#dancingdanvers

miles: what would you say if I told you you were going to be a godmother?

Location: Axel's Pool.

Clare was overjoyed to finally be back in the warmth and sunshine. Vancouver was just what she needed - a chance to regroup and process everything that had happened in the last few months. It had been a whirlwind, and she had relied heavily on her skill of compartmentalizing to keep herself together and make it to Aurora Bay in one piece. However, little did she know that integrating herself into Axel's life would be so complicated and convoluted. Clare had always been someone who kept her cards close to her chest and didn't trust people easily. She knew that this would not be the best way to approach her return to the beach town.

"I was hoping to say hi to Ryen, but I heard she's still asleep," Clare said, offering a small smile to Sloane as she settled into a lounge chair. "How have you been?"

"Good to see you again, Sloane," Margaret said as she caught the reflection of the approaching redhead in the aquarium glass. It was unorthodox, meeting in a place like this, but Maggie thought she might need a break. She'd just had the baby and she was sure a lot of time was spent caring for and showing her off to friends and family. The times she wasn't was probably few and far between. So they could have met in her office, which wasn't stuffy ( in her opinion ) on the worst of days, but a little shift in routine never hurt and there were few places quieter than an aquarium on a random thursday morning,

where: sweetspot creamery

"I ordered you a scoop of the special and one vanilla because that seemed like a safe bet," Bo informs Sloane as she arrives, the caramel honey chocolate chip cheesecake already proving to be too busy a flavour for him but it would do for now.

He nods to the stroller she had with her, unable to see the baby inside it from where he was already sat at the table, but that didn't stop him from gesturing that she should hand her over nonetheless.

Location: NYE Masquerade Ball

"Thanks so much Tony, I appreciate it," Fia smiled embracing the older gentleman. Another deal done in the books, she couldn't be more pleased. Especially with the clock ticking closer to a New Year. She could feel it in her bones that it was going to be a fucking great one.

As she turned, she noticed the red head and her beautiful baby bump on display. "Oh, hey gorgeous! Almost didn't see you there." How anyone could miss Sloane with her red hair and the gorgeous off-white dress would truly be blind. Embracing her best friend, she took a step back to admire their outfit once more. "You look...tired? Are you okay?" she said, reaching for their arm out of concern. Fia could imagine the energy it took to get all dressed up in addition to all the bodies and stimuli that was occurring in the room. "Do you want to go sit or outside for some air?"

"You look beautiful in this dress." He pointed out, she had changed clothes over and over again, and once they were almost out she decided to change again for something that covered her belly because it was starting to show. "Love, I know is hard, but you really need to talk with your dad, we're getting out of time."

Location: Fired Up Pizzeria

"I can't believe it took us this long to catch up again!" Fia knew from the moment she asked Sloane for their opinion on an outfit that the two of them were cut from similar cloth. Simply in the way in which they carried themselves and were unapologetically themselves. She loved everything about what she sensed from them at first encounter and was looking froward to learning more about them. "Things have been so insane lately. Shall I give you the skinny on my life, because my brain is a bit scrambled not gonna lie."

Location: NYE Masquerade Ball

This was honestly the first time Clare has attended an event of this caliber. It was bit nauseating at some point that she found herself sipping on a ginger ale to calm her nerves. Things had gone from zero to a hundred since her arrival to town. Finding Axel was one thing but jumping into the deep end that was his life was a bit much. Of course, she simply bit her tongue when appropriate so as to not piss him off. She did want a relationship with her father, but he'd built this whole life and now she was trying to figure out where exactly she fit. Hence why, she's avoided his house like the plague. Leaving at the crack ass of dawn and returning well after the sun had set.

Christmas was awkward at best, albeit the company is what she really needed right now. The dynamics were really trippy and the Flannery learned that it was best to make astute observations independently before expressing her thoughts. It's why when she saw Sloane appear, she was a little taken aback. They had been walking on eggshells around one another which was to be expected. The question that remained was how did the move on from here. "Did you want to sit? I'm sure your feet hurt."