I have a question for you @BrutalBx. Are the Misfits a very tight knit group of friends ore are they a random group of people that just know each other? :)
Nathan is what you would call a mothers dream. He is tall somewhat handsome and gets good grades. If he still had a mother she would probably be bragging about him to everyone who would listen and Nathan would of course sit red faced and deny every bit of praise shot his way, because such is Nathan humble to the point of delusion of his own worth. He refuses to put himself over anyone else because he believes that his triumphs is solely based on luck and great timing, rather than his hard work and diligence. The one thing he took away from his father was that if you wanted a good life you had to work hard, nothing was ever going to be handed to you. So therefore Nathan almost never slacks of when it comes to work or school which can be to the annoyance of his friends when he says no to the second party in a row.
Nate has a kindness to him which makes him extremely approachable and that might be why he always gives a cheery "Hello!" at you when you pass him in the hall. Though his cheery exterior is somewhat hard to crack since he keeps his chewy personal center mostly to himself, only his closest friends know about his family situation and he likes to keep it that way.
He is also quite rancorous, if someone had been mean to him or otherwise done something that he does not agree with, he will hold it against that person until he is proven wrong. He can be a loyal friend but he can also drop you without a backwards glance if you piss him off enough.
► noteworthy appearance traits
Deep set eyes and a strong jawline
►favorite item
His Leica M240
► current dilemma
Nate is struggling with the fact that he is leaving his sister home alone with their father. He worries that she’ll have to fend for herself.
► warning
Nate is a very laidback guy, nothing really bothers him. Just don't be an asshole!
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► quirks
Hums when he concentrates
Documents everything through his camera
Has a big apetite
► hobbies
Photography
Writing
Beach parties
Blogging (He has a food/photo blog)
Late night snack runs
► dreams
Nathan dreams of seeing the world, he wants to make up for always being stuck at home to look after his sister. He wants to take a gap year before college to travel but he is unsure if that is the right thing for him to do, this trip is his way of testing the waters.
► fears
His biggest fear is to be alone, that his sister and he will grow apart and that his friends and he will lose touch after this trip.
► likes/dislikes
✔ Running ✔ Kissing ✔ Eating out ( at a restaurant…silly) ✖ His father ✖ Cold showers ✖ Birds
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► occupation
”Blogger/Influencer”, Barista at a small coffee shop
► family
Father - Liam Matthews | Sister - Addison Matthews
► brief history
Nathan was born in to the middle class family of Liam and Molly Matthews and had a normal childhood and even had the great pleasure to have a cute baby sister enter his life. So he and his sister Addison had the start of a quite normal and happy childhood until tragedy happened when he was six, his mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at a routine checkup. And though she put up a good fight for a year or so she eventually succumbed to the demon growing inside of her and she passed away. Naturally the family was broken down in despair Molly Matthews was the guiding light for so many people and mostly so for Nathan's father Liam who took the death of his darling wife so hard he went in to a depression so deep that he was not recognizable, he lost his job as an high school psychology teacher and subsequently lost the house in which they had been living in, which meant they had to move in with Nathan's grandparents.
His father never really recovered from his wife's death and spent most of the day lying in bed being unreachable and while Nathan would never go as far as to say that it was neglect, he cannot say that his father raised him. That lot fell on his loving grandparents. But as time wore on his grandparents grew weary of Liam's behavior and eventually made him go back to his teachers job, which meant they had to move away to Los Angeles where a new school graciously hired his father. Uprooting Nathan just as he was about to enter high school, so when they arrived in this small town Nathan had a chance to start over and he was hell bent on creating a better life for him and his sister here! Fortunately Beverly Hills High had some really awesome people and he got a few friends he was certain he wanted to keep for life.
With his father working all the time now to provide for them Nathan now had to take care of not only himself but also for his sister Addison, and why he would never say that this was a bother to him. He was robbed of his childhood as he had to grow up far too early than a normal boy should have to. Now in his late teens he is very protective of his sister and will go through anything to aid her in whatever she asks of. But his relationship with his father is forever tarnished and Nathan can't see a way that this could be mended.
