she tastes like summer

holding her palm out towards florencia in gesture for understanding, ava cannot help but giggle. the idea of winter is beautiful ― soft snow falling, cozy snuggles by the fire places in warm blankets, oversized sweaters and christmas ― but all in moderation. “thank you! though i do like a good fedora or beret.” the blonde confesses, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. “that’s what i’m talking about. i’m hoping you have some good music too.”

ava nods to show that she’s listening and also understanding. “yeah, of course they deal with denim and they definitely deal with stain removal. as long as it’s something that’s, like, not a deep stain it should be fine. how bad is the stain?”

ocean eyes fixate on the pup chewing on the end of the squeaky toy, all name suggestions of her all gone at her father’s own. “rigby. i like that one a lot actually.” she states mind-of-factly with a pause to ponder over the name for a moment longer. it’s quite a serious decision, yet the name feels right and there’s no going back. “that’s definitely his name.” ava’s mind cannot be changed now ⏤ the name is set. attention then ventures to arthur, the worry gradually building in her eyes as reality begins to settling in ; she’s growing up. “yeah?” nodding, the blond takes in his words though it will take some repeating to believe it especially with the expectation from the outside world. “i just don’t want to be left behind..” she confesses, shrugging before letting out a heavy, defeated sigh. “i’ve thought about giving acting a go, or even film make-up. i just don’t want to college for the sake of it.” 

aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. jim certainly does not feel like he is so, nor does he think he actually looks all that presentable in the first place. getting out of bed each morning is a struggle let alone out in public, however, he’s out and about. his appearances without genevieve are becoming more and more apparent outside of the occasional step into the office, so when he runs into lorelei it’s almost feels like a test. “well, you’re too kind.” he replies. “you look well, you find anything interesting in there?” he asks, gesturing to her bag having seen her drop her books in. 

it takes everything in troy to not let his mind get sucked into the blackhole of should’ve‘s and what if’s at the thought of what their family could’ve been, and thankfully the motion of the car coming to a halt drawls him back to reality. in his daze, he didn’t even realise what they were coming up to. there is no way he can let a headache stop him from a day at an amusement park ― not a chance. a grin of growing mirth takes over as he leans forward to look out the front windscreen, knowing that yes, although cheesy, this will also be fun. “if you want me to misbehave and run off and talk to strangers and climb things i shouldn’t like i did as a kid, i can do that today if you’d like.” the brunet jokes, trying to show that their previous conversation isn’t going to affect him for the day ( hopefully ) and he arches his brow anticipating her response. “well then, what are we waiting for? let’s go.” and with his words, he’s unbuckling his belt and hopping out.

quite frankly, troy couldn’t care less whether she skipped breakfast or not, he just want his study time after his gym session. “good for you.” he replies sarcastically, reaching across the bench for his ipad and apple pen because of course, he likes to be an inconvenience instead of walking around to get it. “now i'll have to hear you complain about it all day, great.” 

this is what he needs, a distraction and quite frankly this is the perfect distraction. “c’mon julian, a fry sandwich. i cannot believe you have never heard of that.” james retorts in dismay, brows raised and hands up. this really is a day for the books. “no, you don’t put anything else on them. especially if they have chicken salt on them. that just ruins the sandwich.” the accountant explains passionately, obviously taking the matter very seriously even with a slight grin on his face. “the best chips are salt and vinegar, without a doubt. then sweet chili. y’know what, we need to get you a fry sandwich.” 

a bag of sweets sit in her hand between them as they walk, the other digging in to pick out a couple. it’s getting harder and harder to be away from him, to spend long amounts of time not speaking to him. the christmas break saw her biting at the bit to get back just so she can see him again, to tell him all about her time away and show off rigby to him. ava also now, however, finds herself smiling sheepishly at text messages, looking at him when he’s not looking, staying up late at night as her mind wonders thinking about him. it feels like yesterday they made their pact under the tree, but as she looks to him she cannot help but smile. “i know this is a little off topic, but do you remember the first thing you ever sketched? and i’m not talking like, your typical sky, sun and sea kind of thing in crayon. but y’know, your first drawing.” not that she’s seen his drawings yet, but she’s wants to know. 

