e x i l e *

Being an intern at Winter Garden’s theatre wasn’t as fun as Ivy made it seem – sure, Candy was grateful that the other had helped her get the job, but Candy missed just being in New York and doing absolutely nothing. That’s why when she got off work a little bit earlier than usual, she decided to enjoy her time in a bar, in hopes of getting some drinks. Of course, she decided to go to the nearest bar and it seemed like Callbacks was always open at all hours, so she decided to go to that one.

After walking in the bar, Candy started to think that maybe it wasn’t the best option for her, but she was fine with it – she just wanted to get some drinks and hopefully talk to someone. After sitting in the bar, she frowned when five minutes passed and no one had come to ask her what she wanted to drink. Waving at the bartender on the other side of the bar, she raised an eyebrow at the girl. “I’ve been sitting here for too long now and you haven’t even gotten me my drink! I’m not usually a diva, but honestly, I know you totally noticed when I walked in because I look hot!” She complained, before shaking her head at the other girl. “I’ll have a mojito, please.” She said with a small smile.

With a deep exhale, Link tried to think of all the bad things about being in a relationship. He wasn’t having sex as often, he didn’t have as much time to work on his movies, he had to compromise & watch movies that weren’t a part of his collection…it was honestly a lowkey nightmare. But it also felt really nice to be someone’s boyfriend, especially when Link had convinced himself for the longest time that he was not a romance type of guy. Ugh, men were a plague on his life. “Yeah, I know I am. I was so obviously the eye candy of the relationship,” he said, confident in the things he was saying. Pierre was hot, but Pierre also only wore boring clothes and refused to let Link pay for him to get acrylics. Link should’ve known they were doomed.

Link let out a pitiful whine as Candy took his phone away from him, letting his head flop against the back of the couch. “Well, lucky you,” he mumbled, mouthful of ice cream. “I’m on Grindr, but everyone is such an uggo it’s unreal. Who would’ve thought it’d be easier to meet a half decent gay in Ohio than New York City.” Well, it wasn’t 100% true, most of the guys Link had matched with had just left him on read when he brought up any of his personal interests. There weren’t as many New York based horror fanatics as he thought there would be. At the mention of a gay bar, Link’s eyes lit up. “Actually, yeah, that could be totally great. They love me at the gay bars, I’m so fun and then I get to watch people try and guess if I’m a feminine man or a girl with a weird bone structure!” It would be a good send-off before heading back to Lima for the wedding.

.

“I’m always the eye candy of every relationship I’m in, I mean, my name is literally Candy. It doesn’t get better than that.” Candy admitted with a small smirk, before shrugging her shoulders at Link – she really had no idea what it was like to be in a relationship, but for Link to still worry about his ex-boyfriend after all of the time that had passed, then it meant that the thing they had going on was pretty serious. Of course, Candy had never met Pierre since the other was still in Paris and she had only ever seen pictures of him – she hadn’t actually met him, but Candy knew that she already hated him because he had dumped Link. I mean, only someone with a small brain would do something like that, that much was true.

“You cannot settle for someone in Ohio, you simply can’t! That’s like the worst thing you can do, they’re all so boring and they have no sense of fashion… You deserve someone that understands you and that supports you on everything you do. I know for a fact if that I was a guy, I would totally be into you. I mean, it’s impossible not to.” Candy admitted with a small chuckle, before clapping her hands excitedly once Link agreed to the whole gay bar idea – like she had expected, the two were going out and Candy was going to make sure that Link would have the best night possible – she would even make it her mission. Getting up from the couch and looking down at Link, Candy extended out her hand with a smile. “Okay, let’s go. I’ll help you pick some clothes and I’ll borrow some of yours since you’re the only person I know whose clothes I can borrow. I love Ivy but she kind of dresses like an unwed mother.” She said with a shrug.

Living alone had its fair share of perks in Link’s life. He got to bring guys over without having to worry about having to deal with another person, he got to keep his film equipment out without fear of it breaking, he got to decorate it like it was the early 2000′s Disney channel bedroom of his dream and he got to let his snakes do their own thing when they got antsy. So anytime Candy came over, Link was happy to put Taylor Swift’s Sixth Studio Album Reputation & If U Seek Amy back in their enclosures for the time being. 

