closed starter { @nolanmatthews​ }

Lala’s head was down as she rushed through the crowds of people. She was on her way to the studio, ready to get a few hours of work in before Xander was done with his playdate. She had turned the corner sharply, nearly colliding with someone in the process. The woman ripped her headphone out of her ear, the classical music playing from where the bud hung around her neck. “Jesus! You know, there are safer places to stop to take pictures than right on the corner.” She huffed, noting the camera in his hands.

So, maybe Nolan shouldn’t have been standing right on the corner of the pathway, but he’d been fiddling with his camera trying to film a shot for something he was planning. He couldn’t help that the way the sun was hitting the building and the trees was the exact shot he was looking for, but as soon as he got in a steady position, he felt someone run to him - knocking him off his balance and nearly dropping his camera. He should’ve suspected this could happen, but he didn’t suspect there’d be a problem. “Uh, yeah, I’m sure there are.” He bit down on his lip, “But safer places aren’t exactly what I am looking for.” Nolan chuckled, “I am sorry though, I didn’t think anyone would be rushing through here, you okay?”

Mathilde was glad to know he didn’t mind sitting with her and once it was their turn, she climbed in to the seat and shuffled up right to the side so he had space. “You’re going to make me jealous that I forgot to bring my camera.” She laughed slightly. Usually she carried her camera with her to capture moments and this would have been a prime opportunity being at the top of a ferris wheel. “I’m Mathilde but most people call me Tilly.” She introduced herself seen as they were going to be in each other’s company for a little while now that they were locked in and starting to move. 

Nolan sat across from Mathilde, he felt like he’d seen her before maybe around campus but he’d never ran into her like this. “You’re into photography? Or do you film?” Nolan did both, he was better with the latter but he just liked to get practice in with his camera work. Nolan sat his camera on his lap and gave her a smile, “I’m Nolan, it’s nice to meet you Tilly.” He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to push it out of his eyes. “Any particular reason you wanted to get on the ferris wheel? im not always the biggest fan because sometimes I get nervous when it comes to fair rides, but the clear sky and lights basically told me I had to get on.” 

maisy didn’t mind borrowing her books to people who wanted to read them, but she didn’t like that people ruined them. she knew that nolan wouldn’t, but she had to be certain. “yes, yes, it’s very gruesome. but i’m sure you’ll like it too… at least i know i did.” she said with a small nod, reminding herself that she needed to look through her shelves when she got to her room. she was sure it would take her some time to find it, but either way, she was going to give it to nolan next time they were together. “i think there’s probably a movie… i like the book, i think it’s a good one. but from what i’ve heard from the movie, it’s really not good. and you should always read the books first, it’s like i’ve taught you nothing, nolan.” she said, a small chuckle escaping from her lips as she shook her head, acting like she was disappointed with the other when she actually wasn’t. “but i can’t borrow you this one, i’m pretty sure that i’ll need it for the next couple of weeks, but i can tell you about it once i’m done reading it. i’m almost through with it anyway.” she said with a small sigh. “do you ever feel lonely?” she asked, completely changed the direction of the conversation.

“But books can be sooooo long, and I am a slow reader.” He pouted, “I know books are almost always superior but if I like the movie then I know I gotta read the book.” Nolan chuckled, “Sometimes bad movies are good though, in my opinion, I like to think I can see the good in all films.” He jokingly patted himself on the shoulder, “Well if this trial book is good, let me know, give me a summary and I’ll consider reading it.” Nolan smiled, taking in the sun and the company Maisy brought, but his head turned when he heard Maisy’s question. It completely caught him off guard, but he didn’t mind being honest and vulnerable with Maisy. “Hmmm.” He hummed, “I think sometimes, but I know it’s a me problem, personally.” Nolan nodded, “When I’m around people I know and love, I feel like I can be myself and goofy but around others, I won’t lie I get nervous and sometimes a bit anxious.” Nolan shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t ever wanna make a fool of myself or come off too strong. So, sometimes I just find it easier to hang out with my little group or by myself.” Nolan loved meeting new people, and he liked hanging out with others but sometimes it could be a little exhausting. “What about you?” 

