* 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝑂𝐹𝐹

valentine 🤑: hi im h word :(

valentine 🤑: ik u probably don't CARE

valentine 🤑: i just thot everyone should know 👀

joey: i care. hungry?

joey: high?

“  had the night off.  ”  she responded simply, shrugging her shoulders.  “  just thought i should chill by myself instead of going around town and reeking havoc.  ”  maggie tries to ignore the quick glance he made down to her lips, but it’s easier said then done. joeys next comment elicits a small giggle from maggie.  “  sure, baby. if that’s what stops the tears.  ”  his actions don’t necessarily surprise maggie, but it cause her breath to hitch until he releases her hand.  “  yeah.. much better.  ”  she responds softly.

                    “ this feels like a dig at me ... ”  words are followed by a faint smile, gaze averting to focus on just about anything else. dark hues seem to be riddled with interest tonight, and they’ve gotten dangerously comfortable focusing on her —— the last thing he needs is for her to point out his staring. his act lasts seconds, attention retrieved by the giggle that finally escapes her lips,  “ thanks, baby. ”  the few sardonic syllables are all he can manage to offer, too preoccupied with his own breath to process the falter in her’s  ( that's something he'll find himself thinking about later. )   “ so if we’re not causing chaos tonight, what are the plans?  because you’re stuck with me now ... and i’m hungry. ” 

             fuck .  fuck  ,  fuck  .  angelo  wasn’t  clumsy  ,  he  did  a  fan-fucking-tastic  job  staying  upright  ;  on  his  two  feet  ,  despite  whatever  heavy  weight  boots  he  shoved  them  into  .  so  why  now  ?  now  that  he  held  his  expensive  camera ,  fingers  tightly  wound  around  to  avoid  slipping  out  of  his  grip  ,  and  now  he  trips  down  the  stairs  .  he  isn’t  even  sure  what’s  worse  ;  that  his  camera  was  now  inches  away  on  the  ground  (  potentially  shattered  ,  angelo  hadn’t  gained  enough  bravery  to  take  a peak  at  the  damage  just  yet  )  ,  or  that  someone  else  was  on  the  staircase  with  him  ,  witnessing  the  dramatic  fall  from  start  to  humiliating  finish .  he  wasn’t  hurt  ,  a  bruise  or  two  and  a  knock  of  wind  that  he  was  slowly  regaining  ,  but  nothing  beyond  a  fear  to  lift  his  head  and  see  his  biggest  nightmare  was  a  reality  .  thus  his  nose  was  pressed  against  the  ground  ,  grunting  as  he  oh-so-carefully  gained  enough  bravery  to  begin  lifting  his  head  to  eye  his  camera  .  “  fucking  fuck  ,  “  he  finally  gasps  out  ,  reaching  out  for  his  camera  ,  but  it  remains  just  out  of  reach  .  a  whine  ,  more  pathetic  than  angelo  usually  allows  ,  his  vision  blurred  by  long  black  hair  that  he  doesn’t  have  the  energy  to  move  .  “  ya  know  what  ?  i’m  just  gonna  fucking  .   .  .  stay  here  .  fuck  it  .  blissful  ignorance  .  “  

                    the  image  of  the  other  tumbling  down  the  staircase  is  all  too  familiar  .   joey  had  fallen  down  the  same  stairs  a  humiliating  amount  .  mind  you,  his  instances  generally  consisted  of  a  dangerous  mixture  of  over-exhaustion,  over-caffeination,  and  a  heedless  amount  of  rushing .  the  results  were,  at  worst,  a  pile  of  textbooks  littering  the  same  floor  the  photographer  had  found  himself  on  .   but  a  camera  ?  ouch  .   the  boy  can't  help  but  hold  his  breath,  watching  helplessly  until  the  events  come  to  an  embarrassing  halt  .  “  fuck  ...  are  you  alright  ?  ”   eyebrows  furrowed,  he  kneels  down  to  grab  the  camera,  slender  digits  nervously  turning  it  over  to  check  for  inevitable  damage  .   “  uh,  it  looks  alright  ...  i  think  .  you  check,  ”   he  scoots  closer  to  the  other  without  looking  up,  slowly  holding  it  out  with  both  hands  (  the  last  thing  he  needs  is  for  it  to  slip  through  his  own  grasp  .  )  he  finally  takes  a  moment  to  glance  at  the  other,  a  hand  reaching  to  lazily  comb  through  his  own  hair  ——  a  bad  nervous  habit  of  his  .   brims  lift  into  a  weak  smile,  trying  to  offer  any  sort  of  optimism  with  honeyed  words,  “  c'mon  .  now  i'm  kinda  curious  how  this  is  gonna  turn  out  .  ”

feeling joey slide in right beside her, maggie honestly debated for a quick moment sliding just a little bit closer to him before ultimately deciding against it. she may have been high, but she definitely wasn’t stupid.  “  you wish i was scared of you. i just didn’t expect someone else to be up here this late.  ” raising her eyebrows, maggie looked over his hand that was reaching out briefly before moving them up to his face.  “  you know what… you can have some…  ”  she started, reaching one hand out before quickly moving it up to turn his head away from her.  “  as long as you don’t smile at me like that.  ”  a soft smile began to tug at her lips, before quickly disappearing, as she reached over giving him the blunt this time.

