Melissa

CANCELLED.

_{Location: Football Field
Collaboration: Trev @Silent Observer and Jacob @Legion02
Mentions: Josie @Kitty}

Savannah could feel her heart beating louder than ever as she exited the school building, making her way towards the sports fields. Usually, she’d be heading home for the day, but this afternoon was different. Savvy was finally taking Josie’s advice and talking to Trevor for the newspaper article, but the interview was the least of her worries.

Arriving quicker than she anticipated, the redhead looked out onto the field at the team running drills and instantly spotted who she was looking for. She shyly looked away towards where Josie was trailing behind her, but the girl motioned for Sav to keep walking. Obliging, she made her way over to the sidelines to where Coach Moss was standing overseeing the team.

Butterflies flew free in her stomach as she timidly approached the tall man. “Hi, Coach Moss, do you have a second?”

“Yes, young lady?” He asked, taking off his sunglasses to look her in the eye. Intimidating. “If you’re looking for cheer tryouts, they’re over there. Coach Abrams is running them.”

“Um, actually sir, my name is Savannah Matthews, I’m from the school newspaper and wanted to do a feature on the football team about the upcoming season. Would you mind if I talked to Tr-” She stopped herself in her tracks before she said his name. Keep it cool, Sav. “One of your players for a few minutes? I don’t want to take up too much of your time.”

“Sure. Let me grab someone for you…” He paused in thought, searching the field for whoever he had on his mind. “Wells! Bring it in.”

Sav’s heart soared.

Alongside many of the other players and potential players, Trevor was busy running sprints between the yard lines. Drills were exhausting, but he was built for it. His sprints were surprisingly graceful for such a big dude, like a bull in ballet slippers… or something like that. He heard the sharp call of Coach’s voice as the man called him by his last name — Coach always called players by their last name, just like the players always called him just “Coach”. It was the way the world worked, no arguments or complaints about it.

Sweaty and breathing heavy, the redhead looked up. At first, he just saw Coach and some girl, then he did a doubletake and realized that it wasn’t just some girl, it was the girl. His heart rate fluttered from the mix of intense cardio and sudden nerves. God, this just might be the death of him, but death couldn’t be any sweeter. Breaking from his momentary dream-like gaze, Trev jogged over to the pair. Trying to keep his cool, he smiled and wiped a gloved hand across his forehead and spoke.

“What’s up, Coach?” Trevor asked, trying to keep his eyes from wandering over to Savannah too much. Trying, and failing.

“Young lady here wants an interview for the school newspaper. Figure you’re the least likely to say something dumb besides O’Connor and well, he isn’t here, so don’t prove me wrong, Wells.” Coach Moss said gruffly and then turned his attention back to the team, walking away.

“You got it, Coach.” Trev responded to the man before he turned to leave. Now that it was just… the two of them… Trevor hazarded a glance at Savannah. Gone instantly was the confidence that he had when talking to Josie about asking Sav out — it drained completely out of him, along with all of his blood and breath, so it seemed. “Hello, again, uhm. You want to do an interview?” he stammered out the question and cringed at himself internally.

“Hi Trevor,” Sav smiled cooly, but inside, her nerves were even more present than they were the first time that they spoke. He looked so good right now, all athletic and sporty, and it made the redhead weak in the knees. But she needed to be professional, so on with the interview, she went.

“Yeah, I wanted to ask you just a few questions about the season. Is that okay? I know y’all are in the middle of tryouts right now, so I’ll try to be quick.” Savvy asked, gazing up at him.

Y’all. The phrase hit him right in the chest, just like it always did when he heard her say it. Maintaining his composure as best he could, Trevor nodded calmly. “Yeah, of course, that’s no problem. Do you have a list of questions or…?” Trevor was impressing himself. Two full sentences and not a single stutter, that was an improvement. It helped that they were talking “business”.

Coach didn’t have a habit of calling his players off the field. Especially Trevor, who was throwing in his bid to become captain — which went up against Jacob’s plan more than the redhead ever knew. Luckily, Jacob hadn’t used his secret weapon yet. Looking over at Trevor, he noticed he was talking with a certain girl. Now suddenly everything got a lot more interesting. After asking Coach, Jacob was also allowed to leave the field for a moment. With a rather devious grin, he approached behind Savannah, circled around her and interrupted any conversation the two were having. Looking her up from head to toe, letting his gaze linger a few moments at certain points, he shrugged.

“Six, tops.” He then turned to Trevor. “C’mon man. You can do better than her. Look, the cheerleaders are having their tryouts. You could literally have any of them.” He said, motioning to the cheer squad not much further from them. “She can take that interview after Coach decides who the captain should be.” He told Trevor, not even caring that the girl could hear him. In his eyes, she was nobody. “Not that there is much doubt about it.” He added as if the outcome was already obvious. In Jacob’s mind, it was.

Trevor looked absolutely appalled. Appalled, and mortified, all at once. Not only did Jacob call out his crush, but he was unforgivably rude to her. Very uncharacteristically, anger welled up in Trevor, and he had to fight back the urge to deck Jacob where he stood for being such a… well, an ass. He was being an ass. Punching a dude right in front of Sav might not make the best impression, though, so Trev thought better of it and reacted with words alone. “Seriously, Jay? Apologize for being so rude. Savannah’s here for an interview. dude.”

Sav rolled her eyes, men.

Jacob’s plan went as well as he could expect, and he walked away after witnessing both of their reactions. That was what it was about, after all. To see how Trevor would respond. Turning around, his grin grew into a devilish smile. Today had been full of pleasant surprises. From his pocket, he conjured a small, plain white pill. First Damian was kicked off the team, then Hana could conjure up one of these bad boys and now he could have some leverage over Trevor. With a smile, he swallowed the pill. Today would be the day he became captain.

“Sorry about that. He’s probably just a little wound up about trying to make captain. Please, ignore all of that, it didn’t happen, and none of it was true.” Trevor attempted to apologize on Jacob’s behalf. A wasted effort, most likely, but he tried nonetheless.

“No, it’s alright. Not everyone can be as nice as you are…” Sav tried not to blush as she let the words slip from her mouth, but continued on as if it didn’t happen. “So, um, Interview. First question, what is your biggest strength coming into this season?”

Had Damian still been on the team, the answer to that question would have been easy. They had a strong quarterback, a good captain who kept the team morale up. But Damian wasn’t on the team now, so Trevor had to think on that question for a few minutes. “Strength… uhhh, I guess it is our record. We’re coming into this season with a long time winning streak, so the team has a lot to be playing for. There is a really strong desire to keep the two and a half year streak up and make it three, so we will.”

“Good answer.” Sav said, trying to scribble down everything as quickly as she could, not able to keep up. Realizing that she couldn’t write that fast, she sighed. “Would you mind if I actually recorded this? I don’t think I can keep up, and I want to make sure I get everything.” She asked, motioning to the phone that she pulled out of her pocket.

Oh, a recorder? A device to permanently capture if he did manage to say something dumb? Sure, why not! “No, that’s fine. Do what you need to… and I’ll try not to talk so fast.” Trev polished the sentence off with a nervous laugh and looked down at the turf.

“Okay, great thanks. And no, you’re fine, don’t change anything.” Sav spoke with a smirk, hitting record on the voice memo app on her phone. “So, next question. What’s your greatest weak-” She started to ask and then stopped herself, realizing that losing Damian was probably going to be the answer. Sav changed the subject quickly. “Actually, what is your favorite thing about being on the football team?”

Trevor noticed the quick shift in her question, and he deeply appreciated that courtesy. Everyone in the school knew what the team’s greatest weakness would be this season, thanks to Melody announcing it on live TV this morning. The new question was far more positive, but still difficult to answer for the redhead. “That’s a tough one, personally. I love a lot about football. I guess my favorite part is the team itself. We’re a unit, we might all have our specific roles and jobs to do in the game, but we make our plays as a team. Parts of a whole machine. When we win, we all win together. I would say that when we lose, we all lose together too, but... We don’t really lose.” Trevor laughed genuinely and flashed her an award-winning smile. “Jokes aside, it’s the team. They guys are all super talented, incredibly dedicated, and many of us are good friends on and off the field, and that helps a lot in games.”

Sav felt her breath hitch when Trevor smiled at her- he had a gorgeous smile. He was rocking this interview, and it gave her a lot to work with. She was looking forward to actually putting it on paper and in the school paper. “Last question, what are you looking forward to most this season?”

