Venus

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

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Santiago Fernandez took the seat the girl had offered him, and put his sweaty palms on top of the table that separated them. The idea of asking Stella to the dance wasn’t something he’d been considering in the slightest. Although he’d mostly ignored it in favor of doing his own thing, Diablo hadn’t been a stranger to the very obvious animosity the brunette felt towards him. Hell, she was probably a close second to Julie on the scale of how much they hated him. There was a history between them- and not a very good one, at that. During their first date together back in freshman year, he had strung Stella along in hopes of getting laid, but had acted rather nastily when things didn’t go his way. He hadn’t been violent or verbally degrading to her, but had tried to manipulate her into thinking his dismissal of her had been her own fault. With the years he understood that his actions had been appalling, yet had left things to fester instead of doing the right thing and offering up an apology. This dance presented the perfect opportunity to (hopefully) finally put another grudge to rest. But no matter how many times he had rehearsed the words in his head, it was always so much harder to follow through when they were face to face.

The young man took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “I’m sure everyone knows this by now, but Lils and I are having a baby girl,” he began with a nervous laugh, rubbing the closely-cropped hair in the back of his neck.

She looked up at him, feeling as though it was the first time she had seen him actually smile without the pompous asshole attitude that usually followed. She noticed just how ...happy, if not absolutely terrified (she was assuming) about being a father. “Congratulations, Santiago!” Stella meant that. Regardless how she felt about him, which even now it was less hate and more whatever, she always smiled whenever a baby was brought into the world. “I’m sure your daughter will be a cutie!” Stella wasn’t blind. Santiago was objectively cute and April was adorable. She knew they would have themselves a looker.

“Thank you, seriously,” Santiago said appreciatively, and gave her a bashful smile. “I hope she doesn’t have her momma's temper, though. I’ll be in a whole lot of trouble if she does.”

When he mentioned April’s temper, the brunette immediately recalled the times she not only heard about their intense screaming matches from friends but she witnessed them a few times. And that’s not even including the things they did to each other (again she heard it through the grapevine). Stella used to think they were toxic, that they weren’t any good for each other. She used to think that maybe they would break up and that would be the end of that. On some level, she knew it was the opposite. For people to do the things they did to each other and at the level they probably hurt one another, Stella was aware enough to know they were the real deal and that made her smile. Not because she suddenly liked Santiago but because April was her friend.

“Cheer up, Santiago!” Stella placed her hand on his and waited for him to meet her gaze. “I’m sure she’ll have just enough of both of you. Too much and she might just rule this world.”

The young man grimaced, but immediately let out a nervous chuckle. “As much as I know I’ll love her, that is terrifying to think about,” he admitted, shaking his head. “But anyway, that’s not the only reason why I wanted to talk to you…” he began, taking one last moment to gather his thoughts before letting out a deep breath and embarking on the second part of his apology tour. “See, having a kid right now is something I never in my life thought would happen. But it did, and it’s put a lot of things into perspective for me. I obviously wanted a boy, but things didn’t go that way. And when I found out I was having a girl, I immediately started to worry about how things would be when she grew up… What the world would be like, what she would be like, what would happen if she ever came across a dude like me... And when the thought of anyone playing my little girl like I did to so many chicks before scared me, I realized what a fucking piece of shit I’ve been for so many years,” he admitted, his voice and eyes full of honesty as he looked up at Stella. “And I’m sorry for that, Stella. I’m sorry I was such an asshole to you back then. You didn’t deserve any of that shit. I know I can’t take back what I did, but I can at least let you know that I really do regret acting out the way I did.”

Hearing those words escape his lips. I’m sorry. He’s sorry? She immediately played it back in her head and repeated it several times and his voice echoed in her thoughts. She wasn’t sure if this was a game that he was playing. While she didn’t want to think that even Santiago was capable of such a horrible thing, especially after they were having such a sweet moment, she couldn’t stop herself from entertaining the notion. This was Santiago, after all. This was the boy who played with her heart, who made her feel like he actually cared, and then when she wouldn’t do something or when he had his fill, he dumped her like a sack of potatoes gone bad.

And that was the worst part. Sure, one could argue the worst of it came when she saw him with April and had herself a good cry after the fact, but what really made her visit Rock Bottom USA was the fact that he made her think there was a chance between them. People can talk about how it was always Santiago and April and she eventually caught on, but for a couple of weeks, hope crawled into the home of common sense and a hatred was born. This fire that had an eternal supply of gasoline fueling the intense loathing she had for him burned everything to the ground and Stella had buried it deep into the core of her being, not wanting to ever dig it up.

She narrowed her eyes and tried her best to look for the old Santiago. She was actually hoping to find the guy who crushed her but he wasn’t there. “The world must be coming to an end.” Her words left her cherry lips before she even realized it and she laughed.

“Tell me about it,” he chuckled, enjoying how some of the anxiousness he had been feeling over this evaporated into the atmosphere.

He wasn’t playing any games and maybe that’s the part of it all that made this too surreal for her. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to hear you say those words, Santiago. Not only for you to say it but mean them. It’s hard for me to admit, but I did like you. I mean, sure: I have this rep of falling for guys too quickly. But while you treated me horribly, during the time when you weren’t, it was so amazing. You made me feel like I was on top of the world, like I was the only person that mattered. So, when you did hurt me and didn’t even apologize, I just...didn’t want anything to do with you. And God knows I hated you for so long. But now..” Stella bit her lip and curled them in a half smile. Looking into his eyes and now not even certain what was happening, she gave into the part of her that just wanted to laugh. “I don’t even know. You aren’t the same guy I remember. I can tell that you mean what you said and, well,” she paused, squeezing his hand with a warmth she never thought she’d give him, “I forgive you!” She chipperly stated.

When he heard Stella accept his apology and felt the sincerity of her words, part of a weight he’d unknowingly been carrying on his shoulders suddenly lifted. Even when he’d made so many mistakes because of his selfishness and immaturity, this young woman sitting in front of him had still found it in her heart to forgive him, which spoke volumes about her. For someone who’d once disliked him so passionately, Stella had probably seen something in him worth forgiving and moving forwards. It filled him with hope that maybe- just maybe- he wouldn’t be as bad of a dad as he thought he would.

Now, onto the other reason why he’d approached her in the first place…

“Can I make things up to you by taking you to the dance next week? As friends, of course!” he clarified, raising both his hands in front of him. Diablo felt like he needed to make it absolutely clear that he didn’t have any ulterior motives or ill intentions this time around. “I know I totally ruined the only date we’ve had, so I’d really like to have a chance to try again. We can have ourselves a nice dinner at your favorite place, go to the dance and I can drive you home afterwards. Or I can ask someone else to drive you back home if you’re not comfortable with me doing it. I’m cool with whatever.”

