* i t ' s h o l l y !

He didn't expect to see her so soon after Valentine's Day, hell he was still surprised that they had that conversation in the first place. He couldn’t help but wonder if any of the break ins were throwing off her routine, something in the universe kept placing Holly in front of him. Connor looked around the crowded coffee shop, how awful would it be if he looked away instead of offering the seat beside him? He shook his head at his thoughts, maybe if it was anyone else, but not her. “Holly!” He called her over. “None of these people seem like they’re leaving any time soon, do you want to sit?”

while holly hadn't been intentionally playing hide and seek with connor to avoid another run in with him , she hadn't expected to see him again so soon either . with her hands full with various items after her shift and seemingly nowhere else to sit ... she figured she'd accept it . and he was being nice enough to offer it in the first place , so once she settled in the free seat , she met his gaze and smiled . " i've never seen this place this crowded before . it's crazy . " she commented , looking around a bit . " thank you . " after a moment of silence , she looked into his eyes with sincerity . despite what he had done in the past and how he made her feel , she still cared about him . " how are you doing , connor ? "

"Holly!" The woman called out, waving the other down with a friendly smile, tension seemed to ease for a moment as she wrapped the other in an embrace. "How I've missed you, love. It's so good to see you outside of that party.." The woman paused, looking down at her shoes for a moment before returning her gaze. "Have you seen the news?"

surely nadia was one of them . when she invited her for dinner holly said yes right away , finding that to be an opportunity for both checking on her friend and hopefully relax a little bit . spotting the woman , she quickly made her way over , wrapping her arms around her . " you and me both , really . it was sad that we couldn't hang out much at the party . " she sighed , looking back at her with a nod . " yeah ... i guess there's no single soul around here who hasn't heard about it . but still , it's all so -- unbelievable , you know ? "

Chase places his hand on the bar after gently tugging the strand of hair. "You're welcome," he reaches for the glass the bartender places on the bar in front of him as his gaze drifts down her to take in the outfit she's wearing. Holly has always been that... someone he's not willing to ruin with the way he barely can obtain a stable relationship. His career and his emotional issues are big factors in what ruins most of the relationships he's attempted to have. He brushes his tongue along his lower lip as he tilts his head down towards the blank t-shirt and jeans he's wearing. He didn't really come dressed to take home anyone so plus it was a lot last minute for him to decide whether he was coming or not. "Yeah, well... with the football season being done. I thought I'd come home in general but... who knew I was coming home to such a shit storm. How are you doing by the way? How's A?" Referring to Aaliyah.

she could take notice of the way he was looking at her and ... always just that . holly wasn't blind , she too knew there was something but that something was never discussed , never acted upon . of course she hadn't pushed it any further from how close he stepped towards her , knowing that there was nothing holding them back yet some invisible strings that kept things at bay . she was happy around him , he did move some feelings within her and what they had was a dance of will they won't they -- as confusing as this might be , her face would still light up whenever he came back home . " happy to see you back , chase . i missed you . " with an easy smile , she let out a sigh that cast a shadow over her face . " it really is a shit storm . glad to have you here but you'd probably be safer anywhere else . knowing that the next one could be any of us is ... sickening , to say the least . " lifting her shoulders , she leaned against the bar . " she's trying to work over it all , it was ... not easy , you see . and i'm just trying to be there for her . i'm just ... god , scared honestly . "

Atticus leans against the back of the stool, plopping his feet on the bottom of the bar as his head turns to look over at his friend, nodding his head a little at her words. He still can’t believe that Jae was found dead, that this person who did it was now taunting them through text messages and who knew what else was going to happen. “Do you… want to come crash in my spare room until all of this is over?” He asks, his eyes focusing on her. “I don’t really like the idea of you walking home alone at three am after your shifts.” He picks up his shot glass and raises it up to his lips, tossing it back in one swift motion. He places the empty glass onto the bar as he brushes his fingers along the tip of his nose as he turns to look in the direction of where Heather is. “Yeah…” He clears his throat, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know.” He glances back over towards Holly. “Every time I think we can try again… something happens to shit on it so… that’s kind of what I’m expecting right now.” His gaze shifts past Holly towards another particular blonde before looking back at his best friend. “I love her but… don’t people always say sometimes love isn’t enough?”

