#the others agree this is pretty much fair since SC's had it since even before they had shed their coat

[i3utterflyeffect]

you all seemed to enjoy plushie hangman. here's them with alan and them as a cursor. also i added a seam bc i thought it was a cute distinguishing detail

[folklorelise]

How did you become Levi’s girlfriend.

Levi Ackerman - how did you, from the MPs, become Levi’s girlfriend

--

When you joined the training corps, you did not have any friends. Then you met Hange and you became friends rather quickly. It was fun, lots of hard work and then even more fun. After three years of training, you ended up first at the end. You thought about joining the Military Police, but Hange and you promised to join the Survey Corps together.

“Congrats on finishing first!” Hange cheered during dinner.

“Thank you!”

“Soo... are you still planning on joining the Survey Corps?”

“Of course, I promised remember.”

“Yeah, but it’s just back then, we didn’t know if we could join the MP.”

Once in the Survey Corps, it was a lot of trainings. You ended up in Squad Leader Erwin’s squad. And very soon, Hange made Squad Leader too.

After one expedition where you almost died, you asked for a transfer for the MPs. They agreed to it because you were ranked first at the end. The night of the departure, you went to see Hange.

“I’m sorry Hange.” you sobbed.

She hugged you and repeated it was ok and that she understood. You promised her that you would visit her as soon as possible.

“We could write each other letters every day and it would be like I never left.” you proposed with a small smile.

Life in the MPs was boring. People were mean, they criticised the survey corps every chance they had. It was upsetting, that is why you never made any friends there. With your experience in the SC, the commander of the MP made you in charge of the communications between them and the SC, as well as every other business between them.

Every trip you made, you made sure to bring lots of food for Hange, Erwin and everyone else because you knew the Survey Corps did not have treats. Apple pies, lemon pies, some meat, and fruits.

You took your basket and went in the cart. You usually stayed a week before going back to Wall Sina. Sometimes more, sometimes less. It all depended on the business between the MP and the SC.

“Y/N!” Hange screamed once she saw you.

“Hange!” you screamed back dramatically.

Once alone, she told you everything Erwin did the last few days.

“So now we have three new recruits. Levi, Isabel and Furlan. They are really good, especially since they did not have any trainings for it. Levi is the most talented of them all even better than some of us.” Hange explained while eating an apple. “You should meet them! I saw them at the library and there’s never anyone there.”

She took your arm and ran to the library. You were pretty slow since you were still carrying your basket full of food.

“Slow down Hange, please.”

She opened the door and there they were. The three new recruits. Your eyes were fixed on the straight black hair styled in an undercut curtain one. ‘Didn’t know guys from the underground were so pretty.’

“This is Y/N.” Hange introduced you to them and sat beside Levi.

You sat beside Isabel and put the basket in front of you.

“What are these?” Isabel asked taking a strawberry and a pomegranate.

“Isabel! You cannot just take things from people like this. Not here at least.” Furlan warned her.

“Oh no, it’s fine.” you smiled. “These are just fruits; you can have them if you want.” You took out some more and gave them to Furlan and Levi. Furlan thanked you and eat them as well as Isabel. Levi just looked at you but did not take the food. You smiled shyly and put the fruits in front of him. “Mh, you can eat them later but not too late, otherwise they will rot.” you explained.

“It’s what we ate in the underground anyway.” Levi sighed in a stoic voice.

“O-oh mmh...”

“He’s kidding.” Furlan laughed and glared at Levi saying, ‘be nice’.

No one talked after that. It was rather uncomfortable. You looked at Hange and tried to tell her with your eyes ‘Let’s leave! We are disturbing them!’. But she did nothing. Hange tried to make conversation, Isabel and Furlan talked easily with you, but Levi did not. He just glared at you and Hange. It was late in the evening, so you proposed to eat the meat you had.

“This is amazing!” Isabel praised.

“If you guys like this, I could bring more next time. What do you like?” you asked.

“I’ve never had sweets. And the meat is really good too. Oh also, the fruits were amazing.” Isabel shouted excited.

“Isabel.” Levi reprimanded.

“No, it’s fine, what would you like to have?” you asked but he said nothing and just looked away.

“Big bro here loves tea and Furlan likes everything, so anything is fine.”

“Tea, great. I can do that!”

The door opened and Erwin came in. You hugged him tightly and sat back next to Isabel.

“I see you already ate.” Erwin stated.

“I have some left in my bedroom for you. I know you’re busy and I knew Hange would eat everything.” you said.

“Hey not true!” Hange gasped.

“I just wanted to make sure the new recruits ate well for their first expedition tomorrow.”

“Oh, you guys are already leaving tomorrow?” you frowned. “Hange, we barely spent any time together.”

“It’ll be fine, and we’ll be back quick. You’re staying a week, right?”

“Commander Shadis just told me that Y/N is leaving tomorrow evening.” Erwin announced.

Levi, Isabel and Furlan went back to their bedroom and you stayed with Hange and Erwin in his office. He ate the food you had, and you guys talked about what happened these last few weeks. Erwin and Hange had some last-minute squad leader related work to do so you left. You left for the kitchen to brew some tea.

“What tea are you preparing?” someone asked beside you.

“Oh my! Don’t do this to me!” you screamed, startled. He stared at you, waiting for an answer. “It’s chamomile tea. I can never sleep around here... do you want some?”

He nodded. You took another cup of tea and pour some in his cup. You two sat in the mess hall, in front of each other in silence.

“Hm, so... do you like it here?” you hesitated. He stared at you and gave a nod. You quickly noticed how he holds his cup and chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing!”

“You laughed, so what’s so funny?”

“It’s just... I never saw someone hold their cup like you do.” He, once again, just started at you. “I’m sorry if that seemed mean! It is not. It’s just - it’s a very unique way of holding a cup and so it’s more of a compliment you know. It means you are unique.” you blurted out nervously. He did not respond anything, he just started at you with a softer look. He brought his cup close to his lips and smirked slightly.

The next day, the survey corps left in the morning. You did not have the chance to say goodbye before leaving but ‘it’s fine, next time then’ you thought. Next time happened quicker than you expected. Only two weeks later you had to come back because your commander wanted the reports about the last expedition. You prepared your basket, remembering what Isabel said. You took every tea flavours you could find and put them in a pretty bag. Then, you took some sweets for Isabel and lots of apple for Furlan. You then took another basket and filled it with the usual food for your other friends.

Once in the SC headquarters, you went to see Hange first.

“Why the long face? Someone died?” you joked. She looked at you without laughing and you understood. “Who?” you whispered.

You run to Levi’s bedroom as quick as possible and knocked on his door. No one answered and you opened it slowly, but no one was inside. You put the basket on a bed. You stayed a minute, hoping for Levi to come back but nothing happened. You stood up but at the same time, the door opened on Levi. You started at each other for a minute before he moved inside of his bedroom.

“I’m sorry I broke in.”

He just sat on the bed next to the basket full of food. You turned around, ready to leave but Levi grabbed your wrist and forced you to sit beside him. You could feel his tense body and his harsh grip, but you did not say anything.

“You can bring the food back.” he breathed loudly, “They’re not here to eat it anymore.”

“I’m sorry this had to happen to you. They were really nice, this isn’t fair.” you sobbed.

He let go of your wrist slowly and sighed. He stood up and you hugged him. His body immediately tensed up, but he did not leave. Your arms were wrapped around his neck tightly and slowly, you felt his hands circling around your waist. You did not let go and waited for him to let go first. After ten or more minutes, he slowly backed away. You looked at him and smiled softly. You had to do something, so you took the bag full of tea and left for the kitchen. Levi just looked at you leave without saying anything.

You brew some black tea and went back to Levi. You gave him his tea and you drunk in silence. You took some food and handed it to him. He just looked away.

“You should eat. Please.”

He took the bread and the meat and ate it without protesting. You stayed with him the whole night. No one talked but you did not want to leave him alone. His back was against the wall, with his legs over the bed.

“You should sleep, you look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“I didn’t. I can’t sleep.”

“Here.” you tap the place between your legs. “I can give you a massage and it could help.”

He refused at first but gave in and settled in front of you, between your legs. You started your massage and he relaxed straight away. After thirty minutes, he fell asleep and his head fell back on your shoulder. You wrapped your arms around his chest and fell asleep with him in your arms.

The next morning, you woke up alone with the blanket over your body. Levi was already awake, eating the leftovers of the food you brought.

“Morning.” you greeted him.

“Thank you for yesterday. I really needed that.”

“Anytime.”

You spend the day with Hange, talking about what happened last night.

“You dog! You saw him twice and you’re already sleeping with him.”

“Hange!”

“I’m kidding. So, what’s going between you two?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you like him?”

“I don’t know, I barely know him. I mean, he doesn’t share much but he’s nice, and I feel great when he’s around.”

During the week, you spent a lot of time with Hange because she is your best friend and you also spent every night with Levi. He did not talk much but he enjoyed your company. He was scared that you might not come back because you would be bored, but you always came. You, on the other hand talked a lot, and he listened. He liked listening to you. You would tell him about your life before joining the training corps, about your training days and how you were part of the survey corps once.

“I’m glad you’re not here anymore.” he started.

“What?” you stuttered.

“Because with you safe in the inner wall, I do not have to be worried about you, about losing you outside the walls. Knowing that you are safe inside makes me... feel great.” he admitted avoiding looking at you. You were so surprised that you did not know what to say but to Levi, it looked like you just rejected him by your lack of answer.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have...”

But you did not let him finish and kissed him. His hands holding you close to him and yours on his face.

“I think... no I know,” you took a deep breath, “I love you, and you’re amazing.”

“I love you too.” he whispered close to your ear.

From that moment, you two were inseparable. When you visited, you were always with Levi. If Hange wanted to spend time with you, she had to spend time with Levi too. Only Hange and Erwin knew about this.

When Levi made Squad Leader, you celebrated by buying him a new cravat with his initial on it. You helped him clean his new office and his new bedroom.

“Clean better Y/N.” – “Tch it’s still filthy.” – “You missed a spot.” – “Do it again.”

At the same time, Erwin made Commander and after dinner, he dropped by to give Levi some paperwork.

You sat on the couch reading a book while Levi started to work. After an hour of reading, you looked at Levi and noticed how he was still working on his first piece of paper.

“How’s work?” you asked.

“Fine.” Levi answered firmly.

You did not know if you had to insist or just let it go — you did not want to upset him.

“Do you need help?”

“No.”

“Levi...”

“It’s fine I said.”

You waited a minute and thought about it a second. Did the underground have schools?

“Are you having trouble writing?” you hesitated. “Or... reading?” Levi just looked away and put his head in his hands. “Levi it’s fine. You should have told me; I could have helped. I still can.”

After that, you started to teach him the alphabet first. But then you had to leave again. “You should tell Erwin; he wouldn’t judge you. I’m sure he would help, and he would give you less paperwork.” you told him before leaving.

The next time you came, you had many books about teaching and learning. And you gave these to Levi and worked on it with him. He improved a lot since last time, and he told you that he asked Erwin for help. The commander was really understanding and made sure to help him the best he can.

Everything was perfect.

Until the 104th cadets graduated. After the 57th expedition, Levi lost his whole squad. Hange made a trip to wall Sina just to bring you to Levi, knowing that he did not want to bother you. When you arrived, Levi was nowhere to be found. You waited in his office and when he came back, he froze when he saw you standing in the middle of the room. He closed the door and run to you. A hug is what he needed.

“Thank you for being here. I needed you.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be here with you, to help. And I’ve been thinking... maybe I should come back here so I could be with you.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“But I want to be with you. I always want to be with you, and I hate leaving you here alone. I want to come back.”

He nodded and kissed you tenderly and slowly brought you to his couch so he could fuck you nicely.

MASTERLIST

[ladyreapermc]

Fic: This isn’t a rom-com 7/?

Author’s notes: So this one is a little longer than usual, but not by much. Lot’s of stuff happening and I’d love feedback about the direction I’m taking this. I’m always open to suggestions!

Wordcount: 3524

Warnings: one F. bomb, but other than that, lots and lots of fluff.

Part 1 Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6

Lilah was supposed finishing her breakfast and getting ready to go to work, but instead, she was browsing the New York Film Academy page, especially the Master of Arts in screenwriting and its admission application.

She didn’t even know why she was doing it. It wasn’t like Lilah was actually considering applying for it. She already had a master’s degree. Not only that, she already had a career that she spent the last ten years of her life investing in. This was just a stupid pipe dream and nothing more.

“Morning”, Isaac’s voice started Lilah out of her thoughts, and she hurried to close her laptop lid and turn to watch as he padded into the kitchen and poured himself some coffee, still on his PJs.

“Morning. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for work?” Usually, Isaac worked from 8 to five or later whenever needed.

“We had some night shooting yesterday and it wrapped up around six,” he replied yawning and dropping on the chair in front of her, cradling his mug. “I’ve just gotten back and I’m planning on sleeping all morning.”

“Jesus! That’s some horrible hours,” Lilah commented with a wince and Isaac just nodded.

“And I’m one of the lucky ones because all the runners take turns helping out while the others take a nap. I don’t know how Keanu does it. The guy is a machine. But this was my last day anyway.”

“Wait, what?” Lilah asked surprised. “You quitted?”

“Yeah. It was good money, but it was getting in the way of rehearsals, both theater, and band.”

“Band? What band?” Lilah looked at him confused. Why didn’t she know about this?

“Oh right! You didn’t come to my last gig,” Isaac said and there wasn’t any accusation on his tone, but Lilah still felt bad. She had been with Keanu last weekend and missed his performance. “These guys liked my vocals and asked me if I was interested in joining their band. I said yes.”

“But what about musical theater and the Hollywood dream?” she asked, her eyes wide. How come she missed such a change in her friend’s life? Isaac just shrugged.

“I’m still doing theater, but you know I love to be on the stage too and these guys have a great sound,” he said draining his mug and picking up Lilah’s breakfast dishes to bring to the kitchen. “And I can still take on Hollywood in a different way. But to do that, I need time to rehearsal. So as of Monday, you’re looking at the newest barista for Novelsy.”

Lilah was at a loss of words faced with so many changes in Isaac’s life in such a short period of time. She was being a lousy friend, focusing too much on her own issues and missing Isaac’s and Jean’s lives.

“Oh. I know that look,” he said with a frown. “It’s the ‘I’m having a freak out’ look. What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?” Isaac asked, tapping her temple gently.

“I just…” Lilah sighed. “I can’t believe I ended up missing so much in these last few weeks. I’m sorry.”

“Well, you have been a little self-absorbed lately,” Isaac pointed out with a small grimace. “But I get it. It’s the thrill of new love and all that.”

It was weird how Isaac’s words managed to be exactly right, but the truth behind them still took her by surprise. Because no matter how hard Lilah tried to fight it or pretend otherwise, she was in love with Keanu. Had been for a while now and it was both exhilarating and terrifying.

“Oh honey,” Isaac sighed, catching her wide-eyed gaze. “You’re one of the smartest people I know, but when it comes to your own feelings…”

And could she really argue with that? It was staring her in the face this whole time and Lilah didn’t see it. Well, no, that wasn’t quite right, was it? She refused to see it because she was afraid. Afraid of what it could be and where it would lead and how it would end.

And this was so no what Lilah signed up for when started this thing with Keanu. Or at least that’s what she kept telling herself. She kept repeating that he was her friend and that was all but none of her friendships ever felt like this. And to be fair, considering how sweet, humble, caring, intelligent and amazing Keanu was, did she even stand a chance of not falling in love?

“Are we having a meltdown at this time in the morning?” Jean asked in a yawn and filling a cup of coffee for herself.

“The penny finally dropped on the Keanu thing,” Isaac informed.

“Thank fuck! The oblivious thing was cute at the beginning, but it was starting to get annoying,” Jean said, her harsh words shaking Lilah from her daze. “Also, not fun to get kicked off my own place so you could have your little ‘not a date’ with Keanu.”

“I never kicked you out of the apartment!” Lilah complained, glaring at her friend and Jean rolled her eyes.

“Right. Because I wanna be here when you two are making heart eyes at each other. No, thank you.”

“Jean!” Isaac chided cutting her off. “There were a dozen ways you could’ve said that without coming off like a bitch.”

From the corner of her eye, Lilah saw Jean cross her arms over her chest, her lips pulling in a thin line of displeasure. She hated to be called out over her bluntness.

“But even though she could have phrased better,” Isaac continued, looking over at Lilah. “Keanu has been coming over a lot. Not that I mind, but it does take away some of our privacy, you know?”

Lilah sighed and nodded. He had a point. They both did. Lilah never thought she would be one of those people that ditched her friends the second they started dating. Not that she was dating Keanu but…

“I’m sorry. I’ve been a shitty friend.”

“A little bit,” Jean agreed, but Lilah could see she was fighting a smile. “But we still love you.”

“We do,” Isaac agreed with a grin. “And you can start making up for the lost time by coming to my band’s gig this Friday night.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Lilah assured, kissing his cheek. “Now get your ass in bed! You look exhausted.”

Isaac nodded and waved at them both, before disappearing into his bedroom. Lilah hesitated for a moment, before glancing at Jean, who was inconspicuously avoiding looking her way.

“Are we ok?” Lilah asked and Jean nodded with a sigh.

“I missed my friend, you know? I missed talking to you, knowing what was going on in your life and sharing mine.”

“I’ve missed you too,” she said, dragging Jean for a hug. “How about tomorrow, after my class, you and I get some retail therapy? Novelsy’s costume contest is next week after all.”

“A girl after my own heart,” Jean joked with a grin. “It’s a date.”

“Alright,” Lilah replied with a chuckle as she got up and head to her own bedroom.

She went to turn off her laptop, Lilah was confronted once more with the New York Film Academy page, which made her pause. When she told Keanu how she considered going to film school as a teenager, Lilah didn’t give him the full picture.

The idea of being a writer, creating stories and universes, especially movies, had always been a dream. She remembered reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time and having that mix of fascination and jealousy of Tolkien for being able to create such a fantastic, magical universe that entertained so many people. Lilah wanted to do that too. Leave a mark in the world, tell a story, make people laugh and cry and love that thing she created.

But Lilah also remembered how her father reacted when she said she wanted to apply for film school. He had actually laughed because he thought she was joking. She knew he didn’t do it to hurt her. He was looking out for her, wanting her to be practical about her future.

What were the odds of Lilah making it in that industry? One in a million considering that she was a woman of color? Considering that it wasn’t all depending on hard work? Was she even good enough to begin with? Well, there was one quick way to find out.

Her eyes shifted back to the computer and Lilah took a seat, browsing her archives. Writing samples were required for submission, a fictional piece and a non-fictional.

She could use one of the reviews she wrote for Novelsy’s blog as a non-fiction sample. Lilah had gotten positive feedback from those. The fiction piece would give her a bit more trouble and after some more searching, Lilah decided on a fantasy story she wrote during college.

Lilah would need to work out a few kinks, but she really liked that one, so she put on her headphones blasting some of her favorite music as the story poured out of her, her fingers flying over the keyboard in a way she never managed to do whenever she was writing her dissertation.

By the end of the morning, Lilah had close to five thousand words written and any thought prepping her class for tomorrow slip her mind, but Lilah didn’t feel guilty at all. There was only excitement as she proofread her material.

After she annexed the documents, Lilah rechecked the application form, hesitating over the campus options.  For a second, the cursor hovered over the LA option, before she selected the NY campus and submitted everything.

Lilah must be crazy for even considering LA. Even if for brief seconds. Her life was in New York. LA had nothing to offer her. Which was a lie, she knew, but fortunately, it was one easy to ignore.

Once that was taken care of, Lilah started to get ready to go to NYU. She had some data she needed to run through the analysis software and Lilah could only do it on campus. She was halfway through getting dressed when her phone rang, the screen showing Keanu’s name and selfie with the puppy beagle.

“Hey,” she greeted as how could Lilah have missed being in love with him for this long when just a phone call from him could brighten up her whole day? “How was filming last night?”

“It was good. Tiring, but good. Basil gave us the night off since we’re managing to keep up with the schedule,” Keanu replied, and Lilah could actually picture his proud smile. “I was thinking we could do something. Since I cut off our movie night short yesterday.”

“We don’t have to,” she said, reminded of Isaac’s comment earlier. “You must be exhausted.”

“A little bit, but…” he paused for a moment. “I want to see you.”

His voice was soft barely a whisper and it almost felt a little like a confession and it set the butterflies loose in her belly and she smiled.

“Well, we could watch something, get some pizza…”

“That sounds great. I’ll drop by later?”

“Sure, but promise to get some rest first?”

“I’m in bed right now. Don’t worry.”

And Lilah couldn’t help but conjure a picture of Keanu shirtless in bed, dark hair splayed over the pillow and hooded eyes. Her breath caught in her throat.

“Good,” she croaked as she tried recomposing herself. “Sleep well.”  

It wasn’t until she hung up that Lilah realized what she had just done and winced. She was such a terrible friend, but now it was too late. She knew Isaac wouldn’t mind. He would be out rehearsing anyway, but Jean…

Lilah stepped out of the room, finding Jean cleaning the breakfast dishes. She hesitated by the counter, drumming her fingers on the top and Jean heaved a sigh.

“What did you do?” she asked, turning around, hands on her hips.

“I might have invited Keanu over,” Lilah replied with a grimace and Jean rolled her eyes. “Sorry!”

“Fine! But only because I have to do inventory anyway.” Lilah let out a happy squeal and squeezed Jean in a hug. “And you’re helping me with the Halloween contest! It was your idea after all.”

“I promise! Thank you!”

Lilah said her goodbyes to Jean and headed out, doing her best to push thoughts on Keanu and her brand-new revelation aside while she worked, managing to be somewhat successful until she got back home to find Keanu, browsing through her bookcase, dressing in a fitted jeans and a t-shirt so tight it seemed to be struggling to contain his biceps.

“Hi,” she greeted, and Keanu flashing her a warm smile.

“Hi. Isaac let me in. That’s ok, right?”

“Of course. I’ll be right with you. I’m just gonna take just a quick shower.”

“Sure.”

Lilah dropped her things in her bedroom and hurried to the bathroom that she shared with Isaac. There was only one suite in the apartment and Jean claimed it since the place was hers after all.  

She went through her usual shower routine, but it wasn’t until Lilah was drying herself that she realized she didn’t bring any clothes with her. Lilah was just so used to shower and then go back to her room to change it kind of became a habit.

If it was Isaac or Jean outside, Lilah wouldn’t even hesitate to step out, but it wasn’t them. It was Keanu and she would have to walk past him to go back to her room.

There was nothing else she could do at this point, so with a deep breath, Lilah pulled the towel tighter against her body, making sure that there wasn’t anything showing before she walked out, refusing to look his way. She did, however, hear his sharp intake of breath disguised as a cough.

Once she was safe inside her room Lilah leaned against the door and let out a sigh. She just paraded in a towel in front of Keanu! Shit! Did he look? She wondered for a second but shook herself out of it. That would lead her nowhere. Instead, she focused on getting dressed, coming back to the living room to find Keanu on the phone. He gave her an apologetic smile as his attention returned to the call.

“My publicist. Sorry about that,” Keanu said, hanging up. “But I’m all yours now.” Lilah couldn’t help her wide grin at the way Keanu took a second to realize what he said and cursed under his breath. “I didn’t mean…”

“I know,” she chuckled. “It’s nice to be on the other side of those for a change.”

Keanu chuckled too, rubbing his nape in embarrassment and part of Lilah want to reach for him, pull him in a hug and a kiss, but that was a very dangerous line of thought so instead, she picked up the pizza menu.

“So, I have a very important thing to ask you,” she started with a somber voice. “It might define if this,” she gestured between them. “Will continue any further.”

“I’m already nervous,” he quipped, turning to look at her better.

“How do you feel about pineapple on pizza?” She inquired and Keanu shook his head in disbelief as he chuckled. “Oh, I’m serious. There is a right answer to this.”

“I don’t like it?” he replied with a hesitant smile and Lilah gaped at him in exaggerated horror

“And you call yourself Hawaiian!” she teased, clicking her tongue in disappointment and making Keanu laugh.

“You do know that Hawaiian pizza isn’t really Hawaiian, right?” He commented and she rolled her eyes.

“Fake Canadian then,” she shot back, sticking her tongue out at him and Keanu snorted in amusement. “Pepperoni?”

“Sure,” he agreed. Lilah called in their order before joining Keanu on the couch.

“So you’re going to Japan?” she asked curiously.

“Yeah. 47 Ronin’s premiere,” Keanu explained, and Lilah just hummed, avoiding his eyes. “What?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You have a very expressive face, Bennett,” he said, and Lilah laughed.

