“Fate,” Andrew laughed, snapping his fingers and making a pointing gesture, “-that could totally be it.”
He felt giddy that they were still talking, nervously scratching at his beard.
“I wasn’t really a disney kid, honestly. But I’m sure your show was great.”
He pauses then, picking at his mailbox before answering her question.
“I design. Like-” he cleared his throat, “clothes and shit.”
❛ you didn’t miss much. trust me on that. ❜ her disney show days were not her happiest moments, and she didn’t have much to show for it, except for a bit of money that she’d spent while away in france. ❛ clothes and shit. ❜ she repeats, chuckling softly at his way of describing it. ❛ well, you must be pretty good at it if you’re able to afford a house like that. ❜ jo states matter-of-factly. ❛ you’ll have to show me them one day cause now i’m curious. ❜
the only thing that daria kept in the remodeling process was her bed frame - a gift given to her as a child from her mother and the only thing that’s been a constant in her life. the only room that’s not dripping with paint is a small guest house hidden in the corner of her estate surrounded by foliage, the bed frame leaning on the wall as a new mattress sits on the floor … on top of a tarp with a small television set hooked up in the corner. jo and her lay on the bed, daria stripped to her underwear as to avoid dying in the california heat. “do you think i made the right choice?”
never in a million years could jo have imagined herself lying on a matress with nothing but a tarp under it, but here she was. spots of dry paint were scattered across her hands, and she picked at them as she lay next to daria. her eyes quickly dart from her fingers to the other once the question is asked, and jo’s slow to respond with, ❛ about what? seven? ❜ there’s a certain disdain that fills her when the name leaves her lips, mostly about how they’d had the audacity to cheat on her friend. ❛ absolutely. the only other choice there could’ve been is staying with a cheating asshole, and there’s no way i would’ve let you do that. ❜
“ you’re going to go bankrupt, ” he states pointedly, the corners of his mouth quirking up into a hint of a smile. there’s still a gaping wound from their last conversation dully aching in his chest, but renan feels a little more prepared to talk with jo this time, less likely to burst into tears like a lovelorn teenage girl. it’s progress, at the very least. “ i’m just doing a bit of shopping, obviously, ” he mimes, lazily raising the singular bag dangling from his arm. a finger taps the end of his cigarette, and then renan’s bringing it to his mouth again and turning away from her to exhale the smoke, purposefully delaying the answer to her question for a few moments. he hates being vulnerable around jo when she refuses to let him in, but he can’t lie about his feelings, either. “ it’s a lot harder without you around all the time, so. ” renan puts out the unfinished cigarette against boutique’s brick wall, casting blue eyes towards jo with the same, piercing stare he’s given her dozens of times before. “ i caved. ”
❛ please. ❜ she draws the word out for an unnecessary amount of time. ❛ that’s just what you think. i’ve got everything under control. ❜ there’s some truth to his words, but would jo give him the satisfaction of being right? absolutely not. she rolls her eyes at his obvious imitation, but that’s not enough to keep a smile from creeping onto her face. ❛ okay, now you’re just making fun of me. ❜ it was amusing but also weird: having renan crack jokes with her in a tensionless atmosphere — almost the opposite of their previous encounter, but jo’s quickly reminded that these conversations could go in either direction when he mentions his reasoning. she’s tempted to respond with “well, i’m here now,” but instead, she nods her head in understanding. ❛ that’s valid. ❜ she couldn’t deny that she’d probably had an influence on his efforts to quit. she did hate the smell of cigarette smoke, and since they’d spent most of their time back france with each other, he really had no time to light one up. the fact that he was smoking again was a reminder of just how different the present was from then, but jo decides reflecting for too long would do no good. ❛ well, since you’re here, how about helping me carry these bags?❜
Andrew felt his hands get clammy again, and he paused thoughtlessly before taking her hand, giving it one firm shake.
“I’m Andrew,” he grinned, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Jo. I only moved in a couple of months ago-” he tilted his head towards the house, “-haven’t really had a good opportunity to throw a house warming party yet. Been working hard.”
He surveyed her own home behind her, trying desperately to ignore how good she smelled in such close proximity.
“What do you do with your life, though?”
