i'm still standing

Marco was beginning to think he should have stayed there, too. But no, that wasn’t what he did, he always had to put others before himself. Maybe it was time that started to change. “Probably would have been a good idea…” he responded, the beginnings of a smile curving onto his lips. As Skyler stepped closer, his gaze dipped, taking the time to check out the other man. “Won’t say no…” he uttered in response, a hand coming out to tug gently on the others jacket.

Skyler grinned, as he always did when someone was within his reach. He was a touchy person, all things considering, and Marco was a breath of fresh air in a town like Santa Monica. “You aren’t going to use all these secrets against me, right?” he joked, wrinkling his nose as he curled his fingers around Marco’s wrist, “I hear they were pretty wild.”

open starter. 

“I can’t see this ever getting old,” Finn grinned, his feet buried with sand as he stood watching the waves crash against the shore. He hardly ever went to the beach in New York — and knowing his apartment was just a short distance away from the coast was something he didn’t think he’d get used to. “I mean, how do people even go to work here without running off to the beach every chance they get?” 

“Maybe because it costs like...your organs and your left arm to live here,” Skyler puffed out a bit of smoke, rocking back and forth on his heels before he gave a half smile. “But then when you get sand in like...your crotch? Itchy, bro. Not even worth the hype.”

Lolling his head over to the side to face Skyler a little more, Marco’s shoulders rose and fell in a casual shrug. The alcohol coursing through his veins was nice and something he hadn’t really had a chance to take advantage of since getting back to Santa Monica. At least, not until tonight. Right now he could unwind and not worry about the consequences. “It was, it still would be,” he said. “But family obligations, yada yada…”

Skyler grinned a little, looking at the very serious expression on Marco’s face. Nothing seemed to change, apparently. “Family obligations? Yikes. I would’ve stayed there.” He moved closer to Marco, getting into his personal space a little more, “Wanna find an empty room?”

@skylerxdavis

California, it seemed, was a lot smaller than Marco realised. He came to this conclusion as he stepped outside from some air and stumbled immediately across someone he’d met briefly while he’d been on San Diego —- another somebody. He left it alone, though, lent against the wall and cast his gaze to the ceiling, simply making small talk, “You needed some air, too, huh?”

Skyler was looking up at the sky, though the sound of someone walking outside had him standing up a little straighter. He wasn’t drunk – not yet at least – but he sure wanted to be. The evening had been wild so far, and clearly it wasn’t going to let him rest just yet. The sound of Marco’s voice had him huffing out a laugh, “Something like that. What are you doin’ up here? Wasn’t San Diego the place to be?”

Rizzo gave the other a roll of his eyes, though that signature smirk stayed planted on his cheeks. He sat down on the edge of the bed, feet planted on the floor before carefully discarding the photograph beside him. “I’m already popular and famous,” he retorted sarcastically, not delusional enough to truly believe his words. After all, it was his mother who’s coat tails he’d ride off of. “Fuck off,” he swatted Skyler’s hand away, instead taking it in his own and gently yanking the male closer to him. “I thought my bed-head was what got you to start sleepin’ with me in the first place.”

“I started sleeping with you because you were giving me bedroom eyes from across the room for two hours straight. Then you finally cornered me and I didn’t leave your apartment for three days.” Skyler didn’t fight him when he was pulled, now nearly in Rizzo’s lap. Every time he tried to teach Rizzo a lesson, or he said that he would never be bothered by the other man again, he somehow ended up here – with him. Skyler knew it was partly his addiction’s fault; Rizzo meant drugs, and that part of Skyler could barely be held back. “Hit me with some of that good stuff, babe, and I’ll give you a proper welcome home.”

