fun girl

( open ! ) starter location -> jardín botánico, foraging with the foodies club.

salem wasn't sure what hiyori meant when she asked if she'd be open to an adventure in the woods but salem rarely said no to a spontaneous adventure. when the two ended up foraging in the woods with the foodies club, not even salem could have predicted that on her bingo card for the day. "you got the berries right because they're yellow," crouching down to examine them a little better. "i know for a fact most yellow, green and white berries are poisonous." she could explain why she knew that but telling people she spent a lot of time in the woods ( doing witchcraft with her friends ) as a teenager wasn't something you just sprinkle into conversation. "the mushrooms however are kinda tricky but i usually just play it safe and say they're poisonous if they're white in color or have those little bumps on them. your theory would be a cool story idea though."

he didn't expect to see her as soon as he stepped back out of his godmother's place. well, he had done it before to buy groceries and shit, but he never ran into her. and now he's at a coffee shop in line when he turns around for whatever reason, and she's here. she's sitting on a table by herself and leon wonders if he should approach her. he's missed her terribly, but he knew he had to give her space to sort out her thoughts and feelings after everything he put her through. he wouldn't blame her if she still hates him and never wants to see him again. the man really hopes that scenario isn't true. after getting a tall americano, leon walks over to salem and clears his throat so she can look up and find him looking at her with a shy smile. "hi, sal." his voice is soft and his eyes are kind.

salem had enough on her plate with her album release looming over her head slated for later this month. her talk with leon allowed her to get everything off her chest but she still was feeling really confused about it all. she hadn't seen him since that night at her place and though she appreciated him giving her the time she needed sort through things she missed him terribly. she'd been sending emails from her phone to her manager and label when she heard a familiar voice. "hey blondie." salem replied with a small smile. "you can sit if you want." gesturing toward the empty chair across from her. she took a sip of her latte and sent off the email she'd been focused on before setting her phone down on the table. "sorry, i'm dealing with all this album release stuff. originally i was just gonna drop it with no announcement or anything but they're telling me i should build anticipation on the internet about it." leaning back in her chair she shrugged a bit. "anyways, how are you?"

Starter: Open [4 cap] @valpostart Location: Club Divine

it was the perfect night to be at club divine. between the place being packed out and the guest dj this had been one of the best nights in a while. salem met up with a couple of people at the club in vip and did some mingling amongst the busy crowd once she got bored of that. moving her way through the dance floor to the bar was a mission in itself, one too many drinks starting to get the best of her. a sigh of relief fell from her lips when she finally made it through. as salem waited patiently for the bartender to get to her the stranger a couple feet away caught her attention. "rum and coke please?" she said loudly over the blaring music while moving closer to the other. god knows she didn't need another drink but she was determined to let loose tonight. the face wasn't a familiar one and salem wondered if he was new to the area. it was a hard for her to believe she'd been here as long as she had been. "pretty good actually, i met up with a bunch of people here and they ended up meeting with other people so i guess you can say they kinda ditched me in a sense. or maybe i ditched them." she paused for a moment upon realizing she was rambling to a complete stranger. "but what about yours? are you here alone?"

"i think so?" wylie never had a pet before jinxx meowsoon - certainly not during their childhood; they took up too much time, according to their mom. and while dogs seemed like - a lot to handle - wylie could do a cat. jinxx mostly just knocked shit over, played with stray feathers, and slept in a sprawled position. he knelt against the ground, scratching behind the ear of an older, scraggily black cat with patches of sparse fur, "like, i think it's like, um - like through a rescue, maybe? so the cats like, get awareness brought to them and then, like - patrons can adopt a cat if they're like - vibing with it? they do it in the states in some places, don't they? i mean, it'd be nice, i think, too - to like, adopt a cat cafe cat. strays are cool, though! my cat's a stray, but like - going through a rescue is good, too. as long as you're like, not paying a buncha money for like - a purebred cat, because i don't know if that's like - the most ethical? i don't know, i know for dogs it's like, really iffy. and i feel bad for the cats with the like, pushed in noses -" they paused - acutely aware of their tendency to ramble on, and the fact that he'd been doing exactly that. "- sorry. anyways - yeah. i think you can - you like this one? he looks, like - cool. chill. epic, maybe."

"well if it's through a rescue then i think it'll be okay! maybe i can make a donation somewhere?" salem said as she gently rubbed behind the ears of a smaller black cat that resembled stevie. she wondered if there was a local animal shelter she could bring supplies to or donate some money to. "see, when i got stevie i adopted her from a shelter as a kitten. i almost ended up taking her and all her siblings but i knew it would be too much." which if you asked salem was probably the best day of her life (hopefully) winning a grammy one day would come second to that though. "so i'd much rather adopt or pick up a stray kinda like boat cat." pausing for a moment, "even though i technically stole her too, but we have a custody thing worked out. wait--how many cats do you think is too many cats? would three make me seem a little crazy?" chuckling at the last part before focusing her attention on an older grey cat wylie pointed out. "he does seem chill. i wouldn't mind an older cat actually they're usually more relaxed. stevie is still so active so maybe he could mellow her out a bit."

