* ╱ 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘 .

as much as jim feels like a prick and is perceived like it for lying to his family, he cannot act like it towards gian. there’s a couple of beats of silence as he glances up to the teenager, contemplation clear upon his face before gesturing to the seat in front of him. “sit down kid, i won’t bite ya.” he gives in, moving his things closer to his side of the table to give gian space. 

“ oh, right. “  vanessa may have gotten so lost in her work, she’d forgotten where she was. or even when the last time she’d had a break was. “  i think i just need a break from work. and a refill. thanks for asking though, i appreciate it.  “

Margo smirked at her brother, seeing her sibling was hardly a disturbance of her momentary peace, easily more happy to see him than pretty much any other person she could think of. “What if I told you he especially likes waffles?” She teased, before punching him gently on the arm. “Relax, Gi, he’s probably in a food coma after all that pasta he ate this morning.” She reassured her brother and kicked the bin away from them, it lurched until it’s wheels squeaked to a stop a couple of feet away. “What are you doing round here anyway? I can grab you some more food if you’re hungry.”

at what vanessa believes is footsteps, one can hear the sound of keys more rapidly. as she likely tabs out of whatever she was doing. a clear indicator she didn’t want anyone, but her own eyes seeing it. then as she does that she closes the laptop. “ oh hello, how’s it going ? “

hand falls over jim’s racing heart and he takes in slow, steady breaths in attempts to slow it down ― the last thing he needs or wants is an encounter with a reporter or ‘karen’ wanting the latest gossip. “i thought you were going to be someone else, that was on me. please.” james denies gian’s apology, raising his hand from his chest and with a shake of his head. he’s a kid, and from the looks of it he wants nothing to do with james. “you looking for a place to sit?”

Eric knew what people might think about him just biting the bullet and going on the blind dates but it kept the peace and that was really all that mattered. “Honestly? I’m terrified of my mother and she would never let me hear the end of it if I didn’t go.”

Margo slumped against the wall of the diner with a sigh. She was relieved to be on break, even if it was it the ever so scenic landscape of the deserted back car park and she was likely to be called back in before she’d even got twenty minutes to herself. She closed her eyes briefly, attempting to bask in the last few minutes of winter sunlight, before footsteps disturbed her reverie. Margo cracked one eye open, not unused to people coming round the back in the search of the entrance, she pushed off the wall with her trainer. “You want waffles?” She asked indifferently after a short silence, holding out the Tupperware of food she sometimes got given for break but just couldn’t stomach at the moment. “Just, uh, be careful around that garbage can, a raccoon lives in there and he’ll attack if he even gets a whiff of food.”

“fuckin’ waste of time.” he muttered under his breath, hanging up his phone in a huff. for such an intelligent man, her really could reach the peak of his frustration all too easily. he simply didn’t have the patience for people intent on wasting his time and giving him information that wasn’t productive. the construction of his newest hotel in singapore was going well, but his plans to go and visit the site were getting held up by meetings and shake downs. he’s too damn busy, and he doesn’t trust his managers to get everything done for themselves. it’s why he’s found himself in the bakery, seeking some sweets. ”got any recommendations?” he muttered to the person beside him, unsure what exactly he wanted.

―――――――    𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑦  𝑠𝘩𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔  𝑤𝑎𝑠  𝑎  𝑐𝘩𝑜𝑟𝑒  ,  one  that  the  dark  haired  beauty  had  come  to  welcome  .  before  moving  out  ,  before  college  ,  the  task  was  always  done  by  her  mother  ,  sometimes  lorelai  would  tag  along  ,  but  she’d  found  herself  bored  with  it  ,  far  too  quickly  .  in  college  ,  she’d  welcome  it  as  it  meant  she  had  enough  money  to  eat  more  than  ramen  &  having  never  been  much  of  a  fast  food  lover  ,  well  ,  she  welcomed  it  happily  .  upon  moving  to  ashcroft  ,  she  found  it  was  something  she  could  do  to  unwind  ,  due  business  calls  for  new  products  all  day  ,  she  found  that  after  her  daily  yoga  class  ,  grocery  shopping  was  calming  .  she  didn’t  have  to  look  perfect  ,  she  often  looked  red  cheeked  &  sweaty  as  she  wandered  up  &  down  the  isles  with  no  rush  ,  no  care  ,  just  simply  gathering  things  she  wanted  ,  needed  or  felt  inspired  to  make  .  but  tonight’s  decision  fell  on  the  choice  of  blueberry  or  raspberry  ,  stood  in  front  of  the  frozen  fridges  ,  she  eyed  the  confectionery  pies  before  leaning  slightly  to  the  side  ,  towards  another  shopper  .     ❛                  are  you  struggling  as  much  as  i  seem  to  be  ?  ❜     she  questions  jovially  ,  teeth  biting  at  her  lip  for  a  second  .     ❛  help  a  girl  out  ?  blueberry  or  raspberry  ?  ❜

