ɪ ᴅᴏɴᴛ sᴜɪᴛ ᴍʏ sᴋɪɴ

Milo: no you’re cute

Milo: well if socks wants me to

Mardra: oh no we're not getting into this fight i'm gonna win

Milo: that’s all I need then didhxjksjd

Milo: !!!!!

Milo: kitty!!!! I’m honored 😻😻😻

Mardra: you cute

Milo: I have such a hard time imagining me as hot lmao

Milo: you’d be a cute amber!!! I’m excited to hear it!!!

Milo: kitty doesn’t hand over his heart that easily

Mardra: well /I/ think you are

Mardra: just for you my baby

Milo: fetus me thrusting those hips and my mom in the audience like 😱😱😱

Milo: you’re cute you just need to be there and you got half the work done

Milo: I never thought a cat would love me wow

Mardra: you were the cutest kid, i can't wait to see you do it again (except this time you'll be hot)

Mardra: i feel like i could be the mean girl, whoever brittany snow played! i'm gonna surprise you with a show you won't expect ☺️ i've been listening

Milo: wait hold on my sister has a clip

Milo: [sent video]

Milo: as my father says “okay it’ll do”

Milo: I love him

Mardra: OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDD

Mardra: you're the cutest person in the world

Mardra: cut me some slack 😩 i memorize things quickly i promise

✉ ɪɴsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ: @.naomibeauchamp just posted a photo!

i have toosie slide committed to memory after today pc the one and only @.sebastianst 💚

10.2k ʟɪᴋᴇs 284 ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴛs

for lindsey, luck played into karma and the law of averages, things had a tendency to balance themselves out, as far as she was concerned. but then there were times when luck made no sense at all, and that was why she often landed on the flip-flop side of her feelings about it. “what? naomi, shut up. that’s honestly the cutest thing i’ve ever heard in my entire life.” the idea of a little noami walking around, making luck for others, was so endearing. “well, you can leave them around now, if you want to. i don’t think it’s a waste, you could make someone’s day with that.”

things generally seemed to work the way the universe intended, or at least that’s what naomi preferred to tell herself. it was much easier to stay composed when that was the case, when there was a level of karma that prevailed. she felt her cheeks blush a little, suddenly a little embarrassed of her childhood self. it may have been cute, but it was still something that made her a little self-conscious. “well thank you. i haven’t thought of doing it lately, since things seem to be going pretty well for most people. i mean, except for people who get overworked and start drinking,” she referenced the recent office gossip regarding lindsey’s fiancé, part of her wondering if it was actually true.

heather hummed, thinking of what to say. the way she saw things…was it easier? she didn’t know if she thought so. “i mean,” she shrugged, “i’ve had my heart broken a whole bunch of times.” she had. by partners, friends, people in her life that didn’t love her as much as she loved them, in whatever way that was. heather wore her heart everywhere: her sleeve, her palm, her face, her chest, on every part of her. there wasn’t a single inch of heather that wasn’t soft, and she had long since stopped trying to guard every inch of herself. “but i’ve seen what the whole…not letting love in, i’ve seen what it turns people into. and i’d rather get hurt a thousand times over than be like that.” 

of course she had her heart broken, it would be impossible not to when you loved so hard, but the fact that she still had faith in love seemed like life was easier to handle. when you ran from things, it got complicated, you didn’t want to open up to people. “i’m sure some people would say that not forming connections is easier, too. maybe the grass will always be greener on the other side,” naomi referenced an old proverb with a shrug. “i think there’s a delicate line between letting heartbreak overpower you and stop you from feeling, and dealing with it and trying not to get heartbroken again. my way is avoidance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean i cut myself off from feelings, just love.” she said, looking down at her hands, running her fingers along manicured nails and trying to avoid eye contact after saying something so emotional. there was something about heather that made her feel comfortable being open, and it was frightening, to say the least.

she saw the way mardra backtracked, and almost felt…bad, for it? which was odd. because in a sense, eliza was getting her way, here: a chance to put off something so she could better prepare for it. but all she felt was weirdly guilty, instead of relieved. “okay,” she said, “but we’re definitely making pasta from scratch on our next sleepover.” because she wanted there to be another one, and maybe she’d invite clem over, too. or they could go somewhere where she wouldn’t feel like a highschooler, dodging her brother whenever he walked out of his room. “honestly, we could have made the cookies from scratch, too, but lijah finished the chocolate chips the other day.”

clicking her tongue and giving eliza a wink, mardra held up finger guns in agreement. her stomach did turn a little bit when eliza said next sleepover, not out of anxiety but rather out of giddiness. she felt herself smile widely as she grabbed another chunk of cookie dough, hoping it would make her seem less like an absolute idiot. for once, things actually seemed to be picking up, her life was good and she was actually happy for the first time in years. her smile didn’t fade in a few seconds, but she was grateful for it. “ooh, what about snickerdoodles next time? you’re not allergic to cinnamon, right? it’s just sugar cookies and cinnamon sugar, really!” mardra suggested excitedly.

Milo: i was!! that's why my mom was SCANDALIZED!!

