INTRODUCING.....

you were born knowing how to make an entrance. maybe it was something in the way you came into the world already screaming loud enough to make sure everybody knew you were there, or maybe it was something you picked up along the way. either way, you never really learned how to do anything quietly. you laughed too loudly, talked with your hands, danced when there wasn’t any music playing, and developed a habit of turning even the most painfully ordinary tuesday into something worth remembering. you learned early that being charming could get you through a lot of doors, being funny could get you through even more, and when neither of those things worked, you dazzled them.

your childhood wasn’t exactly kind to you. you grew up with more uncertainty than you’d ever willingly admit to, learning young that stability was something you had to build for yourself. there were times you had to grow up faster than you should have, times you learned how to make something out of nothing and how to stretch what little you had a little further. you got good at reading people, too. good at knowing when somebody needed you to keep your mouth shut and when they needed you to talk them down. you learned when your body would meet a bruised evening, and you learned how to cope. there were years you’d rather leave behind, but you don’t really talk about them like they were something that broke you. if anything, you joke about them. you learned how to take the things that hurt and make them into stories you could laugh about, because you’ve never been interested in letting the worst things that happened to you become the most interesting things about you.

somewhere along the way, you figured out that you really, really liked being happy. not the quiet kind, either. you like happiness that takes up space. music turned up too loud, drinks that are far too sweet, clothes that make absolutely no practical sense, dancing barefoot in somebody’s kitchen, staying out until sunrise because nobody wants to be the first person to call it a night. you became very good at celebrating things, mostly because you know there’s no guarantee you’ll get another chance. your friend gets a new job? you’re celebrating. somebody finally gets the apartment they’ve been trying to land? you’re bringing champagne. someone you love has had a terrible week? congratulations, they now have dinner waiting for them and a playlist specifically designed to bully them into feeling better.

MEASURE YOUR LIFE IN LOVE

you care about people in a way that’s almost impossible to hide. you remember the little things people mention once and assume everyone else forgot. their favorite candy. the song they used to listen to with their mother. the way they take their coffee. the name of the childhood pet they brought up six months ago. you notice when someone gets quieter than usual, when their smile doesn’t quite reach their eyes, when they say they’re fine a little too quickly. you don’t always know how to fix things, but you’ve never needed to know how to fix somebody in order to sit beside them while they hurt. sometimes you just stay. you’ve always thought that mattered more than having the perfect thing to say.

you’re affectionate, too, shamelessly so. you call people gorgeous without thinking about it, kiss cheeks, throw your arms around somebody because apparently three days apart is now a personal tragedy, and tell people you love them simply because you do. you’ve never really understood why people insist on waiting for special occasions to say things that are true every day. maybe spending so much of your life wondering whether people were going to stay taught you not to waste time pretending you don’t care when they do. once somebody becomes yours, they’re yours. you show up. you remember. you make room. you make sure they know they’ve got somewhere to go when everything else feels like too much.

six months ago, you showed up with your bags, your music, far too many clothes, and a plan that was probably only seventy percent thought through. you didn’t know anybody. you didn’t know where anything was. you still occasionally get turned around despite having lived here long enough that you really should know better. but you made it yours anyway. you found people. you found places. you found your way into the kind of life where you can come home and have a routine. and after everything you’ve been through, you’ve decided that’s more than enough reason to make some noise about it.

to be continued in one amazing story written with pvg crew....

RENT RELATED WANTED CONNECTIONS:

HIS MIMI — TAKEN BY HOLLY

you met them at the kind of hour when neither of you should have been awake, let alone making decisions that seemed questionable. you flirted lightly, innocently even, and then you two never stopped hanging out. angel and them have been there for each other from the very moment that he arrived to town. sometimes they kiss, sometimes they laugh, sometimes they gossip, it's never a boring time for the two of them. the besties sort of duo.

HIS MARK — TAKEN BY SULLY

you need somebody who knows how to keep up with you. somebody who has witnessed your most dramatic moments and somehow still comes back for more. they’re the person who gets the voice notes, the blurry 2 a.m. selfies, the “BABY YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED” texts. you drag them into your adventures, they probably enable at least half of them, and somewhere along the way they became one of your safest people. unlikely friends kinda vibe.

HIS ROGER — TAKEN BY CHARLIE

you weren’t supposed to care about them this much. maybe they initially found you exhausting, and you found their brooding absolutely fascinating. whatever it was, you kept coming back. because you can tell there’s so much more underneath them, and somehow they can see through all your glitter and theatrics, too. you don’t need them to be happy all the time, and they don’t need you to pretend you’re okay all the time. they were struggling with something and angel happened to be there to help them through it. it's their secret. protective friendship kind of vibes.

HIS MAUREEN — TAKEN BY TREY

oh, you two are a problem. you met and immediately decided that the other person was fascinating. you encourage each other’s worst impulses. you hype each other up. you have absolutely gotten kicked out of somewhere together. you probably have at least three stories that begin with “okay, technically, neither of us did anything wrong—” and end with a completely different story. chaotic besties kinda vibes.

HIS JOANNE — TAKEN BY ALYSSA

you absolutely did not understand them at first. they’re composed where you’re impulsive. practical where you’re spontaneous. they probably have a calendar, which you find deeply suspicious. you probably make fun of them for being responsible right up until you’re the one calling them because you need somebody responsible. but there’s something about them that settles you. opposites attract kinda vibes.

HIS COLLINS — open

you don’t necessarily need to be romantically involved. maybe you’re just two people who somehow ended up sitting beside each other one night and realized neither of you had any interest in putting your armor back on. they know angel without the performance. angel know them without theirs. there’s something almost startlingly intimate about the friendship because neither of you really bothers pretending around the other. two souls bare-boned with one another. no strings attached.

OTHER WANTED CONNECTIONS:

neighbors, a roommate, people who to protests with him, karaoke buddies, and whatever else we can think of!

MOTHERLY LOVE — TAKEN BY MADHAVI

GIVE ME EVERYTHING TONIGHT — TAKEN BY QUINN

DANCE UNTIL THE NIGHT DIES — TAKEN BY SUMMER