Creative Manipulation

Sebastian Weston. They say I have a magnetic personality. Come find out. I don't bite, unless I really like you.

[franceskray]

[anthonyasherharrison]

"Coffee is for the weak." Anthony said, granting Sebastian a smirk as he brought a flask to his mouth and tossed his head back to take a hearty gulp . He’d blown the board meeting his father had planned earlier that morning—daring to test the waters with his old man after a disagreement. And now, he was in a "testy’ mood all round. "It’s five o’clock somewhere." He said, giving Sebastian a shameless shrug. 

[creativemanipulation]

Sebastian grinned in return, surprised he didn't have his own flask, the way things were going lately. 

"What responsibilty are you running away from, then?" He tilted his head to one side, nodding at the flask. "That screams 'get me out of here.'"

[makeawishsofia]

 The brunette was passing by when she suddenly heard a familiar voice and turned to check if her ears were playing a prank on her. “There’s always a few other excellent places to grab a cup of coffee.”, the corner of her lips curved into a soft smile as she spoke to a guy she hadn’t seen in a while, probably since the last time Clary had invited her to one of their parties, “Sebastian, the grumpy coffee-less.”

[creativemanipulation]

Sebastian smirked back at her, sinking his hands deep into his pockets. "We all have our vices - a large, large amount of caffeine intake happens to be one of mine. At least I gave up smoking," he shrugged, the smirk turning to a grin. "It's difficult to function this early in the morning without my Joe."

[showalittlespine]

"I believe the term is… First-World problems, Mr. Weston?" Lance commented, bemused.

[creativemanipulation]

"I'm fully aware of my privlege and how much I abuse it. But god - why do they get us addicted to this stuff just to take it away? I mean, really." He smirked back, running his fingers through his hair.

[itwcsmcroon]

There’s a Starbucks on Main Street. There’s also a bistro called Double Shot that has really good coffee if you’re one of those people that hates Starbucks.

[creativemanipulation]

Oh lord that sounds fabulous. Please tell me that they spike their coffee.

[meredithredfae]

An arm linked around his like a snake choking its prey and with one firm yank Meredith dragged him to her side, not stopping her rapid pace even for a moment. “You won’t need the stimulant rush where we’re going, I guarantee you that. A good dose of opiates? Maybe.”

[creativemanipulation]

Sebastian let out a very dramatic, very pointed sigh. He'd need a very large flask, with Meredith's tone. "Not even a quick espresso for the road?" he all but whined. He hated starting his day without coffee, and when Meredith was involved...

Coffee was definitely required.

"What are you dragging me into now?"

[creativemanipulation]

"It's a good day for coffee. If my regular place wasn't closed." He tended to be a very grumpy man when coffee wasn't a part of his morning routine. He pulled out his phone, scrolling through his Yelp suggestions.

[dontcallmekittycat-blog]

I can’t sleep. I feel like I should probably find a way to fall asleep or something.

[creativemanipulation]

I find a good bop on the head works.

[chuckbassisawesome]

[meredithredfae]

Not My Problem II MeredithxSebastian

[meredithredfae]

She was used to pretty much any response Sebastian could’ve handed her - except for silence. That, she didn’t know how to handle. Anything seemed preferable; sarcasm, anger, derision… Anything but his quiet voice and depressed mannerisms. 

"Would you stop that??" Meredith snapped in annoyance. In truth, it was more due to the sudden discomfort she was feeling, keenly aware of the fact that she was unskilled when it came to dealing with other people’s sadness or insecurities. Unless it was Crystal’s or one of the very few people close to her. "Just-… Just stop that! Stop with the long-face, damn it!!" Her irritation only grew when the answer seemed obvious. "Fine! - Fine, I’ll help. Johanna’s going to turn us both into roadkill and if I go first I’m forwarding all the expenses for funeral arrangements to your freaking bank account, I’m warning you.” With a roll of her eyes, Meredith leaned back against the booth, suddenly tired. Fate truly had a sense of humour; setting up the two most ill-equipped people in town to help a woman who likely hated them both right now…

[creativemanipulation]

He raised an eyebrow at her completely-freaked-out-ness about his silence. Sure, he talked a lot, but when things got serious, like this was, he definitely going to take his time to think about it before he just ran to anyone else who might give a shit.