“I don’t want to judge a movie based only on a trailer,” she started hesitantly.

“But you didn’t like it,” he completed with a chuckle.

“It’s not that I didn’t like it, I just… Let’s just say Hollywood doesn’t exactly have a great track record on portraying other cultures.”

“You have a point,” Keanu relented, and Lilah was glad to see he didn’t seem upset with her comment. “We did our best to show respect for Japanese culture and the legend, though.”

“I’m sure you did. This is ok, right? Talking about your movies?”

“It’s fine. I like talking about what I do,” he assured, and she grinned.

“So, I can ask about John Wick? Because I still don’t know what’s about even though I’m technically in it?”

Keanu chuckled and quickly explained the general plot for the movie, hands waving around excitedly as he described the entire process behind getting the movie greenlighted and getting his friends Chad and David involved.

Lilah could tell not only how much Keanu loved what he did by the way he was smiling, by the eagerness in his voice, but she could also see that this wasn’t any movie for him. She hung onto every word of his, chin on her head and her chest felt about to burst at the overwhelming affection Lilah felt for him.

After a moment, Keanu fell silent and he once again did that ducked head, hand covering the mouth chuckle that Lilah learned to associate to him being shy or embarrassed about something.

And maybe he saw it in her eyes, so she quickly looked away. The last thing Lilah needed was Keanu catching on to her feelings and making everything awkward between them. She had come to enjoy their time together too much.

It was a bit of a relief when the pizza finally arrived because it gave them something else to focus on, beside themselves.

“You can try the Hawaiian if you want,” she offered after they moved to the couch to eat, a random movie playing on the TV just for noise. “I’m the only one who likes it in this house.”

“I’m good.”

“Are you sure? It’s really good,” she said in a sing-song voice and Keanu snorted.

“You’re gonna annoy me into trying, aren’t you?” He asked with a sigh that really wasn’t annoyed at all. Lilah just nodded with a grin. “Fine. Give it here.”

Lilah didn’t know why she didn’t just hand him the slice. Instead, she moved closer and lifted it in front of him. Keanu hesitated briefly before he took a bite, lips brushing against her fingers as he did it. It sent shivers down her spine because Lilah hadn’t expected it to feel this intimate.

“And?” she asked, clearing her throat.

“It was better than I was expecting,” Keanu admitted sipping his beer and Lilah grinned. Small victories.

She brought the slice back to herself, but before she could take a bite, Keanu leaned forward and stole the last bit. The movement brought him so close his beard actually brushed again her cheek.

“Hey!” Lilah protested as he grinned smugly.

“You’re the one that wanted me to try it,” he pointed out, bumping his shoulder against hers. Lilah shook her head and picked up another slice, trying to hide her pleased grin.

They talked for a while longer, completely ignoring the TV. It was fun and comfortable, and Lilah knew she could probably spend the entire night like that, but it was getting late and she knew Keanu had to work tomorrow and so did she.

“I think we should call it a night,” she said, turning off the TV.

“We didn’t watch anything,” he pointed out and Lilah shrugged.

“It was still fun. I like just talking to you.”

“Yeah, me too,” Keanu replied, his lips tugging on a smile as he helped her clean up.

“So, Novelsy’s hosting its first costume contest next week. Afterward, Isaac’s theater group is reenacting Rocky Horror Picture Show in this bar. It’s basically a bunch of drunk people singing along to the songs, trying to remember their lines and failing miserably. It’s really fun, do you wanna come?”

“Sure,” Keanu agreed, and Lilah could see the doubt in his eyes, that was quickly replaced with a curious smile. “Are you gonna be in costume?”

“Definitely,” she replied, as she looked at him under her lashes. “Gotta be there to know what it is though.”

“Then I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

There was something in the way that Keanu said it, the way he was looking at her that just stole her breath, making her heart thunder in her chest and there was no way to see this as anything other than flirting.

“See you on Thursday, then,” she said, standing up to press a kiss on his cheek. She barely missed his lips and she really hoped Keanu noticed it was on purpose.

(tbc)

Go to part 8

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[i-heart-danchou]

Whisper

This is a slightly late fic for eruriweek day 5, Rumors!  My confidence in my writing is shit at the moment but I tried my best. -- “Disgusting.”  The words didn’t really hurt him anymore.  At this point, Erwin was used to them.  “What an unsettling little boy— he didn’t even cry at his father’s funeral, you know.  I can’t stand this, how did we end up with him??  No one else wants him!” “I’m not surprised.”  A shrill voice responded.  “The way he smiles even.. it’s unsettling, the boy is clearly touched.” “I heard his mother died under mysterious circumstances too, you know?  The whole family is cursed.”  She took a long drag of her cigarette.  “I bet he killed them.  A child who killed his own parents, can you believe it?”  

This was the third house he had been passed to, some very distant cousins who Erwin had never met before.  The man of the house beat him, but Erwin never cried.  He’d receive a blow that sent him to his knees, and all he could muster in response was an inquisitive glare through his cold blue eyes.  The man found him deeply disturbing and showed him the back of his hand.

He was used to these whispers; they followed him wherever he went.  When he was younger it was about how pretty he was, how perhaps his mother had had an affair, how odd it was for a boy of his standing to bury his nose in books.  

Now… now the rumors held a grain of truth.  Erwin Smith had murdered his father, and no one wanted him or loved him.  

He bided his time until he was old enough, and he joined the military as soon as he could.

**

“It’s fucking unbelievable!  I heard he cheats on tests you know.”  A girl in his class hissed under her breath.  “No one is that smart.  No one.  What a fucking prick, cheating his way to the top.  I bet he just wants a cushy MP job while the rest of us work like dogs.”

“Makes me sick.”  Her boyfriend agreed, squeezing her shoulders and pulling her close.  “I bet he’s sucking dicks on the side too, getting in good with the brass.  Making the rest of us look bad, you know? Course he’s gonna end up top ten.”

“Erwin fucking Smith.”  The girl crossed her arms and let out a long breath.  “He’s so weird, too.  What kinda guy his age talks about his parents this much?  Grow up, shit.”  

He ignored them.  They were wrong, they didn’t matter, and he was confident enough in himself not to adjust how he acted based on what other people thought or assumed.  Still, success largely depended on getting people to like you.  Erwin did his best to flirt and smile, to use his handsome face as a weapon to disarm naysayers.  

He was smart enough that he could somewhat manipulate people into liking him, into trusting him… it wasn’t long before that girl was eating her words, quivering a little when he allowed his gaze to pass over her.  

It might have been enthralling, if he could be bothered to care about her.  The world was so much bigger than what people thought of him.  

**

“He slept with Nile’s girlfriend.  He could have any woman he wants, and he fucked Marie!  What a dog!”

“Can you blame her?  He’s the prettiest guy in the cadet corps!  I’d fuck him.  I think everyone in the girl’s barracks would probably fuck him.  Ugh he’s so tasty, it’s not fair for him to be so attractive!”

“Still!  Nile’s his friend, you think he’d know better… or at least have some damn principles.”  

Erwin wondered if they even knew he could hear them.  It was a crowded bar, he supposed, it. might not have been that obvious that he was in attendance but… His whole life he had been hearing little whispers about himself, and it always astonished him how blind and callous people could be about regurgitating their cruelty like this.  

It wouldn’t have mattered, except that Nile was with him as well.  He watched his friend’s shoulders sink, his ears turn red, and his fists turn into tight little balls.

“It’s not true, Nile.”  Erwin assured him.  “I haven’t seen Marie socially even once since you started going out with her.”

“I know that!”  His friend hissed.  “Marie would never— shit, I should go give those fuckers a piece of my mind.”  

“Don’t bother.”  Erwin said with a smile, sliding him a beer.  “It’s not worth it.”

**

“Dammit!”  Levi was straining with his whole body, trying to get away from the three men who are holding him back.  “Let go of me!  I’ll fucking kill them!”

Three other SC members were lying at Levi’s feet, bloody and cowering, trying desperately to scramble away from his ferocious kicks even now.  

Someone ran to get Erwin, and he took in the scene with one eyebrow raised slightly.  “Levi?  What’s the matter?”

“Those— these absolute fucking pieces of shit!  They—!”  Levi glanced at Erwin and immediately stopped struggling.  There was a war waging in his mind, and he shook himself free from the firm grips of his colleagues.  

“Let’s talk in my office, Levi.”  Erwin suggested, and Levi followed him closely, ignoring the mystified stares of the people who had witnessed his outburst.  

“What happened?”  Erwin asked patiently, offering Levi a seat across from his desk.

“They… they’re fucking idiots, Erwin.  They were saying all this shit about you— that you’re gonna assassinate Shadis, that you’re a dangerous upstart, that all you care about is your own stupid power.”  Levi’s jaw was tight, and he seemed to be biting at the words as they left his lips.  The whole thing seemed terribly offensive to him.  “So I fucking shut them up.  Not gonna listen to that shit.”

Erwin smiled warmly, and Levi’s irritation seemed to spike anew.  

“Oi!  Get that shitty look off your face.  The fuck’s wrong with you?”

“Well, Levi, I’ve…” He tried to think of how to say it.  “I’ve never had someone defend my honor like that before.  I’m quite pleased, actually.”

Levi didn’t seem to know how to respond to that.  “Tch.”  He said eventually. “They don’t know you.  They don’t know how hard you work, or how smart you are.  They don’t know that you’re gonna save humanity in the end.  Shadis is an idiot.  You should be commander and everyone knows it.”

Erwin’s smile was so deep, broad and real that it felt out of place on his face.  “I just need to wait my turn.  Levi, as much as I appreciate the sentiment, I would prefer it if you didn’t get into fights with the other troops, not over something like this.  Let them think what they want, let them say what they want.  It doesn’t matter.  Rumors and gossip are only as important as you allow them to be, I think.  Let them talk, Levi.  The world is so much bigger than what strangers think.”

Levi just watched him with those sharp, grey eyes, and Erwin wondered what exactly Levi thought of him.  

**

“He’s a monster.  No soul at all, he’s not even human.  He throws life away like it doesn’t even matter.”

“He’s a demon.”

“A devil.”

“He’ll drag everyone he cares about down to hell and never think twice.”

Levi stood close to Erwin like he always did, and shot nasty glares at anyone who dared speak out against the commander.  As he’d risen to power, as the fate of their horrible world became more and more uncertain, the rumors followed him and swirled around him like a miasma.  

It was hard, after all these years, to ignore what people said about him.  

“He lost an arm?  After all those people he’s killed?  That bastard, probably sold his soul to survive a little longer.”

“Not human.  No human acts like that.”

After the military coup, Erwin had taken some time to reflect on his true motivations… whether he was noble, selfish, or demonic.  Zackly’s words kept playing in his mind, and despite his best intentions to the contrary, the little shield he’d built around his heart was starting to weaken.

There was only so much one man could take.

“He doesn’t even mourn his friends.  Mike and Nanaba… with him for years and he…”

“Levi is brainwashed, clearly being manipulated by that megalomaniac.  Their relationship is abusive, Erwin probably beats him behind closed doors and poor Levi doesn’t know any better but to lick his fucking boots.”

“He deserves to suffer.”

**

On an intellectual level, Erwin knew that his poor mood and sense of self were secondary to a lifetime of struggling and cruelty.  It didn’t make it any easier to bear when the pervasive thoughts assaulted him each and every day.

‘His friends are dead and it’s his fault’

‘He’s incapable of love.’

‘He got his own father killed.’

“Erwin?”

‘No one respects him.  Levi will turn on him.’

‘His life and death will be meaningless.’

‘Selfish.  Selfish.  All this horror and death because of his stupid, childish dreams.’

“Erwin.”

‘Monster.  Demon.  Not even human.’

‘He’ll rot in hell and the people will rejoice.’

‘He’ll doom us all.  No one will remember him as anything but a devil.’

“Erwin!”  Levi was curled up against him, poking him in the neck.  

“Yes Levi?”

“You’ve got that shitty look on your face again.”  Levi looked worn, worried.  He looked sad.  “Whatever bullshit you’ve got stewing around in that head of yours, stop it.  Words are only as important as you allow them to be.”

Erwin kissed the top of his head and shut his eyes.  He was annoyed with himself for making it so obvious that he was struggling.  He didn’t have time for any slip ups.  

“You’re a good man, Erwin.”  Levi muttered. “The best man I know.  You deserve better than this.  Please.”

Erwin swallowed.  “Please what, Levi?”

“Hear me.”

**

“He lead the charge against the beast titan you know.  Against impossible odds, he still came up with the plot to lead to humanity’s victory.”

“What a man!  What bravery!  How selfless in his last moments, he saved us, he saved us all!”

“He was right about everything.  We should never have doubted him.”

“…That Levi, though, did you hear?  He betrayed the commander in the last moments!”

“A monster.  A monster.  Poor Erwin.  How will we survive without him?”

Levi had never been a talkative man, and he kept his hands at his sides as the whispers came down around him.  

“He was a good man, a brave man, a brilliant, beautiful man.  We are poorer for having lost him.”

“A hero.  The hope of mankind snuffed out so young.”

It was nice, though, to hear Erwin be lauded at last… even if he wasn’t there to see it.

“We didn’t deserve him.”

Levi clenched his jaw and kept his eyes forward.  ‘No one deserved him.’

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [WATTPAD] [QUOTEV]

WARNING: Mildly NSFW. (And Happy New Year!)

CHAPTER SEVEN

"O-oh…" Blanching yet more, Roxanne rubbed the back of her neck. "You weren't, um, supposed to see any of that. My friend helps me with modding and camera set up and stuff sometimes. We just had a disagreement."

'About me? I can go.' Friend, huh? She was taken. Of course she was; a girl this gorgeous wouldn't be single for long unless it was by choice.

"Wait, wait, you…" She sighed. "He left. You're fine, it doesn't matter. But you might wanna find some other girl to watch, I doubt it's much fun to watch me cry."

Elsa bit her lip, considering her response. How could she cheer this poor girl up? Deciding to just go for it, she told her, 'I would watch you cry into a pint of Ben and Jerry's for hours. Don't worry about that.'

"Right," she half-laughed, half-sobbed. "Th-that's entertainment." They were both quiet for a moment. Elsa started to type something when the girl whispered, "I'm sorry. He normally doesn't… get jealous. But…"

'But what?'

"You and me were talking like friends. He could tell I wasn't hamming it up and trying to get you to empty your wallet like I normally do. But isn't that stupid?" she burst out with a huge shrug. "I mean, you already paid! Duh! So if you wanted to just hang out, why's it matter?"

That one was easy. 'Because he knows those guys you ham it up for aren't a threat to your relationship. I might be.'

"Oh really?" she asked with a slight smile. "Gonna sweep me off my feet?"

'I would love to.'

'But I meant that he must be insecure about it if he got this upset over nothing.'

Though Roxanne had still been smiling at the first message, she deflated at the second. "Right. Overprotective boyfriend… it's a cliche for a reason, I guess." She squirmed, indecisive. "You know… it's not… real likely that I'm gonna date someone I met this way, don't you?"

Elsa could see the conflict in her shimmering teal eyes. She still wanted her money, but couldn't bring herself to lie to get it. Didn't lead her on. 'I know.'

"Then why… are you being so nice? Like, it's literally my job to be a slutty tease."

'I know that too. C'mon I wasn't born yesterday.'

"Good, cuz this site has age restrictions." They both laughed, even if only one of them could hear the other. "Thanks, though. You sure you don't want to see? I mean, I've been told I have a perfect pussy. Perfect ass, too, if that's what you're into."

Trying not to overheat at just those things being mentioned, she typed, 'Do you mean ass or ass hole? Because I can clearly see you have the first one.'

"Awww, thanks, Mountie," she laughed.

'But I don't even know what the second one means. Aren't those all kind of the same?'

"You would think so," she began conversationally. "Like, I've seen some pretty narsty ones in the business. Then there's ones you can tell have just literally been fucked a million times; like, I dunno how to describe it, but like, wow. And some girls bleach them and all that."

Making a face, she typed, 'So I've heard. No thank you.' Then she thought a moment before adding, 'On you OR me.'

Grinning from ear to ear, she laughed, "I appreciate you looking out for my anal health, man." Elsa snorted. "But I could still show you my perfect ass if you want a demonstration? Like, just so you know what one looks like."

'You're going to show me your ass… as an example? Like so I can compare all asses to yours in the future?'

"Sure! I mean, I'll have to end VIP time after this; we're already way past how long you paid for. But fuck it."

This was a difficult call. She wanted to end the session without badgering Roxanne into showing her anything… but she wasn't. This was an offer, which was quite different. Besides, as she said, they had to end the session soon anyway. Maybe it was kinder to let this happen and enjoy the show.

'You're on. But only if you feel comfortable.'

Even before the girl responded, she knew she had said something stupid. Roxanne laughed and shook her head. "This is my job, remember? Who's uncomfortable?!"

And then she began to turn on the bed. Poor Elsa already felt her pulse skyrocketing upward as she saw those gorgeous, firm cheeks come into view. This had been a mistake. Why did she agree to this? Why didn't she just tell Roxanne it was fine and they could do it some other time? Or that she didn't want to?

Because she did want to see more. She just didn't want to be sleazy; she wanted to earn the chance to be with her. Silly since that was obviously not in the cards.

"Haaaappy New Yeeeeeeaaar," she cooed as she tugged one very specific area aside.

It was perfect. Even though Elsa had mostly thought she was joking, she couldn't deny that tiny little pink asterisk did bring that very word to mind; she couldn't imagine another one more perfect than this one. Whether or not she found that attractive was another matter, but she would have to decide that later.

"Hey - take a screenshot. Go on. Might as well for later, right?" Then she giggled. "What am I saying? You probably know this stuff."

'You're sure?' Meanwhile, Elsa was trying to remember if she even knew HOW to take a screenshot on a laptop. Phones were easy.

"Yeah, man! My butt's all yours, you paid, like… go for it! Not like my face is even in the shot, anyway."

A fair point. Right then, she saw the "Prt Sc" key and remembered that was its purpose. Or so she hoped. She hit it and then typed, 'Got it. Thank you so much, even if I'm not sure how I feel about it.'

"All good. And hey, next time, if you still want there to be one…" She teased a finger over her cloth-shouded crotch - before sitting down and turning to grin at her. "Sorry. I'm not trying to upsell you, just get you more comfortable and stuff. You've been so cool today."

'You're cool every day. I'll see you soon.'

"Bye, Mountie!"

And then Elsa closed the browser, set her laptop aside… and went straight into the shower. For another thirty minutes.

                           To Be Continued…

[dearmyblank]

To All Of The People I've Called My Best Friend:  Disclaimer: I don't know if any of you guys are on Tumblr, I know a few of you do have tumblr and one I've shown this blog to a long long time ago, but I don't think any of you will ever see this.  KG, 

I honestly should've realized our friendship was toxic before you ended things. The signs were all there. You'd talk bad about BD behind her back, multiple times. So much so that if she found out, she probably wouldn't be your friend anymore. You probably did the same with me to SC because you were like her sister from another mother. That wasn't the major toxic thing. Did you ever realize we only ever got along when we were a group of three? The first year we met we had your friend MP as our third, the next year we had no one and we fought constantly, the year after that till high school we had AF because you became friends with him as a way to get back at me. Then eventually we became friends again. High school happened and our third was a mixture of the girls in the group but most BD or SC. Sure we were the 'best friends' of the group for quite some time, and everyone was shocked when you ended things. But I really wasn't. Yeah, it hurt like a motherfucker, but I wasn't shocked. I don't think we were ever as good of friends as everyone thought we were. 

CW, 

God I haven't spoken to you in over 2 years. I look back at our friendship and I realize it was toxic as fuck. There has to be something wrong when we agree on almost everything. No two people are that much alike. This friendship was fucked up, but what made me realize it even more was the downfall. Yes it was shitty what I did, and I don't blame you for ending things. It's the hypocrisy that I don't get.

You blamed me for how our friendship ended, which is fair, but you still talk to the guy who never helped you when you needed it. He's still your best friend even after all these years. I'm not saying I'm better than him, because I'm not. But he's done worse shit to you than I ever did. If it weren't for me, you'd probably still be in a toxic relationship with him. He didn't give a damn about your problems and when you called him on it he tried to play it off as, "Oh I won't always be here, so you need to work it out yourself." 

I don't get how you can still be friends with someone like that. But maybe I don't know you or him as well as I thought. Maybe he's way better than he used to be, and maybe you weren't the girl I fell in love with. Maybe our whole friendship was only because I was the only one who gave a damn about you back then. I should've questioned it more because no one ever agrees as much as we did. We only talked everyday because that's just routine, but you also did with him. Maybe it's cause we were in two different countries, and you could technically see him in real life if you wanted. 

JU, 

You currently hold the spot as my best girl friend, but tbh I don't even know how long that would last. The only reason we started talking more was because I fell out with CW. If it weren't for that, we never would've become closer friends.  I've told you things I never did with the other two girls. I've talked more girl things than I ever did in my life, and honestly it's amazing. You started college recently, and I see it in your snapchats that you're having a good time down there with people you met. I'm glad you're having a better college experience so far than I ever did. I hope those people help your worries about being far from home. 

I just don't think our friendship is going to last because of how busy you seem to be. We do talk, but it's not as much as it was with the other two girls I used to call best friends. Sometimes I think you find it annoying when I once again complain about my life or about AM. Eventually I'm going to do something that will lead you or me to end this friendship. 

AM, 

I've written to you A LOT on this blog, and there's so much I can say. I've had numerous guy friends, but you're the closest one I've had. I tell other people you're my best friend, but are we really? We barely text each other, and in person you tend to dominate the conversation. I know it's not on purpose, and you do talk to me. I just let you talk because I'm used to that. I'm used to people not caring about what I have to say. You're barely around anyway, so better for you to talk than me. 

Even after 6 years of knowing each other, we barely know each other. Sure I vent a lot, but that's not knowing me. Everytime you come around I learn stuff that I should've known about you. We never really ever got to know each other and I only started talking to you more because I had a crush on you. Sure before you knew that, we did get to know each other a bit, but that was so long ago. 

This friendship we have is only because we were in Crew together, and because we're practically the same age. I always tend to push people away when the common thing we have is no more. I did that with CW, she was going to quit video editing and I think subconsciously I knew we'd fall when that happened. You're not signing back up as an adult in Crew, and I just know we'll probably never see each other again after that. I know you said we would, but we never have before. 

I don't even think you're giving me the time of day anymore because of the texts I've sent. I get it since they were pretty harsh, and I never apologized for the content just how it was delivered. You usually do look at snaps I send you, even when you don't go on much. You're not even pretending to amuse me anymore. They weren't bad, just me making college jokes like I did last semester.

Am I just "that girl who laughs at your jokes" to you? Or "that girl that would do anything for you because I love you"? Was I ever someone you cared about? I know you're with HM, and I don't hate her. I don't know her, and if you've been with her for years she can't be all bad. 

I feel like we started falling apart as friends when you got with her. Things were never really the same between us when I knew you had a girlfriend. I know I can't be the most important person in your life, and I can live with that. But am I even apart of your life like I've claimed to be? Do you appreciate me trying to still keep you in the loop with Crew stuff before December hits? 

Our friendship was always fucked up, and when it ends I won't be surprised. I'm not saying if, because at this point i'm pretty sure you're completely done with my shit. I don't blame you. I know our "friendship" is probably fucking up your mental health, and I'm sorry for putting you through so much shit over the years. You've always deserved a better friend than me. 

~AB

[writingonjorvik]

Can We Discuss Quest Frequency?

Ok, before we start, did y’all not want 5000 SC? Because I’ve had a giveaway running since Monday and only one person has entered?! Seriously? Y’all get on it.

But on a serious note, we’re going to be talking about the results from this poll, and like always the poll will continue to run after this analysis is out. But I wanted to do this today because of the changes that came out to the Horse Market.

So to start, I can get why SSO would want to stop having the Horse Market. By being stationary, it makes these horses accessible and it gives SSO somewhere where they can always fit more horses instead of terraforming more of the environment and I can appreciate that. It also means there’s not this continuing source of EXP that will continue to push veteran players to levels unavailable to everyone else, but that’s also got its own problems and we’re going to break into that.

So to start, now that the horse market is done, that’s a lot of exp that’s now unavailable to new players, meaning access to players for those higher levels is going to be harder, if possible (there was a lot of horse market exp over the years). But this also highlights the problems in SSO’s leveling system. With a lowered pool of exp, there’s a wider gap in player level and with things like championships were a level 22 player can race a level 5 (I did), that’s not a fair matching system, and there’s less to do to close it. I mean, there’s a whole other topic here about championships being seriously improved by making more groups and only putting in same level players to make the races fair. But exp access and SSO’s apparent fear of giving it out/increasing level caps isn’t really the point of this.

