what's your favorite scary movie

[nadinedahl]

She had no shortage of baggage, between her child star murderer past and her tumultuous friendships, but it never scared Bryson off, even as she slowly unloaded it all, one puzzle piece at a time. Even if he did kill Dean Rooney, and she believed him when he said he didn't, it wouldn't change anything between them. "That's still not that long ago, grand scheme. It makes sense you wouldn't be over it- not that it's something you ever get over, but in how you cope with stress. Trusting people." They both had trust issues, his clearly stemming from his mother's infidelity, and despite how long they'd been together, how long they were friends even before that, it took time to fully break those walls down. One blip, like what happened with Reed, and they were back up. "Made you laugh though didn't I," she teased, watching him visibly relax in front of her. Sincerity wasn't her strong suit, nor was processing emotions, but she was trying, for him. It's not that he made her want to be a better person necessarily, that'd be ridiculous, but she wanted to be more honest, for him to know she had his back no matter what. Her free hand slipped just under the hem of his shirt as he embraced her, and she nestled her head against his. "Whatever you need, I'm here."

[brysonlahey]

"Trusting people is overrated anyways. I'm good with just you." There were other people he knew he could lean on if he needed to but comparing that to the amount of faith he had in her was ridiculous. "Yeah. I guess you get a few points for that." Bryson had never tried to hide his past, but he'd never been as open and honest about things as he was with Nadine. Sharing things with her had never felt like something he had to work towards because he'd never really felt the need to explain himself. Early on it was clear they were on the same page. Maybe they'd gotten their different ways, but they had an understanding of each other and the world that he'd never had with another person. She'd always managed to make him feel less alone. "I know. I got you too." He sighed softly, enjoying the feeling of her hand along his back for a moment longer before he straightened up just enough to look her in the eye again. "Well now that you mentioned a beach I think we should start there. I can have a bag ready in five."

[nadinedahl]

Maybe she'd felt him get up in the middle of the night once or twice but Nadine didn't think anything of it, too heavy a sleeper to even register it. "We could tie you to the bed," she suggested, joking but not really joking. "Or to me, I don't know. Maybe if you have to wake me up every time you'll snap out of it quicker." She wasn't sure he was even looking for a solution but that was where her mind immediately went, how she could help. Reaching for his hand, she interlocked their fingers, thumb brushing across his knuckles. "I'm sorry. I figured you were stressed but I didn't know about the sleepwalking, or anything else." The black outs he'd told her about before, the reason he tried not to drink too much. She thought it was just a drinking thing honestly, so she didn't realize how long they'd been happening, that he'd dealt with them even as a kid. "How old were you?" They talked about his parents sometimes but never about what actually happened. There were the facts of course, police reports she'd dug up when they first met and she wanted to know what his deal was, but she didn't have his side of it, how it'd actually made him feel. He didn't need to share all that with her but she'd listen, if he did. "I don't think you're losing it," she assured him. "We'll just fuck off for the weekend and reset. Easy. And if that doesn't work..." The corners of her mouth twitched up, wanting to bring some levity to their conversation, show him none of this freaked her out without undermining his feelings. "Maybe a straight jacket?"

[brysonlahey]

She was trying, and that was enough to stop him from making a smartass comment. At least for the moment. And knowing he hadn't completely turned her off was eased some of the tension he hadn't realized he'd been carrying. On some level he was still sure he could eventually do something that would scare her off, so knowing they hadn't hit that point was a relief. "It hasn't happened since I was a kid. I figured I grew out of it. Everything with my parents? I was 18. Right near the end of my first year at Ravenwood. I thought I got a lucky break when I got a scholarship, but that had more to do with Rooney than anything. Or Rooney and my mom anyways." He grimaced in distaste at the memory. "My dad found out around the same time I did and that's what started everything." Bryson wasn't sure what response he'd expected from her but her words caused him to snort. "Jesus Christ. If that was a pep talk you should probably never give one again. Like, ever." He shook his head but the corners of his mouth twitched. If anyone else had called him crazy it would've been a different story completely, but she was holding his hand and making light of something that was one of his biggest insecurities even if he'd never admitted it and making it clear that they were in things together. Bryson huffed as he stepped forward to wind his free arm around her, burying his face against the side of her neck. "Thanks."

