hello sunshine

Scarlett never snapped at Lucy. It was rare that they fought, well sure they fought all the time because they were like sisters but Scarlett snapped at her and Lucy let out a shaky breath. She knew why she snapped at her, and Lucy knew where it was coming from but the woman just couldn’t handle anything right now. “Okay. I’m not fine Scar. I’m not. Is that what you want to here? That I’m on the verge of an emotional breakdown?” She questioned, now frustrated but then listened to Scarlett speak “I’m sorry. I just mentally can not handle us fighting right now. I know I’m not fine. Right now I need to fake it as best as I could though.” She said swallowing hard. Maybe alcohol wasn’t the best thing right now. Walking to the fridge, she grabbed a water bottle and handed one to Scarlett as well. When Lucy heard Scarlett talk about her mom, Lucy sighed “I want to tell them. I have to I know I have too. I just can’t. It’s.. the fact that I couldn’t—” Stopping herself for a moment, Lucy paused and than continued with “Yeah I know. Victoria cried when I told her you were moving to Salem with me and I wouldn’t be alone. Although, I was never really alone since Adam was really the one who lives here.” Lucy said shrugging her shoulders, and finally checking on the pasta one more time. It was done. She poured the pasta from the pot into the colander and mixed it around. She let it sit for a few minutes. “Have I ever told you that you’re my best friend?” She questioned, letting out a laugh. Thanksgiving wasn’t her favorite holiday she did with her family. It was Christmas. They were BIG on Christmas and if Lucy were to skip Thanksgiving, they probably wouldn’t of even cared. Pouring the pasta back into the pot, Lucy added the sauce to it and stirred it around as she was talking about the what “ifs”, and when Scarlett took her hands, Lucy could feel her chest tighten. “Please don’t..” Lucy said all choked up, her voice cracking “It is my fault. I’m… I couldn’t keep her safe. I couldn’t—” Trying to have this argument over and over again was exhausting. “It was too early to tell.., but I think Wes and I were going to have a girl…” She finally told Scarlett what she thought the sex was. Feeling her eyes fill with water, Lucy shook her head “Fuck.” Was all she could say. “Please tell me it was his grandmother’s ring…” Lucy asked, she had always wanted his grandmothers ring. Taking a deep breath, Lucy let go of Scarlett’s hands and got two bowls out. One for her, and one for Scarlett. “Is it bad I already had names picked out?” Lucy questioned Scarlett and took a deep breath “I mean, you know I had my names picked out since I was fourteen. But with Wes, I thought.. for those ten weeks I thought we were going to have a girl. I liked Averie.” Swallowing hard again, she took a sip of her beer and than got some pasta for Scarlett and handed her the bowl, now getting some pasta for herself. “It was horrible. We fought. I cried. I’m pretty sure he hates me. I dont blame him” Lucy said as she pushed her hair out of her face. “How are you settling into Salem? You like the job? Im sorry I dragged you here. I love you for following me though.” 

Scarlett looked away and took a breath when Lucy snapped back at her about her not being fine. “Well you don’t need to fake it with me, you know that,” she said in a soft tone again as she didn’t want to upset her again. The two fought like sisters all the time so none of this was surprising to say the least. When she talking about telling her mom and paused her sentence, she nodded knowing exactly why she stopped herself. She didn’t want to push her to saying more, especially in the fragile state that she was in. To help her get her mind off of the miscarriage, she spoke up more about her brother, Adam. “I actually ran into Adam at the Village Tavern the other night and forgot that he’s lived here for so long,” she admitted with a chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood for a moment. Watching her get the pasta ready to eat, she took more sips of her water now that she was done with the beer she had in her hand previously. Hearing the sound of Lucy laughing was magic to her ears and as much as she wanted to hear her laugh more, the topics they were having in this conversation right now weren’t the brightest. It was when she took her hands and it didn’t take long for Lucy to break down again. “You stop those words right now,” she started and before she could continue on, she realized that she said the word, her. The thought of Lucy and Weston having a girl broke her heart even more, especially because she would’ve looked a lot like Lucy and they would’ve had that special mother, daughter bond. “I’m so sorry, Lu...” she whispered, not really knowing what else to say. “Averie is a beautiful name and she would’ve been the most perfect girl.” Giving her hands a squeeze once more, she released them to scoop some of the pasta into her bowl as she was hungry. “He could never hate you. You both love each other way too much to hate each other,” she pointed out as she got enough pasta and walked over to the dinner table where they were going to eat. “You really need to stop apologizing, Lu. I followed you here because I love you and you’re my best friend and I’m always going to be here for you no matter what,” she reassured her with more of a smile now. “I’m really liking Salem so far and yeah, my job is great here. The kids I work with are wonderful and the town seems like a special place.” Taking her first bite of the pasta, she smiled at the taste of it and then took a sip of her water. “How are you liking the city and work so far? I can’t believe it’s already been a year since we moved here.”

