[color=lightgray][right][sub]TIMESTAMP: Tuesday Afternoon || After [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5449091]Smile Riot Gremlins[/url]
Featuring: [color=b8860b]Marco Brady-Castillo[/color], [color=#428DA2]Nadine Navarro[/color], [color=e7b13e]Eloise Anderson[/color], & [color=00fa9a]Amity Lyon[/color]
Introducing: [color=f64a8a]Brielle Blake[/color] & [color=9370db]Neal Blake[/color] [/sub]
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[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/230514/9be8c7ecf0f1c9632e69140b62cd6fb7.png[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/D0sl6mD.png[/img]
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[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/users/metanoia][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220707/de8425488b0608f3b4f383a389598999.png[/img][/url] [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220707/ea0c13b96bec39eb2a81ba5c05ed31f7.png[/img] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/users/lovelycomplex][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220707/29817612104c780ce1548b8a06b6ada5.png[/img][/url][/center]
[indent][indent]As the Smile Riot Gremlins talked, a duo walked past them, one a [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1045762696768913454/1107049605071384656/udujs8n1uvf71.png]blonde girl[/url] in a white sundress with silver-colored boots that came up just inches below her knee and a [url=https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/SLpvIhDiCh2MMFLQqHT3FOyBCYY/fit-in/2048xorig/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2019/08/01/110/n/44701584/520d400021fe5ecf_GettyImages-1000403088/i/Sexy-Austin-Abrams-Pictures.jpg]boy[/url], who seemed a few years older than her that wore a clean-cut shirt and dark-colored jeans. They walked by the gremlins as the blonde said in a clear volume, [color=f64a8a]“Here’s our booth.”[/color] She didn’t pay any mind to the Gremlins as they took the booth behind them.

[color=9370db]“Brie, we can just get our food to go. I don’t even want to be here anyway--”[/color]

Brie shot her older brother a silencing glare as she took a seat, her back facing the Gremlin’s back. [color=f64a8a]“Enough of that! You weren’t doing yourself any good stressing bout Mara being back. Damian is barely able to muster his brain cells for anything useful. I can’t let my other brother kill them away because you’re thinking about how you’ll make a second first impression on the woman of your dreams.”[/color] Brie let out a sigh, leaning back into the booth. Between Neal driving himself up a wall with worry and in turn, leading her to have to be the adult for both of them and the party this weekend, Brie was already juggling too much. 

Neal shrugged. [color=9370db]“Right because you aren’t already booked. Aren’t you helping with the party those Sinclair girls are throwing?”[/color] 

There was a moment between the Blake siblings where both smirked at each other. 

[color=f64a8a]“I can’t help it if I’m in popular demand,”[/color] she said proudly, giving her brother a smug look. He rolled his eyes. [color=f64a8a]“All us Clovers are pitching in in some regard. It's not just a party for everyone on Scott street. That would be too boring. Carrie, I think was originally going to make it a bit exclusive, but I threw the suggestion her way about it being for everyone. Anyone who likes to have fun, at least, so don’t worry you’re safe, Neal.”[/color]

Distracted and out of her mind, Lolly’s eyes followed the girl that passed them until they took a seat behind her and Marco. [color=e7b13e]“Shut the fuck up everyone,”[/color] she growled at her friends, before quietly turning her body, hiding her head behind the other girl’s to eavesdrop. Closing her eyes, she took in the scent of something juicy, something orange, and maybe something flowery, like lilies. Whatever it was, it was hella’ fruity and sent shivers up her spine. She smelled delicious. It was intoxicating. She was also fucking gorgeous. Since when did Edenridge have models? Curiosity was filling her soul as she gently grabbed a strand of blonde hair. Nadine looked at Marco, her eyes widened to get her to stop before the other girl noticed. 

Marco had his attention divided first between Lolly shushing the group and then to Nadie, who urged Marco to stop her. Stop her from doing what? He followed Nadie’s glance and had a mental facepalming moment when he saw the most gremlin gremlin of their group actually touching someone’s hair. Some blonde girl behind her. [color=b8860b]“[sub][i]Lolly![/i][/sub]”[/color] Marco nudged Lolly’s shoulder, keeping his tone as quiet and low as he could. [color=b8860b]“[sub]Stop that![/sub]”[/color]

Amity wasn’t paying attention to any of this and had no idea that the people her crew were curious about were her cousins. The family tree was complicated but they were related since her brother was once married into the Blake family and her niece is someone she spends too much time with at the content house. Downing her whiskey sour, tuning out the noise, she continued to text her girls and share memes with them. 

