яαιηвσω ιη тнє ∂αяк

The response caused Cole to pause, an eyebrow raising as she spoke, “Just okay – oh, god.” Giving a nod, she completely understood. Training new people, even just working with new people in general, was exhausting. “I’m glad it wasn’t too bad. Text me if I ever need to come in and give them a hard time. I’ll show them what it means to give my gal a hard time. We don’t fuck with that here.” When Presley’s hand hit her own, Leti gave a giggle and shook her head. “Not too many. I think it’s a little early to get too crazy. Even Lucas’ dad was chill today. It’s going really good.” Carefully she played with the femme’s fingers, “would you wanna do a shot? The perk of being a bartender is that I can kinda drink while I’m working.” 

“You’re so embarrassing. I can’t believe I know you.” Lucas sighed, mostly joking. Sentimental, and emotional things always put him a little on edge, he didn’t know how to react to them. They WERE embarrassing. But he did mean it in a joking way. And in all honesty (though he’d never say it out loud) he didn’t actually mind his friends sentimentality. “It’ll be fine, Presley. The future is only scary because you don’t know what is going to happen. Most of the time it’s not as bad as you think it’s going to be. But hopefully it won’t be the same. Otherwise I’ll have worked my ass off for nothing.“ In truth he didn’t really get Presley’s resistance to this sort of thing, but he knew it was a thing. So he tried to be understanding.

Tried.

Lucas actually smiled a little bit, over at Presley, shaking his head. "I’ll let my mom know you said that. I’ll look forward to her hours long lecture about why you should continue to support your local public library, even in the day and age of electronics. It’ll make the dinner that much more enjoyable, I’m sure.”

presley made a bit of a face at the accusation, trying to play it off, even if it did hurt a little bit. she knew lucas didn’t mean it like that, really, she just... was a little raw right now. she swallowed her emotions down. presley turned to her old friend, almost grabbing his hand before she thought better of it. “you deserve a change,” she said, even though she was just as terrified to lose him, “you deserve to win, like, the nobel prize in chemistry.” she frowned to herself for a moment, “that’s a thing, right?” 

where :  jimmy’s pizza. when :  10:45pm.

    mandy  looks  exhausted  and  honestly ?  she  felt  just  about  as  bad  as  she  looked.  there’s  a  hint  of  a  smile  on  her  lips  as  she  sees  the  other  big  fish. “ hey, ”  the  femme  plops  down  into  the  chair  in  front  of  them. “ thanks for coming - i , uh. didn’t want to be alone. ”  she  taps  her  fingertips  on  the  top  of  the  table;  unable  to  find  words  to  say  for  the  first  time.  the  glisten  in  her  eyes  told  a  tale  of  hurt  –  of  not  being  100%  there  in  the  moment.  “ so , um .. how was your day ? ”

Jaime gave a wide grimace at the idea of going grocery shopping. “I’ve always hated grocery shopping,” he said. It was true. Something about it … always made him really annoyed. Maybe it was because it was a necessary thing you had to go out and do. He blessed the idea of buying groceries online and having someone bring them to you, best use of the internet he had ever seen. The farmers market was a little bit better, than just regular grocery shopping though, he would give it that.

He brightened at Presley’s enthusiasm at his idea, nodding his head along. Then gives a small laugh, “I’m starting to think you’ve been bought by the farmer’s market just a little bit, but I think that could be fun. I’m sure nobody will burn anything, and we’ll all end up with all of our fingers in tact. Let’s do it.”

somehow, that surprised presley. like, okay, presley didn’t like it, didn’t like having to admit to herself just how unhealthy her lifestyle really was and how little effort she was willing to put into eating well, but jaime seemed.... she wasn’t sure, more grown up? “but everything’s more fun with friends,” she argued, “even stupid stuff. just driving around can be really fun.” since there wasn’t much else to do in elmridge. 

she was revising her flashcards for a tour she was scheduled to guide in an hour. highlighters and pens all scattered atop the defense table, her brows knitted in thought as she was just about to whiteout something of unimportance. but once presley’s voice bounded from behind her, lilah was quick to swivel around in her chair to watch as the other girl walked toward the witness stand, eyes bugging out when presley inevitably tripped her way into it. “ oh my god, “ lilah exclaimed, bouncing off her seat in a heartbeat and hurrying to presley’s aid. though after hearing a couple i’m good’s, her motherly instincts ended up chuckling fondly instead. “ here … “ she held out a hand for presley to take. “ let me help you up before the air decides to trip you again. “

“Sure, they do,” Jaime says, “they’ve stolen all sorts of tea from different places. As for me…” He paused and looked around as if there would be some sort of sign in the hallway that he did have green tea. “I am not the one getting the groceries so, maybe.” He lead the both of them into the kitchen, looking over at presley with a smile. “I’d love to come over and have dinner with you and your family! That’d be really nice,” he said rifling around through the cabinets before finally finding some Green Tea and showing it to Presley before getting started on making it.

“You know, I was actually considering inviting everyone over for dinner one day. Maybe we can all make something and bring it, or we can all try cooking together.” He shrugged his shoulders, leaning against the large island in the middle of the kitchen. “I don’t know, I just thought that could be kind of fun…”

presley rolled her eyes, but still smirked to herself. “right, i forgot. the sun never sets on the british empire and all that.” which was... one way to talk about the hell of imperialism, but she didn’t quite feel like touching on that right now. “you should go grocery shopping, it’s kinda fun.” presley’s eyes widened, nudging his shoulder, “especially at the farmer’s market? that’s always so fucking fun.” 

