SAA/WNA/TB Misc Thread

[LunaticLeviTheSecond]

“Listen Booker i’m just going to say this and change the subject ok. I figured that you not smoking the cigarette will like save your life, I know there is a good chance you will still get cancer no matter what.” He was glad she’d like to change the subject, but he had to stop her. He immediately cut in and said “No, you got it wrong. That’s what I’ve been telling you. If I avoid everything bad in my life, including smoking and many of the cancerous things that I can reasonably avoid, that doesn’t guarantee I won’t get cancer and die young. People often get it wrong, so I don’t blame you. It’s just that most people think it’s the same as any other disease where you have to avoid a few things in your life and that means you’re safe. Like if you have high colesterol you keep away from fats, but cancer doesn’t work in absolutes like that. The point is,If I watch out I’m still likely to get a cancer and die young. But go on with changing the subject.” He really does want to change the subject, he just wanted to make that one thing clear to her.
She started telling him the story of how often she was in a hospital in her life, and about her bad mother. He nodded and at the end he said “That was very brave of you, Elena. I mean, nobody would trust their mother to drive them in your shoes.” He joked. “But seriously. You went through a lot, it seems. So this is the second fire you’ve been in? That could be a sign. Did you consider the universe is telling you that you should become a firefighter?” He didn’t know how to respond to her that wasn’t pity, so he opted for jokes. He knows that joking about his condition often makes him feel much better, so he hopes the same applied to her. Otherwise I’d be better if he just didn’t respond at all.

---

"“Listen Booker, this may be hard but I think you need to give her a few days and she will come back to you and ralk to you. When she does then talk or ask her about that picture. It probably is not what it looks like, even though that is not the best look in that picture. Don’t jusge a book by it’s cover.” Booker looked at her after that response with an ‘are you serious?’ look on his face. “Elena, I know that Blaire is your cousin, but come on.” He pointed to the pose on the phone. “How can you tell me that this is accidental? She sent it the second after I unsucesfully called her. The message was clear. You can’t convince me that photo was innocent or not what it seems. You can try, give me a plausible explanation for that photo. I’m sure if you ever found yourself in that phose acidentally, you never took a selfie of it, so even if you do manage to explain the pose somehow, the selfie negates it’s innocence.” Booker shook his head disapprovingly. “When she comes back, you say? I don’t know if I want her to come back. It’s clear that she’s either cheating or trying to make me jealous like that, but seeing that photo, and thinking about Blaire now makes me sick to my stomach. Thinking about her also makes my head throbb. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still some feelings there, but I can’t just get over this photo like it’s nothing. Believe me, I tried thinking like you. Wondering if it was innocent, telling myself it isn’t what it looks like, but whenever I tried to find a reasonable explanation, it never came. Who knows how many photos would come next had I not blocked her number … I just couldn’t face getting anything that ruthless again. I’m fragile, I know, but I think that would’ve been deadlier than any cancerous thing in my life.”

ORP: @Kate - don’t actually try to convince him that the photo is innocent, we want them broken up for a while, so she’ll just have to think it’s not innocent.

[Kate]

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She listened to him again and she realized that she misspoke. “Sorry I misspoke there I meant I know that you nnot smoking the cigarette with not save your life. I misspoke. I know cancer no matter what you do even if you avoid things you are told you can still pass away and it does not help. I missed the part of the not save your life when I mentuoned not soking the cigarette so that is my bad.”

She finsihed her drink then decided that she should stop since she does not want to get drunk she just needed a little reliever. As she finished Booker told her she was brave enough to trust her mom to drive them and then asked that it was her second fire she has been in and made a comment about bieng a firefighter whcih made her laugh. “Now that would be a sight to see, me in firefighter gear. But perhaps it is a sign, or maybe the universe is telling me I am invinsible and nothing can k**l me.” She siled at him. [color=#F88379] "Also, yes that is my second fire i’ve been in, luckily got out unscathed.

Booker also mentioned the picture and that Blaire sent and how it was not a mistake she did it on purpose. She knows she does noto know there relationship and she knows Blaire but not as much as cosuins probably should know each other and the piciture really doesn’t look good for her. “I don’t have an explanation for that picture, just saying the only answer you will get to that is by talking to Blaire and that is if you talk to Blaire. Only you know how your relationship is and what happens, but either way good luck. Other than the bad events at the party did you enjoy the Lockhart Christmas Party?”

@LunaticLeviTheSecond - ORP; That was my bad I meant notsave your life haha so that one was my fault. She really did mean to say I know you not smoking that cig will not save your life. So that was my fault sorry.

