INTROSPECTION.

Of course she didn’t believe him. Who would? He wasn’t going to cave so quickly and tell her the truth, either. She’d surely joke about it until he lungs gave out. Connor scoffed as if her suggestion was ridiculous, though in all honesty, was not even as bad as the truth. “Don’t be ridiculous. These dudes were the real deal. Motorcycle gang, full long beards, giant heart tattoos that say mom. You know, your average biker.” The more he talked, the more obvious it became a lie. At least he was willing to admit that. “But you know me. I got out of it with just sliced up tires because of my natural wit and charisma. Talked my way out of getting my ass kicked.” Why was he still talking? She wasn’t buying it, but it was fun to pretend. “Aight, this kid that’s out to get me stole my bike and fucked it up. There. That’s the truth.” 

She put her hands up as in defense against his scowl. Quickly her eyebrows furrowed the more he spoke and the thinner his voice got. God, he was a horrible liar, but she still entertained him by nodding her head along before she halted. “See, that’s where I don’t believe you. You’re way more likely to get your ass handed to you than to smooth talk your way out,” she teased. “You’ve been watching way too many episodes of Sons of Anarchy,” To be fair, it was a good show. Though her brown eyes widen at the confession of the real events, “What?” okay, she had to laugh, even though she tried to hold it in for as long as she could. “I can see why you tried to lie,” more chortle laughter followed as she tried to gain some context, somehow this was better than his original lie. “What the hell did you do to piss off a kid, Connor?” 

“It’s slightly different. You are an old person and needs to beat Death to keep living. I could get first place in my first playthrough, so… It’s not hard, but it’s funny.” She explained her best to don’t look so dark, although it is really funny. Feeling the other playing with her elbow, Hana almost let the controller fall. “Thanks Jesus it’s not mine.” Hana said playfully, but still focused and grabbed properly again. It didn’t take long until get the first place, even if the others were quite close to her. Luckily she got shells and didn’t think twice before throwing them and hoping that would make her a few seconds in advantage.

Stevie laughed softly to herself, “That’s one hell of an incentive, are we talking like grandpa age? Oh -- you’re going to have to show me.” Her interest was now fully peaked as she sat there excitedly. Looking over at Hana, she laughed as she joked about dropping the controller. “My cat broke my last one. I don’t need to add you to my that list too,” she joked. 

“Unfortunately. My plays are as boring as my life.” He shrugged nonchalantly, chuckling. 

“A secret sex tape? Really?” Matthew snorted a laugh. “I have never filmed myself having sex but I have had sex with a porn actress once.”

Stevie laughed, appreciating the self-deprecating humor.

“Huh. I never thought about using that. Thanks for giving me the idea, for next time.” Robbie grinned. “Great! You wanna meet at Ohana’s? I’m in the mood for some hot wings.”

“As long as you don’t use it on me. I’ll start World War 3 with Silverlake’s fire department,” she half-threatened as she nodded. “Ugh, yes! As long as I can steal one of your wings.” She shot her best innocent smile. “I’ve been craving poké all week.”

luke: 🥼 something like that

luke: that is a question i often find myself asking, if you figure it out lemme know.

luke: ha, expensive whiskey and flowers, the key go-to! i get away with forgetting most of the time, one day to the next is a blur, what even is a holiday. you really should be pleased with how thoughtful my dinner offer was.

luke: sound, olive garden it is ✌🏻

luke: vinyl always, not really a tattoo guy, not looking to pierce anything either

stevie: sleeping is for people who are mentally stable, that's the conclusion i've come to.

stevie: ngl those are pretty good gifts. i mean who's going to get mad at you for getting them hammered with the chance of no hangover. pft, i'm not easily pleased but wow, you're too busy for dinner now? what happened to having a personal life?

“This is for sure! Firstly because we can see our friends position and because it’s way more frenetic.” She laughed. “It makes sense. I played a game last weekend called Coffin Dodgers and it’s good even playing against the machine.” She nodded and pouted afterwards. “There’s just a way to know!” As the road was loading, Hana started to get more excited and held the controller properly. “Eat my dust, Lakitu.” She laughed, starting the engine and speeding up through the road.

