beautiful disaster..

Niklaus immediately turned his attention to his apartment door when he heard Fallon’s voice, a small smirk forming on his lips. “Well I’m clearly her favourite person in the world, so that doesn’t surprise me.” the man joked as he closed the space between him and his best friend, making sure not to squash the sleeping baby while he kissed Fallon’s cheek. “Believe me, if I was doing anything to your best friend it’d be a lot louder in here.” he teased. “So how was your Florida trip? Do I get to see the picture I’m going to frame and display in my home yet?”

Turning on her heel, a smile spread across her features at the sight of her best friend. In the amount of time they’d known each other, they’d never gone more than three days without seeing the other; a week was absolutely pushing it. “Hey, I’m her favorite person in the world, get it right. You’re top five at best.” She teased, tossing her free arm around the man’s back to embrace him. “Oh c’mon, I don’t wanna hear all that! There’s a reason there’s 2 floors between our apartments, you know.” The model stuck her tongue out, breaking their hug to switch Birdie to her other hip. “Well I haven’t received the photoshoot photos yet, but I definitely have some cute shots of your niece at Disney if you want those.”

“Oh bite me princess, no one asked for your opinion.” Italia muttered as Fallon commented on her appearance, she was right the girl looked more than a little rough, she couldn’t even deny that. “I still look better than you.” The backhanded comment was just breathed under her breath as she threw her tiny frame into the make up chair next to the other, closing her eyes for a moment before removing her sunglasses. “I’m going to need a celestial black diamond eye mask from 111Skin before you so my primer, just to minimise the slightly puffiness underneath my eyes.” The model directed the make up artist as she pulled off her beanie. “I’m going to need some more help with the needy bride thing, we’re not all overflowing with natural desperation.”

It wasn’t surprising that Fallon had returned her dig with one of her own, the girls had been like this ever since their little incident nine years ago after all. Still it was weird to think about how they had been attached at the hip for the first sixteen years of their life and Italia missed that friendship occasionally. Not now obviously, but just…sometimes. They’d had each others backs so resolutely until that had all disappeared what felt like overnight. “Maybe one day you’ll get lucky, I know it’s not a concern you have with those mothering hips, but some of us are slim enough to slide down there.”

A smirk graced the model’s features, lifting her shoulders in a small shrug. “I’m just stating what we’re all thinking.” Her words, though coming off as sweet, were anything but. Leaning back in her chair, the Brazilian let her eyes flutter closed to avoid rolling them at the words coming from the petite brunette beside her. Modeling for this designer was one of the three major shoots she wanted to land during her career, and she’d be damned if she let her former best friend ruin yet another job for her.

For those who didn’t know the pair, it would be near impossible to tell that they were once inseparable. And a small part of her wished they’d get back the friendship they had, but if Fallon was good at one thing, it was holding a grudge. In what felt like a split second, her best friend became her enemy, and it would be hard to rebuild the sixteen year history they’d had. After all, Italia had been there when Fallon’s parents died, and the model wasn’t sure how she’d have coped without her now former best friend by her side for it all. “You say that as if curviness isn’t what’s hot these days. Your body type was what everybody wanted in back in 2003, but now it just looks like you’re sick.”

Pulling a face the redhead shook her head with wide eyes, she totally loved the little girl of Fallon’s but the idea of having her own child filled the woman with dread. Only because she was in such a rocky position in her own life she wouldn’t be able to look after another being even half as well as they needed. “Nik maybe, I suggest you steer clear of leaving her with me, I’d be a terrible fucking influence on her. Actually maybe that’s why you should, I’d make your kid so god damn cool.” She cackled, waving off the concern about her footwear with a literal wave of her hand, starting to warm up gently. “We’re not going to give her a cousin too soon, I’ve got my eyes set on a ring before that happens, trust me. You know that I caught the flowers at the wedding the other day, I’ve already told that boy I’m expecting him to uphold the tradition of me being the next bride.” Going over to the barre by the mirror she started doing some plies to get her knees working, a laugh escaping at the mention of the headlines. “I could give them all a run for their money though, plus that cheer coordinator sounds like my kinda gal, or guy, I dunno who it is. Either way chances are I’ll flirt with them when I first meet them. So, what are we doing here?” She glanced at her friend, raising an eyebrow. “Do your worst.” 

A grin stretched across the Brazilian’s features. She knew Samantha’s apprehension about bringing a child into the world all too well; the model only cared about doing drugs and partying when she found out she was pregnant. And what she thought was the end of her life turned out to be the greatest thing to happen to her. “Ah, she’d come back knowing new profanities thanks to you.” The model laughed, wrinkling her nose at the redhead’s aversion to changing shoes. Still, she chose not to press the issue further; after all, she was there to help Samantha move on from her previous career. “Yeah, Bradley and I did things backwards. We had a baby, then dated, then moved in together. I honestly don’t wanna rush into getting a ring, though. But I’ll totally gently bully Nik into giving you a ring. A better one than the one you had before.” Fallon tossed her pin-straight hair up into a messy ponytail, picking up her phone to play the song she’d chosen to do Sam’s routine to. “Yeah, we’d party together back when I was fun.” She teased, pressing play and plugging her phone into the speaker she’d brought with her. “It’s not too difficult, but we gotta work on you being less fluid, since cheerleading is the complete opposite of ballet.”

