i've seen this film before

nadia can't help the laugh that escapes at della's passionate breakdown as she glances back toward the unfortunate mascot. “hector the horse? see now that's marketable. i'd buy a little hector plushie. murray, though? murray's got the thousand-yard stare of someone who's seen too many children throw up after the spinning teacups. i don't trust him one bit.” following della's finger-pointed itinerary, nadia nods along as though she's listening to a polished business proposal. “okay, i'm hearin' you. western theme, horse mascot, structural integrity. honestly, you've got a stronger vision than whoever designed this place.”  she snorts, nudging della's arm. “though if you keep roasting the park this loudly, i'm pretty sure they're gonna escort us out before we even make it to the rides.” her gaze drifts toward one of the old wooden coasters, watching it rattle violently along the tracks. “okay, actually, you've got a point. why does that thing sound like it's held together by prayers and splinters? i kinda wanna ride it because it looks fun, but i also don't wanna end up on the six o'clock news.” a beat. “ screw it. let’s give it a go. what do you say?”

a scoff slips past her lips, shaking her head as she absentmindedly tears another piece from her pastry. "yeah, you're probably right. i guess i just hate admitting people can actually be that shitty." shoulders shrug before she waves the thought away. "not my circus though. thank god." a laugh escapes at aria's reaction to the babysitting . "yes, an actual child. two years old. definitely makes bartending drunks feel easier some days." admiration flickering across her face as aria speaks about work. "you're insane, you know that ? i mean in the nicest way possible. i don't think i've ever met someone who willingly signs themselves up to live in an office for months. but i get it. you love what you do." she smiles. "where're you thinking of going this winter? somewhere warm , i hope. you've earned it." the offer catches her off guard. a genuine, grateful smile spreads across her face. "that's actually really sweet of you. thank you." fingertips curl around her cup as she thinks it over. "i won't lie , answering emails sounds a hell of a lot less sticky than getting applesauce thrown at me or cutting off drunk regulars. i'd be interested if you're serious. worst case? you fire me after a week because i accidentally send someone's horoscope to the printer or something.”

            harley's   entire   face   lit   up   the   second   he   spotted   nadia.   it   wasn't   subtle,   either.   the   lazy   grin   he'd   been   wearing   all   afternoon   softened   into   something   warmer   before   he   could   stop   it.   if   anyone   had   been   paying   close   enough   attention,   they'd   have   caught   it   immediately.   thankfully,   harley   had   built   a   reputation   on   smiling   at   everyone.   "   hey,   pretty   girl,   "   he   greeted,   the   words   slipping   out   as   naturally   as   breathing.   whether   he   meant   nadia   or   the   toddler   was   left   intentionally   ambiguous.   he   propped   himself   up   on   his   elbows   atop   the   picnic   table,   watching   as   beau   jr.   carefully   climbed   from   his   hand   onto   hers.   despite   all   his   jokes,   there   was   genuine   care   in   the   way   he   followed   the   little   gecko's   every   step,   making   sure   his   tiny   claws   found   steady   footing.   "   first   off,   "   harley   said,   feigning   offense,   “   he's   a   leopard   gecko.   geico's   his   corporate   cousin.   ”   his   eyes   flicked   back   to   nadia,   a   crooked   smile   tugging   at   the   corner   of   his   mouth.   "   and   second...   beau   found   out   about   five   minutes   after   i   named   him.   "   a   laugh   escaped   him.   "   i   don't   think   he's   forgiven   me,   which   honestly   just   tells   me   i   made   the   right   call.   "

the blush slowly crept up onto her cheeks as she bit her lip and looked down at her feet for a second. if there was one person that she felt like she could be around at all times and not get sick of, it would be harley. she looked back up at him at the same moment his compliment slipped out and he was sitting up on his elbows. “you trying to get into my bed tonight or what?” she teased, but really she wouldn’t have minded if he did find his way to her house. when the gecko was on her, she made sure to be extra careful as she didn’t want to hurt this innocent creature even if he did kind of freak her out a little bit. his feign offense caused a chuckle, putting her free hand up in the air. “literally same thing, but we’ll pretend for your sake that it’s not.” she shakes her head, rolling her eyes playfully. “i mean would you forgive him if he named his pet harley jr? actually, don’t answer that. i feel like you’d think it’s pretty cool if he did.”

