* jumping off the moon

         “  nope  .  it’s  usually  the  opposite  .  ”   he  jokes  .  it  could  very  well  be  true   —   cooper  tends  to  lean  on  the  more  arrogant  side  at  times  .   “  you’re  asking  for  quite  a  lot  .  why  do  we  pay  for  espn  if  you  never  let  me  watch  it  on  the  tv  ?  ”   that’s  definitely  an  exaggeration  .  the  rule  in  their  apartment  goes  as  such   :   whoever  gets  to  the  remote  first  gets  to  choose  what’s  playing  .  and  cooper  always  ,  always  wins  …  aside  from  the  few  times  he  lets  her  in  an  attempt  at  appeasement  .   “  my  aim  used  to  be  impeccable  ,  y’know  .  i’m  just  out  of  practice  .  ”   kind  of  hard  to  really  play  football  with  a  bunch  of  tweens  .  they  never  believe  him  when  he  tells  them  he  was  almost  drafted  .  nonetheless  ,  he’s  bending  over  to  collect  the  ball  from  the  grass  before  falling  into  step  with  lola  ,  walking  so  close  that  their  arms  bump  together  .   “  i’m  thinking  thai  food  ?  thoughts  ?  ”  

— ♡  ❛  lolafms​ ;

——  ♡   ❛   wakey  ,  wakey  ❜     soren  sang   ,  giving  the  girl  a  gentle  shake .  they  were  on  their  way  out  for  a  skate  around  the  neighbourhood  when  they  found  lola  in  the  lobby  ,  abandoning  their  backpack  and  board  in  the  corner  to  kneel  down  and  attempt  to  wake  her  up  or  check  her  pulse  ,  if  need  be .  “  i  can’t  do  that   ,  because  that  would  be  a  lie  and  , ”  they  paused  ,  standing  back  up  and  walking  towards  their  stuff  ,  “  i’m  not  a  liar . ”   they  bent  over  to  dig  through  their  backpack  as  the  other  continued  to  speak .  “  it’s  ,  uh  ,  sunday  …  i  think .  around  noon . ”  they  revealed  a  spare  ,  unopened  bottle  of  water  from  their  bag  ,  with  a  look  that  said  ‘  eh?  pretty  cool  , huh?  ’  .  they  made  the  few  steps  back  towards  her  to  hand  her  the  bottle  ,  opening  it  for  her  before  holding  it  out .  “ need  me  to  walk  you  back  up  ? ”

lola’s warmth felt so welcome. clara didn’t feel interesting most of the time so it felt kind of alien to her to be treated otherwise. she followed lola into her apartment and sat down on her sofa. as she took lola’s gift of water, ibuprofen, and a banana, clara nearly wanted to run back into the hallway and far away from her generosity. but she also genuinely loved it. “thank you. more than you know,” she said before she gulped down the pills with a swallow of water. clara relaxed into the cushions and closed her eyes as she spoke. the truth was that she was exhausted and overwhelmed most of the time. she never finished the hundreds of pages of reading she was assigned every class and sometimes she felt like an idiot around the attorneys in the office she interned for. sometimes she doubted her ability to pull through it all. but she also hated the idea of failure and coming across as weak, so she said, “it’s going okay. the hours are long and studying never ends, but it’ll be worth it when it’s done.” clara finally opened her eyes and turned to lola. she started to peel the banana and break it off into small pieces. “enough about my misery. my listening ears are on. i’m ready. tell me about vogue and no derailing.” 

“Well, I guess that’s to be expected with law school…right?”though she was done with her years of studying, lola was not stranger to at least something similar to the way Clara was feeling right now. The late nights, early morning and seemingly never ending stream of homework and assignments was something lol had went through in her undergrad, but was more than tankful she could say was over. “Ugh, its a dream” she borderline swoons before she even begins really talking about it all. “Really it’s like everything I’ve ever wanted in a job—I’m still new around so they don’t assign me to very many shoots but the ones that they do put me on have been going well so far, I styled a model for one of the pieces going up in the London edition next month so expect a copy to be slid under your door in the near future” she said, dead serious about it too. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you totally glossed over my question about taking out to do something fun—I’m serious Clara, I can’t even remember the last time I saw you go out…if I’ve even seen it at all” 

No one who looked at Jordan took him for the hero type. He didn’t even really see himself as the hero type - more often than not he was called a dirtbag, and in recent years he actually had tried to live up to that label. But when he saw a very vulnerable person in a very vulnerable position, a kinder, more instinctual part of him often took the reigns.

