STACK IT UP

Damien Bailey. 27. June 29th. Downtown. Single. Programmer & Software Engineer. "Memory loss is one way of coping with damage."

[damienbailey]

dalilaxrodriguez​:

Dalila had been standing with Tobias at the Cherry Blossom Festival. They hadn’t come together, but running into him, it was easy enough to fall into natural conversation. He made a joke, she laughed, reaching out to touch his arm. They had rolled around in the sheets a few time, but Dalila knew it wasn’t serious, not for either of them. Her heart still belonged to Damien. Her eyes caught the sight of him as she talked to Tobias, pausing their conversation to call out to him. “Damien!” She called his name, lifting her hand in a wave to motion for him to join. Dalila watched as the men introduced themselves to each other, her eyes darting between the two of them. “Not at all,” Dalila smiled at Damien, finding herself unable to draw her eyes away from him now that he was here. “I was just on my way to grab a bite to eat, if you want to come?” She asked Damien, “Tobias is off to relieve one of the emergency shift workers.” 

...

Damien let his eyes focus on Tobias, pressing his lips together as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Ah,” he murmured, the other man nodded his head and put his hand delicately on Dalila’s shoulder, telling her that he’d see her later, shifting to walk past him. Damien turned slightly, watching Tobias as he began to walk away. Inhaling, the man looked back at Dalila as he let his eyes rest on her for a few seconds. “You and him?” He asked, tilting his head to the side a little as if it was going to give him a better look at her face. He waited to see her reaction, wondering if his gut had been right when informing him that Tobias and her were a little more than just friends.

[damienbailey]

evanxmoss​:

The hug surprised him but he immediately hugged his brother back. Evan had missed Damien more than anything. He had been his best friend and he wanted nothing but the best for his little brother. Being away and staying away was the hardest thing he had ever done. “The first year being sober was an absolute shit show but it’s slowly been getting easier.” He had Morgan to thank for that. After pulling away from the hug Evan gulped at the next question. “No.” He stated honestly while slowly shaking his head. “I’m suppose to be dead and I want to keep it that way. I’ve hurt too many people in this town, I don’t want to hurt them anymore.” 

...

Damien had to admit, the devastating dark cloud he had been living under for the last six months, thinking he had died and the failure that came with it. He had moved Lucas to Maine with him to keep him save and it turned out that’s exactly what he did. He let his mother sob hysterically in front of a head stone with no body in the casket and a part of him after learning what it all felt like... the guilt settled in. His eyes raised up to look at Lucas, pressing his lips together as he nodded his head, shoving his hands into his pockets. “So, what’s the story? Lucas had a twin? Or you just happen to be his identical doppelganger?” 

[damienbailey]

special delivery - @dalilaxrodriguez​

There was pacing involved, the second he walked into the festival his eyes found her. He didn’t want to seem like he was desperate to see her even though he had been. Of course, his memory still hadn’t returned but he could remember the feelings he had for her in high school. He would have done anything to be with her and when they broke up, going their own ways. It was one of the hardest things he had ever done. He walked in the direction of her stand but stopped when he noticed one of the paramedics talking to her and she was laughing. Her hand reached out, touching his arm and he knew that touch. He straightened his posture and a different expression came across his features. He almost turned away but she called his name. Busted. He cleared his throat lowly before walking over to the stand, closing the distance. “Dalila,” he nodded his head as the guy extended his hand and introduced himself as Tobias. “Ah... Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

[damienbailey]

chelseamreynolds​:

Chelsea remembered the way they used to be back in high school, just two kids in love with their high school sweethearts looking for someone to fill up the void, who better than a best friend? In the off moments with Dominic, she was glad to have Damien as more than just a friend. But the Chelsea she remembered herself to be in high school was a shadow of the timid girl she was now. She wondered how much Damien could see it. Or maybe it was more in her head than anything else. Other than this moment, she hadn’t remembered a time when they’d rekindled such a physical closeness. It was a reminder of how much she missed physical touch of the tender, soft kind. “Yeah, pretty shameful and stupid right?” She shrugged, “Guess it’s just another reason why I don’t tell people. Don’t think anyone will really understand. I should’ve known you’d be a good listener.” She smiled softly at him. 

