[IC] CLOSED.

[Silent Whispers]

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L O C A T I O N → The Saunders Residence
I N T E R A C T I O N S → Her mother
T I M E → 7:45 - 9:05 A.M.

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The sun rays shined upon the hills of the homes that resided within the 90210 district, signaling a new day within the area. Dominique stirred in her bed as her eyes fluttered open and her pupils stared at her sunlit curtains for a few minutes. Her mind replayed everything she witnessed last night. A fight between Rhett and Jackson, a disagreement between her two chicas, The Epinoza twins, an adorable niner and milkshakes. Honestly, to her, the milkshakes and her chat with Isabella and Summer was indeed the best part of her night. She smiled a little bit at the moment from last night before she got out of bed and waltzed down the stairs.

Her mother was already up, along with their personal chef, who was making them breakfast. She smiled towards him and sat beside her mother, whom she hugged closely. "So, Dominique, how was your triumphant return last night?" Her mother asked as she sipped coffee. Dominique sighed with a slight scoff. "Some return. A fight broke out at the party, the twins argued or whatever and some princess is playing queen. Excited to be back." She mocked as their chef sat their plates before them along with a few eating utensils.

"Thank you, William." Her mother chimed as William nodded his head before doing the dishes now. "Sounds like your night was very eventful. But who is this princess that has your crown?" Dominique nodded her head at her mother's first words then shrugged her shoulder at the question. She honestly didn't know Alyssa but another school day was right around the corner and she was determined to be there bright and early. Dominique needed to catch a glimpse of who this Alyssa person was, to be honest. She was quiet for a moment as she basically played with her food before she looked over towards her mother.

"Yeah, last night was okay. But the best part was the milkshake. Oh! And some niner missed curfew. Those were the days." Dominique finally said as she took a small bite out of her pancakes, thinking about what she was going to do today. Not many people knew that she was back in town so she had no clue. "So, what are do you have planned today?" Her mother asked as Dominique widened her eyes. "It's like you're inside my head. But I have no clue. Might just see what Isabella is doing." Dominique said with the shrug of her shoulders.

Once she was done with her breakfast, she walked back up the stairs and to her roof, where she retrieved her cell phone and shot a text towards Isabella.

To: Izzy Bella ♥
Please tell me that you do not have plans for the day. I don't want to be stuck inside all day.

After she sent the message, she sat her phone down and rummaged through her closet to look for an outfit. Even though she had no idea what she was doing today, she just needed to find an any event outfit. She also hoped that today would turn out to be way better than last night.

[AlteredTundra]

LOCATION — Her Room
INTERACTIONS — People on her phone
TIME — 7:00-7:30am

As the craziness of last night came to an end, Jade for the first time in a long time, actually had woke up not feeling the need to bash in her cousin, Jackson’s head in. This was due to the fact that she did not hear his infuriating alarm. This, for the next moment, would bring Jade to a feeling of bliss. Her face wore a smile as she reached over to her nightstand, and was aimlessly trying to find her phone. After a few failing attempts, knocking over some items to the ground, she got her phone. She pulled it from the charger, and brought it to her face. JAde looked at the time. It was just a little past seven in the morning. She hadn’t recalled much from last night because she was still in a state of drowsiness, but she did remember her phone had died at some point last night. It might’ve been when she got to Denny’s with Jay and Sierra. Maybe sometime after, but it was definitely within that timeframe. That being said, Jade did put it on the charger just before she went to bed, so no doubt it was fully charged now.

Turning on her phone, Jade gave it a moment to get to her homescreen. In the next five seconds, suddenly her notifications blew up like a bomb. Her text message notifications, her voicemail notifications, and even her Discord notifications — all of them blew up at the same time. It wasn’t until half of a minute later did they stop, and Jade looked at her phone, not blinking. Inside her mind, she was thinking what the hell is up? That thought would linger for another thirty seconds as she wiped her eyes, and got up from her bed, clad in a flannel T-shirt and black sweatpants. Not even three steps in, Jade’s phone rang, the ringtone of Smells Like Teen Spirit playing. She looked at her phone. It was her Uncle Leo.

“Why is he calling? Isn’t he home?” Jade shrugged. She answered it regardless of how weird she thought it was. “Hello?” Jade said.

“Oh thank god you answered. Why haven’t you been answering your phone or responding to our text messages?!” Leo's voice sounded urgent, desperate almost.

“Sorry Uncle Leo, my phone died last night. I just woke up like a few minutes ago. Why? What’s going on?”

“It’s about Jackson..”

“Oh good lord. Did he get arrested? I knew it. He couldn’t keep his hands off someone. After that fight, I bet—”

“Jade, no. It’s..serious..”

Jade raised an eyebrow. Not like he could see it, but she did it. She listened to her uncle explain to her what happened. She had to take a seat. What Leo informed her about Jackson and how he got into a severe car accident last night. Jade heard the rising emotions in her uncle’s voice as he was telling her. He was saying that they don’t know much aside that has been unconscious ever since he was found by a passing driver around two-thirty in the morning. As soon as Jade heard that, something inside her jumped. Maybe it was her heartbeat? That was..no, could it?

“Jesus fuck!”

That’s all Jade had to say to that. That’s all Jade could mutter out, because if she said any more than that, she would reveal to her uncle that she was on the verge of crying. Why? Well, it was because while Jackson was getting picked up by the ambulance, being shipped off to the hospital to save his life. And where was Jade during all of this? Well, the blonde teen was stuffing her face at Denny’s with Jay and Sierra. She was out having fun while her idiotic cousin was on the hinges of life and death. In knowing that, Jade couldn’t help but feel that if she had known about it, maybe she, at the very least, would have been able to be there for her uncle and aunt.

“I’m so sorry. I’ll get there as soon as I can. How’s Aunt Riley? Oh, fuck what a stupid question. She’s obviously a wreck.”

“At the start, she was, but she was able to finally sleep for a bit. I don’t think it has hit her yet. We haven’t heard anything from the docs yet.”

“Which hospital are you guys at? Is anyone else there with you?" Jade asked. She shouldn’t be hounding him with questions, but she needed to know.

“Girisha is here with Erin, Jason, and Kareena. They got here about thirty minutes ago. The Cross’ are here too” Leo told Jade. And, we’re at Beverly Hills General. It’s—”

“Yeah, I know where it is. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“Do you need me to come get you?”

“]No. You need to be there for Aunt Riley. I’ll arrange a ride with a friend. Text or call me if the doctors update you about anything.” Jade said.

“Okay, see you then, I guess.”

Jade hung up. She laid back-first on her bed. This was a lot to take in. It wasn’t just that. Jade was feeling fifty shades of guilty that she was having food, enjoying the company of friends while JB was fighting for his life. Sure, there wasn’t much she could do at the time because her phone had died not long after Jackson got into that car accident, but there was also this feeling of guilt that she couldn’t shake. It was like, if she would have known, maybe she could have done more. Instead, she had to find out hours later.

After a few minutes of crying her eyes out at how horrible this all made her feel, JAde knew she had to get it together for her family’s sake. She quickly would get up, and jump in the shower. But, before she did that, Jade would call a friend of her’s for a ride.

“Hey. Can I get a ride to Beverly Hills General? Oh, don’t worry about why. I’ll tell you about it when you get here. You remember where I live right? Okay cool. I’m going to shower, so just let yourself in. the key is under the first flower pot on the left. See ya in a bit.” Jade said, hanging up. She tossed her phone on the bed, and ventured off to the bathroom so that she could get all squeaky clean.

LOCATION — Her Kitchen
INTERACTIONS — Surprise guest in her kitchen
TIME — 7:30-8:00am

So Jade might have minimally fibbed when she told her friend that she was going to shower. She wasn’t feeling the quickness of a shower. She wanted time to think, but added to that, the blonde teen felt that she just wanted to soak all of her troubles. Not to mention, it had been forever since she took an actual bath. Maybe not the cleanest ways to bathe, but it most certainly was an enjoyable to spend forty-five minutes. Yup, that’s right! Jade spent almost an hour in her own filth. It’s not like Jade hadn’t done that before.

When she got out, she began to dry herself. As she finished, Jade wrapped a towel around her bare form. She walked into her room, and took a turn to her dresser. She wanted to wear something that would be easy to slip into. She didn’t care if it mismatched or she looked stupid. She needed to get dressed fast, so Jade grabbed the first thing that she could find. As soon as she got dressed, Jade rushed out of her room, purse and phone in hand, and she walked into the kitchen. She came to the view of the person she called. There they were...cleaning?

“Oh come now, you can’t possibly be cleaning right now?” Jade gave her friend a deep, annoyed sigh.

“Of course. What else do you expect me to do after fixing you a proper breakfast?” he said, gesturing his slender arm to the corn beef hash on the table. In fact, two plates were made.

“Wesley, why did you do this? We don’t have time to eat.”

“Nonsense. It would be a shame to waste this delicious food. And I bet you’re famished, aren’t you?” Wesley didn’t know it, but he was right.

