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The woman probably thought that she was crazy and at this point she really wouldn’t blame her, well she couldn’t blame her at all, Maggie was crazy she was sure of it, the hormones had messed with every functional part of her brain. “I’m sorry I don’t mean to cry.” She huffed with a laugh as she reached to wipe her eyes before her hands settled on her bump. “The damn baby hormones have me all over the place and this was the third card I had ordered in like two weeks so it just means a lot I didn’t end up actually losing it you know?” Her brows furrowed at the sight of chocolate though and she wasn’t sure if the woman was just trying to placate the crazy pregnant lady but she couldn’t bring herself to care. “Yes please, that would be nice, no allergies here.” 

She’d missed the bump, focused on the woman’s face, until the hand motion brought her focus downwards. “Aw shit...you don’t owe anyone apologizes, that’s your get out of jail free card,” she answered with a shrug. “I mean, I know how crazy I can get around my period...the hormonal hell that unleashes when you’re like...creating life...you’ve a right to some forgetfulness.” Her smile softens a little. She’s got a soft spot for kids, pregnant people. When her offer is accepted she grins. “Perfect, let’s go snag that bench over there. When I’m feeling all over the place focusing on a snack that tastes good and being still helps me kinda recalibrate.” 

it’s  not  unusual,  to  see  charlie  running  through  life  like  she  doesn’t  have  a  minute  to  spare.  there’s  times  she  can  be  found  simply  enjoying  things,  but  on  the  run  is  more  her  speed.  so  she’s  not  entirely  surprised  by  the  card  waving  in  the  air  as  she  turns  her  head  to  look  back  at  who  is  being  called  after,  only  to  discover  it’s  her.

she’s  laughing  softly,  head  shaking  as  she  moves  towards  the  woman.  “  i  swear  i’d  forget  my  own  head  if  it  wasn’t  attached.  ’  huffing  softly  as  she  reached  for  the  card.  “  i  probably  do  owe  you  now.  it’s  not  every  day  someone  runs  out  to  give  you  money.  even  if  it  was  yours  to  begin  with.  ’  if  her  father  was  good  for  anything,  it  was  at  least  teaching  her  that.

Not her first time, Willow get’s that vibe. The girl has this frenetic energy about her, a little energizer bunny. “Ah we all get like that, especially in this town. So many people drugged up, boozed up, post sex haze...it’s a wonder anybody successfully finishes a task and doesn’t leave their whole life savings on a park bench.” Cocking her head to the side, she gave a thoughtful hum. “I totally did find 100 dollars on a park bench once. No name on it, of course, so that I kept for myself.” 

A reward, she does like those. “Why don’t you share your favorite place to eat with me? I find that good food is usually my favorite form of repayment.”

Augie hadn’t really had a plan, maybe treat himself to a nice dinner, hit the Doobie Den for all they were worth. But he liked the idea of at least having a partner in crime for the night. “Honestly, my ideas were pretty tame, but I’m down for some mischief. There is definitely a time limit, I would say we have probably just tonight before they realise and shut it down, and probably not unlimited funds but definitely enough to drink top shelf for the rest of the night.” The woman had surprised him by not accepting the offer to keep the card, which immediately made him like her, she was more interesting than the people who would pocket the card and run.

“Alright then, partners in crime for the night.” He said, happily. Before coming to Santa Ysabel he had been bold, but certainly not as audacious to blatantly steal but there was something about the city that brought out the worst parts of his adventurous side. “Come on, we need to get high, or drunk, or both, to get some fun ideas.”

He’s not hard to sway and Willow is grateful for that. Some days she itches for a particular kind of company the same way one might crave a certain kind of food. This one gives off just the right vibes; hasn’t hit on her yet, seems prepared to go with the flow, obvious morally grey alignment. She falls into step beside him. “If I get to choose I prefer drunk,” she answered. Yes, Willow dabbled because sometimes it made sense, but she always liked to make sure she was never as fucked up as the person she was with, could still enjoy the show. “We should get drunk, pick up some spray paint, deface some public property, make sure all the supplies we bought are in his name.”

