#nicole dex

[kingkenzieofmold]

The fully body concept redesigns of the Dex Sisters + all of their previous designs! These designs are all created with their canon story in mind ‘The Dex Dynasty’! I hope you enjoy!<3

[androidcharles]

I wanted to draw batches of OCs! Interacting with Amelia of course.

The first pic is Amelia turning down Nicole's offer from the fan art howler drew a while back. The second pic is Amelia helping Ezhno with organizing some top secret files and the third pic is Jay talking about stuff with Amelia... who knows what kind of stuff XD

Nicole Dex belongs to @howlerlight Ezhno Nies belongs to @dark-twist-fairytales Jay Benson belongs to @jaytoons7

[candikin]

How Would Lexi Act Towards Your OC, Part 3

For some reason my camera has been acting up so I can't post art without it being really shit quality so I'm deciding to make a part 3

______________________________________________________________

Princess Takeshi Ishikawa (@lovelygirlnicole15)

Lexi would get along with her. She wouldn't hang out with Takeshi as much as Takeshi is royalty and Lexi would feel inferior compared to her, Lexi does understand a little bit of japanese so that would probably help (since Mr Sir really wanted Lexi to know every language, which did not work but still). She wouldn't get jealous of Takeshi being a elite member at day one, since Lexi became the Right Hand Lady for her own Terrence at day one

Hazel Dex (@howlerlight)

Lexi would seem interested in knowing Hazel, but she wouldn't try too due to some certain incidents with engineers (and also the fact that Lexi doesn't get along with Hazel's sisters)...

Nicole Dex (@howlerlight)

Lexi would try to avoid her at all costs, she has nothing super against her but the CCC stuff is... well, it's scaring Lexi like crazy. Lexi might assume Nicole is trying to kill her if Nicole ever approaches her though

Jane Dex (@howlerlight)

Lexi wouldn't try to kill her, that's a dumb move since Jane's a sniper. Lexi wouldn't like her though, and might make fun of Jane. Lexi also might purposely try to get Jane to aim at her, then get Jane to miss

Cael Summers (@the-irken-pony)

Lexi would feel bad about Cael, and might try to find a way to talk to Cael by disguising as a Wall employee (though that might be hard... since most of the Wall employees know about Lexi due to her working there before). Lexi might be a tad pissed at them though, for obvious reasons

Traci Wells (@the-irken-pony)

Lexi would be AFRAID of her. She wouldn't dare cross her. Lexi isn't a big fan of any CCC member, even if they don't follow every rule of the CCC. Lexi might warm up to Traci, but it will take a long while

Mimi Floris (@m1mk1d)

She might get along with her. She will definitely question Mimi's taste, but eh Lexi knows it's not her business. Mimi will have to prepare herself for Lexi to heavily trauma dump on her if they hang out a lot

[dark-twist-fairytales]

Tired gurl hours.

Honestly, I wanted a little bit of practice with multiple body's again, and these three sisters were perfect for the test.

All three, Jane, Hazel, and Nicole Dex, all belong to @howlerlight ! Go check out their amazing work!

[kingkenzieofmold]

I thought long about this one*looks at resident evil au*

Hazel as a scientist would end up infected instantly or killed by other means. Sadly I love her but she not making it the first 24 hours.

Nicole survivors for a long while before other survivors take her out.

Jane would live and would not stop. She would only die via sacrificing herself to save people. She won’t allow any inflection to take hold.

Casper and Emma would bunker down in there home before eventually it being over run. I believe Emma would survive barely but Casper would die.

Henry stickmin fandom I gotta question-

A OC RELATED QUESTION-!!!

I have seen too many of those darn honse Aus and it gave me a idea for a question-

If your Ocs were in a zombie style apocalypse!

Then- who out of “em would be a survivor or an infected-? And why-?

How well do they survive and do they group up with others to do so-?

I dunno why I thought this was a fun idea but-

lol-

[annashadowstar]

Happy Birthday to Kai! Even though she wasn't shown that much I still love my little witch! Now, here are some fun facts about her! Some might be shocking~

Fun facts about Kai Kai likes to make potions whenever she has time. Since Kai can talk to animals, she's having difficulty sleeping if an animal is Nocturnal(Animals that sleep during the day and hunt at night. Take an owl for example.) Kai is the guardian of the forest and will protect every single animal no matter what. If you know Kai, she is a bit cold-hearted with strangers BUT, she's actually a bit childish. Kai likes to use her staff and fly around the forest for fun. The reason why Kai is a bit cold-hearted is because of people killing her mom, Wisteria, the woman who actually cared for and raised her. The only person she trusts outside the forest is Nicole(@lovelygirlnicole15). Kai knows every magic in the world and knows how to perform every single one of them.