One of her favorite things about the smallness of Salem was that whenever someone new moved to town, it wasn’t hard to spot them. There were plenty of tourists that showed up to see the witch house and things like that, but real new residents were easy to pick out of a crowd. This particular one though had been gifted to her as a friend because of Lucy and she was thankful because Scarlett was so sweet it rivaled her own sugary personality. “You wanna know a secret?” Kacie looked up at her and held her eye contact a minute. “I have one already. It’s tiny and it’s hidden from sight because my mother would have an absolute conniption fit but I got one when I lived in New York. I was nineteen and dumb and trying to just do something wild for once so I got a tiny little Pisces symbol on my hip.”

When Kacie told her that she already has a tattoo, Scarlett played a dramatic gasp with her eyes wide and her mouth open in look of shock as a joke. “Kacie Kingsley, how dare you have a tattoo already,” she teased with a soft chuckle escaping her lips as she smiled. “I think it’s awesome that you have a secret tattoo, such a wild child,” she teased again, playfully nudging her gently with her elbow as they walked together. Sipping on her coffee, she licked her lips and took a breath to relax more. “How have you been lately?”

As much as Scarlett loved working and doing her job well, she also loved going out some nights for a crazy time or a chill time just as much as the next person. Walking into the Village Tavern, she found herself sliding into one of the available seats at the bar and ordered herself a beer. Only living here for only a year, the blonde has made a good amount of friends though usually spent her time with Lucy which she obviously didn’t mind. She loved her best friend so much and would do anything for her. One the cold glass of beer was in her hand, she took a sip and looked around. It was then her eyes landed on a familiar face and she found herself quickly smiling. “Adam? What are you doing here in Salem?” She asked in more of a surprised tone as she looked at her best friends brother walking towards her.

“After she had a miscarriage. Yeah, i’m well aware.” He said bitterly. Weston was still upset. “I really don’t want to talk about it or hear why. I’ve heard enough.” Back to grumpy Weston he went. “It’s good. It’s okay, nothing special but it’s a job and keeps me busy.” Kept him busy from his own thoughts really. 

Scarlett sighed and looked away, not wanting to fight back with him but she had to. She just had to. “Take as long as you need to be pissed off but also don’t hate her forever.” As much as she wanted to say more, she shut her mouth and took a sip of her coffee. “I’m glad you like your job. I heard life is a whole lot easier when you actually enjoy what you do as a career,” she pointed out with a chuckle.

