big big world

𝐚  𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟  𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬  𝐡𝐞𝐫  𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬  before  she  can  stop  it  .  scorn  laces  her  tone  as  she  shakes  her  head  .     ❛     if  only  everything  was  as  easy  as  a  phone  call  to  fix  .     ❜   sure  ,  there  was  no  need  for  her  to  be  rude  ,  but  her  frustration  &  sheer  hatred  for  the  upper  east  side  community  was  heavy  ,  even  if  the  blonde  was  only  trying  to  help  .     ❛     it’s  not  a  matter  of  ease  ,  it’s  a  matter  of  funds  ,  funds  i  don’t  have  .     ❜

it was nice in amongst the never-ending drama of the upper east-side to have a remarkably silly conversation that seemed to serve no purpose but amusing them both. “just out of curiosity… how many cool outfits do you get as a part-time top secret spy?” he asked, trying to suppress his laughter. “ah, you’re right. besides, i wouldn’t want the trees to also suffer due to my pain. perhaps it’s best just to have a disney movie survivors group in general, as heaven knows what kind of damage bambi also caused me.” 

Sharply inhaling at his words, she put on her most apologetic face. “I can’t answer that, secrets of the trade and all that... But it’s more than you’d think.” She finished, dropping her volume as if they were actually discussing something of importance. Of course, it didn’t hurt to drop her volume, to stop those around them from judging. He may have not looked at her like she was crazy, but the same couldn’t be said for everyone else. “Bambi was the worst... Lion King as well. I’m convinced Disney hates parents, there’s not a lot of them that get to stick around.” 

at the defensive response to viv’s ranting she could only smile. was she impressed? was she still angry? the blonde couldn’t quite tell yet but the younger fellow blonde was holding up quite well. “you still have that ‘new adult’ smell on you. never had to fend for yourself or provide for others. no concealed bags under your eyes or a hair out of place. it really shows.” she’s not sure why she’s digging so hard into this girl. maybe it was a hint of jealousy? she still had her whole life in front of her to do whatever she wanted and viv was stuck in a loveless engagement and with a baby on the way. “again with the naive comments. this isn’t high school. a board room full of ceos and fashion icons don’t care if i’m ‘a little stressed out’. they just care if i can present myself professionally and promptly.” and then they were back on the pretty comment. “pretty is like the lowest level of a compliment. i’d rather be gorgeous or radiant or stunning. pretty is what you say when you don’t want to tell your friend her ass looks huge in a body con dress.”

A quiet scoff left her at ‘new adult smell’, more out of amusement than anything else. She also didn’t have a valid reason to argue with Viv. If she tried to disagree, she’d be doing so purely out of stubbornness, considering the fact she had yet to fend for herself. The past few months had been spent trying to find her feet, but there was still that thought in the back of her mind that her parents would be there whenever she needed - and that proved Viv’s point. “Guess I need to buy a stronger perfume to overpower that ‘new adult’ smell.” She finally quipped,  with a barely there shrug. “What would you do if someone happened to walk in looking like you?” It may not have been the wisest question to ask, but as normal, curiosity got the best of her - and the question was out there before she thought better of it. 

he smiled brightly as she tried heavily to make him feel better about the fiasco. he bit his bottom lip slightly before nodding in agreement to her words. “yes, i suppose.” he raised his hand from his pocket to greet her. “i’m hudson, by the way.” his eyes remained fixed on the pretty girl in front of him, his mind jumping to see if she was a familiar face he’d maybe know. he’d lived in new york his entire life, so there was a good chance he might know her. “i don’t believe we’ve ever met though— i’ve lived here all my life & i’d recognize a face like yours if i had seen it before.” he chuckled, intrigued that she was a new face for him. 

Lifting her own hand to shake his, she offered him a small smile. Handshakes were a politer greeting than she was used to, at least from people around their age - but she wasn’t going to complain at it. “It’s nice to meet you Hudson, I’m Sera.” Which seemed better than doing the normal spiel of introducing herself with her full name, promptly clarifying that she truly hated it and would rather the shortened version. Chuckling at his next words, she scrunched her nose in mock offence. “Is my face that bad?” Shrugging at the comment, her tone flickered from joking back to normal. “I sorta like the shadows. I figure there’s enough people who like the spotlight around here, so let them have it and I’ll just do my own lil thing in the background, you know?” 

margot was nearly blinded by the other girl’s wide smile, blinking emphatically. she didn’t often associate with girls who exerted so much pep, and already she regretted her decision a twinge. she was sure she was going to get a headache. “of course it’s lovely to meet me,” she sighed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. she was supposed to be turning over a new leaf, although she was doing a horrible job. “yes, sort of. just planning my birthday party, actually.” 

