metamorphosis.

"Broooo." Cohen said under his breath, fighting to stay in character, but the fact that he hadn't said anything funny made it that much harder when Love Island Willow declared him to be. He kept it up though, able to flex his bicep as she squeezed. He couldn't say the same for her Pisces comment which had his eyes go large for a moment then he completely lost it along with her, "Yeah well maybe actress of our generation, you are. But fine I'll just accept that. You're still not off the hook to help me film my video though. What are you up to though? Wanna hang? I'm craving papusas and I heard there's a place with some legit ones on the southside. I legit had a dream a few nights and a friend of mine I met the summer after I graduated high school and I was building houses and stuff in El Salvador. I was like back there in my dreams but as I am now not then, anyway, we were on break and then did this massive papusa heist then we came across this locked door and broke the lock and it was a giant golden papusa and we were trying to figure out how to take it. Weird dream, but the craving has been strong ever since."

"I'd like to thank not only God but also Jesus," Willow did a small bow, still laughing somewhat at the ridiculousness she ended up taking part in with him. "Of course, I'll help however I can. I'd say you're gonna have to expand your thirst trap output on insta by like, eight billion percent too. How many pairs of grey sweatpants do you have?" Before she could say yes or no - though the answer was going to be yes anyway - he was off on a tangent about his dream, and she'd started walking figuring they'd get a head start on getting to the car. "Dreaming of heists and robbery? Cohen... you might be going dark side on us. But how can I say no to papusas when you've made such a compelling argument? I guess I could clear my incredibly vacant schedule to hang out with bestie."

"Well, maybe we'll have a hot pillow summer again. Do something spontaneous and fun for old time's sake." Truthfully, Perrie was content with the mundane life they had found themselves in. For the last few years, it felt like they were in survival mode outside of their bubble. Perrie was content to be living a more slow-paced life. "I don't think it's obvious enough," He teased, although his face was bright red. They had been together for five years, but Willow still made him feel the same butterflies he had in the beginning. "You'd get a plane to write in the sky what you like about me? You really are down bad, Willow Balcoin." He leaned in to talk to the pretend microphone. "I think it is fair. I worked hard over the last few years. Put my time into the gym, did the self-reflection, and work. I'm not sure about the human embodiment of global warming, but I do have an inclination of how hot I am." He grabbed Willow's hand, which was stretched out towards him, to pull her close and kiss her cheek. "As long as my beautiful girlfriend thinks I'm hot, that's all that matters to me."

"To be fair, the last time we did that we fell in love, so... could be dangerous." Likewise, Willow was content with her life as it was. She got to write, had done her fair share of book signings over the years, and even got to do fun little side quests like guest at summer writing camps to promote literacy for kids. It was crazy to her how nicely her life had turned out without her having to be the most outgoing or the most interesting on paper. Technically, she supposed, all the people she'd thought were interesting and had so much going on back in high school were just really messy. "I am indeed the down baddest," she grinned, unashamed. Somehow, between the two of them, they'd managed to lift each other up to the point they were so much more certain of themselves. She could remember a time where Perrie never would have even jokingly said such nice things about himself. "Mm, your beautiful girlfriend will continue to tell anyone who will listen though, you can't stop me," she giggled, wriggling as if she were trying to get away from him when in actual fact she'd wanted to sneak a kiss square on his lips. "Maybe we could go on a trip? Someplace new would be fun."

"Yeah, I guess if me in love is going to be a weapon, a reality TV show would be the best place to be one. I'd want to be a bombshell though and not an OG, really shake things up." Cohen didn't want to ever make light of what he did, but the way he saw it was that if the people he'd hurt forgave him then he ought to stop feeling sorry for himself and forgive himself. In character, Cohen almost broke immediately, not having anticipating Willow also getting into character, and what a character she was. "No not asthmatic, just looking for an excuse to talk to you. I like your vibe. What's your sign?"

