* / miss thing

𝐦𝐬𝐠 𝐟𝐭. 𝐚𝐫𝐢 💞

         Nicky takes another bite of the brownie, nodding eagerly in Aranya’s direction. He would have made a comment, but he was chewing, electing to not be rude while in a dear friend’s presence. “ My mom’s a CDC, remember? Her tasting ways rubbed off on me, ” he reminded her with another grin. He was just about to take the last bite of the brownie when he hears her remark, causing his eyes to briefly widen. “ Wait — you don’t like chocolate — were you being polite all this time? ” Nicky did his best to walk back to his memory of high school, and he couldn’t remember a time when Aranya ever mentioned that one minor yet significant detail to him. “ Are you allergic or you just don’t like the taste or it’s whatever, you don’t care for it? ”

"it could be a really good side gig for you, you know? a backup if being a super-famous cool hockey player falls apart," aranya jokes, leaning back against the counter, head tilting at his question. "i guess i just don't really like the taste of it. i didn't think it was that big of a deal" she answered. sure, she'd always been gracious, taking and eating anything someone she was friends with gave her. but she had just never really liked chocolate very much, too nice to say the truth. "i'm not really good at saying no, so i usually would just accept it if someone gave me some. but these are my brownies, so i don't have to feel bad about it," she replied. "maybe that explains why i don't really like valentine's day. i used to have eat so many hershey's kisses."

shanley laughs at the mental image of aranya in a physical fight with the guy she's dating, shaking the thought away and also disagreeing with the statement, "he's a gentleman. i'm not sure if we're compatible though. we're clearly on different wavelengths but who knows." she shrugged. her eyes flicker from to the ground, brows furrowing slightly then back to ari's face, shaking her head again, "no, it's not. we're honestly better off as friends." she replied with a soft smile. the words meant to convince herself more than her friend. as the conversations back to ari and her new year's eve, she leaned back, bracing herself for what was to come, knowing it had to be something groundbreaking if it had ari ranting, frantically. and when her bomb, for lack of better words, shanley's eyes widened, "with noah?!" she repeated, hiding her shock with a small grin, "how did that happen?"

"okay, be honest, like seriously honest," aranya started "i know i have a record for being gullible, but… does nolan seriously exist? because i feel very 50/50 about it." she honestly couldn't tell, and truthfully, aranya would probably have to see it to believe it. another thing she didn't believe, that her two friends were just friends. "alright, if you say so," she replied, backing down from saying anything more. she supposed she didn't have any room to meddle, a sigh leaving her lips at the mention of a familar name, nodding her head reluctantly. "what do you mean how did it happen? he started flirting with me, and i was drunk, and i kissed him, and next thing i knew i was naked in his bed." the truth only made her cover her face with a pillow, leaning back on the ottoman.

rolling his eyes, he throws a hand on his hip while the other is flat out, open palmed in her direction. " that's like literally the entire point, aranya! " he was definitely distressed hearing his news, but he meets her halfway with another loud laugh, then drags an empty chair over to her, curling his legs underneath as he tries to not lean in too close, picking at a hangnail. " my hero, i'll make sure my white knight comes to save me! " scrunching his nose, he's engaged in her game, biting on a nail now. " does everyone, like, know it's you or are you on some kinda alias? 'cause you're like, all cool and popular now online, right? " he's a little nervous to ask, as someone to enjoys gaming and yet is completely obvious to the culture.

"i wanted to beat the game though. you know… get all the buildings, pay off my debts to tom nook… nobody would show up to my house anyway if my island sucked," she rebuted, raising her finger her emphasize her point. honestly, despite her soft exterior, she usually preferred more hardcore games. she grinned at his words before focusing back on the screen. "hm.. not really. i guess it depends on the game. sometimes people recognize my voice, but i have my different username on here, that way i can play in peace," she answered, shrugging her shoulders at the idea. she didn't really feel like she was all that popular, even if her achievements would say otherwise.

