She's beauty and she's grace

"It's all in the timing. I'm nothing if not smart about self preservation," he grinned, though they both knew that even that wasn't true at the best of times. "How are you feeling about the season though? I mean obviously I think you're the most beautiful but also I firmly believe you should be allowed to tug on some extensions to get your point across." Even if he wasn't all in on the violence as an answer ideology, he was still a Claymore from the South Side. Certain things ran in his blood, he'd decided, as much as those he loved liked to believe he was better than. "I hear you. I guess I just ain't a quitter. I've decided I'm not gonna sit back and let my brother walk head on into an early grave again, not if I can help it. I mean, I don't know what the fuck i'm doin' but I gotta try. He'll fight me the whole damn way but at the end of the day he's family and I can see him changing. I can see it," he repeated, though he wasn't sure if that had anything to do with her presence in his life or not. "I know for a fact you're talkin' shit but fine, if I get first swing I'll allow it," he played along with a roll of his eyes and leaned over to wrap his arm around her shoulder and give her a squeeze. "As long as you're happy and as long as you're bein' treated like a queen. And, I mean... you seem happy. Like you ain't so much in your head lately."

"I'm liking my chances right now. I don't have any controversies following me this year. And one of the girls in our circuit got caught up in some drug scandal so the other girls found an easier target." She wiggled her brows as she caught him up on all the gossip, knowing he found it all entertaining. "I mean most of my sponsors think i'm too much of a liability after all that Panic shit so they're out. But it's fine. I did it on my own before, I can do it again." She shrugged. "You're coming to my first show, right?" She pursed her lips, biting her tongue to keep from discouraging his resolve since he seemed pretty on walking down this path with his brother. It wasn't her business to get involved but as his friend she worried. She had seen her mom go down a similar path with her dad and was now dealing with the fall out of that choice. She could only hope that was able to make the call to pull back if he had to. "You say it like quitting is such a horrible offense. Sometimes taking a step back and realizing there's nothing you can do in certain situations is stronger than trying to win a losing battle." She reached out to grab his hand and give it a light squeeze. "I'm not saying don't be there for your family. It's great that you're building a relationship together. I'm just saying be careful, like you told me." She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well it's kinda hard to form a lot of thoughts when they're getting pounded out of you. Seriously, i'm sure my brains are like scrambled eggs right now. But i'll spare you the details. I am happy though. Maybe a little too happy for my own good. How about you? Still locked down as ever?"

Arden: And if I am? What are you gonna do about it?

Marlo: "no pressure?"

"I dunno, depends on why someone wants merit in the first place. How come you want me to appreciate anything about you?" Ace kept himself unreadable for now from Arden for the most part, on the one hand the shit she said made it so Ace was inclined to respect it, but what had been done had been done and could never be overlooked without more context of her which he didn't have yet. Facts were facts and the fact is, what Arden did, regardless of circumstance could have gotten Marlo locked up and while Ace recognized she said it in a desperate situation, he didn't see it as a real excuse. In fact, desperate people made Ace the most nervous because you never knew what the fuck they would actually do, as the sun of two addicts to varying degrees amongst other things, it was something he learned real fast and didn't have a whole lot of grace for - you're either loyal or you're not. That being said, Ace also believed a mistake could be well and truly learned from, and Since Marlo felt about the blonde how she did, he hoped she'd never pull some shit like that again for her sake.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't really need your appreciation and i'm not going out of my way to look like tough shit to impress you. I'm sure you already have more than enough people doing that, trying to get in good with you. Ideally i'd just like to not be thought of as a rat." Arden admitted. If she was going to be around him and his crew for the foreseeable future then she didn't want to be thought of as someone untrustworthy.