Jade didn’t say anything. She hated it when he was right. She hated it even more when she was wrong. “Fine. Let’s see how good of a cook you are.” Jade, though she wouldn’t allow Wesley to see it, smiled. He always had ways to get to her. Too bad they never did work out. They would have been good for one another.

LOCATION — The Open Road
INTERACTIONS — Jade
TIME — 8:30-9:05am
Wesley’s Outfit

Jade and Wesley would spend the next ten or so minutes eating in mostly-silence. Wesley respected her wish to eat in peace, and Jade enjoyed the corn beef hash too much for her to let any of it fall out of her mouth because she would say something to the cook. So, they simply ate in silence. Of course, until they had finished, and they were well out of the door.

As they trailed along the concrete path of the front yard, Jade’s eyes widened. “Oh yeah, I had almost forgot you were filthy rich.” Jade commented with a laugh.

Wesley would not comment. It would be beneath him to gloat about his family’s wealth. They had a lot of it, of course, but it did not affect the way Wesley would speak, especially not when it came to close friends like Jade Taylor. It was odd. She was one of those people that everyone who knew Wesley were aghast that he was friends with. Some of the people that Wesley Cross linked himself with, be it kids from school or his family’s associates, they knew of Jade Taylor. Everyone knew of her. More to the point, everyone knew of her father. Yes, her father, someone who had some close dealings with the shadiest people on the south side of Los Angeles, was the scum of the scum. There are more flattering words for him, but those would were beneath of a man such as Wesley to even think about. But, regardless, the point being was that everyone knew about her father, and they always gave Jade pity acceptance. Perhaps this is why Wesley befriended her. Simply because she had no one at the start, Wesley extended the olive branch towards her. She gladly accepted. There might’ve even been a time when he was romantically interested in her, but that time has passed. He respected her too much for that.

As soon as Jade and Wesley got into his Jaguar, he revved the engine up, and it peeled off in a trail of smoke, quickly getting out of the neighborhood that the Drake Residence was in. It wasn’t long until they were on the freeway. Thankfully for them, they had just missed the morning rush hour as the clock was nearly at 9am. Wesley smiled at the fact. It brought a jovial smile to his face to know that he wouldn’t have to stall Jade’s arrival to wherever she needed to go.

“So, where are we going? I am to understand that your cousin isn’t in the best of situations.” Wesley said.

“How did you..?”

“You forget, Jade. My father is good friends with your Aunt Riley. I mean, you do remember right? My father was the one who arranged for Riley’s first modeling gig, and even setup her representation with Victoria’s Secret until she retired after giving birth to Jackson. Plus, my parents are at the waiting room with your aunts and uncles and cousins.”

“I..didn’t know that.” Jade said. She had almost forgotten what her uncle had said to her prior to getting picked up by Wesley. Her voice was low, and her eyes went to the floorboard of the car.

Wesley’s hand left the stick shift. He placed it gently on her right leg. “Hey, it’s okay. Jackson will be okay.” Wesley guaranteed her. “You want to know something humorous?”

“What?”

“I ran into him last night at the party.”

“You were—I mean, you did?!” Jade asked, eyes lighting up suddenly.

“Yes I did. He didn’t recognize me, of course. I think it was that fight with Ryan?”

“Rhett.”

“Oh right. I apologize.” Wesley said, “anyways, he didn’t remember who I was. I think the blows to his head got to him, or maybe he was that intoxicated.”

“And what happened?”

“He wanted me to help him up. Even when I looked directly at him, he didn’t recognize me. That would be like Jackson Drake, would it not?” he asked.

It was a stupid story, but Jade laughed. The fact that she was able to laugh and Wesley was able to get her to do it made her laugh even more. “Thank you..” Jade’s hand rested on his for a moment until he had to shift gears. Even if he didn’t intend, Wesley might have just done something that Jade hadn’t been able to do in a long time. Smile genuinely. In light of current events, it sure did seem out of place, but he always knew how to do it. “Wesley.”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

“I know Jade. And I love you just as much.”

They had both been in each other’s lives for such a short amount of time — four years, the same amount of time that Jade had been living with the Drakes. Wesley and Jade clicked instantly. It might’ve been something sexually-related, but Wesley would not stoop to the levels of the men that had taken advantage of Jade at her young age(at the time). He would not be another guy that she would pass off as someone who used her for her body. He knew she was much more than that. More to the point, he knew, deep down, there was someone special and deserving of real love. It might be true that he did not feel for her in the ways that she might want, but that does not mean he isn’t without love for her. His love for Jade Taylor is as strong as it can get in a romantic way while still remaining platonic. On some level, he knows she knows he loves her more than he has loved anyone, but he just could not bring himself to hurt her. He couldn't bring himself to love her in that way because he could not handle losing someone else.

Retain control, Wesley.

For a moment there, Wesley blacked out. It was only a second, but he was transported back to that night. Never again. He won’t let himself get dragged into that again. He has come too far to allow himself to lose all of his progress, not with his parents relying on him to stay strong. If he showed weakness, it would not only be deadly for him, but it would show Wesley that he wasn’t fine, and it would only make his parents worry. He couldn’t have that on his conscious, not when they have plenty to worry about.

In that moment of weakness, Wesley nearly missed the exit. He was thankful for the GPS stating where to turn. He took it, and after a few more turns, they had arrived at Beverly Hills General Hospital. It was gigantic, of course. It spanned several yards of just staff alone, but the building - well, that was something spectacular, now wasn’t it? Over fifty floors of modern architectural achievement. The innovations made with the constructions alone would be enough to spark conversations of praise. When you add the breakthroughs they have made through studies into cancer research and how many lives have been saved on a daily basis, well that would be a whole different conversation of a long list of praises. Most of this due to the brilliant leadership of Dr. Veronica Donovan. She is the best of the best. And word is that she’s the doctor leading Jackson’s case.

“Okay, you can get off here. I’ll find a parking spot, and join you shortly.” Wesley said, pulling up to the front entrance. It wasn’t allowed, but Wesley wasn’t going to be long.

Jade, without speaking, gave Wesley a substantial hug with both arms wrapped around his frame. It surprised him, but he returned her embrace; however, she did whisper something to him.

“I know.” he said, confirming whatever it was she had whispered into his ear. “Now, go be with your family.” He said, giving Jade a kiss. It wasn’t long nor was it short. When Jade left his car, Wesley made sure he saw her enter the hospital before he would drive to find a parking spot so that he could join her...

[gowia]

The Morning After...

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Where: Jack's Apartment - 'Cool Beanz'
Who: Nobody

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Breakfast was sunflower seeds in Greek yogurt, a spoonful of raspberry jam through it to add a splash of colour and flavour. In Jack's cheap ceramic bowl is seemed so studen that Jack had to laugh at himself, it was still better he had eaten at home. In the darkness of his room with curtains drawn, Jack was the king of his own castle. Sliding into his sheets one limb at a time, Jack nestled amongst the warmth and practically purred in the contentedness. Swirling his food around he lifted up his food, looking into the yogurt he could see the party. The blaring music, the dancing, the fight, and her. He hadn't stopped thinking about her since had gotten home, nor had he stopped when he had fallen asleep. She was a breath of fresh air in what had threatened to be a stale evening. Then, much to Jack's self-chastising, he remembered he was looking at food and pressed the cold metal spoon into his mouth. It tasted sharp, cutting through the heady memories and bringing him back to the present. It was the weekend, he had a shift later that night, but for now he had the day to himself. As he did most days. Not that he minded for the most part, it gave him a chance to write.

What he would write, he was not sure, the finished product was still fluid in his mind and he needed a chaos as well as a solitude to let his creative juices flowing. Clambering back out of bed he alternated between spoonfuls of bliss, and packing a bag to go out, as well as dressing himself appropriately for public. A baggy t-shirt and pajama bottoms made way for light blue skinny jeans and a red plaid shirt, before he grabbed the one thing that brought him down to the level of those basic white girls, his Uggs. When he had scooped the last dollop of white goodness into the maw of his gullet, Jack collected his laptop, over-ear headphones and a chunky book in case he needed a break. Packed away into a rough looking leather messenger bag that had been with him since his first day of middle school. Throwing the strap on his shoulder, he grabbed his keys and wallet from the bowel they inevitably made their bed for the nights Jack was at his humble abode. Taking the stairs down, he had always hated lifts, two at a time he stepped out into weather almost as sharp as the breakfast that had been washed away from his pallette by his mint toothpaste.

