solo.

"Don't worry. I'm trustworthy. And I feel so so privileged." He raised his free hand to cover his heart teasingly. He wasn't dumb enough to ask for something he knew she was bound to say no to, so when he decided to cash in he wanted to make sure the moment was right. "I love the honesty. I'd rather know someone was coming for me than to think someone was my friend two seconds before they stabbed me in the back. It would drive me nuts." Scott raised his lemonade to take another long drink. "Not anything you probably want to hear. Still fighting professionally. I've broken my nose twice and a few fingers here and there since the last time I saw you but other than that it's going good. The money is good and I have enough to stop now if I really wanted to but I like it. It's a nice way to wind down, which sounds weird if I think about it too long. But I'm good. Honestly, I think I'm in the best place I've ever been at so I'm pretty proud. Oh, and I got my GED last year. I have the stupid thing hanging on the wall at my apartment."

"You are." She teased right back, finding it so easy to fall back into their rhythm once more. They might have grown up quite a bit since the last time they'd ran into each other, but she could still see that charming pain in the ass in there. "As do I. I don't believe I've ever had the patience for bullshit but I definitely don't have it now." Mariela nodded, much preferring forwardness now a days. "Right now, this really major show in New York is sending out representatives to check out the territories to scout talent and it's bringing out the best out of us. No backstabbing, no conniving, it's very let the best dancer win. Which is going to be me, of course." Mariela's eyes grew a bit wide as Scott spoke of what he'd been up to. "Are you really?" She asked him turning to take a good look at his features. "And you'd tell me if it wasn't, right?" Mariela pointed at him, meaning that. Now, she wasn't going to mother him but she wanted him to know that she was down to hear him out whenever he needed an ear. "It doesn't sound all that weird to me. I dance on my tip toes for a living, I know a thing or two about what you're referring to." She said. "Good, you deserve that." Mariela stopped in her tracks as he spoke of getting his GED. "Wait, why didn't you lead with that? C'mon. " She laughed, as she began to clap for him. "Congrats, Scott. Seriously, that's huge."

"Thanks." Mariela had never been one to say things just to make him feel better, so he knew she was being honest. Oddly enough, knowing she felt that way made him wonder why he had such a hard time with it from time to time. "I dunno. I kind of like the idea of having you in my back pocket. It's uncharted territory but seems pretty fun if I'm being honest." Scott nodded along as he listened, keeping his eyes on hers instead of the sidewalk in front of them as they went. Mariela had always been the type to bounce back from any adversity that came along and push forward ten times harder. It was almost surprising that she hadn't done the same with her breakup. "Like I said, you have my number. You know, every time I've heard a friend group be labeled as a 'sisterhood' it seems to crash and burn. But I'll keep my fingers crossed for you on that one. If something does go down I expect to be one of the first people to know though. This is officially the start of our revival tour."

"You see, you say that and I'm suddenly nervous that I might be giving you a bit too much power." Mariela told him, holding a finger out towards him. "Don't abuse that. If anything, think of it more like a privilege than a power." She said to Scott, but she knew that she was in good hands if she did end up in his back pocket. They'd known each other for far too long now to find herself fucked over by the man besides her. She took a moment to look over at him, wondering what part he was referring to when he let her know she had his number? Was it to discuss all that was happening behind the scenes or was it in reference to opening herself to dating? Mariela sipped on her lemonade for a beat, relieved when the conversation continued on with what was happening with her coworkers. "Well, we're ballerinas. This is a very different sort of sisterhood. One where the knives aren't exactly hidden, you tend to get stabbed right in the chest." She explained to Scott and in a way, that made most of the girls (and boys) respect each other more. There was no time for bullshit in ballet. "I have your number as you reminded me." She smiled over at him, as they continued to walk. "How about you? Aside from having your own shop now— which is huge news by the way, any updates I've yet to learn of?"

