wonder boy

Sedona nodded — slow and steady — while continuing to work through where the recipe went haywire. It wasn’t exactly giving falafel. “Yeah, that’s not it,” they replied, trying to find the root of the flavor. Maybe if they’d been cooked a little longer it would’ve turned out, but Sedona was quite convinced by then that there was a foundational problem holding back the entire dish. “What spices did you put in here, Eddie? You didn’t add like cardamom, or something, did you?” The expression on her friend’s face made her curious about his own thoughts on the creation. An eyebrow arched, waiting for him to give a true review.

As soon as it swung open, Tyler was all smiles, tampering down any anxieties he'd been having about the whole affair. "I'm a pretty patient guy when I wanna be. Don't sweat it. Though, it looks like you've been pretty hard at work." Tyler noticed, slipping off his shoes as he made his way inside. A wall of smells hit him immediately. "Something...roasted? And a candle?" Tyler laughed, eyes averting to the center of the table.

“I’m drinking this new hard cider a friend of mine is trying to make big. It’s a little gimmicky, but it’s good. Lemme know if I can grab you a drink, but please. Make yourself at home.” His place is thoughtfully cluttered, pictures of his lola, cousins back in the Philippines, squished into every corner of the wall. The mass of memories is relieved only once you reach the kitchen, pristine. Platter of mixed vegetables to snack on sitting, waiting for them, but Nathan is greedy. He eyes the fridge, curious to know what Tyler had brought for him. In the mood for something rich, decadent, and easy to ease into the evening with. Or light and airy, a precursor for their time together.

“Right, of course.” She’s more embarrassed by their popularity than prideful. Known more for their shenanigans than the music itself. Not completely innocent, having indulged in her fair share of scandals. Niko can only be thankful that those who began listening typically never stopped. “I feel like a different person up there, it’s fascinating. The lights come on and I, like, sparkle.”

and she's been trying to help! keep him on track, in the mood, going to the studio. but his swings take him out and off and on a much more appealing adventure with alice, who finds it oh so hard to turn down that fun time. but then, oh, add in the fact that now when she's staring down THE VIPER, that she's ready to strike, that she's raging, shoving, pushing, alive! "why would i want you to be afraid of me?" the delight, it sings within her voice. "you're so much more fun here with me!"

destroy me, oh, rip me to pieces~ oh, she's heard romantic things like that from her before, she loved the feeling of being so nestled into her brain. "don't be shocked when you're the one throwing fists first, you little brat-" the spit, the blood, her lips split into a grin. she's fast, pushing her again, a hand around her wrist to twist it back. "don't MAKE this worse when you need to use this later~ unlike you, i don't care if i appear on stage with a black eye~"

"Keep your bodily fluids to yourself, it's disgusting, ah-" That slice of pain shooting from her wrist, alarm bells, danger! Drop in her stomach with the strike of Alice's words. It's all for the music in the end. How worth it was this, if she can't even play? But a part of her is itching to dish out the consequences that Alice and Leo never seem to pay. That Niko's absence from Wonderboy would have a strong influence. A gaping hole left in his precious harmony, without the one to pull it all together. She'd like to see him panic—just once—instead of sitting comfortably in her devotion. Sure, Niko started it, but Alice was an omen. A promise that something this week would not go as planned.

Not like she could go on stage like this anyway, face swelled, wrist trapped, the tears threatening even when she tries to swallow them down. She hates that Alice gets her like this, face turned away to hide how her lip quivers. Better to let her snap, give them a few months, maybe a year as she healed, in the hopes her group members would get a grip. The question rings if she would even have much to come back to.

now that part was what made her proud. given how much she otherwise could sense that she was due for a fucking heart attack like this. "well DAMN, aren't you..." sweet. lovely. heart-stopping. she's sort of the first to trip over herself when she's around someone else, tongue trying to slick along her bottom lip to be normal about things, but like, how could she? ayla lays it all down for her at her doorstep, as if waiting, watching, for her to make a move.

"something else?" nerves, nerves, NERVES! what could it be? "well um... i mean depends on what it is. and how illegal. we all know the best gifts for me are whatever you can get your hands on that might get you in trouble, to which, yes, i definitely weigh the amount you love me versus how much trouble you'd get in if caught." it's sarcasm, she swears. "but no, no, no, seriously, what is it? you're like, so sweet, what the hell."

She'd never get away with even knowing someone like Rue if not for the distance between her and her family. As long as everyone kept their mouths shut, Ayla's ruse could go on as planned. She likes the part she's playing, the special perk of being close to Rue. More and more these days, to the dismay of her so-called boyfriend and the people she called friends. But Rue could be so much fun. She's pretty, she calls Ayla sweet. She blushes.

Ayla does her research. Knows better than to come in ill-prepared, if possible. She relinquishes her hold on Rue to fish out two identical-looking candy bars from her purse. "You know, chocolate has caffeine. I have a little before I study. Always helps me focus." One, just a Baby Ruth. Ayla had to grab it when she'd seen the name. The second one, crinkling slightly in her palm, its insides hollowed out to hold said surprise.