Sat down on his couch, Link gave a dramatic sigh at the mention of stupid fucking Pierre. “I don’t know. On one hand I’d totally kill him at the drop of a hat, but on the other hand…he was so sexy….” It was a serious predicament. Who would’ve thought that Link’s first ever relationship would end in such flames? Well…probably anyone except Lincoln saw it coming, but it didn’t matter in his eyes. Taking the spoon and staring down at his reflection, disheartened, Link tried his hardest to take in the things Candy was saying. He knew they were true. Link could do better. “Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s just so hard being a 10 in a sea full of 7′s.” With yet another heaving sign, Link took a spoonful of ice cream & picked up his phone, going to his texts with a certain ex-boyfriend. It was sad, honestly, how a man could bring Link to his knees. Both metaphorically & literally.

.

Candy really wasn’t one to give relationship advice, mostly because the ones she had been on hadn’t turned out that great – but she knew that what she was saying was right. Link did deserve someone better to date, so it wouldn’t do the other any good to mope around some guy that was back in France. “I mean, he was sexy, sure… But you know, you’re sexier and you totally deserve someone who won’t do you so dirty!” Candy admitted with a smile, before taking another spoonful of ice cream and put the spoon in her mouth, as she looked over at Link with a small sigh as he scrolled through his old texts with his ex-boyfriend.

Shaking her head and taking the phone away from Link, Candy let out a groan as she looked at her friend. “I know, I feel the exact same way… Although I’ve been having fun with a lot of guys lately. And girls too.” Candy said with a small nod, as she placed Link’s phone by her side so the other couldn’t reach it. “Have you tried Tinder? Or Grindr? Because that usually works for people… Because I find it hard to believe that you’ll meet the love of your life out of nowhere, right?” Candy asked, trying to find a solution for Link – although she wasn’t sure if he was looking for a relationship, it was obvious that Link needed to get over his ex-boyfriend. “Oh, you know what? We can totally go to a gay bar so you can get laid! That sounds like fun, right?”

While Candy did love living with Ivy, she had always enjoyed her time whenever she went over to Link’s house – he had taste in decorating the place and it was an amazing place to be at, so of course Candy mostly chose to go there whenever she wanted to catch up with her friend. The only thing she didn’t like about the place were the snakes that Link loved so much, but since he did see them as their children, Candy never said anything about it – although she wasn’t a big fan of them.

“So, have you decided when we’re going to Paris to cut your ex-boyfriend’s penis off or not? Because I could totally go to Paris right now, I need some new clothes.” Candy said with a small shrug, as she grabbed two spoons from the drawer, taking herself and a container of ice cream to the couch where she sat down next to Link. Handing the other one of the spoons, Candy looked over at her friend with a smile. “Plus, who knows if you won’t find someone hotter than him there? I’d totally say you could find someone in New York, but it looks like most of the guys here are totally gross. And you deserve better.” She said as she scooped some of the ice cream with her spoon, before handing the small container to Link – this wasn’t the best way to spend a Friday night, but she was in good company. And who knew, maybe they would end up going out.

“No,” Eli said harshly, shooting a glare in Candy’s direction, “aren’t you two like…good friends? Shouldn’t you know what her name is?” This was another classic example of Ivy having questionable taste in company. Candy’s reaction to Eli’s reminder that she was a lesbian did cause her to briefly side eye the girl, but it didn’t last. She had bigger problems to deal with in the moment…like getting this persistent perv who couldn’t take a hint away from them. Once Eli made the executive decision that this party was a bust, she fully expected Candy to follow her lead and was satisfied when she did. Despite their kiss having been performative, Eli had to admit that she was kind of into it. When Candy spoke up from behind her, a deviant smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. She was about to say something quippy about how she she’d always been a good kisser, but the mention of LJ caused her to stop in her tracks and whip her head around. Had Candy just called her Lennon? Literally why was the universe so aggressively putting LJ in Eli’s face like this? “Hot tip,” Eli started with a huff, “the quickest way to kill the vibe is to bring up my ex-girlfriend.” Now that they were outside and Eli was all riled up though, she wasn’t about to give Candy the boot, especially once she felt her hands around her arm. “My apartment isn’t far from here,” Eli said abruptly and suggestively as she quirked a brow, “ad Zoe’s not home.” She briefly looked around at the skyscrapers surrounding them and at all the drunk coupled up pedestrians doing the exact same thing they were about to do. “Are you intrigued enough to come over?” 

