starter blog.

afternoon’s were always a little crazier; there was cheer practice, of course, which always ran late, and sometimes madison would drive logan home just for the excuse to spend time with her younger sister, say hi to the family she’d spent half her life with and then eat before heading to the club for a late night performance ( if she was feeling up for it ). 

truthfully, madison was a morning person. and she missed her mornings. that was all she could think about while standing outside of dark sensations, a bottle of water in her hand, her back against the cool brick of the alley. she could have gone home - it was mid-week, a little early to really make decent tips but she liked the work out, the dancing, the gaze on her body even if it was by people she wasn’t interested in. 

the door near her opened, the back exit of the club usually only used by those who worked at the club but every now and again someone would get desperate, looking for a place to smoke. madison didn’t really mind - she wasn’t a smoker herself, but it never fazed her much. “make sure you leave that brick there,” she requested, nodding to the makeshift doorstop she’d used to keep the door open so she could come back inside. “otherwise we gotta go all the way around the front, and they will charge you again.”

As she was leaving though, she could hear her phone ringing. Attempting to dig for it in the bottom of her bag, she was worried it may be the hospital even though she wasn’t on call, she wasn’t watching where she was going. Instead of walking around the bench seat just outside of the gym, she stumbled into it - hitting her shin and dropping her handbag. 

“Shit,” she hissed. So much for feeling better after working out. Now, her shin stung and the contents of her bag were scattered on the ground. 

there was little for him to focus on in his down time, and the gym had become a large part of how he spent his days off unfortunately. it was a bit too much of a trek to use the base gym all the time so the one in town worked well enough. he was just leaving, and the sun was just beginning to set over the horizon. he wasn’t sure what was on the cards for the rest of the night, but fuck did he want something to distract him. his eyes were fixated on his phone as he rounded the corner, clearly colliding with someone else as he did, dropping his phone to the ground and anticipating to pick it up to discover a large crack across the screen. fickle and fragile things they were. “fuck— sorry.” he mumbled as he looked back at the other. “you all good?” he was six foot and three inches, and a very broad man. getting bumped into by him generally made some impact or the other. 

The weather was getting nicer by the day with winter being left behind them. Sebastian was more than glad to spend some time in the sun and that meant a long walk with the dog to the park. With his kids all busy doing their own thing, Seb was left on his own to walk around, finally getting some exercise. Champ was normally a well-behaved dog. Proper training was one of the conditions that all the kids had agreed to when the family had finally gotten a dog. Trained enough that Sebastian had felt comfortable taking off the leash so Champ could run around with another dog. But a ball bouncing by was enough to send the dog running to grab it, racing away from its owner in a game of keep away. “Champ, no! Champ drop it.” 

Sebastian’s commands fell on deaf ears and the dog kept running until the game lost its fun. Then the nearest person became his next fixation. The dog trotting over to jump on them, dropping the ball and panting heavily waiting for attention and pets. Sebastian came running over, hooking Champs’s leash back on before the chase could start again. “Sorry, he normally listens. He’s just as excited about warm weather as I am.”

Hallie had been searching for distractions all week. She made a project out of visiting every new place of business in town, everything that had been established in the eight years since she’d left. Next on her list was a coffee shop that sounded more like something she’d find in LA than in a little town like Somerton, but she didn’t mind. She missed the green juice, though she was grateful to find a bagel that did, in fact, have gluten in it. Her notebooks scattered across the window booth she’d secured, the woman pulled out a pen and got to work. First, the sounds. Hallie noticed the sputtering of the espresso machine, and a whirring blender. She wrote how the glass doors made a swooshing sound as they opened, and how the light chatter of customers made the place feel lively, but superficial. What she didn’t notice, however, was someone standing over her. “Did you need something, or can I keep going?” she asked, breaking out of her trance.

When Jake entered the bar, he immediately found himself in the middle of some really excited and mostly drunk basketball fans. Not that he really minded it but having grown up with an entirely different sport, it certainly was a point of time where he was reminded of how his friends who weren’t interested in hockey probably felt around him most of the time. Trying to navigate his wheelchair through the mass of people and towards the bar, the male was glad when he finally reached it and managed to get the barkeepers attention to order a beer before turning his head towards the person standing next to him. “Man, I’ll never get how people can get that excited by someone trying to throw a ball in a basket..”, he stated, fully aware that there were lots of people who pretty much said the same thing about hockey.

It only took the words ‘party’ to get Layla fully dressed up for a good time and out of the house. She missed her own university partying days a lot - especially since she hadn’t made the most of them as she could have done if she hadn’t been on the fast track to elite sport. Elite sport which was all subsequently ripped out from under her anyway, so it felt like even more of a waste. That didn’t mean that she couldn’t make up for that time though, and knowing that celebrations were going to be continuous for at least a couple of days, she was ready for it.

Felicity was absolutely someone who had what was being dubbed as ‘town pride’, having been born in Somerton and not leaving until she was eighteen for college, these sorts of events were ones she’d been accustomed too. She liked to think that the basketball team had a certain amount of luck from her - she’d been back in town for three years, and they’d won their championships every year in that time. Felt like too much of a coincidence for her, thought she might have just been reaching for some credit that absolutely wasn’t due to her.

