sweet summer child

Searching the ballroom, Finn did his best to catch sight of any of the other members of the FAB family. It was Riley he spotted first, making his way through the crowd as stealthily as possible. She was going to pay for telling him that he wasn’t a good charades player. Even if it was just a little prank between cousins. As quietly as he could, he tiptoed behind her and set up a sneak attack.

With a deep breath he leaned forward and let out a hot breath on the nap of her neck, contorting his voice to a strange voice. “By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.”

Maybe quoting Shakespeare was a bit cliche but it was the kind of fun he wanted to have tonight after a few too many drinks. Everyone seemed so happy and he was floating on cloud nine. He’d walked in with a beautiful red head on his arm. Nothing could turn this night around for him.

“Sorry,” he pulled back, laughing, “Couldn’t help myself. You look great, Riles. Look at that dress. Makes you look like your mom. In a good way. Not like a weird way.”

@littlerileyfitz​

A soft yelp left Riley’s lips when she felt the hot breathe on her neck, the strange words following quickly after. Her hand quickly came up to cover her mouth, blue eyes wide as the princess caught the eyes of a few noble’s near by. She gave them a look that could only say sorry, before turning around to glare at her cousin. “Finn! Not the time or the place.” There were already people in Auradon who had negative thoughts about her family, she didn’t need a lack of etiquette to be another reason to give them.

Of course she couldn’t be mad at Finn for long. Actually, she couldn’t be mad at any of her family members for more then ten seconds. Soon she was playfully rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at her cousin. “Thank you. I’m sure its the purple dress plus the braid. If people had any doubt about who my mom was, this look is sure to let them know.”

For just a second, Fitz thought maybe he was seeing things as he saw Riley with Luca. They were friends well enough, he had known that, but he hadn’t really expected her to attend something like this with him. Then again, it had been a while since he had really sat down with his sister and talked. Just the thought of that made a twinge of guilt run through him as he made his way over to her, clearing his throat slightly to catch her attention. “Riles, hey. You look…awesome.” It was hard, knowing his little sister was growing up, but he was managing. Badly, but he was managing. All in all, Fitz liked to think he was doing well. He hadn’t actually threatened anyone about hurting his little sister so, progress. “So, um, Luca?” @littlerileyfitz​

“Elijah, hi.” She greeted her brother, quickly leaning in to hug him tightly. She hadn’t seen her brother in a minute. Like she had told Julien, she had expected to talk to them all during the holiday, but things had taken an unexpected turn and she didn’t go home. And then when they were back in school everyone was stressing over finals, it made sense no one had really spoken to anyone at that time. “Thank you. It’s kind of crazy but Adelaide pretty much picked it out. Who would’ve thought I’d ever say that?” It’s not like Adelaide had actually picked it out, but her comments while the girls were in the same store, shopping, helped Riley end up purchasing the gown that she was currently wearing. About to ask Elijah where his girlfriend was, the blonde was halted when he asked her about Luca. “Oh... yeah. We’re kind of together.” It was weird disclosing this information to her brother almost two months after she had started dating Luca, but he didn’t have to know when the two had officially gotten together. “I really like him...” She said, looking over at her date only for a moment. “Have you guys ever talked before? I can introduce you.”

quietly he watched the people move around him. his posture defaulting to something he had been taught so long ago. etiquette was something their father seemed to think they would know on the isle. of course, he ignored it after the age of nine but before that, he soaked it in like a sponge. Luca may not have been a fan of balls or overly large numbers of people, but he could act like he was meant to be in one if he chose. usually, he didn’t want that. didn’t want to feel the way his muscles remembered something a man he hated taught him. gods he hated him. sighing to himself, he tried to push away the thoughts that curled at the top of his spine. waiting to swarm his mind again. the night was meant to be something good. something light. Riley looked, beautiful. as if on cue she came back with a drink in her hand for him. the whiskey upturned the corner of his lips. the little things she seemed to remember. “thank you.” he offered in his usual low tone but there was a warmth to it that no one had gotten from him in days. he didn’t feel warm. 

Luca barely had time to take a sip of the drink before she mentioned doors. doors that could be to a little bit of freedom of the crowds. so far he had avoided any siblings that may have been there. but from what he had heard, Sterling certainly wasn’t going to be. there was a twist of something in his gut that he couldn’t or maybe refused to name. instead, he clung to her offer with a soft nod. “that sounds amazing.” he admitted without any heat but moved to slide his free fingers in her’s so they could walk to the doors in question together. it occurred to him only as they got to the doors that there would obviously be a chill to the air. releasing her hand. he shifted to take his coat off only to drape it over her arms and moved to intertwine their fingers again. he could already feel the blessed chill from the air outside. “there’s always so many people,” he mumbled softly.

