* 𝓭 𝓮 𝓼 𝓲 𝓻 𝓮 / вυrnѕ .

rph: @daccarctts

       she couldn’t help but let the smile rest back on her face after the nerves started to settle .  why sitting at a restaurant facing him still felt normal was beyond her .       ❛  we’re adults now ,  jax .  nice is as good as you’ll get   .   ❜     she spoke as she tried to let the joke ring out .  despite how comfortable she felt being there with him ,  there was still an awkwardness to it all .  an awkwardness that probably wouldn’t go away until they talked through it .  she was sure that wouldn’t happen here ,  due to the fact that it was in public and she was sure some yelling would be involved .       ❛  i just  ––  wanted to talk ,  i guess .  i’m not sure if you wanted to hear anything i had to say ,  but you’re here  ––  so maybe that says something ?   ❜    

    he knows .  boy does he know now .  he doesn’t understand how it should have taken this long to get his actions under control .  he knows that he should have been smarter about the whole thing .  understood a little bit more of what was going on inside his head versus the outside world .  distinguishing how he was feeling was one thing but trying to find an easier way to cope than drugs seemed like too much of a daunting task .  it was one he wasn’t willing to take on .  drugs were easy ,  and dealing with his problems were complicated .       ❛  i know .   ❜     he doesn’t protest  ––  not in the slightest .  because she’s right ,  about all of it .  he’s sullen  &  hasn’t looked up once .       ❛  trust me ,  i know .   ❜    

    he smiled ,  nodding along to what the other was saying .       ❛   i couldn’t ever see myself living in maine  ––  well not anymore at least  ––  but it’s beautiful to visit .   ❜       he motioned ,  although he was sure that living on a farm would have been much different than living on a winery .      ❛   it’s fantastic .   ❜      at the realization that roarke was talking about leo’s baby ,  syd couldn’t help but almost let the nervousness show on his face .      ❛   i mean ,  i help out with tali whenever i can .  i’ve started making more trips home because of it .  but mainly you just get to be fun .   ❜      the thought is whirling in his head and he can’t help but speak up .      ❛   it’ll be pretty soon ,  huh ?   ❜      

     she nods ,  at least understanding a little bit more about what she’s about to get herself into .       ❛   going by myself would be absolutely frightening .  i wasn’t dumb when i was in school but i for sure wasn’t smart .  but i consider myself pretty determined to get things done .   ❜     she smiled at the other before continuing .       ❛   so maybe the two of us working as a team we could do it ?  ❜     

    she couldn’t help but smile at the mention of her youngest .  he’d been her baby for so long  ––  a baby of two and a baby of five showed little difference  ––  but the way she cared for her kids was equal .  if he wanted to go off as skylar would ,  it just meant a lot more traveling for her .  plain and simple .  however ,  its the question that brings her back to reality .  and it was something she hadn’t truly shared with anyone .       ❛  yea ,  i did .  whenever i’d travel to new york to testify ,  i’d meet up with a few lawyers and the like to talk about cases and get updates on the kids .   ❜        it was strange  ––  letting all of this out in the open .      ❛   but i’ve also been seeing a therapist since i moved to colorado .  one approved by the system who i was able to talk to .   ❜

    his arms wrap around her instinctively .  the comforting nod that this was someone who hadn’t  practically ever  judged  him was enough to let his true feelings fall with his word .  it was enough to show the tired  &  exhausted ,  yet pained kid that sat before her .       ❛   i’ve been better .   ❜         he noted ,  words only partially coming through his deepened voice .  he felt numb most of the time ,  so feeling even the slightest sort of happiness at seeing her was a start for him .  it was pulling away from his hug that his voice ran more clear .       ❛   i’m assuming you saw .   ❜         

   she kept the smile running on her face as she spoke to the other .       ❛   i can be caring sometimes .   ❜       she muttered ,  though the comment is without question true .  most of the time she can be over caring  or  even overwhelming at that .  the question noted towards her causes a bit of a shock to ring down her face .  her issues have nothing to do with a life crisis ,  or at least she hopes not .       ❛   everyone has crises ,  no matter the size ,  armando .   ❜

