don't quit your daydream

“You could use it as a stepping stone too,” Logan suggested, pulling her water bottle from her bag. “You know, like you do that and figure out how to make the video game plan work for you. Use it as a part time sort of gig, then once the video games are all sorted out you launch yourself head first down that path.”

“I think it’s safe to say I like the way you think.” He smiled, looking over to her and nudging her lightly. “alright, well enough of the future and career talk. While I know we are at a school, art carnival, or fair, we don’t need to be talking about the career stuff. Let’s focus on this thing!” He laughed, walking with her. “I’ll let you pick.”

it was as he walked into the elevator he realized he’d forgotten his headphones in his car. salim wasn’t one for small talk, he liked to have sound buzzing in his ears and eyes trained in front of him while riding the elevator. the way he saw it, he had plenty of friends already he didn’t need to be making new ones. it wasn’t as if he spent much time in the apartment complex anyway, so what did it matter if the people also living in the building thought of his as a friend or at all. salim didn’t mind giving off the air of arrogance around the place, it kept people from bothering him too much - even if he was trying to be a better person these days it didn’t mean he had to convince everyone else of that fact. he leaned against the railing of the elevator, willing it to be a merciful trip up the few flights - but the other passenger cleared her throat and looked towards him. salim had seen her most nights he was coming back, usually granted the quiet ride. “must just be an awkward coincidence,” he shrugged. “best time to ride the elevator or whatever.”

oof. this wasn’t how she expected the mysterious boy to be. all this time she had seen him, she thought with how reserved he was, he’d offer a bit of a good attitude. but it was the exact opposite. she almost regretted even sparking up a conversation, in terms of stepping on some very sensitive toes. however, if there was one thing she learned, especially working as a bartender, it was that you had to take everything with a grain of salt. especially, a bad attitude. “alright, awkward coincidence it is.” she said, settling for his reasoning as she watched the floors increase more and more. “what makes this the best time to ride?” she asked, raising a brow. “i’d say it’s the creepiest.”

@stinkerbellz​

          T H E walk home from the bar was never easy. blake was always overly tired but was extremely grateful every time she’d make it to her apartment. the bell hop was always there to greet her and thankfully, the elevator was always super handy. as she approached the doors, she pressed her button to start heading up. the wait was never all that long, thankfully because after being on your feet for 12 hours, it always seemed a bit...brutal. *PING* the elevators stopped, slowly opening their doors where blake finally loaded on, taking a deep breath as she pressed her floor number. 25. she backed up, her back eventually hitting the metal handle on the wall before she saw another floor light up. 27. looking up, there he was. the same boy she’d seen time and time again. she never cared to speak up. mostly because he looked like someone you really didn’t want to be bothered. but god he was attractive. clearing her throat, she turned to look to him. what more could she really say? she didn’t want to sound stupid. “you know i see you on here a lot. more so around the same time every day.” she paused. “i have to ask- are you coming from work too? or is it just awkward coincidence that you’re here every night i am?” she finally muttered out as the doors shut.

@harrysgold​

          S U M M E R was literally on the brink of having it’s last month and with the amount of work blake had been doing, she rarely had time to really enjoy the time. but here it was: down time. time for a vacation. time to really enjoy this city that she just moved to. being a musician from california, a lot of people had questions: why move to NYC when you can make a career here? what’s so great about NYC that you can’t get here? It was overwhelming. It wasn’t something that she really had the answer to either except that she was tired of living in the same state. she was born in california so naturally, packing up and moving to the next big city was her venturing out and that wasn’t anyone’s business but her own.

now being the first morning where she had little to nothing planned, blake decided she wanted to spend the day doing a little shopping in times square. every other time she had been there, it was to run a quick errand and having to make it quick so that she could make it to work on time. but this time, she was able to really enjoy herself. stepping into a local coffee shop, she walked up to the counter reading the menu. “hmmm...” she murmured to herself as she looked up at the menu. “do i go with a hazelnut or chai tea...” she asked herself, realizing someone standing right behind her. “oh, go ahead!” she said not even really making eye contact. “i’m so sorry. i don’t mean to stand in the way!”

Honestly speaking, Rohan had been worried that while she’d confessed her feelings, perhaps Harmony wouldn’t be all that easily able to wait for him and give him the time he needed to actually work up the mental approval at acting on his feelings for her. But he was just glad she wasn’t taking it to heart because he’d tell her over and over that it wasn’t a rejection in any way, shape or form. “It’s going to be amazing,” he gave her a wink before digging into the meal right away, his eyes still on her–finding it hard to tear his gaze away.

They had been eating for quite some time now before she realized he was looking at her. “What?” She asked as she tried to eat her own meal, knowing he was still looking at her. “There’s something in my teeth, isn’t there?” She gasped, picking up her phone and turning the front facing camera on. “Nope, that’s not it. Are you okay!?” She asked, laughing.

