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[i][color=brown]I like that you're broken
Broken like me
Maybe that makes me a fool
I like that you're lonely
Lonely like me
I could be lonely with you[/color]


[color=8BCCC5]There's something tragic, but almost pure
Think I could love you, but I'm not sure
There's something wholesome, there's something sweet
Tucked in your eyes that I'd love to meet[/color][/i]

[img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/95a2fbe6f15e1c02109da189429073bb/tumblr_pb6os90obf1vfe85po1_500.gif[/img]
[img]http://classes.dma.ucla.edu/si/16/web/group2/nolan-gao/hotglue/?start.head.146917561768[/img][/center]
[indent][color=gray]If Marisol had thought that she would be out the door the second her feet hit the first floor of her home, she'd been gravely mistaken. No sooner than her family upstairs had heard Salem’s voice they had all rushed downstairs: cameras in hand and swarming the young couple with like some crazed hoard of paparazzi and effectively interrupting the moment they’d been having. The brunette had been happy to indulge them in the first round of photographs, which included ones of her and Sal posing together nicely, making funny faces at the camera, and some candid ones of their first impressions of each other - you know, right before her family had fucking dashed into the room like a stampede of elephants. After ten minutes of this madness, Mari had decided that enough was enough, and she’d used the advantage of being right next to the door arm-in-arm with Salem to dismiss everyone and finally make their escape. 

[color=brown]“Sorry about that! My family doesn’t see me dressed up like this often, so they make a huge-ass scene whenever I do,”[/color] Marisol apologized sheepishly once they were safely outside the confines of Casa Castillo, rolling her eyes. Just remembering her family’s reaction to this event was enough to make her cringe, even if she knew it came from a good place. She had never been one to be good with dealing with attention. Pushing the thoughts aside, she continued. [color=brown]“But anyway, I have more important topics to discuss with you… Like: how the fuck did you know about the sunflowers?”[/color] the girl asked Salem as they walked in the direction of his car, with her still happily holding the bright, beautiful flower he’d gifted her.

[color=8BCCC5]“Well, there were fifty different flowers they sold there, so I had a one in fifty chance. I figured my odds were pretty good.”[/color] Salem hummed playfully, moving his head close to Mari as if he was telling her something in confidence, [color=8BCCC5]“Plus sunflowers suit you.”[/color]

This brought a grin to the normally sulky Marisol. Being compared to flowers was not something she heard very often, and especially never from anybody besides her father, older brother and cousin. [color=brown]“Then I don't know how the hell you guessed it, but sunflowers are actually my favorite kind of flower. You must be a fucking psychic or something,”[/color] she said with a laugh, shaking her head at the irony of this whole thing. 

What were the odds that Sal had actually picked her [i]favorite fucking flower[/i] out of all the ones in the store? Either he had previously stalked her social medias to know this, she'd accidentally blurted it out in a convo during the week, he was telling the truth about merely guessing right, or there a supernatural chain of events pushing the two closer together. Frankly, Sol didn't give a shit about which one it was. All that mattered was that Salem had made her pretty damn happy with this bright little flower.

As she revised his answer in her head, another question came to her. [color=brown]“Why do you say they suit me, though? I am genuinely curious to hear your opinion.”[/color]

Salem bought himself time by opening the passenger door for her to slide into. He didn’t know exactly how to explain why the sunflower suited her without potentially offending her. Though, Salem imagined it would be hard to offend anyone over a flower. In truth, the sunflower just fit her. It was wilder and more free-spirited than the other typical flowers, but saying that out loud just sounded ridiculously cliche.

[color=8BCCC5]“Well,”[/color] Salem exhaled once Marisol was in the car, leaning over her to buckle her in since the old car’s seat belts could be particularly tricky, [color=8BCCC5]“Roses seemed too romantic and mushy for your personality, tulips are too delicate, but I felt like sunflowers were [i]spunky[/i], like you.”[/color]

When Salem basically leaned over -and in the process invaded her personal space- to buckle her seat belt, the smell of what was probably the best cologne her nose had ever had the pleasure of sniffing invaded Marisol's senses. The green-eyed girl had been right in the middle of her response back to his comment when the scent hit, immediately rendering her speechless. She closed her eyes for a second and breathed in deeply, trying to take in and enjoy as much of the cologne-soaked air as she could. Say what you will about Marisol, but she was a sucker for men’s cologne. 

The hormonal thoughts that were racing through Sol's mind were definitely not ones she wanted to entertain at the moment -if she wanted to keep things normal and not any more awkward than they could already be-, so she begrudgingly opened her eyes and willed herself to act normal.

