; life itself .

It was funny how even when he was stumbling around, he still managed to look cute, she thought, before just as quickly shaking the thought away. He was her ex, she was not supposed to think of him like that anymore, even if he called her hot first. “It’s not my thing-” She started, before shrugging her shoulders slightly. “I’ve been tryin’ to branch out a bit more… Broaden my horizons or somethin’…” Part of her self-reinvention was to go out more, and this had been a good opportunity. She couldn’t hide the smile that formed over her lips when he called her hot, and she let out a small laugh. “I’m glad you think so, you know you can feel free to tell me that whenever you wanna..” She teased, gently tugging her bottom lip between her teeth.

           “ branch out , she says , ” roman repeated , laughing. that was a good one , what ana said there , she must have practiced that one a couple times before the execution. seems a bit ironic to him if he were being honest --- after all , this is why she had broken up with him in the first place. his life was too much for her , too  chaotic  for her. it was funny how things tended to come full circle like this. “ so you’re having fun then? ” as he spoke , his body slowly slid down the wall he had been leaning against. there was a laugh when his ass hit the ground and his head dropped back to rest against the building. there was some look in his eyes , expectant maybe ,  urging  her to come sit down beside him.  “ does standing off by yourself really count as ‘ branching out  ’? it looks a little lonely. you’re supposed to be out here having  fun. ”

closed starter : roman pierce @rxmanpierce​

Stassi had been convinced to come to this party, but now that she was here she was having a great time. The music was good, though she had known that already since she knew the band was Roman’s. Still, she had managed to stay away from him and have some fun, now she was getting herself another drink before stepping out into the night, taking in a breath of the cool night air and closing her eyes. There was a slight breeze which helped cool her off, then she turned on the spot and yanked the door open. She’d gotten five steps before she came face to face with him, only unlike the other times, this time he was greeted with a smile. “Hey, you were great tonight.”

           normally , roman didn’t like playing his own music when delta decided to throw their parties. tonight he had drank too much , had his ego stroked more than enough , his confidence was through the roof , so he convinced whatever asswipe that was in charge of music to play a couple of his songs. he didn’t ‘ technically ’ preform them , so to speak , but he had crawled his way onto a table and sing his heart out along with his music --- that was basically the same. just doing that had taken a lot out of him , drained his social battery. feeling dizzy from the what he’d blame was the adrenaline ( but was most definitely the one too many shots he’d taken ) , he’d led himself outside for a breath of fresh air. seeing ana standing there had not been a sight he had expected to see. “ really? ” he breathed , stumbling a bit but catching himself on the wall. “ what are you --- what are you doing here? i thought this thing wasn’t your thing. ” despite the jumbled words falling from his lips , his mouth upturned into a grin. that was a compliment he had never expected to hear from her. more fire to his burning ego. “ you look hot. ” and yes , he did mean it in both senses.

stassi: fuck you

stassi: like really

stassi: you knew i was hurt

stassi: and you still fucked me over.

roman: that isn't what i meant to do

roman: i care about you ana and i knew you wouldn't be happy with me in the long run

stassi: babe!! clyde is geared up and ready to go, are you??

stassi: um.

stassi: sorry... wrong number.

roman: i didn't think you still had my number

roman: what a nice little surprise

TEDDY: [img: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/9c/bd/67/9cbd67c32e73461b25084e97782c8dd4.jpg]

TEDDY: can i sing for you?

roman: can i act like a judge from america's got talent?

roman: i'll be howie

Stassi wished she could’ve stopped herself from walking over to him, she really did, but it was like her feet had a mind of their own. Her mouth too, she’d never greeted him so coldly before. Not even after the break up, but this was part of her trying to change herself she supposed. There was a little sense of pride in herself as she saw the look of shock on his face, she had surprised him that was certain, and maybe she had wanted that, at least part of her did anyways. Then he changed the topic and she decided to follow suit, letting the greeting go, though she was then quickly caught on the old nickname, Roman was the only one who hadn’t gotten the memo that she wasn’t going by that anymore. “I think it’s because we never expect to see each other…” The girl said with a small shrug, smiling a bit when he complimented her hair. “Uh- Yeah… Bit of a change… I don’t go by Ana anymore either, it’s uh- It’s Stassi now.” She told him, her lips pressed together into a line as she looked at him.

