amber-jade rhodes

I've selfishly been very relieved by the fact that he's no longer actively deployed because as much as he loved it, I've always been worried sick when he's away. At the end of the day, his health and wellbeing has always been the most important thing to me. As for our relationship... well, that's a work in progress. @brycecortez

Hannah is one of my closest friends. Alfie and I did go on a couple of dates but that's not happening anymore. As for Bryce... we've been on one date since he came back to campus. @hannahcallaghanmu @alfredoliver @brycecortez

“Said the prettiest Queen of Hearts I’ve seen a long time” she smiled warmly at the girl next to her as they walked towards the party, she needed some time without having to care about anything, for sure she needed a couple of drinks.

“How often do you see Queen of Hearts just walking around?” AJ jokingly questioned as they approached the bar, AJ quickly making a drink for both herself and Madison. “Here you go, bottoms up!” she said, raising her glass in an imaginary toast before taking a generous swig of the drink.

Venus for sure wasn’t feeling as bad as AJ “Do you wanna get some coffee? Would that help?”

“I think I need a red bull and something to eat, maybe a breakfast burrito”, AJ said after taking a few moments to figure out exactly what she needed.

“If I let you into the kitchen,” Alix began, “Not only would I lose my job, all my coworkers would. You’d burn the entire building down.” He didn’t plan on staring at AJ while she ate, he wasn’t a weirdo like that, but he did want to see her take her first bite. It’d been a long time since he had tried cooking something his mom had taught him verses the Cuchillo staff so if it were bad he wanted to know. And if it were good, well, he’d want that to inflate his ego a little bit. “So… How are the tacos? Up to your standards?”

“That’s a very smart move. Honestly, you shouldn’t let me in any kitchen, I’m a genuine fucking hazard”, AJ said before taking a bite of the food that Alix had prepared for her. She groaned at the taste, finding it utterly delicious. After she had chewed and swallowed the first mouthful, she gave him the verdict. “These tacos are amazing, I’m kind of obsessed with you right now”.

Alix only rolled his eyes at her eagerness to snag the nuggets out from his hands. Never stand between a woman and her McDonald’s, he mentally noted, storing that knowledge in the back of his brain for future reference. “Oh no, no I’d hate to take advantage of my scary dog privileges on the people inside. They’re probably having some sort of crisis of their own.” Laughing under his breath, he stretched out his legs and leaned back, keeping himself hoisted up with his palms flattened against the concrete. “Are you doing okay? I feel like I should ask you that.”

“Alright fine but just know that you’ve always got access to those privileges, I’m kind of fond of your ass”, AJ admitted, grinning over at him. “I’ve been better. Trust me, I’m not normally the type of person that fucking cries in public over chicken nuggets, no matter how drunk I am”, she told him. “I’ve just been going through a bit of a rough time. I’ll survive, though. I always do”.

“I am pretty cute, aren’t I?” he grinned. He started finishing up the bacon, and shrugged at her. “I guess I have some people. I wouldn’t say plenty.” he grinned cheekily. He took the bacon out of the pan and on a plate, and then got started on the eggs. “I hope you like scrambled because that’s all I can do.” he said once he started scrambling the eggs. He actually enjoyed doing this for AJ. It was pleasantly domestic.

“I already regret complimenting you”, AJ retorted. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re as bad as people make you sound. I actually quite like you”, she told Grant, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she watched him work. “Scrambled eggs just happen to be my favourite. I’m kind of glad that I was on the receiving end of your dumb prank now”.

As AJ didn’t have any classes that day, she had made the stupid decision to work three back-to-back shifts. She had worked the morning shift at Fat Boys before heading over to Tony’s for their afternoon and dinner rush; before making her way over to Mars Bar for her shift there. By the time she knocked off, she was exhausted -- so much so that she felt herself starting to drift off as she waited for the bus that would take her back to the beach house. @brycecortez​

Madison smiled at her words, it did feel nice even if something inside her just wanted to let her know how after spending so much time together she had started feeling something else for her. Yet, she would never say anything out loud, not when she knew she was still confused about Bryce, it would just be so selfish. “Sounds good to me, le’s go”

“Oh and by the way -- I love your costume tonight. You look amazing”, AJ complimented the other woman as they made their way back into the party. 

Venus shook her head laughing at AJ’s words. “You’re not wrong there” she mused. “Whoever it is I’m pretty sure they’re not working” Venus mused.

“They probably practiced moderation and aren’t feeling like absolute shit right now. Maybe I should take a leaf out of their books”, AJ groaned.

“Thanks again. You look really nice, too. You’re the Queen of Hearts, right?” Inez asked, flashing AJ a grin. “Sure. Although the farthest we’ve been is around the corn fields and back here, so I’m really not sure why people find it so exciting. I think it’s the tractor.”

“I am. The most ironic thing is that my ex-boyfriend is dressed as the Mad Hatter... we’ve accidentally come in matching costumes”, AJ told the other woman. “It’s definitely the tractor. It’s not like people get to ride on a tractor every single day”.

“Well, I’m glad you aren’t taking pills tonight,” he said earnestly with a raise of his brows. “How much do you know about your mother’s side of your family?” Florian asked, trying to decipher where he should start. “I’m assuming not much because well, your mom has a sister. And her sister has a family,” Flo began, not wanting to freak AJ out any further than he had. “And that sister is my mom.”

“I take it that you aren’t a fan of the recreational drug scene then?” AJ asked. “My mother?” she questioned, her voice becoming a little high pitched as she was thrown by the question. “I, uh... I know that my mom was disowned by my grandparents when she was 16, pregnant and refused to get an abortion. I’m also aware that after my mom died and my father went to prison, my grandparents refused to take me so I became a ward of the state”, she rambled, the colour draining from her face. “Which makes you my cousin”, she said quietly. “That also means that it wasn’t just my grandparents that left me to rot in the system, I had an aunt that did the same thing”.

“As much as I would love to get away from some of these idiots from time to time, something tells me that would put me in a vicinity way too close to Noah and Violet doing some very R rated stuff. It’s way easier to block out here,” he chuckled. “You just have to promise to let me borrow the dress, then you can borrow the sweatpants,” he joked with a gentle smile. “Don’t thank me too much. it’s mostly because I’m the one who’s probably going to have to listen to you bitch tomorrow,” Jackson teased. Once he was situated in his makeshift bed, he pulled out his phone to text Ivy, explaining the situation. He knew she wouldn’t care but, he also knew how quickly gossip, despite how untrue, got around the school. He wasn’t risking that. “Hey, I offered. You’re fine. Just promise not to roll off of the bed onto me.”

“It’s like you can’t escape Noah and Violet and their R-rated activities”, AJ laughed. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed this but you’re just a little bit taller than me... I think you might stretch the dress”, she teased. “Just promise to get me Uber Eats if I stop bitching and that will solve all of your problems”, she promised. “I weigh barely anything Jackson, you probably wouldn’t even feel it if I did roll off the bed”, she joked. “Thanks for tonight, though. I bet you’re starting to regret the fact that you’ve seen this side of me... you’ve had to deal with me being a crying mess twice now”.

AJ: I have gone through literally every item in my wardrobe and nothing looks right