“Oh man… a lot, actually.” Trevor grinned at Savannah and planned a more proper response. Since when did talking to her become so easy? He could get used to this… talking to her, looking at her, smiling, and maybe making her smile too. “This is my last high school season, so every moment is going to have a lot of meaning. Making memories, and all that. The easiest answer would be our Homecoming game for the season. Home games are always great, having the stands full of BHHS students cheering us on, but Homecoming is next level. It’s like a football holiday, and you know, it’s gonna be my last one, so it will have to be legendary. I won’t settle for anything less than at least one broken BHHS record.” Not to mention that Homecoming came along with an associated dance, and that was also something that Trev could be excited about now. He might not include that in his interview response, but he was certainly thinking of it.

“I love how passionate you are about football. It’s easy to tell how much you care about it, and how much it’s had an impact on you.” Savvy said, brushing a piece of loose hair out of her face and giving Trevor a genuine smile. “Well that’s actually all the questions I have. Is there anything else you want to add to the article or want to say?” She asked, not wanting the conversation to end just yet.

“This is going in the paper, right? I guess, uhm, write something in there saying that I hope to see everyone in the stands at our games supporting the team. We do it all for the school’s pride, and your support means a lot to us.” Trevor smiled and nodded in agreement with his own words. There was a pause in the conversation where he awkwardly put his hands together and he nervously started cracking his knuckles through his gloves. “So… was that good? I’ve never been, uhm, interviewed before.”

“You were great, like really great. And off the record-” Sav leaned in a little closer to make it seem like a secret, “You’d make a great captain in my opinion.” She leaned back, a slight blush creeping up onto her cheeks. “Well, I guess that’s it then. Thanks, Trevor, this is going to be perfect for my article.”

There was no stopping the inevitable scarlet rush in his cheeks. Trevor felt his face, no, his whole body, as it caught fire when she leaned in towards him. The absolute cherry on top of the ice cream sundae was what she had said. She thought he’d make a great captain. Well, damn, he had to do it now. There was no choice in the matter… he’d do it because he told Damian he would and because Savannah said he would be good at it. He didn’t need another reason. It was obvious that she was wrapping up to leave, and Trevor realized that he wasn’t quite ready for that.

Now. Now was the perfect moment. Josie had given him a pep talk and the lord above blessed him with this perfect opportunity. He’d be a fool to let it slip. “I actually have a question for you too.” Trevor’s mouth spoke before his brain caught up with what he said. Oh wow, that was actually bold, and smooth. Impressive transition, Wells.

Oh? Sav was the reporter, not him, so she was curious as to what the question was. Completely oblivious to whatever he was about to say she responded almost immediately. “Sure, what is it?”

“Uhm, do you like Star Wars?” That was slightly less smooth, Trevor nearly winced. It would be best to keep on moving, don’t stop the train. Don’t let it linger. “Because they’re playing A New Hope on the roof of Captain Cuddles this Friday. If you’re free, would you like to go… with… me?” Oh god Trev, that was awful. He tried to smooth the awkwardness away with another smile.

Sweet jesus.

Was Savvy dreaming? Did she need to pinch herself? This seemed too good to be true. She wanted to kiss him right then and there and shout ‘Yes, yes yes’ to the rooftops, but she needed to act natural. Okay, cool it Sav, you can do this Taking a deep breath, she gazed into his gorgeous eyes and smiled widely. “I...I’d absolutely love to.”

Wow, that was… a lot easier than he’d expected. She said yes. Oh my word, she said yes! Absolutely, even. The realization of it hit Trevor in waves, waves that he rode into an entire ocean of elation. For a moment, perhaps too long of a moment, he just smiled like a big dumbass. “Great! We should, uhm, exchange numbers. To set plans. I don’t have my phone on me right now, but I could give you my number?”

“Of course, that sounds great.” Sav opened her phone, and it was only then that she noticed she was still recording. Trying not to let that show, she stopped the voice memo and saved it quicker than lightning. Not only would she get to listen to the interview later, but would get to listen to Trevor asking her out over, over, and over again. She opened up a new contact and passed the fellow redhead the phone.

Trevor tried to hide the fact that his hands were shaking a little when he took her phone. He bit the tip of the index finger of his right glove to take it off and then tapped his phone number on the touchscreen. Trev hand it back to her and grinned happily. Putting his glove back on, his smile faltered a touch. “I should get back to tryouts, especially if I want to make captain.”

Savannah smiled, taking back her phone. “Okay, well go gettem’, I’m sure you’ll do great. I’ll talk to you later?”

“I hope so.” Trevor replied with a pleased sparkle in his eye. He turned to run back on the field, riding this current emotional high into what he hoped would be the best semester of his high school career.

CANCELLED.

_{Location: BHHS Fourth Floor}

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Brynn’s favorite subject was Anatomy. She took a liking to it at the beginning of High School, and her passion for the field only grew with time. Anatomy itself was intricate and the girl knew every small little detail necessary to gain prowess and respect in the difficult field. It was something she excelled in and she tutored others in the subject often.

That’s how Brynn found herself in the middle of a tutoring session in the fourth floor supply closet during free period. Because she was well, you know, good at it.

The brunette was pinned against the door, legs wrapped tightly around Derek Clayton’s torso, who was one of the football team’s tight ends who also had a quite nice tight end. Since tryouts were after school, and he had to be there, they had to push their scheduled meeting to before the final bell rang for the day. Derek was usually one of her favorites. He’d whisper sweet nothings into her ear and have her feeling her best in little to no time, so she always tried to hang out with him at least once a week. Never more than once a week, or else things would be tricky.

“You looked so sexy on the TV in homeroom this morning.” He rasped, pushing her head closer to his, the kissing intensifying. His movements were rough, and she could feel his fingers begin to explore her barely clothed body. Usually, she would be loving this, thriving in the best way possible, but things didn’t feel right.

Derek’s hands were so much harsher than Sean’s were.

She tried to bury the thoughts, but as she kissed Derek, her mind kept drifting to the blonde haired boy she had spent time with earlier in the janitor's closet, and their interaction kept playing on repeat in her head. Everything about it was gentle and compassionate in comparison to the current situation transpiring, where even though the room was a thousand degrees, things felt cold.

His lips moved towards her neck, and the girl knew what was coming. “No hickeys anymore, Der. I have shows to do in the morning now.” She pulled away, giving a valid excuse so the boy wouldn’t leave his mark on her delicate skin. Or was it a valid reason?

He cackled, “Sure babe, whatever.” replying quickly before shoving his tongue back into her mouth. Derek was rude, callous, and made Sean seem like a comedian in comparison. Stop thinking about him, Brynn, you know the rules She argued with herself, trying to remain focused on the task at hand. But she couldn’t focus. Things felt different.

Time seemed to move at a glacial pace. It felt like ages until the boy pulled away, a smug grin splashed across his face. He kissed her quickly one last time. “I gotta get going. Same time next week?” He asked, moving away from the door and setting her on the ground. He picked up the used condom that lay feet away from them and threw it in the trash.

Brynn padded over to where her shirt sat in the corner, crumpled up after having been torn off. “Not sure what my schedule looks like next week, but I’ll let you know.” She quietly responded, pulling the tank top over her head. Finding her underwear and skirt strewn on the ground not too far away, she slipped those on as well. It was in that moment that she decided that she desparately needed to get out of there, so she quickly moved towards the exit.

Derek blocked the doorway, pulling on his pants as he stood there with a confused expression on his face. “Don’t you remember that I go out first? We can’t be seen together.” He reminded her, buttoning his jeans. “Wait a couple minutes and then you can go. I’ll catch you later.” And just like that, he was gone.

For the first time in a long time, Brynn felt used. She tried to shake these feelings, but they weren’t disappearing. What was happening to her? Why was she feeling this way all of a sudden? For years she had been sleeping her way around but never had she felt like this. She may have feigned knowing why, but deep down, Brynn knew the exact reason.

The brunette pulled out her phone and texted Sean. What are you doing after school? I need to talk to you.

Send.

CANCELLED.

_{Location: The Jones' Residence ---> BHHS Parking Lot ---> BHHS Rooftop}

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The incessant and never-ending ringing of an alarm woke Topher from his slumber. It was early, too early to be clamoring out of bed, and yet, he was. In Toph's opinion, the Winter break had been cut too short and he needed at least another week to pull himself together and get back into school-mode. Running a hand through his chocolate brown hair, Topher stumbled over to the bathroom and turned on the shower as hot as it could go. After all, there was an abundance of hot water in the tanks due to the fact that his parents hadn't been home in days. Or at least that what it seemed like.