[LunaticLeviTheSecond]

“The only answer you will get to that is by talking to Blaire and that is if you talk to Blaire.” Communication. It was something Blaire was very good at. She knew how to talk to friends, family and everybody … else. As much as Booker and Blaire like each other, they don’t communicate very much. It seems they can both talk much easier with everybody else. Especially when he made her angry the first time, she decided to resolve it by icing him out. He felt that communication wouldn’t resolve anything, not when it came to their relationship. Maybe they’d be able to communicate better if they were friends and not dating, but he didn’t want that. He still wanted to date her, even if the comm … or wait … He didn’t want to date a cheater … But, it’s Blaire … Well, he doesn’t know what he wants or needs, but the one thing that’s clear to him is that this won’t be resolved by talking to Blaire.
He was getting lost in confusing and some depressive thoughts, but thankfully, Elena asked him a question so unconnected to what they were talking about before, it violently pulled him away from those thoughts. “Other than the bad events at the party did you enjoy the Lockhart Christmas Party?”” “No.” He hastily responded and then regretted it, knowing he would have to explain himself. Instead of waiting for it, he decided to answer the question that was forming on her lips anyways. “I only mean, I’m not accustomed to so many people in one space. It was always only me and my mom and dad, until he died and got replaced by nutcase. I didn’t really get to know anybody, didn’t talk to anybody but Blaire, and then there was a fire where the look in her parents’ eyes suggested they blamed me which means I gave them a horrible first impression. I’d ask you if you enjoyed it but … Wait a minute …” He remebered something she said before. “I was going to say you got into a huge fight alongside the fire, but … Didn’t you earlier say you also got kidnapped that night? I’m sorry I just couldn’t comprehend that so many bad things could happen to you in one night.” He finished his drink and ordered the same one again. Somehow he thought alcohol would help him comprehend this, which doesn’t make sense usually. If he were sober it wouldn’t make sense to him either, but when he drinks a bit any reason to keep on drinking seems perfectly reasonable to him, especially when he feels low, and today he feels very low.

@Kate - Elena

[Kate]

---

Elena crossed her leg over the other one as he talked about why he did not have fun at the party. There was a lot of people there she must admit but part of her was used to it but there was other people that she did not know like her cousin Camila. She never knew she had a cousin Camila and yet they are going to the same school soon. “That makes sense, he** I found out I had cousins I never met so it was a lot more people than normal.” He also added in that she mentioned she was kidnapped that night of the party. “You heard right… yeah… Bria kidnapped me. I fought her a bit but then when she got me to the car as we were fighting I banged my head hard on the door and went unconscious.” She was thinking about the other time she was kidnapped by her mom’s boyfriend but decided no one knows and she did not want to mention that part to him.

She gave him a small smile and debated on telling him that she and Bria had known each other before and are not on friendly terms but she did not want to tell him that she was in a gag. No one knew not even her dad or mom yet. “Yeah a lot of things happened but i’m still here and standing, barely but nothing I can do except fight whatever comes at me. I am not scared of Bria I would take her on anytime.”

@LunaticLeviTheSecond
@ChayChay05 - Camila Mentioned
@Kbail - Bria mentioned

[LunaticLeviTheSecond]

Fools rush in, where angels fear to tread

He listened Elena validate his feelings. She told him even she met a family member at this party, which means it wasn’t just him, that really is such a large family on one gathering. Bria. He thought. Have I heard her name before? "Bria? Was that the one you fought with? How did nobody notice the person you fought with, who was caught stealing, blaming others and lying about it, would hurt you for revealing her? But then again, such a huge party, people don’t notice. I much preffer parties with only your best friends. Everybody can talk together in a group and nobody gets left behind. I like the way you think. A lot of things happened and I’m left standing. I can say the same thing, except what happened to me isn’t quite so grand, when you think about it, smoking and drinking, inhaling smoke, touching nickels, being exposed to pollution … It doesn’t seem dangerous to you, but it is to me, and so far I’ve lived through all of those. He raised his empty glass to toast and said “Let’s toast to that. Oh, we don’t have anything? Let’s get champagne, to toast our lives and the hopeful continuation of them, despite what we’ve been through.” As he made that longer toast, the first time that night he smiled widely, and he didn’t think of Blaire as much. Maybe it was the drink or being distracted by a conversation, but he knew one fact … The fact it was Elena had something to do with it, because he came to find out she understood him and only her words could help him.

@Kate - Elena

[Kate]

---

After Elena finihed her drink she did get some water. She figured she should slow down a bit, and her intention of coming to the bar was not to get drunk just to have a few drinks an chill and calm her mind down. As she waited for her drink of water Booker asked if that was the girl that tried to frame and fought with at the party. Booker then said his cirumstance isn’t so grand like hers which she agreed with, at least Elena could recover where Booker would never recover and always watch what he holds or touches. Then he ordered a round of Champagne, which one more drink can’t hurt right?

