Westbrook Season 2

geminiy

0k_mang0 · Feb 9, 2020

colby

Raven

Soap

If only she knew that he wasn’t quite as lucky as she thought. Luck was something he hardly believed in, anyway.

“Well, since he’s not your boyfriend, he should stop trying to control you as if he is one. And it’s not like you’re married to him.” When she offered him a Twizzler, Colby glanced at the one between her lips before looking at the others in the wrapper. No wonder why he had a sweet tooth.

“Sure,” he said, and plucked one red licorice from the wrapper with his hand, because he had a feeling that using just his mouth would be a little too much even for him.

For the sake of work. Sure, he pondered amusingly. Holding the Twizzler between his teeth, Colby carried his duffle bag and sleeping bag to an empty bench that was against the wall across from them. “If you’re willing, then I’ll make sure to put in a good word to the boss,” he said before sipping a few ounces of water from a clear thermos bottle that he got from his duffle, holding the half-eaten Twizzler in one hand.

“So, what’s someone like you doing in this lock-in? For the school paper? You mentioned being an aspiring writer.”

ailurophile · Feb 9, 2020

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RIONA

In Riona’s experience, you could tell a lot more about a person by watching them than you could by talking to them. That was how she’d spent much of her time at Westbrook so far: observing. Tonight was no different. She trotted about the heels of the group, their little bleach blonde shadow, mercifully quiet for once.

She knew she probably should’ve gone after Norah, but she didn’t. Things at home had been tense lately, and they all needed their space: if her sister didn’t return within a sensible amount of time, she’d pursue her. But Riona was currently unwilling to give up her position. Keenly, she watched River detach himself from the group. When Zia returned, she caught the little stumble in the girl’s step, the flush in her cheeks, the damp patch on the front of her shirt. But more importantly, she noticed the look on River’s face when he returned, and her own contorted into a look of disgust.

God, she loved a scandal.

“Oh, Rivvy, you didn’t.” Riona hissed, unable to stop the smile from creeping across her painted face despite her apparent horror. “Please tell me you didn’t.”

Part of her craved the drama of it all. The bigger part of her.
The smaller, more human part, prayed he hadn’t done what she knew he had. Because it would ruin everything, again. Riona loved her brother, and she loved Zia, and she wanted them to be together. It was perfect.

Sometimes she just wished things would work out the way she wanted.

“Did you straighten your hair, Ri? I love it.”

The compliment broke Riona from her thoughts and her heart swelled with delight. She beamed back at Zia, who was hanging onto River’s arm like it was a lifeline, and, in a moment of childlike glee, fussed with her hair.

“Oh, yeah. I wanted to try something new, since—“

“It’s so cute.”

Riona didn’t even care that Zia cut her off. The girl was a personal hero. Girls like Zia and Norah, and even the cheerleaders River had gone through like tissues back at Black Mill, they were ethereal. The kind of girls that Riona wanted to emulate.

Not that she cared what people thought. Obviously. People were idiots.

But it was always nice to be liked.
Or, failing that, feared.

Spurred on by Zia’s compliment, and apparently ignorant to the fact that she was not wholly a part of the group, but rather included by default, bounced into the fray.

“Can I have a drink too?” She sidled up to Gus as the group walked, the way Zia had to River. “Because I think I should be allowed, since everyone else is. River, I can have one, right? I didn’t throw up at Christmas, did I?”

mogy · Feb 9, 2020

Noah Stewart

While struggling to keep his balance on the one leg he could stand on and also trying to take out his crutches, almost everybody in the crowded parking lot of the school could see that Noah needed help. Psychology confirmed that the more people there were around, the chance of somebody actually offering help was lesser, and Noah wasn't the type of person to ask for help unless it was absolutely necessary. In this case, he still didn't think it was necessary enough, even though it might have been better and safer.

The familiar voice behind Noah startled him, mostly because he didn't realize there was somebody near him, but also because the voice belonged to Chase. Noah was getting comfortable with calling Chase his friend, and he really didn't want to ruin the only stable friendship he had by seeming weak. Everybody knew how bad Noah was at maintaining friendships with boys, and Noah really wanted to continue being friends with Chase. Chase was a good person.

"Um, yeah, sure. Where is he, though?" Noah pretended to be confused before chuckling. His weird sense of humor was just something people needed to get used to. He took Chase's hand and took out his crutches without much struggle because he had something to keep his balance on.

"I didn't drive, my friend did, but uh, she left." He said, adjusting his crutches.

Interactions:

a z u l a (Chase)

Elf_Ruler · Feb 9, 2020

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Tatum had nodded when Tadita took off to ask whoever she was planning to ask to homecoming. In the small moment Brayden had appeared, “So you didn’t plug everything in? Why am I not surprised, Tay?” he teased her which in all actuality was pretty fair. She had tried to make sure everything was plugged in but she had definitely fucked up on that forefront. Not long after Ash had appeared next to her. She smiled at the other blonde, even though her and Ash seemed to have issues they still cared for one another and she was glad to have her around. She was glad to be on Ash’s team even though she was going to lose.

