new romantics

we are too busy dancing / to get knocked off our feet / baby, we're the new romantics / the best people in life are free // cecelia philip, nineteen years old, majoring in fashion design, minoring in marketing

[ceceliaphilipxo]

jaina.,

“Understandable, but that’s life, people come and go. You just have to learn to let go of all of that.”

“oh i’ll be fine, i just need to get through these next couple weeks and then it’ll be alright.”

[ceceliaphilipxo]

camille.,

“Why? Because you don’t have a Valentine? I don’t either, I never do, buy this is still my favorite holiday. Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be about celebrating romantic love only, it’s about celebrating all kinds of love. Romantic love is horrible anyways. So don’t turn into one of those people who’s all bitter about all things Valentine related and hateful towards the people who do have romantic loves to celebrate. I mean, they’re all going to have heartbreaking split-ups eventually anyway. let them be happy while they still can.”

“oh- no i’m not bitter or anything. i’m glad that people can celebrate love and have fun, i’m just disappointed. see, i thought i might actually have a valentine this year, but then he decided he didn’t want to be stuck in this school anymore, so he left. and every time i see something about valentine’s day it reminds me of him, and that’s kind of hard. i didn’t mean to sound like a valentine’s day scrooge- i just miss him.”

[ceceliaphilipxo]

jaina!!

“I wouldn’t beat yourself up over it, some people are just like that. That doesn’t mean it’s because of you or anyone else. I can understand his feeling, though for me it’s more of being stuck on one planet than anything. So it’s different I’m sure but I think that still tends to be more of a personal issue.”

“yeah, i guess. i just miss him.”

[ceceliaphilipxo]

jess!!

   “are you sure you’re okay? i’m not trying to give you any weird looks, but if you want to cry i have a shoulder you can use.”

cecelia nodded, “thanks for the offer- but i’ll be fine. he told me he’d come back, so he will, right?”

[ceceliaphilipxo]

jaina!!

“Mm, some yeah, though to be fair we girls aren’t always the greatest either. But I’m guessing one you liked took off? Or something along those lines.”

cecelia nodded, “he didn’t want to be cooped up here anymore- he said he had to get out- i just hope it wasn’t something i did wrong, you know?”

[ceceliaphilipxo]

camille.,

“Well, o-kay then.”

“sorry-” she looked at the poster for the masquerade ball before speaking again, “i just wish they would take down all this valentine’s day stuff, it’s making me sick.”

[ceceliaphilipxo]

asteria!!

“I was just about to ask if you were okay-? You were looking quite absent. which typically isn’t a good sign for anyone. Oh- ohhh. Well- Atleast you’ll be able to see him again right? Do you want to do something to get your mind of the situation? I think the general ‘cure’ for situations like this is films and ice cream.”

cecelia nodded, “i hope i’ll be able to- he didn’t really give me any details on where he was going and when he would visit. that sounds really fun, though. as long as they aren’t romance movies, i’m in.”

[ceceliaphilipxo]

jaina.,

“Well, I have no idea who or what you’re talking about; I can just tell you’re sad. That’s all.”

“i- yeah. guys are terrible, you know.”

[ceceliaphilipxo]

stormie!!

“you genuinely believe that bullshit? he isn’t coming back and he isn’t going to write you. i mean, you can keep hoping, though. the disappointment will be fantastic.”

“wha- what the hell do you know? you don’t even know him! of course he’s going to write me- he told me i was beautiful- and he wanted me- what the hell is your problem?”

[ceceliaphilipxo]

jaxon!!

“No, no, I’m not looking at you in any kind of way. You just seem a bit off and I was worried, are you sure you’re ok? Don’t you wanna talk or something?”

“uhm- you know, thanks for the offer, but i don’t feel ready to talk about it yet. but if you could distract me, that would be great.”

[ceceliaphilipxo]

camille!!

“I’m sorry, Red, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“what- oh- sorry. i was just rambling.”

[ceceliaphilipxo]

"why are you looking at me like that? i’m fine- really. he said he’d come back to see me- and that he’d write to me often- i mean, we weren’t even dating- yet.”

[ceceliaphilipxo]

jaspar!!

