[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/181003/129e4f71805c0562033b13ecbdac5fba.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/EOidHIJ.gif[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/DTfpKgD.gif[/img] [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/181003/0aedb7e304b759d89c86bb338b570aa7.png[/img] [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/181003/6762f4db3b2beca8d171ce8cf611fd4b.png[/img] [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/181003/d81b5554a65994d52ac54d02e30c276c.png[/img] [/center][hr][hr] [right][color=dimgray]Wednesday night...[/color][/right] [center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180102/808561bad0cd7446bbb5b7dacf0498eb.png[/img][/center] [indent]There was too much she needed to update her parents on! Especially her mother, who returned from Japan! Today! Instead, though? Ilyana laid on a patch of grass within her large greenhouse, watching Baby Blue fly above her so energetically. It was 10 PM. Why was her pet even up? The world may never know. Smoke escaped her lips, her eyes, body, and soul stuck in a daze as her favorite bird in the world soared like it was daytime. She had spent the past hours, many hours, whenever school ended hours, in her white room, drawing concepts for the end of the year Fashion show. That is until she lost inspiration and needed to come here to spend time with the birds and the bees. No, not the metaphor. She was literally with birds and bees. Though, the bee farm was quiet. Very quiet. It was their sleepy time right now. They slept peacefully in her zone. The best recreational place in LA. Her home inside her home. In her white room, she wasn't able to focus. Too much had been going on and she honestly didn't know what was right or what was wrong. She was confused. Rose was biting more projects than she probably could chew — the potential documentary with Mina, the Fashion Show, the school play, her etsy shop, her homework! [b]But[/b] she couldn't help it. She liked keeping busy. If there was one thing Rose gained from genetics, it was being massively talented. Even so, she was never one to toot her own horn. Her simply doing things was enough to display her one, restless self, two, her unique skill sets, and three, her constant boredom. The thing was... her boredom was leading her to do [i]weird [/i]things, as well as experience things that were far more advance than she could handle! Henry, Huggy Bear, kissed her on New Years. They were childhood friends and he kissed her! On top of that, her brother figure, ADubs, her Kamikaze, got in a relationship with one of the closest girls to her, Quincy, her Curly-Q. She felt a little invisible to them now that they were in love. Yeah, they all hang but things were [i]different[/i]. She wasn't use to different. Rose wasn't even sure if she liked different. The cherry on top, though? She tasted Pink Starburst and actually liked it. It's been a day since that kiss and truth be told... she's been avoiding Shiloh, like the plague, too embarrassed to admit the feelings that came over her. The tranquility of her happy place, the sound of the artificial rock waterfall, the smell of all the magnificent flowers that she and the Gardner kept well, the touch of maintained grass... none of this was stopping her mind. Not even the weed. Why did she feel so incredibly lost? Taking a deep breath in, she closed her eyes, while silently doing her breathing exercises. [i]Inhale, exhale.[/i] [i]Inhale, exhale. [/i] There was a creek behind her, coming from the main entrance, causing her eyes to fly open. Sitting up, her hair unruly and all over the place, Rose called out: [b][color=b580f7]"Who is it?"[/color][/b] This was her sanctuary! People knew better than to barge it, unless it was... [color=8e7cc3][b]"Your mother."[/b][/color] Yeah, mommy had special privileges because she was the mommy. With her fingers, Rose brushed her hair, as she anxiously waited for her mother to find her and then take a seat next to her. As expected, that is exactly what Elysia Powers did. [color=8e7cc3][b]"We haven't talked much since I got back. You doing alright? School treating you well?"[/b][/color] Rose couldn't help but avoid eye contact which was enough for Ely to suspect something. [color=8e7cc3][b]"What happened? Tell me all about it."[/b][/color] Pause. [color=8e7cc3][b]"Please?"[/b][/color] Well, she did say please... Taking another deep breath in, Rose locked her gaze with her mother's before giving her information overload, [b][color=b580f7]"Why is being a teenager so hard? Do you know what you missed? You missed so much! Damian had this big party on New Years, that got him kicked off the football team, but was really fun because me and Raffle made a food tower, but also... Henry kissed me. Spur of the moment thing! And it made me feel things. I don't think for him. The kiss was good but like all it accomplished was make me think about... kissing. So, I'm freaking out. I ask a bunch of people for advice because I'm too scared to go to you. But here I am! Going to you. So yeah, and, and Adubs and Q started dating and that hasn't been really making me feel good. I had a very special moment with Curly, like that made me have the feels too. She's a pretty girl and Adouble is super lucky, but I don't know why I'm not 100 percent happy for them. To add to all these things, I decided to kiss Shiloh yesterday on the Helmsley boat! Because there was another party! And I thought because Henry kissed me, I should try kissing someone else. I chose Shiloh because I trust her, and she's pretty too, and she tastes like candy! Now my life feels like a mess and I'm having a hard time making things, with my hands, because I can't stop thinking about my life and kissing. I also can't, absolutely CANNOT, face Shi! Mommy. I'M DROWNING."