If she hadn’t gathered so already, Margot’s words would have been enough for Sera to work out the other blonde seemed a lot more confident in herself, than Sera did. Even as a joke, Sera was certain she couldn’t pull off saying it was obviously lovely to meet her - that ran a better risk of someone laughing at opposed to with her. “Oh, happy early birthday!” Which seemed the only appropriate response in her mind, it may have been somewhat cheesy, but any other response would be the epitome of rudeness. “I don’t think I can remember the last time I saw someone planning their own party, I feel like you should get props for that.” 

“–no, mama, i told you that i’ll be home later tonight. please just…stay inside, okay? i’ll bring you anything you want from the store just–” click. the line went dead per usual. her drunken mess of a mother had once again been unsatisfied with rosie’s response to the little tantrum she was throwing and instead of being the parent, ro had to assume the position. a frustrated sigh exited her lips, as she turned around on the empty street outside of the club and noticed that she wasn’t exactly alone. “–service is shit here,” she greeted, waving her phone before dropping her hand back down by her hip.

After getting a drunk call from one of her friends, she’d shown up at the club fully intent on getting said friend home safely - but that plan got put on pause when she noticed the woman outside of the club. Part of her wanted to ask if the other was okay, but the other part reminded her that it wasn’t her business. “Mine seems okay, if you want to borrow it to call whoever that was back?” She shrugged, glancing down at her own phone. “Though, I guess I don’t know how long it’ll stay fine for.” 

running errands had seemed to be the main purpose of her internship. day by day sutton ran around the grid streets of new york either picking up lunch or walking the ceo’s dog. of course she had high hopes for her position, but reality always proved to be a bitch. sutton held her phone to her ear with her shoulder while she walked into a coffee shop. ‘ yeah yeah, i’ll go pick that up after. ’, she said right before there was a click on the call. a groan left her glossed lips just as she got to the front of the line. ‘ fucking bitch. ’, she muttered under her breath.  sutton turned to the person in line behind her, deciding to give a little back to her boss for making her run around all day. ‘ whatcha getting ? it’s on my boss. ’

“i think that is my answer to everything,” he joked, although it did seem to him that if he hadn’t chosen his particular career path life could have been a lot kinder. august quirked an eyebrow at her spy comment. with a penchant for bad jokes, august was well within his comfort zone when coming up with a retort. “is that so? i think you’re right, though. i imagine they’d concern themselves with full-time agents before even consulting part-time spies.” and with his words, the suppressed laugh he’d been holding onto for the longest time finally slipped his lips. “maybe we can sue for emotional distress as we didn’t have enough napkins to mop up our tears.” 

“At least you’re consistent, that’s important.” She mused, pursing her lips in a vain attempt to appear anything close to serious. “Exactly! Us part-timers are barely a blimp on the radar. We pretty much just signed up so we could say we’re top secret spies, and wear cool outfits.” At this point, she was simply glad he seemed to be going along with her, instead of judging, which seemed to be what most people jumped too. “Ooo, good point. I didn’t even think of that. But let’s be real, were we ever going to have enough napkins to mop up our tears?” 

“of course,” she said, not that she had too much choice in the matter. when she asked if she wanted anything for helping, hannah gave a slight shrug. “i mean, i’m not going to say no, you can sit here and try and think about where they could possibly be.” with a shrug, “you’re welcome to stay or whatever.”

“Thank you.” She smiled gently, before gesturing towards the counter. “So, what would you like? I heard they have pretty great pastries - and who doesn’t love the occasional treat?” She asked, slipping back into her perfectly polite tone. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to put you out.” 

“See, but that’s the little asterisk that gives them the right. Second-hand smoke kills, right? So it hurts anyone that’s near me.”

“If you take that though, people have the right to complain about most things. And when you’re outside... It’s easy enough to just walk away if you’re overly bothered by it. Easier than complaining too.” 

entering the insides of the small room, natalie was quick to scan over, quite frankly not giving it much thought considering she didn’t care what it looked like. she needed a place to hide and be miserable all by herself ; and this place looked perfect for it. with a small nod given to the girl that pointed off towards the bathroom, natalie decided to take a seat on one of the couches before gazing up at her. “no… no, i’m fine. i just need a moment before i head back,” she answered in utter honesty, biting the inside of her cheek for a mere moment. “ ––thanks, by the way. for this.” 

“welcome to the real world, sweetie,” the blonde cooed in a patronizing tone. “we can’t just ‘fake sick’ whenever we have a bad day or go home and write about it in our diaries like a stupid teen rom com. sorry to burst your bubble so early out of high school but better now than later i think.” it was clear that the other was a tad naive as to what viv was getting at but that didn’t stop her from unleashing all of her opinions. “people in the beauty and fashion world pick apart every last detail. every stitch, every swatch, every formula. details are the most important. and if i walked into my pitch meeting with pimples and dark circles on my face what do you think would happen? i’d be laughed out of the entire city. pretty is not a compliment, it’s something someone says when it’s just enough.” now she’s just being obsessive but at least she was true to her values. some might have viewed her rant as shallow but in reality she had purpose for her points.

