Realistic or Modern Westbrook

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer​

Sawyer was having an extremely hard time trying to find her girlfriend in this god forsaken crowd. She pushed a her way through rather roughly, even managing to step on the same guys foot twice. She moved away from him as he began to make it very clear that he did not appreciate her lack of manners. He almost grabbed her by the back of her hoodie but was stopped by the girl he was standing with, luckily. Sawyer wasn't in a the mood to fight at the moment. She wasn't really in the mood to do anything. All she wanted right now was to find Grace and get away from all these people because the close proximity and noise was beginning to grate on her nerves. Blonde. Blonde. Sawyer spun around and spotted a blonde head right in front of her but when she went to turn them around she realized that was a man and definitely not Grace. Sawyer grimaced and slowly backed away from the blonde guy, who was now staring at her questioningly. She bumped into at least three people before she made her escape. With a few more quick spin arounds she spotted the blonde that she was actually looking for, who happened to be looking right at her.

A smile found it's way onto Sawyer's face and she started to raise her hand into a wave when Grace turned away from her. The next few moments Sawyer stood there watching Grace get a little to close to...was that Rae? That was definitely Rae. Sawyer's smile immediately dropped as she watched Grace lean forward and the hand she had been raising to wave curled into a loose fist at her side. She took a step forward but at that moment Grace turned to look at her again and smiled. Oh great. That woman knew exactly what she was doing. Sawyer let out an exasperated sigh and immediately started pushing her way out of the crowd. There was no reason for her to stand there and be subject to her girlfriend's jealousy plot she had going over there. The crowd began to shrink until she was on the very edge of it and finally completely out. Her feet lead her to the porch where she brushed past Ava storming away from it. Weird.

"JJ?" Sawyer questioned as she stepped out onto the porch where she was greeted by the sight of the familiar brunette. She closed the door to the porch behind her and stepped closer to JJ, who she now realized was crying. Oh wonderful. A crying girl. This is exactly what Sawyer needed right now. Sawyer found herself longing to just walk right back out the door but...oh fuck it.

"Hey, hey," Sawyer stepped up beside JJ her face morphing to concern, "Are you okay?" Stupid question, Andrews, she is obviously not okay. "What's the matter?" Sawyer had no clue if JJ would even indulge her but to hell if she wasn't going to try.

Winona Soap

 

[Soap]

Juliette

Juliette didn't say anything to Ava and turned her back away from her. That's right. She'll just leave. It's not like she even cared enough to stay anyway. Or, not that JJ wanted her to stay. She wasn't a real friend, and the more she thought about the people she considered as friends, it became much more clear that they weren't her real friends to start with. She heard Ava's footsteps walk away, and JJ took a deep breath before the tears started going again.

She gripped her phone tighter in her hands, maybe... she should just call him. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding! There... there wasn't anyway he actually wanted Lexi right? What did Lexi have that she didn't?

She stiffened as she heard a voice behind her. JJ didn't want anyone to see her cry, especially none of the kids at her school. She has a reputation to uphold. Ava's an exception, or well, was one. It wasn't long until she realized it was Sawyer, and she was asking if she was okay. No, she's not. Maybe any other time she would've lied and said she was. But she wasn't. And... it's only Sawyer. No offense to the gay blonde, but she's not really in the same social clique as her.

Besides having a popular girlfriend, was she really known anyway?

Juliette pulled up the photo on her phone and showed her the picture of Lexi and her boyfriend-- ex-boyfriend. "Everything's the matter. She knew. Why didn't... they tell me?" JJ didn't give her any indication on who the 'she' was, but clarifying why everything hurt more than it probably would. Well, that wouldn't help.

"I thought he loved me." She sat down on the stairs and removed her gaze from Sawyer's, sniffling.

"What's wrong with me? Why wasn't I good enough? What did I do?" Most of her words came out in sobs, and to be honest? Juliette didn't even know why she was opening up to Sawyer, they were practically strangers. But she actually asked what was wrong. When was the last time anyone has ever done that?

KingofAesir

Grace

Grace was more than happy that Rae wasn't upset at her, maybe this was actually going to be a pretty cool friend to have. A few drinks later, well, more than a few. The two girls ended up in a corner, laughing... about really nothing in particular. And most of her worries about Sawyer flooded away, thanks alcohol. Even if Grace didn't believe substances would help any of her problems, it made her forget for a little.

She forgot almost too much.

Saying goodnight to Rae, the blonde went to her room before her girlfriend did, and knocked out before she had a chance to get to bed.

***

A few days later, it'd been mostly awkward between her and Sawyer, Grace didn't even remember the jealousy plot she had with Rae. Although it wasn't all bad, even if Grace didn't get to give Sawyer her 'special present.' For Christmas, or well, late birthday gift. She decided to throw away the whole... sexy present. As if that'd actually be a good gift, she rolled her eyes and regretted the idea thing in the first place. She settled on just giving her the present she'd gotten for her a little while before, even if they were a little on the rocks right now, that didn't mean she wasn't going to give her girlfriend something for Christmas.

It wasn't anything special, but she'd bought her a little something she saved up for by collecting allowance for the past few months, she'd spent most of it on the birthday dinner, but she made sure she had enough for a gift. It was a sliver necklace with a topaz stone in the middle. It was her birthstone too, it was just a plus it matched her promise ring.

Grace woke up early that day, letting Sawyer sleep in. She felt extremely stupid about the whole Hunter thing, taking a paper and leaving it beside her bed. 'Went skiing. Sorry I didn't wait for you. Let's do something later, just us? I love you.' With a small kiss on the side of the cheek, she left.

Within half an hour, she was already halfway down the mountain, she wasn't very good at skiing. A bit of balance problems here and there, but it was nice to be alone. She still hadn't talked to Ash, and she definitely needs to apologize to Sawyer, everything was okay between them. And Grace was just making up problems for them. Why? She was a terrible girlfriend.

She wasn't paying much attention, per usual, and before she knew it. She was on the ground with Stu on top of her. Figures. This seemed to be a recurring thing.

She sighed, and winced, she kept her eyes closed, and moved a bit of snow out of her face before she fluttered them open.

"Hey, Stu." She wasn't very chipper, but... can you blame her?