.

“Just because we’re good friends doesn’t mean that I need to know her name, I didn’t value Ivanka – I mean, Ivy – as a person until our last few months before graduation, so you can’t blame me for this.” Candy admitted with a shrug, not even sure if she was even that drunk anymore – it seemed like the other’s kiss had almost made her sober, or maybe she hadn’t been drinking that much during the night. It wasn’t like she was about to fall in love with Eli St. James, but would it hurt to have some fun for the night? Looking at the other’s reaction when she mentioned LJ, Candy nodded her slowly at the other’s tip with a small smirk on her lips. “Oh wow, I didn’t know she had messed you up that bad. But you’re right, I won’t bring that elf from hell up again. Not while I’m around you anyway.” Candy said with a shrug, in hopes that would calm the whole conversation – this hadn’t been the way she expected the night to end, especially when Eli mentioned for her to come over. It wasn’t like she had to warn Ivy about where she was spending the night, but what would she say to her the next day? She wasn’t just casually going to bring up that she had spent the night in her sister’s bed, but Candy wasn’t about to say no. With a smirk on her face, Candy nodded her head slowly at the other as she linked her arm around Eli’s arm and looked up at her. “Lead the way, Elizabeth. It’s a shame that Zoe isn’t home though. I wouldn’t mind if she joined us.” Candy teased with a small chuckle, before shaking her head at the other. “I’m just kidding, that would probably be totally weird for the two of you, especially since you live together.” She said while she shook her head, as she started walking with Eli towards the other’s place – she couldn’t remember she had ever been there, but she for sure was about to know the place.

There were a lot of people from high school that Heidi didn’t care to keep in touch with and there were even more from McKinley that she had no desire of seeing again. Candy probably would have been at the top of the list, but after taking the cats out of their natural habitat, there were more similarities between them than anything and it wasn’t often that Heidi could talk to someone about Los Angeles. She missed LA  — and her dad more than anything so she would perk up at any time to talk about it. “It’s good to see you too. For real, it’s been so long. About… two years, right?” Of course it wasn’t like any of their interactions had been kind ones, but Heidi was glad to see Candy.

“Hey!” Heidi exclaimed, nudging Candy’s shoulder slightly, “I’m from LA, bitch,” she wasn’t actually upset by Candy’s declaration since it seemed like she didn’t have the best experience there. “You should have gotten a hold of me. I’m sure my dad probably has like… a thousand contacts in LA,” she explained although now that Candy was in New York, those contacts wouldn’t matter much to her. “Hm, what’s new? Um, I go to NYU, Molly Pearce and I live together… that’s about it. Sometimes I get blasted on the weekends at bars, but that’s all the new things in my life.”

.

It didn’t hit Candy that she had been away that long until that very moment – for two years, she hadn’t kept in touch with anyone from Lima and that was probably why she didn’t have any success in LA – sure, the parties and the bars were amazing and she went out every night, but she did miss some of her friends from high school. It was weird thinking about that she had even missed them, mostly because friendships from high school never lasted, but this was definitely different. “Two years, yes… It feels crazy to be back here where everyone is, because… I don’t know, it feels like not that much time has passed and now we’re here.” Candy said, shrugging her shoulders as she let out a small chuckle.

“Oh well, I know you’re from LA, but even you have to admit that place is kind of a mess right now… I swear to God if I had to deal with someone else dancing in the middle of the street with an iPhone, I would lose my mind.” Candy said with a small chuckle, before shaking her head as Heidi went off talking about her dad and how he would get her some contacts. “Well, it’s a little too late for that. Plus, your dad is like, a total hottie, I wouldn’t guarantee you that I wouldn’t become like… your step-mother.” She said with a chuckle, before raising an eyebrow as Heidi kept talking. “You live with Molly Pearce? That’s pretty exciting, huh? How is she?”