“Well ain’t you just as cute as a button.” Hannah lathered on a little extra of her southern charm, she enjoyed having friends but she always kept people at arms length for a while, though most wouldn’t know it since she was deceivingly good at giving just enough information that people felt like they knew her. “Willow? Like the tree? That tracks - pretty name for a pretty lady.” She tilted her head as she listened, nodding slightly, “True, there’s usually somethin’ happenin’ somewhere round here.” Hannah mused before shaking her head slightly, “Oh, honey, you don’t want me to bore you with work talk - I’m looking for a new waitress is all, nothin’ spectacular.” It was true in that she was looking for a new waitress but the standards that she held her staff to were quite strict, so going through the resumes she had could take a while.

~~

Willow allows a delicate flush to grace her cheeks when she is called pretty. That’s the reaction people want, to feel like her esteem jumps tenfold when they decide she is pretty. And then she perks with genuine interest. “A new waitress?” The hole in the wall shithole she waitressed at right now was...well...not ideal. Didn’t pay enough, didn’t attract the truly engaging types. She straightens, smile on her face. “It wouldn’t happen to be too late to put in an application would it? For the good Samaritan that returned your card? The place I’m working out now isn’t even worth the time it takes me to get there, the tips are shit and they don’t...” She let’s her voice soften so that she seems a damsel in distress. “They don’t really protect us from the grabby aggressive types, ya know?”

Maybe sometimes the universe didn’t hate her that much? Her day had been awful but somehow, Cilla still managed to get her happy ending. Or at least avoid what could have been a total disaster. She smiled at the woman as she took the card from her. “I’m glad I don’t have to explain myself but I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had a long day too,” she said, sliding the card back into her purse and, in the meantime, making sure that nothing else was missing because all of a sudden, she didn’t trust herself anymore. “Uh, unfortunately, no… I wish!” She chuckled. “I’ve snacks for me and my pup, a bottle of wine, and a bathtub. Stella loves jumping into the tub before I come back with my ‘bath kit’ and then it’s hard to make her get-… Sorry, it really was a long day, my brain’s just puff! So not working.”

Willow lets out a small gust of laughter. “Snacks and wine and a bathtub, sounds like a much needed recipe for chilling the fuck out. Add a nice joint on top too just to keep the nice rounded chill all the way down to your toes.” It’s clear the other girl is rambling, though Willow can’t pretend a little imagery of sharing a bubble bath with the pretty woman didn’t run through her head for a moment. “Sounds like what you really need is for someone else to draw your bath and feed you snacks while you relax and recharge,” she muses. “God knows at the end of the day sometimes all I can manage is soaking my feet in a basin but even that feels like a goddamn miracle.”

Maggie’s brain wasn’t working. She had always thought women were exaggerating when they claimed that they got baby brains, but over the past few months she had come to learn that she was wrong - god she was about as wrong as it could get and she hated it. Maggie had sharp witts, she was in control and she knew what she was doing and now she was nothing more than a forgetful mess who didn’t fit in her jeans anymore and whom cried at the smallest of things on the TV. With the cash tucked away in her purse Maggie was back in her own world until the voice caught her attention and she spun, eyes landing on the card. “Oh god not again…” She whined, tears pricking at her eyes. “Thank you!” 

It was jarring, the tears, the tremor to the woman’s voice. On the outside Willow stayed carefully neutral, but as someone who didn’t cry much herself she was always a little bit slow to offer comfort for other people’s tears. “Uh...you’re welcome. It’s okay, no harm done, ya know?” It felt like when someone asked you to do a task, you said yes, and then they added a please. What in the world was the point of such an outburst when a situation had just be resolved. She tucked her own confusion away, people so maddeningly confusing and fascinating all at once, stepping closer and cocking her head to the side. “Do you want some chocolate?” A candy bar is pulled out of Willow’s own bag and offered in the brunette’s direction. Most girls liked chocolate when they were distraught, right? “It’s got nuts in it though...so pass if you have an allergy.”