[nadinedahl]

"I do, and I never said anything about camping, absolutely not. But it's summer, I'd like to be in the sun. Preferably by a body of water somewhere." She watched him curiously, not as quick to dismiss whatever was clearly going on with him- even if he insisted it was nothing. He seemed nervous almost, or maybe just jumpy, and she couldn't say she'd ever seen that from him before. "Do you want to talk about it?," she offered, crossing the room to be closer to him, back leaned against the counter directly in front of him. "What's going on?"

[brysonlahey]

"Then we should be in the sun by a body of water somewhere. I'm not picky. Where you go I'll follow." He shrugged dismissively, catching his bottom lip between his teeth. He'd never believed that talking it out actually helped any situation, but shutting her out when she was asking him didn't feel like the right move either. She'd proven years ago that he could trust her with his secrets so there shouldn't have been anything stopping him. Though something about making himself look as weak as he felt in the moment still went against the grain. "I'm just stressed. School was one thing, but I caught myself sleepwalking a few times this week. Twice. And waking up in the middle of it, not knowing what's going on... it freaks me out. Even if it's only for a few seconds before it all clicks into place. It used to happen all the time when I was a little kid, but I haven't felt like that since- the night everything happened with my mom and dad I blacked out. One minute they were screaming at each other, then boom. I was sitting on the curb in front of the house and the cops were there, and for a few minutes I thought I was the one who- you know." Saying it out loud made him feel sick to his stomach, but that didn't change the truth of it all. For a moment he'd been afraid of what he might've done. "I talked to someone about it and it's fine. It hasn't happened in years, and the sleepwalking is just a stress response thing. It's just tripping me out a little bit, but it'll pass. I promise I'm not losing it or anything. I just need to relax a little bit and I'll bounce back."

[nadinedahl]

"This weekend? Sure." There was nothing keeping Nadine in town, no prior obligations to attend to, so leaving at a moment's notice wasn't an issue. Bryson seemed to be on edge lately too, even more than usual. It made sense he'd want to get away for a bit- it'd probably be good for him, and Nadine was almost relieved she didn't have to suggest it herself. "How about somewhere with a beach, is that cringy? You just named two cities." She glanced to his hands in the sink, thinking they had to be rubbed raw by now with how long he'd been scrubbing at them, her brows knit together. "Do you have an open wound I should be worried about, what's happening over there?"

[brysonlahey]

"I thought you liked cities, but if this is your way of saying you want to try roughing it I'm all ears. I might actually pay to see you camping. Or we could do somewhere with a beach." Bryson pulled his hands back defensively and shut off the water before he turned to look at her fully. "Nothing. It's fine. Just zoned out a little." He wiped his palms along the front of his jeans. "I keep- I've just got a lot on my mind with officially being out of school and moving on to residency now so I'm not-. It's fine."

[brysonlahey]

"How would you feel about taking a long weekend?" Bryson glanced over his shoulder at Nadine for all of a few seconds before he went back to scrubbing at his hands, attempting to get the dirt that wasn't even there anymore out from under his nails. Sleepwalking was supposedly normal considering the amount of stress he was under, but Bryson couldn't stop himself from comparing it to his blackouts, which only served to make him even more stressed. It felt like a step in the wrong direction, and that alone made him more anxious than he cared to admit. "Chicago, New York, wherever. I won't even judge if you want to go somewhere cringy." @nadinedahl

[themarielaalves]

"Oh, is that so?" Mariela nodded, fairly impressed by Bryson's expertise on what her type was or wasn't. "I can't say you're wrong there. You sure, you're not out there putting out feelers for me already?" She asked, teasingly as she shifted in her chair to look over at him. "Damn, where were you a couple of years ago? I might have taken you up on that offer. But we're so pass that, hitting him now would just be petty." She said, with a shake of her head. Even after everything, she didn't wish Phoenix any wrong. He'd just made a choice to better himself, unfortunately it hadn't included her. But she couldn't fault him for his choice.

