it's la push baby.

“This holiday season or the next, PJ, it doesn’t get easier. I hate to break it to you,” He sighed. “The longer you make a habit of it… the harder it’ll be to break. It’ll be even harder to remember what it was like before.”

He looked down at the blueprints, down at where Addie’s name was still sprawled out over the box that had been her haven. He often wondered how many secrets lingered, but he had found nothing when he combed through it. She had taken everything with her, including who she used to be. It had left Dawson and their mother questioning who she had been, and how they hadn’t seen the signs. 

“You won’t have to do it alone. I didn’t.”

“It doesn’t need to be solved this year, do you honestly think that’s the best thing for the holiday season?” He knew he father had a point, he could fight it all he wanted, but at the end of it all remembering wasn’t his issue. The end of it all gave PJ the urge to forget, never wanting to see his sister in that dim light in the first place. She was darker than she ever publicly admitted, but twins knew.

Jay slipped out of the car, moving towards the front of it after PJ confirmed the headlights weren’t working. He crossed his arms over his chest as his eyes drifted towards the inside of the hood. He had already been aware that the battery was in need of replacing but he didn’t mind walking the other man through it. “Nothing came undone. You’re right. We need to replace the battery as a whole.” He walked over towards the supplies, picking up a battery and walking back over, putting it on the table next to them. He gestured towards it, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Go ahead. Replace it.”

“I’d rather spare my eyes.” She informed him with the same breezy ease they both seemed to match, the kind that always came with a carefree attitude but was edged with something a little more wild, reckless. She shrugged at his dismissal but was very clearly pleased with the discomfort she caused him because there wasn’t anything wrong with keeping people on their toes, and that was something Tia did well. “Oh, for sure.” She nodded as she placed the shot back on the counter top and asked the bartender to please top it off again. She listened to Percy and watched him work through his thoughts, deciding on which bits to keep and which to leave out. Tia couldn’t imagine ever thinking so hard, she liked to do things that felt right even if they were wrong so she smiled and he pulled her closer, liking the way his arm settled around her waist. “I wanna know what’s stopping you from showing me a better time than this tonight. Are a couple of drinks all I get after you left me hanging?” The mischievous glimmer in her eyes said it all and she wanted to take this somewhere else if he wanted that too. 

x

“Perfect.” She smiled and sat down before looking at the man. “Vodka soda.” She said towards him and the bartender before she leaned against the counter. “I’m Lennox, by the way. I don’t think I’ve seen you around before, but I’m pretty new to town, so.” She shrugged with a smile. “Do you come out often?”

Starter for: @blindedtemptation​

Where: Lanes Bowling Alley 

“Okay, just so you know I’m really bad at bowling so you definitely won my basket and this game,” Liv said to PJ, a laugh escaping her lips as she picked up lightest weight pink bowling ball. Whenever she went bowling, the steps were never something she could figure out. Seeing as she was a dancer, it always ended up looking way too choreographed and was always amusing. “If you want food or something just let me know, I think we get it as part of our package here.” 

“Perfect! Love to hear it! Wonderful idea.” Emmaline nodded as encouragingly as possible when he caught up to her. Honestly, she’d forgotten how fun it was to have Percy around. He’d always been someone interesting to her and it was nice seeing him around again. Despite… everything else. She wouldn’t admit it now but she always tried to be extra nice to him since Milo dated his late sister. Emmi giggled and leaned into him as they walked to make him lose his balance just a bit, “I’m sure she’ll never know what we saved her from but if she did, she’d thank you for sparing her toes.” He had a nice laugh and thinking about how Milo’s actions with Adelaide might’ve ruined that for him at one point. She wasn’t too sure though, she was too scared to ask. “Much much better. Juli’s isn’t too far away and it might just be easier to buy replacement brownies. Are you doing anything else today? Like, oh I don’t know, potentially tormenting any other old ladies?”

A silence hung between one, one Dawson didn’t quite want to pierce by dismissing his son’s comment or even correcting him. It weighed on them but it was so as though it was time to shift it over their shoulders rather than being a newfound ache. They had barely spoken about Addie since the funeral, but her presence remained in the stillness of her possessions that he hadn’t moved. He wasn’t sure whether or not his ex wife had either. 

“What for? It’s still a part of the house.” She’s still a part of the family.

