Realistic or Modern City Living

[A_Writer]

“Actually, I think we should play ‘dog show’!” Holly exclaimed, instantly latching in to Ruby’s confirmation that she would “love to play”, and disregarding the rest. While it obviously didn’t align with something a typical sixteen-year-old would be entertained by, Holly loved pretend play. She enjoyed basically any kind of game, as long as she was doing it with someone else, but she had a colorful imagination, so she often enjoyed entertaining herself without being limited to board game rules. “All of my animals will compete in the dog show and then you can judge them!” she insisted excitedly, reaching out to gently squeeze Ruby’s arm in excitement.

Although Makayla was only a few feet away and likely heard every word of their conversation, Holly bounded over your her with a wide smile on her face. She was nearly bouncing with excitement as she latched onto Makayla’s arm this time, gripping it tight enough that one might have thought she would float into the air if she dared to let go. “Ruby wants to play ‘dog show’ with me later! You can teach her how to be a judge! And don’t forget to tell her how she can’t really be mean to any of my animals because they have feelings too, and I don’t want them to bite her while she’s sleeping tonight because they’re upset that she gave them a bad score!” She laughed at the thought of it, knowing that it was silly, only because all of her stuffed animals were nice and wouldn’t do that to Ruby. Maybe to Elijah or Nick or Roman, but not Ruby!

It didn’t occur to Holly that Elijah was no longer in the apartment, which was why she hadn’t commented on his absence. As the girls on this floor could attest to, Holly had an inclination to prefer female friends over male friends. She cared less about the boys on the floor than she did the girls, but then again, Holly wasn’t that picky when it came to socialization. As seen earlier, she was still pretty content chatting with Roman and Nick.

Surprisingly, Holly abandoned her desire to argue with Makayla about sitting alone in the living room. After grabbing her giraffes from the nearby chair, she sat down on the floor in front of the coffee table. The food on her plate smelled good, but she definitely wasn’t going to finish it all, and it was unlikely that anything foreign to her normal choices would be consumed. Despite having lived through many situations where food was scarce, Holly had always managed to be a picky eater. It helped that her appetite was so small, because something like a dollar bag of chips had been enough to act as her “dinner” on many occasions when Makayla really couldn’t afford anything more. Now that they were in a much better place and they could afford (or at least have access to) a larger variety of foods, she still hadn’t abandoned her old habits. ​

 

[Bandit_]

Makayla let Holly go back and forth with Ruby for a few moments, but she was relieved when the girl returned to the living room area and sat down as she had initially been instructed to do. She was always conflicted over where the line was between reigning Holly in enough that she wasn't constantly pestering the girls in the apartment, while also allowing her to exist as she was. She didn't think that it was fair to constantly keep Holly on a leash and not allow her to talk to people, but obviously with Holly, things often escalated quickly between a small, innocent conversation, and something outlandish or inappropriate. She was grateful that Chanel and Ruby were both so patient and understanding, but it still ate away at her sometimes, as she wondered whether they both secretly detested Holly. It was why Ruby's comment from the weekend about how she and Chanel had been talking about Holly regressing was still bothering her. She didn't feel like bringing it up to Ruby to clarify why they were talking about Holly in the first place, and asking her to expand on what she meant--at least not right now. She had other things to worry about, and honestly, some things were better left unsaid.

Holly was a sensitive subject for Makayla, as she didn't like the idea of anyone criticizing her in any way, shape, or form, even if she did it herself. She knew Holly's past and had lived through some of it with her. People on the outside had no idea what that child had been through, so they had no right to speak on her, at least not on her as a whole. If they wanted to criticize her for something specific, like something offensive she said or did, that would be one thing, but speaking on her as a person wasn't welcomed. Then again, maybe it was something about it coming from Ruby that made it feel more offensive. Despite Ruby being a wonderful friend and roommate, her being Holly's doctor also put her into an authoritative spot (even if Ruby definitely didn't see it that way, and didn't exploit it either). To put it simply, Makayla didn't trust or like the majority of people who had filled those roles before, and justifiably, as none of them had ever done anything but make her situation with Holly more complicated. Ruby was an exception, having gotten a plethora of things put in place to benefit she and Holly financially and education-wise for Holly, but still, it was just a matter of principle.

"Okay, okay," she said, hovering for a moment as Holly got settled in. "That sounds fun, but you have to take a shower after dinner, so we'll see how everyone feels then. If you get up before you finish what's on your plate, it's definitely not happening though," she said, albeit in a gentle tone rather than a threatening one, before heading back into the kitchen. She sat back down, ready to inhale the food on her plate, and comfortable with knowing that she would likely end up eating half of what she had given to Holly, too. "You never told me how your brother's party went," she said, after a few bites of food, as she glanced to Ruby. She wasn't trying to bring it up in a negative way, though she knew it probably had the potential to go there, and was actually mildly curious about it. She knew very little about Ruby's family, and honestly now, wanted to know very little about them permanently, but for some reason (probably guilt), she felt compelled to make small talk.

​

 

[lauren.]

"Oh my god, he's such a sicko. He's obviously just trying to get your number to sleep with you again, and god only knows why my name would have come out of his filthy mouth," she responded bitterly, frowning at the thought of Elijah playing her friend like this. She felt bad for Ruby too, but that was in more of an after thought kind of way. She felt more of an alliance with Chanel, so even if Ruby probably was more of the victim in this whole scandal than Chanel was, she wasn't going to acknowledge it that way. Plus, Ruby was clearly an idiot so... she didn't deserve to be cheated on, but come on--wake the fuck up, bitch! How stupid did she have to be to think that any modern day man was saving himself until marriage? Unless he came out of one of those weirdo Christian megachurch-following families, it was obviously a blatant lie. Obvious to anyone with a lick of intelligence, at least.

"That's good to know, though," she added, before clarifying, "That he has a restaurant." She wasn't sure why Chanel felt like revenge was off of the table just because he probably wasn't going to show his face around here again. Cara wasn't thinking about revenge in any direct way, like physically punching him or cursing him out for acting so brazenly gross. She was thinking of it in the true "ruin your life" kind of way. Her thoughts were more on the "get you fired from your job, evicted from your apartment, slander your family's reputation to every living person they know" wavelength. She didn't know if Chanel meant that he owned a restaurant or was just employed at one, but either way, that was a good place to start. "We'll find out the name of it, and we'll get it shut down!" she suggested in a nearly chipper manner, as she looked to Chanel in a hopeful sort of way. This would make her feel better. There were few things as satisfying as watching someone who wronged you plummet to their death.

"Caraaaaa." Chanel groaned and looked towards her friend with a frustrated pout. After a moment, she sat back up. "Then I'm gonna feel like shit for ruining two people's lives. Why don't you just go down there for a day to 'check it out,'" she said, miming quotes with her fingers. "And maybe you can get some dirt on him that way. You'll just be the mole of the operation! You always need an infiltrator that seems like they can be trusted. Plus, you would totally look hot bartending. But anyways, then we can get something really good and incriminating, and he can keep his little restaurant, and Ruby will be so distracted by how cuckoo he is, that she won't even be thinking about killing me!"

Cara didn’t understand how Chanel could still manage to be nice, even at a time like right now when she had clearly been slighted by this man. If Cara has been in her shoes, there wouldn’t even have been a conversation! She would have been on the phone with her father, demanding that some sort of action be taken against this grimy man! As irrational as it sounded, for people in Cara’s position, it wasn’t an insane go-to thought, because oftentimes, it worked. If you had access to the top lawyers, political connections, and so on, nothing was really impossible. You were allowed to be unnecessarily vindictive, simply because no one was there to check you. People at the top tended to look out for each other, and there was very little that people below them could do to stop it, regardless of how unfair it was. Cara didn't think of it that way, of course. To her, it did seem fair, but obviously, her perception of her place in the world was skewed. It was Cara's world; everyone else was just living in it.

She wanted to help Chanel because she didn't like the idea of any of her friends being played for a fool, and that was the only reason why she considered her take on it. Cara had never held a job before. She did "work" as a club promoter for a little while after graduating high school, but all that actually meant was that she would get friends to go clubbing with her every night, with free entry, free drinks, and free bottle service, and she would get paid commission for doing so. It wasn't an actual job where she was reporting to anyone, really, or had to show up if she didn't feel like it. She actually figured that bartending would be pretty similar, to some extent, in the sense that as she considered it, she wasn't considering that she would have to work a specific schedule, or do things that she wouldn't want to do. She pictured herself making drinks, which she was already good at, and flirting with men, which she was already good at, too. She didn't consider any of the less enticing tasks that would come with the job, simply because she was ignorant to the fact that a job came with more responsibilities than just that. "Fine, but I'm not going there alone. He's clearly a psychopath, and I'm not about to be another body that's cut up and stored in his freezer. I love you, but like, not that much," she said, cracking a smile at the last sentence, though the part about him being a serial killer seemed plausible to her now that he was on her shit list.