[/color][/b] Blinking at her daughter, not reacting immediately, Ely sat there, staring. Stunned for a round. She was not expecting any of this at all. How does a mother even respond to this? If only her daughter knew... Ely was kind of a slut before she met her father, so this naivety wasn't something that she was accustomed to. If anything, David was the naive one in high school and she kind of changed that for him, quick. Noticing her daughter starting to rub her sweaty hands, with anxiety, Ely gave her delayed reaction, [color=8e7cc3][b]"What?!"[/b][/color] [b][color=b580f7]"What-what?!"[/color][/b] Oh no. She was going to get the first scolding of her life. Ilyana was no longer a good girl. Rest in Reeses Pieces. Trying her best to keep things concise, straight to the point, Ely quickly went through all the filler and addressed the points that seemed most vital, [color=8e7cc3][b]"Henry kissed you, why? Have you talked to him about it?"[/b][/color] [b][color=b580f7]"No... we haven't. But, he seems taken by a foreign exchange student named Min-seo. She's wonderful and I'm happy for him. I think he was just sad. We actually proposed to each other by the apple tree, when we were really little, but things change. People change. I didn't like new Henry. New Henry made me sad, but ever since he and Min got really close, I've been seeing the boy I adored when I was six. My bestie when I was small."[/color][/b] [color=8e7cc3][b]"Okay..."[/b][/color] So, her daughter wasn't heartbroken over Henry. If anything, that kiss rekindled their friendship. Blowing her hair out of her face, Ely thought of her next question. Only important points. [color=8e7cc3][b]"And your brother... you're not happy for him? Do you think you have feelings for Quincy?"[/b][/color] [b][color=b580f7]"WHAT?!"[/color][/b] Rose yelled, off the top of her lungs. She and Jennifer? The birds, even Baby Blue, went into hiding. [color=8e7cc3][b]"The question still stands."[/b][/color] [b][color=b580f7]"I, uh, I don't think so? I... I don't know. I mean, I love him. I love her. I love them both. I should be happy for them. I really should..."[/color][/b] Her eyes widened. [b][color=b580f7]"MAYBE YOU'RE RIGHT. MAYBE I AM JEALOUS!"[/color][/b] [color=8e7cc3][b]"You want to be with her?"[/b][/color] [b][color=b580f7]"Even if I did, I wouldn't pursue her. I love Adouble more than anything in this world. Plus, that would be kind of mean to Shiloh, wouldn't it? I kind of kissed her. And I really liked kissing her. I mean, I've thought about kissing Curly too, but I actually did it with Starburst."[/color][/b] This was definitely news to Ely. Her daughter was female leaning. She'd have to talk to her husband later about all this newfound news. Their daughter, their innocent, sweet Ana, was growing up. [color=8e7cc3][b]"What do you plan to do about that? About Shiloh, I mean. You have a good head on your shoulders. You probably should talk to your brother about your feelings. I'm sure really, all you need is time with him. He usually helps you figure out what you want."[/b][/color] [b][color=b580f7]"He's too in love to spend time with me."[/color][/b] Rose pouted, the dreadful feeling of missing her brother creeping up within her. [color=b580f7][b]"And I guess I'm just going to... run away. How do you expect me to face Shiloh?! I can't mommy! She probably hates me! For kissing her out of the blue and then leaving her with no explanation. It's too [i]embarrassing...[/i]. I'm sure she'll get over it by Friday."[/b][/color] With furrowed brows, Ely grabbed her daughter's head, that was moving frantically because of all the thoughts inside of it. Looking into her daughter's eyes, Ely softly and warmly whispered, [color=8e7cc3][b]"Deep breaths, Ana."[/b][/color] [i]Inhale, exhale.[/i] Leaning in, Ely kissed Ilyana's nose before releasing her child's adorable face. [color=8e7cc3][b]"You like gum, right sweet pea?"[/b][/color] To get Rose to understand, Elysia had to use a metaphor. Gum was her favorite candy growing up. In high school, she was known for it and blew the biggest bubble compared to her peers. Who knew years later she would use it to help her daughter. [color=b580f7][b]"Duh! I like [i]candy[/i]."[/b][/color] [color=8e7cc3][b]"Okay, what do you do when the gum loses flavor?"[/b][/color] [color=b580f7][b]"Spit it out, because blek! Nasty."[/b][/color] [color=8e7cc3][b]"Okay. Imagine you kissing Shiloh like putting gum in your mouth. You love the flavor and you want to keep chewing. You know what ignoring her is like?"[/b][/color] [color=b580f7][b]"...no."[/b][/color] [color=8e7cc3][b]"Spitting her out, making her feel like she's lost flavor. If she is your friend, first and foremost, you will explain things to her. Out of respect. Out of love. If you like her taste, I'd say give her a chance. Maybe, just maybe, you'll never grow tired of her like flavorless gum."[/b][/color] Oh. Rose seemed to understand where her mother was coming from. Still, approaching Shiloh was daunting. She needed courage before she chose to eat her like gum or not! After sighing to herself, Rose nestled her head on her mother's lap and stared ahead, as her mother began to pet her. Biting her bottom lip, Rose caught sight of Baby Blue walking on the grass in front of her. [color=b580f7][b]"She isn't flavorless..."[/b][/color] The baby Powers whispered to herself. Shiloh was a good person and deserved to be treated as such. And yet, how she would show that was an entire battle on its own. She didn't know if she could. [/indent]