artifacts

"it's floor time," coletta says, taking a quick glance up at the other before continuing to stare at the wall. "you can join me in floor time, if you want, but know that this is currently an anti-happiness zone."

[zehra]: i could come say it to your face, there’s nothing stopping me

[yelena]: there really isn’t anything stopping you except… i can’t think of something that could

[yelena]: once you think of something, you get a death grip on it, and i’m not necessarily opposed to being death gripped by you right now

"I can't tell if this is the best idea you've ever had, or the worst," Immy mused with a smile, shaking her head in amusement. "Are you totally sure about this?"

She was not a bad mother. She was absolutely not. It was the constant refrain that Bianca reminded herself of throughout the movie-- so what if she was enjoying her time away from Willa? She was allowed to want some time away from her perfect, wonderful, adorable, slightly devious daughter. And it was time spent with Demir and dammit, they never had time just the two of them! She had picked out the movie (she had begged the attendant to please please please just give her a ticket for the kids' movie that was playing at the same time because Willa had an odd fascination with movie tickets, business cards, grocery store coupons really anything that she could get her little hands on), gotten them there on time...she was going to enjoy it!

"It was good, wasn't it?" Bianca questioned excitedly afterward, sliding her hand into Demir's and tipping her face up to see his expression. "I think if a movie feels like it was really short but it was actually really long, it was just a really good movie."

How people could critique a movie right after they watched it, Demir never understood them. He always knew he saw a movie in a theater, and perhaps that is the reason why he had a higher rating of it. “You think so?” he asked, squeezing the hand that so quietly slipped into his. “I don’t think it helps that you go into another world when you see a movie. Maybe that has something to do with it.”

They weren’t bad parents for wanting time together, and even though he wasn’t Willa’s dad, he had to tell her multiple times that wasn’t the case. Despite all of this and his obvious and complete love for the toddler, was it bad that he wanted just a bit more time with Bianca alone? (And yes, he would have totally handed Willa a ticket to Magic Mike and dealt with the consequences later. Just like he would give her the dry cleaning coupons that she’d show off to anyone that she’d meet.)

“i just can’t decide which one looks nicer,” naritra sighs, holding up the two wood flooring samples. “dusty barn or early frost? my heart is absolutely torn in two.”

kirana sat there quietly and listened to claudia speak until she said the last sentence and then kirana let out a loud gasp and gently hit her friend on her shoulder. “claudia! no! that’s horrible! i swear guys are the worst.” she said dramatically as if she could talk with the fact that she’d been engaged five times. “what did you say to him?”

    ❝  𝐢’𝐦  𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞,  𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲.  i  bet  that  looked  pretty  scary  ──  are  you?  fine,  i  mean.  ❞  all  he  has  to  prove  for  it  is  a  scrape  on  the  palm  of  his  hand  and  of  course,  a  constant  reminder  that  he  is  still  not  much  of  a  charmer  when  it  comes  to  conversation.  ❝  if  it  makes  you  feel  any  better,  bike  accidents  are  quite  common.  but,  only  a  third  of  them  involve  vehicles.  i  guess  that’s  just  my  luck,  right?  ❞  they  chuckle,  trying  to  add  a  pinch  of  lightheartedness  to  the  scene  that’s  disrupted  half  the  street.  

Sully had just finished firing off a text as he stepped outside of the coffee shop, slipping his phone away in his back pocket as he finally glanced upwards. Noticing someone trying to enter, the man immediately stood to the side, holding the door open for the the woman to walk through. The familiar figure caused him to furrow his brows for a moment, before his face lit up into a grin. "Hey! It's you again," The very gorgeous woman he kept bumping into, time and time again. "Claudia, right? It's almost like it's fate, us constantly running into each other like this."

What she didn’t expect, however, was to enter the shop just as Sully was exiting. Just like she didn’t expect Sully to be the person in the aisle when she needed something from the top shelf, or when they met at the Maple Moose after an awful day and ended up sitting next to each other at the bar.

The fact that he recognized her both made her want to smile, but hide at the same time. The last time they saw each other was with the station there as well and she knew what the others called her. Was it her fault that she fell? Okay maybe, but still!

Laurie was used to people staring at him, given his family upbringing, and then his choice in career. Lately, the looks felt different, half of them more judgemental. Feeling yet another person's gaze on him, he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before turning towards them. "If you've got something to say, say it."

"Well, that was embarrassing," Weston grinned, pulling a slightly face. Having tripped over practically nothing, he'd jumped back to his feet almost immediately, approaching the other who'd absolutely seen him fall on his ass. "Did you get it on camera? Reckon I could go TikTok viral?"

"guzideeeee!" uzel said, walking over and throwing his arm around his cousin. "if it isn't my favorite cousin! how are things going? is work still exhausting for you? my job is exhausting and i don't think i'm doing a great job but you know i try." he said.

"i've never ordered here before, what are your recommendations?" thorn asked, eyeing the person closest to them. "if i stand here trying to pick i'll either order one of everything or be standing here until they close. not sure anyone would like that."

"Ha!" Talia huffed in amusement, scoffing slightly. "It's actually pretty adorable that you think that'll work, honestly. I really can't wait to prove you wrong."