Elena nodded her to his uestion on who Bria was. “Yup that is her. I just came from a dorm party at West Nottingham and she showed up, so she is out of Juvie. She either had a super good lawyer or somehow like flirted with lawyer or something. I mean kidnapping is a serious crime and anyone would not get off that easy like her. Yeah I think a lot of people were focused on the house fire so they weren’t fully paying attention so I get why they didn’t notice but oh well.” She said shrugging. She then got her water and took a sip of it. “I agree I like smaller parties to or if it is something that big to at least be around one person or talk to one or two people so its a small group and unlikely something like that will happen. But Bria and I go way back even before that nigth and that is where it kind of started. We have been in a physical fight before that night to. Thanks, and yor way of thinking is good to and yes you are still here. Obviously you have more adversity to get through in regards to your surrounding and you always have to worry about that stuff and how long you have to live, but your still here right now and alive for now so that is a win.” She smiled and tried to make a little happy spin to his awful illness. The bartender ended up getting there chmpagne and handed it to them a inute later.

@LunaticLeviTheSecond

[LunaticLeviTheSecond]

Eric Clapton - Wonderful tonight

It was 2 hours into their 6 hours drive and Lav hasn’t said much, unless asked something by Sadie. She got the hint, he’s not much of a talker, but now Lav started to feel like he’s made her feel as if he’s rejecting her. He would start talking, but didn’t know what to say or ask that isn’t small talk. He just didn’t know how to talk to her, and he feared if he started with smalltalk it wouldn’t help to make her feel better. Thankfully, a song came on the radio which he loved since he was a child, and he decided to sing it out loud, and hoped she might want to join as well.

“ It’s late in the evening ” He sang the first one a bit timidly, but gained confidence later.
“ She’s wondering what clothes to wear ” He turned to Sadie and said. “Come on, you know the words.”

And that’s how it started. They finished singing this song together, although neither sounded good, they had fun. So they sang the next song they knew, until it turned into them just using the aux cord to play the music they liked, when the radio no longer cooperated in bringing ‘good’ music. They took turns putting their songs on, and until they reached their destination, he put on Phil Collins, Fleetwod Mac, Sting and ELO.

As they pulled into the drive way, Lav became a bit scared. He knew nothing would happen to him, but that feeling of uneasiness came back to him as soon as he arrived into the driveway of a suburban house. He turned to Sadie and with pleading eyes he said “Hey why don’t you go in and I’ll get the luggage from the car.” He wanted to get some fresh air before walking into the house. He started taking the luggage in, while she went in to greet her parents first. Upon entering the house he, instead of the there being only her and her parents, he was stunned by the sight of Mike. Sadie’s ex boyfriend. He recognized him from the picture they threw away a few days ago in her apartment. The shock made him almost drop the two pieces of luggage, but when she reffered to him as “Honey” he lost control and the two pieces of luggage slipped form his hands straight to the floor. But he got the hint immediately, and he regained his composure in time. “Sorry, what did you say, dear?” he asked her, this not being his first rodeo.

@Tiina - Sadie

[Tiina]

~

~

Two hours in, the road had smoothed into something almost meditative. Sadie had given up on filling the quiet a while ago, letting the hum of the tires and the low rush of air through the vents do the talking instead. She watched the landscape pass by while her hands tucked into the sleeves of her sweater, expression easy in that thoughtful, faraway way she slipped into when she wasn’t trying to be “on.”

So when Lav started singing, she didn’t react right away. She glanced over, just briefly, as if to check she’d heard him right. Make sure he wasn’t joking. He wasn’t teasing. Just singing, tentative at first, then steadier, like he’d decided it was okay to do so. She didn’t say anything. Just looked back out the window, the corner of her mouth lifting before she could stop it.

When he turned to her and invited her in, she finally looked back at him fully—surprised, a little caught of guard and smiled. Not the polite one she used at other teachers, but the real, unguarded kind. The kind that said oh, without saying anything at all. And then she sang along.

---

“Hey why don’t you go in and I’ll get the luggage from the car.” Sadie turned to argue back that she was completely capable of being her own luggage—but that look in his eyes made her reconsider. Instead, she nodded. “Okay. I’ll—yeah. I’ll go say hi.”

The porch light was already on, warm and familiar. Her mom opened the door before Sadie could knock, pulling her into a hug that smelled like citrus cleaner and something baking. “There you are,” her mom said, already smoothing Sadie’s coat like she was still sixteen. “You must be exhausted. Oh—and this must be your friend?”

Sadie turned just in time to see Lav lifting the luggage from the trunk. Her mom’s smile faltered, just a flicker, gone almost as soon as it appeared—but Sadie caught it. The quick scan. The beard. The height. The dark clothes. The appearance, is what Sadie assumed. “Oh,” her mom said, the word landing carefully. “I—well. Come in, come in.” The tone was right. The hospitality was flawless. But something underneath it was… tight. They watched together as Lav approached.

Sadie stepped inside, slipping off her shoes out of habit, still half-watching her mom from the corner of her eye. The house looked the same as it always did the whole month of December— twinkling lights along the banister, garland draped just a little too perfectly.

Then she saw him.

Mike was on the sofa. Relaxed. Comfortable. Like he belonged there. Like this was still his place to be. Sadie stopped so abruptly she nearly backed into the doorframe. Her breath caught, sharp and immediate, and for half a second her mind went completely blank. Mike looked up. He smiled.

“Hey, Sadie.”

