[ ... ] cool wind in my hair.

soft  features  split  into  a  booming  laughter  at  the  sight  of  mateo  sprawled  across  the  floor,  supporting  her  laundry  basket  from  completely  collapsing.  “  are  you  okay?  ”  she  manages  to  say  between  fits  of  hearty  chuckles.  she  hops  on  the  place  to  better  grasp  the  basket,  trying  to  free  mateo  from  his  place  on  the  floor.  somehow  manages  to  grasp  the  ears  of  the  rattan  thing  and  with  a  heavy  grunt  places  it  on  the  floor.  right  next  to  him. 

Theo was in the middle of texting with his brother by the time Marlowe came out. In the short amount of time he'd spent with her, he'd definitely taken notice of her personal style, and would be the first to admit she could rock just about any color. But the purple slip dress she wore now was definitely doing something to him. Add in her choice of jewelry, and she was completely… Marlowe.

“  so  why  are  you  locking  your  screen?  suspicious.  ”  she  squints  her  eyes  at  him  lightly  before  her  glossy  lips  split  into  a  cheshire  grin.  “  kidding!  not  suspicious  and  even  if  it  was,  i  mean  you  obviously  can  do  whatever  you  want  to  !  it's  not  like,"  she  waves  a  dismissive  hand  between  them,  "  anyway,  i'm  just  teasing.  ”  unsure  if  she  should  explain,  marlowe  decides  to  over  explain  instead.  “  i  don't  know  if  you  noticed,  but  i  tease  a  lot.  if  you  aren't  comfortable  with  it,  please  tell  me,  i'll  stop  immediately.  ”  her  face  is  gravely  serious  to  get  the  message  across.  she'd  hate  to  make  theo  uncomfortable  even  before  their  date  (  is  it  a  date?  she  has  no  idea  )  begins. 

she  nudges  him  back  with  her  thigh,  then  shifts  even  closer  so  the  distance  between  their  bodies  is  almost  non-existent.  “  you  look  nice.  ”  a  soft  smile  graces  her  features,  “  nice  and  cute.  ”  this  time  she's  smiling  widely.  “  and  talking  about  thanksgiving  in  summer  is  …  interesting.  ”  weird  would  be  the  right  word,  but  marlowe  refrains  from  saying  so.  everyone's  weird,  everyone  has  their  own  little  quirks.

Theo let out an incredulous laugh, looking over at Marlowe as she rattled off one question after another. "Okay, first of all," he started, holding up a finger, "if you try to pick me up, there's about a ninety percent chance we both end up on the ground."

He started toward the bench at an easy pace, taking his time without drawing attention. "I promise, I'm fine." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "I just figured we'd hit pause for a minute." His eyes drifted toward the river, then the people walking through the square. "We've been walking for hours, and I'm pretty sure Paris has agreed to stay exactly where it is until we're ready." Until he's ready; he's pretty sure Marlowe is the energizer bunny reincarnated.

marlowe  fakes  an  offense,  hand  clutching  her  imaginary  pearls  on  her  chest.  “  excuse  you,  theodore.  i  know  how  to  pick  up  a  jock.  ”  the  innuendo  in  there  makes  her  crack  into  a  smile,  deft  fingers  wrapping  around  his  wrist  and  tugging  him  towards  the  parisian  bench.  even  the  benches  in  paris  look  different. 

her  stride  is  far  quicker  than  his,  but  marlowe  makes  the  effort  (  truly,  an  effort  )  to  slow  down  for  his  sake,  palm  sliding  down  into  his  own.  she  doesn't  think much  of  it,  holding  hands,  as  it's  something  she  does  quite  often  with  people  she's  close  with.  doesn't  even  think  to  ask  him  if  he’s  comfortable.  “  okay,  but  we're  missing  SO  much.  ”  she  exaggerates  the  last  words,  but  the  corners  of  her  lips  quirk  up  into  a  smile.

"my reason for not liking you has nothing to do with sage, and whatever you think is going on there." xio retorts, under her breath, but loud enough for marlowe to hear. "you accomplished that all on your own, actually. don't let a guy take credit for all your hard work, now. come on, babe." this isn't her. she hates the bitterness in her own tone, but this band - and her friends in it, are important to her, worth protecting -- and, maybe those attempts at trying to become a psychic back in high school hadn't really panned out, but the future seems so clear to her now - and she doesn't like the look of it.

the  bitterness  in  xio's  voice  takes  her  aback,  reinforcing  her  belief.  xio  is  in  love  with  sage.  she  knew  it  !  she  knew  it  !  shakes  off  the  initial  shock,  dark  brows  furrow  together.  “  i  think  you're  madly  in  love  with  him  and  that's  the  issue.  ”  shifts  her  weight  from  one  leg  to  another,  feeling  like  a  deer  caught  in  headlights.  “  w-well,  ”  voice  cracks,  marlows  clears  her  throat  to  continue,  “  i  only  asked  you  a  couple  of  questions  and  ever  since  you  have  been  ….  "  what  xio  is  stays  unsaid.  despite  being  drunk  and  high,  marlowe  isn't  so  far  gone  to  say  ‘bitch’  outright. 

WHERE • brush to canvas.

WHO • julianna zhong & your muse.

as julianna’s deep brown gaze practically bore a hole in the blank white canvas in front of her, she couldn’t for the life of her conjure up any ideas for her artwork, internally cursing the teacher for choosing freestyle as the session’s theme.

“gosh, i’m stumped.” she admitted in borderline defeat before turning to the person next to her. “have you got any ideas? my brain is not cooperating with me tonight.”

marlowe  thrives  in  a  free,  uncontrolled  enviroment  so  it  isn't  a  surprise  she's  already  started.  her  canvas  is  a  mirror  of  herself  ;  earthy  colors  mixed  with  pastels  and  bright  splashes  in  seemingly  random  places.  but  she  has  an  endgame  in  mind  despite  how  wild  her  painting  currently  appears  to  be.  muscles  contract  and  tighten  and  jolt  when  julianna  speaks,  Marlowe  being  too  deep  in  her  thoughts  to  expect  so.  she  rolls  her  shoulders,  shaking  the  fight-or-flight  response  away.