In a second, Jack wished he had brought a jacket out with him, and his clutched his arms a little to stop the hairs from rising in goosebumps. Before long, the cold deadened his nerve endings to the cold and he was able to walk along at a more normal saunter. The walk to the nearby coffee place was simple 'Cool Beanz' whilst a little tacky and not at all high brow, was quirky in it's own way, making every customer feel special and always having a spot by a mains socket free for Jack to park himself by. His usual order, green tea, arrived in a large steaming mug. The sizes normally stopped at medium but this had been his haunt from the moment he had gotten off the plane, for a few extra bucks they were happy to use what was practically a soup bowl. Lifting his laptop out of his bag, he slid headphones over his ears and plugged them in at the side, the system was already booted up and it took a few moments to load up the appropriate software and programmes. Before long Jack was skimming through sound files and testing a mixture of audio effects. The song, from the night before, needed tuning to the needs he had, it was going to be a long day of editing. The smooth taste of tea would keep him strong.

[Hey Im Jordan]

LOCATION — Alyssa's Castle
INTERACTIONS — Each other _{(@lovely complex, @Universorum)}
TIME — Don’t leave I’m still tired

There was a lot to do.

Regardless of that, it was a Saturday--and Alyssa would sleep in, no matter what there was to do. No matter how many Elite scum were in her castle’s walls, no matter how many Eves were in her bed, no matter how many false queens returned to take her crown, Alyssa would sleep in. And sleep in she did. Though, at 5:37 am, when her girlfriend woke and tried to scurry out of the bed, Alyssa’s eyes cracked open and she tired called out: ”Stay. Pretty please, with an extra sweet strawberry on toooooop?” Alyssa asked, yawning out the last word, rubbing at her eyes. She knew it was no use though, Evelyn was awake and would leave.

“You know I can’t.” Eve grabbed a hair tie off of Alyssa’s dresser and wrapped her hair up quickly. As much as the Raven would love to stay by her lady’s side, she didn’t want to keep her up by tossing and turning nor did she want to stare at the ceiling for hours, dealing with the restlessness of her mind. She liked not rushing in the morning, which entailed taking a leisure shower, eating a toasted bagel with cream cheese and jam, and playing the piano until the sunrise (just before the clock striked 7). After tightening the band that kept her bathrobe closed, Eve went to Alyssa’s bedside and kissed her forehead, “I won’t be far and I’ll fix you something to eat.” Her expression was soft, even if there was no smile, “Plus.” She brushed blonde strands out of her girlfriend’s face, “I’m all your’s today. Turns out they overbooked the studio, so I’ll be going in tomorrow instead.”

”...you’re always all mine. Don’t let them make you think otherwise…” Alyssa yawned, shifting comfortably underneath the blankets, gravitating toward the warm spot that Evelyn had left in the bed, shutting her eyes once more. ”Fine, fine. Go, go. Leave me alone and cold.” She grumbled with discontent, hugging one of the pillows Eve had left. Sleep was calling.

Eve’s hazel orbs took in Alyssa’s face as she drifted back to sleep. Faintly, nearly inaudible, she whispered, “If you don’t give me a reason to… I will never leave you.”

Inside of the sunroom, not too far from the the back entrance that led to the patio, pool, and gardens, Evelyn, who was already showered and dressed for her day, let her thin fingers glide on the keys of Alyssa’s fine, walnut wood grand piano. The song that she was playing wasn’t one of her own but it was a song that she found herself playing often in the early mornings. Our Farewell by Within Temptation. The song was released in the year 2000, when she was two, but didn’t hold much meaning for her until the year 2010, when her life shifted from blissful ignorance to meaningless acceptance. The year she discovered the dark, sad, and unfortunate circumstances of her existence and the year she lost the one person, who protected her from her father’s greed and made her believe there was more to life than being a music money-making machine.

Her eyes were closed as she felt the smooth keys on the bottom of her fingertips, let the gentle breeze coming from a cracked window push her dark strands behind her, and played like a musical prodigy throughout her childhood friend’s estate. In her opinion, the song wasn’t that advance but there were times she needed to play it, regardless of where she was... Eve needed to play it.

Alyssa knew the song the moment its notes hit her ears. It was something that Eve played commonly, and Alyssa knew it by heart now, and while she might normally complain--Evelyn was a spoiled brat. Alyssa didn’t say a word as she walked into the sunroom where Eve played. Instead, she just stood behind Eve, and lightly draped her arms over her shoulder, placing a kiss atop her lover’s head as the song came to a close.

”When you finish, though, we have to deal with the Elite, Rhett, and Ty’s girlfriend,” she whispered lightly, sighing. ”Afterward, you and I are going out for breakfast, and then we have to go to… work. Sort of. We need a plan to deal with Dominique, not that I imagine it’ll be much more than a trifling effort. After we have a bit of a plan, we’ll spend the day alone. In my room. Most likely, nude. Fun times.”

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LOCATION — The bitch’s castle
ALSO FEATURING — Rhett, Ender, Julie, Ty, & Wolfe
Time — Get the fuck outta dodge

Seven thirty AM. A little late for him, but early enough that Alyssa wasn’t there to start bitching… and Wolfe was ready to leave. Disappear.

Looking around the pool area, Wolfe wondered if he could even blame Alyssa for being pissy. There was a girl--Julie--that Alyssa didn’t particularly like, wearing nothing but a big t-shirt asleep on one of the lounging chairs, beer cans… everywhere, some floating in the pool, some discarded around it. A few bottles of hard alcohol… really, Alyssa would probably be more upset about the ‘waste’ of alcohol that they--sans Ender, of course, had consumed.

Ty and Rhett were asleep, together, on a giant floating turtle, amidst the discarded beer cans, with an empty six pack in between them. Yep, she was gonna be floored. Ender himself was sitting on a lounge chair and smoking--already, which was a disgusting habit. Wolfe tipped his head toward Ender, and Ender flicked his hand at him as a way to say good bye, and Wolfe turned around to leave…

”WHAT THE FUCK!?”

He was so close!

Following behind her Sweets, Eve kept silent as she observed the horrendous mess. How she wasn’t going to save their ass. It didn’t matter if Rhett had a bad day yesterday, this was beyond inexcusable when it came to Alyssa and her castle. That being said, this wouldn’t be the first time this has happened… Ty loved being the bane of his cousin’s existence, after all. Putting on her sunglasses, Eve leaned against a back porch pillar and watched the scene unfold.

Stretching, his head pounding like hell, Rhett gingerly opened his eyes to reveal his bloodshot blue orbs. Last night was sick. He hadn’t had that much fun in a long time, y’know with the whole working his ass off to support the three women in his life (his mother and two sisters). He hardly registered the loud banshee-like screech since he was pretty out of it. Glancing over to his new boy for life, Rhett nudged the sleeping Ty, “Ty. Someone isn’t happy.”

“Tiger!!! I need to go to the doggie park!!” Julie had woken up and was standing by the pool’s edge. She had received a text from her sister a half an hour ago, which said she was taking Duke and Lady to Hermon Dog Park. Julie missed her Lady! She needed her boyfriend to take her. ASAP.

Ty was asleep. Like, really, truly, totally asleep. He always was, and he could sleep through anything. Alyssa’s screeching, Julie’s bitching, Rhett’s statements… Hell, Ty could sleep through front row seats at a Metallica concert. But the tiny nudge from Rhett caused Ty to roll… to the side. Into the water.

Cold water always worked.

As Ty splashed into the pool, his eyes shot open--and then started to burn from the chlorine. Quickly emerging, Ty slapped a few intrusive beer cans away, and looked around, trying to decide which one of the problems he needed to address first. Psycho bitch and her psycho bitch girlfriend, or his girlfriend. Groaning, Ty turned to look at Wolfe, who just shook his head.

”I’ll just be taking my leave now, if it’s all the same to you gu--”

”OH, bullshit! You brought them here! Because Rhett was having a day wahh wahh, I have a bad day every day I wake up because I know that fucker--” Alyssa paused briefly to point a finger at Ty, who looked stunned that Alyssa could possibly be so upset, gesturing at himself, ”--is not only alive, but is related to me and lives with me. Look at this shit, he brought his stupid bimbo slut girlfriend here and she’s like pretty much naked!” She hissed, pointing at Julie. For all intents and purposes, Alyssa looked ready to pull her hair out.

She paused for a moment, closing her eyes and breathing slowly, carefully. It took almost thirty seconds, and with Wolfe glaring at him, Ty wisely chose not to speak, before Alyssa finally talked. ”...I’m sorry, I got a little bit out of control. Mostly, I’m apologizing to Juliana, who did not deserve to be caught in the crossfire. I know you are a lovely girl, as is your sister. I just lose my mind a bit at the hands of your despicable boyfriend…” Alyssa ran her fingers through her hair, breathing slowly as she returned to a state of regality.

”I want my pool area restored to its former glory. No one leaves until it’s done, or I will be back. And I will have no mercy for those who have wronged me.”

Wolfe sighed. He was too hungover for this.

Julie faintly blushed only now realizing how much clothes she was truly wearing, “Oopsie. I guess I drank too much. I’m sorry! I’ll get your house cleaned in a jiffy.” And the ditzy blonde did just that. Before anyone else reacted, she was already in cleaning mode picking up cans, throwing them into a garbage bag, even motioning with her hand for the boys in the pool to retrieve the beer in the water.

