** NERVOUS // SYSTEM

it was still a strange experience for james, being one of the only sober people in a room full of drunks, but it wasn’t one that he was unused to. hell, he’d been sober for years now. that was why he presently found himself seated in the corner of the room that was certainly too dark for his visual preference and too loud to be able to reasonably hear any clear speech. ramsay was curled up on the floor beside his seat, the reflective harness ensuring that nobody trampled on the labrador retriever. “why did i think coming to this party was a good idea, huh?” he remarked to the dog. squinting in a valiant yet unsuccessful attempt to focus on his surroundings a little more. he glanced around, and it was only then that it occurred to him that he wasn’t alone in his corner. “uh– I was talking to my dog,” came his half-hearted explanation, “but hi. enjoying the party?”

kalbi wasn’t used to pet names all that much so it had him taken aback, smiling a little and chuckling awkwardly. he wasn’t sure if it was nerves or just exhaustion. “yeah, you’ll get here. here, lift one leg.” bracing one hand under her knee to lift her easily into the saddle. hay bales were heavy and she felt like nothing. “there you go, easy, right? do you feel okay up there?”

         unbelievable. ajax was aghast, still shocked toward katrina’s unique attitude. yet, he had no intentions of leaving the very spot he had planted himself. spreading his legs out, like a schoolboy on a playground, ajax rolled the blunt atop a notebook he pulled from his bag. he had no guarantee that there wouldn’t be dirt within the bud if he had rolled it on the ground, even if he had already done this dozens of times. lifting the blunt between his thumb and forefinger, ajax extended it toward her, carefully raising a brow. ‘   ladies first ?   ’ he queried, cautious with his offer. knowing hollywood, weed definitely isn’t a foreign substance to some, but the last thing he wanted to do was offend the only person he was underneath this sign with. 

seeing katrina walk into the cafe, brynn took it upon herself to bring the trashy tabloid to her face again, spreading the cover out for all to see. “it’s a shame what happens to some of the younger talent these days, isn’t it?” she asked, eyes pointedly turning towards katrina, whose face just so happened to be plastered on the cover of her tabloid. “there are so many things a person can do with their celebrity, and yet so many turn idle rich or fuel their comeback with a rehab stint.” her eyes gestured to the seat across from her, inviting katrina to join her. “what do you think about it all?” // @kvtrincs

noah raised an eyebrow, a laugh slipping from his lips. “you mean breaking the law wasn’t enough excitement for you?” he turned to face forward again, legs kicking the air. “silence doesn’t have to be boring, y’know; i was just admiring the view.” glancing at her again, he pressed his lips together. “and besides, i’m a taken – and faithful – man.”

“we’re organizing a beach clean-up for this weekend,” he said, holding up the tablet with the virtual flyer on it. it seemed silly to hand out paper fliers when they could very easily end up crumpled up and on the ground; he wasn’t sure why nobody else had thought of it first. he scrolled down and held out the tablet to the person in front of him, the empty boxes waiting for their contact info. “can i count you in?”

“sorry, it was an early start this morning.” kalbi rubbed over his face with a light smile, looking at the horse beside him and the reins in his hand. “can you get up into the saddle yourself or do you need a hand?”

           raising her eyebrows towards the young woman, sally raised her eyebrows. “oh…” how the other could have gotten the wrong impression was beyond her but she was determined to set the other straight. “i thought this was more of a chaperone role. i’m flattered but it was seriously just so you could be here with a trusted individual. sorry that i didn’t make myself clear.” sally would always apologise, even if it wasn’t her place. she did feel slightly uncomfortable with the other’s words, especially after how her last relationship  at zenith ended. “do you want to go back now seen as you’re not getting anything from me?”

“hey! i’m not boring.”  elena insisted.  she pouted slightly, reaching up to redo her ponytail.  “to be honest, i’ve just had a lot on my mind, you know? it’s not every day you get invited to go to the hollywood sign with an actual beauty. i–”  she shook her head, scrunching her nose cutely.  “that was a cheesy line, wasn’t it?  i’m sorry, though, okay?  i get a little tongue tied sometimes.”  

NOT EVEN HIS abundance of patience could mask the shock spread across his face, ajax’s jaw completely slack. since his time at zenith, he hadn’t been exposed to the lot of problematic celebrities that TMZ and E! have painted the city with, but he guessed that didn’t mean that they didn’t exist. with the amount of time he had on his hands, his daughter staying with her grandparents for the week, ajax thought it was the perfect time to kick back and isolate himself from his work. what better place to do that then the top of the hollywood sign? this girl, however, could have been taken out of the equation if he knew she’d be like this. twisting his torso around, he pulled on the zipper of his bag, shuffling through the mess of level b books and nature valley wrappers in search of something even better. ❛ i mean, we can do that if that’s what you want. ❜ he finally found his personal treasure, pulling the baggy out with care and inspecting it carefully. ❛ can i just take a hit first? ❜ he closed his bag and turned to face her once more, shaking the ziploc between his his forefinger and thumb. ❛ it’s really the only reason i came. ❜ he punctuated the sentence with a tight smile, kind of hoping she’d say yes.

“Oh, Katrina,” Kendall managed to let out, shaking his head even as the color rose to his cheeks. If there was anything his coworker happened to be, that seemed to be the one person most likely to give another an unwarranted heart attack. “For all you know, I was just expecting you to open the conversation up. Which, you have. So you’ve totally out-weighed a polar bear just now.” He shook his head, still chuckling slightly, then held a hand out to help guide her closer to the sign. “You know the bosses would kill me if anyone even heard a whisper of what you just said. The last thing me ‘n Parker need are weird rumors. Even though it’d build up more buzz for our show.”