           there was an understanding nod of roman’s head as anastasia gave her answer. she was right , every time he saw her he always assumed it’d be the last. things hadn’t ended on the best of terms between them. if they had they might have stayed friends. they wouldn’t have to worry about encounters like this , encounters that left them standing there feeling awkward --- and things always felt like his fault. the looks she gave him felt like blame. it might have been but he couldn’t even remember , as awful as it was to admit. so much had happened between then and now. there were newer ( older , really , but new in the sense of permanence ) people in his life now. newer emotions , stronger emotions that he felt hooked on. none of it left very much room to remember other things. “ no more ana? ” that shocked him , enough to make it evident on his face. “ i’ve always called you ana. ” now , more than anything , he just wanted to know what could’ve prompted a change like this. she had changed her entire person it seemed like. was this because of him? “ it looks like i missed more than i thought while i was gone. do you --- do you wanna get a cup of coffee or something? catch me up , give me a rundown? doesn’t even have to be about what’s gone on with you. ”

Claire sighed a bit dramatically in relief as she saw his face, though was it dramatic? She did have a day. “Listen, wait-I didn’t text? I thought I did, I am sorry I just appeared” She scrunched up her face a bit embarrassed but it went away quickly, cause it was Roman and she knew he should be use to her antics. “I could use a lot of things” She stated as she gave him a grimaced grin, “But a smoke is a good start” she chuckled but it fell off as she moved inside. She pushed her hair back since it was more in a half pony tail at this point. “Well you see, I was just trying to get my backpack out of my back seat. I was going to actually do my paper. Then some pigbrain in a bit lifted up truck decided it was a good day to run over my foot with his tire” she nodded sighing “I am not that small am i? I literally had to yell at him otherwise he probably would have taken me out completely. I am alright though, I just needed to sit and you were the closest place were people wouldn’t look at me like I am crazy” she pouted at him before moving towards his couch.

          “ you didn’t text , ” roman reiterated , but there was no accusation in his voice. it’s not like her texting him was a must or anything like that , he had share of times showing up at her door unprompted. but she always at least gave him a heads up. a quick ‘ i’m coming over ‘ or ‘ are you busy? i wanna see u ‘ were commonly what he saw on his screen when it came to her --- and then not too long after she’d be at his door. it was routine. “ did you just say someone ran your foot over? ” that made his jaw drop. what kind of luck did this girl have to deserve her foot being ran over by a truck? not very good luck , that was for sure. he kept listening to her explain all while heading into his kitchen to rummage through his freezer for something that could pass as an ice pack. frozen peas perhaps , or even a bag of frozen broccoli. . . if you were thinking that roman was the type who didn’t eat his veggies , you’d be right. nothing of the sort existed within his freezer. but !  luck might have been on claire’s side after all , because apparently he did have a bag of frozen peas. not that he had any clue as to why , he didn’t remember ever buying them. “ i mean. . . ” he finally piped in as he walked back over with the veggies in hand. “ you’re not , like , small  but you aren’t all that big either. you know? here this and here --- ” once she took them from his hands , he reached down onto his coffee table to grab his marlboros and tossed that over to her too. “ how did that even happen? like. . . was your foot in the road or did the guy have some sort of vendetta against you? ”

closed starter — @rxmanpierce​

“you know , the longer you fuck with that thing doesn’t mean it’s gonna give you want you want” charlie’s face was buried in a copy of the Rolling Stone until she looked up only to catch a glimpse of what seemed like a very frustrated roman. “god , let me do it” she tried to sound annoyed but couldn’t help but laugh as she closed her magazine and walked over to the side of the shop where he was. “the trick is , you have to turn the knob the opposite way first so it moves them around a little bit  - - see” and once she does exactly that she watches as the colored gum ball rolls down the little slide and eventually into the little compartment so she can grab it and pop it into her mouth , flashing him an ‘i told you so’ grin . “also , would you mind if i rode with you guys to the show tonight ? i would drive myself but …well… i don’t really want to” she shrugged , crossing back over to the side of the room where she was previously stationed with her magazine. “i’m gonna close up in ten , do you wanna walk down to the bar and take shots now? i think i can hear the tequila calling our name…don’t you hear it?” she teased , starting to shove her things in her tote. 

𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃  𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑  𝐅𝐎𝐑:  @rxmanpierce !

𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:  mickey’s  diner  .

she  practically  𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙥𝙩 across  the  counter  out  of  sheer  excitement  when  roman  offered  her a  way  out  from  her  shift  at  the  vault  .  sure  ,  she technically  could’ve  just  walked  out  the  door  without  an  excuse  …  but  that  would  come  with  guilt  and  who  likes  to  feel  guilty  ?  now  she  has  a  motive  :  going  to  her  favorite  diner  with  one  of  her  closest  friends  .  maybe  not  the  best  motive  ,  but  a  motive  all  the  same  .  besides  ,  everyone  was  aware  that  the  owner  of  the  record  store  wasn’t  very  good  at  giving  his  employees  a  hard  time  .  he’s  the  coolest  boss  ever  ,  ziggy  would  constantly  exclaim  when  talking  about  eduardo  —  the  image  of  a  𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥  𝐝𝐚𝐝  taking  shape  inside  her  mind  whenever  she  saw  him  walking  through  the  music - filled  aisles  .  crooked  glasses  ,  scruffy  beard  ,  a  cigarette  always  in  hand  or  hanging  from  the  left  corner  of  his  mouth  .  oh  god  ,  was  eduardo  … 𝗵𝗼𝘁  ?

now  sitting  at  one  of  the  diner’s  booths  any  sensation  of  𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲  is  quick  to  leave  her  body  ;  a  strawberry  milkshake  appearing  before  her  next  to  a  plate  full  of  crispy  fries  .  “  am  i  dead  ,  roman  ?  ”  she  looks  at  the  other  with  a  nearly  𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥  𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦  ,  wasting  no  time  in  grabbing  a  fry  and  sticking  it  in  her  mouth  .  a  delighted  mmmmm  is her  automatic  response  ; throwing  her  head  against  the  back  of  her  seat  .  “  yeah  ,  i  think  i’ve  died  and  gone  to  𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣  .  ”  all  of  the  slapsticks  are  followed  by  a quick  lean  across  the  table  ,  nearly  knocking  everything  in  her  wake  .  “  quick  !  check  my  pulse  .  ”

          having milkshakes on a day like this was a must , but there was nothing sadder than going out for a milkshake alone. his first thought had been to invite ziggy --- this was their thing , after all. on days they hung out , whether it was after meeting with the club or they had simply wanted to hang out in general , they almost always stopped to get themselves milkshakes. his go - to was any diner that served them with a cherry on top and , unfortunately for ziggy , he always tried to steal the cherry from hers --- but he knew she was at work so he thought better of it. he tried shooting vedette a text , there was no answer. another was sent to teddy --- he was busy. charelotte was working on a project. he didn’t even think to send an offer to ollie , not because he didn’t want to but because he knew there was a 90% chance that she was with alix. and he wasn’t about to intrude on her precious boyfriend time. he did that enough as it was , with him dragging her out when delta threw parties ( which was probably more often than she liked ). roman wanted that milkshake , dammit. 

            so he caved and led himself over to the vinyl vault. 

            now here they were , seated at a booth , laughing too hard at something that wasn’t even that funny. but ziggy kept laughing so he kept laughing which led her to laugh some more. . . the cycle was never - ending. the staff and everyone else probably thought they were crazy. which , honestly yea , they were.

closed starter — @rxmanpierce​

being without roman for so long was painful for vedette ; of course she had dalton and her sisters and what felt like a million other people by her side , no one knew her like roman - - which is why she nearly wanted start jumping up and down when he told her he’d be coming back to their school. “rome!!”  v didn’t hesitate to run up to him and wrap her arms around him as soon as he got close enough to allow her to do so. “don’t you ever fucking leave me like that again , i was miserable without you” she pulls away to playfully hit him on the chest before she goes in to hug him again. of course she’s being a little dramatic but there was a little bit of truth laced in there somewhere. “i missed you like crazy , you need to tell me everything about tour - - and when i say everything i mean everything” her arms finally releasing him from her embrace so he can put his stuff in her car. “where to first? your place or to grab something to eat?”