No, I think the bigger issue with removing the horse market is it means less people are going to get on, which is bad for an MMO. MMOs are, despite the about a quarter of y’all according to my other poll running right now, advertised on having a lot of players. And SSO already has a low player retention compared to other MMOs (400,000 of 12,000,000 before accounting for multiple accounts). But to remove a bi-weekly event removes another reason for players to get on.

Start with the basics of this survey.

Two thirds of y’all said you got on daily when you had quests.

But that drops down to only 6.4% when there aren’t quests. That’s an insane drop! Nearly half of y’all said if you don’t have quests you only get on when you have something to do. That’s not a frequency, that’s a guess and it could be anywhere in a wide spectrum of times. But it does mean that the more often SSO puts out quests, the more often that is.

I’m gonna go through these next three quick.

To be fair, I think the original wording of the last one might have skewed my data. I didn’t mean how often should SSO make new events or how often should they repeat (duh, holiday events should happen once a year), I meant how often should one be happening. Regardless, I’m going to use the data as it was collected.

A massive amount of y’all think story quests need to be happening more often, and considering that SSO is a story driven game, I don’t disagree. I think the majority “Quarterly” release here is fair, and it is something SSO seems to be working towards. But that shouldn’t be the only quests! Over 70% of y’all think smaller side quests need to me added at least monthly, if not more often. And y’all think events should be running quarterly to monthly in a pretty big majority.

But it’s not just about quests being more often, it’s about continuing to have something to do.

Nearly 90% of entrants said quests need to be longer than a day. It’s not just about things coming out more often, it’s about continuing to have something to do. And whether you think events, general, or story quests need to be longer respectively, length is the fourth biggest priority for all interests in new quests, bigger than new areas to explore.

Y’all didn’t really see to care about seeing new things outside of areas to explore, and since SSO’s also pretty big on exploration, kinda makes since. But based on y’all’s results, you care more about worldbuilding in story and generally having fun for a longer period of time than needing new assets, which for a game, is great! If you’re fine with reusing assets, that should mean less development time for the devs. They largely need to write story, not create new set pieces.

But it can also be repetitive and y’all agreed resoundingly on that.

You guys want dailies back, though with some updates. Dailies having a story purpose was behind dailies being fair and having a balanced progression and then having a reward for finishing them. Dailies like your popular favorites, any of the druid quests, the Rescue Ranch, or the Kalters, where they take a fair amount of time and immediately reward you with something for doing the daily, like a quest, a horse, or a new area.

What I think is frustrating is that nearly all of you either said fishing or the Sunfield Hens as your least favorite dailies, but SSO makes jokes about it. Sure, having a reward like an achievement makes these dailies more bearable, but there’s still a stupid amount of slog and y’all still said you hated these dailies even after those achievements were out. For SSO to hold these two (a super minority of all of their dailies) as the standard that dailies are and the reason they don’t add more is, frankly, just nonsense. Further, the fact that they have done nothing to make these more enjoyable is beyond me. Just rebalance them. Make the hens stay still longer. Take away the “Good try” in fishing. Besides the point.

The overwhelming evidence from y’all’s feedback is that while quality matters, having something, even minute, is better than nothing. And for a game that runs itself on the idea of having people online, it is in their best interest to have something to do for their players, a reason to get online, even for a fractional amount of time.

Look, quests obviously take time to make and I never think quests should be put out at a rate that makes them poor or puts crunch on the devs, but if the majority of your game is focused around story, then more story should be added. If that’s padded for a month by a fun, unique daily (like the Sun Circle was), most of y’all are fine with that. It’s a reason to get on and be playing this game we all love, even if it’s not for hours on end. And until SSO gives us easier access to making secondary characters (which they really should will all these branching stories), then they need to encourage more people to be getting on their accounts more often.

And that’s all the time I have to break this down. The data is all available, so y’all extrapolate what you can and I’m going to think about how cool a daily where a randomly generated horse appears at the rescue ranch every week and you have to take care of them, or rival group dailies where to max you have to make peace with both (like between the Bobcats and Bulldogz) but until then helping one looses favor in the other, or organizing the library to find books on Jorvik’s magic and past with Linda. There’s so much there and it doesn’t have to be big or complicated and still be able to add on the game.

[dumbledearme]

chapter two—a safe place

read Child of Land and Sea here

Act I — Storm At Sea

Part II — Look at this trove, treasures untold. How many wonders can one summer camp hold?

The gods existed. That's what they were trying to convince her of. The gods existed, they were out there watching over people. The gods were out there watching over people and yet none of them had lifted a finger to save Andy's mom. Sally was dead, gone, vaporized into smoke by a monster that couldn't be real. Andy's head was spinning and they just wouldn't stop talking about the damn gods!

Andy, her mother and Grover had been followed by an enormous beast, half bull half man. Sally had called it Pasiphae's son or whatever, but the only word going through Andy's mind had been Minotaur. Only they wouldn't let her say it out loud. Andy didn't know what to do, what to think. There was a mythical creature following them, trying to kill them, her best friend was a goat—okay, a satyr, as he patiently explained—and her mother seemed to find everything about that situation quite normal. Sally even admitted to have expected such an attack.

Then the bull-man grunted, pawing the ground and charged toward them. Andy could still feel the earth moving under her feet. She could still smell the rotten meat that exhaled from it. But the fear couldn't compare to the feeling of emptiness of when the monster grabbed her mother and turned her to dust.

Andy had lost her mind then. She had attacked the monster with all her might. And somehow, she had managed to destroy it.

After several days in some sort of coma, Andy woke up to find out that none of that had been a dream. It had all happened. Grover told her she was in Camp Half-Blood, a safe place, the place her father had wanted to send her to. The place Sally didn't want her to go to.

Grover took her to the Great House where Andy was introduced to none other than her former Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner, only now he was a centaur going by the name of Chiron.

As if that wasn't weird enough, Andy was forced to sit down for a game of pinochle with the camp's director, Mr. D, also known as Dionysus, son of Zeus, etc etc. Andy wanted to pass out to stop herself from hearing any more of their crazy-talk. They told her the gods existed, they kept repeating it, as if the more they said it the faster she would come to accept it. But Andy couldn't accept that, she found herself completely unable to. Too much craziness and not enough time to process it.

The god of wine apparently had been banished to care for Camp Half-Blood because of a wood nymph he hadn't been able to stay away from. Nothing new there. Boys will be (stupid) boys. His father had declared her off limits, but that wasn't enough to stop Dionysus who was now forced to stay here, forbidden to have a sip of wine.

Then they told her the gods of Olympus were now here in America. They gave her a perfectly good explanation that Andy barely heard. And after that, Chiron invited her for a tour which Andy thought was a terrible idea, since every single one of the other campers kept staring at her and whispering. Most of them were older than Andy and their satyr friends were bigger than Grover. They all wore the same orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirt. Andy wasn't shy, but the way they stared made her feel extremely uncomfortable. Trying to take off the edge she was feeling, she asked Chiron about Grover.

"He has big dreams," Chiron told her. "Perhaps bigger than are reasonable. To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill."

"But he did that."

"I might agree with you," Chiron said. "But it is not my place to judge. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success. After all, Grover lost you in New York. Then there's the unfortunate... ah... fate of your mother. And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The Council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part."

"But... he'll get a second chance, won't he?"

Chiron winced. "I'm afraid that was Grover's second chance, Andy. The Council was not anxious to give him another, either, after what happened the first time, seven years ago. Olympus knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age..."

"How old is he?"

"Oh, twenty-eight."

"Whaaaat!"

"Satyrs mature half as fast as humans, Andy."

"Oh, that's unfortunate."

"Quite," Chiron agreed. "At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyrs standards, and not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he was anxious to pursue his dreams. Perhaps now he will find some other career..."

"That isn't fair. What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"

Chiron looked away quickly and the matter was ended. He would not discuss it with Andy. It was none of her business.

Finally, Chiron showed Andy the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. Chiron explained that each of the cabins represented one of the twelve Olympian gods but Andy was more preoccupied in wondering why some of them looked empty. But before she could ask Chiron that, a blond boy came their way. He was tall, probably Andy's age, and very athletic looking. With his deep tan and his smooth yellow hair, he was exactly the type of guy who'd never glance at Andy twice. When he got closer, Andy saw that his eyes were gray, like storm clouds; pretty but extremely intimidating.

"This is Anthony," Chiron told Andy. "He nursed you back to health."

Andy tried to smile. "Hey."

The boy glared at her, obviously unimpressed with what he was seeing. "You drool when you sleep," he felt the need to inform her. Andy felt the need to slap him.

"Anthony," Chiron said, "I have master's archery class at noon. Would you take Andy from here?"

"Yes, sir," the boy said very politely, as if he was a fifty year old ambassador instead of a hot teenage boy. Andy shook her head.

"We'll be putting her in cabin eleven for now," added Chiron before leaving them.

Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a regular summer camp cabin and it was the most crowded one as well. There were boys and girls, more than there were beds, so there was sleeping bags spread all over the floor. Andy stood in the doorway, looking at the kids that stared at her in return.

"Well?" Anthony prompted. "Go on." So naturally, Andy tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of herself. Most of them laughed, but Anthony didn't seem to think it was funny at all. "Andy Jackson, meet cabin eleven."

"Regular or undetermined?" Somebody asked.

"Undetermined," he replied. Everyone groaned. A guy around Andy's age made his way through the crowd and if Andy had thought Anthony looked hot, it was nothing compared to this boy. He was much taller than everyone else, his muscles were impossible not to stare at and his short-cropped sandy hair went perfectly nicely with his charming smile. There was no other word to describe him but cool.

"Now, now, campers," he said, "that's what we're here for. Welcome, Andy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there." He stopped right beside Andy and she noticed two things about him she hadn't seen from the distance. He had a unsettling thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw—not that that made him any less hotter—and he wore a leather necklace with seven different-colored clay beads.

"This is Luke," Anthony said and this time his voice was full of pride. Andy wondered if she wasn't the only one charmed by the guy. "He's your counselor for now."

"For now?" Andy asked, disappointed.

"You're undetermined," explained Luke. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all the newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."

"How long will I be here?"

"Until you're determined," he said.

"How long will that take?"

The campers laughed.

"Come on," said Anthony. "I'll show you the rest."

"Oh I'm pretty sure I've seen everything," Andy told him, wishing to stay with the other hot dude. Anthony grabbed her wrist and dragged her outside. Andy could hear the others still laughing.

"You have to do better than that," he told her, when they were outside.

"Excuse me?"

He rolled his eyes. Again, Andy's hand itched to hit him. "I can't believe I thought you were the one."

"What is your problem?" she snapped. "I just got here. I have absolutely no idea what is going on. My mother's dead and I killed this bull guy and—"

"You know how many of us wish they'd had your chance?" he interrupted. "To fight the Minotaur? That's what we train for."

Andy still wanted to hit him, but she thought of something she hadn't figured before. "If... If that thing I fought really was the Minotaur, the one in the stories..."

"Yes?"

"Then there's only one."

"Your point being?"

"He died, like, a gazillion years ago. Theseus or some other guy killed him in the labyrinth."

"Monsters don't die. They can be killed, but they don't die."

"Oh, yes. That makes perfect sense. Why didn't I see it before?"

Anthony sighed. "They don't have souls, like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually, they reform."

Andy thought about Mrs. Dodds. "You mean, if I killed one... With a sword...?"

"The Fur—Your math teacher. Yes, she's still out there. You just made her very angry."

"How do you know about that?"

"When you're not drooling all over yourself, you talk a lot in your sleep."

Andy chose to ignore that. "You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?"

"You shouldn't call them by name," he said nervously. "We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all."

Andy scowled, "Is there anything we can say without it thundering? And why do I have to stay in cabin eleven? Why is everybody crowded there when there are several cabins empty?"

"You don't just choose a cabin. It depends on who your parents are. Or rather... parent."

"My mom is Sally Jackson," Andy heard herself say. "Or rather... was."

A shadow of sorrow crossed the boy's eyes. But only for a second. "I'm sorry about your mom, but that is not what I meant."

Andy shook her head. "I don't have... I never met him. I don't know who he is. He's probably dead."

"He's not dead."

"How do you know?"

"I know you. And you wouldn't be here if—"

"You don't know anything about me."

"No?" He raised an eyebrow. "I bet you moved around from school to school. You were kicked out of most of them. Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too."

Andy tried to swallow. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read. That's because your brain is hardwired for ancient Greek. And the ADHD—you're impulsive, can't sit still in class. That's your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you seeing them for what they are."

"You sound like... like you went through the same thing?"

"All of us did. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."

"Ambrosia and nectar?"

"What I've been feeding you. The food and drink of the gods. I would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand if you were a regular kid. Face it. You're a half-blood."

Suddenly Andy realized she had a million questions to ask. But they would have to wait for a husky voice yelled, "Well! A newbie!"

Andy looked over. A big girl, twice Andy's size, walked over to them with an evil sneer. She had three other girls behind her, all big and ugly and mean looking like her, all wearing camo jackets.

"Clarisse," said Anthony. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"

"Sure, you nerd," the big girl said. "So I can run you through with it Friday night."

Anthony cursed her in ancient Greek. That would'd been weird enough if not for the fact that Andy understood him perfectly. "You don't stand a chance."

"We'll pulverize you," Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. "Now who's the little rat?"

Andy raised her head, though it made no difference, she was much shorter than the other girl.

"Andy Jackson," said Anthony, "meet Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares."

Andy blinked. "Like the war god?"

Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"

"No," Andy said, taking a step ahead. "It explains the smell."

Clarisse growled. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, little rat. Come on, I'll show you."

"Clarisse—" Anthony tried to say.

"Stay out of it, geek." Anthony looked unsure, but he did stay out of it. Clarisse grabbed Andy by the neck and dragged her towards a cinder-block building—the bathroom.

Andy kicked and punched but the giant girl had hands like iron. There was a line of toilets on one side and a line of shower stalls down the other. Clarisse's friends were all laughing and Anthony stood on the corner, watching. Clarisse bent Andy over her knees and started pushing her head toward the toilet bowl. It reeked. Andy strained to keep her head up. She was decided not to go into that disgusting water. Then she felt a tug in the pit of her stomach. The plumbing rumbled, the pipes shuddered. Clarisse's grip on her hair loosened.

Water shot out of the toilet, making an arc straight over her head, and the next thing she knew, Andy was sprawled on the bathroom tiles with Clarisse screaming behind her. The water hit her so hard she fell on her ass. She struggled, gasping, and ran after her friends out of there. The entire bathroom was flooded. Andy turned to find Anthony staring right at her with those stormy eyes. He seemed genuinely surprised.

Andy stood up, knees weak.

"How did you—"

"I don't know," she said, defensively.

Anthony simply stared. "I want you on my team for capture the flag," he said finally.

[legxllyblxndc]

halloween party 2.1 ( @foreverwednesday )

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie loved Halloween - she always had done. So a Halloween party seemed to be a no brainer and when her parents said they were going out of town for the night, she was over the moon. She knew that she couldn't get away with not inviting the people from the musical but she wasn't sure who would actually show up. Johnny and her were still on the outs and it wasn't like the rest of them were all that fond of her. "We should go downstairs." Hettie laughed as she looked over her shoulder to Johnny. There were already a few people downstairs and they were letting the others in. She had just needed to finish her makeup.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton sighed as he stepping into the house and he couldn't see Scott. He got on with the others, just not as well and he felt a little weird around Audrey now that she was officially with Caleb. He didn't understand it. None of that made sense to him but he knew better than to say something about it to her. He slightly though, as he spotted Betsy. "At least someone could be on time." He chuckled.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River laughed as she looked over to Audrey and Robyn. She had really enjoyed getting ready with the two girls. She wouldn't usually do something like this so it was nice. She wasn't used to spending time with other girls but it was fun. "Should we be getting going?" She asked with a laugh. The party had officially started five minutes ago. She was used to being late and the boys were waiting for them downstairs.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Caleb smiled as he looked at Johnny, "Can you believe our bloody luck with those two?" He asked with a raise of an eyebrow. He hadn't believed his luck when Audrey said that she wanted him. And he couldn't wait to see how things went with them. They were already having a good time together. "But fucking hell - I think we're never gonna be on time anywhere ever again."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Alyssa squeezed Seths hand as she stepped into the house. "I always forget how insane this place is." She muttered with a shake of her head. She had never expected to ever set foot in a place somewhere this incredible. She was so happy to be there with Seth. She thought that they always had a lot of fun together - even if it wasn't what everyone else thought about the two of them.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Isaac was really nervous about stepping into the party on his own so he had texted Lucy to ask if she would meet him outside. He knew that, that probably sounded really stupid but he was glad that she had said yes. He smiled as he saw her. "You look great, luce. I like your costume." He nodded slightly. He felt really comfortable around her and she almost made him feel a little more confident.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn laughed as she listened to the others and nodded her head. She stood up and glanced to Audrey, "Come on." She laughed before she moved down the stairs. "Okay - can we have a shot before we go please?" She asked with a raise of an eyebrow. "And a photo too! We look too cute to not have a photo." She smiled. She really liked Johnny - as a person. But she didn't know if there was much more than that. Which she knew probably wasn't really fair .

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie loved being the host of a party. She always enjoyed being in charge. Hettie smiled as she looked over at him, "I still wish you'd have let me do all of that makeup on you too." She muttered but shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't going to let that ruin her evening. She held out her hand to him. Though Hettie usually wouldn't think about anyone else, she knew that she needed to make sure that Amber was okay tonight too. She was pretty sure her friend had feelings for Caleb. "You look really nice in that suit." She smiled at him.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton nodded his head with a laugh as he listened to her. "To say the least, yeah." He chuckled. He had never understood other peoples need to be late. It was the only thing that he didn't miss about Audrey. He missed everything else though. He thought that things were starting to get on a good page again - and then she was with Caleb. He looked at his friend. "You look amazing, though, Bets." He muttered. He'd be blind to think otherwise.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River laughed as she listened to Audrey and nodded her head slightly, "I know that but we've gotta get there, right?" She asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a laugh. She nodded as she looked over at Robyn. She wouldn't have ever put herself with these two - and she probably would have preferred to be with Johnny and Caleb - but she was having fun regardless.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn smiled as Audrey spoke. "Oh, perfect." She laughed. "Hey, Johnny!" Robyn called. "Get us some shots sorted please." She hoped that they wouldnt' be long before they were downstairs. Robyn hadn't seen Betsy since she had gotten with Johnny and she hoped that the other was there tonight. She really, really wanted to see her, though she still refused to admit it was anything more than friendship. It couldn't be. She was dating a boy. She was interested in a boy.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Caleb smiled as he looked at his friend. He felt so happy that things were good with him and Audrey. For a while there, he had really thought that nothing was going to happen and he was so glad that, that wasn't the case. He liked that she wanted to be with him too. "It's kind of part of her charm though, don't you think?" He asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a laugh. He was glad that Johnny had agreed to go to the party. He thought that they would all have a lot of fun.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "That's exactly it." Alyssa laughed. Her family weren't poor by any means but this was absolutely insane. She didn't think that anyone should have the kind of wealth that Hettie and Scotts families had. "Yes, a drink would be perfect." She smiled with a nod of her head. She had brought a bottle of wine with her which would probably do her the majority of the night.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Isaac always felt instantly more comfortable when he was around Lucy and he liked that. It had been difficult for him before to make any kind of connection with someone. He sometimes wondered if Lucy thought of him as more than a friend but he wasn't sure if she would. "Yeah, it's a video game." Isaac muttered with a nod of his head. He felt a little embarrassed for admitting that but he was pretty sure that Lucy wouldn't judge him for that.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "I don't wear makeup, I told you that." Scott chuckled. Wearing an actual costume was enough for him - usually, he'd do what the rest of the football team did and throw on some kind of dark shirt and call that enough, but he knew that wasn't going to fly at Hettie's own party. He smiled and took her hand, leaning down to kiss her quickly. "Runs in my blood, right?" He laughed. He wasn't exactly a stranger to wearing things like this.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Honestly, I'm surprised they're coming - they're like the bloody Brady Bunch or something, now. I would've thought they'd want to celebrate on their own." Betsy laughed, rolling her eyes - she was only playing around, but she did think the five of them had almost formed a little group that felt kind of separate. "Oh - thanks." She laughed as he complimented her. "So do you. Pros of time management, I guess." She grinned.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "I suppose so. We can go whenever you want." Audrey laughed, nodding her head. She wasn't really used to being around people who really cared about what time they got there, but she was pretty much ready, so she wouldn't hold them up if they all wanted to go now. She knew Caleb wasn't too bothered and she liked that - everything was so easy with him, it was like a breath of fresh air. She was trying to ignore the fact that with her, easy wasn't something she'd ever really looked for before in a boyfriend.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "On it!" Johnny called up the stairs with a laugh, getting up and setting out some shot glasses. "It's part of something alright. Is there anything you don't think is part of her charm?" He chuckled, obviously teasing. He poured some tequila into the glasses, waiting until the girls got downstairs to have his. He didn't think he'd feel as happy about going to Hettie's party if he didn't have Robyn - she made him care less about all of that.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Like Alyssa, Seth wasn't really impressed by this kind of wealth - almost the opposite. He thought it was crazy that some people could be this wealthy, whilst others lived on the streets. He didn't like it at all. "Where's your wine?" He asked with a smile, grabbing two of the plastic cups on the side. He'd only brought cider tonight, he didn't want to get too drunk. "How long has it actually been since we've all been together?" He asked, shaking his head. He didn't think they'd actually had a gathering like this since Rock of Ages had ended.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Lucy smiled as Isaac confirmed it was a video game character. "That's really cool, you're going to be the only one dressed like him. I bet there'll be at least three other Mia Wallace's." She laughed, raising an eyebrow. She wasn't the biggest fan of dressing up, but she knew that all of this lot would've made the effort, so she wanted to as well.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie rolled her eyes but didn't see the point in commenting further. It wouldn't do either of them any good. She was pretty sure that she was pushing her luck with him being in an actual costume anyway. Hettie smiled as he pulled away from the kiss and the blonde nodded her head, "It does. But you look better than any of the rest of your family so.." She shrugged her shoulders before she started out of the room.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "They're not here yet are they? They might not turn up yet." Ashton almost hoped that they wouldn't. He only got annoyed when he was around Caleb and he knew that Scott didn't like being anywhere near Johnny. It was probably better that they didn't get there. Ashton chuckled as he nodded his head slightly, "Yeah, that must be it." He laughed.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River shrugged her shoulders as she listened to Audrey, "It doesn't really matter, does it?" She asked her. She usually wouldn't care but she still wasn't really feeling like herself again. And she was really nervous about seeing Scott. She hadn't really been around him since the holiday and she wanted that to stay the same. She felt like an idiot still. And she knew that hettie would happily have her guts.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn smiled as she heard him call back. She thought that she was pretty lucky to have someone like Johnny. How could she not like him? He was everything that she could hope for. She'd be stupid to not think so. "Come on. The shots are waiting." Robyn laughed as she looked between the two girls. She was excited to see what was going to come from tonight.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Caleb shrugged his shoulders slightly as Johnny spoke, "maybe not. But that stays between us." He laughed as he nudged Johnny. He didn't make any secret about how much he liked Audrey. He thought it was pretty obvious. She was the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen and she was so funny, so chill. He thought that she was pretty much perfect. "How're you feeling about tonight?"

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: This kind of wealth just seemed crazy to Alyssa. She didn't understand how people could sleep soundly when they knew that they could help people with the kind of money that they had. "Oh yeah." She laughed with a nod of her head as she pulled out the bottle of wine she had. She hoped that Seth would end up going home with her that night. Her mum was out so they had the house to themselves. "When we went on holiday? I think." Alyssa shrugged her shoulders. She had pretty much spoke to Lucy every day but that was about it.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Isaac chuckled as he nodded his head slightly, "Yeah, I guess you have a point with that one." He smiled. He liked that she was able to make him feel so comfortable like this. He thought that, that was one of the things he really liked about Lucy. "But you're gonna look the best - so it doesn't matter about the rest of them." He chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders. "Should we go in?"

