#Off Campus Apartments Near USC

[hubilucorporation]

Why Off-Campus Apartments Near USC Offer the Best of Both Worlds

Students who live off campus close to the University of Southern California (USC) can enjoy the ideal balance of convenience and freedom. There are several off-campus homes and apartments near USC for rent, so students may choose something to fit their needs both financially and lifestyle-wise. There are many possibilities, depending on whether you want a calm neighborhood or a busy one with easy access to dining options, retail establishments, and public transit.

Safety is a major consideration when looking for an off-campus residence, and a lot of houses near USC include gated communities, security systems, and easy access to campus shuttle services. Additionally, being near academic and social areas may make living in a well-maintained apartment or house more pleasant and pleasurable for students.

Hubilu Venture Corporation is your reliable partner if you're searching for superior Off Campus Apartments Near USC or Off Campus Houses For Rent Near USC, a company that specializes in student housing solutions, provides a large selection of reasonably priced, secure, and well-maintained rental homes. Now, let Hubilu lead you to the ideal off-campus residence!

[orionhousing]

Orion Student Housing: Your Partner in USC Accommodation

When embarking on a journey through higher education, where you choose to live plays a pivotal role in shaping your college experience. At the University of Southern California (USC), finding the perfect student housing can make all the difference. That's where Orion Housing comes in, offering a range of exceptional accommodations that redefine the concept of USC student living.

A Home Away from Home

Leaving the comforts of home to pursue your education is a significant step, and finding a place that feels like home is paramount. Orion Housing takes this to heart, providing USC students with a welcoming and nurturing environment that eases the transition to college life.

2. Luxury Meets Convenience

Orion Housing's properties are a perfect blend of luxury and convenience. Whether you're seeking a private studio apartment or a shared living space, their accommodations are designed to cater to the needs and preferences of every USC student. From fully furnished units to modern amenities, every detail is considered to ensure your comfort.

3. Proximity to Campus

Location is key when it comes to student housing, and Orion Housing understands the importance of being close to campus. Many of their properties are strategically located within walking distance or a short commute to USC, allowing you to make the most of your time on campus.

4. A Vibrant Community

One of the unique aspects of Orion Housing is the sense of community it fosters. Their properties often include common areas and communal spaces where you can connect with fellow students. This creates a dynamic and vibrant atmosphere that enhances your college experience.

5. Safety and Security

Safety is a top priority for Orion Housing. Their properties are equipped with security features to ensure your peace of mind. You can focus on your studies and college life, knowing that your safety and security are well taken care of.

6. Personalized Support

What truly sets Orion Housing apart is its commitment to providing exceptional support to its residents. Their dedicated staff is readily available to assist with any concerns or requests you may have. It's this personal touch that ensures you always feel valued and supported.

7. Affordable Options

Orion Housing understands the financial aspect of student life. That's why they offer a range of housing options that cater to different budgets. You can find quality accommodations that align with your financial goals without compromising on comfort and convenience.

8. Exploring the USC Neighborhood

Living in USC student apartments by Orion also means you're ideally situated to explore the vibrant neighborhoods of Los Angeles. From cultural attractions to dining, entertainment, and career opportunities, you'll have access to it all.

Conclusion

Choosing where to live during your college years is a significant decision that impacts your overall experience. Orion Housing takes the stress out of this decision by offering USC students a range of housing options that prioritize comfort, convenience, and community.

Elevate your USC experience with Orion Housing, where luxury living meets personalized support. It's not just housing; it's a home away from home that enriches your college journey. When you choose Orion Housing, you're choosing more than just a place to live; you're choosing an elevated way of life as a USC student.

[i-am-aprl]

‘YOU’RE COMMITTING ASSAULT’ U.S. POLICE ARREST PRO-PALESTINE STUDENTS

Student protests against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza are happening across the world, and they’ve exploded in the United States. Over the last week there have been demonstrations at campuses from California to Massachusetts. But their calls of ‘free Palestine’ have been met with a violent response from police who’ve arrested hundreds.

This clip shows Los Angeles officers man-handling students at University of Southern California (USC). You can hear a bystander shouting ‘you’re committing assault’ as officers pull a protester off campus. Ninety-three people were detained for ‘trespassing’ after they’d formed a camp on college grounds.

Footage on social media also appears to show police firing a rubber bullet into a crowd near the university. The LAPD hasn’t confirmed if officers used such weapons during the hours-long operation on Wednesday, April 24th, 2024.

Apart from arrest, students also face suspension by universities, which are accused of investing in corporations that profit from the war.

[mariacallous]

Editor's Note: This piece was first published by the Los Angeles Times.

A fiscal “doom loop.” A transit “death spiral.” The “office apocalypse.” Since the traumatic disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, these pessimistic terms have been applied repeatedly to the state of our cities. Analysis of census data from my Brookings Institution colleague William H. Frey found that from 2020 to 2021, during the peak of the pandemic, major metropolitan areas including New York and Los Angeles lost a significant number of residents. A net 175,000 people left L.A. for Riverside, the Sun Belt, or smaller metro and rural areas.

But new research shows clear signs this trend is reversing. As many downtowns struggle, residential neighborhoods are thriving. While L.A. also lost population in 2022, that year’s rate of population loss was half what it was in 2021. Other cities, such as Seattle and Washington, D.C., have flipped from losses to gains. Yet office vacancy rates continue to rise, and transit ridership remains well below 2019 levels on every major U.S. system. If people are back, where are they?

Not at the office or on the train. Instead, people are enjoying walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods where they can both live and work, in contrast to the 20th century mode of cities and suburbs that rigidly separates work zones from other activities.

This has benefits not just for individuals but also for communities and places. For example, while overall transit ridership in San Francisco is only 54% of the pre-pandemic level on weekdays, the 22 Fillmore line serving the neighborhood of Mission Bay, just south of the historic downtown, is at 107% of pre-pandemic ridership. In L.A., while retail vacancy downtown is 9.3% and trending upward, the citywide rate is only 6.1%, data from CoStar shows. In a diverse range of neighborhoods, retail is close to or even outperforming that average: The vacancy rate is only 5.6% in Echo Park, 6.3% in Inglewood, and 6.6% in Boyle Heights. Elsewhere it’s trending down, even approaching zero: 0.5% on Figueroa Street near USC, 1.5% in Los Feliz, and 2.3% in Highland Park.

Why are some neighborhoods doing extraordinarily well? These are not the richest parts of L.A. Rather, they gather big, diverse collections of economic, social, physical, and civic assets in close proximity. Figueroa, Los Feliz, and Highland Park have some of the highest population densities in L.A. County, as well as access to amenities including the USC campus and Griffith and Hermon parks. They are close enough to downtown to be accessible to and from elsewhere in the region. And finally, all of these places are served by hyperlocal place governance entities, including business improvement districts that provide extra coordination and support, such as clean-and-safe patrols.

Demand in cities remains strong—so much so, in fact, that in many of the biggest metro areas the concern is not abandonment but affordability. Nowhere in the United States is the housing crisis as acute as Los Angeles, the least affordable metro area in the U.S. Citywide, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is more than $2,000. In Los Feliz, it’s $2,250, according to CoStar data. Off Figueroa near USC and in Highland Park, you can get a one-bedroom for $1,400 or $1,600, but those sorts of offerings are few and far between. And even those rents are out of reach for many in a city where half of households make $70,000 a year or less. People are leaving L.A. not to ditch a struggling city, but to find housing.

This crisis is a choice, and the solutions for both neighborhood affordability and downtown revitalization are the same: ending policy and infrastructure that segregate people and most types of land use and create under-resourced neighborhoods as well as downtowns overly dependent on offices.

Policies and practices such as exclusionary zoning and lending discrimination allow some neighborhoods to hoard what they need (e.g., low-flood-risk land and tax revenue to support services) while withholding from others. What if we enabled all people and places to thrive?

