minnielie

[minnielie]

“mhm. that, or they weren’t supposed to call me up at all. i’ve only just joined and i never even knew greer.” she’d assumed they got the wrong sibling. a couple of times?! she could barely contain her surprise. “no, never. i don’t know what to expect. what are they like? are they scary?”

she jumps slightly when nat suddenly appears in front of her. "no, not yet? i'm hoping they've made some kind of mistake." as nervous as she was, she couldn't help but think this will be one of the most interesting moments of her life. an fbi agent! questioning her? it was kind of dreamworthy. "have you? you've done them before, right?"

[minnielie]

her excitement quickly fizzles out at the question and she droops, like a sad balloon that has lost all of its air. "i don't really know that many people here." that was a lie. she knew everyone. but she didn't know them like that. she knew them from afar. "but everyone i have spoken to doesn't seem like g." which was a total of, what, seven people. "are there bets going round? do you have your money on someone?"

"i... couldn't say." once she started, she knew she would never stop and she couldn't reveal all of her secrets. nasa would never hire her if they ever found out, and she knows they have their ways. "maybe it's just something to keep in mind. if you're having trouble tracking these things down."

[minnielie]

"if i tell you, i'll be implicating you in a crime so let's just say ... he found out." it should've alarmed her, how easily she slipped into her comfort zone around heni astor of all people. a decent dose of nerves are required for her to stick to the script of normal people. now she fears she might've blown her chance at impressing heni. "ohmigosh, we're sooooo off topic! i think you were going to teach me how to make my brother believe i hate him?" not quite what heni said, but minnie stares at her with round buggy eyes anyway.

in any other situation, the intensity of heni's gaze may have had minnie shrivel up in intimidation, but this is where she thrives. eyes twinkle, as she opens the gates to her imagination. she has to get this right. she has the conjure the perfect story that would make heni believe she's half as interesting as herself. "a boy cheated on my friend. after getting her pregnant. i made a voodoo doll out of him and told him all the ways i was going to curse him. every day. weirdly enough, he did end up breaking his arm. and the next day, he came begging, crying, to break the curse."

[minnielie]

her heart does flips like it’s competing in the olympics vault, and she’s won gold because she made jesse laugh. it was the sweetest sound. then, her cheeks flush red and she can feel them burn as he says the word ‘sexy’. suddenly, she can’t look at him anymore and her heart is beating so fast she can’t think of anything to say. “so sexy,” she says meekly. she was too scared to read fifty shades of grey but she can imagine this is how the story starts. “i must leave. i can't tell you why because... it's a mystery. bye jesse.” 

[minnielie]

eyes sparkle with wonder with every new turn she takes, almost shaking with excitement as she still can't believe it. she's at the hamptons !!!!!!!!!!!! is what she wants to yell from the balcony and maybe a snowflake would fall from a tree branch in joint glee. luckily it's the winter so she doesn't have to worry about wearing a swim suit.

"it's going to be the best ! party ! ever ! you're so amazing for pulling this off." minnie is trailing behind robin, who, in this very moment, is her favourite person in the whole entire galaxy and beyond. "just plur. you know, peace love unity respect. because i'm a raver. i don't care about anything else, really." she also has to give the origami cranes to milo. "what about you? what do you wanna do? i'll get up to anything you want to get up to."

OPEN STARTER — @ the hamptons' house, december 26th. late evening. there are free cups of hot chocolate.

"This is going to be awesome, I just know it." Robin had taken on the mantle of, I talk out loud to myself, and then if someone is there, they totally hear me too. They, convinced that this was a good idea and standing strongly by it, pause by the foot of their bed, one snowflake - manicured hand pressing those fresh gels down into the evergreen bedspread.

The whole place had been outfitted in a sick ( as in wicked! ) combination of cozy cottage vibes, combined with the white sands of the shoreline. Okay, so it can look like snow in the right light, or whatever.

They pause in the midst of their own self - talk, squinting at their feed on their phone. Did their picture post? It better have post. "Uh, do you have anything you wanna get up to whilst we're all here?" Lilt in their voice, to make sure that despite their distraction, you know they're paying attention to you.

