what's your favorite scary movie

"Because you're the expert on my acting? And I was a cute kid, you should want to watch the old stuff." Even being as self-absorbed as she was, Nadine rarely watched any of her own work if she didn't have to, especially not anything she'd done in the last decade. Her earlier filmography was a bit easier to sit through, when she was at her prime, and not even because it was particularly great but she was far enough removed from it. The little girl in those movies felt like an entirely different person. "You don't think the apartment's haunted do you," she joked, deadpan, and hopped back onto the counter. She hooked her legs around the back of his knees to bring him into her, pulling her phone out again so she could book their flight and two hotels, then glanced back up at him. "Really, you're okay?"

"I never said I was an expert, I said they were my favorite. But if you really want me to mock you about that too I'll give it a shot." Bryson rolled his eyes, glancing towards the ceiling to play up the dramatics. "Maybe. It would explain all those bones I found in the backyard a few days ago." He settled comfortably between her legs when she pulled him closer, keeping his eyes on her face as he continued to trace his thumb along along the side of her jaw. Of course there was a part of him that was still on edge and nervous about what was to come but talking to her had given him reassurance that he hadn't realized he was really looking for in the first place. And focusing on her made it easier to stop himself from thinking about anything else. "I'm okay. Thanks for... being you, I guess."

She narrowed her eyes at him, playful, "Have you watched anything else of mine or just those? You need new material." It might've been easier to just get in the car and drive somewhere, and definitely a lot cheaper, but Nadine didn't really think like that- whatever she did, it was all out. Road tripping sounded like her own personal hell too, as much as she enjoyed Bryson's company. "Por supuesto que lo es... and no I know, I'm just saying it's one place I'd willingly go." She leaned back into him a little, lightly knocking her head against his as she weighed their options against how many airlines miles she had. "Leave early tomorrow, come back Sunday?," she asked as she peaked over her shoulder, then spun to face him completely, comfortably in his space. "I'll book it under doctor."

"Why would I? Those are my favorite." In reality he'd seen each movie once or twice at most, but holding it over her head was too good to pass up. "See? Hot." Bryson nodded, leaning in to trail his lips along the side of her jaw slowly to prove his point. "Then we'll do Florida." When she turned to face him he raised his free hand to rest along the side of her neck, trailing his thumb along her skin lightly. "Yeah, sure. But I still want to get out of here tonight so pack up a bag and we can do a hotel in the city until tomorrow. We don't even have to do anything else. We can just relax in the room and watch scary movies with takeout."

Selfishly she smiled, happy to be the one person he trusted and even happier to not share that trust with anyone else. It was tough to compare what she had with him to any of her other relationships, when even her closest friends had accused her of murder. "I'm pretty funny, in case you hadn't noticed." Part of what initially drew Nadine and her crew together in the beginning was their similar outlook on life- her and Bryson shared this too, except just like her he never apologized for it. He didn't like her in spite of her darkest parts but understood they were essential to who she was, and likewise she felt the same about him, sleepwalking and all. Her eyes narrowed as he looked at her. "I need a little more than five," she told him, not realizing he wanted to leave immediately. She gave his hand a quick squeeze than dropped it, moving to grab her phone off the counter so she could look up flights. "How do you feel about Miami," she said as she scrolled though some last-minute options, looking for something that wouldn't also require too much travel time. "Like if we had to go to Florida I guess. I'll let you hear some of my terrible Spanish."

"Oh I know you're funny. I've watched your Hallmark movies." Bryson's voice was taunting but when she moved for her phone he instinctively followed, leaning his head against the side of hers to glance at the screen. "Never been. To Florida or to Miami. I heard they have good food though so I'm not against it." When he'd suggested a mini vacation he'd figured they would get in the car and go until they found somewhere interesting enough to stop at, but if she wanted to go all out he wouldn't say no. He just thought smaller when it came to spending money, and he wasn't sure that was a habit he would ever really shake. "I don't know enough Spanish to understand if it's terrible or not, so you're in the clear. It's all hot to me. But we don't have to go to Florida."

