Venus

Rᴏsᴇꜰᴇʟʟ - A Cᴏᴍɪɴɢ Oꜰ Aɢᴇ Sᴛᴏʀʏ

Aliana Rebecca Cabernet

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Appearance:
The first feature you notice upon setting your sights on Aliana is the signature red Cabernet hair inherited from her mother, which she mostly wears down or in a ponytail. In terms of style, it can definitely be described as grungy-casual. Her outfits includes T-shirts, jeans, sneakers, loafers or boots and a leather or varsity jacket. As expected, most of her ensembles will contain a black item, as it is her favorite color. In terms of accessories, she will wear necklaces, rings and bracelets to add some spice to her outfits. However, her three inseparable companions are a pair of sunglasses, earrings, and her earbuds. You will only see Ali wearing things like sundresses and shorts during the summer, and only in very important social events -and after much insistence from her mother- will you see her all decked out. Makeup-wise, she keeps it simple with just mascara and watermelon-flavored lip gloss; occasionally a winged liner. She has four continuous piercings in each ear along with a cartilage ring and a nose ring. Ali has no tattoos, but she has a fair share of faded scars on her legs from falling off her bike as a child.

Personality:
Aliana Cabernet comes from two very powerful, influential people, and it shows in the way she presents herself. She's a charming, strong-willed, confident young woman, who expresses herself with poise and eloquence. She is witty, sarcastic, with a dark sense of humor and laid back attitude. With her siblings, friends and lovers, she is caring, affectionate and loyal to the core, and will defend her own tooth and nail. When it comes to romance, Ali loves hard, deeply and intensely. She will go out of her way to make her significant other feel happy, love and safe.

Those who know her will say Ali gets what she wants in life, and she’ll run over anyone who tries to get in her way... In a way. She definitely knows the value of being stubborn until she gets what she wants (and that sometimes you gotta be a bitch about it), but she isn’t stupid or reckless, and she isn’t about to let one wrong move jeopardize her entire M.O. She is also the rebellious firecracker of the house, frequently lashing out against her mother and the expectations she puts on her.

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Habits//Quirks//Oddities:

• Has a sailor’s tongue that drives her mother insane.
• Bites her lip when she sees someone she finds attractive.
• Chews on the nail of her thumb when distracted or spaced off.
• Will always leave a trail of Viktor and Rolf’s Flowerbomb perfume wherever she goes.
• Never leaves the house without sunglasses, her earphones, her cellphone and a tube of watermelon-flavored lip gloss.

Hobbies

• Hanging out with friends
• Getting baked at the tree house
• Going on long drives on her motorcycle
• Excursions on her dirt bike

Likes:

• The band Deftones
• Grungy, Hard Rock music in general
• Pot
• Brownies (especially pot brownies)
• The beach
• Having her own damn space
• Sushi
• Bonfires

Dislikes:

• Keeping up appearances
• Her mother’s snobbish, uptight attitude
• Being told what to do
• Country music
• Pickles
• Drinking alcohol past the buzzed stage
• Bad batches of weed

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History:
Aliana Rebecca Cabernet was born to parents Rebecca and Andrew nearly eighteen years before, on the sunny afternoon of that 31st day of July. She had a fun, happy childhood, her every need and whim taken care of by their parents and their juicy bank account. As a girl, Ali thrived in being a good girl. She would follow her parents' rules without question, wanting nothing more than to please them. Her mother was her idol: the one person she looked up to and wanted to be with as an adult. However, as the years went by, the expectations became higher and more demanded, and Ali became more aware of her mother's true self. Although smart and charming, her mother was a very shallow woman, who lived to flaunt their social standing and keep up the appearance of being a picture-perfect family. This did not sit well with Ali, who slowly began to grow resentful.

When she reached her thirteenth birthday, Aliana finally became tired of being 'the good girl'. She began to rebel against her mother and her expectations: refusing to attend events, constantly arguing with her, sneaking out of their summer home to smoke pot in the tree house, and so on. This lead to Ali's relationship with her parents getting shaky, and she began to take comfort on her best friends. At the age of fifteen, she had her first relationship with a woman, coming out as bisexual. Although the relationship was short lived, this further strained the relationship with her mother. In the end, Rebecca cared more about the family's public image than about her daughter. The two women continue to be at odds to this very day, and Ali is counting down the days until she can be away from Rebecca to live life on her own terms.