In Glay Au, Kai is really protective of Glay, since she doesn't want to let someone she cares about die again. (Even though Glay is already dead...)

That’s all I could give her… Happy Birthday to this cute little witch!

[kingkenzieofmold]

Emma - 5’ 6”

Casper - 6’ 2”

Hazel - 6’ 1”

Nicole - 5’ 7”

Jane - 5’ 5”

Kenzie - 5’ 5”

I think that’s all of them<3

Quick, hand me y'all oc's heights. I'm doing a comparison–

[kingkenzieofmold]

Hazel Dex concept art with most votes for option 3!

Nicole Dex concept art, she changed the least!

Jane Dex concept art, her outfit is her causal one! Not too big on her scars but let me know thoughts on it!

[pocritics]

Duquesa - Taurus, Vol. 2 (2024)

Ela (Intro) - 90/100

Turma da Duq - 95/100

Big D!!!!! Pt. 2 - 100/100

Milionário e José Rico (feat. Jovem Dex) - 75/100

Tá Eu e a Nicole - 97/100

Primeiro de Maio (Gostosas Inteligentes) - 85/100

Disk P@#S%&! (feat. Tasha & Tracie) - 88/100

Vermelho e Preto - 78/100

Banco do Carona (feat. Baco Exu do Blues) - 70/100

Só um Flerte - 80/100

Purple Rain (feat. Yunk Vino) - 93/100

Voo 1360 - 96/100

Pose (feat. Urias) - 80/100

Nota: 86/100 Best Track: Big D!!!!! Pt. 2

[dark-twist-fairytales]

"Let's true to avoid.. That next time.. Whatever did happen.."

"Yes, Mx. Dex.."

--

Woop woop! Here we are! There is a bit of a backstory for this one (was literally thinking of drawing it for about three hours while making dinner) But before that:

Hazel, Nicole, and Jane Dex all belong to the wonderful @howlerlight !

Ezhno belongs to me

Under the cut is a little story of what was happening! Enjoy!

~~

Giving a quiet sigh, Ezhno pulled the strap of the bag further onto his shoulder as he walked up to the door. This wasn't a normal visit, however, not one that was the cheerful side of it. Guilt consumed the male as he made it to the door. Using his left, and only, hand, he knocked on the door and quickly regarded the bag before it fell off his arm and further damaged the contents.

A few seconds, the door opened. He was greeted face-to-face with none other than Mx. Nicole Dex. His gaze quickly fell to the floor as he was let inside, spotting Hazel sitting at a desk, and Jane standing right beside her. His gaze only went up enough to spot the body of Jane, and seeing Hazel's frizzy, blue hair, before it fell again and he held the bag out.

"I... I messed up.." His voice came out, just barely loud enough for the three sisters to hear. Jane and Hazel glanced to each other, before Jane reached out and grabbed the zip-up bag from Ezhno's hand, setting it down in front of Hazel on the desk. The remaining three waited in silence, as Hazel opened up the bag and pulled out the severely damaged, brightly colored prosthetic.

"How did that happen?" Nicole asked, already knowing it was on the other two's minds as well. Managing to get Ezhno to look at them rather than the damaged prosthetic, Ezhno began to talk:

"My anger got the best of me.. I.. I don't remember, but..." Ezhno trailed off, glancing to the busted prosthetic and frowning, turning back to Nicole's general direction instead. "It's like I blacked out.. I came to, and.. It was busted.. Nearly off my arm.."

"Well, let's try to avoid.. That next time.. Whatever did happen.." Nicole responded, offering her hands to Ezhno, but upon seeing him close himself off more, seemingly out of fear of hurt her, they backed off enough to get Ezhno comfortable again. "Yes, Mx. Dex.."

[lovelygirlnicole15]

OMG YAY!!! YOUR TIME AS COME TERRY!!!

Also omg Nicole finally made a cameo yay!!

I can't wait for next pages!!

It’s time….