           “ no you wouldn’t , ” nico responded , letting out a genuine chuckle. that was something he wanted to believe , and maybe part of him did. maybe noel would forgive him , even after all the shit he pulled , because above all else they were best friends. their friendship had lasted even through his move to another country , being separated from each other for years , their friendship surely wasn’t going to end over him kissing someone — even though he had done it in retaliation of his own feelings — right ? “ we haven’t said a word to each other since … ” it wasn’t like there needed to be anymore explanation that. “ i’m — ” there was a pause. a long pause. his eyes finally lifted to meet nolan’s once more and their was determination glossing over them. determination that he would make things right. “ i’m in love with her. ” that was the first time he had ever admitted to it out loud. and , shockingly to him , it had rolled off his tongue easily. “ i’m realizing it now. look — honestly i don’t really care if you forgive me for the shit i did. i just need her to , and i don’t know how to fucking get that. you can stay pissed at me all you want , i really don’t give a shit. but can you , like … steer me in the right direction? for her? ”

Nolan scrunched his eyebrows, his eyes staying focused on Nico. His facial expression didn’t even change when Nico uttered the words, was he suppose to act surprised? As much as he wanted Noel to be happy, and as much as he felt bad for Nico, he wasn’t sure if this was something he wanted to happen. But it wasn’t about him, this was about Noel, his sister who he cared about more than anything and wanted to keep happy. Deep down he knew no matter what he said Noel couldn’t change her feelings for Nico, but after this whole fiasco Nolan had his own opinions. “But maybe you should give a shit.” He said with a scoff, shaking his head. “To be completely honest Nico, I don’t like you right now, and clearly you don’t care about that, but it matters a whole fucking lot to me.” 

Nolan crossed his arms across his chest and sighed, “Noel means a lot more to me than she means to you, you hurt her because your big ass ego got in the way, and now you’ve come to my place and are asking for help on getting her back?” He left out a huff, rolling his eyes, “I already told you, there’s no way she’s gonna let you go, you just have to be patient, or I dont know, have you even reached out and apologized to her yet?” Nolan didn’t want to come off as abrasive, or rude, but he wasn’t quite sure what he could say to Nico. He was angry about the whole incident, even if it didn’t involve him. Especially with his own feelings involved the least he wanted was a little bit of respect. 

maisy and nolan weren’t the type of people to get involved in that type of drama, maisy thought. looking back on their life, the only trouble they seemed to get was futile, mostly because it consisted on throwing snowballs to people. but it didn’t matter, maisy liked it that way either way and she was going to enjoy it. “i don’t know what i would do in that type of situation, but knowing me and my temper, i know that it probably wouldn’t last more than five minutes before i freaked out and tried to fix everything. that’s what i do.” he said with a small chuckle, her eyebrows raising when nolan asked for book suggestions, letting out a small chuckle. “i have a copy of that if you want, i can borrow it to you. but it has tons of annotations, and if you ruin it, i will hunt you down. but yes, the book is as horrific as the movie. i’d say even worse because of the details in the book. but it’s a good one.” she said with a small nod of her head, letting out a small chuckle. “i’ve just been reading the trial by kafka… it’s a pretty short book, but it’s an interesting one. i’m analyzing it for one of the classes i have, but it’s good so far.” she said with a small nod, not wanting to start ranting about her favorite books and all the books she had read, or she would surely stay there for hours.

Nolans eyes widened a bit when she mentioned she had the book, but of course she did, it was Maisy. “I’d love that.” He nodded, trying to think about the annotations she may have written in the book, in his head he imagined that seeing her notes on it would make it a hundred times better. She knew what she was talking about. “That kind of sounds gruesome, but I am here for the challenge. Then we can talk about it!” Nolan had been thinking about how maybe staring at a book would be a little bit better than analyzing and staring at a screen most of the day, but sometimes it was for his classes so he had an excuse for that. “The Trial by Kafka?” He raised his eyebrow, shaking his head, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that, is it any good? Is there a movie about it or anything?” Now that may have been a dumb question, he had no idea, but these days in Nolan’s eyes, it seemed that Hollywood was focused on making movies from books, remakes, or superhero movies - which he wasn’t angry about - just an observation. 

