"No, you're much more suited for being in the kitchen," Hazal teased, not meaning it in a bad way. "You have talent like most people dream of having." She couldn't help but say, though it was far from the first time that she had ever said something like that to Javier. "Of course," Hazal let out a laugh, shaking her head, "Some things never change, huh?" She teased him, thinning her lips in though to his question, "I'll just have a cosmo," she told Javier, using her go to drink without hesitation. It was the easiest - at least not having to put much thought into it. "How -uh, how have you been, otherwise?" Hazal questioned, making small talk with the man. @javi-riveraa

"Are you telling me that you wouldn't trust me as your doctor? Hazal, I'm hurt" he joked, smiling brightly so she knew he didn't mean it. He knew basic first aid, mainly as a consequence of growing up with an idiot brother, but anything past that he was entirely clueless on. "Thank you" Javi smiled at her compliment, truly taking it to heart. "We should really be thanking my mom though, I wouldn't know nearly as much as I do without her" he gave the credit to someone else as usual, though Hazal would know better than others that his mom didn't deserve the recognition for it. She was there when he was younger to witness the way he'd stepped up to take care of himself and his siblings, and a majority of what he'd known was actually self taught. Javi turned to the bartender and ordered a beer for himself and a cosmo for her, turning back to her with a smile when she asked how he'd been. "I've been doing well, you know, busy most days but I'm just waiting for it to start getting warm again. I can't wait to get my spring and summer activities started, then I really won't have time" he said, them both knowing he was a very outdoorsy person. He loved it all; rock climbing, camping, hiking, kayaking- you name it, he did it. "What about you?"

"I don't know why you'd ever be suspicious of me asking you to hang out. I mean, clearly your company is one of the best in town. I'm just lucky to have got on your calendar," Renee jested back with him. "No, not boring. I promise," she assured him, knowing full and well that of the two she was likely the boring one. "Oh the brownie bits," she bit back a playful groan, "they are always made fresh and you can tell." There was something about them. "Deal, that's what I'm getting then." Renee grinned at him, "This is why it pays to be friends with a chef, your opinion on food always matters. I'd hate to end up with a horrid combination." @javi-riveraa

"I don't disagree, I am very clearly one of the best people in town" Javier laughed, shaking his head as he said it since he clearly didn't believe that himself. "It is a pretty packed calendar, but there's always room for you on it, don't worry about that" he told her, which he truly meant. No matter how busy he was, he always tried to make time for his family and friends- Renee being one of his favorites to see. Javier shook his head again when she said his opinion on food was the best, "I would only trust me with like actual food, I'm terrible with desserts" he admitted, laughing. "Remember when I tried to make croissants that one time for Jasmine's birthday breakfast? They were so bad, I still don't know what I did wrong." Javier was the type of chef who measured with his heart, which worked fine with savory foods, but desserts and pastries always needed exact measurements to work properly.

"Oh yeah?" Marcel questioned, "Alright, well I'll take your word for it." If the food was as good as the other made it sound, maybe he'd come here with Aarin next time for date night. "Oh yeah, a burger is always a way to tell wether or not a place is worth revisiting." He said as if he just had remembered that himself. "Hm alright.." He looked back at the menu. "I might give the burger a try. Hopefully the fries are decent too, then I might just become a regular."

"I do the same thing, I get a burger everywhere I go to see if I'm going to like a place" Javier told him, though he honestly didn't go out to many restaurants to eat. After spending so much of his day at one every day, he just preferred to be home, and he had no problem cooking for himself every night. "A burger, awesome, how do you like yours cooked?" he asked, though most of the time people just said medium rare. Every once in a while someone would say medium, so he liked to ask to be sure. "If you're feeling fancy we have these garlic parmesan fries that are really good" he told the other man, that being his usual recommendation when it came to their sides. Sometimes he even brought some home with him after work for his sister to have.

