live one day at a time

she pulled another handful of cereal out of the box, and his question was easy enough to answer. “jem castelo?” she offered, before popping more cereal into her mouth. “we’re friends.” and they were. friends who sometimes saw each other naked, but. friends nonetheless. there was no complicated anything there. “he was helping me out with homework last night.”

he was focused on the food that he was preparing and was grateful that he wasn’t facing the girl, because her statement caused him to pause slightly before recovering, “that was nice of him,” he paused slightly turning back to the girl, “you got it situated then?” he finished up with the question not really sure what else to say.

“my worst habit would probably be prioritizing school over my own well being, i will literally be half dead, and still be doing homework so that i can graduate on time.”

“i mean… i have a hard time picking something to change, because i wouldn’t be the person i am today, if anything was different in my life.”

“i mean it was probably the same as everyone’s first time, awkward, weird, and over too fast.”

“my most recent text says, ‘¿has decidido cuándo vas a venir a ver a lana y a mí?’”

selena had a drink, then one drink led to another, and now, she was full on drunk, but she knew how to control herself. she wouldn’t be european if she didn’t. the guy said one dance, and she normally would decline, but she was so out of the loop, she decided that a single dance wouldn’t hurt anyone. it wasn’t until the guy was coming too close, whispering rude things in her ear, that she drew a line. “not interested.” she says simply, trying to walk away, but he grabs onto her wrist and literally drags her back to him, and now she’s fully freaking out, flashbacks returning to her for a moment as she tries getting out his grasp. “ey, sueltame!” she’s struggling to get out of his grip, but this guy is strong, and clearly won’t take no for an answer. “te dije que me sueltes imbecil!” she’s panicking now, it’s obvious, as she’s using her native tongue instead of speaking in english, but she’s weak and he’s twice her size, and now? she has no idea how she’s getting out of this.

valentino had been making his rounds, just making sure that everything was okay. normally he wouldn’t be so worried about it, but tonight there were so many people that he didn’t know in his house, and it made him uneasy, not knowing what could happen. his eyes were scanning over the crowd when he heard it, the voice sounding panicked. his eyes quickly finding the source of the struggle he made his way over to the girl and the guy who seemed to be not taking no for an answer. putting himself between the girl and the guy he began to speak, “dude, back the fuck up, she said to let her go,” he didn’t tolerate men forcing themselves on women. he watched as the guy grumbled and let go of the girl. taking a mental note of the guy so that he could keep an eye out for him, before turning to the girl, “¿estás bien?” he asked switching to spanish hoping to be able to help the girl.

jem was trying to be nice— he really was. that was saying something. he can’t stop the awkwardness from setting in, though. this was just too weird. he almost regrets keeping the conversation going. “barcelona’s dope.” he comments, words accompanied with a small shrug, “well, i’m from laguna beach which is… not too far from here.” he tilts his head to the side, “i want to do pharmaceutical— really, just medical— research and work on finding new cures or vaccinations for viruses and diseases.” he pauses again, “and i’m an only child too. spent most of my life by myself.” he laughs.

tino hated this, not knowing why he decided to keep up their conversation, it was damn near unbearable. he nodded in response to jem’s statements, not really know what other way to respond. he didn’t know much about california, he didn’t know much about science, and he didn’t want to elaborate on his family, “noble.. wanting to help people is very noble,” is what he came up with, and almost immediately wanted to hit himself. he didn’t understand why it was so hard to talk to the other, because while he may be reserved, he usually can hold a conversation with just about anyone-- except jem apparently. 

     she looked back into his eyes with a smile, needy for him. “y yo a ti, mi amor.” lana replied, kicking away her underwear as he slid it down her legs. the blonde closed her eyes as he kissed her, moaning into the kiss as he entered her. lana pulled him closer, her nails digging into his back softly. it wasn’t just the physical aspect of sex that made her feel good, it was the intimacy and the love that flowed between them that added something that she couldn’t quite put into words but it certainly made it all more pleasurable, and it was something that she hadn’t experienced with anyone else – and she didn’t think she would. once he had fully entered her and she’d adjusted, her hips bucked upwards, urging for him to move.

     she put her arms around him tightly, smiling blissfully. “y tu vas a ser el mejor papá del mundo.” lana said, smiling at him. and then her smile faded. she looked up at him. “yes. but i don’t know how and i’m so scared of how he’ll react.” she said, and pulled away from the hug to sit down on his bed. “i’m excited about this, and i love the kid already, but i am really scared of how he’s gonna deal with it, and you, and if i’m going to tell the baby and just.. what i’m going to do about this, in general.” she said, sniffing and wiping her tears away. “i don’t want to lose you because of this mess, and i don’t want to take you for granted with all of this and i just… i don’t know how to do this.”

he ran his hand through lana’s hair, before sitting down next to her, “he can react however, it doesn’t matter,” he paused and grabbed her hand and looking her in her eyes, “don’t let him ruin your happiness, this is our kid-- i don’t care if remy is the biological father, this is our kid,” he paused with a sad smile at her, “lana, princesa, there is nothing you could do that would cause you to lose me, okay?” he spoke, wiping her tears away, he continued to speak “vamos a averiguarlo juntos, somos un equipo ¿recuerdas?” 

jem thought that was the end of the conversation, but alas, he was wrong. oddly enough, he didn’t mind the fact that tino kept speaking. he draws his gaze back to meet the other’s, nodding his head slightly. “yea, a lil’ bit.” he pauses, biting the inside of his cheek before continuing, “— so tell me about yourself, then.” cringe. way to be smooth, jem. “where are you from, what are your aspirations in life… shit like that.” 

tino didn’t know why he started this conversation, he felt a wave of uncomfortable energy pass over him, “um-- i okay.. i’m from barcelona, and i guess i’m just working towards taking over my family’s business,” he paused thinking about what he could say about his family that wouldn’t garner more questions, “and i’m an only child,” he said with a shrug, not really knowing how to finish, “what about you?”

      lana nodded happily, beginning to tear up herself. “sí. we’re gonna have a baby, mi amor.” she replied in a soft voice, a few tears falling down her face. she put her hands on either side of his head, guiding him gently to the place in her body where their baby was growing. “todavía no me sé la ciencia de sus oídos, pero seguro que sí te escucha.” lana said softly, stroking his hair while he had his forehead rested against her. “no tienes idea de lo feliz que me siento, mi amor.”

he stood back up and kissed her gently, and pulling her into a hug, “vas a ser una madre increíble,” he said before pressing another kiss to her temple. while they were hugging he realized that she said she was almost four weeks, and that they had just started having sex again, “are you going to tell remy?” he asked pulling away slightly to look in her eyes.