be positive!

“ I mean, I hate to leave my little one, but she seems fine playing with the others. Did you want to get away temporarily? It feels a bit… stuffy in this area. ”

@vestalanding·

@vestalanding·

“Cold coffee in a bottle…it tastes straight up like ass; yet I can’t stop drinking it, I suppose that’s a caffeine addiction for you.” Wes mused. “I got charged four bucks for this at one of the vendors, and I’m pretty sure that kind of markup on something so shit is illegal.” 

Salomé’s been trying to reacquaint herself with her city so she’s been going to a couple places she went out to as a kid. Walking past a lady playing on an old claw machine she used to play on, she laughed at her reaction to losing, “Here, let me. I figured this machine out when I was eleven.”

She smiles at the other, not quite used to being called nice but it didn’t bother her. Her act to help was almost motherly, she concluded. “We’ll get it,” she assured the other as she inserted the coins and began the game. Her eye on the prize as the claw moved, a little too fast. “I swear this was easier when we were kids,” she shakes her head, focused.

“No problem! I was just exaggerating,” he joked softly. “I don’t think it was quite 30. I was not keeping track though. But I know I would try at least thirty times to win that cute boba tea guy.” He said with a small nod in the direction of the plush. “I think it’s the claw. It’s not heavy enough or something.”

“Thanks, I try,” he bowed his head, smirking slightly. “I get you, though. I don’t know what makes it so enticing that you’re so easily lured to keep trying. It’s as if they’re taking advantage of our lack of self-control.” Taking a step towards the girl, Ezra rested his elbow on the machine next to hers, setting himself to a comfortable position so he could intently watch the girl’s efforts in defeating the game. “Nah, you’re good. You don’t owe me anything. I’ll just be here to cheer you on. Moral support, y’know?” He pumped a fist, a wide grin growing across his lips. “Unless you want me to give it a shot. Not implying that you lack the talent, but maybe there’s just a little bit more luck on my side.”

       the  longer  salem  stood  in  front  of  bambi,  the  more  he  began  to  realize  why  exactly  he  took  the  route  he  did.  it  was  like  storm  clouds  receding  after  a  storm  and  after  so  long,  the  sun  hidden  behind  the  darkness  shined  brightly  down,  the  light  unfiltered  in  its  power  and  nearly  blinding.  that’s  best  how  salem  could  compare  what  it  was  like  to  be  in  bambi’s  presence.  there  were  many  who  viewed  unwavering  kindness  as  a  weakness,  but  through  bambi,  her  aura  shone  bright  and  as  a  weak  man,  he  burned  from  such  close  proximity.  salem  never  viewed  bambi  developing  feelings  for  him  as  a  possibility  when  they  both  discussed  becoming  friends  with  benefits.  it  seemed  illogical  for  someone  as  sweet  and  altruistic  as  her  to  find  something  …  redeemable  in  him.  something  to  like.  someone  to  like.  maybe  he  did  have  a  habit  of  ruining  relationships  and  chasing  off  those  who  had  gotten  close  enough  to  see  there  may  be  a  heart  in  his  —  however  wilting  and  weathered  as  it  may  be.  salem’s  head  felt  weighed  down  by  the  race  of  thoughts  in  his  mind,  anchored  down  to  this  spot  and  he  didn’t  feel  like  running  from  bambi  anymore.  he  knew  why  he  ran.  he  ran  because  being  around  bambi  and  the  friendship  she  offered  made  salem  want  to  be  better  than  what  he  was.  her  words  have  him  sigh  quiet  and  he  shook  his  head.  ❝  don’t  say  that.  you’re  more  intelligent  than  you  give  yourself  credit  for.  ❞  he  murmured  gently,  kicking  a  stray  pebble  in  his  path  as  they  continued  down  the  street.  maybe  he  was  in  over  his  head  with  this.  her  comment  about  making  him  uncomfortable  has  him  abruptly  stop  and  reaching  out  to  stop  her  with  a  hesitant  fingers  wrapping  around  her  wrist.  ❝  bambi.  wait.  ❞  he  said,  chocolate  hues  looking  over  to  her.  he  knew  they  had  a  whole  lunch  to  get  through  but  if  he  didn’t  get  it  out  of  the  way  now  then  he  would  hold  onto  it  and  continue  being  the  coward  that  he  was.  ❝  you  don’t  have  to  apologize  —  you  don’t  have  anything  to  apologize  for.  i  should  be  the  one  apologizing  to  you.  i  —  i  am  apologizing  to  you.  ❞  he  swallowed  the  dryness  in  his  throat  and  pushed  on.  the  last  time  he  apologized  with  genuine  sincerity  was  to  ezra  by  the  poolside  and  his  stomach  churned  just  the  same  when  it  came  to  taking  accountability  for  his  actions.  ❝  you  didn’t  make  me  uncomfortable  and  even  if  you  did  it  doesn’t  matter  'cause  i’m  the  asshole  in  this  scenario.  you  shouldn’t  have  to  worry  about  sugar  coating  anything  around  me.  i  hurt  you  that  night  with  how  i  handled  things  and  from  then  on,  and  now  you’re  making  jokes  about  it  like  i  haven’t  stopped  talking  to  you  for  a  month.  part  of  me  doesn’t  want  to  talk  about  it  because  i’m  a  coward  and  you  deserve  better  than  that  and  i  want  to  talk  about  it  since  that’s  what  i  owe  you.  more  of  an  explanation  and  kindness  than  i  showed  you  that  night.  ❞  salem  was  out  of  breath  by  the  time  he  finished,  cheeks  aflame  as  he  stared  doe  eyed  at  bambi.  ❝  unless  you’d  rather  talk  about  this  over  chili  prawns.  or  not  at  all.  or  if  you  want  to  slap  me  and  walk  away  then  that  works  too;  i  won’t  mind.  ❞  he  said  with  a  sudden  quiet  tone  taking  over  from  his  volume  previously.

