do you hear NOT A LOT, JUST FOREVER BY ADRIANNE LENKER playing? oh, that must be DAISY BRENTWOOD breezing by. i don’t know if you recognize them, but they look like SOPHIE NELISSE to me. i heard that SHE has been in town for HER WHOLE LIFE, which is crazy considering they are TWENTY-FIVE years old. yeah, they live over on OCEAN AVENUE, and i heard that they work as a SERVER @ MILKSHAKE BAR ( IN TOWN ) . i love that they remind me of PORCH SWINGS IN THE WIND, THE FIRST ONE TO FIND THE DOG AT THE PARTY, A TRUSTING EAR AND SECRETS LEFT TO HER JOURNAL, but … ugh, their playlist is so weird. why is NEW ROMANTICS in the queue?
tw; teen pregnancy, neglect.
BACKGROUND:
Daisy Brentwood was born in 2001 to an older brother and two parents who were probably too young and too self involved to be parents. They didn’t really care that much about what the kids were doing or how they did it, and Daisy found most of her comfort in books, much like Matilda, she found safety in fantasy worlds. Which for most of her life got her bullied. No matter how much she dyed her hair, redid her makeup? Nothing changed. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a pretty girl, she was just different.
Since her brother did most of the taking care of her, she grew easily into being a tomboy and when he disappeared from town the second she graduated? She was left to fend for herself. Through her heart break in senior year something changed, she shifted — changing from her fully tomboy look, she learned to do her nails, got her hair done and when graduation came around, she was a whole new person.
Having decided to stay in town, to wait for her brother, she moved from her parents to her own apartment once she had enough money saved from working at the Milkshake Bar. In the last while, she’s reinvented herself and although she’s a nice person? She’s started using people like she was used. All she’s been through has made her softer in someways, but between her hurt from her parents, her brother, the kids who’d bullied her at school? She’s still trying to work through anger that sometimes bubbles on the surface.
“ are you standing in line or just in the way? ” with technically no line to stand in, yuki sniffs and leans back on their chair, a fresh canvas put up in front of them. a slow morning, despite an abundance of dog - walkers, not much of interest, that itch of boredom in his veins, but he needs to make commissions somehow and — yeah, where the fuck are your manners then? he slinks his nail along the underside of his forearm, both grounding himself and scratching an actual itch. all the ragweed in the air is enough to make even the most immune eyes water. “ half off for small dogs and cats. ” then his crooked smile appears. no teeth. that's too much energy. sleeves rolled up beneath the muscle of his shoulders, sweat beading.
okay, so now? she's just irritated, for someone who needs the money? he's being kind of a massive dick. "i didn't know there was a line, but thanks," she's still peaking at the portraits he has up for display, her cat in her arms. "uh, just her," she gestures to her own cat, clearing her throat. a bill is pulled from her pocket and she slides it over, heat causing hair to stick to the back of her neck. "are you good? you should get some water."
"Hmm, what about me says that I carry matches over lighters?" Piper shot back with a raised eyebrow. She reached into her pocket and pulled out matches, flourishing them between her fingers to show that the guess was correct. Piper lit the match and held it out for the other girl's cigarette, perhaps keeping it in her own personal space bubble more than necessary. But she'd use the wind as an excuse. "Truthfully I don't like the way the little wheel feels on my fingers. Is that a good enough explanation?"
"i-" fuck, the brunette really is nervous all of a sudden, she hadn't meant to offend, but the old way of doing things always interested her. matches, anything like that. "thanks," once her own smoke is lit, she's taking a heavy drag. "i didn't mean anything by it," there's an assurance there, giving the other woman a soft smile. "you just give off more old-fashioned vibes."
Hearing the woman's intake of breath, Margot's eye widened a bit. "Me? Are you ok? I always carry around advil if you want some." She crouched down and dug out her travel pill case and held it out toward her.
"Please, god, don't worry about it, I've had worse," the woman assures with a soft laugh but she takes the small bottle anyways, popping an advil from it and then swallowing it down with her own bottle of water. "People make mistakes all the time, it's really alright."
even as he complained, he knew it was hopeless when she greeted freddie with the trademark childlike enthusiasm he'd come to associate with his pup. it brought a smile to his face, weaving it's way around the irritation from lack of sleep and crushing the bad away. ❝ yeah, well don't tell HER that, ❞ he murmured, a quiet laugh bubbling up from his lips. ❝ she has a big enough head as it is, walking up to strangers with no idea if they like dogs or not. ❞
she was the sweetest dog that daisy was sure she'd ever seen, even more than the ones she'd dog sat for back in high-school. "people who don't like dogs are evil anyway," a snort follows as she continues to pet the dog. "like evil little gremlins, i can't stand people who don't like animals." although if she's honest? she maybe liked them too much.