❛ oh, me too. ❜ she puts her hands back down beside her, wiping some of the dampness from the other’s off on her yoga pants. ❛ i also moved in just a couple of months ago, so maybe this is like fate. like we were bound to meet or something. ❜ she laughs. she wasn’t really the type to believe in things like that — instead, opting to make it into a sort of joke. ❛ but seriously, invite me to that house warming party when you have it. i’ll show up. promise. ❜ it wasn’t a lie. jo was nothing if not welcoming, even if sometimes it wasn’t authentic. the party aspect didn’t hurt either. ❛ that is the question, isn’t it? i act. i’m just now getting back into the biz, but you may remember me from my... uh, disney show. ❜ or her many off-screen controversies. ❛ what about you? what is it that you do? ❜
since arriving at melrose avenue, all renan’s bought is an overpriced ( but stylistically bitching ) hawaiian shirt and, unfortunately, a pack of cigarettes. he hasn’t touched them for over a year since making a concerted effort to quit, but between having a rocky reunion with his ex-girlfriend and being bullied by asshole hockey players, renan caved. he feels like shit as he lights one up, leaning against the side wall of some independent boutique with one shoulder as he absentmindedly watches people pass by, numerous shopping bags in hand. no one’s recognized him yet — a group of teenage girls had given him a dirty look for exhaling smoke in their direction, but he’ll take that over some wide-eyed tourist asking if he’s an actor. taking another drag from his cigarette, his heart stops in his chest when he recognizes an approaching figure, and he ends up inhaling too much smoke and choking, coughing embarrassingly as if he’s a teenager trying a cigarette for the first time. “ jo, ” he manages to call out, and he mentally kicks himself for even grabbing her attention in the first place, “ are you trying to stalk me? ” ( @fmjoanna )
okay sure, perhaps she had gone a bit overboard, but that wasn’t an unusual feat. the amount of bags littered on her arms had begun to hurt, and though she had planned to do a bit more shopping, she figured her arms and her bank account had suffered enough. as she exited the store and turned to find her uber, she was surprised to hear her name called, especially by that voice. ❛ renan? ❜ she pauses, letting the sunglasses on her face fall further down her nose to get a good look at him. “ stalk you? don’t flatter yourself, sir. ❜ jo responds, chuckling a bit. ❛ i’m just doing a bit of shopping. ❜ as if it wasn’t obvious enough, she waves her arms around to give him a visual display. ❛ why are you here? ❜ she questions in return before scrunching up her nose at the cigarette smoke wafting around in the air. ❛ and, why are you smoking? i thought you quit. ❜ cue a tilt of her head and raised eyebrow.
Andrew was sweating. The moment she smiled at him, his palms began to perspiration. What was going on? Sure she was pretty- like so, so pretty- but Andrew was used to pretty girls. He worked with models everyday, for god’s sake. So why the hell was his brain getting fuzzy? This had happened before, like once or twice, and maybe a part of Andrew knew why. Maybe it was because she seemed nice. Maybe it was the authenticity of her smile. Maybe it was that ass in yoga pants- who knew? Not Andrew, that was for sure.
He realized he was kind of leering, panicking for a second too long as she walked towards him, an awkward moment of silence hanging between them as he tried to recollect his thoughts.
“Uh-” He said, blinking hard, “well, just like,” He laughed awkwardly, trying to make up for his lack of mental function, “…Good hard vibes. You know how is it. We just thriving.”
Thriving? Andrew mentally kicked himself, what kind of response is that?
-
❛ totally. ❜ jo laughed, nodding in agreement. he was sort of strange, but she supposed he was completely harmless. it would probably just take some getting used to. ❛ we’re neighbors... ❜ she stated the complete obvious before continuing, ❛ so, why is it that i don’t know your name? ❜ there were a million reasons why she might not, but she completely disregarded the thought and smiled again instead. she was eager to find out his name — half out of courtesy and the other half out of wanting to gossip with her friends about the funny guy who lived next door. ❛ i’m jo, by the way. just in case you were wondering. ❜ she extended a hand for him to shake. ❛ and you are? ❜
Everyday, Andrew went and got his mail from his lovely yellow mailbox. And everyday, Andrew hoped he’d get a glimpse of his super cute, yet to be named neighbor. Today was not unlike any other in the way that Andrew fixed his hair before heading out- just in case- and walked down the long driveway slowly, giving himself more time for the off chance of spotting her. What Andrew had not been expecting was for his neighbor to be out on her lawn, causing them to be in close proximity by the time Andrew reached the end of his driveway, and thus his mailbox. He tried to play casual, pretending he hadn’t noticed her at first, opening the box slowly, revealing that there was, yet again, nothing to be gathered.
