stargazer

taking a look at the girl in front of her, she SMILED. it wasn’t a genuine smile, of joy with a promise of laughter but rather a harsh one that promised judgment. “i suggest taking your pictures… somewhere else? where there aren’t puking men?” sabiné held a stare for a moment. a slight sigh came as she realized that if she was rude to this girl, she’d have to deal with it for her entire career at cotton. “or you could try taking a picture from the WEST entrance. i’ve got a million instagram pictures to prove that it’s probably the most scenic part of this.. place.”

“Usually I would, but Mickey’s is having a promotion this week, and I wanted to get a shot of the exterior, so any newcomers would know how it looks like.” She said with a frown, still half keeping an eye on the man. “I’ve got some pictures of the food, but a diner with a puking man in front of it probably won’t be good for business. I’m pretty sure he’s been drinking, though it’s only 11am?” Lyra had been hoping to post something to draw in the lunch crowd, but she’d probably have to settle for waiting. “I’ll just wait it out, probably. Do you think security would handle this type of stuff? But thanks for your suggestions, anyway.” Even if they hadn’t been very helpful, she always made it a point to show appreciation for any effort.

Gabe: Yes but also her mom is kind of terrible? That's no excuse

Gabe: But I guess there's a lot of factors influencing her behaviour

Gabe: Cash me ousside though...that didn't even make you laugh a little?! What's your favourite meme then?

Lyra: idk actually i didn't watch the whole thing ://

Lyra: she needs help not fame :(

“Don’t count on it,” came out of her lips quicker than she thought; the fact that Lyra still held hope that Francine could somehow change and see the good in things baffled the twenty-one-year-old. Despite her disagreement and though Francine still stood by her beliefs firmly, the other had managed to make her listen with her words; silence taking over her like a wave of the tsunami, and in that moment, Francine could feel herself over-analyzing Lyra’s words. “Some people don’t though,” she uttered quietly, kicking a loose pebble from the pavement before forcing out a cruel laugh. The thought of her mother rushed into her head, a sinking feeling stinging her heart while her stomach churned. “If you keep looking on the brighter side of things and letting it overrule all the bad, you’d end up disappointing yourself. You’re letting yourself get hurt and that’s fucking dumb.” At this point, the brunette was thinking out loud; her thoughts running wild and unfiltered – they probably don’t even make any sense. It never does make any sense in her head. “You need to love yourself enough to want to protect yourself,” but this wasn’t exactly practiced, was it Francine? She bit her tongue from her hypocritical speech, clearing her throat as an attempt to dissolve all that she had blurted out. “Every time I try to use chopsticks, I end up playing the role of a shitty Picasso; my canvas being the God damn table.”

All Lyra could do in return was smile. It was at certain places in these conversations where she knew better than to continue pressing her point, as Francine would probably only grow more stubborn and push her opinion. She could only hope that the other girl would ponder upon it more in the future. “Maybe,” she said noncommittally. It wasn’t as though she could refute that statement a hundred percent. “But don’t people deserve at least the benefit of a doubt?” Those particular words; she had uttered them many times, to many different people. Some agreed and some didn’t, but she knew many called her naive for believing in them. Perhaps they were right, but she wouldn’t be able to live with the possibility that she could have thrown away the chance to be there for someone. At least if they did end up proving her wrong she would know that she had tried her best to be there for them. “”It’s not as if I’m completely ignoring the bad side,” she tried to reason. No, that would be dumb, but she couldn’t prevent that innate desire to help people, especially one that everyone else seemed to have written off as hopeless. It was just a part of her nature to see the good in people, even if they didn’t seem to want to acknowledge it themselves. Would it end up with her getting hurt? Perhaps, but wouldn’t the guilt of ‘what if’ be even worse? Her thoughts, in what seemed to be in contrast to Francine, had started their own monologue in her head, although to her it felt like whatever she was thinking was written all over her face. She always had been easy to read, but those thoughts quickly dissipated at Francine’s complaints, a smile quickly spreading over her face again. “No more attempts at chopstick, got it. At least, in public.” She couldn’t help tacking on at the end, grinning teasingly.

