personality;

Yeah? Why not? I bet you could get a dance scholarship. Greenville’s team has been looking rough lately, I know they’d love to have you. 

Agh, it’s not for everyone. You can help around my studio until you figure things out. I’m always looking for new teachers ‘n assistants. 

If I do it’ll just be at BCC. I don’t care that much about it yet. 

Yeah, don’t bother. Our band will probably take off by August and we’ll be too rich and famous to consider college anyways. 

But doesn’t decorating a dorm room sound kinda fun? 

Sometimes taking a gap year is good for you. At least that’s what Google tells me. Y’know you can intern at the label if you want instead.

zodileons​:

Uh, no, I like it. I don’t think you should change.

It was always a rare, rare evening at home when Mr. and Mrs. Sheppard would talk about their pasts pre-Plumfeld. Mrs. Sheppard was an aspiring artist before she met Pastor Plumfeld. She dabbled in making clothing, painting, drawing, writing - you name it. Her parents had kicked her out when she was a young girl and so she lived on the streets until one of the other Plumfeld residents found her one day and took her in. Mr. Sheppard was an engineer. He was a smart, smart man with a stupid pain-killer drug addiction, and he originally met Pastor Plumfeld at an AA meeting. The Pastor encouraged Mr. Sheppard to come live in Plumfeld for it was a “safe haven for the emotionally wounded” and somewhere where “everyone was welcome to heal at their own pace.” Mr. Sheppard actually did remain sober for the rest of his life, but that wasn’t a success Zodi would ever attribute to Pastor Plumfeld. Never ever. When Zodi’s parents spoke of life pre-Plumfeld, they never spoke about their previous relationships. It was always just them together and that’s the way they wanted their kids to know and remember them. However, one evening after a council meeting, Mr. Sheppard sat around the fire with Zodi and the other sons around his age and answered some of their questions. He always did that after council meetings and Zodi was convinced it was because he felt so guilty. 

It was Bubba who asked if Dad had ever had a girlfriend before Mom. Dad finally caved and said yes - Kimberly Franks. She went by Kimmie and she had the longest, blondest hair Dad had ever seen. Zodi remembered the way his fathers eyes lit up as he described her. “She was a wild one, that’s for sure,” Dad said, “We’d go to rock concerts together and she’d sit on my shoulders. She’d bring out the crazy in me, and I’d try and keep her head out of the clouds. Boy, she was really something.” 

Sitting there on the beach with Kelsie Buchanan, the crazy, loud girl who he’d originally tried so hard to not like, Zodi felt a lot like his dad, and Kelsie Buchanan felt a whole Hell of a lot like his Kimmie Franks. 

“Yeah, we might as well. You know, spare me the embarrassment of showing up to the bonfire alone or like–with my sisters, and spare you having to talk to Bo,” Zodi teased. 

He and Kelsie didn’t talk much about guys or girls. They’d occasionally talk about their bandmates and who’d they look cute with from school, but they never spoke on relationships - especially Kelsie and Bo’s. All Zodi knew of it was that every time Kelsie showed up, Bo looked like a sad puppy dog or the cat with the huge, pleading eyes from Shrek. He didn’t want to know any more. His parents always told him to never poke his nose into relationships that weren’t his. 

“If ya promise me I’ll get some s’mores eventually, I don’t care that much about the bonfire,” He admitted, “We can steal the popsicles and hangout with the boys. Gage always pays me a shit ton too, so, I’ll split you fifty-fifty if you can get Jett to sleep. I swear his big head doesn’t know how to calm down,” Zodi strummed the ukelele again and joked, “Ah, maybe a lullaby’d help.” 

As Kelsie sat down next to him, Zodi exhaled. The two of them had been on quite the friendship journey since first being introduced several years ago, and it had only been in the last few months that his feelings for her had turned into more. Zodi wasn’t sure why, especially because she was Jaci Mae’s best friend in the entire world, but he assumed it was because he was spending so much time with her and just getting to know her. On the surface, Kelsie was scary. She had a reputation about her, and people at school either envied or hated her. Zodi didn’t mind that though, because he had a reputation too. Though he had jazz band and his band with his buddies that Kelsie was in too - people still looked at him pretty weird. I mean, after all, he came from a pretty weird place so he didn’t blame them for being freaked out by what they didn’t understand. His therapist had told him that people oftentimes hated on or disliked things they didn’t understand instead of trying to understand them, but the people that would take time to get to know him - those were the ones worth having. He was sure Kelsie wasn’t one of those people at first, but now she surely was. And above all, he was just happy his little sister had a good friend too.

“The muses just finds me wherever I am,” He said, strumming the uke again as he joked, “I’m thinking our next song title should be...Life’s A Beach.” 

Zodi strummed once more, taking a not-so-subtle look (in his defense, he thought it was subtle) at Kelsie in her bikini as she asked him about the evenings plans. “It’s either babysitting Gage’s boys’ so he can work on interviews over at Cal and Maisie’s place or it’s going to the bonfire…soooo, yeah. I’m definitely gonna come! Plus, I feel like we never eat enough s’mores back at home, and I want to chow down on a minimum of ten tonight. And no,” He brushed his hands over his pale, white legs, “No sun. I turn as red as the Koolaid Man. Don’t you remember last summer when I swam without sunscreen on? It wasn’t pretty.” 