Los Angeles and California have recently made progress in advancing policy reforms, such as the city’s expansion of its adaptive reuse ordinance and the state’s Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act, both of which will increase housing production and economic vitality by integrating housing with underperforming retail and offices.

Progress will also require building housing everywhere, including affordable housing as well as transitional and permanent supportive options that meet a broader range of needs than our current one-size-fits-all housing stock. It also makes sense to invest more in basics that proved throughout the pandemic to support quality of life, such as parks and community-based organizations.

The most effective policies to create shared prosperity for neighborhoods and downtowns will raise and share new revenue by explicitly connecting growth with funding to connect historically marginalized communities and places to the regional economy, cultivating their local assets.

Some examples cities are already pursuing include New York’s congestion pricing to fund public transit, Chicago’s Invest South/West initiative to increase economic investment and development in neighborhoods punished by racial segregation, and Seattle’s Equitable Development Initiative, which funnels grant dollars to neighborhoods at high risk of displacement to empower local projects. In addition, L.A. and other cities can directly address the systemic devaluation of Black neighborhoods by enabling new models for commercial real estate ownership that are accessible for local entrepreneurs.

What does the city of the future look like, and who decides? Much of the rhetoric of the current moment is focused on assigning blame for shortcomings. Instead, we need to encourage what has worked to support great neighborhoods and downtowns and make those things accessible to more people—finding common ground, earning community trust, and establishing new ways to work together to build something that lasts.

[driverdefens]

Secure Your Future at Columbia SC Student Apartments

Discover an extraordinary living experience at Redpoint Columbia! Perfect for students desiring a unique, spacious retreat near the University of South Carolina, the student apartments in Columbia, SC, offer luxury, convenience, and outdoor fun.

[sunshinejins]

if i was dying on my knees (you’d be the one to rescue me)

(title from brother by kodaline)

so, hi!  jatp has reignited my desire to write again and this time i think i might actually finish a whole fic.  so uh, here it is :) please let me know if you like it, I’ll hopefully update asap, but i’m in uni so asap may be in like two weeks.  unless people really like it.  then, probably sooner lmao.

pairing: julie molina x luke patterson

fandom: julie and the phantoms

warnings: death bc rose, and i swear once but other than that i think nothing else?

Julie didn’t want to be frustrated, she really didn’t.  In fact, she wanted to be sad, mourning, depressed, or literally anything other than slightly pissed off all the time.  It’s incredibly exhausting to be angry all the time, and she felt like being sad would at least give her blood a break from simmering.

But her mom died.  And apparently her body only knows how to process grief by developing a rather annoying tendency to be irritated constantly.

She tries to forget it though.  Instead of wallowing in the negative feelings that cloud her family in the months following Rose Molina’s death, she throws herself into distractions.  She gets a job at a coffee shop near the USC campus and puts almost all her effort into becoming a top employee.  Her grades don’t drop because thankfully her professors seemed to all inherently understand that she just couldn’t sing anymore.  Like at all.

The world kept spinning.  Julie could only hope to hold on.

That’s how she ended up, six months later, complaining over a milk frother about her very well-intentioned best friend to the only person she knew would listen.

“Flynn just doesn’t understand,” Julie moans, shutting off the machine and dumping the contents unceremoniously into a to-go cup.  Her coworker, Allison, raises an eyebrow and swipes a rag at the milk spill that pools under the cup.

“Did she try to get you to sing again?”

“Surprise karaoke night with her girlfriend and a couple kids from class.  Her intentions were pure though so I don’t even know why I’m upset.” Julie shoves a lid onto the cup and slides it across the counter to a pre-occupied businessman who doesn’t notice the extra milk soaked into the bottom.  Allison nods thoughtfully and starts dumping coffee beans into the espresso machine.  Julie watches her with slight awe.  Allison was one of those people that terrified Julie when she met her; everything about her felt polished and put together down to the blunt cut of her pale blonde hair and the curve of her smirk when she smiled.  Soon enough, Julie discovered that she was as warm as any of her other friends, but it had taken a lot of closing shifts and smoothie runs to come to that conclusion.

Allison sets down the bag of coffee beans and gives Julie one of her solemn looks; it’s the sort of look where Julie thinks Allison could probably read her mind if she tried hard enough.

“Maybe they’re going about it wrong.  You haven’t been around music properly in what?  A year?  What if you just need to sit and listen to music again to just get you used to the environment?” Julie thinks for a moment.  Allison raises a fair point, and it’s the complete opposite tactic that everyone else has been trying, which has been to shove music in front of her to sing and give her expectant and hopeful looks. It’s a trial run.  Something casual.

“Where would I go?” Allison smiles a bit and passes Julie a container of oat milk to put away.

“There’s a bar off Sunset that’s hosting an open mic tonight.  Very relaxed and casual vibes.  I could pick you up from your apartment and take you.  We haven’t hung out since that movie night a while ago.”  Julie hesitates.  It’s not that she’s opposed to spending a night with Allison, but a small part of her feels like she’s cheating on her current circle of emotional support humans by agreeing to go. Not that her dad or Carlos or Tia would mind, but Flynn would possibly take offence and that alone stalled Julie for longer than she realized. Allison clocks the look on her face and amends the statement.

“Flynn is obviously welcome too.”

A mind reader, Julie swears. 

“Hell yeah. Let’s do this.”

***

Julie’s feeling significantly less optimistic when Allison’s car has been driven away by the valet and herself, Flynn, and Allison are all standing in line outside the club. Julie can feel the bass of the songs playing more than she can hear them, but the proximity of music is enough to make her palms sweat. Other than the music the coffee shop plays and the strains of country she hears through Carlos’ wall, Julie hasn’t heard proper music since Tia Victoria sang “Amazing Grace” for her mother’s funeral. Flynn notices her nervous look. 

“Chill, Jules. It’s all very chill. We’re just gonna listen to a couple bands.” 

“Flynn’s right. And if at any point you want to bail, we can go get soft pretzels.” 

“But we should try and stay for the whole thing!”

“However, we’re also going to respect you if you can’t do that,” Allison punctuates this sentence with a meaningful eyebrow raise and Flynn nods vigorously. Julie swallows and tries to mimic the courage she had a few hours ago.  The bartender scrutinizes their IDs for a moment before allowing them to sweep into the bar and Julie’s jaw nearly drops at the volume of people contained inside.  Nearly every seat is filled, and the standing areas are packed with people all jamming to the band onstage that’s currently playing what Julie has to admit is a pretty kick ass cover of “Somebody Told Me” by The Killers.  

Allison somehow discovers a table near the edge of the bar, and disappears off to get them drinks.  Flynn’s rocking out already, and Julie feels a few of the nerves in her stomach even out as the realization that she doesn’t have to sing sinks into her bones.  Allison was right, unsurprisingly.  If she focuses hard enough, she can even push out the memories of coming to these sorts of open nights with her mom.  Flynn shoots her a large and grateful grin and Julie lets herself smile back.  She’s taking a step.  She’s doing it.

Allison returns as the band switches and a new band begins to play a hyped up cover of “Africa” by Toto.  The three girls lapse into quiet appreciation of the music, with Flynn singing along to every song played, Allison bobbing her head to herself and occasionally letting out a few notes in her vocal range, and Julie just quietly appreciating the fact that she doesn’t feel like throwing up.

It’s all very casual, just like her friends said.

Until it’s not.

As the third band of the night begins their last song, Julie retreats to find the bathroom.  It’s hidden nearly backstage, and she’s just about to make it to the door when she hears the panicked shouts of someone from near the curtain which separates the small backstage from the actual performing area.

“Dude, I cannot believe he bailed on us.”

“Are you really surprised?  Bobby was a piece of shit.”

“Hey, he didn’t use to be!”

