little runaway girl;;

ava. twenty one. barista.

[alyciajdebnamcarey]

[avaramone]

itsbobbycain:

Bobby cracked his knuckles, wept his lips. Anything that could distract from the dull weight that built up at the end of his gold chain. Ava was desperate to get out before it was too late. Bobby hadn’t been so lucky to save himself, but maybe if he helped Ava, a weight would be lifted. He couldn’t untangle himself from the Syndicate. He had failed to protect Caruso, or now even find the hint of a clue as to who killed him. But Bobby could help Ava, a fellow Syndicate member, escape. If they both got caught, it would mean big trouble. Especially for Bobby and how far up the ass he was with the Syndicate’s hierarchy. Yet, there was an intincing light at the end of the tunnel. An outside ally like Ava would be loyal forever to Bobby, regardless of her affiliation.

“Fine. But, it’ll cost ya,” Bobby finally said. He looked into Ava’s saucer-like eyes, they quivered with the threat of tears and the promise of freedom.

“You’ll be missed by me, and more importantly, Wyatt. He thinks you’re an asset and I admit, you’re smart. You’re observant. But I doubt you wanna be stuck here for the rest of your life. And I understand that, but I can’t do it unless I get something in return.”  

Bobby leaned back into the booth’s cushioned back. They would have to plan every detail, consider every variable.

“Do you have anyone who can help us? We’re gonna need a lot more than just two people to smuggle someone as popular as you out of this rabbit hole.”

Though the idea had been playing back and forth in her mind for well over two months, Ava was never more sure than now, that she wanted to go forward with it. Make it happen. It was mostly because she knew she couldn't do it on her own. There wouldn't be a chance in hell she could just slip away and not get caught, not unless she had some help. When she'd learnt about Bobby's reason for being within the Syndicate, she chanced it and decided that it was him that gave her the best chance of escaping. There was a low chance of him blabbing about it to Wyatt. The lowest of any of the other members.

So when he agreed, she slunk back in her seat, her chest feeling as though a weight had been lifted ever so slightly as he told her it would cost her. Ava wasn't stupid; she knew he wouldn't do it for free. Nothing ever came free, especially not around here. "Name it." She replied to him, once he told her for the second time.

The girl didn't reply anything to the fact that she'd be missed by both Bobby and Wyatt. Bobby, she was sure, would miss her for more reasons than simply the fact she was smart and good at what she did. Ava knew that. She wouldn't have been recruited otherwise. There was just the fun of it all, that was what was missing lately. The fire and spark she felt when she started up within the gang.

People flashed through her mind when he asked if there was anyone else. Jesse was one, before she could just hear him telling her that the plan was 'fuckin' stupid' or something along those lines, so scrapped the idea before she even considered it. "Flattering as that is, more people being involved would raise suspicion and truthfully, I don't know if I can trust anyone else to know about it."

[avaramone]

jeb-ayy-brams:

Since living in Muddy Waters, Jeb had found a bunch of different areas that were seemingly untouched. Everyone in the town tended to stick in the main area, since once you left that area, there really wasn’t much to do. He’d sometimes share these places with his brother, but Remy rarely tended to recognise that some places were meant to be quiet, so he tended to keep a lot them to himself.

He found himself aimlessly wandering to one of them with Atticus, who was now well enough trained to walk without a leash. He carried one with him still (some people got annoyed and he wasn’t sure of the legality side of things), but he mostly just walked beside him. The first thought that he had that someone else was in his supposed spot was the dog suddenly running towards something he’d seen, and when he walked into the clearing, he saw Ava sitting against a tree, surrounded by paper. He smiled before walking towards her, standing in front of the woman.

“You know, if there it was basically anyone else here, I would’ve got Atticus to eat you up, bruv,” he grinned, his hands in his pockets as he looked down at her, not bothering to mention that Atticus wasn’t exactly a dog that would do much other than lick someone to death.

When Ava heard something coming through the and into the clearing, her heart leapt at the thought that it might be someone from the Syndicate. What if they'd found out about her little discussion with Bobby? What if it had gotten back to Wyatt? Her eyes shot up from her paper to find that it was an extremely familiar looking dog bounding towards her.

