little lady

It was a moment, a glimpse, into the truth and Marie took that as a success. She knew more about the situation than she let on but the blonde knew it would be better in the long run to play stupid. Whatever Colette wanted her to know, that was the information she would like to hear if her half-sister was so inclined to share. "Maybe you need it more than I do," Marie joked as the other girl took the flask. She liked to be prepared on all fronts, knowing that Tink would be coming for her even if only through murderous glances. "It always feels like this time of year is the hardest, doesn't it? Something always has to ruin the season." When the weather turned cold, it made the hard feels all the more frigid, Marie feeling a chill down her spine as they stood in the crisp air. "Apparently it was caché, I only found out after she disappeared at a party when we arrived," she explained before using the bourbon in the flask to warm her from within. The liquid nearly spilled out upon nearing the word husband, immediately feeling as though she missed something major. "Pardon moi? A husband? Non, non, her and John only dated. I had no idea she was married before." The blonde scooted a little closer eyes lightning up at the most recent development in this story. "To who?"

"They're not just my friends, Colette," he pointed out, his words warning. It was clear she was holding back something, whether her true feelings on the group or simply the words of annoyance that she dared to speak now. "They're the only family I've got. I know they make it hard sometimes, and I promise, I've done everything I can to try and get them to get along. But, I don't think it's any secret that we've had ... issues in the past, and they're just--they're a little protective. Maybe too much, I don't know, but we're family, and if you can't get along with them ... I don't know what to tell you." Sam gave her an exhausted shrug, out of words and solutions.

Her exasperated tone went away for a second there, lying as a dormant frustration that she always kept around but she found it once again at the memory of his friend's words from earlier that night: 'He’s only gonna put up with your shit for so long before he finally listens to us and ends it for good.' The idea that Michael could be right was driving her insane, the insecurity of her relationship had only grown seemingly leading to this very conversation. Her uncertainty had a funny way of showing itself with a hard scoff and an evident eyeroll. "You care, like, too much about what they have to say, it's actually becoming so annoying. Like, can you really not do anything without them?" There was a general filter she kept around Sam, avoiding saying certain things because it was sure to start a fight or make him upset. But since those things were already happening, it allowed her to be completely honest with him.

Though he'd assumed her boyfriend had been behind her sudden sadness, Scamp hadn't thought they'd called it quits all of a sudden. He wanted to pry, demand answers of whether he'd hurt her, or if this kid needed a stern talking to in the way any older brother would, Colette wasn't the kind of person to get into such detail about her personal life, especially not with him. Instead, Scamp sat beside her, slipping an arm around his sister's shoulder as he hoped the offer of physical comfort would be accepted. "I'm really sorry," he offered in empathy, "I'm here, like, if you wanna talk about it, but we don't have to. And, if you're really upset, and not hungry, that's okay, too. I've definitely sat on this couch and gotten drunk over shit before." All he wanted was to be there for her, regardless of what Colette wanted that to look like.

She didn't give him much time to say anything let alone react to the hypothetical scenario that felt like it had a clear-cut answer. "It's not a trick question. Like, natural reaction, I feel like it's obvious to be angry at something like that but, apparently, that's not a given. Apparently, some people think it's better to go check up on your friend and see how he's doing even though he's the one that called your girlfriend a slut." It was on omission of so many parts that pieced together the breakup, but it was a catalyst of sorts so that felt like a good place to start. Being called a slut barely even affected her but it was the easiest thing to point to find any validation in her anger. She just needed someone to agree with her, that was all she wanted out of Sam but that turned out horribly so she was hoping Scamp wouldn't make that same mistake.

The only one of his children he still had any regular contact with was the youngest of them all, and while it annoyed and angered him that none of the others wanted anything to do with him anymore, Colette really was the only one he needed. As long as he had her by his side, Tristan knew he stood a chance of getting his family back. For once, he had actually done the smart thing in his life and had stayed clear of his old home during the holidays, instead spending the time with his in-laws and hoping that being there with them would show his ex-wife just how dedicated he was to this family and the commitment he had made to her years ago. Now with Christmas officially over and everyone in the limbo before New Years Eve, it was the perfect time to reach out and finally get at least a piece of his family with him.