[minnielie]

she could barely contain her excitement at his encouragement as she bites down on her bottom lip from smiling like a maniac. "minnie," she says eagerly, "like the mouse." she's always liked that the first two letters of his name are the same as the first two letters of his. like, if her dreams came true and everything worked out, then they could argue that two halves do make a whole. "some people call me monica. you can call me whatever you want." she won't specify that it's jesse, in case milo gets jealous. jealousy is such an ugly colour on people, especially boys! "is there a job available for me? did you get monty his job too?" god, he was handsome and kind! "i'm a really hard worker. i'll work extra hard for a job where i can boss monty around."

Milo couldn't help but laugh. He didn't even mean to do it in a mean way, he just genuinely found what she was saying funny. There was an image in his head of her defeating some cartoonishly masked bad guy. "That seems like a sound plan," he said, in what was supposed to be very dry sarcasm. Interesting that they suddenly had something on them to tie someone to a lamp post with. This girl was clearly delusional, and probably also crazy. But she was amusing, he'd give her that, he just didn't see what the goal here was. "What did you say your name was?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. "Are you fishing for a job or something? Don't get paid enough for deliveries?"

[minnielie]

average fangirl if they ever got to speak to their bias

[minnielie]

her heart does flips like it’s competing in the olympics vault, and she’s won gold because she made jesse laugh. it was the sweetest sound. then, her cheeks flush red and she can feel them burn as he says the word ‘sexy’. suddenly, she can’t look at him anymore and her heart is beating so fast she can’t think of anything to say. “so sexy,” she says meekly. she was too scared to read fifty shades of grey but she can imagine this is how the story starts. “i must leave. i can't tell you why because... it's a mystery. bye jesse.” 

Jesse laughed. He didn't mean to, it just came out. A single bark of a thing that spoke to both his surprise and his unwillingness to take this little joke that far. "Nah," he said. But that was kind of harsh and he didn't want to totally run her off, so he added, "there's something really..." he paused and pretended to try and find just the right word, "sexy about a little bit of mystery. Don't you think?"

[minnielie]

one of her favourite things about rhia is how she always has the craziest stories, as if she's lived a hundred of the best lives. she should become rotten with jealousy, but rhia had a way of making her feel quite special. like they were friends! real friends, separate from her brother. "no freaking way." her jaw had almost hit the table with horror, always becoming too invested in rhia's stories, almost as if she'd lived them herself. "first beyonce, then shakira, now you?!" she has, conveniently, forgotten about the rhia and jesse gossip that'd practically flooded the diner last year. "ugh, that's super disgusting. i really hate boys. how did you find out? did you, like, break his penis?"

A twinge of appreciation fluttered in her chest, and she let out a sheepish giggle. Her diet often felt like a burden to her friends, even causing a small tension among nights out. She hated drawing attention to the fact she was different, and while she would never consider adhering to the norm on this case it still bothered her. Yet Minnie was not only understanding but accommodating too. "It's fine, love. It happens," she dismissed. She adored the attention Minnie gave her, and her reaction was everything she could have asked for. "You would think but no, he was just an asshole," Rhia said matter of fact. They had broken up so long ago, yet he had etched his lines into her memory all the same. "We lived together actually. Very briefly. But he then he cheated on me so that ended," she said lackadaisically, accompanied by an eye roll.

[minnielie]

she jumps slightly when nat suddenly appears in front of her. "no, not yet? i'm hoping they've made some kind of mistake." as nervous as she was, she couldn't help but think this will be one of the most interesting moments of her life. an fbi agent! questioning her? it was kind of dreamworthy. "have you? you've done them before, right?"

WHEN: december 13. WHO: OPEN & nat.

Considering just how poorly her last interview had gone, Nat's anxiety had ramped up into overdrive. Her time was coming up soon and she was totally psyching herself out. So she jumped on the first face she recognized. "Have you gone in yet? For the interview?"

[minnielie]

her eyes have turned heart-shaped as she watches him as she would watch fancams of her favourite boys (bts). it's moments like this where she wishes she could save fifteen second snippets of jesse and watch it on repeat, especially now as it sounds like he's asking her out. maybe we'll run into each other, sounds a lot like i hope we run into each other. this gives her the confidence to say: "should we exchange numbers?"