      he nodded ,  semi understanding that .  it wasn’t that he had to get accepted late to julliard .  however ,  being on the waitlist for as long as he was and having to go to summer school to get his grades up so he would be accepted  ––  he knew the feeling of being thankful just to get in and do what you loved .       ❛   baby smaby .   ❜     new york was getting lonely .  he hated to admit it .  he was getting lonely .  a year ago ,  the kid would have been thankful to live in a place without anyone from this town in it .  now ?  even the millions of people that lined the streets every day weren’t enough .       ❛  i’ll be there .  i can bring tali to classes you know .   ❜

    the way that troy talks about his family cannot help but make ariana’s heart soar .  there is an alternate universe in which she’s a part of it ,  though .  a universe where she never left .  a universe where she and his father created a bigger family than they had now .  more kids  &  continued to spend their lives together .  a universe in which she was there for troy’s first and last days of every school year .  when she helped him blow out his candles when he couldn’t do it all for himself .  she found comfort in the fact that in some alternate reality ,  she was considered a part of that family .  in this universe ,  however ,  things were quite different .       ❛  well ,  it’s a good thing we’re here then .   ❜     she's quite thankful when she pulls into the amusement park ,  for a few reasons .  however ,  she’s not sure how the youngers head will feel after the day she has planned .       ❛   i know ... it’s pretty cheesy ,  but there are a lot of things i could never do with you before i left .   ❜   a smile accompanied her face as she spoke .       ❛  this is one of them .   ❜   

      she nodded ,  fully understanding the other’s fear .       ❛   right ?  because what happens if there’s too many codes to crack  &  it takes you hours and hours to figure it out .  after like ,  forty five minutes ,  i would get way too paranoid .   ❜     more like twenty minutes at that .       ❛   and then i’d just embarrass myself ,  banging on the door ,  begging to be let out .  ❜     

      syd could feel his legs go numb at the comment .  of course jax knew what his son liked .  he’d raised him his whole life  ––  the guy was practically everything to his boyfriend .  so ,  to say it meant quite a bit to syd that he be liked was a clear understatement .       ❛  right ,  sorry .  of course you knew that .   ❜        he cleared his throat after he spoke .  somehow it got dangerously hot in that bakery  &  he couldn’t help but take a deep breath to accommodate for that .      ❛   right ,  of course ,  what does she like ?   ❜

     he truly didn’t understand why he was  nervous .  this is the one person he didn’t have to feel nervous in front of .  or ashamed ,  at that .  maybe it was the fact that he was  nervous  the other wouldn’t want to be seen with him ,  after his fiasco .  maybe he was scared that this was it for the other .  that whatever decision had been made to  try this  was voided by his scandal .  so ,  when the other had agreed to come over ,  there was minimal excitement  ––  and whatever excitement he did have was clouded over with nerves .       ❛   thanks ,  for coming .   ❜     he almost whispered ,  as he made himself comfortable on the balcony in his room ,  hot tea cupped between his hands .  it was a good substitute for a stress reliever .

     after his scandal ,  he was sure it would be hard to see him out and about  ––  especially alone at that .  but ,  surprisingly ,  he couldn’t stay in the house forever  &  everyone else was off to their own duties .  so ,  he found himself at ashcroft park ,  in the middle of the day ,  hoping he wouldn’t see anyone .  of course ,  luck hadn’t been on his side .  after seeing a familiar face ,  his eyes piped up .       ❛   hey ,  what are you doing here ?   ❜

     he knew it was coming .  truthfully ,  he was surprised she wasn’t there when his dad picked him up .  after he’d discovered that the whole word knew about his arrest before he’d had a chance to tell his father ,  the pang of horror in his chest at sam’s reaction was almost too much to bare .  so ,  to find the girl walk into their kitchen a mere six hours after he’d been released wasn’t surprising .  he knew there was nothing he could say to lessen the blow ,  but he’d only hoped that the bags under his eyes and the pale look of his skin was a clear sign that there was only so much he could take .       ❛   just go for it ,  sam .   ❜     an invitation ,  really .  because he knew internally he deserved it .

     he was sure he was going to sleep for twenty four hours after he got released .  he knew he wasn’t planning on leaving the house anytime soon .  the kid had rarely been embarrassed by anything as of late ,  but this  ––  this was something he couldn’t handle the stares for .  the pictures that were floating around online were terrifying to him .  there was a simple knock on his door that dug him slightly out of his mind hole .  it was the blonde that emerged that softened his features .       ❛   hi .   ❜