Andrew closed the thing before acknowledging the woman’s presence, and he flashed her a smile once she’d finally actually looked his way, going to lean his elbow on the mailbox but missing slightly and tripping a little. Without a pause, albeit flushing profusely, Andrew made to lean again, and grinned when his elbow did indeed make contact.
“Hiya,” He said loudly, hoping maybe he’d finally get her name today, “-what’s goin’ on in your life, neighbor?”
-
it wasn’t everyday that jo decided to do yoga. it was mostly reserved for the days when her mind was wandering to a million different places, and she needed something to wind her down. almost like therapy, except she didn’t have to tell anyone how she was feeling. her mat was flat on the ground, and she was a couple of stretches in, soaking in the suns warm rays. it was rather relaxing; she had to admit that. so relaxing, in fact, that she hadn’t even noticed her neighbor had walked up. that is, until he greeted her.
jo peered up from her cobra pose, catching sight of a blonde leaned up against his mailbox. ❛ hi. ❜ she responded back, a bit confused by his presence as they had not spoken much. nevertheless, jo smiled back — it was the warm, welcoming kind that most people did when meeting someone new. ❛ oh... y’know, just enjoying the weather. ❜ at this point, she had gotten up from her mat, walking closer to the mailboxes so she could hear him better. ❛ what about in your’s, neighbor ? ❜
hola , mamakeishas ! 😍 i’m claire, and we love a good repurposing of intro posts. no but seriously, i’m really excited that this is finally open. i’m also really excited to meet all of your muses & write with youuuu. so without further ado, lemme introduce you to jo. aka my stupid, stubborn child who i love so much. like this & i’ll swoop into your dms for some plots. 👉👈
☆ . · . cindy kimberly, twenty-one, cisfemale, she/her . · . ☆ JOANNA “JO” VASQUEZ lives in that huge mansion over there! no, not that one. look for PERFECTLY TRIMMED HEDGES and that’ll be it. the ACTRESS has offered occasional glimpses of MAROON walls and an impressive collection of WINE in the background of social media posts, but all of that is nothing compared to seeing the opulence in person. they’ve remained DILIGENT as ever since moving to tercet court FOUR MONTHS AGO, but it seems like they might’ve gotten a little more RESERVED too. maybe that’s why they’re rumored to have such a CAUTIOUS relationship with everyone else who lives on this street.
* BACKSTORY .
tw. mentions of drugs & death.
from the beginning , it was never jo’s dream to be famous. while most girls were at home playing with toys, jo was getting prepped for auditions by her parents. they had ambitions ———— to get filthy stinkin’ rich off the back of their daughter, and for the most part, it worked.
jo landed a major role in a disney show ( think like hannah montanna or wizards of waverly place, that kinda cultural impact ), and quickly, she became one of america’s sweethearts. that was a lot for one kid to handle, with all the filming, press, etc. her parents, of course, ate up the attention and capitalized off it fairly quickly. brand deals, interviews, anything you could find a child star on at that time. it pretty quickly became overwhelming, but she was definitely raking in the dough. that meant she was to continue, no matter how tired of it she was.
which is where her perfectionism comes in to play, she had a lot of people relying on her ———— her parents, who she loved regardless of the stress they put her through, director, costars, company, etc. jo was definitely a natural when it came to acting. she knew how deliver line after line, emote, and successfully pull off a comedic moment. on screen, she played a charismatic, social butterfly, which was the exact opposite of who she really was, a quiet, nervous girl who valued her privacy and just wanted to live a normal life.
which began to take it’s toll on her. the older the she became, the less she liked being seen as the sweet girl next door, so she completely had a breaking out of that mold phase ( ala like miley cyrus or britney spears ) around the time her disney show came to an end. much to her parents dismay, she became known more for her off-screen antics than her onscreen one & definitely kept the paparazzi’s pockets fat. “jo vasquez spotted (fill in the blank with something controversial)” filled the pages of magazines for a lot of her 17-18 years, and she went from america’s sweetheart to probably one of america’s most hated lol. it had a negative impact on her career as well, which she was happy about for awhile. that is, until she realized that most of the money she made as a child was collected by her parents & not her.
with no money coming in & the relationship with her parents souring, she left home & avoided the spotlight for around three years. probably lost contact with a lot of people then too. she thought a nice, quiet time by herself & without paparazzi following her 24/7 would be healthy.
