✧°. PETALS & THORNS

joe kept silent for a moment, laughing softly at her comments while he got up to grab two mugs. placing one in front of her, he waited for the right words to find him. “why do you say that?” he kept his eyes low as he poured their coffee. “sorry also, i forgot to pick up milk.” he was quick to add a second comment, to keep the air light - completely aware he was walking on eggshells.

as roselyn looked down at her hands, a helpless shrug followed. “i’m just not the type of person that...has a group. i mean, i barely stay in one place for over a year,” she admitted. her eyes flickered back up towards him. “no worries,” she assured, “i like my coffee black, and i’m sure it’s better than the sludge i make at home.” 

“really?” he turned to pour the boiling water in the press, placing on the cap then pulling a stool over to sit opposite to her. naturally joe was not someone who could always accurately pin people’s emotions or intentions down, but was almost hyperaware of the actions of people close to him. the warm moments of roselyn that he fed off of were often met with colder ambiguous ones that were just as easy for him to believe. “probably haven’t had the right people.” not wanting to push her he tried lightening the vibe by grabbing into the canvas bag besides them, filled with groceries he’d yet to put away, pulling out a clementine. “y’know I’m trying to get promoted at work right now? what do you say about having me as supervisor? can i count on your vouch?” the boys features remained soft as he offered her half of the peeled fruit.  

“really,” she responded with a nod. she shrugged, not wanting him to get the idea that she needed friends. it was nice to have someone to talk to now and again, but she would be gone at any moment. it wasn’t worth the work or heartbreak. “or i’m just not the right person,” she shrugged. she eyed him as he reached into the bag. “good for you,” she smiled, before letting out a laugh. “you? my supervisor? oh god...well, i guess i’ll vouch for you since it’s inevitable that you’ll be my superior.” 

“ wait, who cares?? if that’s what the kids these days are into … so be it, i guess ?? ” anastasia furrowed her eyebrows at the blonde - not entirely following her train of thought. “ are you okay?? why are you thinking about this?? ”

she nods, “it’s understandable to want to keep things private, i’d like to think i’m one of the more curiouser of the lot, but i could be wrong.” cherry shrugs, “i totally get the need for change. personally i don’t think i could leave this place, but that’s just me.” cherry wasn’t much for change only considering the drastic changes in her life haven’t been too positive.

“oh, you’re not,” she replied with a small smile. “at least you’re respectful about it. people stopped staring about two months ago, but i know they’re trying to figure out why i blew into town.” roselyn shrugged as she lied, “i’d hate to disappoint, but i’m very boring.” 

“a dressing room!” clarissa exclaimed, unable to deter her laughter. it was simply too good. “you have me beat, babe. i could never do that. didn’t anyone hear you?” she wasn’t exactly shy but the idea of doing it where a whole store full of people might hear had her blushing.

he swung the door closed behind them, following her in a step behind. despite being inhabited by two guys in their early twenties the place was in good shape, looking nearly identical as to when it was joe’s roommate’s family living there. joe guided her to the left and into the kitchen, tapping his hand on the island surrounded by slightly tattered bar stools. “right. right.” he said as he turned his back to her to fill the kettle and set it on the stove, a coy undertone to his voice. in a more brazen move he placed the French press on the island infront of her and began shovelling in coffee grounds, but keeping his eyes on her. “you know I actually got these stools from gilbert’s? it was a wild night - i invited you out but you were busy.”

roselyn followed the male, trying to keep her curiosity in check. just because someone lets people into their home doesn’t mean they want them to go snooping around and asking questions. she was fairly surprised about the shape of his living arrangements, however. roselyn took a seat at the island, watching his movements. “right,” she nodded in agreement, mirroring his tone of voice. roselyn’s eyes fell to the stools. “oh...well, you know. i, uh, yeah...sorry. going out...it’s really not my thing,” she insisted, not wanting to make up excuses but already knew she was doing just that. it was likely she said no just to say it. there was no use to getting attached to people here. she was just going to pick up and leave like she always did. 

