eli st. james

“you don’t have to act all nice.” lj told eli, “i hate that fake shit, and i bet you were pissed when i started seeing dylan.” it’s not like it was really lj’s place to say, because in truth, she didn’t know. but she did like to think she did know eli, and that wasn’t a completely outrageous guess. “atta girl, richie.” lj teasingly cooed as eli took a drag from her cig. it was a starch contrast to how she had butted heads against the notion eli could be completely nice about her and dylan. maybe it was wrong of lj, but there was a tiny part of her, tucked above her stomach and against her ribs that wished eli still cared, even just a little bit. “and i didn’t have a fuckin’ crush on her…psycho…” lj exhaled, and shook her head. if they were being honest, she might as well say, “i was crazy about you.” 

🚬

Eli let out one terse ‘ha!’ at LJ’s assumption that she’d been pissed when she started seeing Dylan and immediately crossed her arms, nodding vaguely and tilting her chin up so she could stare at the sky. “Yeah,” she sighed out after a brief silence, “I guess I kind of was.” An understatement. Eli rolled her eyes playfully at LJ’s reaction to her smoking but once she’d taken her first drag, she was quick to go back for more. “Shut up,” she warned, though her smirk betrayed her as she passed the cigarette back. Eli wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting by ambushing LJ and bringing up Dylan, but hearing LJ say she was crazy about her, even if it was in the past tense, still made Eli’s heart beat so fast she thought it might stop. She let out a quiet ‘hm,’ at LJ’s honest answer and then turned to look at her again, holding her gaze. “I’m glad I saw you out here,” Eli admitted, reaching for the cigarette. She took a long drag as she stared at LJ, only breaking their eye contact to blow the smoke away from her face. “Don’t tell my sister or Zoe this because they’ll kill me,” she started with a laugh, turning to stare again, “but I do miss you.” Quickly realizing, “not like that. I mean...we were friends first, right? I miss that.” She let out a sigh and brought the cigarette to her lips a final time before passing it back, but not without letting her fingers gently graze LJ’s, “I’d like to be your friend again,” she revealed honestly, “Lennon.” 

lj had half the heart to laugh at eli’s comment about a million years ago when she’d decked her with a dodgeball, “yeah right, this is an entirely different situation.” she insisted. “mine was an accident, this was a deliberate….hatecrime? i don’t know.” lj joked, shaking her head. even if there was love lost between the two, talking with eli was still easy. like breathing or blinking. second nature. caving, lj hefted out a sigh and agreed, “now we’re even.” looking at eli’s intense stare brought lj some pretty intense butterflies. swallowing her guilt, she extended the hand with her cigarette, “sure you don’t want a drag, richie?” shaking it in front of her face, she teased in a more light hearted manner, “a lil puff won’t kill you!” the banter ceased when eli asked about dylan though, and a lump formed in her throat, “good uh…yeah she’s really good. sad she couldn’t be here and shit.”

🚬

“Definitely not a hate crime,” Eli countered, shaking her head with certainty as she looked at LJ from the corner of her eye, “Zoe’s best friend is gay.” The light bantering elicited a breathy chuckle from the brunette as she dropped her gaze down to her hands and smiled. Of course this was easy. Of course. When LJ reached over and offered Eli her cigarette, she dramatically averted it by physically backing away. “Get that thing away from me,” she demanded with a playful grimace, wrapping her hand around LJ’s wrist and gently shoving it away. “Didn’t you see I’m a model now,” Eli flexed as she uncharacteristically tossed her hair over her shoulder, “I have to preserve my youth and shit. That won’t do me any favors.” Eli hadn’t smoked in a couple of months and she wasn’t planning on fucking up her progress just to share a moment with LJ. However, bringing up Dylan had been a choice, and now that LJ was actually answering her question, she needed something to relieve the tension. “That’s cool,” she replied as she cleared her throat and immediately reached for LJ’s wrist again, taking a drag from the cigarette that was dangling between her fingers. “Fuck it,” she said as she blew out the smoke, stealing a glance at LJ before staring at the tennis courts again, “you so had a crush on her when we were together.” Eli sent a smirk in LJ’s direction to show she was kidding, even though deep down she kind of wasn’t, “I’m glad it worked out.”  