He continued to amaze her. An apology and a redo of their date? He really has changed. There was even a part of her, a really small part of her that was almost jealous of April. “I’d like that,” she smiled, keeping her longing gaze on him. Stella had to take a moment to get used to this new side of Santiago. “Here, let me give you my number.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a little pink notepad that was no bigger than her hand and it was decorated with various rose patterns. As she wrote down her number with her purple ink pen, she tore the piece of paper from the notepad, handing it to Santiago. “There we go!” She half-giggled.

Grinning, Santiago took the note from her hands and slid it into the pocket of his jeans. “Awesome! Thank you so much, Stella. Really,” he earnestly replied. He really was grateful for the opportunity to fix his mistakes, and genuinely looking forward to giving her the best platonic time she deserved. “I’ll make sure to text you as soon as I can so you can have my number, and we can hash out the details of this thing. That sound good?”

“Yeah! That’s perfect! Feel free to text me anytime by the way! You’ll be a breath of fresh air since the only texts I get nowadays are from my annoying family!” She rolled her eyes, glancing down at her phone and she noticed the time. “Wow, is it that time already?” She mused aloud and exhaled out a sigh. “I’m sorry. I’m really enjoying this but my next class is way across campus and if I don’t leave now, I just know I’ll get an infraction for being tardy,” she said, standing up.

“Oh no, that’s fine,” he said with a shrug, imitating her by standing up as well. “I’ve gotta get going anyway. I try to carry Lils’ things from classroom to classroom any chance I get. I want to avoid having her carry around any more extra weight than she already does.”

“Aww!” Stella could feel her heart melting. Santiago and the rep often associated with him wasn’t true at all. He wasn’t some monster she thought he was. He’s a sweetheart and she knew April was lucky to have someone like that in her life. “You’re going to be a fantastic father, Santiago Fernandez! Mark my words!” Shooting him a short wink, Stella forced her legs to carry her and her bag into a sprint out of the cafeteria.

Cancelled - until next time family. Thank you for understanding.

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“Hey Valeria! You ready?” Although the boy looked tired and confused, he’d plastered on a smile when looking up at her.

From her position in the front steps of her California home, Valeria Drake had watched her friend Nathan Matthews pull up into the driveway and step out of what would be their home for the next few weeks. As soon as AJ had proposed they all take a cross country road trip to enjoy, Val had been one of the first ones to jump in. It had been an amazing idea in her eyes: just her and the rest of the boys having a grand old time before life inevitably got in the way. J had been vague in saying which boys specifically would be joining them on their trip- which was understandable of course, since it wasn’t exactly a weekend thing. But as long as she had their company, she was certain it would be a time to remember.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she answered with a shrug and a smile, giving Nathan a tight hug before skipping to the van, her skateboard safely tucked under her arm. As soon as she settled comfortably in the passenger seat, she placed both her backpack and the skateboard on the vehicle floor in front of her.

Nathan opened the door and placed Val’s bags in the back beside the breathing pile of duffle bags with an eye-roll. Letting out a big sigh as he made his way back into the driver’s seat.

"Thank you so much for doing this, by the way," the short girl said to Nate once he was back in his own seat. "I don't know why J couldn't fucking do it all of a sudden."

“No worries…” he hummed as he put on his seat belt, started the engine and got on the road again. “Uh yeah… I don’t know the text he sent me wasn’t very explanatory, as usual, you know?” he commented with a smile. Looking down at his wrist he saw that they actually had more time than he thought they had.

“So do you guys… ehr,” Nate shot the pile of bags a quick side-eye stare. “I mean do you want to stop for coffee or something? We’re ahead of schedule actually… AJ said that they have it covered but… I doubt it.”

"Nah, it's cool," Val said with a dismissive hand gesture. "Clara and I had a lovely breakfast together consisting of eggs and Mickey-shaped chocolate chip pancakes," she laughed, feeling a momentary pang in her chest at how much she would miss her baby sister during this trip. "Can we stop at a gas station to get some snacks, though?"

Without thinking he jabbed his thumb to the back of the van “Oh we’re fully stocked back there so if you want to have a look and see-” Just as the sentence had left him he scrunched up his face. Sorry, Leon, it’s too late now “Uhm… Or I mean yeah...” he tried to backpedal.

“Why the fuck are you acting so weird?” Valeria asked him, the annoyance obvious in her voice. The brunette suspiciously narrowed her eyes at Nathan. She hadn’t missed the way he’d addressed her earlier by ‘you guys’ instead of just ‘you’, as if there was somebody else in the van with them. She had played it off, of course, because maybe it was a mistake. But now? With how squirrelly he was acting and the way he nervously scrunched up his face when he mentioned checking the back, it was obvious that something was going on.

“No! Don’t… fuck... whatever” Nathan tried to help his friend before giving up and deciding to concentrate on the road instead.

Frowning, the young woman got up from her seat and easily made her way to the back of the van (one of the few times where her short stature came in handy). Upon first glance, nothing suspicious came up. But when she picked up one of the duffle bags to make a more thorough examination, she let out a loud, high-pitched shriek.

“What the fuck, Leon?!” Val yelled, resisting the urge to drop the duffle bag on his dumb face or grab him by the hair and pull him out of his hiding spot.

Leon eagerly listened to the conversation as he tried to steady his breathing, but...things were clearly going south. Before he could even think ‘Nate you idiot’ (as though he himself weren’t half the idiot to this sandwich), he tried to casually play off the whole thing as though he lived there his whole life. “Oh...hey Val, uhhh… Sour Patch Kid?” His hand awkwardly fumbled around through the snack bag grabbing a package of m&m’s instead.

“Sure! Give me a handful of ‘em, so I can shove them up your ass!” she retorted, dropping the duffle bag away from Leon’s face and storming back to the passenger seat. “You guys know I fucking hate surprises, and it’s way too fucking early for pranks like these.”

Nathan let out a huge scoff “Hey, leave me out of it… this was all big boy’s plan. For some good god damned reason. What’s going on with you guys anyway?!” he asked for the second time this morning. Maybe he would get a more sufficient answer out of Valeria.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she snapped, her narrowed eyes fixated on the road speeding past them and her arms crossed in front of her chest. Well that was a fucking lie. There was definitely something going on with her since that fateful prom night, but it wasn’t something she would ever tell Leon about- let alone Nate.

“I guess not” the driver whispered mostly to himself. He glanced quickly at Leon in the rearview mirror asking him to solve this with an intense stare.

Leon sighed and lifted himself up from the duffles, plopping himself down on the couch in the back. “Look...V...I know I’m...well I am kind of an idiot but...it’s hard not to notice you’ve been even more socially distant than normal. I don’t know what the hell I did, but I’m sorry, okay?” He said his piece and decided to just look out the back window at the road heading away from them.

“It's whatever," she interjected dismissively, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm over it. Let's move on." It was not whatever, and she was far from over it. But what was the point of bringing her feelings up other than causing unnecessary drama? They would be stuck in close quarters for weeks on end- drama was the last thing they needed.