Her heart kicked painfully against her ribs. A thousand things rushed through her at once as confusion, heat, the sudden awareness of how close the doorway was, how small the room felt. She turned instinctively, almost colliding with Lav as he stepped in behind her.

Without thinking—without planning—it slipped out. “Honey—” She reached back, fingers curling around Lav’s sleeve like it was the most natural thing in the world, and forced herself to breathe, her smile returning in that bright, reflexive way she used when she was trying very hard not to fall apart. For a split second after the word left her mouth, Sadie felt like she’d stepped outside herself. Honey.

The day had started so well. The drive. The singing. The easy quiet that hadn’t felt heavy anymore. She’d spent the last six hours worrying about all the wrong things—about how Lav would perceive the house, about how her mom would hover just a little too much, about how her dad would size him up with that polite, careful intensity he reserved for important men. She’d even worried about money, stupidly, like it might somehow be louder than her intentions. She hadn’t even thought to look for Mike’s car.

Her mom moved first, the way she always did when discomfort crept in. straightening, smoothing, filling space before it could collapse in on itself. “Well,” she said brightly, clapping her hands once, just a little too sharp. “You two must be freezing. Sadie, sweetheart, why don’t you show—” her eyes flicked to Lav, recalibrating, “—your friend where to put the bags?”

Mike shifted on the sofa, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, like this was all perfectly normal. Like this wasn’t a surprise at all. “I didn’t know you were bringing someone,” he said, easy. Curious. His eyes moved between them. “That’s new.” Sadie knew that he really meant, it was weird that you brought a man here.

Sadie felt heat rush to her face. Her grip on Lav’s sleeve tightened before she realized she was doing it. She forced a breath in, then another, willing her smile to stay steady even as her pulse thundered in her ears.

Lav’s voice cut in smoothly behind her. “Sorry, what did you say, dear?”

The word landed again—dear this time and something in Sadie steadied. She turned slightly toward him, just enough to sell it, her expression softening on instinct. She cleared her throat. “I said—” she glanced back at her mom, then at Mike, her smile gentle but firm, “—I was just about to show where to put the luggage. In our room, Lav.”

Her mom’s eyes widened a fraction before she recovered, the tight smile back in place, sharper now. Mike blinked once, clearly reassessing. Sadie didn’t wait for permission. She nudged them forward towards her childhood room, heart still racing, already bracing herself for the fallout—but choosing, very deliberately, not to unravel.

---

outfit + house

But imagine the house is a bit snowy

@LunaticLeviTheSecond ~ Lav ~ hope it’s okay I rearranged a bit

[LunaticLeviTheSecond]

Coltrane was invited by Sadie to a family Christmas lunch so he wouldn’t be alone for Christmas and surrounded by a happy and welcoming family, but from the moment he stepped in, he knew that was not the case. Not that he doubted Sadie’s family was very welcoming, but the faces they made when they saw him made him feel unwelcome. He would’ve thought it was bad for him to come there, but the fact Mike was there and her parents still being friendly with him, he knew she needed help. If he hadn’t come, she’d be alone trying to fight off her family’s attempts to get her ex and her back together, and she might lose that fight with everybody she trusts pushing her towards a reconsiliation. He might’ve felt awkward pretending to be her boyfriend in an attempt to help her get rid of her ex, had it not been for the picture they threw away a few days ago, and the fact in a state of panic she decided to call him “Honey”. He saw it as a cry for help, and help he will. " —I was just about to show where to put the luggage. In our room, Lav. He smiled proudly when she called it “our” room, which might’ve looked like affection or flirtation to others. The fact she called him by his first name sounded like she was calling him “Love” might’ve helped add to the illusion. "Oh please, lead the way. He pretended to be tired and turned to her parents. “We’re a bit tired from the trip, we’ll freshen up and get back to you guys. But like the long and winding road from the song, this one took me to my girl’s door as well.” He turned to Sadie who was ready to go to her bedroom. He picked up both their luggages from where he dropped them and followed her, leaving her parents in stunned silence. They didn’t even realize Sadie never intorduced him to them, maybe she still needs to think about how she will introduce him, as her friend or as the man she’s dating.

@Tiina - Sadie

[Tiina]

~

~

“But like the long and winding road from the song, this one took me to my girl’s door as well.” But as he turned to make eye contact with Sadie, her eyes were as wide as saucers. Her eyes quickly darted from Lav to her mom and dad—purposely excluding her ex.

“Sadie,” her mom said a little too quickly, a bit over Lavs shoulder. She gave him a sympathetic smile then returned her gaze to her daughter. “Sweetheart, can I talk to you for just a second?”

Sadie nodded automatically, on instinct, her pulse still thudding in her ears. But she was already turning around to lead Lav up the stairs. “We’ll talk later,” her mom said. “Get settled.” Aimed now at them both. Then, there was the unmistakable sound of her dad exhaling long and loud from the living room. “Oh for—really?” He muttered, not quietly enough. Her mom shot him a look and kept watching.