Sighing in relief, she shut her eyes momentarily, dropping the notebook to her side along with her pencil so that she could greet Atticus properly. Ava often wondered why she never got a dog; it wasn't the largest apartment in the world, but it was still more lonely than cosy at times. As she stroked him, her eyes rose again to find Jeb walking towards them both, and his smile brought a similar one to her own lips.

"He's about as harmful as I am." She replied, looking down at the animal she was still having to greet. "You scared the shit out of me." Ava told him, shaking her head a little, a short laugh following from the realisation of just how relieved she was to see him.

[avaramone]

Ava was stressed. A little beyond stressed, she supposed, but most definitely paranoid, out of every feeling she could choose. After speaking to Bobby and starting to sort out.. whatever, she'd got the feeling of being watched a lot more than she used to. It was all psychological, of course; no one was watching her. She'd know by now. But what she couldn't do was show her stress and feelings so visibly.

Which was why she was in one of her favourite places. A quiet part of the town, just off one of the trails a little bit. A small opening, surrounded by trees and a distinct lack of people. Slumped against the bark, Ava ripped yet another page from her sketch book and let out a long sigh. Every time she tried to write, she ended up messing it up. Every time she tried to draw - same thing. At least it let out her frustrations.

@jeb-ayy-brams

[avaramone]

evaxreid:

It was already illogical enough for one to punch the other without reason, but for the both of them to do it? “Right, so are we just going to punch each other now?” she snorted at the idea, finding it now to be incredibly amusing. 

Either girls had been so fed up that now they were resorting to physical violence just to get over themselves. How on Earth they ended to such a conclusion, she didn’t know. They were clearly broken. “Now that’s ridiculous.”

Ava couldn't help but laugh. It was laugh, or cry, at the end of the day. The proposition was even more ridiculous than Eva's, but at least hers was equal. She wanted to punch someone, but not someone she called a friend.

Someone that deserved it. "It is." She agreed, with another shrug one she's stopped laughing. "But it's not as ridiculous as half the things that come out of this town." Ava was still oddly more than happy for her friend to punch her, but neither would do it. It was simply something irrational to make them both feel better. What an odd world it was, sometimes.

[avaramone]

jesse-childs:

Jesse narrowed his eyes at her, unsure if she was expressing doubt in him or herself. 

“Yeah, well, I’m trying not to this time. I’m tired of taking the damn class.” He shrugged. “I kinda want to graduate at some point, probably.”

Ava would probably never admit it, but she missed spending time with Jesse outside of work. They were most likely just both busy hiding away and doing nothing to spend time together. Hiding her smile as she looked down at his work, she looked upwards to nod - more of a sign that she was listening.

"Some point, probably is great motivation." She commented, reaching over to grab some of his index cards. "What do you need help on?"

[avaramone]

wes-philips:

“I’m used to dealing with annoying people. It’s kind of a special skill by this point. I’ve only been practicing my entire life.” TMI, Wes, tone it down. His eyes flicked up to the girl, then back down, then back up once he’d realized how that could be taken. “I mean. Not that that’s directed at you. It’s just kind of a common theme you usually pick up on in the service industry.” He paused his gabbing to really register what the brunette had just said. New here. Christ, not another one. It was like every person in this town had never seen an unfamiliar face their entire life, almost like he was back in Reed City. Chills surged through his spine at the mere thought for more than one reason. “You’re observant,” he said with a smile as he mixed a drink, hinting that she might not get the answer she was expecting.

Raising an eyebrow at the slight insinuation that she was annoying, Ava took her time to think about what he could've meant. He couldn't have been in a similar job his entire life. It wasn't like she meant to be rude, but he didn't exactly look close to her own age. It was something she supposed she might hear rumours about, anything along those lines. So she kept quiet and simply smiled at his answer. A soft chuckle left her lips at the mention of how observant she was. "Not the first time I've heard that." She raised her eyebrows before averting her eyes and taking a long drink of the cocktail. That very trait was the reason for a lot of things.

[avaramone]

itsbobbycain:

A smile cracked onto Bobby’s face at Ava’s fake confidence. She was calm, yet her tone completely gave her away. While she talked to Bobby, she talked to herself. Bobby might’ve been new to the area, but he’d seen Ava’s type before, wth the Syndicate and other equally bad affiliations. All young dreamers who thought they could make their lives better without real consequence. Or worse, thought they could better someone else’s. Bobby had been like that once. But he woke up, and soon realized that to make it through in the underground world, you’d have to lose yourself.