"Eeeeep!!" Spreading her arms out wide, she lunged towards Cara and embraced her in a hug, pulling her back onto the bed. Chanel planted a big kiss on the cheek, with a theatrical, sing-songy, "Mmmmmwah! You spoil me better than any sugar daddy ever could." As she let go of Cara and began lifting herself up, she stopped in sudden realization. "You're my sugar mama! If I'm not married by the time I'm thirty, I would like to take your hand in marriage. Think about it," she said, grabbing ahold of Cara's hands to stand her up. Making her way to the door, she looked back towards her friend. "Let's see when he needs you by. Maybe we could drop by tomorrow."

Cara couldn't help but to laugh at Chanel's response, though she did attempt to reign it in in an attempt to seem more serious and less complacent in not getting her way. "We'll go whenever we feel like it. We live on our own schedule, Chanel! Certainly not his, of all people's," she insisted, as if Chanel was being far too kind to the villain of their story. "This man conned you into sleeping with him, knowing he was dating your roommate. If this is your version of being mean, I really need to mentor you!" she teased, though the sentiment behind it was genuine. They were doing this to get revenge. Maybe Cara would have to play the part a little bit; get into character and all, but still, the end goal was to destroy Elijah from the inside out because he was disgusting, and fair was fair.
​

 

[lauren.]

Thursday, June 15th | 4:00 PM

Cara still wasn't sure what to think about Elijah and his strange proposal that she bartend at his restaurant, but her focus and distrust wasn't so much about the job as it was about him. He was clearly a shady figure, having cheated on Ruby with Chanel, on Chanel's birthday nonetheless. He was bold and brazen, and apparently was willing to risk it all, right under Ruby's nose. It just meant that he was a bad person; he didn't care if he got caught, and with how sloppily he did it, he probably wanted to get caught. One of those weirdos that got off on knowing that his girlfriend knew he was cheating on her but was too scared to confront him. Cara didn't give Ruby that much credit though, because she was convinced that Ruby probably was so oblivious that she really didn't know what was going on at all. Either way, Elijah was gross, and Cara wanted to give him a piece of her mind. The idea of the job itself wasn't necessarily resonating poorly with her, though that was only because she still didn't really register all that a job entailed. To her, it was going to be something that she would do once or twice, whenever she felt like it, really. If it was something that was going to interfere with her weekends in the Hamptons, or her planned summer vacations, then she obviously wouldn't have been so willing, but she didn't think of work in the same way that other people thought of work. She didn't have to, really. To her, it would just be a hobby, and not something that she relied on for survival.

Chanel had mentioned wanting to go see him today when they had hung out yesterday evening, and though Cara hadn't seen her yet today, she figured that the plan was still on. That was, unless Chanel had a change of heart and decided that Cara's plan to ruin Elijah's life in a more efficient way was the way to go, now. She wasn't going to object to that, though she doubted that Chanel's sweet little heart would have made such a change. As she thought about it, she supposed that Chanel was right that it had to be awkward living with the girl whose boyfriend you slept with. Ironically, she didn't compare it to her own situation of still living with the girl whose boyfriend she slept with, because in her own self-absorbed way, she thought of her situation as being "more complicated".

To: Chanel
Hi bb Did you end up talking to you know who ? I'm free allllllll night if you need me to help you kill him

She didn't have any major plans tonight. A few of her friends were going to a rooftop downtown, but she wasn't really in the mood to do any big socializing tonight. Her day had been "long"...at least in her books, as she had been uptown going through her closet and getting rid of summer clothes and that she didn't want for this season. She needed to make room for the purchases she planned on making tomorrow. Now, she was back at her apartment, having felt like she had completed a year's worth of manual labor. She rested comfortably on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket as she half-watched Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist on TV. She snapped a photo of the screen when Michael Cera's face crossed it, sending it to Roman, who she hadn't seen since last night when his bitch-boy attitude had annoyed her.

To: Roman
Watching a movie and his face reminded me of yours ​

 

[A_Writer]

"Why do we have to pay money to go to the zoo? The animals in there are stolen so they're not ours but they're also not the zoos," Holly asked, holding her stuffed giraffe by the head and swinging it around as if it were a propeller. She laughed to herself before her mind drifted back to thinking about animals. She was still convinced that she needed more giraffe stuffed animals, after Chanel had reminded her of how she and Cara were human giraffes. She had already asked Ruby to get her two giraffe stuffed animals for Christmas next year, so that her boy giraffes could marry them, but Christmas seemed so far away, so she wasn't quite content with the idea of it yet. At the same time, she also wasn't upset over it. Though a lot of the things that Holly did weren't appropriate for someone of her age, at the very least, she very rarely got upset, so at least she didn't have that whole child-like tantrum thing going on. She was used to being told 'no' enough that it didn't bother her, and even if she would occasionally bother Makayla more than once about the same thing even after receiving that response, it was usually just because she hadn't processed Makayla saying no the first time. She became hung up on certain things randomly, and in those cases she may come across as being more insistent, but again, it wasn't something that stemmed from her being upset or demanding. It was just the way that her mind worked, and it didn't typically come with a surplus of negative emotions or anything. All it usually took was something new and more interesting to come along for her to drop it and move on, anyway.

"And if I owned a zoo, I would have one whole section for cows. White cows for regular milk, brown cows for chocolate milk, and pink cows for strawberry milk. And I would keep them in a restaurant in the zoo and they could make cereal all day and fill up the bowls with their milk. Chanel's mom lives near cows. Big cows, little cows, boy cows, cows with two tails, lots of different kinds of cows. And if you're nice to them, they'll be nice to you. If they're not nice, then you should run really fast far, far, far, far away because they're really big and they would squish you with their hooves, Makayla, and then I would be upset. Chanel's dad would have to get a lasso and pull it off of you and then it would probably be okay. It would apologize to you and then give you milk and then we would go home because... it would probably be too dusty for us there and it wouldn't be good for me to breathe in dust when I like my air to be non dusty." She and Makayla were walking back from the grocery store, and as always, Holly wasn't having any trouble filling in the silence with her own thoughts, that slipped in and out of reality and fantasy with each word. Holly was good at entertaining herself with her own stories, though she was only somewhat consciously aware of how some of the things she said were made up and not actually real. Sometimes she told white lies knowingly, just because she thought that they were silly and that was funny, but other times, she would seamlessly go from telling a story that actually happened into making up her own details and subplots of things that never actually transpired. ​

 

[Bandit_]

Holly had a half day of school today, allowing Makayla a few hours to herself. Summer had its perks: the weather was nice, she could tire Holly out with walks around the parks or going to the city pools, and so on, but Holly not being in school every day had its challenges too. It was taxing mentally, although Makayla would obviously never say that to Holly, and more understandably, it had always been problematic given Makayla's need to work. Right now it was less of a problem since she was mostly working at night and she was used to leaving Holly at home "alone" (since Ruby was there most of the time). However, she had interviewed for a job earlier this morning that was an 8:00-4:00 position. During the school year, the schedule would work out well enough but during the summer, it was going to cause problems. It was one thing to leave Holly home alone at night, when she was basically guaranteed to remain asleep and out of trouble until Makayla returned in the early hours of the morning. Expecting her to stay home by herself all day without causing trouble was laughably unrealistic. Ruby worked, Chanel worked and had her own life, and even if either of them were home 24/7, Makayla obviously wouldn't have felt comfortable leaving Holly there with some unspoken expectation that they look after her. It wasn't fair to anyone, Holly included. Like a puppy, she needed some form of stimulation and supervision. The salary for dental hygienists wasn't anything to complain about--at least not for Makayla, who was beyond ready for a stable job with guaranteed hours, and a set paycheck to expect every week or two. However, paying someone to babysit Holly was probably going to be expensive enough to outweigh any benefits of holding down a full time job. It was a dilemma that Makayla hadn't figured out yet, and since she was still reeling with anxiety from the interview, she had managed to push that concern to the back of her mind. With her luck, she wouldn't even get the job anyway.

If someone were to read the words that Holly spoke on paper, they would probably be baffled or at least confused by the way she strung random ideas together, talking, and talking, and talking, and talking about everything and anything that crossed her mind. To Makayla, there was very rarely a shock factor associated with her sister's words. She was used to the way that Holly behaved and even if Makayla sometimes wanted to smack her for the things that came out of her mouth, most of the time, she didn't mind Holly's mindless chit chat. Though Makayla wasn't one to feel inclined to fill silence with empty words, she didn't mind that Holly preferred doing that. "I don't think that Chanel lived on a farm," she responded, shifting one bag to her other hand, as the plastic handles had begun to dig into her palm. "I think she probably lived in the suburbs."

