sweet creature.

Mari had heard about Zayne through Eva. She couldn’t remember the exact date and the place was a little fuzzy, but she loved how talented they were. So of course the moment Zayne took the stage Mari made her way over to see him. It might have required a swift jog in heels but she pulled it off. Once the performance ended they made their way to each other. “Hey! You were great! Of course I had to congratulate you on absolutely killing it up there. We’ll treat each other, you deserve it.”

Mari was a good friend of Evas’, and a good friend of Evas’ meant a good friend to Zayne, that’s just how they worked. Eva was a good person and one of the best friends Zayne had, and so if Mari was trusted into her circle, she was trustded into his.  “Hey, thanks! And thanks again for coming! Listen, I’ll never turn down a free drink, no matter who it’s from. You want to head on over with us?” Zayne asks, nodding over to a few of the band members and friends. 

“Who doesn’t like fireworks,” he offered, still staring out at the seemingly endless sky as the last of the smoke disappeared into the night. It instilled him with some form of tender longing— for what, he didn’t quite know. Something so familiar yet so far from him. He was confident the other was referring to beforehand, but he had always been a little standoffish to begin with. He flit a sidelong glance to him before eventually turning. He was tempted to take him up on his offer. It had been a while since he allowed himself to let loose. A beat. “What if I don’t drink?”

“People afraid of pyrotecnics, I’d bet, but then again, they were advertised so why would they be here in the first place, right?” he muses pointlessly, because it was absolutely a hypothetical question being directed at him.  Zara used to tell him he needed to stop talking so much sometimes, and then, when Zayne began to pull away, she begged him to talk again, so really, dumb answers to hypothetical questions was just them making up for lost time. “Well then I’ll buy you a soda, sobriety is often encouraged around me, you’ll come to learn.”

ZAYNE IVAAN DESAI; The Festival of Lights Gala

“Thank you all for coming out tonight, and this week, to celebrate Diwali with me, I hope you enjoyed the show. Saal Mubarak” he says into the mic, waving one last time before heading back and off the stage, wiping his face off on his shirt. He downs a bottle of water, and then stops when he finally sees a familiar face in the crowd.

“Hey! Thanks for staying! did you enjoy the show?” he asks, eyes bright from the adrenaline from being on stage. “Come on, come with me, I’ll buy you a drink.”

Emrys: oops, i'm talking myself outta sobriety again. i really need to stop doing that.

Emrys: why are drugs bad again?

Emrys: dude i wonder all the time if they'd be more *normalized* if everyone just like tried heroin just once or somethin.

Zayne: I've been there one too many times. I sat on my rooftop and had an exstential crisis at 4 am.

Zayne: don't make me think too much into it, I'll come to the conclusion that maybe they're not, and we both know how that ends.

Send “” for a text that WASN’T SENT 

Send “%” for a CURIOUS text.

When did you last have to work really hard to achieve something you’re proud of?

“Every single day is me working really hard to stay sober, to make my family and myself proud of me. So that, all of the time.”

Why did you last pretend to be something you’re not?

“When I was in rehab, the first few times, I pretended to be a lot meaner, a lot tougher, way more jaded than I really was.”

What’s the bravest thing you ever did?

“Have the self discipline and self awarness to finally try to be the sibling my sister deserved.”

What Would You Rather Throw Away: Love Or Money?

“Money, for sure. Love, romantic, platonic, familial, is so important in the long run.  Money can’t give you the same feeling.”

What Was Your Favorite Toy Growing Up?

“I had a gameboy color I was obsessed with?”

What Are Your Dreams And Ambitions?

“To help young brown boys, girls, and theys achieve their dreams. Really, I donate my time to the church and youth centers because I can see the potential in these kids with just a little push, or help.”

Emrys: duuuuude i'm surprised you haven't experienced a feeling like that honestly. i 100% have. but it was one time and chasing that feeling kinda sucks yknow?

Emrys: i mean...aren't they already mass produced? in a way?

Zayne: I'll be honest, a lot of my time being high was either euphoric or horrific, and my brain likes to remember the horrific, more. I can tell you the euphoric was...it was like nothing else. floating on a dream.

Emrys: what if every kind of drug was a genre of music

Emrys: like you take a hit of somethin and you just float away in some kinda symphony

Emrys: would you still try and go sober?

Zayne: ...