Peeling off the clothes he had worn the night before (he hadn't bothered to change into pajamas), Topher hopped into the shower, letting the boiling hot water and steam cleanse his body and mind. It seemed like he stood under the stream of water forever, letting the pressure hit his back and his chest while his mind grew blank. With no incessant thoughts running through his brain, he could just breathe for once. Toph flipped off the faucet and grabbed his towel.

After pulling on a new set of clothes, including his signature leather jacket, the boy made his way downstairs to the kitchen, where- surprise, surprise- he found himself on his own. Walking over to the fridge, he pulled out a carton of orange juice and drank straight from the spout, not bothering to get a glass. Besides, he was the only one who drank it.

“Christopher, what have I told you about drinking straight from the container? You’re going to get someone sick.” He mimicked in a higher pitched voice what he imagined his mother might say regarding the habit. “Sorry mom, it won’t happen again.” Returning the carton to the fridge, he grabbed his guitar case and made his way out the front door, locking it behind him (even though he knew that no one would come in after him).

Hopping onto his sleek black motorcycle, Topher begrudgingly started making his way to BHHS. At this point, he could’ve just dropped out if he wanted, since no one would notice if he was gone, but if he wasn’t going to college, he knew it was kind of important to get at least a high school diploma. Pulling into the parking lot next to a gaggle of girls, Toph revved the engine for dramatic effect before turning off the ignition and stepping off of the bike.

“Ladies,” He nodded to them, like a cowboy would tip his hat, and swaggered into the school, listening to the giggles and chatter that followed.

Although he was supposed to be in homeroom, Toph had made the executive decision at the beginning of the year to only go once a week- and that day was not today. Walking right past Ms. Winship’s room he made his way over to the stairwell, flinging open the door with no hesitation, and climbing up the stairs to the roof. Perching himself directly against the fenced barrier, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it with his Zippo.

Today was going to be a long day.

CANCELLED.

_{Location: Homeroom
Collab: Josie @Kitty and Savvy @melissahart
Mentioned: Trev @Silent Observer}

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The dance party ended leaving Josie without the ability to dance without possibly upsetting Mrs. Winship again. That meant she needed to find another way to occupy her time and it just so happened to be that her favorite redhead was sitting not too far away writing. Picking up her stuff Josephine made her way over to the table Savannah was at, setting her backpack on the floor and turning a chair around before sitting down and crossing her arms over the back of the chair, resting her chin on her arms.

“Hey girl!” She exclaimed looking to her best friend with a smile, “How’s my favorite redhead?” The two hadn’t seen each other since the party but Josie had texted her and told her she needed all the deets about what happened between her and Trev after Riley had announced she was just Trevor’s type at the party. Which reminded her that she’d need to bother Trevor about the same topic later, but for now her focus was getting all the information she could from her bestie.

Sav had been sitting in the same position for the majority of the period, writing down everything she could possibly think of in her notebook for her next feature in the paper. Things were either written legibly, crossed out aggressively, or written in penmanship so messy that the mere sight of it would make her mother cry. When Sav wrote, everything else seemed to fade away, leaving just her, the pen and the paper. She was so engrossed in her words that she didn’t notice when her best friend sat down in the chair across the table, her face nearly inches away from hers. It wasn’t until she spoke that Savvy jumped, nearly flying from her seat and onto the tile floor. The redhead laughed, gaining her composure once more. “Oh hey, Josie, didn’t see you there! I was just trying to pull together some ideas for the newspaper meeting later today.” Savvy smiled, closing her notebook and placing her pen gingerly on top. “What’s up?”

“Well I came to see how you were, but now I’m more interested in what’s going on in that head of yours since you were so engrossed in writing. Might you have actually been writing about a certain boy?” Josie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at her friend with a wide grin etched on her face. She leaned in and nudged the redhead with her elbow gently. “Come on. It’s time to spill. I’ve had to wait too many days for all the deets on what happened at the party.”

Savvy blushed a deep shade of crimson, looking down sheepishly at her notebook. “It’s nothing really…” She replied, brushing some of the hair that had fallen into her face back behind her ear. But it was far from nothing. If she was being honest with herself, what had happened at the party had been replaying in her head over and over since it occurred. It certainly wasn’t nothing. “He talked to me, Josie, he actually talked to me. He even knew my name!”

The grin faded into a simple smile as she watched and listened to her friend. Oh how little her friend knew about just how much she was noticed. Savvy was one of Josie’s few girl friends so she was around guys a lot, especially in the JROTC, and she knew Savannah was being noticed by them. Hell, she’d already threatened an idiot freshman for speaking not so innocently about the red head. But Trevor was different, Trevor was definitely one of the nicest guys at the school and she could see Sav and him working well together.

“Of course he did Sav. Who doesn’t know your name by now? He’d be a fool to not talk to you and even more of one to not know your name.” Josie’s voice grew softer as she got a bit closer, “Now what did you two talk about. Don’t leave me hanging girl.”

“You say that, but somehow I don’t believe it. I’m just the new girl from Texas; small fish, big pond. How could everyone know my name?” Sav replied, having a hard time finding truth in her best friend’s words. Switching to the next subject, the redhead couldn’t help but grin, “He was so genuine. We talked about food, favorite drinks, and we talked about football and the new season- he said I should totally come to the games and he’d really like it if I did.” Sav smirked at the memory of the night’s events.

She opened back up her notebook, leafing through it to find the page she had been writing on, which was chock full of ideas about a possible feature on the football team. “I figured if I went to their first practice today, I could write a big article about the upcoming season, but I don’t even know what I’d say to Trevor if I went. I feel like complete gibberish would come out of my mouth if he looked in my direction or said anything to me. Not that he will.”

“Well you know I’ll go with you if you want me to, of course when I don’t have work. Plus you’d get to see him more and he’d see you more, which is what I think he wants Sav. It sure seems that way.” Josie grew silent and watched as her best friend began to flip through her notebook then talk about her article idea. This brought a bigger smile to her face, her friend was seriously too sweet and innocent. These two definitely were made for each other though, Josie was going to help her two friends. It was decided.

“First of all he will look in your direction. Second of all, he will speak to you. Third of all, you are going to the practice even if I have to carry you there. Why not make a list of questions to ask so you always have something to say during the supposed interview about football. Then once you’ve become more comfortable you can just begin to talk to him normally. If you want I can go with you and be there in the background as support.”

Savvy’s eyes lit up when Josie mentioned a list of questions. A laugh escaped from her lips as she realized her own stupidity. After all, she was a writer, and questions were all she needed to piece together an interview. “Why didn’t I think of that?” She scoffed to herself, a little stunned that her daydreaming had removed all common sense from her brain. Flipping to a fresh page, she wrote down the first few questions that came to her mind. It wasn’t until Josie mentioned she’d accompany her to the practice that Savvy sighed in relief. “That would be so amazing. You’d really do that for me?” Sav asked, a little stunned that her friend would take time out of her busy schedule just to make sure she didn’t make an absolute fool of herself. That was true friendship right there.

“Of course I would Sav. You’re my best friend, so why wouldn’t I do it. I’m sure the girls would love not having dance practice after school anyways, I sure would…. I’m not done with the new routine yet. So really you’d be doing me a big favor by letting me come with you.” Josie spoke a bit sheepishly, she was supposed to finish the routine by today but she had a few more formation to finish and was currently procrastinating. Although she’d still help her friend even if she had practice. In her mind, friends always came first.

“You’re the best, Josie.” Sav reached across the table taking her best friends hand in hers, genuinely appreciating the gesture. “So I guess I’m doing this. I have no way to get out of it, do I?” Although she pretended to want to escape from the situation, Savvy couldn’t help but feel giddy at the thought of talking to Trevor later today. But what would he say? Would he actually want to talk to her? “Are you sure this is a good idea? He may not even remember what happened at the party, we were drinking after all.”

Squeezing her friend’s hand reassuringly Josie shook her head. “Nope. You are doing this. No ifs, ands, or buts. I will carry you there if needed.” Listening to her friend ramble out her worries she rolled her eyes at the Sav playfully, “Darling, this is a great idea. He is definitely going to remember you and what happened at the party. If he doesn’t I can also hit him in the head for some mental recallibration.” Josephine grinned at her own joke while looking at Savannah, the two were opposites in quite a few ways but that’s what makes them so perfect as best friends.

“Okay, fine, I’ll do it. But make sure you’re ready to smack him on the head if I walk up to him and he looks at me like I have five heads.” The redhead giggled, pulling her hand away from Josie’s to grab her pen in order to put it to the paper, beginning to think of some more questions in order to not look like an idiot. “You’re so good at talking to guys, how do you do it?”