                            “ yeah yeah yeah ... typical response of someone terrified. what are you doing up here anyway ? ”  lips are still curled into a signature grin, shamelessly inching closer to the other. irises fall to her lips for a moment, focus so lost to cherry brims joey doesn’t notice the hand approaching his face. his head remains in place for a moment, dramatic scoff accompanied by a hand placed on his chest.  “ okay, hurtful. all because you’re too taken by my smile ? ”  smug remarks are simply means of distracting the other from the hint of affection lacing his words, humiliated by the mere thought of being enraptured by the other’s presence. cue an eye roll, digits lifting instead to curl around her wrist.  “ fine —— ”  he turns her wrist before continuing, moving it so he’s able to bring the roll to his lips without it leaving her fingers. actions are drawn out, taking a long hit before his hand gently releases her’s, leaning back into his seat with a proud look,  “ better ?  no smiles. ”

it was very rare that maggie ever got a night off from both of her jobs. usually, if she wasn’t doing one, she was doing the other. by some miracle, her day off of both this week fell on the same day, allowing maggie to cause whatever mischief she could. but, after fighting off a heacache all day, she decided it wasn’t really worth it to go out and suffer. which is how she now found herself sitting up in the rooftop lounge with a blunt in her hand. it had been pretty quiet the whole time she was up here, if anyone had come up before maggie hadn’t noticed. maybe it was because she was high out of her fucking mind right now. she was actually enjoying the peace and quiet. this was probably the most relaxed that maggie had been in months. that was until she saw a figure out of the corner of her eye that nearly gave her a heart attack.  “  jesus fucking christ, dude.  ”  she mumbled, placing a hand over her chest to feel her racing heart.  “  you nearly gave me a heart attack  !  ”

                              he was all too familiar with the smell of weed —— in fact, he almost envied it after the day he’d had. maybe it’s the exhaustion, but deep hues are hardly able to focus on the other, hence the surprise he has when she turns towards him.  “ relax, scaredy cat ... ”  a laugh tumbles from smirking lips all too easily, sliding onto the seat next to her before she’s able to argue.  “ paranoid ?  scared your handsome, charming friend might find out you’re smoking without him ? ”  words are laced with feigned grievance, a hand reaching expectantly in her direction. he’s gotten undeniably comfortable with his ego around the other, even if he knew she could silence him in a second —— pushing her buttons is arguably the most entertaining part of his week. nonetheless, he’s holding out hope that stoned maggie is more generous than normal, head canting to the side with a saccharine smile,  “ share ?  pleeeeease. ”

   the can of beer cracks in jesse’s hands as she opens it. the cool late night seattle breeze blows against her skin as she sits cross legged on one of the seats on hideaway’s rooftop. there’s a certain soreness settling over her muscles from the prior matches of the night and she’s almost certain there’s a dark bruise starting to form on her shoulder. most nights she would have immediately crawled into bed, exhaustion from the night hitting her, but for some reason tonight she felt too riled up to sleep. she brings the can to her lips taking a long sip. she feels the presences behind her but, rather then turning she just speaks out, “ - want one ? i got a six pack , “ hold a beer can above her head. 

                         despite visits to the rooftop being more sporadic than he’d intended as of late, there was hardly a time joey found himself running into company. hues are riddled with curiosity, though he’s sure to maintain composed features, masking any disappointment that came with realizations they’d be sharing the roof tonight. gaze flickers to her shoulder momentarily, trying not to pry with inquiries as to why she’s retreated up here like him.  “ huh ?  oh —— sure, thanks ... ”  hesitation is exposed by fumbled syllables between words, but any suspicions still polluting his thoughts were gone the moment he grabbed the can.  “ rough night ? ”  words are offered with a weak laugh, swiftly taking a seat beside the girl as dim lights illuminate his own exhaustion. slender digits crack the can open with ease before reaching into his pocket to produce a bag,  “ skittles ?  they pair excellently with beer. trust me. ”

ROWAN: on a scale of 1 to 10

ROWAN: how bad of an idea would it be

ROWAN: for me to experiment on myself with the purposes of hopefully giving myself time control powers

ROWAN: i just really want to be able to stop time

ROWAN: and i think i could achieve that if i broke enough laws

JOEY: this sounds

JOEY: very bad. very very bad.

— lee dongmin (cha eunwoo). he/him. cismale. | was that jung “joey” junho i just saw in the hideaway lobby ? i hear the twenty two year old spends most of their studying at veterinary school, but i’ve always just seen them marathoning something on netflix. they live in 5a and i often see them in the halls . . .

hey i’m rachel !  (she/her & est)  i’m running to work now , but i’ll be around more tonight. update: i did NOT finish it in time before work. KNSKDNSKNDSKNDS anyway i have a little bit under the cut (it’ll probably be updated when i have more time), but if you’d like to plot like this and i’ll im you !  or you can message for my discord. i’m a libra so please bare with me as i try to plot...