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► extra information
All sandwiches
Tue January 1 01.48pm “So I just realized as I lay here, pantless in bed. Maybe still a little bit drunk from last night. That this will be my last semester of high school! And what have I to show for my whole school career? Good grades and a fucked up social life? This is the moment… this right here. I have decided in this pantless state, smelling like old stale fries. This semester I will change! Go to parties! Go surfing more! Flunk a quiz! No… no maybe not that! But this semester will be different!”
Fri May 17 7.57pm ”They always tell me ‘Nate you need to relax. Stop being so tightly wound!’. But usually it is said like an insult. But when Sami tells me to relax it is usually accompanied by a beer and a sandwich. Where am I going with this? Oh yeah, he is a true friend. He said he wanted to go to this party this weekend and I guess I can’t say no can I? Also he has gotten a hold of an old RV for some reason says he’s taking it out on a road trip after graduation… Interesting!”
Sun June 2 3:23pm ”The height of annoyingness (is that even a word, fuck it) that fits in that small girl! Here I was just chilling after a morning surf and she walkes up to where I am sitting and criticizes my technique?! All like ‘Well my mom is a proffesional surfer and blah blah blah!’. It’s like ‘No one asked you Linda!’. If it wasn’t for Sami vouching for her I wouldn’t give Valeria the time of day! Or I mean yeah sure she is very cute when she has that surely face on her. And she is like nice some of the time . And yes she does make a bomb BLT. But whatever I like looked at her for a second too long once and she threatened to choke me out… pffh like she could reach!”
Thu April 4 11:47pm ”So I guess Mandy’s parents are at it again. Man if I only could count how many time she’s knocked on my window with tears in her eyes. As I look at her look at her where she sleeps in my bed from my lumpy couch I can’t help but wonder ‘Why the hell am I always on the couch?!’. I guess it beats taking turns sleeping in the library. Which reminds me: she owes me for the last snack run!”
Sat May 18 11:38am ”Ok… so I might have fucked up last night. This is what I get for going out drinking and ‘letting loose’. That party that Sami took me to turned out to be a fucking rager. The host had apparently gotten a shipment of cheap european beers! And would you know those made me… uhm frisky. So after a few of those Danish beers I was gone. And all of a sudden I was tongue deep in my photography friends mouth. Ugh… and I know what people say about her and I feel real bad for playing in to that. Damn it! We are supposed to go to that photography exhibit next week. Well I guess it’ll be 2 hours of raw awkwardness! ”
Nathan is what you would call a mothers dream. He is tall somewhat handsome and gets good grades. If he still had a mother she would probably be bragging about him to everyone who would listen and Nathan would of course sit red faced and deny every bit of praise shot his way, because such is Nathan humble to the point of delusion of his own worth. He refuses to put himself over anyone else because he believes that his triumphs is solely based on luck and great timing, rather than his hard work and diligence. The one thing he took away from his father was that if you wanted a good life you had to work hard, nothing was ever going to be handed to you. So therefore Nathan almost never slacks of when it comes to work or school which can be to the annoyance of his friends when he says no to the second party in a row.
Nate has a kindness to him which makes him extremely approachable and that might be why he always gives a cheery "Hello!" at you when you pass him in the hall. Though his cheery exterior is somewhat hard to crack since he keeps his chewy personal center mostly to himself, only his closest friends know about his family situation and he likes to keep it that way.
He is also quite rancorous, if someone had been mean to him or otherwise done something that he does not agree with, he will hold it against that person until he is proven wrong. He can be a loyal friend but he can also drop you without a backwards glance if you piss him off enough.
► noteworthy appearance traits
Deep set eyes and a strong jawline
►favorite item
His Leica M240
► current dilemma
Nate is struggling with the fact that he is leaving his sister home alone with their father. He worries that she’ll have to fend for herself.
► warning
Nate is a very laidback guy, nothing really bothers him. Just don't be an asshole!
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
► quirks
Hums when he concentrates
Documents everything through his camera
Has a big apetite
► hobbies
Photography
Writing
Beach parties
Blogging (He has a food/photo blog)
Late night snack runs
► dreams
Nathan dreams of seeing the world, he wants to make up for always being stuck at home to look after his sister. He wants to take a gap year before college to travel but he is unsure if that is the right thing for him to do, this trip is his way of testing the waters.
► fears
His biggest fear is to be alone, that his sister and he will grow apart and that his friends and he will lose touch after this trip.