It thankfully wasn’t all that hard to get Colette to agree to meet him at the casino. Not that Tramp currently had any reason to believe that her stance with him had changed at all, but still he had worried she may want to do something better than just share lunch in his back office. It was always a risk being out in public during broad daylight though, and with his plans to crash the New Years Eve event, Tristan figured it was better to just lay low for a bit right now. His head popped up from the papers he was looking over as the door opened and a genuine grin grew on his lips as he stood to meet his daughter and wrap an arm around her in a hug. “Letti-girl, I’ve missed you,” he greets with actual sincerity. It was always easiest to fall back into the dad mode he used to have somewhat perfected back in the day when it came to the youngest Tramp child. Perhaps because she had never turned against him and had always stood by his side even when the rest of the family started painting him as some kind of villain. But that wasn’t a thought he should dwell on now, not when he had his one supporter by his side. “I got you a gift. It’s a little late, I know, but I guess my invitation for Christmas morning got lost in the mail.” A joke that wasn’t all that amusing and he hoped would actually cause a bit of guilt to flash through the girl, making her sympathize with him more than he thought she already did. It had been hard, after all, knowing his family was all together without him on such an important holiday.

The visits between Colette and Tristan had become fewer in numbers, and maybe for the first time ever, fewer in enthusiasm as well. After hearing her mother yell at Darlene on Thanksgiving, it certainly changed the way she saw her father. Not that she entirely believed in anything just yet but ignoring accusations, rather than the rumors she believed them to be, was getting harder. Still, she wanted to see him, if not for answers, then just to see the dad she missed. The way his face lit up wasn't something that could he could fake, it was real. Just that alone had her question why she even doubted him, none of what her mother claimed to have happened ever happened to her. The dad Colette grew up with was supportive and knew exactly how to cheer her up, how could someone like that ever be so terrible?

"Missed you too," she professed into the tight hug she started every reunion with. The step away from the hug was what she was dreading, she actually had to look her dad in the eyes and act as if she hadn't been talking about him behind his back. She usually had no trouble defending him but on Thanksgiving night, that was hard to do. She just wanted to be in that moment of security in his hug forever, it was a safe place for her, she didn't have a lot of those now ever since her breakup. Her eyebrows raised in surprise that she'd gotten a present, as far as she was aware, none of her other siblings had gotten anything. But just as the delight was set in her stance, it felt like she couldn't fully embrace it when she knew he was disappointed in not being there on Christmas to celebrate with the rest of them. "Maybe you can stop by next year, you can come as my plus one," She offered him an apologizing smile. "Let's see this gift you got me, can't be any worse than the socks I got from uncle Jim. You absolutely did not get me socks, right?"

Things hadn't started off as smoothly as Sharpay would've hoped, with one of her best friends showing up with the ex of her other best friend, leaving Tink to walk out and home. She couldn't blame her: she would've done the same if Troy had shown up anywhere with another girl before they started dating. And, as much as Kelsi tried to stay home, Sharpay had insisted upon her presence, having uninvited her now ex-girlfriend despite her brother still attending. "You're the best," she breathed in relief, "I swear to god, I told her she had to still come, or else she was going to wind up watching something depressing, on her couch, alone, and I would've had to send Ryan to check she was still alive. So, thank you. Once dinner is served, you can head out, if you want, by the way. Or, you can count yourself off the clock and stay, if you want to have a drink and hang out. I'd love to have you stay, but totally up to you."

