cristianhernandez

[cristianhernandez]

If he opened his mouth any more Cristian was sure his jaw would've ended up on the floor. Hearing that his close friend had been alive for the entire time that Cris had been here having an affair with his wife. Not just alive, but being held captive. He just stared at him in silence for what felt like forever before saying, "What the fuck, Tony- I-...." It wasn't often that the man who studied English was at a loss for words, but here he was. "I am so sorry that happened to you" he told him, but how much could 'Im sorry' really do in this situation? Nothing. "Are you okay- like-... Are you alright?" he asked, though it seemed like a stupid question, the answer was probably that he absolutely was not okay. Cris didn't know what to do or say in this situation, but he was sure Anthony would be used to that kind of reaction in this situation. He couldn't have been the first one.

This wasn't the first time that Anthony had been through watching someone come to the realization that he was alive. His parents. His siblings. He knew it would not be the last time either. "I know," the words were soft coming off of his lips and he shook his head. There was no way that the man should be alive. "I was a prisoner," he started to explain to Cristian, "held captive for," Tony paused a moment, "about a year, they told me." The man continued to go on, "I spent a lot of time in a rehabilitation center, therapy, physical therapy, the works," until he felt like a human being again instead of the person that had been treated in the must inhumane way possible. "But," he cleared his throat again, "it's really me." Though he was a changed man, he was still Anthony Blake. @cristianhernandez

[cristianhernandez]

Cristian laughed along with him, never getting sick of the banter that the two men always did. "They should've been paid more than you, I mean, they were the ones doing to real work" he continued to joke, letting his eyes roam around the room and truly take in the surroundings. "Well buddy I don't think there's really any positives for your coworkers to have seen your ass, I don't see a whole lot of upsides to that. But hey maybe there will be and you can let me know" he told him, nudging his shoulder. As Max said he couldn't have a tour he just rolled his eyes, knowing he wasn't being serious, "This place looks really nice, I hadn't been here before" he told him as he looked around, following his friend.

He laughed "You need to fuck off" he teased only kidding with his friend. "But they really did work wonders on me for a while" he joked with a smile. He did miss his job and acting but he knew he would do well with his new job now too. "I mean I dont know if that will help or not people working with me" he smirked. He knew it was all weird and not common. But he also knew not everyone had seen his show too. " Nah cost you something for that" he teased with a wave of his hand to get his friend to follow. @cristianhernandez

[cristianhernandez]

Cristian smiled over at her when she complimented him as a teacher, "If only my students felt that way too" he joked, though he knew he had a bit of a reputation of being a hardass. Outside of work, he was anything but a hardass, but he took his job seriously and he was passionate about the work. "Thank you" he smiled, "I tried to make it my home away from home- I figured I spend enough time here I might as well make it comfortable for myself." Hence the bookshelf and the books from his collection that he kept here. "How've you been, how're you feeling lately?" he asked, knowing how tough pregnancy can be and he wanted to make sure she was doing well.

Penelope turned at the sound of Cristian's voice, offering him a bright smile as a greeting. "Oh, no worries. It's teachers like you taking the time that make a difference." If perhaps she had a teacher like him during high school, perhaps she would have made something of herself. Although, that wasn't likely. She was after all one to do her make-up during class. "It is, and also very you. It all makes sense." @cristianhernandez

[cristianhernandez]

It was difficult to get through the awkwardness between the two of them now, especially since they didn't used to be like this. If he could go back in time to when this all started and take it all back so they could be good friends now, he would've, but it was far too late for that now. "Rivero's is really nice, we're just going for a simple date night, nothing crazy" he said, knowing that it didn't sound like an extravagant evening. He took her out to nice places, obviously, but with their demanding jobs and two kids at home, even a simple night out to a good restaurant was appreciated by them. Cris looked back at her when she told him he should get her flowers, "I know, I get her flowers all the time. I've gotten her flowers at least once a month ever since we first started dating" This wasn't something he'd ever really told Liliana before- maybe once when her and Anthony were together, but after that he tried to talk about his wife as little as possible with Liliana. "Herbal tea is fine, I'm not picky" he mentioned, which was true. As long as a drink was hot, he'd drink it all; Coffee, tea, you name it. "Classes are going well, yeah. I had one student recently submit me an essay that was very obviously not written by him, so that's really fun. The essay has words like 'acrimony' in it, and as far as I can tell from talking to him, the student has the same vocabulary as my 4 year old so definitely cheating" he told the story, shaking his head and laughing at the ridiculousness of it. How these kids thought they could get away with some of the things they tried, he had no idea. "How's your classes going? Hopefully less hiccups than mine"