Val’s tone implied otherwise, but Leon was the kind of guy who didn’t exactly like leaving overturned stones...unturned? Was that the saying? He wasn’t sure, but he felt pent up and needed to relieve it somehow. “You’re right, let’s move on. Nate, stop the van.” He started grabbing both his AND Nate’s luggage.

“What?!” He yelled out “We’re on the fucking highway!” he grumbled. Luckily their exit was coming up and he could pull the van over into a parking lot that far away from their meeting spot. “The fuck are you doing Leon?” he asked turning around in his seat to look at his best bro frantically grabbing their bags.

“Getting an extra mile into my morning run, what do you think? Might as well double up on weight training too, so I’m taking your crap with me, can’t exactly have you leaving without me.” Strapping the gear over his shoulders and back like some overpacked marine/hiker he slid the door open and hopped out.

“Leon, wa- !"

Slamming it shut, Leon smacked the van a couple of times before he started hustling his way down the road, “I’ll see you both there in a few!” He needed to get away, even if it was just for a little while and running..well running was both a literal and figurative way of escaping. Nothing to focus on except the burning in your legs, the wind in your face and that little annoying drip of sweat as it makes its way down your spine and in between your butt cheeks.

Nathan just stared at the door that just slammed shut. “What. The. Fuck?” was the only thing that he could say as he turned slowly to Valeria. “Do I even want to know what this is about?” Nate asked as he turned the key to start the van up again pulling out of the parking lot, continuing on down the road passing Leon and their bags jogging alongside them.

"I told you: it's none of your fucking business-" Val repeated. But when she saw the death glare Nate was giving her, she groaned in resignation. “Ugh, FINE! But you're gonna think it's stupid…" she croaked, looking down at her lap now. She just knew that if she didn't come right out and say it, Nate would never let it go.

“I probably will.” He tried to make light of the situation with a small laugh.

Val raised her eyes long enough to glare at him. “That's not really helping."

“It can’t be that bad, can it?” he continued. That was probably not true seeing as it was something Leon had done.

The short girl took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. “He fucking friendzoned me, okay?” she admitted in defeat, the words now coming out like an overflowing river. “We were sitting in his car in my driveway after prom just talking and whatever, and all of a sudden he started giving me this look, alright? Like he was going to kiss me or some shit. But instead of doing that, he just goes on and tells me that he loves me like a fucking sister. A sister, okay?! Like the fucking little sister he never had...” she angrily trailed off, wishing she was somewhere where she could start kicking rocks.

Before he could stop himself Nathan stifled a laugh as he turned into the parking lot of their high school, and was immediately smacked on the back of head by Val. He winced. "I’m sorry… it’s just. I guess we’re both in the same situation right?” he said, turning off the engine, putting the van in park and facing his short friend.

“I guess this is karma’s way of getting back at me for what happened with you and Josie,” Val said with a bitter laugh, shaking her head.

“It sucks, I know… And I guess I’m the last person that should be saying this… But maybe ignoring it isn’t the best way to go about this?” he queried, shrugging his shoulders.

“You got a better suggestion?” she questioned back with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ll tell you what…” he began, opening the driver's side door. “We at least try to be nice to the people who rejected us… me with Josie and you with big boy. Maybe that way we can make this trip go a little smoother… Deal?”

“I mean, avoiding someone isn’t exactly being rude to them-” Val began to argue back, but groaned in protest and raised her hands in surrender at the look on Nate’s face. “Okay! Fine! I’ll start being nice to him again! God…” she trailed off, rolling her eyes as she exited her side of the vehicle and slammed the door behind her.

“It’s like someone’s holding a fucking gun to your head…” he muttered quietly as he followed her out towards the middle of the parkinglot where a beast of a vehicle was blasting music. That’s what AJ was calling an RV? It was a fucking double decker bus.

“Leave it up to you to go over the top, Shortstop!” He smiled broadly at AJ as he approached, slapping him on the back and leaving his arm around the shorter guy’s shoulder. He nodded hello to the rest of the group, some he moved on quicker from but he ended it with shooting Ava an extra wink.

Valeria, who had been leading the way with an excited smile, immediately stopped dead in her tracks. She recognized the faces of AJ, Chris, Sami, Ivy and Aleks, of course- though she was still surprised to see the Russian would indeed be joining their trip. But there were also four other faces in the vicinity, which all happened to belong to people Val had been ecstatic to never see in her life again.

“You can’t be fucking serious…” she muttered in disbelief, her eyes wide as she stared at each one of the females in the group: Ava, Katie, Chloe and Reyna... Suddenly, the reason why AJ had been vague about the names of the people joining them on the trip made a lot of sense. But even then, she refused to believe this was happening. It was surreal, like something straight out of her deepest, darkest nightmares.

Taking a deep breath to fight back the fury bubbling up inside her but that was probably clearly painted all over her face, Val made a beeline for AJ and tugged at his arm rather roughly. “I need to talk to you alone NOW.”

As AJ was ripped away from under him, Nate took a step back. “What now?” he asked no one in particular.

Just as he was about to explain why Leon was not with them he spotted the bulky young man jogging on to the parking lot. “Here he is! Enjoy the jog, knucklehead?” He asked as Leon drew closer.

Normally a half mile jog wouldn’t even faze Leon, though normally he isn’t carrying four massively packed bags full of crap on him. Regret was written on his face as he came trudging along through the parking lot up towards Nate, “Seriously dude,” he said in between breaths, “Did you pack your entire camera gear in these or what?”

Smirking, Nate crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes, actually, which you might have known if you hadn't-” he began.

With complete disregard for the answer however, he unceremoniously dropped the bags from his slacking shoulders and proceeded to rip the sweat soaked hoodie attached to his flesh.

“And there we go…” Nathan groaned as Leon exposed his naked upper body for the first (but certainly not the last) time on this trip. That was something Nate was sure of.

Using the cloth material to wipe his face, Leon continued to gulp in air as he looked at the small group of people that were already around the...holy, “That’s a big car… S’up, peeps! You think there’s a shower in that thing?”

Leon Shirt Counter

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

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Sitting on the ledge of the roof, his feet hanging off, listening to Blinding Lights by The Weeknd, Ryland peered down at his new school, having not touched his packed lunch, at all. He was too lost in his head to hear the growing noises coming from his stomach. If his dad wanted him to change, he should’ve transferred him sophomore year, or something. At least then he wouldn’t feel isolated, like he did now. Like he didn’t belong.

He had a community in Los Angeles, support and love, and he took that for granted. Not saying he doesn’t have that here, it’s just… different. If they never moved from Florida to LA when he was small, it wouldn’t feel like he was a stranger in a strange land. This feeling, the feeling of having to put way more effort than not, to fit in, sucked.

