Better Than You

was that [ THOMAS DOHERTY ] spotted in the lobby of the infamous arconia hotel? must just be, [ ATTICUS NEWTON ] the [ TWENTY-SIX ] year old [ FAMILY DISAPPOINTMENT ]. whenever i hear [ HEATWAVES BY GLASS ANIMALS ] it reminds me of them. they are known for being [ BRASH ] and [ IMPULSIVE ] but they make up for that by being [ CONFIDENT ] and [ RESOURCEFUL ]. they have been living at the arconia for [ ON AND OFF THIER WHOLE LIFE ]. they are being questioned because they are [ ABIGAL’S ESTRANGE BROTHER ] we do sure hope they’re corroborating and found innocent 

Location: The Polo Bar @arconiastarters​

Reign sat at the bar and sipped her drink as she very obviously over listened to the conversation going on a few sats down. Some older man was running his mouth about something stupid that he really had knowledge on. She heard someone take the seat next to her and she shifted in her seat. “Thank god” She said as she placed her cup down. “I’m in dire need of someone to cure my boredom.” 

“Now there is a face I haven’t seen in a while,” Atticus said as he slipped into the seat next to his sister’s friend. Of course him not seeing Reign was because of his own disobedience and his parents sending him away as a way to deal with him, but that was besides the point. He was back now thanks to his dear sister’s death and very well needed a drink himself to try to forget the endless questions and constant eyes upon him at all times. It was worse before and it only got worse. Shining a smile at her his intoxicated mind couldn’t exactly remember if Reign liked him or not but still at least it was someone to talk to as he drunk away his consciousness. The sooner he ended up in some stranger’s bed the better. “How is my favorite Reign cloud? Still raining on everyone’s parade?” Was he making this up as he went along? Yes, but that was mostly how Atticus ran his life; making it up as he went. 

Maybe it was because he hadn’t been sleeping very well since he’d arrived at the Arconia, or maybe it was because he was trying to be discreet while he eavesdropped on a conversation nearby, but nervous hands do not shuffle tarot cards well. He was leaning a bit to one side, hoping to hear a little better, when suddenly the entire deck went flying out of his hands, the cards bursting and flitting out in all directions. It took Ryver a moment to register what had even just happened, and then he was sighing audibly, leaning forward to rub his eyes with his hand, which then carded through his own messy hair. “Please, don’t mind me, just having a bit of a moment,” he muttered when he opened his eyes again to see feet nearby, his eyes still on the cards he needed to pick up.

@arconiastarters​

The remark was on the tip of his tongue just begging to be released. Oh the snide he could spew out, the insults and degrading words were a second language to him and yet-- yet Atticus found himself bending down to actually help pick up the cards that were now all over the ground. It was a rare act for him and honestly he wasn’t even sure why he did it, just that for a few seconds he didn’t feel like being the narcissistic asshole he was known to be. “I’ve been having moments my whole life,” Atticus said softly as he handed out the few cards that he had bent down to help pick up. “So what is this? Some kind of game? They don’t look like the normal deck of cards...” 

       ‘  here’s  some  free  legal  advice :     don’t  talk  to  the  cops  without  a  lawyer  present .     especially  not  nypd .  ’      for  someone  who  has  dedicated  her  life  to  the  law ,     angelique  sure  does  …….    dislike  the  enforcers  of  it .     ‘  it’s  like  these  people  have  never  listened  to  a  true  crime  podcast .  the  police  department  doesn’t  care  about  finding  the  right  person .   they  care  about  making  an  arrest  &  getting  the  public  off  their  backs .  ’

  ‘ i know, i know, i knooooow, ’ atticus drawled out bored of this conversation already. how many times in his twenty some years has he heard the whole ‘don’t talk to the cops without a lawyer’ speech? especially from the she devilreaux herself? honestly atticus did love her in his own little way; after all how many times has she gotten him out of trouble when he was clearly at fault? ‘ you really think they won’t catch who did this to her ’ this time when he spoke his voice was soft and a bit fearful, now worried that his sister wouldn’t get the justice she deserved. 'it’s not fair really, they haven’t even told my parents and i what exactly happened...or at least my parents are lying to me if they did tell them.' wouldn’t be the first time the newton’s lied to their son. 

noa: yes noa

noa: yeah well it was a great night! lots of fun

noa: did you end up going?

atticus: sorry darling, i could never forget you. just bit tipsy this morning

   "nah, you don’t know me. trust me, i’d remember a face like yours.” he chuckled and shook his head, “and, while i often do feel like a spawn of satan, i have no relation to the spawns that carry around cameras and invade the privacy of others.” nathan’s chuckle turns into a soft laugh as he turned so he could also lean against the wall of the hotel, looking up at the clouds for the time being. the other guy seemed alright, cool enough that nathan continued to hit his pen, and for some reason, he felt instantly comfortable with him.