Groaning in frustration, Lucy shook her head and took a sip of her beer, almost finishing it. “I don’t want that. I don’t want her to be worried about me. She has five other children to worry about. I’m perfectly fine Scar.” It was a total lie, she wasn’t fine and not only did Lucy know that but Scarlett did too. She didn’t think that it would hurt this much, but it does of course it does. “Be honest… have you been keeping in contact with her? I won’t be mad.. she just.. she sounded like she kind of knew about some things. I didn’t tell the boys, or Taylor or Isla either. They’re both to young to–” Stopping herself, Lucy kept forgetting that Taylor was 28 and Isla was 24. Her sisters were young, but not that young. “Good, although the only thing is.. I don’t know if I’m going home for Thanksgiving. Although since Wes and Harper are here, I might. It’s all just becoming too much…” Lucy said, her voice braking a little and she finished her first beer of the afternoon. Going into her refrigerator, the blonde took out a second one. She popped open the cap and took another sip. Pouring the pasta into the pot now, Lucy mixed it for a few moments and realized this was going to be the first thing she’s eaten all day. As Scarlett said she knew he was going to propose, Lucy smiled softly to herself. Of course Scarlett knew, why wouldn’t she? Turning to face her now, she leaned on the kitchen counter again and opened her mouth to speak “I love him Scar. I’m so.. I’m so in love with him. I miss him. I miss him so much and it’s killing me. This.. this is killing me. If I would’ve have stayed.., maybe my whole life would’ve been different. Maybe if I had told him, then I would’ve been fine. I wouldn’t of lost the baby.” There she goes again, doing the maybes and what ifs. It was a soul crusher, and she hated doing it to herself but Lucy couldn’t help it. Shaking her head, Lucy took another sip of her beer “No. I’m not mad. I’m glad you knew.” It was the truth, if there was anyone she wanted to know than it was Scarlett. “How was the ring?” She questioned, laughing nervously

“Perfectly fine? No the fuck you’re not and we both know that for a fact,” Scarlett snapped but shook her head and looked away, closing her eyes and took a breath. “I’m sorry for snapping,” she said softly before taking a sip of her beer and looking back at her best friend. When she asked about her keeping in contact with Lucy’s mother, she quickly shook her head. “I have been in somewhat contact with her but I haven’t told her anything. That’s not mine to tell and you’ll tell them when you’re ready,” she assured her. “She’s only been asking how you’re doing and I’ve been saying fine and to stop asking a million times. She’s happy that we have each other,” she said before taking another sip of beer and licking her lips. She nodded slowly when she spoke about Thanksgiving and frowned when she heard Lucy’s voice crack at the end of the sentence. “Thanksgiving isn’t for a little while longer so we have more time to decide. I say we because we’re a package deal and if you don’t want to go then I won’t either,” she reassured her, hoping her words have been helping her calm down and not think as much. That recent thought went flying out the window when she listened to her speak about the ‘what ifs’. Putting her beer down on the counter, she shook her head and reached out to take her best friends hand in hers. “You know it’s not your fault for losing the baby, Lu. Nothing could have changed that, not even telling Wes.” As hard as it was to say that, Scar was right. Losing the baby wasn’t Lucy’s fault at all and she needed to believe that. Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, she released it after a moment and smiled a little bit to the talk of the ring that Weston was going to propose with. “The ring was perfect for you,” she said, smiling a little more for a second to the thought of the ring before her smile faded. “As badly as I wanted to tell you, I couldn’t with you losing the baby. My focus was to help you as much as I could, not about the ring at the time,” she explained, letting her shoulders rise and fall more smoothly as she took another sip of her beer. “How was talking with him? We don’t have to speak more of him if you want. I’m good with eating and watching shit reality TV to have us escape for a while.”

open starter - @srphq-starters​ location - salem willows boardwalk

“Don’t look at me like that!” Kacie huffed and averted her eyes momentarily as the pair walked along the boardwalk. “I could totally break the rules, I just choose not to. There’s plenty of shit in life that is messed up so I simply decide not to be someone who intentionally does things wrong.” Not that she was perfect by any means or had never done anything wild but Kacie Kingsley had a family name to think about now that she was back home in Salem these last five years and the reckless streak she’d grown in New York had to stay there. “I could do something bad…what you think I can’t? Fine. What do you wanna do then?”

Even though Kacie was a little younger, her and Scarlett have been friends ever since they met as they had connections through the Baker family. Holding the cup of coffee in her hand as they walked, she ran her fingers through her hair as she chuckled to Kacie’s words. “I think you could do something bad but I guess it all depends on what the bad thing would be,” she responded with a small smirk. “Would you ever get a tattoo? Or is that too risky?” She asked more as a joke but was interested to see what she would say.