Niji couldn’t help, but smile. This Bambi girl was adorable. Even after only a few moments of meeting her, Niji had a feeling accepting this girl’s request to buy her lunch was a good choice. The positive energy and sweet smile was hard not to smile at. How anyone could crush this girl was beyond her. “Shoes are so hard… I need to go through them and find out what ones I don’t wear or not. But all of them are so cute,” she whined, scrunching her lips at the idea of having to get rid of any of her shoes. It would be impossible, but she was running out of room to store them and more cute shoes kept coming out every day. Keeping up was nearly impossible. Niji looked down at her nails. The paint hadn’t started to chip yet, but she could use a manicure soon. A part of her wondered if she should continue to let them be this length or cut them. “Always awkward getting on done for me. Lot of questions that they really don’t want answers to,” Niji stated with a small laugh. “But, I can’t say no. I love being pampered.”

Off to the side with her nose just about pressed to the machine as she watched the struggle, Daphne pressed her lips into a thin line. “We try a few more times,” she decided as if she’d been doing anything but groaning from the sidelines each time the plushie was missed. Fishing her wallet from her back pocket, she offered it out. “There might be a few quarters in there. Use yours, use mine, then if you still don’t get it, I bet I can find one online. A bigger and better one.” Inconspicuously, she bumped her knee against the side of the machine as if giving it a shake was going to improve their odds. “…maybe my arm might fit up in there if you get it close enough.”

“I mean you still have two quarters left, so you might as well give it another shot, otherwise you’ll have to live with the fact you’ll never know whether one of those last two quarters would have been the one.” 

       blair  glanced  over  to  the  woman  when  she  spoke  before  her  gaze  dropped  to  the  plushie  in  question  behind  the  glass  of  the  machine.  ❝  what’s  two  more  quarters  anyway  ??  there’s  not  much  to  buy  for  fifty  cents  so  i  say  go  for  it.  ❞  she  offered  with  a  smile.

There was an embarrassing amount of times that Johnnie had gotten sidetracked in others’ business, and while sometimes they didn’t mind, he’d gotten an earful one too many times otherwise. This time however, he felt like she looked as if she needed a bit of encouragement, which drove the man to pull closer, looking at what exactly what she was going for. “Honestly I can’t blame you, he is pretty adorable,” he cooed. Digging in his pocket, Johnnie pulled out a few more quarters, a small smile spreading across his features. “I can help you through the next few rounds if you need, too?”

“Here, a few more chances to get the cutie.” Gavin held out a hand of quarters. He’d been playing a game next to Bambi and had noticed her try, and fail, multiple times. “30th time is the charm right?”

“Yep, a pink heart! She even drew a smiley face on it with her mum’s pen.”

He wasn’t sure why he was spending so much time and effort in beating a claw machine when he could just easily purchase a We Bare Bears plushie online for his nephew. But knowing how picky the kid was, Ezra had to get exactly the one that was requested. After managing to pull one of the grizzly bear plushies, he considered whether he should attempt to complete the collection until his train of thought broke at the sound of the stranger’s voice. “Uh, I guess you could keep trying your luck. I don’t think it’s that rigged if I managed to get one,” he suggested, pulling out a few loose coins from his pocket. “Here. Take the rest of my quarters. If it still doesn’t work out, maybe you could check Amazon?”

Summer couldn’t help but to feel just a little bit sorry for the other. She had Gabe after all whom, if he couldn’t get the toy, would be sad for the rest of the day. She knew that he wouldn’t let her give up so easily, and so she decides to assist. “I don’t think it would hurt to try again,” she offers with a small smile. “I can take a turn for you, if you want.”