Jaspar slammed the phone shut and quickly tossed it as far as he could. “Fuck off,” he shouted before turning back to see someone standing behind him. “Shit….I didn’t mean you. I….do you need something or are you just going to keep staring?”

cecelia jumped when jaspar yelled, but offered him a small smile when he turned around. “i- no, sorry. i just saw that you looked kinda stressed out and i wanted to help- but if you’d rather be alone i can go.”

[ceceliaphilipxo]

ash!!

his hand moved from the side of her face to the back of her head, fingers tangled in her hair. “it’s true,” ash smiled, his eyes momentarily flickering down from her’s to her lips, “i don’t like lying, especially about something like that. and those are they guys that go around using girls for sex, right? i really don’t know, i’m not too familiar with all of the terminology, but i think that’s what it is.” ash followed her actions and shrugged too, his lips now pursed. “i mean- sex in general is natural, but-…i don’t know how to explain it, just know that it was alcohol that drove me to do it, not attraction.”

cecelia looked up at him, an uncontainable smile on her face, “i don’t know either- i try not to be too nosy into people’s lives. but if that’s what they do, i don’t think i want to meet any of them soon.” she nodded as he talked, trying to understand the appeal of sex, “right- okay. i get it, alcohol can make you do stuff you normally wouldn’t do.” she wondered if he would ever want to have sex with her, she would have no idea what to do if he did, since she had never done it before.

[ceceliaphilipxo]

ash!!

the hue on cecelia’s cheeks gave him enough motivation to move his free hand further up to hold the side of her face, his thumb mindlessly stroking her cheek. “i believe that beauty is only skin deep; sure, she’s pretty, but her personality doesn’t match and that’s what keeps her from being truly beautiful to me. you, however, are stunning inside and out, i found that out on our road trip. and it’s only something i wanted in the moment – i don’t want it from her ever again, i’m not like one of that, what do you call them, fuckboys?” the word was enough to make him chuckle because of its absurdity, but his tone switched back to its former seriousness in record time. “sex? yeah- it’s natural, i guess, why do you ask? hey, you don’t have anything to be embarrassed about, it’s fine.”

cecelia leaned into his touch, his kind words making her want to melt into him even farther. “stop it- you’re being too nice to me.” she hit his chest lightly, but let her hand stay there. “a what-boy? nevermind- i don’t think i want to know.” she shrugged, “i don’t know- i just- since it’s a natural thing- it would make me feel like whatever you did with jennifer was more chemical than anything else. which would make me feel a whole lot better.”

[ceceliaphilipxo]

ash!!

“yes,” a happy scoff – an unexpected one at that – pushed past his lips at her question, “just like that, and i really don’t want to mess up any of my opportunities before i even get the chance to take you out. though i know i already did but trust me when i say that it was a drunken mistake …” ash finally reached out for her hand and gently wrapped his hand around her’s, giving her full leeway to pull it away if she wanted. “what do you mean, that you can’t blame me?”

cecelia looked down at their hands, feeling herself blush. she intertwined their hands and took a step closer to him, her other hand aching to touch him. “i can’t blame you because- because you aren’t mine. and she’s, well, she’s beautiful, and she gave you something you wanted.” the thought of him kissing jennifer made her feel sick, but she was naive to think his lips were exclusively for her. "what you guys did- it’s uhm- it’s natural, right? and- oh gosh- i’m just gonna shut up.” she looked down, her cheeks red hot now.

[ceceliaphilipxo]

ash!!

ash could read body language pretty well, after all he’d been familiar with things of the like all of his life, so when cecelia bit her lip after he told her, he knew it didn’t settle too well. “we don’t, at all, which is one of the reasons i regret it so much.” in that moment he wanted to reach out for her hands and grip them tightly with his own, but they twitched at his sides instead. “and i also regret it because i like you, cecelia, i really like you- and i wasn’t thinking and…and i’m sorry.”

cecelia stared at him, a small smile gradually finding it’s way onto her lips. “you like me- as in you want to go on dates with me?” she needed clarification, just in case it turned out that she was interpreting everything all wrong, which is something she would definitely do. “you don’t have to apologize to me. it’s not like we’re dating or anything. yeah- it hurts that you did that because i really like you too, but i can’t blame you, really.”