[right][sub][color=dimgray]Collab with: [@Universorum] [@Silent Observer] Flashback → Bathroom, present time[/color] [/sub][/right] [center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180609/17a2bd693ae4e019d4ee414ce2d77aa1.png[/img][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180609/c5095050ad54cef5770dc50fa9fa4dbb.png[/img][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180609/7ec8a7e930fdd2d525cfce25a84fa791.png[/img][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180609/13d40ae72906e9aeb1e8cb33a9a864f1.png[/img][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180609/a099d0c66611df060eaf232ba03462a5.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/4YaJI4z.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/NKK5X2V.gif[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/4YaJI4z.png[/img] [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180609/95c9506c293427f360f40ff43a275c3d.png[/img][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180609/5a9e7a1624165d7d28cd100d60d6b744.png[/img][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180609/a099d0c66611df060eaf232ba03462a5.png[/img][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180609/e7cd1aa517176ad6da6a7a1de4432198.png[/img][/center] [indent][color=dimgray]Flashback...[/color] [indent][color=#ffe4c4]With a virtual reality headset on, Rose watched the many videos of her father and his crew doing crazy stunts, as if he were there and she were watching him live. She excitedly clapped her hands, internally cheering him on. She missed him. She’d have to give her parents a call when she got home. Big D, one of her dad’s crewmates, was just about to do a record breaking trick when the screen abruptly, and unwantedly, went black. Aw man. [i]Your time is up, Ilyana Powers.[/i] [color=b580f7][b]“Yeah, yeah, I know.”[/b][/color] Huffing to herself, she took the headset off and handed it over to the person next to her. [color=b580f7][b]“Merry Christmas.”[/b][/color] She only used Damian’s headset like eleven times. Hardly enough to fully get the Justin Credible experience. She was not happy to give up her toy. Marching away from the game room, which really was just the guest bedroom decked out with entertainment, Rose made her way downstairs, where the [i]actual[/i] party was. At some point, during the night, she lost Raf. And Q. And her brother. She had no idea where the hell Wyatt was. She could’ve sworn he was in the car. Then again, she was stoned out of her mind… so she lost him too. Now that she was thinking about it, she was kind of sobering up, which made her anxious. She [i]needed[/i] to find her friends or she’d start feeling the immense pressure of being in a crowded place, with too many people she didn’t know. She could look for the host and see if he knew where the ‘stash’ was. Yeah, she’d do that. Looking through the sea of people, grinding on each other, and dancing like they hadn’t been dancing for two hours now, all still blitzed out of their minds, Rose took a deep breath in. [color=b580f7][i]Just keep swimming.[/i][/color] With timid and cautious steps, she trod forward, into the deep, deep party. Unfortunately for Rose, she did not look in the direction of the beer pong table where Joy and Damian were killin’ it. They had won three consecutive games, back to back to back, and now the drunk nerd was straddling her lover for the night in the front and he was carrying her off somewhere, all the while making out. Impressive. This was a disasterpiece, in every way. The entire party was, pretty much, fucked. Henry had thought it was going well, until Hailey and her Legion of Doom showed up and ruined the whole fucking show in one fell, destructive, calculated swoop. Henry had to admire her gall though; picking on Owen was a risky play, since Owen would break her nose just as soon as he’d break a boy’s. After the Owen situation had happened, and Owen seemed determined to run away from the party, Henry had defused Owen’s temper with a brief talk about how the only way he’d get Trixie back and be able to run off into the sunset was to stick to his guns and prove that he was stronger than Hailey thought he was. And Owen had agreed! Owen was… somewhere now, it didn’t matter where, what was important was that people saw him around. After [i]that[/i], Henry had relieved Min-seo of her duties — by telling her to have a good time, then putting all the alcohol on the bar for the thirsty teenagers to pillage. Finally, he’d sent Parker upstairs for a bath. He really needed to do something for Parker, man… She could hardly take care of herself! Whatever, that would be a tomorrow problem. The rest of tonight was instead going to be focused on killing the bottle of vodka Henry had, and making it through this party alive. He was completely content doing this alone, until he saw the bright blonde hair of someone he’d not spoken to in a long time. Fueled by the power of booze, he approached her. [color=b57f13][b]“Hi, Rose.”[/b][/color] Oh, that was a voice she hadn’t heard this close in awhile. Her eyes widened with a revelation! Henry was the perfect person to ask where the weed was, right? He did help Damian throw the bash! Fate was truly on her side. Eagerly, she turned around to face her old friend and beamed a gentle smile, [color=b580f7][b]“Heyyyyyy Henry.”[/b][/color] By accident, she stepped backwards, bumping into someone, which caused her to immediately jump forward, breaking any distance she had with the Green boy, [color=b580f7][b]“Sorry...”[/b][/color] She looked over her shoulder to whoever she hit. This party had a lot of people… [color=b57f13][b]“Huh? Fuck ‘em, dude.”