champion.

summers spent on the island were some of her favorite memories. it was always something to look forward to for her. even if this year was a bit different. still, it wouldn’t deter jordan from enjoying her time away from the chaos of the city. with freshly manicured nails and an iced coffee in hand, she was in a good mood. “so i think this year might be the one i actually learn to surf.” she stated as she set down the bags in her other hand – one that had a new white and gold bikini along with some cute accessories and the other with a wet suit in it. she let out a small chuckle, “i’ve always wanted to but i’m kinda scared, not gonna lie.”

hudson walked beside her younger sister, her own coffee (her third coffee that day) in hand- black, one sugar and hot, even though they were on an island. she lifted her eyebrows slightly as jordan talked about her surfing aspirations, nodding her head, “i think you should totally do it.” she shrugged, it was never anything she would do, but she was all about encouragement- she felt like a third parent sometimes. she always wanted to push her siblings further, “it’ll be fun. and you shouldn’t be afraid. you’re jordan carmichael, c’mon.” she paused and smirked, joking, “plus, you’re related to me, so you can do anything by extension.” 

sam: hey, i mean, that's an improvement. although i will say i think most events would be made better with an elvis impersonator.

sam: wow it was a dumb joke but you got me good

sam: i call his ass 'shakirass'. ass nicknames are a thing.

hudson: debatable... let's say SOME things are made better w an elvis impersonator

hudson: though an elvis impersonator would probably make my dad's wedding less of a joke to be honest

hudson: ass nicknames??

celine: but think of how much better you'll feel now though.

hudson: yeah but THEN i'll feel all gross again

Rory: Thanks. It's just life though

Rory: Aren't you doing some super job somewhere? I'm surprised they let you go away for a bit.

Hudson: well, life sucks sometimes

Hudson: yeah, i do, i work in pr

“oh right. duh. i mean, that’s what i would’ve done. wanted to try that with evers, but you know, since i was only like 4 minutes old, i couldn’t do much.” eden joked and let out a chuckle. “see, that’s where you hug ‘em with one arm. you keep your distance but you still hug them. it’s the best of both worlds. and yeah, i’m the same with strangers. it’s either that or i just — make jokes that are definitely inappropriate at that moment.”

hudson laughed, teasing, “i don’t know, you’ve always been pretty damn smart, i think you could’ve said something. it’s ok though because now we both exert our power as his older sisters.” then she nodded, “see? these comforting strangers skills must run in the family. untimely jokes, half hugs, and avoidance. what a great holy trinity!” she joked 

     “it’s not about the press, i don’t care about the press.” the island was already talking so would the press be that much different? it hurt just the same. “i don’t THINK i love your father, i KNOW.” amelia had always loved too easily and it always ended in disaster. why couldn’t she make them stay? she was a poor excuse of a mother, that was evident from elle’s words but she was trying. “we did tell you. being selfish would be doing it on our own and then telling you. i’m past the point of asking for your blessing, now. you’re an adult, i’m an adult; it shouldn’t matter. i will not let you dictate the rest of my life to me.” this could very well be her last chance to have a successful relationship and she didn’t want to surrender that. “let me deal with the press but it’s going to work out. ACCEPT it and move on.”

“you think you know. just like you think you know my father. he isn’t all that. trust me. i’ve known him my whole life. he isn’t that great and definitely not a good father.” hudson was sure bitterness laced her voice, but she was bitter. her relationship with her father had never been a really good one. she rolled her eyes, “god, neither of you think about how your action affect anyone else.” hypocritical of her to say based on more recent events, “i’m sure you don’t care about my blessing anyway, you’ve made that entirely clear.” a fake, sickeningly sweet smile slipped onto her face, “you don’t get to dictate what i accept or don’t accept. you’re not my mother, you’re hardly even a mother to your own children.” 

Rory: Yeah, it's pretty tough

Rory: I do like coffee, though I only have one or two a day otherwise it hits me too much.

