#para10

Aiden thinks as he walks back to his office that maybe he can cut out early today. There’s not so much for him to do today and people have taken an early weekend. It’s supposed to be hot yet beautiful and usually he’d go with Holly to one of her fancy influencer lunch things but he thinks he can get out of it. He usually a wall when attends and mingling with the boyfriends or husbands of these other influencers is always so fucking weird to him. They’re clout chasers and they’re investors in digital currency or protein powder. 

“Hey Jenny,” Aiden greets as he passes by her desk. She looks up and smiles at him as he leans against it and she laughs as it tired and bored face. “Anything important happening tomorrow?”

“Thinking of playing hooky?” He asks, pulling up his calendar on her computer. “Nothing urgent, I can reschedule the meeting with the strategy team. They’ll probably love that.”

Aiden nods, “Go for it. If you can, go early today and have a long weekend.”

Jenny smiles at Aiden’s kindness. Her friends always ask her how she’s been an EA for five years and it’s bored of it. But she does more than order lunch or get coffees, Aiden gives her side projects and he knows she wants to one day move to a different department so he’s helping her learn and get there.

“Thanks Aiden.” She smiles and watches him walk towards his office. “Oh, you’ve got a visitor.”

Aiden hums as he opens the door half expecting it to be Holly. She likes to pop up sometimes, probably something about the wedding and he internally pushes down some hatred that’s beginning to stir. This wedding is really messing him up. Yet instead, he looks into his office seeing Luci and his negative feelings are immediately washed away. He closes the door behind him and smiles at her.

“I’m beginning to think you don’t actually work.” Aiden says, walking towards her.

WHO: Benji Karofsky (@benjikarofsky) and Franco Del Rio (@southsidefranco)

WHERE: Benji’s apartment

WHEN: 29th April 2019 (Backdated)

NOTES: After breaking the rules and sneaking out, Franco comes back home to show Benji what he bought during his journey outside the apartment

TRIGGERS: Vague Drug use/abuse mentions, withdrawal mentions

BOLD: Benji

ITALIC: Franco

WORD COUNT: 1456

RACHEL: Pamela Lansbury has performed -- flawlessly, of course -- dismantled their instrument and amp set up, and are preparing for the Warblettes to take the stage for their portion of the battle. But even though their set has gone well, the night still feels a little off. There were defections, some of which Rachel understands and others she doesn't, and then there's the wardrobe additions that make no sense at all. Inching up to the bar, Rachel gains the attention of an employee and orders two shooters. With the shot glasses in hand, she seeks out her bandmate and is happy to find her somewhat on her own even in a crowd of people.

Emily was trying to focus on the case, hands on her hips when JJ strode through the doorway. Safe, whole, ponytail bouncing behind her in a sight that almost caused Emily to burst. “JJ!” She had just enough presence of mind to not outright bolt to the other agent. The swell of relief was nearly overwhelming as Emily immediately closed the distance between them. “Thank god you’re okay,” she breathed out, settling for putting one hand on JJ’s arm and sliding it down until she could hold at the crook of her elbow. “They didn’t give us names of who had been shot” The part of her that tended toward paranoia thought that the officers enjoyed the power of keeping the FBI in the dark. Emily’s eyes darted over JJ reassuring herself that she wasn’t hurt, and she visibly swallowed down the lump of emotion in her throat she couldn’t afford right now. They still hadn’t caught who was behind everything. Mills was the fall guy. And they were down two agents. “Morgan and Reid? What happened?” A shootout could have meant anything. Emily hadn’t taken her hand away from where she held on to JJ, like the blonde could provide the stability needed to stop her body that had been vibrating since she entertained the prospect that JJ was headed to the hospital again.

A soft knock sounded at the door but the noise barely registered in Clara’s mind. Her thoughts were currently occupied, as they had been for a month or so, with the whole situation between her and Tess and Alex. She didn’t have time to dwell on it at the moment though, as the door creaked open and her mom’s concerned face peeked in through the crack.