Liliana was fairly organised on her own, so she couldn't really explain why all of a sudden she was leaving her bags and keys behind at work and not realising until she got home. She blamed it on her fatigue, feeling tired faster throughout the day. "That's a good idea. I'll put it down on the list." She mused, trying her best to ignore the fact there was awkwardness radiating between them. There was so much she hadn't told him and frankly she missed how easy things were between them, minus the fact he was cheating behind his wife's back. But she knew that was a luxury she wasn't getting back. "I love Rivero's. That's a good choice." She paused for a second, tempted to tell him about the fact Travis was going to take her to the Delyle but then continued her way into the house. She figured that wasn't something he'd want to hear. "You should get her flowers. We always love getting flowers." She wasn't sure why she told him, but any olive branch was a good one, right? "Okay, herbal tea is good? Or just regular?" She asked, taking the kettle from the stove and filling it up with fresh water. "How're your classes going? Any troublemakers this year?" @cristianhernandez

[cristianhernandez]

"Happens to the best of us" Cristian stated, though she was one of the only people he knew that it really happened to. Himself and his wife were generally more organized, they always knew where everything was in their shared home, and that's the way he liked it. He shrugged when she said Christmas had already passed, "Ask someone to get it for your birthday maybe, could be a pretty good gift" he suggested, knowing that he wouldn't be the one to buy anything for her this year. Her response of saying that they were both adults wasn't much of an answer in his opinion, they had both been adults when they made the mistake of seeing each other behind their significant other's backs. But he didn't want to comment on that right now so he just ignored it. The question about his plans with his wife felt weird to answer, considering their situation, but he tried to stay as normal as he could be and give her a response. "Nothing fancy, just Riveros. We got a friend to watch the boys so I thought it would be nice to get some time, just me and her" he told her, which was another reason why he maybe shouldn't have been at Liliana's when he had a whole planned evening with his wife for later tonight. "Tea is fine" Cristian answered as he walked in.

"I don't know what it is lately. Like my brain is like cheese with all the holes in it." Liliana shook her head, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. She had noticed, of course. It was hard not to, but she also understood why. Sort of at least, she didn't know if it was because if he didn't he would still be tempted to carry on where they had left off, or was he angry with her for breaking it off in the first place? It was as Julieta had said, she deserved more than to be the other woman, and both of them knew it wasn't going to last forever. It was bad enough that it had in the first place -- again. "A tracker sounds like a good idea. Too bad Christmas has passed already, would've been a handy thing to ask for." Maybe for her birthday, instead. She had expected him to decline her offer, make up an excuse he had to leave right away, so when he asked instead if it was a good idea she just shrugged. "We're both adults." She told him, which maybe wasn't as good an answer as he'd like but an answer nevertheless. The excuse instead came wrapped in an answer that he couldn't stay long. Had they still been having an affair, she would've made a comment saying that that would still be plenty of time for him, but not now. "Oh yeah? Where are you taking her?" Liliana asked instead, genuinely interested as she made her way to the door, fidgeting with the lock before opening it. Guess she was hungrier than she thought, shiver fingers and all. "Okay -- tea. Or would you like something else?" She asked, petting Max on her way towards the kitchen. @cristianhernandez

[cristianhernandez]

Cristian had meant to be back at his office by now. He knew he'd made plans with Nel for lunch, but a student had stopped him after class to ask some questions about their current assignment and that delayed him by a few minutes. Walking into his office, Cris smiled at her when he realized she was already there. "Sorry for the wait, one of my students wasn't understanding the essay prompt, I had to go over it with him really quick" he said as he placed his bag down on his desk and looked over at her. "I hope you haven't been waiting for me for too long" he told her, "What do you think of the office, nice right?"