Currently, Ali is a fresh high school graduate as of the first day of June. Although she was accepted at a couple of universities, she’s decided on attending California’s own Stanford University: her one ticket to freedom. She is scheduled to begin her adventure as a college student this upcoming fall.

Miscellaneous:

Face Claim: Sophie Turner
Color: Crimson

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Palm Beach Royals

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While the rest of her classmates were making their way to their respective homeroom classrooms after the warning bell rang, Antonella Mossos remained seated in a chair at the office, a towel wrapped around her slender, shivering figure. A growing puddle of water had formed around her, which had earned the young woman the disapproving look of Mrs. Kingsley, the secretary. This only made Ella feel worse, which only emphasize her look of a sad, scolded wet puppy. As she sat there, soaked uniform plastered to her tan skin, the brunette took a moment to ask herself a few existential questions. Why the heck had all these crazy things happened to her today, of all days? It was her first day of senior year, for crying out loud! All she’d wanted was to catch up with her teammates, show Kai around the school to make sure his transition to the States was as smooth as possible, and then saunter off to class and enjoy the rest of her day. Instead, she’d managed to make a complete fool of herself in front of two attractive boys -in front of HER WADEY, OF ALL PEOPLE, OKAY?!- by nearly crashing her car against a tree -a stationary object- and falling into the school pool… All in less than an hour. That definitely set a new record for her.

Sighing dramatically, Ella covered her face with her hands. She wished Dante would hurry up with her fresh change of clothes before she died of hypothermia.

And just when she thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse…

“Good morning, Ella! Your delivery has arrived!”

That voice…

Ella immediately looked up, body jumping up in surprise. She would recognize that voice anywhere. It was the one she so frequently daydreamed about, in fantasies in which the owner of said voice confessed his feelings for her and promised to love her forever and ever and called her pet names and complimented her and...

“W-Wade?” Ella somehow managed to croak out after a long, pointed silence, looking at him with eyes wide with shock. Had Dante really been so clueless as to send HER WADEY, OF ALL PEOPLE, OKAY?! to bring her the clothes, knowing the deplorable conditions she was in? She probably had dark patches of run-down mascara all over her face, for God’s sake! Why did the world have to be so cruel to her today? “Wh-what are you d-doing h-here?”

Oh, she didn’t look too happy to see him. Wade frowned, slightly disappointed. Wait, no, Dante said what he needed was confidence. Scrounging up some courage, he cleared his throat, turning his frown upside down. “I got your clothes!” He replied cheerfully, though the implications of that dawned on him immediately. “Not that i went to your house and stole them! I ran into D in the hallway, and--um, I figured I’d do him a favor!” No way could he bring up their actual conversation.

Ella noticed the way he frowned in disappointment, and her heart shattered into a million pieces. The last thing she wanted to do was make the love of her life feel bad, so she tried to put on a brave face for him. But after she heard his explanation about how he got the clothes, the giggled and grateful smile on her face were genuine.

“Oh my God, Wade, you have no idea how much you’ve saved my life by bringing me these. I was in urgent need of them, as you can obviously see...” she told him as she got up from her chair and grabbed her clothes, gesturing at her wet outfit with her free hand and letting out a small laugh.

“Oh yeah, Dante told me you fell in the pool!” Wade replied, grinning at Ella. But after seeing the girl’s grimace, he quickly added, “It happens to the best of us, at least you didn’t drown or get hurt.|

An immediate rush of heat rose to her cheeks, coloring them pink. Her previously outgoing demeanor turned shy as she squealed on the inside at Wade’s adorable concern for her well-being. “I don’t think you hear of many people falling into the school’s pool, but I’ll take it,” she joked, shooting him a grim.

Wade nodded, though he quickly realized he had no idea what to say next. Confidence, confidence, he needed to say something, anything. And yet he stood there like an idiot, completely unsure of what direction to take the conversation. He needed to talk. Just talk!

