run deep, run wild

“Yeah, okay, let’s get a drink, and then we’ll see what those legs can do, come on.” She balanced, standing on one foot as she used her other to tap the brunette’s knee lightly. “Don’t worry, I won’t actually make you dance.” 

                               “Sienna, right.” Blair nodded and then shrugged with a simple grin, the name still not entirely producing many memories from her burnt out brain. Maybe this was just another old face that Blair had forgotten about. The dark haired woman couldn’t hold back the small chuckle when the other’s foot tapped her knee and she spun in place to follow after her. “Well, play your cards right and they might just end up on your shoulders, Earth Pigment.” Blair responded quickly. “So, do we know each other because this whole thing seems eerily…familiar?”

“Earth Pigment?” Sienna frowned. She hadn’t actually been hitting on the brunette, but hey, she’d take the compliment. She had some free time, she was bored, and the best thing to do in this town was talk to the people. Or something. If her siblings were gonna tell her she needed to try more, then hell, here she was, trying. “I can dance. I just generally don’t tend to swing the other way. And, uh, we went to high school together, I can tell because that frown of yours looks familiar.” 

Ace’s eyes opened wide in fake astonishment as Sienna demanded him to buy her food. “You’re out of your ever-lovin’ mind? Like, buying a woman food is like the ultimate thing. I might as well propose you! And I ain’t doing that shit.” He shook his head before cracking up a laugh. “Fine, alright, just because it’s you and I’m hungry, too.”

“Please do not propose to me,” Sienna said, wincing. “Too many people have done that and let me tell you, it never ends well.” 

Kyle gave a small chuckle, “Yeah, I guess you are right. Mama would be pretty upset over this…I’ll get some real stuff eventually…I just..I don’t even know where to start with them. I have real cooking ware at least.” Hearing her say falling in love had the male frozen where he stood. “Uhh..well, Dani has been known to come over once or twice.” More than that really. “But I suppose you are talking about Mattie? I actually…haven’t..uh…had her over yet.” It wasn’t that he didn’t want to invite her over..it was more that he was scared to be alone with her. In his home.

A frown quickly found it’s way to his lips, “You aren’t planning on staying? You can crash here if you want..or switch between all our houses.” A soft laugh left him as he pulled a bottle of wine out, “Would you like to do the honors?”

She paused at the mention of Dani and Mattie; was this about his love life now? Sienna had assumed he didn’t really have one, if only because wouldn’t Lana have known? He’d have said something. Maybe it was new. 

Besides, he’d told her eventually. Also, this wasn’t supposed to be about her. At all! Apparently it was about Mattie, as in. Tillie. “Wait you’re dating Tillie? Matilda? Oh my GOD, that’s adorable.” Sienna clapped her hands together, ignoring his words about her housing, which suddenly seemed so inconsequential. Kyle, happy, looking so cute as he talked about his new relationship and the things he was unsure about. “I don’t wanna talk about Mama and my silly old life I wanna talk about you being happy. Hang on, yeah, lemme open the wine.” 

                         Names, faces - they all blurred into one for Blair. A blank look peered to the blond, as if trying to suss her out before a smirk played on Blair’s lips at the quick return of words. “You gotta buy me a drink before you see me out of these jeans, blondie.” her hands stuffed into her pockets squinting slightly over the girl’s features. “Sarah, right?”

This interaction seemed so familiar, except it was usually Sienna on the other side, scowl in her possession. She wanted to see what would happen if she flipped the script, toned down the snark and just acted as a straight shooter. 

“Sienna, but close,” she said, tilting her head back and forth, stilling toying with the idea before finally deciding. 

“How am I supposed to know what I want, I don’t even know who I am anymore. There’s not a single part of me that’s not wrapped up in being a mom or a wife and what happens when all of that is gone? What then? I just don’t know anymore Sienna,” Hannah said wiping her eyes. There had been a time she had been so sure. She was going to follow Tanner to college and she had known even than that he was it for her. They’d settle down and have a half dozen kids and that would be it. She’d given up a childish dreams of big cities and adventure for love and practicality. There wasn’t any regret in that though, even if she found herself so lost now. “I just feel so lost and all I can do is put a smile do my best for my kids.”

What Hannah needed was an Eat, Pray, Love moment, except instead of finding hot Italian guys everywhere, she needed to just get her husband. Which wasn’t to say Sienna thought the hot, Italian guys were a bad idea, but with the way this conversation was going, if she suggested it, her best friend would start crying. She wasn’t a parenting expert, and from what she’d been hearing around town about this crumbling marriage, Hannah’s mom wasn’t doing the best for her daughter, either. 

