𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑔𝘩𝑡

Nicholas chuckled lowly, knowing that the most prevalent addiction in Frostford was in fact caffeine. “Well,” he began with a smile on his lips, “You don’t want to cut cold turkey, ya know.” He shook his head, grimacing slightly, “That’s the wrong way to go about it. You’d be absolutely miserable right off the bat,” Nicholas had tried it. Just for the sake of seeing if his teacher’s in medical school had been right. They were. “Start by slowly decreasing. How many cups are we drinking a day?”

“No cold turkey. Dammit.” There goes her plan. “Cups? Um, I don’t really keep count but if I did, it would be two pots full.” She quickly added, “Not all at once, sometimes, but throughout the day. Especially when I have to grade papers or need to stay up late.” She ducked her head out of embarrassment. “I have to admit, I’m horrible at staying away from coffee, more than my husband’s ability not to get drunk and go to jail for a the night.” 

“Oh, thank you. Yeah, the old coach back then wasn’t really the best. I mean she did let me fall off of the top of the pyramid after she knew I was hungover.” Brooke had to hand it to Marlene. The girl put up with the craziest family in town, also known as the Abernathys. She couldn’t even make it down the aisle with one of them. “So, how are you and Luke doing?”

“She did not.” Marlene wasn’t surprised. “Well, she did had that cane. She had the whole Miss Minchin vibe from her. Probably why she’s an old maid.” There was a level of crazy, then there was Luke. Brooke didn’t know too much about her marriage other than she managed to walk down the aisle the court with an Abernathy. “Well, you know, trying to get him drink responsibly. Other than that, married life is very much something I didn’t expect it to be. I usually skip meals when I’m too busy and rely on caffeine to keep me going, but he wouldn’t have any of it and demands I eat something. Now I can’t go to work without at least a full breakfast. Talk about progress huh?”

Blinking a couple of times as he looked at the baked goods, he then felt a soft smile form on his lips as her words registered in his mind. “Oh there is no need to thank me. I am just doing my job.” he assured her, taking the basket and chuckling. “This is the warmest thank you I have ever received. So I am the one who should thank you and not the other way around. As you took your time out of your day to bake and put it all in a basket” Téodore rambled, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Oh, but really, you’re going above and beyond keeping my husband alive. Pretty sure if you wouldn’t find him or arrest him, he’d wake up near a dumpster or something of equivalent. So really, thank you.” She paused, smiling. “If there’s anything I could do to return the favor, I would do it in a heart beat.”

“Hey Officer Huang.” She smiled at the police officer, as she walked up to him. “I brought you something, I didn’t make it just saying. But it’s a small thank you. For putting up with my husband, Luke. I know he’s in the station almost every night and I’m really sorry you have to put up with his drunken self.” Holding out a basket of baked goods, she offered it to him. “So here, this is for you and guys at the station. Just a small thank you. Like thank you for calling me to.. you know.. bail him out.. And thank you for not letting him puke on himself.”

“I’m a fan of how far the cheer squad had come since my high school days. But then again, it’s been a long while since I’ve been in Frostford high. Way too long. That’ll just make me admit to myself that I’m growing grey hair either of old age or from the stress. So let’s not go there. So, coach, how’s it going these days?”

“What’s the best way to get rid of an addiction?” She asked, looking over at him with a serious expression before adding, “I need to lower down my caffeine intake. It’s getting seriously out of hand. Any advice doc?”

INCORRECT QUOTES (4/?)

— @vivianabernathy, @harrisonforrester

INCORRECT QUOTES (3/?)

One thing he still wasn’t ready to acknowledge was that he actually liked holding her hand, and It was becoming less of an issue for him but he wouldn’t be spilling that information to her. “You’re absolutely shocked, I know,” he smirked, his eyes searching for the alcohol free lemonade stand. “I think I’m capable of lasting a long time without drinkin’ but I’ll be honest I might get bored sooner rather than later.” He wasn’t an alcoholic, he just liked a good time a bit too much.

He scoffed, shaking his head looking away from her with a smile as to not draw unwanted attention between them. “Well when you say it like that it just sounds bad, honey. I don’t drink all that much.” He knew he could easily be at a much worse level, but he had put her through annoying things already. “Forget I asked though, I’ll just grab some regular strawberry lemonade if that’s alright with you?” he asked but grabbed her hand and began walking before she could answer. 

INCORRECT QUOTES (2/?)

The somewhat content expression on his face quickly changed when she denied him the drink, a frown now plastered on his lips. “Why not, I’ve been looking for the damn stand all day and I can’t find it,” he replied trying to look over her should to see if he’d spot it from the direction she came from. “I thought you we agreed to try making each other as happy as possible.” Sarcasm was one of the many forms they communicated and he knew that in this setting he should play nicer. “You’d really make me beg Mar?”