The thing was, this was someone he knew. Lola and Jordan lived in the same complex, which by default meant that they were at least one step above strangers. Them frequenting the same club that night had just been a coincidence, but the two of them being outside at the same time, literally shoulder-to-shoulder, just as she looked like she was going to pass out ? He felt like that hadn’t been an accident. When he saw her tilt a little too far back on the backless bench, he knew he had to see her home personally.

He only made it as far as the lobby before his own drinks started to drag at his muscles, and he had to set her on one of the long couches, far from the doors of the lobby and away from anyone that might start asking questions. He’d sat down on the floor in front of her for a bit to let the both of them rest, and thankfully, no one had even given them a second glance. The only reason why he started to shake her awake was because he’d seen the time, and he knew exactly what he was getting into when he did it. All of her reactions were incredibly textbook, and it actually made him smile a bit. “ Eh, it was more of a nap, ” he reassured her, patting her arm. “ It’s Friday - technically. It’s about two in the morning. ” This kind of schedule was normal for him, though, so he was entirely unaffected. “ Yep. Got’cha covered. ” Just as he thought she would; he held out an unopened, lunchbox-sized water bottle. “ What floor do you live on ? ” Since they made it this far, he had made the decision to not mind carrying her to her room if need be.

“Really? And here I was thinking that I had slipped into a two day coma” it wasn’t hard to tell that she was still a little  drunk , as if the slight slur of her words wasn’t a dead giveaway.  “You’re a life saver” she smiled, taking the water from him and fumbling with the cap a bit before she finally got it open and drank a bit of it. “um...the second one I think? Or maybe it’s the third…the numbers always confuse me but it should say so on my keys” lola was well aware that she was partially dyslexic when she was drunk, which is why she had made it a point to put her apartment number and floor on the tag of her keys so that she wouldn’t stumble into the wrong apartment…again. 

Out of habit she reached down to grab her purse and find her keys,  but when she didn’t feel the small clutch in the seat next to her she began to panic.  “Fuck, did I have my purse when I fell asleep down here?” she said, frantically patting around on the seat as if that were going to magically make the bag appear next to her. “Oh my god this has to be a joke” she groaned, burying her head in her hands as it all flood back to her. She remembered exactly where she had left it, sat on the bar as she bent down to lace up her shoe and she must have forgotten to grab it in the rush of trying to make it out to her uber on time. “I could probably call coop to open the door but my phone is dead, you wouldn’t happen to have an iPhone charger up at yours would you?” she asked, the look in her eyes almost pleading as she looked over at him. 

“it’s not all bad. at least you didn’t fall asleep outside. now, that would’ve been a disaster. ” adrian takes his water bottle back. he’d like to think he was hiding his hangover pretty well. but, the bags under his eyes and his slouchy posture definitely said otherwise. “you think my boss is gonna notice?” finally, he sounds a little more earnest. the last thing he wanted was a respected professor knowing the reason he didn’t finish the grading he was assigned was due to a night out. “bar hopping. monty and i were supposed to be home by 11… next thing i know it’s 2am and we’ve had so many shots. ” matt and adri going out for the night was a recipe for disaster. and yet, adrian went out with his roommate fairly often. he shrugs, glancing down at the watch on his wrist. “eh, i’ve got time for coffee. my treat. since you’re having..” he pauses, flinging his head back, in his best lola impersonation. “‘the most disastrous day,’" he definitely didn’t get her voice right. he was not impressionist. “what about you? where’d you go last night?” 

maybe she should’ve checked for a pulse first . seemed a little drastic , though . this was miami , after all . she’d seen stranger things . it started with a gentle tap . then a gentle shake . then a less gentle shake . people passed out at work all the time . how , she never really understood , with the loud music and the bustling crowd . every now and again , someone would have about ten - too - many , and she’d be dousing them with ice water to get them up ; a last resort before calling a goddamn ambulance . that crackling groan beneath her words was all too familiar ; she knew it had to hurt . “ luckily , i don’t think you’ve been down here for more than a few hours , so it’s only the morning after , ” marisol lifted a brow , “ were you out by yourself ? or have you just got really shitty friends that left you behind ? ” she studied lola for a moment , then glanced down at her watch . she hadn’t been able to sleep , so she’d gotten up at five and found herself wandering over to the community fields . it wasn’t yet 8 in the morning . “ if i tell you what time it is , i’m almost certain you’ll slump back into that chair and go back to sleep , ” she unzipped the bag at her feet and offered her an unopened water bottle . blowing a strand of hair out of her face , she continued , “ you do this often ? ”