The person who once was had to be sacrificed for the new life. Ava still clung to her old self, she still thought she could go back to normal. But Ava didn’t seem to realize that she was down the rabbit hole. Everyone liked her. Because she was quiet and good at her job. People who were good at what they did for the Syndicate, stayed with the Syndicate until they were escorted out in a body bag. It could’ve been premature or a natural death, the Syndicate would hold on until you gave up your stinger for the queen. At least, that’s what Bobby had seen.

“Listen, what exactly is your plan? Where would you go?” Bobby asked. “We’re Big Brother, we’re everywhere. And if it’s not us, it’s someone who works for us.”

Bobby always addressed the Syndicate like they all were a hive mind, one whole entity. Even if he didn’t get along with everyone at the same time, Bobby tried his best to respect them. He wasn’t an individual anymore since he joined the Syndicate.  

“Honestly, Ava. What would you do?”

Ava had gone through it all in her head, so many times. She was unsure, but sure. Stepping outside of her comfort zone was an understatement for the plan she was attempting to go through with - it was more like a whole seven hundred miles. So much was at risk here. Her whole life was in Muddy Waters, but then again it wasn’t.

Bodhi was here. He’d very quickly risen to one of her top priorities because she had no other; her family were no longer her family. They’d disowned her, that much was evident. But they weren’t in the same place she was. She used to say the Syndicate were her family, but boy how that changed. The girl no longer agreed with them, their ways, it had all escalated into something she didn’t want to be a part of. Did she have friends? Sure. But no one.. close. She supposed Eva was one of her closest, but even then they weren’t best buds.

“I don’t know, Bobby, that’s why.. I wanted to talk to you.” Ava breathed. It was dangerous even discussing this with him, let alone asking him to help her. What if he reported back to Wyatt? Then she was in trouble.

“I know you’re asking me to think this through. Believe me, I am.” It was practially all that ran through her brain when she wasn’t preoccupied, or distracted. “But I need to try. It’s worth a try.”

[avaramone]

crimsonxhands:

Bodhi had spent a night or two considering what would happen if he told Ava the truth. If he became more than just the nice and shy guy that played guitar and loved the simpler things in life. If she knew he worked with the local gang, installing surveillance equipment in unsuspecting homes. Honestly….he was scared. Bodhi had lived in Muddy Waters almost his entire life and he’d never met someone in this little town that he felt so connected too. He’d never met anyone like her, that made him feel alive all over again. He was scared to lose that. To lose her.

“Not sure they’re worth that much” he replied with a soft smile, as he rested his guitar on his lap, freeing a hand to gesture to the space beside him. “I’m just reminded again, how lucky I feel that I met you. Just seeing you do something you love, makes me as happy as I get when I do something myself”

"You're right, they're worth more." She commented lightly, always in her curious nature about what he was thinking. Bodhi was someone very dear to her - it was natural, wanting to go through his thoughts. Ava considered herself lucky, to have ever found someone ike him. They were similar. Their minds were alike, and they could sit and draw and play guitar and just chill for hours. Sometimes they didn't even need to talk. It was just.. comfortable. Peaceful.

A smile came to rest on her lips as she took a seat next to him, and he told her what he'd been thinking about. It were those types of things that made the butterflies awaken in Ava's stomach, and it was something she hoped she'd never get used to; it was such a wonderful feeling. "I don't think you know just how amazing you are, Bodhi Crimson." She told him, eyes finding him, smile still in place. "You make me so happy."

[avaramone]

crimsonxhands:

The tension in town had be growing for a long time, and Bodhi was stuck firmly on one side. Although even being a Rascal, he wasn’t tied into the mindset that made him always right and everyone else wrong. In reality, he felt as though in a lot of ways, everyone was to fault. What he did, planting surveillance in homes to gain knowledge for the Rascals, that was not the morally right thing to do. In many ways, Bodhi felt guilty, he felt as though he’d been lying to Ava. He could only assume she was a civilian in all of this, and the innocent residence of this town were the ones getting hurt most. Living on a battleground where two opposing gangs fought for power regardless of the actions that needed to be taken.