It was like Tatum had caused everyone to appear by her, one of the new girls, Jackie? She thought that was her name, appeared. She hadn’t actually talked with her in person, “Our team in the winning team.” She teased as she continued making sure the game was set up for maximum competition fun. Her eyes looked over when Dita came back, she looked rough and of course Tatum questioned more with her eyes than with her words and she could only assume the date hadn’t gone the way the girl wanted. “There’s always others, to go with it’ll be okay. Boys are stupid.” She whispered back to the broken girl. She felt bad but she wasn’t great at comforting, that had never been her forte or really doing anything super emotional. She had feeling but she was never sure how to express them to others, or help those in need of expressing feelings, it was one reason her and Ash were in a weird spot.

It was like everyone was showing up to the group on gamers and Tatum was beginning to feel overwhelmed. She only nodded to Tatum as the girl left and even though she didn’t really want a bigger group she wanted to offer an olive branch to the Black Mill kids, so she carefully set things down, “Give me a moment. I’m going to see if the new kids want to join. Friendly competition?” she shrugged to everyone around her vicinity.

Tatum took a deep breath and approached the group, “Hi, I’m Tatum and I know you guys are new. I hope Westbrook is treating you well.” She paused for a moment before asking her question, “We are having a friendly competition of Just Dance and losers are buying ice cream. Do you all maybe want to join? It’ll be fun.” She gave a small smile. Her eyes caught sight of what she thought was liquor but she was trying to ignore the urge in her brain to drink, to drink and feel relaxed, to drink to rid her of her anxiety but she had wanted it more than anything else.

Hypnos (Hopefully I got everyone)

mogy · Feb 9, 2020

Dante Novello

A well-executed, successful attempt to change the topic from his crush on the little tall boy was made by the little boy. He started talking about cats, and Dante didn't particularly like cats, or any animal for that matter. Sure, they were cute and everything, but she never wanted to actually own one, not even when she was a little girl. When she was a little girl, all she wanted were dolls and dresses and jackets, which means pretty much nothing changed, apart from the dolls.

Little boy might have been afraid that little tall boy would hear her talking about him, but she made sure not to talk loud enough for that to be possible. Gossip was a very important thing about living in Italy, and of course, Dante was a serious pro at saying things behind people's back, in both a literal and a figurative meaning.

Mr. Whiskers. How original.

Of course, the British being the British, changed to yet another topic before Dante could grasp the topic they were previously talking about. This time it was about some person wearing glasses inside and if that person is a girl or a boy. And soon enough, that person, whichever gender, was coming over to beat their asses. Neither little boy or little tall boy seemed like they could throw a punch, and Dante really didn't want to get into a fight at the moment, but if it was necessary, she would throw hands, no questions asked.

"You know what, it actually does." Dante commented. "You mind if I copy you?" She continued, putting on her own sunglasses which were hanged on her collar.

Interactions:

Dede (Tom, Stu),

Twin Fantasy (Pixie)

dendygar · Feb 9, 2020

Tadita

Yeah, Tadita knew there were plenty of other people she could ask, and it looks like her backup was going to come in handy. One of her good friends, Alex Sharp. He was sweet and they had grown close while practicing music. He was handsome too, and not an asshole. Tadita looked over at Tatum with a small sense of unease, and then looked at Ash and Jackie. "Hey. I'm Dita." She had never really formally introduced herself to either, but she was sure that they hated her. Bella hated Tadita, she could tell from twitter. And Jackie was Bella's sister, there had to be some shit talking in there somewhere or a transfer of a bad first impression.

Then a tall, dark handsome man came walking up. Who the fuck was that? He asked Ash if they could talk, and Ash looked like she'd just seen a ghost. Good god, how much drama could happen in one night? Ash walked off with him, and Tadita pushed some hair behind her ear and watched as everyone started swarming. Tadita was getting a bit overwhelmed too. Then, tatum wanted to offer an 'olive branch'. How fucking coy. Tatum would have to learn the hard way, she supposed. Even though Tadita knew that Tatum could handle herself, she went along with her because she wasn't going to let the Black Mill Pissants talk down to her. Tadita was wearing a tight shirt and some plaid pajama pants with a large native blanket around her shoulders. The mask was on, even though her eyes were bloodshot and her lip had fresh blood. Aloof and alert.

Her eyes took each person in, and they lingered on Zia for a few extra seconds. She was pretty, and she looked really happy.. She deserved it, but he didn't deserve her. What a shame. In Tadita's arms was a box of conchas that Jay had handed her to give out to everyone, splitting the effort. "You guys want any conchas, too? They're good for an energy boost." They looked and smelled really yummy.

Hypnos · Feb 9, 2020

Gus Windrift

When Riona Walsh had the audacity to sidle up beside him, Gus raised an arm to push her away playfully, the other hand clutching the semi-open backpack that hung lazily over his left shoulder. ‘I’ll tell you what, Little Walsh, I’ll mix you up something real special. It should be ready in about… I dunno… Five years maybe.’ He shot her an obnoxious grin.