"Cristian? Are you here?" Penelope asked as she stepped into his empty office, having found it per direction of one of his colleagues. They'd agreed to getting something to eat, and she was secretly hoping he'd also accompany her to get some things for the baby, seeing as he had two children of his own but she'd get to that later. Despite the still chilly weather didn't stop her from wearing a form fitting dress, which only showed a slight hint of the baby bump she was carrying. Though one could mistake it for a bloated stomach. Five months and that's all she had to show for. She stopped at one of his bookshelves, running her fingers over the spines of the books proudly presented. She figured she might as well wait for him to get there. @cristianhernandez

[cristianhernandez]

Cristian was convinced that he had to be just a remarkably similar looking person to his old friend. In his mind, his friend was dead and there was no way he would ever be coming back. So when the man knew his name, Cris just stared at him for a few moments in disbelief. "No... No, Tony died, I went to his funeral. He can't be.." he paused, though he couldn't process it fully, the more he looked at him, the more it started to sink in that this really was Tony. "You can't be.." he rephrased, his eyes not leaving him for even a second. "How... How are you here? How are you alive right now?" he said, needing a logical explanation for what was happening in front of him. The mix of emotions was something he didn't fully know how to deal with. The shock of seeing someone who was supposed to be dead, the joy of knowing his friend was actually okay, the guilt of knowing that he'd slept with his wife.

Anthony's gaze was back on the menu, looking for the burger, a classic burger that the voice had suggested. As the other man trailed off, it caused Anthony to look up. His eyes locked on that of the man he questioned and it caused him to blink a few times. Was he seeing things? It couldn't be, right? Anthony had merely hired a private investigator to track down his wife, figuring others in his life would follow. And yet? Anthony took one of his hands, rubbing it over his face, wondering if he was seeing things. It's not like the doctor's hadn't mentioned it might be possible. "Cr-Cristian?" Anthony stumbled over the name. "I- uh, it's me, Tony." @cristianhernandez

[cristianhernandez]

Cristian laughed along with Max, "Yeah those professional make up artists need a raise because they were performing miracles whenever they made you look presentable" he continued to tease him. The smile on his face only grew as he said that he was enjoying the job so far, figuring that he would but it was still good to hear it directly from him. "Can't say that I've ever seen my boss's ass, and I think I'm okay with that" he told him with a shake of his head. "You going to give me a tour of this place or what?"

His job before wasn't really friendly of people being able to visit and see him. That he had times he could invite people to set but it was rare. Since they could not risk a person seeing something and saying something. But here he was at a local theater so his job was open to people to visit him. He laughed hearing Cristian walk towards him. "You're a dick you know that" he teased as his long-time friend walked over to him. "I mean I dont get my hair and make up done anymore so I can see why" he joked. He smiled as he knew him finding another job did take him a while. That he really did need an acting break and this was good for him. "I like it so far for sure" he smiled. He laughed "God I know, weird to know your boss's ass has been on tv for you to see" and well him doing more than anyone should see of anyone you worked with. @cristianhernandez

[cristianhernandez]

There wasn't very many times that Cristian was able to visit Max at his job, so this new opportunity to be able to pop in and see him work was something that made him very happy. "You only looked good from a far, now that I'm getting closer you're just okay" he teased him, with a bright smile still plastered across his face. "Different but good, I'll take that. I told you that you were going to like it!" he told him before shaking his head when Max said a few of the staff had seen his work. "That's got to be a little bit awkward, I mean some of the stuff on that show was uh" he paused, both of them knowing what he was going to say, "A bit raunchy"