"That's funny. First you don't remember any flirting but now you remember you're better at it than I am. I like how that worked out." Scott raised his lemonade to take a sip, standing a bit straighter once he noticed her looking at him. "Well then I guess I'm lucky. If I had to work at tearing down all your walls you would've stopped talking to me a long time ago. I don't think I'm very good at it." It was still something he was insecure about, but he was still making steps in the right direction. His self confidence had waned more than he liked to admit over the years but he was finally back at the point of feeling good about himself. At least good enough to feel like he wasn't a walking hazard. "No one. That's why you're paying for my dinner and I'm paying for my own shit until you owe me something. It's not a hand out if we're both getting something out of it in the end. And I don't blame you. We both know I'm great with my hands." He wiggled the fingers of his free hand, knocking his hip against hers as he fell into step beside her. "Tell me about your life now. I know about most of the dancing stuff thanks to the news, but I want to know what's going on behind the scenes. Any new boyfriend? Or cast drama? You know I eat that shit up."

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit there." Mariela told him, meaning that. Sure, he had this reputation that preceded him and she certainly teased him for it but... Scott was a lot more emotionally mature than most gave him credit for. Sure, he could be a pain in the ass but he was genuinely a great friend. Or perhaps she'd been the lucky one who got this side of him. "Or maybe we make it so I don't owe you anything. We are just always even and then I'm not stuck in your back pocket." She suggested with a shrug. "You know, just a suggestion." She playfully groaned as he spoke of his fingers. "You couldn't resist yourself, huh? You know, sometimes you can say no to the urge to go for the low laying fruit." Mariela lightly shoved him over back to where he'd been walking. "There's quite a bit going on behind the scenes." She nodded, slowly. "No, no new boyfriend. The breakup with Phoenix wasn't exactly great, so I put that off." Mariela told him, her mind instantly going to the conversation she'd recently had with Bryson. Guys weren't exactly at the forefront of her priorities at the moment, but she did have to open herself up to the possibilities. "Thinking about dating now though, actually. A friend kind of pointed that I deserve to put myself out there a bit more." She let him know, with a sigh. "As for cast drama, well, of course there is." Mariela said, matter of factly. "But, we really are such a sisterhood at the end of the day. But there is a promotion coming up pretty soon which would see one of us dancing in New York for the holiday productions so the claws are out now."

"Hey, everyone has their flow. Just because teasing doesn't work for you doesn't mean it doesn't work at all. Besides, it's a good way to tell if someone has a good sense of humor, and that's always been a big thing for me." It made more sense in his head, but he figured she would understand what he was trying to say. "Fair. You've always been like an open book." It was refreshing. He'd never had to guess what was going on with her because it was always written all over her face. "Yeah, but that's after I fix the car. I don't do handouts." Especially not when he hadn't seen her in years and he wasn't entirely sure she wouldn't just disappear from his life again. There were a million other mechanics who could fix whatever was going on with her car and they both knew it. She would only come around if she really wanted to, and he wasn't sure he'd given her a reason to just yet. "Then take a walk with me."

"I never said it didn't work for me. Just some people are better at it," Mariela pointed at herself, before pointing at Scott. "than others. That's my issue, mainly." She said, with a nonchalant shrug. "With you, yeah." She nodded, as she was slowly unlearning a lot of her defense mechanisms. Like, it was actually okay to talk about her feelings and what was bothering her because there were people around her that wanted to help her navigate those emotions. Mariela did have to thank Bryson for that, but Scott had certainly laid the ground work for that. "Who said I needed a handout?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow. "All I need is a pair of hands I actually trust working on my baby." Mariela corrected him, with a sly smirk. She looked at him and then at the sidewalk in front of them, taking a beat as if she had to think it over. "Fine." She said, before stepping forward.

"Deal." Scott held up his free hand, pinky out and extended towards hers. "I'm pretty sure you called it kindergarten antics at some point. But that's okay. I'm still prepared to be the honest one in this relationship." Scott swatted at her hand playfully, leaning away from her touch. "Someone has to remind you life isn't always so serious, remember? Or are you complaining?" Teasing her did come as second nature but if it was something that actually irritated her he knew how to set boundaries. He was just waiting for her to reestablish where those were. "I think lightning might actually hit me in the forehead if I let you pay for- just about anything honestly." He wasn't exactly prince charming or anything close to it but his mother had ingrained in him over and over how important it was to treat the women in his life. "I do have your number but remember the phone works both ways. You can always give me a call without needing help with the car." He dropped what was left of his change in the tip jar before he took a few steps away from the line to make room for the next person. "Do you have somewhere to be?"