“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.

🚬

Eli thought about pointing out to Candy that she and Ivy had graduated high school a full year ago, but opted against it. Something told her it would fall on deaf ears anyway. As the two girls exited the bar and began trekking to Eli’s apartment, Eli also refused to dignify Candy’s assertion that LJ had ‘done a number’ on her with a response. She wasn’t trying to have a drunk heart to heart with Candy. In fact, she was hoping there would be no talking at all. With Candy’s arm looped through hers, Eli was happy to walk quietly, but then Candy just had to bring up Zoe. “Ew,” Eli groaned, shaking herself out of Candy’s grip and staring at her in disbelief, “it’s like you’re trying to turn me off.” With a huff, Eli grabbed Candy’s wrist and essentially dragged her towards the front door of her building one block ahead. It didn’t take long for Eli to take her key off her necklace and let them in. Once they were inside, she didn’t waste any time getting down to business. Her night with Candy was purely transactional. There were no feelings, no attachments, and once they were finished, Eli had half a mind to fully kick Candy out of her apartment. But then, remembering that this was Ivy’s friend and not a total stranger, she decided against it. Plus...she’d had enjoyed herself enough that she was open to the idea of making this a two...maybe three time thing. 

For all of his life, Joey had tried not to be sad about anything – it would take a lot to make him sad and for the most part, he always looked at life from an optimistic perspective. It usually annoyed people that he was always happy and cheerful most of the times – but this time he couldn’t be happy. Joey missed Angel already and they had broken up not that long ago, so of course this was going to be hard on him. As he heard Eli talk, Joey had to be grateful to have good friends in his life – even more so friends like Eli, who Joey had grown up with and was pretty much like an older sister to him. “But if they aren’t right for us, then why do we love them so bad? Because I know I still love Angel… And I know that Theo and Zoe still love each other a little, even though they’re angry at each other. And you can’t tell me that you don’t really care for LJ after you guys dated for so long… I guess things were easier when we were all back in high school.” Joey said with a small sigh, shaking his head as he looked at Eli – he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that he had broken up with Angel, but it had happened and Joey had to learn how to live with it. Turning his head to look at Eli, Joey let out a sigh as he nodded his head slowly – he just wanted everything to go back to normal at that moment. “I’m sorry I barged in here… I really didn’t know where else to go. Julien and Ivy were busy and I really don’t have Angel’s place to go anymore… So this was the only place where I could go. I can leave if you want, I saw a cat by the subway and I kind of want to see him again.”

🚬

When Joey posed his question, Eli dropped her gaze and pensively rubbed her lips together. Why did they love people that weren’t right for them? The question had her stumped...especially when Joey mentioned that Eli still cared about LJ. She wouldn’t say it out loud, but deep down she knew it was true. “I don’t know,” she admitted with a shrug, finally looking up at him again, “life is just like that sometimes. I think it’s like...I don’t know...trying to teach us lessons or whatever.” She rolled her eyes at how cliche she sounded, but unfortunately, that was all the advice she had to give. Well, that and: “I’m going to tell you what I always tell Ivy,” Eli started with a shrug as she leaned forward, “but you have to protect your heart. I know you still love him, but now you just have to focus on feeling better and not getting hurt.” Okay, now she was done. As Joey began to apologize, Eli shook her head and quickly cut him off. “Don’t apologize,” she said, a bit tersely, “it’s fine. Just like, warn me next time or something.” As much as Eli didn’t consider herself a super warm person or necessarily good at comforting, she had years of practice as Ivy’s big sister. “You can just sit,” she told him as she got up and made her way to her room to quickly slip into some sweats and a hoodie. Once she came back out, she went straight to the kitchen. Putting the kettle on the stove to make herself and Joey some tea, Eli simultaneously turned on the TV. She was whipping out all the tricks she’d learned in the St. James home and hopefully, after watching Mamma Mia one and two, Joey would feel a little better.