“I’ll stay,” she insisted. “Really, I’d rather be here than anywhere else.” It seemed like she wasn’t the only one getting over a break-up but she considered herself in better shape than the person who was at home doing nothing. There was a clear and stark contrast in comparison to the girl she just fought with over the phone—well, it wasn’t so much of a fight rather than Colette threatening Kelsi to show up but she considered it a win when it came to her job. Anything Sharpay wanted, she was determined to get, and it was pretty easy when the girl was ready to make a scene to get her way at the drop of a dime. “Literally if you need me for anything else, let me know. I want to keep myself busy. Not that this is boring or anything, I just, like, need to take my mind off of some things.”

Knocking on the door, it’s not a surprise when she doesn’t get an answer, but she still peaks her head in and enters anyway. Before she even has a chance to ask if she’s doing alright, Colette is already speaking herself - a rarity, considering how much she seems to hate having even the most simple of conversations with her mother. And while normally, under other circumstances, Lilah likely would have tried to talk her into coming back down and being present with the family - she knew that right now that would likely only do more harm than good. So instead she takes a few steps forward and moves to cautiously sit on the edge of the bed, not yet touching the younger girl, but still letting her presence be known and there. “Okay,” she agrees. “I can text you when it’s starting to wrap up. Your sisters are planning on staying here tonight, I believe, but I’ll make sure to let you know when Sammy’s getting ready to leave.”

Tonight was one of the few times Colette had ever confided in her mom about her relationship—or lack thereof now—of which there were many instances of similarity that occurred between her and her ex but this time, it was final. If anything, this was the time it meant most for her that her mom just sat down and listened and comforted her, and, most importantly, it was the first time she really wanted her mom to be there. Given her parent’s divorce, she figured that her mom could relate to finding a limit within a relationship. Even if she couldn’t, wasn’t the best thing a parent could do is, simply, be there? The fact that Colette could cast aside her harbored hostility towards her mom for one night definitely revealed that answer.

Why the hell anyone was showing up after Thanksgiving dinner was a perplexing enough question to get the young girl out of bed and ready to fight with whoever rang the doorbell so late at night. She figured it was just a prank, or something stupid along those lines, not even considering it was could have been sort of emergency or someone asking for help. And she was partially right, it wasn’t an emergency. She knew the voices that were shut out by the front door very well and was very close to opening the door herself to bring herself to a conversation that didn’t sound like it needed her at all. As she got closer to the door she could make out what her mother was saying, talks of the abuse she went through when she was married. It was something she was prepared to hear, with Tramp saying she would use an excuse like that to justify the divorce and that it wasn’t true at all. But when the words came from Lilah, it was hard to see her making it up. She spoke of it with such conviction, enough to consider that maybe her dad did her wrong and that maybe he really was capable of hurting Lilah. 

Colette could sense their conversation coming to a close and out of panic she moved from the entryway to the kitchen, if only just to regain a sense of normalcy instead of having to rethink everything she’d ever known. But that seemed like a short-lived event when all of a sudden her mom entered the room to resume putting away the rest of tonight’s dinner. It wasn’t something she was going to ignore, there was no way she couldn’t ask about it and so she did. “What the hell was that?”

Sam let out a breath, frustrated. Both Colette and Michael were quick to point fingers at one another, and yet blame his reaction on siding with the other. "I'm not saying it's on you, it's just ... there are certain things you can control, right? Your reaction to things other people say. And, I just wish you hadn't thrown a drink on him, okay?" There was no reasonable way of describing that, now, all his friends were sure to hate her, if they hadn't begun already, regardless of what Michael had said to provoke her. "I just wanted everyone to get along, and I don't know why that's so hard. It's not your fault, it's no one's fault. I just wish the two of you hadn't gotten into a fight in the first place."

"Your friends are the ones that make it hard." It was a statement Colette maintained without any cognizance for the way she came off, she really did convince herself that she was on her best behavior. "I really do try with them, I was literally talking to Michael about his costume and then he became annoying and then he called me a slut." She left out very important details, including those that incriminated herself but she wasn't going give up culpability so easily. "I fucking tried being nice, your friends are just-" She held herself back from saying anything too bitchy knowing Sam wouldn't want to hear any words she so badly wanted to say, instead she just made an aggravated face and left it at that. Which she would like to point out is a favor she would only do for him.