Likewise, Willow was hanging by a thread to keep a straight face. She'd never been an extrovert but she was related to one so she figured she knew her brother well enough to channel his energy. "Oh, you're funny," she reached out as she fake laughed, giving his bicep a testing squeeze. Honestly, she personally thought Cohen's winning trait was his personality but she could see how anyone else would be distracted by his broad shoulders. "I'm a Pisces. So I don't mind getting w– getting we–" she cracked entirely at that point, waving her hand in surrender as she succumbed to her laughter. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I already think you're a winner, I don't have any notes. Maybe your Yoda I am not."

"Travis?" Cohen sounded wholly unimpressed and accompanying the tone was a look that said much of the same, "All my homies hate Travis." He shrugged, big and animated, "Technically I was trying to jump in on Kenya's love life and we all know I was stupid in love okay." He put his hands up in surrender for a moment, there wasn't anything he could do about what he did other than own that he'd done it and never do something so selfish again. "Yes! Okay! Lets do this!" Cohen bounced up and down while shaking his hands out like an athlethe hyping themself up before a race then he took off running in the opposite direction a few feet away and remained with his back facing Willow's. One more deep breath and then Cohen turned around, his face and whole demeanor relaxed as he strolled up and to Willow, "Hey, we don't know each other right? I'm Cohen." He told her and held out his hand, "Not to take up too much of your time, but since you took my breath away I thought maybe if I got a chance to talk to you for a little bit we could call it even."

"Yeah, you would have hated him," she laughed, but there were no lingering emotions in any direction. It was simply the past, for better or worse. "You in love is pretty dangerous as far as I've seen so maybe you would be a weapon on Love Island..." Willow got it, even if she didn't agree with it all from a moral standpoint, but she knew he never would have done anything if it weren't coming from a place of well meaning. Given her introverted demeanour sometimes all she could do was shake her head and laugh under her breath at how animated Cohen could be, that moment no exception as she watched him psych himself up. Getting herself into character, she put on a pout like she was inflated with lip filler, and shook his hand, "Are you asthmatic? Why can't you breathe?"

"See this is what I mean who was your enemy to lovers bae? How did you make an enemy at all?" Cohen thought on it for a moment, "I'd give it a go, could be pretty hot if Heated Rivalry taught me anything." Cohen tapped the crown of Willow's head, "Now I like how you think except I'm never touching Pete's love life again in any capacity." Cohen's mouth opened and closed when he realized that Willow dropped him in that scenario and that was on Cohen looking back on how he'd worded things, "I'm honored to be your hypothetical third." He smiled and blushed a little at Willow's compliment. Once upon a time there was an almost between the two of them, and even though they transitioned to a full on friendship Cohen could still recognized that Willow was one of Rosewood's hottest to ever do it in his eyes, so of course the compliment hit. "Well I need the sex appeal part, like maybe you pretend you don't know me and we'll workshop a few approaches?"

"His name was Travis, he was... not a great person in high school. Star of the football team, total douchebag. Over time we just, I don't know, warmed to each other. He was different by the end. Moved away for football and we couldn't make the distance work. I don't regret it in the end, but spending so much time agonising over whether someone is flirting or being an asshole isn't my thing." She ducked her head when he tapped it, laughing at him goofing around, "Fair. I don't even know why you jumped in on it in the first place. He does not have the physique of someone who needs help with women..." Willow's brow arched as she watched him goldfishing over her comment. Her secret weapon was that she was incredibly unassuming but could be just as unserious as anyone. "Sex appeal in the network tv sense is probably mostly just being a thinly veiled toxic asshole, so you're never going to get that down. But okay, fine, you're into roleplaying, I get it." Willow smirked, teasing. "So, we're... at a party and you decide you just have to talk to me... how do you do it?"

"Familiar how? Your head is just full of riddles and secrets, I swear. But it goes without saying I'm talking respectful and consensual numbers where everyone leaves happy and with no hurt feelings. Wait seriously? That's kind of a cute romcom story time. Friends to lovers is a very popular genre and one of my favorites. I guess if it isn't in the cards for you and me, I'm glad you have your man." Oh how Cohen wished that could be a thing, just have a Rosewood takeover season, all covert operatives, "That would be chill and guarantees a W for the two of you, but I guess I could be cool with runner up as long as I'm the fan favorite too." Cohen put his hand over his heart, "I'm gutted thinking about how we could have had matching swimsuits. If the two of you end up deciding you want to explore polyamory before next year I need to be the first to know okay? Our dreams could become reality...tv."

