on the low.

austen and roman hadn’t gotten a chance to hang out for most of the day, so roman wanted to take the other girl to stargaze with him. he opted to grab two cups, a bottle of wine, and made a plate of s’mores for them to share. he laid out a blanket and filled the cups with wine - it wasn’t as good as her spa day, but it was something. once the wine and s’mores were set out, he skipped back to the main part of the campsite, holding out a hand to austen, “babygirl, c’mon. we’re stargazing tonight, whether you like it or not, but i know you’ll like it because it’s me.”

austen was spraying every inch of her body in bug spray - she wasn’t even sure there were mosquitos out here, but might as well be prepared. besides, it might be able to keep the spiders at bay, too. wrinkling her nose, she set the spray bottle down, patting down the wet residue on her arms. for a moment, she caught winnie’s eyes, forcing herself to look away, though there’s an easy little smile on her lips. the blonde is kind of her favorite person right now. but then roman appeared and her mind recovered quite quickly from its wandering path. “stargazing?” she asked, raising a brow and letting him have her hand. “i mean, i don’t even know what the fucking dippers look like, but by all means. take me away, prince charming!” 

Don’t ask where she got the cowboy hat. 

( There are a lot of theme parties in LA. )

Peering up at Austen from beneath the rim of her knock-off Stetson, Winnie grins. Sure, she left her own fringe jacket in her bag because fringe-on-fringe is a little much, even for her taste, but she’s happy Austen’s the one wearing it. She looks great. Winnie’s gone a little vintage. The hats, cowboy boots, jeans and a western-style shirt with pearlescent buttons and that distinctive white dart stitching across her chest and shoulderblades.

Slipping away from the group at-large with Austen will never be something she complains about. 

“Brushed up on my line dances just for the occasion, babe.” A wink. “Let’s get it.”

“Just for me?” 

It’s a little bit of an edit on the words that were actually uttered, but she doesn’t care. Says what she wants it to and that’s what matters. Easily grabbing the blonde’s hand, she tugs her friend into the saloon-style venue. It’s a bar-meets-barbecue-meets-concert space. 

Red hair flips over her shoulder as she looks back at the slightly shorter girl. There’s a huge smile on her face as country music fills the room from a local band and they approach the bar. This is the life. 

if there was one thing about this whole trip that shiloh was going to enjoy, it was the plethora of hiking trails she was planning to discover. she had forced austen to walk up early for a hike, knowing that it was probably not a good idea to hike around the hottest point of the day. they reached the start of the trail in silence, and shiloh turned once her friend spoke. “ don’t worry, we can go as slow as you want, “ she reassured her friend. not everyone was as in to hiking as shiloh was, unfortunately. “ um, not really. guess i just need to get used to camp life. what about you? “

austen’s most memorable hiking moments were from when she first moved to portland. it was quite different from living in the chicago area and definitely a different kind of hiking than from her earlier travels. the piece for her that was most distressing was that it was so early in the morning. thus far on their california trip, austen had pretty well stuck to waking up around eleven in the morning. “not slow, just don’t run,” the redhead teased, adjusting her pack. the trail wasn’t difficult, but there was a cave at one point along it that she wanted to try to explore -- hopefully shi would be down. “took me awhile to get to sleep, but it is what it is when you’re sleeping on basically rocks,” she laughed, shaking her head. “catch me up on the goings on of shiloh yang. it’s been a minute since we caught up.”

bee glanced over her shoulder, trying to find the person that austen was speaking to because it sure as hell wasn’t her. the closest she had ever gotten to camping was coachella. bee’s eyes widened in horror as she realized austen had, in fact, been addressing her. “ great joke, but now is no time for humour, ” she huffed, holding one of the poles up to her eyesight like it would magically give her the instructions she needs. 

how austen got stuck with bee for a tent-mate, she wasn’t sure. a simple roll of the eyes and she crouched down to pick up the various poles. this was bound to be a disaster. with a huff, she put the poles aside and stood back up. “can you, like, make yourself useful and pull up a youtube video or something?” the redhead asked, hands now on her hips. “don’t worry, you won’t break a fucking nail.” 

with her pack tightly snapped onto her back, austen slid on some sunglasses. the camping trip wasn’t necessarily her favorite thing in the entire world, but being outdoors and active was always welcome. besides, a change of scenery would do everyone a little good. it was early for austen and she wasn’t here to talk too much before she was fully awake and finished with her coffee, so the beginning of their trek was met with silence. sipping on the campfire coffee that someone back at base camp had made, the girl let the sounds of nature settle over her. once she and shiloh reached the trailhead, the redhead looked to her friend. “alright, i’m not the fittest in the universe, so don’t be too hard on me,” she laughed, yawning a little. “did you sleep okay last night?” she asked, entering into the trail area and adjusting the camera that was attached to her hip. 