“ first of all, lover’s beach is a fuckin’ dumb name. second of all, it’s called that ‘cause people fuck on the beach, ” danny blatantly addressed, eyebrows furrowing as he followed roselyn’s gaze out to the water. “ i mean, sure, it could have some real nice backstory behind it, but in highschool people decided to take the name as literally as possible. not that it was any smart – sand gets everywhere. ”

suddenly she couldn’t contain her giggling as she remembered the incident. “well, i was hoping for some romantic love story too and that’s why i let some guy convince me to have sex on the beach. it wasn’t practical at all but definitely an adventure. sand is not sexy and beach towels are not sexy, to say the least. i was in high school so i just blame it on the fact that i was young and stupid.” the beach was probably the most adventurous place that clarissa had ever done it and she remembered really liking the guy and dating him for at least a few months which was a record for her back then. “we definitely weren’t the first people to do it here, though. what, you’ve never done it somewhere a bit different?”

the blonde quietly watched the waves, barefoot feet in the smooth sand. a light breeze blew her hair, and she had to tuck a few strands behind her ear. “it’s town’s folklore that if you write your name and the name of the person you love on the sand, you two will be together forever.” she looked at rose, nodding slightly, then bursting into laughter. “i’m just kidding, i just pulled that out of my ass right now. i don’t know why they call it lover’s beach, to be honest.” her face grew serious once again, blue eyes settling onto the other’s face, as she furrowed her eyebrows. “so, no head?”

     the question catches her a bit off guard, lips pursing together tightly as she looks out at the water and thinks for a moment. andromeda was good at making friends, was good at being friendly and kind even to strangers. “ popular date spot, i guess ? it’s a beautiful beach, maybe trying to get a message across that love is beautiful. “ a small shrug of her shoulders follows her response, she didn’t have much of an answer for the other. she snorts out a laugh at the blunt statement, a small nod of her head as she responds, “ yeah, that would be anybody’s hope when being in a public place. but lets be real here, somebody probably has. “

for a moment he was sure she was about to decline and walk off just as easily as she’d walked by. he’d have rolled it off like he did most times, joe had early on received the impression that it wasn’t personal if she blew him off. “awesome.” unwilling to give her any more time to reconsider he quickly got up and turned up the steps and opened the unlocked front door to his shared modest home, holding it open for her. ”you know i booked this day off months ago thinking i was going to this concert out of town. so it’s more likely that you asked for this day off because you knew i’d be free. then you just so happen to walk by my place?” 

roselyn couldn’t help the smile that was plastered on her face as gave her no time to change her mind. a part of her was thankful for that, knowing that it was likely she would have made an excuse to go home. she peered into his place while making her way up the stairs. glancing over at him, she finally walked inside. rosie felt somewhat awkward, not knowing exactly what to do or where to stand. “how unfortunate for me that you’re not at that concert then, huh?” she teased. a scoff fell from roselyn’s lips. “just so happens,” she repeated, “your place is on the way to the beach. so, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” 

“oh they’re such pest when they’re younger– not to mention when they’re close enough in age to steal literally everything you own,” cherry adds, she’s laughing, but there’s been many tops and pairs of shoes that have mysteriously disappeared from her closet only to reappear in another sister’s room. she shrugged admittingly, “curiosity killed the cat.” it was a relatively small town so when someone new came along, people always wanted to know why. “yeah, i see that. and with three beaches, there’s not really a reason to say no.”

“so i’ve heard,” she replied with a small smile. she thought of her own childhood quickly before focusing more on the present. roselyn nodded, knowing that curiosity did indeed kill the cat. “people must be asking a lot of questions, but i guess i make it worse when i don’t answer them. i just...don’t like my private life out in the open.” rosie agreed, “yeah, it’s beautiful here. sometimes you need a change, you know?” 

anastasia looked at roselyn with a hint of confusion, not remotely sure why the girl was staring at the water or what she was thinking about. taz looked at her obliviously, perking up at the mention of the beach’s name. “ i mean, OBVIOUSLY people fuck on this beach. it’s almost 2018, people fuck on every beach. ”