Where: a fair in town Who: anyone & everyone @egustarters​

The second Mathilde heard there was a small fair in town, she knew she had to go. It was something she could do by herself and hey, maybe she’d meet some new people while she was out. She found herself in line for the ferris wheel and as people got on, she ended up at the front of line with someone next to them. The worker indicated how they’d be sharing, making her look at the person next to her. “That’s okay with me unless you’re here with someone…” She did glance behind her to make sure they weren’t with a partner or something, if they were she would have taken a step back for them to get on together. 

With the fair in town, Nolan had decided two things. He needed to get out, and he wanted some fair popcorn. He hadn’t planned on being there too long since he only really wanted to bring some snacks back to his place, but he decided to bring his tote and his camera in case there was anything interesting he wanted to film or photograph and who didn’t love a good people watching sesh? Before getting food, Nolan got in line for the ferris wheel, the sky was clear and the scenery was stunning with all the lights and the city, perfect to capture. While he fiddled with his camera, his head shot up when he heard a voice, not even realizing he was next in line. “Me?” Nolan turned his head a bit, even though it was obvious the girl was speaking to him, “Oh, no I am alone. I don’t mind.” Nolan gave the girl beside him a small smile, and when it was their turn he let her step in before getting in after. “I hope you don’t mind, I am just here to capture some stuff.” He raised his camera and chuckled. 

          maybe nico didn’t want nolan to answer his questions after all. even now , with nolan having only gotten a few words out , his stomach was already twisting and turning. the thought of noel being upset with him was making him sick — it had been making him sick since he had gotten home. and there was no one else to blame but himself. christ , things weren’t supposed to end up like this. “ she won’t , ” he breathed , but it was barely louder than a whisper. ashamed eyes looked up to meet nolan’s. there was a glimpse of noel in nolan’s eyes ( damn twins ) and it made nico’s drop back to the floor. “ what i did was fucked up. how can i expect her to forgive me for it? would you , in her shoes? if i were her i wouldn’t. i wouldn’t forgive me for this. ” he sounded pitiful , maybe even downright pathetic. and he looked it too. standing there in front of noel’s brother , practically on his knees looking for answers to questions he wasn’t asking. “ when was the last time you talked to her? ”

As much as Nolan didn’t want to, he felt bad for Nico at the moment. How could Nolan explain the situation without explaining the situation obviously Noel would forgive Nico, but he guessed it hadn’t happened yet. “To be quite honest with you Nico, if I was Noel, I would forgive you.” Nolan crossed his arms across his chest and bit down on his lip, “Now that doesn’t mean I forgive you, but I understand why she’d forgive you. She loves and cares about you waaaaay too much, man. And you love and care about her way too much, which is why you’re here asking me about her.” With what Nolan knew, it made him feel a little bit better than Nico was here attempting to find some solace in him, and for Noel’s sake Nolan knew he’d have to forgive Nico sometime soon anyways. “I talked to her at least a few days ago I think?” Nolan reached his hand behind him, scratching the back of his neck. “What about you? Nothing since the incident?”

maisy couldn’t help but to chuckle again at the thought of seeing nolan fall down if they were to ever go rollerskating together. “now i definitely think we should go, don’t you think? it’ll be pretty funny.” she said with a small shrug, looking over at her friend as she let out a sigh at the mention that relationships were stupid. “you don’t have to say that twice. i’m sure you’re right… but then again, my last relationship didn’t end that well, so. i’m not sure how to feel about them.” she said with a small shrug, thinking about all of the relationships she had before and the way they had ended. maybe she was too hot-headed to be in a relationship, but it didn’t matter now. she was single and she wasn’t necessarily looking either way. listening to nolan talk about his sister, maisy sighed as she nodded her head slowly and frowned when she heard céline’s name, her head rising again as she kept hearing the story, no wanting to interrupt nolan. “wait, wait… you mean to tell me that nico blair kissed… céline? gross! and i thought that she couldn’t get any worse.” she said, somehow making this a way of attacking céline. “that is crazy… that’s like a scene out from a movie or a show… but at least, i’m happy that they made up. that’s just weird, i didn’t know that noel cared about who nico kissed that much.” she said, frowning a little and then shrugging her shoulders “at least we’re out of those dramas, right? better that way.” she said with a nod.