“You are so very welcome.” She wasn’t a pro at reading Luca, in fact, most times she thought she knew what was going on in that mind of his, she was dead wrong. But the one thing she had gotten good at understanding, is when Luca needed space. Maybe not from her, but from others. From crowds and people, their useless gobble, and their invasive questions and pointless conversations. She knew he could only handle it for so long, but if she saw a finger so much as twitch, that meant he needed some alone time. It’s why she had gotten him his drink, and why she had suggested the go get some fresh air. He had come here for her, she knew that, she wasn’t an idiot. He wasn’t someone who wanted to go to balls and galas, especially now when she could tell he was processing something life changing. And so she was going to make sure he was comfortable tonight. Not pushed into conversations he didn’t want to be apart of, or stay later then was necessary just so they could get one last dance. She wanted this night to be as good a memory for him as it was going to be for her, and that meant maybe not trying to have the most picture perfect night, and instead just see where the night took them. If they left within the next thirty minutes, then okay.

As he took her hand and began to lead them out of the main ball and towards one of the glass doors that led to the cool winter night, she suddenly remembered how bare her shoulders and arms were. It seemed like Luca took notice too, because his jacket was being draped around her to protect from the cold. It earned a smile from the blonde, and she gave his hand a squeeze in thanks. Once they were alone, she moved closer to him. She put her drink on the ledge of the balcony, and then did the same with his own so she could grasp both of his hand sin her own. “I know. And I want you to know I really appreciate you coming tonight.” Leaning into him, she pressed her head against his chest and signed, moving to wrap her arms around him. “We don’t have to stay much longer, if you don’t want to. I just wanted to put on a pretty dress and dance with my boyfriend.” She pulled back, smiling up at him as one of her hands softly ran along the lapels of the black suit. “Who looks so handsome, by the way.” He truly did. It had been a struggle not to just kiss him the moment she had gotten in the car earlier that night.

Delphine had yet to really get any girl time with Julien’s sister. She knew from idle conversation that she was one of Julien’s favorite people. She also knew that the girl was close to Lucy. Which made it even weirder that she’d only seen her a handful of times. But she tonight she decided to make a point to chat the girl up. Seeing that the blonde was alone, she made her move. Not willing to give up her chance. “Oh my god, Riley your dress is so beautiful,” slipped past her lips in a friendly tone as she slid up next to the girl. “Lavender really suits you. You Fitzherberts have definitely been blessed with good genes,” she added playfully. A bright smile settling on her lips as she spoke. “Luca is definitely a lucky man to have you on his arm tonight.” @littlerileyfitz​

Riley didn’t know Delphine Winter that well. In fact, she only really knew that she was Lucy’s friend and currently dating her brother. Which was probably why she jumped at the girl came by and spoke of how beautiful she thought her dress was. She hadn’t spoken with her enough to even recognize her voice. Watching with blue eyes as Delphine slipped up next to her, Riley tried to be open minded. But there was something about Delphine’s tone that reminded her too much of when she was a junior at Auradon Prep and was convinced by some of the more popular girls that she should give up the keys to the indoor pool so they could have an after hours pool party... and then conveniently blamed Riley once they got caught. It was that sickly sweet tone that made her pay close attention to everything the raven haired girl said. “Oh, thank you.” She wanted to say she was lucky to be on Luca’s arm, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about her boyfriend with this girl. Instead she wanted to focus on her brother and their relationship. “You look... grand.” This girl really like to make a statement. “Are you having fun? I saw you come with my brother.”

“I hope you’re not mad at me for not telling you. Elijah doesn’t even knew because I knew he’d spill the beans to you and I wanted to tell you myself.” She took a deep breath when she finished speaking, smiling brightly at her friend, feeling a weight lifted off her shoulder. “So, what have you been up to? You look incredible, by the way.” @lucytremaine​

Of course there was a little voice in the back of her mind saying to check in on him every few seconds, which she knew would probably get annoying if she acted on it every time she had the thought, so instead she just pushed those instincts down. That being said, she knew Luca and she knew he didn’t like being around crowds of people on a good day. Maybe it was time they took a breather. “I saw some doors that look like they lead outside. Want to get some fresh air?” @lucachristensen​

Aleena’s eyes darted across the crowds of people in attendance when she first arrived. If Sterling was present, she wanted to make it a point to be at opposite sides of the ballroom from him at any given moment because she wouldn’t know what he’d say or do if they came face to face again; the last thing she wanted from the night was to have him ruin it by even so much as looking in her general direction. Try as she did to appear at ease, she didn’t fully relax until she had spotted Triss – and the noticeable absence of Sterling on her arm. Weren’t they together? Wasn’t King Mitch with someone else? Her brain worked to connect the dots without knowing any of the context, but at the end, she deduced Triss must’ve merely noticed the monster that crawled into her bed and left him before he could drag her down with him. 