“Hey, baby girl. I’m about to head off to work now. I brought you some soup.”

Katy Sweet’s voice was soft, hopeful. Clara knew that her mom was worried and hated herself for adding even more unnecessary stress to the life of someone who was always trying to help, but she couldn’t bring herself to put effort into acting like everything was fine. Just another thing that she could add to the list of ways she was currently failing at life. For Katy’s benefit, she attempted a small smile but knew it probably looked more painful than anything. “No thanks, Mom. I’m really not hungry.”

She waited for the usual comment, that she hadn’t been hungry for weeks, but her mom looked at her watch and sighed. She was running late. “Okay, baby girl. I’m just going to leave it in here with you in case you change your mind.” Katy sat the bowl on Clara’s nightstand and kissed Clara’s forehead, before casting her a worried look and heading out the door.

Her sigh echoed her mother’s; it probably had been at least a day since the last time she’d ate and she knew her mom was starting to question if there was something more going on with her eating habits. The fact of the matter was that she simply wasn’t hungry. Her stomach was in a constant state of turmoil as New Years drew closer and, yeah, she’d thrown up a few times when trying to force herself to eat out of necessity. Apparently her body simply couldn’t handle being stressed and fed at the same time. Clara considered the soup for a brief moment, wondering if she could stomach it but, when she cautiously sniffed at the bowl, her throat constricted. With a feeling of disappointment, she took the bowl out to the kitchen, dumping a little bit of the chicken and broth into Ginger’s bowl before throwing the rest of it away.

Once she had returned to her room, Clara resumed the position that she lived in these days: curled up on her side, staring at the wall. She tried to ignore her thoughts but it wasn’t long until all of her worries and doubts flooded her mind, almost choking her with their urgency. Clara slammed her eyes shut and breathed in slowly. It was almost impossible not to give into her panic.

First, her friendship with Tess. Clara wasn’t stupid; she knew Alex and she knew at least some of his thought processes. If he was picking anyone, it wasn’t going to be Tess. A few months earlier and Clara would have thought their friendship could survive anything but now she wasn’t so sure. Tess had been, for a lack of a better word, mean ever since they had entered into this weird triangle state. She’d made Clara feel like she was going crazy, questioning her every move about whether or not it was Clara enough. She’d been made to feel like crap for getting good grades; for not defending her art to a nobody TA; for liking a good, stable guy.

Worst of all was the fact that Clara didn’t think Tess knew what she was doing. Tess had always been the most immature in their group and she and Barnabas had catered to that fact for years, protecting Tess in light of anything that might ruin her innocence. It seemed that their ploy to maintain her child-like nature was now backfiring on them because Tess was being more than immature. It was almost like Tess had liked him first so she thought that she automatically won the, as Tess saw it in her mind, competition. Like Alex and Clara and anyone else who got hurt in the process were just enemies Tess had to take down in order to be on top.

With a deep breath, Clara pulled her blanket up to her chin and stared blankly ahead. All that aside, she knew that without Tess and without Tess’s family, she would probably be on the streets right now. They had become a family to her when her dad had left and when her mom had been too preoccupied trying to keep a roof over their head to be a proper parent. Tess had held her when she cried, was the only person for years who ever actually saw Clara cry. She had helped Clara through school, ensuring that she passed and was able to continue on at the same rates as her friends. She had encouraged Clara in her art when Clara thought that her skills were nothing, had encouraged her to be better. With the history between them, Clara could easily pinpoint the fact that it was this situation that had made everything so messed up.

And then there was Alex...