& it was. jo used the last bit of her childhood savings to fund her time away, but with money tight , she was a bit unsure of what was left to do. that’s where her great aunt came in. her great aunt had gotten rich of her stocks in a successful makeup line when she was in her late 30′s ( something that joanna’s parents were super jealous of ). with that kind of money, she was able to move to the hills and purchase a beautiful home. joanna had met her only once or twice, but there was definite tension between her parents and her aunt. the only thing she really knew about her was that she was wealthy and lived alone, no kids or significant other.
unexpectedly, her great aunt passed away, news that didn’t reach jo until she got a letter from her aunt’s lawyer, saying that since her great aunt didn’t have kids & didn’t want to leave her belongings to her niece ( jo’s mother ), she had left everything to jo. it completely caught her off guard, and she considers herself pretty lucky.
she knew that she couldn’t stay in the hills forever without some income, and because she feels like acting is what she’s best at, she decided to contact her old manager, and together, they came up with a plan to revive her career.
sooooo , now she’s back in los angeles. media has def heard of her return ( apart of her manager’s plan ) & there’s been a small amount of buzz around it. she’s more of a former a-list, so she’s really not that in demand. however, she did manage to land a supporting role in a major blockbuster ( something like a marvel movie probs ) so she’s hoping that’ll change fairly soon.
* PERSONALITY .
probably fake lol. let’s just be honest. kinda hates the celebrity lifestyle & is cautious when it comes to other people in the industry so yeah, she’s the type to smile in your face and then glare when your backs turned. she knows how important connections are in this business & word travels fast so she’s probably not “real” except with the people she’s closest to. also the type to be like “OMG ofc i know what that is. 😍 it’s my fave” but then have absolutely no clue what the fuck it is lmaoo a tragedy
she’s a hard worker & def a perfectionist. everything has to be perfect, and she’ll do as much as she can to get it right. it’s probs the reason she stuck with acting b/c the trial and error of learning something new would be way too much for her lol.
but also enjoys time out a lil too much prolly. is a regular to night life & partying ( more under wraps now than back in the day ) & will out drink just about anyone you know. it makes her a bit more brave & she believes ppl bare their souls when they’re inebriated so it’s easier to get to know ppl. what a weirdo. also partakes in her fair share of prolly just weed. no hard drugs tbh she’s not the one
your average gal just looking to have fun , but could def potentially catch feelings that she would deny til she can’t anymore or until it’s too late. 🤪 lowkey wants someone to just sweep her off her feet, but she’s blind to the reality that she always be making things complicated.
behind the facade, she’s a bit stubborn. probably also a side effect of being a perfectionist & also her need for control ( since she lacked that when she was young ) so be prepared for that
* WANTED CONNECTIONS .
ok but plots really do be making my world go ‘round. 😳 i love em, so literally hmu with anything you’re feeling, and i’ll be down. just wanna plot & write with everyone 💕 but here’s a couple of wanted connections for y’all. i’ll prolly have a most wanted tag sooner or later & i’ma be make a plot page soon.
best friend / friend group: there’s no way jo could function without friends, so pls give her some good ass platonic tingz. these are the people she can be herself around, so she holds them really dear.
people from the past: someone she knew from the past. could be friends, enemies, lovers, costars, etc. she didn’t really let that many people know that she was leaving so now that she’s back it could be like 👀 dramatic.
unrequited love / crush: these are fun. joanna doesn’t really know how to handle her romantic feelings so it’d probably be her getting the cold shoulder .
hookups / fwb: past, present, future. fwb would probs get messy. maybe she caught feelings or sumn.
