#ft. isla

MAKSIM KURYLENKO | AWARDS PARTY 2024

HE HALF EXPECTS HER TO BE AN APPARITION, the sight of her face in the same frame as a sea of red solo cups and vape smoke so genuinely unbelievable that he's sure she'll disappear if he blinks just one more time. it doesn't happen though. double take, triple take, quadruple, it didn't matter ; isla wardwell remained fixed in reality no matter how many times reeve took his eyes off her. with that realization, he no longer could.

❝ shit, you actually came ! ❞ the greeting came from the middle of the dance floor, reeve all toothy smiles and sharp elbows as he pushed through the throng of bodies to get to her on the fringes. there was a wickedly manic aura to him here, a far cry from the man she knew over textbooks and flash cards, who bitched and moaned over formulas and always seemed just that little bit off, like his mere existence had turned into something chronic, painful, and ill-fitting. even here, he couldn't hide that part of himself entirely— something still misshapen beneath his metamorphosis, though dulled, somewhat, beneath magenta light and the gleaming approval of others enjoying something he had made ( even if their words of praise were wholly misdirected ). were he standing next to luke, the discrepancy would be entirely too obvious. thankfully, luke was tending to his subjects elsewhere, his loyal guard dog left free to his own devices and away from any sort of immediate comparison. for now, at least, he could transform.

as could she, it seemed ! when he invited isla, the action born somewhere between pity and curiosity ( and, perhaps distantly, a smidge of gratitude ), he expected nothing short of a miracle for her to even show up. to see her not only here, but dressed up, fully immersed in a party scene ? well ... maybe it was time to start going back to church.

"i cannot fucking stand that guy," they sniff, not very inconspicuously, thumb rubbing at the tip of their nose. it was just colder up here, that was all "but smash. like, three stars, smash." they're overlooking the party, having moved up to the roof to get a better vantage point for this game. it was working well enough, milo could easily see and point out every shirtless frat guy down below, the both of them always one stumble away from toppling down onto the grass— or the pool, that'd be fucking sick "but i heard he's got a weird, uhh...."

Hayes, too busy searching for his date in the crowd instead of looking where he was going, tripped over someoone's foot and had to steady himself to stop him crashing into somebody. Hayes's eyes settled on the person he'd just almost landed on top of with a small smile. "Hey... you good? That was a close one but at least my cat like reflexes saved us."

"isla. pssssssst, isla!" why wasn't she responding? it felt like the distance between them was only growing as he made his way across the circle, and he'd been walking forever. when they finally arrived, though, they sat on the ground with an exhausted finality, no intention to move again. maybe ever "hey, i was calling you." though, on reflection, the words might not have ever left their mouth to begin with. it'd been a while since he'd done psychedelics, milo was starting to feel like maybe they should've started out with a smaller dose "or maybe i wasn't. i dunno. sorry. i was thinking, though." god, were they thinking. it seemed they couldn't stop thinking "what's it like, being an only child?" not that he'd ever been told she was an only child, of course, milo just felt right now that they knew everything there was to know "is there, like... freedom, not having to worry about anyone else, or having to share? or is it lonely?"

F: Isla

M: Eleanor