"I'm trying to take you on a journey," Willow did little jazz hands, "Can't give you the whole plot in one sentence, that'd betray the blood oath I took in the secret writer's society that gathers in the basement of the library every Tuesday night. Yeah, I tried the whole enemies to lovers thing before and on paper it's fun but in real life? Not for me." She had a feeling she was just putting more ideas into Cohen's head but honestly, the more they talked about it the more fun she was having with it. She supposed it was a case of being used to being worried about the side effects of Brodie's antics back in the day, but she was grown now, and Cohen was actually way less worrisome than her brother ever had been. "What about your friend Pete? Could be good tv watching you try to crack that nut," she wiggled her eyebrows. "Your offer is noted and I'll present it to the committee. We'd need a bigger bed though, Perrie takes up so much space. And like, how do car trips work? Someone always has to sit in the back so how are you all meant to hold hands? Hm, seems logistically challenging. Anyway, so, how exactly am I supposed to make you hotter and more desirable? I don't think you need fixing, if that helps."

"Oh! Is that what you meant? Cool I can deal with that." Cohen was immediately pleased and thus wasn't so…bouncy as he just was, it was like a switch had flipped, "True that is true but it cannot be denied that the goal is to be in a couple and I can be in a couple since I'm so beaver like and all." Cohen made a gnawing sound as he pretended to munch on an invisible piece of wood, head moving from one side to the other as his mouth opened and shut rapidly, "Well no, not a pimp per se but the more I'm talking the more this idea is sounding better because you are the leading expert in everyone around here. I can get my numbers up, just make out with a girl and be like that was cool, see you around. If you were single it would be so sick if you could come with me, that would be such a dope storyline, two best friends rolling up to the villa together. America would love us."

"Sorry, couldn't think of any other monogamous animals off the dome..." Willow belly laughed at his beaver impression, starting to see how his vision might be possible. Being attractive helped, but his charisma was so genuine she couldn't see how anyone could resist. "Get your numbers up... This is sounding awfully familiar," she shook her head to herself in disbelief of the cyclical nature of things. "You know, that's how Perrie and I got together so I'd say it's a tried and true method. We were going to have a wild summer... ended up just making excuses to practice making out with each other a lot." To say her eyes nearly popped out of her head at the idea of her joining him... "Absolutely gutted that I can't, but we would own the place, obviously. Unless we recruit Perrie and pretend we've never met so I can just... yoo-hoo... Seal the deal."

"Beaver?! What? Okay I would have been better off with puppy I don't even know what it means if you see me like a beaver? When did I turn beaver like and what does that mean? Willow I'm sexy, you were into me when we met! I'm spiraling, you made me spiral Fix me, make me hot and desirable to like minded singles and Ariana Maddox."

"Beavers mate for life," she chuckled, eternally entertained by his boundless energy. "Where did I say you weren't sexy, hot, or desirable? I said you needed to become a sexual menace. Don't they just ping pong between each other on that show? I don't know if you're good at that, and I definitely can't help you if you're not. You were like, the second person I ever had a crush on so I'm hardly an expert. And even then... are you asking me to be your pimp?"

Cohen bounced on the balls of his feet playing into the whole Willow rapping her knuckles on his chest thing. He nodded excitedly, yeah some casting folks slid into my DM's and encouraged me to audition. There's all these questions and stuff they want me to answer on video so who knows maybe you'll be seeing me chillin' in soul ties by this time next year."

Willow shook off her initial shock, having expected him to say he wanted to audition for a movie or something because, well, it wasn't like he needed talent or training when his family had the money and ties they did. Still, it wasn't her place to judge either way and he seemed excited so maybe it wasn't such a terrible thing. She was just being an introvert. "Sounds like an experience to tick off the bucket list. Count me in. I think you're going to have to practice how to be a sexual menace though. You're very like, beaver coded."

