𝖗𝖊𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖉 // 𝕘𝕠𝕕

ꕥ

“i  could  potentially  file  for  unfair  labor  if  they  decide  not  to  give  you  a  break ? ”  prim  joked  lightly.  she  didn’t  think  willow’s  boss  was  horrible.  in  fact,  quite  nice.  but  she  understood  the  comings  and  goings  of  services  like  this  on  a  special  holiday.  some  breaks  need  to  be  sacrificed.  she  looks  around,  side-stepping  just  a  smidge  when  a  man  barreled  straight  for  the  last  of  the  peonies.  “well,  at  least  he  knows  his  flowers.”  she  snickered  as  the  man  practically  rips  it  off  the  stand  before  heading  to  the  cashier.

“i  hate  to  have  to  bother  you.  but  i’m  here  to  find  flowers  for  my  mum.”  prim  replied  bashfully.  willow  seemed  to  have  a  lot  on  her  hands,  and  she  always  trusted  her  friend  to  suggest  the  best  flowers  for  her  mother.  “anything  that’s  left  in  the  store,  at  least.”  she  said  with  a  light  smile.  “and  then  maybe  we  can  get  you  out  of  here.  tell  your  boss  you  need  to  live  like  a  normal  human  and  take  a  break.”

* ⟢

prim was always so sweet to willow. that’s why they were such good friends. they shared so much kindness and their personalities were such a match. she let out a small laugh, “i think that’ll just make them more mad.. and me fired.” which wasn’t true the owners when around weren’t too bad. but she had wished deeply ara was here instead to help out. willow watched the man with wide eyes running for the flowers. it wasn’t a sigh unseen on a day like today but each time it was still shocking. “hopefully he didn’t get them mixed up.. or he’ll have one unhappy partner.” she replied.

۵

so his gut was right on this one, good because he’s been ashamed of saying or assuming the wrong things before, and he wouldn’t want to repeat that. Harley nodded and pressed his lips together for another smile. “Well, you’re an experience richer.” He always wanted to see the positive of things, especially introducing birds to other people who aren’t as willing in the first place. “Oh no, don’t worry! Some people even run away, you weren’t the most scaredy cat.” He looked at the budgie on his shoulder. “I hope you learned something today, that’s most important.”

* ⟢

zeke had been at the gym most of the day. he didn’t have anything except for classes and he was never in those either way. so, spending a day at the gym was good enough. he was admiring himself lifting in the mirror when caught the glimpse of someone behind him. zeke smirked to himself before turning to them, “you like what you see?” he asked, cocky as usual. 

  "Oh uh –” She felt stuck for a moment, not really expecting a thank you. A lot of things she did never seemed top notch or out of the ordinary, thank you was such an overly polite thing. “Don’t worry about it. People really should speak up more it’s totally lame there’s a ton of people around and not a single one could open their mouth.” Shrugging waving off the thanks.

   “What? Oh god no, no Eli –  it’s just a warning. They know who he is, everyone in the area does. Kind of the local crazy guy for the blocks.  Plus I’m not gonna waste the cops time.”

* ⟢

“yeah, you’d be surprised how many people just simply ignore things.” she sighed, willow was ignoring the man.. but not for the reasons many people ignore others. most of the time people just didn’t seem to want to leaned a hand.

ϟ

there’s a huff leaving Felip’s lips at Hadrian’s suggestion; he was kidding right? It’s not exactly a childhood memory he liked to recall. Especially since it’s been pretty rough for them. They  shared the good moments with each other, but it was hard at the same time.  “You’ve got to be kidding, right? I don’t want to be going back to that kind of life.” He was blatantly honest right now, which was quite uncommon for the head of Eagle News. However, his life doesn’t differ too much from the film scene; he’s frequenting television more than the movies he’s starred in. “Would you want to? Go back?”