Dede KingofAesir



​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer​

Woah. Okay. Okay, this is fine,. This is great. Amazing. Fuck.

Sawyer was at a loss for a moment. Really, she knew Bryan was a dickhead but, come on. As far as Sawyer was concerned, despite her attitude and kind of up tight air, JJ was pretty and obviously liked this guy a lot. Sawyer had never been amazing at the whole comforting thing but there was no harm in trying. Right? Maybe not. Maybe she should just giver her a pat and let JJ cry it out by herself. Sawyer's eyes darted to the door and then back to JJ and her resolve melted away. As much as she might want to she couldn't just leave the poor girl all alone. So, here was Sawyer Andrews, sitting down next to a crying cheerleader trying to comfort her.

"Hey," Sawyer asserted as she sat down next to the brunette, "There's your first problem." She cocked her head at JJ and offered a small smile, "There's nothing wrong with you. Sometimes people are just jerks, you know? And sometimes people think not telling you things is better for you or something. The best intentions and all that shit." Sawyer sighed and let her chin fall onto her knees. She had no idea what the hell she was talking about. This probably wouldn't help JJ at all but hell she was trying.

"You didn't do anything." Sawyer bumped her shoulder into JJ's, "Hell, Bryan's kind of an idiot. I sure as hell wouldn't do that with someone like Lexi, especially not to someone as pretty as you." She laughed a little, "I know it hurts right now, but you shouldn't get down on yourself over someone like Bryan. Over anyone who would cheat with a chick that looks and smells like a wet dog, really." Sawyer shivered, but her amused smile at her own joke remained.

"You're like hella confident, don't let some asshole rag on that confidence."

Soap

 

[Soap]

Juliette

She didn't expect her to sit next to her, or to attempt and reassure her that she wasn't broken. Or... to be convincing. Her sobbing stopped and she turned to look at her. And for once? Juliette actually listened, she didn't attempt to cut her off, or make some remark as if she'd really know how she feels. Juliette just watched her. Sawyer actually cared. And that's more than she could say about... anyone.

Not even her parents truly cared about her. Her mother would tell her to suck it up and be a woman. Sometimes... you just need to feel wanted.

She wiped at the tears and laughed slightly. Maybe, it was dumb, yes. But it was kind of nice to be called 'pretty.' And not hot, or... well, guys could be inappropriate sometimes. Not that Juliette really minded being complimented in any way, but this felt... real. And she was feeling vulnerable. "My confidence totally faltered. But... maybe you've got a point, beanie girl." She chuckled, and looked up towards Sawyer. "And... maybe I should just stop dealing with assholes." Her gaze lingered on her brown eyes far longer than it should've.

Before Juliette could think it through, she was already leaning in and pressing her lips to hers.

KingofAesir
​

 

[Dede]

Neck Tie

Neck Tie froze for a moment before mustering a response. ‘Hey, Grace. . .’

OK, that was enough awkward close-quarter staring. He slowly pushed himself to the side and rolled into the snow. Plonk. This was the second time the two of them had crashed into each other, and both times he was at fault and Grace was the victim. This was becoming a pattern.

Neck Tie tried getting up but the snow was deep and he tumbled a second time. He stabbed at the ground fruitlessly with his ski poles but couldn’t find a way back onto his feet. So he dragged and propped his thin body up against the nearest tree, panting as he did, writhing uncomfortably in his five layers of clothes. Then he cast off his gloves and got to work sliding the skis off his feet, a task more difficult than it sounded.

Well this was really awkward. Especially since what happened with them at McDonalds. But her girlfriend Sawyer wasn’t there -- she was the real angry one. Maybe Grace wasn’t as mad at him. She really was pretty though. . . even if she was mad. Most people look ugly when they're mad. Not Grace.

‘I’m sorry,’ Neck Tie said. ‘I was. . .’ He pointed at a tree. ‘. . . trying to avoid that tree. So I--’

He realised it was pointless coming up with excuses. They collided and that was nothing new. He scratched the back of his head slightly, feeling the snow clinging to his neck. Yes, it was cold.

‘I’m kinda new to this whole. . . skiing thing. . .’ he admitted.

Soap

 

[Soap]

Grace

Grace waited until Stu clumsily made his way off of her, before she sat up, sliding the skis off of her feet, casting a few glances his way as she noticed him having trouble taking his own skis off. Only looking up when he decided to speak, Grace shook her head at his apologies.

This wasn't like it was anything new to either of them. Chuckling at his admission. "I'm no pro either." She took her free hand and brushed off the snow off of her hair. "Seriously, don't worry about it. No harm, no foul? Right?" Wrong. She moved to stand up and winced at the pain coming from her ankle. It's fine! No big deal, just a sprain. She's fine. Besides, Grace is excellent at withstanding pain.

"Ow." Maybe that was a lie. She put her hands up in an attempt to reassure Stu. "It's okay, I'm fine." She sent a smile his way. It was only a mistake after all, and she'd rather him fall on top of her instead of him slamming into a tree. Ouch. She looked around their surroundings and her eyes widened when a skier went at least 120 mph past them, okay, well, she's probably overreacting.

"Unless we want to be uh... snow-kill. We should probably get a little farther away from the mountain." She tilted her head towards the entrance of the ski lodge, Grace attempted to hide the small limp from Stu. She didn't want him to feel any worse than he probably already did.

"So... uh. Are you um... enjoying your time here?" So, maybe it was a little bothersome talking to Stu again after the whole... homophobia stuff she'd heard from Theo and Jace. It didn't help that their last interaction was awkward glances between her and Sawyer. What if he hated her?

Dede​

 

[Dede]

Neck Tie

Was Grace hurt? He caught her wincing a little when she tried getting up. Wow, Grace was pretty even when she winced. How could a girl be so consistently pretty?

Neck Tie quickly realised he should stop gawking at Grace. The last thing he wanted was for her to misinterpret him again and think he was being rude or whatever. She had plenty of reasons to hate him already, so he wasn’t exactly in a position to take such gawking liberties.

He turned his head at the sight of a skier swooshing past them at like a thousand mph. OK so that was probably an exaggeration. Maybe five hundred.

