his eyes linger with a certain sense of tempted curiosity on dolce's frame, watching with the shamelessness of a smirk as full lips brush against her straw. the girls of gamma are made after his own heart with intoxicating smiles and an attitude so much unlike the other sororities, it’s all too easy to get hooked on.      " depends, “    he hums under his breath, resting his arms onto the table surface to lean closer,     “ what are you feeling? “     and he gives a small nod, gesturing to his keys resting alongside his cigarette package next to his coffee mug.     “ ever had a club all to yourself? “ he's still got access, granted to the musician to set up on stage before the band's performance.

his eyes immediately narrow, stern and sceptical, at the suggestion that it is his own fault he’s drawn the fool. it’s not — he doesn’t believe in fate and he doesn’t know if he believes in this, but there was no conscious decision made. it’s not his fault, but he keeps the disagreement to himself, for once. instead, he listens with rapt attention, undeniable curiosity and admittedly, a good amount of confusion because he had no idea what zev was talking about — the major arcana, what? the fool in reversed, who?     “ seems more like only one person was reckless, “     he cannot help the comment, because he hasn’t been – not at the party, anyway – and of all the others, everyone has only gone as far as paying for their own stupidity with a hangover, but only one took the extra step — and yet, zev was right. even a shed, burning with someone’s recklessness, seemed meaningless. catching his lower lip between his teeth, he thinks like he’s told to, following the collection of words thrown at him. truth be told, he had not seen the other things on the card, and he wonders if he would’ve hadn’t it been for the alcohol in his blood.      “ sounds like he’s going somewhere, “    he points out, gaze flickering back to theirs,    “ which means he’s either going back or going down, no? “     and he shifts, hand lifting to scratch the line of his jaw in a thoughtful manner.    “ the whole thing is cryptic, right? a white rose could just as well be a person? “ 

his head immediately begins to shake, a scoff of a laugh falling from his lips as he corrects the other:     " i have been arguing with jasmine. "     as always their conversations never even reached  the politeness of a greeting but had started off immediately with the usual tension sparked between them — he's never questioned why ( although, that's a bit of a lie ) but he believes himself smart to do so. withdrawing his hand, he tucks the joint back between his lips, the beginning of a grin pulling at a single corner of his smile.     " at least, i'm only ugly after a rough night. some people start the day with a face like yours — tough luck. "     and a joke, needless to say. in fact, if he’s being entirely honest, he probably should join the other for all the damage he does to himself and the complete lack of an attempt of fixing them — he’s young, time still fixes his mistake or at least he likes to pretend it does.    “ you’re joking, but you forget i taught me this shit myself. “     which means ‘ wonderwall ‘ and ‘ smoke on the water ‘ were pretty much the first songs he knew how to play. his fingers glide along the guitar’s neck, still finding with ease the right positions and he’s hitting the accords of wonderwall, humming along to the chorus:     “ backbeat, the word was on the street that the fire in your heart is out !! “  it is not his kind of music. it has never been, but who doesn’t know wonderwall?     “ tribe society, actually. kings, ever heard it? “    he asks and immediately lifts his hands in a defensive manner at the other’s next words. honestly? he doubts exhaling in another direction will help, and he stretches himself, taking one last drag before he lets the joint fall into the always nearby ashtray.     “ did you ditch her that early as well to go on a jog? “    bael cannot help but laugh at the thought of jeremy actually genuinely being a dick by athletic and healthy accident, and he’s tempted to ask who the other has been with, but he knows that question would fire back.    “ dude, what do you think i look shit for? because i’ve been getting a good night sleep? ‘course someone kept me awake. “