He didn’t bother moving even when Skyler wedged himself in what little space there was left on the couch. He continued to shake his leg, and when he’d pushed the table far enough, he lifted one foot over his knee, still incessantly fidgeting.  He would’ve let Skyler drone on and on and on about his relationship with Rizzo, mainly because he didn’t listen, let alone care for it, but what caught his attention was what he was offering. Head turning fast enough to give him whiplash, he blinked at the man at his side then at the small resealable bag of dust in his hand. Pride was never in the question, so he grabbed the bag and fitted it in a fist as he pulled the table back towards him and knelt before it. He poured a little bit of dope on the glass, enough for him to snort it all in one go, and reached into his wallet to pull out his old MetroCard. He press against the powder and made a messy line, but his hands were shaking and he just needed a fix. Hunched over the table, he pressed two fingers over one side of his nostril and snorted the surface clean.

“Ahh, fuck,” he mumbled as he looked up, sniffling with the side of his hand rubbing underneath his nose. “That’s Rizzo’s, alright. Thanks.” He returned to the couch, sitting on the edge this time. Still with the little baggie on his palm, he squished it a bit as moved his fingers around, then turned to Skyler. “I thought you guys broke up?”

Skyler put his hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling as Asher grabbed the bag from him. He was already riding his own high, and nothing could really bother him during that moment. Not even the topic of Rizzo. Skyler hummed to himself, turning his head slowly to look back at Asher, “We did. A while ago.” He wasn’t sure he could really explain it, anyway. “He has this deep seated desire to be needed – I know he does. And he I know he loves me, and I unfortunately love him. And it’s stupid and sometimes wish I never met the guy. But, he does give me drugs. And now I’m sharing them with you. So who cares what we are,” he waved his hand, grinning a little as he looked at Asher, “So was that shit on the internet true, then? You a really cheap escort? Does it pay well and are they still hiring?” 

He took the photograph from the male’s grasp, a slight smile twisting along the corner of his lips as he examined it. “Mmh, it was a damn look alright,” he mused, working through the brain fog as the memories flooded back into him. His eyes flickered between the image and Skyler, unable to help himself and his lack of filter. “Why’d you bring these over, huh?” he asked with a chuckle, for once not sounding like a complete dick. “Your version of foreplay?”

Skyler nearly mentioned Rizzo’s previous meltdown about the picture on his instagram, but he was sure he didn’t have to as he gave the other a bemused look. “Plenty of my shit is digital, now. Besides – in order to get all popular and famous, you should have some good photos. Otherwise you’ll just look like you’ve rolled out of bed like you usually do.” He reached forward to mess up Rizzo’s hair even more, just to prove his point.

The couch was occupied by several people: two girls making out on one end next to a guy doing blow off his girl’s naked shoulder next to a guy playing games on his phone next to Asher. Asher, with the hood of his jacket drawn tight over his head, hands tucked underneath his arms, his feet on the glass table in front of him. His head was against the back of the couch, eyes tightly shut, breath shaky as he inhaled and exhaled carefully, concentrating on not smashing the table with his bare hands. And he was cold. So damn cold. Someone should really fix the air conditioning in this place…

The voice startled him, and it took him a few seconds to figure out where it had come from, back straightening in his paranoia. Though the club was crowded, their little corner was secluded enough for him to hear the words audibly over the music and, looking up, he soon realized that it was Skyler. “Shit, you scared me,” he said, then relaxed against the couch once more. He shook his leg as one foot was perched on the table, arms still folded into himself as he kept a glare fixed on Skyler. “I don’t got money on me right now. Your boylet made sure to remind me of that.” He was referring to a bruise on his left cheekbone mostly concealed by the hood wrapped around his head, but it was fading, anyway.

“Scared you?” Skyler looked a little more amused, moving to sit down right beside Asher. Though there wasn’t really much room, but he squeezed himself in anyway, not a care in the world for Asher’s personal space. He looked only mildly exasperated at Asher’s next sentence, and he really couldn’t think of much to bite back with. The drugs always made his reactions mildly more slow, “Boylet. Cute. He’s a dick, isn’t he? Not sure why I put up with him. I think it’s called...manipulation? Probably. Anyway,” he drew out the word, searching his pockets for whatever he had available. “All I got...is like...barely some coke. And I’m not a dealer. I’m just a nice person. All I gotta do is suck my boylet’s cock and he’ll give me more. So here – for him being an asshole to you.”

