selcouth

this isn’t what i’m used to: an ariela mendoza/cleo hayes playlist :  cleo pokes her tongue out at ari as the other girl rolls her eyes, ari mummbles, “you’re actually five.” cleo beams, “and you’re exactly five feet.” ari slaps the other girl on the shoulder, “i’m five foot one, fucker.” the two girls playfully bicker as cleo curls her legs up on ari and ari places her hand on cleo’s thigh. neither girl thinking too much about the casual touching... // (a playlist for when you’re not realizing exactly what’s happening right in front of you in regards to feelings or emotions) 

annaleigh: so you want pics?

annaleigh: you could've just asked, babe.

billy: i didn't want to come on too strong.

andrew: so you thought they were like mermaids?

andrew: are you high again?

ryan: yes, yes i did.

oliver was instantly impressed. as the first dart pierced through the balloon, he raised an eyebrow. once all three darts had successfully popped three balloons, he gave her a few claps, “well then. i’m impressed, ari.” the man showed him which prizes he could go for and he went for the largest stuffed bear he could get from that row. “thanks, baby,” he pressed a kiss to her forehead before placing his arm back around her waist and his other arm held the bear in it. “what shall we name him?” he asked, glancing from her back to the teddy bear.

the small gestures of affection that oliver would show her warmed her chest and spread a happy heat through her body. she really did feel comfortable with the eldest pierce. “name him? oh jeez, all i’m coming up with is lame shit like barry.”  she paused a minute, “i know it’s noah’s middle name but like bartholomew? maybe edmund? darcy?” 

frankie smiled, “well no, i don’t usually get nervous. and i am a little too trusting sometimes. so no worries, babe.” as he began to tattoo her, she let her gaze flicker between her arm and up to his face. “you want to hear a story? i don’t know if you would believe anything i tell you though, ryan.” she started before thinking of something she could tell him, “i could tell you about the time that i raced with vin diesel. or the time that i got so drunk that i almost got married. or, i would’ve been married if we could’ve found the chapel. we ended up in a bank instead,” she laughed.

“ooh, tell me about your almost groom? oh wait, i shouldn’t assume. almost bride? did you rob the bank?” his smile was dazzling and his laugh merry. “you never gave me a reason not to believe you.” the hand starting to develop slightly on her bicep. he retraced his work at spots. 

frankie nodded her head in response to the time he estimated it would take. “great, still plenty of time for me to steal you away to get drinks later.” she kept her gaze on him, “i trust you.” she smiled, “are you nervous that you are going to mess up? should i not trust you, ry?” frankie teased.

“i’m not nervous, but it felt like something i should say.” ryan smiled back, “drinks sound good. and i think you should trust me completely, franks.” he brought the needle down to her arm, starting on the first line. “you should tell me a story to past the time.” 

she smiled at the idea, genuinely thinking it was a good idea. “you should be able to make it fit then,” she offered up her arm that had been bare (the other having a half sleeve done so far). “go on then pretty boy, it’s up to me to judge whether or not your script is good.”

“probably going to take at least forty-five minutes.” ryan pulled on some gloves and loaded the needle into the machine. “we’re going freehand. do you trust me?” he dipped the needle into the ink and fired up the machine. 

“Right? I get it. Would feel nice but others might think florists get enough of the stuff–what’s worse, if they had to arrange it themselves.” He chuckled. What a shit show that would be. Collecting change, Abel handed it off to Ryan and pressed the arrangement forward. He thought for a sort moment and it showed in his gaze, but then he smiled, warm and reassuring, “Always.”

Immediately after there was a sharp crash sound and the Czech boys face fell, eyes pointed for the store front. He went sprinting around the counter as a potted plant near the door toppled over, but that wasn’t Abel’s focus. A car sped off and the thug sat in it yelled out toward him, “Biezh do haaye, čurák!“ A non-native speaker might have not understood the meaning. Go to hell, dumbass.

Abel stood tense and didn’t say a word in turn. Shoulders rose and fell from heavy breath but he turned to see what damage had been done and what caused it. A round stone was thrown through the window to his left, leaving a shattered hole, some plants also suffered its wrath. Abel’s focus was on the window, “Hovno.. hovno..”

“why would you ever go to the florist you wanted to surprise with flowers. i’m sure someone doesn’t want to receive their own arrangement. are people actually that silly?” ryan tilted his head with a smile ready to take the arrangement when the crash happened.

leaving the arrangement on the counter, he followed the other. he wasn’t sure what the person in the car was saying but it sounded...harsh, rude, perhaps vulgar. all he knew that there was a gaping hole in the window and some plants had been de-potted as a result. “hey, what’s happening? who was that guy?” 

“do you have a dust pan? maybe some pots we can re-pot these plants in?” ryan wanted to do whatever he could to help.

“You are!” a few excited claps complemented her exclamation. “especially because i was thinking we could go to the park. there’s this place, it’s called the magical cave. it’s supposed to look like a fairy tale! bright colors, beautiful art, deep in the forest…” cassidy’s hands found the sides of her cheeks in an inability to contain her desire to go with bailey. the weight of an early morning couldn’t keep the young woman from propping herself up on her knees with two bounces ridden of joy. “soooooo… ?? the only thing more magical than that is seeing an actual unicorn–and they’re part of the artwork!”

bailey wished she could bottle cassidy’s energy and sell it. she would be making a fortune. the bounces of her friend moved the bed. “yeah? that sounds like something that needs to be seen in person. sounds like it make me feel like a little kid again. i’ll come along.” she chuckled. “unicorns aren’t real, i don’t think.”

