#cnthelane

Send 💋 if your muse wants a kiss from mine !!

“I’m just saying, dude. You need to loosen up. .” Trailing off as she took a chug of her wine, the brunette glanced toward the art teacher and pointed to her half-full glass of wine, “first, you need to chug that, and then we’re gonna get you over Elias, for real. He’s cute and all and Mila’s my friend but dude, you aren’t missing much. He looks like a bad kisser for one, and two he needs some chapstick, I’m a better kisser than him and I don’t even have to kiss him to know.” Her eyes drift to Piper’s with a smirk and soon she’s leaning over, maybe it’s the wine, maybe it’s her being neighbourhood slut 2.0, but before she even thinks of it, her lips are on the others and she’s kissing her gently without even thinking of anything else. A kiss is just a kiss, nothing important. Pulling back, she licks her lips and the smirk is back, “see, I’m a way better kisser.” 

A change, all that Brooke wanted was a change so after heading to the grocery store, she was quickly back at the house with two boxes of deep brown hair-dye. Maybe she wanted so badly to crawl out of her mothers shadow that she was doing this but for the first time in a while? She was truly excited about something that didn’t involve Peyton. Sure, she’d done good at avoiding Piper since they’d come back from the beach, minus the whole... new rules talk, but now she really did need her help. Kicking off her shoes, the teen raced up the stairs, knocking once and then twice on the older womans door before she peaked her head inside to check that the other was in there. “Piper...” her voice was soft, maybe a little nervous but she quickly pushed through it, stepping further into the room, and producing the two boxes of dye. “Can you help? I just.. want to be different and I don’t want Pey to inhale all the fumes.”

Beth reached out, her hands crossing the space between them to grasp Piper’s hands. She squeezed them reassuringly, her eyes gentle as she smiled at the older woman— someone she’d known for years.

“Your secret is safe with me. I promise.”

Just another secret in the chest hidden away in the back of her mind.

Beth glanced up at her uncle, pausing while pouring herself some champagne to send him a sweet smile. “Of course.” The truth was that she hadn’t, not fully. People don’t just offer things freely, at least, not at these sorts of parties. But just saying no outright, or calling them out on it, would only invite conflict— and so instead she had smiled and thanked them.

And now, she was standing here, having to explain her actions to her uncle. She took a sip of champagne, glancing down at her glass to mask the flicker of pure exhaustion in her eyes. She was damned if she had believed them, and damned if she didn’t, so instead she leaned into his expectations. Beth would always be the entitled, privileged, undeserving daughter of Andrew and Emily Ashworth, and sometimes it was just easier to play the vapid society girl he believed her to be. Trying to fight back would be even more exhausting— and the rest of the party was in the other room, as was Brooke. Brooke. Brooke loves Charles. 

“Why wouldn’t I believe them?”

“Sweet Jesus,” Sloane blew a low whistle, walking around Piper to get a full view. It wasn’t common to see her all dressed up like this, they hadn’t had much reason too but Sloane was determined to change that, at least for Piper. At the very least as an excuse to hype Piper up. That began, in her mind, with a couple new dresses. Playfully, she began to fan herself, “is it just me or did it get hot in here all of a sudden?” As much as she could stand here all day, they did have other things to do. “All jokes aside, you’re gorgeous. Get the dress, don’t make me force you.” If Piper didn’t buy it for herself, Sloane had no issue getting it for her. Either way, it was going home with the other woman today. “This one is my favorite so far. Alright, next.”

Her make-up artfully hid the hint of bags under her eyes, but she could feel them all the same. She missed home every time she left, but whenever she was back, she seemed to be greeted with bone-deep exhaustion. It was the kind of exhaustion that filled your blood and colored your ever interaction. She knew it would be better if she talked to someone, but she’s an Ashworth, and in Fairview Ashworths don’t just talk to people.

Beth smiled at Piper after a moment, genuine appreciation seeping into her expression before she took a step back, smoothing down her blouse. “Thanks for offering,” she replied brightly, taking a sip from a bottle of water, “but I’m alright. I’ve got this handled.” She absolutely did not, but the other woman didn’t need to know that.

“Oh— but I think Brooke wanted to see you? Something about a surprise for Peyton?” she added. Her smile and easy demeanor stayed until the door closed behind the kitchen. Muffled noises filled the hallway, and her smile grew for a moment as she heard the excited voice of her younger sister. 

Somehow, Charles’s words didn’t exactly ring true for her. As sure as she was that he loved her, and she loved him, sometimes she looked down the street and saw all too clearly that just because people loved each other, it didn’t mean that they stayed together. She couldn’t help but think of Piper and Elias, the couple that seemed so happy not that long ago. Now they were divorced, and Elias was with Mila, and Piper was... alone. If it could happen to Piper, it could happen to anyone. And Sam desperately didn’t want it to happen to her. “You better,” she warned him, mustering just enough humor to pass it off as a teasing remark. “You’re only going to the grocery store -- I’d be concerned if you didn’t.” Leaning in and standing on her toes, she kissed him gently on the lips, wondering if he would return the favor, or if he’d leave her standing there, cold.