( odeya rush, cis female, she/her, muse a ) oh snap! is that SERAFINA HOLMES? they work over at high volume where some of the other employees have labeled them as THE BENEVOLENT. that’s probably because they can be a bit ( compassionate ) but also pretty ( diffident ) they’re TWENTY-THREE and they’ve been living in woodstock for TWENTY-ONE years. it must be their shift because i totally hear THE VERVE blasting from the record store. ( expensive perfume, discarded music sheets strewn across the room, perfectly manicured nails ) [ BONNIE, TWENTY-TWO, EST, SHE/HER ]
PINTEREST. PLAYLIST. INTERVIEW.
BASIC INFO:
name: serafina richelle holmes
nickname(s): sera
birthday: september 7th, 1976
zodiac: virgo
hometown: woodstock, il
gender: cis female ( she/her )
sexual orientation: bisexual
height: 5′5
eye color: light blue
hair color: brown with highlights
tattoos/piercings: butterflies on her ribcage, ears both have double piercings
family: richelle holmes ( mother ), samuel holmes ( father ), sammy holmes ( older brother )
ABOUT:
both of sera’s parents grew up in woodstock, they never got the opportunity to travel outside of the city, but they still loved it enough to raise a family there
the two of them were high school sweethearts, even got married before their first semester at the local community college
within five years, they had given birth to their first born, sammy and then two years later, sera was born
sera’s brother has always been boisterous and unapologetically himself, sera couldn’t imagine being the same way
often, sera was just there observing wherever she went, and she never really went out of her way to speak to people
in her household, she watched her older brother constantly argue with their parents, and she never wanted to be on either side of those conversations
she became the perfect daughter that they began to dote on, and to keep that, sera would always do whatever they asked
she’s always been gifted in music, and it’s something her parents instantly picked up. she tried many instruments, but she mostly stuck with piano + strings
in high school, she was a constant overachiever. played sports, was in band, in accelerated classes. you name it, she was most likely in it. she eventually graduated top of her class and received an offer from juilliard to study music composition there
at first, she loved being in the city and surrounded by music and people that shared the same sentiment and goals that she did.
however, she realized the stakes were high and the expectations higher. sera tried her best to keep up with her classmates
it was when she had a disagreement with a tutor of hers that she finally left it, withdrew from the school, and was on a flight back to illinois within a week
it’s not something she’s proud of, walking away when things got difficult, but now she’s back in woodstock ( and has been for a little over a year or so ) trying to find that love of music that she used to have
personality wise, sera is a textbook people pleaser and has always struggled with telling people no, and she will always drop everything to help you out
it’s also her fatal flaw; she’ll never express her own feelings and would rather continue to let people walk over her due to her fear of confrontation
however, now that she’s back in town and has gotten a job finally, she’s done some self-reflecting and wants to use this time to improve herself and find out what she really wants to do in life
WANTED CONNECTIONS:
best friend from high school: maybe they were friends before sera went to ny and now that she’s back they’ve started to get back together
people she tutors: sera’s probably put advertisements around town if anyone wants any music lessons
bad influences: sera is too stuck up, i am begging someone to help her live a little
coworkers that don’t get along: either they don’t like her attitude of how everything needs to be right all the time or she doesn’t necessarily like the way they do things when they work the same shift
potential roommates: maybe someone who has an open room in an apartment or is about to, she doesn’t necessarily want to always live with her parents
literally anything y’all can think of i will be down for!
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
SHE CAN STILL FEEL THE BUTTERFLIES IN HER STOMACH as runaway yesterday leaves the stage, and her cheeks are starting to hurt from all the smiling. sera doesn’t think she’ll ever tire of seeing ethan being on stage and the way he comes alive on it. she smoothes out her dress as she sees him starting to make his way over to her. she meets him halfway, arms wrapping around him for just a moment. “y’all are about to make the dj jealous,” she whispers, looking up at ethan with a grin. “his setlist didn’t get the same reaction as runaway yesterday.”