He took another breath. "We need to approach her in a way that won't freak her out. We can't just corner her. She needs to be prepared, needs to know what we need to talk about." He looked back at Meredith. "This is really, really delicate. We can't push her further down this path, and she needs to be able to trust us." 

He thought about what he'd just said, then snorted. "Or, try to get to a place where she can try to trust us."

[meredithredfae]

Not My Problem II MeredithxSebastian

[meredithredfae]

"No!! I don’t expect her to want you to know this, which is why you’re going to keep it a damned secret!" Meredith retorted through gritted teeth, fingers curling over the edge of the table. She knew Johanna would not take well to such news, and thus it was absolutely imperative that Sebastian keep his mouth shut. Upon seeing him grow somewhat frantic - and more so than she could ever remember, Meredith sighed. 

"Kay, whoa there Prince Panic. I may not have your storybook-ending, but I know freaking out isn’t going to accomplish much. Maybe… Find a third-party. A go-between for you two whom Jo actually trusts and will let within fifty-meters of herself? Your parents? Did she ever get along with them?” Meredith suggested awkwardly. Family situations were not her forté, and neither were dealing with sensitive issues such as this one. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to dump it on Sebastian and get the hell out of the coffee-shop. But one look at his expression told her it wouldn’t exactly be well-received…

Still, she couldn’t help a dry laugh when Sebastian described the level of hatred Johanna felt for him now. She raised her coffee and tipped it against Sebastian’s mug in a derisive toast. “Well, seems like we have one thing in common after all, Weston. In case you’ve been missing the memo, she kind of hates me too right now. I found out her secret, after-all. And called her out on it too. As you can imagine, the fuzzy friendship feelings aren’t exactly going strong right now.”

[creativemanipulation]

Sebastian took a moment, staring off into the mid-distance as he did so. What the hell was he supposed to do here? Who even did Jo like enough to allow them to talk to her about this? Would she even want someone else knowing? Now there were two people who knew - then he'd have to tell a third, make it sound like he wasn't lying just to get back at her, and convince them to actually do something about it.

It was all going to backfire, he knew it. No one trusted him around here, least of all Johanna, and there was no way he could actually find someone who would listen to him about it. Everyone hated him, or at the very least just didn't care. 

"There's no one who will listen to me," he finally said. He took a deep breath. "I have to do it. There's no way anyone will trust me about this. I'm probably the worst person for it to come from. Everyone knows our situation, how she feels about me, what happened back then." He shook his head. "There's no other way to do it."

[meredithredfae]

Not My Problem II MeredithxSebastian

[meredithredfae]

Hazel-green eyes grew colder and narrowed as soon as Sebastian started a barrage of questions that implicated her in a situation she did not want to handle. “I didn’t quite catch that, Sebastian… I should throw myself in the line of fire… Why, exactly??” She asked coolly, gaze pinned on him. “Johanna and I aren’t exactly bosom friends, you know. I only started talking to her this year and even that has been casual chit-chat at the most. When it’s not a downright test of patience, that is. Don’t involve me in your personal dramas. I have enough of my own - you of all people should know that.” She added, hinting at the fact that he too, like her, had had his fair share of the town’s (often brutal) limelight. Their personal antics over the years had gained them that much in terms of common ground.

But when Sebastian accused her by saying Johanna had chosen to confide in her, Meredith had to keep from laughing out loud. “Are you KIDDING me, Sebastian??” She let out with a shake of her head. “No, you idiot, she didn’t TELL me!!… I discovered it for myself.” She muttered, looking down at the tablecloth and tracing the checkered pattern with one finger. It was not a memory she’d been able to push out of her mind. The sounds of Johanna crying while puking out the contents of her stomach… The thought alone was enough to make Meredith grimace. But she glanced up again a moment later when Sebastian claimed that she’d dropped the news in his lap because she knew he still cared about Johanna. 

