SORRY // NOT SORRY!

chess: the point is

chess: DIRT WORTH A MILLION DOLLARS

chess: how is that hard to comprehend?

ariela: let's steal some

chess: yoooooooh

chess: did you know there's a room in new york

chess: FULL OF JUST DIRT

chess: like it's called the new york earth room

chess: and it's apparently worth millions!

chess: fucking dirt!

chess: wut i'm getting at is... do you have a shovel i can borrow

Ari: you know i'm actually really glad you told me all that instead of just straight up asking for a shovel

Ari: i would have been concerned lmao

         ‘ i  used  to  be  a  cheerleader  back  in  the  day , ’   she  admits ,   a  hint  of  pride  coloring  her  tone .   ‘ although ,   feel  free  to  keep  complimenting  me .    i  will  never  say  no  to  compliments  from  a  beautiful  woman .  and  hey  —-  everybody  gets  angry  sometimes .   that  doesn’t  mean  you’re  not  a  sweet  person !  ’

“And they’re all very true.” She couldn’t help but her gaze flicked over the females figure, admiring those attributes. “Wait, no, seriously?” Alexa’s hands raised up in surprise and a burst of excitement, her hands quickly moving to her hair to play it off like she wasn’t a crazy person. “Well I mean, that would be pretty sick. I would love to check it out.” Places in New York were hard to come by without paying a fee just to look at the place, any offers she had were worth looking into. “Oh no of course. So it’s just the two of you? Well, my only baggage is I’m only here for six months and I’m an artist so I will probably take over any surface I can do paint or draw, especially when I have stuff due for work.” Alexa scoffed at the girl saying she is judged, that was such a weak thing to judge anyone over. “I mean, my family have passes so if you ever do come to LA I could totally hook you up.” She was lucky of course, but Disney tickets were expensive for just a couple days of fun. “Look at us, making plans like we didn’t just meet five minutes ago.”

     “I don’t, but honestly, I’ve thought about getting one… maybe, but I’m such a baby when it comes to pain involving needles like that… I’m not entirely sure I can be convinced that something so permanent like that doesn’t hurt so much.” The thought made Mia cringe a little. She’d thought about getting a tattoo before, but always chickened out before so much as being a little serious about it. “I can’t imagine being that kind of crazy about someone… but to each their own, right? …we do!” Mia agreed happily with a faint laugh as she clinked her glass against the others before taking a drink      “I hope you never have to! But if it came down to it, definitely come and see me… not to sound too cocky, but I kinda know what the fuck I’m doing.” Mia mused with a grin, genuinely hoping Ariela didn’t find herself in her office. Normally, those that had to see her were in some sort of pain. She never wished it on anybody.       With a slight, somewhat over-exaggerated frown, Mia couldn’t say otherwise. “To be fair… I really like Mediterranean salads… god, I sound like a bore. I’ve been married to my work for as long as I can remember.     A club?? Oof.”  She had to stop and give that a thought for a moment before answering. “Med school is tough, okay!” Mia laughed again, feeling the need to defend her answer before giving it. “Probably before I got accepted into the Doctoral Degree Program… if I’m being honest. So… uhm. It’s been a while.”

The second that Mia mentioned she’d at least thought about getting one, Ariela’s eyes lit up with excitement. “If it makes you feel any better, it’s not the type of needle that you’d use to--- say, get a shot at the doctor’s office with. I’ve heard people compare it to a bee sting. I wouldn’t know about that personally ‘cause I’m hella allergic to bees. Fun fact. What would you get if the pain wasn’t a factor?” She tilted her head in curiosity. “Um, excuse me, you have every right to sound cocky! You worked your ass off! I don’t ever want to hear you being afraid to tell the world how awesome you are. You’re a god damn queen, Mia. Own it.”

At worst, Ariela had expected the answer to be a few months. The real answer that Mia gave had Ari’s jaw-dropping to the floor. “WHAT?!” She yelled. “That’s years! Mia, holy shit. Oh my god. Nope, nope, nope. Okay. Get your fine ass up! We are going to find you something sexy to wear from my closet --- so, pretty much any article of clothing that I own --- and then we’re going out. You are going to have a night of fun. No one deserves it more than you!”