“S-So, you’re pretty wet, huh? Why’s that?” He asked, freezing entirely when he realized he just asked why she was wet. She just fell in a pool! He just brought her clothes! What the hell was wrong with him?! “That’s not--not that kind of wet--wait no what I mean to say is...um…” He was the one drowning in his words now, holy crap. “You don’t have to worry about getting wet cause I brought you clothes.”

Ella raised a questioning eyebrow at him, a playful smile on her lips. Had he really asked that question? And the way he was tripping over his words only made her heart turn into loved-up mush and for him to look all the more endearing in her eyes.

“Yes you did. And I love you for it,” the brunette said sweetly, looking up at his green eyes as if she’d found in him the answer to all her problems. However, as soon as she’d realized what she’d said and done, it was her turn to become flustered and down in her words. “I mean, like, a friend…kind of thing...” she added lamely, looking away in the opposite direction as her cheeks flushed again with the embarrassment of her involuntary confession.

Letting out a rather audible sigh in relief, Wade chuckled. Crisis averted! This was why he knew he would be okay talking to Ella, he knew he had made the right choice talking to her. He was certainly glad to be friends with her, though maybe he should pay her a compliment since she really looked embarrassed in her wet clothes. Her cheeks were pink and everything.

“I’m actually really glad to have a friend like you,” He admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head while Ella seemed to just glow at his compliment. “Actually, I sort of did have an ulterior motive...think maybe we could talk after school?”

“Yeah, sure, of course!” she said cheerfully, with a smile so radiant it put the sun to shame. “The girls and I have practice from 3:30 till 5, but if you’re willing to wait for me a little we can totally-”

Ella suddenly trailed off, her smile fading as quick as it arrived when she remembered the new after school activity she was scheduled for. She looked at Wade with a miserable, downcast expression. “Actually, maybe I can take a rain check? My little pool incident earned me detention right after school today, even if it wasn’t my fault. You know Coach Sutherland,” she told him, rolling her eyes and letting out a disappointed sigh. “I’m sorry, Wade, I really am. I’d much rather hang out with you than be stuck in a classroom doing nothing for an hour.”

She got detention? Really? There was no hiding his surprise at learning this. Crossing his arms, he stared at her for a moment. Wade really wanted to ask why, but she seemed upset enough as it was. After a moment of silence, he got an idea, lightening up his expression. “Alrighty, then!” He whirled around, walking over to Mrs. Kingsley’s desk. The woman hadn’t bothered to even look up at him until he decided to knock over all the folders on her desk to the ground. Without bothering to see the aftermath, he waved to Ella. “I’ll see you there!” He called out before the secretary started yelling.

Before Antonella could process what had just happened, Wade had rushed off, and she was left with a very upset Mrs. Kingsley back at the office. Apologizing profusely for Wade’s actions (in typical Ella fashion) and after being rejected after offering her help to pick up the folders on the floor, the brunette left the office and went straight to the bathroom to change her clothes. While she took off the now-damp garments and replaced them with freshly laundered ones, her mind was racing. Not only had Wade been an absolute godsend by bringing her clothes, but he’d also purposely earned himself detention to hang out with him after school. She knew she shouldn’t be thinking too much into it, but she didn’t know of many boys who would do such a thing just to spend time with a girl. It made Ella feel all kinds of special and happy, and blessed her with a glowing, excited happiness she knew wouldn’t go away for the rest of the day.

Huh. Maybe this day wouldn’t be so bad after all.

The Sands of Time

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Color-changing, pulsating lights and the loud beats of pop-meets-EDC music welcomed Marlena Castillo into the main dance floor of Hush Nightclub. In an impulsive move, Marlie had decided to move her business from The Edge to the bigger and better nightclub located in a nearby city; a decision motivated by her desire to have no more run-ins with any Salem folk. As soon as she’d stepped foot in the crowded room, she knew she’d made the right choice. A rush of excitement went through her body as the dance party vibes instantly made her forget about the earlier fiasco with Blu Carver. In Hush, there was no time for moping around or lingering upon stale, bitter memories. Tonight, it was all about having some much-needed fun.