His first day set the tone for the rest of the semester. There was no reason in trying if he had already committed social suicide. Everyone around him was enjoying their young, teen life, and here he was, aimless and annoyed. Annoyed at everything, but most importantly, annoyed at himself. He shouldn’t care who Ariel dates. He shouldn’t care that his two best friends got together. He shouldn’t care! What he should care about is becoming someone his mom was proud to have as her son and someone his dad could trust won’t get himself killed. It was exhausting.

Life.

Why? Why bother? What’s the point?

Nothing mattered and he was meaningless. His anger was a mask hiding the true culprit that ate at him, each and every day. Ryland Aspen felt like an empty shell and had nothing to fight for. He didn’t have a home, not really. He had people he’d die for, he had family, but between Beverly Hills and Crown Heights, he floated. Times like these, he couldn’t explain it. This crippling feeling that leaves him thinking about all the what ifs. What if he grew up with Sonny, Marisol, and the misfits? What if his dad never got with his step mom? What if Zayden wasn’t the golden boy? What if he didn’t exist? What if… Heavily sighing, he stared down at the blank space between his feet and the ground. Stuck, in his own head.

“Fucking finally!”

For the past fifteen minutes, Marisol had been on the hunt for Ryland. After fine tuning the details of Operation Rulie­, the couple had set out on the task of finding their star crossed lovers for Phase One. They had expected this to run quickly and smoothly, and to have a response in ten minutes tops. But for such a small school, it had been a real pain in the ass to find Julie and Ry. They must have been fucking legends playing hide and seek growing up.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you, so when I couldn’t find you I decided to take a smoke break. Didn’t think I’d actually find you up here,” she laughed, plopping down next to Ryland and wasting no time in lighting up a perfectly rolled joint and taking a deep pull. “Want some?” she asked her friend, offering up the joint and exhaling puffs of cannabis smoke like a dragon.

With the sudden presence next to him, breaking him out of his spiraling thoughts, Rye tugged his headphones off and shook his head, which was unfortunate, but for the best, “Nah, I’ll pass. What was it you were saying? Sorry, couldn’t hear you over my music.” No longer staring down at the students that looked like ants, he tilted his head towards Marisol, actually appreciative of the company.

Marisol rolled her eyes. “That I’ve been looking fucking everywhere for you,” she repeated, taking another puff of the joint. Upon closer inspection, Mari noticed her friend was looking and acting rather gloomy- which was very unlike himself. Her cheerful demeanor suddenly shifted to worry. “Is everything okay?” the girl asked him, frowning with concern.

As much as he wanted to put on a front, she caught him when his guard was down, so he simply shrugged and admitted, “Just shit.” He didn’t know how to put it in words, how to explain how depressed he’s been, thinking his father would be better off with two sons, rather than three. It was all there, in his head, but… words escaped him. “Shit’s been rough, and I don’t really know what to do about it.”

The familiar feeling of guilt began to bubble up inside Marisol at Ryland’s words. His first encounter with her and Sonny had been under less than favorable circumstances, then the shit with Ariel happened, plus whatever else he had going on behind the scenes. Although she knew that whatever negative feelings the curly-haired boy weren’t just her fault, she couldn’t help but think that she had contributed to this slump in his mood. Letting out a deep sigh, Mari scooted closer to her friend and rested her head on his shoulder. “Look, I know that there’s probably nothing I can say to make it better, but I can hear you out if you ever want to talk about it.”

“I know…” He muttered, leaning his head against her’s, turning it slightly so his nose rested on her hair. “...and I appreciate it.” He really did and part of him knew that his friend empathized with him and also carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. She deserved to hear more than just half-ass words. After biting the inside of his cheeks, he tried his best to articulate some of his demons, “I want to see this move as something positive. I have you. And Sonny. And everyone else. I just… can’t help to think I always… fuck up. Like I don’t deserve this.” He gestured to her, which symbolized friendship. “I don’t deserve...a moment where I feel okay.” He paused and pushed a piece of hanging hair behind his ear, “I’d settle with okay.”

“We both know that’s a whole lotta bullshit,” she quickly interjected, taking another drag from the joint to buy herself some time to think about her next words. “Sure: you fuck up sometimes. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that you don’t. But, newsflash! We all do. Making mistakes doesn’t make you this big, bad, undeserving person. Your value and your worth don’t decrease with however many times you stumble along the way. No matter how many times you mess up, you still deserve to be more than okay- because you’re you. You’re the amazing Ryland fucking Aspen, for crying out loud! You deserve all the fucking happiness this world has to offer. And if you don’t believe it, I’ll make you fucking believe it.”

As she preached, with passion and sass, Rye couldn’t help but smirk as he observed her. Yeah, maybe being alone wasn’t the best thing for him to do because hearing her words felt like sugar that made awful tasting medicine go down. She didn’t say anything offensive and she wasn’t acting better than him. Marisol was humble and understood perfectly what stage he was at, and more importantly, she loved him.

Raising an eyebrow, he snickered, “How exactly are you going to do that?” Make him believe he deserved happiness, like she had with Sonny, like Aunt Miley had when she treated children at the hospital, like his dad had when he saw everything he made, from ground up. The only person that could convince him of that was himself, and yet, seeing her there cheering him on and speaking words of wisdom, made him feel like nothing was impossible and maybe, just maybe, Marisol Castillo was the solution that would get him out of this funk.

“You don’t wanna know…” Mari mysteriously replied, keeping her green eyes locked on her friend’s brown eyes as she took the last pull from her joint in a purposely comical attempt at being seductive. Of course, she lasted about a full five seconds before snorting and bursting into laughter. “Fuck, that was terrible,” she chortled, tossing the remains of the joint over her shoulder.

“You’re telling me.” The once depressed boy sitting on the roof was now laughing on the roof with a friend. A best friend at that. While flirting wasn’t something he was used to seeing Mari do, it was adorable, even if there was no merit behind it and it wasn’t her strong suit. “Dude, I can only imagine how you talk to Son.”

“In my defense, I wasn’t really trying,” the short girl admitted in an attempt to justify herself. Meanwhile, his last statement went unanswered in order to preserve what little untainted images he had of her and Sonny. “But fuck that and let’s get back to business. I was looking for you for a reason.”

With the mood lifted, at least for now, and hopefully for the rest of the day, Rye realized that his friend came here for something and that wasn’t to cheer him up. “Oh shit. My bad. What did you want to talk about?” As much as this therapy session did do wonders for him, and as short as it was, he was ready to move on. It was only a matter of time this would start making him feel uncomfortable, so it was for the best he changed the subject. Talking about feelings wasn’t his strong suit.

“Well...” Mari began, rubbing her hands together like some sort of mad scientist just to throw him off. “The reason I’ve been looking for you is so I could be the perfect, macho masculine gentleman I am and formally ask you out to the dance next week.”

