wonder boy

but as she laughs, there she goes! niko flying forwards, how she's grasping, pulling, at her clothes, their fawnish legs, left tripping, fumbling, knocking over chairs, and things from tables. that sudden pull forwards - and alice's blonde head goes SMASH into niko's own, and suddenly, alice sees stars beyond those in the room. stumbling, winded, as niko cursed, pulling away, met with alice's shoulder in her chest, an elbow at her stomach. it's war! declared and made clear to all related parties.

a hand raised to wipe at her mouth, blood smearing RED against the pale of her skin, the surprise replaced with a grin, bloody-mouthed and vicious. "now what did that accomplish for you?" oh, how she'd pin her back against her ideals, her words, her hypocrisy... she spits, splattering that red across her face, laughing as palms shoved right there against her chest. "touch me again and it will do more than hurt!" that pounce, oh, someone's rattling at the door. "it's occupied!"

Niko's just about ready to put things to bed, for now. Let it simmer underneath, see reason through the newly found pounding of her head, and hope she could still play. Had her fill of violence, that need satiated. It must be call time by now, internal clock saying maybe five til sound check. She should be tuning, should be running scales with Leo, but in this second, she feels accomplished.

And in the next.. oh! She jumps at the plat! silence surrounding her as she gawks in disbelief. Alice's laughter and the threats of a newcomer dampened, the deepest insult striking her harder. Mouth agape, palm raising to whick the blood-stained saliva, flicking. "Did you just fucking spit on me?" She could kill her right now, had she the strength or the means. Petty scraps were nothing, but spitting?

"For what it's worth, I've walked by your place a few times. It's really homey. Feels like a neighborhood institution, almost." But, Tyler could tell where Nathan's frustrations were coming from. There was always a fine-line between being real and having your infrastructure fall apart on you. There'd be no goodwill with customers if they weren't being given a quality experience. That was the kind of thing that made people come back and turned customers into regulars.

"Yeah, a little too homey, sometimes, but I appreciate that." He shies from the compliment, Nathan finding it difficult to tap into the bravado that normally arises when speaking of his place. Physical manifestation of his brotherhood with two friends, feeding the community their breakfast and lunch. Quarter waters for the little ones, cigarettes for the rest. At the same time, uphill battle to find some stability, some consistency, some vision besides just being a corner store. Tyler could understand that grind. "Deal."

-

Santi asked him three times now why he's wearing the infamous date night shirt, and is that a candle? Rich, lavender, to soup up the modest apartment before Tyler's arrival. Nate had the stupid idea of facetiming his friend beforehand, hoping that talking through his menu would help ease some anxiety. Yet, here he is pacing in his kitchen as he waits for the bird in the oven to finish. Seems Santiago only heightened the stress of cooking for a fellow culinary professional.

that things feel kind of CONFUSING. did she want to be friends? something else? a line that feels as if it were both crossed, and blurred, finding that it was hard to pick apart the flirtatious words that ayla would slip into a conversation, only to pull back and then... her arm slips through her own to draw in close and rue finds it's almost impossible to think about anything else all of a sudden.

"o-oh you mean...?" right. the birthday gift, blushing for a moment. "i wasn't really sure what... i mean. it was perfect, thank you. i just was kinda surprised, i thought..." that they were competing. it wasn't as if rue was much competition for ANYTHING, but it was just the way that ayla pushed her that suddenly had her caring a bit more about how she scored on tests. on coming out more. how she blushed warm, swallowing around the messed up feeling of her heart pounding too fast. "thank you. and... i'm glad you're here. seriously."

"I feel like we're close. Friends do things for each other." Things were different with Rue, nothing at all like her projects from past semesters. People like her, groomed to perform well, had acquired this odor. A stale hollow essence that made besting them easy. Too easy. Their minds focused on cozying up to Ayla, the top of their class, with her family's political pursuits as the cherry on top. She kisses the softness of her cheek, takes her time as she whispers, "Happy Birthday, Rue."

Potential, a challenge, drove her actions. Ayla's beaming, it spreads each time Rue quivers at her presence. Echoes of her Amma's lectures about greatness seemed to cloud her mind whenever Rue was near. This delectable knowing that they could be equals, "I'm only here for you, sona." But how sweet would it taste to best her, too?

Maybe that was true, but she didn’t care. Shouldn’t never stopped her before, why start now? Bad decisions seemed to come as second nature — even if unintentional. While pulling her wrinkled shirt over freshly frizzed hair, she stole another look at the memory she fought to remember while savoring what seconds were left. “Yeah, but you called,” Carmen said gently but genuinely — she’d always come if Celine called. “Doesn’t have to happen again.” It shouldn’t.

That want between them dares her to crawl closer, touch Carmen again, "You're so pretty..." Clouded eyes avoid, focused instead on smoothing flyaways. If she stowed it like this, perfect and just theirs, maybe she could keep it.

Billie's smile is rueful. It's a shame that Niko leans back, because it had been so natural for her to lean in - Billie almost following. But there's so much that's different between them now, and Billie's not really sure how to talk to the other anymore. If she's allowed to be as casual as she used to.

Heart rate quickens with the sustained eye contact. Gabi tries to hold it, but as her gaze cuts downwards, her cheeks tinge a peachy pink. Gabriel had thought about it, felt an attraction—that look—from the first time they'd met in person. She'd kept her face flat then, though underneath embers of her crush began sparking. Impossible, she'd thought. Leo took nothing seriously, but Niko and Jade shared very real vendettas over the internet drama. So stupid.