Gus knew that he wasn’t exactly a paragon of drinking responsibly, nor could he exactly condemn underage drinking at all, Riona was only about a year his junior, and he’d done a lot worse than vodka shots at her age. But, Riona was also Walshy’s littler sister, the baby of the family, and he was pretty sure that River would have his head on a spike if he gave her even a drop of anything alcoholic.

Hugely hypocritical? Maybe. But Gus wasn’t about to test Walshy after seeing the look on that girl, he’d just emotionally destroyed.

Crying wasn’t a good look for him.

‘We should find somewhere quiet. Do you think the music rooms are free? They have sound proofing in there, so no one’s gonna hear us.’

Before the Black Mill group could steer themselves out of the gym, however, two other people approached: one familiar, and one fresh.

It seemed that Ms. Finger-Bang was ready for another round.

‘Uh, hey Tatum, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Gus.’ He offered the blonde girl a smile, taking a little initiative. It might not be best for River to open his mouth again at this point. Honestly, he kinda wanted to know what the other girl’s name was as well, but he felt it was a little late to ask. He’d just have to pick it up through context clues.

‘I think we’re gonna head off and find somewhere more quiet. We’ll have to skip the dancing, not the best on my feet, so I’d love to maintain at least a little dignity.’ Video games weren’t really his thing, other than the odd game of Fifa, or the occasional match of Cod when he hung out with friends. He didn’t even personally own a game’s console. Fitz was a different matter, but he wasn’t sure that Just Dance was the sort of thing his brother played.

‘But if any of you guys get bored, or like, need a break or anything, you’re more than welcome to come and join us. More than happy to share.’ He jiggled the slightly open bag on his shoulder, the bottles clinking suggestively. ‘No narc’ing.’ He winked.

The other girl offered some kind of food, which Gus eyed suspiciously for a second. For a moment, he entertained the idea that she had poisoned them, and this was some sick act of revenge for River breaking her heart, but then he remembered that his life wasn’t a shitty 90’s action movie. He was hungry, and they did smell good, so he took one gratefully.

At least if they were poisoned, he’d be the first one to know.

‘Thank’s a lot. They’re real good.’

Dede · Feb 9, 2020

Tom

Tom looked critically as the praying mantis leapt in front of them, flailing its gawky limbs at their faces in some arthropodic show of strength. After listening intently to its strange monologue, he turned his head to the boy beside him and asked:

‘What did he say?’

As was nine times out of ten the case, Stu was clueless -- and he proved to be of no use whatsoever in helping Tom decipher this praying mantis’s strange insectan dialect. That older boy simply shrugged and whispered back, with a hand covertly shielding his mouth: ‘I’unno.’

Tom, still mildly curious like the little scientist that he was, lowered the KitKat from his face and reconfigured his stare on the ungainly insect-creature, who had propped up its defences in front of them. How intimidating!

‘What’s your story then? In English, if you’ll please,’ Tom said. ‘Are you supposed to be a grasshopper or summink?’

The grasshopper, of course, belonged to the suborder Caelifera, of the insect order Orthoptera. The boy in the sunglasses exhibited telltale defensive behaviours which would allow himself to be classified in the same order, and his protruding hind legs were congruent in appearance to that of a grasshopper Tom caught in Noah's backyard the other day. So his theory was all but confirmed by the overwhelming body of evidence at hand.

mogy

Twin Fantasy

ailurophile · Feb 9, 2020

RIONA

Gus’ perceived rejection stung, but Riona only poked her tongue out in retaliation, detaching herself from him to leave the perfect amount of friend-zone between them. That or, even worse, ‘best-friend’s-kid-sister-zone’. It was all so unfair.

“That’s really funny. I guess we’ll have a drink in five years’ time then, to celebrate you finally getting laid.”

Not her best quip, and it didn’t even make all that much sense, but it’d have to do: before she could amend the joke or think of a better one, they were accosted by the well-meaning Welcoming Committee. She smiled brightly.

“Hi Tatum, I’m Riona, totally cool to meet you!”

She paused.

“There shouldn’t be any such thing as friendly competition, where’s the fun in that? At Black Mill, we play to win.“

Even when she tried to be friendly, Riona still came across icy. She hadn’t meant her reply to sound quite the way it had likely come across, but it was too late to back down now: retraction would mean weakness, and weakness was completely unforgivable. Her smile thinned. When a familiar brunette joined Tatum, it vanished altogether.

“Ew, no way. I don’t eat carbs.” Riona wrinkled her nose and put her hands up defensively as though to block some sort of attack. Still, the interruption provided her the opportunity to shamelessly cling onto Gus yet again— the awkwardness of her persistence seemed to be lost on her.

“Oh my God, don’t eat that, you have no idea what it even is!” She squealed, looping her arm through his. “Stranger danger, and all! You have to be careful.”

It was unclear exactly why Riona had decided to be such a little bitch to Tadita. Perhaps it was insecurity and nerves, or maybe it was just the way the girl was. Of course, it could also stem from some form of undying loyalty to Zia— the latter option made little sense, however, as the older girl reached out to follow her brother’s lead and take one of the pastries.

“Thankyou. It’s Tadita, right? I’m Zia.”

“Z, no, you don’t know where its been!”

