i hope to watch you writhe again soon

        “please, for the love of all that is HOLY, tell me you didn’t just abbreviate starbucks to... starby’s.”

There was a moment where she thought she knew her, her memory being flawless, but she shook her head, looking back up. “I kind of did, too. I left when I was ten to live in Vegas. And now I’m back where I started.” Poppy frowned softly, obviously not wanting to be back. “So, you’ve never left... or?”

Poppy looked down into her cup, looking at the whipped cream that was melting into nothing before her eyes. “What do you mean?” She asked, looking around, taking her own advice, “Have you lived her for a long time?”

“You’d thought wrong,” Poppy teased as she took her seat, her chin resting on the apple of her palm. The woman opposite seemed to be a stranger, thank God, she could do without meeting more people from her childhood for a good while. “You should really take in your surroundings.”

“aw, well thank you, sugar! and no, i did it myself. i don’t really like paying for something i could just do myself. it dumb and advice my dad gave me when i was younger. but i wanted to go with a dark green so it’s not something people notice so instantly, but they get to look at me before noticing.”

“’nd vegas is better than here and new york.”

“yikes, hard to pick just one thing.”

◖｡ ◕ ✿ ° ○◗ ━ POPPY nearly felt her heart DROP to her feet; his fingers on her skin felt WARM for some reason. they were meant to feel cold, rough, it was supposed to make her skin crawl. something she was supposed to hide behind her eyes and push through but the fact that HE made HER feel dirty was unnatural. and it was a complete flip of the roles, but god did she feel like ever germ on her body was going to make this boy sick. SHE WAS GOING TO MAKE FINN COOPER SICK. and that made her feel h o r r i b l e. now, instead of hiding the fact that he was supposed to make her skin crawl, she was hiding the G U I L T of the grime and dirt transferring onto his skin. the comment she’d made about BEING NOTHING was becoming more and more BELIEVABLE by the second. ❝ funny, ❞ poppy grinned softly, ❝ but, i’m trying to be CIVIL AND SERIOUS, finn. ❞ there was a comment behind her tongue, dying to say that he and charles had that in common, but she kept it from slipping through her lips. her stuck her INDEX FINGER in her mouth, letting it d r a g her bottom lip for a quick second. ❝ something, i don’t know what, happened to my mother and i really need your HELP, right now. please. ❞ she lied, one of her many talents being put to the TEST. her eyes became GLOSSY, evident of the fake and staged tears, she’d pull out for special occasions. 

◖｡ ◕ ✿ ° ○◗ ━ NIBBLING on her nails, she could feel her heart race faster as she couldn’t help but focus on those stupid highlights AND lowlights that naturally complimented the BOY’S blonde hair. poppy could always L I E and say that she was done, she was over whatever this was, but she felt a need to come back to this boy’s place. mostly for the fact that she WANTED new lingerie, but there was still a  l i n g e r i n g  feeling of this KID making her chest tight and feeling something ( still not sure on what ‘something’ meant ) in the pit of her stomach. though, the FEELING returned as she fixed her dress; seeing the boy hang up. she pushed her sunglasses up and INTO her hair, tugging a few of the longer pieces near her cheek. it was ALMOST as if he knew she was here for WANTING SOMETHING with the look he’d given her. ❝ CHARLES let me in, in case you were wondering... i think he LIKES me, ❞ poppy teased before clearing her throat and looking at him. her CONFIDENCE building a bit more. ❝ i’m here for a favor, ❞ she began, cue the SWEET batting of her lashes, ❝ so, now that you know where i work, i was wondering if you could HELP me a ‘bit’ with my wardrobe ? ❞

“ugh, you’re coming from new york.”

“ obviously, i just wouldn’t want anyone to was their time on someone who thinks dancers are less than everyone else of this planet. if i remember our exchange correctly, he did say he thought i was ‘better than this,’ better than a dancer. so... ”

“ i’m sorry? ”

“ where do you think i get all of my cute lingerie from? it’s kind of of like having a sugar daddy without the commitment. which is why i love my job so, so, much. ”

“ well, finn cooper is a soft boy who ends up feeling things toward strippers and doesn’t understand that he’s paying me to take off my clothes for him, idiot. and kyle cooper is his twin brother. so, i’m guessing finn’ll tell him to stay away. -- well, i would suggest keeping your distance for finn, though. he might develop a crush on you. ”

“ yeah, the only boy’s in brighton who will give you three-hundred dollars are the cooper twins and thanks to me, they probably won’t be stopping by. so, a good idea would be getting used to smaller tips. ”