Lane Porter

location: hoopers, day 2 — founders’ day celebrations. status: open! tw: alcohol, smoking. @charmingstarter

she calls this one the liquid hour — not for the amount of drinks poured (far too many and yet somehow never enough). the end of her shift, a fading, almost invisible hint of gold at the horizon: that’s a day melting into the other, the night turning shapeless and mellow, a liquor to get drunk on. she sits on the sidewalk, next to crates of empty boxes someone else will take care of, come morning. somewhere, a few streets over, she can hear the noise and voices of the late party-goers, and what’s left of the booming echoes of the main street party. it brings a smile to her face — if she wasn’t so achingly tired (and if she was ten years younger) she’d find an unexpected comfort in the mayhem, the closeness of bodies, the sweat and the booze. right now, her greatest comfort is the last cigarette in her pack, the last bottle of beer for the night, and a breeze caressing the skin on the back of her neck, still sweaty from the mighty workload she’s faced. and this is all she needs, really —— too tired and yet too wound up to go to sleep, she finds comfort in this limbo. but her lighter doesn’t share the same opinion, and the spark won’t come: she tries aimlessly to light it up, until she’s forced to give up with an exhausted sigh. shadows of customers still hanging around move from the corner of her eye. “hey ——”, she calls with a smile. “—— any chance you got a light? mine’s dead and i might just cry if i don’t get my cigarette break, tonight”. 

Lane was leaving Hoopers, finishing the last bit of her drink at the bottom of it’s cup. She would normally be home by this hour, probably already asleep or maybe enjoying a few glasses of wine with some friends. She didn’t often get the chance to spend the night bar hopping, and especially not making a whole weekend out of it. The fresh night air felt good on Lane’s skin, and she’d nearly forgotten what it felt like to breath air that didn’t seem hot and stuffy from filling the spaces in a crowd. “A lighter?” Lane clarified, stopping at the other woman’s request. “Uh, let me see...” She rifled through her bag for a moment before sheepishly offering up a long-neck grill lighter. “I know this isn’t what you meant at all, but it’d get the job done, right?”

time: day 2 of the founder’s celebrations location: bake sale with: anyone! || @charmingstarter​

The bake sale had always been a weakness for her. Ever since she was a kid, she’d loved sweets, and loved seeing all the options available. As the years had gone one, the items had gotten more intricate, but there were still all her childhood favorites, too. Angie glanced at her watch, satisfied to see she still had twenty minutes of her self-imposed break in preparations to wander and pick up a few things to surprise Lily with later. She’d picked up some cookies and was looking at candies another seller had on offer (okay, some of it was definitely going to be for her). As Angie turned, she stopped short with gasp, trying not to run right into the person she hadn’t realized was next to her. “Sorry,” she apologized, nerves bubbling in the petite woman’s stomach as she measured their expression. “My bad, I should’ve looked where I was going. Cookie?” The peace offering was extended before she could think better of it.

“It’s totally fine!” Lane assured the other woman. “Honestly, I’m pretty distracted by the bake sale myself,” She laughed, peering over to the table of goodies. “No, no, really it’s ok,” She put her hand up gently to decline Angie’s offer to give away one of her cookies. “I won’t take any of your cookies, but I’m definitely going to buy a pack myself... and probably some brownies too,” Lane admitted, knowing her sweet tooth would have the better of her by the time she was done at the bake sale. “Have you tried any yet? How are they?” She asked, glancing down at the treat being extended in her direction.

“Shit, you probably shouldn’t mix your drinks – at least this early in the evening,” Cliff said with a chuckle before taking a moment to look around. “Yeah, pretty much. Sometimes it’s a 2-day celebration, sometimes it’s a 3-day celebration, depending on what day of the week Charming’s birthday is, but everybody definitely turns up,” he said, smiling proudly. “I mean, you got us Devils – and we’re basically the entire party,” Cliff cockily said before gesturing to the bartender that he’d take another shot. “Oh shit, yeah, you’re new here. My brain was trying to figure out why you’d ask – unless you were one of those people who drank way too much every year to remember what happened… but you don’t really seem the type,” he said with another chuckle. “You enjoying yourself, though?”