Leaning against the wall, softly picking at the strings of his guitar, there was a heavy sigh that escaped his lips. The weight of the looming situation in town only lifting as he glancing up to see her. Because it was crazy, but he’d never met someone that made him so calm and happy just by being present.

@avaramone

Ava had developed a skill for being calm. On the outside, that was. Her mind was trawling through a hundred thoughts a minute, and yet on the outside, she was simply focused on where her pencil was on the page, a soft and natural smile across her lips as she listened to the soothing sounds of Bodhi's guitar. He didn't know anything. But then again, no one did, who wasn't part of the Syndicate. She'd made sure of that. Her involvement wasn't known to many at all. But perhaps people would get suspicious if she went through with her plan, and left. It pained her to think that she'd be leaving him. He was the one that mattered the most to her in this stupid little town, and she wondered if he knew it.

Hearing Bodhi sigh, Ava looked up to find him looking at her, and a smile settled across her lips once again. Placing her book to the side, she got up and wandered over towards him. "Penny for your thoughts?" She questioned.

[avaramone]

evaxreid:

“And why not?” It was a stupid question, but Eva needed to bag on the illogical to convince Ava that punching her (despite the glaring lack of logic to it) could actually benefit her. “Think of it as not punching a friend. Think of it as punching someone to make yourself feel ultimately better.” she said, shrugging nonchalantly. “One of us has a shot of feeling remotely better than the other, and it’s clearly you.” 

Surely, she could sacrifice to make someone else feel better in this world.

"You're the last person who deserves that." She told her, her face still in a permanent frown from Eva's ludicrous suggestion. Ava sighed as she tried to reason with her, tried to think up some logical explanation for punching her, but she could only shake her head.

"You punch me." The younger girl suggested instead. "If you punch me, I'll have a reason to punch you back." She swallowed, nodding. Ava tilted her head in slight amusement. "Eye for an eye, right?" She smirked softly.

[avaramone]

jesse-childs:

Jesse was sitting at Troy with his laptop on the table in front of him and a stack of Index cards in his hands, flipping through them like they were takeout menus. He glanced up at a passing patron, gesturing to the empty seat across from him.

“Wanna help? I’m failing Spanish.”

Ava had been tempted to wander back into Troy's just on the off chance she'd get a drink on the house just like last time. But then she'd spot Jesse as she walked through the door and planned to sit in the empty chair across from him anyway. Slumping back for a moment before his index cards made her curious, she leaned forwards to take a look.

"You're always failing Spanish." She replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

[avaramone]

abilene-littleton:

Abilene laughed, somehow a little glad to see Muddy hadn’t changed too much in her absence. “What do you do here?” she asked, wondering if the job market had improved at all.

Ava's lips quirked back up into a smile at the other's laugh. She figured you had to laugh at it, really. Otherwise there'd be a whole lot of crying. "I work at Rise 'n Grind." She told her. Nothing out of the ordinary.

[avaramone]

itsbobbycain:

Bobby strolled over to Ava, took his seat across from her in silence. A pregnant pause fell over the two, as Bobby scanned Ava’s face. He wanted to see a hint of regret or a even the start of fear creep over the girl. But she was calm, the surface placid. Underneath, her insides probably rolled with waves of constant emotion, yet she was able to stay completely still. A quality Bobby wished he had, his own hesitation visible in the furrows of his brow. The quivers of his fingers.

“I was thinking. I don’t know what you want,” Bobby said. “And I don’t want to make anyone else angry, especially right now.” His voice was low, as they shared a secret. A plan for Ava’s escape, Bobby assumed. The girl’s text message had been vague but alerted him she needed Bobby’s help to leave Muddy Waters. After reading her request, Bobby hadn’t been able to fall asleep as soundly as he would’ve liked. It was one of the few requests that had ever kept Bobby up at night. He wondered what exactly she wanted, what life she expected for herself after she untangled from the Syndicate.

There had been plenty of times Bobby had wished he at least the balls to leave or try to end his relationship with the Syndicate. But he knew he was indebted to them, by Caruso or by his own original sin. There was no way he could ever leave.

