ain't no sleep when the wicked play.

Azlee snorted softly into her straw, giving Nova a look that was half big-sister judgement and half conspiratorial amusement. “Honestly? I’m shocked we made it this far without at least three disastrous elopements each,” she said. “You’d think immortality and boredom would’ve pushed somebody into a questionable Vegas situation by now.” She tapped her cup lightly against Nova’s. “But hey… maybe we’re just picky. Or smarter than we look.” A beat. “Well—some of us. I can’t speak for all of our siblings.” Smirk.

"I've only really loved one man," Nova said. "Maybe my time for fate, for love, is over. Maybe I missed my chance."

"Not my last resort, Azlee is. I love her, but she's always so nice to me about these things. And I'm not going to cry, have some faith in me, will you brother?"

COLETTE REACHED OVER AND DUSTED off her brother's shoulders of imaginary lint . ❝ too peppy ?? nicolas , il mio fratellino , this is me at half-battery . you should be grateful . if i were fully charged , you’d be blinded by my glory . ❞ she responded . ❝ and what about you ?? sleep-deprived , overly caffeinated , and . . . ❞ she narrowed her eyes with dramatic scrutiny . ❝ already judging me !! ❞ she complained . ❝ at this rate , you sound more like you’re c l o s e r to forty years old rather than in your early twenties . ❞ she poked fun at him .

"Hey, you say that as if you haven't been basically giving me ulcers since I was like five years old," Nico replied. "What is it that you called me here this early for anyway?"

"Surely, you could look for the lip balm in a less dangerous way. Why are you balancing like that? You look like you're going to topple over onto your head. You know, you could just kneel on the ground and look, right?"

"No nuts or peanuts, right?" he asked, a small confirmation of accepting a plate if it didn't include his allergies.

"Great! Actually, I forgot something in my car. Let's just go by and grab that real quick," she said, heading in that direction first. She had everything set up already, so once they stopped at the car, she opened the passenger door and stepped back so Nova could see what was inside. It was the same setup as it had been for Aida, all perfectly arranged to surprise her best friend. The only difference was Nova's said maid-of-honor instead. "You have been my friend for nearly as long as I have known Erik, so it just made sense to me that you would be my maid-of-honor."

"Nat... what are you," Surprised, she was. "Oh wow. Maid-of-honor? Really?" she asked. "I... Natalie... of course I will, I'd be honored. Hell, I was already honored that you'll be my sister for real."

Jasper huffed a soft laugh, tipping her sunglasses down just enough to flash Sabrina a guilty-as-charged look. “Yeah… I said it. They were acting like I was gonna crumble if Sapphire sneezed wrong, so I reminded them I’m not made of porcelain. Maybe a little cold, but hey—accurate.”

"Of course you're not made of porcelain, your daughter has CF, if anything your stronger than half of parents I meet," Sabrina said. "I mean sometimes you gotta be cold to advocate for yourself and your daughter, too many people don't listen to women."

"Trust me, I've seen horrible parents, these aren't them, but sometimes you gotta let your child face the consequences of their actions. High school Volleyball is the safest place to do it, where it doesn't fully matter that I have to bar them from a game."

Xo raised her eyebrows at his words. "Well, it's starting to look like that anyway and I have been here for most of the time. So, I think that's going to happen unsupervised or not. Do you ever know how to fix it, or are you just hoping for the best and then we're going to have to call maintenance anyway to fix the break and whatever you broke even more?"

"That's wild. If you're going to cheat and throw your trouser snake at someone, pick someone you don't work with," she scoffed. Illiris rolled her eyes. "Because they're idiots and they think teacher is an all-encompassing term. That, and they're too self involved to give a shit about what your job actually is and to care for their kids properly. It's a sad world we live in, but it's filled with garbage parents. All we can do is hope that these kids turn out okay in spite of it."

"Fuck off, don't curtsy to me," she laughed. Catalina hated that more than words could truly express. "My eldest sister, maybe, but you don't have to for me, you weenie," she said. "What, a girl can't skulk around a tennis court for shits and giggles?" she asked. "Mm, a fucked a guy the other night who would not stop going on and on about tennis, so I thought I'd come see what the hype is."

"Okay, but I'm going to remember if anyone ever gets upset I don't curtsy," Sabrina replied. "On and on about tennis? Damn, tennis is most of my life, and I don't even bring it up in bed. What do you want to know?"

Gia tilted her head back with a groan that turned into a laugh, squinting up at her. “Oh great, an Olympian. You left that part out when you conned me into playing, you maniac.” She pushed herself up, dusting off her shorts with a grin that was equal parts defiant and fond. “Alright, Coach Gold Medal—if you’re offering lessons, I’ll take ‘em. Just don’t expect me to start wearing those tiny white skirts. I’ve got a reputation to protect.”

"Hey, I didn't con you, you wanted to play," Sabrina said. "I don't have to mention my medals every time I play. I mean, I am a tennis coach, so I would've inferenced that I'd be at least partially good. And you don't have to wear tiny white skirts, that's just like a school uniform thing usually now, or like at a private tennis club, they're just very practical compared to other things."