...

Damien let his eyes rest on the back of her head, trying to focus on his breathing and the thoughts running wild in his head. Had he noticed it when he came back? The change. He had the last few months but he thought maybe he was forgetting something. He hated talking about his memory loss because he didn’t want to scare people but the more time that passed by the more he was completely aware that he wouldn’t be remembering anything. He shook his head at her words, reaching out and putting his hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “It’s not shameful or stupid, Chels. I can’t imagine what it would be like to try and talk to someone about this especially someone you love,” he whispered as he let his eyes rest on her. “I’m always going to listen to you.”

[hannahxsandersonn]

starter for @damienbailey​ location: balloon crush 

Hannah spotted the sweet tech man that had helped her out when she first moved to Fallbrook. Since then, she had seen him around, here and there but they really hadn’t hung out much since. She lifted her hand in a wave to him as she walked over to him, “Damien, hey, this place is pretty awesome, huh?” She figured with him being from here, he had seen it before, but she was in utter high. “I don’t know, people think New York is pretty neat, but something about Fallbrook continues to take my breath away.” She slowly shook her head. “You up for getting crushed at this game?”

[damienbailey]

Damien turned his head to look over at her, nodding a little as he held his water bottle in his hand. “Yeah,” it had been a while since he went to one of the Fallbrook festivals especially after the summer one. He turned his head towards the water near them, pressing his lips together as he stared at it for a few seconds, maybe a little longer than he should have because his gaze only pulled away when she spoke again. “Uh, remind me.” He said as he opened his water. “Are you from New York? Or did you only live there for a bit?” He turned his head to look over towards the balloon stand they were in front of. “Hilarious puns, Sanderson but... I think it will be me doing the crushing.” 

[damienbailey]

morganxhoffman​:

“Only about a month,” she told the man that had brought an easier system into her life. “my boyfriend and I are subletting a place downtown,” she explained to him, “not sure if we are sticking around or not. Evan really seems to like it, though and I do too,” it was different than what she expected, though she didn’t know what to expect when she moved to a completely new place in hopes of finding her half sister. “I. honestly am starting to get the impression that man will be too stubborn to ever admit to understanding that the times are changing.” She let out a soft laugh, “Definitely a perk, you’ve made my whole day.”

...

“Your boyfriend?” Damien didn’t know why he hung onto that through everything she said. He had been connecting the dots in his mind because Lucas, well, Evan Moss had been in town for the last month. “Who is your boyfriend? I wonder if I’ve met him yet.” He muttered, raising his hand up to the side of his head as he tapped his index finger against the side of it. “My memory hasn’t exactly been the best since my accident last August.” He told her, turning his head to look at her. “He will be. You’re going to have to fight him on everything. We call him stubborn old man.” He chuckled, standing up straight. “Of course. Feel free to call the office if something goes haywire.”

[damienbailey]

chloexwilliams​:

Chloe playfully rolled her eyes to show just how much she thought his statement was an exaggeration. “Damien please, it’s a big world out there and you aren’t even top 10 dancers! What am I saying, top 1000! Me on the other hand…” she trailed with a shrug holding back a grin, “Easily top 5!” It was only in the way her eyes were dancing that indicating she was joking, well only a little. “Gagful? Oh come one they’re so adorable, makes you believe in true love and everything, don’t be a hater!” she jested before making her order as well handing the menus to the waiter. “Do you really want me to answer that?” she answered with a question of her own.

...

Damien laughed, shaking his head at her words. “I literally can’t believe what you’re saying right now,” he leaned down onto the surface of the table on his elbows as his eyes focused on her, a grin coming along his features. “You know that’s one of the easiest things to believe. You’re one of the best dancers in Fallbrook.” He confessed as he nodded his head, reaching for his water and bringing to his lips. “They are disgusting. You don’t have to listen to his side of the conversations all day. No you hang up, no you hang up.” He rolled his eyes playfully. He tilted his head to the side, smirking as he raised his hand up to the tip his nose, brushing his fingers against it. “Yeah, I really do.”