🚬

Although the Elizabeth did earn Candy an eye roll, it wasn’t until she said Ivanka that Eli really scowled. “Ew,” she groaned, shaking her head as she kept her hand latched around Candy’s, “don’t call her that.” It wasn’t surprising that Ivy was off with Julien, so Eli barely acknowledged the statement and instead just stayed focused on getting the hell away from the guy who was on the verge of getting handsy. “I’m a lesbian, Candy,” Eli deadpanned, making it clear that it didn’t matter if the dude was cute or not. Once they were far enough away from the couch, Eli nursed her drink and found the nearest wall to lean against as she did a quick scan of the people around them. Zoe had to be around here somewhere. As Candy talked, Eli stared at her with squinted eyes and a mildly disinterested expression. Ugh, why were Ivy’s friends all such…nightmares? “Riveting,” she answered with a sigh, still glancing around the party, “but my co-worker invited me. She knows the DJs.” As Eli knocked back the rest of her drink, she spotted the same guy from earlier making his way towards her through the crowd. “Fuck,” she muttered, putting down her drink and trying to think fast. “Just go with this, okay?” Eli said to Candy before gripping the back of her neck and pulling her in for a kiss. Maybe if the guy saw that Eli was busy with someone else, he wouldn’t approach her. Wrong. The second her lips touched Candy’s, the guy started hollering and saying something about a ‘free show.’ Disgusted, Eli tore herself off of Candy and boldly shoved her hand in the perv’s face. “Get a life, asshole,” she told him, quickly booking it out of there. This party was a bust anyway. “Candy,” she called over her shoulder with a shrug, “you coming?” 

.

Seeing Eli’s reaction, Candy couldn’t help but to chuckle as she shook her head slowly, before raising an eyebrow at the other’s statement. “Wait, why not? Isn’t that like… her real name or something?” Candy asked, not sure if her new roommate’s name was actually Ivy or Ivanka, but it seemed like she was about to find out tonight – as Eli went off about being a lesbian, Candy nodded her head slowly at her. “Good for you, that’s really a beautiful thing to hear. But I really get you, men are only a problem in our lives and that’s the truth.” Candy said with a small shrug – she felt like she was talking more than usual, but that was probably from all of the drinking that she had done all night – as she kept walking with Eli around the party, she couldn’t help but to notice that the guy that they had escaped had been following them. Candy didn’t have any problems telling someone off and as she was about to do, she heard Eli saying something and grabbing her, pulling her body into the kiss. The last thing she expected from that night was kissing Eli, but for some reason, she wasn’t about to complain. The kiss, of course, didn’t last that long, but it was good enough to capture Candy’s attention – the next thing she knew, Eli was calling her to leave the party and she was quick enough to follow her, trying to process what had just happened. As she walked behind Eli, she couldn’t help but to let out a chuckle. “Well, that was definitely surprising… And kind of hot. When did you become such a good kisser? I can’t imagine that it was from all of the practice from kissing Lennon, because she looks like she’s not that good of a kisser.” Candy said with a small chuckle, as she walked out of the party with Eli, before grabbing her by the arm. “I have to say Elizabeth, I’m intrigued.” She said with a small smirk on her lips.

“okay call me ivanka literally like, one more time, and i’ll flush your make up down the toilet while you sleep.” ivy said seriously, holding a finger up. ivanka was an ugly name for ugly girls, and if it somehow got misconstrued that that was her real name, she’d seriously never leave her apartment again. relaxing, ivy dropped her finger and reached for the drink she’d gotten by giving her “real, actual” phone number to the bartender who had seen her show. of course, she wasn’t dumb enough to give her real phone number away. instead, she gave her ex-boyfriend, leo mccarthy’s number to the bartender. the idea of him getting a message intended for her, then proceeding to get annoyed, was especially entertaining to ivy.

sipping on her drink, ivy shook her head, “oh my god you cannot become a stripper. like, all the respect in the world to sex workers, but, it’s not for you.” lately, it felt like ivy was giving a lot of career advice, so she felt extra qualified for this conversation. “what if you like, came and worked at winter garden? i think the theater is like, always looking for interns, but me putting in a good word for you would totally put you ahead the other applicants.” she explained, then added, “i have like, zero clue what an intern does, but it could be fun to work together don’t you think?”

.