Hazal was going to interject, but it was too late as she was turned by Javier. She stared at the wall her head had just knocked into, wishing it had knocked her out so she did not have to sit in her own anxiousness of being around the other. So cool, so casual, always had the ability to let something roll off his shoulders. When she turned back around, she was smiling at him, all the same. Javier had always known how to knock down her walls. "I'm pretty sure they say not to drink," Hazal pointed out with a small laugh, "but okay, I could definitely use a drink." @javi-riveraa

At her insistence that his recommendation to get a drink was exactly what any doctor would say not to do, he just laughed and shook his head, "Ah well, then it's a good thing I'm not a doctor because I would not have made it through medical school" he joked, before motioning for her to come with him back to the bar area, "My solution for everything is to grab a drink. I'm not even kidding, I cut my finger at work the other week and I just wrapped it up and poured myself a beer" he stated, smiling back at her. "What are you drinking? I'll order for us"

Renee placed a hand over her heart with the accusation (clearly a playful one), "You know I'd never do that," her lips were parted ever so slightly as if she were really surprised by his statement, "and I can't believe you'd ever accuse me of something like that," she slowly shook her head before her parted lips gave way to a smile, giving away that she was teasing in return. "Of course, I do," this time she grinned at him, "I don't know why you'd expect anything less at this point," she joked with Javier, "You are not boring," Renee said, unable to help the roll of her eyes that followed. "That sounds really delicious though," the brunette stated, her lips twisting as she looked over the menu list once more, "I'm thinking strawberry, actually, maybe with chocolate cover pretzels." @javi-riveraa

"I don't know, I think you would. I was suspicious when you asked me to hang out today and now I know your true intentions" Javier continued to joke, the laugh escaping his lips before he even finished the sentence. Seeing Renee was always a great time, she was always so sweet and positive and it just made his day. "I'm not boring? Oh come on, I definitely am" he said back, truly believing it. There weren't many unmarried men his age who spent a majority of their spare time taking care of an eight year old. "It is so, so good. And I get the little brownie bits on top" he said, nodding. His favorite flavor and topping just happened to also be his sisters favorite, but sometimes he thought she just liked it because he did. "Strawberry is a good choice, and you got to do the chocolate covered pretzels, that's a good combination"

who: Javier Rivera @javi-riveraa where: Mystery Quest Escape Room

Admittedly, Javier was actually pretty good at escape rooms. He'd done a lot of them with his friends, so he figured it would be the perfect place to take his sister over the weekend. He didn't want to take over completely and just solve everything for her, so he was going into the plans with the intentions of watching and guiding her in the right direction when she needed it so she could do a lot of it herself. "Ooh, what did you find?" Javi asked Chantel, pointing for his sister to go over and check it out with her. As the woman asked if she found anything that could've been a clue, Jasmine nodded and showed her that there was a number on the bottom of one of the figurines she had just been looking at. "I have a number under these books, maybe they're for a combination lock. Chantel, is there a lock near you? I don't see one over here"

Closed | @javi-riveraa

"Well you have a great chef today so no matter what I can guarantee it's going to be good food" Javier told him, just a small joke to himself since he was, in fact, going to be the one cooking whatever Marcel ordered. At the thought of what he'd recommend, he paused while he considered the options, "Can't go wrong with a good burger, personally that's what I always make for myself here. I like the buffalo wings a lot, great steaks if you're looking for something a bit bigger" he said, listing off a few things he liked to make that he ate all the time.

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"I see, you were waiting for me so I'd buy your ice cream for you. You think you're sneaky, Renee, but I know your tricks by now" Javi teased her, obviously knowing that wasn't why she waited, but he did intend on buying her ice cream anyway. He let out a dramatic gasp when she revealed that she had saved the best booth for them, "How did you know that was my favorite booth here? You really understand me" he said as he placed his hand over his heart, pretending to be touched by the gesture. "See I can't do that, I get the same thing every time I go somewhere because I'm boring. I have to go with the chocolate with peanut butter swirls, it's the best, nothing will ever beat it. Which flavor are you looking at?"

Sully was outside as he watched his zip line course be taken down. It was damaged pretty badly in the storm. But now with the weather, and how cold it was they could not fix it right now. The ropes would be closed for the winter so it wasn't the worst thing. But he was still sad to see it taken down. But he knew once it was spring they would get it all back set up. Sully now walked back into the center shaking off from the cold and some light rain that was going on. He knew snow would be coming soon and he wasn't ready for that.