Sadie didn’t argue. She couldn’t. She just nodded ecen as she faced away, leading the way down the hall she’d walked a thousand times growing up except it didn’t feel like hers anymore.

Her childhood bedroom door opened to something familiar and unfamiliar all at once. The walls were still that soft, egg shell blue her mom had never let her repaint. But everything else had been gently, thoughtfully updated. Built-in shelves filled with books she didn’t recognize. A window seat with patterned pillows. A neatly made bed with layered quilts and lamps that cast a warm, honeyed glow. It was beautiful. It was also not hers. The door clicked shut behind them.

Sadie stood there for half a second—then promptly lost it. “Oh my Gosh,” she whispered, dragging both hands through her hair before pacing two steps, then stopping. “I am so, so sorry. I did not plan any of this. I swear I didn’t know Mike would be here, I swear my mom did not mention—” She turned, gesturing helplessly at the room, the house, the entire situation. “This is not how this was supposed to go.” She exhaled hard, pressing her palms to her face.

“You were supposed to be in the guest room. This was supposed to be easy. You were supposed to come, eat too much food, pretend my parents aren’t mildly terrifying hoverers, and then we’d go home.” She dropped her hands, eyes wide now with guilt. “And now you’re stuck. Six hours away. With my ex.” Her voice cracked just slightly at the word.

“I can—” she swallowed. “I can book you a hotel. Or— you could drive home. I could fly back…I mean, I’d feel awful leaving you, but it’s not like you signed up for this, and—” She stopped herself, finally noticing how fast she was talking. “I’m really sorry,” she said again, quieter this time. Her cheeks heated. “I dragged you into a mess. And I didn’t mean to call you…uh…” She stood there, waiting—embarrassed, flustered, and genuinely distressed. Sadie looked at him like she might bolt or cry or both, depending on how the next five seconds went.

And Sadie, for all her worth and composure, had never been very good at asking someone to stay when everything in her told her not to be a burden.

---

@LunaticLeviTheSecond ~ Lav ~ waits whose car did we take?

[LunaticLeviTheSecond]

Coltrane walked into the bedroom behind her, and closed the door behind him. When those doors closed, it was as if a switch was turned and she turned around all apologetic like. It shocked him how fast she switched from confident and ready to pretend to date him, to this apologetic and regretful side of her. “Oh my Gosh,” I am so, so sorry." He was a bit dissapointed in that, not in her, but in the fact she thinks she needs to apologize to him. “No! You don’t need to apologize.” He stopped her immediately. She continued by saying. "I swear I didn’t know Micke would be here, I swear my mom did not mention … " He wanted to stop her again, but he figured telling her he’d be more likely to come had he known Mike was here might come off wrong. He didn’t know Mike, he only knew that one photo and the fact he broke up with her, but even from that he had a bad gut feeling about him. He also felt that bad gut feeling about him when seeing him today, something about his smile felt smug, and he didn’t like him being near Sadie.
“This is not how this was supposed to go. You were supposed to be in the guest room. This was supposed to be easy.” He shrugged and casually responded “I don’t know. It seems kind of fun. Putting your ex into his place and getting a nice Christmas family dinner? Sign me in.” He sat on the bed and realized there was no couch in the room, no place where he could sleep instead of the bed, which isn’t really a challange for him, but Sadie might not like it. “You don’t need to worry about my sleeping arrangements, Miss. Rollins. If you find me another room in the house or get me a hotel room, that might look suspicious to your parents. Plus you just called this ‘our’ room. Don’t worry though, it’s not my first time sleeping on the floor, not going to be my last. To be honest, I read somewhere it’s better for your back to sleep on a hard surface, so this might actually be good for me.” He looked at her and said his last argument. “If I don’t sleep in this room, we might seem like we’re fighting or like we’re not serious to your parents and your ex boyfriend. And that will leave you more open to him and in his mind it’ll be more moral to try and get you back. From the fact you just threw away his photo two days ago, I assume that’s out of the question?”

@Tiina

[Tiina]

~

~

“And that will leave you more open to him and in his mind it’ll be more moral to try and get you back. From the fact you just threw away his photo two days ago, I assume that’s out of the question?”

Sadie was a the verge of laughing at the sheer tumultuousness of this situation—but Lavs last question really put her head on straight. “Right.” She said, finally matter of factly. She, with a little huff, put her hands on her hips and turned to him. Wow, even sitting he was close to her height. “You’re right,” Sadie reiterated, more so as a snow ball effect, in her case for confidence.

She exhaled through her nose and straightened, the frantic edge finally bleeding out of her posture. Her shoulders settled. Her jaw set. Whatever panic had been ricocheting around her chest a moment ago clicked into something steadier, something sharper.

“And for the record,” she added, eyes flicking briefly to the closed door, “Mike does not get to just… show up here like this. This is my parents’ house, not some neutral ground he gets to occupy because it’s convenient or he thinks he can slip right back.” There was a flash of real irritation now, not performative, not polite like she did automatically around her parents. “I don’t know why they didn’t tell me he was staying, but that’s—” Sadie shook her head once. “We’ll deal with that later.”