[/b][/color] Henry shook his head and brought the bottle up to his lips, taking another swig, before he slammed it down onto a nearby chair, which was rewarded by a cute yelp by Rose. Henry stared at Rose for a few seconds of painfully quiet seconds, before he pointed toward the door. [color=b57f13][b]“Come dance on the beach with me.”[/b][/color] He said, then took her hand and pulled her toward the door without much of a chance for protest. [color=b580f7][b]“Uh, o-okay.”[/b][/color] Rose didn’t know what to say. Henry did not seem in good spirits and she didn’t want to make his night worse by asking for a favor. Her gaze went down to him holding her hand and then back up at him. This was surreal. They hadn’t spent time together like this since they were grade schoolers. [color=b580f7][b]“I don’t think I’m very good… at dancing.”[/b][/color] Without weed, she was awkward. [color=b57f13][b]“Shhhh. I am. Just follow me,”[/b][/color] Henry said, and once they were out on the beach, he stopped them, and positioned Rose slightly. After a few seconds of minor movements, he and Rose were waltzing on the beach, under the moon. Henry was leading, but also found himself to be uncharacteristically quiet. [color=b57f13][b]“I’m drunk. This is harder when I’m drunk.”[/b][/color] He offered in explanation, glancing down at his feet. Shaking her head, admiring his odd kindness towards her, Rose joked, [color=b580f7][b]“I’m sober. This is harder when I’m sober.”[/b][/color] Rather than look up at him romantically in the eyes, like this scenario would’ve called for, she too looked down at their feet and counted the steps in her head. Together they would dance okay! After a few more moments, as quickly as it had began, the dance ended. Henry met eyes with Rose, before he did the unthinkable, the unreasonable, the nonsensical, the wild thing… He leaned in and [i]kissed[/i] her, like really kissed her. Henry was a well practiced, highly skilled, elite kisser, and this was no different to him. Stunned. Rose was frozen in his hold. Her eyes widened when his lips touched hers. Something in her gut told her to follow his lead in terms of movement, which she did, a little, but she was too surprised that this was even happening. Why was Henry kissing her?! How was this moment even suppose to feel? The smell of his cologne, the taste of alcohol, the look of sadness… In these times a girl would either push away and slap, run away, or let the action take its course. Rose didn’t know what to do because she knew Henry meant well, even if this kiss was random and out of the blue and probably had no feelings attached. Truth be told, even if his drunkenness made the kiss a little sloppy, it was good. She didn’t mind this feeling. Something new sparked in her and she didn’t necessarily understand it, but perhaps… she would think about it. Think about kissing. When a minute or two passed, Rose gently nudged him away, gasping for air. [color=b580f7][b]“Henry?”[/b][/color] Henry reached out with a finger and rested it against her lips. [color=b57f13][b]“Shhhh.”[/b][/color] He said, before dropping both hands on her shoulders and holding them with firm, but not harsh, grips. [color=b57f13][b]“Listen to me. Your name is not Rose. It’s Ilyana. Start using it; it’s [i]beautiful[/i]. Stop being a wallflower, start living. Your life is passing by you while you wallow in a haze of weed smoke. Don’t let that happen. Carpe diem. Now, keep it tight.”[/b][/color] Henry winked, and leaned in, stealing one more quick kiss, before he turned and began to head back toward the party, leaving Rose to stand alone in the cool moonlight and think about the experience she’d just had.[/color][/indent] The profile of Henry slowly shifted to the profile of a pink haired girl walking into the ladies room at the Tuesday night boat party. Rose wiped her eyes, coming back to reality from her random stupor. Maybe he was right. Maybe she should cut back on the weed and [i]live[/i]. Maybe she shouldn’t take the back seat and actually drive (metaphorically speaking, since she drove her friends most of the time). Take action. Call the shots. [center][i]Say yes to art. Say yes to theater. Say yes to music. Say yes to stunts. Say yes to being young. Say yes to being stupid. Say yes to… kissing.[/i][/center] Even so! He, that damn Henry, was living [i]too hard[/i]! That’s the [i]main[/i] reason she distanced herself from him in the first place. They came from two very different worlds. He was uncontainable and in the spotlight, and she watched and created amazing things, behind the curtain. Yes, they both had a pretty penny [i]but[/i] without his mother, her parents wouldn’t be where they are today. She owed a lot to the Greens. Henry and her? They grew up. They lost their rhythm because they didn’t see the same things anymore. They weren’t little rascals dreaming fantastical things anymore. At least, he wasn’t. They both, however, wanted more than what money could give them. [color=b580f7][i]Carpe diem.[/i][/color] Breathing in and then out, Rose set on a new mission. A mission where she would no longer hide behind a flower. No longer use herb as a coping mechanism. No longer be afraid to stand out, when she was someone who stood out without even trying. No, she would show her worth as Ilyana and take advice from an old friend and: live. That girl with pink hair knew how to live. Shiloh lived freely and in the moment, all day, everyday, just like her parents and uncles had raised her to. Right now, she was living somewhere else other than earth, but she was no less living. Unaware of comings and goings of other ladies in the stalls, including one very familiar blonde, Shiloh stared enraptured by her own reflection in the mirror. Originally she’d come here to pee, of course, and also to touch up her glow paint and fluorescent lipstick before heading back out to the party. Shi had gotten one swipe of the lipstick on and had begun to press her lips together to blend it when she became distracted, still holding the liquid lipstick wand upright in one hand with the open tube in the other. Eyes that were once a cool, crystalline blue were now blown wide with darkness. Dilated black pupils dominated her irises and stared back at her from the mirror, like inky black pits leading to the abyss. Shi stood on her tiptoes, the front of her thighs pressing into the countertop softly as she leaned so close that the tip of her nose nearly brushed the surface of the reflective glass. The entire universe was in those eyes. Those eyes that weren’t even her own anymore. Sprinklings of stars and swirling galaxies were in their depths. [sup][color=80e5ff][b]“Am I an astronaut?”