[brysonlahey]

"I pay attention. But no, I'm not. You've always been so against me even talking to you about your dating life that I figured it was for the best if I stayed in my own lane. As funny as it is to watch you freak out now and then, I'm not actively trying to piss you off. After all this time I'm sure you have a decent idea of what I like and what I don't too." He closed his eyes, adjusting his shoulders as he settled in. "Which is exactly why I said we're mature now." He huffed, though in all honesty if she asked it of him there was a high chance he would do it. He would just make more of an effort to be sly about things. Just because he'd aged didn't mean his belief on people getting what they had coming to them had changed. "Whatever. We're not focusing on this anymore. We're moving on to bigger and better things."

[themarielaalves]

Mariela sighed in relief as Bryson emphasized with her. Not that she'd expected him to be an asshole in that moment, knowing he wouldn't take advantage of her vulnerability for the sake of a joke but she'd never truly gotten to say that aloud. Her breakup with Phoenix had been hard for her, truly hard. It'd broken her heart. But she could say that today, she was a stronger woman because of it. And that may-haps, one day, she'll be ready to try once again. "And I think I've done a pretty great job at it. Maybe too good, but I am happier for it." She let him know. Whilst her love life might have been six feet under at the moment, she was truly happy. "Well, that goes without saying." She said, with a laugh before taking another sip from her cocktail. "I'm the best thing he'll never have again." Mariela nodded as he spoke, laughter spilling from her once more. "Oh, wouldn't that be the dream? That's exactly what I need. Another brainiac." She scrunched her nose as he let her know that she had him. She didn't doubt that for a second. "Ew, don't be cute right now."

[brysonlahey]

"We both know you're an overachiever so I'm not surprised." Seeing her smile was enough to ease his mind. At least she wasn't still a total wreck over someone who didn't deserve her. "Get real. We both know you're not the hot but stupid type. It's a smartass or nothing for you." Bryson rolled his eyes, pulling his hand back to lace his fingers behind his head as he relaxed back against his chair. "I would've offered to kick the shit out of him but I thought we were beyond that. Besides, I'm still not sure if Nadine would bail me out of jail."

[themarielaalves]

Mariela listened to him and he understood where he was coming from. It was true, it'd been quite sometime since she'd even batted an eyelash in the direction of someone. So much so, that she wasn't so sure what that would look like nowadays. But the truth was that she truly thought that her last relationship would be her last. He was her high school sweetheart, the guy that had made her heart skip a beat every time. To have had that ripped from her, it'd been a blow. A blow that she didn't quite know how to recover from. So, she threw herself into her career. And she couldn't say she regretted it, given the countless oppurntunties that'd arose from keeping her eye on that goal. "I don't think you're missing anything." She said with a shake of her head. "I don't know? I really thought I was done, the last time I was dating someone. It was great, it really was. I really believed he was the one. And then it just wasn't and I didn't want to go through that again. I still don't." She said with a sigh. "So, I rather just not." She let him know. "And there it is. I don't want to give someone the power to do that to me again."

[brysonlahey]

Bryson half expected her to brush the subject off the way she always did whenever he made any sort of comment about her relationship. It really wasn't his business, and he knew that, but it had never stopped his curiosity. She'd always given off the impression that she wasn't afraid of anyone. Knowing that wasn't the case and that someone had ruined the idea of love for her caused the corners of his mouth to curve down before he even realized he'd started to frown. If it were Polo or one of his other friends Bryson would've teased them without a second thought, but Mariela was different. The entire situation made him sad for her. "I get that." He'd never been great at comforting people but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. So Bryson found himself reaching forward to squeeze her knee lightly. "You're protecting yourself. I would do the same thing if someone hurt me like that. I think the only thing that came close to that for me was breaking up with Sophia, but I knew that was going to end. And for what it's worth, it's his loss. I won't bring it up again until you do. By that point I might even have doctor friends to set you up with so it'll be a win-win. But until then you always got me."