* ⟢

* ✶

“ creepy tendencies. not a creep. there’s a difference. ” she corrected primly, though there was an ever so faint blush high on her cheekbones. she wasn’t going to be made to feel bad for speaking the truth, it was hardly her fault if hadrian was going to get his panties in a twist about it. “ you’re really going to sit here and tell me your tendency to lurk in doorways and only be seen during the cover of the night is totally normal behavior ? just an unfortunate family trait ? ” he had to know he came across as a little intimidating. she refused to believe he lacked that level of self awareness. 

eying him as he poured another glass, she tried her best to shrug and look flippant. “ and i suppose it is a silly highschool game, though if you weren’t interested in my life as well you could have just said so. ” that was how the game went, after all, wasn’t it ? you traded questions about each others lives in some awkwardly youthful attempt to get to know each other until eventually you got bored. she had hoped that his own curiosity might have been enough to bait him into revealing his secrets, but it seemed she had too high an opinion of her own intrigue. “ so, i suppose that leaves us at an impasse then. we stay equally as charming and mysterious as we were when we came in here ” 

* ⟢

“same difference.” hadrian replied, eyes rolling a bit. “i mean, it’s not like where i work is open during the day and i hardly think i lurk.. i just watch whats going on.. from a distance.” he totally lurked around. “it’s my place who cares if i lurk?” he huffed. she was something and so was he. so easily offended by little statements no matter the truth they hold. 

honestly he hadn’t ever really played twenty questions. so he didn’t even realize you both had to ask questions. “sure.” he replied shortly, thinking of how to possibly recover. “but that isn’t true. you interest me much more than anyone else here. i was unsure if you wanted to share.” he didn’t even know what to ask her without sounding so forward. the questions that always intrigued hadrian were the ones about their past or that seemed a bit intrusive. 

“how about you start? ask me something-- other than the vampire thing.” 

* ✶ ━

oh, minni was definitely second guessing her decision to come here. it wasn’t the cashier’s fault, but she just… didn’t really care about flowers that much. or colors, for that matter, so she shouldn’t have listened to her friends at all on this topic. but then ─ “you have black roses?” she asked, interest piqued. “white roses… makes me think of alice in wonderland. you know, painting the roses red.” her cheeks got red at that, too. how childish and embarrassing. “yeah, fuck what they said,” she grinned, looking over the girl’s shoulder. “i’m intrigued. dracula orchids?”

* ⟢

It wasn’t like they had any say in the venue choice, but she isn’t exactly mad about it. Board games had always been a way for Hana to expose a person’s personality and even though Hadrian isn’t putting on a facade ( which she appreciate because she had enough of fake people lately ) there was probably more that met the eyes. His next set of words had said as much. “No, I don’t know you but I have to admit my morbid curiosity to do so. Just like when I met Felipe.” She didn’t mean the name drop but Hana had always been the kind to say what’s on her mind. Sometimes she just forgot to turn the filter on. She hadn’t exactly said anything bad, but she did not want to come across as a giggling girl that becomes star struck.

It wasn’t like that at all.

Checking that all the pieces were in place, Hana picked the yellow piece and put it at the start and waited for him to do that same. When he gave her the green light to go first, the blonde raised a brow. Maybe he didn’t remember how to start the game, or play for that reason and she is inwardly amused by it. “Sure, gentleman and all…” She muttered more to herself but she is sure he had heard her. She is shaking the die in her hand before throwing it on the board. The piece landed on five, taking her all the way to the end of the first column, no snake or ladder but a solid throw. “Alright, do you need me to go over the rules or are you good?” There’s a smirk upon her features as she finished speaking, finger flicking the die gently his way.

* ⟢

at the mention of his older brother’s name his brow raised, trying to read her. of course some young girl had made acquaintance with his brother. felipe seemed to carry that trait on from their father. he waited a moment to speak. trying to read if it was worth a mention, but curiosity was peaking his interest at the moment. much more than a silly game ever could. 

