#🎀 ❛ threads ┉ feels like my castles crumbling down.

[eloiseabernathy]

who: @carmenhearst

Eloise had spent the better part of her college days looking up to Greer, trying to be exactly like her in so many ways. It still felt unnatural to not be looking for her in the hallway, to hoping that she would glimpse at her and have an approval nod. Eloise was so used to being adored by everyone, no matter what she did. So, when she met Greer, some sort of overwhelming feeling of the needing to be liked sunk into her. Although she has tried to dim that light down, no matter what she did, it was still a part of her.

With Greer gone, Eloise tried to branch out, to find people with connections to others that would somehow trinkle down to Eloise. The cheerleading team had just gotten done with practice. While Eloise was taking a drink of water, she spotted Carmen. This was her chance to try and get in there. Eloise picked up her bag and made her way to Carmen, a bright smile on her lips. "Hey! I just wanted to say hi, and maybe we could hang out after practice?"

[eloiseabernathy]

Just getting out of class, Eloise decided to spend some time in the quad before her next one. She loved spending time before her class there to soak up some sun rays and have a moment of peace before getting heavily involved with her next class. Eloise was walking by as she saw the boxes fall from the other's arms. She stopped in her place, quickly taking off to fetch the pieces of paper that had flown in the wind. Once she retrieved them all, she came back to the other with a soft smile. "Would you like some help carrying those to where you're going? I have some time before my next class, so I wouldn't mind helping."

WHERE: the quad. WHO: open.

"Oh, motherfu—" The boxes stacked precariously on top of each other tumbled right out of her hands as if in slow motion. She'd known it was going to happen, but once she'd made it most of the way to the woman's center, she'd allowed herself to think just maybe being left to carry all this shit on her own— as usual— after everyone else had bailed on her— as usual— wouldn't blow up in her face. Instead, the boxes upended at the feet of someone passing by, Mika dropping down to her knees to chase down several runaway pens. As some of the papers began to blow away, she pointed in their direction from where she still crouched on the ground. "Ah, shit, would you mind grabbing those for me?"

[eloiseabernathy]

who: @ronanzng

where: eloise's home in new hampshire

eloise wasn’t sure why she hadn’t stopped the idea of ronan visiting new hampshire for his travel plans. it wasn’t like she had always enjoyed the constant flirting. more so, eloise was mainly afraid of how the other would view her after visiting her home. it wasn't that eloise's family were incredibly rich. they lived comfortably in a two story home - enough space for eloise and her mom. it was nothing like she would see in the hampton's, or higher end living.

when eloise mentioned ronan’s plans to come here over the summer, naomi excitedly started cleaning their entire home, getting ready for a guest. that was one thing about naomi. she didn't have to know a person for years to make her home a home for them, as well. she would treat them as her own, making sure that they were comfortable. eloise loved that about her mom, but in this situation.. eloise was just nervous.

eloise had just finished plating a fresh batch of homemade brownies, her mom's peace offering for any (and all) situations when she heard the doorbell. naomi had insisted that ronan take the guest bedroom in their home. why waste money on a hotel when he can just stay here, eloise could her hear mom's voice in her thoughts. wiping her hands on a towel, she hung up the apron that she was wearing on a hook before finding herself to the door.

"hey, come on in," eloise spoke as she opened the door, moving out of the way for the other to walk in.

[eloiseabernathy]

who: up to you!

where: the quad

Growing up, it was always Eloise and her mom. They would do anything and everything together. Whether it would be at her mom's work, in the coffee shop, or just simply sitting outside of their house, her mom and her were super close. Eloise missed her dearly, even though she wasn't so far away from home. Eloise had a moment of peace between classes and studying, so she decided to spend some time in the quad to both relax and get a little bit of sun. As she walked around, Eloise came across a small section of flowers. A small smile crept along her lips as she whipped out her phone to capture it to send to her mom.

Eloise looked up for a moment and spotted the other, her small smile widening. "These are beautiful aren't they?"