Rolling her eyes as the other called her sweetie, she stayed mute, primarily out of stubbornness. Someone else’s sour day shouldn’t sour your own, or at the very least, you should make it look as if everything was still perfectly okay - even if you were a little irritated. “Who said that I’m ‘so early out of high school’?” She quipped, despite knowing full well she didn’t particularly look older than she was. “I think anyone with half a brain realises that people can break out, especially in times of stress, which I assume trying to launch a business would fall into.” She replied, keeping her tone perfectly even. It seemed better than retaliating with some snarky remark. “Why wouldn’t pretty be a compliment? Seems like one to me - seems like enough in my mind.” 

hudson immediately felt guilty the moment she stated she had work to do. from the looks of it, she looked liked a student as well. “work to do? i’m probably slowing you down from whatever it is you need to get to.” he laughed nervously. hudson hated feeling like a bothersome, or burden. although he too had plans on being productive, he knows what it feels like to have something slightly get in the way. now he had this stranger before him, feeling guilty for something he believed he caused. “i’m fine. i’ll just go fetch myself another cup of coffee. it’s really nothing.” he shrugged it off, hoping she realized he really did not care for that coffee. “can i offer in buying you one? i feel… awful, for almost running you over today and spilling my coffee over you.” he chuckled, his eyes diverting hers out of embarrassment. 

margot smiles as the girl agrees with her, nodding. she can’t stay mad at that. “maybe, but it’s the way things are, and it’s not so bad once you figure that out.” and yet, still, margot couldn’t seem to get the best of her own game. “i don’t think so – i’ve met my parents,” she quips. “but it’s whatever, right?” she shrugs, offering her hand to the girl, “margot vanderbilt. like i said, you can sit here if you want.” 

“Not so bad?” She asked raising an eyebrow in amusement. This time she wasn’t disagreeing with Margot, simply trying to make light of everything, because she could handle happy-go-lucky far better than real. Shaking the other’s hand, she offered the brightest smile she could muster. “Seraphina Moretti, I’m sure it’s lovely to meet you Margot.” Finally taking the seat, she placed her bag down beside her, hands cupping her drink almost sighing as they warmed her hands. “Were you working on something important?” 

“‘s’cuse me,” max squeezed in between a small group of people, a lit cigarette dangling from between her lips, the ash threatening to fall off the tip at any moment. “just need’a get a new drink.” the party was loud, filled to the brim with people, most of whom she had no idea the names of. pulling the cigarette out of her mouth and exhaling a puff of smoke, she grinned. “crazy, huh?” said to no one in particular, sticking out a foot absently to examine the runs in her tights. “we should dance, d’you wanna dance?”

For the life of her, Seraphine couldn’t fathom why she let her friends convince her to go to the party. It was a little too crowded for her taste, but it also seemed more than a little rude to leave without any warning. Turning when she heard a voice, a light chuckle left her lips. “I think crazy is relative around here.” She quipped, before feeling her eyes widen slightly. “Can you even dance while smoking?” The question stemmed out of genuine curiosity opposed to judgement, and she never quite considered phrasing the words that way could come off as judging. 

𝐡𝐞'𝐬  𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠  &  𝐡𝐞  𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬  𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭  it’s  dangerous  ,  considering  his  track  record  ,  but  he’s  aching  to  get  home  ,  to  toss  his  bag  in  the  corner  &  just  chill  out  ,  maybe  take  his  daughter  sister  out  for  dinner  or  something  but  anything  other  than  school  work  .  don’t  get  him  wrong  he  enjoys  it  ,  it’s  just  sometimes  he  doesn’t  !  perhaps  that’s  why  he  doesn’t  notice  another  body  coming  straight  for  him  as  he  weaves  through  a  small  crowd  ,  narrowly  missing  them  only  to  collide  with  the  other  ,  knocking  them  both  down  .     ❛     jesus  ,  every  time  .     ❜    he  mutters  ,  accent  growing  thicker  with  frustration  before  he’s  apologising  &  gathering  their  stuff before  is  own  .     ❛     i’m  sorry  ,  this  is  my  fault  ,  are  you  alright  ?    ❜

HUDSON WAS MAKING his way to the library, planning on studying for an exam that was coming up. he stopped by a cafe, ordering a flaming cup of coffee and a bagel. he put the well wrapped bagel inside his leather cross-body bag, before exiting and making his way back down the street. swarms of people passing him as he carefully tried his hardest not to run into them AND burn his tongue in the process. “god, i hate waiting for coffee to cool down.” he whispered to himself. the dirty blonde was too busy focusing on his coffee, he came crashing  —  shoulder to shoulder with someone, his coffee collapsing onto the concrete ground. it formed a small puddle in the middle of the sidewalk. “oh fuck  —  i am so sorry.” he responded, looking up and apologizing. “did i get anything on you? are you okay?”