shylajane

[shylajane]

“I knew it!” Shyla laughed, “Look, you even know my name!” She grinned back before turning her attention towards the costumes once more. “I was thinking of going for a theme, like pirate or cowgirl or whatever. Something a little risque is fine by me, but I don’t want...over the top slutty, y’know? That’s not really my scene, but it’s like the number one complication of finding a good costume as a girl.” She sighed as she pushed past yet another costume. “Can’t decide on a  theme either. That’s not helping my case.” She chuckled before tilting her head curiously towards the other girl, “What about you? What’re you looking for?”

Costume Shopping || Alice & Shyla

Alice started giggling. “You caught me. I’m a total stalker. I followed you.”, she grinned. The girl nodded. “And you’re Shyla.”, she smiled. The girl walked over and began running her fingers through his clothes. Are you thinking a character? Risque? Like Mean Girls Karen?”, she asked with a laugh.

[shylajane]

“Yeah. Solitaire Tripeaks or Tripeaks Solitaire or some shit like that.” She laughed as he pulled out his phone. “It’s totally addictive.” She warned before giving him a smile, “Thank you. And good luck with your night job.”

“Really? Is that an app?”, he asked, pulling out his phone. “I want to download it.”, he grinned. “Oh yeah? Good luck on your math quiz, i’ll talk to you at 3am.”, he laughed.

[shylajane]

“Yeah. I know. It’s such an old, lonely lady kinda game. But there’s this one with an island theme and you traverse through different islands and clearing the board gets harder with each level. It’s a surprisingly good challenge.” She defended herself with a laugh. “As a gardener and horticulturist, I can definitely pull a good argument out of my ass, just you wait! In the meantime...I’ve got a math quiz to study for, but maybe I’ll catch ya again at 3 am.”

“Really? Solitaire? I used to volunteer at the auto shop near my childhood home and the front desk computer only had SOlitaire so I played it soooo much.”, he grinned. “Sounds good! I’m for equality amongst all roses but i’m willing to hear your argument.”, he teased.

[shylajane]

Shyla honestly had no idea what her Halloween plans were, but she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to go costume shopping regardless. Halloween was her favorite holiday of the year and her family had always been one of the houses to go all out, imbuing in her early on a spirit for the holiday she could never shake. Trick or treating probably wasn’t going to be a ‘thing’ on a high school campus, but she was sure there’d be more than enough parties to warrant a costume, so she took the first bus she could that afternoon and brought herself down to the local shop. She was admiring an array of masks when a girl spoke behind her, turning to look she was met with Alice’s familiar face and she offered the girl a smile in return. “Hey.” Putting on her best doubtful face she shook her head in disbelief. “No? You just so happened to show up at the same store, on the next bus in? Hmmm. Yeah...totally not stalking me.” she teased. “Nah. it’s all good. I’m actually stumped, having some help would be great.” She said, flashing the girl another smile. “It’s Alice, right? You sit like 2 desks away from me in science, yeah?”

Costume Shopping || Alice & Shyla

As Halloween quickly approached, Alice felt the pressing need to go get a Haloween costume. She knew there was a store downtown that had nice ones. The young girl had tried to think about what kind of costume she wanted but nothing was coming to mind she she figured that seeing her options would be best. The girl hopped off the bus and headed into the costume store where she saw a familiar face shopping. She’s seen Shyla around the school before, so she went over to say hello. “Hi.”, she said with a smile. “I promise i’m not a creep. I’ve seen you around school before. We have science together.”, she smiled. “I was wondering if I could shop with you? Getting an opinion is always nice.”, she smiled.