Neck Tie dusted the snow off his hands and fitted his gloves back on. Any later than this and his fingers might have frozen and fallen right off. It would have been like a scene out of a horror film, or that part in Toy Story where Mr. Potato starts losing all his body parts.

Before he knew it, Grace had decided that they should make their hike back towards the lodge. Seriously? That was way up the mountain, and they were all the way down here! He wished Ash’s grandparents had built like a chairlift or something. Maybe they were rich, but not chairlift rich.

As Neck Tie began picking his way after the girl, he wondered if there were any wolves around in the area. They were quite deep in the woods so you would expect there to be lots of wildlife. If they did run into wolves, he would totally throw himself at them so Grace could escape. Who wouldn’t give up their life to protect such a cute girl?

‘Oh—um. . .’ He nearly forgot to answer her question. ‘I guess, yeah. It’s nice out here. Cold but nice.’ He said, flashing a small smile, soon falling awkwardly silent.

He slogged through the snow for a while and then decided that his thigh was actually aching badly, and he did get injured from the collision after all. The boy grunted and pointed at a tree. ‘Can I sit for a bit? My leg—’ He plopped down tiredly and stretched out his injured limb. Then he glanced around taking in his surroundings and it felt so peaceful just sitting out here in the woods, dying from hypothermia.

Soap

 

[Dazzle]

Mads laughed shaking his head. "It says it on the bottle" He picked up the handle from beside her pointing at the lettering. "Have you ever read what you were drinking?" Smirking as he placed the fireball back down on the table behind them. As she continued to to ask questions about fireball, that he didn't necessarily know the answers to. Watching her pick up the drink herself making a failed attempt to read it. "Just drink your drink." Taking a sip of his own.

"So that's how you say it." He held up his own glass towards Ash. "Cheers, to being messed up" Raising his eyebrows and clinking their glasses together, tilting his head back and taking a large swig of the drink. He closed his eyes tightly as he felt the cinnamon drink go down. Swallowing hard at the after taste. "Yep, that-thats cinnamon." Mads smile returned to his face, he didn't hate the drink he had made, but in a large swig of the cinnamon felt a bit over powering.

"That's too bad... I hope he's alright." Mads just wanted to change the subject and he didn't want to upset Ash much further than he already had by bringing up her missing boyfriend.

He smiled when Ash called him her friend, even if he already knew it was there it was nice to have the reassurance. As she nudged into him he lifted up his arm and put it around her shoulder. "You're a good friend Ash. Hopefully Ryder will come to his senses and get his ass here soon." He smirked taking his arm off of her shoulder, and reaching back behind him to pick his drink back up. Taking another large swig of his drink following it with a similar face from before. "I think I'd be better off doing shots."

Winona
​

 

[Winona]

Ash

"I've read the alcohol content, and that's about it." She replied, partially joking, but mostly serious. Ash didn't say anything more on the whole Ryder thing -- she was an easily upset person and when it came to something like this, well... Ash preferred to just act like nothing was wrong. Fake it until you make it, in a sense. Drink it away until any worries faded. Simple.

"Shots." Her eyes lit up as she remembered the gorgeous, amazing, delicious thing that were shots! Getting to try different alcohols, super drunk after just a few swallows... Oh hell yeah. "Yes we should do shots. C'mon. I have... I have good stuff." Ash clumsily got down from the counter, giggling to herself when she almost fell over before straightening back up.

Ash turned around, taking her drink and taking a huge swallow. If she'd had this earlier, chances were she would not be able to down it without... Well, without it coming back up. But now she barely even tasted it as she set the cup back down. "C'mon. I think I left it outside in... in Theo's car." She snorted, taking his hand and stumbling out of the room, dragging him with.

However, when she opened the front door, Ash was brought to an abrupt halt when she spotted JJ and Sawyer kissing. Wait... JJ was gay? That explained why she was always staring at Ash, then, obviously. Ha... Kidding... WAIT. Sawyer, Grace's girlfriend, was kissing someone else?

She looked at Mads then slammed the door, her eyes wide in surprise. Ash was speechless for a moment, turning from the door to Mads. "Okay... so... Fuck. Uh... I'm not... Uh... I can't right now. I should tell Grace, right? Of course." Ash then quickly closed her eyes, holding her arm out to the side, and attempted to tap her nose with her finger... But instead hit her eye. Fuck. Ow. Yep definitely drunk.

Dazzle​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer​

So this was going in a completely opposite direction than Sawyer had anticipated. One second she was just trying to cheer the girl up and the next she was being kissed. Holy shit she was being kissed. Holy shit, what the hell just happened? Sawyer kind of sat there completely still for a moment, in a state of shock it would seem. She had no idea what had made JJ do something like that all of a sudden. She was hurt. She was hurt and confused. That had to be it. There was no way JJ actually liked her like that, and that was a fact Sawyer was completely sure of. Sawyer thought that JJ was maybe the slightest bit bisexual, she had an excellent gaydar thank you very much, but definitely not for Sawyer.

Sawyer pulled back away from JJ and placed two hands on her shoulders, opening her mouth to say something before she heard the door to the porch slam behind them. She jumped and her head shot around toward the door, eyes wide. Shit. Shit. Who was that. Sawyer jumped up from her spot next to JJ and took a step toward the door, the kiss completely forgotten in her head by now. Before leaving she turned to look back at JJ and shot her a quick wave.

"Sorry, I have to go. Don't let Bryan get in your head." And with that she busted back through the door into the house. By now, whoever had slammed the door was long gone. Sawyer cursed and took off down the hallway in a vein attempt to find the person who had more than likely just seen her and JJ. The last thing she needed was someone running off and telling Grace without giving her a chance to clear up the whole scene. Damnit, damnit to all hell. You just had to be nice.

She just really hoped that whoever that was it wasn't Ash....or Theo.....or any number of people friends with Grace really. This could be really bad.

Soap

 

[Soap]

Grace

Maybe walking all the way back to the ski lodge was a bad idea. It proved to be a bit difficult with her ankle, and it seemed she wasn't the only one who was hurting. She nodded in agreement with Stu and sighed, sitting down in the cold snow beneath the tree.

Hey, look. The snow would ice her knee. How perfect.

"You okay?" She glanced over at him, her brows were furrowed, and a obvious look of worry was plastered onto the blonde's face. It bothered her that even though she took most of the fall for him, well, it didn't work out so well.