– “SO, YOU THINK YOU GUYS ARE IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL?” blair asks, looking over at the stage where ethan is doing sound check. “ i know, i know … none of my business. but someone’s gonna have to look out for him. certainly not gonna be me, so. i guess i’m just wondering if it’ll be you, ” she hasn’t widely told everyone that she’s leaving yet. in fact, she’s got to tell ethan SOON. somehow, talking to sera about it seems easier than talking to someone who has become one of her best friends.
SERA BLINKS AT BLAIR’S QUESTION, focus back in the barn, and she hopes she just didn’t get caught staring at ethan. maybe what they say about weddings is true because sera’s been feeling a lot more intense feelings than she had before. there’s a nervous laugh that escapes from sera, and she ponders the question for a moment. “i mean, i hope so,” sera says, and it’s not even like she’s putting on a show as the doting girlfriend anymore. no, she hasn’t told ethan she wants to do this for real yet, but blair doesn’t need to know that. her head tilts as she looks at blair, but her tone is still light. “you don’t know something i don’t, right?” sera starts to spiral, and god, the embarrassment she’ll feel if ethan’s been telling blair he doesn’t see them working long term.
ERIC’S NEVER THOUGHT OF HIMSELF AS A ROMANTIC. yes, he likes being in a relationship, generally more than being single. but he didn’t expect to enjoy max and kem’s wedding as much as he has been, and not just because of the refreshments. watching the bride and groom on the dance floor together, he could FEEL the love they share for each other. had he ever felt that kind of love for someone ? his eyes find sera in the crowd, spending most of her time by ethan’s side, smiling radiantly, and somehow eric’s no longer as sure.
he waits until she’s no longer with her boyfriend become coming up to her, hands in his pockets and smiling a little shyly. “ think ethan would mind if i steal you for a dance ? ” he asks, offering her a hand. maybe a few months ago he would’ve had another agenda for asking her, but tonight, he just wants a dance. @serafinastm
THERE’S MORE OF A RELAXED AIR AROUND THEM, and she can’t remember the last time everyone at high volume seemed so happy. sera, for once, feels better without worrying about the future and what’s next. she’s just happy, for kem and maxine of course, and also just for all of her coworkers. they all seem like they’re able to breathe again. sera’s lips spread into a wide smile as eric walks up to her, and she doesn’t overthink what this means immediately ( but there’s still time ). she laughs at the question before taking his hand. “i think he’ll be okay,” sera says, following eric to the dance floor. she leaves plenty of space between them, but it’s not an awkward amount. “have you been having a good time?”
If they don’t find a deck of cards around here, it won’t surprise him. The break room isn’t exactly tidy, but he searches anyway. He looks back at her, nodding in understanding. A little shaken up is an understatement. Silence hangs for a few seconds as he contemplates what he wants to say, because he’s not going to tell her what exactly went down, and how he and Eric and Sloane were involved and pretty much the direct cause of that. He trusts her not to narc, but he’s not looking to spread the piece of information around. “I’ve been better,” he answers, though Chase’s better is, well, not necessarily good, just better than what he’s feeling right now. He clears his throat. “—And with Eric? Are you okay?” he presses lightly. “I know he talked to you during the party.” He doesn’t know much of that conversation due to how incoherent Eric had been when he told him, but it’s enough to tell it didn’t go well because a heartbroken Eric coupled with an inebriated Eric is a very messy combination.
SHE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN GLOVES. that’s what her brain is telling her as she rifles through some of the things in their break room. she recognizes that she herself is a little too tidy for some of her coworkers, and she wonders if one day jennifer would let her just chill in the back and organize this. sera nods her head, and there’s really nothing she thinks she can say to help anyone, let alone chase. they haven’t been close in awhile, and even when they were close, it was only because of eric. chase has always seemed to have barriers up, and she doesn’t know if she would do anything to help soothe his concerns. the mention of eric makes her brows furrow, but she should have known this was bound to come up. “yeah, i’m fine with him,” she says, but it’s a little too quick. “he just got really drunk,” she adds with a pause before continuing. she doesn’t want to gossip about her ex with his best friend. “but we’re good now.”