“Ooohh, I haven’t heard of Coffin Dodgers, but if it’s better than Mario Kart I’ll have to check it out. It’s a racing game?” she questioned as she screen loaded. Stevie didn’t get to nerd out like this unless she had a headset attached, so it was nice to finally have someone in person. “Mhm,” the blonde hummed as she playfully dug her elbow against the other girls shoulder so it was hard for her to hold her controller steady. Though before she knew it, the game had started and she was already in 5th place. “Oh, no you don’t!” she exclaimed, as she road the edge of the rainbow road almost falling off into space as she managed through the first set of turns. 

Her response was a bit of a shock, but then again… what did Helena expect? The smile she was faking faltered slightly, that guilt eating her away knowing she was the cause of this mess they were in. She remembered when they were younger, practically joined at the hip until one day they just … weren’t. Helena was once the person pulling a laugh from Stevie’s lips instead of that awkward look on her face. It was hard finally having to face something she tried to ignore after all these years. 

So, yes, in many ways it was unpleasant. It was unpleasant that Helena hadn’t tried sooner to reconnect, own up to her mistakes (even if they felt justified at the time). It was unpleasant knowing that, well, it was unpleasant for Stevie being there next to her. 

“Yeah, but it’s an open bar. Throwing alcohol won’t hurt my pocket, at least,” she tried to joke, but the amused tone was only half there. Helena cleared her throat a bit and looked at her old friend. “It’s not … unpleasant seeing you, Stevie. It really isn’t. Do I wish circumstances were a bit different? Yeah, of course. But… it’s never unpleasant seeing you. It’s actually nice.”

Opening her mouth, she let the thought sink for a second before she accepts her defeat, “You’re not wrong,” she couldn’t even deny it. “Hey, do me a favor? Go for the chest at least. I promised myself I was getting laid at this wedding, at least I’ll still have a shot then,” she joked right back. Letting out a dry laugh, the awkwardness she tried to prolong, quickly caught up to her. It was her fault for being so blunt, but she hadn’t actually worked out what being Helena would be like again. She just figured she wouldn’t. Not after Helena made it pretty crystal clear she wasn’t her friend the last time they had spoken.

Whether it had been jumbled wedding joy or sincerity, it took Stevie by surprise none the less. She did her best to hide it but that thin line smile actually relaxed. “I wasn’t so sure that was actually the case,” she let out a shaky breath she had been holding. At least she could breathe a little easier, it was just hard to look at the person she never thought she would have to see out of her life. “I actually don’t think this wedding would be complete without the golden trio.” The second the bartender sat her drink at the bar, she quickly picked it up needing to feel something other than the bittersweet butterflies in her stomach as she slid Helena her drink.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not giving you anything. We can always pay for our own food?” Robbie cheekily smiled.

“Touché, ” she finger-gunned over at him, “at least you’re not using the speaker to get my attention” she joked. “I’m down. I can pay this time, just because I’m coming from practice and I’m about to eat half the menu of any resturant right now.” 

Ben had absolutely no idea if he believed Stevie’s words or not, but at the same time, he wasn’t about to question them either. There really was so much unsaid when he came to what had happened between them —- pretty much every second of it now. “Good.” The response was a little strained, but he wanted to say something at the very least.

When she continued on, however, he supposed that he should have seen it coming. She had every right for the annoyance, the aggravation and the bitterness. If the roles had been reversed, he imagined he would have been acting much the same way. He had no resentment when it came to Stevie, just a whole load of regret. “Well, no one looks good in those… what can I say?” He really wished there was something else he could say to her, a way to turn the clock back and redo it all. They’d been such good friends once upon a time and now what was left? For four years he’d been running from even attempting to find out.

“Good,” the word sounded fein. Is this why people went to therapy? She was too stubborn to find out herself. The thing was, she was half terrified to meet the ‘new and improved’ Ben Scott because every time she saw him, Stevie felt like that insecure girl back in New York. There was no use in bringing up the past now and part of her wished she could take it all back. How she wished she would have kept their friendship over the turmoil of their relationship. It’s why their little running game had actually been the best case scenario for her. She had kept things bottled up for so long, but she was no longer that wavering girl. 