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott didn't think anybody was ever going to get him like Hettie did - she was the person he trusted the most and that was why he knew them being together was right. "I'm glad to hear you say that, I'd be pretty pissed off if you thought my dad looked better." He teased, rolling his eyes. He followed Hettie out of the room and down the stairs, smirking slightly as he took in the party. She'd gone an excellent job, like he'd known she would.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Maybe you're right. I guess we'll find out." Betsy laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She knew she was mostly just saying this because she didn't want to see Robyn and Johnny - despite it not being the same for the other girl, Betsy had really liked her and now she just felt like she'd been an experiment. It hurt. "What are you thinking about the new show, are you gonna audition?" She hoped he did, she always like spending time with Ashton.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "No, like I said - we can go whenever." Audrey smiled, raising an eyebrow. She wasn't really sure why River was questioning her on it when she'd pretty much said she was easy, but she was happy to get going. She grinned as Robyn spoke, heading downstairs. "Look at this star treatment." She laughed as she saw the shots lined up, smiling up at Caleb.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Stays between us." Johnny agreed with a laugh, nodding his head. He was happy that his friend and Audrey were finally getting their chance and he really hoped it worked out for them. "I'm alright, you know? There are other places to go if it all goes to crap." He shrugged his shoulders. He smiled as soon as he saw Robyn. "Hey, look at you - I always thought the tin man had a thing for Glinda." He grinned.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Seth smiled and handed Alyssa a cup, before he started to pour his own. He liked that everything between them was so natural now - he had been so nervous all the time at first, but now they were so in sync and it was exactly what he'd always wanted. "Yeah, I thought so... That feels like it was a long time ago, but I guess it wasn't too far." He raised an eyebrow. He wondered how everybody was going to be with each other.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Lucy still liked Isaac, she wasn't the kind of person to get over something like that easily - but they hadn't really spoken about being anything more than friends since Greece and she knew that anything like that made him uncomfortable, so she hadn't brought it up either. She was happy just to be around him. "Oh, the highest of compliments. Thank you." She chuckled, nodding her head. "Yeah, we should - let's see all of these inferior Mia's." She laughed.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie knew that Scott understood her better than anyone else would ever. She thought that, that was probably why they would be together. But she was glad that things had been so much easier between them now. "I mean your dad is a silver fox but.." She shrugged her shoulders with a laugh. She had really enjoyed sorting out all of the decorations. And she thought that it all looked great.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "We certainly will." Ashton nodded his head. He really wasn't used to not being the girls first choice and while he wouldn't show it - it had definitely knocked his confidence that Audrey had decided to go with Caleb instead of him. He didn't really want to see her, though. He smiled as she mentioned the new musical and nodded his head, "Yeah, I probably will. Are you?"

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River nodded her head and quietly followed after the two girls. Though she had enjoyed getting ready with the others - as soon as she got downstairs, she felt like a fifth wheel. River almost wished that she had just stayed at home. She knew that Johnny was just trying to help her out of the slump she had been in and she was trying to make sure that no-one else really, realised... but she was definitely struggling. This had been the first time she had even seen him since Rock of Ages.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn laughed as she heard Johnny and shrugged her shoulders, "Well, that's good. Because I think if the Tin Man looked like that - she'd definitely have a thing for him too." She smiled at him as she reached up to kiss him quickly. She turned to the tequila then though, "Gather round, friends." She called to the others with a smile. She was looking forward to spending time with this group.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "You're the best." Caleb chuckled with a nod of his head. He hoped that things would be good with him and Audrey. If definitely felt like it was. They had a lot of fun together, what else mattered? "Alright, yeah, good. There's a big halloween event going on at one of the clubs - we can go there if you don't feel comfortable here. Just say the word." He nodded. He just wanted to make sure that he was okay. He smiled as Audrey came down the stairs. "Whoever thought that Dorothy could ever look so good?"

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Alyssa didn't think that she had to think about anything between she and Seth and she liked that. They had, had a bit of a bumpy road in the beginning but it seemed like things were much smoother now and she thought that, that was really nice. "Oh it feels like such a long time ago." The brunette nodded. She didn't know how good things were going to be with the little group now though.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Isaac never knew how to go about situations like this. He was so sure that Lucy didn't like him back and that she had only kissed him back because she felt sorry for him - but he wished that she would bring it all up. He really wanted to know whatever was going on between the two of them. "You're very welcome." He smiled with a nod of his head. He started towards the house, "Are Seth and Alyssa here?'

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott grimaced slightly as Hettie spoke about his dad, but he laughed. "Don't even start." He rolled his eyes. He'd been in a lot of trouble when he'd gotten back from Greece, especially after River had stood up for him and he and his dad still weren't really on good terms. His mum didn't seem to care enough to treat him any differently, but his dad had upped the dislike heavily. "Who do you want to see first?" He raised an eyebrow as they walked down the stairs.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "How do you feel about all of that, anyway?" Betsy raised an eyebrow. She thought she and Ashton were in pretty similar situations, but she obviously couldn't tell him that without outing Robyn and she would never do that. She wished she could, though. She thought it would probably be nice to talk about it. "Yeah, I will be - it's a dance musical, isn't it? Made for me." She laughed.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Oh yeah? Maybe I could make a look out of this Tin Man thing, if I look that good. An OnlyFans for scrap metal." Johnny laughed, kissing his girlfriend back happily. He appreciated Caleb saying they could go wherever, but he didn't want to talk about it in front of everybody - he didn't think it would even come to that, anyway. He smiled and grabbed a shot of tequila, handing another one to River. He was worried about her and he wanted to make sure she was okay tonight.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Audrey smiled widely as she heard Caleb, shrugging her shoulders. "Oh, you'd be surprised - lots of people, actually. It was genuinely hard to find a costume that wasn't made for a strip club." She laughed, shaking her head as she reached him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I love this costume, feels like I'm hugging a giant teddy bear. Which is weird, because I'm also still attracted to you." She laughed.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Yeah, it does. It probably isn't as weird for us because we see each other all the time, but I feel like it's probably going to be weird for a lot of the others." Seth raised an eyebrow. With the new show coming up, he kind of hoped they would all get to start hanging out together again - he had loved it in Spelling Bee, when they'd all hung out all the time. "Did you hear that Johnny and Robyn are together now?" He had been really shocked by that news.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Lucy had no idea that Isaac was still thinking about everything that had happened between them like she was, she thought he probably wouldn't care anymore. She had spoken a bit about it with Alyssa, but after they'd argued in Greece she didn't want to go too into it. "I think so, Alyssa told me they were setting off quite a while ago." She paused as she looked around. "I see them. Do you want to head over?"

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie laughed as she listened to him. She knew that things were still bad at home and that was why she had him there as often as possible. Hettie knew that she would never have been able to do what River did. She didn't have the balls to stand up to Scotts dad - not when she knew that it would get back to her own parents. And she resented River a lot for that. "Do you see Amber anywhere?" She asked him.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton shrugged his shoulders at Betsys question. "Fucking weird but they can do what they want, can't they?" He asked with a raise of an eyebrow. He wasn't going to show that he cared too much. Ashton would never do that. He knew that, that was probably part of the reason why things with Audrey had ended but he didn't really care. He just wanted to be done with it all now he thought. "Ah, of course. What you gonna go for though? That's the question." He smiled as he nudged her. He thought that Betsy was so talented.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Oh yeah, I'd absolutely be a fan of that." Robyn laughed with a nod of her head. She wished that she could be as into this as she knew that she probably should have been. She thought that Johnny was probably the perfect boyfriend and yet she was so sure that there was something missing between the two of them. She smiled as she grabbed her shot and quickly knocked it back.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River nodded her head slightly as Johnny handed her the shot, "Thanks." She gave him a quick smile before she quickly did the shot. She wanted to get tonight over with if she was completely honest. She hadn't seen Scott since the airport and it was absolutely setting her on edge - something she already felt on edge about before even thinking about having to see him.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Caleb laughed as he listened to her, "Well, you know - I wouldn't have complained about that." He shrugged his shoulders. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He felt so content with her. Caleb thought that this kind of relationship was how it was supposed to be. It was so easy and it was exactly what he would have liked from a relationship. "Do we have a secret fury over here?"

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Oh yeah - it absolutely will be." Alyssa nodded her head. She, Lucy, Seth and Isaac still hung out quite often but she didn't think it would be the same for the rest of them. She thought that it was going to be interesting to watch people interact tonight. She nodded her head, "Oh god, yeah. I did not see that one coming, did you?" She asked as she looked up at him. She had thought that she had seen something between Robyn and Betsy but apparently she was mistaken.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Isaac really just wasn't sure what to do with himself around all of that with Lucy. He didn't want to make things awkward. He thought that if she wanted more from the kiss, she would have said so, she would have done something about it. "Ah okay." He nodded his head, a small smile. He hoped that she didn't think that this was awkward. "Yeah, sounds good."

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott wasn't finding things easy at the moment and he truly felt like he had nowhere to get away from it; he loved Hettie and she made it all feel better, but he knew her parents were in constant contact with his, so it still didn't feel much different being there. "Yeah, she's over there by the drinks, looking like she's feeling sorry for herself." He raised an eyebrow. He honestly didn't get why Amber was so upset - he thought she could do a lot better, so it all seemed pretty stupid to him.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy nodded her head. "Yeah, I guess they can." She loved Caleb and she was happy for them, but if she was honest she didn't think it would last - and she just didn't want him to end up getting hurt. "I'll be fine with whatever, really - I just don't want to play an old person." She laughed, raising an eyebrow. This was one of the only times she really, really wanted the lead - but she didn't like to show her cards, in case it didn't work out for her. "What about you?" She smiled. She was sure Ashton would get whatever he wanted.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Johnny really wanted he and Robyn to work out, to be something good - but he sometimes felt as though they were two friends hanging out rather than a couple, even though he thought she was absolutely gorgeous. He just wasn't sure why that was, because he definitely liked her. "I thought as much. I'd give you discounted rates." He chuckled, nodding his head. "Okay, we should get going - we're already late." He laughed.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "I know you wouldn't, but I'd probably have ended up freezing to death and then you'd have some complaints. Hopefully, anyway." Audrey teased, laughing softly. She had never liked going to parties early and ten minutes late still felt pretty early to her, but she knew the rest of them wanted to go. If she was honest, she was kind of nervous about it - it was the first time they'd been around everybody as a couple. "Oh, you've caught me. I've been waiting for this costume to come out all year." She laughed, rolling her eyes jokingly.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Seth was really glad that they'd made their little group of friends through Spelling Bee, but he'd also liked it when they all hung out together, when they'd been a big group of friends - he hoped they could get back to that. "Not at all. I was really surprised, honestly. They're not who I would've put each other with." He wasn't sure who he would've put them with, but it wouldn't be each other.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Lucy didn't ever feel that awkward around Isaac, really - she thought they understood each other well enough to not need to speak all the time, to know they both enjoyed silence. She smiled and nodded her head, walking over to the other two. "Hi guys, you look very sweet." She laughed, taking in their matching costumes.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie had no idea how she could make things easier for Scott. But he wouldn't talk to her about anything that was going on so she didn't know how much she could actually do. She sighed as she looked over at Amber. "I'm gonna go check on her." Hettie smiled as she nodded her head. She gave Scott a quick kiss before she moved over to her friend. She never wanted her to feel like she couldn't talk to her. Hettie wasn't the best friend in the world, she knew that, but she would always be there for a friend that needed her.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton really didn't want to have to think about any of that. He almost wished that Hettie hadn't invited them tonight. He was surprised that she had. It wasn't like they got on. He didn't even think that she had spoke to Johnny since they had stopped talking. He thought it was weird. "Well - you'd make a fucking fantastic Ariel." He smiled at her. He thought that Footloose might be her time to shine. He hoped so."Ren." Ashton spoke, shrugging his shoulders. He knew that he couldn't do Willard, he wasn't funny. And he didn't really want to play Chuck. He'd be fine with Shaw but it wasn't his choice.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn thought something similar to Johnny. She really wanted them to be something good - but she just didn't think there was that spark there. They got on really well and she thought that he was a good looking man but she couldn't help but feel like there was something missing, like they were just friends. "Oh yeah? Is that a girlfriend privilege, huh?" She asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a laugh. Robyn nodded as she took a hold of his hand. "Come on then."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "I would definitely have complaints then but you could get in here with me. There's plenty of room for you." Caleb laughed as he shrugged his shoulders. He was quire the opposite of Audrey. He was really excited to spend time with everything now that he was with Audrey. "That's why you were so keen on this group costume thing then, huh?" He asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a laugh.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River nodded slightly as Johnny said that they should get going. She didn't know why she was even doing this. She didn't know why there was any point in her going to this party. Her friends were going to be caught up in their relationships and she hadn't spoke to Scott since she had a go at his dad. She didn't know why she was going but she knew that she couldn't back out now.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Alyssa didn't think that it would be easy for them to get back to the friendships that they all had at the start of Spelling Bee. She thought that it was going to be really hard for anyone to get back to friendship after all of that. But she knew that Seth still hoped and she wouldn't dampen that. "No, absolutely not. Me neither." Alyssa laughed as she shook her head. She thought that, that probably made sense though - for how young they all were still. "Hi!" She smiled as she looked at Lucy, "I love your costume."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Isaac definitely felt like there was a good silence between him and lucy - he just wished he knew what she was thinking about. He thought that she was a brilliant, amazing person and he thought that she was one of the prettiest, kindest people. He was so sure that she wouldn't be interested in him. "Hey." Isaac smiled as they got to their friends. "How're you doing?"

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott had never been the type of person who felt comfortable talking about his thoughts and feelings - he thought that was why he'd been so emotional when he'd finally let down his guard to River in Greece. He was still absolutely mortified about how he'd been that night and it was probably one of the reasons he'd avoided her a little bit since. "Okay, tell her I said she needs to get over it." He grinned teasingly, knowing Hettie would know he was joking. He kissed her back with a little smile, moving to go and grab himself a drink.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy thought part of Hettie might know what she was doing; there was bound to be drama, there was bound to be some kind of kick off with all of these people in the same room - and she thought the girl would probably like that. She smiled as Ashton said she would make a good Ariel. "Yeah? Fingers crossed, then. I dunno, seems like the part everybody will be going for." She shrugged. She didn't think she'd get it over Hettie or Audrey, even though she knew she was the stronger dancer. "That makes sense. You'd smash it. I don't think you've got much competition with this lot." He laughed.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: If Johnny knew the real reason he and Robyn weren't clicking, it would make so much sense to him - but right now, it just felt like something he couldn't quite put his finger on, something just out of his reach. "Oh yeah, it's one of the many pros." He chuckled, nodding his head. For now, he was happy and he thought that was what mattered. He smiled and squeezed her hand gently, leading the way to the door. "Coming, Riv?" He smiled, holding out his other arm to her.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Holy shit, do the good parts of this costume never end? I'm definitely going to end up in there before the night is out, I want to freak people out by popping my head out when they didn't realise I was in there." Audrey laughed, nodding her head enthusiastically. She was hiding how she felt about going to the party pretty well, she thought - but she was definitely ready for a drink now. To take the edge off. "You've got me, I've been rumbled here." She laughed, shaking her head. "Oh, looks like we're going." She smiled, raising an eyebrow as she saw the others heading towards the door. She took Caleb's hand and followed. She just hoped it was going to be okay, that nothing would be awkward.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Seth knew he was probably being a little bit naive by hoping they would ever get the same dynamic back as they'd had at the beginning of Spelling Bee, before any of the relationships or the fall outs - he thought the way everything had been at camping had been pretty perfect, but he knew it was wishful thinking to think they might be able to go back to that now. He'd like everybody getting along and he'd liked feeling like he had a big group of friends. "Hey!" He smiled as he saw Isaac and Lucy. "Good! Well, good enough, to say I'm wearing tights." He laughed as he looked down at his costume, shaking his head. "How are you?"

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Lucy was good with slow, she was good with casual - but she didn't think she could handle getting to a complete standstill and that was where she felt like she and Isaac had landed. She was sure of herself, but not sure enough to keep on pressing when somebody didn't seem to be on the same page as her - but she hoped they might be able to get back to that. She still liked him, she still saw everything in him that she'd seen before. "Thank you! I love yours, I used to love Peter Pan." She smiled.

- joined the chat 16 hours ago

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HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Of course Hettie knew what she was doing when she was inviting everyone. She thought that drama was how you kept things interesting and they weren't going to get that unless they invited absolutely everyone. She found it a lot of fun anyway, so she thought that, that was all that mattered. Hettie rolled her eyes, though there was a little smile on her face, as she heard Scott. She quickly moved over to Amber then. "Hey doom and gloom." Hettie muttered as she reached her friend, "If you're looking like that, you haven't had enough to drink. Tequila?"

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton was under no illusion that there would be no drama tonight - he just really didn't want to be a part of all of that. He couldn't be bothered, if he was completely honest. He was just happy drinking with his friends - that was all he really wanted. He shrugged his shoulders, "Nah - it'll just be Hettie and you're a better dancer than her so.." He smiled at her. He was pretty sure he knew Audrey well enough to know she'd want Rusty. "Guess we'll see. There's always Seth." Though Ashton thought he was a better performer than Seth, he definitely thought that the other had a better voice.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn really didn't think that she was leading Johnny on. She wanted to like him so surely that showed her that she wasn't interested in girls? Surely whatever she felt for Betsy was just a blip? Logically, she knew that, that wasn't how it worked but that was what she was telling herself, anyway. "Many pros? Right. You'll have to tell me what they are later." She laughed with a nod of her head. Robyn smiled as she looked at River. She wasn't sure what was wrong with the other but she hoped that they could at least cheer her up before the night was out.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River nodded her head as Johnny spoke to her and she linked her arm through his. She had always been a quiet person. Most people didn't listen to her when she was speaking anyway so she never saw the point. She knew that her friend would do whatever he could to make things better and she knew that he would listen to her - she just didn't want to talk about it. She wanted to be on her own .

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "You definitely picked the wrong character of this lot. You should be so jealous of me." Caleb laughed as he looked down at Audrey. He thought that this was how a relationship was supposed to be and he hoped that she thought the same. He knew it wouldn't take long to get to the party and he was pretty excited now. He thought that it was going to be a lot of fun. Caleb nodded and squeezed Audreys hand gently before he followed after her.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Isaac laughed as he listened to Seth and nodded his head, "You not a fan, then?' He asked with a raise of an eyebrow. This was the most out there that Isaac had ever done for Halloween so he definitely didn't know how Seth felt about wearing that costume. "I'm good too though." He nodded. He was definitely a little anxious about being there but he didn't see the point in mentioning that.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Alyssa wasn't really sure what was going on with Lucy and Isaac but since their argument - she hadn't really wanted to ask. Things had been different between the two of them since then and she really hoped that it wouldn't be like that for forever. Alyssa really liked lucy and she thought that they got along well so they should be able to work through. "Oh my too. It's definitely the most underrated Disney film!"

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber looked up as she heard Hettie, laughing softly. She really didn't mean to be gloomy, she just felt pretty down recently - and she didn't know what to do about it. "That sounds like it's guaranteed to cheer anybody up." She giggled, nodding her head. She knew that if anybody could cheer her up it was Hettie, so she was happy to be spending a bit of time with her friend. Amber wasn't really used to feeling like this, usually the crushes she had (and she got them often) would go away within days, a week at most. But this one hadn't and it was making her sad.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy felt similar to Ashton, in that she knew there was going to be drama and she wanted no part in it. She didn't care anymore, if she was honest - she knew who she cared about and who cared about her and although she was upset about Robyn, she would deal with it. "I guess we'll see, then. Still tough competition." She shrugged. She knew she was good, but she also knew Hettie was good. She laughed as he spoke about Seth. "Please. He's got a beautiful voice, but it looks like he's gonna burst into tears everytime he gets on a stage." She laughed, shaking her head. "You beat him in Rock of Ages, anyway."

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "I can't believe you're acting like you don't already know them, that's so upsetting." Johnny pretended to pout, but broke off into laughter as they started to walk. He smiled as River took his arm. He wanted to make sure he got some time alone with her tonight, to chat to her about what was going on - he was worried and he wanted to know if he could fix anything for her. "Alright, it's this way to the tube." They had all had pre-drinks at his flat, so he was leading the way to the station.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "I am so jealous of you, I can't believe I've made a mistake this stupid. How drunk will you need to be before I can get you to swap?" Audrey laughed, raising an eyebrow. She really liked Caleb, she knew she did - and she had such a good time with him, she was always laughing... But part of her didn't think it was supposed to be this easy, it felt similar to when they were just friends. She pushed those thoughts to the back of her head. She smiled as he squeezed her hand, following after Johnny.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "It's not as bad as I thought it would be, but yeah - it's still not exactly comfortable." Seth chuckled. He was pretty sure he would've worn whatever Alyssa had wanted to, and he'd always enjoyed Peter Pan, even as a kid. "Good. It feels weird to be back around everyone, right?" He smiled, raising an eyebrow. He was pretty sure he and Isaac would feel the same way about it all and he liked that he could always rely on his friend to be on the same page as him.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Lucy definitely thought that Alyssa was one of the best friends she'd ever had and she mostly regretted the argument they'd had on holiday; she put it down to spending too much time with the same people and being so far away from home. If she was honest, she could really use a girls advice on what was going on with she and Isaac, but she wasn't going to admit that anytime soon. "Would you say it was your favourite, then?" She smiled.

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HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie laughed softly as she listened to Amber. She was a little worried about Amber, if she was completely honest. Amber was usually the most positive person that Hettie knew - she didn't like that her friend was so down about all of this. She thought that she could do so much better than Caleb, anyway. "I think so too." She laughed with a nod of her head before she turned to pour herself and Amber two shots each. She figured you might as well start as you mean to go on.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "We will see. Not long now." Ashton nodded his head with a smile. He actually really enjoyed auditioning. It was an adrenaline rush and he would much rather do that, then almost anything else. He almost preferred it to actually performing. He laughed as he heard Betsy talk about Seth, "Well - then I've got it in the bag, haven't I?" He asked with a raise of an eyebrow.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn shrugged her shoulders, "I just need a refresher every now and again, don't I?" She asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a laugh. She loved that Johnny was a friend for everyone. She thought that it was really sweet and really showed how he was with people. "I can't wait to get there." She laughed as she nodded her head. She loved a good party after all.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River glanced at Johnny, shooting him a quick smile, before her gaze fell back to the floor. She knew that she wasn't exactly trying all that hard to act 'normal' but it was all she had. Before she became friends with Johnny and Caleb, it was easy for her to sink into the background. To go to school and go home and no-one really cared. She had her group of friends but they weren't all that close - they didn't check in all the time. Not like Johnny and Caleb always did.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Caleb shrugged his shoulders, "Probably a lot less than you think it would take, honestly." He would always do something for a laugh so he was pretty sure the two of them would end up swapping costumes before the end of the night. He was sure people would find that a lot of fun. Of course all of this was easy and that was what Caleb wanted - he had no idea that she was doubting that.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Well better than the worst is a bonus, right?" Isaac asked with a small smile. It never occurred to him to ask Seth for advice on everything with Lucy. He thought that if he asked, then he would have to admit that things were more than what they were. He didn't want to say something in case he had been a complete idiot with it all. "Yeah - I don't think I've seen half of these people in forever." He laughed as he shook his head.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Alyssa didn't think she had a better friend than Lucy. She really enjoyed being around her and she thought that Lucy understood her more than any of her other friends. She wished that they had never argued but she was sure that things would be okay regardless. "Oh yeah, definitely. why'd you think this was my choice of costume?"