“No, I probably shouldn’t,” Lane agreed, “But I don’t think it counts if you’re baited in to it.” She flipped the shot glass upside down and pushed it to the far side of the bar. Lane listened incredulously to Cliff explain the usual itinerary of Charming’s celebration, surprised that such a relatively small community would have such an intense annual event. “Yes, you Devils are both the life of the party and in twelve hours you’ll all be the life of the ER,” She quipped. “Yeah, I’m still pretty new. It’s been just about a year since I moved to Charming. I’m Lane,” She offered her hand to shake.  “It’s my first ever Foundation Day weekend, what’s not to like?”

     of course lena had already made herself comfortable in the metal folding chair. she was reaching to pull her hair up and back into a rather messy bun. she hadn’t thought twice about asking lane. the woman seemed a bit surpried at first before she was looking at the designs. all of them looked good and the people doing the face painting were clearly skilled. so that meant hat whatever she chose would look good. her gaze went back towards the flower and she smiled a bit,“ you know you make a good point,” she admitted,“ are you going to get something done? i’d suggest that if you are to get it done now.” after all she knew that the line would get long later in the day.

“I wasn’t going to,” She admitted. Although seeing Lena in the chair ready to have her face painted did make Lane more tempted. “But on second thought, I just might,” She continued gazing over the catalog of various paint options. “If you’re getting the flower, what should I get?”

Location: Rendezvous, Day 3

With: Anyone!

@charmingstarter·

“Let’s turn the fuck up!” Cliff said, obviously hyped as he was surrounded by his brothers and sisters, the music already making him bop his head to it, and though they were in enemy territory, the last thing that was on his mind was to start a fight. After all, this was a celebration and he’d be treating it as such. He practically ran towards the bar, securing himself a spot on the benches and had somehow gotten himself roped in with a couple of people who were already drunk. Pretty expected, since the bar was lined with their finished shots. “Fuck it. I’ll take the shot if you will,” Cliff said, turning towards the person next to him and without even waiting for their reply, he downed the shot rather quickly. “Thank fuck for Charming celebrating her birthday, right? Pretty sure the entire town needed this,” Cliff said with a laugh as he turned his attention back to the person beside him.

Lane leaned over the bar eagerly waiting for a free bartender to turn their attention her way. Although she’d had a few drinks, she was not nearly as inebriated as most of the other bar patrons, and given it was her first weekend off this month, Lane felt like she had some catching up to do. She had just finished throwing some cash on the counter in exchange for a vodka soda when Cliff moved in beside her. The shot was all lined up in front of her and she’d had almost no time to actually consider it before Cliff was already bottoms up. “Deal,” She said shrugging softly and throwing the shot back, washing the burning sensation down with her own mixed drink. “Is it like this every year?”

Location: Rendezvous, Day 3 

With: Anyone!

@charmingstarter·

“I can’t believe this,” Fran said with a series of tsks as she spotted the mess, and in her own nightclub nonetheless. “See, this is what I get when bikers come in here thinking they own the place,” she muttered under her breath before heaving an exaggerated sigh as she called one of her people over to clean the mess up. “Some people are just incredibly inconsiderate, especially when all we’re doing is making sure you’re all happy and full of booze,” Fran said, shooting the person responsible with a pointed look before rolling her eyes. “Tonight’s supposed to be a celebration – and my night off – but all I seem to be doing is babysitting people who apparently can’t handle their liquor very well,” she muttered as she sat herself down.

