𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓾𝓼𝓽.

hannibal typically preferred not to go to pubs or bars, but a few of his colleagues had arrived in town on short notice and couldn’t be accommodated for at his home for any sort of dinner party. plus, he rather disliked this group and didn’t want to deal with them in his home. he excused himself to get another glass of wine, but it was more for the break from dull conversation rather than the disappointing wine they had stocked. as he waited for his glass to be refilled, he turned to the moody officer. “perhaps they cannot trust the others to do as thorough a job as you. or, they consider you too new to the force -- if you excuse me from assuming you are young. you look very well for your age, whatever it may be,” he commented. “you could ask for an internal investigation. if there are no other women being forced in lower positions such as yourself and you can prove you can do whatever task is given to you, then they will have no choice but to promote you or else they’re in big legal trouble,” he advised, giving the other a small cheers with his glass now that it was full again.

ed gave a small chuckled at the other’s theatrics, amused. “pretty boys are certainly a problem -- that’s why i never try to go after them myself. they’re probably more dangerous than girls, honestly,” he shared. the mention of his parents brought a sad smile to his lips. he often wondered what they would think of him as he was now. he shrugged. “yeah, they’ll get a wake up call one of these days. then, maybe, they’ll figure out that they actually like me a bit more than they act.” he took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out. “let’s not talk about dumb family shit -- i think we can both agree that it totally kills the mood. not that i don’t appreciate sharing cause i do, but we’re supposed to be forgetting all that right now,” he said, turning his smile easy again. “so how about a few blunts now to forget all that?”

the others words made connor feel more and more guilty, knowing very well he’d done worse to others and there wouldn’t be any sort of mends to be done for those. “i do like cupcakes, but,” he said, his voice trailing as he picked up one of them. “i’m glad you think that way -- not sure if it’s foolish or something the world actually needs,” he mused. “thank you, though. i appreciate it even though it’s hard to show it or sometimes i have my ‘moods’ as mom likes to call them. you’re going to have one, right?”

watch had easily gotten lost in the crowd, growing more and more uneasy the longer the night went on. of course he’d been trying to find adam, but hadn’t been able to do so until now. he let out a relieved sigh before shaking his head. the other was obviously having a better time than he was. “yeah, i’m having fun,” he easily lied with a smile. “wait, have you been drinking?” he asked, noticing the adam’s demeanor. “do you think that’s a good idea?” he said in a bemused way. he wasn’t a big fan of alcohol himself and he wasn’t too fond of people under the influence. but, maybe he could over look it with adam..

Penelope: I am the view.

“happy pride!” joy called out, all smiles and rainbows as she stood at the street corner. she held a small clipboard as she attempted to stop passersby. “we’re such a small town, but we have so many diverse people -- it’s such a shame we don’t have our own tiny pride parade! it would be so fun and we could make it like a little beginning of summer bash while celebrating everyone and who we are. if you wanted to, maybe you could help out with that? you could be part of the parade, or help out with it, or just support it? i even have some,” she said, reaching into her pocket. “some fun little stickers. would you like one?” she asked, holding out several stickers of different pride flags.

john let out a heavy sigh as he fiddled with a pen in his hands. he had a request from his mother and he was to see it through or see her get disappointed again -- and he hated to see his mom like that. but, he didn’t know what was worse at the moment: seeing his mother’s disappointed look or asking someone if they wanted to hang out. he’d been given the typical lecture -- go out, have fun, be a regular teen and make mistakes. but he he couldn’t let himself make mistakes. “hey, did you want to hang out or something? it’s a saturday night and i didn’t have anything planned, so,” he trailed off with a shrug. this was beyond embarrassing.

sophie had a way of making astrid feel at peace yet daring at the same time. she was giving in to the those feelings she’d known about since her childhood but had buried in boys and marriage. sophie was kind and bright, much unlike the idiot she had wed herself to. seeing the other now only reminded her of just how perfect sophie was. “don’t be nervous and don’t be ridiculous,” she said, playfully twirling the skirt of her cherry red dress. “you are so much more beautiful. if there was a competition, you would be crowned queen for sure. my goodness,” she said, hands reaching out to frame the woman’s shoulders. “you’re treating me too much right now. i feel as though i should be buying you dinner, showing you off, bringing you gifts,” she said, hand moving up to gently touch sophie’s cheek. “dance with me, darling?”

to say that gabriel was both nervous and incredibly beside himself would be an understatement. he’d been doing his best to keep up with alicia with the dances and to keep himself almost on her level as far as his image went. but, he just couldn’t keep his eyes off her -- and everyone seemed to be feeling the same way. he’d noticed how the dateless men of the dance eyed her and it made him both uncomfortable and angry. his jaw was starting to strain more and more as he tried to keep his mouth shut about his feelings, but he wasn’t sure he would be able to keep it in for much longer. “i’m not sure i like this sort of thing. you’re great and you look beautiful. but the people here -- i don’t think i really match up with him,” he said simply, trying to keep his reasoning vague.

bill still thought about how much his brother would probably hate him if he knew he’d been trying to practically court lucy since the other two had been dating. because of this, all talk of her was minimal or nonexistent. but that didn’t change how much bill longed to officially call her his girlfriend -- that would be the day he said ‘fuck it’ to familial respect to chase something that made him happy. which, wouldn’t be too hard for him. the only thing he actually had to go out to get to complete his look was a pair of blue jeans because greasers didn’t wear black jeans like he typically did, so this was officially the cheapest event he’d gone to so far. he decided to pick up the other from her home to escort her to the dance, but his plan was slowly changing when she opened the door. “wow. can we just stay here? i honestly don’t want anyone else to see you like this. i’ll pay you a million bucks that i don’t have,” he said, practically in awe with how stunning she looked. no matter how many times he’d see her before, she always caught him off guard with her looks.

while john failed to see a reason for him to come considering he didn’t have any friends to socialize with, he knew it would make him seem more ‘normal’ if he were to at least try to meet some new people. most appeared out of his league, though. except, there was one he spotted who was more secluded and looked uncomfortable by the whole thing. he was probably john’s best bet. before he could even say anything, he was lightly scoffing and shaking his head. “out of pity? no, not really. unless the pitiful one is me. but, i’m not really into dancing -- it just seems like the thing we should be doing, right?”