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
they can’t help but let out an amused huff at sera’s remark about wet socks, nodding in agreement. “that, we can agree on,” marty says with a nod. it might actually be the only thing. sera’s question causes marty to tilt their head, eyebrows furrowing in interest. she really wastes no time, does she? “damn, you either can’t wait to get rid of me —” which marty knows is the case, and it should definitely tug at some sort of string inside of them, since sera’s ethan’s girlfriend and ethan is… well, ethan, but it doesn’t ( marty’s sure it never will ) and unfortunately for sera, marty’s feeling particularly chaotic. “— or you just can’t wait to see me walk away.” there’s a smirk on marty’s lips as she says that last part, eyebrows wiggling to drive her double entendre home without really giving sera an actual answer. “which one is it?”
SERA SMILES SLIGHTLY, but that’s it. times like these are when she wonders if marty and her are ever going to get along. she knows how close they are to ethan, and the last thing she wants is to upset one of ethan’s closest friends. sera already starts to shake her head at the question, and there’s a small part of her wondering if marty genuinely wants to get under her skin. but sera’s laughing at marty’s question, and now she knows they have to be messing with her, right? “i could just like your company,” she suggests with a half shrug, and it’s not too far from the truth.
SERA MAY BE ON HER toes, but trip’s not even on the edge of his seat. he’s not sure if it’s due to sera’s frankly underwhelming response or the fact that a break in feels like a trivial matter compared to everything else that’s happened ( what’s a ransacked record store to a blown up riverboat ? ) either way, it’s pretty clear sera’s not about to give him the juicy inside scoop he was hoping for. no matter. ❝ honestly i still can’t believe you signed on, ❞ he confesses, picking through his own plate. ❝ i mean, beyond all the stuff that happened that’s like a big neon sign saying ‘ don’t work here ! ’ i would’ve thought you’d think of yourself better than having to sort through old records all day. ❞ he pops another fry in his mouth, ❝ no offense. ❞
SERA FEELS LIKE SHE CAN BREATHE AGAIN, now that trip doesn’t seem to push about the break in. but it’s not like she was there, she had just walked into it. but even then, the topic of it has made her lose her appetite. it’s not trip’s fault, but it does constantly feel like something bad is going to happen at any given moment. “well, i figured there’s still a whole staff there, so it couldn’t have been that bad.” and how wrong she has been since then, but she keeps that to herself. trip’s words do cause her face to fall for a moment, but she shrugs her shoulders. “none taken.” there is some taken, but she won’t say it. “i do like all the old records. it’s cool to see what we have.” and it’s not like their business is incredibly busy all the time. soon, she’ll probably have all of the inventory memorized.
– BLAIR DIDN’T REALLY EXPECT SERA TO UNLOAD HER RELATIONSHIP problems on her, though it would’ve been fun. “ not right now ? kind of sounds like you’re expecting some, ” blair goads, pausing for a beat to get sera’s reaction before she lightens up. “ but i guess EVERYONE’S got problems, right ? i mean, nothing’s actually too good to be true. ” she would know, all that glitters certainly isn’t gold ! blair doesn’t say that she could totally tell it SHOCKED sera. which is a fun reaction, but difficult to decipher. “ oh, well, that’s good to know. exes … that stuff can be tricky, ” blair says. “ you know how to snoop ? ” eyebrows arch, not even sure what sera would do or say. “ yeah, right. besides, don’t worry about it. this isn’t the playground, i think i can figure out when a guy is into me. but i guess that means you and eric are still pretty close ?”