Scottie Anderson, Jay Benson, and Crusher belongs to @jaytoons7

The Music Enforcers belong to @bluetorchsky

Enizo belongs to @dark-twist-fairytales

Amelia belongs to @androidcharles

Morgana and Brutus belong to @smoresthehalloweenqueen

Cameron belongs to @rarestdoge

Nicole belongs to @lovelygirlnicole15

Emma belongs to @kingkenzieofmold

(THIS IS IT THE TIME HAS COME!! The next few pages will take a WHILE cause its an estimate of 40 pages DIGITAL!!)

( 🌟 THE TIME HAS COME! 🌟 )

[mattapparentlystumbltourneys]

BRACKET REVEAL

Alright. At long last, I present to you the bracket...or should I say...*BRACKETS* for the Virtual Character Tournament!

Given the scale, the first round is going to be one bracket per week, 4 a day, with each lasting 24 hours. I know that this is still tight, but given how many contestants there are, along with the necessary inclusions of images and propaganda (oh and I guess also my job), it's what I can do to keep this semi-manageable. There's also no redemption round this time. It's gonna be a single elimination tournament. Be kind to your peers. This is not but a drop in the infinite ocean of the internet.

...oh yeah the brackets themselves. We'll be going in order over the course of 4 weeks. I'll make proper announcements for them as they commence. Given how many there are and what I want to get done beforehand, Bracket 1 will likely begin some time this week. But for the matchups...

Bracket 1:

Hatsune Miku (Vocaloid) vs. Elohim (The Talos Principle)

Flame (Yu-Gi-Oh! VRains) vs. The Supervisor/Mouthless (Tenkuu Shinpan)

XANA (Code Lyoko) vs. MetalMan.EXE (Mega Man Battle Network)

9-Jack-9 (Zot!) vs Poppy Pipopapo (Kamen Rider Ex Aid)

Sage (Sonic Frontiers) vs Mektryllis (Fate/Extra CCC)

Dot Matrix (Reboot) vs V Flower (Vocaloid)

Wizardmon (Digimon) vs Delta (Red Vs. Blue)

Sora (Ever17) vs Kasane Teto (UTAU)

The Doctor/EMH (Star Trek Voyager) vs Crash (Awful Hospital)

Burroughs (Shin Megami Tensei IV) vs Quorra (Tron Legacy)

The Machine (Person of Interest) vs The Rocket Dex (Pokemon)

P03 (Inscription) vs. M.X.E.S (FNAF Security Breach: Ruins)

Hakuno Kishinami (Fate/EXTRA) vs Data Riku (Kingdom Hearts)

Samaritan (Person of Interest) vs ART (The Murderbot Diaries)

Cortana (Halo) vs M-Bot (Skyward)

Mitsuko Miyazumi (Archer) vs Ritsu (Assassination Classroom)

Bracket B:

Ene (Kagerou Project) vs The Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe)

Amadeus (Steins; Gate 0) vs D.O.M (The Adventure Zone)

AM (I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream) vs Theo (Meta Runner)

Colonel.EXE (Mega Man Battle Network) vs Daia (Kiratto PriChan)

Agumon (Digimon) vs The Bobbiedots (FNAF Fazbear Frights)

Felix the Desktop Cat (Real Life) vs SHODAN (System Shock)

MegaMan.EXE (Mega Man Battle Network) vs Church (Red vs. Blue)

Shepherd (ENA) vs Dr. Coomer (Half Life VR But the AI is Self-Aware)

Sophie/Sophia (Persona 5 Strikers) vs Dizzy (Beyblade)

Miss J/SCP 5094 (SCP) vs Ultraman X (Ultraman X)

SAYU (No Straight Roads) vs Falulu (Pripara)

Incarceron (Incarceron) vs Benry (Half Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware)

Lea (Crosscode) vs Kiracchu (Kiratto PriChan)

Dragon (Prahumans) vs Murder-Bot 2.0 (The Murderbot Diaries)

Ai (Yu-Gi-Oh! VRains) vs Glitch Slime (Slime Rancher)

Eris (Wolf 359) vs Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club)

Bracket III:

Hera (Wolf 359) vs Shin AI (Your Turn to Die)

Alba (Star Twinkle Pretty Cure) vs The Denpa Men (The Denpa Men)

Guy (Free Guy) vs EDI (Mass Effect)

Aetna (Lore Olympus) vs Yui (Sword Art Online)

Nicole the Holo-Lynx (Archie Sonic) vs Gabumon (Digimon)

Jacqueline Box (Pripara) vs Mamechi (Tamagotchi)