She had to get back to normal, that was what Paige kept telling herself.The last few years she had only skated for fun, enough to keep her in practice but nowhere near the level she needed to be at to compete. Why was this so hard now? She knew this jump, had been so good at this jump, and yet in the last two weeks had not been able to complete it. It was getting later in the morning, enough that the rink was about to be open to the public when Paige just had to go for it. one two three, up, spin spin spin and land. It ran through her head as the girl finally managed to get it to work, landing properly for the first time in weeks. “Yes!” She couldn’t stop herself from calling out loudly, looking over to see someone standing at the edge. “Did you see that? Yes tell me you saw that!”

If it were up to him Eric would just be in a t-shirt and jeans every single day. Unfortunately for him the school still had some dress codes and his parents would not have been happy if he showed up to formal events like this. His hands lowered to look down between the options, not trying might scare someone off more than trying too hard to be ugly. That would be obvious. “Thank you. That might be exactly what I’m going for.”

coming to the conclusion that hiding away at home is not going to make everything normal again took a lot out of james ; in fact, he still doesn’t believe that everything will be ‘normal’. he needs to get out and try to make a new normal with people knowing what he is, who he is and what their family is. sitting in the food court in the pavilion, james is on alert. it feels like people are looking at him, but whether they actually are is unsure. he’s paranoid, worried that someone is going to question him face to face though there’s a part of him that doubts it. it’s a small town, people do that behind your back, don’t they? as he goes eat some of his french fries, he can feel a presence and goes to snap as he looks towards them before refraining. “you scared the fucking shit out me. sorry.”

“would it be such a bad idea if i get another cat?” finn asked with an embarrassed laugh. he’d been contemplating it for awhile but he always found himself going back and forth. there was nothing he loved more than waking up with both his cats in bed, little warm balls of fur purring loudly. “lennon and stevie can get a brother or sister and i’ll get another cat. what could possibly be wrong about that idea? and kittens fit better in hoodie pockets.”

she’s in high spirits. her doctor had cleared her for physical activity again, so naturally she had been back in her dance studio at any chance she could get. sometimes tali came to watch or nap, other times she was truly alone. it was those times that she most felt like herself once more, rather than the girl who had gotten knocked up in high school and threw her future away. it all melted away when she put on her point shoes and dances until her feet bled. she’s just spent hours on end in there, dancing away when she finally emerges, bag slung over her shoulder and a wide smile on her face. “i’m telling you, there is no better feeling in the world than getting lost in a routine.”

Shopping was not something Eric had ever particularly liked and as time went of he liked it less and less. Especially when the reasoning was something he could already tell was going to be a bad idea. Looking between the two shirts he could only grimace, both were horrible but which one was worse. Looking up he saw someone and decided to hold the two up. “Excuse me, I have a serious question. Which one of these screams I clearly don’t want to be on this blind date and please run away now?”

         FAWN  HUES  LIFT  UP  TO  VIEW  THE  ANTLERS  IN  MENTION,  expression  immediately  reverting  from  unamused  to  dabbling  in  gian’s  little  distraction  with  a  soft  smirk.  grasping  a  red  nose  left  in  the  package,  he  pushes  it  against  the  tip  of  gian’s,  letting  the  costume  portray  its  full  effect.    ❝  when  you’re  done,  we  should  go  n’  get  the  shit  we  actually  came  for.  ❞