SERA ALWAYS OVERTHINKS IN CONVERSATIONS, but this one with blair is one that she thinks she’s going overboard. blair easily could just be worried about her relationship with one of her closest friends, but sera’s skeptical of that being the only reason. she won’t ask her about it, but she will dwell on it later. “right. i mean, i’d love for us to just keep up what we’ve been doing.” sera responds, but she knows that won’t fool blair enough. “but ethan’s great, i’m lucky.” even if their relationship is fake, sera still knows she’s lucky, considering he was okay with the idea of him fake dating her. she lets out a laugh as blair asks her about her snooping skills, and she knows she really wouldn’t know where to begin if that’s the case. “you’re probably better off without my help too,” sera admits, shaking her head at herself. the smile fades a little, but sera would agree with that. “yeah, i think so. we’ve talked about things, and we both think it would be okay if we were to stay friends.”
“God, then clearly I haven’t been doing my job right. Sera, we’re in this world for an amount of time that’s not forever.” If Kurt Cobain taught her anything, it could be all over in the blink of an eye. “Do whatever you want to do, no one’s going to remember in the next ten years except you.” Morbid and optimistic, all at the same time. “Then stop your run, problem solved.” Lex patted on a tree root nearby with enough space to sit and settle down. “Yeah, that’s part of why I’m here. Spooky is better than cookie cutter.” Sorry Woodstock. “You grew up here, right?” All told, she couldn’t remember and was taking a wild guess. “What else is there to do?” Tete-a-tete. Lex helped Sera, maybe Sera could help her.
LEX IS AN INTERESTING PERSON, sera’s known that since the day she met her. even though she’s interesting and sometimes eccentric, there’s a small part of sera that wishes to be like her: so carefree and cryptic at times. she never knows what she’s going to get with her, and honestly, sera finds it refreshing compared to some of her friends that she’s had since high school in town. “you honestly don’t have to tell me twice,” sera says with a laugh, taking the few steps before sitting where lex patted. she brings her knees to her chest, and her legs are grateful for the rest. “i’ve never been a fan of spooks. i always like the baking and feeling of autumn, but never the scary parts.” because of course she automatically thinks of halloween with spookiness. sera nods, unsure of where this is going. she doesn’t have the heart to tell lex that she’s asking the wrong person. “well... most of the time, i would always go shopping. well, not really buying things.” not that her family was hurting for money, but she still never asked much of her parents. “but some of the stores and boutiques are nice to go in. and the arcade!” she says with a smile, but lex doesn’t seem like the type to play arcade games. “besides that, i was always practicing my instruments. i didn’t do much.”
status : closed for @serafinastm
setting : freddy’s diner
❝ SOOO, ❞ TRIP DRAWLS, LAZILY MUNCHING on a fry when he and sera hit a lull in their previous conversation. ❝ heard you were part of the opening shift that discovered the break in. freaky shit. ❞ there’s a pause, then he adds, ❝ at least all this BS has gotta be way more exciting than fancy schmancy music school, right ? ❞ silver linings and all that. he’s curious to see if sera agrees.
SERA SETS HER COKE DOWN ON THE TABLE. she supposes this would have come up eventually, but it is weird to just have to talk about walking into the store being a mess. luckily, none of them were there when it happened. “yeah, it was definitely weird.” weird probably isn’t the way most people would describe it, but sera’s surprisingly not too shaken up by it. she just feels like this store is in too deep with something she doesn’t know. his words make her laugh, and she reaches for another fry off her plate. “i’m always on my toes, that’s for sure,” she comments before taking a small bite. “definitely not what i would have expected working at a record store.”