Even if he didn't approve... of her, or who she loved. That didn't mean she didn't care about him. She saw Stu as a friend before she'd seen his face the moment she'd scooted closer to her girlfriend, his disproval wasn't going to make her hate him instantly.

He was still a person, despite what he believed. Treat people how you'd like to be treated. That's what Grace believed, even if that person treated you wrongly in the first place. Sometimes she lost sight of that, but it wasn't something she'd forget. "I know, you're not..." She paused, attempting to look for the words she wanted without making it seem hostile.

Though, even if she watched her words, it didn't change the look on her face. She looked... guilty in a way. As if she was hurting him by being herself. But most of her emotions probably wasn't directed towards him, and more towards her mother. But that only meant every time someone disagreed with her, it reminded her of her mother's feelings on the matter.

A matter she couldn't really change in the first place.

"Okay. Uh, with people like me. I mean, it's just-- forget it. I'm just... um, gonna go and give you some space. Sorry about the whole... crashing thing."

Dede​

 

[Dazzle]

So drinking hadn't been as bad as Rae had expected. She had easily made friends with Grace, and her anxiety had felt numbed throughout the night. Made drinking wasn't the worst thing in the world, and she had expected hangovers to feel way worse than this one actually had. Seating herself by the fire with some sort of concoction that Mads had made her, so sweet but almost sour, she didn't even notice the alcohol.

She wished that Chase was here with her, the two of them could of been snowboarding all day and by the fire at night. But everything happened for a reason right? She probably wouldn't have ran into Grace the other night had she been here with Chase, and she definitely wouldn't have tried drinking. Rae wasn't ever one for fitting in, but here she was trying to make the most of a beautiful week on the mountain.

Rae didn't know how long she sat there, but all of a sudden her drink was gone and she was getting up to refill it, maybe adventure out on something new. Pushing up on the back of the couch to stand, she turned around and ran straight into someone, grunting loudly and grabbing the shoulders of the person in front of her so she wouldn't fall backwards.

Looking up to see who it was Theo stood in front of her, she had met him once or twice with Chase, and knew him as one of Chase's closest friends. "Oh hey Theo!" She smiled, eyes bright, damn alcohol made her friendly. "I haven't seen you all week, I didn't even know you were up here." She realized that her hands were still resting on his shoulders and quickly took them off. "I was just about to get another drink.. Want to come with? I would love the company." Those were words she never thought she would say.

Maree




Mads was happily being dragged along by Ash. How come they hadn't thought of shots earlier, he had no idea who Theo was but figured that if there were shots in the back of his car, he must of been a great person. "Why haven't you brought them in yet, god Ash we could of been drunk all week." He joked laughing lightly as he tried to follow her out the door, only to have her turn around and slam the door before they could even make it half way to the car.

"Uh.. What just happened?" Mads was confused, one moment they were heading outside, the next Ash had slammed the door in their faces. "What do you mean you need to tell Grace?" Mads tried to look out the door, but before he could see who was out there Ash had dragged him away from it. "Why'd you just stab yourself in the eye?" Mads couldn't be anymore confused on what just happened.

He heard the door open and slam again but figured it wasn't anything to get into right now. He was drunk, Ash was drunk, and he honestly had forgotten why they were heading outside in the first place. Maybe it was better they didn't drink anymore that night.

Winona ​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer​

The week that had gone by since that whole fiasco with JJ had been complete torture for Sawyer. The thought of whoever saw them running off and telling Grace that she had cheated on her or some other completely out of wack explanation for what they had seen. Sawyer had tried to act somewhat normal around Grace, but the thought that she should just tell her girlfriend what had happened nagging at the back of her mind. She couldn't tell her. This was shit that JJ was going through and the last thing Sawyer wanted to do was get Grace involved in JJ's drama. Maybe that was a lame excuse. It was a lame excuse. This was ridiculous. There was no point in trying to keep this a secret from Grace. She needed to tell her and she needed to tell her soon.

Unfortunately, when Sawyer woke up that morning Grace was gone. A note had been left in her place with something about going skiing written on it. Damn. She might have to wait untill tonight to tell her then. This was the absolute worst timing for this. Sawyer had no clue why she hadn't just told her as soon as it happened. In complete Sawyer fashion, she had waited until the very last moment. Sawyer stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, eyeing topaz necklace hanging from her neck, a birthday gift from Grace. Frowning, she reached up and twirled the chain around her fingers. She should have told her four days ago when this had been given to her. She let the necklace drop back to its resting place on her chest and ran a hand down her face. This trip had gone exactly how she wanted it to hadn't it? Exactly how she feared it would. A bunch of drama prone teenagers in a cabin alone for two weeks was bound to have a lot of complications. She shouldn't have expected anything less. They couldn't escape Westbrook.

They were Westbrook.

Later that night at the bonfire Sawyer was pacing back and forth somewhere in the back of the crowd. She was going over in her head just what exactly she was going to say to Grace as to why she had waited until now to tell her about JJ. Nothing was really sounding good and she was beginning to get slightly angry. A kid walked by and tossed a beer bottle toward the trash can and missed, hitting Sawyer in the calf with the thing instead. Sawyer spun on him and his eyes got wide. Okay, maybe a little more than slightly angry.

"Pick that up. Does this look like a dump ground to you?" Sawyer kicked the bottle to him and it rolled to a stop at his feet. He reached down and picked the thing up, never taking his eyes off Sawyer, "Now throw it away the right way, please." She stepped to the side so that he could walk by her and place the bottle in the trash. As he was walking back Sawyer leaned toward him a yelled "Boo!" directly in the poor kids ear. Sawyer had never seen someone run that fast in her life. That had managed to give her a few good laughs and now she wasn't as worried, through she returned to her pacing and mumbling. This had to make sense. She really did not want Grace mad at her again. Imagine that car ride.

@Anyonehaveather

 

[Dede]

Neck Tie

​

‘Oh. . .’ The boy looked down at his gloved hands. He was too ashamed meet Grace’s eyes as she spoke. He’d hurt her feelings, and he never wanted to do that but it happened and he couldn’t take his actions back or make her forget what he did.