She looked back at Lav then, and the tension in her expression softened just a little. “I really do appreciate you,” she said honestly. “I know this isn’t exactly the holiday you signed up for…. But thank you for not fleeing. Yet.”[/color] The corner of her mouth lifted despite herself in a small, incredulous smile. The kind that crept in when things were objectively ridiculous but doable.

Then her gaze dropped, almost unconsciously, to the floor beside the bed. Her brow furrowed. “But you’re not sleeping on the floor,” she said immediately, the tone non-negotiable. “Absolutely not.” She waved a hand as if to cut off the argument before it started. “I don’t care how good it is for your back, and I don’t care how many times you’ve done it before. You’re—” she paused, clearly rethinking how to phrase it, “—you’re a grown man, and I invited you here. I’m not letting you wake up sore and miserable because of my family drama.” she said, this time with less breath behind it and more spine.

She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, then looked back up at him with that familiar warmth, still there, just better contained now. “We’ll figure something out,” she said, calmer, steadier. “Together. If that’s okay?” The smile returned a little more fully this time not nervous, not apologetic. Definitely more grateful, if anything.

---

@LunaticLeviTheSecond • Lav • fine… I’m taking a page out of your book and playing the long game

[LunaticLeviTheSecond]

Elena answered to Booker’s questions about Bria and it was all interesting. However, once she mentioned seeing her at a party she just came form, Booker couldn’t help thinking that was the same party Blaire was at. Instead of focusing on her words, he imagined Blaire having a great time at this party, talking to all her friends, while leaving Booker out cold, worrying and ridden with anxiety. Then he realized that the guy she was in bed with was probably there with her. In his head he was the images of them flirting, of her smiling at him, of them kissing and of her not thinking much about her boyfriend. Booker knew Elena told him he should be sure of what happened, but any explanation felt like a reach and he was sure the way he felt it happened was simmilar to the real thing. It’s funny how for him, when she walked up to him, looking like she just walked off the silver screen, it was true love. He didn’t believe in it until that moment, but now he’s questioning if it really is true love or if it was just the fact she looked and seemed amazing at first, it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe the way he felt for her blinded him and made him think she liked him back more than she actually liked him.
“Elena … do you believe in true love?” He asked her. He was already too drunk to remeber she just told him everything about Bria. Even if he listened to her, he wouldn’t remeber anything she said about her in the morning. “I’m not *hic* sure I do anymore.” He answered back before she could respond. His last few drinks were catching up to him and he still had one half drunk in his hand.

@Kate - Elena
@Kbail - Blaire mentioned

[LunaticLeviTheSecond]

He knew from her body language and other things, that Sadie hated Mike being there, but he had to ask just in case he read it wrong.

“Right. You’re right.” He saw her become more confident and comfortable with each response until she felt comfortable enough to vent a little to him. And for the record, Mike does not get to just… show up here like this. This is my parents’ house, not some neutral ground he gets to occupy because it’s convenient or he thinks he can slip right back."

Lav was glad he was there to listen to her vent. He knew if he hadn’t been there she would have nobody to vent to and would not have somebody to trust. He saw how her parents looked at Mike and he felt they’d try to push them back together.

He also liked the fire in her eyes, the same one he noticed when they practiced together. He realized then that she used the hatred of Mike and what he did to her to get her motivated to get through the sessions with him. He wanted to ask her before who broke up with who, but now he feels as if didn’ matter, after seeing how fired up he made her just by being there.

“I don’t know why they didn’t tell me he was staying, but that’s—” She paused before continuing. During the pause he wanted to tell her maybe they didn’t know about it, maybe they assumed he told them Sadie knew. He wanted to say he’d give her parents the benefit of a doubt, but she continued with “We’ll deal with that later.” and he dropped it. He didn’t want to keep talking about the sore subject of her parents doing this when they could just talk about something else that didn’t sting as much.

He thought a good way to change the subject would be by talking about something that needed to be agreed upon before they left the bedroom. Sadie had the same idea when she returned to the abandoned subject of the sleeping arrangements. She gave her confident speech a heartfeult intro “I really do appreciate you. I know this isnt’ exactly the holiday you signed up for … But thank you for not fleeing. Yet.” She had no idea how her gratitude resonated with him. He saw her light, but genuine smile and because of the compliment he couldn’t help but give one small smile back. It seemed like she really knew how to butter him up for her confident rejection of his previous proposition. “But you’re not sleeping on the floor. Absolutely not.” He sighed, slightly dissapointed, and rose up from the bed. “It’s not that bad, I swear.”

He pleased. Neither was taking no for an answer. “I don’t care how good it is for your back, and I don’t care how many time you’ve done it before. You’re ----” she paused. He knew what she was going to say. “Old.” He gave her credit though, she put it nicely. “You’re a grown man, and I invited you here. I’m not letting you wake up sore and miserable becuase of my family drama.” Lav had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes.