“Have you asked anyone else to help you?”

He hadn't been here long, but he wasn't like the others. Ava knew that. Her role within the gang had been fairly mute for a long time now, the girl managing to either keep so quiet they didn't realise she was still there, but wriggling out of things they wished her to contribute to. Before Wyatt's arrival, anyway. That was when she was noticed. She was still there. In the background, but that was the problem. She still had that association.

Bobby sat, and spoke, and yet Ava could only really look. At him, at his face. Wondered what had truly brought him to the town, seeing as he hadn't been here longer than two weeks, surely. It was the Syndicate that brought him here, she knew as much. But he was kind. She'd been so trained not to wear her heart or her true feelings on her sleeve, and so all she could do was look. Inside, she was trembling. A nervous wreck that had gone through the advantages and disadvantages to this entire ordeal, and she was still half tempted to call it off.

"They wouldn't know you were involved with this. Besides. I don't exactly plan on getting caught." She told him, a weirdly contrasting hiccup of doubt trickling through into her voice. Ava had ties that needed severing and it wasn't something she could do if she was still in the town. "No." She told him, straight.

[avaramone]

wes-philips:

“Not a long time,” he spoke with a shrug. “But it’s not that different from what I’m used to. Am I doing okay?” he asked, pouring her drink into a cold glass and setting it on the bar with a napkin. “I had to change the safe out earlier and I ended up dropping that on my toe. So far a successful night.”

He proceeded to carry on getting other drinks, doing his best to multi-task, putting his jumpy brain to good use. It was usually moving too fast for his thoughts to keep up with, anxious and hectic and wild and sometimes out of control. It had gotten easier to manage with time and age, but this job sure didn’t help him maintain a regulated stream of consciousness.

"What you're used to?" She queried, intrigued by his choice of words. Ava knew it was a slightly hypocritical thing to think, but people didn't just rock up to Muddy Waters. Particularly after the incredible press they'd had about recent events in the town. Reaching over to the glass, she smiled at him as she brought it closer and took a sip of it. The brunette raised her eyebrows at how nice it was; it was almost a shock, she supposed. "Drinks wise, you're doing good." Maybe not with the whole safe thing, but she kept that to herself and instead, gave him a sympathetic smile.

As she watched him busy himself, she found herself looking around at the usual patrons she'd see wander into General's and glanced back towards him. She'd thought it before, but she truly hadn't seen him before. "You're new." Ava commented.

[avaramone]

evaxreid:

Eva sighed upon hearing her answer. Of course. They needed to grin and bear it, as usual. They needed to just suck it up and keep going with their lives, no matter how tired, frustrating, and isolating it was. As always, nothing would change. 

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind: if both of them were destined to be miserable, then at least one of them should get a shot at feeling better. “You get one free pass.” she cleared her throat, before angling her body to face Ava. “Punch me. Take your shot.”

It wasn't an answer either were looking forward to accepting, but it was something they needed to do. Just bite their tongue and carry on. Irritating, but true. And maybe, finally, things would get back on track. It would be a long winded process, but maybe something better would come for both of them.

Ava's face turned into an automatic frown once Eva turned towards her. "What? No." Eyebrows pinched together, she turned herself to look at the other properly. "I'm not punching a.. friend."

[avaramone]

What was Ava doing? She'd often wondered why the little eighteen year old runaway had agreed to it all when the Syndicate approached her. She supposed she thought she was a bit of a daredevil. I've broken one rule, let's break them all. It had all seemed so.. enticing, back then. Since, the brunette's age had increased, and her attitude towards her supposed loyalties had taken a dramatic turn. People had started dying, left right and center, and Ava hadn't wanted any part of that.

Her job was intel. Information gathered through the walls at the coffee shop. It was almost unbelievable the amount people thought they were shielded in that small, very public area. Since she'd realised her lack of enthusiasm about the entire ordeal, Ava had tried to ask for outs. From Taryn, even from Wyatt at some point. He'd made it very clear that it wasn't an option. Not even close. So she'd called the one person she could only think of asking after assistance, and waited for longer than she'd wished to, at the agreed place for him to turn up.

"Usually you're pretty good with time, Cain."

@itsbobbycain​