‘It’s not—’

But it was. If it wasn’t, she wouldn’t have to be feeling this way toward him. Neck Tie hadn’t reacted well to seeing Grace and Sawyer together. Hell, even that was an understatement. He acted like he’d seen a monster, like what they did was wrong. Like what they were was wrong.

'—not what you think. I mean—'

That wasn’t the whole story. If it was, then he could just apologise to her and ask for her forgiveness. He couldn't, because he was guilty of a far worse crime, a crime so horrible he didn't think it could even be forgiven.

Now Grace was turning away from him. He couldn’t let her go like that. This was all his fault, and she didn't deserve to feel this way, and he owed her an explanation. So he asked her to sit down with him, and he explained. . .

* * *

Mini Stu

​

‘Hey Stu! Catch!’

The soccer ball came flying toward him. He caught it and cradled it under his arm, waving back at Will.

‘Good goal, mate.’

Stu nodded in agreement. He’d scored a great equaliser, but the build-up play was as impressive as the final product. The ball in from Will was great, and they broke down their opponents’ defence magnificently. Stu put a little curve on the ball and it slipped the goalie’s fingers and bulged the net. Nobody could have saved that one from going in.

If Stu could do that in a real game, who knows, he might even get picked to play for Moreton Youth. It was no Liverpool FC, but it was better than playing for the current Chipping Campden team. At Moreton he’d have a chance of playing bigger games and entering bigger competitions. All of that depended on their team putting up a good show next week.

With a smile on his face he headed back toward the locker room. He turned the corner. That was when it happened. He saw the other boys crowding around Tom, yelling ‘QUEER’ in his face, holding him by the scruff of his neck. Apparently they’d caught him checking them out when they were changing. So they encircled him and hit him and he was down and they still kicked him. And in the end they made him swear not to tell the coach, or they’d beat him up even more.

* * *​

Neck Tie told Grace everything.

He told her how one day a small boy came up to him at soccer practice and out of nowhere kissed him on the cheek. Tom was the quintessential benchwarmer, he was hopeless at football and was only there because his mother needed him out of the house and happened to know the coach.

He told her how he didn’t yell at the boy, since nobody saw the kiss. And they became fast friends, best friends actually. Tom didn’t have any other friends, so they hung out every day after school, and he taught Tom how to be better at soccer.

Then he told her how Tom started telling others about the kiss, and how the rumour started to spread, and how they got picked on at school. Everyone was calling them names and laughing wherever they went. Even his mother said she didn’t like him being friends with Tom anymore, because Tom was a sinner in God’s eyes, and she made him promise never to become like Tom.

And finally, he told her how he saw the other kids beating up Tom in the locker room. How he didn’t try to stop them, because he didn’t want the rest of his teammates to start calling him names too. He was afraid they’d push him out of the team. He was so close to getting into Moreton Youth, and soccer meant the world to him.

So he stayed behind the wall, and pretended he didn’t see it. And nobody saw that he saw. And he walked home, and cried.

Soap @ sad story pls read

 

[Soap]

Grace

Grace did as he asked, and stayed. Listening closely to the story he'd decided to tell her, and it was... kind of personal. She was a bit surprised, and well, confused on why he decided to tell her, but she didn't question until he was done explaining. Once he got near the end, she stiffened. The story made knots in her stomach. Why wouldn't it? It wasn't because of Stu, no. She felt bad for the boy, Tom. It was clear he didn't deserve any of that hate, whether it was physical or emotional.

She didn't blame Stu for anything. He was a just a kid. Even Grace would've probably done the same thing. He was only afraid of being picked on, bullied, hurt. That's what she was afraid of too before she came out, and she's more than glad it didn't turn out the way Tom's did. The only difference between Stu and Grace was, her situation was her hiding from the truth while Stu was just hiding from the rumors. But that didn't make his story mean any less.

He felt guilty. He was sorry. "It's okay, Stu. You didn't mean to hurt anyone... much less yourself, you shouldn't feel guilty for things in the past." Grace wasn't sure on what advice to give, or where Stu really stood on the matter. But she knows he's a good person, and that's so much more than what most people are.

"You can't change what happened, but you can be better. I know you don't hate Jace, or Theo, or me. Because I can tell you're a good person, you're just someone who had bad experiences." He probably didn't even know that she knew about the whole... Theo and Jace thing, but right now that wasn't really her concern.

Dede

​

 

[Direct Timing]

The school library printer made a noise and a sheet out paper came out. Vanden quickly swiped it up and glanced over it. Perfect. He folded the paper several times and put it in his pocket. He logged off of the school computer and went home. He straightened up the house to give it the appearance that it had been 'cleaned'. He went back to his bedroom and started packing clothes in his black duffel bag. He heard someone come in through the front door. Vanden went to the kitchen because that is the first place his dad always went to when he got home.

His dad had sat a bottle wrapped in a brown bag on the kitchen counter and he was getting a glass out of the kitchen cabinet. He saw his son and said nothing. His dad was about the same height as Vanden, but he was thicker, thicker bones, thicker arms. He was balding but had let the hair on the sides grow long and greasy. He also had a small black mustache. He smelled of the restaurant kitchen. His clothes were stained with food and dressings that his pudgy stomach had caught during the evening of cooking food.

"H-hey dad, can you sign this paper for a school field trip?" Vanden asked pulling the paper out of his Letterman jacket.




His dad took the bottle of whisky out of the paper sack and sat down at the small, round kitchen table. He poured himself a drink. Vanden unfolded the paper and laid it on the table in front of his dad. His dad took a swallow of the sweet, brown liqueur and cleared his throat. He slowly reached for the piece of paper and read it.

"Ski Resort?" His dad asked looking up at his son.

"Yeah, its a ski trip thing." Vanden said trying to remain composed.

His father chuckled looking back down at the paper. "Where do I sign for you to be gone for a whole year?" There was a sarcastic laugh and he pulled out a pen from his shirt pocket and signed it. Despite the remark, Vanden felt relieved his dad had signed the paper. Of course this was all just a front to go to the ski resort that he had been invited to. His father would not let him have gone unless it was a 'school field trip'. The ploy had worked and he reached for the paper. "Thanks-" Vanden started to say but his dad slammed his hand down on the sheet of paper and Vanden jumped back.