“Calm down, Reg.  You know he’s been treating us like garbage ever since that record label thought he had a ‘marketable voice’ or whatever they said.”

“Guys he bailed on us, what are we supposed to do?”

Julie, despite all the “stranger danger” lessons running through her brain, backed up far enough to see into the backstage area.  Three guys stood there, two with a guitar and a bass each and one with drumsticks he was nervously twirling.  The one with the guitar had his face buried in his hands and kept swearing heavily under his breath.  The other two seemed frozen in their own panic as well.  Guitar Player removed his hands from his face and Julie caught a glimpse of worried hazel eyes and dark curls.  Bass Player opened his arms and Guitar Player tumbled into them for a hug while Drum Player rubbed his back.  The three guys looked absolutely wrecked.

Here’s the thing: Julie had an uncontrollable urge to help people.  It’s how she got roped into half of Flynn’s schemes, how she ended up teaching Carlos all of his second grade science curriculum herself, and how she somehow became the unofficial backbone of her family after her mom died.  Seeing three guys utterly wrecked because, presumably, their fourth bandmate had bailed on them?  It activated that uncontrollable urge deep in her stomach.

Here’s another thing: Julie hasn’t played music or sang in six months.  She’s had no desire to, and every time she’s tried, the distinct urge to throw up overtook her.  Tonight was supposed to be the baby step that showed her whether or not music was something she could seriously consider again; whether or not she could feel that itch to perform anymore.

“Hey, do you guys need a fourth?”

She felt the itch.  

The three guys looked up in varying levels of shock.  Drum Player recovered first, and stepped towards her hesitantly, wringing his pink hoodie as he did.

“Um, what?”

“It sounded like someone bailed on you.  I can play.  If you need it.”  Guitar Player recovers next and nearly bounds over to her in barely contained excitement.

“You can play rhythm guitar?”

“No,” the three boys deflate, “I can play piano though.”  Guitar Player tilts his head to the side as though playing a melody through in his head.  He turns back to the other two.

“Bright could fit piano.”

“We never wrote the music for a piano component,” Drum Player wrinkles his nose.

“I did,” Guitar Player admits.  The other two don’t look phased, though Bass Player does raise an eyebrow.  “I was bored!”

“Okay, but we don’t want to put you out,” Drum Player turns back to Julie and she swallows.  

“No, I offered.  Let me see the music.”

“Okay, but you have like ten minutes!” Bass Player finally chips in with a surprisingly cheerful tone.  Guitar Player hands Julie what looks like a piece of notebook paper and her eyes skim the words and notes.  It’s feasible for sure, but she can feel the nerves prickling at her stomach.  Guitar Player leans into her space and she clocks how ridiculously attractive he is up close.  He gives her a smile.

“We alternative verses like this, see?  And I don’t know your range, but we can figure that out on the go.”  Julie gives him a small smile.

“Somewhere between mezzo-soprano and soprano.”

“We can work with that.” Guitar Player seems to vibrate with energy.  “Are you sure you wanna do this?”

“No pressure,” Bass Player adds.

“Like seriously, none.  We can just go home and cry,” Drum Player says.  Julie isn’t sure.  She really isn’t.  In fact, she’s pretty sure she should just run away and hope she never sees these guys again.

“I’m sure.”

Well, that’s that.

Guitar Player sends her a smile that looks genuinely like someone has funnelled sunlight into his body and Julie feels the nerves lift for half a second.  Then, they’re called to the stage and all of a sudden she feels like she could puke all over again.  Guitar Player grabs her hand and squeezes it.

“You got this.”

Julie files out with the rest of the band and she’s extremely grateful her friends aren’t sitting in her direct line of sight.  The piano is definitely worn out from use, but her fingers settle naturally on the keys and Julie tries to focus on the budding itch to perform in her stomach rather than the urge to throw up.  She’s supposed to start this song.  This song that she became aware of ten minutes earlier.  She catches Guitar Player’s eye and he nods encouragingly.

She presses down on the keys and opens her mouth. 

Sometimes I think I'm falling down

I wanna cry, I'm calling out

For one more try to feel alive

And when I feel lost and alone

I know that I can make it home

Fight through the dark and find the spark

[catalinaroleplay]

Gender & Pronouns: Female, she/her

Date of Birth: April 20th, 1989 (30)

Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California.

Neighborhood: Avalon

Length of Residency: All her life.

Occupation: Podcast Co-Host / Bartender 

Face Claim: Shay Mitchell

BIOGRAPHY

TRIGGERS: Teen Pregnancy, Drowning, Child Loss.

The Santos family never lived extravagantly. In fact most of the time Carlo and Analyn Bautista lived paycheck to paycheck. Praying to god that they could pay their rent and bills each month and still have enough left over to buy their newborn daughter Mahalia the things she needed. Things such as food, diapers, and clothes. Money was always tight and the self-sacrificing first generation immigrants from the Philippines often skipped out on buying things they needed or wanted in order to provide for Mahalia. Analyn worked three full time jobs while her husband Carlo juggled being a full-time law student with a demanding job at an industrial factory. With finances constantly tight around home Mahalia was made aware at a very young age to never ask for frivolous things. While most kids begged for candy at the grocery store or threw temper tantrums when a certain toy wasn’t underneath the tree at Christmastime Mahalia learned to be grateful for what she did have rather than focus on what she did not. Her formative years were spent finding entertainment in the little things. She didn’t have many toys but created her own fun by helping her mother cut coupons or making a game out of helping her father study with his flashcards. What Mahalia enjoyed the most however was using his old forgotten notebooks laying around their apartment to create her own worlds with misspelled words and vividly colored drawings. A hobby her mother encouraged by buying books for her daughter whenever she could. Together, whenever Analyn had a free moment, they would read until the world around them disappeared. If Mahalia inherited her intelligence from her father then she had gotten her mother’s love of literature. 

She used to daydream about one day becoming a writer but that all changed one fateful day. She was ten when she returned home to find her mother a weeping mess on the floor. The family’s corded phone clutched between white knuckled fingers. Two weeks before he was due to graduate from law school and begin a job at an up and coming law firm Carlo Bautista had been shot at a convenience store near his campus in a robbery gone wrong. Thus changing the entire course of Mahalia’s life. From that moment on she abandoned her dreams of writing for law instead. Wanting to accomplish what her father never got the chance to. It was that path that ultimately led her to Elijah Lyon’s Intro to Law class at the University of Southern California. Nineteen, wide-eyed, and passionate about what was being taught, she quickly became one of Elijah’s favorite students. Even after leaving his class she would often show up at his office hours to catch up, ask for advice, or pick his brain on various other topics. So two semesters later when she showed up at his office after summer break visibly pregnant and clearly distraught he hadn’t thought twice about helping her. Mahalia refused to disclose to him who the father was but she had made it clear that she didn’t plan on keeping the children. Twins, both girls according to her OBGYN. When Elijah suggested they start looking into adoption companies to help her find the perfect home she insisted that she already knew of a perfect home for her children, his. Unbeknownst to him Mahalia had heard through the grapevine that Elijah and his husband were put on a waiting list for adoption and had been on said list for a while. 

Having witnessed their kindness for herself she couldn’t think of anyone else she would have rather raised the children she herself could not. Seven months later she gave birth in a hospital holding the hands of the two men who would cherish her twin daughters as their own. Her only request was that they waited until she wasn’t around to name the children. As sure of her decision as she felt it had still been hard for her to leave behind the two bundles of joy and she didn’t want to make it any harder by growing attached. Even upon the two men’s insistence that she could still be a part of her children’s lives she refused. So much so that without even telling Elijah in advance Mahalia left USC and California all together, leaving neither of them any way to contact her even if they wanted to. In honor of the brave strong young woman who had gifted them the existence of their daughters they named them Dahlia and Magnolia. Giving them each a piece of their mother’s name. The two girls grew up in a home full of unconditional love and support. While they may not have had as much as their more financially privileged friends they had each other and two fathers who would move heaven and earth for them and at the end of the day that fact alone with enough.

