- 𝙣𝙚𝙥𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨

xavier  struts  over  to  the  wall  ,  their  face  lighting  up  with  a  mischievous  grin  .  "  you  know  ,  they  say  money  can't  buy  happiness  ,  but  let  me  tell  you  something  ...  have  you  ever  seen  someone  with  a  grumpy  face  while  zooming  on  a  jet  ski  ?  i  mean  ,  seriously  ,  have  you  ?  so  ,  naturally  ,  i  cashed  in  on  happiness  and  voilá  ,  bought  myself  a  freakin'  jet  ski  .  let's  just  say  ,  my  happiness  level  is  now  cruising  at  an  all-time  high  ,  and  my  frown  is  nowhere  to  be  found  .  case  closed  !  "

ALANA RAISED AN eyebrow . money was something that was completely new to her - she hadn't grown up with access to wealth , and it seemed as though overnight she had amassed wealth that the majority of the world could only dream of . she had to find things outside of money to keep her happy , so she couldn't relate to his sentiment . " honestly ? i don't think i've seen anyone on a jet ski before in my entire life ... unless you count a handful of videos on tiktok or youtube . " she smiled slightly . " but i'm glad to hear that you're happy with your purchase . when are you taking it out for a spin ? "

               ❝   it's   so   sad   isn't   it   ?   ❞   nevaeh   always   had   the   same   inner   turmoil   when   she   went   to   the   grocery   store.   somehow,   she   found   herself   standing   in   front   of   the   lobster   tank   frowning   as   she   looked   inside   of   it.   something   about   being   able   to   purchase   them   while   they   were   still   alive   didn't   sit   right   in   her   soul.   ❝   do   you   think   if   i   were   to   purchase   them   all   i   could   get   them   to   an   ocean   in   time   and   they   could   live   long   free   lives   ?   how   would   i   know   what   ocean   to   take   them   too   ?   i'm   assuming   it's   not   just   a   free   for   all,   right   ?   ❞

" HMM ? " ALANA HUMMED under her breath , curiosity coloring the noise as she raised an eyebrow , wondering what nevaeh could have meant by her words . then as she went on to elaborate , lana couldn't help but share her sentiment . she had always been an animal lover , which would surprise many people . the quiet girl nodded her head , a sad smile on her lips . " it's very sad ... especially how they boil them alive , " she murmured softly , her voice quiet . " if i'm being honest , i think they'd just be happy to be out of that tank and into a familiar environment ... if you're serious , i'll help you buy them . "

              a  frown  formed  on  the  girls  lips  as  she  laided  her  head  on  top  of  dasom's  .           ❛     me  too  ,  i  wish  she  could've  been  here  too  .     ❜          and  she  really  did  .  luci  had  𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒  loved  the  moments  she  got  to  hang  out  with  the  girls  .  despite  simone  not  being  there  today  ,  she  was  glad  that  dasom  still  invited  her  over  .  it  was  surly  better  than  sitting  home  𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐄  thinking  up  whatever  things  were  on  her  mind  .           (     at  least  ,  that  was  how  luciana  felt  .     )          she'd  rather  be  spending  time  with  simone  or  dasom  rather  than  alone  with  her  own  thoughts  .          ❛     the  whole  thing  seems  like  a  𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑  waiting  to  happen  . . .  working  with  an  ex  . . .  yikes  !     ❜          luci  spoke  ,  raising  her  head  back  up  and  looking  over  at  her  friend  .          ❛     how're  you  feeling  ?     ❜          she  asked  ,  not  trying  to  pry  but  what  were  friends  for  ?

DESPITE THE NEAR decade large age gap between her and simone , dasom had developed a close bond with her ; just as she had with luci . she was so glad that she had found two girl friends that she could be so close to , especially in the industry they were in . luci may not have been a singer , but she was still apart of the entertainment industry - and it was hard finding trustworthy people in the business . she had lucked up with the two younger girls . " i know - i'm just hoping that the two of them don't end up killing each other ... or you know , simone doesn't end up killing him . " she gave her a slight smile . " in general ? i'm alright ... honestly , a little anxious . but that's to be expected when i'm about to release a new single . " even though the song was on her most recent album and her fans had heard it for sure , she was still worried about what the reception would be like . " are you doing alright ? it's been too long since we've hung out . " it had been less than a week ago , but it still was too long in her eyes .

