*/ 𝘪'𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧

[ sydney sweeney, cis woman, she/her, violet ] hey have you seen CLARA CHAMBERLAIN ? SHE let me borrow their FAVORITE SWEATSHIRT. oh, you know them! they’re 23 and they’ve been at Roy G. for SIX MONTHS. They are known to be a total VIRGO. i’m surprised you haven’t heard them blaring KEEPING TIME BY ANGIE MCMAHON all night. they remind me of A METICULOUSLY ORGANIZED BOOKSHELF, FRESHLY CUT GRASS IN THE SUMMERTIME, LATE EVENINGS AT THE LIBRARY. anyway, let me know if you see them ! 

violet: the academic. ambitious, disciplined, perfectionist.

cw: mention of divorce & ghosting

“wow, you used it? that’s just fucked up,” he lets out an incredibly dramatic sigh.  as if he hadn’t opened and used every package she order. somewhat hypocritical for him to be irritated about, and yet…  “i’m a very good liar,” he insists. in truth, it really just depends on what he’s lying about. the speaker was a little too obvious for him to pretend it wasn’t there. “fine, take it.  in the future… if you end up with any more of my stuff, could you just give it back?”

“that’s fucked up? you literally just admitted that you used my ‘gross’ coconut ginger toothpaste. it’s not my fault you didn’t bother to read the label on what you stole.” clara bent down to pick up the speaker and held it close to her like a lost pet or child. “only if you agree to do the same. I have textbooks coming next week, so I’d like to actually see them.”

        “  beats  me  .  ”   cooper  lifts  his  shoulders  into  a  shrug  .  it’s  funny  how  being  a  teacher  made  you  feel  like  you’ve  got  one  foot  in  the  grave  .  coop  always  thought  he  was  a  bit  childish   ;   if  anything  ,  it’s  scary  that  he’s  the  one  managing  the  youths  .    “  it’s  not  that  bad  .  they’re  pretty  cool  ,  y’know  ,  still  finding  their  own  groove  in  life   —-   when  they’re  not  being  little  assholes  .  ”    he’s  gotten  into  one  too  many  arguments  about  whether  or  not  they  had  to  run  the  mile  .  coop  steps  closer  ,  looming  over  her  to  look  down  at  the  phone  screen  .   “  well  ,  it’s  gotta  be  something  good  .  should  we  mash  our  names  together  ?  clooper  ?  ”

while clara considered herself to be a problem solver, she wasn’t exactly creative so she just nodded decisively. “clooper it is,” she said as she created a tiktok account in cooper’s doorway. she uploaded a photo of her cat as the profile picture and began to scroll. after a few videos, she looked up at cooper quizzically and handed him her phone to scroll through. “it looks like the ting tings have made a comeback. I didn’t see that one coming.”

she yawned and covered her mouth with her wrist. clara was always reliable when it came to this stuff, and well, just in general. june crossed her arms and uncrossed them until the blonde opened the door. “hi clara,” june chirped. “sorry if i woke ya,” she murmured, stepping into the foyer. june held out her arms for the quilt and pressed it to her torso. sheepishly, she nodded. “ya it happened again. i can’t keep track of ‘em.” 

“oh, no,” clara said reassuringly. “you didn’t wake me. I was just trying to unwind.” closing the door behind her, she could see the glow of her paused tv shining throughout the living room. “why don’t you just stay over? it’s really late. my couch is quite comfortable, really. I pass out there a lot more often that I’d like to admit,” she joked. but then she wondered if she was being pushy. “only if you want to though, no pressure.”

lydia bit the inside of her cheek, gazing up at the lights.  “yeah, maybe you’re right.  i’m not sure i’ve ever been trendy before,” she laughed.  “god, i know, i feel like it’s haunting me,” she remarked, her eyes looking toward her kitchen.  “you know, i’ve been here years now, you’d think i’d have proper christmas decorations.  and yet, here i am,” she sighed.  “i thought your tree was really pretty.  maybe you can help me next year, i need your eye.  i’ll pay you in cookies.”

clara smiled at her friend’s generous offer but shook her head in disbelief, “pay me? I didn’t know I could be bribed so easily.” christmas wasn’t one of clara’s favorite holidays because of the amount of division and drama in her household growing up this time of year, but she was putting on a good front of pretending otherwise. “besides, if you found a nice tree now, you could just keep it up and decorate it for every holiday. imagine a valentine’s tree with roses and hearts all over it. I’m excited just thinking about it.” 

you could see the relief on the brunettes face as she finally got into the elevator,  heavily leaning against the back wall letting out a sigh she peered over to the blonde beside her.  a smile forming on her lips with a chuckle,  they couldn’t look more different in their attire.   “ 4,”  she points to the buttons before looking down at the sparkly costume she had been donning the whole night.                 “ coming, “ she nods before looking off for a minute and letting out a childish laugh,  “ sorry that’s so stupid, “ shaking her head as she brushes off the clothing upon her body.   “ i work at a bar the shift was late, “ she explains.

