* 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 / 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 !

⌠ BRUNA MARQUEZINE, 24, CIS FEMALE, SHE/HER ⌡ welcome back to gallagher academy, LARISSA “LARI” MACEDO! according to their records, they’re a SECOND year, specializing in 𝚁𝙴𝚂𝙴𝙰𝚁𝙲𝙷 & 𝙳𝙴𝚅𝙴𝙻𝙾𝙿𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃 + 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 & 𝙴𝙽𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙲𝙴𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃  ; and they DID NOT go to a spy prep high school. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of ( 𝐫𝐚𝐲-𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫-𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 ). when it’s the (leo)’s birthday on 07/27/1996, they always request their PASTEL DE QUEIJO AND BRAZILIAN LEMONADE from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re well on their way to graduation.

@gallagherintro

Her eyebrows pinched together. The heat in Lari’s voice scratched Martina’s record of lamentation, giving her pause to process but not to collect her feelings. She shifted in her seat, as if finding more comfortable ground to stand (sit?) on before rotating to face her friend. “I mean, we haven’t planned anything,” she attempted to counter, but it sounded weak to her own ears. Since becoming such close friends, every summer promised that Martina and Lari would visit each other just as faithfully as it promised sun-kissed skin and pool parties. Martina huffed in frustration, running her fingers through her hair ( not too hard, because it’s a wig, baby! ). She recognized how her own words struck the match that lit the flame burning in Lari’s eyes, but she did not flinch. “Yes, I did think about how you feel. I always do,” she insisted, holding back on the steam rising inside. Half of her body weight was comprised of tears that now boiled to match Lari’s energy. “Your departure’s not about me but I just… I wish you were more considerate, because it just feels kind of personal when I hear something about one of my closest friends from someone else. Like you kept it a secret from me for a reason.” Attending Gallagher felt like this, like everyone was privy to a secret that they hadn’t told Martina. She gave a precursory swallow, unable to produce tears right now. There was something so offense about Tommy and Charlie being used as collateral. “Were you going to tell them before me?”

      𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜  𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠  𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢  at  the  younger  woman  .  ideally  ,  visiting  martina  in  the  summer  before  dropping  the  bomb  would’ve  been  the  perfect  time  .  surrounded  by  rest  and  relaxation  .  maybe  at  a  cabana  .  “  it’s  not  like  i  went  around  telling  EVERYONE  ,  ”  she  counters  .  “  i’m  not  the  type  of  person  to  make  a  spectacle  out  of  it  .  ”  and  she’d  like  to  think  that  martina  can  at  the  very  least  understand  that  .  “  you  should  know  that  about  me  .  ”

“So you just…weren’t going to say goodbye?” Martina swallowed, chasing it down with a splash of her drink. “Let’s see, it’s the last night of the school year, and we’re all leaving tomorrow. So, when? When was I going to find out?” Hurt clear in her tone, she left gaps for Lari to fill with her plans, to determine if she were included in them. Never mind the hypocrisy in fostering doubt about returning next year, but Martina didn’t decide yet. It was different. “Apparently I’m the last of your friends to find out, and I’m not just a friend here. We know each other’s families.” Which said, without saying, that Martina thought that she should have been more important than ‘friends here.’ “Think about how I feel.”

      “  𝚢𝚘𝚞  𝚜𝚊𝚢  𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝  as  if  we  aren’t  going  to  see  each  other  over  the  summer  .  ”  there’s  something  about  what  martina  says  next  that  doesn’t  sit  well  with  lari  .  she  knows  she  isn’t  good  with  goodbyes  .  but  at  the  same  time  ,  she’s  not  saying  goodbye  to  her  friends  .  it’s  symbolic  .  a  promise  that  she’ll  still  be  in  their  lives  despite  not  being  at  gallagher  .  she  thinks  she’s  done  a  pretty  good  job  of  that  before  she  went  to  gallagher  .  and  it’s  a  shame  that  after  years  of  knowing  each  other  ,  martina  doesn’t  understand  that  .  

        “ YOU DON’T THINK I’M SELF-AWARE ? ”   tommy laughs, though he’s a little insulted !   he likes to pride himself on being pretty self-aware, at least in comparison to his brother, which doesn’t mean much.   “ where are you going this summer ? ”   a bunch of pilots in the same room together sounds like a lot of personalities, most which tommy probably wouldn’t like. nothing against lari.   “ yeah ? ”   that makes him smile, the prospect of seeing her again – especially when she tells him only moments later that it won’t be a sure thing after this moment. the smile on his face dims, but he tries to hold his disappointment.   “ ah, well. i’m sorry to hear that, ”   he admits, glancing down at his drink,   “ but i’m sure it’s for the best, so good luck back in paris. it won’t be the same without you. ”   he’s never known a gallagher experience without lari there.