“ dammit. “     the single word was not more than a whisper under his breath, already exhausted with the idea of an aching hand ( and the still stinging situation with his band or what little was left of them ) and no painkillers – in whichever intoxicant form dorian would’ve had them – to numb the pain. once more bael’s fingers stretched out, his on gaze falling to the small, smaller, too small to even talk about injury.     “ got into an argument, “    he explained, shoulders lifting into a shrug,     “ it’s nothing. “     like too many things, people and actions were to him, seemingly insignificant despite the impact they had on others and himself.    “ the whole ‘ the way to success is a path of trial and tribulation ‘ thing? or whatever it’s called. it’s not a joke. “     which he had never taken it as, but in the weeks when the world had laid at their feet? when gigs slowly started to begin with groupies wrapped around your neck and the beat of your own music and the adrenaline of being on stage was a better drug than anything dorian could sell? bael supposed it was easy to forget, even if only for a matter of moments, that life had a way of dragging you down low when you were at your highest.     “ our ex-drummer didn’t even have the audacity of taking the hit. coward dodged it and took off. “    which, in retrospect, he should consider lucky — they’d not bothered kicking someone out who only scratched his hand, but if he’d picked an actual fight? he had no doubt dean lockwood would’ve heard of it as well and that wouldn’t have meant anything good.     “ is your life at least any luckier? “

two words – your dad – and bael could feel his entire jaw suddenly aching with the reflex of gritting his teeth, the muscles visibly tensing with the force he used. he hadn’t heard those words in a while – ‘ your mom ‘ jokes, of course, ever the bit more popular in a fraternity and for reasons he couldn’t describe, he could take those without as much as blinking an eye but his father? – especially in such context, it undeniably irritated him.    “ so who was better? “    he asked nonetheless with a smugness and a smile supposed to un-clench or at least hide the annoyance prickling underneath the surface. lifting his arms above his head, he stretched his back, setting the bass back into its stand and readjusting his own position to angle his upper body towards her.    “ sorry, “    he clicked his tongue, shoulders coming into a careless shrug,     “ i ditched after your sight ruined my night. there are things even i cannot drink myself pretty — i guess the fire would have helped burn that from my memories. “    not that that was the memory he would choose if he could. his attention easily fell to her phone, his chest immediately heaving with a sigh, because he knew it was not going to be good news before his fingers even wrapped around the device and lifted it to his eyes.     “ fucking– “     for once, bael interrupted his own cursing, clenching his teeth again although this time to bite back the flare of anger he could feel immediately fill his lungs and to remind himself that it was not his phone to throw across the entirety of the room and watch it burst into all its tiny pieces — just like their band.    “ fuck !! “     he dropped it onto the couch between them instead, using his now free hand to rub over his face instead.    “ i knew he would. “     because adrian had been a coward from the start, just like teddy and his familial situation had been a liability to everyone involved — and now both of them were gone and no matter how much musical talent flowed in bael’s veins, how long he’d existed all by himself, he could not be an entire band on his own.    “ let me guess, you’re leaving next? “     because if things could get worse, he had no doubt that they would  — and hadn’t they already?    “ he’s not ditching because of that dumb hellcat thing, is he?! “     or in other words, the band-intern rules they now officially broke: don’t start relations which could break the band apart, initially meant to stop anyone from hooking up with their guitarist’s ex-girlfriend but clearly having stretched into more. 

a pair of pitch black sunglasses sat on his nose, hiding ( for once ) non-dilated eyes from the bright burning sun light and the far too amused gaze which had lingered on dakota’s nerves for a while now, watching them be thinned and strained into this — a small outburst, if you could even call it that. honestly, bael had never had so much patience in his life, not for his friends and certainly not for those he was doing the favour to.    “ having a rough day? “    he called, finally deciding to chime in with a smug smile as he strolled towards the amusing scene, coming to stop next to other. pulling his glasses a little lower, bael looked over its rims, eyeing the ‘ model ‘ with clear ( and feigned ) scepsis in his gaze.     “ bold statement, most people wouldn’t even go out with that. “     needless to say, there was nothing there — except the competition of an entire school of rich kids, all trying to outdo each other in the happy-go-lucky work they created on instagram, and the panic which immediately washed over the girl’s face at the thought of something ruining her perfect picture. he then tilted his head a little to the side, a grin on his lips as he looked at dakota:      “ wanna grab a coffee? i’m not awake yet. “     despite or maybe because of the hour, time was a concept he did not need to succumb to before five pm.

his head tilts ever so slightly to the side, his motions slowed by an impertinent patience; the ever arrogant audacity of knowing his place — it’s not here. it’s never going to be between the mighty and still striving, the silver spooned childhoods and the futures paved in success. it doesn’t match him but as she moves to stand in front of him, carrying the authority of a standard chair and the attitude of someone who has known how to crush another’s aspirations under her high-heeled boots, the smile which curls his lips speaks different.    “ now, if that is the problem – “     the cigarette gets tucked between his lips as he pushes himself off the stairs, stepping down until he’s stood right in front of her. he inhales the smoke almost a little too smug, breathing it out and away from her in a sentence,     “ – i can smoke off the stairs as well. —–  come on, you don’t really want to get in there. “     if he doesn’t want to return to a fraternity of loud laughter and an attitude which does not take life too serious, he cannot imagine anyone wanting to return to the supposedly flawless ones.     “ have i ever actually disappointed? “     and he grins his perfectly flawed crooked grin as he reaches up to tuck a strand of her hair back into its place behind her ear. 

