compulsive indulgence

this for sure wasn’t how sid had wanted to spend his time, but part of him was getting used to needing to get up and stupid hours of the day to help alice, his roommate out cause she had forgotten to do something, or just actually forgotten something.. this time, as many other times, he’d be awoken only to learn that she’d lost or forgotten the apartment keys and couldn’t get inside.. so he’d reluctantly gotten dressed and stood outside their building waiting for the girl to show up. what he hadn’t expected though was that alice would be the one to walk  into him, but then again it wasn’t out of character for her, and he found it kinda cute.. a lot about alice, sid found kinda cute..  

a low and almost inaudible groan escaped him the moment he heard her call him buddy.. something he hated, it made him really feel weird.. but regardless he didn’t protest as she kinda just dug her face into his chest, sliding her small arms around his body and hugged him.. the taller of the two, peered down at her, only to be greeted by a frown.. “– your keys were in the key bowl by the door..” he muttered, lifting his hand to push some of her hair away from her face.. “but it’s fine– i’ll survive..”

           --- her eyebrows raised. she could have sworn she took them out of the bowl when she left, but it was very possible she hadn’t. remembering things was far from her strong suit, and coupled with the fact that she had smoked a well-sized joint before leaving for work likely contributed to her forgetfulness. she wouldn’t tell sid that, though --- he hated when she smoked before doing things like that. closing her eyes as his fingers brushed her cheek, she smiled.

           --- “ i’ll try harder to remember next time. pinky swear. ” one of her arms unwrapped itself from around his body, and she lifted her hand to wrap her pinky finger around his. “ and if i forget then i’ll just suffer outside for the night instead of waking you up. ” she could tell he had tried to put himself together slightly when he woke up, but his hair was still mussed up from sleep, his eyes droopy. her smile grew, and she unwound her other arm from around him but kept her pinky wrapped around his as she began to walk to the door of the building.

           --- “ how was your evening, anyways ? i feel like i miss out on a lot while i’m working. did tinsley come by or anything ? ” 

pursing his lips, he blew a raspberry into the cold air, as he sat around doing nothing really like he usually did when he didn’t have any work.. despite having a job, he was sill kinda just in and out of it, and currently he was kinda out, and he was beyond bored…  nothing ever happened in the sleepy town that was redwood creek.. people were just too sweet and nice and it made him feel weird.. uncomfortable and out of place.. pushing himself off the wall of the building he had come to a rest at earlier after having a cigarette, he quickly came to a halt as he felt something walking into him, and the sound of a voice apologizing profusely followed 

           --- alice knew she was going to be getting flack about this for ages. leaving her keys in the apartment yet again despite all the best efforts to remember them. she could tell based on his voice over the phone that sid had been far from pleased with being woken up at past twelve to come let in his airhead roommate. however, she’d rather deal with an irritated sid than sleep outside. it was a short walk from the small restaurant she worked in to their building --- a three story brick structure with three separate living spaces --- and a route she had walked before many times. it was easy to zone out when doing repetitive tasks, and so she hardly noticed she was home until she bumped right into sid, likely annoying him further.

           --- “ sorry buddy, ” she groaned, words muffled by the fact that her face was pressed into his chest ( he smelled like laundry detergent and cigarette smoke, a scent she found comforting ). she let their collision turn into a hug --- one he would have to fight hard to get out of. her small arms wrapped around his midsection tightly and she looked up at him, a frown evident on her face. “ i know you think i’m stupid but i swear i remembered my keys when i left !! they must have hopped out of my purse when i wasn’t looking. ”

Chess studied the girls features as he brought the beer back up to his lips, trying to see if he could get a good read on her and what she might enjoy, but she was a tough one. Without thinking he slid into the booth in front of her and looked down at the menu in her hands “that menu sucks, trust me, I made it”.

He tapped his fingers on the table trying to think of something that he’d been working on, it was a eerie purple color and it tasted amazing. Chess quickly leaned forward “I think i’ve got something, but it really depends on how fucked up you want to get, my level of fucked up is pretty high” he gestured his hand above her head before taking a sip of his beer again. “but I mean, the beer is good too”.

           --- so the hot mystery man ran the joint ? how fitting. alice shut the menu slowly, before placing it on the table in front of her and sliding it over to the stranger across from her. leaning forward slightly, she brought her hands back in to make fists, resting her chin carefully on them. her eyes and ears were drawn to the way his long fingers tapped on the table, and she found herself getting lulled into a trance by the repetition until she heard that melted caramel voice again. how fucked up did she want to get ? she wasn’t entirely sure yet, but it seemed like a fun idea to let this guy lead her into destruction.

           --- “ i’m quite intrigued by your level and i would love if you’d get me there. ” she didn’t draw back at all when he suddenly moved forward. instead, she stayed in place, her playful gaze locking with his. “ personally ? i’m not a beer drinker. yeast juice isn’t my particular cuppa tea. ” proceeding to contradict her own statement, alice let one hand out from underneath her face, using it to grab the pint glass from the man and bring it to her lips. she took a small sip before placing it back down between them.

           --- “ that is decent though, and i’ll try anything once, ” she purred with a tilt of her head and a nod. “ you have good taste. ”

Drinking while on the clock was always frowned upon, even if he did work at a bar, but of course Chess didn’t care, he never thought about consequences, just acted. He took a sip of his beer and let the cool bitter liquid calm him down after a difficult customer had left. Chess’ eyes slowly shifted as he watched someone sit down “what can I get you?” he asked after setting the glass down in front of him.

           --- alice wasn’t much of a drinker. she had seen the toll alcohol had taken on her mother and her sister after her ( a sickening sight, truly ) and preferred to stay away from it all together. however, she’d had a horrible day. job searching was not going as easily as planned, and her inheritance was quickly drying up. her landlord was being understanding enough about her financial situation, but the phone company, cable company, insurance collectors ... not so much. she would be screwed if she didn’t find something soon, and that was incentive enough to go out for a drink ( ironically enough --- spending money to ease the stress of going broke ). 

           --- there was a plethora of bar options in a college town, but alice had always preferred the crowded and almost club-like atmosphere of madman’s bar. the few times she did indulge in booze she wanted it to be somewhere with loud music and a pages long cocktail menu. this place fit the bill. she was seated alone in a booth, taking her sweet time with the drink menu, when she felt a presence in front of her that was followed by a husky voice.

           --- blue eyes moved from where they had been fixated on the menu, up the darkly dressed figure of a man. when she found his face, her eyebrows rose. “ well, i’ve been here for about five minutes so that’s a good question that i don’t have an answer to yet. any recommendations ? ”

who’s that coming out from the sunflower field ? oh, it’s just alice kensington, the twenty two year old, who looks quite similar to freya mavor. they are a visual arts major at redwood creek university. some might say she has the personality of alice from alice in wonderland since she’s known to be imaginative & witty, but also has a tendency to be childish & rash. 

aesthetic: messy hair, stomach tied in knots, unwashed paintbrushes, pressed flowers, enamel pins, laughing until your whole body aches, monet paintings, week-long benders, cat cuddles, sunflower fields, mug collecting, intimacy, “no makeup” makeup, fancy bongs, mushrooms growing on the side of your house, swatches, freckles, fortune cookies, bloodshot eyes, a strangers tongue in your mouth.

you can find her pinterest board here.