Nolan couldn’t help but chuckle at Maisy’s response to the situation. “Yeah, Yeah, it is literally like a scene out of a show. Unbelievable.” Nolan shook his head, happy he could get that off his chest to someone he trusted, he had his own feelings about the whole situation but since it really wasn’t about him it wasn’t too important. “Thank god, I don’t know what I’d do if I was involved in that much drama, honestly.” He shrugged his shoulders, not that it wouldn’t be at least a little fun to be involved in some drama, but at the same time, drama brought pain and left people feeling upset, not worth it. Nolan reached his hand into his backpack, pulling out a pair of sunglasses to block out how bright the sun was getting. “Anyways...” He trailed on, “Any good books you’re reading right now?” Nolan turned his head back towards Maisy, a smile on his face. “Reading older literature is so difficult, but I kinda wanted to read A Clock Work Orange because, well the movie as horrific as it was I wonder if the book will be as good and weird.” He chuckled, “But I am kind of afraid I won’t enjoy or understand the old writing. What do you think? I should probably just read it, eh? Expand my brain?” 

She laughed nodding making sure to actually write him a note next time as a joke. She loved how he always just went with her dumb jokes. She reached over and put her hand on his shoulder with a grin “Oh don’t worry, I have not started without you.” She teased “I havent had any reason to celebrate yet” she said softly before looking around the room. “Oh please, I would never let you get too crazy and like make out with someone ugly, that would be embarrassing for both of us” she half joked and sipped on the drink in hand. “But we will still have fun” she nodded.

Nolan was glad he’d caught Cam when he had because now he wouldn’t be celebrating by himself. He couldn’t help but laugh at her comment about him making out with someone ugly, “Cam, stop. It’s kind of fun to have regrets though, right?” He licked his bottom lip, taking a scan around the bar. It was pretty full but he wasn’t entirely surprised at that. “We can definitely still have fun,” He tried to think of something the two could do, “What if we just went bar hopping?” He wiggled his eyebrows a bit with a chuckle, maybe he wasn’t gonna keep his promise to himself to not get too crazy. 

maisy couldn’t help but to chuckle at the thought of a tanned nolan. his features were what made him unique, so to think of anything else was kind of entertaining. “definitely, you should try it.” she said, another chuckle escaping her lips as she looked over at nolan as he spoke. “oh yes, it must be very interesting learning about this crappy country… plus, if you only study america’s perspective from history, is it really learning something?” she asked, not wanting to get into an argument, but shrugged her shoulders as she let the subject continue. “it’s easy, we should go some time. i’ll teach you and hopefully, i’ll get some laughs out if you fall.” she said with a small chuckle again, as she looked at nolan, resting her head on her hand and her elbow on the grass, as she looked over at nolan. “he’s fine. and i’m fine too. my brother’s just an idiot and he has hurt joey before… you know joey right? and i don’t want him to do it again, but i think he regrets doing what he did.” she said, shaking her head slowly as she let out a sigh. “relationships are stupid.” she finished off, as she let herself lie back down and look at the sky. “that sounds like a fun. you have a bohemian life, matthews. much more than i do.” she said with a sigh, smiling. “how is noel? i heard a lot went down at the cabin, but i never heard what happened indeed.” she asked, raising an eyebrow - she guessed she was just as nosy as nolan was.

Nolan rolled his eyes at the idea of skating with Maisy, as fun as it sounded he knew he’d be flat on his ass without even getting on the floor. “That’d be downright embarrassing, you’d get the greatest show.” He laughed, leaning back on both his elbows. Nolan nodded his head, listening to Maisy’s situation with her brother and Joey. It had to be tough, he knew a little bit how it could be. “Relationships are stupid.” He repeated with a heavy sigh. One day, he knew he’d find someone that didn’t make it feel so stupid, at least his hopeless romantic brain hoped. Another laugh at Maisy’s comment about his bohemian life, it was a good way to put it, and he didn’t complain. He liked being an arts student. Nolan let out a long sigh as she asked about Noel and the cabin situation. He wasn’t sure if it was something he could go blabbering on about to just anyone, but Maisy and him were too close for him not to vent at least a little bit. “Noel’s fine, she always seems to be.” He nodded his head with a small smile, “But, so Nico kissed, well, Celine, and Noel saw the whole thing.” Nolan shrugged his shoulders, “Which to me, was crazy.” He turned to Maisy and chuckled, “I believe, they made up though, which I am happy about, for Noel’s sake. I love her too much to see her so sad.” 