“Good for her,” she said aloud, taking a sip of her drink as she watched the couple from afar, with Riley at her side. “She deserved better than that asshole she was with,” she told her, “He’s the reason they put people like them on that island. Where they can’t hurt people.” Perhaps it was the champagne that caused her to be so blunt with her words, bordering on malicious, which was out of character for her – or perhaps it was the lingering fear of their encounter that made her say what she did, that made her mean every word of it. “Riley,” Aleena said softly, shifting her gaze to look to her younger cousin, “I, um… I haven’t been able to sleep well lately. Because of–” She took a deep breath to settle the sickly feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Because something happened.”

@littlerileyfitz​

The nice thing about having a family so big? You could generally lean on anyone when you needed things. Or, in this case, when you needed something specific, there was at least one person you could count on. Riley had needed to use the little girls room, and this dress was so poofy that she feared the fabric would either fall into the toilet without her knowing, or swallow her whole in the process. So finding Lena on her way to the bathroom, she was thankful that her cousin didn’t even bat an eye when Riley asked her to help her hold her dress. And it would make for a fun story sometime down the line, that was for sure. Now the two girls had arrived back at the ball, and Riley was busy looking for her date that she didn’t even know who Lena was referencing until she followed her gaze. The youngest Fitzherbert was still surprised to see Beatrice Fae and Mitchell Roux here together, but she didn’t know either of them that well to question it.

As Lena spoke of bigger and better things for Triss, and started negatively speaking about her ex, who just so happened to be Luca’s older brother, Riley found herself confused and curious. What was Lena talking about? Her cousin was one of the most open minded people she has ever met, and Riley would never had suspected that Lena was pro-Isle. “Wait, what’s going on?” She asked, turning her full attention to Lena and softly taking her hand, giving it a squeeze to let her know she was here for her. “Hey, Lena, what happened?” She grew serious in a matter of seconds. Riley tried to be kind and optimistic but when it came to her family she would probably kill for them if need be. Looking around the room, Riley saw a table off to the side with no one there and pulled Lena with her so they could sit down. “Tell me everything.”

these… royal events are so stuffy. they alone serve as a blatant reminder that kaela could never fully acclimate to such a lifestyle. not comfortably. the drama TONIGHT is providing is simply what seals the deal. she’s trying her best to throw her annoyance on ice, though. she’s here with siren - something that if you told her she’d be doing a year ago, she wouldn’t have believed it. the thought alone makes the grimace on her features melt away as she steps up to the bar, and it’s all together replaced with a grin when her eyes land on a royal that she will happily be in the presence of. “so,” she starts, nodding to the bartender for another round of the same, before turning to riley. the elder had been worried, a bit, about her brother - she knew she could only get so much out of him, but at least he had entered with the blonde on his arm. that HAD to be a good thing. “you and luca ?” @littlerileyfitz​

Riley had stepped away from Luca in order to run off towards the bar and grab them something to drink. She was sure once she had drinks in hand, she would have turn around and it’d take a minute to find him, but she had a hunch it’d be by the sweets or off in a corner where he didn’t have to talk to someone. Things had been tough for him recently, and she hadn’t been expecting him to join her tonight, but she was hoping he was having fun. If anything, maybe getting some alcohol in his system will help any tension release. Her mind, like it often did, was preoccupied with thoughts that she didn’t realize someone was next to her, especially speaking to her. Surprised it was Kaela, Riley had maybe spoken to her a handful of times, her brows rose at the mention of Luca. Of course she couldn’t hid the smile or the slight blush that crossed her cheeks at the thoughts. “Oh yes. Yeah, we came together.” They hadn’t necessarily told anyone that they were together, but she was confident it was obvious now. “His condition was that he got to wear black, but it’s not like I’m going to argue with that. It suits him.” Pushing a strand of hair out of her face as the two girls waited for their drinks, she looked to see if Kaela had brought anyone. “Did you come with a date?”