Instead of stopping it, like Marco had demanded, Lolly made it worse and climbed over him to get out of the booth. This was rewarded with her falling face first onto the floor. As her ass hung out, she grumbled, [color=e7b13e]“I’m okay…”[/color] With a quick recovery time, she hopped up. At this point, Nadine was covering her face in embarrassment. When Lolly set her mind on something, there was no one who could stop her. Maybe Dallas but Dallas wasn’t here. 

With reckless abandon, she strutted to the table and looked at the two strangers, with no fear, just complete audacity. [color=e7b13e]“HEY!” [/color]

Rhett from the bar shouted, [color=ff5d22]“ELOISE.” [/color]

[color=e7b13e]“Hi…”[/color] She lowered her voice. [color=e7b13e]“I’m here eating with my friends and I couldn’t help but overhear you want to fuck Amaranth Harding! The daughter of the hot rock goddess from the band East of Eden. Well guess what, buddy ol’ pal! My buddy, Marco,”[/color] she turned her gaze to the boy she was speaking of, gesturing for him to stand up and come hither. [color=e7b13e]“Marcoooooooooo,”[/color] she beckoned, before making her pitch without telling the catch, [color=e7b13e]“He’s like really tight with Kylee, her cousin and you know he could totally set you up. I’m just saying, it’s a good deal.” [/color]

All this had to be was an intervention to help Nadine out. That’s all it ever needed to be, but now, now Lolly was on the loose, unhinged and nobody could stop her when she was on a roll. As soon as his name was called out, Marco sighed and stood up from the booth, joining the chaotic gremlin at her side, waving to the Blakes with an almost defeated expression on his face. 

[color=f64a8a]“Oh, so when she said Marco…”[/color] Brie made a mental note. [color=f64a8a]“Your mother is Marlena. I’ve gotten my hair done at Tresses plenty of times.”[/color] The blonde gave Marco a smile as she turned her attention to Eloise. Quite the interesting girl she was. Pretty, too. 

[color=b8860b]“Yeah, that’s my ma,”[/color] Marco said simply. 

Brie couldn’t deny that Eloise had a good offer. It would help Neal along in his anxiety and give him fewer things to stress over, but seeing as how she was the one acting on his behalf because, as she looked over at him, his face said it all. He was a bundle of nerves and she could tell the gears were turning. [color=f64a8a]“So..Eloise was it? You make a strong case. I admit, you have my curiosity, but there’s gotta be more to it. Why would you help people you barely know? I know Marco only because his mother can’t stop gushing about how proud she is of her oldest--”[/color] It was at this point, in addition to his complicated expression, Marco was showing signs of embarrassment as his face went red.[color=f64a8a] “Tell me why you’d go out of your way to help us?”[/color] 

Flat out without any hesitation, Lolly declared, putting her hands on her hips like she was talking truths and nothing but truths, like a goddamn superhero, [color=e7b13e]“Because you’re fucking hot and I want to go to this party you and your friends are throwing. It’s that easy, folks.” [/color]

Oh my god. At this point, Nadie was nudging Amity so she could get out of the booth. Taking her phone out of her hand, Nadie held it far away, which caused the Lyon girl to grimace. 

[color=00fa9a]“Heyyyyy, give it back,”[/color] the Fallen Scott Street princess complained as she laid her hand out. 

Not one to pick a fight, Nadie did return it but not before telling her, kindly, to move. In time, the other girl did finally leave which allowed Nadie to join her friends, so Marco wasn’t suffering on his own from the hurricane that was Lolly. 

Standing now, finally seeing her friends talking to her cousins, [i]weird[/i], Amity trailed behind Nadie and waved at them, [color=00fa9a]“Sup Brie, sup Neal.”[/color]

[color=e7b13e]“I’ve never been to a party since I was homeschooled so I think this is just what the doctor ordered! The one time I did visit my friends on campus, my friend got his head shot off so you know, it be like that sometimes.”[/color] Lolly rambled on, in full throttle. 

[color=#428DA2]“Oh my god…”[/color] Nadine whispered, realizing how inappropriate that was to say randomly. Someone desperately needed to help accumulate their friend to society. Worried, she scanned the two people she didn’t know hoping they weren’t made uncomfortable or weirded out by their socially inept friend. 

[color=00fa9a]“Okay, that’s enough from you,”[/color] Amity grabbed Lolly’s hand and pulled her back, forcing her to sit down and calm down. [color=00fa9a]“Stay, I got it from here.”[/color] Going back to her cousins, she inquired, [color=00fa9a]“Okay so I see you’ve met Lolly, what’s going on now?”[/color] 

Brie wasn’t the kind of girl to be stunned speechless. She actually prided herself to a degree that not a lot phased her. She prided herself in having thick skin. The curse of being beautiful and popular was that everyone had their petty, insecure jealousy of her being in the position she found herself in within both her friend group and her social standing among her peers, yet in a matter of moments from one girl she had never met until now, Brielle Blake had no words. She kept a neutral expression on her face (something she couldn’t say her brother had in response), but internally, she just…didn’t have any instant response.

