down on the counter and stepped to the refrigerator to get her a drink. Instead of carrying the items over to the table where Ruby sat, she brought them into the living room, and set them down on the coffee table, which she had pushed forward a bit. She didn't trust Holly to sit on the couch and eat and not destroy it, and in general, she didn't like Holly eating outside of the kitchen anyway, but she would make an exception right now. Since Cara was here, Makayla didn't want Holly overriding the conversation if she and Chanel were looking to have dinner and hang out. Putting her in front of the television probably seemed like a copout but it seemed like an easy solution, and one that she didn't think Holly would mind either. Plus, if Holly held onto this idea of wanting to do something after dinner before getting ready for bed, Makayla was going to need a little bit of a break. "Come here," she said to Holly, walking halfway back towards the table and motioning for her to come over. "You can watch a show while you eat tonight," she said, motioning to the ground in front of the coffee table.

Holly followed Makayla to the living room, but she didn't plan on staying there to eat. Not when Cara, Chanel, and Ruby were here to eat dinner together. Even though she lived with Chanel and Ruby, it wasn't like she even got to eat dinner with them consistently, so this was too fun of an opportunity to pass up. "Like when we were in Disney World!" she exclaimed, laughing to herself. She had enjoyed that "drive in theater" restaurant they had went to, where the tables looked like old cars and there was a movie playing on the screen in the front. She abruptly turned back around at the thought of it, returning to where Ruby sat. "When we go back there, do you want to come with us this time?" she asked, speaking with importance as if she needed a definite answer right that minute. "You can use your credit card to pay for it. They accept that! Because me and Chanel don't have a lot--Chanel has a lot of money, but not enough to pay for Disney World. Well, maybe enough. She has two brothers and a mom, and that means she has probably seventeen hundred dollars, and--oh! Look what Roman gave me for being so beautiful!" Speaking of money, she pulled a twenty dollar bill out of her pocket excitedly, holding it in front of Ruby's face. "If you're really pretty, people just give you money sometimes! That's why Chanel is rich, and that's why after Collin stole my dog from me, he became very, very, very not rich." Holly was a good example of the Michael Scott quote about starting sentences with no idea where she was planning on going with them, and just figuring it out along the way. What she said made sense to her as she was saying it, but she often got too jumbled and lost between multiple thoughts that if she had to read back her own words, she probably wouldn't have been able to make much sense of it either.​

 

[lauren.]

The way that Holly conversed involved her saying so much, so quickly. On one hand, that often meant that it was nearly impossible to follow what she was saying completely. On the other hand though, it oftentimes didn't even matter, because she would say so much at once that you didn't have a chance to respond to most of it anyway. Ruby had a mouth full of food through it all, so that meant that she couldn't respond immediately anyway, though she did nod through most of Holly's comments. She had been thinking of interjecting and suggesting to Makayla that Holly eat with them, instead of in front of the television, but she eventually opted against it. Sometimes it was hard having to figure out when she was overstepping when her intentions were always just to be helpful. After swallowing a sip of wine, she tried to piece together what Holly had just said. "I don't think anyone has enough money to pay for Disney World," she joked. "Everything is so expensive there!" She knew what Holly's reference to the dog thing was about, because she had been there for the tail end of that scene, but she wasn't sure how that was related to his worth. Because the situation itself probably still held negative feelings for Holly, she didn't comment on that. Likewise, she didn't know what Holly was talking about with Roman paying her for being "beautiful", and her actually having money in her hand made it all the more stranger. She knew that Makayla probably wasn't handing Holly money to play with, but that almost seemed more likely and explainable than Roman giving her money because he thought that she was pretty. Ruby wasn't sure what to think of that boy, but she didn't think he was that strange... Maybe she was wrong, but she would let Makayla figure that one out.