Smirking and with her head held high, Marlie sauntered across the dance floor in the direction of the VIP section. The skirt of her lavender mini dress flowed along dangerously at her every step, earning her some male attention on the way. When she’d reached the bouncer guarding the entrance to the VIP, a smile and a handshake was enough to secure Marlie’s entrance. Once inside the exclusive section of the club, the young woman walked straight to one of the empty stools by the bar and took a seat. With a wave of her hand, she flagged down the bartender, who recognized her as one of his regulars and quickly came back with her signature drink: an apple martini. The flirtatious Latina shot him a wink as thanks, to which the bartender responded with a nod and a smile before tending to other customers.

Taking a dainty sip of her glass, Marlie smiled in delight as the sweet, bright green liquor burned down her throat on its way to her bloodstream. Her brown eyes scanned the room, hoping to find somebody worthy of her time. Nothing so far… But the night was ripe and young. And if there was something she was sure about, it was that she wouldn’t be leaving this club empty-handed tonight.

The King of the Sea & the Queen of the Land

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How stupid had she been in fooling herself to thinking that things would go her way; that she would enjoy this party till the end and come out of her revenge plan triumphant. Instead, it had all blown up right in her face in ways she never expected, leaving her much broken that she did before.The breakdowns she’d had before were nothing compared to this heavy stinging in her chest, or the feeling of crying so hard your body couldn’t seem to produce any more tears. The night’s events had taken an emotional toll on her, so much that she felt physically exhausted. And if she was honest with herself, this was no doubt a second heart-wrenching heartbreak next to her mother’s diagnosis and eventual death.

Seeing the man she loved with her ex-best friend had been not only painful, but a humbling, eye-opening experience. If she’d still been secretly holding onto any hope that Kalder continued to harbor feelings for her, then these hopes were now effectively crushed into pieces and thrown away into the abyss to be lost and forgotten. There was no point to try to fight the inevitable any further. The way they seemed so into each other in that couch, and how he’d run straight after Beatrice when she’d confronted them was the final nail in the coffin where the love she had for him would be put to rest for eternity.

As much as it pained her to hit rock bottom, Demetria felt good to finally be able to let out all these negative feelings that had been eating at her since her break-up with Kalder. There was nowhere left to go but upwards now.

Right?

The young woman’s music and her own thoughts had been blasting so loudly that it was only when she felt the vibration of the heavy door closing ripping across the stone floor that she realized she was no longer alone in the tower.

“Jesus fucking Christ. Can’t a person ever have a little bit of privacy in this castle?!” she muttered to herself, quickly wiping away the mascara-tinted tears off her face before facing the intruder. Her saddened face turned into one of shock when she found herself staring right at the reason of her heartbreak.

Fucking great.

"What are you doing here?" she heard Kalder ask her in that stupid soft tone he used to soothe her and that she loved so much, but one that only currently stung and infuriated her further.

“Playing baseball,” Demi immediately spat sarcastically while motioning to the empty room they were in. Like, hello, was what she was doing not obvious enough? Was the snogging session with Beatrice so hot it melted his brain cells? Or had they become frozen after that ice-water bath she’d given him? ‘What are you doing…’ What kind of stupid question was that?

She raised a haughty eyebrow at him. “What the fuck does it look like I’m doing?” the young woman asked, taking off her earphones and placing them on her lap alongside her iPod.

The Sands of Time

_{Interacting with: Blu Carver @TayTay}

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The waiting seemed to drag on and on for Marlie. The young woman’s impatience and annoyance grew stronger at every second spent standing in this stupid line and in this stupidly uncomfortable situation as evidenced by the consistent tapping of her heel on the concrete floor. Why she have to live in such a small town, where you couldn’t go two steps without running into somebody you knew? And why were people so sensitive, anyway? Didn’t any of them understand the concept of messing around and having fun? Was it too big for their small-minded brains? Why did she even agree to be Blu’s first, anyway, knowing fully well that all it would bring was a shitstorm to both of them? Hell, who knew if she and Anna would still be friends if she’d politely declined his advances that night? But noooo, she’d had to listen to the alcohol and hormones in her body and blindly follow along with what Blu wanted. And yet people had the audacity to call her the perpetrator, when she was, in fact, the victim of this all? These were the existential questions Marlie asked herself as the seconds in line slowly ticked onward.

