i wanna be your lifeline.

dante's lips pursed together tightly at elias' claim. he didn't have any proof to the contrary, but one look around the place and the grimy walls were the first, but not the only, reason that dante didn't believe him. "yeah, cause this looks like your kind of place, dude. i never saw you in a dive bar the entire time we were hanging out." careful not to call it dating, because he hadn't ever been sure that it was. something weird and in between friends and together that had never really been labelled. dante's eyes shift away awkwardly at the compliment, even though it makes heat shoot down his spine, but less than a second later and his eyes are meeting elias', challenging "obviously, i'm amazing. must suck to have lost hearing it all the time, huh?"

"doesn't mean i didn't go to them. sometimes i don't want to go to a nice bar somewhere, dante." and that was the truth. his entire life felt so polished to a point where elias didn't even recognize it sometimes, so he found himself in dive bars like these so he could feel normal for once in his life. elias can't help the soft laughter that escapes him. this was the side of dante he always loved getting to see when it came out. "oh, worst experience of my life, missing out on it all." the laughter dies down as silence falls between the two of them once again. despite the bar still being plenty loud, the silence almost feels deafening. "you and i both know it doesn't have to been like this, dante." elias turns to properly look at him. "we don't have to be like this."

"what do you mean?" valencia's voice came out small, her eyes shimmery with unshed tears. she'd thought it would have been nice getting to run down and surprise matthias tonight. they'd get more time together since she hadn't been able to see a lot of him during the playoffs. she'd gotten a couple days' break from filming to be able to pop in long enough to see one of his games. and she thought they had been fine, but . . . now she was scared. had she done something without realizing it? was he mad at her? he hadn't even rushed off the bench when she snuck in once all the guys had left for the night like he usually did. but she had mostly chalked all that up to him being exhausted after the game. she hadn't exactly held it against him. "you've given me so many reasons, matti. you're patient with me. you listen to me. you're always dropping everything to make me feel better. you're one of my biggest supporters outside of my siblings. where is this all coming from?"

matthias knows he shouldn't let what people say online get to him, but this is the most public relationship he's ever been apart of and it's getting to him having so many eyes on his private life. "what do you think i mean?" the blonde questions, taking a split second to look at her before continuing to take off his work-out gear. he'd been trying to take it easy and spend more time in pt due to his mcl tear he'd gotten at the olympics but that was easier said than done. matthias stops for a moment as he listens to her, his eyes finally coming to properly meet hers once again, this time not tearing them away. his jaw clenches as he hands her his phone. "do you not see what people are saying, val? i mean..fuck, they're saying you can do better than me. i'm used to people shit talking me, but to say this shit about us? maybe you can do better and they're right."

"No, you're right," he shrugged, awkwardly rocking back and forth on his heels. "I shouldn't be here, really. I just thought that maybe you should know how I felt. But I can go now, if you really want me to."

"of course i am." eliana points out. it'd been what feels like forever since the last time they spoke and that wasn't exactly a conversation she wanted to remember. it was painful in a way she couldn't even properly describe. pausing for a moment, she sighs. "you just..you had all that time to tell me, but you wait until now?" gnawing on the inside of her cheek for a moment, there's a blanket of silence that falls before she speaks again. "i don't though, spencer. that's the thing. i don't want you to go."

"Of course you'd say something like that." Savannah rolled her eyes and flipped over onto her back so that she could sit up herself and grab her shirt from the floor, slipping it on over her head. "It ain't like that, don't get it twisted. You know both of my brothers would kill me if they knew I was fuckin' around with you. Mostly Cam, though, since you're teammates."

"you just know me that damn well, baby." malik rarely ever let someone get as close to him as savannah has but he doesn't regret it. hell, he doesn't regret anything he's done with her thus far. she's not wrong and he knows that, but the bigger part of him doesn't care. he's happy doing this with her. "then they don't have to know, at least not now." moving off the bed, malik started getting himself dressed. "wouldn't they want you to be happy and taken care of? like shit, i know you're happy doing this shit with me."

taylor breathes a sigh of relief, dramatic for the effect of it. "i just had to make sure. you never know the crazy shit people might believe." taylor smiles for a moment before pushing past the stranger and entering his apartment. "are you like a chef or something? is that what you guys call college?" nothing too crazy, but taylor had only ever imagined having stir fry at a restaurant.

zane paused when taylor mentioned the possibility of the old tenant dying here before he realized he was fucking with him, shaking his head. "i could tell. they'd legally have to disclose that information." he's not sure if that's actually true, he'd just heard it from some of his buddies on his last trip overseas. "that or he was a psychopath. the world may never know, huh?" "oh, i know. i've see those conspiracy theorists." zane steps to the side as the other man pushes past him and into his freshly unpacked apartment. there were still things he needed to put away, but overall, it was mostly put together and felt homey. "uh..no," the blonde mentioned, moving past taylor and back into the kitchen to make sure his food wasn't burning. "i'm a pilot in the navy. got permission to live off base so..here i am." his shoulders shrug. "i cook for a lot of the guys sometimes when i'm at sea and they let me in the kitchen. i probably would've gone to culinary school though."

mikko rantanen - practice

tell me lies + one tree hill inspired plot. muse a constantly hears rumors about muse b cheating but refuses to break up with them. muse a believes everything they hear until they they talk to muse b, who is always so charming and convincing and knows just what to say. it's a vicious cycle of muse a accusing them of lying and muse b promising they would never do anything to hurt them.

DANNY RAMIREZ as JOAQUÍN TORRES Captain America: Brave New World 2025 | Dir. Julius Onah

Hannah Dodd – press tour for Bridgerton

CHASE INFINITI for TheWrap's Power Women Summit — December 2, 2025

sui v ger | 18.05.26

on stage, dante could normally tune everything and everyone out. tonight should have been no different; it wasn't a big show or anything out of the ordinary. until his eyes caught a familiar face at the bar. it took him a moment to figure out who it was, the lights shining brightly in his eyes not making it any easier, and when he did, he almost bolted off the stage right then. it had been months since he had seen elias, but only weeks since the last time he had gotten too drunk and texted him, admitting that he missed him. not two seconds after he had set his guitar down, dante bolted off the stage and shoved his way through the crowd, ignoring the people who recognized him through his rush before stoping at the bar, chest heaving. "oh, come on. you didn't want to go unnoticed. otherwise, you wouldn't be here."

maybe dante was right — he didn't want to go unnoticed, especially by the one person who he wanted to notice him more than anyone. ever since he got that text message a couple of weeks ago, the other had been on his mind more than ever. not that he wasn't ever off of his mind, but it seemed to have gotten worse. "not my fault you were playing at a bar i frequent." elias takes another sip of his drink before turning to look at dante — really look at him. there was that familiar ache in his chest when he did. god, he missed him and it felt suffocating, especially now. "you sounded good though. i missed hearing you play."

Media Availability —11.12.24