WHERE: st. margaret’s biweekly pancake breakfast. WHO: open (0/5). [ @srphq-starters​ ]

The pancake breakfast was always criminally understaffed when it came to volunteers, but this morning seemed to be challenging just how much they could pull off with so little. Walking back from the kitchens where Millicent was running a tight ship– it was truly sight to behold, this 86 year old woman barking orders and keeping her subordinates in line– Jack stopped to straighten a few chairs as he made his way towards the front. Since the induction of the breakfast two years ago, attendance only seemed to go up, and Jack knew would work himself to the absolute dregs if it meant he could feed a hungry belly or foster relationships within the community he’d grown to love so much. Setting to work on the finishing touches before the doors officially opened and the hoards rushed in, Jack caught sight of someone from the corner of his eye. He straightened, smiling, and called out to them. “The breakfast isn’t for another half hour.” His eyes flicked to the large clock on the opposite wall and back again, a hopeful, if not a little mischievous, glint to them. “Unless you’re here to volunteer…?”

Was it surprising to those who knew Scarlett well that she was helpinging volunteer for the pancake breakfast? Not at all so when she approached the building and walked in, she already had the biggest smile on her face. Community was big to her so she was excited to help out in any way that she could. Turning her head to the gentleman’s words, she nodded and flashed him a smile. “As much as I want to stuff my face with pancakes already, I’m here to volunteer,” she told him with a chuckle and extended her hand out to him. “My name is Scarlett, Scarlett Callahan.”

Who: for @scarlett-callahan​

 What: Closed Starter for Scarlett Callahan 

 Where: Nick’s place 

 When: sometime at night

 Living in Salem for two years now, Nick feels like he has gotten to know a lot of people. Some through his work, and others through his neighborhood. He was friendly man, underneath all of that dark past was a friendly man who just wanted some peace and quiet. The one person who understood that better than anyone was Scarlett. The moment he met the blonde, for some reason they had an instant connection and he wasn’t bothered by it. They became friends fast and she knew things about him that no one else in town knew. He trusted her, she was one of those people for him. After coming home from his therapists office, it was a rough and draining session. He needed time to wind down, and relax. Pouring himself a glass of wine, Nick was glad that Scarlett was there to keep him some company. The forty year old poured her a glass of wine for herself, and he cheered her. Clicking their glasses together, he downed a sip “We talked about her today.” Taking a deep breath, he took another sip of his red wine and starred into space for a few moments. “What did you do today?” Nick asked his favorite blonde  and looked down at the ground, getting lost within his thoughts. 

Scarlett was at home relaxing reading her new novel she just started when she was contacted by Nick and when she saw that he invited her over to chat, it didn’t take her long to grab her things and head his way. The two bonded pretty early on, having a connection that wasn’t romantic in any way- it was their friendship that made it all click. They became fast friends and before she knew it, they were having weekly catch-ups with a glass of wine in hand. When she arrived at his place and sat down on his couch with a glass of wine, she took a sip and licked her lips. Nodding her head slowly to his words, she looked down at her glass for a moment. “Do you want to talk about how you’re feeling?” She asked genuinely, wanting to be there for her friend. “I had a great day of work, came home to work some more on my laptop and get lessons ready, got out of the house to do some grocery shopping, made dinner and you rang when I was reading,” she told him with a soft chuckle. “As much as I love reading, I’m happy to be here as well.” Her smile widened more before taking another sip of her wine. “What about you?”

“Well, I know why I came here.” He shrugged. “I came here because of a job but that’s besides the point.” Weston didn’t exactly like talking about what happened. He just wanted to focus on the now. “Wait, you followed Lucy?” He asked. Although, he shouldn’t have been surprised. The two were attached at the hip. 