Max was still setting into his new job and was finding out what he could do with it. But he was trying to figure out what program he wanted to put on next. He looked up hearing someone walking inside then laughed "About time you noticed my good looks" he joked as he sat down some papers he had on a table nearby. He smiled "Different...but good" he wasn't a stage actor at all so it was a change for him. But he knew acting and other things on the stage he could understand and help control too. "I found out a few of the staff here have seen my work" he laughed so seen all sides of Max so that was something. @cristianhernandez

[cristianhernandez]

For a moment in the interaction, he almost forgot their whole complicated history and it felt like they were just friends again. The feeling only lasted a couple seconds before he was reminded that they were likely never going to be friends again, and even if they were, it wouldn't be the same. "I figured you might be. I tried to take it by your office but you were already gone, so I just came here" he said, hoping that didn't sound too weird. He'd been avoiding her, but only enough so it wasn't suspicious, but he was sure she had noticed. At the sight of her house keys leaving the bag, he let out a small laugh, "You have to get a tracker on that bag at some point, I swear you lose that bag more in a week than I've ever lost my keys in my whole life" he teased a little, looking back at her as she offered for him to come inside. "You sure that's a good idea?" he asked, given their past. "I mean, sure.. yeah, I can have some tea. I can't stay for long though, I'm taking Gen to dinner tonight" he nodded, motioning for her to walk first so he could follow her inside.

Liliana let out a huffy laugh, slapping him across the chest, playfully. "You're stupid." She told him, pushing her hair back from her face. When he held out the bag however, her eyes widened; then a slack of relief. Oh thank god. She wasn't sure if that was her inside voice, or if she actually said it out loud. But she gratefully took the bag from him, offering him a thankful smile. "Thank you. God I was dreading the ride back." She admitted, digging in her bag until she fished out her keychain, waving it in the air as if to show him just how grateful she was. "I'm such a klutz. I keep forgetting things lately." Liliana sighed, pushing the straps of the bag over her shoulder. "Um.. Care to come inside? Cup of tea? Chat?" @cristianhernandez

[cristianhernandez]

Cristian was headed into the building, hoping to grab a quick bite before he had to go back into the university to start grading papers. At the advice of Chantel who was sitting nearby the entrance, Cris let out a laugh. "I made that mistake the first time I came here, I think I had leftovers for like a full week afterwards" he told her, shaking his head. "My wife, love her to bits, she'll eat any leftovers I put in the fridge before I even get home. Half of the time I come here just to make sure there'll be leftovers for her in the fridge when she gets hungry" he told her before shaking his head, "Don't tell her though, I don't think she's realized I do it on purpose yet"

who: Cristian Hernandez @cristianhernandez where: Barb's Bistro

The window closest to the entrance door was the perfect place to people watch, which was precisely why Chantel had asked specifically to sit there. She wasn't one that really did this a lot - visited diners or people watched that is - but she had heard that Barb's had some of the best monte cristo in town and she couldn't resist. She'd barely eaten half of it though as she had completely misunderstood the portion sizes and had had a larger breakfast. She looked up as the bell on the door chimed and she sighed, letting herself offer the man that approached a small smile. "Take my advice, get the half portions." she admitted. "Unless you're someone that enjoys leftovers, then by all means get the full size, but, I underestimated and now I'm going to have breakfast for at least the next three mornings." she laughed.

[cristianhernandez]

Cristian usually tried to grab lunch with Genevieve when he could, but today she had meeting stacked up and they couldn't find a time slot that worked for them. He didn't mind it, he liked eating alone on occasion, so he headed down to Rivero's by himself for a nice quiet lunch. Turning when he heard his name, Cristian smiled, "An invitation to get lunch with the mayor himself? How could I say no" he said cheerfully, teasing him a little bit before walking over and sitting across from him, "This means I'm getting a free lunch, right?" he joked, obviously perfectly capable of paying for his own food. "How've you been, Nate? How're the girls?" he asked, of course wanting some updates on how fostering was going for them.

closed starter for @cristianhernandez location: Rivero's

Nate was at Rivero's having lunch on his own. He was supposed to have a meeting there, but the person he was supposed to meet with cancelled. He never minded having lunch on his own, he's done it enough times by now, but he always scouted the area he was in for anyone who could possibly join him. As he did this, he spotted Cristian and smiled as he waved to the man. "Cristian." He said and stopped the host as they were going to show him a seat. "Join me. I'm free sine my meeting got cancelled."

