→ I LIVE.

          ❛ nothing, NOTHING, i just --- ❜ as much as his muscles protested against the action, sebastian raised his arms so that his fingers curled around hunter’s wrists, gently prying them away from his face as he sidestepped past the older man. ❛ i just got tossed around a little, it’s --- y’know, it’s no big deal. ❜ he brought the back of his hand up to rub his nose, not all that SURPRISED that it came back red. ❛ shit happens. ❜ his feet carried him towards hunter’s bathroom, like a second nature, turning the faucet on immediately so that warm water spewed from the pipe. the first washcloth that he could find was scrunched between his grip, before it was soaked enough to his liking & he could wipe his face CLEAN. he emerged a few moments later, not really feeling all that better --- but at least he knew he didn’t look half as bad. ❛ you don’t mind, do you ? you don’t have, like, company or a girl or whatever ? ‘cause if you do, i can leave, i just .... i don’t really feel like going HOME tonight. ❜

          ❛ YEAH, sure --- i’ll just give nasa a ring & ask for a favor. y’know, they’re like my best buddies. i got them on speed dial & everything, so i’m positive that’ll all work out great, ❜ sebastian teases. he’d rather not think about the fact that charlie has him wrapped around her finger, & any request she’d make ( no matter how ridiculous ) would be DONE in an instant, so he settles for a joke instead. whether she was legitimately serious or not ; he wasn’t even sure of that. but he wouldn’t put it past her if she loved the stars so much. ❛ okay, you know what ? that wasn’t the point i was trying to make there ! ❜ he laughs, a light shake of his head following his words as he makes his way towards the entryway of their apartment. he looks behind him in a vague attempt to see if they’ve forgotten anything, but he isn’t sure that there’s anything they’d be able to forget in the first place --- it’s not like they’re really going anywhere --- so he nods. ❛ mhm. lead the way, princess. ❜ he props the door open with his hand so that charlie can easily walk through, making sure to lock up the place behind him as he follows closely behind. ❛ damn, alright then. i’ll try not to third wheel too much & interrupt your star time. i mean --- just pretend i’m not even there. ❜ he points accusingly at her as he slips into the passenger seat of charlie’s truck. ❛ exactly ! you can’t even lie to me, you know you hog every single fuckin’ blanket i have. which i don’t even understand, personally, because the amount of blanket needed to cover you is significantly smaller than the amount of blanket needed to cover me --- but WHATEVER. ❜

          if there was one thing that sebastian learned from his countless hours of movie watching, it was that he should never let his friends meddle in his personal life. NINE TIMES OUT OF TEN, the meddling was not only unappreciated, but unnecessary, & it always ended badly in some way, shape or form. but did his friends understand that concept ? not one bit. thus, they decided on their own accord that his love life was a little too lackluster for their tastes, & took it upon themselves to set him up for a blind date. against his will & despite all protests --- NO was not an acceptable answer, to sebastian’s disappointment. he thought that if he would be agreeing to this when he didn’t really want to, that they’d at least spare him the potential awkwardness & let him know something about the person that they set him up with. but nah, apparently he wasn’t even deserving of so much as that. the only information that they were willing to compromise was that it was a girl, & she was pretty, & that was all. the term BLIND date was taken to a whole new level as he walked into mocha that afternoon & had no fucking clue who the hell he was supposed to be meeting. but thankfully, the one good thing about mocha was that the possibility of him finding someone he knew was high --- his plan quickly dissolved into hanging out with someone he recognizes until he figures out who he’s actually supposed to be spending his time with. that, admittedly, wasn’t hard at all ; from the corner of his eye, he saw celeste lebeau taking up a table in the corner of the cafe & he made his way over without problem. ❛ hey, stranger, ❜ he let a chuckle slip past his lips. ❛ long time no see, eh ? ❜

          sebastian was conveniently only a few blocks away from chloe’s when his phone vibrated in his back pocket, the text from cherie being the first one to show up under his notifications. a small FROWN tugged at his lips, the mere thought of his friend seated all alone in a diner waiting for some asshole already making the decision for him, before he could properly respond with anything else other than ‘ be there in a bit. ’ thus, he abandoned whatever CHORE he came all that way for & detoured his steps towards chloe’s instead, the tiny bell above the door signalling his presence as he arrived. a quick scan of the space pointed cherie out immediately in the midst of others, & he approached the booth with a smile. ❛ hey, cher, ❜ he seated himself across from her, ❛ your afternoon date has officially arrived. FUCK the other one, sounds like a bitch anyway. ❜

          ❛ really sat down & CRIED was probably .... around may ? i was in the car with mason &, y’know, dropping him back off at my dad’s is always a fuck show. he didn’t wanna get in the car, started bawling his eyes out when i strapped him in & .... it’s just a mess, man. it’s kinda hard not to cry when your little brother’s telling you that bringing him back home is the WORST possible thing you ever could’ve done to him. ❜

          ❛ DEPENDS. i mean, sometimes i’m arrogant as all fuck, ‘cause i’m confident about a certain aspect of myself & that’s just who i am, i suppose. but other times i’m .... not, to say the least. i don’t know --- it’s kinda situational thing. ❜

          ❛ if that threesome is on your agenda, then i’m NEVER hanging out with you. i hope you know this, ‘not elle’. there is no way that i’m getting naked in the same room as that man, EVER. ❜

          EXCEPT for his brother. on nights like tonight where he felt his worst, he found himself walking the familiar path to hunter’s apartment instead of his own. dried blood littering his face ( from both his split lip & busted nose ), bruised hands pressed against his sides ( he’s pretty sure he cracked a rib or two at some point in the night ), but he still walked every step until he was face to face with the sealed wooden door. he debated KNOCKING, but he figured that’d do more harm than good, so he simply slung his gym bag off of his aching shoulder to feel around for hunter’s spare key. he twisted the metal between his fingers, fiddling with the damn thing until it finally did what he wanted it to & he was slowly walking into the apartment. ❛ hey, hunt ? ❜ he called out, wincing as he reached backwards to shut the door behind him. he stopped for a moment, finally letting his bag slide to the floor with a thud before he even considered moving any further. ❛ you mind if i stay here tonight ? ❜

                    TASK 002 → AESTHETIC MOODBOARD

          sebastian didn’t really understand the point of stargazing, if he was honest. sign him up for a good SPACE conversation any day, but watching twinkling dots in the sky that hardly moved seemed all too much like watching paint dry --- & he wasn’t a very big fan of that, either. he supposed they were pretty, but living in a big city his entire life meant that he didn’t get the pleasure of seeing them in person all that often. so maybe this was his chance ? if the odds played in their favor. ❛ nah, i’ll come, ❜ he reassured, switching feet & slipping on his second shoe. he didn’t bother tying them, simply tucking the laces inside instead & calling it done. laughing to himself as charlie explained that she was an ALIEN in another life, he shook his head. ❛ only you would come up with somethin’ like an alien made of stardust, you know that ? ❜ he spoke playfully, entirely too endeared by her ramblings. ❛ AH --- so you’re not moving in with the stars, you’re just sleeping with them. ❜ he wrinkled his nose, shrugging his jacket on over his frame. ❛ if you wind up hogging all the blankets, i’m warning you now .... i’m gonna be pissed, you little thief. ❜