no sé si yo jamás cambié.

Declan let out a soft laugh and shook his head gently. “Alright, she didn’t like me at first,” he admitted before going into detail about their first meeting. “I’m pretty sure she said I was too skinny and that I couldn’t protect you from the wind, then cursed me in Portuguese.” He pulled her closer, though he was careful not to wrinkle the dress. Yellow was a fantastic color on her. 

“Honestly, I don’t think I could find a carat larger than your backside,” he smirked as he stole a squeeze. Listening to her explanation, it made sense. It was extremely logical and sentimental, but…how was Declan going to get his mom’s ring? He wasn’t even sure if it had been buried with her or if his dad pawned it. And there was no chance in Hell that he was going to call his dad up, not after his last surprise visit. “I respect all of that,” he eventually said with a hint of sadness. “I don’t want any generational curses attached to the ring to come back with us,” Declan told her, shrugging as they continued to sway softly. “I might be being dramatic, but…” his eyes drifted to the side before her voice brought him back. “I could say the same about you, you know,” he grinned. “Is it in bad taste to leave early and go home to watch Top Chef?”

“So when mamãe says you’re a twig you agree, but if anyone from our class brings up how gangly you are, you’ll just fight and say it’s the furthest thing from the truth?” Cass retorted, the tip of her tongue clicking against her cheek as she shook her head in a teasing but disapproving manner. It was true that Declan had certainly grown from the beanstalk he had been in college, and while she joked in jest she wasn’t fully sure how much of it actually bothered him. In the end he seemed to be well over his head in terms of his looks, never failing to point out (even if it was sorely wrong) how people fell for his charms. Cass found her swaying had come to a stop slightly as she noted the sadness behind Declan’s voice once she had revealed her dream ring. The aspect of some type of curse befalling them if she were to be bestowed anything from the Graham line might have been astronomical, but if it came from the Endrizzi line? 

It was just a topic she would never push for now, to save face. When the time was right, she was sure they both would know, but for now, being able to cultivate themselves into a relationship that came from understanding and compassion, it was miles apart from where they had stood all those years ago. It felt more complete than ever before. Cass allowed herself to be spun for the last act of the dance, before his question landed on her ears. “I want to say yes...” She began, granting him a quick peck on the lips, before she grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the dessert table. “But we need to grab a bite or two before I give in to your anti-social cue.” She teased.  

She wish she knew why it felt so easy opening up to Cassie. She felt like a lost puppy who’d been adopted by a loving family. Fast friends wasn’t really something Harlow was very good at. It took her a while to feel relaxed around people. The people she’d ever been very close to were people she’d known for years. Cassie, over and over, welcomed Harlow in with open arms. She’d been supportive and kind. Even now, Harlow was surrounded by people she’d known since she was a kid who she could barely admit to why she was home - something she’d told Cassie almost immediately. Harlow’s eyes traced over the woman, grateful to have found her.

As she listened to Cassie’s proposition, her immediate reaction was to shake her head with a laugh. Her eyes scanned over to where the other woman’s lingered, beginning to piece together the plan for herself. Why not? Because it was a little mean spirited? The man cheated on her, and Harlow couldn’t fathom a harmless prank? Harlow turned back to Cassie. “Red.” She giggled softly, trying to ignore the little voice in her head telling her this was a bad idea.

“That’s funny because I was thinking red would be a great color on him too.” Cass offered with a smirk. She walked over to the table with Harlow in tow, mindlessly choosing the necessary components to make the cupcake table the huge hit that it was. She managed to sneak a whole tiny bottle of the red coloring along with a dropper before she grabbed as much icing as she could. Making her way back to the table she had been occupying with Harlow, she flashed the bottle and the dropper before settling into work with the ticking time bomb that this cupcake would be. Cass knew it didn’t need to be pretty, if anything she just knew it needed to stain the man’s mouth upon impact. She had colored the frosting enough for it to get a rouge hue, settling the frosting at the top and adding an obscene amount of droplets to the top. It almost looked like some type of glaze. 