Jesse's brows lowered in confusion at her woof and he glanced around like some invisible audience might explain to him what was happening here because he really wasn't sure. "Alright," he said, drawing the word out slowly.

He knew what he'd been doing when he played into her interest in him, but now felt like a good time to take a step back. "I'm not sure what I'm getting into yet. Maybe we'll run into each other, though. Since you love to party."

[minnielie]

"i... couldn't say." once she started, she knew she would never stop and she couldn't reveal all of her secrets. nasa would never hire her if they ever found out, and she knows they have their ways. "maybe it's just something to keep in mind. if you're having trouble tracking these things down."

".... You've lost me." Anya says, belying the fact that she wasn't entirely sure they and Minnie had ever truly been on the same page to begin with. But as always, there's nothing Anya likes more than to untangle something, and so for now, they're more than happy to play in this space. "And your boyfriend, has he seen anything that would seem to indicate that aliens are real?"

[minnielie]

she knows how this scene is supposed to unfold. the damsel running away in, well, distress and the doting lover chasing after her. maybe they’d be caught in the rain but she’d be able to see the regret so clearly in his eyes that all would be forgiven. except, this is nothing like that. her tears are not a result of a helpless situation but rather a girl scorned. eddie swept in with a pinprick that burst her little bubble, and she did not know how to deal with reality without her kaleidoscope lens. she stops, as instructed, and her shoulders curl inwards. the book thing… the book thing? how did he know about the book thing? if it is only the book thing, then maybe it wasn’t so bad. “i… i just wanted to read the books that you read.” her gaze remained fixed on her worn out shoes. “please don’t tell anyone."

Was she… crying? His nose wrinkles in disbelief, brows furrow in shock. The quiver in her voice so genuine that, for a moment, he actually almost feels bad for raising his voice at her. And, as she bolts out of the library, the people around him staring him down like he just kicked a puppy and left it there to bleed, he starts to feel like he is the one acting crazy. Paranoid even… And if there’s something that terrifies him more than the idea of being abducted and dismembered, it is tarnishing his image as a beloved member of the Ogden community. So, afraid this little scene with Minnie will become a PR crisis and turn him into a public enemy, he rushes after her to try and fix this situation. An audible groan crawls out of him as he rushes past the doors of the library and reaches her in the hallway. “Ugh, wait. Come here.” He demands, in a sort of hushed croak. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude…” His somewhat still irritated tone starts to dissolve into something slightly more diplomatic. “The books thing is just… really weird.”

[minnielie]

in any other situation, the intensity of heni's gaze may have had minnie shrivel up in intimidation, but this is where she thrives. eyes twinkle, as she opens the gates to her imagination. she has to get this right. she has the conjure the perfect story that would make heni believe she's half as interesting as herself. "a boy cheated on my friend. after getting her pregnant. i made a voodoo doll out of him and told him all the ways i was going to curse him. every day. weirdly enough, he did end up breaking his arm. and the next day, he came begging, crying, to break the curse."

The obvious reply is: 'Neither can I'. And while she is sure her general air of bewilderment does enough to paint a fairly straightforward picture on its own, she does not revert back to her modus operandi of actually expressing it in an effort to remove all semblance of doubt.

Heni gives her a once-over. Eyes quickly flicking down, then back up again. Maybe it was the fringe. Maybe it was the air of pleading. "Oh?" She cocks a brow, not entirely convinced. "Over what? Who?" She leans forward slightly, eyes boring into the others. "Tell me all about it."

[minnielie]

this feels like the most important moment of her life. the part of her story where everything changes and all that'd lead up to it happened for a reason. she only wishes she was dressed better for it. under his gaze, she grows more self-conscious, like cinderella pre-fairy godmother standing before her prince charming. but she laughs when he laughs, combing her fingers through her hair again. "i would jump in front of you and protect you!" a sudden burst of passion, as the scene plays out in her mind and immediately leaves her lips. "i'd kick the knife out of their hand and lock my arm around their neck, squeezing it super tight until they passed out. this is where i'd need your help because maybe we'd have to tie him to the nearest lamppost until the police came."