Yawning to himself, Rhett shrugged and rolled into the heated water. Coming up, he collected as much cans as he could on his way to the ladder before making a large pile for Ty’s girl to throw away.

“Oh Rexie! Your phone keeps blinking. I don’t know if it’s important but I just thought I’d tell you!”

“Thanks… y’know we could all help you.” He climbed out the pool and walked to the chair with his clothes and phone, stretching, “Speedy cleaner you are.”

“My Lady is waiting for me!” Juliana brightly smiled as she thought of her cute fluffy puppy. She missed her so. Her stormy orbs watched as Rhett sat down, moving his clothes over, and opened his phone up.

”Oh for god’s sake.” Alyssa put her fingers to her lips and whistled, one long, high note, and a shorter, low note. In just a few seconds, Alyssa’s own dog, Turk, came onto the scene. The border collie trotted to his owner’s heels, looking up at her as Alyssa scratched underneath her chin. ”Wolfe, make yourself useful. Take Ty’s girlfriend, the dog, and Turk to the dog park,” Alyssa suggested, gesturing absently at Ty, ”You could even pick up Duke from your place and also you could leave the castle. I have servants that can do this. Eve and I need peace and alone time.”

”Yo, you guys gonna fuck?” The first words out of Ty’s mouth. Awful. Just awful decision making.

”On every possible surface.”

”That’s lit take pictures.”

Alyssa scowled, but Wolfe knew when to take a get out of jail free card, and this was a get out jail free card. Hurriedly gesturing at Ty, who shrugged and pulled himself out of the pool, wandering over toward Juliana.

Julie with a garbage bag in hand looked at Wolfe in surprise before she squealed like a little kid, “Your doggie is named Duke?! What a small world!!! So is my sissy’s doggie!”

”...really? Well, mine’s an Artic husky… C’mere, Turk, we’re gonna go to the park.” As Wolfe spoke, the dog obediently wandered over to him, Wolfe taking a knee in front of the pup, scratching behind his ear. ”Good to see you too, bud.”

Meanwhile, Ty put his hand on Julie’s butt.

“NO WAY. YOU’RE JOKING RIGHT?” Julie disregarded Ty’s butt touch. Her full attention was on Wolfe, “Izzy has a husky too!! His coat is a cross between light red and copper and he has the most gorg blue eyes. If she wins the Grand Prix, we’re gonna take a trip to Alaska to watch the Northern Lights with our doggies! Though, I don’t know if Lady can handle the cold... She can hardly handle the arena.”

Ty squeezed the butt. Sure, she wasn’t reacting but hey. It was his right.

”That’s all well and good but frankly I could not care any less about what you’re currently telling me. I honestly do not even know your sister’s name, and I sometimes struggle to remember yours. My Duke is a former sled dog. He is very old and very tired. He’s black and white and he has blue eyes. He likes to sleep and I allow him to because he’s worked a lot for me.”

“That’s so cute! You love your dog so much and don’t worry, I doubt Izzy cares about your name too!” Julie giggled not really realizing how dense she sounded. Once she placed the garbage bag on the floor, she twirled around and wrapped her arms around Ty, “Let’s have fun today~”

”Every day fun when you’re a g.” Ty said with a quick raise of his eyebrows, before he stole a kiss.

6 New Voicemails. 8 Missed Calls.

Rhett’s expression turned stone cold and it was hard to tell how he was feeling. He scrolled down his list to see who called him. Standing up, he dialed his voicemail and walked away from the pool area, away from everyone. If his eyes met with their faces, he wasn’t staring at them, he was looking passed them. Something was not right. Eve eyed him as he disappeared to the side of the house before gesturing Alyssa with a nod of her head, for them to take their leave.

Voicemail 1: Rhett. This is your mother. For the third time. I even had your sisters call you. Where are you? The Drakes need you. Please come to Beverly Hills General when you get this.

Voicemail 2: Rhett! Summer can hardly contain herself! WAKE UP. PICK UP YOUR PHONE. And I don’t even want to tell you what mom’s feeling. I can’t be the only strong one here…

Voicemail 3: (Silent whimpering could be heard. Stuttering and choking on her tears, Summer cried) I-it’s all my fault. I’m so so s-sorry, Rhett.
Give me the phone, get in the car. We have to go. Wipe your face, we have to be the strong ones here!.. Hey brother, good morning. It’s really early right now. When you get this, please call Miley. The other women in your life are hyperventilating. Thank you and I hope to see you soon.

By now, Rhett’s hand visibly started to shake. His stomach began to curl… he felt sick. What happened? He listened to the next two voicemails from his mother. He could hear how scared she was… why did she sound so frightened?

Voicemail 6: Hey, I know you probably don’t want to hear from me. Hell, I know that after tonight, there isn’t going to be any chance of anything happening further between us. I know that now. I don’t even know why I’m leaving you this message, but just know I’ll do everything I can to fix it. I don’t care what I have to do. You mean so much to me. I won’t give up on--

Covering his mouth with his hand, Rhett swallowed hard and his mind went completely blank. This can’t be happening? Can it? This feeling felt too familiar, like when he lost… his father. Tightening his grip on the phone and bringing it to his side, with a lifeless expression on, but internally freaking out, Rhett walked back out with a dark aura around him. This wasn’t the same punk they saw moments ago. Grabbing his clothes, not really caring if his body was still kind of wet, he fastly and mindlessly put on yesterday’s wear before saying lowly, in the most emotionless tone, “Can one of you give me a ride to the hospital?”

Of the three Elite members that remained, it was Ender that first reacted to Rhett’s sudden appearance, and the way he spoke. It was, of course, Ender that knew what was going on. It reminded him of how he felt and acted around the anniversary of his mother’s death...

Ender snuffed out the cigarette he held in his fingers, and stood to his feet, looking over at Wolfe. ”Hey, Sent. I’m gonna run this guy over there. I don’t like dogs that much anyway.” Wolfe nodded, and Ender walked over to Rhett. ”Come on, my car’s parked out front.” He said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking off, gesturing for Rhett to follow after him.

For the most part, the car ride between Ender and Rhett was filled with dead silence. All the punk boy did was stare out the window, his blue gaze never wavering from the direction it was facing. If he was thinking straight, he would have called and texted people like Sierra, Ely, his family, hell, even the Drakes, but… he wasn’t thinking. He couldn’t think. His mother and sisters were most definitely freaking out about where he was, or perhaps they pushed their worry aside to focus on comforting Riley and Leo (Jackson’s parents). Regardless, Rhett didn’t need to think right now. He didn’t need to feel.

There were times where Ender broke the silence to find more details on the matter and Rhett being Rhett was never one to lie or ignore someone, even if he wasn’t in the mood to talk. His responses were short, clear, and straight to the point. His new friend accepted the information he was told, not delving in further since he could tell this issue cut deeper than: my best friend all my life might be dead or dying, or whatever. There was a lingering sadness in Rhett’s tone, as if his words portrayed a time that was no longer here. Within time, they arrived at the hospital.

“The past is over; the present is fleeting; we live in the future.”
_{— Ray Kurzweil}

[LovelyComplex]

---

---

Location: Skate rink → Hermon Dog Park
Interacting With: Herself, Duke (her baby), Julie's Pomi, and Domi _{@HushedWhispers}
Time: Her time.

Figure skating practice wear | Doggie Day Outfit | Izzy's Duke | Julie's Lady

---

---

Ice skating is like dancing on ice. The first thing you are taught is to fall over and get back up. Always get back up. Isabel, wearing her exercise wear, skated in blissful solitude. She glided on the frozen surface in a dimly lit arena that her coach gave her access to for early morning practice. Waiting by a bench were her Siberian dog, laying down with his eyes closed, and her sister's Pomeranian, cuddling up against her big dog companion. Here she could be herself without worrying about troublesome and insufferable men or just people in general. This was her life. Her passion. And really, what made her day worth waking up to.

Free skating. No routine. No plan. Just her enjoying herself and getting lost in a world of her own. Music blasted throughout the entire arena as she swiftly coasted around, running her hands up her body, and her Spanish hips rocking side to side. This turned into a triple toe loop, where she did a three point turn, creating momentum, toeing in on her left toe pick, and bolting into a rotating jump. When she landed, her left leg was out in the air and she sailed in a circle backwards until turning herself forward.

She didn't get much sleep. Not after what had transpired last night, from Ty stealing her sister away to that FUCKING ASSHOLE (Wolfe), who walked into her. Why did the tall, dark haired, men that didn't know when to shut up and knew they were hot have to be such jerks?! She needed to skate. It was her way of cooling down and entering her day stress free. Without skating, she would explode. The rink was her haven. Her happy place. No one could take that from her. Prior to skating, she had already did her stretches, which is vital when you are doing this much activity. Ain't nobody got time to break a back or any other parts... she had a competition to prepare for.