Hana paused for a moment, a sudden shadow of doubt cast on her memory at Lyra’s confusion. She recounted the days and their encounters – she was certain that Lyra had paid the last time the two met for coffee. “I paid on Monday and then Tuesday we ran into each other between breaks and you covered me even when I told you not to,” Hana nodded decisively. “It’s my turn to pay for sure, but you can pay me back with the pleasure of your company.”

“Ohhh ...” It was as if a light had turned on somewhere in her brain, the memory instantly flooding back to her once Hana mentioned it. A thought flitted past her mind that maybe she should start writing down things in order to keep track of them, but it disappeared as soon as it came. “I remember now!” Lyra laughed as she held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. “Okay, okay. I will do so, gladly,” she continued dramatically. “Lead the way, oh generous one.” 

Gabe: And I appreciate that but listen

Gabe: What did you she do to you?

Gabe: It's interesting though, I feel like her meme fame stopped her progress on Dr Phil though I think it was the ranch that helped her

Gabe: Not really him but I do question his qualifications!

Lyra: she's mean to her mom!! and is famous and rich because of it!!

UPON HEARING A familiar voice, Hudson winced - his grip on the bar tightening, his knuckles practically turning white. It was Lyra. Definitely not who he wanted to see in that moment. Not because he didn’t like her - quite the contrary, in fact he had a soft spot in his otherwise hard interior for her. She always encouraged him to be better, to do better, to want better for himself. Seeing her now just racked him with guilt, he knew she would be disappointed by him drinking on the job. If it was anyone else he wouldn’t care, but with her standing there - he could acknowledge this was not his proudest moment. As she neared the bar he waited for her to smell the liquor on him, to hear the slur in his voice - he didn’t want to turn around to see the disappointment on her face.

He let out a deep sigh, when she tapped him on the shoulder. He couldn’t ignore her or pretend like she wasn’t there. She didn’t deserve that. He braced himself for a moment, doing his best to look “sober”. He turned around to face her - but instantly regretted the decision as the room seems to spin in slow motion to keep up with him. “Uh - hey. Hey Lyra.” He said quietly with a weak smile, his eyes cast down at the bar, he couldn’t bare to look her in the eye. “S-Sorry about the bar, I’m just about to..to clean up before I head out.” His attempt at looking straight was failing miserably and he knew it, but he kept trying. “Uh - no I-I don’t think I can make it out tonight. I’m..well, I’m pretty busy.” He lied lamely. He wasn’t busy at all, in fact it was late so there was almost nothing still open at this point. “I got some stuff I need to take care of. You, you should probably just head home. It’s late.”

Lyra’s hands automatically moved to cradle her face as she leaned against the bartop, mock frowning at Hudson. “Hey, what’s with that sigh? People might think you weren’t happy to see me,” She cocked her head to the side a little as she grinned in welcome to him, but it quickly faded away. “You don’t look too well,” Her voice tinted with concern as she got up from her stool. His swaying alarmed her and she hurried around the bar to stand by his side in case he happened to faint or something. “Here, sit down first, the spill can wait awhile. Have you been feeling like this since you came in or was it recent? You should’ve just told your boss you weren’t feeling well,” She probably sounded like a mother at this point, but Lyra had the tendency towards that whenever she felt someone wasn’t taking care of themselves properly. 

She set a glass of water ( or what she hoped was water, after all they wouldn’t have started piping water through the taps, right? ) in front of Hudson as she peered worriedly into his face. “No no, don’t worry about it. You should definitely rest if you’re ill, and by that I mean straight home. Whatever you needed to do can probably wait, though if it really is urgent I don’t mind helping you. What matters is that you need to rest.” She ended determinedly. She was already beginning to feel bad about inviting him out when he looked like this. “I will once I’ve made sure you’re home safe. Don’t want you passing out on the street somewhere. Maybe I should call a cab?” The latter part had trailed off into her mostly talking to herself as the ‘wanting to help’ part of her personality came out.

“Ferris wheel? You must really have no fear. No, I’m a waitress, but I assume a customer would have the same reaction. Good to know.”

A thoughtful look came over Lyra’s face as she pondered the statement. “I wouldn’t exactly say that I was fearless ... just I don’t actually think about things until after they happen. Oh? Where do you work?” She shrugged and smiled as she gestured to the store itself. “It’s not that high up, actually.”