@shylajane

[shylajane]

nahbreck:

Jonah rolled his eyes. “Well, I’ll have you know, my mama taught me right.” Drawling out the words in a thick southern accent. She usually found it funny and he’d usually embarrass himself - blushing lightly at how everyone mocked it or found it endearing, as if he was some sort of alien. Today, it seemed the tap of humor had run dry - not unlike the droughts in California and Texas. He awkwardly cleared his throat. “I mean, there’s tons wrong with my head, but you know.” He shrugged. He didn’t understand why she was so upset and damaged by this secret. Her father was a celebrity - how cool was that! It sure beat his businessman and police officer - whom he had previously toted as his own personal heroes, but he didn’t pretend to understand human minds. He barely understood his own. “You know,” He said. “My crisis counselor said fine meant Fucked Up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional…so…yeah. I can see that you’re F-I-N-E…and you can hold that doorknob as tightly as you want, but I can move a 225 pound fit sled…you are no match…and since you’re my…best friend, I feel like we’re supposed to talk about feelings and shit.” 

Shyla rolled her eyes right back as he drawled out his accent, but she couldn’t stop the way it tugged at the corners of her mouth. She knew Jonah had caught the smile when his eyes lit up and she just rolled hers even harder. “Yeah, I’m not even sure it’s possible to diagnose everything going wrong up there.” She replied, shifting her weight on the door, unsure if she could honestly hold him off any longer. “Sounds like your counselor has issues. Where I come from fine means well. Which doesn’t mean Wretched, Emotional, Lost and Lamenting or some stupid shit like that.” She said with a sigh, refusing to give up her fight completely even as she finally relinquished the door. He was her best friend, wasn’t he? Why was she trying so damn hard to push him away? Hadn’t his name been the first one to come to mind that morning? The first person she had wanted to call in the panic? And maybe...just maybe, Jonah wouldn’t be as upset with her not telling him as she first thought. Maybe she’d been dreaded nothing. He didn’t seem like he was mad, he genuinely looked like he just wanted to help and understand. And maybe...maybe a part of him was looking for that too and the only way he could bare to come looking for it was under the guise of wanting to help her. “Best friends are so invasive.” She pouted, throwing the door open for him and turning her back in the same move to head back towards her place on the couch, waiting for him to join her.

Country Roads Take Me Home || Jonah & Shyla

[shylajane]

This would normally be the kinda of statement Shyla said ‘same’ to, but with the recent undoing of her secret, everybody pretty much already knew her father was a celebrity. Instead she just laughed and moved along with the rest of their conversation. “Okay, you might think this one is weird but, Solitaire. There are some damn addictive solitaire games! That one really keeps me up at night!” She shook her head in mock shame of herself as she added her number to his phone. Throwing up a peace sign, she took a photo to set before handing it back. “And I’m a complete and total night owl, so you’re definitely on call when my games get too frustrating and I need to ramble about how white roses are far more beautiful than red roses.”

“I can imagine.”, he nodded in agreement. “I need to find a rich couple to adopt me so I can freeload for a few years.”, he grinned. “I know right!? Its like a curse. You’ll never win against your phone.”, he said, making a face, knowing he’d become a slave to his. “Okay cool!”, he grinned, handing her his phone and taking hers. The boy put his number in and took a selfie for a contact photo then handed it back to her. “I’m up late every night so I can pretty much always take your call.”, he laughed.

[shylajane]

“It’s so much easier to mooch off your parents though.” She joked. She really had no qualms with getting a job. If anything, it’d also stop the likes of The Watcher and Sophia form saying Ashton sent her pity checks. “Oh no. Once you take the games into bed, that’s it. You’re up till your phone dies.” She laughed. “Dead serious.” Shyla said, slipping her phone from her back pocket and handing it over, offering her other hand for him to place his phone in.

“I totally get it. It is really nice to have a steady income.”, he grinned. “Oooh, thats a good one. I started this bow and arrow one the other day and I played it on my uber ride home last night which was like an hour. Then I played it when I got into bed.”, he chuckled. “Yeah, I can give you my number if you’re serious.”, he nodded.

[shylajane]

“Once I’m old enough for a job, I’ll be doing the same. Dad’s orders.” Well, Charles’ orders, anyway. “Bejeweled.” was all Shyla could say in response, nodding her head sagely. “It gets me every time.” she laughed. “Always good to know. If I ever need somebody to tiredly ramble to now, I know who to call.”