"And young me was so right." Mariela said, patting herself in the back for that one. "That's exactly what it is. And I think we're far removed from kindergarten for that. Some of us a little more than others." She let him know, looking him up and down with a laugh. She had always enjoyed herself when in Scott's company, something she was happy to see hadn't changed one bit. It was unfortunate that life and careers had taken precedent inn their lives as of late but it had been really nice to see him again. "I think you'd know if I was complaining. I think you can read that on my face pretty easily." She said, as she didn't have a singular one in that moment. "While that is very gentlemanly of you, Scott. You do have to let me treat you to at least a dinner, okay. I'm not gonna accept otherwise." Mariela narrowed her eyes towards him, much like he'd done earlier. "You're entirely right. I'll make sure to give you a call soon enough." She had to give him that one. Mariela ran over her the list of errands she had to run today, she'd already gotten her fishnets for the week and got her manicure. She soon shook her head. "Actually, no. My afternoon is pretty chill, yours?"

"Well, you can tell me about it sometime if you feel like taking a trip down memory lane. I can't remember the last time I talked about something deeper than face value stuff. Or you could tell me about something important now. I know sharing all your dirty little secrets wasn't your favorite thing to do with me but I'm all ears for you Alves." Scott's head tilted to the side as he eyed her curiously. "You don't have to thank me for being your friend, weirdo. That's just how we work. We talk and have fun, you pull me out of my own head and I try to do the same thing for you if you let me. You tease me, I tease you, then we flirt around for a little bit before you yell at me for something or I make you roll your eyes and brush me off, and the cycle starts all over again. I think that's how this works." He motioned between the two of them with his hand. Things had changed but he couldn't imagine anything being that different between them. "Yeah? Since when?" His eyebrow shot up teasingly as he stepped forward with her, waiting to see if she'd actually follow through on it. Though before she actually could he set a few bills on the counter. "Thanks anyways. I will take you up on the dinner at some point though. You know I can never pass up food, and I wouldn't hate catching up with you more. You're one of the few people from school I actually missed."

"I might just take you up on that offer, sometime soon." Mariela told Scott as it'd been quite sometime since someone looked down on her— those feelings luckily being a thing of the past. "You know, as of this moment, I don't believe I have anything earth shattering to share with you. But the moment a bomb drops on me, I'll make sure you're the first person who hears about it." She playfully rolled her eyes. "Fine, I take it back." Mariela listened to him, nodding as that was just about correct. That'd very much been the way their friendship had worked out. "You're like ninety percent right, but I don't recall the said "flirting" that happened between us." She told him, with a shake of her head. "I just remember the you going out of your way to be a pest, until I had to brush you off." Mariela's mouth dropped. "Fuck off, I've always been nice." She laughed. "See what I mean? This is what you'd do." She told him, poking at his bicep playfully. As she was readying to pay for his beverage, Scott went ahead and beat her to the punch. "C'mon." She told him, with a sigh. "Well, you're welcome." Mariela nodded, as she looked up at him. "You've got my number, you let me know when works best for you." Mariela found herself smiling brighter. "Oh, consider myself honored." She said, teasingly. "But same about you, though. Don't be a stranger, Cruz."