There’s parts of Austen that knows she shouldn’t feel so nervous about a few hours off of the campsite with Winnie by her side. It’s not a bad nervous, though. She’s just unsure of what’s going on in her head after talking to Roman about the whole thing. 

“I’m so glad I dressed accordingly.”

 There’s a big grin on her lips as she looks to Winnie, the two just stepping out of her Jeep. 

She’s always been one to consider where she’s going and pack things that are on theme - currently decked in daisy dukes, a short sleeve button down, and a brown suede fringe jacket. It suits the Pioneertown surroundings. She’s elated by this. 

“You’re actually kidding, right?” Austen looked to her friend, raising a brow as he hands settled onto her hips. Eyes scanned over the supplies on the ground of the campsite before flicking back up to the other. “I’ve never put together a fucking tent, so I really hope you have.” 

“i mean, if the shoe fits, baby girl,” roman joked softly, looking over to meet austen’s eyes with a small grin on his lips. “but also when you scare the shit out of me, i’ll address you however i want,” he cooed, the playful smile still on his lips. he rolled his eyes, “what’s the point? damn, i’m hurt! i’m fabulous and incredible. having me in your life is the point!” talking about the point of their friendship, even jokingly, worried roman - what was the point? because all he was doing was lying to her. he forced himself to take a deep breath, taking the face wipe from austen and wiping it over his skin, “she did? how was that? am i planning a wedding? say the word and i’ll have the whole thing planned. i’m thinking a destination wedding. maybe the bahamas? how do we feel?” he stopped joking to actually respond to her words, “you’re smiling while you talk about her. your face is all cute and bright.”

“how the hell did i scare the shit out of you?” austen asked, brow furrowing. there was not a single piece of her that could sense roman’s inner thoughts. but if she could? it would sadden her deeply. “a wedding?” austen asked, laughing with a shake of her head. winnie and her were just friends - that was it. it was enjoyable to spend time with the blonde and looking at her wasn’t difficult, but it was probably just friendly. not that the redhead was every really sure of much at all. “the bahamas? ugh, it’s so humid there,” she wrinkled her nose, rooting through the face masks to pick one out. “I mean, no wedding. i just find her fun and refreshing. it’s almost like meeting a new person because she’s so different,” the redhead shrugged, plucking out a hydrating mask. “she’s a good friend, i’m not sure what’s to come, but i’m cool with friendship,” her words were true - but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t feel a little fluttery around the other girl. 

“No,” Mason shook his head, saying the word in a sing song voice. “I never just not show up. I at least try to reschedule.” He laughed lightly. Maze looked around the small space, the space he had called home for a while now and shrugged a shoulder. “If you really wanted to I think you could minimize your life to fit into something like Maisey here. And it’s not like it’s something you have to do for the rest of your life. You can just try it out for a year or so.”

Austen rolled her eyes, arms folding over her chest as she walked toward the front door of the bus again. “You should probably just stick with your initial plans,” she pointed at him, eyes darting around the interior once more. “I think that I probably could do pretty much whatever for a year, but it just... my art supplies take up a lot more room than I care to admit,” she laughed a little, shaking her head. It was nice to interact with someone outside of her friends in the house. Austen tilted her head at Mason, leaning to grab a sharpie from nearby. She stepped forward, writing her phone number on the boy’s forearm before capping the sharpie and replacing it where she’d found it. “Text me. We’ll get you a view from that top deck,” she winked, backing up a few steps before turning around and hurrying down the stairs. If Mason wanted to hang out with the group, he seemed like he’d at least be a good time. “Text me!” she called out before skipping back toward the beach and, ultimately, the beach house. 

Ji-Ho held up a finger and gave her a stern look. “Don’t even joke about going off the grid to me.” He said as serious as he could but his stern expression soon broke as his lips curled into a smile. Going off the grid wasn’t something he would do, he always had to at least have his cell phone. The longest he went without his laptop was two days, and that was because he left it back in his Boston apartment during a weekend trip to New York in the early years of MIT. Their food arrived and G licked his lips, his stomach quietly growling as it knew it was about to be full. “Oh, I’m glad I’m not the only one who knows.” He said nonchalantly, grabbing his Banzai burger and taking a bite. “She told me during the bonfire.” He said, covering his mouth with a napkin as it was still half full.