There were so many stories he'd heard from so many sources it was kind of hard to get a chronological beat on everything that had happened, but some things, like the dollhouse he knew well. His jaw clenched at the mention of it - Calvin didn't tell him everything but he'd told him enough and Cohen wasn't a fighter but if he ever got a chance to be face to face with that teacher he'd figure it out. He shook his head free of the thoughts and a smile returned to Cohen's lips, "No but I don't know just a random col--." He tapped his temple, "Very Rosewood of you." Cohen wiggled his eyebrows, "Love Island, baby. I've got a face for TV, right?"

Willow tried to stay positive about things, especially those of the past where things had turned out alright in the end. Obviously she didn't know much about his cousin nowadays but whatever tidbits she got from Cohen made it sound like he was doing well. She eyed his expression, fully understanding because she would have felt the same if it were Brodie in that position. At least the sicko teacher was in prison and all the kids he'd tried to hurt had gone on to better things. Her lips twisted into a devious smirk when he realised what she'd been getting at, "Born and bred, baby," she rapped her knuckles against her chest like she was a football player who'd just scored a winning touchdown, then immediately felt like she'd been sent to another planet. "Love Isl– Cohen. Cohen. I mean, yeah, you're beautiful obviously, but Love Island?"

"You've lived a thousand lives, Willow Balcoin. It's kind of nuts to think that one of my future best friends snuck into parties my cousin threw, like he was never that cool." Cohen cocked his head to the side about the Carrie comment, "I don't know if I ever got the full story on that, like was it actually blood or what was the deal there. And why red? Trying to relive your Carrie days? Oh and I know you probably have a busy schedule but when you have time let me know because I need your help with an audition video."

"Honestly, it's crazy how I managed to actually graduate now that I think about it. Especially when we had that crazy headmistress who put kids in a medieval torture device for detention." Willow shook her head, certain that even she'd forgotten some of her past lifetimes. "Oh, yeah, it was blood. And like, everyone got hit, the whole ballroom. The best part was that wasn't even the crowning glory, it was just a distraction. I'm guessing you know about that whole thing that happened to your cousin, the Dollhouse? A teacher kidnapped a bunch of kids and put them in the hunger games... That was so messed up." She rolled her eyes and laughed, "Yeah, I'd love that. Do you have something against red? I take it back and choose green instead, is that more to your tastes, sir? Mm, never too busy for a friend. What's the audition for?"

"You know when I was younger i used to hear about all of these parties that used to be thrown here. The way my cousin told it there were parties for it like being a Thursday where Mercury was in retrograde and everyone would come dressed as their signs or something. I don't know if I want to bring it back per se, that sounds exhausting, but the beginning of summer should be celebrated, don't you think? I could throw a pool party."

"I mean, I think they were fun if you weren't the one organising it. This place loves a theme," Willow chuckled, thinking back on all the parties she'd been to. "I used to go to them all when I was writing my first book. Never invited because I wasn't cool enough but it's not hard to sneak in when you're no one. Then I got Carrie'd at prom so there went my chances of going anywhere incognito." It was crazy how she looked back on it all with a sense of fondness, like it was a whole other lifetime. "Pool parties are never a letdown, obviously. Just tell everyone to wear red or something and they'll eat it up."

"Oh, right. I forgot that Rosewood might be listening." It was safe to say that they had endured quite a lot during their time in their small town. Life somehow always veered into early-2000s teen drama, with the risks always higher-stakes than Perrie would have liked. He escaped death multiple times. The thrill-seeking days were long over. His time with the greasers had come to a close. They would always be family, but Perrie wanted something more peaceful. A soft ending. A nice pillow to land on after the rough cards he had been dealt. Willow was the breath of fresh air he had always craved. She brought color back into his lifeless world. He wouldn't have changed a thing that happened to him in Rosewood. However, he hoped that their days of mess were long behind them. His brows raised in intrigue as he turned to Willow. He knew that devious tone anywhere. Perrie smiled, wondering where she would lead him next. "Are you saying you want to write something on a building?" He asked, chuckling. "Yeah, it'd be nice to walk around the city and read something from you. Everyone else has their thoughts on what it could be, but I'd know the truth. Our secret messages in plain sight. Like passing notes in class."