As an infant Magnolia had been a worrying amount of difficult. Crying just as her parents managed to get her sister Dahlia asleep. Crawling out of view the second an adult took their eyes off her. Biting guests and pulling the hair of literally anyone her chubby little fingers could grab hold of. It had gotten to the point where Elijah and William Lyon had no choice but to bring their worries to the family pediatrician. After hearing them out, the kind man assured the new parents that she’d grow out of her aggressive personality as she got older. Only that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Her playful antics only grew up with her except now instead of being a handful of a baby, she was a nightmare of a toddler with partial understanding of the English language and full access to functioning feet. Compared to her, Dahlia was looked upon as an angel who’d been sent from up above. Despite her knack for finding trouble no one could deny that her loud laughter and even louder personality became a staple of the Lyon household. Like her sister, she inherited her mother’s angelic features but what laid beneath was nothing but the wild heart of the two men who adopted her. With both assets she became the co-mascot of the Lyon home. Charming guests and family alike with her wild tales and even wilder antics. Constantly convincing her sister to join in on whatever random schemes came to mind with little regard of what kind of trouble it’d cost them later on.

Elijah and William always knew that twins would be a handful but with Magnolia’s relentless energy and mischief making it felt more like having four children instead of two. Eventually, as she got older they found a way to channel her energy by signing her up for gymnastics at the age of four. Unlike her sister who fell in love with soccer the moment she attended her first practice, Magnolia hated everything about gymnastics. There were too many rules, too many mean girls, but mostly her hate stemmed from the fact that she was horrible at it. Grace and balance hadn’t exactly been something she was naturally inclined with. Nevertheless, her parents refused to let Magnolia throw in the towel. Unwilling to raise a quitter and in the end her hate had been helpful. Tired of being made fun of and seen as the underdog Magnolia Lyon poured her all into the ‘dumb’ sport her parents forced her into and she got good. In as little as three years she’d gone from the worst on her team to one of the best. And just like that hate became love and no one could tear her away from the gym. Doing splits, cartwheels, and front flips were no longer chores to her but things she did around the house and at school simply to show off that she could. Not to mention the mean girls that used to make fun of her suddenly wanted to be her friends. As far as Magnolia was concerned all was right in the world. Or well it was until seventh grade came around and Magnolia found herself falling more and more out of love with the sport of her youth.

Suddenly mastering difficult routines and tricks had come second to the way the girls looked and the awards they could bring in. They were weighed in front of each other almost every other practice. given strict diets. and told to focus on the sport first and everything else second. Even at twelve Magnolia knew something simply wasn’t right. No one was having fun anymore and the girls who used to be some of her closest friends were now being told to see each other as rivals instead. Slowly but surely Magnolia’s love reverted back to hate and by the time high school came around she found herself trading the toxic world of gymnastics for the more team orientated world of cheer-leading. It ended up benefiting her in more ways than one. While on the cheer team Magnolia quickly fell in with the popular crowd. Earning her the attention of multiple suitors who wanted nothing more than to court the pretty cheerleader with a fiery personality. Many of them barely even came close to catching her eye and if they did, it wasn’t for long. Her naturally fickle personality ensured that even if she returned someone’s affections it usually didn’t last longer than a few weeks. By the time sophomore year came around Magnolia Lyon was known for the trail of broken hearts she tended to leave behind. All of that came to screeching halt when she was forced to take part in peer tutoring. Unlike her sister who excelled in science classes they were always Magnolia’s worst subject and if she wanted to continue to be on the cheer squad (and more importantly still be in the running to become captain senior year) it was expected of her to remain a C average in all of her classes. 

Paired with Mason Park the two immediately butt heads during their study sessions. Lia constantly came in late, never paid attention, and then complained when she got a bad grade on a quiz or test. Something about Mason’s golden boy status around school annoyed her to no end. He wasn’t just insanely smart but an all-star athlete, class president, and genuinely well liked by everyone at their high school. Even by the loners who tended to hate everyone. They were fundamentally different in almost every way yet love found a way to blossom between them. By the time winter break came along they were already an official couple. All was well for a while. Like a typical young couple their relationship was filled with highs and lows but they were going strong and most importantly they were in love. So when Magnolia found out that she was pregnant a couple months into their junior year their was no doubt in their minds that they would be able to handle it. Naive and headstrong they bravely announced the news to their parents but not before dropping another bombshell, that they planned to get married as well. Magnolia’s fathers hadn’t taken the news well but were prepared to follow whatever course of action their daughter thought was best for herself and her future child. Mason’s parents on the other hand had gone nuclear. They blew up at Lia, accusing her of ruining their son’s life and trying to drag him down to her pathetic level. They had never liked her but seemingly tolerated her presence in their son’s life under the assumption that their relationship would never last past high school. 

But now that the two were planning to marry each other so they could raise a child together they didn’t feel the need to continue the facade of pretending to be alright with the relationship. They gave their son an ultimatum: leave Magnolia and disown the child she was carrying or leave their home. He left their home and promptly moved in the Lyon household due to the graciousness of Lia’s fathers who felt for the boy. They weren't thrilled by the aspect of their daughter being thrown into the world of adulthood so early either but knew her well enough to know that once Magnolia made up her mind there was little to no way of changing it. Eight months later while the rest of her friends were celebrating the end of the school year Magnolia and Mason were celebrating the birth of their son Milo Park. Fortunately they had a couple months to bond with their son and get used to being parents before the school year started back up again. Forcing both of them to struggling with course work, gossiping classmates, judgmental parents and faculty, and the jobs they were given by Lia’s fathers to be able to support themselves and their son. They still lived within the Lyon household but were expected to be able to provide for Milo themselves with only occasional financial assistance from Elijah and William for bigger things like medical bills. The two men didn’t do this to be cruel to the young parents but to teach them responsibility and to ensure that they would be able to take care of themselves and their son when they eventually moved out of the home. 

They wanted to assure that they were guides for them and not clutches. When Magnolia graduated high school she opted to not pursue farther education. Academia had never been her strong suit in the first place and the pair certainly didn’t have enough money for both of them to be attending college, especially with a little one at home. So instead Magnolia decided to focus her attention on earning money and taking care of their son. Mason worked as well as attended school and despite all the odds they made it work. For four years they worked in harmony like that. They didn’t have much but they had each other, their son, and the rest of the Lyon family to lean on for support to help them raise Milo. Things were far from easy and there were a lot of times where it felt like they were burning the candle at both ends but everything felt worth it because it was for their son and the little family they had fought so hard for to exist. Eventually they saved up enough money to move out of Lia’s childhood home in Lafayette Square where they still lived with her fathers into a small but cozy two bedroom apartment in Avalon. It was there that things started going off the rails for the young family. It started with their different parenting styles which had gone pretty much unnoticed before since they had always had Elijah or William to let them know what they thought would be the best thing to do in any given situation. But away from their calming influence they couldn’t seem to agree upon what course of action to take. 

Ranging from simple things like the bed time schedule to more complicated stuff like what to do when Milo acted up or whether they wanted their son to be entered into experimental medical trials. Then Mason’s family suddenly reached out wanting to be apart of their son and grandson’s lives again much to Magnolia’s discomfort. It wasn’t that she didn’t want her son or even her husband to have a relationship with the other side of their family. It was simply that she couldn’t bring herself to trust them again. It didn’t help that they seemed to show no interest in mending any bridges when it came to her or her family. They only cared about Mason and Milo and it put yet another rift between the young couple. When it rains, it pours, and less than a year later Mason and Magnolia ended up losing Milo. In the midst of being away at a school trip to a water park Milo Park drowned. It was completely accidental and no ones fault in particular but the loss affected both of them deeply. Mason threw himself into his work and Magnolia drowned herself in alcohol and anger. Eventually, and to no one’s surprise, they filed for divorce unable to piece themselves or their relationship back together after such a loss. Immediately upon filing the divorce Magnolia hopped on to a plane to Italy where her grandmother owned a quaint home in the countryside. She spent a year and a half there attempting to heal herself surrounded by the love of her twin sister and grandmother who both fiercely kept her embers burning during a time in her life where she no longer held the strength to keep her spark lit. 