Riona shrank back when, rather than join in with her clique mentality, Zia only shot her a warning look. There was no cruel laughter, no back-up, no joke at Tadita’s expense. Suddenly, Riona felt very alone.

Isn’t this how you get popular?

Embarrassed and now more desperate to be literally anywhere else than ever, she shot a helpless look at her brother.

“Can we go now? This is totally dumb, and if I’m going to lose a whole night’s worth of sleep, I at least want to do something fun.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Unless, you know, you think we’ll have more fun playing house and sitting around eating.”

dendygar

Elf_Ruler · Feb 9, 2020

Tatum wasn’t too shocked that the Black Mill kids had said no, she was a little more surprised that Dita had come to back her up, she was able to handle people on her own, she had been dealing with Westbrook kids now for almost a year so she figured she could handle Black Mill kids on her own. She didn’t mind Dita being back up she had been more so confused in the help, but she took it without question. She only shook her head slightly at Gus’ comment, “Can’t gain a right and left foot if you don’t practice but don’t let me stop you. I think I’m going to pass on your offer.” She didn’t want to tell them she was in fact an alcoholic and drinking any liquor would be her downfall. So, she was trying hard in every aspect to not drink.” When Riona spoke, Tatum tilted her had just lightly. She knew this type, blonde, bitchy, almost like JJ but worse. JJ she could tolerate but this girl was as fake as press on nails and Tatum wasn’t a fan.

She gave a smile back, “Not to be bitch or anything, but just because you don’t like carbs doesn’t mean Gus doesn’t. Maybe let him make his own choices and don’t judge food you haven’t tried. With all that money I’m surprised you’re so picky. Have fun drinking.” She wasn’t about to stay and let Riona make a comeback. She didn’t deserve that opportunity and Tatum was not in the mood to deal with it.

When she arrived back to the competition location she went through Twitter and Ash was beginning to demand alcohol and Tatum was doing her best to stop. Of course, Ian wasn’t around to help, and Tatum wasn’t strong enough on her own. What upset her more was that Colby was trying to pry into her life and she didn’t need that right now. She was feeling overwhelmed by everything going on and she needed to leave the gym. Have time to let herself breathe and think alone. She looked towards Brayden, “I’ll be back. Just don’t follow, okay? Let Dita know the same. I just need to be alone.” And that was it. Tatum pulled the hood up of her hoodie and rushed through the halls to the only place she knew that would be silent. The theater. She needed her peace and quiet and she didn’t want to deal with Colby prying anymore. She hated when people began to pry into her life. She wasn’t okay and she didn’t really think she ever would be.

Interaction(s)@dendygar

ailurophile
Mention(s):

Winona

0k_mang0

dendygar · Feb 9, 2020

Tadita

Dita wasn't bummed that the Black Mill kids said no. That was fine, more fun for them anyway. Her face lit up when Gus took one of her sweet treats, and then even more when Zia did. She smiled, but tried to hide it slightly by sucking in her lips and her dimples were showing. "Thanks, I worked all night on 'em." The more Riona spoke, the more the rope began to snap and thin in her brain. Her fucking voice, her stupid fucking smug face. Her mouth needed a good punching, didn't it? Her teeth were all probably real, Tadita couldn't say the same. The gall of this child, talking to her with no god damn respect. Calm down, Tadita. Calm down. It's the PCS.

"I'm Tadita, you call call me Dita, though. It's really nice to meet you." Tadita's dark, bruised and bloodshot eyes slid to Zia. She would have shaken her hand, but she was holding the box of sweets and besides Zia probably wouldn't want to shake her hand anyway. The anxiety was starting to swallow her, and when Tatum rattled off on Riona, Tadita's eyes widened and she looked between Tatum and the other blonde, her mouth falling open in comedic mock-shock. Some of that tension was eased inside of her, and she snorted into the back of her hand and pretended to cough. Tatum stormed off, leaving her there alone with the rich kids. Awesome, thanks Tatum.

"It was really nice meeting you," Tadita said to each of them with a small smile, that was until Riona made that fucking comment. The fun-house comment. The rope snapped, and she stared at Riona's blue eyes. Her head slammed harder and harder, the edges of her vision starting to darken, bile climbing up her esophagus. "Really, really bold of you make back-handed and thinly veiled comments when nobody here knows what you're referring to. Being smug and condescending doesn’t make you important. It makes you a jerk. And," Tadita took a small step back, "While you’re talking behind my back, feel free to bend down and kiss my ass, because I know that's exactly what you're going to do." Tadita turned and walked away, shoving the box of sweets at Brayden- whom she hardly knew- and walked out one of the smaller exit doors at the back of the gym.

She pulled her blanket up over her head, the lights hurting her eyes. She dug the heels of her hands into them to try to relieve the pressure, everything feeling dizzy. A hard, loud ringing began in her ears, and her knees felt weak and suddenly gave. She fell into the wall but didn't pass out, wanting to scream in agony from the pain. Her hair lightly fell around her face her mouth twisting and her jaw gnashing in agony. One of her hands slammed into the wall three times, the smacking of her palm echoing off of the empty hallway.