[eloiseabernathy]

who: @mari-zuko

where: the library

Eloise clicked her pen against her lap, sitting criss-crossed in a chair in the library. Writing had always come easy for her. Usually, she was able to write about anything she wanted - anything that could ever cross her mind. She loved being able to create characters and create a life for them to live. Picture Taylor Swift's folklore. She just loved writing and reading. However, tonight, after their writing club meeting, Eloise found herself in the library, trying... yearning for inspiration to hit her. When she noticed Mari, Eloise smiled lightly and waved her over. Maybe she could help with her writer's block?

"I desperately want to create a spooky short story," Eloise began when the other became closer to her. "Anything that I can think of, though, has already been done. Zombies, vampires, werewolves, sparkly vampires... It's all been done, how is a girl supposed to be original when you can go to Netflix and see that it's already been done ten times over? Especially with something like The Haunting of Hill House. I would love to be able to create one of those, but then again, I am back to the beginning of never finding something that hasn't been done before," Eloise rambled on, and on. She had a bad habit of rambling, especially without taking a breath between sentences.

"Oh," Eloise finally said, chuckling softly after. "You didn't sign up to hear me talk this entire time. Have you been working on anything?

[eloiseabernathy]

"oh, those are the worst," she commented. "i remember i woke up from one when i was a child. i was doing your normal kid things, running around the house, playing with toys, talking to my mom.. and i don't know what caught me off-guard, but i realized i was dreaming. i started screaming at myself to wake up, that i was dreaming. it was definitely so weird to experience, as a kid," eloise rambled a bit, recalling the strange dream she had once before. "evil déjà vu," eloise repeated, a soft laugh emitting from her lips. "i wonder why that is. why people have dreams like that," eloise made a mental note to research that. she would bring it up next time she saw monty - explaining anything she found out about those dreams.

"Bananas are a migraine trigger. So are mushrooms, but for totally unrelated reasons." Different compounds and acids in each of their chemical compositions -- not that any of it mattered or was even remotely relevant to Eloise. Monty shook his head a little, stepping forward in line, uncertain of why he'd brought it up at all. Clearly, he needed to get his caffeine fix. "Oh, don't even get me started," he countered with a joking groan, head slowly tipping backwards as he glanced in the other's direction, as if exhausted already. "Do you ever have hyper-realistic dreams? Like, the sort of ones that are super mundane and could just be your daily life, if it weren't for one or two things being off?" His eyebrows lifted in question, head raising again as well. "Those are the freakiest ones to me. I wake up completely convinced I accomplished whatever my dream-self did. It's like… evil déjà vu."

[eloiseabernathy]

Eloise usually loved parties. She loved being able to socialize, to try and build connections with people. If she was going to climb that little social ladder, how else would she do that? Especially without Greer here, Eloise knew she had to up her game. However, today all she could think about was the piled textbooks on her bed and the essay that she needed to write for a final. Not wanting to leave, she sat next to the other on the couch. Her eyebrow raised as the other spoke, chuckling a bit as she handed him a shot. "The troll toll?" She questioned, a playful smile settling on her lips.

WHERE: a campus party somewhere. WHO: open.

Jesse's eyes flew open at the feeling of someone dropping into the couch beside him. It felt as if this same scenario had played out dozens of times tonight, his concept of time slipping away each time he drifted off.

He'd be the first to admit that he was getting sloppy. It felt like every morning after only got worse. The emotional whiplash of full respite from feeling anything to the weight of grief like a boulder on his chest that all but pinned him down every morning he woke up sober only made him that much more desperate to drown it all out again. Sooner, longer, more.

So, no. He wasn't masking it quite so well tonight. But it was a party and he'd already offered out plenty of easy-to-swallow excuses and he had plenty more ready to go.

"Shit, sorry." Turning to the body on the couch, he grinned, blinked as the room tried to right itself. "The troll toll for this seat is one shot." He opened a hand, curled his fingers, hoped he was riding the perfect line of tired but still playful. Still Jesse. Nothing to see here, folks! "Pay up."

[eloiseabernathy]

the irritation from milo was evident upon eloise's features. "you haven't given me any reason to be nice to you," she muttered. to her - she would do anything and everything for her elders, neighbors, people she has known her entire life. usually with the people around her, she would be groveling, trying to do anything she could to be on their good side. for them to like her. something about milo was different than that. she didn't want him to think that he won - that his little attitude made eloise quiver and run away. however, she didn't really want to be standing there anyway. "have the night you deserve," eloise stated before walking to where she was headed before.

end.