“G, baby,” Austen tilted her head with a playful smirk. “Who says I’m fucking joking?” she asked with an easy laugh, picking up her beer to take a sip. Once the food was set on the table, the redhead hummed at the sight. She hadn’t quite realized how hungry she had been. “She actually told you?” Austen asked, raising a brow. Part of her wondered if Shiloh only admitted it to her because she found out and that made the girl a little disappointed. Shrugging a shoulder at her inner thoughts, she picked up her burger with a soft hum and leaned in to take a bite of it. Covering her mouth, she spoke through her chewing - like a true lady, “I just can’t fucking believe that I found out. I was pretty well shocked when I saw them sneak inside together, honestly. Not the two I’d pair together.” 

Maybe if she’d known Austen a little better in these intervening five years, she’d know to be a little more trepidatious about the redhead driving her around this afternoon. As it is, all she has to go on is Austen’s word, and she figures, despite any evidence to the contrary, the other girl got herself here safe and sound.

“I guess I’ll find out if I regret it after we make it where we’re going.” A pause. “If we make it where we’re going.”

She grins up at the other girl, then gives a little sort of fingerwave before twirling on nimble toes around Austen and skips to the passenger door to climb up and into the mammoth Jeep.

“If you kill me, I’ll haunt you the rest of your life.”

“God, you’d be an annoying ghost,” she hums. “Cute, but annoying as shit.”

Austen is joking, but she’s pretty sure that she won’t kill Winnie. Pretty sure. Driving isn’t her forte and there’s a lot of evidence of that if you look close enough at her Jeep. But she’s already in the driver’s seat by the time she second guesses the decision. 

Too late. 

Ji-Ho smiled at Austen as she did a little happy dance as soon as she started to eat. He was just glad that she was still enjoying herself and that they were able to just hang out separate from everyone else. “I feel like you would know more about what’s going on.” He chuckled. “I’m feeling good, better than when I first got here. You know, it’s not that bad. I’m enjoying surfing, running on the beach is different than running in the city. It’s a nice change of scenery.” G popped a fry in his mouth and ate it before speaking again. “And the best part is I can still work and when every one else is out or sleeping, it’s easy to do. And you? What crazy shenanigans have you been up to?”

Austen continued to shovel fries into her mouth, pausing to meet Ji-Ho’s eyes with a little smile. Would she usually know more about what was goin on? Sure. But there were things she was finding out that weren’t wholly appropriate to tell G. Right? “I agree - sometimes the beach just feels so good... maybe I’ll stay,” the redhead hummed, picking up another fry. “Is that the best part? I feel like you need a fully unplugged break. Maybe I’ll have to fit one of those in for you this summer. “ Austen usually would’ve probably gotten into some sort of trouble at this point, but she’d been relatively tame. “I mean, I’ve heard a few things, but nothing directly involving me,” she cooed, touching her chest. “ But - and you have to pretend you don’t know this if it ever comes up - did you know that Shiloh and Alfie are fucking? It’s wild to me.”

TASK THREE | PLAYLISTS | FOR WINNIE

Mason opened his mouth but didn’t speak right away. She was right, he rarely said no.·“True, it’s hard to say no especially if the offer is good enough.” He shrugged.·“Plus saying no is no fun. Let me know when the next party is. That seems like a good setting to meet everyone else.” He had seen them have a bonfire and they seemed to be having fun. That would have been a perfect time to introduce himself but he didn’t want to intrude, not yet anyways.·“To be honest, I don’t have a passport. I need to get that and then figure out what else I need to take Maisey with me.”

“I’ll definitely let you know - but are you the type to say yes and not show up because you found something better?” Austen asked, raising a brow. She wondered if he’d even actually have fun with her friends. There were so many of them with so much baggage that maybe it would be nice to include a new person. “Oh! Yeah, you definitely need a passport,” she laughed easily, shaking her head. “I honestly don’t know how you do it, though. This is such a small place and as much as I think it’s cool to travel the country in a tiny home, I think I’m more high maintenance than I originally thought,” she rambled a little. 

TASK THREE | PLAYLISTS | FOR ROMAN