“I feel your pain,” clara sympathized. she thought back to her time waitressing briefly while she was in undergrad. because of it, she was the type to ask for the easiest things to make on the menu and always tip 25%. “let me guess: a bunch of strange men treating the bar like it’s a boy’s club and asking for your number? I don’t miss those days at all.”

isaac gave her a small smile “i thought about stealing it but then i remembered my karma with things like that.” he teased hoping the other wasn’t going to take that comment too seriously. “claimed? do you want me to beat up whoever stole it?” he asked curiously, only half serious. “what is it anyways? a new kitchen gadget? clothes? has to be something good for you to be this excited.”

she chuckled, rolling her eyes at issac’s proposal of violence. “it’s alright, I like to think I’m getting even,” clara began, knowing how cryptically she was speaking, “just more creatively, that’s all.” as she spoke, she ripped into the package like an excited kid at christmas. once it was free from the paper and plastic, she presented it to isaac to inspect. “it’s a new bluetooth speaker. now my neighbors will never know peace again.”

“well, i definitely don’t have your bluetooth speaker.” he lies. and he’s not doing a great job at it considering, his eyes dart right to the speaker sitting on the coffee table. “that was your toothpaste? why do you buy that? it was gross, i threw it out.” after trying it, of course. he lets out a sigh, rolling his eyes. “lets see… missing led light bulbs… the laptop case. oh, did you find an electric toothbrush?”

“well, if I were to somehow have your electric toothbrush, would you really want that back? hypothetically... for sanitary reasons...” clara began as her eyes followed adrian’s directly to the new bluetooth speaker sitting on the coffee table. when her eyes realized what she was looking at, she looked up at adrian expectantly. “really? you are a horrendous liar. you are unbelievable.”

he leaned against the doorframe, classical music still blaring in the background. he’d seen the blonde around the complex a few times, but he hadn’t had a real conversation with her. will glanced at his hands. “a sculpture of venus” he paused for a moment. “want to see?”

clara shrugged casually. she hadn’t expected will to offer to show her his new work; she was only making polite conversation, but she had a few minutes to kill before heading back to her own. “sure.” as she followed will inside and cracked the door behind them, she asked him, “so... is clay your usual medium or just one of many?”

——  ♡   as  soren  disappeared  to  talk  to  the  group  ,  they  wondered  what  exactly  they’d  say .  the  truth  usually  works  –  but  the  truth  ,  and  their  true  feelings  for  clara  ,  were  too  hard  to  admit  to  even  themself  lately  .  they’d  kept  it  as  short  as  possible  ,  not  wanting  to  keep  clara  waiting  too  long .   words  were  exchanged  ,  and  the  music  stopped  –  the  party  deciding  to  move  to  some  nearby  bar  ,  soren  deciding  to  stick  with  clara .  they’d  hoped  for  the  rest  of  the  night .

❛   honestly ,  ❜     they  replied  upon  their  return  –  a  wince  in  their  voice  ,  then  a  small  laugh ,   “ none .  but  trust  me  ,  i’ve  got  plenty  in  you – ”  they  wanted  to  punch  themselves  for  that  .  they  wished  she’d  known  how  much  he’d  meant  it .  “  –  so  by  default  ,  guess  i’ve  got  tons . ”  soren  couldn’t  help  but  just  stare  for  a  moment  ,  forgetting  everything  going  on  behind  them .  “ hey  ,  would  you  mind  if  i  kept  you  company  for  a  while ?  you  can  tell  me  more  ,  or – or  i  could  read  ‘em  to  you , ”  they  offered  in  a   low  and  gentle  voice ,  “ if  that’s  ,  ya  know  ,  legal .  give  your  pretty  little  eyes  a  break ?  i’m  sure  i’m  easier  on  them  than  all  that  lawyer  jargon  ,  anyways . ”  another  small  moment  passed  before  soren  spoke  once  more  ,  “ so what  d’ya  think ?  i’ll  make  you  some  tea  or  somethin’ ? ”   they  feared  they  were  crossing  a  boundary  with  the  blonde  ,  but  soren  just  found  it  easier  than  ever  tonight  to  give  in .

clara blushed even harder, looking away to avoid looking so vulnerable to soren. were they flirting with her? as much as she wanted it to be the case, she couldn’t trust herself to hope -- not again. she couldn’t take the rejection; the fear of learning it wasn’t requited, so she just pretended not to catch it. 

when she returned her eyes to soren’s, she tried not to gaze too hard into them. their eyes felt warm and trusting. she hated herself for being so cynical. “I may be a masochist, but I’d hate to subject you to that kind of abuse. I appreciate your offer though.” clara glanced down the hallway to her front door, trying to picture herself walking away and back into her apartment and shutting the door behind her, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. she wanted more time with soren. the reading could wait. a gentle smile tugged at her lips. “I’d love to take you up on some tea though. it’s been awhile since i’ve heard a soren castillo original.”

