𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝓊𝓃𝓈𝑒𝓉𝓈

                     unlike their small, disoriented morning chats, the way the two of them are now reminds lake of how the two used to get along. she could feel the positive energy radiating off of avi like the sun’s rays. it made her want to reach out and touch the warmth, though the lighter’s flame would have to suffice for now. the lighter in the other pocket. chemically burnt marshmallow burning the roof of her mouth, but lake tilts her head back in a dramatic boast of gratitude. “MMM!” once straightening out, hands move to either side of avi’s face. “this is why you’re my favorite!”

                    eyebrows furrow at the assurance. “NO WAY–-” lake deters, but when she drops her eyes, she notices that avi’s marshmallow bag is identical to the kind that lake meant to get for the event. eyes widen, “wow, i love you. i have not had a marshmallow all night and thought i might CAVE for one of those sticky bastards,” she admits in a tipsy boast of honesty. “light this bitch up, melrose,” she says, reaching for avi’s pocket herself.

                       avi seemed to be running in and out of her own rabbit holes through out the party. lake doesn’t remember seeing her for more than a moment’s glimpse up until that second. “if you’ve got a vegan snack for me, then consider me your guardian angel,” lake says, smile stretching across her lips as she eyes the familiar blonde.

                    closed for ; @ofmelrose·

“fuck…” mae trailed off. maybe going kayaking wasn’t a good idea. at least not with these two together. mae liked to act like she wasn’t scared. and she wasn’t. not of swimming. the only thing she was afraid of is the idea of this little boat flipping over on them. she’s heard too many true crime stories about people getting lost in lakes. “this shit’s freakier than i thought it was gonna be. how’re you feeling?” 

“That’s…what, the fourth marshmallow you’ve burnt within the span of a minute?” Freya interjected from beside the other. With a tut and a shake of her head, the girl shifted closer in their direction. “The trick is to not stick it directly into the flame.” She nodded her head to the marshmallow she held above the embers scattered over the ground as a demonstration, twisting and turning it every so often. Only a few moments more and her methods had produced a perfectly toasted marshmallow, which she held out to her companion as an offering, “Here. Try it.” / @shstarters·

to be honest, avi hadn’t been keeping an eye on her marshmallows, instead socialising with the people around her, which had indeed resulted in many black marshmallows, sadly. she’d just never really had the patience to wait for them to toast perfectly. ‘i’m trying not to stick it right in, but.. well.’ she gestured to the flaming candy at the end of her stick. the marshmallow the girl offered to her seemed indeed to be much more edible, avi observed before taking a bite. ‘thanks’ she tried to say with a mouth full of sticky goop. finally, when she was able to speak normally again, she elaborated, ‘i’ve never been good at this, it just takes so long. how do you have to patience to just sit there and stare at it until it’s good to eat?’

Maybe he had been too much preoccupied with mixing the various liquids for his concoction to fully take in who was seated opposite him. Or the sheer fact Cameron tried his hardest to repress that part of his life and everyone in it. Shit. His upbeat demeanour slipped, whatever smile that donned his features was wiped off momentarily, instead replaced by darker emotions. Guilt? Shame? Upset? All those feelings associated with those times in life were threatening to spill over. Yet, he couldn’t run off. He started this interaction. He started all that a long time ago. This was one of the risks he ran with returning to Springhill, and she was someone he was bound to face sometime. There was no doubt she recognised him, despite testosterone working its many wonders. What caught him off guard was that Avi hadn’t completely run out the door either and was…engaging with him? “Right, The Jantasy,” He replied after what must’ve seemed like a century. He almost forgot what they were initially discussing. “Oh. Okay, yeah, this has a lot of rum so don’t drink that. Let me whip up a sans alcohol one.” Cam lifted the glass and tossed the liquid into the nearby sink, reaching for the multiple bottles to start the mocktail version from scratch. It was the least he could do. “How have you…been keeping, Avi?” he questioned carefully. It almost felt wrong to ask so casually, but he was behind the bar and on the clock. “I haven’t seen you around Springhill.”