“It’s okay to not be sure. I mean I don’t know much about kids, but yours love you, and it’s nice that you try and smile for them. You can come cry here with me.” She hugged Hannah harder. “You don’t have to pretend here, you can just close your eyes and think. Or not think. One step at a time. And step one is to help you clear your head and figure out who Hannah is.”

Honestly, Kyle loved his mom’s cooking, he just liked to give her a little crap about it. “The paper plates are my fine china, Sienna,” Kyle laughed shaking his head, “I’m a bachelor, so you can bet your behind I don’t have actual fine china…or any real silverware.” Opening up a drawer, he revealed his set of plastic knives, forks, and whatnot. “It’s much easier to just throw these things away….especially since it’s just me here.” For now anyways. 

“I know momma isn’t starving you,” he teased, “I’m sure she’s in hog heaven with you there….but I have a feeling it’s just not the same for you, is it? No where to run from her.”

“Oh thank God,” Sienna sighed, “But you should probably get some actual plates, I mean it’s fine when it’s me, but God forbid you have to cook for Mama and Daddy; she will not be pleased.” She shuddered at the thought, realizing he’d said something else interesting. “You got a whole place to yourself and no one you wanna share it with? You can’t go around falling in love over plastic kitchenware, I won’t have it.” 

His question struck a chord, if only because this wasn’t like her other visits; she’d been spending a lot of time with Lana and Rosie, and a lot of time working from home while her mother was in another room. She’d picked up some work from the Herald, too, so there was enough to keep her busy— definitely busier than she thought she’d be at home. “It’s odd. I don’t know if I like it. I need to find somewhere else to stay, but I don’t wanna crash in someone else’s home and I can’t... I don’t really wanna think about getting my own place, ya know? Not planning on staying that long.” 

@sienna-rowe​

              It didn’t matter if you were all dressed up in leather and sported the edgiest look possible, sometimes awkward things happened to everybody. As soon as Blair came hurtling out of the coffee shop, combat boots carried her clumsily into the path of the other woman - the two of them ending up doing a strange shuffle side to side in a bid to try and pass each other. Blair’s temper flaired quickly. “Can you just fucking stand still or are you gonna put a rose in my mouth and do the tango with me? For fuck sake.”

This goth wannabe seemed familiar, Sienna thought, studying her sidewalk companion for a few seconds. Affronted at her tone, she brought her thermos up to her lips, hiding the bottom half of her face. “It takes two to tango,” Sienna said, “I’m in if you’re in. Just— you’re dressed more for Halloween than a dance session in the street. I don’t judge, though. Your call.” 

closed for @sienna-rowe​

matilda came back into the bakery with a flourish at the door as she shoved her phone back into her sweater pocket.  “sorry ‘bout that.  it was a director at another town’s theatre.”  the brunette explained with smile as she took her seat again.  it was no secret to anybody that mattie had been going on auditions lately.  she wasn’t sure about any of them, though.  but she figured it was better to go on them than to leave the casting unanswered and wonder.  “i am working on the church christmas pageant, though.  it’s not broadway.  but it ain’t bad.  and i’ll probably help out with the local shows from now on.”  as much as she wanted to go back to new york, she didn’t think she could bring herself to actually go back any time soon.  

Tillie’s career — and Sienna would always call her Tillie, because that face was too beautiful to be attached to such a ridiculous name— mattered to Sienna. She’d kept up with the girl, taken her out for dinners at fancy places and ordered her in Chinese food and started to teach her about the different kinds of wine that she should know about. Sienna had gone to Tillie’s shows if she could, sitting through things she’d have died of boredom in if Nathaniel hadn’t gone with her. 

Tillie, Sienna knew, had worked so hard to get something good, and when it had all come crashing down, she’d just kept moving forward. “At this point, Broadway isn’t even Broadway. It’s just Hamilton and Mamma Mia. I think you should start writing your own musical,” Sienna said. “Play the long game. You’re too good for local shows.” 

“Oh my god, Ella, lemme see it, lemme see it!” Sienna yelped out, dropping her purse on the closest chair and reaching out for Ella, arms outstretched. It was new and exciting and the ring had sounded absolutely beautiful when she’d heard about it. Sienna felt strange, being in town when something big and beautiful and happy happened in her family; she was able to come over and actually greet Mitch and Ella, congratulate them in person. When Lana gave birth to Rosie, she’d just flown in, stayed for a week, and then left, but this was nicer. 

Everyone had something to look forward to, and Mitch having that smile, knowing he’d chosen someone, and been chosen in return, who he could be happy with, that filled her with hope. 

