[color=gray][right][sub][u][b]Location:[/b][/u] Mollie & Dallas’ House in Miners Street
[u][b]Interacting With:[/b][/u] Each Other, Aiden via text [@Altered Tundra]
[u][b]Mentions:[/b][/u] Valentino [@kaiidth], Clive [@Altered Tundra][/sub][/right]
[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/260215/63f2ce22.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/LZZbd7n.png[/img][/center][hr][hr]
[indent][indent]There was a quiet stillness inside the second bedroom of a [url=https://www.bridgeviewns.com/assets/images/1a-1270x1027.jpg]cozy, navy blue home on Miners Street[/url]. The white noise coming from an oscillating floor fan drowned out the majority of the neighborhood's sounds; its faint, cool breeze making the dirty blonde, highlighted locks atop a pillow sway gently. A young woman lay sideways, fast asleep among cherry-patterned sheets, lost in whatever dream she was happily being held captive at with no plans to wake up any time soon. A long day ahead with no alarms or prior commitments in sight…

That is, until the fan in question slowly swayed to a painful stop.

In a matter of seconds, the girl under the covers let out a loud, dramatic wail. [color=4998BE][i]You can’t be serious right now…[/i][/color] Annoyed, she turned to lay face-up, groaning and covering her face with her slender arm. [i]Of course[/i] the power would decide to go out during her day off. Days like these were meant for sleeping in, binging series and filming content– not for figuring out how to pass the time without melting! It was bad enough that she'd had to work a double shift the day before and was scheduled for another one tomorrow, but now she had to spend the day trying to find somewhere to stay cool with her phone charged rather than in the sanctity of her bedroom like she really wanted.

What a freaking bummer!

[color=4998BE][i]‘I [b]seriously[/b] need to talk to Mollie about buying a generator, because this is [b]not the vibe[/b]...’[/i][/color] the blonde thought as she angrily pulled the covers off of herself and sat up on the mattress, glaring at the fan as if her annoyance would make the appliance come back to life.

The sound of the front door opening and closing, shortly followed by knuckles tapping against her door pulled Dallas out of her thoughts.

[color=694553]“Dallas?”[/color] Mollie’s voice called out to her from the other side, awaiting permission to enter her cousin’s chambers. Once it was awarded, the taller blonde swung the door open and took a step inside, choosing to stand under the doorframe with a soft smile rather than walk right in. [color=694553]“Hey, sweet girl. You get enough sleep before the power went out?”[/color]

[color=4998BE]“I did!”[/color] Dallas confirmed with a nod. [color=4998BE]“But we [i]have[/i] to get a generator, Molls. I don’t know how much longer I can put up with these stupid outages.[/color]

The older cousin chuckled at the younger woman’s remarks. Every time there was an outage at Pines, the topic of purchasing a generator for their shared household was the first topic of conversation the youngest King cousin could come up with. [color=694553]“Oh, sure: I’ll get right on that! As soon as I find the few hundred dollars one of those bad boys and the gas they guzzle up costs, I’ll make sure to buy three,”[/color] she answered sarcastically. Though considering how said outages were starting to become more frequent than anyone would like, maybe the girl had a point. 

[color=4998BE]“I’m serious, Mol!”[/color] came Dal’s reply. [color=4998BE]“This is getting a little ridiculous! I’ll even help you pay for half the generator and the gas if it means not having to deal with this mess every time the power goes out!”[/color]

[color=694553]“Okay, okay: we can talk about it later, Dal. Promise,”[/color] Mollie conceded before adding, [color=694553]“That being said, I saw on Facebook that Huskers is open and has a generator. Do you want to go there? You know it’s only going to get stuffier in here even after we open the windows…”[/color] she warned her cousin, reminding her of how uncomfortable it got inside the house once the temperatures started rising.