"That's because you had everyone fooled into thinking you were classy. You might've been born in the same neighborhood as us but you were never 'greaser trash' or whatever the hell it was they used to call kids from across the tracks." The social setting in Rosewood still blew his mind if he thought about it too long but Scott was beyond caring anymore. "Yeah? And how was I the distraction? I can remember trying to get you to loosen up every now and then, but you needed that. You always seemed to take things so seriously. Between dancing and school and everything else you had going on you deserved a break, even if you wouldn't take one." It was the complete opposite of the way he'd wanted to spend his time but Scott admired her for being so committed to everything she set her mind to. He simply didn't have the attention span for it unless it was something that really mattered to him. "Then I'll have to try harder." Scott narrowed his eyes a bit more as if he was thinking things over before he finally reached forward to shake her hand. "Deal. And if you're nice I might even offer you a ride home if it needs to stay. Or dessert."

"Pfft, if only you knew how not true that is." Sure, comparative to a lot of the rest of the Southside kids– Mariela had the luxury of having been held with higher regard. But the only reason that was was because of her talents. They simply couldn't deny that she was truly the best ballerina of her class. Regardless of tax bracket, how many years of forced class or skin color, they had to respect her. But even then, she'd dealt with her share of hate and prejudice just because of their zipcode. "I just had to grit and bear most of what I had to deal with." She nodded, taking a small sip from her lemonade. Those struggles had been worth it, that's what she reminded herself. "That's literally the textbook definition of a distraction." Mariela laughed as he spoke. "But looking back, I could have afforded to have let you take me out a bit more. So thank you, for even trying back then." She said, meaning that wholeheartedly. She'd needed to keep her eye on the prize to get where she now was, but she did wish she'd enjoyed herself a bit more. But that's what her twenties were for, huh? "Is that so?" She narrowed her eyes right back at him, struggling to keep back a laugh before he shook her hand. "Oh, I can be nice." She let him know, as she led the way towards the counter. "Case in point." Mariela said, as she asked the person behind the counter for another lemonade. "Well, I'd like that."

"Spoken like someone who wasn't really in the middle of it." He scoffed, though it wasn't meant as an insult. The worst thing he could remember about her were the things that had to do with her father, and that wasn't even something he could really judge her for. "I don't know. I think I've had enough Game of Thrones to last the rest of my life. So you say, but a high rise apartment with a city view is pretty damn close." Scott shrugged though in all honesty he hadn't thought of home as a specific place for as long as he could remember. It had more to do with the people around him than a location itself. "Thanks." He placed his hand over his heart in mock sincerity. "You're joking, right? There hasn't been a day where we've been in the same room when you haven't given me shit for something. Being a distraction is basically one of your personality traits at this point." He narrowed his eyes at her but his smile remained. He'd always enjoyed being around people who kept him on his toes and he'd never been able to guess what was going on in her mind. Every time he'd tried in the past he usually managed to put his foot in his mouth. "I never said I didn't like it. But... dinner and one of those." Scott nodded towards her lemonade with his jaw. "I think I can settle for that for now."

"No, I can't say I was exactly in the eye of the storm like you," Mariela nodded, having to give Scott that one. Had she had her own trials and tribulations with the South Side power struggle, yeah but that had been Scott's life up until what appeared to be recently. "Pretty close, but not close enough is how I prefer it now a days." She let him know as she had much more to lose at this point in her life. She was one of the lead dancers for the best dance company in Chicago, something that she had fought tooth and nail for. Everything else now a day was so secondary. "You're so welcome." She playfully rolled her eyes. "No, I am not joking." Mariela laughed as he spoke as she had a completely different recollection. "What? That's not at all how I remember it. If anything, you were the distraction. And perhaps, that's why I gave you shit every time we found ourselves together." Mariela told him, through her laughter. Scott knew very well that he'd been a pain in her ass in their younger years but he'd also been quite a good friend to her whenever she'd need someone to hear her out. "Well it sure sounded like it for a second there." She said, with a twist of her lips as she contemplated his conditions. "I think we've got ourselves a deal then." She held her hand out towards him for a handshake.