keeping her gaze level with a line on the tennis court, lj nodded and gave eli an “uh huh.” taking a drag of her cigarette, she reminded, “what was it you said to me in the groupchat? hm…fuck…oh yeah…go back to ignoring my existence.” upon using eli’s words against her, lj turned her head and stared at eli. “you’re being kind of unclear.” she explained, smiling wryly as she clicked off her phone, and set it down besides her. looking at eli, this close, under these circumstances weren’t great. she looked fantastic. fuck her. as much as she liked to think she was beyond being wounded by the break up, it turned out burying her pain by jumping into another relationship hadn’t served her too well. electing not to answer eli’s question, lj took another puff of her cigarette, then shook her head, “hey for the record, your bestie hit me first. she seems fine by the looks of it, soo….get over it i guess.” hypocritical words coming from one lj holliday! no surprise there. i don’t get you. again, lj found herself correcting eli, “yes you do.”

🚬

There were few things Eli hated more than having her own words used against her. The second LJ brought up what she’d said in the group chat and decided to make eye contact, Eli scoffed, crossed her arms and legs, and faced forward, glaring at the tennis courts like the nets had dared to cross her. She kept her mouth shut and her line of sight straight ahead as LJ stared at her and continued to answer her questions with a taunting tone like an asshole. It wasn’t until she heard LJ say ‘yes you do’ that she turned her head to look at her again. “Yeah,” she nodded, “I do.” After taking a deep breath and habitually rolling her eyes, Eli shifted her gaze to the cigarette in LJ’s hand and then back to the cut on her nose. “You know this was just pay back for when you threw a dodgeball at my face, right?” she asserted, looking away from LJ to try and hide her growing smirk, “now we’re even.” The next time Eli turned her head to look at LJ, her featured softened. She wasn’t glaring anymore, just...staring. Eli rubbed her lips together and focused on LJ’s cigarette when she brazenly asked, “how’s Dylan?”

lj had never been huge into wearing make up. she thought it was pretty, and entirely admired girls who were incredible at it, but her skills were limited, and it seemed every time she did a full face she broke out worse than a thirteen year old. thanks to the daughter of the bride though, lj had to do her best to cover up some irritation following their tussle last night. it definitely wasn’t her proudest moment, but what was it that the guy who got his ass kicked in dazed and confused said? when people read about hemingway no one ever talks about who won, just that he got in a brawl? yeah, some shit like that. still, spending an entire reception around her ex and city girl barbie wasn’t a favorite past time. in fact, those three and weddings were beginning to build up a track record of not mixing well. 

she wished dylan was around. or like, anyone she got along with.  eventually it got to be too grating, and lj slipped out onto the tennis courts to chain smoke her night away. the country club had been kind enough to provide her the seating of a golf cart while she flicked her ash all over their court and shitty music thumped in the background. it was her own pace though, and weirdly relaxing to be alone and able to breathe again. that was until she heard footsteps approaching and eli’s voice judging her. snapping back quickly, lj replied, “well…fuckin’…go away then if you don’t like it.” pulling out her phone, she refused to look at the brunette and put all of her focus into her twitter feed. annoyed to feel eli’s stare still on her, she asked, “do you need something?” 

🚬

Eli kept her eyes fixed on LJ, despite her ex-girlfriend’s refusal to look at her. They hadn’t seen each other in person in nearly two years and there were a lot of differences for Eli to study...like the bridge piercing on her nose and her short hair and the make-up that was doing a poor job of covering up a bruise the size of Zoe’s fist on her cheek. Just to name a few. LJ’s response to her dig wasn’t surprising, but it had Eli rolling her eyes regardless. For a while they just sat there. Eli’s eyes boring into LJ while LJ stared at twitter. When she finally broke the silence with a question, Eli scoffed. “Are you really not even going to look at me?” she asked with a glare. 

Eli hadn’t come over to start a fight, but the alcohol in her system paired with LJ’s attitude was a surefire way to start an argument. “What did I even do to you, LJ?” Eli asked bluntly as she crossed her arms over her chest protectively, “like...calling me out in public group chats? Hitting my best friend?” Eli sat back and stared out at the tennis courts with a dry scoff. “I don’t get you.” 