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber didn't think it was necessarily the fact that she liked Caleb that was getting her down, she would get over that easily - it was the insecurity she felt from that person not liking her back. That was what she didn't know how to deal with. She laughed as Hettie poured them two shots each, knocking them back one after the other with a little cough. "Ew." She laughed, shaking her head. "This is a great party, H. You've done an amazing job." She smiled admiringly as she looked around the room.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "You think it'll go back to how it was at the beginning of Spelling Bee?" Betsy asked curiously. She thought it would be nice for them all to be a bit closer again, but she also worried if too much had happened for them to ever be the same way they once were. "I'd say so, yeah - don't get too cocky though, your head will explode." She laughed, rolling her eyes playfully.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Yeah alright, I suppose I can do that." Johnny pretended to be annoyed, rolling his eyes - but there was a smile on his face. He just thought Robyn was the loveliest person, someone he could be around for the longest time. "It won't be long, only a couple of stops and then we're basically right near the house. Have you been to Hettie's house before?" He asked with a little smile. He thought it was amazing, even if it was a bit too showy for him.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "That's what I like to hear." Audrey laughed. She loved how easygoing Caleb was; she thought they were pretty similar in that way, they didn't really care how they looked as long as they were having fun. She smiled as they reached the station, following Johnny to the right stop and climbing on after him. "Think this is the weirdest thing the commuters have seen tonight?" She whispered with a laugh.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Absolutely!" Seth smiled. He didn't mind wearing costumes, dressing up like this - it was pretty similar to performing and he loved that. "I know, that's how it feels for me as well. I haven't seen most of them since the show finished." He shook his head. Once Rock of Ages had finished, it felt like a lot of the group distanced themselves a bit - and he was glad there was another musical.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Lucy smiled. "That makes sense. And you look lovely." She nodded her head. "Have you seen many of the others yet?" She wasn't totally sure who had been invited tonight, but she thought it was nice of Hettie to have them all there - she didn't have to, not after she had already taken them all on holiday, so she thought it was a nice gesture.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie laughed as she saw the look on Ambers face. She loved shots so it barely even effected her as they did one straight after the other. She smiled as Amber complimented the party and she nodded her head as she looked around the room, "Thank you. I think we're in for a very fun night." She laughed as she nudged her friend. She hadn't really planned much tonight but she was looking forward to seeing what would happen. "It's the first time we've all been together since the holiday. It'll be very interesting." Hettie laughed.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton shook his head, "Not a chance." He laughed. He had really enjoyed the early days of Spelling Bee. The camping trip, the first few parties but now everything just seemed to be too complicated. He thought there would soon to be a new normal for them though. "And we wouldn't want that, would we? Then who would you talk to?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow with a laugh.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Then we're both winners!" Robyn smiled at him then. She really did love spending time with Johnny. she thought that if she could pick her perfect man, then it would probably be Johnny. It was the man part that seemed to be the sticking point though. "I don't think I have actually, no." She laughed as she shook her head. She was sure that it was going to be absolutely amazing, though.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: That was why Caleb thought that he and Audrey worked so well together. They were such similar people. He didn't think he would do well with someone who was all that different to him. He thought that he would probably annoy a lot of people. Caleb shook his head, "Absolutely not. They'll have had uni students through her tonight. They will be in weirder stuff."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Costumes brought too much attention to him. That was why Isaac wasn't exactly the biggest fan of Halloween. He didn't like the attention being on him. He thought that, that was why he hadn't said anything to Lucy. He was so scared of what would happen if he said something and she turned him down. "You'll get to see them all again soon, right?

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Thank you." Alyssa smiled as Lucy complimented her. She definitely appreciated that. She shook her head at her friends question, "No. I haven't seen any of them yet. Johnny and Caleb definitely aren't here yet. We'd have been able to hear them, wouldn't we?" She laughed as she shook her head. She loved them, though. They were always a lot of fun.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber was a pretty big lightweight, so two shots in a row was bound to get her well on her way to being drunk - and tonight, she was grateful for that. "I hope so! Are you wanting to play games?" She smiled as she looked at Hettie. She knew there were some of her friends favourite things. "I know, I was thinking this... I hope it's not going to be weird, having everybody here." If she was totally honest, she wasn't even sure what a lot of people had been up to since the holiday.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "How come?" Betsy raised an eyebrow. She had her own thoughts as to why, but she was curious to hear his too. She had liked the way things were at the beginning, but she also thought they would all be able to find their way back now if they accepted how things had changed. If they accepted that things were different now. "Oh yeah, I'd be lost. Not like I have any other friends." She laughed, rolling her eyes. She considered Ashton one of her best where this group was concerned, though.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: The similarities between Robyn and Hettie did occur to Johnny, especially physically - he knew it was probably clear that he had a type, but he thought they were very different personality wise. He would be lying if he said he didn't miss the time he and Hettie used to spend together, though - but he wasn't going to say that right now. "It's pretty cool." He smiled, holding out his hand to the blonde as they got off the tube and started walking towards the house. "That's it, right there." He nodded over to the huge building, shaking his head slightly with a little smile on his face.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Audrey had tried not to let herself think about any alternatives since she and Caleb had been together; he was a good person, he was so good to her. He made her feel safe and wanted and those were the things she told herself she wanted; she had never quite known whether Ashton wanted her or not and she just didn't think she could deal with that, not when she'd liked him so much. "You are so right. I would love to sit on here all night and see what kind of weirdos come through." She laughed, jumping down off the step as they got off the tube.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "I suppose so. I mean, it's not like I was ever especially close to anybody - it just felt nice, being a group. Don't you think?" Seth shrugged his shoulders. He had never been loud or outgoing, things that most people in the group seemed to be - but he had felt like he fit in and he didn't often get that, so he felt sad that everybody seemed to be a little bit distant now. "Have you got a drink?" He asked, noticing his friends empty hands. He didn't know if he would want one or not, but he wanted to at least offer.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Lucy laughed, nodding her head. "Oh, you're absolutely right. How could I forget?" She chuckled. She didn't know how Johnny and Caleb had it in them to be so much, all the time - but it was one of their signature traits and she knew they'd be in full swing tonight. "Do you think it's weird, thinking about how different things are to when we all first met?" She raised an eyebrow.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie was absolutely making sure that Amber was drunk by the end of the night. She thought that the other at least deserved that much. They were absolutely going to get her mind off of everything that had happened. "Of course we are. What do you think we should do?" She asked with a raise of an eyebrow. she hadn't decided what yet but she thought that it always caused a bit of trouble. "It won't be weird. we don't have to talk to anyone that we don't want to talk to so.." She shrugged her shoulders.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Too much has changed, hasn't it? Even if things do get better - there's still gonna be baggage, isn't there?" Ashton didn't think that anyone was going to get through all of that. He certainly didn't think that he was about to, any time soon. "Exactly. You're so lucky I'm here." He shrugged his shoulders. He really liked spending time with Betsy. She wasn't like anyone else that he knew.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn thought that it was pretty natural for a person to have a type. And while she thought that Hettie was beyond gorgeous, and she definitely wasn't anywhere near that, but she could see the similarities between the two of them. She thought that it made sense. "Oh fucking hell.." She muttered as she looked up at the house. She had never seen something that impressive. "Jesus... My house could fit in there like five times over."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Caleb nodded his head with a laugh, "Oh and there's definitely going to be a few of those, for sure. Especially the later we sit in here." He laughed as he looked around the carriage. They weren't the only ones dressed up in there. He loved Halloween. It brought out the best in people he thought. It was a lot of fun. "Come on." He muttered as he took her hand and followed Johnny to Hetties house.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Yeah, I guess so." Isaac shrugged his shoulders. He felt more comfortable now that it was just a small group of them - now it was just the four of them. But he thought that explained the differences between him and Seth perfectly. "Oh, no." He laughed as he shook his head. "I brought wasn't really bothered about anything to drink so I thought I'd just steal some of the mixers." He shrugged.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Alyssa laughed as she nodded her head, "Is that how long we've all not been together?" She asked with a raise of an eyebrow. She thought that Caleb and Johnny were a lot of fun but she didn't think that she would ever be able to be like that. They were so much all of the time and it was just too much for her personally. "I think it's expected." She shrugged. "People change and evolve, right?"

AM EH AM SD BC GCH WAL MS AG: Elias laughed as Fleur wrinkled her nose, rolling his eyes teasingly. "I said you wouldn't like it." He shrugged his shoulders. He'd grown up around his dad - who had obviously always been a big drinker, so by the age of twenty he absolutely knew what he liked, what did the trick best. Whiskey was usually his drink of choice and he didn't really like to mix it with anything.

AM EH AM SD BC GCH WAL MS AG: "Ah, but you can't leave me to come back all on my own." Wyatt chuckled. Especially with everything that had happened between he and Maggie, he needed Jude to be by his side when he came home at the moment - he felt a lot more confident when he had a friend with him. "I'll just have whatever you're having. What do you want?" He smiled at Savannah.

AM EH AM SD BC GCH WAL MS AG: "I genuinely kept thinking I'd fallen asleep with my eyes open. It felt like hours were passing." Ava laughed, shaking her head. She was exaggerating now, but she was finding herself funny. "I really think you should. It's a curse on my life, being attracted to only men." She sighed, shaking her head as she lit her cigarette and took a long drag. "I would be really mad if I wasn't the number one girl in your life, though." She laughed.

AM EH AM SD BC GCH WAL MS AG: Gomez loved being a dad - it had happened way earlier than he'd ever thought and he knew he wanted it to be a long while before he had another child, but he loved Wren with everything he had. He smiled as Maggie said she was going with him, laughing slightly as he headed over to his friends. "What, is somebody on fire or something?" He chuckled, raising an eyebrow.

AM EH AM SD BC GCH WAL MS AG: Aaron knew that he and Bridie had been young when they were together and that she regretted what she'd done - but it didn't mean he would take it again. He hadn't even realised how against cheating he was before she'd done it to him, but he couldn't imagine ever doing it to anybody else. He listened carefully as she spoke, nodding his head. He thought what she was saying made sense - there were definite similarities there. "Is that what you think is happening?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He thought Alba's dad was pretty intimidating, and Elias even more so.

AM EH AM SD BC GCH WAL MS AG: Minnie shook her head, a little smile on her face. "I have no idea. I feel like I'm being an annoying little sister if I ask about it, so I just haven't." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "I think there's more than them just being friends, though - I mean, this is the second time he's brought her home." She smiled. "You're earning definite Auntie points here, aren't you?" She giggled, wrapping an arm around Sylvie as the others arm went around there. She and Milo had already discussed Sylvie and Barney being the baby's godparents and she couldn't wait to tell them.

AM EH AM SD BC GCH WAL MS AG: "You used to love me more than her." Barney said, pretending to be sad and sticking out his bottom lip. He was only joking, though - he knew Milo well enough to know that his friends were a priority and it was the same for Barney. He knew Sylvie felt the same, which was one of the many reasons he loved her. "I don't know... And I don't really want to. You know?" He whispered back with a shrug of his shoulders. "Hey! We just wanted to see you." He laughed.

BS FM SK AH SM HD JH CK MS: "Yeah and I heard you. So why would I act like I like it?" Fleur asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a laugh. She had never been able to handle her drink very well. But she enjoyed the feeling of being drunk, of doing whatever she wanted. "You want to go and see people?" She asked. It wasn't like there were many people there that liked her very much so she figured she'd just stay with Elais.

BS FM SK AH SM HD JH CK MS: "Oh of course. You wouldn't be able to stand that, would you?" Jude asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a laugh. He and Wyatt had always had a complicated relationship but they went through phases. Sometimes they never spoke - since going to uni, they would chat every single day. Wyatt was like his brother and it didn't matter what happened, he thought that would always be the same. He nodded as he listened to Wyatt, turning and ordered to whiskeys and the cocktail that Savannah asked for.

BS FM SK AH SM HD JH CK MS: "Fuck me - I can't believe we've only been here for half an hour." Bridie laughed. "I thought we were here for about a fucking year." She was pretty sure that she wasn't ever going to find anyone interesting. Elias was one of the funniest, most interesting people she had ever met. she didn't think that anyone was going to top that. "Aw, would you be jealous?" She asked with a raise of an eyebrow. She took a hold of her friends spare hand - after she lit her cigarette - "You're always gonna by my number one."

BS FM SK AH SM HD JH CK MS: Alba shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know if it is but I definitely think that it could." She loved her brother so much and the last thing she wanted was to see him struggling like their dad was. She didn't want to have to constantly worry about both of them. She rested her head against Aarons shoulder. "Do you want to go and talk to him and Fleur?" She asked him. She wasn't sure how he was with Fleur - all she knew was that the two had slept together.

BS FM SK AH SM HD JH CK MS: Maggie followed after Gomez. She was nervous about seeing Minnie for some reason. The girl was her best friend in the entire world but she thought that it was pretty clear that wasn't the case the other way around anymore. She was sure that Minnie preferred to spend time with Sylvie and she worried that, that was because of what she had done to Wyatt. "Hey - you both look great."

BS FM SK AH SM HD JH CK MS: Sylvie nodded her head, "Then I need to ask Savannah." She giggled. She didn't really know the other girl that well but she thought that she was fun and she was sure that she could see what the other girl would think eventually. "They definitely look more than friends." She nodded. She thought that they looked good together as well. "Mhm. I need to be the best Auntie!" Sylvie smiled. She was so excited to meet Minnie and Milos baby. "Hi Maggie." Sylvie smiled as she looked at the girl.

BS FM SK AH SM HD JH CK MS: "I still do. Just don't tell her that." Milo whispered to Barney, a small smile on his face. He beamed as he realised that Gomez was finally there. He wrapped his arms around his friend quickly. "You've been gone so long! I missed your face. That is why we called you over. Right Barn?" He asked, his arms still around Gomez as he looked to their other friend.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber pushed the shot glasses away from her and started to fill up her cup with pink gin and lemonade, taking an experimental sip to test the strength before she put in her straw. "There's loads of stuff we can play!" She laughed, pouting slightly while she thought. "We could play truth or dare, there's never have I ever, who's most likely to... Or there's stuff like Mr and Mrs?" She smiled, shrugging her shoulders.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Yeah, but there was baggage anyway. Maybe it'll all be better than it was before, we never know." Betsy laughed, shrugging her shoulders. Part of her thought that people had sorted out their shit now, so it could be calmer - but with these people, she didn't think that things would ever be properly sorted for good. "Yeah yeah, you've had your nightly ego boost from me. Don't think you'll be getting another one." She laughed, rolling her eyes. "Jesus, they're really late tonight." She checked the time on her phone with a raise of an eyebrow. Even though she knew she shouldn't, she was waiting for Robyn to get there.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Johnny laughed, nodding his head. "I know, mine too - I think I'd get scared living somewhere like this, though. Wouldn't you always wonder if somebody was on the other side of the house waiting for you?" He chuckled. He liked his house the way it was, he didn't think he'd ever like living somewhere so flashy - he didn't know how anybody would be able to find it homely. He pushed open the door and let Robyn go first, grinning as he stepped inside. "Happy Halloween!" He called loudly, letting out a laugh.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "The states we're gonna see on the way home, that's gonna be the fun part. - Actually, take that back. We'll be the states." Audrey laughed, raising an eyebrow. She thought Halloween was the most fun holiday and she was excited to celebrate tonight, she just hoped it all went well. She smiled as he took her hand, heading into the house almost nervously. She couldn't help but laugh as she heard Johnny though, looking around the party with a little smile.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Seth smiled as Isaac spoke, nodding his head. "That's more than fair - cheaper, and you won't wake up with a bad head like the rest of us." He chuckled. He had never gotten as drunk as he'd been on the night of Audrey's party again and he didn't ever plan on it. He thought that was probably the worst state his body could get in, without him being in any actual trouble. He turned with a laugh as he heard Johnny's voice. "They've arrived, then." He chuckled.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "It must be, I'm starting to forget about everybody." Lucy laughed, shaking her head. She knew that wasn't the case, though - she'd loved getting to direct them all in Spelling Bee and she'd offered her help as the assistant director in Footloose for that reason. She was excited for it to start. "Yeah, you're very right... It's nice having people back together, though."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie sorted out her glass of wine as Amber sorted out the gin for herself. She was enjoying spending time 1 on 1 with Amber. It didn't happen all that often with their group of friends. She nodded her head, "There's loads of stuff to play but what's the most interesting thing. That's what I'm trying to figure out." She looked around the room. She smiled fondly, though, as she heard Johnnys voice. She had missed him a lot even though she knew that she probably shouldn't. "The rabble are finally here then."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "We never know but I doubt it." Ashton shrugged his shoulders. He really didn't think that anything was going to be good with the group. Especially not as he saw the look on Hetties face when Johnny walked in. He didn't think that Scott was going to like that very much. "It's alright. I don't need you to tell me. I know that you're agreeing with me." He smiled at her. "Guess they're trying to make it so late they don't have to spend much time here."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Somebody on the other side of the house - or Ghosts?" Robyn raised an eyebrow. she had watched too many horror films for that. She would be terrified living there. Robyn smiled as she looked around the room. She was pretty happy to be going there with Johnny and she really wanted to talk to Betsy but things felt weird since she and Johnny had started seeing one another.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River sighed as she followed after the others. She her arm wasn't still linked with Johnnys, she absolutely would have bailed before she stepped foot in the house. She looked to the floor though, as he started shouting. She really didn't want any attention to be drawn to her. She dropped her arm and quickly moved to the side of the room, to try and sort herself out a drink. she was not getting through this sober, that was for sure.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "We will absolutely be the states on the tube and I'm already looking forward to that!" Caleb laughed. He thought that they were going to have a lot of fun on the way home, that was for sure. "Happy halloween!" He called along with Johnny. He never really cared how he looked. And he knew that his friend didn't either. That was one of the things that he really loved about his friend.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Isaac nodded his head with a laugh, "Yeah. I have a bit of work to do tomorrow too so - need a clear mind, right?" He smiled as he shrugged his shoulders. He had been getting a bit busier with work and he was absolutely loving it. He was completely in his element. Isaac chuckled as he looked over at Johnny and Caleb. "They weren't going to enter quietly were they?"

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Are you an old lady? Is that what's happened? Is that why you've forgotten?" Alyssa asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a laugh. She was so grateful for working on Spelling Bee because it gave her some of her best friends - and her boyfriend. She definitely thought that it was worth it. "Oh yeah, I completely agree." She smiled as she nodded her head. Alyssa laughed as she heard the boys. "See - they had to make their entrance."

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber really enjoyed getting to be on her own with Hettie - the girl was one of her best friends but they rarely got to spend time just the two of them, because their group of friends was so big. It meant a lot to her, to be able to have time like this. "I guess we just have to see what kind of a mood everybody is in." She smiled, shrugging her shoulders. She laughed as Hettie called them the rabble, turning to see everybody. "Yeah, I guess so." She raised an eyebrow as she saw them all walking in.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber really enjoyed getting to be on her own with Hettie - the girl was one of her best friends but they rarely got to spend time just the two of them, because their group of friends was so big. It meant a lot to her, to be able to have time like this. "I guess we just have to see what kind of a mood everybody is in." She smiled, shrugging her shoulders. She laughed as Hettie called them the rabble, turning to see everybody. "Yeah, I guess so." She raised an eyebrow as she saw them all walking in.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy rolled her eyes as Ashton spoke, but she laughed. She liked that he was confident enough in himself that he didn't need anybody else's affirmation - that was how it seemed to her, anyway. "-- Looks like we were wrong." She laughed as she heard the voices of the boys. "And in a big group costume nonetheless..." She loved them all, but she thought that was pretty in character for them all. Her stomach still fluttered slightly as she saw Robyn and she tried to ignore the feeling.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Oh god, or ghosts - you're right. Or like, zombies, monsters, all of that lot... Either way - I couldn't live here. I'd probably die of fright." Johnny laughed, shaking his head. He grinned as he heard Caleb shouting along with him, heading further into the party. "Okay - we need a drink, the tube ride sobered me up significantly and I'm upset about it." He chuckled, putting down the bag of alcohol they'd brought with them. "What are you having?"