[color=brown]“Jesus fuck, you smell amazing…”[/color] Mari muttered out loud, not really realizing that she had until it was too late. In an instant, her eyes widened, her cheeks blazed red, and she quickly looked away towards the window so he couldn't see the obvious embarrassment painted all over her dolled-up face. It took all of her self-restraint to not humiliate herself even further by smacking her open palm against her forehead. [color=brown][i]‘Way to go, Castillo.’[/i][/color]

[color=8BCCC5]“Thanks, it’s Clive Christian’s Imperial Majesty. I only use it for special occasions ”[/color] Salem chuckled, a smile coming to his lips. He slowly drew back from the car, leaning against the open door and giving Marisol full view of his cheeky grin, [color=8BCCC5]“You smell nice, too.”[/color]

Marisol grinned, amused at their laughable attempts at small talk. [color=brown]“Viktor and Rolfe’s Flowerbomb. My aunt Callie gave it to me for Christmas last year.”[/color]

Salem closed the door, taking care to make sure her dress was not caught. He didn’t bother to trot around the car, but leisurely strolled to the driver’s side and climbed in carefully. Even though the car was old, it purred nicely when he started up the car.

[color=8BCCC5]“Alright, let’s go, my little enchilada.”[/color] Sal said, peeling out of Mari’s driveway.

The short girl quickly barked a laugh in response. [color=brown]“Are you fucking serious right now, my [i]king-sized cannoli[/i]?”[/color] she said right back in a mocking tone, lightly punching Salem's arm with a grin. 

[color=8BCCC5]“Hey, hey, I’m driving here.”[/color] Salem jokingly admonished while pressing his palm into the back of the seathead and reversing out of the driveway. He quietly drove down the road before fiddling with the old school knobs. [color=8BCCC5]“Hey, so my car’s too old for music, but I have a bluetooth speaker under the seat if you want to play something.”[/color]

This brought a devilish grin to Mari’s lips. [color=brown]“Boy do I have a treat for you,”[/color] she said in a teasing tone, pulling out her phone from her clutch and quickly going through the procedure of connecting it to the vehicle’s bluetooth system. [color=brown]“Do you like rap music? I’m not really a big fan, but Eminem sent my mom a digital copy of his new album that drops next week, and I have it right here if you wanna listen to it.”[/color]

Rap wasn’t much of Salem’s thing either, but Eminem was one of those artists you just listened to sometimes. He shrugged with one shoulder, flashing a quick smile towards Mari so she would know he was game. Because safety comes first, he kept his eyes on the road with his hand draped over 12 o’clock and his other hand gripping 7 o’clock. 

[color=8BCCC5]“You get exclusive early releases often?”[/color] Salem inquired, eyes flickering to her every now and then. 

[color=brown]“Only Em’s,”[/color] Mari said with a shrug, bobbing her head to the music. [color=brown]“To make a long story short, my mom’s boxing name is Shady because she’s been a fan of Em’s all her life. And when he found out about it after she made it big and they met at an event, they’ve been in contact ever since. Now she gets the early heads up about any events he’ll be in, his merch and his releases.”[/color]

His eyebrow raised in surprise, but also with a hint of impressed. [color=8BCCC5]“Well, if I ever need an Eminem heads up, I’ll give you a call. Though, if you ever hear anything about Shania Twain, I better be the first person you tell.”[/color]

Marisol shot Salem a revolted look. [color=brown]“Do I look like a Shania Twain girl to you?”[/color] she asked him in disbelief before bursting into laughter.

[color=8BCCC5]“No,”[/color] Salem said, grinning at her, [color=8BCCC5]“but [i]I’m[/i] a Shania Twain girl.”[/color]

This earned him another round of laughter from Mari, who playfully shoved the boy's shoulder. [color=brown]“You're so stupid,”[/color] the brunette said softly, shaking her head with a smile on her face before pressing the play button and getting their party started.

That’s how they spent the rest of the ride to the dance: trading tidbits about their lives and listening to music. Eventually, Salem learned one of Eminem’s raps after listening to it three times and enthusiastically started shouting it to encourage a laugh from Marisol. Pulling into the parking lot for homecoming, Salem couldn’t help but think that the car ride was a good indication of how well and fun this homecoming would turn out. Marisol was a fun girl and Salem was genuinely hyped to spend time with her for the next couple of hours.

On the other half of the equation, Marisol was equally looking forward to the night ahead. It had been some time since she’d felt genuinely excited about a school event - or just a night out, really. Her relationships with those closest to her had been on shaky ground since the scene with Victoire’s car weeks previously, making it stressful for her to navigate around them. She knew they all had the best of intentions, but sometimes it could be too much to handle. 

But with Salem, the jeweled-eyed girl found it easy to be herself, without having to worry about him feeling sorry for her or gauging her every reaction for any signs of another ‘incident’. The young man had been a breath of fresh air when she felt she was drowning, and she planned to savor the feeling for as long as she could.[/color][/indent]