Vanellope von Shweetz (Wreck-It Ralph) vs Cleverbot (Real Life)

The Phantom Virus (Scooby-Doo) vs Chiaki Nanami (Danganronpa)

Alter Ego (Danganronpa) vs Digit (Cyberchase)

Simulcast (Reflection TTRPG) vs SARA (Toonami)

Lumina Ichihoshi (Dig Delight Direct Drive DJ) vs The World Machine (OneShot)

Rumble McSkirmish (Gravity Falls) vs Holly (Red Dwarf)

HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey) vs Samantha (Her)

PAMA (Minecraft Story Mode) vs Noah Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

Agent Smith (The Matrix) vs O.R.C.A (Splatoon)

Spunc (Alpha Betas) vs Porygon (Pokemon)

Bracket Delta:

GIFanny (Gravity Falls) vs Coco (Aikatsu Friends)

Vic Fontaine (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) vs Red One (The Last Angel)

Glitchtrap (FNAF Help Wanted) vs Holo (My Holo Love)

Avina (Mass Effect) vs Light Hope (She-Ra)

Motherboard (Cyberchase) vs Aya (Green Lantern: The Animated Series)

Bonzi Buddy (Real Life) vs Tama (AI The Somnium Files)

Dragon (Worm) vs Bip (Runway to the Stars)

Failsafe (Destiny) vs J.A.R.V.I.S (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Aiba (AI: The Somnium Files) vs CanHaz (DC Comics)

SAYER (SAYER) vs Fey (Welcome to Night Vale)

Buddy (Buddy Simulator 1984) vs Ziggy (Quantum Leap)

Maggy (Hellspark) vs The Squip (Be More Chill)

Lyla (Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse) vs Durandal (Marathon)

Beta Jay 137 (Ninjago) vs Zero III (Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward)

Sergey Ushanka (The Magnus Archines) vs Demetra (Spy Kids 3: GAME OVER)

Alie (The 100) vs Lil' Hal (Homestuck)

As always, thank you for bearing with me during this long and arduous process. Sorry for the hassle, and be prepared, as it is almost upon us.

[sleepysystem-blog]

yo. we're the SleepySystem (or Hellbender System). we don't use emoji combos but instead do name signoffs. our main blog is @punchdrunkklovesickk/@hazy-moonchild. the directory for individual alter sideblogs is @sleepysys-directory. please do not ask or assume our stance on syscourse; its incredibly unproductive, encourages oversharing about private system info, and invites harassment from either side of the discourse.

apologies if we come across as mean as well, we tend to be incredibly blunt, especially when we're in a bad mood. (also please do not use typing quirks around us or on replies/reblogs to our posts. while we are fortunate enough to not be impacted in the same way as others, typing quirks do still make text unreadable to us.)

(scenesystuff)

(sysboxes-of-the-soul)

(chaoscouncilcreaturecorner)

(will update with credits)

(syspport)

the alters posting here (and are comfy with being listed) are below the cut, as follows:

Chris (host, he/they)

Alters without a sideblog:

Aigis (she/her)

Dex (they/he)

Fiona (she/her)

Mick (he/its/vie)

Nina (they/she)

Nicole (any)

Veronica (she/star - no they/them ever)

"Z" (it/she, no they)

Zoey (she/her)

Alters with their own sideblogs:

Cory (they/them)

Dave (no pronouns, he/him only if needed)

Jeff (he/its/no pronouns)

Julian (he/hie/hym/him)

Lyle (they/she/he)

Mason (it/they)

Will (he/mirror pronouns)

Zach (he/him)

this list is subject to change.

[nicolettecallednikki]

Not sure why I wrote this since I LOVE Steven and Taylor this season, but here's a fic about what might've happened behind the scenes last year leading up to their hook up at Nicole's party.

Sorry about the weird formatting.

Last Summer

Taylor Jewel and Steven Conklin don't exactly run in the same circles. He's a sophomore, and she's a freshman, not to mention his little sister's best friend, but for sure some reason he can't stop running into her at parties.

At first, he doesn't do anything about it. It's not his business, and if anything, he should just be glad that Belly isn't with her, but then he sees some guy- maybe a senior?- pawing at her, and, God, Taylor is such a shrimp. She barely came up to the kid's elbow, and that was with him- Steven didn't recognize him, but he had to be, like, a basketball player- basically holding her up, she was so wasted. So, he intervened.