    “yeah, by the way, it has been like this since the news came out,” he says, blowing out a cloud of smoke towards the sky, “some days are more hectic than others. man, you should’ve seen it, it was an absolute madhouse the day everything happened.” he begins to describe the day the news broke about the discovery of abigail newton and how sad he felt overhearing it. he tried not to give too much away, like the fact that abigail had been his party buddy, and they sometimes had deep conversations,  so he mentioned having met her during her visits to the cafe. “i hope they figure this all out sooner, i really do. all this fuckin’ attention is the worst. i can’t imagine what the family must be going through, probably never getting a moment’s peace, or the hotel owner.” he looks over at the other, “i’m nathan, by the way, your local hotel barista. starbucks ain’t got shit on me, alright?” he offered a friendly crooked smile before pushing himself off the wall and walking over to open the side door he had walked through. “c’mon, no cameras this way. i hope you mind climbing some stairs, though.”

  “at least we both can agree that i am pretty,” atticus said with a chuckle and didn’t even try to stop himself when he began to smile. something about the other caused him to relax for the first time since he had been back in the city and while he didn’t dare dwell on this bit of information he did tuck it away in a folder in the back of his mind. this stranger was going to mean something to him even if it was just a new friendship. 

though that smile faltered some when there was mention of how the chaos had been like this since the news of his sister’s death broke. atticus could only imagine what it had been like here figuring it was something similar to the chaos that had broke in his mind when he got the call from his parents. at first he didn’t believe them, thinking it was some kind of ploy to get him to come back to the city and stop fucking around europe but then-- well he wasn’t sure if his diamond heart was every going to recover from the crack that came with realizing that his sister was dead. “i think the family is taking it harder than they want to admit...” it was all he could say and perhaps it was also the only bit of truth that came out of his mouth in days. 

and just like that the moment of somberness was whiped off his face and he turned back to his new friend and nodded that he was going to follow. “atticus and as long as you can get me an iced, sugar-free, vanilla latte with soy milk i will let you have that claim.” pushing off the wall he followed nathan trying not to grimace at the idea of climbing stairs. “where are you taking me? please don’t tell me you are going to off me too. i have been told recently that i am too pretty to die.” it was all a jest of course. 

Casey took a deep breath as he leaned against the wall, his white apron and clothes slightly covered in food that he had worked on before his break had started. “ So, I got pretty much no sleep last night, ” Casey explained, shaking his head, knowing he probably looked like he hadn’t slept for the past year; which in way, was true. His life turned upside down eight months ago, when his daughter suddenly stood outside his apartment door. “ My daughter hasn’t felt too hot the last couple of days, so I sat with her and she had a fever and just… She didn’t feel good at all, so we went to the ER last night to make sure it wasn’t anything bad, but apparently it was stomach bug, which a lot of kids her age get lately, ” he spoke and shook his head with a light smile on his lips, “ and when we got back to the apartment, I couldn’t sleep because I was worried she’d stop breathing or something and I know that’s ridiculous, especially when the doctor said that she was going to be okay. This morning, she felt a lot better and I really didn’t want to go to work, but Annie said she could stay with her as she would be studying from home anyway, so… At least I know she’s with someone I trust, you know? No one told me being a Dad was going to be this stressful. ” 

Hungover as fuck Atticus rolled his head over to see who had spoken to him. Designer sunglasses covering his eyes blocking the horrible horrible sun rays from his precious eyes he stared blankly at the man as if to not only try to figure out who he was but also figure out what he was talking about. Honestly it wouldn’t take Atticus that much to figure out the other was talking about a daughter but at the same time he wasn’t even really listening just staring blankly not even pretending to care. “I am starting to think you aren’t my new dealer are you?” It was the reason he was outside this early in the morning, hiding from the eyes of the crowd at the front of the hotel as he waited for this mysterious new dealer to show up with his precious party favors. Letting out a dramatic sigh, he tilted his head up to the sky as if to say silently ‘why me?’ with a shake of his head. “Okay, so I’ll bite then,” because what else was there to do as he waited for the dealer to show up, “let’s pretend I care and fully understood everything you just said, so what am I supposed to ask now? How the little child is? I think that is what people ask in these situations...” 

antony usually kept calm whenever there was an upset guest. his coworkers usually had him handle anyone that was upset because he was always the calm one but it was the ringing of that stupid bell that finally pushed his annoyance through what was usually his calm and collected manner and he actually reach over to grab the bell sliding it off the desk causing it to fall to the floor by his own feet, “well you see we didn’t really have any control over-” he paused looking over the male across from him, “the suite becoming a crime scene but you just happened to show up when your sister was found dead? convenient  isn’t it?” he asked his voice growing quieter as he leaned forward, “i heard who you were from abigail, don’t think you want that getting out do you? especially when you’re all of a sudden back in town around the time she was found?”