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
– THERE’S A RESTRAINED QUALITY TO SERA’S LAUGHTER, sweet, but cautious. blair doesn’t blame her ; she IS sizing her up right now. “ i’ll take your word for it, ” blair shrugs, even though she doesn’t, though sera’s comment makes her pause : “ do you and ethan have … struggles ? ” aside from eric, ethan hasn’t mentioned any, insistent that things are just PEACHY between them. though in retrospect, maybe a little too insistent. a look of amusement crosses blair’s features at sera’s question. she plays it coy, a glance away, cautious. “ i might, ” she purposefully implies, to see if it’ll get a rise out of sera, checking for any display of jealousy. ethan would be so pissed if he knew she was meddling for him like this, but that’s what being friends with blair is. “ that wouldn’t bother you, would it ? let me know, i mean, i know you guys are VERY over, but we’ve got to see each other around a lot, so. ”
THE QUESTION CATCHES HER OFF GUARD, and sera processes it for a moment. it’s not an actual relationship, so it doesn’t come with actual relationship problems, and ethan’s so good, sera can’t think of any fake issues to come up with. “right now, no. not really.” she figures it might just come across they’re still in the honeymoon phase of the relationship. sera can’t hide the expression on her face as blair says she might, and it’s not exactly what she would have thought. not that eric is bad, she just thinks blair wouldn’t put up with half of the things that she had. “oh, not at all,” sera shakes her head, waving a hand dismissively. “it shocked me a little, but yeah, we’re definitely over.” even if eric doesn’t seem to think so. “he’s a good guy, and he’s fun to be around. do you... i can do some snooping if you want.” sera doesn’t know how exactly, but she’ll ask around if blair wants her to.
ERIC REMEMBERS WHAT IT WAS LIKE BEFORE THEY DATED. how shy she had been at first meeting, how much he had to work to get her comfortable, and how rewarding it felt every time she smiled at him. the breakup seemed to revert them back to those times, and it’s been a long time since her smile has made him feel as warm as it does, even if it’s small and platonic. but he’ll take this over the way things have been between them, awkward and confusing and embarrassingly drunk. it’s a step in the right direction. “ good, ” he smiles back at her—beams back, actually. sera gives him an inch and he takes a mile, content enough to live off of them for now. “ maybe we can hang out soon then ? ” he suggests, unaware if he’s pushing it or not. “ what are you doing saturday ? it’s my day off. ”
THERE’S STILL SOME RESERVATION ON HER END, but she’s telling herself to get over it. despite eric’s episode at the hoedown, sera thinks he’s been getting better. there’s no reason for her to not want to hang out with him. maybe they’ll be better as friends than they were as a couple. her stomach flips at the suggestion, typically needing at least a week before any plans are set in stone, but she pushes through it. “i don’t work either,” she says with a shake of her head. “maybe we can go to galaxy quest or something. chase would want to come too, right?” she thinks about inviting ethan, but she isn’t sure if she should say that right away. “we could have a whole group of us go.”
“Have you learned nothing? It doesn’t matter.” Nothing did, you could do whatever you wanted and then move on. That was the beauty of time. Each second was in the past as soon as it happened. “Well, the little wind swept pieces are kind of hip. Makes you look a little less….” Hands waved about to try and fill in the words she couldn’t. Less put together? More grunge? Cooler? “Got it. Running. Not my style.” Sorry. “Finding a moment of peace until it was disturbed.” By Sera or by the squirrel? That was the question.
“DON’T THINK I’VE GOTTEN THAT IMPRESSION BEFORE,” sera answers, and the thought of something not mattering is almost giving her hives. she knows she should find a balance, but maybe not with lex who gives her the impression that she doesn’t care about anything. a small part of her wants to know what she looks less of, and then lex moves on, so sera figures she probably didn’t want to know in actuality. “i’m starting to realize running isn’t my style either.” she scrunches her nose, making a mental reminder of never doing this again. “oh,” sera begins, her back straightening slightly. even if lex doesn’t mean her, she’s taking it that way. “well, i wouldn’t stay out here too long,” sera says with a shrug, but she doubts lex will listen. “these woods are spooky sometimes.”