While Marie had information about the situation at hand, the blonde decided it best to keep her knowledge quiet and allow her half-sister to explain if she so chose. "That bad?" She offered a small smile to show there were no ill intentions but with Colette she knew it could've been misprecieved. It could've gone either way, she just wanted to try. The blonde reached down to pull up the side of her dress to reveal a flask hidden secured to her thigh by a garter. "I've got just the thing," she retorted unscrewing the top and holding it out for the other. "I came prepared knowing that Tink was on a rampage against me." That was only the beginning but the blonde wished to not think too deeply on the matter or she would apiral. All she needed to know was that John had come with her that night and that Marie had continued to maintain her truth instead of the narrative created for her. "I might as well have but non, I'm dating her ex," she exhaled, knowing she needn't add more details for Colette to understand. "Thus to no one's surprise, I am public enemy number one."

“Okay, yeah,” he agreed, backing out of the driveway and heading toward his apartment rather than their family home. The only acknowledgement he gave was a small squeeze to her thigh, as though to give her a small sign of support to hold her over through the drive. He let the trip be a silent one, having seen her tear-streaked face in the light of the car as he’d opened the door. It wasn’t until he’d put the van back into park that he even looked at her again, offering a small smile as they reached the safety of his apartment. “I, uh, have drinks inside, if you want any, and I don’t know if you’ve eaten anything, but I’m starving. You can pick delivery while I make up the couch, if you want. You can take the bed,” he offered. He would’ve taken the floor for any one of his sisters, but especially tonight, when Scamp was trying to be as gentle and supportive as he could be.

The invitation for any alcohol on the premises was exactly what she needed, maybe not a cocktail as that is what started the downward spiral to what the night became but a beer couldn't hurt. She made a bee-line towards the kitchen and came back with two cans, one for her and one she was hoping Scamp would reject so that she could have that one as well. His generosity was simple as any sibling would do for another but it opened her eyes to see that her brother really was there for her when it was needed. She realized could actually trust him and maybe that was what led her to be so ready to talk about what had happened that night. "I broke up with Sam," it was a wonder to her how she managed to get that out without any tears.

Marie wasn't used to having a sister, especially when they'd gotten off on the completely wrong foot. It had seemed suspicious at the time with her developing crush on Sam and lack of knowledge that's who his girlfriend was. The blonde thought of it as more embarrassing than anything now to look back on, happy to have gotten a friend out of it but worried it continued to divide her from a sister. While it was all in the past she no longer wanted it to determine her future but Tink seemed to have already taken care of that. Marie noticed her leaving the main room when she decided to follow her, pausing her own conversation to catch Colette who headed outside. "You look si bon," she started by acknowledging something they both knew to be true. Marie released the air she held onto and the posture she made sure was perfect in the venue, allowing a more raw side of herself to show that she meant no harm. "How are you doing?" As to not scare her away from conversation Marie tried to use herself as a battering ram. "I don't know if you've heard but Tink's on a rampage against me so if you hear anything, be sure to tell her she's no saint either."

"He was soaking wet," he stated simply, "I wanted to get him dry, and then I was coming to check on you. I told you that." Sam stood his ground on that: there was nothing he would've changed about how he'd approached the situation in the kitchen not knowing how they'd gotten there. "I didn't know how he'd provoked you, but he told me what you said, and he was wrong to say it. I'm sorry he said that to you." Both things could be true, and Sam simply found himself stuck in the middle of two of the people closest to him inconsiderate of any of his own feelings. "But, you could've walked away. Why didn't you just walk away?" he questioned, nearly pleading. "Or, I don't know, just say something, instead of throwing a whole drink on him."