“I highly doubt he’ll look at you like you have five heads if anything he’ll see you and faint from your beauty.” Josie feigned fainting, putting her hand to her forehead and leaning back in her chair. “Too much beauty! I can’t handle it!” She exclaimed before letting out a giggle, covering her mouth as she did so.

Leaning back forward she rested her head back on her arms staring at her best friend before letting out a noise that was mix between a ‘tsk’ and a laugh at Sav’s question. “See I’d say confidence was key but if a guy ever talked to me and showed the interest in me like Trevor is with you... I would probably lose my voice and panic. I’m only good at talking to guys cause they all just kind of see me as a ‘bro’, as they put it. It doesn’t help that my dad scared away the first guy who ever gave me a chance freshman year and now my father’s reputation precedes me, I won’t lie though. He is a scary man so I don’t really blame guys for being scared of him.” Josie shrugged, “That doesn’t matter though, our focus needs to be you and Trev. I expect to be godmother to the beautiful redheaded babies.”

Sav laughed out loud at Josie’s fainting act, so loud that some of her peers looked over in confusion. She calmed herself down, a few giggles remaining, with a smile spread across her face. ”You are by far the most confident person I know and you seriously don’t give yourself enough credit for it. I hear what the guys say about you, they think you’re a catch and I bet you could have your pick of the bunch if you wanted.” Sav sighed, knowing that Josie’s good looks and confidence were a winning pair. In regards to the godmother comment, the redhead shushed her best friend, raising an eyebrow at her remarks. ”Let’s not count our chickens before they hatch, please. That’s a little too far into the future to discuss, so let’s just focus on this afternoon before we get ahead of ourselves.”

Simply ignoring her friend’s comment on what guys thought of her, as she didn’t believe it was true, Josie smirked. “I’m simply speaking in regards to the inevitable. Adorable red haired babies plus alot of what goes into making said babies.” She teased winking at Savannah. “But for now we can focus on this afternoon. One of your questions should be asking him to the movie showing this Friday, it would be great seeing you catch him off guard plus adorable with both of you turning as red as your hair.”

The redhead’s eyes widened in a slight panic. “No, no, no I couldn’t ask him to go on Friday. Not only would that catch him off guard, that would catch me off guard.” Sav replied anxiously, fiddling with her pen. “The entire school is going to be there and I doubt he would want to go with me instead of his friends. Besides, I thought that you and I were going to go together? I can’t just ditch you like that.”

This time it was Josie’s turn to grab her friend’s hand. “Look Sav, darling. He’d be lucky to get the chance to go with you, it would be a great time for you two to get to know each other better. In regards to us going together, I would be fine with getting ditched this time. Hell, I am encouraging you to ditch me for this boy, girl! I can always find someone else to go with like one of the dance girls or I’m sure Audrey would love to have me pick up an extra shift. Or I could do the stupid military workout with my dad like he’s been trying to get me to do with him forever, probably not… I don’t really feel like hanging around with a bunch of men my dad’s age…” She shrugged before squeezing Savannah’s hand. “What I’m trying to say is I will be fine and that if you don’t go with him I will force you to go together by tying you both together. The JROTC has made me very efficient with rope tying skills.

Sav tried to think of a good excuse to convince Josie that this was far from a good idea, but no thoughts seemed to come to her mind. The worst part was that she knew Josie wasn’t kidding about tying them together part, and this wouldn’t be the sexy 50 Shades of Grey type of rope tying either. There was no escape.

Desperately trying to think of something, she began to speak- more like stammer- but luckily, a loud noise rang through the classroom and a smirk popped onto Sav’s face. Saved by the bell… Packing up her journal and pen and quickly zipping her backpack shut, she smiled at her friend. “We can talk about it more later, but I’m really hesitant about this. If only I could know what he was thinking… Anyway, I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Of course, lunch sucks if we don’t sit with each other… just the memory of the day you were gone gives me chills..” Josie shook slightly a sound of a shaky breath to make it seem like she got cold all of sudden escaping her lips. “See ya then girl!” She waved goodbye to her friend before looking for her next target… Trevor.

CANCELLED.

---

---

Location: The Halls → The Lobby
Interactions: Riley _{@Lovely Complex}, Brynn _@melissahart, & Owen _{@Universorum
With two special guests.}

---

---

Mrs. Winship grabbed the remote and aimed it to the television above the board, “Settle down, kids. Riley’s show is about to begin.” First, with the remote, she dimmed the lights, then she turned to channel 9 because for some reason that was the channel the school’s master control room was connected to. The memorable, yet outdated, 15 seconds opener played with the same timelapse shot of the Los Angeles sky, above the school, that had the sun coming out and the title of the show being ‘written’ in the clouds: Rise: The Morning Show. Once the Norman sigil was in the picture, beside the text, it was time for the segment! Right when the opener would normally transition to the set with Riley sitting on a couch the screen unexpectedly went black.

Meanwhile, in the hallways of Beverly Hills High, Owen was having a hell of a fucking time figuring this thing out. Holy shit, this camera had more buttons than a fucking proper keyboard. Uhm… WHY COULDN’T IT JUST BE GREEN AND BIG AND EASY? Owen started pressing shit, and the feed appeared on the other end, in an off aspect ratio. “Okay! No, okay. I got it. I got it! Action! Go! Godspeed?” Jesus, this was impossible. A Double sucked. Owen looked at the little screen attached to the camera, noticing that it looked fuzzy. “Oh, motherfucker,” he grumbled, fiddling with a few settings, before… finally, mercifully, the show’s live feed was the way it was supposed to be: glorious 4k resolution, focused on the two anchors.

“Now action. That’s what I’m supposed to say right?” Owen had no idea that the camera had happily picked up his very word. Oh well.

Hahahahaha. Riley was dying on the inside but the show must go on. The kids would get a kick out of this at least. Unlike his normal show, Riley chose that for the start of the New Year, he would change things up. Behind him and his co-host was a mural painted by one of their fellow students, but it was hardly visible since the camera was zoomed in on its subjects. “Rise and shine, Beverly Hills High! It’s your host, Riley Wells. And you know, on this show, I like to entertain, but I also like to inform because I want you to leave your homeroom thinking, huh, that just happened and talk about it for days. He paused and watched Owen from behind the camera, not knowing how this actually looked to his audience, “Before I go into the happenings, I gotta’ tell ya something.” Cooly, and like he wasn’t having a panic attack before the red light went on, Riley side stepped closer to the fine human display next to him, “It’s a New Year! And today marks the debut of my co-host. Ladies and gents, this show is no longer just mine. Please welcome Brynn Payne!”

Brynn gave a small wave to the camera, a large smile plastered on her face. “How’s it going BHHS? My name’s Brynn and I’m thrilled to be joining Riley this semester in bringing you the latest and greatest each and every morning.” She exclaimed, an excited glimmer in her eye. She then proceeded to turn to her co-host. “Sorry to take your spotlight Rye, but I thought it was about time this show got a fresh face instead of your ugly mug every day.”

“Sheesh, could she be anymore into herself? I don’t get people… Hey, what’s this do?” Owen, still fiddling with the camera, tapped a button, then looked at the preview pane, which now showed the two hosts under the effects of a sepia filter. “Oh, crap how do I turn that off? This sucks!” Owen started smashing the filter button, going through the different options, until he landed on what he felt was the normal one. There, that’ll work. In reality, the colors were a little sharper than normal, but that was good enough for him.

Yeah, everyone will be talking about today’s show for days, for sure. Riley couldn’t help but chuckle at Owen’s words, knowing very well the audience heard it. Focus, Rye. This is your show. “You think people will be looking at your face, Brynn?” A jab right back atcha, babe. With a cheesy grin, Riley winked at the camera and then continued the show, “I don’t know how much you can see behind me, but this piece of work was painted by none other than Ilyana Powers!” Hopefully, Owen zooms out.

Owen did not.

“And she’s part of the art club, photography club, and fashion club! No, Rose, I don’t stalk you. I’m just advertising. You should consider doing it too--” While Riley talked, Brynn motioned to Owen to zoom out so he could get the whole mural in the frame. Kid couldn’t operate a camera to save his life. “--Both the art and photography clubs have a showcase at the end of the semester, while the fashion club is known for their annual show! Expect some of the members to hunt you down to be their model.” Owen stared at Brynn for a few seconds, wondering what she was on about. Was he not doing a good enough job? Jesus christ. Then he looked at the screen again…

“This thing doesn’t zoom itself out! This cost like ten thousand dollars! Motherfucker…” Owen looked around the camera, searching for a button, or a dial or… something. Eventually he found it, and the screen jerked backwards instead of the smoother transition from someone like A Double, but… it got the job done. They could see the damn thing.