[cristianhernandez]

Cristian laughed along with her, "Sorry, I really did intend on saying the doll wasn't that bad but I am a terrible liar" he admitted, shaking his head as he looked back at the creepy doll and then back at Sonja. "Oh she would definitely banish me to the couch. At least I wouldn't be alone out there, I would have my new doll and whatever demon it's infested with to keep me company" he joked, still laughing. "Honestly I got two boys at home, they do more damage than any paranormal entity ever could" This statement was obviously an exaggeration, but still, having two sons already made for a very loud and very messy home at times. His smile grew as she tried to sell him on buying the doll, seemingly to lift whatever curse it could've put on her when she knocked it over, "You should work in sales, you're actually a little bit convincing. I'll do you one better" he said, before picking up the doll and dropping it on the ground himself before picking it up and returning it to the shelf, "There- now whatever grudge it had against you it'll have against me instead, so I think you'll be safe"

“That’s comforting - ” She almost surprised herself with how pitched her voice sounded before it dropped to a tone of amusement. “ - Not. I absolutely meant not comforting. Next time just lie and grand a girl some peace of mind, why don’t you?” Her laugh mirrored his before Sonja shook her head. “I do not know your wife but I feel like it’s within my girls-code duty to scold you for even suggesting bringing that atrocity anywhere near her. If it were me, I’d ban you to the couch. With the doll, mind you.” She wouldn’t. Frankly, Sonja was always down for a harmless stupid joke or prank, although it’s been a hot minute since those times. Maybe growing up has finally caught up to her or maybe she’s simply become lazy. “Although, it would take the possibility of it following me home off the table.” Tapping her fingers against her waist, she innocently pointed at the doll, putting on her best salesman smile. “You could just buy it for yourself.” Wriggling her fingers at it, her grin grew wider. “Look at it. It’s so....sweet.” @cristianhernandez

[cristianhernandez]

Cristian was meeting some coworkers out at Nancy's for a quick drink after work that day, something they did fairly often. He was a little early so he was just going to go up to the bar and get himself a beer while he waited. At the sound of a voice next to him, he started answering, "Oh yeah, Nancy's has got great food. I usually go for a classic burger honestl-" he said, stopping mid sentence as he turned his head and really looked at the man who had asked the question.

At the sight of him, Cris did a double take. It couldn't be? He looked so much like Anthony, even kind of sounded like him, but there was no way that it was him. Maybe the appearance of a man who was so similar to his dead friend was God's way of punishing Cristian for everything he'd done with Liliana. He realized that he'd just been staring in silence for what felt like forever and spoke up, "Sorry, wow- I'm sorry, you just look a lot like my old friend. Like a lot like him" he apologized, his voice laced with a distinct sadness, and grief. All of the memories of his old friendship flooding back to him in an instant and he was left mourning his loss all over again.

starter for @cristianhernandez

location: nancy's bar and grill

Anthony had not even been in town a single night when he ended up at an establishment in East Haven. His travels from North Carolina had left him feeling exhausted but was there really any way that the man was going to sleep? He didn't think so. The man was wired on the anticipation of seeing the woman that he was married too - or wasn't married? The legality of it all was something he had yet to wrap his mind around, considering he had been presumed dead for for a while now.

He sat down at the bar, a groan escaping his lips as his jeans made contact with the seat. Despite sitting in the car for hours on end, there was something slightly more relaxing about the bar seat as he lifted his hand down to flag down the bartender and order himself a beer. As he waited, his fingers tapped against the bar, his eyes beginning to wander around as he found himself to be sitting in a strange bar, in a strange city, in a strange state. Nothing was familiar to him. "Uh, sorry," Anthony finally cleared his throat, turning to look at someone that had just sat down next to him, "recommend anything here to eat?"