Elf_Ruler {MENTIONED:

ailurophile }

Hypnos · Feb 9, 2020

Gus Windrift

‘You really sting me, Little Walsh.’ Gus narrowed his eyes in faux-annoyance. ‘You know that I’m waiting for that special someone.’ Pumping his eyebrows suggestively at River, Gus moved on, stuffing himself with whatever this weird breadstuff was, his mouth still full of food when he resumed talking. ‘You heard the woman, if Gus wants the carbs. Let him have the carbs.’

‘Another time, then. Guess we’ll see you around, Tatum.’ Deftly moving his arm away from Riona’s grip, Gus frowned a little for real as the blonde decided to storm away from their little group, clearly not best thrilled with what the youngest Walsh was saying. He thought that he’d been friendly enough, but it appeared that hanging out with the Walshes was somewhat akin to social suicide.

What else was new?

‘Thanks for the food. Tadita. See you around too.’

Another girl storming away.

Norah. Tatum. Tadita.

That made three.

Whatever else you had to say about the lockin, it had thus far been highly productive.

Some part of him felt like he ought to have said something as the dark haired girl moved away. Defended Riona’s honour and the like, or at least told Tadita to lay off the kid.

But a bigger part of him was a huge pussy.

With River standing literally right behind him, it wasn’t really his place to interject, nor was anything good likely to come of it if he did so.

Besides.

Tadita had been partially right.

Riona was like a little sister to him, but she was kinda a bitch.

‘Should we leave, before we burn any other bridges? I think I saw Theo over there somewhere if someone wants to call her an asshole and go for the haul.’

ailurophile

Braddington

Twin Fantasy · Feb 9, 2020

May Gu

Dana, Dana, Dana... May felt like she'd heard that name before. Then again, Dana isn't exactly an uncommon name. Not as common as Kate or Laura, but not uncommon, like Xandra or Pollexia or Yekaterina. A bit of a mom-ish name, though. Very Helen. May never put much stock in her own name, as it was merely a shortened version of her real name, Mi-soon. Mostly, this prevented elderly teachers from struggling with her name. However, her mother was named Daphne, which May thought was an incredibly beautiful name. May didn't know a lot of transgender people, but she figured, for all the trouble they have to go through, at least they get to pick a new name.

May was drawn from her thoughts by a question, and needed a moment to remember the sign for 'manicure'.

'I had one a long time ago.' She gestured, curling her lip a bit in concentration. 'Me and my best friend tried doing each others' nails at a sleepover, but most of it got scraped off.' She let off a silent huff of laughter before scanning the scenery. It seemed that nobody was outside.

'We should head inside, everyone else is probably there.' She stood, holding out her hand for Shay to take.

//

dendygar //

Twin Fantasy · Feb 9, 2020

Pixie West

"Lookin' sharp, ma'am." She grinned at Dante. Man, brand new and I'm already starting style trends. Am I popular or what? Pixie felt important, probably a god among human beings. That JJ chick seemed pretty threatened on Twitter. Trans girls are the new wave.

Her attentions turned to the two jolly good Englishmen, who somehow couldn't understand what she was saying. Must have some sort of mental deficiency.

"I said I'm a LADY, dig the flour out yer ears!" She made a motion towards her own ears. "And my English is good as it gets where I come from, clearly you got some... standards." She rolled her eyes a bit, raising her glasses just a cursory moment so the two boys could see before dropping them back down. "As bugs go, I find I'm less of a grasshopper an' more one of those tiny desert scorpions, li'l bitches glow under blacklight like piss stains on hotel mattresses." Her sense of humor seemed antithetical to theirs, but at the very least, she didn't seem anything beyond cartoonishly annoyed. Acting annoyed and being annoyed are two different things.

"What're yer names?" She popped a stick of gum from her pocket, beginning to chew it. Her boyfriend loved chewing tobacco, but Pixie didn't want to wreck her teeth.

//

Dede

mogy //

dendygar · Feb 9, 2020

Shay

"You should totally let me take you out to get one." Shay signed happily, her eyes sparkling. Tonight was already going better than expected, something about May was very warm and comforting to her.. maybe it was just from her type of kindness that she radiated off, but Sha'nay felt really safe around her. Not like she constantly had to be on her guard, had to keep up some sort of appearance.

When May held her hand out, her eyes widened and she looked from May's hand to her face, and then back down to her hand again. Slowly, Shay intertwined their fingers, and she squeezed May's hand slightly before walking into the crowded, loud gym together. If her girlfriend found out that she was holding another girl's hand, she would flip.. which was quite exciting to think about.

Twin Fantasy

Soap · Feb 9, 2020

Raven

Colby was much different than any of the other guys she knows. Much different than River and Mason. It was a good thing, refreshing even. Most men believed their girlfriend belonged to them in a way, while Raven never really did the whole relationship thing-- she's not going to be one of those people who abide by their partner just because they said so. The brunette leaned against the wall and grinned at his words. Glad enough that at least one person was rooting for her to get the job.