Brynn began to talk, and as she did so, she walked- no scratch that- strutted down the hall towards some of the club bulletin boards. “If you’re not the next Annie Leibovitz or Van Gogh, consider joining the school newspaper! Talk to BHHS’s resident southern belle Savvy Matthews if you’re interested, cause their first meeting is today. If writing isn’t your forte, stop by the drama club!” She thought she was talking a little too fast, nerves were coursing through her veins, so she took a deep breath in order to complete her thought.

“The dance committee will be meeting tomorrow to start planning this year’s senior prom- don’t forget about the Sadie Hawkins dance coming up later this month! ” Brynn had forgotten about it until this morning, and still had no clue who she was bringing. Her mind flipped to Sean, but she stopped herself before her thoughts got too out of hand. Stop thinking about him, Brynn. Focus.

Owen, who was getting bored with all of this camerawork nonsense, tapped his foot and bobbed his head to music that only he could hear. “Shorty get down, good lord, baby got ‘em open all over town, strictly biz, she don’t play around~ Cover much grounds, got game by the pound, gettin’ paid is her forte, each and every day, true player way~ I can’t get her out of my mind. Wow.” Looking at Rye without stopping his song, he tapped his watch. ‘How much longer, jesus christ?’

Riley decided in this moment that this segment would not be in his portfolio. Fuck it, this was already a hot mess! Who cares how the rest?! “You see these trophies right here. Though, I don’t know if you hear me over our camera guy’s voice, yeah. Sports is pretty big here--”

“I like the way you work it, no diggity, I got bag it up — WAIT WHAT? They can hear me!? Why didn’t anyone tell me?! You SCUM.” Halfway through the chorus, Owen’s eyes went wide, and he seemed more surprised by this than anything else so far. Great, now the entire school had heard him sing. Yay.

_“Owen!” Brynn made the ‘cut it out’ motion with her hand, speaking sternly under her breath telling him to be quiet. “Anyways, football tryouts are today! Led by captain and junior Damian O’Connor, he’ll lead our Normans to-”

Before anymore words could be said from this odd trio, a loud slam could be heard down the hall and a spirited woman’s voice echoed down the halls, “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!” The natural impulse in Riley was curiosity and to see the face behind the voice, so he gestured both Brynn and Owen to--

Brynn was three steps ahead of the boys. In an agile spy like fashion, she walk/ran down the hall towards the screeching voice. She lived for this kind of drama, and she had a feeling that this was going to be something good.

When they all reached the lobby of their school, Riley stopped in his tracks, watching from afar. That was… Damian’s mother. “His father is going to kill him!” Her strawberry blonde hair flowed gorgeously, her skin was soft, kind of angelic, and she wore a summer dress with a thin cardigan sweater, but everything about her was on fire.

Owen spun the camera around (rather well, actually, there was a decent pan before he put it on the two women that were coming in), and then he yelled at Melody, his mother’s best friend. “Mel! Beat this kid’s ass! He let me sing in front of the school!” Owen complained, pointing at Riley. What? He couldn’t beat Riley up. Dude was soft, he’d probably break him. Melody could though, and given her current attitude, hey. Maybe she would.

Oh shit. Attention was brought to them. However, even with Mother Melody making her way to them, Riley was distracted by the person that glided in… almost ominously.

Ebony hair, pale skin, an ensemble that was completely black, a raven. A woman that reminded him of an older version of… Hailey. Unlike Melody, this woman, every step she took brought chills up his spine and the way she held herself was like she was out of this world. When was the last time one of the Greens, that weren’t Henry or Hailey, came to the school grounds? Evelyn was her name and she didn’t say a word but she did wait for Melody to finish her business so that they could go to the office together.

“Owen, you know who’s ass is going to get beaten? MY SON’S.” Marching straight to the camera, she growled at Riley, “Is this on? Broadcasting to everyone?”

Looking over to see Riley pale in the face, no response coming from him, Brynn jumped in to reply a little nervous, but trying to seek the opportunity to catch some live drama. “You’re on air and the whole school is watching live right now….Care to say a few words?”

“Don’t you distract her! Get him! Beat his ass!” From the way his mother had spoke, Owen had been under the impression that Melody was much easier to get to do things… She seemed to be having a small panic attack though? What happened to Damian?

“How dare you, Damian Erick O’Connor.” Melody’s rage was past the point of seething. Oh no, she was in explosion mode and her eyes were glaring at the lens (and for some reason the members in the master control room were still airing everything). “A small get together? A SMALL GET TOGETHER? At MINE and your FATHER’S beach house?!” Should they be calming her down? Probably. Were they?

Probably not.

“Well, baby, this small get together got you kicked off the damn team. Oh, and, you’re grounded.” And with that, Melody stormed back to Evelyn’s side. If there was one thing about this woman, she was extra. And yet, Riley was still staring at the Green, who looked back at the three recording, her stare as dark as the clothes she was wearing -- but still, she kept silent.

“That was today’s show everyone…”

Black screen.

CANCELLED.

---

_{Location: BHHS Parking Lot ---> BHHS Hallway ---> Mrs. Winship's Class
Mentions: Trev @Silent Observer}

---

Savannah stuck out like a sore thumb as she pulled her bright red pickup truck into the BHHS parking lot. It looked shoddy and old in comparison to the Lamborghinis, Maseratis, and Ferraris she had parked alongside, but to her, Ol’ Red was a piece of home. Everyone and their mother had a truck back in Hico, and it wasn't any different for the redhead, spending the majority of her life behind the wheel of a pick-up. The first car that Sav drove was was a beat up '77 Chevy C/K belonging to her grandmother. The day she first learned to drive the two spent nearly an entire afternoon doing doughnuts in the middle of a field in order to ensure the wide-eyed girl at the steering wheel wouldn't hit anyone.

When Sav moved to Beverly Hills, she wanted to make the 20-hour drive in her pickup, but her father Jackson absolutely refused, stating he'd rather buy her a truck when she got there than have her complete the drive on her own. And so, she obliged, going to the dealership the day after she flew up in order to pick up a new car child. However, none of the options suited her, as all the bells and whistles seemed excessive. Jackson then found the perfect solution: a friend of his was selling his aged pickup truck in order to upgrade to something nicer, and thus Ol' Red was born.

A little sliver of Texas was exactly what Sav needed right now to calm her nerves. Today was the first day back at BHHS after the winter recess and the Elite’s New Years Party, and she did not know what to expect in the slightest. The event itself was a whirlwind. It was a night filled with liquor, dancing, and unexpected conversations. For the first time, Sav had gained the courage to talk to her crush, Trevor, and even though it may have been prompted by a drunk comment from his brother, it was magical. Hearing him actually say her name gave Sav butterflies just thinking about it. But what if it was only dumb luck? A right place, right time sort of meeting?

Grabbing her backpack from the front seat of her car and slamming the door behind her, Sav began walking slowly towards the front entrance of the school. She had a ton to do today; get started on this week’s edition of the school newspaper, turn in her winter reading report, and try not to faint when she inevitably saw Trevor in homeroom.

Savvy opened the door to the school and was greeted by loud chatter from her peers who were reminiscing about their vacations. This person went to Cabo, that person flew to Paris; it all seemed too extravagant and unnecessary, but that was Sav’s opinion and not something she openly shared with her peers. Sure, she dressed the part, wearing all of the designer brands and making sure she didn’t put on anything from too many seasons ago, but it felt forced and unnatural to try and fit in with everyone else in this high-class town. Which was why she sought out an old truck, wanting to hold her roots close and not let go.

The redhead continued dodging her way through the hall until she made it to her locker. Turning the lock quickly and precisely, it popped open, revealing the contents of her own personal space in this large school. She switched out some textbooks and stuffed them into her knapsack, grabbing her journal and favorite pen last in order to keep them on hand. Before Savvy turned around and made her way to homeroom, she gazed at her reflection in the mirror on the locker door. She fussed with her hair, fixed her makeup, and tried to mimic how she’d react when she saw Trevor in homeroom. “_{Hi Trevor! How was your break?” “Hi, Trevor, it was great seeing you last weekend.” “Hey Trevor, I’m writing an article about tryouts, can I interview you?}” Savvy let out a deep sigh and slammed her locker frustratedly. None of the things she tried seemed to be the reaction she was going for, which caused her brow to furrow and her expression to turn dull and concerned. Nonetheless, she gathered herself and began to walk towards Winship's class, picking up her stride in order to make it before the bell rang.