leon nods his head, everything she's saying is totally valid right now. "yeah, i'm an asshole," he sighs with the littlest nervous grin. the only thing keeping him together right now is knowing that he really did have the best intentions and it was all a miscommunication problem. "listen, sal," the blond runs a hand through his hair before getting a hold of her own hands. they're cold and he hates it, it hurts. "what i meant was that i didn't trust myself, or my mental health, not to hurt you, you know? exhibit a," he shrugs his shoulders, hoping she would understand. "imagine how shitty i would've made you feel if we kept in touch while i was dealing with all of that. i didn't trust myself enough to be an adult and not lash out at you if i was feeling particularly stressed or depressed one day. i never, ever," he emphasizes the word and holds her hand tightly so she can feel how sorry he is, "meant to hurt you. i never meant to make you feel like i wanted to, i don't know, fuck someone else because my dick thinks on its own. i didn't, alright? i didn't fuck anyone else. i need you to believe me, sal. please." leon makes a bold decision and runs his hand up to cup her face. "and i honestly didn't think she would've died so soon. i've heard stories about people with alzheimer that live on for more than five, ten years. and i didn't want you to feel trapped in that. you don't deserve that." his voice shakes, he needs her to know where he's coming from and how sorry he is. "i really do apologize. it's no excuse but i guess the fear of you leaving me because i turned into such a stranger, a cruel one, would be too much. maybe it's one of those rip-the-bandaid things before you'd do it for me. i guess i would've rather hurt you first so you didn't have to put with my shit. i know it's not... it's not fair and it maybe doesn't make much sense to you right now, but sal," he looks into her eyes and grazes the pad of his thumbs along her cheekbones. so fucking pretty. "i swear you would've hated my guts. i wasn't my best self. i'm only my best self, or i try to be, when i'm with you." leon falls silent for a few seconds. "i'm sorry i didn't trust myself enough to do it alone. i love you. i understand if you don't wanna see me again. i just needed you to know everything"

"yeah, you are an asshole actually." salem replied, only half serious. she looked down at their hands as he grabbed hers and listened to him speak. his reasoning made sense, sort of...but she knew how bad his mental health could get and had seem him through bad times in the past. she couldn't really understand why this time would be any different. "well you hurt me anyways so..." her voice trailing off for a moment before continuing. "we've been through so much. i know you believe that you were sparing me a lot of pain by ending things but you did the opposite. i felt like shit about myself when you left me and i was in a really horrible place. i guess i just figured after everything we'd been through we truly could get through anything. i would have seen it through with everything you dealt with but you really didn't give us a chance to at least try." she started getting emotional as she spoke, there was so much hurt coming to the surface from the past couple of months. could she really just forget about all of that and move forward with him? salem was a little surprised when he said he hadn't slept with anyone else while they were apart --unfortunately she couldn't say the same but that was another conversation for another time. "i believe you when you say that." her eyes met his when he cupped her face in his hands. leon looked so defeated from it all it broke her heart. if anything she was more upset that he didn't let her be there for him. "that wasn't your decision to make for me though. i get you didn't want me to feel trapped or whatever but it wasn't fair of you to decide that for me. i would have stuck around, we could have worked it out somehow." letting out a sigh she pulled back as his thumbs grazed her cheek. she missed him terribly and felt way too vulnerable in this moment to his affection. "I love you and i'm sorry you were having such a hard time, i really am but...." her nerves starting to get the best of her. "i'm just tired of breaking up and i really need to think about things. we're gonna go through plenty other hard times and we'll be apart for long periods of time with the both of us being musicians and i wanna feel secure with you but i don't right now."

leon lets her talk, even if it breaks his heart. she's so right about everything, but he genuinely thought this was a good idea at the time. the man nods, twisting his lips, anxious as every word that leaves salem's mouth stab him in the chest. he feels so dumb. such a fucking idiot for thinking he knew what was best for the relationship without taking her into consideration. such an asshole. again. he knows he still has to grow up, but things take time. therapy takes time. he wishes he could fast-forward to the time of his life when he's happy with his girl. with a sigh, leon shakes his head almost imperceptibly before gathering the courage to be a good person to salem. "yeah, okay," the blond leads her to the couch to sit down. "i know i told you my grandma has alzheimer. and i knew i had to go back home to take care of her and mostly my mother, she and my grandma never had a healthy relationship, you know? she could be such a bitch to my mom, to be honest." sometimes context is needed to tell the whole story. some details are so damn personal that he hesitates to share them. but he does. "and well, you know how it is with my mom. i'd feel upset and she would yell at me. she wouldn't validate my feelings, at all. and everything started going smoothly between us when i moved out. i was so fucking afraid of what i could become going back there. i obviously didn't want to bring you because i didn't want you to freak out. so i flew back to seattle, my grandma was yelling all day and eating things she shouldn't because she also has diabetes, you know. so i had to keep an eye on her, and also on my mom because she was drinking a lot. like, almost two bottles of espumante every night." the words slide out of his tongue and his heart is beating faster and he's scared to keep going. but he does. "i really didn't want to put you through that. because of course i got depressed too. it was just a really toxic dynamic back there. and i really really didn't want to bring you into it."

salem followed leon over to the couch and sat down with him. her nerves were getting the best of her, not being sure what he was going to say or what his reasoning was for leaving her the way he did gave her a bit of anxiety. she decided to let him speak first and state his reasons ( or excuses ) and she'd vent after the fact to him about what was on her mind. as he told her the story about what was going on with his family she nodded and listened, salem was always empathetic and understanding of the situation he'd been dealing with for a while. the details about everything broke her heart and knowing he was dealing with that much back home made her feel a little guilty about being so angry at him but there was still something that was bothering her. "i'm really sorry you had to deal with all of that alone and you had so much on your plate...." salem let out a sigh before continuing on. "...but like the issue wasn't about you leaving and me not coming with you. the issue was you not wanting to be long distance with me. i mean, you said you couldn't do it and you know i was so understanding about you having to go back home but like you said you didn't trust yourself? i need to know what you meant by that part. if it wasn't about you potentially cheating on me then what was it about?" the question had been eating at her for a couple weeks and truthfully it sounded like complete bullshit to her but she knew given their history the least she could do is give him the benefit of the doubt.

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