"No, I don't think so," Holly disagreed, shaking her head, though she had no reason to back up that claim. She wasn't even quite sure what suburbs really were. Before she could create a reason to back up her disagreement, her giraffe landed on the ground a few feet away, and with a laugh, she ran over to pick it up. "If giraffes knew how to fly, we wouldn't need airplanes," she stated. The thought reminded her of going on the airplanes this winter when they traveled to and from Florida. It had been her first time on an airplane, and she had enjoyed it thoroughly. From the snacks they gave out on the plane, to Cara buying her a pillow in the airport, to opening and shutting the tiny window next to her seat at least fifty times during the flight, she had enjoyed every minute of it. Every minute of it outside of her ears popping shortly before the plane landed, but she had gotten over that pretty quickly. "For your birthday, maybe instead of having a party at Cara's house, we can go on vacation again," she suggested. "Ruby said that Disney World costs more money than she has but Cara has more than that so she'll say it's fine! Or we can go to California. That's where Zac Efron lives, and I'll invite Brooklyn."

"No, no," Makayla responded, albeit quite gently as she pushed the apartment building's door open with her back, holding it for Holly to come inside. "That was very nice of Cara to take us to Florida with her, but that's the only time she's going to do that. We got very, very lucky, and we can't take advantage of that, okay? If you ask her to do stuff like that for you, she's going to get sad and think that you only like her because she can afford to do things like that. We don't want her to think that, right?"

"But we do only like her because she can afford to do things like that." Holly didn't actually mean that, and wasn't trying to be unkind in the slightest. She was really just attempting to protest the idea that Cara would be sad over her requesting such a thing, but the right words didn't come to mind before she had already responded. In Holly's mind, she did like Cara because she took her fun places, like out to eat, or to the movie theater, but it wasn't something that registered to her as being a benefit of Cara's friendship, nor something that would act as the exclusive attractive factor. Holly was just as happy sitting in Cara's living room watching television with her, or just talking to her in the hallway. If there was any person on the planet who craved friendship purely for the companionship aspect of it and nothing more, it was Holly.

"Don't say that," Makayla answered, more sternly now before taking a deep inhale. Somehow, five flights of stairs always managed to feel like twenty flights when she was carrying groceries up them. "It's not nice and it's not true. You like her because she's extremely kind to you, and you enjoy her company, and you think that she's a nice person." She knew that Holly didn't mean what she was saying, but it felt necessary to stress that she didn't mean what she was saying, just so she wouldn't go repeating it in front of people. Besides it being unkind, she definitely did not need Holly telling Cara that Makayla wanted her to throw her a party or something, and have Cara feel awkwardly inclined to do something that neither of them wanted any part of.​

 

[electric]

Elijah's restaurant opened at 11 AM most days, but it was usually pretty quiet until twelve during the week. On the weekend, they served brunch, so it was usually crazy from the get-go, but during the week, he had time in the mornings to catch up on all of the paperwork that came with running a business. Admittedly, it was his least favorite part of it all, but he liked to be in control of his business to a point where he refused to hire someone else to handle that stuff. Sometimes he took on more than he could handle, and that would become apparent in the way that he would become tense and unapproachable for a few hours, or a few days, until he got a grasp on things again. For the most part though, Elijah did a good job with the place. It was his pride and joy, and he though being the guy in charge meant that he had to deal with all of the problems, it also meant that he was able to reap the benefits. The money was okay--he wasn't rolling in cash and he wasn't saving as much as he should have been, but he made enough to pay the bills at the restaurant and at home, employee people, and enjoy the little free time he had. He couldn't complain. He had plans for the future--big plans. Ones that involved creating his own brand...opening up night clubs, and lounges, fancy restaurants, maybe even hotels. Then he would be rolling in the big money. For now though, he was content with the hustle, and kept pushing.

Happy hour had just started at his place, but it was still fairly quiet. The lunch crowd was gone, and the after-work crowd wouldn't start trickling in for another hour or two. He stood behind the bar, chatting with a couple of regulars, as the bartender was on break. He wasn't sure how late he'd stay tonight, which again, was a good and bad thing about being your own boss. While he could technically leave whenever he wanted to, they were short staffed in terms of bartenders, so leaving his crew was only going to hurt him in the end. He figured that he'd stay until seven, maybe eight, and if things weren't too hectic, he'd head home then. If not, it wouldn't be the first time that he opened and closed the place in one day. Today he had less of a reason to rush out though, because he had texted Chanel, the girl he had met over the weekend, inviting her to the restaurant to chat. She hadn't answered him yet and he knew that he probably should have taken that as a sign that she wanted nothing to do with him, but nevertheless, he held out hope that she'd give him a chance. As he glanced down at the conversation again, reading over his message: "Hey, this is Elijah from your party/Ruby's friend. Was weird seeing you yesterday, didn't realize you two lived together lol but glad that I crossed paths with you again. If you're free, come grab a drink or a bite to eat today. I'll be here all day and would love to chill". He had sent her the address to the restaurant as well, but as he read and re-read the message, he wondered how stupid he sounded. He didn't know if Ruby had filled her in on the truth of their situation and if him omitting that explanation made him seem sus, but he had given Ruby his word that he wouldn't out her, and he wasn't going to do her wrong on that. It was going to make this situation tricky, but Elijah was going to pursue Chanel regardless. He figured that he had nothing to lose. She was out of his league to begin with, so he wasn't going to be shattered or shocked if she never responded, but it couldn't hurt to try.

 

[cure]

At her age, come Hell or high water, she was bound to feel like a failure. At least just a smidge in some aspect of her life. The thing was, it was pretty hard for her to do so as far as appearances were concerned. It was a part of the Chanel trademark: the spontaneity, carefreeness, cheeriness. If you held your smile long enough, you were bound to convince people that everything you did was intentional. It all ever came down to saving face. She'd never been able to fool herself though. Chanel remembered the day she moved here. It was a whole production. It felt like college move-in day. The pictures she took with her family were reminiscent of the placeholder photos in picture frames. This was just the kind of thing Chanel Nasiri did. She decided one day she was moving to New York City and made it so. Who could be surprised though? She always dreamed of living in New York and Paris as a little girl. For Christmas one year, all she wanted was to skate at the Rockefeller center, go to the American Girl shop, and drink hot chocolate in central park. It was a part of the treaty she forged with her parents as a compromise on not being able to go to Paris. Chanel was also convinced at one point that she was related to royals in Europe, and for whatever reason, that meant she had to go to Paris and eat the 'rainbow circles'. Funnily enough, even now she'd never had a macaron.

The decision to move to the greatest city in the world wasn't as romantic and full circle as it appeared. She was fleeing. It seemed all she ever did was flee. As always, though, if you smile long enough, you could convince people your fleeing was dancing. So prance she did from one thing to another; who could fault a child or fresh-eyed twenty-year-old for seeing the world as their oyster? She did like it here. But she didn't really choose it because it was New York. She lived in Pittsburgh and so Philly was too close; Jersey was, well, Jersey. One thing she did anticipate, and appreciate even now, was all of the people. Of course social butterfly Chanel Nasiri would have to live in a major city with millions upon millions of people. Sure, it was pretty great being able to meet so many new people, even if it was just in passing 99% of the time, but it was the opposite that really attracted to her. Being one of eight million had a sort of comfort to it. It was a level of anonymity she was sure she couldn't get anywhere else but in a flyover state or in the middle of South America. As she lived her day to day life outside of the apartment, the dancing around ceased because it could, and consequently, so did the never ending fleeing. Being people's favorite character was something she'd built up an attachment to; by this point, she associated it with her identity just as much as others did, but really because she didn't know who else she would be otherwise. She also wasn't really sure if she wanted to find out. Oddly, though, she did appreciate the ability to be invisible and insignificant. It's what made her trek to Elijah's place more tolerable.

In her mind of jitters, and guilty, and conflict, and running through a dozen different scenarios, it was a comfort to know how meaningless it really was. The woman with the severely faded blue hair rushing by had her own problems, and she would be but a breath in Chanel's memory as she lived her life. It made this all kind of funny actually. She constantly felt like her life was a circus being recorded, but she was convinced that everyone did too. There was a solace in being around a bunch of people you meant nothing to. When she realized she was about to pass the stop, her disgruntled feeling started to resurface. She almost wished she'd continued being lost in thought and wound up on the other side of town. Here she was though. And, with the utmost impeccable timing: Cara.

She wasn't sure why she was here. It was a conversation she managed to have at least a hundred times with no resolution. She was already out and it was nearby. Clearly it was a sign. ...Right? Why was she determined to be used like a rag doll? Why didn't she just block him after that message? And as she reread Cara's text, she wondered why she didn't tell Cara to join her, but she knew why. She wanted—no needed a chance to talk to him alone. She knew Cara would take the reigns if she was here, especially if she read Elijah's text message, and maybe that would be the end state, but for now, she just needed to be alone with this. Even she couldn't reason to Cara why she wasn't determined to want to ruin this guy's life after what he did, which was also a reason she didn't call for a backup. She didn't know why she couldn't do it or didn't want to do it. She didn't know why she hadn't called him out on the spot when she saw him yesterday. She didn't know why she was pushing the door open. She didn't know anything. And that's why she was here. Unannounced, sure, but it was in his favor that he was dealing with Chanel's kind of lack of courtesy and not her friend's.