Compared to Zodi, Kelsie looked like she was born and raised on the beach. She was golden, almost. And compared to Kelsie, Zodi looked like he was born and raised in a basement. He was ghostly, almost. It made her giggle. She was still trying to ignore her feelings for him, but lately, it was getting harder to ignore. And something about this trip felt like things might be different for the two of them. People did ask Kelsie at school about Zodi. She had just finished her junior year at a private school but was planning on being back at Brooksville High for her senior year, but even at the private school, people asked about Zodi. They asked if he was as lame as he seemed online or on TV (and yes, they did watch the show) and they asked her all the time why she would be willing to be in their little garage band together. In trust, Kelsie thought Zodi was cool. In a dorky way, but still, cool. She liked their band. It was Kelsie, Zodi, and a couple other kids they knew, and as much as Kelsie wanted to be big and bad and save her reputation, she actually really liked the boys. They were sweet to her, and funny, and talented as hell. And Kelsie liked making music with them. 

“Oh yeah? How’s it gonna go? I’m sitting in the shade on the beach and my legs are see throughhhh,” she poked fun at him and literally poked his leg with her finger. She felt her hair falling from her shoulders and pulled it into a low bun, looking out over the ocean. Maisie and Cal had made it down with their small, pale children. And Issy. Kelsie loved Issy. She loved all the little girls at the dance studio, which made her decision to switch to Turner’s studio even more bittersweet. She hadn’t told Milania yet, and she was sure Mil would have her head on a platter. But what she wouldn’t know, especially while on vacation, wouldn’t kill her. 

come, sit, share my shade

Zodi was one skin tone his entire life - pale, snow white. While his siblings tanned and got freckles, (Rebel and Cal especially), Zodi only burned. He blamed Pastor Plumfeld and his fucked up DNA for his pale to burn pigment. So, while his siblings reveled in the idea of a Hawaii trip, Zodi was hesitant. He was going to go, of course, but he made sure he packed extra sunscreen, some baseball caps, and even a few long sleeve shirts to help him get through the trip without turning into Mr. Krabs. Yet, as soon as Zodi stepped foot in Hawaii and got a blue lei put around his neck, he was excited. He was hot and sweaty almost immediately, but he was excited. His first ever vacation, and on top of that, he was with his family and his friends. He thought of his parents only briefly and then instantly dove into all things Hawaii. 

That first afternoon he was sitting under an umbrella strumming a ukulele. The beach rental he was staying at with Britton, Caiden and the others had some instruments and he was fond of them. As he strummed he watched Kylie, Kinley, Morgan, Jaci Mae and Kelsie all take pictures for Instagram. Social media was still something Zodi was iffy about, and he definitely didn’t understand the hype of picture-taking, but at the same time, he wasn’t all that mad about seeing Kelsie in a bathing suit either. He was sure his cheeks flushed pink when he looked at her just a little too long and they made eye contact, so he continued strumming and watching the waves instead. His bandmate had told him to “play it cool” and he was trying really hard to.

Zodi got lost in a few chords he was trying to learn and didn’t realize someone approaching. “Oh, hey,” He set down the ukulele, “Come, sit, share my shade.” 

Kelsie rolled her eyes as she snapped pictures of her big sisters and happily passed the phone off when Kinley requested pictures with Morgan. As much as Kelsie adored Morgan (and she did despite the grief she gave him), she could only handle so much of their lovey-dovey, ooey-gooey mess. And if Kelsie was going to have to be stuck on vacation with both of them, the less time she had to be around them the better. Finally, Kinley got passed the phone and Jaci and Kelsie posed in their bikinis. For a moment, Kelsie wondered where Rory was and if she wanted to come take pictures too. Which was a weird thought for Kelsie because last time she checked, they still hated each other. Codie, on the other hand, was back in Kelsie’s good graces and Kelsie in hers. She made a mental note of asking Codie if she wanted to come watch a movie with her and Jaci Mae after the bonfire that night. 

The Little Girls ran out from Nora’s house, and they had gotten Jaci to take their pictures too. Within a few moments, Jaci was out in the water playing with the younger girls, and the twins and Morgan were walking back over to Milania’s house. Kelsie looked around and smiled. This was the happiest the entire house had been in years. Maybe for the first time in the existence of Nora’s house. They were all spread out amongst different houses, getting to live in the same house as people they haven’t in a while or never would get the chance to otherwise, and some of the older couples from the house got to play Mom and Dad. Atti was directing some people in setting up chairs and tables, and Colbie and Soren were with Baby Moon right at the water’s edge, dipping his feet in. Kelsie looked around, trying to find where she fit in when she saw Zodi sitting under an umbrella. 

Sometimes I’ll be eavesdropping on accident and then hear some really fucked up shit and regret it. Like, I bet if we’re quiet enough now we’ll hear something going down. –Ah, is that Ilia? Grunting? Never mind. I’m traumatized. 

Okay, so how’s this work? You just toss the ping pong ball, I take it?

Oh my god, who is he hooking up with?! I didn’t know he was into anyone in the house. That’s crazy...

Well, there’d be no shadow at my studio, but I am not trying to poach you. I’m just saying. Either way, I’m confident I’ll find me a nice group ‘a kids for my first season. Might be small, but I’ll have something. So, no big either way.

The directors tried keeping it as quiet as they could. They didn’t want any “bad press,” so they called the quick hiatus. But, Ciara was a person. A wonderful person, and obviously it’s all starting to come out. She deserves to be mourned and loved even after death. The directors are pieces of shit, pardon my language, but that’s a conversation for another time. And, I loved her like a sister, you know? Great kisser, great friend, great stage chemistry, but it didn’t go any farther than that.