#avahalliwell

It was a regular occurrence for Aly to pamper herself. She worked hard and thought she deserved it. While it’d been awhile since she’d cut her hair, simply because she was letting it grow, her mani-pedi didn’t have a single chip. Only a sliver of nail visible between the color and her skin, but already Aly was ready for a change. She rarely liked the same thing for long. Last week was a tried and true favorite -- Cajun Shrimp. This week she’d chosen a shimmering pink polish -- Telenovela Me About It. The name reminded her of the Spanish soap operas her abuela used to watch. When Aly was feeling extra homesick she’d watch old reruns on her laptop. Ben and Jerrys her only company now that her grandmother had passed.

"How do you think they come up with these names?” Aly asked the woman next to her with a bottle of OPI polish pinched between her fingers. “They’re all so ridiculous.”

Amelia knew very well that she was late to the meeting with Ava. As much as Google Maps had been her main rescuer for the short time that she had been on the island, the fact that it hadn’t been updated with the roads that were under construction at the moment did not help at all. She had come across two of the construction sites as she had made her way from the home to the cafe where she had agreed to meet with Ava. When she hit the second road, she had quickly texted the other woman but even though she had let Ava know that she would be later, Amelia couldn’t help but apologize to Ava when she entered the building and she found the woman sitting at one of the tables. “I am so sorry that I am late. I am still finding my way around the island and these roads under contruction is not helping at all and I just got lost and my trusted Google Maps wasn’t helping either. So the first coffee is definitely on my account,” she rambled on and on as she rushed to take off her coat and take her place on the other side of the table, finally taking a deep breath of release as she sat down on the chair. “Sorry. Again. What kind of coffee are you drinking at the moment?”

Jack had spent the first 30 minutes whacking at a punching bag before pairing up with Ava. Fitness, to him, had become a little like making music. He’d shift into an auto-pilot state of focus and thinking. Even now, his thoughts come in constant streams. He’ll suddenly write a full song in his head paired with a new melody before listing the things he needed to get for dinner after this. Maybe sushi. No, not sushi, I’ll get a stomach ache. Chicken? Pasta? Maybe cheese. No, a hot sandwich.

“You’re either thinking of someone you really hate or you’re getting stronger by the second.” Jack jokes, holding up his punching mitt-clad hands as Ava punches away.

4. When was one time this past year that you did the right thing, even when it was difficult?

The funny thing is, Mason could think of thirty other things that he’d done wrong in the past year, secretly well-aware of his bumbling and self-serving nature. Of course, career-wise, everything is on the upswing, but personally? Well, personally, he could’ve done many things a lot better than he’d decided. 

“Maybe not the past year, but I’m glad I decided to come back to the island,” he answers, a hint of solemnity crossing his usually upbeat features. “It’s always been hard. Just - seeing all of this. The past. My grandpa.” A coffin, for so long, taunting him to open it. “But I’m glad I did. It’s what he deserves.” 

16. What part of your childhood brings you feelings of gratitude?

“Having someone that loved me,” he answers. “You know, I probably could’ve just gone into the system, or be raised by a string of nannies, but I had my grandpa. He... did a lot for me.” Swallowing, he feels his emotions swell along with the thought of his late grandfather. “It’s been hard. I mean, eighteen fucking years, and you’d think I’d be over it by now, but I’m not.” And I don’t think I ever will, he thinks. “I wish I’d had a chance to thank him. I mean, I always did, but - but yeah.” 

23. Are you holding onto something that you need to let go of?

Is he? Mason wants to emphatically say no — that he’d lived life without regrets, pushing through, only carrying what served him — and yet, all he can think about are the failed relationships in his life. 

He’d let go, once. Let Felix fly away to Europe when he’d been so sure of his place in her life, and look where they’d ended up. Now, he couldn’t bear to let go of Summer, who’d seemed to be slowly suffocating underneath his indecisive mind, though he couldn’t bear to see it. And finally, on top of it all, Lex. A divorce that he will not grant her, if only because he thinks — no, knows that something can be salvaged. Desperate for something to hold onto, he only holds on tighter to the things he is sure to lose. 

“Maybe some of my old t-shirts in the back of my closet,” he answers, a small grin falling onto his face, though it’s half-hearted and thin, showing only the turmoil he feels inside his soul. All he is sure of is that he is holding onto something. A past love — because when you are starved of it for as long as he has, you crave it with your entire being. Whether or not he will let go, is a different question entirely. 

( ft. @felixwrigley, @summercahill & @lexlhartley​ )

Ethan just needed a minute. One minute of silence, so his brain had time to process information without music or unnecessary chatter interrupting his thoughts. The night was fun, though Ethan mostly sat back and watched, he had been dragged a few times onto to the dance floor, which he would admit had been pretty fun. If he could’ve avoided one awkward conversation with a certain someone, he was sure his head wouldn’t be full of thoughts of how he could’ve handled that situation better. He was avoiding them now either, just another potential awkward talk if he had run into them again.

A quiet space was a quiet space no matter where it was. Ethan just so happened to be walking across the floor and caught the photo booth area was unmanned and surprisingly free of people. The music wasn’t so loud here and before he could convince himself not to, he occupied one that was slightly hidden from the main ball area.

Halfway to untying the mask that covered his face, Ethan saw a figure starting back at him. “Oh.” Was all he could manage and let the silence fill the air for a moment before he spoke again, blinking rapidly as the words fell from his lips, “Right, of course, you’d be wanting to take photos...” Given that it was a photo booth, she must be here to take some, kicking around the floor for his mask that had slipped from his fingers, Ethan looked at the woman again, “As soon as I find my mask, I’ll be out of your hair.”

TIME CAPSULE MEME.

10. What do you think are the two things that prevent people from realizing their dreams?

“Fear and money. As you get older, you realize more and more that money is the core of most things. I hate to say it and my answer would’ve been different when I was younger, but it’s true. Sometimes people just don’t have the means to realize their dreams and even their potential. I wish that was different.”

18. Who’s one person you’ve never thanked for their contribution to your life, but would like to? Why?

“My father. He passed when I was only around two years old so maybe that’s silly but...I know he loved me. My mother too. I just wish I could’ve thanked him or told him about certain things. I wish I could tell him how he’s changed my life even after all this time. Especially now. It feels strange to wish for and mourn someone that I never really knew but, yeah..”

21. What’s the most sensible thing you’ve ever heard someone say?

“Not everything has to be okay all the time.” He says, “My mother said that to me once when I was a kid. I think I was crying about my bike, I think the tire had popped. Maybe I ran over a nail or something. I wailed like a baby and she told me that. I was young but I appreciated it a lot. I still try to say it to myself when I feel like the world is about to end. It helps.”

What does the term “give thanks” mean to you?

“Doing something with what was given to me.”

When do you feel truly alive?

“When I’m doing my job. Is that a total workaholic thing to say?” 

What’s the most sensible thing you’ve ever heard someone say?

“Not everyone pays attention to who hurts you, but they pay attention to how you retaliate.”