“You can have the rest of it, I’ve eaten enough and I’ve worked too hard to put on more weight. It’s just not worth it.” The brunette said as she wiped her hands with a kleenex and leaned forward, watching the woman to see how she enjoyed it. “Good, right?”

“that’s sweet, thank you.” lillian chuckled at the girl’s concern about her weight, “i used to be like that too, but at my age, keeping your figure isn’t your biggest concern. granted, i still like being in shape for an old lady.” she took another bite of the pastry. “absolutely. this is wonderful.” 

cleo watched happily as the other girl picked up a candle of her own, letting her hand slip from the other’s arm as she watched her. “they’re great, right?” the smile on ari’s face was contagious, her own smile widening in response as she reached for the other girl again to pull her towards where they were advertising actually making the candles. “two of us please. how does it work?” cleo asked, wanting to know what they got to do with their experience, and finding herself immensely satisfied that they’d get to keep the candles they managed to make. she turned to ari, practically bouncing on her feet. “sorry,” she laughed, apologizing for her giddiness. “i just haven’t done anything like this in forever.”

the clerk gave them two sets of directions and a box of materials. ariela began to read the sheets as they set up on a table by some hot plates that would be used to melt the wax. pulling out two wicks, she placed them on the table by two tins. “so it looks like we’re going to want to pull the wick from the sticky paper and stick it in the center of the tin to start.” ari began to do so as she watched cleo bounce with excitement. “no, no. don’t apologize. it’s super cute how excited you are. i craft with my little brothers sometimes, so this isn’t too unusual for me, but i can honestly say, i never made a candle.” 

cleo was prepared for the bucking and lifting of ariela’s hips. already pressing harder on her wrists, she allowed herself to be lifted before using her weight to roll her hips back, grinding down on ari until she was back on the floor, firmly held down by cleo. it came at a price though, the friction she got from the action caused her to bite down on her lip, stopping herself from moaning out at the feel of their bodies, their hips, pressing and grinding together so tightly like that. “nice try,” cleo smirked, and slowly, she sat back, just perching herself on ari’s hips now instead with her hands loosening their grip and moving to the smaller girl’s stomach in preparation to push herself up. “you really don’t like to lose, do you?” she teased, gently  toying with the fabric of ariela’s t-shirt, fingertips gently pressing against her as she waited for an answer. 

ari was done for the moment cleo ground her hips down on her. she wasn’t prepare for the sensations in the slightest and she found herself gasping. it was a high pitched, desperate sound. humiliating. her face flamed and she couldn’t help but to cover it with her now freed hands. she was proud of her tone sounding fairly steady when she spoke, “no, i don’t like to lose. do you?” she questioned and then removed her hands from her face and moved them to cleo’s hands where she was pressing her fingertips against ariela’s skin. “get off me. it’s getting late. maybe we should go change?” 

blake was a bit surprised when the other man swung his arm around him as such but instead of pulling away he saw it as a chance to get to know the other human better. hobos needed friends too right? “i liked it. what was that?” he meant to ask what music he was playing but his english was still a bit choppy at times.

noah only swung his arm around the man because he recognized him from the streets. chuckling at his question, “you know, sometimes i don’t even know. it’s definitely a medley and mixture of different styles. but we can just call it singer-songwriter and call it a night or alternative i suppose.” his stomach made a growling noise, “can i interest you in some grub? on me. i’m just starving man.” 

“I’m beside myself, man, you killed it.” Snow laughed. Still engrossed in the performance he wished wouldn’t end. “You’ve gotta ask about playing another night this week. The crowd ate it up.”

noah’s smile stretched wider, “you’re my biggest fan, snow. i appreciate it so much.” he actually pulled the man in for a hug, “yeah, you really think so? i mean, it sounded like they were enjoying it, but you never know...” 

“The theme was red and white, so, yeah.” He smiled again, feeling lucky about the coincidence. “I’ve got white. With ribbon if you need it.” They soon approached the humble cemetery. Abel drove the car through it’s open gate and entered the second paved circle. He wouldn’t, couldn’t forget, where Jack had been finally laid to Rest. At least it was in Prague. Abel stepped out of the car and leapt up on a rear wheel to reach into the truck bed. Three damp white tulips remained, some soil on the petals, but Abel didn’t think either of his grandparents would mind that. “Here.” He followed Lillian.

lillian gently took the flowers from her grandson as they approached jack’s grave. a simple headstone marked the spot, engraved with jack’s name and dates. her own name was engraved on the stone; her birthday the only thing bellow it. the empty space taunted her though, plagued her with thoughts of when her time would come. made her wonder if she would wish it to be now. not that she’s sure she would even be able to be with jack in the afterlife. he was a good man and she was...a murderer. she sighed aloud and knelt down to place the flowers by the gravestone. she slowly made her way up from the ground and stood back by abel just looking at the stone in silence.