Hudson: yeah, i can't imagine

Hudson: i'm not good at this part, but sending thoughts and love and all that

Hudson: i usually have at least four

scout: thanks for ur concern grandma but my prescription says every six hours so i mean i'm just following the rules

hudson: wow ok, i resent the grandma title

hudson: how was i supposed to know the rules? every time i've used it it's just been recreational or whatever

“i’m not judging you, huds. it wasn’t the best decision, but that’s, like, the first time you’ve ever fucked up… ever. i’ll give you a free pass,” she teased, trying to lighten up the mood as she reached over to give her hand another gentle squeeze. cat always thought of herself as a loyal, caring friend and this situation was basically a test of her moral code. with a sigh, she gave hudson an apologetic look. “but because i am friends with both of them, you know i have to tell them i know, right? you know me — this will eat me up alive if i don’t say anything and i don’t want you to be mad at me because i’m a loyal bitch,” she rambled, slightly upset she even has to do this. there was no bone in her body that was going to prep her for the potentially horrific events to follow her whistleblowing this situation. “sam’s a nice guy though — and way cute— so i understand… this whole thing kinda sucks for everyone involved though,” she shrugged. “do you still like him though? because if you do, we have a bigger problem on our hands.”

“a pretty big fuck up for my one fuck up though... but, thank you.” hudson squeezed her hand back, giving cat a half-hearted smile, “you’re always there for me and i really appreciate it. i know i don’t say it enough.” cat had always been such a good friend to her and hudson rarely thought she deserved it. she wet her lips with her tongue, “that’s what i was afraid of... i get it. i do. and i can’t be mad at you because you’re you and because i brought this upon myself. i can’t just load this all onto you and expect to it all be chill and i should’t have put you in this situation. i’m sorry, cat.” she sighed, she had really fucked this up, “it really does suck. but at least i can say my ex-husband is hot, right?” she joked, trying to make herself feel a little better. she tilted her head to the side, “i don’t know. cat, i just- i want him back in my life. like it was before. we were so close and now i can’t even bring myself to face him. and i don’t know how to fix it.” 

scout: no silly!! don't u work in pr? you have to be able to keep up with the clientele

scout: sure it will i take an adderall before i go out n then im not hungover and im wide awake and then i take another one to go to work !

hudson: keep up with the clientele? by taking adderall??

hudson: that seems... unhealthy

sam: good instill in me some work ethic i'm gonna start slacking off otherwise

sam: well it looks like the worst thing that happened was a hangover so overall not too bad huh?

sam: not the worst thing that has happened or Could have happened i got a buddy you tattooed shakira on his ass

hudson: yeah, i mean, nothing involving an elvis impersonator happened this time so

hudson: a shakira ass tattoo? wow, i guess his ASS doesn't lie, huh?

hudson: wow that was a dumb joke

cat took a moment to take all the information in, wishing she hadn’t drunk as many drinks as she did. her mind was a little hazy and she wanted to sober up as much as possible to try and help the best she could. she didn’t expect for all this hot goss to be incredibly serious. giving hudson a sympathetic smile, she paused to gather her thoughts before perking up and looking at the other woman contemplatively. “okay, so—” she started, hiccuping as she spoke. “you have to be, like, completely and totally honest with me because i’m not judging you, iswear.” obviously she wouldn’t be judgemental of her friend’s actions, but it was all super unfortunate — especially since cat knew she had to talk to both sahara and sam about it. the guilt would practically eat her alive if she didn’t. “but did you have feelings for sam? even like a little bit. like the tiniest amount?” she questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

hudson gave cat an almost desperate look. she was sobering up a little post-revelation and now her stomach churned with intense guilt. she swallowed, murmuring, “i would get it if you were judging me. this isn’t... ideal. or good. and i know you’re friends with both of them too. i’m sorry for putting you in this position.” she was very thankful that cat was nonjudgmental and that she was letting hudson explain herself, even if it didn’t make her feel any less bad about the whole situation. she sighed, playing with her fingers absentmindedly, “i... yes, maybe, i don’t know. not when i was with sahara, god. but it’s sam. it’s hard not to like him.” she paused, shaking her head, “i don’t think i would’ve married him- even as drunk as i was- if there were no feelings there.” she admitted, letting a humorless, defeated laugh fall from her lips 

Rory: People who think we have it all easy are wrong.