"And doing well. Obviously." His eyes scanned from the top of her head to her toes then back up again. He'd never expected any less from her given what he'd seen of her drive, but it was still nice to know she hadn't let any of the other bullshit in her life hold her back. It was always something he'd admired about her given how much he struggled with getting in the way of his own happiness. "Oh yeah? And what entertainment is that exactly?" Scott raised a brow, cocking his head to the side curiously. He'd been dying to get out of Rosewood for a long time before it actually happened, but there'd always been something keeping him around whether it was Perrie or not actually having the money he needed to get where he really wanted to be. Though thankfully the money issue had pretty much solved itself. Fighting hadn't solved all of his problems but it definitely helped most of them. "I do. I actually took someone's advice about not blowing all my money on cars and drugs and I opened a garage about a year or so. But it's sort of like my safe space so I might need a little more motivation before I point you towards the front door. I'm nice but I'm not running a charity here, Alves."

"I'd say so." Mariela shook her head, light laughter spilling from her as she caught his eyes trace over her. How had it been years since she'd seen him last yet it felt as if almost no time at all had happened. She'd been so close to lightly shoving him for old times sake. "Well, where else do we deal with blogs that threaten to expose our secrets, a game that has literally killed people for money, the almost damn near Games of Thrones-esque saga that was... well..." Mariela tilted her head as that one came a bit closer to home for the two of them. "And not to mention the countless other things. There's truly no place like home. I'm just happy I don't find myself so involved in most if any of that stuff anymore." Mariela found herself smiling as he spoke of what he'd been up to since she last saw him. "That's amazing, seriously. I know I don't have anything to do with it, but I'm still really proud of you." She let him know, he deserved to have found his happiness. "Oh c'mon, when have I ever been a disruption on your life? I like to think that I was one of the people you liked alot around here." She said, batting her eyelashes comically up at him. "But maybe we can get dinner, if that's a good enough start?"

Something about seeing someone from high school always managed to drag Scott back. It wasn't necessarily any unhappy place for him, but it did force most of his most questionable decisions to come to the forefront of his mind as he wondered what the person in front of him most likely remembered him for. "Still alive, STD free, and not a daddy yet, so I like to think I'm beating the odds here. I went farther than most people expected." He shrugged innocently, the tilt at the corners of his mouth making it obvious he was fighting off a smile. Scott didn't hesitate to step forward to wrap one of his arms around her in a quick hug. "I figured you would've moved out of town a long time ago, but it's nice to see you too. You taken over the world yet?"

"Still alive." Mariela repeated soon after him, as she was happy to see him and in great shape clearly. There seemed to be a vibrance that was coming from him. The sort that came from being in a pretty great place. "Oh, is that so?" She laughed as he continued. "I'm happy to also hear that." Mariela soon took a small sip from her lemonade. "Well, how could I ever leave this place? I don't know if New York or LA could ever provide the entertainment we get here." She said with a playful roll of her eyes. "I do happen to stay out in the city more often that not. I'm lucky enough to be dancing pretty often, four times a week actually. Sometimes twice a day." She nodded, as she wasn't doing too bad for herself. "How about you? Please tell me you still know your way around an engine. My car has actually been acting up lately and I wouldn't mind an good ol' we've known each other for far too long discount."

"We both know you're an overachiever so I'm not surprised." Seeing her smile was enough to ease his mind. At least she wasn't still a total wreck over someone who didn't deserve her. "Get real. We both know you're not the hot but stupid type. It's a smartass or nothing for you." Bryson rolled his eyes, pulling his hand back to lace his fingers behind his head as he relaxed back against his chair. "I would've offered to kick the shit out of him but I thought we were beyond that. Besides, I'm still not sure if Nadine would bail me out of jail."

"Oh, is that so?" Mariela nodded, fairly impressed by Bryson's expertise on what her type was or wasn't. "I can't say you're wrong there. You sure, you're not out there putting out feelers for me already?" She asked, teasingly as she shifted in her chair to look over at him. "Damn, where were you a couple of years ago? I might have taken you up on that offer. But we're so pass that, hitting him now would just be petty." She said, with a shake of her head. Even after everything, she didn't wish Phoenix any wrong. He'd just made a choice to better himself, unfortunately it hadn't included her. But she couldn't fault him for his choice.