"First, you must clean kitchen."

"But I did..." Vanden lied.

His dad looked at the kitchen floor. "Big mess, right there." His dad pointed to a spot on the floor.

"Where?" Vanden asked looking.

His father took his glass and poured out his drink which splashed out onto the floor.

"There big mess." A laugh.

"Dad...I have to finish packing and get to bed, the bus leaves at 6:00AM in the morning..."

"Then you better hurry." His dad poured himself another drink and took a sip.

Vanden felt so helpless, so frustrated...it was like this every time they interacted. "I'll get the mop."

"NO." His dad barked. Vanden stopped in the doorway, his back to his father. "Use dish pad," his dad ordered.

Vanden turned around. "But dad!"

"DO NOT ARGUE!"

Vanden looked down at the floor, his shoulders slumped and he walked over to the kitchen sink. He got the tiny dish pad and stared at it. Vanden sighed and turned around. He got on his hands and knees and started wiping up the floor. A hand grabbed the back of his neck in a vice like grip. "Ah!"

"You clean all floor with dish pad!" His dad said squeezing hard.

"Ok, ok!" Vanden yelled.

His father pulled Vanden back and then threw him to the floor. "Better be spotless when I come back." His dad picked up the 'permission form' and folded it back up. He stuffed it into his pocket and took his glass and bottle to the living room. The sound of the TV coming on echoed into the kitchen. Vanden sat up and stared at the kitchen floor, one his dad hade him clean many times since his mother had passed away and his eyes became misty. He put his arm up against his face fighting not to cry, not to make a sound, but the tears came anyway.

After a few minutes Vanden composed himself enough to start cleaning the kitchen floor. By the time he had finished his knees were sore and he went into the living room. His dad was passed out on the sofa. "Asshole." Vanden said under his breath. He went back to his bedroom and finished packing. He set his alarm for 4:30AM. That should give him plenty of time to get ready and get down to the bus station. He got into his secret stash of money and put three hundred dollars in twenties in his wallet.

He turned out the light. It was going to be so great to get away for a weekend. Maybe he wouldn't come back at all.

---

Vanden got out of bed on time in the morning, and got ready. He had even been ready sooner than he thought he would. Vanden checked on his dad. He was still on the sofa snoring away. He called a cab and paid him. He caught the bus on time and was soon on his way to the Ski Resort. As they left town the stress of home started to melt away. After about three and half hours the bus finally arrived at the ski resort. Vanden went inside to the front desk. He was greeted by a twenty-something year old man.

"Hi and welcome, did you have a reservation?" He asked typing on his computer.

"Uhm, no I just wanted to get a room for the night." Vanden said. He looked over his shoulder and a group of people came in behind him with their luggage.

"Ok, do you have a credit card?" He asked looking up at Vanden.

"Uh, no, no sir."

The man sighed. "Ok, well usually we only do a credit card here, I mean this isn't motel eight."

There was some chuckling behind Vanden and his face began to turn red. "I have cash." Vanden reached for his wallet. "Just tell me how much it is for a room." Vanden said trying to pretend that this wasn't a problem.

"For a room with a single bed, is $159.99 plus taxes and I told you, we only take credit cards here, kid."

An older man came over, he looked like the manager. "Is there a problem here?"

"This kid is trying to pay in cash, and I told him, we only accept credit cards, which, of course, he doesn't have."

The older man looked over Vanden. "I see by your Letterman jacket that you are a student of Westbrook?"

"Y-yes, yes sir." Vanden replied, his face burning hot.

"He's with the Westbrook group. Check him in." The man said sternly and walked away.

With an annoying sigh the twenty-something year old checked Vanden in. "That will be $175.11 with taxes."

Vanden pulled out two-hundred dollars and handed it to the man. After getting his change back and keycard, he fled to his room. Vanden threw his duffel bag on the bed and pulled what money he had out of his wallet and pocket. $35 dollars and .53 cents. The two-way bus ticket was kind of expensive too. He would just have to make that money stretch. He opened the curtains in the window, which had a great view of the mountains.

He checked the fridge and there were a couple of bottles of water in there. He took one out and guzzled it down. He was thirsty, and hungry. Maybe at the bonfire party tonight there would be food, surely.

 

[Kipsy]

Jaehwa

Mood: Undiscernable | Interacting with: Vanden ( Direct Timing ) | Mentions: Belle ( Maree )

The car ride to the ski lodge was long. It seemed like it would never end. Jaehwa stuck his legs up on the dashboard and reclined his seat, watching the trees and buildings go by. His mother was in the driver's seat, rattling off about how upset she was that he'd 'forgotten' to mention that a group of kids had gone off to go skiing and offered for him to come along.

He hadn't forgotten. He just didn't want to go. It was still difficult, readjusting to the way things had been before his accident. Even after all this time, he really wasn't sure how to connect with his peers. After what'd gone down at the play, he wasn't sure he wanted to. Despite that, though, he still yearned for that sort of contact. Thus, he didn't want to miss out on everything. When Belle sent him a message reminding him about the bonfire party, he decided to finally tell his mom that he needed a ride.

They pulled up to the lodge. Jaehwa was the first one out, relishing in the momentary peace and quiet. Snow hung to the rooftops and littered the ground beautifully. He liked the look of things here. It didn’t seem so bad. Perhaps he really could get through this unscathed. Yes, he told himself. It would be fun.

“Jae, come help me with these,” his mother, Naomi, requested. She was taking his suitcase and backpack out from the back of the car. Jaehwa went to aid her, sliding his bag onto his shoulders and helping her tug the suitcase out. He pulled up the handle and started to roll it into the building and towards the front desk while Naomi closed up the car.

The receptionist helped them out seamlessly and without issue. Naomi swiped her card, kissed Jaehwa on the forehead, and poked his cheek. “I’ll be back to get you tomorrow afternoon. Have fun with your friends,” she said.

Jaehwa nodded. “I’ll call you if anything happens.” With that, they were officially separated, their goodbyes said and done. Jaehwa headed to his room, which was on the second floor.