One customer gone, then another, then it was finally Blu’s turn to be tended to. Once more, Marlie closed her eyes and silently wished nothing more than to vanish into thin air and disappear without a trace. But, of course, her wishes went ungranted. No sooner than Blu had finished his transaction than her fears were made a reality when she opened her eyes to find his piercing dark eyes looking straight at her.

She knew he was just as surprised to see her as she’d been to see him by the way his whole face seemed to just paralyze in shock. Marlena pretended not to notice this, though. Instead of acknowledging him in any way, she took the few steps to the register to complete her transaction and took off as fast as she could without looking desperate.

The Mexican teen reached her car in seconds, and quickly busied herself with grabbing the pump and starting the process of filling out her Ferrari’s gas tank. She discreetly tried to calm her nervousness, and was kind of succeeding… Until, out of the corners of her eyes, Marlie watched in horror as Blu Carver made his way towards her. He looked... determined? That was the only word that would come to her in this very moment. The chocolate-skinned man seemed determined to confront her, or at the very least talk to her. It was not a conversation she wanted to be a part of.

"H-hey Mar, long time no see." he began, hands in his pockets while giving Marlie a timid smile that broke her heart into a million pieces all over again. "How have you been, beautiful?"

“Absolutely scrumptious,” Marlie replied dryly, showing no signs of weakness herself. She was thankful holding the gas pump hid the fact that her hands were shaking, and prayed that her uninterested attitude was enough to keep him away. She wanted to be nice to him; God she did. She wanted nothing more than to run to him and wrap her arms around him in a big hug and have everything go back to the way it was before. But she knew that things would never be the same, and she was scared he would misunderstand her if she was nice. Of course, the last thing the young woman wanted was to be nasty or cruel to the poor man, but she knew that engaging in any sort of conversation would probably send them down a rendezvous path neither of them wanted to go.

As if her prayers had finally been answered, the numbers in the gas pump's dispenser's screen finally stood still, letting the young woman know that the amount of gas she had paid for had been successfully injected into the tank. This was her queue to leave, and she quickly embraced it.

"Now, if you'll excuse me..." she said, putting the gas pump back in its designed slot and opening the door of her car. "I'll see you around, Blu. You're looking really good tonight."

And with those words still hanging in the air, Marlie boarded her car, closed the door behind her and sped off, leaving behind nothing more than the lingering sound of a roaring engine.

What Are You Listening To?

Palm Beach Royals

Or the bleach-blonde best friend of an ignorantly-naive-to-sexual-advances cousin...

Palm Beach Royals

Look what you've done
I'm a motherfuckin' starboy

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“What do you mean, he hasn’t woken up yet?! Summer vacation’s over. His ass should be on a chair at the kitchen table having breakfast before he leaves!”

In the middle of the second floor hallway of The Mossos Estate, voices could be heard echoing across the halls. The young man in discussion was lying fast asleep under the covers of his bed, so deeply immersed in Dream Land that he failed to hear the heavy footsteps of his very upset aunt rushing in the direction of his bedroom like an angry bull. Not even the sound of his door being flung open made him flinch. But that was all about to change in this very instant.

“Jesus Christ, Dante Sterling, did you miss your damn alarm again?!” Audrey Huntsberg-Mossos scolded her nephew as she walked over to his bed and unceremoniously pulled off the covers off the upper part of his body. “Lord help you when you go to college. I have no idea how the hell you’ll make your classes with me not being there to wake your sorry ass up on time.”

“Fuck, Mom. Ever heard of something called knocking?” Dante mumbled, eyes still closed shut and voice thick with sleep. He wished his aunt would still wake him up gently like she used to when he was a child: talking to him softly while gently brushing away the hair off his face… And not storming into his room while screeching like a banshee.

The nephew’s sassy remark did not amuse his aunt, who stood her ground beside his bed with a stern expression. “Up. Now!”