"mm, such terrible, heinous fun, bunny. you wouldn't approve, so, you know, it was a blast." he leaned forward, chin in his hand, and watched as she poked at her smoothie bowl. she was nervous--he could tell. his penetrating gaze probably wasn't helping the situation but it was odd. how quickly she transformed when she was back in the public eye. it was such a contrast to the woman he took to bed after the new year's party. they were both drunk and just looking for fun but he was almost disappointed that that version of her seemed to be hidden away now. he frowned and leaned back. "make one for me?" he asked, nodding to her smoothie bowl.

"i can be fun, i'm totally fun. why wouldn't i approve?" she mumbled, sinking her spoon into the smoothie bowl, forceful movement causing a sound she hadn't intended. noah's gaze on her certainly didn't help with the nerves, clearing her throat before taking a bite. it wasn't the fact that she'd slept with him that made her nervous, but rather that he'd ended up seeing a side of her that was different than her usual demeanor. not as sweet, and especially not innocent. it wasn't that she ever put up an act, something had just... come over her. "yeah, of course," she agreed with a smile, going to grab the remainder of the smoothie she'd already made and a bowl.

he squirms a little, then pouts trying to hide a bratty grin as he's surely made up his mind about wanting to go a more competitive route. " i mean, there are stakes if you don't want to be seen with an ugly house and even uglier villagers! " because, ew, who would seriously want to see such horrid things day to day! " i'm too anxious of a person to be on a team, too -- i know how like, yanno, other people play... " he played halo once and was called anything but helpful or good. " i think i'll just watch you play instead, if that's okay? "

"i don't think you'd like my animal crossing world very much in that case. once i finished all the upgrades i totally forgot about the decoration part," she admitted. aranya offered him a smile at the mention of other people, knowing it wasn't for everyone. "well, if you ever decide to play someday and someone messes with you, give me a call, yeah?" aranya paused before speaking again, nodding her head. "okay, sure! no problemo," she agreed, not pushing any further and instead beginning a new game.

         “ Oh, baking is more intricate than cooking, ” Nicky supplied, briefly moving to find a pie server before going back to the pan of brownies. He’d use his hand, but he was taste testing and he’s not a barbarian. “ You’re very welcome, ” he added, finally serving himself a brownie and studying the decadent-looking square confection between his fingers. “ Look at that, I can see that it’s moist and a bit gooey, nice — regular brownies are the best brownies, by the way. ” Nicky took a bite and chewed slowly, then he went for another bite, savoring the flavor this time. “ That’s a pretty good brownie, ” he praised after swallowing. “ You know, if you wanna boost the chocolate for next time, add some coffee in it — it wakes up the flavor. But this is good! ” And for emphasis, Nicky took another bite. “ You’re gonna try it? ”

"hm, that makes sense. i've never had this luck with cooking, though. maybe i'm an anomaly or something." seeing as she'd succeeded in making something edible, aranya already saw baking as a much less daunting experience. she watched intently for his reaction, eyebrows raising and nodding her head. "are you sure you weren't a food critic in your past life, nicky? you sound like a professional already," she responded, grinning brightly. "coffee, thats a good one," she nodded, pulling out the notebook and adding his suggestion of coffee to it, falling onto the list of dozens of other notes she'd made for himself. "oh, i don't like chocolate," she stated plainly, offering him a smile for all the kind compliments she'd gotten from him.

"we should make it happen! dinner and then a club. it would be a great time. i'm sure the others would be up for it." so far they've all been forced to do things together ; a divided night would be good for everyone. as shanley sat on the ottoman in the middle of the dressing room section, listening as ari went on - clearly trying to hide the truth from that night. her lips pressed together in a tight line, holding back a giggle at her friend's ramble. when the conversation shifts, the woman straightens her back, eyes widening at the question thrown at her ; completely throwing her for a loop. "honestly?" a sigh escaping her, "i don't think he'll be coming around during this trip. things are kind of...weird with us right now. but it's whatever. " she shrugged, dismissively. quickly being over the hot seat, shanley tilts her head, turning the spotlight back onto aranya. "so who's the nothing that totally didn't happen on new year?"