Opening the door, the first thing that hit his senses was the scent of air freshener. It smelled like a field of flowers had taken over the entire room. The bedsheets were neatly made, but they were obviously old. The carpet was raggedy and the wallpaper looked run down. It wasn’t exactly the nicest room ever, but it was more than enough to suit his needs. He didn’t bother with unpacking; surely he could do that later after the party. It’s not like it would be that bad.

When the sun started to set and it got to be time to head over to the bonfire, Jaehwa slid his phone into his pocket and headed out. He plodded down the stairs and out into the fresh air. Walking by the windows of people on the first floor, someone caught his eye. A male around his age was looking out through the window at the mountains. Jaehwa stopped in his tracks, giving a small wave.

Ultimately, he felt… silly, but there was something that prompted him to at least try to catch this guy’s attention. Perhaps he was just feeling lonely. In any case, the Letterman jacket the other boy wore told him they were both from the same school. Maybe they could attend the party together?

code by Ri.a

 

[Dede]

Neck Tie

He was scared to tell the story at first. He didn’t know if Grace would hate him more after hearing it, he certainly hated himself more after telling the story. And the worst part? Tom didn’t even know what his best friend did. Eventually he stopped coming to soccer practice and the two quietly parted ways. Stu went on to play for Moreton Youth, and the rumours stopped, so he got what he wanted.

Grace didn’t get mad at him, though, after learning what he did. And she didn’t make him feel like a horrible person. For so many years Neck Tie had made do with keeping this guilt to himself, letting it eat away at him inside. He was too scared to tell anyone, too ashamed, until now. Maybe that was exactly what he needed — someone to confess to, someone to listen to him, someone to forgive him.

Then Grace brought up Theo and Jace, and at first he shot her a curious look, like he had no idea what she was talking about. She was wrong though. He *did* hate Theo and Jace. However, not because they were gay or anything. He hated them because Theo was a monumentally self-centred prick who threatened to hurt his best friend. And Jace. . . well, Jace was Jace, the ex-best-friend who physically attacked him on stage because he was jealous of him getting Elise’s attention.

‘That’s not what—’ He paused, and sighed. That’s not what happened. But there was no point trying to explain himself to Grace. She'd probably heard the story from Jace and Theo, who were probably her friends, and it'd just be his words against theirs. He was pretty sure she didn't consider him a friend.

He sighed again.

‘I mean, like. . . all my best friends are gay,’ he said. ‘And. . . I’ve been kissed by boys twice now. And I’ve never been kissed by a girl. Never, even though I really fancy them. . .’ He said that last bit with a tinge of sadness and self-pity. If Grace was still convinced that he hated gays then probably nothing was going to change her mind. Seriously. How could anyone be a homophobe with a track record like that?

'I'm sorry I made you feel bad. . . But I really don't hate you. Actually I think you're really nice,' he said. '. . . and pretty, too.'

Soap

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Tatum had avoided going on the ski trip but her family had left for the holiday and the whole town was pretty much dead with all of her classmates away. She knew that a party would be inevitable if she made her way to the ski lodge even though skiing wasn't really her typical scene. She wasn't one that interacted with the students that had left for the ski trip because they had all seemed to be together and inserting oneself into their group seemed near impossible. A party seemed like the most logical way to try and interact and make some new friends at Westbrook. She had been flying under the radar just listening and watching the drama that would unfold at the school.

She grabbed a bag and her emergency credit card, then she went into her fathers study and looted through before finding her hidden alcohol stash. She knew if she had hid it in her room it would have been found but hiding it in her fathers study ensured that she couldn't get busted because it wasn't like her father checked to see what liquor he had in his study. Tatum grabbed the car keys that were left for her and she was off to the ski resort. The drive she knew wouldn't be short but she knew the party would be well worth it.

When Tatum arrived to the resort she had hiked her small bag up on her shoulder and entered the building. She could see one male specifically from Westbrook based on his jacket and there was another male roughly around their age and she could assume he was probably from Westbrook as well. It was hard for Tatum to decide if she should get a room but she knew if she drank it would make sense for her to get a room. She walked up to the front desk and there was an annoyed receptionist there. Tatum had no time to deal with a moody customer serve worker, "A room for one." She stated with confidence as she set her card on the counter. She saw a slight eye roll for the receptionist and then she was given her key for her room, "Also if you plan to be rude to paying customers I'd love to have a word with your manager." Tatum gave a coy smile before she left the counter.

Interaction(s): None
Mentions: Direct Timing , Kipsy

 

[Direct Timing]

Vanden just finished his bottle of water and water burped when a young Asian boy stopped right in front of his window and waved at him. He looked a little familiar. Maybe he was a kid from school? Maybe he recognized Vanden? Vanden smiled at him with a nod. He opened the door and stood there. "Hey man, what's up?" He asked with a smile. He noticed movement in the parking lot behind the kid and saw a blond girl who looked like she had just arrived and was heading towards the main entrance. He turned his attention back to the Asian boy. It was actually cool there was another Asian kid here. He wondered if the boy was Chinese or what? Maybe he knew where this bonfire was going to be, and was there going to be food and liqueur?

This was going to be a fun weekend. He could feel it in his bones. There were probably already a lot of people here, even ones he knew from football. He could hang out with them or whoever. Didn't matter really. He just wanted to have fun and forget about his problems at home for a while.

Interactions: Kipsy

Mentions: Elf_Ruler

 

[Kipsy]

Jaehwa

Mood: Hopeful | Interacting with: Vanden ( Direct Timing )

When the guy opened the door and greeted him, Jaehwa stood for a moment like a fish out of water. It was like his entire mind had blanked. What was he supposed to say again? How did normal, sociable teenagers begin conversations other than waving? Oh, right. A hello. "Hey. I saw your Letterman jacket. We're both from Westbrook." A simple observation. "Are you going to the bonfire too?" he inquired. Taking a few steps forward so they didn't look awkward trying to have a conversation at that distance, Jaehwa offered a small smile.

What he really wanted to ask was if they could walk there together. He ultimately didn't want to be alone. Although the house wasn't too far from here, anxiety was a common peril in Jaehwa's mind. Even though the threats didn't actually exist, they were real enough to him. But it wasn't like he could just propose that idea without setting a seed for it beforehand. Besides, he didn't really want to request something like that in the first place. Wasn't that... weird? Yeah. He didn't want to be weird.