"Oh, why thank you." If she didn't get this job... maybe there's an opening at that bar-- as a waitress, obviously. But that was on the other side of town, ease was much needed in Raven's life and she wasn't about to pass on the possible opportunity of it. "A part of why. Someone has to document the greatest dance off alive." She replied with a slight roll of her eyes. Another part of Raven was... just curious. "I've wanted to be a journalist since I was... 8? I think? Eh, I just knew I liked to write and... I still do." It's probably the only thing that stayed consistent with Raven. Everyone else had a way of leaving in some way. Maybe her love of writing was the only thing that would stay? If... that even made sense.

There was a silent gap for a moment and Raven feared she might've shared a bit too much about herself. Suddenly Raven was ready to interview a few students about tonight. "So, I gotta go... but I'll text you. You gotta teach me how to make an espresso." She let the 'if I get the job' part out. Negativity only brought more of it-- surprising coming from a pessimist, but who knows?

Maybe Raven's turning over a new leaf.

0k_mang0

dendygar · Feb 9, 2020

Jay

The poor boy's head was spinning from everything that was happening. He saw Tadita standing with Tatum, and as he came closer, he could see that she was visibly upset, her lip bleeding again. What the heck happened? But before he could even ask, Tadita was introducing herself to the group of people that had swarmed the video game station, her eyes looking at him and she gave him an expression of 'don't ask'. Of course he was going to ask, just not right then. He wasn't that big of an idiot. Before long, Tadita and Tatum were off again, going towards the group of other new kids. The private school kids. He recognized River and Gus, and some of the other football players hanging around nearby.

His admiration that he'd built up for River over the last two weeks would shatter in a matter of minutes. Tadita and Tatum stood there and seemed to be talking, and his eyes wandered each person in the crowd. He recognized the girl hanging off of River. Her name was Zia, and she was beautiful, and she seemed pretty sweet. Jay had introduced himself of course at practice.. he couldn't help but catch himself staring sometimes. A lot of the cheer leaders were pretty, sure.. but Zia looked like an angel off of the ceilings of cathedrals. Suddenly, Tatum was turning around and walking off at a break-neck speed, and Tadita followed soon after, looking even more upset.

She shoved the conchas at some boy, and then walked outside. Just as Jay moved to follow, blinded by his worry, he slammed into a smaller, lighter body. His cat-like reflexes snapped into place, and his arms went out and he caught Raven. One hand at the small of her back, the other wrapped under her shoulders. His eyes were wide, the box of conchas on the ground, but none of them had spilled out- thank god. He quickly helped Raven to straighten up, and he smiled with a small sense of unease as he went down to pick up the box. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." His english was choppy, and he seemed a bit nervous. "Please forgive me."

Soap

lion. · Feb 9, 2020

Ronnie "Blue Nile" Kane

Darling world couldn’t get a hint, could it?

Ronnie was a blackfish— black and white with no inbetween. Chains glistened under his ironed polo and crystals blinked in the rudimentary caves of his Icelandic irises. His face awry and slanted, Ronnie knew he didn’t belong here.

But god damn, for once it wasn’t the world.

For once, it was him taking his own shot in the dark. Somewhere among the blurred opacities of pinks and blues with the sun bathing at the horizon line and a Westbrook reigning over his head, he became a pawn of his own checkerboard of blacks and whites. Ditching a burning joint with a veil of puff trailing with him, he walked away from his Rolls Royce, adjusting a half-empty backpack on his shoulder.

Upon entering and being beneath the roof of his new school, Ronnie’s eyes snaked around the distant walls, overhearing distinctive bangs in echoing distances.

Yes, Ronnie. This was a fantastic idea. You know no one, and no one knows you.

In the vacancy of the entrance, a few hallways down, close to the bulletin boards bombarded with papers, he noticed brunette. Harrowing pain evulsed her body, clawing torture gated in the wild-about frenzy eyes.

“Hey, airhead!” He said, succinctly with an unintentional rough octave, watching her body falter like a leaf wiping away the evening.

“Yeah, you. You good? I’m talking to you.” He abruptly thought to clarify, getting closer and louder as her dark hair withered over her face and her body strewed the ground. He instantly haved himself to crouch next to her, his algid cold hands brushing temperately inflamed skin, trying to tap her awake.

Soap

PenguinFox · Feb 9, 2020

The trio headed in and Theo and Ian idly chatted about music, all the while Ian tracing small circles on the back of Ash's hand with his thumb. Ian actually felt completely at ease for once. Chatting about music with someone who could easily become a friend and being with Ash who was now doing better. Granted she still had a long way to go but she was doing so much better and was taking steps to get better and Ian couldn't be more proud of her. This all combined to make things seem like they were going pretty well for him, a feeling that he hadn't felt in a long while.

When they arrived the gym was already starting to fill up with students. Ash said she was going to go help Tatum and looked like she was about to place a kiss on Ian's cheek but stopped herself. She likely didn't want people to think they were dating, rumors spread like wildfire in Westbrook, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't the tiniest bit disappointed. They were close friends and nothing more, so why was it wrong if they did things like that? Platonic friends did that kind of thing all the time. Green eyes followed Ash as she made her way over to where the video games were being set up. Ian's side felt very empty now and he wasn't entirely sure what to do with his hand now that it wasn't in the West girl's. He settled with awkwardly shoving it into his pocket for now, gripping at the guitar pick he always kept with him.