Joey hadn’t even realized that Eli had been prepared to attack him for getting in the apartment like that – it was true, Eli had warned him several times that the key was for emergencies only, but it did seem like this was a better time than ever to use that key. He had no elsewhere to go and he sure wasn’t going to his brother’s apartment, mostly because he thought it was haunted. As Eli started asking questions about what had happened, Joey shook his head slowly as he tried to think about what had just happened with his relationship – it seemed like everything was going perfect with Angel and him, and the next thing he knew, they were broken up and Angel had left for LA – how did that happen? As he sat up on the couch and grabbed a pillow and held it close to his chest as he looked over at Eli. “I really don’t know what happened… I feel really sad. And I had nowhere else to go.” Joey said with a small sigh, before shaking his head slowly. “I don’t know if he’s coming back, but we talked about it and he just left, you know? We thought it would be for the best if we broke up. I just want him to be happy doing whatever he wants to. But it still hurts.” Joey said with a shrug, before lying down back on the couch – it felt like he had cried all he had to cry when he was by himself, plus he didn’t want to cry in front of Eli. “I really thought we loved each other, but I guess what they say about high school relationships isn’t true, right? What if he doesn’t come back?” He asked, looking over at Eli with a small pout on his lips.

🚬

Eli had to hold her towel in place to make sure Joey didn’t get any indecent glimpses of her, but she managed. She stared at him blankly as he talked and gave him room to vent as needed. She’d never seen him quite this sad. Not since they were kids, anyway. “I’m sorry you’re sad,” she said quietly, offering him a sympathetic smile and a sigh. Eli was the farthest thing from a relationship expert, but it was clear from Joey’s questions that he was looking for guidance and advice. “Look, Jojo,” she started, rubbing her lips together as she picked at a loose thread from her towel, “I don’t really have any wise words for you, okay? I’m sorry.” She glanced up at him once he sat up and shrugged. “All I know is this,” she said, briefly hopping on her soap box to deliver the only sound council she had, “sometimes the people we love aren’t right for us. Like...circumstances have to be so perfect for relationships to work out. Look at Theo and Zoe or me and LJ or even like...” a shudder, “Ivy and Leo.” Eli got up from her sofa and made her way over to the couch to sit next to Joey. “If you guys are right for each other then he’ll come back and beg for your forgiveness and then you can decide if that’s worth it or not. And if he doesn’t come back?” A pause. “Fuck him. Seriously.” 

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.

🚬

“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?” 

if  one  were  to  question  phoenix  on  her  daily  coffee  habits,  she  would  probably  roll  her  eyes  and  laugh  in  response.  it  wasn’t  exactly  a  secret  that  the  young  woman  loved  caffeine.  in  moderation,  of  course.  and  although  coffee  shops  graced  almost  every  corner  in  nyc,  the  one  gaining  her  patronage  currently  was  up  there  as  one  of  her  favorites.  after  hanging  around  to  wait  for  her  order,  it  was  more  a  ‘grab-n-go’  situation  than  sit  and  relax,  while  sipping  on  the  hot  liquid.  however  that  just  wasn’t  meant  to  be,  and  the  sight  of  such  a  familiar  face  caught  her  off  guard.  ❝  holy  f-  ❞  she  barely  even  got  the  opportunity  to  finish  her  own  shocked  sentence,  which  was  chalked  up  to  eli  insisting  she  take  the  seat  so  effervescently  pushed  out  before  her.  it  had  been  a  while  and  still,  she  hadn’t  changed.  ❝  it’s  been  god  knows  how  long  and  you  just  want  to  ‘chill’  ?  ❞  a  quirked  eyebrow  paired  with  a  shake  of  her  head.  amused.  ❝  you  know  how  life  is.  ❞  a  small  smile.  ❝  what  about  you  ?  ❞

