𝑭𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆

CHARITHRA CHANDRAN on INSTAGRAM

Aubri Ibrag as Lizzy Elmsworth The Buccaneers (2023–)│2.02 "Women or Wives"

           with one last slash of his machete, the undead were finished. old, dried blood covered his hands and wrists, but he still managed to keep the tuxedo he wore for excursions untouched. a little wear-and-year, but nothing he couldn’t clean out with some tender loving care. he glanced toward them, a sick and twisted grin on his lips. “see? i protect you.” the words came out in a hushed tone, pulling them into one of the sewer pipes that lead through the bottom of the city they had taken over. his kingdom. he was a regular guy before this, he swore. though… the fight club that he was apart of turned into a deadly crew of zombie killers, and then? human killers. they didn’t kill unless it was necessary, but far too many times he made the decision to kill far sooner than he should’ve. “i’m not a bad guy…” he started off, leading them through the underground passage ways. “okay, i am. but i’m not always a bad guy. what’s stopping you from ruling the world with me, hm? afraid you’ll enjoy it too much?” 

"And you'll share your power with me, just like that? Just because I know a thing or two about herbology?" It sounded too good to be true. Nadya could have delirious ambitions at times, but that sounded too good even for her. "There must be some conditions, so, tell me. Tell me about them and I'll consider it." For the moment, him keeping them alive was enough for her.

nripati's brows furrowed questioningly at her answer, an incredulous scoff slipping past his lips before he could think to swallow it back. "on a whim? my darling... you must give yourself and your craft more thought in the future. 'on a whim' can end your career even on a good day." he'd always had a tendency to take himself a little too seriously, but seeing as the trajectory of his career had gone nowhere but up, pat figured there was some wisdom in his words. wisdom he didn't just impart to everyone. and charity? ...she wasn't just everyone. and yet, concretizing the feelings he harbored for her still felt too daunting a task at the moment. so, carefully watching over her, having her best interest in mind– it would have to do for now. recognizing the hesitance in her voice, nripati finally glanced up, eyes immediately examining her face with a warm smile. "it's difficult not to when you're the one singing."

Charity's smile didn't waive, not even upon hearing Nripati's advice, one that sounded closely to a scold. But he cared about her, that's why he worried; His love for her was what drove his words, how could she ever be bothered by that? Besides, he probably knew what he was talking about. All those years in front of the spotlight couldn't have been for nothing. "Your words are too sweet, babe. Careful, or you'll make me feel like I'm special." Her tone was playful, but there was some sort of need behind it, like if Chairty needed some reassurment but was too shy to ask, too scared of what she might find.

as the last few notes of charity's new single faded out, nripati took off the headphones from which it played and glanced over at the artist, who'd been watching him expectantly. her voice was enchanting, almost as much as her beautiful brown eyes. he loathed the way his heart seized up when he met her gaze, and so averted his own with a soft smile. "it's... i mean, you know it's not my type, but it's good", he conceded with a shrug. but, in perfect nripati fashion, he couldn't simply dispense a compliment. "why didn't you ask me to do the instrumental on this? i know it's still a demo, but the guitar sounds unpolished."

"We recorded it on a whim, babe. It wasn't planned or anything." Despite his comment, Charity's gaze was still glimmering with expectation. She shouldn't do that, and as naive as she was, the young woman was aware. Putting the value of her work in the hands of anyone but herself was a dangerous game, but she held Nripati so close to her heart, it was impossible for her not to. "Of course, I know it's not your type, but..." She was nervous; it was obvious by the way she bit her lip, in the way she looked anywhere but his eyes. Finally, she buildt the courage to look at him, placing her hand on his leg. "But did you like it?"

"Oh, are you?" He nodded, leaning against the store counter with a smirk. "I'm sorry, I'm just looking for some stuff from an old band, Flight of Kings? You ever heard of them? Used to be real big in the forever ago. I've heard the guitar player is a real handsome guy. I been looking everywhere but no one seems to remember them. Used to break hearts left right and center." Leo chuckled. "How you doing, Prisha? You alright?"

"I think you might be able to find something in the discount corner, you know." Prisha put down a couple of old records over the counter, sweared to herself that she would get to them tomorrow. She had worked enough for a day, hadn't she? "Can't complain. Playing records became a trend on tiktok, so I guess the sells will keep me afloat for another couple months. Thank God." Prisha walked over to the door, turnt around the 'We are open!' sign. "You? What brings you downtown?"

Matt was about to very calmly explain that no, Harrison's problem wasn't a lack of music talent but a lack of willingness to apply himself in the class, when she made that face— The face people always made when they were about to recognize him. Over fifteen years since the band broke up and he still didn't know how to react to that one. "A little." might have been the understatement of the year. They sold out Madison Square Garden. "Forever ago." He tried his very best smile. "Probably some time before Harrison was even born." Matt chuckled, "Listen, Mrs. Davidson, it's not that I want to give Harry a bad grade, alright? I like the kid. He just has to practice. There's no magic to it. And he's clearly not doing it."

"Oh, shit." Monica quickly covered her mouth, as if being in a school meant that she had to look for her language even if there were no kids around. "I mean... Wow. I always wondered what happened to you guys. I used to have your poster, the one with the white shirt..." Maybe it wasn't the time, nor place, to go down memory lane. "It's smart, though, working with kids. Most of them have probably never even heard about the band before." Perfect for laying low. "It's Ms. Herrera, actually." Monica raised her ring-less hand to show him. "And be honest: do any of them actually practice?"