'Who the hell invented sunrise yoga?" Margot thought as she rolled up her mat and pulled on her shoes. Her sister had talked her into attending this class but of course bailed at the last second, leaving Margot to go through the class alone. Sure she was all for morning yoga, but she preferred her classes to have started a few hours after the sun has risen. Biting back another yawn, Margot checked the time on her phone. Ah perfect time to grab a bagel and coffee from Coastal Coffee. As she turned she felt her mat and water bottle hit someone beside her. "Oh gosh I'm so sorry. I was not paying attention of my surroundings."
It wasn’t often that Daisy went, she preferred to sleep in on her weekends, but sometimes the sky looked so beautiful that she couldn’t help but attend a class. She’s just folding up her mat when the water bottle smacks her, a hard breath escapes her lungs. “Shit,” sure it hurt but she turns to give her a soft smile. “No big deal, are you okay?”
open !! — for anyone ( @ciderstarters )
📍 the taproom
🪐 he's out of the house for something other than to study or work for the first time this fortnight. a little social interaction couldn't hurt, right? so a last minute decision left him powering down his laptop, putting on something that wasn't sweat pants and an old shirt, and heading out the door. his mindless meandering led saul to a very familiar venue, and promptly starts the familiar routine of scouting a seat to plant himself at before gathering the nerve to speak to someone he didn't know. "is this seat taken?" saul glances at the stranger next to the only empty space in the vicinity. maybe tonight he was feeling a little more brazen than usual.
a drink, that's all daisy needs. she's tired and working on a saturday was never her favourite thing. honestly, she hadn't come here to talk to anyone, she wasn't fully in the mood but when the voice pulls her from her thoughts, she's glancing over with a smile. the poor guy looks nervous deep down and she's not about to make him feel worse. "sure, suit yourself," head nods. "what're you drinking?"
"Don't worry honey, I'm allowed to smoke here, you don't have to weigh a moral quandary." Piper said, blowing cigarette smoke out in a long stream. She wasn't an asshole, she could go outside to smoke so she wouldn't bother other people. The cool night air ruffled her hair, down from the chignon she'd had it in earlier that day. Inside, she'd order a martini, though the quality was less than what Piper preferred. But for all it's charms, Cider Point didn't exactly have a high class lounge.
a beat passes and the younger woman cleared her throat, "hey, none of my business," she murmurs, her own throat clearing as she digs through her own bag. pack is pulled out and she tugs a smoke free. "do you have a light?" it's not often that she smokes them and yet? sitting there on the curb she needed one. a long and bad day at work was an understatement. "or a match or something? kinda look like a match girl."
the park was , admittedly , a bit more crowded than jude was used to ; he'd woken up earlier than usual that morning. naturally , freddie – so named for the legendary mercury – took his early rise as an obvious effort to take her for a walk. he was a little grumpy about it , but one could hardly say no to such a docile & sweet creature. this , of course, is what came to his mind as the golden retriever bluntly forced her way into another park-goer's day to demand pets. ❝ i swear to god, i'm never taking her out this early on a saturday afternoon again, ❞ he muttered haughtily. ❝ she's such a pain in the ass, it feels like i've been out here for hours because she stops for every person she sees. but it's not like i can be mad about that, she's brightening everyone's day. and obviously i need to set up some boundaries, too, right? ‘cause i could’ve told her no ; the yard exists for a reason. ❞
the sun coming up, an early reminder of a new day, was one of daisys favorite things. so even though her shift at work had been late, exhausting, she still found herself with a warm cup of joe on a bench in penny park. admittedly, she’s considering getting up and going home to tuck back into bed when the sweet dog bounds over and she can’t help herself. instantly her paper to go cup is set down and she’s scratching behind her ears. “hi sweet girl!” her voice takes on that lit she’s reserved just for dogs, eyes soft as she glances up at jude. “boundaries for her? good luck, she’s too adorable.”