The response wasn’t quite what Nathan was expecting, but he hardly minded and a gentle laugh slipped from his lips before he spoke. “Maybe…” was his casual response, although that really was all that needed to be said on the subject. His gaze moved back to the ocean for several moments as the other man continued and he found himself smiling very slightly. It was definitely different to what he did. 

“Not usually,” he finally supplied, his shoulders lifting in a very casual shrug. “Generally my work keeps me in a studio.” It was pretty dull on the whole these days. Not like when he’d been starting out and spent day upon day out in the city, exploring the park with his camera, snapping models out in the street. 

Skyler smiled a little more, though he moved a little closer in order to hear Nathan above the waves. “Maybe? You really know how to make a guy feel special.” Tilting his head, he followed Nathan’s gaze to the ocean, then flickered it back to the man’s face, “A studio? Wow, fancy. I’m surprised you’re not in one of them fancy ones down in LA. I’m sure they have plenty model wanna-be’s just dying for someone to give them their big break.”

Skyler had taken pictures of the guy before, and their general conversation had actually went well. Hunter was seemingly normal, despite all the popularity and the media that followed him around. Skyler was only somewhat used to that, considering how close they were to LA and the fact that Skyler took photos of some smaller celebrities. Either way, the drink and the bar they’d gone too afterwards had made Skyler more comfortable when approaching Hunter, and it definitely wasn’t like his intentions or motives were even remotely innocent.

“Hey – Hunter, right?” Skyler grinned, all charm as he made his way closer to the other, “I definitely thought we’d already be heading to our second date by now.” It was a joke, and he set his camera down on the bench beside him after he took a seat, “What are you doing out here on the pier?”

@skylerxdavis

Nathan knew there were a lot of people who’d have something to say about his sudden move to photographing nature. It wasn’t necessarily going to go anywhere, but with the girls there in Santa Monica, he needed to try and focus on something that wouldn’t take him away from home all too often.

Today he was out on the beach, just walking and watching the water, which is when he spotted someone else with a camera. He shifted his own slightly on his shoulder, watching for a moment, and then approached slowly. “You out here a lot?” he questioned casually.

Skyler usually found himself out early in the morning when he found he couldn’t sleep. Sometimes his previous actions the night before left him running on too much energy, and the night before had done just that. So he was taking pictures of the early sunrise on the water, grateful there weren’t many clouds to obscure his view. The sound of another voice piqued his interest, and he turned around, giving Nathan a quick once over before he let his camera rest on his chest. 

“You want me to be?” Skyler couldn’t help but flirt, even if the other’s question was as innocent as it seemed. He grinned to show he was mostly joking, moving a little closer, “Yeah. I do some work with the marine biologists around here, and other times I just take pictures for myself. You?”

— feat. @skylerxdavis

“Hey,” Entering the room with a soft knock on the door. “Have any wild parties lately?” Sutton asked teasingly, she closed the door behind her. “You know if you are actually feeling up to it I’d love to go get a drink tonight. It’s been a while since I’ve been out and it might be nice to get out again. So do you want to go with me?” Smiling brightly at him. 

“Me? Wild parties? You’d know – you wouldn’t even have to ask,” Skyler smiled a little, standing up when Sutton entered the apartment. He pushed his hands into his pockets, wandering closer to her. “Are you saying you wanna go out and get down? Maybe get wasted? Get some dick? Girl, I’m your boy.”

— feat. @skylerxdavis

“I have to admit it’s been kinda lonely since she left. I had just got really use to living with her.” Kessa admitted. Pushing up her sunglasses, she leaned back in her chair. “So that’s enough about my living situation. How has yours been? Are you liking your new place?” She asked with a smile. “Have you got a roommate yet? Because hey me and Liv could always use a new Davis.”

Skyler leaned back in his chair the same time his sister did, shrugging his shoulders after a moment, “Yeah, I have a friend living with me now. I mean – there were plenty other apartments for her to choose from, but she’s needy and I don’t mind so here we are.” He put his chin in his hand, “Heard from moms lately?”

Rizzo: come over