aaliyah

she’d never been particularly good at reading facial expressions - not because she lacked the skills to do so, but rather because she typically couldn’t care less. of course, there were always the exceptions to the rules, and she had come to be able to read aaliyah like a book; she could tell what emotion they were feeling without more than a glance in their direction. the issue was rather why they were feeling the way they were. violet was a lot of things, but never a mind-reader.

“that’s okay,” she told them, feeling her heart sink a little as it wasn’t quite the answer she’d been hoping she would hear – especially when aaliyah pulled back suddenly, like they’d been struck. still, the fact that they were there, standing in front of her with a peace offering, was enough to nearly wipe the disappointment clean, leaving violet feeling almost buoyant with a certain feeling of hope. almost. 

“absolutely.” she stepped aside, holding the door open further. “come in. make yourself at home. you can put your shoes here and your jacket here and we can,” she took a breath, allowing herself a moment before starting again, “we can watch whatever you like. any suggestions?” perhaps it was clear through the way she rambled on like a complete dunce that she was trying to work through feelings of her own, and perhaps aaliyah was always the first to see right through her crap, but she’d rather try to push past the discomfort than have to stand awkwardly in front of her beautiful friend, eyes burning with hurt and doubt.

aaliyah's lips curled into the most minute of grins. they prayed that it truly was okay, but hardly was that ever true. for a word that was used to placate people-- to show a sense of what was 'alright', it rarely ever had that real power. on the contrary, it usually meant something completely opposite. though, it also meant that violet wanted it to be okay. that was enough to get them to walk through the door. with the weather being somewhat ugly-- they were in a thin rain jacket. it was just enough to protect their air really. and naturally, it was the first thing that came off. their shoes were a close second. standing there in front of her, however, they felt a sudden jar of nerves running through them. it was odd? usually, things sailed so smoothly that aaliyah was capable of forgetting they were on the show. that someone was just waiting for some shoe to drop-- or any other article of clothing. that's what the show was genuinely created for, right? friendships rarely brought in money. “dirty dancing is on netflix right now... or uh... there are some other old romcoms? or... star wars. we could always watch star wars,” they murmured, suddenly losing their footing. it only worsened when they looked back to see her face. that wasn't the smile they'd anticipated. it certainly wasn't any sort excitement they’d wanted either. instead, it strung a sigh from them as they took a deep but steady breath. “violet...” they daringly stepped forward. though, they left adequate distance between the two of them. they were careful too not invade her space too much, which seemed a little ironic after they'd just been hugging. they’d been right initially. “it's not okay, is it?” the question came out softer than they'd intended.

pretty much from day one, aaliyah had proven to be one of violet’s only real allies, and it was only over the past couple days that she began to realize exactly what that entailed; namely the fact that as they seemed to disappear from her life, most moments of peace for violet had seemed to disappear as well. and no, she wasn’t typically a fan of smokers and tokers, but there was something different to aaliyah. serenity, wisdom, whatever it was, violet wasn’t entirely sure. only that she missed it.

it was just as violet had started to reach for her phone - probably only to end up ruling against texting aaliyah, for fear of what answer she might receive from them - that she heard the knock on her door. she never expected to see the oh, so welcome face on the other side. “aaliyah,” she breathed, only waiting a moment to look them up and down before pulling them into a tight hug. “hey, stranger, it’s been a while.”

aaliyah knew the other could be a bit of a firecracker when she wanted. in fact, they'd anticipated that just maybe violet would turn them away on account of them going a bit m.i.a. though, the second their name fell from those lips-- well, it was fair to say they melted. relief washed over them in droves. “vi,” they muttered, giving her a slight smile. it was mostly just the corner of their lips but their eyes, on the other hand, were much softer. aaliyah liked to think they could say a lot with their eyes; however, too much of anything was rarely a good thing. the second she hugged them, their arms wrapped around her in total reciprocity. their lungs filled sharply and every bit of anxiety they'd felt was displaced. “yeah, sorry about that... just had a lot on my mind,” they confessed, brushing their lips against light brown waves. the act alone had them abruptly draw back. awkwardly, they cleared their throat and put on a much faker grin. “so, i brought snacks... thought maybe we could watch a movie together or something if you were up for it?”