[/b][/color][/sup] Shiloh whispered a question to no one in particular, her breath fogging up a small patch of the mirror as she did so. Behind her, Rose’s heart rate picked up. Her breathing matching the pace. What was going on in her head? Shiloh was a close friend. Her parents knew her parents and they found some kind of friendship in their oddities. Truly, only Rose could do this with someone she had some sort of connection with, a connection similar to her connection with Henry, but healthier. [color=b580f7][b]“Why not be a star?”[/b][/color] Rose whispered, not expecting the token pink-haired girl to respond. Too impatient to wait, because that isn’t what Henry would do, Ilyana turned her friend around, pulling her away from the mirror. Using her friend’s ass, she let it swipe the forgotten makeup tools on the counter and to the floor. Hot. The platinum blonde pushed her friend up against the counter. To her surprise, Shiloh was easy to manhandle. The rest, she let instincts take over her. [i]Carpe diem.[/i] While her right hand felt Shiloh’s gorgeous pink hair, her left hand ran down her neck, to her chest, to her stomach, until she allowed her delicate, warm lips to make a trail on her neck. Her hot breath blowing against the girl’s slender neck. Eventually, Ilyana’s left hand found Shiloh’s right hand and as a result, she interlocked their fingers. Kissing all over made sense, because kissing was fun, as Wyatt put it. She would kiss Shiloh, like it was nobody’s business, because it made sense. Her lips suddenly, and fiercely, pressed against Shiloh’s glowing ones. It was soft. Passionate. Even, lustful. Ilyana’s hand that once touched Shiloh’s hair, now slid down the surprised girl’s body until it was around her waist, pulling her closer, and letting their womanly forms press against each other. Hey, she wasn’t bad at this. Unbeknownst to Rose, she got this from her mother. There was no thoughts in the initiate's mind. Just, the moment. She was living. One minute Shiloh was an astronaut in space, and the next she found herself suddenly and forcefully back on earth. It wasn’t an unpleasant trip, it was actually quite the opposite. In her shock at being groped and turned around, Shi gasped. When Rose’s lips found her neck and kissed trails along it, Shiloh gasped again and also dropped the lipstick tube and applicator she’d been holding in her hands this time. Whoa, this was new. For as long as she’d known Rose, the girl had never shown any kind of romantic interest in anyone. Shi had pretty much assumed that she might be asexual… so this… well, this was surprising. What was even more surprising, was how good she was at it. Riding the vibes of her high and this sudden bout of lust from her friend, Shiloh tilted her head back and hummed out a pleased moan. [color=80e5ff][b]“Mmmmm, Rose?”[/b][/color] Shiloh tried to establish some kind of understanding of what was happening. What did this mean? Why was Rose doing this? Had Shi missed some kind of secret crush all of this time? She’d had no idea! Instead of granting a verbal response to her question, Rose kissed her. On the lips this time. Okay then, that was that, right? Shiloh pushed aside any attempt at trying to understand why it was happening, and simply enjoyed it for what it was. This was a party, she was high, Rose was hot, and her friend, and she was kissing her. There was really nothing to complain about, these were all good things. Shi moved her hands to the other girl’s cheeks and held her face gently as she kissed back, for the first time being more proactive than reactive in the kissing. She wanted to do more, to touch Rose back, to explore new territories on her friend, but she still had some reservations on whether or not she was allowed to. The blonde could be fickle, and flighty, one wrong move and Shiloh could accidentally scare her off, she knew that. Rather than follow through on her lust, Shi reluctantly pulled away from the kiss, her hands still softly against the other girl’s cheeks. [color=80e5ff][b]“...Rose?”[/b][/color] She asked again for clarification, her voice now more raspy and breathless. Ilyana didn’t think she’d get this far. Somehow, she did. Whether it was her sudden burst of confidence or her remembering things she’s seen in the past, here she was, kissing a friend, like Henry did on New Years. Inviting and resolute, Ilyana locked her gaze with the girl questioning her intentions. [color=b580f7][b]“Ilyana.”[/b][/color] was her response to the ‘Rose’ question, as a form of correction. She was ready to go by her first name, Ana for short. A change was on the horizon, and she was digging it. Her cheeks did have an attractive rosiness, which showed she was either hot or embarrassed, but her eyes read: I got this. After a moment of silence, Ilyana gave a cheesy grin and made her voice deeper when she voiced, [color=b580f7][b]“I’m Batman!”[/b][/color] Before cutting their moment short, pulling away, and running out the bathroom. Flighty indeed. They’d talk about it tomorrow. [/indent]