She had no shortage of baggage, between her child star murderer past and her tumultuous friendships, but it never scared Bryson off, even as she slowly unloaded it all, one puzzle piece at a time. Even if he did kill Dean Rooney, and she believed him when he said he didn't, it wouldn't change anything between them. "That's still not that long ago, grand scheme. It makes sense you wouldn't be over it- not that it's something you ever get over, but in how you cope with stress. Trusting people." They both had trust issues, his clearly stemming from his mother's infidelity, and despite how long they'd been together, how long they were friends even before that, it took time to fully break those walls down. One blip, like what happened with Reed, and they were back up. "Made you laugh though didn't I," she teased, watching him visibly relax in front of her. Sincerity wasn't her strong suit, nor was processing emotions, but she was trying, for him. It's not that he made her want to be a better person necessarily, that'd be ridiculous, but she wanted to be more honest, for him to know she had his back no matter what. Her free hand slipped just under the hem of his shirt as he embraced her, and she nestled her head against his. "Whatever you need, I'm here."

"Trusting people is overrated anyways. I'm good with just you." There were other people he knew he could lean on if he needed to but comparing that to the amount of faith he had in her was ridiculous. "Yeah. I guess you get a few points for that." Bryson had never tried to hide his past, but he'd never been as open and honest about things as he was with Nadine. Sharing things with her had never felt like something he had to work towards because he'd never really felt the need to explain himself. Early on it was clear they were on the same page. Maybe they'd gotten their different ways, but they had an understanding of each other and the world that he'd never had with another person. She'd always managed to make him feel less alone. "I know. I got you too." He sighed softly, enjoying the feeling of her hand along his back for a moment longer before he straightened up just enough to look her in the eye again. "Well now that you mentioned a beach I think we should start there. I can have a bag ready in five."

Maybe she'd felt him get up in the middle of the night once or twice but Nadine didn't think anything of it, too heavy a sleeper to even register it. "We could tie you to the bed," she suggested, joking but not really joking. "Or to me, I don't know. Maybe if you have to wake me up every time you'll snap out of it quicker." She wasn't sure he was even looking for a solution but that was where her mind immediately went, how she could help. Reaching for his hand, she interlocked their fingers, thumb brushing across his knuckles. "I'm sorry. I figured you were stressed but I didn't know about the sleepwalking, or anything else." The black outs he'd told her about before, the reason he tried not to drink too much. She thought it was just a drinking thing honestly, so she didn't realize how long they'd been happening, that he'd dealt with them even as a kid. "How old were you?" They talked about his parents sometimes but never about what actually happened. There were the facts of course, police reports she'd dug up when they first met and she wanted to know what his deal was, but she didn't have his side of it, how it'd actually made him feel. He didn't need to share all that with her but she'd listen, if he did. "I don't think you're losing it," she assured him. "We'll just fuck off for the weekend and reset. Easy. And if that doesn't work..." The corners of her mouth twitched up, wanting to bring some levity to their conversation, show him none of this freaked her out without undermining his feelings. "Maybe a straight jacket?"

She was trying, and that was enough to stop him from making a smartass comment. At least for the moment. And knowing he hadn't completely turned her off was eased some of the tension he hadn't realized he'd been carrying. On some level he was still sure he could eventually do something that would scare her off, so knowing they hadn't hit that point was a relief. "It hasn't happened since I was a kid. I figured I grew out of it. Everything with my parents? I was 18. Right near the end of my first year at Ravenwood. I thought I got a lucky break when I got a scholarship, but that had more to do with Rooney than anything. Or Rooney and my mom anyways." He grimaced in distaste at the memory. "My dad found out around the same time I did and that's what started everything." Bryson wasn't sure what response he'd expected from her but her words caused him to snort. "Jesus Christ. If that was a pep talk you should probably never give one again. Like, ever." He shook his head but the corners of his mouth twitched. If anyone else had called him crazy it would've been a different story completely, but she was holding his hand and making light of something that was one of his biggest insecurities even if he'd never admitted it and making it clear that they were in things together. Bryson huffed as he stepped forward to wind his free arm around her, burying his face against the side of her neck. "Thanks."

"I do, and I never said anything about camping, absolutely not. But it's summer, I'd like to be in the sun. Preferably by a body of water somewhere." She watched him curiously, not as quick to dismiss whatever was clearly going on with him- even if he insisted it was nothing. He seemed nervous almost, or maybe just jumpy, and she couldn't say she'd ever seen that from him before. "Do you want to talk about it?," she offered, crossing the room to be closer to him, back leaned against the counter directly in front of him. "What's going on?"