OPEN STARTER / CHLOE.

Chloe was having a good time tonight at the NYE party. She was enjoying herself, partying, had a few drinks, but nothing too much just yet and just wanted to dance. So when a gorgeous woman walked by she grabbed their arm and smiled, “would you like to dance with me?”

Aaliyah had been in a weird headspace after seeing their ex. Were the two of them exes? Regardless, this was one night they weren't going to allow any damper to be placed on their spirits. When their gorgeous castmate asked, they were most certainly not going to deny. “You ain't gotta ask me twice, doll,” they beamed, moving the pair more onto the dance floor. They leaned forward enough so that they were a hairsbreadth from the crest of her ear. “Chloe, right?” The question was short but to the point, trying to be louder the drunken fools around. That and the music itself.

athena wanted to roll her eyes into the next dimension. she nearly did. mask your emotions. compartmentalize everything. that was her way. studious eyes remained on them, searching for something, anything, but all she got was air of nonchalance. as if she meant nothing to someone that she once loved. maybe that was what she deserved. above all else, she was passionate. driven. knew what she wanted in life. god she had wanted aaliyah with everything inside her. there was always this small part that couldn’t believe someone as amazing as them wanted her in spite all of her flaws. of course she’d never let that known and worried too much about how her passion manifested. not in the best of ways. she never wanted aaliyah to see the bad parts of her, pushed them away before they could. “i’m sorry you feel that way,” athena said cooly, biting her lower lip in an attempt to push away the unwavering sadness she felt. she had screamed at people for less. it’d be easy to let anger win in this situation. but she simply couldn’t bring it in herself to get there. something she realized she had missed. they had been the calm to her storm, one they likely hadn’t realized brewed deeply inside her. “i will correct one thing you’re thinking. you’re wrong if you think i didn’t love you. because i did. i really fucking did.”

aaliyah's cool demeanor was in jeopardy the more they stood there. in some ways, a lot of them, it would have been better to just avoid this predicament completely. they could have just gone on with their lives-- just knowing she was there. they could forever dance around the issue that was athena. when those words were uttered, the ones that they most certainly didn’t want to hear,  they were reminded of the fact that yes-- it was bad to be around her. so much evoked in them. anger? sadness? there was this small bubble of happiness that rattled below everything. it meant that everything that transpired between them wasn't in vain. it wasn’t all for nothing but at the end of the day, it was. wasn't it? they took a deep breath, letting their eyes close for a moment. it was a brief one before they looked at her again. “athena, please don't insult my fucking intelligence. you loved that i was married. you loved that you didn't have to worry about ever committing. you didn't love me... you loved our circumstances because if you felt differently then...” they swallowed hard. fuck. suddenly it was hard to speak and tears brimmed in their eyes but they would not fucking cry. “you know what...” they'd still be together, they didn't have to say.

     “i pass, but thank you,” she smiled back, sitting on a chair by the pool next to the other. a sunscreen bottle in hands. “i don’t smoke, but i won’t refuse the invite to swim with you, if that’s what it was,” solara had been asked before in the confessional booth the reason for why she didn’t smoke or drink, and if that was due to any religious convictions of her own. it wasn’t, as now she believed herself an atheist. it’s just… when you get older and you see from a distance, year after year, how dangerous it can be to the people around you to only do things when they’re drunk or rely on nicotine to calm themselves from frustrations, it makes you lose the eagerness to try it out. but weed? weed she had absolutely nothing bad to say about, except she’s too scared of letting go of control like her friends do when they’re high.  “i’m solara. you must be aaliyah, right? the other co-stars be saying you’re gorgeous. they ain’t wrong, to be honest.”