[color=f64a8a]“A riveting friend you have, cousin.”[/color] Brie finally spoke. By this point, Marco sat back with Lolly, if not to keep her at bay while the Blakes and Amie talked. She was still reeling from the bombshell Eloise dropped, but Brie collected herself in an efficient manner. She wouldn’t be the supreme if she couldn’t manage pressure and surprises of any given situation. [color=f64a8a]“I guess the best way to explain it is Neal here has a little wittle crush--”[/color]

[color=9370db]“It is not! I just really like her and want to make sure I don’t look stupid--”[/color]

[color=f64a8a]“Like I said: A crush. He’s down bad for Amaranth Harding. Has been for years. He screwed up his first impression. Or at least he wasn’t ready for it and now that she’s back in town, he’s aiming to make a second first impression. That’s when your friend pitched this idea of using Marco to ask Kylee Grimm to talk to her on his behalf?”[/color] She hummed thoughtfully, trying to think back and make sure that was all, but at the same time, Brie was skeptical. As much as she gave her older brother a hard time about it, she didn’t want to risk his chances on something that might not even be full-proof. 

[color=9370db]“I don’t need you guys to do anything on my behalf! I can do this. I just need to make sure it’s perfect. Everything needs to be perfect this time around.”[/color] Neal was in his head again, the variables churning through his mind like a complicated puzzle that stressed him out just processing how to go about [i]attempting[/i] to solve it.

[color=00fa9a]“Well before you go overthinking, how did you mess up?”[/color] Amity raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms and surveying the situation to see if her friends needed to intervene. [color=00fa9a]“Have you ever thought it was all in your head that you messed up? If you want to be friends with someone shouldn’t you just be yourself?”[/color] Before she let Neal respond, she addressed Brie, her niece’s best friend and chuckled, [color=00fa9a]“Let’s be real, the only reason why she threw Marco under the bus is because she likes you. Girl is honest to a fault so she says what’s on her mind. And right now, you are.”[/color] 

[color=f64a8a][i]She wasn’t the only one.[/i] [/color]

Brie didn’t know much about her, but there was one thing she did know to be an absolute fact: she wanted to know more about Eloise. She was an interesting girl. So very much her own person. In the short time she had to digest Eloise and process the hurricane she seemed to be, Brie became intrigued. That bombshell she dropped about her friend was shocking and, she could admit that she didn’t know how to respond at the moment, but that was only because she was caught off-guard.

Taking it upon herself, almost disregarding her cousin and always-in-deep-thought older brother (who was pondering away about what Amity said) for a moment, Brie mirrored what Eloise did earlier and wedged her head between a seated Marco and the brunette, resting her head on her folded arms. [color=f64a8a]“Hey~”[/color] Brie gave Eloise a smile, almost working some charm into it. [color=f64a8a]“The party’s this Saturday. You all should come too! Anyone can come by as long as you’re not some creepy stalker weirdo.”[/color] Brie gave all at the table a glance. [color=f64a8a]“You just look like normal weirdos that could be fun to hang with.”[/color] Brie turned her eyes on Eloise again, reaching into her purse, pulling out a small heart-shaped notepad, writing something down on it quickly, and folded it twice. [color=f64a8a]“Here, Eloise. Figured you might need to contact me about the party and everything related to it. Or if you ever wanted to hang out during the week. I live on my phone -”[/color] She leaned closer to Eloise, whispering [color=f64a8a]“— [sub]like my tech-savvy cousin over there[/sub]—”[/color] She subtly gestured behind her to where Amity was, giggling at her cousin’s expense. 

[color=e7b13e]“Well I live at my house usually playing games on my computer,”[/color] Lolly grinned widely at the girl, snatching the paper from her and pocketing it. “I’m pretty sure Nadie got work and Marco has to see what his boyfriend is doing. But I’ll be there,” The Filipino girl affirmed, excited on her new adventure, actually looking forward to her next therapy session to tell Miss Shannon all about it. [color=e7b13e]“Oh, and call me Lolly, please. It’s what all my friends call me.”[/color] She shifted herself to look at the girl who was watching her in intrigue, [color=e7b13e]“OH! One last thing. Your fancy perfume smells really fruity and delicious. I like it a lot.”[/color]

Cocking a half-smirk, Brie mouthed a sound of [color=f64a8a]“oh”[/color] as Lolly complimented her on her perfume. This was a first for her, which seemed to be happening quite frequently and in rapid succession with the Filipina girl she found quite interesting. [color=f64a8a]“It is quite fancy, isn’t it?”[/color] She laughed, knowing full well if her oldest brother was here, he would make a comment about it. [color=f64a8a]“It’s Dior Miss Dior Eau de Parfum. It’s my favorite. I love all the fruity sweetness aromas it has. I got it from One Spritz in Pinehurst. If you ever wanted to check it out for yourself, that is.”[/color] 