It was there in Italy that Lia befriended a gentlemen who lived next door to her grandmother. He was an retired detective and would spend afternoons spinning Lia tales of the cases he had solved throughout his life. As the daughter of a lawyer criminals had always fascinated her and listening to his stories about having caught many she decided to start a podcast retelling those same stories and all types of others upon her arrival back to Catalina. It started off as a hobby, something to pull her focus away from the grief and towards doing productive. Eventually she started to bring her interests of the supernatural into her podcast as well as homage to the son she had lost who had always believed in the magical wonders of vampires, aliens, and werewolves just like his mother. Her podcast has grown in the years since. She’s no longer a one woman team. She had a co-host, a producer, and at least two million worldwide listeners. Her hobby now has a real chance at becoming an actual career and instead of being excited about it Lia remains frightful. Everything is going well in her life right now but due to the traumas of her past she can’t help but wait for the other shoe to drop. She is so terrified that it’ll happen when she least expects it to happen so she's constantly on guard. With her career and her heart. Ever since losing Milo and finalizing her divorce she keeps most things at an arms length away. Not wanting to get attached or her hopes up in an odd way of ensuring that she wont ever get hurt again.

TRAITS

Positive: Enigmatic | Inquisitive | Resourceful

Negative: Cantankerous | Fickle | Unyielding

Magnolia Lyon is portrayed by Hayley.

[sammythankyou]

Older Jim Mason Blurb

A/N: I was reminiscing about studying abroad in England while watching The Tribes of Palos Verdes a while back. Kinda random.

Pairing: Jim Mason x Female Reader

Warnings: None really

You meet Jim when you are on study abroad in London. Both of you are graduating at the end of the summer from CU Boulder. Jim is getting his bachelor’s in Psychology and Neuroscience. He is starting a master’s program at USC in the fall. Jim wants to be a drug and alcohol counselor.

The first day of class, you meet Jim’s beautiful blue eyes and you know you are lost. He gives you a small smile and takes the seat next to yours. For the rest of the summer the two of you are inseparable. Jim has been clean and sober for almost five years. He is estranged from his parents. When he talks about his twin sister Medina, his eyes shine. Jim tells you she saved his life.

One weekend you take trip to Paris where you wander through the busy streets hand in hand. You check into a small hotel and make love for hours on the cramped bed. Jim takes your breath away. He is sweet and tender, but passionate and completely unselfish. You know you will never meet anyone else like Jim.

Jim misses the ocean so you travel south to Brighton. It is freezing cold, but Jim still takes his shoes and socks off so he can wade in the water.

On the plane back to Colorado, Jim asks you to move to California with him after graduation. You find a tiny apartment near the USC campus. Jim works part time in the campus counseling center. He still goes surfing most mornings.

The two of you celebrate his five years of sobriety with sparkling cider on the beach.

Tagging some people who were nice enough to read my other stuff & a few others...

@venusxxlangdon @lovelylangdonx @sojournmichael @allyadarth @langdons-rep @queencocoakimmie @kaigitana @duranie100theunionofthesnake @sunshinemycat @langdvnshepherd @elena-75s-blog @bbyduncan @rocketgirl2410 @depressedbitch43 @flowing-imagination @witchbloodsworld @napping-is-my-favorite @langdondelrey @lennonlemon @itsnomystery @winxfred @soomishuwu @i-monky @thedeviltohisangel @frogmuttforever @manahime193 @deeppaperbatapricot @kleineshaeschen @bookobsssesed99 @wheredoiwhaaat25 @drama-penguins @dramapenguinthe3rd

[ashbornrp]

name: kathryn marie atkins

age: 33

species: werewolf

occupation: atkins pack leader and adult film star

faceclaim: diane guerrero

biography.

Thick humidity and patches of moss covered her childhood home. It was old, barely standing since it’s purchase in the early 1900s. In Delight, the hottest spot was a run down creek with empty beer bottles tossed between a few reckless teenagers. The small town barely held three hundred in its population. Her father worked in construction while her mother stayed at home to mold her children into model Evangelists. Between double shifts and late nights, Maria wasn’t tending of her children. So long as they remained well-behaved and docile, she didn’t make the effort. Instead, a string of different friends ventured to her room. She never caught their names.

A lover of God and extremely well read, the brunette would remain seated on the front row of service each Sunday. While her brother waved an acceptance letter from Harvard, Kat sat in the Arkansas musk near Wolf Creek with a stolen cigarette. Once Rob left, there wasn’t anyone to guide her. The role of both parent and sibling whisked away on a full ride to become a doctor. She didn’t admit the twinge of jealousy that twisted in her gut. He got to leave, but not many did. Her grades were mediocre in comparison. Everything was. The only way she could thrive past her brother’s shadow was through theater.

Maria hyper focused near the end of high school to ensure her daughter thrived. It was a double edge pressure. Kat would make qualms against her mother’s adultry to get away with what she wanted. Exhausted from the peering looks from her mother and the aggravated tone of her father’s as his greasy hands clenched on his fifth beer, Kathryn gave in. After applying around to different universities, the brunette merely waited on her decision. She was never necessarily passionate about school, despite her academic achievements. The ringing leader was NYU. She decided to take a trip, staying with her brother as he showed her around the campus. It was almost too good to be true - - - away from their soul eating parents, living on their own, and creating a new life for themselves. She accepted the offer. She returned home with a newfound motivation towards high school graduation.

After an after party near the outskirts of town, Kat and her best friend, Roy broke into private property. It was a drunken idea to create crop circles that ended with a bite on her collarbone that began and ended her life as she knew it. The fever set in within hours. The other wolf mauled her best friend, leaving him bleeding out between a bottle of Everclear. Rather than stay by her injured friend, the teenager stumbled drunk through corn husks until authorities stopped her by the main road. She was thrown into a squad car as the investigation continued. Eventually, it was swept under the rug. They all concluded that it was some sort of hog attack, not what it really was.

As the summer drew to a close, Kat settled into an undergraduate degree of pre-med biology. She struggled with her new abilities and kept it a secret from everyone she knew. Her first year at university felt like a hiccup. She finally settled into what her parents wanted, but none of it felt right. In a skew of finding herself, she went out on a limb. Her first job in college was nude photography. It lined her up for other opportunities aside from a wannabe SoHo magazine. The photography was just side money at first. She couldn’t afford her medication through the university insurance, and needed some way to pay for room and board.

It wasn’t until her second semester at NYU that she dropped off the grid completely. She cut off all contact from her parents and anyone back home. Her photography progressed into a career in adult film. It fulfilled the checklist in her life: acting, fame, and money. She bounced between traveling around the nation and keeping up with contract jobs in porn. Bouncing from her girlfriend’s apartment, she hitched a ride with a band. Washable was on the rise, stationed on their second studio album. She bummed in the bus for the second half of their tour before stopping back in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles to New York City, Kat got a taste of what it was like to feel herself. She soon became a pillar in the adult community – striking a name recognizable almost anywhere. Between the twelve hour sets and hectic atmosphere in her friend group, she slowly slipped from recreational to substance abuse. It started off with prescription, popping a few Xans when she was wound tight. Then, it was almost daily. It was an issue well hid even from her current relationship. New York offered more than anything in LA. She kept her head down and worked hard on sets.

