* 𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀 / 𝒹𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂𝓈.

“well that makes me feel better.” he admitted with a sheepish grin. “no, i really don’t mind, your company is more than welcome.” not everyone’s was but she had a calm energy and he liked that. he smiled as she sat down beside him, returning to his relaxed position. “that’s true enough, though i’m not entirely sure what to expect in berlin, are you?”

“glad i could make such a prince feel better about himself,” she mused after having noticed his witty grin. “i think we still have a month free to visit family or do whatever we’d like, but i’m really excited for berlin as well. i’ve heard there are wild bunnies in parks and i need to see them. it’s also so full of history and there’s so much to explore. it has a very wild and underground nightlife, though i think i might be too vanilla for that.”

“ oh, i dunno about that… ” scott fails to hide the smile that stretches his lips, letting out a small chuckle at her words and, as always, finding humour in things that should be left alone. maybe he’s reading too much into it, but he doesn’t know gabriella well enough to believe this is just innocent! after all, innocent is what lead them to the mess in the first place. “ straight outta the bottle kind of gal, huh? should’ve guessed… ” though that much should’ve been obvious since there clearly is no glass around. scott’s reaction is big because he is flustered but doesn’t want her to know that! “ hey, i am totally relaxed, ” he says, not at all relaxed. “ my exes are pretty cool though. ” scott thinks maybe he should keep talking about his exes. he can’t help the way he tenses his arm again when she touches it because he’s been bulking and wants people to know. the way she’s close against him doesn’t go unnoticed but he’s trying not to get flustered. “ no, nothing to talk about… ” he says, shaking his head. “ where, um– where do you wanna go? ”

Faith never complained about shopping, let alone lingerie. However, she usually just went by herself because she figured her own opinion on what was cute and what not was enough – which was true so far considering no one has commented anything negative about the pieces she’s worn so far. Nonetheless there was evident excitement in her tone while observing the bodysuit she just picked up, moving her hand to feel it for a moment. “I love the small details,” she commented, letting her hand fall back to the side. “ You have a lot of pink and red already though, no ? You can’t really go wrong with black ever, if you’re asking me.”

        SHE DID HAVE A POINT THERE ;   soaked down to the bone from the rain, bash found it hard to take her seriously.  if anything, he wanted to take her to get dried off.   “ do you want to stop in your room and get changed first ? “   he offers, because the idea of getting out of his own wet clothes seems nice.   “ hot chocolate sounds good, too.  maybe i’ll get one of those. “   bash tries not to cringe at her putting a dry sweater over wet clothes, thinking that will DEFINITELY not do her any favors.  he motions for her to follow him back inside.

“i think making the decision to change first would make you proud so i am going to do that,” she mused a little glancing over to see his reaction. “getting sick right now doesn’t sound that fun.” gabriella found her place by his side to go inside. “we might even get those tiny marshmallows if we’re lucky,” she winked at him and they went inside to get to their dorms. “where do you want to meet back?”

Her brows lifted as a giggle escaped her lips when she saw Gabriella full of bags. “Why didn’t you ask me to go shopping with you?” Although inquisitive, her tone was playful. “You seem slightly more sophisticated, baby, considering this is not the Upper East Side and you still rock in those wonderful heels. I got you, I miss it too, but as we still have the whole weekend, I intended to do that tomorrow, for now I’m taking advantage of the gentle breeze of ‘freedom’.”  Roxy gestures making the quotes in the air. “At the moment I’m doing nothing but waiting for my ice cream that never arrives and receiving sunlight like a plant that does photosynthesis. Vitamin D, apparently.”

“oopsie,” gabriella let out a quiet squeal at roxy having caught her in the act. she hadn’t thought to ask for roxy’s help at first. “but hey, i couldn’t find a cute dress, so you can still join me on shopping spree volume 2. how about that?” gabriella gave the other an innocent smile, anything that’d help to talk roxy into it. “i might be a bit obsessed with playing dressing up with myself. i allowed myself one day of acting like it is the upper east side. but freedom might have been exactly what we needed right now.” gabriella agreed. “sounds relaxing and fun. though, i wish the ice cream would arrive at some point.”

he felt badly that she’d almost fallen and he’d moved to blunt her fall but she managed to catch herself and he sighed in relief, half laying on the ground now. “sorry.” it was habit for him to be apologizing but this was really his fault after all. “i’ve spent some time with friends but i did want to grab an hour of just me time. but you’re welcome to join me.” he patted the ground beside him, where the view was the best. “it is, i’ll miss it when the weekend is over. i think this kind of peace is what i might have hoped for in another life.”

“oh, don’t worry about it. i wasn’t looking where i was going apparently,” she let out a laugh to make him feel a bit better and not so guilty about it. “are you sure i won’t be interrupting your ‘me time’? those are usually pretty important,” she responded with a smile, but then nodded and decided to take the place next to him, resting onher arms behind him. “oh, don’t worry. it’ll be finals and then we’ll have a break either way. you can do whatever you’d like for a while. surely there’s a better place of peace than roseville, no?” gabriella asked and glanced over at him. 

   The weekend in Roseville came at a convenient time, Roxy was about to lock herself in her dorm, along with Lohri of course. She had been trained to know that she was at risk in the profession she had chosen and now, after a series of significantly stressful events, she was unable to handle her own shit. Someone noticed that and after an inspiring conversation with a friend, she realized that if she was afraid to live, she wouldn’t live at all and that would be a waste. Afterwards, putting herself together, she gathered her old and well-known confidence and decided to have the best weekend possible before going back to Gallagher’s walls of darkness.