Aidan loved the nighttime; it always felt so much more peaceful, and looking up at the stars was honestly one of her favorite things in life. She was strolling outside for a night swim when she came across one of her castmates who definitely had the right idea of a good time. She grinned warmly at Aaliyah’s offer and was quick to sit down next to them, dipping her toes into the water. “You don’t have to ask me twice,” she replied with a chuckle. “Swimming and smoking under the stars with someone so gorgeous? My lucky day,” she added honestly with a smirk, taking the joint and bringing it to her lips for a hit. “We’ll sesh in my room ASAP to make up for me not bringing my own this time,” she breathed out with the smoke. 

A delicate smirk toying on their lips as they looked at Aidan. They should have known she'd agree but of course, they had to frame it like some future car salesman. Which of course, they hopefully would never have to be. Who even knew? They didn't. They were already quite high and their thought process aligned accordingly. “Flattery will get you everything,” they hummed, shaking their head in amusement. It went without saying that they found Aidan hot as hell. They were something about the way she carried herself however, they'd keep that closer to the chest. “I'll hold you to that.” There was a glint in their eye as they spoke; though, one that was likely hidden due to the mostly dark around. “I haven't done this shit since I was a teenager but...” They turned closer so that the two essentially were face to face. “We should totally do that shotgun thing?”

open starter

Josie had been introduced to the group, once she was shown around and settled in a bit she realized that she was the oldest one there. Well, it was a good thing that she is the one to show that women well in their forties can still be attractive and sexual. That would be her mission on this show! Still, it was quite a shock, so she said out loud, “am I really the oldest one here?” She didn’t necessarily expect an answer from the woman next to her.

a short n sweet starter for @aaliyahsandcrs​

“god, he’s so full of shit that i’m surprised he hasn’t exploded from it,” athena said through gritted teeth to the person on the other end of the line, pacing back and forth in the open hallway. “the buyer shouldn’t be responsible for tens of thousands in repairs because the idiots think they can get away with it. i’m gonna give them a call, okay?” time was money, so she ended the call as quickly as she had started it. she was in the midst of dialing when an all-too-familiar face came into view, thumbs hovering over the screen having all but forgotten her next move. aaliyah. she was about ready to raise hell with the producers for pushing this ‘reunion’ on her. “uh hi,” athena greeted with suspicion laced in her tone, keeping a straight-laced demeanor.  naturally, she couldn’t keep stray her eyes away. thoughts about how annoyingly hot they looked were impossible to push to the wayside. “i didn’t put you on the approved visitors list.”

“it's funny you still think you're that important,” they chuckled, arm rested on their hip. their gaze was unwavering as they took in everything in front of them. now athena, a woman they would have moved mountains for, was more or less just someone they'd once known. not much else. though, that had to be a disappointment to the casting department. they knew the producers had wanted this to big some huge dramatic blowout. maybe, it should have been on some level; however, the islands were good to aaliyah. they were more at peace than they'd in years. the sun was good for them. they were content which was a lot more than they could have said for the months that followed whatever they shared. it wasn't every day they'd divorced a man for a woman that wasn't deserving of what they had to offer. but again, that was behind them. athena was the past, or at least she was damn well supposed to be. “listen we both know i have nothing else to say to you but since we have to give producers what they want-- might as well get this shit out of the way.” reeking of nonchalance they rattled off some truths that were masked with seemed like boredom and sheer nonchalance. “i hate you.. you’re the worst thing to ever happen to me. i wish i never had to see you again. blah blah blah...” 

Violet: I'll see you tomorrow, then you can tell me all about your lifeguard adventures.

Violet: Happy Holidays, then.

Aaliyah: sure.

Violet: Ooookay, do you want some chocolate milk?

Violet: Oh

Violet: Nevermind

Violet: Enjoy.

Violet: Merry Christmas.

Aaliyah: I wish you'd see me .

Violet: You're certainly something special, that's for sure.

Violet: There is cocoa, I found some earlier.

Violet: Do you want a cup or not?

Aaliyah: no. It's too hot.

Violet: I asked you not to take offense, remember.

Violet: Would you like me to make you cocoa?

Violet: Give me five minutes, I'll be up with a mug.

Aaliyah: too bad I'm a snowflake don't you know?

Aaliyah: there's gotta be some cocoa. around here. Find me an island girl and we talking