After an inside 3-turn, Isabel brought herself into a spin. Laying back, as her hips pushed forward, her head went as far back as it could. Her leg maintained an attitude position that went into a side spin for three revolutions. Bringing her free leg to her head, she turned her motions into a Biellmann Spin. This was always how her mornings started just her, the ice, and more often than not, her dog (and Julie's). The young Latina didn't have many worries. Her biggest worry, or more trouble than anything, was her sister getting herself into a situation that wouldn't be easy to deal with. It was just the twins versus the world. That's how things always were, ever since they were young. After the divorce, her mother only sent gifts and expected their father to send them to her during every other vacation. That fell through and her mother got caught up in bad romances and now hardly checks up on the twins. Oh, but she still sends gifts. That means she loves them, right?

Don't get her started with her father... great, they have a giant estate to themselves. Just her, her sister, their two dogs, and their staff. He primarily stays in Washington which isn't that far from LA, but consider each of their responsibilities, and the fact that he travels around the USA to attend conferences and be a 'special guest' at schools. Why does he expect his children to show affection when he doesn't take the time to do it himself? And then he acts all offended when a staff member updates him, rather than his daughters, who are trying to keep themselves busy so they aren't like 'hey when are you coming home'. It's too bad Julie doesn't realize how much their parents suck at being parents. The twins are fucking high school students. They shouldn't HAVE to push their duties aside just to show that they are still thinking of their sperm donor. That was so middle school.

That's okay. Izzy has supported her sister through her ups and downs. Not mother. Not father. She's taken care of her own future, making sure when she is of age she'll get far away from their parents, ideally taking Julie with her. If they were to ever lose their parents' fortune, she'd be okay. If there was one thing Izzy knew she could do, it was stand on her own two feet - without the assistance of her 'parents'. Scrub a toilet? Sure. Help build a house after a hurricane. You bet your ass she can do that too. There was no point in being entitled when her achievements didn't belong to her until she could escape.

The only problem was: Juliana.

Juliana needed the security blanket of "daddy's money" or even getting what she needed (and wanted) from her 'Tiger'. If Izzy chose to do her own thing, Julie's heart would break... like when their parents went through the divorce. Isabel knows her sister has to fall. The only way you can learn is if you fall and get up again. Always get back up again. But it's... hard, when you can see the consequences unfold before your eyes and not be able to do anything about it because this isn't your fall to take. If this was the life she had to tolerate, she'd make the best of it and work her ass off to be something great. Not for anyone but herself.

Ice skating was her life.

---

There was no point in looking amazing. She wasn't trying to impress anyone. Isabel just wanted to play with her dog. And she would do just that. Lady lazily rested on the grass watching Duke bounce around. Prior to unleashing the dogs, Izzy had sent out a text to Juliana telling her to get her ass to the park and spend time with her Lady. She had also received a text from Dominique and promptly replied (too much time was being wasted on her phone when she had a cute husky waiting for her!):

To: Saunders, Dominique
Just a dog day. At the park if you'd like to join.
_{(Domi should already know the dog park Isabel is at)}

"Imma get you!" Izzy playfully said (in that dog voice manner) while she ran toward her husky, who immediately dodged his master and spun around her excitably. Young, vibrant, and full of life. He ran near her and she swiftly brushed her hand on his coat. He then started darting to the right and she sped next to him, surprisingly keeping speed with the energetic dog. That's until he ran around all the other dogs in the park (adorably stumbling a couple of times), causing Izzy to simply watch her dog (catching her breath) until he returned to her side.

Kneeling down, the brunette smiled and grabbed his face, roughly petting the his sides, "Who's my Duke?!" Today was a relatively warm day and there was light sweat trailing down her head.

[Joshua Tamashii]

Amelia Averyonna

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Location: Her new apartment-Wondering around town
Interacting With: No one.
Time:7:00AM - 8:30AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was still early in the morning when Amelia's alarm yet off, her phone vibrating and letting out one of the many annoying alarm options available. She put her pillow over head, trying to ignore it before finally giving in and picking up the phone and turning the alarm off. Looking at the date, her annoyance grew as she realized it was the weekend and that she could've slept in. Rolling onto her back, she stared at the ceiling, wondering what she was going to do for the day. She had been so focused on the move, she honestly thought that she would be in school today. Realizing that the stress of the first day was delayed, she took a deep breathe to calm herself before getting out of bed to get ready for the day. After a quick shower, she changed into a loose, light green t-shirt and a pair of skinny blue jeans before leading her room, taking an elevator down to the hotel's lobby. From there, she made her way to the breakfast buffet, going over her options before having a meal of pancakes with maple syrup, a fresh apple, and a glass of milk.

After enjoying her meal, she returned to her room and decided it would be best to take inventory of things that she would need, especially food and art supplies. As she moved around her apartment, she took in the views as the sun hit the city while rising into the sky. It was a rather lovely sight and she closed her eyes, committing it to memory for later. She half suspected her parents had chosen this apartment for that very reason but she quickly pushed the thought out of her head so that it didn't ruin the sight. Once she had memorized the image, she went back to work, writing down what she needed before putting the list in her pocket. She then went around and herself a pocket sized pad of paper, a pen, her phone, her wallet, her apartment key and an umbrella to protect herself from the sun.

Heading back down to the lobby, she left the hotel and looked around at the alien landscape that surrounded her. Taking a deep breathe, she took off in a random direction, hoping she didn't get lost in this new city. She guess she could've asked for directions but the idea of approaching a stranger and holding up a piece of paper to ask a question was far to embarrassing. Maybe if she was lucky, she would be able to find a map that didn't cater to tourist. Or, someone would come and help her.

[Grimoire Gaming]

LOCATION — The Band Room {{aka the garage}} → Outdoors → Home Again
INTERACTIONS — Davy _{(@universorum)}, Ari _(@foxygen), and Jade _{(@Altered Tundra)}
TIME — Time to run away from it all.

---

---

Somehow, some way, and at some time, a very drunken Jareth managed to make his way home from the party. After reuniting with Ari, the night had went as follows: get shitfaced enough to forget the entire evening. Mission success! Jar was currently snoring lightly on the lumpy band room couch, his head bent in an uncomfortable angle that encouraged drooling. Discomfort aside, he slept like the dead. Hell, he was halfway there anyway, with the amount he drank last night.

A startling buzz went off in his back pocket. Apparently he had been too far gone to struggle out of his skinnies before crashing last night… or this morning? Whatever it was. Jareth sleepily fought to retrieve the phone from the tight pocket. After a few failed swipes, he managed to unlock the screen and opened the text message. He blinked away the blurriness in his eyes enough to focus on the picture, mostly. It was of Davy and Elysia. Ely was sleeping with her head on Davy’s chest, and he looked straight up terrified. The caption read ‘h e l p’. The gravity of such a picture did not really settle into Jareth’s brain, he was still half asleep and felt like he had been hit by a truck last night. Once, maybe twice, at least.

Jar’s first and only reaction was to respond with a selfie of his own - sending a picture of his grumpy mug, lids still partially closed, eyes smeared with yesterday’s eyeliner, and his left hand lazily flipping off the camera. He dropped the phone after sending the reply and buried his face back into the couch cushion. It was no fluffy down pillow, but it would do just fine in this state. Jareth was just a few blinks away from returning to sweet blissful sleep when he remembered that this was the cushion that Erik sat on, and that boy made it a point to rip ass in this very spot almost every band practice. Disgusted, Jareth sat up quickly and scrunched his face.

Jareth had never been one to sleep in for very long, even if he was hungover as fuck. Now was as good a time as any to wake up, it’s not like sleeping would make him feel better. Groaning, he rubbed his eyes for a bit, unknowingly smearing his eyeliner even more. He stood up, probably a little too quickly, as his head began spinning and he nearly tripped over something. Looking down, it was evident that someone was a more apt description, as Ari was sleeping in a heap on the 70’s style shag carpet. Jareth supposed that made sense, he couldn’t remember coming home, but at least they both made it somewhere that was not in a ditch.

Zombie shuffling to the small half-bath attached to the garage, Jareth flicked on the lights and looked in the mirror cabinet that hung above the sink. The reflection that stared back spooked him. Damn. He looked like a raccoon that had been punched in both eyes, and then drowned for good measure. Jareth turned on the water and washed the makeup off as best he could before raking his fingers through his mess of hair - bits of glow paint still clumping it together. The combination of sea breeze and sleep had caused his high maintenance pin-straightened hair to curl up at the ends. That didn’t really matter, his morning run would making him sweat anyway, and that always wrecked his hair. He’d shower and properly coif when he got back.

Jareth quickly dressed in loose fitting silver basketball shorts, proper sneakers, and a black tank top, he looked like he was wearing a stranger’s clothes instead of his own. Most people never see him dressed like this, but running in skinnies isn’t very practical, or comfortable, or even healthy, most likely. Walking by a still sleeping Ari, Jareth nudged him lightly with his foot. No response.

