01 : 12

nimble  fingers  hovered  over  the  selection  of  food  before  picking  up  whatever  looked  most  appealing  ,  and  at  the  moment  ,  it  was  the  watermelon  .  willow  wasn’t  sure  if  she  would  succumb  to  cravings  like  everyone  else  did  during  pregnancy  ,  but  lo  and  behold  ,  she  had  .  watermelon  was  one  of  the  many  random  food  items  she  had  recently  grown  obsessed  with  ,  the  need  often  waking  her  up  in  the  middle  of  the  night  ,  forcing  her  to  peel  herself  out  of  bed  and  practically  take  up  full  time  residency  in  the  kitchen  .  “  always  a  little  grumpy  ,  but  it’s  cute  .  ”  she  shrugged  ,  taking  a  bite  of  the  red  fruit  before  staring  over  at  him  ,  full  lips  darkening  with  the  juices  .  “  me  ?  ”  she  questioned  ,  brows  furrowed  in  thought  .  she  didn’t  exactly  want  to  focus  their  conversation  on  herself  ,  something  she  often  avoided  ,  but  she  wasn’t  confident  her  attempts  to  stir  the  conversation  elsewhere  would  prove  successful  .  “  what  about  me  ?  it’s  not  like  you  don’t  know  what’s  happening  with  me  .  it’s  everywhere  ,  i  don’t  think  i’ve  gotten  two  seconds  without  being  reminded  what’s  happening  in  my  world  .  ”  she  sighed  ,  energy  deflating  a  bit  from  her  tone  .  “  it’s  true  ,  ya  know  ,  what  they  said  about  me  .  all  of  it  .  the  only  thing  they  forget  to  mention  is  how  fuckin’  scared  out  of  my  mind  i  am  about  everything  .  ” 

              dainty  fingers  delicately  grip  the  glass  that  held  the  concoction  she  just  whipped  up  for  herself  .  a  moscow  mule  ,  minus  the  mule  cup  ,  the brunette  grew  impatient  with  finding  her  way  around  the  kitchen  and  settled  on  the  first  glassware  she came  acrosss  .  she  raises  the  glass  to  glossed  lips  ,  taking  a  sip  &  grinning  ,  proud  of  her  craft  .  her  neat  brow  cocks  as  she  feels  a  figure  lurking  ,  glaring  .  ‘  staring  isn’t  polite ,  y’know . ’  she  turns  to peer  at  the  other  ,  drink  raised  to  her  lips  once  again  for  another  sip . 

 he  needed  a  distraction.    something  to  get  his  mind  off  of  everything.    so    ,    he’s  in  the  kitchen  acting  like  he’s  not  TERRIBLE  at  cooking.    but  he’s  following  the  ingredients  and  the  procedure  perfectly    ,    trying  so  hard  not  to  mess  this  up.    first  few  nights  in  the  mansion    &    he  tries  to  poison  everyone    ?    not  what  he  was  going  for.    decided  cooking  dinner  for  an  entire  house  of  known  -  names  was  too  much  work  so  he  settled  on  cookies.    seemed  easy  enough    ,    until  the  first  batch  comes  out  burnt.    it’s  fine    !    he’s  practically  staring  down  the  oven  like  it  hurt  him  when  someone  joins  him  in  the  kitchen.    ❛    don’t  eat  those  ones.    they’re  burnt.    i’m  hoping  these  ones  don’t  burn  but  i’m  just  not  meant  to  be  a  baker.    i  can  act  and  model  but  my  genes  said  i  will  not  make  edible  baked  goods.    can’t  have  everything  i  guess.    ❜

    𝐢𝐟  𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞  𝐰𝐚𝐬  one person she wanted to avoid most – it was alex . did she have a right to still be upset with him when she was technically using him in the same way he was using her ? no . not in the slightest . but that didn’t stop her from getting riled up from having him in such close proximity . she doesn’t know how to take his words . unsure if it’s meant to be an insult or not , but since it was coming from him , she took it as one . noemi can’t help but scoff lightly but she covers it up by dropping her head to avoid eye contact . she can still feel his gaze though . while she’s trapped underneath it , she somehow finds it in herself to agree to his offer . she couldn’t say no to him then and she still can’t say no to him now . “sure , why not . i’m sure i could learn a lot from you since you’re so good at playing games .” the comment slips passed her lips before she can do anything to stop it . her eyes flicker up to meet his and she smiles sarcastically . standing from her seat , she beckons him closer to the lane . maybe throwing the ball down the lane and hitting a pin or two will help dissolve some of her frustration . upon hearing his question , she turns to shoot him a look . clearly unamused by his statement . “you don’t have to do that thing where you act like you care anymore . it’s okay . there’s no reason for us to keep lying to each other .” her own bitter tone catches her off guard . prior to seeing him again , she thought she was over it . she had moved on . she had a child with someone else for crying out loud . but clearly her feelings were still hurt and her ego was bruised enough to have her acting out of character . “and i’m not feeling sorry for myself . i’m just not used to all this .”