Lav responded with “Miss. Rollins, I’m not a fragile old man.” He looked at the mirror to see his own reflection. He knew he was not particularly young, being in his 40s, but he was in good shape and he took care of himself better than most men the same age as him. Truth be told, his appearance, his hair and face, looked a bit older than he liked to admit, but still … Not enough for Sadie to worry about him like that.

He looked back at her, realizing she saw him as a father figure or a friendly old man. Although he didn’t like being called old, he liked the fact she saw him in the role of a trusty older friend. That’s when he also realized that seeing him in such a positive light, she doesn’t feel treathened in bed with him, and her comfort was most important to him.

“All right, Miss. Rollins. You won. I’m not going to sleep on the floor. You’ve convinced me. I don’t mind sharing a bed with you, and I trust we’re friendly enough for neither of us to be uncomfortable if … That is if your idea was to share a bed.”

Lav sat back on the bed and remebered they still needed to settle something before going back downstairs. “Now I know how parents are when you bring a girl or a guy back home. They’ll ask more questions than both of us can imagine. We have to make up a story and stick to it so we can answer the questions. We don’t want to get stumped at the first question, which is usually ‘How long have you been seeing each other?’ or ‘How did the two of you meet.’ because then everything will fall into the water.” He waited for her to sit on her chair before they could make up fake facts about their non-existent relationship.

@Tiina - Sadie

[Tiina]

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“Miss. Rollins, I’m not a fragile old man.” Sadie nodded along, her smile just a tad tighter than before. … “Yeah, sharings fine. I trust you.”

She crossed the room and pulled the swivel chair out, at first sitting in it like she did when she was bracing herself for a difficult conversation with a student. “Okay. Story,” she said, inhaling once. “Let’s do math first.”

She stared at the far wall, counting silently. “Mike and I… early August. Like first or second week.” Her mouth tightened, then relaxed. “So if it’s December twenty-something now, and we say we’ve been seeing each other for… six weeks?” She glanced back at him. “Month and a half. That feels believable. Not immediate, but not suspiciously close to the breakup either. Because I’d thought… whatever.” She nodded more to herself, putting the thought of her believing she was gonna get married to the man die quietly on her tongue.

“As for how we met—could work, work? Same school. Coworkers who didn’t really talk much at first.” A faint smile tugged at her mouth. “That part’s not even a lie.” She shifted in the chair, warming to the logic of it. She swiveled slowly side to side, slipping out of teacher mode.

Then she paused, finally looking at him more directly. “If they ask why I didn’t tell them sooner,” she added quietly, “I’ll just say I wanted to be sure before I said anything. What do you think?” That, at least, was completely true.

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@LunaticLeviTheSecond ~ Lav ~ Short n Sweet

[Kbail]

AT THE REC CENTER

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Emma hit the ball over the net but Amias managed to hit the ball just in time, aiming for the floor. Baxter managed to hit it back just in time. Baxter was very flexible and athletic, something that Emma really admired yet envied at the same time. If Baxter wasn’t already dating Atlas and was also mainly into girls, he would have been just Emma’s type. Now she just she saw him as her goofy, energetic best friend. They clicked instantly on the volleyball squad after she met him at Luke’s engagement ceremony. That was when she found out that he was Wren’s brother.

The ball landed over the net and hit the floor on Fleur’s side. Emma and Baxter’s teammates were Serafina, Blaire and Axl. Amias’s teammates were Fleur, Veronique, Darlene, Allie.

“Haha! Take that!” Emma yelled. She stuck her tongue out at Amias and then gave Baxter a high - five after they jumped in the air.

"That was a lucky shot. We still have one more round."Amias said while jumping up and down. He wished his girlfriend Bekah was playing with them but she had other things to do. He was so happy that he asked her out and they were dating now. At the thought of this he looked over at Karen and noticed her upset face but then she looked away. He knew that she was upset that he was dating Bekah now, but he also thought she was dating Nash.

Veronique walked up to Emma in front of the net with a switch in her hips.“I might be short and new, but I’m going to be the winning shot this round.” Then she walked away to the back again. She could see Blaire’s glare from across the net. Even though Blaire told people she was annoying her, Veronique just figured that she was jealous.

“It seems like we have a lot of people who are on the cheerleading squad on the volleyball team too.”

"Yes! It’s a very even playing field."Emma was so hyped up that she just kept jumping around, waiting for the round to start. When the coach blew the whistle, they started playing again.

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The winning shot ended up being Baxter and Emma’s team. All of them high - fived eachother. The class was over and now they were just sitting down, drinking water and eating snacks.

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@ChayChay05 - Baxter (You can have him talk to Emma if you want)

@Kate - Allie/Nash Mentioned (Allie and Axl convo?)

[Kate]

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Elena took a sip of her drink that Booker got them. She could tell that he was starting to get drunk and Elena wasn’t drunk yet but she should probably slow down a bit if she was honest. But she is promising herself after this drink she is stopping. As she was driinking her drink, Booker then asked her if she believed in true love and that he dure if he does anymore, which made her choke on her drink.