Milo snorted at the retorted question, shaking his head. As if he had to answer to anybody, much less someone like Eloise. "Because I don't feel like going back in there," he said, shrugging his shoulders. As if it was as simple as that. "Is that not the direction you were headed? Here I thought you were supposed to be some sweet gracious little small town girl. I guess not. How shocking." He tilted his head back against the wall behind him, pulling his glass back in towards himself. "You can go now, if you're not going to be useful to me."

[eloiseabernathy]

part of eloise was glad she was no longer one of those freshman, running around campus, little to no clue where they were going or what they were doing. the other part of eloise was envious of their naivety. eloise didn't know what she would trade to go back to be that naive, where greer wasn't missing or g wasn't a probllem. eloise rushed to the elevator with the last box of her belongings from the car. luckily, she saved the lightest box for last. she stood on the other side of the elevator, her gaze going towards the other as they spoke. a light laugh emitted from her lips. "i can recall crazily running around when i was a freshman, but i don't think i was that clueless." truthfully, she had probably memorized the campus map months before her first day on campus. "it would not surprise me. after everything in the news, i would not be surprised that they were desperate to get students."

with: open to all location: any of the dorm buildings! when: sometime in the first week back

There was a ding! and the elevator doors slid opening, revealing a cluster of excited, chattering freshmen… who were not exiting fast enough. "Move!" Heath barked, startling them right out. He sighed as he stepped onto the elevator, trying to maneuver the weight of the awkwardly packed box in his arms, an ugly lamp jutting out from the top of it, repeatedly knocking his chin. He'd learned his lesson. Never again would he offer to help a hot girl carry something up to her dorm, because, inevitably, he'd get stuck unloading her entire car. "Is everyone that clueless their first year?" he asked rhetorically, slumping sideways against the wall. "Or did the entry requirements for Ogden totally tank after everything last year?"

[eloiseabernathy]

eloise downed the shot, a shiver taking over her body as the liquid went down. she wasn't much of a drinker, but how could she turn down taking a few shots for the winning team? they were celebrating, after all. and how bad of a sport did eloise need to be if she refused a shot or two? a soft smile returned to her lips as they spoke. "yeah! the volleyball team.. i think i've seen you at a game or two, right? or at least i hope so, unless you absolutely hate volleyball.. otherwise, i wouldn't blame you if you wouldn't touch the game with a ten-foot-pole," eloise rambled.

Again - Court may have already had a drink in each hand, but he was still going to do a shot with Eloise immediately. He was celebrating! Shots were totally part of that! He tucked one of his drinks into his elbow so he could take the shot as well, his grin only widening as she lifted the shot - to victory. "What else could we possibly be cheersing to?" he agreed, lifting his up slightly. "To victory!" He threw the shot back, wincing slightly as it went down, before discarding it so he could hold both of his drinks again - honestly, people should be like, super impressed that he was able to hold one of his drinks in the crook of his arm for that long without spilling or dropping it. "You're on the volleyball team, right?" he asked, somewhat shyly - of course he knew what team Eloise was on, but he didn't want to seem like a total creep or anything. She was just...a really good athlete.

[eloiseabernathy]

eloise wished she had more time to take a drama class, or be a little bit more involved with music. however, with all of her extra-curriculars, it was hard for eloise to find time to enjoy a show. she had been walking through the hallway when she heard the other play on the piano, eloise stopping in her tracks. she leaned against the door frame, quietly listening as the other practiced their sheet music. eloise appreciated music, the beautiful melodies and the stories hidden behind the notes. it made her reminisce on her high school days and the few theater productions she was able to be involved in. eloise waved off his apology, softly shaking her head. "no, i'm sorry. i didn't mean to intrude your practice. i haven't been here long, no," she spoke. she wasn't sure exactly how to say that the music he played was beautiful, knowing he must've already known that.