"No!! God, Sebastian! How much ‘dumbass' does the Y chromosome contain anyway??” She asked, annoyance registering in her expression. “The hell would I know about your supposed feelings for her? You think I believe that crap??” She was about to elaborate on her distrust for a serial-cheater in general, and a man who'd left town for three years while he was at it, specifically. But Meredith decided against it, figuring it wasn't quite the time for that debate. “I told you cause you're the only one of Johanna's connections I know in person… Besides Molly. And between you and a four year old with zero life experience, well… I hedged my bets on you. Forgive me if I was mistaken.” Meredith added, shooting him a pointedly sarcastic look.

[creativemanipulation]

Sebastian raised his eyebrows, incredulous. "You expect her to a) want me to know this, b) not get angry that I suddenly know, c) not know that it was SOMEONE ELSE who told me, or d) even LISTEN to me about this damn thing? You thought I was your BEST BET, when she won't stay near me for longer than to say "fuck off and see you in hell"?"

He blinked several times, completely stunned. "What the fuck do you expect me to be able to do that wouldn't be either categorized as trying to take Molly away or just hopeless? You think she didn't like you? Why on e a r t h  do you think I would be a good bet on this at all? She hates me. Unadulterated, unmoderated, absolutely not-hidden hatred. And you thought that I could somehow...what? Fix it? It doesn't matter how much I care, she doesn't."

[chuckbassisawesome]

[meredithredfae]

Not My Problem II MeredithxSebastian

[meredithredfae]

At least he had the decency to believe her, Meredith thought, leaning back against the booth and breathing a sigh of relief. She felt as though that shifted the burden from her shoulders to his, since he was the one who’d been closer to Jo (at one point) than she’d ever been. But it seemed she was too quick to throw off all semblance of responsibility when Sebastian started a barrage of questions that ended with ‘what are you doing to help’.

She shot forward from her seat again, brows instantly dipping into a frown. “EXCUSE ME?! How the hell is this my problem???” She demanded, not sure she wanted to know the answer to that question. The guilty, nagging sensation in her chest was bad enough; to have Sebastian confirm it was beyond what she wanted to hear right now. “This is JO’s problem! And maybe yours.” She added narrowing her eyes at him. “God knows how she developed the ED to begin with, right??” It was an unfair accusation, since the bulimia had manifested itself more due to Johanna’s relationship with her perfectionist mother, but that was a detail Meredith had not yet pieced together in her mind.

"This is not my responsibility.” Meredith repeated, as if saying it enough would cement it as a fact in his head. “Not to mention, she tried to swear me to secrecy about the whole thing. I didn’t agree to anything, obviously, but she’ll still hate my guts if she finds out I involved myself even just to the point of telling you. And I don’t need that in my life; my relationship with Jo is messed up as it is. Which is also exactly why I’ve done more than enough here already! I’m not a fucking therapist, Weston!” She added, as though he needed any reminders on that point.

[creativemanipulation]

Sebastian raised his eyebrows. "She clearly trusted you enough to tell you! You think she did that with no expectations?" He stood, unconsciously. "She trusted you, and you're just going to dump this on the next person you see?! You don't even care if it gets resolved, if she gets better?" He spread his hands incredulous.

"You can't possibly be that heartless. Sure, you have issues, whatever, but I know you have to give a shit about something. Even if it's my damn ex-girlfriend. You know what's wrong with her, and you can't just drop it like this -- you might not be a therapist, but she trusted you enough to fucking confide in you! And you came to me -- obviously because you give a shit, too. If you didn't, you'd just have moved on and not told anyone who could help."

He sneered at her, disgusted. "You have this idea of yourself, so flawless and cavalier -- and yet you panicked when she told you. You insisted I meet you instantly, here. Because you know that I still care about her and I'd help somehow."

[somethingwhosnottaken-deactivat]

[edwestwikcs]

Let me tell you from experience - everyone loves a villain.

[chuckbassisawesome]