In the string of highs and lows, she ended up hooking up with a familiar face from Washable. Rather than keep it casual, it eventually progressed to a full fledged relationship. The star juggled both until one merely favored over the other. As she progressed in the new relationship, so did old demons. He never mentioned her use and she mentioned his. Drinks and pills ran together well until it slipped down the wormhole. Nearing a year celebration of their relationship, Kat fell into heroin. It was cheap and easy to curb stress. It was the high she sought after, warmth gathered in a calm sleep. It should have worked well. She did what she could to hide her use from Jake. It all ended with dead eyes locking as she stretched in a tub. A spoon and a bundle was all the evidence he needed. Rather than confront, he left the apartment with a duffle bag. He was supposed to come back. She focused on the same voicemail for weeks as the come downs were harsher. She couldn’t stop, but the police knocked on her door. His friend, Silas filed a missing persons report. There were never any leads, but vague surveillance footage. It was as if the man simply disappeared.

Dating was scarce and absent. Kathryn struggled with the grasp of her addiction and pushed forward as much as she could to live a sober life. Through the string of a year, she dated a hunter. It ended just as anyone would assume it would, in blood. She buried the body and rushed out of town as soon as she could with her pack. The brunette set sights for Las Vegas. There were no other werewolves in town and she could easily settle into a job in the scene. Her pack slowly grew from two members to four as the years stretched by. Kathryn remains a strong and steady leader, despite her grip on her sobriety. She recently clocked in six years on her sobriety chips and planned to continue forth on her healing. She joined the USC in the past year, focusing her strength on revealing the supernatural to the world. She believed it is what is right for the community as a whole. Not everyone is a monster. She wanted the world to see that first hand.

[hubilucorporation]

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When picking between Off Campus Apartments Near USC and Off Campus Houses For Rent Near USC, consider your budget, lifestyle preferences, and housing requirements. Apartments provide convenience, facilities, and a social environment, whereas houses provide solitude, independence, and larger living spaces. Ultimately, the decision between apartments and homes is based on personal preferences and goals.

Whether you pick off-campus apartments or houses for rent near USC, both options allow students to experience independent living while immersing themselves in the dynamic USC community. By researching available housing alternatives and taking into account your specific needs, you can discover the ideal off-campus accommodation to enrich your college experience and create lasting memories during your time at USC. Hubilu.com aspires to be your ultimate resource for locating the ideal off-campus accommodation near USC. Whether you're looking for flats or houses for rent, our platform has a diverse selection of properties to meet your specific preferences and lifestyle requirements. Trust Hubilu.com to make your housing search easier and enhance your USC experience.

[orionhousing]

Modern Living, Close to Campus: USC Apartments by Orion Housing

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[perdidit-vulpes]

anyways speaking of i don't know exactly what colleges i want to apply to !!

----

My only requirements !!

- Has to offer a physics doctorate

- Can't be in a red state

- Preferably within like. four hours of a coast, I need to be near the coast ;;;

- Bonus points !! if i can get a pet-friendly dorm or apartment without it being really expensive/too far from campus so i can drag a kitty with me <3 bc i refuse to live without one i just HAVEN'T. EVER. and i cld not just. not have a kitty yk

Caltech, CA

- dream uni !! i've been wanting to go here since elementary :D gonna try to work my ass off for that SAT score and the grades and beg and hope and pray <33 the average SAT score is like. 1530-1560 tho so. scary !!

USC, CA

- my second choice... actually... hehe... they offer a lot of courses!! but they're also super selective and i'm kinda scared ngl :'D they're also a very large uni

UCLA, CA (or really any UC school)

- ALSO REALLY SCARY like omg i've been following their instagram for a while and they're scary as shit omfg everyone's so big brain ;;;;

Pepperdine Uni, CA

- I think I have a pretty damn good chance at getting in here !! I'm assuming this will be about where my level is !! it's not super high overachieving but it's also not underselling myself, yk? it's also a medium suburban school so it's hehe <3

UArizona, AZ

- i have a pretty good feeling abt it !! even though it's a very large urban school !!

honorable mention - Georgia Tech, GA (scary big brain, also east coast)

Seattle Pacific, WA

- actually didn't start considering until today... hehe. They'd be my fallback school, since their acceptance rate is 91%, i think i have a good chance here !!

----

I mean. technically I am a gifted kid. I'm in the top 1% nationally. so i don't want to undersell myself. but on the other hand, I'm also a burnt-out autistic gifted kid with adhd that will, under no circumstances, survive a doctorate without accommodations. and it's really common to burn out in highschool !! bc i have no idea how to study and my executive functioning is dogshit. so i could easily lose that top 1% nationally !!

i think it'd be reasonable to assume i'd get between a 1375 and 1450 on the SAT !! which wld be about proportional to my star test scores. honestly... i think i'd get a bit higher than that. since i'm going to take the SAT about... three times? maybe. and i'm going to start studying for it this summer !! unfortunately !! going to be studying for it from the summer before my 10th year to the fall of my 12th year :') i think there's a chance i might be able to hit the lower bar of caltech's average !! maybe it's the gifted kid thing but !! i think i can do it :D

[jeremyknox]

brown stars

Jean had faint memories of France. Of stars glinting on the water at the beach and of being able to go out in the sun as he wished. If he thought hard enough, he could remember a little boy with curly brown hair and red cheeks and brown dots creating patterns on his face and arms.

That little boy looked nothing like Jean, at least not after spending 10 years in the dark underground of Evermore. Instead of freckles, his skin was patterned in bruises and scars. Instead of red cheeks from the sun, he had black and blue eyes from “exy” and red marks from being hit. His hair had even lost most of its life, the curls were almost limp.

And then Renee Walker (and in a way Jeremy Knox) rescued him and he joined the Trojans in Los Angeles. A place where the sun seemed to never stop beating, even through the smog that settled over the city like a heavy blanket.

It took Jean a little while to warm up to Jeremy, but the Raven mentality made it hard for him to be away from Jeremy at the same time. They were living in the dorms for the summer, so Jean didn’t have to be with the Foxes and could get acclimated to the campus, the court, and Jeremy. Which meant that by extension, Jean had to get used to being around Laila and Alvarez as well. They filled his life with color and light, when he’d been so used to being surrounded by black and red.

Jean couldn’t sleep until Jeremy was in the room with him, which was particularly difficult at first because he was used to the Raven’s and their 16 hour days.

“You seem exhausted,” Jeremy had once commented with a worried expression on his face. It was about three days into Jean moving in. He hadn’t spoken much to Jeremy, just existed in the same room as him most days. Their dorm had a balcony and Jean liked to sit on it at nighttime to stare at the stars, or what could be seen of them through the LA smog and lights. Jeremy would come out, wrapped in a blanket and sit silently with him.

Jean shrugged in reply. “I guess.”

“You could nap.”

Jean didn’t know how to tell him he couldn’t unless Jeremy was in the room.

A few minutes later, with Jeremy settled in on the other end of the sofa reading a book, Jean began to doze off. He napped for about an hour, but when Jeremy moved, he sprung awake once more.

Jeremy held out his hands as if to placate. “Sorry sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I just need to go see Coach about something.”

Jean stretched and got up. “I’ll come with you then.”

“You don’t have to,” Jeremy insisted.

Jean stared at the ground. “Please.”

He thought maybe that was the moment that Jeremy finally understood that Jean didn’t want to be alone, even if he didn’t talk much. A few days later, Jeremy admitted to calling up Kevin and forcing details out of him. Details regarding the Ravens traveling in pairs and having 16 hour days. Jeremy never left him alone again, not until Jean was ready.

Eventually, the attachment was less about feeling like a Raven and more about actually genuinely liking Jeremy Knox. Jeremy was a disaster waiting to happen at all times. He wore tank tops that showed off his tanned shoulders, he ate way too many sweets for someone so fit, and Jean was just waiting for the moment his flip flop got caught on something and he stumbled. He juxtaposed Jean’s closed of demeanor and yet knew exactly when to be silent, when to leave Jean be, and when to turn on the lights to reveal that Jean was not in Evermore after a nightmare.