Hearing Presley’s ever-so-familiar voice caused Leti to cheer up, “babe!” Their tone was now verging on chipper, they glanced over, and nodded. “I know you wouldn’t, Pres. You never would, and I value that so fucking deeply – I hope you know.” Her order caused a smirk to hit their face. Presley was… anything but boring, and they loved that about her. Grabbing the cider, they carefully dropped a fresh batch of potato skins into the oil, “only the best for my girl.” Their legs stepped back toward the brunette and handed her the cider, “love you, sweetpea. How’s the day treating you?” 

Lucas took a seat on the steps next to her, and though he completely understood she was … being emotionally vulnerable, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “We’re graduating college, we’re not dying.” People had gone through something like this when they were graduating High School too. And yet here they all were. Sure, it wasn’t easy to get them all together but it wasn’t nearly as impossible as some people had made it out to be either. Listen, he was not the person to come to for emotional support, but that was something Presley and every body else already knew well. “You’re being a little ridiculous, Presley.”

And then he gave a pause as he thought her offer over, tapping his fingers against his knee with a resolved sigh. “My mom has work off on Thursdays. Maybe we could all have dinner then.”

presley pouted a little bit. she knew they weren’t dying, but... but still. sure, they’d see each other. they’d wish each other happy birthday on facebook. but just the thought of that left presley’s heart falling to the pit of her stomach. “i’m just... i’ll still miss you, though,” she muttered, still avoiding his eyes, “it won’t be the same.” 

Time: Late Afternoon Setting: Georgie Porgie. Status: Open.

Carefully wiping down the bar, Cole swayed their hips to the music playing from the speakers. Sometimes they questioned why a bar was open so early in the day. Most of the time they questioned why they picked up these double shifts at Georgie Porgie in the first damn place. When the door opened, Cole didn’t even look up, but spoke out: “You better order something or give me a good fucking tip – disturbing my damn vibe, yo.” 

“hi,” griffin blinks, a little taken aback by the near-collision. the answer to a question i never asked, he would have teased, if it weren’t immediately apparent to him that something wasn’t right. he isn’t sure how to approach it, and knows that in any case, the proper place to try isn’t just outside of the restrooms. he buys himself time. “uh, i’m off now and just ordered food to go,” he tells her, in a tone that suggests a slight discomfort. “if you wanna grab a booth we can split it, but first i gotta piss. like, bad.” his trip to the bathroom takes at least a minute or two, and then an additional few allow for him to grab his order, complete with second soda, and even some cinnamon sticks from the back. a surprise for presley. as he rejoins her, he’s struck by the realization that maybe the buzz of the pizza parlor is no comfort in her agitated state. “do you want to get out of here?” he asks, pausing at the head of the table instead of sliding into the booth. “we can eat in my car, if you want. i’ve been here all day and i’m ready to bounce. plus, mandy’s scheduled tonight and if she catches us here she’ll never leave us alone. y'know, since she’s got it bad for me and everything.” with a shrug, he tacks on: “i usually smell pretty rank coming out of here, i won’t lie, but i picked up a gas station air freshener i think you’ll find most pleasant for that exact reason the other day.”

“My mother’s got a newspaper clipping framed in her office from when the Big Fish was first formed and we were like… a big deal.” The thought prompts immediate laughter from Vera. “Actually thinking about hunting down 9-year-old Vera’s stylist, to be honest. Pigtails with pink overalls? Revolutionary.”

Jaime was always more than happy to invite people into his house, honestly. Especially now that unless he counted the cleaners coming in once a week (he did) he was currently the only person there. So, despite the awkwardness that might be between him and Presley at the present moment he greeted her with a bright smile, no hint of awkwardness or anxiety to be found. “It’s no problem, Pres. I’ve always been a fan of your work. Come in,” he said, motioning for her to follow him inside, hesitating a moment in the hall entrance. “Do you want something to eat or drink? I’ve gotten really good at making tea over the past three years…”

“Presley…” He shouldn’t be surprised by Presley’s exuberance, really. But the moment he steps outside and she nearly attacks him with her words, Lucas has to remember where he is and who with. Right, he’s back home with his friends. The … strange lot they are. He takes a bracing breath, and sends Presley a look that is a warning of sorts. “Tell your mom there is nothing to miss. And I appreciate it, but I’m fine.”

He didn’t invite her in. Not because he didn’t want her to stay, more because well, he needed to keep the apartment sterile – as much as he possibly could – at the moment. For reasons. So, instead he shut the entrance door and motioned for her to sit down on the front steps. “But I’m sure that answer doesn’t surprise you. I have too many tutoring sessions in the evening this week. I don’t think I would have the time, anyway.”

presley almost shrunk back at lucas’s look, but refused in the end, frowning up at him and keeping herself calm. she hadn’t meant to spook him, she was just... sometimes it was hard to know what to do with all her energy. presley narrowed her eyes at his dismissal, “um, first of all, there’s plenty to miss.” she couldn’t stand it when any of her friends belittled themselves. 

𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓵𝓮𝔂'𝓼 𝓫𝓮𝓭𝓻𝓸𝓸𝓶