Oh fuck. That’s right. The dance. He had pushed that deep in the back of his mind. If this was anyone else, he would probably reject them on the spot. Instead, he grumbled and whined, “You’re going to make me go?”

“Yes the fuck I am!” she fervently declared, lightly punching him in the shoulder. “I’ll drag you by the hair if I have to. You can definitely use the distraction.”

“Is this really a distraction when everything is PG-13?” Rolling his eyes, he defeatedly huffed, “Fine, it’s not like I have a choice. But under one condition.”

Marisol raised a questioning eyebrow up at him. “What?”

With a goofy, dumb grin, Rye proclaimed, “Your boyfriend must save a dance for me.”

The short girl erupted into loud cackles at the idea of Sonny’s terrible dancing skills being put on the spot with Ryland as a partner. And the more she thought about it, the harder she laughed. It took a solid few minutes for Marisol to stop wheezing long enough to talk again. “Deal,” she said, wiping the mascara-stained tears from her cheeks. “But only if it’s a smoking hot, Magic Mike style lap dance. Gotta go big or go home.”

“You know me, Sol, I’m here for the Money.” He winked at her, amused at the direction their conversation went. They both weren’t the type to keep things serious for too long and honestly, yeah, she was just what the doctor ordered. “Hey, where is that fucker anyways?”

“I’ve got no fucking idea,” Mari said with a shrug, rising up from her seating position and getting her things just as Ryland did the same. When they were both ready, the brunette linked their arms together and gave her best friend a bright smile. “C’mon. Let’s go find him. Lunch is nearly over anyway.”

What Are You Listening To?

Project Untamed

Tentative interest:
Lauren Jauregui | B22222 | Siberian Tiger

Meadow University

It was late in the evening when Lola Russo awoke with a start, suddenly jumping upright into a seating position in the middle of her king-sized bed. The lamps in her bedroom were still on, filling the otherwise dark room with warm light. In her semi-awake state, the scenes of her last dream played back in her head: a reunion, a good fuck, a party, and a love confession so heartfelt and sentimental it made her cringe just to think about.

Blake De Stefano had been the person on Lola's mind before her drifting off to DreamLand. It had been through secondhand sources that the blonde had found out Blake had accepted a schooling opportunity in Europe, and would be completing the rest of his degree there. If she was truly honest with herself, a part of her was sad to see him go, and would probably always what would’ve been had she bothered to give him the chance he deserved. But the predominant, rational side of her brain? It was celebrating. Blake being out of the picture gave her a peace of mind she hadn’t realized she’d been missing in the first place. His absence meant that there would be no more arguments about what they were or weren’t, no more trying to explain her reluctance to commitment, no more sneaking around with the other guys to avoid hurting him (even if they weren’t official), and no more feeling guilty about breaking his heart. Lola was as she was meant to be: free to do what and who she pleased.

Which shifted her thoughts to the man she was 95% certain had stolen her heart.

Once upon a time, in the beautiful port city of Los Angeles, Lola Russo and her Marymount friends had decided to celebrate their first girl’s night out in four months at Delirium nightclub. The last night of Los Angeles Fleet Week happened to be taking place that evening, and Delirium was filled with the brave sailors of the US Navy, each of them in different shades of gorgeous. The girls had been making their way to the bar when one of them collided with Lola… And, as corny as it sounded, it had been love at first sight. Their night together was definitely one of the fondest memories of Lola’s life, and his face and name would be forever branded in her mind like a tattoo…

United States Navy Seaman Brad Hart.

Bradley. Fucking. Hart.

Wait a second...

Hart…

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks, and she wanted to smack her palm against her dumb face. With her heart now racing, Lola snached her phone from the nightstand, unlocked the device and dove headfirst into her social media apps. It didn’t take long to find the answer to her question, in the form of a post on Joey Hart’s Instagram: a beautiful snapshot of the love of her life dressed up in his impeccable white uniform, with an excited little Joanna on top of his shoulders. "Big doofus! How dare u not come to Meadow with me! Who will protect me!? 😭 I kid! I'm proud of you brother! I know you're gonna make a great sea man! Float on, fellow twin of mine! 💞💕💖"

Lola stared down at the phone in disbelief. How could she have been so stupid? Why did it take her so long to make the possible connection? It wasn’t necessarily rocket science. All this time, wondering how she could stay in contact with Brad when they hadn’t exchanged contact information… And the answer had been staring at her right in the face.

She needed to find Joey. Now.

Now a woman with a mission, Lola threw on the first casual outfit she could put together (not like she’d be hanging around that swamp for long) and set out to find the answers to her questions. As she made her way down the instructed route, she was thankful for her choice in attire. Anything else would’ve made it a real bitch to navigate. By the time she arrived, the party was at its peak. Her foolish peers were at various stages of drunk, horny or just plain stupid, bringing a grimace to her face. She pushed and elbowed her way through the crowd, quelling any protests or complaints with a single death glare while keeping a vigilant eye out for the short, bleached blonde girl she was looking for. Her first sweep offered no leads, but something strange caught her attention on the second sweep.

A small group was huddled along a beer pong table: two alternative-looking blonds, a red-headed male, two Asians of opposite sexes- and the tension surrounding them was plastered all over their faces and body language. The furious redhead was seemingly confronting the smug Asian boy, while the average-looking girl intervened and the blond boys stared. Frowning, Lola put her ‘Finding Joey’ mission on the back burner and set out on the task of finding out what the hell was going on. She’d been just steps away from the table when Theodore Bonfamille tackled Cassian Lee to the ground and aimed his raised fist at her friend’s perfect face.

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

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With her lips still tingling from the delightful feeling of her best friend’s parting kiss, Ariana watched as Chrissie sauntered straight to where Kavi Salvador sat by his lonesome. The breakup with Jason had been a devastating blow to Chris. It had left her in a deep pit of despair, questioning her self-worth and shaking her confidence. Ariana had tried her hardest to pick up the pieces and build her best babe back up, but knew that as long as the thespian queen continued to wallow in her own misery, she would go nowhere. The only person in control of her own destiny was herself, after all- and nobody else could pull her out of it. But now, as Ari watched her with Kavi, her heart swelled with pride to see her girl finally shaking the dirt off her clothes and getting back on the saddle.

Knock ‘em dead, gorgeous.

"Where the hell is she going?"

Huh. What were the odds of the one person Ariana would eventually be looking for happened to materialize out of thin air?

“See for yourself…” she answered, pointing to where their beloved friend was perched at. It wasn’t long before she heard the young man groaning.

"Oh, come on! Kavi? You're kidding me," Ariana heard Jasper Fray say in disbelief, turning his attention back to the grinning Ariana. "Has she gone mad?"

“What can I say? My cute little babycakes loves to stir up some trouble...” Ariana said with a smug little cackle, observing as her best friend continued to put her teachings into practice with Kavi before turning to the young man now standing beside her.