"This isn't a feminism issue, it's a skill issue," he told her with an affectionate smirk, "Trevor's just about a professional hole digger at this point. How many treasure hunts you been on in your life? He's gonna love it when I tell him you think he's got street smarts though. I think he holds your opinion in high regard." As much as he could tell his avoiding talking greaser business disappointed her in some way it wasn't because he didn't think her capable. It was his own moral dilemma, constantly fighting what felt like a losing battle against what Ace said ran in his blood. "Yeah, we're okay I guess. Never gonna be best friends but I don't think he thinks I'm too weak to represent the bloodline anymore. Turns out fighting fire with fire actually works when your psychopathic big brother is involved." If he'd emphasised the psychopathic part it was a subtle reminder to her. She'd been the one to patch him up so many times and yet she'd somehow fallen prey to him. He trusted her to take care of herself, but she couldn't blame him for judging. "I know, I know, you're not delicate. I just... I worry about you, which feels fair all things considered. I think you deserve the world, Arden, is all."

"Yeah, yeah. You're lucky pageant season is right around the corner and I can't fuck up my nails or else i'd be making you eat your words." She stuck her tongue out at him. As much as she joked about the ridiculousness of the pageant scene she did want to make it into the big leagues so it was about time for her to start getting her head in the game. So it was probably better that she knew as little as possible about what the greasers did, as much as she disliked not knowing about whole parts of their lives. Talk of their antics would probably make for a hot topic through the pageant circles considering how adamant the richies of Rosewood seemed on 'cleaning up the streets' and she knew what side of that conversation she was on. "I mean I think it's possible to love people but not like them. Trying to have a relationship with him doesn't mean you have to water yourself down to appease him either. Sometimes keeping a little bit of distance is the healthiest thing you can do." Arden shrugged thinking about how she had done that with her own dad. It wasn't easy by any means but it was something she had to do to move forward. She knew Cam was strong and smart enough to make tough calls like that. "But you're emotionally mature enough to know all that. Besides, you already have best friends. You built your own support system so if things fall through, it sucks, but at least you know you have people you can fall back on." She wrapped her arms around him. "I'm just happy if you're happy. But for the record, i've never thought of you as weak so get that idea out of your head." She sighed heavily, knowing he meant well but also not in the mood to justify her choices. "So trust that i've got control of this. If I promise to let you get the first punch if something goes wrong will that make you feel more at ease?"

"Heart on my sleeve, what can I say. I like knowing how you feel too, good and bad. I'll keep sayin' it but I don't want it to lose meaning, y'know. Might just start to sound like words." His relationship experience didn't extend far past the physical part (which he excelled at), the women he'd dated up until now all just quick flings. He did know that him and Arden worked a lot better when they were open with each other though, and wanted to be as honest and available to her as he could. "Nah, I think he'd be pretty happy with this." He couldn't say all his teasing growing up was because he'd had a crush on her, that felt reductive, but it came from a place of affection, for sure. The same way he'd rib on any of his friends and then yeah, maybe, as they got older, he started to notice her differently. "Whoa whoa, who said anything about not fucking? Nope, you're the one who likes sneakin' around, not me." He didn't mind it either, keeping their relationship private for a bit. At least it gave them space to figure things out, without any of the outside noise. Finding her hand, he interlocked their fingers and held them up, shooting her the same challenging look she'd gave him. "I can hold your hand." He held it just a moment longer and brought her hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles before he dropped it.