[color=4998BE]“[i]But I don’t want to go to Huskers…[/i]”[/color] Dallas complained, her pink lips pressing themselves together into that pout of displeasure Mollie had seen many times. [color=4998BE]“Not only is half of town probably going to be there, but I don’t want to risk Valentino trying to talk to me or something,”[/color] she argued, making a perfectly valid point to explain her resistance to the proposed idea. It’s not that Dallas hated her ex-boyfriend, or that she couldn’t be in the same room as him despite the traumatizing, nasty events that had transpired between them (she’d had plenty of practice doing that at the diner). It was the fact that, even after eight months since she’d walked out of their shared home and put an end to their tumultuous relationship, Val seemed to hold out hope that she would change her mind and go back to him. Unfortunately for him (but fortunately for her), Dallas’ resolve to keep her distance and move on with her life was stronger than ever, and any lingering guilt she felt for ‘abandoning him at his lowest’ faded a little more each day. When it came down to it, it was his well-being versus hers; and she had chosen to put herself first.

[color=694553]“I wouldn’t worry about that, Dal. That asshole’s probably at work right now,”[/color] Mollie retorted, her obvious dislike for Valentino ringing clear across her voice as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned against the doorframe. Any man who put his hands on a partner was absolute garbage in Mollie’s book. She was certain Dallas hadn’t told her the extent of it (probably for Val’s sake), but what little she was told of the actual situation her cousin had lived through had the taller woman fighting back the urge to get charged with assault of a police officer. Any time Mol saw his stupid face, all she could think about was how lucky the bastard should feel to be alive. Had Mollie told Kent about what had happened, he would’ve spent his last months on this earth as Clive’s cellmate charged with attempted murder (or actual murder) at their local prison. Just thinking about the man made her blood pressure start to rise, so she decided to change the subject for everyone’s sake. [color=694553]“But you know who could actually be there that you’d [i]really[/i] like to see?”[/color] she added with a complicit wink and a knowing smirk.

Dallas’ face lit up with a bright, beaming smile, and she forgot all about Valentino Lockwood in an instant. [color=4998BE]“[i][b]Cliveeeeee~[/b][/i]”[/color] the short girl replied excitedly, putting both hands over her heart and making a spectacle of dramatically sighing and fainting onto her pillow.

Clive Evermore had been the object of Dal’s desire for almost half of a year now. After the whole fiasco with Valentino and the many disappointments that happened before him, the girl had sworn to not let herself fall down that rabbit hole again until she’d found someone worthwhile. Apparently, this someone came in the form of a tall, burly, rugged ex-con-turned-part-time-firefighter. From the moment the man had occupied what would become his regular booth at Lou’s, Dallas had been instantly smitten. His charming personality didn’t help things, and that breathtaking smile of his made her swoon each time it was flashed. She’d wasted no time in turning up her own charm and putting out flirtatious feelers here and there, which were well-received and even returned after a while. The blonde was sure that the feelings of attraction were mutual, but she had yet to truly test the waters to confirm her suspicions. Maybe today could be a good day to kick it up a notch and see if she was right.

Mollie chuckled and shook her head at Dallas’ reaction. Clive wasn’t exactly who she was referring to when she brought up the topic (rather, it was her best friend Aiden), but she couldn’t blame Dallas’ thoughts for going in that direction. Her crush on the first responder reminded Mol of her own feelings for Kent, and the way she looked at him like he was the brightest star in the sky right from the very start. A wave of grief and guilt unexpectedly washed over her. Although she missed Kent more than anything in the world, she couldn’t help but wonder: would she ever feel the same way over anyone else again? She was only 27, after all, and had her whole life ahead of her. But when you’ve experienced as much as she had in such a short period of time, the thought of a second chance at romance was laughable at best– especially with anyone from Pines Holler. The only thing that mattered right now was figuring out how to survive on her own after losing her other half.

[color=4998BE]“I’m going to text Aiden to see where he is and ask him if he knows whether Clive’s at Huskers or not. That way I know whether to dress cute or dress homeless,”[/color] Dallas declared, her baby blue manicured thumbs tapping the screen and pulling Mollie away from her musings. [color=4998BE]“Zaddy being there would be a nice bonus, but I’ll settle for spending some time with my bestie-westie.”[/color]

Rather than stick around and wait for Aiden’s response to her cousin, Mollie stepped outside of the room. [color=694553]“I’ll wait for you outside, Dal. I’ve gotta take a gummy before we head anywhere else.”[/color] Mollie told her cousin before stepping out, making sure to close the door behind her. She would need all the help she could get if she was to step foot at hers and Kent’s old stomping grounds for the first time since his passing.[/indent][/indent][/color]