maisy smiled as she lied down next to the other, her face turning to look at nolan with a smile on her face. at the comment that he said he needed some sun, maisy couldn’t help but to chuckle. “you’re definitely right, you need sun in your life. plus, maybe that way you’ll end up getting some color in those cheeks instead of just looking like a ghost.” maisy teased the other, knowing very well that she wasn’t exactly that different from nolan - and that if she was exposed to the sun long enough, that she would probably end up getting burned. “how was class? anything interesting?” she asked, trying to maintain a conversation with nolan, although it was easy to do that. the two just got along well. “what have i been up to? well, helping my brother with his relationship with his ex-boyfriend, going rollerblading with sophie and when i finally have time for myself, i write and i read, like i usually do.” she said with a small chuckle, nodding her head slowly. “what about you? what have you been up to?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked up at the sky again, watching the clouds carefully.

Nolan playfully rolled his eyes at Maisy’s comment about looking like a ghost, but she was completely right. “I think I’d be pretty sexy if I was a little more tan, right?” This was playful of course, since Nolan knew too much sun would maybe have the opposite affect and burn him as well. “It was actually quite interesting. It’s my history class and learning about American history is definitely, something.” He chuckled, it had to be one of his favorite classes, there was a lot he was learning. Nolan’s hummed at Maisy’s response. Busy, just as he’d assumed. “Well rollerblading sounds incredible, I don’t know how you do it.” He shrugged his shoulders, a smile still on his face. “But, is Asher okay? Are you okay? Is it messy?” Nolan didn’t want to be nosy, but he did. “You don’t have to answer that.” He laughed softly, “Me? I’ve actually been reading and watching a ton of TV, for research purposes, of course.” He winked, shaking his head. “I had this idea and I’ve been working to put it into words and a possible script.” He nodded, wiggling his eyebrows “Other than that, I’ve been hanging out with Noel and trying not to drink all the time.” Nolan finished, with a laugh. 

Cam nodded at his comment with a confident smile “Oh right, I forgot you can never be too busy for me “ she winked at him playfully and laughed. She had always been happy in Nolans company, he was always someone who made her laugh. “Fine, I will hand write you a personal invite next time’ she said taking a drink as she nudged nolan back. “oh you did now?” she raised her brow and ordered two shots “well sir I think that means we have reason to celebrate” she said just looking for an excuse “The night is yours, what kind of reward do you want to celebrate?” she smirked over at him with a brow raised.

Nolan nodded his head, “Snail mail, invite me days in advance.” He scrunched his nose, taking another drink from his beer. “A reason to celebrate? I agree with that.” Nolan raised his glass, “What are you drinking? Or have you already been celebrating for a while?” Nolan hadn’t been here long, so he hadn’t drank too much, yet. Her question made him raise his eyebrow, “I can’t go tooo crazy, that’s why I decided to stick with something simple like this.” Nolan didn’t want to go overboard, he felt he did that too often, but that was because he didn’t like to say no to a good time. 

closed starter for @nolanmatthews​

maisy was just coming back from one of her classes, but she decided to take the long way and walk through the quad. it was a nice day out, so it didn’t surprise her to see that many people out and about, and she couldn’t help but to smile to herself as she looked around. and that’s when she spotted nolan lying on the grass, which made her chuckle as she started making her way towards him, blocking out the sun as she stood over him. “what are you doing here? shouldn’t you be in class, right now?” she asked, as she dropped her bag next to the other and lied down on the grass next to him, looking up at the sky for a couple of moments and then back nolan - it had been a while since the two had been together, so she might as well enjoy the moments that she could, before she went back to her room to do some homework. “it’s a nice day out, isn’t it? i understand why you’re lying here.” she said with a small chuckle.

