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Going out with Vada had quickly become Lily’s normal. One she was thankful for, Vada was one of the few people she never had to worry about saying the wrong thing with. Lily followed Vada’s gaze over towards the door. Her smile grew, dimples showing. August was probably her other favorite person right now. What better than a night out with both of them? “A wild August, look at that. Congratulations, babe. You are an honorary hot girl tonight. Very prestigious club between us.” She waved him over quickly as she leaned her head on Vada dramatically.  “Rules are simple. You buy the next round. Whatever Vada wants, so probably more Vodka because she hates my liver. No one says anything depressing till three am.” She paused before deciding to poke at her friends ever so slightly. “And if either of you says anything meaningful. I’m calling security.” Passing a shot over to him before taking her own. She winced slightly at the taste but shook it out. “To the dream team, babes.”

⚓      "you heard me, dad went on a date, with the lady friend, in public." riley leans over the table as if it was the busiest piece of gossip he'd ever heard in his life. "like a functioning human being." did he expect his father to be the kind of divorced man that spent his time in social isolation? absolutely. so the the turn of events of catching his father dressing up and pulling out a chair for a lady had riley's jaw on the floor.

She was typically quick with her words, but the news of her father going out on an actual date was beyond what her brain could handle. “I’m sorry. I don’t think my brain knows what to do with that.” She said, putting her glass down slowly. “You're saying. Dad. Our father. Went on a date with another human being, in public, where people could actually see him,” she said slowly, trying to process. “Riley. Be fucking serious right now.” she laughed softly. The idea was enough to leave Lily speechless. Which was something that rarely happened between the two of them.

She doesn't know all the details of what had gone down with Lily and Winnie, and maybe that's why standing next to her in the line for coffee feels a little like betrayal. It's awkward in a way Grace isn't usually, because even if it weren't for their fall out, she still has her own shame to feel around everything with Riley. But, she and Frankie are besties now, so that should make them all good, right? "So..." She drawls, lips pursed. "When you were fixing your brothers closet, did you take some pieces for yourself or something?"

Lily had decided to have a quiet morning. Which, in her opinion, should have been considered growth of some sort. However, her plan had failed when the other had begun to speak. There were complications between them, and Lily did what she always did with complications. “I update my wardrobe constantly. Some say it’s a problem. Some say it’s creative,” She said. She wasn’t sure if it was a dig at her current outfit, which she'd put together in less than five minutes.  ”I fixed my brother’s clothing choices, thanks for noticing. Heroically, thanklessly, and without support. He stood there acting like I was personally inconveniencing him.”

@newdcys

Lily nodded softly and moved out of the way to let Jason in. “Yeah, doorway conversations felt aggressive.” She closed the door behind him and really glanced at her place for the first time. Great. It was a disaster. Not shocking, but still made her pause. “Ignore the place, it's been a week, and apparently, my living situation took the hit,” she let out a soft laugh. “And, for the record, they can still eat at Al Tavolo. I’m a professional.” Professional was a strong word. “Mostly. Like, eighty percent of the time. Seventy if someone orders the trout and then complains that it tastes like fish, because then I do become verbally at risk.”

Lily saw Maeve almost immediately, and she consequently spent the next 10 minutes debating whether to pretend she hadn’t or to just talk. She was still herself, so the internal debate had naturally led her to talk. “Kid? Wow. I’m twenty six now and you're still calling me that? I’m practically a grown woman now, unfortunately for everyone,” she said with mock offense. She wanted to ask if she and Riley were friends again, but she was actively trying not to make that problem worse. So instead, she just kept her mouth moving. “So Kai’s performing tonight, right? Or did you secretly become a huge fan of small town singing? Because if so, you are about to be thriving, babe.”

“it should all be there!” hands clapped against her thighs, last crate of produce loaded into the kitchen. she pulled a neatly folded list from her back pocket, eyes scanning its contents until she confirmed every checkmark with a nod. “but if it's not, you know where to find it.” list returned to her pocket, gwyn smiled softly. until she realized where needed a delivery next. she didn't make a habit of asking for help, but after her recent run in… “actually...how would you feel about earning an extra thirty? cash?”