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott looked up from the conversation he'd been having with his friends as he heard Johnny's voice, rolling his eyes in irritation. The boy didn't bother him as much now he had a girlfriend, now he wasn't after Hettie - but he still got on his nerves, a lot. He couldn't help but notice River though and instantly he wanted to go and talk to her, but he knew that wasn't a good idea. She seemed down, sad almost - and he wanted to know what was going on. He wanted to help her.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Audrey didn't mind that they all lived pretty far away from the party - she thought the journey home was one of the funniest parts, everybody trying their hardest to be sensible and get home at the same time as being absolutely hammered. "You're like a bloody foghorn." She laughed as he shouted, shaking her head. She looked over at Hettie and shot her a smile - she thought it could be nice tonight, having everybody back together.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Yeah? What work are you doing?" Seth asked with a little smile. He liked to show Isaac that he was actually interested in what was going on with him - they might've met through the show, through college, but he definitely considered the other to be one of his closest friends by now and he hoped the feeling was mutual. "Absolutely not, I think I forgot where we were for a second." He chuckled.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "I think I've been an old lady since I was about twelve. Does that surprise you at all?" Lucy laughed, raising an eyebrow. She knew that she and Alyssa didn't act like the other girls their age, but she also didn't think that was really a bad thing. "Oh wow, look at their costume." She laughed as she saw the last group walk through the door. She thought they looked pretty sweet, all of them together.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie had no idea how things were going to be tonight but she was really looking forward to finding out. She rolled her eyes as she saw River go off on her own. she didn't see the point in coming if she was going to mope around but she wouldn't say anything. As long as she stayed away from Scott, she thought it would be all fine. "Yeah, exactly. See what will be the most fun." She chuckled as she raised an eyebrow. "You look amazing, ignore them." She whispered to her friend.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton had always been a pretty confident guy - but Audrey picking Caleb definitely knocked his a bit. He didn't know how to take that, if he was completely honest. He was the better choice ,wasn't he? He rolled his eyes as he heard the boys and turned to look at them with a sigh. "Fucking hell. Do they want to be any louder?" He asked with a raise of an eyebrow.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "You would absolutely die here. It's a good job you and Hettie didn't work out, isn't it?" Robyn laughed as she raised an eyebrow. She wondered if they were far enough removed from all of that for her to say that to him - she hoped he knew that she was only playing with him. "Oh - yes please. "She laughed with a nod of her head. She was still pretty tipsy but she could do with a little more. She refused to even look at Betsy though. She couldn't.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River really didn't think that she was going to be at the party very long. She already wanted to go home. She chewed on her lip for a moment as she felt someone looking at her. She didn't want to see who it was. She didn't think it mattered.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Caleb was absolutely certain that he and Audrey were going to have a lot of fun on the way home. They would be drunk and it would be so fun. He knew that. Just like he was sure that the party would be too. He shrugged as Audrey spoke, "It's just one of the things you like about me, right?" He winked at her before he followed Johnny to the drinks table.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Oh - just building out a couple websites and stuff. It's pretty fun actually." Isaac shrugged his shoulders. he always got a little bashful when talking about his work with friends. It was something he was so passionate about but not something he ever really knew what to do when explaining it all. "That's alright. it's probably better wherever you thought we were." He laughed as he shrugged his shoulders.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Funnily enough, that absolutely does not shock me at all." Alyssa laughed as she shook her head. She thought that the same was probably said about her too. She had always been older than she actually was. She smiled as she looked at the others. "I think I love that though. They all look so cute." She had always enjoyed couples costumes, anyway.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber nodded as Hettie whispered to her, but she didn't really believe what she was saying - she felt almost silly compared to Audrey and Hettie, to the girls that boys wanted. She didn't put herself in that same class, although people were complimentary towards her. "It doesn't matter anyway. I'm not bothered." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She knew Hettie would know she was lying, but there wasn't much else she could do.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy laughed, shaking her head. "Please don't tempt fate, I don't want to know how loud they can actually get." She loved both boys, but she thought they could be a lot and especially tonight, she didn't think they seemed to realise the people they'd pissed off.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Johnny laughed, nodding his head. "Absolutely. I'd need to bring a night light every time I bloody came over." He liked that Robyn was chilled out enough to mention that he and Hettie had had a thing; he thought it made more sense than just pretending it hadn't happened and he didn't mind joking around about it. He got both of their drinks sorted out and handed Robyn's over with a little smile.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott knew how Hettie would react if the first thing he did was go over to River, so he knew he wasn't about to play with fire like that right away - but he did want to check up on her later, at least. She didn't seem right and for some reason, he felt like he needed to at least ask. She would do the same for him; she had done the same for him, time and time again.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Oh yeah, one of those lovable faults." Audrey laughed, rolling her eyes teasingly. She followed after the boys to the drinks table - she definitely wanted to be more drunk than she was. She felt like the party wasn't in full swing yet - that was why she liked to arrive late, so that she got there when things had already started and there was no awkward waiting around.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "That does sound fun! I mean, I'd have no idea where to even start - but it sounds like it would be a lot of fun to figure out." Seth smiled. He thought it was so cool that Isaac could navigate things like that. He laughed, nodding his head. "Not enjoying the party, then?" He smiled slightly.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "It shouldn't, I think it absolutely makes sense." Lucy laughed. She liked that she and Alyssa were similar in that way, she didn't feel like the odd one out when her friend was around. "They do. I feel bad for River, though. I don't think I'd want to be around two couples all night."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie rolled her eyes as she heard Amber. She knew that she would have said exactly the same thing if she was in Ambers position but it still bothered her. She didn't want her friend to feel like she had to pretend with her. Especially when she thought that she understood how her friend was feeling. Hettie was with Scott and she was so happy with him but she really missed Johnny. She missed spending time with him.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton laughed as he listened to the other. "No, I don't think any of us want to know that, actually. They're a fucking nightmare." He muttered as he shook his head. He didn't understand why everyone continued to put up with any of them but he wasn't about to start something tonight. He didn't see the point. "What's up with her?" He asked, nodding over to River.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn laughed, "Oh god. No wonder she went with someone else." She smiled as she looked at Johnny. Robyn would never really take things too seriously - not stuff like that. She liked that Johnny was the same. She thought that, that was probably why they got on so well, if she was completely honest. "Thank you." Robyn smiled as she took her drink from him.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: If she was completely honest, River thought that she was just a nuisance being there. She couldn't believe that Hettie had even let her into the house. River sighed as she looked around the room and she quickly turned to explore a bit of the house, away from the rest of them for a little bit. She thought a walk around the gardens would probably do her some good.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Faults? It's not a fault! How dare you!" Caleb laughed, as he shook his head. "What are you fancying?" He asked with a raise of an eyebrow. He knew that they were probably going to want to go pretty hard tonight so he was definitely curious about what she wanted to drink for tonight.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Oh, yeah. I've kind of taught myself so I dunno if it's right but people seem pretty happy with it." Isaac shrugged his shoulders. He really enjoyed stuff like that. He liked being on his own. He enjoyed plugging himself away and getting his work done. It was a lot of fun for him. He shrugged his shoulders, "You know me. I'm not a big party person." He laughed.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "It definitely makes sense." Alyssa nodded her head. She thought that she and Lucy were such good friends because they understood one another. They were pretty similar in almost everything so it made so much sense for them to be friends. "Oh, yeah, no. But it doesn't look like she wants to be either." She muttered, nodding to where she saw her leaving.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: It wasn't that Amber didn't trust Hettie - she trusted her more than a lot of people, but she thought that if she didn't pretend to be okay then everybody was going to know that she wasn't and she didn't want that. "Do you miss him?" She asked Hettie, obviously referring to Johnny. She knew Johnny missed her, even if he hadn't said so.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy laughed, nodding her head. "Come on, they're not that bad - just fucking loud." She smiled. She still thought both boys were good people, just that they were a lot to put up with sometimes. She looked over to River, shaking her head in answer to his question. "I have no idea. Probably the fact that she's fifth wheeling." She shrugged. She did worry though, because she'd seen River at some bad points - but this looked worse than any of them.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Johnny laughed, shaking his head. "Oh yeah, it was a wise decision for all involved." He grinned. He thought it was - at least, that was what he was telling himself. Surely he and Hettie wouldn't have worked? She wanted Scott and he was nothing like Scott. He still missed her though, he couldn't just switch that off and he wondered if she missed him. He wondered if she would speak to him tonight.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "It's okay to have faults! Or did I forget you were Mr Perfect?" Audrey grinned, raising an eyebrow teasingly. She loved that he was loud, because she was too - although probably not quite as loud. She just thought he was one of the most fun people to be around. "Hm... I'll have vodka, please. And whatever mixer we brought." She smiled. She was sure she wouldn't need to tell him to make it strong - she definitely wanted to be drunk tonight.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Seth smiled, nodding his head. "I think that must mean you're doing a great job then, mate." He chuckled. If people were paying for it, Seth thought Isaac must've been doing a pretty satisfactory job. "I know - me either. At least we can just chill out here, the four of us." He thought that was nice, that they could pretty much hide away and enjoy the night with their little group.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "No, it doesn't, does it?" Lucy commented as she watched River almost curiously. She would've thought she'd be having a great time with the boys, all dressed up - but she just looked sad and like she didn't really want to be there. "I wonder what's happened... Do you think maybe there's been an argument?" She questioned, shrugging her shoulders.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie raised an eyebrow as she heard her friends question and she turned to look at the other girl. She didn't know if she should tell her the truth or not. "Yeah, a little." The blonde sighed. She thought that her life would be so much easier if she could just pretend like Johnny didn't exist anymore. She was sure that Scott would prefer that as well.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton shrugged his shoulders. He thought that he was probably just a little jealous of the two boys. They both had gorgeous girls and he was on his own. "Loud and annoying but sure - not that bad." He rolled his eyes. He nodded slightly as he looked from River and then over to Scott. He saw her looking at her and he wonderedif Hettie had. He thought that, that wouldn't go down well if she saw it too.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Definitely for me." Robyn smiled as she looked at Johnny. She hoped that things could get better between the two of them. She really, really wanted for the two of them to be more than just this. She just didn't know if they were actually going to get to that point. Robyn wondered if Betsy was going to talk to her or not. She hoped that she would. She really wanted for the two of them to talk.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "I am Mr Perfect. I can't believe you've forgotten!" Caleb laughed as he shook his head slightly. Caleb had never seen the point in being too serious and it had cost him a lot of relationships - he was glad that Audrey seemed to like that side of him. "Alright." He smiled as he nodded his head. He quickly set about sorting her a vodka and coke and grabbed one of the beers he had brought with him. "Here you go." He smiled.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Isaac shrugged his shoulders, "Here's hoping." He chuckled. He knew that he was probably pretty annoying to be around but he was glad that Seth and the girls at least put up with him. "Yeah, that was what I was hoping for." He smiled as he nodded his head.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Alyssa shook her head. She had no idea what it was that was going on with River but she felt compelled to help her. She didn't know River very well though, so she didn't really know what to do. "Maybe.." She muttered with a nod of her head.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber nodded her head; she was glad Hettie had told her the truth, she hadn't thought she would. "I think he misses you too, H." She said softly. Johnny wouldn't say that to her, she knew he would never put her in the middle like that - but the look he got on his face whenever Hettie was spoken about was enough to make her think she was right. If she was honest, she thought Johnny would rekindle things with Hettie in a heartbeat. She didn't think Scott would be very happy to hear that, though.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy thought it was pretty crazy that somebody like Ashton was still single, after spending so much time around these people - she wouldn't say it, but she wondered if that was the way he wanted it, if that was why he'd seemed so closed off to anything with Audrey. "Most people in this group are loud and annoying, that's what you get when you decide to hang around theatre people." She laughed, raising an eyebrow. "What's going on there?" She raised an eyebrow as she saw Scott looking at River.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Johnny smiled as River spoke, leaning in to kiss her quickly. He really did like her and he thought they could be something great - they just had a few teething problems to work out, they still needed to probably learn who each other was. He thought it was crazy that he and Hettie had never really needed to do that - they'd had a pretty good grasp on who each other was from day one. "Everything okay?" He asked with a little smile - it seemed like something was on Robyn's mind, but he had no guesses as to what it was.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Oh god, I must be losing my marbles! How could I forget I was talking to the Mr Caleb Perfect?" Audrey laughed, rolling her eyes as she spoke. She liked just being able to forget about everything else with Caleb and just have a laugh - he always had the ability to bring a smile to her face, no matter what. It was probably the thing she valued most about him. She smiled gratefully as he handed her a drink, taking a sip. "Are you trying to get me drunk here?" She laughed jokingly, taking a bigger sip.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott watched as River seemed to head off into the gardens, raising an eyebrow slightly. He didn't think anybody seemed to be paying any attention to him and he thought it was normal to want to check if a friend was okay. He grabbed his drink and walked slowly out of the back, trying to act as though he wasn't looking around. He quickly saw her, though. "Hi..." He called, trying not to make the girl jump.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie sighed as Amber said that he missed her too. She thought that, that complicated things more. Hettie really wanted to be able to talk to him but the last thing she wanted was to annoy Scott. "I didn't want us to stop being friends, you know?" She asked her with a sigh. She knew that she could have handled that situation better but she didn't know what she could do about it now. "I don't think he'd talk to me, even if he does." She shrugged.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton had no idea why he was so unable to commit. He had always struggled with it. He thought that there was more to life than just a relationship but he wanted that with Audrey. He wished that he hadn't been such a fool. Ashton scoffed as he nodded his head, "Yeah, that's very true." He chuckled. He didn't know how any of them got a word in, sometimes. he was definitely glad to have a moment with Betsy before everything kicked off. "I have no idea." He muttered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Don't think Hettie would be too thrilled though, do you?"

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn happily kissed Johnny back. She tried to ignore that the feeling of kissing him was nothing like when she kissed Betsy. She thought that, that was probably a bit of an issue. She thought that it was pretty natural to go through trouble when they were starting a relationship. It was never going to be easy, she thought. "Yeah, yeah. It's fine." She smiled as she nodded her head. SHe didn't see the point in mentioning anything else. Because what was the point? What could she even say anyway?

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "I have no idea how you could forget that. It must be all that alcohol." He laughed. Caleb had so much fun with Audrey and he knew that the same must be said for her too. He was glad of that much, anyway. He laughed as he listened to her and shrugged his shoulders, "So what if I was?" He asked with a raise of an eyebrow. Though he was pretty sure that, that was what Audrey had wanted.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River just thought she needed a moment to calm down and then she would be ready to either go back into the party or to go home. She had no idea what she wanted to do - but she knew that she felt like she was being suffocated. She definitely didn't think that Scott would follow after her so she was pretty surprised when she heard his voice. She turned around to face him and nodded her head in response to him. She definitely didn't think that he had gone out there to see her.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber knew that things between Hettie and Johnny were complicated and she thought it was mostly because of the way Hettie had handled the situation, but she didn't think it was irreparable - she thought they could get back to being friends. "I know, but I think you hurt him H... He probably just needs it explaining." She shrugged her shoulders. Hettie and Scott getting together had come as a shock for Johnny, especially not hearing it from Hettie first. "He would. You know him, Hettie. He'd never ignore you." She raised an eyebrow.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy thought that if Ashton had sorted whatever his issues with commitment were, the situation would probably be very different right now - she didn't think Audrey would've actually been with Caleb if she thought the option to be with him was there, but she also didn't think it was her place to say it. She liked being an outsider, because it meant she got to observe a lot of things. She was trying not to look over at Robyn, but she so badly wanted to. She laughed as he spoke about Hettie. "Definitely not. I can't wait for that to kick off later." She rolled her eyes.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Johnny was pretty sure there was something that Robyn wasn't telling him, something that was prohibiting her from being her full self with him - but he also didn't think it was up to him to keep on pushing her. He just hoped it wasn't something he'd done. He had definitely noticed that something wasn't there though, that something was missing. He just hoped he could keep on ignoring it until it wasn't an issue anymore. "Okay, good." He smiled, reaching to take her hand and squeezing it softly.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Oh yeah, it must be. I promise I won't forget again." Audrey laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She knew that everybody expected her to be with somebody like Caleb - her family absolutely loved the bones of him, he fit into her friendship group perfectly... But there was something about the unexpected that Audrey had always found so much more exciting and she felt almost guilty because of that. "Then I would say how dare you, I don't get drunk." She shrugged her shoulders, laughing even as she spoke. He really was one of her best friends and she appreciated him so much.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott paused slightly as River just nodded at him; he wasn't really sure what to do with that or how to respond and it threw him for a second. He didn't want to go back inside, he didn't want to leave her out there alone. "What are you doing out here?" He asked softly, raising an eyebrow. He'd never even thanked her for standing up to his parents, but he wondered if she knew just how grateful he'd been.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie really hadn't meant to let things get so bad between her and Johnny. She had wanted to be able to tell him and she wasn't really sure why. If she really thought about it, she thought that she hadn't told him because she was afraid that she had made the wrong choice, that he would convince her that she should be with him. She wanted to be sure of her decision but she absolutely wasn't. "And Scott? He'd go ballistic." She shook her head. She thought that, that was probably why she hadn't properly spoke to the other by now.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Of course Ashton knew that if he proved to Audrey that he wouldn't hurt her, then they might have been able to work. But he didn't know what she wanted from him. He didn't know what more he could do. If she didn't trust him now, what was the point? Ashton chuckled as he listened to Betsy and he nodded his head, "Yeah - it's definitely not going to end well, is it?"

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn nodded her head slightly as Johnny spoke. She didn't even know how to explain to him about everything with Betsy - mostly because she didn't really know what was happening. She didn't want to admit that anything was happening. "What do you wanna do then?" She asked as she looked at her boyfriend. She wondered if it was normal to feel a little awkward around your boyfriend.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "You better not. Otherwise I'm gonna worry about your brain." Caleb laughed. He was really enjoying the time that he was with Audrey but he wasn't completely sure if the feeling was mutual. He thought that they had a lot of fun - but he didn't know if that was enough for Audrey. It was all that he had really wanted from a relationship though. "Oh yeah, of course you don't." Caleb shook his head slightly. "I'll remind you of that in the morning when you're hungover, then."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River just wasn't sure what to do around Scott anymore. She liked him and she thought that, that was pretty obvious - but then he had practically ignored her since the holiday. So what was the point in trying to talk to him? She didn't want to keep being the sad, pathetic girl anymore. River shrugged her shoulders as she listened to Scott, "I needed some fresh air." She sighed. "Didn't know if I was going to stay or not."

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber had her own opinions on who she thought Hettie should be with, but she wasn't going to share them - Scott was her friend and in her own way, she loved him... She just didn't think the two were very right for each other. She sometimes thought that they relied on each other so much, loved each other so much that they'd confused that for needing to be in love. "Yeah, I suppose he would." She nodded her head. She wasn't going to pretend that wasn't the case, but she didn't know if it was enough reason to not speak to Johnny.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy didn't think she was really in much of a position to give anybody relationship advice; sure, she thought Ashton had been a bit of an idiot and she was pretty sure there were still things he could do now if he wanted to, but she also knew the same could be said for her... She hadn't even spoken to Robyn since she'd found out about her and Johnny and she didn't plan on speaking to her tonight, either. She couldn't face it, she didn't want to feel sad about it anymore. She laughed, shaking her head. "Never does. I think I'll probably head out before there's another showdown, my ears can't take the screaming." She rolled her eyes.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Johnny shook his head slightly, a little smile on his face as he looked around. "I have no idea - everybody seems a lot more calm than I would've thought they'd be. Maybe we really should've listened to Audrey and got here later." He laughed, raising an eyebrow. He didn't often feel awkward around anybody, so he wondered if the fact that he sometimes felt awkward around Robyn was a sign of how much he liked her... Or if it really was awkward.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "You should already be worried about my brain, are you kidding?" Audrey laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She thought it was so easy for them to just chat about nothing and she really enjoyed that; it was something she had with her best friends, too. "Don't remind me of anything in the morning when I'm hungover, that's like Good Boyfriend 101. You're supposed to pretend I didn't do anything embarrassing and tell me I'm a good drunk." She laughed. It was pretty much a given that they would be staying at one of their houses and she liked that, she liked being guaranteed to go home with somebody at the end of the night, even just for company.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott wasn't a stranger to girls liking him; he was popular and a football player and his family had money... But most people just liked him because of the status he had, they didn't actually like him. In fact, Scott thought there were probably very few people who actually liked him - platonic or otherwise. Which was why River intrigued him so much. She had seen parts of him that even Hettie hadn't seen and yet she still seemed to want to be around him. "Why wouldn't you stay?" He asked quietly.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie was so in love with Scott. She didn't want to do anything that would rock that boat. But she missed Johnny and she didn't think that she would be able to stop herself from missing him until the two of them spoke. She really wanted to - she just didn't want to make things complicated. "So what am I supposed to do, Amber?" she asked her. And it wasn't a rhetorical question. She really did want to know what the girl thought she could or should do. Because she really wanted her opinion. She wanted someone to tell her that she should talk to him.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton tried not to think too much about him and Audrey. He didn't see the point. She certainly seemed happy with Caleb so it didn't matter what he thought anymore. Ashton laughed as he listened to Betsy and he nodded his head, "Yeah, maybe i'll come with you. We'd have to predict it first though - that's the thing with Hettie, isn't it?"

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn nodded her head as she looked around the room, "I guess that's what happens when everyone hasn't seen each other in a while, huh?" She asked him with a raise of an eyebrow. She had thought that things were going to be pretty hard for them to all be around like this. She wondered if things would pick up or if it was going to continue like this.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Oh yeah? Why's that?" Caleb asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a laugh. He wasn't even sure what the two of them were even talking about but he was having a lot of fun with it all. He really enjoyed being around Audrey and he thought that she could say the same about him. "Ah right, of course." He nodded his head "I will try and remember that for the morning. Can't give up being so perfect, can I?" He asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a laugh. He liked that she seemed to already know that they would end up together that night.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River didn't know how to be when she was around Scott. She felt like such an idiot when she was around him. She already felt bad enough and she didn't want to deal with this. But she wasn't going to tell him to go away. Because River really, really wanted to talk to him still. She didn't know how to get her head wrapped around all of that. "Why would I stay?" She shot back. "It's not like anyone wants me here, is it?"

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber sighed; she totally understood what it was like to want other people to tell you what to do, because that was basically her whole life. She waited constantly for people to tell her what to do, how to make them happy. But she wasn't even sure what advice to give Hettie. She thought she just had to be honest. "I think you should speak to him. I know Scott won't like it, but... he doesn't really get to tell you what to do." She sighed.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy laughed, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think she's that hard to predict, do you?" She questioned. She was a pretty intuitive person and she liked to think she could predict what was coming, just by paying attention. "Don't worry, I'll let you know when it's time for us to make our exit. I'll look after you." She laughed. She thought the both of them were just pretty done with all the drama now.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Yeah, I guess it does. I know we all saw each other every night in Rock of Ages, but it felt like we didn't really spend actual time together since the holiday, don't you think?" He shrugged his shoulders. Things had been pretty awkward since the airport, with Scott's parents making a scene and he thought everybody felt that. They'd all kept to their little groups in Rock of Ages.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "If you don't know the answer to that question, I don't think you know me very well yet." Audrey teased, nudging her boyfriend gently. She knew that was a lie, he knew her extremely well. She laughed as he spoke, nodding her head in agreement. "I'll write it down for you, don't worry. I wouldn't want Mr Perfect to fall at the last hurdle." She grinned, shaking her head.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott felt a pang in his stomach as River spoke. He really hadn't known that she felt that way and he hated that she did - he didn't understand how somebody like her, somebody that everybody liked so much could feel like that. "I want you here." He blurted out, before he could even think about censoring himself. He regretted saying it, but it was the truth.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie wasn't used to feeling like this. She was so used to doing whatever it was that she wanted, regardless of the consequences, but she really wanted this thing with Scott to work. And she was doing whatever she could to make sure that it would. "Okay." She nodded. "Okay, I'm going to talk to him now." She smiled as she looked at Amber. "I love you." She laughed before she moved over to Johnny and Robyn. She knew that it probably seemed crazy for her to make such a rash decision but she didn't think that she was going to do it, if she left it to later. "Hey - sorry - Johnny, Can we talk, please?"

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton shrugged his shoulders, "I wouldn't say so but as long as you think so, we're going to be okay." He laughed. Ashton had never been able to predict when Hettie was about to lose her mind. He was always pretty shocked when she flew off the handle. "Alright. I appreciate that." He laughed as he nodded his head. He was pretty done with any kind of drama, he thought.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Yeah, exactly. That's probably why it's still a little quiet now." Robyn shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't completely sure but that was her guess, anyway. She wasn't really sure how to talk to many of the others after the airport. She felt really sorry for Scott though. She raised an eyebrow as she realised that Hettie was coming over to them and she glanced at Johnny, not sure what he would even do about it.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "I'm so confused." Caleb laughed as he shook his head slightly. He thought that he knew Audrey pretty well, though. And he was pretty sure that she knew that he did. Caleb nodded his head, "yeah, yeah, that would be a big help." He laughed as he nodded his head again. "Especially what you think is perfect. That's pretty interesting to me."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River didn't need Scott to feel sorry for her and even as he spoke, she didn't think that he really even meant that. River was so sure that people just put up with her, that they didn't really want her around. That they felt sorry for her and she never wanted that. River shook her head, "Yeah? For how long? 'Cause I don't think your girlfriend would agree." She hadn't been feeling herself for a while now and she thought that, that was pretty clear as she spoke to him.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "I love you!" Amber repeated with a smile. She was really happy that Hettie was going to speak to Johnny - she didn't think it was fair that the two of them hadn't been talking all this time just because Hettie thought Scott wouldn't like it. She loved her cousin and she thought he deserved far better than that. She'd seen how sad he'd been when Hettie had chosen Scott over him and it hadn't been nice.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "I think that's because you don't pay enough attention." Betsy laughed, nudging her friend teasingly. She thought Hettie was a pretty easy to read person, if you actually thought about it - although she definitely had the ability to surprise her now and again. "Not a problem. I can't be bothered with any fucking drama tonight."

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "I don't think you're wrong." Johnny smiled, nodding his head as though to back up what she was saying. He missed the times when they had all been one big group, though. It had all felt a lot easier in the days of Spelling Bee. He was about to say something else when he saw Hettie coming over - and he had no idea what she would want, but he was definitely shocked when she asked to talk to him. "Uh... Yeah. Yeah, we can talk." He said quietly, almost like he was trying to wrap his head around what was going on. They hadn't spoken properly in months. "I'll just be a minute, okay?" He asked Robyn.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Audrey thought Caleb was probably the best boyfriend anybody could ask for, which was why she knew any and all problems with the relationship were totally on her end - and why she knew she had to ignore them. He was almost too good to be true sometimes. "It is? How come?" She asked with a little smile. She had no idea what she would define as perfect - she didn't think it really existed, if she was honest.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Well I'm not my girlfriend, am I?" Scott snapped, sighing as he realised he was already getting defensive. He didn't know why he had to jump to his own defense everytime - except he did, and it was absolutely because he was used to everything being an attack at home. "Sorry. I just - Well, Hettie and I don't always agree." He muttered, shrugging his shoulders. He knew they wouldn't on this, because he really did want River there.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie smiled slightly as Johnny asked Robyn to give them a minute. She thought that she had owed Johnny this conversation from the very beginning. She had just been a coward and she hadn't wanted to think about anything other than Scott. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I should have told you - about Scott. I shouldn't have let you just find out." She shook her head. She wasn't even sure why she had - and even if she did have a small thought about that, she knew that she couldn't say that to Johnny, could she?

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn nodded her head, "Take as much time as you need. I'm gonna check in with Amber." She whispered to him before she moved over to the other girl. Since the holiday, she and Amber had become pretty good friends and Robyn liked spending time with her. "You look awesome!" Robyn smiled as she took in the sight of her friend.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Yeah, that's probably true." Ashton shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't be bothered in keeping up with Hettie and her mood swings. He thought that she was this way or that too often for him to really think about it for too long. "Yeah, no, me neither." He laughed as he nodded his head.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Caleb had no idea that Audrey thought there was a problem in their relationship. He thought that she was in the same mind as him, that things were really good between them. Caleb shrugged his shoulders, "I want to know what you want in a person I guess. I wanna be that." He smiled. Caleb really wanted this to work - but he was never going to be that serious about it all. He didn't think there was much point. What would be, would be. That was basically Calebs moto.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River rolled her eyes as Scott snapped at her. She didn't see why he would be out there with her if he was just going to get angry at anything she said. Usually, she wouldn't let it bother her, not even a little bit. But this time was different - she wasn't herself. "Yeah, clearly." River nodded her head slightly. She sighed as she looked up at him, "Like how your dad treats you? Or is that just me and her?"

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Johnny was always going to give Hettie the time of day, he just wasn't sure what she could say to him to make any of it make sense - things had been going so well for them and he'd liked her so much... and then she had been with somebody else, without a word of explanation. He sighed softly as she spoke - it was far too late, but at least it was an apology. "Yeah, you should've." He told her, nodding his head. "I would've been okay with it. I mean, I would've been upset - but I would've been okay with it." It had hurt so badly, finding out from other people that Hettie had effectively ended whatever relationship they'd had.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber had poured herself another drink since Hettie had gone over to speak to Johnny and she was just pouring in the lemonade when she heard Robyn's voice, turning with a little smile. "Hi!" She beamed. Even though she wasn't totally feeling herself, she really liked Robyn and she was always happy to see her. "Thank you! You look super cute, I love The Wizard of Oz." She smiled. She thought that a month or so ago, she might've been invited to be a part of the costume.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Right, we're not standing around being bitter for the whole night. It's boring. Let's get drunk." Betsy laughed, shaking her head. She and Ashton had always gotten along and she knew that for their own reasons, they weren't necessarily feeling their best tonight - but she didn't think that was any reason that they shouldn't still try and have fun. She grabbed a bottle of vodka she'd brought from the table nearest and unscrewed the cap, taking a huge gulp of it straight from the bottle, before she wiped the top and handed it to him. "Go on, dare you."