"Then we should be in the sun by a body of water somewhere. I'm not picky. Where you go I'll follow." He shrugged dismissively, catching his bottom lip between his teeth. He'd never believed that talking it out actually helped any situation, but shutting her out when she was asking him didn't feel like the right move either. She'd proven years ago that he could trust her with his secrets so there shouldn't have been anything stopping him. Though something about making himself look as weak as he felt in the moment still went against the grain. "I'm just stressed. School was one thing, but I caught myself sleepwalking a few times this week. Twice. And waking up in the middle of it, not knowing what's going on... it freaks me out. Even if it's only for a few seconds before it all clicks into place. It used to happen all the time when I was a little kid, but I haven't felt like that since- the night everything happened with my mom and dad I blacked out. One minute they were screaming at each other, then boom. I was sitting on the curb in front of the house and the cops were there, and for a few minutes I thought I was the one who- you know." Saying it out loud made him feel sick to his stomach, but that didn't change the truth of it all. For a moment he'd been afraid of what he might've done. "I talked to someone about it and it's fine. It hasn't happened in years, and the sleepwalking is just a stress response thing. It's just tripping me out a little bit, but it'll pass. I promise I'm not losing it or anything. I just need to relax a little bit and I'll bounce back."

"This weekend? Sure." There was nothing keeping Nadine in town, no prior obligations to attend to, so leaving at a moment's notice wasn't an issue. Bryson seemed to be on edge lately too, even more than usual. It made sense he'd want to get away for a bit- it'd probably be good for him, and Nadine was almost relieved she didn't have to suggest it herself. "How about somewhere with a beach, is that cringy? You just named two cities." She glanced to his hands in the sink, thinking they had to be rubbed raw by now with how long he'd been scrubbing at them, her brows knit together. "Do you have an open wound I should be worried about, what's happening over there?"

"I thought you liked cities, but if this is your way of saying you want to try roughing it I'm all ears. I might actually pay to see you camping. Or we could do somewhere with a beach." Bryson pulled his hands back defensively and shut off the water before he turned to look at her fully. "Nothing. It's fine. Just zoned out a little." He wiped his palms along the front of his jeans. "I keep- I've just got a lot on my mind with officially being out of school and moving on to residency now so I'm not-. It's fine."

"Oh, is that so?" Mariela nodded, fairly impressed by Bryson's expertise on what her type was or wasn't. "I can't say you're wrong there. You sure, you're not out there putting out feelers for me already?" She asked, teasingly as she shifted in her chair to look over at him. "Damn, where were you a couple of years ago? I might have taken you up on that offer. But we're so pass that, hitting him now would just be petty." She said, with a shake of her head. Even after everything, she didn't wish Phoenix any wrong. He'd just made a choice to better himself, unfortunately it hadn't included her. But she couldn't fault him for his choice.

"I pay attention. But no, I'm not. You've always been so against me even talking to you about your dating life that I figured it was for the best if I stayed in my own lane. As funny as it is to watch you freak out now and then, I'm not actively trying to piss you off. After all this time I'm sure you have a decent idea of what I like and what I don't too." He closed his eyes, adjusting his shoulders as he settled in. "Which is exactly why I said we're mature now." He huffed, though in all honesty if she asked it of him there was a high chance he would do it. He would just make more of an effort to be sly about things. Just because he'd aged didn't mean his belief on people getting what they had coming to them had changed. "Whatever. We're not focusing on this anymore. We're moving on to bigger and better things."

Mariela sighed in relief as Bryson emphasized with her. Not that she'd expected him to be an asshole in that moment, knowing he wouldn't take advantage of her vulnerability for the sake of a joke but she'd never truly gotten to say that aloud. Her breakup with Phoenix had been hard for her, truly hard. It'd broken her heart. But she could say that today, she was a stronger woman because of it. And that may-haps, one day, she'll be ready to try once again. "And I think I've done a pretty great job at it. Maybe too good, but I am happier for it." She let him know. Whilst her love life might have been six feet under at the moment, she was truly happy. "Well, that goes without saying." She said, with a laugh before taking another sip from her cocktail. "I'm the best thing he'll never have again." Mariela nodded as he spoke, laughter spilling from her once more. "Oh, wouldn't that be the dream? That's exactly what I need. Another brainiac." She scrunched her nose as he let her know that she had him. She didn't doubt that for a second. "Ew, don't be cute right now."

