But at least you're not bitter.

        Zachary and Dawn knew each other from when they were young; as little kids, they had a little romance going on. They held hands, shared candy and said that the other smelled like poop. Yep, a very mature romance for sure. They had “ended their relationship” back when they were in middle school and that had been about it. Until last week, when they had met up once more as her Dad had been celebrating his birthday and since their family had been friends since before the birthday of their children, it was bound for the two of them to meet each other again. The two of them got wasted and had the best time together in the middle of a big crowd of people who probably looked down on them. Zachary smiled as the two of them walked over to the chocolate machine and he quickly made her a cup with whipped cream on top before the two of them turned towards Dawn. Things are good. Hectic but good. Hope you didn’t have a massive hangover last week. Zachary smiled and shook his head, as he had really figured out a way for him to not have a massive hangover anymore as drinking was something he did a lot of. “Yeah, no I was good, don’t worry. What about you? Did your Dad have a good night?”

“I was okay. I took a shower and got in bed, I was fine. My dad had an amazing night. He was hungover as hell, it was insane,” Dawn chuckled softly, grabbing one of the comic books before she started to look through the pages. It was still storming outside so she figured she would stay for a while. Putting the book back where it belonged, Dawn walked towards Zach and Sophie, sitting down on a nearby chair.

          Zachary chuckled when he saw who it was that entered the store. “Hey princess,” he spoke and smiled brightly towards Sophie, Dawn’s daughter, whom she had told him about when they had met at her Dad’s birthday party, which his family had been invited to and that was how the two of them had reconnected again. “Hey, do you want some hot chocolate? I even have whipped cream somewhere,” he questioned and smiled as he put the counting machine down on the counter where the cashier machine was. Rubbing his hands together, he looked at Dawn and smiled softly. “Come on, let’s make you some hot chocolate while your Mom looks around for a little bit, huh?” he said and chuckled softly as he held out his hand, waiting for the little girl to take it so they could make their way over to the machine behind the counter. “So,” he spoke and lifted his head, looking at Dawn, “How’s things?” 

Dawn knew Zach from when they were little. As little kids, they had a very mature romance going on. You know, holding hands, sharing candy and saying the other smelled like poop. So mature. The two ‘broke up’ when they were in middle school and that was about it. Until last week. Her dad was celebrating his birthday and Zach is the son of one of his closest friends, so Dawn and Zach pretty much got wasted and had the best time together in the middle of a crowd full of adults with a midlife crisis. And no, nothing happened. 

She allowed Sophie to run towards the dark haired male and the toddler happily agreed to the hot chocolate. Dawn was starting to look through stuff, putting a sombrero on her head before grabbing a Deadpool themed tambourine. This store had some weird stuff. She looked up as soon she heard Zach speak to her and she smiled.

“Things are good. Hectic but good. Hope you didn’t have a massive hangover last week.”

When it was nice like today and he had the time off to do as he pleased, often Ashton would take Chewbarka on walks through the park. Intentionally passing by the playground because his dog was quite the peculiar character and liked both the attention of any children who might seem interested in petting him, and he also liked to slide on the slide. Which was often a rather amusing sight, the large white animal sitting on his hind legs to slide down as if such a thing was actually meant for him. 

In passing he’d walked along behind the bench Dawn was perched on just long enough to hear the distress in her voice, but he decided when rounding the corner to greet her not to make mention of it. He knew some people needed their space. “Howdy stranger. Haven’t seen ya’ in quite a bit,” Ashton offered her a warm lopsided smile. Chewbarka swiftly moving towards her to offer a friendly greeting as well, wagging his tail excitedly. “Mind if we join ya’ fer a few minutes? This guy likes to tire me out. Chased someone on a skateboard a few minutes ago. Need ta’ catch my breath a little.” 

Dawn immediately recognized the voice of the person who approached her. She quickly wiped her tears from her cheeks before happily accepting Chewbarka’s greeting. God, she loved that dog.

A chuckle managed to escape her lips as her face was licked and she looked up to meet Ashton’s gaze. “Of course,” she stated, moving to grab her bag before placing it down beside her on the ground. “Have a seat. How have you been?”