Jeremy was the perfect friend for Jean.

For the first time in 10 years, Jean had his hair cut professionally. Jeremy went with him of course, driving him to the barbershop in his perfectly ridiculous yellow car covered in USC Trojans bumped stickers. Jean was nervous to let anywhere near him with scissors but he also wouldn’t trust Jeremy near him with buzzers if his life depended on it. So they went and got their haircuts in chairs next to one another. When they left, Jean’s hair felt curly again.

Jean ran his hand through it in awe and when he looked at Jeremy, he was watching him and smiled in a fond way. “It’s amazing what scissors and buzzers in the hand of a professional can do.”

They sat on the balcony more frequently now, even in the sun. After a few weeks around Jeremy, Jean felt comfortable enough to show his arms. But only around his roommate. The first time he’d done it, Jeremy had just stared at the scars on his body. Most of them were on his torso, but some ran up his arms, scars that he’d put there himself and scars from being tied down by Riko. When he caught himself staring, Jeremy had apologized again and again and Jean found himself reaching out to Jeremy, the first physical contact he’d ever initiated.

“It’s okay, they’re shocking.”

So Jeremy cut up some USC shirts and though Jean’s only short sleeved shirts boasted his new team name, he proudly wore them around the home. As they sat in the sun, Jean’s pale skin only at first burned which Jeremy teased him for relentlessly. But as the redness settled, his skin began to darken and he thought maybe, just maybe, he was starting to resemble that little boy with freckles once more.

Jean had begun to trust Laila and Alvarez more, though not with his secrets. They were staying nearby, not wanting to spend the summer apart, and they often showed up without warning at the boy’s dorm room. Jean always made sure to keep covered around them, something they noticed.

Alvarez finally broke at the beach one day. They were all sitting on the blanket Jeremy had provided, and Jean was wearing a long sleeved swim shirt. “Hey Jean, why do you wear long sleeves all the time?”

Jean was shocked to feel Jeremy’s hand find his and he squeezed it reassuringly. “I’m not comfortable showing off my damages just yet.”

Alvarez looked like she wanted to know more, but Laila nudged her in the ribs and she took the hint.

Later that night, Jeremy sat on the edge of Jean’s bed. “You can trust them, you know.”

Jean had no doubt who he was talking about. “I’m learning.”

About a week later, the girls showed up unexpectedly once more. This time, Jean opened the door wearing only his tank top and sweatpants. The next time they went to the beach, it was a private one, with no one around. Jean shyly took off his swim shirt with encouragement from his friends and swam in the ocean.

Sometime in the middle of the summer, Jean looked at himself in the mirror and was surprised to see a smattering of freckles on his face. He didn’t tend to look at himself much, so he took the time to really examine his own reflection. His cheeks, once very hollow, were rounding out a little. His hair was curly and a bit shaggy. The hateful number 3 was still on his cheek, but it was now nestled in tiny little brown marks.

The end of summer was spent getting to know Jeremy more and more. Jean didn’t know what it was like to have a friend, let alone four (counting Renee), but he knew Jeremy was the most special person to have come into his life in a very long time. They often shared a blanket at night when they lay on the balcony. The stars were almost impossible to see thanks to light pollution and smog, but Jean liked what he could see nonetheless. It was more than he’d seen in 10 years.

One night, Jeremy took Jean out into the desert, to really see the stars. They lay on a blanket and looked up at the stars together. Eventually, Jean’s hand found Jeremy’s and they didn’t part until Jeremy had begun to get tired and they needed to go home.

When they did, Jean sighed. Laila and Alvarez had been over earlier and insisted on making a blanket fort. All of Jean and Jeremy’s bed supplies were in the living room.

“I’m too tired to deal with that,” Jean said, pointing at the monstrosity.

Jeremy yawned. “We could just sleep in there.”

Which is how Jean found himself in his pajama pants, laying next to a shirtless Jeremy. His roommate looked beautiful in his sleep.

The next morning, Jean got up to brew coffee while Jeremy slept. When he came back with the two steaming mugs, Jeremy sat up in the fort with a smile. They spent the day in there, watching movies that Jean had never seen. At one point, he caught the other boy staring at him, but he couldn’t fathom why.

“It’s just that…” Jeremy paused and bit his lip. “Did you know you have freckles all over your shoulders now? And your back… and your chest.”

Jean looked down and smiled. Usually he looked down and saw muscles covered in scars and bruises. But the summer with Jeremy had changed him. His skin was just a bit tanned, but freckles had began to pain patterns all over him once more, just like that little boy in France.

“They’re like stars,” Jeremy told him. “I think I could find constellations in them.”

Jean got up and rummaged around Jeremy’s desk for a sharpie. He came back to the tent and gave his roommate a sheepish smile. “So find them.”

And they spent the evening laying in that stupid blanket fort, listening to music while Jeremy drew constellations on Jean. He gave them silly names, finding new shapes as he went. When he finished, he lay back to survey his handiwork. Jean felt self conscious as Jeremy’s eyes roamed over his body, but he looked down to inspect the ones he could see.

One looked like two horribly put together stick figures, holding hands. “What do you call this one?”

Jeremy blushed. “Hope.”

[driverdefens]

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[origetlopez]