a  wide  grin  filled  out  her  features  at  his  voice  ,  cheeks  already  red  from  his  gaze  .  alex  had  a  way  of  making  her  nervous  ,  yet  sparking  something  in  her  .  no  matter  how  he  might  make  her  feel  now  ,  she  was  happy  to  see  him  .  “  good  ,  i  can’t  have  you  breaking  my  heart  .  especially  not  with  the  whole  wide  world  watching  .  ”  she  teased  ,  blissfully  unaware  of  the  effect  she  had  on  him  .  of  course  willow  herself  always  had  this  desire  to  give  herself  fully  with  the  other  ,  greedy  for  more  than  what  she  had  gotten  (  or  what  she  gave  )  but  she  always  talked  herself  out  of  it  .  mimicking  a  lion  ,  she  giggled  out  a  rawr  at  his  demand  for  food  ,  but  moved  closer  at   his  touch  .  “  so  demanding  .  do  you  expect  me  to  feed  you  as  well  ?  ”  she  asked  with  a  playful  arch  of  her  brow  ,  leaning  over  to  place  a  plate  of  snacks  over  her  lap  .  it  was  a  done  up  plate  of  different  cheeses  ,  fruit  ,  and  chocolate  .  it  looked  like  something  you’d  see  on  the  cover  of  a  food  magazine  ,  willow  was  always  so  incline  to  aesthetics  .  “  eat  up  ,  then  you’re  gonna  update  me  on  everything  .  ”  she  hummed  ,  placing  a  quick  kiss  to  his  cheek  ,  right  where  it  met  his  jaw  .  it  was  an  innocent  gesture  ,  but  the  contact  sent  a  flutter  of  emotions  through  her  .  “  i  missed  ya  ,  did  you  know  that  ?  mister  grumpy  pants  .  ” 

a  soft  yellow  blanket  was  laid  out  on  the  prickly  green  grass  ,  a  satisfied  smile  curling  onto  willow’s  lips  once  she  was  content  with  her  surroundings  .  she  had  made  a  little  tray  with  snacks  ,  and  brought  out  a  few  drinks  as  well  .  she  wasn’t  sure  what  ALEX  would  want  ,  what  he’d  be  in  the  mood  for  ,  so  she  covered  her  bases  by  grabbing  a  bit  of  everything  .  willow  can’t  remember  the  last  time  the  two  just  talked  ,  taking  in  the  nice  feeling  that  came  from  being  around  each  other  .  when  she  was  starring  in  one  of  his  films  awhile  back  ,  the  two  became  inseparable  .  in  between  takes  they’d  waste  time  with  stories  and  stolen  kisses  ,  making  sure  nobody  on  set  noticed  .  the  last  thing  she  needed  then  was  a  reputation  as  the  star  who  fooled  around  with  the  screenwriter  ,  but  she  couldn’t  help  it  .  she  was  intrigued  by  alex  ,  and  the  two  got  closer  than  they  should’ve  given  the  circumstances  .  the  last  time  the  two  indulged  in  each  other’s  company  (  and  w a n d e r i n g  hands  )  was  back  at  the  premiere  ,  and  since  that  night  ,  willow  distanced  herself  .  now  ,  she  hoped  they  could  rekindle  some  of  what  they  once  had  ,  the  more  friendlier  side  of  things  of  course  .  “  figured  you  were  going  to  stand  me  up  .  ”  she  laughed  ,  peeking  up  at  his  tall  frame  when  she  saw  him  approaching  .  “  come  sit  !  i  made  some  treats  ,  i  thought  catching  up  might  be  nice  before  it  gets  hectic  around  here  .  ”  

   𝐢𝐭  𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝  𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞  a good idea at first – hiding out in the bowling alley . she didn’t imagine that it was the go-to hang out spot when there were so many other options . the kitchen had a fridge stocked full , the lounge was gaining popularity , not to mention the pool and bar seemed perfectly ideal . and while she knew she couldn’t outrun the cameras that watched their every move , she was sort of hoping to pull another disappearing act and vanish from her roommates view for only a little while . give her enough time to catch her breath and reconfigure her senses . in hindsight , it was wistful thinking . she hears the other’s footsteps before she sees them . back facing the entrance while she kicks dangling legs back and forth in her seat by one of the lanes . she lets out a small sigh ( mentally preparing herself to put her fake happy face back on ) before turning back to look at the other . “i’d offer to set up a game but i haven’t actually bowled in , like , over a decade probably … couldn’t hit a pin even if i wanted to . unless they have one of those ramps that the little kids normally use around ‘ere . that might be helpful .”

✧･ﾟ: *intro

hi babies !! my name is rory and this is my mess of a muse alex . please come & plot with me !! ily .

˙✫*ﾟJACOB ELORDI ,  CISMALE  ,  HE / HIM  :･ did  you  hear  alex lennox  is  joining  the  cast  of  exposed  after he slept his way to the top  was  revealed  ?  the  twenty - two  year  old  screenwriter  with 8 million followers  is  trying  to  clear  their  name  .  they've  become  known  as  the  resident  the loose cannon  in  the  mansion  ,  and  it's  clear  that's  spot  on  because  they're  quite  -  unpredictable  &  -  distant  ,  but  also  +  passionate  &  +  headstrong .  you  know  they're  heading  to  the  confession  booth  if  you  hear  i want you to want me  by   children of paradise blasting  ,  most  likely  talking  about  how  they're  more  than  old books , ink covered hands , filled notebooks ,  sleep deprived eyes , inspired three am writing .