"It just—" When presented with the other routes she could have gone with instead, it did become a bit harder to defend her own actions. However, in the moment, throwing a drink really did feel like the only reasonable thing to do. The other options wouldn't have felt as satisfying enough, she wanted to hurt Michael for hurting her. His intentions were clear, he wouldn't have said those things if it weren't for the sole reason to piss her off so if Michael didn't want vodka and pineapple juice on him then maybe he should have kept quiet. "I don't know, maybe it was, like, reflexes or something. Why is it on me to not do anything when he insulted me in the first place? If he told you what he said and that doesn't immediately make you angry then I don't know how else to explain myself."

The tug on his jacket had come unexpectedly, and the person from whom the call to attention came had been even more of a surprise. His youngest sister's eyes were filled to the brim with tears, her lip quivering as she asked him to drive her home immediately. "Hey, what--are you okay? Did something happen?" he asked quickly, though he had a feeling the answer would come after they left the house, if ever. "Yeah, here, let me just say goodbye to Angelica, and I'll meet you outside," Scamp agreed, handing her his car keys. With a quick pivot to the Deville's living room, Scamp told his girlfriend of his premature departure, ensuring she had a ride home before he left.

Colette's head hung low from his passenger's seat as he approached his van. It was almost the saddest he'd ever seen her, second only to when he'd admitted their father was still alive. Scamp slid into his seat, turning to his sister before he backed out of the driveway. "Do you want to go home home, or back to my apartment? I can text Mom that you're with me."

Thankfully, finding Scamp's eyesore of a car wasn't hard. The ugly thing was the only shelter she had where she could finally break down. Her soft sobs filled the silence of the interior, not caring about the muffled conversations happening nearby. The only thing that broke her sulking was the anticipating that her brother was coming back any second now and she really didn't want to have him finding her under such distress. Colette hadn't realized how bad one of those options Scamp presented to her sounded, what was worst was that it was the unexpected choice that was much more appealing. "I cannot go back home right now." There was a room full of things that proved how bad of a decision it would be to go back home, Sam had truly permeated her life in a way she couldn't escape him as easily as she wanted. "Let's just go to yours, please," Her hands reached to swat away any tears that lingered on her face.

It was a risky move though, bringing any of that up to Colette, especially when it seemed like for once they were actually getting along. But Lilah couldn’t sit back and not express those doubts, feeling the need to look out for her daughter in any way she can - even if the younger girl may not appreciate it. “Are you sure moving in with Sam would be such a good idea, dear?” she poses the question hesitantly, frowning ever so slightly as she continues to explain herself before she can be cut off with an annoyed remark. “I just mean, well, you two haven’t been together that long. And it’s a big commitment - especially if you both signed onto the lease. It may make things… slightly complicated in the future.” She doesn’t say when they break up, not aloud, but the sentiment hangs clearly in the air between them. “I’m sure you could find someone normal easily enough. You don’t need to rush this either, you’re always welcome here as long as you need or want.”

It should not have been much of a surprise that Colette had made the escape to her room during festivities. Even if she was in a better place with a couple of siblings now, it didn't matter since there simply wasn't a wanting to engage under circumstances that didn't lead with a cranky response. She found herself doing a favor to both herself and everyone else that she step aside for the rest of the night. It might've been rude but that was never really a concern of hers, much to the dismay of others such as her ex-boyfriend. Her room wasn't too much of a comfort considering how many memories of Sam still remained fresh in her mind. His physical items had been returned thankfully, the sight of them only made her angry, but it was the recollection of him smiling in just about every single corner of her room that was what really brought her mood down.

Not even distracting herself with her phone was that great of an idea, she would be too tempted to check Sam's social media or look through her recently deleted folder to find all the photos of him in there. Instead, she laid on top of her bed, blankly staring at a spot on her wall, somewhere that she couldn't possibly think of Sam but still inexplicably brought tears to her eyes regardless. A knock on her door could have come from anyone so she made sure to quickly wipe away any evidence that she could have been crying. Seeing that it was only her mom, she became less defensive as to why someone thought they could just enter her room. "I'm not up for talking to everyone right now," She explained, wanting to get her excuse in before her mom could even ask why she wasn't downstairs probably playing charades with her siblings or whatever stupid thing they thought was fun. Her sniffles were few but evident, Colette could only hope that if she talked more she didn't have to talk about why she was crying. "Just let me stay here, please. I can go back down to say goodbyes but I don't think I can, like, do the whole being there thing."