🚬

Eli had purposefully acted nonchalant. She had to cover her bases in case the person she was currently beckoning over wasn’t actually the childhood friend she hadn’t seen since her family packed their bags and hightailed it out of the city. “Dude,” Eli started, now a little more eager, “I thought it was you but I wasn’t sure. What the fuck are the odds?” Not big on hugging, Eli instead reached over and gave Phoenix’s forearm a gentle squeeze once she was situated. “I hate to say this, but thank God for insta otherwise I probably wouldn’t have recognized you,” she admitted with a quiet laugh. “I like this,” this being the nose ring Eli was shamelessly pointing at, “it suits you.” Phoenix’s vague answer about life left Eli smirking, but she’d prod some more later. “Life is life,” she agreed with a shrug, “I’m at NYU studying business which...is boring. But practical or whatever.” A pause followed by a sigh, and then, “I’m guessing you still live here in the city. Are you going to school or anything?” 

WHO: @ljholliday​ & eli st. james WHERE: quinn & brock’s wedding @ the lima country club  WHEN: saturday, 4/24, night

The intrusive thoughts about Lennon Holliday had started sometime around when Theo and Zoe had broken up and they had not stopped since. Eli swore up and down that she no longer had feelings for her high school girlfriend because, well, she didn’t. They hadn’t even dated for that long and LJ had been quick to move on. They were over. Ancient history. LJ was a total thing of the past...and yet.

Come Quinn’s wedding, Eli picked LJ out from the massive crowd of people almost instantly. Naturally, the sight of the girl made her blood boil. How dare LJ show up to her best friend’s mom’s wedding? It felt like a personal attack. Especially after the stunt LJ had pulled by specifically calling Eli out as not invited to whatever lame party she had had the night before. As the night progressed, she couldn’t decide what she wanted to do more: throw a drink in her face or...talk to her. Ugh, fuck. This was hell. Eli kept herself busy throughout the night, mingling with people she hadn’t seen in forever and stealing drinks off of tables at every chance she got. Even though she was phased by LJ’s presence, she wasn’t going to let the blonde know that. 

Eli was decently tipsy and sick of the dance floor when she decided she needed some fresh air. Wandering out of the country club, she began her trek towards the tennis courts where she’d spent a lot of time growing up. On her way over, she clocked a familiar figure sitting in a golf cart with a cigarette in hand. Of fucking course. Before Eli’s mind could reason with her impulse, she was marching towards the passenger’s side of the cart and sliding in. She stole a glance at LJ and before focusing on the cig and deadpanning, “you smell like shit ‘cause of that thing.” 

TRACE: i am in disbelief that ur lame like this now.

TRACE: i was just thinking us??? idk what kk's doin but maybe he'll be around the apartment.

ELI: i know someone who works at the literal hard rock cafe isn't calling me lame

ELI: bitch

TRACE: sorry u needed to hear it

TRACE: kinda

TRACE: did u do a dare pledge🤩

TRACE: happily, bitch.

TRACE: when can i expect u

ELI: stfu

ELI: i have class until 5:45 but i can be over after

ELI: buy edibles

TRACE: ur a nun, and lame, and sound like ur sister.

TRACE: be hot enough so they don't drug test u. idc! figure it out!

TRACE: we're gonna hang.

ELI: ltrly how dare u

ELI: god what the fuck am i losing my edge ??

ELI: fine

TRACE: time to stop being a nun and have some fun with me for this national holiday.

TRACE: what are you doing tonight?

ELI: ew i'm not a nun !! some of us are trying to make money off being hot so we need to "be mindful" or whatever