Jasper sighed, sticking his hands into the pockets of his school jacket. ”Oh trust me, I know. I just hope that her doing this doesn’t land her with a Kavi STD or some rage fit from Ariel.” As she laughed at his comment, he turned to watch the scene unfolding before them again until Ariana asked him the million dollar question.

“That being said… Have you given any thought of who you’re going to the dance with?” she asked him, locking that kittenish hazel stare of hers with his piercing, ice-blue eyes.

”Well, to tell you the truth - no. I don’t have that many close friends, honestly. Chrissie, Kavi, and Kavan. First two are out, and something tells me that Kavan is probably going to go with one of the Misfits. What about you? Anyone you had in mind?” Doing his best to maintain eye contact, Jasper silently wondered if he had ever paid that much attention to Ariana’s features. Her lips, her perfectly smooth skin and hair. Those hazel eyes - she was like a living art piece right in front of him.

Ariana was grinning widely now, eyes lighting up like a huntress who had just set her sights on the perfect prey after hours of searching for it. “Well, now that you mention it…" she trailed off, taking a step closer to him and hooking her thumbs on the belt loops of his uniform pants. “I was wondering if you wanted to go with me?" she asked, never once letting her stare venture away from his. Eye contact was always a key way to assert her dominance, even when she wasn't completely in charge.

Clearly shocked, Jasper still managed to give Ariana a smile before answering.

”I would be honored,” he said, his voice low. ”But tell me first - this isn’t some sort of joke, is it? You’re not going to leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere at two in the morning or something, take any embarrassing pictures… nothing like that?”

Although she tried, Ariana couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head at the absurdity of his suspicions. Did he really think she was that kind of popular girl? I mean, she was petty, frisky and bitchy, sure- but not mean or downright cruel. Plus, Jasper was Jasper. He was Chrissie’s friend. He was quiet, reserved, and wouldn’t hurt a fly even if you asked him to, just like she wouldn’t even dream of causing him any sort of distress.

“Listen, Jasper, I’d never do anything like that to you,” she said earnestly, hoping that the look in her eyes reassured him of her honesty. “Did I come up with the idea of asking you out by myself? No. Chrissie was the one who brought up your name in conversation. But we both know me well enough to be absolutely sure that I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t interested. And I am interested. Very interested.”

Jasper sighed, pondering what she had said for a moment. It was true; while females were cruel and complicated, Ariana had never struck him to be that type. Petty on occasion? Sure. Pulling a prank on someone? Nah. Ariana knew who she was and what she wanted. For Jasper to ask her such a question was a bit dumb on his part.

Pressing his lips into a thin line as he contemplated this, Jasper sighed. Not being able to help the smile that crept upon his face, he laughed lightly as he shrugged his shoulders.

“I’ve done crazier shit before,” he said, raising his right hand to cup her face. ”Whaddaya say? I’ll take you out to dinner. We can color coordinate or some shit?”

“Then it’s a date…” Ariana declared with a triumphant smile. using the grip she had on his belt loops to close whatever distance remained between them. “We can do whatever you want, as long as we take my car. Let’s just say I’ve got a plan for us after the dance...” she trailed off, suggestively smirking at Jasper.

“Sounds great,” he said, releasing her to grab his phone from his back pocket. ”We should probably get each other's numbers, huh?”

The brunette momentarily rolled her eyes. Here she was, putting her moves on Jasper like nobody’s business, and all he’d done was suggest they exchanged numbers? Tragic. But she wasn’t about to give up this early in the game- no, sir. So as soon as Jasper unlocked his phone, Ariana swiftly plucked the device from his hands and busied herself with imputing her name and number on the appropriate fields. Once they were saved, she pulled out the front camera feature, smushed her face as close to Jasper’s as she could, and struck a pose.

“Say cheese...” she cooed, puckering up her lips, snapping the photo, saving it as her contact image, and handing the cellphone back to Jasper with the same suggestive smirk as before. “Here you go. Shoot me a text so I can have your number.”

Standing there awkwardly after Ariana took the picture, Jasper was grateful when his phone was returned to his hand. Checking the contact info quickly, he put the phone back in his pocket before smiling at her again.

”Awesome. I’m gonna go grab a quick bite before class. Did you wanna come with?”

“Only if you let me give you dessert first…” Ariana suggested, grabbing his school uniform tie and teasingly playing with it.

Fuck it, he thought. Would it hurt to give in? Only one way to find out.

Grabbing her hips as he closed the distance between them, Jasper proceeded to give Ariana a long, passionate kiss. And it seemed that the spoiled princess was just as into it as he was, because it didn’t take long for the girl to pull him by the tie and use his body to pin her own against the wall of lockers behind her, with their kiss not stopping until they needed to come up for air. Eventually, the young man pulled away, and he smiled at the delighted brunette before speaking again.

“Lead the way.”

Meadow University

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For most people, trying to fight their way through a crowd of slightly inebriated university students would be a monumental task. Of course, most people didn’t get a lot of practice having to do it on skates for most of their life. Plus, they weren’t giant mountain men. For Kieran it was no issue, even as he made sure Lottie was perfectly balanced on his shoulders. Besides, that meant that Kieran had a lookout. “How we looking up there, Munchkin? Got a line on the cabin?”

“Got the target on site, Chief!” Charlotte cheerfully called out to him, her hazel eyes locked on the wooden cabin only a few feet away from them. From her privileged position on top of the broad, muscled shoulders of the living boulder that was Kiki, she had a clear view of the location they were scouting for. Lottie could see what looked like at least two people on the top floor- which didn’t bother her, though. With the size of the cabin, everyone could do as they pleased without getting in the way of each other. “I think there’s, like, two people in there. But they’re upstairs. I don’t think they’ll bother us.”

“Even if they try, you and I both know they won’t succeed,” Kieran confirmed as he lumbered towards the door. His focus was solely on getting to the promised land of the cabin, so much so that the faces on the way just became dark blurs, save for the one neon blur in the side of his vision. That was a little weird. It shouldn’t have stood out the way it did, but it did. Oh well. Bigger fish to fry. He knelt down beside the door to allow his paramour to climb down off his body… for the moment. “I believe this is our stop, Lotts.”

“Oh, but I don’t want to get down!” she whined and pouted, refusing to let go of Kiki and resting her head on top of his.

“As much as I would love to just have you on top of me all night dear, I can’t imagine my shoulders are going to be all that comfortable for a whole night.” He reached behind his back and did his best to pat Charlotte’s shoulder. “Besides, you know I can give you this spectacular view again any time you want.”

“Ugh, fine...” Lottie sighed in defeat, taking advantage of Kieran’s help to unmount from his shoulders. Once she was firmly planted on the ground once more, she straightened out her outfit, took his hand and dragged him into the building.

