* ℕ𝕆 / 𝘚𝘏𝘈𝘔𝘌

                       “none taken,” brodie shrugged. how could he be be offended when scotty was right? it really didn’t feel like there was a way to come back from the hole he’d dug himself into. there was a reason why he’d insisted that he and dove would remain friends. none of this was supposed to happen. then again, his life had a tendency to go exactly the way he didn’t plan for it to. “probably not,” he chuckled along with scotty, despite the tense topic and circumstances. leave it to his best mate to still make him crack a smile when it was the furthest thing he felt like doing. his chair swiveled on its own towards his monitor, his eyes tracing the sound waves mindlessly until he heard the male speak again. he sat quietly for another moment, as if taking in what scotty had said, before he adjusted the seat to look back at the other. “when have i ever actually been happy anyway, regardless of harris’ feelings,” he remarked, a dry and self-deprecating comment that was his sole attempt at humor when he was set on his decision to avoid dove as much as he could, aside from his remaining contractual obligations.                       genuinely curious about the state of his two friends, however, despite not actually being friends with one of them at the moment, brodie used the opportunity to shift the conversation slightly. with a raised eyebrow, he asked, “so, you guys good now?” almost as an afterthought, he added on with a sharp laugh, “one of us should be.”

                      “yeah, i know,” brodie heaved in a deep sigh. scotty didn’t need to finish his thought for him to know what he was thinking. it was fucked up. he shouldn’t have kissed dove. he shouldn’t have ever developed feelings for dove, but he couldn’t exactly dictate how his feelings developed. as the saying goes, the heart wants what it wants. he was just surprised it wanted dove. they were so different and none of it made sense, but somehow, over the time they had spent together, both forced and by will, there had been something more, something brodie couldn’t even quite explain now to his best friend.                       he shook his head as he leaned back in his seat, slumping his shoulders in defeat as he thought of the friendship he had managed to destroy. “he made it clear he didn’t want to talk. and i don’t think there’s much i could say that he’d listen to anyway,” he shrugged, looking much more casual than he felt. “i’m not gonna go after her though. i mean, i still have the pr shit to do, but i’m not gonna make it worse by starting to actually date her. i think he’d actually find the will to punch me then.” that was a lot to say about their friend who chose words over fists.

Her head is full of whirling images (nights spent camped out in the St. James’ living room on weekends, She and Theo and Scout walking in the snow to school, Scotty’s face the first time she’d retaliated against his flirting and kissed his cheek), familiar snatches of sound (shouted pick up lines, car rides spent singing off tune, oddly specific pizza orders) and faint memories (some too painful to resurface) that stir her heart and send her off balance at the same time. It has been too long, as Scotty said. High school seeming like an entire lifetime ago considering how much has changed – and yet? She recalls the majority of their days spent together with perfect clarity. The boy standing before her now hardly the awkward, pre-pubescent younger brother she often pictures him as; frozen in time. And it amuses Nora to think that smitten teenage girls across the country could be pining after Scotty the same way he’d once pined over her. A harmless crush (though she’d found him irksome at the time); and if she could go back? She’d give the poor boy a break. Maybe even a hug. What are you doing here? Scotty asks. And upon the mention of the Smoothie Factory, Nora spares a glance over her shoulder towards the sign above. “Aside from procrastinating a much needed work out?” She jokes lightly, eyes looking upwards to find his once more, “I’m — well, I’m living here, actually. In Los Angeles … not the Smoothie Factory.” Easy conversation is hard to come by these days, and Nora is grateful for some (if only brief) reprieve. Her laugh echos Scotty’s. “Anyways, I – you remember how I was doing commercials back in New York? Well, one thing led to another, and I eventually worked out a contract with Disney … cut to a couple years later and they’ve got me doing some voice acting,” Nora explains, deciding to leave out the bit about the whole Frozen phenomenon. She shrugs. “But, y’know. You’re welcome. I may not be around all the time anymore, but I like to keep tabs on you all when I can.”