To: Cara
you're gonna kill me

To: Cara
i'm here. like about to talk to him

To: Cara
he'll remain in witness protection until you promise to be nice

To: Cara
but still stay on standby lol. idk how this is gonna go. why am i here????

Tugging the hem of her dress down and running her palms down the back—a subconscious but inevitable act when it came to wearing a short dress—she scanned the space. She did so quickly and haphazardly, really looking for an excuse to say she didn't see him and leave. But she did. It was hard not to. The place was also quaint and empty enough that it would have been impossible for her to dip in and out. It explained why she spotted him just after he did her. Did he recognize her? Maybe she could still leave. She furrowed her brows lightly, waiting for some sort of reaction that spelled, "Why is this customer just standing by the door?" But that wasn't the kind of eye contact they had. There wasn't any kind of confusion; if anything, there was a sense of unison. For her, it was familiar and comfortable. She promptly but swiftly moved her eyes elsewhere, careful not to look as frazzled as she felt. There was an empty bar stool and table on either side of her. Sitting at the bar would be weird, wouldn't it? She wasn't really a patron. The table offered more privacy and intimacy. Which was bad she thought almost immediately after. Absolutely no privacy or intimacy. So then why the hell did she come alone? But sitting at a table would be weird. Wouldn't the staff think it was weird that he was sitting down and chatting with one of their customers? But there were already some people at the bar. She shouldn't pull him away from work. But was she really doing that if he told her to come? But she didn't say she was coming... Was it still too late to run? Yes, she thought to herself as he moved away from the other customers. It was too late. "You can take care of them." Well, no shit, dumbass. "Obviously," she offered with a breathy titter. "It's your restaurant." Which he already knows... "I don't want to be an imposition. I-I should have said that I was coming," she admitted apologetically. Chanel pointed her thumb behind her in the direction of the entrance. "I was in the area, so... Oh, and hi by the way. Forgot to say that..." Her voice trailed off into a chuckle that, while endearing, left her mentally kicking herself. "But yeah, anyway. Ruby told me you were interested in recruiting one of the ever coveted Forresters, so I came to scope the place and make sure you weren't selling any bottom shelf liquor." She looked around the venue again, more deliberately this time. "The color scheme could use improvement, but I think I can convince her to overlook that if I find her in a good mood." It was actually a really nice place, but she needed some level of sarcasm and playfulness to ensure she didn't just run out of here and jump in front of a bus.​

 

[electric]

Elijah was pleasantly surprised when his eyes glanced at the movement by the door, only to realize that it was Chanel. Though he was immediately excited, he honed it in enough that only his eyes lit up with pleasure, rather than a full fledged grin. Just because she had shown up didn't mean that he really had a chance, he reminded himself. Maybe she was just being polite, or maybe she showing up here to tell him to his face that she never wanted to speak to him, or of that night, again. The latter seemed a tad bit unbelievable to him, only because he was almost positive that Chanel had enjoyed herself with him too. From what he could recall, they hadn't left off on anything left than a very good note. The Ruby thing complicated things some, but Elijah was pretty convinced that it wouldn't be that big of a deal. He was a quick thinker; he would figure it out.

He was already heading towards the entryway that would allow him to step out of the bar as she approached, and he finished doing that once she finished her playful critiquing. By then, he was smiling, if only because she seemed to confirm by her demeanor that she wasn't coming in here to tear him to pieces. It took him a minute to realize what she was referring to when she brought up Ruby, but it then clicked to him what he had requested. So, maybe she hadn't come here specifically for Elijah, but then again, if she was really just here about the Cara thing, then she could have always just sent Cara in herself. Elijah barely knew Caraline and he knew that she probably wasn't someone who had any inclination to work for a living, so he got the whole "needing to convince her" part, but if Chanel didn't care for Elijah even just a little bit, then why would she be trying to help him? Maybe he was overthinking--no, he was definitely overthinking, but at the very least, he somehow managed to maintain a calm and cool demeanor as he smiled at her.

"Hey to you too," he laughed, before motioning for her to follow him over to a nearby table. The people at the bar were taken care of (and were chill/familiar enough with Elijah that they weren't going to complain if their glasses went dry for a few minutes), but just to be safe, he called out for one of his employees, Chris, to man the bar for a few minutes. It was a dumb move on Elijah's part since Chris was an idiot; a young, stupid kid who he had never not seen high. He worked in the kitchen, as Elijah didn't trust him with much else, but... how much damage could he do in a few minutes? Chanel seemed to be worth the risk.

"Socialite, Instagram influencer, world's most popular girl, and an interior designer? Quite the catch," he said, matching her light tone. "But yeah, I mean, if you can get her in here for me, I will be indebted to you for the foreseeable future," he added with a chuckle. "You two come as a package deal though, right? Any time she's behind the bar, I can count on you to show your face around here? Because, you know, that's like 90% of the reason why I asked Ruby about it." Was that corny and too direct? Probably. But hey; why beat around the bush? He liked her, and he wasn't going to play games about it. He pulled out her seat for her before taking the one opposite, and sitting down. Almost as quickly as he sat down though, he popped back up to his feet. "Hold up, what can I make you? Martini? Cosmo? You seem like that kind of girl," he said with a small smirk.

 

[Collapsed]

There was no real reason for him to be tired, but alas, Nick felt like he could pass out the second he reached his apartment. He hadn't gotten up too early today and had probably gotten ten hours of sleep, but nevertheless, his body was craving his bed more than anything else. Perhaps it wasn't actual exhaustion, but just that desire for peace and quiet. Nick was a city boy through and through; he didn't mind packed subway cars, the sound of honking cars in the middle of the night, or the unbalanced ratio between sidewalk and grass. He was used to it and to him, it felt more comfortable than the idea of living somewhere like a suburb or rural area, mostly just because it was what he knew. However, there were times when being trapped in a sea of photo-snapping tourists, or behind some moron who didn't know how to buy a Metrocard irked him enough that he needed a break. Not a physical break, like the ones Brooklyn so desperately craved, where he needed to actually leave the city, but a mental one. Some alone time. A bowl, junk food, TV, and his bed. Admittedly, that was a normal day for Nick as it was, but most of the time it simply came out of habit, and not true longing for a break from reality. He didn't have any real reason to crave that specifically today either, but for some reason, he was. He wanted to peace out from life for a little while, and he had a great strain of weed he hadn't smoked in a while that would hopefully do the trick for him, once he reached the apartment.

On the way up, he caught up with Makayla and Holly. It wasn't really intentional. While Nick didn't mind chatting with them, he wasn't necessarily in the mood to do so right now to a point where he would have went out of his way to do so. In fact, had he realized that they had entered the building a couple of minutes before him, he probably would have lingered outside for a bit, allowing them time to get to their own apartment, before trekking up and silently slipping into his own. However, they had bags with them and weren't walking up as quickly as Nick was, so he inevitably caught up with them halfway between the third and fourth floors. "Hey," he said, once his presence caught their attention. He reached for one of the bags that Makayla was carrying, insisting, "Let me help you with that." Nick probably wasn't one who would be called chivalrous by nature, but he was polite and had enough common sense to know when something was simply appropriate. "You cooking dinner for everyone tonight, Holly?" he inquired playfully once he noticed that the bags were from a grocery store. If there was anyone that he could maintain silence with without it being awkward in any capacity, it was Makayla. She was the queen of chillness. She was with Holly though, and when it came to silence, that girl was basically the opposite. Nick felt inclined to make conversation and acknowledge her specifically, if only because whether he did or not, he knew a conversation was coming. He wasn't dreading it, as Holly was a funny kid, but on top of not having much energy for small talk, he also still felt unequipped when dealing with her. ​

 

[cure]

Chanel couldn't tell if he was being serious or joking. He couldn't be that direct, could he? Chanel was too drunk to really remember something as specific as promising to give him her friend's contact info for a position at his business, plus to her it did seem like something within reason. Clearly Cara was right and Chanel needed a bit more training. Or was she looking too deep into it because she was on edge? He was being nice. He couldn't be that bold at the same time without joking. She wrinkled her nose some in confusion. "Oh. Do people still drink those?" Of course they did, but Chanel was a twenty-year-old in New York City who was used to rooftop brunch spots and places with Instagram walls. She basically wanted liquid candy with vodka. Especially after the week she'd been having, she didn't want something so basic. "And after I gave you the off the beaten path experience, you seriously wouldn't offer me something off menu? Docking a few points on the CS experience, but you can redeem yourself. Just give me something a socialite slash influencer slash world's most popular girl slash interior designer would drink. Make it pretty, give it a sugar rim with an orange slice, and preferably with a pretty straw if you have them." Her smile was coy and her eyes innocent as she leaned her cheek against her hand. "Please and thank you."