“you know felipe?” he asked, simply. “of course you do.” he chuckled, “my brother has a habit of making himself known with pretty young things.”

❈

despite  her  humble  presence,  rosie  was  not  immune  to  the  power  money  brings.  at  least  the  kind  it  brings  to  her  clothing  choices.  and  while  she  dedicated  some  of  her  riches  to  good  causes,  she  has  a  tendency  to  overindulge  on  particular  days  or  two.  saturdays  were  those  days,  and  thankfully,  she  didn’t  have  to  feel  judged  for  it  when  she  does  it  with  a  very  dear  friend.

rosie  had  arrived  early,  as  per  her  habit.  the  store  attendants  were  already  used  to  rosie  and  stella’s  presence  in  the  weekends,  and  was  quick  to  accommodate  her  with  drinks,  a  private  room,  and  the  new  arrivals.  just  after  she  spoke  to  an  attendant  about  their  room  being  ready,  she  spots  her  friend.  “and  you  look  stunning  as  always,  stella.  a  style  truly  unmatched.”  she  beams,  accepting  stella’s  side  hug  with  affection.  “well,  they  have  the  room  ready.  and  i  hear  the  new  bags  are  extra  matte  this  time.  not  that  i  mind.  i  could  use  a  clean  finish  bag  to  splurge  on  right  about  now.  how  are  things  in  the  office  ?”

* ⟢

“why thank you.” stella smiled over to her friend, pulling away from the hug. “ahh, extra matte? sounds like i’m buying more than one bag.” it wasn’t unlike stella to buy in excess. she had a habit of swiping her card and not thinking twice. especially on fashion. she loved shoes and bags. 

— *    ⟢ 🄸🄽🅃🅁🄾🄳🅄🄲🄸🄽🄶:  ❝ 𝚎𝚣𝚎𝚔𝚒𝚎𝚕 𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚗 !

* ✶ 「 mason gooding, twenty-three, cis male & he/him 」 welcome to the mortal realm, EZEKIEL DENZEL AMPHITRYON — though, the fates whisper that they could only be HERCULES reincarnated. it seems in this life they’re instead known for being a STUDENT ATHLETE. what a downgrade. nevertheless, mortality can be confusing, so it’s understandable they can be COURAGEOUS and SELF-CONFIDENT, but also VACUOUS and ARROGANT ; maybe that’s why they remind people of MOVES by BIG SEAN ? but not all history is washed away by time — just as the poets say, they still remind others of LATE NIGHTS AT THE GYM, ADMIRING HIS REFLECTION IN MOST REFLECTIVE SURFACES SINCE HIS GLOW UP, MAKING PEOPLE SWOON WHEN HE WALKS BY. hopefully this life treats them a little better.

she was trying her best to seem all intimidating, she really was. but there was just something about hadrian that made her want to respect him a little bit. a little bit. and it could very well be his age. “yeah. greg. normal name. ghosts were just normal people.” she looked at the spirit box, then back at hadrian. then back at the box. “are you kidding me? i thought you were actually interested in what was going on in your building, and you’re just making a mockery of me? that’s offensive as fuck.” so long, respect. 

hadrian looked at minni and his eyes rolled. he couldn’t help it. “minni, don’t be like that. i’m not making a mockery. i just don’t think you can expect someone to be completely convinced after one word out of a walkie-talkie..” he explained, digging himself a deeper hole. minni had a temper that much reminded him of his own. “i wasn’t trying to be offensive.” he added, “i’ll just keep quiet and you do keep working.” 

