𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐨𝐲

He did not remove her hand from his arm though; as much as Taylor disliked sudden and overbearing touch from… almost anyone, the reasoning had a lot to do with it. Sad attempts at asserting dominance or pushing affection onto him were met with cold, harsh rejection but this seemed to be neither. Rather, his hand hovered without touch, almost reacting uncannily empathetic for his own record, as he continued to speak. “Personally, not a fan of crowds either.” Whether his guess had hit the nail on its head would only be revealed by Joia’s reaction to his words, seen quite immediately since they still stood so very close to each other, but there was little else that he’d think of that he’d ever seen people react to so negatively and quickly. 

She wasn’t entirely sure what Taylor was planning or how he was going to figure out how to deal with situation, and she didn’t envy him. Joia hadn’t felt this feeling, it nauseated her, for the most part, in many months. And, she was glad of it. Her husband didn’t really react as well as she made out he did but, he still knew how to handle the situation and get her under control before things happened too quickly and she said something that might jeopardize their entire family. Joia gave a nod and leaned a little against the counter, hoping she could calm herself, or put herself in some compartment to cool off within her own mind. Finally, she turned to Taylor and nodded, “I-- thank you. That hasn’t happened a lot since we moved here. I guess, just sometimes I get overwhelmed. New place and all.” The redhead offered.

Anika’s shoulders settled as the other woman said she didn’t have anything on her. It took a little worry off her mind. She offered a smile and a small shrug. “I work a lot so it was just a little impulse on a free day. But I promise you didn’t ruin anything, I think I did that all on my own.” Anika brushed her hair out of her face and gestured down at her self with a laugh. “Other than giving myself a whole new look I think I’m alright, nothings broken and my art things are in one piece.” She looked down the street and then back at the other woman, holding her hand out suddenly. “Anika Corbyn. If we’re going to have a coffee I figure we should at least know each other’s name right?”

The redhead was not typically too fond of other human contact but, hearing the gentleness in Anika’s comment and her tone made Joia feel at ease. She gave a nod and tucked back a little hair behind her ear, “Those kinds of days are great, I love when I get those.” She offered, trying to find some semblance of normality in Devinstone still. She hesitantly took Anika’s outstretched hand after a moment of pause, before she offered a bright smile; “Joia. Yes, that’s my real name and no, it isn’t short for anything else.” She beamed, “Where would you like to go? For coffee, I mean?”

Maybe growing up in a competitive, male-dominated world had done its damages when Taylor’s first instinct was to stiffen up at the touch even in such a public place like the coffee shop of choice for his daily run of the mill Americano; somewhere between readiness to fight and discomfort, there was a thin line to be walked. “Mrs. McCord”, he realized at the recognition insight of red hair and familiar face of half of his realtor team that the hand belonged to. The words drenched in annoyance were silenced on their way out, as he took a good look at the woman. Something in the way she looked had drastically changed from how he’d ever seen her previously, it reminded him of a friend from times long past and had his features soften despite the discomfort. “Everything alright, Miss?”

Typically Joia would have kept her hands to herself but, with the sudden increase in noise and the hectic bustling around her, she felt the need to fight the want to flight. By clinging onto the nearest object or, in this case, person, she felt more at ease and relinquished the urge to run, something instinct in previous towns and cities had always told her to do. When his voice broke through her daze, the redhead swallowed and turned her wide-eyed gaze up at him; that familiar face she knew too well from briefings and meetings, and everything else. Joia relaxed slightly, “I’m sorry.” She muttered, inwardly she prayed he wouldn’t question what was happening or why the sudden grab she’d taken of his arm.

Anika laid there for a moment, catching her breath before she looked at the woman with a smile. “I should have been paying attention. I was dancing instead of being a normal human being.” She replied as she took the other woman’s offer of help, getting to her feet quickly. She bent back over for her bag, a quick glance assuring her that nothing inside was damaged or broken. “You don’t have to do that. I can always grab another coffee down the road. I didn’t get anything on you did I?” Niki asked her, brows furrowing suddenly as she looked the redhead over to make sure there was no trace of coffee on her. 

The last thing she wanted was to ruin someones clothes, though a look down at her own told her that she had managed to soak her own shirt with the spilled beverage. A small sigh passed her lips before she looked back at the lady’s face. “You sure you’re alright?”