Just as he was turning away, she reached her arm out slightly. "Oh, actually scratch that. Just make me whatever you like to make Ruby when she's here."​

 

[electric]

Chanel was keeping him on his toes, but it was enticing rather than off putting. Elijah was attracted to her ability to be quick witted and how she had a solid sense of humor. She didn't seem like someone who took herself too seriously, and that was a plus, especially considering the expectations that he had for her (given the crowd he assumed she was a part of). Though he felt inclined to tease her since just a few days ago she was insisting to him that she was the exact opposite of what he had described, and how she was acting, he didn't. Part of the reason behind that was because he really did think that she was that kind of girl. He didn't believe that she truly wasn't one of the Caras of the world, though there was nothing wrong with that in his opinion. It wouldn't have made a difference to him whether she was wealthy or not, but he simply still believed that she was, and had been trying to act modest the other night by insisting otherwise. He was already turning to walk back towards the bar, a smirk on his face the only response he felt necessary to her request, when she began to speak again.

He spun back around quickly, though he moved slower to respond, just because he didn't understand what Chanel was saying at first, and was genuinely trying to rack his mind for what Ruby may have ordered the last time she was in here. They weren't that close, so the last time she had been in had to have been months ago, and he couldn't remember what she had ordered for the life of him. Ruby didn't stand out to him as being a big drinker, but maybe... wine? A beer? He wasn't sure, but he didn't linger on it much longer before the look of puzzlement on his face dropped as he caught on to what she was alluding to. His heart didn't sink nor did his facial express drop into one of distress, as it wasn't that deep, but he was disappointed to see that this situation was still as complicated as he feared it to be. "Ruby..." he began, trying to buy time to come up with the explanation he had not yet concocted. "So I know that probably looked bad last night, but Ruby and I... it's... I mean, it's really not that deep." He so desperately just wanted to make this easy and tell Chanel that he wasn't really dating Ruby, that he was her beard and that she couldn't say anything because it was obviously wrong for him to be outing her, he couldn't. Ruby was his friend, and even if she wasn't a close friend, she was closer to him than Chanel was. He couldn't throw her under the bus just for his own satisfaction, especially regarding something so personal. So, he had to lie. There was no other option. "She knows what happened but we talked it out and she just never wants anyone to bring it up again. She's... We're not really exclusive or anything... It's just kind of complicated." With the lack of excuse coming to mind, he could only be grateful that Dominique and Harlow weren't working right now, because he could only imagine the teasing remarks they would come up with over watching him stumble over his own words.

 

[A_Writer]

Holly didn't agree that what she was saying wasn't nice, but she did agree with what Makayla said afterwards, describing all of the reasons that she liked Cara. They were all correct, as Cara really and truly was very good to Holly. The material things she showered her in spoke to that on their own, but outside of that, Cara treated Holly very kindly. She was patient with her, and indulging, and genuine. She let Holly talk about trivial things, and she actually listened and engaged Holly. She let her hang out with her more frequently than anyone could expect her to, and she never treated it like a chore. Holly's obliviousness probably allowed a few eye rolls or cringes to pass by without notice, but as far as she knew, Cara really was her friend, and Cara liked her just as much as Holly liked Cara. She was just about to change the conversation over to something more important: asking Makayla to get her a kaleidoscope for Christmas, when Nick showed up. Holly was in her own world enough that his voice suddenly coming from behind startled her momentarily. She recovered quickly enough, laughing when he asked about whether she was going to be cooking dinner for them. "No, but Makayla can make you chocolate chip pancakes if you want!" she insisted, laughing some more. That was what she wanted to have for dinner tonight, and if Brooklyn wanted to come over and have some, then Holly guessed that it would be fine if she brought Nick along too.

"When are you and Roman going to get married?" she asked abruptly, though she looked to Nick with casual curiosity, and complete seriousness. She wasn't even trying to tease him, or be silly. Their living situation just suddenly reminded her of that of Bert and Ernie, and they were married, right? "Boys can do that," she said, looking to Makayla and speaking as though she already knew that she would be needing to defend herself, though the subject of focus related to that was misplaced in her assumption. "It's called being gay," she stated, before looking back to Nick. "And there's nothing wrong with that!" It was Gay Pride month in the city right now, and an influx of all of the pretty rainbow flags she had been seeing all over recently, it was a subject that was fresh on her mind.​

 

[Collapsed]

"I'm not gay," Nick responded, though his tone didn't suggest that he was offended by her question or assumption. She had to have known that he wasn't actually gay since she seemed to comprehend that he was dating Brooklyn. It wasn't rare that Holly's thought process was hard to understand though, so this wasn't anything new. Even though he didn't interact with her very regularly, at least on his own, Nick understood Holly enough to not take offense to everything she said. The oatmeal raisin thing crossed the line yesterday, but somehow, today's gay comment didn't. "And if I was, I'd be way out of Roman's league," he added with a slight smirk. "He'd never be able to land a catch like me, Holly." Chocolate chip pancakes sounded good right now, but Nick obviously wasn't going to take Holly up on her offer at Makayla's expense. Plus, he wasn't really looking to socialize right now. He had gotten his share of Holly yesterday and was still recovering from that. Though he was sure that he would have to make a few more stops later tonight once people got off of work and started to hit him up, he was ready to crash on the couch or in bed for a few hours, and catch up on the sleep that he didn't really need.

He wasn't sure what Brooklyn was up to, but he was pretty sure that she was out of work already. He would text her once he got back to his own apartment, though he wasn't sure if she would be in the mood to chill, as he assumed that she was working her other job tonight. He wasn't sure how she managed to hold down both jobs, especially since one required her to often be up to start crazy early in the morning, and the other required her to work until crazy early in the morning. If anyone needed sleep, it was probably her, but somehow, she managed. Not without complaining sometimes, but still, he had to give her credit for working so many hours every week. He knew that he wouldn't be able to pull that off on his end, partially because the idea of waking up so early was laughable to him, but also because the idea of having set working hours in general was so unappealing. He had a problem with authority, and being told when to do something just didn't mesh well with his personality... at all. Especially now that he was so used to being his own boss, he couldn't even imagine adapting to working on someone else's schedule.

As they reached their floor, Nick set the bags he had taken down in front of Makayla's apartment door. "I'm gonna text you next week's menu later. Remind me if I forget," he said to Makayla, referring to the strains he would have to offer the following week. He had a guy dropping off a ton of stuff from a supply chain just outside of Denver, and he was eager to test out a few of the products himself, as some of the hybrid strains were new, even to him. "Enjoy your pancakes, kid," he added, nodding to Holly as he turned back towards his own apartment. Once inside, he texted Brooklyn.

To: B
At work? Come over if not ​

 

[BurningBridges]

The whole situation with Ellie had been bothering Brooklyn since yesterday. She hadn't been in the mindset to deal with it immediately because she had to deal with Holly, and after that, she was mentally done for the day. When she woke up this morning though, she knew that it needed to be addressed. She didn't want to wait until she got in tonight, or until she was going to actually work with Ellie again on Friday night. It was probably unnecessary, but during her lunch break at the diner, Brooklyn made her way to the club. She figured that Ellie would probably be working, along with the nasty girl who had tried intimidating her with insults, and Brooklyn wasn't one to stray away from confrontations. No, she was ready and willing to confront the girl who had the nerve to talk to her mentee like that, face to face. She planned on talking to the manager, Vince, too, but she was close enough with him that she could do that whenever. He was hands off when it came to the experienced girls like Brooklyn, and seemed to actually prefer that they overstep sometimes into what would typically be his job responsibilities, if it meant less work for him. He could sometimes be predatory and skeevy himself, but Brooklyn had worked with him for long enough that she had put him in his place, and he respected her as an equal for the most part... or at least as "equal" as someone inherently grimy could treat a woman. All that mattered was that by now, Vince knew better than to mess with Brooklyn's hours, paycheck, or the few requests she made. If she told him to get rid of a girl, especially a new one, he would usually comply with little resistance. Brooklyn wasn't sure if it was because he actually trusted her opinion, or if it was because he didn't want to deal with arguing with her, but she didn't care either way, as long as it worked in her favor.