as busy and chaotic as weekend nights could get at the bar, it was actually remarkably like clockwork when you got the hang of it. for someone as experienced tending the bar as zak was, it was easy to fall into the eb and flow of the work — drinks being mixed and shots being poured far too fast to really leave any time to think in-between, an endless cycle of taking the next order and the next order and the next. he actually preferred it this way, honestly; it made the night go faster. but inevitably something always threw off the rhythm — or someone. he was familiar with her type: the stuck up nancies, feeling themselves demanding of service immediately regardless of line or time. the bartenders always tried their best to keep an eye out for who was there first, as difficult as that was during peak hours, and to keep the lounges fully serviced, but some people simply didn’t care. it was for that reason he let her hang a little longer ; he saw her, of course, clocked that obnoxious snap in a nanosecond, but he took his sweet ass time finishing up he drink he was making, giving simply a vague nod of acknowledgement in her direction. when he finally did meander on her way — because the other barmen always let him handle the assholes — he made sure it was with absolutely no sense of urgency. “ sorry about that ma’am, ” he apologized, entirely insincerely. was that that also a dig at her age, perhaps ? not if he was asked by his boss later. “ was there any sort of emergency ? is everyone in the lounge alright ? just given that you did skip the entire line, i assume it must be urgent ”

stella watched as he continued to pour the others drink and take his absolute sweet time. she wasn’t being rude.. right? she felt like she was being ignored and stella galatas doesn’t get ignored. so, yes, maybe it was a bit arrogant to assume that she had paid for the lounge service and deserved the service she paid for.. meaning yes, she was going to cut the line and demand it. his attitude was cute. the slight dig at her age, the insincere tone, the complete disregard of her.  stella huffed, “no, nothing urgent.” her nails tapped on the bar as she tried to keep her composer. “listen sir. i’m sure you’re super excited to be talking to me right now but if you could cut the shit i just needed to know why no one has came by the lounge area?” 

—・

wrinkling her nose slightly as she looks over at willow she asks, “do you know many bakers?” she’d accept the compliment anyway, but it would be nice to know how much competition she was up against. laughing lightly miranda pulls her apron off the hook on the wall, tying it around her waist as she shoots her friend another smile, “oh well that’s good, because yours is mine as well! coffee, tea or hot chocolate?”

“just a couple.” she replied, smiling brightly, “that’s why i can confirm you’re the absolute best in the city- heck! the state!” she said with a giggle, she meant it genuinely, miranda’s shop was her favorite. the atmosphere couldn’t be competed with-- neither the treats. her friend had a knack for this and it showed. “hmm, i’ll do tea today.” she answered, happy to know that miranda thought the same of her.

Mei is looking at the other woman with a raised brow. It was moreamusement than anything else though. She seemed quite enthralled bywhatever she was doing on her phone. It was only when the brunettetook a look at Mei that her passive-aggressive stance shifted if onlya bit. She cannot blame the other woman though, Mei hadn’t exactlybeen paying attention as she tried to rush into the restaurant. Hergoal was to get inside before the rush hour really settled in but atthis point she’ll have to wait it out. Time management is usuallyone of her strong suits but today she feels like she had been failingat life. Maybe she’ll just stick around and have an actual lunch.  

“I wasn’ttalking about the phone.” Her expression hadn’t turned tooserious. It was hard to turn off her strict persona but she couldmanaged seeming like she wasn’t angry at the world from time totime. “You are irreplaceable.” A shrug followed, “You shouldask Rosie.” Stuffing her hands in her coat pockets, Mei sighed. “I am fine. You are like a feather, really light.”

stella smiled politely at mei. the leong sisters were all such strong women and stella couldn’t complain because she grew up with very powerful sisters herself. she had an understanding of mei being the oldest and whatnot. there was a need to be the most powerful and strongest willed out of the bunch. “i wouldn’t say a feather.” she chuckled, “but it’s a nice sentiment.” she said with a smile. “i didn’t mean to bump into you i was emailing an employee back and got really into it.” she added.