► likes/dislikes
✔ Running ✔ Kissing ✔ Eating out ( at a restaurant…silly) ✖ His father ✖ Cold showers ✖ Birds
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
► occupation
”Blogger/Influencer”, Barista at a small coffee shop
► family
Father - Liam Matthews | Sister - Addison Matthews
► brief history
Nathan was born in to the middle class family of Liam and Molly Matthews and had a normal childhood and even had the great pleasure to have a cute baby sister enter his life. So he and his sister Addison had the start of a quite normal and happy childhood until tragedy happened when he was six, his mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at a routine checkup. And though she put up a good fight for a year or so she eventually succumbed to the demon growing inside of her and she passed away. Naturally the family was broken down in despair Molly Matthews was the guiding light for so many people and mostly so for Nathan's father Liam who took the death of his darling wife so hard he went in to a depression so deep that he was not recognizable, he lost his job as an high school psychology teacher and subsequently lost the house in which they had been living in, which meant they had to move in with Nathan's grandparents.
His father never really recovered from his wife's death and spent most of the day lying in bed being unreachable and while Nathan would never go as far as to say that it was neglect, he cannot say that his father raised him. That lot fell on his loving grandparents. But as time wore on his grandparents grew weary of Liam's behavior and eventually made him go back to his teachers job, which meant they had to move away to Los Angeles where a new school graciously hired his father. Uprooting Nathan just as he was about to enter high school, so when they arrived in this small town Nathan had a chance to start over and he was hell bent on creating a better life for him and his sister here! Fortunately Beverly Hills High had some really awesome people and he got a few friends he was certain he wanted to keep for life.
With his father working all the time now to provide for them Nathan now had to take care of not only himself but also for his sister Addison, and why he would never say that this was a bother to him. He was robbed of his childhood as he had to grow up far too early than a normal boy should have to. Now in his late teens he is very protective of his sister and will go through anything to aid her in whatever she asks of. But his relationship with his father is forever tarnished and Nathan can't see a way that this could be mended.
Max kept looking at the picture displayed on the screen still smiling. "That would be awesome! I'll hang it right on the wall!" the young man exclaimed enthusiastically. "Here I'll give you one of these..." Max said as he fished for his wallet in the back pocket of his pants. From the wallet he presented Georgie with a business card that his lacrosse coach had made them print to hand out to college scouts. On the card was his contact information both phone and email.
He rubbed the back of his head as he handed the card over to the girl. "I know it's really lame but my coach said it will help me get a foot in at a few good schools.".
She took the card from him and turned it over with a small smile, shrugging as if to say that she didn't mind.
As Georgie started to pack up her camera and say her goodbyes Max looked to his car. He wasn't done with his interaction with this mysterious girl. "Do you need a ride anywhere? I guess I'll owe you for an awesome picture of me? of me?" he grinned broadly at her.
Georgie was seriously judging herself for thinking of taking up his offer. She already knew he was someone not to mess with, and knowing herself she'd probably get too caught up in his sense of fun, fall deeply in love with someone guaranteed to break her heart and be propelled back into cliched teenage angst. But again...It was Max Wallenberg after all, and he was pretty cute. Damn it! "I'm er...I'm not going anywhere at the moment."
"Oh... Ok! Well..." Max's shoulders slumped in defeat.
What a failure. She wanted to hang out with the guy but she was saying that she didn't need a ride? Georgie resisted an eye roll as she scraped her sneaker against the sandy floor. God, she'd have to come up with something to make him stay then.
"I'm free though, so you can owe me an adventure?"
A wide smile spread across the young man's face yet again when she made the proposal of an adventure. He face scrunched up as he thought about what they could get up to on a Sunday afternoon. As if a switch was flipped inside his head Max's face sit up like a light bulb. "Do you like dogs?!" his smiling face eager to hear her answer.
When Georgie heard him say that her face spread into a huge grin. She'd always wanted a dog but her dad was allergic so she took every opportunity to be near one."Are you kidding? I love them!"
"Alright! I think I have just the thing for us to do! Come on." he chuckled and jerked his head towards his car. As he approached it he took the sweater he had thrown in earlier and folded it neatly before he put it in the back seat so that Georgie could sit shotgun. When you thought of Max you would think that his car would be filthy and a mess but his car was something he kept clean, neat and always with that new car smell. He straightened up and held the door open for her huge smile still intact.