When she caught Max’s silhouette somewhere on the other side of the room with Declan in tow, she couldn’t help but feel like they had a hook, line, and sinker. “Okay Harlow, this is where things might get a little tricky. We’re gonna have to bombard them.” Cass said. She pointed to Declan and eyes glanced over at the woman. “Can you distract him somehow and then I’ll take care of shoving this into Max’s face? This dress is massive enough for me to just conveniently trip.” She stood up briefly and gave her a reassuring hand squeeze. “If either of them get upset, you can definitely put all the blame on me, in fact I’d welcome it.”

location: somewhere near hemlock docks

when: may 8th, early evening

status: open | @crescentstarters​

                — If Victoria knew that they’d have to handle their car breaking down right in the middle of the street during rush hour, then they would’ve probably taken an Uber to this meeting. Thankfully, they were already on their way home, but, their car breaking down postponed their plans for a bit. And to make things even better, their phone had died literally five minutes ago, so they couldn’t even call their partner and ask them to pick Victoria up. Stepping out, they popped up the hood and sighed while waving off the smoke coming out from that bunch of metal. Upon noticing someone approaching, they ran their fingers through their hair, and swallowed their pride in order to ask for help.

“Do you know anything about cars? Think you could help me?”

Finding herself at the edge of Hemlock Docks, Cass knew that her run had gone on for much longer than she had anticipated. Considering she had started from a separate neighborhood, she somehow found herself in this very neighborhood and all she could boil it down to was the fact that not many people followed her here the way they would have in Sunstone or even Downtown. There was something nice about the actual privacy it had offer, though she also didn’t know if she was mistaking privacy for indifference. That was when she spotted a puff of smoke just a few feet away, and it certainly was far too much for Cass to think it was someone doing any tricks with vapes or cigarettes. As she got closer she saw someone doing their best to way away the smoke that radiated from the hood of a car. She stopped short, giving a soft chuckle. “I don’t know a thing about taking care of cars, but I can definitely help at least with a tow truck if you need it?” Cass offered as she whipped out her phone. She waited for the person to decide if that was the best course of action. 

She wrinkled her nose at the smell that hit her when she walked in – it was smoky and cool at the same time, like a mint incense was left burning for too long. Or maybe Leslie was just too fucking hungover and the house’s normal smell was too much. Her eyes scanned quickly, curiously as they made their way to the kitchen, but she forgot everything she saw as soon as Cass reached for the Advil.

“Nope,” she replied as she swallowed the pills, cringing at the sickly sweet taste of them on her tongue. “Probably walked. I don’t drive, so, that’s out. I’m hoping my boyfriend’s gonna get me, but I don’t want to answer any questions. So. We’ll see.” She sat the glass of water down and looked at Cass from over her sunglasses. “I also don’t feel like dealing with judgment.”

Cass could have snorted as soon as she heard Leslie stating she didn’t want to deal with judgement. “That’s definitely rich coming from you,” She began. The notifications of Leslie’s DM’s burned into her memory, her words about someone she cared about while absolutely being warranted and correct, it still didn’t sit well on her shoulders, especially as it wasn’t something she could defend him on. 

She started to rummage through her drawers to find another piece of sage that had yet to be burned. The lighter was in the same spot she’d left it and she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe there was a way to sage out certain things while a person was in their very presence. How Leslie was going to take that though was a wild card, and honestly, it was one that she didn’t know she could handle, at least not alone. Still she held it up in line with where Leslie stood in front of her. “I noticed you crinkling your nose earlier, you caught me mid-sage.” 