[themarielaalves]

Mariela let out a sigh, turning her head over to look at Bryson. The two had decided to take advantage of the return of great weather to Rosewood and enjoy an afternoon by the pool. "Well, what would you like to know about my lack of a relationship?" She asked him, grabbing a hold of the Aperol spritz that sat next to her and taking a sip. "Go on, I want to hear all about this." She nodded, a sly smile working at her lips.

[brysonlahey]

"Why there's a lack of one for the most part. In all the time I've known you I've never seen you with a guy. Or a girl. Unless you're hiding someone and I just don't know about it yet, but with the amount of time I'm hanging around I doubt that." He shook his head as he sat on the end of a lounge chair. "I don't get it. You're hot, you're funny sometimes, and you're the type of person most people would want to introduce to their parents. I don't doubt that there's a lack of people trying to get your attention but I've never even seen what you look like when you're interested in someone. So I want to know if you'll clue me in on why that is. Are you taking the whole married to your job thing literally or am I just oblivious to the fact that... I don't even know what I could be missing at this point, but it feels like something."

[saskiabishop]

"Detective." Saskia corrected him. If she was a more paranoid person she would wonder just how much information on her he had obtained from Nadine that made him feel confident enough to call out to her. And if he was talking her up now to gather more. "I was on one episode of that Walsh kid's podcast and never again. The guy talks like a walking reddit conspiracy board. I at least like to go collect my own evidence before making accusations." She huffed, pursing her lips as she really took a look at him before deciding she could chat for a moment. "Sure. What could you possibly want my thoughts on? You get your shit rocked or something?" She gestured to the glass held against his head.

[brysonlahey]

"Right. Sorry." As much as he liked to poke and prod at people from time to time it wasn't something he was actively trying to do with Saskia. He wasn't in the mood to try and push her buttons just to see how she reacted to it all. "No, I'm good. Just a long day and a little bit of a headache." He shook his head and finished the last of his drink as if that helped prove his point. In all honesty, it probably had more to do with him still being slightly hungover from the night before. As much as he liked to pretend, Mother's Day was still hard for him. Her being an actual detective made him a little more wary of the situation but it was all hypothetical for the most part. "It's true crime related. Or maybe psychology. Whatever. I was watching this movie where this guy kept blacking out whenever bad things would happen in his life. The Butterfly something. And it got me thinking, have you ever heard of a case where something like that happens? And if you have is there a way to get that stuff back or is it just gone forever unless you're in an R-rated shit show?"

[brysonlahey]

Bryson turned his head to the side and raised his glass to his temple, hoping the chill would do something to help his headache when he noticed of all the people he could've sat next to at the bar somehow he'd ended up to someone he knew. Or at least he knew of her by association. "Hey. Podcast girl, right?" The corner of his mouth curved up. "I think we met a few months ago at a party. You think I can pick your brain for a few minutes?" @saskiabishop

[brysonlahey]

"So, are we still not allowed to talk about your relationships? Or, like, the lack of one?" Bryson raised an eyebrow as he ran a towel over his head, mopping up as much of the excess pool water as he could. He'd never seen the point in beating around the bush with Mariela. "Because I want to talk about it, if that's a thing you're up for now. It's been a few years since the last time I tried. But if it's not I can pretend I'm thinking of something else." @themarielaalves

[prettygurlavenue]

[fateofbrxs]

[pastelpinklight]

[nadinedahl]