Georgie stepped into the car with a tiny nod of thanks as he held the door open for her with all of the boyish charm she would've expected of him. As she sat in the seat she fiddled a bit with her fingers and tapped her sneaker impatiently against the floor of the car. She considered asking him about the adventure he was planning but decided against it. Maybe they could talk about other things instead.
Max jogged around to the drivers side and got in carefully closing the door behind him. He turned down the music to a pleasant level so that it was more of a background notice before he reversed down the dirt road that led to the main road.
"So...How have you been since our English project?" Argh! What stupid question. Georgie smacked herself lightly on the leg before she waited for his answer.
He let out a laugh glancing quickly at Georgie before returning his gaze to the road. "Well you know, can't complain! Spent most of summer training and... uh you know." he cleared his throat remembering how his summer had ended. His smile faltered only for a second before it was back full force "What about you Georgie? I haven't seen you around school much. Was I too embarrassing during our poetry slam?" he let out another signature laugh.
Georgie noticed the absence of his smile, if only if it were for one second. Of course, he'd had so many girlfriends she'd forgotten about his latest one: Kellie. She didn't know the player felt.
"You were great, should've won an Oscar or whatever the poetry slam equivalent is! As for me, I've been fine. I've been gathering together a portfolio during the summer...you know how it is for college applications and everything." She rolled her eyes and waited for an awkward silence to ensue. She could ask about his ex, since that seemed to be the only recent news she knew about him...no, she couldn't do that. Georgie glanced out the window momentarily before she focused her attention to the front, bracing herself for no further conversation. Why did she think this was a good idea?
Nodding along as he heard her speak Max took the exit that lead back to his house. "I mean if your portfolio is as good as the picture you took of me? I know you'll get accepted to any school." he smiled at her again. Soon enough the car pulled up to the driveway outside the Wallenberg house. Max stepped out of the car and opened the passenger side door to let Georgie out. "I'll be right back!" he motioned for her to wait and disappeared inside the hose. After a few moments the door opened and a golden labrador bounded out towards the girl.
Georgie almost jumped in place with excitement as his dog raced towards her and she bent down, reaching out a hand to pet the golden lab as it circled laps around her.
"CHARLIE!" Max called as jogged after the dog as he excitedly circled Georgie barking joyfully. When he reached the dog he held Charlie down petting his belly "Sorry he loves meeting new people." He laughed looking lovingly down at his dog who now was on his back enjoying his belly rubs.
"It's no problem! What's his name?" She smiled down at the dog and got onto her knees so that she could also give the dog a couple of belly rubs. She laughed as he kicked at the air and flicked back her hair so she could get a better look at her surroundings. Man, were the Wallenbergs loaded...but weren't all students at Palm Beach this rich? Including her, of course. She scoffed to herself. Still, if this day would be just her petting this stupidly cute dog she'd be absolutely fine with it.
Max sat back down on the perfectly manicured lawn in front of his house leaning on his elbows as he watched his dog enjoying his new friend. "His name is Charlie and he's a real good boy! Isn't that right buddy?!" Max said giving him one last pet. Charlie turned around and jumped on the young man barking. The young man stood up brushing of his clothing. "I thought we could bring him along on the adventure. Come on follow me." He petted Charlie on the dog's side so that he would follow and headed towards the trail lined with tall bushes leading behind the neighbourhood.
Georgie reluctantly got up from her place on the ground, giving Charlie one last belly rub before she followed Max down the trail. What in the world was he planning for them to do? When she said adventure she thought he was going to refuse, or at least choose a normal levell thing like cliff diving or RV racing but this?
“Uhm Max, Where are we going?” She asked, turning to look at an all too eager Charlie passing along beside them. God was this whole family photogenic.
"You'll see!" He laughed, but then stopped and thought about it and then let out a signature booming laugh. "Oh! I just realized that this all looks and sound pretty weird right? Don't worry it's a public place!" and almost as soon as he said it they arrived at the end of the trail. A big man made lake came into sight and Charlie ran towards it but then excitedly ran back to them as to tell them to hurry up. "He loves the water. I think he's part fish actually." Max smiled as they arrived at the small pier leading ou the middle of the lake.