۵

harley rose his brows as he heard Stella talk about her father. His mouth a silent ‘O’ as he looked at the stands again, seeing if he’s able to find a likeness to her as a bright smile appeared on his features. “I’m glad I’m able to entertain him by doing things like these.” Thinking about it, made him curious to know a little more about her. “Did he also raise your hand, because if you tell me you were quite scared earlier … I can’t imagine raising your hand yourself.” Harley says with a somewhat worried expression on his face. It’s never his intention to intentionally scare people ; he always hoped that those with a phobia would stay far away from his show anyway. 

stella nodded. “i am not one to volunteer for this sort of thing what-so-ever.” she admitted, “i mean, don’t get me wrong it was fun after.. but he had to throw my hand up or i would’ve just watched from out there.” she said with a light chuckle. this was very out of her comfort zone. but, she wasn’t mad she tried it.. but she for sure wasn’t going to do it again. “please tell me i’m not the first to get scared though?”

( closed starter for primrose + willow - @fallcnstxrs···)

prim  felt  guilty  for  forgetting  valentine’s  day.  not  because  she  was  expecting  to  spend  it  with  a  special  someone  (  gross  ),  but  because  she  had  forgotten  to  buy  flowers  for  her  mum  in  advance.  she  had  no  one  to  blame  but  herself  and,  offhandedly,  also  being  busy  with  her  new  job.  so  she  comes  into  antheia’s  arrangements,  almost  getting  shoved  by  some  random  stranger  rushing  into  the  store.  prim  opened  her  mouth  to  protest,  but  decided  otherwise.  maybe  she’ll  shove  a  bunch  of  azaleas  under  his  nose  later  for  it.  she  wove  her  way  through  the  cramped  crowd,  and  somehow  the  shop  had  lost  its  beautiful  appeal  of  an  ethereal  place  with  all  these  busy  people  buzzing  in.

when  she  finally  finds  willow  somewhere  off  the  side  of  the  store,  prim  greets  her  happily.  “is  it  the  apocalypse?  it’s  like  a  crowd  of  husbands  grabbing  whatever  flower  they  can  just  to  keep  their  wives  from  kicking  their  arse.”  she  greeted  her  lightheartedly.  prim  would  hate  to  open  things  up  that  she  does  need  a  bouquet  for  her  mum.  at  the  moment,  she  was  more  concerned  about  her  friend  being  overworked.  “when’s  the  last  time  you  took  a  breather  today?”

willow’s day was going.. well how every single valentine’s day at antheia’s arrangements went. every year she was shocked by the stupidity of man. how they could be so forgetful of their partners. she got booted off the register because the owner said she was being too nice and they needed to get everyone out as quickly as possibly. so they kicked her to the floor. she was trying to help but mostly getting pushed by. they seemed to be grabbing whatever they saw first and ran with it. 

when her eyes met prim’s she sighed happily. thank god. “it certainly feels like it.” she giggled, “it’s nice you think i got a breather with this mess.” willow had been their since opening and was hoping they would let her go home soon..  but knew they would tell her take a break and then come back. it was too busy to let her leave for the day. but she was hopeful. “what brings you here, dear?”

☆

Zelda meant everything she said sincerely 90 percent of the time. She’s heard nothing but good things about Willow from Ara too so that had everything to do with her opinion of the younger woman. “I think it’s wonderful! I try to know most uses for plants and everything else I sell, you know. I think you can sell more when people actually think you know what you’re talking about. Don’t you think?” She raised an eyebrow as she listened to the next fact. A giggle slipped from her lips as she nodded her head. “I like the memory loss use a lot better, but that’s definitely good to know for safety reasons! I might ask you for some help in the future with plant stuff if I need it if you’re alright with that!”

“yeah for sure. i could only imagine what people thought if they met me when i first started.” she remembered, she was very clumsy all this knowledge on plants but not particularly tasteful with making the arrangements. she had the spunk and drive. after a few good lessons with ara she was good to go. “uh, sure.” willow accepted. maybe the shop next door wasn’t so scary and the ghosts can’t be so bad, right? “i will try my absolute best.”