        “ SOUNDS LIKE IT’D TASTE LIKE A FLOWER, ”   he notes, although he’s really thinking that it’ll probably taste like fabric softener. unfortunately he’s already reached for the thing, so tommy accepts the drink and has a small sip of it.   “ huh, it’s not bad. ”   not good enough to steal for the rest of the night, which lari should feel lucky, because he offers her the drink back. he’ll stick to whiskey tonight.   “ is that a bad thing ? ”   his lips slide into a small smirk, more amused than anything.   “ pilot buddies, huh ?   that sounds like fun. i’ll be in geneva for an internship, but i plan to do some traveling before. maybe we’ll see each other, ”   he says, though he doubts it.   “ otherwise, will i be seeing you in the fall ? ”   tommy’s already bracing himself for the answer he doesn’t want. 

As she moved closer and closer to the target, it grew harder to throw off her aim, each question an arrow that she hoped would bait Lari to guide towards the bullseye. Martina sighed not-undramatically, staring at her drink for a moment, wondering what the hell she just ordered. Still looked enticing and she’s never been immune to the effects of pretty things. “Are we friends?” she asked her glass, a second passing before finally leveling her gaze with Lari. “Because friends would tell friends if they’re leaving. Friends don’t hear it from someone else. And I’m just wondering if you were ever gonna tell me.”

        “ FITTING, ”   he smirks at her, because he doesn’t believe that for a second.   “ what’s in it ? ”   the smiling comment makes him roll his eyes, though the last he gives her does unfortunately show his teeth for a moment there. no red on them, at least !   “ brooding, really ? ”   not the first time he’s gotten that, nor will it probably be the last. bad boy fourth year tommy arc when. calling him brooding and then dramatic somehow feels like an oxymoron.   “ yeah, i’m not a fan, ”   he makes a face, holding his hand out to steal her drink.   “ what are your plans for the summer ? ”

If only she weren’t so nosy. “Just friends?” Martina said normally. “Or just friends?” she said this melodically. The confusion on Lari’s face hurt more than if she were cold. To Martina, being oblivious to causing pain to someone else was worse than intentionally causing pain. “So I’ve heard.” What was she thinking? She so did not want to have this conversation on their last night at Gallagher, but bitterness twisted her words. She couldn’t escape it as she walked to the bar with Lari, ordering whatever’s sweet as can be, shaken, not stirred. Satomi do your thang. “When were you going to tell me?” she pressed, a ditch effort to receive an admission without saying what for.

“It is. It’s a very saintly color, balances out the black.” It does not, Levi is just bullshitting. He lets out a chuckle at her words. “Are you attempting to deflate my ego there, Lari?” Because that’s a very hard mission, especially with an ego that’s as high as his. He’s very confident, thank you very much! “Mm, I didn’t admit anything.” He just implied it, but of course he’s going to use this to play another game of back and forth with her. He also takes a small step, eyes down at her. “Are we friends?” Throws the question back at her. They’re certainly not friends. “Ah, another person leaving.” A lot of those. “Might go out with a bang.”

chris  snorts  quietly .  “  it’s  kind  of  funny ,  really …  i’m  just  picturing  sutton  as  leader  of  the  beyhive ,  yelling  at  trolls  on  twitter  or  something .  ”  her  lips  curve  into  a  smirk  .  “  are  you  hard  tonight ,  then ?  ”  

        “ I CAN FEEL THE CAVITIES FORMING JUST LOOKING AT IT, ”   he frowns, eyes moving from the red drinks to whatever’s in her hand.    “ what are you drinking ? ”   taking a step back to face her better, tommy snorts at the dare.   “ you want my mouth to be stained red for the rest of the night, is that it ? ”   but he takes one anyway, because it’s too simple of a dare to pass up. taking the smallest of sips, he makes a face.   “ definitely too much grenadine. try it. ”

“Gold’s a saint color,” he says with a slow growing grin, pointing out the gold on the jacket’s lapel and the line on each side of his suit pants. Though it’s clear he’s bullshitting, given his suit is predominantly black — a sinner color. “No?” He tilts his head. “But you came here and talked to me,” he drawls, indicating he’s trouble. “Enjoying myself by getting completely wasted. They’re one and the same. What about you?”

“Adam?” Her brows lifted, distracted from her major uncomfy feelings. “Was he your date? Is he wearing his new shoes?” Teehee. Martina followed the downturn of Lari’s brows, something inside churning with unease. “You know.” She almost went the whole night without crying, and she was afraid that she’d start if she said it aloud. “You know, like, after this year’s over. Summer plans…fall plans…winter plans….” She needed a drink. “You need a drink? I need a drink.”

       “ DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT ARE IN THOSE ? ”    tommy asks as he comes up from behind, pointing out the cocktails offered up in martini glasses on the table.   “ those look… far too red to be drinkable. i feel like they’d stain my teeth. ”   you know, for all the smiling he does.      @nuvcns​​

Martina was conversing with her posse before she excused herself to get a golden macaron. She’s wondering if it was, like, real gold when Lari approached. “You found me,” Martina said with a weak smile. Of course she’s over the moon to see her friend, but it was tainted. “How’s your night? Anything you wanna share?”

@nuvcns​

chris  is  silent  for  a  moment  before  she  looks  over  to  lari ,  about  to  admit  something .  “  okay ,  but  —  getting  beyonce  to  come  is  pretty  fucking  cool … like ,  i  would  stay  here  for  beyonce .  ”