At the end of the pier Charlie stood waiting impatiently wagging his tail. Max grabbed a tennis ball that he had stuffed down his back pocket and threw it out into the water with Charlie flying after it with a big splash. "See?" Max said looking back at Georgie.
Georgie watched as Charlie took a big leaping jump into the water and laughed as he paddled around. The weather was unbelievable nice and Georgie felt the heat of the sun on her arms, making her shiver with delight. Wind rustled across the water and caused small waves that mimicked those she liked so much in the ocean. The smell of grass and freedom was on the air. She liked it.
”Are we going for a swim then?” She asked, smiling. Not too adventurous but not too tame an activity either. She was literally itching to get in the water and she didn’t care if she had to swim fully clothed. That lake was taunting her. So without waiting for a reply from Max she did something only Georgie would do. She placed a hand on his back and gave a small tiny push yelling out “Race you to the other side!” before she jumped in herself, flailing to keep from drowning and taking off at full speed.
"Oh really? Hell yeah!" The boy yelled after her. In a swift movement he took of his shirt and pants so he was only in his Calvin Klein boxers before he dove in. Charlie barking excitedly as he paddled around Max before hopping up to the pier again shaking his body to get rid of the excess water. Speeding after Georgie Max caught up to her about half way splashing water at her as he passed. "You know I used to be on the swim team right?" He taunted as he looked back at her.
Swimming fully clothed was beginning to be a problem but Georgie powered on, calling back to Max tauntingly “Oh really? Show off your skills then!” She smiled and kicked through the water. There was no doubt he was going to win but she always liked the idea of a challenge. As she raised her head over the water she saw the now fully shirtless Max and almost gasped, swallowing in a small amount of lake water before she shook her head at herself. Focus, Georgie. She was going to win.
His brilliant smile didn’t leave the boy’s face as he backstroked to let her catch up again. As they got close to the small pier on the other side Max reached out and tapped the wooden pier in victory. He hoisted himself up on it running his hands through his wet hair mimicking Charlie as he shook his head to get most of the water out. He laughed as Georgie came closer, he stretched his arm out and grabbed hers and helped her up on to the pier so that she could sit beside him.
Georgie panted as she grabbed onto his hand and pulled herself up, water droplets running off of her clothes staining the wooden deck beneath them. She pulled her now damp white shirt a bit away from it's position sticking tightly (and revealing quite a lot) to her body but sighed when she discovered it was a moot point. At least something was on her right?
“That was a close race! I’m impressed.” he complimented as he fell back and laid on his back breathing heavily.
"Thank you." Georgie took a mock bow with the tip of her head and brushed back her wet hair, leaning back and lying next to Max. "Thank you for bringing me out here by the way, you didn't have to. It was fun." She turned her head to the side so she could look at the boy and smiled a wide Georgie grin. Who knew Wallenberg could be so much fun? The sunlight beat down on them as Georgie waited for the water to dry on her skin. She closed her eyes briefly before opening them again and meeting his.
Maybe it was the ocean breeze, or maybe it was the chill tunes that was still pouring out of his car. But Max had fallen asleep where he was laying on the ground. His unconscious mind wandering from rolling around in the sand with a unfamiliar blond to holding hands over coffee with someone all too familiar. His mind kept flashing to scenes depicting being cuddled up in bed, laughing while trying to cook. But ultimately ending in vicious shouting matches phones flailing like weapons.
SNAP
Max slowly blinked his eyes opened adjusting to the light. Disoriented he lifted his head from his makeshift sweatshirt pillow looking around. He had thought he was alone, heck he had thought he was the only one who knew about this little spot. But evidence showed that he was wrong when he spotted someone pointing a camera in his direction. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he strained his eyes to see who this person was. To his surprise it was a girl… a very cute girl. With this revelation Max’s face broke out in to a huge smile.
“I usually charge by the hour you know!” The young man teased as he turned from his back on to his stomach resting his body on his elbows still surveying the girl. He chuckled as he slowly rose from the ground dusting himself of getting rid of grass and dirt. He picked up his sweatshirt and threw it back in to his open car door and made his way over to the mystery girl.