Zayne: Honest answer? I think if I could ride a high floating on a guitar solo, or the sound of my favorite band never ending, I wouldn't be sober at all.

@crystalcitystarters​

If there was ever a need for an assistant, it was at festivals. Eva could handle her stuff at home. Everything was all in on place. Sort of organized. But moving stuff to a whole table… sucked. In the rush to get out of the house on time and finish off her festive earrings she had left a box at home. With no one around to get it at the moment. With knowledge of some of her store at home Eva was left to sit there at this table and wait it out. Tomorrow was another day. 

“The booth looks great, but how are you doing?” Zayne asks as they pop up to Eva’s stall, picking up a random bracelet and twirling it around, looking at it and thinking maybe, yeah, they were going to buy it, it went well with the one on their wrists already. “Are you planning on stopping by my show this week? We can hang out after, if you want, I’ve got a few people coming over for a celebration anyway, you’re always invited to those, if you’re so inclined.”

It’s somewhere near eleven am the last time Zayne checked the time, which was when they rolled off the couch in Bren's living room and onto the floor. They had checked their phone and had meant to leave but the grumbling in their stomach just couldn’t be tamed, and well, they were here, why not cook for everyone? ‘You’re still here, and making pancakes?”  Zayne hears while they’re standing at the stove, currently flipping one of the said pancakes. “Well, here’s the thing. I was going to leave but then I figured your fridge had much more stock than mine does, plus,” Zayne uses the spatula in their hand to point towards the filled coffee pot “who would’ve made that for you had I not been here?” there’s more pancake batter being poured now, and the minute it takes to warm up gives Zayne a moment to turn towards their likely still tired friend “Now, do you want chocolate chips or are you more of a banana kind of person?”

Xio: If you can't feel me rolling my eyes know that it is happening. Hard

Xio: I really shouldn't be surprised though.

Xio: Don't worry, I'm on my way. Next time maybe consider the fact that you are in fact clumsy and find a way to impress a girl without getting your ass stuck in a fence?

Zayne: in your defense, I would be impressed, probably.

Bren: I have a slight problem

Bren: Maybe slight isnt a good word

Bren: I'm kind of stuck and might need saving

Bren: And you two are the smartest, well no, the most willing to help me with my dumb shit

Zayne: *kind* of stuck? *might* need saving?

Zayne: you had me at slight problem

Everyone was dressed in costume, effort and quality varying, but no one looked quite like Ava. The dedication to the part shining through, almost every piece found by her alone, even one put together by hand. She was practically glowing with excitement by just being at the party in general, but her added joy from getting to dress up was practically unmatched. With her blue jacket, white shirt, gold buttons and accents, long dark hair pulled back in a low ponytail, it was like she was a woman plucked out oaf a different time period. Because she wasn’t Ava Shao tonight. She was Alexander Hamilton. She didn’t mind all that much that no one would really get who she was - she was dressed more akin to the musical about Alexander Hamilton than the actual founding father and the year he became a revolutionary in; while she loved musicals, she knew it wasn’t a genre everyone enjoyed.

In the sea of faces, however, she did recognize a familiar face, and if one thought it was impossible for her to smile wider, they’d be mistaken. She absolutely lit up at the sight of the other. “ Hey ! ” she called out to them in greeting, just loud enough to be heard over the music. “ You look great ! How long have you been here for ? ” She herself hadn’t been at the hotel for long, but she had all ready scoped out just what she wanted to take part in; hopefully with someone at her side for company.

Was Zayne’s costume original? Unliklely. But was it fun? Absolutely. They were able to dance, and laugh and have a good time and show off their personality, which is what truly mattered to them. Besides, what was more iconic than Prince, right? So Zayne is happy with their costume, and yes, they did indeed bring one of their guitars as a prop. You had to go all out with these kinds of things, the make up they got their friend to do for them was a testament to that. Not that Zayne wasn’t one to wear it outside of a costume, but tonight was a lot more than they’d ever really worn and it felt right, something they wanted to explore more. 

Zayne is mostly vibing, talking a few people up, dancing, laughing with friends, when a familiar voice calls out and their head shoots up to find Ava in an impeccable Alexander Hamilton costume. “Ava!” Zayne calls out in greeting, presses a kiss to her cheek and does a little spin to show off their outfit “oh I know, but are you kidding me with this look? you look amazing, impressive as all hell,” they comment, because it’s true. “Oh you know, a while, I’ve been around, here and there. Did you just get here?”