Majority of the time, it always seemed as though Nate was in a grumpy mood. He was waiting impatiently to the side for his coffee order to be made, only to then see someone else walking up to collect his coffee after it had been called out. “No, no—” he called out as he approached the person. “They clearly just called out an Americano with an extra shot. I’m positive that’s not yours.” he added, reaching for the cup. @cityofdreamsstarters​

Fallon was the epitome of exhausted. Her shoot had wrapped up late, and Birdie had been up all night while teething. Suffice to say, the model was cranky. Her fingers eagerly wrapped around the paper cup, bringing the beverage to her lips as a content sigh left her lips. However, the moment was cut short by a tall man crowding her space, demanding she give up her drink. “Um, wrong.” Fallon snapped, turning the cup towards the man, her name clearly printed in black sharpie. “Unless this is ironically your name too, this is my Americano. You’re not the only person in this café who ordered one.”

“I particularly love the first one. It just looks super flawless and seems super pure and authentic,” she smiled as she scrolled through the photos her sister had shown her. Fallon was really doing well for herself and PJ couldn’t be any prouder. She knew that their parents would be incredibly pleased with how well their daughters were doing despite how rough things had been in the midst of their childhood. At the mention fo Bradley, all PJ could do was chuckle. It was an interesting relationship to say the least and she often wondered what would have transpired between Fallon and the photographer if Birdie wasn’t in the picture. Nonetheless, her sister was incredibly happy and all she could do as a sister was be in support of her. “I think you should choose the fourth one to post to your socials. It’s inviting and fun,” she suggested as she took a sip of her water before looking at the menu. The eldest Almeida was happy to know that her sister was able to enjoy herself and take a breather from her crazy schedule. No better place than Disney. “No, you didn’t miss out and I am not dating Elliot, Fal! You need to drop it,” she chuckled shaking her head in dismay. “He is literally just a friend and nothing more. If I was seeing someone I would tell you, duh.” 

“Thank you!” Fallon chirped, leaning over to place a kiss to her sister’s cheek. Of all the people whose opinions she wanted most, her older sister’s mattered the most to her. Her mind traveled to their parents for a moment, a small sigh escaping her lips. Would she be where she was today if they hadn’t boarded that plane? A small part of her mind didn’t think so, but she’d never voice that out loud, especially to PJ. She looked back at the shots she’d shown her sister, saving the one PJ had suggested to her camera roll; she’d post it once she got back home and settled in for the night. “Honestly, that one is one of the most amazing shots I’ve ever gotten of myself. I might just frame it and hang it up in my apartment.” A pause. “Would that come off as conceited? To frame a photo of myself?” A small laugh escaped her lips, shaking her head. “Too bad, it’d be cool if you married a prince.” A grin stretched across her features, an idea popping into her mind. “Oh my god, wait. What if I set you up with my trainer? His name’s Dodge and he’s just as married to his work as you are. He’s super sweet, and he’s a personal trainer, so you know he’s got a nice body.”

“Well it’s good to know I’m not going to go out of business anytime soon. Who knows? Maybe this time next year, I’ll have my own gym as well.” that was his goal at the moment. To open up his own gym sometime in the near future. He laughed at Fallon’s reaction to the warm up he’d given her before starting it. He wasn’t one to just stand around and encourage his clients to work hard. He loved to keep them motivated, and a little competitive by completing the workout alongside them. “Well the devil must look fucking good then ‘cause burpees do that.” he teased. Once they’d finished the little warm up, Dodge gave Fallon a moment to rest. “I mean, I would, but I’m kinda already married to my work and I wouldn’t wanna upset that.”

“Oh my god, that would be so cool. I would totally back you on that, and I’d force all my industry friends to come see you and bring you some extra business.” The model grinned. As much as she complained about it, she couldn’t imagine not having Dodge and his exercise regimens in her life. Sighing in exasperation, Fallon got to work on the warm up he’d decided on, muttering expletives under her breath during the burpees. “Well great, but could they have maybe been a little less frustrating? Like, who the hell likes doing burpees? It’s like a method of torture or something.” The model’s eyes lit up. “Oh Dodge, you sound like my sister. Ooh! I could totally set you up with her.”

Maris heart melted, “I need to see the Disney ones!” It was nice hearing Fallon got to kept the dress she loved from that shoot. “I love when they let you keep clothes. Like for real it’s better than actually being all dolled up for shoots. The sunglasses I have in my purse, I got them from a shoot i did ages ago.” She took the case out of her purse and opened it. “Still cute as hell all these years later.”

Fallon took her phone back, swiping through her pages of apps before landing on the photos. She pulled up the shots of her daughter, clad in a pink Minnie Mouse dress, photographed throughout the parks. “Oh my god, she had the best time. I swear, she loves Flynn Rider more now that she got to see him in person.” The model laughed, smiling adoringly at the photo. “Honestly, I think my favorite things I got to keep were a pair of Balmain heels that I wear every chance I get.”