Stevie almost wanted to say that she was sorry, but she wasn’t entirely sure that she was. Instead she pursed her lips for a moment, “Mhm, I’m sure there’s a niche of fangirls out there that would disagree with you,” she tried to soften the blow as she let out a breath she had been holding. “Are you doing better?” maybe a bit personal to ask, but it wasn’t like Stevie had much of a filter and she was curious. 

There were a number of emotions coursing through her. Nostalgia, guilt, awkwardness, but somewhere deep down, there was happiness. Helena regretted turning her back on Stevie - she was after all one of the few people who believed in her growing up. At the time, it felt needed, but now… she realized just how much she had missed her. 

Silence loomed over them for a moment too long as Helena searched for her words. How was she supposed to have just casual conversations with her? Then again, how was she supposed to have anything deeper than that after all these years. 

Before her mind could practically implode on itself, Stevie broke the awkward tension. Helena released a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding and nodded with a smile. “Um, yeah. I definitely need one. I’ll walk with you.” Helena moved from the table and dodged familiar faces to make it over to the bar. She ordered a cherry & lime bourbon and turned to Stevie as she waited for the bartender to make their respective drinks. “Stevie King,” she said her name with emphasis, as if she was truly in the presence of a celebrity. “I’ll be dammed. I can’t believe we’re running into one another after all this time.”

Stevie was glad that there was a pound of make-up on her face to hide the fact that her cheeks were certainty red. Usually, she was good at playing it cool in tense situations, but Helena wasn’t just anyone as much as Stevie wanted to pretend so. Stevie wasn’t sure she could lie to the other, at least not good enough to get away with it anyway. 

Biting the side of her lip, she realizes that she has no plan. None other than running to the bathroom, but if anything was going to help, it was alcohol. 

A thin line smiled appeared on her face as she nodded before heading over to the bar. Stevie could feel the tension the whole way there that she almost couldn’t order her tequila highball fast enough. Letting out a stifled laugh she shook her head, “It’s okay, you don’t have to pretend it’s ‘pleasant’ to see me.” She looked at her hands for a moment because it wasn’t easy to look at Helena. She wasn’t saying that to make things awkward, but she also wasn’t going to ignore the elephant in the room completely. “I mean as long as you don’t throw your drink in my face. That’s just a waste of alcohol, in my opinion, at least go water.” 

“Aw, babe,” Sofia grinned, wrinkling her nose in Stevie’s direction. “You’re my biggest cheerleader. Yep! Me myself and I. It’s a snapshot of the night sky at approximately… 2 am last night. Preserved forever! Or at least until the adhesive starts peeling.” She inhaled sharply as she regained her balance, shaking her head. “Yikes and a half. But if the fucking fire hazards I call lab mates can’t get me, this ladder won’t. Do confiscate my phone if I ever start talking about cryptocurrency on twitter.”

“You just need to stop being so cool,” Stevie pretended to roll her eyes at Sofia before she grinned because it was true. “These stars remind me of the first time I got high, I was mesmerized, stared at them for way too long jamming to the Smiths.” She reminisced as she turned to look at Sofia. “What the hell were you doing up at 2am?” she questioned. Clenching her teeth at her friend, her eyebrows furrowing together. “At least the semester’s almost over, right? I have no idea how graduate school works. Don’t worry, I happily will. Without sounding like an eighty year old, the idea of computerized money is a little beyond me.” 

Hana was honestly having fun. Although she was in a not-so stranger house, she feels really well around her. They just clicked and got along so easily as if they were friends on her past life as well. Hana felt her cheeks blush with her comment, but soon they were gone with her competitiveness after her choice of character. “Oh, really? So haven’t you been playing that much or?” Hana preferred to keep the rest of the sentence in the air, smiling at her words. “Chaotic sounds like we are right now…” She smiled, coming a little closer to the TV and getting ready.

"I feel like Mario Kart is one of those games that more fun when you’re playing with other people than playing against the computer. I only really play it when other people are over.” She tried to explain as she furrowed her eyebrows. “Doesn’t mean I’m not good though,” she grinned at her new friend. She nodded her head. “Oh yeah, chaotic is just about right.” She clicked Rainbow Road as Lakitu started the countdown. “Moment of truth, Princess Peach,” Stevie laughed excitedly as the green light flashed on the screen.