"We both know you're an overachiever so I'm not surprised." Seeing her smile was enough to ease his mind. At least she wasn't still a total wreck over someone who didn't deserve her. "Get real. We both know you're not the hot but stupid type. It's a smartass or nothing for you." Bryson rolled his eyes, pulling his hand back to lace his fingers behind his head as he relaxed back against his chair. "I would've offered to kick the shit out of him but I thought we were beyond that. Besides, I'm still not sure if Nadine would bail me out of jail."

Mariela listened to him and he understood where he was coming from. It was true, it'd been quite sometime since she'd even batted an eyelash in the direction of someone. So much so, that she wasn't so sure what that would look like nowadays. But the truth was that she truly thought that her last relationship would be her last. He was her high school sweetheart, the guy that had made her heart skip a beat every time. To have had that ripped from her, it'd been a blow. A blow that she didn't quite know how to recover from. So, she threw herself into her career. And she couldn't say she regretted it, given the countless oppurntunties that'd arose from keeping her eye on that goal. "I don't think you're missing anything." She said with a shake of her head. "I don't know? I really thought I was done, the last time I was dating someone. It was great, it really was. I really believed he was the one. And then it just wasn't and I didn't want to go through that again. I still don't." She said with a sigh. "So, I rather just not." She let him know. "And there it is. I don't want to give someone the power to do that to me again."

Bryson half expected her to brush the subject off the way she always did whenever he made any sort of comment about her relationship. It really wasn't his business, and he knew that, but it had never stopped his curiosity. She'd always given off the impression that she wasn't afraid of anyone. Knowing that wasn't the case and that someone had ruined the idea of love for her caused the corners of his mouth to curve down before he even realized he'd started to frown. If it were Polo or one of his other friends Bryson would've teased them without a second thought, but Mariela was different. The entire situation made him sad for her. "I get that." He'd never been great at comforting people but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. So Bryson found himself reaching forward to squeeze her knee lightly. "You're protecting yourself. I would do the same thing if someone hurt me like that. I think the only thing that came close to that for me was breaking up with Sophia, but I knew that was going to end. And for what it's worth, it's his loss. I won't bring it up again until you do. By that point I might even have doctor friends to set you up with so it'll be a win-win. But until then you always got me."

Mariela let out a sigh, turning her head over to look at Bryson. The two had decided to take advantage of the return of great weather to Rosewood and enjoy an afternoon by the pool. "Well, what would you like to know about my lack of a relationship?" She asked him, grabbing a hold of the Aperol spritz that sat next to her and taking a sip. "Go on, I want to hear all about this." She nodded, a sly smile working at her lips.

"Why there's a lack of one for the most part. In all the time I've known you I've never seen you with a guy. Or a girl. Unless you're hiding someone and I just don't know about it yet, but with the amount of time I'm hanging around I doubt that." He shook his head as he sat on the end of a lounge chair. "I don't get it. You're hot, you're funny sometimes, and you're the type of person most people would want to introduce to their parents. I don't doubt that there's a lack of people trying to get your attention but I've never even seen what you look like when you're interested in someone. So I want to know if you'll clue me in on why that is. Are you taking the whole married to your job thing literally or am I just oblivious to the fact that... I don't even know what I could be missing at this point, but it feels like something."

"Detective." Saskia corrected him. If she was a more paranoid person she would wonder just how much information on her he had obtained from Nadine that made him feel confident enough to call out to her. And if he was talking her up now to gather more. "I was on one episode of that Walsh kid's podcast and never again. The guy talks like a walking reddit conspiracy board. I at least like to go collect my own evidence before making accusations." She huffed, pursing her lips as she really took a look at him before deciding she could chat for a moment. "Sure. What could you possibly want my thoughts on? You get your shit rocked or something?" She gestured to the glass held against his head.

"Right. Sorry." As much as he liked to poke and prod at people from time to time it wasn't something he was actively trying to do with Saskia. He wasn't in the mood to try and push her buttons just to see how she reacted to it all. "No, I'm good. Just a long day and a little bit of a headache." He shook his head and finished the last of his drink as if that helped prove his point. In all honesty, it probably had more to do with him still being slightly hungover from the night before. As much as he liked to pretend, Mother's Day was still hard for him. Her being an actual detective made him a little more wary of the situation but it was all hypothetical for the most part. "It's true crime related. Or maybe psychology. Whatever. I was watching this movie where this guy kept blacking out whenever bad things would happen in his life. The Butterfly something. And it got me thinking, have you ever heard of a case where something like that happens? And if you have is there a way to get that stuff back or is it just gone forever unless you're in an R-rated shit show?"