Taking another second to analyze this guy's face, it finally occured to Jaehwa that they were both Asians. Well, that didn't really matter, but... Oh, who was he kidding? It did. They could connect over that. Bond over that. Stick together thanks to that. It would be nice to have someone like that to be with at a party where he was pretty sure he'd only know one, maybe two people. They could look out for each other there. That would be... nice.

code by Ri.a

 

[Direct Timing]

Vanden listened to the other boy. "Cool, yeah, I was wondering why you stopped." Vanden laughed. "Oh, uh, I'm Vanden" He said holding out his hand for a handshake. If the boy took his hand he would shake it firmly, but not hard. "Yeah, I'm going to the bonfire, do you know where it is? Maybe we could walk over there together." Vanden said. "Uh, just let me grab room key, come on in." Vanden said waving the other boy in. He stepped aside holding the door open for the other kid. Once inside he went over to the dresser where is room key was laying. He picked it up and stuffed it into his back pocket. "Just let me check my look in the mirror real quick." Vanden went into the bathroom and played with his hair a bit. It looked good, even after he had napped on the bus. He came back out looking at the other boy. "So do you have a room too?" He asked putting his hands in his back pockets.

Of course the other boy probably had his own room. All of the kids probably did and what time was check out again? Oh well, worry about that tomorrow. Vanden glanced outside. A wind had picked up and was blowing some nearby trees, then came to a calm. He looked back to the other boy. Vanden nodded at him.

"你是中国人吗?" Vanden asked.





Interactions: Kipsy

 

[Winona]

Drake


After that wild night where Drake had gotten drunk with Aaron and then stupidly... so very, very stupidly posted that video of Stu pissing all over Jace's prized petunias, Drake had pretty much hung low. Mason had found him, of course, and given him a long lecture that was reminiscent of a disappointed parent. Drake had struggled to stay awake throughout the whole thing, and had spent most of the time thinking about how nice it would be to have glasses with eyeballs on them. Just so he could sleep through this damn lecture, and maybe classes at school. Wow, whoever thought of those was a genius.

But now it was the last day of the ski trip before the drive back up, and Drake was determined to enjoy himself, by golly! But perhaps without the alcohol, given the slight hangover he'd had the following morning. He now wove his way through the teens getting in their last day of unsupervised freedom, stopping here and there when someone would touch his shoulder or yell a hello. There were plenty of people that Drake could've stopped by and talked with, or danced with, but his mind was focused on finding one person.

And there she was! Through the crowd, looking a perfect, beautiful, redheaded angel. His smile widened immensely and Drake clambered his way through the last of the crowd until he reached Belle. "Hey!" he said, breathless from his struggle over here, and just from being in front of her. It was hard to imagine that someone has perfect as her had actually wanted to be his girlfriend. But then his eyes fell to the ice pack on her hand with a worried look. "What happened?"

Maree​

 

[Daniel Reaving]

Jasmine
*A few hours prior*
The flight had been long. Too long to say the least for jasmine. The flight from Hawaii took to long, her leg was sore in its prosthetic, it probably didn’t help that she had picked to wear the running blade but she didn’t exactly like the other prosthetics she had so preferred to wear the running leg more than anything. Looking out the window as the aircraft came in for a landing. A pair of AirPods in each ear as she blared some stereotypical beach surfer tunes she was pretty sure was in some surf movie.


Waiting for the seatbelt sign to turn off once they had taxied in she was relieved to say the least as she got up and collected her carryons. Leaving the plane she took a soft breath once she was in the terminal and looked around. She had to admit it was a nice change. But either way she was in for a long ride. Pulling out her phone as she walked through the airport towards baggage she texted Sawyer. “Hey sawyer. I just landed. Be there soon.”

Collecting let luggage she snagged a taxi outside and asked him to take her up to this cabin. She didn’t know where she was going but hey. Sophie told her to go there so she was going. Finding out the ride was a few hours dampened her spirits a little to say the least. “Damn you sawyer.” She mumbled to herself as she relaxed in for the car ride. Hopefully they would be home soon though. She had her other prosthetics mailed to sawyers house so until then she was stuck with her running blade.
——————————
Jasmine had sleep on the ride up the mountain to this cabin. Waking up once they hit bumpier roads. Groaning softly as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around as they pulled up to the cabin she couldn’t help but take in all the snow. She had never seen it before snow that is but she knew one thing for sure. She didn’t dress nor pack properly for the cold in any sorts. Her entire wardrobe consisting of shorts, tank tops and short sleeves, a few rare hoodies, and swimsuits even though her current ptsd. Still this was her “punishment”. Sighing as the car parked out front and she got out. Being cautious not to fall as she got her bags out. Setting them all down just by the front steps she paid the taxi man.

“Sawyer your paying me back damnit. That was expensive.” She whispered to herself as she took one last breath before stepping up the first step... only to have it all crumble away as the blade of her brosthetic slipped on the ice and she came crashing down with a yell into the snow
Anyone who’s nearby
KingofAesir​

 

[A Little Cloud]

A L I C E
STATUS
Mood: Lonely
Interacting with: Jasmine
Mentions: Daniel Reaving

Alice messed up another chance to actually have some friends. She should've stayed near the tree to talk to Mads, but instead, she decided to be alone. Again. Now that she separated herself from everyone else, there would be no one who would come up and talk to her. Alice scolded herself quietly, the feeling of loneliness creeping into her again. She sighed, then realized her cookie was gone. She hadn't even enjoyed it. Well, what now? I mean, you could go back to your room and hope someone bunked with you. But what if no one's there? Then you'll be even more alone. Alice thought about joining other people for the New Year's Bonfire, but the thought of being in a crowded area with strangers made her uncomfortable.

She finally decided maybe to try going to the nearest town or go snowboarding again. Going to town seemed more relaxing. Her latest snowboarding incident didn't exactly go well. So, Alice went to her room, shrugged on her Westbrook jacket, grabbed some money, and headed outside. The first thing that she saw, however, was a girl that she didn't know, slip on the ice, and crash down into the snow back first. Alice winced when the girl yelled out, and she headed over to help. Offering her hand, she put on a small smile, hoping that the girl wouldn't push her away. "Hey, you ok? I saw you slip."​