Javier was a frequent flyer at the Adventure center. Whether he was renting kayaks, getting new camping or rock climbing gear, it seemed like he was in and out of that place like a revolving door. Which was good news for him, as he knew the staff and owner pretty well by now, and as long as he kept seeing them it meant he stayed in pretty good shape. "Sully! How you doing man, you guys end up alright in the storm?" he asked him, knowing a lot of places that to close down for repairs and some people had been hurt.

"Ah, you know, I could go and try and take care of that for you." She joked with him, unable to actually cause any damage to a roof if she really tried. "I am, too," she hadn't enjoyed being cooped up in one place for all that long, wishing she was with her loved ones, wondering the entire evening how Adem was fairing. "Nothing critical," she told Javier, "minor cuts and scrapes," which made her fortunate as well, "How's it going with your girlfriend?" @javi-riveraa

"We'll stop at the store to buy some ski masks after this so no one will know it's us when we go rip the roof off my job" Javi continued the joke, laughing and shaking his head before pointing back at his sister, "You're not going to tell anyone, right?" he jested, to which she laughed and agreed to keep the secret. "Attagirl, see that? I raised her right, she's not a snitch" Once he was done tying Jasmine's shoes he inputted their names into the slots for their bowling lane and turned on the bumpers so his sister could actually get points during their game. "That's a relief to hear, I'm glad everyone's alright" he told her, smiling brighter when she asked about Aster, "It's going really good, she's on a trip right now she'll be back in February. Jasmine misses her, and I might miss her a little bit too" he teased, since it was obvious that he did.

Hazal, momentarily dazed, heard her name and her gaze quickly flickered to the person that said it. Javier. Of course. Leave it to her to continuously run into the man in the most awkward moments -well, for her, they were all awkward. Again. Just when she had thought they were on a good path, Hazal had gone and screwed it all up. "Oh, uh thank you," she gave him a smile, reaching out for her phone and shoving it back in her pocket without even looking it over. If it was broken, she did not want to know about it now. "Yeah, I did," she reached up, rubbing the back of her head, "it hurts, a little, but I think I'm okay, otherwise, you know." @javi-riveraa

Javier didn't find their current predicament awkward, even with her slip up at the Wagner wedding. To him it was just a simple miscommunication and they both moved on from it, he had no idea that she still felt like they were weird. Frowning when she said she hit her head, he motioned for her to turn. "Turn around, let me take a look at it" he said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and inspecting the back of her head, feeling for any kind of bump or cut. "No bump yet so I think you'll survive." he joked, though he was actually glad that there seemed to be no mark forming where she'd hit the wall. "Though they do say the best cure is to start drinking" he said with a small smile, "Let me buy you a drink?"

Her negligence was not forged from ignorance but from the hurt she reveled in. The pounding ache that lingered on, electric shocks lighting in the midst of her swirling thoughts, she'd long ceased to try and grasp. At the man's explanation, she merely nodded, the sole movement, however small it may be, enough to cause vertigo to intensify. Harlow grimaced and swallowed, as though it may appease her lingering nausea. "Harlow," she spoke, her voice a small whisper against the ubiquitous murmur of voices surrounding them. "What's going on?" Eventually, she found the courage to place inquiries in this overwhelming reality. "What's happening?" @javi-riveraa

At least she remembered her name, he thought. The situation could've been a lot worse if he'd asked her and she couldn't give him an answer, so he took this as a good sign. "Harlow, that's good, it's good to meet you I'm Javier" he said, maintaining a hushed whisper so he didn't hurt her head any more than it already did. "You hit your head pretty hard, I'm assuming you have a concussion but we can't get you to a doctor until the storm dies down" he told him with a small frown, wishing there was anything they could do to speed the process up. "I'll stay with you until we can get you out of here, okay? Just try to stay relaxed, we'll get you out soon"

