big shot city

bridget stands on the step with a smile stretched across her face -- bright, though a touch uncertain. it isn't doubt, she believes every word she carries. but she wonders if this is the right time to share it, when heather's passing split through the town. the townfolk rarely took well to this kind of thing on a good day. still, her parents insisted that made now as good a time as any to spread the good word. as the door opens, she braces herself, holding out a folded pamphlet with both hands. "hi! i'm with the redemption chapel, and i was wondering if you had a minute to talk about jesus christ, our lord and saviour?"

charlene's head turned around , searching around the empty house for her mother just like when she was a child . " ummmmmm . " the filler word hanging in the air , suspended by the awkwardness of the question . " did someone pay you do to this ? " she stood in the doorway , body pressed between the door and the frame , looking around like someone was going to jump out of the bushes and yell surprise . she could think of a few co-workers who would have done it if they knew where she lived .

there was a sense of comfort in pretending everything was normal . she didn't often think of consequences . charlene always preferred to keep moving . to face forward , never turning around and looking back . knowing that everything would fall into place in front of her . she never cared much for the story of orpheus and eurydice . " staying cooped up isn't living anyway , " she said with fierce conviction before signaling the bartender over . " one cosmo , please . " attention turned back to charlotte . " if everyone is going to stay in their house , they might as well pack up and move out of town . what's the point to it all ? " her mom had told her to be more careful , and she told her mom the same thing , but the world kept turning despite what happened . and charlene wouldn't let the fear staunch her creativity .

when  the  band  finished  their  last  song  of  the  night,  casio  immediately  hopped  off  stage  and  made  a  bee-line  for  the  bar,  taking  the  first  and  last  seat  available,  not  paying  attention  to  who  was  next  to  him  as  he  ordered  a  skull  cupped  drink.  “ya  know,  i  gotta  say...  playin’  to  a  sea  of  them  masks,  ain’t  what  i  thought  the  night  was  gonna  be.”

" hm ? disappointed you can't see everyone making goggly eyes at you ? " a gentle , consoling pat on his shoulder before she folded her hands together in her lap . " i didn't know how rough you had it . " she didn't often have the conviction to be like this . rude . sarcastic . usually , charlene found it easier to just ignore something and move on , whether than wasting her energy on it . energy that would be better spent on some kind of project .

"  very  kind  of  you  to  assume  it's  that  and  not  court  jester  —  i'll  take  the  compliment.  "  there  was  self-awareness  within  sometimes!  even  if  charlene's  tone  was  nothing  short  of  facetious,  he  played  along,  more  to  continue  on  the  charade  that  she  easily  seemed  to  peer  right  through,  and  did  so  bluntly,  with  the  lack  of  pretenses  easily  catching  him  off  guard.  "  does  there  have  to  be  something  in  it  for  me?  "  heath  and  his  sincere  curiosity,  softball  still  tucked  in  hand,  though  his  body  skewed  towards  her  direction  with  a  canted  head.  "  very  not  in  the  halloween  spirit  of  you,  thinkin'  we  all  have  ulterior  motives.  ———  don't  you  know  halloween  is  the  one  night  a year when  everyone  can  be  their  true  selves?  "

" guess i just see the best in people ." well , that was assuming she saw much at all . to her , humans were nothing more than a conglomeration of their dreams and desires . lips pursed together as she turned his question over and over again in her head . eyes became unfocused as they shifted from heath to the game . charlene hadn't had much time to ponder the motivations of humanity during her stay in california . guess it was a big city thing . but she was back in a small town , and there wasn't much else to do . " yes , " she said firmly , back straightening as she found her conviction . " everything is measured in risk and reward . even a selfless action isn't inherently selfless . because you get that feeling of being a good samaritan . it might be small , but it's still a reward . " in the same way that she tried to be a good daughter . to do what's right . a joyless laughed left her lips and floated away to join that of the screaming children . " if someone is going to have ulterior motives , they would easily come out on halloween . throw on a mask and you can do whatever you want . or what ? you tryin' to say you're only nice once a year ? not sure that''s much better . "

heath  walked  through  the  world  with  an  air  of  performance,  even  under  the  shade  of  night  when  he  was  sure  no  one  would  be  looking.  it  filled  the  gap,  the  one  that  strived  for  recognition  while  his  skillset  largely  fell  behind  the  scenes  —  call  it  compensation,  exerting  himself  in  ways  he  couldn't  otherwise.  maybe  that's  why  he  chose  this  spot,  one  highly  populated,  arm  straining  to  knock  down  a  towel  of  discarded  milk  bottles.  he  didn't  even  look  before  his  mouth  began  to  move,  speaking  through  upturned  lips  and  a  toothied-grin  approach,  “  y'want  me  to  win  you  something?  ”  he  played,  unable  to  quell  the  provocation  within  his  tone.  “  i'm  on  a  winning  streak.  wouldn't  be  hard  to  make  sure  you  go  home  with  a  new  teddy  bear.  ”

with her hands on her hips and a big smile , she turned her attention away from the game . " going as a knight in shining armor for halloween ? " her easy going attitude disguised the mistrust that was lurking just beneath her skin . there was once a time when she would have gone along with him , not sparing a second thought to ponder his intentions . " and what do you get out of this ? " words were still punctuated with a smile and a teasing tone to disguise the truth in her question .

hadn’t meant for anyone to see her — eyes glazed, breath snagging in her throat, mascara bleeding down the curve of her cheek. it's pathetic, really. the kind of thing that ruins the illusion she’s so carefully built: impenetrable, detached. so when she hears the faint shift of air, every muscle tightens. stillness. a slow inhale. then drags the back of her hand across her face, smearing grief into something less legible. ‘ don’t. ’ the word sounds wrong in her mouth, but she’s already turned away — shoulders sharp, spine straight, face blanked into silence. whatever ache had lived in her expression folds inward, swallowed whole.

charlene watched with a sense of detachment . watched through the lens of a camera . a shot of people laughing before panning to nyx crying in the corner . the praise of the metaphors and the contrast and the unspoken words in the video buzzed against her brain . a small shake of her head and her predatory gaze shifted into a look of empathy . she'd become infected during her stay in california and coming home to red creek was her quarantine . " you're joking , right ? you cannot be saying no to a candied apple . it's a red creek delicacy . that's basically a crime . "

dramatic sigh leaves meticulously glossed lips,  chin resting on her hand as she watches people filter through the area.    ❝  are you gonna let me read your cards,  or are you gonna keep hovering around my table like a scared animal?  ❞

lips pursed tightly as if to physically stop an insult from slipping out . she'd found herself more inclined to those as of late . some sort of defense mechanism , but she tried not to think much about it . " just deciding if it's worth it is all . " a mouth that curved upward into a smile as she pulled the chair out and seated herself . " well ? please tell me it's something good . " hands brought together as if in prayer . not that any kind of god would take a call from her .

♡ LOLA TUNG the summer i turned pretty season 3 promo