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Something warm kindled in her chest as she watched the blonde spring into action, knowing that she had undoubtedly made the right choice of who to call. There'd always been something so comfortable and easy about their friendship, even with her flakiness in past years it felt as though they'd managed to slip right on back into things. She still had scars from New York that had a tendency to reopen when she was least expecting it but Grace was the kind of person that was a salve to all wounds just be being herself.

Head tilted as she watched her friend move around the room, squinting at the green she'd picked and realising that it just wasn't the right fit, no matter how beautiful it looked in the light. "I don't think this is the right room for the green, there's a study that gets more light consistently so it might be the place for that." And just like that she'd made a decision. But it didn't make her feel lighter like she'd hoped, just the crushing weight of hoping it was the right one.

"My mom always seemed to have such a natural talent for this kind of thing." There was a tightening of her chest at the soft confession, as if she only realised then that she so rarely talked about her mother. It wasn't fair really, to reduce her to some sort of unspoken spectre for her own cowardly comfort, not when Elise deserved to be remembered and revered. Sigh fell from her lips as she turned the memory over in her mind, gently tentatively when it was something precious but also in case it managed to cut her. The only conclusion she managed to draw was that had mother hadn't been so prone to overthinking, acting on what she felt rather than overanalysing every choice as though it had to be perfect first time.

But even with that revelation she couldn't help but worry her lower lip with her teeth, anxiety gnawing at her even though she knew she had a favourite, she just hadn't trusted herself enough at the time to pick it without other options. "I think it's the mauve." It was soft and feminine, exactly the kind of space she wanted to be creating. "It was my favourite in the store and I think it works best." Smile turned sheepish at the admission, knowing there'd have been no need to summon her friend if she'd just gone for her original choice. "Sorry for dragging you here for my paint induced existential crisis." Grace was right, starting from scratch was harder than she'd thought but she was realising it was made all the easier by the people she chose to surround herself with.

"We might have to use that technique for the dining room. I have no solid ideas other than it'd be nice to make it the kind of space people wanted to come to if I hosted." Not that she was much of a chef but that was an easy fix. She'd done plenty of entertaining in New York but it'd be nice to play hostess to people who she didn't feel like were scrutinising her every move and making sure she met their standards. "But we can do that later or another time, you've already helped so much." Soft, appreciative smile aimed her way. "Can I get you a tea or a coffee? Or maybe something stronger? I picked up some cakes the yesterday too if you want."

Grace watched Ava carefully, noting her frustration. She knew that Ava had been through the wringer in terms of her relationship. but she only knew what Caleb had told her - that the guy was an asshole, and Ava was better off. There was a great deal of detail missing from that particularly colorful analysis, and Grace had hoped that, by coming to help, she might be able to offer both a helpful hand and a welcome distraction.

"It's okay," she emphasized, her tone soft and reassuring, almost as if she was speaking to one of her students who'd struggled with their scales. "We can always re-paint. It's not a final decision." She and Caleb had had similarly unsettled discussions about decisions in the house, but, generally, Grace found herself able to navigate them rather quickly - she'd never been particularly indecisive by nature, but that was mostly because she didn't have a choice: when everything required action - usually quickly - she had learned to trust her instincts.

'Alright, so," Grace began, crossing the room with the mauve, green, and cream swatches, then holding them up one by one in the beam of sun as it cast itself across the wall, starting with the cream. She eyed the color for only a couple of seconds, then turned back to Ava to gauge her reaction. "I mean, obviously cream is the most neutral, and you can always start there and shift to something different," Grace offered.

Holding up the green, she turned the swatch back and forth in the light. "I like it in the sun, but I think it definitely pulls a little yellow. So if you don't like that or that might clash..." she trailed off, holding up the mauve in the green's place, then eyed Ava expectantly, hoping to illicit a reaction. "The nice thing is you could always do this with a green couch, too, which would be pretty."

Sensing Ava's hesitancy, Grace lowered the swatch, tilting her head as she surveyed her friend's demeanor. "Maybe we should get some ideas from the internet, first! Maybe you'll find your dream living room and we can just...recreate it. Sometimes it's just hard to start entirely from scratch," Grace reasoned reassuringly, realising the weight of her words only after she spoke them. Her head canted slightly as she gave Ava a soft smile. "We'll figure it out. It's gonna be beautiful."

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Best Siblings ♥

Ava: Dad wants to do family dinner this week, when would you guys be free? Ava: I also thought if we could decide what kind of takeout we wanted ahead of time it'd save stress on the night - you know Dad hates the debates even when we're not being mean.