It came at him so quickly — one second he had his hand out, ready for a friendly shake of the hand, the next second, an open palm slapped him, hard, on his cheek. Will stumbled backwards a bit, the side of his face still stinging from the altercation, missing the look of incredulity on the other’s face. When was the last time he was slapped like that? Usually he prided himself in keeping cool in situations, always being more of a mediator than the ones involved in any sort of argument, so he was confused by her action. Blinking a couple of times, his forehead wrinkled. “Did - did I really deserve that?”

“Maybe, maybe not. I just really wanted to do that,” Dawn stated with a slight shrug, eventually extending her hand like a normal person would. “Dawn Miracle, I’m much more fun sober. Believe me. It’s nice to meet you even though you have pissed me off greatly.”

“Oh its nothin’!” Tobias stated watching the young mother clean off her child. “I clean Ana off probably six times a day” He stated looking down at her princess. “Are you  two on the way home or just getting here?” He stated letting go of Ana and allowing her to begin to play on the swings. 

“We were having a little ice cream break,” Dawn stated as Sophie waddled away from the two and plopped down in the sand, playing with it. The young mother kept a close look on her daughter, but conversed with her friend at the same time. “We needed some fresh air.”

Like the sun greeted mornings with a steady rise, Grace greeted mornings with a rhythmic run. Her shoelace broke loose halfway through the route, so she parked herself on a bench to redo the rogue. The bench was already half-occupied by someone in a heated conversation, but she figured she’d only stay a moment. Of course, nosy as she was, Grace couldn’t help but take her time on the lace to catch the conversation’s closure. As well-intentioned as she was nosy, however, Grace also couldn’t resist reaching out. “Hey,” Grace started gently. “Are you all right?”

Dawn turned her head as soon she heard the voice of a woman. Her brows furrowed and she lowered her head in a slight nodding manner. “Yeah, I’m okay,” was her response. Of course she wasn’t okay, but she wasn’t going to pour her heart out to a stranger.

Annabelle needed some air to clear her thoughts before she went to see Tobias to talk about everything, she was sitting on one of the park benches when she heard a woman shouting into a phone, since it was loud she had managed to pick up some of what the woman was saying and felt bad when she heard what the conversation was about. The woman on the park bench was clearly distraught and Belle felt for her, so she walked over and gestured towards the bench that Dawn was sitting on. “Hey… is this seat taken? Are you okay?” 

“No, it’s not taken. Go ahead. I’ll be okay, eventually.” Dawn replied, lowering her head in a nod and offering a gentle smile to the female. She didn’t want strangers to worry for her, they were strangers after all. Not everyone had to know what she was dealing with. The only people fully aware of the situation were her family, Ethan and Willow. That was enough. “Just some trouble in paradise, is all.”

Vin’s ears pricked up the moment he heard the word court and he started to listen in on the phone conversation near by. He heard the woman’s plight, the angst in her tone of voice and he felt bad for her. His own mother had to struggle after Vincent’s father died, he was familiar with the harsh reality of financial difficulties and how cruel the system could be. Waiting for the phone call to end, Vin stood up from the bench where he had been seated and wandered over to the woman. “I’m sorry for intruding but I think I could help you. I’m a lawyer, criminal lawyer but I know civil suits. If you’re interested, I’d like to hear your side of the story, see if there’s something I can do. I’ll even treat you to lunch, I’m on my lunch break.” he expressed in addition.

Dawn looked up as soon she heard a man’s voice, his words overwhelming her. She took a moment to let it sink in before she turned to look at the two girls playing in the sand. “Honestly, I would love that,” she started. “But I have my daughter and her friend to take care of at the moment. Can we make an appointment for another day?” She looked rather hopeful at the male, hoping this wasn’t just a kind gesture, but that this could be a successful lawsuit.

Tobias was about to allow his five year old to begin running around before he was stopped by his friend Dawn. Chuckling he pulled his back in front of him before searching through it. “I have a wipe, that should do the trick” He stated pulling the small container from the bag and handing it over to her. If one thing being a father taught him, was to always be prepared for the craziest and wildest things. Ana always opened his eyes to new possibilities. “Hi Sophie!” Ana shouted from beside Tobias’ leg. Tobias kept his hand on Ana’s head to make sure she didn’t rush over to her friend, while she was getting cleaned.

“Tobias, if you one day told me you were a fallen angel, I would believe you.” Dawn chuckled softly before accepting the wipe from her friend, cleaning her daughter’s face and hands with it before she allowed Sophie to stand on her own and greet her friend. The brunette smiled down at the pair before looking back up at the male. “How are you doing? It’s been a while.”