#chloe001

She did not attend the party last night at the Reeves Palace because she was particularly fond of the hosts or the work they were responsible for. She /had/ attended on pretenses that were conjured up by a director's mind, not understanding the full details of the inner workings behind such a motive. Her presence at the event served more than the original intended purpose, though, making her witness to a crime that had not yet happened but was inevitable.

Lunch was held on the patio of The Grove. A table was shadowed by the umbrella above, shielding the producer from the sun as she awaited her guest to join her. It was time for them to reconnect regardless of sighting each other at the Reeves' residence, for there was no shortage of what to talk about when it came to men in positions of abusive power.

"I informed our waiter that it will be a longer wait before he'll be able to take our orders," she spoke after Chloe made herself comfortable in her seat. Sparkling waters had already been set out, the chilled bottle left behind for refills for the convenience of extended privacy. "This meeting has been overdue, as you may agree with, given the company you have found in my absence."

Showing up at Chloe's penthouse, Gemma realized, for not the first time, just how similar they really were - although, not in the way their labels thought. Their labels, particularly Deverocks, at the hands of Gemma's mother, constantly positioned Chloe as her competition. They were both blonde, positioned to be the It-Girls of their respective fields, both successful, and both fairly young. When Chloe was hospitalized after her LA show last year, it would've been insanely easy for Gemma to release an album or a single to leverage her "competitions" hiatus. She didn't. Instead, she showed up at Chloe's door.

They'd been friends before, and, even more than that, Gemma had written for Chloe, something she knew would give her mother an aneurysm if she ever found out about it. But after Chloe's collapse, Gemma realized the drugs were way worse than even she'd realized, and so she'd shown up unannounced, not to write, but to make sure Chloe was okay, would be okay. Although there were only five years between them, Gemma saw so much of her younger self in Chloe, and she didn't like what she saw. The pressure, the fame, the pills, all of it was far too similar to the girl Gemma had once been and, in many ways, the girl Gemma still very much was. Chloe hadn't asked for her guidance, but Gemma gave it anyway. Gemma herself was almost unhealthily co-dependent on the support of her older sister Maggie, and she had no idea who she'd be if she'd had to navigate this industry without that guidance.

To Gemma, she wasn't her competition - she was another poor kid who had gotten shoved into an adult role too soon. When Chloe answered the door, Gemma grinned, putting a hand to her shoulder and pulling her into a hug. She'd seen her a few months ago when Gemma was back in town during tour, but now that tour was finally over, Gemma was checking in, as she always did. "You look good," She said, pulling away so she could actually look at her, not even trying to disguise the fact that she was doing it. She wasn't lying, though. Chloe had filled out slightly and had gotten more of the life back in her eyes that Gemma had watched her start slowly regaining after the last year. "I look like I got run over, meanwhile," She said, glancing in Chloe's hall mirror as she followed her into the apartment. "Tour always wrecks me," She whined.

There was a tension to the air in the room, people mingling and moving in waves. When looking properly, it was easy for Oliver to tell who wanted to be here to mourn, who was there to participate in the gathering, and who was itching to get away. It’s in the tilt of their shoulders, the cadence of their voice, the people they choose to be around.

Oliver considered himself part of the second group. He was meeting a lot of people tonight, establishing himself just a tad more in other social circles and letting nice words flow easily. He’s just spun out of a conversation to refill his glass of water when he finds another new face to greet. “Excuse me, just going to reach by you-” He gets a glance off in the direction she’s looking and connects the face of the powerful seer to the smell of her... fear? Nervousness?

“Any thoughts on what to get mom for her birthday?” He asks, slouching down on the sofa and making himself at home. “Where is she anyway?” Jace frowns. He’d came by to see her, though it wasn’t truly surprising that she wasn’t home on a Saturday night. “Tell me she’s not out with Janice? I’m tellin’ you, that lady--” Puffing out a breath, he shakes his head. “She actually told me, soberly might I add, that she can and would, eat me alive if I gave her half the chance.” And the expression of pure ick on his face said it all, really. “Anyway, I was thinking maybe a spa day? Or... She’s always wanted to skydive. We could all do it together, if you’re not too chicken.” 

mingling at large events or after-parties wasn’t roxanne’s thing. but when she set her eyes on the edgy ensemble that chloe wore at the AMAs, she had to compliment her. since then, they’ve had a sort-of friendship. it wasn’t a huge secret that roxy was a little rough around the edges; chloe, on the contrary, was soft like sunlight in the morning. when the other had texted, asking if they could hang out, roxanne presumed it would be about image advice. of course, she was no expert. she hardly tried at all to have an image of any sort, she was just herself and people took it whatever way they wanted to. she entered the coffee shop, bell chiming over her head and she grimaced at the sound it made. she could see chloe sat at a booth near a window. approaching, she began, “alright, if you wanna shake the good girl image you’re gonna have to quit frappuccinos.”

ever since this whole chloe and parker thing started circulating, christian had found himself with more headaches than usual--no alcohol involved. being in a fake relationship with one of your closest friends, lying about it to everyone, somehow making other friends mad at you in the process, and then the added pressure of having an angry cousin seemingly trying to get with your other best friend was like having a hangover and no cold medicine to subdue it. his aim for the trip was to clear things up, but somehow when he was sitting on chloe’s couch the next words out of his mouth were “what do you even see in riley parker?”