orange justice

Andrew: so I got a little fucked up and ended up in Wisconsin

Andrew: I don't have my wallet so idk how I got here tbh

Andrew: you mind coming to scoop me up?

Mitch: Wisconsin???

Liv: Any chance you're free next friday? I need a last minute chaperone to help me out.

Liv: I'm sure you realize how desperate I am if I'm asking you.

Mitch: I can be free Friday for you.

Jo: OMG do not open that snapchat.

Mac: We’re playing this like first impressions game at this club meeting I’m at and so far one person said I look like I drive a Prius and another said they think I’d get excited over stickers.

Mac: Do I look like I drive a Prius and get excited over stickers?

Mitch: Yeah, dude. Those are both pretty spot on

“How do you make a decision when you have two terrible choices laid out in front of you? On one hand I’d be betraying what I want, but on the other…It’s like a betrayal of what I know should happen,” she sighed into her coffee cup. “Sorry. I don’t mean to spill this all out on you. I’ve just had a lot on my mind recently.”

“It’s cool, sounds deep. It’d be a hell of a lot easier for me to help you if I knew what the choices were. Tell me. I’ll choose for you. I promise to weigh the pros and cons before picking.”

“It’s not. I hate when you say things like that,” Lily shook her head. “I can’t just be with someone who doesn’t want to be with me,” Lily shrugged and dipped her head down. “He’s worth it, but he hasn’t really shown this is what he wants now. So, there’s nothing I can do.”

“Why?” He asked, genuinely confused. “Oh. I, uh, never thought about him not wanting to be with you like that. Literally never crossed my mind.” He scratched at the back of his neck. “He’s an idiot for that, obviously. I thought you guys were doing that whole will they won’t they thing and you both secretly wanted to be together but were afraid of it. Has he shown you anything? Don’t let him string you along and toy with your emotions if he doesn’t want to be together. Do I need to talk to him?”

“Ah,” Jackson nodded as if finally understanding. “Quite the laundry list. I’m well-acquainted with the ER myself,” he spoke while gesturing to a long scar on his right calf from a site accident a few years ago, “but I think you got me beat.” 

“Duude.” He spoke in awe, kneeling to look at his scar. “How’d you get that? Drunken mishap? Motorcycle race gone wrong? Crazy ex?”

“Oh no,” Jozie giggled. “I mean big names…. Brad Pitt, ever heard of him? Jennifer Lawrence? Yeah, I handle all their money.” She was excited at the prospect of free food, so she thought of ways to keep the schtick going. “Well, my last paycheck got stuck in the mail, so…. I’m a bit short. Don’t let me down now. You already mentioned sexy tacos.”

“I’m a nice guy, so I’ll cover it this time. But if Brad and J Law come to town, I expect an introduction. I want autographs, some film memorabilia. The works.”  He laughed, motioning to his car. “Come on, I’m driving.”

“Do it together or do you mean pretend to help me do it next time?” She questioned feeling unconvinced by the whole idea but Vienna wasn’t the type of person to straight out say no and especially not to Mitch. “Work perks are always great but honestly, I’m surprised you aren’t sick of eating pizza all the time especially with how many years you’ve been there. Keep it up and you might just end up being their longest serving employee and maybe then you’ll make it to that level.” She mentioned although she couldn’t help but shake her head at the thought. It joke itself felt a little awkward to make but she knew it’d at least get a smile on his face. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it sappy per se. I trust you like a brother and you know– if I do recall correctly, there was a time when you almost were.”

“Well..I mean do it together, but still let you do all the heavy lifting. I’m a slow learner, Vivi. I need time to watch you work in all your glory.” Cooking was also hard, recipes were so specific and looong, he kept those thoughts to himself though. “Who gets sick of pizza? It’s the food of the Gods. There’s also a million different kinds, whenever I get sick of meat lovers I go for the margherita and I’m good. Honestly, aside from the employees who’s last name is literally Lombardi, I think I might already be the longest standing employee. It’s weird to think about.” He shrugged. “As if I could forget. Our entire friendship is kind of based on us still seeing each other that way. Which I love, in case you didn’t know. It’s nice to have an older sibling who’s not a complete judgmental tool. So thanks, for being that for me.”

“You’re not an idiot,” Lily shook her head. She hated when he said things like that, when he talked poorly about himself. “I want to be with him, yeah,” she admitted and maybe it was an obvious thing to say, but she felt pathetic for it. “But– but, I don’t know. It’s not the right time for him, maybe not for me either, so.”

“Debatable.” He countered. Sometimes he forgot Lily was the nice supportive sibling. “What do you mean so? If you want to be with him, be with him. All that, it’s not the right time stuff, that’s just an excuse. If you’re scared I get it, but he’s worth the risk of getting hurt again, isn’t he?”