former friends: something happened & they’re no longer friends. we can plot it all out . :^)
childhood friends to lovers to exes that ended on bad terms: saw this on a plot masterlist & it sounds fun so i thought i’d put it here lol.
literally anything your heart desires: a lot could work. we could even just start from nowhere & have them meet for the first time b/c jo’s only been back for a couple of months.
he feels a small, small sense of vindication when he hears jo’s responses, though it’s not enough to reinstate his confidence. part of renan almost feels bad that he’s bringing this up at all, but it’s not like jo cares about his own feelings, so he tells himself that it’s justified and to stop caring so much. “ thea, ” he replies, wondering if that alone is enough to trigger name recognition — there aren’t very many thea’s in hollywood, after all. idly circling the rim of his empty shot glass with his finger, renan casts a longer glance at jo, nearly staring until the re-approaching bartender distracts his gaze. “ we’ve been together since, ah… february. ” it’s mostly been five months of nothing but incessant paparazzi pictures of them sucking face, but renan is pretending like it’s more serious than it is. the tequila is starting to loosen his inhibitions, so he physically turns in his seat to face jo while ignoring the third round of shots. “ why didn’t you ever try to talk to me? after… ” he vaguely motions with his hands, meaning their breakup, “ there were no texts, no calls, nothing. i didn’t even know where you went or what i did wrong. ”
thea. the name sounded familiar to her, but jo can’t put her finger on it. she spends time pondering it while tapping her fingers on the counter ( a habit she had picked up in the last few months ) before it hits her. ❛ stamatović? ❜ there’s a disbelief in her voice as she asks, wondering how he had met and wooed someone of such an established family. though, it doesn’t matter. clearly he had done so & done so well, because five months was nothing to gawk at. ❛ that’s... a long time. ❜ she sighs and presses her lips into a fine line — the alcohol making it harder to hide the emotions that were building inside of her. she’s angry that she’s not over the boy who sat next to her. she wants to cry or scream, but jo opts to sit silently, focusing on the empty glasses in front of her. ❛ i don’t know. ❜ it’s all she can manage to get out, turning to face renan just as he had done. ❛ it just felt like... ❜ she stops herself. the last bit of their relationship was rocky, full of disagreements and fear of unwanted attention, but most of all, jo couldn’t handle how she felt for renan. it was too serious, so she did what she always does: she ran. ❛ i know i should have, but i don’t know. ❜ she repeats, exasperation clearly showing through the expression on her face. ❛ i just couldn’t, okay? ❜
nate jabbed a straw into his tall styrofoam cup as he thanked the cashier and slid his wallet into the pocket of his post - gym sweatpants. he had just purchased a smoothie which claimed to be packed with protein and delicious fruit flavors or something. nate had stared apprehensively at the thick, pink liquid as he watched the cashier pour it into his cup, and he was still wearing the expression as he collected his drink and shuffled towards the exit, apparently so distracted that he flung the door wide open and crashed into another customer, drenching them in thirty - two ounces of cold, wet smoothie. “oh, fuck.” he glanced down at the mess on the floor and sank his teeth into his lower lip. “i’m so sorry,” nate lifted his head and rushed to apologize, gaze welling with urgency and sincerity. “here, let me buy your drink.” he dug out his wallet and started back towards the cash register without waiting for an answer. / @fmjoanna
jo’s hangovers were no joke. her inability to stop at an appropriate amount of alcohol made sure of that, and she reaped the consequences the next day, much like she was right now. sunglasses shielding her from the light, she was on a journey to get herself a smoothie — one that advertised itself as a health cure. whatever that meant. jo figured she could do her body a favor for once, and that’s when it hits her: a smoothie much like the one she was about to purchase for herself. ❛ you have got to be fucking kidding me. do you not watch where you’re going? ❜ she admits, the words come out a bit harsher than she’s used to, but she already feels like shit, and now, she’s covered in a cold, wet beverage. her mouth is agape as she wipes as much of the smoothie off of herself as possible. the other leaves before she can even answer, so she calls out after him, ❛ wait, you didn’t even ask what i wanted! ❜
Send “✆” for a morning text.
Send “✉” for a text that wasn’t sent.
Send “☎” for a rushed text.
Send “⁇” for a drunk text.
Send “ø” for a late night text.
Send “✘” for a hateful text.
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