hearing his question , holly’s expression turned into one of surprise .   she hadn’t expected him to make this offer and in all honesty , that considerate action from her best friend spread warmth within her heart .   it was at times like this that she was so glad to have him by her side and she appreciated how strong their friendship was .   “ aw , atti . ”   she smiled , tilting her head to the side .   in all honesty , she had been wishing she had a roommate ever since this whole thing started but also she wouldn’t want to be a burden to anyone .   still , she knew that his offer was a genuine one and maybe she could crash at his for a while until she felt safer .   “ you sure you can endure 90′s pop blasting around the place ? ”   she asked playfully , bumping her shoulder against his before taking the shot in a swift motion .   listening to him , she let out a sigh .   she didn’t like seeing him like this but she understood it all too well .   “ well , for some , clearly it isn’t . ”   lifting her shoulders , she looked back at him .   “ but i think it’s about what your heart wants in the end .   one can never know the outcome if you never try , i guess . ”

surely there were lots of people affected by this whole incident and holly was one of them but still , the one who had it the worst aside from jae was no one other than aaliyah .   the rest of the town was scared , worried and restless but holly couldn’t imagine going through what her best friend had .   right now her focus was on trying her best to help aaliyah overcome this ordeal , she knew it would take time and there were things to work over but every step of the way she would be right beside her .   “ we all do , love .   and i’m sure things will eventually get better , it can’t go on like this .   i just hope no one else get hurt until then . ”   that was another reality .   anyone with some sense could see that they had no intention to stop at this point with the way they taunted them with that text .   yet , that was the best they could do .   stick together and hope .   “ and that’s okay .   you should go easy on yourself , liyah .   take some time .   none of this was your fault  --  or anyone’s , really .   it’ll get better i promise . ”

turning her head to see who had just slipped next to her , holly's lips fell apart once she realized it was chase . " hey , you ! " she replied , surprise clear on her face . she surely hadn't expected to run into him tonight , especially with everything going on around town she figured he'd be off somewhere better but here they were . " oh - thank you . " with a smile , she fixed her dress a bit before looking back at him . " right back at you , honestly . dashing as ever . " curiousity mixing with the smile on her face , she tilted her head to the side , leaning towards his hand . " wanted to be home for the valentine's ? "

Atticus arches a brow when he notices her instantly relax in his presence. “You alright? You’re a little tense, Hol.” He tilts his head to the side. He leans down against the bar, picking up his shot glass and raising it up to his lips, tilting his head back to drink back the contents of the glass. He glances over towards her as he sets the empty glass down on the surface of the bar. “Campbell, huh?” He nods his head as turns his head to look over across the way towards Heather. “I came with Heather…” He glances back to Holly.

at his question , holly let out a sigh  .   “ i’m trying to relax but with everything going on ...   this one hit a little too close home you know . ”   surely one of her best friends getting kidnapped did have an impact on her . even more so , especially considering that she was living alone and had unstable shifts as a nurse that left her walking home at 3 am sometimes .   “ don’t let me bring down the mood , though .   cheers . ”   with that , she downed the shot herself quickly and only then heard his answer .   “ oh , heather ?   sooo ... ”   a small grin appearing on her face , she nudged him lightly .   “ anything you wanna spill ? ”

seeing her reaction to their choice of drink , holly’s expression mirrored hers , a pleased smile appearing on her face .   it was really nice hanging out with safiye ; while she still worried over aaliyah and had half a mind to text her every hour , having such nice company did help her nerves .   “ yeah , i keep hearing this question , kinda why i asked honestly . ”   she lifted her shoulders and pursed her lips .   in all honesty , she didn’t mind or care if someone had brought a date or not -- hell , her technically being here with campbell didn’t even mean anything but it was apparently the main headlines of the night .   “ oh , that’s nice .   hanging out with your friend and getting a free drink sounds like a win - win situation here . ”   she said before shrugging .   “ well , i was supposed to be here with campbell but god knows where he is right now and i didn’t even get my free drink , that’s a scam ! ”   with a chuckle , she shook her head .   “ really , i don’t mind though . ”

his head shakes from left to right, no ground for an apology, less so for a favor owed. honest mistake, maybe it’s even a sign to keep him from deviating of a clear head. nonetheless, the request is passed to the bartender, too quick for him to react, again. and he’s far too accommodating to cause any kind of argument by declining the kind gesture. he’ll correct the order, however. ❛ actually, one of what you’re making now. ❜ turns back to the woman on his side, playfulness hiding in his eyes. ❛ don’t want something that tastes awful. ❜ serious tone contrasts the nature of his words — meant to mirror her jest — he’s no good at letting go of his serious stance. town’s situation doesn’t call for dissipation in guard either, although the night was meant for just that. another contradiction. viktor’s only trying to find balance in the middle. keyword: trying. ❛ this going to leave us with a headache tomorrow ? ❜