And her own regret, though Sienna knew that would never leave her. 

“I am so so happy for you two!” 

“I mean, I feel like Ma and Pops don’t mind, but also if I could keep how many tattoos I have away from them, probably beneficial to me. That being said, I want another one. I have a time set up, but I have no idea what I want. Help a guy out?” @frostfordstart​

“Mama was always a lot less strict with you,” Sienna said, “but you’re about to get married, so what’s the worst she could do to you? You’ve got all the cards in your hands, Mitch, if she kicks up a fuss then don’t invite her to the wedding.” 

“I can’t wait for Thanksgiving, ya’ know? Lots of food and drinkin’ and their leftovers, football, nap all day and of course, you get a first row show when your relatives begin to shove the favors they did to each other faces.” Ace laughed, rubbing his hands. “This year’s gonna be fucking great I’m tellin’ ya’.”

@frostfordstart​

“Stop it, you’re making me hungry,” Sienna said, scrunching her nose. She didn’t know how they’d gotten onto this topic, and now her stomach was gonna start rumbling. “Ace Maddox, you better buy me a sandwich now.” 

“We both know you’d like to be, easy breezy Sienna. Nothing gets to her, right?” It was something he liked calling her out on but he knew better, he knew that wasn’t who she really was, it was just a facade she wore. At least that used to be the case, it was hard to say if he really knew her any more. “Actually, that’s exactly what you did.” Austin deadpanned shrugging his shoulders. 

A heavy sigh as he stares at her now. “What do you want to talk about Sienna? Huh? You really want to go down that road?” Austin questioned, almost daring her to go down that road now.

“Maybe Sienna has to be easy and breezy because everyone else around her is so emotional all of the time, didya ever think of that?” Sienna asked sharply, her eyebrows raised. She was sick of it, this idea that she didn’t care about anything, that nothing affected her. Her life affected her so much she’d uprooted it just to get away from the memories. “Yeah, why not, you seem absolutely intent on getting me all riled up and then trying to just say ‘ugh, Sienna, let’s not talk about this.” 

Of course, she’d also wanted a quality education and to travel and to experience the world, but he’d been the reason she’d tried to limit her visits back to Frostford. 

She’d waited until he’d unlocked his front door and she could barrel past him, ready to tear a hole in his rug as she paced back and forth. The words just kept flowing out of her, and she couldn’t stop them, even as she wanted to slap herself and get a goddamn grip. 

“I’ve grown up bein’ real positive ‘bout most people.” She nodded, giving Sienna a shrug. It was something Angela was simply used to doing, and for the most part she believed everyone was nice, in one way or another. “It ain’t for everyone, marriage, 'specially at such a young age. But that don’t make you a bitch, dear.” The woman herself was married young, and she’d had her fair variety of opinions voiced to her at the time.

“We aren’t sixteen years old anymore Si,” Hannah said shaking her head sadly. They weren’t those kids anymore, they hadn’t been in some time. “It’s just not that simple.” Looking down at her hands now she would give anything right now to just let this all go and move on with her life but she couldn’t. “I just don’t know anymore, I love him, I will always love him, he’s the only man I’ve ever been with and I don’t know maybe at some point we got so focused on being the best parents we could be that we didn’t make time to be just us and then… after Tommy….” Hannah’s voice broke now. “Things were hard and I’ve never felt so alone before. I don’t know how to fix this because I can’t even make sense of any of it.” Hannah wiped at her eyes, shaking her head as she tried to keep her composure. 

She knew that better than anyone. Life happened to people, time passed without anyone realizing and suddenly instead of sleepovers and eating a bunch of candy, friendship was finding small blocks of time to discuss failing marriages when the kids weren’t around. 

Or failed engagements. 

This was not about her. 

Maybe that was one of Kyle’s flaws, he cared too much, but he never thought about it that way. Why would he be any different when the world could be so cold? The world needed more people like him, or at least he thought so.  

“I’m not scared of Mama,” he lied, a laugh slipping through. His apartment was clean, simple, though it lacked any personality, so it was probably a good thing that his sister didn’t take the time to look over the place. “I could never hate you, Sissy. Has Mama been starving you over there?” Walking towards the kitchen he pulled down two paper plates, “Let me get the fine china out for you,” he joked, “I think I have some wine laying around here somewhere…if you want some?”

Very few people could beat her mother’s cooking, and Sienna didn’t really hope to ever get to that point. From the way her brother’s kitchen smelled, though, Kyle was pretty damn close. She was salivating. 

Being back in Alabama meant delicious Southern home-cookin’ that hit the spot in a way Dino’s BBQ never could. “You’re not? Because I am.”