[damienbailey]

DAMIEN BAILEY | CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL 2022

[damienbailey]

dalilaxrodriguez​:

Dalila watched as he pushed his fingers against his head. “Oh, no,” she set aside her pipette, “I can let you rest.” She smiled at him, “I will clean up, put these in the fridge. No one said you can’t eat half frosted cookies.” She lightly teased, keeping her voice soft as she began to gather some of the supplies. “I did leave some extra food in the fridge, if you get hungry later.” Dalila told him, unable to help herself from making far too much food at the restaurant. She had already had an outrageous amount at the townhome she shared with Celine, so she figured she would leave more for Damien. Putting everything either in the fridge or her bag, she looked over at Damien with a small smile on her lips. “I, I had fun today,” she knew that their lives might not ever be the same and that was something she had to deal with. “Maybe I will see you at the Easter weekend festivities.” Dalila slung her bag over her shoulder, “Just call or text me if you need anything.”

END.

[damienbailey]

morganxhoffman​:

“It took quite a bit of convincing but since my first day here,” Morgan started, “I simply couldn’t stand the system.” She let out a softened laugh, “After much nagging, the owner caved to my needs and wants. I’ve at least offered him to keep one computer in the dinosaur age, that way he can still use it when he is in.” Which, from what Morgan could tell, wasn’t that often but the blonde was happy to make the compromise if it got the rest of the computers updated to a more usable system. “It wasn’t easy, but I am glad you were able to come out as soon as you were.” 

...

Damien lifted his eyes up towards her, trying to figure out how long she had been in town but every time he tried to think too hard the headache would come creeping in. “How long have you been in town?” He asked, dropping his gaze to the computer as it began to load. A chuckle left his lips at her words, nodding his head. “One day he’ll understand the times are changin’ and he needs to catch up.” He teased as he turned his head to look back at her. “Perks of a small town. All the technician are usually available.” 

[damienbailey]

dalilaxrodriguez​:

“I think you did. You would have done anything for him.” Dalila said, though his brother’s fate was not what any of them expected, she knew that he did all that he could. “You did more for him than anyone else could have or would have, Damien.” She smiled softly at him, “I want you to know that. I wouldn’t lie to you, not now. Or ever.” Dalila could never bring herself to do that when she knew how much he was struggling. And even so, she loved him too much to lie. 

...

Damien raised his hand up towards his nose, brushing his fingers against it as he turned his head to look over at her. “Obviously it wasn’t enough.” He knew how negative that sounded. It had been getting harder and harder not to get frustrated at the fact nothing was bringing back his memories. All the doctors told him he had to be patient and give his head time to heal that maybe only maybe would all of it return. “Sorry,” he cleared his throat, putting down the pipping bag and raising his hand up to the side of his head, pushing his fingers against it. “Didn’t mean to bring down the mood plus... I have another headache.”

[damienbailey]

evanxmoss​:

The way his brother was responded only confirmed the rumours that he had heard. Damien truly didn’t remember a thing about what their lives had been for the past two years. Of course, his question reminded him how thoughtful the younger sibling had always been. He had missed having someone care about him the way that the two cared for one another. “It helped.” He admitted with a slow nod. “I’ve been clean for almost two years now and that’s because of you.”

...

Damien remained in his seat, not realizing the breath he was holding until he let it out when Lucas confessed to being clean for almost two years, a small proud smile came across his features. He stood up from the couch and walked over to his brother and pulled him into a hug, giving him a pat on the back. “Holy shit! Two years?” He mused as he moved back slightly, taking in the view of Lucas, finding it hard to believe that he came home and let their parents believe he was dead. Even a headstone at the cemetery was created for him. In that moment, there was a gnawing ache of guilt in his stomach as he thought about how he felt since he woke up from his coma. “Are you going to let mom and dad know?”

[zsavatars]

Lucien Laviscount (001)

[morganxhoffman]

starter for @damienbailey​ location: moore’s book café

Though she was new in town, only moving to Fallbrook a few weeks ago, Morgan was already doing more for the book café than had been done in a long time. It was past closing time but the programmer she hired was still working. “Thank you so much for updating these systems,” she smiled as she leaned against the counter. “I swear, the owner of this place had no intention of actually updating any of the programs and making them usable. Now it shouldn’t take me about thirty minutes to check someone out if the system goes on the fritz from being overheated or whatever,” she had no idea what she was talking about, only that she hoped it wouldn’t take her a long time to get the check outs done if they were busy. 