"I'm just saying, if the inspiration struck I might not say no..." Willow had never been a rule breaker by nature so even thinking about doing something a tiny bit naughty had put an energetic bounce in her step. "Do you think PERRIE CRUZ HAS A NICE ASS is too obvious?" she grinned, swinging their joined hands a little higher just because. It felt nice to be happy with no strings, no dark cloud looming, nothing but Perrie and his sweetness. "I'd get one of those planes to write it in the sky, honestly. Or get NASA to beam it into space. That's how serious I am about your... honestly, everything." Willow held her free hand up to him like she was holding a microphone, "Do you think it's fair to be walking around boldly like this, the human embodiment of global warming? Answer me Mr Cruz, do you understand how hot you are?!"

"Oh, just that spring is here once again. I wonder what changes might come about this season." Perrie had always felt this time of the year was special. The world was alive once again, now that the frost of winter had melted. It gave way to renewal and growth. Once upon a time, those concepts scared Perrie, but now he welcomed them with open arms. "I think we've had enough excitement for the next few lifetimes. Coloring inside the lines sounds great." By some miracle, he had made it to the final three of panic. An honor, Perrie still didn't know whether to wear it with pride. His reckless days were long over. He was happy with the gentle life he had created with Willow. "What! I didn't think you'd agree," he replied playfully. "My cuteness saves me yet again." Perrie smiled and pulled Willow in for a kiss.

"Don't say that too loud," she scoffed. One could never be too careful what they wished for in their dearest Rosewood. The place was like Buffy's Hellmouth, something insidious always seemed to be lurking around the corner. Perhaps not looking for them personally, but it wasn't hard to find yourself in the blast zone. At least they agreed that their time seeking the spotlight was long behind them. Following in the footsteps of people like their brothers Scott and Brodie had seemed thrilling from the outside, but it turned out being messy and chaotic was just, well, messy. "Okay, but..." Willow melted into his kiss, forgetting she'd even been speaking for a moment. Then, when she came down off her cloud nine she very nearly had devil horns poking out of her head, "Wouldn't it be kind of fun to do something like that? Like... Like, write something on a wall that means something to you and no one else will know? And if it moves them too then, you know, art or whatever... I don't know, just seems nicer than terrible drawings of dicks on the wall of a bathroom stall."

"I can't say I ever thought about it until this very moment." Perrie chuckled as he looked up to where Willow was pointing. His artistry had always come in the form of words. He admired people who could create beautiful paintings or expressive graffiti like the one they were currently staring at. "Oh, I'm sure. They manage to somehow never get caught and leave us with great works of art. I should ask one of them about the art of stealth. I feel like I'm the nosiest person alive in the morning when I'm trying not to wake you."

"What were you thinking about?" Willow asked. She was always genuinely interested at what was going on in his head when he was on his so called Quiet Mode. "Honestly I'm too scared of consequences so it's two feet on the ground and colouring between the lines for me." They'd tried their hand at being daredevils and as much as Panic had altered her brain chemistry she definitely hadn't come out of it any more of a thrill seeker. "You are," she narrowed her eyes at him with more affection than malice, confirming that somehow everyone became more clumsy the more they needed to be quiet, "you're just lucky you're cute."

"Not gonna buy that until I see it with my own eyes. Until then you're nothing but talk. But what else is new?" She pursed her lips in order to hold back a smirk from creeping out as she pushed back at his defense with the same energy. For once she actually wasn't interested in winning said discussion though. She found herself more enthralled by how excitable and much less rigid he had become when they began reminiscing. Almost like getting a glimpse of who he had been before he had left, the one who Tara liked being around and grieved the loss of, who he had suppressed for whatever reason. "That's excuses boring people make. If everyone stuck to only what they're meant to do then there would have been no discoveries ever. All i'm getting from this is that we need a redo. You know, to prove that you're a big boy who can face his fears."

It was becoming clearer to him as time went on that as easy as he'd found it to shut himself off and live on autopilot while around his father, that was never going to be the case when he'd come home. He hadn't said it out loud but it was true, Rosewood was home, and his defence mechanisms were slowly but surely starting to falter.