wildest dreams

“My girl can’t have her peach iced tea without having her cake too. I mean, you can, of course. You can do everything and anything you wanna but I just think it’ll be better with cake. Strawberries and cream included.”

“Oh, if my boy insists. The sweeter the better where strawberries and cream are concerned. Extra cream, please and thank you.”

“I’ll have her spike. —You look cute today, Soph. Big plans to hold hands with the boy?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Though the way her cheeks showed a rosy tint said otherwise. “But if I did know, I’d most likely say yes, plans are in the works. How about you? I can call in a rain check if you’d like to hang with me today.”

“So, peach iced tea you say? Sweetened, unsweetened? Which would you prefer, sweetheart?”

“I enjoy mine more on the bitter side, just a sugar packet added after. Sometimes sweet tea is like drinking sugar water, which I know the bees love, but not so much myself.”

“That might be the smartest thing I’ve heard all day. I mean, there was a patient in the clinic earlier who I literally heard ask if they’d die from lack of exposure to ‘the goss’ so the bar was pretty low. Not that- I mean, you’re always saying smart stuff. Things.” Jeez. “Sounds good though.”

“That patient at least got out of the house and stepped away from the gossip sites for a few hours. The tiny positive in all of that.” Sophia ordered another one for Tessa, throwing a few bills into the mason jar for tips. “Do you think there will be repercussions to all of this or could this really be the end of Gossip Girl?”

Nothing could truly ruin any moment he spent with Sophia Vandervort but even Jesse had to admit that Gossip Girl was getting pretty damn close. Not because that was the sort of power she had over him or them but because today was supposed to be special. Perfect. Uninterrupted. Now not even pizza could stand against her as Sophia’s phone buzzed once more and he felt his frown deepen with every word he read over her shoulder. He swallowed back, feeling the sort of self-righteous anger he almost never let bubble to the surface. Veronica Ravenwood was right: Jesse couldn’t just stand around anymore when it came to his loved ones. Jesse couldn’t stand to see Sophia cry.

He didn’t blame her for looking at the blog or checking in on what was being said about her (though it didn’t matter) or him (and it was stupid that he almost wanted to smile). He understood it, he just wished that he could protect her from every little terrible thing this world had to offer. Unrealistic, he knew but that didn’t make him feel any differently. The way he felt about her… How high his opinion of her was, how dearly and endlessly he thought about her and this was how he was going to voice it. It should have been perfect with pizza and flour smeared on cheeks but instead he wasn’t thinking before he spoke.

Even in the face of the flurry of feelings that were threatening to spill out, he couldn’t stop the way his heart all but soared at her confession. Of course he knew that she liked him, well, more even but to hear her say something like that… Well, maybe it would be perfect after all.

“Enough’s enough,” he said a little too loudly, his head shaking as he watched the tears fill her eyes. Jesse reached out for her hands, intensity filling his eyes as he willed her to believe him, to see how much he cared about her. About them. “She- Gossip Girl- can’t just keep doing this. There has to be something we… I can do. I’m going to do something, Soph. She’s not going to make you cry ever again, okay? Not if I can help it. I’m sick of it too. I can’t stand knowing that anyone is making you upset and it- it’s making me upset. No one has the right to make you feel like this and she doesn’t know what she’s talking about because if she knew even the first thing about you, about us, then she’d know how wrong she is. Me and you, this, is special. You make me happier than I thought I could ever be and you don’t even have to try, just thinking about you smiling, laughing, making that face you always make right when the main characters about to get their happy ending in a movie is enough. I love everything about you. There’s not one bad thing, not one and I’ll be damned if some pathetic and small blog makes you think twice about that. Or about how I feel about you. No, no it’s enough. I’m done with her messing with me, my friends and my girlfriend especially,” he almost forgot to take a breath, his brain having not caught up with his mouth, “Gossip Girl is going down.”

Sophia had opened her mouth to reply, to compliment him on his heroism. There wasn’t a person in the world Jesse didn’t show compassion towards. He was the kind of good people hoped existed, the type of man to restore someone’s faith in the world. In the midst of gossip, torment, and heartbreaks the Upper East Side caused, Jesse had been a real guiding light for Sophia. He rescued her from the sadness of her parent’s split and father’s engagement, even drunkness in parties and blackouts, and now this.

“Jesse,” She spoke softly, the slightest smile starting to grow and push away the gloomy feeling that had lurked over them. “You’re too perfect in this moment.” With a flick of her pointer finger in the flour, she tapped it on his nose, leaving the tip looking like it was covered in summertime sunscreen. “That’s better.”

Any tears that had arrived were long forgotten.

Does anyone have a sister/cousin/any connection that they need filled, OC or not? I want someone with quite a few connections or maybe something juicy to help me get my mojo back & light the fire underneath me again ~~~ 

Introduction

Name: Alexa ‘Lex’ Walker Age: Nineteen Birthday + Zodiac: January 16 + Aquarius Occupation: 2nd Year at Barnard College; Majoring in Anthropology (recently kicked out) Parents: Sophia Vandervort + Jesse Walker

Personality 

Positives: socially aware; practical; innovative; loyal Negatives: eccentricity; intellectual arrogance; rigidity Label: The Activist Aesthetic: messy & unruly curls; greenhouses; feminism; black cats with bright green eyes; glittery bath bombs; the bedazzled bong appropriately hidden from her parents; the devil’s lettuce; holiday sock collection; quirky graphic tees

Plot

Lex has bounced back and forth between crowds all her life, finding it easy to befriend most people. It was bound to happen, to fall in with the bad eggs eventually as she avoided them all of high school. Her sophomore year of university proved just that. Lex has smoked pot for a couple of years now, all in hopes to relieve any pain from the knee injury she sustained in grade school (and because weed is awesome). It’s never gone beyond that and she’s never wanted it to.

At a recent gathering, her “friends” brought along party favors -- all kinds of colorful prescription pills she’d never be able to name without a pharmacy degree. Everyone dipped into the favors, mixing them with alcohol. But not Lex. No, Lex wasn’t booted from her dream school of Barnard for her own participation, but because she was caught disposing of the drugs after the party. She was ashamed, but knew in her heart she’d be more disappointed in herself if she had ratted out the true culprits. She accepted the punishment, left school with her tail between her legs, and still hasn’t told her parents.

Connections

Stella Walker -- Younger sister

Holly McAllister Abrams -- Best friends & protest pals