"the guys can hang out at home and the girls can go have fun. it'll be a nice change of pace," she agreed with a grin. a girl's night sounded exactly like what aranya needed. "really? i'm sorry, shan. if he's not treating you right, i'll totally kick his ass when we get back to la," she replied, completely serious about her intentions. "it's not because of... you know who... is it?" obviously, aranya wasn't blind, distinctively remembering a certain someone around them. the mention of new years makes her fumble, even if it's obvious shanley wanted to press. "it's totally.. seriously nothing. it just happened in the moment, but the moment's passed and gone and i am totally chill, super chill. new years, right? crazy stuff happens, and then we laugh it off and forget it happened, right?" she wasn't quite as good at deflecting compared to her friend. faltering the more she opened her mouth. she rested her forehead against the door, face of defeat covering her feature, glancing around once to make sure there wasn't some camera secretly filming all of this. "i had sex with noah."

" most important unwritten instruction, " mav confirms, nodding sagely as he watches aranya scroll through her phone, though he doesn't press it. there's always next time, or never — he'd forgotten about aranya's lack of taste for chocolate, a disgrace by some opinions, but mav's fairly used to his snacks not being liked by others, so who is he to judge. " okay, " mav leans over on the counter, one hand pressed against the cool stone as he examines the tray more closely. " if you're sure about not switching the sugar and salt, i'll try one. " he straightens then, ambling around the counter so he can get a knife. " you know if these turn out good you should try making blondies next — they're like, the not-chocolate version of a brownie. " cue the opening of the silverware drawer. " you should be able to enjoy eating what you make. makes it more fun. "

"i'll remember that for next time," she nodded with a smile. it was natural for her to not consider something like that, wanting to follow the instructions to a t without any deviation from what a recipe told her to do. really, she'd chosen brownies mostly because it seemed like one of the easier baking options, even if she didn't exactly like chocolate very much, preferring sour to sweet. "blondie's could be fun. i saw all these pictures on pinterest of red-velvet brownies. you know, the ones that are all swirly on top? i think i'd want to make those too," she added, sliding the cooled pan of brownies in his direction. "i had fun making it though, and plus seeing other people eat them makes me happier."

big eyes and shaking his head quickly, justin quickly responds, " oh, no no noooooo! i seriously hate losing! my favorites are the kinds that if i get up and walk away for hours, i come back nothing terrible has happened! " harvest moon? animal crossing? suppose he liked katamari damacy, but the only stakes were the time limit -- something he could handle. this is the product of a child raised on nintendogs. " besides, i can't handle the embarrassment of my character ragdolling after being taken out, it's so pathetic! "

"but that makes things more interesting," she replied with a pout, thinking there surely wasn't a possibility of her convincing justin to a more serious game, like call of duty. the world saw her as sunshine personalized until she started loaded into one of her normal games. "i mean... i like animal crossing, i just think it's more fun if stakes are involved," aranya said with a shrug. "you only get dragged around if you get caught, silly. it's really not that bad. and even if you do get caught, your teammates will help you."

━━ ⟢ closed starter for @aranyafms

she'd impulsively gone and gotten her hair cut short, figuring the new year surely had to be the time to make drastic changes in her lifestyle. aranya wanted to move forwards, not backwards, and be the well-put-together girl she always aspired to be. though her start to the new year would likely indicate the opposite. she'd made herself a smoothie bowl and an iced coffee, enjoying her peace in the kitchen, even if it only did last for a moment. in aranya's defense, she'd been zoned out, eyes on forming a cute heart in with the thickened liquid, entirely too startled by noah. her eyes would widen slightly, before looking away, a nervous laugh leaving her lips and an attempt at deflection. "did you just get home? fun night?"

emoji asks 💫 (must be answered truthfully)