“Alright, alright! Just… Give me a sec, okay?” he whined, pulling the covers back onto himself and turning his back on Audrey.

Scowling, Audrey’s voice dropped into something barely louder than a whisper. “You have five minutes to get out of this bed before I come back up with a glass of ice water to pour over you. The clock starts now.” And with that, the woman turned on her heel and left the room, her sneakers barely making a sound against the hardwood floor.

After what seemed like a long minute, Dante finally mustered up the strength to pull of the covers off himself, but made no more motions to suggest he planned on leaving his bed anytime soon. A few seconds of staring blankly at the ceiling and a long sigh later, D slowly got up from his bed and trudged his way out of his room and into the bathroom.

Once inside and behind a closed door, the young man watched his reflection in the mirror. The oldest Mossos teen’s light brown hair was a mess on top of his head after a night of much-deserved sleep. Under his stunning blue eyes were a matching pair of slightly dark circles, which were no doubt inherited from his father Elijah. And over his pale, chiseled body, the young man wore nothing more than a pair of black Calvin Klein boxer briefs. He slipped those off to take a lukewarm shower -more cold than hot- to wash the sleep and the last night sins away, enjoying the feeling of the trickling water down his body. Once out, dried and with the damp towel wrapped around his midriff, Dante made his way back to his room. He quickly got dressed in the neatly-laundered uniform one of the family maids had left for him before spending the customary ten minutes of styling his hair to his idea of perfection. Finally finished with his personal grooming, the young man grabbed his dark brown leather messenger bag and headed down to the kitchen, leaving a scent trail of expensive perfume behind him.

“Here,” Audrey announced to Dante as soon as he stepped foot into the kitchen, holding out a brown paper bag in one hand and a female uniform inside the plastic laundry bag in the other, a serious expression on her face. “The uniform’s for you to take it to Ella down at the office. She called to tell me she’d had some incident down at the pool earlier -bless her clumsy heart, I don’t even ask anymore at this point- and asked for a fresh change of clothes to be brought in. And in the paper bag there’s a cream cheese and salmon bagel along with a pear so you at least have some breakfast on your way down there. You’re welcome.”

“Did anybody ever tell you you are the best mother ever?” Dante told Audrey with a cocky grin, giving the older woman a side hug and planting a kiss on her cheek before taking the bags off her hands. Even though she was a pain in the ass, there was no other woman Dante would have chosen to be his adoptive mother.

“Yeah yeah… I spoil you all too much…” the Latina lamented out loud, shaking her head. But the closed-lipped smile on her face was evidence that she was merely joking. “Now get your butt off to class before I ground you.”

Still wearing that cocky smile of his, Dante shot his aunt a wink before stuffing his breakfast bag into his messenger bag, picking up his keys from the foyer table and walking to the garage, where the blue Ferrari F60 America he’d received as a gift for his sixteenth birthday and affectionately called Sonic was waiting to be taken out for a spin.

The circumstances in which an individual is born into have a lasting effect on the rest of their lives. Being born into a certain time period, race, family and genetics always predisposes said individual to a specific set of illnesses or conditions. In the Mossos family, addiction happened to be the cancer that threatened to eat each and every one of the alive.

Every member of the Mossos clan was addicted to something: be it good or bad. Alexandros Mossos, patriarch of the family, was known for -among others- his addiction to women; an addiction that had nearly cost him his family in his late teens and one that his wife had so adamantly tried to crush over the last eighteen years. Audrey Mossos-Huntsberg was addicted to her husband, and the lengths to which she would go to keep him were no secret. Elijah Mossos’ alcohol and cocaine addictions had been a stain in the family name, and the reason behind Dante’s and Soleil’s secret daddy issues. And the list went on and on throughout the years.

The new generation wasn’t exempt from addictions themselves. Antonella, the most innocent one of all, was addicted to love, sunshine and happiness. Xander was addicted to music, and dabbling into the occasional joint of marijuana from time to time meant that this could become another vice down the line. Ariana was addicted to fashion and attention: making her a complete mini-me of her mother at that age. Soleil -a Mossos in everything but the family name- was addicted to working out, and the feeling of power and control she got when defeating an opponent in the ring. Even little Drew had his own addiction, in the form of comic books and video games.