The redhead shook her head, she let out an amused laugh before she gently smiled at the younger woman, hauling her up back onto her feet. The two were petite but, Anika was tiny. Joia glanced down at herself as she assessed any potential spillages on her clothes but, noted nothing had gotten on her clothing, “Not on me, you’re fine and no, I insist. I feel like I ruined whatever dance thing you had going on there, it looked like fun.” The redhead was not one to just up and leave if she’d caused a minor inconvenience, much to the objection of her husband; he would most definitely say she was a prime contender for ‘hit and run’. Joia gave an amused scoff and shook her head, “I’m fine, are you okay?”

Aaron was glad for one free day this week. It meant that he could finally breathe or something. He didn’t need to, if he planned on napping all day, but he basically ran on caffeine these days anyway. The relative quiet of the coffee shop when he entered it was all it was. It was relative. Within a few minutes, the place began filling up. And his favorite feeling came to pass, which was his feeling of insignificance. That with this many people around, his problems and his life couldn’t have possibly meant all that much. He waited for his turn in line, earphones on to separate himself from the rest of reality. The disconnection was brief because after a moment, he felt a grip on his arm. He turned to the cause and saw the discomfort in her face. He took off his earphones and gave her his attention. “You all right there, ma’am?” he asked.

She was too far gone in her zone to notice he’d even really spoken to her until she saw a pair of eyes, somewhat highlighted from the rest of his face and she exhaled. She forced herself to exhale. Joia gaped as she took in her surroundings; she forced herself to do a few things in his presence, the redhead then swallowed, “I-- I’m not sure.” She stuttered, “Is it loud in here, or is it just me being in my own head?” She questioned gently, praying nobody else had caught onto whatever episode she was currently having.

              Coffee was what Bexley lived off of , giving her the energy throughout the day after working a night shift or giving her any sense of motivation on her days off . Today , she knew she would need the coffee to get through at least a few hours of ‘ me time ’ before finally getting the rest she needed after a night shift at the hospital . Her whole body wanted to collapse , exhaustion ready to take over , but it wasn’t anything new to the woman , and she definitely wouldn’t trade her job for the world . The raise in volume didn’t worry Bex , she had lived in a household where screaming matches happened regularly over the phone . It was clear that it affected the woman next to her though , causing Bex to flinch as she got the deadly grip of the other’s hand around her arm . ‘‘ Hey —– hey , it’s okay . ” Her voice was quiet , unsure if the woman even wanted comfort . “ Honestly , just a simple commotion . Do you need me to do anything ? Do you need to leave for a moment ? ” Bexley knew all too well the feelings of a slight panic attack , a feeling she wouldn’t wish on anyone .

She hadn’t even realized she’d gripped onto anything until she felt the warm flesh under her palm and then the soothing voice coaxing her back to normality. Joia hadn’t had anything like that happen to her before, at least not when she’d been alone, her husband was usually around to deal with that situation or the issues that came with it. But, he was not there. The redhead swallowed and turned her head slowly to whomever owned the voice that spoke up, breaking through her sudden selective hearing. Her eyes met a young woman, she looked no older than just past ‘girl stage’ but, Joia took comfort in that -- it felt familiar, almost as though her daughter was near. She shook her head though, and offered a weak smile before she announced, “Usually my husband deals with this stuff.” Joia scoffed to try and ease the situation a little, mostly to try and tell herself that she needed to calm down and she was being a bit pathetic.

“What the shit?” Athena was quick to let out, pulling her arm from the other woman’s grasp. For a moment, she’d thought it had been Artemis Ambrosia, her mother, once again breaking the boundaries of her privacy. But no, it was actually worse, a stranger. “Have you ever heard of personal space? Jesus.” 

The redhead slowly began to regain her composure as Athena’s voice broke through the fog that clouded her mind; her eyesight had become blinkered, almost like a horse and her hearing had shuttered everything but, at the same time, heightened the most minute of sounds. As Joia felt the tug from beneath her fingers, she turned her head to see the blonde’s mouth moving but, the sound was somehow muted. She just stared, for a moment with heavy eyes before she shook her head, “I-I’m sorry. I apologize. That’s never happened to me before while I’ve been alone. I’m sorry.”

This is 100% true, 10/10.

Mia: Sometimes self-care is taking a shot of vodka and moving on.

Mia: Or, you know, ten shots of vodka.

Mia: Who's even counting anymore?

Joia: I think I can agree with that.

❤️- For a secret crush

🏹- For a talent they wish they had

💃- For a talent that they like to keep hidden from others

Already answered this one here.

🌜- For a ‘weird’ habit or tic that no one knows about