“Hey!” he said before nudging again. Ari grunted in reply. “I’m going for a run, feel free to grab breakfast inside or whatever and scare the shit out of the fosters.” Jareth hardly ever referred to the McKinney’s as his parents, they were always addressed by their first names, or as ‘the fosters’ or ‘the ‘rents’, the last only being if he was in a good mood. With that message delivered, he popped in his earbuds and headed out. Ari knew the drill, ‘mi casa es tu casa’ and all that, though he would probably just snooze until Jareth got back.

Running sucked.

No, not just running in general. Truth be told, Jareth loved running, and did so almost every morning before school. Running while hungover, now that is what sucked. It was good, though, a healthy form of self flagellation to punish oneself for over-imbibing. It also helped with improving lung capacity - a coveted asset for singers - especially those who screamed. Thumping bass and screaming guitars encouraged Jareth to push through the workout.

Never one to run on boring, even ground, Jareth veered off into the woods along the side of the road. Leaves and sticks crackled underfoot as he sprinted between trees and jumped over tree roots and rocks as if they were hurdles. His iPod playlist switched from Killswitch Engage to Of Mice & Men to Pierce the Veil. He was desperately trying to recall what happened last night. It wasn’t until the last artist came on and Vic Fuentes was vocally lamenting love lost that the memory hit him like a freight train.

Jareth slowed his run to a halt and stood dumbfounded in the woods as if Jade had kissed him all over again. The entire night was a blur before blacking out, but that moment was crystal clear. Jar felt a pang in his stomach as he touched his lips subconsciously. What the fuck was that about? Well, there was only one way to find out. Like the complete lovesick idiot that he was, Jareth pulled out his phone and sent a text to the she-devil herself - whose name still regrettably had a smirk and heart emoji beside it in his phone contacts.

“What the fuck was that about last night?” he texted Jade, not bothering to fix her name in his phone. Perhaps it was laziness or perhaps, in some way, he was leaving it the way it was hopefully. It was stupid, letting her get close enough, falling for it, texting her like this now. It was all stupid, he knew that… but it didn’t stop him. Pain can be addicting.

Jar finished his run in silence, taking out his earbuds and instead focusing on his own musical plans. He had a lot of work ahead of him to get CrimSon ready for the battle of the bands. Jar had some new songs in the works, gatherings of lyrics and poetry that had yet to be paired with melodies or introduced to the band. Ari had seen them, Jareth didn’t really keep anything from him, he was good for bouncing ideas off of. Remembering what he had said to Ari last night after breaking away from Jade, Jareth was inspired to write the last verse.

Not so quietly arriving back, Jareth opened the garage door and let the sunlight pour into the makeshift band room. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead and breathed heavily as he rifled through a desk for paper and something to write with. Ari stirred awake because of all the noise and light Jareth brought back with him from his run. It was probably good that he woke up now anyway. They had a shift at Pizza Hell in a few hours. Jareth distractedly said good morning, or something equivalent to it, as he scribbled out the lyrics from his brain and onto paper.

“Give me your hand
The departure of the thief and monster is far from over
But everything is gonna be just fine
Everything will be just fine
We live in fear and danger of them
Their delicate cheeks will turn to rotting flesh
One day women will all become monsters”
_{Actual Lyric Source: Chiodos}

He made scribbles and edits, removing words and replacing them before nodding and placing the pencil down. It was a good ending to a song that he started writing a few days after Jade had dumped him. The introduction and conclusion were pretty solid now, the middle chorus and bridge still needed work, and of course he needed Ari’s thoughts and talent to compose the guitar piece, but the song was really shaping up.

[Hey Im Jordan]

LOCATION — The road
INTERACTIONS — Each other _{(@lovely complex, @Universorum)};; Text & Mention of Audrey _{(@Dirty Pretty Lies)}
TIME — Ew. Seriously? A fucking Denny’s?

To: Lyssy, Evie
Can you girls meet me at the Denny’s on Fifth? I’m sick and hungry and I need emotional support. :(

Audrey

Alyssa had planned to wake up, eat breakfast, cooked by her personal 5-star chef, and then do something cute with Evelyn for the day.

But noooooo, instead she was in the car heading toward a bloody Denny’s, like some dirty trailer trash, hippie, hillbilly, plebeian. God, what did they even serve at Denny’s? Could she even drink their water? It was probably from the fucking tap, which was fed by ancient, rust encrusted piping laid in the fucking 50s. So, no. She couldn’t drink their water. And their food? Urgh, it made her stomach churn just thinking about it.

Disgusting.

”Why a bloody Denny’s? Are Audrey’s taste buds fucking broken?! Ugh.” Alyssa blew at the strands of blonde hair that had fallen to cover her eyes and scowled, looking toward the driver’s seat, occupied as always, by her Butler, as if the Queen expected him to solve this issue himself.

Butler though, perhaps wisely, chose not to say a word.

One person in the car could stay silent, the other one could not. Primarily because if both did not respond, Alyssa would feel ignored and Eve did not want to deal with the repercussions of her own actions for not replying to her demanding darling. Tapping a pen on her opened composition notebook with manuscript paper, the page titled: Fatal Attraction, Be My Sin, the Raven glanced over at her Dove and lightly shrugged in response, “That boy’s done a number on her.”

By that, she simply meant Audrey was turning into a lovesick puppy, who couldn’t stop thinking about Troy’s D and whose habits were changing for the worse. The songstress didn’t care that much. If Audrey was happy with food like Troy and Denny’s, that was her own prerogative. Eve would support both her friends - in her own way, which usually entailed her not doing much besides be there to listen and give occasional commentary.

”I ought to kill him. I bet if I told Butler to, he’d do it.”

Butler nodded.

”See? Told you. Whatever. Drive us to the Denny’s, so I can ruin my entire life by eating some…” Alyssa rolled her eyes in disgust, before speaking in a mock southern accent, ”French fried potaterrrs.” After his charge spoke, Butler shrugged his shoulders and took the turn, away from the restaurant Alyssa had been considering, and toward the ‘Denny’s on Fifth.’ Couldn’t be that hard to find, after all, they were only in one of the most populated cities in the country--couldn’t be that hard to find the glorified fast food restaurant.

Fucking teenagers.

While the ferocious blonde raged, Eve took a moment to text her other friend with her free hand, since she already knew Alyssa would not. Truly, this was for her own sake because she didn’t need one of her friend’s feeling ignored and the other one being bitter as fuck.

To: Huntsberg, Audrey
Omw. With Lys. Sys.

Evelyn

Alyssa shook her head and turned to face Eve, ”Regardless, we ought to focus on the business at hand--that is to say, not Audrey’s new boytoy, the savage. But, Dominique, the one who aspires to, ahem, ‘reclaim’ her throne--something that was honestly never hers to begin with. If she wishes to contend for that which belongs to me, I shall crush her like a fly. Send her crying and sobbing back to whatever godforsaken hole she crawled out of.” Alyssa delicately rubbed at the upper eyelid of her left eye with her right index finger. ”We ought to attack where she’s weakest. I’m thinking Ty’s girlfriend, or perhaps her parents divorce. Opinions?”

Before replying to the blonde beaut, Eve scribbled down in rushed cursive on her notebook.

Lead astray the gazers
The razors on your seducing skin

After bringing the pen to her lip and subconsciously biting at the end, she breezily responded, “Ty’s girlfriend is the easiest to influence, but it’s her twin who could hurt Dominique the most. Use one person, to use another, which could also involve verbal attacks of the divorce and other touchy subjects... ” The way Eve talked was like she was listing possible routes and paths they could take in her head, constantly reeling with thoughts, “The difference between you and her is well, you have loyalty on your side. She does not.” Her pen went back to the paper and she traced down more lyrics.

In the meadow of sinful thoughts

”See, the major issue there… is, frankly, Isabel is a bitch.” Cold hard truth. Alyssa was pretty much right, Juliana’s sister was indeed a bitch--luckily, Alyssa didn’t have to see her very often, most of the time Ty stuck to just the one that liked him. Probably for the best. ”If we tell Juliana that popularity comes with being our friend, then we’ve won the battle. Because, god knows she’ll believe it. Poor child is so gullible… Which, I assume, is how Ty got her to date him. As we both know, no one with a brain would willingly spend time with him…”

“I never thought you to back down from a challenge. Juliana is shielded like a child. Sure, we can get inside her head, but I’m pretty positive she’ll forget our words once Ty or Isabel are in the picture.” Evelyn nodded her head to the music playing in her mind. “And they are always in the picture.”

Every flower’s perfect

Placing her pen down, the Raven glanced out the window to see where they were. Not much longer, yet with LA traffic… their time would be doubled. Ten minutes, perhaps. Turning her body toward Alyssa, with her hands resting on top of her unfinished song, Eve added, “I’m not saying going straight to Julie and planting our seed is a bad idea. We should still do that, definitely. BUT, to guarantee positive results, we should… take hold of the soil and water that nurtures the flower.”