getting a kick out of matthew was easier said than done. the brunette prided himself on his moody exterior and rarely allowed joy to seep in. however, other people’s mistakes were a lot easier to swallow. for example, if one of the two people you don’t hate is passed out in the lobby. unfortunate, yes. amusing? even more so. extending a foot in her direction, he nudges the sleepy girl until her eyes open. “you’re a fucking nightmare.” his statement is said rather bluntly, but there’s the slightest hint of teasing in his voice. “six am. wednesday. and you’re being incredibly dramatic. why don’t you go take a sip from the water fountain like a big girl.” 

“If I’m a nightmare you’re whatever comes after it” lola quickly shot back , nudging him back with the foot he had just woken her up by tapping. “It’s six in the morning and you’re awake? What the fuck is wrong with you” lola lets out a loud groan as she finally stretches her body, now that her eyes were open there was no way she was going back to sleep. “I’m not being dramatic, matt. my head is pounding and i would sooner drink battery acid before i drank water from a public fountain” there it was, that little princess attitude lola always had was never far behind even when she was in a state such as this. “Where are you going so early anyways? Or should I be asking where you’re coming back from?” 

finley had seen the girl passed out on the bench on her morning coffee run. instead of waking the girl, she opted to continue her coffee run and grab an extra for her. she’d surely need it after the night she seemed to have had. she also grabbed some advil on the way back. when she got back, she gently shook the girl awake. “good morning. it’s ten am. i don’t know about water but i have a coffee and some advil.” she held them out for the other.

a relieved sigh came from lola’s mouth as she was presented with both coffee and Advil, “you’re a life saver, you know that?” a smile met her lips as she gratefully accepted both and took a sip of the coffee. “You’re Finley right? I think we live on the same floor or something  — not that I was stalking you or something, you just have a face that’s hard to forget” 

“Yeah, yeah, you can totally come with me.” he smiled and shrugged, “anything to help out your hangover.” he said, and began walking out the door. he opened his phone and pressed play on Frank Ocean and let it play softly. “I like to have a soundtrack when I walk somewhere high as fuck. don’t worry it’s not gonna be played any louder than this. just vibing out.” he wasn’t sure if a stoner guy who has paint on his hands and listens to frank ocean was the type of guy she usually talks to.

Lola rubbed her eyes as she got stepped into the sunlight, following Riley out the door. She hoped to god no one could see her, not because she didn’t want to be seen with him but because normally she wouldn’t be caught dead wearing the same outfit two days in a row. Her steps were sluggish at first, but the sound of frank ocean beginning to softly play out of the speaker of his phone made her perk up a bit. “I don’t mind, I love frank ocean—I’m more of a channel orange girl though but I guess this will do” she smiled, looking over at him as the two fell into rhythm. “Is this a normal thing for you…the whole, walking high and listening to frank ocean thing?” 

  mornings are easy…-ish. he has a good routine. adrian stumbled out of bed after a measly four hours of sleep. he showered, made breakfast, pestered matt for a little while – all while nursing an irksome hangover. it was a gift –  or, perhaps he’d rather power through a headache than miss work. either way, adrian was up, out, and already in the lobby in just a few minutes. now, if lola was anyone else… he might’ve let them sleep in peace. “oh,  you definitely fell asleep down here.” he teased. “it is…” adrian pulled his phone from his pocket to check the time. “8:54am, tuesday.”  it’s a surprise he’s as bright eyed as he is. with some reluctance, he handed her his water bottle. “here. and i thought i had too much to drink last night.”

william didn’t know how he ended up at this party in the first place. a friend of a friend invited him and william- for whatever reason- agreed. he stood in the corner, his natural habitat, never enjoying being the center of attention. he was much more content to observe the other partygoers, instead of actually partaking in fun. besides, drinking, of course. green eyes roamed around the room, until they settled on the girl in the center of the room. she was so…alive. dancing, drinking, and enjoying herself. it was something that didn’t come easy to will. perhaps he was envious. either way, he was intrigued. when she approached him, will leaned against the wall and talked to her, casually. he was surprised when she invited out. raising an eyebrow, he looked down at her before shrugging his shoulders. “anything to get me out of here. c’mon,” he murmured, gesturing his head. 