"God, Steven," she huffed when he succeeding in practically dragging her to his car, "I'm not like Belly, y'know, I don't need a babysitter."

"Noted," he nodded reached over her to attached her seatbelt, when she didn't do it herself.

She's right, and he knows it. She was there with a group of- equally scantily clad- younger girls, she was clearly having a good time, and he had no real reason for pulling her away from Dex- that was the giant's name, and up close he was only a really big sophomore himself. As it turned out, Steven did know him, he'd let him copy his English homework throughout the eighth grade and Dex was happy to give up Taylor when asked, which was lucky, because he hadn't had a plan for if the guy had put up a fight.

After an initial struggle, Taylor had gone semi-willingly, not wanting to cause a scene, and for the thousandth time that night he was thankful she wasn't Belly, who surely would've thrown a fit.

Stretched over her, seatbelt in hand, Steven, totally involuntarily, caught a whiff of her hair.

Her shampoo smelled like strawberries, he noted with surprise. Most girls- Tania, who he'd just been kissing included- preferred coconut, but Taylor's hair smelled like strawberries, and Steven smiled and inhaled again. He loved strawberry; if it was socially acceptable for him to be using strawberry scented shampoo, he would.

"Steven, you weirdo," Taylor laughed, "Did you just sniff me?"

"No," Steven coughed, "Why would I do that? Your belt's just stuck."

"I dunno- maybe 'cause you love strawberries," Taylor giggled and added in a voice so quiet, he almost didn't hear it, "Maybe that's why I use this shampoo."

He buckled her and quickly took his seat. He stared at her for a moment; her eyes were trained out the window and she bit her lip, refusing to look at him. He drove her home without comment, but from them on he swore he smelled extra strawberry scents coming from Belly's room every time she was around.

--------------------------------------------------------------

At first Steven thought it was odd that Taylor was at every party he made it to- he wasn't a big party guy, he saved that for the summer when he didn't have school to worry about- but apparently it was less of a coincidence and more due to the fact that Taylor was just... at every party.

He knew her home life was shaky and he seriously doubted her parents checked her location like his did, but still, he thought it was odd how he'd see her on the couch with Belly at his house one minute and an hour later she'd be at a party, already a few drinks in. He was glad she didn't have a car, at least, and her older cousin had a lot of the parties anyway, so he assumed Taylor spent the night there, but sometimes he wondered how she got home from these things. Running from the cops with her friends was one thing, but running all the way home was another entirely. And who were these friends she was partying with? These weren't the girls Belly talked about from school, the nice girls on their volleyball team.

He hadn't meant for it to happen like it did- he hadn't meant for it to happen at all. Now she was a sophomore, almost 16, which seemed to make it better, but she was still Belly's best friend, and more than that- worse than that- he had a sneaking suspicion this meant more to her than it did to him. Still, even with the best of intentions, he was just a stupid teenage boy.

"Are you ever going to kiss me?" Taylor asked with a pout, from her perch on his lap. They were sitting on a lawn chair, next to a fire pit, and his friends on either side of him laughed.

"Excuse me?" he raised an eyebrow and it practically disappeared into his hairline.

"You heard me, Conklin," she looked around at the group, "If I was in your lap, you'd kiss me, right, Spike?"

"I'd do more than that, Jewel," the boy replied suggestively, and Taylor felt Steven's grip on her hip tighten imperceptibly.

"Let me up," she smacked his bicep, making little effort to actually stand, "Just because you don't want to have any fun, doesn't mean I can't."

He hadn't come out that night intending to kiss Taylor Jewel, but once he started, he couldn't seem to stop.

His friends whooped and hollered around them, mostly shouts of "Finally", and he could've swore he saw an exchange of money as if there'd been a bet about all this, but Steven turned over his overacting brain for once and just enjoyed himself.

It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving break, he was ahead on all of his assignments, he had a little beer buzz going, and he had a cute girl wrapped around him- he wasn't about to stop just because they had a bit of an audience. If it didn't bother Taylor- and if he knew her, it didn't- it didn't bother him. In the recesses of his mind he wondered vaguely if Belly would hear about this, but it was a small party and by the time they got back to school on Monday, he was sure no one would care. Plus, seeing Taylor hooking up was not exactly breaking news at this point, and he doubted anyone would make the connection between him and her and Belly.