And Dante Mossos wasn’t immune to the family curse. In fact, the young man’s vices happened to be “gifts” from his older family members. Like his uncle before him, D loved to find himself between the sheets in the company of lovely women. Like his father and deceased mother, he smoked like a chimney away from the hawk-like eyes of his aunt, who he knew would burn him with the lit stub if she found out. But the one vice that stood out to him as unique from the rest? Speed.

It was this particular addiction the one he was feeding as he sped through the streets of Crown Heights: here one moment, gone the next in a rush of wind and the blink of an eye, leaving behind nothing more than shaking leaves and a blur of blue. Dante knew racing was dangerous: a vice that could very well cost him his life on the most minuscule of mistakes. Yet he loved the rush of adrenaline, the wind in his hair, the thrill of knowing he was so closely flirting with danger and death and emerging triumphantly every time.

What was life without a little risk? To Dante, it was one not worth living.

Before he knew it, Dante was reaching the wrought iron gates of the private school’s campus. It was then when he decided to reduce his speed to the one required by the law to avoid getting any heat, and made his way into the school’s parking lot as if he hadn’t been pushing over 100 mph seconds before. Be it by a stroke of luck or simply fate, the Mossos teen managed to find himself a good parking spot in which his beloved Sonic would be safe from any harm. Taking one last look at himself in the car’s visor mirror, he grabbed Ella's uniform and the messenger bag from the passenger seat, slung it on his shoulder and exited the vehicle, making sure to lock it properly behind him.

With the arrogance that came with carrying the family name, Dante walked to the high school building of King’s Academy. Head held high, he made his way through the halls, earning all kinds of stares and breaking hearts along the way.

Palm Beach Royals

With your dose of early morning banter to start the day.

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While most of her classmates were making last-minute arrivals to school, Soleil Jameson and her group of best friends -with the exception of Marco- were just finishing up their breakfasts in King’s Academy’s cafeteria. The Alphas -who were usually the loud, beefed-up, rowdy jocks in the corner table who annoyed and intimidated the shit of the rest of their schoolmates- were unusually quiet on this particular day. The truth of the matter was that they were all facing the consequences of their actions of the previous night: a killer hangover courtesy of the many drinking games and dares they’d gotten themselves into at Marco’s party. Even after attempting to sweat out the alcohol with an early gym session, The Alphas were left to nurse their pounding headaches, nausea and a thirst that neither water nor Gatorade seemed to quench.

“Fuck, man… My head is fucking throbbing right now,” Johann Shen complained, eyes shut closed while he cradled his aching head between his hands. For the Singaporean-American boy to take the risk of messing up his luscious black locks meant that he truly was feeling badly… As if his slouching wasn’t telling enough. “Those Cuervo shots at the end really fucked me up.”

“Which of the two heads are we talking about here?” Fayed Jalali asked, shooting Johann an impish grin and somehow looking as if -contrary to the rest of them- the last night’s shenanigans hadn’t affected him at all. How the Pakistani teen managed to keep his humor and make one of his signature double-entendre jokes while feeling like he was on the edge of alcohol poisoning was a mystery to the rest. This earned him appreciative chuckles from the rest of the group, and a light elbow on the ribs from the Asian. “But for real, though. My stomach feels like it’s swimming in alcohol and Gatorade.”

“Oh yeah? Try doing an hour of cardio at the gym after puking your guts out at least five times before six in the morning,” Nolan Bradshaw replied in his usual -although slightly less authoritarian- drawl while slumped in his seat, looking very much like an extra for a Night of the Living Dead movie. The blond male’s head was cast downward, in contrast to the proud, borderline arrogant way he held it when he was sober: a sure sign he wasn’t feeling good.