Raising an eyebrow when Ivy held up her finger, Candy tilted her head to the side as she thought about what the other was saying. “Wait, isn’t that like your full name? I wouldn’t put it past Rachel St. James to name you Ivanka, it wouldn’t be that weird… for her at least.” Candy said with a shrug, before she finished off her drink and waved over at the bartender so they could get her another one – she wasn’t even sure how many drinks she had at that time, but all that she knew was that she was having a good time with Ivy, so it didn’t matter – plus, she was sure that she would get into the apartment safely because she was right there with her roommate, so of course it didn’t matter what ended up happening.

“Yeah, I don’t think I would be a good stripper either. I mean, I’m a great dancer and I’m great with a pole, but I think I’m too short to actually become one.” Candy said as she reached for her drink once the bartender placed it in front of her, quickly taking a sip as she heard Ivy’s idea. Working at Winter Garden didn’t seem like a bad idea, but Candy couldn’t remember a time where she had worked a day in her life, so of course she had second thoughts. “While working together with you does sound fun, I don’t know if I’m made for being an intern. I’ve never worked before, what do interns even do?” She asked, shaking her head at that thought – it wouldn’t be a bad idea, but she wasn’t even sure what to do. “But I guess I can give it a try. But if you’re ever a bitch to me, I’ll set your bed on fire. Don’t even try it.” Candy said with a small chuckle, before nudging Ivy to show that she was only joking.

TRACE: ur a bad liar

TRACE: or u could buy me new clothes

TRACE: that is if ur really still even rich

CANDY: i'm a bad liar because i always say the truth

CANDY: sorry i don't do charity rn

TRACE: u've given me hemorrhoids at least four times just from breathing in my car

TRACE: u can come to the apartment and look thru my shit if u want

TRACE: but if u don't im not gonna try too hard

CANDY: tracy, that's not from me, that's because your car is disgusting and the source of most of the diseases spread in the entire country

CANDY: ugh fine, i'll go over to your place

TRACE: no but it's funny to imagine u panicking at ppl believing that stuff

TRACE: no problem sounds fun

TRACE: nicely? it's like...a rave

CANDY: it's not funny, jbij is a little bitch, i'm a natural beautiful presence

CANDY: oky good

CANDY: and?? any time we go out is a chance to dress nicely, so don't complain

TRACE: i didn't know if all ur elite friends dropped u or not now that ur allegedly poor 🤩

TRACE: ur so dumb it's not that deep

TRACE: where is it?

CANDY: i'm not poor, do you really believe jbij???? gross

CANDY: fine! [insert address here] but we're going together

TRACE: bro did u hear abt that rave in brooklyn

TRACE: what r the chances u have the address?

TRACE: i wanna go

CANDY: call me bro again, see what happens

CANDY: but of course i have the address, who do you take me for?

getting drinks alone was sad. as far as ivy’s thought process worked, it was for sad, ugly, girls who couldn’t flirt their way into getting free drinks from some desperate guy also lingering around the bar. despite their differences in the past, ivy was firm in the belief that candy motta was not a sad, ugly, girl. in all honesty she’d stopped by ace of spades in attempt to catch her sister, but instead she caught candy drinking alone. not wanting to embarrass the other by approaching her with fervor, ivy calmly took a seat and waited for candy to strike. 

once she did, ivy collected her purse off the bar and placed in her lap as she turned to candy, “candace,” she greeted, smile on her face, “first of all, why are you like drinking in this bar alone? that’s really sad. and if you want to be famous, you should never do that again.” ivy explained. feeling very knowledgeable, ivy rolled her shoulders back a little and began to gesture with her hands, “and they get famous for doing the bare minimum because they’re hot, duh, cmon candy, you’re smarter than this!” she spoke quickly, then continued, “fame is like one part hotness, one part talent, and one part who you know… by the way, i heard you’re broke, is that true?”

.

Candy looked over at Ivy as she spoke, nodding her head slowly as she explained her position – she was happy that the two had been able to sort things out from their sort of rivalry they had in high school, even if it was mostly coming from Candy. “I won’t be drinking alone if you order something.” Candy said as she motioned over to one of the bartenders to bring her two more drinks – hopefully Ivy would join her in drinking during the night, especially since Candy needed some company either way. As she took a final sip from the drink placed in front of her, she looked over at Ivy as the other kept explaining her thoughts.