Someone asked him for directions to the laundromat. “Oh, hey. Yeah, no problem!” Sam looked over his shoulder first and then the rest of his body followed after to face the person. He was heading out to find something to eat because he wasn’t responsible enough to keep a fully stocked fridge when their words caught his attention. He listened to them and nodded as they spoke. “Oof, I hate when laundry machines misbehave. Last time I walked up and down the stairs six times before a machine finally opened up. Those are Saturdays at my complex.” Wasn’t it Saturday now? He looked up to the building they were by. “Wait, is that yours? Because that’s mine!” Sam laughed before they even answered. “What a small world, huh? Here, I can walk you to the laundromat if you want. It’s just a couple of blocks away. Do you need help with that?” He looked at their laundry basket and didn’t think about the fact that most people had cars.

when: after hours

with: open starter @somertonstarter​

It was a bit later than she had previously intended to get home, but to be fair, Somerton weather decided to one up them again and the rain was strong against the windshields of the bakery, spring was approaching, she got it. She had closed the doors about two hours ago, sent everyone home and stayed behind to lock up and check on the inventory, as if she didn’t have four children who needed her back home, but truth be told, she was exhausted today. Caroline called in earlier and told them she would be late, hopefully not later than Sebastian, but late nonetheless, and they should probably order something for dinner. They were never mad about ordering something for dinner.

Caroline had grabbed the finances book to take a look at, not that she understood much of money, that was a matter for the people she had hired for that, but she always liked to keep a tight ship, it was how they had survived so far and she knew they’d survive longer if she kept at it. When she heard the ring of the front door bell she looked up, eyes raised. “I would say the bakery is closed, but you’re welcomed to stay if you’re looking for shelter from the rain,” she offered, never being the one to send other people fight off the elements just like that. “Can I get you something? The coffee machine is still running.”

—–

“On the Rock’s Bar” was packed and it was only mid afternoon. Tables were full and people were enjoying themselves, laughing, drinking, eating and just having a good time at the most popular Bar, owned by Morgan Brant, who at that time was walking around the place, making sure everything was in order, just the way she liked it. Morgan knew most of the patrons and their tastes. She welcomed them into the bar herself and her charm never failed when it came to attract more customers.

Her eyes moved from the group of students that were sitting at the bar, staring at the T.V screen in front of them and listening to the sports news, to the other group that was by the pool tables, making bets. A few of them called her name and asked her to join them when she had some free time and Morgan promised them she would after finishing her rounds. She made sure that the group of elegant and high class lawyers had their drinks before moving to the corner where a local band was playing jazz music. 

Morgan was going to go back to her office when she heard a few glasses break mixed with a few curses. She turned around to see Joe and Finley, two of her waiters struggling with a man in a dark blue suit who was clearly drunk and probably had a bad day in work. She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips before walking towards them. “I wouldn’t get involved if I were you, darling!” yelled someone. Morgan reached the man when this one pushed Joe, making him fall hard on the floor.

“Hey!” Morgan yelled to get the attention of the man, who had grabbed a chair to hit anyone who dared to get close enough to him. “I won’t have you making a fuss in here just because you can’t hold your damn liquor. My door is big enough so pay what you owe, including the glasses and get the hell out of my bar.” She turned around to go back to her office when his next words stopped her. “Fuck yourself, bitch.” Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the idiot, even the musicians stopped playing. The silence took hold of the bar and the people inside knew they were going to witness Morgan in action.

“Did you just told me to fuck myself?” Finley helped Joe to stand and quickly took him away when he saw Morgan advancing towards the man. “In my own bar?” She glared at him and before he could open his mouth to answer back, Morgan made a fist with her hand and punched him right on the nose, probably breaking it, and making him yell in pain before she took him by his red tie and pull him with her as she walked towards the entrance. She pushed the doors open and threw him outside along with his jacket. “Don’t you dare to set a foot inside or a broken nose it’s going to be the least of your problems,” she told him before going inside.

Everyone was still in silence when she returned and climbed the three steps to the small plataform where the musicians had been playing. “Let this be a leson for all of you! Buying a beer or two doesn’t give you the right to mess up my bar, but if you do, you pay for the damage. If you know you can’t handle more than a glass of beer, you might as well get the fuck out before I do it myself, is that clear?” Morgan saw all heads nod. She made a hand gesture to the band so the music started again, along with the chatter, as if nothing happened. “Idiot,” she cursed before taking a seat in one of the empty sofas in the VIP section.

It was an odd thing, to be lost in a town where he had spent his entire life. But as much as he hated, it, this was the new norm for James. Getting lost, not remembering where he was going, how to get from one place to another, so much of it was lost on him these days. When he had set out to grab a coffee that morning, he had known where he was going. But a few minutes into his journey and James felt it slip from his mind. It was one of those things he was slowly getting used to, knowing that there was nothing that could be do about it. He could either keep going and get more lost or take a moment and try to regroup, see if he concentrated hard enough, that he could figure out where he had been heading. Not wanting to block the flow of people on the sidewalk, James moved over against the side of a building for a moment, a look of absolute confusion on his face as he tried his best to remember how the hell to get to the coffee shop.

when: nighttime - whatever day of the week

open starter @somertonstarter​

Who: @somertonstarter​ Where: Outside Freeze with Friends