Upon first impressions, the cabin was a lot larger than it appeared to be from the outside. A few stray party attendees were floating around the ample room: mostly duos or small groups of people looking for a quieter place to talk. But lucky for them, the giant jenga Charlotte had spotted on her way in was still in the corner, miraculously unoccupied. Letting out an excited shriek, she quickened her pace and urged Kiki to keep up by pulling his hand.

When they had finally reached their destination, Lottie turned to Kieran with a smile. “Can I have a kiss for good luck before we start the game?” she cooed, wrapping her arms around him for the millionth time and pulling him closer to her.

A soft chuckle escaped Kieran’s lips as he bent down to allow Lottie to bring him to her. “I think I’m the luckier one in this case,” he noted as he planted the requested kiss on Lottie’s lips. “But hey, who am I to argue with that kind of superstition?” He started setting up the game, but honestly he didn’t plan for it to go on too long. Strip jenga could potentially take forever. Especially given how many different components of that outfit Lottie was wearing. After the tower was set up in a slightly haphazard manner, Kieran gestured to his lady friend. “Would you like to make the first move?”

“Of course!” Charlotte shrieked, excitedly clapping her hands together and turning her attention to the jenga game in front of her. Once she was one hundred percent concentrated on the game, it was easy for her to find a loose piece of the puzzle, and even easier to carefully pull the wooden piece out from between two others in the middle of the tower. The blonde clapped her hands again and gave little hops of joy before turning back to Kiki. “Alright, Viking! Shirt. Off.”

Kieran smirked as he obliged Lottie, slowly lifting his Hawks shirt off his body, revealing the well-sculpted physique that allowed him to be such an effective power forward on the ice and an effective piggybacker in the field. “I wouldn’t be clapping for too long there, Ace,” he warned the giddy blonde in front of him. He surveyed the tower quickly, trying to find another loose piece before finding one on the side. He deftly removed the block of wood and tossed it on top of the tower. “There we go! All right, Lottie. Um… that is all one outer layer of dress, right? Over the pink? I think you can take all of that off now.”

Beaming, Charlotte did as she was told, and happily removed her white mesh mini dress. Her cheeky neon pink bodysuit was in full display now, showing off her small, yet well proportioned body. Giggling, the blonde slowly turned around in front of Kieran, giving him a chance to enjoy her figure from all angles before turning back to the game. “My turn!” she announced, quickly finding and removing another middle piece sitting in one of the bottom rows of the tower, daintily placing back at the top and looking back at Kieran again. “Jeans! Off!” Man, this game was fun!

All Kieran could do is shake his head as he obliged Lottie, undoing the belt of his jeans and dropping them to the floor, revealing the checkered pair of boxer shorts he was wearing underneath “Starting to think I wasn’t as well prepared for this game as I thought! Ah well, this next pull is going to be worth it to see what you’ve got under that bodysuit of yours again.”

As the Viking rotated around the tower to try and get a better glimpse of an easy move to accomplish his new goal, that same yellow neon glint caught his eye that he noticed en route to the cabin. It definitely wasn’t moving as much now though, but when Kieran looked out the window, it was clear just what the blur was. The dyed hair under the pale lights that had been dragged out to this middle-of-nowhere field was a dead giveaway now that the hockey player was no longer ambling with purpose to a new location.

That was Joey all right. It hadn’t been that long since Kieran last saw her. After all, he had helped Lottie move in some heavier stuff she had acquired during the summer break. But Joey was grabbing hold of… another girl? It was hard to tell. The other person had a slight height advantage on Joey, but not enough to give the game away. “Lotts, is that… is that Joey down there? Because it looks like she’s not as interested in joining you and me as you thought. Unless she’s bringing that person in to make it a foursome…”

Frowning in confusion, Lottie shifted her attention to where Kieran was pointing to. In all honesty, she had been both completely absorbed in their game and greedily staring at his body as if it was the best creation in the universe to really pay much attention to their surroundings. But, yep, he wasn’t seeing things. That was Joey, all right: locked in a kiss with, of all people, their sorority sister Jade Scott.

The short blonde curiously cocked her head sideways. “Huh. I didn’t think she’d be into Jade...” Charlotte commented matter-of-factly, keeping her hazel eyes on the two girls until Jade broke the kiss. Then it was time to return to Kieran. “Don’t worry about Joey bringing in someone else, Kiki,” she reassured him with a smile. “She won’t. I mean: yeah, we have an open relationship. But from that to dragging a fourth person into our plans without telling me? No way.”

”That Jade Scott?” Kieran asked, well aware of another of Meadow University’s stars of sport. She was getting national team buzz already from the sounds of things, while Kieran wasn’t close to getting a sniff from the Canadian hockey team. It was a shame.

“Looks like it,” Lottie shrugged nonchalantly, clearly unbothered by what they had just witnessed.

“Well, maybe Joey does have a type, and that type is amazing superstar athletes like you.” Kieran should have probably touched on that whole open relationship thing that Lottie mentioned, but weren’t they technically in an open relationship too? Or at least a very strong friends with benefits situation. He couldn’t really be mad if Lottie was dipping her nets into more than one port. As long as it wasn’t some other dude. Heck, he was going to be taking advantage of it from the sounds of things.

Charlotte chortled at his compliment and observation. “Maybe she does,” she repeated, shrugging again. But after a moment of silence, the young woman quickly snapped her fingers and pointed to the jenga tower again. “Now stop buying yourself time and take your turn already! I know you’re dying to see what’s underneath all this…” she simpered, giving another little twirl.

There was another thing he had to take advantage of. He had decided on a move. Kiki was really going to put the pressure on by taking from the same tier he had taken from before. A single brick this early? It would really make Lottie think. But maybe Kieran was thinking a little too much as he made that pull. He definitely lifted on the block of wood too much and the side of the tower started collapsing on him and the shrieking blonde, the giant bits falling towards him as he caught a couple of pieces to the shins and Lottie gleefully celebrated in the corner.“Fuckin’ Jeezus!” he cursed as he brushed the wood off his legs. ”Well that backfired. ...I’m guessing you’re not just going to let me get away with taking my shoes off, eh?”

Lottie could only smirk in satisfaction and teasingly shake her head. “Not a chance!” she tittered, trying her best to appear seductive as she skirted through the wooden blocks of jenga while making her way towards him. “I could be mean, you know? Having you take these off right here and now…” she trailed off, hooking her thumbs on the elastic waistband of his boxers and biting her lower lip. “But I’m much too greedy to let anyone else see what I see. So, how about we take our business somewhere a little more private? I take these off-” she playfully tugged at the elastic band. “-and I promise I’ll let you take mine off too.”

Kieran nodded his head in agreement. "That sounds like a very fair compromise, Ace. Or should I say, world strip Jenga champion? Anyway, I’ll let you lead me wherever you want.”