After she coughed a few times and regained her breath and voice she looked up at him. “Ugh… if I am honest.. no, I don’t believe in true love. I do think people do love but not like true love’s. I mean there is what 8 billion people in the world and you only love one person? I highly doubt that, I bet there is a few people out ther or everyone. But I don’t think being in love, or loving someone or a significant other is a bad thing.”

She looked at Booker’s drinnk and saw it was half done and he seemed like he was getting drunk. “You don’t have to finish that if you don’t want? And if you do I think after this we should close out and pay then get you back to your room. We both should relax and sober up.”

@LunaticLeviTheSecond- Booker

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Allie decided to go to the rec center and as she was there, there was other kids to and they decided to play Volleyball. She was on a team 3 other girls, herself and a male who had long hair. They all goot there hits and shots in and were all really good but her team in the end, ended up losing but it was a decently close game. She was all sweaty and out of breath whoch she has not been this swaety and out of breath in a long time. After the game she went to the bench where she had her water bottle and towel and grabbed it and wiped off some sweat and took a sip of her water.

As she was sipping her water she saw a guy from the other team walk over, she figured he was walking over to get his stuff or a drink to and he ended having his stuff next to her. So she decided to talk to him “Hey nice win, you guys got some good shots.” She smiled at the guy. She had some really good hits herself but volleyball was a way to let out everything building inside her and what she had gone through at home which she often was ngry about, but she knew and would rather get her aggression out doing a sport or hitting a ball then someone’s face. The guy seemed like he would be nice and he had a lot of tattoos on his face but it was unique and as odd as it ay be she kinda dug it.

@Kbail - Axl

[LunaticLeviTheSecond]

“I trust you.” Lav already figured she does, but her saying it out loud made him feel warm and welcome, but mostly made that hole in his heart feel full for a short while.

Sadie started calculating how long she and Mike had been broken up. She mentioned early August. He figured out they were broken up for a few months already, but Lav didn’t know if that was long or not, he has no idea how long they dated. “Month and a half. That feels believable. Not immediate, but not suspiciously close to the break up either.” Lav agreed and said so “Sure, let’s go with that.”

Then she turned sad for a moment, and said “Because I’d thought … whatever” but gave up on voicing her sorrow. Lav wanted to know what she was going to say, but he decided to not be pushy with her. He doesn’t want people prying into his background, so it’d be hypocritical of him to do it to others, especially people he considers friends. She didn’t dwell on the sad though too long, because soon after she returned to building their story with the same 'ol enthusiasm. “Could work, work?” Lav chuckled to that.

Lav agreed that the story of how they met could be the best in this scenrio, with a bit of storytelling and imagination, that is. “Coworkers who didn’t really talk much at first. That part’s not even a lie.” She mentioned, and he thought he should add “True, but they’ll want to know what gave the final push, how we got to talking eventually. Why not just say the truth and tell them you asked me for self-defense lessons, just in case, and a few sessions in, we decided to get a drink together after the lesson. The rest is history. What do you think?” He asked for her opinion. She knows this stuff better than he does.

"If they ask why I didn’t tell them sooner, I’ll just say I wanted to be sure before I said anything. What do you think?” She asked him. He nodded and said “That’s a great idea. It sounds very sensible and realistic. You could also add to it by saying you also wanted to surprise them.” He scratched his head trying to think of more relationship stuff to make up lies about. Finally he had it. “Do we have a song? Do we also need to tell each other our favorites and stuff couples know about each other? Also, if they ask you what I’m like, what would you say?” He added the last question, not because he wanted to know what she thought of him, but because he thought she doesn’t care to know him well enough to be able to answer that question good enough. He assumed that about a lot of people, though.

@Tiina

[Kbail]

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Axl Rose

✯✯✯

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Axl was about to get one of the water bottles in the cooler and grab a bag of Doritos when he heard someone talk to him. He turned around, feeling confused but then he finally answered. “Ah yeah. I just decided to join the volleyball team cause I felt like it would be fun. I also joined the football team too, so.” He shrugged and took a swig of the water with a smirk. He started looking her up and down. She was kinda bad. He finished drinking and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “What’s your name? Are you new too or???”

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@Kate - Allie

[Kate]

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Allie was confused since the guys went on to talk about how he joined the Volleyball team cause he felt lie it would be fun and that he joined the ootball team. She did not ask him for his life story or anything and it was just a random for him to say that since she just said nice win and that they got some good shots. She was not sure if he was trying to flex or not. “Cool story bro. Volleyball is fun.” She then again wiped off some more sweat and sat down before she answered his next questions. “The name’s Allie, and yeah I just transferred to this area. What about you mr hot shot whats your name?”

As she was looking at him she noticed his eyes and really liked them, and she was not a lip person but his were pretty full well at least on the bottom, but they fit him well. She did not notice his neck tattoo before only his face but sees he has a neck tatto as well. Also nice tatts."

@Kbail - Axl