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: It wasn't that Audrey felt like there was a problem - she knew there wasn't, not really. It was just something, a niggling feeling that things weren't right and it annoyed her. She knew that she should be absolutely, blissfully happy and not even thinking about anything else right now. She couldn't help but smile as he spoke though, reaching up to kiss him softly. "You are. That's why I'm here." She laughed, shaking her head at him. She knew he was probably the exact person she should be with.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott tensed up slightly as River mentioned his dad; he tried not to think about the day at the airport, about what had happened. It was probably the worst his dad had ever been and he had never been so embarrassed in his life. "Don't go there. Okay? Just don't." He was so grateful for what River had done, but he also understood why Hettie hadn't.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "I think -" She paused, not sure if she really wanted to say this to him. But she had started so she thought that she might as well finish. "I think I was worried that if I told you, you'd change my mind." She really, really liked Johnny and even when she had started with Scott, she didn't think that she was completely sure. "I think that if I had gone with you - then he would have always been in the back of my mind. The what if, you know?" She asked him .She hoped that he understood what she was saying. "I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you first." She had already apologised but she thought he deserved a second one. Especially since she had taken so long with the first.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn smiled at Amber before she started to pour herself another drink. She hadn't really had much to drink since they had gotten to the party so she thought that she probably had some catching up to do. She thought that Amber was one of the prettiest people she had ever met. She didn't understand why some people might not actually see that. "Thank you." She laughed. "I absolutely had to scramble this together at the last second though."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton clapped his hands together and nodded his head, "That sounds like an offer that I absolutely cannot refuse!" He smiled. Ashton really, really wanted to have some fun and he was sure that he could do that with Betsy by his side. He always had fun when he was around her, he thought. He scoffed as he listened to Betsy and nodded his head. He took the drink from her and took a long gulp, like she had. But he wasn't able to keep a straight face. He laughed as he shook his head. "I fucking hate vodka."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Caleb thought that Audrey was probably the exact person he wanted to be with. She was exactly his type. Caleb smiled before he happily kissed Audrey back. He really, really liked Audrey and he definitely felt so lucky to have her. "But that's exactly why I need to be top of my game, isn't it?" He laughed as he raised an eyebrow. "Need to keep on like this for you."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River knew exactly what she was doing when she mentioned his dad, but she didn't really care. She scoffed as he spoke but nodded her head. She had thought that she had made a fool out of herself by standing up for him. She thought that she looked like a right idiot. But she couldn't take it back now, could she? "Fine. Is that all you wanted?" She asked as she looked at him. She had an overwhelming urge to burst into tears .She really didn't want to cry in front of him and she wasn't sure why she even felt like it. She was just such a mess recently.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Johnny was more than surprised as he heard what Hettie had to say; he would never have tried to change her mind if she'd told him she was serious about being with Scott, but he would've also told her how he felt about her. Properly. He'd never gotten to do that. "I still wish you'd told me, Hettie. Hearing from other people, it - that wasn't nice." He sighed, shaking his head. He nodded as she spoke, though. "I do understand that. And hey - you guys seem happy now, so. Right decision, I guess." As much as he wanted to pretend it didn't, that still hurt. That Scott had been the better choice all along. "It's okay. Really, it's okay now. Thank you for apologising." He told her, giving her a genuine little smile.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber was feeling pretty tipsy by now and she was glad about it, because it was helping her to cheer up. She knew she had no real reason to feel sad other than feeling a little bit overlooked, so she definitely just wanted to get past it and have a great night with all the people that she usually had fun with. "Oh really? Well, I can't tell at all, I promise. It looks lovely." She smiled. If she was totally honest, Amber had wondered a couple of times why Robyn and Johnny were together, but she wasn't going to question it.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy was pretty relieved that Robyn hadn't tried to talk to her, because she wasn't sure what she even had to say - it wasn't like they could talk about anything that had happened, because she didn't think Robyn would want to risk people hearing and Betsy wasn't the type of person who could just pretend something wasn't wrong. She didn't like being fake. She laughed as he pulled a face, rolling her eyes as she took the bottle back. "Aw, you're such a baby." She laughed teasingly. "I don't think it really tastes of anything." She shrugged.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Audrey thought one of the best parts about being with Caleb was how well they already knew each other - it was just like being two best friends who were also attracted to each other and she knew that he already knew her better than a lot of people did. "I don't think you'll have any trouble being yourself, you know? But even if you did, I'd still like you." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "Go on then, what do you want in a person? What do I need to work on?" She chuckled.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott didn't understand why River was being so prickly - although he'd told her he wanted her to stay and that was true, he didn't get why she was here in the first place when she so clearly didn't want to be. "Look, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. That was all." He sighed, shrugging his shoulders. He wished he hadn't come outside, because he'd clearly made things worse.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie found it really interesting that she was able to be honest with Johnny and not with Scott. She thought that it was because she didn;'t want to do something for him to kick off about. She really wanted things to be good. "I know. I know I should have." She nodded her head. SHe didn't know what more she could say about it though. Hettie smiled slightly and nodded her head, "Yeah, I guess we are." She muttered. Though a part of her wondered if it really was the right decision. She knew that she absolutely could not say that to him. "I really miss being your friend."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn smiled as she watched Amber. She seemed to be a little happier, which was a good thing, Robyn thought. She had thought that she seemed a little sad earlier on in the day. "Oh, well thank you." Robyn nodded her head slightly. she had really enjoyed putting together her outfit - even if it was a little plainer than she had thought it would be.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton kind of wanted to talk to Audrey but he didn't think he would be able to just go over there to talk to her. He thought that was too difficult. He wasn't going to make a fool out of himself like that. "Are you kidding?" Ashton asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a laugh. He shook his head. "That stuff is devil fuel. Though, that probably explains why you like it." He laughed as he nudged her.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Caleb smiled and nodded his head, "Alright - that sounds good." He chuckled. He always enjoyed spending time with Audrey. She was one of his most favourite people. "To work on?" Caleb asked with a raise of an eyebrow - and pretended to think for a second. "I don't think you need to work on anything." He laughed as he shrugged his shoulders, "You seem pretty damn perfect to me." He kissed her quickly.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River knew that she needed to go home. She knew that she shouldn't have come in the first place - but she hadn't been able to say no to Johnny. She thought that she was probably going to go home soon though. she had been there for long enough. River stood up then, as Scott spoke, and turned to face him, "Well I'm not, so what are you gonna do about it?" she asked with a raise of an eyebrow.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Johnny knew that this conversation should've happened months ago, but he was just glad that he was getting an apology now - and that Hettie really did seem to understand that what she'd done had been wrong. He felt like he sensed some resistance as she said she and Scott were happy, but he wasn't going to call her out on it. "We can still be friends, Hettie. Just - maybe not the same friends we were before." He chuckled, trying to make a joke out of their situation.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber felt pretty out of place in this group sometimes and that wasn't really something she was used to feeling - at college, she was popular and well-liked and she knew people didn't necessarily dislike her here, but she had come in late. They'd all already made their friends and she hadn't really found where she slotted in yet. "You're welcome. Are you enjoying the party?" She asked, taking a little sip of her drink as she looked at the blonde.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy knew that the two of them getting drunk could go one of two ways - they could end up being fun-drunk and having the best night, or it could just serve to make them even more bitter... But she thought having a bit of liquid courage might actually help her to say what she needed to say to Robyn. "Oi, there's no need to be rude. Not that you're wrong, though." She laughed, rolling her eyes as she took another swig and held out the bottle again.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Audrey had already spotted Ashton when she'd come in and she knew instantly that she missed him; even just talking to him, but she didn't know if going over to talk to him would be fair to Caleb. She didn't want to hurt him. "Err, so cheesy." She teased as he spoke, shaking her head - her smile showed that she was kidding, though. She kissed him back happily, pulling away with a laugh,

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott was pretty surprised that River so openly told him she wasn't okay - he thought that was more worrying than anything else. "I wanna help you, but I don't know how." He admitted, purposefully making eye contact with the girl. He wanted her to know he was serious, he really did want to help. He would never admit it, not even to himself - but he cared about her. He wanted her to be alright.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Like Johnny, Hettie knew that they should have been having this conversation a while ago. She should have told him what was going to happen but she thought that it was better to be late than never. Hettie thought that she and Scott should be together - but she didn't really know how happy they really were. She knew that she didn't want it to end though. Hettie laughed as she nodded her head, "Yeah, somehow I don't think the friends we were before would work now." she nodded. "You seem happy though - with Robyn?"

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn would have hated to know that Amber felt out of place in that group. She really liked the other so she would never have liked to hear it. Robyn really thought that Amber was a good person, a lovely person. She didn't see why people might not like her. "Yeah - it's pretty chill tonight, huh?' She asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a smile.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton wasn't thinking about the consequences of the alcohol. He was pretty sure that if he did, he wouldn't be drinking because he would know it would put him in a worse mood. But right now, he was just going to have fun with Betsy. "I know i'm not wrong." Ashton laughed as he nodded his head. He never thought he'd get along with someone like Betsy - and especially not as well as he did. But he really liked spending time with her.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Caleb would never stop Audrey from talking to whoever she wanted to talk to. If she wanted to talk to Ashton, he wouldn't think anything of it. They were friends after all, right? Caleb thought that he would like to talk to Amber at some point. They hadn't really spoke much and he knew that he definitely missed her. "Right - well I take it all back then." He laughed as he shook his head.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River sighed as Scott spoke. Even though she knew that he was telling her the truth, she didn't know if there was really anything that he could do to help her. She knew what this was and she just had to get herself through it. "Me neither." River muttered with a shake of her head. "I don't think there's much you can do." She shook her head with a sigh before she sat down.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: From what Johnny had seen, he honestly didn't know if he thought Hettie and Scott were happy or not - they seemed to argue and challenge each other a lot, but he knew that was maybe just how they worked. It wasn't up to him to judge that anymore. "Maybe not." He chuckled, nodding his head. "Yes. Yeah. I am." He smiled as she spoke about Robyn; he thought they were happy. He was happy, she was happy. Just maybe not together, but he thought that would come with time.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber nodded her head. "Yeah, very chill. I'm surprised - I expected shouting by now." She giggled. She was just joking, although part of her really had expected things to be a bit more dramatic than they had been so far. She liked it like this though, she liked not seeing everybody at odds with each other, waiting for a fight.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy didn't think she was a particularly hard person to get along with, but she knew she gave off the image and vibe of somebody that was - so she was usually on the outside of things and happily so. "At least I can drink it without gagging." She laughed, shaking her head.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Audrey knew Caleb was never going to stop her from doing anything, but it was more about not wanting him to feel weird - she thought he'd probably talk to him about it at some point. "Okay, good. You don't want me expecting that level of niceness all the time, do you?" She laughed, nudging him gently with her elbow.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott had never been good at anything like this, he was never the person people went to for help or advice and this was why. But he didn't like not being able to help River. He sighed as she sat down, moving slightly closer to where she was. "What's going on?"

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie thought that she was always going to be in a relationship where it was going to challenge her. SHe didn't think that she would ever properly settle things if she and whoever she was with, would just go along with whatever she thought. "Sorry to say." She shrugged her shoulders with a laugh. She definitely missed spending time with Johnny... In all ways. "Good. I'm glad that you are." She smiled.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn laughed along with Amber before he nodded her head, "Yeah, me too. I guess we just have to hope it continues like this, right?" She asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a laugh. Robyn thought that it was pretty fun to see the drama but she was definitely glad that she wasn't the one in it. She thought that Robyn was pretty much the same too.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Caleb thought he was really lucky to have Audrey so he wasn't about to do something which would possible wreck that. He liked being with her far too much for that. "Yeah it's only happening because i'm trying to make sure you're here for good. That's all." Caleb laughed as he shrugged his shoulders.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River sighed as Scott sat down next to her. She knew that he wasn't going to let it go like that but she didn't even know what to say to him. She chewed on her lip and looked at the floor. "I am clinically depressed, Scott. It'll pass." She was well aware of what was going on - she just had no idea how she was ever going to pull herself out of it - and she hoped that Scott understood that there wasn't much he could do.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie smiled as she heard Audreys voice. She had been trying to get away to have a moment by herself but she didn't mind spending time with Audrey. She always had fun when the other was around. "Yeah, it's pretty good ,huh?" She laughed as she raised an eyebrow. It had been quieter than one of her usual parties but she kind of liked that. Hettie nodded her head, "God, you're like a fucking spy. Yeah, I was talking to him earlier."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton laughed as he listened to Scott and he nodded his head, "Something to do with us being drunk, I think." He shrugged his shoulders. He and Betsy had basically had the whole bottle of vodka between them and now he was on the whiskey - it was safe to say that he was definitely drunk. "Did I see you sneaking off after that weird girl earlier?" Rivers name escaped him in that moment but he couldn't help but be nosey.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn had spent most of the night gossiping and drinking with Amber and she had, had a really nice night. And she was definitely well on her way to drunk. She was going to fresher herself up in the bathroom when she bumped into Betsy, her eyes went wide. She shook her head as she heard the other. "No - No. Don't go." She sighed and reached out to grab the girls hand. She really wanted to talk to her. That was all that she had really wanted the entire night. She knew that, that shouldn't have been the case but she couldn't help it. And she was more forward with her thoughts now that she was drunk.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Despite her better judgement, River decided to stay at the party. She thought that Johnny and the others probably needed someone to look after them when they inevitable got too drunk. She had had a couple of drinks herself but not that many. She was still pretty sober. "Hi." River smiled slightly as Johnny wrapped his arm around her. The brunette shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, it's alright. How's yours?" She asked him. She hoped that he had been having a good time.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Caleb wasn't used to being by himself but he was able to keep himself entertained anyway. He smiled, though, as he heard Ambers voice. He had missed spending time with her a lot. She was a really nice person and Caleb and her really got along - he was so glad that they were friends. "Hey! Happy halloween. I love your costume." He chuckled as he looked over her for a second. "How's your night?"

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Yeah, really good. I feel like I've barely gotten to talk to anybody though." Audrey laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She had spent a lot of time with Caleb and the others tonight and now she wanted to make sure she got a chance to see everybody. They were all going to be doing another show together after all, they would be seeing a lot of each other. "I know, I'm pretty spy-like when I want to be. I pride myself on it." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "How'd it go?" She knew the two hadn't spoken since everything went crazy, so she was definitely curious.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Yeah, that would probably have something to do with it." Scott laughed, nodding his head. "I'm not as drunk as you, though." He couldn't handle vodka and especially not straight. He raised an eyebrow as Ashton called River the weird girl. "You know her name, man. Don't be a dick. And I wasn't sneaking off anywhere, I just went outside for a bit." He would refuse to admit that he'd sneaked anywhere, because then it would beg the question of why.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy was a pretty straightforward person, but when she'd had a drink she especially didn't have time to waste being false - which was why she'd tried to stay away from Robyn, because she didn't want to have to say what she had to say here. She looked back in shock as the blonde grabbed her hand, raising an eyebrow. "What's up, Robyn?" She asked with a little sigh. She just couldn't understand how things had been the way they had been between them and all of a sudden, Robyn had a boyfriend.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Yeah, it's been good." Johnny smiled. He'd asked River if she was okay a number of times, so he didn't want to keep bugging her by asking her again - he just wanted her to know that she could go to him if she ever needed somebody, that he would always be there. "Hettie apologised to me." He said, his voice a little quieter than it had been before. He had been dying to tell somebody, but he hadn't found Caleb yet. He didn't know if he was banking too much on it, if he was putting too much thought into it - but he was really happy it had happened.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Thanks! I love yours, it looks so comfortable. Aren't you boiling, though?" Amber giggled, shaking her head as she took in Caleb's costume. She loved how he was always down for a joke. It was easy for Amber to see why she'd had a crush on him, but she knew that was all it had been - she mostly just thought that Audrey was going to hurt him and she didn't like that, because above all else he was her friend. "It's been great, I was just with Robyn but I'm not sure where she went." She laughed. "How's yours?"

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "No, you've been too busy with that boy of yours, haven't you?" Hettie raised an eyebrow. She really liked Audrey and Caleb together. She thought that they were good together and it definitely seemed like they had a lot of fun together. She wondered if Audrey was really over Ashton though. She thought that, that was pretty interesting. She didn't know if she should ask her friend about that, though. "You're not stealthy enough for it, though." Hettie laughed as she nudged her friend. "Yeah, it was good." She paused before she added, "I apologised to him."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "I don't think anyone is as drunk as me right now. This is a bad idea." Ashton chuckled - before he took a big gulp of the glass of whisky in his hand. He didn't think that it would be long until he went on to water for a little bit. Ashton shrugged his shoulders, "I forgot! I don't remember it." He laughed then. He thought that she was pretty irrelevant so he didn't understand why Scott got so het up about her. "Which is where she was."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Now that Betsy had stopped, Robyn wasn't sure what to say to her. She had so much to say but none that she really felt like she could say. She wasn't willing to admit her feelings for the other girls. She couldn't even admit that they were real. The blonde shook her head, "I just - I thought we could hang out? We've not spoke for a little while?" She raised an eyebrow. she didn't think that the two of them had to stop being friends, just because she had a boyfriend.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Good." River nodded her head. The conversation she had, had with Scott earlier on had been playing on loop in her brain. She didn't know if it was good or bad. She couldn't really make sense of it but she felt pretty foolish. She had admitted more to him, then she had to any of her proper friends. She didn't know what it was what Scott had over her. She raised an eyebrow as Johnny spoke to her. "Really?" She asked him. "Too little, too late though, right?" She asked him .She could see he was happy and that worried her. He was just getting over all of that. She didn't want him being sucked back in.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "I am. But it's alright. The drink it kind of helping." Caleb shrugged his shoulders before he took a sip of his drink. He had, had to take a couple moments outside because he had gotten too warm. He was definitely feeling the heat. Caleb definitely thought that there was a little something there between him and Amber but he was happy with Audrey. So he didn't feel a need to try and explore that with the red head. "Oh yeah, you guys are pretty good friends now, right?" He asked her with a smile. "Yeah, it's good. You know i love a party."

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Audrey laughed, nodding her head. "Yeah, guilty." She smiled. She had been spending a lot of time with Caleb and she liked that Hettie seemed to be supportive of that. Everybody had been so far and it was pretty nice. "That's true. I'm fast, but fucking clumsy." She chuckled. She raised an eyebrow in surprise as Hettie said she'd apologised to Johnny. "Shit, really? Did he accept it?"

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott laughed, shaking his head as his friend went in for another drink. "I don't know how you're still alive right now, mate." He thought he was doing pretty well to even be speaking full sentences, the amount he'd had to drink. "Yeah. I just went to see if she was alright. Not a big deal, is it?" He shrugged his shoulders. He thought anybody would do that for anybody else, if they saw them looking down.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy raised an eyebrow as Robyn asked if they could hang out. This all just felt a little insane to her, because she knew she hadn't been making up what was going on between them. They'd kissed, they'd slept together - and now she was acting as though they'd been friends all along? "Well yeah, I don't really tend to speak to people that make me feel like a dick." She shrugged her shoulders. Betsy had been used as an experiment by more girls than just this one and she was sick of it.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "Well, I mean... An apology is an apology. Better late than never." Johnny shrugged his shoulders. He knew that it was late and he'd said that to Hettie, he'd told her that she hadn't been fair - but he also did want to accept her apology, because he missed her. He'd been missing her for a while now. It meant something that she regretted what she'd done and he couldn't ignore that.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "It's helping? I'm surprised it isn't making you warmer." Amber laughed, shaking her head. She always overheated when she was drunk, which was why she usually spent the majority of the night outside. She smiled as he spoke about Robyn, nodding her head. "Yeah, I guess we bonded in Greece or whatever. She's such a nice person." She laughed. she really did like Robyn. "Of course! Although it's a lot tamer than anything I expected Hettie to be hosting."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie wouldn't tell Audrey what she really thought about all of it, until Audrey asked her what she thought about it all. She wasn't going to shit on her friend if she was happy - and she seemed to be pretty happy. "You might be the most clumsy person I've ever met." Hettie laughed. She was so surprised that the two of them had managed to make it out of the situation in Greese with how clumsy her friend was. "Yeah, seems to be good between us now."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton shrugged his shoulders, "Ask me again tomorrow. Don't think I'll have the same answer, do you?" He asked with a raise of an eyebrow. Ashton was fully aware that he was going to have a bad hangover the next day but he didn't care that much. Not right now. Ashton shrugged his shoulders, "Depends if you're gonna mention it to Hettie or not." He thought that if he didn't, then it was pretty telling.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn was so confused as she heard what Betsy had to say. "Wait - what?" She asked with a raise of an eyebrow. "Why - how did I do that?" She had no clue that Betsy was upset with her so she was genuinely asking. She refused to believe anything between the two of them was more than friendship so she didn't see why Betsy would think it was more. Especially since she hadn't said anything about it.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Yeah, I guess. Just don't know how much she means it." River shrugged her shoulders. She half wondered if it was because she knew that he was getting over her. She thought that, that would be something that Hettie would do. River really didn't want to see Johnny get hurt by her - again - and she thought that, that was exactly what he was going to do.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Maybe it's just wishful thinking." Caleb laughed as he shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't even sure what he was saying anymore but he was having a lot of fun, he thought. He was definitely glad to be spending time with Amber though. She was always a lot of fun. "Yeah. She seems to be. I like her. And she's good to Johnny so..." Caleb thought that someone lke Robyn was the least that Johnny deserved. "Oh don't jinx it."

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Audrey wasn't going to ask anybody's opinions, because she wasn't really sure she wanted to hear them - she was sure this was what everybody had thought she should do, what people had thought was the right thing. "You're not the first person who's said that to me, I'm starting to think you might all be right." She laughed. She thought it was a miracle she wasn't constantly in a cast. "Good - it was about time. It's always weird when somebody doesn't talk in a group situation, you know?" She shrugged. She hoped things would be a bit more normal now.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Scott laughed, nodding his head. "I don't think I'll be asking you anything tomorrow, you're going to need a few days recovery." He laughed again, rolling his eyes. He was a pretty good drinker, but vodka bad the ability to put him in bed for days. "Do I need to tell her about everybody I speak to?" The conversation was annoying him now; he'd gone outside to check up on a friend, he didn't think that had to be a big deal. Especially after what River had told him. He wasn't going to feel guilty for that.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Betsy didn't blame Robyn for not thinking the same things she had, or for not wanting to be with her - she wasn't that type of person, she knew that it wasn't a big deal. But she didn't like feeling used. She raised an eyebrow as Robyn asked why she felt that way. "Okay well, we went from talking all the time, we kissed, we slept together and the next minute you've got a boyfriend and we haven't spoken in weeks?" She shrugged her shoulders. "It's whatever, I don't care - but I'm not just an experiment for you to test your feelings on. It's a really shit thing to do."

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: "I feel like if she didn't mean it, she probably wouldn't have gone out of her way to say it to me, you know? She could've just left it. It wouldn't make much difference to her." Johnny shrugged his shoulders. He really wanted to believe that Hettie meant what she'd said, because he missed her and he needed to believe that she was sorry, because she's really hurt him.

SC AM JM LO SD BA AM: Amber laughed, raising an eyebrow. "Well, if it's working - then it's working!" She smiled. She really liked being able to spend time around Caleb, he always made her laugh and he was one of the rare people she knew who really didn't care about how they looked. "Yeah, she is. They look good together." Although Amber didn't really know how long it was going to last, she liked that they seemed to have a pretty easy relationship. "Sorry! I don't think anybody heard, so we're good." She giggled.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Hettie thought that Caleb was definitely the obvious choice for Audrey - but she had also seen how she looked at Ashton and she didn't think it was the same with Caleb. She wondered if she was going to turn out to be right, though. "I cannot believe you managed to get Sherrie over me. You can barely keep on your own two feet." Hettie laughed as she shook her head. She had thought that Audrey had done a really good job in the end - even if she was still a little bitter. "Yeah. Though i'm sure we're not done with problems just yet."

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Ashton chuckled before he nodded his head, "Yeah, probably. That sounds about right." He thought that he definitely needed a chill couple of days after this. Ashton shrugged his shoulders slightly as Scott spoke. "No. But you do when that person also kissed you a few weeks ago." He knew that he was pissing Scott off but he was too drunk to even care about that.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: Robyn had no idea that, that was what Betsy had thought. She thought that the other would understand what it was and she hated that she didn't. She stared at her, just blinking. "I ---" But what could she say? She couldn't physically tell Betsy that she wasn't just an experiment. She couldn't get those words out. Her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. "Okay." She muttered before she pushed past her into the bathroom. She wanted so badly to be brave enough to tell her what she was thinking but her mouth wouldn't make the noises.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: River shrugged her shoulders, "You know her better than I do. I'm just - I don't want her to hurt you again." And she thought that, that would be obvious that, that was her concern. she loved Johnny so much. And she wanted him to be safe. She wanted him to be happy. River couldn't get her conversation with Scott out of her head. She hadn't even properly admitted that to Johnny or any of her other friends. Though she was sure that they could pretty much guess.