The young man watched as the beaming Charlotte took both of his hands and guided him into the nearest empty bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind them before leaping straight into his arms and wrapping him up in a passionate kiss. K.O. knew he was knocked out of the Jenga battle. But in a way, it worked out well, because he’d definitely won the war tonight. Junior year was getting off to a great start.

Palm Beach Royals: Senior Year

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After the fiasco that had happened during the first day of school, Santiago Fernandez had become his baby mama’s bodyguard, pretty much sticking to her like glue. On one hand, he’d felt extremely guilty for leaving her alone and open to confrontations like that. April had always been a strong woman who was more than capable of holding her own, but she was in a delicate state, and he should’ve done more to protect her. On the other hand, he’d been furious to hear about the unnecessary stress the mother of his child had been put in. All she had done was try to take advantage of the new year to turn a new leaf, but her attempt had been ruined by Salvador’s psycho (ex?)girlfriend, and blown out of proportion by some new dude and the rest of Lils’ friends. The young man had been dead set on confronting the couple, but it had been at April’s rather merciful request that he hadn’t. It would solve nothing, she said, and only prove that he was just as unable to commit to changing as Kavi was. And being like Kavi Salvador in any way was out of the question.

Once Mrs. Sanders had dismissed them from yet another assembly, the young couple had made a beeline straight to the cafeteria. Mila was making it very clear to her mother that she was starving, so normally her parents were doing their best to beat the lunch rush. Thankfully, the seniors were let out early, and most of their classmates had been busy finding partners for the dance, so there had been no wait time to get their food. April had secured their seats, and Santiago was returning with their trays in no time.

“Well, there goes my plan of taking you as my date...” the young man lamented, carefully placing April’s lunch tray in front of her before taking a seat in the chair facing her. He wasn’t nearly as outraged as the majority of his classmates seemed to be, but he was still bummed out about being robbed of the chance of taking his girlfriend to their last school Valentine’s Day dance.

After the entire fiasco that had occured in the weeks prior, April had really appreciated the relatively little that had happened since then. Apart from the fact that it took quite a bit of effort to convince Santiago not to confront Kavi and Ariel, April had had a pretty calm and quiet few weeks. The real icing on the figurative cake though, was that even though she had prevented Santiago from bringing the issue back up, the result was that he had become so much more protective of her. The pair were inseparable. He’d carried her books between every class that they shared, he’d always make sure that they got a decent seat in the cafeteria and he’d even gone as far as carrying her tray for her. It was amazing how much he had changed in the few short months it had been since homecoming. While she really didn’t want him doing absolutely everything for her--it kind of tarnished the image of the power of the Trinity--she was willing to let it slide for a bit because damn did she enjoy it.

“No kidding, I was really looking forward to finally attending a dance with you. They can’t really stop us from meeting up during the event though, so there’s that.” April said, undoing the lid and taking a bite of the chicken caesar salad in front of her. “Good choice by the way, I really needed this.” she quickly added, covering her mouth as she tried to both chew and talk.

Santiago chuckled lightly. “You’re welcome, babe! And yeah, definitely. No matter who we go with you can be sure I’ll be checking in on you every once in a while. Gotta make sure they’re taking care of you and treating you right...” he said sweetly, giving her a wink before digging into his loaded nachos. “Anyone you want to go with?” the boy asked with a mouthful of tortilla chips.

“Honestly, I can’t think of any. I could probably ask Kavi now that he's single and all now…” she looked at him with a playful grin before shaking her head and laughing. “Joking of course, I wouldn’t do that to you or Kavi.” She laughed once again, seeing the look of an absolutely unimpressed Santiago looking back at her. “You have to admit that was funny though!”

“Hilarious. I’m falling off my seat with laughter…” he grumbled, rolling his eyes and taking a few more jabs at his nachos. “Steve Harvey is shaking. He’s scared he’ll lose his job to you.”

“And what about you? Any ideas floatin’ around in that head of yours?” April cocked her at him as she looked back to him, the grin still ever present on her face. “If you wanted a real laugh you could ask Julie?” She jokingly suggested, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

Santiago snorted at her suggestion. “You’re just full of jokes today, aren’t you?” he snickered, playfully shaking his head. “We both know Julie would rather throw herself off a cliff than go anywhere with me.”

“This is true. Seems to be a slight flaw in that plan. But seriously, anyone cross your mind?”

The gray-eyed male was quiet for a second, flipping through a mental rolodex of his female classmates. “I mean, not really. I guess I could ask RiRi? Not exactly a friend, but not someone who would run in the opposite direction when she sees me coming.”

“I mean she is really fuckin’ gorgeous. I wouldn’t blame you. I’ve never really talked to her otherwise.” April nodded in approval, though it wasn’t based on much else other than what she saw from the outside. “Given that though, someone may have already asked her, not to be a buzz-kill or anything.”

“Just my fucking luck, right?” he said jokingly, taking another mouthful of nachos when a familiar tall, willowy boy approached their table with a tight-lipped smile.

“Hey April…” the newcomer greeted the pregnant girl before he turned stiffly towards Santiago. “The Devil.” he nodded, giving Santiago a chance to acknowledge him with a sharp nod before turning back to April, leaving the baby daddy to watch the scene unfold in front of him with narrowed eyes.

“So… Uh... This dance thing...” Archer Diedrikson started awkwardly, running his hand through his messy hair. “I was just wondering if a fine, pregnant, unmarried teenage girl would need a gay date to this shitshow?” he asked with a laugh.

April briefly glanced to Santiago to see his reaction before turning her full attention to Archer, smiling warmly to him. “Good afternoon Archer, it’s been a while.” The moment Archer started his little piece about asking her to the dance, April couldn’t help but grin at his delivery. “This fine, pregnant and very much unmarried teenage girl would love a gay date to this shitshow of a Valentine’s dance.” She turned back to Santiago briefly once again, making sure that he was in fact alright with this. It wasn’t that she was looking for his permission, but more his approval.

As unexpected as it was, Archer’s proposal was actually a pretty fucking genius idea. It’s not like Archer and Santiago were the best of friends- or even friends at all. But he’d heard enough compliments from Max about how his cousin was a quiet, kind, chill and caring dude, and he’d witnessed firsthand how he was one of the very few people to manage the feat of defusing the ticking time bomb that was Marisol Castillo more than once. If he was able to pull that off, then he was more than qualified to escort the mother of his child to this dance. In fact, he was probably the perfect man to do so… Besides himself, of course.

The muscled boy’s frown slowly turned into a wide grin. “This is fucking awesome, cabron,” he said gleefully, lightly punching Archer’s arm. “Thanks, man. I’ll owe you one.”

April smiled warmly and looked between the two. It was nice to see that Santiago was completely alright with the proposal and it only served to make her day just that much better. As she looked back to Archer, she remembered something that the two of them had talked about earlier in the year and her eyes lit up once again.

“Tell me, does my potential gay date still need me to take a look at his car like we talked about ages ago?”