”Yes, well. We’ll have to see if I’m dead or not after I eat at this place. Which, I might be, by the way, given that it’s probably thrown on the ground before it’s brought to us. That reminds me, Butler. Make sure you’re prepared to execute the waiter that brings me the wrong meal. Because I want him dead, or fired, on the spot. If necessary, purchase the goddamn Denny’s and we’ll personally smash it to the ground.” Alyssa brushed hair out of her eyes and groaned, ”anyway, I suppose you’re right. Ty does have a tendency to consistently be a problem. I don’t know. Probably could buy Isabel an ice rink. Bet she’d be ours then.”

“I guess that depends on what you want. Do you want her to side with you or to be made neutral? Both routes would cause Domi to go under.... besides being ‘nice’ and smart, what else does Miss ‘Queen Bee’ have to offer? Twins that are out for themselves and a miserable home life. Easy.” Eve was not shakened or bothered by the task at hand. All Alyssa had to do was say the word and she would give a cruel reality check to all those that got in their way. Like she said before, Alyssa had loyalty on her side, which was far more powerful than most people realized.

”Doesn’t matter. Though, with those pesky Elite back, I’m sure she’ll be at my home more often than I would like. So maybe on our side would be ideal… I don’t even know who those football players think they are. They just show up at my house whenever they want and ruin my day. It’s awful,” as Alyssa was speaking, the car rolled to a stop and the driver’s door opened, opening Alyssa’s door. Alyssa stepped outside of the car and glanced at Evelyn, ”come along, darling. Let’s go enjoy the fucking Denny’s on bloody fifth.”

^{Eve's lyrics are from the song: She is My Sin by Nightwish.}

[LovelyComplex]

Featuring: Ely, Davy, Malcolm, Ilyana
Location: The Power’s Residence
Time: 2nd breakfast

_{(@lovely complex @Universorum)}

The first thing Davy did when he opened his eyes, naturally (he was a teenager after all), was check his phone. He stared at the text he’d been sent by Jareth. He blinked a few times before his expression soured. Oh, sure, that was so helpful Jareth. Prick. David went to reply to the text message with another picture, but suddenly realized he wasn’t able to do so: Ely was still asleep on him.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place (in this case, the hard place was Elysia), David had no choice. He reached out with his fingertips and pulled the television remote closer to him. He flicked on the TV and turned it down to the point that it was almost inaudible, and flicked through the channels, landing eventually on Boomerang.

Nice, a Courage the Cowardly Dog Show, starring Courage the Cowardly Dog marathon. This would do until Ely woke up...

A dreamless night and not once did Ely wake or stir in her sleep. There was a faint sound of a cartoon show in the background as her mind peacefully rested. Nestling her head closer to this soft body pillow, the young blonde allowed herself to gradually wake from her sweet, if only it could last forever, slumber. Her head did beat like a boombox due to the amount of alcohol she drank in the course of three consecutive days (and she unbeknownst did not get the memo from any of her friends about Jackson on her phone) , but she’s felt worse. She was just happy that she actually felt rested for once, even with a hangover. Her left hand clutched onto a shirt tightly. When she opened her her eyes, revealing her gorgeous green, she had just remembered who she fell asleep on. Glancing up at David Powers, head skater of Beverly Hills High, Ely silently watched him stare at whatever was on the TV screen. He was warm and comfy… “Mm. Morning, Airhead.”

Finally. After several hours of laying there, after missing the most important meal of the day (half of it anyway), the girl was awake. Davy hadn’t wanted to move, worrying that if he shifted too hard, he might rouse her from her slumber--which seemed to be comfortable. “Finally, you’re up. Let’s go, it’s almost time for second breakfast and you already made me miss first breakfast.” David paused for a minute, looking down at her as he thought about how to word his next question. “...uh, did you sleep, y’know, good? Was I, uh, uhm… comfy?”

“You’re better than a wooden bench, that’s for sure.” Ely admitted, before turning her head to stare at the TV (obviously not budging for food nor having the will to get up this very moment). “Why do you need two breakfasts? That sounds a bit... much.” Her green orbs watched the screen as Courage tried to tell Miriam there was a monster around. Ely may have had a good night’s sleep but she was also far too lazy to do much this early in the morning. Absentmindedly tracing her finger in circles on his shirt-covered chest, the tired blonde yawned, “It’s far too early to move.”

“Ely I’m starvinggg. I’ve been up for years. You’ve just been sleeping on me. And stop touching me, it’s weird,” Davy commented, stealing a glance down at Ely’s fingers as they moved around on his stomach. He looked up at the TV, then back down at the girl in his arms as he groaned. “I don’t wanna miss breakfast. You’re already taking my clothes. Don’t take my food tooooo. Speaking of which… since you’re, uh, sleeping on top of me and w-wearing my f-f-favorite shirt … does that make us, y’know, like a couple ?”

God. This kid was so goddamn whiney. Her eye blinked dully at him. Why was he weirded out with her simply touching him? Oh yeah. His parents did say she was his ‘first’. Ely still couldn’t believe it but then again… he was a big ol’ baby. Pulling away from him in slight annoyance, not really wanting to creep him out more than she already did, the blonde shrugged, “It’s whatever. Let’s go eat.” After standing up, she offered her hand to help him up, “I doubt you want to date me anyways.”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re, y’know… you’re cool. And my mom likes you so that’s a bonus. A big bonus. Like… a Christmas sized bonus.” David explained as he hopped to his feet, not taking the extended hand. “...plus we like… slept together? Isn’t that how it works…?” More confused than ever, Davy shook his head and led her down the hallway to the stairway. “I hope you’re hungry. There’s gonna be bacon, sausage, fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, chocolate chip pancakes, caramel chip waffles, orange juice, apple juice, and milk. I think that’s it.”

Crossing her arms, becoming her distant and usual self, no longer the drunk girl the night before, Ely followed behind and muttered, “Not during this day and age.” When they got to the stairs, she listened to him list the variety of food that they would eat. Her smile had faded and her mask was up, “Sounds good.” She decided to not wait for any response and led the way upstairs, staying in complete silence until they reached the dining room table.

Davy liked her better when she was drunk. She talked more and was less… negative Nancy. Which was fun. This wasn’t fun. As they walked toward the dining room, Davy quietly plotted ways to shoo her off back to Jar, so he could get back to playing video games and skateboarding and… ducksitting. He took a seat down at the table, looking at his parents who looked at Davy, then at Ely, still moderately shocked that Davy had gotten a girl so close to him.

“...so how did you guys sleep?” Ilyana asked, and Davy looked up at her, his mouth already full of bacon.

“We were up all night long.”

“That’s my boy.” His father added with a bit of a smirk.

When Davy’s parents asked about how they slept, that striked a thought in Ely’s mind. Once she was in her newly claimed seat, she grabbed a glass of milk that was beside her plate. Before bringing it to her lips, she smiled, “That reminds me. I still need to kick your kid’s ass in video games.” Taking a moment to sip the milk, her gaze trailed to Davy, who once again was stuffing his face like he did the night before. Placing the cup down, she teased (after letting a chuckle slip out), “What was it that he said? ‘You’re poking a sleepin’ lion, Girl.’” Her voice mimicked his tone from last night and how passionate he became. Ely didn’t want to give his hella’ observant parents a reason to worry about her, so she’d play this happy charade for a little longer. Her words had revealed that even when drunk, she could recall things better than most inhibited individuals.

“We’ll have to do that another day, since I”m sure you have plenty of other stuff to do today. Including, but not limited to, go home.” Davy explained with a mouthful of potatoes, not looking away from the food that was on his place. “Or like visit one of your other friends, of whom I’m sure you have a bunch of.” Davy slurped down some milk and looked at his parents. “She can eat breakfast then be off, I think?”

Ilyana clicked her tongue, looking over at her son. “Why do you want her to leave so badly?”

Ely’s eyes glazed over as she listened to his words. Okay. She got the memo. You can shut up now. Her gaze rested on her empty plate she had yet to put food on. Her breathing picked up and her hands went into fists, balling them up into a clench. His parents didn’t deserve to see this side of her. Why did she even take a liking to this kid? Everything about him was so annoying and he had it incredibly easy. ‘Go home’. That’s easier said than done. Her expression was completely detached from the current moment. Pushing her seat back, she uttered, “I get it.” Once she stood up, trying to keep her breathing steady, she slowly dismissed herself, “Thanks for having me.” Before leaving the room.

It wasn’t Davy that was annoyed and stood up to stop Ely as she disappeared; it was his mother. Ilyana again clicked her tongue and stood up from her seat, following after Ely after sending her son an annoyed--but not overly angry look. Once close enough, she lightly put her hand back on Ely’s shoulder. “Ely, Davy is his own man and I can’t speak for him--but I’d like you to stay as my guest. I don’t have a fancy batcave, but I do have Oreo cookies we can eat. The least you can do is finish eating breakfast with us--we’ll look like bad hosts if you don’t! If you’re feeling like it afterward, we can hang out. Davy has to take Sprinkles to the lake anyway.”