“i would never,” ethan teases her with a grin, taking a sip of his diet coke. being with sera is a double edged sword - on one hand, she makes him so nervous sometimes, second-guessing what the right thing to say is in order to seem cool. but then she also makes him laugh. she calms him down, and helps him to feel like it’s okay to be stuck in his own head at times. as much as he loves his extroverted friends, it’s really nice spending time with someone who just gets him so well. and maybe he should be more considerate right now, but this is the first time all week that he hasn’t been concerned for kem or max, or terrified about what might happen to everyone else. this is the first time all week that he’s taken a breath and not felt like there was a weight on his chest. so maybe he should feel guilty, but ethan doesn’t. “probably should have,” he agrees, half serious and half jokingly. sera had to have heard that they’d all been given a court date before she’d applied - she’d had to have known about jerry, and the people who’d killed him. but she’d applied anyway, and ethan was so glad that she had. although, he just hoped she never got too sucked into their drama and danger. when sera touches his arm, ethan feels himself tense slightly before fully relaxing. there isn’t anything odd about comforting a friend when they’re upset, but it still makes ethan smile softly anyway. “…not really,” he finally admits, eyes locked on his plate. no, he isn’t fine. but he’s not used to admitting that. before high volume, ethan’s negative feelings went entirely unvoiced. even if someone noticed them, they weren’t talked about or acknowledged. and in the time since he started working here and made friends, people just…tend to pick up on his stress? he’s not sure he remembers anyone asking before if he wants to talk about what’s bothering him, and that makes him all the more grateful for sera. he looks up at her, sad smile on his face. “thank you. just…yeah, i don’t know how to fix any of this and it’s terrifying, you know? i can’t believe someone attacked kem. if they did that to him on a boat full of people, what could happen to everyone else?”
SHE LAUGHS SLIGHTLY, and amongst all the chaos that’s happened, sera’s glad that she feels okay around ethan. she doesn’t know how to process everything that’s happened, and she’s grateful that with ethan, it’s okay for neither of them to really know what to do. but while it seems they’re in the same boat, ethan seems like he’s getting affected by it more than her. it makes her chest tighten, and she’s ignoring however she’s starting to feel about him; it doesn’t matter right now. she just knows someone she cares about is hurting. sera can tell by his response that he’s trying to not take things so seriously, but it’s still a struggle for him. she knew what she was getting into somewhat, but she knows if she were to tell her parents or brother about the messiness of high volume, they’d all want her to quit immediately. but she’s met too many people that she cares about to just drop everything, and she’s positive everything is going to work out. his answer causes her chest to tighten, noticing the way he’s looking at his plate and not her for the moment. ethan’s struggling, and she doesn’t truly know how to help him. her hand moves to hold his own, and it’s a light touch, but it’s one of the only ways she knows how to comfort people sometimes. she doesn’t say anything for little, wanting him to express anything he’s been thinking about and not feeling like he has to hold back. she nods at his words, and it’s something that’s so ethan, she isn’t surprised. she supposes the two of them are similar in that way: wanting to fix people’s problems all on their own. granted this affects more than just one person, but sera’s been in ethan’s shoes before.
“you don’t have to know how to fix this,” she tells him softly. she doesn’t want it to come off as mean, but she knows what it feels like to want to hold everyone else’s problems. “we’re all in this together, and we’re going to be able to figure it out.” sera doesn’t know if she should be lumping herself into the we, but she figures that she’s now a part of it all. there’s a sad smile spread across her own lips, and ethan’s concerns are valid. “maybe they won’t try something like that again,” sera offers, but even she doesn’t know what to say. she’s trying to comfort ethan, but she doesn’t know if she’s helping him or doing more harm than good. “because now we all know that they tried something, you know?” sera pauses for a moment before a dry laugh escapes. “i know i’m not doing a great job of providing solutions, but i just think you just go easier on yourself, ethan,” she tells him with a small squeeze of his hand. “we don’t need to solve everyone’s problems.” but she knows it’s easier said than done.
Lilah doesn’t particularly like it when it’s slow - it gets boring, but she keeps her smile and nods. “Alright! Well, I was going to ask if I could change the music - no offense or anything, but if you’re only going to be here for a little longer, it’s only fair that you get pick.” She doesn’t mind Sera’s music, really, but when the store is slow, she likes to blast Britney, or the Spice Girls, or something like that, just to distract her from the mundaneness of it all.
