OVER FEEL.

⸺BELLA HENDERSON.

"That's amazing! I can only imagine what it must have been like for you. Maybe like falling in love again and again?" Kamaria never intended to sound bitter, but the words tasted like that a little bit. She cared about Bella so much and had a genuine wish to have been by her side as she was making all these big discoveries. Kam quickly smiled, to get rid of the bitterness and let Bella know everything was okay. Because it was. It had to be.

CLOSED STARTER ⸺  kamaria @nextchaptcrs SETTING ⸺ her apartment

Kamaria had an instant smile on her face as soon as she saw Jacob through the peephole. After opening the door, her way of welcoming her cousin in was pulling him by the hand and into a quick hug, all while nudging the door close. "Hey, you." It was true that they weren't that close, but they'd been working on it. Kam had always admired Jacob in a way, ever since she was a little kid, mostly from afar. She knew there was a lot in him that she didn't understand, but she'd always wanted to. But even if none of that were true, even if he wasn't family, even if they were closer; there was no escaping the younger Hernández-Li's hugs. Everyone around her learned pretty soon that she was very keen on physical ways of showing affection.

Watching her reaction, Elliott couldn't help the smile that appeared and stayed on his face, but not without shaking his head as well. "C'mon, it's only fair." He rolled his eyes and immediately clocked her analyzing. Elliott crossed his arms, waiting for the verdict. He mostly felt more like a dad when he was with Lake, a courtesy of all the times he had to look after her, but sometimes it was also hard not to get caught in her youthness; it was contagious. He wasn't about to get all boring during Pride, that's for sure. "I feel and look bonita, obviously!" He replied with a grin. Elliott quickly approached her a bit more, grabbing her free hand. "Not gonna lie, you're like the third one. But how about you?" He playfully twirled her around. "How many hearts did you break today?"

Nathan gave a small nod, figuring that he probably had been there for some time. He paused, it stretching a little longer than intended as stopped in front of his truck. "Yeah, uh, I can let them know." It felt like the atmosphere grew quieter with him saying so. He actually didn't know if his parents would want to talk to Elliot. Nathan hadn't, if he were being honest. But, after Juniper put them across from each other in a booth and a part of him had eased toward the man. Not everything, not enough to make this moment any less awkward, but something gave. "Kinda," he answered, "I said I'd stop by. Mom's gotten into plants and they needed watering. Told dad I'd fix this fence but it's proving to be a bigger pain than he let on."

Elliott nodded, feeling like he got the confirmation that this whole thing had been a bad idea, if he were to read between the lines. "I think that'd be better. I don't think I was really thinking straight, you know. Coming here. I'm sorry." His hands were now in the pocket of his jeans, a strategy as old as time to hide the fact he didn't know what to do with them. A small smile appeared on his lips at the fence mention and Elliott couldn't stop himself. "The one fence we fucked up that time on your birthday and it was never the same again?" He held in the giggle and gave the offer a thought before actually saying it out loud. Nathan had said his parents were out of town, so the chance that they'd be back before they were done and run into him unwarned were slim. And he could always just say no. "I can give you a hand if you want. It'd be only fair."

‘Hey Jake,’ no explanation, no hey I know I ghosted but here’s an explanation as to why, I’m really sorry, not even an acknowledgement of the elephant in the room. Jake’s frown only deepened as Elliott spoke as his arms moved to cross over his chest. “I moved back at the end of last year,” he explained, though why he was explaining anything to Elliott when the man hadn’t seen fit to explain to him, or more importantly, to Sage all those years ago, he wasn’t sure. “So you’re back… for good?” His question was laced with a zillion and one insinuations. “Or should we prepare ourselves for you to high tail it out of here the second things get difficult?” 

Elliott frowned, not really having the time to contain it. Jacob's words hit him hard, as they should. He knew the conversation had to be handled carefully, but it was harder now that he was caught so off guard. And so much harder after noticing that it wasn't just anger on behalf of Sage that lingered in the air. There was something else that he couldn't quite place yet. "That's not what happened." It was something he'd probably never do — try and stand up for himself — but, again, he was surprised to even see Jacob. The mere fact that the person standing in front of him was no longer his best friend's little brother nor his former friend anymore was actually messing with his brain. "My plan's to stay, yes." He replied, calmly, desperately looking for an answer that wouldn't spark more of whatever else was hanging in the space between them. Elliott finally let out a sigh. "Listen, man, I'm not looking for trouble."

"Well, don't lose all of it just yet, this is just the beginning." She joked, but her next words were filled with the most amount of certainty one could have. "You'll do great, Ro." Kamaria truly felt like her baby would be the luckiest kid ever for having the same family as hers. She knew Roman would be the fiercest one, and that meant she'd never have to worry about anything harming them. That became pretty clear when she found herself safe in her brother's embrace again, the deep breath helping her take it all in. Dark colors were making their way through the sky, but the warm sunset still seemed to be present, making the moment even more special. "Yeah. It'll be alright." She whispered, just as much to herself as to her brother.

It was almost funny how much they had in common, with government-naming their parents being at the very top of the list. Summer could understand Elliott's struggles in a way that very few people could relate to, though she wasn't entirely sure he was right this time around. "One can hope, but I don't know... She's been more persistent than I remember. But I hope that once she's done fixing up my father's house and it's on the market, she won't be around for long."

"Here's to hoping, then." He gave a small smile and raised his glass. When Summer started describing Lake's reactions, she had even more of his undivided attention. Elliott definitely felt protective over Lake as well, especially considering how much Juniper reminded him of the younger Sheridan. "Yeah, Caroline does not deserve her. Or you. And I'll gladly be sure to remind both of you of that, if you ever need it." His voice was full of certainty already, but he felt the need to make sure it was known again anyway. "Seriously, I got your back. I know it didn't feel like it ever since I left, but from now on... I'm here. It will be my pleasure to try and talk some sense into the little one just like old times." His smile now had the subtlest hint of playfulness, while the intentions were serious. Elliott might have been trying to lighten the mood, but he truly felt for Lake. For the both of them.

Jett's brows shot up the second he offered his name, recognition clicking into place a beat later, something like amusement tugging at his lips. "Elliott, huh?" he repeated, like he needed to test that out loud before his brain fully caught up. "Shit, yeah," he chuckled easily, a grin pulling at his mouth. Ah, the memories. "Man, it's been a while. I was about to say you look different, but that feels like the kind of shit people say when they have absolutely no idea what else to say." Instead he just eyed him over, his memories fully catching up to him now. "Last I heard, you were doing a stint somewhere. When'd you get out?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, already anticipating this to be a painful conversation. Elliott considered himself pretty decent at not getting riled up, but Jett Rawlings made it way harder. "That one is also becoming more of a thing lately, I personally don't think 'you look different' is that bad." He replied, already looking around to find a way to quickly escape the conversation. Until his last question hit. Silence reigned, but not for long. "Interesting way of putting it. Been out for twelve years, it's kinda old news at this point."