“You know i'm not expecting you to know the right things to say all the time, right? Words are just words. They only hold as much weight as the intentions behind them. I think that’s why they say actions speak louder. There's plenty of ways to express it.” She reached out to caress his face, her thumb running along his cheek, giving him an incredulous look like it was the most obvious solution to any potential issue they might cross. There was an underlying meaning to her response, like as long as they allowed themselves to remain this open and honest with each other things would just naturally fall into place. Sure they were bound to come to disagreements eventually, things wouldn't always be like they were in this rose colored bubble of theirs, that was where communication would come in handy. “I mean, personally, my love language is receiving gifts and monetary donations but i'm willing to negotiate the terms of this relationship.” She added with a teasing smirk to bring some levity to the conversation before it became more loaded than either of them were able to process at the moment. "But I trust you. I trust your word and that you're not someone who makes empty promises.” Her expression softened when he kissed her hand, almost in awe of how easily he showed his affection. At how willing he was to show a softer side of himself to her. "You know i'm not ashamed of you, right? I want you to be my boyfriend." Relationships had never been something she was really interested in. Witnessing first hand how her parents toxicity broke not only each other down but their family as well hadn't left her with the best impression on how relationships were supposed to function. Watching her mom lose herself to cling pathetically onto a man who stayed only until there was nothing else to gain from her had left Arden vowing to never let another person take so much importance in her life that she fell into the same cycle. She had too many goals and ambitions to let herself lose sight of that just to please someone else. But with Marlo she was finding that she didn't have to fight to feel seen. She didn't have to beg him to show her he wanted her. How was she not supposed to fall completely head over heels for him when he was so earnest in his desires and actions?

"You're getting waaay ahead of yourself." He knew Arden well enough to recognize how much she needed external validation, and it didn't even come from a place of insecurity, she just liked to be liked. It wasn't like she was out to please everyone either, she didn't seem to care what those catty girls from her pageant circle thought about her. There were people she wanted to make a lasting impression on though, those who shared her interests or mutual friends, and he could relate to that. Everyone else was just noise. His eyes narrowed, "Obviously I like you, I don't think I could make it any more obvious. And I'd probably even like you with a bad haircut." He flicked at the ends of her hair, smile cracking over his features when he met her eyes again. As willing as he was to remind her he wanted her, and keep reminding her, he didn't know how she could still be second guessing herself and what this was between them. Maybe it just his reputation preceding him but there hadn't been anyone else since they started hooking up. He entertained the thought, sure- he was only human, and when a beautiful brunette looked his way, he looked back. But he still chose Arden. "Oh like I'm back in middle school. Okay, deal."

"It's pretty obvious. You're not very good at hiding your feelings, you know. I like hearing how you feel though, whether it's a good or bad thing. But I especially like hearing you say you like me." She said biting her lip to hold back the cocky smile that was threatening to creep up on her face. As nervous as it made her to become this attached to someone and all of the feelings that came with it, she was grateful for the constant reassurance, not to quell some insecurity but just so she knew she was going about things the right way with him. She had very little experience with relationships and the only one she'd had before now pretty much ended because of a lack of communication and not being open about what the other wanted. It helped, and made her more secure that they were solid, when he let her know he still wanted her as much as she wanted him. "All this time picking on me growing up and look at how this ended up. Little Marlo must be very disappointed." Arden scoffed and rolled her eyes, before leaning in to kiss him. "I think you'll survive if we don't fuck for one night. Besides, I don't think you have it in you to hold my hand in public." She said as more of a challenge than doubting if he would want to be seen with her. Them not going public was her hang up, not his.

It was coming back to Ace now, the longer he spoke to Arden the longer he remembered just how much she talked and why he associated her with snitch. Sure she wasn't branded one in his mind, not in any real capacity that came with consequences yet, but he remembered Panic and what she'd done to Marlo. He remembered the conversation he had with Marlo about it, how he wanted to handle it and how Arden was his Tessa or at least something like it. He trusted his family's judgement, but still kept a secret skeptical eye in case there were blind spots his boy didn't see because he was caught up in blonde hair, nice tits, and red lips a little too much. "Curiosity can get people hurt or worse." He let the sentiment linger for a moment for her, not a threat just something to think about. "It's mostly fear. They respect me now, but they feared me first, and if any of 'em don't respect me, like Jessie? They fear me, even if they don't like to admit it. Doesn't matter to me which it is for most of the fucks around here." Ace twisted his face at the mention of 'social anxiety' I don't know what the fuck that is, which is it for you though, Arden? Do you fear me or respect me?" Ace's eyes bore into her with the intensity that made people squirm. He had to say her calling the shots about paying and her notion that she didn't want to owe anyone earned a little more favor in his books, seeing a glimpse of what Marlo liked about her, she seemed to be proud. "You should know that there ain't a whole lot of times you can tell me what to do. You ain't payin' me for shit and you ain't gonna owe me for it either, it's fuckin' breakfast and you're important to a lot of people who are important to me." There was something in the way Arden's demeanor changed slightly combined with what she said and what she didn't that lived between those words, "Hold up, you tellin' me you're still jammed up with cash flow?" Ace had to admit, What he'd done with Arden, which was pass her off to a guy who wasn't too much of a piece of shit to get her some work without any real follow up because of how fast the coup to save SoWood had gone. He assumed since Marlo hadn't said much that Arden was doing alright for himself but that was his mistake, especially since he made sure her grandma had her needs met he equated it to the same thing in his head, "What happened to the dude I hooked you up with? Didn't like the work?"