                 “ would  be  kinda  odd  if  you  lived  in   smoothie  factory ”  he  remarks,  laughing  at  his  own  stupid  joke. “but,  that’s  really  cool.  stas  and  i  live  here  too.  so  does  scout  but,  he  kinda  goes  between  here  and  new  york  --   broadway.”  scott  would’ve  never  guessed  nora  lived  in  los  angeles.  thinking,  she  was  still  in  new  york  all  this  time.   he’d  been  living  in  los  angeles  for  years  now,  thanks  to  the  band.  it’s  funny  how  little  he’d  heard  of  the  girl  since  he’d  left  new  york.  but  it  doesn’t  take  long  for  all  the  memories  to  resurface.  some  of  the  most  embarrassing  memories.  he  was  an  obnoxious  teenager.  scott  has  forgotten  that  until  right  now.  a  lip  ringed,  wannabe  musician  vying  to  be  included  in  whatever  his  siblings  were  up  to.  no  wonder  the  girl  never  liked  him  back,  he  was  terribly  awkward  at  that  age.      “ voice  acting  for  disney?   nora,  are  you  kidding  me?  that’s  crazy!  look  at  you.  were  you  in  anything  i’ve  heard  of? ”  he  chimes.  there  is  very  few  people  who  he’d  be  this  outwardly  excited  for   &  proud  of.  nora  has  seemed  to  make  that  list.  “ you  were  keeping  tabs  on  me?”  he  smirks,  tilting  his  head  softly.  “ if  i  didn’t  know  any  better  i’d  be  really  flattered  right  now.”  he  chuckles.        

                     he nodded, content with the decision to order pizza for dinner. “yeah, i’ll send you a track soon. could be something to use in the future. could be crap,” he shrugged, an action as noncommittal as his words. music had always been his escape, something he turned to take up his mind and a remaining connection to his brother.                     his lips disappeared into a thin line as he listened to scotty. he knew the male was just trying to make him feel better, but it didn’t help that there was something with the ‘whole dove thing.’ maybe brodie should have been upfront about it from the second he’d started to think there could be something more, if not with harris but at least with scotty. maybe if he hadn’t suppressed how he really felt, he wouldn’t have acted so impulsively at the carnival. well, it was too late to consider that now. “he might be onto something,” brodie finally spoke. with a deep sigh, he scratched the back of his neck as he added, “i never meant to like her. i was trying to just be friends with her, but… it just happened, i kissed her once away from all the pr bullshit and that’s what he saw.” he looked over at scotty with a bit of hesitation. he knew he was the only one to blame, and he knew he had hurt harris. “if i had any intention of making a move, i would’ve talked to him first.”

                      brodie glanced over at a digital clock by his bed, the only reminder of how much time had passed as he had the blinds drawn as well. “i’ll emerge eventually if you wanna get pizza tonight,” he joked – though completely serious on the pizza front. he glanced back at his monitor, the individual tracks blurring together at this point. “eh, it’s whatever, just playing around with some things.” more accurately, he was avoiding talking about what had happened back at the carnival, even with his best friend.                      for as long as they had known each other, brodie liked to think he knew his best friend pretty well, and his attempt at nonchalance could always use a little work. “you talk to harris?” he asked, a loaded question that would require multiple updates on both sides. last the two had talked about it, scotty was still refusing to talk to the other male, so on one hand, brodie was glad they seemed to have reached a breakthrough. on the other, it meant he had to now face his broken friendship with the actor.

  gus is walking into the studio, figuring his time would be best spent there, especially with the fact that they were working on their next album. he waves over at scotty as he walked in, taking a sip from his coffee as he placed some of his things day. “me too! i think it’s our best yet, can’t wait for everybody to hear it and to be able to perform some of the songs.”