Milo: i got you let's do it it's a show

Milo: he's cute! cats normally make me nervous but he's cute

Mardra: omg do you have a video of it? i wanna seeeeeee. dont tell me u did the little hip thrust when he says "and i'm link"

Mardra: okay but i'm gonna need some lyrics printed out for reference

it sounded like a lot of fun, more fun than eliza’d properly had in her kitchen in a while. well…not counting ezra’s weekend over, but that was something else entirely. “what?” she shook her head. “no, i definitely want to. i’m just not a very…off-the-cuff person? i don’t know if you know that about me.” she laughed a little, almost…embarrassed, for her lack of spontaneity in most things. “i don’t follow recipes, really, but i do tend to plan ahead when i’m cooking. so making pasta from scratch out of nowhere, it sounds fun, just…i’m a little…underprepared, i guess?”

the majority of mardra’s cooking experimentation lately had been for herself, with the occasional leftovers for her roommate. she looked over at eliza, her eyebrows beginning to furrow. she wanted to do something fun, but the last thing she wanted was to overtake things. “no, it’s totally fine. honestly, i don’t know how the sauce will turn out, so it would probably be best to use pasta that’s already made,” she suggested, not wanting to accidentally mess things up. all she wanted was for eliza to be her friend, although she considered them already to be friends, and she didn’t want to make things weird of uncomfortable. “at least the cookies will turn out perfect, right?” she asked with a chuckle.

“yeah – that’s the feedback i’ve been getting. maybe it would be a good idea and i’d get a nice turnout.” they all needed some fun, if sierra were being honest. she needed some fun herself, especially after seeing her ex from high school, she needed a damn break. he was the only one who wasn’t invited though. she didn’t want to be around him at all. “i might as well, to be honest. i’m seriously starting to consider it.”

“what?” august’s eyes widened. did he just reveal a spoiler? he hated spoilers, and he honestly thought no one would overhear him telling kitley what he thought about the finale for the third season. “uh —” he bit at his bottom lip. “i plead the fifth.” he held his hand up in mock defense. “i won’t say anything. unless like — what episode did you see last?”

“thank you, mardra.” he smiled at her, genuinely happily and genuinely appreciative of her congratulations. it felt good hearing someone saying it to him. he blushed, trying to hide his face by using his hand to cover his mouth. “oh goodness. i’ll combust if you keep that up.” he laughed lightly, “and thank you for helping me, by the way.” he fixed everything in his briefcase and made sure it was closed securely this time, “where are you off to?”

“They still do,” he laughed, thinking of the last time he performed and how they were the loudest in the crowd. He loved his parents for that reason. They were always crazy supportive and all about the collaboration of theater. He and his sister were, as his father liked to say, well loved in that respect. “Oh, God, no,” he laughed, covering his mouth with his hand. He’d seen Wicked for the first time when he was six, and many times after that, but he’d never read the book and could not imagine munchkins having sex all over the stage that way. “No. There’s no explicit sex.” Showing her the show made him feel all excited. It was one of his favorites, even if he never listed it. He could see Mardra really liking it. “Then you’ll really like it. There’s nothing like the feeling Stephen Schwartz evokes. If you want a rollercoaster, this is going to take you there.” He didn’t want to say aloud, at least not yet, that he was already tripped up on her and falling. Mardra was easy to be around, and he’d often felt like he needed to run away from this kind of closeness, because something always told him run run run. He didn’t feel that with Mardra. When his heart sped up, it wasn’t him getting nervous, really, it was his whole body reacting to her being close. He scrunched up his nose and leaned in to kiss her again, “That sounds a lot better.” He laughed at the rapid fire questions she asked, his heart singing in harmony with her last line. Even her voice was beautiful. “But you’re going to answer all that, too, right?” he smiled, “I like red, I’ve always had a phobia of quicksand, don’t know why. I like Summer the best. I get irked when mostly when drivers get too close to people to freak them out. Not to be cheesy but you make me happy. I can’t have caffeine because I get anxious and sunny side up. And I request that you sing more often.” 

mardra had all but abandoned trying to be ‘cool’ around milo. he made her feel comfortable enough to actually express all her emotions, whether they were good or bad. to be fair, she hadn’t had any bad moments other than when they first met, and the alcohol made her forget most of that anger. at this point, she just allowed herself to smile and laugh as hard as she wanted, to avoid suppressing emotions as much as she could. laughing, she touched her hand to her chest with relief, “oh thank god. if i watch something like that with you, i’d prefer it not to be a musical.” it was a crass situation to imagine, but she meant something more along the lines of watching fifty shades, although she probably would avoid watching that as much as possible, especially with milo. her heart lept when he kissed her again, which was probably a feeling she would never get over. even after so many kisses and telling each other their feelings, mardra still felt an electric shock when she felt his lips against hers. fuck she thought to herself, trying to remember the questions she had asked. “um, purple, spring, chewing with mouths open,” she paused, thinking of what he had said. it was a sentiment that set off butterflies in her stomach and made her turn away smiling, and she wanted to echo it but she didn’t think happy was an adequate enough word. “a lot of things make me happy. you do, but you make me comfortable, you make me happy to be here, to be here right now. you just... seem to make me better.” maybe it was too cheesy for a first date, but there was something about his pull that didnt make her apprehensive. she was comfortable enough to feel everything her heart wanted her to, and that feeling was a seed of something she hadn’t felt for five years, something she probably hadn’t even felt the first time.

“fair enough.” who knew what naomi’s parents were capable of. sounded like they were basically capable of just about anything. at least sierra knew whose toes not to step on. the comment about tupac made sierra laughed, and she shook her head and pushed her hair behind her ears. “no, no tupac listing.” she chuckled again. sierra pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and thought about it. maybe she could go out to lunch with her, maybe it would be good for sierra. “we could do lunch, sure. if that’s not too … weird, i suppose — for you, that is.”

luke hummed softly in response, eyebrows arched after naomi had leaned into respond to him. “fair enough, i will admit that you are.” she did have most of the power now, fr the moment anyway. “well then.” he shrugged lightly, a smile playing on his lips. “you better figure it out soon. you know what they say – the early bird catches the worm first.”