Bryson half expected her to brush the subject off the way she always did whenever he made any sort of comment about her relationship. It really wasn't his business, and he knew that, but it had never stopped his curiosity. She'd always given off the impression that she wasn't afraid of anyone. Knowing that wasn't the case and that someone had ruined the idea of love for her caused the corners of his mouth to curve down before he even realized he'd started to frown. If it were Polo or one of his other friends Bryson would've teased them without a second thought, but Mariela was different. The entire situation made him sad for her. "I get that." He'd never been great at comforting people but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. So Bryson found himself reaching forward to squeeze her knee lightly. "You're protecting yourself. I would do the same thing if someone hurt me like that. I think the only thing that came close to that for me was breaking up with Sophia, but I knew that was going to end. And for what it's worth, it's his loss. I won't bring it up again until you do. By that point I might even have doctor friends to set you up with so it'll be a win-win. But until then you always got me."

Mariela sighed in relief as Bryson emphasized with her. Not that she'd expected him to be an asshole in that moment, knowing he wouldn't take advantage of her vulnerability for the sake of a joke but she'd never truly gotten to say that aloud. Her breakup with Phoenix had been hard for her, truly hard. It'd broken her heart. But she could say that today, she was a stronger woman because of it. And that may-haps, one day, she'll be ready to try once again. "And I think I've done a pretty great job at it. Maybe too good, but I am happier for it." She let him know. Whilst her love life might have been six feet under at the moment, she was truly happy. "Well, that goes without saying." She said, with a laugh before taking another sip from her cocktail. "I'm the best thing he'll never have again." Mariela nodded as he spoke, laughter spilling from her once more. "Oh, wouldn't that be the dream? That's exactly what I need. Another brainiac." She scrunched her nose as he let her know that she had him. She didn't doubt that for a second. "Ew, don't be cute right now."

"Why there's a lack of one for the most part. In all the time I've known you I've never seen you with a guy. Or a girl. Unless you're hiding someone and I just don't know about it yet, but with the amount of time I'm hanging around I doubt that." He shook his head as he sat on the end of a lounge chair. "I don't get it. You're hot, you're funny sometimes, and you're the type of person most people would want to introduce to their parents. I don't doubt that there's a lack of people trying to get your attention but I've never even seen what you look like when you're interested in someone. So I want to know if you'll clue me in on why that is. Are you taking the whole married to your job thing literally or am I just oblivious to the fact that... I don't even know what I could be missing at this point, but it feels like something."

Mariela listened to him and he understood where he was coming from. It was true, it'd been quite sometime since she'd even batted an eyelash in the direction of someone. So much so, that she wasn't so sure what that would look like nowadays. But the truth was that she truly thought that her last relationship would be her last. He was her high school sweetheart, the guy that had made her heart skip a beat every time. To have had that ripped from her, it'd been a blow. A blow that she didn't quite know how to recover from. So, she threw herself into her career. And she couldn't say she regretted it, given the countless oppurntunties that'd arose from keeping her eye on that goal. "I don't think you're missing anything." She said with a shake of her head. "I don't know? I really thought I was done, the last time I was dating someone. It was great, it really was. I really believed he was the one. And then it just wasn't and I didn't want to go through that again. I still don't." She said with a sigh. "So, I rather just not." She let him know. "And there it is. I don't want to give someone the power to do that to me again."

"So, are we still not allowed to talk about your relationships? Or, like, the lack of one?" Bryson raised an eyebrow as he ran a towel over his head, mopping up as much of the excess pool water as he could. He'd never seen the point in beating around the bush with Mariela. "Because I want to talk about it, if that's a thing you're up for now. It's been a few years since the last time I tried. But if it's not I can pretend I'm thinking of something else." @themarielaalves

Mariela let out a sigh, turning her head over to look at Bryson. The two had decided to take advantage of the return of great weather to Rosewood and enjoy an afternoon by the pool. "Well, what would you like to know about my lack of a relationship?" She asked him, grabbing a hold of the Aperol spritz that sat next to her and taking a sip. "Go on, I want to hear all about this." She nodded, a sly smile working at her lips.