“Better out than in, is what I always say. Unless, ya know, you’re in the middle of it. Don’t want the lady to cuss you out because you pulled it out when she was just about to-”

“Thank you for enlightening us, Fayed. We certainly appreciate you passing on the wisdom of your people to us Americans,” Tommy Prescott cut him off, showing the politically incorrect, cynical, sarcastic humor you wouldn’t imagine the most serious, laid-back member of The Alphas having. If you judged him from the attitude and looks, you wouldn’t be able to tell that this brown-haired, eternally poker-faced young man was, in fact, the younger brother of preppy, bleach-blonde cheerleader Courtney Prescott.

Fayed shot Tommy an amused grin, eyebrows raised in an entertained expression with his friend’s racist joke. “Of course, man! Don’t want all you beefcakes to fall short on where it really matters,” he shot back, making a jab at his muscled-yet-scrawny figure when compared to the rest of The Alphas.

“Thanks for the advice, man, but I don’t need it. Girls love me,” Johann managed to argue, raising his head a little to give Fayed a smirk.

“If by ‘girls’ you mean one, and that one being Jasmine Brooks on Homecoming last year, then I’m sure girls do love you.”

“Shit, Jalali. What’s so bad about not sticking your dick into every moving object? Excuse me for trying to focus on other important things!”

“Who needs reality TV when you can have this for free?” Soleil finally piped up, smirking at herself while mindlessly scrolling through the ESPN News app on her phone. “God, you guys bicker more than a married couple, I fucking swear to God,” She loved her friends (though she would never say that out loud because it’s fucking gay as shit), and loved the banter between them. That and intense arguments over sports meant that things were going good and they didn’t have a care in the world. So even if they were all a hot mess today, The Alphas were still going strong.

“So like you and Big Mac do?” Fayed interjected without hesitation, aiming his cannons at Sol now and causing a ripple of chuckles to go around the group.

“That’s a low blow, Jalali. Mac’s not here to defend himself,” Shady replied with a smile on her face to show she was joking around too. “Plus Mac’s, like, my brother, you perverted piece of shit. Fucking him would be some kind of incest shit.”

“The fuck is Big Mac, anyway? He missed the gym and he’s not here yet,” Nolan questioned in an attempt to change the subject, blue eyes looking up at Sol now with his blond head cocked to the side.

“Knowing him, he’s probably still snoring in his bed after missing all seven of his alarms,” the brunette replied, rolling her eyes with a smirk. “I don't blame him, though. I'm sure he's fucking hammered. Here, let me text him,” she said, grabbing her phone and tying up a text for Marco as if she hadn’t been texting him since she first opened her eyes that morning.

Soleil and Marco had been friends for nearly ten years now. This meant that she knew him as well as she knew herself, including the little quirks that the rest of their friend group wouldn’t be aware of. One of these quirks was that, on every new semester, Big Mac would be late for what seemed like the stupidest reasons in the world. Last semester’s excuse had been that he couldn’t find his left sock, and he refused to wear another pair because “it didn’t feel right”. The semester before that one was because he’d misplaced his backpack, which turned up in the main hallway coat closet, where he’d placed it the night before so as not to forget it the next morning. So, in the end, him being late on the first day was nothing new. And the semester before that it had been because he’d decided to make cinnamon raisin pancakes from scratch (instead of taking the logical decision of letting his mom or their kitchen lady make them), burnt the first two batches, and by the time he was done eating he was already running late. Smiling to herself, Shady was looking forward to this year’s excuse. She knew it would be as unique as he was.

No sooner than she’d hit “Send”, the warning bell rang, letting the students know they had ten minutes to make their way to their respective classrooms before lessons started. A collective groan of exhaustion was made by The Alphas before they each stood up to throw away their garbage and leave the cafeteria. Making plans to meet up at the gym after their respective practices, the group of best friends walked down the halls in a formation they didn’t even know they were doing. One by one, each member of The Alphas entered their assigned classroom, until only Soleil was left.

Sighing, the young woman entered her homeroom classroom and took a seat in the back, dumping her backpack in the chair next to her to make sure Marco had a seat whenever he arrived. Her resting bitch face, emphasized by the raging hangover, was more than enough to keep anyone away from Marco’s seat. Shady had just enough time to send Marco one last text before the last bell rang, their homeroom teacher arrived, and the semester officially started.

Palm Beach Royals

SONNNNNNNNNNNN <3