     “That genuinely sounds fucking hilarious and I wish I had your job.” He chuckles shaking his head picturing the whole thing. “How do you not notice your other half is getting jiggy with five other people? No one’s that slick but someone is that stupid.” He shrugs at her question. “I woke up an hour ago and I’m buying time till the clubs open so… It’s been extremely eventful so far.”

Alexa was amused by the girl who seemed to be very open with the compliments and wanting to meet up again. They’d just met. It was pretty adorable. Where were girls like this back in LA? “You are pretty darn cute aren’t you?” she rhetorically asked. “Well to be honest I might actually be here for a few months?” It sounded more like a question than a statement. “I’m having issues finding an apartment, so that sort of defines how long I’ll be around. Maybe two days, maybe two months, who knows.” At this point Alexa wasn’t going to let herself stress out, she wanted a night out at fun and the festival seemed like the perfect place for it. “Though LA is always a great place to travel if I do say so myself. Tourist things to do like… everywhere. Disneyland, Universal Studios… seeing a live taping… Beaches and all that shit.” How funny would it be if she left for NYC only to come back with a stranger in tow a week later? Her parents would be so confused. “Ari, cute.”

“Cute, sexy, beautiful, practically perfect... all of these words have been used to describe me and they’re all accurate. The fact that you see it just proves that you have good taste,” Ariela beamed at the stranger. Her eyebrows rose. “Well, not to sound too much like a creep but my roommate and I have a spare bedroom. We’ve been talking about getting a third roommate. If you’re interested, we could talk about it together and see if the three of us would be a good fit. We already know the two of us are.” Ariela playfully bumped her shoulder against Alexa’s. It was certainly strange to feel this at ease around someone that she had just met. Statistically, this was more likely to be the start of some horror film than it was a good idea. But you never knew. “I always get judged when I say this but I’ve never been able to go to Disney. I would love to someday. I just wish it wasn’t so damn expensive! To be fair, NYC has a lot of tourist attractions too. Especially if you’re into Broadway. I’ve crashed a few live tapings walking around this city. Thanks!”

When Ariela warned him that she had a birthday surprise for him, Danny knew something big was coming. Ariela had been his best friend ever since the very first second he met her, during one of his NYC visits back when he was still a kid. They promised to keep in contact so they became pen pals soon after. Danny still kept all the letters she sent, they liked to sometimes sit down and read them together, bringing back many childhood memories for the two. Aside from his sister, Ariela was the person that knew him better than anyone: she has been there through thick and thin and he loved her dearly. When she asked for him to be blindfolded his curiosity raised even more. What was she up to this time? Ever since they’ve been able to be in the same city for each others birthday: celebrations were huge and special, even if it was just a private moment between the two.  

“I don’t know… should I be scared?”, he joked, following her as he gave tiny steps since he couldn’t see a thing. Once the blindfold was removed, he gasped in excitement. Eyes widened as he covered his mouth, hiding the biggest smile behind it. “Oh my God Ari… you didn’t have to”, he added, blushing a little as he scanned the room: he was used to this gestures coming from her but it was always overwhelmingly heart warming. “Having a pizza and a small cake at my apartment’s floor would have enough for me, thank you so much… you are the greatest”, he exclaimed as he went in to give her the warmest hug. “Definitely a 101… I’m kinda speechless”, he admitted, giggling a little. “All of this and yet you brought me gifts? Now I’m curious”, he pointed out as he noticed the Harry Potter themed boxes. 

“Oh, you should be petrified,” Ariela assured him with a large grin. “Don’t worry! I won’t hurt you too much.” She watched his reaction carefully. Seeing his eyes widen behind his thickly rimmed glasses and the red flushing his cheeks, Ari knew that she had nailed it once again. She rolled her eyes fondly. “I know that I didn’t have to, dummy. I wanted to! You’re my best friend in the entire world. I’m also convinced you’re the only nice guy left on this planet. So I’m going to spoil you as much as I can as often as I can.” She quickly wrapped her arms back around him, a feeling of warmth expanding over her chest and butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she held him. “Yes, yes, I know. But you wanna know a secret?” Ariela pulled back slightly so that she could look into his eyes. “You’re the greatest, too. You deserve all of this and more. I love you, Danny. Always and forever.” She kissed his cheek, resting her forehead against his for a few moments before stepping out of the embrace.