“I’ve explained why over and over and over. If you still hold out hope, I think that’s on you.” She closed her eyes and pushed his face away jokingly. “Put those puppy dog eyes away, I don’t want those!” She play glared at him, “You’re just bringing this back on purpose now. Tell me, in what world does the whole screwing someone over for your benefit work out as fun for anyone?” She nodded, still not entirely sure what had changed between the two, but she could guess that neither was completely happy with the outcome from Mitch’s face. “Oh yeah, what makes you so sure about that? You just told me you were messy! No way I’m going to fall in love with that!” she nudged him back. “It sounds to me like you are making the rules.” She shook her head, “No, I don’t need you going all big brother on me. I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”

“No way, it’s on you. Stop being so desirable and I’ll get over it. Your explanation isn’t enough to silence my heart when it beats for you.” He said, trying to sound as sappy as possible. “I don’t know, but people do it. You know it happens. Some people are cruel and sick in the head. I’m a lover, a sweetheart, an angel so I don’t understand that thought process at all. It’s probably about power or something.” He shrugged. He knew a few guys who literally got off on being douchebags to girls, he never understood the appeal but he couldn’t deny they existed. “I’m lovable, Es. What can I say? I’m dopey and charming, a good time guy yet shockingly dependable when he needs to be. My only real flaw is the messiness. Also, no crazy exes. That’s important around here.” He sighed at her next words. He’d been hearing them too much lately. “I can’t help it. I am a big brother, it just comes naturally. I’ll be nice, but seriously, who is he?”

“Never had an injury before?” 

“I was making a bad joke. I spent half of my youth in casts. Broken arm, broken wrist, another broken arm. I was a mess, and should’ve turned down some dares. Never hurt my back before though, maybe get a massage?”

“I’m a celebrity accountant.” Jozie was amusing herself. She didn’t care if it sounded true or not– Either way, it was better than talking about the farm, and certainly more impressive. “They send me their tax forms and bank statements and I work remotely from Rockford.”

“Holy shit. Like, Tori Spelling D-list celebrities or could you hook me up with someone like Jennifer Aniston?” He played along, carrying on the conversation as if he believed her. “Definitely earns you a trip to Lucha’s. If you’ve never been, they’ve got tacos you’d want to make love to. Except now I’m thinking you should be footing the bill, since you work for Miss Fergalicious herself.”

Meeting his gaze to the best of her ability Ryan smirked. “I know I’m hot but damn that’s a nice reaction,” Ryan joked as she took in the dropped jaw before focusing back on his voice. “Some bitch ass man that tried to grab me and didn’t expect me to kick his ass right back. And why don’t you sit down! Maybe I’m just dizzy cause I’m falling into your eyes or some shit. Aw fuck where is a seat, blondie? The least you can do is guide me if you’re planning to stay all cute and concerned.”

"What?” He laughed, taken off guard by her reaction. “I mean, yeah, duh you’re hot, but that’s not what I was..” He trailed off, shaking his head when he realized there was no need to continue. “Shit, for real? Man, I’m sorry. Men are such pigs, you know? Assholes, all of us.” In honor of not being an asshole, he wasn’t his usual annoying obnoxious self and instead found her a place to sit down. “Here. And take this too.” He insisted, grabbing her a bottle of water. “Just in case, I’m not telling you what to do or anything, even if it’s good to stay hydrated.”

“I guess,” Reese said with a shrug. “It’s not something I’d ever want though,” she added after a moment, signaling the bartender over so she could get a drink. “It’s been just about six, yeah. Drink and chit chat sounds infinitely preferable, if you ask me,” she answered, flashing Mitch a smile. “We are old. I should do a shot for every time I’ve thought that since being back. Would be hell of a drinking game.” 

“What do you want then? To become a world traveler? Live off spontaneity and good times? Cause I can get on board with that, I’m lowkey already doing that. Except for the fun traveling part.” He was incredibly curious about why she was back, considering she didn’t seem at all happy about it, but if she’d rather talk like nothing happened he was fine with that too. “Anything for you, Reese’s Pieces. If you wanna do shots, we can do shots. It’s been awhile since I’ve gotten drunk enough to forget my name, and I think that might do it.”

Jozie knew that people probably saw her stealing, but she trusted that no one had the balls to rat her out. She looked over her shoulder at the approaching stranger and accepted the help, lips pressed in a flat line. “Yeah,” she lied, “Work trip.”

“Cool.” He said awkwardly. “What kind of work do you do?” It would’ve been easy to walk away, but for some reason he thought she could use a friend. “If it’s impressing enough we can go out for food and you can tell me how to get into it. My treat.”

“Well, I’m not opposed to cooking for you but I’d much rather teach you how to cook so you can fend for yourself.” She explained although it was no secret that the cooking lessons had stopped for several reasons. One being that she felt a need to put some space between them since the Valentines day mishap. “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone whose been so excited about growing old. But wouldn’t you need, well, a lot more money if you wanted to fill the role of a… sugar daddy?” She questioned, struggling to even say it with a straight face. “You’re right. It is a little scary when you put it that way but the difference is I trust you Mitch.”

“How about the first time you cook and I watch, since I’m a visual learner and all, then the next time we can do it together. Deal?” In his opinion it was a perfect plan, but it still kinda sounded like he was trying to get out of it, so he wasn’t sure how on board she’d be. “I’ve got a crappy apartment and live off the free food I get from work -- you’d be surprised how much money you can save when you don’t pay for much. Maybe not total sugar daddy level yet, but it’s on the horizon.” He laughed, more at hearing her use the term sugar daddy than anything else. “Why’d you have to go and get sappy on me?”