lady lazarus.

“I’d get laughed out of the city if I tried. I’ll mention to her that she needs to give me asshole lessons though. We’ll see what happens.” 

“I’d definitely like to sit in on one of these asshole lessons -- if only to see how you do.”

“You hate me, I think. You hate me so much that you’re willing to keep me alive until our 90′s just so you can feed me grass.” Nicole took a sip, an instant look of disgust on her face. Lux was right – it tasted like nothing but grass. “My God, do people actually drink this for fun?”

“It’s all love, Nic, I promise.” Lux watched with baited breath as she tried the tea, laughter spilling out of her lips before she could even control herself. Nicole’s reaction had been the very same reaction she’d had the first time she’d tasted green tea. “For fun, no. For flat stomachs, yes.”

“Lux Calloway, the pleasure is mine.” Jason said, shaking her hand with a good grin on his face. Hearing her next question made his head tilt a bit and land a smirk on his face. “Well, Lux Calloway and that’s about it, I want to go out to drinks with you to get to know you better since I like a pretty blonde when I see one. That’s all.”

Cool blue eyes swept over his features as he spoke, the corners of her lips tilting upward into another involuntary smile. “So you like saving the world and pretty blondes? Good to know.” She teased, pausing a bit before speaking again. “Okay superman. I can’t do drinks tonight since I picked up a late shift at the hospital. But I will absolutely take a rain check on those drinks. Tomorrow night?”

Here. Have a bite! Uhhh, just… eat from the other side. We’re all weird, it’s not just teenagers.

I’m good, ‘Thena. Appreciate the offer though! I just feel like teenagers are extra weird.

“Sometimes I’d have to disagree with you there. It doesn’t really come in handy when you’ve got situations where you need to…well not be the nice guy.”

“So... --take a page out of Ava’s guidebook every once in a while! Sometimes it’s necessary and very beneficial to be an asshole. Just don’t sell yourself short, Lockwood.”

✘ $ ø ✉ ツ ✆ #

“It’s the kind of prize that i’m willing to take.” Jason replied to the blonde, watching her hide herself from him. Waiting for her response, he shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to not look so hopeful. Hearing her next words made him grin widely and extend his hand to her. “I’m Jason, Jason Hastings. I’m a native who loves traveling the world and speaking to people about changing themselves for the better.”

“Jason Hastings, huh? Nice to meet you. I’m Lux Calloway and ... that’s about it.” She smiled genuinely in response, a light chuckle falling from her lips as she shook his hand. She shifted so that her weight was leaning against the pick-up counter. “So. Jason Hastings from Savannah who likes traveling and helping people change themselves --why is it that you want to go out for drinks exactly? Just curious.”

“Well, let’s hope it’s the last thing I will say about my dad.” Caleb stated half-jokingly and half-seriously, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket, “If I ever start rambling about him, I want you to slap me… or punch me. Or both.” He raised an eyebrow at Lux’s offer, which (sort of) caught him off-guard. The way she asked him was so nonchalant and – he really could rearrange his schedule and be his neighbor’s plus one for her stepmother’s charity event. He was practically raised to attend and participate at galas – they were the only place where he could talk about topics of which his father forced him to study. “Uh, yeah, I’ll gladly escort you. I definitely know how to maintain a sober appearance when I’m drunk. What’s the charity event for?” He nodded as he processed Lux’s words – he wasn’t as brave as her. He literally left New York and changed his life because of his relationship with Harper and how badly it ended. Yeah, I’m sure he misses his favorite punching bag. “Don’t say that,” he nearly blurted out, “What he did to you was wrong. You didn’t deserve it – and he obviously doesn’t deserve you. Mr. Matthews was a resident of Savannah, which was why I asked, but I get it if you don’t want to see him. I’ll try to contact a friend of mine in New York for a way to file a fault divorce without a spouse’s consent, but it’ll be tricky because both parties are living in different states.” He wanted to reach out and comfort Lux, but he stayed put. He finally realized why he used to refuse to officially help his friends – giving legal advice was one thing, but being a lawyer for someone who he actually cared about was a completely different story. “I’ll get you out,” he promised, “I’ll do whatever I can.” He decided to brighten the mood of the conversation with a small smile. It was an awkward transition, but Caleb was trying. “Why don’t we change the subject? What have you been up to?”

“Just remember, you asked me to punch you.” She teased, leaning forward and resting her chin in her palm. She was admittedly a bit surprised at the fact that he’d said yes, but didn’t let that surprise show on her face. She simply grinned and took a long sip of her coffee. “Republicans without yachts? Better hair-pieces for Donald Trump? Who knows. It’s just an opportunity to appear charitable so that she can look like the Congresswoman Georgia needs. Don’t get me wrong, I adore her. She’s a sweet woman. But she’s also a politician. This is about image, not charity.” The blonde replied, lips curving upward into a smirk. “Anyway, thank you. I really didn’t want to have to endure this alone.” Suddenly, Lux felt a little as if she were acting like a child. She understood that Kane’s presence in Savannah would make the process much easier on Caleb, but the thought of having him so close to her was terrifying. She chewed idly on her bottom lip as he spoke, keeping her gaze focused on the table as opposed to his face. She remained silent for a moment, shifting uncomfortably in her seat before lifting her gaze to meet his. “I know... just give me a few days to think it over, okay?” The change in subject was definitely welcome, and she almost immediately felt herself relaxing. “You mean besides getting felt up by drunk politicians?” Lux joked, trying to keep the mood light. “Nothing really, mostly working. It’s still a pretty busy time of year to be an EMT so that’s never dull. What about you?”

It’s peanut butter chocolate chip and ugh I want a million more. This is my new drug, I think. I’m kind of inclined to agree with you, although maybe they’re feeling things so hard that they forgot people exist around them.

It looks like something that I would literally get addicted to. That’s also possible. Teenagers are fucking weird, man.

Lexa stared with a look of horror on her face before looking back at Lux. “I mean I feel like I’m watching a great Telanova right now. Do you think he knocked up her sister or he caught her sleeping with his professor?” Lexa teased.

“Judging by the horrified look on her face, I’m gonna go with knocked up her sister.” Lux replied conspiratorially, an amused smirk on her face. “This is better than reality TV.”

“I understand completely. My sister is known to be one on more than one occasion. Maybe I need to stop being such a nice guy.”

“Trust me, I know. You’re a nice guy, Asher, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s what makes you the awesome husband and father that you are. And what makes you everything that Lex needs.”