“Of course I brought you gifts! Spoiler alert: you’re going to cry like a baby when you open them. I fully intend to get pictures of you crying--- and just sayin’, if you wanna frame those pictures and give them to me on my birthday... I wouldn’t be opposed.” Ariela winked. She took one of his hands and pulled him over to the karaoke machine. She had checked it out earlier and it seemed to have every song imaginable stored within the tiny cube, even songs that were released this year. “You can open one of your presents after you duet with me. Since I’m a nice person --- sometimes,” she stopped to laugh. Both of them knew ‘nice’ wasn’t typically the first word out of people’s mouths when describing Ariela, “but most importantly, since it’s your birthday, you can pick the song.”

“In the words of Kim Kardashian, you don’t put a bumper sticker on a Bentley”  Sofie said, tone completely serious, raising her eyebrows. She couldn’t imagine getting someone’s name tattooed on her, she did some dumb things, but she doesn’t think she could ever be that dumb. “That’s also why you can’t trust men .Five different women? Pendejo” she shakes her head, takes a large drink of the red wine in her glass and shrugs her shoulders “fantastic, like always. Found this red dress that is to die for, which means you’ll need to go dancing with me so I have a reason to wear it out,” and god, she can hear just how basic she sounds in her head but she doesn’t do anything to change it, instead, she asks “what else is new for you though?”

“Ayo! A problematic fave coming through with words to live by,” Ari raised her glass as if to toast to Kim. The Kardashians were a level of privilege that Ari had never even come close to with growing up on the streets. That was probably what made it so entertaining to watch. “That’s what I’m saying! Preach! Men have given me such intense trust issues. I hate that there’s a part of me attracted to them. It’s like I’m designing my own funeral.” Ariela’s eyes widened at the mention of the new dress. Ari would never judge her friend for being excited over material things --- everyone deserved to spoil themselves. “Do you have a picture? I need to see it right now. I bet you’ll look like a million bucks. Can I get a hell yes? We’ll look amazing and make all the heads turn toward us.” Ari shrugged her shoulders. “Really, not much outside of work. Boring as fuck.”

“Ahhh…” Nick exhaled as he pictured the girls story, cringing at the idea of getting a partners name tattooed on his body. He’d never been that in love that he thought ink was a good idea. “I thought that was like the golden rule of tattooing? Like, other than do your research on your artist. But that was good you were able to cover it up, would have been a shame if she had to keep it. What design did you do?” Nick would shrug about his work but he often smiled even after the long days, not wanting to complain when he was pretty lucky he not only liked what he was doing but he was his own boss. “Work wasn’t nearly as interesting as that, but I did get to knock out a wall of windows today and re-frame it for the window seat the client wants.” Kai, his American Akita, was resting by his feet, panting after the long walk they’d taken prior to their arrival. 

Ariela nodded, taking another sip from her glass of wine. “It basically is. Every now and then, though, you get people who ignore all the rules. It’s a cute story when it works out but 99% of the time? It ends in heartbreak. It’s also damn near impossible to tattoo someone who’s crying that hard because their body is shaking. Yes! Thank God for me, saving the day as always,” Ari giggled. “I kept it simple and did a rose. Classy and never goes out of style. Yo, that always sounded like it would be such a great stress reliever! To just whack a bunch of things. You must be exhausted though.” Ariela hadn’t ever noticed how much the dog was still panting. Setting Padfoot down, she got up. “I’m so sorry! Look at your poor baby. C’mere, lemme show you where the water is.”

Ariela had been saving up for Danny’s birthday for a few months now. They had known each other since they were ten years of age, and each birthday that they were able to actually spend together instead of writing letters was one that Ari went all out on. Danny was typically too shy to sing in public (even though Ariela told him constantly his voice was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard), so she had taken it upon herself to rent out a room in a private karaoke lounge for two hours. It hadn’t been cheap but for Danny, Ariela would do it again in a heartbeat. He gave so much of his life to helping other people. He deserved someone to spoil him every now and then.

“Alright! You ready?” Ariela asked as she led him into the room. She had insisted that he wear a blindfold for maximum surprise. Once the door closed behind them, she dropped his hand in favor of stepping behind him. “On the count of three! One, two...” Ariela untied the blindfold to reveal the room. She had decorated it with yellow and black balloons, a glittering birthday banner, a bottle of champagne, and a large cake. Next to the care were two presents wrapped in Harry Potter themed paper. There was a small stage for them to perform on along with a karaoke machine. “Happy birthday! On a scale of 99 - 100, how perfect is it?”