Rory: I have it a few times a week, I tend to crave it easily.

Hudson: yeah, i can't imagine

Hudson: probably not easy at all

“… sam walsh? as in sahara walsh, your ex-girlfriend’s brother?” cat was baffled to say the least. she knew she was going to hear an amazingly tragic story from hudson, but was not prepared for anything like that. this obviously left her in a tricky position considering her relationships with all three people, and god, did that give her a headache just thinking about it. bringing her drink to her lips, she took a couple gulps of the drink before setting the glass down and looking at hudson with as neutral of an expression as she could muster. “well, what happened when you both woke up? was it like a katy perry waking up in vegas moment? just talk me through this, okay?” as much as she wanted to know more information, she knew that not knowing would get her out of some awkward and heartbreaking confrontation. but of course, her nosy ass was going to pry.

hudson nodded, “i know... i know, it’s bad. i- it wasn’t like i meant for it to happen. i would never want to do that to sahara, i just- sam and i-” she stopped. excuses probably weren’t going to get her anywhere. it was a mess. she shouldn’t have done it, shouldn’t have let it happen. period. she glanced down at the bar’s surface for a second before looking back at cat, “we woke up and i really had no idea what had gone down- i had... little fragments and images in my head, but nothing really concrete. and then i found the, like, ‘paperwork’ they give you when you get married like that and i freaked out. and sam was all like ‘it’s going to be ok’ and i was like ‘this is bad’ and after a near panic attack i got my shit together and i called my lawyer. i needed to get it handled, i knew i couldn’t just let it be.” she took a defeated breath, running her tongue over her lips, “sam and i were so close. and now it’s weird between us and i don’t know how to fix it and sahara... i don’t even know where to start on that front. i just- i fucked up and i don’t fuck up. that’s not me. but i really did this time.” 

cat’s mouth was still slightly agape in disbelief that her friend drunkenly got married in vegas of all places. it as an equally hilarious and unfortunate story for her to listen to. “no child is good. everything’s fine, so you should have nothing to worried about!” she explained, waving her hand dismissively. “okay, well… obviously you have to tell me now because this means i actually know them and you cannot deprive me of juicy info, huds,” she begged, leaning closer in anticipation. there was a part of her that was slightly worried about the answer, but the other part of her also knew that her friend tended to overthink and worry about her problems. “as long as it wasn’t aiden or matteo, i truly don’t think i’ll make a huge deal out of it, so spill. now.”

hudson glanced around again, “listen, i should probably still worry about it.” she paused, blinking a few times and pushing the glass she had been drinking out of the way slightly, “ooooh god no, it wasn’t aiden or matteo...” ‘maybe worse’ she wanted to say, though, that may sound redundant when she finally said who she had married. she licked her lips, taking a breath, “it was sam. i married sam.” she glanced at cat, waiting to gauge her reaction. she could hardly believe she’d actually said it, she had sworn to herself that she wouldn’t. that it would just stay between her, sam, and her lawyer. and now it wasn’t, and she would feel more concerned about it if she was a little more sober 

spencer: Yes. I can do that for you. Come on down to the restaurant. I'm always there.

hudson: see?

hudson: this is why i love you

hudson: you're a real team player, a true friend

sam: i am really good at calling incompetent interns i dont want to brag about it but

sam: yeah thats probably a good call for the both of us.

sam: did you seriously drink last night?

hudson: a truly worthwhile skill

hudson: don't be surprised if i put you to work now !!

hudson: i seriously did