    As she sat on a bench waiting for her ice cream, she noticed someone approaching and it was not a resident of Roseville, obviously. “Having fun so far?” Her tone came out a little too enthusiastic than she intended but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. @gallagherstart​

gabriella had spotted roxy, sitting on the bench, and had decided to approach her aimingly. she had felt as though she had clicked with the girl and therefore wanted to spend some more time with her. even if she was tired and her heels were killing her feet. and even if she was a bit tipsy and definitely in the mood for munching on some fries. “hey, roxy,” she greeted the other and joined her on the bench with a few shopping bags. “i was! i was, until i realized that i don’t want to get so drunk that i lose my bags. i sort of feel like blair waldorf with all of this with me. i didn’t know i could miss shopping that much. what are you up to right now? how's your day going?”

sitting near a fountain, enjoying the sound of birds and the white noise of mingled conversation, zero was enjoying the surroundings to their fullest. he didn’t really want to be bothered or pulled away from this moment which felt out of place, it felt like some kind of fairy tale dream and he didn’t want it disturbed but such is life as someone came by and nearly tripped over his outstretched legs. “woah, sorry, i was just — really relaxed.” he laughed as he apologized. 

@gallagherstart​

she hadn’t even noticed zero which was obviously why she had almost tripped. fortunately, she had caught herself the last second, before this fun experience of exploring roseville would have ended up with her having a bruise on her forehead. “woah,” she let out a sigh and glanced over at the male. “i don’t know which is worse, that i almost fell on my face or that i almost had a heart attack about falling on my face.” gabriella turned to look at him and let out a giggle. “what are you doing here all alone? are you enjoying the view? it really is beautiful here, isn’t it?”

“wow,” gabriella gasped as she noticed a black lace bodysuit hanging on one of the racks of the shop the two had entered after gabriella’s initiative. she had complained to the other that she needed to stock up on some lingerie since she was running out of something fresh and spicy to wear. it’s not like she was getting that much action, but some part of her wanted faith to think that she was. the girl took the hanger off the rack to show faith the looks of it. “what do you think?” she asked the other, her eyes practically glowing. “i don’t usually go for black though. should i rather go with red or pink?”

“ well, if you want anything else — i’m an expert of cheering people up. ” at his own expense, usually, but that was fine. he thought about it with a bit more focus once she doubted its possibility. “ i guess it’d depend on where the person i’m punching comes from, if they’re, like, behind me… maybe not. ” as she pats his chest, he’s quite fond of the little name she calls him. “ yeah, i guess i’m not the most responsible to be fair. ” seb laughs, taking it back from her and instinctively going for a puff. “ is there specific qualifications i need or maybe you’re looking for a blonde guy, slightly taller ? buffer ? —  i think i’d be terrible at it to be honest so you’re probably better off. ”

gabriella reached her hand to touch his cheek, which was a totally platonic thing to do in her mind, even though it might have not looked that way from the sidelines. “you’re such a sweetheart, sometimes i don’t think i deserve your friendship,” she confessed and let the moment pass before she pulled away and let out a laugh. “it’s okay. you’re very responsible about other things... like keeping people sane? people such as myself, of course. always lightening the mood in the room and many other things,” she tried to calm him down and started to think about her knight. “i don’t know. i could be a girl too for all i know. but i do have to confess, i used to daydream about flynn rider loads, so i guess that’s my type. not so far from you after all.”

he’s relieved she’s stopped dancing because the way her body is shaped he can’t help but stare in all the wrong places. but he can sense that feeling slipping away as she touches his arms. “ you’re gonna get me into trouble… ” he warns her, though there’s a smirk on his lips that rejects any notion that he’s not enjoying it. because, really, he loves any kind of attention. even if it is from girls you’ve made mistakes with. forbidden fruit would be more enticing if his mind wasn’t elsewhere, but everything she does truly feels like a test. especially when she stands so close, looking up at him with big green eyes. “ i don’t like white wine, ” he blurts out, and starts to head inside. “ i mean, actual wine. not white… females. my ex is white, so. ” since he’s never known to stop talking when needed, he continues to blab., “ not the one i cheated on with you. a different one. ” 

“no, i don’t think so somehow. once out of here there’s a bigger chance of setting your own schedule, your own terms depending on what you decide to do. but here it’s all planned for you.” he was looking forward to being done here, and maybe getting the answers he deserved, the ones he needed if he was going to be a good, useful spy for the government or whoever hired him. he laughed but she was serious and he cleared his throat. “you just kiss random people?” he couldn’t imagine it, he needed a bond with someone before he could imagine being intimate. “it does, exercise gives you endorphins and endorphins make you happy.” 

       “ ALL THAT ON MANIFESTATION ? “  he laughs again, though tries to cover it by glancing away from her, watching the rainstorm pick up.  arms wrap around himself as the air grows chilly.   “ i can’t promise that, “   bash smiles slightly, though he catches the pause she gives, and can only assume what she was about to say.  his new identity feels like the elephant in the room, but the only way to make it go away is to ignore it, right ?   “ what happened with you and bowie ? “   his eyebrows pushed together.   “ i’m sorry to hear that.  i’m… i’m okay. “   she’s valid for saying that, since he feels like an entirely NEW PERSON now, and not just because of the name.   “ we should get inside, it’s getting cold. want to get some coffee and, i don’t know, catch up ? “ 

it was kind of weird, talking with him in such a weird state in her life. perhaps, that was why she was blabbering so much, but then again, she was always blabbering. “i just have to come with a trigger warning. why would you take me seriously? look at me,” gabriella asked jokingly as she widened her arms, pointing out her appearance. her nose was rosy, her hair was damp and her dress was almost soaking wet. and she had been dancing. and she could be crazy like that at times. “don’t worry about us. we still fight and then make up all the time.” she paused and then hummed. “sure, let’s go for a coffee. how adult-sounding,” she smirked and took her sweater from the bench to pull it over her head. “but just so you know, i’ll probably go with a hot chocolate.”