#everroy

         vip sections are wonderful, clad in a special-ness and an exclusivity that makes them mystical and magical, and every minute you stay, makes you want to stay another minute more. for allie, after a while, it gets a little hard to breathe. not much, only that slow travel of boredom. and especially because this has rich people party written all over it, she’s eager for more. leaving behind her safe, comfort band of witches totally feels like she’s failing the whole ohana thing, but everything else about it feels right, so she goes, anyway.

         lost in the sea of people, she’s started making friendly, drunk chatter within the first few steps, wrapped back up in her excitement as she finds new things and people to explore. a flash of pink and embroidered roses catches from the corner of her eye, and she turns towards it, meeting a boy’s sweet little face that she can’t help but reach for. one hand flutters to a shoulder clad in rose, a gentle, non-committal touch only meant to have a glimpse of his attention. only for a moment.  “ oh my gosh, i’ve never seen a suit that pretty! oh, look, we match! i’ve got flowers, too. ”  she manages a very boring little twirl, seeing as her skirt doesn’t flare out with her. her eyes sparkle, turning back to him. “ probably just means we’re meant to be friends. ”

The Lucky Cat smelled like comfort and sodium and just the right amount of culinary ambition — aka exactly the kind of place Romy would risk spilling ink in. She slid into the booth with a sketchbook under one arm and the kind of determined look usually reserved for people storming boardrooms or spilling family secrets. The waitress didn’t even ask; just dropped off a miso starter like they had a psychic bond. Romy took it as a good omen.

When Everett showed, she nudged the sketchbook toward him with all the casual drama of someone sliding a classified folder across a table. “Okay, don’t judge the chaotic linework — I was emotionally compromised and low on caffeine when I inked these.” Her grin flickered, sharp but sheepish. “But I think this one might actually not suck? Maybe. Possibly. Either way, you’re now legally obligated to be my sounding board or lie to my face. Dealer’s choice.”

nonverbal prompts, accepting!  ˎˊ˗

        " oh, ev, you didn't! " allie squeals, and she leaps for him without thinking, enveloping him in a hug that she still has to rise to the tips of her toes to meet him with. because it's everett, she feels him, first, but the flowers between them call to a deeper part of her like they're singing her name. with all of her enthusiasm and affection for him, she just manages not to crush the delicate stems and petals between them. it's only the most gentlest balances- the purity of what she feels and being terrified to scare anyone away. or, worse, to crush them with it.

        he's brought her blossoms of spring as the weather turns against her. which is fine, and fair, but it doesn't change that it hurts. once the flowers are in her hands, not his, allie still reaches for him. she grasps his fingers, inviting him in with a bright smile. " oh, this is just perfect, everett. i was thinking of you, earlier- " though, she's not certain, exactly, when earlier was, just that it was before now. the day and time is lost on her, but none of that could ever matter as much as her friend that's with her right now. she'd much rather enjoy him. " i don't know why, but i started painting this little jar with butterflies- only very little, silly ones -so i already have a home for them! "

        the witch girl only lets go of him to find the makeshift vase, starting to open cabinets in her search. " where did you find the flowers? more and more of them are headed to sleep, but i keep looking, anyways. " she misses her garden. daniella's apartment is filled to the brim with all of the potted greenery that allie could manage- but it's nothing like the cottage.

        the walk back from the woods feels almost as devastating as when she thought she’d have to stay there. it’s harder to breathe, now, than it had been when madi’s hand was around their throat. there’s nothing else to do but yearn, and allie knows she has to keep walking. it feels impossible to not turn around, to not run back to the vampire she’d left in the forest. still, allie keeps walking. if she keeps going, will her heart stop? it feels like that, with how deep it aches to have left someone that loved her-

        allie doesn’t know where she’s going, but her feet land her somewhere familiar. she’s gotten better at her wandering, at least she’s found someplace safe while the rest of her begs her to go back. she breathes, squeezing her arms around herself tighter as she tries, desperately to think of something, anything that doesn’t bring any more tears.

        even though she wants to, something stops her from going to mila. she definitely can’t call anika until she’s stopped crying. and she really doesn’t want to talk to ella about madi ever, ever again. allie thinks of lara, but she’s already tiptoeing the line of too much with her, and she’s terrified to shatter her friendship. maybe that’s why her feet bring her to everett’s door step, before she can think of anyone else to run away to.

        she does wipe her eyes before he answers the door, but she’s not nearly as pretty as she’d like to be by the time he sees her. allie struggles her way out of the headlights, her heartbeat quickening when her doe eyes catches his own looking back at her, like perhaps she thought he wouldn’t be there, even though she knows that’s silly. because it's everett.

         “ hey, ev … ” breathe. “ i’m sorry, i just, um, kinda’ need a friend right now. ”

Oh, hey! Dumpster boy! Here's what the cards say for you...

Situation: The Moon -- this is a card of inner doubt, illusions, and anxiety, but also illumination. It may be you don't have all the information you need in your life to make big decisions yet, and that's okay. Or someone isn't telling you the whole story. If you have your doubts, it's time to look closer at what the light of the Moon both illuminates and hides. You're holding back for a good reason.

Outcome: Knight of Swords -- this Knight is the most action-oriented, driven by energy and mental convictions. Swords is actually associated with the element of air and it governs the mind (even if it seems more fiery and more physical). The good news is this means you'll be able to move past the obscurity of the Moon soon -- just don't get too hasty. This Knight is also known to trip over his own feet if he moves too quickly.