The Music Rooms. Sometime in the first week. [ OPEN STARTER ]

The ten most difficult songs to play on a piano. Hungarian Rhapsody N. 2, Liszt. Flight of the Bumblebee, Korsakov. Fantaisie Impromptu, Chopin. Piano Concerto N. 5, Beethoven. Moonlight Sonata (3rd Movement), Beethoven. Revolutionary Etude, Chopin. Etude Op. 25 No. 11 - Winter Wind, Chopin. Piano Concerto No. 21, Mozart. Grande Polonaise Brillante Opus 22, Chopin. "Heroic" Polonaise Opus 53, Chopin. Ambrose went over the songs once, twice, upwards of ten times. Over and over again. Hammering out the difficult details of each one until his head started pounding, and his fingers felt like they were going to fall off. But he had to make a good first impression on his instructors. He had to be the best in his classes. He didn't just think that because he was a perfectionist either. He had to be the best because if he didn't prove he could do this - music - while simultaneously making a career out of doing music he'd be nothing but a joke.

He was too deep in his head that his fingers tripped over the wrong keys, and the palms of his hands followed, flattening into a loud angry dissonant sound. He huffed a deep breath lifting his head and noticing someone else must have come into the room sometime in the past thirty minutes. He really did find it unsurprising that he'd really missed a whole person. "Sorry," Ambrose said. I promise I can do better. "Have you been in here long?"

[eloiseabernathy]

Had there ever been any deaths by mascot? Eloise wondered, circling around the thought. "I'm sure that it's completely safe in there. They wouldn't have people actually wear the costume if it wasn't safe, right? There's some sort of fan that it's in the head of it to help increase air flow. Maybe it isn't so stuffy as one would think," Eloise tried to make the situation better.

she swallowed hard. "you're only making it worse. can i get some positivity over here?" because now she was thinking abut how many people's heads had been in that thing, and if those people brushed their teeth, or if any of those people had ever had lice. "i am not getting lice," she said under her breath. "wait, what if it's too stuffy? how do i let you all know if i suffocate? what if i die by mascot?"

[eloiseabernathy]

it doesn't suit you, the words echoed in eloise's head. normally she would move past it, agree and move on. it was the people pleaser in her. but for some reason, with link saying it, she didn't take it as something someone would say with any sort of remorse or care for her. that was long gone back in high school when they dated for the brief moment. part of her still wasn't over what happened between them - her being incredibly infatuated with him, and then poof. all of it was gone within a blink of an eye.

"i don't believe i asked for your opinion," eloise stated, a slight shrug to her shoulders. she scoffed lightly at his next statement about her image. he was right, however. it didn't fit with her image she had back at home. hell, she wasn't sure where that version of her was anymore. she was so involved in the needing to be liked by everyone on campus that she lost some of that version of herself. she would say whatever she needed to say, do whatever she needed to do. all for a few more likes in her book. "you don't know me," eloise voice was a bit hushed. would she ever admit that she didn't know herself? no.

eloise thought for a moment, unsure of what else to say to him. she hadn't said more than a few words to him on campus - she never really had a reason to. and now? she was lost. after a split moment, eloise finally decided to speak, "like i said, keep the lighter. have a nice life, whatever you want to do." and with that, she turned and walked away, headed back into the seclusion of her dorm room.

end.

usually, upon hearing a statement like that from anyone, link would reach out with the carton of his cigarettes in his hand, offering one to the person in front of him. but eloise ? he just couldn't picture her smoking, and for some reason, he didn't want to see one in her mouth ever. he'd boil it down to some nostalgic vision he's got of her much younger than she is now, and the image of that person with a cigarette was disturbing to see. no other reason.

" it doesn't suit you. " he simply says to her instead, with a small shrug. " doesn't it ruin your perfect little mary sue image that you've carefully curated for yourself ? " he says with a scoff. what was worry for her had somehow managed to manifest out of his mouth into something a lot pettier and colder.

[eloiseabernathy]

eloise listened intently as ollie spoke about how the future could hold something different - living somewhere different. part of her could picture herself somewhere in france or italy. the other part of her couldn't imagine not living close to her mom. she would love to go backpacking one day through different countries. part of her was just.. a scared little girl. eloise had figured she had taken enough of ollie's time - not like she didn't enjoy his company. she felt like this was one of the first actual conversations they had that weren't just in passing. "please show me some photos next semester! i would love to see the different places that you went to. i'm going to go get a drink, i'll talk to you later?" she formed the last sentence like it was a question. eloise soon walked off, finding her way to a punch bowl and onto the next sorry person that would be captured in conversation with her.

end.