“that was rude,” atticus muttered as he watched the bell slide off the desk with a small pout to his lips. of course he acted like it wasn’t his fault that he annoyed antony with the ringing the bell. keeping that little pout on his face he focused back at the employee in front of him and was about to continue to complain when those words hit him. so it seemed that he did know who he was and how exactly he was related to the girl that was now dead. slowly that pout turned to pursed lips as his eyes narrowed into thin slits. “i have no idea what you are trying to suggest or pin on me, but if you think i came back for any other reason than to mourn my sister i will personally find it my new goal in life to get you fired.” honestly atticus wasn’t even sure if his family name could even pull those kinds of strings but that wouldn’t stop him from trying to do so. “though since you seem so close to my sister perhaps you know what happened that night? are your hands as clean as you are pretending they are mr--” his eyes glanced down at the name tag the other was wearing, “turner.” 

noa: yeah okay

noa: i mean that's an idea i guess

noa: i think it would be a good distraction for all of us

noa: oh sorry, it's noa.

atticus: noa

atticus: nooooaaaa

noa: hey you

noa: are you going to the met gala this year?

noa: i'm trying to figure out if i should attend or not

noa: considering everything going on you know.

atticus: i havent thought about it but i might if i feel up to it

atticus: probably could steal my parent's invite since i HIGHLY doubt they will want to go

open starter @arconiastarters​ location: front desk

he had just gotten off the phone for what seemed to be like the millionth time since news had broke about the death of the guest at the hotel, repeating the same words, ‘no comment. please stop calling.’ to the point he sounded like a broken record to his own self. letting out a sigh he let his head fall into his hands for a moment before he heard footsteps approaching only to cause him to look up and put on his best fake smile he could at the moment and as best as he could he said, “good afternoon, is there anything i could help you with?” before he looked up fully to meet the eyes of the other on the other side of the desk

atticus didn’t even try to hide the annoyance in his sigh when finally got up to the front desk. draping across it in a way he leaned forward, sunglasses covering his eyes hiding the dark circles behind them as well as keep his identity the best he could away from the prying eyes outside. “actually you can.” lazily he reached across and tapped the bell that was there just because he could. ding. “it seems.” ding. “that my suite has been occupied and i am wondering why you allowed my suite to be taken over as a so called crime scene? ” ding. glancing up his eyes settled on the other in a bored way that also screamed out how he clearly thought he was better than the worker in front of him. “you are aware of who i am, correct? or are you just dense?” 

to: open @arconiastarters​​ location: an alley way by the hotel. like a side entrance that could be for employees only.

   “come one, come all, to the best hotel cafe around the block!” nathan happily exclaims outside of his place of work, looking around at the people who just didn’t seem interested in coffee today. god, sometimes it was so difficult to keep up a happy smile and cheery personality when several people just ignore you. it had been about forty-five minutes when nathan finally gave up and decided it was safe to dip out to the back for a quick pick me up, and after telling his other co-worker he was with, he did just that. as grabbed his jacket he made sure to grab a vape pen in order to be able to get his high without bringing in the smell of weed. he walks out from the back door, eventually finding himself outside the hotel, the fresh air hitting him instantly. “mmm.” he happily hummed, closing his eyes momentarily, the crisp feeling of outside air always brought a smile to his face. especially if it spelled like it just rained. 

   these days, however, you had to try hard not to seem too happy or comfortable around town. he especially tried to blend in, as part of was sure no-one was even aware he knew abiligail to begin with. “hm?” his mind is distracted from his thoughts when he hears the pitter patter of another approaching his direction, causing him to take a quick hit of the pen, his gaze goes over to see if he can make out the figure before they got closer. “uh, hey,” he calls out, chuckling a little, exhaling the smoke in his lungs, “i come in peace. you lost or locked out?” he asked, tilting his head curiously, wondering if the new comer was an employee or just guest.

atticus had only been back in the city for a few days now--if that even. as soon as his parents remembered to call him about his sister’s death he was forced to get onto the private jet and fly back to the city he called home. now that their favorite child was dead, it was up to him to play the perfect son as if his parents didn’t constantly send him away his whole life when they didn’t want to deal with him...

he hadn’t even been up to his room yet at the hotel, hiding behind a pair of designer sunglasses from the crowd of people that were gathered outside. even in her death, his sister was attracting attention. sighing he leant against the wall behind the hotel lost in his own thoughts as well not even realizing he had originally interrupted someone else’s escape from the madness. “has it been like this since the news came out?” atticus asked not glancing at the other or even answering his questions. he saw no need to just yet. “i can’t even get inside without risking running into cameras...” a dramatic sigh and he ran a hand through his hair as he finally turned his head to the side to look at the man next to him. “do i know you? or are you one of those spawns of satan with a camera too?” aka one of the press/paparazzi.