“– so several of the residents on my floor have asked me to be in a tik tok thing? That’s an app right? Because when I asked them about it, they just laughed which,” Kit chuckled and rubbed his elbow absentmindedly, “I take it to mean I’m officially out of touch, right?” It didn’t bother him too much but there were some days he certainly did feel older than thirty-six. 

“Oh that sounds horrible,” Blake squinted at the idea of the whole thing. She honestly didn’t really get social media anymore. All she had was Instagram and Snapchat, both she rarely even used. Sometimes she swore she was born in the wrong generation and that all most of her friends wanted to do was be the next big influencer. “Yeah, it’s an app. It’s pretty much like Vine all over again, but with more options. Dancing is pretty big on there if you’re good at that,” she chuckled as she wiped down a table at the café. “Eh...I wouldn’t consider it a bad thing. It’s not really worth knowing about. I give it another six months to a year before it because obsolete.” 

                  she’s  rock  band  tee-shirt,      cherry  colored  lips      &&      bright  smile.      there’s  tequila  on  her  tastebuds,      pint  of  beer  in  hand  and  a  joyful  grin  lets  a  scream  escape  her  lips.          ❝  you’re  here  !  ❞          and  her  arms  find  the  girl’s  shoulders,      hugging  her.      blake  smells  of  late  nights      &&      laughters,      of  clubs      &&      freedom      –      she  might  be  her  favorite  thing  in  new  –  york.      shot  of  tequila  is  pushed  toward  the  dark  haired  girl  after  lana  takes  a  step  back,          ❝  i’m  so  happy  we’re  back  here,  ❞          life  has  been  so  boring  lately,      she  really  needs  fun.

“Hey babe!” she chuckled as she embraced Lana. It was thanks to one of Blake’s normative late night runs for some fries and milkshakes that she met the waitress. Being one of the few individuals left in the spot the two had gotten to chatting and seemed to get on incredibly well. They had a lot more in common and it only made sense that they would become pretty good friends. “Sorry I’m late. My aunt was rambling about a bunch of shit and I was trying to get out of there. What have I missed?” she asked as she took the shot and tossed it back. 

“–shit, I’m not asleep,” Elliot spluttered sharply as he caught himself on the counter, having almost slid off his seat at the front of the record shop. “I’m up, I’m up.” He’d only closed his eyes for five minutes, he swore, but there was someone there he hadn’t heard come in. Probably just stepped in. Couldn’t have been more than a minute ago. He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to wipe sleep from his expression as he plastered on a haphazard, almost accidental smile, crooked and amused all at once. As though he hadn’t just been sleeping on the job, head resting in crossed arms. He twisted in his seat some, hearing a satisfying crack as his back gave a bit and he checked the time on his almost dead phone. Shit. Five minutes. Try fifty. At least closing time wasn’t too far off. And at least he hadn’t gotten around to replacing the batteries in that one security camera yet. Should probably get on that. Still, Elliot sighed, waving a hand in their direction, "Just –– lemme know if you need something or whatever.” Really, he thought, he should be winning employee of the month with customer service like this. He was, clearly, a cut above the rest. 

“How on earth do you still have a job?” she chuckled as she entered the record shop with two smoothie in hands. It was just her luck that Elliot was working, otherwise she would have had to find someone else to hand off this spare drink in the streets. Blake was in the neighborhood after finishing up with a babysitting gig. She could use all the spare change possible when she wasn’t clocking in at her two shifts at the café and Free People. It helped to fund her music collection and so she decided to stop in and see what new tracks she could find for her record player she’d been using nonstop since Christmas. Blake had entered the store quietly shaking her head in dismay at the sight of Elliot as she began to walk up and down the aisle hoping something interesting would pop out at her. As she came back around to the front desk, she plopped the smoothie in front of him and leaned on the counter. “I need some recs and you should probably not step up all hours at the night so you can be a functional human being when you have to work.” 

Iain was only slightly turned around. He knew New York was a grid system and that he had his phone with him so he couldn’t ever truly be lost in New York but alas here he was. He had missed the shop he was looking for and didn’t know if it was worth turning around to attempt another go of finding his destination. “Hello,” Iain called out. “Do you have a recommendation for good place to stop for dinner around here?” This was week three in New York and his Scottish accent was still strong - he only actively tried to tone his accent down was when he was on camera for work. 

Blake was riding down the sidewalk on her penny board when a man waved out towards her. Halting rather quickly, she removed her headphones and looked over to the man sensing a bit of concern was it on his face? “Oh,” she chuckled. “I thought you were lost or something.” Granted his accent very well may of indicated that he was, but then again there were a handful of nationalities and ethnic groups that flooded the city. It’s what made it a very cool place to live and grow up in. “Hmmm...well depends what you’re in the mood for and if you have any dietary restrictions or preferences.” 

Walking into the café with her two younger children in the stroller, Cecelia smiled at the sight of Blake. Whenever she was in the area, she always liked to stop by to buy something and say hello. “Hello, Blake! How are you?” Cecelia asked before looking down to her five-month-old son when he started to squirm. “What do you recommend? I’d like to take something home for Jack as well since he’s in school and can’t be here. He’d be upset if he knew I came here and didn’t bring him anything,” she laughed. 

“Hey!” she beamed at the familiar site. Blake remembered when her aunt was freaking out after Cecelia had entered the café about a year ago. She was overjoyed that a royal would step foot in her establishment. Blake didn’t hear the end of that for days when she was at school. It wasn’t until she returned home during winter break that she got to meet Cece. The Stout didn’t know what to expect from the woman but she was as kind and friendly as her aunt had stated. However, unlike celebrities and other famous people who’ve passed through, Cece was far more genuine. “I’m doing alright. You are just in luck, I made my speciality chocolate chip sea salt batter for the week.” It’s something she did sporadically for the café about once a month for a week and it was usually a big hit with everyone. “Meg said you we’re getting married. I am not good at keeping up with things,” she chuckled. “Congrats!” It honestly felt like everyone was getting married or like her aunt, engaged. It was hard to keep up with what was going on, especially when she wasn’t on social media all that much.