Belamy grinned, relieved as she spoke. “Oh, good,” they said. “Obrigado. Eu não falo tanto quanto antes.” They chuckled as the other went on, nodding. “That’s true of all the most beautiful shoes, for some reason,” they said. “It’s 2021, you’d think that they would find a way to make a shoe gorgeous and comfortable at the same time.” Belamy smiled again. “Oh, thanks,” they said, and laughed when they saw bow matched. “I guess light blue is a spring color, so maybe we’ll start seeing more of it. I love that bow.” They sighed and waved their hand. “Yeah, but that’s okay,” they said. “It’s more of a work friend type thing so they can do whatever they want.” They smiled and shook her hand. “Belamy,” they said. “Prazer em conhece-lo também. Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Cass giggled as she waved off Belamy’s slight insecurity with speaking in their mother tongue. “That’s the trouble with being multi-lingual isn’t it? You think you’re losing your touch but if you speak conversationally enough it’s almost like you never stopped. Like re-learning to ride a bike.” She said with a shrug. Though another part of that was also the fear of God she felt when she imagined disappointing her mother who never wanted her to forget her roots, so if she just up and decided to not know how to say a spit of Portuguese, she’d never live it down. “Something about the color reminds me of the sky at its finest, which thankfully the brides got luckily it was clear as day today.” Cass had soon been offered a drink by a wandering waiter to which she accepted, the person’s question landing on her ears. “I’m from New York, born and raised.” She said with a fond smile. “Being on the west coast has definitely chiseled away at some of the rough edges I’ve had with being from there, but I find my heart always yearns for it. What about you?” 

Harlow felt like an open book, painfully transparent. Even when she tried her best to hid the turmoil stirring up inside of her, someone seemed to see it. Every color of somber painted itself on her face, knitting in between her brows, glossing into her brown hues. She chewed on the inside of her cheek as Cassie explained the sensation currently happening within. Something about it made her feel less alone, less crazy. “I just… I don’t know this him.” Harlow’s eyes diverted to her hands, twisting the stem of the wine glass between her fingers. “I’ve never had to watch him flirt. I’ve never had to see him.. moved on. Imagining it feels different than watching it.” She sighed softly. He’d always been her’s. Now he wasn’t.

Her cheeks blushed again at the compliment. Harlow needed to learn how to take a compliment. Bashfully smiling to herself certainly wasn’t sexy. Her eyes widened at the suggestion. Harlow felt her mouth hang open as a giggle slipped out. “I would love to know how your mind works.” Harlow teased bringing the wine glass to her lips. “Prank?” She asked softly. “What kind of prank?”

At Harlow’s explanation about never having to see Max being in his new element, Cass empathized greatly with her. Though Harlow had mentioned that things had been done and over for years now, Cass knew all too well that time didn’t matter when there was a whole array of unsaid words that laced itself on the tip of one’s tongue. She wondered if there was much else more that Harlow needed to say to Max, what could be said really outside of ‘why hurt me when all I could do was love you?’ She found it was a sentence she’d said plenty of times and yet it was a phenomenon really as to how she had gotten to where she was now in her own relationship. “Especially in a town this small, everything just kind of airs out eventually, doesn’t it?” Cass said quietly. 

“I don’t know the full scope of your time together, but I can tell that you’ve never acted out on that inner turmoil and I don’t think there’s any harm in getting Max back in a fun manner.” Cass said. Eyes scanned the space until she found there was a station for make-your-own cupcakes with frosting. She was delighted to see there were some tiny droppers and a plethora of food coloring. Perfect. If they soaked something just right with an ample amount of the coloring, Max’s mouth could be any color that Harlow saw fit. “What color do you think would go well with his delicate cheekbones?” Cass asked with a grin. 

He gave her a knowing smile before informing her, “Well, as far as artists are considered, that avenue is doing well but you know what else needs to be recorded, mixed and mastered?” a pause before he spoiled the question, “Advertisement jingles. You can’t send companies iPhone demos that are going to play on the radio or TV.” It was a smart business move on Declan’s part, especially with the summer months coming up. 

Head canted to the side, Declan waited. There was more underneath than what she was letting on, but tonight wasn’t the night to dive into everything. Not in public. “I mean, she always liked me!” he boasted, wrapping his arms around her waist. Cass was doing more of the swaying than Declan, probably because of their height difference, but it remained intimate. “I didn’t think you’d want a rock,” Declan countered. “The moment a rock goes on your finger, TMZ would be all over it. They’d probably say Ben Affleck or A-Rod was the one who proposed to you,” Declan snorted. The news was funny that way, especially at this point in their relationship. “I really appreciate how you bypassed all the good reasons to get married and just skipped to the ring, by the way,” Declan pressed his forehead against hers, widening his eyes in jest. “Let me guess, you want something that’s diamonds all around and can be seen from space?”