[damienbailey]

Damien had been called to Moore’s Book Cafe to update the software and knowing the owner of the place he knew how old it probably was. He tapped his fingers against the counter as he focused his eyes on the screen in front of him as it began to update with the software him and Owen had been installing at pretty much every business in town. He turned his head to look over at her, chuckling. “Most of the people in this town are stuck in their old fashioned ways. It takes a lot to make someone decide to do something like this so... at least you were able to convince them.” He chuckled. “I never thought I’d see the day that someone could knock them down a few pegs.”

[damienbailey]

chelseamreynolds​:

She wasn’t really sure if she could ask him to make good on that promise when she’d been keeping so much from him. Chelsea realized how much she wanted to alleviate the pain for those she loved however she could, but was also not giving anyone in her life the opportunity to do the same. While Chelsea felt badly about that, she wasn’t sure if she knew how to fix it yet with anyone else other than him. Telling him was scary enough. But his reaction was…not what she’d expected it to be. “I will, I promise. I just–it’s not that easy you know? It’s not like everything about living there is bad.” She was ashamed of the words as they left her mouth because the real truth was that she was scared to do anything other than what she’d been doing for so long.

...

Damien brushed his fingers through the strands of her brown hair, letting himself remain quiet through all of her words despite the fact he felt something different about it. All he wanted was for her to move in with him so he could keep an eye on her. It made him think about how much the both of them had grown since high school. During his off time with Dalia he was hooking up with Chelsea and it made him wonder how the two of them had been able to move past all of that when he came home. He brushed his tongue along his lower lip, nodding his head at her words. In that moment, he realized it was more complex for her than it would have been to him... but again he had never been in her shoes. “Yeah, I get it. You feel responsible for him but if it ever  gets bad again. I got a room and it’s all yours.”

[damienbailey]

daniclairmont​:

“I guess procrastination, maybe I just need to shut up and do it. It would make things easier for everyone involved.” She was nervous about making the event planning her own thing too. It felt like a lot of responsibility. “I don’t know, the idea scares me though, but I know I can make it better.” Not to mention her boss was scary too, he liked keeping things the way they were. “Sorry if I sound all over the place, I just have a lot of thoughts and I’m decisive.” 

...

“We’re all guilty of procrastination.” Damien chuckled as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Lifting his eyes up towards Dani, tilting his head to the side as he turned his head to look over his shoulder then back towards her. “You know if anyone is capable of making things better, it’s you.” He shook his head as he gestured towards the cafe behind them. “It sounds like you just need to talk out your thoughts. Want to go do that?”

[damienbailey]

evanxmoss​:

This was going to be the tricky part because he really didn’t know where the beginning was. This could be a fresh slate for him by not telling his brother the real trouble that he found himself in. That thought only lasted a second. If anyone deserved to know the truth about his life, it was Damien. “Five years ago mom and dad cut me off and being with you up in Maine seemed like a fresh start.” He explained as simply as he could before sitting down next to his brother. “I was out a lot, out at casinos and hanging out with the wrong crowd. Two years ago, well, there was a series of unfortunate events that left me in a lot of trouble.” A sigh escaped his lips while he slowly shook his head in disbelief that they were reliving that event. “Damien, you helped me fake my death and then you checked me into rehab. I’m not Lucas anymore, I haven’t been Lucas for two years.” 

...

Damien could remember that part. Where his brother showed up on his door step and told him about what happened with their parents. Pressing his lips together as he nodded his head at his words but didn’t interrupt to let his brother know what he remembered and what he didn’t remember. He brushed his tongue along his lower lip at the thought of knowing he wasn’t able to help Lucas get off the bad path. Although the next set of words that came out of his mouth hit him with a brick of shock. He lifted his eyes up towards him, parting his lips in a shocked expression. “I... Did the rehab help?”