"You're lucky there." Xia said with a laugh. Hearing him call founding family obligations exhausting she nodded and sighed. "It's something else. I thought stuff in LA could be crazy, but this." She said and shook her head. It wasn't too bad, though. Nothing she couldn't get used to. When Javier clarified that the little girl was actually his sister, Xia blushed a little. "No, I'm sorry for assuming." She apologized. "That's nice that you help out. I'm sure she loves it." She didn't have too much experience on the sibling front spending so long being an only child, but she could appreciate what the man was doing. "It seems great. My family talks it up a lot and while I loved growing up in LA, I think this will be better for Poppy." She said with a smile. "That's awesome. At least you like it. That's the best case scenario, right?" @javi-riveraa

Javier nodded when she mentioned LA as well, "You must live a very hectic life, from Los Angeles to founding family here, I don't think you'll ever have much of a break" he said, imagining how fast paced it must've been there and here when your family was that important. He thought his life was stressful enough as it was, he couldn't even imagine hers. Javi shook his head when she apologized, "Don't worry, I actually get that a lot, I'm very used to people mistaking me for her dad" he said, which was true. Granted, he was 20 years older than his sister and spent more time with her than their parents, so it wasn't a crazy assumption to make. "I really do love it here, I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. I'm hope you and Poppy love it as much as we do"

She laughed. "It sounds like a good plan, but just wait until we get them home later. I'm sure they'll be bouncing off the walls." Xia said and shook her head. "I may take you up on that. I need more than just these family obligation things. I knew being part of a founding family was special, but the list of events is insane. Makes me miss LA." She said honestly and watched her daughter. "Do you share custody of her?" She asked curiously by the way he talked about setting up holidays for Jasmine. "Family, mostly. Hers and mine." She shrugged. "I'm related to the Clarks and came up a lot as a kid and then her dad is from here." Xia shrugged. "I guess I was in need of a change. Have you always lived here?" @javi-riveraa

Javier nodded, "Oh yeah, I'm lucky I get her hand her off right after this so I won't have to deal with her bursts of energy- not today anyway" he said with a laugh, though he had to put up with it most of the time. He didn't mind it, he was young he still had energy to take care of her like that. Their parents were just too old to raise someone so young, he had to step in. He shook his head when she mentioned the family obligations of being in a founding family, "Yikes, that sounds like a lot. I could never do all that, I would be exhausted" he told her. Though being in a founding family sounded cool, he did not envy all of the obligations they had. "Huh? Oh- oh, no Jasmine's my sister. Sorry, I know we have a huge age gap" he started explaining, "My parents work a lot and they're really old so I help them out with her" he told her, though he had always been the one taking care of his siblings, even the ones who were only a few years younger than him. "That's great that you're around family here, I personally think this is a great town to raise a kid in. Good schools, good people, beautiful area with lots to do" he told her with a smile. "Yeah! I was born here, raised here, no plans on moving anytime soon"

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Javier was actually pretty good at bowling, but whenever he brought his sister with him he ended up doing silly throws and doing worse to make her laugh and make sure their scores weren't so far off that it was discouraging for her. He wanted her to like coming bowling with him, so he couldn't go all out. "Unfortunately for me, Rivero's made it out just fine. I was hoping so a little bit of roof damage or something that would give me like a week off, but I'm never that lucky" he told her, only half joking. Of course he was happy the place was in good condition, but he wouldn't have minded the break. Leaning down in front of his sister, he helped her put her shoes on before looking back at Dilara. "I'm just glad that's all over, that was a crazy night. I heard a lot of people got hurt, was anyone you know injured?" he asked, as all of his family and most of his friends were fine, thankfully.

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Javier was out with his siblings, over on the other side of the bar just chatting and catching up. It was a good night, very relaxed for him given his usually very busy schedule. Right when his eyes were scanning the room, he saw Hazal get knocked into and drop her phone and excused himself from their conversation so he could check on her. Picturing up her phone, he turned back to Hazal, who seemed to have not noticed she lost it. "Hey- Hazal, your phone" he said as he held it back out for her to take. "I saw that asshole bump into you, are you alright? Did you hit your head?"