In an effort to keep him humble, Cass could only hum a sound of approval. There wasn’t a moment where his phone wasn’t going off the hook with proposals, ideas, and he seemed to enjoy the fast-pace of it all. After all, he was finally in his element on his own terms, wasn’t he? With his forehead pressed against hers, she couldn’t help but give a cheshire grin. He wasn’t wrong about the fact that the move could have been an absolute field day considering their status in the world and how there were some things they couldn’t keep private to themselves. But this moment right now? It was as private as it could be, it was theirs to relish in and she was going to savor every last moment of it. “Has she always liked you or was she just praying you wouldn’t end up sinning with the devil, hmm?”  Bypassing all of the good reasons to be legally married wasn’t Cass’ intention, it was just a topic that they hadn’t touched upon. To say the least it was disarming her in a way as she didn’t have many smart remarks to retort back at the man. That was when he was playfully bantering about what her dream ring would be. “I could care less if the carat was bigger than my backside,” She admitted with a slight smirk. “I think I’ve always had that dream that the ring should be sentimental, I fixated on this trend where the ring would come from a family heirloom or something. Belonging to the grooms mother, an aunt, a grandmother, just a maternal figure who mattered. Cause what else tells a woman she’s wanted in a family then being given a piece of the family, you know?” Cass wondered if she sounded like she was blowing smoke, but it was the truth! She didn’t need Tiffany’s or Cartier, she barely cared if the jewel might have belonged to a royal across the sea, or even a Kardashian. The only thing that mattered was what made her feel like home, and as she looked at the terrain of Declan’s lips, the way his eyes sparkled at her, and the way her stomach flipped into butterflies. She couldn’t help but shake her head. “You really have no idea the effect you have on me, do you?”

Walking into the bakery was the ideal scenario for Cass as she wanted to pick out items to bring to the studio with her as a thank you to the crew who had been working with her tirelessly day in and day out. She still had a few weeks to go before she felt ready to send her demos in for mixing and mastering, but she felt confident that the album she was creating now was not only aligning with the person she felt she was now, but she hoped it would spring her into a whole new confidence for the future to come. She walked passed case after case of treats. How could one choose? Cupcakes galore, eclairs, even scones, cookies, and brownies, all of them seemed to be carefully tailored with not a crack in sight. And that was when she saw them, in a domed case that was closer to the register. The holy grail of bakery items: a creampuff, and a huge one at that! 

By involuntarily action, she could have sworn she was drooling and any effort that was in her mind before to collect for her crew at gone out the window. She wanted to taste the pillowy dough and refreshing cream. Not only that but she saw they were three times the size of a standard creampuff! Was monster creampuffs a thing? That was when she caught the woman also gazing at the domed display and she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Tell me this is a secret treasure for this town because I’ve never seen anything like this in my life, and I’ve been around.” 

❛ I’m sure there are others who can help you with that, ❜ Nadia stated, raising her brows a little in a suggestive manner, although she herself would likely have a hard time finding words if Declan showed up and put his arms around his girlfriend. ❛ I’d just call him a penguin if he’s wearing a suit, which I assume, but every other guy is too, so… ❜ she chuckled a little, carefully helping Cassie pick up little dessert from the table to put on the plate. At he suggestion, the corners of Nadia’s lips tugged up in a toothy grin. ❛ Me encantaría, ❜ she mused. Of course the idea of a whole day getting pampered by Cassie made her a little nervous, especially with the way the other woman had brought up the idea but as usual she didn’t want to think too hard on it. They were friends. Cass just had a way of making her blush and she probably knew it. Her eyes moved to the cupcaked before they darted back to popstar who held out a chocolate covered strawberry. ❛ Oh, yes, ❜ she smiled, ready to take the strawberry herself when Cass moved it to her mouth and Nadia automatically wrapped her lips around it to take a bite, eyes still locked with hues slightly darker brown than her own. ❛ Yum. ❜