Still smiling as he approached her, he slowly started to recognize the brunette. “Heey, we go to school together? Yeah we had english together last year. Georgia right?” he said as he thought hard and hoped he hadn’t messed up and said the wrong name. “Yeah… yeah! I’m Max! You got stuck with me on that poem writing assignment… uhm… sorry about that.” he remembered letting her do most of the work while he took the part of just expressively reading it for the class.
“So! How come you’re up here creepily taking pictures of me sleeping?” he asked letting out a booming laugh. “Can I at least see the outcome?” he asked still chuckling as he walked around Georgia to take a peek at her cameras screen. The picture was framed beautifully and the light settings made him look much nicer than the snoring mess he probably was. “Well look at me! I look very peaceful… or dead. Either way I dig it.” another booming laugh left the young man’s body.
“I know a lot of things about a lot of people around here.” Julie smirked with that trademark MacMillan spark still in her eye. She turned to to give her best friend a cheeky glance before directing her attention back to Jordan. “Why? Is there something you don't want me to know about?” she raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. Her expression softened as she saw Jordan getting nervous.
“Don't worry, all I'm saying is that I think you two look cute together.” she smiled and stood up, a little more unsteady than when she had stomped over to the clearing. “I think it is time for me to head home. Are you joining me Coco?” Julie asks eyes glued to the screen of her phone as she ordered an Uber.
If you saw the MacMillan girl in the morning you would never have thought she had been out drinking the night before. This because she had a nighttime routine that she followed religiously. Julie's routine consisted firstly of drinking a big glass of water with 2 rehydration tablets. Then taking of all of her makeup, a hot shower followed by a rigorous skincare routine.
So waking up was no problem at all for her. It was almost infuriating how perky she was this Sunday morning. Early as it was the redhead had already had the time to make sure her father had his breakfast, helped with cataloging his new collection and gone for a quick jog.
Now she was lounging around on her bed with her great big windows open letting in the cool breeze that made her white cotton curtains flow all around the room. Julie sighed as she sat herself up and lent back on her headboard picking up her phone that had been charging on her nightstand. Her fingers tapping away on the screen as she sent Chanel a text
A broad smile spread across her face as she had an bright idea. Julie sprung from her bed and skipped downstairs and in to her father's study. Her father was bent over his desk face first in the mock up of his lookbook for his fall/winter collection.
“Hey daddy? Can I grab some of these?” Julie chirped as she faced the mound of free products different companies had sent the designer in hopes that he would endorse them.
“Knock yourself out sweetie.” Jason MacMillan said without turning around.
“Thank you daddy! I'm heading over to Chanel and she probably needs a pick me up!” she said as she stuffed some sample sizes of expensive moisturizer and toner in to a MacMillan tote bag. She threw in some brand perfumes just for fun before floating over to her father and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I'm leaving now, do you need me to pick up something on my way back?”
Her father looked up and removed his glasses “No I’m good kiddo, but tell Chanel to call Josephine. She’s taking care of the new interns and I told her to save a spot.”
His daughters face lit up “Oh! She’ll be so happy daddy! I’ll tell her to call first thing Monday!” with one last peck on her father’s cheek the young woman was on her way into the kitchen. There she grabbed the fruit salad she had prepared that morning and stuffed it into the tote bag as well before grabbing the keys to her father’s G-Wagon and heading to the garage.
Julie hated to drive, especially the monster that was her father’s car and especially in her Louboutins. But she couldn’t be bothered waiting around for an uber. She had to get to Chanel as fast as possible to bring her the good news. So after a careful ride over to the Martin estate Julie gingerly climbed out of the huge car, heels clicking on the driveway as she walked up the front door and knocked.
After a few moments the door opened to reveal a tall smiling man.
“Andre!” Julie exclaimed “I didn’t know you were home.” she whispered as she passed him walking inside.
“How’ve you been Jules? She’s still in bed, I’ll go get her.” Chanel’s big brother said and disappeared upstairs. The girl nodded and waited around the hallway looking at the pictures hat hung on the wall.
“There you go, sweetie.” The plump waitress had said as she put down the glass of iced tea on Archer’s table, snapping the boy away from his book and back to reality.
“Thanks, I’ll just have the usual- actually, make it two. She’ll be here in a second and she’s probably going to need it,” he said with a smile as he handed her the menu with a wink. The waitress nodded and sashayed away. The young man had been sitting at Marisol’s and his reserved table at the Surf Shack for a good 20 minutes, waiting for his best friend after receiving the cryptic text from her asking him to meet.