In true Nora fashion, she finds herself greeting the dog before the owner; stooping immediately  in order to coo soft affection at her newfound friend as she’s approached by the sweet bulldog. “Hello, you,” Nora greets amusedly, carefully scratching behind ears and under chin and along her neck. The wiggle given in return only encouraging her to continue; the excitable dog evoking a bright chuckle. “Yes, it’s very nice to meet you, too —” Originally, she’d set out in the hopes that dawning workout attire would inspire a jog; though, the smoothie held aloft (out of the dogs curious reach) serves as evidence to her defeat. A shake of her head given as the words “Oh, sorry about that,” finally register. “Don’t be,” Nora begins. Though, as her gaze lifts, surprise (equal to his own) instantly morphs her smile; Scott St. James the last person she’d anticipated to encounter this afternoon. “Scotty –” Nora greets brightly. And suddenly she’s four years younger; the sound of scott pleading to be let in from the other side of Scout’s door swimming into focus. He’d always been somewhat of the odd man out; tagging along with their trio only when Scout would allow. The mistreated little brother. And as she stands, it shocks her to see how tall he’s grown. “I swear this city seems smaller every day. I’ve been …” lost for words, Nora momentarily falters. “Busy, I guess? A good busy. But, y’know. The last couple of years have been sort of chaotic.” A chuckle given as she smiles up at the boy, “God, it feels like a long time since New York, huh. – How’re you? I mean, the band is — you guys are amazing.” 

           nora  had  always  been  scout’s  friend.  which  had  essentially  became  a  nickname  for  her  when  passing  her  in  their  busy  highschool  hallways --  long  before  he  had  actually  learned  her  actual  name.  desperate  to  feel  included  in  whatever  scout  was  up  to,  the  young  blonde  would  tag  along  anywhere  his  brother  would  allow  (  whether  that  be  by  force  of  their  mother  or  not ).  there  was  something  about  his  brother’s  friends  that  scott  envied.  for  one,  he  had  alot  more  friends  than  scott  ever  did.  but,  they  also  exuded  an effortless  air  of  cool that  he  couldn’t  attempt  to  explain  now  being  so  much  older.  his  brother  was  the  coolest  person  he  knew,  thus  his  friends  must’ve  been  equally  as  amazing.        as  far  as  he  could  see,  nora  was  pretty  great.  younger  then,   he’d  taken  a  particular  liking  to  her.  nothing  more  serious  than   awkward  pick-ups  shouted  embarrassingly  loud  across  the  room  through  a  cracking  prepubescent   voice.  an  incredibly  harmless young  crush  that,  in  retrospect  he  had   only  developed  just  to  annoy  his  brother.  he  could’ve  sworn  nora  was  taller.  then  again,  scott  was  shorter  than  most  his  age  up  until  the  age  seventeen  when  finally  he’d  pass  5′9  and  skyrocket  to  6′2  seemingly  overnight.  “fucking,  crazy  i  know  i --?”  he’s  almost  lost  for  words.  it’d  been  years  since  he’d  even  thought  about  the  girl.  then  there  she  was.  and  suddenly,  all  the  memories  he  thought  he’d  forgotten  resurface.  “that’s  great.  a  good  busy  is  great.  what  are  you  doing  here?  in  los  angeles,  i  mean  not..  outside  of  the  smoothie  factory.”  he  lets  out  a  laugh.  “ too  long,  if  you  ask  me.  i’m  good.  just  working  on  new  music, ”  he  grins  at  the  mention  of  his  band.  “thank  you,  all  the  credit  goes  to  the  guys.  they’re  incredible.  crazy  you’ve   even  heard  of  us.”   

scotty & brodie‌

                   it was more movement from the corner of his eye than the sound of the knock that caught brodie’s attention as he was engrossed in slicing together a track at the makeshift studio setup he had in the far corner of his bedroom. he paused the program as he pulled the noise-canceling headphones off his ears, not completely off just yet. after all, if this was scotty just checking in before ordering food – or something along those lines – he’d be getting back to what he was doing pretty quickly. though his focus on the music wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary for brodie, it was also a way to distract himself from how badly he had fucked up on the final day of the carnival with both dove and harris.                   turning his chair towards scotty, he nodded as a greeting and acknowledgment of the other’s words. in general, he already had a tendency to keep to himself. that had only increased since dwelling on his actions. “guess it’s been a minute since i’ve left my room,” he shrugged as he glanced at his phone for the time. “got caught up in this,” he motioned to his computer screen nonchalantly before leaning back in his seat. “what’s up?”