A small chuckle escaped her as she nodded in agreement, it was all too easy to assume that if you left something behind you’d never see it again, but there were always exceptions to the rule. “Well, if you were lookin’ for a friend you should have just said - I’m Hannah-Mae if you wanted to know.” Hannah teased softly before looking down at her drink for a moment, looking back up with a raised eyebrow, “is tonight a special night?” It could be for all she knew, doing as much as she did meant that she often lost track of the days, but she softened slightly before continuing, “Oh, I’m afraid I ain’t got anythin’ fun planned, I’ll mostly be lookin’ through resumes - I do have some bourbon that might help me along, if that counts?” Somehow she didn’t think that drinking alone while doing work made her evening sound any more fun than it wasn’t, but it was worth an ask.

“I’m always looking for friends,” Willow answered. It wasn’t a lie, she was always looking for people to study, to follow, to watch them till she became privy to all their darknesses. The smile she’d been holding back burst forward as the other woman essentially gave permission. “Hi Hannah-Mae. I’m Willow.” Was there anything special about tonight? She had to wrack her brain for a moment because keeping tracks of holidays was not a specialty unless she had her planner in front of her. “I don’t...I don’t think so. Like it’s not a holiday or anything, but it’s so nice out. And honestly in this town there’s always a party or some kind of celebration happening.” An eyebrow quirked with interest. “Resumes for what?”

She should have checked the suspension twice this time. She was sure that she’d done that properly and there must have been a good reason why the car kept making even more noises. It was as if their client was having fun coming back with his squeaky car, watching them fix the same part over and over again… Why would someone do that, though? Cilla sighed. She was way too tired to find a good answer to any of those questions. She had her snacks, she had her dog’s snacks, and she was ready to go home and just- “Me?” Cilla almost jumped but she turned around quickly, to see what it was about. “Oh my- I’m-…” She rolled her eyes but she still managed to smile. “Thanks a lot,” she said with a quiet sigh. “Yet another reason to love this horrible day… Can I, uhm, buy you something, maybe…? As a thank you! It could’ve ended much worse…!” 

Willow wasn’t sure if the eye roll was directed to the losing of the card on the first place, or the returning of it. Wouldn’t be the first time someone had been annoyed by an attempted act of good samaritan will. She remembered once trying to return a clip of money someone left outside the restaurant and the individual being drunk and cross, saying it was her payment to leave them alone. “I mean, if anything this moment is combating your horrible day slightly,” she offered, pleased at the offering of a reward, not that she planned on taking it. “Oh that’s not necessary. You look...like you’ve had a long day. And I’ve had a long day too.” She gestured at her waitress uniform. “Unless you’ve got the cash for a spa day and a steady stream of wine I am beyond help.”

Hannah-Mae was used to long days, running the shop in the day and the bar by night meant she didn’t always get a lot of time to herself, but she didn’t mind too much. It was work that was on her mind as she thanked the cashier and left the convenience store with her soda in hand, distracted as she mentally prepared for the week ahead and ran through her checklist. She half registered someone shouting but it took a moment for Hannah to realise that they were shouting for her. She turned around to look at the other, her eyes widening as she realised that she’d left her card behind, “Oh my gosh!” She squeaked, cheeks reddening from embarrassment, “you are such a sweetheart, I never would have noticed, thank you.” The blonde smiled warmly, “There’s not a lot of people round here that would have come runnin’ after me - you coulda used the card too and I probably wouldn’t have noticed, I owe you one.”

Her eyes take in the red cheeks, the soft southern accent. Willow had a fairly good gut instinct upon first meetings as to who might be a willing participant in being the leading actor of her darker fantasies, who would be a better person for her to observe in delighted secret. This woman definitely gave second option vibes. “Eh, you live in a town like this where people do that stuff all the time and it just doesn’t have the same temptation anymore. Much better to be somebody’s hero and make a friend.” Trouble needed alibis sometimes, after all, and sometimes the thrill you got from an unexpected good dead earned you friends in high places, friends with nice connections. She eyes the soda in the woman’s hand, brow raised. “Just a soda? On a night like tonight? Usually everyone’s got some kind of goody on them; booze, a joint, a condemn wrapper. Please tell me you’re off to have fun of some kind.”