His reaction got a big grin out of her, as she was totally being a pain in the ass on purpose. "When you say shit like I wasn't your's yet yeah that's what it sounds like." She shrugged, folding her slice of pizza so she could take a bite of it. "Right," she said, hardly convinced, corners of her mouth twitching up in a poorly concealed smirk. She believed him but the way he said it painted a funny picture, like he was supposed to be some kind of player. "Like what, relinquishing power?," she joked, brows raised. That didn't sound so bad either but she understood what he meant, that it was symbolic, a physical demonstration of his loyalty to her, and she looked at him more earnestly. "I know what you mean." Regardless of timing she knew who she wanted by her side always, so, that was a yes. Nadine gave him a quick once over, "I like what you're wearing now." It wasn't anything unusual for him but the clothes themselves fit well. Even if she sometimes tried to dress him, as he put it, she didn't live in fear of the outfit he'd put on next, or worry that he'd look sloppy next to her. "Already? Okay. I have some decorations of my own already too, if you want to go through those. The only ones I've really held on to are like old movie props from when I was a kid."

[brysonlahey]

Bryson continued to grimace but as much as he hated to admit it she did have a point. He had made it sound a little more sappy than he'd meant to. "Whatever. Just remember you're the one who asked me out. If anyone was pining here it was you." His cheeks flared pink, more a response to her tone than he actual words. It definitely didn't sound meaningful or like something that really mattered when she put it like that. "Like I don't know. I've never really thought about it as much as I am right now." Bryson glanced down at his shirt, plucking at the material with his free hand. "Sure, but we both know you wouldn't trust me to pick out something for you. Your standards are a lot higher for yourself. If we wait until October all the good shit will be gone. Besides, I've never actually had a place that was nice enough to decorate and I'm not about to be shown up by every Karen and trust fund baby on the block."

[nadinedahl]

It was probably for the best nothing happened between them early on, like when they shared a hotel room on that trip. She thought about it, in passing mostly, but what she needed then was a friend— even if she didn’t care to admit it. Usually when she slept with someone she didn’t stick around to hang out after. “So you were like fully pining then.” At the very least he wanted to fuck her, that much was obvious, but still she wouldn’t pass up a chance to poke fun at him. “Really?” She grabbed a couple napkins from the center of the table. “If it was me asking I think I’d want a guaranteed yes.” It didn’t seem all that unusual to her, and she couldn’t truly say she wouldn’t turn him down if the timing was off. “I’m sure you do,” she teased, face softening just slightly as he kissed the top of her knuckles. "Oh yeah, that's fine. I thought I'd drop a few aggressive hints but that's even better. I don't trust you to shop for me, no offense." They both knew how particular she was. Nadine pursed her lips in thought while she moved a slice of pizza onto her plate then shook her head. "No vibe really. I thought I might find a tiffany lamp, those are the ones with stained glass. Or an accent mirror maybe. We don't have to go really, I just needed something to do. Or there's an actual furniture store, if that's a bust, with stuff from this century."

[brysonlahey]

"I might fully throw up if you say that again." Bryson's eyes narrowed and he grimaced instinctively at her response. No matter how much he'd wanted her, or anyone else for the matter, he never been the type of person who was sappy enough to pine over someone. He was a lot of things, but pathetic wasn't one of them. Besides, he didn't have the attention span or interest in chasing someone who wasn't interested. "I was definitely sleeping with other people, but if it makes you feel special you can pretend." He rolled his eyes before he scooped up his slice to take a bite. "The fact that you just said you wanted all of that with me is enough of a guaranteed yes in my book for me to feel fine with it. Come on, you know what I mean. It's like a power thing. Or a sign of respect I guess." Bryson wasn't sure he was describing it the best way but he figured she would understand what he meant. He wouldn't get down on one knee for anyone, but doing it for her was different. "I'll take the hints and none taken. You've told me you wanted to dress me enough that I get it." He waved his free hand dismissively. At least he knew she wouldn't pretend to like something for his sake. "No we can go. I don't want to completely derail your plans and colorful lamps could be cool. But when we're done I do want to start grabbing stuff for Halloween. If we're getting into decorating I want to start there."