watching him correct the order , a small grin appeared on holly’s face as she took it as a sign that he wasn’t mad about the whole deal .   still , she would like to make it up to him , so she’d be paying for that one .   “ now that’s more like it . ”   with a soft chuckle she gave a shake of her head , leaning against the bar stool for a moment , just watching the drinks being made before returning her attention to the man next to her .   at his question , she lifted her shoulders , grin only growing wider .   “ well , hopefully ! ”   she was still being playful , though she would continue with her words .   “ wasn’t planning on leaving here without being at least a little bit drunk .  were you ? ”   raising her eyebrows , she noticed one of the drinks being served , which she slid towards him instead .   “ here , i’ll take the other one .   taste the good stuff and i bet you’ll be asking for seconds . ”

Connor drank down the remaining contents of his first beverage with ease, something in attempt to calm his nerves before daring to look her in the eyes. He could recognize that voice from across the room, the one he’d been avoiding in particular to dismiss a painfully awkward conversation. He hoped he could use the party as a distraction, focus on the alcohol and leave all serious conversations for another night — he hoped. “Uh — ” He paused, shaking his head to rid himself of all thoughts. “Let’s get another round, what are you drinking tonight?”

oh shit .   that was the single thought that flashed in her mind as soon as she realized who she had just talked to .   had she realized earlier , she would have spared them both of this conversation but it was too late now .   she had just asked to have a drink together and while she was internally kicking herself for that , she tried to remain somewhat collected on the outside at his question , though , she took a deep breath and looked over at the bartender .   “ shots , apparently .   lots of shots . ”   clearly , it was the only thing that could save her .   knowing that she couldn’t keep her gaze away forever , she finally looked at him .   “ uh ... ”   well , this was awkward .   “ everything alright ? ”   god , should’ve just kept quiet till the drinks arrived .

holly understood how aaliyah must be feeling now .   of course she could never truly know what it felt like to be in her situation but this was her best friend , after all .   she could see what was going on inside her head with one single look at her , just like how holly herself was an open book to aaliyah .   and with such cases it was normal for people to feel the survivor’s guilt , she would let her have her pain and never downplay what happened to her -- yet , she’d also be the first one to swat those thoughts away if she saw aaliyah beating herself up too much for that .   for now , she was just watching her friend , trying to be there for her for whatever she would need .   “ gotcha , liyah .   i’ll ask around for you .   i mean , of course that’s the worst case scenario .   but hey , then we’d be seeing each other at work as well and i could bother you until you get sick of me .   sounds good enough to me . ”   she said with a small smile , nudging her just a little .   “ i’ve talked to some .   it’s ...   not easy , you see . ”   there was no need to say everyone was okay when clearly no one was .   “ i guess we’re all still trying to process it all .   doesn’t feel real at times , you know . ”

emmeline was feeling okay at this stage but the woman couldn’t be trusted to do herself justice when she felt uncomfortable and had alcohol in her system. perhaps she thought that coming here was better than being worried something would happen to her in her home. “uh-” the question was one of the ones she should have prepared for but she hadn’t. miyeon hadn’t wanted her and her absolute wreck of a relationship that followed had done her damage. “no, not really.” her accepting a text from someone that didn’t even like her did not count (sorry, campbell). emmeline continued to fidget as she waited. “yeah, um, no one particularly wanted to go with me which is… fair enough.”

“ well that’s fine , just one less free drink . ”   she lifted her shoulders in a shrug as she really meant that .   sure , she could claim that she came here just for the free drink all she wanted but the real reason was aaliyah .   if it wasn’t for her , she wouldn’t even show up .   so she really didn’t mind having a date or not but apparently it bothered the other a bit .   “ hey , their loss .   it just leaves you the opportunity to mingle with others as you wish . ”   as new drinks were pushed over to them , holly picked one and lifted the glass up .   “ cheers to that ? ”

seeing her reaction , holly’s lips formed into a smile , figuring that slowing down to some cocktails instead of doing shots would really be more fitting for the two right now .   after all it was valentine’s day , not a frat party or something .   while she was looking forward to getting a little drunk , it didn’t mean that she was meaning to leave this party shit-faced .   “ alright , if we’re having drinks together let’s stay true to the theme then . ”   with a grin , she turned to the bartender .   “ love potion no.9 , make it two please . ”   she then turned back to safiye .   “ so i guess the question of the night is ...   was anyone lucky enough to be your date ? ”