" let me guess– "     he was leaned back on one of the couches in the studio, not letting his attention waver from the bass he was playing on as the door opened. he never did – music stood above everything else – especially if ' everything else ' was late again. band practice had supposed to start ten minutes ago — however, if the other members ( or the lack there of ) were any indication, then their plans seemed to have changed.     " –my roommate again? "     and his gaze lifted, a mocking smile teasing around one corner of his lips, a mischievous spark illuminating his eyes.     " princess, you need to raise your standards if all he ever does is keep you ten minutes late. "     and his gaze flickered, eyeing her once more as he had done on the party before being kindly interrupted by their band colleagues, always determined to break them apart before a severe argument could break out — but this time, his look is something different.     " i see the fire didn't get to you..? "     it was a question, hidden behind the usual snark of an insult, but sincere nonetheless: are you alright?    " unfortunate. "

[  09.16am → princess ]     i am so fucking done with this !![  09.16am → princess ]     i cannot stand you anymore[  09.16am → princess ]     this needs to stop[  09.17am → princess ]     you need to stop[  09.17am → princess ]     i need to stay away from you 

[ 05.52am → mcdreamy ]     you kow you’re fcknin lucky right?[ 05.56am → mcdreamy ]     bein all mcdreamy an all[ 06.11am → mcdreamy ]     i’m feelinn like shit [ 06.34am → mcdreamy ]     r u on ur mornign jog yet?[ 06.37am → mcdreamy ]     can yu pick me up?

[  06.42pm → golden belt ]     dude !! dude !! dude !![  06.43pm → golden belt ]     guess who’s playing in that fancy ass club tonight !! [  06.43pm → golden belt ]     the uptown one?! [  06.43pm → golden belt ]     the one which wouldn’t even let me in without your name drop[  06.44pm → golden belt ]     and now i play there !! how the fuck did that happen? [  06.44pm → golden belt ]     are you coming or what?!

[ 03.40am → knock-knock ]     are you in the club again?[ 03.42am → knock-knock ]     listen, i KNOW i'm not exactly your fave[ 03.42am → knock-knock ]     but my drummer needs to go to the hospital[ 03.42am → knock-knock ]     and i can 't get him there on my own[ 03.42am → knock-knock ]     dude, please, i'll shut up if you help me !! 

“ so, ol’ vice president, “    the wide and smug grin was audible in bael’s voice even before he walked up besides them, naturally falling into step with president know-it-better — emphasis on the ‘ better ‘.    “ which one of us do you think was it? “    and if it was not obvious what recent event he was referring to, he tucked a cigarette between his lips, lighting it with a nonchalant ease not many would dare to have while authorities still questioned the fault or intention behind the fire at the lambda sig party.    “ as an unbiased individual– “    he grinned a little too amused by the topic, blowing a perfectly round ring of smoke into the air above them,    “ –i’m taking bets. you can set your money on which organisation or which person specifically or both, who cares? “     he sure didn’t. a major percentage of him was only joking, anyway. at least, for as long as he spoke to them.     “ and to make it really interesting you can bet on the punishment — that makes five bucks on the hopes of a fraternity or sorority dying, doesn’t it? “

[ 10.02pm → tophee ]     ever been to a live rock concert?   [ 10.02pm → tophee ]     ever wanted to go? [ 10.03pm → tophee ]     pack your shit, i’m taking you !!

[ 03.46pm → red ]     who do you think you are?![ 03.46pm → red ]     you can’t just block the studio with your dumbass dance moves[ 03.47pm → red ]     i reserved that shit like a week ago !![ 03.47pm → red ]     if you’re not out by four again,                                   i’ll personally drag you out by your hair