"something tells me that comes with a catch," cameron laughed as he held out the winning ticket for dasom to take a better look. "and? i'm a very inside the box person, in case you haven't noticed," he laughed, "i can't remember the last time i did either of those. mini golf sounds promising."

" A CATCH ? I'M offended you'd even suggest that ... there's no catch !! if anything , i'm benefiting you by taking full responsibility for this . now you don't even have to choose what you do with your earnings - leave it all to me ! " dasom shook her head , sighing under her breath . " you really need to start expanding your palate , cameron . try new things , get out of your comfort zone . " she grinned . " mini golf it is ! oh , and then maybe afterwards we can hit up an escape room ? "

the  response  is  quick  ,  not  much  thought  behind  it  ,  "  yeah  and  i  love  you  ,  "  she  giggles  although  maybe  she  was  the  more  sober  of  the  two  ,  her  finger  travelling  to  tap  the  other  on  the  nose  with  a  little  boop  noise  .  the  lights  may  have  blurred  but  a  new  mission  was  just  coming  into  sight  as  dasom  explains  her  hearts  desire  ,  al  decides  that  there  is  nothing  she'd  like  to  do  more  than  turn  that  dream  into  reality  .  doing  a  zipping  motion  with  her  lips  ,  "  say  no  more  ,  we're  going  to  make  it  happen  .  a  new  york  slice  and  a  dance  into  the  distance  ,  "  she  teases  as  she  leans  forwards  ,  "  DRIVER  !  we  have  a  new  destination  ,  "  she's  waving  her  phone  with  gps  coordinates  on  ,  rerouting  to  the  busy  streets  where  they  could  slip  out  and  get  that  pizza  ,  "  don't  worry  babe  ,  i  will  not  rest  until  you  have  everything  you  dreamed  of  .  "

IT DIDN'T TAKE a rocket scientist to realize that dasom was a lightweight . it didn't take much liquor for her to start feeling the effects taking over - the alcohol buzzing through her system and making her feel lighter ; freer . it was an invigorating experience that , if mishandled , would quickly go south . which was why she always made sure to drink with people whom she trusted and knew wouldn't let anything bad happen to her . " a dance into the distance ? but my feet hurt ! " she playfully complained , letting out a drunken giggle as she settled back into her seat , her feet shifting around as she kicked off her heels . " you treat me so well ... you'd make a great significant other , you know that ? are you seeing anyone ? oh ! maybe we can get you set up with someone ? "

dasom did deserve more than 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 her time with tristan's constant hot and cold . ⏤ tristan wasn't doing all of this because he 𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐎𝐘𝐄𝐃 making dasom feel horrible . . . he liked dasom . there was 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 a time when he considered her one of his best friends . ( one of the many flaws he possessed . ) was the fact that tristan was the type of person that pushed and pulled when it came to people . never letting himself have anything even slightly normal for too long . not letting people in for too long before cutting them off only to pull them back in because he was impulsive enough to go back and forth with his ever growing negativity to be alone and his loneliness . it seemed to be a 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 of his to make his own life a living hell and he ended up dragging and pulling down the people that were close to him into the holes he had dug for himself in the process . ❛ i didn't come here to fight with you , okay ? it's been a weird fucking day and maybe i took that out on you . . . it wasn't my intention . ❜ did it excuse anything ? or better yet , did it take away from the fact that tristan had strung dasom along for awhile now so her reservations or defenses being up made perfect sense . no , it didn't take away from that at all . ❛ fucking kellan threw a chicken wing at my face , okay ? i've had a headache all day . ❜ he complained , almost frustrated , he brought a hand up and brushed his fingers through the front of his hair . a breath escaping his lips , letting out the needed steam he was holding onto for no apparent reason . wanting to blame anything other than himself on his own shitty attitude that night . it probably actually having nothing to do with dasom or the chicken wing incident . ❛ if i'm such a shitty person . . . why'd you let me come ? ❜

