#othcrworlds

alejandro watched her closely as she spoke, arms crossed, her expression dripping with disdain. he could see the frustration in her, the anger she was holding back. paloma was always so poised, so in control, but tonight she seemed off-balance. it was almost satisfying to see her unravel a bit, to know that whatever perfection she portrayed to the world, especially to armando, was beginning to crack. he leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms, a smug smile tugging at the corners of his lips. her sarcastic jab about armando not showing up in person was like music to his ears. he let her words hang in the air for a moment before responding, his voice laced with mock amusement. "yeah, well, you know mando," alejandro said with a chuckle. "he’s great at sending people to handle things for him instead of dealing with it himself. guess i’m his personal errand boy tonight." his eyes flickered with amusement as he let the weight of the sarcasm linger between them. he could sense the tension in her, the way her gaze dropped to the floor, her shoulders tense despite her words trying to project indifference. the room felt smaller now, the air thick with something unspoken. she might have been trying to keep up appearances, but alejandro could tell there was something more going on beneath the surface. he pushed off the wall and took a step toward her, slow and deliberate, eyes locked on hers. "but let’s not pretend that’s what this is about," he said, his voice dropping lower, more serious. "you’ve been staring at me all night, paloma. and i don’t think it’s just because you’re upset he didn’t show." there was a pause as he reached out, his fingers grazing her arm lightly, testing her reaction. "so, what do you really want?" he asked, his tone taking on a dangerous edge. "because it sure as hell doesn’t seem like you came in here to sit and sulk alone." her deflection wasn’t fooling him. alejandro had seen that look in her eyes too many times tonight, the way her gaze lingered when she thought no one was watching. he wasn’t buying her indifference—he knew better.

wandering into the studio, louisa is unsurprised to find paloma already there. the two were often in close competition in the company, understudies for each other, duking it out for solos. louis knows how dedicated paloma is, admires that part of her, but she also can't stand the woman. and then, as it always goes, louisa can never keep her eyes and hands off her either.

when the screen lights up again, she cranes her neck to see the message, rolling her eyes. the seamstress looks up at her and isadora shakes her head. "hommes," she replies with a laugh. that earns a laugh in return from maëlle. "qu'allons-nous faire avec eux?" unfortunately for her, camilo was a wildcard. while a loyal friend, he wasn't the person she chose to be her in case of emergency contact for a reason. so as she waited, she didn't really know if he'd show up or not. maybe it was for the best if he didn't. just when she had accepted that he had chosen to stay home, she heard his voice. looking up to look at him through the mirrored reflection, she scoffed. "cocky much?"

suddenly, she felt nervous in her dress. was it good enough? was she pretty, beautiful even? isa wasn't chasing validation, but rather someone to just be there for her. even if he was being sarcastic, camilo was already doing more than her fiancé ever did. "i just need someone else's opinion to make sure it looks good. that's it." her eyebrow quirks up but she says nothing more as she motions for him to sit in the chair directly behind her. as she took in his image, she could tell that he had been drinking. "you look like shit," she mused as she smoothed the layers of fabric. "how late were you out last night?"

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Dove is well-aware of the way she's being stared at as she spreads her cheeks apart, putting the pretty dark pucker between them on display, slippery and shimmery with lube as she grinds her partner's shaft between her cheeks.

"Yeah, seems like a nice wine list they've got here." He was always terrible at small talk, and ordinarily he wouldn't have to with Bryony, but things seemed so strange all of a sudden. It wasn't as though he ever had a chance with her. She was, after all, his best friend's girlfriend (well, fiancée now), and it wasn't as though he was going to break up a happy couple. No, he was going to wallow in his yearning and loneliness - or he would, had she not come up to interrupt his yearning and loneliness.

"Something a bit stronger, I think. Probably gonna go after this one anyway." Everyone was headed to a bar next, as was Tristan but he felt he had enough for one evening, really. It felt rude to leave dinner early, but at least he could leave after dinner. Ordering a neat scotch from the bartender, he offered to pay for Bryony's as well, whatever she wanted. He turned towards her and offered as much of a smile as he could muster. "How are you feeling? Happy?"