The unfortunate part about keeping something as fragile as chocolate covered strawberries out in the room was that they were subjected to make a mess. Cass tried her best to get the broken bits of chocolate onto the small plate, but between the juice of the strawberries and the melting factor on the chocolate, she couldn’t help but stifle in a giggle. “What’ll I do with you?” Cass asked incredulously, as she swiped at the chocolate at the corner of Nadia’s mouth. It was the first time she was enjoying herself at a party, not thinking much about the spread that was set in front of them. Nadia was one of the few people in town who knew about her struggles, but as she stood with her smiling and laughing away at anything and everything, it felt good to know that she was truly on the mend, one that wouldn’t have been possible without her. As they placed the plate somewhere to be picked up by one of the staff, Cass gingerly held onto a glass of something fruity, taking a sip and offering it to the woman when she heard a song that she knew they would kill it to should they both make it to the dance floor together. “You promised me a dance right? Or you two full from sweets?” She asked.

Belamy looked up at the familiar language, a smile touching their features. “Eu aposto. Mas esses sapatos são fantásticos,” they said, hoping that was right. They didn’t speak their native tongue very much anymore, even with their parents. For the most part it was just on the phone in their conversations, which now that they thought about it made Belamy a little sad. They told themselves they were definitely going to brush up on the language. “Not a lot of people can pull off yellow, I think it really depends on the shade,” they said with a laugh. “And the skintone of the person wearing it. I wasn’t sure about this light blue, but it was nice and I had it in my closet, so I figured it would work.” They smiled and shook their head. “I don’t know either of them that well, honestly. My date does, they didn’t want to come alone, so here I am.”

Catching the response being in her mother tongue being spoken back to her, Cass grinned with delight, though she noted they seemed to be unsure of the dialect and if they had said the phrase warranted and correctly. “Seu português é maravilhoso.” She insisted, “And as for these? They’re fantastic for show but not so much for standing, walking, dancing, anything that has to do with just existing.” She shook her head as she planted her feet down on the ground, the terrain feeling a lot better than the unrelenting arches of the shoes. She nodded in agreement about the color and how it could completely be altered based on skintone, thankful that she wasn’t too opaque, but she definitely could have used a better tan. “The light blue is super flattering on you and hey,” She began as she twisted to show her very own light blue bow that surrounded the middle of her dress, “We match.” She chuckled softly. Upon hearing that they were here with a date, Cass searched around, “Did they leave you to your own vices?” Before she extended her hand to the person, “I’m Cassie by the way,  Prazer em conhecê-lo.”

“I guarantee when we get back to the car it’ll be covered in pollen,” he argued, though there was a smile on his face. Declan rubbed at his eyes and fought himself to silence any audible crying; the last thing he needed was to give Cass more ammo to mock him with. Walking back into the chateau, Declan shook some hands and engaged in some small talk with the other guests. 

His eyes sparkled as she admitted that she had thought about marriage as well, though he shouldn’t have been surprised. Between the two of them, she always had the desire for love, family and growing old together.  “Elena wouldn’t walk you down the aisle?” he asked, perplexed. God knew it wouldn’t have been her father, even if he was still alive. Declan nodded as she spoke, noting that City Hall wasn’t an option he had thought of before. “I’m not sure if I could be a doting husband, but I think I could be a pretty decent one. We’re essentially married…,” Declan trailed off before changing pace, “Besides, there are benefits to filing our taxes jointly, and if we ever proceeded with having children I believe it’d be easier for parent-teacher meetings and things of that nature.”

Walking through the space, Cass was pleasantly surprised to see so many people approaching Declan to offer a handshake. With things getting busier around the studio, she found it rarer for him to have a moment to himself, though Sunday’s were always off limits. That was usually when he suggested they unplug for the day and enjoy life, each other, and copious amounts of pasta. “Business doing well?” Cass whispered to him as a businessman walked away after handing Declan his card. She couldn’t help but beam at him with pride, he was really doing it! Building the empire she knew he was capable of ruling. 