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Bliss Salon & Spa with Thea Hammond @thea-hammond

There'd be a time when she'd held Thea at arm's length, hoping distance would create enough of a screen that there'd be no real insight into her. Then there'd been the time when Ava had purposefully shut her out, not wanting to hear what she'd had to say and smarting from what she'd deemed a betrayal of trust and privacy. But now she saw it for what it was - an act of love and care. Their relationship was one that she valued dearly, seeing Thea as a Best rather than a Hammond. And all good relationships required nurturing so a nail appointment had been made for the two of them, her treat. She'd zoned out through some of the treatment, allowing the stress from the week to faded into the background. But realising she was almost done she peered over at Thea's hands, trying to see whatever design she'd opted for. "What did you go for?" Predictably she'd been plagued by indecision before option for a pretty, neutral pink with some gold accents. She was curious to see if Thea would have been any bolder. "I thought after this we could stop by The Remington for some brunch? I do have an in with the owner, after all." Smile was flashed at the other woman but there was no denying the hint of pride in her voice as she referenced her sister.

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She'd watched her brother with amused curiosity as he rifled through her fridge, fond exasperation in her voice that was reserved for family alone. "Not find what you were looking for in there?" The words held a gentle bard but in truth they both knew she was a soft touch, as soon as she knew what he liked she'd end up ensuring she had a steady supply in case he popped over. "Right the second time. I could add it but I think that sort of thing is expensive. Like hundreds of thousands of dollars expensive. And while you can put conditions in for how people can get your money, you can't make them spend theirs." The lawyer crept out and while she was sure he wouldn't appreciate her putting barriers in the way of his new dream, she couldn't resist outlining the facts. Brow raised at the idea of him being the best player on Mars. "Number one by default or? What you gonna do when Djokovic or some other hot shot gets frozen too? Or what if you're frozen for centuries and humans have evolved further? So everyone's faster or stronger? Or grown extra limbs."

@avaxbest Location: ava's home, burns park

"Fuck, I miss Erewhon. You know they sell a strawberry for like thirty bucks? One single strawberry. There is like, no unethical consumption here. It's actually starting to piss me off." Abel rambled on, his head stuck in his sister's fridge, debating what snack he was going to steal off of her. When nothing satisfied him, he shut the fridge and made way for the fruit bowl, plucking out a banana and beginning to peel it without permission or shame. "By the way, can you like, write me a new living will? I want to be cryogenitally frozen. Cryogenitally? Wait. That's not right. Oh, cryogenically. You know, so that I can still be sexy when it's time to live on Mars. I bet you I could be the number one ranked tennis player on Mars."

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laura harrier via instagram

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Arden's place with Arden Best @ardensbest

As lonely and isolated as she had felt in New York adjusting to finally having her own space had been far from a smooth process. It had taken her weeks to accept that she truly was alone in her home and months more to come to terms with what that really meant for her. Sometimes it meant a sense of freedom and the relief that came with not having to do anything for anyone but herself. Other times her rooms echoed with the tiniest noise she made, almost as though they were mocking her. Too much silence was the last thing she wanted when her mind was constantly drawn to rehashing her previous relationship the moment she didn't have anything else to distract it with.

With the idea of spending the afternoon alone looming, she'd flicked through the contacts on her phone for inspiration before finding it in the form of her sister. They'd been so close once, before Ava had pulled up walls between them over night. But she was more determined than ever to pull her family close to her and make up for lost time. She'd already begun to build a tentative bridge over the chasm she'd created between them but there was a part of her that worried her sister wasn't going to be there to meet her in the middle. There was always the chance she would flit away somewhere else. Bird by name, bird by nature.

Knuckles wrapped gently on the door but just loud enough to still be heard. Sheepish smile settled over her lips in greeting. "Hey, is now a bad time? I did text but -" Words trailed off knowing she hadn't exactly left enough time for her sister to even tell her that the time didn't suit. At best it was a warning that she'd be dropping by. "- I did bring wine and chocolates." The bottle in her hand was brought upwards slightly in demonstration, hoping it would make up for tuning up unannounced. "I thought we could have a little sister date?" There she was again, all hesitancy instead of certainty.

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Ava's place with Grace Goodwin @grace-goodwin

Ava had never thought of herself as indecisive before, in fact she could remember a time when her mind was made up about things almost immediately. No room for hesitation or enough time left for doubt to creep in. God, she missed being that girl. But even after two years in Chicago trying to learn to stand on her own two feet again, she was still out of practise. Frown of confusion had long since settled on her brow and out of worry that she'd spend the whole day staring at the wall, an SOS text sent to her friend in the hope that she could help her reach some kind of conclusion about which paint would suit her living room best. Figuring out what she liked and disliked had been far more difficult than she’d have ever thought, untangling her thoughts from the ones of Richard’s that had become embedded in her mind more painstaking than she could have predicted. Never knowing if it was her own or one he’d planted there.