SERA SHAKES HER HEAD, looking over at lilah. “no, no. i’m starting to get tired of listening to the same album. i have been listening to it for the past four hours anyways.” she laughs, and there is only so much dolly she can listen to. “what do you normally listen to?” sera always likes to see what her coworkers listen to while they’re working.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
– “OH, COOL. I’VE DEFINITELY BEEN THERE, now that you mention it, ” blair adds, though definitely not in a way that would earn her a positive rapport from the owners – count her stumbling in there drunk after an exuberant kareoke performance, trying to order a cheeseburger. “ c’mon, he’s your boyfriend. how could he get sick of you ? ” blair flashes sera a leering grin. “ granted, i can’t say i’ve ever found a relationship super exciting, but … you’re the relationship girl. not me. ” there’s a pause, like blair’s still sizing her up – after her conversation with eric, she just wonders where sera actually stands, and whether ethan is really at risk of getting hurt or used going into all of this. blunt curiousity gets the best of her. “ was it hard with eric ? ”
SERA LAUGHS POLITELY, but she’s unsure whether or not blair actually wants to discuss her relationship with her roommate right now. but she shrugs anyways, and this will most likely lead her to overthinking later on. does ethan ever get tired of her? it’s not like he has any real connection with her besides them being friends, and she knows even friends get sick of each other sometimes. “they’re not as bad as you might think,” sera says with a laugh, her tone light. maybe she’s just a romantic. her head tilts to the side, not knowing where this is going. “well, i feel like all relationships have their own struggles.” she says, and she’s trying to think of how she wants to answer blair’s question. “but eric’s a good guy. we’re friends.” she pauses before her brows furrow together. “you’re not... you don’t like him or anything, do you?”
“ OKAY, GOOD. ” eric already feels a little guilty about the fire, despite the good it had done ; if sera had gotten hurt from it as well, he’d never let himself forget it. “ nah, i was fine. i was there when it started, so i knew when to— ” he jerks his thumb over his shoulder, “ —skedaddle. ” that’s about as much information as he wants to give her, knowing that sera probably wouldn’t think highly of arsonists. besides, the less she knows, the more she might be safe from everything. eric can only hope that ethan, as inconvenient as he is, is at least looking out for her. the male smiles slightly when she agrees, but mentioning work makes him shake his head. “ no, i don’t wanna be coworker friends, ” he says, “ i want us to be able to, you know, hang out outside of work without it being awkward or anything. chase can be there, or whoever else. i’m not saying it has to be just me and you. ” although that would be preferable. “ i just don’t want to lose you, ” eric admits, gaze honest and steady as he meets her eye. it’s pathetic how he’s near groveling to keep her in his life, and eric knows it. it doesn’t mean he can stop himself. “ but if you don’t want that, y’know, it’s okay too. ”
SHE’S RELIEVED, glad that he wasn’t hurt either. she doesn’t even think too much of how eric had gotten over to the side of the boat with the state he was in, but even if she did, she’s glad not too many had gotten hurt. sera looks at eric with somewhat of a confused expression, not expecting that. even if she thinks this will be giving him the wrong idea, she can’t deny that she still does like eric as a person, and not having him in her life at all would probably do more harm than good for her. “okay,” she finally says, nodding her head as she wrings her hands together slightly. her chest tightens at his admission, and there was once a time where she would have reached out to give him reassurance. instead, she just smiles softly at him, shaking her head. “you’re not going to,” she tells him. and even if she thinks some distance will do them good, there’s still a part of her that knows that she needs him too. “of course, i still want to be able to do things with you, and i think...” she trails off, and she’s forgotten that they’re at their place of work, and she just hopes none of their friends walk in. “i think we can still stay friends.” sera’s nervous to admit it, but she would like to at least try.