[cristianhernandez]

Cristian had all of his things ready to go home after work, and stopped by the University lounge to get his coffee mug that he'd forgotten there earlier that day. That's where he saw the bag, her bag. He knew it was her bag, he knew she'd need it, so he grabbed it before walking over to where her office was so he could return it to her. At the realization that she'd already left for the day, Cris cursed under his breath as he considered what he should do. He knew where she lived, he could just bring it to her, or he could return it to the lounge for her to find later. The decided on the former and left in his car, heading over to her home to drop it off. He was looking down at his phone, sending a text to his wife as he walked up toward her and shoving his phone in his pocket when he got close. Her startled reaction just made a small smile appear on his face, as much as he hated to admit it, she was cute. "Not quite Jesus, more like Jesús" he joked a little bit before holding out her bag. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You left your bag in the lounge, I just came to return it"

She didn't know what was up with her lately. She was getting so forgetful she had locked herself out multiple times already that it was time for her to get one of those fake rock things to save her spare key in. Today was another hit. She had forgotten her bag in the university lounge. The small bag with the silly cat on it, carrying books for her classes. At this rate, she was too tired to go back to the university and collect it, but it looked like she might have to. She had the fake rock in her hand, opening it from the bottom only to reveal that the spare key wasn't in there. Of course. She had used it earlier in the week and hadn't put it back. And with her keys in the bag she left at the university, she would have to go back after all. Served her right for not having her car and home keys combined. She stood up with a groan, ignoring the dizzy spell that took hold of her as she turned around, letting out a surprised yelp when she found herself looking right at Cristian, stumbling backwards. "Jesus!" @cristianhernandez

[cristianhernandez]

Much to his wife's dismay, Cristian was definitely the type of person who bought every good quality book and journal he could find. Did he need another notebook right now? Absolutely not, but the one in the window of The Treasure Chest was calling his name and he needed to check it out before he could go home. His attention was caught by the commotion between a younger woman and a weird looking doll, so he glanced over when she asked her question. "You know I'd really like to be comforting and say that it probably won't happen, but that is actually the creepiest looking doll I've ever seen in my life" he said with a small laugh. "I'd almost be tempted to buy it to scare my wife, but I feel like once I tried to throw it out it would just keep showing back up in my house, you know? It has those eyes"

location: the treasure chest status: open @easthavenstarters

This wasn't going to be permanent, that's what Sonja told herself over and over again. There truly wasn’t a plan for her stay in East Haven cause that would require her to know what the hell she was doing. But then days passed and suddenly the holidays passed too and she no longer lived out of her suitcase and the view from the cabin she rented at Moose Lodge started to feel comforting instead of strange. So when she browsed the shelves at The Treasure Chest, it became harder to continue saying ‘no’ and stick to her plan to keep all purchases limited so it would be easier when she inevitably had to leave again. Still, a vintage jacket couldn’t hurt, right? Or an old canvas-bound notebook for sketching. They did need a new home anyway. Sonja clutched her finds to her chest as she turned the corner and startled more than she’d care to admit when she accidentally kicked something propped up on the floor and discovered two porcelain eyes staring back at her. “Sorry,” she murmured as if the inanimate object would mind. Although, her victim, an old doll, was the stuff from nightmares. Picking it up, she put it back in place and noticed one of the customers glancing her way, surely attracted by the hollow sound of a kicked toy. “On a scale from 1 to Annabelle, how likely is it this thing will find me again tonight and get its revenge? And please don't say Chucky.”

[cristianhernandez]

closed starter || @maxdiaz

To say that Cristian was excited that Max ended up getting a job at the Clark Center was an understatement. He'd always been supportive of his friends career, but this was probably the first time in their lives that he'd lived close enough to be there for him in person for his events. Walking into the Clark Center, he smiled when he saw Max over by the stage. "There he is, Mr.Director, looking fine as hell in the new job" he teased him as he walked over, "How's it going, you liking it so far?" he asked, hoping to hear that he loved it and wished he'd done it sooner.