With a sigh she turned to the blonde, hoping that her good taste would be the godsend she hoped it would. “Every time I lean towards the green I get caught up on how it looks over there -” She gestured towards the other side of the room where the light hit differently, nose crinkling slightly as she did. “- and I just don’t love it anymore. Cream’s too basic, right? I can do better?” Except she didn't exactly know who she was supposed to be doing better for anymore. There’d been a time when she’d desperately wanted nothing more than to be deemed cultured enough or have good enough taste to be on Richard’s arm. Constantly feeling as though she needed to better herself to put herself on his level. Playing a continuous game of catch up when he’d had decades more than her to expand his horizons and learn about the world.

But she wasn't doing it for him anymore, so who was all this overthinking for? Maybe for everyone else, to prove that she really was doing fine. Or maybe just to herself, to show that she could do it on her own after all. That she could build a life for herself that brought her comfort. It was too much pressure to just put on picking a paint colour and yet she couldn't help it, head shaking slightly as she felt as though she had to indulge in yet another line of thinking. "Or do I just scrap both colours and go back to all the swatches? I think there was a mauve somewhere that might work better."

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There'd been an ongoing internal debate within her about whether or not she was ready to start dating again or not. At least there had been until someone had lovingly pointed out that she was just coming up with excuses because she was scared. And the truth was that she was, terrified even. After laying herself bare only to have been found so lacking, so much of herself stripped away until she was small enough to be deemed worthy. It was only reasonable to fear the same thing happening all over again. Except this time she couldn't help but worry that she'd be found wanting because she was, still not quite herself after losing so much. But after two years of slowly piecing herself back together she'd finally felt like she'd assembled just about enough so that any prospective dates would get to meet a person rather than just the shell of one.

She'd braced herself for the dating horror stories she'd heard so often but by some stroke of luck she'd met Henry, a far cry from what she'd been told to expect. He was kind and they got on even better than she could have hope. So despite her intention to only dip her toe back into dating she'd found it easy to agree to a second date and then a third

There was no sense of anxiety as she waited for him, confident that he'd show despite how the minutes ticked on. And her certainty was proven right, soft smile on her lips as she greeted him. Their embrace was brief but more reassuring than any in her last relationship. "Good, thanks. We've been picking up cases so I feel like we're starting to gain some momentum." Sympathetic smile hovered over her features and she thought about asking if he wanted to talk about it. But the way he dodged an explanation made her decide against it, instead opting to show there was no hard feelings. "It's fine, it gave me plenty time to study all the options try to decide what I want to drink. But I'm still torn. Have you been here before? Any favourites?" Wry smile was sent his way, slight deprecation about her own indecisiveness. "You too, I'm glad we could do this."

@avaxbest Briar Brothers' Brewery, Kerrytown

Henry was exhausted. He wasn't keen to admit it, but shifts had been particularly grueling lately - while every medical professional knows better than to designate any one season worse than any others, there was something particularly demoralizing about winter and the orientation of accidents that came in. Icy roads, elderly people shoveling - it was all sad, just human beings doing their best. He thought to cancel on Ava, and almost had, but found himself almost...looking forward to the evening. This, in itself, was a rarity; Hinge dating had not done him any favors.

He pushed open the door to the brewery and was met with the cacophony of noise, a welcome, jovial tone. Eyeing the room, he set eyes on Ava, and waved before crossing across the room to take a seat with her.

"How are you?" He asked politely, offering her a hug as she came to stand and greet him. They embraced briefly, her shampoo lingering - another welcome sensory delight - and he pulled back to take a seat across from her. "Sorry I'm a bit late. We had...something came up. But, all good." He smiled. "It's nice to see you."

[avaxbest]

I coped by retreating and maybe I did become a mirror, a polished surface that shows nothing of what lies beneath.

FULL NAME: Ava Jane Best NICKNAME(S): AJ (to family only) PREFERRED NAME(S): Ava BIRTH DATE: 27th September, 1989 ZODIAC:  Libra ☀, Virgo ☽ , Taurus ↑ AGE: 35 OCCUPATION: lawyer, specialises in family law. Partner @ Best & Partners NEIGHBORDHOOD: Burns Park, grew up in Northside

BIRTH PLACE: Ann Arbor SOCIAL CLASS: middle class EDUCATION LEVEL: FATHER: Leon Best MOTHER: Grace Boone SIBLING(S): 3 BIRTH ORDER: Ava is the third child PET(S): none right now but she is considering a dog

Biography:

tw for age gap/power imbalance relationship; parental loss; emotional + mental abuse & depression

Ava was the third child of Leon Best and Grace Boone, raised in a happy and supportive family environment. Her parents owned Revolver Records and she worked there after school when she was old enough.

She excelled academically, worked hard, and pursued her interest in pre-law with her family's encouragement, going to college in New York.

She met Richard Mitchell, a partner at the firm and almost two decade her senior, and fell in love during her internship.