"Yeah, i'll be sure to keep that in mind. I thought you would at the very least appreciate me being straight with you and not just telling you what I think you wanna hear to cover my own ass. There's gotta be some merit to that, no?" He didn't need to work his intimidation tactics on her for her to remember her place. Since Panic she had in mind that she wouldn't be accepted into Marlo's crowd anytime soon, or ever really. Loyalty was obviously something that they valued more than anything and what had gone down the night of the fire didn't show much dependability on her end. She could argue that she shouldn't be held liable for something she had been goaded into saying under duress and shock but she wouldn't because either way the damage had been done and not taking accountability for that felt more scummy. That was the truth of why she didn't want Marlo telling them about their relationship. She had already wronged him once and it felt like a lot of pressure having to start a relationship off already having to prove that she was worth it. And maybe deep down she felt like Marlo could do better, that he could find someone who he could start off fresh with and who wasn't constantly putting up walls on him. That it was probably a bit selfish on her part to be holding him back the way she was but she was coming to realize she was more selfish than she believed. She wanted him so she would make things work, even if his friends did make her sweat for it. "Maybe a little of both. It's not so much fear as it is intimidation. I'm not trying to cross you so I don't think i'm much of a threat. I'm sure you have much more important blips on your radar. Do you want me to fear you?" She asked, her brows knitting together, not trying to challenge him but genuinely curious how he wanted her to regard him given that his answer would probably shape how they got along from here on out. "I'm not telling you what to do. I've just never known anything to ever come free. My pride's about the only thing I have left that's mine, please go easy on it."

"Yeah you…Arden" Ace told her, an heir of impatience to his tone. He knew who she was of course, Ace never forgot a face and not only his boy but his brother were looking out for her - Marlo especially, that Ace hadn't forgotten, the lost boys only asked him to help out or look out for people who were really special to them and Marlo's goofy ass was about the last person he expected to ever ask on behalf of someone else. "I don't think this the first time I caught you starin' at me either. If you weren't tight with who you're tight with I'd start to think you were the feds or somethin'." He recalled now how they first met and catalogued every other interaction he'd had with her out of habit so he knew how to talk to her. She wasn't a threat so he told himself to cool it a bit, having some respect for her, first because of Marlo and then because he remembered her situation and her grandmother was an excellent cook though he stopped their agreement and just helped her out now whenever like he did a few of the other elderly population in the Southside. He smirked at her observation about Jess, "Yeah, she's real committed to the bit that she don't like me. She's Polo's girl but between you and me? I think she's in love with me." He chuckled, likely amusing only himself knowing good and well Jess didn't like him. "Nah, sit down. I wanted to be alone but now I'm thinkin' otherwise, we're gettin' breakfast or lunch or whatever the fuck it is right now. This is what you get for not mindin' your business. How you been doin', you straight?" He asked not to catch up on her life, what he wanted to know was if her financial situation had improved. He assumed it had since he hadn't heard from her in ages like this, but he wanted to make sure, not trying to leave one of their own out on a limb, which technically Arden was.