Arriving in the room precisely as the ringing commenced, droning out any potential conversations and greetings, Sav walked directly towards the back of the room, sitting down at a desk next to the window. Opening up her journal and beginning to write in swirly penmanship the basis of her next article, she tuned out the rest of the room, attempting to get some work done.

CANCELLED.

_{Collab with: @Universorum and @Silent Observer
Location: Sterling Residence
Setting: Morning after New Year's Eve}

---

The early morning sun glared through the window, hitting Brynn’s face harshly and waking her from her slumber. Even before she opened her eyes, she knew that this room was not hers. The sheets didn’t smell like Armani Code Pour Femme, the room was way too bright, and most notably, there was an muscular arm snaked around her torso. The last thing she remembered was Sean picking the lock of a room in El Jefe’s house… was she still there? Brynn’s eyes fluttered open to find it wasn’t the same room as the one where they first...well, you know. I guess this must be Sean’s room…I’m at the Sterling’s she thought to herself gazing around at her surroundings. ... Selena is going to kill me. Brynn concluded, mentally preparing herself for the backlash. The details of how she got here were incredibly fuzzy, so she’d have to get Sean to fill in the missing pieces later.

Turning her head slowly, Brynn looked back at the sleeping blonde behind her. Sean looked so peaceful, so she tried her best not to let her movements wake him up. This was a fantastic opportunity to stare at him without him yelling at her for it. She admired his facial features and noted the large tattoo on the side of his neck. I’ll have to ask about that later... Deciding that she had stared at him long enough, she nestled back down into the covers, trying to close her eyes and go back to sleep, since she didn’t know when the boy would wake up. After all, she was confined to the bed until he did. The only issue was that a pounding headache was beginning to form. Brynn knew she shouldn’t have had that extra drink.

As the minutes ticked on, it seemed possible that Sean would never wake up. If it weren’t for the steady rising and falling of his chest, it would have been fair to think he had succumbed to something and tapped out. Forever. Eventually, though, his eyes creaked open.

He didn’t speak at first, instead he just looked down at the head resting on his chest. Oh yeah. I brought her home… Sean thought back to the night’s events: the food, the dancing, the fun at Damian’s, then leaving shortly afterward and coming back home for… more fun. A lot more fun. Enough that it was worth bringing her home, he decided. “Hey, Brynn…? Are you awake?” Probably not; she had been… pretty fucking trashed.

Hearing Sean’s morning rasp brought Brynn right out of her daze. Even better, he remembered her name. You’d be surprised by the number of guys who’d forgotten her name the morning after, the lack of respect evident in their breath. But Sean was clearly one of the good ones. Without opening her eyes, she responded. “Yeah, I’m alive… barely.” The tequila headache was beginning to become more evident, so Brynn tried her best not to let it show. Nothing kills the mood like a bad hangover.

Sean nodded, running one hand through her hair while his other reached down off the side of his bed. “You drank too much.” He said, and though his voice was still soft, still tired, it was undeniably reprimanding her. His hand came back up and placed on his chest, near her face, a bottle of Excedrin extra strength. “Chew two, give it ten minutes.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Brynn stated, enjoying the feeling of Sean’s fingers combing through her hair against her pounding head. It was both relaxing and comforting, two things that were quite necessary to nurse this hangover. It took her a second to realize what Sean had placed in front of her face, but after finally opening her eyes, she was face to bottle with the answers to her prayers. Taking the medication off of his chest, she followed his orders and took two of the pills. “I could seriously kiss you right about now.” She mumbled, resting her head back on his chest, closing her eyes once more to block out the light.

“Yes, you could. But, for some reason, you didn’t.” Sean sighed and closed his eyes as well, pulling her more snugly to him. She had been drunk last night, and he had been able to handle that. Bringing her to his house and allowing her to wake up in his arms, meant that he had to handle the hangover that came with her buzz. “I usually sleep like... many, many more hours than this, but when you’re ready, we can go downstairs. I’ll get you some pancakes, or… something. Hangover food. I don’t know.” He wasn’t perfect, okay?

Brynn smirked at his comment, and after opening her eyes just enough, let her lips find their way to Sean’s. She kissed him delicately and then retreated back to her prior position. “There, now I did.” A smile could be felt through the tone of her voice. The thought of food made her stomach churn, as well as did the likelihood of bumping into Selena, so she opted for the first option. “Let’s stay here for a little bit longer so you can fill me in on how much of a fool I made of myself.” The offer of food was sweet, not many guys did that for her, so she’d have to take him up on that after.

“You didn’t make a fool of yourself. I, uh, kissed Owen. To stop him from killing Marshall? At least, that’s what I felt was going to happen. Then we went inside and Marshall ran off to the bar to get smashed, and we went to get some food. It was delicious. You got a little more drunk, then we went and danced — I taught you how to ballroom dance, you did pretty good for your first time. I twirled you into my arms,” for emphasis, Sean twirled some of her hair around his finger, smiling down at her. “I kissed you, then I took you upstairs. We had sex, like once or twice at Damian’s and came back here and did it until you said ‘if we keep going, I’m gonna fall asleep during.’ So, I kissed you again. And we went to sleep. And, here we are. I think I covered everything?”

The brunette couldn’t help but laugh softly under her breath. “You forgot to mention you picked the lock so we could get into the room at the party, it was really hot.” She opened her eyes again to look up at Sean. “I remember everything up until round two at Damian’s. Sounds like I blacked out for the majority of the fun part of the evening.” Brynn pulled herself closer to Sean, if that was at all possible. “Maybe you can reenact what I missed?”

Their morning fun was about to be cut short before it could even occur, so it seemed. Selena Sterling, who was miraculously hangover free and perfectly glammed up for the day, stood outside of her brother’s door. There were only a few days before school started for the second semester of their junior year, and she had some adventures planned for her and her twin to go on in these remaining days. Sel knocked thrice on the wooden door frame. She always knocked three times in a row, with a distinct pattern, so there was no mistaking who it was, especially when it was followed with, “Seany~”

Brynn moved in towards Sean, their lips just about to touch, when the legitimate worst sound rang through the room. A knock on the door. Even worse was that the voice that followed belonged to none other than the person Brynn feared the most in this very moment. “Shit, it’s your sister, she’s gonna kill me if she finds me in here.” Brynn clung to the sheets that were wrapped around her body, gazing around the room for an escape plan.

Sean stared at Brynn as if she were crazy. No one would kill her, especially not his sister — that was foolish. Rather than help her find a way to escape, Sean instead turned his attention to the door. “It’s unlocked, Sel. Come in.”

“No, don’t say that!” Brynn knew it was too late for a viable hiding spot, so as the doorknob began to turn, she pulled the covers over her head, careful not to move a muscle. She was about to be murdered.

“Oh!” Selena exclaimed from the other side of the closed door. He was awake already… that was odd, at least for new Seany. He hadn’t woken up on the brighter side of noon since he had arrived back home. His sister took this as an overwhelming success of having brought him to the party last night. Maybe it was helping with his sudden and complete depression. She opened the door and walked in holding a mug of coffee. “You’re already up, that’s wonderful! I brought you coffee — three big spoons of sugar, whole milk, and some mocha syrup.” Selena said cheerfully, offering him the steaming mug, completely unaware of the other person in the room.

Sean listened to what Selena had to say, and paid no mind to Brynn hiding beneath the covers. He sat up and reached out for the steaming coffee cup. “I don’t know what mocha syrup is… but thanks. Yeah, I got up because I was waken up…” Sean shrugged his shoulders, drinking from the coffee…. which was delicious. All his life, he’d only had black, bitter, gross coffee, but it did what it needed to: wake up a bunch of groggy young men training to be soldiers. “Selena, this is awesome. Do we have more?”

Brynn tried her best to stay still, but with fear filling her entire body, it was hard to remain calm. Selena was standing mere inches away from her. When Sean moved to grab the coffee cup, the covers began to reveal her chocolate brown hair sticking to the sheets, so quicker than lightning, the girl grasped them and moved them out of sight. Hopefully no one noticed.

“Of course we have more, silly!” Selena said with a warm smile and turned to sit on the bed next to him. She continued talking while doing so. “I was thinking that you and I should go have breakfast at a diner. There’s this really great place called The Sunshine Diner, the pancakes are to die for. Maybe even better than mom’s, but shhh, don’t tell her that.” Sel’s genuine giggle was cut short when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Was that… brown hair… next to her brother? “Seany?” She asked, her eyes trained on the evidence that they were not here alone.