A small smile graced her face, “no snarky remark? Are you sick?” She questioned his nicer than usual behavior, expecting the worst out of him always. Shaking her head, “forget it,” pausing as she shook the empty bottle in front of him, “is this yours?” It was the only logical explanation: it wasn’t hers and Dawson didn’t drink. She put her hand up before he could return a witty comment, “I’m not here to police you, or anything, but your dad is worried,” she sat on the edge of the bed, “he kind of freaked out, more than I’ve seen him ever and I’m not prying, but I’m sure it has something to do with your sister,” she sighed, “just be careful, is all.”

x

“Ah. One of those.” Harrison shook his head. “There’s one in every crowd, I swear.” he said. He nodded yeah. “It’s just something I’m doing as a hobby. Fixing up these old bikes. I don’t know what I’m going to do with them, but something tells me I’m gonna need a bigger garage, if I plan to keep them.” He hesitated a moment when Percy asked what was keeping him busy as the answer was complicated. “Well, girl problems, for one. They don’t go away when you reach my age, FYI.” he joked before letting out a sigh. Harrison hadn’t told many people what was going on with Franny. Or anyone really. “And also, work. I’m designing a bike with Ducati. It’s supposed to release this spring.”

closed starter for @blindedtemptation at Aero

It was surprising to Lennox just how many bars were in town, but she liked having options too. Tonight, she was out at Aero where Darcy worked to kinda visit him and also drink. And she was kinda hoping that someone would cause a scene so she could try out her desire of jumping on someone’s back to try to help her friend. However, she was sure it wouldn’t be later in the night for something like that to happen. So, she headed towards the bar and hopped up on a stool by a guy. “You don’t mind if I sit here, right?” She grinned at the man before looking at the bartender and ordering a drink.

“You said it, not me.” Tia tilted her chin a bit and let a tiny smirk cross her face. Percy was amusing as ever but not he really had her wondering what on earth happened to have him thundering back into town. She’d always known more about the guy than his family. “Your father’s that hot firefighter, right?” She knew that statement might ruffle some feathers but she didn’t care, in Tia’s world people either accepted the way she was or they didn’t. “Oof, well…” She grabbed one of the shots from the bartender and handed him the next. “What’s her loss is my win.” She gave him a little ink to show off before downing the tequila. “You know, just by looking at you I wouldn’t think you’re all cracked.” At least he knew where his pieces were, Tia’s were scattered in the lives of everyone she fucked over these past couple of years, and she wasn’t sure how to go about getting them back. “But really, PJ. How about you tell me I’m pretty and start asking me questions. Aren’t you curious?”

Jay didn’t say anything, turning his head to look over at PJ for a couple of seconds before pulling back slightly to look into the hood along side of him. Once he had asked if the headlights were still working, the male tossed his white cloth over his shoulder and walked over towards the driver’s side door, opening the door and flicking on the headlights. He moved out of car and over to the front of it, dropping his eyes towards the turned off lights. “Nope, the headlights aren’t working.” 

Open Starter: @blindedtemptation​   

Location:  Auto Collision & Restoration

Harrison was semi-regular at the mechanic shop, as sometimes he didn’t want to wait for weeks for parts he needed for his bikes and cars to arrive in the mail. He knew Percy from his visits and he was impressed by his knowledge of vehicles. Definitely an interest Harrison shared. He was relieved to see that he was working when he entered the store. “I’m glad it’s you here today. Last time I was in, I had to wait at least 15 minutes for the new guy to look up my order.” he shook his head, letting out a snicker. He put his hands on the counter, leaning against it slightly. “I was hoping you guys could help me out. I’ve got a KLX 250 with a busted clutch cable, and a bent crash bar. It’s in pretty good shape, other than that considering it’s the a few years old.” Harrison always kept an eye out for classic bikes. Before he was forced to sell them, he had a decent collection, back in Dallas. “So, how’ve you been, man? I haven’t been here for a while.”

Location: Dawson Residence

Closed: @blindedtemptation​

She felt stupid about going to Percy, when she knew he’d tell her to fuck off or call her a gold digger. It had been bothering her since Dawson had come to her with the half empty bottle of liquor. She covered for him, despite her knowing he could care less. She just didn’t want Pope to be upset with his son, especially since it had been a rocky reintroduction for the two men. She grasped the empty bottle in her hand as she knocked on his door, “Percy?” She asked, slowly opening the door, “can I talk to you for a moment?”

Emmi had already started to slowly back up as Percy spewed out his thoughts. She mostly did it as a joke but was also interested in seeing where this all would go. She brought the container closer to her and shook her head but smiled anyway, “Ah, okay okay! C’mon, how about we go and I’ll get you the ball later? For some reason, Dylan always knows how to sweet talk her so I can just ask him.” Emmi laughed, motioning for Percy to follow so they didn’t end up on her neighbor’s hit list but the truth was that she’d hang back a bit if he really wanted it. “You just got back, no point of stepping on any toes, right? Besides, we don’t want to have any possible injuries on our conscious. What if she comes out running and trips and breaks a hp?” She gasped. “That would be awful!”

“We used to have the best house on the block when we’d come down for Christmas, don’t you remember? I’d get here a week early before your Mom would bring you and I’d have this whole place set up just in time. And now that everyone’s grown up and gotten the hell out, half these houses don’t even get decorated anymore,” Dawson recalled, counting the boxes around him and double checking their labels. “We don’t have any competition now, but it doesn’t mean we don’t do it right.”

He looked back at the map, turning it one way and then another to be certain. “This one is for the kitchen window, and this is for… the bedroom in the front.” The guest bedroom, that he had yet to label it because it was Addie’s but Dawson wasn’t ready to call it anything else.