o p p o s i t e s

open starter location: the den

The night at The Den had not been kind to Rhys. Not because he lost a fight because he won, but because he got hit a lot harder and a lot more than he anticipated. Minor cuts on his jaw and his cheek, bruise around his eye, and a busted lip; with the way he looked, people would’ve thought Rhys was the one that lost. He felt like he was on cloud nine, riding high on the adrenaline from the fight and the cheering but that came to a standstill when the guy he’d fought stormed up to him claiming he was cheating. People had to hold them both back as they started getting into each other’s faces, “Call me a cheat again and I’ll fucking break your teeth in!” The guy was dragged away and all Rhys could do was smirk, “Now, who wants a drink on the champ right here?!”

“Hey, hey, hey--” darcy extends out a hand-- not in congratulations, but in a foreign gesture of warning. a flash of every moment he’s felt that high bursts behind his eyes. “Hey--!!” finally, the floodgates open, and in a moment he’s reaching for rhys’ shirt, attempting to find a grip to force the kid to listen.

“Yeah, Ezzy, I’m okay - just my brain being it’s annoying overactive self again…you know, the usual,” she commented with a sigh as she leaned back in her chair. Despite suffering from a lack of concentration her entire life, it still tended to drive Diamond nuts when she caught herself losing focus. It was so bad, even, that it impaired her ability to drive safety - she had gotten into so many crashes when she first started driving that she’d been completely banned from doing so my the rest of her family - for her safety and those around her. Now, whenever she wanted to leave her penthouse and go somewhere, she had to call upon Xavier, her personal driver. In a lot of ways, it made her feel handicapped, and she fucking hated it. Dime gave her head a shake in order to do away with her thoughts, as she tried to turn her attention back to Ezra. 

 “Fuzzy?” she asked her brother, furrowing her brows in confusion and worry of her own. “Are you okay?” she asked, turning the question back on him.

he knows what it’s like--- that’s the first thing that pops to his head. he knows what it’s like to say it’s fine through bleary eyes and distant stares. sometimes, it’s just easier to say didn’t sleep so well last night. maybe he’s too gentle on her, and maybe he’ll regret not pushing harder for that intervention he thought about last year, but for now...

“You wanted to see me, Eli?” Leo was doing his best not to make snide remarks, knowing Eli had little tolerance for it and he was already on thin ice. Still, it was hard to break habits and the twitch at the corner of his mouth was as much a tell as laughing might’ve been. He stepped inside Eli’s office, leaning casually against the wall, waiting for whatever punishment Eli had concocted for him. @polcrity​

the way that he sees it is that leo has two options: he begs for the rope around his neck to be cut, or eli kicks the chair out from under him and watches him squirm. no matter the fault, the precedent stands: free will is free will and consequences are consequences.

“--Thank you for your punctuality.” he’s sat behind his desk, hands clasped over his lap, “I can’t imagine you’ve gotten much rest in the last few days.”

Happy Birthday Darcy! 

Come to my room when you wake up, this little guy is waiting for you. 

xx 

location: a park with: open to anyone @crimsonstarters​

It was past noon and he found himself settle on a park bench with his second coffee in hand. It’d been a long day already, but he found some solace in the sounds of the park around him. Even if there was an occasional honking coming from the various cars that came and left. He’d set his cup down onto the arm rest near him just so he could dig around his pockets to find what he was looking for. The one vice he had, the one he wasn’t too keen on giving up either. He wasn’t a daily smoker or anything, just when needed some time to let out some of that built up tension. It was easy to let it go after a smoke, just one, and he’ll put them away for the next time. Before he did that he turned towards the person sitting with him. “Don’t suppose you want one?” He asked, shaking the little box before them.

“I don’t smoke.” he’s tried it-- in that someone at boot camp told him to try it and he indulged one, maybe two puffs before politely coughing out an i’m okay in the guy’s face. the reaction is so instant that he doesn’t even realize he’s said it until he hears it--

and then he wonders for a moment.

closed for @polcrity​ location: darcy’s bedroom

amara was looking forward to a night where nothing mattered, she and darcy were back to hanging out and having movie nights without having to care about anything else. tonight was going to be a little bit different, she was letting him pick the movie in exchange for him agreeing to do a facial with her — though it didn’t take any convincing. 

she had the facial mask jar in her pocket, slowly walking up the stairs to ensure that she wouldn’t drop any of the freshly cut cucumbers back down them. approaching his door she could see that it was already cracked open, using her free hand to push it further so she could walk inside. “did you clean? it smells oddly fresh in here.” she questioned before setting the plate down on his bedside table. “please tell me you decided on a movie. unless you felt like playing video games tonight instead? that’s always on the table.”

darcy feels old the way he’ll feel old for the next two weeks until another birthday has passed, another celebration spent sober has passed, and another night of contemplating exactly what it’s like to grow older, uglier, and more feeble has passed. but hey-- tonight’s not about the creeping back pain or the way his joints always seem to feel a little stiffer than they did yesterday. it’s about keeping that wrinkly skin of his looking---

oh yeah.