Scarlett couldn’t help but tilt her head to Weston’s question about her following Lucy here. “Of course I followed Lucy here, she needed me after-” This was when the blonde stopped herself from going too far just in case he didn’t know yet. She assumed he did but she stopped that sentence just in case. “How’s your job? Are you liking it?” She asked in hopes of not making this awkward.

The moment the stick turned pink, the moment the stick said pregnant it should’ve been Weston that she called. However it was Scarlett, and in complete panic Lucy knew that Scarlett was the only one aside from Weston who knew how to calm her down. For those ten weeks it was Scarlett who was by her side. People would disagree and say that Weston should’ve been which it should’ve, but she had her reasons and Lucy was thankful that Scarlett understood them. In the moments of her tragic loss, it was Scarlett again who was there. She was always there in times when Lucy needed her the most and that’s what Lucy made her feel like Scarlett will always be more than a best friend to her. Where she’ll be more like family to her. It’s always been that way, and vise versa but in the recent years it’s been more. 

 Hearing Scarlett call her Lulu, the blonde smiled softly and finally poured the pasta into the pot. She turned the one section of the stove on high, for the sauce to heat up quicker. Standing there taking a sip of her beer, she smiled softly and watched as Scarlett took one out for herself, making herself right at home. “And I love you for that. My mom called, she’s still pretty pissed that I’m not telling her why I left and didn’t tell anyone. She also wants to know if you and youre parents are coming for Thanksgiving this year.” It was a tradition the Callahan’s and Baker’s did every Thanksgiving. Lucy however wasn’t sure if she was ready to go home just yet. They had a whole month to figure it out though. As Scarlett pulled her into a hug, the blonde sighed and let go. When Scarlett asked how she was doing, Lucy let out a nervous laugh and stood up against the wall. Her beer lowered in her hand, with her arms folded across her chest “I told Weston. Did you know that he was going to propose?” She said laughing a little, she was nervous and upset and all Lucy wanted to do was brake down and cry. “Apparently he has a ring.” 

As Scarlett opened up her beer, she listened to Lucy’s words and raised an eyebrow as she faced her. “Can you blame her though? She’s pissed yes, but she’s also worried about you,” she told her softly before taking a sip of her beer. Lucy had every right to leave home as it was a reminder of what could’ve been for her, so while Scarlett followed her here to Salem, she also knew that she was loved and missed. “Of course we’re coming to Thanksgiving, we wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she gave a nod before taking yet another sip of the beer she was holding and leaned back on the countertop in her kitchen. Running her tongue over her lips, she took a deeper breath when she heard Lucy’s next words about Weston escape her lips and she looked down at her beer. “I knew that he was going to propose,” she said after a moment of silence and looking back up to meet her eyes. “I didn’t want to tell you because of what happened and as exciting as the thought of an engagement was and still is, you were scared and taking care of you was more important,” she explained. “I’m sorry for not telling you. Are you mad?”

"No, not yet but when I do, you'll be the last person to know, Anon."

"Lucy and I met when we were children, Lucy and Weston met in the police academy and I eventually met Weston when they started dating."

"My favorite time of day is the morning because I love being able to take my time before going into work or relax even more during the weekends. It's basically my coffee and me time."

When Weston saw it was Scarlett he sighed. “Well hello to you, too.” He leaned back in his seat. “I don’t know why I came to this town in the first place but here I am.” Weston knew exactly why he came here he was just being an idiot. “It’s not Chicago but it’s nice I guess. What are you doing here?” He asked her. 

“You don’t know why you came here? Come on, we all have a reason for being here,” Scarlett quipped as she ran her fingers through her blonde locks. Glancing down to the thought of Chicago, she nodded her head with the picture of her family in her head. “It’s definitely not Chicago,” she more of whispered before looking back up at him and shooting him a small smile. “I followed Lucy here about a year ago and I’ve been working as a Special Education teacher at the high school,” she answered his question with a nod and the small smile staying in place. As much as she wanted to be on Lucy’s side of the exes, Wes and Scarlett were always going to stay friends.