As the question circled back to her about her mother and the role she would play should she choose marital bliss someday, she shrugged. “Ever since...” She began, the statement lost on the tip of her tongue. Ever since her father had passed, she had been harboring so much resentment that she didn’t give herself a chance to grief the other small moments that she had been robbed of. She didn’t want to admit that it stung she couldn’t have a father who loved her giving her away. As her shoulder froze slightly, she willed herself to breathe through the thought. 

“It would make sense for it to be her by my side, wouldn’t it?” She offered with a small smile. That was when her eyebrow raised, just as she grabbed onto his hand to drag him into the middle of the dance floor for a slow dance. Her arms wrapped up around his shoulders, her body pressed to his own, and as they swayed she looked up into his brown eyes intently. We’re essentially married. “Are we?” She teased, “I don’t see a rock weighing me down.” 

Harlow consistently felt surprised with Cassie’s kindness. She couldn’t place the route, whether it was her own insecurity or something making her tentative about being friends with her ex’s best friend’s girlfriend. Every time her brain began to twist in the way it did, the other woman seemed to put her at ease with her warmth. “You really look beautiful.” Harlow’s eyes traced down the woman before back up to her face. She held presence, the way her mother did or grandmother. Cassie commanded attention in such an elegant way. Harlow let the woman lead her to the bar and then to a table, following the woman’s lead. For a minute she forgot about it, until the question rang in her ears.

Harlow sighed, eyes scanning the crowds to sneak another peak at the men if she could. “Um, thanks.” She giggled at the compliment feeling a blush heat under the skin of her cheeks. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes glanced down bashfully. “Nothing happened. Just - Max is here, flirting, with some guy I know.” She shrugged, her face squishing as she shrugged. “No big deal really.” Who was she convincing?

It was a sin watching Harlow’s face contort in silent thought. Though this was another choice encounter, Cass couldn’t help but want to know more but she knew that would only be possible as more time went on. That was when the woman admitted she’d seen her ex at the wedding, and that he was flirting. Her mouth opened into an ‘oh’, not needing more information than necessary. “Would it help you feel better if I said I know that feeling all too well? But to pre-cursor, I’m just very possessive when it comes to what’s mine or who is mine,” She said, eyes scanning the space until they fell on Declan’s stature standing a decent few feet away from them. Her eyes immediately reverted back to Harlow, though she had said it was no big deal, Cass couldn’t help but shake her head. 

“It feels like a twist to the chest doesn’t it? But you don’t know if you even have the right to be upset but you find that you just are.” Cass said, moving her hand to a stray strand of her own hair. Jealousy and bitterness was what she knew all too well for years, but luckily for her it was dissipating slowly but surely, especially since she had the man she’d pined for for years (to everyone’s complete confusion), but ...feelings were complicated. Eyes softened over at Harlow as she said, “You look too good to be down on a man who couldn’t be faithful to you.” That was when an idea sparked in her mind and a devious smirk fell upon her lips. “We should prank him. Are you in?” 

As Cassie stepped back, Nadia took in the sight of her with a wide grin on his lips. ❛ I do think. God, you wanna share some of that? ❜ she joked as Cassie mentioned the way her breasts looked in the dress. Sure, Nadia looked good in plunging necklines, without even needing any support but of course she’d been affected by body image all her life. Being called an ironboard hadn’t really been the height of her teens. Giggling, she twirled the YSL bag in her hand with a wide grin on her lips. ❛ Of course I am, I love it! And it just goes too well with this outfit, I couldn’t not use it. ❜ It was hard to find the right moments to strut around the designed bags Cassie gave her out of nowhere but when she did she wanted it to show and the white was really visible over her blue dress.  ❛ Oh, there’s a lot of chaotic energy in a lot of my friends, I don’t know how I manage all of them, ❜ she said, raising her brows a little and widening her eyes before chuckling.  ❛ Eh, they get a bandaid and a little kiss on the knee, I just can’t help it. ❜ With a shrug, Nadia twirled to the snack table and grabbed a tiny cupcake to put in her mouth just as her brows raised. ❛ He said that? ❜ There wasn’t much in Nadia that understood what Cassie saw in Declan, whether it was rooted in jealousy or not. The man was clearly an idiot. The pair was as much of a mystery to the brunette as Lily and Amelia’s brother. ❛ The cupcakes wer rea— ❜ she cut off her sentence, feeling Cassie’s hand in her face which for some damn reason had her blushing slightly. Hopefully the make up blush covered it.  ❛ Oh… Thank you. Yeah, my babyhairs just won’t stay down, they’re… Going crazy. ❜