ELI: no plans

“yeah, but mom like, went back to school, so does that really count?” ivy asked genuinely, then advised her sister seriously, “but you still should drop out. i’m being serious like, you’re one of those people who just doesn’t need it.” to ivy, it was simple. her sister was capable, sure, but they also had wealthy parents who could pretty much support them through whatever they wanted. so as far as ivy’s still developing “business brain” was concerned, eli should totally shoot for the modeling stuff. if she wasn’t convinced already though, eli getting in touch with charlie darling sealed the deal. her mouth dropped, “shut up eli, that’s literally like, so incredible.” she hit her sister on the arm from across the table, “are you joking? it’s definitely going to pan out! just be hot and confident, and you’ve got it. like, in the bag.” sipping on her smoothie again, ivy answered, “casey weston, she’s like, really good, seriously. haven’t you heard of her?” she asked, sounding almost offended her sister had forgotten. rather than get into it with her sister, ivy would redirect that irritated energy towards one lj holliday. ivy had always hated her. “all that matters is that she sucks, and i hope when you’re on the magazine cover of whatever sad grocery store she ends up working in, she like, cries.” she stood by her statement, but the look eli was giving her said enough. leave it. so she did. “okay listen, it’s like, not squatting. they pay me in their friendship and affection.” ivy explained, as if either of those things had any real value. “besides, i like, don’t need the money, so why would i charge them? would you charge them?”

🚬

Eli considered it...did it count? “Yeah,” she decided, “she still dropped out. So she couldn’t be mad at me for dropping out.” Anytime Ivy said something was a good idea, Eli had to really reconsider. The two disagreed on so much fundamentally that it was second nature for her to second guess her sister...but maybe she was making points about this. Luckily, she didn’t have to decide in that very moment. “We’ll see,” Eli said as she sipped her drink, casually making eye contact with some stranger who was staring at their table. Breaking her gaze away, she focused on Ivy again once she felt her gentle slap. “It’s pretty sick,” she said casually, not wanting to make a big deal out of something that hadn’t fully panned out yet, “but like I said...we’ll see what happens.” Eli let out a snort at Ivy’s indignant question. “Literally why would I know your agent’s name? I like...actively tune out showbiz talk.” The name was ringing a bell though. Casey Weston...Casey Weston. Hm. It didn’t really matter did it? As soon as the conversation shifted back to Eli’s love life or lack thereof, she found herself rolling her eyes. “I doubt she’ll cry,” she said with a bitter click of her tongue, “she’s so emotionally stunted she’s probably like...blocked me from her memory. Probably doesn’t even remember what I look like.” That was enough of that though. Hearing Ivy’s logic about roommates and friendship was enough to push LJ out of her mind. “Um...absolutely I would charge them. I don’t care how much I love someone, do not fuck with my bag,” she explained, like it was obvious. “I know we like...have money, Ivy. But you shouldn’t just like let people use you because of it. Do I think Julien Schuester is a gold digger? No, probably not, but still...you don’t want to get into the habit of letting people drain your bank account. And rent at your apartment is expensive, bitch! You should charge at least Candy if she’s like...fully living there.” A pause. “Plus, isn’t she rich? Like...why would you be the only one spending money?” 

Ever since she had gotten to New York, Candy had been going out most of the nights – she wasn’t sure how she would even end up at those parties, she would usually get drunk at Ace of Spades or Callbacks, and the next thing she knew, she was at someone’s house – which could be dangerous, but at the same time, she had fun either way. This time she had found herself standing in a penthouse and while most people would be impressed with those type of house, Candy just saw it like any other house in New York – it was times like these where she missed the Motta Mansion. As she was walking around the place, she heard her name being called – turning her head to see who it was and feeling someone grab her hand, she raised an eyebrow when she saw no other than Eli St. James sitting down on a couch. “Elizabeth! Funny seeing you here, I had no idea that you came to parties like these.” Candy said with a smile, and as the other got up, Candy started walking towards a different direction with the other by her side. “Sadly, Ivanka did not join me tonight, I think she was probably busy with Julien.” She said, as Eli explained what was going on and that the guy was flirting with her. “He was kind of cute though… But a total creep, you’re right.” Candy said, as she kept walking with Eli around the party, away from the couch where the other guy had stayed behind – hopefully the other wouldn’t follow them around, but she was hoping that they were safe for now. As Eli started asking about how she had gotten there, Candy shrugged her shoulders as she let out a small laugh. “I have no idea how I ended up here, but I know some people who know some people, who definitely knew the guy that I was flirting with at the bar earlier and I think that’s how I ended up here. Wait, what are you doing here?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at Eli, turning to look up at her.

🚬

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?”