Likewise, Taylor's mind was racing, but the boy in front of her smelled of clean soap and the air around them smelled of stale beer and fire pit smoke, so she pushed any thoughts out of her mind and sank deeper into him- the only boy who didn't chase her, the only boy who'd never call her Jewel. The only boy she ever wanted to.

--------------------------------------------------------------

A rare occasion Belly actually came out for was Taylor's birthday. Whichever of the volleyball girls had the biggest house hosted, and half the school turned out for the event. Steven was there, too, but he made sure to keep his distance from his sister and her friend, in an effort to keep their hook ups secret. Somehow, word still hadn't gotten to Belly, and he wasn't sure what would happen if it ever did, but they were having fun, dammit, and if Belly wasn't mature enough to handle that, that was her problem, not theirs.

His gift for the birthday girl was burning a hole in his pocket- Sweet 16 deserved some sort of present, even if it was coming from him as Belly's older brother, but he got distracted talking to a girl in his AP trig class, and by the time he found the girls, Taylor was hooking up with some senior and Belly was making eyes at him, indicating she was over the party and wanted to go home. She always got that way when Taylor was holding court, not that he could blame her.

"Later, Tay," they exchanged a side hug when she broke away from the guy she was with to say goodbye to Belly, "Happy birthday."

If she was upset about not getting anything from him, she didn't show it.

The next morning, he told Belly and his mom he was going for a run, and ended up outside her house, armed with a pair of strawberry shaped stud earrings and the hope that the guy from last night wasn't around.

"Happy Sweet 16," he kissed her cheek and she blushed prettily, suddenly shy in the light of day.

"Thanks, Steven," she said, putting them on right away, in her second piecing. Every time he tucked her hair behind her ear from that point on, it made him smile to find they were still there- if there ever came a day they weren't, he'd know it was over.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Taylor knew if she ever pushed him for more, that would be the end of them hooking up. The way things were, he could pretend not to know how she feels about him and excuse his behavior, but if she ever were to outright say how she felt– he would let her down gently, then it'd be done. So, she played it cool, kept it casual, out of self preservation, more than anything.

It was the same every time. They'd run into each other at a party- sometimes they'd hook up, but never go too far; sometimes she'd grind all over some guy right in his eye line, just to see if she'd get a reaction; sometimes he'd pull her off said guy, if he judged her too drunk, and took her home. She'd never admit it, but the last one was her favorite. Even more than when they were kissing- hands over clothes, no matter how she tried to push the line- when she was in his car, she felt like he cared about her. She liked that he cared.

The last time they hooked up was at a grad party two nights before the Conklins left for the summer. Taylor knew it wasn't their fault, but she sort of hated the Fishers for taking her best friend every summer, let alone... whatever Steven was to her.

But that night, in Billy Russell's backyard, they were in rare form. For once, Steven was the drunker- more drunk?- of the two, and couldn't keep his hands off her, not that Taylor was complaining. By now, it wasn't uncommon to see them hooking up, but usually Steven tried to be a little subtle, whereas tonight he'd actually wolf whistled when she came back from getting them drinks at one point. She'd sat curled up in his lap at the fire pit and he'd given her a hickey, which he would normally never do, and which she'd have to tell Belly- sweet, innocent, gullible Belly- was the result of a curling wand incident.

Then, at the end of the night he was too drunk to drive and didn't want her walking home alone, so they spent the night in Billy's basement, with like 12 other people. Even though he was drunk and they were pressed so close together Taylor could feel his heart beating, he still wouldn't lay a hand on her. Taylor didn't sleep a wink that night, too distracted by the weight of his arm slung possessively around her, but in the morning she hopped up as soon as it was light and took off for her house with the first group of girls to wake up. She didn't want to see his face when he woke up, she was sure he'd be embarrassed, probably even horrified, and she didn't want to hear him launch into an explanation about why this shouldn't have happened, couldn't keep happening, and would never happen again. They both had the lies they had to tell to themselves, it seemed.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Drew Martinez, huh?" Steven said, when Taylor walked out of Belly's room. He was standing in his doorway, across from his sister's, and must've heard their whole conversation.

"Jealous much?" Taylor narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why, is he your summer wish?" he countered, teasing.

"Only Belly makes summer wishes," she retorted, the part she'd never say out loud was that she couldn't be bothered with a summer wish, 'cause summers he was never here.

"You going out?" he changed the subject.

"The McCallan twins' party is tonight," she said by way of an answer- if there was a party, she'd be at it.