Ian's gaze shifted back to Theo as she spoke. "She's one of my closest friends." he said with a smile. He gently sat down his bag, wary of the precious gift inside, and leaned against the wall casually. A thoughtful look crossed his face for a moment as he considered Theo's question. "Hmm, no I don't think so...there's never a dull moment in Westbrook. There is likely going to be at least one fight, two broken hearts, three confessions of feelings, maybe a hookup if someone's lucky..." he gave the girl a joking smirk. "...and a partridge in a pear tree."

The topic of her gift was brought up and Ian stiffened in the slightest. It was a lot, but it's not like he wasn't grateful. It was an extremely kind and thoughtful gift, he just felt like he didn't deserve it, or at least that much of a good gift. This girl probably spent quite a bit on it and the blond teenager felt a tad guilty accepting it, but he wasn't about to offend her either. "It's incredibly generous, I really can't express how grateful I am. If it puts your mind at ease we can considered it payment for all future lessons." Ian paused for a moment considering his words. "Not that I was going to ask for payment but..." Eloquent as ever, he chuckled awkwardly.

Thankfully Theo found whatever it was she was looking for in her bag so she could steer the conversation away from Ian's awkwardness. "I used to drink...I'm not really supposed to anymore." Between his accident and the medication he was on he figured alcohol was probably not the best idea, but on the other hand he had had a drink at JJ's party and had been fine so maybe some wine would be okay? His eyes drifted away at the sight of nearby movement. He watched Ash leave the gym with Ryder. That was either going to end really well, or really poorly. "Depending on how this night goes I might take you up on that though." Hopefully things went smoothly between them. Ian wanted nothing but happiness for Ash and based on their twitter conversations she still very much had feelings for Ryder. He kinda hoped they could work things out. If they didn't...well Ian was prepared to lose more sleep for his best friend. Being a shoulder to cry on wasn't a new experience for him, even going all the way back to California. He would always gladly help a friend in need, even if it meant his own suffering. He would stay up all night every night for Ash if she needed him to.

Speaking of Vaughn siblings, Ian scanned the gym for a certain other half of the infamous twins. There was a few things he was hoping to discuss with one Alaska Vaughn. Specifically he was hoping to ask her something. He didn't see her anywhere and his heart sank a little. Refocusing on Theo Ian spoke again. "Sometimes Westbrook feels like some kind of dramatic sitcom or something. No matter how hard you try to avoid it you'll get sucked into drama somehow." he thought back to how he tried to avoid drama when he arrived here. Considering he pulled Ash away from a fight the other week he'd say he didn't do too well in that. "The only thing you can do is be careful of what drama you get pulled into." Ian warned Theo and glanced over at the group of newcomers. "Was Black Mill like that at all?"

Winona Mentions:

a z u l a

0k_mang0 · Feb 9, 2020

colby

Raven

Soap , Tatum

Colby didn’t think she said too much. He actually admired the fact that she knew what she wanted to be at a young age, while he was still figuring out himself. Something involving cars would’ve been an obvious choice, but that was more like a hobby to him. He wanted to do something more than that.

He probably should’ve said something sooner. It just surprised him a little that Raven would tell him something kind of personal. Maybe she was usually a private person, something he understood. As Raven left, Colby called after her, “If you ever win a Pulitzer for something better than a Just Dance contest, let me. I actually love to read.” What? He wasn’t all cars and muscles. Just look at Batman and Iron Man.

After finishing his single Twizzler, Colby picked up his bags and started heading to the gym. Along the way, he checked Twitter on his phone. Things sort of went downhill when Ash suggested drinking alcohol for the lock-in – he might have to confront her about it another time – and Tatum’s stress was showing a bit when Colby messaged her. Tatum suddenly stopped replying on Twitter, and worry began to creep on him.

He went inside the gym to drop off his belongings. He saw the video games and projector set up, a dozen other students mingling about. But he cursed under his breath when he didn’t see Tatum at all. Going back into the hallway, Colby sent a text message to her:

Hey, where are you???

Colby asked random students along the way, channeling his inner-Sherlock Holmes. Some didn’t know who she was, but a few managed to point which way she’d gone when he mentioned blonde hair and showed a picture of her on Instagram. See, social media had practical uses. Some of the classrooms were locked in the hallway that he passed through; the rooms that weren’t were empty. But he felt like he was getting closer.

Then, he heard foot shuffles that sounded like someone was trying to get away as soon and inconspicuous as possible. Peeking around the hallway corner, Colby spotted someone in a hoodie heading to the doors of the school auditorium. The hoodie person had their back facing him, but looked about Tatum’s height from a distance.