Lily glanced over from the counter she had been leaning on as she took the delivery. She had been asked to oversee the delivery, which immediately made Lily ask her manager if that meant she was the most trustworthy employee. Probably not. “Gwyn, this is why you are literally my favorite.” She nodded at the crates that were now stacked. Lily could check them herself, but she trusted that if Gywn said they were there, they probably were. “I mean, I feel like morally I should ask for details… but financially I’m already leaning yes.” She shrugged. “I have both free time and a deeply concerning lack of self-preservation instincts. So, sure, what do you need?”

“Tomatoes: the fixer of society…” She mused, pretending to consider the sentiment. Before giving him a quick nod. “I support it honestly. Throwing it at some guy with an acoustic guitar singing Hozier? That’s, like, a wildly valid use of vegetables and making a profit? Gold star idea,” Lily shrugged as if the idea wasn’t terrible. The idea was tempting, but she had made it a goal of not being so impulsive that she’d get kicked out. “Oh my god, let’s not skip the fact you just called me one of your best friends.” She placed a hand on her chest, dramatic as ever. “X, I’m honored, truly. I feel like I should frame this moment of softness.” She teased, leaning her hip against the bar, where they had just arrived. “Do you know how annoying it would be to hide the evidence of that? I’m not looking for more work.” She laughed softly. “However, I’d make fun of you so much you wished I had. So if you think about it, same thing.”

Lily pushed the diner's door open quickly, bells chiming behind her. Her eyes quickly scanned for Vada, fully ready to explain the horrors of the walk over. Though when they landed, they paused. Lily saw Vada, but she also saw Winnie. They had apologized, made up mostly, and Lily knew there was a chance that she would be here (she had been coming to annoy Winnie at work since she had started at Shirley’s). Even with all that, there was still lingering tension and fear of making things worse that she couldn’t overcome. “So sorry I’m late, babe. I got distracted because a couple was wearing matching scarves, and it was a lot. I needed to recover emotionally.” She slid into the seat across from Vada. “Did you already order because I think the only way I’m getting over that is food and probably a Coke.” She said fast, forcing her voice somewhere between normal and careful. “Hey, Wins. Shift good?” she said, giving the other a small smile. She didn’t go into some long tangent or over-explanation, which, for Lily, felt wrong.

⚓      riley slides into the chair next to lily, "you singing the night away as well?" probably not, but riley won't give up an opening to tease his little sister. no one in the family had been blessed with musical talent, as far as he knew.

Lily glared at him as he sat down, but the smile was threatening to show at the corners of her mouth. “No. I am obviously not singing. I prefer that it stay between me and my car radio, thank you very much. I do have some dignity left.” She rolled her eyes fondly. The comment came easily as it often did with her brother. “I’m here because Vada promised me a free drink and the possibility of someone embarrassing themselves. Real supportive friend moment, try not to look shocked. I know not my brand. ” Lily gave him a small, teasing smile. “But just so you know, you are the leading candidate for watching someone embarrass themself. There’s still time, though.”

“Okay, but I wasn’t wrong, Riles.” Lily laughed softly, shaking her head. “That comparison was completely fair, and you know it. It was giving ship wreck man, and you know it. We all have strengths, but facial hair is not yours,” she shrugged. Lily wouldn’t be herself if she weren’t teasing her brother. They had been like this since they were young. Poking at each other and rarely ever serious. 

“Right, and we are all striving to not change from our high school ways. Should I tell Ris that?” She raised an eyebrow. “Leaving my delusions alone. They keep our family functional.” Probably not, but she didn’t slow down to actually listen to her words. “Besides pretending this wasn’t needed is honestly a bigger delusion, plus, you could’ve said no,” she nudged him softly. Had he objected, Lily probably would’ve done the same thing anyway, but he didn’t try, and she knew that. “I’ve been interesting for 26 years and you're just catching up? Love that we are finally admitting that your baby sister has layers.”