She didn't necessarily want to get the girl causing trouble fired, though. Brooklyn was dramatic and could act irrationally when angry, but she didn't think that this was that deep. The girl needed to be put in her place, but it was her first strike in pissing Brooklyn off, and since it wasn't a direct attack on her, she wasn't going to come for her head. Despite having a mean streak herself though, Brooklyn didn't like the idea of a coworker being mean to another coworker for no reason. It wasn't uncommon in their industry, especially among the newer girls who were vying to become established in the limited amount of prime spots that were open. Admittedly, if Ellie hadn't been linked to Brooklyn and Brooklyn had heard the story from someone else, she still would've thought poorly of the girl causing trouble, but she probably wouldn't have spent the time and energy in getting involved. Since she was already involved by default, she didn't mind stepping in, though. She just hoped that this big-mouthed bitch could take what she could dish, because Brooklyn wasn't going to hold back in bringing her back down to earth.

And she didn't. The girl in question was working when Brooklyn showed up around noon, so she waited until she had finished her set to go in on her. She didn't feel even a hint of guilt at leaving the girl in tears, if only because she knew that they were crocodile tears. She wasn't sincerely sorry for attempting to act bigger than she was; she was only sorry that she had chosen the wrong girl to do it to. That was fine--Brooklyn wasn't looking to change this girl's character, but she was satisfied in believing that she wouldn't try that again, at least with any of the girls associated with Brooklyn.

The rest of her day seemed to fly by once she got back to work. She only worked until three, and by four o'clock, she was home, showered, and comfortably resting in bed with Netflix on. She didn't really feel like getting up, but when Nick texted her, she found herself doing just that. She wanted to bring him the leftovers from yesterday anyway, though she made a mental note to leave a note on whatever she left in his fridge letting Roman know that none of it was for him. It would be ignored and she knew that, but still, she wasn't going to resist an opportunity to be at least a little petty.

She let herself in, and found Nick in the kitchen (surprise, surprise). "Hi." She placed the containers down on the counter. "Did you just get home?"

​

 

[cure]

Chanel wasn't sure if that was good news or bad news she just heard. On the one hand, this was kind of what she wanted. Not necessarily what she was hoping for, but she didn't want to keep secrets and feel guilty. On the other hand, though, she felt outed. When did their conversation happen? She'd obviously seen Ruby last night and everything seemed to go as normal. Chanel missed her this morning, as she tended to now that she was out of school for the summer. There were some occasions where she would wake up mildly early, but her alarm clock largely remained off.

If it wasn't that deep, then how was it so complicated? And if it wasn't that deep, why did Ruby never want to talk about it again? Obviously Chanel wouldn't want that to be a frequent conversation if she was in Ruby's shoes, and maybe Ruby planned on talking to her some time today, but it seemed...or at least it felt passive-aggressive. Chanel looked out the window silently as Elijah worked behind the bar. Never mind all the mixed signals she was getting and feelings she was having from this information, she was kind of embarrassed. Not just because of the situation, but because this was not how she planned on this going. Granted, she wasn't sure what to expect regardless, but definitely not something as anti-climactic (albeit confusing and irritating) as this. When Elijah re-approached, she took a second to divert her attention away from the bustle. She acknowledged the drink with a glance, but didn't do anything else before finally looking towards Elijah. "You tell your girlfriend you won't sleep with her because you're waiting until marriage, but then you sleep with her roommate and suddenly it's not exclusive?" Maybe that was the complication he was talking about because this was making her head spin. It was her relationship so it wasn't like she needed all of the details to be regaled, but it was hard to not pry when she had no relief to her anxiety. "Why wouldn't you just tell me this Saturday? Maybe I didn't want to get involved in whatever it is you two have going on. Of course she doesn't want to talk about it anymore. Imagine how embarrassing that must be." She placed her forehead in her palms, focusing her attention on the table as she groaned. She was convinced Ruby hated her. Yup. This was inescapable though. Maybe she could have prevented the severity of that hatred if she had spoken to her about it. Why did decide to go to Elijah first? Why not Ruby?

"So I can't even say I'm sorry or how stupid I feel?" It was a rhetorical question. More than anything, she was confirming aloud with herself; actualizing the reality of that consequence. She leaned up and back into her seat. "You could have been messy with a million other girls at that party, but you chose her roommate. She hates me. And I have to live with that. How is it that I feel worse about it than you do and you're supposed to be her...whatever the hell it is you are to her."​

 

[electric]

If Elijah wasn't already feeling a bit confused and unsure of how to tread with this conversation, he definitely was by the time that Chanel brought up him wanting to wait until marriage before sleeping with someone. Where did that come from? It took him a second to realize that this must have been something that Ruby told Chanel, and via that, he realized that damn, maybe he and Ruby really weren't close at all. To think that that was a good lie to use? She was the one who wanted to keep this lie up about them dating, so why was she apparently not interested in the story including them having slept together? They were adults... it was more weird to create a story where they hadn't slept together, than had. It made him wonder though, if maybe Ruby was a virgin. He had never known her while she was dating anyone, and she did have that sweet and kind energy to her that suggested that maybe she was that innocent. "Let me just go on the record saying that I never told Ruby I wouldn't sleep with her because of that. She's the one who used that as a reason, but I guess she was too embarrassed to admit that to you? I'm not sure," he said. He would cover for Ruby's sexuality conflict, but he had to defend his own character too! He didn't think that Ruby had created that lie about their intimacy (or lack thereof) in an attempt to make Elijah look as bad as it did in the current context - where he was apparently sleeping with other women while pretending to be celibate to his girlfriend. She clearly didn't know that he and Chanel had slept together, so it had probably seemed like a harmless addition to their lie of a story. However, he also didn't feel bad in turning this one back on her just slightly, especially because it was far more believable than Elijah claiming that. He supposed that maybe Chanel was closer to Ruby than he was, and knew a wilder side to her than he did, but if someone told him that Ruby was saving herself until marriage, Elijah wouldn't second guess it.

"And I had no idea that you were her roommate," he added. "She just told me it was a party for a friend." He wasn't lying about that, at least. He truly hadn't had any idea that Ruby and Chanel were roommates until yesterday, and he hadn't even known Chanel's name until he was already captivated by her. "I know it's a weird situation and I get it if I'm added to your blocked list after this, but I swear to you that it's not that deep. She doesn't care, and it's not something you have to worry about. If anything, she probably feels bad for you that you've been thrown into this." Realistically, if Ruby knew about Chanel and him, Elijah was positive that she would feel bad. Granted, in the story of them dating, maybe Ruby pitying the mistress sounded more far fetched, but then again, it was Ruby, and she was basically a saint, so... "And I feel bad too. Seriously, I do. I had such a great time with you and not to be cheesy or anything, but I want to hangout with you," he explained, before adding "If your busy schedule allows for it, of course," while cracking a smile. He didn't know if he was jumping into it too quickly, but he didn't feel inclined to linger on the negatives for any longer either, especially because the more they got into it, the more likely he was to end up unraveling Ruby's story in favor of his own desires, which he didn't want to do. The girl sitting across from him seemed to be so out of his league that he knew it would be hard to turn down the opportunity of getting on her good side even if it meant selling Ruby out, and he wanted to avoid that if possible.​

 

[lauren.]

Cara barely turned her head to glance at Brooklyn as she passed by and left the apartment. To some, not acknowledging your roommate in simple casual ways in passing would be taken poorly, but it was the norm in this apartment. Nothing about this living arrangement was comparable to a standard roommate situation anyway. Brooklyn wasn’t worth expelling any energy over, but besides that, Cara has turned her attention back to her phone almost immediately once Chanel replied. She was doing what?! “Why am I here?” was right! Why was she there? Plus, why did cara have to agree to play nice. Was Chanel suddenly an amnesia patient, forgetting how despicable this guy was? Maybe Cara could be dramatic, but if anyone deserved it, it was this guy!

She didn’t care so much about him betraying Ruby as she did about him playing Chanel for a fool, but still, it was something that she could use against him if she cared to! He was a no good, cheating, lying, pathetic excuse of a man, and he definitely didn’t deserve the playing-nice pretend confrontation that Chanel was going to give him. Part of her felt compelled to call Chanel and demand she tell her where she was so that she could meet her there, but if Chanel didn’t want her to be dramatic, she wouldn’t. She would, however, be ready with the “I told you we should’ve done this my way” when Chanel came back with a story only confirming that this guy was a complete idiot.

To: Chanel
Omg

To: Chanel
He does not deserve nice! He couldn’t have been THAT good in bed

She relaxed back into the couch, but just barely so. The movie playing in front of her had barely held her attention before this, and now it certainly wasn’t going to compare to the thought of whatever was happening where Chanel was.​

 

[cure]

Chanel's face dropped when Elijah pulled the Uno reverse card on her. Outside of an abrupt exhale, she did give any further response. It wasn't that unrealistic in her mind though. It didn't seem like Ruby was so concerned with what others thought of her that she would resort to placing blame on someone else, but if it was between her and Elijah, then it honestly wasn't that much of a stretch in Chanel's eyes. Ruby came off prudish without even trying, and unlike Makayla, she didn't give the impression that surface level interpretations were best left untrusted. Makayla was sweet and unassuming, but her mild temperate was like that of a rattlesnake's rattle. Ruby demeanor was that of a Scottish highlander cow. Beneath the fluffy cow was just more fluffy cow. Even though they were all old enough for it to seriously not be that deep what a person chose to do with their life, Chanel could still see how it would be something she wouldn't really want aired out, especially since it wasn't like she was that close to everyone in the apartment (as far as Chanel herself could tell). Ruby seemed innocent enough that telling a lie that terribly—the lie being in the poor choice of blame, not the actual content—didn't seem too far off base. Between the two, Elijah definitely didn't seem the saint.