          casually  leaned  against  the  door  frame  scotty  listens  to  the  other,  offering  slow  nods  as  brodie  speaks.  he  lets  out  a  half  chuckle,  “ yeah,  little  bit  more  than  a  minute, pal.”  he  jokes.  blue  eyes  flicker  over  to  the  recording  setup,  before  looking  back  at  his  friend  again.  “and  how’s  that  going?”          this  had  always  been  a  tough  for  scotty,  to  say  the  least.  maybe  from  the  years  of  being  the  comforted,  hardly  ever  the  comforter  he’d  grown  a  bit  selfish.   a  little  too  constantly  absorbed  in  his  own  dramas  to  learn  how  to  care  about  someone  elses.  stuck  somewhere  between  wanting  to  ask  how  his  friend  is  feeling  and  not  knowing  how,  the  blonde  shrugs  his  shoulders.  “just  checking  in  on  you. got  nothing  else  going  on  at  the  moment.”  scott  glances  at  his  nails,  picking  at  the  chipped  black  polish  --  trying  to  appear  a  little  less  invested  than  he  genuinely  is.  “what’s  been  going  on  with  you?  everything  good?”  

logan: you’re such a fucking ass logan: oh so the letter was just part of the pr shit?? logan: lmao my bad, i didn’t realize i was supposed to show it to the world so they’d all see that you’re a piece of shit too

         the  studio  is  an  escape  for  scotty.  even  if  they  aren’t  doing  anything  in  particular, scott  liked  to  just  lay  about  with  his  guitar   humming  along   melodies  that  might  never  see  the  light  of  day.   “ yo,”  he  waved  to  the  other  entering  the  room.  “dying  to  get  this  album  out.”  he  remarks,  lazily.   

      “ so  yeah,  i  guess  we’re  just  friends... with  benefits?  i  don’t  know.  it’s  cool  or  whatever. i  don’t  really  mind. ”  when  showing  up  ( announced  as  usual  )  to  his  brother’s  place ,  the  last  thing  he  wanted  was  to  go  into  detail  about  whatever’s  going  on  him  and  maeve.  none  of  that  matters,  right  now  at  least.  so,  scott  decided  to  briefly  gloss  over  the  conversation  while  helping  himself  to  whatever’s  in  the  fridge.  “what  about  you  and  noel?”  he  deflects,  knowing  mentioning  noel  will  probably  shut  down  the  entire  conversation.       pink  ‘i  love  mom’  balloons  and  stuffed  bears  that  have  suddenly  filled  every  store  he’s  ever  been  in   seems  to  have  resurfaced  the  same  nostalgic  feelings.  which  ultimately  leads  to  him  pestering  his  siblings  until  he  caves  and  decides  to  head  home  for  a  few  days. “whatcha  getting  mom  for  mother’s  day?”  he  asks,  stuffing  a  spoonful  of  cereal  into  his  mouth.  

      while  he  loved  living  in  los  angeles (  and  has  been  since  he  was  eighteen ),  scott  still  missed  new  york.  he  missed  his  family  and   the  handful  of  friends  that  weren’t  just  brodie. this  nostalgia  comes  in  waves,  usually.  every  few  days  he’ll  spend  an  extra  hour  or  so  on  the  phone  with  his  mom --  just  because  he  missed  the  sound  of  her  voice. even  though  she’s  likely  lecturing  him  about  something  he  did.   today  was  one  of  those  days.  his  full  attention  more  so  on  his  phone  rather  than  his  dog  --  petunia,  who  tugs  him  down  the  side  walk  from  her  leash.        friendly  as  always,  the  bulldog  walks  right  up  to  someone.  finally,  scott  decides  to  look  up.  “oh,  sorry  about  that.”  he  apologizes,  briefly  not  wanting  to  invade  the  stranger’s  personal  space.  it  takes  a  moment,  but  he  realizes she’s  not  much  of  a  stranger  at  all.  “wait,  hey!  nora,”  genuine  surprise  in  his  tone.  it’d  been  awhile  since  he’d  actually  seen  the  brunnette .  she  was  always  more  so  scout’s  friend.  still,  he’s  glad  to  see  a  familiar  face.   “ how  you  been?”