Well, he wasn't going to take the girl's word for it, but when he found all his food in the bag she seemed to be honest enough. He was about to tell her she could go to whatever her next delivery was but she spoke before he was able to. Milo blinked a couple times at the offer, surprise crossing his face. Then his eyes moved across her, clearly sizing her up as an amused smile slowly appeared. "Seriously?" He asked with a small laugh, head tilting a little bit, "do you think someone is going to jump out of the bushes with a knife or something?" He was joking, but considering the two -- maybe three -- deaths at this point it wasn't an impossibility. "What would you do if that happened? Just out of curiosity."

[minnielie]

she knows it happens, from the books she reads to the stories she has heard from people who seem to be living completely different lives to the one she's stuck in. she supposes, it could still be romantic, without love involved. but the way ollie describes his tryst with milo makes her doubtful. she couldn't imagine mr. darcy and elizabeth bennett hooking up just to 'give them something to do'. maybe milo isn't the one for her after all. "no, nothing! i was just curious. i've heard so many different stories from my brother. but he's an unreliable source." her attention is whisked back to ollie and his admission to being cruel. she studies him for a moment, as if watching him through a magnifying glass. "i can't picture you burning a lot of bridges. i can't really picture you being mean to anyone." not even monty. "what did you do?"

"Yes?" Ollie said, pulling a face. LIke that was the strangest question he'd ever had to answer. Oh, Minnie, if you knew the amount of people he'd slept with and didn't love… He was in the midst of opening his mouth to answer her other question before she corrected herself, giving a small shrug of his shoulders. "Well, it only really happened to give us something to do, I think. But it ended … Because a lot of reasons," he said, and though he said it pretty flippantly, a brief second later a small furrow appeared between his brows as he frowned. "I … was kind of an asshole to him, I think. I mean like Milo is kinda hard to deal with, but I did some really mean things… I've burned a lot of bridges in my day," He shook his head, and waved his hand in dismissal, "it doesn't matter. Either way it wasn't that serious. Why?" He asked, raising his eyebrows as he looked in Minnie's direction, a curious tilt of his head.

[minnielie]

she receives his taunts as if she's hearing them for the first time, even if she has mentally made a tally of all the times he has mocked her for believing in the concept that she belonged to a special someone out there who would make her feel whole. and so, she stands, like she's been struck by lightning and the tips of her fingers are fully charged so that all she needs to do is tap him on the shoulder to electrocute him. but she can't afford the bad karma, so he'll be met with mercy. for now. "what do you mean by that?!" be a little more normal about it. "dating apps are... not for me." she'd overheard people talk about how they're the trenches these days, but truthfully she just didn't think she has the kind of photos people would swipe right on. "but i have twitter. do you know how many people like me on twitter? like, so many. i'm really popular there," she brags, though now she thinks she'd just proven monty's point. "no!" she immediately blurts out, without really considering what he'd actually offered. then, she corrects herself: "wait, really? but what would i do? what do you even do? i don't want to look weird."

Without missing a beat, Monty's hands raised to scrunch his fingers into bunny ear air quotes, interjecting in a mocking tone, "The one." Speaking baby sibling to baby sibling, he knew exactly how Minnie's mind worked, her discombobulating mood swings hitting close to home, and perhaps that was what made it all the more fun to wind her up and watch her go. Sit back and think, 'at least that's not me.' "Hey, listen," he started again, eyes rolling to drag his focus to Minnie as they walked together, "being a virgin is hella romantic." Okay, so he was still taking the piss, just a little bit. "I think it just might help if you join the rest of us here, in reality -- in the 21st century, and maybe, like… be a little more normal about it. Join a dating app, I dunno." The thought of getting Minnie on Bumble or Hinge (or, god forbid, Tinder) was so hilarious that Monty almost wanted to see it through. Maybe they could devote a weekend to it sometime… "You should come with me to the next practice," he offered, considering for only a split second that that might be against the rules for top secret training reasons or something, before remembering that it was always better to ask forgiveness than permission.