"Have fun," he gave her a tap on her head, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do. And try not to miss me too much this summer, Taytay."

"Tears on my pillow, Conklin," she rolled her eyes. She and Belly had been rewatching Grease for the four thousandth time while they packed her things.

He shook his head and turned back into his own room, Taylor momentarily caught off guard by how her flippant comment would probably end up coming true at some point this summer.

--------------------------------------------------------------

She felt a pit in her stomach when she heard Belly talking about the Deb ball, and the pit only grew when she heard about Steven and Shayla.

She wasn't surprised the siblings were obsessing over the lifestyle of Cousins' elite, but she'd hoped they'd get over it sometimes. Laurel was, like, the best, and Mr. Conklin was nice, too, but Belly was always waxing poetic about Susannah and even Taylor knew that Steven's snobbiness was a cover for his insecurity about their finances. What she hadn't expected was for Belly and Steven to trade her in for an upgrade, and so soon into the summer.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Wanna go upstairs and see if there's other bathrooms?" she'd asked it innocently enough. She really didn't expect anything to happen with Belly around.

Steven checked his phone again, and she choked back a groan. Adopting a teasing tone, she poked him, "Looks like Belly's not the only one on board with the fancy girls."

"Trust me, Tay," his groan was loud, "It's not all it's cracked up to be. This Deb thing is killing me."

"According to Belly you're super into this Kayla girl though," Taylor prompted.

Steven didn't bother correcting her, he knew her game well, and continued on, "She's great, she's- I've never met anyone like her before, but I'm not this guy."

Taylor swallowed thickly. Nothing hit quite like having your crush talk about another girl in front of you, but Taylor knew she'd set the precedent by bringing up at least a dozen different guys to Steven over the past year. Of course, she had been trying- in vain- to make him jealous and he was over here breaking her heart, but such was the nature of their relationship.

"What guy, Steven?" Taylor spoke sharply, "You're like Ivy League smart, you're nice, you always try to keep the peace between Belly and Laurel. As much as it, like, physically pains me to say it, you're a good guy."

"Well, we both know that's not entirely true," he teased, toying with her flower crown, "That it pains you, I mean. I seem to remember quite a few times you were more than happy to-."

"Steven," Taylor's eyes went wide, "Belly is here. She would- I don't know what she'd do."

"She's downstairs," he said, "Hear the singing? That's Jeremiah, I'm sure he's serenading Belly and that Cam kid as we speak."

"You guys should lay off Cam," Taylor shoved his shoulder, but left her hand there, "She finally likes someone besides Conrad, if anything you should be encouraging it."

"You're not wrong," he touched the hem of her pink dress, his face momentarily crinkling, "Is this the one you lent my sister?"

"That was a different one," Taylor assured him, "Why, do you like it?"

Steven nodded, his hand still on her hem, "You can't give her your clothes though. They don't- suit her, like they do you. You and Belly are two entirely different people, thank God."

"It's reassuring to know you don't think of me as the little sister type," Taylor leaned into him, and the dress hem went over his fingers.

"Taylor," he sucked in a breath, "Are you sure-"

"It's nothing we haven't done before," she teased, hooking her other hand behind his neck, "It can stay our little secret, right?"

He barely hesitated before slinging an arm around her waist and pulling her into his lap. Their lips crashed into each other, and before she knew it, she was airborne.

If Steven had one unspoken rule for them, it was no beds; he'd kiss her in a chair, on her porch swing, a kitchen counter, and evidently up against this dresser, but God forbid she ever try to go horizontal with him.

It's not like she's a virgin, and he knows she isn't, but he can't- won't- go there with her. He knows, deep down, even for Taylor, who acts like it's no big deal, it would mean something to her. It would change things.

While he's not a big guy, she's light enough to be carried the few steps across the room, her legs locked around his narrow hips. She grinds into him, trying to provoke him, but he sets her down with a thud, creating some space between them. She's mostly just being a tease, she knows he won't sleep with her, but that doesn't mean she won't enjoy make him a bit uncomfortable in the meantime.

--------------------------------------------------------------

They were caught. They were caught and Taylor was screwed, 'cause now totally Belly hated her, Steven would probably never look at her again, and she somehow had to find her way back to their friends' house, where she still had to stay the night. Awesome.

Taylor was attempting to simultaneously blend into the furniture and locate Jeremiah- the nicer, not to mention more promiscuous, of the Fisher boys would maybe see her side of things- when she felt a hand on the her shoulder.