avi could tell that, just as she was, cameron was surprised by her presence. shocked even? maybe. all she knew was that it was obvious that she had taken him off guard by the way his smile completely disappeared and that it took him quite some time to reply. in a way it made avi feel... happy? better about herself? that she could have that effect on him, instead of the other way around. how the tables had turned. but avi didn’t like feeling better than others, she had no right to set herself on some high horse, not even now. ‘oh, yeah, no rum for me.’ she kept up her lighthearted tone, trying not to show how uncomfortable she actually was. she flattened out the pleats in her skirt while he went to work on another concoction, only looking up when he asked a question. ‘oh you know, the usual.’ she replied, even though cameron would probably have no idea what that meant. and even though she had never tried to hide any part of herself, even when she was being relentlessly teased about it by him and others, she felt a little apprehensive telling him any sort of private information about herself right now. ‘just.. been working, and, you know... all of that.’ she studied her nails, scratching off the pink polish she’d only just painted on this morning. anything to not have to look up. ‘i’m waiting for a friend right now. i don’t usually come here all that often so that’s probably why you haven’t seen me all that much. and you’ve been.. away? at least that’s what i heard. small town talk and all that.’

stumbling to the nearest diner that he knew would be open at this hour, ezra sighs, his friends had gone out without him. fortunately they weren’t hungover which meant he was left to deal with a cure on his own. stumbling into the diner, ezra quickly notices the familiar face of the blonde. he lets out a slightly exasperated breath at her question falling into the nearest booth. “coffee.” he utters dropping his head on the table, “and add anything that can sulk up the vodka in my stomach, i’m not being picky right now.”

     YOLOTL CÓRCEGA TRULY BELIEVED there was no better personality test than knowing someone’s favorite book and/or movie. she believed how other’s words affected someone’s life to the point of deeming it their favorite piece of art spoke more candidly about them than what spoken words ever could. alas, as she found herself in one of her favorite spots in town, bloomsbury park, after a rather challenging morning and seeking nothing less than a distraction from her own thoughts, sat on a bench with a book (our mutual friend by charles dickens, one of her absolute favorites) on her hands eyes skimming through the same paragraph she had been trying to register for the past couple minutes to no avail and upon noticing the presence of another person nearby, the businesswoman closed the book she knew by heart but had decided to give up for good for the evening, turning her attention to the other and without a warning and imposed a query upon them “what’s your favorite book? or movie, that works too” as her red lips curled up into an almost inviting grin. perhaps not the smoothest of ice breakers she could’ve used, but a significant, acute question that truly fascinated her.  // @shstarters·

on most evenings, if she was walking home from whatever her afternoon activities had been, she’d try to walk through the park. especially in the summer it was just a dreamy place to be, and offered much more interesting scenery than if she had to walk through blocks of houses. she didn’t really notice the people she passed on her way, not until one of them spoke up. avi didn’t even realise it was directed at her, so she kept walking for another few steps before turning around with a confused look, but then recognising the girl who had just addressed her. ‘my favorite book or movie...’ avi took a few moments to think. being the bookworm and movie enthusiast that she was, there were a lot of options. ‘i like the craft, but also 10 things i hate about you. so those two for the movie part. my favorite book has to be the entire raven cycle.’ she finally decided. her eyes fell on the book yolo was holding. ‘but that’s a good one too.’

                                 chewing the inside of her cheek, mind going haywire from books exchanged, stephen king discussed, ghosts and romance thrown into the mix. with romance aside, venice can be heard offering a sigh that doesn’t match the disposition of a smile she is attempting on putting on, either as a customer service representative or is an avoider, both of which she was. “i dunno,” she says, shrugging shoulders. “i kinda think if you love a good ghost story, all you have to do is get close to people… right? the more you’re close to the more ghost stories you’ll get out of it in the end.” it sounds a bit morbid, so venice throws her hair behind her shoulders and then nudges avi gently as if she’s just been joking the whole time.