"Oh, you're so cute. I wish I was Beyonce, please. Maybe one day." Those were precisely the sights Sharpay had set herself on, after all. "I'm glad you liked the album, though. There's more where that came from, which is why I need you. I need someone to, like, keep my life together so I can just make music." Maybe Colette was going a bit overboard with the compliments, but it was a nice bit of ego boost. After all, she wanted someone around who actually liked what she put out. "We met on the set of Jennifer's Body, actually. Such a sweet girl, right? She's dating your brother, isn't she? They're cute together. I thought I saw both of you around set during Heathers."

Given the opportunity to dine with some of the most talented people on the island was a gift that only someone like Sharpay could offer Colette. And yet, there was a struggle to even get herself out of her bed today of all days. Many factors were contributing to the dread of this dinner, most of them having to do with the attendants going but even the lack of a certain plus one she was previously tied to made her as apprehensive as going to a dinner with her family. It didn't help that some of her family members would be in attendance tonight.

Colette didn't have a choice in going, or at least that's what her boss who needed all the help she could get claimed. Even if she wanted to bask in the celebratory festivities, she had to remind herself she was also working. Which, oddly, made things somewhat better. The more she worked, the less she had time to think about the fact that she was here without the date she used to bring to every event. Looking down at her small checklist of details she was in charge of, there were updates she had to bring up to Sharpay, who finally had a moment free from greeting her guests. "I've already rearranged place settings now that Tink isn't going to be joining." Any other moment she'd be grinning from ear to ear with that information but it yet another thing that got her thinking about Sam. She lightly shook her head to cut away from going down a spiral of thoughts on her ex, "Also, Kelsi tried being a no-show but I already dispatched an Uber her way so ETA on that should be, like, 10-15 minutes. We're cutting it close on appetizers but I think it'll be fine."

It hadn't taken long after he'd had ensured Michael had gotten into a dry shirt that Sam found himself back downstairs and in search of his girlfriend. After hearing the unfiltered truth from Michael, Sam had a strange mix of feelings regarding what Colette had done: she probably shouldn't have thrown her drink on him, no, but what Michael had said hadn't made matters any better. In fact, he could almost understand why she'd done it--he wouldn't have blamed her for at least lashing out verbally, but maybe drenching the other boy in her drink wasn't the best way to go about it. Still, he had left to go tend to Michael first, which he knew he'd now have to face the consequences of, despite feeling strongly that he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Hey," he approached her quietly, placing a gentle hand on Colette's shoulder as he found her leaning against a sofa in the living room, "Sorry, I'm back now. We should go ... maybe outside, I guess, and talk?" Sam suggested. For all he'd known, things could've gone horribly awry here, leaving him in doubt that she'd still be his girlfriend by the end of the night. It was worth a shot to at least talk things through, but Sam wasn't even entirely sure he wanted their relationship to continue past tonight himself. "I just wanted to make sure Michael had a change of shirt, at least, so I could focus all the attention on us."

The familiar hand on her shoulder wasn't comforting as it had been in the past. Something that she once enjoyed was now making her roll her eyes, maybe it was the circumstances but perhaps there was just something that didn't feel quite right. Regardless, it was her cue to lead them somewhere private to talk — or in this case, to argue as she already planned on doing. It didn't take long before stepping outside that she already had something on her mind she wanted to say. "No, of course, you had to go take care of Michael. It's not like you have a whole group of friends who could watch over him. You, personally, had to make sure he was alright instead of checking in on your girlfriend." She didn't catch on to how self-centered she sounded, in her mind she was being treated unfairly. And given the past with his friends, she didn't put it past them to create some narrative that she had a personal vendetta against each and every one of them. "I'm just having some trouble with the logic here, because I feel like the victim in this and the person that was provoking me is who you helped out first."