IT WAS THE same old excuse , something that dasom had heard time and time again . tristan had a bad day . tristan was stressed out . it wasn't her , it was him . it was like a broken record that she was growing tired of listening to . she knew that it wasn't worth her time - that tristan wasn't worth her time . entertaining him , continuing on with what their so - called friendship had become , was causing her more harm than good . but she still couldn't bring herself to let go just yet . the good memories that she shared with him , their friendly outings and late night talks and everything in between had been embedded deep into her psyche . she was still holding out hope that tristan would go back to his old ways , the way he used to act when their friendship was new and fresh . " whatever , tris ... " she heaved a heavy sigh . " do you want some tylenol for your head ? " she asked , glancing away from him as she considered his question . " ... i don't know . "

Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz in clueless (1995) part. 3

"would you look at that," cameron couldn't help but laugh as he finished scratching the lottery ticket in his hand. "it looks like i won," he hadn't one much, but it was enough to be worth some level of celebration. "i guess this means drinks are on me?" he looked at his companion, "unless you can think of a better way to spend my winnings."

"WELL , WELL , WELL , " dasom grinned at him . " looks like i'm your good luck charm . i'll take full responsibility for your win . " she joked , letting out a chuckle as she peered down at his lottery ticket , nodding her head in approval at his winnings . " drinks ? that's so ... inside of the box , man . let's do something really fun ... " she paused , taking a moment to think about it . " wanna go play mini golf ? oh ! or go - karts ! "

           "tell me your thoughts,"  she has managed to get behind the bar  [ could be an apartment, a restaurant, a 3rd party place, her own place, etc. ],  spending a few moments to make a twist on the classic old fashioned,  an extra large ice cube,  a little edible glitter,  a little extra sugar cubes,  and of course  -  a squeeze of multiple  murcott honey tangerines  to make the taste crisp and citrony.   "i added a few more ingredients than the old fashioned calls for,"  she informs them,  offering them the other glass. [ @nepofmstarters ]

DASOM WASN'T THAT big of a drinker ; although she did enjoy an occasional glass of wine here and there . she only drank socially , and she only drank harder liquors at party events , which were very few and far between for her . but she couldn't help but be a little intrigued when rosalind wanted to use her as a guinea pig to test a new drink idea out on . her curiosity got the best of her , and she agreed . " is it really strong ? " she asked as she reached for the glass , bringing it up to her nose for a moment to inhale . " jeez , that's ... liquor . " she almost gagged , but took. sip from the glass nonetheless . her expression lightened a bit , before her eyebrows rose in shock . " that's actually ... really good . "

the weather was surprisingly gorgeous today. jupiter wasn't surprised to see many people out, especially after many days of nothing but rain. it was nice to be able to get out and take in the fresh air. not to mention that it was extra hot too, which meant summer was just around the corner. jupiter, like many others, were spending their day at central park, and he himself had found a perfect spot at sheep meadow, blanket over the green grass, and eyes closed as he bathe in the sun. but when he could sense a shadow casted over him, he groaned. " hey–– you're blocking the sun! " he said before taking his glasses off and looking over at the other.

A NICE STROLL through central park had been exactly what the doctor ordered for dasom . it was insane the amount of days she spent cooped up in either the studio or her own home , but she had been going through a rather long introvert phase for the past few weeks that made her lack any desire for social interaction ; being an ambivert , she had her days where she loved interacting with others . and other days ... not so much . but the sun shining down on her and the happy , content conversations she overheard around her during her stroll put her in a good , social mood . stopping to dig around in her bag for her favorite pair of sunglasses , dasom didn't even realize that she had blocked someone's way of the sun . " oh , i'm so sorry ! " she held up a hand , which now held the shades she had been searching for . " don't mind me . " she politely stepped to the side .