“Uhhhh, yeah.” air freshener does wonders.

Open to: Everyone  |  @crimsonstarters​

Location: Anywhere

"Hmm?” she hummed quietly as she felt the soft nudge on her shoulder, having not heard the other trying to get her attention a moment earlier. Effectively jolted out of her thoughts, Diamond turned her head to gaze over at them.

“Shit - sorry, I wasn’t ignoring you on purpose, I promise. You just said something a little earlier and it sent my mind on it’s own little adventure,” she explained, throwing them a repentant half-smile. “But it’s back now and you have my attention again...so, what were you saying?”

“---You doing okay?” his brows knit themselves together-- a little tighter than usual. sometimes ezra looks in the mirror and a vague, malformed reference pops to mind: he took both pills and now the only thing he gets to see is how deep the worrylines go. it isn’t funny in the mirror, and it isn’t clever when it floats to the surface now.

“You think so?” Laughing out his disbelief, Lev rubs a hand over his face. “It’s not a pissing match, man.” A quiet hum of discontent sounds off, and Lev cracks the tension out of his neck. “Could be worse, sure. But he could be way fucking better.”

“I get it. I do. You’re in a tough spot. But fuck, blink twice if you aren’t fucking brainwashed already.”

“---If you think I support your father the way that others do, you’ve misunderstood.”

“Eventually you learn to come to terms with certain things, brother. ‘Sides, it’s not all that bad- lookin’ the way you do. Same way someone sees that fucked up snout and think it’s cute.” 

“Pugs are an anatomical disaster and shouldn’t exist and all but there’ll be..what- date number 58 or 75 that’ll feel sorry enough to mistake themselves as lookin’ past that as a virtue when they do call back for a third date.”

“Anatomical disaster.” he repeats softly-- he has a way of doing that around david. perhaps it’s an implied mockery---but more likely? he’s just buying himself time to think of a witty comeback, no matter what he tells himself.

“--Anybody got a phone charger?” phone in hand, he keeps his question brief and his eye contact briefer. his arms are crossed over one another, maybe due to the cold, maybe due to the fact that he no longer has something to stare at until this whole mess is fixed. it’ll be great, his siblings said, just have fun, his siblings said.

now he'll probably never be able to remind them what a horrible idea this whole thing was.

tia’s eyes widened once she realized who exactly filled the seat next to her and it was confirmed from the way he said her name. “well if it isn’t eli.” she hummed, bringing her glass up to her lips and taking a long drawn out sip. 

“didn’t think i’d be sitting next to you anytime soon since you didn’t text me back.” she said, having to laugh at just how trivial something like that is, but he made a point to mention she hadn’t texted him back the last time. “guess we’re even, huh?”

so that would be a no-- he did not return the text. the pit of his stomach seems to fill with something-- not quite bile, but an equally acidic sense of dread, lining dissolving under the pressure of another awkward social interaction. “---I can’t make any excuses. Unfortunately... My memory isn’t as good as it used to be.”

“You caught me, Darcy, this is exactly how I pick up guys.” Andy rolled her eyes good-naturedly, grin breaking out before gesturing at his, well, any exposed skin that had a tattoo. “I just figure you’re not exactly choosey. And, sure, I guess – just try not to bankrupt me, yeah?” 

“I dunno, man, I saw this video of this lady eating a huge lobster claw-- like just biting into it and shit. Super fucking gross.”

@alexiexalthea​ 

“Is this, like, your go to pick up line, or did you see all the tattoos and think I’d go for it?” 

Location: Anywhere at the event to be honest @crimsonstarters​

“You look tired-” Edie noticed the other individual walking by. There was a lot to see and even she had retired to a bench for right now. She wanted a few minutes before she went back into it all. “I don’t bite. Not hard anyway,” she added and tacked on a joke with an easy smile. Kindness on the outside her guard on the inside was high with anyone.”Are you having fun at least?”

“---Yeah, people tell me that.” he sighs out a laugh ( or maybe it’s just a sigh-- it’s a hard to tell ), but somehow, it doesn’t reach those eyes of his, with those sad little bags that form deep creases underneath dilated, dark eyes. “But yeah-- I’m having fun. Haven’t gotten bit yet, so I guess that’s a win for me.”