“You gotta’ be shitting me.” Ely said under her breath. Davy would go to the one place she’d love to run off to. The urge for her to make her knuckles bleed was strong but… why did his mom care so much? She hardly knew anything about her and yet she still wanted her to stay? How the hell do you react to that? In normal circumstances, Ely would have already exploded. What was holding her back? Grumbling to herself, she turned to face the older figure and took an instant to gather her thoughts, “Davy has better judgement of character, I’m really not that great.” Her emotions conflicted with one another. If she stayed, she had free food but had to deal with the idiot and these sickeningly nice parents, if she left she could grab a snack at the store, skate around, and smoke. One sounded more pleasing than the other but she still hesitated until she finally bursted out, “Why the lake!? The one place I go to for me time.” She was obviously bothered with the knowledge that Davy takes his duck out to her special place.

“Well, dear, because he has a pet duck and they don’t really have duck parks. Sorry. Now, come finish breakfast. You don’t want to go out without an empty stomach anyway. Breakfast is important, if David hurt your feelings, I’ll send him to his room.” Ilyana smiled down at the girl and put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “It’s okay to be angry, and it’s okay to be confused. But you need to relax sometimes, and now is the perfect time to do that. I’m sorry he was rude, he just isn’t used to… well, people. It’s not his fault, he’s had a rough time. Just take a deep breath, sit back down… and enjoy food and then we’ll see what we can figure out to do. Maybe we’ll do.. makeovers, or something.”

“I- Uh.” Makeovers? What? That was far too girly for Ely to handle. Poppy covering her bruise was one thing but doing ‘makeovers’ as a form of quality time. That sounded horrible. Huffing out her steam, Ely growled, “Fine. But don’t get upset if I punch him in the face.” Walking back toward the kitchen, she looked at Mrs. Powers, observing her presence, “I don’t eat breakfast. Ever. But for you, I can.” Pulling out her seat obnoxiously loud, the frustrated and defeated blonde plopped her ass right back on the seat and started piling her plate with food, not once looking at Davy.

It wasn’t like Davy looked up at Ely as she walked back to the table, he was too engrossed in the pile of food sitting in front of him. Ilyana however, smiled at Ely as she took her own seat, slicing into a pancake and taking a bite. Ultimately, Davy’s father was the one who finally spoke. “...so, uh, really though. How’d you guys sleep? Ely, I”m asking, mostly. Since she was smashed last night.” Malcolm had no shame.

Finishing chewing her piece of sausage, Ely cleared her throat, “Peachy. Your son let me sleep in.” she carved into her own pancakes and stabbed the piece rather forcibly, “Don’t worry. He’s still a virgin.”

“Probably always will be. But hey, there are bigger disappointments in life.”

“DAD.”

Malcolm shrugged his shoulder, looking over at Ely. “What? I mean, she was drunk, but she wasn’t that drunk, and I don’t think you’d even know what to do really.”

“Malcolm, be nice. They’re just teenagers…”

“Practice makes permanent.” Ely chuckled before putting more pancake pieces in her mouth.

“After breakfast, David and Malcolm, you need to busy yourselves elsewhere.” Ilyana explained as she bit down on a waffle, slathered in butter. Davy looked at her like she’d just hit him with a shovel.

“...but why? I wanted to watch cartoons and play video games…” He complained in a whiny tone as he bit down on bacon.

“Because it’s my house and I said so.” Ilyana replied smoothly, smiling warmly. Davy opened his mouth to speak again, but his father put a hand on his shoulder before their son could get a word out.

“Happy wife, happy life, son. Just let this one go.”

“FIne…”

The sudden turn of events actually made Ely happy. Davy getting forced out while she got to spend time with his mom? Huh. She couldn’t help but grin to herself while she continued to eat in silence. Maybe she could get use to this.

[Venus]

Location: Andrews Gym ---> Denny’s
Time: ~9:30 AM
Interacting With: Troy @Universorum; Eve @lovely complex & Alyssa via WhatsApp

---

Audrey Huntsberg woke up to a single ray of bright light shining directly in her face. The brightness in sleepy eyes bothered her, so she covered them with a lazy arm. Behind her, acting as the big spoon was Troy, still fast and deep asleep as confirmed by his deep snoring. How both of them managed to sleep comfortably in a couch this small was a mystery to her. But judging from how her back wasn’t sore and she felt all warm and fuzzy, Audrey considered her night with Troy as one of the best sleeps she’d had in a while.

Audrey slowly turned around to be face to face with Troy. He had his arm around her, but he was so far gone intro Dream Land that her actions didn’t wake him. A smile rose to her face as she watched him: the locks of brown hair on his forehead, the feathery eyelashes, the thin lips that felt like fire upon her skin, the light stubble on his jaw… Before she realized what she was doing, her fingers were brushing the hair off his forehead and gently caressing his cheek.

It took this night to realize that the way he made her feel was not just the alcohol in her system that night they’d first met. The truth was, Audrey really liked Troy. Her sixth sense told her that maybe, with some time, something truly beautiful could blossom between them. However, her smile faltered as she remembered the way he’d treated her last night. It was more than obvious that Troy didn’t feel the same way about her. His indifferent manner had really stung her, the only reason he had let her stay the night was because he didn’t want to feel responsible if she got hurt, and he had probably only slept with her because he was drunk and she insisted.

Though she might like him, she was unwilling to chase after a man who clearly didn’t want her. Audrey had swallowed her pride last night and it had been for nothing. She would not swallow her pride again.

It was definitely time to leave.

Being as quiet and careful as she could, Audrey stood up, being careful to avoid stepping on hers and Troy’s clothes, which lied in a heap next to the couch. No sooner had she straightened up than an overwhelming wave of dizziness and nausea hit her. Clutching the desk with one hand, she covered her mouth to avoid her gag reflex from triggering and covering Troy’s office floor with vomit.

“What the hell is going on with me?” Audrey thought as she waited for the dizziness and nausea to pass. She racked her brain for a few seconds, trying to pinpoint the reason she was feeling so shitty. Yes, she’d been having the bouts of nausea in the mornings for less than a week now, but they were never this intense. It didn’t take long for her to find the cause, and her chocolate brown eyes quickly darted in that direction. On top of the desk were a few beer bottles, but one in particular stood out to her: the half-empty one sitting right in the middle of the bunch. The ray of sunshine that had been on her face earlier was now on the bottles, giving Audrey a look at the shadow of the alcoholic liquid inside.

The gag reflex was instantaneous, and the young woman barely had time to make it into the bathroom before she vomited violently into the toilet bowl. Once she had started, the puking didn’t stop until there was nothing else left for her body to expel, and every time she retched Audrey cursed herself mentally for every gulp of beer she’d taken. Why on Earth did she even accept the beer, knowing fully well that as of late her body was not tolerating any alcohol? That had a simple enough answer: she’d forgotten. And why had she forgotten? Yet another easy answer: Troy. Whenever Audrey was with Troy, she became careless. Being careless had its consequences… Here they were.

The young woman sat with her head inside the toilet bowl for what seemed like forever, taking deep breaths, and did not come up until she was certain the nausea had stopped. When it did, she slowly stood up, using the walls as support. Now that her stomach had been more than emptied, with the dizziness came along feeling lightheaded. Again, Audrey had to take a moment to compose herself before she went straight to the showers. The cold water did wonders for her, making her feel much better. Now that her sickness was tamed (at least for a little while), the next step would be to get some nourishment to calm the loud growling in her stomach.

As quietly as she had left the room, Audrey walked back into the office, where Troy was still fast asleep. She quickly dressed herself, gathered her belongings and shot a quick text to her best friends: the only people that could make her feel better after this mess.

To: Lyssy, Evie
Can you girls meet me at the Denny’s on Fifth? I’m sick and hungry and I need emotional support. :(

Audrey

It didn’t take long for Eve to reply to her text, and with confirmation from her friends Audrey called up an Uber and was on her way. She decided against waking Troy: he’d said that they would be back to their regular lives once the night was over, so Audrey would do just that.

Audrey arrived at her desired location in fifteen minutes. She knew Alyssa wouldn’t be pleased with her choice of venue, but Audrey’s body was begging her for a Cinnamon Pancake Breakfast, paired up with the biggest glass of cold milk the restaurant had. Thankfully, the place wasn’t very full, and Audrey didn’t have to wait long to be seated and have her order taken.By the time her best friends had arrived, Audrey was halfway done with her meal.

“Hi.” she greeted them enthusiastically with a mouthful of food. After swallowing it and taking a long sip of her milk, she continued. “Sorry I didn’t wait until you guys got here to order. I was, like, suuuuuuper hungry. But don’t worry, because I think that judging from how this-” she pointed to her half-eaten meal the fork in her hand. “Isn’t exactly filling up my stomach, I think I’ll, like, order something else.”