almost immediately after will agreed to come with her, lola was reaching down to grab his hand and lead the two of them through and out of the house where the party was. Opening the door to the outside practically felt like she was entering a new world, the air was so light and cold—it felt good against her skin that was glossed in sweat from dancing most of the night away. “It’s Will right?” she asked, heels clicking against the sidewalk as she began making her way towards their destination. “You know, not a lot of people can pull of the whole brooding and sulking thing but you make it look good…like…really good” she told him, falling into step with him as they continued to walk—well…maybe lola was doing a little more of a wobble at some points. “How did you even end up there? I mean forgive me if I’m wrong but that doesn’t really seem like your type of scene…you seem more like a book and fireplace type of guy” 

clara wanted to protest but couldn’t. lola was right – she was wiped. realistically, how much longer could she grind herself down to the bone? “yeah,” she replied, her voice dripping with exhaustion. “I can’t believe I signed up for this. the geneva convention really should consider listing law school as a form of torture.” checking her watch, she was surprised to see it was only 7 pm. clara decided to take up lola on her generosity but only as long as she was back to studying before 9. the reading wouldn’t read itself, after all. “I’ll take you up on that ibuprofen. besides, I need to hear all about how vogue is going.”

“I’m pretty sure it is listed as a form of torture in somewhere in the law school contract—maybe you need to check the fine print again” it honestly still baffled lola that clara was still alive after all the time she spent studying and not sleeping, sometimes it made her worry but clara seemed to like having her nose in a book most of the time. “You already know I’ve got lots to tell , come in and I’ll be right back” she stepped aside to let clara in, making sure the door was locked before she ran off to the bathroom to grab the bottle of ibuprofen along with a banana and a glass of water. “I’m not sure if you’ve eaten today and you kinda have to do that before you take ibuprofen so…” she shrugged, a smile on her face as she set everything down on the coffee table. “We can talk about vogue in a sec but I really wanna hear about you — I mean…like how’s all the lawyering and stuff going? And when are you gonna let me take you out to a party or something so you can lose the textbooks for a night” 

riley had a skip in his step as he walked down to the lobby, wallet and keys in his paint covered hands. he had just been up all night finishing one of his painting commissions, and he was damn proud of himself. on his way to get a coffee, he noticed a girl passed out in the lobby. he started shaking her awake, “hey sunshine—it’s 7 am. party’s over,” he said with a slight chuckle, “i’m going to get a coffee. would you like me to get you one?” he pulled out his dab pen, “the healing powers of marijuana can help…” he suggested. 

“7 A.M?! You have to be fucking joking” lola was never an early riser, so to know that she was awake at such an ungodly hour of the day sent a chill down her spine to say the least. “yea, could you? “ she began, about to ask if she could join him just before he started going on about the ‘healing powers of marijuana’. her gaze shifted between him and his dab pen before she took it from him, at this point she was willing to try anything to get rid of her hangover. “this better not be laced with something” she said, wiping the mouth piece on her jeans before putting it in her mouth and taking only a small inhale, just enough to get her appetite going at the very least. “Can I come with you? To the coffee place I mean—I might walk a little slow but I guess like…physical activity could be good for the hangover that’s currently trying to kill me”   

          “  aw  ,  c’mon  ,  lo  .  you  know  those  jokes  never  …  fall  short  .  ”   his  grin  is  wide  and  bright  ,  clearly  amused  by  his  own  pun  .  coop  palms  the  ball  ,  passing  it  back  and  forth  between  his  two  hands  as  she  speaks  ,  making  a  point  to  listen  and  not  tune  her  out  like  he  tends  to  do  with  ,  well  ,  everyone  .   “  —-  i  don’t  think  you  want  that  .  do  you  remember  the  last  time  i  tried  to  make  popcorn  ?  ”   their  apartment  had  smelled  burnt  for  three  days  afterwards  .  needless  to  say  ,  he’s  not  exactly  talented  in  the  realm  of  cooking  .  bless  his  heart  .   “  can  we  just  settle  for  doordash  instead  ?  i  want  sushi  .  ”