HD AK RW CK AM IS RM: "Exactly. That's all I need." Caleb laughed as he nodded his head. He really liked spending time with Amber. She was fun. He had definitely missed her the last couple of weeks. Caleb smiled as Amber spoke about Robyn and Johnny. "Makes more sense than the previous pairing, don't you think?" He asked her. He figured that Amber would have more of an opinion on Johnny and Hettie, than he did. "Okay, okay. Good." He chuckled with a nod of his head.

[aquaquadrant]

of love and dancing

okay so this is just some mindless fluff I wrote after ‘the new lars’ because I absolutely adore the fact that the Cool Kids are a dance crew (idk why I waited so long to post it, but the new eps motivated me to finally finish it so here we are).   so please read on and enjoy some poly cool kid fluff, and remember that comments are loved and appreciated! :)

also, click here to read it on FFN and here to read it on A03 - Aqua

of love and dancing

“Alright, let’s go again from the chorus.”

Buck hit play and cranked up the volume, nodding in time with the beat before throwing himself into the dance.

Even as he lost himself in the music, he was hyper-aware of Jenny and Sour Cream beside him, anticipating their movements as if they were his own. They moved together, breathing on the same beats as everything faded away and they focused only on each other and the dance.

They were rehearsing at the warehouse, a warm breeze drifting in and out of the open building. The evening sky cast a soft pink glow into the area, muting the harsh fluorescent lighting. Jenny had brought one of her dad’s old stereos, and Sour Cream had set up the music, one of his original tracks he’d converted to CD. The floor hummed beneath their feet, pulsing with the heavy bass of the music.

Admittedly, it was a little unconventional. Most of the dance crews they competed with had their own studio or rehearsal space that wasn’t a crumbling ruin on the outskirts of town. But Beach City wasn’t exactly dance central, and the city itself was a bit unconventional; it wouldn’t make sense if their dance crew was anything but.

They were a small crew, only three strong. Most crews had well over ten members, with a wide variety of skill sets. They’d already learned that having fewer members meant creative choreography and a much bigger challenge, but Buck didn’t mind it being just the three of them. Realistically, he knew they’d have to expand at some point if they really wanted to establish themselves. He’d already been asking around town, and Sour Cream had been vetting his pool of online friends for any potential members who lived close enough to rehearse regularly. Jenny had even tried, and failed, to get Kiki to join.

But while they were looking for more members, Buck made sure to enjoy these moments they had to themselves, since they wouldn’t last forever.

Besides, for such a small group they were doing very well for themselves. It had been Buck’s idea to form the crew, so he usually took point when choreographing routines, but he wasn’t really a ‘leader.’ It was always a group effort. They worked well together, and when they all collaborated, the routines essentially choreographed themselves.

Buck was just happy that Beach City was hosting the next competition. It’d save them an hour car trip to the cities where the other crews resided.

“Ready?” He spun in to meet Jenny, his arms wrapping around her waist as he and Sour Cream flipped her.

It felt so natural, dancing with them. And it was fun. Most of the time they were all fairly laid back, but when they performed together they just let loose. And dancing in such a small, close-knit group had helped them grow more connected to the point that other crews had commented on their synchronization and chemistry.

“I guess it’s easy for everyone to be on the same beat when there’s only three of you,” another dancer had once told him good-naturedly. “At least there’s one advantage to having such a small crew.”

Buck had just laughed, “I guess so,” but he knew the real reason. When they’d finally taken that plunge and started dating, Jenny and Sour Cream had become such an integral part of his life that they might as well be a part of him, an extension of himself. He could tell they felt it too.

Their choreography came to an end, and Buck paused the track. “How we feeling? Any questions?”

“Wait a sec.” Jenny caught her breath, swiping a hand across her forehead. She was dressed in black leggings and a bright purple workout tank that was already damp with sweat. “Are the two hits after the stomp and twist separate, or do they flow?”

Buck made a noncommittal noise, running over the steps in his mind. “They’re separate, and the emphasis is on the second one. Hit, hit.” He demonstrated the movements; two consecutive sharp jabs with the elbow, stepping into the second one.

“Mmm, okay.” Jenny nodded thoughtfully, marking the steps.

Buck took a sip from his water bottle. “You guys wanna run it again, or can we go on?”

“I think we’re good.” Sour Cream stretched his arms over his head, the hem of his black T-shirt riding up ever so slightly. “We’ve made a lot of ground today.”

Jenny nodded her agreement, and Buck set his water bottle back down. “Okay, cool. So what comes after the chorus?”

Sour Cream tilted his head, his fluffy white hair falling into his eyes. “Uh, the dubstep section I think? We’re pretty much at the end of it.”

“Any suggestions?” Buck asked.

Jenny thought for a moment, humming the melody as she played the dance in her mind. Suddenly she snapped her fingers, her coffee-colored eyes lighting up. “I’ve got it! SC, you should totally do a solo there!”

Sour Cream was taken aback. “Really? You think?”

“Yeah! Listen.” Jenny knelt by the stereo and rewound the track. “Right after the bass drop, it sort of goes crazy. I think it’d be the perfect place for some animating.”

“I agree,” Buck said. Sour Cream had surprised both of them, and himself, with his skill in animation, and so far, he hadn’t had a chance to really showcase it in their routines.

Sour Cream closed his eyes and listened to the music, his body moving imperceptibly as he marked out the movements in his head. “Yeah, I could swing this.”

“So what’d you have in mind, then?” Jenny prompted, tucking a dark strand of hair behind her ear.

“Well, there is a new move I wanted to show you,” Sour Cream said, rolling his shoulders to loosen them up. “I saw this on the internet, you’re supposed to move your whole body around without moving your head, so you look like a robot.”

“What, like a chicken head?” Jenny teased.

Sour Cream looked thoughtful. “Uh, yeah, actually.”

“Let’s see it, then,” Buck said, rewinding the CD and hitting play.

They all fell silent as Sour Cream started to dance, his eyes becoming half-lidded as he fell into a sort of trance. The improvised movements were sharp, controlled, and almost mechanical in nature- he truly did look like a robot.

A smile spread across Buck’s face. He never ceased to be amazed by Sour Cream’s dancing; it was so different from the break dancing Buck himself was partial to, and a totally different genre from the crumping Jenny excelled at. It required an insane amount of muscle control, and he knew SC spent many an hour perfecting his technique. It was unfortunate he was so down on himself- he often felt like his skills couldn’t compare to theirs.

The music faded out, and Sour Cream looked up at them expectantly. “What’d you guys think, did it look right?”

Jenny whistled. “Woah, that’s awesome!”

“Man, that is sick,” Buck said appreciatively.

“Yeah?” Sour Cream looked pleasantly surprised.

“Totally. Just, one thing.” Buck stepped in close, draping one arm around SC’s shoulders, and one across his chest. “Try leading with your chest, instead of your shoulders.” He guided the pale boy through the movement slowly. “See, like that?”

Sour Cream’s face was flushed. “Yeah, I see.”

“Good.” Buck grinned, and quick as a flash he slipped his hands beneath the hem of SC’s shirt and pressed his fingers against the taller boy’s sides, which he knew to be particularly sensitive.

Sour Cream let out a high-pitched yelp. “Dude, your hands are freezing!”

“I know.” Buck nuzzled his shoulder playfully. “Just making sure you don’t get distracted.”

Sour Cream’s expression turned mischievous. “Oh, yeah?” He retaliated by tackling Buck to the floor and tickling him mercilessly. “How’s this for distracted?”

“No fair!” Buck gasped, his laughter echoing around the warehouse.

“All’s fair in love and dancing!” Sour Cream retorted. He tugged Buck’s shirt up and blew a raspberry on his stomach.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Jenny interrupted with her hands on her hips, looking bemused. “In case you guys forgot, we still have work to do.”

Sour Cream pouted. “You just hate fun,” he said teasingly, sticking his tongue out at her.

Buck took advantage of the momentary respite to flip Sour Cream over, pinning the other boy to the ground. “Nah, she’s just jealous,” he grinned.

Jenny sniffed haughtily at them. “No, I’m just being mature.” She gave them a smile to let them know she wasn’t really displeased; she was only giving them a hard time.

Buck hummed and sat back, his legs still sprawled across SC’s stomach. “Well, Miss Mature, why don’t you get off your high horse and- augh!”

Sour Cream had used his temporary freedom to snatch his water bottle and dump it over Buck’s head, thoroughly soaking him.

“Oh, it’s on!” Buck’s own water bottle was within reach, and he used it to exact revenge, pouring it all over the other teen. Sour Cream’s hair, normally an untamable gravity-defying mess, was drenched and plastered to his head and face. He blinked up at him, his minty blue eyes wide and appealing, and Buck finally leaned down and closed the distance between them, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips.

Sour Cream responded instantly, and reached up to grab Buck’s sopping wet shirt as leverage to pull him closer, tilting his head to deepen the kiss.

Buck obliged, his eyes fluttering closed. He could feel his shades slipping down the bridge of his nose.

After a few seconds they broke apart, smiling at each other breathlessly. Sour Cream leaned up to kiss Buck again when he paused, glancing to the side. He started snickering, the sound rumbling in his chest beneath Buck’s splayed fingers. Buck followed his gaze to Jenny and broke into a self-satisfied grin at her expression.

She seemed to have frozen on the spot, starry eyed and blushing faintly.

Buck sat back up, lifting his eyebrows. “Hey, Jen, you’re staring,” he said softly.

Jenny started, her face growing even redder. “No I’m not!” she insisted.

Buck gave her a knowing smile and pushed his shades back up.

Sour Cream continued to laugh beneath him. “Okay, so maybe you weren’t. Or,” he drawled, “you could drop the act and join us, unless you still think we should get back to work?”

Jenny bit her lip. “I… guess we could call it a day,” she amended, walking over to them. “But we still have work to do! Don’t you go thinking you can get out of rehearsal by being distracting, okay?”

Buck gently tugged her down to join them, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Okay. Same time tomorrow then?” he asked innocently.

Jenny grinned and rolled her eyes, kissing them both in quick succession. “I don’t know how we manage to get anything done,” she said with a huff.

“I guess we’re just that good!” Sour Cream exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air emphatically.

Buck took each of their hands in his, lacing their fingers together. He nodded serenely, smiling in contentment.

“We’re good together.”

End

P.S. here's a link to a video that showcases some of the dancing I pictured while writing this (the animating stuff SC was talking about shows up at the very end, but the whole dance is very good). Thanks for reading! - Aqua

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32NAd20obbM

(if the link breaks, search 'Step Up 3: Battle of Red Hook')

[thefragileglass]

Valerian and why you shouldn’t watch it.

This is full of spoilers, so if you don’t take my advice and actually go see it, don’t read this, I guess.

I don't want people to think I hated #valerian bc it's a dumb space movie. I LOVE dumb space movies- that is why I went to see it, that is what I wanted. I want people to know that I hated it for SO MANY other reasons.

So, the first...4 minutes (?) are pretty interesting. Cool aliens. Timelapse of progress, etc.

Then we travel to 400 years in the future on a paradise island. Very pretty. I was immediately apprehensive when the obviously female alien that was a completely different species and culture untouched by humanity- had titties (but still slightly covered them up) and wore a skirt. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with these things, but i just find it pretty suspicious that a completely different species and culture would 1. have the same parts and 2. have the same hangups about who can display them.  If you have such a limited imagination about anatomy, at least have some creativity about the culture, I mean, c’mon. Not to mention the fact that the titties were covered but still enticingly uncovered and it was all obviously done to tantalize male viewers. It was like being punched in the face by the male gaze. Like obviously, if we don’t want to at least subconsciously fuck her, there’s no way we can possibly care about her! And I’m deliberately calling them titties bc she was naive and childlike- so pure in her uncorrupted state of innocence (eye roll). Ugh- it just makes it all so much more icky. Then there was the very thinly veiled reference to some “primitive” culture (side-eye) where everyone is, again, so naive and peaceful and just live in blissful ignorance. It is then Very Important to the plot that she dies so that the Main Character can save this poor, primitive species. This is like, the 6th minute of the movie.

Then, we meet the Main Character.

Oh man, where to start? We’re introduced to him being a total asshole to Secondary Character, who is introduced walking towards us in a bikini. Phew, another woman to look at, I was getting worried, it had been like, a whole 10 seconds since I had one. Again, there’s nothing inherently wrong with a woman in a bikini- it's the way the scene is shot and who the scene is for. So then we start off with some weird sexual wrestling- which it didn’t seem that SC was into- and then we find out he’s her superior officer. In the space military. And he’s actively trying to convince her to have sex with him, but obvs she doesn’t want to bc he’s a ~*~ playboy ~*~ and won’t commit to her by forgetting everyone on his “playlist”. When I say actively, I mean he’s literally following her down a hallway. And when I say convince, I mean he’s literally just bragging about how great he is by listing awards and commendations he’s gotten. Who acts like this?! I have no explanation about MC’s behavior, but to paraphrase Allison, SC acts like how men think women act, with the reasoning men imagine women use. Regardless of the fact that I don’t think her reasoning makes much sense, no matter what it was, we’re supposed to believe that she’s just playing hard to get. Like, you know they’re going to get together at the end and so the audience is just supposed to assume that she secretly likes him and thinks he’s endearingly oh so silly and that she’ll change her mind eventually, as women are wont to do. It’s obvious that MC thinks SC is just playing hard to get too, which is why he acts the way he does- acting as if their relationship is a matter of “when” and not “if” and so its ok for him to act as if he has the right to talk and act like that bc they’re basically already in a relationship. It’s also obvious that the writer/director/producer thinks the same thing, which is why MC never gets called out for what this is- sexual harassment. This is so terrible for people to see and internalize.

Then they talk to a superior who scolds SC about dressing appropriately on a mission. Then MC asks SC to marry him, even though she’s still been very clear that she’s not into it at all. But of course, everyone thinks she’s just playing hard to get, so obviously she’ll want to get married. And then they go on a mission, which, to be fair, I think was a pretty cool concept of another dimension and such. Like, if it wasn’t steeped in all this other shit and this movie was the fun space romp I wanted, I probs would’ve thoroughly enjoyed. That is, except for the fact that SC goes on this mission in a DIFFERENT fucking bikini! She gets scolded about wearing a bikini and then CHANGES HER CLOTHES TO A DIFFERENT BIKINI and a little scrap of a coverup. “To blend in with the tourists.” IN THE DESERT. We see the other tourists- I’m pretty sure no one else was in a bikini- I cannot imagine a flimsier excuse. It is just so obvious to me that the director or producer or whatever man made these costuming decisions just wanted to have SC in the least amount of clothing for the longest amount of time. She’s in the military on a mission for god’s sake! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a character so blatantly disrespected by a movie before or I’m just too angry to remember if I have. Also on this mission, they basically leave their people to die and then all they comment on is how SC’s “dress” got ripped. And then they’re going to meet up with the commander, so they finally dress in their military uniforms, and her’s is a mini skirt! Like, at this point, I’m just glad it wasn’t a green bikini, I guess.

So then some action happens they mouth off to the commander and MC is off being an expert pilot chasing some things while SC roots for him and tells him to be careful and he crashes and she’s worried, yadda yadda. And then to find him she has to talk to birds to hire a submarine captain to steal a jellyfish from a big whale thing so that she can put it on her head and it can give her visions of where he landed. It also gives her visions of the past hour that we literally just saw so that she can realize that she really does care about MC and so she can finally catch up to the men and understand that she WAS playing hard to get this whole time. I honestly think this whole plot sequence was specifically so that she could wear her hair down for a little bit. Also, somewhere in here, she straight up says “oh, you think humans are predictable? Then you obviously haven’t met a woman before” before she shoots something. Haha, woman are so mysterious and hard to understand. She finds him, and then argue about how he wouldn’t even thank her for finding him and some other stuff that is totally out of character for SC up to this point. And then he rebukes her while sexually harassing her some more and it's all terrible. Then she gets captured- bc obvs it's been awhile since MC’s been the hero- so we def need to give him the chance to save her.

Sigh. Ok- so, in order to save her, MC has to go to the red light district to get an alien who can change shape, named Bubble, to disguise him into where she’s being kept. OBVIOUSLY  the way to introduce this character is to have her (obviously a female) perform a strip show changing into all of the different male fantasies we haven’t gotten to see yet- including some super fun cultural fetishization! It has been 4 minutes since a woman was scantily clad on screen, so they have to make up for it somehow. <allison>I think it’s worth noting that despite the MC declining an actual lapdance/sex, it is made perfectly clear that he is enjoying the show for the MUCH-LONGER-THAN-IT-NEEDED-TO-BE DANCE. *Shot of female character spinning in a lace cat-suit followed by shot of MCs drooling* </allison> After the show, which the entirely straight male audience of the movie (bc ugh who else would be watching this movie) is extremely glad to have seen, she comes up to speak with MC. Its pretty clear to me that this is some kind of human trafficking situation bc “she’s been practising since she was 4.” And she comes up searching for validation from this asshole who’s been objectifying her and if he didn’t need her for his mission of saving his damsel would probably not care about the situation at all. Overall, it's a pretty horrifying exchange- not just bc of its inherent awfulness but also bc the movie treats it as if it's not a huge deal. MC offers to help “free her” after the mission if she’ll help him, and she agrees. <allison> OH SHIT DON’T FORGET WHEN BUBBLE BECOMES BABY-MC and MC SAYS “GO BACK TO YOUR NORMAL FORM” AND SHE GOES BACK TO HER NATURAL FORM AND HE LOOKS DISGUSTED AND SAYS “YOUR OTHER NORMAL” AND SHE GOES BACK TO SEXY-LADY. </allison>

While this has been happening, SC has been interacting with her captors who are trying to make her put on a dress. She’s been in pants for WAY too long- like, 7 whole minutes of screen time. Next we see her, she’s in a pretty white dress, walking down a long aisle to present herself as a meal for the big, fat evil king guy. And just as she’s about to be eaten, her ONLY plan, despite being a military officer, is to scream for MC. We’re all so lucky he was actually in the room to save her! She certainly didn’t know he was there, so if he hadn’t been there, I guess she would’ve just been eaten. Oh no, what’s a girl to do?

Fighting, running, quips. Bubble dies in the rescue. Of course she does! She served her purpose, so screw her. Who cares about the tragedy that was her life and the promises that MC made- he saved the damsel, so everything else is cannon fodder. There was literally NO REASON for her to die, if they didn’t want to try to deal with her story any more, they could’ve just had her leave or something. Idk, I guess I forgot female characters don’t exist when not in proximity to the MC.  

So then we get back to the white savior plot where we find out the commander was the bad guy who killed this whole race of primitive people...just because? I think he crashed an enemy spaceship into the planet just to kill the enemy and it exploded the whole planet? Not too sure. There are a couple of neat transphobic remarks bc the life force of the alien lady that died at the beginning has been possessing him bc she chose him to save their people. MC and SC have the pearl MC stole and the little creature indigenous to their planet, which the aliens need. MC has this whole crisis about not giving them the creature bc “that was our mission and I’m a soldier and I follow the rules” when he’s literally been breaking rules and challenging authority since the BEGINNING of this godforsaken movie. And then SC convinces him that loooove is the answer and why she’s been resisting him this whole time bc he’s never been in love. And then the boring, average white guy saves the poor, helpless primitive people. And then, of course MC and SC get together bc we all knew she was just playing hard to get the whole time, anyway.

[suprcalifraglistcextintalcrisis]

Pretend This Is A Dumb Buzzfeed Article

I didn’t know where to post cuz I’d rather not have anyone I know read this. Especially if it’s someone I talk about in this story.

However, if you wanna read about a cringeworthy relationship keep reading.

My friend set us up by giving her my Snapchat so that we could talk. She told me that this girl (we’ll call her M) (I am also a girl btw) was down in the dumps and wanted to date someone, so she told M about me and showed her the only picture I have of myself on Insta (I take a lot of pictures of my dogs alright… and have no self esteem) and it is of me with a Christmas ornament hanging off my ear and me making a mock duck face. And I mean mock. I looked like Trump and his puckered asshole lips. And for some bazaar reason she said she was interested.

That day we talked over sc but my best friend got pisssssseeeeed (in all fairness I did start talking to this girl while we were hanging out). So already my best friend and the person that is my better half with much better judgment hates this girl. It didn’t help that the friend that set us up FaceTimed her with no headphones one time when a group of us were hanging out, staying in the living room while we were watching tv. M also showed up with our matchmaking friend and others at this park that was playing a movie that I was also attending with my best friend and a few others. However, matchmaking friend and her friends sat behind us but my best friend got mad so I had to ask them to move….. To make this all the more perfect the first real in life conversation we had her ex popped up and so they started talking which pushed me out of the conversation and left to slowly back away.

Our first date was at a carnival and her friends tagged along. It’s everything you think would happen. I hardly talked to her because her friends were ones she hadn’t seen in a long time and they wanted to catch up. Oh, and I also get motion sickness very easy… We didn’t hold hands, or kiss (I think we were both planning to be cliche af and do it on the Farris wheel and called it homophobic since we couldn’t even sit next to each other and there was a pole in the middle) and all we did was awkwardly hug.

Second date we went back to the park thing that was playing a movie. Her friends tagged along again. It rained as soon as we showed up too (we had to go to the closest convenient store to get an umbrella). I think I’ll quickly mention I brought a tarp to lay out on the ground that was of Jurassic Park and had dinosaurs and stuff on it (I know I’m just the sexiest person ever) which we didn’t end up using since we sat on chairs, but she still saw it. At the end of the movie my friends that had been volunteering/working the event called me over so we went to talk to them (leaving M’s friends behind). We had been making jokes, one of which was leaving three feet for Jesus. M had to leave and we hugged but everyone (her and my friends) wanted us to kiss. She had already started heading down the steps of this building so I ditched my stuff with my friends and chased after M. It was pretty dramatic tho. I called out to her and she turned around in time to “catch me.” Unfortunately, that’s the only good and movie like bit to this story. We had a awkward kiss and that’s putting it nicely. Because of all the jokes we made about leaving three feet for Jesus we decided that’s what we should do (ya know since we’re both girls we gotta do something to be holy). We kissed arms length apart while laughing. The kiss was also kinda eh? It was rather wet if I’m being honest and both of our breaths smelled bad after eating Indian food. After we parted ways I ran back to my friends and yelling and laughing of how “WE LEFT THREE FEET FOR JESUS” (I look back on this and cringe now because M most likely heard me yell) I also tripped on the way up the stairs and almost twisted my ankle.

Before I talk about our third and final date I think I should mention that we hardly talked to each other on sc. I would also rarely take pictures of my whole face since I am very, well, in reality I’m just really ugly. If I did send a whole faced picture I’d be using a filter that covered or warped most of my face. She on the other hand was very pretty. We also just couldn’t seem to get over some awkward barrier and it always felt like the conversation was a bit forced.

Our final date was to go see the Emoji movie. Yup, that’s right, we are living memes (or at least I am since I was the one that suggested we go see it as our third date IRONICALLY!¡!) this date was once again no hand holding or kissing (I guess it was for the better since our first one was a bit of a mess) but it did feature awkward hugs as a greeting and bidding farewell as well as hardly no talking!!! Just the best date ever, right?

I then went on a family vacation for a month and we continued to hardly talk to each other. The day I arrived back in the U.S was the day she asked if we could “talk.” I knew what was coming and in all honesty I was glad she was taking initiative. Because this is when I revel that I’m actually a dick.

I was skeptical of dating this girl in the first place because the entire time I had/have a huge crush on this other girl. One of my good friends that I’ve known for a few years now. I thought that by dating this girl it would get my mind off my friend and allow me to move on and not make any dumb moves that could end up ruining the friendship. Dating M did make me start losing a bit of interest in this other girl but at the same time it did nothing. I was just happy to be in a relationship and kept thinking of all the nice dumb couple stuff we could do once we got over what felt like a mountain of awkwardness.

Anyway we mutually broke up agreeing what we had was just a friendship, if even that. We still couldn’t seem to hold a conversation and we’d talk a few times a week.

My final remarks: •BE GAY AND PROUD/BE WHATEVER THE HECK YOU WANT AND BE PROUD FUCK THE HATERS •If you’re sad since you’ve never dated anyone know that I, a ugly and non-interesting socially awkward potato was able to date someone for about three months and had them confess that they love me. •if you’re not feeling the relationship that’s fine! You can’t control who you like. •In all honesty dating isn’t everything. Friendship, family, and work/school is all very important, as well as any hobbies you have.

If you’re M and you happen to realize that I’m talking about us I’m sorry. I also didn’t mean to come off like I was completely uninterested or that the relationship was completely terrible. It was just odd but in a funny way.