sunshine

EYES WIDENING , HER FROWN DEEPENED , not having considered that possibility before now . “ i- ” she cut herself off , snapping her mouth closed as horror really set in . “ oh , god , what if someone did ? that's information i definitely should have been told during the tour — private and reserved parking , luxurious amenities , mysterious death of previous tenant . hearing whispers and footsteps at night would make way more sense if that were the case — and i n e v e r would have signed the lease ! ”

oh shit. bash was just curious, he didn't mean to frighten the poor girl even more than she was probably already frightened. it was the last thing he wanted. he felt so bad that he put that idea into her head as she continued to talk. "i'm sure there's nothing like that, i was just wondering if you knew of any reason it could be haunted. i didn't mean to scare you. shit, i'm sorry. is there any way i can ease your mind?" he wants to help her instead of doing whatever his initial comment did. "is there anything i can do to help? i mean it, i'll do it."

she takes a quick glance around the party, eyes darting from one animated conversation to another, before turning her attention back to the younger male. reconsidering his initial offer, the brunette holds her hands up in defeat, a smile playing on her features. 〝 alright, alright, 〞 she replies with a chuckle. 〝 i can't resist your charm ── hit me with your best mocktail, buddy, 〞 hands gesture towards the bar, indicating that she wouldn't mind his company for a little while longer. she can't help but admire sebastian's genuine nature; despite the glitz and glamour of the party scene, he remains grounded, always looking out for others. it's a quality luciana finds refreshing. as the other flashes a brooding look, she lets out a melodramatic sigh, pretending to swoon. 〝 oh, you're going to give those brooding heartthrobs a run for their money, kid, 〞 she comments, voice laced with good-natured humor, 〝 but don't overdo it or you'll scare away all the chicas. 〞 her gaze meets his as she continues, 〝 so, what's your secret to surviving these networking events ? besides the killer mocktails, of course. 〞 she grins, curious about his approach to navigating these shindigs.

networking was something that was a double edged sword for bash. part of it came naturally to him, being a social butterfly and all, but part of it felt disingenuous to him which he sometimes hated. but it was part of the world of hollywood so he had to do it. he smiles at luciana and nods. "no one can resist my charm." he's joking obviously, because he'd never say something like that earnestly. "i'll get you a fire mocktail," he promises. he's glad that she doesn't turn her nose up at him for offering a mocktail like some other people would. "oh, why thank you." he does a little bow. "i think once they get to know the real me, they'll see there's nothing broody about me." this was true. although bash was typecast in broody roles, he was the furthest thing from a brooding heartbreaker. "my secret is that i try to talk to people like i'm not networking and just trying to get to know them. it makes it feel so more genuine, you know? no ulterior motives or anything like that. what about you? what's your secret?"

            as  per  usual,  ro  couldn't  help  but  smile  as  they  were  watching  the  dogs  excitedly  explore  their  surroundings,  tails  wagging  and  taking  their  time  to  sniff  at  every  possible  opportunity.  she  had  been  doing  this  ever  since  moving  here,  missing  the  connection  she'd  have  with  her  pets  at  home.  "  oh  yeah,  the  schedule  and  especially  the  travelling  ?  do  you  take  rocko  with  you  or  do  you  have  somebody  else  look  after  him  ?  "  looking  at  bash,  they  smiled  warmly  at  his  offering.  it  had  truly  been  so  nice  to  get  to  know  bash  through  their  volunteer  work  and  to  this  day  she  still  felt  so  appreciative  of  the  genuine  kindness  he  seemed  to  exude  and  give  so  freely  to  those  around  him.  "  oh,  you  know  i'll  so  take  you  up  on  that  offer.  you  won't  be  able  to  get  rid  of  me  anymore.  "  they  threaten,  jokingly  (  mostly  ).  "  but  beware  what  you're  getting  into,  i'll  start  buying  him  way  too  many  toys  and  spoiling  him  with  all  my  attention.  " 

bash couldn't help but share rowan's smile as he felt the exact same way when it came to volunteering at the shelter. it was one of the best things he had done since moving to los angeles. walking the dogs was one of the things he looked forward to most, even if it was just for a short amount of time. "it depends on how long the trip is. sometimes, i take him with me but sometimes, i feel like it'd be too much for him so i get a dogsitter." he feels bad leaving rocko on those occasions but he didn't want to overwhelm the dog. bash laughs at rowan's threat and nods. "i already spoil him but he could always use more spoiling."

bash didn't think he had a smug look on his face and he wasn't sure what he did to upset santi. he felt bad that his facial expressions were misconstrued and tries to make up for it by hyping up santiago. "no, man, i didn't mean to have a smug look on my face! you were doing a great job. can you teach me how to play? i've never played darts before." he hopes that smooths things over.

LIPS TURNED DOWN IN A FROWN , aurora mindlessly swirled the purple boba at the bottom of her cup around in circles . “ i'm conflicted , ” she said on a sigh. “ i think my building is h a u n t e d and i'm not sure if i'm being paranoid or if i should move . ” she was honestly more inclined to pack her things and find somewhere else to live , but she adored her apartment — it had everything she could possibly look for .. and apparently something she definitely did not want , as well.

hearing about haunted houses wasn't what bash was expecting when he sat next to aurora. his eyes went wide when she said that she thought her apartment building was haunted. "what makes you think it was haunted? did someone die there mysteriously or something?" now he was too curious.

               he’s  looking  at  his  phone  screen,  a  tabloid  pulled  up  with  a  headline  stating  he’s  once  again  on  the  one  night  stand  train  with  a  photo  of  someone’s  back  and  a  woman  infront  of  them.  with  no  other  photo  provided,  he  can’t  help  but  let  out  a  chuckle  that  vibrates  his  throat,  head  shaking  from  side  to  side.  “  —  ah.  tabloids.  just  assume  it’s  roman,  you  know,  sluttin’  it  up.  ”  not  a  far  fetched  assumption,  although  he  could  be  hooked  up  to  a  lie  detector  this  moment  and  pass  easily  —  that  man  in  the  photo  was  definitely  not  him.  everyone  knew  his  hotel  of  choice  was  the  ritz.

bash knew of roman's reputation but that didn't influence his opinion of him because he knew that the tabloids only told the juiciest parts of the stories. they often left out nuance and sensationalized everything. when roman made the comment, bash gave him a soft smile and said, "you don't need to worry about what the tabloids are saying. they just make stuff up for the hell of it sometimes."

‟ ain't that what i just did ? ask you ? ” the brunette laughs before grasping the hand that's been extended towards her — redirecting him to the area a small crowd was gathered, lips spread into an even wider smile. ‟ i didn't take you as the kind of person who hands in the corner all night, ” a teasing comment as she allows her body to follow the music: building conversation.

"touche." he laughs as they make their way to where everyone else is dancing. he can't help but mirror the wide smile that mercy has on her lips on his own. something about it is contagious. "i'm not usually that kind of person," he admits. "so it was like a blessing when you came and asked me to dance."

What is the one thing that could make you happy, but you refuse to do it because you’re afraid of what others would think?