He nodded his head. "Yeah, exactly," Ollie said. "This is really the farthest I've ever been outside of NYC. Maybe I'll be in the middle of some forest some day and suddenly be like 'this is where I'm meant to be', or mountains, or some small dinky town will just feel like it's home for some reason." Maybe when and if he ever managed to leave the country he'd really vibe somewhere else. Maybe he would really fit into Tokyo culture, or maybe he'd go to some tropical island and realize he was meant to be living on a beach with some coconut drink permanently in his hand or something. "Luckily I plan on working for myself in the future, and all remotely, so at least I can pretty much live anywhere I want to. I guess it's good to keep your options open. There is still so much more to do before either of us think of settling down somewhere. Gotta expand your horizons as much as you can."

[eloiseabernathy]

end.

Sam laughed, nudging Eloise with her elbow gently, as she shook her head. "You know, Tina Fey based that character off of me," she said, assured enough that it could be the truth for real. it wasn't, obviously. Sam was like … a baby when that movie came out. Maybe it'd be more accurate to say she'd based herself off of the character. She hadn't, but still more likely than the other way around. She downed the rest of her fruit juice and raised the glass as if toasting Eloise in agreement. "Me too. Hopefully they will. Maybe this was all just a this year thing. But I should probably go be social with other people," she said, regretfully. She'd rather just talk to her friends, but social events were for talking to as many people as you could - she guessed. "I'll see you later. We'll say bye before leaving for the summer, and get coffee or something," she promised, with a wave as she turned to head off through the crowd and make the rounds of being social.

[eloiseabernathy]

eloise could see some of herself with naomi - the way she could barely stop talking when it's something she's passionate about. truthfully, she wished she could see more. how her mother was quick on her feet, spitting off words on her tongue as she kept with the conversation. most of all, eloise just felt like she lost a lot of herself within the last year. would she acknowledge and try to become herself, again, next year? indeterminate. maybe, just maybe, next school year. she would try.

eloise knew that not every student at ogden had a great relationship with their parents - it was something that she wished they could have, but not something she could help with. she cherished their relationship, knowing that it could be worse. she would rather be close to her one parent than not be close to two. eloise took the glass of champagne from him, following in his direction. she hadn't noticed she was quiet for a moment as she reminisced of her childhood growing up, a small little twinkle in her eye.

"it has always been my mom and i," eloise started, a soft smile playing along her lips. "which means we have always been close. we don't have much family by blood outside of ourselves. our neighbors, my mom's coworkers.. they've become like an extension to our family. i don't think i've ever thought twice about it - it has always just been this. there's not one place that my mom can go without making at least one friend." eloise wasn't sure why she was rambling little details of how she grew up. "how about you?" she questioned, an eyebrow perked as she looked at the other. "if you don't mind, that is. it must have been a bit different having siblings and everything."

His eyes stay with Naomi for a second, even as she distances herself from their little circle, carefully watching as she gracefully blends into the crowd – a ghost of a smile still imprinted on his features in case she turns back on last time for a final goodbye.

That hint of a smile comes back to life when Eloise speaks again. He doesn’t know how aware she is of it – how much in common they actually have that she knows how he feels about her words, but validation is, to him, what a handful of candy is to a child on Halloween, and it feels like Eloise has just handed him a sack full of it. He turns to her, the side of his lips turned upwards gently still, “I’m happy she did. I really liked her too.” He says, blue eyes glinting with the utmost sincerity. “I can see where you get all the–“ He pauses for a second, looking for the right word, “–eloquence from.” Naomi was a great conversationalist, and if she hadn’t decided to mingle a bit more with the other parents, Edward was sure they would have spent the rest of the afternoon talking – which didn’t sound bad at all…

When a waiter passes, he takes two glasses of champagne and offers one to her. His free hand dives into his pocket as he guides them forward. “You too seem really close.” He points out with some neutrality, unsure of how she would take that, but their syntony and mutual admiration is undeniable. His relationship with his parents, on the other hand, is colder and more distant. Morrisons aren’t exactly known for being warm and sentimental… “Was it always like that growing up?” Must have been nice, he thinks.