She wasn't sure what she found more surprising, the fact that Ace had even remembered her name or that he wanted to keep the conversation going. Arden wasn't scared to approach him though, intimidated for sure but that was mostly because she figured he was a busy man and she didn't think she had interesting enough conversation to offer him. "I don't mean anything by it. It's just curiosity I guess. You're important to a lot of people who are important to me. And you've got some kind of authority around here, enough that people just kinda fall in line. I've been trying to figure out whether it's out of fear or respect. Really i'm starting to think that you're just so overconfident that people naturally look up to you. You've never encountered social anxiety once have you?" She teased, shooting him a bright smile. "I don't know, I think she might just genuinely dislike everyone. One time I asked her for orange juice with pulp and she brought me a full of nothing but pulp. Sorry to break it to you but you might not be that special." She said with a laugh, warming up his company now that she had spoken more freely. "Sure. But we're each buying our own. No offense but i'm not in much of a position to be in debt to anyone." She pursed her lips as she looked over the menu in front of her, deciding how much she was willing to disclose to Ace. The last time they had tried to come up with some kind of deal it didn't seem like there was much he could do for her anyways. Things hadn't improved much for her, if anything after looking for apartments she had discovered the debt her family owed was bigger than she had known. Her parents gambling debts weren't just under their names but hers as well since they had taken several loans out under her name as a kid. Every day that passed she felt more and more desperate but she didn't like to let that show. Everyone around her had problems. What made hers stand out? Her burdens were no one else's to carry but her own. "I'm working on it. Got some get rich quick schemes in the works. Worse comes to worst I figure there's gotta be some old richie around here I could marry to inherit his fortune." She joked, with a more forced smile this time, as she tried to play off her situation.

"Oh, I know you're my number one call in an emergency. Unless I'm burying a body, then it's all Trevor. Not that I'm burying bodies..." he assured her, if only because he refused to talk to anyone about what exactly being a greaser entailed and he knew that gave room for their imaginations to run wild. It had almost slipped his mind, their banter carrying him away, then she'd asked if Ace had been talking about her which had him suspicious all over again. "No... I mean, he's not known for being the sharing type. Should he be?" In Cam's mind, she was doing that thing people did where they feigned innocence in search of information. It was an unsettling feeling, coming to the conclusion that maybe she wanted Ace to be talking about her and why exactly that might be. "Jesus, Arden... I love you but come on, you're smarter than this. At least Lisbon had the excuse that she was held captive in a cult for half her life and doesn't know any better."

"I barely trust Trevor to alphabetize the shelves at work and you trust him to dispose of a body. Is it cause you think I have less street smarts than him?" She knew exactly why that particular though caused him to trail off, the topic was headed into territory that was off limits to her, so instead she tried to shift it into something they could laugh off. In a way she appreciated that her greaser affiliated friends wanted to protect her, that they seemed to want to draw some kind of boundary to keep her from the more gory parts of what they did. But on the other hand it left her feeling that they thought of her so weak and innocent that she needed to be shielded from the rough parts of the south side, like she hadn't grown up in it with them. Or worse, that they thought she believed she was morally superior to them and wouldn't understand doing what they needed to survive. "I mean you guys are getting along better lately, aren't you?" Arden asked, genuinely curious as to how their relationship was going since she hadn't needed to whip out her first aid kit for him in a while. "He did mention something, didn't he? Shit. Are there no such things as secrets anymore?" She chewed on her nail, something she only did out of nervous habit, as she contemplated how to explain herself to Cam, believing he had put her relationship with Marlo together and was using talk of his brother to just sus her out. Or that Marlo had told Ace and it started spreading through the group. Not that Cam believed she had something going on with Ace himself. "Look, I know you've had your disagreements with that group. Which is why I was working my way up to talking about this with you. Because I knew that's exactly how you would react. And I appreciate the concern but I think i'm old enough to know what's good for me."