                 if you see lake wright townsend in the early morning, it makes you you do a double take at your watch. she’s so full of energy and life that she must certainly be on her way to the club, not walking through the doors of deja vu ready to take the first shift. as soon as music is on the overhead, she stops dead in her tracks, a cue that makes you think maybe, just maybe she will have a normal person’s early morning freak out, a grump attack if you will, associated with that of being up earlier than should be necessary for any human being. instead, she can be heard practically screeching, “I LOVE THIS SONG!” she runs into the back room of deja vu and turns the music up a bit, a sure fire way to wake you up even before you’ve had your coffee. she’s dancing now, trying to engage you as she not-so-quietly sings along to the song. somewhere inbetween she’s managed to tie her apron on, but her energy is so entrancing you must have missed it. suddenly she’s in front of you, smiling wide, like she just won the lottery, but chose to come into work anyway. “what can i get for ya? and i’m HOPING it’s no boring usual, kay? because our menu is TO DIE FOR, babe.”  //  @shstarters·

It was a bit of a day off for Maggie and her memory. She had been trying so hard to turn this day around and be productive, but it just wasn’t working for her, and because it was sunny outside she decided to go for a walk and just breathe some fresh air by herself. She would usually take either Petunia or Narcissus with her for company, but they were both asleep the moment she left the house and didn’t want to bother them or her aunt or cousins. Plus, she just really needed to get out and relax. What she wouldn’t expect is that after getting to the park and calming down, she would get lost on her way home. She thought it had been because she had to turn right on the street with the pink house in the corner but had turned left, and now her brain was just not helping her get back to safety, and the sun was going down. Trying to swallow down her pride and tears, Magnolia sat down on the curb of yet another street she couldn’t remember being on the town’s map and covered her face in her hands. She didn’t want to call her family or worry them, she knew she could do this on her own. She was twenty-eight and a grown woman, for what it was worth. Still, she felt like a hopeless kid who couldn’t find her parents in any of the supermarket aisles. “I’m sorry.. I.. I don’t really want to bother you, I’m supposed to be home and I just.. You see, I went out for a walk and now I can’t seem to find my way back. My phone is running low on battery and I don’t want to worry my family. Could I just use yours to see the town’s map?” she quickly asked with a quivering voice at the sight of the first person walking down the street. 

@shstarters·

avi had been on her way home from work, music blasting through her earbuds as she enjoyed the cool evening breeze and the soft light of the sun sinking lower in the sky. her mind had wandered off into a daydreaming state, and she was so inside her own head that she didn’t notice someone sitting on the curb until she was only a couple of steps away from them and the girl started speaking to her. avi immediately ripped her earbuds out of her ears, a worried expression appearing on her face as she took in the state of the blonde in front of her. ‘of course, hold on.’ avi slipped her phone out of the pocket of her jacket, sitting down on the curb next to the girl as she thumbed through her phone until she had opened the maps app, offering her phone to the girl. ‘i can walk home with you if you want.’ she felt bad at the idea of just leaving her here at the side of the street, especially since she couldn’t just leave her phone with a stranger. girls had to look out for eachother, right? ‘are you new to spring hill?’ avi tried to make conversation, maybe being able to distract the other girl from the stressful situation at hand. she laughed softly, ‘i’ve lived here my whole life but even i get confused sometimes.’

             eyebrows raise at the avi’s suggestion, not because it intrigues her, though it doesn’t NOT intrigue her, but because she is in a world of her own where avi is referring to seeing venice at the bar and what if she’s seen her at the bar with a MASK on? the girl is getting more and more paranoid as the days pass. she thinks anxiety is growing worse as she grows older, but what can you do. eyes widen at the sound of what avi’s reading and venice takes it from the girls’ hand without even a second to contemplate how polite that might be. she scrunches her face pretty immediately upon reading, saying, “i’m… a bit of scaredy cat. i have stephen king on my shelf at home and have i touched it? nope. never even cracked it open. — well, maybe once when i first got it. read a couple pages and bailed.”