At Nadia’s incredulous question about whether or not Declan had truly called Cass a Sesame Street character she had to solemnly nod. “I’ve been trying to come out with a retaliation burn against him but I’m drawing blanks. I did get a decent stamp down on his foot though. Maybe I’ll just have him sleep in a literal dog house tonight.” She mused. Cass wasn’t a stranger to Nadia’s feelings towards her lover, but she was grateful if anything that she had such patience to deal with listening to Cass relenting about him for small inconveniences and big turning points. As she heard the woman talking about how her hair was becoming unruly she shook her head as she grabbed a plate to stack a few items onto it for them to share.  “Tal vez necesitemos una semana completa de mimos, solo tú y yo.“ Cass said, voice a bit more sultry than it needed to be. But she was always this playful with Nadia as Cass found that she had just made it so easy to tease her. She settled beside the woman at the snack table, curious to know her comment about the cupcakes. “I think you were mentioning something about the tiny cupcakes before I so rudely interrupted you? But let me introduce this chocolate covered strawberry to you first. Have a taste.” She said as she drew the item to Nadia’s mouth. 

who : @cassieherrera​

where : wedding

Harlow’s mouth dried as her lips parted. Her eyes traced the two men carefully, trying to make sense of their body language, desperate to know what they were saying. Why did the sight of it make her feel stupid? Did she miss something? No, she couldn’t have. One of them would have told her. Right? Still the sight of it now made her queasy. But, she had no right to be upset about it did she? Maybe all she’d been was his type. Maybe all she’d been was young and stupid. Everything everyone warned her about seemed to be floating to the surface. Don’t follow him. He’ll break your heart. You’re not special. She certainly didn’t feel it anymore.

Suddenly coming to this wedding felt like a terrible idea. Between Kai and watching Max flirt with someone she always deemed a friend and her complete lack of anything stable in her life, Harlow felt like she could cry. She picked up her purse, no intention of finding Val anymore, turning to leave. “Cassie.” She swallowed harshly trying to bury it all quickly as if everything she felt wrote itself across her face. “Wow, you look… wow.” Her eyes searched for Declan beside her. Clearly Cassie was the type of woman Harlow would never be.

It seemed the entire town had made it to the nuptials and that included some business partners that Cass had all but ghosted up until this point. Gingerly holding a glass of a sparkling raspberry spritzer, she had fallen into a 21 questions scenario with a mogul who wanted to use her likeness for a startup company that had to deal with things that she couldn’t care about for the moment. Between her time in the studio and her other collaborations, her schedule was steadily booking up and she knew soon enough it would become a battle royale just to get a second of her time. She silently cursed Declan for separating away from her because she certainly could have used his snark to get her away from the conversation. But luckily she’d found her way out by needing to excuse herself to replenish her spritzer. Letting the sound of heels guide her back to some type of rhythm, Cass had almost made it back to the bar area when she nearly ran into a familiar woman. Harlow! She braced her hands on the woman’s shoulders, her eyes trained on her facial expression and her general body language. Had something happened? 

“I clean up pretty nicely don’t I?” She asked with a smirk. “I’m so glad I ran into you, I was looking for someone to hang out with since my boyfriend apparently is too good for me.” She quipped, before she looped an arm around the woman’s and pat her forearm. “Let’s get a drink and sit together yeah?” Once they’d had their drinks, Cass found a nearly empty table for them to sequester around. She took a sip of the raspberry drink that she was slowly adding to her favorites, when she canted her head to the side and said, “You know you really do look lovely tonight, but something tells me you’re not really happy to be here. Did something happen?” 