No sooner than the waitress had walked away, a stranger of short stature and petite frame was stealthily approaching Archer’s table. The questionable-looking individual was clutching a sparkly handbag, wearing white vans and an oversized gray hoodie that hit mid-thigh with the words “I NY” emblazoned in the front - a strange combination considering the particularly warm October afternoon in Crown Heights. Without a single word, the unknown person took a seat in the seat right in front of Archer. And when their hoodie was pulled back by small hands with a bronze-colored manicure, the tall young man found himself staring at the big green eyes of his best friend.
“Hey Archie,” Marisol croaked in a hoarse voice, giving the room a quick once-over as if afraid someone would recognize her before looking at her best friend again. Although she smelled and looked like she’d just stepped out of the shower with the damp brown hair and freckles on full display, the dark stains of mascara and eyeliner were still visible under her eyes. “What’s up? Did you have fun last night?”
The boy closed his book and took a sip from his tea before opening his mouth. “Well…” he started, his eyebrows high in his face as he surveyed his small friend. “Not as fun as you had I imagine.” Archer smirked, pointedly staring at the sweatshirt. “I thought you hated New York?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.
Marisol, who had grabbed Archer’s iced tea and was sipping like her life depended on it, stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh, this?” she said dumbly, looking down at her choice of outfit for the day. A blush began to creep up on her cheeks, and she let her hair fall in front of her face to avoid Archer noticing. “It’s not mine. I actually borrowed it from a friend.”
“Oh, I know” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I just needed to hear you say it.” Archer whispered smugly.
“Hear me say what?” she asked, looking up at Archer with a playful half-smile. They both knew what the other meant- but for them, it was always fun to beat around the bush a little to build anticipation.
The boy cleared his throat before leaning forward on his elbows. "I've done the math. Lover Boy and Sonny had an testosterone fueled brawl at the dance. So when I couldn't find you and you didn't answer your phone, I called your brother, and he said you weren't home. And now here you are... Wearing, uh, that. So putting one and one together... " he clicked his tongue, nodding his head towards the girl.
“Wait, WHAT?!” Marisol cried out louder than intended, nearly choking on Archer’s iced tea and earning their table some annoyed, disapproving stares. The girl paid them no attention, though. Her wide eyes were locked on her best friend’s face, looking for any signs of lying. When she found none, she continued. “You’re saying Sal and Sonny had a fight?!”
The boy smiled as the waitress came back with their plates of burgers and fries, along with a drink for Mari and a refill for Archer. He dropped his voice down to a whisper. "Oh? Homeboy didn't tell you? Yeah: Salem punched Sonny the fuck out… Pretty satisfying, if I say so myself. I can imagine Torvald deserved it. But it was pretty one-sided." Archer’s face lit up. The boy was enjoying himself way too much considering the current situation. “Wonder why he decided to keep that tidbit from you?” he fake-mused, fully knowing why.
The young woman was quiet for a long while, biting the inside of her cheek. She vaguely remembered her and Salem speaking about a scuffle, but the alcohol had hazed out most of the past night’s memories. This little scene must have happened while she was waiting for Salem to meet her outside by the car. Had she known those two were going at it, there was no question she would had definitely jumped in to do her part. But, in a way, it was better than she’d been shielded from the truth. Nothing good would have happened if the Sonny cloud had rained on their parade.
“We slept together,” Mari suddenly blurted out, pulling down the collar of the hoodie to show Archer one of the many love bites she had all over her body: the evidence of last night’s lust-fuelled crime. “He probably knew telling me would kill the mood and make things worse… Which I really appreciate. Last night was just fucking amazing.”
Letting out a dramatic gasp of shock that was only half fake, Archer clutched his imaginary pearls. “You harlot! Nice one, Mari. How does it feel being a mistress?” he cackled, throwing a fry at his friend.
“Oh God, don’t remind me…” the brunette groaned, grimacing as she remembered the framed picture of Salem and Gwen lying on the floor next to the bed. The furious rocking of the bed had somehow hit the bedside table long and hard enough for the picture to have slid off it and crashed to the floor, its protective glass shattering everywhere... But not loudly enough to stop Salem and Marisol from what they were doing. “I feel so bad about the whole thing, but at the same time… I kinda don’t? Salem was the one who started it. I just… went with it. And it was just so fucking amazing... It’s really hard to feel guilty about having mind-blowing sex with someone.”