DISCLAIMER: Triggering themes below. Content delves into issues of sexual assault and suicide. If these subject matters are unsettling for you, please please please please do not proceed with reading. Thank you. 9 Years Ago — Post Gymnastic’s Injury “Siempre serás mi hermana.” Marisol said when she started to get up from the edge of the hospital bed. Her smile had a way of shimmering brighter than light itself, and positivity radiated from her like the warmth of the sun. Even amidst the cold reality that Orianna’s future was in complete disarray, it was her little sister who gave her the slightest glimmer of hope. She was the only one thus far who consoled Ori since the accident and the surgery, or at least, attempt it. There wasn't any wonder why her sister was the jewel of the Lopez family. Her kindness shined as much as her beauty did. She was innocent and sweet, yet so incredibly brilliant in every way. She was a promising young woman in the making. Orianna never showed her twinge of jealousy about her little sister’s perfection out loud, but she admired Marisol for it as well. Especially in a time like this. Marisol was the only family member that Orianna felt close to, and her little sister praised her when no one else would. Orianna was never going to be enough for their father or mother, but she would be enough for Mari. It was her encouragement that Orianna was able to recover after her accident. She may have lost her shot at the Olympics for good, but at least she still had her little sister with her every step of the way. 6 Years Ago — Sophomore Year at USC; Night of the Party “Come on, Ori! You should come out tonight, you’re always studying!” Marisol said with a pout afterward. As if that pout would make her cute after pointing out Orianna’s lack of social interaction on the USC campus. The eldest Lopez sister turned her head in Marisol’s direction with narrowing eyes. “Don’t think for a second that pout makes you cute for saying that,” She said, continuing, “…and I go out!” Orianna defended, even if that wasn’t entirely true. Since the accident, Orianna still had a lot on her mind, including school. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be here. The only reason she enjoyed living near campus was so that she didn’t have to live at home. However, their parents were still nearby, , of course, . Their father lingering not too far to make sure his money that was spent on their education was put to good use. All this education, and for what, the hopes of getting a semi-decent job to please their father? It is not that Orianna did not want to go out, but she had a lot on her mind. Besides, she hung out with her sister’s friends a majority of the time. It was not a bad thing as the sisters were close in age. Ori had always been wrapped up in gymnastics, whereas Mari had freedom and became more of a social butterfly. As always, Marisol thrived. “So, come out tonight! You have no excuse not to!” Marisol argued, then used her cute sister charm once again as she came and wrapped her arms around her big sister’s shoulders. Clinging onto her and squeezing her tightly while adding, “Plus, I need mi hermana with me to celebrate my new single life!” On that special mention, Ori did a slight roll of her eyes. Not because she was annoyed with her sister, but because the mere mention of Marisol’s ex made her skin crawl. He was that stereotypical captain of the football team who was arrogant and controlling, yet his boyish looks and charm made most people blindsided by his true nature. He wasn’t a good guy as everyone believed him to be. Orianna saw the way she treated Marisol, and luckily, she helped get her sister out of that relationship before it went south. Still, the thought of him brought out the inner disgust in Ori before she laughed it off. “We celebrated that two nights ago. And as much as I love celebrating that fact — I also have a paper due.” That was a lie. Her paper wasn’t due for another week, but Orianna didn’t want to go out tonight. She needed an excuse, and the best way out of it was to use their father. At least that was something that Marisol couldn’t argue against. She knew how their father was, “I need to focus. Otherwise, our father will have another reason to be disappointed.” Patting her sister’s arm to let go of her, Marisol gave a sigh and another pout, only this time more defeated. Ori had won the battle against going out. “Tell me how the party is! And be safe!” Orianna emphasized one more time, getting an annoyed I will as a response. Orianna didn’t know it back then, but that was the last time she was going to see that glimmer of hope from her sister. That glowing warmth, or that sun-filled smile. The moment Marisol walked out that door, she was gone for good. Still 6 Years Ago — Post Party, Day Later “Mari! Get your ass up! You’re gonna be late!” Orianna shouted from the other side of the door. It wasn’t like her little sister be cooped up in her room for a day. Unless maybe she was sick. Even then, Marisol would put on a whole show on the couch. Making sure Orianna saw a display of her lack of wellness. Marisol also rarely missed class, and it was completely unusual. The unsettling feeling that something was wrong began to build in Ori’s stomach. At the same time, she continued to act as an older sister would in this scenario. “I’m coming in there. You better be dying or rushing to get ready!” Orianna announced as she opened the door to her sister’s room, setting eyes on her for the first time since she left for the party. Her sister was still in the same cute outfit that she wore to the party the other night. The only difference was that it looked tattered and worn. Almost like it had been through the wringer. Her makeup smeared, and she almost laid on her bed as stiff as a cold body. For a second, Ori thought she could have sworn that she wasn’t breathing if it hadn’t been for the soft choking back of tears that happened a few seconds after Orianna barged in. The look of a teasing older sister immediately fell from Ori’s face as she became scared and confused at the sight of Marisol. “Mari,” Orianna said with a rising alarm, moving to her sister’s bedside. Her hand came to the top of her head delicately. Almost afraid if she pressed too hard, she would smoosh a flower. Her other hand just barely touched Mari’s arm when her little sister shook and shivered at the feeling. Never would Orianna expect her sister to react that way to a loving touch from a family member. The reaction encouraged Orianna to continuously be gentle as she investigated what was wrong with her. “What happened?” Ori asked, and there was a distant, lost look in Mari’s eyes. It was dark in them, and they grew darker as her broken lips uttered every women's worst nightmare. 5 Years Ago — Apartment “You can’t ask me or Mari to go back there! He is still at that school! They’re sitting on their asses doing absolutely nothing while he is still winning them goddamn trophies and being their poster boy!” Orianna voiced loudly into her phone against her father as she approached the apartment door. She worried less about struggling with the bags in her hands and more about making a point to her father. “Look, Mari already dropped out. I plan to do the same—“ The moment she said those words, Ori could hear her father’s voice rising on the other end. Her mother was in the background, attempting to calm him down, but there was no use. At this point, Orianna had failed her father for the second time. Leaving school because of what happened to Marisol was not a good enough reason. Meanwhile, someone had to take care of Mari. She wasn’t herself anymore. “Cuuurrrkshhhh oh no, I think we’re breaking up! Gotta go, bye!” Orianna obnoxiously pretended that the call was being disrupted before abruptly disconnecting on them. Her frustration had the better of her, and she didn’t want to deal with her father trying to control the situation. Orianna dropped the bags near the counter and kicked closed the door. With a heavy sigh, she put her phone down on the counter. In that brief pause, Orianna heard the music playing in the background. It was just as loud and annoying as the phone call had been, and Ori needed just a moment of peace. At least to clear her head from all of the thoughts running inside of it. “Mari! I’m back ... can you turn that down, please?” She said with a heavy sigh as she started to relocate the bags to the kitchen. There was no response. “Mari! Turn it down!” She called out again when she set the bags down once more, this time on the kitchen table. She tucked her ebony hair behind her ear, starting to sort through and organize the groceries when she saw it. Another one. Social media hate, staring at her from an open laptop. Ever since Mari accused him, she received bullying messages, calling her a liar. All defending his honor and not caring how he violated her sister’s. It pissed Ori off even more than she already was. She was about to shout again when suddenly, the song that had been blasting in the background was repeating itself, leading Ori to pause. “Mari?” She called out again, this time taking her hands out of the bags completely, her head and eyes turned in the direction of the hallway leading to the bathroom where the noise was coming from. Orianna couldn’t begin to explain it. Only that at that moment, she had this unease come over her like a tidal wave. Her movements seemed so slow, worrying about what she might find again when she came across her sister this time. The vibe itself felt so off, almost eerie, as she neared the bathroom door. It was completely shut, but there was nothing but the sound of the music blasting inside. When she finally reached the door, Ori pressed her ear against the side of it to listen to other sounds apart from the music. There was nothing. No water-running, no sound of a toothbrush swishing against that perfect smile, no hairdryer-blowing against the same ebony hair. A dead silence hid in the noise. Orianna didn’t ask one more time for her sister. This time her hand, twisted the doorknob and gently pushed the door open. Marisol lay in the bathroom tub. A deep slit from the wrist and up the middle of her forearm on both arms. The red-stained water barely reached the top of the tub. Orianna went into two different modes: action and panic. First, Ori focused on getting her sister out of the bathtub. Then, trying to get her to wake up. A mix of tears and fear at the little response she was getting. At a time like that, it is hard to think about the right things to do. “Mari? Oh my god, Mari no, no.” Orianna began, her brown eyes filling with the realization of the truth in front of her before her heart and mind could comprehend it. She squeezed her sister close to her. Uncaring that her clothes were getting soaked from the red-stained water and blood pooled on the floor. Her hands tried to stop it against Marisol’s wrists, but it was no use. The reality was sinking in, and Ori was at a loss. Her head pulled up, and she started screaming for help. Not that anyone could hear her pain over the music, and by then, it was already too late. Orianna had always been too late. 5 Years Ago — Vegas Bound “Don’t blame yourself,” They said, “…you have to let it go.” Shortly after the funeral, everyone was asking Orianna when she would return to school, or life basically. For everyone else, it seemed so easy. All of their friends, minus Leti continued to carry on. He continued to succeed at school. Meanwhile, Orianna was stuck. No urge to go back. No will to continue on the hopeful path that her sister inspired her to have. Orianna wanted to get away from everything, and everyone. There was no more hope for her here. Marisol was supposed to be the promising young woman. Though within months, she was forgotten by most. Orianna didn’t want to be that. She needed to make something of herself so That is when Orianna took her sabbatical. She packed her things and moved to Las Vegas. She was twenty years old. Marisol was eighteen when she took her life. Call it survivors guilt, but if Orianna had only gone with her that night, maybe things would be different. It was up to Orianna to do something with her life. To prove her worth, to make an impact in some way, to make noise when others refused to listen and to stand for something. It wouldn’t be done perfectly, though it would be done her way. Orianna forced herself to take the leap and become stronger, not just for herself, but for Marisol too. “Siempre serás mi hermana.” Ori said one last time at her sister's gravesite before leaving for Las Vegas. She left behind a bouquet of red roses for her. It would now be Orianna's turn to become the promising young woman for the both of them.