nadia laughed as the guy disappeared into the crowd, calling after him just loud enough to make sure he heard, "yeah, next time try losing with a little dignity." she turned back to callie, bumping her shoulder with a grin. "i appreciate your dedication to not catching an assault charge. your dad probably does too."

the hug caught nadia off guard, but she laughed anyway, wrapping an arm around bonnie's waist before dramatically squishing her cheeks right back. "oh, don't gas me up like that. i'm gonna start demanding people address me as her majesty." she let bonnie's face go with a grin, glancing over her shoulder toward the poor guy. "i was going to ask about his shoes," she defended, failing to hide the amusement in her voice. "then he mentioned he was looking for the limited edition one, and I saw my opening. next thing I knew I was giving that man an existential crisis over the economics of collectible toys."

 ›     𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬   :    open.                  𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛   :    bbq  cookoff   @   willow   square.

nadia honestly didn't know how she ended up nannying for a side job but here she was at the bbq cook off with a two year old by her side. mila’s father was somewhere participating, so she was taking the little girl around to keep her occupied. she hadn’t been paying too much attention to the people around her, just trying to keep the little one entertained when she heard a shriek coming from the little girl. nadia’s attention quickly perked as the toddler pointed to the man laying on the picnic table. a smirk tugged at her lips as she followed the little girl over. “my, my, my what do we have here?” she picked the little girl up, setting her on her hip as she moved to stand next to harley. “only you would bring a geico to a bbq cook out with the ungodly name of beau jr. how pissed was your brother when he found out? or has he not found out yet?” she moved her hand to his, slowly allowing the creature to move onto her fingers where she brought it up to the little girl. “Isn’t he cool? he’s like that little dude in tangled that you like. do you think she could hold him or is he like gonna freak her out too much?”

⌗      𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗍𝖾𝗋      ,             brunch @ blue moon       . 

"i mean there may be other reasons, but i would have to agree that i think the rumors are true. who do you really think was the cheater?" nadia couldn't exactly disagree with what aria was saying. she, too, thought that it was pretty obvious that the allegations were true. she wasn't always one to gossip but ever since coming to willow glen, it was like there was so much going on that it was hard not to fall into the gossip bubble. she sometimes wondered what others were saying about her and her family behind her back and what rumors were floating around there. she really didn't want to know, but she would be a liar if she said that she didn't think about it. she took a sip of her coffee, leaning back against the chair. "so i've started nannying for the sinclair's during the day and i feel like there's something suspicious about them. i can't exactly put my finger on it, but it's like the vibes. do you know anything about them?" nadia shook her head, her finger tracing the rim of her coffee cup. "me? nothing much. bartending job is not bringing in as much money as i need so started nannying a few weeks ago. i feel like i don't have any time to do anything other than work, but you know how that goes. what about you? how is the life of aria going?"

⋆ ˚ ꩜ ｡      open   starter        ⋮        (   2   /   5   )        –      cedar   peaks   ,   midday

nadia let out a laugh, watching the poor mascot wobble another few steps before barely catching itself. “i think the thought process was probably ' what animal's big enough to slap on a billboard ? ' “ she mused, lips twitching. “and then nobody stopped them or were scared to say something because they’d probably get fired.” Her gaze lingered on the oversized antlers. “that ain't even a moose, that's a horse wearing a halloween costume. “ she shrugged, amusement still coloring her voice. “maybe they figured washington's got trees, moose like trees, and people like roller coasters. connect enough dots and eventually it starts making sense as long as you don't think about it too hard.” her lips pressed together as she looked back at her friend. “what would you do differently?”

open  starter.

nadia had only caught the tail end of the shouting before callie's wave reeled her in. her brows lifted as she took in the scene; the air hockey table, the cluster of giggling kids, and the guy looking like he'd just lost the championship instead of a five-minute game. “seriously?” she asked, looking him up and down before glancing at callie. “all this over air hockey?” she planted herself beside her friend, arms folding loosely across her chest. there wasn't much menace in her expression, just a tired sort of disbelief. “she beat you fair and square, didn't she? then take the loss and move on. everybody loses at something eventually.” nadia nodded toward the rest of the arcade. “there's, like a hundred other games in here if you're lookin' to win one. quit makin' a scene before the mascot comes over and has to break it up. ain't nobody wants that kinda embarrassment.” a grin tugged at the corner of her mouth as she looked back to callie. “c'mon. winner keeps the table, right? i wanna see if you're actually that good. the more you ignore him, the sooner he’ll leave. you okay, though?”

