your light is shining brighter than you know

   — hazel nodded her head as she listened to the blonde. “ yeah , it was … scary. ” the girl commented ; she still had nightmares of the event. but it wasn’t going to stop her from having a good time at prom. a smirk grows to her face & hazel gently bumps her hip into balo. “ ooooh, ” she hums. “ who’s the lucky guy? ” she slowly tilted her head from side to side as if trying to decide. “ yeah , i mean. i would like to go. i just …don’t know who to ask? and it’d be lame to go alone, you know? ”

Gala looked at the girl incredulously, pulling her lips up into a puzzled yet amused smile. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed…but nobody around here is. This new world we’re living in is being run by a handful of children that just a few months ago were still falling asleep in their high school or college classes. We’re all forcing ourselves to grow up in order to establish some sort of order around here. How well that’s working, well I’ll leave that opinion to your discretion. But everybody’s trying. The only other option is death and chaos. You do understand that? ” Gala finally asked, raising her eyebrows at the younger girl. That is exactly why she had left faction one. Even though she didn’t trust the capabilities of anybody left in their town, she would always choose faction two’s survival instincts and logical arguments over the myriad of lost puppies in the rest of the factions. But dividing the few people left in town wasn’t a smart or even sustainable option either.

"Well, I think most people are more suitable to make hard decisions than I am,” Balo admits, there were so many people she knew would do a better job at taking care of things around here than she ever could. The girl who got distressed when people argued was hardly the type of person who should lead. “I still wish people hadn’t broken apart and talked things out, working together on average is better than being at each other’s throats all the time. But I understand that everyone is just trying to survive right now.” She keeps tucking hair behind her ear as she talks to Gala, clearly a little nervous at the concept of upsetting the woman. “I really wish more people had listened to Mickey though.”

Balo moves with him, a content smile starting to form on her lips as she finds herself back on the bed. She reaches out to pull him back to her, to get him on the bed with her but she quickly drops her hand when she realizes what he’s doing. The want becoming even more apparent on her face when he removes his briefs.

She nods when he says he’s going to take off his prosthetic - if he wanted to remove it, she was more than okay with it. “More than okay.” She assures him as she moves closer to him. She leans in to start planting soft kisses up his neck, trying to remain patient as he removes his leg. She didn’t want to touch him too much and risk messing him up.

In fact, the last thing she wanted was to give him any cause to stop her again.

Balo smiles against his lips when he starts to hold her against his body, not responding to his words. If things went wrong down the line perhaps he could hold it against her but she wasn’t going to let his past stop her right now. If it bit her in the ass later, he had plenty of room to go I told you so. She kisses him again, continuing to press against him as she lets her hands wander over his body.

She pulls away from the kiss when she has to catch her breath, grinding against him a bit as she glances behind her to the bed, "we should move this back to there.” She whispers, the words slipping from her lips before she even has enough time to even question how she was going to phrase it. She kisses him again as she takes a single small step back towards the bed. She wouldn’t move more than that unless he followed, her focus truly was more on him than anything right now.

“ Hm. Well since you’re insisting on being heard tonight, what do you think happened to us? I’ve heard most of the theories roaming around… but you’ve remained quiet. Some might even say suspiciously so. ”

   — “ so … prom, huh? ” spoke hazel as she looked inside at small mirror , reapplying her lip gloss. she shut closed the pocket mirror & put it back in her purse. the ginger turned towards the other and asked : “ are you planning on going? ”

“I’m thinking about it still, on the one hand, I want to go and dance with my friends - on the other hand, I heard enough about the last party.” Balo hadn’t been in attendance of that one, but she wasn’t sure how she would react if there was a repeat of the events. “Plus, there’s someone I want to ask but I’m not sure how he’ll react so I suppose that’s a factor too.”

“don’t be a fucking pussy and join me on the swings you loser.” she said bitterly rolling her eyes. was that the best way to talk to people? probably not. but at this point, she didn’t care. “be a kid for once and please don’t talk about this shit that’s happening. this town is whack i swear.” she said shaking her head as she kicked her feet on the ground to start swinging slightly and held onto the cold bars. “you think if we stare up at the sky long enough we’ll see a plane go by?” she asked looking up at the stars twinkling finally realizing how much she desperately wanted to go home.

A Frustrated Text

[ Sent -> Warren ] So someone just texted me you murdered a gnome today and I just want to say I’m disappointed. You can do better, I know you can - you have so much good in your still and you keep ignoring it.

[ Sent -> Warren ] I know in my heart you’re a lot better than this. Call me? We can go find something less destructive to help you feel better.

A Comforting Text

[ Sent -> Warren ] I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry. I still love you so much and I didn’t mean to cause you to snap. Okay? Please call me back, I just want to make sure you’re okay.

[ Sent -> Warren ] I’m not angry, okay? I’m just worried about you. I shouldn’t have gotten on you about the gnome and I crossed the line, I don’t think any less of you. I’m still here for you no matter what, I promise. I’m not turning my back on you and I forever just want the best for you.

A Drunk Text [Randomized]

[ Sent -> Alex ] HEY I JUST SAW SOMEONE WHO REMINDS ME OF YOU ON TV.

[ Attached is a picture of Dr. Phil in an episode recorded on her DVR ]

Bay: Already told you -- you, by my side, all night...

Bay: That's the best gift.

Bay: And if people get jealous, we'll just let them be jealous.

Bay: About time people actually recognized us as the hot stuff we are, right?

Bay: So, I'll see you later, then.

[Bay is typing...]

Bay: 😘

Balo: You want my company for your birthday? I'm not sure it's that special, Bay.

Balo: I'm bringing you a real present too, okay? Because I really want to. OH! And dog treats for Lucky because I don't think I could knowingly see Lucky and not have them. It'd break his little doggy heart - or mine, it could honestly be mine.

Bay: Just hang out by my side, then.

Bay: I'll protect you.

Bay: Promise.

Bay: And that sounds amazing, B. But you don't need to get me anything...

Balo: I feel like everyone will get jealous if I hide by the birthday girl all night, I'm sure everyone will want to see you too.

A Late Night Text [Randomized]

[ Sent -> Mickey ] Do you ever just lay in bed and realize there’s someplace else you’d really rather be?

[ Sent -> Mickey ] Can I come over? I have a flashlight, I’d be safe. I just really miss you a lot right now.

An Accidental Text [Randomized]

[ Sent -> Mickey ] You don’t seem to get it, I want to do cute things with him like make him breakfast in bed and cuddle him - maybe even raise a dog with him? I mean I think that one is something I should wait on but my point is with this - how I feel about Mickey isn’t just a physical thing. It’s a “I know in my heart I could happily fall in love with this man” thing.  So, can you please stop asking me this question because the answer isn’t changing from no. Just because I don’t say a word often doesn’t mean it loses it’s power, okay? 

A Hyper Text [Randomized]

[Sent -> Lane] OHMYGOSH GUESS WHAT! I GOT TO PET A DOG TODAY.

A Helpful Text [Randomized]

[Sent -> Chandler] Hey, I heard a rumor you were looking for tampons and I just figured I’d mention I can give you a box. I know Costco probably still has some but my place is closer if memory serves me right?

          “you know what i miss?” he spoke as he bent down to pick up some trash around him. they might not have rules put into place, but he wouldn’t condone littering. “doctor phil. the memes, the drama, he was an underrated man, truly. i miss that man with my whole heart.”