"I can't believe I thought you could be my Nigerian prince," she said before leaning across the table. "Because this is ghetto. And I'll leave it at that." She reclined back in her, taking her drink with her. Chanel sipped on it lazily as she watched Elijah, pondering what to do from here. Her nerves had virtually dissolved, and for no other reason than sheer exhaustion. There was no keeping up with these two. If she really didn't want to take Elijah's word for it, she didn't have to. Well, she didn't have much choice since, according to him at least, Ruby declared herself no longer a part of the narrative. Even then, she was still taking his word for it. As she contemplated that, she didn't do so skeptically. It made things simple, which at this point was something she certainly wanted. But it also was more to her benefit too. It was for selfish reasons, and she didn't want to acknowledge those. The convenience of it all didn't raise her brow then. She was too biased herself to really give herself the space to register it. Outside of Elijah's side of the story benefiting her desires most, it also pulled any responsibility from her as well. Even if Elijah was trying to keep her in the dark for whatever reason, it wouldn't benefit Chanel to try to expose that. But that was only if she wanted to think about things like that. She obviously wanted nothing to do with Elijah, especially in that capacity, she told herself over a more intentional swallow of her drink. That time it was harder to get down. It was a simple query, she reminded herself. Ignorance was bliss. It always was. The thought was nothing more than a rhetorical.

"And?" She sat her glass atop the table. You aren't the first sad boy who's fucked up that still wants to hang out with me, you know? I know that sounds really conceited, but it's true, and I'm tired of it, so I'm just keeping it real. You," she began, pointing a finger his way, "Are clearly a lot of trouble. You all are, and just like the rest, I don't know yet if you're worth all of that trouble. So what's to say you aren't just the average sweet talker with a nice jaw line that likes wasting pretty girls' time, huh?" She interlaced her fingers to form a flat surface to support her face as she gazed at Elijah with a dry, but coy smirk. "Are you offering any collateral? Do you come insured? How are you getting us back to square one? Because you had your foot in the door last weekend, and now you're ten steps behind Brett on the Upper East Side I just matched with who didn't have to give me a pitch because his suit alone could probably pay a couple months of my student loans and he has a really cute puppy. Do you at least come with a puppy? Do I get a hot friend of yours to work at my business?"​

 

[Bandit_]

Makayla let out a deep exhale, mustering a smile that she hoped displayed her apologies and gratefulness, because she didn't acknowledge Nick more than that before he set her groceries down and headed over to her own apartment. There really wasn't much to say, and thankfully, Nick was such a chill guy that an explanation wasn't needed. He wasn't bothered by Holly's comments, and he rolled with the conversation without making it weird. Obviously, most people who knew Holly knew that this was the easiest way to go about things. They had enough depth to realize that the words that Holly spoke didn't carry the weight that potentially harmful or false words could, coming from someone else's mouth. It wouldn't have been crazy for any of them to get offended or at least irked by some of the things that she said, but they were mature enough to realize that her intentions weren't bad.

She picked up the grocery bags after unlocking the door, carrying them into the kitchen. Certain subjects were hard for Makayla to convey to Holly in a way that she understood. Her comments just now about Nick being gay weren't inherently harmful or insulting, because being gay wasn't something that Makayla wanted Holly to think was an insult or a derogatory word. Holly hadn't used it that way anyway, but if Makayla chided her for saying it, it would likely register to Holly as having been a "bad word". She needed to convey to her that it was simply an inappropriate subject to even reference, because it was none of their business what anyone's sexuality was. While it was something that seemed simple on the surface, it was one of those things that Makayla knew Holly wouldn't understand right away, or would at least question. This was one of those things where Makayla had to pick and choose her battles because attempting to remediate every inappropriate thing that Holly said would land her with a permanent headache. "Just because Roman and Nick live together doesn't make them gay, Holly. You know that," she said, setting the bags on the counter and stripping the plastic bag away from the items inside. She was tempted to reference that just because they lived with girls, it didn't mean that they were gay. If Ruby was around, she may have been tempted to, but it wasn't something she even really wanted to think about now. She didn't like how even just thinking about Ruby made her feel so tense now, after this weekend. It wasn't the way that things had been just a few days ago, but now everything felt so... bad. She wasn't distinctly angry, but she did feel anxious. That kind of anxious where you have the pit in your stomach for no specific reason; just generally related to the mere idea of a person. It probably wasn't centered so much around Ruby personally, but more so around the feelings that Makayla was associating with Ruby. The feeling of intimacy was already foreign to her, so feeling doubt of that intimacy and trying to figure out how to navigate having feelings for someone made it even more complicated.

"You never made that 'thank you' card that you were going to draw for Cara, right? Why don't you work on that now?" she suggested as she stowed some things away in the refrigerator. It didn't sound like Ruby or Chanel were home, but then again, it was entirely possible that they were both just in their bedrooms. It wasn't like either of them spent that much time in the common areas. It was actually one of the reasons why Makayla was sometimes anxious -- because she felt like she and Holly used the spaces too much, warding off anyone else from being able to utilize them and feel comfortable there. It was no secret that Holly was a fan of watching TV, and even though she knew that others had ways of their own to watch TV if they wanted to, she often felt guilty about taking up the space. While Chanel gave her no reason to feel this way because she truly was so gracious and wonderful as a roommate, the anxiety was definitely more related to her than it was to Ruby. Chanel was young and fun; the kind of social butterfly who Makayla assumed would want to host parties and have tons of friends over 24/7. She would never expect Chanel to not do that just because of she and Holly, but she felt like Chanel's good nature may have pushed her to do that less for that very reason. Ruby was more comfortable to Makayla now, maybe, at least in one way, but even beyond that, she didn't give off the vibe that she would be throwing all-night parties even if she lived on her own. Holly could still interrupt Ruby reading a book, but it didn't feel as bothersome as them interfering with Chanel's vibrant social potential.​

 

[A_Writer]

“That’s a good idea!” she agreed, twirling into the apartment and laughing as she threw her giraffe into the air again. She didn’t manage to catch it on its way down to the ground this time either, and was just as quick to lunge down to pick the toy up once it fell to the ground. “Cara likes cards.” It was more of a statement of self-reassurance than it was one of fact, but just barely so. Holly was definitely capable of moments of clarity and self-awareness, but luckily, she wasn’t very insecure. She was childlike in many ways, with one being that she didn’t think about what people thought of her very often. There were times when people blatantly bullied her or excluding her to a point where even she took notice of it, but it wasn’t something that she often worried about if it wasn’t happening in the moment. In general, she didn’t doubt herself and she wasn’t insecure; she just existed within the moment.

She had some art supplies in her room, most of which she and Ruby had picked up from Michaels a few months ago when Makayla was away. They had picked up much more than what was left of their art supplies, with most of that being used, and some purposely thrown away by Ruby. It only took one attempt at using glitter for the kitchen to nearly be covered in it before that was scrapped, and after Holly swallowed a heart shaped bead, they put jewelry making on hold too. She still had a big box of crayons, and some markers and paper, and that would do for now. Oooh! As she dug through the closet to find it all, she found stickers too! She had forgotten about them, and was happy enough about the rediscovery that one might’ve thought she had won the lottery. “Makayla, I found stickers!” she yelled urgently, still crouched over in the closet.

She wondered if Ruby was home then, because now she wanted to go buy more stickers. She was certain the store they had went to would have a sticker of a rainbow dog like the one Chanel said was on Cara’s beach. Hands full of craft supplies, she soon found herself in front of Ruby’s bedroom door. Half of the crayons spilled out of the box as she shifted the goods between hands so that she could free one to knock, but she wasn’t bothered by it. “Ruby!” she called out. “Are you home? I have a question for you, please!” Had her hands not been full, she would have let herself in after that without giving it a second thought, but she was forced to wait now.​

 

[lauren.]