“People are a mess when they’re hammered,” Lane agreed matter-of-factly. She surveyed the spilled drinks and sticky tables as she nursed the tequila sunrise in her own hand. Lane pulled a few fresh napkins from a nearby table, and half-heartedly offered them to the woman knowing they wouldn’t really put a dent in the mess sprawled out before them. Still, Lane felt badly that the establishment was looking so trashed. “But if it’s your night off, why don’t you let someone else handle the clean up and just enjoy yourself?” She posed.

    founders day was a tradition in charming. it was something that lena could remember going to ever since she was little. that was how she found herself wandering through main street. so far she had only bought a few things. one of them being a new necklace which she had actually put on. of course she was just taking in everything. it was all so familiar and it seemed like there had been a decent turn out. she was thinking about maybe trying to find her sister or one of her friends. though one of the booths caught her eye and she was glancing at the designs for face paint. her head tilting as she debated if she should do it or not. without even thinking she glanced over at someone was nearby,“ which should i get? i’m torn between the flower and the shooting stars? maybe you can be the tie breaker?” @charmingstarter·

Lane had never been to one of Charming’s Foundation Day events before. Being relatively new to town meant a lot of the events and traditions the town’s residents were used to were all novel and exciting to Lane. She moved quickly among the booths as she tried to take in all there was to offer, finally settling by the face paint to see what was being done. A voice caught her attention and it was a brief moment before Lane realized the other woman was asking her. “I’d go with...” She looked closely at the two designs trying to determine which she liked more. “I’d pick the flower,” Lane settled her pointer finger on the design she liked the best. “It’s seasonal.”

When you think more about it, dogs and people were pretty similar, “Exactly, you get it,” he smiled at her, people craved attention as much as dogs did, “I at least can relate, and I also love food like dogs do, sometimes I stare when people are eating something.”

Lane chuckled softly, “Definitely. Like when you think your waiter is coming out with your food, but they go to a different table and all you can do is stare them down from across the restaurant.” She quipped. “Although, hopefully you don’t hound people for a spoonful of peanut butter like he does,” She nodded toward the puppy scratching the top of his head gently.

“Well, you look friendly to me,” she exclaimed, petting the dog and feeling his soft fur. Aurora had always wanted a pet for herself. Growing up, her mom was always far too busy working mulitple jobs to justify bringing a dog or cat home for her daughter to befriend. Now? Their grandmother’s trailer was just far too small for another member of the family to join them. Even though she knew that her younger siblings would love a pet, right now would not be a good time. “If he would have ran into any of my siblings, you wouldn’t have to worry about me suing at all. Not worth my time,” she admitted. “Is he a rescue or did you get him as a puppy?”

“That’s good to know,” Lane laughed as she watched her dog enjoy the extra affection. “He is a rescue, but he was really young when I adopted him. I guess someone found his litter under an overpass and took them to the shelter,” She explained. “I’m pretty sure he’s a lab mix, but I have no idea what else he has in him. Maybe pit? He could really be a million things.”

21. do you often rip/cut the tags off of your clothes?

Not unless they’re particularly annoying or visible. Usually I just leave them alone.

27. any prophetic dreams?

pink eyeshadow: pasta or pizza? 

16. favourite fruit?

Mangoes

17. favourite non-alcoholic drink?

Coffee with a good bit of cream, but no sugar.

18. worst thing you’ve ever tasted?

The worst? Anything too fishy just turns me off, but I don’t know what the worst thing I’ve ever had is.

19. do you enjoy any unusual food combinations that others find unappealing?

I guess not. I like peanut butter and banana, but I don’t think my taste preferences are very out there.

20. what flavour gum do you usually chew?

6. favourite band(s) or artist(s)?

I listen to a lot of different things, but I’d say I listen to acoustic or folk-pop the most. Although, I was born in Tennessee so I’m always gonna enjoy country music, sorry not sorry. As for actual bands and artists I’d probably say The Beatles, Oh Wonder, The Lumineers, The 1975, and Joni Mitchell are a few.

15. do you like to wear perfume/cologne? 

3. do you wear glasses/contacts?

Nope, I’ve always been lucky enough to have 20/20 vision.

9. favourite non-musical sound?

Wind chimes, or maybe thunderstorms.

12. favourite scent?