“And I was drinking alone because Otto was busy with Michael and my ex-girlfriend hates me. Plus, I’m sure that all of her friends and family hate me too, so it’s not like I have a lot of company available.” Candy said with a shrug, as she rested her arms on the counter as she kept looking at Ivy – it felt good to talk to someone about this, even though it wasn’t the easiest way to talk about. “You’re right, you’re right… But I’m hot and I’m talented, I should be famous! I guess I don’t know a lot of famous people, unless you count my mom and I did run into Wendy Williams in the bathroom during regionals that one year.” Candy admitted with a frown, before shaking her head as Ivy talked about her being broke. “No, why do you believe what JBIJ says? I’d totally look hot in a Elmo costume though, I’ll give him that.”

“I vow to always like your posts from now on,” Otto said with a warm smile before she was taking a sip from her coffee cup to try and hide the rolling of her eyes. This whole situation was so perfectly Lima, Ohio. It was a strange phenomenon that Otto was sure only occurred with people from small towns (or just the Motta family) but there was something so sitcom-y about Candy’s actions right now. And it was so perfectly her that Otto couldn’t even find it inside of her to be mad about things. It wasn’t until she was bringing up her and Michael’s future children that Otto was choking on her coffee and setting her cup down on the nearest counter so she could try and pull herself together. Of course, she was able to hear Candy’s rules for moving in with her. It was funny. This whole situation was ridiculous in just the way that Otto had missed about the overbearing nature of Ohioans. 

“Is there anything else you request?” Otto asked with a tilting of her head and an amused look on her face. Running her hands through her long, flowing hair, Otto cleared her throat. “I can manage the key, but you have to understand that a… lot of people have keys to this place. No one creepy but you know, I have friends. I can…,” a pause. “Text you whenever Michael is planning on spending the night. Or that stupid sock on the door thing, I don’t know.” Otto laughed, her entire end of the sentence sounding more like a fit of laughter than anything else. “I can cook a couple things, but take out has become my new best friend. I have a spare room, but there’s a lot of stuff in there right now. You know, for my YouTube videos, but I can always move… stuff over there,” Otto said, waving off to the corner of the living room. Otto was flexible, and she hoped with everything inside of her that she could be flexible enough to swing all of Candy’s demands. “Is it my turn to lay some rules down?” Another pause. “No parties unless I approve the guest list. I don’t need names, just a number. The landlord is a weird stickler for the fire code rules and I’m not looking to have a bad relationship with him.” Otto paused before she was shrugging her shoulders. “That’s it, actually.”

.

“Okay, that’s good, because I really need the likes in order to become famous easily. It’s like people don’t care about my career, you know?” Candy rambled on – social media had always been important for her ever since she had gotten her phone on her hands. Of course, she was famous back in Lima from all of the Instagram lives that she used to do, but it didn’t seem like those lives had been that famous when it came to Los Angeles – she had tried, of course, but it seem to attract more people from Lima than actual people that lived in Los Angeles. Either way, she was in New York now and that was all that it mattered. As she looked at Otto once she choked on her coffee, Candy raised an eyebrow at the other, but decided not to say anything about it – whatever was going through her head probably didn’t matter either way. “I think that’s all, for now at least.” Candy said with a smile.

As Otto started talking about the people who had the key, she shrugged her shoulders. “You know what, I really don’t care about that. As long as they go into my room, I don’t mind. But who else has the key to this place?” She asked, curious on who would she running into eventually – hopefully one of those people wouldn’t be Frankie, that was the last thing that Candy wanted to happen. “Just text me and I’ll find something else to do while you guys do whatever you need to do. Don’t worry about the sock.” Candy said, shaking her head as she raised an eyebrow as Otto explained everything about her apartment. “YouTube videos? I didn’t know you had a Youtube channel! We totally need to film one together, just so you know.” She chuckled, shrugging her shoulders as she looked around the place, listening to Otto explain her rules – well, rule to be exact. “Oh, that won’t be a problem, don’t worry about it. I don’t plan on being a big party in here either way, I mean, where would I even put the drinks? I like to throw big parties.” Candy said with a nod, before getting up from the couch. “Good, guess we’re roomies now! Yay! But I will be redecorating my room, nothing too big though. I just like to have my own things, you know?” Candy said with a smile, before moving to give Otto a small hug.