everyone who knows ava is fully aware that she is a summer baby through and through. give her the sun, san and surf all year round and she is good to go so it’s fair to say the winter in ashcroft is dragging on. “i know, right?” she groans. “winter around christmas is cute and all, but bring on the heat. i want to lay out on the beach for hours or ride my bike without worrying my nose is going to fall off from frost bite.” an exaggeration, obviously, though it earns a chuckle at herself. “i mean it would save us the walk, and we could get those curly fries sooner.”

it’s no surprise that whenever aj’s name comes up troy tunes in so he’s heard some rumors, though he’s cussed out anyone who dare say anything bad about him. the magnitude of the situation is lost on troy, the full extent of it that is. he, however, doesn’t care. aj didn’t rob a bank ( not that he would need to ), didn’t burn down a house, didn’t abuse or harass anyone and above all didn’t kill anyone. yes, it’s bad, but it could’ve been worse. it could’ve been troy instead, but no, aj just had to be that unlucky along with those other people. “of course i was gonna come. i’m glad i did.” the boy confesses, he too a little nervous as he gets comfortable beside aj. “i know you’ve probably gotten it a lot, but i... just want to know if you’re okay. or if you don’t wanna talk that’s chill.” 

perhaps finn is an excellent worker, hence why he gets these special privileges or maybe the owner of the store does in fact get lonely. there are too many factors to consider and to be frank, jim just isn’t about it. maybe he’s getting old or he’s just old fashioned, or maybe he’s just not in the mood, but the idea of walking into a store and having kitten’s in his space doesn’t float his boat. “if that’s what you and the owner like, then who am i to judge?” jim mutters half-arsed. “you just don’t see that in a lot of places.” 

the look of repulsion settles into a smirk, amusement clear upon his face yet only at his own thoughts. “i think that just shows that no one around here is actually capable of making a decent eggnog and it’s sad. it doesn’t surprise me though ― thank god for darla.” technically speaking that’s only counting cafe made eggnogs and not homemade ones that is yet to try, so troy is being generic. the middle child folds his arms across his chest and he sucks in a long breath through his nose. for a split second, a part of him wants to admit to his father that he wants to spend at least a little time with his mother on christmas day, however he shuts it down just as fast at the thought of that conversation as a whole. “that’s the plan so far.” he responds quickly, nodding his head. “i’m sure the guys have something planned for later on but i’ll have to double check that.” it may be half a little white lie, yet what jax doesn’t know shouldn’t hurt him. “how drunk am i allowed to get?”

“have you tried everything?” ava asks curiously, knowing that she would eliminating all options before deeming the situation unresolvable. “you could always take it to the dry cleaners. i’m more than sure they’re qualified to deal with those kinds of things.” 

the woman’s verbal understanding brings a grateful grin to his lips ; it’s slight, though it is there. the topic of the girl’s mother, however, has the huntzberger patriarch tearing his gaze from her to his rather lukewarm meal. “i had heard that.” he replies, picking fussily through the soft french fries in search for the hard and basically burnt ones. “and how’s that going for you? i’m assuming you’ve spoken to her?”

troy flashes vanessa his infamous charming grin as she admits she trusts him. “good, because that would be the end of our friendship if you didn’t.” he chuckles. “how do you feel about some arcade games?” the question comes with an arch of his brow, awaiting her response eagerly. 

she’s stroking his ego and he’s lapping it up, whether it’s intended to be interpreted that way or not is another story. troy follows her along like an obedient dog, thoughts now off of his problems ( thank fuck, he would believe ) and more concerned about kicking ass in their duel. “well, aren’t you just a gem.” the lad smile, moving so he can start to set up. “you know if you don’t win, this also says a lot about your choreographers so keep that in mind. you may need to hire some more.” he teases.