Augie was sore after a long time working with a guy, Johnny, who had promised him a lot, and in the end was disappointing. The sweaty old asshole didn’t even give him a tip for sucking dick like an absolute pro. Instead, Augie was told to let himself out while the miserable douchebag laid down for a nap. He should’ve known better. It hadn’t taken long for Augie to find his wallet, deftly flicking through the cards. This wasn’t about the money, he didn’t need the money. This was about the principle of it all. The idiot had his PIN written down on a note inside the wallet. Score.

He trekked to a convenience store that was far enough away from both his own apartment and Johnny’s apartment that he felt safe. God, he needed a cigarette. It would at least overpower the lingering taste in his mouth. He got to the front of the line, ordered his pack and grabbed them happily. He hadn’t gotten far, lighting up his glorious reward as a woman waved him down. He smiled, taking a quick drag. Smoke escaped his mouth as he spoke, “Wow, that’s a rare good deed here.” He chuckled, “Not sure I deserve it though, that’s not my card. But If you wanna keep it and buy yourself something with it, the guy who owns it is an asshole and has cash to spare.”

Willow has one of those faces that when at rest either looks bitchy or neutral. Off-putting to some, she’s grown quite fond of the way it can take a while for emotions and thoughts to sink through her and shift the expression upon her visage. In this case the boy she’s talking to didn’t need to be privy to the immediately delighted intrigue she was feeling. Her wicked smile was tucked away on the inside, out of view. “I could keep it myself,” she mused allowed, twirling the card between her fingers, “but then I’d be left wondering what you might have done with it. Was there a plan? Tap an atm and get yourself a nice little cash stash? Buy some booze, some drugs, maybe some diamonds? Do you think there’s a time limit on how fast you could blow through this card before whoever it belongs to gets it shut off?” Oh asshole or not she’s into the idea of a spending spree, it’s just that she doesn’t want to do it herself. She’d prefer to watch him, be a side piece, a witness to his brilliance. 

It was that same desire that used to lead to her coaxing classmates to pilfer a dessert from the cafeteria, to steal their mom’s credit card. Sure, she could burn through that card herself just for the sake of it, but it wouldn’t be as fun, there wouldn’t be the same thrill. “I say, we take the card together. Mischief is a lot more fun when you have an audience, and I’m a very good audience.”

–

There was always an itch for something just a little stronger. He’d been told that without rehab and some proper time off of anything the itch would live just under his skin, clawing at the surface, begging to find its way out. Sometimes when the noises in his head got loud enough, he didn’t care what gateways he needed to take to find just a moment of solace. While the reality was, that he was going to have to go back to work in less than an hour, in his bodies hophead driven brain he had all the time in the world. Chasing the next high so that he didn’t have to remember how slowly his day was moving. Give himself just enough time to try and get sober before getting home so that he could give the people he cared about the quarter of the person that they knew him to be. “Well in my defense I was not aware that a much better something was available. Now that it’s falling into my lap like it’s from the goddamn fairy god mother you absolutely have my attention.” He assured her as he took one more hit before dropping the joint and putting it out underneath his show. God she better have been telling him the truth. 4 more hours with nothing but a few small hits was going to be the death of him. He was beginning to think she was going to offer him something when she walked past him. Confusion lighting up on his face until the suggestion of returning to her place was brought up. Bad idea. It flashed through his mind briefly, but was wiped away just as quickly as he fell into step behind her. “If this is a kidnapping as long as you keep me high I’ll keep my mouth shut just so you know.” 

“If I were going to kidnap you I’d have already fucked up by showing you my face,” she pointed out with a chuckle. He falls into step behind her, and Willow smiles, gripping the handlebars of her bike and walking slow so he can keep up with her. She’s only been slightly high once but from what she’s observed coming down can make your mind more muddled and your ability to move more of a struggle than the high itself does. “Come on buddy, you live in Santa Ysabel. I’ve been here like a few days and even I know everyone here has something on them, and because shit is priced decent and easily available folks are a lot more willing to share. You’re cute, got that whole charming nerd thing about you. People would pay up for you if you asked.” They were at her place soon, pushing open a little rusted gate and letting him follow her up the sidewalk to a little porch. She was renting the little house for cheap, month to month, not sure how long she’d be here after all. “Shoes off at the front door,” she orders, her bike left outside as she opens the door and steps inside, leaves it to him to follow and shut the door behind him. Hands fuss through windblown tangles in her hair and she moves towards the fireplace to grab the little box where she keeps her good stash of toys and treats for guests. She pulls the joint out of her pocket, offers it to him, a lighter in her other hand ready to go. “Have at it. I’ve been told my couch is one of the comfiest couches to get high as fuck on.”