Elf_Ruler · Feb 9, 2020

As Tatum slid through the doors, she took a moment to breathe. She could feel her body shaking a little. She had her arms linked and crossed behind her head as she stared straight up at the ceiling. She was trying so hard to be okay to act like she wasn’t falling apart and yet she was in the auditorium trying to avoid a complete breakdown. Her heart was racing and all she wanted was a drink and she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t do anything to remove her anxious feelings to remove the panic sitting in her chest. For a moment she felt like the world was closing in around her and everything seemed so much bigger than her. How could she help Ash when she could barely help herself? How could she be okay for Brayden? How could she not disappoint her family? Questions were racing through her mind as she stood in the middle of the auditorium. She wasn’t the most religious person but right now she could only hope that the big man up in the sky would send her some kind sign, send her anything to make her feel like she wasn’t falling apart. She felt her phone vibrate and saw it was Colby yet again and of course she blew off his message. She didn’t need his pity or his sympathy because she had been taking care of her problems on her own. Pity was a damn lie for people to just feel good about themselves and she didn’t want to ever give that satisfaction out.

She made her way up to the stage, the room itself was dark minus the light switch she had flicked on but there wasn’t much light for the big room. As she popped herself onto the stage, she let her eyes glance to the piano that sat there, alone but full of so much potential when used for its intended purpose. It was a moment like this one where Tatum had wished she knew more about music, but she didn’t. So instead of touching the piano she chose to lay down on the stage staring at the ceiling. She let out a sigh, “Big man, up there. I don’t know if you exist but right now, I could really use some of that miracle stuff that people talk about. I’m just lost.” She felt stupid for talking to something she couldn’t even see but people swore by it and she was down for anything right now. She thought she heard the door open, but she knew no one would follow her, she had specifically told Brayden that she wanted to be alone and no one else had been fast enough to follow her. Or so she thought.

Mention(s):

0k_mang0
--

Brayden had taken the box of cookies shoved in his direction and carefully sat them down. He didn’t really know Tadita all that well except through the few Twitter posts he had read. She seemed like a girl with a temper and he didn’t want her following after Tatum because he knew that was a bad idea. So he quickly followed her out the side doors and watched as she seemed to collapse down. Whatever was wrong with her was something she needed to get fixed now and not later. He quickly rushed over to the girl, “Hey, do you need an ambulance?” Brayden didn’t know what to do in this kind of situation he had never once dealt with anyone collapsing. He was unsure if he should call for help or let her just fight it out. He was terrified more than he had ever been so far in his short life.

He looked around and there were no other students around besides the male with pink hair who seemed to have the same confusion as him. He pulled Tadita into his chest trying to help her in any way he could though he was more than confused. Tadita looked more banged up than she should have, and she probably did need medical help but was he supposed to call? The doors were locked. Should he grab an adult? Brayden was confused as to what his next plan of action should be so instead, he chose to sit with the girl and see if she would be okay.

dendygar

dendygar · Feb 9, 2020

Tadita

She slammed her hand into the wall and groaned, until she couldn't lean any longer and slumped to the ground. Tadita's feet dug and screeched against the waxed floor, the bottoms of her shoes desperately trying to gain traction to help her stand back up again. She heard a familiar voice through the ringing, but she didn't take her hands away from her eyes.

Because she was crying. She was crying from the pain and from anger, before she felt something cold touch her face. A guttural groan escaped her feverish lips, her skin hot to the touch as the blanket concealed most of her body. The cold felt like heaven. She slowly lowered her palms from her eyes to see who it was, and was met with a familiar face. Ronnie?

The two had met and hung out a few times since school started. She sold him the good shit, and he gave her the green, and they hung out during the time of transaction. She showed him her latest shit, talked about anything and everything, but she didn't really consider him a best friend or even a close one. Not like Parker and Cam. Her bloodshot, swollen eyes took in Ronnie's face, focusing on his big blue eyes. "Hey," Came out a squeak, reaching out and pushing some of his bright pink hair out of his face.

"Before you say anything," her lip began to twist and tremble again from the pain and tears.. but before she could reply, Brayden was there, and Tadita's hand yanked back away from Ronnie. "No, do not call an ambulance." She said to Brayden darkly, looking like some sort of horror movie character peeping out beneath her blanket. "I don't need to go to the hospital.." her eyes softened at Brayden, before looking away. "Just go away. Both of you."

tadita pulled her knees to her chest and nuzzled her face in them, just wanting to shut the world off.

lion.

Winona · Feb 9, 2020

Milos

His date with Cam had been amazing.

In his young life, Milos had been on exactly zero dates, so it wasn't like he exactly had super high standards. But he had been excited, and Cam had totally made the whole thing amazing. A coffee date, a walk through the park, small things that had given them time to talk and bond and get to know each other, and Milos couldn't have been happier.

It was time for the lock-in, though, and Milos was... nervous, to say the least. He hadn't exactly made a lot of friends, and an entire night at the school didn't exactly sound like the most fun. But hey, he would try to make the most of it, so Milos tried to stomach all of the nerves that he felt as he walked up to the school.

Milos wasn't entirely sure where to go, so he ended up following other students. He ran into a couple he knew and paused to speak with them, laughing about stupid things, and then he was back on his way to the gym. Here he had thought that they would be locked into the gym only, but instead, it seemed like the whole school was fair game.

He headed into the gym, pushing through the door as some girl he didn't recognize stormed out. Wow. The lock-in had just started, and it already seemed like people were starting drama.

His gaze scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face.

0k_mang0 · Feb 10, 2020

colby

Tatum