Love. It was rare, but when it was found it was beautiful. The idea of someone laying in bed during your best days and your worst days, sharing meals together, and calling to say ‘I’m leaving work early!’ was what everybody wanted. Wasn’t it? Love wasn’t something Declan saw a lot of in his household growing up, but whenever he saw his Nono and Nona, it was ridiculous just how in love they were, even after fifty years. It was different from the screaming matches and sometimes physical altercations he witnessed under his roof from his parents. Looking down at the woman beside him, he shook his head and smirked. “There’s just so much pollen out here,” he mumbled. “I love an outdoor wedding as much as the next person, but you’d think they’d get a landscaper to sort of…,” he gestured around the area. 

The crowd was dissipating, murmuring about just how beautiful the ceremony was. And it was! Hollywood couldn’t write something that stunning, but Declan shook his head to himself. It was just…so much. Each bride had so many friends and family, it sort of… “I don’t know,” slipped out. “I don’t even know anybody I’d have in my wedding party besides Max and Quinn,” he admitted. “What about you?”

Pollen. She couldn’t help but grin over in his direction, clearly witnessing yet another secret soft spot he seemed to garner. The outdoor ceremony had been held in immaculate conditions, something that looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale. “Hmm,” She murmured softly. “It’s strange but I don’t see anything out of place here.” She looped an arm around his waist, feeling his arm resting on top of her shoulders. If anything she was glad to have been in the presence of an undeniable love, never more grateful to be garnering one of her own. As they made their way back into the chateau for happy hour, she couldn’t help but hear the comments about how impressed everyone was with the ceremony and how beautifully everything had been arranged. 

That was when she heard Declan’s statement about who he’d have in his wedding party. She paused, her feet following suit as they stood beside each other and she looked up to see his facial features. Oh he was serious. A slight chuckle fell from her lips as she shrugged. There were plenty of people for her to call upon on her side, but she believed that he knew that and didn’t want to add any insult to injury. “I think I’ve always imagined my mother and Marcella above anyone else,” She admitted. “Though I think they’d just expect me to go to city hall without them at this point. It was then that it dawned on her that they had never really had this type of discussion before. They always jumped the gun into further into the future, homes around the world, children in the horizon, but the thought of marriage to each other? She blushed slightly. “I don’t know, would honest woman be a title I could carry on me some day? And is a doting husband something you want to be?”

location: chateau evergreen, premium bar; pre-ceremony @cassieherrera​ 

It was dawning on Nel that she may or may not have realized that Zay’s buzzing personality would have left her wondering where he was at all times. Especially in a setting where, from what her drunk brain could tell, seemed like thousands of people. The mojito sat in her hand, chilled as the iced condensation started to drip down her hand. The room was spinning– only a little bit, she knew she could handle it. But being in positions where she felt considerably uncomfortable was not how she wanted to spend her Saturday evening. Especially at a wedding, in a dress that was pinching in place– 

“Oh, god– fuck,” Her heel trapped in the woman’s dress next to her. For such a big place, it seemed like they were elbow to elbow in the reception area. It may have been the drinks working on her, though. A bit of embarrassment shrunk her body; the woman achingly familiar. “No, I promise I’m not here to suck your boyfriend off. Or following you.”

The moment Declan laid eyes on his best friend, Max, Cass knew she would be left in the dust momentarily so she idled about waiting for the final call for guests to make their way into the ceremony. She was fine standing on the sidelines as there was so much going on behind the scenes that it was hard not to be entertained no matter how solitary someone might have found themselves at the event. She was taking a look at some workers bringing in an assortment of boxes into the chateau when she felt a sharp snag behind her. The train of her dress was flowing in a way that she wasn’t quick enough to move it aside, but she nearly jolted forward from the step. 

As soon as her eyes fell on the woman, she could have cursed herself. Somehow she kept running into the woman with Declan being yards away and she didn’t knew if this was the universes way of constantly reminding Cass of his moment of weakness (even though nothing happened). She sighed though kept her jaw loosened to not show any form of discomfort. Then her mouth fell agape. She wouldn’t have accused the woman of that, especially because of her second occupation, but somehow she felt scandalized by it all. “Thanks...for not coming to suck my boyfriend off? I think I have that covered.” Cass replied curtly. Before she caught sight for a man who seemed to be matching Nel. “Is that your date?”