“Yes, Sparkles?” Sean asked simply, sipping at the drink some more. The mention of pancakes had peaked his interest, and he was growing tired of Brynn’s game — but he didn’t understand women. So he’d let them play, and then Brynn could pay for his food in return. It was the least she could do.

Selena stood up from the bed like she had sat in something gross. Really gross. Worse than seeing your brother naked with your gay friend next to you, gross. “Who is that?” She asked rather accusingly. “Why is there a girl in your bed? Is she hiding? Is she naked? Are you… were you?!”

“Because I brought her home. Yes, though I don’t know why. Not entirely, just topless. No, but we were about to until she dove under the covers. Tell me more about these pancakes.”

Doomsday had arrived. The world was about to end, and Brynn could hear the disgust in Sel’s voice. Well, it was fun while it lasted… bye Sean. As slow as she could manage, Brynn peeled the covers off of her face. “Hii~ Sel…” She nonchalantly greeted, an awkward expression plastered onto her face. “Fancy seeing you here…”

“Here?” Selena asked in a voice that almost sounded sweet, you know, like antifreeze… poison can be sweet. The blonde blinked rapidly at the familiar face in her brother’s bed, tilting her head and smiling, before purring out more barbed words. “You mean, here? In my home? Where you most definitely don’t belong?”. The crown princess gave the little candy a moment to speak, if she so wished. It would be her funeral.

“I’m just saying, but I brought her here. And it’s also my home. So she belongs.” Sean paused to sip from his coffee. “There are more important matters to discuss, including that of the aforementioned pancakes.” Women. Honestly.

“Oh yes, there are more important matters to discuss. Like getting you to the STD clinic, you might need a shot after riding the town bike.” Selena said harshly, very much unlike the girl that he used to know as his sister. It seems that both of them had changed since he left for school, and neither one of them seemed to have been changed for the better. She had her reasons, and she kept them hidden, just like the rest of their family did. The Sterlings were full of secrets. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that one of Ophelia’s tarts would jump at the chance of getting with my brother, none of you could keep your eyes off of him yesterday. I should be even less surprised that it’s you, isn’t that right, Brynn? Did you really think you could get away with hitting and quitting a Sterling?”

Sean listened to Selena’s rant, and chose to write it off to early morning grumpiness. He felt like pancakes would certainly brighten her mood, but he chose not to say that. Instead, he decided to point something out to her. After all, what she’d said was minorly incorrect. “There wasn’t any ‘hitting and quitting.’ There was a lot of hitting. Very little quitting.” Sean said, before sipping his coffee again.

Brynn couldn’t exactly hide from this situation. There were no covers she could pull over her face to escape from this one, and she couldn’t bury her face into Sean’s chest either; it’d just make everything worse. Her face turning bright red, she didn’t want to dig herself deeper into the hole she was currently sitting in. But little miss princess pants was making her mad. ”Honestly Sel, I think you’re just a little jealous that your brother rode BHHS’s communal bike before you did. I can’t help that he’s hotter than you...”

“Hmm…” Selena responded in a laugh that didn’t even receive any breath, it sounded more like a hum than anything. “Yes, I’m sure that’s what it is. We might be friends, but I’ll say this here and now, you better not treat him like the others. That wouldn’t really go over well.” Sel turned her attention to her brother once again, and smiled. Deep down, she did hope that this might be more than just an alcohol-fueled mistake for them. She touched his cheek warmly and spoke. “If it makes you smile, then I might be okay with it. That being said, this does not derail my plans for the day. Brynn can come, if she dresses herself.”

Sean took a deep breath at the realization that he understood women perhaps even less than he’d originally thought. His sister and Brynn had been at each other’s throats, but now they were playing buddy? Senseless mayhem. Pointless attacks on character. This would never fly at the Academy. But, he wasn’t there anymore. To ensure she didn’t say anything out of turn again, Sean put his hand on the back of Brynn’s head and guided her to his chest, before he spoke firmly to his sister. “Sel. I understand where you’re coming from, trying to… protect me. And I really appreciate it. But I have had a terrible, terrible month. It may just be a one time thing — I hope it isn’t. But with Brynn’s help I smiled a little. And it was nice. Please don’t be rude, because of that.” Sean paused to let Selena digest the words, before he moved onto the thing that mattered most. “Now, about those pancakes…”

Sel nodded at her brother’s words. Of course her twin would understand why she acted the way that she just had. Six years apart couldn’t sever the bond that they shared, even if it was the worst six years without him. But, of course, Brynn was there, so she wasn’t about to get emotional. “I… hope it isn’t either.” Selena responded and stood a little bit straighter as she did so. “Be downstairs in fifteen, we’ll take the Maserati.” She said before turning on Louboutin heel and heading out of the room.

Brynn couldn’t process what was happening fast enough. One second Sel was slut shaming her, and the next Sean was defending her? With her head rested on his chest, Brynn could feel his heart beating fast, and she felt hers beat at the same rate. This boy is something else. She thought to herself, bashfully staring down at the duvet. “I’m really sorry about that.” Brynn stated with a small laugh, trying to diffuse the tense situation that just took place.

Sean shook his head, leaning his head down slightly and giving Brynn a gentle kiss on the lips. “Please don’t be. I’ve had an awful month, year even. She’s worried about me, that’s all. Okay. You can wear one of my shirts, if you want. I don’t know what you actually have on hand to change into…”

CANCELLED.

---

_{Collab with:@Universorum
Mentions: @Silent Observer
Location: Kitchen/Snack Area}

---

Leaving the ordeal behind them, Brynn, Sean, and Marshall made their way into the party, mainly in the pursuit of alcohol. They’d need a lot to forget about what just happened back there, but Brynn knew there was more than enough to go around. When the Elite threw a party, there was usually enough booze and alcohol to feed an army.

The landscape was just as she expected. Students were strewn everywhere, drunk and stumbling, with loud music blasting that could almost pierce your eardrums. Usually, Brynn would already be dancing on the tables or off with some football player, but right now she just felt overwhelmed.

As soon as the trio found their way inside, Brynn witnessed Marshall seemingly gain the ability to walk on his own, and watched as he began meandering his way over to the bar. She knew he had milked the "Help me, I’ve been strangled!" bit so he could feel up blondie’s biceps. That bastard. With Marshall abandoning her, this left Brynn alone with Mr. Hero, and she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous standing next to him. Trying to cut the silence, she spoke, “That sure was something out there. Sorry that had to be your re-introduction to Beverly Hills. Owen is, well, Owen, and he had to make a scene.”

Sean didn’t want to be here, he honestly didn’t. His sister had dragged him along, damn near physically and against his will. After what had just transpired outside, though, he was pretty sure it was a good idea he had shown up. Everyone else, it seemed, had just been stressing out — having damn near panic attacks in some cases. Sean knew what to do in situations like that, stay calm. Stay cool.

He was glad he’d been able to defuse it without a fight. He had a feeling Owen knew how to handle himself in such a situation, and he didn’t really want to fight. Not yet, maybe even never again. When Selena had walked away, Sean had chosen to attach himself to someone else from the group that he already knew, having not been entirely sure if the other people would react kindly to the way he’d kind of… well, shut Owen down.

Plus, Brynn was cute. After she spoke to him, he just gave her a nod and a small attempt at a smile. It wasn’t perfect, that was for sure, but hey. Sean hadn’t exactly been a very big smiler lately. “Hey, someone had to do something. I feel like if I hadn’t, Marshall wouldn’t have been able to walk himself to the bar like he did… Can’t have that kind of thing happening on my first outing.”

To Brynn, Sean seemed pretty subdued. Even after everything that just happened, he remained pretty indifferent, the only sign that he had any sort of emotion toward the situation was the slight attempt of a smile he gave, as well as his choice of words. “Marshall would have been toast if you hadn’t been here. His idea of a fight is arguing with the clerk at Bloomingdales about giving him the wrong size shoe to try on.” She smirked, a small laugh escaping her lips. “He was lucky you were around.”

Well, at least he was appreciated. There had been a part of him worried he had overstepped his bounds, but Brynn (that was her name, right?) seemed to not feel that way. Check her off the list. “Thanks, I’ll be here for… well, the rest of my life, unfortunately.” Sean’s eyebrows furrowed and for a brief moment, his face seemed saddened, but then he smelled something delicious. He tipped his head back, sniffing more intently. “I think I smell… well, I don’t know what it is. But it smells delicious. Let’s go eat it. Like, all of it. It smells cheesy. I love cheese.” Sean reached down and grabbed Brynn’s hand, rather than waiting for an answer, and he tugged her along the way over to where the food was.