“Spoken like a true adulterer.” Archer said as he took a bite of his burger, casting a mindful look at Marisol as he chewed. The boy swallowed and continued. “I mean seeing as your only other experience is with Torvald, I imagine your mind being sufficiently… blown.”
Marisol let out a cackle of laughter. “Fuck you, Archer!” she said cheerfully with a smile, taking the lone fry he’d thrown at her earlier and returning the favor. “Let’s forget about Sonny for the rest of our lives and focus on the present. And Mr. Salem Rivera... Fuck, man. You should have seen it, Archie: it was like a king-sized burrito the size of a footlong,” she told him, using her hands to emphasize her statement. “I don’t know how I’m able to be walking straight right now, to be honest with you.”
“First of all: 100% gross! Second of all: do you not think I already know this? We’ve been to the beach together! Wet bathing suits are my specialty!” he wiggled his eyebrows at her while Marisol laughed in between bites of her food. “More importantly.” Archer dropped his voice down to a whisper again, concern staining his voice. “How did this morning play out when you both had sobered up? I mean… he and Gwen are like practically married. He can’t be as excited about this as you are? Right?” In these few weeks he had known Salem, Archer had begun to see him as somewhat of a friend, and this situation just reeked of a friend divorce.
The green-eyed girl’s cheerful demeanor suddenly became clouded at the memory of her and Sal’s last conversation before she’d made her exit. “We were both pretty torn up about it, honestly. We agreed it was wrong and that it shouldn’t have happened and that it wouldn’t happen again,” she confessed, going silent for a few seconds before quietly adding with a smug half-smile, “It wasn’t bad enough to stop us from going for a round two when he walked in on me in the shower, though, so I guess he’s not feeling too guilty about it.”
“Classy, Mar,” he rolled his eyes before finishing of his burger. “I’m guessing we need to keep all this under wraps, then?” he gestured wildly with his hands.
“Would be greatly appreciated,” she said, though her last mouthful of burger. “The last thing I want is for our favorite person to get wind of this, spread it around and make a mockery out of both of us.”
Archer made a zipping motion over his mouth flicking away the imaginary key. “So what’s your plan for the rest of the day? You need me to drop you anywhere?” he asked while wiping his hands with a wet wipe. “As much as I like to hear about you getting dicked down, I actually have plans...” he smirked as he handed his credit card over to the waitress.
That last sentence caught Marisol’s complete attention. “Ooooooohhhhhhhhh!” she cried out in a teasing tone, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. “Do you now?”
Holding up one finger as he signed the receipt for their meals, the brown haired boy retorted. “See, what we're not going to do is jump to conclusions! I'm going over to Kavan’s because I need to cleanse myself from all of this-” he gestured dramatically towards his friend again. “And I, unlike you, can keep it in my pants!” he continued as he stood up from the table.
“Sure Jan,” Mari said smugly, still looking at Archer like she knew exactly what his naughty little mind was thinking even though he was trying to play it off. “Because I’m supposed to believe you guys are just going to sit around having tea and biscuits while reading pretentious little books, right?”
“No. Obviously we’re going to have a gangbang and simultaneously orgasm. We're not children, Mari…” Archer rolled his eyes as they pushed their way out of the restaurant.
The shorter girl let out a loud whooping noise and took the chance to slap Archer’s ass. “That’s the spirit, Archie-boy! You go get him!”
“Do you want a ride or what?!” he said, digging for his keys in his pants pocket as they approached ‘The Blue Danger’. Frankly, he was growing tired of his friends newly found sexual prowess, and had decided to change the subject. “I expect you want to change out of that.” he looked at her from the corner of his eyes stifling a chuckle.
“Not really, no,” she admitted, cheeks reddening the slightest bit. “I actually like this hoodie, thank you very much. It’s cozy and it smells like Sal.”
Grimacing he opened the car door bending down to throw the usual wreckage of composition paper and books from the passenger seat back behind it. “Whatever, dude…” Archer sighed as he gestured for her to get in. The day hadn’t properly started and it already felt like it would be a long one.