Finn: yeah yeah i know he won't he's a solid dude I just.....i really like her riley. she's so passionate and just and determined. it's beautiful to watch her do her thing and i can't breath sometimes when i look at her

Finn: which is scary cuz, ya know, breathing

Riley: I 100% understand. And honestly... I think you should tell her. Waiting is never smart, because you never know whats going to happen tomorrow. I mean, if she doesn't feel the same way, would you stop talking to her?

LUCY: And the other 20%?

LUCY: I just hate to think of you spending the holiday all alone when you were definitely missed in Tangleton.

LUCY: Or both. But I think a sleepover could be arranged. I'm sure Del and Adelaide would be cool with you coming over!

LUCY: Are food fights... common? Riley, I can say without a doubt that you have the nicest family in

Auradon.

Riley: just hung out with the people who were left in campus. Luca was here.

Riley: no it’s fine. The only reason I was okay with it was because I knew the winter holiday wasn’t far away and I’d get to be with everyone for like four months.

Riley: yay! I do need opinions on the three dresses I have in mind for this ball, too. So if you want to go shopping?

Luca: really.

Luca: we could take a car there. just to be on the responsible side.

Luca: black is a good color.

Luca: did you pick a dress?

Riley: Perfect! I’m excited.

Riley: and that way we don’t have to worry about finding a DD.

Riley: I agree. And it suits you.

Luca: let's go.

Luca: as long as you can deal with me wearing black..

Riley: Really!? Okay perfect. Would you want to drive together, or meet there? My car is back in Tangleton but we could always rent a car if we want to go together. Much safer if we plan on drinking too.

Luca: hi.

Luca: yeah, i'm interested.

Luca: would you like to go?

Riley: Kind of. Yeah.

Riley: I might’ve already went looking at dresses.

leaning back in the well-worn chair, Julien couldn’t help but smile at the creak when he leaned. the place was little and had a barely put together feel but there was something comfortable about it. it was that sort of comfort he was looking for. a soft and quiet place him and Riley could talk. of course, he could have done it at the apartment but selfishly, he wanted to keep their moments private. at least some of them. for the last few years, she was the closest person he let any of his real thoughts out to and for a little bit longer he wanted to keep it that way. 

the fact that she hadn’t come home for thanksgiving had left him feeling out of sorts. worried about whatever was going on in her life. it wasn’t really a normal thing for her to skip but entirely possible that it could have been for a good reason. or something he knew she would see as a good reason. that was the other reason for the distance from other family members. while they were in public it was quiet. a cozy atmosphere and all the conversation were hushed and private in their own ways. it would work. 

catching sight of his sister, he offered a small wave for her to come to sit with him. her favorite tea already waiting. it wasn’t the first time they had been to the place after all. “hey,” he greeted Riley easily, turning his attention on the couch he had claimed and faced her. “it’s been a while. i started to miss you.” @littlerileyfitz​

It felt like it had been months since Riley had seen Julian. In actuality, it was probably a couple of weeks at the most, but that was still much longer then she would’ve liked. She had been excited to see the whole family during Thanksgiving Break, but with everything that had been going on with Luca, she didn’t feel right leaving him. She wanted to be there for him, and her parents had understood when she told them why she wasn’t coming home for break. But it still sucked not being able to see everyone. Or eat the incredible food that was made for that dinner.

So when the idea of spending some time with her big brother at a small coffee shop off campus came up, she jumped at the idea. Fast walking out of the library once she had clocked out of the shift, the girl made her way to the coffee shop. It always felt like she was running a little late when she was meeting up with Julien, and she felt horrible for it. Checking the time on her phone as she entered the door, she noted it was only a few minute past the time they had set, and she let out a sigh of relief.

Seeing her brother seated on a couch, she returned his wave and made her way over to him. Before sitting down she gave him a tight hug. “Hi.” She breathed out, realizing as she took her jacket off just how cold she had been. It really was winter. Noting the hot tea Julien had already ordered for her, the blonde gave her brother a look of appreciation before taking a long sip. “I know. I missed you too. I’m sorry I wasn’t home for break. I had to stay back on campus. But soon the semester will be over and you’ll be stuck with me for weeks.” Softly bumping her shoulder with his own, she spoke. “So, what’s new?” She really wanted to ask what was going on with his love life, considering he had been on a romantic date last they spoke, but she’d let him take his time with that.