Food was the one thing that made him happy, no matter what. There were so many wonderful flavors and tastes he’d yet to experience. When he saw the spread laid out on the table, he looked over at Brynn. “Okay… you’re the native. What do you recommend first?”

One second Sean was growling at her not to stare at him, and the next he was taking her by the hand and pulling her around with him. This kid sure was confusing, and Brynn couldn’t exactly tell what his deal was, but she went along with it. “You can’t really go wrong. Mr. Wells is an incredible chef. His son Trevor is one of the Elite so he made all of this for the party. Pretty generous if you ask me.” Taking a look at all of the options, she gestured to one of the plates to the left of Sean. “If you like cheese though, the Mozzarella Sticks are bomb. I think Mr. Wells uses three types of cheese in them, they’re addictive.” Gazing up at Sean, she couldn’t help but stare into his gorgeous eyes, but remembering the epsiode from earlier, she looked away, focusing rather on the rest of the party than him.

Sean watched as she looked up at him, for a few seconds that lingered longer than perhaps they needed to, and then turned her attention away from him, and rather to the rest of the party. Well, at least she was trying to be mannerful. Plus, being stared at was… much more bearable when it wasn’t an entire limo of people gazing at you like you’re the next item for bid at an auction house. Rather than mention anything, Sean first went for one of the mozzarella… sticks. Sticks? Those things looked more like logs.

He picked one up and hefted it in his hand. Heavy. Good. He pulled it up to his mouth and bit down on it, suddenly feeling his mouth explode in a menagerie of tastes and cheesy goodness. This was everything he’d ever imagined when thinking about food. This was it. SURELY, it couldn’t get better than this. Sean held the cheese stick up to Brynn’s lips, and though he spoke, his words did not address the food. “Thank you for trying. I’m not exactly a social person, so being in the limo and having people just like, oogle me… was the worst thing. I appreciate it.” There, now Brynn at least knew that her efforts did not go unnoticed.

Brynn let a smirk play on her lips briefly before taking a bite of the food Sean had held out to her. It was surprising, almost sweet, seeing the change in the interaction between them, even from just a few minutes earlier. It also didn’t hurt that a hot guy was feeding her food. “Yeah, I know we all can come on a little too strong, especially me, but I hope you don’t hold that against us.” She replied. Her eyes flickered down to the table to look for something else to taste. “Here, try this.” She stated, dipping a chip into homemade guacamole and mimicking his actions from a few moments ago.

Sean was happy to eat the chip that was offered to him, crunching it down before he spoke simply. “I’m not going to lie to you or sugarcoat it. I’m pretty sure you and your friends are crazy, after what I saw. Hailey, that’s her name, right? The Ringleader. She was egging Owen on the whole time. And she littered with that Sprite can.” Sean winked. “She’s the craziest.” But seriously? How did no one else see it? Maybe he just didn’t have the full story — but from where he was standing, Hailey had wanted that to happen.

“Sticking with my gimmick of not lying or sugarcoating things, I would like to take you outside and dance now. That’s a party thing, right? I’ve never been to one before.” While speaking, Sean obtained another cheese stick, biting it and watching as the cheese strung out in front of his lips.

“Never sugarcoat things. That’s the way I like it.” Brynn was known for being brutally honest, so she was glad to know that he felt the same way about being truthful. “Hailey is indeed something else. Much like Owen, she tends to enjoy making a scene on her terms, even if it seems wrong or krass. I can understand why you think she’s crazy.” On the subject of dancing, she realized how sober she was in comparison to everyone else. Usually by now if she was talking to a boy this attractive, she would’ve skipped the formalities and found a room by now. But, after speaking with him and actually getting to know him a little bit (a new concept to her), she knew that was probably the wrong move. And by the sounds of it, Sean had never been to a party like this, so dancing sounded like a plan.

“Yeah, that’s a party thing. Let me get a drink first, and then we can go and check it out, okay?”

“Sounds good! What are you drinking?” Sean himself wasn’t a huge drinker, but he could go for something. New year, new him. Might as well see it in drunk and dancing with a girl he barely knew. “I’ll go with you, maybe there’ll be something I’m interested in.”

Brynn took his hand, not waiting any longer to get a drink in her system, and brought him over to the bar. “Tequila is my signature, but I’m pretty much down for anything.” she replied grabbing two of whatever drink the bartender was making. “Who knows, maybe you will find something you’re interested in. Everyone has a favorite, they just have to find out what it is.” She spoke, mentally noting the double meaning in her words after they had left her mouth.

“I think I already did find something I’m interested in.”

Spy Academy: An Espionage Tale

Prepping a post, will be up tonight!

CANCELLED.

---

_{Interacting with: Martha @Dirty Pretty Lies (COLLAB), Pippa (Mentioned) @Emma, Grayson (Mentioned) @Syn, Trevor (Mentioned) @Silent Observer}

---

Savannah waltzed around the party, seemingly walking on air as she made her way from group to group. A social butterfly in every sense of the phrase, she tried her best to get around to all of her classmates, either to introduce herself or to catch up with her acquaintances. Even though she had been at BHHS for months, she surprisingly hadn't met everyone yet. To some, she was a complete anomaly who walked around saying "Y'all" and to others, she was the new girl from Texas with the red hair. Sav wanted to make sure people knew her, at least on a conversational basis. Plus since she didn't really come to the party with anyone, she was trying her best to not have any downtime on her own. This made meeting everyone a great goal and excuse to always be talking. Savvy didn't want to be stuck in the corner by herself. Not tonight.

So, from group to group she went, chatting everyone up and letting her southern drawl work its magic. However, as she stood talking with one of the girls in her Modern Literature class, she felt someone push past her into the crowd of people. Casually looking over her shoulder, her eyes found Grayson weaving through his classmates with a girl in tow. Realizing the girl was none other than her Calculus tutor, Pippa, her joyful expression changed to one of panic.

"Oh, shit." She spoke, ignoring what the person she was speaking with was saying. "Excuse me for a second." Breaking off the conversation, Savannah turned around and headed towards the kitchen, where it was a tad less crowded. Pulling out her phone, she texted the person that needed to get here as fast as she could. Martha. Her best friend had been crushing on Grayson for as long as she had known her, and would be devastated to see his new year's kiss go to someone else.

---

Honey, you better get here real fast, some girl’s taking your man.
What are you on about SavSav?
Plz don’t tell me what I think it is...
Pippa’s all over Mr. Gray so come quick. If you wanna kiss him at midnight you srsly better hurry
Fuckin’ shit I’m the only Ana to his Grey
Give me a sec, I’ll have MarMar give me a glow up
I’m gonna rock his world. just you wait. #MarthaColletteWells2k43
Alright thank god, glad you’re finally getting off your ass.
She’s HOLDING HANDS WITH HIM.
That could be you bitch, GET HERE!!!
SHUT UP!!! I’m coming I’m coming
Better call out a Hail Mary so I don’t stab a bitch #jesustakethefuckingwheel
See you soon!!

---

Savannah was too busy furiously texting Martha to notice who was around her, and it wasn’t until she put her phone down that she realized that she was a mere three feet away from the guy at BHHS who made her little southern heart skip a beat. Trevor Wells.

His smile made her melt like a snowman in the middle of a Texas heatwave and she could honestly look into his gorgeous eyes all day. Realizing that she was staring, Savvy turned around quickly, trying to hide the blush that suddenly crept onto her cheeks. The redhead had turned so quickly that she became dizzy, but she didn’t know if that was the alcohol starting to hit her or her simply knowing that Trevor was standing diagonally from her. It was probably the alcohol.

The last time Sav had a "crush" on a guy like this was back in 5th grade. His name was Mason, and things did not go in her favor. He caught Savvy doodling "Mrs. Mason Reese" in all of her notebooks and got freaked out beyond belief. So, like any elementary-aged boy, Mason got his cootie shot and ran as far as he possibly could from her on the kickball field. Since then, Sav hadn't really found her cup of sweet tea. Sure, there were definitely guys she was attracted to, but she had never come across someone who was "doodling in her notebook" worthy. That was until she came to BHHS and saw Trevor at his locker on the third day of Junior year.

Sighing, Savvy leaned back against the counter, finishing her drink and placing it down on the granite. Deciding she needed another one, she walked over to the bar and got a new glass filled with something potent. God knows she would need to be a little drunk for later. Sipping on the concoction, she returned to her spot in the kitchen and decided to converse with the random girl next to her, anxiously waiting for Martha to show up and make a scene.