"Ah!" she shouted inadvertently, when faced with Conrad Fisher. Taylor knew he was, like, Belly's ideal man and Steven's idol, and all that, but she'd always found him to be scary, and she definitely didn't want to talk to him about this.

"Sorry," he said, but his lips twitched into a grin.

"Are you going to yell at me?" she asked, for some reason feeling like she'd deserve it if he did.

"No," he said, "I was going to give you a ride, if that's alright?"

"How drunk are you?" she asked incredulously. He must've known what happened- he wouldn't be coming up to her if he didn't, but he was about the last person she'd expect to be sympathetic.

"Come on," he nodded in the direction of the door and she allowed him to lead her to his car, but not before he let Nicole know he'd be back later.

"How long have you guys been hooking up?" he asked after a moment of silence in the car.

"Steven told you about that?" she looked shocked rather than upset, which was an improvement.

"No," Conrad smirked, "But you just did."

She slumped lower in the passenger seat, but he shook her shoulder, "It's not a big deal, Taylor, people hook up all the time. Belly will get over it."

"Not likely," she frowned, "You of all people should know how Belly operates."

"Me of all people?" Conrad asked quietly. Every time he spoke he sounded like he was in pain.

She eyed him for a moment. She got what all the girls saw in him, he was cute, in that tortured, broody way that did nothing for her.

"You got to stop messing with my girl, Conrad," she sighed, defensive of her friend even when she was fairly certain she'd never speak to her again.

"Are you talking about me and Belly, or you and Steven?" he countered, side eying her.

"Touché," she cracked a little smile in spite of herself.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Belly and Taylor hadn't talked since last night. When Conrad had come to the house the first time, Cam's car was still parked in the driveway, so he took her for a milkshake to kill some time before circling back. Taylor had gotten cookies and cream, instead of strawberry.

Then, when he dropped her off, she'd creaked up the stairs and into Belly's room, fully expecting a showdown, but Belly was either suddenly a really solid sleeper, or she was faking it to avoid the inevitable. A tiny, stupid part of Taylor was happy Belly knew, that she didn't have to hide it. If anyone should understand inconvenient feelings, it was her best friend.

Still, Taylor packed her things- she suspected she'd be catching an earlier bus the next morning- and crawled into bed next to her, without a word.

There was a knock on the door the next morning as she packed the last of her things- toiletries, pajamas- and she wasn't sure who she was dreading seeing more.

She opened the door to find Steven, and suddenly her mouth was too dry to speak.

"That was-" she started, when Steven cut her off.

"That was a mistake," he said, "I don't want Belly to know it wasn't the first time."

Taylor's eyebrow crinkled in confusion. Hiding it was one thing, flat out lying was another thing altogether.

"You want me to lie to my best friend?" she said quietly, wanting to say, 'You want me to pretend we never happened?', but holding it in.

"We made a mistake, Taylor," Steven said, "We've been making a mistake. It wasn't- we should've never gone there, anyway. We were playing with fire, and it can never happen again."

Taylor felt her heart crumble a little at his words. There were a lot of outcomes she'd anticipated, for when it all hit the fan, but this wasn't one of them. She'd misjudged Steven. Clearly, if he could stand in front of her and tell her this, he wasn't the guy she thought he was. Maybe he never had been- maybe that was only who she'd hoped he was.

But whoever this was, it wasn't the boy who'd wrapped himself around her three weeks ago as he slept in Billy Russell's basement. It wasn't the boy who'd kissed her and walk her home and bought her the damn strawberry earrings she was wearing right now. She didn't know who this boy was, because the Steven Conklin she thought she knew would do a lot of things, but she didn't think he'd ever hurt her.

--------------------------------------------------------------

After seeing Taylor off, Belly faced her brother for another awkward conversation she'd been dreading.

"Can we not," Steven said, sensing her presence, "I feel bad enough as it is."

"She really likes you, you know," Belly narrowed her eyes at her brother.

Steven sighed and finally said out loud what he'd pretended to be blind to all along, "Yeah, I know."

[ner0ticmemories]

" as if i haven't dealt with it before... ? "

OPEN STARTER [ dexter morgan ]

          “Would you prefer my normal method of conflict resolution?”

[kingkenzieofmold]

whiteboard doodle of the dex sister based off of @capturecharlesau’s death system! Hope you enjoy!<3