"girl, you already know i'd do a lot for you," she says with a smile, leaning more into her side as bonnie wraps her arm around her. she flipped her hair over her shoulder with a smirk. "tell me more reasons why i'm your favorite?" she let out a small chuckle before she moved to pull her top down slightly to accentuate her cleavage. "i mean i feel like most men are easy to distract given the right circumstances but being hot does have it's advantages." she ran her fingers through her hair and nodded to bonnie's suggestions to what to ask him about. she laughed at the excitement of her friend and found herself getting ready for this said operation pinkie pie. "okay, here we go." nadia put on her gloss, forcing the sultry smile on her face and headed over to the guy. she complimented his looks, let her hand rub his arm as she inched closer. she kept him occupied but she kept glancing over at bonnie. it wasn't long before the plan had worked and she waited for bonnie to get out of view before she blew the guy a kiss and headed to meet her friend. "i love being a flirt but some guys are just so hard to flirt with and he was one of them. anyways, did you get it?"

 ★   ˖   ⊹         𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛   𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑟.                               ↳     𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧    …     block   party,   tiny   sprouts   booth.

finding herself at the tiny sprouts booth once again, she was looking for something her sister had said she wanted. some kind of animal that she couldn't quite remember the name of, but she'd know it if she saw it on display. she was looking at the different boxes searching for this when she noticed a commotion a few spaces down from her. when she noticed it was bonnie, she kept a watch at the scene unfolding. she had moved closer to step in but then the man walked away and she shouted for him to stop. "oh no he doesn't. i don't know who he thinks he is but he is not going to get away with that," she says with a sterness in her voice. "i mean i've handled bigger guys than that at the bar so i think with you and me both we can take him. hell i'll even do it so you don't have to. we don't need a scandal on our hands." she turned to watch where the guy had gone before glancing back over at bonnie. "okay, look here's the plan. how about i flirt with him, bat my eyelashes a little bit, act like some lost girl that needs his help; fuckers like that always want to be the hero. and when he's distracted enough, you come in for the swoop and steal the box? i think it could really work. wanna give it a go?"

status   :   open for all ! location   :   later in the evening   —   the wet t - shirt contest !

“oh come on. you know i would have joined you up there but my sisters here and i am trying to stay on her good side so you had to do it.” the smirk on her face was hidden by her hands, but the amusement could be heard in her voice. “you know I think second place is better than first anyway,” she says as she lets her hand rest against his arm. “honestly? you’re too hot for your own good so getting in the gym would have only made it worse and then you for sure would have been like last place. they’d be too jealous to give you winner.” her hands folded against her chest. “you know you can take your shirt off and it’ll probably be less cold, just saying,” she says with a wink. “i might have something you can put on in my car if you wanna go take a look.”

"i can carry you over to the tables, " she offered, though she really didn't know if she was being serious or not. "you look very pretty with a pie baby. what are you gonna name her? or him?" she moved to reach into her backpack and handed mavis her small package of wipes. "i always carry these with me just in case anyone needs them, and this sounds like a perfect time for them to be used." she followed the others lead as she ran her fingers through her hair. "you were so close. i could have bet money that you would win, but there is always a next time. what makes you think that you won't be here next year for this?" shaking her head, she glanced to where the table was before looking back at mavis. "nothing cool or exciting. i think it was just a gift card or something so you definitely didn't miss out, " she offered. "what do you say we go get a drink?"

the smile on her face was contagious and he couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips. her offer for him to come view her apartment caused his brow to raise and his lips to press together. "you know i might just take you up on that offer. that could absolutely give me some ideas for my house. it hasn't been long since i've moved in and it doesn't feel like a home yet, you know?" he nods, looking toward the food trucks with a chuckle. "i think i've ate at most of the food trucks that are here, but not the burger one. if you don't mind me tagging along, we can find it. did you just come for the burgers?"

on his perusal through the booths, rooster had clocked the tarot table moments before mackenzie showed up and, in all honesty, was about to turn away until she spoke.

mackenzie was amused listening to him talk about what he thought about tarot reading. she couldn't say that her opinioned varied from his, considering she never thought that any of that was real. maybe she beleived in ghosts or like reincarnation but using cards to predict your future? doesn't seem very likely but she didn't see the harm in doing it. whatever money was spent would be raised for a good cause and she would get a kick out of it. and now she wanted him to do it with her so she could see what the cards said for his future.