[color=e7b13e]“Never been! And I haven’t really left Edenridge before but I’ll definitely keep that in mind,”[/color] Lolly nodded, not really interested in fancy perfumes but if it was something Brie liked, she could at least check it out. [color=e7b13e]“So party—”[/color]

Lolly’s phone began to ring. The caller? Her paranoid mother, Blessica, who never leaves the house, hoards everything and is afraid she’ll die the moment she walks outside the garden walls. Sighing to herself, Eloise apologized to the pretty girl who was gracious enough to invite her to a highschool party. [color=e7b13e]“I gotta’ take this. But I’ll definitely see you there,”[/color] the small geek politely separated herself from the conversation to be present for her mother. Answering her phone, she spoke in Tagalog, which was the most commonly spoken native language of the Philippines and tried her best to not constantly look in Brie’s direction to check her out. 

As Brie no doubt was feeling some kind of way about the departed Lolly, Neal had been in his thoughts. He kept as quiet as he could, but internally, his mind was running rampant, clinging to just about everything that Amity said. He ran back his first meet with Mara, what happened on his end, how catastrophic it was for him personally, and how it all went downhill because he felt like he messed up. Too intimidated by someone who was so clearly out of his league, yet maybe it wasn’t that she was out of his league. Maybe Amie was right. Maybe he psyched himself out of his own confidence and that in turn ruined any chances he had of making a first good impression. Maybe…all he needed to do was be confident in himself and not put too much pressure on himself and, like Amie said…again being right, just be himself.

[color=f64a8a]“Guess I’ll have to catch her later then,”[/color] Brie remarked quietly. [color=f64a8a]“Marco, be sure to talk to your friend for us. I think Neal is coming around…”[/color] Brie glanced back at her brother who gave a nod, feeling more comfortable about the idea. [color=f64a8a]“You don’t have to do all the work for him but maybe your friend can help make it less painful for my brother. He’s stressing over it enough as it is.”[/color]

Marco sighed. How was he always finding himself in these kinds of situations? What started out as a simple family intervention to help Nadie turned into a whole different thing and [i]now[/i] he’s somehow tasked with talking to Kylee, who he isn’t even that close with (thanks Lolly for [i]that[/i]) and somehow he’s gotta sell the idea that she would do him this favor? “Sure. I’ll see what I can do.” Marco groaned, unable to separate the glaring similarities between his mother and Brie. It was frightening just how much they were like each other.

[color=f64a8a]“Thanks! I’ll make sure to let your mom know how helpful and generous you are next time I go to her salon for my next hair appointment.”[/color] Brie blew Marco a kiss and a wink, and turned back around to face her brother, glancing at her cousin. [color=f64a8a]“You’ve certainly surrounded yourself with some enthralling friends, Amie.”[/color]

[color=00fa9a]“What can I say,”[/color] Amie gave a mischievous grin, alluding to more than she’d ever admit to her baby cousin, [color=00fa9a]“I’m a people person and I know people. If you ever find yourself in need of company, we game every Wednesday night. Maybe, you’ll get to know a little bit more about a certain someone, seeing how that is her happy place. Online with friends. This is honestly a rare occurrence for her so call yourself lucky to have met Lolly in person.”[/color]

Brie wasn’t a stranger to gamers nor to the nerd culture as a whole. She would never admit it to anyone who could use it against her, but there were a few small things she enjoyed. A few indulgences that often made her feel somewhat at peace. She could play a mean game of Fortnite when it suited her and even dabbled in some Among Us, but she wouldn’t say she was hardcore like some people were. But maybe now that she had more of a reason than just the appeal she personally found in winding down after cheer practice or having to deal with not just her brothers, but as much as she loved him and how much he’s really stepped up for the family lately, her Uncle Nate was too much to handle some days, maybe now Brie would dive deeper. Because she couldn’t deny that Lolly and her friends intrigued her. The girl herself intrigued the golden-maned supreme.

[color=f64a8a]“Wednesday night huh?”[/color] She smiled to herself, realizing she might need to invest in a makeshift set up to make sure this wasn’t going to be in vain. If there was one thing she could take away from Neal’s struggles and generally the Blake Family curse (as it were), first impressions were do or die. She knew she might need to dig into her savings a bit. Her mother started her off early with her own bank account. Her mother, who was an accountant, felt she needed to learn that responsibility early and up until now, Brie never had any reason to use any large quantities of her saved money.

Until now.[/indent][/indent][/color]