a gentle smile warmed marisol’s features as a gleam flashed across brown eyes : she understood . she really did . “ you didn’t wake me up , ” she laughed , knowing good and well she probably looked like she was nearing a comatose like sleep , “ well , not actually . physically , i’m awake . mentally , i’ve been dozing . swear i’ve reread the same paragraph about twelve times now , ” because pharmacology was the worst of all her classes and she hadn’t really been in the mood to study in the first place . clara’s next words garnered laughter , “ right . probably should’ve gone out to the keys or somewhere with ‘ siesta ’ in the name if you were looking for that . ” an inquisitive look furrowed her brows , “ how long have you lived here ? ”

clara laughed softly. she could deeply relate to reading the same paragraph twelve times in a row. the way her evening was looking, her reading wouldn’t be done. “to be fair though, the keys can get rowdy too. have you ever been to key west on st. patrick’s day? I should have applied to the university of idaho or something. someplace boring.” logically, it didn’t make sense for clara to be in florida, period. she was boring and she had no qualms about it. “I’ve been here about six months. how about you?”

“a gift, huh?” he replies with a slow hesitant nod. clearly, he didn’t exactly believe her. his laptop case had been missing for quite a few days now. he hadn’t thought to ask the one person that probably ended up with it. he would miss that lamp though.  “right. you totally have it, don’t you?” he accused, crossing his arms. “you give me my laptop case… you can take your lamp.” 

was her face really that transparent? she had always been a terrible liar, so she gave in with no further protest. “okay. fair enough,” clara replied as she brushed off the front of her jeans. she handed the lamp back to adrian. “how about this, let’s do an audit. I’m also missing a bluetooth speaker and a tube of coconut ginger toothpaste.... well, on second thought, if you’ve already opened the toothpaste, maybe you should just keep it. what else are you missing, adrian?”

         “   i’m  just  looking  for  something  upbeat  !  ”   is  his  excuse  …  clara  doesn’t  need  to  know  that  call  me  maybe  repeatedly  ends  up  on  his  spotify  wrapped  playlist  every  year  .   “  it’s  harder  than  you’d  think  .  even  ariana  grande  isn’t  safe  anymore   —   i’m  fine  with  that  though  .  i’ve  heard  break  free  one  too  many  times  …  pretty  sure  the  beat  to  that  song  is  permanently  etched  onto  the  surface  of  my  brain  .  ”   cooper  shakes  his  head  .   “  i  just  need  to  surf  tik  tok  for  an  hour  and  see  what’s  trending  with  the  kids  these  days  .  ”

“do the kids still like post malone?” she guessed wildly. it was amusing to her how she and cooper had drifted into language about “kids these days.” it was making clara feel geriatric to say the least, but she thought back to the first time she saw her brother ollie in the middle of a tiktok dance routine and had no clue what he was doing. “I don’t even know anymore. I’m glad you’re the one managing today’s youth and not me,” clara said as she pulled out her phone from her back pocket. “I like to consider myself a problem solver though, so let me see if I can help. what’s our tiktok username going to be?” 

——  ♡   ❛   clara,  ❜     his  voice  barely  above  a  whisper  ,  surprised  at  the  sight  of  her  on  the  other  side  of  the  door ,   “ hey . ”  it  took  a  second  for  her  words  to  register  to  soren’s  ears  as  he  took  in  her  presence .   the  ‘party’  going  on  behind  them  ,  which  soren  would  have  considered  more  of  a  small  gathering  ,  had  admittedly  gotten  out  of  hand .  a  wave  of  guilt  washed  over  them  at  the  realization  —  the  party  nor  the  apartment  were  theirs  ,  but  they  should’ve  known  better  ,  aware  of  its  proximity  to  clara .  “ no  ,  no  ,  you’re  right  …  look  ,  let  me  see  what  i  can  do  ,  yeah ?”   their  voice  gentle  and  a  soft  smile  to  match .  “ promise  i’ll  have  them  shut  up  within  the  hour .  wait  here  ,  i’ll  be  back  in  a  sec ,”  they  promised.  “ but  ,  uh  ,  when  i’m  back  …  wanna  tell  me  about  what  you’re  reading ? ”   

she was surprised to see soren. they lived upstairs from clara, so she didn’t expect to see them at the door. as much as she wanted to be back in her bed, petting petunia’s soft head, and struggling through her reading in peace, she suddenly felt guilty for the remorse that soren felt. before she could reassure him, she found herself genuinely smiling at his question, “yeah, of course.” when soren left to speak to the rowdy partiers, clara could feel the warmth in her cheeks. she found herself thinking in circles about what to say about her homework. nothing about it would be interesting despite how masterfully she could try to spin it. she desperately wished she was reading something obscure like an old stephen king novel or a new nonfiction release instead. when soren returned, clara asked them, “so... how much interest do you really have in legal contracts?”