After a long, exhausting lecture, Nolan had walked out of class and found himself enjoying the sun more than usual. It wasn’t too bright, and it wasn’t too hot. In his eyes, it was absolutely perfect. That’s when he had noticed a half sunny, half shady nook where he could maybe read and enjoy the sun to the full extent. After about forty-five minutes, Nolan was no longer reading, he instead was just staring at the clouds, trying to give them names and decide their shapes. That came to an end when his view was obstructed by Maisy. A grin appeared on his face at the sight of her, it felt like forever since the two had last talked. Nolan knew how busy and focused Maisy could get, and he felt like he never wanted to bother her with his activities. “Class ended a little bit ago actually, so I decided to lay here and soak up the sun because I clearly need it.” He chuckled, glad she was taking a moment to sit with him. “It’s a beautiful day, I’d already been inside for hours, why not enjoy this while I can, right?” He hummed, and he turned to her raising his eyebrow. “What have you been up too? I feel like I haven’t seen you in years.” Nolan said, giving her a dramatic pout. 

Cam pulled away to look up at the boy infront of her now and shook her head “texting you, late at night, I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea” she joked with a small laugh and shrugged “No, I just thought you might be busy, but next time I am dragging you with me cause its not the same without you here” she smiled sipping her drink “So what brought you out here? Did you have spidey senses that I was in distress?”

Nolan chuckled at her playful joke, Cam’s humor always got him. “Me? Busy? I thought you knew me better than that.” He nudged her gently, taking a drink from the glass he was holding. As much as he wasn’t the biggest fan of beer, it was what he was going to drink today. “I definitely want an invite next time,” Nolan shrugged his shoulders, nodding his head, “Yes, maybe it was my spidey senses that brought me into the bar.” He grinned, “But actually, I finally completed this assignment that had been kicking my ass, so I decided I should treat myself.” When was an assignment not kicking his ass? But when he completed things like that he truly believed in rewarding himself in some way.  

          taking a moment’s hesitation would have been a waste of time — nico wasn’t even sure if nolan would give him enough just to say what he wanted , what he needed. “i — “ there it was , hesitation. he hadn’t stopped to think about what he wanted to say to nolan. coming here hadn’t been a decision made because he wanted to defend himself. he was just as upset , just as mad , at himself as everyone else seemed to be. more even. “is she okay? i guess i just … i want to know if she’s okay.” his expression softened just at the thought of noel. saying her name left a stabbing pain in his chest , thinking about her made the pain even worse. but he needed to know. even if the answer wasn’t what he wanted to hear. but frankly? this whole wanting and needing thing of his going on didn’t even matter. the answer wasn’t going to be what he wanted to hear no matter what it turned out to be. 

Nolan kept his eyes on Nico, he could tell he was probably nervous, but he wasn’t sure what the boy was here to say anyways? Nolan hadn’t been updated on the situation, so any questions he may have he didn’t have the answer. Nolan was rather surprised by what he’d asked, had Noel not spoken to him since? He’d kind of assumed Noel was going to immediately forgive him, but that didn’t seem to be the case. “She wasn’t.” Nolan said matter of factly. “Noel was devastated, like, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her so upset.” Part of Nolan wanted to make him feel bad, he’d hurt Noel and he wasn’t ready to forgive him himself, but it was also pretty evident how hurt Nico was. “Look, Nico, I don’t know what you were thinking. But, I know Noel will forgive you, thats just how she is.” He sighed, shrugging his shoulders. Sometimes Nolan felt like his sister was too forgiving to some people, and he knew Nico was a completely different situation, this was someone she loved and trusted, she couldn’t stay mad at him. “You really hurt her, and I pray to god you never do it again.” 

Closed starter: @nolanmatthews​

———

Cambrie was sitting at the usual bar she could be found at on a Friday night, decompressing from the long week. She was finishing up the last of her second martini and scanned her surroundings, she spotted Nolan in the crowd and her face lit up. She slid herself off of the barstool and onto her heels, marching herself over to the boy with a smirk. She threw her arms around him him from the side and looked up at him “Noley!” She giggled softly from the alcohol. “Ugh thank go you are here I was getting sooo bored” she said with a grin tilting her head.

Nolan had decided he’d needed a drink after completing a rather difficult assignment. He was proud of himself for finally finishing it, so why not celebrate? Nolan had grabbed himself a drink and was walking to find a place to sit down when he heard a girls voice calling for him. He turned, raising his eyebrow and smiled when he noticed Cambrie wrapping her arms around him. “Hey, Cam.” He chuckled, “You’re here by yourself? Why didn’t you text me?”