A joke didn't come quite as quickly as it should've, considering the words a little too seriously maybe. He didn't want to be forgettable and easy to let go of, but sometimes he didn't know how to be comfortable with the opposite. "Being selectively forgettable doesn't sound so bad. That way, I can get groceries without getting cornered by some little old lady whose house I egged when I was like twelve." He took a drag before continuing, "It was over fifteen years ago and she's old as shit, how does she even remember that?" Did he care about that particular incident? No, but it was amusing enough to hide behind. Xavier nodded in agreement. It was safer that way anyway. They could let everyone see nothing but surface chaos so they'd want nothing to do with the pair and then they couldn't get left again. Spare themselves the pain.

"Fuck, if that's what we're calling rock bottom then I have nothing to worry about. Wouldn't even know where to start with pretending." Laughter shook his chest, but there was nothing dishonest about his words. Instability had always been part of his life. It made calm hard to fully trust. Like he should be bracing for something instead of enjoying it. Free hand went to his chest, "Hey, listen, I'm just as disappointed as you. Next time I'll come up with a very generic acceptance speech that I can pull out of my back pocket for whenever you're feeling overly generous. Even hire some former orchestra kids to follow me around and play some fancy ceremony music when the time comes." He squinted at the night sky as if genuinely considering the logistics of that, "Scratch that, too pricey for me. I'll just pay some guy five bucks to hum or something."

“Shit, twelve year old you should’ve known not to mess with the old ladies in this town. They are brutal.” She laughed. He wasn’t wrong that being selectively forgettable might be desirable at times. Though Lily hadn’t figured out how to manage that one either, so she just defaulted to loud. For better or for worse. “You became neighborhood lore with that one. They probably have your picture posted somewhere.”  She shook her head.  “Fuck, X. Me either. Besides, this is thriving. We’re outside, and neither of us has made a life-altering decision in the last ten minutes. We are practically killing it.” She nudged him softly with her knee. She wasn’t sure she could believe she was thriving, but she could pretend.

“I’m going to hold you to that. So come prepared next time, or I will be very disappointed in your lack of preparation,” she teased softly, letting out a small laugh. “No, wait, I love that. And, hey, I’d even chip in a dollar to the humming guy fund.” She laughed, imagining the scene in her head. “Like, imagine you thanking me specifically and some guy from the corner going mmmm-mmm. Priceless.” She hadn’t forgotten how similar she and Xavier were. The two of them had a way of understanding each other even when most of the words went unsaid. “Sometimes I think people just think it’s easier to not believe there’s more to people’s stories than just the label.” She hummed. Typically, she didn’t care. She preferred it, actually; it was easier to be the girl who talked too much than to let people in. “But, you know that’s a them problem. Very lazy character work on their part, I guess.” It was Lily's way of saying that she knew he wasn’t just his label. She hoped he understood it. 

Lily stilled at his next words, not because she didn’t appreciate them. But they were unexpected. Hearing that she wasn’t too much or not enough was a reassurance that Lily often sought inadvertently.  “Wow… That was dangerously close to sincere, babe.” She said, immediately trying to laugh off the depth of the conversation. She stayed quiet, blowing out the smoke, watching it expand in front of her. “But I know. That’s kind of why I dragged you here.” She nodded, the honesty falling more into her voice. “Not in like a dramatic way with a speech and powerpoint… but I just didn’t want to keep pretending anymore.” She shrugged. Xavier had always been the person she could lean on when she wasn’t fully ready to admit what was bothering her. He never pressured or pushed her to share more than she was willing. “And for the record… I don’t blame you for leaving. Like I get it. It sucked, but I got it.” She wanted to reassure him that there was no animosity from the past. Lily really wasn’t one to judge or hold grudges. “I’ve almost left countless times. So yeah. I get it. More than I probably should.” If it hadn’t been for fear of hurting others, the town she probably would’ve acted on the impulse. “But thanks… I’m glad you're back.”