Early stages of their relationship were blissful; Richard influenced every aspect of Ava's life. Richard convinced Ava to quit her part time job, focus on her studies, and move in with him.

Over time, his interest in her waned, leading to emotional isolation for Ava. Despite her unhappiness, when she eventually confessed to a friend they dismissed her concerns, further isolating her.

Ava achieved career success but felt overshadowed by Richard's control and claims over her accomplishments. She fell into a depression and pulled away from any ties to home, unwilling to let anyone see the turn her life had taken.

When she was 32 she returned to Ann Arbor after learning of her mother's illness. She stayed for six months, the time at home pulling her back to reality and reconnect with her family. Grace's passing renewed Ava's confidence, motivating her to leave Richard and reclaim her life.

The breakup with Richard was painful, leaving Ava doubting her success and abilities. But she moved to Chicago to be closer to home but still giving her enough space to heal and rebuild her self-confidence.

Ava eventually returned to Ann Arbor to start a law firm with a colleague, focusing on community involvement. She learned her father, Leon, has a terminal diagnosis, which she is still adjusting to.

Personality:

Ava is generally diplomatic and charming, always striving to bring people together. She tends to have a strong sense of justice and fairness but her experiences in life have muddied the water on that a little, knowing things are rarely black and white. She now seeks comfort and stability, happy with the simple things in life even if she can't always resist its luxuries either. Although she can be overly analytical she is rarely critical, choosing to believe that you never quite know what someone is going through. There's times she still feels like more of an echo of herself than the real version and so can sometimes be a bit tentative in how she moves through life and is generally quite private. Too often the mask she adopted in New York slips on but glimpses of the fearless girl she used to be are slowly becoming more frequent.

Headcanons:

She can’t cook much past the basics and even then her skills are nothing to write home about. Her time with Richard was mostly spent eating out and since living on her own she’s relied mostly on takeout or pasta.

Her morning and night skin care routines are lengthy and despite having moved away from expensive products for the most part since leaving New York, she still uses only the best.

Music was a huge part of her home life growing up, her mother almost always having something playing. Before she went away to college Elise gifted her a few of her records and Ava has been slowly building her own collection ever since.

She’s had a fondness for action films ( the more loose or practically non-existent the plot the better ) since evenings spent with her father and siblings watching whatever film they could find after scrolling through the channels.

There will always be fresh flowers in her home but she developed something of a green thumb and there's now a growing number of pot plants throughout her home. She's venturing out into gardening slowly.

Wanted Connections:

Best friends: there’s very few people Ava kept in proper contact with during her time in New York but these people are some of the exceptions. Even then she would have tried to keep the truth from them as much as possible, though it’s likely since leaving Richard she’s started to open up again. She values them highly and will be fiercely loyal.

Close friend: someone who didn’t see her absence and pulling away as an issue, instead just a fact of growing up and moving on. The friendship is maybe more casual, without many facts exchanged but Ava’s grateful for there being no hard feelings over her failures as a friend over the years.

Close once upon a time: maybe they grew up next to each other or were close in high school or they also had ties to the Sons, either way very much in each other’s social circle but their friendship drifted after Ava moved away. Whether it was just down to her or on both sides can be plotted as well as how they feel about each other now.

Ex-friend: whether they saw Ava pulling away as some sort of personal betrayal or made too pointed a remark about Ava’s relationship or another reason entirely, an argument between them left a rift that was uncrossable. Once inseparable they’re now almost strangers - could go a variety of ways now she’s back in town!

Puppy love: whether it was requited crushes or each other’s first kiss they had a sweet little dynamic before they were old enough for it to mean anything serious.

Neighbours: either people she might have grown up around in or people she lives near now she’s in .

High school sweetheart: head over heels for each other but it likely ended with them both of just Ava going off to college but no matter the ending she’ll probably refer to them as her favourite ex (not that there’s much competition there rip)

Friends with benefits: since she’s convinced herself she’s not looking for anything serious at the moment just something loose and chill with someone she’s got a decent friendship with and feels comfortable around.

Bad timing: there’s an undeniable connection between them and maybe always had been but things never seemed to quite align for them and there’s a lingering sense of ‘what if’ between them.

Honestly anything and everything!!

Full bio can be found here & her pinterest board is here

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[avaxbest]

IF I WAS A CHILD, DID IT MATTER?

“would’ve, could’ve, should’ve” - taylor swift // “older guys” - nina nesbitt // “hurricane” - halsey // “all too well (ten minute version)” - taylor swift // “older” - birdy // “tolerate it” - taylor swift // taylor swift performing “all too well (ten minute version)” on snl // “my best friend’s weddings” - the chicks // “dear john” - taylor swift // “older guys” - nina nesbitt

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laura harrier via instagram