"I would love to play a game with you later, but you might be exhausted!" she pointed out. Typically she would have been more than happy to play with Holly, partially to give Makayla some respite, but also because she felt like being stimulated was much better for the girl than extended amounts of screen time. It was also hard to get bored when interacting with Holly, and Ruby craved socialization sometimes too. However, tonight she wanted to talk to Makayla, and Holly being up later than expected would complicate that. She knew that the girl would pass out sooner than later anyway, but Ruby herself was exhausted after this whole fiasco, so she didn't know how long she would last, herself. "We'll see, though. I bet if you eat everything Makayla put on your plate, you'll have enough energy for at least one round of Uno, right?" she prompted.​

 

[cure]

Chanel exhaled dramatically, blowing raspberries in the process. Why was her life like this? Why did it have to be her? There were eight billion people on the planet and she had to be the lucky soul who bore the burden of her life of misfortunes. "I was hanging out with this guy at the party and we hooked up," she began, though with the finiteness in her tone, it seemed as if that was the big reveal. She flared her nostrils, thinking back on the weekend. She didn't register that she was seeming melodramatic even by her own standards. Finally, albeit through some grumbles, she said, "And I'm pretty sure it was Ruby's boyfriend." Chanel stared deadpan towards the other side of the room, the tears that had begun forming now drying up from the heat of the anger boiling up inside of her. When she was ready, she broke her gaze to glance towards Cara, her expression muted.

Maybe Chanel’s words didn’t immediately resonate in Cara’s mind as carrying any sort of heavy weight because it still seemed unfathomable that Ruby had a boyfriend. Elijah specifically didn’t seem like Ruby’s type, but even beyond that, and even considering that Cara didn’t know Ruby on anything other than a surface level, she just wasn’t someone that Cara could picture with a significant other. She stared at Chanel blankly for a few seconds before the reality of what the girl had said truly set in. Was it bad that she almost wanted to laugh? Not at Chanel, but at the bizarreness of the situation. Ruby had a secret boyfriend and Chanel slept with him. It was a big enough mess that you’d expect to see a scene based off of it on some Netflix series. Yet, even though it was a mess, it didn’t feel like it was. That was likely because it was Ruby whose boyfriend it was, and Cara didn’t have much of an emotional tie to her. She could easily and immediately side with Chanel in the situation through that, and the distressed look on her face only made it all the more of an easier choice to make.

“You’re lying,” Cara pressed, though Chanel would have had to have been a pretty good actor if that was the case. She was still trying to make sense of this, and her comment was the first thought that came to mind. She didn’t need to wait to gauge Chanel’s response because she knew that she wasn’t lying. “I’m not even surprised. I got such a bad vibe from him the moment I walked in the door,” she said, though that was essentially a lie. Elijah hadn’t given any red flag signals in the short span of time Cara had interacted with him for. “He’s really sick in the head for doing that to you,” she continued, because as much as he was the villain, Chanel was also the victim here in Cara’s opinion, and that deserved more of the focus. “And on your birthday!” she hissed. “Like really, who does that?” Another day, another worthless man. It was a shame, because now that she thought about it, Chanel definitely would have looked ten times better next to Elijah than Ruby would have. “He’s given us no choice but to ruin his life,” she said, her tone softening just a smidge as the idea of destroying someone always came with an amusing undertone to her. “We can’t tell Ruby about any of this, though. She’ll just get in the way of us righting his wrong.” Depending on how upset Chanel really was, they could do a lot of damage, or just a little, but either way, Cara was going to insist on revenge.

Well, that was surprisingly soothing. Cara's underwhelm, and her echoing the same thoughts Chanel had when she became angry instead of sad about this, quieted some of the nerves she was feeling. The oncoming feeling of a total breakdown had so easily subsided—though not completely—that she was honestly shocked. Sometimes all you needed was validation. "Thank you," she exclaimed in response to Cara highlighting the added offense of this guy totally ruining her birthday. "Ugh, I don't know... You don't have to see Ruby everyday; I do. How can I just smile in her face and pretend like I didn't sleep with her boyfriend." As she sat down beside Cara, her eyes widened. "Oh my god! Ruby said they haven't slept together yet because he told her it's for religious reasons. Like he's waiting for marriage type thing." Chanel pressed her palms to her face before falling back onto her bed, wriggling and kicking her feet in the air. "I have been scammed!!! I can't believe this. I doubt he's coming over back anytime soon though, so revenge might be off the table. Although... Ruby said he's looking for someone to work at his restaurant and he requested you. I'm supposed to try and convince you to take it. She said he also asked for my number because one of my friends was talking to him about it and he needs to get in contact with them. But I'm afraid of reaching out. I seriously can't believe I did that."​