“Yeah.”, he grinned. “I’ve gotta make that money so I can stay here. I mean schools covered but i’ve gotta eat and buy clothes and stuff.”, he nodded with a smile. “Thats not to say I haven’t stayed up late playing iphone games though. Some of them are just too fun.”, he chuckled. Gabe ran his fingers through his hair and shrugged. “Hey, if i’m equally as tired, i’ll listen.”

[shylajane]

“Oh, so you’re actually doing something productive? Not just sitting awake playing video games or some shit?” Shyla chuckled. She was definitely the latter, staying up till 3 am for the heck of it. “me too.” she added with a small smile. “But unless you wanna hear a girl ramble on about Beethoven’s greatest hits or something equally dumb, I’m probably not the person you wanna stay up all night with.”

“I go to bed at like 3 or 4 every night. It depends when I finish work.”, he nodded. “Really? Thats funny. I like finding people’s quirks. They make people better.”

[shylajane]

“What made you that tired?” Shyla laughed, curiosity tinting her words. Like most teenagers, he was probably just pulling an all nighter, but she was curious none the less. “When I’m tired I ramble on about complete nonsense, I guess we all have our quirks.”

“Thats true.”, he laughed. “I was really tired. When i’m that tired I forget that people can’t read minds.”

[shylajane]

Shyla chuckled, “I think you’re good. Besides, how would she even know if you woke up at 6am or 2 pm?”

“That makes me feel better. The woman at the drug store today asked me my morning routine and I had to take a moment to figure out if I could tell her what I do without being a fraud.”

[shylajane]

“If the sun is still up, I don’t see why not.”

“Does my face washing still count as a morning routine even though I wake up at 2pm?”

[shylajane]

seblentz:

Sebastian raised his eyes when she cursed. He supposed it was weird, but he also assumed any artist knew the feeling of absolute defeat. He wasn’t worthy enough for a chair or bed - his only option was the cold, hard floor. 

He propped himself up on his elbows and with his lips, made the sound of a failed trombone. Wa-wa-wa-waaaa. “Nah, guess today’s just not my day?” But recently…what day was his? “I’m putting on way too much stress between the college fair and trying to find some sort of song not about her.”

Shyla admired the mess of papers surrounding him, a sight not at all unfamiliar to her, and frowned at the boy. “Really?” She asked, reaching out to grab one of the crumbled balls. She remembered the first time her dad found her sitting among a pile of discarded muse, crying her eyes out, saying that she’d never become anything...and for the first time it had felt like he really understood her when he started scooping them up and unfolding them, reading each and every one of them - despite her yells of them being failures - before returning them and telling her that there was definitely a story to be told there. A man who didn’t know a damn thing about music, exhausted and still dressed in his business suit and tie, then sat there with her and guided her through her block. “There’s gotta be something good here, even one line, let’s look.” She said, reaching for another. “It’s cathartic, I swear. And even if it is all shit, you might find inspiration in the journey of looking back. That’s what my dad says, anyway.” She shrugged and offered Sebastian a sympathetic smile; she didn’t know much about him and Annie, but she knew they’d been mad for each other. She couldn’t even imagine being so in love that every single one of her songs reflected it. “And the music teacher hates when people leave a mess.” She chuckled, tossing one of the discarded paper balls in her hand towards him.

Bi, Bi, Bi || Sebastian & Shyla

[shylajane]

nahbreck:

Was she angry at him? He knew most people didn’t want to talk about their secrets - but he needed to make sure she was okay. He didn’t like when his friends were upset, not when he hadn’t even talked to them about it. He needed to make sure that they knew he cared and was there for them. 

“BECAUSE I’M RESPECTING YOUR PRIVACY, DUMMY.” Jonah yelled back, but she sounded like she’d been crying and that bugged him. He knew Shyla wouldn’t be in the best of spirits - but he wasn’t good with crying. Especially since they hadn’t ever crossed that bridge before. Their relationship was based on annoying each other endlessly - not cheering each other up or wiping away tears. When he saw her face, he gave her a small smile. “Wanted to make sure you were okay?”