"Yeah, you can come in, sweetie," she called out, albeit while trying to soak up the last few seconds of focus she had, as she knew that with Holly's arrival, she would have to get back to this later. She was reading an article published by Scientific American surrounding the concept of "the light triad" and "the dark triad". It was a simple study that ventured into the idea that just as their are people whose personality fit into the dark triad category, with their persona consisting of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, there were people whose personality fit into the light triad category, encompassing the traits of humanism, faith in humanity, and Kantianism. While it was an interesting, it wasn't necessarily groundbreaking. Ruby assumed that most people would agree with the studies findings, that more people in the general population tended to be good rather than bad. Still, she enjoyed reading about things like this. She appreciated research, especially when it incorporated psychology. The human mind was a vastly under-explored place, and while she was probably one of the few psychiatrists who spent time engaging in therapy with their patients outside of pharmacotherapy, she still held the scientific aspect of her work in high regard. Psychiatric illnesses were only so difficult to treat, in her opinion, because of how little research was geared towards it. They didn't understand these illnesses in the same way that they understood something like diabetes or hypertension, only because there hadn't been enough effort behind attempting to understand them in that manner. The girl knocking on her door now was a good example of that; a example of a very interesting potential case study. She was certain that a look inside of the girl's brain would prove to be interesting, but she wasn't sure that the diagnostic exams available to them today would even be enough to scratch the surface of what the intricate pathways were doing (or not doing) inside of Holly's head.

Ruby's day hadn't been anything crazy, though she could say that about most days in her life. She had a few appointments earlier in the day, and then ran some errands. She stopped at Whole Foods and Jonathan Adler, spending far more time than necessary picking out a teapot and new wine glasses that she didn't really need. Ruby wasn't typically materialistic or a shopaholic, and it wasn't something she did to relieve stress, but sometimes it was a fun pastime. While she didn't mind spending a lot of time at home, sometimes it felt nice being busy with activities that weren't important at all. "What's up?" she said, spinning around from her desk chair as she welcomed Holly into her room.​

 

[Collapsed]

“Yup,” he nodded, leaning against the counter. “You know me... work, work, work,” he said, in a tone that suggested he knew that was just as silly of a claim as she would think it was. He reached out, pulling her by the waist towards him. As annoying as she could be, Nick never forget how lucky he was to have Brooklyn. She was so effortlessly beautiful, so strong, and so thoughtful (even if it didn’t always show). He kissed her before releasing her, smirking as he posed a question. “Would you still love me if I was one of those dudes posting ‘work hard, play harder’ in their Instagram bio?” He was only teasing though, obviously. While Nick did use social media, he wasn’t one of those weirdos reposting memes or quotes about the grind all over his page. His posts weren’t necessarily deep or passionate, but he liked certain aesthetics more than people would probably pin him as appreciating. If he had lived a different life, he may have ended up somewhere in the arts fields. Photography or graphic art, of some sort. He liked things that had meaning and purpose, and he couldn’t imagine would could possess someone to want to work some stupid job based on something like accounting or taxes. Fuck that shit, man.

It was hard to guess where Nick would end up in his life, especially since he, himself, didn’t think that far ahead. He hoped that Brooklyn would be there with him though, wherever he ended up. When he realized that she had leftovers in her hands, he was reminded tenfold of how much he loved her, and he purposely had to make an effort to hide the excitement so that she wouldn’t get all dramatic, acting like he was using her for food. It was the only reason for why he didn’t insist on throwing it into the microwave immediately. Oftentimes Nick really just missed the signs that Brooklyn was feeling upset with him or emotionally neglected. It wasn’t that he meant to be an ass, he was just simply dumb sometimes (or more realistically, stoned out of his mind) At the very least, he did sometimes purposely try to make an effort to compensate for that by being as fully present as he could when he remembered to. The thing with Nick was that he appreciated Brooklyn all of the time. Perhaps he wasn’t extremely showy with his affection 24/7, but he also wasn’t a stone cold rock. He was better than Roman; he wanted credit in that regard, at least. He and Brooklyn had been dating for long enough that by now, he assumed a lot of things didn’t need to be said, and were already known. However, affection probably didn’t deserve to fall into that category, and he wanted to make an effort to do better with that.​

 

[electric]

The comment about this being ghetto made Elijah chuckle, even if it felt semi-inappropriate to be smirking at this moment. He managed to tame the smile a bit as she continued, but it remained in trace presence still. He wasn't smiling in an attempt to belittle her or act like how she felt was a joke, but her words reminded him instantly that she really was the wealthy, socialite, party girl that he assumed her to be over the weekend. She may have had him fooled for a minute when she had initially claimed she wasn't one of them, but the energy she gave off made it hard for him to believe that. It wasn't a bad thing, just some kind of amusing. She was intriguing, that was for sure. "The fact that you'd even consider wasting a minute of your time with a guy named Brett has you falling ten steps behind too, so I guess we're even," he levelled. "You can take the girl out of the Upper East Side prep school, but you can't take the Upper East Side prep school out of the girl, I guess," he continued teasingly. "I'ma vouch for you if they're ever out here casting for a Get Out sequel." His smile spoke to how he was amused with himself, but he wasn't going to tease too much; he did want to win this girl over, after all.

"But if it's an Upper East Side Brett that I'm competing with, I'm not even worried," he said, leaning back and folding his arms over his chest in a relaxed manner as he studied her face. "Let's get dinner tomorrow," he insisted. "You pick the time, I pick the place." His instinct wanted him to offer to pick her up at her apartment, but obviously that wouldn't work because of this weird Ruby situation. He would send an Uber to her place to pick her up, but it still didn't feel the same. Nevertheless, he was going to have to go with it, because he didn't need Chanel exposing his lie that piggy backed off of Ruby's lie. He wasn't concerned about the lie itself, because Ruby was the one who started this whole thing, but he just didn't want Chanel to find out that he was now lying too. It was bad enough that she assumed he was a cheater, but to be a fake cheater who lied about it seemed to be even worse somehow. "Can't promise that I'll find a place that'll be able to make you a better drink than me," he said confidently, albeit in something of a cheesy manner as he eyed her drink, "But now that I know how bougie you are, I'll pick something that won't disappoint even your standards." He could have taken a less direct approach, tried to plead and beg for her to give him a chance, but Elijah wasn't that kind of guy. He was too confident and assertive to back down when he wanted something, and he did have enough self-esteem to feel like he was a catch. Perhaps it was sometimes an unfounded belief, but nevertheless, his confidence was something that came in handy at times. He didn't second guess himself often, which opened doors for him, or at least allowed him to stick a foot in front of doors that may have closed on him otherwise. "And while we eat, you can tell me about this business of yours," he added teasingly, looking to her with an eyebrow raised, as he was curious to see whether that was actually something that existed or not.

 

[A_Writer]

Ruby called out that Holly could come in, but didn't come to the door herself, which had Holly pouting for half a second, before shifting her supplies into one hand in an attempt to solve the problem. All of the markers fell out of their tipped-over package, but Holly paid it little mind as she stepped over them and into Ruby's bedroom happily. Ruby's room was intriguing, though Chanel's still won the prize for most captivating. Part of that could probably be attributed to it being more mysterious in Holly's mind, even though she had been in it many times before. It was the forbidden fruit of bedrooms, the one that Makayla had warned her against going into, or knocking on the door of, many, many, many times. Holly was good about listening to that for the most part even though she had her slipups now and then, but it made Chanel's space seem all the more cooler and VIP-like. Ruby's room was nice too. It had a lot of things for Holly to touch and look at, and she liked how soft the blankets on her bed were. Like Chanel, Ruby sometimes lit candles too, but one wasn't burning right now. What a shame. "Hiiiiiiii!" she sang as she bounced into the bedroom, a few more crayons slipping out of her pile of craft supplies as she moved. Again, she didn't even flinch at the falling items, and chose to ignore it instead. "I was wondering if you were home, and you are!" she exclaimed happily, as she dropped what was into her hands onto Ruby's bed before continuing towards where the girl sat.

"Me and Makayla just got home," she explained. "And I'm going to make a card for Cara to tell her that we had fun at her house and that we want to go back to swim in her pool, and I just wanted to say hi to you, too." She had somehow already forgotten her original intention for coming to see the girl, but this worked just as well for her. Even company that had no purpose was good company in Holly's opinion. "What are you doing?" she asked curiously, as she approached Ruby's desk and saw that she was on her computer. She wondered what game she was playing, as that seemed like the only logical thing that one would be doing on the computer. Or maybe she was watching a TV show, or a Youtube video, or something. Those were acceptable too, she then decided. Ruby's screen didn't look that interesting, though. It was just filled with text; strings of letters that Holly's mind wasn't interested in processing into formed words at the moment. ""If you're not busy and you want to help me, that would be fun!" she added. Even though Holly clearly was excited by Ruby's presence, and did genuinely want her to hang out with her, she wouldn't have been offended or anything more than mildly and momentarily disappointed if Ruby said that she couldn't. She was resilient in that manner, and again, it probably played into how she didn't take a lot of things personally, simply because her mind didn't overthink them to a point where she would initially consider that the person didn't want to hang out because they didn't like her. She would take Ruby's words at face value, that she was too busy, or whatever the excuse was, if that was what Ruby were to say, and bound back to Makayla happily.

​