“I…wasn’t sure you ever could see me in that way,” Jade admitted with a tiny smile on her lips. “I mean…look at you,” she said, her eyes brightening once more as she took in his entire look. “You’re…gorgeous Axel,” and while Jade knew she was decent, she just didn’t believe she measured up. But that was certainly something she’d work on rectifying as much as she could. “I’m glad neither of us had to deal with rejection,” she murmured before looking down at their hands together and smiled. “Well, I can’t wait to hear all about the first time you realized you had feelings for me…so go ahead, and tell me.”

“What does me being gorgeous have to do with me not liking you?” he asked sincerely. “You’re gorgeous too. Probably way out of my league but you like me. Just have to accept it.” He smiled, and then nodded as he heard her murmur. That was a plus because rejection could ultimately suck. “Oh god, are we really about to take a trip down memory lane?” He asked her, covering his face. “Probably after the first week of becoming roommates.”

Logan nodded along as she listened. She was always interested in what it was other people hoped for their lives. For so long she had felt like her only option was success and it didn’t really matter how she got there - just that she did. “I think that sounds really cool,” she smiled. “I mean you’ll definitely be able to keep people engaged while you’re teaching. Be it video games or English.”

Devon laughed. “I really don’t know, Lo.” He sighed. “I mean English is fun but it’s not the dream. I’d literally only be using it as a clutch to catch me if the video gaming thing faulters.” He told her as he thought for am moment. “then again, it is 2020. There’s no telling what’s in store for the future. A man can dream though!”

“I’m sure if the producers had it their way Tessica would be a shoo in.” Jamie frowned and shook his head. These shows always seemed to be set up in the same way and a guy like Jamie was meant to fall for the girl like Tessica. Part of him had wondered if it would have played out that way had she been the one to come find him camping out the night before. But he also knew it wasn’t the case. It was Blake, that was who he had meant to come here for. “Too bad for them.”

Blake felt like she really scored with this guy. She was doing already so much on just the second or third day. The connection they had was undeniable. It made her blush hearing him talk like that. Saying too bad for them let her know there was still a reality to all of this and that was that it wasn’t just about cameras and television for Jamie. He truly felt this way for Blake. “Too bad for them.” She repeated back to him and then hopped off the counter, and walking up behind him as she wrapped her arms around him, kissing his back. “I like the sound of that.”

“I like to read!” Logan defended, laughter rolling from her lips and a slight blush creeping up her cheeks at the last bit of his comment. “I’m just usually spending my reading time on things for class. Or trying to beef up my extra curriculums - gotta look special for the grad programs and what not,” she laughed. “Well, what is your monkey and circus? What are you hoping to do once this is all over?”

Devon had a lot to think about. Funny thing was he was hoping to impress the girl the best that he could. But, he wasn’t sure he could. “I mean, I was thinking of becoming a teacher.” He told her honestly. “I really want to teach english or even something cooler involving video games and the history of them.” He shrugged, knowing that was a long shot. “It’s really stupid, I know but it’s where my nerdy passion lies.”  He turned to her and then frowned. “But, if for whatever reason, that isn’t something that can work out, English wouldn’t be a bad back up plan.”

Jade didn’t entirely let it show how happy she was at his words, even if she was feeling slightly bad at the way he was laughing but she’d rather he be laughing than angry at her so this was okay. “Well good,” she whispered when he kissed her hand and spoke about talking it out. “Okay good, because I honestly hadn’t meant what I said and I don’t want things to go back to what they used to be.” She rather liked knowing that he enjoyed the kiss and that it was something he’d wanted for a very long time. “Okay okay, conversation time…why didn’t you ever tell me that you wanted to kiss me? I mean…you’ve listened to me moping about my boyfriends or whatever and you just never…said anything?”

“As many times as you’ve heard me mope about my girlfriends or hook ups, you never said anything either so why would i?” He asked her, turning his head to the side. “I just didn’t want to overstep into a zone I may not belong in. I mean, think about it. Rejection sucks and it’s a silent killer. We do so much for the person we really want but if they don’t want us back, it can be really painful to endure.” He told her as he kept his hand in hers. “But I have liked you a really long time. Probably longer than you expected.”

“No, don’t do that.” Rohan didn’t want her to keep blaming herself for something like this. She hadn’t been at fault in any of this. And like she had just said, she’d been the one hiding her feelings for so long. “I…I’m sorry,” he told her before nodding, “I want it to be worth the wait, but I almost worry I’m not.” He chuckled before giving her a quick shrug. He knew she was disappointed but he had to be the sensible one right now, otherwise things could just get too muddled up and Harmony didn’t deserve that. “Alright,” he murmured as he took hold of her hand and led her to the table.

Harmony looked to Rohan, shaking her head as she listened to him talk. How could he sell himself short like that? That wasn’t fair to himself. “Don’t be sorry. But Also, don’t talk like that, Rohan. I love you and now that you know that, you also need to know that you will always be worth the wait, no matter how bad I may want you right now.” She intertwined her fingers with his as he pulled her to the table and she took a seat. “Let’s hope this is as good as it smells!”