Just the thought of his name made her chest ache with wanting. It was so easy to picture his stupid, goofy, Huckleberry grin that made her want to kiss him until that grin turned into something more awestruck. Or his arms and the way that they wrapped around her waist, making her feel secure and so unsteady at the same time. How he opened up to her more than anyone else in their group, besides Levi, and how she felt like she could do the same with him. She remembered him holding her as she cried over her dad and how maybe the situation would turn out okay; how she felt waking up in his arms, like it was something she could do every day for the rest of her life. How, before all this happened, she had been planning to ask him to be her boyfriend for real. How, before all of this happened, she could easily see herself falling in…

No. Clara cut the thought off abruptly, not wanting to bring that to mind when there was so much more to worry about.

She had considered just bowing out gracefully but every time she would go to do it, every time she’d call him Alex and prepare herself to break her own heart, she was pulled up short. All of the memories of their month or so as an item would stop her from doing that. Clara wanted to be with him. Clara wanted to be with him. He was the reason she had endured any of this mess at all. Alex was worth the trouble.

Was it worth her friendship with arguably the most important person in her life though? How would Tess handle rejection? Could they actually all continue to be friends if Tess didn’t get her way or would the last few months be the continuing model of their relationships? Would everyone in the group just drift off into their own spheres, leaving six individuals instead of one whole?

Clara didn’t know. She didn’t know the answer to anything and it felt like she was dying a slow, miserable, painful death. The last thing she wanted was to lose any of her friends and it was what it currently felt like was happening. Like they were all going to abandon her if she made one false step.

December 2nd, 2016

         It was a normal night out for Jason. It was the first few days of December, Jason’s least favorite month. Although the male often joked about his birthday being his favorite holiday, Jason did not like the month at all. Bad memories, mostly having to do with Christmas. He was looking to go out more and have plenty distractions. On this particular night, Jason came across a guy he’d never met before. Of course, Jason knew of him, but the stranger Jason paid him no attention.

         The two started talking. The name Samantha Lawrence came up in the conversation. Now the stranger had piqued his interest and after a few more minutes of conversation it was revealed that the other had also been romantically involved with Samantha in December of 2012. Jason wasn’t one to jump to conclusions, but now that he knew this information he wasn’t going to let it rest until his questions were answered and his doubts were eliminated.

December 6th, 2016

         The first thing Jason did was confront Samantha. He visited her and asked what he wanted to know. She was shocked but her lack of an answer was all Jason needed. Though, he was left with more questions now. How? Jason had done paternity tests before, which told him James Dean was his son, but knowing Samantha, those were probably fixed. Jason was angry. Jason had yet another reason to hate this month. He had no interest in continuing to play dad to a kid that wasn’t his. No matter how much he cared about James Dean. This changed everything. 

December 11th, 2016

          Jason no longer had a reason to stay in Greensville. Completely let down, once again, he decided that he needed to get away. Take a vacation. A permanent vacation. He didn’t know where he’d be going, but he did know he wasn’t coming back to Greensville. Rio. The Caribbean. The Maldives. All of these were options he considered, but when he really thought about it there was only one place he wanted to be. With Eva. He was conflicted. He hadn’t been to California in so long. Everything he was running from was in California, but so was the one person he needed. 

         So, he dropped off his son James Dean with his grandparents, arranged everything for his departure, and on December 11th, he moved back to California. Jason never expected things to turn out this way, but that chapter of his life was over. He was certainly still upset about being lied to and, in a way, the loss of his child. But he was  f r e e . The one responsibly that Jason had. That had forced him to grow up and kept him from doing many things. It was gone. This felt like getting a second chance at life. Jason never wanted to be a father. That had been the one mistake money couldn’t get him out of, and it was gone. No more James Dean. No more responsibility. 

December 5th, 2016

          On the fourth, Jason woke up to the realization that it was all a dream. A dream of what could have been. Although the incident at the bar did happen, and he still went to see Samantha and confront her about it. She assured him that James Dean was his son. Jason, however, felt more displeased by the answer than pleased. Because deep down there was a part of him that wanted it to be true. That wanted James Dean to big someone else son. So he could get his life back.