HEAVY BASS MUSIC rang loud in aching ears as a thick amber liquid passed between thinly parted lips. A familiar warm and slow burn filled his broad chest, fingers tightening their grip on the cool sleek bar to stabilize wobbly knees. How many shots had passed between his lips in a smooth motion that night? “T-two..three..f-four..” he counted on his long thin fingers, his voice unsteady as he mumbled quietly to himself. Too many.  It was strictly against the rules to drink any alcohol while on a shift at the amusement park, but much like many of the rules in Hudson’s life – it was unfollowed. Beyond that, deliberately disobeyed. But the customers were so intolerable, and the alcohol, well it wasn’t exactly locked up. Plus, there were so many bottles in stock, who would notice if a few shots worth were missing? If the owner cared so much about their liquor they wouldn’t have left the new guy to close down the place right? Right.

A familiar yet nerve racking ‘click’ sounded off in the distance, it was meant to notify employees working behind the bar that they had a customer approaching. For Hudson however, it was an alarm warning him that someone might catch him. His chest lurched a little at the unexpected visitor; his head was foggy as he hurriedly attempted to discard the miniature glass. He succeeded only in knocking it over, the remnants of the bitter alcohol pooling out onto the bar’s smooth surface. He just managed to grip the small shot glass, his hands large enough to conceal the glass in his fist. He turned his bank to the approaching customer in hopes they would not notice his inebriated state. “We’re closed..” He slurred, “Or..or about to be so you – you should probably just get outta here..”

Technically, Lyra was not supposed to be at a nightclub. She was twenty, which meant she was definitely under the legal age of drinking and entering clubs. Lucky for her, this club happened to be the one in her workplace, which meant that there was no problem with her being there. Not that it probably would have mattered, fake ids were enough to get you in to any bar or nightclub. If you asked Lyra, however, she would swear that she didn’t use it for drinking. She was here tonight, though, because she was worried about Hudson. There was just something that compelled her to want to help him, despite how much he grumbled about it. They hadn’t seen each other for a few days and he had gone radio silent. Granted, it could be just that he was busy, but she had been wrapping up some things at the office anyway so she had swung by.

His back was turned towards her as she approached, so she just assumed that he thought she was a customer. “Uh, bartender, pretty sure you missed a spot?” She teased, observing the spreading liquid on the bar “Might want to clean that up before it tips over.” Seating herself on a stool, she made sure she avoided the spilled alcohol and tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, H. It’s just me. Was wondering whether you wanted to grab a snack or something?” Okay, totally lame excuse, but it was the easiest one that she had.

“Kind of? I think there are rules against scaring the customers. And jumping of short buildings.”

“Well I’ve had this talk already with management. As long as I don’t pull the ferris wheel stunt again I’m in the clear. Or at least not do that when anyone else is watching.” Lyra grinned, before pausing. “Oh, wait, are you a customer? I’m sorry if I gave you a fright, but don’t worry, it’s on the level. I’m trained to do these kind of things. Kind of.”

Thomas: my fridge has three eggs, a popsicle, and a half eaten carrot

Thomas: quick what can i make im fukin' starving

Lyra: how are you living ew

Lyra: let's go get pancakes

❛ — not to be THAT stereotypical leo that stays talking about their life or whatever, but i just dropped the HOTTEST track last night and i really need you to appreciate me ! ❜  august announced, voice cheerful and bright, with his lips quirked up to form a rather GENTLE grin. ❛ i didn’t sleep for two whole days because i was so busy working on it and i swear my boss was actually going to kill me. i don’t blame him, though, i was acting like a fucking ZOMBIE at work. imagine trying to make coffee when you’re sleep deprived and kind of high. it’s just not a good combination, i’ll tell you that much. but ANYWAY, what have you been up to lately ? you got anything spicy to tell me ? ❜

Lyra looked up as the familiar voice greeted her. “I’m not exactly certain what a stereotypical Leo is, but sure? Send me the link!” As interested as she was in space and astronomy, astrology was something that didn’t pique her interest, despite being somewhat related to the stars. However, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t support a song that her friend had made. “Maybe you should sneak some of that coffee yourself,” she suggested, noting the faint eye circles. Nothing much, just snapping pictures and living life. And uh, yes, if you count the thai food I had yesterday?”