‘Sorry. Good Morning, Willow.’ He grinned, tipping an imaginary hat atop his head. Jacob opened his mouth to say something about it but he couldn’t really criticise because he also threw himself into work. ‘Alright, I’ll let you off. At least I always know where to find you.’ He smirked. ‘Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious.’ He chuckled with a small shake of his head. ‘As you may or may not know it’s twenty six days until Christmas and I need your Christmas list.’ He tapped his hands against the counter top. ‘You know, so I can pass it along to Santa.’

Her head cocks to the side, amused confusion on her face. She hardly thought she’d gotten to know Jacob or anyone else well enough to have earned a Christmas present. Was he one of those people who bonded swiftly with people, who gave too much too easily to others? She wondered how he found it so easy to be so genuinely warm and energetically invested. “Did you sign up to be one of Santa’s elves this year. Because if not I feel like I should be going through more official channels,” she teased. “Though I’ll say you’d look super cute with one of those hats with the bells on the end.” Willow pulls the pencil from behind her ear, taps thoughtfully at her chin. “I’ve always wanted one of those coffee mugs that’s shaped like a photography lens. I think they’re cute as fuck. It’s weird how we never spend money on the little simple things for ourselves.”

closed starter: @willowwrenrp​ location: santa ysabel pier

The flash alarmed him. It came with the familiar sound of a shutter. The last time a photo was socially taken of him was at Thanksgiving ten years ago. During heists, the cameras are turned away. Never catching anything more than a blind spot. If anyone happened to catch a photo of him it was usually a blur. An unmemorable stranger with less than a profile to go on. This was his way of disappearing. For the first time in many years, someone caught him off guard. “Delete that.” he resisted the urge to slap the camera out of her hands. The tone in his voice was steady. Not trying to sound like a dick yet making his words perfectly clear. “It’s rude to take photos of strangers.”

“How is it rude?” Normally she’d have a script ready for an altercation like this. A prepared verse of what she should express, what she should say. Probably should have murmured an embarrassed apology and deleted the photo without hesitation. But she loved how it turned out. He’d actually not been her target, a couple on the bench, sharing a joint and making out with smiles on their faces had been where her focus was. He walked into the left frame just as she snapped, a brooding dark front to a happy joyful background. And it was perfect, it was a representation of the two sides of how people approached this city. “What harm does it possibly do to you to be a random fixture in a stranger’s photo? Especially in a town like this.”

– 

“Perfect, okay now I have to decide I didn’t think this one through.” The woman chuckled, luckily she hadn’t been snacking all that much thanks to her own morning sickness and whilst she was pretty sure that was going to be changing soon it was nice to be able to actually pick out treats for someone and know she didn’t have to face eating them herself. How she was going to pick just three when she loved so many of the products she put out though Maggie had no idea. Watching as the other covered her eyes Maggie’s laughter was loud, the woman quickly packed away the peanut butter and jelly cupcake with a hazelnut sprinkle, the miniature raspberry cheesecake and a triple chocolate brownie stack. “Well you can get anything that floats your boat here if you know what questions to ask but everything out front is good too.” She chuckled as she placed the finish box on the counter. 

She gets the undertone of that offer. Good to know in case she needs to buy gifts for anyone of a more illicit manner. Except nothing was really illicit here and almost every establishment had specialty products behind the counter if you knew what to ask for. Willow had dabbled, but being high, being drunk on her own, it made her miss things, made her head feel panicked. She preferred to watch others imbibe, touch them while they imbibed. “Oh I’m sure that’s the case. Bet you get all sorts of specialty orders for parties around here.” She hears the sound of the box scrape the counter and pulls her fingers from her eyes, shooting the woman a smile. “How much do I owe you?”