“Respect? That’s a new one for you, Jonie.” She says in a halfhearted attempt to sound like her normal assholic self now that he was there. That was their relationship, that was how it worked. It actually threw her off to hear him say he was there to make sure she was okay. Not only was that not like them, but after everything he went through? He was checking on her? The girl whose biggest secret was that her dad sang country music? That would’ve been laughable if it didn’t also mean the possibility of losing said father. “Is there something wrong with your head?” She asked, raising her eyebrow and reaching up to touch her hand to his head as if checking for a fever. Very briefly, a smile crossed her face as she shook her head at him. “I’m fine...honestly...” She tried, pulling her hand back, but her words fell flat and her smile faltered and she already knew there would be no convincing him like that. She also knew if she didn’t let him in now, he was just going to push his way past her in 5 seconds. He’d just push past her like she was one of his tackling dummies and he’d plop himself down on that couch and act like he belonged there like he always did, but she stayed put anyway, her hand firmly on the door to keep it in place. She couldn’t do this; she didn’t want to hear what he had to say about her secret.

Country Roads Take Me Home || Jonah & Shyla

[shylajane]

“Considering I’m the one who planted it in the first place...yeah, yeah I would.” Shyla scowled at the other girl.

“Look I found this beautiful flower! It smells so nice” Coralie smiled “Would you like to keep it?”

[shylajane]

Shyla was lying on her couch, having finally been kicked out of the music room and told she couldn’t skip any more classes in there, not on the music teacher’s conscious. She was mentally constructing the 5th version of a text message she could send to Ashton but that she most definitely wouldn’t when somebody started banging on her door so hard it sounded like it was 3 seconds from being knocked in. The voice screaming behind it was all too familiar and the dread of facing Jonah she had felt earlier welled up inside her again. She should’ve known he would find his way here eventually.

“WHY DON’T YOU JUST BARGE IN LIKE LAST TIME??” She screamed back, her words choked up from the time she’d spent crying earlier. Why the fuck was he even here? She didn’t want him here. Definitely not. She hadn’t run to him, she didn’t even deserve to have him here. But somehow, some part of her had already instructed her body to get up and let the boy in. Instead she opened her door up just enough to meet his face, “What do you want!?”

Country Roads Take Me Home || Jonah & Shyla

Jonah held the phone in his hands carefully - the words on the screen shaking from the tremors in his hands. They didn’t seem right no matter how many times he read them - Shyla’s father was Ashton Scott? The same one he listened to at night to keep some sort of sanity? To help him fall asleep? The same one he blasted from his car on long roads, tapping along on his steering wheel, singing as loud as his voice could go - alleviating his stress? Ashton Scott, the country singer?

How could she hide this from him? She had seen his name on his playlist labelled ‘Home’ …no wonder she had frozen that day. Things were slowly linking up…and she had lied about those texts being faked. Not that he could say anything about lying, though - as he didn’t know the last time he’d told the truth about anything.

He ran across campus still in his football uniform and knocked on the door. “Shyla! SHY-LA.” He screamed. “Open the door, Shyles!”

[shylajane]

Ever since The Watcher’s big post, Shyla had found herself escaping to the music room far more often. She normally chose a time the music room was least likely to be inhabited to visit, a general run down of times given to her by the music teacher the first time she got caught sneaking in with the excuse of “I just wanted to play alone...?” Today was no different and so the last thing she expected was to be greeted by another’s voice. A voice she at first could not find the source of...

“What the fuck?” She practically laughed as her eyes finally found the boy lying on the floor. She knew that feeling all too well though and she squatted down next to him. “Any luck finding it down here?”

Bi, Bi, Bi || Sebastian & Shyla

Sebastian sat in the music room, piles of crumbled paper around him, trying to figure out what he wanted to write anymore. Who was he? Without Annie, he didn’t feel complete - but he was a senior in high school. He had to know who he was before he left, didn’t he? He felt like he had wasted so much time. Not that he regretted Annie, no - never, just that he had never established himself away from her. Who was he besides a singer and poet, only singing and writing about love? 

He lied on the floor in the piles of paper and groaned. Then he heard the door open…

“Go away. I’m trying to find muse.”

@shylajane